#(or maybe he was just referring to the act of her confronting him idk that whole convo is very ambiguous at times lol)

[sonotpattismith]

Your new Sukuna fic has me thinking gym crush Sukuna, where reader signs up for a gym membership and ends up going a few weeks to work out, but staying just to see Sukuna work out all the time because awkwardness.

Sukuna assumes she’s being judgmental about his tattoos and what not and confronts her like

“You got a staring problem?”

And poor reader is all flustered and he catches on and he acts all aloof but internally he’s shocked because he’d never had a girl be interested in him (idk maybe his twin brother always outshined him lolz)

And he asks her out and she agrees and they’re just all awkward together because this giant tattooed menacing man is sitting in this tiny café with this shy lady who’s face is bright red.

down bad

pairing: gym crush!sukuna x shy!reader word count: 2.7k content: fluff, mutual pining, second-hand embarrassment if you squint, sukuna being a grumpy cutie patootie, matchmaker!jin a/n: I've never written in this format before but was TWEAKING to give this scrumptious ask something, so sorry if the pacing or anything is a little awkward :') TY FOR THE ASK ANON MUAH MUAH MUAH

gym crush! sukuna who has spent nearly every evening in the gym since he was a teenager and his twin brother told him he seriously needed to start letting off some steam on something that wasn't his patronizing classmate's face. The brooding giant would never admit to it, always claiming that the dude looked at him funny, but damn it, he was the only one allowed to make fun of the coke-bottle-lenses on Jin's new glasses.

gym crush! sukuna who found himself enjoying that little outlet of his more than he cared to admit, and had now been keeping his strict, protein-dense diet and meticulous weight-training routine up for damn near ten years now. Alongside the inches that he had sprouted up in high school, his ever-growing muscles certainly helped keep assholes away from both him and his brother.

gym crush! sukuna who's diligent and consistent efforts were clearly paying off, and you would be the first to attest to that.

gym crush! sukuna who was oblivious to the fact that he had very quickly become a strong part of your motivation to keep coming to the gym a few times a week, knowing you'd be rewarded by the sight of his glistening biceps and fiercely determined, tatted-up face as he lifted what looked to be astronomically large weights with an effortlessness that made you wonder how easy it would be for him to lift you over those bulging shoulders of his.

gym crush! sukuna who you deemed far too intimidatingly handsome to approach— not that you'd be able to summon the courage up anyway. After all, the very slim extent of your ‘flirting’ history was simply… staring and hoping whoever it was caught on eventually— not that the success rate was very high considering that unfortunately, men hadn’t yet developed a knack for mind reading just yet.

gym crush! sukuna who was currently too busy lifting a way-too-heavy barbell off of his brother's chest who insisted he could handle his twin's alarming bench-presses, to notice the far-off look in your dreamy gaze as you watched him from your spot at the leg press. Jin used to come more often with his brother when they were younger in order to keep him motivated, but his availability had become scarce since becoming a father.

gym crush! sukuna who doesn't bat an eye when his twin smiled knowingly through his pants of effort as he heaved himself off the bench and leaned in to let his larger counterpart know that he had an admirer.

gym crush! sukuna who didn't need to look over his shoulder to know that Jin was referring to you, the pretty girl that had been coming in for the past few weeks and couldn't seem to maintain a poker face for the life of you. Sure, Sukuna had grown used to the shocked stares of initial onlookers when faced with his mysterious tattoos and bulking muscles, but you had taken it to a new level.

gym crush! sukuna who kissed his teeth in irritation at the sudden reminder of your unabashed judgement, shaking his head dismissively at Jin and reminding him that, "Yeah, dumbass, everyone stares."

gym crush! sukuna who had his twin about ready to rip his hair out from the roots, because how could someone so innately astute be so hopelessly blind to the metaphorical hearts swirling in your eyes as you watched the ripples in his back flex from under his compression shirt while he maneuvered the weights back to their respective shelves.

gym crush! sukuna who seeks to get his meddling brother off of his back, only trying to prove his own point when he huffs at the man and whips his head around to face you for the first time since he'd noticed your wandering eyes.

You were far too lost in your absentminded daydreaming, thinking about a version of yourself where you'd stop being such a wuss and talk to him��� maybe ask him how to use a machine that you'd feign ignorance over, or to tell him that you thought his uniquely intricate tattoos did wonders to emphasize his already prepossessing bone structure.

The theatrics of your mind ran rampant, lighting each of your senses ablaze with thoughts of the way his heated skin would brush against yours, or how you'd get a chance to feel all the fruits of his strenuous labor if he'd press against your back with those statuesque, washboard abs— and, oh my god, is he walking up to you?

gym crush! sukuna who didn't give a fuck that Jin was hot on his heels, begging him not to act on whatever brash impulse that ever-present devil on his shoulder was whispering into his ear. The smaller man watched in utter horror, though seemingly unable to turn away, as his brother bared his teeth before thinking first, as was so tragically typical of him, wiping the glittering hope from your eyes as he snapped.

"You got a fucking staring problem or what?"

gym crush! sukuna who would never admit that perhaps his twin was right, the grueling realization dousing him like a bucket of ice water and draining all the blood from his face as he watched your expression fall in what he thought he was crazy for thinking was disappointment.

It was as if it was happening in slow motion, your legs gradually lowering from the machine as your mouth opened and shut in a frantic attempt to explain yourself to the stranger you'd been fawning over for weeks now. The deep crimson that began rapidly staining your cheeks surely matched the stunning shade of red that, you were now noticing from up close for the first time, swirled in his irises.

gym crush! sukuna who should have apologized, but it was too late now as you muttered out a meek apology, far too mortified to look him in the eyes again.

"N-No, I just..." Your face grew impossibly brighter, nearly blinding the now flustered man who wasn't sure how to piece back together what his quick temper had shattered. Stumbling up from your seat on the machine, you quickly squatted down to collect the water bottle you had placed on the ground. "I'm sorry."

gym crush! sukuna who suddenly felt like the big, bad wolf in every children's tale who just bared his villainously sharp teeth at the unsuspecting, bright-eyed heroine as he watched you make a beeline toward the women's locker room. His bulking arms hung limply at his sides as he blinked owlishly at your frantic escape.

"I'm not gonna say I told you so only because I don't know how much pre-workout you had before this—"

gym crush! sukuna who shoved his balled up fist into the center of his brother's chest, not hard enough to deal any real damage, but certainly hard enough to shut him the fuck up— because how the fuck was he supposed to guess that someone like you was showing any sort of real interest in him?

After all, Jin was always the one who garnered all the positive attention— what with his bright personality and nerdish charm that seemed to make all the girls at school growing up simply melt at his feet. Even now, married and officially off the dating market, his twin was always the one who got the lingering glances and giggling compliments.

All Sukuna was used to receiving were the hushed whispers of judgement and feared sidelong glances whenever he walked into a room. Women showing interest in him were few and far between, especially not delicately pretty and sickeningly sweet ones like you.

gym crush! sukuna who's guilt was swallowing him up a bit more everyday that he came to the gym only to notice your glaring absence growing more and more gut-wrenching as the days continued to blur by.

The brash nature that had protected him from disappointment for so long was now instead the root of his disappointment for once, and for the first time he was beginning to doubt himself.

gym crush! sukuna who nearly drops an unforgiving amount of weight onto his toes when he catches a glimpse of your pretty, pink workout set in his peripheral after nearly two whole weeks of your absence.

It had been an intense internal battle of whether or not you should come back or not. On one hand, the crushing mortification of having to face this man again after getting called out for your stalker like gawking was palpable and suffocating.

On a more practical note though, you had already caved and paid for the year membership to this gym that had definitely put a sizable dent in your bank account, and no amount of cringe-worthy wallowing in your own self-pity was going to excuse the amount of money you were wasting each day you didn't show.

So, when you saw that familiar head of pink hair, you immediately booked your sorry-ass to the opposite side of the gym, your heart racing far faster than you could blame on the fifteen minute cardio workout you had just completed.

gym crush! sukuna who was willing himself to come up with any opportunity to gravitate toward the area of the gym you were currently taking up, but couldn't for the life of him think of what he would say should he face you again, because sorry sure as hell wasn't in his vocabulary.

His eyes would catch yours from across the room, but you'd always make quick work to avert your gaze, that burning flush that would rush to your cheeks reminding him of his atrocious behavior each time.

gym crush! sukuna who finally spots his chance when he sees your sweet face scrunched in panicked frustration as your fingertips struggled to reach the stop bar on the leg press you were currently using. It was clear through the tremble in your thighs that your sore muscles were about to give out on you if you couldn't get this damned torture device to let up in the next ten seconds.

gym crush! sukuna who springs into action, dropping the barbell he had been hoisting over his shoulders and not giving a fuck about the alarmingly loud clang that rang through the otherwise quiet gym as it hit the floor unforgivingly.

Surely an employee would be coming by at any second to apprehend him for the improper handling of the equipment, but right now he dared anyone to try to stop him— because he could already see another sorry ass man stopping what he was doing to come help you, and Sukuna would be damned if that twig stole his moment.

Practically shouldering the audacious man out of the way, he smacked a firm hand on the press you were currently struggling to hold up on your exhausted legs, lifting the weight from your feet while slipping his foot under the stop to lock it safely back into place.

gym crush! sukuna who watched with bated breath as you finally processed who had come to your rescue, glancing frantically between him and his outstretched hand in apprehension.

"Thank you." You muttered bashfully, finally placing your comparably smaller hand into his monstrous palm so he could steady you as you stood from the machine on doe-like, trembling legs. The protective hand he placed at the center of your back for support certainly did nothing for your racing nerves.

He only clicked his tongue in response, peering off to the side as though irritated that he had to come help you. Deep down though, the pink-haired man knew that if he looked at you right now that his face would soon match your blush stricken one.

"How 'bout adjusting the damn machine before you get onto it?"

gym crush! sukuna who realized he once again spoke out of line, cursing himself under his breath as he watched you cast your eyes down to your shoes, a flustered apology spilling from your anxiously bitten lips.

