#And the fact said-people from each movie actually know each other (most likely intimately) makes it 10x better! XD

[kittylover776]

If I had a nickel for every time a royal cousin tried to steal the throne from their relative in a Netflix Christmas movie, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it’s happened twice, right?

[punkpandapatrixk]

❣️How Abnormal Are You in Love? ♦︎ Timeless Pick A Card

Don’t be too hard on yourself with this PAC. Everybody in this world’s pretty much abnormal anyway. We all want something that’s extremely rare in this world: Love. Sometimes, we go crazy after mistaking shit for Love. But we all heal. Eventually, we all learn to love more healthily and sanely. And really, that’s all that matters. The crazy is also part of the character development~♥︎

☆♪°・.

‘Hey, actually, when was it that I began to realise that there’s no such thing as forever? Even so, I’m prouder than anybody else about the fact that the days we spent together were at least not a lie.

Even though it’s true that the length of time we have lived is only slightly different, just the fact that we met, that we loved, though we may never love each other again… I won’t forget.

Hey, why do I still want you by my side, thinking that I won’t do without you, even though this is hurting me so much? Even so, I became a person who could be grateful for the smallest things in life. It’s because, even the most casual of words were so meaningful between us.

Because we met, because we loved, though we may never love each other again…I’ll be fine with turning all of it into proof that I’ll survive, whilst facing all of truth and reality.

I’m just glad that we met. I’m just glad that we loved. Though we may never see each other again… I won’t forget.’

☆♪°・.

Those are words from Ayumi Hamasaki’s legendary song, LOVE ~Destiny~. At some point in Life, Ayumi said in an interview, ‘I loved one man so much that I destroyed myself.’ I can’t help but think this song could be about…it? Maybe hahah Just a vibe, gals~♡

SONG: LOVE ~Destiny~ by Hamasaki Ayumi

MOVIE: Snakes and Earrings (2008)

[PAC Masterlist] [Part 1] [Part 3]

[Patreon] [Paid Readings]

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 1 – What I Can’t Let Go Of, Really, Is My Pride…

VIBE: kiss by Chara

what is, Love? – 4 of Swords

Well, it seems quite obvious your past was somewhat chaotic. I think throughout childhood you felt like you were crossing a battlefield or had to fight the stormy seas all by yourself. Because of this, you deeply crave a Love that can put an end to all of those noises. In fact, it’s only fitting. Deep down you’ve always known that Love is something that’s pure, sweet and gentle; that it’s supposed to put you at ease. You understand that the world is in chaos because nobody has Love in their hearts.

You, never wanted to be like those grownups who were fighting with their own spouses. Even if you’re young, you feel like an Old Soul—the only one who seems to truly understand what Love is and is not. And you see that 99% of people literally don’t know what Love is, let alone how to love right. And you’re afraid. What if you can’t find that one person who can love you right?

Deep in your subconscious, you have these standards and ideals you desperately want to maintain. But nobody you’ve ever met seems to understand where you’re coming from. What you want is something so pure. People are rarely pure of heart, so nobody gets it. And it feels incredibly lonely. And at some point, you might’ve begun to doubt if your standards are even fair…

why do you chase, Love? – King of Wands Rx

So you grew up a bit and began to wonder what might happen if you lower your standards…a bit? You want to experience passion, right? You’re seeing all these peers around you kissing and holding each other and you crave that, too. You know very well it’s not like they’re in love—they’re just silly, infatuated, hormonal fuckers; but you wonder how it would feel to be intimate with someone. To actually have someone want you like that. To be wanted. To be held. To be kissed. To be…loved. No matter how shallowly.

Now you’re willing to look for someone passionate. You could try with a puzzling character. You like that kinda shit. Any kind of an intriguing fucker with some semblance of a mystery; making you curious to dive deep into their side of crazy. How do I figure out your particular brand of bullshit? Anybody you can’t immediately figure out would excite you to a point of insanity. And you thought this was happiness. You thought, this level of excitement surely must be happiness. Perhaps…even Love? Otherwise…

How do you explain this feeling that suddenly strikes, rattling your heartstrings, making you realise that there’s somebody in this world you’d want to care for other than yourself? Just the idea that you even fantasise about growing older with this mysterious fucker… How is this not, Love? And if this isn’t Love…what is? How else are people supposed to know happiness if this excitement alone isn’t enough?

what happens when Love, dies? – 8 of Cups Rx

To begin with, you’re not one to trust easily. It takes a lot for you to allow someone to see your vulnerable side. And when you go in, you go all in. It may not feel like it immediately because you’re cautious, but once you’re in…because you feel sure of someone…you’re in deep. Too deep it feels like you’re drowning in this whole situation, if anything. And you’re proud of how much you’re able to give.

And…you’re generally proud of your boundaries and the standards and ideals you’ve imposed upon yourself and others. So, the fact that you’ve given so much, revealed so much to someone who wouldn’t be there for life, is beyond frustrating. It’s world-shattering, at least. What have I been in this situationship/relationship for if it ain’t gonna last?!?! I can’t just let it die like that! Maybe I’m doing something wrong?! I must’ve! Lest none of this would’ve happened…

When Love dies, it feels so shameful. It’s a shame you trusted the wrong fucker. It’s a shame someone was able to see you that vulnerable. It’s disgusting that you thought this was The One. What was I thinking? Now everything becomes clear. It’s not the loss of that person’s Love you’re crying about. If you’re being honest now, you couldn’t care less that such a loser’s gone from your world. If anything, it’s such a relief. It was just the shock from knowing you made a mistake that made you cry… It’s OK now.

MY HEART, MY PRIDE🔻💜

sacrifices I’d made – Green Magus (John Magus)

I’m glad I was able to love – Priestess of Ambition

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☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 2 – I Can’t Tell If I’m Passionate or Just Immature

VIBE: Boys & Girls by Hamasaki Ayumi

what is, Love? – Ace of Pentacles Rx

To begin with, you’re not exactly a rational person. Not saying you’re dumb! You just have a lot of passion for something that’s unexpected or foreign. You like mysteries and you aren’t afraid to dip your toe in uncharted waters. This desire could’ve developed from having a childhood that felt constricted tho. I think you grew up surrounded by so many rules and laws and forbidden things and that’s how you developed a taste for, DANGER~

It’s exciting, from time to time, to think about throwing all your caution to the wind and breaking all rules. You want to disappoint. If you’re being honest, you’re damn tired of following everybody’s whims and concerning yourself with their expectations. What about what I want?? You want to live. You want to feel alive. There are so many exciting things outside of your everyday Life, why can’t you have any of that? At some point, you could’ve dreamt of being rescued from your Tower by a handsome daredevil of any kind of a fucker.

If that fucker happens to be handsome and rich, even better. But that doesn’t really matter. You just want someone brave enough to approach you and actually uproot you from your boring Life. Surely, Love can do that to a person…? I don’t need stability, let alone predictability; what I want is a romantic hero who’ll take me on a grand adventure of Love! And if that daredevil happens to be dumb…

why do you chase, Love? – 9 of Swords

In many ways, you’re totally not an innocent person. You want to hurt. If whoever daredevil tries to fulfil your fantasies of being rescued from your miserable Tower happens to be dumb, you’re gonna be having a field trip! XD You want to terrorise and traumatise a person, really. It’s vengeance for all the years that you were serving others. Now, it’s your time to be served. It doesn’t even matter if they don’t worship you. You’re ready to find another dumbfuck to toy with. You’re hardly ever sincere anyway~

Why bother with sincerity? Ever since you were a kid, you’ve observed that none of the adults you knew was ever sincere. What even is Love? I think you know of it conceptually. But what exactly is its purpose? What exactly is so good about it? And how? How exactly must one be in order to attain it? You don’t believe in it some days. You deeply crave it some days. You could die for it some days. You want others to die for your Love most days.

Life is confusing. Love is confusing. Sex is easy. Money is easy. Food and jewelleries are easy. Let’s live easily. Life is exhausting if you think too much about everything that could go wrong. I’m done feeling terrible about my own existence, so I want someone to spin me around and make me forget. That’s ideal. Is generally your motto when chasing… Love♡

what happens when Love, dies? – 8 of Wands Rx

You don’t care about it. You don’t particularly care about losing people. It’s expected. If anything, because you’re never serious with quite anybody anyway, ghosting is the best way to go about it. You’re the type to ghost, block, and you don’t even mind if you’re the one ghosted or blocked. Basically, you just don’t want any contact with someone you’ve lost interest in anyway. So that only makes it easier for you.

In many ways, I think you sometimes regret being this kind of a callous person. There are days you wonder if you’ll become someone more sincere. You’ve wondered what it would take to actually love someone. To actually be loved back. Surely that must be so nice. You want to be happy, honestly. But it feels like a distant daydream. You don’t particularly understand how two people can be happy living together. After all, you find people exhausting most of the time.

All you know is that you’ve lived with yourself for the longest time. And if you have to compromise or sacrifice anything…you’re not willing. You’ve sacrificed shit before, a looong time ago, and you got nothing back in return. You gave someone a rose and they gave you back thorns and strangled you with it. Surely that can’t be happiness. Two people who don’t know how to love can’t be happy together. Life is better lived alone.

MY HEART, MY PRIDE🔻❤️

sacrifices I’d made – Red Alchemist (John Dee)

I’m glad I was able to love – Priestess of Innocence

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☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

Pile 3 – Damn, Why’s Everybody Crying for Love?

VIBE: Sunglasses by Utada Hikaru

what is, Love? – 2 of Cups Rx

Uhm…you’re a comical Pile for sure. Your psychology is so complex, although it’s also super straightforward (to you), but some people are not gonna have an easy time figuring out if you’re sincere or not. Most of us have got a lot of exposure to tragical romance, right? A lot of people get deep and insane in Love. And here you are wondering why everybody’s crying for Love. Why is everybody suffering in the name of Love? That’s not Love. People are silly for falling continuously for the wrong people. It’s all a Game for them. Me? I don’t play games.

But you do! Everybody does when it comes to falling in Love, to various extents. That’s what’s really fun about falling in Love. If you could face yourself, you’d realise you have a bit of a God-complex within this context. In the sense that…because Love and romance actually aren’t such a big deal to you, and somehow, you have an almost all-too-natural inclination to attract the right people, you can’t really empathise with those who cry in the name of Love.

For some though, if the above doesn’t really resonate, you’re the type that has an innate understanding that you must protect yourself from falling into those tragical romantic setups. You have a highly developed sense of boundary and you keep high standards for what kind of a romantic relationship you want. You’re kinda similar to Pile 1 in this case, but you most likely haven’t experienced sacrificing your standards for, EXPERIENCE~

why do you chase, Love? – 10 of Wands

In comparison to certain types of people in the world, you’re not exactly a dreamy type. When it comes to relationships you think straight towards building a matrimony with someone. You’re a traditionalist in a sense. You’re the based kid who knows that a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship is a training ground for a marriage. You think long-term. You’re realistic like that. But the problem is…you’re totally missing out on the passion of Love itself.

You don’t really see your partner(s) for the person—the Human—that they are. You care only for the practical, pragmatic facts surrounding their reputation or status or whether or not their physical appearance is decent enough. Stuff like that. And the dreamy ones who look at you, look at you with a pang of sadness in their chest, for although you seem responsible and blessed…you appear to them as someone who looks at another with an eye of business.

You’re the type that thinks love is an investment. An investment of attention, affection, time and money, and all that shit. That’s not Love; that’s something to be exchanged at the market. The dating market, OMG~

‘Freedom and love go together. Love is not a reaction. If I love you because you love me, that is mere trade, a thing to be bought in the market; it is not love. To love is not to ask anything in return, not even to feel that you are giving something—and it is only such love that can know freedom.’ – Jiddu Krishnamurti

what happens when Love, dies? – 6 of Pentacles

When Love dies, you celebrate. You’re wise enough to know that Life doesn’t end just because you broke up with somebody, even in terms of friendship. You’re spiritually mature enough to know you’ve learnt from the experience, and now, you’re just going to prepare for the next big thing to experience. Life goes on without a hitch like that for you, for the most part. I can’t tell if you’re really that spiritually mature or you just don’t give a fuck about emotions LMAO

Not saying you’re a bad person, btw. It just seems like you haven’t got a lot of crazy in your birth chart or that you haven’t experienced a lot of sorrows and soul-shattering heartbreaks, so…it’s kinda just a matter of not having, PERSPECTIVE? Coupled with the fact that you take Life very unseriously seriously…? Like, you’re serious about not being an asshole and wanting to do the socially right thing, but in doing so, you become an annoying insincere jackass in the lives of those who have (or will) dated you XDD

Basically, you’re not the type to get super crazy heartbroken when a relationship ends. You’ve got all of these other blessings anyway. Why would you focus on just the negative, right? In a sense, I believe that’s an incredible spiritual maturity which others are still struggling to figure out XD But yeah…rather than this being something abnormal about you, I think it’s just that your Higher Self designed for you not to experience the dramatic highs and lows of immature romance HAHAH

MY HEART, MY PRIDE🔻🧡

sacrifices I’d made – Gold Alchemist (Roger Bacon)

I’m glad I was able to love – Priestess of Luck

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

[PAC Masterlist] [Part 1] [Part 3]

[Patreon] [Paid Readings]

[to-the-stars8]

A Classic Set-Up

Bruce Wayne x Reader AO3 Summary: Harvey Dent thinks he is a lot more clever than he actually is by setting you and Bruce Wayne up.

