#(UNTIL WE ACTUALLY GET SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT Announced)

[izzyizumi]

Some Digi-Fan At Me: ArE YOU WATCHING DIGIMON CON???!

M E: While I am watching "Digimon Con", I am keeping my expectations LOW. I am personally happy just to be watching anything relevant to Digimon or Adventure/02 as a series. While I do have hopes for "reveals", I know by now, especially after last year, to keep those hopes IN CHECK and not immediately expect the biggest, best possibility and combinations of "concepts" that we could ever hope to "receive". We may not even "receive" a whole 'new' series, spin-off or movie! We already have a movie ("Zero Two" related/sequel Movie "The Beginning"!) recently!! Nothing is guaranteed!! Even in regards to the games potential, absolutely nothing* can be assumed there (*We'll ignore that the heads of the games have already mentioned, at the very least, possible ports??? and the like of previous older games if there was enough interest, which I am definitely not hyped about re: the potential for those games I never got to play.) I am perfectly fine with this and am not changing my opinion any time soon, so PLEASE do not ask me anything like this unless you want my HONEST opinion about what I'm interested in--!!

MY MIND: (IF I SEE ANYTHING FOR MY FAVS OR POTENTIAL 'NEW' FAVS I'M GONNA FLIP IN THE GOOD WAY!!!!)

[absolutebl]

GMMTV 2025 Line Up - My Totally Biased and Wildly Flawed Feels

This is the point where I remind you that GMMTV announced 16 BLs for 2024 and didn't actually release 4 of them in 2024: My Golden Blood, Ossan‘s Love, Sweet Tooth Good Dentist, and The Ex-Morning.

So despite the fact that these are from GMMTV 2025 line up, some of them will not happen until 2026, and some could get dropped entirely or have cast changes.

I'm not including the GLs, grab bags, or possible bromances. Confirmed full-tilt gay af only.

In order of ones I'm most excited about.

Dare You to Death

trailer

JoongDunk as police investigators in a mystery suspense thriller. Yes, I'm in. This is it. This it the one I wanted to instantly watch. Even though their's 20 BLs airing right now.

This is the only trailer I immediately rewatched.

Boys in Love

trailer

Our only true high school BL from GMMTV and it's fresh faces for the youths and old favs for the teachers. It's milk teeth Make it Right and that is perfectly fine with me! I like lotte milk. Also DIMPLES! Yay! I suspect they're using this one to test some new pairs for future seasons. Like a Project 101 Thai BL. (Honestly I just invented an amazing reality TV for you GMMTV, you're welcome.)

Like My School President was in 2023, this could be a major 2025 sleeper hit for me.

Memoir of Rati

trailer

Sing the praise song with me BLabies! GreatInn in a HISTORICAL with a class divide and everyone's favourite side couple! Be still my heart! I'm beyond pleased. (Also I got my boat in a lotus pond at last.) My only concern is this could end sad, it's in the title after all.

This is the only trailer that gave me chills.

My Magic Prophecy

trailer

Paranormal mystery with a fortune teller and a doctor. I'm in. I hope the script doesn't fail JimmySea again, they are such a great pair. I'm intrigued by this one but it felt the most formless of all the trailers, so I'm thinking we could see some significant tweaks.

Me and Thee

trailer

A photographer gets involved with the mafia? OMG is this a Thai dupe for Target the Finder? Only mixed with Cyrano? WILD. I mean to say, this one is wild WILD! Plus Est (my love) back in suits and ear dongles I see. Also GMMTV never gonna let us forget they bagged two of BL's best bods with PP, thanks all for the visuals.

Of course this is for me. I'm the shallowest, remember? Plus I love a BL that's just a little bit...... well...... stupid.

A Dog and A Plane

trailer

A prissy gay flight attendant in a push-pull relationship with an EMT dude-bro. Characters are a bit throwback to PeteKao (no bad thing) not to mention the looming shadow of What the Duck? (bad thing). But the side couple is the always appealing MarcPoon.

Okay GMMTV, surprise me, I'm game. And you know TayNew are my OG GMMTV pair du jour.

Cat for Cash

trailer

Finally something fluffy with a pair I like. Looks cute. I like cute. Yay for me! Adorable gay boys and cats.

This one is basically made to be a tumblr comfort meme meets thirst trap. I see what you're doing GMMTV and I applaud you. Carry on.

That Summer

trailer

The only side pair to seriously level up. Okay so amnesia is my least favourite trope, and I tend to not be wild about secret identity either, but I like both pairs in this one, so I'll watch.

My Romance Scammer

trailer

New couple! My boys Ohm and Fluke (no, not that Fluke, the one from My Ride). Honestly, Fluke has popped up as a side in a couple GMMTV shows I was wondering who they'd BL him with.

This could win. Prettiest human on earth paired with the world's most potent single dimple. Will I survive? I honestly don't know, because Ohm historically doesn't have much chemistry with anyone but the original Fluke so... Still I l do love JuniorMark and this as a really unique premise (gay Heartbreakers), so I'm game.

Head 2 Head

trailer

The Boo kids are back. I don't love this pair (I find their chemistry and acting awkward) or the main trope (E2L) but I do like the new sides and their trope (2nd chance is a fav of mine). So this one will depend on whether those are full side dishes or just crumbs.

Ticket To Heaven

trailer

GMMTV is doing Boy Foretold by Stars concept? Interesting, did not have religious boundary pushing and bildungsroman down on he Thai BL bingo card.

This isn't my thing but I think G4 are actually going to be amazing in it and I certainly look forward to them pushing their acting chops. Not to mention the discomfort something like this can cause in general/global viewership. I like it when BL makes people (who aren't me) uncomfortable.

Burnout Syndrome

trailer

GMMTV doing edgy is never a good thing IMHO, and in this one they're handling sex work. *shakes head* However, Not Me is the noted exception and this is that same pair with the same director. So I'm curious if not wild about the content.

That said, I'm delighted to see Gun with someone else (Dew is a stunning choice, thank you Casting) even if only for a love triangle moment. It's been a WHILE.

Melody of Secrets

trailer

Not wild about ForceBook, do like a mystery, don't like horror or psychological thrillers... not sure on this one.

I like BL pushing into new territory, even if it's not my territory, but this is defiantly not made for me, that's for damn sure.

And that's the end of my list.

"But wait," you cry. "P'ABL you're still missing some."

How Dare

Only Friends Dream On

trailer

Yeah, no fuckoff. I will not be watching this. I already marked it pink on the Spreadsheet of Doom. (Pink means CNF or an automatic no watch for me.)

But dude was it nice to see all those pairs busted. That's always a good time for me. Anyway, all you so-n-sos who gave the first one your eyeballs are to blame for this. Watch it n weep. Without me.

(Side note: I love it when a title reviews itself, Only Friends: Dream On, indeed. It's like media aptronym.)

and last and definately least......

Love You Teacher

trailer

no

no no

NO NO

NO!!!

I do like Perth & Santa (although I'm not sold on them as a pair). But words cannot describe how much I dislike this premise. SERIOUSLY? No thank you very much. I could, just maybe, hate watch Only Friends 2, but it's gonna be hard for me to even turn this on. Infantilization and people acting like children wigs me tf out. YKINMKBYKIOK of course, but not in my BL GMMTV. Stop it! (This one also got the dreaded pink of will not watch.)

More Disappointments

Thor didn't get the lead in anything. (Pouts in "but he so sexy.")

No major pairs were significantly busted.

Tonally it's gone darker than I expected. I prefer lighter fluffier BL so this tonal shift for GMMTV as a whole is not a win for me personally. Should be left to Japan IMHO.

That said, most of my favorite GMMTV pairs are in my top picks to watch as well, so I'm happy for that.

I'm Intrigued Despite Myself

My favorite trailer of all was actually Wu (red thread fated paranormals are my favoritest thing ever next to isekai) but that's not a branded pair so I'm not convinced it's BL. Hoping it is, but that happened in 2024 with these boys, so I'll leave it in the air for now.

I like that we're making push to leave uni and high school behind (don't worry, other Thai studios will fill the gap). I think GMMTV is doing this in order to

keep branded pairs together and

keep the actors of those pairs interested in the BL scripts.

As their major pairs age out of uni, GMMTV has to hand them more meaty and grown up stuff. I didn't think they would actually do this, so I'm pleased to see it happen. Even if it's all going darker than I like, at least it's different.

I don't really report on GL and I rarely have time to watch it these days. I thought the new MilkLove looked cute, but I'm still recovering from whatever happen in their last one. The Girl's Rules one looks like a light-weight L-Word. Still happy to see GMMTV move out of school for thier few GLs too.

(source)

[blues824]

My request for the prompt list is what ever you want and who ever you want I'm happy with everything you write and what to see what you want.

I found this cute picture of sebek for you I don't know who drew it but it's beautiful.

If this man does not become our husband in the next 5 seconds @theunknowntravel3r

I requested: Dancing to Christmas Music, New Year’s Countdown, NYE Party

Sebek Zigvolt

Let’s be honest, if you are with him, he probably has told his parents about you. It was his first time being in a relationship with a human, so who better than to ask his parents? That being said, when Winter Break rolled around, they had sent you an invitation to stay at their house for the duration of your time off from school.

The half-fae had warned you to pack heavily and with cold weather in mind, and he even lent you one of his hoodies… totally because you needed it and not because you looked absolutely adorable in it. You also noticed that it seemed that he sprayed some of his cologne on it so that it smelled freshly of him, and your heart melted.

Going through the mirror, the weather was definitely much colder, and you were glad that you were already wearing some extra layers. It was freezing cold. You went to pick up your suitcase only to see that Sebek picked it up for you. His face was flushed red, as he caught you looking at him, but in his mind he blamed it on the cold.

“Sebek, I can get my own stuff.”

“Nonsense! It is a knight’s duty to help a citizen, especially if you are their significant other!” He shouted, not as loud as when he shouts at Ace or Deuce, but definitely louder than necessary. 

So you said bye to everyone as you both headed to the dentist clinic, where you would meet his parents. You were nervous, and he could sense it. To be honest, he was more nervous about you meeting his older siblings, as they were very protective over their younger brother. 

Walking in, you noticed that it was very clean and quiet, probably because they were just locking up the office for the holidays. Upon seeing her son, Mrs. Zigvolt ran and pulled you both into a hug, exclaiming about how it was so good to see you and her son had told her so much about you. Sebek was embarrassed, but it had been a while since you'd felt the warm hug of a mother, so you embraced it.

His father walked into the lobby soon, and waited until his wife was finished with greeting you both so that he could hug his son and introduce himself to you properly. You could definitely see that your boyfriend was a perfect mix of his parents, in both appearance and personality, and it was quite funny to you.

~~~~~~~~

The Zigvolt residence wasn’t anything too grand. It was actually quite comfortable, and you loved everything about it. You got to see Sebek’s room, and you were surprised at how plain it looked. You would have thought that he would have had crocodile-print blankets and pillow cases but no. 

He actually had a bookcase filled to the brim with books, and they were organized by title. A few of them were romance novels that you were grateful to see, as you recognized them from your own world. Shakespeare, the Brothers Grimm, and the Bronte Sisters. 

“Huma- I mean, Y/N, you will be sleeping in here, and I will sleep on the couch!” He announced, setting your suitcase on the bed.

“Why don’t we just share the bed? It’s a king-sized bed, we can both fit.”

“THAT IS IMPROPER, ESPECIALLY BEFORE MARRIAGE!!!” He shouted, face painted a bright, glowing red at the mere thought of doing something so intimate.

“Is it that? Or is it because we’re in your parents’ house? You do realize that we’ve slept in the same bed before back at Ramshackle, right?”

“I-I do realize that!” He said all too quickly, making you laugh.

“Alright, what’s got you so worked up, Mr. Knight-in-Shining-Armor?” You stepped right in front of him, throwing your arms around his neck and playing with the ends of his hair. His hands instinctively fell to your waist.

You always knew when something was bothering him… and it was something that he both hated and appreciated about you. 

“I have never brought a significant other home before, and I am nervous about how my siblings and my grandfather will take it… especially since you are human,” He admitted, and you could feel his shoulders sag a bit when he mentioned his grandfather.

“Your grandfather was forced to accept your father, wasn’t he? I will force him to accept me. I forced you to, so it shouldn’t be much more difficult than that, right?” You offered him a reassuring smile, and he knew that you could win anybody over. However, his grandfather still did not like his father. “And if he doesn’t, then he’ll love our children.” 

It was lucky that he was half-fae and did not get whiplash as easily as humans do, otherwise his neck would have absolutely snapped with the velocity at which he turned his head to look at you, wide eyes and flushed face apparent.