"Sorry, I-I'm kind of new to this stuff, so I don't really know how all of the machines—"

"Quit fucking apologizing, will ya'?"

gym crush! sukuna who demands asks you to get coffee with him one of these days— so he could teach you about proper gym safety, of course.

gym crush! sukuna who, despite having caught on to the reason for your blubbering bashfulness, is still somehow stunned out of his goddamn mind when your pretty pink lips part up at him in shock before a timid grin takes over your once sullen features.

He gulps down the nervous lump in his throat when you nod enthusiastically at him in agreement, because holy shit, he wasn't sure anyone had ever looked at him with so much sunshine behind their eyes before— and definitely not someone as out of his league as he deemed you to be.

Still, his face remained calculatedly neutral as he shoved his phone into your delicate hands to input your number into, all the while he knew he was about to have run laps around the fucking building to rid himself of all this newfound adrenaline your presence was pumping into his system.

gym crush! sukuna who looked so painfully out of place in the cafe you had suggested to him, having shown up nearly half-an-hour early and looming outside the building with all the subtly a six-foot-five beast could possibly muster when standing beside such a frilly looking establishment.

gym crush! sukuna who brushes off your unnecessary apology when you saw him waiting outside for you, lying about the fact that he'd only just gotten there a minute ago.

He doesn't miss the way you flush as he opens the door for you and leads you to the counter with a guiding hand at the small of your back in a manner that came off as so instinctual to him.

You couldn't help it though, because you'd never seen him outside of his typical gym attire, and the flowy button down he had on over his form-fitted tank top was rolled up to his elbows and emphasizing each protruding vein in his meaty arm as he pointed at various menu items in question because lord knows he had no clue what the fuck a lavender-rose oat milk shaken espresso was.

gym crush! sukuna who pointedly ignored the strange look the two of you received from the barista as she took your order, as well as the glare he got from the grandma who's table his imposing figure accidentally bumped into as he slid into his own seat across from you, along with the various blink if you need help type cautionary gazes that were being thrown your way.

You weren't paying them any mind either though, not caring about how strange you looked in your sweet little sundress, sipping on your bright, matcha latte as you beamed at the nefarious looking giant across from you— because both of you were stumbling over your words and flushing as though right back in middle school, and neither of you were quite sure what you'd done to land yourself in this position.

gym crush! sukuna who you were quickly realizing, was not very good at asking for things as he ordered you to begin working out with him instead— y'know, so you didn't risk hurting yourself on one of the machines again totally not because he'd noticed the way other men in the gym had a tendency of letting their eyes wander on you while you were too busy looking at him to notice.

gym boyfriend partner! sukuna who had always rolled his eyes at the people posing for pictures in the gym mirror, now donning a proud smirk of his own as he snapped a picture of his reflection, theatrically flexing his biceps as you stood in front of him, a good head and shoulders shorter as you mimicked his pose with an adorably determined expression.

gym boyfriend partner! sukuna who could only roll his eyes when Jin was the first to comment on his post: told you so.

masterlist | requests | talk to me ❤︎

I love hearing everyone's thoughts! ◝⠀(ᵔᵕᵔ)⠀◜

[ofswordsandpens]

I rewatched Zuko and Azula's Agni Kai recently and it's left me wondering – when Zuko begins to goad Azula into striking him with lightning, was he making the decision to kill her?

Because had Azula shot lightning directly at him like he planned and not at Katara, the most forthright implication to me is that he was intending to strike Azula with her own lightning. And Azula, for all her mastery, would not have been able to counter that.

On the other hand, maybe he wasn't planning to kill her at all and was simply planning to redirect it elsewhere (similar to what he did with Ozai). But given the tone of tragedy throughout the Agni Kai, the fact that they both acknowledge that this fight will be "the end" to them, I don't think it's inaccurate to read Zuko's actions as him preparing to kill Azula, even though an Agni Kai doesn't have to end with death (and in canon it didn't). Also, why goad her into striking him with lightning if he wasn't planning on doing something intentional with it? If anything, it adds another layer to the tragedy to me, because I don't believe Zuko wants to kill her. And it stands in such contrast to the way that Azula desperately wants to kill him.

I also think that there would have even been something sadly poetic in that sort of demise for Azula should the Agni Kai had gone this direction: Azula, struck down by her preferred sub-skill. Azula, struck down by the very bolt of lightning that she intended to kill her brother with. Azula, struck down by her own power.

[showerthoughtsofagoldengoose]

Revolutionary Girl Utena is still fresh on the mind and I’m trying to figure out the Nanami lays an egg episode. I think I get it a little.

Nanami laying an egg is a second instance of her femininity causing her to be equated to being like a farm animal, in this case a chicken rather than a cow. Another connection this episode has to the previous animal one is that it shows us her obsession with how she’s being perceived, however the animalistic quality (laying an egg) is a source of shame rather than a misguided source of pride (the cowbell).

The egg represents a lot of things.

first is the most literal interpretation- hormones kicking in. Eggs come from (I hate the way I’m phrasing this) something fertile. Fertility comes from hormones. So we could interpret this as a symbol mixing together several factors- “fertility” (your period?) and sexuality.

The part about sexuality mainly comes from a one off joke where Nanami asks her brother if he prefers boys or girls without realizing how that question sounds, and when she tells him she prefers girls he gets angry with her and spouts some homophobic bs at her, while she was most likely referring to the egg, whether the baby in it was a boy or a girl. This conversation feels very real, and makes me think the egg may represent latency.

Nanami knows there’s something “wrong” with her and when she tries to address it around her brother, he gets angry with her and she abandons (represses?) this aspect of herself only to come running back to it.

she loves her egg. That’s the thing. She takes good care of it and is happy to be around it. She always has. But she’s ashamed of the fact that it came from her. Laying eggs is not something a girl normally does, at least she doesn’t think so. She could have simply had her first period but I think it’s more than just that- like her burgeoning sexuality. While it is a part of her identity it’s something she feels the need to repress. When it is seen, potentially used by someone she doesn’t want (Sayonji, the three weird guys with glasses who idek what their deal is yet lmao) she is upset.

I think the egg being broken when she wakes up is a representation of some kind of hopelessness. As if she can’t accept herself in the end for that aspect of herself, all because of the pressures surrounding her and breaks down in the end.

I think it’s important to mention how eggs are mentioned frequently in the show- what with the world’s end chick in the egg speech we get in every single episode. Latency. I think it refers to latency.

and with the act of laying an egg, being forced to confront this latency, wanting it to be released but unable to truly act on it despite how valuable it is??

I feel like while the lesbian reading is pertinent given how oddly specific the homophobia scene is, like all things utena, lesbianism isn’t all there is to it. I also mentioned maturity, growing up, hormones, fertility, some implicitly mentioned, others explicit.

It will take a lot to break down this show and staring off with this episode, this strange strange ep? Maybe not the best idea! My head hurts lol.

idk why but I always found the nanami episodes to be kind of raw and emotional despite their surreal comedy. She’s obsessed with how others see her, relies on one other person extremely heavily for affection, someone she looks up to in a way that almost seems kind of immoral (incest), and is this oddly sensitive person despite her melodrama and over the top oujo sama personality.

I think it’s worth noting that she lacks much of a support system. Her closest friends are fake, when she is traumatized she tells no one about it and carries the burden of knowing that alone. Her concept of one person she thinks truly loves her is also later challenged. I wouldn’t even call her and the little boy close. Nanami is interesting in that she does have social leverage and fits the popular bitch stereotype/archetype but I would consider her lonely in that lack of having support. Thus her anxieties are worsened, her shame about herself is worsened. This and her immaturity and naiivete. She truly doesn’t understand how a lot of things work, and this is because she wasn’t taught them.

[a-jar-of-beetles]

kristen thoughts plus divine musings

I really want to write out my theory and speculations about last episode but Kristen C. Applebee's won't stop taking up all my brain space so I might as well share my ramblings.

First off it was a really interesting choice to reach out to her parents she could have easily settled for checking in with Bucky to see how he and their other siblings were doing, but decided to talk to her parents anyway which besides being brave also shows a maturity that often alludes Kristen (not that ignoring her parents for the rest of her life is immature but that's not the point I'm making).

Although I wish she could have interacted more with her brothers her conversation with her parents was not as confrontational as I would have expected I for sure thought that Kristen would have bitten back at the "Helio might not have let that happen" comment when Kristen the literal chosen one of Helio has died multiple times.

Another thing that stuck out to me was the way Mac and Donna talked about Galicaea, they acted like she was just some random goddess but in Elysium Galicaea refers to Sol as her brother which is a weird thing for Kristen's parents to ignore so is the fact that Sol and Galicaea are siblings something that not common knowledge? Could it just be something that's forbidden or just taboo to talk about? Mac and Donna were also pretty judgemental about elves when they were first introduced so maybe it has something to do with that?

So that got me thinking about how Cassandra is mostly referred to as Galicaea's sister instead of Sol's while it could just be that they're both associated with night and that they both had elven followers but it made me wonder what type of relationship they had. Were they just never close in Elysium he never mentioned Cassandra but that could have just been because Kristen didn't ask him about her the only real thing we know about Sol is that he obviously approved of Ankarna and Cassandra otherwise he wouldn't have officiated their wedding.

Which brought me back to how Sol followers in the modern/evangelist church of Sol don't seem to actually know or care about what Sol actually represents/represented, which made me think about the inverse. Does Sol even truly know what's going on with his followers? Because of devil's nectar we know Gods can be purposely deceived but we also know that the nectar works by deceiving yourself first so if you truly believe something and tell your God the same they will believe it too because in Spyre the gods aren't omniscient, we've literally seen it with Galicaea who thought that Cassandra erasing her old name was her own idea and the Nightmare King killed her even when there was evidence to the contrary. Do you think her clerics did it on purpose? Whether their words were Honeyed or delusional Galicaea was still lied to. Galicaea who loved her sister, who would destroy anyone that would dare hurt her baby sister, who bared her fangs at the mention of doubt and only spoke of conviction and clarity which belonged to her fallen sister in law.