It almost felt like you were in a movie scene. With the low murmur of conversations of people around you and under the low, golden restaurant light with two of the most eligible bachelors in all of Gotham felt too surreal. Too intimate. Of course, Harvey Dent had been one of your closest friends since University, so when he offered to buy you dinner at one of the best places in the city you could hardly say no. What he did not inform you was that his other closest friend, billionaire Bruce Wayne would also be in attendance. That would have been fine if Harvey hadn’t been casually dropping hints that Bruce, and you, were single every thirty seconds. You paid the remarks as little attention as you could, knowing full well of Bruce’s dating history from the tabloids. 

Harvey slung an arm behind your chair as Bruce got up to use the bathroom. “As handsome as his pictures, hm?”

You rolled your eyes. “Sure, but I’d appreciate a warning next time.”

Harv raised his eyebrows and ran his tongue over the top of his teeth with a slight smirk, a habit he had when he was amused. “A warning? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

You only snickered since Bruce had returned to the table. Smoothing your napkin on your lap, you listened to Mr. Wayne talk about his latest work with the multiple charities that had been left behind by his late mother. There was something about Bruce Wayne, though, beyond just the pretty blue eyes and bottomless wallet, that made you want to listen to him all night. You told yourself it had to be the light mystery of the Waynes.

It had to be. 

“I’m sorry,” Harvey said suddenly, looking at his watch. “I just remembered I had a late meeting with a client. Here’s my part of theー”

“Don’t worry, Harv, I got it. Go.” Bruce said, waving a dismissive hand at him. 

Harvey hugged you goodbye before leaving the two of you with the direction that Bruce made sure you got home safe. Somehow, being alone with Bruce wasn’t as intimidating as you thought. Once your mutual friend was gone, he leaned over and said, “Did you know he planned this?”

“I figured he had,” You smiled. “I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable, Bruce.”

The smile on his face was charming, and you could see why he had all of Gotham wrapped around his finger. “Not at all. In fact, this is one of the most pleasant ways I’ve ever been set up with someone.”

You looked down at your lap as you felt your face suddenly get hot. “That’s a shame, you seem like a very nice man.”

Bruce chuckled and looked away for a second. “Thank you. I try not to act like the papers make me out to be.”

You felt a bit guilty because your initial thought of him had been influenced by all the headlines of him being another himbo playboy who could hardly tie his own shoes. When you looked into his eyes, you felt yourself fall a little in love. Your mind, as rational as it was, told you to be careful but you suddenly felt brightened in his gaze. 

“You do a very good job of it,” You smiled. 

Bruce looked away again, before shyly saying, “You think so?”

“Oh, yes,” You leaned back in your seat, playing with the position of the napkin in your lap. “I wouldn’t think you're too dumb or rude at all.”

“Too dumb?”

You smirked, eyes flickering up for a moment. He seemed amused, leaning forward to hear more. It hummed, pretending like you were thinking for a few seconds before saying, “Well, Mr. Wayne, we’ve hardly had time to know each other. I think it will take more than one dinner to figure out how smart you really are.”

Bruce let out a quick, hefty laugh that had you giggling right along. Playboy or not, the man was too charming for his own good. You wondered for a second how he could manage it. Surely, you knew it had to be difficult. 

“Then, I believe we should set up a date. To measure my intelligence of course. And to appease Harvey.”

You grinned. “Yes, and to appease Harvey.”

[frogcoven99]

My Thoughts on Wish 💫💜🌳🐐🫧

⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️

FUCK I’M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

First of all, this review is dedicated to that one Wish stan on Twitter who said I have "no media literacy" when I tried to say that Magnifico wasn’t really threatening, but wasn’t trying to start off a big fight or anything.

I hope that person is having a wonderful day, and I hope this review proves that I do actually have media literacy 🥰🥰

Now, back to the film:

I really wanted to like this movies guys. A film about the origins of the wishing star sounded amazing!

And after I saw the film TWICE in theaters, I was in love. I thought surely my opinion wouldn’t change.

But…the more I thought about the movie, the worst it got.

For example, the songs. I don’t think I need to explain to you guys why "I let you live for free and I don’t even charge you rent" and "throw caution to every warning sign" and "watch out world here I are" DO NOT WORK.

I don’t blame the songwriters for this, because I’m sure they are very talented people.

But they were clearly not the people who should have been in charge of the music.

Not to mention the fact that Julia Michaels was given TWO WEEKS to write “This Wish”….

The Characters

Asha 💜

I like Asha’s design enough, like her braids. But her personality is as bland as a scoop of vanilla ice cream (jk, vanilla ice cream is goated).

Lots of people have complained that the “adorkable” leading lady trope has worn out its welcome.

I used to disagree since those “quirky” characters were some of my favorites (Like Rapunzel, Mirabel, and Moana), but Asha has definitely reached my limit with them.

Rapunzel, Anna, Moana, and Mirabel all feel like distinct characters from each other (yeah stfu ModernGurlz), but Asha feels like an imitation of them, like the cheap Walmart version.

And she’s not really interesting either, she has a passion for art, but the film doesn’t do anything with it. In fact, nothing about her feels genuine. She feels so hollow and like she only has two personality traits: Quirky and the protagonist.

Like, during “This Wish” (which is probably the worst Disney “I want” song ever) I never felt connected with her. It just felt like, oh this is the Disney “I want” song because this is a Disney movie.

I didn’t understand what Asha wanted, “something more for us than this”? Okay…what about you? What do you want?

With all the other Disney “I want” songs, I could feel a connection and what the character wanted.

So yeah, Asha is probably the worst protagonist in the modern era of Disney. At least in terms of writing.

And while I did say I like her design, I prefer her concept arts.

King Magnifico 🫧

Chris Pine seems like he is having a blast in the recording booth, and I gotta say his performance was pretty good. But it wasn’t enough to save this character :/

So, the main problem with his character is that I can kinda agree with him on the whole wishes thing. But, I also barely found him threatening.

The most threatening things he does in this movie is crush a bunch of balls (that’s what she said) that make people feel sad and chain everyone to the ground.

Not only that, Magnifico’s use of his magic is SO LAME! Another major reason I was never intimated by him is because he never did anything really scary or threatening with his magic, all he could do was create giant hands and chain people up. Like…ok? Is that all you got? Really? 😑

Also, I don’t think I need to tell you that his villain song SUCKS ASS. You know it, everyone knows it. I’m not getting into it. Go listen to a real villain song like "Hellfire" or “Friends on the other side" instead.

As for the other characters, I don’t have much to say about them unlike Asha and Magnifico.

Star ⭐️

The Star was really really cute, even tho they were just a Luma/marketable plushie. And also REALLY reminds me of a squish mallow, am I the only one who sees that?

I should definitely mention how he was originally gonna be a StarBoy, but we’ll get to that later don’t you worry. That is a VERY important element in our discussion.

The Other Characters This Movie Has

Amaya is so BORING! She barely has a character outside of being the queen and Magnifico’s wife, she was just…there. You could remove her from the movie with very little tweaking and nothing would change.

I would’ve preferred it if she was also a villain like Magnifico, which WAS originally in the script. But like StarBoy, that is something we will get to later.

The Teens are fine, but really forgettable. I like how they are all based off the Seven Dwarves, that’s cute. But it feels like they didn’t have any character outside of that.

Yeah, Dahlia is Asha’s bestie, but there wasn’t enough scenes between them to show me their dynamic to make me feel like their friendship was genuine.

Simon ended up snitching out on Asha and betraying the Teens in the middle, but I literally couldn’t have cared less because what do we know about this guy other than he’s sleepy and gave his wish to Magnifico?

As for the other Teens, just like Amaya, they could’ve been removed from the script and barely anything would change. The grumpy one had some sassy moments, and he’s voiced by Harvey Guillén (Perrito’s VA) so that’s something I guess. The shy one had this one gag that had comedic potential, but wasn’t really expanded.

And as for the other Teens…uh…I can’t remember a single thing they did honestly.

And then there’s Valentino…fuck that goat man. 😑 I love Alan Tudyk and his roles in other (better) Disney movies, but yeah Valentino is definitely my least favorite role he’s ever done.

All of his jokes were unfunny, and were mostly butt jokes. Which is probably my least favorite form of comedy ever that I cannot stand for the life of me.

Speaking of which, this movie just was not funny. None of the jokes made me laugh or chuckle or even smile.

Raya and the Last Dragon is a Disney movie that I really don’t like, but there were some jokes that got a chuckle or smile out of me. Wish didn’t even have ONE good joke.

Uhh…Asha’s grandpa was build up as someone important but he just peaces out in the middle of the movie with Asha’s mom, who did not do a single thing other than a ball getting shattered making her sad.

And that’s all the characters in this movie.

Legacy Nods, why they do not work

Alright, what else is there to talk about?

Maybe the endless amount of Disney references? I get it’s the 100th anniversary film and all and Disney has had Hidden Gems like that in their films. But the difference is the ones in previous films were subtle and hidden in the background, and it would probably take you a rewatch to see it.

But in Wish? They all feel shoved down your throat. It’s like: “HEY REMEMBER THIS MOVIE??" “REMEMBER THAT??” “DON’T YOU WANNA WATCH THAT MOVIE???” It’s so exhausting.

When I heard the movie was gonna have “legacy nods” as they liked to call it, I was excited and thought it would be so much fun to point them all out and to pay closer attention to the background.

But instead every nod was thrown at my face and was heavily obvious. Disappointing 😔

The Animation

Let’s get to the animation now. It’s probably (one of) the most discussed things about this movie, especially when the teaser first dropped last year.

Lots of people were complaining it looks like a Disney Junior show or Ai and said it looks unfinished. Even one of my best friends who was just as excited for this movie as I was admitted it looked weird.

At first, I loved this art style and thought it was beautiful. And I was determined it would look even more beautiful on the big screen.

And now? I…actually still like it. I definitely don’t hate it, and thinks it gets some getting used to. I think it’s actually kinda pretty.

Apparently it’s supposed to be watercolor and combined with 2D animation, which is neat.

But compared to the films like the Spider Verse films or Puss In Boots 2, yeah it’s not the best.

I personally would’ve preferred it if the film was in 2D, Disney’s 100th anniversary would’ve been a PERFECT time to return 2D animation! But, nope 😒

Yeah it’s bad, but…

I know I’m making it seem like I hate this movie, but I really don’t. I’m disappointed in it more than anything.

If anything, I’m thankful this movie was still made.

Why?

Well, easy.

It allowed many people to be able to tell their own version of the story.

I’m sure we’ve all heard of StarBoy and the cut Evil Amaya.

And yeah, these concepts could’ve made this movie 1000x better.

But because of these concepts, so many amazing people have been given the opportunity to rewrite the movie and give amazing stories.

I have read so many wonderful Wish rewrites, which are so much better than the film.

At the end of the today, Wish is a bad movie.

But, I’m glad it exists.

Without it, we wouldn’t have gotten so many amazing stories.

I’m gonna give Wish a 4/10, still bad, but I appreciate its existence for the rewrites alone.

[just-orbiting-you]

I like that other anons take, I’m newer to the fandom in the last few years and my opinion of Tae is that he is quite immature. He grew up slightly, you can see that, but the way he behaves in relation to social media is akin to someone younger. Jungkook himself coming off instagram spoke to me, I love him for doing that, and because he did (in theory) anything Tae posts is not seen or vetted by him. It actually comes across as rather sad that Tae posts that and JK doesn’t like it or comment. It speaks to a sort of one sided relationship. I think JK cares about Tae but it’s not that deep, it’s one based on the activity they are doing together, such as the premiere, or bowling. Not deep connection. JK has Jimin for that, and Jimin has spoken of this being a part of their bond.

Not sure of the logistics of the Hawaii trip but I can guess that JK went for the thrill of sky diving. It spoke volumes to me that when he mentioned it in an interview he just said he went sky diving, he didn’t mention Tae. It’s also that retelling of his trip with Tae and Wooga to the ski resort and they left him.

I think for years now, way beyond 2019, Tae has felt left out because of Jikooks way of being in their own world . You can see the evolution of that fairly clear in content. Even in the very last live you can see the petulant look on Tae when JK comes back at him about not listening to JM. He rolls his eyes like a child. He’s hooking his arms around JMs legs at one point too. JM often just humours this sort of behaviour, JK ignores it often now. It’s the same where Tae turned on a live at JKs door step when he was with Jimin, who tried to get him to stop. It’s these crossing of boundaries that makes him immature imo. I think JK has a playful side to him but in chapter 2 he wanted to be seen as a grown up, not babied, and Tae does not match that. Jimin does and you can see him being himself around Jimin, they match each other I think, you can see that in the trailer, they click, but that comes from years of intimacy. Those nuances that tell you they know each other like an old married couple. They have been given space to just be that in the show. No other’s around them to stop them being themselves.

I believe though that Tae too has a lot of love to give and I think and for years had no where to put it other than his members, but then he met Wooga, and miss Kim. I love that for him because he deserves love and someone for himself . That is why I get mad when people question Jikook because why would you not want that for them? If that’s what they have with each other, stop questioning everything they do. What they have is beautiful. I think Tae wanted that and he eventually experienced it.

really great ask, thank you for taking the time to write it out! i think chapter 2 gave us a pretty good insight into the member's dynamics, especially t@ekook.

It actually comes across as rather sad that Tae posts that and JK doesn’t like it or comment. It speaks to a sort of one sided relationship.

definitely. from the way that jungkook spoke about the movie premiere, skydiving, skiing as you mentioned, it just further perpetuates this notion that i don't think that tae has a deep relationship with jungkook.

i think jk just has always loved a lot of thrill seeking activities and you don't need to do that with people who are your closest, you know. the fact that the most recent stuff we have heard jikook often doing and t@ekook doing is: drinking and vulnerable discussions/advice on singing vs. hawaii and skydiving.

like clearly one is more sentimental, intimate and demonstrates a trust between the two.

i love that we are discussing tae's boundary crossing and jungkook's maturity because at face value you would assume it's the other way around. or even with how jungkook started doing lives last year. some may see it as immature, but i think he really had a goal there in sharing himself in the way he wanted. taking care to curate his image exactly how he wanted it and that meant taking down his instagram.