~~~~~~~~

Over the course of the next few days, you basically stayed in the house. You did stop by the market to meet some of the townsfolk, but it was freezing cold out there. Besides, you definitely preferred seeing baby pictures of your boyfriend over the snow any day of the week. Mrs. Zigvolt was very happy to show you the most embarrassing ones, much to her son’s dismay.

You also helped prepare the house for the upcoming New Year’s Eve party that the Zigvolt’s hosted annually. You were excited to see Silver and Lilia again, but you were sad that Tsunotarou was not going to be able to make it. It would be alright, because you needed to meet Baul Zigvolt as well as Sebek’s siblings.

On the day of the party, his sister was the first of them to arrive. She didn’t live too far away, but the snow made it difficult to get there. She squealed upon seeing you, though, and you made a guess that this generation of Zigvolt’s inherited their mother’s strength when she hugged you.

“YOU MUST BE SEBEK’S SIGNIFICANT OTHER!!!!” She exclaimed in excitement.

“WHO’S SEBEK’S SIGNIFICANT OTHER?!” You heard a man exclaim from the front door. Looks like the eldest son of the family is now present.

“I am! My name is Y/N L/N!” You were not surprised to be swept into yet another bone-crushing hug, but this time you were rescued by another woman who didn’t look like she was related.

“Honey, let them go! They can barely breathe, poor thing…” You shook her hand after being let down, and you noticed the ring on her and Sebek’s older brother’s fingers, making a note that she married into the family.

Lilia and Silver weren’t too far behind, and so the only person you all were waiting for was the grandfather of the family. Lilia tried to reassure you that you would be fine and that Baul would tolerate you, but it still wasn’t any less nerve-wracking. Sebek was in a similar state, not being able to sit still, and when he was sitting, his leg was bouncing.

What did manage to give you a bit of hope was that you were not the only human in the room. Sebek’s father, sister-in-law, and Silver were all there to stand beside you. Of course, the first person mentioned didn’t count, because Baul still didn’t like him. However, the other two were accepted with nearly open arms.

Then, the dreaded knock on the door sounded, making more and more terror sink into your and your boyfriend’s souls. You took his hand in yours, drawing absentminded circles on the back of it with your thumb.

“Where is the human who deems themself worthy to court my youngest grandson?” He said upon entering.

Whatever happened to ‘Hello’? ‘How are you?’ ‘My name is…’?

“I am right here, sir.” You stood up, walking up to him and extending your out to him. “My name is Y/N L/N.”

A moment of silence passed, and you could feel sweat trickling down the back of your neck, but he accepted your hand and shook it, telling you his name in return. The entire group behind you let out a sigh of relief, before the festivities truly began.

