#I'm gonna be so honest i wish more people were secretive about stuff like the internet is contasntly taking and taking and taking and

[demonstars]

He's so secretive we don't know if he actually lives in Florida, how old he really is, or that his name actually is Darryl. But he sure can throw knives.

this man has his priorities CLEAR we should all learn from badboyhalo

[zipmode]

haven’t been able to stop looking at your little reblog !! the explosion !

2 questions:

1. if conviction was a companion what would his like high/neutral/negative approval dialogue, and his companion quest? (and romance if you want!)

2. in d&d, tieflings can have more than just horns and tails trait wise (like wings, hooves, forked tongue, six fingers), does vic have any more tiefling traits besides the horns and tail?

HEHEHE YAYYY QUESTIONS ^_^ this was really fun to think about since I'm used to considering them as a central point in a narrative instead of a secondary point... It's really interesting to contemplate what would be different about the whole situation if they weren't the one calling the shots...

This got really REALLY long so I'm putting it under a read more so as not to completely fill up people's dashes 👍

I was gonna write this in paragraph format but it was getting hard to keep track of so I'm turning it into a bullet list instead. LOL.

Conviction Approves Of:

defending and protecting kids. They resent how little grace they were given in their childhood, and try to give the patience and understanding they wish they had to any kids they run across. Gods forbid more children grow up to be like Conviction. The world does NOT need more Vics.

choosing to think practically instead of morally. They wouldn't enjoy it, but if they have to kill one innocent to save a hundred, they will.

refusing to side with/make deals with devils. ever. They think giving up your autonomy-to a devil of all entities- is one of the stupidest things a person could do (inversely, they feel the same way about devoting your life to a god, but they're less passionate and more passive-aggressive about that.)

being patient whenever their affliction messes with them. If seen as an in-game mechanic, they would get a condition (I think I called it 'Arcane Dissonance' when I first starting thinking abt em) That would occur every so often for a few turns. It would significantly increase their chances of getting a wild magic surge and give them disadvantage on attacks.

Conviction Disapproves Of:

most notions of lofty ideals. paladin type stuff. They've got crazy beef with paladins. finds such views of morality and 'goodness' to be lacking nuance and more often performative than not. (When they meet Wyll and find him to be entirely sincere in his heroics, they get a lot of complicated feelings. Mostly they avoid him for fear his overwhelmingly kind and trusting gaze may compel them to reveal their darkest secrets, which would be awkward for everybody involved.)

Killing for the sake of killing, letting your emotions get the better of you in that sense. If you kill someone before you've gotten as much use out of them as you can, no matter how much they suck, Vic will disapprove.

Badgering them about their past beyond what they're willing to reveal. They're like Shadowheart in that regard.

When they DO reveal their past, they would disapprove of trying to justify their actions. Unlike most of the other companions, the choices they made that ended up hurting a lot of people were done completely done of their own volition. They don't want people trying to tell them they didn't completely fuck up. They fucked up.

Companion Quest Stuff

I have no clue what their little questline would be called. The Shattered Sorcerer? An Honest Alchemist? The Secretive Shopkeep? Something like that. The steps to their questline would probably go something like this:

You meet Vic, maybe in the blighted village or the goblin camp, playing along with the whole 'true soul' thing and making potions and poisons for the goblins. You have to convince or kill the goblins in order to get them out of there and into your party. They introduce themself as an alchemist and shopkeep from baldur's gate, specializing in bespoke medicines for unusual ailments.

As you travel with them, it becomes increasingly clear that Vic knows how to make a lot more than just medicines. They could maybe act as a more direct way to learn about alchemy and recipes as opposed to the books scattered around the world.

Any time they talk about poisons, it really sounds like they're talking from personal experience. If you bring it up to them they'd probably defend themselves by saying that knowing what ails people is an important part of knowing how to cure them. something like that.

When you pick up the poisoner's robe, they probably make an off-hand comment on how they always preferred snakes over spiders as a symbol of poison. Maybe with an awkward chuckle at the end. Real subtle, pal.

If you got their approval up enough by late act one, they'd likely allude to having a less-than-legal side business of selling poisons. At this point, their Customer Service Mask would be slipping more and more frequently. The shopkeep that presented themselves and polite, enthusiastic and overly congenial-if not a bit awkward, would present themselves more and more as a bitter, cynical, and sometimes even menacing figure. The 'bitter' and 'menacing' is rarely ever directed at the player character, if at all. It's just that Vic mainly knows how to play two roles, and now that their secret's mostly out, they can use their skills in intimidation and deceit more openly now that it'll raise less eyebrows.

When act two rolls around and you get to moonrise towers, Vic finds some uncomfortably familiar poisons being made; more insidious concoctions of their own design that nobody else should have access to. They panic and reveal to the player that their 'little side business' was actually a pretty major operation that was instrumental in many a political assassination. Chances are if a noble died due to mysterious illness, it was an illness brewed up by Vic themself. They only ever wrote their recipes in one place, a journal they kept hidden. Vic, ever the casual supervillain, also used said journal to hypothesize how to best poison nobles, politicians, and if the need arised, entire cities. ............ they were THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS, OKAY? It's not like Vic was ever ACTUALLY going to do anything as terrible as that. Anyways, the point is that those recipes and schematics are in the hands of the Absolute, and they NEED to get them back.

Act three would involve Vic coming to terms with their past actions and tracking down their journal. At some point they probably want to stop by their shop to grab supplies, only to find it closed down by the flaming fist by order of Lord Gortash. Of course, if they found their book, they found it in their house, which means the absolute knew who the real identity of that ever infamous and ever secretive poisoner. uh oh!!!

Endings-wise, you could probably be an asshole and turn them in to the flaming fist, encourage them to burn their journal and start a new life where they get to focus more on healing instead of hurting, or convince them to fully commit to their life as a poisoner. The last two can also be thought of as whether or not they want to be able to live without having to put on a persona or not.

In their poisoner ending, Conviction probably ends up fully embracing their cynical and threatening side. Meeting up with them in the epilogue would involve them acting very businesslike and impersonal. Judging them for their actions at this point would probably have them rebuking that it's better that THEY have control over their market over someone else. They still have standards, after all. If they get the poisoner ending AND Astarion Ascended, it's implied that conviction uses their criminal connections to make his efforts to expand his control of Baldur's Gate as difficult as possible, absolutely resenting him for the choice he made. Even if it's a bit hypocritical. In a timeline where Shadowheart becomes Mother Superior, they probably still remain on decent terms and likely even have a working business relationship. Wyll probably resents Conviction a lot, and that weighs on Vic way more than they'd let on. (Costumes wise, because I love to think about that shit, their epilogue clothing would be expensive but practical, and in muted colors. likely not very comfortable looking.)

In their healer ending, they give up on the Shopkeep AND the Poisoner Personas and end up behaving a far more awkward but sincere way. They still end up rather flat-toned and cynical, but have a good sense of humor about things and are clearly more at peace with themselves than they've ever been, even if they're still trying to figure out WHO exactly they are. Post-game, Conviction completes their medical training (I think i covered why it was never finished pre-tadpole in another ask, but the long and short of it is their mentor who was supporting them through school died before they could finish) and specialize in investigating and treating arcane afflictions. This ending would involve them traveling around Faerûn, acting as a sort of Fantasy House MD. Despite their travelling, they'd probably have a decently sized house in Baldur's Gate that acts as their base of operations whenever they're not traveling. At some point they do a guest lecture over at Blackstaff and absolutely perpetuate the notion that Gale could still blow everybody up at any time. (Outfit wise, they're in comfortable but bright travel clothes, including lots of layers and accessories. Every single piece of jewelry they wear has some kind of enchantment on it.)

No matter the ending, their affliction has no cure. It always was and always will be something they merely have to live with. It really just comes down to the coping mechanisms they use to deal with the pain and chaos of it all.

Romance Stuff

LMAO. This guy is utterly clueless. I think you'd probably realize if they were into you before THEY realized they were into you, and you'd probably have to pass some kind of check in order to convince them you genuinely liked them back. This is a guy who has pretty much spent their entire life toiling away. Pre-tadpole, they didn't have any time for friends or romance, and the one or two times they went along with the idea of a one-night stand didn't exactly end well. (lots of anxieties involving the whole 'I might blow up or summon an imp or randomly teleport etc etc etc if I release my inhibitions too much'.) They've also probably never really LET themselves like anyone in a romantic sense before, because their life was complicated enough without putting another person into the mix. Their affections probably first present themselves as a lot of confused, intense staring at the player character. If you ask them about it they're like huh? wuh? Successfully romancing Conviction would probably involve a lot of just getting this motherfucker to relax for the first time in their life. They wouldn't ever initiate any PDA but definitely don't mind it. Voted Companion Most Likely to Get Flustered If You Held Their Hand.

AS FOR THE SECOND PART OF THIS ASK- I thought it'd be more fun to make a little thing about it :]

Their weird extra stuff is extremely indulgent but I just can't help myself I love to make a guy thats strange and unusual!!!!

Anyways if you read this whole thing thanks for indulging me in my insane ramblings ^_^ YAYYY LALALALA.... frolicks....

[bayonettaboy111]

Stuff I've ordered from Victoria's Secret/PINK !

Okayy so basically, for whatever reason, I ended up getting a $100 PINK gift card from my mama cause I guess she didn't want it. Now obviously I'm not going to buy lingeries, since I'd really have no use for them, so I decided to look at the cosmetic stuff! So heres what I bought :3 I would add photos but its an odd number of them so it would look weird🙁

・┆✦Bond Repair Treatment Mask✦ ┆・ This was kind of a compulsive buy since it was on clearance but you know, nothing wrong with treating myself 🤷‍♂️ people were saying it made their hair shiny so I added it to my cart. Though I'm not sure if it'll work all that well for me since I was curly hair - like 2c - so we'll just have to see.

Okay so I had doubts about it when I first got it but it actually works really well!! The ends of my hair aren't as split looking and my natural curls have been holding a tad bit longer. My only warning would be that it's very liquid-y so you need to be really careful not for spill it if your in the shower. 9/10

・┆✦VS HIM Platinum Body Lotion✦ ┆・ I'm gonna be honest, I've never really used cologne before 🧚‍♂️...I've mostly ever used unisex stuff. But I've been wanting to try a cologne and this VS ones had good reviews on other websites. I was going to buy the duo set but it made me go over my giftcard limit so I just settled for the body lotion. Good enough

I haven't exactly been able to wear this as much yet, as I don't really have a perfume/spray that would fit with it, but I can say it smells really good! I'm sorry I can't give a full opinion on it ahhh... 8/10

・┆✦Natural Beauty Exfoliating Body Scrub (coco milk+rose)✦ ┆・

Don't really have much more context for this other than I've been needing a exfoliater since my skin has been so dry.

Tbh it good just be the way I'm using it, as I don't have a loofah or anything like that yet, I only used a wash cloth. But anyway what I mean is that I didn't really notice much exfoliation?? I don't know it could be because I've only used it a few time or because of the fact I haven't exactly shaved my legs but yeah 😭 I need to use it more though!! And the good thing is it's very think and smells + feels good. If I get better results later I'll update. 6/10

・┆✦Conditioning Coconut Body Serum✦ ┆・

This was from a newer line of the body products so I thought I'd try it out. It's vegan too, which I think is good.

I really like it! It's made my skin really soft, esp my hands which looked like they were through hell..so very good results! 10/10

・┆✦Love Spell Duo✦ ┆・

I'll have you know that I'm an absolutely D RIDER for Japanese cherry blossom sets. I have both the body sprays from Bath and Body Works and I reallyyy wish I could find a good cologne/perfume like it. I decided to get the duo cause if I don't really like VS's spray then I'll probably still use the lotion.

It does smell really nice, it smells like Japanese cherry blossom but a bit more peachy. I will say though that it hardly lasts at all..it fades after less than an hour unless you do the vaseline trick. I usually only wear it after showers or before bed because of that. As for the body lotion, it really just smells like peaches. Overall the smell is nice but the longevity is bad. (I probably will still be trying the others though) 5/10

The package comes in a few days so I'll make sure to review in about a week either by editing this post or making a new post!! See y'all later on that.

P.S, this post literally took so long to make for what omggg

Reviews made on 4/4/2024 <3

[sojirosteacup]

Years ago, the kbs website used to have character profiles for the bof kdrama characters (the links don't work anymore, but you can still read them through wayback machine). These profiles mostly had stuff we already know about them, maybe with some extra details from the manga that didn't get mentioned in the drama but are easy to guess.

But Woobin's profile is the surprising thing here. It's very detailed considering he has barely any lines in the episodes. And it gives us a lot of insight about his characterization (or what it could have been if he had more screen time):

I'm gonna start by saying that I used google translator bc my korean skills are far from fluent. lol So blame any mistakes on google.

So let's go to the text. Parts of the profile are in italics and the my comments are normal text.

The first part of his description are just stuff that are mentioned or implied in the k-drama (In one line! But it is!):

"He is the hidden leader of F4 and the successor to Ilsim Construction, an emerging blue-chip company in the real estate industry. It is a long-established boss family that has led the traditional violent organization Ilsimpa for generations. In Woo Bin's father's generation, elite management was advocated. By legally diversifying its business, it proudly joined the ranks of emerging conglomerates. However, excellent personal network management that can be mobilized in case of emergency."

Hidden leader doesn't mean leader. The leader is still Junpyo, it's just that Woobin is the only sane man in the group lol.

But at least this part gives us a name for his mafia. I like how his family didn't bother to give the company a different name from it

"Its ability and ability to quickly and powerfully mobilize cash are its secret weapons that even Shinhwa Group cannot ignore."

This is interesting because it implies Junpyo's family keeps Woobin close because of this, which answers the question of why Junpyo's mother lets him be friends with the heir of a criminal organization. And I have no doubt she is interested in the criminal connections too. Let's be honest, that woman is probably involved in a lot of corruption.

"He lives with his mother, who gave birth to him when she was 20, and his twin sisters who were born late."

Whoa, that's a lot of information here. So his little sisters from the manga are canon in this adaptation.

which gives a new meaning to Junpyo's line in episode 16:

He wasn't talking about Woobin's girlfriends, he was talking about Woobin's sisters and maybe mother too.

"This may be the reason why he only meets older people and feels attracted only to older people. Rather than taking care of something, he often find comfort in the love he receives and can rely on. Sometimes, he seduces married women who have husbands without hesitation, but while they are dating, he is a pure romantic who only devotes his sincerity to the other person, showing off his undiminished popularity."

This is manga stuff too and none of this was mentioned in the kdrama. I imagine they thought it would be too controversial to include him having affairs with married women which is fair enough, but I wish they had done something to at least imply it.

"He has a soft charisma that leads his opponents regardless of his young age. His sense of humor has become more savory thanks to the bad hip hop English he learned while studying abroad for a short time as a getaway."

HE STUDIED ABROAD????????? WHY WASN'T THIS MENTIONED IN ANY EPISODE??????? THIS MAKES HIS ENGLISH ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE

And "as a getaway" implies he did that to escape from his life. It goes hand in hand with his manga characterization of the stressed friend.

"He has an innate sense of economics and a spicy fist, which is revealed in various odds and figures in gambling, investment, and securities."

i dunno what a spicy fist is but most of this is just obvious stuff. It's funny to imagine him gambling, though.

"He hates his father who passed on the complex and responsibility of his origins. In the end, they are the most similar."

This is the only thing shown in the kdrama. It's during that scene when he and Yijung are talking in ep 18, when Woobin was threatening to jump off the bridge.

But that's also one of the most interesting thing about this profile.

The mafia thing is not in the manga. There is not a single scene where this is implied and we don't even know what Akira's family does besides "they own a company". I think the first version to include the mafia thing was the Jdrama? Correct me if I'm wrong.

So it's interesting to see that the kdrama actually had plans to do something with it besides "he is a mafia heir look how dangerous and cool he is". And they mixed this with Akira's low self steem from the manga to make him hate himself for his mafia heritage!!! And if we take his F4 after story MV into account, he also seems to have the same not-mafia-related low self esteem from his manga counterpart. This makes it a very interesting characterization.

And then they used it in only one scene.

(sorry Akira)

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 26th July

And only a few weeks after her debut, it's Helen again! I noted last time that she feels like something different, a new type of British teen pop star, fresh-faced and bringing a new, youthful energy to the charts. And I'm pleased to confirm that this track is another step in that direction. Teenaged girl pop at its early 60s finest.

You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro (peaked at Number 1)

Helen's last outing was a fun paradox, a song about not wanting people to treat her like a child which, ironically enough, is just about the most teenaged song you could have given her. And here, she's at it again, with a song that takes a very teenaged feeling - the feeling of not wanting your crush to know you have a crush on them - and turns it into something simple but kind of beautiful, with Helen's distinctive, husky voice adding a real gravitas to it all.

We start, because of course we do, with both woahs and yeahs, that most 1961 of combinations. They're dreamy and don't drag out too long, though, before we're into the lyrics, which meander sinously around as Helen sings about how although I love you so / Oh, you don't know / You don't know / Just how I feel / For my love / I daren't reveal. She's afraid they might not care, she hates seeing anybody else with them, she wishes desperately that it was her - and yet, when push comes to shove, she keeps it secret. I would tell you / If I believed / That you might care someday, she sings, and the music shifts tone, something more optimistic setting in as she considers the possibilty. But then it shifts back, leaving Helen with a one-way love affair that's breaking her heart. Tragci stuff.

There's not a sense of what's happed, that requited love is so firmly off the table, but clearly Helen has some reason to believe that it's never gonna happen - or peraps it's just a classic bit of teenage shyness and awkwardness. In that respect, not explaining it is kind of a genuis move. Beacuse that's something that teenagers do, pining away pointlessly, all self-conscious and convinced that nobody could possibly ever like you back. I know I had crushes that I did jack squat about, back when I was a teenager. I don't think it ever hit the level of Helen's situation here, but it feels like a relatable situation, even so, the frustration of it all, the shyness and self-doubt, the slightly overblown mythologising. Because you're a teenager. It probably does feel like the worst thing ever. I promise you'll look back on it fondly, in time, Helen. And until then, you'll keep making melodramatic tracks like this, I guess. There are worse outlets.