Do you think that after Cassandra died Ankarna wasn't the only one who got corrupted? Do you think that with out someone to champion doubt and hold peoples hand through the unknown, people stopped questioning the words of their preachers, paladins and clerics? because doubt became hard to speak about was it just ignored and swallowed? Was it the avoidance of doubt that made the followers of Sol demonize Ankarna? Because without Cassandra Ankarna was no longer a part of their family? Sol and Galicaea did they care? How did they when they lost the last part of Cassandra besides themselves? Were they sad?angry? relived? upset? apathetic? Did they even notice it happen at all?

Maybe I've just been thinking too much

IDK

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 4 - Catholic Character Tournament

Propaganda below ⬇️

Knuckles

Knuckles is very heavily Christ-coded - walking on water, resurrection, prophecies, the whole nine yards. Not necessarily Catholic specifically, but I feel like there’s a comparison to be made between the Brotherhood and the Catholic Church as a structure. Also he’s made it to the semi finals of the Christ coded tournament if that means anything to you

God this whole thing was literally insane. Also pretty much completely forgotten as soon as p*nders was off the comic, which was probably for the best tbh.

Ken penders did a lot of wierd fucking bullshit, and made knuckles literally Jesus.

Nothing left to say except another fuck ken penders.

In the Archie comics, Knuckles inherits the role of being a spiritual leader to a lost tribe of Echnidnas, that have been wandering, searching for their prophesied homeland for centuries. Knuckles is the one to finally lead them there.

He also dies and comes back, and because of this is hailed as the prophesied “Avatar” by his people, the one who’s supposed to bring peace to their planet, Mobius. Cannot for the life of me remember where this went though.

It maybe isn’t allegorical as much as it is the writer thinking putting Judeo-Christian themes would make it cool or something. But the comparison to Jesus is at least intentional, whereas it probably isn’t with Shadow.

Shadow

In sonic destruction (the AI generated fan thing snapcube made a while ago) shadow was catholic or something which I think is reallyyyyyyy funny

Ok listen. I know this is a stretch but hear me out. He says “oh my God” in the Twitter takeovers so we know this is a possibility. I see him as a Christ-like figure because I saw his whole confrontation with Mephiles and was like “this is a thing that happened in the Bible??” and the pose Mephiles shows him in is literally like a crucifixion and Mephiles is meant to be a demon / false prophet reference. And also he’s called a demon in Shadow The Hedgehog 2005 then the guy who calls him that is like “I was wrong I’m sorry” and that also reminds me of a thing with Jesus in The Bible. But the biggest reason is his whole thing with Maria cause I think he’d come to earth and hear Ave Maria once and convert to Catholicism idk he’s like we’re comforted by a female familial figure named Mary sometimes called Maria?? And her color is blue????? Heck yeah I’m in because I Will Cry. Also feel free to share this as propaganda obv even if he doesn’t get in the bracket just. It’s funny.

I feel like he’d battle a lot with being seen or portrayed as a demon and how the aliens he’s related to very much look and act like demons idk lmao- and also I feel like confession would just be good for him I think he needs it for his mental health

There is a debate on the lovely website tunblr that Shadow T. Hedgehog is an allegory for Jesus Christ.

He is Jesus, idk what to tell you. He lived, he was sealed away, he was awakened again and deemed the ultimate lifeforms, he’s angry but not evil, does what he believes is best for people and the world at any given time. Total loser.

[tojiscrack]

Omg lol this is my first time interacting with anyone on Tumblr since I just joined, but I've been a BIG fan of liar liar since chapter...5? Not as in I didn't like the first ones, just that I also only joined ao3 kinda recently :)

I am ABSELOUTY OBSESSED with LL, like the way that the chatacters have bits of canon in them? Their relationships with yn? Porcupines relationship with yn?! Mercupine?! Amazing. Chefs kiss.

It's my literal favourite fanfic buuuut it's tying with a few others because I'm really bad at deciding. BUT ITS SO GOOD AHDKSKJSKDK.

Is it bad that I kinda ship mermotionless 😑🧜‍♀️? Obviously it's not better than mercupine, but kamo with Eren Jaegers hair?! 😍🤤 100% would date. But he's getting in the way of mercupine so...😡

Gah I've spent wayyy too long wondering what's going to happen wen the angst starts angsting but I'm a BIT of a delulu girly so my theories end up spiralling out of control. 😅

Ok but I feel like as kamo and yn spend more time together, yn gradually likes him, and they date. And our lovely little porcupine isn't exactly great woth figuring out his feelings until now (except for that one chapter where (correct me if I'm wrong) he hugs yn and gojo teases him about it? Idk) but obviously he does NOT like kamo, and mermotionless?! He would go into a coma.

SO then porcupine(yes that's all I refer to him as) is like 'ohhh I like yn. Damn.' and he hates kamo even MORE and because yn is dating kamo, it gets a bit awkward between porcupine and her 😭😢. So theyr gradually stop being friends but I feel like yn would NOT do that she'd be acting normal while porcupine is all awkward and moody and angry whatever. And THIS IS WHERE OT GETS DELULU OK. Ok maybe not that delulu bit still.

THEN yn confronts porcupine because he's acting weirdly, even for him. And ofc she doesn't know why she's way too clueless 😮‍💨. And porcupine gets all angry because she doesn't realise why, and they get into a fight and stop being friends😭😭😭😭😭. BUT mermotionless BREAKUP for reasons I have not come up with yet and then ✨MERCUPINE✨

aha anyways stop I literally love Malakai (kai) so much argh I just wanna put him in the pocket of my black jumper and give him a little black blanket and run away he's so cute 🥰. The Malakai (kai) ships are interesting 🤔 but funny nonetheless.

And gojo fathering? I literally die laughing anytime I imagine yn on gojos shoulders with the faceapp on porcupine on her poster😭😂😂.

Urgh I would totally draw some LL related stuff but I need to study for my test tmr (I'm cooked) and I have a big drawing project. I probably won't start with mercupine tho, I'm a bit afraid of messing up their personalities 😅. But I just have the overwhelming urge to draw maki and Mai when they were kids in their little puffer jackets (pls tell me this actually happened and I'm not schitzofrenic) and I CANT FIND THAT SCENE I'm genuinely concerned that I'm just making things up in my mind

Also lol, im a big c.ai user (not on a freaky way) but would it be ok if I made some bots from LL? I think I'll keep them on private or only used with the link, but I just really love all the characters. I wouldn't copy paste ofc but I'd probably keep the dialogue the same :) and if I do decide to make them available with the like I'll probably (definitely) share with you:)

I swear I had more to talk about... let me think 😖 nvm I can't think of it 😭 OH WAIT I REMEMBER ahhhh good luck with your uh, uh, whatever exams you were studying for i can't remember 😭

I'll be waiting for the next chapter good luck 🤞🙂🧜‍♀️🦔😈😈

i lowkey have a headache so i’m reading and responding to this as fast as i can, i apologise if i sound like i’m slowly desiccating 💀

i’m glad you’re enjoying the story so far! <3 mercupine’s relationship is one i took great care to get down as accurately as i could imagine megumi being in an almost-relationship, kinda 😭

it is nawtttt bad that you lowkey ship mermotionless. you’re not with the 2% of the LL readers who like them together 😀

being delulu is literally the solulu in this area 😋 nothing is impossible here we literally have 100% of the characters living their best lives in this verse

i read that whole prediction/theory with a blank face 😭 no one’s gone that far in their prediction before! like usually it’s a small scene they predict, or a small prompt, not an entire storyline hahaaa

we’ll see how right or wrong you are tho 👀

you’re also the second kai lover i’ve seen 😋

putting him in a pocket would be difficult ‘cause he’d put up a dramatic fight about it. the black blanket might work tho… good thinking 😭👍🏽

gojo fathering is my fav thing in the world tooooo, like i love that man sm and i love his canon-relationships with his students. i just tweaked it so he’s more like a father to them than just a teacher, but we won’t rinse the idea out, otherwise it’ll just get overbearing and that is the LAST thing we want 😭

girl study for ur examssss, don’t stay up reading LL. i’d die inside if someone failed ‘cause of me 😤

and you can absolutely make bots on c.ai from LL! i think that’d be super cool!

you’re not schizophrenic, there was a scene with maki and mai as kids in their puffer jackets. check elementary school, the scene where mc’s mum is taking them and megumi and y/n to school <3

[porkcutletbowl44]

Alright, this new chapter is currently my favorite, you made a wonderful job while writing it because I can't even describe how many emotions you made me feel😞💞.

I needed time to process the information that Simon left mama bevause he thought she was falling out of love with him even without a factual reasson. Jesus Christ this man needs therapy so bad😭. Even tho now we know why he choose Collen I'm still so confused at his behaviour. Idk this man makes me feel confused as fuck👎👎👎 but I need to admit that the way you portray him makes so much sense at the same time it's confusing. I really don't know how to express my statement correctly but I'm saying that the fact he left mama because he was scared she'd leave him makes sense considering his whole character's (especially in this fanfiction) trauma. He's a insecure person, and he's trying to hide that all behind his mask in an almost literalmente way, BUT IT STILL MAKES ME MAD BECAUSE HE COULD JUST HAVE TALKED ABOUT HIS FEELINGS💔. At this point I'm not even sure I'm confused at all, probably the best emotion that can describe what I'm feeling is frustration. And I loved that, it's just perfect to see how he struggles with his emotions and deal with them in a way that's destroying both himswlf and his family, how he just doesn't realize he needs to be honest with himself at first to start to try making things right with Fawn and mama. He knows he's being a horrible person to them, but it looks like he doesn't want to admit it even tho it's an essencial step to take if he really wants to have his old life back.

