#I also bet that they have a list 'BEEN THERE DONE THEM' and they compare it every time they meet

[iceinherheart-kissonherlips]

for anon:  I kind of wish that someone would do gif sets of the Cleopatra exchange in The Wedding of River Song and also that The Doctor just says "Down girl" when River briefly gets sidetracked by Ramone in The Husbands of River Song.  I'm pretty sure that it's an open marriage but also wonder if they are averse to either seeing or knowing about other people even when they are actually eye to eye.  I feel like there's a great discussion to be unlocked about trust between them that supersedes other people.  Of course, if this is too naughty to bring up pretend I didn't say anything :)

[rapunzellovesbooks]

The entitlement some people feel over Luke Newton´s career is baffling to me. Like, people out here saying "Oh, he has not milked the success of Bridgerton enough, his time has passed" or "He played his cards wrong" is just... wrong. Like, I get it, compared to Nicola, in the past few months, she has been much more active on social media than him, but can you actually blame him? Yall saw one picture where he was clearly uncomfortable, running away from the paparazzi and destroyed him online. Then he went on a vacation after months of press (and God knows which auditions, jobs or fittings on the side) and made it seem like he was committing a crime. Then he posts about a trip to Spain and some of you go call the hotel to check who he was with. If I were him, I would not post anything online ever again, because there is no winning, is there? He commented on one of Nicola´s post and she had to delete the awful comments people left. All because of what? A picture taken out of context with a girl who is not Nicola. News flash, people are allowed to have other people in their lives, romantically or otherwise. And to the people thinking that he did it to disentangle himself from Nicola, what drugs are you on? Like, he was holding so tight to her the night before, so excited for the premiere of Part 2, always praising her and looking at her with love in his eyes, even when no cameras were on them. I bet if people had not haunted him on social media he would have posted bts, or shared funny edits but the toxic fandom made it impossible for him to do so in real time. Because, apparently, to some people, if he had posted about Nicola while not being officially together with her, that is leading them astray. Umm, what?

And then you have the idea that he is not working. Nicola literally signed off to do Magic Faraway Tree before Part Two and has a small role in it, and the rest of her work has been in fashion. He went to fashion shows as well. Both of them are signed to Season 4 of Bridgerton and from what we have heard, they have quite a big part in it. If it took them 8 months to do their season, I can, at least, see them being there for maybe 4 or 5 months of shooting. That is work. Going to rehearsals and fittings is work. They literally get paid for that. It is astounding to me that Nicola has no future projects lined up yet, same as him, but everyone is on his ass for the same thing he has been doing for years, work in private. Now, I am a shipper, I do believe they will be together eventually, but I genuinely do not understand how that has anything to do with people trashing him for his upcoming projects. He may not have found the project he wants to do or is waiting to share info. Also, I bet you Nic or him would have shared a picture of going back to set already if some fans weren´t analysing pixels on screens.

I do feel like there is a double standard here, because if Nicola had done the same, gone on vacation or been photographed with a random guy, everyone would have been like "Good for her, etc.". She gets on the Top 100 List for, honestly, being more present online with the work she does, but there are so many people who do great work who are not and will never be on that list. If Luke had gotten on it, some people would be so mad at him, I just know it.

I just miss them together and I have to blame the toxic fans for not seeing them together anymore. I do not doubt they have been in contact since, I mean, this whole ordeal happened because we are so obsessed with their connection, they must have talked about that infamous day, but also, I think some fans are creating stories of them not talking or growing apart that are just hurtful. Even before the world tour, they did not see each other every day, they do not have to speak every day for them to have a great bond. They simply cannot share it online anymore or, at least he can´t, because people over dissect every thing, even if it is just a smiley. Taylor Swift was framed with the whole Kanye thing years ago and she disappeared for a year. She was still doing stuff and seeing friends but we just never knew about it. And I get it.

It hurts me so much to see a genuinely nice and kind guy who did an amazing job as Colin get so many negative comments over nothing. Every time Nic does something, people throw it directly in his face. Oh, he was not at the Emmys. Oh, he was not at a fashion show. Maybe he does not want to be?! Maybe he couldn´t? Does Zendaya have to be everywhere with Tom Holland? Like, what?!

#lukola #nicluke #lukenewton #nicolacoughlan

[maybe-boys-do-love]

The On1y One Loves School

Maybe it's a cultural thing, maybe it's the nerd angle, but The On1y One depicts my high school experiences with so much more accuracy (excluding one kidnapping that I think we can all collectively choose to ignore) than any other show I've seen. We got a field day episode, but we haven't attended one sports event. The one party we saw was the group going out to dinner together. Riverdale this is not.

The show really understands the perspectives and emotions of these bright students. In the first episode, there's an extended sequence observing the students while they take an exam. They could've played it to show Sheng Wang making faces or talking to himself as he struggled through it. Instead we pan across the room while the gentle guitar music plays. For these kids, there's comfort in the routines of school, especially for our lead couple who've struggled so much with their home life. We get so many scenes about studying and comparing answers, teasing each other with poetic structures.

But, despite their commonality as top students, they're still incredibly realistic teenagers, and a diverse group of personalities, at that. There are clowns, class president types, popular kids, loners. Even with those differences, episode 9 with its field day demonstrated the comradery that forms amongst a class, which was make-shift and oriented more toward their teachers than comparing themselves to their peers.

The teachers and the students' relationship to them also receives the same attention to detail. In high school, students, in my experience, have dynamics that are closer and more playful with their teachers. The back-and-forth about the Class A shirts and the bet felt true-to-life. As a former teacher, the depictions of the teachers throughout the series have also been spot-on. They have different teaching approaches, different ways of relating and showing care to students, and they don't all see each other that often. If Jenny had simply received a letter from Qi Jia's parents criticizing her (instead of, you know, getting kidnapped at knife-point and then going back to field day like it happens all the time), the list of doubts about her methods would be the same as those that go through teachers' minds all the time.

I sincerely wonder if the writer, either of the novels, or someone involved with the development of the show was formerly a teacher? The show sees the school and the people in it with such detail. The reason we don't need something big (like, say, an armed kidnapping) is because the intense teenage emotions heighten all the everyday moments. Qi Jia's confusion and breakdown about belonging, Jian Tiang's 'very moments' and poetic narration, Sheng Wang's affronted attitude toward his dad: these are teenagers overwhelmed by their hormones and trying their best to make sense of everything. But the show almost always (minus a certain event that I'm done naming) observes them from an affectionate distance, refusing to turn the drama of their minds into a dramatic narrative. Instead, we get a tender view of pencil boxes, forms, studying strategies, phone notifications, or mugs on teacher's desks: the mundane highs and lows in high school infused with secret feelings that made us all feel insane.

[diorsluv]

feather , part 4

“ when it’s on a platter for you ”

series m. list previous chapter next chapter

( socialmedia!au )

yourusername

liked by lhughes_06, _alexturcotte, trevorzegras, and 29,377 others

yourusername TELL ME I ATE IT UP 🥱

view all comments

username27 OH MY GODDDDD I THINK I’M IN LOVE

mackie.samo where’s my photo creds.

→ yourusername oops

jamie.drysdale is that the necklace i got you for your birthday?

→ yourusername it is 🙄🙄

→ trevorzegras aka the necklace I SUGGESTED

→ jamie.drysdale yeah yeah we get it 🫤 trevorzegras

username13 good genes run in the goddamn family

username5 I JUST WANT ONE CHANCE. JUST. ONE. CHANCE.

lhughes_06 woah

→ markestapa bro’s in love

→ lhughes_06 hold ur horses bro

→ edwards.73 HOLD UR HORSES??? mans in fucking texas ��😂😂

→ yourusername okay everyone needs to stop using that emoji right now

→ luca.fantilli and she just completely ignores the first reply

→ lhughes_06 what first reply? luca.fantilli

→ yourusername fr what he said!! idk what “first reply” ur talking abt luca.fantilli !!!!!

username88 the umich replies are always so weird 😭😭

colecaufield lil drizz is growing upppp

→ yourusername i should just give up shouldn’t i

→ trevorzegras you’re never living the nickname down 😁

adamfantilli THOSE ARE THE RINGS I GAVE YOU FOR CHRISTMAS LAST YEAR

→ yourusername THEY ARE ☺️☺️

→ jamie.drysdale okay so are you just wearing everyone’s jewelry..

→ yourusername yes do you have a problem???

→ jamie.drysdale no…….

→ adamfantilli how’d i get roped into family drama

yourusername

liked by mackie.samo, jackhughes, jamie.drysdale and 50,736 others

yourusername mackie stole me from my quality hughes time and dragged me to quality samoskevich time

tagged: mackie.samo, msamoskevich, maddysamo

view all comments

lhughes_06 petition to bring her back to where she belongs (WITH US)

→ jackhughes SIGNING ALL THE DAMN LINES ✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️

→ _quinnhughes BRING HER BACK.