I really do appreciate this one - I like it much more than Helen's first chart hit, if I'm being honest. Bost feel very teenaged, very real, but there's something about this one that grates less. I think because I spend a lot of time interacting professionally with teenagers. Teenagers insisting that they know better than you, that you can't control them, that you should be treating them like an adult? Realistic, and I've got a lot of sympathy for them, but it gets grating, when it's all you're dealing with day in, day out. Teenagers with crushes that they're awkward about? Objectively much funnier, and kind of sweet. Teenagers are still teengers. They were in the 1960s, they were when I was a teenager, they still are today. It's nice, you know? Plus, I've mentioned it before, but Helen really can sing. Which definitely helps.

Favourite song of the painfully teenaged bunch: You Don't Know

[nono-bunny]

Thoughts from watching the ATLA live action!

Took a bit of a break because writing these while watching takes a lot of time, actually, but! I'm back on my bullshit again, let's go!

Episode 3:

Jet? Is this Jet? Truly wish I could tell, it would be nice if I could fucking SEE ANYTHING!!!

Oh I do think it's just some rando rebels, but looks who's with them, oh my god! Dang dang diggity dand-dang, it's the best villain of the show! Me recognizing her so fast is 100% a matter of me being really impressed with the way she looked in all the official stills and being really hyped to get more of her because of how much I love Azula rather than it being obvious btw, I kinda tried not to watch any pre-release stuff to not get biased in either direction when it came to the actors, like mostly I just read a couple of interviews whenever they popped up for me, so. Genuinely this is gonna be probably one of the only times I'll recognize a character based on face alone when they first appear without their classic outfit (which? Idk how much of that is gonna happen anyway lol), I just!!! Really liked the casting for Azula purely based on the visuals (as I know literally none of the actors in this show, I just know Ozai voiced General Fong and obviously the OG Cabbage Merchant is reprising his role), like I know a lot of people wanted her to still look like a vicious femme fatale or whatever, and like, I get it, OG Azula is hot, we ALL had a crush on her as kids, but. It's vitally important to remember she's a kid, and more than anyone her casting should reflect that given how often I see people say "we should just let villains be villains" when it comes to her. She's a villain, alright, but she's a tragic one, and the entire reason why there are so many Azula "apologists" (like myself) rather than Ozai ones is precisely because of her age and circumstances. So like? Going into this show knowing that one of their prime directives with Azula is to make sure that aspect of her character is abundantly clear was genuinely a real comfort on a personal level. I'm looking forward to seeing her be cruel, but I'm also looking forward to her not being treated as "irredeemably bad to the bone". Anyway! Azula!!!

Oh shit this is a fire nation civilian coup??? Genuinely was sure this was how they skip ahead a bit and reveal that as soon as Ozai heard about Aang he sent out Azula to Omashu for some reason, but her being a domestic spy for him is actually so cool. Tbh I always kinda wondered what she was up to before being sent out, like? Was she still in school? Obviously Mai and Ty Lee weren't, was she there alone? So this is a cool way to show her finding ways to be active even before being given her first big task abroad! Btw, as much as a part of me loves Spymaster Mai, if I'm being honest that job was absolutely made for Azula ngl, she's killing it!! Can't wait for fics showing her reprise that role in Zuko's council after the war lmao (I already read some with a similar vibe and they're always enjoyable, but now Spy Azula is back and I want more!!)

Fire Palace secret entrances canon?!

I don't actually have too many comments on the whole failed infiltration scene, I mostly just think that aside from being very enjoyable, it was also a masterful way to introduce and estabilsh characterization for everyone involved! I do really like showing that there's a rebel presence in the Fire Nation, and how quickly its plans gets snuffed out. It has probably existed ever since the war started, and Aang has only reignited their efforts. There's something I find really interesting here about how Iroh and the rest of the Order of the White Lotus, who seemingly do nothing for so long, are ultimately the ones to succeed- like, is it about patience? Unity among the nations? Strategic placement of the rebellion leaders and their importance? Ultimately, a bunch of old noble men organizing a worldwide network working with The Chosen One were the ones to succeed in their rebellion attempt rather than the many disillusioned (probably) poor citizens that came before them, and like? I get WHY, but. It's genuinely very depressing how realistic that whole thing is. Idek how coincidental it is, me immediately thinking of The Order here when this is an episode that introduces one of the most prominent people in its ranks, because like? That one interview that's about the LA showrunner "being relieved he didn't have to adress Katara's romance" or whatever was actually about a whole lot more, and one of the things they talk about there is explicitly how the way they built up the episodes was by looking at the original and grouping up stories with similar themes- specifically how both Jet and The Mechanic ultimately do terrible stuff because of the war (he put it much more aptly in a way that really made sense but I can't remember the exact phrasing atm) and like? Another theme there is also rebellion vs compliance- so it makes perfect sense to me that this episode also shows the domestic side of that, y'know?

Yo fr Azula's actress is fantastic here??? I just KNOW people are gonna hate how she's more nuanced here, but personally, I loved how it seems she's a bit conflicted when Ozai kills people she knew, yet ultimately lets the sadistic glee and the "I defended my family and my country today" side win out, ending with a smile. It's good! It's compelling! It's... Very different from the way the original show was very subtle about showing how Azula was also suffering right up until the very end- it was still there, of course! She isn't having a good time in the flashbacks to their childhood! It's shown through Zuko's pov though, which inherently makes her seem better off than she actually appears to be, and like. On the whole Bryke really threw Azula under the bus A LOT, even when it doesn't match what we're shown of her, and because her suffering and struggles were less visibly obvious ig it was easy for them to forget/ignore how she was hurt by her situation too. A lot of Zuko's arc comes at the expense of stopping to think of Azula as a human, forgetting that she's also still just a child, and? I like that the LA refuses to ignore that. Her play here was how easily she convinced others the war tore up her family, and you're forced to remember- it did. She's off the mark with who she believes was at fault here and who was wronged, but ultimately... She genuinely has lost so much here, including her childhood and innocence- she was left alone with only bad influences, and when THIS is the kind of thing her father has her do and witness on the daily? Of course she turns out the way she does!!! And given how much people tend to miss that Azula was both a villain and a victim, yeah, I'm fucking glad they're highlighting the victim part!

Okay I officially don't like how Aang teaches Katara bending philosophy. It's weird, it feels off, and while I do like that he seems to be in tune with the whole "the four elements aren't really separate" thing with the way he approaches explaining air bending philosophy to a struggling waterbender... I do kinda feel like it would've hit harder if he had done it while nailing this form like in the show- him just getting it because he's the Avatar and has past life experience feels hollow, but him getting it because he gets the philosophy would actually feel earned, and I wish that happened. I know he doesn't really touch waterbending this season, and like, I know they gave him a reason (an emotionally charge one that makes sense), but. This is a scene that really called for him to try, and he... Doesn't. I wish he did. It makes them seem so much more distant from each other, and next season he's obviously gonna have to get over this and start learning with Toph, so what gives? Is the plan to have him start learning both at the same time and remove Katara's experience as his teacher from the equation in Bitter Work, only show what works best when both attempt to start teaching him at the same time using different styles of teaching? I don't get it. This just really feels too Katara focused in a way that feels a bit jarring because they still inserted Aang into the scene when really... He just takes out a lot of the emotional weight this scene could've had without him interfering- it just feels like a weird time for an expositional trauma flashback. I don't get what this scene was about! I'm guessing Katara is gonna nail the waterwhip later in combat like in the original, but it was just kind of a weird mish-mash of three plotpoints (Aang's refusal to learn without Gyatso, Katara's trauma, and Katara struggling with her waterbending) in a way that didn't really work for any of them? Aang was cute, but. He really felt out of place in this scene- it's literally one taken from the original, but when they take out the reason he was there and instead turn it into a "oooo isn't Katara so tortured by her past" it just kinda... Feels obtrusive to an otherwise cool scene of Katara practicing

Okay so. This scene bothered me so much that I thought I had to take another look at it through a different lens than "this is a weird change from the original" because that's not a charitable thing to do and kind of the opposite of what I'm attempting to do when watching this show, so I rewatched it through the lens that usually DOES make me like this show- what were they trying to say here, what did this change mean? Initially what really bothered me and caught my focus here was Aang's presence and effect being so different than the original, so I tried ignoring how weird it was that he was still in the scene, and just... Focused on what he added to it- which is when I was finally able to get it, I think. So! I think this is actually the show's depiction of Katara's anger, believe it or not! When she attempted to focus on her emotions, she instead kinda defaulted to her memories- of her fear, and helplessness... And anger- which is when she "explodes" her water. Rather than channeling her emotions, she let them control her, and was thus immediately thrown out of balance. This actually kinda checks out with the original show? A more technically skilled or disciplined Katara is actually usually INSANELY powerful, as she channels her emotions to get the water to do what she wants... But the show literally starts with an emotional Katara who has no real skill or control over her powers accidentally doing some really powerful uncontrolled bending. Like? Going by that logic, I can kind of imagine that what makes a master bender is control- that sort of explosion isn't really something that happens to Katara after the NWT, same with season 1 vs season 3 Zuko for the most part actually! And given how Aang, a master, mentioned that his training mostly covered control... I think that's maybe what they're getting at here? Idk, but this also being the Jet episode, aka an emotional one for Katara, really makes me think that this scene was meant to be its own thing with its own message, but just... Had the unfortunate luck of looking A LOT like the scene for The Waterbending Scroll. Anyway I spent genuinely way too long thinking about it so! Moving on!

Cute Sokka and Momo moment!! Followed by primo Water Tribe sibling moment!!

Zuko and Zhao actively working side by side is an incredibly intersection dynamic, I really like it!! Also poor Zuko desperately trying to hold on to the way he thinks he should act...

Why does Jet get to have his instincts while poor Sokka is reportedly removed from this arc?? Yeah so I'm going into this episode very skeptical given how much I like Jet as a Sokka episode but. I'll try to not be too biased, after all it makes sense that he'd be busy with the Mechanic! Still a shame, hope it's been exaggerated a bit.

Oh my god this is still a really fun group dynamic with Jet ngl

Cabbage Merchant!!!

Omg Teo is so cute! And The Mechanist blowing shit up inside a city rather than just in his own place is actually so funny, imagine all the bureaucratic nonsense he must constantly elicit! He must be such a pain to deal with lmao

What?! The Mechanist gets a name?! I'm shook!! Not really lmao, fr he needed one, it's genuinely such a relief. Sai The Mechanist!!

Oh wait this wasn't Sai's fault? I legit thought he just exploded an experiment or something so I wasn't worried, this gives the scene a much more sinister vibe because it's either Jet or legit somehow firebenders!

Yesss go off Teo, fantasize about dropping bombs on your enemies! Lmao that was both a horrifying and hilarious scene somehow

Katara being just... Completely indifferent to the aftereffects of the bombing felt incredibly off. Aang's attitude, while admirable, is strange given that like? Truly, how does he think he can help here? This is... A lot for an Aang that only knows airbending, a Katara that doesn't yet know how to heal, and a Sokka that has yet to show any aptitude for invention. This episode feels like it should've happened just a tad later, or alternatively, have been just a bit lighter and/or right outside of Omashu. It'll probably still work, but. Again, this is... A lot, really fast, and the characters don't feel like they're quite ready for it yet- I hope to be proven wrong, of course, I inevitably will be! But... Idk, again, this is just. A LOT.

So... Ty Lee never runs off to the circus here, or will that happen between seasons 1 and 2? What about Mai? Will she leave with her family to Omashu/New Ozai in season 2? Genuinely interested how they'll handle the change of circumstances here. I like how these two keep their personalities, and I like the fear mixed with loyalty we can see from them already, but... This is a pretty big change that strips them from a lot of the characterization inherent in the circumstances of their first appearance in the original show, so I hope they manage to make up for it and maybe expend on these two a bit more, as they truly deserve it. They too look really young, which is a good thing and works well with Azula!

Speaking of Azula, once again, I adore her characterization here! Bitter, self assured, effortlessly cruel... A villain, but one that I'm sad to see in that position. She's "softer", or maybe I should say she doesn't have quite the same amount of edge, and... I like that about her, because I feel like she's going to earn it throughout.

Damn, Teo is like. REAL angry here as opposed to the mostly naive and peaceful version we see in the original. I don't... know that I like this episode and what it's doing with everything going on too much so far tbh, actually, a lot of it feels barely recognizable, which isn't a crime, it's just... This episode introduces so many things that I don't know that it manages to do ant singular one justice?

Why is Katara the one first finding out about Sai, and why is she not referring to him by name? This all feels so disjointed istg!! This should be a Sokka and Aang focused episode, so why is Katara so prevalent here? The way they shuffle the roles here makes no sense!!

This is... Not the point of Jet? What are they doing here with him? Why is he sparing a traitor? Since when did Jet discriminate between enemies? Or are they going for a "only firenation people are his enemies" kinda thing? Also, where are the freedom fighters? So much about this bothers me, and I get it, I get that they had to merge plots, but. This creates completely different vibes for everything and everyone in a way that wasn't really an issue with the first two episodes. This merger is really doing a disservice to everything, it's just... Depressing and disjointed, and everyone feels ooc for both the original and what was established so far. This is an episode so filled with characters I cannot imagine any new viewes being able to keep up or care, and frankly, I can't either.

Okay the rest of the freedom fighters are here and I am healed. Still kinda pissed about how strangely righteous Jet is rn and how the whole Air Nomad conservation conversation is just. Not gonna happen but. It's cool to see the little guys!

Cool fight scene overall but. God I really wish Aang and Sokka were there, this feels so disjointed for a third episode!! Why are they all separated right now, it hurts the show so much!!! Even if they're all off getting the parts of these episodes that were most relevant to them, the others had a place there too, and. Genuinely hurts that Sokka is just. Cut out of the Jet arc

In other news I hope to god Sokka is being an unreliable narrator, because Hakoda does actually have an interest in engineering (bombs, at the very least lol), but I guess maybe Sokka hasn't really seen that, huh? Hoping this is a set up for Sokka coming into his own and developing real confidence, rather than just rewriting Hakoda and Sokka's relationship. Like, that Sokka doesn't think Hakoda cares about this stuff because he never tried to talk about it with him, and that they'll later bond over it or something.

Sure would've been nice to get detective Sokka in this episode!!!! God I genuinely do think that after the setup for the episode, all of the scenes work nice, but I just. This episode really, really suffers from the separation of the trio, and even though they do a good job at making the different plots work together... This could've been a great episode but it's just. Too much stuff going on, there are like five fucking plots and characters we're following and while they both mesh well and work individually, it's also just that... Theoretically it works, practically it's really difficult to follow, especially as a fan of the original that's already a bit confused by where they're going with all these changes.

Genuinely so weird for them to make Katara's memories of her mother about the sun, aka, the firebender's source of power. Like?? How am I NOT meant to think about Zuko rn??? This scene was so needlessly Zutara coded istg, it's bizarre!! It was a good scene and in line with what I thought they were going for which gives me a lot of hope in terms of Katara's characterization!! Still wish Sokka and Aang were there though.

The Zuko and Azula parallels in this episode!!!!

I don't like that they made Jee actively go against Zuko, ngl.

Good fight between Sokka and Katara!! Once again Sokka is the one who brings out the usually hidden facets of Katara, I genuinely love the way this show portrays their bond!! As much as I like and miss the Sokka we see in Jet that never appears here given how he... Never meets Jet, I do really like the way this became a three way perspective battle with no one really being wrong. Everyone has reason to believe what they do, and this doesn't make Katara look like just a lovesick fool or Sokka like a jealous asshole (which I don't really seem them as but. I've seen people who do)- the original lessons they learn in Jet are kinda... Removed unfortunately but this does make everyone generally look better as a result lmao. I'm not happy about what this episode did, generally speaking, but. This is a good way to reunite everyone imo, it's fun!

I. Didn't realize The Scarf Scene was in the Jet episode?! Holy shit the implications... Zuko trying to hold on to Katara as she's seeking Jet,,, What the fuck were they on about here unless it was some Zutara high??? What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck?????? I am. Not okay. Genuinely why was this here, why does this exist at all, this is so weird!!! I get it now, y'all, I get it.

Holy shit this whole action sequence is fantastic!!! This episode REALLY struggled to set things up in a believable and natural feeling way but I'm glad it stuck the landing in terms of the resolutions!

In other news, yeah, so that dramatic "My Cabbages!!" scene is not gonna make sense AT ALL to anyone who hasn't seen the animated show, huh?

Holy shit Iroh sacrificing himself for Zuko like that is!!! Incredible. He's gonna get out scot free even if caught because of Bumi, so like... There's that, but! Still Incredible. My poor boy was SO confused by it too, Iroh is likely just gonna go have some tea with Bumi for a bit lmao

This was a good way for Aang to get captured though!! I'm guessing Sokka and Katara are also implicated with a plot against Bumi? Honestly it'd be... Incredibly strange if we don't see the characters from this episode in the next one but I'm kinda getting the feeling we won't given that it's the Bumi one? But neither plot has really reached any sense of closure, so... Hoping they do next episode? Idk, all around just. Really strange to have all of this happen in Omashu but. Whatever lol, this episode mostly redeemed itself at the end haha

[swcetnight]

It’s Definitely You || kth (m.) 1

synopsis:

Working as a barista in NYC has its perks, but when your ultimate dream of being on the Broadway stage tends to come crumbling down, the only thing that raises your spirits is the comfort of a complete stranger… who seems to have known you for far longer than you thought.

masterlist here

→ pairing: taehyung x barista!reader (also musical theatre performer cause I had to)

→ genre: fluff, angst, future smut | strangers(ish) to lovers… i won’t give the truth away... gonna have to read and find out for yourself ;))

-> warnings: self doubt, adorable plant names... there's really not many warnings for this chapter!