About Fawn, SHE'S TOO SWEET I JUST CAN'T READ ANY PART OF THIS FANFICTION SHE SHOWS UP WITHOUT SMILING😭❤. Also noticed the small parallel between mama and her, they both try to undestand and be calm at Simon despite all the bullshit he did with them, Idk if it was intentional or not but either way it made my heart melt because it's so sweet and heartbreaking that she's acting just like her mother when it comes to her father💔. I love her character so much, she reminds me of a little girl I used to take care of and it makes me feel so emotional. The fact that Simon is trying to make up with her for being negligent in the past months is so cute. I don't think he's necessarily a bad father, but he hasn't been acting like a good one either, and it's good to see him trying to make it up for it. When Fawn asked if he still loves mama made me cry too, it must be so odd for both to see him being arrogant and negligent and then acting all worried so suddenly, seeing her ask if they're going to live together like before is so heartbreaking💔. Gladly my "suffering" didn't least long since I was smiling ear to ear when he noticed his daughter was being bullied and went to confront the boy's father for encouraging it(we ignore that I cried a whole river when he fucked up everything with mama again afterwards😞). I'll be honest that my jaw fell to the floor when Simon was so mad at Keegan for being a reliable person for both his ex-wife and his daughter that he went to him JUST to get some satisfaction😭. He's so possessive even tho he's not even married to her anymore and even keeps refering to mama as his wife until Keegan corrects him. But he was really needing to have someone to say some truths to him like Keegan did, even I was tense while they're talking.

AND THW CLIFFHANGER, HELLO??? Maybe I'm overreacting a bit but I'm so worried about the person being alive😭😭😭. Already created multiple theories about who was shoot and why, and I just can't wait for the next weekend to come because I'm really excited to where you're leading this whole thing❤

Hiiiii, so wonderful to see you in my notifications!! I LOVE THIS SUBMISSION!!! 💛💛💛💛💛🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

First and foremost, Simons reasoning for feeling like he fell out of love is something I can 100% see him doing— pulling away out of fear, hurting so bad he gets angry, pushing everyone away because of his history with betrayal and losing people he cares about 💔 I never see this in fics!!! Abandonment issues, relationship OCD, leaving someone before they hurt you because of severe anxiety, it's just... It fits, in a way, y'know?

I kinda struggle navigating Simon with him figuring out his emotions and his course of action; because even though he's terrified of being abandoned, hurt, alone all over again he's SUPER protective of his lady and kid, that's his family, he can't just... Not looking out for them, whether it's up close or from afar.

But God I just can't help myself writing Simon with a fucking adorable daughter that ADORES him 🥹🤌🏻

(There would only be one person mama would be on a emergency contact list for, since it's way too soon for Keegan to consider putting her on his....Simon only has one person in his life he wants to know his private matters.......*hint hint wink wonk nudge nudge* 🤐🫥)

[jayflrt]

if you left any clues in this chapter, i let you know I can’t pick it up because i felt they were left in some kinda human experiment. how have they not got alcohol poisoning atp ?? i have no clue on alcohol, since I don’t drink but assume that many shots of alcohol would be bad. or did math be wrong in my mind ? the haze felt like, it was they lived a normal life in the morning and at night some magical creatures 🧛🧛🧛🧛🧛. I feel like this was a mild haze because most insane thing was doing exercises after shots. Also Jay is so smart for the presentation thing, I would have thought of it and made some kinda random thing. talking bout a broad topic but giving one single message that’s smart 🫡 I want Jay so bad honestly. be MINE JAY AHHH 🐺🐺 it’s time for me to get into my thinking chair (pls get the blue’s clue reference) and put my thinking hat on. so far im just so taken back with everything however, I haven’t lost my goal yet. I have grown some suspense towards sunoo and rest of yn’s friends. first sunoo has been acting kinda weird lately, I always had my suspense with the friend group. most close people are on the suspect list always. after the small thing Chaewon pull im so confused idk if this small agenda against yn because of her past. but I don’t want to put her on the suspect list because only issue is heeseung was in love with yn while dating chaewon. people can be nasty but I don’t think she would go that far ? but she does fit the unknown doing it for their personal gain ?cuz a little revenge for ruining her relationship (as in chaewon’s) with no actual faults of her (yn) ? I know we are nearing the time yn finds about Jay but if i ignore maybe it’s not real 😅. actually what if you feel evil and go “surprise it was yn !” the whole time and she wanted to see how far jay was willing to go hide his secret. It because equal level of betrayal on both sides 😅 okay no don’t this because wtf that’s actually insane. pause, this might be nice approach because her dad has so high expectations and shit. maybe ? just…. okay no. anyhow I have no additional, suspects so far. I saw you say this maybe be 80 parts long well sign me UPPP im so invested. wait did you already reveal the secret that they blackmails Jay with ? cuz for some reason in my mind he has fake the administration and shits like that ? and maybe manipulate with the scores for him to be closer to suspect ?? or am I just tripping ??

ALSO NEXT UPDATE ARE WE GETTING LIKE THEM CONFRONTING YN ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED OR NOT BECAUSE ILL LAUGH 🙏OR DID SHE ALREADY TELL ANTON ALONG THE LINE OF “hypnotically speaking, what if you fucked (with clothes on) your crush who is also friends with your ex and childhood bestie who is still in love with me, totally didn’t happen to me asking for a friend ?” at most random hour of the midnight 😅. I just know yeonjun would be first one to question it from both yn and jay, THERES NO WAY IN HELL HE WILL LET THAT GO. I KNOW HES NOT CONVINCED praying for jayn HAHAHAH ‼️ actually non of them is convinced im praying both of them. Jayn wanted a put of sight out of mind situation but now everyone kinda knows. and curious.

theory anon

LMFAOO i used that chapter more for relationship developments between different characters (especially jay) and i Did seed some plot points that i want to incorporate later but nothing that would be obvious right away if that makes sense 🤧 LMFAOO yeah it's kind of a lot but they'll live!! with terrible hangovers the next morning probably 😃 yeah the exercises added with their lack of sleep the entire week would've been brutal 🥲 and the constant anxiety that they're doing something wrong or gonna get in trouble for something,, and i def used this chapter to flex how smart jay's supposed to be LOL that is MY main character <33

sunoo and mc are weirdly secretive of their friendship i'd say so definitely some suspicion there ! and chaewon's intentions with trying to put jay and mc on the hot seat are interesting too,, and could potentially be because of heeseung?? jay now knows her father was the one who wrote the article on mercy health too so if not her, her father does know something about what happened there 🫢 and anything can happen !! but you're right that we're just about nearing the time that mc finds out about jay 🥲

also yes it's gonna be around 80 parts!! maybe longer?? hopefully not because i don't want to have to make a second masterlist 😿 but i gotta do what i must for the storyline 🙏 also jay's "secret" hasn't been revealed yet!! also his client got his admission into yale falsified (not his scores) but that's also somewhat hanging over his head and keeping him working for someone he doesn't necessarily like or agree with because he's already in too deep of a hole :')

LMFAOOO pretty much all of them know Something is going on between jay and mc but just don't say anything because they either don't wanna accept it (the case for hoon and heeseung LMFAO) or they're just satisfied watching it unfold before them (100% yeonjun)

[tadpolesonalgae]

i truly believe that CBMTHY reader needs like a hobby like something that consumes her so fully that she forgets her grief for a short while. it could be her just experimenting with her magic like seeing how she's always so curious and all it works with her personality too! also girlie neeeds a job, money and retail therapy fr 😭 but i must say this CBMTHY 16 is like perfect?? idk the confrontation and the reader finally realizing that her actions have consequences was much needed! i hoping we get to see more growth for her like the start of it atleast, cause she's been in this depressive hellhole of hers far too long and it's make me angry at this point honestly. not at you but how she doesn't act on what she wants to do and just doesn't think things through when she actually does something, I DO see what you did with Mor there and honestly her reaction was so valid and i'm hoping that reader gets a small family that is not the IC, like found family (how nesta made friends with emerie? and gywn ? i don't remember their names lmao) but yeaah she deserves one. we already have Bas we need like 2 more people? or even 1 bro she just needs people thats not family like eris can be considered a friend but then again he's not someone she can meet regularly?? and thats fine ofcourse!

also girlie needs to find out whats in the book that eris gave, istg thats what im excited about the most! i loove the reader curious nature, imean she doesn't reallly act on it but the way she used to like read every book from the library like it was food was so relatable there is so much potential with CBMTHY and hosnestly its so well written, even when yk there are some clarifications to make you do it all too well! (taylor swift reference:))) i will not apologize for ranting because you've made it pretty clear you like reading through it all haha but es have a good day and take care!! <33 with lovee <33

‘like something that consumes her so fully’

Oh dear

‘it could be her just experimenting with her magic like seeing how she's always so curious and all it works with her personality too!’

I think we will actually have sections with that in? I don’t want to give anything away obviously because I enjoy hearing your reactions as things happen, but honestly it would probably be weird now if after reader had her ‘detonation’ moment that her magic just got left aside 😭

Well, maybe not that weird, but a little strange to not try at it at all, like you said, given reader’s curiosity :)

‘but i must say this CBMTHY 16 is like perfect??’

I need to frame this so badly my goodness 😭🧡💛

‘idk the confrontation and the reader finally realizing that her actions have consequences was much needed! i hoping we get to see more growth for her like the start of it atleast, cause she's been in this depressive hellhole of hers far too long and it's make me angry at this point honestly.’

I’m super happy you feel that way! I feel what happened with Mor was uncalled for just given reader’s situation, but at the same time I’m not sure how much I can fault Mor for it since we don’t know how deep the Eris wound goes? Naturally making the comment about “you’ll pay though, right?” was a step too far since that’s intentionally malicious? It’s not just the leash on Mor’s emotions slipping, that was a planned attack that Mor knew would hurt reader?

Whereas despite how reader’s actions hurt Mor and reader should have given it a little more thought before going to Eris—even really at the moment she picked up her pen to write back to him—her primary motive wasn’t to do it out of spite, she just needed to get away for a bit.

I think it will be fun to see how they sort it out though? Whether reader stands up to Mor or whether Mor backs off on her own? Whether other people might intervene or whether reader might go at Mor by herself?

‘but how she doesn't act on what she wants to do’

Yes! She needs something that will push her into action? Sure, you’re immortal so I guess you have all the time you could want, but do you? If reader keeps putting things off they’ll never happen :/

‘also girlie needs to find out whats in the book that eris gave, istg thats what im excited about the most!’

Yeah, I wonder what sort of helpful things Eris had in mind when giving reader that book about the topics she’s so interested in.

