#Troy Cosmos

[normaleeinsane]

Here's my character Troy helping some light trees. ^v^

[pedroam-bang]

Troy (2004)

[streets-in-paradise]

Troy (2004) behind the scenes pics

[selfdiscoverymedia]

24-22. Spirited Cosmic Nature

Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy, on air from May 28th As the wind blows and releases me from my wows, I feel connected to nature and all it has to give. The wind clears our thought’s and our trees speak to us so deeply, the water is a conduit that feeds our souls, nature along with the cosmos, is here to serve us. We get so caught up in the expectations of life that we lose our selves. We…

[wiria-lae]

Helena Troy: Student Profile

SUBJECT TO FUTURE EDITS.

If you say her full name fast enough to slur your words together, Helena Troy sounds almost like "Helen of Troy".

Made with Picrew.

Helena (pronounced Heluna, so ヘルナ) Troy (トロイ) is primarily based on Helen of Troy and takes more inspirations from other aspects of the Trojan War. She's a senior student in from Ignihyde, in Class E (Student No. 1), doing her internships remotely.

In Japanese, Helena's name could be interpreted as "Hell, right?" as ヘル literally means hell, and ナ/な can be used to look for confirmation with someone else in a conversation.

Her birthday is February 4th. She is currently 18 years old.

With short heels, she stands at 173 cm (5' 10"), and she is right hand dominant.

The Troys are distantly related to the Shrouds, instead residing along the Southern border near the coast to Kingdom of Heroes. They do not carry the Shroud curse, but are aware of it. So to clarify: her hair isn't like Idia's. Helena dyed it blue. If left to grow out, the roots would be dark brown, and appear as a lighter brown in the Sun.

Helena doesn't realize that her family is incredibly wealthy. She struggles to recognize material-related wealth at all, having been surrounded by it for so long. Ruggie likes hanging around her, since she's willing to buy him food if he's hungry.

For some reason, she's famous among the Pomfiore students. She doesn't know why. Somebody once told her it was because of her face, which Helena felt was a backhand insult, so she tries not to interact with Pomfiore students.

4th year students are pardoned from extracurricular activities like clubs/teams. She's not supposed to be at the school during this time, but Crowley graciously allows her stay while she TAs for freshman classes in her free time (she doesn't get paid). The rest of her time is typically spent on personal projects and research, as the bulk of her internship work has to do with coding and running simulations.

Her UM is The Shining Torch, which created fire(s) that cannot be extinguished unless by her command. Limits to the size and intensity of said fire(s) is dependent on her magic reserves. Under the conditions that her magic has been tampered (such as with Riddle's Off With Your Head) the flames will exist out of her control until she has regained access to her magic.

Ortho really likes Helena and thinks her hair is cool, since "It's like onii-chan's!" In contrast, Idia and Helena don't talk much outside of administrative work.

[stra-tek]

Random spoilerific reasons to read Star Trek novels, with little to no context:

Ro/Quark is a thing

A Jem'Hadar joins DS9, tries to fit in but eventually snaps and tries to kill everybody

You learn the origins and final fate of the Borg

A thinly-veiled Dr. House clone joins the Voyager crew

Geordi briefly has 2 girlfriends at once (due to different writers not co-ordinating enough, but still)

There's a TOS book that's a musical

There are YA stories about Jake and Nog making mischief on DS9

YA stories about Worf, Geordi, Picard, Beverly, Kirk, Spock and McCoy at SFA

YA series about the Kelvinverse gang (including Gaila!) as cadets, taking on a drug problem at SFA and a very unique Borg scout in San Francisco

We very briefly meet the people who are to Q what the Q are to humanity

Janeway/Chakotay is a thing

Kirk's first mission in command of the Enterprise! Erm, at least twice.

Kirk was married between TOS and TMP

Her name was Lori

In the future, you have yearly marriage contracts that you either update or you don't and I think that's amazing

Trip didn't die! He faked his death to join Section 31 and go undercover as a Romulan

It's not great, tbh

The ENT books get better after the Romulan wars though, it's proper founding of the Federation stuff

We meet Jack Crusher (erm, the OG) when 4 timelines start overlapping and he's a bit unhinged

Teenage Kirk stole a car and his choice was go to jail or join Starfleet

What happened when Voyager got home? Seven broke up with Chakotay like 30 pages in

Kirk gets cloned, and his clone becomes the sub of an evil invincible super genius and its all very gay

George Kirk was Robert April's first officer on the first ever mission of the unnamed starship with the Naval Construction Contract 1701

Robert is a hard-core pacifist and has to turn command over to George whenever it's time to fire weapons

Data becomes fully human for a couple of days and it's really sweet

They never say "wristwatch" or "phone", it's always "wrist chrono" or "personal comm"

There are gays but they don't say that word because it's the 1990's and Rick Berman runs the franchise

Spock has a son in the past with Zarabeth

Everyone in the post-Nemesis era does spy missions all the time non stop, as if Starfleet has abandoned exploring the cosmos for doing Space Mission: Impossible

Bashir does it better than anyone else, he takes on Section 31 from the inside

Remember Control? It's from the novels, except the novels do it SO MUCH BETTER.

Remember how we never found out who Future Guy was? We do.

It's very underwhelming, nobody we know

We find out how the Romulans and Vulcans split

Surak was a Vulcan internet blogger

A Borg Cube eats Pluto

Janeway dies

Janeway gets better

At least one TOS book features a wizard

There's a Star Trek TOS/Here Come the Brides crossover novel

It had cameos from The Doctor (as in, Who), Han Solo, Starbuck and others

Whole book series about Section 31

Whole book series about the Department of Temporal Investigations

One time they do the Bill and Ted thing to escape confinement and it works

Wanna know how Riker and Troi met?

Wanna know what Picard got up to on the Stargazer?

Andorians have 4 sexes and it's very complicated

Data comes back from the dead as Data 2.0, and it was fresh and exciting because it happened long before ST: Picard did it twice.

Lal comes back too and we get father/daughter android stuff! They have a home and everything but keep having to save the universe

One time Mirror Seven is led around on a leash naked on Terok Nor

Geordi becomes captain of the USS Challenger, decides it's not for him because plot, and goes back to engineering on the Enterprise

Kirk is shot on the bridge and dies

Kirk gets better

They watch 3D holos of old Doctor Who episodes in the Enterprise rec room

The Enterprise also has an AI named Moira, which was Zora long before Zora

The TOS crew get together for one last mission. About three times.

There's a Perry Mason book except it's about Kirk's lawyer from that TOS episode

Data 2.0 owns and runs a massive gambling empire on Orion

Spock keeps randomly showing up everywhere in the TNG era

Scotty keeps randomly showing up everywhere in the TNG era

Bones keeps randomly showing up everywhere in the TNG era

You're on Tumblr so you already know about Killing Time

There's a guy named McKenzie Calhoun and he's a total badass and captains a ship of weirdos and misfits

Kirk comes back from the dead, saves the galaxy repeatedly, has an intersex child (who identifies as male) with a Romulan/Klingon hybrid

Kirk beats up Worf

Kirk's child has superpowers

Kirk's child saves the galaxy at age 6

The Kirk stuff is 100% ignored in the other novels

About 50% of the novels are ignored in the other 50%, and the ones that are meant to be in direct continuity with each other aren't always quite

Just like the TV shows and movies, then

Lwaxana Troi meets Q, and it goes as well as you'd expect

Someone tells Data, yes you idiot you had emotions all along and he's like, oh shit you're right

McCoy is left in command of the Enterprise as a joke by Kirk, who is then immediately kidnapped

Ro Laren is captain of Deep Space Nine

Picard/Beverly is a thing, they get married and have a child named Rene. No running away and raising your kid in secret here

Riker and Troi are married, serve on the Titan together with a bunch of adorable weirdos and have a daughter named Tasha

You get to watch all the 24th century characters die horribly in the end along with their entire universe. Holy fuck it's a bleak horror show. Personally, I love it. But if that's not your cup of tea I'd skip the Coda trilogy

[tylermileslockett]

"Troy has Fallen!" by me

In the first scene of Aeschylus’s “Agamemnon” (the first play in the trilogy titled “ORESTEIA”) we see a nightguard on Agamemnon’s roof in Mycenea (the cursed HOUSE OF ATREUS) , waiting for a signal fire to announce that Troy has fallen. The play is begun with a sense of dread, as the guard, after having spotted the fire, alludes that some dark tidings have been happening within the house with Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra.

So why do I have the brightest star in the night sky; “Sirius”; the dog star so prominent? As Peter Meineck mentions in his audio lectures, he talks about how Clytemnestra’s fire is a man-made star, a disruptive element in the natural order of the godly cosmos. So I wanted to show some contrast between the stars and signal fire. But there’s more.

Professor Meineck talks about how the Agamemnon play has ritualistic symbolism for the Greek summer New Year’s festivities in different parts of the play. First; the SKIRA festival was an all female New Year’s festival held in summer, and a watchman would be sent to the top of the acropolis in Athens, and upon seeing Sirius, the dogstar in the daylight, would announce it to the city, thus beginning the festivities with lighting of fires around the city. The other two ceremonies that will play out later in the play will be the bull sacrifice; BUPHONIA (which Agamemnon’s murder represents) and the ANTHESTERIA festival, where a new king takes over the throne from the old with a transfer of power (Clytemnestra usurping Agamemnon). Which I hope to dig into deeper later as we get to those sections in the play.

Have you read “Agamemnon?” what do you think about this play?

Want to own my Illustrated Greek myth book jam packed with over 130 illustrations like this? Support my kickstarter for my book "lockett Illustrated: Greek Gods and Heroes" coming in OCTOBER. You can also sign up for my free email newsletter. please check my LINKTREE

[katerinaaqu]

wait was the trojan war the gods fault??? i cant remember too well but i remember smth abt ending an age blah blah human population control being the reason. or was it just fate? Ik theres not really a bad guy for the war i’m just curious if theres any truth to the war being the gods fault

That is a very good question. Arguably for ancient greek literature all that happens has something to do with fate one way or another. Gods are not separate from fate. Gods are also bound by fate and destiny and need to follow it otherwise the law of cosmos collapses (an example is when Zeus weights the soul of his son Sarpedon and realizes that he is about to die. His first thought is to protect and save his son but Hera scolds him that defying fate is not what they do)

Anyways the "Trojan war is the fault of the gods" is pretty much based how it had the origins to the Judgement of Paris where Paris chose Aphrodite and "the most beautiful woman in the world" which Aphrodite didn't say had the catch that the most beautiful woman in the world was married and she had chose her husband too. So in a way according to Homer she makes Helen fall in love with Paris and follow him. This of course caused the rage of Menelaus who after a failed attempt to take her back he gathers 1000 ships and starts a war.

