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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 11 months

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book 7 part 3 thoughts!!

***THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7, PART 3 OF THE MAIN STORY AND MALLEUS’S DORM UNIFORM VIGNETTES.***

If you’d like to watch a rough part-by-part summarized translation, please check out this archived stream!

Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.

LOL???? We start this part in Ignihyde 😂 with Idia getting a phone call from (OG/grown-up) Ortho??? Ortho says he’s enrolled at RSA and it’s Idia’s first year as a dorm leader????? What sorcery is this???? I-Is this Ortho’s dream…? Or is it Idia’s dream???

cnn kdveienskebe Okay, it’s Idia’s dream??? Oh gosh, he pictures Ortho as being the kind of heroic and kind-hearted person who would attend RSA if he were still alive… 😭

NOT THAT IMPORTANT but Idia games with Lilia and it’s cute :>

Idia is happy to go along with the call but then notices weird little discrepancies like how NRC’s opening ceremonies are at night (but Ortho called him during the day and Ortho is excited about NRC even though he himself is going to RSA)? He feels like something bad is going to happen…

AND SUDDENLY A WILD MALLEUS GREETS HIM???? Wow, he finally got invited— Gao-Gao Dragon-kun returns as a motif throughout episode 7, Idia seems super hype about it. Interestingly, it looks like Gap-Gao has evolved into a full-fledged dragon when Malleus shows it to Idia 🥺 The set-up is very similar to Idia’s + Ortho’s ceremonial robes stories, but in the original vignettes, Idia meets Malleus on the way to the ceremony and gets too scared, so Idia heads back to his dorm.

OMINOUS??????? Malleus is all like, “Gao-Gao was broken many tomes, but I fixed it and I intend to keep it this way for a long time”. This, of course, is him actually talking about what he’s done to prevent everyone from leaving him :)))

OMG WILD LILIA TOO

Entrance ceremony~ The characters repeat the exact same lines spoken during the prologue!! Deja vu~ Cool little easter egg there, this really is a redux but with nothing bad happening and Malleus actually invited and Idia physically present instead of just being a tablet— Something else weird is that Yuu and Grim don’t seem to be at the ceremony.

RSA is confirmed to have dorms and dorm leaders as well! No specific dorms are referenced though.

“I feel like I’ve forgotten something very important…” — Idia

Back to Diasomnia we go… and the expected Sleeping Beauty dream sequence from Yuu… Then Yuu wakes up to what seems to be the room Mickey described to them (from the animated short 1936 Thru the Mirror) but mirrored/flipped (the date on a calendar is written as 51), Also???? Yuu and Grim seem to remember the “real world”; they recall Malleus casting magic before they passed out. UHHHH they’re locked in the room and there are ghosts drawn on the windows. That’s weird, that’s suspicious 😳

THE FOOT STOOL (ottoman?) IS A DOG WITH A PUG FACE???? Wait… THIS IS MICKEY’S ROOM, ISN’T IT??? He literally described a foot stool thing that barks like a dog the last time he talked to Yuu.

WHAT everything is alive??? Beauty and the Beasting it… Grim eats a sketchy nut and temporarily becomes big (a la Alice in Wonderland), they mention there are mushrooms in the Queendom of Roses that have a similar effect.

OH MY GOD MEETING MICHARD REAL GONE WILD NOT CLICKBAIT

Mickey makes more Thru the Mirror references (he squirts ink at playing cards)? Then he mentions dancing about the queen (of Hearts!?) and the king getting mad about it… ordering the card soldiers to attack him. “I feel bad for the card soldiers.”

Mickey weirdly says something like. Their consciousnesses are in this place but their bodies are elsewhere. Mickey is going to help them look for their friends!! They sort of imply this is Mickey’s dream world, he starts vanishing because now it's morning... and now he is "waking" from the dream.

Blot??????????? They punch a monster thing????

HUH???? ??? ? ???? ? SILVER PULLS UP TO SAVE OUR ASSES???? 😭 We get his UM reveal as well! It's called "Meet in a Dream" (written as "Let's see the same dream") but we don't immediately get to see what it does because we cut away to the real world. The incantation for "Meet in a Dream" is roughly, "For the person/people I met before, for the person/people I will meet soon". IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING AURORA WOULD SAY WHILE WAITING FOR HER PRINCE THAT SHE DREAMED OF

Back at Diasomnia, Malleus is creepily humming over everyone sleeping...DHBFIYODSBFIOIOAF MORE IMPORTANTLY THOUGH, ORTHO'S CONSCIOUSNESS IS IN CYPERSPACE AND HE ACCESSES THE LAST MEMORIES HE HAD STORED BEFORE GETTING KNOCKED OUT (something, something... emergency protocols activated because Malleus emitted a high amount of blot)👁️ His hologram goes and tries to wake Idia up (lol I guess he did end up getting affected by Fae of Maleficence), then tries to connect to his spare bodies but their circuits are not working. He also tries playing music of Idia's favorite girl group to wake him (Idia usually wakes up and dances), but Idia still doesn't.

The time also seems to have not moved, just like during Endless Halloween Night. Wow, Malleus really decided to reject any and all change, even the passage of time...

Ortho realizes just how wide Malleus's spell has been cast (like, it seems to extend even to RSA which is on the other side of Sage's Island). That's... scary... x_x Guess no heroes are coming to save them, huh?

OMINOUS COMMENT: Ortho says that if people continue to dream like this without waking, they will miss out on food and water that their bodies need... and so they will DIE. They got like a week tops without water 🤡 and then their consciousnesses will remain forever trapped in the dream worlds????

STYX becomes relevant again! They get alerted to the blot levels on Sage's Island.

KJBLDVITUFUQFWOVYQFEOBAFIBAFI DIRECTOR SHROUD AND HiS WIFE SHOW UP???????? THEY GOT ON FULL-ON CYBERpUNK HELMETs ON TOO??? Mrs. Shroud sounds so young 😭 and she acts surprisingly cutesy???? She calls her husband “papa” and serves at STYX's technical director.

STYX forces on Sage's Island can't seem to penetrate it... UM IT SOUNDS LIKE MALLEUS'S MAGIC FIELD IS EXPANDING, STYX is going to evacuate people close to Sage's Island.

WEIRDLY, IDIA'S DAD COMMENTS THAT HE FEELS LIKE HE HAS SEEN THIS SCENE OF SPRAWLING THORNS BEFORE???? Mr. Shroud remarks that he has seen it in stories of the Thorn Witch. I-Is history… repeating itself?

Ortho gets in contact with STYX and Mrs. Shroud is soooo cute 😭 She calls him “Or-kun” and worriedly asks him about his older brother and if Ortho is hurt, etc.

So Malleus used ancient magic (regional dominion?) to control everything in that field?? Mr. Shroud says fairies in general have always historically had the magic to “change” the world/nature, like land forms and the weather.

Uhhhh so??? They that Malleus’s magic won’t ever run out because he can absorb power from the natural elements to fuel his magic??? His magic field will keep expanding… so Twisted Wonderland is pretty much fucked if they can’t stop him 💀

OH MAN Mrs. Shroud says they’re going to try and contact Briar Valley 🤡 though Grandma Shroud tried to in the past and it was difficult?

Aww, sort of sad?? Mr. Shroud implies he’s a normal person and that he’s dealing with geniuses that try to do things that he can’t.

The Briar Valley actually responded and try to help them break the barrier around Sage’s Island!! But it sounds like even they could not get past it…

Ortho transfers his consciousness to the Cerberus Gear body!! (Mrs. Shroud makes it for him!) It can last ~20 minutes inside the field. Two dogs will follow him; they have the Cerberus security system in them.

He’s the best suited for this investigation (it’s NOT meant to be a rescue, just a mission to collect info) because his existence defies nature itself; he is the culmination of human ingenuity and Malleus can’t overwrite that. Ortho promises to come back and to save his big brother, he doesn’t want the Shroud parents to lose “another son” 😢

LOL all the researchers are passed out on the floor, even Mr. Shroud was like. Sleeping under a table 😂

Not Mrs. Shroud joking about peeking at Idia’s password protected folders 💀 and not Idia leeching off of STYX’s wifi cuz he’ll die without high-speed internet to do his dailies…

Mrs. Shroud continues to be so wholesome and worried for her children, she encourages Ortho to come back if he’s scared or feels like he’s in danger. It’s so moe of her 🥺

Hmmm 🤔 the Shroud parents are definitely a lot different than what I thought they’d be?? They’re very warm and accepting of Ortho, especially Mrs. Shroud. I didn’t get that impression from book 6 and Idia’s post-OB flashback, it seemed like the Shroud parents were very hands-off and work oriented. Of the two, Mr. Shroud is definitely quieter and more stand-offish, so it seems like Idia takes after the dad and Ortho after the mom. It’s not a bad thing, I’m just surprised!! I’ll definitely keep this in mind while writing them moving forward.

Back to Mickey's world!! ... Suddenly, they're in the sky and comedically falling out of it???? They land outside of Diasomnia dorm.

HMMMMMM so Silver says that the “blot” he fought earlier is like… the darkness that appears in dreams. He has seen it many times. If the darkness catches you, it will drag you into an even deeper dream… and it seems like they fell into a new dream because Mickey woke up (so Mickey’s dream crumbled).

“Meet in a Dream” allows him to enter the dream world of people who have a bond with him. So… there is a preexisting connection Silver has with Mickey????

Silver has??? Met Mickey before in his dreams?? This confirms the story Mickey told us before of seeing a silver-haired boy. Usually the dreamer does not remember him being there, but Mickey for some reason COULD remember Silver. (When Silver himself wakes up from the dreams, he doesn’t remember them.)

bcsksbiexbkss OMG POOR LAD????? Silver has tried to wake up before by punching himself and by bashing his head against rocks (to no success).

He doesn’t 100% understand his power or dreams yet, but he describes each dream to us as its own landscape? It’s an oddly artistic way of describing it but I guess without the context of Malleus trapping them all there it calling them “landscapes” is nice!!

Silver says he somehow stumbled into Mickey’s dream while following a bird that shone with rainbow colors. Ho-Oh is that you (A bird that gives the illusion of rainbow colors… It sounds similar to the white birds Kalim borrowed in his dorm story vignettes from Silver.)

There are other stipulations to using his UM; Silver has to be sleeping AND be aware that he is dreaming in order for him to dream walk. He also can’t decide whose dreams he ends up in. Silver eerily mentions that he cannot escape from dream worlds, not unless the dreamer wakes up or the dreamer/Silver gets a large enough shock.

Silver falls through the sky to get to new dreams? He calls these transitions “dream corridors”. He describes dreams as places of memories and wishes, making up one’s greatest desires… but also meaning different things to different people.

They enter Diasomnia and IN COMES SEBEK SHOUTING AT THEM??? Apparently there's a party going on at Diasomnia to send Malleus and Lilia off for their internships. (There is a little glowing fairy thing flying around Sebek which indicates that Sebek is the dreamer. We did not previously see this light around Mickey.) Sebek rushes them to the party where everyone else is waiting!!

Oooh, we hear what Lilia’s internship might have been! He would be going into a company that specializes in making magical tools for medicine/health; his reasoning is that the Briar Valley has people who are not used to technology, and Lilia wants to be able to make their lives easier by introducing these technologies to them. Malleus’s archeological internship would be in the Land of Crimson Long.

BRUH 😭 Dream!Lilia says he will stay in their forest cottage where he raised Silver for the rest of his life, he’s not leaving.

Silver calls them out on the bullcrap, calling the situation for what it truly is. “This is just a convenient dream!” It’s fake, it’s all wrong. He shouts at on point, which is something be rarely ever does; the last time I can recall him shouting is back at the end of Endless Halloween Night.

ERRRRR (real) Malleus is monitoring all of their dream worlds, that’s 100x more creepy than anything Rook can do 💀 Malleus is justifying this by using his position as to-be king; “it’s only natural for a king to watch over his subjects”, that kind of thing. Leona would be hella pissed—

Eh? EH????? WE'RE PUNCHING SEBEK NOW (he’s protecting Malleus). And so we beat him up and Sebek finally remembers reality. (I think the implication is that by beating him up, they’re “shocking” the dreamer awake.) Sebek begrudgingly joins our party!! ✨

bhlBFYUVAIFAIAFDIL I OH NO, MALLEUS IS MAD THAT SILVER IS “AWAKE”

AYO OB MALLEUS BATTLE, HIS PHANTOM IS MALEFICENT'S DRAGON FORM, IT’S TIME TO GASLIGHT, GATEKEEP, GIRLBOSS (before revealing his OB form, he was really trying to convince us it’s not a dream when we said it was one + confused Grim with his claims, then lowkey threatened us by saying “if you keep talking, I won’t forgive you”.) That’s… scarily accurate for how real emotional manipulators act 😬

I kept being reminded of Malleus’s dorm uniform vignettes around this point in the main story. In the vignettes, Malleus teleports the dorm leaders (without consent) to Diasomnia to hold a meeting, and they become upset with him for treating them like objects. Malleus is STILL treating living beings like objects (even if he does care for them). Look at what he’s doing: he doesn’t think about what they want, he’s manipulating them again, and even earlier he implied they and Gao-Gao were the same… Broken things that have been repaired, and that he intends to keep this way forever.

Silver grabs their hands and says they’ll jump into another dream!! LOL 😂 Sebek’s being tsundere at the worst of times… “I WOULD NEVER HOLD YOUR HAND!!!” SEBEK PLEASE, NOT NOW!?????? We’RE GonNA DiE

Malleus tries to force them back under, but a sparkling light "like an aurora" compels Silver to not succumb. Silver asks his father to give him power while clutching onto the ring on a chain that Lilia imparted to him. AWWW SILVER 😭

This time they wake up in a forest and get surrounded by masked people who speak in... animal sounds??? It may be a fairy language; in Fairy Gala: If we learn that different kinds of fae communicate in different ways (for example, the diurnal fae speak in like bell chimes). Sebek seems to understand what they are saying... so maybe the language of the nocturnal fae????

AYO THE MIDDLE ONE KINDA LOOKS LIKE CROWLEY... EVEN THE EYES GLOW YELLOW LIKE HIS DO???? IS IT JUST THE MASK SHAPE???? OR WAS CROWLEY A WAR VET??????? ??????? ?? ?? ? (Side note: I think these masked NPCs are meant to resemble Maleficient's minions!)

There is also what appears to be the sound effects of canon fire??? Is this… a battleground?? The human-fairy war?????? (The masked men are soldiers that report to Lilia!)

FKJLADFIHLAFSLIHAFLIADFILETasasutvfetoqevb WHAT WHAT WHAT???!?!?!?!?!?!?!? LONG HAIR LILIA SHOWS UP IN A MASK AND SAVES THEM???? HE’S USING HIS CLEAVER TOO (this is his dream for sure now 😭)

So in Lilia’s new design, we see that there are green gems hanging off of him; these may be magical gems or the special ore he mentioned his weapon is made from (which is very rare in modern times).

If you look closely, his hair streaks are dark red instead of bright magenta. This lines up with one of Lilia’s voice lines in which he expresses dying his hair different colors depending on his whims.

Every warrior seems to be wearing a mask? And we can see their eyes glow (I wonder if this is a trait of nocturnal fae)? The masks may be there as s cultural thing or maybe as a tactic to obscure their faces from their enemies.

It’s odd that Lilia’s dream seems to be of war time??? Because Malleus’s magic is meant to give them happy dreams, but surely Lilia doesn’t think of war time as a happy period of his life???? Maybe that will be better explained in the next update??

AAAAAAAHAHHHHHHHH??????? ? ?????? ? ? ? ? ? ? THAT'S THE END OF THE PART 3 UPDATE???? ? ?? ??? ? TWST, YOU REALLY GONNA CUT US OFF LIKE THIS?? ???? ? ? ? ???????? ? ? 🫠 WE’RE ONLY At PART 55 AnD SO MUcH SHiT hAS GONE dOWN…………………..,,..,,, …….. ….. … . .. . .. . . .

#Diasomnia #twst #twisted wonderland #Malleus Draconia #Lilia Vanrouge #Silver #Sebek Zigvolt #notes from the writing raven #spoilers #disney twisted wonderland #Idia Shroud #Ortho Shroud #Ignihyde #Yuu #Grim #Mickey Mouse

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cutielights · 7 months

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Ohhh my gosh I am super motivated right now!

Tw: none (over protective brothers ig?)

Rise Boys + Younger Sibling! reader (platonic g/n)

Mikey loves being taller than someone other than Splinter

Raph being way too protective

Leo calling you shortie

Donnie just handing you a Rubik’s cube so you’ll stop bothering him

Mikey being the one person who keeps up with your train of thought

Raph being really cautious to let you go on solo missions even though you’re able to handle yourself

Leo accidentally loosing you in his portals and panicking

Donnie having to pay attention after you solved the Rubik’s cube

Mikey drawing you motivational quotes

Raph giving you a stuffie after a nightmare

Leo showing you how to do skate tricks

Donnie keeping a tracker on you

Mikey teaching you how to cook various dishes

Raph carrying you on his shoulders

Leo having to patch you up after a stunt goes wrong

Donnie giving you cheat codes to video games

Mikey showing you his favourite internet trends

Raph making sure you train

Leo being such a sore loser, and then playing it off as if he meant to lose

Donnie sending S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N to spy on you and Mikey so you don’t get into “Predictable baby sibling stunts that are bound to go wrong.”

Mikey helping you customise things

Raph taking you to wrestling matches

Leo showing you cool locations in the hidden city

Donnie sitting in the same room as you for half an hour and calling it bonding

Mikey playing co-op games with you

Raph in constant worry mode

Leo rubbing it in pretty much whenever he wins at something maybe a bit too much

Donnie looking for every chance to inflict violence on Leo, to which you get to help stop…. Yay?

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slugtranslation-hypmic · 2 months

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Hi Slug!

Could you translate positive my life, please? 🥺🥺

Hello Slug. I hope this finds you well but may I ask if you may be able to translate Hifumis solo, “ポジティブ my life” from the Block Party album? Thank you very much.

Sure thing! Under a cut for length.

The playful tone is crucial to the source, so a similar goofiness is present in the translation. With that said, I'm not adding anything extra for silliness. Some light fluffing on vague lines to convey (what I'm understanding as) the meaning. No attention paid to line length, rhyme, or rhythm.

Heya, friendos! (Hey there, Hifumi!) Hm? Gosh, you seem like a bunch of gloomy Guses today. Wait, I have an idea! Let's play a game! I'm logging in to Buddy Quest and speedrunning character creation so we can get to the open world and goof off! (Heck yeah!) We gotta turn all those frowns upside down. So what're we gonna do? Set off on an adventure to make new friends! I may not be able to claim the hero's sword. I may not have it in me to smile all the time. But my friendships and the good vibes we make together are the best equipment I could ever ask for. Yeah, yeah, yeah! There's no one like my party! We're friends! (Friends!) And even if we lose at the end of the day, we still all have each other. I cast SMILE. It's super effective! Next thing you know, you're one of us--YOU have joined the party! A full, amazing party! (We! Are! Hoods!) If you're a top player? Sweet! Let's live it up tonight! Yeepers, that was a close one. Almost ran out of HP! (Positive! Up! My life!) Or if you're more of a novice? No sweat. We'll carry you! Either way, let's "positive up" my life! (And yours!) [1] All righty! We're kilin' it. Keep it up, gang! Next up: lemme run you through how I "positive up" my life. Step 1: Take a cool selfie, upload it to the character creator, and let the game handle the rest. See? Looks just like me. (Sure does!) Step 2: Forget the haters. If the vibes are rancid, I don't wanna hear it! (Yeah, yeah!) Step 3: We all have tough days sometimes. But you gotta try to smile anyway. Because you're braved and you're loved, y'know? Once you realize how much your friends care for you, I know you'll get back up and keep fighting that good fight! (Get 'em, Hifumin!) Step 4: Sometimes, you just can't get past that next level. But don't you ever give up. Hit that CONTINUE button, you hear? (Positive! Up! My Life!) Because we still all have each other and the good vibes we make together in our full, amazing party! (We! Are! Hoods!) Ah ha! So you're the final boss. [2] Say, you know what? You wanna be friends? (Positive! Up! My life!) We can still beat the game together, and no one has to get hurt this way. So what do you say? "Positive up" my life? (And yours?)

[1] There's a slight joke/nuance here that I'm a bit stumped as to how to convey naturally in English. The terms he uses to describe different playing styles (魅せプ) (lit. enchanting play style) and (姫プ) (lit. princess play style) are evocative of his host role as someone who "enchants" clients often referred to as princesses. This suggests he's speaking to a woman, which ties into the final verse of the song that uses the same format. [2] Not the same "you" he's singing to in the song. The difference in tone suggests it's Honobono.

#asks #hypmic asks #hypmic translations

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ninjadeathblade · 2 months

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Shopping Trip (Lego Monkie Kid fanfic)

Summary: The majority of the gang goes shopping. Then Wukong and Macaque play video games.

Warnings: Brief threats, Wukong and Macaque have issues to work through (they're also very dumb about the fact they love each other), swearing

Word count: 6,072

Author's notes: This would NOT leave me alone so here fandom, take the gays residing in my brain for the last two days. Sandy isn't here because I had no idea what he'd be doing. This is 90% indulgent Shadowpeach content for myself but hey, that's something. This is set post Emperor's Wrath. Enjoy.

“Hey, Monkey King, why d'you always wear your fancy robes?” MK questioned after the three of them took a break from training.

Macaque stifled a laugh, looking over at Wukong and revelling in the confusion on his face.

“What do you mean?” Wukong asked around a mouthful of peach flavoured crisps, crunching noisily on them.

MK shrugged and gestured. “You and Macaque always wear your fancy clothes whenever you come and just hang out with us, you can't be comfortable in it.”

“Look, kid, I hate to break it to you but we don't actually own any other clothes,” Macaque replied.

“I can make some though!” Wukong exclaimed, one hand already reaching to yank hair out of his head.

MK and Macaque rushed to stop him, the former tackling his hand still holding the bag of crisps, while the latter reached through a shadow portal to grab his wrist.

“Quit it Wukong, you already eat enough of your hair as it is, no point in you wearing it as well,” Macaque said with an eye roll.

MK’s eyes went round as saucers. “Please tell me that those crisps aren't hair.”

Wukong averted his gaze with a nervous laugh. “Whaaaaat? No, pfft, I'm not that- er-”

“Monkey King! You promised to start eating proper food!” MK whined, poking him in the cheek.

Wukong sighed. “Yeah yeah, I am, kid, I promise, now can I have my arms back?”

Macaque glared at him over MK's head, getting a returning glare.

MK gasped and jumped up, waving his arms wildly. “Oh my gosh, I know just what we should do?”

“Yuh-huh and what's that?” Wukong asked.

“Mei keeps telling me about this super cool new shopping centre that opened up the other week!” MK explained. “What if we all had a day out there and you guys can pick out some comfy clothes for hanging out with us?!”

Macaque shook his head. “Look, kid, I appreciate it but-”

He went silent as something yanked his tail, head whipping around to catch another tail quickly retreating to Wukong's side.

