#01.29.23

[pagetgram]

Paget Brewster with Em Fripp after the "Will You Accept This Rose?" Live Podcast

ScorpSik: Sorry about the quality of this, the photo is on my phone and I can't upload from it, so I took a photo of the photo on my tablet. Apologies for the unphotogenic idiot sat next to the ever radiant @ pagetpaget Thank you Paget, you made this Brit unbelievably happy x

[zoeflake]

Today in the woods

[killmybones]

[lionhearttt]

My younger sister took the step & accepted Jesus into her life today!!! I cried when she made the decision & going to celebrate! Hehe. The angels are singing & celebrating in heaven! 💕

[cvlutos]

“Boxes”

| 01.29.23 | 1.2 K | Rated PG |

Jamil Viper X GN!Reader

| Fluff | Sweet | Crushes | Etc. | Proceed with Caution, Dearest. |

T.Manor.Notes: This is tooo cute. I swear. @merotwst Good luck Studying!

“Well, I like to say that time flies when you're having fun~”

Najma flips her hair with a sassy grin, laying on her stomach as she holds up her uno cards. You look away from the clock with an eye roll, sitting across from her and very much so winning uno. Her brother merely clicks his tongue, merely passing by the open door. “You never say that.“ It’s a quick comment as he continues carrying the laundry basket, earning an offended and annoyed gasp from his sister, who glares while you laugh.

That’s how most of your afternoons went in middle school, with you and Najma having fun, playing board games, karaoke, anything and everything as best friends would. With, on certain opportunities, Jamil. Who joined the shenanigans, briefly, but he made his presence known.

He was family. Even if distant.

Nonetheless, he was important, important as one could be. You wouldn’t say you were friends, more like close acquaintances, closer than most. Seeing as you texted each other occasionally, giving short life updates, or planning gifts for Najma. You even called sometimes, quick calls that never lasted more than five minutes cause something always seemed to happen, but he always promised to call back.

And you found yourself, with your knees to your chest and phone to your ear, listening. Sometimes you wouldn’t talk and you could hear him mutter equations under his mouth as he did homework, or when you ask if he had forgotten if he was on the phone, he’d respond ‘no’, short but he never did hang up til you were asleep.

You didn’t have feelings for him. You couldn’t. You wouldn’t. And all such thoughts were shoved into your own little Pandora’s box. Never to be open. No matter how tempting.

Even if his voice was deeper than you remember, that at times he sent shivers down your spine when he said your name. Or the photos he’d send to the group chat after Najma begged and bargained, photos in which you stared at for the longest time, committing them to memory.

You didn’t like him.

You stiffen a yawn, gripping your backpack loosely as you walk down the familiar path to the Viper house. One that you are very familiar with, to the point you even owned your own key. After Najma begged you to take one, cause you were both practically siblings. Walking up the steps and letting yourself in, kicking off your shoes by the entrance and dropping your bag off to the side, yelling your friend’s name.

She doesn’t answer. You let out a groan, wanting to simply eat a small snack and go before the crowd got too thick, especially after she was hyping up this local festival for weeks. You have expected her to jump on you the moment you stepped through the door. Seeing that, she swore up and down that you had to get there early for the best seats for fireworks.

“Najma already left. I'd assumed you were with her.”

You nearly choke, snapping your head up to the second floor, eyes nearly bulging out of your head at the sight of Jamil Viper, leaning over the banister, looking at you. Your throat goes dry, and you feel the box within shake. He looks different. Not bad different, but different. He has an almost softer look in his eyes and he looks relaxed. You open your mouth and close it, surprised, but before you could reply, your phone goes off. You check it and sure enough, it’s Najma.

Hey! Sorry, I had to leave early! But [Name] meet me there! Also, also Jamil, can you bring me my jacket, I left it! Thx <3

You had the ability to reach through your phone and strangle your friend, you would have. “I literally reminded her before she left.“ He lets out a sigh, pushing away from the wooden banister and shoving his hands into his pockets. He’s quick to grab his sister’s jacket and nudges his head towards the door.

“Let’s go.”

If you could curse the seven for what you’re experiencing, you would. The festival crowd is immense, with bodies pressed close to each other, while Jamil clasps your wrist. Your face burns and it’s hot—the box rattles—you don’t think you’ve ever been this close to him before. Maybe at dinner or during movies, but there’s always space. Either a pillow, or Najma making herself comfortable using both you and her brother for relaxation. His grip is tight so as to not lose you, but not painful. Leading you.

“Hey, let’s find somewhere less crowded.”

You nearly jump at the sound of his voice as he quickly slips into a small alley between two stalls. You both stop to catch your breath, before your eyes land on his hand that still holds you. As if noticing your gaze, he yanks his hand away with a cough, keeping his gaze from you. “She should be somewhere in this direction.”

You walk side by side in awkward silence. Each moment you can feel your shoulders grown tense and your lips pull together, before you let out a dejected sigh. Jamil glances. “This must be awkward for you—Sorry…. I’m sure you’re busy….”