And by ‘festivities’, I mean sitting on the couch and talking. This is probably the most ‘unseasoned chicken’ family out there… just saying.

~~~~~~~~

It had been a few hours since Baul had arrived, and it seemed like he accepted you into the family. You were in it for the long haul, but you didn’t mind. Behind the scary facade, he was just a man who was concerned with the wellbeing of his family. You could appreciate that, and now you sat, sitting and listening to his and Lilia’s “glory days” from back in the military.

Sebek was listening with stars in his eyes, and you knew that he aspired to be like his grandfather. He was sitting on the couch, and you were sitting on the floor, leaning your head on his leg as you listened along. However, you zoned out a bit, feeling your social battery become low.

Mr. Zigvolt put on a Christmas record on an old gramophone that they kept in the family room, and walked up to his wife.

“Would you like to dance, darling?” He extended his hand out to her, and your heart melted at the sight.

“Why, yes I would.” And so they started to rock back and forth. In their home, they had wedding photos hung up, and they looked as in love as they were back then.

Sebek’s brother and sister-in-law joined them. It wasn’t anything too complicated, literally just rocking back and forth. You smiled, lip-syncing to the words and watching the two couples dance with each other.

“H-Human, would you like to dance with me?” Sebek stood up and held a hand out to you, offering to help you up. Poor baby’s face was flushed red, embarrassed or flustered, or maybe a mix of both. Plus, he was using a soft voice.

“I would like nothing more, my Knight in Shining Armor,” You said with a smile on your face, allowing yourself to be pulled up off the ground and into his chest. Placing your hand on his shoulder and holding his hand with your free one, you both also began swaying side-to-side. 

The song was soft, creating a rather romantic atmosphere in the living room of the Zigvolt residence. Staring into Sebek’s eyes, you could see the pride he felt at his choice of a significant other being accepted by the man he looked up to the most.

“1 MINUTE UNTIL MIDNIGHT!!!” The eldest Zigvolt daughter shouted out. All of a sudden, your beloved knight looked panicked, and you were about to ask what happened when he looked back into your eyes.

“Human, I am aware that I have not been very straightforward with my feelings for the past year that I have known you. I, however, want to take this last minute in the year to express them. I love you, Y/N L/N,” You could here the others start to count down, “And I understand if you do not wish to say it yet at this point in our relationship-”

“3, 2, 1!!!” The others shouted.

Quickly, you threw your arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss, closing your eyes. Your heart was pounding as you felt all the oxygen in your lungs quickly disappear, and when you broke apart from him, you smiled.

“I love you, too, Sebek Zigvolt.”

[7ndipity]

Second Glances

Yoongi x Reader

Summary: You and Yoongi have been best friends for years, but after you confess you feelings for him, Yoongi realizes he might have misread his own feelings towards you.

Word Count: 1.9K

Warnings: slight angst, swearing, lil suggestive at the end, partially proofread

A/N: Thanks so much to @whitefoxgirl for this request! Tbh, I'm not entirely happy with this, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging for ages while I nitpicked.🙄 I hope you still like it tho💜

Masterlist

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

It was a strange thing, how you could go on seeing someone the same way for years, and then all of a sudden, something happens and turns you on your head.

When Hobi had first introduced you to his fellow members after you moved to Seoul, you and Yoongi had clicked instantly, much to the surprise of everyone else. No one could quite understand it, but the two you had seemed to fit together naturally like two halves of a whole, the yin to his yang; while he was on the quieter, more introverted side, you were bright and loud, with an infectious enthusiasm. A prime example of that being the way he could hear you and Hobi before you ever entered his studio, laughing loudly as you rushed through the door ahead of his bandmate.

“There’s no way you did that!” You insisted.

“I did, I swear, we even have video of it!” Hobi argued.

“What the fuck are you two yelling about?” Yoongi asked, more amused than annoyed by the sudden noise.

“Did he actually go bungee jumping?” You asked, turning your attention to him.

“Why would I lie about that?!” Hobi exclaimed.

“Oh, that,” Yoongi deliberated for a second before smirking over at Hobi. “No, he didn’t.”

“Why are you lying?!” Hobi yelled, making you both burst into laughter. As much as Hoseok loved you and his hyung becoming friends, you were absolute menaces together, constantly teasing him and the members, as well as each other.

“Screw it, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to come with us to get something to eat?” He asked, exasperatedly.

“Sure.” Yoongi answered, still laughing slightly.

“Cool, I’m gonna go find Jimin, I’ll be right back.” He announced, heading back out the door before either of you could say anything else.

Yoongi turned his attention back to the screen in front of him as you settled on the sofa, Hobi apparently having taken your energy with him as he left, as silence suddenly fell over the room.

Yoongi glanced over at you. “You okay?”

“Hmm?” You looked up in confusion. “Yeah, why?”

“I dunno, you just got kinda quiet.” He shrugged.

You let out a small laugh. “I’m okay, I just know that you don’t like a lot of noise, so I usually try to be a little calmer when it’s just us so I won’t bug you.”

“You don’t bug me.” He said.

“No?” You looked at him doubtfully.

“Well, not a significant amount.” He smirked, making you laugh again. “You wanna see what I’m working on?”

“Really?” Your eyes lit up.

“Sure.” He said, pulling a second chair over close to his so you could both see the screen as he hit play.

Yoongi was normally quite private about his music, at least until it was finished, but he loved getting to show you his new projects, talking animatedly as you listened to part of the song, explaining how he mixed and layered the audio files, or what lines he liked best.

“So is this how you get girls?” You said, unable to resist teasing him just a little bit as he spoke.

“No,” He shot you a sly look. “I just like getting to teach you stuff.”

“Oh really?” You grinned, leaning over the arm of your chair. “You know, I don’t know how to kiss either, care to teach me that?”

Yoongi’s eyes widened, looking over at you in surprise.

“I’m just joking Yoongs!” You laughed, trying to quickly dispel any awkwardness. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“Eh, it’s okay, it boosts my ego.” He replied, grinning at you.

“Really?” You asked.

“Yeah, even if I know you’re just playing around.” He said, shooting you a quick wink, missing the way you looked away, falling silent again for a new reason.

While it was true that part of your flirty remarks were just for the sake of teasing him, enjoying the way you could so easily make him flush red, that wasn’t the case for all of them.

In the past few months, your feelings for Yoongi had shifted from those of purely a friend into something more, a fact that you had been trying to subtly bring to Yoongi’s attention, apparently without success.

You hadn’t wanted to just drop the information on him like a bomb, fully aware that he might not reciprocate, and not wanting to jeopardize your friendship, but clearly your current approach was not going to get you any type of answer.

“What if I wasn’t?” You said suddenly.

“What?” He glanced back at you, confused.

“What if I wasn’t kidding? What if I liked you?” You asked, watching him carefully.

He blinked at you. “I-, did, wait what?!”

“I know it’s probably not the best time, but I don’t know if there’ll ever be a ‘best time’ to say this.” You took a breath. “I like you, as more than a friend, and I understand if you don’t feel the same for me, but I just… I just wanted to say it.” You finished, staring down at your hands, afraid to meet his gaze.

He stared at you in complete shock, his mind scrambling to try and make sense of what you’d just said. How long had you felt this way? What did this mean for your friendship?

The seconds ticked by as the silence in the room grew nearly unbearable.

“Please say something.” You urged.

“Y/n, I-,” Yoongi sat back in his chair. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t see you that way.” He said as gently as possible.

You nodded, letting out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”

“I’m so sorry.” He apologized.

“It’s alright, I knew it was a long shot,” You smiled at him. “At least now I know, and we can go on as normal.”

He blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah.” You chuckled slightly at his bemused expression. “I’m a grown woman, Yoongi, I can handle a little rejection. I knew you might not feel the same, but nothing’s changed, you’re still one of my best friends. I just wanted to tell you.”

“Okay.” He said, visibly relaxing.

“Are we still okay?” You asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Yeah, we’re good.”

“Cool.” You smiled, quickly changing the subject as the others came back in.

To Yoongi’s surprise, you lived up to your word, continuing on with your friendship as if nothing had ever happened, hanging out with him and other members as usual. Even that same day at lunch, no one else would’ve had an inkling of what had transpired between the two of you from the way you acted, sitting together and talking easily, still making your teasing comments here and there.

Everything was exactly the same, except it wasn’t.

It was miniscule at first, but in the weeks that had followed, it was clear that something had changed. Not you exactly, but something in the way Yoongi saw you changed; the way you laughed at something he said, or the way you smiled at him, but suddenly everything about you seemed to draw him in, leaving him questioning his words to you. Did he see you as more than a friend?

Looking back, he couldn’t deny that he’d always thought you were attractive, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was attracted to you. And maybe sometimes his heart rate picked up a little more than usual due to your flirty remarks, but that was just because you caught him off guard. It didn’t mean anything, right? It wasn’t like he caught himself thinking about you constantly or wondering about how your lips would feel against his-

What the fuck?! He shook himself, quickly glancing over at where you were sitting on his sofa, working peacefully on your laptop.

He felt like he was going crazy, like he was gaslighting himself. Was your confession really all it had taken to make him develop feelings for you? Or had they existed the whole time and he was just too blind to notice? Why couldn’t he have had this fucking revelation three weeks ago when you were sat in front of him? But of course you figured it out first, you were always more forward than he was, that was one of the things he loved about you…

Fuck.

The worst part was that you could tell something was off, but he couldn’t very well tell you what. He would look like a complete asshole if he tried to make a move on you after having rejected you, like he was just fucking around with your feelings.

“Yoongs?” Your voice suddenly snapped him back to the present, realizing he’d been staring off into space.

“Sorry.” He mumbled, turning back to his computer.

You sighed, sitting up and moving your things off to the side.

“Are we gonna talk about this?” You asked.

“About what?” He didn’t look up.

“About how weird you’ve been acting lately.” You said.

He didn’t respond, looking down.

“Look, if this is about what I said-”

“It’s not.” He denied quickly.

“Yoongi, you’ve barely even looked at me today.” He turned around, meeting your eyes as you stared at him.

“Please, just talk to me.” You pleaded.

He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “I’m a fucking idiot.”

You waited. “Because?”

“Because I screwed up,” He said. “You told me how you felt and I said no, but now I can’t stop thinking about it and, fuck, you must hate me, I don’t know what the fuck I’m saying but I-”

His ramble was abruptly cut off by you striding across the room and crashing your lips to his, making his mind go blank. He leaned up into you, hands finding your hips to steady you as you leaned over his chair, your hands tangling in his hair, savoring the taste of your lip balm on his tongue.

Too soon for his liking, you pulled away, breathing heavily as you met his eyes.

“I definitely don’t hate you,” You breathed. “Though I do have some things to say about your communications skills.” You snickered.

“Of course you do.” He scoffed.

“We can talk about that later though.’ You smiled. “Right now, I'd rather us just cover the basics.”

You leaned in again, noting the way his breath hitched slightly.

“Do you want this?” You asked softly.

He stared up at you with dark eyes, his voice coming out as almost a whisper. “I do.”

You kissed him, pressing him back in his chair as you moved to straddle him, earning a soft grunt from him. Yoongi gripped your waist tightly, not entirely used to having someone take the lead like this, but finding himself falling into the role easily, melting against you as you pressed closer, a shiver passing through him as your tongue slipped into his mouth.

“Hey hyung, I was jus- AGH MY EYES!”

You nearly fell backwards off Yoongi’s lap at Jimin’s scream from behind you, Yoongi’s hands catching you as you both whipped around to see the younger member standing in the doorway, staring at both of you in shock.

“Do you ever fucking knock?!” Yoongi snapped.

“I was-, I-.” Not knowing how to respond, Jimin simply backed out of the room, closing the door loudly behind him, leaving you and Yoongi alone again.

“Maybe we should do this somewhere else.” You said, face flushed in embarrassment.

“Why? Now they know not to come in.” Yoongi grinned, trying to tug you closer again, but you put a hand on his chest.

“Yoongi.” You complained.

“Okay, fine” He relented. “I guess I should buy you dinner first, it’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”

“You suck.” You laughed.

“Hey, you’re the one that likes me, it’s not my fault you have shit taste.” He teased, kissing you again lightly.

“Alright then, Mr. Gentleman, buy me dinner.” You grinned against his lips.

“Yes ma’am.”

Taglist: @sopebubbles-replies @btsw1fe @this-must-be-my-tardis @whitefoxgirl @bethanysnow @coffeedepressionsoup @main-bangtansmauyeondan @captainorangegoose @k4ngelz

[bomber-grl]

Damian Wayne relationship head-canons ♡

Pairing(s): Damian Wayne x Gn!reader (no specific pronouns)

I’m sure we’re all aware of how cold and indifferent Damian usually is

So he was definitely… something when you two first met

Ofc he begins to soften up and w/o being cringe, he’s definitely a tsundere

Like he feels love towards you but he refuses to admit it at times

Now, many people around you definitely were surprised when the two of you guys got together

No one expected Damian to actually love someone

Like???

Anyway

He’s not really into PDA

I’m sure we would’ve all came to the conclusion of this

He’s not very physically affectionate, at least not when he’s in the right state of mind

You see,

Giving Dhar Mann

He’s always on guard

Even with you

Sure, he loves and cares about you but he can’t help but have some sort of guard up

However, when you see sleepy Damian and try helping him into his room, he began spouting nonsense and cuddling into you

You were surprised by this but also the fact that Damian even let his guard down so much??

You totally mention it the morning after 😇

Anyway

You think Damian is a huge annoyance?

Yea well he becomes even more annoying after you begin dating

He’s just a silly little guy 🤷‍♀️

But yea, you think he’s a know it all now? 100x worse after

Poor you, man

Bro won’t even shut up until I threaten to reveal sum u heard him say during the time he was sleepy

Even then he threatens you and advises you keep your lights on at night 😔

Aside from him being a significant annoyance and being very aggressive, he’s also really sweet

It honestly surprised you since he was raised to be an assassin and is pretty emotionally constipated

He’s always gifting you stuff

They’re usually small stuff in the moment

Like little notes, origami, and just little candies or snacks that he has

If you mention how “cute” it is he‘lol ignore you for the rest of the week

But yea, and bro is rich too