Oh that little-

“It's an amazing idea!” Wukong replied with a grin. “Let us know when you want to do it and we'll be there.”

“Funny how you now speak for both of us,” Macaque muttered, opening up a shadow portal beside him and reaching through to yank Wukong's tail.

The king turned to glare at the warrior, Macaque shooting him a shit-eating grin in return.

“Okay! I'm gonna go, I'm working this evening but I'll see you guys for training again tomorrow!” MK said before beginning to run back down the mountain. “Thanks again for the training!”

A beat went by before the two of them turned to each other.

“You know you could be more supportive of the kid,” Wukong snapped.

“Me? Really? Last I checked you were the one who abandoned his training!” Macaque argued, standing up. “Because that's what you always do isn't it? The great Sun-Wukong who always puts himself first.”

Wukong's jaw clenched, tail lashing behind him, and for a moment it seemed like they were going to fight again.

Then the king's shoulders heaved and his posture slouched. “Can we not do this right now?”

Macaque rolled his shoulders, the joints clicking slightly. “Running off again?”

“Can you stop?!” Wukong shouted. “I don't know what you want from me but you're not gonna get a rise. I'm done with this - with you always trying to bait me into another fight. I have people to look out for now.”

Macaque scoffed. “You can't tell me you actually care about the kid.”

“Bold words from someone who also cares about him,” Wukong retorted and Macaque's fur bristled. “Oh yeah, don't think I haven't noticed. While I was off doing very important things, you kept showing back up. Some part of you does actually care about MK, be honest.”

“Nope, doesn't sound like me,” Macaque stated, tail tapping against the ground twice as he opened up a shadow portal. “See you around, Monkey King.”

Wukong dashed forward, one arm outstretched. “No, wait, Macaque-”

The darkness surrounding him.

Silence.

Well, it wasn't quite silent, it sounded like everything was muffled and underwater.

Macaque took a deep breath, artificial air expanding his lungs.

Wukong was still there although it was like seeing him through murky glass, thumping a fist against the shadows on the ground before giving up and walking away.

Macaque floated in the inky expanse, debating on whether or not to return to his dojo before deciding that he would just stay here for now.

It was peaceful.

It was everything that outside wasn't.

~•~

“Hey boi!” Mei cheered, tackling MK into a hug before waving at Wukong. “Heya Monkey King!”

“Hey,” Wukong waved, pulling his loaned hoodie further over his head. “Hey bud, you sure that no one's gonna recognise me in this?”

“I dunno honestly but if not you can transform, right?” MK argued.

“Fair point.”

“I still do not understand why I have to be here,” Red Son complained, foot tapping impatiently. “If we are all here then can we go already?”

“No, sorry, we're still waiting on someone else,” Tang answered.

“Who else are we waiting for?” Wukong questioned. “The pig guy?”

Tang adjusted his scarf. “Oh no, Pigsy is at that food stall over there shouting at the chef because he sold us half baked churros while we were waiting.” He paused. “Speaking of, I'm going to go stop Pigsy before he ends up in too much trouble.”

“Literally who else would MK invite?” Wukong's eyes narrowed in confusion. “I don't even understand why Red Son is here.”

“Hey!”

“I swear if you invited Nezha then this is going to be the most boring shopping trip ever.”

“Ugh, I wish he'd invited Nezha, then I'd have someone else to make fun of you with.”

Wukong spun around with a curse, glaring at their final arrival, who hadn't even bothered with a disguise.

“Great, just great.”

Macaque shrugged. “Hey, I don't want to be here any more than you want me to be here. Only reason I'm tagging along is that I was planning to grab some food anyway.”

“But we're meant to be clothes shopping,” Mei interrupted, eyes watery as she stared up at the warrior.

“Yeah Macaque, you promised,” MK added, also staring up with large eyes.

“Look kid I didn't-” The warrior paused and sighed. “Fine, I'll buy some clothes. But I'm picking what I get, not you guys.”

The two of them let out a cheer and rushed back over to Red Son, beginning to drag him in the direction of a shop.

“I cannot believe that I'm gonna have to put up with you today,” Wukong groaned as the two of them set off after the trio.

“Hey, you're the one who volunteered me for this so if there's anyone to blame it's yourself,” Macaque responded.

Mei and MK had seemed to immediately start piling clothes into their arms, occasionally thrusting some pieces into Red Son's arms.

Wukong stumbled backwards slightly when MK seemed to just appear in front of him, holding up two pairs of pyjamas. “Hey Monkey King! Should we get these matching Monkey King™ pyjamas?”

“Hey kiddo, I'm wearing a disguise for a reason so maybe keep your voice down,” Wukong chuckled. “But yeah, absolutely.”

The king turned to glare at Macaque when the warrior snickered.

“Something funny?”

“No, it's nothing,” Macaque lied, one hand coming up to try and cover the smile on his face.

Wukong let out a loud, over-dramatic gasp. “Are you making fun of my bond with my apprentice? Are you making fun of our super duper cool friendship?”

“No,” Macaque sputtered, trying to get his laughter under control.

Wukong leaned in, poking him in the face. “You are! How could you?”

Macaque stopped trying to contain his laughter at the theatrics, golden eyes screwing up tight as he nearly doubled over.

Wukong's smile wavered as his gaze flitted across the warrior's face.

He knew realistically why Macaque would cover up his eye.

Seeing his unmarred face and having these moments made it almost seem like nothing had ever gone wrong between them.

When Macaque straightened up again he shot Wukong a quick glance, accompanied with a shy smile before returning his attention to the shop in front of them. “C'mon then, no point standing around all day. Gotta find you something to wear other than pyjamas.”

“Yeah and we've gotta find you anything to wear,” Wukong teased. “What do you even wear? Like, leather jacket and grunge aesthetic boots.”

“How the fuck do you know what an aesthetic is?” Macaque swore, turning back to face him.

The king shrugged nonchalantly and grinned. “What can I say, I guess I'm just cool like the kids are.”

The warrior snorted. “Yeah right, the day that you're cool is the day I haven't died before.”

A silence fell between them at that comment and something flickered over Macaque's features.

Wukong reached out to him before the shadow slipped away from him, walking over to a rack of darkly coloured clothes.

There was so much they still needed to talk about.

Macaque flicked through the different hanging articles before smirking. “So, what about the fact that Red Son has a crush on either MK or Mei?”

“Wait, what?” Wukong spluttered.

“When the three of them were together back there, Red Son was blushing and stuff. Can't tell which of them is making him fall for them but I'm not actually that surprised.”

Wukong stood stock still for a moment, doing a mental reboot while Macaque moved on.

“Wait, no, hold on you little shit, are you for real?” Wukong questioned.

Macaque nodded. “When we catch up to them, just watch. I wouldn't lie, would I?”

“I dunno, seems like you lie a lot.” Wukong narrowed his eyes dubiously.

“Well, I'm not lying about that.”

They wandered for a little longer before managing to catch up with the trio.

Okay, Wukong had to hand it to Macaque, Red Son did seem to be blushing.

“Hey, Monkey King, you made it! We lost you back there!” MK cheered before turning back to Mei. “Ooh, Mei, do you still have the thing we picked out for Macaque?”

“Kid I don't-”

“Found it!” Mei announced, holding up the black mesh shirt.

Macaque's gaze dragged over it before extending a hand. “Okay, I'll try it on.”

Wukong did a double take. “You like mesh?”

“Haven't tried it before but it looks cool enough. If I can get something to go over it then I'd probably like it.”

Red Son held up a black sleeveless turtleneck shirt from the pile in his arms. “Something like this?”

Macaque shifted the first shirt in his grip before reaching out for the other. “Sounds good.”

“Oh and there are some dark coloured jeans by the changing rooms, wanna grab a pair of those?” MK offered.

“Mhm.”

Wukong trailed behind the bunch of them, briefly wondering where Tang and Pigsy had gotten to.

Him and MK plopped down onto a bench just outside the changing rooms, MK's stack of clothes beside him.

“I'm gonna try them on after the others have tried theirs,” MK explained. “Wait a minute, why don't you have anything Monkey King?”

“Um, well, I just didn't see anything I liked all that much, bud,” Wukong lied.

“Oh okay.”

The boy got out his phone, playing some obnoxiously loud game while they waited for the others to get changed.

“Okay, we're done!” Mei called after a while.

“Come out then!” MK shouted back, shutting his phone off and putting it back in his pocket.

“Macaque, you coming?”

“Nope.”

“Aw, come on, pretty please? You look great!”

“...Fine.”

Mei stepped out, practically dragging Red Son and Macaque with her.

And wow, Macaque actually looked kind of good.

The clothes actually suited him.

The warrior wrenched Mei's iron grip off his arm before grumpily crossing his arms over his chest.

“Woah, you guys look awesome!” MK gasped, clapping his hands together.

Macaque rolled his eyes and frowned when he looked over at Wukong. “Quit staring, Wukong, don't you know it's impolite?”

Wukong smirked. “Thought you said I was impolite.”

“Yeah, I know that you are. Doesn't mean you have to give me more reasons for it,” the warrior complained before looking over at Mei. “Hey, can we wrap this up and buy this stuff already?”

“Nu-uh, we've still got loads of outfits to try on! You and Monkey King can wait here while we finish checking all these sick clothes out,” Mei replied.

Macaque grumbled something under his breath before going back to the changing room.

Three pairs of eyes turned to Wukong. “He's just always kinda cranky, trust me.”

“I heard that!”

~•~

“Ugh, how much sugar did you even put in that thing?” Macaque asked, nose wrinkling with disgust at the sweet scent coming off of Wukong's drink.

Wukong moved the glass away from his face, a bit of cream smeared on his nose. “Um, I dunno. It has chocolate, ice cream, sprinkles, some more chocolate, some normal cream, some kinda sweet milk, caramel-”

Macaque reached out and grabbed the drink out of his hand while he was distracted listing ingredients, holding it out of his reach. “You are going to clog an artery if you have that much sugar.”

Wukong pouted. “Macaque! Gimme back my drink!”

Macaque opened up a shadow portal under his hand, hovering the drink just above it. “You aren't going to have all of it to yourself or you will die.”

“I'm immortal, I can't die,” Wukong retorted.

Oh yeah.

“You aren't going to have it all to yourself or I'll steal all the wine you're hiding at your place.”

Wukong's eyes went wide and he leaned across Macaque, desperately attempting to grab it. “No! No! Fine, I'll share! Just gimme the drink!”

Macaque dropped the drink through the shadow portal, watching as Wukong's face fell.

As the king turned back to the table the warrior opened a portal again, depositing the drink - now with two straws - back in front of him.

“Come on, if you're going to clog an artery then I might as well do it with you.”

Wukong shot him a quick glare but moved the glass so it was between them.

Red Son slid back into their booth. “They're still ordering but wanted me to say they'll be back soon.”

Macaque glanced over to the counter where Mei and MK seemed to be arguing over the menu of sweet treats.

“May I ask a question?” Red Son asked.

“You just did,” Wukong teased.

The boy rolled his eyes. “May I ask another question after the one I am asking at this moment?”

“Mmmmkay.”

Macaque lowered his head to take a sip of the drink, throat burning at how sickly sweet it was.

He'd never understand how Wukong could stomach these things.

“Are you two in a relationship?”

Macaque choked on his drink and Wukong hit him on the back a few times while replying.

“No, never! Me? With him? Tch, as if! He's so- him! And I'm so me!” The king answered.

Macaque gulped in a lungful of air after recovering. “This is the one time we agree on something and it's that we are not a thing. I hate him, he makes me feel like my skin is on the outside and my fur is on the inside. I'd rather have my heart served up on a platter to the Lady Bone Demon than go out with him.”

“Ew, did you have to be so graphic?” Wukong complained. “You're gonna put me off my drink.”

“Good. It tastes like shit.”

“Because you have no tastes.”

“I do have tastes. Anyway, you seemed to conveniently leave out the fact that this drink is peach flavoured.”

Wukong shrugged and smiled. “It's my favourite.”

“You sure you didn't make this out of your hair?” Macaque questioned, lip curling in disgust.

Red Son huffed. “No, I paid for his drink. And there's no need for you two to be so defensive.”

“We're back!” MK announced, flopping down against Red Son's side. “What did we miss?”

“Ah, yes, you are back,” Red Son flustered.

Macaque and Wukong shared a look.

So that's who Red Son liked then.

“Duh, that's what I just said,” MK laughed.

“We ordered every dessert they had!” Mei announced.

“Oh no,” Macaque whispered.

“Oh yes,” Wukong purred, eyes lighting up. “Desserts for everyone!”

The warrior dropped his head to rest against the table, grimacing at how sticky it seemed to be. “Why did I ever let myself be dragged along here?”

“Because you're our friend!” MK said.

“Greeaaaat.”

~•~

“Omg, these stationary sets are so naturecore, I have to have them for my aesthetics blog,” Mei gasped.

Wukong nudged Macaque to grab his attention before whispering. “Hey, d'you have any idea what that means?”

“No idea,” Macaque admitted. “As established earlier, I know aesthetic but that's about it.” The warrior smirked. “Aren't you the one who's ‘cool like the kids are’?”

“Shuddup,” Wukong laughed.

Macaque's tail flicked up to hit him in the back of the head before looking around. “So, we kinda lost Pigsy and Tang at the start.”

“Yeah, it'll be fine,” the king replied calmly, waving it off.

“Maybe for you. I for one would like to not be on kid sitting duty for the next decade.”

“It's only been two hours,” Wukong stated, snickering at the defeated groan Macaque let out. “What's wrong? Too old to keep up?”

“Wha- no,” Macaque denied sourly before continuing. “My feet hurt though. I'm not used to walking around this much. Usually I just use my shadows to get places.”

Wukong sighed before holding out his arms.

The warrior stared blankly at him.

“Climb on, I'll carry you,” the king offered.

Macaque immediately began to walk away from him. “Nope, nu-uh, never happening, find someone else prince fucking charming.”

“Come on Macaque, your pride won't be that wounded if you let yourself take a break,” Wukong whined, following him.

The shadow’s tail lashed behind him as he walked through the aisles of the shop, trying to catch up to wherever the other three had run off to. “I'll take a break when I get home later. Feet being sore isn't the worst thing I've had to deal with.”

Unspoken words hung between them and Wukong followed Macaque silently until they reached the trio, staring at row upon row of cards.

“Hey guys, whatcha looking at?” Wukong inquired, propping his head on MK's shoulder.

“We're helping Mei pick out a card for her dad's birthday,” MK explained.

“You could make one,” Red Son added. “Although didn't you say it's tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Mei groaned. “I was so busy helping MK train that I forgot.”

“You forgor,” MK said.

“I forgor,” Mei affirmed.

Wukong straightened back up, whispering. “What language is this?”

“No idea,” Macaque said.

“No idea what?” Mei asked.

“Nothing.”

“‘kay.”

Wukong smiled at Macaque.

The shadow returned it with a small quirk of his mouth.

It wasn't much but it was better than it had been.

~•~

“That's it, I am not being dragged into a spa, I'm calling Pigsy,” Macaque said, digging his phone out his pocket.

“You have Pigsy's number?” Wukong asked beside him before continuing. “You have a phone?”

“Yeah, and?” Macaque tapped onto his contacts. “Got Pigsy's number after the kid crashed out at my place one time. Also he makes good noodles.”

“I know right?” Wukong agreed, mouth practically watering.

“Hello! Pigsy's Noodles, how can I-”

“Cut the crap Pigsy, your kids are trying to drag me into a spa and I know that you and Tang are still somewhere in this shopping centre.”

“Oh fuc- okay, where are you guys, I'll come and get ‘em,” Pigsy sighed.

“Seventh floor, top right corner, next to the arcade place.”

“Wait, there's an arcade place next door and they chose to go to the spa instead?” Tang questioned.

“Red Son is trying to convince us all to get princess pamper sessions before we get wrecked and lose all our money to useless games,” Macaque explained.

“That'd do it. We'll be there in a few.”

Macaque hung up, quirking an eyebrow at Wukong's sad expression. “What do you want now?”

“You're gonna ruin their fun,” Wukong complained, gesturing at where the three others were currently crashed out on a bench.

“No, I'm just getting us the rest of the evening off,” Macaque argued.

When Wukong still looked upset he sighed.

“If I play your shitty game this evening will that make it up to you?”

Wukong brightened up. “Yes! Although it isn't shitty, take that back.”

“Maybe. Depends on how good your game is.”

Macaque looked over at the trio. “Hey, Red Son, a word.”

The boy seemed sheepish as he walked over, a sharp contrast to his usual confident demeanour. “Yes?”

“You break MK’s heart and I'll break all your bones,” Macaque snarled quietly.

“Okay so you're just coming out with it,” Wukong muttered.

“P-pardon?” Red Son stuttered, hair letting off embers.

“You aren't subtle. So you heard me. If you break his heart, I will break all your bones.”

Red Son swallowed thickly. “Y-yes sir.”

“Good.”

MK walked up beside them. “What're you guys talking about?”

“We were just saying goodbye,” Wukong supplied, somehow having come up with a good excuse for once in his long life.

“Oh cool. I'm sleeping around Red Son's tonight so won't be able to make it to training tomorrow, is that okay?” MK said.

Macaque subtly shot Red Son a glare while he replied to MK. “That's fine, see you in a few days kid.”

The warrior opened up a shadow underneath himself and the king.

“No, no, no, no, no, not the shadow portal!”

~•~

“Ugh, I think I'm gonna throw up,” Wukong complained as he dropped out of the shadow portal.

“Too bad, you fly your cloud recklessly and the shadows are quicker,” Macaque replied, dropping down beside him before opening up their shared bag of shopping purchases and grabbing out a handful of clothes. “I'm gonna get changed then I'm ordering actual food for dinner.”

“But my way is cheaper!”

“Yeah, and it'll have you hacking up furballs until your eventual death, Wukong,” Macaque snorted, shutting himself into the bathroom.

Wukong rooted around in the bag and grabbed out one of the plain shirts he'd picked out, slipping off his robes and putting on the black t-shirt before grabbing a pair of loose blue jeans out of the bag.

The king settled down on the sofa, aimlessly flicking through channels on his TV until his tail brushed against someone else.

Wukong lifted his head up, staring at Macaque.

The warrior practically had a halo of light around his head from the setting sun behind him, a sliver of yellow fabric visible under his dark hoodie.

“Hey. You up for burning off some energy?” Macaque proposed and Wukong was in his feet within seconds.

“We haven't fought in ages,” Wukong sceptically tested.

Macaque shrugged. “Nothing serious. But I need to stretch out my limbs and test how flexible I am in these clothes.”

Wukong dragged his eyes up and down Macaque. “Mhm, because ripped jeans are gonna be sooo easy to move around in. Prepare to be beat.”

Macaque smirked, sweeping out one leg and knocking Wukong off balance.

“H-hey! No fair!” Wukong growled, reaching up and tugging Macaque down with the edge of his hoodie.

The warrior let out a squeak, collapsing down beside the king before going still.

“Oh shit. Macaque? You good, bud?” Wukong questioned, moving closer.

Macaque spun around, hands catching Wukong's and pinning them against the floor. “I cannot believe you just fell for that.”

“Yeah, well, it's been years since you played that card while we've fought,” Wukong argued, one leg kicking out and into Macaque's stomach.

The warrior's grip on his hands loosened, allowing the king to flip the two of them over as he hovered over him.

His hands closed around Macaque's, mimicking the move just used on him.

“Not so cocky now, huh?” Wukong challenged.

Macaque just laughed and rolled his eyes, opening up a shadow portal underneath himself.

Wukong pulled back, watching as the other sank into the floor and disappeared before a weight crashed down on his back.

“Fuck! Macaque!”

“Got you now,” Macaque taunted, the two of them rolling back and forth until Macaque pinned Wukong down.

The warrior was just shy of sitting on him, chest heaving as he breathed.

Wukong sighed. “Yeah, alright Mac, you win, now get off of me.”

The shadow paused, golden eyes staring at him.

“What?” Wukong inquired.

“You haven't called me Mac since- since before,” Macaque stated, his grip on Wukong's hands loosening.

Orange and pink hues of light shone off of his dark fur.

It was beautiful.

He was beautiful.

“No, no I guess not,” Wukong murmured.

Macaque rolled onto the floor beside him, both of them staring up at the ceiling.

“So, if Red Son does break MK's heart we are absolutely going to ruin his life, right?” Macaque questioned.

Wukong rolled onto his side, staring at Macaque.

Tufts of dark hair stuck up in different directions, framing his face.

The king reached out with a hand before hesitating when the warrior flinched, eyes closing.

A long moment passed, before Macaque quickly got up, with a mumbled sentence. “I'm going to order dinner.”

“Yeah, okay,” Wukong responded, mentally kicking himself.

Of course Macaque still didn't trust him, why should he?

After everything Wukong had done, he had no reason to.

“Hey, Wukong, how many portions should I order you?” Macaque asked, one hand muffling the bottom of his phone.

“Three, if that's okay,” Wukong answered.

Macaque nodded before continuing to quietly speak to whoever was on the other end of the line.

Wukong walked back over to the sofa, sitting down and trying to avoid looking at his friend.

Huh.

When had he started thinking of Macaque as a friend again?

The other side of the sofa dipped as weight settled down on it.

“I'm sorry for flinching,” Macaque whispered. “Really going against my therapy goals.”

Wukong blinked before looking over at him. “You go to therapy?”

Macaque's tail wrapped across his chest, curling over his opposite shoulder. “Well, I'm trying. Kind of hard though when most therapists are mortal and I have issues with opening up about things from my past.”

The shadow let out a deep breath before slowly relaxing against the king's side. “Is… is this okay?”

“Yeah, no, of course,” Wukong flustered a bit, shifting so that Macaque would be more comfortable.

Wukong turned so his back was resting against the arm of the sofa, one arm circling around Macaque's waist.

The warrior tensed under his touch slightly before relaxing back against him, pillowing his head on the king's chest. “You sure you're okay with this?”

“Geez Mac, I'm fine,” Wukong responded. “Are we gonna start playing my game now or d'you want to wait until after dinner?”

“After dinner. I want to get some rest in,” Macaque sighed, opening up a shadow portal over the top half of his head. “I'll wake up when the food gets delivered, I'll hear it. You should get some rest too.”

“Yeah alright. You get some rest.”

“Thanks Wukong.”

“No problem bud.”

~•~

Macaque's ear flicked inside the portal as footsteps ran up to the door of his dojo.

“Hold on,” he murmured to Wukong, unsure whether his friend was even awake before sitting up and slipping his upper body through the shadow portal.

“Knock knock!” The delivery boy shouted as Macaque reached over to open the door.

MK grinned and held up the couple of bags in his arms. “Hey Macaque! This is more than you usually order.”

“Yeah, well, I've got company,” Macaque said evasively.

“Is it Monkey King?”

“Nah, I have other friends,” Macaque lied, reaching out with one hand for the bags. “Aren’t you meant to be staying around Red Son's?”

“Yeah, I'm headed there after this,” MK explained.

“Have a good sleepover, kid.”

“You too Macaque!”