‘even when yk there are some clarifications to make you do it all too well! (taylor swift reference:)))’

Oh my gosh I’m not a Taylor Swift fan but I’ve heard quite a few of her song and All Too Well (10 minute version) was one I used to listen to a lot to get into the headspace for writing the initial chapters of cbmthy!! 😭

‘i will not apologize for ranting because you've made it pretty clear you like reading through it all haha but es have a good day and take care!! <33’

Ahhhh yes yes yes!!!! I love getting to talk with you so much and hearing so many viewpoints and stances—it’s so exhilarating reading through them and knowing people actually enjoy this fic that kind of happened out of nowhere, so thank you 😭🧡💛🫂🫂🫂

[arisu-arts]

i don't actually remember q!quackity threatening chayanne infront of tallulah? the only times i could think of when this would happen would be either when he broke down to wilbur or during the One Day of class but i don't think that was infront of tallulah? he told wilbur about his plans while tallulah was off in the garden, eitherway i don't think tallulah ever saw him as much as a threat and if push came to shove, chayanne can and will kill him ( please correct me on this tho since i Genuinely don't remember )

i also don't remember when he tried to kidnap tallulah? :O like unless you count the day he griefed her house but tallulah wasn't distressed? she went willingly and was immediately out the house the moment wilbur left and wasn't scared during that period, she herself also doesn't see it as kidnapping but ig you could agrue about it being a child perspective ig? if you count the most recent time quackity hung out with tallulah then i'm even more confused :o

wait unless you're talking about when the eggs were cracked, then yeah she was scared and distressed ! but i thought that was because of everything that was happening ( she got taken and cracked, she wanted to be with her family, she was scared etc ) rather than solely quackity—like he played a part in it but it was moreso something that added to a preexisting stressful situation rather than the sole reason, but if its referencing this then i get agree sorta

my memory is very bad so maybe i'm forgetting smth but that's thats how i see it ^_^ but anyways i could make a huge agruement on why i think it makes sense but really the True Reason why tallulah likes him is because tallulah's admin as a tnt bias lol

Alright so!Tallulah knew that Quackity wanted to harm chayanne from two moments one was when chayanne told her that quackity theatend him and missa and the other was when Quackity in a bad state when to her and wilbur and infront of her said ,,to confront chayanne in a violent manner" while holding a sword. She reacted by saing ,,what did you say" while poiting a sword at him, and after he left she said to wilbur ,,He better not touch chayanne". She was clearly upset abotu that and idk i guess for me it's weird how quickly she went to being nice to him after all that

I was refering to time after she got cracked where Quackity tried to take her by force from Phil becouse idk that whole thing was so weird and very sus like he lied to brazilians that she was his doughter to take her away and creamed at philza while all the eggs were hiding in the basement with tallula hidden in the corner and all eggs ready to fight. Of course they all were distressed becouse of the situation but when they all where in the bunker she acted more normal but when quackity appeared she went to the panic room chayanne build her and just crouch there while playing to herself. that looked very sad to me

[luckyqueenreign]

Alright girls, I know we done received a let down today, Suresh Clowns down bad by 500 points, but I’m not giving up hope…yet. I’m about to put on the biggest clown shoes and nose for this theory that I got going in my head. So here it is… I think Lulu knows that Suresh is using her due to this interaction she did after coming on the terrace due to hearing her name.

I know this is a small interaction but hear me out.

1.) We have yet to actually interact with Lulu; however, she has not said one slick mouth comment towards MC. Everyone has been slick mouthing to MC and if you’re on Suresh route Arlo and Gabi immediately came in thinking that they were comparable to MC; however, Lulu hasn’t come in thinking she’s better than MC nor has she said any slick remarks toward her even though she said that she and suresh were “hitting it off”. I think this interaction shows us that Lulu will become (hopefully) a friend to us in the next coming episodes or later. Like she knows something that MC doesn’t and is just playing her part.

2.) Eddie gave us the tea on Suresh. This is reliable Eddie we’re talking about. Out of everybody in the Villa, Eddie has been the one keeping tabs on EVERYONE including MC and has been honest even when we didn’t ask for it. Plus out of everyone, I think he wants to see MC win and with him and Sursesh becoming acquainted I think he’s low key hoping they get back together, especially if Suresh chatted to Eddie about how he feels about MC.

3.) Lulu could have possibly heard what Suresh told Eddie and could have confronted him about it. In knowing this her and Suresh could have agreed to go into the Villa together as pals (win win for both); however, what they didn’t count on was Gabi. So to appear that they are into each other they’re being flirty with one another until Gabi leaves. We gotta remember when MC, Suresh and Gabi was on the terrace Surresh isn’t about to out right tell MC the plan cause Gabi is there and it’s highly possible that she would cause some mess to prevent that from happening.

4.) Lastly, Nicholas/ Johnny are just playing the game. I think the last episode sealed the deal for me that Nicholas (that’s who I chose) is just trying to make it to the final. He’s not really trying to get to know MC, just been wanting to know the gossip on any and everyone, including MC.

Anyways this is my theory. It may be a stretch but I’m trying to save this sinking ship by any means necessary. I’ve come too far for FB to pull this crap on us like we ain’t been the ones supporting them this season. This week episodes was truly sad and showed how lazy the writing is, especially after what Suresh said right before Casa Amor to this. It’s like they did a 360 on his character. But if all else fails, that’s what fanfic is for.

City Girls down 1000 today

ok your Lulu theory I lowkey agree..Idk if she full on knows shes being used but maybe she understands the situation and understands her position. Lulu has been home watching Love Island for weeks, she's seen Suresh graft MC and she knows he's down bad for her!! So much so that if you chose the interaction with MC saying, I know you still want me Suresh, Lulu says {im paraphrasing} "with the way he's been acting it's understandable for MC to feel this way." WHAT GIRLY!?! YOU AGREE?! because yes!! he has been flirting with her, begging her back, Lulu's seen all this and she knows this is what MC is referring to. Which is why she ushers everyone to bed and kills the drama for the night.

Eddie 100% is telling the truth. He has no motive to lie and beyond that he's never lied. he told Suresh about MC + Alfie and he told MC verbatim what was said.

I dont think she would keep all the flirty stuff going on or Suresh for that matter at least not on that first night. Suresh or even Lulu couldve pulled MC that night and talked to her alone and told her the whole thing if this were true. and I dont really think Gabi knowing about their plan really changes anything. Im thinking Lulu probably did vibe with Suresh but like Eddie said theres no spark, and suresh just brought her back to save his spot in the villa. I really dont think its anything more than that. I could see him not telling MC about it right away bc of the compatibility vote and wanting him and MC's couples to stay safe.

[airi-p4]

JATP AU: Everlasting musical connection - Chapter 4

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Epilogue … 

Julie and the Phantoms x Lukanette AU

(Sorry for the incoming little rant)

I'm a bit mad tbh because I wrote this before we had any leaks or information about S5 and now it looks like the 'red moon' and Felix are a canon reference when they're NOT. But I guess it's partly my fault for not posting this earlier... *sigh*

Anyway- This story will be finished! Idk when but it will! Thank you for your patience.

_______________________________

TW: check AO3 for the tags ( !!! )

Chapter summary:

Marinette refuses to accept the Phantoms imminent crossing over, and decides to face the only one who may know a way to help them: the magician ghost Felix- their enemy.

___________________________________________

AO3

___________________________________________

CHAPTER 4

While the ghosts were busy at the cemetery, Marinette snuck out of high school to go to Paris' Ghost club. She had only heard about the exclusive club from the Phantoms and rumors, and she had no idea how to find it… but the Internet tricks Alya taught her some time ago did the rest of the job.

Felix wasn't lying when he said the doors would be exceptionally opened for her anytime. She would have never imagined going straight to the enemy's headquarters and exposing herself to such danger.

The girl had already confronted the centuries old magician ghost once and knew too well how dangerous he was. She had to be cautious- he knew a great amount of tricks. She stepped in, carefully at first, but soon brought her courage afloat after remembering her mission had a time limit.

Just a few more hours.

She had no time to lose.

“Felix! Show yourself! I know you’re here!” she called loudly.

“Oh, my my… look who's here: Marinette Dupain-Cheng…” a voice said from the shadows. The teenager got shivers, but remained courageous, standing tall. “To think you would visit me… Aren’t you scared I may possess your body like I did with your blond pathetic friend?”

“I know how to kick you out now! I’m not scared of you!” she yelled, and his evil laugh interrupted. Within a blink, he appeared in front of her and she gasped. “I’m- I’m not scared of you!” she repeated.

“Yet you’re here, trembling like a newborn puppy…” Felix laughed, amused by her fears. The sound of his slow steps walking in circles around her was keeping her alert. “How desperate you must be for your ‘Phantoms’ if you’ve come to me in order to save them…”

“Shut up!" She recomposed at the mention of her friends "I know there has to be a way! A way so they don’t have to cross over! Or maybe that they can come back to life!”

“Oh, innocent child… Don’t you think I’d have already done that myself if there was a way?”  His laugh echoed in the club, giving her goosebumps.

“I know you keep secrets. And I know you’re good at hiding them. But your powers are not only for evil. And music! Music has to be the reason you’re still aliv- well, not completely dead.”

“Haha… Very funny…" A few claps followed ironically. "You did well figuring out this much… Hmmm... What would you say if I told you there’s a way for them to come back to life?” he tempted her in a hum.

“Is there!?"

“Oh, so you’re interested, huh?” He smirked evilly and Marinette remembered he wasn't going to give her what she wanted for free. She knew him.

“What’s the deal?” she demanded, looking straight in his eyes.

“An exchange." He paused in front of her, close. "Your soul. Your life for theirs. How does that sound?”

She paused for a second, out of the shock, and before her voice left her throat she was interrupted by three newcomers.

“NEVER!" they yelled. Marinette's eyes opened big.

“Luka! Guys! Why are you here!?”

“Oh, c’mon Marinette, we know you. We’ve been together for a while now.” Juleka winked. "You can't fool us."

“We’ve actually followed you here and eavesdropped a bit…” Ivan innocently confessed.

“Don’t tell her, Ivan! I was trying to act cool and steal the show!”

“Oops, my bad-”

“Anyway- No one is taking away Marinette’s life. That’s out of the question. We’ll cross over and Marinette will be an amazing singer on her own- or with her new band or whatever she chooses to do with her outstanding talent.” Luka stepped in between Marinette and Felix, pushing him and raising a protective arm in front of her. Marinette's eyes glowed and teared up at him.