So best believe he’ll be like those grandparents that but a shit ton of whatever you said you liked 5 years ago

You like hot Cheetos? Best believe he’ll buy them for you and throw them at your head then walk away

You’re like??? I told you I liked them last year and you’re still buying them for me?

Plus, as I said, he rich rich

So he probs buys u rich people shit

Idk what examples, I’m poor

So 😍😍 am I right?

And here you are with your lil notes and origami roses

Like damn

He claims he likes them but still

U gotta get rich bestie

Pretty much it

Honestly considering he’s a billionaire Bruce Wayne’s son, ima go ahead and guess theres a bunch of paparazzi and it’s all over headlines of your relationship once it’s revealed (by u or on accident)

And there’s obviously different reactions from different crowds

There’s fans who are upset that you “stole” their “man”

And then there’s the rest who don’t rlly care but are shocked depending on who you are and just cuz Damian never expressed interest in romance

You just love getting dragged online 😍

But he’s not their man he’s yours sooo🤭🤭

Extra- when you announced your relationship Tim rlly doubted it’s legitimacy

——————————————————————————

Authors note: hope u liked :))

[matan4il]

Buddie 611 meta

I LOVED that the ep showed us how Eddie wasn’t doing compressions on Buck because someone instructed him to. No, he just couldn’t stand by, couldn't let someone else try to bring his partner back to life, so he announced he was taking over, fuck anyone who would try to stop him. No one even tries to, they wordlessly acknowledge Eddie as Buck's mad with worry partner, much like how in 315, the team treated Buck while Eddie was in danger. And then Eddie shocks Buck’s heart back and gets his pulse going again. Eddie literally kept Buck’s heart going, and then he was still so distraught that he yelled at the medical staff (even though as a medic, he knows it’s pointless), “Do more!” 'Coz that’s what Eddie himself was doing, he stepped in and did more than he was asked to, a continuation of us having seen him doing exactly that in 610 as well, when he didn’t wait for Bobby to decide what to do to help Buck, Eddie charged up an electrocuted ladder he was just thrown off of. Because when it comes to Buck, he will always do more. ~~

The significance of the bond between them is also shown when Eddie is the first flashback Buck experiences within the coma dream, the first lifeline to the real world. That’s continued when the second flashback is to the tsunami, where Buck saved Chris. However, Eddie and Chris aren't quite present in these flashbacks. Buck’s subconscious is at war with itself. The Diaz boys are this powerful connection to the real world (much like Buck and Chris were Eddie’s back in 315, as I tried to demonstrate in this gifset), but the coma dream shows the power of childhood trauma and how much we can be trapped by the desire to fix it. The whole dream contrasts Buck having parents who are loving, who want and appreciate him, with everything bad that would happen if he weren’t with the 118. As the dream goes on, the price keeps getting higher, yet Buck still struggles until the very end with letting go of the illusion that his parents love him, and the sense he himself can be fixed if they do, like he’d then finally feel good enough. That’s why, in a sense, Eddie and Chris have to be more absent than present for the coma dream to be seductive. Because if they’re fully present, if he truly engages with their coma versions and remembers the family unit he has outside the dream, the balance would be tipped over, the battle would have been decided before Buck had a chance to learn his lesson.

That’s why he only hears what happened to Eddie, he doesn’t witness it firsthand, and why when the dream's seductive nature is failing, suddenly Chris is there (despite his coma version not being in LA) to tempt Buck into staying. Even then, walking away from the dream version of Chris while telling him that he’s not real is the only thing Buck says he'll always feel guilty about. ~~ 

I just gotta include a small note here on how much I love the progression we’ve had from Bobby saying in 101 that while Buck calls him “pops,” they’re not a family, through Buck telling TK aloud that Bobby’s basically his dad (in the crossover) to Bobby finally admitting this is true for him as well. I’ve pointed out this season repeatedly (like in my 610 meta) that the show’s dealing with questions of fatherhood, including the question of biology in that context, and this ep was no different, yet this truly was one of the highlights for me when it comes to this theme. I love how much Buck and Bobby mean to each other. ~~ 

Buck’s mom saying “your kids” and Buck being confused until she clarifies it’s not his actual children, it’s his students, then his disappointment, that’s one loose end that the ep didn’t wrap up, because that is a continuation of the whole sperm donor situation (with Margaret once more being at the center of confusion on whether Buck is a dad or not). This one is only going to be really addressed once Buck fully deals with his role in Connor and Kameron’s baby’s life, something he can’t properly do until he also faces his role in Christopher’s, a role that this ep really emphasized. No other kids were by Buck’s bed, not even May who has free access as a legal adult and who has now admitted she knows Buck is her step dad’s other kid. Chris needs his Buck in a way that no other firefam kid does. ~~ 

Which brings me to the heart wrenching fate we (and Buck) learn the Diaz boys have suffered in his absence. I have mentioned countless times in my meta posts how important I believe 204 was to Buddie. How critical Buck’s decision to step into Eddie’s mess with him was. Not once, but twice in that ep, first when he helps Eddie by talking to Bobby about Chris spending the day at the station with the 118, then when Buck introduces Eddie to Carla. I have always said Eddie was very attracted (and not just physically) to Buck from the start, but Eddie’s Christopher’s dad first, so he never would have been able to fall for anyone who doesn’t also love his son as much as he does. In other words, I’ve always thought the heart eyes Eddie gives Buck at the end of the Carla introduction scene, that was the moment when he was gone. And now we learn how meaningful Buck himself knows that was. Without that happening, his subconscious just knows Eddie’s parents would have succeeded with their threat of getting Chris away from his dad, leading to Eddie completely falling apart. Buddie's tale is a love story, and this coma revelation is basically the show telling us Buck’s subconscious already knows this. ~~ 

Eddie’s reactions in the real world are also a reflection of how important Buddifer’s little family unit is to all three of them. Keep in mind, even with his therapy, Eddie is still a reserved guy, right? He normally remains calm in the face of adversity, it takes a lot to rattle him, he doesn't easily get to the point where he falls apart emotionally. When he does in this ep, he only allows himself to when his son is looking away. And even then, he just can't go on answering Christopher's questions about Buck's state. So it highlights how important Buck is to Eddie, when the latter DOES fall apart. When he jumps in to take care of Buck on the gurney as it’s wheeled into the hospital. When he shouts at the medical staff. When he looks so wrecked at the hospital, close to what previously it took weeks of insomnia to do to him. When he can’t look at Buck's comatose body or stop himself from crying while he listens to Chris speaking or bring himself to be strong for his son and answer him. And of course, when the reserved Eddie goes against hospital regulations and parental common sense (to keep your kid away from disturbing sights), sneaking his son in to see Buck. But Eddie does it because he gets it. When Chris says he needs to talk to Buck, Eddie knows the full weight of this, because it’s his truth, too. Both Diaz boys need their Buck to wake up. So everything Chris is saying, all the comfort he’s offering, along with the insistence that Buck MUST return to them? He’s speaking for Eddie as well. ~~ 

I also liked that Buck realized during his coma dream two truths that seem, but are not, mutually exclusive: that he does have a family worth going back for, but that ultimately, he’s returning for himself. He’s not trying to please anyone else, he’s not trying to get anyone else’s approval. His adoptive family matters to him, even his bio parents who have failed him repeatedly matter, but at the end of the day, he’s not going back because his loved ones do or don’t need him, do or don’t accept him, do or don’t approve of him. He’s going back because he loves them and he wants to be with them. And that ties in with another thing we see in this ep. 

Bobby describes the coma dream as a world where Buck can fix everything. Buck says not all, seemingly implying he couldn’t bring Bobby back from the dead. But that’s not actually true, is it? 'Coz the coma world is Buck’s subconscious, it can be altered in whatever way he wants. Bobby can be there and talk to him despite being “dead” which means... he’s not really dead, not in the way that makes death so tragic, depriving us of our loved ones. Chris can be at the hospital, despite not being in LA and not knowing Buck. It’s a coma dream, there are no rules! Buck’s subconscious is king! And we know how important it is for Buck to fix things, Eddie pointed it out in 504, and we saw a callback to this just last week. The climax of this ep is even set against the musical backdrop of Coldplay’s Fix You. But this trait stems from Buck feeling like he needs to fix things, to be the hero, in order to be worthy of love. In the coma, Buck realizes he IS loved. And therefore, he doesn’t need to fix EVERYTHING in order to make a difference and be deserving of love. He IS enough, exactly as he is, limited fixing possibilities and all. That’s how he gets to choose both his loved ones and himself in coming back to reality. ~~ 

Oh, can we talk about the heart drawings scene from 514 and how it relates to this ep? I recently answered an ask about it, and pointed out I think Eddie’s heart has been Chris for years now, and for a long time, it was only him. But that scene showed how, thanks to the way Buck has been there for both of them along the years, helping, healing and loving them, Eddie’s heart is no longer exclusively his son. It’s Buck, too. Which explains why the heart theme we’ve been seeing with Eddie since 413 has expanded to include Buck’s in this ep, with Eddie literally restarting it. So 611 really affirms who Eddie’s heart now belongs to. We see how, without Buck, he would have lost Chris as well. Without Buck, he would have lost his whole heart. ~~ 

And that brings us of course to what kind of a person Eddie would be once that happened. We learn he would have become this angry man, drawing on his reaction during the lawsuit story arc. But notice that in both cases, a part of the issue causing Eddie's anger is not having Buck. Yes, back in s3 Eddie was dealing with Shannon’s death, but he doesn’t really start losing it until he also can no longer speak to Buck. Similarly, in the coma dream, he becomes Angry Guy due to the loss of Chris, but that is tied in with the absence of Buck in his life. In other words, losing Buck causes Eddie SUCH grief, that it has no other way out except for rage. ~~ 

Did you notice how once again, Buck got to be Madney’s truth teller? He did that first in 208, when he realized Madney are basically dating. Interestingly, everything he told Maddie about them was also true for him and Eddie. Then in this ep, he tells Chim Madney basically should be married, since they already share every other part of domestic and committed life. Obviously this will come into play soon. So just remember that once again, his words can be easily applied to Buddifer as well, plus Buck’s truth teller status was paralleled back in s2 with Maddie in 204, when she asked her brother about his newfound boy crush on Eddie... ~~ 

Okay, last one, but I just had to share with you maybe my fave parallel from this ep. You might have noticed in my 610 meta how much I think the lightning stroke parallels the shooting arc. Well, this was true with one of the sweetest moments in the ep’s conclusion. Just like how, at the end of 414, we got to witness Eddie hugging Chris while Buck watched on, so we get to see Buck hugging their son while Eddie looks on now. Except Eddie isn’t just looking. He enables the hug by helping Chris into Buck’s arms. Tell me again: how is this not a family? How are these men not partners, dedicated and loving towards each other in every way that matters...? ~~ 

Please enjoy direct links to my weekly meta posts, my Buddie gifs and more of my content in my pinned post. Endlessly thankful to @whosoldherout​, who​ blows my mind away every week with her hard work and beautiful gifs for my meta. Tag list will follow in the reblog, please let me know if you wanna be added/removed here. Thank you in advance for any reblog and like! I’m operating on far too little sleep in order to get this posted quickly, so I can't explain how much any and all encouragement matters to me. Thank you! xoxox

[notwiselybuttoowell]

The Natural History Museum in London has announced a major programme of transformation it says will mark “a step-change from being a catalogue of natural history to a catalyst for change” in response to the climate emergency.

The scheme to renovate the museum’s celebrated Victorian building and develop a new research and storage facility will build on its aim to turn visitors into “advocates for the planet"

Four existing galleries will be overhauled, including its enormously popular dinosaur gallery, while the museum plans to reopen two long-closed exhibition spaces, one of which, the Old General Herbarium, has not been accessible to the public since 1948.

One of them will house a new permanent exhibition that the museum’s director, Doug Gurr, said would include the most explicit climate messaging it had ever offered. The exhibition, Fixing Our Broken Planet, will have the express aim of “nudging” visitors to change their behaviour, he said.

The new exhibition spaces will be freed up by the creation of a purpose-built storage, research and digitisation centre at Thames Valley Science Park near Reading, to which more than a third of the museum’s enormous natural history collection will be moved from its “unsuitable, unsustainable” current home.

The museum said this was “so we can take better care of it and more easily share its data with scientists all over the world who are finding solutions to problems like climate change, biodiversity loss and food security.”

Until recently, Gurr told the Guardian, the museum had seen itself as a “passive observer … our job was to collect, to conserve, to research, to display”.

“[Then] we stepped back a bit and said: ‘Well, hang on, if your subject matter is planet Earth and it’s under that much threat, you’ve got to do something about it. If you want the sporting analogy: how do you get off the sidelines and get on the pitch?”

In 2020 the museum declared a planetary emergency, and Gurr said the redevelopment was part of its continuing response. “The best contribution we can make is to create what we call ‘advocates for the planet’. And what that really means is: how do you inspire people at scale to care about nature and to care enough to want to do something about it?

“Of course, we still want people to have a brilliant, fun family day out. But if you can come out of that being a little bit more interested in nature and a little bit more aware of some of the challenges, you’re a bit more likely to want to do something about it.”

The overhaul of the South Kensington site is due to be completed in time for the museum’s 150th anniversary in 2031. The bulk of the funding will come from the government, which has already committed more than £200m to the new collections and research centre, while a further £155m will fund a museum-led programme to digitise natural science collections in the UK. In addition, the museum announced plans to raise £150m from philanthropic and commercial sponsors.

Gurr said the museum was happy to “talk to everybody” about potential sources of sponsorship but would not accept donations from firms it saw as unacceptable partners based on their climate record. “We are very, very clear that when we talk to [a potential sponsor], we’re going to look at the actual behaviour versus the statements,” he said.