→ yourusername thought u hated me quinny

→ _quinnhughes i’d rather have you here than with……….... THEM. 😒

→ mackie.samo i’d say she likes it better being here with us 😤

→ msamoskevich yeah, WE didn’t post bad pictures of her on our public instas

→ maddysamo and we didn’t almost drown her in a lake either

→ jackhughes this means war. mackie.samo maddysamo msamoskevich

→ yourusername wait WHAT

username91 oh god

username7 HUGHES VS SAMOS PLACE YOUR BETS HERE

username10 personally i think the hughes bros are gonna win

username64 she’s always had a soft spot for mackie so i think samos might win ngl

luca.fantilli LIL DRIZZLE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

→ yourusername I DIDN’T THINK THEY WERE GONNA FUCKING FIGHT OVER ME

adamfantilli CAN I BE THE REFEREE

→ lhughes_06 this is WAR not a silly little GAME 🤬🤬🤬

trevorzegras what the hell is happening

→ jamie.drysdale luke and mack are fighting over my sister

→ yourusername THAT’S NOT WHAT’S GOING ON jamie.drysdale

→ trevorzegras LIL DRIZZY DID YOU JUST PIT TWO FAMILIES AGAINST EACH OTHER

→ yourusername i’ve officially given up

username57 THE WAR HAS COME

maddysamo

liked by yourusername, trevorzegras, colecaufield, and 30,007 others

maddysamo us on summer vacation in 2022 because SHE LOVES US MORE

tagged: yourusername

view all comments

yourusername oh my goddd LAST SUMMER WAS SO FUN i wish i could go back 😕😕

_quinnhughes oh please this is weak compared to ours

jackhughes c’mon you can do better than that

msamoskevich i’ve never seen her so happy 😊

→ lhughes_06 clearly you haven’t seen her when she’s on vacation with us

comments on this post have been limited

jackhughes

liked by yourusername, adamfantilli, _quinnhughes, and 56,512 others

jackhughes spring break in korea 2021 when she BEGGED us to let her come with

tagged: yourusername

view all comments

yourusername UM HELLO??? you guys are digging in the ARCHIVES for these photos 😦

yourusername and also i didn’t beg you, it was actually the other way around……….. don’t spread rumors rowdy 🙄🙄

mackie.samo when the fuck did you go to korea????

→ _quinnhughes in spring break 2021 keep up

maddysamo oh so YOU haven’t been on a recent vacation with her like we have, i see i see

comments on this post have been limited

mackie.samo

liked by edwards.73, markestapa, yourusername, and 62,628 others

mackie.samo since jack wanted to be all nostalgic, here’s a couple photos from 2020 🙄

tagged: yourusername

view all comments

jackhughes were subways even open in 2020??

→ msamoskevich no shit 🙄🙄 we wouldn’t have been able to even get these photos if they weren’t

yourusername I FORGOT ABOUT THESE PICS WHAT THE HELLLLL

lhughes_06 doesn’t matter bc she was at our house almost every day when covid hit

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lhughes_06

liked by _alexturcotte, yourusername, jamie.drysdale, and 78,280 others

lhughes_06 more korea pics bc lil drizzy was lookin dripped out

tagged: yourusername

view all comments

markestapa bro does NOT sound like he cares about the ongoing war

yourusername luke sweetie..

→ lhughes_06 yes? ☺️

mackie.samo stop taking pics from the same vacation you’re looking DESPERATE 🥱🥱

comments on this post have been limited

maddysamo

liked by yourusername, dylanduke25, colecaufield, and 63,412 others

maddysamo look at my cutie 🥰

tagged: yourusername

view all comments

yourusername STOP ITTTT I LOVE U

_quinnhughes when did it turn into them flirting

jackhughes i hear a certain someone getting jealous

→ lhughes_06 really who is it????

msamoskevich I TOOK THOSE PHOTOS (creds: me 2023)

mackie.samo barely heard a PEEP from moosey poo

→ lhughes_06 istg u better not call me that ever again

comments on this post have been limited

lhughes_06

liked by yourusername, luca.fantilli, trevorzegras, and 85,680 others

lhughes_06 some pictures i snapped out in the city the night before my draft day

tagged: yourusername

view all comments

yourusername LUKE STOP IT RN. ur making me tear up 😭

→ lhughes_06 miss those days

maddysamo THIS IS EMOTIONAL BARGAINING THIS CAN’T COUNT

→ jackhughes wtf is “emotional bargaining”

msamoskevich WE WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS INJUSTICE

comments on this post have been limited

mackie.samo

liked by jamie.drysdale, rutgermcgroarty, luca.fantilli, and 79,006 others

mackie.samo last post, her when we took her out for her birthday last year AND HER WHOLE OUTFIT WAS CLOTHES I BOUGHT HER

tagged: yourusername

view all comments

yourusername best birthday i could’ve ever asked for 🫶

→ maddysamo NO STOP ITTTTT

_quinnhughes WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL YOUR BIRTHDAYS AT THE LAKE HOUSE??

→ yourusername YOU ALMOST KILLED ME EVERY SINGLE TIME

→ jackhughes u set a girl’s dress on fire once ON ACCIDENT and u never live it down 😔

comments on this post have been limited

next chapter notes ) THIS WAS ACTUALLY SO FUCKING FUN TO MAKE AND THE FEUD WAS SO CUTE not giving an actual winner tho so u guys can decide 😈 this is also like the longest one i’ve ever done (obviously) AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH but i think i’m gonna stick to two-ish posts per chapter…….

[peacocks-pantomime]

In an empty theatre, teardrops echo like the sound of applause.

All I do is lay down a bet~ It’s out of my control if my opponent decides to lay down their life, isn’t it?

After the chaos, not much was left of Sigonia-IV, yet there were two malnourished children-- Kakavasha and his Big Sis, nearly perishing from the elements on the ruined planet.

One day, there was finally salvation in the form of a light-- a light, and a beautiful woman dressed in elegant clothing peering down at them under a wide-brimmed hat.

She told them that they would be safe, that they could trust her-- and what other option did they have? She looked so different, and seemed so kind compared to the others that have mistreated them... Big Sis had been willing to give her a chance.

And so, Kakavasha was whisked away to another world, offered clean clothes and a room of his own. He fell asleep immediately, curling up on the soft carpet of the floor.

When he awoke, his Big Sis wasn't there. But they said she would be. They told him she would be. So he wanders through the strange building against his better judgement.

It wasn't long before he heard muffled words coming from the ajar door of a bright room. He snuck over to peek into the room and he saw people dressed in simplistic black clothing, taking notes on some sort of devices and huddled around a bed.

And on the bed lay the body of his dead sister. But those people would never acknowledge her as such; to them she was only an experiment. One of the last Sigonians of the Avgin race, a miraculous discovery. And they weren't going to tell him. They were going to hide it from him.

Blinded by the emotions swirling around inside of him, Kakavasha threw himself through the doorway, grabbing the first sharp tool in sight, and ended the lives of all the professionals in that wretched room one by one.

He'd cried the whole time. He couldn't identify the emotion the tears stemmed from-- whether from sadness at the loss of his sister, or from the rage burning bright-- but as the boy stood there, he dropped his weapon, wrapping his arms around himself in horror...

He didn't feel guilty for what he'd done.

That sort of control-- the ability to watch the life of another mortal slip away between his fingers and know that he was the cause...

It was empowering.

Notes from the moderator:

~ Mod also runs the @aventurine-official rp account, so the format is her own and is not plagiarized :)

~ Art (2nd top picture and pfp) and concept credit goes to @day-night-darlix! Their original post is here

~ This Aventurine exists in the same universe as @the-truth-of-nothingness

A famous musical artist and actor, known for masking his true self.

Roams around Penacony but travels the cosmos to perform

Is quite sadistic and will bet others on their life-- resulting in their death, because he never loses.

Longs to destroy the IPC as vengeance for the lies and betrayal from which his sister suffered

The glistening teardrop hanging around his neck allows him to mesmerize others with a glance, if he so wishes-- the glow of his eyes is interconnected

(I might add more details later, or link a headcanon post!)

Guidelines:

~ Keep the asks sfw if you please, suggestive is okay!

~ No random links in asks unless they are links to other Tumblr posts (if they are there, please specify what they are)

~ Be kind, please. Any hateful comments related but not limited to racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, ageism and transphobia will not be tolerated here and you may be blocked.

~ All ships (age-appropriate) are welcome. (I personally believe Aventurine is gay as hell, so he will have a noticeable interest in men versus women).

~ Try to avoid sending DMs to the mod unless you are another mod

~ Anons are more than welcome here! You may have a personalized tag and everything :)

List of current anon signoffs here

Key (if applicable):

" " : for dialogue

* * : for movements

( ) : ooc

Tags:

#ace of spades ♠️ : Art reblogs

#the flip of a coin 🪙 : Random thoughts and calm moments

#trump card 🃏 : Asks from anons and others

#life on the line 🎲 : Interactions with Honkai Star Rail blogs

#melancholy theatre 🎭 : Interactions with other members of the Masked Fools

#a warning spark 🎆 : Interactions with /mentions of Flare (a lovely mutual’s oc!)

#dear doctor 🍷 : Interactions with / mentions of the Veritas Ratio in his universe

Masterlist post of Honkai Star Rail-official blogs linked here

[purplesurveys]

1959

Were you alone today? Not at all. I was with my teammates and was with them the last 4 days – we went to Japan together as our incentive for reaching our 2024 targets. The only 'me time' I got was when I was able to make time to go to a museum last night but otherwise we were pretty much tied together at the wrists the whole trip.

Who was the last person you saw today? Last so far was my sister when I played with Max a few minutes ago. She'll probably also be the last one for today as I'll sleep after this.

What do you need to let go of? My job, haha. I'm getting increasingly annoyed with people and can't keep faking it anymore as it's also not fair to them. I've come to terms with the fact that I've outgrown everyone save for a very select few and it's just not healthy for both sides.

What movie are you looking forward to? I caught the trailer for Elio when I was at the cinema to watch Mufasa, and I honestly found it intriguing! I'd love to watch it since it happens to be about outer space which I find fascinating.