→ word count: 7,973

authors note:

alrighty everyone... here we go! (i’m so nervous) this is the first chapter of this series (which it took me 50 years to figure out whether I wanted this to be a series or a two shot... lets just say that it's gonna be a long one, so I think that a series is the best way to go)! this story is really near and dear to my heart, so 1. I really hope you enjoy it and 2. I hope all of you know how hard it was to write this into words... my goodness. now, make sure you look for clues throughout this series... there's a secret in here that won't be revealed for a while ;)) but if any of you have ideas, please be sure to send an ask while we wait to find out together! anyways, I hope you enjoy !!

authors thanks:

a HUGE thank you to @hantaev and @monvante for beta-reading and being so so supportive of me and this little (but not so little) story... y'all truly have no idea how helpful you've been and how thankful I am to be friends with both of you! forreal, y'all are the greatest and I'm sending you all my love!!

also, if you are enjoying this story, please don’t hesitate to send me an ask (on or off anon) and let me know your thoughts, feelings, theories, etc!! i would love to hear from all of you 🤍

If time-travel existed, you would be on the first time machine and head back to 2 years ago. A time when you had a free schedule and were able to go out on Friday nights. A time when you felt confident in yourself and were raring to pursue theatre. A time when you didn't have this job (cause apparently, theatre is impossible to get into) that forces you awake at 4 in the morning for the opening shift.

You can't say you don't love your Barista job because you do. Still, when your alarm wakes you from the beautiful dream of performing on the big stage, you have to use everything within yourself to crawl out of your sheet cocoon… and that is unacceptable.

What's even more unacceptable is the fact that your co-worker, Jimin, hasn't arrived at the Academia Cafe yet. You have about 30 minutes to prepare for the morning peak; brew coffees, set up the bakery items, clear the boards "coffee of the day," etc. The problem is, it takes up all of the 30 allotted minutes— and you can't start prepping early because Jimin has the keys to the cafe.

You’ve worked at the Academia Cafe for about a year now, taking a break from your endless theatre audition schedule— since that was getting you absolutely nowhere. No matter how badly you want it, nothing seems to work. No matter how many times you practice, it never seems to be good enough. Let’s just say, you took this job at the cafe because you were over the repetitive let downs.

… But here you are, with a “Jimin being late” let down.

[To: Jimin ☕️] hey, you almost here? times ticking, keys!

You stuff your phone into your winter coat pocket, the brown material catching snowflakes as they fall gently from the cloudy sky. You love this weather; it's always been your favorite. When you were little, you used to pretend to be a dragon; running all over your front yard and releasing heavy breaths that chilled in the air and spread like smoke. You don't enjoy the cold, but the entire feel of winter has you cozying up in a blanket with hot cocoa and a good book… nothing could beat that.

A buzz in your pocket catches your attention.

[From: Jimin ☕️] Hey! Look up.

Your eyes immediately lift to see Jimin smiling a few feet away, shuffling through the snow as he drags the keys out of his pocket. He's sporting a heavy blue coat that reaches down to his knees — making his short stature appear even smaller — topped with a matching blue beanie. Despite his tardiness today, you’ve always been fond of Jimin. He's like a ray of sunshine, beaming through the skyscrapers of the city and making everyone around him happy just by flashing a single smile. Honestly, you wish you could sneak some of that happiness from him and lock it somewhere safe... so you can save it for a time when you need it most.

"Your timing is impeccable." He laughs, gently placing the keys into the front door lock. "You texted me right as I was rounding the corner."

"I'm telling you, Jimin; we're always on the same wavelength."  Smirking, you make your way through the doors of the cafe, greeted by the warmth that surrounds you like your sheet cocoon did this morning, but accompanied by the smell of fresh coffee. "Except for the fact that you, my friend, are late, so now we only have twenty-eight minutes until opening."

Old, rustic book pages litter the cafe's dark walls, executing the dark academia theme flawlessly. You have to give the interior designers a hand, what with the black stools and high dark wood counters etched with different story pages. You wonder if anyone took the time to read the stories that covered the cafe; maybe the stories moved them in a personal way. Maybe there was a reason why they read them, a part of the butterfly effect of their life.

With a quick survey of the main room, you shuffle into the back to put your belongings away. "You would think it would be less busy on the streets because of the snow," Jimin calls, already working on the first batch of light roast coffee. "But unfortunately for me, that was not the case, and I nearly lost my life multiple times on the way here because of how slick it is."

A laugh emits from your lips, echoing in the backroom as you throw your apron over your head.

You begin with date labeling all of the pastry items, placing them accordingly onto the pastry cart; croissants, muffins, scones, etc. Then, you move onto organizing syrups and setting toppings along the bar where drinks are made. Bar is your personal favorite position-- since you're able to make the drinks… Plus, you're so busy that your shift goes by way faster. The sooner you're done, the sooner you get to go home and sleep.

“All set?” Jimin questions when you finish setting the steaming pitchers next to the espresso machine, tossing the rag he used to wipe down tables into the sanitizer bin. You give him a nod, taking a quick once over of the bar. “Alright,” he claps, “let's do this.”

This morning runs like every Friday morning, busy and fast. The sounds of coffee glasses clinking and the calling of customer names at the hand-off station echoes through the air.

Ahhhh, the scenery in coffee shops; the quiet hush over the room as soft jazz plays over the speakers. It’s soothing, all encompassing, and extremely helpful for motivation… You used to go to a local cafe for homework when you were still in school.

You take a breath, relaxing against the back counter as you overhear a conversation a group of regulars are having. It’s the usual small talk: the weather, families, sharing pictures of recent events. Coming up with questions of the day for customers becomes easier after knowing their stories, so you subconsciously listen in often.

Because of this, you almost don't notice the man waiting at the register, wholly delved into the neighboring conversation— only looking over when you hear your name called.

"Y/n?"

You turn your head, catching eyes with the stranger behind the counter who holds his credit card ready. The first thing you notice is that he's young, probably around your age, wearing a brown turtleneck and white slacks. His eyes are dark, standing above his perfectly sculpted nose and lips. His hair is dark as well, forehead drowning within the wavy bangs that fall over his eyebrows as he takes you in. To be completely honest, he's probably the most handsome man you've had the pleasure of seeing… is that weird? You don’t know him… maybe that is weird.

The second thing you notice is that he looks completely anxious, hands grasping the edge of the counter like there's a thousand-foot drop below him. Why is he looking straight at you while doing that? Maybe you should call Jimin to take ove-

“Is it really you?” He questions, taking you aback.

"I-" You clear your throat, walking forward to meet him at the register, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

With an intake of breath, he releases the counter as he studies you. Was he… crying? You swear his eyes were not this bloodshot three seconds ago.

"You-" He pauses, taking another sharp breath and running a hand through his hair. If you thought he couldn't get more attractive, you were wrong. "Do you know me?"

Attractive? Yes. Psycho?...possibly.

You shake your head slightly, “I… I’m sorry. I don't-"

Wait… is he a regular? You swear you haven't seen him come into the cafe before. Shoot.. What if he is? The number one thing your boss has made perfectly clear: remember the regulars, so they come back and feel at home; recognized. Customer connection was the most important thing at the Academia Cafe… He's probably a regular.

“I’m so sorry, there're so many people that come to visit us and sometimes I forget the regulars!” You apologize. “That’s my fault… remind me of your name again?”

He's staring at you. Full-on staring, jaw slacked. Shifting uncomfortably in your keds, you eye beside you to see Jimin working away at a macchiato. You consider changing places, nearly walking over to him before the customer speaks again.

"It's- It's Taehyung."

You force a smile, nodding while he continues to stare at you. He seems a bit more hesitant, his eyes looking in different directions but ultimately falling back onto your own. Even if he tried, he couldn't hide the rosy color that spreads onto his cheeks. What was this guy's problem?

"Taehyung! Awesome, well, what can I get for you today?" You chirp, attempting to brighten up your increasing discomfort. He might have mistook you for someone else, you decide, jumping back into your customer service personality: kind and quick to the point.

Taehyung doesn't move, training his eyes on you. You've never had a man's undivided attention before, since boyfriends were never an option. When you were a teenager, you stayed home most of the time in your hometown, and the boys there were all just in it to take your pants off. You avoided them and never really caught their attention, so you can't help the uncomfortable blush that grows on your cheeks. It’s short lived though, your nerves dissolving as soon as you notice a single tear fall onto the front of his shirt.

Oh. Okay, he’s definitely crying.

"Sir..." You begin, leaning in closer to avoid drawing attention. "Is everything alright?"

"I…" The shake in his voice is evident as he puts his credit card back into his wallet, still refusing to break eye contact. “Excuse me." Without another word, he turns on his heel and rushes towards the exit, clocking a customer in the shoulder in his rush. He apologizes quickly, bowing to them before glancing behind to make eye contact with you once more.

You wish you could read minds, wondering what the hell is going through his brain… but you notice the tiniest gleam of a hopeful smile that hides on his lips.

And then he’s gone.

“I swear it was the strangest thing, Jimin.” You speak nervously, tugging at the strings of your apron and lifting it over your head. It had been busy all day, despite a quick thirty minute break when everyone had left and the cafe was suddenly a deserted island. You appreciated the busyness, it made your shift go by faster. Right now, all you wanted to do was go home, eat a fat bowl of icecream and distract yourself from the events of today with a movie. Thank God your shift was over.

“Maybe he thought you were someone else?” Jimin insists, taking a bite into the extra Blueberry Muffin you’d accidentally heated when you were distracted by the events that occurred earlier.

“Yeah? Well, I must be the spitting image because he was totally freaked out.”

“You never know, y/n. Or, maybe he just used that as an excuse to talk to you.” You could hear the smirk in his voice, throwing your rolled up apron at him harshly before you grab your belongings.

“Ha, ha, you’re hilarious. This guy looked like he had seen his ex… He was crying. I don’t think he was into me.”

“Maybe his eyes were watering from the cold wind?” He offers.

“Enough to cry actual tears?” You scoffed, “C’mon Jimin.”

He shrugs defensively, picking up his things so the two of you can head out a few minutes earlier than usual. Whenever the baristas have a chance to leave early, they take it. “If he comes back, then ask him: hey, dude, what’s your deal?”Jimin works his way through the cafe, throwing an excess chair upside down onto the table with the rest of them.

You hold your hand above your heart, which is still beating at a faster pace due to this discussion. Can hearts even beat this fast? This can’t be healthy… “Oh wow, you have such a way with words. That definitely won’t make him feel uncomfortable!”

Yes. Sarcasm coping mechanism.

“Y/n.” Jimin meets you at the door and puts his hands on your shoulders, making extra sure he has your attention. “Go home. Don’t think too much into it… He was probably high or something and mistook you for his ex that dumped him and now he’s moping through the city and getting into all sorts of trouble and he’ll forget that he even came here tomorrow morning. Okay?”

You nod slowly, exiting the cafe with Jimin on your tail. "Don't worry, y/n." Jimin adds, "He probably won't even come back." He locks the door and gives you one last thumbs up before heading in the opposite direction, calling out at the last second. “See you tomorrow!”

The forced smile on your face appears again (looks like this was a regular occurrence today), waving him goodbye.

Yeah… tomorrow.

Jimin was right. The handsome crying stranger was probably never coming back.

It has been a few weeks since you met him for the first time. Now, it feels like a distant memory. He hadn’t shown up to the cafe the day after the encounter, or the day after that, or the day after that, and eventually you’d come to the conclusion that he was probably never going to show his face again out of pure embarrassment. You can’t say you blame him. You’d be embarrassed too if you stared at and cried over a random stranger.

Still, you couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment... You'd kind of hoped you could figure out what his problem was, maybe ease his mind a little if you really did look like a past lover. You would make sure he knew that it wasn't you. What if he was avoiding the cafe because he literally thought you were someone else? Great… now you just feel bad.

"Y/n? Are you listening?" Jimin beckons over the phone.

"Huh? What?" You bounce back to reality, the soft comforter of your bed lying beneath you as you stare out the window. Thanks to your wonderful apartment search, you have a beautiful view of the city. Jimin had helped you find a place when you first moved here. The two of you had met when you visited to check out the first apartment options; he even took you out for a drink afterward to celebrate the first days' completion. Jimin had immediately clicked with you, as he does with everyone-- he was the kind of person to make friends insanely quickly. He must've been super popular in high school... unlike you.

"Y/n Y/l/n. I am giving you a chance to meet more people, and you're not even listening to me!" He cries, a light smack coming from the other end (probably from him slamming his hand on the table).

"Okay, okay-- I'm sorry. I'm listening now; what's up?"

With a deep sigh, he speaks again. "Party. My house. Tonight. It's not gonna be wild, don't worry... it's just a get-together with some of my friends, and you can have a few drinks if you would like to."

Gnawing at your bottom lip, you look over towards the clock on your nightstand. 5:00. "I don't know..." You begin, the bed shifting as you raise into a seated position. "I have to work tomorrow morn-"

"Already got your shift covered." He deadpans.

"What??"

"I already got your shift covered, so you have no excuse."

This sly guy.

"Who covered it?" You question, setting the audio to speaker-phone as you rummage through old text messages you haven't gone through (to prep for your "thank you for covering my shift" text message).

“Jin.” Noted.

“So…” Jimin continues, “are you coming?”

You can't even remember the last time you met new people, let alone gone to a party. Parties weren't necessarily your thing, especially with your busy schedule of workdays and auditions-- you just never had the time. You should be excited, right?

Well, you aren't.

"Jimin, I don't know… I'm not really a huge fan of parties." You mumble over the phone, picking at the lone string that popped out of its stitch on your comforter.

"Y/n, it's a small get-together, and it's not gonna be that kind of party. Believe me; it'll be really chill. It's just me, you, a few other coworkers, and some friends from my journalism class."

You chew at your bottom lip, looking over at your closet to see a single green cocktail dress that you hadn't worn in years. The memory of the dress was a good one… you had just finished up curtain call for The Addams Family and wore that dress to the after-party. It's a short sleeve, layered green dress that flows just over your knees, the same color sash tying the waist in a floppy bow. You blush at the memory of winning best dressed.

A pause, “Okay.” You conclude. “I’ll go.”

Jimin was honest about how chill it would be; soft music plays in the background as the group sits around the table playing cards. A basketball game is playing on the TV, desperate for attention as a player scores a 3-pointer, but no one is watching. Shuffling of cards is the only sound heard in the room as the game continues.

The atmosphere is calm… quiet…

“BULLSHIT.”

The immediate crumble of everyone’s mood causes the loud “HELL YEAH” that makes you jump in your seat.

"And that is how it's done, Ladies and Gentlemen." Jungkook (your fellow coworker) claps, his smile brighter than the sunset that seeps through the curtains on the opposite side of the room.

"And that's on cheating!" Jimin picks up the cards in the center of the table, gathering them clumsily back into a pile.

"It's called having skill," Jungkook replies, holding his hands up as he smirks at his opponents.

"No, it's called luck." Yoongi finalizes as he puts his hand of cards down on the table with a roll of his eyes. You haven’t met Yoongi before until tonight. He’s one of Jimin's friends from Journalism Class.

When you arrived, you decided to sit out of this round and learn to play before joining the game-- knowing you; you would've been crushed within the first minutes of playing. Card games weren’t exactly a skill of yours— board games on the other hand were where it’s at! That, and charades. For the sake of the party, a card game didn’t sound too bad this time around— so you poke at Jimin to give you the hand as he serves cards for everyone else.

“Wait, wait, wait—“ Jimin pauses, his hand disappearing beneath the table to grab his phone. “Hello?”

“I’m not Irish, so does luck really count?” Jungkook questions in a hushed whisper, nudging Yoongi in the side.

“Oh hey...yeah... it’s apartment 205.” Jimin continues.

“You’re so funny, Jk. Maybe you’ll actually become successful if you choose stand-up comedy rather than becoming a musician.” Yoongi replies nonchalantly, his cat-like eyes staring at the abandoned pile of cards before he seems to come to the decision to shuffle them himself. He gives you a small smile when you hold your hand out to signal that you’re joining in this round.

“Mhm, you can just walk on in! Doors unlocked… okay.. alright, see ya in a minute.” When Jimin's phone is down, Yoongi passes a hand of cards to him.

“Think you can beat me, Y/n?” Jungkook asks,”Since apparently these four can’t?” He motions to Yoongi and Jimin, glancing at the other two players of the game: Hoseok (Jimins other classmate) and his girlfriend, Faith.

“I think I can.” You say, smirking at the determined expression on Jungkooks face. Even if you weren’t very fond of card games, there was one thing you were even less fond of: losing.

“Mmm, might want to rethink that, but okay.” Jungkook replies. The two of you are death staring when the sound of the front door creaking open catches the attention of everyone else at the table. Jimin shoots out of his chair.

“Taehyung!”

You freeze.

"You-" He pauses, taking another sharp breath and running a hand through his hair. If you thought he couldn't get more attractive, you were wrong. "Do you know me?"

Attractive? Yes. Psycho?... possibly.

“I’m so sorry, there're so many people that come to visit us and sometimes I forget the regulars!” You apologize. “That’s my fault… remind me of your name again?”

"It's- It's-."

“Taehyung, you just missed me creaming everyone in bullshit.” Jungkook boasts. Your eyes are glued to the side of Jungkook's head, not daring to make eye contact with the source of your nerves the past few weeks.

“Oh did I?” The familiar, deep voice utters.

Okay.. you can’t help but look…

Holy—it’s actually him.

Immediate regret sinks into your soul when you see him. God, he’s even handsomer than you remember. A white woolen sweater hangs over a pair of his black pants, matched with white sneakers and accenting the head of dark wavy hair you’d been thinking about since you last saw him.

“Yep!” Jungkook continues. “And now Y/n’s about to get shitfaced too.”

The moment his eyes swiftly glance your way is the moment you crumble and turn your head back to Jungkook. You had hoped to make a sly remark, something along the lines of “in your dreams,” but you’re caught breathless from the tension in the room. The tension only the two of you are aware of. He must be tense too, right?

“I wouldn’t underestimate her.” You hear out of Taehyung's mouth, stealing a look at his face once more. He’s smirking at Jungkook, hanging his coat on the hook beside yours, oblivious of the way you’re basically dissecting his every move.

“Have you met Y/n?” Jimin questions, provoking Taehyung's eyes to fall back onto yours. This time, you don’t look away.

He doesn’t answer right away, making you more nervous than you should be— the silence deafening as you make to explain, “We-“

“No.” He states plainly, cutting you off. An innocent smile plays on his lips as he looks at Jimin and places his messenger bag beside the door.

No? Uhhh, was he not the guy who pretended to know who you were and cried in front of you without even explaining why? Nope, it’s definitely him.