“No, kid, I'm not having a-”

“Bye Macaque!”

The shadow sighed, shutting and locking his door before slipping back through the portal to Wukong's house.

The king was still passed out on the sofa, snoring at an obnoxious volume.

Or perhaps it was actually quiet, and Macaque's sensitive hearing was getting to him more than usual.

“Hey, wake up.”

Wukong blinked awake, sitting up before his mouth watered at the sight of the takeaway bags. “Oh yes.”

Macaque rolled his eyes but passed over the three portions Wukong had asked for. “You know, if you keep eating that many portions then you're going to get fat.”

Wukong let out an offended gasp before shovelling some of the noodles into his open mouth. “No I'm not.”

“You are,” Macaque replied, teasingly poking him on the stomach. “See? Round.”

“It's cushioning. For when I may somehow end up on the floor,” Wukong explained.

“Because I beat you up,” Macaque snickered, opening up his own meal while Wukong began to dig into his second.

“Shuddup.”

“Make me,” Macaque challenged, tail lashing behind him.

Wukong's golden gaze flitted across him before he went back to his meal.

“That's what I thought.”

After they'd finished their meal, Macaque let out a sigh. “Alright then, put on your crappy game.”

“It's not crappy!” Wukong protested, already digging through the piles of DVDs in front of his TV. “Alright, found it. Get ready for the best game you'll ever play.”

“I highly doubt it,” Macaque mumbled, nearly dropping the headset and controller thrown haphazardly in his general direction.

“What was that?”

“I said ‘I highly doubt it’,” Macaque deadpanned. “This won't be anywhere near as good as my game.”

“You have a game?” Wukong laughed, plopping back down on the sofa beside him. “Okay, that I have to play after you're done with this.”

Macaque let out a grumble but adjusted the headset before putting it on, slouching against Wukong's side as the game registered him in.

An avatar looking surprisingly like him loaded in on a dirt path, a chicken running out of a bush in front of him before glitching and dying.

“Wow. What a surprise, I was right, this game sucks,” Macaque huffed.

The king's tail flicked up to curl around the warrior's arm. “Aww, c'mon Mac, give it a chance at least.”

Macaque sighed but began to walk his character along the path, stopped only a second later as another character spawned in front of him.

“Welcome traveller, on your journey to the west!” The Monkey King greeted.

The background image switched so the character was pointing at himself. “As the Great Sage equal to Heaven, you couldn't ask for a better tutor.” The screen switched back to the first picture of him. “On your journey, you will learn to smite powerful enemies.”

God this was boring.

“After you complete the tutorials, you will learn how to access your hidden potential.”

Ugh, good, back to the overworld.

Now if he could just-

“Defeat each opponent to work your way up to the final boss, the Rhino King,” Monkey King said.

“Couldn't afford the rights for Demon Bull King?” Macaque joked, elbowing Wukong in the side.

“Nah, just seemed boring seeing as I already beat him.”

“Here are seventy two combos-”

Skip.

“Pay attention-”

Skip.

“Make many friends along the way,” Monkey King advised and Macaque tore off his headset.

“What the fuck is that background art?!” The shadow screamed.

The king grinned. “Flattering, right? You would not believe how quickly the game sold out.”

“That's atrocious!” Macaque shouted, hitting him on the head before putting the headset back on.

Yeah, no, he was skipping through all of this.

Eventually it let him go and unlock abilities.

“Hey, these are all passive,” Macaque pointed out.

“Just give it a moment,” Wukong instructed.

The monk on the screen sighed before it flicked to a different ability menu.

Macaque's eyes roved over the screen before he took off the headset.

“Really?”

“What?”

“A fucking muscle bro version of yourself in just pants taking up half the screen?” Macaque growled because it was very obvious why he was pissed.

Wukong smirked. “What? I think it's a good view.”

“Self obsessed asshole,” Macaque grumbled, trying to just focus on buying a couple of different attacks before giving up and handing the game controller and headset over to Wukong. “No, I can't do this, this is just something for you to admire yourself.”

“Fiiiiine,” Wukong groaned. “But I want to play your game now.”

Macaque opened up a shadow portal, sticking his arm in and rooting around. “Seriously though Wukong, are you trying to seduce the player or something?”

Wukong grinned slyly at him. “Are you saying I'm hot?”

Macaque's face screwed up. “...No.”

“That's it, the Six-eared Macaque thinks I'm hot!” Wukong shouted before getting up and racing to the entrance of his house and cupping his hands around his mouth. “The Six-eared Macaque thinks that Sun-Wukong, Great Sage equal to Heaven, is hot!”

“Shut up,” Macaque said, withdrawing his hand and tossing the game case to Wukong as he walked back over.

“It looks like it was made by a five year old mortal,” Wukong giggled but put the disc in anyway.

When the king settled back down on the sofa, the warrior stretched out, laying his upper body across his friend's lap.

“And what do you think you're doing?” Wukong questioned before slipping the headset on.

“Making myself comfy.”

“Yeah yeah, I'm gonna beat this game in minutes.”

A moment passed as the game loaded.

“Why does everything look like a crappy anime?” Wukong inquired.

“Fuck you.”

~•~

“This is the fourth time I've done this encounter and I still haven't beaten it!” Wukong whined, throwing the controller across the room.

“Aww, too hard for you?” Macaque teased, not even cracking open an eye.

“Pfft, n-no!” Wukong floundered, taking off the headset and putting it on the floor. “I'm just going to take a break.”

“Sure you are,” Macaque snorted, opening his eyes a sliver.

Wukong stared, stock still, not sure if Macaque had realised that the glamour over his eye was down.

The scar over that side of his face was still hidden, but mismatching gold and milk coloured eyes fixed a tired gaze on him.

“Staring is rude,” Macaque murmured.

Wukong blinked, looking away. “Yeah, sorry.”

Macaque sat up, stretching with a yawn, hoodie riding up his sides slightly and exposing the yellow shirt he had on underneath.

It was surprisingly nice to see Macaque in bright colours.

Wukong reached out a hand to skim over the dark fur that stuck up on one side of his head, smiling softly when Macaque didn't flinch away.

“Hey, are your ears okay?” Wukong suddenly asked.

Macaque turned to face him, eyes back to their glamoured gold again. “Huh?”

“Well we were at a pretty busy place for most of today so I was wondering whether it was hard on your ears.”

Macaque seemed to blush. “Oh, no, they're all okay.”

The king's hand dropped to skim closer to where another two pairs of ears had to be hidden on the warrior. “Can I see them again?”

Macaque's eyes went wide and Wukong quickly withdrew his hand. “I'm sorry, you don't have to-”

The glamours dropped.

Wukong couldn't help but stare at the hues of colour on Macaque's ears, having nearly forgotten them over the centuries.

But there they were again, still with such resplendent glory.

Moonlight shone through the window, catching the back of Macaque's face with rays of light that made him shine.

“Rude to stare,” Macaque repeated, seeming to curl in on himself slightly.

“You're beautiful,” Wukong murmured, trying to ingrain this in his memory.

Maybe then he would have something to keep when they eventually fought again.

And just like that the glamours were back up, hiding Macaque's appearance behind a facade.

“I- I should go,” Macaque stammered, standing up and conjuring a portal in the floor.

“No, Mac, wait, I'm sorry-”

Too late.

His warrior was gone again, leaving him alone again.

Wukong sighed and dropped his head against the back of the sofa. “Idiot.”

54 notes · View notes

pix3lplays · 2 months

Note

Honestly Billy Kid looks like he’d try to flirt by doing that leaning on door frame thing but then he slides off and hits his head on the ground

(he still tries to rizz u like that by saying smt like “looks like I fell for you”)

That’s just the impression I have on him from one photo tho 😭😭

-Signed: Argentis Spouse

Hi, Argenti’s Spouse~ so I’m assuming you haven’t seen any of the promotional stuff for him?? Because. Because I feel like you got him perfectly, I’m crying…

The game isn’t even out yet so take what I say with a grain of salt but…from what I’ve seen of him…

He would. He totally would. Man is CLUMSY. And a TERRIBLE flirt.

He refers to his guns as “ladies” which just…oh my gosh um okay. He’d totally show them off to you, as if you’d find them impressive, then he’d try to do that little trick where you spin the gun around, except this guy would probably drop a gun or shoot himself in the foot by accident or something…

Well at least he’s getting attention from you now…whether that’s you laughing at him or you being really worried about him because he just…shot himself in the foot.

Oh, if only there was a kindly person who could assure him he’s still cool despite his clumsiness…

I feel like you’ve gotta be careful with how much attention you give him though…he genuinely doesn’t mean to cause any harm when he starts telling people you’re dating, but you’re all…”what the HECK are you talking about?!”

Seriously though, you’re so nice to him??? He just kinda. Assumed…

If you really don’t want people thinking the two of you are dating though, just tell him. He’ll feel super dejected and he’ll be a little dramatic about it but at least he goes around telling people you’re not Actually together.

But hey, if you don’t care?? Great! But expect lots of attention from whoever he told…

You get lots of “good luck”s and “how’d he manage to pull you?” You’re confused but you don’t care. It takes you…a concerning amount of time before you realize OH, I have a boyfriend now??

Have fun with your new, goofy cyborg boyfriend~

Also he canonically doesn’t need to eat but…he’s a sweet guy…he’ll try to cook for you.

That fire was Fun to come home to.

Also, also he’s So cringe, such a manfailure guyloser with lots of energy. You can’t keep up.

#ZZZ #Zenless Zone Zero #Billy Kid #Zenless zone zero Billy kid #Zzz Billy Kid #Billy Kid x reader #zzz Billy Kid x reader #Zenless zone zero Billy Kid x reader

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softstraykidshours · 1 year

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skz when you buy them a gift they've really wanted

pairing: ot8 stray kids x gn!reader

genre: fluff, headcanon

length: 698

warnings: none

a/n: this was a request sent in by @niaannmitchell. thanks for the lovely idea, bestie! this was so so so so fun!!

chan

he is so touched that you remembered what he wanted, but he’s also soooo nervous about it. he just doesn’t know how to react to someone buying him things. his face will get all red and he’ll stumble over his words as he tries to say thank you. he is also instantly going to try to find something to buy you too because he feels guilty (even though it’s literally his birthday and the day is supposed to be all about him).

minho

he’s very bad at reacting to gifts so even though he loves it he only responds with a simple “thank you." but don’t worry because internally he’s screaming, because he had mentioned this gift off-hand once like a month or two prior, and he can’t believe you remembered. it’s all he can think about for days (months), he’s literally so endeared by you.

changbin

he’s sooo excited that you bought him something he really wanted. he will literally immediately drop the present to pick you up in the biggest bear hug and spin you in circles. he will not stop saying thank you, like every other sentence is a thank you. if you buy him something fragile you have to keep reminding him that he can’t drop it the whole time he’s opening it because he will most definitely accidentally break it in his excitement if you don’t.

hyunjin

he drops major hints when he wants something. and not even subtle hints, like he could not be more obvious about it. so when you do finally buy it for him he takes one look at the box and instantly knows what it is. initially he doesn’t really react, because he’s not surprised and will just immediately start trying it on and taking pictures (99% of the time when he wants something it’s either an article of clothing or accessory). but then he remembers to say thank you so he gives you the most dramatic (and fake) reaction you’ve ever seen in your life. you know that deep down he’s still very grateful that you are spoiling him, he is just so bad at showing it.

jisung

he’s literally so excited, it’s like watching a little kid on his birthday when you get him something he has been wanting. he will be shrieking louder than you thought humanly possible when he sees the present and will not shut up about it for the rest of the day (or week). he’s immediately calling all of the other members and his parents to tell them and will also be informing everyone he sees for the rest of the day about it.

felix

he’s so overcome with emotion that you remembered him mentioning he wanted the gift that he starts tearing up the second he opens it. he’s going to try to say thank you, but will end up having a breakdown mid sentence and just start sobbing. he’s going to give you the tightest hug and cry on your shoulder and will literally not let go for like half an hour no matter what you say.

seungmin

he never actually asked for or hinted at what he wanted, but you know him well enough that you knew exactly what he wanted and bought it for him. his initial reaction is to find a way to tease you about it. like, “wow, are you really that obsessed with me?” “what a simp.” he’s definitely playing it up, especially if there are other people around. but the second he has a moment alone he is sneaking up behind you to hug you and whisper a soft thank you in your ear while kissing your temple because he thinks it’s so so so sweet.

jeongin

he doesn’t have too much of a reaction because he doesn’t want to seem lame about being super excited. this is especially true if you get him something “not cool” like the newest version of his favorite video game. but internally he’s freaking out because oh my gosh his partner remembered what he liked and also spent their money on it and also wrapped it and oh my gosh he thinks that you’re literally the best person ever.

#stray kids imagines #stray kids x reader #bang chan imagines #lee know imagines #changbin imagines #hyunjin imagines #han jisung imagines #felix imagines #seungmin imagines #jeongin imagines #stray kids #stray kids headcanon #headcanon

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fuckyeahpunkflower · 11 months

Text

Guys guys guys its AU time! With older Miles(18) and older Hobie (20). (Also no spider man powers, normal times)

Miles is attending a prestigious University in Northern New York after years of studying and applying for scholarships at Visions. Rio and Jefferson are super proud of him although a bit sadden that their baby boy is now a young man leaving the house.

On the plus side, Miles is SUPER stoke to finally FINALLY have his very own dorm ALL TO HIMSELF! no more cramped spaces, uncomfortable bunk beds or missing shoes (that somehow always made an appearance again when Ganke returned to the room) Miles admits he will miss Ganke but they'll definitely catch up over some games on the PS4 and summer breaks.

But the best part about this university in Mile's opinion is the fact they allow pets on campus and in dorms. Which means he can live his dream of owning a dog. He's always wanted a dog since he was a kid but his parents never thought he was responsible enough to take care of it ( but mainly because Rio and Jefferson didn't want to deal with a toddler and training a puppy at the same time) Now that Miles is grown he's decided its time to make his own decisions. And that decision was to get a dog the moment he moves into his dorm. It took him 2 weeks to get settled in with his belongings and getting familiar with his classes around campus but after that he was heading towards the nearest pet shelter he could find.

And here we enter Hobie Brown! He works at the local pet shelter which houses all sorts of abandoned and neglected pets. From your typical cats and dogs to reptiles, birds, and even fishes, Hobie is there to take care of them all! And on the weekends he playing with his band mates.

Anyway Cue Miles entering the pet shelter and he's immediately greeted with the site of Hobie. They make brief eye contact and Miles freezes in place lost in thought *Damn, I was not expecting to see someone so fucking cool and hot today oh my gosh get it together you're here for a dog you're here for a dog you're here for a-*

"You know usually people tend to rush straight to the pups and ignore me but with the way your staring at me right now I can't say I'm complaining. your face is the same shade as the pups little red rockets back there" Hobie snickers

"Bro WHAT!?" Miles yelled in utter shock. He was NOT prepared for any amount of what was said to him in that moment. "What- I mean- like man- that was the wildest response I've ever-" He stops rambling to gain his composure back. "Look man, I came in here hoping to adopt a dog, can you help me or what?"

Hobie looks at Miles with amusement in his eyes "Sure thing love, straight to the back we go!"

And that was Hobies and Miles first interaction at the pet shelter.

Back to the p o i n t!!!

This is basically a college Miles and pet shop worker Hobie (except its a shelter) AU merged into one. Basically Miles visits the shelter every week looking for a dog to adopt and Hobie shows him around. With each visit Miles begins to learn more about Hobie and his relationship with the animals at the shelter. Like how Hobie absolutely adores this grey African parrot that was left in the cage on the street. Its feathers are sparse and sheds but it loves to mimic Hobies Cockney accent.

Eventually Miles adopts a cute senior black Labrador named Orca due to the white and gray furs around her eyes. Even after getting his dog he still visits the shelter between classes to talk to Hobie.

So like yeah in order to keep this short before I literally write the first fucking chapter of this AU on here.

Miles is in college and develops feelings for Hobie while he helps him adopt a dog. They hang out sometime later and Eventually BOOM they're boyfriends :D

#punkflower #miles x hobie #i NEED to see more domestic stuff with these two #WHERE ARE THE COFFE SHOP AUs?!#THE TATTO AND PIERCINGS PALOR MEETS FLOURIST AU'S?!#come on yall i belivs in us

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mindibindi · 11 months

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No Place like Home...? 🌈

So what...Ted Lasso just goldfishes his way into forgetting about his big diverse found family so that he can return to humble, hometown heteronormativity? Look, I get that "be a goldfish" is a cute moment from s1 and an idea that has some (limited) practical value. But isn't it also emblematic of Ted's initial overly positive attitude which ultimately just served to ignore difficult emotions, interactions or situations? This is his big advice to his son and his parting words to his audience? Wasn't the whole point of his time in Richmond and his return to his son to establish and encourage an alternative kind of masculinity? One that expresses, not represses? One that deals with difficulty maturely rather than just avoids it? One that actively and ethically chooses rather than simply doing what's always been done?

Honestly? There was plenty of stuff about the finale that I really liked. Colin's kiss was the best bit. That godawful wedding moment the worst, for many reasons. But I'm unsure how to even read Ted's ending, and not in a oh-gosh-it's-so-rich-and-ambiguous way but in a whaaaa....???-this-is-not-consistent-storytelling-this-is-missing-the-mark-for-me kinda way. When Ted looks at the camera, are we supposed to feel happy for him? Happy that he is happy? Is it a happy ending? Is he happy?? He doesn't look happy. Or sad. Or content. Or much of anything really. He just looks kind of vacant. Which is how he looked most of the episode. The final game (which wasn't even the final game and I suppose they justified not showing it for "creative" reasons, okay, sure, whatever) was the only time he looked engaged, and even then it wasn't fully. Most of the time, he did look like a gaping goldfish with a 6-second memory.

When it was time to say goodbye to everyone, there was no sense of nostalgia for the past 3 years and no sense of those relationships continuing. There were no promises or assurances of visits or skypes or calls. Phones, planes and the internet suddenly ceased to exist (when they'd served him and Henry quite well up until then). While the corniest song choice ever played (yes! we get it! the sacred struggle of fatherhood! GAAAHH), one family was sacrificed for another because both couldn't possibly co-exist. Two things at once makes brain hurty. After all the good work they did around dismantling traditional models of masculinity, in the end they reinforced a version of masculinity which centred supposedly noble self-sacrifice rather than ethical self-actualisation, regression over growth and singularity over plurality.

Sure, it bookends the series poignantly, if predictably. And truth is, Ted leaving Henry was baked into the premise of the show from ep 1. It's actually a pretty big emotional leap to take with a character but, as the audience, we made that leap because we understood that this extraordinary move away from his son was necessary for adventure, narrative and growth to occur. In real life, this move would've been highly questionable (esp for a female parent). But we are in a fictional reality here so we are bound as well as freed by the rules of genre, character and narrative. Without Ted leaving Henry, there is no story. We also understand that Ted's adventures will ultimately benefit Henry, who gets a dad who is fully engaged, professionally challenged and supported by a community of like-minded peeps who think he's super cool. By sending Ted back (or at least sending him back in this way), it implies that there is no more story to tell, Ted's story is over, his growth is done. It robs him of further growth and adventure, robs his son of a happy and fulfilled dad and robs the audience of imagining future failures and glories all shared by an indefatigable Richmond FC.

The whole point of this show was to show Ted building a new life, home and family after the disintegration of his marriage. This marriage did not provide the space or opportunity for him to heal childhood wounds or expand as a man. He was a small man, living a small, limited, conventional life. Which would be okay, if he wasn't suffocating in the process. He needed to find a bigger pond. It's possible that Ted's panic attacks were not a sign that Richmond was unhealthy or overwhelming for him. It's possible that there, he could breathe for the first time in years, he had the time and space to feel his feelings, pay attention to his past pain, move up and out and onward. Are we supposed to believe after that 3 years away and maybe 1 of therapy that that's it? He's done now, all healed, squared away? What exactly has changed in Kansas to assure us that he will be any happier there than he was prior? Henry was there then too. Little has changed with Michelle. His mum delivered some food and guilt then left. The show hasn't spent enough time in Kansas to assure us of Ted's happiness or continued growth. Literally, all we know is Henry is there. And BBQ sauce. (And Michelle's boyfriend has turned into a dick suddenly, conveniently).

What we do know well is what Ted is leaving behind. A rich and challenging world, wacky and wonderful experiences with a diverse community, a loved and actively loving chosen family. So are we supposed to read this ending like "The Wizard of Oz" which has the most disingenuous final line in movie history? Yes, Oz has some dangerous territories and menacing figures (represented by Rupert etc). But Oz is also where Dorothy's friends, her found family are. Oz is in bright technicolour. It's surprising and bizarre and bright. It's larger than life and full of weird characters and unexpected episodes. Oz is where we all want to be, to live, to stay. Richmond is Ted's real life Oz. It's where we want to be and want him to stay, even if only in our imaginations. In the finale he says: "There's no place like home but there's no place like Richmond either" (or something similar, only watched it once). This implies that Richmond is not his home, that homes are just where you come from. Homes are not found or created or collaborated on together. They aren't malleable, moveable. They aren't out there in the wild, potential beyond. They are behind us always, defining us by our often sad pasts.

Again, this idea is entirely contrary to the premise of the show and the progress of its characters who banded together under Ted's leadership to create a home, a family, a community. Unlike Ted's small, conventional family unit, his found family is queer-coded (as all found families are, since they suggest an alternative to traditional nuclear family units based on shared biology but not necessarily values). Logical families are the family you find after you have been ejected from the traditional biological family unit. They are sought and created, based on common interests and mutual support. They are made up of people who are likewise separated from their homes, due to distance, circumstance, fracture, whatever. The home world is displaced, but it is still home (and all the more precious for it). In this case, the queer-coded found family of TL includes and celebrates LGBT+ folk (took a while for them to get there but eventually they did), women, people of colour and any man choosing to do masculinity his way. This is the environment the show set up. This the environment the creators invited us into. This is the environment Ted left behind.

Now, I do think there could have been a way for Ted to return to Kansas and Henry (but not Michelle) that would have been consistent with and faithful to this initial set-up and its themes. But that isn't what we got. Like Dorothy waking up to a dingy black and white world where there's nothing to do but talk to your dog about all the adventures you long to have over the rainbow, Ted's Kansas looks grey and dull and muddy. And Ted looks like he only half-remembers the most vivid and important things he's ever seen and done. "Be a goldfish" is a useful idiom for dropping baggage that weighs you down. If you burn your tongue on your coffee but don't wanna be irritated all day, then it works. It doesn't work for a scenario in which you need to deal with the reality that you and your co-parent/ex have carved out very different life paths. Simple, wilful ignorance is not a solution to the sort of complex family circumstances that grown adults face every day. Just forgetting the past 3 years and moving on like nothing ever happened does not in any way guarantee Ted's happiness or his success as a father. Attempting to find fulfillment through that one! special! person!! is unlikely to end well. Whether it's a parent, partner or child, the burden on them is unfair.