Under this perspective the initiative was taken by a God and the fact that Gods always interfere during the war is probably an indicator that "the gods are at fault"

However can we really blame one side only?

In one way why was Menelaus able to launch 1000 ships for Troy? The answer is the Oath of Tyndareus which was invented by Odysseus in order to help himself and Tyndareus get what they wanted; Tyndareus avoid the scandal and offending a king and Odysseus stepping out of the race for the hand of Helen without being shamed, get a chance to participate for the hand of Penelope and appear as a benefactor to the family so to have more chances even if his wedding gifts were not as big as other kings.

So the initiative of the war was given by a God but the tools for the war were unconsciously given by a mortal who also didn't hope for war to happen per se nor did he think the war would happen so and for so long. Also Paris started the domino by falling in love with Helen and insulting his host by committing adultery. Is Paris (or Helen for that matter) more at fault than Menelaus or Odysseus for the beginning of the war? Is Agamemnon more at fault for its continuation than let's say the senate of Troy that refused to give Helen back even if Menelaus and Odysseus arrived to the palace to negotiate her return without war? Hard to tell.

Other sources claim there already were prophecies and even in Iliad there is a hint that the walls would fall at some point because of neglected sacrifices and all. Also prophecies given to the Achaeans spoke on the war and its possibilities. Troy had already fallen once by Heracles in the past so in a way that also seems to be another hint for Troy's fall.

So I believe the answer is; all of the above. Trojan war happened because of initiative of gods, planning of humans and the endless game of fate. Symbolically seems to indicate exactly how wars happen in the first place. They start from humans in the name of gods in a way unavoidably end up in tragedies and unravel different reasons and motivations as to why people want war.

So did the war started by gods like Aphrodite? Did it start because of humans like Paris or Odysseus? Did it start because of destiny? My answer would be that all of the above happen simultaneously. I hope this helps

[femmehysteria]

Best Character Named X Poll

FOLLOW @best-character-named-x-poll

I'm doing a series of "Best Character Named X" polls where all the characters have the same first name but are from completely different media, feel free to send in name/charcacter suggestions, I'm posting one poll a day. New polls scheduled for 1:30PM GMT everyday.

ask box closed for now

WILL BE POSTING POLLS ON @best-character-named-x-poll FROM FEB 1ST

If your favourite character is not included in the poll very sorry i have either never heard of them or actively chose not to include them as theres only 6 characters per poll. Characters will only count of that is their first name, surnames do not count.

Round 85: David

Round 86: Tiffany

Round 87: Charlie

Round 88: Sandy

Round 89: Cody

Round 90: Amanda

Round 91: Jeremy

Past Polls and Poll Ideas under the cut

Names that I have a complete list for*

Caroline, Tyler, Louis, Leonard, Rebecca, Steve, Nicole, Isabelle, Victoria, Katherine, Jade, Alex, Sophie, Greg, Jake, Ellie, Isaac, Robin, Tony, Annie, Lisa, Margaret, Oliver, Clark, Kara, Phoebe, Emma, Ruby, Bart, Alfie, Beth, Julian, Nancy, Penny, Margaret, Tessa, Erica, Theresa, George, Kevin, Sebastian, Felix, Martin, Michael, Erin, Caleb, Helen, Charlotte, Kyle, Martha, Diana, Elsa, Gary, Zoe, Connor, Colin, Daisy, Eric, Maya, Adam, Andy, Magnus, Alma, Nora, Alice, Spike, Leon, Marcel, Kim, Juno, Sue, Chris, Otto, Donald, Daphne, Kate, Todd, Ned, Ken, Angel, Judy, Jo, Hazel, Naomi, Diego, Miranda, Joel, Lila, Duncan, Dexter, Meredith, Pearl, Lily, Malcolm, Napolean, Joan, Nico, Jamie, Nadia, Velma, Jill, Kiera, Rory, Evan, Tam, Klaus, Neil, Derek, Michelle, Luna, Laila, Cordelia, Zack, Imogen, Felicity, Cindy, Alicia, Kelly, Alan, April, Astrid, Delilah, Jodie, Claudia, Juliet, Karen, Jonas, Milo, Celia, Hannah, Joy, Ethan, Katya, Aria, Atticus, Ian, Cynthia, Faye, Frank, Boo, River, Corey, Gabrielle, Minerva, Ebony, Zia, Beverly, Rudy, Georgina

Names I have an incomplete list for (welcome to send character suggestions)

Richter, Sean, Troy, Cain, Agatha, Warren, Percy, Reggie, Mina, Ryan, Felicia, Dylan, Josh, Shirley, Debbie, Jared, June, Mabel, Ray, Chad, Moe, Hugh, Fearne, Christine, Joe, August, May, Scarlet, Alana, Leela, Manny, Dean, Francis, Mason, Oscar, Quinn, Guy, Ulrich, Wally, Yasmin, Tobias, Woody, Sabrina, Quentin, Margot, Alina, Matilda, Freya, Kendra, Angus, Ophelia, Leisel, Zelda, Adora, Piper, Scarlet, Sheila, Valentine, Laurie, Laurel, Fitz, Violet, Gabriel, Ford, Artemis, Owen, Bianca, Newton, Summer, Darcy, Noah, Taylor, Miriam, Hugh, Aurora, Hank, Henry, Dawn, Delia, Cosmo, Wanda, Zeke, Cecil, Aiden, Calvin, Ayesha, Beatrice, Parker, Chase, Hunter, Tina, Misty, Amaya, Amara, Harvey, Talia, Tatiana, Tanya, Orion, Eugene, Kit, Bo, Duke, Blue, Cameron, Rudolf, Mara, Marianne, Carl

Feel free to send more suggestions

*subject to change, you can still submit a character if there is no strikethrough if you think theres a character that its an absolute crime i dont add. Please don't suggest anything for the names with a strikethrough as they are polls that are already in my queue waiting to be published.

Past Polls

Round 1: Peter : WINNER: Peter Parker (Spider-Man)

Round 2: Elizabeth : WINNER: Elizabeth Swann (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Round 3: Jason : WINNER: Jason Mendoza (The Good Place)

Round 4: Eve : WINNER: EVE (WALL-E)

Round 5: Fred : WINNER: Fred Jones (Scooby-Doo)

Round 6: Rachel : WINNER: Rachel (Animorphs)

Round 7: Arthur : WINNER: Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)

Round 8: Amy : WINNER: Amy Pond (Doctor Who)

Round 9: Tom : WINNER: Tom (Tom and Jerry)

Round 10: Claire : WINNER: Clare Devlin (Derry Girls)

Round 11: James : WINNER: James (Pokemon)

Round 12: Max : WINNER: Max (Black Sails)

Round 13: Simon : WINNER: Simon Belmont (Castlevania)

Round 14: Jane : WINNER: Jane Crocker (Homestuck)

Round 15: Victor : WINNER: Victor Nikiforov (Yuri On Ice)

Round 16: Mary : WINNER: Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins)

Round 17: Will : WINNER: Will Graham (Hannibal)

Round 18: Laura : WINNER: Laura Palmer (Twin Peaks)

Round 19: Ben : WINNER: Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi (Star Wars)

Round 20: Chloe : WINNER: Chloe Price (Life Is Strange)

Round 21: John : WINNER: Jonathan Sims (The Magnus Archives)

Round 22: Lydia : WINNER: Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice)

Round 23: Mark : WINNER: Marc Spector (Moon Knight)

Round 24: Jess : WINNER: Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad)

Round 25: Theo : WINNER: Theobald Gumbar (Dimension 20: A Crown Of Candy)

Round 26: Sarah: WINNER: Sarah Jane Smith (Doctor Who)

Round 27: Richard : WINNER: Richard Gansey III (The Raven Cycle)

Round 28: Cass : WINNER: Cassandra Cain (Batman)

Round 29: Edward : WINNER: Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Round 30: Carm : WINNER: Carmen Sandiego (Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?)

Round 31: Hal : WINNER: HAL9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

Round 32: Sid : WINNER: Sydney Adamu (The Bear)

Round 33: Jack : WINNER: Captain Jack Harkness (Doctor Who)

Round 34: Stephanie : WINNER: Stephanie Brown (Batman)

Round 35: Ash : WINNER: Ash Ketchum (Pokemon)

Round 36: Veronica : WINNER: Veronica Sawyer (Heathers)

Round 37: Kurt : WINNER: Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler (X-Men)

Round 38: Eleanor : WINNER: Eleanor Shellstrop (The Good Place)

Round 39: Nathan : WINNER: Nathan Young (Misfits)

Round 40: Fiona : WINNER: Princess Fiona (Shrek)

Round 41: Gale : WINNER: Gayle Waters-Waters (Chris Fleming)

Round 42: Barbara : WINNER: Barbara Millicent Roberts aka Barbie (Barbie)

Round 43: Sam : WINNER: Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings)

Round 44: Grace : WINNER: Grace Chastity (Nerdy Prudes Must Die)

Round 45: Barry : WINNER: Barry Bluejeans (The Adventure Zone)

Round 46: Raven : WINNER: Raven (Teen Titans)

Round 47: Dan : WINNER: Danny Fenton (Danny Phantom)

Round 48: Mia : WINNER: Mia Fey (Ace Attorney)

Round 49: Matt : WINNER: Matt Murdock (Daredevil)

Round 50: Rose : WINNER: Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)

Round 51: Robert : WINNER: Robbie Rotten (LazyTown)

Round 52: Lola : WINNER: Lola Bunny (Space Jam)

Round 53: Scott : WINNER: Scott Summers aka Cyclops (X-Men)

Round 54: Olivia : WINNER: Olivia Octavious (Spiderverse)

Round 55: Finn : WINNER: Finn the Human (Adventure Time)

Round 56: Emily : WINNER: Emily Charlton (The Devil Wears Prada)

Round 57: Elliot : WINNER: Eliot Spencer (Leverage)

Round 58: Sonia : WINNER: Sonia (Pokemon)

Round 59: Gideon : WINNER: Gideon Nav (The Locked Tomb)

Round 60: Jen : WINNER: Jennifer Check (Jennifer's Body)

Round 61: Miles : WINNER: Miles Morales (Spider-Man)

Round 62: Lana : WINNER: Lana Skye (Ace Attorney)

Round 63: Spencer : WINNER: Spencer Shay (iCarly)

Round 64: Tracy : WINNER: Tracy Turnbald (Hairspray!)