“I’m Taehyung.” He calls in your direction, offering you a boxy smile and a small nod, “Don’t let Jungkook fool you. A girl pinched him when we were in grade school. He barely lasted five seconds before running away screaming.” Taehyung moved to the table, sitting beside the man he just brutally embarrassed.

“That girl was terrifying. She was way taller than all the other sixth graders. It was an unfair situation.” Jungkook protested, sinking in his chair as he shuffled the cards he held in his hand.

You couldn’t help but stare dumbly at Taehyung. Was he embarrassed of his outburst at the cafe that he just hopes you forgot about him? You guess you didn’t exactly meet each other, other than a few words exchanged before he disappeared out the door. He probably doesn’t want his friends to know about what happened. Or did he not recognize you and completely forgot about the whole ordeal?

Okay, it’s fine… totally fine.

“I’ll have to keep that in mind,” you laugh, “no more coming in late, Jk. Or I’ll have to pinch you.”

Jungkook merely rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his beer. You see the crinkle in Taehyung's eyes as he laughs, the boxy smile taking root on his face again… a smile you’ve begun to enjoy the look of.

Hey. Snap out of it. This guy is so confusing. That’s a red card.

You straighten up in your seat, catching Jimin's attention when you move towards the kitchen, motioning with your hand to signal that you’re getting another drink. You have a feeling you’re gonna need some more alcohol to get through the evening.

Jimins place is clean, every knick knack placed neatly where it belongs; accompanied by the smell of potted plants that he keeps by his windows. Little name tags are attached to the plant stems: Flo, Sprout, Bob. He names his plants. Sweet.

He, like you, has a great view of the city too, a mid-size window perched above his breakfast nook where a small potted plant (quotabley named “bean”) grows. The city is bustling below as you reach for a beer, shrugging off the fact that you hate beer, but at least the taste will distract you from Tae-

“Hey.” You hear a soft voice call from the kitchen archway. When you turn you nearly drop the bottle out of your hand. Taehyung gives you a soft smile.

“Hey! Uh.. did you want a beer, or are you a wine guy?” You question, cringing at how much higher your voice sounds at his close proximity.

“I— Sorry, neither.” He starts, shoving his hands into his pockets as he makes his way around the island. “I uh- I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

You nod slightly, “Yeah of course… what’s up?”

“Um,” he’s nervous, you notice. “I just wanted to apologize about the whole thing at the cafe a few weeks ago.. I was— not in the right state of mind.” He meets your eyes hesitantly, “you just look like someone I know from a long time ago and it kind of.. took me by surprise, I guess.”

Jimin was right. You offer him a smile, shaking your head in disbelief, “You know what, I truly thought that was the reason… It’s totally fine. I’m not who you think I am, by the way.”

A flicker of something crosses his features at your comment, something you can’t quite pick up, but he changes it quickly to a smirk. “Obviously.” He laughs, “I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable.. I’m not weird, I swear.”

“Mmm, that’s what they all say.” You tease.

He laughs, a soft sound that you want to hear over and over again. “You’ve got me there.” He takes a pause, placing his hands on the island countertop. “Let’s start over? If that’s okay? I didn’t want to mention it when I came in because I wanted us to have a fresh start.”

You push down the questioning thought of who this woman he mistook you for was, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. “That’s totally okay.. clean slate?”

“Clean slate.” He finalizes.

“Straightforward,” You add, “I like it.”

He gives you a warm smile, the same edge in the way he looks at you dances in his eyes before he breaks it off, sliding the bottle of beer out of your own hand. “Actually, I think I will have a beer. You don’t seem like a beer drinker, anyway.” He turns quickly, smirking at you before striding out of the room. “Thanks, Y/n!”

Protestations die on your lips as he disappears from the room, your beer along with him. How rude. You can’t help the smile tugging at the corners of your lips as you turn back to the cupboard, skipping the beer and pouring yourself a second glass of wine. You weren’t a beer drinker, after all.

Although you weren’t one for parties, you couldn’t help but admit the fact that you were having a good time. No, a great time. All of you are seated in Jimins living room; a plate of chips sits on the coffee table, which was the hot spot of the night (considering there’s hardly any remaining). Others in the group still have a glass of alcohol in their hands, the tipsiness evident by the slurring of their words. You had stopped yourself after half of your second glass, playing it safe since you still have to walk home after the party. You weren’t much of a drinker anyway-- your family history being the root of this decision.

It isn’t the games that made the night this enjoyable, or the food, or the movie that is currently playing over Jimin's television (which, by the way, is Moulin Rouge, because half of the room enjoys musicals, and the other half enjoys regular movies. So, you decided to settle on a movie musical). None of that matters, except the fact that you’ve never felt this carefree in a long time.

For one night, you can put aside your cafe job, auditions, and never-ending to-do lists and just have fun. Real fun. Even in the audition rooms, it has never been fun for you. It’s been nerve-wracking to a fault and always ends with a “thank you for taking the time, but we’ve decided not to accept you this time around,” or a callback, which ultimately concludes with the same grueling fate.

But this is different.

This is a group of people who genuinely want to spend time with you and get to know you… with no “not this time’s” or open-ended questions.

Especially with Taehyung. You’re surprised at how quickly the two of you seemed to hit it off, despite the awkward introduction. Now, it feels like he’s known you for years… in the best way. You’re comfortable talking to him, chatting together during the movie about the plot points or songs you find specifically endearing. You had initially planned to sit next to Jimin… but ended up next to Taehyung on the couch.

It just happened.

He enjoys musicals as well, you learn. Maybe not as much as you do, but at least he doesn’t despise them. He’s one of Jimin’s friends from their shared art class. He loves the color brown. His favorite food is watermelon. He does illustrations for Jimins journalism projects (which, in your opinion, are exceptional from the photos he showed you during the movie while the others were engulfed in the film). He wishes to pursue traveling journalism, where he draws what he sees rather than taking pictures. His whole aura is warm… like a heated blanket that envelopes you whole when you feel him shift beside you on the sofa. A small reminder that he’s still there.

Okay, you’re liking his presence way too much.

He finds romance movies corny but a guilty pleasure nonetheless. This, the reason why he agreed to watch Moulin Rouge despite the cheesiness in the beginning. In the end, it was anything but cheesy.

"Well, that was stupid." Jungkook scoffs, slamming the remote onto the neighboring loveseats' armrest. The once loud room filled with music is now quiet from the after-effects of the movie.

“I told you it was sad!” Jimin exclaims. The two of you had seen this movie before in theatres… and this was nothing compared to how the ending hit the first time. “Y/N was nearly choking. She was crying so hard when we saw it.”

An immediate blush rises onto your cheeks as you shake your head in defiance, trying to hide the tears that had been stinging your eyes for the last thirty minutes. “Who wouldn’t cry at that??”

“Taehyung probably didn’t. He never cries.” Hoseok deadpans. Ha. You can’t help but remember the tear that ran down his face in the cafe… He never cries?

With a quick look over your shoulder, you find that Taehyung is no longer seated on the couch. When did he get up? You attempt to shrug off your curiosity, pivoting back towards the chip table where only sad little crumbs remain. You were worrying way too much over a man you quite literally just met tonight… even if it felt like you’ve known him for much longer.

Taehyung eventually reappeared, stating that he had to use the bathroom— you ignored the fact that it took him a solid 30 minutes to get back to the party. It wasn’t your place to ask any questions, especially since he lifted a smile onto his face the second he reentered the room. See, y/n… nothing to worry about.

It wasn’t long before you insisted you head home, knowing that you’d curse yourself in the morning if you stayed out past the sunrise. If you did, you’d sleep through tomorrow, and that would be awful. You’ve done this a few times… and every time, you felt like you had wasted an entire year of your life.

You move to grab your purse and jacket, which are hanging comfortably on the hook beside the front door. With a small smile, you bid everyone goodnight— smiling as they resume a card game around the table at one o’clock in the morning. It’s nice to know that the group of you hit it off… now; you can look forward to plenty of get-togethers in the future.

Your mind is bustling with all kinds of ideas: picnics in central park, late-night broadway shows, hangouts at the caf-

“Y/n!” The soft calling of Taehyung's voice causes you to halt near the exit, turning on your heel to see him jogging towards you. He had haphazardly thrown his jacket over him since it’s still being tugged onto his body as he runs. His hair becomes even more chaotic in his haste… Why do you want to run your hands through it?

“Hey!” You squeak, interrupting your thoughts before they trudged down a guilty road. “What are you doing? Weren’t you going to play another round?”

He gives you a smirk, catching his breath as he holds out your house keys. “You forgot these! You were really moving fast… sick of us already?”

“Wh— oh my god, thank you!” With a quick swipe of your hand, you’re stuffing your keys into your pocket with a grateful smile. “Also, hardly.”

You admire the way his eyes light up at your confession. “Well.. since you don’t want to leave us so quickly.. how about I walk you home?” He seems almost hesitant asking, but you can’t help but applaud him for actually taking the initiative to inquire.

You shake your head, pulling the strap of your purse farther up your shoulder. “You don’t have t-“

“I want to!” He cuts you off quickly, catching you by surprise as he moves past you to open the door. He glances back, taking in your reluctant expression, “It’s not safe this time of night Y/n… You shouldn’t be alone.“

You know he didn't mean anything by that statement… But the idea of someone genuinely caring and not wanting you to be alone makes your heart swell. Jimin cares about your safety of course, but this feels… Different.

This is the reason why you allow him to walk you home.

The snow crunches beneath your feet, like a symphony that beckons you home. You’ve been feeling exhaustion seeping into your bones for the last ten minutes, but Taehyung's occasional brush of his arm as he walks beside you keeps you wide awake. He doesn’t think to apologize for accidentally touching you, but you blame it on the time of night. Delusion.

“How long have you lived in New York?” You question, wrapping your coat tighter around you to kick out the nipping air.

“About a year now,” He responds, shuffling his feet, “though it feels like way longer. You?”

“Three years.”

Taehyung turns his head towards you, eyes wide. “Wow, way to one up me.” With a teasing smile he continues, “You must know this city like the back of your hand.”

The truth is… you don’t. You came here for the sole purpose of making it on Broadway... you never really took the time to focus on anything else. Part of you wishes you had learned more, craved more, wanted more with your life—then you wouldn’t be so miserable when the one thing you do want doesn’t work out. “Yeah… kind of.”

If he hears the somber tone of your voice, he ignores it, turning against the wind as he walks backwards down the sidewalk. “It’s overrated in my opinion.”

You raise your head at this, “Why is that?”

“Everyone here has dreams… and those dreams get crushed more often than not.” He shrugs, “No one cares if you want to succeed, only if you already have.”

You stare at him for a moment, awestruck by the weight of his words. “But,” he adds, turning back towards the wind, “the ones who never give up and continue to chase that dream can become successful. Despite all of the no’s they might face, they always hold on till they hear a yes. That sounds like true success to me.”

Turning your head, you stare at the side of his face— admiring the way his hair tosses back a bit against the harsh winter winds. His words hit you way deeper than he probably realized, sinking into your chest with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. You’ve been contemplating recently on whether or not to give up on your dream… that maybe it just wasn’t going to work out for you. You have been trying for so long, and have repeatedly been let down. There was no way Taehyung could have known, which is why his words hit you as hard as they did. Despite the hardships, you’ve been here for three years and you’ve never given up or stopped trying to chase your dream.

That was an achievement, right?

“To be honest… I've heard a lot of no’s in my three years of being here.” You speak softly, tucking a fallen strand of hair behind your ear. “Sometimes it feels like there will never be a yes… but here I am. At least I'm still working— at a coffee shop, not on the stage.”

“It’s admirable that you keep going.” Taehyung glances at you over his shoulder. “It makes you different from a lot of people who have left the city when they faced failure. It’s something to be proud of. Plus, coffee shop or big stage, you’re in New York City and pursuing your gift. It’s special.”

When your eyes meet, you smile at him, feeling a sense of victory the longer you hold his gaze.

“Don’t give up, Y/n. No matter what.” He speaks genuinely, leaning towards you to nudge you gently on your shoulder. You can’t help but laugh at his playfulness, giving him a nudge in return before your eyes downcast to your winter boots. The snow on the ground is fresh, powdery and sticking to the toes of your shoes. “Plus,” He adds, sucking in the chilly air, “you've got what others don’t have…”

This time when you meet his eye he has a serious expression, making sure he has your full attention as you round the corner towards your apartment building. His gaze is genuine, captivating… and a part of you hopes that the close proximity of your apartment wouldn’t cut this moment short. Finally, he speaks.

“You have passion.”

Taehyung's words weigh on you for the rest of your night. It started off as something simple, looking up audition songs for an upcoming off-broadway show your agent was telling you about. Then, you went to learning it. After that, putting on makeup. And finally, completely forgetting about your sleep schedule and filming an entire audition tape in your room at 2 in the morning (and you were belting… your poor neighbors). It wasn’t until four that you finally turned in for the night, not bothering to take off your makeup or get changed-- simply falling onto your pillow and blacking out the moment you hit it. You were definitely sleeping the next day away… but at that moment, you didn’t mind. Having a day off from your busy schedule wouldn’t be so bad.

“I sent in an audition tape two nights ago.” You speak confidently, wiping down the back counter that’s littered with coffee grounds. They stick to the rag like glue, tiny dots scattered along its white surface. If it weren’t for your apron,

and your expertly rolled up white turtleneck sweater, you would look alot like this rag right now.

“Did you?” Jimin questions from the bar, sleeving the cup before placing it on the handoff counter.

“Christopher! Medium cappuccino!” He calls, multitasking while he cranes his neck to still hear you.

“I did. I feel really good about this one..” You add, meeting him beside the bar as he lifts the pitcher up and down to create the latte-art of a flower in the center of the mug. You have tried sooooo many times to make latte art… and every time it ended up looking like a glob. A big, distorted snowball. Jimin was the master of latte art, always finishing it off beautifully with a whip of his wrist. The foam atop telling a story. “It was so late-- I was totally out of it… and yet I actually enjoyed myself while filming it. I just imagined being there.. In center stage.”

“I’m happy for you, Y/n!” He smiles, turning to place the hot mug next to the cappuccino.

“Caleb! Medium caramel latte!”

He was only half listening to you. The cafe was bustling, so it truly wasn’t Jimin's fault that he was sidetracked— but nothing could hold back the small smile that played at the edge of your lips. You had actually enjoyed singing for the first time in a while.. all because of Taehyung's Academy Award winning pep talk. Who knew that all you needed was for someone to tell you like it is. With a minuscule smile, you turn back towards the counter and lift the latte you’d whipped up this morning to your lips. Your distorted snowball is fully on display at the top.

Despite the busyness, the front register is deserted, giving you time to think for a moment about the pep talk... or rather, the person who gave you it.

“I think Taehyung likes you.” Jimin deadpans.

Uhhh… You nearly spit out your snowball at that— clearing your throat as you set it down slowly onto the wooden countertop. He speaks as if this is a natural conversation starter… it’s not.

“I’m sorry?” You croak.

“Taehyung.” He repeats, turning his head in your direction with a knowing smirk. “I think he likes you.”

You give him a scoff of disbelief, watching as yet another group of regulars enter through the door. “That’s not true, he just doesn’t know me… so he made an effort to talk to me.” If you weren’t studying the group, you would've seen Jimin giving you a scrutinized look.

So, now you have his attention.

“Y/n. It’s so obvious… He spent the entire night talking to you, he left moments after you did to give you your keys and he never came back. If that isn’t someone who’s interested, I don’t know what is.” Jimin is an expert at multitasking, finishing off two drinks at the same time and calling them out.

“Well, Jimin, when people don’t know each other, they get to know each other. It’s this thing called talking and becoming friends.” The sentence hangs in the air as the doorbell chimes, signaling that yet another customer has entered the cafe and into the swarm of regulars, but the two of you disregard the sound and continue on through your bickering.

“I’m just saying, Taehyung doesn’t usually talk to girls.” Jimin adds, wiping his hands off on the white rag seated beneath his espresso machine. “Even if they wanted his attention, he didn’t give it to them. I mean— he’s nice to girls, don’t get me wrong.. but he’s never talked to them like he did with you on game night. I don’t think he’s dated anyone since he got here.”

“He’s career driven.” You say quickly.

If you thought his smirk couldn’t get any wider, you were wrong. “Yeah, girls don’t know that about him— meaning he told you, and not other girls.” Jimin deadpans.

You stare blankly at him. There’s no way. No way that a guy as attractive as Taehyung would even think about looking at you like that. There’s just no way. You’ve never had a boyfriend... or even a guy friend, until Jimin. Eventually, you’d accepted the fact that maybe you just weren’t that interesting. Maybe you weren’t pretty enough. Maybe you couldn’t flirt…. okay, you definitely couldn’t flirt— but that’s besides the point.

“He’s not interested in me.” You conclude.

“He is.” Jimin counters.

“He’s not.”

“He so is.”

“He’s so not.”

“Y/n. I swear to you. He’s interested and you need to shoot your shot.” He whisper-screams, throwing the rag in his hand onto the bar.

“Taehyung is not-“

A clearing of someone’s throat from beyond the register cuts your argument short, nearly making you lose your balance when you see who the source was.

You’re fairly certain you’ve turned pale.

Taehyung stands in front of you, eyeing between the two of you with an awkward expression. God, how long has he been standing there? “I figured I should step in before the two of you start fist fighting.”

“Hey!” The shrill of your voice causes you to wince.

“Hey.” He says with a smile, folding his arms in front of him and raising his eyes to the menu above your head. You can’t help the glare you send towards Jimin, who's notably holding back his laughter as he moves to the blender, the station farthest from the register. Ridiculous.

“What can we get for you?” You ask routinely, trying not to make it obvious that you were just talking about him… and praying that he wasn’t there to hear what the two of you were talking about.

“Hmm…” He looks especially good today, wearing a brown, long coat and a brown plaid scarf around his neck. He wasn’t kidding when he said his favorite color was brown, that’s for sure. It suits him. His hair is wavy, flowing to a point just under his eyebrows with a split off center, giving you the tiniest glimpse of his forehead. “How about an americano with hazelnut, and some cream?”

“We can do that for ya!” You have to force yourself to stop looking at him, pressing the buttons to ring up his order before you forget. You nearly overlook ringing up the hazelnut syrup. Why were you so dazed? He’s already placed his credit card into the chip reader, but your foggy brain asks anyway. “Anything else?”