Ted's predicament is a huge one but it's also one that has been there from the very beginning. They had 3 years and 30+ episodes to resolve it satisfactorily, using all of the freedoms that fictional realities can afford. And yet, when Rebecca brings up the various ways in which she is willing to adjust to Ted's fatherhood, these suggestions are made to sound ridiculous, impossible and totally futile. But are they? Are they anymore outlandish than any of the other highly optimistic plot points they've gleefully included? Ted flourishes personally and professionally in this milieu. And had they made a move earlier in the series, Henry could also have integrated into it and benefited greatly from it. (He clearly enjoys the club when he's there). As Rebecca implies, Ted has the opportunity to offer Henry a richer, wider and more diverse view of the world than he would otherwise have. He would have access to a queer-coded community that includes and celebrates, experiments and strives. He would see his dad loved, celebrated and supported. This show takes some BIG optimistic swings. If audiences were able to make the emotional leap of accepting Ted leaving his son in ep 1, then they can probably be trusted to make the leap of him staying, esp. if the writers took the time each season to establish how they will manage their relationship and the benefits each will glean from such an arrangement.

After all, Ted is not one to back down from a challenge. Taking the job at Richmond was a bold and brave move. This is the same man who pledged to "win the whole fucking thing". This is the same man who looked Rupert Manion in the eye then promptly whipped him at darts. But when it comes to distance co-parenting, he's not even open to suggestions? No "I appreciate you" for the boss/bestie, just oh-so-sage resignation? Please. These writers set up this predicament then refused to resolve it in a satisfactory way. Instead, they reduced Richmond FC to a dream and Ted to a memory-challenged goldfish who flails about when faced with the reality of a pre-existing predicament of his own creation. He rejects the help of others who could actually provide real-world solutions. Nor does he seem to register the possibility of a mature relationship with a woman who wants him and connects with him. Instead, he chooses to forget, keep swimming, paddle backwards -- not onward, not forward. He has a big pool, a new home, a found family that represents human complexity and plurality. But he chooses the small, simple and singular. A traditional three-part family unit that was supposed to make him happy but never did. He had his little holiday jaunt in technicolour land, a fun lil detour into an expansive rainbow family community. He came in, tinkered about with some people's problems: gave a middle-aged woman confidence here, supported a sad gay there. But rainbow families are not just a temporary playground for white cishet dudes with a saviour complex to get their own admirable values reflected back to them. In the end, Ted's found family had something absolutely vital to teach him that he did not stick around long enough to learn.

#ted lasso #ted lasso finale #ted lasso tv #ted lasso season 3 #spoilers #jason sudeikis #brendan hunt et al #ted should have stayed #ted x rebecca #btw this is airing during pride week/month while some parents are trying to keep their kids from learning about the big bright queer world

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tmntxthings · 2 years

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HIIII I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE LOVE POTION FICS WITH LEO AND DONNIE THEY’RE ADORABLE💕 Do you think you could do one With Raph, he’s already a big softy so I think I’d be adorable!

Make You Feel Loved

requests: ‘I need a Raph version of the love potion! I need to see the teddy bear just be able to let out emotion because he deserves the best!’ ‘Can You pls a Raphael version of the love potion 😩? (My main language is not english sorry)’ ‘I just saw both of the love potion oneshots that you made and HOLY CRAP THEY'RE SO GOOD so is it okay if I ask for one for Raph?’

author’s note: happy to oblige hehe, hope you all enjoy <3

warnings: FLUFF, and maybe lil’ profanity aka cursing, established relationship

> leo’s < > donnie’s < > mikey’s < > casey’s <

—————————————————————————

“Raphie it’s okay I’m not hurt that bad,” you said reassuringly. But he wasn’t listening he had turned away from you in utter despair. The two of you had been horsing around, a game of cat and mouse. You had ran away trying to escape from the living area to his room to call a time out and collapse on his bed out of breath.

That had been the plan. Until you tripped, scrapping your knees as you fell to the concrete floor and Raph had been right behind you not expecting such a fall and had tripped right over you, practically crushing you for a couple of seconds before he regained momentum and hastily got off of you. He had apologized profusely, reaching out to help you up, “Oh gosh Y/n are you okay?? Are you hurt??” His voice strained with worry, and he looked over your body checking for wounds before you could even form a sentence. He noticed your bloody knees and gasped, “fuckkkk!” Raph slumped and started whimpering to himself thinking he was the cause of your injuries. “Raphie it’s really not that bad, they just sting a bit!”

“If I hadn’t been running so close behind you this would’ve never happened!” He said with so much sadness in his voice like your pain was his pain. Everything had gotten a lot more intense ever since Raph had ‘accidentally’ drank that love potion from the Hidden City. It had been a date, Raph wanting to show you all kinds of cool mystic things you’d never experienced. The two of you had been surrounded by what resembled a shopping market, a bunch of crazy stalls that had weird stuff for sale. One in particular had these super cheap potions and well, everyone could probably guess what happened next. Not thinking it was real, and he had been really thirsty Raph bought it, winking at you flirtatiously as he downed it in one go.

The two of you had been inseparable ever since. And you would think since the two of you had been dating that things wouldn’t be too much different, but no! Not at all! Raph was wayyy more emotional than he’d ever shown you before, not that you minded it just came as a shock when it happened all so fast. He had blinked down at you a couple times after the drink, sighing as he pulled you into an embrace in the middle of the mystic market! “Raph! We aren’t- we’re in public!” You squeaked as he only hugged you tighter. “Y/n, I love you so so so much,” Raph had said pulling back to look you in the eyes, conveying how much you meant to him. How serious he was, and you couldn’t help but giggle, “are you acting or did that potion really work?” And he shook his head sternly, “I mean it Y/n, I love you thissss much!” He said as he pulled you in for a tighter hug, squeezing the breath out of you as you tapped quickly on his arm, “okay okay I get it!!” you wheezed and he immediately let go.

“Oh shit, did I hurt you?? Oh no, I’m so sorry Y/n!” Tears were already rolling down his cheeks and you knew the potion not only worked, but it was working overtime. “Shhhh” you said trying to calm him down while simultaneously getting air back in your lungs. “You didn’t hurt me Raphie, you just made me breathless,” you joked and Raph didn’t seem to appreciate it as he sniffed. “Hey that was funny!” You harrumphed, grabbing your boyfriend’s big hand and pulling for him to follow. It took a few seconds cause there was no way you could actually move him unless he willingly followed. But he obliged, following after you sniffling as he apologized for making you breathless.

You were holding back laughs until you got back to the lair. Where all of his brothers busted out in loud laughter at the sight of their older brother, runny nosed and clinging to your hand like it was a lifeline. This for some reason wasn’t all that funny to you after about ten seconds and you glared at them all to be a little more sympathetic! “C’mon Raph,” you said pulling on his hand again to bring him to his room. Maybe the potion would wear off after he got a good nights sleep.

You hadn’t planned to stay the night but Raph begged you to get in bed with him, “just until I fall asleep!” He said quietly, as his hand engulfed yours, not letting go. “Okay but once you fall asleep I’ve gotta go!” You said climbing into bed next to him and he gave you the biggest smile, happy you were next to him. Somehow after a lot of shifting and getting comfortable you ended up tangled in Raph’s limbs, he had one arm over your stomach and one leg over both of yours. You were effectively trapped in his embrace yet you couldn’t find it in yourself to be upset, he was just so warm, and his deep rumbly churring had you falling asleep faster than ever.

You woke up to the feeling of his lips on your forehead. You groaned and felt his kisses move from there to your temples then your eyes, nose, cheeks. You couldn’t help the smile spreading, awaiting for his lips to finally meet your own. But when they didn’t you peeked your eyes open. He was smiling smugly down at you, “g’morning angel” you melted at the sound of his morning voice. “good morning my love,” it was true but you were slightly teasing since you could just tell he was still under love potion influence. The real Raph would’ve been a flustered sputtering mess to have been caught kissing all over your face, much less laying in his bed together after a night of sleeping in each others arms.

He churred at your nickname, his lips finally closing in on yours. You let your eyes close in delight, kissing him back in earnest. The two of you had to pull away for breath and you couldn’t help but blush, this was definitely a lot more than you were used to but you were not complaining! Raph leaned in again and you quickly brought up a hand to cover his lips and he groaned in dismay. “If you want more kisses like that you’ll have to catch me!” You winked as you shot out of bed, surprising him completely as he fell out of bed trying to catch up to you.

And that was the beginning to where you were now. Raph bent down, scooping you up in his arms, careful to not touch your bloody knees. “Raph I can walk!” You said more than embarrassed to be carried around with minor injuries like yours. “Shush, I’m gonna take care of you,” Raph said sounding overbearing but you knew he meant well. He hated it when you cried, hated it more when you were physically hurt, so you just let him take over. “Okay you big teddy bear,” you teased to which he ignored as he grabbed a spare first aid kit from a cubby in the main part of the lair and then carried you and the kit back to his room.

He set you down gently on his bed, then did the same with the first aid as he knelt down on the floor in front of you and opened it up looking for some disinfectant and bandages. You watched him contemplate which bandaids to choose from as you looked down at your pitiful kneecaps. They’d be bruised and have scabs for weeks. You groaned at the thought and this caused Raph to look at you worriedly and hastily choose the biggest bandaids possible. “Those look a little big don’t ya think?” You questioned as he set them aside as he grabbed the antiseptic spray. “Mmm it’s fine at least it covers everything,” Raph mumbled focused as he grabbed a cloth to wet with the spray. “This’ll burn a bit baby,” Raph warned but you were too focused on the nickname to really comprehend until you were hissing in surprise at how much it stung.

Raphael blew out a breath, “I’m really sorry,” he said tears swimming in his eyes and you reached out running your hand over his red bandana, going back to caress the back of his neck and then the top of his shell. He shuddered slightly at the contact, and then refocused, dabbing your knees gently again with the cloth as you held your breath to keep from making any more noises. When he was finished and carefully putting on the bandaids you tugged on his bandana ends. He looked up, and you planted a kiss on his nose. “Thank you,” you said sweetly, smiling at him. “Any time” he sighed lovingly, pursing his lips for you to kiss him again, but on the lips this time. You giggled, doing exactly that.

When Raph did finally come out of the love potion influence he was sooo embarrassed. He was so flustered when he saw you he’d have to turn away and regain his composure or he’d accidentally trip or stub his toe on something! He was a mess for a good couple of days before you finally talked to him about it, “Raph!” You called out to him, climbing the fire stairwell of your apartment. Reaching the rooftop and coming face to face with your tall and red boyfriend. He was so handsome you smiled giddily. He smiled at you, “Hey Y/n!” and you smirked, “what happened to angel or baby??” you teased and one of his hands flew up to his face, as he turned away embarrassed.

“Awwwe Raphie really, I enjoyed the nicknames,” you giggled and then continued, “you may not remember it but I called you my love that morning when we had slept together,” he shook his head. “I remember, you had been teasin’!” He grumbled and you reached out to him, touching his arm. “Maybe so but it’s still true..” it was your turn to blush. Both of you turning his favorite shade of red. “Really?” He rumbled affectionately, pulling you close. “Yes my love,” you said looking up at him shyly, and he wasn’t embarrassed anymore. He was smiling so big and bright, “you’re the cutest!” he gushed, rushing forward to kiss you.

#rise raph x reader #rise raphael #rise raph #rise of the tmnt #rise tmnt oneshot #rottmnt oneshot #tmnt oneshot #raphael hamato #tmnt #tmnt fandom #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles #raph #raphael #oneshot #fluff #tmnt fluff #raph x y/n

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existslikepristin · 7 months

Text

Little later than expected because I feel like shiiit. And, I know. "What's new?" But at the moment I mean physically. Regardless, here's ya dang story:

Tags: NSFW, S.M.U.T., genie, poor game design

(Story Index)

Figure the app out

“Well,” you say with a sigh, “I can’t read any ancient languages, so can you just help me out here?”

“Oh duh. Sorry about that, master. Old habits die hard, even if said habits are a few millennia old. We’re currently speaking… ah, yes! English! Easy peezy squeezy my buttcheeks. There you go.”

You look at your phone again. The mass of text bubbles all over the screen are now written in English. It’s still… a lot of nonsense.

“Just point me to the important parts?”

“Of course! Let’s just make you a little more comfortable.”

By the time she finishes the sentence, you’re in your room, sitting on the edge of your bed with Joy pressing her chest into your back. She reaches over your shoulders and speaks softly into your ear as she taps your phone.

“So here we have your Harem Hub, which is where you’ll be spending a decent amount of time swapping back and forth between screens. Where you’ll be spending most of your time…”

Joy touches an image of a tower with gold coins spilling out of it.

“… is here, in your Inventory—it’s called that because you own the people in your harem like they’re inanimate possessions—, where you can organize, sort, search, and summon the members of your harem as desired. As you can see, it’s currently empty, so let’s go back to the Harem Hub.”

While Joy pokes around with one hand, the other is softly rubbing your shoulder. It’s quite relaxing. Come to think of it, you are a little tired.

“Right in the center of the Harem Hub is the Summoning Portal, which summons anime girls to your Inventory, not into the real world, which is a different kind of summoning. Let’s give it a try now and see who you get!”

Before you can do anything yourself, Joy taps the portal and the app begins a series of over the top animations of overlapping summoning circles and colorful overlays. About fifteen seconds later, a naked anime girl with a pitch black hime haircut, nearly black eyes, and rather small breasts flashes on screen. She looks like pretty much every other anime character being drawn these days.

Joy gasps very dramatically, “Oh my gosh, master! You got Anecha on your first try! But she… she’s a Super Rare! You only had a zero point three percent chance of that happening! She’s from the mythical land of Sorgania, and she’s a hybrid of all three class archetypes, able to spec into any skill tree you want! She’s one of—if not the—most versatile girls you can get!”

“That’s cool,” you mutter, “Can we summon her and get fucking?”

“Oh master, you’re so funny. You can’t summon a character naked.”

“But, the whole point is to have sex with her…”

“Well yeah, but when you’re not having sex with her, she’s going to be questing! We’ll get to that in a minute. First, check it out. She was just the rarest of your summons for this pull,” Joy wraps her legs around you, fully bear hugging you from behind while she yammers on, “You also got Heyri, Emi, Bonnie, and Magz. That will make for a pretty balanced party, though you can expect Anecha to handle basically everything on her own until you get to World 4, at least. Obviously though, we need to go back to tow—I mean the Harem Hub to purchase some basic equipment. No, not that shop. That’s the cash shop where you can get more summoning shards. Right here, at the Blacksmith. You’ll want to equip Anecha first to make the first few quests as easy as possible, and you’ve got all these coins ready to go, so… Oh, fantastic! Tim has lava katanas in stock, so we absolutely have to take advantage of that in the next two minutes. We better make sure some of your other girls can benefit from those stats though, so if we check the party status screen you can see their preferred stats are highlighted in gold. It looks like Emi prefers Gumption, so a lava katana is—”

Joy’s words fade into the ether and your eyes drift shut. She’s so warm, holding you like this…

“… and that’s why you always save up your electrum ingots. You don’t want to be willy-nilly turning those into…”

“… obviously, but don’t forget that any skill cooldown can be refreshed by…”

“… back from the arena! We should go congratulate her for defeating the sand kraken, because that will bump up the congratulatory meter. Sometimes you want to hold back though, since doing it too often will give diminishing returns…”

You’re woken up by the sound of squawking birds outside and sunlight blasting your eyes through the window. You’re on your back, legs hanging off the bed. Looking to the side, you see Joy, still naked and hunched over, tapping your phone. “I know it’s labeled as a PVP mode, but since the magic is actually built into you and not the app, that’s not actually a thing. The other players’ names and teams are just randomly generated but slightly optimized versions of your own builds so that you get an idea for what’s actually possible when you spend your gems properly.”

With a yawn, you sit up, make note of your own nudity, and flinch back as you nearly headbutt a new stranger standing at the foot of your bed. “What the fu—who are you?!”

It’s a woman, wearing a skimpy purple bikini with silver trim and blue ribbons hanging off of it. Her hair and fairly large eyes are dark, midnight black. Despite the fact that she’s holding what definitely appears to be a katana made out of lava, she looks a little bit nervous. “S-sorry, master. She,” she points at Joy, who is paying you no mind, ”um, she told me to stand here and wait after summoning me…”

You look her up and down. She’s… taller than you thought she’d be, and her face is a little rounder than it had looked in the image. That picture didn’t do her pouty lower lip or her flared out hip any amount of justice. “Anecha?”

“Sorry, master. It’s pronounced ‘AH-neck-ah,’ but… No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t correct you. Sorry.”

Options:

Um, it’s the morning now. You need to go to work already. You’re probably late.

Responsibilities can wait because they’re for losers. Get a blowjob from Anecha.

Take that sword from her and mess around (safely). It’s so awesome!

Joy called Anecha "the most versatile." Fuck her while you jerk off her futa cock all over Joy’s face.

58 notes · View notes

corrodedseraphine · 1 year

Text

so close | one shot

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

summary: Seeing the movie Enchated for the first time you let an image of romance form in your teenage mindset based on the story. When you watch the film again a few years later, the circumstances are completely different and the situation much more messed up. angst/fluff, friends to lovers, modern!AU

the one shot is also avaliable on ao3

8 428 words

songs that I used: So close and That's how you know from movie Enchanted | Lita Ford ft. Ozzy Osbourne - Close My Eyes Forever

here it is after I almost deleted it twice, here you have super corny, obvious and a little bit angsty love story, enjoy (or not, I really can't promise you will like it.)

eddie munson masterlist | general masterlist

"Jeff texted that he will be 20 minutes late," Eddie sighed, sinking onto the couch in the Harringtons' grand living room.

"That means we still have at least an hour before he shows up," Gareth laughed.

"A real star must have a good entrance" Steve commented while switching channels on the TV.

Steve, with much persuasion from Dustin and Eddie, agreed to let Hellfire hold its campaigns at his house from time to time. The rest of the group also took the opportunity to come and watch the game or just spend some time together. Your group of friends looked like a mass of mismatched jigsaw puzzles, each of you diametrically opposed to the other, but that didn't stop you from creating your own little "family."

When you saw the princess fall into the well to find herself a moment later in New York you jumped up on the couch.

"Stop!" you shouted, snatching the remote control out of his hand. "I haven't seen this movie in ages! God I was so obsessed with it!"

"There's no way we're going to watch some princess bullshit." Munson whined reaching towards you to take the remote from you, but you quickly moved away squashing Max in the process.

"Get lost Munson! We are always watching what you want!"

"Because my taste is amazing?"

"And mine isn't?" you muttered.

"And mine isn't?" he began teasing you in a high-pitched tone of voice.

"If you don't like it, there's the door," you pointed in the direction of the exit. "Today we are watching what I want."

"Fine!" He grumbled melting into the soft cushions of the couch.

El was watching the movie enthralled, and Max rolled her eyes every time a song started, but still smiling as she watched you sing along with the actors. Despite the mean comments, Eddie also couldn't get out of his awe at how word by word you kept up with the melody adding a bit of drama to it as if you were getting into the moment in the movie. Additionally, he felt somewhat enchanted by it, but he didn't want to admit it so he struggled to hold back the smile creeping onto his lips. Play it cool, Munson. He repeated in his mind. Just play it cool.

"Now the most beautiful scene in the movie." said in a disheveled voice as the ball scene began.

"Oh my gosh this is so corny. It is obvious, that Robert and this redhead will dance together and this will be the moment when they will realize that they came there with the wrong people." Eddie commented.

"This Redhead's name is Giselle. And even if corny, it doesn't change the fact that it's romantic! And that song? Purest magic."

As the first notes of So Close began to come from the speakers, the metalhead jumped off the couch, standing in front of you with his hand outstretched. "Get up." he said. "Dance with me." A wave of heat washed over you. You nervously looked into his eyes seeking reassurance that this was for real. "Faster before it ends."

Now, Without hesitating you grabbed his hand and walked away the couch so that you were standing behind it. Eddie gently rocked you to the beat. The smell of his colonge intoxicated you. You had never been so close to each other. So close. His large hand rested firmly on your back generating a pleasant warmth that further dulled your sanity. For several months you had been aware that your relation to Eddie was not purely friendly. Every time you managed to shrug off your silly crush, he would then do something like this and your every effort would be in vain. Did he just make one of your teenage dreams come true? Yes. How could you not fall in love with a man who unknowingly made one of the fake scenrios in your head from a few years ago come true? At that time, you dreamed that the real Robert was in Eddie's place, but this change didn't bother you one bit. This version was much better. You looked at him with disbelief and a kind of enchantment when you danced. When his gaze met yours he smiled showing dimples in his cheeks, making you feel that he was about to have to grab you even tighter because you wouldn't be able to stay on your feet on your own. Unfortunately, beautiful moments have a way of coming to an end very quickly. When the music died down he took one last look at you. His gaze went from your eyes to your lips. Did he want to kiss you? the quiet voice of hope in your head made you feel like your heart was about to explode.

"See?" he grunted suddenly snapping out of his trance. "Nothing special."

Your heart didn't explode. Your heart broke. Nothing special. For him. For you, it was special. Too special. Brutally brought down to earth, you returned wordlessly to the couch sitting down between Max and El. When a few single tears ran down your cheeks you explained that it was because of the movie and the touching ending. Everyone knew perfectly well that you were easily moved by movies, so they easily believed it teasing you later because of it. No one needed to know that you couldn't focus a bit on the end of the movie replaying in your head the moment when you had Eddie so close and still so far.

The next day was not the happiest either. Still feeling the weight of Eddie's words on your heart, which dragged you down to the very bottom, you spent most of the time in bed self-pitying. Unfortunately, you eventually had to get up to get ready for work. Not long ago, Eddie helped you get a job as a bartender at The Hideout by recommending you to the owner. So from now on you were present at every Corroded Coffin concert cheering them loudly from behind the counter, where you also had a perfect view of the guitarist, who ran around the stage like crazy and made all your attention not necessarily on the customers.

The bar was slowly filling up as Gareth and Simon sat by the counter waiting for Jeff and Eddie. Sitting with them were members of the band that always performed before the CC.

"So." said Gareth looking you deadly in the eyes. "When are you finally going to talk to him?"

"What are you talking about now?" you asked pretending not to know what was going on.

"Ugh, I'm begging you! I can't look at you two anymore!" He whined. "The latest dance-thing in Harrington's living room? Hello?"

"It was nothing special." You replied recalling Eddie's words to which Gareth rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure if we hadn't been there he would have stuck his tongue down your throat at the end!"

"It's obvious that you like Eddie, and I think the feeling is mutual." interjected Simon taking a sip of beer. As long as the guys played there for half free and paid for the drinks the bar owner pretended to be convinced that they were all 21 years old.

"Aww our little barmaid fell in love with crazy Eddie? How adorable!" at the very sound of her voice you winced. Diana was the bass player in the other band. From the very beginning there was no sympathy between you two and she was always looking for an excuse to get on your nerves. Now Gareth and Simon have handed it to her on a silver platter. Cursing in your soul, you ignored what she said.

"I think that's enough beer for you today." you said taking the drink from his hand.

"You should talk to him as soon as possible, for example today when he drives you home after work."