Round 65: Luke : WINNER: Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)

Round 66: Natalie : WINNER: Natalie Scatorccio (Yellowjackets)

Round 67: Harry : WINNER: Harry Du Bois (Disco Elysium)

Round 68: Lucy : WINNER: Lucy van Pelt (Peanuts)

Round 69: Damian : WINNER: Damian Wayne (Batman)

Round 70: Tabitha : WINNER: Tabitha Casper (Dan and Phil Games: Sims 4)

Round 71: Nick : WINNER: Nicholas D. Wolfwood (Trigun)

Round 72: Gwen : WINNER: Guinevere (Merlin)

Round 73: Paul : WINNER: Paulette Bonafonte (Legally Blonde)

Round 74: Abigail : WINNER: Abigail Hobbs (Hannibal)

Round 75: Jordan : WINNER: Jordan Baker (The Great Gatsby)

Round 76: Donna : WINNER: Donna Noble (Doctor Who)

Round 77: Morgan : WINNER: Morgana (Merlin)

Round 78: Allison : WINNER: Alison Cooper (BBC Ghosts)

Round 79: Patrick : WINNER: Patrick Star (Spongebob Squarepants)

Round 80: Linda : WINNER: Linda Belcher (Bob's Burgers)

Round 81: Philip : WINNER: Philip J. Fry (Futurama)

Round 82: Clarisse : WINNER: Clarisse La Rue (Percy Jackson)

Round 83: Jeff

Round 84: Maria

[herefortheclout19]

Aaravos vs. Callum: Destiny and Choice

Throughout the entire Dragon Prince saga, the recurring theme of Destiny appears as a key factor the audience is supposed to understand. But what does Destiny mean, exactly?

The traditional definition is, “the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future.” Delving into the etymology of this word- Destinare in Latin, it has a slight variation to it, but otherwise synonymous; “make firm, establish.” Both these definitions provide ample structure to the mindsets of characters like Callum and Aaravos.

Despite being incredibly similar- from their shared fascination with magic and deep familial love for those they care about, their mindsets about Destiny are different.

Startouch elves possess the ability to foresee the past, present, and future- a power that, in turn, makes their thinking become rigid and structured. For this reason, startouch elves see subjects such as destiny as unchanging and impactful. “You have seen what we have all seen. . . a long, slow spiral into chaos.” (S6EP9) What’s interesting is that elves like Cosmo that also share in this ability are able to foresee alternate routes the future can take.

When Cosmo speaks with Callum, he decides to tell him the truth of the reality of the pearl- that it’s fake. When doing so, he realizes that saying the truth is worse than a fallacy, and by lying, he would be giving Callum the false sense of hope he really needed in order to move forward.

If a celestial elf can see multiple paths in the future, then it’s without a doubt that startouch elves can do so, but at an elevated degree of power.

As one of the “Great Ones,” Aaravos being timeblind affects his musings on destiny as well. His beliefs are just as rigid as that of his heavenly brethren.

When taunting Callum, he says, “destined to play right into my hands.” (S4EP4)

There’s that important word: destined. Aaravos refuses to believe that fate can be an illusion due to the uncanny ability of basically being an “oracle” of sorts. When the Cosmic Council executed Leola, the thought process was that killing the root of the problem now will stop it from spreading later. But they, either out of stubbornness or incompetence, chose not to gaze into alternate paths of the future.

If chaos was really going to happen, they could have simply decided to do something else with Leola instead- or gone out to seek the human she’d taught magic to. Instead, they decided to stick with one route in order to shape the future in their own hateful and bigoted image that discriminates against humanity as a whole.

By perpetuating the cycle, it only led to Aaravos to keep spinning the wheel, which in turn led to the long, slow, spiral into chaos becoming a reality. The fears of the Comic Order became true, and by harming a child, it didn’t solve anything. They could have foreseen Leola’s death being the “inciting incident” that entices Aaravos into committing war crimes and lusting after revenge. They chose to punish her anyway.

When speaking to Viren during his final day of life, Aaravos warns him that, “the sun will rise and you will not. You must make the sacrifice.” This is as much of a cautionary tale of his death on the beach as it is a prophecy of the impending future.

“The sun will rise” could also be referring to the physical ball of giant gas that hangs in the sky, but it can also be alluding to Sol Regem himself, who indeed rises, only to burn Katolis to the ground.

Aaravos must’ve seen Sol Regem razing Katolis into oblivion and warned Viren about it, even though it didn’t make sense at the time. (Kind of like Cassandra of Troy, but that might be a reach.) In S6EP8, Viren ends up using one last dark magic spell to save Katolis- “you must make the sacrifice,” and dies shortly after, just like the archmage foretold, “the sun will rise and you will not.”

Tying this back with the prophecy of chaos the Cosmic Council spoke of, their interpretation of discord was wrong. They didn’t realize just how chaos would manifest, and in the world of The Dragon Prince, prophecies aren’t always something rigid.

With Callum, if he continued to use dark magic in excessive amounts, it really would become his destiny, just like his dark magic self during his delirium suggested.

Like Viren during his own nightmare infested dreams telling himself, “I am free,” both of them made a choice. They both chose to reject dark magic, but came back to it again due to necessity and desperation.

But that initial choice is something startouch eleves can’t seem to comprehend. The Dragon Prince hammers home the idea that “destiny is a book you write yourself.” If that’s the case, then humans like Viren and Callum aren’t burdened by the fear that destiny is an impending doom that forever haunts you.

Choice and Destiny are subjects that The Dragon Prince makes seem like two sides of the same coin- you can have one without the other, but it won’t seem complete.

Humanity in the world of Xadia seems to view destiny as something ever-changing, represented by the narration of Callum and Viren the most. With elves, they’re born into certain arcanums that basically lays down the foundation of their destinies for them, which is why I think that elves believe in the rigidity of destiny and not the ever-flowing version that humans believe, something startouch elves reflect.

To sum it all up, Aaravos sees destiny as something rigid, with different paths in the future with only one choice to determine that. While Callum sees destiny as something that can have multiple choices that can provide alternate routes into the future. I’m excited to see how season 7 can take decisions and choices one notch further! I’m ready to see all the angst >:)

Hopefully my thoughts made sense and aren’t all over the place 😭

[peqchys]

proseka song wishlist!!! [as of 08/10/24]

BIT OF A LENGTHY POST BUT i wanted to finally put this somewhere…..it keeps sitting in my notes and getting updated and i never post it SO here it finally is!! i’ll try to keep coming back to it OR making new posts every couple months to add songs or check off any that got put in the game…..yippeeeeee 🎉🎉 [list under the cut!!]

Leoni -

> Losstime Memory - Jin

> Additional Memory - Jin

> Young Girl A - Siinamota

> Reversible Campaign - Deco*27

> Liar Betty - PolyphonicBranch [HonaSaki]

> Doubleganger - KulfiQ [IchiShiho]

> Envy Cat Walk - Tohma

> Orange - Tohma

> Kimi no Taion - Kuwagata P [IchiSaki]

> Candy and Chains - Otetsu

> Raspberry Monster - HoneyWorks

> Chimera - Deco*27

> Deep Sea City Underground - TanakaB

> Lost Umbrella - Inabakumori

> World Domination How To - Neru

MMJ -

> Alkali Underachiever - Kairikibear

> Ai Dee - Mitchie M

> Age Age Again - Mitchie M

> Jump for Joy - Easypop

> Kunoichi Demo Koi ga Shitai - Mikito P [MinoAiri]

> Common World Domination - Pinocchio P

VBS -

> YESMAN - Nilfruits

> Jailbreak - Neru [AkiToya]

> OGRE - Utsu P

> Outer Science - Jin

> Setsuna Drive - 9mm Parabellum Bullet [AkiToya]

> Dance Number o Tomo Ni - Nanahoshi Orchestra [AnHane]

> Bakushou - Syudou

> Unfriendly Hater - Meddmia [AkiAn]

> CH4NGE - Giga [AnHane]

Wondasho

> I~ya I~ya I~ya - Neru

> Hao - Deco*27

> R.I.P Gossip Sea - cosMo@Bousou P

> I AM HUNGRY!! - cosMo@Bousou P

> Snobbism - Neru

> Ohedo Julia Night - Mitchie M [EmuRui]

> Yubikiri - Scop

> Mitsugetsu Un Deux Trois - DATEKEN [RuiKasa. a girl can dream]

> Skeleton Orchestra and Lilia - Tohma 

> Mr. Schadenfreude - Hitoshizuku x Yama

> Positive vs Negative Club - Wonderful Opportunity [NeneKasa]

> Dream Eating Monochrome Baku - Nem [RuiKasa or NeneKasa]

> YABABAINA - satapanpi

> Parry - Miyamori Bungaku 

> Darling - Maretu

> Nobody Makes Sense - Pinocchio P [RuiNene]

> Kiss the Villain - 40mP

> Shama - Nilfruits

> Lavie - Surii

N25 -

> aishiteitanoni - Maretu

> Coin Locker Baby - Maretu

> Kilmer - Nilfruits [MizuMafu bcs mizuki would DESTROOOYYY this song]

> A Mistaken Belief of Love - Nilfruits

> Knife, Knife, Knife - Kikuo

> Abnormality Dancing Girl - Guchiry

> Parasite - Deco*27

> dogdog - Abuse [KanaMafu]

> FAILURE GIRL - Kairikibear

> Yamiaka Steroid - Kairikibear

> Watashi no R - KurageP [KanaMafu or MizuMafu i beg]

> Kareshi no Jude - Syudou

> day by days - Syudou

> SIU - Maretu

> Disappearance Addiction - Kairikibear

> NAMIDA - Maretu

> Anatasama - Kairikibear

> The Flea Waltz - A4

> Franken X - Nilfruits, Harumakigohan

> Easy-Peasy Euthanasia - Pepoyo

Virtual Singer [or any group] -

> Butcher Vanity - Vane Lily

> Pink - Maretu

> Panda Hero - Hachi [would love Wondasho but would take anyone]

> Cinderella - Deco*27

> Animal - Deco*27

> Rabbit Hole - Deco*27

> RUMA - Kairikibear

> DOWN TIMER - Kairikibear

> Hate it, Hate it, Huge Ego! - KurageP

> MiKUSABBATH - Utsu P

> Better Off Worse - CircusP

> Honey I’m Home - Ghost and Pals

> LIAR DANCE - Deco*27 [Leoni perhaps???]