Have you played the lottery? Not the lottery but I've done gambling in other ways lol like bingo.

What recently happened that made you proud of yourself? Spent most of the Japan trip with my teammates even though I initially vowed to myself that I was going to separate myself and enjoy the trip on my own.

In other words, I'm proud that I sucked it up and put on a happy face for the sake of everyone. I know this probably isn't the cheery answer you're looking for, but it is what it is.

Who did you see the most today? My teammates.

How much is gasoline per gallon? No clue. I just decide the amount I pay, haha.

What was your horoscope today? Was it accurate? I don't believe in that.

What are you most afraid of? Getting into a dangerous, helpless situation like being robbed at knifepoint, facing an inevitable plane crash, getting cornered by drunk men... extremes like that, basically.

What’s the biggest thing you have going on? Uh probably my career crisis if anything.

What did you accomplish today? Didn't lose my passport!

Did you act your age today? I could've been more grown-up, lmao. I'm still scared of airports so I had moments where I had the younger girls lead the way today, but that's better than betting on myself and missing the flight LOL

How busy was your day today? It was our last day in Japan today so it was relatively chiller compared to the last 3 days where we had jampacked itineraries. So it was a quieter day but it definitely felt long, as it always is when you have a day at the airport.

Drew, Dev, and I had breakfast at 9; after an hour we walked to the city center where we did our last round of shopping, got back to the hotel by 12 to meet everyone else and to make our way to the airport...and 1 to 8 PM was basically airport/airplane time.

What is your address? Why would you ask that?

What do you wish there was less of in the world? WORK

What is stopping you? Myself.

What were your chores today? Pack and unpack, pretty much.

What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud? Idk probably something Drew said earlier.

Who did you eat dinner with? Just myself, unless you count my rowmates on the plane.

How did you make a difference in the world today? I held the door open for several complete strangers.

What is one thing you take with you everywhere? Phone.

The last gift I’ve given was __. I bought so much pasalubong for my family and I don't feel like listing it down cos it's A LOT a lot, lol.

Ever wake up early on Saturdays to go Garage Sale shopping? No.

When was the last time you got a nose bleed? My nose has never bled.

Do you have any picture frames without a picture in them? Nope.

Do you keep magazines by your toilet? We don't.

What did you last take a picture of with your camera? My view at the plane when the people started standing up and getting their stupid bags when we had barely parked. I hate Filipinos lmaaaaoooo

The last time you got dressed up, where did you go? That was this morning - we just went to the nearby shopping district.

Are you proud of who you are? Yes.

If you were a waiter/waitress, would you make good tips? I would if I were with easygoing customers as I can be super friendly and extroverted whenever I need to.

I don't exert the same amount of energy for entitled people, though, so I'll probably be on their shitlist if they act up cause I don't think I'd be doing anything to resolve whatever issue they have.

Forget about toppings. What type of CRUST do you like on pizzas? Stuffed. Pizza Hut makes a mean cheese-stuffed crust and it's the only crust I look for.

Have you ever stolen a road sign or traffic barrier? No, I have literally no use for one.

Captain Crunch vs. Count Chocula: Who makes the better cereal? Never tried either.

Would you prefer an ice cream sundae or an ice cream cone? Cone.

Is chapstick a necessity for you? Sure.

Do you like to have ice in your drinks? Yes.

What did you eat for breakfast? Hokkaido mozzarella and sage sandwich at Bills. Basically...glorified and overpriced grilled cheese. Hahaha. It was yummy, though!

What song are you most likely to sing in the shower? A BTS or BTS-adjacent song. I only hum softly, though.

Can you cross your eyes? Sure. I never do it unless asked, though, since it's very uncomfy.

When was the last time you went to the dentist? Around two weeks ago.

If a color represented your mood right now what color would it be and why? Probably something like a soft, pastel shade between green and blue. I feel quite calm and for some reason my mental goal to not be disturbed about the thought of going back to work tomorrow is working.

[halliescomut]

LITA (jpn) Episode 2 Feelings

Okay, so I did not go back to review the timeline so I could figure out how it compares to the og, instead I simply went and read a recap/review, but I'm pretty sure the the happenings in episode two of both versions are basically identical as far as the Arashi/Rei storyline.

Brief break to include my character note sheet, and also to mention since they have changed the name, assume if I say Phayu/Rain/etc I'm talking about the characters as a the canon characters or the Thai version. If I say Arashi/Rei/etc. it is specific to the Japanese adaptation. I know it's vaguely confusing, but I hope that makes it clearer. I'm sorry.

We do see the scene with Stop (idk if he's been given a new name for this adaptation) boasting at the restaurant switched/moved forward so that it occurs while Arashi is out having a drink with Fuma. Plotwise, I'm not sure how much it matters. I did like that Phayu was never really interested in the racing aspect in general, he was a mechanic and that was fine. The fact that he was good at racing was vaguely irrelevant. Here we see though that Arashi is a mechanic still, but he also races with some level of regularity, and so him dipping out because of Rei has a bit more consequence, presumably because these are underground races and the BIG BOSS that's putting them on is making money in various ways like betting, which means this switch could result in a lost race and lost money for BIG BOSS. Arashi doesn't seem to care overly about the race, it does feel more like a responsibility thing versus a desire to win like we see with Fuma. (Small detour here to say that this version of Payu & Prapai also definitely hooked up pre-finding their soulmates. What is this chemistry??)

So the major plot points for this episode for me personally are the confrontation at the school, the 'sneaking into' the race (which we've partly already seen) and the race aftermath with the spanking and Rain/Rei kissing Phayu/Arashi. In the og we do get some referral to Sky's ex, him being the one that is familiar with the races and getting the info for Rain, but here it's a bit different. I still am not really sure how I feel about that change.

But to the first kind of BIG plot point, there's some changes, instead of dragging him to a bathroom and into a stall , they go to Phayu's car. The conversation there is pretty word for word based on my memory, but truly that scene is ALL about the physical acting and the tension presented by the actors. Is it as good as the original? I have to say no. Truly the bathroom scene as done by Boss and Noeul is one of the most sexually expressive without being explicit that I've ever seen, and it's actually wild to me that more people don't talk about it when they talk about their onscreen chemistry. That's not to say it's poorly done here, I think it is effective, but just not quite at the same level. Even though in this case they do give that time and space for the anticipation to build...it's kind of has a ceiling.

I'm gonna veer off for a minute to add some context to my thoughts here and then we'll circle back around. Payu and Rain have a very clearly understood and portrayed D/s dynamic. It's pretty explicit in all of Mame's couples early on. I do think it peters off after LITA, but it's very clear in TT, DSN, and LITA. It's always presented as pretty organic/inherent in the characters, not the preplanned, 80 page contract way of 50 Shades of Grey. There's pros and cons to this. IRL anyone engaging in the BDSM scene safely will do so with very clearly articulated and understood boundaries. Maybe not an extensive itemized list of hard and soft limits (though those are a good place to start) but at least conversations. But that's not interesting viewing to most people. And there are certainly many couples who engage in D/s relationships in a more organic way without that heavy structure. There are also many people who are the people they are (specifically speaking about being Dominant or submissive here) who will simply gravitate towards a person that complements that. This is true in romantic/sexual relationships as well as platonic ones. In LITA, you see it with Rain and Sky. Rain has a very submissive personality, him being a brat aside, and you see him gravitate towards Phayu but ALSO Sky, who also has the ability to be Dominant with Rain and a submissive finds that comforting. That ethereal feeling of structure that you have when you are submissive and have Dominant people around you is very comforting, and its often very unconscious. You are not thinking, at least not in any structured way, this all kind of hind brain stuff. It's integral to you as a person, and so doesn't require any complex thought. Now back to my point--

In the bathroom scene with Rain and Phayu, you see Rain go basically mindless. It feels to me almost like Rain entering subspace, but of course he has no reference for what that is. Like there are NO COHERENT thoughts happening in there. And this scene with Rei and Arashi...it's close...but you can still feel the wheels turning in Rei's mind. Now if they weren't going to lean into that D/s dynamic as much as we've seen before, then that would be fine, but they do still lean into it. It just makes the scene just a smidge less effective emotionally in my opinion, I think the major themes and ideas being presented are still there, it's just not S-tier. Like we're talking Boss/Noeul get an A plus, and the adaptation gets an A-.

And with that we'll move onto the second scene which is the spanking. I think this one is kind of equal- one to one with the og. The Dominance from Payu/Arashi, the reaction from Rain/Rei where's he's finally understanding the danger he put himself in. Like there's jokes about how dumb Rain is, and I don't think he really is dumb. I think he's someone who hasn't really had to consider darker aspects of life. It's that naivety of the ingenue like I talked about in my ep one discussion. But in addition to that naivety, he is still a brat, he's very rash, occasionally thoughtless. He does not look before he leaps, and while in some aspects that can be an admirable trait, it's what makes his next moves make sense (we'll get there in a minute) it also has the potential to be dangerous. That potential danger is what Arashi sees. The fox knows what dangers lurk for the rabbit. And already Arashi is so enamored with Rei, that he has to give him that hardline, to understand that one of the things that simply can not be tolerated is him putting his life in danger. I think the scene reads almost as silly, if you don't have the perspective to understand the subtext that makes it impactful, but I do think its pretty subtly acted.