“Are you sure you want to cross over while I’m still around? I could try to harm her anytime… Try to figure out her connection with spirits… Or maybe a fatal accident could bring her talent here, to me. Maybe she would agree to remain in my club for all eternity, unlike you...”

“Don’t you dare!” Felix's threat enraged Luka. "Touch her and I'm killing you!"

“Luka…” Marinette blushed, moved.

“Yeah. It seems our last warning wasn’t enough... Let’s kill this ghost.” Juleka jumped closer, fists clenched.

“I wish so too, but guys: we can’t kill him. He’s already dead!” Ivan pointed out and Felix's smile widened.

“You’re not helping, Ivan!” The bassist glared. “And I'm not giving up just like that! There has to be a way to stop him for good!” Her nails sank deeper in her palms.

“There might be a way,” a familiar voice that sounded weak and sweet interrupted, appearing from upstairs.

“Rose!? You were ok!?” Juleka ran towards her beloved ghost, holding her hands tenderly.

“I heard your voice, Juleka, and I rushed here despite the jolts of Felix’s attachment spell." She smiled weakly and it brought Juleka to the verge of tears.

“You fool! I’m so happy to see you…” She hugged her.

“Me, too.” Rose pulled her closer, enjoying the warmth.

“Oh, what a sweet moment…" Felix hummed. "Too bad it won't last long…" His eyes turned red and the blond girl gasped. "Rose. I own your soul and you disobeyed me. You’re going to disappear now-” His fingers were about to snap, but Juleka jumped between Rose and Felix.

“No! I won’t let you harm her!”

The next second, Rose pushed Juleka behind her, making her fall to the floor. Felix's destructive thunder followed its path towards the two ghosts and everyone gasped when the blond ghost was hit.

“ROSE! NO!” Juleka cried, crawling to hold her falling body in her arms.

“Juleka, guys, listen…" Rose coughed. "I’m going to disappear soon, but… there’s a way… There’s a way you can stay here. Love and music... The red moon… Join your powers together... Your bond is special- strong. You can do it… you can make a miracle happen...”

"Rose! No!" Juleka cried.

"As for Felix… Take my curse and cast it to him… hurry up… before I disappear… Do it and he'll remain trapped here forever…" Rose whispered to Juleka. She knew the Phantoms were close enough to hear her, too. "Ivan. Do it, please. Only you can. Hold my wrist and take it. Hurry!"

"I- ok!" Ivan did as Rose told him, and a mark appeared on his wrist.

"Good…" She smiled in relief. “Now you have to say the words: ‘Resistance’, pass the curse to his wrist and say ‘Gift.’. The spell will activate then. Will you do it?” Ivan nodded, uncertain. Rose’s voice became weaker. “Thank you… Now I can leave at peace…"

“No, Rose… Don’t leave me…” Juleka begged in tears.

“I’m very happy to have met you, Juleka." Rose smiled weakly at her. "I love you.”

“Rose… I love you… I love you, too…” Some of Juleka's tears fell on Rose's cheeks. The rest fell on the floor through her disappearing skin.

"Don’t hurry up to join me on the other side, ok? Make a miracle happen. I’ll wait for you. Forever…”

"Rose, no!" Juleka cried. "Rose!!'

"Goodbye…" Rose smiled as she turned into hundreds of flying shining golden lights. On the floor, only her unicorn hairpin remained. Juleka picked it up, kissed it, and put it in her hair. Her long bangs now stuck in place, not covering her deathly glaring eyes anymore. Then she took a deep breath and cleaned her tears as she confidently recovered. Her eyes soon glared at Felix with all her wrath.

“Guys- That’s it. I’m killing this man! Are you with me?”

“Juleka, don’t be reckless, you could end up harmed too!” Luka warned, terrified for his sister, Ivan, and Marinette's safety.

“I don’t care! He just killed Rose! I can NEVER forgive him!”

“Juleka!”

Juleka's fierce voice turned into a loud roar, and it made the whole club tremble. Luka tried to hold Marinette, but she lost her balance when she fell through Luka's spiritual arm. Felix's eyes opened wide and before he could even blink, Juleka charged against him, punching his face with all her power. Felix fell on the floor with a face of not believing what was happening.

“What!?” Her bandmates gasped, in awe.

It took Felix a second to react. He touched his face where the punch had landed and checked his fingers; there was blood at the corner of his lip. “How- how is this possible!? You-- injured ME?”

Juleka roared loud, jumped, and tackled Felix, immobilizing him with Ivan's help. “Guys. We can do this.” Juleka's fist clenched again, more confident, ready to attack once more. Some stripes, resembling a tiger, appeared over her skin, on her face and arms.

“You…" Felix looked as if he couldn’t believe it, but seeing how her fist raised he changed his attitude to a self-protective one. “I see… So that’s how it is…” he mumbled. He tilted his head down and half-covered his smile with his hand.

Enraged, Juleka raised her fist and prepared to punch him again. "What's so funny, huh!?" Felix didn't answer.

"Do it now, Ivan! The curse!" Luka yelled.

Ivan took the chance while Felix was immobilized under Juleka to pass him the curse. "Wait. Is that Rose's curse? As if this was going to work…” He smirked. But his smile didn’t last long- wiped off his face when Ivan said the words he learnt from Rose: “Resistance.”. His eyes opened wide, as in realization. “No… No! No please!" He begged, but the mark had already appeared on his wrist. "No…!"

“Gift,” Ivan finished the spell, and the mark blended with his ghost skin. The Phantoms looked at the mark's shine spreading over all his body. A jolt followed and it was proof enough the spell seemed to work. They exchanged relieved looks while Felix curled his body in pain.

"Good. You can't leave this hotel ever again, Felix. Now Marinette will finally be safe," Luka said, looking fondly at Marinette.

"And now… To ensure it even further… I'm going to kill you!" Juleka raised her fist one more time, and Felix's face changed to one of fear.

"No, wait- wait please! I'll tell you what you want to know! There is a way to survive! Just don’t kill me!” the magician begged, coughing from the jolts.

Juleka wasn't stopping. "We’re not falling for this again, Felix!”

“The red moon!" he yelled when Juleka's fist almost touched him. "Tonight! It grants special powers to the spirits! Rose is right! With the right spell, a miracle could happen under the moon!"

“Really?” Marinette stepped closer.

Luka looked at her hopeful eyes in worry. “I’m sorry, Marinette, but I don’t trust him. I don’t think we should risk it…" he said, and Marinette looked back at him in sadness.

“But what if he’s right? What if it’s possible for you to come back to life? Or to stay as you are? Rose said it, too! We have nothing to lose! Let’s try it! Let’s go under the red moonlight and-” the girl insisted, desperate.

“Wait.”

“Juleka?”

The purple-haired ghost roared as she punched the floor just beside the magician's face. He gulped in fear.

“Tell us what’s the spell. If you don’t then…” Her fist rose again and he covered his face with his arms.

“Fine! I’ll tell you!” he finally gave in. “Tonight, under the red moonlight, at 2AM exactly, you have to repeat the magic words, three times: ‘kwamis, release the magic.’ If my theory and Rose’s suspicions are correct, you’ll be able to ask for a wish- a miracle.”

“And how do we know you’re telling us the truth?” Ivan asked.

Felix smirked. “You can’t know, truly. But I have no reason to give you a fake spell. I can’t cast it on my own anyway, since moonlight is needed and I’m now trapped here forever…” He suffered again from the spell.

“Tricking us for revenge sounds like a good reason for lying to me…” Marinette glared.

“Revenge? Against you pitiful souls? Don’t make me laugh.” He smirked evilly, still coughing. “You’re worthless. As pathetic as Rose was…” He touched Rose’s unicorn hairpin for a second and Juleka grabbed his shirt collar.

“DON’T YOU DARE MENTION ROSE EVER AGAIN!” Juleka threatened.

“Hmph- Whatever.” Felix's smirk widened. “You can try the spell or not. But isn’t this your only chance? No one knows if it really works anyway, but you won’t know unless you try. You know what not trying means anyway…”

Juleka growled at him and he shrugged, his fear seemingly gone despite the electric jolts striking again.

“Let him go, Juleka. He’s right,” Luka said, to Marinette’s surprise. “We don’t have much time left, and he’s trapped here forever, whether he's telling the truth or not, our fate is sealed. I can rest in peace knowing he won't be able to harm Marinette.”

“But-” Marinette and Juleka protested.

“We have a concert to go to, right? Let’s forget about Felix and enjoy the last hours we have together.” Luka shrugged with a weak smile. Marinette and Juleka weren’t happy, but ended up following Luka’s lead.

"It's time for you to pay for your sins." Juleka stood up and looked down in absolute disgust at Felix. “Enjoy your solitude for eternity.”

_________________________

The ghosts escorted Marinette out of the hotel and they sighed in relief when they reunited outside. Once outside, Luka turned to speak to Marinette.

"Don't you ever do that again, Marinette. Don't expose yourself to danger like that. Especially not for us, when we're already…" The guitarist had an urge to hug her, but he knew he couldn't even touch her. His body language was obvious to his ghost bandmates, though, who smiled sadly at them.

“I'm sorry… I wanted to-" she stopped, not wanting to be scolded again when the count on their wrists kept going down. "You’re the best friends I could ever have,” Marinette thanked them.

“You’re our treasure, Marinette.” Luka gave her his sweetest smile and she blushed.

If he wasn't a ghost, he would have probably leaned down to kiss her, had she allowed him, of course. But he knew better. Both of them knew better. They belonged to different worlds, despite their connection being so real...

*cof cof*

The pair turned to Juleka and realized they had been staring at each other's eyes for too long. Ivan looked away, slightly blushing, and Marinette panicked a bit. Luka smiled at her cuteness before taking the lead again.

“Ok, let’s go! We can't be late to our last concert tonight!”

“Hell yeah! I’m on fire!” Juleka exclaimed.

"Have you decided yet which song we're performing?" Ivan asked, stretching his wrists.