> Machine Gun - Kira

> Plus Boy - Giga, Reol

> Holy Lance Explosion Boy - rerulili [a girl can pray for VBS]

> HELL - Sumia

> White Happy - Maretu [wouldn’t be surprised if it went to n25]

> Sincerity Nature: Drastic Measures of Ignorance - Suzumu

> Dizzy Paranoia Girl - VocaloKAT

> Konton Boogie - jonYAKITORY

> Girl Eraser - Maretu

> Fools are Attracted to Anomaly - Utsu P

> Therefore You and Me - TadanoCo [n25 or wondasho??]

> People Allergy - Kairikibear

> M@GICAL CURE LOVE SHOT - SAWTOWNE [it was one of my fav songs to see live tbh…..so fun]

> MONSTER - Kira

> Party x Party - Hitoshizuku x Yama [would say wxs but the rest of the bad end night series has been virtual singer sooooo??]

[littlesparklight]

Thinking about how, in the Iliad, we have one living mortal son of Zeus proclaimed as "most dearest" to him (that is, Sarpedon), and one dead mortal son of Zeus also proclaimed the most dearest of his sons born to (mortal) women (that is, Dardanos).

Zeus' love for Dardanos is clearly part of his care for Troy and its royal family now.

So, the thing is then, Sarpedon Zeus wishes to save from the fated moment of his death. Obviously, because he is his son. (And like Hera points out, other gods would love the excuse Zeus would give them if he did save Sarpedon, to save their own sons. Ares almost goes against the currently then in effect edict against divine meddling when he finds out one of his sons have been killed.)

But there's one other person Zeus contemplates upending the laws of cosmos for by saving him from his fated moment of death. Hektor, who isn't his son.

Sure, he says it's because Hektor has been so pious in his sacrifices, but is that really enough, at all, to justify upending the laws of cosmos for mortals?

Hektor is, however, related to one of the mortal sons Zeus loved the most. Dardanos. What if Hektor reminds Zeus of Dardanos, and that (plus the sacrifices) is the actual reason he wants to prolong his life?

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

Braveheart (1995) - Brendan Gleeson 

I was never into Mel Gibson, but Brendan Gleeson as Hamish… that'll get my draws to drop.

A special DADDY BONUS (among many) to Patrick McGoohan … I'd hit that.

On A Side Note: What is it about Gleeson, Brian Cox and James Cosmo in historical dramas that makes me what bend over and spread my cheeks?

Now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to watch Troy… and work something else out.

[photoset #2 of 2]

[stolenslumber]

hang your head low in the glow (pjs)

In this moment, you’re glad that you’re anchored in his lap, because otherwise you think you might float away into the night sky, on your way to join the stars in the cosmos. Jay is so crushingly sweet; sometimes, you just don’t know what to do with the weight of all his sincerity. For now, you settle for a fervent, “I like you so much.”

OR: A selection of moments in between the parentheses at the end of devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes (some things may not make sense without reading that first, but it's up to you!).

PAIRING: park jongseong x female reader GENRE: established relationship, fwp (fluff without plot), no like seriously this is just straight up fluff and romance and making out with scant narrative WARNINGS: swearing, kms/kys jokes, kissing and suggestive content/sexual themes WORD COUNT: 10k (derogatory)

to all the boys i’ve fake-dated before (you, jay, sunghoon, yeonjun, chan, vernon, mark, and 5 others)

jay: peace out losers (except for my REAL gf whom i adore and cherish)

*jay has left the chat*

sunghoon: omfg no way???? jay bitchless era no more?

you: are u calling me a bitch

sunghoon: NOOOO i would never haha btw do u still talk to my sister

you: yeah

sunghoon: right so i’m just ur humble liege

chan: congrats, you two! well i guess jay can’t see this

you: i will accept your congratulations on his behalf :DD i’m really happy you guys 

mark: stop i’ll cry

vernon: no rly i’m next to him rn and he’s tearing up

mark: they deserve it so much!!! after everything i put them through 

you: excuse me it was mostly me

you: all jay did was orchestrate an elaborate scheme to get you and mina together (okay so he did a lot)

you: but we ALL participated

you: and i had to pretend to DATE you

mark: only for like two hours!!!!

yeonjun: wait this reminds me i’ve always wanted to know what ur ranking of us as fake bfs would be

you: in first place: park jongseong

yeonjun: and then?

yeonjun: hello??????

“Can I ask you something?”

Jay turns his head to you. “Of course, baby.”

Baby. Hearing it still makes you all silly and giddy, though it’s been four days since you started dating him for real and hearing it all the time. Baby, doll, Cinderella, mine. He sure has a way with words. You clear your throat, hoping that your voice won’t crack when you say, “Why were you so weird about the fake-dating thing in the beginning?”

He makes a face at you. “What do you mean, weird? You’re telling me you thought I was weird about it, even after you had to endure Sunghoon?”

“Sunghoon was just awkward. Really awkward, but still. You stalked me to my front door—”

“Your front door is, like, 90 seconds from mine.”

“— and walked with me to Nat’s at a glacial pace, while not saying a word. And then we talked for an hour about random stuff before you promised to help Mark with Mina, even though you weren’t sure you wanted my help. Why were you so weird about it all?”

“Pretty girls make me nervous?” He offers you a winning smile.

“Flattery won’t get you everywhere, Park Jongseong.”

“Yeah, but it’s getting me somewhere, isn’t it?” He rolls all the way over to hover above you and then dips so low that the pendant on his necklace swings in front of your face. The two of you had escaped the party in the frat’s basement after it had gotten too hot down there; Jay said he “knew a spot”, which made you laugh when it turned out to just be his bedroom. But then he pushed open his window and coaxed you out onto the flat roof, and that’s where you had settled on your back, gazing up at a cloudless sky, scattershot through with faint stars. 

Well, you were gazing up at the stars— now, Jay occupies your line of sight, and he’s all smiles and hearts in his eyes. It’s not an unwelcome substitute.

Your hand slips between your bodies so you can rub your fingers over the pendant on his necklace; you laugh when you realize what it is. “J as in Jay? Like T as in Troy?” 

He huffs, rolling off of you to sit back on his heels. “No, J as in Jopping. Yes, J as in Jay!”

You hold your hands up, still laughing as you sit up to face him. “Okay, okay, sorry! Didn’t realize my boyfriend was also a preppy high school girl.”

He rolls his eyes even as he pulls you into his lap. These days, he’s hopelessly afflicted with must-be-close-to-my-girlfriend syndrome. “I have layers, Cinderella. Like an onion.”

“... Are you paraphrasing Shrek?”

Jay flicks at the tip of your nose. “You know, it reveals just as much about you as it does about me that you caught the reference.” 

“You’re not helping yourself in the high school girl category,” you tease, but it’s all syrupy sweet fondness, punctuated by a playful tug at his reddening ear. 

He turns his head to kiss the inside of your wrist. “Do you want to hear my answer or not?”

You nod and straighten your spine with your hands folded neatly against your chest; the picture of propriety, if it weren’t for your legs straddling his waist as he leans back on his hands. “Yes, please.”

“I was… sussing you out, I guess. You know why I wanted to bring someone to my parents, but I couldn’t just bring anyone. I wanted to get to know you a little better, to see if you were someone I could actually see myself wanting to be with, because anything less would be a disservice to my parents. I didn’t want your help if I couldn’t confirm that you were the real thing. And then I saw how patient but also no-nonsense you were with Mark, and how quickly you were willing to help with a frankly crazy plan, and you just… felt right. You felt right to me; you felt like the real thing.” Jay blushes, ducking his head to avoid your gaze. Everything he said is true, of course, and he doesn’t regret telling you any of it, but saying it out loud like this makes his heart feel like it’s going to fall out of his chest.

In this moment, you’re glad that you’re anchored in his lap, because otherwise you think you might float away into the night sky, on your way to join the stars in the cosmos. Jay is so crushingly sweet; sometimes, you just don’t know what to do with the weight of all his sincerity. For now, you settle for a fervent, “I like you so much.”

Jay’s confidence comes back like a boomerang. He leans up and catches your hands in his, draping your arms around his neck before gliding his hands up and down your back. “Who’s flattering who, now?” 

You shrug. “Where’s it gonna get me, gorgeous?”

“Well, only because you called me gorgeous.” And then he’s kissing you, lush and lovely. 

Fall trickles into winter, and there are final exams and goodbyes to your friends before you and Jake leave on a two-week trip to see your family in Australia. You and Jay FaceTime almost every day; he complains about getting pasty staying indoors in the cold while you’re out tanning on white sand beaches. 

“Should I fly out there?” he muses one day close to the end of your trip. “You could be, I dunno, in danger! Because of the sun. No one to help you put sunscreen on your back… or check that you’ve applied enough on your legs… or your chest… It’s really important, you know. Skin cancer awareness.”

You laugh. “Thanks for the PSA, baby. I’m coming back in a few days, though, so I think I’ll be okay.”

Jay sighs mournfully. “I’m not. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” you confess. Living across the street from each other at school and seeing him in person almost every day for the past few months has spoiled you. 

“I miss you, too,” Jake mimics beside you. You’re in an Uber on the way to dinner with your parents, so you can’t commit much physical violence against him, but you do punch his shoulder.

Jay pipes up with, “Was that Jake’s voice I heard?”

You glare at your twin before popping out your earbuds to put the call on speakerphone. “Unfortunately.”

“Yo, what’s up, my man!” Jake cheers, shoving his face into view of the camera.

Jay and Jake chatter about some game they started playing with Heeseung, and you have to admit that you’re really happy about how well you and Jay have integrated into each other’s lives and communities. Of course, Jake had never been a big concern; secretly, you think he loves that his best friend is dating his sister. You’re two of his favorite people in the world, though he’ll only admit it when he’s four shots in. 

Soon, you approach the restaurant, and you have to say goodbye to Jay. He encourages you to keep sending videos of Jake falling into the ocean while surfing, which prompts a loud bout of complaining from Jake.

“You better not have shown that to anyone else,” Jake grumbles.

“Yunjin loved it,” you remark casually, just so you can laugh loudly when he jolts in his seat and turns to you with panicked eyes.

He whisper-shouts, “Why would you say that word? And why the fuck would you send it to her?” 