Gurr said the museum had turned down “significant” sums in the past “where we just felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to accept at this point, because we’re acutely aware that you can’t go around asking people to change behaviour and save the planet if you’re then hypocritical in some of the gifts you accept”.

He would not be drawn on the position taken by other institutions such as the Science Museum and the British Museum, both of which have highly controversial funding relationships with energy firms, but he said: “It is factual that we have not accepted any funding from fossil fuel companies.”

The museum recently redeveloped its outdoor space into two new gardens focusing on evolution and biodiversity, and Gurr said it hoped to expand its education programme, encouraging schools to exploit their own outdoor space and enhance their climate and nature teaching.

[nyxlaufeyson]

Quite Alright

Winter Masterlist - Loki Oneshot Masterlist - Main Masterlist

POV: Second

Ship: Loki x Reader

Type: Fluff

Wordcount: 1,581

Prompt: "Ice Skating"

Synopsis: You teach Loki how to ice skate.

When Stark announced to the team that they were going ice skating, Loki wasn’t sure what to think of it. He could understand what it must mean, but what he couldn’t fathom was why one would want to skate on ice. Wouldn’t that just result in injury?

He swept it to the back of his mind, since he had better things he had needed to do at the time. However, now that they were standing outside of the ice skating rink Tony had rented out for them, Loki wished that he had put a little more effort into figuring out what ice skating was and how to do it. He certainly didn’t want to be made a fool in front of the Avengers.

It couldn’t be that different from dancing, Loki figured, and he was quite good at that. He would simply observe some of the others go onto the ice first before doing so himself. Surely, how hard could it be?

You walked beside him, clearly excited for the expedition. As soon as you entered the doors, a chill nipped at your skin. It wasn’t anything too bad, considering you were wearing a sweater, but it was still noticeable. Loki, on the other hand, barely felt a thing. If anything, he felt more comfortable in the chill given his genetics.

All of you checked out pairs of skates-and these were brand new skates, too, so you didn’t have to worry about foot fungus, thanks to Tony-and made your way to the benches right outside of the ice rink.

“Are you excited?” You asked him, and he feigned a small smile and gave a nod. You narrowed your eyes at him. “Wait a minute. Have you ever been ice skating?”

He thought about lying, but he opted for telling the truth. “No, I have not.” He said, tying the laces to the skates. “But I have no doubt it will go smoothly.” 

You chuckled. “You say that now, mischief, but when you get on that ice you might change your mind. Lucky for you, I happen to practically be an expert. I’ve gone ice skating lots of times.” You finished putting on your shoes, standing up. “Although, granted, it has been a while. But muscle memory, all that jazz.”

Loki stood up to the best of his ability with the skates, and met you where you were standing on the entrance to the ice. He used the railing to help support himself. 

You stepped up onto the ice, wobbling at first until you managed to balance yourself. Some of the other Avengers were already on the ice, while some opted for watching before trying it out for themselves. He watched you do a lap around the rink to get your bearings back. 

After the lap, you circled back around to him. “You ready?” You asked him, and he hesitantly nodded and stepped onto the ice. Immediately, he lost his balance and nearly fell face-flat on the ice. Fortunately, he managed to grab ahold of the railing to steady himself. 

“Norns!” He cursed, surprised at how unstable the skates on the ice were. He may be a frost giant, but that didn’t help him balance on the ice with a small piece of metal lifting his feet off the ground. “How do you people do this without sustaining significant injuries?”

You giggled at his struggles, waving a hand. “Oh, we do. My friend actually sprained her ankle ice skating once. It must have been bad, because she was in a wheelchair for like a month. I had to push her around and everything.”

Loki widened his eyes, and you sensed you hadn’t said the right thing. “Of course, it’s preventable and I’m totally sure it won’t happen to you here today.”

This didn’t seem to calm him down a whole lot, but you didn’t really know what else to say. Maybe telling people stories of bad things that happened doing something while they were doing said activity wasn’t a great idea.

“Just… Follow my lead, okay?” You said, and he nodded after a second of contemplation.  “So, the first step is learning how to glide. You alternate between lifting one foot and another until you’re comfortable.” 

You gave him a little demonstration, and motioned for him to do it. He carefully tried the motions, still holding onto the railing. 

Smiling, you have a little clap. “Exactly! Now, while you’re gliding, the next step is to lift one foot, set it back down, and lift the other. Then you just repeat the process.” 

Since he had to come off of the railing, you gently took his arm to help steady himself. He thought about declining your help, but he was too worried he would end up falling without it, so he let you.

He tried out what you said to do, and he managed to do it. Unfortunately, when you let him go, he fell on his ass. His face turned red, but you just laughed and offered him a hand up. 

You recognized that he was embarrassed, so you offered consolation. “Falling is normal, especially when first learning.” Thor grunted nearby, and you gestured to him on the ground. “See? Point made.” 

Loki took your hand, hoisting himself up. He was still slightly embarrassed, but felt better after seeing his brother take a much more insulting fall. 

“Now, if you move your feet like this,” you moved your feet in an oval in-and-out motion, “you can move ahead on the ice without lifting your feet.”

He did the swizzles rather well, and you smiled. “Perfect. Now that I’ve taught you some of the motions, you need to know how to stop. Watch and learn.” 

First, you ‘stopped’ without being in motion in the first place, just to show him what it looked like. You stood with your feet together, then pushed them apart while skating forward, finally sticking one out sideways and bringing you to a stop. You then got some traction going to show him what it looked like in motion.

You had him practice at a standstill, and after he got that you let him do it after skating a short distance. He did fine, and you grinned at your teaching skills.

“Want to go around the rink now?” You asked, and Loki looked around, clearly skeptical to do so. You offered your hand. “Here, I’ll hold your hand if that will make you feel more stable. Can’t guarantee I can stop you if you start to fall, but I can try nonetheless.”

You didn’t quite understand how intimate an offer like that was to Loki. Like before, he considered declining, but some part of him wanted to hold your hand. So, he took it gently.

Once his hand was in yours, you became aware of the intimacy and blushed. Holding hands while skating was something you had seen couples do countless times, yet it was never something you had experienced. Of course, Loki was not your significant other, but he was your friend. And, you would be lying if you said you didn’t wish to become more than that. 

Loki cleared his throat, and you embarrassedly realized you had zoned out. “Sorry. Got distracted.” You said, very quickly glancing at your hands. “Ready?” 

He nodded, and you both set off to skate. You skated up to and past other Avengers, all of who seemed to be having a good time. None of them noticed you and Loki holding hands. Or, at least, nobody said anything. 

It was a friendly gesture, anyway, even if the both of you wished it was not.

All went well, and you had circled the rink a few times until you met your first hiccup. Tony wasn’t going in the general direction that everyone else was going, and ended up cutting you off. To avoid hitting him, you and Loki had to veer to the right. Unfortunately, in doing so, you lost your balance.

You stumbled, falling, bringing Loki down as well. You sprawled your hands out to try to break your fall, but you didn’t meet the ice. Instead, you found yourself on top of Loki, who had broken your fall. 

Startled, you asked, “are you okay?” He nodded, not seeming to be in any significant pain.

“I used magic at the last second to cushion me. Are you alright as well?” You nodded. Now that it was clear the both of you were physically in check, you became aware of your position.

His eyes glanced at your lips. Your eyes glanced at his lips. You both looked back up at one another’s eyes. The tension was too much to bear, and you slowly lowered your lips down to his, giving him enough time to push you away.

He didn’t push you away, and welcomed your lips with enthusiasm. The kiss was cold, but when his tongue ran over your lips it brought about a certain warmth. 

When it was over, you opened your eyes and realized Tony was standing right beside the two of you on the ground.

He looked to be in a state between shock and discomfort. “Well, I was going to ask if you both were alright, but…” 

Loki flashed Tony a grin, wrapping his arm around your waist. “Oh, I can assure you Stark, that we are quite alright.” 

You chuckled into his chest until you both had to get up so you weren’t run over by the others.

TAGS: (Comment or inbox me to be added/removed; along with what to be tagged for): @michief-dream @iceeericeee

[jeannereames]

Your top 5 Alexander the Great moments?

Top Five Alexander Moments

One issue with answering this is to figure out what events actually happened, especially when it comes to anecdotes! Here are four I find either significant to understanding his charisma and/or which explain how he functioned and why he was successful, plus one I like just because I’m a horse girl.

1) To my mind, the event that best illustrates why his men followed him to the edge of their known world occurred in the Gedrosian Desert. While I’m a bit dubious that this trek was as bad as it’s made out to be (reasons exist for exaggerating), it was still baaaad. One story relates that some of his men found some brackish water in a sad little excuse for a spring, gathered it in a helm, and brought it to him. Given his poor physical condition after the Malian siege wound, he no doubt needed it badly. He thanked them (most sincerely), then carried it out where all (or at least a lot) of his men could see, raised it overhead, and announced that until all of them could drink, he wouldn’t. Then he poured it onto the rocky ground.

That gesture exemplified his charisma. And it absolutely is not something the likes of a Donald tRump could even imagine doing—nor most dictators, tbh. They’d be blaming everybody else and calling for heads while drinking Diet Coke, not suffering alongside their people.

This wasn’t an isolated event of that type. While he almost certainly didn’t have time to engage along with his soldiers in every project, we’re told he would drop in from time-to-time, to inspire them and to offer a little friendly competition.

He also dressed like his men for everyday activities, especially early in the campaign. As time went on, some sources say he inserted more distance—probably necessary as his duties exploded—but he still seems to have found time to “just hang out” with his Macedonians on occasion. The claims that he was too high and mighty to do so appears to have been exaggeration (as such accusations often are) in order to forward a narrative that he was “going Asian.” Troop resentment over court changes was very genuine—I don’t want to underplay it (especially as I’ve written about it in a few chapters in this), but it tended to boil up during certain periods/events, then die back again. Alexander was trying to walk a very fine line of incorporating the conquered while not ticking off his own people.

2) Reportedly, he once threw a man out of line because he hadn’t bothered to secure the chin strap on his helm. I pick this one because it tells me a whole lot about how he saw himself as a commander, and what he expected of his men (and why he tended to consistently win).

On the surface, his reaction seems almost petty. It’s precisely the sort of mistake students whine about when professors ding them for it. It’s just a chin strap! I’d have tightened it before I went into battle! (It’s just a few typos; you knew what I meant! Or, Why does everything in the bibliography have to be exactly matching in style? Who cares? What a stupid thing to obsess about!) These objections are all of a piece. First, they’re lazy, and second, they indicate a disconcern with details. In battle, such disconcern can get a person killed. And on a larger scale, for a general, such disconcern loses battles.

One of the striking aspects of Alexander’s military operations was just how well his logistics worked. Consistently. We hear little about them precisely because they rarely fail. Food and water was there when they needed it, as were arrow replacements, wood to repair the spears, wool and leather for clothes and shoes, canvas for tents, etc., etc. All those little niggling (boring) details. If these are missing, soldiers become upset (and don’t fight well). Starting with Philip, the Macedonian military was a well-oiled machine. That’s WHY Gedrosia was such a shock: the logistics collapsed. Contra some historians, he did not do it to “punish” his men, nor to best Cyrus.* He had a sound reason—to scout a trade route.

Alexander understood that details matter. It starts with a loose chinstrap. (Or an unplanned-for storm and rebellion in his rear.) Everything else can unravel from that.

3) Alexander sends Hephaistion a little dish of small fish (probably smelts). He also helps an officer secure the lady of his dreams. And writes another on assignment (away from the army) that a mutual friend is recovering from an illness. While technically three “moments,” these are all of a piece. Alexander knows his men, and is concerned not only for their physical well-being, but also their mental state: that they’re happy. Granted, these are all elite officers, but it suggests he’s paying attention to people. I’ve always assumed he sent Hephaistion the fish because they were his friend’s favorite, and/or they were a special treat and he wanted to share. That he didn’t punish an officer for going AWOL to chase the mistress he wanted but offered advice, and even assistance, on how to court and secure her suggests the same care.

I don’t want to take away from what appears to be his serious anger management problems(!), but little details like those above strike me as the likeable side of Alexander—why his men were so devoted to him.

4) Then we have the encounter with Timokleia after the siege of Thebes. While probably a bit too precious to have occurred exactly as related, I think it may still hold a kernel of truth.

Alexander had a reputation of chivalry towards his (highborn) female captives. If some of that was likely either propaganda from his own time or philhellenic whitewashing later by Second Sophistic authors such as Plutarch (and Arrian), poor treatment of women is not something we hear attributed to him.

Ergo, while the meeting was probably doctored for a moral tail, he may well have freed Timokleia as an act of clemency to put a better face on a shocking destruction he knew wouldn’t sit well with the rest of Greece—who he both wanted to cow yet earn support from. (A difficult balancing act.) Also, if Timokleia hadn’t been high-born, she’d probably have been hauled off to one of the prisoner cages with little fanfare.

Nonetheless, I find his actions surprising given the casual misogyny of his era. If we can take the bare bones of the story as true, and it’s not all invented, Timokleia was raped as a matter of course during the sacking of Thebes, then managed to trick her rapist and kill him by pushing him down a well and dropping rocks on him. I assume this happened when his men weren’t there, but they found out soon enough and hauled her in front of Alexander to be punished for killing an officer. To the surprise of all, Alexander decided the man had earned it and freed Timokleia. One might be inclined to call this overly sentimental, but….

There’s a similar story that occurred much later in the Levant, when two of Parmenion’s men seduced/(raped?) the mistresses/wives of some mercenaries. Alexander instructed Parmenion to kill the Macedonians if they were found to be guilty.