“Yes, actually.” He speaks as you move towards the bar beside the register. Grabbing an empty pitcher, you pour the milk inside and reach for the steamer. He drops a dollar into the tip jar, not giving you enough time to thank him for the unnecessary effort before he speaks again. “Are you free later?”

NEXT CHAPTER

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[alison-anonymous]

I Want to Write a Mikayuu Series

Okay.

So um.

If you're reading this, HELLO. All of you long time ONS fans probably don't know me, but I'm Alison and I'm a hardcore Mikayuu, Mitsunoa, Gureshin, etc shipper. I've been in the ONS fandom for almost a year and dear god. The amount of people telling me that Mikayuu is queerbait is just making me really sad 😅 I'm a writer, and I'm the type of person who honestly feels like the author of a series should have the ability to choose how a story ends without influence of their readers. I mean, if it's their story, then it should be their ending, right? However, I also do have some qualms when it comes to how this "love triangle" between Yu, Mika, and Shinoa is being portrayed. This is entirely my personal opinion, but I feel like Shinoa seems to be forcing herself to love Yu. I honestly don't think she cares for him in a romantic way, but more of a very deep-rooted admiration or even envy that she's trying to convince herself to be romantic love. And Yu has said multiple times that he values Mika's life above his own, that he doesn't know what he would do without him if he were to die again (I mean the fact that he suffered seeing his best friend and potential lover die a first time was definitely scarring enough, PLEASE STOP TORTURING OUR POOR BABIES). And it's basically confirmed by now that when Mika said I love you in the manga, it was in the romantic sense. Even though I wish, I hope, I dream, and I pray that Mikayuu will become canon, I honestly can't say for certain what I think will happen. I think it could sway any way, with Mikayuu becoming canon, Yu and Shinoa becoming canon, or it being one of those ambiguous endings where it's heavily implied but nothing actually happens. And in order to make myself feel better when stuff like this happens, I tend to rewrite the entire story with the ending that I would have liked to see ;)

You're probably wondering where the hell this stranger is going with this. Well, I want to write a book. A series, actually.

One that's inspired by Seraph of the End.

Now, if you're interested in hearing me out, then feel free to keep reading. But if not, continue on with your scrolling, no hard feelings. But if you do, and I really hope that you do, give me a chance to explain.

I want to write a series inspired by Seraph of the End called Bloodsucker (working title, obviously). And this series is going to be a reimagination of ONS with an ending that I would have loved to see in the anime and manga. I plan to have three main characters (please keep in mind that I'm going to have name changes): Yuichiro, Mikaela, and a brand new character, Epic.

Now, I would begin this series a bit before the anime and I'm assuming the manga begins. I'd start with introducing our main three characters as they meet in the orphanage (yes, Epic would be a part of this orphanage as well) and how Epic and Yu try to make moves to run away only to be stopped by Mika and Akane.

I plan to include a scene between Epic and Akane where Epic tries to run out in the middle of the night only to be stopped by Akane, and this is what caused Epic to develop a crush on her (Epic is a girl btw). Then I would begin the whole shit with the vampires and how they set the world on fire and shit, but instead of the apocolypse, I'd make it so that most of the adults died in the fire while the kids were taken alive (because young blood is better and whatnot). This includes our little Hyakuya family. The directors would have tried to trade the kids lives for their own, and due to their selfishness, the vamps killed them and took the kids anyway.

This would begin my first story arc: the prewar.

Epic, Akane, Mika, and Yu would all be living under the vampires at this point along with the rest of the kids in their orphanage. I plan to include lots of moments of bonding that heavily imply Epic loves Akane even though she doesn't know it yet and Mika loves Yu, but Yu is fucking oblivious. The four begin to plot their escape, but while Mika and Akane (yes Akane too) are making deals with the vampires to help out with their family, Epic is constantly finding herself getting dragged along to visit Queen Krul. The pink haired vamp has a soft spot for her for some reason and often tells her that Epic and her family are "special" or sum shit. And she's super confused and semi grossed out. But none of the vamps ever dare to hurt her so she thinks it's fine. Then one day they all plot their escape and it's much more planned out and lengthy and less rushed than it is in the anime. Things almost seem to work out until the vampires stop them

And Mika and Akane DIE.

I know. I'm horrid.

Epic is standing here in shock as she watches the love of her life die before her and Mika BEGS for Yu to take Epic and run while they can. So while in the series only Yu survives, he obeys Mika and both him and Epic survive this. They're found by Guren (a new character I haven't come up with yet lol) and Yu is super protective over Epic, not wanting anyone to take the only piece of his family he has left (he's a fucking mess without Mika let's just be honest) and Guren ends up taking them under his wing.

Now we hit the second arc. Still with me?

The War.

Hold onto your hats everyone because this is where shit is about to get complicated. So I do plan to have a bit of a time skip into the current spot where Yu and Epic are attending school with Guren as their father figure and they've become very close. So close that Yu refuses to work with anyone else but her. They end up getting onto Shinoa Squad (obviously going to be completely different in my version) and they get put onto the battlefield. But here's the catch. Well, two catches.

Yu and Epic do have demon weapons. I do plan to try to incorporate that into this. BUT the backstory is different. I plan to make it so that the vampires obviously see the humans as fies. Insignificant things that are more playthings than threats. And they didn't want to have to deal with killing all of them, so they sent demons in their place to handle it. But the humans were able to form deals or "contracts" with the demons and therefore turned the vampires' own secret weapon against them.

Now, catch no. 2

So, Epic, Mika, and Yu aren't seraphs in this. But they are something else. I'm going to try to explain this as simply as I can, but each of them (besides Mika since he doesn't have a demon) have 3 souls inside their body:

Soul 1 is their current soul, the one that identifies as Mika or Epic or Yu.

Soul 2 is their demon soul, like what Asuramaru is to Yu.

And soul 3 is their archangel soul (I might change that name later on).

So I'm just going to come right out and say it. In this series, Epic is the villain.

Yes.

You read that right.

Epic is the villain. But she doesn't know that she is. These Soul 3s were reincarnated into the current bodies of Mika, Epic, and Ari (and I know that's not exactly how it works but screw logic this is just a fucking concept) from their lives centuries ago.

These souls existed way before vampires existed and Epic (or Essie) was very close friends with Yu (or Aytigin). Aytigin was in love with Haru (Mika) but for one reason or another, they couldn't be together. Essie wanted to do something, willing to do anything to make the two of them happy. So she made a deal that brought the vampires into creation so that Haru and Aytigin could be happy. She was willing to sacrifice everything that they stood for so that the two of them could be in love together.

She had good intentions, but of course Haru and Aytigin were furious because now the vampires were turning against the humans and they all basically died. Until they were reborn respectively, but unknowingly.

Now picking back up in the present, Yu and Epic are fighting in one of the main battles and the two are very confused when the vampires make a very deliberate attempt not to hurt Epic. They're unsure as to why, but Guren tells them not to worry about it.

Suspicious bastard.

Anyway, it's revealed finally that MIKA IS ALIVE

BUT HE'S ALSO DEAD

Yes he is a vampire. And Yu falls in love all over again upon seeing him, and after a bunch of struggling, Epic gets kidnapped. At first she gets strangled by Lacus and then she gets kidnapped by Ferid who doesn't kill her surprisingly.

Oh and uh... Ferid is nice in this. He's still a fucking creep, but he's a lot nicer than he is in the series. I plan to make Queen Krul or whoever I turn her into be the villain.

Anyway, they take Epic back to the vampire palace or whatever and Queen Krul and Epic are reunited! And Krul is the one who reveals to Epic exactly who she, Mika, and Yu are and this is what sparks Epic's fall to insanity.

I mean, she's the killer. She's the one who brought them into this world. She's responsible for every death the vampires cause.

I would go crazy too.

So, she manages to escape (partially thanks to Mika) and the two join Yu and the others again and it's revealed a second time exactly what is going on. And while no one actually blames Epic on the Shinoa Squad, that doesn't stop people like Kureto and even herself from blaming.

And this causes her demon to go haywire.

She begins losing her marbles, almost killing her teammates and trying to kill herself, all while the three begin to experience dreams or visions of their Soul 3s.

While all this shit is going on, there's heavy romance between Mika and Yu because these two lovers just got reunited and FUCK did they have glow ups but yes -

Oh. And there is another spark for Epic, even though she doesn't think she's worthy of love.

Okay. I'm just gonna say it.

Lacus falls in love with Epic. Yes. You read that correctly too.

I plan to make the two of them get trapped together at some point and they have to work together to escape. It's during this time that Epic realizes he's not all that bad and has some form of self control and he realizes that she's the most interesting thing he's ever met in this disgusting and boring life and damn do her eyes look pretty-

But yes. She forms a permanent alliance with him that he jokes about as marriage and they meet on other occassions too, but lol yes.

Anyway, blah blah blah, more fall to insanity, the Soul 3s take over their bodies on multiple occasions and there's a lot of bonding and fighting and Epic and Mika somehow manage to get some of the vampires on the human side.

And in the end, Epic and Yu basically sacifice themselves to save the human race and kill Queen Krul. It's a very rough ending I haven't quite perfected yet, but Yu has a moment like he did with the King of Salt. But though he inflicted a lot of damage, it's not enough. So while the team is worried about him, Epic takes this opportunity to fix her and Essie's mistakes.

She allows both Essie and her demon to take control of her body and dies on the battlefield. Queen Krul is eliminated. Most of the vampires are gone. The humans won.

Horray.

Epic is dead.

Kinda. Yu and Mika take her back home and this is the preview to the last arc where everyone's in the hospital and Epic's in a coma. Mika and Yu barely ever leave her side and it's only when Lacus of all people comes to visit that she fucking wakes up.

Okay. Are you still with me? Now come with me to the final arc.

The Post-War.

No my friend. It doesn't end there. Because Mika and Lacus are still vamps and life still sucks and I drank too much coffee this morning.

No it's not over yet.

So flash forward a couple years and Kureto and Crew are working as the heads of this city. Stuff is being rebuilt, people are settling down in homes, Lacus and some of the other "good" vampires find jobs, and Mika, Yu, and Epic get a house together (in case I didn't mention before, Epic is pansexual. She loved Akane dearly and I plan to include scenes where she sees her in her mind and dreams like Mikayuu so she's never truly gone, but she falls for Lacus too when he's not being a sadistic asshole). Things are going strangely when

BAM. Epic and Yu come up with a cure for vampirism.

How, you may ask? I don't fucking know, I haven't read about it in the manga yet but before we come up with an idea for it, imma say they came up with it through a spell. They share their findings with Guren and soon all vampires are being cured, most notably Mika, Lacus, and even Rene.

BUT and there's always a but, Kureto passes a new law claiming all vampires to be property. That any vampire or previous vampire or even vampire supporter/owner that tries to disobey these new laws is to be killed immediately. Now Epic and Yu are in jeopardy because their ex-vampires are in danger (Epic and Lacus have been hanging out a lot more and he's proven himself to be a decent guy. Contrary to popular belief, I headcanon him as not really knowing what to do when he actually cares about someone since he's been a heartless vamp for so long. So when he turns to Mika and begrudgingly asks him for LOVE ADVICE of all fucking things, Mika is ready to die). So basically, Mika and Lacus end up getting locked up along with the other ex-vamps (including Ferid which was a pain in the ass) and did I forget to mention that there's a proposal?

Oh yeah, Yu proposes to Mika and the blond still has yet to give him an actual answer because poor baby is still having a hard time accepting that Yu can love a "monster" like him.

But anyways, now Epic and Yu are furious and SHINOA SQUAD IS BACK IN BUSINESS. With the help of Guren and Shinya and everyone, they form a sort of rebellion and blah blah blah they manage to get Mika and Lacus and everyone out and blah blah blah they all get separated and Lacus begins to get INSANELY protective of Epic and ends up confessing his feelings to her before he nearly dies and blah blah blah did I forget to mention that I'm making Mitsunnoa and Kimizuki x Yoichi canon and blah blah blah.

Epic kisses Lacus as an instinct. Lacus kisses her again. Mika accepts Yu's proposal then almost dies AGAIN. I kill off some characters for emotional tugs and after a ton of more fighting and revenge and psychological breakings later, Kureto is killed. And Guren (or someone else haven't decided yet) is the new head of their city.

Epic, Mika, and Yu finally let Akane and the kids go. There's a lot of Shinoa Squad bonding but this is a summary so I haven't included much besides the main three. Epic and Lacus becomes canon. Mika and Yu get married. Guren and Shinya get married. Shinoa gets pregnant.

And everyone gets the FUCKING HAPPY ENDING THAT THEY ALL FUCKING DESERVE BECAUSE FUCK

I do plan to be slightly ruthless like the creator and include a lot of heartbreaking scenes, but it's going to be much different than ONS but I still want it to hold on to some core relationships.

I just want them to be happy. And I just want to make other people happy because fuck I JUST WANT TO BE HAPPY

So. Yeah.

That's Bloodsucker...

So my question to you is... if I wrote this shit.

If I sat down and typed about 30 books roughly inspired by Seraph of the End and Mikayuu and Mitsunnoa and shit...

Would anyone read it?

♡ a.a.

[eleanorbloom]

Skeptical (w/ Tobias Carrick)

Book: OH: TY. Characters: Eleanor Bloom (MC), Tobias Carrick, Aurora Emery, and Bryce Lahela (briefly). Summary: Eleanor confronts Tobias about Aurora. Rewrite of Book 3, Ch. 9.

Word Count: 2.1k Rate/Warnings: Teen, few curse words.

A/N: Hello! I'm bringing something different than usual. PB has been doing like Tobias never used Aurora, like he never hurt my friend (and LI too) and personally, I can't stand it. So here's my take about it. I wrote it with Eleanor instead of Rosalía because in Rosalía's universe Aurora never tranfers to Mass Kenmore.

Hope you like it!

Taglist: @romereadingshop @starrystarrytrouble @penda-bear @queenelianar @julia-highstorms @mercury84choices @openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations I'm using my Aurora x Rosalía taglist because I thought you might be interested in reading this. Feel free to ignore it if only want to read romance lol

_________

Eleanor furrowed her lips as she was listening to Tobias telling his side of the story with Ethan.

When Tobias joined the Diagnostic Team, she was very dubious about everything that involved him. She didn't know him enough but the few things she knew about weren't good.

His blatant competitive attitude, the feud with Ethan, the fact that he was hired by Leland without consulting Ethan. All those signs telling her she shouldn’t trust Tobias.

But once she got to know him better, her image of him started to change. He wasn't the insufferable he was the first day, he was actually charismatic and rather funny. Easy going once she knew him past his competitive attitude, and she had learned a lot with him even if Tobias wasn't the type of Doctor she would normally admire. His values were totally opposed to hers, as she learned with Francis' case.

But still, something was stopping her from actually trusting him.

She did believe he was sorry for the stupid, childish attitude he had with Ethan, and seemed to be acting according to that, trying to make up for his mistakes.

He deserved a second chance.

But her skepticism had nothing to do with the Diagnostics Team or Ethan.

It was about Aurora.

“What is it? You don't believe me?” Tobias asked when Eleanor hadn't said a word since he finished his story. Trying to hide his concern, he gave her a mischievous smirk.

Eleanor didn’t know what to say.

It was hard to believe he wasn’t the same person who sabotaged his own friend when last year he used a person to get what he wanted. He hired Aurora to entice Harper to work in Mass Kenmore.

He hurt her friend, even unknowingly. And Eleanor couldn’t forget that or just get past that.

“Why do you say that?” Eleanor asked, trying to conceal her skepticism, but there was no use. She had always been too transparent with her emotions, and this time wouldn't be the exception.

“Well, you don’t look too convinced with what I told you.”

He was right. She wasn’t.

Eleanor sighed. Should she tell him? It wasn't her problem to tell, it was Aurora's, and knowing her, she would never confront Tobias about it. She barely had confronted her Aunt because they were family, but in no way she would face the umpteenth person that used her to get to Harper Emery.

“Come on, we're among friends here. I confided in you really top secret stuff, Elle.”

Eleanor grimaced at the sound of that name on his lips.

"I prefer Ellie if you don't mind. The only person that calls me Elle is my partner."

Tobias' hazel eyes widened in surprise for a brief second, “Sure, sure, my bad. Ellie it is.”

Eleanor nodded.

“So? Come on, be honest. I won’t get mad at you because you can’t believe I wanna mend up things with Ethan.”

“It’s not that. This is not about Ethan.”

“Then what is this about?”

Eleanor pondered her words. What was the best way to approach this?

“I believe you regret what you did to Ethan, but it's hard to tell you have changed since that.”

His brows knitted in curiosity, but for a brief second, embarrassment flashed features, “Okay, that's fair. Can I ask what makes you believe that?”

Eleanor wasn't particularly a confrontational person. Only when a person pressed her buttons she would actually confront that said person. And Tobias hadn't pressed any buttons, but the chance that they would have this kind of conversation in the future was extremely low. And she really needed to tell him that, in order to have a more amicable relationship with him.

“The fact that you used a person to get what you want.”

Tobias frowned, “Eleanor, what are you talking about?”

He was incredulous. And oblivious. Apparently, he had no idea where she was going with that accusation.

“You used Aurora to get Harper to work in Mass Kenmore,” Eleanor said, and Tobias' face disfigured instantly, “You didn't hire Aurora because she was a good doctor, but because she was Harper Emery's niece.”

“How did you know?”

“When you went to pick up some stuff after the Solomon Kenmore partnership, Aurora and I heard the discussion you had with Harper.”

Tobias winced in earnest regret.

"You seem like a decent person now that I know you, but even if your mistake with Ethan was years ago, what you did with Aurora is as much condemnable as what you did to him, and this happened just last year."

As Tobias remained silent, she continued.

“That's why I can't believe you. I just… can't stand people who use other people. And it's worse if you used my friend.”

“You're right,” it was the only thing he could say.

“Do you have any idea what is like living under the shadow of Harper Emery?” Now that she had opened her mouth, she couldn't stop. “Aurora has struggled her whole life with that, and transfer to Mass Kenmore was the opportunity to escape that. She deserves the spotlight, that people value her for her work, for her brilliance, and not for her family name. But it turned out, it wasn't because you believed she was good. You actually didn't give a fuck about her as long as you get what you wanted.”