“What word— love? Oh my god, grow up. And she asked for updates on you.” Your eyebrows furrow. “I think she missed you, or something.”

“She did?” Jake beams; he’s entirely a different man now. “What else did she say about me?”

You point at him accusingly. “You have a lot of questions for someone who claims that they’re just buddies with my girl Jen. Which, again— grow up. Anyways, Jay, we have to go, but we’ll see you soon! Love you!”

“Love you, baby. And you, too, Jake,” Jay adds, before Jake can whine. 

A few days later, you’re finally reunited with Jay at the big New Year’s Eve party his family throws every year. The Parks always get to host the last party of the holiday season; you’re excited to experience it with Jay for the first time. 

An hour before the party is set to start, you let yourself into the Park estate and make your way surreptitiously to Jay’s room. His back is turned to you when you open the door slowly, and you stop for a moment to just drink in the sight of him, comfy and cozy in a cable-knit quarter zip sweater— the definition of huggable. Quickly, you sneak in and wrap your arms around his waist. “Hey, handsome.”

Jay cranes his neck around to look at you. “Hey! You’re here early.” 

You let go of him so he can turn around and hug you back properly. “Couldn’t wait to see you,” you confess. 

“Thank god.” He drops his head into the crook of your neck and inhales deeply. “Mm, the world is finally rightside up again.”

You laugh softly. “We are so dramatic.”

“Unavoidable for hot people,” Jay reasons. He pulls back up to wink at you; it’s so cheesy that you have to hold your hands up to his face to avoid looking at him. He laughs outright, and the return of that sound so close to your ears— as opposed to through the phone across an ocean— makes you smile uncontrollably wide.

“I really missed you,” you murmur. Finally, finally, he leans in and kisses you. It starts as something innocent and comforting, then quickly gets subsumed into fire and passion. You fist your hands into the collar of his sweater, hauling him closer to you with an enthusiasm that makes his fingers dig into your waist.

“Missed you so much. Missed this so much,” he says, right before sliding his tongue against yours. Soon, he transitions to sucking your bottom lip into his mouth, breathing a litany of love you, love you, love yous into you. The kiss is so deep it makes you go lightheaded, and when you separate for air, the sound of your mouth parting from his elicits a faint pop that makes you shudder. He’s considerate enough to back off briefly for you to catch your breath, though he doesn’t make it easy. “Pretty, so pretty,” he whispers against your cheek.

You have to close your eyes to calm yourself down. Right now, you think you could power a whole city with the desire that vibrates underneath your skin. “As much as I want to keep going,” you begin, already doomed with how hoarse your voice is, “I think you have to start getting ready.” The way your fingers pull at the zipper of his sweater is wholly unconvincing. 

He sighs and straightens up to rest his chin on the top of your head. “I should really learn how to reconfigure the time-space continuum. Time needs to stop when I’ve got my girl with me.”

You hum in agreement, curving around him slightly to scrape your teeth over the birthmark on his neck and grinning when he hisses into your ear. “You’re a smart guy; I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” you offer, continuing to tug at his zipper until you’re met with the end of the quarter zip. A frustrated sound escapes your throat at the obstacle.

“What’s your new year’s resolution?” Jay asks suddenly.

“What?” You blink hazy eyes at him; he has to pinch his own wrist behind your back to fight the urge to kiss you again.

“Just trying to kill the mood so I don’t go out there with a hard-on,” he explains, half bashful and half serious. “I have to make a speech, you know.”

“Thanks for coming, everyone! Hope you had a great last year, and here’s to an even better new year. There, speech done.” You withdraw your hands from his sweater to make jazz hands at him. “Wow, I’m such a speedy speechwriter! With all this extra time, we should keep going.”

“Brilliant,” he says dryly. “But you were right before; I do have to get ready.”

You frown and rest your cheek against his chest. “Past me was such a cockblock.”

Jay chuckles. “So, tell me, what is your new year’s resolution?”

Your eyes drift to the offending sweater in your peripheral vision. “Throw out all of your sweaters.”

“Very noble of you.”

“And get into grad school,” you say, more serious now.

“They’d be crazy not to take you for the Rhodes, baby.” Jay presses a final kiss to the top of your head. “I, um. I already asked to start in the London office of the company.”

You whip your head up so fast you almost give yourself whiplash. “Really?”

“Really. I want to be wherever you are.” He smiles so tenderly at you that your heart breaks and then mends itself back together in an instant; shattered and restored all at once by the strength of his devotion.

Sadly, there’s only so much time you can spend swooning at your boyfriend (Jay’s right; you do have to learn how to reconfigure the time-space continuum). He truly does have to give a speech soon, so he starts getting changed, pulling his sweater over his head and swearing when it gets stuck on the wire frame of his glasses. 

You laugh a little breathlessly at him, distracted by the strip of toned stomach revealed by his current position with his arms stuck above his head in his sweater. “My last new year’s resolution is to close the gyms,” you announce, finally moving into action to help him unspool the yarn of his sweater from his glasses.

“All of them?” His voice comes out muffled from inside his sweater before it’s over his head at last, and he’s shirtless in front of you. 

You drag your fingertips from the top of his waistband to the warm skin of his sternum. “Especially the ones you go to. You’re too tempting like this.”

He shivers at your touch but still manages to smirk when he says, “Just for you, doll.”

You groan. “Seriously, don’t call me that if you want to make it out there in time for your speech.”

“We should get rid of speeches, too,” he declares. He eyes the top of your fingers against his chest forlornly. “But I guess I’ll have to give the last one. Now, for real, tell me something extremely unsexy.”

You quip, “To help you get flaccid?”

He wrinkles his nose. “Excellent work; we’re headed in the right direction.” 

Your phone vibrates with a barrage of texts at that moment, which you check as Jay disappears into his walk-in closet to get dressed. It looks like your friends have arrived, and they’ve brought your outfit with them (you had come straight from the airport, dressed in leggings and a sweatshirt from high school). You tell Jay just as much, raising your voice slightly to be heard in the other room. “I’m gonna go get my stuff and change!”

He sticks his thumb out the door of the walk-in closet, pointing it upwards in assent. He assumes you saw it when he hears the door close, and then his phone goes off as well, inundated with a flood of texts from his newly arrived friends. 

hsm 3’s most underrated song: the boys are back (heeseung, jay, jake, sunghoon, jungwon, and sunoo)

jake: alright i have to k*ll myself

sunoo: why r u censoring all of a sudden

jake: i don’t want my fbi agent to take that seriously. although i do wanna kms

jungwon: why what happened

sunghoon: oh it’s HILARIOUS

jake: stfu

jake: so there’s eggnog being passed around right? and i see yunjin so i go to hand her a cup to be nice

heeseung: ~to be nice~

jake: kys

jake: anyways then i realize that the cup was really hot so i go and blow on her drink, like a fucking weirdo, and then i blow on SUNGHOON’S drink to make it seem less weird, except he’s drinking a HIGH NOON like an absolute idiot

sunghoon: hey i got the bartender to put it into a nice glass at least

sunoo: that’s my big (derogatory)

jay: perpetual bachelors jake and sunghoon! who’s surprised

sunghoon: NOT true i’m pretty sure the student government’s social media chair was flirting with me in the library before finals

jungwon: ??? wonyoung is a lesbian

jungwon: and she was just asking u to get out of the way bc u were spacing out in front of the printer

heeseung: L + me personally i’d kms

sunghoon: oh i know YOU are not talking

sunghoon: lee “the only time i feel the touch of a woman is when i go to yoga class at the university gym once a week” heeseung

heeseung: THE WOMAN WHO TEACHES IT IS HOT OKAY

sunghoon: oh heeseung mommy kink era?

heeseung: SHE IS MY AGE

sunoo: shouldn’t u be more concerned about breaking ur back every time ur there, grandpa?

heeseung: uncalled for wtf

heeseung: also tbh i wish SHE would break my back

jake: okay i’ve recovered from my earlier embarrassment. upon seeing what heeseung is texting, i’m thinking what i did wasn’t that weird

sunoo: bffr

jungwon: jake why don’t u just ask her out? instead of being emotionally constipated

jake: ew why would i ask her out i don’t want to be in a relationship that’s for pussies (respectfully) (i love women)

jungwon: yeah that’s definitely super emotionally mature of u

sunghoon: it’s 2023 pussy is a gender-neutral term

jay: you rly just say whatever the hell you want don’t you

sunoo: oh hey i see felix flirting with yunjin

jake: WHAT

jake: suddenly i have to go

sunoo: u r literally so pathetic

jay: btw i’m coming down now but if any of you see my gf before i do can you tell her she can change in my room

jake: gross

jay: GROW UP + stay single + kys

heeseung: GET HIS ASS

Jay’s idiot friends aside (he loves them so much), he actually is looking forward to seeing a bunch of his classmates and their families at tonight’s holiday party. Senior year seems to have crept up on him unannounced, and now he’s feeling slightly (a lot) sentimental about the idea of not living down the hall or at most across the campus from all the people who have made the last few years so formative (and entertaining as hell). 

He’s still thinking about how much he’s going to miss that place and those people when he hears your voice floating down from the top of the staircase. It sounds like you’re arguing with Kazuha about how many jello shots is too many for the after-party of the next phase of new member initiation at your sorority, which makes him chuckle quietly to himself. With four humanities and fine arts majors between the two of you, neither of you sound like you have the correct math. 

He opens his mouth, ready to give his two cents, but then he freezes at the sight of you descending the stairs. Vaguely, he processes the fact that Kazuha seems to have stopped arguing and even stopped coming down the stairs herself, just so she can give you two this moment.

This moment, which is making his brain short-circuit, because you are incandescent in a slinky, silvery dress that reflects all the candles that he’s now glad his parents made him light around the place. Countless points of light impart an otherworldly glow upon you, and you’re smiling at him; Jay thinks he must have saved the country in a past life.

When you reach him at the bottom of the stairs and he still hasn’t said anything, you tilt your head quizzically. “Jay? Everything alright?”

“You look like you just stepped out of a fairytale,” he breathes out. He moves on autopilot, bending at the waist as he takes your hand and kisses the top of it before straightening up to simply look at you some more.

“And right into the arms of my Prince Charming,” you respond, only half-joking. Right now, the dreamy look in his eyes makes you want to believe in happily ever after, as if it’s something he could forge with his own two hands. You kind of think he could, with the force of all his ardor.

Multiple phone cameras going off breaks the two of you out of your spell; you turn towards your nosy friends, who hold up variations of thumbs-ups and finger hearts. 