"I have," Marinette interrupted. "I know exactly which one song we should perform." She grinned and the Phantoms smiled back at her.

"Ok, let's do it!"

____________________

"We're 'Marinette and the Phantoms,' and today was our last concert. Please enjoy our last song: ‘everlasting musical connection’!"

There was evident shock, sadness, and devastated fans at the French Orpheum, but it was soon replaced by the feelings that resonated through the music with the frantic audience.

Their last concert was short, but moreover, it was unforgettable. Epic. Outstanding.

Legendary.

Those were the adjectives the specialized press was already calling it online.

[septembersghost]

I literally can't listen to Unchained Melody without fucking sobbing

this won't help because it's a you-had-to-be-there kind of story, and possibly you also have to know my dad, but imma tell it anyway - one time when i was a kid, and visiting him in the summer, the righteous brothers version of that song came on the radio in his truck. and i had just seen the movie ghost for the first time (which my mom regretted because she felt i was too young for it, but it was one of her good friend's favorite movie), and it had low-key freaked me out. not patrick swayze or demi moore or whoopi of course, but the malevolent spirits that, like, tear ghosts away? (i've seen it since, but it's been a loooong time.) anyway, i associated the song with the movie, so i asked him to turn the station. or maybe i had a tape with me, i subjected him to my music however i could haha. we were going to the grocery store. we shop, we get out to the parking lot, and he's going to take the groceries out of the cart, and he acts like he's going to ask me to do something, and instead launches into this very loud, very dramatic rendition of unchained melody. in the parking lot. my dad is a boisterous, gregarious (and can be confrontational) person (and my mom is a great people person, how they got a painfully shy introvert as a daughter is anyone's guess), and he loves to sing. at a volume. he's filled in for the cantor at shul. he never quite understood my stage fright with my own singing, and tbh a big dose of that fearlessness really would've helped me. but imagine being, idk, at most ten years old, and your dad is like, "ohhhhhhhh myyyyyy LOOOOVE MY DAAARLIN' i've hungered for your TOUUUCH a long, lonely tiiiime. TIIIIIIIME GOOOOOES BY so sloooowwwly and time can do so much, are you STILL *MIIIIIIIINE*?" deranged behavior. but i was basically crylaughing. and i'm like, what on earth, why would you do it that way? and he's like, it was good enough for the king 🤷🏻‍♂️

years pass and i somewhat forget about this, and didn't know the reference (i got the elvis part, but not the specific moment), and at some point as a young teenager, for who knows what reason, i run across the performance from june 26, 1977. as previously mentioned, i was an elvis dabbler growing up as far as the hits go, but didn't know a lot of specifics. his presence was always there in a diaphonous way. so this is...somewhere on the internet in low quality (not youtube! i looked it up, it didn't exist yet? maybe it was a fansite, this would've been around the time a little less conversation was remixed and having a moment), in the middle of the afternoon at my desk in my room after school. i can still picture that room, my chair, the bookshelf. (funny how certain moments are like that - music tends to cement things in my mind more than anything else. there's this lyric from a song called "this is one of those moments" in yentl - i will always remember this chair, that window, the way the light streamed in...). there's no real reason for me to have recall of this, but i do. in the intervening years, unchained melody had remained this hilarious, somewhat embarrassing, image of my father. and this video just...almost hurts too much to look at, it's so heart-shattering. it just had me in tears. and i thought...this isn't something i can delve into right now, and i put it away, as if it went into a box on a shelf in the attic of my head. and he sort of resided there. waiting for the day when it was time to take him down and understand. suffice to say, obviously, he's not waiting up there anymore. he's in the heart chamber now.

it's such a tremendous and yet tremulous performance, it's almost like something in him so incandescent had to blaze forth, had to give that, had to prove it, had to exude the full beauty of his voice, had to be able to smile at that audience in spite of everything. it's very near...how to phrase this? transforming it into a sacred song, it's like he made it gospel. because he had to.

the conclusion here being, yes, same. it breaks me. but the little girl in my memory can still also hear my dad and the giggling, and i don't actually think elvis would mind that part. i think it might make him smile in that same way. so maybe we can hold close to a bit of both. god speed your love to me.

[an-inspired-eternity]

vincent ff7

favorite thing about them: i love this stupid gay vampire so much you don’t understand. his entire aura. his voice is deeper than the mariana trench. he’s paler than i am. he genuinely thought sleeping in a coffin was a good idea.

but also to actually answer i do love that like. he gets talked into joining the party and ends up stuck with them for life. everytime this loser goes to isolate himself none of them will let him and when they go to pull him into whatever they’re doing he’ll huff and act like he doesn’t wanna get involved but he still goes along with it anyway

least favorite thing about them: ..can i just say dirge of cerberus and call it a day? no? okay well i think lucrecia was um.. maybe Not Worth The Trouble He Went Through? like hojo is 100% the main guy to blame here but lucrecia was Not helping. vince ily but you did not deserve to suffer as much as you did because of you being in love with her 😭

favorite line: ngl i don’t actually remember a lot of his lines, but i do love what he says if you bring him with you for the final confrontation against hojo in og which is “I was wrong.. The one that should’ve slept.. was you, Hojo!” in reference to the fact that vincent blamed himself for what happened to lucrecia and locked himself away in the coffin and tormented himself over it

brotp: yuffie and vincent having a weird friendship is Great but i also do think cloud and vincent have a lot in common that they could bond over that to my knowledge is not talked about as much

otp: i love valenwind cid and vince are yuffie’s weird gay uncles/dads (either is accurate) i’m so excited to see these dorks in ff7r. i don’t have a ton of opinions on them past that but i Love the energy

notp: stop shipping yuffie with vincent stop shipping yuffie with vincent stop shipping yuffie with vincent stop shipping yuffie with vincent st

(for the uninformed, yuffie is 16 and vincent is, even ignoring the fact this man was asleep in a coffin for three decades, in his late 20s at the youngest. ENOUGH)

random headcanon: vincent goes full mama bird when they’re in cold areas and uses his cape as a blanket for the rest of the party bc holy shit aint none of these bitches dressed for the weather, the most warmly dressed people other than vincent are probably cloud and barret and even then they got their arms out. 

unpopular opinion: idk if this is an unpopular opinion but as stated above i do feel like vincent does actually like spending time with the party. but he’s also incredibly emotionally constipated about it and doesn’t wanna admit it or open up to them fully for. whichever reasons. probably a mix of not feeling like he deserves it and worrying if he gets too attached he’ll lose them too (which is a sad thing to talk about for this category but i imagine that is probably part of it). but the tldr is that vincent is very much part of the found family here and even if he doesn’t outright admit it he does like spending time with them, thank you for coming to my ted talk

song i associate with them: ...so vincent has a very specific energy when it comes to songs i associate with him, for which we must go back to the early 2000s: animal i have become by three days grace (which. looking that up has caused me to learn that it and dirge of cerberus released in the same year. holy shit)

favorite photo of them: look at the way this man sits and tell me he is straight. i dare you. lucrecia rejected him for hojo and he swore off women forever because of it

[bibbawrites]

Don’t Touch - Charlie Gillespie x Reader (18+)

Request: Hi!! Can you please do one about Charlie doing ‘no nut November’ and you not knowing... maybe him and Owen made a secret bet about it?? 

Word Count: 1274 words

Summary: you find out that your boyfriend Charlie is trying to complete no nut November, and you decide to try and mess with him 

Warnings: sexual content, teasing, implied sex, swearing

A/N: not my greatest work but also not my worst, this was the most voted for in my poll, getting 52% of the votes  hopefully you guys enjoy this ! sorry for any typos, i didn’t properly edit it lol i was feeling lazy also really sorry if the formatting is fucked up, idk what’s going on but random spaces kept appearing while i was writing it, i think i got rid of them all but i cant be certain lol  and please do not post it anywhere else, thank you! 

Tag List:  @happinessinthedarkesttimes​ @littlemissaddict​ @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​ @headheartbellarke​ @lovesanimals​ @bartok-the-magnificent​ @juliefromaustralia @multi-universe21 @rangerelik @kaitieskidmore1 @katrina765​

Sav sent a message to Girls Only! Sav y/n !!! Sav boy do i have some news for you Sav some very... interesting news Y/N ooh i love news Madi ooh tea time???

Tori i’m here what’s happening Sav just overheard your dumbass boyfriend and his equally stupid best friend discussing a bet Y/N oh really? do tell Sav did you know he’s doing no nut november Jadah ew Madi ewwwwwwwwww no did not need to know that

Tori and i’m leaving  Y/N i did not Y/N although that explains why he didn’t wanna have sex last night Madi oop Jadah stop this is tmi Carolynn oh god what have i walked in on? Madi can you have this conversation somewhere else please i do not want to think about charlie like this Sav then just don’t Sav too lazy to move chats Jadah just don’t say too much then Y/N wonder why he didn’t tell me Sav who knows Sav figured you didn’t know when you hadn’t mentioned it to me Carolynn sav you are far too involved in y/n and charlie’s sex life Sav that’s how you know it’s a true friendship Madi so how are we gonna get back at them Madi we are getting back at them, right? Y/N charlie at least Y/N unless one of y’all is prepared to fuck with owen Madi i’m a child Carolynn i’m married Jadah also a child

Tori no thank you Sav no. Y/N i said fuck with, not fuck lol, y’all could just prank him or something

Y/N anyways i have a plan

Y/N but it’s not for little ears

Y/N care, tori do you wanna know or?

Tori no thanks lol

Carolynn i’m okay, good luck though x

Y/N ty x

Y/N sav, to our private chat

- 

Sav sent a message to Y/N

Sav spill

Y/N okay so

Y/N i’m gonna make him regret it

Sav as you should

Y/N i’m thinking get sexy, pull out the good wine and seduce the shit outta him

Sav want me to distract owen?

Y/N that would be really appreciated

Sav done, dinner and a movie give you enough time?

