TDS 2 - Jeno

by Boyswho

I'm way too lazy to copy that Marvel What If font rn but...what if

What if Korn took Nampheung, not out of obsession or some freaky desire to attic wife her, but to please his father? I think it’s pretty much a given that his recitation of the shooting events is a lie and that Gun’s is closer to the truth. 

In both versions, though, they are there trying to persuade Nampheung to come home again because their dad is insisting. I’m guessing that since Nampheung has yet another son, their father is ready for her to come back into the fold, bringing her kids with her. Korn kills her husband, obviously to get him out of the way. But I think that he didn’t want even more competition against his own sons for a place in the family. Vegas and Macau were enough. So he brings her and leaves Porsche and Chay behind. 

And then he tells his father the same story he told Gun, but in reverse. Gun freaked out. Gun killed Ted. Gun killed Porsche and Chay because he’s obsessed with Nampheung. Gun tried to rape her. Keep her locked away and safe from Gun. It’s enough to make Gun completely lose favor with his father. Nampheung either tries to kill herself because she thinks her sons are dead as well, or Korn just keeps her drugged up. Now he’s eliminated both rivals for the head of the family in one fell swoop. After his father dies, he keeps her because why not? She’s completely under his control and someday he might need her as a weapon/hostage (turns out he does). 

What if Porsche is actually Gun’s son? Gun doesn’t know it, Nampheung didn’t tell him — I’m thinking one night of passion and her realizing that is she was with him, she’d never escape the Mafia life, or they knew their dad would never allow it. So she just ran off with Pat, who married her to protect her and the baby (maybe he was already in love with her, maybe they fell in love later.) But Korn knows it or at least he’s pretty sure of it. It would explain his interest in Porsche but not Chay, who would presumably be more malleable for Korn’s needs. (I know people have explored this possibility in way more depth than I can).

Yes, I know that would make Porsche and Kinn actual cousins, but look, I’m watching a show where a severed head in a box is considered a gift, and a torture raincoat standard equipment. Every romantic relationship on this show is ignoring the guy on the ship waving blood-red semaphore flags in frantic “danger, Will Robinson” messages. I promise you, my line is not a consensual romantic relationship between two blood-related adults who didn’t even grow up together. 

TBH, I’m just throwing this out here because I want Porsche and Vegas and Macau and Chay to have to navigate an enemies-to-brothers relationship. Porsche and Vegas, two men conditioned to love and protect their brothers, having to deal with their super awkward relationship. Chay and Macau, both used to being the adored baby brother, unable to stifle their resentment and confusion. Heck, they’re still babies, so send them off to camp together so we can have a Parent Trap type bonding situation. Y’all I just want one of those cheesy 80s, defensive “that’s my brother!” moments.

What if Porsche becoming Tankhun’s bodyguard was meant to be a test by both Khun and Korn as well as taking Porsche off of the hot seat for a minute? Korn brings Porsche in, is delighted by his moxie, puts him on the board as an actual player, and then he’s just a disaster who almost gets himself killed by the Minor Family. So, letting him be Tankhun’s bodyguard got him out of the spotlight for a minute, long enough for the Minor family to move on to other grudges. And it was a test to see if he had any ambition, any edge at all. That’s why Korn does not want him to guard anybody else when Porsche suggests it. He passed the test and needs to stay in play. 

Khun sees Kinn’s interest in Porsche. After all, Kinn comes personally to rescue Porsche from his fish-killing punishment. Switching Pete and Porsche protects him from Minor family retaliation(because come on, do we really think that Vegas was gonna let that go? If he hadn’t wanted to use Porsche, he would absolutely have gotten revenge.) It also gives Khun a chance to study Porsche and see if he’s worthy of Kinn’s attention. When he decides he is, he nudges him back toward Kinn ...mentioning the meeting, telling him that Kinn said he was useless and would get killed, eventually “giving” him back to Kinn with the flimsiest excuse. 

@iamcon-fu-sion mentions some of these ideas about the bodyguard situation in their KP rewatch and I was so happy to see that because I constantly think I’m over analysing everything about this show(I mean I’m not gonna stop though). 

What if Ken wasn’t the original mole? What if it was a lower-level bodyguard, and he didn’t betray the main family until Porsche came onto the scene? Maybe he’d already turned down the offer before. Then Big gets hurt and Porsche comes along out of nowhere. By rights, Ken should have moved into Big’s spot, but Porsche stops that, humiliating them in the process. Porsche continually fucks up and yet still fails upward. Sure, they made fun of him being Tankhun’s bodyguard, but realistically, Tankhun has the best bodyguards they have other than Big and Ken. 