It’s the same where Tae turned on a live at JKs door step when he was with Jimin, who tried to get him to stop. It’s these crossing of boundaries that makes him immature imo.

this was honestly just a stupid move, we can see jungkook's building behind them in the video and i'm glad jimin was there to stop tae. but this is another moment where tae has to tell fans exactly everytime he is with jungkook or has seen jungkook. which just becomes odd after a while.

I think Tae wanted that and he eventually experienced it.

im not the biggest fan of the people he's surrounded himself with and i wonder if he is mature enough with others outside of bts. but i hope he did too.

[tommygrace]

( tried replying under the post as a comment but it kept cutting the length short so here it is )

Hey so  I agree with most of what you say .. even if I look at Lizzie graciously she's a product of her circumstances and comes from a very different background than grace, I see her as bit immature and her feelings towards Tommy more of infatuation because we never see her deeply understand or care for Tommy, they just don't fit there's no real emotional or mental intimacy between them and later if there's some it's not enough, and her behaviour towards May and Jessie Eden and other actions again icky and immature, So I just don't get why people like her so much to me she's a rather simple charector with nothing much write home about.. and yeah season 1 was great when it came to grace and Tommy bcz , So I don't usually like sex scenes in movies or cinema it's very difficult to do them right and make them actually beautiful and meaningful but their intimate scene actually feels it's there for a reason …it conveys so much about their relationship… I would have just liked them to develop grace more, see more of her perceptive as well,  see more interactions and development of their relationship as well. also I guess it's an affectionate gesture she tells him to protect them but the whole thing of her not being concerned about charlies incident not prying not being involved in stuff, like when she tells I v the one who's invited them but my husband seems to know everybody, also we don't get anything of the between how were 2 years before their marriage what did Tommy say to her when he went back etc some flash backs more time with them before killing her if they had would have been better… even in season one we could have more of them there relationship has lot more space to be developed so I am really sick right now so will stop here at typing, one more thing I think tommy respected MAY and they had more understanding between them…the fact he doesn't takes her offer to go back to being a gangster shows that he respects her enough not to use her, at that time he didn't know grace would come to him she was sailing away the way he was effictionate with her and said whatever happens no regrets during race also shows their relationship was decent and had potential it was also intresting,I think MAY is an intresting and intelligent charector, which is also why she leaves home because she can see he is self destructive by the time they meet again, " nothing seems to change you, but from what we are shown on the show he cares the most for grace , there's some sort of mirroring between them , they see themselves in each rather, they share sweetness and affection, he's the most open and vulnerable with her, the fact he asks her to help him says alot , grace is also the only charector on the show we see being affection towards Tommy they are actually both soft towards each other in a that almost gives young love vibes , the way the aren't with others , he finds peace love and acceptance with her , and grace is the right balance of soft and stern with him she's not afraid to stand up for herself, or give it to him but she is also gentle, affectionate and caring towards him. Also that stare she gives him when she says " alone with him" " you think I am a whore" almost matches his in intensity and power of you see that scene.

Also lot of PPL hate on her for betraying him , but that only adds to her, she completes her duty and saves him at the same time, that's almost ideal and respectable in her position, being an officer was difficult at the time, she has her trauma with her dad's death , yet when she sees Tommy isn't that bad and police not that great she helps him in her own way, it wasn't a light deal to be a women and an officer we can see how she's undermined in many ways , we see how moss calls her a whore, she does her work and loves Tommy at the same time, how many people Tommy uses to get what he wants, also retrieving the guns is actually the morally right thing to do , yeah she got freddie arrested and stuff but again it's thing of us not knowing her perceptive in things, but coming back just cuz she's a woman and falls in love with Tommy she's supposed to forget about her mission and be all irrational and immature? The hate towards her for that is unjustified she did the best in her circumstances, and Tommy actually understand and loves her despite it , he overlooks it and forgives even respects her for it,  despite of feeling hurt and it being a big deal,  she did  what she had to Just like him…. She's intelligent and perspective she does her job well. Also previously in earlier comment I meant "* almost pimps her out to Kimber" saw there are so many typos there phew 

Yes, I agree with everything you said about Grace and Tommy. And about Lizzie, I also see her as a very immature woman. Who is only obsessed with a man, and lives in the fantasy that she created in her mind.

The only thing I don't agree with is May, I didn't like her character in S2, the way she went to look for Grace seemed very adolescent just to provoke her and tell her he's going to choose me, Grace didn't understand anything haha. And it seemed toxic to me that when Tommy tells her that he wants to stop having sex with her because he is in love with another woman, that she tells him that she still wants to continue and that she is going to win him, that seemed toxic to me but I liked her in S4 , the way she didn't let herself be humiliated by Lizzie, and realized that Tommy is not going to change for her, and that that is not the life she wants, and decides to leave, I liked that about her. But I think Tommy and May simply felt attraction and they both wanted to forget about other people, their true loves, and they used each other for that, but Tommy realized that no one is going to replace Grace and no one is going to make him feel like her makes it feel. The mere fact that the second he finishes having sex with May, the first thing he does is call Grace, that says a lot about how he feels about Grace and not about May or Lizzie, or any woman.

[instantinternetcrush]

i hate that i’m still, at least partially, yours. that i’m still talking about this, so here’s me trying to get the last of it out.

you’re the first person in a damn long time to make me feel even sort of human. like i wasn’t some kind of fucked up monster with attachment issues and half a god complex.

you actually and legitimately saw me. the whole person i never really let anyone else ever get to know. that hit because id been all but begging for him to see me for 2.5 years. i spend a day with you and you’ve already got me wrapped around your finger.

it’d be really, really easy to brush it off, like “oh yeah we just got along well cause our brains are the same type of broken.” something something empathy issues. and honestly, it wouldn’t be fully untrue.

i’m a liar at my core. a fraud who has somehow escaped having imposter syndrome despite a calculated facade of humanity. you saw through me and liked what you saw. i was honest with you because it never seemed worth it to do anything else. you did the same. we sat at the park and pinky swore. it meant the same to you as it did to me and you said as much.

we talked about everything. from dumb gossip to the intricacies of family politics. every decision i had to make we talked through together. as a team.

what sucks is that it wasn’t even a real relationship or anything. we never bothered with a label beyond friends. mostly because we couldn’t, i think. i remember a drunk conversation where you told me you fantasized about running away together, quote- often. it wasn’t a breakup, we got caught fucking around and found out. got cocky the first time when we mutually told the same lie to our friends and loved ones and got away with it.

i think about all the dumb romance. taking pictures of each other, sneaking off to go sit behind his car and make out when no one was looking. petty squabbles over who would pay for dinner. buying each other random, “hey i saw this and thought of you,” gifts.

i was never happier than when we’d have dumb conversations on my bed about shitty horror movies. playing pokémon on their floor and being automatic teammates in any and all situations. falling asleep together and waking up suffocated by the heat in that room. our dumb bits, the fact that you loved my shitty humor.

i keep wondering if you’re anywhere near as torn apart by this as i am. i think maybe- you still text me even though that’s borderline suicidal behavior in your current situation. i don’t think im allowed to reach out to you, so i don’t. communication feels disjointed now, i know that’s on me. i’m sorry for that, but the way.

my mind keeps going back to watching the sunset on the beach. we sat in the sand building half a sand castle and we talked about happiness. i remember you looked at me, and told me that you were truly happy in that moment. i remember smiling at you, and saying i was too. we talked about what that meant. happiness. and came to the conclusion that that was very dangerous, and we should probably stop before shit gets weird. we didn’t. we didn’t even try.

you called my house home that night, and i reacted poorly. i’m sorry for that, too. the wounds were still too fresh and we weren’t sitting on the beach anymore. in the car you told me you thought i fell in love with my friends, and i said something pretentious about the grecian types of love. it sparked a conversation with the other people there, which i was grateful for. when we got home, i had left my lights on. we watched a few movies, played a couple pokemon games and i turned off the lights.

it was always in the dark we were the most intimate. staring at the ceiling and talking about love. i think it was safer that way.

you’re still it for me. when i tell people stories they’re always about us. i still miss you more than i’ve missed anything on this earth. i still hope you’ll come back someday. maybe in 600 years- that was always our backup plan. if not in this lifetime, maybe the next. you pressed your forehead to mine and held my hand, told me we were twin flames.

i laughed then, but i think you know better than i do. if we’re speaking spiritually, the stars told us this would happen. we talked it over and came to the same conclusion. unlucky this time, better luck next time.

[preciouslandmermaid]

I mean with the handmaiden it feels pike the director wanted to do a fetish-y lesbian movie then said 'it's not doing the male gaze! Its criticising it!' Which is just kinda 'its satire!'. Like if I can't tell the difference between the film that's criticising the male gaze and a film that's just the male gaze then it's not doing a good job of criticising / interrogating/ subverting the male gaze

Also I remember hearing the author of the book its based on being asked about the movies make gaze criticism and she completely dodged the question. So yeah theres that. Like you think she of all people would say 'well clearly it's a criticism of the Male gaze' if it actually you know. Was.

I want to touch upon your second comment about the author first. The novel was set in Britain and he made it about colonized Korea. I think, for me, this is especially impactful considering the fact that the Japanese government (to this day) refuses to acknowledge the crimes and terror they subjected Korean people to. And because of that change, the movie now has central themes of colonialism and oppression. So, to me, the movie wasn't just about Sook-he and Hideko escaping the patriarchy/men who want to control them, but also escaping Japan's 'grip' on their lives. (ex: Hideko being forced to learn Japanese/perform it).

Back to the author, she said this “Fingersmith was about finding space for women to be with each other away from prying eyes,” she says. “Though ironically the film is a story told by a man, it’s still very faithful to the idea that the women are appropriating a very male pornographic tradition to find their own way of exploring their desires.” (source) I'm not sure if this is the quote you were mentioning, but this is the most recent thing I could find.

ALL THAT BEING SAID --

I think a larger question needs to be asked which is "Can (cis) men create erotic queer art without fetishizing its subjects?" I know Park specifically worked with a queer friend when it came to writing it, and allegedly the intimate scenes were filmed w/ very little people on set (and no men? I'm gonna have to look into this lol) which is a HUGE contrast to let's say "blue is the warmest color"....where that director was just....Bad. Like "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" is a great (sad) lesbian film, but it was directed by a woman.

And there's a part of me that says, "Oh, we shouldn't limit queer stories to only being told by queer people." But that's a talk for a different day.

Like, I liked the movie. I'm gonna be thinking about it for the next few days. I'll be rolling it around in my brain and watching videos about it. Park isn't above critique and again, I'm left wondering with a bigger question of "can we trust non-queer people to tell queer stories?"

[denimbex1986]

'...Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal – All of Us Strangers

In Andrew Haigh’s metaphysical drama, loosely adapted from Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel Strangers, Scott (using last names in this instance to distinguish the actor and director) and Paul play star-crossed gay lovers.

Scott, perennially known as “the hot priest” in the Fleabag series, is devastating as Adam, a lonely screenwriter who encounters his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy) – strange since they died when he was 12 – and meets a mysterious neighbor, Harry (Paul).

Scott is unforgettable in the lead role but Paul deserves recognition in this haunting tale of loss, grief, and ghosts. The duo’s sex scenes are tender and realistic, pivotal in this melancholic romance drama and meditation on loneliness.

Paul recalled shooting the intimate scenes with Scott: “I think it was a week in there when we did a good solid chunk of sex scenes. We shot our stuff in bed in four weeks and most of that was in a studio set up in West London. But I think it was one week that was particularly sex-heavy.”

In their first kissing scene, which looks so spontaneous, Scott’s Adam admits that he forgot to breathe. Scott revealed, “Oh, that was in the script.”

Asked what they were eating in the scene before their first kiss, Paul answered, “It was cake mixture and water. Icing sugar and cake mixture. The thing that I was fixated on was like, what is that going to be? I actually tested it before props came in and I was like, oh, this is what it is.”

“And it also came to a junction in the filming process where we’d gotten, like, we were giddy and we were doing close-up.”

“I think it was one of the last scenes we shot on a Friday and I was just like, ‘Andrew, we’ll just do this a couple of times and laugh about it after.’ Because I felt if we started laughing during the scene, we wouldn’t get anywhere.”

Scott said, “But sex scenes are really weird. Andrew says this, ‘It’s really important that everybody is looked after and everybody feels safe.’ And mercifully, we felt really comfortable.”

“It was amazing. That was really wonderful that we were so comfortable with each other.”

“But actually, sometimes the pressure that’s put on sex scenes is sometimes it can be a little bit reductive because it’s really, particularly with Andrew, I don’t know if many of you have seen Andrew’s sex scenes in his movies before but he’s so expert at them.”

“And I think he wants to keep them as alive as a dialogue scene because sex is communication. That’s what it is. And so, whatever chemistry that we have as human beings is one thing.”

“But actually, to try and understand what the chemistry between these two characters would be and the fact that Adam wouldn’t have been with somebody for a long time.”

“All that’s so interesting about just the way they touch each other and that Harry’s a bit more front-footed. That’s a really interesting thing to just think about rather than just the mechanics of where you’re really going to be.”

On his most challenging scene, emotion-wise, Scott replied, “Challenging is a word that we want to have connotations with sort of a negative thing. It makes me a little emotional, actually, because it’s such a pleasure to do it.”

“Meryl Streep, who is a great hero of mine, said, ‘Take your broken heart and turn it into art.’ I think there’s something really beautiful about that.”

“You can have something that’s really deeply painful and shameful even, and in some ways in the revealing of that and the discussing of it with like-minded, sensitive people, that you can do something that makes other people feel seen and feel better.”