"There's nothing to talk about." Nothing special. Those two words haunted you on loop.

Never before watching their performance was so difficult for you. You had the impression that Munson was looking in your direction a little more often than usual. However, telling yourself that it was just a delusion caused by your stupid crush, you tried not to worry about it too much. What scared you more was the thought of the way home where you would be alone in his van. You always loved your comebacks. Especially when he took the longer route home because you were having a too-good-to-be-true conversation, or a song that was playing was too good to get out of the car. Now thinking about it, you felt anxious. It turned out that you sensed an impending disaster.

You left the bar accompanied by Gareth. Eddie had disappeared earlier saying he was going to pack his guitar in the car, but when he suspiciously did not return for a long time you decided that you would meet him in the parking lot. As you approached the place, the sounds of muffled moans began to reach you more and more clearly. When the source of the sound appeared in front of your eyes you felt as if fate had dropped a ton of rocks on you. Eddie pinned Diana against the van with his body as she tried to undo the belt to his jeans. They were kissing like there was no tomorrow.

"What the fuck-" Jeff asked loud enough to tear them away from each other. Breathing heavily, all red and with a messy hair, he looked at you. Diana only watched with a smile of satisfaction on her lips as you clamped your mouth into a thin line. Don't give her more satisfaction. Don't cry. Not now. Not in front of her. You repeated in your head over and over again.

"Shit, y/n, I know I was supposed to drive you home-"

"It's okay!" you shouted. "Gareth will drive me home." you said, and without waiting a moment longer you got into the other car. Through the window you saw Eddie saying goodbye to the others and, together with his new companion, getting into the van.

Despite numerous attempts by the guys, you didn't say a word on the way back. Struggling with thoughts of what he might be doing with her now was exhausting enough.

Love is beautiful. Beautifully painful. Especially when only one-sided. You cried for so long until you fell asleep, and in your dreams, annoyingly enough, some ominous voice repeated like a mantra two words.

Nothing special.

Since that evening, Eddie has completely disappeared from your life, except for Hellfire evenings. He forgot all about the whole of God's world with only Diana in front of him, who had him wrapped around her finger. His absence was horribly felt, and although a part of you was grateful for it, the other part was languishing. You weren't the only one hurt by this fact. The younger boys, like lost sheep, missed how they talked for hours about the next ideas for the campaign, Corroded Coffin stopped having their rehearsals twice a week limiting themselves to once a two weeks because Eddie said they didn't need to see each other that often anyway. Their music was still good, but by doing so they also lost something a little bigger, as they always stayed at Gareth's house after rehearsals hanging out and having fun as a small group of freaks. Now that bond was fading and when Eddie finally mercifully showed up for a rehearsal all the positive energy was gone. Instead, there was more and more arguing and disagreement. Even Steve and Robin sincerely missed his presence and how he always managed to entertain everyone with his jokes or stories. Each one of you brought something unique to the group, so it was no surprise when the absence of one of that group left visible traces.

In this way, a month had already passed, and you were wrong to think that time heals wounds. You changed all your Thursday shifts at the Hideout so that you wouldn't be present at CC's performances, kept your phone use to a minimum so that you wouldn't accidentally be surprised by their photo together which would be another stab. For El, high school turned out to be extremely difficult, so you devoted yourself entirely to helping her study, spending most of your free time preparing notes, researching materials, anything that could keep your thoughts away from Munson and his new girlfriend. Still, you felt as if all your life and joy had escaped you that day, not knowing what you could do to find it again. Your worse state didn't escape the eyes of others, but you kept dismissing them by blaming it on fatigue, which wasn't entirely a lie. In fact, you were tired of the whole situation, fed up with the sharp pain in your chest every time you saw him. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, of course you were proven wrong.

Everyone was very surprised that instead of once again turning down your offer to go out for burgers together, Eddie declared that he would be there. Everyone was happy to think that this was a chance to get back to something good. You sat at the biggest table in the diner talking about the upcoming freshman prom. El was incredibly excited, Max even though she wanted to hide it, also became more spirited as she showed you pictures of the dress she wanted to wear and asked if you would help her get her hair done on the day. Suddenly a cold gust of wind that came through the open door cooled the atmosphere considerably when Eddie appeared in it with none other than Diana. Gareth and Steve sent each other questioning glances and Robin just rolled her eyes taking the menu in her hand. As they approached the table a grave silence fell.

"Hi?" he said finally. "I know you all haven't had a chance to get to know each other so this is Diana." The younger part of the group muttered a greeting while looking suspiciously at the girl.

"Ed, I thought kids were the only in your funny club. What are they doing here?" she said with a goofy grin measuring Dustin from top to bottom.

"Hellfire is not silly." replied Mike wrinkling his eyebrows.

"Of course sweetie." she replied with a mocking tone as if Mike was actually 5 years old.

"So what are we eating?" Eddie interrupted before the conversation could go too far. Diana took the seat opposite you sending you a triumphant smile. Because of this, you were forced to watch her whisper something in his ear every now and then, making his cheeks turn redder as he showed his playful smile. Of course, they also gave you a show when their lips couldn't keep away from each other, with each time he embraced her she looked you straight in the eye and winked as if to show that she had won. But was it any competition at all knowing that you never had a chance with him? Nothing special. That's what you were to him. Having no strength left, you let her do it. You let her take satisfaction in the sadness you could no longer hide, and even sitting at the table with the people you loved, you were unable to focus on anything else. Your leg shook nervously under the table as you waited until everyone finished their meals and you could finally leave the cursed restaurant. Before leaving, El and Max went to the bathroom. When they disappeared behind its door Lucas turned to Eddie.

"I know Principal Higgins made you guys play our freshman prom," he said.

"Yeah, the asshole threatened me that if we don't play then once again I won't be able to graduate."

"I overheard Max talking to El about how super romantic it was when you danced with y/n to that song from the movie we watched before hellfire, uh Enchanted? the one from that scene at the ball... I thought you guys could play it at ours?" he explained. And no matter how romantic and touching his plan seemed to you the very memory of that evening was not so pleasant. Would you perform that song with Eddie now? Despite the fact that it could kill you seeing Lucas full of hope and the image of a happy Max won. Seeing your surprised faces he continued. "Y/n knows this song by heart anyway, she could sing it and you would play it, I guess it's not that complicated to learn?"

"I can help you." you finally said, and for the first time since he entered the restaurant you looked at Eddie, who was also looking straight at you. That was a mistake. Looking into his big dark eyes for more than five seconds was a terrible mistake that violated the cracks on your heart.

When Eddie opened his mouth to respond Diana wouldn't let him. "Babe, I don't think you're going to agree? You're a metalhead, you can't play some song from a dorky movie about princesses."

There was thought on his face, however, everyone knew what the answer would be. All of Lucas' hope was extinguished like a candle when Eddie admitted she was right, joking that he wouldn't want his reputation to change because of something like that. He tried to apologize to Lucas, but the boy ignored him completely. When the girls returned, the moment of salvation arrived an you could leave. The next stop was supposed to be bowling, but knowing you couldn't take it anymore you said you weren't feeling well and wanted to go home. The rest of them quickly decided that bowling could wait and you would do it another time. Eddie stopped to smoke a cigarette, watching as everyone parted in the directions of their cars, wondering why everyone had given up on further plans with such ease. Seeing Diana hanging on to him without a word you walked past them, feeling your vision getting blurrier and blurrier.

"Y/n!" you heard Robin calling you and after a moment you felt her grabbing your hand.

"I have to go Robin, really." Your voice was slowly breaking down.

"You're not alone with this." Steve grabbed your other hand squeezing it tightly.

"Do you want to come with us? A movie night for three?" she suggested smiling gently, to which you just nodded. Maybe you actually didn't have to be alone with all this? That evening you cried out in front of them all the emotions that had been boiling inside you for a month. Both of them admitted that they knew from the beginning that you felt something for Eddie, but they were convinced that he reciprocated those feelings, which is why they are unable to understand such a sudden change in his behavior.

Seeing Robin holding your hand was nothing new, the fact that you are close with Steve was not strange to anyone either. He had seen the two of you hugging many times, but now that you had ignored his existence all evening, had not spoken a word to him, and had only looked at him once Eddie seeing Harrington's hand tighten on yours felt something strange. It was definitely not a pleasant feeling. He also didn't understand why, despite Diana lying half naked in his bed, the only image he has in front of his eyes when he closes them is two hands holding each other. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't focus on anything else, and even more surprising was the fact that when he pulled away from the girl who was covering his neck with hot kisses, she just shrugged her shoulders and left, leaving him alone with his thoughts in the trailer, which now seemed very big and empty.

One day at the cafeteria, everyone was talking about a small meeting over the weekend that Eddie, as standard, didn't attend. Everyone was so busy looking at pictures that they didn't even notice when he approached the table.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked finally getting their attention.

"Pictures from Saturday, we had a little spontaneous pool party." replied Will.

"Oh, was it fun?" He couldn't help the upset that was slowly creeping into his system. He felt sidelined, and the worst part of it all was that it happened at his own request.

"Wanna see?" The boy handed him the phone.

Your presence in most of the pictures made his heart beat faster but it was filled with something strange. Longing? And what did he feel when he came across a photo of you making braids out of Argyle's long hair while sending him a wide smile? When you are sitting on Jeff's shoulders in the pool holding an oblong sponge and on the other side is Robin sitting on Steve's shoulders as you imitate a sword battle? The sight of his friend's hands on your thighs made him nervous. The final realization was the photo in which Steve embraces you as you sit covered in one big towel and Dustin in the water poses pointing a water gun toward the camera.

"Too bad you weren't there dude." Gareth said. "What were you doing that you couldn't come?"

"I uh- I was with Diana." What he didn't mention was that after twenty minutes she once again left him alone for the same reason as before.

Confused by his new discoveries, he muttered that he had to go and left the school. He knew that as long as Corroded Coffin played hopeless pop songs at the freshman prom Principal Higgins wouldn't kick him out of school, so skipping the last two classes didn't seem like too big a crime to him. Not wanting to be alone now, he got into the car and headed straight for Diana's apartment. Where another surprise awaited him. She opened the door for him dressed only in an oversized men's shirt.

"Hi Eds! What are you doing here?"

"I thought maybe we could spend some time together?" he replied uncertainly. From the end of the apartment came their male voice calling her.

"As you can see I'm a little busy." she said wanting to close the door but he caught it at the last moment.

"What's actually going on?" he asked trying to comprehend the situation somehow.

"What do you mean?" she looked surprised, which made Edde feel even more confused.

"I thought that me and you... that we..."

"Oh my God Eddie." she paused him. "I think you misunderstood the situation a bit. I like you and sex with you is really good, but there is nothing more between us. I thought you were aware of that." Seeing the shock on his face she continued. "The truth is that I started all this to make your little friend who is pathetically in love with you angry."

"You did what?"

"Y/n? The barmaid at the Hideout? I heard her talking about it with your band mates. I never liked her so I thought I'd get on her nerves a bit." she shrugged her shoulders. "I thought you knew that what we were doing was just fun. Definitely nothing special. And now I have to go, it was nice to see you, bye Eddie!"

Never before in his life had he felt so foolish. Gaining a whole new perspective on the situation, the dots in his head were connecting. Your behavior toward him was also making more and more sense. Everything suddenly seemed so obvious now. The problem was that it was too late.

You were awakened by the sound of several messages in a row.

Gareth: hey y/n, u here?

Gareth: it's important

Gareth: y/n?

Gareth: ?

You: what the hell happened

Gareth: there is an urgent meeting at my garage in an hour, will you come?

Gareth: it's super important

you: fine

Half asleep you rolled out of bed with great difficulty. But considering his behavior whatever the meeting was about it really had to be very important. The thought crossed your mind that it could have been about Eddie. Will he be there? Will he be there with her? Will you have to look at it all again and repress the voice in your head that constantly screams That should be me? Flushing your face with icy water, you returned to earth. Satisfied that you had temporarily succeeded in stopping the train of thoughts in your head as quickly as possible, you finished getting ready and left the house without leaving yourself a spare moment.

You were relieved to see that in Gareth's garage there was no trace of Eddie and Diana exaggerating their feelings for each other. But the sight of Robin and several other kids from the school band sitting fiercely discussing something surprised you. As you approached they all greeted you, and Robin began to explain the purpose of this odd gathering.

"We want to help Lucas, you know very well yourself that these kids deserve one fairy tale evening." she began. "So we've gathered some people who are able to help us and play this song from the movie," she said.

"We just need someone to sing, and since you already know the lyrics we thought you'd want to join in." Simon added smiling.

"Besides, we want to show Eddie how much we don't care about his girlfriend's opinion," Gareth rolled his eyes making a disgusted face at the mere sound of the word girlfriend.

"But...the prom is tonight." you said disoriented.

"We've got four hours to try to figure it out, I think we can make it."

"You can't make it if you keep wagging your chins!" Robin clapped her hands rushing you guys to work.

In this way, for the next few hours the whole neighborhood listened to the same song over and over again, the beginnings were very difficult to synchronize but the final product seemed to be really good.

As you promised before the ball you helped Max to become a divinity. Seeing her smile you yourself couldn't hold back yours despite the fact that at the very thought that you would soon have to be in the same room as Eddie a big nervous knot was forming in your stomach. When Max looked like a princess you dropped her off at the Sinclairs' house from where Lucas' mom was to drive them further. You, Robin and Steve agreed to get ready together at your house. When you pulled into the driveway they were already waiting for you, rushing you and panicking that you were late. Fortunately, the preparations went smoothly, except for the process of making Steve's hair.

Corroded Coffin were moving their instruments into the hall when you drove to the back of the school to park next to them. Eddie watched in amazement as you exited the car. Steve in an insanely expensive, elegant suit and perfectly styled hair, right behind him was Robin in a loose white shirt over which she wore a gray blazer and matching pants, and right behind Robin came you in a slightly airy black dress. All three of you looked like you had walked straight off the catwalk, but Eddie's eyes saw only you.

"Dude you okay?" asked Steve seeing his stupefaction.

"What?" he asked snapping out of his trance.

"I'm asking if you're okay."

"Y-eah, I'm just surprised to see you guys," he answered.

"Dustin declared Steve as the caretaker for tonight and someone to act as a host." Robin explained.

"Always the goddamn babysitter." you teased the boy with a laugh.

"I found two stragglers on the way, so I thought I'd take them with me," Steve bit back.

"Dude! That's not fair, you'd share!" Jeff shouted walking up to you.

"In your dreams!" Steve grinned embracing the two of you. "Ladies?" he asked arranging his arms so you could grab him under the arm, which you did giggling. You said goodbye to the guys and moved toward the entrance. Seeing your hand gently touch your friend's biceps, the gloom that had been with him for days began to deepen. Eddie knew that the evening might be very long and difficult.

To his delight, it turned out that the school had hired another band, so Corroded Coffin played at the beginning, and the second half of the prom was to be taken care of by the other one. When Munson reached the long-awaited ending and left the stage he noticed that the rest of the band was not following him. Surprised, he watched as Steve walked on stage and grabbed the microphone.

"My dear friends, before we say goodbye to Corroded Coffin for good we would like to present one more song." he said in the voice of a TV presenter. "This is a very special request, so don't be afraid to invite someone even more special to dance." He smiled. "Ahead of you is Corroded Coffin in collaboration with the amazing Hawkins High band!" Applause rang around the room. Together with the rest of you, you entered the stage taking your spots. All the younger part of your team pushed straight to the front of the stage looking at you with excitement. The first notes released by the piano were like the bullets of a gun to Eddie. Piercing his heart to the core, making him realize how devastated everything had become.

You're in my arms And all the world is calm The music playing on for only two So close together And when I'm with you So close to feeling alive

Your voice spread through the room, echoing a permanent mark in his brain. He had heard you sing many times, at various meetings you sang together while he played the guitar, but now everything was completely different. The warm light of the reflector illuminated your skin, making it shine from you with a beautiful radiance that enchanted him with every word. Even if he was standing completely in the shadows by the stands, he didn't miss how your eyes found their way to him, but quickly changed direction without giving him a chance to do anything.

A life goes by Romantic dreams must die So I bid my goodbye And never knew So close, was waiting Waiting here with you And now, forever, I know All that I wanted To hold you so close

He remembered that day. He remembered how for about three minutes the whole world was gone and all that mattered was that you were in his arms. Not expecting the whole situation to have such an effect on him. After all, he had always avoided anything related to romance. Even if he wanted to, he never had anyone with whom he could try such a thing. Then you showed up, looking at him much warmer than everyone else. Always available to him, always helpful and giving support. When, after a whole day of listening to nothing but insults in his direction, you met and your heartwarming voice with a hint of something he couldn't identify before dispelled all the coldness leaving only a pleasant calm. Now he knew it was affection. Even when you teased and called him an idiot, you said it in such a way that he felt as if the most beautiful praise in the world had been poured down on him. Why didn't he notice this earlier? Why did it take the entire messed-up situation with Diana for him to realize it? Why didn't you ever mention anything about it before?

So close to reaching That famous happy end Almost believing This one's not pretend And now you're beside me And look how far we've come So far we are, so close

How could I face the faceless days If I should lose you now

At that moment he wanted so badly to kiss you. To give himself to the magic of that moment and just kiss you. But he remembered that you are not alone. He remembered that you are friends, not a couple. Not knowing if you would want the same, he panicked.

We're so close to reaching That famous happy end Almost believing This one's not pretend Let's go on dreaming For we know we are So close, so close And still so far

You were so close. So close, just within reach, yet panic won out over desire. Not knowing how to act, the only thing that came to his mind was to step back and pretend that it didn't affect him even the slightest. Now he understood your sad expression when he said it was nothing special. Listening to the same song performed by you now, he had never felt so far away from you before. He lost you at a time when he was just beginning to understand his feelings for you. At the time he didn't know what was happening to him, now he felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

When the applause sounded in the hall again you started to go backstage. Without a second thought he ran there.

"Y/n!" he called out to get your attention. "Can we talk?" he reached out a hand to touch your shoulder, but you moved away from him quickly enough that he didn't.

"I don't have the strength to talk to you right now Eddie, I'm sorry." Your voice was weak.

"Please, give me a chance to explain..."

"What do you want to explain? There is nothing to explain."

"Why didn't you ever say anything? If only I had known that you felt something for me, things would have been different!"

"What would it change?"

"Everything..." he said almost inaudibly.

"Don't lie to me Eddie!" you blurted out. "Don't lie to me in a situation like this, because I can't stand it. I can barely handle what happened, I don't need your fucking lies!" you didn't mean to sound so harsh, but you were barely holding on.

"I'm not lying, why the hell would I lie to you?!"

"Because this..." you pointed at both of you with your hand "This is nothing special for you."

"y/n, it's-"

"I don't want to hear it Eddie." you said swallowing tears. "I don't want to hear it because I know it will hurt even more. You've made your decision. And as much as I was able to understand that you didn't return my feelings, I will never accept how easily you forgot about all of us. We were so close Eddie! So fucking close, but now? As far away as possible." Without waiting for his reaction, you turned and walked away, leaving him alone with the despair that was slowly consuming him all over.

All weekend, Eddie was immersed in sadness. Your words kept sounding in his head, refusing to let go. He wondered how badly he must have messed everything up that you didn't want to believe his words. Saying that he had forgotten about you wasn't entirely true either, but he realized that from your perspective that's what it looked like. He regretted his behavior. Now he knew that the hot moments with Diana in were definitely not worth it. He didn't even care too much about the fact that she used him. He focused all his energy on experiencing and condemning himself for having participated in breaking your heart. This was something he could not forgive himself for.

Sunday afternoon passed peacefully in the Munson's trailer. Eddie had done nothing all weekend except playing his guitar and sleeping. When Wayne entered his room a picture of misery and despair was painted in front of him, but he didn't want to push his nephew, saying only that if he decided to talk he knew where to find him.

The man was dozing off in front of the TV when a firm knock on the door snapped him to his feet.

"Hi Mr. Munson," his eyes were met by the entire Corroded Coffin squad. "Is Eddie home?"

"Hi boys. He is, but I don't think he's feeling well," he said, letting them inside. "Maybe you guys know what's going on?"

"Oh, it's very simple, Eddie instead of being guided by his feelings was guided by what's in his zipper and lost the girl who for months you were in love with him," said Gareth.

"He was in love with her, too, but he realized it a little too late." Simon added.

"You forgot to add that I also lost my friends." Eddie's voice surprised them.

"We're here, so I guess you haven't lost them yet." Jeff replied waiting for his friend's reaction. He just merely opened the door to the room wider in a gesture of inviting them in. Simon took a seat in a chair at the desk, Jeff on the floor opposite the bed and Gareth, without waiting for permission, spread out across the bed. Eddie sat on the floor next to Jeff playing nervously with the rings on his fingers.

"Dude, you look like shit." Simon finally said, causing everyone to laugh.

"I look just like I feel, asshole." Eddie grabbed the dice that was lying by his leg and threw it towards the boy.

"So..." began Gareth.

"I'm sorry. For everything. I acted like an idiot." Munson breathed out.

"And?"

"I know you guys think I forgot about you, but it wasn't like that. I just-" He couldn't find the words to describe the whole situation.

"Did you think with your dick instead of your brain? How is Diana by the way?"

Eddie with embarrassment told them how the whole situation looked like. About how he let himself be screwed into her hopeless manipulation, about how it all ended, about how he felt when he saw you perform with them on stage during the prom and your conversation after the show. A lot of emotions weighed on his heart, he had been feeling so lonely for a long time that now he did not hold back from opening up and sharing everything he felt with his friends. Even as they continued to make mischievous jokes, he was grateful that he no longer had to be alone with it all.

"Okay, I'm a little guilty about all of this. If it weren't for my loose tongue Diana you would never have known that y/n was in love with you. I feel obligated to help you get her back."

"What?" Eddie didn't expect that. Get you back? Was that even still possible?

"Do you feel anything for her?" interjected Simon

"Yeah, of course I do".

"So I guess it's worth fighting for her?"

"But... I don't know how."

"But I do." Gareth pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Are you ready to make a romantic fool of yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

Eddie didn't get an answer instead the boy smiled broadly and clicked something on the phone from which a song came after a moment.

How does she know you love her? How does she know she's yours?

"Oh my fucking God!" Eddie covered his face with his hands, and Gareth paused the song. Is he really going to seek help from a song from a damn Disney movie?

"This can be your final chance! And I don't have any other idea, so- Remember how excited she was about that movie? You've already used the dance to that song and screwed it up completely."

Eddie pondered his friend's idea for a moment. The truth was that he had nothing to lose, instead he had a great deal to gain. It was definitely worth it.

"Alrigh Giselle... enlighten me."

does he leave a little note to tell you, you are on his mind? send you yellow flowers when the sky is gray?

When you found a small piece of paper and a yellow tulip lying behind the wiper of your car on Monday morning you thought it was a joke, but you knew this handwriting very well. You would recognize it anywhere. Throughout the week, a new note with a flower was waiting for you every morning. On Sunday evening you decided to show them to Robin.

I think about you.

I miss you.

I hope your day will be nice.