Tobias gave her a pained look, “Aurora is a brilliant doctor, an outstanding resident. It didn't take her long to become the best resident in Mass Ken, and I know she'll achieve great things after finishing her residency.”

“But you found out that after. You only saw her as your mean to get Harper. And that's wrong. I'm sorry, but I can't act like this never happened. You used my friend, you made her doubt about her worth. I can't forget that.”

“You're right, Eleanor. But she should've never found out...”

“That's not the point! Or it is, actually. You did it knowing it was wrong. It doesn't matter if she finds out or not. You used a person and that was wrong. And if you're really trying to grow up from that 'blatant competitive' attitude, the first thing you should stop doing is using people.”

Tobias averted her eyes for a few moments, processing her words, concealing the shame.

He never thought their conversation would turn out like this.

“Well, what can I say? You're right in feeling that way about me, Eleanor, so I won't try to change your mind when it's clear that the wrong is on me. ”

“I've been very tempted to like you, but I can't like the person who hurt my friend. Hypocrisy doesn't work for me.”

Tobias shook his head, amazed, “You're something else, Eleanor. I wish I was lucky enough to have a friend like you, firm in your values and loyal.”

"You were lucky enough to have it, Tobias, but you betrayed him. Ethan is a loyal friend, and true to his values to a fault. And probably you know that better than me."

Tobias gave her a sad smile. Eleanor could swear there was melancholy in his eyes.

“Thank you for your honesty, Eleanor. I really appreciate that. I'm gonna learn a lot with you.”

Eleanor blushed, incredulous. He was being sincere or he was just schmoozing?

Only time would tell.

*

The cafeteria was quiet at that time of the night. Perfect place to study. Bryce had been interrogating Eleanor for the past thirty minutes in his interest to help her study for the boards, making knowledge questions as well as practical cases he had found on the web.

"Okay, we have this 2-year-old boy, his mother found him unconscious…" He started reading on Eleanor's tablet, but suddenly stopped as he saw Aurora approaching their table, "Hey Aurora! Coming to join the midnight study session?"

“No, thanks, Bryce,” Aurora replied, giving him a tiny smile, “Would you mind…? I need to speak to Eleanor. ”

Bryce looked from Eleanor to Aurora for a second and then nodded, “Oh, sure! She's all yours. Well, to speak to her she's all yours, we all know she's mine.”

“Oh my god, Goldie, just go!” Eleanor giggled, tilting her head as Bryce was leaning to kiss her.

“Text me if you need anything, okay?”

“I will, thank you, love.”

Once Bryce was out of sight, Eleanor turned to face Aurora, who was sitting across her with a serious expression on her face, “You wanted to talk?”

“Yes.”

Aurora sighed, and after several seconds of silence, she finally spoke, “Tobias talked to me yesterday.”

Oh fuck.

Eleanor never thought Tobias would speak to Aurora about what happened in Grace's apartment, several days ago now.

“Okay…”

“He apologized for what happened with Aunt Harper. For hiring me knowing I was her niece. He was also sorry I had found out.”

Eleanor nodded, feeling a pang of fear inside her.

“At first, I was so mad at you, Eleanor. So mad. Because you had no right to tell Tobias how I felt. That I knew the truth. It was something deeply personal.”

“I know, I know, and I'm… ”

“Let me finish, Eleanor.”

Eleanor, completely pale, shut her mouth and made a gesture with her hand as if she was fastening her mouth like a zipper.

“I was mad because I would never recognize in front of him how bad it hurt me his… scheme. That's why I never confronted in the first place.”

Aurora looked down at her hands, as if she was focusing on reliving those feelings.

Eleanor was rigid and terrified. She had betrayed her trust and who knew how much time it would take her to be forgiven for that, considering the story they had.

"But after a while I realized … I never knew how much I needed an apology until it happened."

Eleanor looked at Aurora, agape.

"Tobias told me he would've never realized how wrong was that if you hadn't told him. And when he thought about the pain he might have caused, he regretted doing it. He was sorry he made me believe I was just Harper Emery's niece when I'm much more than that."

Eleanor shook her head, regret washing over her features.

“Aurora I'm truly sorry for what I did. I knew at that moment it wasn't my business to tell him what had happened, but I couldn't act like everything was fine with him. He needed to face what was wrong, but it wasn't my call, it was yours.”

“Yeah, but I would've never taken it, and you knew it. I would've never done it because I thought the only thing I needed was to get over it, and forgive myself for stupidly falling for his lie.”

Aurora bit her lip before giving Eleanor a humorless smile, “But it turns out I shouldn't be blaming myself for something I didn't do. He was the one who used me, it was his fault, not mine. So when he apologized, I realized that. And that would've happened if you hadn't intervened.”

“Aurora…”

“I've spent my whole life blaming myself for trusting people who used me, but I've never been the problem. They are. People have never cared. Never cared to sincerely befriend me and never cared to apologize when they used me. So when Tobias apologized… it felt so good, because it let me stop blaming myself for that. It's not my fault.”

“Of course not, Aurora. It's their fault. It's their fault not being able to see the amazing person you are, the brilliant doctor you are, and all the incredible things you can do and give. So fuck them. ”

Aurora chuckled, "Fuck them. Except for Tobias. He looked really sorry for what he did so maybe there's a chance for him in the end."

“Yeah. He's not that bad. But I couldn't let myself like him when he had been an ass with you. ”

“Thank you for calling him out, and for defending me. Though I beg you to please don't this again. At least talk to me before going in the whole protective mode, okay?”

Eleanor took Aurora's hands in hers, and gave her the first genuine smile of the night, bright and wide, “I promise.”

“Good, now let's call Bryce to resume your study session with a little friendly competition.”

“Oh? Competing against Aurora Emery again? You're on!”

_____

Thank you so much for reading!!!

[gyll-yee-haw]

Chapter 1

Professor!Jake x Reader

Series information

Series masterlist

---

I would write you a poem, my love.

(For you - Passenger)

---

You drove home feeling like the most stupid person who has ever lived.

You felt like a child who didn’t know teachers had a life when they weren’t in class.

Like he only existed in your daydreams when you couldn’t see him.

Like he waited all week to come alive to you every Tuesday.

Since when did Mr. Gyllenhaal has children? He never mentioned them.

He’s not married. You paid too much attention to his hands to miss a detail like a fucking golden ring.

This is not the 19th century, though. Maybe he just had a girlfriend. Maybe he was divorced. 

It didn’t matter to you. It wasn’t about what you saw, but the realization that he loves or already loved someone else that killed you. And you were so angry at yourself for feeling like that. You had loved other men before him. And he was probably... 10 years older than you? Maybe less, maybe more. But it was pretty obvious he had his own life. 

He was nothing but a teacher you were supposed to forget in a few months.

Maybe that was it. You would prepare yourself to lose him as the semester ended, but you weren’t ready to do it now.

When you entered your apartment, you didn’t feel like doing anything. All you really had to do was wake up from that stupid fairytale.

---

When you heard your alarm and opened your eyes, you wished that any kind of miracle had happened and it wasn’t Tuesday. Maybe you slept for 24 hours straight and it was Wednesday already. But you checked your phone and it said it was Tuesday.

Then you thought about skipping class. Only for a day, it wouldn’t hurt...

But what would happen the next Tuesday? And then the next one?

Sooner or later you would have to see him again. So it would be better to just end this quickly.

---

You got to college early to find a seat in the back. If you looked as terrible as you felt, you didn’t want Mr. Gyllenhaal to notice. 

You sat there in silence, opening your book at a random page, so you would look busy and no one would talk to you.

“Hey.” Wes interrupted your inner drama after a few minutes. “I almost didn’t find you when I arrived, why are you sitting here?”

“Headache.” You lied. You knew Wes already thought your crush was ridiculous, if he knew all the pain you were going through at that moment, he would probably want to punch you. And you knew you deserved it.

“Well...” He sighed and took a seat beside you when he heard the bell ring. “It’s gonna pass real soon. There he comes.”

When you looked at the door and saw Mr. Gyllenhaal walking in, your heart started to hurt again. So you decided to look at your book, at the floor, at anything but him for the next couple hours.

But you couldn’t help it... you started to pay attention to his clothes, to his bag, checked his left hand again, anything that could give you a clue about his personal life.

And your head started to wonder way too far. You wondered if he ever had his heart broken. How many women had the privilege to be touched by him? What did they look like? Was he a good father? Something inside you told you he was a great father. 

---

When the bell rang, you felt relieved. Now you would have an entire week to heal. To forget about him completely.

“Are you feeling better?” Wes asked, grabbing his stuff to leave.

“Yeah.” You lied again. 

The class was getting empty really fast, or you were grabbing your stuff really slow, cause silence soon filled the room. You thought there was only Wes and you left, when you heard Mr. Gyllenhaal’s voice say:

“Hey, Y/N. Can I speak to you for a second?”

A shiver ran down your spine. You looked at Wes and he was just as confused as you.

“See you later, then?” He shrugged as he started to walk towards the door, while you mentally begged him to stay. If this all happened last week, you would be beyond excited. But right now, you just wanted to run.

When you realized it was only you and the professor left in class, you grabbed your bag and approached him, looking at the floor.

“Are you okay?" He asked, sounding really worried. “You didn’t seem to be able to focus today.”

“I’m sorry, professor.” You gave him a weak smile. “I’m just tired. But I’m fine.”

“Really?” He insisted. “You sat pretty far from me, but I could see that your book was on the wrong page.”

“I didn’t sleep well.” You felt the shame deep in your stomach.

Shame for both the way you acted in class and the way you acted the day before. Shame to be standing in front of him at that very moment wanting to cry like a woman who had just been cheated on.

He didn’t believe your words. He didn’t fully understand why he felt like he knew you that well, but he simply did. So he thought for a second before saying:

“Come with me.”

You weren’t sure why, but you followed him outside. If he was going to give you a “disappointment speech” or ask you to try harder next time, he would simply do it right there, so what was he going to do?

He led you to the garden near the building's entrance and looked around when he stopped.

“You’re not gonna tell anyone, will you?” He asked laughing a little.

You had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He didn’t know what was going on inside your head at that moment. You just wanted to push him away screaming YOU. YOU. YOU. YOU ARE MY PROBLEM. But you just shook your head.

He opened his bag and started looking for something. When you saw a pair of scissors in his hand, you swore you couldn’t get any more confused. He used them to cut a rose from the garden.

“Come closer, let me show you something.” He smiled and you approached slowly. “Give me you hand, but be careful.”

You offered him your hand and he gently placed the rose on your palm. Your eyes met his as he did that and you melted, wondering if he ever showed up at someone’s house bringing them flowers.

“Today I was telling the class about the challenges of teaching Botany.” He told you. “Did you hear that part?”

“I-” You tried to remember, but you really didn’t hear a word he said that day. “I’m sorry, I don’t think so.”

“It’s fine, I’ll tell you now, then.” His smile never left his face, and he was talking to you the sweetest way he could. “We grow up listening to music and reading poetry and if there’s something artists like to talk about is flowers, right? Maybe that’s why we don’t pay attention to other structures that are just as beautiful... well, at least for me.”

You chuckled and it warmed his heart. He knew there was something bothering you that day and he was glad he could get your mind out of it for a minute.

“And it also makes people call those structures by the wrong name.” He continued. “For example, we only think roses have thorns because society believes ‘prickles’ isn’t a poetic word.”

“So... today’s class was a manifesto against social conventions? Sounds interesting.” You joked. He really made the atmosphere a little lighter. “Let’s be real, there aren’t too many pretty words that rhyme with prickles.”

“Okay, the poets are forgiven.” He laughed. “But my students don’t have to rhyme during the tests.”

“Good point, sir.” you shrugged.

“Please, just call me Jake.” He asked.

“Jake.” You nodded. It sounded silly, but it was some kind of new intimacy for you not having to treat him with formalities, even though you knew he never liked them anyway.

There was a moment of awkward silence and you tried your best to keep your eyes on the flower, because you could feel that his were on your face.

“So...” He cleared his throat. “Like I was saying...”

He proceeded to explain the difference between thorns and prickles. You really tried to pay attention this time, but your mind drifted away and focused on the way his hand softly brushed yours as he tried to show you the things he was talking about, using the rose in your hand. You also couldn’t stop wondering why he was doing all this. He had just said all of that in front of 50 students, but he realized that one of them wasn’t listening, so he decided to do it all again. It would be so much easier to not fall in love if he wasn’t so good to you.

“I mean...” He interrupted your thoughts. “I couldn’t give you all the details I mentioned in class earlier, cause I don’t want you to lose your entire break, but I hope it helped.”

“Mr. Gyl... Jake.” You were still not used to this new intimacy. Or at least, what you wanted to believe was intimacy. “I honestly don’t have words to thank you. But you know you didn’t have to do this.”

“Can I be honest with you? About the reason why I did this?” He sighed. Your heart started to beat faster, even though you tried to keep your expectations low. “I know many people are in my class exclusively for the credits. So, I don’t really care if they learn something or not, it’s their choice. But I know you’re different. I enjoy reading your essays. You’re very creative and perceptive. You know... there’s like... a group of 5 or 6 students that I would love to work on a project on my lab with. And I can’t have the number one of them missing a single detail.”

His number one. If only he knew how badly he was hurting you by saying nice things. You had to hold back the tears and decided to hide your emotions behind a joke:

“So... what am I supposed to not tell anyone? That you stole a flower from the garden or that you have a ‘number one’?”

“I guess we have two secrets now.” He laughed. “See you next week, Y/N?”

You nodded and handed him the rose.

“Keep it.” He smiled. “I can’t keep any evidence of my crimes.”

With that, he put his scissors back in his bag and walked away after giving you one last smile.

You looked at the rose and felt a single tear rolling down your cheek. It was so unfair to be special to someone for the “wrong” reasons. You knew the reasons you wanted to be special to him for were the actual wrong ones. But you would let him torture you with his own reasons forever.

---

Taglist! (Pls let me know if I forgot someone, I'm not a very organized person... or if you still want to be added!)

@lady-evans @shay-vaughn  @sogothiamdead  @paosesposts @baby-haz  @billyspotato @gyllenhaalstories ​ @lexie-wayland @gaymysterio

[purplerose244]

Thinking journal for season 12 Prime Empire 😎😎😎 (1/2)

So, I'm keeping this during all of season 12 to put down my thoughts as they appear. It's mostly for not ranting every single time a new episode comes out so please don't mind me too much 😅 I'm following the English release so please no spoilers 😙

I'm gonna split it in two, since apparently the season has 16 episodes. So this is the first part, enjoy my rambling 💜💜

It's the 30th of March and here we go!

IN GENERAL

I'm so, SO HAPPY, we have a theme for this season. For my experience apparently silly themes (tech ninja, ghosts, pirates) had brought very surprising results so I'm SO DOWN FOR THIS 😍😍

It seems that they fixed the mood, there is a specific mystery and a specific mission to follow. I like it too

THE NEW WHIP IS DOPE AS ALWAYS

I'm really glad there are plenty of references to past episodes, comebacks are my jam

The only thing that still kinda bothers me is the length of the episodes. It's not all bad, I just think the 20 minutes format was better. One thing is splitting 20 in 10 minutes, another is putting together 11 minutes of important stuff. Doesn't bother me too much, I just wish there was more time for my favorite show 🤷‍♀️

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENTER PRIME EMPIRE?

Is it normal for me to feel really old after they made the "what is a VCR?" joke? Like, I'm a uni student so still pretty young, but I lived through the transition from that to the DVD so... eh, I laughed anyway👵

Jay is smart, I really believe he is. Yet I saw him putting a possibly corrupted motherboard into a legendary game randomly found into a villain's lair, and I was like "Of course he did that, I love you you dumb*ss" raising my glass of juice towards him 😎

Okay, I'm down for this Lloyd. I'm down for a season with Lloyd being creeped out just because, being silly, just a ninja helping his friends and- (remembers there's a Harumi avatar in the sets) I'M NOT READY

The ending was actually nicely creepy. Cool nods in approval

DYER ISLAND

THAT INTRO THOUGH, THAT WAS EPIC! Love the techno sounds, love the clear gaming connection, I rate it 10/HECK YEAH LONG LIVE THE FOLD

I was scared about how the shorts were supposed to play along with the season, but it looks fine so far with the mechanic and later for Scott. Good 👍

Ah, Fist to Face, that game came all over from the nostalgic season 1. That's what I'm talking about 😎

So they just associated that Unagami is probably Dyer's avatar like that? Like sure, I thought about it, but it looks a little rushed. Mm, I wonder if there's something more behind it?

LEVEL 13

Cyrus Borg is back and he TALKS!!! Finally, he gets some action! Go tech dad!

I'm so happy he referenced the Digiverse, I would have been very disappointed if he hadn't. Time flies Borg...

Not gonna lie, I thought the next to follow up Jay's spot as best in videigames was going to be Kai or Lloyd. It's not disappointing though, since pretty much all the ninja have been seen playing, and to be honest I like the implication that Cole and Jay probably played a lot together. As bruiseshipping or as BrOTP, I still love them together no matter what 💙🖤💙🖤

Ooooohhhhh, that's why Zane and Pixal are left behind. It makes sense, sure, but I don't understand the implication of the plan: they saw Dyer entering Prime Empire, so why looking for him in real life? Mm, maybe they will investigate about his life and what happened... PIXANE ON THE CASE 😍

Already saw Prime Empire's world in the shorts, of course it looks DOPE, still very happy to finally being there!

SUPERSTAR ROCKIN' JAY

I don't know why, but Kai questioning the double jump made me laugh. Also poor him, he just got his powers back from last season and they're already gone again 😂

And of course. Them. Wow. It must be the most amazing and CURSED thing I've ever seen so far, the League of Jay 🤯 I'm so happy they exist and they freaking use past seasons' suits!!! Awesome!!! Never thought I was going to see Jay's old plain haircut again... yeah, he got better with the curly one, but I'm feeling nostalgic 🤷‍♀️

Their nick are histerical omg, Jaybird, Dee-Jay, Jaywalkin, I'm loving this way more than I should 😂 Also they freaking screamed "JAY-NJA GOO!!!" and I don't know what to do with that, it's too great for me to comprehend 👏👏

And then, THIS happened:

Your Honor, I would like to confirm this as THE MOST SECRET DREAM I'VE EVER HAD FOR THIS SHOW FINALLY COMING TRUE!!! A NINJA FROM NINJAGO DOING THE NARUTO RUN!!! 🤯🤯🤯 Done, I'm done, conclude the season, this is more than enough for me 😍

First Kai gets hit and fall from a building, DYING, then Lloyd gets desperate for his brother (MY BROTP 💚❤💚❤), then Kai respawns and Lloyd looks so relieved and Kai is all panting while slowly realizing it's a game and MY HEART CAN'T HANDLE THIS MUCH OKAY???