Now onto that last little bit, which is Rei kissing Arashi and 'threatening' to make him fall in love with him. Now if you don't know the full story from the og version/novel, spoilers for this next bit. But Arashi is kind of behind some of the 'meet cute' things that happen, specifically Rei's car breaking down outside the restaurant. And he does this because he wants to get to know Rei. He's been interested in him for a while. His intention is to basically get himself in front of him often enough to woo him, but this moment is not part of the plan and it's why Arashi finds it so amusing. He's happy to let Rei take on the work of wooing him, because he's confident already that Rei is physically attracted....kind of confirmed with the whole 'wow you're handsome' comment, and Rei's physical *wags eyebrows* reaction to Arashi in his car...so allowing him to put in work means that Arashi doesn't have to keep finding excuses to see Rei. The most I think telling thing is how Arashi responds. He says "I'll be waiting". He is basically daring Rei, because he's observed him enough to know that Rei really struggles to back down from a challenge, even one he's likely to lose. It's that rashness, and that kind of spark, that willful singlemindedness, that makes him confident that Rei will actively work to woo him if he makes it a challenge.

Also vaguely irrelevant in the long run, but I think who they've kind of copied the wardrobe choices from the og to the adaptation is both fun and a little weird. Like, I will campaign forever about how important wardrobe is to establishing a character...but like....you don't have to do direct outfit copies like it seems like they tried to do. Like it just feels like a lot of effort, but it is kind of fun.

[mouse-fantoms]

Questions for fic writers!

I saw @gay-flyboys do this and I wanted to join so- here I am

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

19! I just have ✨ideas✨

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

Apparently just over 69, 800 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

So on my Ao3 is Jatp and then I have a Wattpad (my user on there is Mouse0415) (I’ve had it since I was 13 it’s just grown up with me as I write) where I write for Miraculous Ladybug

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

(These are linked in my master list that’s pinned on my blog)

1. Easier Than Speaking (What if Flynn didn’t find out about Nick asking out Julie until after school? What if she came into Julie’s room just started going on and on about it? Julie is just trying to get her to be quiet because there happens to be a certain ghost present in the room. Luke also finds out about Perfect Harmony?)

2. Improvise (Essentially Luke asks Reggie for help to learn piano bc he hears Julie humming Perfect Harmony)

3. Right Where I Need To Be (Jatp Camp Rock AU)

4. Reggie’s Magic (Julie has a crisis bc Reggie styles Luke hair and it just so happens to look like his perfect harmony hair)

5. The Discovery (A way Ray finds out about the boys)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! I’m normally active right away when I first publish a fic bc I wanna see reactions to it 👀 I just imagine the person who writes the comment is like “I bet they’ll never see this” but responding to them I’m saying “yes! I see and appreciate your comment that you left 🥺”

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don’t write a lot of angst endings but I guess the one that comes closest is “An Opening Scene” (which is my version of how an opening scene to a new Jatp season would be)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Basically like all the fics I’ve wrote 😂

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Luckily no one has! People have just always been genuinely kind and positive with their comments and kudos/votes with what I write 🥺

9. Do you write smut ? If so, what kind?

Personally I don’t, I may imply things but I only ever leave it at I just leave those to your imagination if you will 💀

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one who’ve written?

I’ve done a few fics that have songs incorporated in them that’s the most like “crossovers” I’ve done

11. Have you had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Once again not to my knowledge

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not but the idea is exciting to think about!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Out of the ones I write for 👀 (if this was an overall list of my ships we’d be here forever)

Juke & Ladynoir they’re just so 😭🤌 you can do so much with them it’s just beautiful

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The WIP I’ve had for the LONGEST TIME is one where I had this idea for like a Willex date but it turns into like Juke date too so it’s double date kind of thing, this is the lil note I have in the document for it that’s to myself so I don’t forget what it’s about,

It’s just been a WIP for so long at this point 😭

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to say that “I think in dialogue” when it comes to writing bc whenever I’m writing anything in my head, the dialogue is more prominent than the imagery in my brain. To me, it’s easier to hear how characters interact with one another in my head compared to what’s happening visually.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

To me, it’s hard to do description and not just make it a giant wall of text bc in books when I see that I find it distracting at times if it’s just like description over and over again, it does depend on the wording and if it’s “boring” or not. I just don’t want to make scenes that feel boring, I want to keep the reader invested.

It’s hard for me to fully translate what’s in my head into visual words

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I’m not against it I just haven’t done it all too often

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I was in 7th grade, became obsessed with Miraculous Ladybug, had already written like 3 fics on paper (most during class) but I decided that wasn’t enough and sought out like fics online and discovered wattpad which is when I had the thought “I wonder if someone has already written this thing that I want to read?” And no one had in the specific way I wanted to read about so I wrote it myself… …when I was like 13… …so it’s not great and I cringe a lot when I look back at it but I still maintain that book to this day :) it’s a nice lil time capsule of like how my writing has involved and I continue to have ideas for it

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

“Right Where I Need To Be” (my Jatp Camp Rock AU) has a special place in my heart bc it basically was the first multi-chapter fic I’ve ever done especially for Jatp. I just had such a fun time with the AU and all the dynamics there were to be made. The comment reactions were so fun to get and I looked forward to reading them whenever I published a new part! (it do still be on hiatus 💀 I haven’t forgotten about it! It’s just life gets in the way but I have some parts written for the like “part 2” of it I just want them to be more put together before I release them)

I do also have a couple one shots I made for Miraculous that I look back on and I’m like “oh that’s a good one 🥰”

[cinamun]

One last thing since we’re comparing Indya and Darren to Jerri and Gabby,

If you would’ve asked me or really anyone at the beginning of this story if Indya would ever have get married AND have children I bet you everyone, even Indya herself would have said hell no. Look how wrong we would’ve been! Indya struggles a lot but she is SMASHING this motherhood shit. Her oldest owns a freaking PR firm and is marrying not only the love of her life who is a DAMN GOOD MAN but also the ONLY guy she’s given cheeks to which is the exact opposite of her momma and INDYA is who taught her to value her body and mind above all. She bought her first house fresh out of college, has bestselling books, the list goes on. The twins may be getting into trouble but what teens weren’t? Dira already knows her worth is more than being sexually available to anyone that asks for it from what we saw at prom I know that’s got to be hard for a girl her age just like it was hard for Hope, DJ flew to his sisters side as soon as he heard her in distress. He could’ve easily been embarrassed and distanced himself from the situation. Anyway, Indya relapsed MULTIPLE times. Her nights used to consist of dangerously mixing pills, cough syrup, and wine. Darren used to beat Indya’s ass so he wasn’t man of the year either, but look at him now. The first thing they said when they decided to have Hope was that they would NEVER let her go through what they did because they know what that stuff does to kids first hand. Why do you think her name is Hope?? They give their children everything and STILL check them for privilege and make sure they stay grounded. They aren’t perfect and they’re still learning but if they can grow and change from their bullshit, why can’t Jerri? Also, hello? What about Gabby??? She has been trying to sow goodness into Jerri since the day she met her so how do we know she hasn’t been nurturing Jerri’s broken spirit the way Indya and Darren did for each other?? Some people take longer to want to grow from their trauma and move on from their past, some people never have that realization but who are we to decide that for them?

Oooooo, putting down people that don’t have it as good as other people (especially black people) is one of the fastest ways to grind my gears to dust. I’m done now 😂 still no hate to Nonny! Just some education is really needed.

The way you broke this down is making me emotional istg...

I KNOW ITS LONG BUT read it all to really grasp these characters y'all. Especially YOU nonnyface.

[fail-boy]

okok i did the playlists...i hope it sends bc i know tumblr gets weird with links

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUljoUDIIcPQogdOE124yj6sGb2WzrvSX&si=bQWn-xASUqMr6oJZ (video essay playlist, it hasnt been updated in a bit besides the couple i added on just now, but it's the ones ive watched more than once. ill definitely be adding onto it over time!!)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZoTzZJYiXF3UwDmPEQnGO?si=Og-Yhho6SE2NUIxeWJt-MA&pi=u-GGePLzyXQOe6 (playlist !!!!!! it was only gonna be a couple but. now it's eight hours...)

im very normal and not thinking about your lap still (it's been plaguing me for days), and i also did Not (i did) consider that you'd look rlly hot smoking while i was there 😔 ive never smoked before but i kinda wanna try it with you 🫣 id rather try edibles though first bc of those thc(?) nerds ropes!!!! they were my favorite candy growing up :3333

weeee okok ill try to catch up with dnp....thank you for the suggestion :3

my faaaavorite musical is falsettos (and in trousers which is like the prequel to it!), and i also really love ride the cyclone!!!!! the character jane doe is my favorite :] if you ever have the time i recommend ride the cyclone, it's an hour long (compared to falsettos being two hours long...) n really fun !! you can find it on youtube :3 (i also like bmc, i like to reenact bits and pieces of it as michael when im bored !!!!)

hereditary !!!!!!!!!! i absolutely love hereditary ive only seen it once but aaaaugh....peter is my favorite character n i care about him a lot :[ i tried watching saw but i got sad bc i was worried adam was gonna die and i immediately got attached to him lol, but i wanna try again !!!!! everyone talks about it so much i gottaaaaa, ill be brave 😤😤

i hope you're doing good today :33333 sending you all my love and good vibes for your cornflakes !!!!!!!!