So close together, and when I'm with you, so close to feeling alive You made me feel emotions I had no idea about before.

I never thought being romantic was for me, but you make me want to try it.

Romantic dreams must die? What if we tried to bring them back to life and make them come true?

Let's go on dreaming For we know we are So close, and NOT so far

The last change of the text especially reached your heart. Of course you wanted to be the closest to him in every way possible, but what if you once again gave your heart to him and after a while he would say it was nothing special?

"They started to appear so suddenly?" she asked looking at them.

"Yes, I completely don't know what to think about it Robin. First he tells me that one of the most special moments in my life is, in fact, nothing special, and then I witness how in love they are with with Diana, and now this all of a sudden?"

"Maybe it didn't work out for them?"

"And now I'm supposed to be a consolation prize?"

"I am so sorry." she said resting her head on your shoulder. The thought of you being his second choice was killing you from the inside. Why was he doing all this? Why couldn't he let you forget in peace and move on?

does he take you out dancing just so he can hold you close?

Nope. Not gonna happen. The previous dance turned out to be a disaster and he wasn't going to risk it again.

dedicate a song with words meant just for you?

This. He could do that, but a little later.

he'll wear your favorite color just so he can match your eyes, rent a private picnic by the fire's glow

After a week of getting flowers and notes, there was silence. You wondered what you should do. Why did he stop? Maybe because you didn't respond to any of them? Maybe he got upset and decided it was all a mistake? It's been a long time since you felt so confused and lost. Then, suddenly, your phone rang, and you were relieved that it was only Robin.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Hello to you too." you replied sarcastically.

"Steve and I will be outside your house in ten minutes, we're going for a ride."

"Wha-" before you had time to finish she hung up.

This was no joke. Punctually ten minutes later the honking of Steve's car sounded on your street. The ride didn't last long, less than ten minutes to Lover's Lake during which they both ignored all your questions. When you got out of the car Steve stood behind you covering your eyes with his hands and Robin grabbed your hand leading you forward. When Harrington finally let you see, you froze. A large blanket was spread out on the grass with thick candles in glass jars. Next to it stood a vase with yellow tulips, the same ones you had been getting before. Beside it was a backpack with your favorite snacks sticking out of it and Eddie's acoustic guitar.

"Guys, what's going on?" you asked turning around. But Steve and Robin had disappeared from your sight. Now in front of you stood Eddie dressed in his Hellfire T-shirt. But it was slightly different than the rest. This time the skull was in your favorite color.

"Please." he said walking up to you. "Before you leave, please give me a chance to fight for you." He grabbed your hand. Feeling you not snatch it from his grasp he led you to a blanket where you both sat down. The sun began to slowly hide behind the horizon. The warm orange created a beautiful spectacle by combining with other colors and reflecting in the surface of the calm water. The view was calming. It was as if the sky wanted to tell you that everything will be fine. You decided to trust it. Without a word, Eddie grabbed his guitar and began to play a song quietly singing the words. He sang as if he didn't want to startle the moment with being too lound. You listened in silence still not taking your eyes off the setting sun.

I know I've been so hard on you I know I've told you lies If I could have just one more wish I'd wipe the cobwebs from my eyes

This was the moment when you finally decided to look at him. When your eyes met and you saw in his sincerity, you knew this was the moment you forgave him everything. It was the moment you decided to trust him once again. To risk breaking your heart once again. You knew that he was worth it. Not wanting to waste another moment you put your hand on the strings to stop him. Scared that you were about to get up and leave, he swallowed the gulp in his throat, preparing himself for rejection.

"I forgive you, Eddie." Those three words were like salvation to him.

"Really?" he put down his guitar quickly and squatted closer to you.

"If you promise to be honest with me."

"Of course, sweetheart."

"I want you to tell me the truth Eddie, I want to hear it, please." Your voice was nervous.

"Let's start from the beginning when I lied that the dance in Harrington's living room was nothing special. Because it was. So damn special that I think I got scared of my own feelings and panicked and lied. Later that whole situation with Diana? I swear to you on everything that if I knew you had feelings for me I wouldn't even look at her. I couldn't believe that someone as hopeless as me could find his place in your heart..."

"Eddie you are not hopeless-"

"Let me finish, please." he put his hand on your knee. "I've missed you so damn much. Day after day every time I didn't come to meetings with you I couldn't stop thinking about you. And when I saw Steve holding your hand? Believe me it was like a nightmare that haunted me for days without a break. Once Will showed pictures of a pool party I once again didn't attend. I was jealous as Hell and angry with myself for being so distant from you. But what hurt me the most was that in those pictures you were so smiling, so happy... Which made me realize that you don't need me to be like that at all. I know it's terribly selfish, but you wanted the truth so you got it..." he took a deep breath. "It turned out that Diana only needed me to make you angry. She heard Gareth talking about you being in love with me and decided to take advantage of it. Of course, I have nothing in common with her anymore and I am disgusted with myself to the core because I took part in it.

"You didn't know that..."

"But I took part in it, and I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself for it. When I wrote on one of the notes that thanks to you I felt emotions I had no idea about, I wasn't lying. Damn it, before I thought I wanted to have nothing in common with anything romantic, but for you? I even watched that movie again, I planned it all inspired by a song that refuses to leave my head and drives me crazy because I wanted so badly to find the answer to the question how does she know you love her? Letters, yellow flowers, dedicating a song and a picnic? I even tried to train the raccoons from the trailer park to dance and sing but I guess they didn't like the idea." He grinned causing you to giggle. "The whole situation came about because neither of us had the courage to confess what we felt. That's why now I don't want to hide it anymore. I don't want to hide the fact that I am in love with you."

"And I am in love with you too, Eddie." you said without stopping the smile creeping onto your lips. The sun was long gone from sight however the night and its starry sky were equally beautiful. Your faces were illuminated by the soft candlelight making everything look like a scene from a movie. But it was much better than even the best movie in the world. You and Eddie now played the leading roles, and no one else but you decided what to do next.

"From what I remember they also mentioned something about a true love's kiss" No more running away. Early on he had taken too many steps backward and he had no intention of repeating that mistake. From now on, every step he took was forward toward the door behind which lay your future together.

"Oh, and what specifically?" You laughed, bringing your face closer to his.

"Something about pulling a tail," he curled a strand of your hair on his finger and pulled lightly.

"Really?" you asked touching his curls gently.

"And uh... somethin' about the lips I guess..."

"Lips?"

"Yeah. Lips." He nodded. "Listen. I know that I was an idiot. A complete asshole. An obvious blind man. But even the biggest idiot in the kingdom deserves a second chance."

"A chance for what?"

"For true love's kiss."

"Is this our happy ending Eddie?"

"No sweetheart. This is our happy beginning." And then, without waiting a moment longer, your lips finally connected. Kissing him was a much more magical experience than you expected. At first shy kisses became more and more thirsty for closeness. So close. Never before had he been so close as now. You wanted this closeness to consume you completely, so that you were short of breath. And if the true love's kiss was a real thing, you knew that only Eddie's lips would work in your case.

taglist: @i-me-mine

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smilingangel582 · 8 months

Text

Heyy sorry to do this. Requests will be closed by the end of October! Hehe, I may not seem it, but I'm kinda young, and I got exams, hehehe, so I'll make it up by writing a few more before this 14th.

So Dan heng caught me attention. Unfortunately, honkai Star Rail has to be given up because I can't afford to mega games (latter is genshin impact). Anyway, lee!Dan heng it is! Out of the question! He deserves it!

Ps I love this new design, and I'm one to talk when I am spoiled too, so spoilers for Honkai star rail new update. But its before he turns super duper hot... he's still super hot! Heeee squeee!

Same as always

March 7th had definitely gone to Himeko for something she wished to discuss with her. Caelus was alone with Dan heng who was always in the solitary state. His aura is calm and unapproachable. Its like an arena in a thunderstorm, waiting to strike once the conquerer is disturbed.

But Caelus loves to mess with a serious guy like him.

"Dan heng~?"

He knew the teasy tone from Caelus too well, he sighed "Yes? Caelus?"

"Wanna play a game?"

He stared, his deep eyes peirced through his own golden orbs, "Play that Nintendo switch by yourself"

Caelus pouted now. "I wanna play with you, duh!"

Dan heng silently leaned back against the couch of his room. He lifted the book up so he could read it better "Try reading, at least a word?"

That little!

Caelus wondered, how can someone so cool and collected be flustered. He certainly can be annoyed but not enough.

March would try to disturb him.

So...

Dan heng had ears so he could tell Caelus, circling behind him where his head rested on the arm of the couch, looking at the book. Sitting straight now, Caelus leaned over his shoulder and eyeing the large heavy words and texts on the boring book.

Caelus pointed out warily "man you are so weird"

"I could say the same. Why are you so clingy?" He sharply said, trying to move front by his hands, grabbing his shoulders to stop his movement.

"Stop touching me so causally, please..."

"Serious dude!" Caelus groaned playfully and then surprising Dan heng he drilled two index fingers on his exposed ribs, startling him as he dropped the book.

Caelus smirked, really didn't expect him to be ticklish but had hopes he succeeded.

Sighing Dan heng pretended to not have felt ot "Stop touching me so casually Caelus, what do you want?"

He hummed now once more hooking an arm over his shoulder and pulling him close to his side "ahhh bro chill, your so stiff and rigid, lighten up" he tossed the book in front of him and Dan henf sighed irritably "Gosh, March's influence sure is amazing"

True... now that she's contagious he feels more attentive tk mess with Dan heng.

Sneaking an arm to his ribs, Dan heng stiffened as the tickly touch. Its casual and testing, Dan heng tried to hide it.

"Somerhing wrong?" Caelus grinned, now gently pinching his sides, which he tried to hide. Dan heng cleared his throat, still holding a straight but anxious face.

So he's fighting back? Interesting, Caelus snickered.

A little tweak to the hips-

"Eek!" Dan heng almost ruined his endurance, he grabbed his wrist in swift motion now giving a dark glare "Caelus, cut it out... this is very irritating"

Caelus giggled "Come on admit thst tickles?" He poked his tummy to force him "right? Right tough guy?"

"A-absurd yohou should give up! Chihildish techniques won't work on mehe!" He says it with trembling giggles. Cute... Caelus didn't think his icy nature could melt so sweetly.

Crumble his defence a little around here.

"H-hey!" His ribs...

Then another wiggle to his tummy.

"K-knohock it off! I'm warning yohou!"

Finally sneaky fingers under his neck to expose his armpits. He gasped at that and...

"Gotcha, Dan heng"

It was at this moment that Dan heng was slightly impressed by his strategic plan. Of only, he uses his brain during missions as well.

"Gehehe, ahahalright, you hahahad your fuhun!"

"Wait, did Dan heng honest to god giggled!?" Genuinely, he was surprised. it's a rare sight to see his face blush and explode with giggles.

"Cute..."

"Hahahahaha nohoho!" That triggered him tk blush. Alright this is too cute, why didn't March tell him something this important... unless nobody knows but themselves?

Caelus knew armpits should weaken him, so he kept his target there whole Dan heng could concentrate to push him off.

"Man, you sure are sensitive, I expected you to have escaped this by now, but you're too ticklish for your own good"

"STAHAHAP TALKING!" His voice shrieked, the usual calmness was gone now he was loud when Caelus grabbed his ears.

Those blushing ears were a dead giveaway to his sensitivity. Dan heng widened his eyes grabbing his wrists and shaking his head "T-thahat tickles... WAHAHAHAIT! EHEHEHEHE PLEHEHEASE I GIHIHIVE UP!"

Caelus obliged and cupped Dan heng's face with adornment "you should laugh more bro... its adorable"

Pushing his hand away and blushing even more redder than earlier, he panted, "I... hahate you, childish idiot"

"Love you too, handsome"

Although they both did know, he somewhat enjoyed that as a smile lingered close to his lips even after the tickle attack. Maybe just a tiny bit... he could say he liked it? Probably, he won't mind another round with Caelus.

#tickle fic #cute #honkai star rail #honkai star rail tickling #lee!dan heng #ler!caelus

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smolwritingchick · 2 months

Text

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 88- This Is Not A Drill!

Chapter Summary: BTS watch and support Jennie's Wild N' Out Episode. A BTS member calls out Matt Rife on Twitter for being persistent with Jennie during filming. Jennie's WINGS 8 video and concept photos are released which breaks the internet. Jungkook and Jennie discuss taking the next step in their relationship

Words: 10,000+

Author's Note: I loved writing that Wild n Out chapter! It's so funny because I wrote it years ago and rereading and editing that chapter made me chuckle because I met Matt Rife in 2022 and I'm like, wow, full circle moment. He's pretty darn cool and super nice. It was funny writing about him.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and enjoy Bangtan's reactions! My gosh, we are almost there to where I stopped writing the story. Just a few chapters left and then I will start writing new chapters. Updates will be slower once I make it to where I stopped. I hope you bear with me as I research and get my ideas and timeline on track!

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

“We just gotta wait a little bit to set up,” Angelina informed as she plopped down on the seat next to Jennie.

Here they were at the tattoo shop, eager to get the tattoos that they’d been wanting. While waiting, Jennie watched a couple walk out hand in hand. It appeared that they had gotten relationship tattoos based on the wrappings on their arms. She smiled softly as her mind wandered to Jungkook.

She missed him immensely and the feeling of his warm hugs. Whipping out her phone she gave him a quick text.

Jen: I miss u :(

She assumed he was probably practicing, so she expected him to reply later. But he instantly replied which surprised her.

JK: You have no idea how much I miss u :(

JK: What r u doing now?

Jen: About to get a tattoo with Angelina :P

JK: whaaaaa!?

Immediately she received a Facetime call from him and answered while giggling.

“You’re a tattoo shop!?“ he asked excitedly. "Show me! Show me!”

“Hehehe, okay! Okay!” she flipped the camera to scroll around the shop.

“Aw man, I wish I was there,”

Jungkook still wanted to get tattoos ever since he spoke about it on American Hustle Life. When will he get them? He wasn’t too sure yet. He wanted to plan it all out on what he would be getting and where he wanted them.

“Ooo is that Jungkook!? Hey you!” Angelina waved once Jen flipped the camera back to show them.

Jungkook waved back and began to speak in English, “Hello! How are you, Angelina?”

“I’m waiting to get inked~! How’s the preparations for the comeback going?”

“Good. We are working hard.”

“I heard a little preview of Begin. It’s a beautiful song,”

Angelina’s response made Jungkook smile shyly as he thanked her. Jen smiled at their exchange. For a while now, Jungkook had started getting better at holding conversations in English.

“Is Jennie behaving herself?” he asked playfully.

“I’m literally right here, holding the phone,” Jen reminded and they laughed.

“How did the recording go for the show?” Jungkook asked a bit too eagerly.

Jennie had informed him of how persistent Matt had been in her DMs and it bothered him greatly.

“Well...” Jen wondered how she should bring it up. “Matt was getting annoying. Constantly trying to flirt and make moves on me,”

As soon as she said that, Jungkook raised an eyebrow and started to look discontent that Matt did that.

"He started flirting with you?" he asked in an unamused voice.

Angelina looked impressed at how quickly Jungkook's expression changed and the sudden aura he radiated when he got mad over Matt. He certainly doesn't play when it comes to Jennie.

Thinking of Matt's failed attempts, Angelina let out a laugh. "Matt was sooooo thirsty! But trust me, Jennie ended his life on the show. It was frickin hilarious,”

“I feel like I’m going to be aggravated watching him try to make moves on you,” Jungkook predicted, poking the inside of his cheek.

“You will,” Angelina nodded. “And then laugh when you see how Jennie responds during each game,”

“Yeah, he won’t be a problem no more. You’ll see when the episode drops,” Jennie confirmed with a nervous smile, noticing her boyfriend getting irritated.

"What did he do to you at the show?" Jungkook asked.

"Um...well he tried to kiss-"

"He tried to kiss you?" he asked with a frown.

"I stopped him. I slapped him. It's going to be funny to watch, I promise,"

"Oh, I know it will be. But the fucking fact that he tried to kiss you is pissing me off. He can kiss my everloving fists. What the hell is his problem? If someone says no, back off," he said with anger in his voice.

"A-are you mad at me?"

"Mad at you? Never. Don't ever think that, Jagi. None of this is your fault," his voice became gentle when he replied to her which Angelina noticed. Then his voice got stern when he spoke about Matt again. "It's him for not respecting your rejection. I'm getting sick and tired of men trying to put their hands on you or make advances towards you when you're mine,"

"Oop," Angelina became amused while Jennie's face began to feel flushed.

'I like this side of Jungkook,' Angelina thought.

"There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. I know you're waiting for your tattoo appointment but this has been on my mind for a while," Jungkook told Jennie.

"What's up?" she asked.

Angelina glanced at the couple. Jungkook was radiating that competitive energy and she was loving it.

"When do you want to go public? Because I really want people to know that you're mine. And that you make me happy. I've been thinking about it for a while and wanted to plan it out with you and Big Hit,"

Jennie nodded. "I've been thinking about it too...I want to go public, soon. Before this year is over? Because you know how Dispatch likes to reveal relationships during New Year's. There is no doubt they've been paying close attention. I have a feeling it's going to be us they'll reveal. I rather beat them to it,"

"So, you want a pull a Dispatch before this year is over?"

"Yeah. We'll discuss it more when I'm back in Seoul,"

"Good. I can't wait,"

After their phone conversation, Angelina started laughing. "Your man radiates that ENERGY and I love it. He wants to go public so he can have his hands all over you and so men can back off. You know he's going to be holding your waist and putting an arm around you, frequently,"

Once they were called in for their appointment, Jennie went first, sitting on a chair while Angelina sat beside her.

"Nervous~?" Angelina asked.

“I don’t know how it’s going to feel but I feel ready. Hold my hand?” she reached out for her.

Angelina held her hand as the tattooist went to work. Jen felt unbothered as she sat there. Angelina noticed she was not squeezing her hand for dear life and it did not look like she was in pain at all. Jennie’s face was completely calm.

“You not in pain?” Angelina asked.

“This feels good,” she responded, making her laugh.

“A lot of people’s pain tolerance is different. And first timers tend to freak out about the pain and make it worse than it is. You’re taking this well,” they heard the tattooist say.

“Wow~! I can’t wait for mine,” Angelina beamed.

The friendship tattoos they planned to get were going to be small microphones with music notes. Each microphone has their initials on it, placed identically on their left wrists.

‘Wow...my first tattoo,’ Jennie thought with elation.

She felt great and a little bit cooler now that she had some permanent ink on her black skin. Following being told how to take care of it, she switched seats with Angelina and held her hand while she got hers. As soon as she felt the tattooist go to work, Angelina let out a chuckle and realized the pain was not bad at all.

“Wow~! It don’t even hurt!” she said. “All those YouTube videos I’ve seen of people freaking out,”

“Right? Team high pain tolerance,” Jen praised themselves.

Jennie sent Jungkook photos of her new ink once they left the shop. As Jungkook looked at the photos, he was amazed at how beautiful it looked on her skin.

JK: Whaaaa it looks amazing!

JK: Wow!

JK: Did they hurt??

Jen: Nah, I like a little pain LOL. It felt good actually.

Jen: I guess I have a high pain tolerance for tattoos. I want more down the line

JK: I want one now...

Jen: U should!! When you’re ready, I’ll come with you or something!

Arriving back home after spending a few more days with Angelina, Jennie showed her sisters the tattoo. They were excited to see it and it had already started to slowly scab and peel. The downside of it was that the tattoo was itching like crazy. All part of the healing process. Jen refrained from scratching and made sure to clean and moisturize it daily.

Since Jennie had been back home, she had been involved in her sisters’ projects. With Alani, Jen aided her in filming DIY videos. Alani had developed her hobby of creating DIY items and put them on her YouTube channel along with her other journalism projects to build up a portfolio.

It was hilarious to see how disoriented Jen looked and the shocked facial expressions she would make when things came together from the materials Alani would use. Alani also used her for interviews as they talked about dancing, singing, and the music industry. Jen watched her with wonder because Alani had become very comfortable on camera. Years of practice had been paying off.

With Vienna, Jennie played the guitar while she covered songs to post on her YouTube channel.

“This time, I’m covering a few Maroon V songs. Can’t Stop and Harder to Breathe,” Vienna had told her.

Once the music sheets were printed out for the songs, and they sat together, Jennie strummed an acoustic version for both songs. Vienna had lungs. That’s for sure. The camera caught Jennie smiling at her big sister as she continued to get in her zone, singing out the lyrics.

-------

Seated by her desk in her room, Jennie had a plate of Popeyes chicken, patiently waiting for the planned Facetime call to celebrate Jungkook’s birthday. She felt regretful for not being there to spend his special day with him. As much as she loved being home, she was missing out on a lot with the group and missed the boys terribly.

Moments later her phone rang and she happily answered it. Setting the phone up across from her so her hands could be free, she got a view of Hobi popping on the screen with a bright smile.

“Munchkin~!” he chirped.

Her eyes lit up. “Hobi~!”

“Look at you! Adorable! Your hair looks so nice today!” he pointed out, unaware of her wig.

“Thanks! How is everyone?”

“Without you here, things are a bit disordered. But we are doing well. Ah, we are all together, again!” he praised as he began to walk to where the boys were. “We couldn’t let Jungkook blow out the candles without you with us!”

“Awwwww,”

"Jennie is on the phone~! Now we can celebrate!” Hobi loudly shouted while moving the phone to show to others.

They were all yelling her name and waving, asking various questions about how she was doing and that they had missed her dearly.

“Jennie!” Jungkook grinned.

“Jungkook! Happy birthday! I’m sorry I can’t be there physically but at least I’m about to somewhat be here to celebrate,” she smiled brightly.

“You being here with us on Facetime is more than enough.”

“How was Wild N Out?” Namjoon asked.

“A journey,” she laughed nervously.

“Will Jungkook get jealous?” Jimin asked slyly.

“You know he will,” V teased him, making the Golden Maknae look at them, unamused.

“It’s a funny episode, you guys will love it. It’ll be out soon. Wow, that cake looks so good. I wish I could have a slice. But I have my red velvet cake to suffice. I’ll eat it after my meal,”

“Are we ready to sing?” Jin proposed.

“Uh huh! Let’s do it!”

Jungkook, seated in front of the cake smiled cutely as the group sang Happy Birthday.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Jeon Jungkook! Happy Birthday to you!”

“Make a wish!” Hobi gestured.

“Make a wish, a wish!” Jin added.

Jungkook closed his eyes for a moment.

“Did you make a wish?” V asked.

Opening his eyes, Jungkook smiled. “Yes, I did. Should I blow?”

“Yeah! 1! 2! 3!” the group counted down and cheered once he blew out the candles.

After eating and Facetiming with the group, Jungkook took Hobi’s phone to have some alone time with Jennie.

“So, what did you wish for?” she asked and observed him running a hand through his hair. A gesture she thought was cute.

“Well, what I’ve been wishing for, I already have it. So, this year, I wished for good things with Bangtan,”

“Oh really? What have you wished before?”

“Us together,” he grinned.

His answer made her heart soar as she felt her face heat up.