“Like their hand is being held through the screen. In order to do that, you’ve got to show yourself, you’ve got to be unadorned and you’ve got to try sort of not to act.”

“So, in a way, it was a challenge but in another way, it just felt so wonderful because I felt so seen by what Andrew had created in the screenplay.”

“So to be able to do that, I knew that it was going to have emotional resonance for people. I remember looking at Andrew and we felt we had the section with Jamie and Claire who played my parents kind of first and then we went into the section with Paul.”

“I’m really glad that we did that because every day we went through, we were like sucker-punched. So you had the childhood first before you had this sort of adult love. And it was beautifully, again, arranged by Andrew.”

“So it was a challenge. But I can’t say that it was anything other than an honor, really.”...'

[charlottee5]

Platonic Soulmates

You’ve probably heard the term “soulmate” before, but what does it mean to have a platonic soulmate? Is it even possible to have a soulmate you aren’t romantically involved with? While the typical idea of a soulmate is someone you marry and settle down with, that’s not necessarily the only kind of soulmate out there. In fact, you may have found a platonic soulmate without even realizing it! Read on for a complete overview of platonic soulmates, why they’re so important, and all the signs that indicate you may have one.

Platonic soulmates are people who share a deep, meaningful bond.

It may feel as though your souls are “linked,” like you were meant to be in one another’s lives. The true definition of a platonic soulmate is someone with whom you have an intimate connection without romantic or sexual interest. In other words, your bond goes beyond good friends, but neither of you wants to be in a relationship.

Though many assume soulmates must be romantically linked, the actual definition is more general. Soulmates are simply people whose souls are profoundly connected.

Soulmates often feel like they know one another right away, possibly even from a past life.

For many people, finding a soulmate—platonic or otherwise—feels like finally finding a missing piece of their soul. They understand their soulmate completely, and their soulmate understands them in return.

You both have a lot in common.

While you aren't mirror images of each other in terms of likes and dislikes, you both still share a lot of common ground. Maybe you had similar childhood experiences, or you both have a lot of the same hobbies and pastimes. Whatever the case, you both tune into the same wavelength when it comes to mutual interests and passions.

The same goes for dislikes—you both might find yourselves disliking the same things, too.

You “get” each other and have your own language.

Communication among platonic soulmates feels super effortless and intuitive, as they often share an unspoken understanding that never fades. With a platonic soulmate, you’ll be able to finish each other’s sentences. You may have entire conversations based on inside jokes, quotes from TV and movies that you both enjoy, and even made-up words that only you two know.

You’ll also have a very similar sense of humor. Platonic soulmates often have a knack for making one another laugh because they find the same things funny and love exchanging all their best jokes.

When both of you are around others, they might ask you to translate whatever it is the two of you just said. Other people may not always get your inside jokes, but you will.

You know everything about one another.

Platonic soulmates leave no stone unturned in their quest to get to know one another. If you have one, you’ll likely share everything—the most important moments and insignificant details of your lives. Do you have any secrets? Your platonic soulmate knows them. If someone asked them a personal question, you could probably answer it.

Giving them gifts is probably easy because you always know exactly what your platonic soulmate would want.

You’ll rarely run out of things to talk about because you always have something new to share with one another, even if it might seem weird or unimportant to other people.

You support each other no matter what.

Platonic soulmates have a way of knowing what you need before you even have to ask for anything. They’ll support you when you’re feeling down, offer advice when you need help, give you space when you need to process, and make time for you whenever you need a shoulder to cry on.

Do you share all of your good and bad news? Are they the first person you tell when you get that amazing promotion and the first to wipe up your tears after a family crisis? That’s a platonic soulmate.

Your platonic soulmate will be your first (and loudest) cheerleader—and vice versa! You’re always there to encourage one another, and you never get competitive.

You can instantly empathize with their emotions.

When they’re upset, you get upset on their behalf. When they’re jumping for joy, you’re right there with them. You can tell what they’re feeling just from the look on their face and empathize with their feelings effortlessly. In short, you’ll be completely in tune with one another and share a deep emotional connection.

For some people, talking about their deepest and darkest emotions is quite the challenge. However, emotional conversations between you and your platonic soulmate might not be so difficult.

Because you can empathize with one another and set one another at ease, emotional conversations likely happen naturally.

You trust their loyalty unconditionally.

A platonic soulmate is always someone you’d trust to have your back no matter what. If you have one, there’s likely no doubt in your mind that you’d be willing to tell them anything or trust them with any responsibility. You may also feel comfortable confiding in them because they’re one of the few people you know will never let you down.

You help each other to become better people.

Platonic soulmates are still two different people who can likely teach each other a lot! Your platonic soulmate is someone who will encourage you to become the best version of yourself over time. Do you feel like you’ve learned important life lessons from one another? Like there’s still more to discover together? That’s a surefire sign you have a platonic soulmate.

A platonic soulmate may be able to help you see issues from a new perspective or suggest solutions you wouldn’t have thought of by yourself. When you’re conflicted, they’re always prepared to offer advice.

You’re there to help your platonic soulmate grow too! Do you give them as much advice as they give you? If so, that’s another sign of your deep connection.

You feel comfortable being yourself because they won't judge you.

Everybody has flaws, but a platonic soulmate will accept you, flaws and all, without judgment or criticism. When you have a platonic soulmate, your true self will come out around them easily and naturally. They’ll never make you feel like you need to change who you are, and you’ll be able to share even the most difficult parts of your life with them.

For example, reliving past mistakes is never easy, but a platonic soulmate won’t judge you for them. Instead, they’ll listen compassionately and help you come to terms with what happened.

Platonic soulmates feel connected because they’re so similar deep down—which is why platonic soulmates accept one another exactly as they are!

You’re close to them regardless of time and distance apart.

Sometimes, life can interfere with relationships; you might move away from one another or get busy and be unable to hang out for a while. Regardless of what happens, however, you and your platonic soulmate will likely be able to pick up where you left off as though nothing has changed. Reconnecting will feel easy and totally natural!

You enjoy yourself with them no matter what you’re doing.

Even long silences will feel natural and comfortable! There’s no pressure to fill the silence with words or do anything specific with a platonic soulmate; you’ll just be happy in one another’s presence. No matter what you end up doing—whether you chat, sit in silence, or hit the town together—it'll feel fun.

Some casual friendships need constant activities and outings to thrive because when you aren’t doing anything, you might get bored or find that you don’t have much in common.

Platonic soulmates don’t work like that. You’ll rarely feel bored or disconnected from them; being around them usually feels like a breath of fresh air!

You can hang out together in total silence.

Maybe you're just vibing together in the living room or sitting in the car together on the way to the store—no matter the place, you're both perfectly comfortable enjoying the silence together. Neither of you feels the need to make small talk or stretch out a conversation for fear of falling into an awkward silence.

At the end of the day, "awkward silences" don't really exist in a platonic soulmate relationship—you're both totally comfortable with each other, regardless of what you are (or aren't) talking about.

[spinchip]

Cut The Act

Wordcount: 1900 Ship: Gen A/N: This is a fic set in the movie!Verse :] I wrote this ages ago, after i first watched the movie, and only recently cleaned it up enough to feel comfortable posting lol. This takes place a few years after the movie, and Zane has grown a lot during that time so he's a bit uhh OOC, sorry lol Warnings: Mentions of an off-screen injury that's already healed.

Summary: After Zane get a bad scrape in a fight, he decides to acknowledge the elephant in the room and come clean about his nindroid nature. It'll be anxiety free- All of his friends have connected the dots and figured it out by now anyway... Right?

In his defense, he was pretty sure they already knew.

It’s not as if he thought he was dropping some huge life changing bombshell on them, because they had been dropping pretty un-subtle hints that hey! We know you’re a robot, and we love and support you anyway! Which is why, when he walks into the hangar on that Saturday afternoon, he didn’t think to like, brace them or anything. It just that he wanted to share this part of himself with them more intimately, and also in one of their last fights he’d been damaged- he’d walked it off, fine enough to make it home so Father could see to it, but now he couldn’t quite stop thinking about what would happen if something were to go really wrong, and he needed emergency maintenance on the field.

Of course he trusted Jay and Nya more than anything, and would gladly lay his life in their hands if it came down to it- they were nearly as capable as his father, and should honestly meet him, but that's a story for another day. The duo had worked together to build their mechs, and if anyone could put his intricate wiring back together in a worse-case-scenario type of event, it would be them. So really, this was all very practical, and the obviously logical choice, made totally easier by the fact that he honestly thought they already knew.

So the reason he was at least 95 percent sure they’d caught on was that, during the early years when he was still learning, he was very much not so great at blending in. Turns out, being a normal teen did not involve dropping the words ‘normal teen’ into every other sentence, or casually downloading yourself into most electronics, or perfectly vocalized dial tones. With upgrades and time, he’d picked up on some of the intricacies of human emotion and nowadays people would rarely look at him twice (This isn't exactly true- even as much as he'd grown and learned, he's pretty sure he'll always be on a different page than everyone else, but that stopped bothering him a long time ago. He was weird, and his friends liked him that way.) if not for his friendship with Lloyd Garmadon and his status as the white ninja, he would totally blend in. To people who knew him from the start, though, there was definitely a clear… learning curve, so to speak.

When Father had been repairing him after that particular fight and Zane had brought up the idea, Dr. Julien had been all for it.

“Being honest with your friends is good,” His father had said, pulling back his goggles to smile kindly at Zane, “If you trust them, you should tell them.”

Though his father had probably not intended for Zane to make a very forbidden copy of his own blueprints to give to his friends, but what dad doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

And, well, it’s not like they ever acted like they hadn’t caught on. Most other kids in their grade would look at him like he’d grown a second head, voice turning stilted and judgemental whenever he let slip his more mechanical aspects- but never his friends. They accepted it, and loved him anyways.

For example, last year during English class after a particularly comprehensive personal software update, Zane had sighed. As in, for real, actually sighed, instead of just saying the word out loud. Cole, who had English with Zane each year, had smiled at him with this playful sort of look and said, “Hey, your voice modulator got an update!” And he’d winked as if in on a joke, “Sounds good on you!”

As endearing as it was after the fact, that Cole not only noticed but complimented his fathers work, in the moment he’d felt his processor drop into his feet, sensors flooding with adrenaline. They’d never outright stated they knew like that, and it’d never been so obvious. Sure, sometimes they asked him to run statistics or look up something really specific, but never before had they directly referenced his voice modulator or anything of the type.

He’d ducked his head, anxiety and nerves ramping up, hesitating for a fraction of a second before what Cole had said sunk in. Sounds good on you. He brightens a little at the support, “Thank you,” He says honestly, smiling, “Father installed it over the weekend.” he offers timidly, still dancing around fully admitting he’s a robot, though coming closer than he ever figured he would.

Things like this happened more and more frequently over the years, where they would super obviously hint they had connected the dots. It would be something everybody knows but no one acknowledges sort of situation. He was comfortable with that.

Until he very much wasn’t.

So here he was, one saturday afternoon, very seriously walking into his friends hang-out session with a fancy document tube containing xeroxed copies of his own blueprints, all ready to lay out his innermost mechanisms to his friends in the ultimate show of trust, and to finally acknowledge the elephant in the room. Plus, over time, it started feeling weird and wrong to keep such a serious secret from them. He wanted to be completely open and honest… And now he was finally ready to make that leap.

“My friends.” he announces, stepping in front of the old TV Kai and Nya had brought in sometime sophomore year so they could play video games and watch movies together, “I have something serious to discuss.”

“Wait- I’m almost done with this lap!” Jay stretches his neck to try and see around Zane, mashing blindly at the buttons on his controller.

Nya reaches over and smacks him playfully on the back of the head, “He said this was serious, Jay. Just pause it.” He blinks a little and nods bashfully, tossing the controller aside.

“So whats up?” Lloyd prods, as the rest of his friends all sit up a little straighter to offer their attention, Cole going so far as to take his headphones off his neck completely.

Zane feels a surge of nerves rush through his head and he fiddles with the cap of the document tube for a moment to gather his courage, “My friends, as I believe you already know… I am an android.” he says the last part without pause, pushing through it so he doesn’t stumble or second guess himself.

All of them, who had been getting increasingly tense as Zane stood there, seemed to exhale collectively, “Is that all? You had me scared there for a second!” Kai jokes.

Cole smiles, “Yeah man, we know about the robot thing. It doesn’t change anything.” he picks up on Zane's anxiety, smiling reassuringly at him.

Feeling emboldened by their response, Zane finally twists the cap off of the document tube, “You have no idea how much this means to me. I feel it is important, now that our fights are getting more dangerous, that I give you all these.” He clears a spot of the coffee table before dumping out the papers across its surface, kneeling down to smooth out the stack and organize them, “My blueprints.”

He glances up and sees them all smile easily at him, Jay and Nya leaning forward curiously, “You have to keep these a secret. My Father built me, these are his notes, and he doesn’t know I took my own copies.” he notes his friends expression pinch, like they don’t quite compute what he’s saying, and he assumes they must not like that he took these without permission, “It’s the logical course of action to share these with you all, in the event that I am damaged and need emergency repair, you will be unable to help without studying my build.”

He spreads the pictures out, sliding a few closer to his friends so they can look themselves, and Nya carefully picks up a page. She laughs awkwardly, analyzing the information in front of her with wide eyes, “These are… awfully detailed, Zane.”

“Yeah, I mean, how long did these take to make?” Jay peeks over Nya's shoulder, the others looking at the different pages themselves with wide eyes, “These mechanics look actually legit!”

“My father has been working on my mechanics for his entire life.” Frowning, Zane looks back down at the papers, “Of course they are legitimate, they’re mine. Here, look-” He strips his sweater vest off, folding it and setting it aside and starting in on unbuttoning his shirt.