In both cases, we have an affront against (respectable) women. In the latter case, Alexander was (no doubt) working to avoid conflict between hired soldiers and his own men, who—in typical Greek fashion—would have looked down on mercenaries as a matter of course. Some sort of conflict between Macedonians and Greek mercenaries up in Thrace had almost got Alexander’s father killed. Alexander saved him. No doubt that was on Alexander’s mind here.

Yet what both events illuminate is a willingness on Alexander’s part to punish his own men for affronts to honor/timē that involved women. Yes, this is clearly about discipline. But it also shows an unusual sensitivity to sex crimes in warfare: actions that would normally fall under the excuse of “boys will be boys” (especially when their blood is up).

I doubt he’d have felt the same about slaves or prostitutes; he was still a product of his time. Yet without overlooking his violence—sometimes extreme (the genocide of the Branchidai, for instance)—I find his reaction in these cases to be evidence of an atypical sympathy for women that I’d like to think isn’t wholly an invention of later Roman authors. And just might show the influence of his mother and sisters.

5) Last… the Boukephalas story…because who doesn’t love a good “a boy and his horse” tale? Obviously the Plutarchian version is tweaked to reflect that author’s later concern to contrast the Macedonian “barbarian” Philip with the properly Hellenized Alexander. Ignore the editorializing remarks, especially the “find a kingdom big enough for you” nonsense.

But the bare bones of the story seem likely: unmanageable horse, cocky kid, bet with dad, gotcha moment. You can imagine this was an anecdote Alexander retold a time or three, or twenty.

——

* His attempts to copy Cyrus may be imposition by later writers. In his own day, he may have cared more about the first Darius, for reasons Jenn Finn is going to explain in a forthcoming, very good article on the burning of Thebes and Persepolis.

[delusional-through-and-through]

PROJECT 💥

PROJECT → LIBRARY → WINDOW

It was another day in U.A. High School, and Class 2-A was seated in their usual spots, listening to their homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta, also known as Eraserhead, his ever-present sleeping bag draped over his shoulder. His bored expression hadn’t changed, but his voice carried authority as he addressed the class.

"I have an assignment for you," his monotone voice carrying over the classroom.“As your final project for this semester, you will create a Research on a hero who has made a significant impact on society. This will include their contributions, the challenges they faced, and the lessons they’ve left behind."

The announcement sparked immediate chatter among the students. Midoriya's hand shot up, ready to ask a dozen questions, while Kirishima leaned over to whisper something to Kaminari, who is grumbling about the said project.

The sound of their voices filled the air until Aizawa's cold glare froze them in their seats.

“I’m not finished,” he said flatly, his tone sharp enough to cut through steel. The room fell silent, and the students straightened in their chairs.

"You’ll also be working in pairs." Aizawa continued. “And before anyone asks, your partner will be whoever is sitting next to you. No switching."

Kanata felt her stomach drop. She slowly turned her head to her left.

There she saw none other than Bakugou Katsuki, the ever so histeric guy of their class. His arms were crossed, and his crimson eyes were filled with their usual fiery determination.

The explosive blonde leaned back in his chair, arms crossed and a scowl plastered on his face. He noticed her glance and sneered. "What’re you looking at, Braids?"

Braids is the nickname Bakugou gave her when they were in their first year, because she always styles her long hair into Dutch braids.

Kanata groaned inwardly, burying her face in her hands. “Why can’t I catch a break?” she mumbled to herself.

“You will draw lots to determine which hero you’ll study. Come forward when called." Aizawa announced.

When it was Bakugou and Kanata’s turn to draw lots, Bakugo practically snatched the slip from the box.

He opened it and smirked. "All Might," he announced, his tone filled with satisfaction.

Kanata let out a sigh of relief. "At least it's All Might. There's so much material on him, books, news articles, even documentaries. This might actually be manageable."

Bakugou turned to her with a raised brow. “Oi. Don’t get too comfortable, idiot. We’re not slacking off just ‘cause it’s easy.”

Kanata rolled her eyes but decided to keep her comment to herself. “Fine. But can we agree not to argue the whole time? I’d rather not spend my time with a headache.”

Bakugou leaned back in his chair and snorted. “Tch. Don’t give me a reason to argue, and we won’t have a problem.”

...........

The bell rang signaling the end of class, the students of 2-A began packing up their things. The chatter of her friends making weekend plans filled the air.

Kanata was still sitting when a shadow loomed over her desk. She looked up to see Bakugou standing there, his arms crossed and his usual scowl firmly in place.

“Oi, Braids." he began, his voice sharp and impatient. “We’re gonna start tomorrow. At my place.”

Kanata blinked, surprised by the abruptness. “Uh… your place?”

“Yeah, my place,” he repeated, rolling his eyes. “Since it’s the weekend, we’re not stuck in the dorms. Meet me at the station at 8 a.m. sharp. Got it?”

Kanata opened her mouth to respond, but Bakugou cut her off. “And don’t even think about being late,” he added, his crimson eyes narrowing dangerously. “If you’re not there on time, I’ll drag your sorry ass to my house myself and blow you into pieces.”

She sighed, already feeling the pressure. “Fine, I’ll be there,” she said, trying to sound as motivated as possible.

“Good,” he said, smirking slightly before turning to leave. “Don’t screw it up, Braids.”

As Bakugou stomped away, Kanata rested her head on her palm, groaning softly. “Great. Just great,” she muttered. “Not only do I have to deal with him this weekend, but now I have to deal with him in his natural habitat.”

............

As Kanata walked down the hallway, she couldn’t help but recall the time she and Bakugou were paired together, during the start of the semester.

It was a disaster.

They’d been assigned to create a tactical plan for an urban rescue. Bakugou, still recovering from the injuries he sustained during the war, was already on edge.

His frustration with his limited physical ability boiled over one evening, when Kanata questioned one of his decisions, he completely lost it.

The next thing she knew, an explosion had ripped through part of the dorm kitchen.

While no one was hurt, the cleanup took hours, and Aizawa gave them both a stern warning about their “team dynamics.”

As she reached the dorm common area, Kirishima approached her with his usual cheerful grin.

“Hey, Kanata!” he said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. “You’re paired with Bakugou again. You’ve got this! Just… uh… try not to make him blow anything up this time, yeah?”

Kanata groaned and gave him a thumbs up.

..........

Kanata arrived at the station just as the clock struck 8 a.m. She spotted Bakugou immediately.

He was leaning against the wall near the entrance, arms crossed, and an annoyed scowl already plastered on his face.

“You’re late, Braids” he snapped as soon as she approached.

Kanata frowned, glancing at her phone. “No, I’m not. It’s exactly 8 a.m. Check the time if you don’t believe me.”

“Tch. If you’re not here five minutes early, you’re late.” he retorted, pushing off the wall and walked toward the train without waiting for her.

Kanata huffed but followed him, muttering under her breath, “He’s impossible.”

The train ride was mostly silent, save for the faint sound of Bakugou tapping his fingers impatiently on his knees. Kanata stole a few glances at him, wondering what his home would be like.

She had only ever seen glimpses of his personal side at the dorms, and even then, he mostly kept to himself.

.............

When they finally arrived, Kanata found herself standing in front of a neat, well-maintained house. She blinked in surprise. “This is your place?”

Bakugou turned to her with a raised brow. “Yeah. What, you expect a dump or somethin’?”

“No" she said, then give him a teasing glance, “But it does gives off major nepo baby vibes. Only child, huh? Bet your parents spoils you rotten.”

Bakugou’s eye twitched, his glare intensifying. “You wanna get blown up?”

Kanata laughed, raising her hands in a mock surrender. “Hey, I’m just saying!”

He didn’t respond, instead he grabbed her arms and drag her. “Shut up and move. We’ve got work to do.”

“You know,” she said, trying to keep up with his brisk pace, “you’re really bad at interacting with girls. Like, seriously bad. How the hell do you even have a fan club at school?”

Bakugou froze mid-step, his grip on her arms tightening slightly as he turned to glare at her. His face flushed faintly, though whether from irritation or embarrassment, Kanata couldn’t tell.

“I didn’t ask for those extras to follow me around like idiots. You think I’ve got time to care about stupid fangirls?” he barked, his voice loud as usual.

“The first years were always gossiping about your ‘cool, bad-boy aura.’ But seriously, with the way you act? It’s a miracle they still like you.”

“Shut up,” Bakugou cut her off, dragging her l again. He unlocked the door with a sharp twist. “Get inside before I leave you out here.”

Kanata chuckled at his threats. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop. Geez, sensitive much?”

“Damn right I’m sensitive when people talk nonsense!” Bakugou said, stepping further into the house.

...........

Bakugou led Kanata into the living room, muttering under his breath about her unnecessary talking.

Kanata took a seat on the sofa, glancing around the neatly decorated space. It was surprisingly cozy, with framed photos and small trinkets lining the shelves.

Before she could comment, a loud, confident voice echoed from the kitchen. “Katsuki! Is that you?!”

Bakugou Mitsuki appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her resemblance to Bakugou was unmistakable, though her warm smile was far from her son’s usual scowl.

Her sharp eyes flicked over to Kanata and a sly smile spread across her face. “Well, well, what’s this? Did my little Katsuki finally bring home a girlfriend?”

“WHAT THE HELL, OLD HAG?!” Bakugou exploded. “SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND, YOU CRAZY WOMAN!”

“CRAZY?!” Mitsuki snapped back, her hands on her hips. “IS THAT ANY WAY TO TALK TO YOUR MOTHER, YOU LITTLE BRAT?”

Kanata blinked, caught in the crossfire as the two began shouting at each other.

“I BRING A CLASSMATE HOME TO WORK ON A PROJECT, AND YOU START WITH THIS CRAP?!” Bakugou shouted, his hands twitching as if he were holding back from letting off an explosion.

“WELL, EXCUSE ME FOR BEING CURIOUS! YOU’VE NEVER BROUGHT A GIRL HOME BEFORE!” Mitsuki shot back, rolling her eyes.

Kanata watched the spectacle with a mix of amusement and secondhand embarrassment until a calmer, quieter presence entered the room.

“Now, now, you two,” Bakugou Masaru said, stepping in with a nervous smile. “We have a guest. Let’s not scare her off, okay?”

Kanata stood up, bowing slightly. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’m Kanata, I’m in the same class as Katsuki. We’re partnered for a project, so that’s why I’m here.”

Mitsuki grinned at Kanata. “Ah, nice to meet you, dear! I’m Mitsuki, Katsuki’s mom. Has my son been causing trouble at school?”

Kanata glanced at Bakugou, who was glaring daggers at her. “Oh, he sure does. A lot actually.”

Bakugou groaned. “Oi—”

Ignoring him, Kanata continued, “Like, back when we were first year, he blew up a senior who was playing a villain during a training simulation. Poor guy wasn’t even ready for it.”

“He deserved it for going easy on me, damn him!” Bakugou barked, arms crossed defensively.

“And that’s not all” Kanata added “he also tried to blow up his first-year fan club.”

“Idiots wouldn’t leave me alone!”

“Oh, and there was the time when our class were playing that card game called U.A. Heroes Battle, he got pissed and blew up part of the dorm.” Kanata said with a laugh. “Aizawa-sensei had to ban us from playing card games because of him.”

Mitsuki burst into laughter, clapping her hands. “That sounds exactly like him! I knew he’d be a handful at school too!”

Bakugou groaned loudly, dragging a hand down his face. “SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU! YOU’RE JUST MAKING CRAP UP NOW!”

Kanata raised her hands innocently. “I swear I’m not. Ask anyone in our class.”

Masaru chuckled nervously. “Well, it’s good to know that you’re passionate, Katsuki.”

“Passionate my ass,” Mitsuki muttered before clapping her hands. “Alright, enough stalling. You two have a project to work on, don’t you? Go on and get to it.”

Kanata grinned as Bakugou stormed past her toward the stairs, muttering a string of curses. She followed him, still chuckling softly. “Your family’s great, by the way.”

“Shut it,” Bakugou snapped, stomping up the stairs.

...........

Bakugou’s room was surprisingly neat, with shelves lined with books, figurines, and a few All Might posters that Kanata couldn’t help but smile at.

“Focus on the articles about his rise as a hero,” Bakugou muttered, scrolling through a news archive on his laptop.

Kanata leaned over to read. “Wait, don’t skip that one! It talks about his time before becoming the Symbol of Peace.”

“Tch. I know what I’m doing, idiot,” Bakugou snapped, though he didn’t scroll past the article.

“You say that, but half the time you’re yelling instead of working,” Kanata said, jotting notes in her notebook.

“Because you keep distracting me with your dumb questions!”

“Oh, please,” Kanata said, rolling her eyes. “At least I’m trying to keep this organized. Remember earlier? You almost deleted our entire draft because you clicked the wrong button.”

“Shut up before I throw you out the window,” Bakugou growled, though a faint blush crept up his cheeks.

Before the argument could escalate further, Mitsuki popped her head into the room, holding a tray of snacks. “Here you go, kids! Don’t work yourselves too hard.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Bakugou,” Kanata said cheerfully, grabbing a cookie.

“Oi, don’t hog them!” Bakugou growled, snatching one for himself.

Mitsuki grinned. “You’re welcome, Kanata. Don’t let him boss you around too much.”

"I won't." Kanata replied, smiling. Mitsuki winked at her before leaving.

By the time the sun began dipping below the horizon, they called it a day. Kanata stretched and yawned as they descended to the living room, where she bid farewell to Bakugou’s parents.

“Thank you so much for having me! The snacks were delicious.”

Mitsuki waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. You’re welcome here anytime, dear.”

As Kanata slipped on her shoes, Mitsuki turned to her son. “Katsuki, walk her to the station. It’s getting dark, and it’s dangerous for a girl to walk alone.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Tch. If anyone dangerous shows up, they’ll run away from her instead. She’s more of a threat than than they are.”

Kanata gasped in mock offense. “Excuse me?”

“Enough of your whining,” Mitsuki snapped. “Walk her. Now.”

“Fine,” Bakugou muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Let’s go.”

As they walked toward the station, the sky darkened, and a chilly breeze picked up.

Kanata hugged herself, shivering slightly, she looks at Bakugou. “Aren’t you gonna offer me your jacket or something? Isn’t that what guys do in movies?”

Bakugou shot her a blank stare. “Why the hell would I do that? I’m not a walking cliché.”

Kanata pouted, faking disappointment. “Wow, no chivalry at all. Figures.”

Bakugou groaned, muttering something under his breath before yanking off his jacket. He tossed it at her face with more force than necessary. “Here. But you better give it back tomorrow. Squeaky clean.”

Kanata laughed, taking the jacket off her face and putting it on. “Thanks, Bakugou. You’re a real gentleman.”

“Keep talking, and I’ll take it back,” he warned, though his tone lacked any real threat.

When they reached the station, Kanata turned to him with a small smile. “Thanks for walking me, and for the jacket."

Bakugou's nodded, his usual scowl softening just slightly. “Tomorrow at my house. 8 a.m. sharp. Don’t be late.”

Kanata gave a mock salute. “Yes, sir. See you tomorrow!”

As she waved goodbye and headed for her train, Bakugou stood there for a moment, watching her leave.

He turned and began walking back home with a rare smile present on his face, muttering to himself. “Damn annoying.”

Next?

[apuckishwit]

See, it's a METAPHOR