Arm and Pete are constantly pulled into other missions because they’re so valuable and talented. Maybe no one wants the job, but it’s still one of the most high-ranking. Then, when Ken does get the head bodyguard job, it’s yanked back out from under him. He has no idea that Porsche is getting all kinds of nepo baby/sugar baby privileges, but whatever is going on is enough to leave him bitter, angry, and betrayed enough to go over to the minor family. 

editing this because where did I get Ted for the Kittisawasd dad? I ...have no idea.

Hello and I am SO ecstatic about the chapter, IT WAS AMAZING. I couldn’t resist and read it yesterday at work, and then spent half the night at home and I don’t regret anything. First of all, how much I hate Korn and Kinna (my dream is, that when Vegas recovers, he and Pete will show everyone what they are capable of 😏), because the handcuffs were so terrible on their part, I hate it. I really liked how Pete said: But Porsche loves you, why can’t I have Vegas? IT WAS WOW, because Kinne put Porsche in a situation with no choice and he is now there as a prisoner, and on the other hand we have Pete, who in contrast now clearly sees how much freedom and choice Vegas gave him (even the example with money), I like how Pete thinks that he wants this with Vegas", that this is the beginning for them, that he sees how Vegas is trying ✨The scene when none of them thought that Pete could hide Macau and Vegas who IMMEDIATELY looks at Pete says this about a lot of things, no one still understands what he is capable of (but he has not yet shown himself more positive Vegas right under their noses) POV VEGAS OH MY GOD I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, that he would think about Pete and all sorts of dirty things , because this is Vegas (but there was a very cute moment when he saw Pete sleeping with Macau, and then the ring on his finger that means so much), but we all know that Vegas is a horny ass. And the moment when he thinks about what he needs be careful not to push Pete (that means so much and I'm so glad he understands that). Poor Vegas is in a situation where he can't have sex with Pete and he's actually so sad about it, it's funny (I I think Vegas will find a way to even take Makoo and grandma into account there, because well, this is Vegas), I would really like to read more about his thoughts in principle, and about his thoughts during any sexual contact, because I’m sure it’s such a fire🔥🔥🔥Thank you for this chapter, the expectations were worth it, I am completely addicted to this fanfic🩷🩷What is it like when you wrote a work that so many people are addicted to? I am sending you rays of kindness and hugs 🫂

Omg thank you so much you are so kind for saying so!! Haha we love that no regrets read for sure! Yeah ugh really showing themselves as the literal worst in this chapter!! Pete really does deserve to go a little apeshit on them tbh

Yeah it is so wild for him to be comparing the two when he obvs first thought Porsche and kinns relationship was normal and healthy but oooooh boy have we seen that slowly go to seed. Think the biggest difference is Vegas is willing to change and adapt his approach to things (and also a big part of his character is pleasing Pete so it’s simple for him to course correct when Pete tells him he’s not happy with certain things) Kinn is a bit different in that he wants Porsche for himself but he’s not always that concerned with Porsches happiness and feelings he’s always just overriding everything to keep himself in control (wild that the way they are in their relationships also reflect how theyve have been taught/treated by their fathers)

Oooh yeah Vegas easily revealing how deeply he trusts Pete and that he knows who would be the one to step in for Macau is just chefs kiss

Omg hahahah yeah that was the least surprising thing about his pov that he was such a horny ass about it lol. We’re going to continue into his pov for a little while longer and there definitely will be more sex scenes (but yeah Vegas will be fighting for his life to get Pete laid hahahhaha)

Ahh you’re so very welcome I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! Thank you!! Oh yeah it’s very strange because I wasn’t expecting such an intense reaction to it (in a good way) and it has been really fun to engage with all the fandom about it ☺️

thanks @lu-sn for tagging me!

Rules: Go to your published works on AO3 and list the first fic you ever published there, the last fic you published, any fic that you wrote for a fandom/ship only once, your favorite fic you wrote in the fandom/ship that has the most works, the fic you wish more people read, the fic you agonized over the most, the fic that sprang fully formed from your mind without any effort, and a work you are proud of—for whatever reason.