- 🫀🦷

hey sugar! it's so lovely to hear from you again <3

fuck yeah! i gave it a look through and ive seen a couple and some are new to me! im definitely gonna watch some tonight while me and my gf have the house to ourselves <3

ooooooh thanks cutie!!! im very excited to give this a listen as well! you have good taste pup i like lots of these songs <3

sweet thing <3 i want you in my lap more than anything, wanna cuddle you and kiss you and hold you while you try and be good for me <3 id love to smoke with you! that would be a lot of fun, we can start you with little joints and blunts and then build up to pipes and bongs :p i bet youd look gorgeous hitting a bong and getting all stoned <3

hell yeah! i rly hope you enjoy their videos, they're so good <3

oh yes ive heard of that! very good taste bb! ill try and check them both out this week, i have lots of time to myself! god ur really fucking adorable sugar id love to watch you sing your lil heart out

yippee!!! i have two hereditary tattoos; charlie's pigeon drawing in her notebook, and the little sigil that pops up everywhere (like on the grandma's necklace) <3 peter is my fave he's such a good relatable character! awww sugar thats so real of you, i wish i could watch it with you so i could hold you and keep you safe! maybe watch it with your partner and they can snuggle you while you watch it and keep u cozy and safe! its a really really good movie i think youll enjoy it!! adam is the scrunkly

my day was pretty good! busy as hell but im almost done for the day, just need to order dinner and eat <3 thank u sugar im sending good vibes right back and kisses and hugs <3

[thesugarhole]

so i think it was saturday i had a free two hours or so and since i was done with 2kki updates then (i know i saw dont mention it im waiting it out till the end of the week) i thought hey lets finally go finish dd2, i left the campaign right outside the 5th mountain

so i go in there and have a much easier time because i remember the gimmicks, and i reach the hateful god. and i painstakingly whittle down the hp from 999 to about 100 without once getting face your failures. and im like hey! what gives! did not dawn on me once that maybe i had to kill those two babies at the same time first.... and im still not sure if that was what didnt trigger it because when i finally got a ghost it only took up one slot since hateful god is strictly in the middle. but well, its nice to know for the future runs. so i defeated them! (me?)

the ending cinematic is alright but i think the one from the first game impacted me more. i think, might be rose tinted glasses, havent gone back and compared. ~85 hours total, first game i think was ~92 hours before i went into dlc and achievement hunting

so here comes the real meat of dd2, which is completionism and achievos. i highly doubt ill be able to unlock every single item thats not bought at the altar of hope, but theres nothing really quantifying them anyway so im not that bothered by it.

first achievo i want to get after completing the game is defeat death, since ive only ever seen her in the flashback. so i go at it in denial since its one of the shortest chapters, and as im reaching the brain, having gone to every single fight possible, im thinking mhm. what are the actual chances of getting her? 6%. bad idea to have started with this one, and i only got to 1 shrine too for the characters i havent finished the stories yet, so this run might have been a waste.

the very last battle, before the inn before the mountain, she shows up so yay! i got good luck. and of course, promptly got her ass kicked, so i unlocked the chievo. teehee

forgot to party wipe to denial so im gonna have to do it one more time with that in mind. also, i think this was the first run i was able to complete with a hard difficulty flame on (the very first on the list, i think infernal?, im currently in the process of unlocking stuff by 1 cheapest / 2 useful) and i wasnt trying very hard, so maybe ive finally gotten decent at the current mechanics.

i decided to look at what i hadnt gotten yet and make a list from easiest to hardest so i dont risk like, going for the worst thing first while disregarding easy wins. after that, my next run my goals were:

master 5 skills in one hero: fairly easy in a fuck-it run. surprised i never did it before i finished the game, even. i guess i distributed mastery points as evenly as possible.

heal disease, remove negative quirk, lock positive quirk: it was at the top for easiest, but a lack of money and lack of disease getting could make the going tough. at the first inn, i got a slime mold: it has 5% chance of giving a disease. i thought hmm... i never got a disease from this thing though. oh well theres no more food so eat up occultist. (he gets a disease) :)! and i had an hospital scouted right away, so this one was easy peasy

defeat a lair boss (killing blow) with the bounty hunter: his poster also showed up right away, so i replaced him with the jester and went.... to the tangle. yeahp. was actually very easy because i took zero chances: everyone either buff up teammates, attack the roots or move around. bh is the only one damaging the general (save a starting move or two from highwayman/occultist). surprised very few people have this one, but id bet its hard to unlock naturally.

defeat 3 lair bosses in one run: i was aiming for this one too but then i realized the first confession only gives me two regions. oops.

hero shrines: wip. currently trying to finish alhazreds. otherwise my team is *my* usual suspects (V, J, HWM, FreeSpace).

party wipe to all confession bosses: wip. im with the lungs denial again atm but still at the start of the run because i wasnt able to touch the game since.

i guess im sharing because being able to do all this in rapid fire succession was good rng and luck and made me feel happy. made me feel like the guy smiling with its hands on its knees. AND it has the jester outfit on. imperative. hold on let me get it

^ i named this image silly.png

here's my list, easiest to hardest (to MEEEE):

i have (x?) next to some inn names because im not sure if ive already been there or not, since the images/names sounded familiar when looking them up. but this one is not something i can control (and am also surprised i havent unlocked it during mainline gameplay, guessing i got many repeats- they might have rarity variables that i currently have no idea if they can be influenced or not) so its play until it unlocks. i like to keep 'missing' lists just because

i dont have a shamblino (shambler + bambino, hope you like it) equipped in my current run because i didnt want to make things unnecessarily harder when going for the other ones, so that one will have to wait until all my heroes get breathed on too hard by resentment. pass their turns to death. its actually a bigger effort to die to denial than it is killing it jesus

thats all i guess. have a good week everyone

[frost-eyed-autumn]

Once again, he rewarded Kunikida's words with an attitude of only fleeting interest on the surface, closing his eyes and partaking in some of his food while the other spoke. It wasn't lost on him that at least a few of the cafe's patrons that had been there at the start, when Kunikida had approached him, had made a point to pack up their lunch to go elsewhere once the mafia had been mentioned and when words had started to get hostile.

Either way, Chuuya didn't plan to start any fist-fights here. Much as his reputation proceeded him, he needed a better reason than that to start throwing punches. Kunikida is -- luckily for him -- not high enough on Chuuya's shit-list to make an exception like two other Agency members are.

Quietly, though he didn't very much look it, he was considering Kunikida's words. So far in as they were actually relevant anyway. More than anything, he found them to be rather humorous.

It wasn't like he devalued the lives of his loyal men at all, but to hear such a lecture coming from a member of the Agency... the same Agency that had welcomed Dazai into it's ranks...

There was truly something deeply comical about that.

He almost wanted to hazard a guess that Kunikida had no idea, but after Dazai's arrest to send him to Mersault, how could they not? But then, those were only Dazai's criminal charges against civilians. He doubted that had brought to light Dazai's crimes inside the mafia, or how liberally he had punished or killed his own subordinates when he used to be an Executive.

Compared to Dazai? Chuuya was a saint.

Yet he was the one they comfortably kept on their side, pretending to be a good guy.

"You're right. I don't really understand that conviction of yours at all. It's rather hard to figure out what goes on in the minds of people who willingly let someone like that jackass into their ranks, and doesn't just put up with him because they have orders to," he sighed flippantly, tilting his head to the side. Ironically, the motion looks far too much like a mirror of some of Dazai's mannerisms when he's inconvenienced.

"Of course, those convictions of yours have also gotten you into trouble more than once. That's why we're having this conversation to begin with, what with the fact I had to save your asses and all, and its not exactly the first time I've seen you floundering in action."

He levels Kunikida with a proper, serious look now rather than half-disinterested glances, clear blue eyes that are as intelligent as they are sharp-edged and cold.

"I saw you back then when you dealt with that subway train bomber and the little girl. You can say whatever you want dismissing the edge that Yosano lady gives your organization, but I think both of us known that without her Ability, both you and that girl would've died that day. No question about that. Which don't get me wrong... throwing away your life trying to protect a child is pretty noble of you. Not everyone would be willing to risk that sacrifice. But considering you've somehow managed to be more suicidal and almost kill yourself and the people around you more times than the guy who's been obsessing over killing himself since he was fifteen... from where I'm sitting? Those convictions of yours aren't all they're cracked up to be. You're only able to keep holding onto them, because other people come to your rescue when they don't get the job done and get you in over your head. And I imagine at least part of you knows that. I'd be willing to bet money that's part of why you're so fucking uptight about it."

@frost-eyed-autumn

Kunikida gritted his teeth. Even after everything he had said, the mafia executive only took a sip and leaned back, staring at him almost as if he did not care for Kunikida’s words. Just a cold and unemotional expression.

“I never said you had to be friends with them. Nor that they joined because they want to make friends.” Only an idiot would join the mafia for that reason. He was aware that most joined for money or that they were forced to. “But they are still your coworkers, are they not? And I am not saying that you need to be depressed for each of their deaths.” The mafia did not hold the same values or empathy as he did. “I am only asking you to be more respectful of their deaths and not compared them to numbers or profit. Whether they survived past the first year or not, they still fought for your organization. They were loyal to you. Or did their loyalty not mean anything?”

Kunikida was trying his best to hold back his anger. This man was not Dazai. He couldn’t just lashed out on his anger and grabbed and strangled him like he did with Dazai every time Dazai annoyed him. He was not here for a fight.

“You think it is so easy because our agency is smaller?”

He was wrong! Kunikida could only think back to the many lives that were lost because he couldn’t protect them. How many times had he blamed himself for their deaths? How many times has he cried and despaired over their loss?

But that was where the agency was different from the mafia. Both organizations strived to protect Yokohama. The mafia strived to protect the city as a whole while the agency cared for both the city and the individuals living in the city, the civilians who were tragically involved in some way.