“Sorry, you guys are just too cute,” Yunjin says, not sounding sorry at all.

“Your parents would never forgive me if I didn’t get that on camera,” Sunghoon insists.

“Speaking of, I gotta go find them to make sure everything’s set.” Jay kisses your cheek. “See you later, Cinderella.” His fingers hold onto yours until the last second; your arm and his stretch out absurdly, as if you were parting for years, not minutes. 

“So dramatic,” Kazuha teases, joining you at the bottom of the staircase. 

“Unavoidable for hot people,” you explain wryly. You turn your attention to your gathered friends next. “I’m so glad you’re all here!”

“In 50 years, you could be hosting this party,” Sakura quips. Secretly, you hope it’s a lot sooner than that. 

“New Year’s Eve on Mars?” Jake suggests. 

Heeseung groans. “I’m scared of heights; can we not?”

“How many times do I have to tell you, dude, that’s not how space works!”

Half an hour passes happily like that, chatting and joking with some of your favorite people in the massive foyer. You don’t know exactly where Jay went off to, but the answer to that becomes clear when the music goes low and Jay clears his throat into the microphone set up at the front of the foyer. 

“Thanks for coming, everyone! Hope you had a great last year, and here’s to an even better new year.” Jay pauses to chuckle. “My girlfriend and I were joking earlier about me just saying that and calling it a night, but unfortunately for all of you, I am much more verbose than that.” Another pause for a light round of laughter from the gathered crowd. 

Jay works the audience like a pro as you watch with unbridled pride. A few minutes later, he winds down to the end of his prepared remarks, which you only know because he has asked you to proofread the speech weeks ago. You’re expecting him to wrap up with a final Happy New Year!, so you’re surprised to hear him keep going. 

“A couple of last things. To my parents, and everyone at the company, thank you for putting your trust in me.” Jay bows deeply. “I won’t let you down next year.” He straightens and looks right at you. “This year has been nothing short of wonderful. I’ve been so lucky my whole life, but the last few months have been particularly special to me. I’ve gotten to know people who I want to continue knowing for the rest of my life, who make me feel like my heart is too big for me, because I couldn’t possibly fit all of the kindness and love they give to me in the confines of my chest. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I do know that my life would be bereft without it.” Jay has to tear his eyes from yours because he knows he’s liable to cry if he sees you do so. “Bereft without you,” he continues, sweeping his gaze across the foyer. “All of you, who I’m so glad to call my friends and family. So, please stay healthy and happy this year, and I hope the new year treats you as well as this year has treated me. Happy New Year, everyone!”

Champagne glasses clink around you and people applaud, but all of it sounds far away. The only thing you can focus on is Jay, who’s making his way slowly through the throng of well-wishers to get to you.

When he’s finally in front of you, you have your misty eyes under control. He drops his hands to your waist and smiles gently. “Hi, pretty lady.”

“Hello, my favorite hopeless romantic.” Your palm goes to the sharp curve of his jaw. “You just had to go and say such sweet things. What’s gonna happen to my cool and unbothered reputation?”

“Right, your reputation.” He leans into your touch. “I can think of other ways to ruin your reputation,” he remarks, low and rough.

You roll your eyes, although you can’t stop your other hand from curling into the lapel of his suit jacket. “Romantic and horny! Duality of man.” 

“I meant what I said, you know.” His eyes soften at you. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me this year. Maybe ever. I have a lot of great people in my life, but only one you.”

“I know. You always mean what you say, and I love that about you.” You lean in to press a quick kiss to his mouth. He chases after you, tipping your chin up with his hand to kiss you deeper. Sadly, it doesn’t last for too long; you’re both aware that your friends and their parents are nearby.

But later, Jay makes sure to kiss you from this year into the next one, and you hope that you never forget what it feels like— fireworks exploding above your head and in your veins, lighting you up from within. Radiant, in the glow of someone who loves and is loved.

girlbossing soooooooo close to the sun (you, yunjin, chaewon, kazuha, and sakura)

yunjin: do u think it’d be weird if i got jake something for valentine’s day

you: yes extremely

sakura: don’t ask me i’m gay

yunjin: ???

yunjin: okay thx guys this was super helpful!

chaewon: i thought you weren’t dating?

yunjin: WE MIGHT AS WELL BE. i’m sick of waiting for him to actually ask me out

you: jokes aside, i think he’s really into you, like genuinely. but his head is so far up his ass he will never make the first move

sakura: boooooo emotionally repressed playboy how cliche

kazuha: omg u should try to do something romantic

yunjin: absolutely not i can’t be a SIMP

sakura: boooooo emotionally repressed maneater how cliche

yunjin: WHATEVER

yunjin: more importantly, what are we doing for galentine’s!!!!

kazuha: spa day i thought?

you: yes but i have to leave a little early :(( sorry ladies the community kitchen is doing a pre-valentine’s day dinner and jay and i are signed up to help

chaewon: i can’t even be mad at you that is SO CUTE

Jay gets sick in the week leading up to Valentine’s day, which puts a spanner in the works of his grand plans for your first Valentine’s together. You tell him that it’s not a big deal and he should just focus on resting and getting better, but that doesn’t stop him from moping about it. 

mother is mothering (you, niki, and jungwon)

you: can i just say that this gc name is not helping to put to rest the joke that jay and i are ur parents

you: also i Don’t think u guys know what this phrase means…

you: but anyways what’s up… children

niki: pleaseeeeee fix jay hyung

jungwon: fr we’re desperate

jungwon: he’s been playing sad john mayer songs for like three days straight I CANT LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE

niki: he called the coffee shop yesterday to see if we could set up a valentine’s day surprise for u

niki: we can’t, so i’m not ruining the surprise

niki: but he literally had such detailed plans for the surprise like WE R JUST PART-TIMERS

you: omg… my bf is so cute :(

jungwon: that is SO not the point actually that’s like the exact opposite of the point

you: dw i was gonna come over today after the community kitchen’s pre-valentine’s day dinner anyways

jungwon: THANK GOD

niki: YAY can u ask jay to help me with research material for my history paper btw

you: ask him urself?

niki: i’m scared he’s going to rope me into some other crazy plan to make it up to u for ruining ur valentine’s day plans

niki: which sounds like a HIM problem??? why is he getting ME, a CHILD, involved

you: oh so ur a child now but not when u want to sneak into frat parties

jungwon: omg SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PPL IN THE BACK

you: jungwon i know ur the one who helps him sneak in

jungwon: haha. love u mom :)

you: IM NOT UR MOM

you: btw i’m bringing back extra vegetables from the community kitchen and i expect u to eat them! jay mentioned u were stressed lately and not eating well

jungwon: okay ty… not-mom

It’s almost 10pm by the time you get to the frat house, bundled in your winter coat and weighed down with containers of food. You leave one in the fridge, labeled with a note that says “for jungwon— eat this or niki will forever be taller than you”. You take everything else with you to Jay’s room, pausing at the door when you realize you don’t even know if he’ll be awake or if he’s still sleeping off his illness.

The door swings open before you have the chance to knock, and you’re met with the sight of Jay in a bathrobe, shower caddy in hand. “I must be hallucinating,” he mutters. 

You hold back a laugh. “Nope, you’re still in the land of the lucid. I brought you some food, and I figured we could watch something while we eat. Go shower; I’ll set up.” 

Jay blinks rapidly. “Oh my god, you’re really here?” He drops the shower caddy to the floor carelessly, moving forward to hug you before he halts abruptly, inches away from you. “Wait, no, you shouldn’t be here. I don’t want you to get sick, too.”

“It’s been, like, five days. I don’t think you’re contagious anymore,” you argue, sidling past him to drop your stuff into his room.

“Really?” The hopefulness in his voice makes your heart melt.

“Really. I’ll ask Heeseung to ask his special friend to confirm, if that will make you feel better,” you offer.

Jay's eyebrows furrow. “We should probably stop calling her that, but yes, that would make me feel better. Ask while I shower, but seriously, I’m not touching you if she says no.” 

You salute him. “On it, captain.” Heeseung’s special friend is the girl who teaches one of the yoga classes at the university gym, and she’s also a nursing student. She has a name, but Heeseung refuses to tell any of you what it is. Truthfully, it wouldn’t be hard to look her up, but you think it’s kind of cute how nervous Heeseung is about whatever liminal space he’s in with her.

you: hey can u ask the love of ur life if it’s okay for me to be with jay rn?

heeseung: first of all DONT CALL HER THAT second of all why tf would she have an opinion on that

you: i wouldn’t have to call her that if u would tell us HER NAME

you: and jay came down w/ that nasty virus like five days ago remember

heeseung: oh my goddddd yeah he wouldn’t stop whining about how his valentine’s day plans were ruined

you: ur special friend is in nursing right? so can u ask her

heeseung: i’m starting to think i should tell u her name just so u stop coming up with new ways to refer to her

you: that’s what I'M saying

heeseung: but yeah sure anything to get jay to stop being so annoying

you: thank uuuuu i’ll leave u some cookies in the kitchen so give some to her okay?

heeseung: omfg u made COOKIES i am so glad jay is dating u

Ten minutes later, Heeseung texts to let you know that you’re probably in the clear. More specifically, he says that his friend says it’s ultimately best practice to stay away from Jay for another couple of days, but she thinks the two of you are so cute and she gets why you’d want to be with him, and you’re outside of the most contagious window now, anyways. 

You figure that’s close enough to a yes, which is what you tell Jay when he returns from his shower. He’s at your side in an instant, hugging you like his life depends on it. “I’m sorry,” he whispers eventually.

“What on earth for?” 

“Our first Valentine’s is going to be so lame, just because I got sick.” He sighs deeply. “I wanted to make it special for you, especially because you’re always running around helping everyone, and instead you’re here, taking care of me.”

“Jay.” You pull back from his chest to look at him. “Nothing is lame, and nothing is ruined, okay? It’s literally just a day. And you always make me feel special. Being with you is like— ahem.” You cringe at the words that are about to come out of your mouth; Jay is always effusive and free-wheeling with his declarations of affection towards you, but it doesn’t come as easily to you. The way you feel about him makes you want to try, though. “Being with you is like Valentine’s Day every day.”

He smiles gently at you, one dimple carving a crescent into his left cheek. “You deserve it, baby. And even if you didn’t, I’d still want to give that to you.”

The two of you stand like that for a while, swaying underneath the unattractive lighting in Jay’s room. His hair starts to drip onto your shoulder, though, and you remember that you need to go back down to the kitchen to set aside the cookies you promised Heeseung.