A preview of Chapter 31 of Rolled a 1 on the Check, Rolled a 20 on the Save by APuckish_Wit on A03

The boys are acting weird.

Not bad weird or anything. He doesn’t think that anything’s wrong per se. They’re just super giggly and clearly are having private conversations in their Discord messages that they’re not letting him in on. Like…way more private conversations than they usually do during a gaming session.

It's their last gaming session before a two-week hiatus so he can attend Origins (and take a little side trip to Chicago to meet the man of his—increasingly explicit—dreams face to face for the first time and hopefully sweep him off his feet with his epic love confession), and he’s been planning an epic cliffhanger for the last month. He just needs to get Will or maybe Dustin to take the bait and convince the others to investigate the Upside Down version of the mysterious Apothecary Brenner’s estate. Ordinarily he wouldn’t care too much, besides being a little miffed that they aren’t giving his masterful storytelling its proper attention…but Steve’s acting weird, too.

He has been for the last couple weeks, honestly. Again, not so much a bad weird. He’s just been quieter than usual. Distracted, almost. Eddie kind of feels like Steve is only half paying attention to their conversations lately, but when he asks about it, Steve just says he’s fine. Has something on his mind that he’s trying to work out. Eddie tries not to be saddened that Steve hasn’t asked for his help or opinion…Steve’s his friend, not his significant other (no matter how much Eddie’s hoping, praying, and fantasizing that that might be different soon) and if Steve doesn’t want to talk about what’s bothering him, he doesn’t have to.

He tries not to let the weirdness get to him, and in the end it’s actually Lucas who takes the bait and convinces them to check out the apothecary in case there are any healing potions or herbs that could be useful. The boys howl in delighted outrage when Eddie springs his trap—dozens of the sentient vines that have been harrying the party bursting from the floor and walls of the apothecary as soon as they start searching the building and ensnaring Xerxes, Will the Wise, and Sir Stephen as loud, ominous footsteps descend from the building’s upper floor.

“And that, unfortunately, is where we’re going to have to leave it for the next two weeks,” Eddie announces gleefully, eliciting more howls and bright laughter from the boys. “I do thank everyone for joining us tonight, and don’t forget to check out my Twitch and YouTube channels for live streaming events from Origins next week! I’ve got a great panel planned and a few announcements about future projects!” For some reason, that sets off more laughter from Dustin before he quickly mutes his mic, and the boys all sign off much more quickly than usual, until it’s just him and Steve in the Discord.

“You excited for the convention?” Steve asks. In the background, Eddie can here pots and pans being moved, the clink of dishes and running water. He closes his eyes for just a moment, pretending that he’s right there with Steve, the two of them debriefing their day together over the remains of a nice dinner. God, what is his life that he’s fantasizing about clearing away dirty dishes?

It would be worth a fantasy if it was with Steve, though.

“So be honest—scale of one to ten, how fucked are we when whatever it is gets down those stairs?” Steve asks, and Eddie lets out a short bark of laughter.

“Eh, I’m not saying I’ll definitely get my first character kill in…but you might want to have a backup ready.”

“Already done.”

“Is it a human paladin named Stephano?”

“No,” Steve replies in mock-offense. “It’s a human barbarian named Stefan. Totally different.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Eddie says, so much fondness coloring his tone he was sure someone looking at him would be able to see cartoon hearts circling his head. “Dustin will hate it.”

“You say that like it’s not my main motivation.”

Eddie laughs again, gathering his laptop up and heading out into the living room. Gandalf is waiting at the door to his recording room, immediately winding around his ankles as he makes his way over to the couch. A copy of Men at Arms he’d gotten from the local library is lying on the arm of the couch, face-down and open to the page they’d left off on a couple days ago. “You up for more of Sam tonight? We’re getting to the thrilling finale.”

“It’s his wedding—how much more chaos can there be?”

“Oh, Stevie, Stevie, Stevie—haven’t you been paying attention? There’s always more chaos in Discworld.”

“Hah, true. But, um—he and Sybil get a happy ending, right?”

Eddie tilts his head, curious at the sudden shift in Steve’s tone. He sounds almost…tentative. “I mean—do you want spoilers?”

“Maybe? Shut up, I know it’s stupid. I’m just…rooting for them. They’re so different, but they really love each other.”

Eddie can feel the soft, goofy smile splitting his face. “That they do. And yeah, I promise, they get a happy ending. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not perfect. Sam gets caught up in his work…kind of a lot now that I’m thinking about it. But they always make it work. Sir Terry wasn’t real big on fairy-tale perfection. His storytelling is so real. Sam and Lady Sybil…they have problems and challenges, but they just keep, I dunno, choosing each other? No matter what. So the differences don’t matter in the end, and the mistakes can be forgiven.”

Steve is quiet for a moment. “Choosing each other. I really like that.”

Gandalf leaps up on Eddie’s lap, and he absently scratches behind the cat’s ears. “Yeah,” he says softly. “Yeah, me too.”

[austinslounge]

I’m on the fence with regards if they seen together again! I will try to explain - A pap walk would make sense if they’re still together and that’s what their PR teams want us to think but that’s when damage control makes even more sense cause it’s still to early after Z/C split IMO and all a BU article would bring is Kaustin shippers making a whole lot of noise to try protect her and make out it was ALL Austins fault cause their princess can never do anything wrong 🙄

But then it would be stupid to carry on the circus act as the last time they were seen together (him looking unhappy again) was at HER friends concert and by what videos we’ve seen (I know we only got a few seconds) but they didn’t even look like a couple. Plus when she was actually IN NYC for her Vogue party he didn’t attend though it was a big night for her and then she went straight back to LA when it was supposedly his day off and we didn’t get the usual pap walk.

So nothing makes any sense with these two cause if they’re still a couple why not spend time together rather than go back to LA for a meal with friends. Why couldn’t he attend the vogue party even if it was just for a few hours - shippers can’t say it was because he was tired from filming as he went to that concert straight from set. Then to suddenly been seen as a ‘happy’ couple and doing pap walks again etc just looks weird. I just hope we don’t have to deal with another Cabo scenario 🤢 I can’t cope with that!

However I do believe if they have split then it probably won’t be confirmed til next year like it was with Vanessa even though they split in Nov. I can’t help but think that he’s just letting the dust settle after all BU rumours and he’s trying to do it quietly (again like he did with V) cause there’s not been much mention of them in the media or articles. Too much has happened this year to make me believe they’re a real couple nowadays and I do think it was a PRship from the beginning when maybe it was good for them to be seen around award season as it got people to notice him and maybe he was happy with the situation until the family started demanding more from him. Maybe their opinion is that they think he owes them by that I mean helping Kaia get the publicity and attention like she did for him. Controversial opinion I know!! IMO all she did was cause a media storm for him and not always in a good way but esp this year when he’s acting should be the talking point and not them.

I'll admit girl, your theories sound valid! While I don't think they would be holding off on a breakup announcement (if they did breakup) forever due to the Z/C breakup, I can definitely see the both of them not wanting to bring any attention to a breakup at this current time.

I just don't think that Zoe is even a factor in any of this, and I think it's silly that people are even speculating about her and Austin in the first place. For one thing, we haven't even seen Austin hanging out with her outside of filming on this shoot at all. Usually, when two costars have something romantic going on with each other, there WILL be signs.

Second, it doesn't even seem like Zoe's role was huge in this film, because I haven't seen her filming on the set for weeks since their initial scenes filmed outside. I'm sure she did some indoor scenes with Austin at some point, but we haven't even seen her coming out of any place near set in weeks.

Anyway, I totally agree with you regarding the Vogue party, but we have to also keep in mind that a lot of celebrities attend events without their significant other. It happens all the time. It doesn't mean the couple has broken up. I've followed quite a few couples over the years, and so I see patterns with celebrity couples.

Also, keep in mind that Austin and Kaia are never going to be a Tomdaya or even an Austin and Vanessa. They're just not that serious. Their relationship is totally different. So they may not do the normal things that normal couples do, because I don't believe that they are a normal couple.

So we have to look at a variety of things (imo) to see what the status of this relationship is. Presley still not following Austin back again is quite telling though, I will say that. 🤔

I agree with you about the PR thing. I started strongly suspecting that Austin and Kaia are PR last year, and that feeling has only intensified this year.

PS- I also cannot do another Cabo trip either 😩 With a towel over his head 😭

[smytherines]

8 and 15 for the fandom ask game :3

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I would apologize for the essay but lets be real- you knew where this was headed

There's a few things I could say and they're all sorta connected, so at the risk of everyone collectively rolling their eyes, it's the Owen thing. Or specifically the idea that Owen was always horrible/sadistic/murder-horny/ethically worse than Curt in every way/borderline abusive (or actually abusive, in some takes). I think before the fall they were probably on equal footing morality-wise. That they were terrible arrogant bastards who were very deeply in love

It just. No offense to anyone (God I am bad at choosing violence), everyone is free to interpret things how they choose, art is subjective etc, but to me that theory doesn't make any sense at all. The biggest thing people use to support that theory is the tickle torture scene, and frankly that reads as pretty innocent (relative to them) to me

I don't think Curt knew it was Owen until Owen took the hat and mustache off, but to be honest... he should have. Owen did everything short of announcing himself to make sure Curt knew it was him before the gun came out. If my partner was within a foot of my face wearing a fake mustache and a hat, I would be able to recognize him because, yknow, he isn't Clark Kent.

I mean if you know someone biblically but can't tell its them from a couple of inches away... I dunno, maybe Curt has a mild case of faceblindness or something? Owen is good at disappearing into a role but nobody is that good

(I may have put a hat on and held up some felt under my nose and then got right up in my partner's face and said "hey can you tell its me???" And his response was "yes now please go away")

Owen gets right up in Curt's face several times, then he demonstrates knowledge a stranger would not have (I mean who else is going to know where Curt is ticklish and tickle him with a feather), then he outright tells Curt they have personal history together, and then with Oleg still between them he pulls out a gun and the moment Oleg looks away from Curt he shoots Oleg's knees out

We know that Owen talked his way past 20 Russian security officers to get to Curt, and that MI6 didn't tell A.S.S. that Owen was on this mission, and that combined with the feather I think makes a pretty compelling argument that Owen is specifically there to rescue Curt, and that it was most likely not a mission he had time to plan. They end up having to shoot their way out because Curt isn't quick enough to kill the guard before he can hit the alarm, but given that they are so outnumbered and that Owen talked his way in, it certainly seems like his plan was to sneak in and sneak out. So Owen playing along, taking his time to evaluate things before making his move, to maybe learn guard rotations, figure out who is coming and going during interrogations, I mean its not ideal from Curt's perspective, but to me it fits very well with how Owen is characterized for the rest of the scene- pragmatic, more cautious, but ultimately most concerned about getting them both out of there alive, even if Curt has to take a few punches in the process

Also the idea that Owen was there specifically to rescue Curt works so well on a character level because then Owen's rage isn't only about the fact that Curt left him to die, but that Owen wasn't even supposed to be there. That he was only there because he loved Curt and wanted to make sure Curt was okay, that he put himself in significant danger outnumbered in a Russian facility just to get to Curt, and then Curt left him to die. Post-fall Owen having to live with the knowledge that if he had just cared less about this man then he wouldn't have lost absolutely everything and had to go through "the horror of staying alive"

There's also this moment which, to me, reads as just pure relief that he was able to get to Curt and that Curt was alive and well. This little head tilt fucking kills me

But I digress... so, back to it:

I think he is having fun with it during the opening interrogation scene (they're terrible), but from Owen's perspective I don't think he realized that Curt didn't know it was him. When Curt says he knew it was Owen all along and that his accent could use some work, Owen doesn't say "haha gotcha, you didn't know it was me," (which honestly I think he would if he legit believed Curt didn't recognize him because they are both competitive, arrogant little bastards, he does tease him with the whole "sorry to cut you down/lovely afternoon of letting off some steam" thing so he certainly isn't above that) he just says that the accent was good enough to get him into the facility

Owen is the one to introduce them as "two of the world's greatest spies," so I don't think he would consider random Russian guard Oleg to be any legitimate danger to Curt (which, as we can see in the show, he isn't. With the exception of the punch, Curt is able to deflect everything Oleg does to him on account of being a really fucking good spy)

To me, the idea that Owen wanted to hurt Curt or scare him or humiliate him just doesn't fit with the way he is characterized in the rest of a1p1- intervening to get Cynthia off Curt's back, being concerned about Curt's drinking, trying to convince Curt that he needs to relock the safety barricades to limit the blast. In the rest of a1p1 he is very concerned with protecting Curt and getting them both out of there

But also! To me, characterizing Owen as always sorta like that would require me to ignore (or worse-- woobify) the one character in the show that really, truly knew Owen-- Curt. And I'm sure Curt put Owen up on a pedestal after the fall, but I also think if any person alive knew Owen Carvour it was Agent Curt Mega. He might not be in the most stellar mental state during the show, but I don't think he was so far gone that he didn't know who Owen really was. I think, if anything, Curt was in such a bad mental state because he knew exactly who Owen was-- someone who loved him and cared for him and always had his back, and in getting Owen killed he lost that forever

The lines Curt sings in Spy Again, about how Owen would put his drink down and turn his life around, about how Owen wouldn't want to see him like this and would want him to get his life back, I think those are accurate depictions of who Owen was before the fall. I think Curt singing "what happened to the man I knew?" and "you've lost your mind," and not being able to say Owen's name a single time after the reveal is just as telling-- because he does not recognize this version of Owen Carvour. To Curt, this is not the man he knew, not anymore, and that's why Curt kills him