“You are right, we are fortunate to have Yosano with us. But even the best doctor can only treat the wounds, not revive the dead or turn back time. We not only value the lives of the agency but also the lives of many others. But if you barely cared about the lives of your men, you would never understand my struggles and conviction.”  

[spaceageloveblog]

Phone in my hand Still checking if you called I'm double-texting No, I've never been cool

Sit down to watch the Champions League final. Twitter open on my phone. All sorts of seemingly normal people I follow that are Man City fans posting about the game. All sorts of engagement. Would be fun to post online about sports and have people respond and start discussions. I post all sorts of what I think are interesting takes and get nothing. I only have 21 Twitter followers so that's probably part of the problem. I post what I think are interesting takes via comments under other people's soccer Tweets and get the occasional like. Except that one time I posted a banal comment about not liking the ruling that Rashford wasn't offside in the Manchester derby and got like 1000 likes.

And I'll burn that bridge when I get to it Yeah, I'm on fire

She asked me why I was a Manchester City fan once and I had to think about it. My reasons aren't great. I little over a decade ago when NBC Sports started showing the Premier League in the US, I wanted to pick a team. I was already a fan of the international tournaments every 2 years, i.e. the World Cup and the Euros. I was off and on interested in the Champions League. But the EPL on NBC looked so good on TV, I wanted to follow a team. I didn't want to pick the English version of the Yankees or Cowboys, so the big teams were off the list. Going too small would be stupid. So maybe just outside the big teams, but nothing captured my interest.

I felt pulled to Manchester because that felt comparable to where I grew up in Western PA/Northeast OH, but United was out due to the big club rule. Then I saw City competing for the title with them in the spring of 2012. Then I watched the final matchday of the season, saw Aguero score the winner in stoppage time and was hooked. Then I saw Noel Gallagher was a fan and I was more hooked. But I only watched them off and on for the next few years, going in and out of cord cutting. Then Pep came and we had cable, didn't follow the Centurion season that closely, but fell in love with the 2018-19 domestic treble team and was hooked even further. I'd say I've watched >90% of their games from the 2018/19 season onward.

It's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do) And that's on you If you wanna take off, baby, you do you

So Man City won the treble. They were amazing this year. Especially Mar/Apr/May when they were relentless in the league, forcing Arsenal to buckle under the pressure, and steamrolling everyone in the knockout stages of the Champions League, culminating in a dismantling of Real Madrid in the semis. They sort of muddled their way through the final few weeks, but that happens sometimes. They got the job done.

Overthinking (Overthinking) You know I'm really good and you're a miracle You're so misunderstood I get so lost in your mind (I'm so lost) Daddy, teach me this lesson a thousand times

Being an American fan of European sports is funny sometimes. On an object level I literally can't quite understand the critique of the fans of other clubs complaining about how this feels. I'm like, if you are a Man United fan or Liverpool fan this isn't supposed to feel good. Then I realize on a meta level it all makes sense. They are doing whatever they can to diminish what their rivals accomplish, perfectly normal.

It's also weird sometimes being a non-expert at the sport but following along the team for the entire season and watching entire games, seeing experts on TV and hearing experts on podcasts say things that are wrong and your realize everyone is full of it. Like the complaints about Pep overthinking it by starting Ake over Walker, when it was obvious for City fans who have been paying attention. And the takes that Lautora Martinez obviously messed up by going for goal rather than squaring it for Lukaku, when it wasn't that obvious.

It's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do) And that's on you If you wanna take off, baby, you do you

The celebrations have been great. The joy from Pep, the players, the fans...it's been fun to watch. Feels like it's been building for a few years, as City has been the best team in Europe for a while now, just couldn't get over this last hurdle. And for the fans, there's one less thing the red side of Manchester has over them. Pep looks different than he did 12 years ago in Barcelona, like he understands the magnitude of this accomplishment a little more now. And I hope Jack Grealish has gotten some sleep.

I put down your pain, but I'll pick it up again It's all blue That's why I fit in with you You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do) And it's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do)

I remember when the Steelers won their first Super Bowl of my lucid lifetime. I was first happy for Bettis, as it was a long time coming from him. Then I thought of Cowher, as it was a longer time coming for him. But ultimately it was more about me, I waited my whole life. That's who I was happiest for, myself.

Sat in my car 'til the song stopped playing See, I'm blue with or without you, baby Sat in my car 'til the song stopped playing See, I'm blue with or without you, baby

I keep scrolling Twitter and Reddit for more fan reactions, more expert reactions. I keep watching ESPN FC and keep listening to them say the same thing over and over about this team. At some point this will get old, but I feel compelled to keep soaking it in for now.

It's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do And that's on you If you wanna take off, baby, you do you

Pep's contract is for 2 more seasons, so hopefully he stays for those at least. One more would make 10, so I'd love an additional year to make a full decade, but that's probably too optimistic. So another league title, another Champions League title, they could both happen. And who knows what happens next. They money would still be there, but you need the coach too. I watch the revolving door of coaches at the other biggest clubs in the world and realize City has been spoiled to have Pep for 7 seasons. Would be absurdly spoiled to get him for 9 or 10.

I put down your pain, but I'll pick it up again It's all blue That's why I fit in with you You know I feel it and I bet you do (And I bet you do) And it's all blue You know I feel it and I bet you do

We cut off cable again so unless I do something about that, we'll miss half (or more) of their league games next year. With ESPN+ and Paramount+ we'll see all of their Champions League and FA Cup and League Cup game. Peacock will get us half (or less) of their league games. Is that enough? We'll see. There's only so much you can do to arrange your life around following a soccer team 4000 miles away across an ocean. But it's been really fun so far.

I bet you do too

[iiruwu]

hi can i. can you please map out your bulletin board list on how you think ronance will become endgame. because i also have a bulletin board map in my head and i want to compare notes :)

this is so cute i'd love to! @wrought-tweaks also requested this so :D

im going to first go through all the info i've collected as well as inferred (even though my inferences aren't fact, by any means).

so first, lets consider the undeniable truths. in terms of canonical possibility, i genuinely think ronance's chances are pretty high. not only has robin's sexuality been confirmed - something that rarely ever happens in most shows - but there's also the interviews over the last few weeks that lead me to believe that vickie is probably not going to survive the next volume:

call me pessimistic but i really don't think this is going to end up well. if i were to predict vickie's outcome, i'd say we're going to get confirmation that she is also queer (perhaps through vecna) and then she'll die.

there's also this interview about robin's love life in season 4, whichhhh call me crazy but is kinda???

its obviously not confirming anything but 'a story that gets built' reeks of ronance to me, because i really do NOT see any story happening between her and vickie. vickie's barely even been in the entire season, and robin's screentime has largely revolved around her interactions with nancy. its a little fishy.

so if we're assuming that vickie is dying, and there's going to be a shift of some sort in robin's story, then we also need to consider nancy's whole love triangle going on, which - this is a major source of concern for me tbh. but! let me sprinkle some more interview crumbs that are telling of the possible outcome of that whole mess:

i think it's like 50-60% safe to say stancy won't happen in the end if i were to go off of this, but i'm not the type to put all my eggs in one basket, so - i'm not entirely optimistic about it. what sucks, though, is that i've pretty much scoured the internet over the past month (the autism hit HARD after s4 dropped) and there has been absolutely nothing about jancy's future aside from charlie talking about how jonathon was probably having thoughts about breaking up with nancy. jancy might actually stay strong. still, im trying to look on the bright side :')

there's also this tid-bit from natalia which i might be reading too much into (or i might be overestimating the duffer brothers' attentiveness to her character) but:

like come on. this shit reeks of the whole murray scene where he's like "you like steve. but you don't love steve." tell me not?? i feel like it'd be a little redundant to have her going for steve or jonathon when they've both done very questionable things over the last few seasons. realistically though, her answer leans more towards stancy not happening rather then jancy not happening. jancy has been holding up pretty strong overall, which - good for jancy nation tbh but i don’t exactly think jonathon is the best partner to her either considering the incident with him taking photos. call me crazy but if i were screenwriting nancy’s love story i would be taking this into consideration. who knows, though.

now, all the interviews and articles aside, i'm just gonna be real with you and say i really find it hard to believe nancy would go back to steve. she has been wronged by him and she has wronged him, too. not only that but i think she might connect him to her guilt over barb's death, which i posted abt before. if i were to predict the outcome of that whole weird tension between them during volume 1, i'm betting my money that it's not going to go anywhere.

jancy, on the other hand? iiiii don't know. i think jancy is really one of the only things holding ronance back from actually sprouting and becoming something canon. what i WILL say though is that if nancy were to see jonathon now, and who he has become as a character, i rlly doubt she’s going to look at him and be like “yeah i want to continue dating him” lol

that aside, if we're talking my predictions for ronance if they were to actually, really happen, i don't think it's going to happen this season. in a perfect world where things went like how they do in my insane little head, i think there'd be a few embers of something more in the second volume, but nothing would be acted upon just because it'd be too poorly timed for both of their characters. robin is best friends with steve, who's clearly not over nancy/has some sort of residual connection to her that he might be confusing as romantic, so her feelings might be stifled by that. nancy is still with jonathon, and even though the two of them are struggling relationship-wise, its all just too vague to make out what will happen with them. still, if some mutual interest were to be hinted at in vol2, it'd probably be a while until they come together. it might even be right up to the end of the show until we see anything come to fruition in my opinion.

i'd probably be able to tell you my sure-fire prediction for their potential future after volume 2, just because we'll definitely get a solid answer for nancy's whole love triangle fiasco by the end. either way, robin's whole love progression that has been alluded to is verryyyy suspicious and nancy's love life is just entirely too shaky for jancy or stancy to hold up.

pls feel free to dm me/submit your own bulletin board to my inbox if you'd like! i love hearing other people's opinions/predictions/theories for robin and nancy, both individually and as a pairing. ty for giving me an excuse to basically info dump sjkskjgjk <33333333

[night-dark-woods]

Transcripts: a series of excerpts from the masquerade books.

one:

Baru thought: What I see of other people is the output of a hashing function.