Y/N that’s perfect thank you

Y/N i owe you

Sav don’t mention it

Sav besides, gonna make owen pay for everything as his punishment for getting involved

Sav so i’m the real winner

Y/N i love that for you

Y/N okay i’m gonna go get sexy

Sav good luck! i expect a full report tomorrow

Y/N of course

Y/N love you x Sav love you too x

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

Two hours later it was finally time to begin your plan. You had put on some natural, yet sexy makeup, Charlie’s favourite set of lingerie and one of his cut off shirts to cover it, although cover was probably not the right word to describe how much of the lingerie the shirt showed.  “Hey baby.” Charlie called, entering your shared bedroom and flopping down onto the bed. “You look nice, what’s the occasion?”  “No occasion, just wanted to surprise you.” You replied, straddling his hips. You lent down to kiss him, but he turned his head so that you kissed his cheek.  “I’d love to baby but I’m so tired.” Charlie rubbed your hip slightly. “Maybe later.”  “Oh okay.” You replied, not deterred. You knew this wasn’t going to be easy.  “Actually I might take a nap if that’s okay.” He decided.  “Of course babe.” You lent down to kiss him, before climbing off him, moving in a way so that he would get a full view of your body under his shirt. Charlie bit his lip, and you grinned to yourself slightly as you left the room. This was gonna be good.

- 

Just over an hour later Charlie entered the living room, where you had been sitting, waiting for him to wake up. 

“Feeling better?” You questioned, looking up at him. He nodded.  “Much. Where’s Owen?”  “With Sav. They went to the movies or something like that.” You replied, pretending that you were unsure of your best friend’s plans. “Oh okay.” Charlie sat down on the couch and you quickly moved to straddle his lap, snuggling into him, your face pressed into his neck. He wrapped his arms around you, freezing when his hand brushed against your hip. “Y/N.” He asked slowly. You hummed in response, your lips grazing his neck slightly. “Why aren’t you wearing underwear?” His voice wobbled and you bit back a smile. “Didn’t feel like it.” You replied nonchalantly. 

“You didn’t...” He swallowed. “You didn’t feel like it?” 

You shook your head, grinning to yourself when you felt him harden underneath you. 

You sat up, causing friction between your crotches and pretended to look concerned when Charlie flinched slightly.

“You okay baby? You look a bit flustered.” You asked, secretly proud of how worried you sounded. Charlie nodded slightly. 

“I’m fine.” He mumbled. “Still tired I guess.” 

“Want me to make you a coffee?” You asked, pressing your lips to his neck softly. 

“Actually I might go buy us dinner. Indian okay?” He questioned, practically pushing you off his lap. You giggled slightly, watching him pull his shoes on in record time. 

“Sounds delicious.” You said, licking your lips. Charlie’s eyes widened, and with a quick nod he rushed out the front door, leaving you to giggle over how well this was going. 

- 

By the time Charlie arrived home you had thought of a whole new plan. Charlie had entered the room, food in hand and brought it into the living room, not even pausing to take his shoes off. He sat down on the couch with a sigh. Time to put the plan into action. 

“Here, let me help you.” You dropped to your knees in front of him, looking up at him through your lashes to see his reaction. You untied his shoes quickly, putting them to the side before grabbing onto his thigh to help yourself up, making sure to squeeze just enough.  

“Why are you doing this?” Charlie asked, and you frowned, pretending that you didn’t know what he was referring to. 

“Doing what baby?” You questioned, your voice soft. Charlie shook his head. 

“Being so sexual all of the sudden. It’s like you’re-” He stopped, eyes widening in realisation. “You know, don’t you?” 

“Know what?” You feigned confusion. 

“About the bet, with Owen. To see who can do no nut November longer. That’s why you’re acting like this, you’re trying to get me to break.” He said, and you smiled sweetly. 

“Hmm yeah maybe a little birdy told me.” You sung, and Charlie groaned. 

“Owen?” He guessed. You shook your head. 

“Nope.” 

“Savannah.” He stated, and you nodded. A disgusted look came over his face. 

“Ew, is Savannah trying to get Owen to lose the bet?” He asked and your eyes widened. 

“Oh god no, gross, I’d never make her do that.” You exclaimed. “Your punishment was being teased, Owen’s was paying for Sav’s dinner and a movie.” 

Charlie looked relieved. 

“So if you know, and Sav knows, I assume she’s gonna confront Owen at some point?” He paused and you nodded. “So the bet is off then?” 

“You lasted four days, I think that’s good enough.” You agreed. He stood up, grabbing you and lifting you so that you wrapped your legs around his waist. 

“Perfect.” He whispered, crashing his lips into yours. You pulled away and he whined. 

“What about our food?” You questioned, looking down at the white plastic bag on the coffee table. 

“We’ll microwave it.” Charlie said, before carrying you to the bedroom so that he could officially lose the bet. 

- 

Y/N sent a message to Sav

Y/N mission successful ;) 

[convenientalias]

Rewatching episode 6 of MCTNA

After like a month of unaligned schedules, my mom and I have returned to watching MCTNA. Here are some thoughts on episode 6:

-MCTNA did, I suppose, put in the bare minimum of effort trying to convince us Seon-ho was into Hui-jae. Which is to say, it includes a scene of him drinking and thinking about the past after seeing her with Hwi, feeling angsty and all that. Problem is, all the scenes it shows in the flashback--him pouring her a drink before going off to war, her and him watching Hwi sail off with the army himself--are in context more about the two of them being angsty about Hwi being taken away than about the two of them having any sort of relationship. (Well, the drinking scene being the most questionable there, but the fact that Hui-jae immediately says her "last drink" is for Hwi and Seon-ho responds with "I know" has always kind of undermined the idea that Seon-ho really wanted her to accept his love there... it feels more like he's saying goodbye to her in Hwi's place. Might be a stretch, but so is seeing any romantic intent between those two at any point past episode 3.) It does revive my vague idea of a Hui-jae/Seon-ho using each other as proxies for Hwi but let's not go into that right now.

-I also always intended to write a fic where Hui-jae barged into the shack to interrupt what she thought was a secret meeting (a la that scene where she confronts Hwi after reuniting with him at Ihwaru) but turned out to be Hwi and Seon-ho having shack sex (bc I have many headcanons about those secret meetings in the shack) and then, idk, they have a threesome, but I'm not going to write that right now either! Probably.

-Still adore the brief plotline that was a dude insulting Seon-ho's parentage on the street and Seon-ho proceeding to break into the dude's house with a troop of soldiers and stab the guy through the hand! Every time I'm writing a fic and I'm like "on a scale from reasonable to homicidal maniac, how vicious do I want Seon-ho to be", I tend to use this scene as a reference point (...to excuse me pushing him a little bit further to the violent side lols).

-Seon-ho INTERRUPTED THE KING to make a statement about how Bang-won only acted so bold bc Joseon hadn't yet abolished private armies and I know in context he did that to derail the confrontation between Bang-won and Yi Seung-gye that Bang-won was aiming for, BUT. It takes guts! Also I just love watching those two banter in front of the entire court and Yi Seung-gye. Seon-ho is living his best life. Bang-won is living the life of a dude whose fan is not sufficient to bat away this one housefly that keeps buzzing noisily around his head.

-Seon-ho and Nam Jeon have a civil conversation about gaining power for like two seconds before Seon-ho ruins it by mentioning that oh yeah, maybe his dad supports the idea of him gaining power, but he has no intention of actually backing Seon-ho up if things go south. He's right though!

-Sometimes in all the politics and pining I forget this show aims to have at least one but preferably multiple fight scenes per episode. This episode has at least two, more depending on how you count it. Hwi and the Hwi squad taking down Ganggae and the Ganggae squad isn't high cinema but it's still a lot of fun and helps to fill the quota. The forest scene, on the other hand...

-When we reached the forest scene and the wolf showed up, my mom was like, "...so is this werewolf Hwi" and I was like lols. Yes this is the point where my werewolf fic starts. No there are no werewolves in My Country the New Age (for a while when I was constantly talking about my fic, about a year? ago, she was beginning to believe it was actually a werewolf show).

-I LOVE Hwi just casually striding out of cover, saying, "Could you be less in the way?" and complaining that Bang-won's arrow has damaged the wolf's skin. The AUDACITY of this MAN.

-I'd forgotten a lot of how this first conversation goes, due to the drama that follows it. Bang-won asks Hwi to serve him very quickly--does he mean it? Is it a test? Is it love at first sight? Of course the "assassin" in the trees really is highly suspicious, and it makes sense that Bang-won interrogates Hwi afterwards. But at first there's this banter where it's interesting; Bang-won can't tolerate disrespect (hence telling his man to teach Hwi a lesson) but he also... sort of enjoys it. Enjoys Hwi disrespecting him, finds it, and him, intriguing. It's a balance that really factors into what I love about Bang-won/Hwi, how Hwi is so familiar and Bang-won craves that but also can't really allow anyone to fully treat him as an equal. And Hwi does see everyone as an equal--Tae-ryeong tells him to get on his "lowly knees" and his only response is that knees don't have social status. It's like... Hwi, we get that knees don't have social statuses but you, the owner of those knees, definitely do, and your status is definitely lower than that of a Literal Prince. Why/how are you like this??? Beautiful.

-My mom and I can't decide--did Bang-won really intend to cut Hwi's head off if Seon-ho hadn't interrupted them? On the one hand, Bang-won is willing to kill. On the other hand, Bang-won doesn't kill recklessly--he holds off attacking Bang-seok for years, plays delicate games with his father and the court, and later (tho my mom doesn't know this yet!) spares Seon-ho even when it would be sensible to kill him. On the one hand, Bang-won was already swinging the sword. On the other hand, with that kind of wind-up it would be hard to pull the blow--at the mere sound of a door opening--without so much as scratching the person you were swinging at, pausing exactly at the curve of his neck. Was Bang-won trying to kill Hwi, or just intimidate him? Of course, if Bang-won didn't mean to kill Hwi at that exact moment, he still would have killed him later if Hwi (with Seon-ho's assistance) hadn't convinced him they were on the same side and he could be trusted. But it's a question.

-My mom finishing the episode: So we can't wait another month to continue.

Me: Are you invested in the love triangle?

My mom: No, I don't care about the girl.

Me: No, I meant Seon-ho and Hwi and Bang-won.

My mom: THAT I can get behind.

My OT3 has finally all met and even been in the same courtyard together! Life is good.