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time

Oh god I don't want to be mean because the art is incredible and I think all the artists in this fandom are so so talented and I appreciate them so much and I want to platonically kiss their little foreheads every time they bless us with curtwen art.... but every time I see Curt or Owen depicted with blue eyes I start twitching because they both have the most beautiful brown eyes like please guys please 🙏 🙏🙏

[lilis-palace]

WORK-IN-PROGRESS : A Secretaire desk

Not really a guide, but can be interesting for those who would like to know how I create an object or a set. Originally I wrote this essay for a course at my uni but I translated and simplified it.

💡☝️ INSPO

The secretaire desk is an iconic piece of Biedermeier furniture. My fascination with the elegant yet straightforward style is beyond measure.

🧊🕸️ MODELLING

I used Blender for modelling. (I made it when I was still using the old 2.7 version.) The design process for the object consumed a significant amount of my time, spanning a total of three hours.

After I finish making the model, I need to do something called "unfolding." This means turning the 3D object into a 2D mesh. Once that's done, I "burn" the shadows onto it, which gives it the final look you see below.

🎨🖌️ TEXTURE

After that, I use the Sims 4 Studio program. This is where I make sure that the object looks right with its texture and I decide how it should act in the game.

To create the special intarsia effect, I use patterns that I've already prepared in Photoshop. I carefully rotate and arrange them until they fit just right. It takes a lot of time, but the final outcome is totally worth it.

🌐✨ NORMAL & SPECULAR MAP

The Normal map is really important for objects with low levels of detail. It determines how light behaves on different surfaces. With the Normal map, even a surface that looks completely smooth can actually appear uneven when light shines on it. This creates the illusion of more intricate details without slowing down the game's performance.

In the game, they use a simpler version of the Normal map called the Bump map. To make it, I use a plugin in Photoshop and save it in a specific format called .DDS. I have to tweak the channels and choose the right settings to get it just right.

When I apply the Bump map to my Biedermeier writing cabinet with shelves, it creates small shadows at the edges of the shelves when light hits the center. This makes the shelves stand out from the flat surface and adds depth to the object.

The shine of an object is controlled by the specular map. It determines how reflective the surface appears, whether it's a shiny metal, a glossy glass, or a completely matte material. By adjusting the color values, we can create different types of shine.

In this project, I want to achieve a specific type of shine that looks like wax or honey. Fortunately, I already have a template ready for this. I just need to find it and apply it to the object in the program.

📊📐SIMS 4 STUDIO SETTINGS

After that, I need to make a bunch of tweaks to make sure the object works properly in the game. It involves doing both small and big adjustments. For example, I add tags to make it easy to find in the catalog, figure out how the surface should look, find the right spots where other objects can connect to it, decide where chairs and writing surfaces should go, and more. The first picture shows how things are set up by default, while the second one shows the changes I've made.

Throughout this whole process, I have to carefully figure out the exact positions for different parts using a coordinate system. It can be a bit tiresome and take up a lot of time.

📈 💼 WORK IN PROGRESS

First, I made a work-in-progress picture. This is how I announce the new collection.

💃🎞️ GIF

In the post, there's a gif that demonstrates various color combinations. Creating this gif involves a careful and detailed process. I have to take individual photos of all 16 color combinations for each of the two cabinets. Afterward, I need to carefully match and merge these photos together. Finally, I use an online Gif maker site to edit and finalize the gif.

📷🖼️ PREVIEW PIC

I spent a good 2 hours setting up the scene, and it wasn't easy finding the right items and creating the perfect environment. Editing the image also took me another 2 hours, as I paid close attention to every little detail.

Out of the three images you see above, the first one is the default color scheme generated by the game itself. The second image, on the other hand, was created using a program called Reshade. It's an extra tool you have to install separately, and its main purpose is to change the lighting inside the game. It adds depth and creates a whole different atmosphere. As for the third image, that's what it looks like after I adjusted the colors in Photoshop. And finally, I added shadows and highlights to the image to give it a more three-dimensional and immersive feel.

I hope you enjoyed this post and see you soon. The release date of the set is tomorrow!

[literaticat]

I sold my debut last year for a 'significant' advance in the US and have been on foreign sub for almost all of 2024. I haven't had a single foreign offer, not even UK. My agent told me there was a ton of 'buzz' when my deal was announced and she heard from lots of scouts, but nothing happened. I feel so sad and disappointed. I don't know if it's because my characters are POC and gay, or if the book is actually terrible and I only got the US deal bc it checked a bunch of 'diverse' boxes.

I'm saying this with all the love in the world, my friend:

I can promise you that if a publisher was willing to pay more than a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS (?!?!?!!?!!!!!) for your debut book, they a) definitely didn't think it was terrible, and b) it was definitely NOT some kind of "DEI Acquisition" only made because it checked a bunch of diverse boxes.

(Believe me, if all they wanted to do was "check a bunch of boxes with some random meh book" they could have done it for a hell of a lot less money.)

But here's another truth bomb: While I can't say for certain, of course, I suspect your publisher paid as much as they did for only North American rights and let go of translation because they probably knew that it would be somewhat tricky to sell the book into the foreign markets. IF they had thought they could make a lot of money in the foreign, they probably would have fought harder to keep those rights, and possibly upped the advance even more for them.

Here's the deal with selling books in translation: No other country has as large or as wealthy a book market as the US does. Additionally, most other countries DO mostly publish books from their own countries. And I would say anecdotally that it seems like sales are down in the foreign from what they have been in the past -- I think the economy is not great in a lot of countries, there are wars, etc etc.

Despite what it may SEEM like, I assure you, MOST US books don't sell into lots of foreign countries, and MANY US books sell into ZERO foreign countries. (Yes, "not even the UK"). I did a whole thing in one of these posts that I of course can't find now, where I compared a bunch of UK publisher's catalogues, and counted how many US-author titles were in them in any given season -- and it's NOT A TON!

US books that tend to get picked up in a lot of foreign countries are books that have an author who already has a following, are big bestsellers, etc.

While yes, many books at your level of deal will naturally have a lot of interest from scouts, the fact is, you are a debut author. I assume the book is not actually out yet? It would not surprise me if many foreign publishers want to wait to scoop up the book until it seems like a "sure thing." So if your book is an instant bestseller when it comes out, or wins some big award or something, they might well THEN feel more compelled to buy it.

(Sidebar: There's no time limit here. A book can sell in translation before release OR after release -- I have had foreign offers sometimes for books YEARS after the fact -- even books that are no longer in print in the US!)

But truly, foreign sales are no reflection of the worthiness of your book. Great books get passed on in the foreign all the time for all kinds of reasons. The big one is "it's Too American." I don't know if YOUR book is "Too American" -- but that might be the case. (For example, a book with a theme of Gun Violence Is Bad would probably not resonate with readers in countries where people aren't mowing down crowds of people with guns every day. A book focused on Getting a Date to the Prom likely wouldn't fly in many other countries where Prom is not really a thing. Etc.)

Also. Um. I do NOT want to say this part, but, well, here goes: Lots of other countries are uh... how do I say... even less interested in POC and queer narratives than the US is.

(Please know that I'm NOT saying "WE ARE MORE AWESOME THAN ALL OTHER COUNTRIES, WE ARE GREAT, THERE'S NO PROBLEM WITH QUEER OR POC BOOKS IN THE US OF A, EAGLE SCREAM, FLAG FLAG FLAG!" -- but just, look. Some other countries are somewhat less diverse than the USA, and some people in some of those countries might count "race stuff" as Too American. Some other countries are more conservative than the US when it comes to Queer Stuff. . . like look at the transphobic nonsense happening in the UK rn -- and consider Very Queer/Gay Books likewise Too American. And combined with the fact that these countries have much smaller book markets, if they already have "a queer book" they might well think, "hey, that's the queers sorted, we don't need more queer books." or "Oh, well, we brought in that Important Book With POC last year and it didn't do well, clearly people in THIS country aren't interested in that." Given that people still make statements like that even in the US, where we technically have enough publishers to publish THOUSANDS more titles a year than most other countries do, you can see that it would DEFINITELY be a problem when there are that many fewer books total.)

Good luck out there - and CONGRATULATIONS on the stellar deal!

[theanomily]

Regarding the H.I.V.E. birthday bundle, specifically my less-than-satisfactory contribution to it:

(Under a cut because I estimate this to be about 1000 words).

The shortest way I can say this is "sorry."

In a longer form, I acquknowledge that Wing is a beloved, respected character of the H.I.V.E. series, becoming a favourite of many, and ranking highly in the minds of everyone else. If anyone deserved better treatment in this event, it was undoubtedly him, not to mention the real-life disappointed H.I.V.E. fandom.

I also acquknowledge that this was probably the largest communal event since the release of Bloodline three years ago and that the date on which it was announced was long enough ago to counter any explanation I could possibly give, especially since I, as a minor, have more time to commit to any one project than an adult burdened with full-time employment and more significant responsibilities than I. Yet I shall offer one regardless and leave the perception of my character at the mercy of your own individual judgements. It is as follows:

Some of you might remember me directing a post to an "anon" threatening me in January, which I have since deleted. This is actually not a recent or isolated issue- not even for my blog, although I doubt that anybody remembers her posting so-called "edgy" stuff on it back in like 2019. But if you do, fun fact: it was the same person. This person used to be my friend, then a "girlfriend" and is now something of an enemy. As well as threats, there has been blackmail and cases of physical violence committed against both me and my other friends. The reason I bring this up is because she followed me to the store I worked at sometime mid Feburary and provoked me there too. I was stupid, I shouted at her, and I was rightfully fired as a result. And the reason I mention this at all is because it has been hell finding a new job, eating up the time I had specifically set aside for this project.

Then, the entirety of March I more or less dedicated to finally reading bloodline (I read it twice more after my initial "live react" posts so I could actually get the juice out of it).

On the 23rd of March, my cat died, and to be brutally honest, I spent the entirety of April not doing anything that wasn't complete brainrot (hence the surge in my blog activity 💀).

May brought with it UCAS exams (UCAS points being what you need in the UK to get into university).

June brought the results, one of which was a C in physics, a grade that my school, family, and peers viewed as an unforgivable failure. As such, I had devices as well as other "distractions," including my books, taken away until the end of July so I could focus on resitting everything. Additionally, I was forced to go to school two hours early for extra lessons, given hour long detentions until the end of the academic year and had to have random meetings during my breaks to really rub in how stupid I am (no exaggerations are being made here; my head of year managed to drag calling me the r slur into a forty minute rant on one occassion).

Then, in August, my uncle got into a car accident and requested that myself and my parents fly over into Zimbabwe to help him. Fair enough, but in the time it had taken us to get over there, the man had gone off-grid (as he has a habit of doing) and we still have no clue of his whereabouts.

I promise I will make amends, and the only path I can see heading towards this objective is completing and redoing what you have seen for this project alongside a few other elements I had planned to incorporate into it. To be more specific, I will:

- Finish the birthday bundle.

I'm sure you've noticed that the "playlist" and "prompts for you" categories are missing from my offering. This will be rectified, and I will add these to the original birthday bundle post so it can be completed. I had elected to avoid those categories as I figured that having a few tasks done to a "rushed and painfully mediocre" standard would be better than having a small amount of awful content for each element of the bundle. The reasons why those two categories were chosen to be neglected were that a) no music I know at all aligns with Wing and b) I had not noted that the "prompts for you" was an existing section and only remembered when reading through the example Otto post, meaning I had not left myself enough time to sit with and revisit ideas to see if they really were any good. Additionally, that fanfic is nowhere near finished. I do plan to edit the published chapter and then continue it, and I shall try my best to stick to frequent, regular updates of a higher quality and quantity than I have presented you with thus far.

- Improve what I have given you

I plan to drastically improve my digital art for each "mini" picture that's in my work- you can see that there's a very, very good reason why I kept them all mini. When I'm done, they will be transformed into something that can at least be posted at their full size without risking the health of your eyes.

- Add to what I've given you

I know I've done very few headcanons, so I'll be sure to focus on Wing for future ones that I'll publish on my blog. In all likelihood, the next post of mine will be a much longer list of Wing headcanons. And even if it is not next, it will still hopefully be in the near future.

My initial plan for the "Wing art" was to make a rudimentary physical model of him. I can't promise it'll be of high quality since the last time I did this, I was four years younger, working with better materials, working without keeping it a secret, and crafting the fox emoji rather than an entire person. I also can't see how the colour green, which is what I was assigned, will fit in. But I'll do it anyway.

Something that I played with a bit while waiting for the prompts to be given out was character art. Currently, I have WIPs for Shelby and Laura and have posted a Ms Leon. I want to do something for every character, and Wing will most certainly be included in that, so I promise I'll take extra care to do him justice when I get around to him. Consider it to be like a non-picrew alternative to the cover image.

I also have a physical drawing in the works, though I confess this too shall probably take a while in the interest of refining skills before applying them so I don't waste the one piece of sketch paper I bought.

Once more, I am so extremely sorry for what I have done, and I will ensure that never again shall this height of inadequacy be reached and inflicted onto people who deserve so much better.

Thank you for reading