I'll never know anyone's true self, will I? Their thoughts and memories, the selfness of someone, the me-ness of me: that's like a true name, a person in all their formless awesome grandeur. But we do not see that grandeur. We see each other only in the shapes we are forced to assume. Words constrain us, and also our laws, and our fears and hopes, and the wind, and the rain, and the dog that barks while we're trying to speak, all these things constrain us.

We all force our true selves into little hashes and show them like passwords. A smile is a hashing function, and a word, and a cry. The cry is not the grief, the word is not the meaning, the smile is not the joy: we cannot run the hash in reverse, we can- not get from the sign to the absolute truth. Maybe the smile is false. Maybe the grief is a lie.

But we can compare the hash to a list, and guess at the meaning.

two:

She couldn't imagine why he'd come to sleep near her. She never could imagine, could she? Her eternal mistake. Forgetting to put herself in other peoples' minds.

three:

"You've been very patient with me. Thank you. It means so much."

"My patience is not infinite," Xe said. "Not in all matters."

"What have I done?" Barhu asked, nervously. "What do I need to fix?"

The diver stared at her. Finally Barhu understood.

Afterward, with her open lips against Xe's throat, Barhu said. “I'll miss you.

four:

Barhu wondered if her parents would be proud or concerned that she was sitting here beside her half-naked lover arguing arctic survival tactics.

five:

"Flour," Barhu said. “De-germed flour keeps for a very long time."

"Oh, how's that?" Solit said, teasing her, although she did not realize it until she had already begun to explain: "The Butterveldt grows the grain, the mills make the grain into flour, barrels of flour provide compact long-lasting calories, so ships can travel farther without resupply, so the warships have a longer reach and the traders arrive more quickly than their rivals, and that quickens the blood of the whole empire, and oh Himu"—a burst of joy inside her—“oh, look at that…."

six:

"Did you know that they make the finest steel in the world? As hard, as flexible, and as beautiful as Tain Hu." This made Heia laugh. "Legend says they can tease a pound of steel from two pounds of raw soil. I heard in Aurdwynn that the secret ingredient is the mountain wind itself."

She cocked her hip to support the barrel she was filling. "Is this your idea of courtship?"

It was. "Did you know that in Oriati Mbo they have a lot of salt and spices, and not nearly enough steel?"

seven:

"Oh?" Iscend raised her head from the water. "What will you stake in the bet?"

But Barhu, already racing ahead into thought, entirely missed the flirtation.

eight:

No. That was accountant logic, the logic that had failed her in Aurdwynn. Because numbers alone couldn't count what Tain Hu had meant to her. She was one life on paper and yet a universe to Barhu. Kyprananoke was more than a tally

nine:

"People like me until I don't do what they want," she said, shortly.

ten:

My lord Baru Cormorant will very soon fight a great war. In this war the sides will be: Her mind and Her heart.

It is true that my lord has accomplished very much with her mind and that this organ often seems to rule her.

However I have learned through close inspection and some provocations and difficulties that my lord also possesses a heart which feels the full range of feelings. It is merely very well con- cealed and somewhat prickly like an urchin. I believe she thinks of her heart as an unfortunate growth. A sort of emotional hemorrhoid.

eleven:

"Your tactics are self-centered. You have forgotten that you are not the only player on the board, that inherent talent speaks for no more than experience, and that others around you seek to expand their authority and constrain yours. Your error is funda- mental to the human psyche: you have allowed yourself to believe that others are mechanisms, static and solvable, whereas you are an agent."

End transcripts.

Autistic Girlies Bracket: Round 1, Side A

Matchup 13

Only your vote can determine which of these autistic girlies will move on to the next round.

Baru Cormorant bracket art created by @anthyies

BARU CORMORANT MASTERPOST YOR FORGER MASTERPOST

[Image ID. Image with a purple to pink gradient background that is split down the middle by a jagged white line. There is a purple 'VS' symbol in the centre. On the left of the image is Baru Cormorant from The Masquerade Series. On the right of the image is Yor Forger from Spy X Family. End ID.]

[bbangsoonie]

backdoor

member: jaehyun (hyunjae) genre: fluff (requested) word count: 3,120 synopsis: jaehyun has always been your rival. so when he bets that he could make you fall for him, you can’t back down and say no. but when you’re too confident, you let your guard done.

backdoor: a term used in league of legends; when you secretly attack the enemy’s nexus while they’re focused elsewhere. this is done by sneaking into the enemy base and taking them by surprise

Lee Jaehyun was the cockiest and most annoying person you had ever met. You would think that growing up as childhood “friends” would make you two close. After all, your parents were best friends with his parents.

But no, you and Jaehyun had been rivals ever since you were both enrolled into a tennis club as young children. You always had the upper hand until he suddenly hit puberty and became a lot more physically fit than you. Once he started beating you in nearly every match, he became your #1 enemy.

He had always been super competitive and made everything into a contest. Who could run to the car faster? Who could receive a higher score on the exam? Who could make the other lose their temper first?

With high school came his sudden increase in popularity. It inflamed his ego to the max, which irked you to no end.

Every Valentine’s Day, he would brag about all the gifts and confessions he received. And every White Day, he would compare the numbers to yours.

He was loved by the girls for being a casanova and admired by the guys for his athleticism and gaming skills.

You, on the other hand, could not comprehend why the entire school was infatuated with him. You had your eyes on someone else. Kim Sunwoo. He had caught your attention since the first day of freshman year. Now, as a senior, you were about to graduate without ever making a move.

You were too shy to approach him. You couldn’t even find a common interest to naturally bring up and talk about. All he ever did was make music and play League of Legends.

So you found Jacob during lunch and practically begged him to teach you how to play the game.

“Please please please?” you whined.

“It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s that I can’t,” Jacob said apologetically. “I have basketball practice every day. Besides, I haven’t played in almost half a year. I’m rusty.”

“I just need you to teach me the basics!”

“I’m sorry, Y/n.”

Sighing, you gave up and slumped in your seat. You poked at the food in front of you with a pout.

“Did I just hear the Y/n ask Jacob to teach her how to play League?” Jaehyun suddenly popped out of nowhere.

“Fuck off,” you rolled your eyes at him as you set your chopsticks down.

“You know, I’m the highest ranked player in our school,” he said smugly. You wanted nothing but to wipe that look off his face.

You ignored him and took a sip of your water. Jacob awkwardly glanced between you and Jaehyun as he tightly held onto his spoon. He could sense another argument coming.

“I can teach you if you want,” Jaehyun offered.

“I don’t want,” you coldly rejected.

“Of course you don’t,” he scoffed. “You’re too afraid to spend time with me because you might realize that you actually like me.”

“Oh please. There are a few things in this world that will never change. The sun rising from the east, the sun setting in the west, and my hatred for you,” you said.

“Well if you hate me that much, then let’s make a bet out of it. The first one to fall for the other’s seducing loses,” he smirked.

Still stuck in the middle, Jacob shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“You don’t have to accept the challenge if you’re not confident,” Jaehyun shrugged, making you narrow your eyes at him.

A list of pros and cons was being made in your head as you contemplated the crazy suggestion. The logical part of your mind wanted nothing to do with him. You knew that stooping down to his level was childish. You had much better things to do than go along with his bet.

The competitive part of you, however, couldn’t bear to back down. You would have to deal with him flaunting over you and calling you a coward if you didn’t agree to this.

So you disregarded all rationale and crossed your arms with a curt “deal”.

The walk to school the next day was full of complaints as you whined about falling for Jaehyun’s trick and Kevin chided you for it.

“I don’t know why you thought it would be a good idea,” Kevin tsk-ed. “He makes your blood boil within seconds. How are you going to hold back from tearing him apart? Never mind flirt with him.”

“I’m already regretting it,” you groaned.

“Speaking of the devil,” Jacob coughed, nudging you.

You looked up to see Jaehyun waiting by the school gates. He was holding a bouquet of flowers and every girl who passed by whispered to their friend about it. To everyone’s shock, he walked up to you and handed you the flowers.

“So it starts now?” you stared at the roses. “You call this seducing?”

“I call this romantic,” he grinned.

Rolling your eyes, you handed Kevin the bouquet and walked away. He awkwardly chased after you as Jacob offered Jaehyun a pat on the shoulder.

“She doesn’t like roses. She thinks they’re cliché,” he said before leaving.

When the dismissal bell rang, Jaehyun was waiting for you outside of your classroom. Hushed whispers erupted again as your classmates tried to figure out why he was being so affectionate to you. It was no secret that you two never got along.

After gathering your belongings, you grabbed your backpack and left without sparing him another glance. Unfazed, he easily caught up to you and slung his arm around your shoulder.

“What? Are you wavering already?” he teased.

“Not a chance,” you scoffed.

“As a part of the bet, I can teach you how to play League. That’s what you wanted anyway. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone.”

You ignored all the incredulous looks you received with Jaehyun by your side as you left the school grounds. You didn’t realize that you weren’t headed home until you stopped in front of a PC Room. Puzzled, you stared at the building in front of you.

“I promised that I’d teach you. Our first lesson starts today,” he said as he dragged you inside.