“Why does Heeseung get to have some of the cookies you made for me?” Jay pouts.

“Troll bridge toll I felt compelled to pay, all because you wanted a second medical opinion,” you respond dryly.

“I’m supposed to believe you were the first? And I’m telling Heeseung you called him a troll.”

“Keep that up and you won’t be getting any cookies, Park.” 

Of course, you feed him a cookie as soon as you’re back in his room. Jay has changed into his pajamas while you were away, and he points to another set he’s laid out for you after he’s done eating the cookie. Once you get changed, you settle on the rug in front of Jay’s bed and start an obscure history documentary together while eating the food you brought him. You warn him that it won’t be as good as what he makes (you are a far better baker than you are a cook). Undeterred, he makes an exaggerated effort to fawn over every dish and praise your skills.

Afterwards, you sit on the edge of his bed and let him lean his head on your lap as you blow dry his hair. “I heard you were being a pain in the ass this week about Valentine’s Day,” you mention. 

“That… is a distinct possibility, for sure.”

“Seriously, I think you scared away all of Niki’s coworkers. He wants your help with research for his history paper, by the way. Oh, that reminds me— what’s the name of your group chat with Niki and Jungwon?”

Jay grimaces. “Glucose father slay.”

You suppress a snort. “That’s… creative, if unsubtle.”

He hums contentedly from the just-right warmth of the hairdryer and the just-right softness of your hands. “We’ll get to have lots of Valentine’s Days together, right?”

"Of course, baby."

When it hits midnight, you’re curled up together in his bed, with his laptop still playing the credits of the history documentary. You enter February 14th like that, tucked under his chin, exactly where you want to be.

On one of the first randomly hot days that pop up in late March before the weather actually gets warmer, you’re holed up in the library, eyes aching after staring at the tiny text in ancient manuscripts for too long and shivering in the temperature-controlled special collections section of the library. While the rest of your friends are out at the college’s golf course enjoying the warm weather at a joint charity tournament, you’re stuck here, beholden to the block in your calendar which says “manuscript time :/”. The rare manuscripts you need for your thesis are only available to be looked at during certain times, but today’s research session has proven to be less than fruitful, given how often your eyes wander to the door to the exit and how empty your notes are.

You can feel yourself dozing off for the umpteenth time when suddenly, warm hands land on top of your shoulders, and a smooth voice murmurs in your ear, “Working hard or hardly working, Cinderella?”

Jay. You turn your head to meet his gaze; crescents of affection reflect back at you. “How’d you get in here?” Appointments are usually required for the rare manuscripts room.

He flashes you a smirk. “Charmed the librarian.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you pulled with the 40-and-up demographic like that.”

“Yeah, I told her I missed my girlfriend so much I’d cry if I couldn’t see her today.” He drops a kiss to your cheek, then maneuvers the chair next to you sideways and backwards so he can sit as close to you as possible. He crosses his arms on top of the back of the chair and rests his chin against his arms to stare at you, soft and beckoning. “You look like you want to leave.”

You sigh and turn fully sideways towards him, letting his long legs bracket yours while your knees push up against the back of his chair. “You look like a reason to leave,” you admit. It comes out breathy in a way that you hadn’t intended, but who can blame you— Jay is dressed for the golf tournament in a navy blue polo and crisp white slacks, and as always, his clothes fit like they were made for him. 

In the back of your mind, you make a note to ask where he gets his tailoring done. In the front of your mind, your attention roams from the clean line of his shirt sleeves against his biceps, to the inviting curve of his mouth, to the planes of his chest that peek out behind the top two undone buttons of his shirt. All these months later, looking at him still hasn’t gotten old; truthfully, you don’t think it ever will.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Jay inquires, peering closer at you with a sly grin on his face.

“Like you have to ask,” you grumble, reaching out to pinch his cheek in retaliation for the teasing question.

He grabs your hand before it reaches him and gently bites the tip of your index finger, laughing when you make an offended face and pull your hand back. “C’mon, let’s get out of here, yeah? We should at least make an appearance at the tournament we organized.”

You glance back at the heavy tomes you’ve pulled out today— pages and pages of dense Middle English to get through. Then, you look at Jay, who has chosen that moment to skate his fingertips up and down the top of your right thigh. The decision is almost comically easy to make. “Yeah, fuck this. Let’s go.” 

You dutifully return your books and say a polite goodbye to the librarian, who coos at you both. Jay waves your joined hands at her. On your way out to the main section of the library, goosebumps form on your arms from the change in temperature: arctic vortex to plain old frigid, both of which are wholly inhospitable environments for the sleeveless golf dress you’d worn today in hopes of eventually getting to the tournament. 

“Cold?” Jay halts you both and sweeps his hands across your shoulders and down to your wrists, frowning at the chill he encounters on your skin. Normally, he’d offer you his jacket or sweater or something, but he just has the shirt on his back today. “This won’t do,” he murmurs, and then he’s pulling you in the direction of the secluded stacks.

It’s dark and shadowy there, with not a single soul occupying any of the carrel desks spaced in between the rows of books. Your heartbeat picks up despite yourself; you think you have a good idea of where this is going. This is also something that hasn’t gotten old yet and likely never will. “You know, I’ve always thought it would be kind of hot to hook up in a library,” you comment.

Jay trips over air, then quickly rights himself and shakes his head as if to clear it before looking at you again. “You would, you nerd,” he says, but it comes out low and contemplative. 

As soon as you reach the carrel desk located in the most isolated corner of the stacks, he brings his hands to your waist and lifts you up to sit on top of the desk. Happily, you hook your ankles behind his legs and draw him in to stand between yours. “You can’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.”

“I just wanted to kiss you for a bit, so you could warm up,” Jay insists. He leans in closer, until your chests are pressed up against each other. “But now that we’re here…” 

“Now that we’re here,” you agree. Then you’re tilting forward to kiss him, and the tension in your body from a long morning at the library dissipates into the heat of his mouth and the softness of his hair.

Jay kisses you long and luxuriously, like he was born to do nothing but stand around and kiss you. “You did so well with planning the tournament,” he tells you in between kisses, smothering the words against your mouth. 

“You did, too,” you reply, dispensing the compliment in airy gasps against his ear as he moves down to your neck, feathering open-mouthed kisses against the skin there. A whimper escapes from your throat when he bites down at the juncture of your neck and your clavicle, transforming into a breathy moan as he soothes over the sting with his tongue. His name slips out of your mouth in a dragged-out whine: “Jongseong.” 

He shudders against you. “Warn a guy before you do that, will you? I don’t actually want to come in my pants in the library.”

You giggle, tugging his head back so you can look at him. You’re met with shiny lips, slow-blinking eyes that drag up and down your body, and tousled hair, messed up from Jay’s meticulous styling by your wandering hands. Temptation, personified. “Fuck,” you breathe out. “What if I do?”

“You’re not wearing pants,” Jay points out cheekily. His demeanor switches to sultry in an instant when he presses down on your bottom lip with his thumb, and he groans when your tongue darts out over it. “God, you’re so hot. C’mere, doll, let me sort you out.”

Twenty minutes later, you’re slipping out of the back door of the library and into the parking lot. You shoot off a quick text to Yunjin, asking her to hold down the fort for a little while longer at the tournament, and then Jay is tugging you into the backseat of his car with an urgency that makes your heart pound. Now, you get to sort him out, and it’s so much better than staring at old books.

yunjin: what is taking so long i sent jay to get u like 45 minutes ago

you: sorry be there in a bit love you babe!

yunjin: woooooooooow remember when i said i would never betray u for dick

yunjin: guess u DO NOT FEEL THE SAME

yunjin: ah well have fun don’t do anything i wouldn’t ;)

to all the boys i’ve fake-dated before (you, sunghoon, yeonjun, chan, vernon, mark, and 5 others)

you: were any of you fuckers going to tell me that jay’s birthday is TOMORROW?!

you: help!!!!! what do i get for him!!!!!

sunghoon: believe me that man wakes up every day thanking god that ur his gf. u don’t need to get him anything

you: as much as i appreciate the reporting of his simp behavior, i am IN A PANIC his birthday is in 12 hours why the fuck didn’t anyone say anything sooner?!?!

vernon: i’m gifting him a new speaker for the basement

chan: bro you’re getting that gift for ALL of us bc you BROKE the speaker in the basement

vernon: and jay is one of the many recipients of that gift!

you: FOCUS on me and MY problem please

mark: yooooo u could write him a song? i still owe u a favor so i’d be down to help

you: and make him listen to me perform it? i’m trying to keep this relationship going, not obliterate it

yeonjun: mans has one single move in his arsenal

mark: HEY it worked out pretty well for me

yeonjun: only bc u had like a million ppl helping u

sunghoon: i got jay tickets to that japanese singer he likes

you: FUCK that’s such a good idea why didn’t i think of that

sunghoon: bc u didn’t know his birthday was coming up

you: thanks genius

sunghoon: but anyways jay never makes a big deal out of his birthday

sunghoon: it’s mostly like a sentimental thing for his parents bc they tried for so long to have him

vernon: strictly speaking, they were trying to have ANY of the sperm inseminate ANY of the eggs so like it didn’t have to be him specifically

mark: dude wtf

chan: i’m sure jay will love whatever you get for him! maybe you could paint or draw something for him?

you: okay yes yes i can bang something out real quick in the studio 

vernon: that’s what she said

yeonjun: this is why ur still single

you: the sperm and egg comment didn’t give it away?

vernon: guys stop ganging up on me wtf

you: okay thank you ONLY to chan the rest of you were useless

you: chan u could start a business. like a gift-giving idea business

mark: like santa claus but without the actual gifts?

yeonjun: ghost santa claus

chan: none of you should ever be allowed to start a business

It’s 5am by the time you’re finished in the studio, and you know your sleep cycle is going to be all sorts of messed up for the next few days, but it’s a small price to pay so you can slide into Jay’s bed and mold yourself against his body, knowing that your painting of the scene of your first date is leaning safely against the wall across from you. 

Unfortunately, the swift arrival of sunrise and birds chirping outside of Jay’s window leave you unable to fall asleep (not to mention the energy drink you’d chugged at 2am). You give up on it quickly, comforted by the fact that you don’t have any classes today and can afford to sleep in when your body eventually gives out on you. 