A moment of silence passes, and you open your mouth to say something, before he beats you to it. “I don’t mind. Plans change all the time… And we’re friends, so you don’t have to be sorry.”

You choke at the word, friends. He views you as a friend. Maybe he could view you as—you shake your head. You give an embarrassed smile, “Friends? We’re friends?”

You had stopped walking, and he stands in front of you, turning to you fully.

The world is silent, and the wind is cool against your flesh. Prickling against the exposed skin of your cheeks and lips. The alley is dark, far from the others, far from the noise.

The first firework explodes with a loud bang, and your gaze follows. Bright colors and red and white illuminate the sky. It’s unreal. You feel the locked box within your rest rattle as you move your gaze back to Jamil. He has an odd smile, small, but there. He nudges his head. Beyond the winding alley is Najma and the rest of your friends. Completely and utterly unaware of you, watching the fireworks.

“We’ve always been friends, since forever. Nothing has changed.”

But it has.

A box in which you struggle to keep shut opens, and it fills you. Lights every nerve within your body, till you’re moving on your own. You can’t help but smile.

“Forever is kinda short. Someone I know always says, time flies when you're having fun.”

Jamil snorts, chuckling under his breath. “She never says that.”

Maybe you’ll bask in them. In these growing feelings, even if only for a moment. You bask in the warmth he provides when he’s near, in the attention he gives when you speak. You bask in it till the moment he goes. Until the moment he’s away, then these feelings will fade. They’ll leave and you won’t have to worry about being in love with your best friend’s brother.

Hey. I forgot to mention. I’ll be visiting home a lot more often. So, don’t be surprised when I return home suddenly.

… Or maybe they won’t.

ⓒ 2023 love-thanatopsis — all rights reserved. Any sort of plagiarizing, copying, modifying, translating, editing of my works are strictly prohibited.

[kougeki-scans]

[RELEASE] D.Gray-Man Chapter 246

SQ.RISE 2023 WINTER was released 3 days ago, grab a copy to support Hoshino if you can!

Release 147 // [01.29.23]

Read Online | Download

We are always recruiting for translators and redrawers, please consider applying if you want to help out and have the time!

[bun-a-day]

he's technically a dog but. honorary bunny, cinnamoroll

29🐇01.29.23 cinnamoroll

[pokedcheck]

bumping the slump // tor vs wsh 01.29.23

[dobodleaday]

01.29.23 Impractical Running Gear 👟

[pagetgram]

Paget Brewster and Ashli after the "Will You Accept This Rose?" Live Podcast

@woahashli: P, thank YOU for all the happiness you bring us♡♡

[tttopspot]

G-Dragon IG Story (01.29.23)

[kimddeonu]

🕰 | 01.29.23

[killmybones]

[academic-weapon]

Shin Sekai Yori (I)

word count: 418 words 01.29.23

I must preface this by saying that, although I have not skipped any episodes, I still struggle to form a sensical prediction on what theme the story is meant to convey. Nonetheless, I am inclined to believe a main idea to be the role, responsibility, and power children hold in society.

A big emphasis in the show is that children are constantly under the control of their seniors to a massive extent. In fact, we find out they are not entitled to legitimate human rights until they are of age at 17. This serves to justify the disposal of children that have little to offer to society as a whole, or that have the potential to disrupt the status quo.

Despite this, no matter how powerless they may appear— being kept in the dark in regards to the truth of their world, for instance— children are ultimately the force that drives civilization.

If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children. –Mahatma Gandhi

This quote encapsulates the motivations of the adult organizations within the villages, however dark their course of action of choice may be.

Children that fail to adhere to a strict set of ideals are hindrances to the conservation of order. Inability to control a child that holds the potential to become a threat justifies their systematic removal for humanity's benefit. But this is not the case for every child— cattle cannot be good leaders. As such, only a select number of individuals are entitled to intellectual freedom where their peers are not. After all, there is a predetermined order that must be respected and to do that, the precense of capable rulers and enforcers is necessary. Society must be able to protect its existence without crossing the threshold of evolution, lest it lead to chaos.

As a tradition of protecting this order is passed on from one generation to the next, the idea that change is dangerous and must therefore be rejected propagates. It's simply the nature of their world.

I'm looking forward to see if Saki's tentative position of power can lead to change. Her motivations seem to lie in finding out what's being kept from her, rather than to repudiate the villages' way of life. I must wonder how many heads of the Ethics Committee started off as curious and driven as Saki did, just to change and accomplish nothing at all.

[twelvedaysinaugust]

Harry performing “Medicine.”

Love on Tour 2023: LA Night 15

01.29.23

[profoundlyv]

01.29.23

The synagogue walking distance from my house, where many of my friends and neighbors worship, was firebombed this morning. The hate in this nation is astounding.

As if the acts of hatred and violence and racism this week in CA and Memphis wasn’t enough. How does this end?

Love each other, people. Love is a radical act.

-V