“I am happy it came true. Because I am very happy with you,” she said with no hesitation.

“And I’m happy with you too,”

“I’m happy with you guys, too~!” Hobi randomly popped into the screen, surprising Jungkook.

Jen giggled as Jungkook bickered with Hobi about interrupting their moment.

-------

With Bangtan, they sat around the living room to watch the anticipated episode of Wild N Out. J-Hope took a group selfie in the dorm’s living room which was filled with decorations to root for Jennie. Decorations consisted of a large poster of Jennie’s head that was held up by Jin, smartie banners, Jen as Captain America themed decorations, and much more. Fans thought the gesture was cute and hilarious.

ARMY thought it was sweet of Jennie's idol friends to even post about watching the episode to show support for her. From Big Bang, Block B, GOT7, and EXO, to the 97 Liners of Twice, Seventeen, and so on. It made people happy to see Jennie in her element back home.

Jennie was on the laptop via Skype to watch with the boys as they placed the laptop on a chair to act like she was sitting with them.

As the group began to watch with Korean subtitles, they cheered when they watched Angelina walk out on stage.

“Your girlfriend~!” V teased his leader who was smiling in response.

Angelina was going to be attending some of the end of the year shows as a guest of Jennie. Jen had insisted she come since she always would be her hanging partner for the American award shows. Namjoon couldn’t wait to see her and spend quality time with her.

Once they watched Jennie walk out on the stage, the boys whooped and hollered while yelling her name.

“Smartieeeeeeeeeeeee~!” Yoongi yelled and pointed

“Oh my gosh...” Jennie laughed at their excitement.

"Man...I'm so bummed," Jen said.

"Why is that?" the Wild N Out girl asked.

"I wish we could go to the movies together. But they don't allow snacks in," she replied as she was met with giggles and cheers from the crowd.

"AHHHHHHH!" the boys yelled, praising her for the cute pick up line.

"Wow. You are beautiful," Matt Rife complimented the girl. "Now, as much as I would like to shoot my shot at you, there is someone else in this room that I've had my eye on for a while now and I want to holla at her instead,"

When the members watched Matt turn his attention to Jennie, they began to yell at the TV while Jennie held in her laughter. Just as she expected them to react.

“His stupidity is larger than I anticipated. He really does want to die,” Yoongi said bluntly.

"Um, are you serious?" Angelina complained. "She is wayyy out of your league,"

“She’s right. She is out of his league and she’s mine,” Jungkook muttered while the rest of the members were laughing at Angelina’s statement.

"All your reasons are valid. And I fit the description. But I couldn't help but wonder about your ideal type in a more physical way. I bet you want a man that has experience. Somebody that knows exactly..." Matt leaned in close. "...what he's doing and how to take care of a queen like you. Somebody that can handle all that. I'm that man,"

Hobi howled with laughter, “He wishes!”

"He can't even take care of his crusty lips. Get the fuck out of here," Yoongi grumbled.

“He’s getting too close...” Jungkook narrowed his eyes, not pleased about his actions.

“The only man for her is Jungkook! End of discussion!” V shouted angrily.

"I'm glad you pushed him away, Ennie. He was all up in your personal space, that's disrespectful," Jimin commented.

"You don't have a boyfriend, do you?"

"And if I do?" Jennie replied smoothly.

"If you do?" he ran a hand through his hair, "Well, I can confidently say that he won't be your boyfriend for long,"

Jungkook scoffed and poked the inside of his cheek.

Was that supposed to be a threat?

"And what makes you so confident?" Jen asked.

"You may not hear a lot about the girls I've had and I may not have as many as some of these guys on stage but just know my satisfaction rate is higher. And you can find all that out later if you let me have your number," he offered with a soft smirk.

“Boooooooooo!” Jin and the 95 liners yelled.

"My ears! Ugh, that was horrible!" Hobi whined.

“That was not smooth at all. He shouldn’t have gotten a point,” Namjoon complained. “My lyrics for Trouble is better than his pickup lines,”

“How did you stand there and not throw up, right there?” Yoongi asked Jennie.

“I let him have his fun. Made him think he did something,“ she shrugged.

Meanwhile, Jungkook’s jaw clenched and he crossed his arms. So what if he was more experienced than him? He wasn’t going to have Jennie, that’s for sure. Not on his watch. And why the hell did he have to kiss her hand like that? Now he wanted to punch him even more.

"Smartie, I hope you washed your hand after the show,” Yoongi advised.

“Yoongi, please,” she giggled.

"I'm serious. He looks dirty as shit,"

"I second that," Namjoon added.

Fans tweeted:

'Ew...’

'VIP here to support Jennie! Matt is embarrassing!'

'Matt really thought he did something’

'Oh he BOLD BOLD’

'I kind of ship it’

'If he don’t get tf away from my baby Jennie!’

'It was at this moment Jennie got the ick from Matt.'

'Jennie is out of his league~!’

'That pickup line was trash’

'CARAT here to support Miss Bangtan! I don't like how he is persistent in wanting to sleep with her. She is not interested. He gives me the ICK!'

As the talking spit segment came on, the boys laughed wholeheartedly when Emmanuel showed the photo of the members in their coconut haircuts.

"The hairstyle is cringe," Taehyung laughed.

Bangtan's laughter got louder when DC Young Fly sang fire.

“That was smart of him to try to do that. I would have spat out my water,” Namjoon admitted.

Thinking on his feet, he thought of the other English that he heard from the song. "Everybody say LA-LA-LA-LA-LA! Say LA-LA-LA-LA-LA! I do-ont know the rest of thee-ee woor-oor-oor-ords!" he said on beat for Jimin's part.

Jimin threw his head back and laughed again. It was refreshing to hear him try to sing his part. It seemed like the Wild N Out cast did their research on BTS before Jen came on the show.

Once they saw Matt walk up to the stage, the members groaned, dreading what he was going to do.

"Now this is a win/win situation for me. So, it's all up to you on how you want to do this, baby girl," Matt announced, making her confused.

"What the fuck did he just say?" Jungkook's ears twitched at the nickname as he stood up.

"K-Kookie, it's okay," Jennie tried to calm him down.

"No, the hell it's not!" Taehyung angrily said as Jungkook sat back down, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"He called her baby girl! Jungkookie calls her that!" Jimin pointed out.

“If you want me to kiss you, keep the water in your mouth,” Matt requested.

Jin spat out his water while Jimin began to cough on his popcorn. Namjoon and Taehyung started to pat on his back to help him out while the rest were in an uproar.

“Hell no!” Hobi fumed, his cheery voice turned stern. “He is being extremely inappropriate, right now. What the heck is wrong with him?”

“What the fuck?” Yoongi swore. “Don’t tell me he kissed you smartie.”

“What do you think, Jungkook?” Jin turned to look at him but was frightened by the view.

Fury was evident in Jungkook’s eyes as a stern stare rested on his features. It looked like he wanted to grab Matt through the TV and punch him. If he dared to touch her or try to put his crusty nonexistent lips on his girl, there was going to be a problem. Tenfold.

“Guys, I handled it. Relax, it’s okay. I know it’s frustrating to watch but I got him good at the end of the show. So, keep watching. That includes you, babe,” Jennie tried to calm down the members.

Matt kneeled in front of Jennie. "Make a move, quickly. You gonna accept my kiss or spit that water out?" he teased, raising an eyebrow.

“Absolutely not! He better not kiss our Jennie!” V shouted.

“The audacity!” Jin complained.

“Nini, he doesn’t kiss you, does he?” Namjoon questioned.

“What he needs to do is take several steps back. Ennie is happily with Jungkook,” Jimin added.

“Keep watching,” Jen said over the complaints.

As Matt inched closer to her face, puckering his lips, Jennie ended up slapping him in the face to block his advances. That caused Nick to spit out his water and laugh with the rest of the studio.

Relieved, the members burst out in laughter at how smoothly she refused his advances and made fun of Matt for looking offended.

"Damn, can you slap me again? That was hot. Playing hard to get, I see," Matt laughed and got back up on his feet, rubbing the side of his face.

Jungkook rolled his neck and continued to watch the screen, unamused.

"This idiot just won't learn..." Namjoon shook his head.

"Playing hard to get? What part of she isn't interested don't you understand!?" Jin shouted at the screen.

What made the boys even happier was that they heard her insult him in Korean and virtually high-fived and praised her for it.

Fans tweeted:

‘Yasssss! Rejected his clown ass’

‘Savage lmaoooo! Go Jennie!’

'The fact that he thought she was going to kiss him is beyond me’

'I hope he backs off now’

Jackson from GOT7 tweets, 'LOL nice slap Jennie. Good 4 u! @BTS_twt #WildNOut'

As the show went on, the boys were entertained by the Now You Wild Out game. They loved how Jennie looked like she was having a blast. No way would she be able to do anything like this in Seoul, so it was nice to see her do something where she had more freedom on TV.

"Now you wild out," the audience said while both teams danced to the beat again. "Now you wild out!"

Matt looked directly at Jennie with a flirty smile. "You into white boys? You into white boys? You into white boys? Now you wild out!"

Shrugging, Jen waved him away. "I am but not you, I am but not you, I am but not you, now you wild out!"

The boys applauded her for that statement and even bounced in their seats to the beat.

"Give me a chance!" he replied while his team backed him up by looking like they were begging her to say yes. "...give me a chance, give me a chance, now you wild out!"

Dancing to the beat, she remained unbothered. "No way, no way, no way, now you wild out!"

"You know you want this," he flexed his arms. "...you know you want this, you know you want this, now you wild out!"

“Annoying...why is he so persistent? Like just go away and shut up,” Jimin whined and rolled his eyes.

“What a cornball...” Yoongi muttered and shook his head in disapproval. “We all see that smartie is not interested. He looks pitiful trying. He should have stopped, right there,”

“He is corny,” Hobi agreed.

“I have never seen anyone this lame,” Taehyung added.

“Jungkook has bigger muscles than him,” Jin pointed out.

“Yeah, she ogles over him tirelessly,” Jimin said in a fit of giggles.

“Hey! Hey! Don’t put me on blast!” Jen exclaimed.

“You didn’t deny it,” Jungkook teased her.

“Oh my God,” she chuckled and covered her face.

Looking around confused with her team, Jen stated, "Who lied!? Who lied!? Who lied!? Now you wild out!" she pointed at him.

"I still smashed," Matt shrugged and jumped to the beat, causing the Gold team to look at him in surprise and get hyped. "...I still smashed, I still smashed, now you wild out!"

"No, the hell he didn't smash," Jungkook growled, narrowing his eyes at the screen.

“I beg your pardon!?” Jin barked.

Jennie felt high tension rising from the members as she cringed.

Taehyung’s smile dropped and he glared at the TV after Matt said that. No one ever disrespects his best friend like this. That wasn’t cool of him to say. She was worth more than a simple “smash”.

Namjoon laughed dryly, he turned his head to Hobi. “Diss track?”

“Diss track. Diss track?” Hobi nodded and turned to Yoongi.

“Diss track,” the Daegu rapper confirmed in a lethal voice.

Matt was in for it now.

Fans and supporters of Jennie weren’t too pleased with Matt’s comments and even began calling him out on it:

‘No frickin way did he just say that!’

‘That was so disrespectful!’

‘I don’t like that he said that to her’

‘As if Jennie would sleep with him of all people!’

Zico tweeted, 'This man screwed up now...don't ever disrespect Miss Bangtan. #WildNOut'

“Trust me, I’m not going to let a man like him get away with that statement,” Jen responded.

Thinking quickly on her feet, determined to not stutter, Jennie dropped it down low, balancing nicely as she moved her hips, knees, and ass up and down to the beat of the song, distracting him as both teams yelled. Laughter around the studio rose in volume when she spoke. "Was it in though? Was it in though? Was it in though? Now you wild out!"

The boys laughed at her response and cheered. Yoongi chuckled and nodded in approval, impressed by her comment.

"When did you learn how to do that!?" Jin exclaimed, shocked at the way she twerked.

"I can twerk better than you, Jennie," Jungkook called out, making her laugh.

"Not you thinking you can out twerk Miss Bangtan," she giggled.

Fans watching loved her response and it seemed like Miss Walker was now Jennie's new nickname, especially if she was looking sexy or feeling herself.

"Okay, I grabbed the closest person to me which was Desiigner for this, part," Jen explained.

Almost fumbling with his words, Matt managed to say, "M-my dick can definitely hit it right! And my tongue is better, my tongue is better, my tongue is better, now you wild out!"

Putting him out of his misery, Jennie grabbed onto Desiigner, letting him wrap an arm around her while she rocked to the beat with him. With Jungkook on her mind, she replied, "I've had better head, I've had better head, I've had better head, now you wild out!"

The boys laughed again and cheered for her for winning the point for her team. Jungkook chuckled as he understood her response, feeling good about himself.

For the last segment, they watched as Nick began to diss Jennie.

"Uh. Clap your hands, y'all. Clap your hands, y'all. Yo, Miss Jennifer Walker, you a real big talker. After you left Amity, we forgot who you are. But don't worry, I'm sure Angelina can still make you a star,"

“I don’t like that,” Jin frowned.

Nick continued. "You left one group so when you leavin' the other one? You tend to do that when you not having any fun."

Taehyung grimaced at that. He hit below the belt. He didn’t think he could be on a show like this. It seemed like the cast members would say just anything for shock value. He didn't understand it.

"Ah, I feel weird," Jimin said with a hint of sadness while the rest agreed.

“It was all in good fun. We don’t take it, literally. I’m okay, guys. Don’t worry,” Jen reassured them.

Speaking her mind, Jennie went off. "Coming for me you must have a death wish. Bangtan is charting, where you at on the charts, bitch?"

“Ohhhhhhhh~!” the boys shouted.

Yoongi smirked in amusement. “That’s my smartie.”

“My girlfriend is the best,” Jungkook said proudly.

"I left for better opportunities, ones that SongStress couldn't give me," she went on. "I auditioned for something I love and Big Hit chose me,"

The boys whooped and applauded, “Suga hyung taught her well!” Jimin giggled.

Becky Robinson stepped up to represent the Gold team. "Jennie, sweetheart, get over here. Let me talk to you," she gestured to her as Jennie went back in front of her team. "Little miss high and mighty, the one that likes Nike. You say you can rap but I doubt that's likely."

“Whoa! Where did she come from?” Jin exclaimed.

Jennie grabbed the mic and spoke, "Correction, it's Miss Bangtan and yeah I'm the girl that loves Nike. I'm rapping right now and the chance of you winning ain't likely,"

"BTS, BTS, go back to them weird Asian boys. How the heck you go from Amity to trashier noise?" she questioned.

“Weird?! How are we weird?” Jimin wailed as the boys booed at her response.

“We’re cooler than her, it doesn’t matter,” Hobi brushed her comment aside.

“Trash?” Namjoon looked the most offended out of the boys.

“I defended our honor. Keep watching,” Jen replied.

"Weird?! Weird Asian boys!? BITCH!" Tim called out, ready to get involved in the freestyle. "Jennie, you got this or do you want me to go?"

Jennie turned to Tim and smiled in reassurance, telling him she got this, and turned back to Becky. "Bitch, I'll go back to my amazing Asian boys after I win this belt. You got three seconds to get the hell out of my face before you get a welt. Trashier noise? Girl, be for real. Compared to you, our music brings more appeal. You wouldn't last a day in Bangtan's shoes, let's make that clear. Bangtan is selling out venues faster than your career."

The members cheered at that and praised her again. She did a great job making sure no one got away with talking bad about them.

"Matt, your game is tired like Advil PM. I know I am desired but do me a favor and stop sliding in my DMs," she announced.

Matt nodded and spoke up, "Okay, I slid in your DMs but stop with the front. Stop being in denial with this reject Matt publicity stunt. I guarantee that after the show you'll be calling my phone. I meant what I said on Let Me Holla, so let me make your mind blown,"

"The fact that this dumbass thinks that her rejecting him is a publicity stunt is beyond me," Hobi spoke up.

Jen rolled her eyes. "Face it, just face it. You brainless, you brainless. You said your tongue is better but I think that's outrageous,"

"Outrageous? You know you want a demonstration! After that, you'll be asking for a bae-cation," he smiled confidently.

"Cute. DJ D-Wrek, can you cut the beat, real quick?" she requested as a series of oohs were heard.

Angelina placed a hand over her heart, in surprise. "Nani!?" she exclaimed.

The boys watched in anticipation of what Jennie was going to say. Yoongi sat up, watching intently at how she was going to handle it.

"Hm. Okay..." Jen prepared her thoughts and looked directly at him. "Matt, get it through your thick skull that I don't want you. I am not Zendaya from Disney, I can punch the shit out of you,"

“That’s how you do it,” Jin nodded in approval as he read the Korean subtitles on the screen.

When they watched her speak in Korean the boys told her how much they appreciated her shouting them out.

Switching back to her native tongue, she put him out of his misery once and for all. "You ain't the first, you ain't the last but just know you will not be the one to smash. You might as well give up just like the others. All hot and bothered cause you can't get me under the covers. You only think with your second head so think of a new plan. But let's face it, Jennie don't want you, one minute man,"

The boys were no more good as they were falling out of their seats from laughter. There was no coming back from that. She handled herself well and she won the belt. They couldn’t wait to see it when she brought it to Seoul.

Fans were shooked that Jennie ended him and tweeted their support for her:

‘For K-ARMY and whoever else is confused, Thread on what One Minute Man stands for’

‘She ended his career lmao’

‘And I thought the Zendaya situation was worse lol’

'OMFSHSHSHAH ONE MINUTE MAN’

'LETHAL! JUST LETHAL! Do not piss off Miss Bangtan'

'911? Hi I would like to report a murder’

After the show, fans continued to clown Matt for getting rejected and were still upset over how he acted around Jennie.

Scrolling on Twitter, Jungkook saw that Matt had tweeted about Jennie.

'I still have hope that one of these days she’ll come around. I’ll wait for your text, Jennie. @BTS_twt’

Suddenly Bangtan’s Twitter got a new tweet submitted:

’@Mattrife if she said no once, respect it and do not ask again. Jennie will not be ur girlfriend. Take hint.’

Not expecting Bangtan to reply, fans began to freak out.

‘Wait is this real? Did someone really tweet this?’

‘WHO in BTS said it!?

'Who tf said this!?’

'Was it suga!?’

'Namjoon!?’

'AHHHHHH'

'WAIT WHAT’

'Who said this!?’

'Jennie are you seeing this??’

'who in BTS I-’

'I bet it was yoongi’

'Protection squad! Attack!’

'Bangtan don't play when it comes to Jennie. I love how they ride for her! Protect her at all costs!'

'Whoever spoke up against him, thank you!'

Matt replied, 'Whoa whoa. I meant no harm. I apologized. She and I are cool! Relax.'

Then the member revealed himself, breaking the internet,

'Good #V’

“Was that wise?” Hobi laughed.

"One of us was bound to say something," Namjoon added. "I was going to tweet too but he beat me to it,"

"He spoke what was on my mind. I just wished I tweeted first," Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck.

His feelings for wanting to go public with Jennie increased tenfold. He wanted everyone to know already so men could back off.

“Sorry, I was just angry. I had to tweet something out.” Taehyung responded. “I spoke on behalf of all of us,”

“He got the hint. Thanks, guys,“ Jennie thanked them for being protective.

Fans reacted to Taehyung’s tweet in a highly positive way and #Taennie began to trend worldwide.

'OMG V!? V!? V TWEETED’

'TAENNIE IS REAL’

'OHHH BOY’

'wtf does this meannnnnn!? #Taennie’

'OMFG’

As promised, the rap line made a diss track in response to Matt which broke the internet even more as ARMY streamed it on SoundCloud and YouTube, clowning him even more.

------

As September continued to go by, Big Hit started to release the WINGS videos. Jungkook was first and then Jimin the following day. As the days went by, V’s video was released next. Although people were excited about the comeback, concerns traveled through the K-Pop community because Jen was still nowhere to be found. Soon after, allegations that she was not going to be a part of WINGS made people worried.

Once BTS’ Japanese album, Youth, was released, they saw on Genius that Jennie was credited for the guitar on the Introduction: Youth song which made some calm down. And then she was involved in the Japanese version of the songs. But after videos for Suga and Rapmon dropped, all hell broke loose with rumors. And an article from ALLKPOP dropped.

BREAKING! Jennie to leave BTS?!

Headlines of her leaving, not being in the comeback, and taking a break were in various articles that alarmed Armies.

With Jennie, waking up from her phone buzzing, she scrolled through Twitter to see what the ruckus was about.

"Not again...they get on my damn nerves. Just because I’m not with them lately means I’m leaving? Do they make up everything to get a reaction out of people?” she complained and went through the comments.

‘NO! SHE CAN’T LEAVE!’

‘JENNIE IS IN BANGTAN FOR LIFE WTF’

‘How!’

‘What is going on!?’

‘ahgjsgskhkhgs nooooooooooo! Please don’t tell me she’s leaving!’

‘Stop!’

‘I don’t believe this! Trust Jennie!’

‘I just woke up what the actual fuck is this!?’

‘Queen isn’t leaving! Don’t believe it!’

‘What is this?? What did she do? Why?? how??’

‘Not on my watch!’

‘Who do I have to kill!?’

‘Stupid allkpop! She’s not leaving!’

‘Go to JYP then!’

‘YG says hi!’

‘Starship says hi!!’

‘WTF!? NO!’

Her Instagram received a burst of comments with crying emojis, begging her to stay and so on as she shook her head. It was crazy how easy allkpop could turn things into shit.

‘we miss you jennie!’

‘Miss you so much!’

‘Come back and update!’

‘Is it true you’re leaving? What happened’

‘Whatever is going on, we’ll support you. Stay strong’

‘We’re waiting for you!’

‘Please take care of yourself’

‘Are you OK??’

‘Please don’t leave bts’

‘Jen are you still with BTS!?’

‘WHERE IS YOUR WINGS VIDEO?’

‘Guys...I’m fucking scared...she’s not answering! She hasn’t updated in a long time.’

On top of that, antis got into it and began spreading rumors that Jen was giving Big Hit a hard time, the company was not happy with her, and that she had a big fight with Bangtan. All a bunch of bull.

After a phone call from Big Hit to tell her they were handling the situation and to remain silent, Jen went to the BTS group chat and sent a screenshot of the ridiculous article.

Jen: LOL WTF? Why does everybody think I’m leaving???

Jimin: KEKEKEKE not this again

Namjoon: They love doing this during comeback season

V: You don’t get a break do u Ennie?

Jen: lol nope. Anyway, everything is cleared for the Visa. About damn time. I'm performing with Shawn Mendes in a few days and then I will be on my way back to Seoul. I'll c u guys soon~

She was received with happy emojis and full capital lettered sentences. They were just as excited as her to return.

-----------

On September 10th, Jennie was filmed for a Bangtan Bomb, making her way to NYC to perform with Shawn Mendes in Madison Square Garden. Recently she recorded her version of I Know What You Did Last Summer with Shawn which would be released soon. She hoped fans loved it.