“Woah!” Lloyd holds up his hands to shield Zane, “Lets keep your clothes on, Zane!”

Zane’s confused, his button up pooling in his lap, leaving him kneeling on the floor in only his shoes, khakis, and undershirt, “My construction is completely unique to anything in Ninjago, I do not mind showing you.”

Cole tilts his head, the crease between his brows growing more pronounced, “You’re… not making this up, are you?”

“Making this up?” His frown deepens.

“You mean you’re actually…” Kai trails off, eyes widening.

“But… a fully recognized AI is years off…”

“I already told you I am like nothing in Ninjago.” Zane explains, “You thought I was… lying?” The word rankles, and he feels his emotions plummet.

“Not lying!” Lloyd is looking at Zane like he’s seeing him for the first time, “We just thought you were… playing. Y’know, like, pretend.” He finishes with a wince.

Zane lets that process before a laugh bubbles up out of his chest, and he covers his mouth to stifle it, looking back at all his memories with a new filter. All the playful smirks, the joking comments! They must have thought he was so strange- and still, they had embraced him and even joined in! “I do not mean to laugh, just- thank you. For playing along, I suppose.”

The smile fades as the reality sinks in, he has no idea how they’ll truly react to his robotic nature, “But… I am telling the truth. I am an android, my father built me to protect those who cannot protect themselves.” At this, he tugs his undershirt off over his head, revealing the seam where his synthetic skin stops, metal casing continuing and taking up most of the expanse of his chest. He slides his hand along the panel embedded where his ribs would be, popping open his front compartment and revealing neatly routed wires and the glow of his power source, “This is not pretend. I hope you can still see me as your friend.”

He looks up earnestly, hoping their playful enthusiasm from before will come back, and each of his friends have varying reactions. Nya and Jay look intensely curious, Cole looks calm as usual, and kai and Lloyd…

“I support you one hundred percent, bro,” Kai points out before Zane can assume the worst as he cringes away from the imagery, “But from a strictly human perspective, I am looking at your guts, and that’s a little…”

“Morbid.” Lloyd agrees, looking bashfully green around the gills.

“This is so totally cool!” Jay announces, grinning, “You’re like a- a nindroid!”

“A what?”

“Ninja Android. Nindroid.” Jay explains before he calms down, smiling sincerely at Zane, “This doesn’t change anything. You’re still one of my best friends.”

“Same for me.” Nya nods, “We support you through thick and thin!”

“We’re your family.” Cole confirms, “Nothing could change that. You’re still our Zane, just more… gears.”

Zane closes the panel, smiling brightly, and Kai perks up, “No matter what you’re made of, you’re still our brother.”

“Thank you all.” He says sincerely, feeling lighter.

“Yeah!” Jay grins, “Yeah, and how cool is it that I can honestly say "My brother is a Nindroid?"”

[sukirichi]

“your hair is really soft” – jjk ver!

ft. itadori yuuji, gojo satoru, fushiguro megumi, nanami kento, ryoumen sukuna, & inumaki toge

ITADORI YUUJI – you’re in the room with Yuuji, who is busy watching the movies gojo-sensei had given him. He holds the cursed corpse in his other side, careful not to let him hit you, while your head lies on his shoulder, eyes drooping close from your long day. Yuuji turns the volume down and brings you closer to him until you’re practically sitting on his lap, his lips making brief contact at the crown of your head while he mumbles sweet nothings, too engrossed in the movie.

You smile at his sweet gesture, gently fisting the front of his jacket while you return the affection, kissing the edges of his jaw softly to not distract him too much. Yuuji’s lips tilt at the soft press of your lips on his warm skin. Soon, your hands rake up to his hair where your nails rake his scalp. Immediately, Yuuji deflates like a balloon as he purrs at the movement, making you chuckle in your sleepy daze.

“Your hair is really soft,” you note, and his eyes practically sparkle. Yuuji was a huge fan of hair gels and hair products, that his desk was filled with different brands all so he could keep his hair perfectly styled – in that somewhat natural, messy appeal. You love it on him and he melts at the fact you’ve noticed his efforts into taking care of himself. Most of all, the feeling of the smooth tendrils running past your fingertips like caressing a field of flowers lulls both you and him to a serene state.

GOJO SATORU – Like Yuuji, Gojo takes his time in styling his hair. You brush your teeth beside Gojo, who scowls as he struggles to keep his hair up the way he likes before he puts on his blindfold. The lanky man groans and adds more product, flattening the strands of his hair between his palms before swooping it up. When it falls down, Gojo whines, leaning forward on the sink counter.

You chuckle to yourself; he could be so dramatic sometimes. Bumping your hip with his, you gesture at him to move, and the big baby pouts before placing his chin on your shoulder as he watches you gargle. “Babe,” he sniffles, arms wrapping around your middle before his nose nuzzles into your skin. You giggle and push him away; the little bastard knew you were ticklish there. “My hair won’t stick up the way I want it to. Now I don’t look so cool anymore. What would my students say? That Gojo-Sensei stopped being attractive?”

That earns him an eye roll and a playful smack to his shoulder. “Ow!” Gojo rubs his shoulder with another pout, although both of you know nothing ever really hurts the strongest jujutsu sorcerer. “You’re mean.”

“And you’re just fishing for compliments.”

When Gojo hides his smirk behind his palm, you know you’ve hit the nail right on the head. Gojo was probably the most self-assured and overconfident man you’ve ever met – the day he thought lowly of himself and worried about anything concerning him that would ruin his “image” would be the day pigs could fly. Nevertheless, you give in with a sigh, extending your palm towards him.

“Give me the gel. I’ll fix your hair for you.”

“You’re a lifesaver, babe!” Obediently, Gojo crouches down so you could reach his hair, but not before muttering “shorty” under his breath. You tug at his hair harshly than you intended as payback, and Gojo only lets out a loud, fake moan before doubling over.

Your laughter and his bubble and echo through the cramped room, but both of you don’t mind. It’s moments like these you cherish with your whole heart even though it’s not extremely sweet or anything over the top. Dating a jujutsu sorcerer, the strongest one at that, wasn’t always rainbows and unicorns. You worry for him all the time and stay up awake all night, only ever finding peace in your sleep when he comes home safely – which he always does.

Still, you don’t stop worrying for him. It’s only natural, after all, and the way Gojo’s eyes soften as you slightly massage his scalp and style his hair for him lets you know he loves small moments like this too when both of you are completely alone in your own worlds, just enjoying each other’s presence and not having to think about anything else.

“Your hair is really soft,” you muse, unaware of the way Gojo’s closed his eyes as he lets your hand do the magic. When the familiar scent of vanilla and flowers wafts into your senses, you lean down closer to him to sniff his hair, stopping in your movements. “That’s odd. You smell like shampoo, but I haven’t bought that scent in a week.”

“Well, I may or not be the one who emptied it the last time,” he sheepishly chuckles.

“Gojo! That shampoo was really expensive!”

“Yeah, but I wanted to smell like you,” he coos, gently peeling your arms off him so he could hug you. Because of the height difference, you face plant into his bare chest where his skin is still warm from the shower. You keep feigning your irritation, but really, you squish your cheek above his heart, and Gojo’s chest rumbles as he laughs – he knows you can’t resist him. “Sorry about it babe, let’s go grocery shopping tonight when I come home, yeah?”

“You better buy your own shampoo,” you grumble, but Gojo only laughs.

  FUSHIGURO MEGUMI – Megumi is hunched over his desk, eyebrows pinched together while his hands move at an extreme speed. He’s studying while you scroll through memes on your phone, not wanting to disturb your boyfriend. Megumi is studious as ever, and it’s not that you aren’t, but you’re definitely a lot more relaxed than he is. 

You often tease him that you’ve got amazing memory by tapping your forehead whenever he tells you to study with him, which only makes him huff, but in reality, you refuse to study with him because he’s so distracting.

The way he bites his lip when he’s concentrated on something has your stomach erupting with butterflies, and it doesn’t help when his dark blue eyes pierce through the pages like the poor textbook committed a crime he couldn’t forgive.

All in all, Megumi’s beauty tripled tenfold when he was dedicated to something, and it was this fact that had you keeping your distance from him while he studies, because the last thing he needs is to have you jump him when he’s got an exam to prepare for. Unbeknownst to him, you’re angling your phone upwards until his beautiful side profile comes to view – and it’s so unfair his lashes are longer and thicker than yours – and you take a silent snap.

You take a few more pictures with a silent giggle, making sure to set it as your lock screen later. Nothing better than waking up to Megumi’s face every time your alarm went off, but your daydreaming is halted when Megumi drops his pen with a loud sigh.

“I know you’re taking pictures of me,” he side-eyes you with a glare. You squeak before hiding your phone behind you, knowing that it’s not out of the picture for Megumi to steal them and delete his precious photos. It didn’t help he knows your password either (duh, it’s his birthdate) so you take the extra mile by offering him a sickeningly sweet smile, an apology ready to leave your lips when – “If you wanted my attention that badly, you could’ve just said so. I don’t mind taking a break or something.”

Although he sounds annoyed, the way he avoids your gaze to hide his reddened cheeks and ears say otherwise. Megumi’s back faces you as you wait patiently on his bed. You don’t want to bother him – you really don’t – so you stay put, and Megumi sighs for the hundredth time that night before spinning on his chair, arms stretched out wide open. “Come. Want hugs.”

He keeps his gaze on his lap to swallow the embarrassment of using baby-like words, which was a huge contrast from his quiet and cold persona. You don’t mind though. Deep down, Megumi is like everyone else who wants constant affection, so you leap out of his bed and jump into his arms. Megumi relaxes with your weight on top of him before he squishes his cheeks against your boobs – one of his quirks that you found endearing – a sign that he just wanted to relax for a little while.

Megumi isn’t really that huge on touch, so moments like this where he allows himself to be physically intimate with you has you floating on cloud nine. You hear him sigh between you, and you hide your grin by pushing his hair back to reveal those pretty eyes of his, beckoning him to look you in the eye.

As expected, his cheeks flush a beet red at the intensity of your gaze, but what really catches your attention is how his eyes just brighten even though they’re lined with dark circles. 

This precious boy means everything to you, and you cup his face until your noses are rubbing. “Love you, Gumi,” you whisper, the boy’s breath hitching when your eyelashes flutter against his skin. Megumi tsks, a faux scowl on his face because both of you are painfully aware that he just melts around you.

“Stop teasing me. You know I don’t like that.”

“I’m not teasing you,” you lie, brushing his hair back in a soothing manner to help him relieve the headache he gets when he studies too much. “You know, your hair is really soft. Can I keep doing this?”

Megumi hates it when people touch his hair, so you expect him to say no – and you’ll gladly respect it – but instead, he pushes you closer and murmurs, “Don’t stop doing that.”

You smile so wide you fear your face would break.

  NANAMI KENTO – You’ve always been fascinated with your co-worker. You don’t know what it is about the sharp-faced and stoic Nanami Kento that somehow makes him stand out from the rest. It’s not like he was smarter or better than anyone, although you do admit Nanami overworks most of the time.

It’s kind of pathetic you’ve been crushing on him ever since your first day of work. Maybe it’s because he worked with virtue and wishes to actually be honest instead of just sucking the money out of others. Maybe it’s because seeing him visit a bakery every after work makes him seem softer and a lot more human than his seemingly unapproachable nature. Whatever it was, you can’t explain why you’re so enamoured with the blond, or why you have the audacity to suddenly card your fingers through his hair at his desk that time.

You were told by your boss to give him this folder – quick, easy, and simple. But Nanami has this effect on you that he makes your brain go brr every time you go closer to him. You blame it on the fact both of you are alone at the office right now for OT, but when Nanami freezes under your touch, you realize the grave consequences of your actions.

As if you’ve touched something boiling hot – and he kind of is – you retract your arm and bow so deep you feel a vertebrae popping air. “I’m so sorry!” you begin to blabber, bowing repeatedly to the point your hair has become a mess. You can’t even look him in the eye – what were you thinking?! “I didn’t mean to, it’s just your hair looked really nice and soft and I couldn’t help myself! If you want to tell the higher-ups about this harassment and get me fired, I promise I won’t mind. In fact, I’ll take this to my grave and even offer my firstborn child as an apology—”

“Y/N.”

“because I’ve done something so horrendous and oh my gosh, I was just eating donuts and I probably got crumbs in your pretty hair—”

“Y/N,”

“And that’s really so low of me. Uh, actually, I may or may not have spent last month’s salary to buy my niece a huge ass dollhouse, but I’d gladly schedule a hair appointment for you—” you stop your words when you feel huge, calloused hands squishing your cheeks together until your lips are puckered out like a fish. Nanami stands before you, looking as handsome as ever, and that thought only has you panicking more and withdrawing. “I’m so sorry.”

Nanami sighs, pulling away to give you some space. You try to fight back the whine because not only did you look ridiculous under him, but also because you actually missed his touch.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind,” he takes the folder from you, pauses, then tilts his head to the side. “You think my hair is soft?”

“Uhm,” you blink rapidly, “Y-yes. Your hair is really pretty too. In fact, everything about you is pretty, like your hands when you type in paperwork but – I’m talking too much aren’t I?” you laugh nervously, scratching the back of your head. “I’m sorry. I tend to ramble when I’m nervous.”

“I make you nervous?” Nanami doesn’t sound like he believes it.

“Yeah,” you confess, switching your weight from one foot to another. At this point, you’ve given up on asking him out for coffee this weekend because you’re sure he’s labelled you as an idiot now. Not that it’s surprising though; not only does Nanami keep to himself out of social aversion, but you’re also pretty loud and awkward, a huge contrast to someone as well-put as him. “Anyways, uh,” you clear your throat, gesturing to your cubicle. “Now that you’ve got the file, I’m gonna go do my part. See you later, I guess. Or not. You can go home first you want. I’ve got quite a lot on my plate.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

“Sorry?”