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first fic ever published: Settling Down, Settling In

this was Beka Cooper post-canon fic from 2011 and also the only het fic i ever wrote lollll though i then proceeded to publish nothing else for 8 years, i do still have a lot of fondness for this fic, and for the many, many het YA fantasy novels that have shaped the way i read and write

last fic published: a patient kind of guy

actually i lied, there's het in this fic too...specifically comphet, and the explorations thereof (it's a Be My Favorite fic, specifically a Pisaeng character study, nuff said). actually really proud of this one cause i like to think this fic showcases how far i've come in terms of being able to write angst, smut, humour, longing, and complex themes all in one 6k word fic

any fic i wrote for a ship only once: Five Times Wen Qing Writes to Jiang Yanli

huh, turns out i write quite a lot of ships only once, but i'm particularly proud of this femslash fic, firstly because in general there's not enough femslash in the world, and secondly because the MDZS ladies in specific deserved better!! also there's an incredible podfic recorded by some incredible people for it and listening to that was the COOLEST FREAKING THING

favorite fic for ship with most works: Thirty Years of (Someone Else's) Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!

you know what, i loved this ship SO FUCKING MUCH and this was hands down the most joyful cracktastic fic i've ever written and it's all about THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP and yeah, if i could pick one work to remember of everything i wrote for these boys, it would be this one. sigh.

fic i wish more people read: Dad Joke

speaking of joyful cracktastic fics about the magic of friendship lolllll Macau and Chay have so much potential to be INCREDIBLE together as romantic/platonic co-conspirators and i didn't even realise until i finished writing this fic--this legitimately started out with me wanting to have Macau yell "it's a dad joke" about calling Pete 'dad' and then i woke up from my 24 hour writing fugue state with new, inconvenient macauchay feels lol guess the joke is on me (also i sometimes read this fic again and still laugh at my own jokes and i'm v proud of that)

fic i agonized over the most: Starving, Faithful

okay i'm sure i agonised over The Long Road Across The Wilderness - 荒尘渡 too (42k words of yi city boys on a big bang deadline ><) but FUCKING HELL the sheer amount of SCREAMING i did about the vegaspete post-credits scene for Starving Faithful man, and how it didn't ALIGN THEMATICALLY with how i'd conceptualised vegaspete in chapters 1 through 4 with the HUNGER and the OWNERSHIP and i rewrote that ending scene SO many times (with very patient, intelligent handholding from my incredible beta) and in the end just kinda went fuck it and gave up lol tbh i still have no idea if it's as resonant or consistent as i wanted it to be but overall i think i did pretty okay with that fic anyway

fic that sprang fully formed from my mind: Seven Years

444 words of Xue Yang character study that just flowed out in like 10 minutes inspired by this piece of fanart, one of the coolest collab and writing experiences i've had because i'm a plotter so that's basically never happened to me before and has never happened to me again lol (maybe i should actively look for fanart i like to see if inspiration will strike again hmm...)

work i am proud of: all of them. genuinely. i worked hard on every single one of those fics and at least one person has enjoyed reading each one of those fics, and i dunno i just think that's really, really cool. fandom is really pretty special <3<3<3

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tagging @ghost--houses and @giraffeter

This might be unpopular and controversial, but I have little to no interest in the Kimchay romance. Now I'm LOVING the actor that's playing Chay and I think only he can play him - but with him originally supposed to be played by Gameplay, who has a BL history with Jeff, I just think I lost interest in that couple once he dropped out. I just think Barcode's Chay could be better with Macau, and it could've had the possibility for some good messy drama.

I have never cared about actors staying in pairings and I think it's a disservice to decide not to care because of that.

I know that there are a lot of people who have no interest in them as a pairing and, you know, that's totally fine. There's no need to be interested in a pairing you're not. I mean, I'm certainly not interested in the main pairing so, hey, you do you in terms of show watching.

I enjoy the romance between Kim and Chay because I love celebrity/fan and age gap with a brave, forward younger half of the relationship. So it hits a lot of buttons for my enjoyment.

But it's not everyone's cup of tea. Nothing is everyone's cup of tea.

Would I also have enjoyed Chay and Macau? I mean, sure! It would have been a totally different flavor of drama.

But there's a lot of things I would change before I changed that, tbh.

Hi! I loooooved the new chapter, it was def worth the wait! So much to unpack this chapter but my main take aways are:

1. Love vegas' guards. I really relate to oat having to pee every five min. Same.

2. Super impressed with vegas and how he can get aroused in any situation. Like, bro you almost died and getting to smash pete is the first thing you think about??? He's gonna have a rough couple of weeks with no sex.

3. Kim is 25?????? I thought he was maybe a year or two older than chay. I know the series is very vague on the character ages. I think the novel is a little more clear with most of the characters being in their early twenties. How old are the all characters in your fic? Is vegas older than pete? I'm super curious.