"Oh man, oh man, I am losing my mind. I am actually going to be performing with Shawn Mendes! THE Shawn Mendes! Ahhh~ a dream come true! And at Madison Square Garden!? An honor!" she beamed at the camera.

Hours before the show, she arrived, got ready, and hung out with Shawn, expressing her excitement for the performance. The two vibed like usual and were filmed for her Bangtan Bomb. The dress rehearsal went well and she patiently waited backstage with nervousness as the concert started.

"I'm like...shaking," she giggled and jumped around a little to calm herself as she was filmed. "I haven't performed in so long. My visa is finally fine and I will be going back to Seoul after this. But my goodness, performing after not performing on stage for a while is making me nervous. I hope my voice sounds well and it doesn't crack,"

On Stage, Shawn had just finished performing Kid in Love, as the loud crowd cheered for him. He stood on stage by a stand and had his guitar in his hands.

"Thank you! We have a special guest, tonight. Someone I am truly excited to be performing with. She is absolutely amazing at what she does and I'm happy I was able to get her to come here tonight. Give it up for Jennie of BTS!" Shawn proudly announced.

As soon as she walked out with a bright smile and a microphone in her hands, the crowd went crazy and cheered loudly for her. ARMY who were also Shawn Mendes fans attending the concert began freaking out and fan chanting BTS which caused Jennie to shout them out by pointing at them.

Fans tweet:

'Y'ALL I JUST LOST MY VOICE! Jennie is on stage with Shawn Mendes! There are a lot of ARMY in the crowd too freaking out!'

'I am at Shawn Mendes' concert and guess who came out to sing with him!? Jennie! Ahhhh I am so happy for her!'

'The girl with the guitar is here! She's here!'

'Guys Shawn said Jennie of BTS to announce her! So that is a GOOD sign that she is still in BTS! Trust Jennie!'

"Hi, Madison Square Garden! How we feelin'?!" Jennie beamed and got cheers in response. "Thank you! Wow, I am so excited to be here! It's an honor to be standing on stage with an artist I have admired for a long time, now. Shawn, thank you so much for inviting me here,"

"Thank you for being here with me," he smiled. "Jennie and I have been talking ever since we met at the Billboard Awards. And we thought this song would be perfect to sing together on tour. I hope you enjoy it!"

As soon as he started strumming the first notes of I Know What You Did Last Summer, the audience screamed as she began singing and moving to the music.

Ah-ah, hey-hey

Ah-ah, ah-ah

Ah-ah, hey-hey

Ah-ah, ah-ah

"He knows," she began to sing to loud cheers as reality hit her that was finally performing with Shawn. A big smile came across her face as she continued, "Dirty secrets that I keep. Does he know it's killing me? He knows, he knows. D-d-does he know. Another's hands have touched my skin? I won't tell him where I've been. He knows, he knows, he knows,"

It's tearing me apart

She's slipping away (I'm slipping away)

As soon as the crowd heard them sing together, they continued to freak out at how nice it sounded, loving their chemistry. Their voices blended so well and she made the song her own as she chose not to replicate Camila's version.

I know what you did last summer (ah-ah)

Just lied to me, "There's no other" (hey-hey)

I know what you did last summer

Tell me where you've been

She started dancing and swaying on stage, having fun as he would occasionally look over at her and smile. There were a bunch of times they'd meet each others' gaze and smile as they performed, moving together to the music.

Can't seem to let you go

Can't seem to keep you close

"Hold me close," she sang as they were at the bridge.

The audience was impressed by how she'd crescendo the lyrics as they sang together. And fell in love with her amazing run as she did the high note.

After they finished the song by singing "I know," together, loud screams and cheers were heard.

"Woo!" Shawn grinned as he went on to embrace her as she giggled, proud of their performance.

She did it. She sang and performed with Shawn Mendes. And this would not be the last time.

"You did amazing! Thank you for being here!" he said in her ear and pulled away.

"Thank you for having me! This was so fun!" she grinned.

"Give it up for Jennie of BTS!" Shawn cheered as she got a loud and warm reception from the audience.

"Thank you, New York!" she bowed and waved.

After performing, she stayed to watch the rest of the show, vibing to his performances. After the show, they took photos together and he posted them on Twitter and Instagram.

'A dream come true to be able to perform with you! Thank you for coming, Jennie! I Know What You Did Last Summer featuring Jennie of BTS will be out September 16th!'

Camila Cabello tweeted, 'Jennie~! You did amazing! So happy for you and Shawn for performing!'

Fans tweet:

'I loveee her energy! She is so cute!'

'JENNIE AND SHAWN~!! I AM NOT OKAY EMOTIONALLY!'

'We finally getting a collab! ARMY we gotta stream!'

'They looked like they had a lot of fun out there! I love how they looked at each other!'

'THEY KILLED THAT SHIT!'

'They may not be dating but their chemistry is off the charts! I love how they looked at each other while performing'

'Their voices fit SO well together omfg! Jennie is so good at harmonizing with people!'

'They need to record more songs together!'

'They sound just like the studio version! No autotune or anything needed! Just vibes! I love it!'

--------

When Jennie arrived at Incheon International Airport, news spread quickly about her arrival as fansites and Dispatch were crowded around, waiting for her return. Diana walked with Jennie who still had her wig on with a black beanie. Along with a small bookbag against her back, Jennie had the Wild N Out title over her shoulder.

As soon as fans caught sight of her, screams and cheers surrounded the airport as she smiled at the warm welcome. She waved and then raised the belt high in the air in victory.

"Your champion~!" Jen said proudly.

"You are so extra," Diana chuckled at her goofy antics.

Fans tweet:

‘GUYS!! Jennie is back in Korea! #ShesBack’

'The Visa issue has been settled!'

‘omgomgomg sksksksksjsfhs QUEEN IS BACK!! #ShesBack’

‘Queen looks so happy! Look at that smile!’

‘Lmaooooo MOOD!’

‘Raise that title high and proud!’

'I would raise that title too after embarrassing Matt Rife on TV lmfao'

Arriving at the dorm, she was excited to see the boys as they swarmed her into a big group hug. The hug got so intense that they all fell on the floor. Extra. All of them were. A warm welcome she expected nothing less from the boys. It made coming back to Seoul better. When she was finally back on her feet, Hobi pushed through and showered her with multiple kisses on her cheek.

“We missed you so much!” he yelled excitedly.

Jungkook watched as his hyungs kept trying to hog her and whined, “Can I finally hug her now?”

He tried to play it cool but deep down he wanted to bounce around the walls that Jennie was finally back in Seoul. Back home with BTS. Back home with him.

Yoongi chuckled. “Let’s let the kids have their moment,”

“Do you guys have to stare at us?” Jungkook began to blush, feeling shy as the boys started teasing them.

“I want to see a kiss!” Jimin demanded.

Rolling his eyes, Jungkook gently grabbed Jen’s hand and started walking in the direction of her bedroom.

“Hey! Don’t take her away!” Jin complained.

Ignoring him, Jungkook went into her room with her. After almost closing the door, leaving it cracked, he sighed out of relief and pulled her in for a tight embrace. His arms were wrapped securely around her waist as she rested her head against his chest.

“I’ve missed you so much.” He said. “Welcome back.”

“I missed you too,”

“Are you tired?” he cupped her face.

Feeling her nod as the jetlag was getting to her, he picked her up bridal style. Walking over to the bed, he laid her down gently under the covers and got in the covers, beside her.

“Sorry...I wanted to try to stay awake,” she murmured sleepily.

“Rest. We’ll catch up when you’re awake,” he said softly and kissed the side of her head.

He held her close to his chest and occasionally watched her sleep with a smile. Feeling movement on the bed, he turned his head to see Tony.

“Guess whose home, Tony?” he said softly as the dog looked excited.

Being well mannered, he did not bark to wake her up and chose to lay next to his parents.

A few hours later, Jennie began to stir in her sleep and opened her eyes to find herself in Jungkook's arms along with Tony resting next to them. She smiled at their sleeping forms and then moved closer to Jungkook’s face to kiss his nose. She giggled softly at the way he scrunched up his nose. It was cute. Soon his eyes were open.

“Hey, you,” she greeted softly.

“Hey, you,”

Leaning forward, she kissed him gently which turned into multiple short kisses against his soft lips. She used a hand to cup his face while hovering over him, to deepen the kiss as they made up for the lack of kisses over the several weeks away.

Suddenly Tony barked and jumped over them.

“Aw Tony,” Jungkook groaned, making Jennie laugh and get off him.

“Tony~! I’m home!” she grinned.

The couple watched as Tony waggled his tail happily. Jumping all over Jennie he licked her all over her face, happy that she was back in Seoul.

After playing with Tony, and cleaning her face, Jennie rested in bed with Jungkook. He listened to her talk about what was going on at home and how fun it was performing with Shawn. However, once he ran a hand over her hair, he noticed something...off.

“Something is wrong,” he murmured.

“What are you talking about?” she furrowed her eyebrows as they sat up in bed.

“It feels weird. Your hair feels weird,”

“What are you talking about it feels weird?”

“Your hair is not like this. Are you wearing a wig?”

How the heck did he know this quickly? Out of all the members too.

“No,” she firmly answered.

Jungkook stared at her suspiciously and raised an eyebrow.

“Kookie, stop looking at me like that. I’m not wearing a wig. The heck are you talking about?”

“This is a lace front,” he confirmed, staring at the top of her head. The beanie she had on was taken off before she slept.

“What you know about a lace front? There is no lace. This is all natural,”

“You taught me about wigs, remember? It looks exactly how you described it,”

“Did not,”

“Did too,“

"Did not,”

“Did too. 2014. American Hustle Life. When my team tried to pick up girls for the music video and saw some with wigs. I asked you,”

‘This man...’ she thought as he continued to pester her about it.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have educated him on that if her secret was going to backfire.

“Let me see,” he went on.

“See what?”

“Come on, I won’t tell, anyone. Please?”

“There is nothing to see,”

“I bet your hair has a new hair color under there. That’s the only reason why you’d wear a wig,”

“Um, no,”

“Um, yes,”

“Um, no,”

“Um yes. Come on! Show me!”

“There is nothing to see!”

“Baby~!” he whined.

“Oh my God...”

“Show meeeeeeee~!”

“What part of there is nothing to see don’t you understand? Damn!”

“If you don’t show me, I will tickle you,” he threatened in a playful tone, which alarmed her slightly.

“Jungkook! There is nothing to see!”

“Strike one.”

“Oh my gosh, you are doing the absolute most, right now!”

“Are you going to show me?”

“There is nothing to show!”

"Strike two.”

“Strike two-babe I have nothing to show you! Why don’t you believe me!?”

“Last warning.”

“Don’t do it. This is my real hair! I tried a new hair product but it just made it feel a little weird. I don’t think I’ll be using the product, again. Can you stop giving me that look? Stop staring at me like that. I’m serious, it’s just the new hair stuff.” she moved across the bed to try to get away from him.

“Okay,” Jungkook lunged at her, making her shriek. He then began to tickle her sides as she laughed out loud, squirming under him. “You gonna show me, now?”

“S-STOP-HAHAHA,”

She managed to push him off and she rolled out of the bed, landing on the floor. Jungkook rolled off the bed too and crawled after her, attempting to grab her leg to pull her back. Evading his attempt, she flipped away and stood up.

Grabbing the nearest stuffed animal, she threw it at him and he caught it with ease. Standing up, Jungkook tossed the stuffed animal aside and began walking towards her. Jen started backing up while throwing various stuffed animals at him while he remained unphased and let them hit his chest like it was nothing.

“Kook, I am warning you, right now,” she laughed, slapping his hands that were trying to grab her.

Deciding to use her charm, she pulled him in for a smooch to distract him. Once he kissed her back, her hands roamed down to the bottom of his shirt. She then lifted her knee against his stomach, making him lean forward which led her to pull his shirt over his head. Once she saw he was stuck, she ran away.

“See ya!” she yelled out with giggles.

“No fair!” he shouted, struggling to get out of the shirt.

Once he did, he tossed the shirt on her bed and remained in his basketball shorts. Jungkook walked out of the room and scanned the hallway. She was hiding somewhere.

“Jagi, where’d you go?” he called out.

He checked the closets, the other bedrooms, the tables, and the couch. But she was nowhere to be found.

“I guess I’ll eat some of these smarties!” he shouted out, anticipating her to freak out.

But nothing.

Hearing footsteps, he turned his head to see her running back to her room. High on her tail, he caught the door before she slammed it shut. The female member laughed as he walked into her room and shut the door behind him.

“Gotcha,” he grinned victoriously.

“Not quite,” she answered, evading his attempt to grab her again.

This time, she decided to use some of her self defense moves and tripped him down on the carpet for a smooth takedown. Falling on top of him, she straddled him and pinned him down.

“Gotcha,” she mocked him.

Jungkook became Jungshooked at how easily she pinned him down and deep down he enjoyed the position of her on top of him. Lowkey, it was a position he hoped to see more intimately, one day.

"This is a nice view," he grinned, glancing at the position they were in.

"S-shut up!" her face felt flushed.

For revenge for tickling her earlier, she decided to tickle him as the two went on a laughing fit, rolling around on the floor in a tickle fight. After they were done, they sat on the floor and she decided to show him her hair as long as he would treat her to the noodles she liked.

"You serious?” he grinned. “That is all I have to do?”

“Yeah. Just...close your eyes first, okay?” she requested.

He closed his eyes. “What color?"

“You’ll see in a bit,”

Carefully removing the secured wig and wig cap, she unbraided her red hair. She looked at Jungkook who waited patiently with a smile.

Was he going to like her hair like this?

“O-okay. Open,”

Slowly opening up his eyes, he stared at her hair in admiration.

“Is it bad?” she looked concerned at how he sat there unable to say anything.

His doe eyes were enlarged and his lips parted slightly.

“No! No way! It looks amazing! Red!? It suits you, well! Wow...you’re so beautiful,” he smiled, placing a hand against her cheek.

“Thanks, Kookie.”

“Am I the only one who knows?”

“And Diana, Angelina and my family. The rest of the guys don’t know, yet. I’m going to wear my wig until Big Hit drops my video so they can all be shooked,”

“I can't wait to see their reactions,”

-------

After J-Hope and Jin had their videos released, the members celebrated Namjoon’s birthday. Jennie with Jimin’s assistance made him a Ryan themed cake.

When they presented it to him, Namjoon looked like a kid on Christmas and began happily jumping up and down. He then let out a loud scream of excitement, which had Jennie dying of laughter with the rest of the boys.

For a prank, she and Hobi thought it would be a good idea to show an old video for his birthday. Getting the rest of the members into it, they began to film Namjoon about to walk into a room.

“Hey, wait a moment. Wait,” Hobi said with Namjoon who had a blindfold on.

“I can’t believe you baked him a Ryan cake,” Suga chuckled. “It’s cute,”

“I tried my best. It looks pretty good so I can’t wait to eat a slice,” Jen said.

“Everything you bake is good so I have no doubt, smartie,”

“Oh you,” she smiled. “Jimin helped me. He deserves credit, too. You did a wonderful job helping me, Chim,”

“Thanks, Ennie! It was fun baking. I hope you like it hyung,” Jimin said.

“Namjoon, expect something good,” Hobi announced.

“What? What is it?” Namjoon asked.

“Expect something good. We prepared it for you,” Jin added.

“Let’s open the door,” V said.

“Just what on earth are you guys doing?” Namjoon questioned.

“We’re going in, we’re going in,” Hobi announced as they all walked into the room to reveal Tears of School playing on the TV. A song performed by Jin, Suga, and Namjoon before debut.

“Hey, where are we going?” Namjoon asked. Once he was told to take off his made, he almost cussed. "Oh man sh-"

The leader immediately covered his face in embarrassment while everyone laughed around him.

“Just for you,” Suga said.

“We did this along with the video,” Hobi revealed.

“Hey! Wait a second! AHHHHH!” Namjoon yelled, covering his face again.

Jennie and Hobi high fived each other. Mission accomplished.

After celebrating Rapmon’s birthday, JenKook spent the rest of the day playing video games in her room. Soon after, they went to watch some Family Guy episodes, with Korean subtitles for Jungkook, while sitting up against her bed.

While Jen was immersed in the show, Jungkook began to think about the conversation he had with Rapmon. When he told him about wanting to take the next step with Jennie. Jungkook thought of bringing it up now but he wondered how he should say it.

“You all right?” Jen asked, noticing his deep in thought facial expression.

“Just a lot on my mind, that’s all,”

“What’s up?”

He let out a sigh and turned to her. “I...I want to talk to you about something,”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been...I’ve been thinking...about you, lately,”

She smiled at his words. “I’ve been thinking about you, too,”

“Like...more than usual,”

“So have I,” she chuckled, wondering what he was getting at.

She hadn’t seen him in several weeks, of course, he was on her mind.

“I get that but the way that I have been thinking about you...I dunno if it’s how you’re thinking about me,” he responded with a serious expression.

His intense look made her face warm up as she managed to hold his gaze.

“How have you been thinking about me?”

“You and I together. On the bed. Doing a lot more than just cuddling.”

Jennie felt a strong sensation between her legs and squirmed slightly as she thought about having her first time with him. Something she had thought of as well.

“I want us to take our relationship to the next level. Only if you’re ready,” he went on. “I want to show you how much I love you and make you feel good. I’ve been thinking about making you feel good for a while now. You just...drive me a little crazy sometimes,”

‘You drive me a little crazy too,’ she thought as her face felt flushed. She wanted to say it out loud but she didn’t trust her voice at the moment.

“I want you to tell me when you’re ready. Take all the time you need. I want you to say it out loud that you’re ready for the next step. I’ll wait. As long as I have to. Don’t feel like you need to give me an answer now, Jagi. I just wanted to be honest about how I’ve been feeling about you, lately. I hope I...didn’t make you uncomfortable,” he rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks getting pink.

“No,” she said and shook her head. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable,”

“That’s a relief to hear,”

“I’m glad we’re talking about this. I want to be honest, too,”

He nodded, awaiting what she had to say. It felt good to be open about this topic.

“Occasionally I’d think about it, too. Like what if we were to have sex?" she said. "I think my biggest worry is if I’ll be able to satisfy you, well. I don’t want to do a bad job or something. I know what to do and all. It’s just...I don’t want you to be anticipating it and when it happens it’s disappointing,”

That surprised him. He didn’t think she would worry about something so silly like that. Did she not know the effect she had on him mentally and physically? She didn’t have to worry about a thing when it comes to satisfying him.

“You won’t,” he guaranteed.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I feel like making love to the person you love is one of the greatest things ever. No matter what we do, it’s going to feel right. Especially when we’re so comfortable around each other. You don’t need to worry about anything. I’m pretty eager to learn more about you in that way. When you’re ready for me,”

She chuckled lightly and nodded, feeling at ease from his words.

“Sometimes I get worried, too,” he admitted. “Will I be able to get you there and make sure to perform well for you? It’s my first time too so I want to do the best I can. And make sure you’re not in any pain,”

“You will. Because I love you,”

He smiled. “I love you, too. We’ll take it slow,”

“Yeah. Let’s take our time. I know when it’s with you I shouldn’t have to worry about a thing. I know you will make me feel amazing and we’ll learn together about ourselves in an intimate way. When I’m ready, I will let you know. Verbally. I’ll say it with confidence,”

He smirked softly and nodded. “Okay, baby girl.”

After kissing her forehead, he left the room to take a shower. Jennie exhaled and laid on her back across the bed.

“Losing our virginities to each other. He wants to make love to me,” she smiled softly, thinking about their conversation as she looked up at the ceiling.

She wondered when she would be ready to give herself to him.

-------

The following day, Big Hit finally released her WINGS 8 video. Along with that, Jennie returned to social media after being given the OK by Big Hit. She posted a photo of herself looking into the mirror with her two personas.

The caption she wrote for her photo was, ‘Did I do the right thing? #Wings #DidYouMissMe’

Twitter blew up when everything dropped. From her hair to her being a part of the comeback, it was an exciting day for ARMY.

Fans Tweet:

‘Big Hittttttt! We have been waiting for this woman!’

‘Bighit has answered our prayers!’

‘FUCK!’

‘AHHHHHHHHH’

‘HOLY SHIT AGSHFHS’

‘Did she do the right thing!? I AM DEAD! She’s still here! I’m so happy!’

‘It’s happening! It’s happening! Everyone stay calm!’

‘THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Jennie’s hair is RED! I REPEAT! Jennie’s hair is RED!’

‘Your hair!!! Omg’

‘She finally dyed her hair!’

‘JENNIE!!! OH MY GOD!’

‘BIGHIT WHY YOU DO DIS TO MEHHHH’

‘It has been 84 years! She finally dyed her hair!’

‘If Jennie dyed her hair, you know this comeback is about to be LIT!’

‘GUYS...SHE DYED HER HAIR! SOMETHING BIG IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN!’

‘Big Hit you waited until the wings era to dye her hair!?’

'SHES COMING!'

‘I need to know if she killed her ex in that video! So many questions left unanswered!’

'Who found Jennie at the airport!? Who!? Was it the police!? Was it her ex!? Is he still alive!? I am losing it here!'

‘Where are the people making theories? I need to know everything about Jennie’s video!’

Even her idol friends freaked out over her concept video and photos and cheered for her on social media, which made her heart soar.

While Jennie chilled in the smartie factory, taking a break from writing lyrics, she heard loud yelling from the guys and it seemed to get closer to her studio.

She picked up bits and pieces like "hair”, “red” and a series of “ohmyGods” as she laughed.

It looked like the boys watched her video. As if on cue, Jin, Jimin, Hobi, and V barged in and swarmed her with questions. And once they saw that she was no longer in her wig but with her natural hair in red, they yelled with joy.

“So, it is real!? You dyed your hair for the comeback!?” Jimin asked excitedly.

“Uh huh! You like it?” she beamed as V continued to look speechless. “Uh...V? You okay?”

“It looks so cool! Can I touch it?” he asked.

“Aye, aye, don’t touch it,” she leaned back to avoid his eager hands.

He giggled. “Sorry. I just love it so much. And guess what? No more memes about your hair being dyed,”

She chuckled at the thought. He was correct. As many times as the fanbase clowned her for not changing her hair color.

Jin was bewildered that her hair was now a different color. He and the rest have gotten so used to her natural color that they thought she would never change it. He stared, admiring the color.

“When did you do this?” he asked.

“Before I came back to Seoul. Even before the Wild N Out taping. I’ve been wearing a wig this whole time,” she grinned.

“Wow~! I did not notice at all. The wig looked so real,” Hobi replied.

On Twitter, some of the members tweeted about her first new hair color,

'ARMY Jennie finally dyed her hair! RED! REEEEEEEEEEEEED #V’

'Does this mean you will be Lita when we wrestle again? You’re still going to lose sweetheart #Jin’

'Red suits you smartie. #Yoongi’

'My eyes aren’t deceiving me, are they? Beautiful hair #RM’

Even Shawn Mendes had to tweet about it. 'Wow! Red hair! I am ready! #Wings’

Jennie smiled at the positive reactions and tweeted, 'LOL. I’m glad you guys like the new hair color. Long overdue, huh? #Jen’

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