Nanami organizes his desk one last time before following you to your desk. “I’m done with my part and it’s late. It’s not safe for you to walk home alone,” he glances at his watch, “I’ll wait for you until you’re done and walk you back home. That way, I don’t have to worry about your safety tonight,” he plops down on the empty seat next to yours, crossing his arms on his broad chest. “Take all the time you need. Just wake me up when you’re done.”

Just like that, Nanami dozes off, exhausted from a long day of hard work. You, on the other hand, are more energized than ever as you suddenly find a strong wave of motivation you’ve never had before.

Maybe you don’t mess up everything, after all.

  RYOUMEN SUKUNA – He groans when you giggle at him, using your small, dainty hands to brush it through his hair. Sukuna liked to sleep in and it was only seven in the morning, meaning he’s supposed to be still lost in dreamland with thoughts about you and your cute little face. But because you’re an annoying brat who’s an early bird and way too cheerful as a morning person, you’re wide awake when the sun shone through the windows, and you’re gently coaxing him awake by rotating your fingers through his hair.

“Your hair is really soft.”

“Stop that,” he complains, but doesn’t really do anything to push you away. “It’s too early. Go back to bed.”

“But I’m already awake,” you tease, proving your point by taking off his covers and patting his chest. “Come on, let me make you breakfast. Maybe we can go out today and go see a movie, what do you think? It’s my day off so we better make use of it!”

“Exactly, it’s a day off,” he growls the last part, surprising you when his strong hands grip your thigh and drag you beside him. Soon enough, Sukuna has you trapped in his muscular arms until you can’t move anymore. “Let’s just stay the whole day in bed. Plus, I’m the one making breakfast. There’s no way you’re still cooking for me on your day off.”

“But I love cooking for you.”

“I know, but it’s my turn now,” he huffs through your hair. Sukuna’s grip loosens around you a bit to give you room to breathe, but he’s taken aback when you only snuggle closer to him to the point your legs and tangled and your body is warm from his heat. You don’t have to say it out loud to tell him you’ve conceded to his wishes.

As always, Sukuna is right. It feels much better to just let go of time and enjoy this moment. And he smells so good, feels so warm, that you’re unable to stop yourself from burrowing closer onto his body until you’re sure you’re about to start smelling like him later.

Of course, Sukuna likes the thought of that, so he sweeps one arm behind to tug the covers back over your bodies. He kisses your temple, and with a low, husky voice, grumbles, “Let’s go back to sleep, then we’ll do everything you want later, okay? I just want to stay in bed with you a little longer.”

For a guy who was considered heartless and barbaric, he sure turned into putty in your hands.

  INUMAKI TOGE – The platinum haired boy lays on your lap, the wire of headphones dangling beside you both. You’re thankful Inumaki has his eyes closed, because the last thing you want him to see is how embarrassed and giddy you are at that moment.

You and Inumaki have been friends for years, meaning you’ve been hiding your crush on him for a painfully long time. He’s recently made a Spotify playlist with an innocent text of, “I made you a playlist of all the songs that reminds me of you,” which leads you both to your current predicament. It’s a rather lazy weekend and Gojo-sensei isn’t around to bother any of you, so you’re in Inumaki’s room, careful not to bounce your legs out of habit to not give the poor boy a headache.

You snap back to life when Inumaki squeezes your thigh, and you’re met with azure eyes looking back up at you. “Mustard leaf?” he points to your face, which has been previously constricted and heated from his close proximity. It isn’t the first time you and Toge have cuddled, but it’s been too long and you’re standing at the edge of a dangerous cliff with the desire to tell him you like him.

Inumaki must’ve thought you’re uncomfortable with his weight on you because he begins to sit up. “Oh, no, no!” you coax him back down despite his questioning eyes, a wide grin replacing your flustered state to conceal it. “Its’s fine, really. I was just vibing with the songs.”

He hums, not completely believing it, but he doesn’t want to push either. Soon, he settles into your lap again and makes you lose your mind when his breath starts to tickle your kneepads now that he’s facing behind you.

Your heart just about combusts, and before you know it, Inumaki has fallen asleep while the theme of Howl’s Moving Castle plays. Once his breathing regulated into a steady rhythm, you reach out to brush his hair back and lightly add some pressure for better sleep. You know Inumaki lies that, and you smile to yourself when he leans into your touch even in his slumber.

“Your hair is so soft,” you say mostly to yourself, leaning down to kiss his the crown of his head, making Inumaki sigh contentedly. Gosh, you love him so much.

Now isn’t the time but...hopefully, one day you could tell him how you feel. Even if he rejects you, you hope you could still be friends even after that awkward encounter –

You freeze as the next song comes on. I.F.L.Y by Bazzi comes on, and just as you cover your mouth to silence your gasps, you hear the faintest snickers coming from Inumaki before he goes back to “snoring.”

“Toge! Were you awake the whole time?!”

[seokjinsonlyone]

this what i think bts love language is

a/n: this just my thoughts besties i ain’t do no formal type of research or nun just let my lil imagination sprint 🥸🤪

namjoon:

physical affection/words of affirmation

okay so i said physical affection for one bc like he seem to like initiate contact with people around him a lot

like in interviews he be having his hand on whoever next to him thigh or like when he be performing if it’s someone next to him he throws his arms around them a lot

not to mention like whenever jimin or jk or whoever start feeling up on him he never rejects it or makes a face or anything like yoongi does he just accepts it

like there’s so many stage clips where jimin will come and rest his chin on joon’s shoulder and he just lets him

or jk will just start touching on him some way grabbing his arms or sumn and it doesn’t phase him at all

another example is like on day 2 of sowoozoo when tae randomly came and linked arms with him and hobi during mikrokosmos hobi was like 🥴🥴 but joon was just 😌

and then there was that magic shop muster moment when jk was talking about how much he loved joon and how he was his beginning you know as president of the joon fan club does and namjoon couldn’t help but to go over and give his number one admirer a hug you know the moment

same thing with compliments he lowkey be eating them up

like you know how whenever hobi gets complimented he be like “😶 don’t say those things” joon don’t do that

like when they was asked to take their jackets off during the butter shoot and namjoon was like yeah okay and everyone started hyping him up and he was just 💁🏼‍♂️😜

and again on day 2 sowoozoo when he pushed his hair back from his forehead and everyone went OHHHHHSWJJSJS SEXY NAMJOON and then he decided to murder us all by tilting his head back on top of that adding insult to injury i would insert the picture but for my mental health i will not

and again whenever they talk about him being such a great leader he never shies away from it doesn’t cringe always accepts it so you know it must mean a lot for him to hear those things

aside from that tho he’s such a poetic person

like he is definitely involved in an intimate affair with language so there’s no way he wouldn’t appreciate you verbally telling him how he makes you feel

like just think about how many times he’s said he wants to sit down with each army and listen to their story

that being said if this was your man i think you’d definitely have to both show and tell him how you feel

like if he was about to head out for work you definitely got to kiss him before he leaves

and if you on the phone with him the last words you’re saying are i love you

and he’s definitely gonna cherish it each time always gonna have that cute little smile dimples caved in his cheeks bc you love him and he feels it

seokjin:

acts of service/words of affirmation

alright so ngl the reason i said acts of service for seokjin is like almost 100% based on his reaction to tae setting up that birthday event for him where he had his friends send him messages

he talked about it for WEEKS like he was genuinely so moved that i just like he has to love it

and then there’s like how much he bothers jk to like do simple stuff like i’m specifically thinking about that one moment in bon voyage 4 when he was sitting down at the table and called jk to help him up

and then there’s also little things he does for others like when he peeled tae’s tangerines for him or when he offered to feed yoongi bc he was driving or how he always offers bites of his food before even gets a chance to taste it

now i say words of affirmation bc he always searching for a compliment

my minds going to when jk hurt his foot and jin was pushing him in the wheelchair and kept feeding him lines to say about how he was such a good hyung and how he loves him

or in the behind the scenes for the boy with luv video and he kept tryna get tae to compliment him for being witty

and my boy never misses a chance to introduce himself as worldwide handsome

even though he does a lot of those things jokingly there are moments when he’s serious too about giving compliments and shy when he receives them like in those be interviews when he called jk a singing genius and jungkook was talking about how he had the most range and he got all ☺️☺️

or that moment from in the soop when he was comforting yoongi about like not having regrets and when yoongi told him he wanted to be like him just those kinds of moments let me know words are important to him

which just made me remember how hard he tries with his lyrics and how important they are to him like when he was writing awake and he talked about how he kept getting rejected but he was super insistent bc it was important for him to sing the words he wrote and don’t even get me started on moon i just-

anyway jin done said many times he is a man of the present so if you’re with him you gotta actively show/tell him

if you’re at the store pick him up some gummies

if you know he’s got a long day ahead of him maybe pack him some snacks to take with him in the morning

if his hair looks nice tell him

send him messages throughout the day even if he can’t respond immediately

he claims he’s a man of the present but whenever he takes a moment to reminisce the past he’ll look back and know just how much you care about him

yoongi:

quality time/acts of service

listen as much as this man loves spending time alone the time he spends with others means a lot to him

like how he always go fishing with jin even tho he ain’t particularly fond of it

or how like in in the soop he had made plans to play games with jimin and did so extensively

also from in the soop when he had spent most of his day outside reading but then he had heard everyone starting to make the theme song and immediately ran to get his equipment to record and what not

not to mention his poem from the end of that one run episode where they went on like a mini trip or whatever and he was like “what a relief that we have seven members. what a relief that we have each other.”

like being all together is important to him

like i just think about that one scene from one of they movies ion remember which one but they were all gathered around the table and it was when he had told them how he actually hurt his shoulder and they was talking about how they was worried about jk and how he need to come out his room and it’s not even the content of the scene but just like the fact that he ain’t have to be there but he was

and also can’t neglect to mention how he whined for y e a r s about how ain’t nobody come to visit him on set when he was filming the videos for his first mixtape like mans wouldn’t let that go and then how touched he was when they made appearances on his daechwita set even if he couldn’t express it properly

and how he begged for them to make cameos in the video and how happy he was when jin and jk did

and he doesn’t ever forget to mention whenever him and hobi hang out he’s like yeah we went for a drink and dinner and talked and blah blah

he loves it when people make an effort to be around him

now acts of service i got this all on a whim okay like… listen… we all been there we have all watched an ideal type video on youtube don’t lie okay

and up there it be like he want someone to bring him food in the studio and take care of him and stuff like that and in this case the math maths

you really can see that in how he treats others

like just the other day i saw a gifset somewhere and the boys were like yeah yoongi always takes care of us he don’t make eye contact tho

not to mention how he always cooks for them when they go on trips

and even though he ain’t give seokjin his song yet we know it’s coming! eventually!

and whenever they be ganging up on jungkook yoongi always the first one to be like “stooooppp you gon make him cry”

my baby just always be doing little things for others to show he cares okay 🥺

so if you got with my baby you gotta take care of him 🥺🥺🥺

he really needs someone that understands him bc he not gonna say anything

if you’re all hanging out together make sure you’re by his side so he knows you want to be there with him

if he’s busy stuck in his studio drop by even if you just end up laying on the couch he’s gonna appreciate you just being with him

and bring food my baby getting buff he need all the veggies and protein he can get

hoseok:

receiving gifts

i really had to think about this one but once i connected the dots yeah it makes total sense

like he looooves shopping loves getting stuff so when other people give him stuff i know he just 🥰🥰🥰

hobi lights up when he gets gifts they don’t always have to be big but i know he very much appreciates them

like how in the army corner store festa video when asked to bring something meaningful to them he brought those figurines which was the first gift a fan gifted him

which makes me think about how those limited edition figurines dropped and hobi was like i need to get one for namjoon and then namjoon was like i need to get one for hobi and so they ended up with like two of them or something like that

also from festa in the little photo booth mission every time he won a prize he was like yaaasss omg and was thinking of ways to put it to use like when he got that picture frame he immediately stuck them film strips in it he probably got it hanging in his room or in his studio by now tbh

and i think it was on the canada run bts episode where jk bought him those slippers and he was super happy

even when they were in hawaii and him and jin were hungry on the bus and he asked jin for gummies like ofc jin had to get on his nerves first but when he finally gave him his snacks he went from 😐 to 😚

or how he still has that change purse that namjoon bought him in malta (probably still got the money in there too tbh)

speaking of malta got me thinking about how tae went out of his way to win hobi that flamingo bc he said he’d never seen one and when tae gave it to him he went parading it around telling everyone that tae won it for him and then said he was gonna put it in his studio

and he got that chicken leg pillow they gave him from you quiz on the couch in his studio

and i think it was from the 2020 winter package he was so happy when jin bought him those ugly little troll elf things with the hat you know what i’m talking about

and he commented like three times when jungkook drew that picture of him for his birthday

and we know mans be giving gifts too

like how he got yoongi that coffee truck on the set of daechwita

and when they were on the speak yourself tour and he went out shopping on a day off and bought jin a sweater or something

and how he slaved through like 2 or 3 lives making bracelets for the members and then gave it to them on the bang bang con live

and the most devastating one of all when they had to give each other gifts i think it was on the run episode with all the water games but i could be wrong anyway and like most of them gave each other gag gifts like their merch or whatever but hobi gave jimin (and the rest of the members) a cd for his song promise it had a little photo book in it and everything 😭😭😭

so like whoever gets with this fine specimen gon have to throw a few dollars together to make sure this man is kept