4. I know this is a vp fic but I'm super excited to see how the other couples work out. Kinn is a massive tool but I'm still rooting for him and porsche to have a happy ending. Porsche deserves it. I was rooting for kimchay to patch things up in the show. I don't know about in this fic though 😅. I hope kim can at least give a real apology for Chay's sake at least. What are your thoughts on the kimchay relationship? Do you have any plans for them?

Thank you so much for the great chapter! Wishing you the best!

Ahh thank you angel!! Haha poor oat and his tiny bladder but of course Pete was just being impatient and getting annoyed by the smallest things because he was so worried about Vegas!

Omg Vegas is literally feral!!! But I do think there’s an edge of real insecurity to that where he’s afraid that if he’s not providing mind blowing sex at any given moment that Pete might not put up with him (this will eventually be addressed at some point tho) but yeah he is going to have a hard time in the next few weeks

Yeah all the ages were kinda vague so when I googled I basically just came across guesses for age ranges? So in this fic Kim is 25, I have Kinn as like 26/27 and tankhun around 29/30. Pete and Porsche are both around 24 and Macau and porchay are eighteen (though Macau is older and is closer to turning nineteen at this point) Vegas is a little older than Pete around 25/26. But also in the show the actor that played Kim looks wayyyy older than the actor playing chay so I did kind of want to play that up a bit to add to the unsettling vibe?? Like tbh all of these relationships in this fic (and in the show) are a bit unsettling that’s why the power and control and ideas of consent are all swirling around in the story tbh!

Kinn is a massive tool for sure but until things improve I basically considered that fight with him and Porsche as Porsche basically dumping his ass.

Tbh Kim and porchay were never particularly important to me but that’s because I don’t really find the young innocent/naive and ruthless/liar/false identity couple dynamic very interesting even if I do like their characters? Obviously there’s more to the story than what’s come to us in this chap from Porsches biased perspective but yeah I don’t really envision them having a happy ending in this (but I’m not sure if they did in the books anyway? But yeah it was a pretty bitter ending in the show) I think kim will do his best to apologise but he kinda seems to strike me as the most similar to mr korn personality wise? So he’ll be sorry that chay is hurt but not necessarily sorry for his actions if that makes sense? He’s ruthless and I think he got a little caught up in the pretending with chay too

But yeah basically I kinda wanted to highlight how the cruelty and the trauma trickles down into all of mr kan and mr korns sons and how they still pass that on in how they behave in their relationships in different ways tbh they’re all pretty fucked up

Oh you’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed the latest chap!

I read the chapter for several hours and now it's already late at night but I don't regret anything. I couldn't put it down, this tension between them, this chase, this passion and danger just captured me. I'm EXCITED. Pete who thought about Macau warms my heart so much 💓 Vegas my boy your father inspired you that you mean nothing and are not worthy of anything but look who is chasing you, who so desperately wants to prove to you that there is a way out and he is next to you 🥺 I’m so sorry for Vegas for what his father inspired him that darkness and hatred are all he has and all he is worth..... And Pete who finally knew the full depth of Vegas's trauma and how painful it is to realize how much your loved one is broken and breaking before your eyes 💔 I knew what was going to happen in this chapter but the way you described it, that line between fighting and shooting and Vegas and Pete being excited, it was just WOW. I was so tense the whole time. That parallel that all the time Vegas was running after Pete and begging him to be with him, but here Pete finally realizes how much Vegas means to him and runs after him all the time, please stay so WE COULD BE.....Thanks for all these emotions 🫂💙I hope Pete makes Vegas comfortable after waking up and he himself will be fine (it was too emotional for him) I want them to finally be happy, or traumatized mafia boys in love🥺But I feel Korn won’t leave them alone😭 Too many letters, but I’m so grateful for this work, thank you for your work, it’s incredible 🫶

omg sorry i always hear about everyone reading it so late at night for them and these timezones are straight up working against us!!! but to be fair i did post it like 1AM in my timezone too lol so im just as sleep deprived as you probably hahaah.

that makes me so happy to hear!! it was literally the culmination of the fic, the penultimate show down without it actually being the complete end so i really hope after all the build up and tension that it delivered!!

omg like???? so soft of him tbh i really wanted to build on that final scene on the show- like where macau is so comfortable around pete that he cuddles up to him with vegas and it just seemed to work so well. pete might be tough and practical to the point of hurtful sometimes but he does care!!!