Your brain was bombarded with a whole new world. You struggled to keep up as he rambled on about bots and gold. He was showing you a demonstration by playing a round but your inability to multitask made it difficult to understand what was going on on the screen.

“My main is Jace and I usually go jungle,” he explained and you pretended to understand by nodding. At your silence, he eyed your expression and chuckled.

“So is Sunwoo the reason why you’re suddenly interested in League?” he asked, catching you off guard.

“How did you know?” you gaped.

“You thought I wouldn’t notice your little crush on him?” he raised a brow.

You were taken aback to say the least. You didn’t think he paid much attention to you other than when he was bored and wanted to mess around.

“Anyway, he usually goes mid as Zed,” he shrugged. “To be honest, the best way for you to bond with him through the game is for him to play ADC and for you to be support.”

“As if I know what all that means,” you frowned.

At that moment, his character died and the screen went gray. You snickered, earning a light flick on your forehead.

“ADC stands for attack damage carry. It’s the champion who usually does the most attacking. They go in the bottom lane with whoever’s playing support. Supports are supposed to aid and heal the ADC. So you would follow and communicate with them.”

“Sounds complicated,” your nose wrinkled in distaste.

“Sounds fun,” he corrected before turning back to the computer.

The next day, Jaehyun surprised you with a small potted plant in front of the gates.

“Since you don’t like roses, I got you a succulent instead,” he said proudly.

Next to you, Kevin giggled and Jacob let out a soft “aww”. Slightly touched yet also slightly embarrassed, you took it from him in a hurry and stormed off.

“You’re slowly getting there,” Jacob laughed as Kevin shot him a thumbs up.

Smiling, Jaehyun watched as they ran to catch up with you. He heard you yell at them after what was probably a teasing remark. You then began to chase Kevin, who ran away shrieking.

After two weeks of spending hours at the PC Room after school, you were starting to get a hang of the game. You found Teemo, who you insisted was a dog (he’s actually a rodent), and gushed over how cute he is.

Jaehyun made fun of your champion choice and shook his head as he explained that Teemo was the most hated character.

“Why? He’s adorable!” you defended. “And I love the little eggs he plants.”

“For the nth time, those are mushrooms! Not eggs,” he exclaimed. “And that’s exactly why everyone hates him. He’s so annoying.”

“You’re annoying,” you shot back.

“Well, Teemo’s not an option right now,” he pointed out.

He was teaching you how to play Howling Abyss that day. And playing ARAM meant your champion would be randomly given.

“Oh! The cute cat is available,” you excitedly clicked.

“That’s Yuumi and that’s actually not a bad choice,” he nodded in approval. “You just have to attach onto me and heal me.”

You hated to admit that you had grown closer with Jaehyun. Only a couple of weeks had passed by since the bet and you didn’t completely despise him anymore.

He gifted you something small each morning, whether it was a plant or piece of bread. He was always waiting for you at the gates. Dating rumors were already circulating the school but you hadn’t forgotten about the bet. You were determined to win it.

Which was why you began to wake up earlier to put on makeup and even complimented him during games. It was easy to make him smile. All you needed to do was throw a lame joke in here and there and he would burst out in laughter.

It was almost suspiciously easy. He was too willing to respond to your advances and never put up a wall.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t get on your nerves. His antics still bothered you to no end.

On the way home, he insisted on feeding you ice cream instead of having you hold it yourself. Except he kept pulling the spoon back when you opened your mouth to eat it.

The first time, you gave him a dirty look. The second time, you punched his arm. The third time, you gave him the finger and walked off after a “fuck you”.

“Is that a threat or a promise?” he laughed.

Once again, you were reminded of how immature he was.

“So has there been any progress?” Kevin asked.

It was gym period and all the students were running around in the field. Jacob was playing volleyball with Jaehyun while you and Kevin were sitting on the sidelines.

“I don’t know,” you shrugged.

“It would be the best enemies-to-lovers trope if you two actually end up dating like this,” he commented.

“Never,” you snorted in disbelief.

You had seen Jaehyun ever since he was a snotty little kid. Even back then, he was a mischievous brat. There was no way you could ever see him as anything but that.

The teacher blew his whistle, signaling the end of gym class. You got up, dusted your pants, and skipped down the steps. Unfortunately, you landed wrong and felt a sharp pain in your ankle as you fell down.

After Kevin shouted your name, Jaehyun turned his head to see you on the ground. Without thinking twice, he ran towards you and asked if you were okay. When you couldn’t reply, he put you on his back with Kevin’s help and sprinted to the nurse’s office.

Your heart was beating fast but you couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason why. Was it because of the pain? Or all the attention you were receiving from your classmates?

By the time you reached the office, your ankle was throbbing and swelling up. The nurse was nowhere to be seen so Jaehyun retrieved an ice pack himself and wrapped a towel around it before applying it.

You were sitting on a cot while he was bent down to tend to your wound. His forehead was wrinkled with worry and you stared at him. This was the first time he had ever treated you with such gentleness.

“I don’t think you broke anything but it’s definitely gonna hurt for at least a week,” he winced in vicarious pain.

You suddenly didn’t know how to act around him. You weren’t used to receiving sympathy from him.

“Uh that’s okay,” you coughed to cover up the awkwardness. You’d rather have him make fun of you for being clumsy. But instead, he seemed genuinely concerned for you.

“You should’ve been more careful,” he scolded.

There was something about the way he looked at you. His eyes were no longer playful but you couldn’t figure out what emotions hid behind those eyes.

Those eyes. His eyes clouded your mind. For some reason, you couldn’t get it out of your head.

You found yourself avoiding him as you struggled to organize your thoughts. Or rather, your feelings.

Wanting to distract yourself, you decided to finally talk to Sunwoo. Surely, spending time with him would help you forget about Jaehyun.

So you mustered up the courage to ask him out on a date. To your surprise, he happily agreed and suggested that you watch a movie together. There was a new romcom film that came out and that he had been wanting to watch.

The date wasn’t as awkward as you thought it would be. Sunwoo’s goofiness offset any nervousness and it was fun to be around him. But yet, it also wasn’t as heart fluttering as you thought it would be.

Perhaps you had idealized him too much in your imagination. Your romantic feelings for him dissipated and you saw him as a good friend. Luckily, he felt the same.

However, word about your date had already spread by the time you got to school on Monday. It had reached Jaehyun’s ears and his expression hardened when he saw you laughing with Sunwoo at lunch.

He knew what the ugly feeling in his stomach was. And he wasn’t happy about it. So he reacted in the only way he knew. By clinging to your side and pestering you.

He spent the whole day messing up your hair and being sarcastic. Eventually, you finally snapped and told him to piss off.

“I’ll consider it if you can beat me in tennis today,” he said.

You crossed your arms, wondering what was going on in his head. You hadn’t been able to defeat him since middle school.

“If you can get a single ball past me, I’ll leave you alone,” he proposed. With a huff, you reluctantly agreed. It would be faster to just get it over with.

That was how you two ended up at a tennis court after school. He never went easy on you but he was going especially hard that day. He gave you no breaks and flung the ball back at you with what felt like all his strength. Ball after ball flew past you as he grabbed another one to start again.

“What the hell, Lee Jaehyun?” you yelled across the court. “Why the fuck are you so aggressive today?”

“Are you giving up?” he taunted while bouncing the ball.

“Oh hell no,” you grumbled as you got in position.

Another half an hour passed by with him beating you again and again. You were drenched in sweat and starting to feel sore. But you refused to give him the pleasure of watching you admit defeat.

So you kept going until the ball accidentally hit your shoulder. The amount of force he put into that backhand made you yelp in pain as you dropped the racket.

Startled, Jaehyun ran over to make sure you were okay.

“You just can’t bear to see me win once, can you?” you glared as you shoved his hand away. “You turn everything into a competition and act like you’re superior over me.”

“I-I didn’t mean to do that,” his brows furrowed in guilt.

“Didn’t mean to do what? Make my childhood a living hell by ruining my favorite sport? Use my crush on Sunwoo to trick me into another stupid bet? Confuse me into thinking that you might actually not hate me?”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Then why are you so clingy?”

“Because I like you!”

His words brought upon silence. The tension in the air was thick as you both stared at each other.

“You’re so dense,” he sighed. “I wanted your attention, okay? But back then, I was a kid and didn’t know how to stay by your side without annoying the hell out of you. And then I didn’t know how to transition out of that.”

He fidgeted with a loose string on his shirt and took a deep breath before continuing.

“This stupid bet was supposed to change our relationship. I was supposed to show you that I’m not as bad as you think I am. That I’m a guy too. That I’ve been in love with you for a whole decade now.”

To say you were surprised would be a massive understatement. All your life, you had been sure that Jaehyun’s purpose in life was to irritate you. So when your heart began to skip around him, you cursed yourself for giving into the hormones that made you see him in a different light. You never thought that the feelings would be reciprocated.

“You don’t feel the same way? At all?” he carefully asked.

Your mouth opened but no words came out. You couldn’t find the right words to answer his question.

“You’re not saying no,” the corners of his lips curved up.

He took a step closer to you and held your cheeks. You felt your heart race at the proximity and froze.

“For confirmation?” his lips ghosted over yours. You barely managed to nod slightly before he closed the gap between you two.

As cheesy as it sounded, you felt sparks fly the moment you had your first kiss. By the time he pulled away, you felt your cheeks heat up.

“So I guess that means I won the bet before it even began,” you joked, making him laugh.

“Yes, yes you did,” he smiled as he hugged you.