not really i’m sure he doesn’t expect you to sell your car for a gucci peacoat or your soul for a rolex

but if you did decide to save up for some time to get him a little extravagant gift i know he’d more than appreciate it

more often than not though it’d be the little things that got to him like if you bought a simple t shirt from the store but then kinda like upcycled it drew little doodles on it wrote “i’m your hope” somewhere on it there would definitely be a picture uploaded of him on weverse or twitter wearing it

or if you decided to compile the pictures of you two together into a scrapbook or something he’d keep it somewhere accessible like in a drawer in his desk in his studio and flip through it with a little smile on his face when he’s missing you

and even if it was something even smaller than that like say he mentioned in passing that like idk he was out of eggs or something and you bought him some he just might marry you

jimin:

physical affection/quality time

the first thing that comes to mind with this for jimin is how he comforts his boys

like there’s so many behind the scenes clips from tour where like jk or tae will be upset with their performance and crying and jimin would be the one to come up behind them and hug them and wipe their tears

same concept for that one moment in bon voyage 3 when they told him that tae was crying and he just kinda hugged him and wiped his tears and hovered around him to make sure he was okay

or when they left hobi at the gas station in bon voyage 4 and then went back to pick him up he still hugged hobi even as he was laughing evilly

also in bon voyage 4 when they went on that helicopter tour and they was on the mountain and him and tae tackled each other and was rolling in the snow

and he is just like always in jk arms like he just jumps on him for no reason like in that video where lee hyun is acting as one of bts’ management

also in the behind from i think when they were practicing for the 2019 bbmas i believe at some point jungkook was holding that man spinning him in circles or sumn like that

and there’s also that one comeback show when him and tae were in the comic book cafe and they were just cuddled up together looking at tae’s phone practicing english i think

and on that one joon live when him and tae crashed and just caused a whole lot of commotion i’m pretty sure at one point they were cuddled on the couch and then jimin told tae his breath stinks and tae proceeded to open his mouth over the air purifier

anyway clearly he is a man with hands

but he also is someone who loves to spend time together it’s important to him

like i just think about how when they had their “break” back in 2019 he talked about how he just traveled the entire time and he went with various friends and family

and i’m pretty sure it was bon voyage 3 when they were doing their friendship trips and trying to make fresh pairings or whatever he was like i don’t think there’s any surprising pairing with me and it’s like… that’s true

like you got minimoni, minimini, jikook etc… all tried tested and true man gets around his band

and he’s the main one who’s always like “yeah bro we should live in the dorms until we’re 50”

and he always talks about how he can’t be alone and how he’s always gotta be doing something with someone

and his lives!!! his lives!!!! when he spends time with us it’s always so intimate and personable

like you can’t tell me that i ain’t have dinner with him and jin after a show in the hotel room and we drank off camera even after the staff told us we couldn’t 😤🤚

there’s also that time he went live and someone said they had some kind of condition and then he took it upon himself to look it up and try to find treatments

just liiiike whenever he goes live every minute counts bro and yes this is me trying to summon him bc we ain’t had a solo jimin live since october and i know they super busy but i miss 😓😓😓

so for this mans i just feel like you just gotta really be with him

just like he makes every second count you have to as well

like he’s gonna want to have your full attention and you’ll definitely have his he’ll be obsessed with you tbh

however he doesn’t always have the time and his schedule definitely isn’t the most accommodating so he’s gonna want someone to put in the effort

but as long as you make sure he knows you’re all in he’ll always meet you halfway

taehyung:

words of affirmation

now this one has been stated explicitly multiple times and he’s admitted it himself

specifically during let’s bts in their segment within the segment and namjoon was like taehyung the kind of person who grows from compliments

and i ain’t even got the right words to express how i feel about the smile he couldn’t help when hobi had them all tell tae that they like him

not to mention the story he told during the festa video last year about how he always tried his very best to get hobi to praise him and how disappointed he was when hobi didn’t get it

and i may be tripping but didn’t like earlier this year he didn’t post on weverse or twitter for like a month or so because he wanted to keep seeing us say how much we miss him???

and in bon voyage season 2 when they had to write letters to each other and he wrote his to jimin and then cried when he read it

there’s also a moment in bon voyage 4 when he and rm were about to sleep in the same space and he asked joon if he could cuddle him and joon was like 🥴🤚 how bout no and tae was like you do like me right? and rm was like yeah of course but let’s not cuddle bro

also in that weverse magazine interview they did he talked about how depressed he got when they weren’t able to perform and he only felt happy for a while when he was able to communicate with us

and in turn he’s very verbally supportive as well

like at that one fan sign they was talking about bon voyage and they asked army which season they liked better 1 or 2 and someone said 1 and taehyung was like “😐 now why would you say that bc namjoon won’t even in that” even though really it was only like 1 or 2 episodes he missed out on

and like he’s always hyping seokjin up like when they were doing the map of the soul 7 comeback live and jin was talking about how he wasn’t a good dancer and taehyung was like 😡 don’t say that bc it’s not true you’re good and you always been good

and in the let’s bts thing again it was important for him to let jimin know that he likes him best like they really are best friends y’all 😭

and when he talks about how much he loves suga’s raps

and that moment in the soop when he set up a date for him and jungkook to talk out whatever tension they had or whatever

and how during those individual be interviews he had hobi flustered when he complimented his passion for music

and he always be saying like the most comforting stuff on weverse letting army know he’s there as a source of comfort at all times even when he can’t be

like this man is literally the creator of borahae meaning that we’ll love and support each other for a long time

so if you get with tae communication is key!!!

you gotta tell him how you feel about him

if you’re out and about and see something that reminds you of him? tell him. if you like his hair that day? tell him. if he does something that pisses you off? tell him. if you miss him? tell him. if you love him? tell him.

like y’all gon talk about everything and nothing at all some days you’ll be discussing aliens and parallel universes other days you’ll be like discussing the future of your relationship

and ya know he a busy man so you not always gon be having long and drawn out heart to hearts so i think he’d love it if you just sent messages throughout the day something that let him know you were thinking of him even if it’s just a picture of a possum you chased down or if you spammed him with tiktoks you thought he’d like

he’d be looking at his phone like 🥰🤳 thinking about how much he loves you

jungkook:

physical affection

now this lil menace right here is touchy

always down for a cuddle

like on the canada episode of run when they were about to pick out rooms and he was like firmly latched onto hobi on the couch while they waited

and when they were practicing home for the magic shop muster and yoongi sat in the arm chair and immediately jk sat in his lap and tae sat in his lap

or how in in the soop after they were done eating he just went and latched onto jin’s back

and how tae had went to go wake jk up that one time and they ended up falling asleep

or how jk had went to wake up jimin that one time and they ended up falling asleep

there was just a lot of jk cuddles going on in in the soop so i’ll move on

let’s talk about the pool water debate run episode where in the end jk decided to latch onto jin’s back yet again

i’ll take this moment to mention the jinkook moment that lives in my head rent free for no valid reason it’s from the life goes on countdown video where they were reading the post cards and he was wearing that big pink sweatshirt and jin was wearing that pink and black bomber jacket and jk just grabbed jin’s arm and held onto it and played with it and when he was done he just threw it away i… i think about that moment a lot there’s an entire section in both my head and heart dedicated to that moment anyway continuing on

i’ll talk about that time they were backstage for a show and they had them blow up mattresses and suga was minding his business resting and jk just rolled up and moved his legs and laid beside him and then hobi decided to pile on top

and whenever they’re on stage he’s always the most delighted when joon would suggest a hug he’d be the first one over there nose scrunched up giggling he loves it

there’s also many instances in interviews and lives where he just can’t keep him hands to himself

just like that last butter live when tae ended up with a crown of forks thanks to mr kook

and he never misses an opportunity to feel up joon

which makes me remember that time he kissed namjoon on the forehead

and he is just always carrying jimin for some reason

so in conclusion… physical affection

and if he was your mans you’d be on the frontlines of receiving all he has to give

not necessarily in public or around a lot of people but in a space where you both were comfortable yes

you’d just have to accept that when you’re standing around he’s going to give you a shoulder/neck/back massage for no particular reason

and he will latch onto you in different positions for extended periods of time

and you gotta do the same! like that’s your man! go give him a hug! a kiss! let him know you love him

cuddle up to him while y’all chilling watching tv

hold his hand while y’all talking

just like grab onto him and never let him go

he’ll be hoping you don’t

[crazygalore]

GABRIEL MAY (MALIGNANT) NSFW ALPHABET

TW: mentions of dysmorphia, NSFW

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Surprisingly, Gabriel actually NEEDS it, after each lovemaking session - no matter how gentle or how rough he was with you. He’ll draw the both of you a hot bath, and help you wash yourself. If you return the favour, this boy will positively melt, and let out tiny noises that sound suspiciously similar to little purrs. Afterwards, once he has patted your dry with a fluffy towel and dressed you in your favourite pyjamas, Gabriel will carry you to bed, and place you under the covers. Then, he will bring your favourite snacks and beverage, to enjoy while you huddle together to watch a movie before falling asleep.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Gabriel could never pick just one thing he loves about you - because he practically worships you body and soul. You are infinitely beautiful in his eyes, and the fact that you love and accept him for who he is feels like a miracle to him.

Since he doesn’t actually have a body of his own, he expresses his identity though clothes that he wears, which are different than the ones owned by Madison. Although they’re not body parts per say, he sees his leather coat and makeshift gold dagger as extensions of himself, and he enjoys donning them whenever he takes over his twin’s body. He will, sometimes, remain fully clothed during sex.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

His pleasure is your pleasure, and he will make you cum as much as possible, if only to enjoy your desperate moans and whimpers. 

Being transmasc and trapped his Madison’s body, he suffers from severe dysmorphia and doesn’t really enjoy being touched intimately. And, as stated HERE, he did communicate with his sister when the two of you decided to become intimate, because he felt like this specific situation called for his sister’s consent. She doesn’t have access to his memories regarding his sex life, though - which is for the best.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

It’s not a secret that he loves watching you pleasure yourself. The first time he witnessed it, you weren’t aware he was there, lost as you were in the act, so he quietly enjoyed the show from the door, a smug smirk playing at the corners of his mangled mouth.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

You are Gabriel’s first and only love, and the only person who ever saw him as a human being, worth of respect and adoration. So he doesn’t have that much experience, but he did his research and tried to learn as much as possible about the human body’s erogenous spots. That makes up for his lack of actual physical experience, at least most of the times. But since your guys’ relationship is based on trust, respect and communication, Gabriel is never ashamed to ask what works for you, and what doesn’t.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Missionary, since he usually uses his mouth, fingers or a strap-on to pleasure you - and he wants to be able to look at your face, kiss your lips and hold you in his arms during sex. Gabriel is a very tactile person, and extremely touch-starved, so he actually NEEDS to be held, caressed and comforted. It’s the main reason why he enjoys making love to you so much, because the physical intimacy is something he’d never experienced before.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

I wouldn’t say he’s particularly goofy, but he isn’t very stoic either. If anything awkward ensures during sex, he will try to make you laugh about it, so that you can relax and move on.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

He doesn’t actually have a private area of his own, and its pretty much Madison’s business as to how she grooms her nether region. He doesn’t actually care about those parts, since he never uses them.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Very intimate, very romantic and very needy. As stated above, he craves physical contact, and he melts whenever you treat him with gentleness and affection. Hold him, kiss him, caress his scarred cheeks, and tell him how good he makes you feel, and Gabriel will be putty in your hands.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He doesn’t actually partake in this act, as he doesn’t enjoy looking at, or touching the private parts of the body he shares with his sister. But sometimes, he fantasizes about what he would do to you, if he had a body of his own.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Gabriel is surprisingly vanilla, but he can be pretty dominant in the bedroom. He will pin your wrists above your head, as he fucks you into the mattress, or guide you into touching yourself, his voice a mere growl coming from your phone’s speaker. Knife kink, maybe, but only when it comes to cutting off your clothes. He doesn’t wanna hurt you, so unless you insistently ask him to, Gabriel won’t hold his makeshift dagger to your throat, or drag its blade across your skin. After all, he has other ways to let out his violent frustrations, so he feels no need to bring that to the bedroom. He was hurt by people who abhorred him, and he returned the favour years later. Love and violence do not cross paths in Gabriel’s mind.

Also clothed sex, because he enjoys wearing his leather coat and gloves, as he teases your naked body mercilessly.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

Anywhere inside the house, but the bedroom is his favourite, because it’s more private and safe. Plus, he enjoys taking his time, so the bed is the most comfortable option when it comes to lengthy lovemaking sessions.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Whenever you treat Gabriel with kindness and love, he will feel the need to bring you pleasure, and show you just how much he covets you. For him, sex is a means of expressing his affection for you - it’s an act of adoration and gratitude.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He will NOT hurt you, ever, no matter how much you insist. You are the only person who has ever treated him right, and he cannot bear the thought of harming you in any way.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Enjoys giving, and is very enthusiastic about it. This boy will eat you out for hours, and has become fucking expert at it. He knows just how to angle his face, and use his teeth and tongue to cause you maximum pleasure. Your taste is heaven to him, and your needy moans and whimpers are music to his ears. He will edge you, he will overstimulate you, he will play your body like a violin, using his mouth and fingers alone.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Depends on the mood. Slow and sensual is his go to, but he can be rough if you ask him to. But regardless of the pace, Gabriel is ALWAYS very passionate, and completely dedicated to your pleasure. Also, this boy is inhumanly strong, so he may end up becoming rough without even realizing it - but in case it becomes too much, all you have to do is tell him, and Gabriel will apologise and treat you more gently.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Not opposed to them, but he prefers taking his time.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

He’s willing to try anything, so long as it doesn’t cause you any actual harm. Hickeys and faint finger-shaped bruises happen a lot, since he doesn’t always calibrate his strength properly all the time.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

Oh, he could go on forever. Remember he experiences pleasure exclusively through you, so he never gets tired of it.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Oh, yes, 100% a fan of toys, all of them meant to drive you utterly insane with pleasure.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

The most unfair and maddeningly patient tease to ever walk this Earth. He will edge you until you’re crying and begging for release - and only then will he CONSIDER to maybe let you cum.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

Low growls and muffled moans are the best he can do - although he may use your phone’s speaker to talk dirty to you.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Gabriel really enjoys sucking on and playing with your nipples. And, yes, he has actually made you cum by solely teasing and fondling your chest.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

As I said, he uses a strap-on, which is just the right length and thickness to bring you maximum pleasure. In fact, the more I think about it, the more inclined I am to believe he consulted with you before buying it.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

I would say his sex drive is medium to low, so unless you initiate it - case in which he will be delighted to take you to the bedroom - he will rarely bring it up. But he does have his moments, when he simply craves your passionate embrace.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

It depends. Sometimes he falls asleep as soon as aftercare has been performed, and sometimes he stays awake a little while longer, just to watch you sleep peacefully by his side.