As a very passionate Kai fangirl I always expect the cringy moment, it really is inevitable for my favorite hothead. I love that idiot so much it's unbelievable, even if it's an absolute and costant suffering 😅 Holy Garmadon it was painful seeing his VERY slow realization that in this game you only have four lives

... SO HE HAS ONE NOW!?! NINJAGO CREW YOU ALREADY KILLED ZANE, NYA AND LLOYD ONCE AT THE END OF A SEASON, DON'T YOU DARE PLAY WITH ME AGAIN 😱😱😱

Okay, I did not expect to hear about Mr. Cuddly Wamp ever again since Hands of Time and BOY if I'm happy it was actually a password, I love this show 😂

SCOTT FINALLY!!! YESS!!! 😍😍😍

Okay, for as long as it is not debunked, I will hold onto the Scott is Jay's brother/twin theory. I'm sorry but: his jacket has dragons AND lightnings on it, they have very similar skin in avatar mode, he said he was waiting for him in the short, he could very well have his same hair under cap and hoodie and he's a mechanic too. I know, I know, they could have the same skin because Scott helped him for the avatar, and there might be shadier reason behind the 'I was waiting for you' thing, and there are tons of good mechanics in Ninjago... STILL HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE??? 😍

SCOTT HAS ONE LIFE POINT TOO??? NO! NOOO!!! NOOOOOOO!!! Don't you dare appear and steal my heart only to die at the end of the season, come on!! 😭

So for now it seems like he just wants to survive. Can we actually confirm he's an avatar and not an NPC? I mean he could be, but I don't see the point of an NPC self aware of his life points. Idk, maybe I'm overthinking this 🤷‍♀️

Lol, Kai is the only one weirded out by the Jay-con all around him. Probably because he hasn't heard from his fans since Skybound 😅 (I'M STILL HERE MY FLAME BABE, ILY ❤❤❤)

And in all of his glory, freaking Superstar Rockin' Jay!!! 😎😎 Okay, I loved the design since the first time I saw it, but it looks possibly even better in the show 😍😍😍 And Jay looks absolutely adorable in it, and he's got a guitar, and he was waiting for his friends, and he hugs them (I'm weak for LEGO hugs for some reason) and he is so happy and AAAHHH 💙💙💙💙💙

I'm very curious about how Scott will play into the situation, clearly he will provide some kind of insight about Prime Empire. I can't wait to know more about him!! 😍

I AM OKINO

I did not expect this when I saw this Okino guy in the trailer... and I'm so happy I was surprised, I love him 👌

And he's voiced by Alessandro Juliani?? HECK YEAH!!! With all the hype about the DnD 13th season, and consequentially the knight theme, I really miss Nexo Knights and having Aaron's VA around makes me happy... any hope to have Giles Panton as well? I miss Clay the most 💙💙

This is what I'm talking about, the game theme needs this stuff! I was already happy to see life points, double jumps and respawns, but this? The NPC guide? Awesome 👍 It's nice to see the take on the matter, the guide seeing so many players getting killed, first because they did not listen, then because they were actually just unlucky. The touchy matter I always expect watching Ninjago 👏👏

At least I THINK he's an NPC? For now I don't really see a way of knowing, and it doesn't look like it matters. He didn't show life points so maybe? Does this mean he can't die? I have questions people

Which brings me to the cube thingies. That's what happens to the dead players? I mean, I would understand if they just become pixels, but there's also the drone that takes the datas every time. Idk, feels like there's more behind it. And honestly? It looks like great material for angst, like one of the ninja dies but then they discover they just need to get where Unagami stores all of the players! I hope it's something like this!

They designs of the players are really cool, I already saw them in the other episodes, but seeing them this close just confirmed it. Between this and Jay's awesome avatar, I see lots of great cosplay ideas coming 😍 I wonder when will Kai and Lloyd use their avatars, and why would they since I'm guessing Jay did for disguise and to distinguish himself from his fans

PLEASE TELL ME WE'LL SEE SCOTT SOON, I ALREADY MISS HIM!!! 💙💙💙 I have too many theories about that tech dude, I'm so excited about who he might turn out to be!

I was a little skeptical about the new ninja suits, but seeing them in the show convinced me, very cool! Especially on Nya 💕💕💕

THE GLITCH

Alright, Okino is indeed an NPC. Cool the fact that at first he could not understand the fact that he was in a game, but when reality changed he was forced to. Welcome into the crew! 😙

I'm kinda worried about it though, either they will shut down the game and he will stay inside or he will sacrifice for them. He's a very loyal samurai, I can see that happening and I'm SCARED

I WAS SWEATING BULLETS AT THE AMBUSH!!! I 100% saw it coming, we all freaking saw it coming, even the ninja did but where like 'we can walk and die or we can risk and die so might as well'. But still, my babies DYING and respawning so fast was not pretty 😱😱

Nya got the scariest death until now in my opinion, holy Garmadon Dyer DOES have a twisted mind...

Seeing Kai so scared of being in a new situation and with one HP reminds me A LOT of the Digiverse, and that's actually a nice touch. Give him a cellphone, hothead is a social media expert, but put him in a game and... huuhhh... 😅

Have I mentioned I love the ninja's new emoji masks??

BECAUSE I DO!!! 😂😂😂😂

So Unagami knows about them trying to stop him and he sent the rat people because of it. Considering how little we know about this guy, I'm wondering what we are about to discover

Alright, going to the next challenge, very curious about this adventure. So... beware of the rats, ninja? Still not sure what I think about the rats 😅

THE CLIFFS OF HYSTERIA

I would like to say Okino is the edgiest character of the show I've ever seen... but I've seen MORRO. But still poor guy, he got a case of the Matrix

Oooohhhh, the major question in videogames: better go grinding for more money to get the better stuff but while losing lots of time, or get the least expensive just to go on with the story but definitely risking to lose lives?

Ah there we go, so the energy cubes mean something! Also reference to the Sushimi guy of the set (gosh that name, I can't 😂). So do people actually die in Prime Empire or they are just kidnapped kinda? Can the ninja just bring back? ANGST POTENTIAL

Cole please don't die please don't die please don't die for the love of Garmadon please don't die somebody help-

HOLY FSM KAI I MEANT HELP FROM SOMEONE WITH MORE THAN ONE LIFE DON'T DO THAT BE CAREFUL PLEASE I FREAKING LOVE YOU YOU RECKLESS HOTHEAD ❤❤❤

Nya giving Kai a sweet look after seeing her brother is okay, that's what I live for 😍

So apparently Unagami is trying to build some kind of device using the energy cubes of the dead players (sounds kinda creepy like this 😱) to create some kind of portal? To Ninjago? I don't understand, if Unagami is Milton Dyer then why this? Just to bring his army and conquer? I mean I guess, sounds a little simple though. Then again, if it turns out it's not Dyer, it could be Unagami wanting to be real and get into his creator's world? Mm...

I like the message, having the ability to choose your own path. Very fitting for a game themed season, I hope it gets explored even more!

More for the "I love the ninja emoji masks of this season"'s compilation 😂😂😂

THE MAZE OF THE RED DRAGON

Duuuude, Jay being good at mazes comes all the way from Possession, the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master! 😍 ... or maybe I just rewatch this show too much... could be both really 😅

Unagami is NASTY!

Confirmed the thing about going into the real world, what scares me is how much powers Unagami seems to actually possess. Like, can he do the block thingy whenever he wants? Just straight up pause and do whatever? Wow...

Jay being extra 😎

I mean, of course he is, he's got better statics! 😂 I like how he seems so focused and in charge, I still hope we see more of him... and Scott... WHERE IS SCOTT???

I love dragons, this metal one is cute 😍

So now we have two ronin: a samurai looking for a path on his own in a digital world... and a shady guy named Ronin 😛 Total respect for Okino, he really showed the values he believes in. No matter he was programmed his way, I hope he finds what he's looking for. Better come back for the final battle!

One Keytana down, two more to go. I know one is the price of the race, while the last one... I don't really know.

More of the masks because I love them 😂 Here we have Vegeta Lloyd and Kawai Cole ✌✌

[senrinoa]

Soma x Erina in Chapter 279

I've been meaning to talk about this since I read the Japanese version, and I've found a few things that were slightly different from MS's translation. I'll be honest, I've never liked Mangastream, normally they get pretty close to what's going on in the manga but sometimes they can really bad that's why I decided to write this post.

First let me review the chapter a bit, this is a nice relaxing chapter. It's great to see the interaction between E10 members because I can see a glimpse of good old fun Shokugeki days. The author has always been great at comedy and character interaction and it's really refreshing to see Ryo and Takumi actually conversing with each other even if it's an angry glare down contest. Seeing more characters and less drawn out food battles is definitely a positive for me.

Maybe for some people it feels like a filler chapter, and by filler I mean not exciting plot-heavy stuff. Since Erina is taken hostage (I really wished Tsukuda didn't have to take the kidnapping route) and no one is reacting to her disappearance, it's safe to assume that the news didn't break through yet but I'm sure we will get back to that soon.

I might write something about Asahi someday but I won't discuss him in this post, I just want to make some things clear especially for my fellow SouEri shippers who might not aware that the author kinda hinted Soma's feeling in chapter 279.

Let's begin with this panel! 

We all know that Nikumi's been harboring secret crush to our MC for more than 200 chapters, it doesn't surprise me that she was the one who noticed Soma's behaviour which seemed a bit unusual that day. Because when we have a crush on someone we tend to always pay attention to them, right?

Nikumi: "You seem pretty cheesed today, Yukihira. Something happen?"

Not gonna lie, when I read that panel I had to google what does "cheesed" mean because it was the first time I heard the "cheesed" word. And the result was a bit surprising to me.

"Cheesed" is a Canadian slag, it's a cheesy way to say you are pissed.

I was confused, why did Nikumi get that impression? And why would Soma be upset? Based on the context, it doesn't seem to fit there. And when I read the Japanese version, I know that MS somehow messed the translation up again.

つーか幸平今日なんか浮かれてるよな" (Tsuka Kōhei kyō nanka uka re teru yo na)

N: "Yukihira? You sure seem happy today."

Viz version

Soma looks happy and carefree all the time, its his default emotion and I'm not gonna deny that. We rarely see him mad or sad or anything but troll or cocky. But that day was different, Nikumi felt an unusual excitement from him. She even asked "did something happen?" Hmm, I wonder what made Soma so happy, it's not like he just had a really incredible romantic moment with someone he likes the night before or something, right?

Then in the next page we saw a really unimportant guy who acts like the big shot only because his shop is doing well compared to E10's shop. I love how Soma encouraged the other members by reminding them about the past generations and got everyone back together. As Nikumi had pointed out Soma seems to be in a really good mood that day, he smiling brightly while saying that he can overcome any challenge with confidence.

Soma : "今までも散々乗り越えてきたからなっ" (Ima made mo sanzan norikoete kitakara na~tsu)

"I've overcome things like this before, as always."

And I've read something similiar from the previous chapter (Thank you @doromame for telling me <3)

Erina : "何でも乗り越えられる....今までみたいにね" (Nani demo norikoe rareru... Ima made mitai ni ne)

"You can overcome every obstacle put in front of you. You always have..."

I want to emphasize these words 今 ま で (ima made) and 乗 り 越 え (norikoe), which translated to English are 'always' and 'overcome'. In raw version those two panels with Soma and Erina are very similiar to each other which some SouEri fans in Japan have pointed out, I'm saddened that most non Japanese-speaker probably missed the SouEri hint in this chapter.

It's interesting to see Soma saying the exact same words that Erina told him the night before. I believe the author's decision for using the same words isn't merely a coincidence, the Nikumi panel is supposed to be a little tease on Soma's feeling. The author wouldn't write that scene without reason.

In chapter 279 Nikumi's pointed out that Soma's looked so happy, he's smiling widely and saying he can overcome every obstacle as always. But in the previous chapter Soma was a little doubtful whether he could pass the exam or not

And Erina assuring him that she trust him to overcome the exam because he's Soma, she believes that he will always find a way.

You don't need to be a genius to put two and two together, it's very clear where those scenes are going. Soma is one of those characters who are clueless about love, he's so dense when it comes to romance and he won't realize it unless it becomes undeniable, many shounen authors usually reserve that kind of development for the very end of the manga and I'm really glad the author seems to break that trope.

The realization that you're in love with someone usually takes some time. It's the little things that add up and mark this whole process as "falling in love". Things like Erina describing Soma as her ideal type of guy without realizing it, Soma taking notice of Erina's beauty, even Erina getting all nervous about the "Nakiri's mine" thing show that although they're still at the friendship stage, we're starting to see their growing feelings towards each other.

This Asahi plot might be not my ideal way I'd have preferred for a romance arc, but not gonna lie, I'm really enjoying every moment between Soma and Erina in these recent chapters and I'm looking forward to see how far the author will go with their feelings ^^

[maplecornia]

Heya Maple, Ada here! All the exams and stuff are finally over and I think I'm gonna be more frequent from now on hehe

Bestie I just went through all of your recent posts and I gotta say, I'm freaking PROUD of you for putting your point forward and not backing off even after receiving so many hate asks. You're truly amazing. I have to say that I completely agree with you, everything that you said was necessary in my opinion and I won't make much comments on this topic since I don't stan BTS anymore (I stopped after butter came out), but I would really like to say that butter won just because of numbers. I think popularity is the main reason behind this win, there are so many more better songs out there. I feel really bad cuz Ateez deserves a lot but they are constantly compared to BTS for absolutely no reason.

Leaving all that behind, HOW ARE YOU?? OMG I missed interacting to you freely like this so much. DID YOU WATCH ENHYPEN'S PERFORMANCES AND THE OPENING PERFORMANCE? FOR SOME REASON I thought all of them were gonna perform together for the opening stage but they still did AMAZING. ALSO IMAGINE HEE IN JUN'S PLACE OMG I CANNOT AND YEJI AND KARINA AND WOOYOUNG PLS I CANNOT GBHFDNBCDXSN GIRL

About my previous ask, CHAN'S LAUGH IS PRECIOUS INDEED. Chan and Hongjoong are just so hardworking (ofc everyone else are hardworking too) and the way they take care of the member just makes my heart melt. The fact that people have the nerve to hate on them pisses me off. Don't get me started with their duality, both of them are amazing performers. Riki is just incredible. I cannot imagine what he goes through everyday and I really hope he does not end up like other idols who debuted at such a young age, yk what I mean? He's such a precious gem and let's be honest, hybe is lucky to have an artist like him. Only if they were to make use of all the talent he has and not push him at the back whenever they get the chance to. AND HE HAS SUCH A GOOD PERSONALITY?? LIKE REALLY HE WOULD BE THE BEST FRIEND OUT THERE HFDBCH the one who just knows how to lighten up anyone's mood uwuwu. Yuna omg she's such a queen honestly. I don't get why people hate on her she's literally so sweet and she deserves THE BEST.

I didn't talk about tae cuz yk I don't stan them anymore so yea I'm sorry for that. My biases for these groups are Felix/hyunjin (honestly I'm more like ot8), Seonghwa (I'm torn between hwa and yeosang tho), Jay and Chaeryeong. For most of the groups I stan (including the ones mentioned), I don't really have a bias, like there's no member I'm specifically attracted to except Jay, I just relate to him the most.

Damn I wrote a lot, my bad. Ig I got too carried away since it's been a while I could properly talk to you lmao. So that's it for now, I'll be back soon! Take care Maple <3

Your secret santa, Ada

OMG WELCOME BACK ADA! sorry my blog is so crazy and all over the place atm LMAO.

I hope you did well on your exams ^^ now wish me luck for my exams which are this week pls 🙏

OMG AND THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS! Honestly I didn't expect this much hate or this much attention to happen on a literal vent post 😭 like really I was just venting a personal opinion and they all fighting tooth and nail because of it LMAO.

And I'm glad you agree because I agree with everything you've said too. The funny thing is that these asks even admit to it being about popularity but then try to throw hate on me saying omg you're blaming BTS and hating on them.

-_- when literally I wasn't even doing that I was expressing my own opinion and by the response I've gotten, even from fellow ARMY's it doesn't seem like I'm entirely wrong

Yeah I feel for ATEEZ a lot I really wish they can gain recognition but like they continously get slighted and bro THEY REALLY DESERVED THAT NOMINATION but no -_- MAMA will feed off their talent and knack for performances but because they're not popular enough they won't nominate them or recognize them in any way

IM GOOD DESPITE ALL OF THAT! HOW ARE YOUUU?! it's getting so close to the day where I finally can see who you are and IM SO EXCITED AHWJ WE IDDK

BRO YES ENHYPEN SLAYED AND NIKIS SOLO WAS JUST *CHEFS KISS*

Also for the opening performance I though they were gonna perform together too 😭 it would have been so great if they did but THEY STILL DID SO GOOD SO IM NOT COMPLAINING.

BRO WOOYOUNG AND YEJIS PIECE JUST HIT DIFFERENT TO ME AND THEIR VRS?! THOSE GOT ME SO HYPED ISTFG

AGREED ON ALL POINTS FOR CHAN, RIKI, AND HONGJOONG 🤧

I really hope that the hate and the pressures of being an idol aren't too much for Niki bro. Everything can be a lot for him and I feel bad that he has to deal with being so far from his family and it breaks my heart to see him hurt about it. I really hope he gets appreciated more, but I know he's full of so much talent and promise so hopefully he'll shine and be okay

AND YES I WOULD LOVE TO PULL PRANKS WITH NIKI OMG QMAKWKDOD HED BE SUCH A GREAT FRIEND

BRO I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE FEEL LIKE YUNAS A PICK ME? LIKE WHR WHO WHEN?! DOES NOT MAKE SENSE SHE JUST SEEMS SO SWEET AND NICE LIKE WHAT

Omg you have the same bias and my sister in SKZ (but I understand the ot8 part LMAO)

Seonghwa is a GREAT choice for Ateez lmao, honestly he's so precious and HOT TOO LIKE TF

And I just want to give Chaeryoung multiple hugs for eternity ajsmsidk

Plus Jay is literally 🔥 SO I UNDERSTAND ENTIRELY

Dwdwdw about the long ask it was fun answering! I hope to see you again soon!