ugh yeah we really did see the worst effects of vegas' trauma this chap, like here he has something good with pete, pete who has already given him one too many chances than what he deserves and even with him running off constantly during the coup, pete is still chasing him, still trying to pull him back from that ledge. so glad kan is dead now because i dont know if vegas would have ever made the choice to turn his back on him. not unless kan took his intentions to hurt pete further and it literally came down to the two of them in the room (like that time in the safe house when kan nearly killed him) and even if it had ended like that, and vegas had chosen pete like we all knew he would, it would have still been agony for vegas.

pete is absolutely going to take his caring up to eleven once he's fully conscious again and can get in to see vegas. he is going to be annoying so many doctors with vegas, whilst also making sure vegas follows their post op recovering instructions lol. but we all know vegas secretly loves being taken care of so the both of them will be living their best unhinged lives.

no spoilers but korn has some more tricks up his sleeve he always does but now that pete isn't restricted by his agony of not betraying the main family anymore i do think korn is going to be in for a surprise.

ahhhh youre so welcome!! im so very glad that you liked it :)

I’m really curious how Kim and Chay’s relationship will resolve, if at all. I think the show could have perhaps had this drama happen an episode or two before it actually did to allow for some space, so if the two do end up together it doesn’t feel like all was forgiven in an unearned manner (which the show has been guilty of with kp). I think the director said they want to do a second season “in some capacity” so I wonder if some relationships will end unresolved. Vegas and Pete are probably the most likely contenders for that (I’m assuming from the way the director talked about it that KP might not be the mains in a second season, but I could be wrong).

But following the no consequence thing the show has done. I wonder if that might extend to Chay’s university. I have a suspicion that Kim might pull some strings to get him in. Now would Chay go if he did that? I think it would be ooc, but who knows. Also I am soft and a part of me does want to see Chay go to school for music because he’s been through so much and I’m soft 😭

Also I read that apparently in the book Chay is convinced that no matter what Kim does not love him at all, and while everyone else can see that Kim loves him greatly, I guess cause of what happened (idk if it’s the same situation in the book) Chay just can’t fathom Kim loving him. I hope the show goes in that direction. But again, I don’t think we have time so that it can all be resolved. Not unless we have a second season, and they leave those two hanging.

Not sure how I feel about that tbh. Second seasons in bl are notoriously not great. Maybe if they resolve KP’s story and focus on VegasPete as the new mains it could work. But yeah that second season talk makes me think some things may go not completely resolved.. Again I don’t really like the idea of leaving things hanging, but I also do like the idea of giving their story a bit more space to breathe, and continuing it on in another season. Maybe the show will end with Chay sort of forgiving Kim, but too afraid to enter a relationship with Kim. So he just accepts him as a friend.

Sorry for rambling. This was way way too long.

For me, Kim and Chay's relationship is just in a sort of nebulous place right now because that last little interaction was so deeply fucked up for both of them and I just need more time with them apart.

Chay has so much going on in his life and Kim just has no damn idea what he's doing.

And I know the show can't resolve it in two episodes.

So it's probably a second season thing.

And I refuse to get that invested.

Frankly, i kind of hope this season ends with KP broken up, VP together and KC still working on their future apart.

But I'm so uninvested at this point...

I have no idea about the second season and I don't pay any attention to anything anyone says outside the show so I have no idea about anything.

Frankly, my ideal second season would be mostly about Kim and Chay and Macau with VP as a second pairing and KP just Not There. Just... poof. Not there. At all. Nowhere to be found. Always conveniently somewhere else.

I don't know where it's gonna go. Adding a second season makes everything impossible to predict because they can do anything.

Hello this is your Secret Santa! What would you really like to see in a gifset?

Hey!! Okay so I'm not sure what's a good way to give prompts for gifsets, but since every ship I requested (romantic or platonic) has Macau in it and I know he has barely any screentime, please feel free to do whatever you think is best with what little exists (feel free to use clips from outside the show too, like the bts clips with the actors and stuff, if that helps) ^^; Basically Macau's my stealth favourite, I head-canon him as a gremlin teenager who has a healthy and loving relationship with his brother, who will inject hilarity and honesty and uncomplicated affection into whatever close relationships he has. If you're doing macauchay and kimchaycau, literally do anything shippy and I will be over the moon (AU? Canon? Meta in gif form? Mood board? Go wild)! If you're doing Macau&Chay or Minor Fam Trio, I would love to see any take on them in any kind of canon setting (pre/post/during all okay)! Good luck, tbh if this gifset contains Macau I will be so so happy already so have fun!