[mizumonohomo]

reread Red Dragon this past summer and 10/10 great decision

Will is such a compelling character, you can see why this book got so many adaptations (2 movies and one show). even though the book just covers the tooth fairy/red dragon murders, you can see Will's past in so many ways. How much he struggles with his empathy and his insight into people's heads. His empathy and care for the victims AND killers is really what separates him from typical gruff'n'tuff true crime protagonists. The weight that working in his field has/had on him. He is a sympathetic character, yet people in the book as well as readers can definitely see how he could be threatening, scary to know socially. How much he struggles to contain himself and be 'normal', even though he is being asked to use the darkest parts of his mind. And though Hannibal plays a much smaller role in this book than the others (and he played a larger role in the following books BECAUSE he was so interesting to people) you still see hints of a shared past and familiarity between Hannibal and Will.

Even separated from the context of the NBC hannibal show, it makes you wonder what exactly happened between them, how well did they know each other? Even if your interpretation isn't romantic, its interesting no matter how you slice it. Does Hannibal's insight into Will stem purely from his ability to analyze people and not from having an 'intimate' relationship/friendship/work colleagues in the past? How much did Will actually know Hannibal, did they ever see each other socially outside work or anything even approaching friendship? Like yes, obviously I adore the nbc hannibal obsessive gothic romance between them, but even without the context of a falling out between them it surprises me that Will in never mentioned in the following books (beyond one single reference from jack crawford anyway). It would've been very veryyyyy interesting to have seen Clarice Starling and Will Graham interact at all, like even a single letter exchanged.

I could easily see Clarice being intrigued by Jack's descriptions of Will, enough to send a polite inquiry for help/insight into Hannibal or the Buffalo Bill Case. Whether Will would just chuck that letter into the trash or actually help is up for interpretation, but still! I could see a correspondence between Will and Clarice so easily. They actually have somewhat similar backgrounds (and a great disinterest in discussing their past) though their reasons for joining the FBI are somewhat different, they both care very much about the victims in their cases. Will begrudgingly taking on a mentorship role with Clarice because shes's persistent and courageous enough to pursue help from a guy who is a world champion at shutting people out and he just cant help himself from wanting to help save people from danger despite his own best interests. Will's advice would probably have been more helpful than Crawford or Hannibal.

And just imagine Hannibal's reaction in Silence of the Lambs if Clarice dropped the fact that she had spoken to Will 'dont text me dont call me dont write me letters dont even fucking look at me' Graham. Like "oh. he. responds to YOUR letters hm? well did you know Will is scarred and ugly and afraid of his own mind?.........did he....mention me?". Clarice could've easily leveraged help from Hannibal by making it competitive between him and Will. "Ah yes, that is a fascinating insight Dr. Lecter, Will Graham said something similar when he and I spoke." just playing them off each other and she WOULD'VE too lol i love her

And how would book!Will have reacted to Hannibal's escape from prison/subsequent life on the lam? I guess people's most common interpretation is Will being like "never fucking call me again" after Red Dragon is all said and done, even that case was one he was pushed out of 'retirement' to work on by Jack. And maybe Will just did not want to engage with Any Of It at all after that. But I find it hard to believe Hannibal didn't send him even one semi-taunting letter like the : "i have no plans to call on you, the world is more interesting with you in it" letter he sent Clarice. Or that Will wasn't tapped for info/help by ANY law enforcement agencies as the guy who caught Hannibal way back when. I mean at the very least freddie lounds would've OH wait he did actually die in the books lmaooo 🤣

Anyways as a book Red Dragon is a great read, a tense murder mystery worth flipping through. The movies are great adaptations of the book, not many important details are cut out. NBC Hannibal is still my favorite interpretation of the Red Dragon book, though obviously the show takes from the whole series not just the first book. I'm still sad we never got to see Clarice in the show as she's one of my favorite fictional characters but any role she'd have played in the show would be soooo diminished from her role in the books as her story/dialogue was portioned out to other characters on NBC Hannibal (Will and Miriam mostly but also, Abigail and Bedilia to some degree) so perhaps its for the best 😐

[vintagegeekculture]

The Chinese Cultural Inspirations for Dragon Ball Z and Super

Journey to the West was only the beginning. 

A lot of people are vaguely aware that Dragon Ball was inspired by Chinese culture and Hong Kong Kung Fu movies and novels, but are unaware of how deep and long lasting it goes. The Japanese spent the 1980s fascinated by China, which opened up from being a closed society for decades in 1978; the most famous human being in Japan in the 80s was either Michael Jackson or Jackie Chan. 

In fact, a lot of people commonly believe that the Chinese action movie and Kung Fu novel cultural and media influence on Dragon Ball ended very early on. This is untrue. Sure, we started to see qipaos and cheongsams less frequently when they headed to West City, but it absolutely did not finish, because there’s tons of influence to see even as impossibly late as Dragon Ball Super. Interestingly, I don’t think any of these point of inspirations have been pointed out before, mainly because a lot of Chinese adventure novels are simply not available in English. 

 The Piccolo/Gohan plot was inspired by the Chinese action novel “Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre.”

Okay, tell me if you’ve heard this story before: a truly demonic, weird looking monster villain is defeated by a martial arts hero, but by circumstance, is forced into training his greatest enemy’s young son. The villain trains the young boy, the son of his enemy, in martial arts and over time, becomes like a second father or uncle to him and his family, putting the boy in his “evil” sect, and thanks to his love of his rival’s son, this baddie turns over a new leaf and goes from evil to just…grumpy, and becomes a loyal, though gruff, ally of the boy.

Of course, the events of Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre are a bit different from Dragon Ball in details. The Lion King becomes Wuji’s teacher because they are both stranded together on an island after a shipwreck, for instance, and he is blinded and made vulnerable. Also, the Lion King wasn’t so much evil so much as he was misunderstood by the orthodox martial world. However, in broad outlines, this trajectory for a face turn (becomes friends with his greatest enemy’s son, and becomes like a second father to him as he trains him, causing the villain to become a gruff good guy and ally) is essentially from one of the most famous Chinese novels ever written in the 1960s. 

Oh, and while we’re at it, Gohan is likewise inspired by another character from a Louis Cha novel: the Prince of Dali Duan Yu in the Kung Fu novel Demigods and Semi-Devils. The Prince in that novel is a naïve, pacifistic scholar who prefers books to fighting, and who was raised to be timid and avoid combat, absolutely out of step with his family, all of whom are martial artists and warriors. In fact, the beginning of the story is the prince gets incredibly lost in the wilderness, where the hopelessly naïve prince is utterly out of his depth, with all the robbers and scary beasts, and needs to be saved by real martial artists that protect him like fairy godparents. He spends the first part of the story running away from everything, scared as hell. However, by circumstance, he has naturally high power he cannot fully initially control, and eventually realizes that even scholars and others who hate fighting have to sometimes become fighters to protect those they love.

The Duan Yu part of Demigods and Semi-Devils was made into a film, the Battle Wizard, which was reviewed by PewDiePie. The Dragonball similarities went over his head because, honestly, PewDiePie does not strike me as a perceptive person. 

 Hit was based on the screen persona of Chow Yun Fat.

Chow Yun Fat was a Hong Kong cinema superstar who was to director John Woo what Robert de Niro was to Martin Scorsese. There are three giveaways that Hit was based on Chow Yun Fat. One, he’s an assassin, same as Chow Yun Fat’s character in the Killer, and is even given a sequence that’s a John Woo homage with an assassination in an office building with guns pulled on an empty elevator in an act of misdirection. Second, he’s wearing the single piece of clothing Chow Yun Fat is associated with, a black trenchcoat (fun fact: in Hong Kong today, trenchcoats are called Brother Mark Coats, after Chow Yun Fat’s character in John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow). Third, his power is essentially bullet time, a visual technique refined by John Woo in Hong Kong in the 80s and 90s in his gunplay triad movies starring Chow Yun Fat (what, you think the Wachowskis invented it?).

 The Goku/Vegeta relationship is from “Legend of the Condor Heroes.”

Here’s a story you might have heard before. It’s about two rivals, but by circumstance, one is raised in the wilderness beyond civilization, where he becomes an honest and goodhearted, though overly naive bumpkin, martial arts prodigy. The other is raised a wealthy prince by a conquering enemy, who grows up to also become an armor wearing martial arts expert, but also a cunning, arrogant, emotionally distant sociopath.

The similarities go into their love lives, too. The unsophisticated bumpkin hero is betrothed to a daughter of a powerful bearded barbarian king against his will, while the one hint of vulnerability and loss of emotional detachment in the otherwise sociopathic prince, the crack in his smirky arrogance, is that he loves a girl he otherwise pretends to hate, and even fathers a child with her who becomes a main character later.

This is Guo Jing and Yang Kang from Legend of the Condor Heroes. The most fascinating similarity, and proof that female psychology is the same all over the world, is that the fangirls love the emotionally distant, arrogant, and sexy/evil prince (remember when Rhonda Rousey said her first crush was Vegeta?). Girls everywhere love bad boys and sexy villains, and oh boy, do they love Prince Yang Kang. I think you can probably guess who all the fan art is about for Legend of the Condor Heroes, and what ship is the most popular.

I have to emphasize that Legend of the Condor Heroes, which came out in the 1950s-60s, is possibly the most widely read novel by the most widely read novelist on earth - the sales on that dwarf Twilight and Harry Potter. It’s probably not an exaggeration to say nearly every Chinese person, even if they never read it, knows who these characters are. In fact, Yang Kang and Guo Jing from Condor Heroes are basically repeated over and over in Asian, Chinese, and Japanese culture. Does the unsophisticated but gifted martial arts prodigy bumpkin hero, and the glib, arrogant wealthy prince rival remind you of….another duo of rivals?

Gohan/Videl comes from Little Dragon Maiden

One of the most important and influential Martial Arts novels of all time is “Return of the Condor Heroes.” A sequel to Condor Heroes, this time, the main character is the teenage son of one of the main characters from the first novel. It gets even more familiar from there.

“Return of the Condor Heroes” was about a martial arts couple who are also master and student, the same age but vastly different in experience and skill so one somehow seems “older,” and they fall in love because the circumstances of training together requires they spend lots of time together and become intimate. The training story and the love story are exactly the same in “Return of the Condor Heroes.” The dead giveaway one story inspired the other is that in both, the most significant training sequence is one where the master teaches the student how to fly (though Return used a chamber of sparrows for lightness Kung Fu).

There are some differences of course – obviously in Return of the Condor Heroes, the genders of teacher and student are flipped from Gohan and Videl (it’s the Little Dragon Maiden who is a powerful teacher, and the boy who is the student). It was the girl (Videl) who was a rebellious delinquent in Dragon Ball Z, when it was the opposite in the novel, true. But it was obvious this story was in the back of the creator’s mind as a way to combine Kung Fu with the love story, by making teacher and student lovers.

Addendum: hey, remember that awesome movie Kung Fu Hustle, the one Hong Kong movies normies have seen? Well, remember the landlord and landlady? The landlady was named Xiao Lung Nu, or Little Dragon Maiden, and her husband was named Yang Guo – the same as the main characters in Return of the Condor Heroes. It was a joke that went over the heads of Westerners, by giving these names of attractive and naïve young people in love with each other to a surly, bitter, arguing and chain smoking middle aged couple who don’t give a damn.

 Going Super Saiyan comes from “Reincarnated” aka “Bastard Swordsman.”

Stop me if this sounds familiar: a terrifying warlord tyrant prone to killing underlings who displease him has achieved a level of skill and cultivation so tremendous nobody can stop him. But there is one, and only one, thing he fears and that can defeat him: a long-lost legendary skill that nobody has achieved in recent memory, that includes a supernatural combat power transformation that turns the hair light to indicate it worked.

This is “Silkworm Skill” from Reincarnated aka Bastard Swordsman, a novel and TV series from Hong Kong in the early 1980s. Of course, there are differences. To get the power boost and new hair color, the hero has to jump in a cocoon he weaves himself. In fact, the scene is so well known that they actually have it on the poster.

(To those saying “Super Saiyan turns your hair blonde, not white” my response is that it turns hair white, or uncolored, in the comic book.)

The idea of your hair turning white to indicate a new supernatural combat transformation or martial state wasn’t created by Bastard Swordsman, though – though it is the best example and probably the one most familiar to a 1980s audience due to the hugely popular books and TV series. For an older example, a famous Chinese movie based on a folktale is “Bride With the White Hair,” about a bride who’s hair turns white when she is betrayed, in her anger, she becomes less a woman and more a supernatural creature of vengeance (interesting that anger should be the means to unlock it).