Thanks for checking in ^^

[varjopeura]

For the D&D Ask Meme - 4, 8, 13 and 34! (And I'm SO curious about the backstory-bomb referenced in your tags, so if I can make a bonus question be, 'what happened???' then also that!)

Hoo boy, this one took a while! Also this got super long so under the cut it goes:

4. Your current campaign.

Our current campaign is also my first! We’re playing on Tal'Dorei setting with a mostly homemade storyline (as far as I know? it occurs to me I’ve never really asked). We’re only six sessions in at this point, the party is still just a bunch of nobodies stumbling around figuring out this adventuring stuff and getting to know each other.

8. Your favorite fight/encounter.

I think my favourite fight so far was the time we got our asses handed to us pretty thoroughly by a bunch of ghosts. It was terrible and delightful and something about properly losing a fight made the whole world just seem so much more real and intense. Like we are just babies when it comes to adventuring, and going ghost-hunting into a crypt that’s widely known to be cursed and deathly dangerous might not be the best idea at that point in time. Especially if your magic users have already pretty much emptied out their spell slots before going in.

But, in we went anyway! We knew to expect ghosts since we had already slain a couple on our way there, and had comprised a Genius Plan to take out the rest of them one at a time. Except the plan didn’t really work, the ghosts didn’t come at us one at a time, and they were a lot stronger than the ones we had previously encountered.

We managed to barely scratch the ghosts (the horrendous things were resistant to everything we had), half of our party was too afraid to do anything useful, and Glimmer had to carry two of her unconscious teammates out of there before we managed to flee. It was a mess, and a very stressful situation, but hey, we survived! And it felt so good to be alive afterwards!

In retrospect, the five or six times our friendly NPC informant told us the ghost are absolutely going to kill us oh-so-very-dead might have been a hint from the DM…

13. Introduce your current party.

Let’s start with the easiest one, my tiefling cleric Glimmer! She is definitely the party mom and sort of their moral compass too, constantly worrying about the safety of the others. She worries about a lot of stuff, actually, and the fact that she knows very little of the world outside of her home temple doesn’t exactly help. Though she does believe in the goodness of people and has a tendency to blindly trust anyone who looks like they know what they’re doing. For such a soft and gentle person she has a surprisingly short temper when something rubs her the wrong way, and she gets all fiery and dramatic when she’s upset.

Then there’s our human fighter Gabriel, a young man of noble origin seeking for his share of honor and glory, mainly in the form of slaying various magnificent beasts and monsters. He is highly charismatic, VERY easy to love, has exactly zero impulse control and, to be quite honest, not a lot of brains to him either. So practically he’s an over-excited golden retriever with a sword and an ability to speak in a fancy way. A good boy.

The elven rogue Varis (fun fact: his name is the finnish word for crow) is a typical thief character, a penniless city boy that’s concerned about his own survival before anything else. And, like, I’m definitely not picking favorites here, but this one’s a GOOD boy that I love. A lot. A fountain of endless curiosity, he’s quaranteed to stick his nose in every single place it doesn’t belong to, and probably steal a little bit of something interesting on his way there. Somehow his personality also works as the glue that keeps the rest of the party together - it’s pretty hard to travel alone on your own path when this one gets all up in your personal space and wants to learn about alllll of your stuff.

The gnome ranger Nuna is pretty amiable for a person who has started several conversations with the phrase “I want to destroy the civilization”. From what I’ve gathered, she seems to be on some sort of personal crusade against all kinds of mechanical constructs and just has a pretty worrisome way of wording it. She does NOT enjoy crowded cities, though finding taverns full of ale seems to alleviate her stress a bit. I’m certain she’s got some daaaaark secrets too, I can’t wait until we find out a bit more about her story.

I’d probably call our elven wizard Volyris the other Sensible Adult in the party, if he wasn’t so horribly useless when it comes to keeping the chaotic ones in control. He just gets way too much joy out of wandering around behind Gabriel and Varis and observing all the dumb shit they manage to do. Clings to his secrets like his life depended on them, even after a couple of rounds of interrogation we have learned next to nothing about him. He just… wants to know more about stuff? For no apparent reason? Because that’s what wizards do?? I’m still not quite sure if he’s to be trusted.

34. Do you tend pick weapons/spells for being useful or for flavor?

Mostly I try to find some sort of balance between the two?Though tbh in Glimmer’s case, being a light domain cleric and a tiefling is already a combo packed with so much character flavor that I barely have to do anything to add to it :D Every single bit of Glimmer’s spells and abilities is infused with fire and light, and who knows if the flames she so easily channels originate from a divine source or from her infernal bloodline! She certainly doesn’t! (Also, I can’t wait until we reach level 5 and she learns to cast Darkness as a tief ability. Being able to both bring light around her and to take it away as she wishes is going to be such a fun twist to the basic light cleric archetype.)

—

And, for the bonus question, I miiiiight have exaggerated a little bit? Specifically on the “your entire past is a lie” part. Only a small part of her past turned out to be a lie, so that makes it completely fine, right? :DSo, basically, what I knew about Glim’s backstory was that she was abandoned to a temple’s doorstep as an infant, and that it was unclear who had left her there and why. Not knowing what else to do, the temple clerics took the child in and raised her as their own. (well that’s the relevant part, let’s leave the backstory at that because this post is already way too long)

But! In the last session the party went back to her home temple, met the old priestess who was the closest thing to a mother Glimmer ever had, and had a conversation with her. And it turns out she actually knows about Glimmer’s birth mom! She was just made to promise that she’d never reveal Glimmer’s origin to anyone, and up until this point she had kept the secret to herself. We were given a name (one that Glimmer recognized instantly; she used to be the high priestess of Glim’s home temple before she was born, and now apparently her mother too? Years ago, she had abruptly left her position as the high priestess, never coming back, and there was some sort of a scandal surrounding the event, but Glim couldn’t remember any details about it.)

So instead of a mystery, Glimmer’s origin is a well-kept secret, and according to her adoptive mother the person who knows the most about this secret lives right next door to them. As it was getting kind of late at night and barging into someone’s home asking questions about missing people in the middle of the night didn’t seem like the most polite thing to do, Glim decided to leave further questions to the next morning.

And did we reach the next morning during this session? Of course we didn’t! So now I’m full of questions and theories and have to sit on them for a few weeks because of our horrible Human Adult Schedules not lining up before the end of the month. (And while Glimmer was learning about her hidden past, our rogue was preparing to go on a heist. Alone. Without even telling about his plans to the rest of the party. And his target? The captain of the fucking town guard. Like dammit Varis, if I have to spend the next session busting you out of jail instead of trying to find my long lost mother I’m gonna kick your ass So Hard.)

((And like of course I should have expected something like this coming up with Glimmer’s backstory, ‘mysterious missing parents’ is like free plot food for the DM. Glim was just so busy worrying about literally everything else that it never even crossed my mind that we might hit some pieces of her backstory in her home town :D ))

[th3-z0diac]

I'm hear to tell my story to you, bc I really like u &ur blog!! So there is this guy who ended up in my grade after being in the USA for one year (this was about 2 years ago). From the first time I saw him I found him interesting but arrogant (I'm glad that I can sort of feel how people are/'read' them😌). 1st problem: I knew that it was that 'interesting' feeling that makes me fall in love. I usually only take a liking in guy/girls but it never develops in more thanks to my Gem Venus:)...-Andra

I only experienced this feeling once before him (Max). And I’m more of the down to earth type of person regarding love. The next problems are my trust issues. It’s no surprise since I’m discovered more about astrology & my chart (My Venus is in the 12th House and I have Juno in Retrograde, etc) and due to some events in the past. I think what really attracted me to the to guys was that I could not quite ‘read’ them fully - if you know what I mean 😅. I only felt that under their… - Andra..I was a little child, she already felt like she was talking to a grown up. And as much as I wish to just be silly & childish & start relationships without a second thought (Like my Gem Venus would like to), I can’t. :( Okay I may love to just talk about unnecessary side things too. U’ll have to deal with it.;) Sry, not sry. So, Max is really handsome on the first look (his hair was terrible tho. He had an undercut but his upper hair was long &went down his head in an umbrella curve😂 -AndraHe still uses to much hair gel tho.) Many younger girls like him and some from our grade maybe did a bit too. Until he opened his mouth. That is when my first thought got confirmed: He is an asshole. At least on the outside but it doesn’t matter much to me bc my Sun is in the 11th house which means I wouldn’t go out with someone my friends don’t like or who treats them badly. He’s father is pretty rich so he kind acts like he is really important. His image of girls is pretty gross too..- Andra.But I can’t stop what my heart feels, even tho I can ignore and surpress it. I guess this is a good thing.:) Regardless of how much my hearts wants something my mind is taking the lead, so I almost always keep a cool head. To be honest I wouldn’t have ever forgiven myself if I’d gone out with him. Maybe it’s his age where he only likes to play around or maybe it is the fact that he’s parents divorced and he hates his stepmother. But I still don’t think this is an good enough excuse for.. -AndraI’d say he is Cap rising more tho bc they are are really attractive & he sure is. (Kind of a mix of an angel face with a devil presence) He has a Cap Moon + Venus, a Scorpio Mercury and Sag Mars (according to all the Info (beside the time) I found) Doesn’t those placements seem cool? If only he were reased different 😅😥 I’m a Taurus Sun, Scorpio Moon + Mars, Aries Mercury and Cancer Rising and Aquarius/Scorpio Dom:) btw. I also invited myself into you chat fam cuz I love u Taurus bae💕-AndraI hope I didn’t sound to weird tho.😂😂 It’s just good getting things of the chest as I wouldn’t be able to tell my other school friends about stuff like this. As much as I love them, some are really chatty and I also want an objective friend to hear me out.:) - Andra

 First things first, thank you so much for your words, that literally made my day, and also thank you for sharing your story with me :33 What chat fam did you mean tho? I checked my ig and tumblr messages but there’s nothing there. Did you just mean these messages or something else?? Also i understand what you mean by telling me instead of your friends, like man, some people are such gossip chickens, i can’t even XD OKAY, to your story!I really wonder what this boy’s Sun is. From the other placements you listed, he’s most likely really secretive, confident, and tbh, he kind of gives off the cocky vibe. Like, he’s not your typical kind person ya know. Ahh, you’re Taurus too?? High five! I get what you mean by saying you don’t really trust people and how you’d like to talk to him or be with him. Your placements are also accurate to that. I have Venus in Aries and sometimes it’s also hella annoying because like i want the adventure and stuff, but then there’s my lazy afraid Taurus ass and just.. ugh xD Can i just say my opinion? Because like from what you said, this only thing popped into my mind - stay away from this guy!! I know that it’s easy for me to say, because i’ve never seen him and i don’t like him, but if he’s really like this, then he’s just gonna break your heart eventually and honestly, you deserve someone MUCH better. It’s obviously up to you, but i do believe there’s gonna be someone who you’ll just crazily fall in love with and who’ll treat you great! Good luck, i hope my answer was useful at least a tiny tiny bit :33

[sarahsstories]

a letter to an old friend.

tuesday, june 06th, 2017

delivered june 12th

update - this letter was not delivered.

dear tony-

june 12th, 2017, today, marks exactly 4 months since the very last time we've had a legitimate conversation. that's the reason why i chose to give this letter to you on this day. there's a couple things i would like to talk about in this letter. a lot of things i haven't told you, and it might be a little overwhelming and maybe even shocking. i want to tell you these things here in this letter because i don't know if i will have another chance to tell you. i would appreciate if you would read to the end of this letter, but i would understand if you choose not to. a quick fair warning ... this letter is a combination of cheesy, corny, and cringey.

i just wanted to tell you that i miss you. a lot.

remember how we used to talk almost every single night last summer? and how we used to go to your park a lot? remember summer celebration weekend, a lot of us met up and had a lot of fun? do you remember one time you came over and you 1v1 ed nick? even though it was just for a little bit, he later told me he had a lot of fun. i hope you remember that, because i do. and i think about it every day. i think about you every day. i know that sounds creepy, but i'm sure you understand. that's one of your character traits that will always stand true; you're always understanding and supportive, no matter the situation and if you can relate or not. you were always there for me when i was sad or mad, and you always made me feel better. i tried to be there for you, and i learned that sometimes the best thing to do is to just leave you alone. as much as you might have wanted the peace, i wish i would've never stopped talking to you because my life has been shit without you in it. i'm not just saying that, i'm being honest. as pathetic as it may make me seem, i cried a ton about you. as i'm writing this letter now, i'm starting to tear up. i read through old snapchats, looked through old photos and videos, and every time i'd see something meaningful, i'd tear up. i hope this is a good explanation of how much you meant, how much you still mean to me. i know we're going through some shit right now, i just wanted to let you know that i have always cared about you, and i will always care about you, no matter how old we are, friends or not. i hope you feel the same about me. i know you do because that's another one of your personality traits that will stick with you forever; care. you're like a brother to me, and i will always care about you, no matter what.

do you remember that one time on the bus my coat was on the floor? everyone who got off at your stop stepped over or on it, and i tried to move it but people were walking so i just waited. as you walked off, you stepped over my coat, too. but the you turned around, picked it up, and handed it to me. i don't know if you remember that, and i don't think you realize it, but picking up my coat meant so much to me. the fact that we weren't exactly on speaking terms, yet you were still kind enough to pick up my coat, it meant a lot. i know it's dumb, but it did. i just wanted to let you know.

something else i wanted to address, and i wish i can go back in time to fix it.

telling me who you had a crush on was an honor. at the time, i didn't think you'd actually tell me who you liked, but you still told me. you told me because you i trusted me enough to tell me your secret. you put the weight on my shoulders of hiding a huge secret from my best friend, who i tell everything to. it was very hard to do, a lot harder than you may realize. this next part i don't think i told you, and if i did, here it is again. if i didn't, well… here it goes.

do you remember kara's party? it was her birthday party if i remember correctly, she invited the usual people from grade school that go to parties. anyway, before everyone else showed up, kara had me and ruby over to help set up. i was showing ruby a message from you on my DMs or snapchat or something that was completely not related to her like i don't even know what i was showing her (but that's irrelevant). so anyways she started scrolling and she read something about you liking her and she kept reading and i suddenly remembered that i had that stuff on there, but by the time i grabbed my phone out of her hands, it was too late. she played dumb at first, like “wait tony likes me?!” but then admitted that she had a feeling all along. later, when everyone else showed up to the party and we were at the park and it was dark out (remember ju was looking for her earring or something?), ruby pulls me and kara aside and says three words...

“i like tony.”

i don't know if you noticed it that night, but she talked to you a lot more and she flirted with you a lot more. i don't know if you noticed it that week, but she texted you a lot more than usual.

a few weeks later, maybe about two, i asked her if she still likes you. she said “i don't think so, no”

again, this is gonna sound creepy, but kara, ruby, and i have talked about you. we talk about all the great memories we made with you, and how much we miss you. i know that makes us sound like whiny pathetic bitches, but my part of my point is that they miss you tons too. we've all cried about you and how much we miss talking to you, but i don't know how else to explain it. the other part of my point is that ruby lied to me and kara. she told us she liked you for about two weeks, but she admitted that she had feelings for you for 2 months. and that's the biggest thing i've been hiding from you.

the main reason why i didn't tell ruby and betray you is because i didn't want to lose your trust, and i didn't want to lose our friendship. but not telling ruby was very hard, and she was pretty upset for a while that i didn't tell her earlier. but i sacrificed that to not lose your trust, and to not lose our friendship. looking back, i wish i would've told ruby and taken the risk of our friendship and your trust being broken. i know that our friendship wouldn't be ruined because you would have forgiven me, especially since it meant that you would probably get to be ‘with’ ruby. most of me regrets it, but there's still a part of me that is glad i didn't say anything. ruby thinks that you guys’ ‘thing’ wouldn't have even lasted long because, as you know, she didn't want to date until sophomore year, but i think it would last a lot longer than she thinks. but because of my decision not to say anything, the summer 2016 tony and ruby never happened, when it possibly could have. i don't know whether to apologize or to say “you're welcome”, but you can choose whichever version you like better. so, i'm sorry for not telling ruby you liked her, or, you're welcome for not telling ruby you liked her. even though i did. actually, i'm sorry that ruby saw those texts about her between us. i had absolutely no intention of showing her those texts AT ALL (again, keeping your trust and our friendship). and i'm sorry it never worked out between you guys.

i'm starting to realize the length of this letter, and i'm going to try to finish up with some apologies, explanations, and a question.

looking back on our arguments that we've had this year, i realized that most of the stuff i was upset about was dumb. it almost embarrasses me when i look back at some of our arguments this year. i would like to apologize for accusing you, overreacting, and for being a brat. i accused you of not playing your part in our friendship, which is extremely hypocritical of me to say. i was mad one time how you talked to AJ the whole time in study hall. looking back, i was ultimately the one not playing my part because i would sit by my friend more than half the time. i accused you of putting your new friends in front of your old friends, when i did the same thing. i overreacted about a bunch of stupid things that are completely irrelevant, and i was a selfish brat.

i am so so sorry. i'm so sorry. i wish you could hear how sorry i am in text but that's why i would like to speak to you in person. i would give anything to have a conversation with you because i miss you so much. you don't have to, and if you hate me right now, i understand because i hate myself too. i fucked everything up as usual, and i'm absolutely terrified this won't work, and i want it to work so bad. even if you never want to speak to me again, i just want to have one last conversation with you. i'd give anything. please.

the point of this letter is to let you know my thoughts, and hopefully this will open your eyes to some other things you probably didn't know about.

you know where to text me. don't feel like you have to, but i'd really appreciate if you did. if you got this far, thank you for taking the time to read this very long letter. i appreciate it so much more than you know.

thank you so much.

sarah