Staring at Jay is not an unenjoyable way to pass the time, so that’s what you do. Sleep smoothes out all the muscles in his face, but the sharp angles of the underlying bone structure turn him into marble; idly, you wonder how many sculptors would kill to be able to craft something this beautiful, this timeless and exquisite. You’ve tried to sketch or paint Jay multiple times yourself, and you’re still trying (that senior portfolio is going to be the death of you), but to date, you’ve been left unsatisfied. Something about Jay is just too expressive, too lively, too attentive; you haven’t been able to nail down the exact way he moves through the world, much less the way he looks at you like nothing else exists. There’s so much love to give in those steady hands, and so many meanings to divine in those familiar eyes—

Oh.

Jay’s eyes have flipped open, displaying his least endearing habit: sleeping with his eyes open. It unnerves you to no end, even though it makes him look kind of silly, so you have to flip around with a small grin on your face. “You’re lucky I love you so much,” you whisper, mostly to yourself.

His arm tightens around your waist. “Tell me something I don’t know.” The words come out slightly slurred, and the movement of his lips against the back of your neck makes you shiver. 

You flip back around to meet his now closed eyes. “You’re awake?” Jay usually sleeps like the dead.

“I’m trying really hard not to be,” he drawls. Eyes still closed, he tugs you closer to press his lips to your forehead. “Go to sleep, doll.”

You hum tunelessly and fidget with the pendant of his necklace. “Happy birthday, Jongseong.” You can feel his lips curve into a smile against your skin, but you’re quick to nip that in the bud. “Or should I say… traitor? Why didn’t you tell me your birthday was coming up? I had to find out from Jungwon.”

“Typical mama’s boy.”

You giggle, even as you admonish him with: “Seriously, that joke needs to die. One of Riki’s coworkers actually thinks I’m his mom, and I just have a really good Botox supplier.”

Jay’s chest rumbles in amusement underneath your ear. Afterwards, it’s quiet for a long moment before he finally opens his eyes to peer blearily at you. “Are you upset I didn’t tell you about my birthday?”

You give him a tiny shrug. “Just curious, I guess. Plenty of people don’t like to celebrate their birthdays. Sunghoon said it’s usually more of a thing for your parents than it is for you.”

“Yeah, that’s about right.” Jay rubs his thumb over your cheek. “I’m spending the day with them, actually. We go to the same place for brunch every year, and then we just kind of walk around until dinner, which I’ve been cooking for the past couple of years.”

You smile automatically at the thought of his parents. They adore you, and the feeling is mutual— how could it not be? 

Jay’s thumb halts its movements as something occurs to him. “Well, hey, do you wanna come with us?” 

Quickly, you shake your head. You can spot Jay’s Mr. Nice Guy gestures from a mile away. “Nah, you should keep up your tradition with your parents. We’re still getting lunch with them this weekend, right? So I’ll get to see them soon, anyways.”

“My mom said she loves the insoles you sent her, by the way.”

“Right? Super comfortable. I can stay on my feet in the studio all day in those.” Just then, you’re hit by a yawn. “I guess I did the equivalent of a full day last night.”

Suddenly, Jay sits up straight, making you whine about the loss of coziness. “Wait, yeah, why are you here so early? Not that I don’t love waking up next to you, because I really do, but you weren’t here last night, and… oh my god.” He cuts himself off when he spots the painting against his wall.

You sit up as well. “Don’t freak out,” you begin. “I had fun making it, okay? And I don’t have class today so I can sleep alllllll day and if you’re not tired after dinner we can hang out afterwards, and seriously, Jay, light of my life, apple of my eye, etcetera, etcetera— let me do something nice for you without you feeling guilty about it, okay?” You draw in a deep breath. “I know I’m, like, afflicted with a chronic need to be helpful, but c’mon. Pot, kettle.” You point to yourself and then to him. “I love that you’re humble and kind and you know how lucky you are, but there’s nothing… to prove. You hear me? Just because you’ve had a good life doesn’t mean you have to give 110% of yourself to everyone else to deserve it. Please don’t make yourself feel bad because you get to take something from me for once instead of giving.” At the end of your rant, you blink in surprise at yourself. “Sorry, I don’t know when that turned into a lecture. All I’m saying is that you told me once that you’d want to give me Valentine’s Day every day, even if I didn’t deserve it, and I want to give that to you, too.”

Jay’s eyes flick between you and the painting and back to you, staring at you like he’s never seen you before. He’s speechless for so long that you count to 33 in your head in Mississippis that are definitely longer than one second. Finally, he crushes you to his chest in a hug that has your arms flailing around him with the force of it. “I feel like you just crawled into my head,” he says against your ear.

You make a face that he can’t see. “Didn’t need that visual in my head, but okay, baby.”

“I mean… I’m just feeling very perceived; that’s all. And I don’t really have anything else to say except that I love you so much, and thank you, and you’re my favorite person in the world.” He sniffles, and then preempts you with a, “Shut up.”

“Noooooo, I made you cry,” you coo at him, leaning back in his hold to swipe under his eyes with your thumbs. As you continue to fuss over him and he pretends to bite at your fingers, he hopes you know just how much he’s affected by your words and just how much you mean to him. Golden boy Park Jongseong, the prodigal son, the miracle child— he doesn’t think it could fairly be called a burden, because how could it be a burden to be so lucky, to be so loved, to have never truly suffered? But somehow, you get it. Maybe because you’re cut from the same self-sacrificing cloth, or maybe because you just understand him at an atomic level, but you get it. You get that he has dedicated his life to deserving his life in the first place; you get that he tries so hard, all the time, because he wants to be worthy of what he’s been given; you get that he gives, and gives, and gives, and he never wants to take, because he feels like he hasn’t done enough to pay back the gifts with which he was born, let alone take anything else from this world. And here you are, giving him your heart on his birthday— a day he doesn't think is anything special except for the joy it gives his parents— because you love him. Because you're just glad that you were born in the same timeline. He has never dared to ask for a gift like this.

Pathetically, all that he can get out is a simple, “I love the painting, by the way.” He nudges your nose with his. “I’m going to have it framed for our place after we graduate.”

“Our place?”

“Oh, yeah.” He clears his throat awkwardly. “I guess this is me asking. Do you want to live with me next year? Wherever it is that we end up. It would be, you know, economical.”

“Right, because we totally didn’t just have a conversation about your hang-ups with being born with a silver spoon in your mouth. And mine, too, I guess.”

Jay tsks at you. “Okay, or maybe I just want to wake up next to you every day. And make you food when you forget to eat, and listen to your horrible true crime podcasts while we clean up around the place, and hold your hair when you get sick because you forgot to take your Lactaid, and make sweet, sweet love to you every night—”

“Okay, okay, stop!” You’re laughing uncontrollably now, putting your hands up to stop Jay and the obnoxious kissy-face he’s making from coming any closer to you. “I didn’t need that much convincing, although I’m not sure how effective your convincing is when you’re just listing my bad habits, Mr. I-Sleep-With-My-Eyes-Open.”

“Yeah, but aren’t I lucky that you love me so much?” Jay smirks at you before tackling you down into his bed.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” you repeat to him. Sunlight slants in through the window behind his head, haloing him in a light so ethereal that you could be convinced the sun shines just for him. Like this, your words fade away from you, until all you’re left with is a quiet, heartfelt, “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I’ll live with you after we graduate.” Softly, you stroke through the hair at his nape. “Stop wondering, by the way.”

Jay’s eyebrows furrow. “Wondering what?”

You reach up to smooth away the crease in his brow. “Wondering if you’re allowed to be this happy. I just told you, like, a million times. You are. The heavens have decreed that Park Jongseong shall be happy for as long as he lives, and a long time after that.” Dramatically, you tap each of his shoulders, as if you’re knighting him. “It is thus decided.”

Jay swoops down and plants a chaste peck on your lips. “Well, since it’s thus decided. Let me add something to that decree, though: I’m going to make you happy for as long as I live, and a long time after that,” he promises. 

And you know he will.

(London is overcast and dreary when you touch down at Heathrow; typical, for a mid-September day. You and Jay still carry tans from a summer of island-hopping around Asia and the Mediterranean, but you’re sure those will fade soon. Still, there’s nothing you can complain about when Jay’s arm is snug around your waist and he looks like a dream in a light wool coat and admittedly unnecessary sunglasses.

You tease him about the sunglasses all the way to the doorstep of your new, shared apartment. But then he kisses you across the threshold and whispers about how much he loves you and how excited he is to be with you for the rest of his life, and you are so, so happy. Unbelievably happy. Beautifully happy. 

Happy, forevermore. This, the heavens have decreed.)

[ot3showdown]

Final Bracket for the Ultimate OT3!!!

Polls will be linked below STARTING ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 7TH

Round 4 - Semifinals: (April 29 - May 6)

Parker/Alec Hardison/Eliot Spencer (Leverage) VS Zuko/Sokka/Suki (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) VS James T. Kirk/Spock/Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Star Trek TOS)

The final 32 Contestants are as follows:

Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who)

Parker/Alec Hadison/Eliot Spencer (Leverage)

Chel/Miguel/Tulio (The Road to El Dorado)

Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer Vengerberg/Jaskier (The Witcher)

Zuko/Sokka/Suki (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Thanatos/Megaera/Zagreus (Hades)

Megamind/Roxanne/Metroman (Megamind)

Finn/Poe Dameron/Rey Skywalker (Star Wars)

Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn (Lord of the Rings)

Alucard/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades (Castlevania)

Elphaba Thropp/Fiyero Tigelaar/Glinda Arduenna Upland (Wicked)

steve harrington/Nancy Wheeler/Jonathan Byers (Stranger Things)

James T. Kirk/Spock/Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Star Trek TOS)

Don Lockwood/Kathy Selden/Cosmo Brown (Singin' in the Rain)

Merlin/Arthur Pendragon/Guinevere (BBC Merlin)

Will Stronghold/Layla Williams/Warren Peace (Skyhigh)

Joaquin Mondragon Jr./Maria Posada/Manolo Sánchez (Book of Life)

Link/Zelda/Ganon (Legend Of Zelda)

Wolfgang Bogdanow/Kala Dandekar/Rajan Rasal (Sense8)

Donald Duck/José/Panchito (Disney/Three Caballeros)

Lito Rodriguez/Hernando Fuentes/Daniela Velazquez (Sense8)

L/Light Yagami/Misa Amane (Death Note)

Lonnie/Kyle/Rogelio (She-Ra & the Princesses of Power)

Will Herondale/Jem Carstairs/Tessa Gray (The Infernal Devices/Shadowhunters)

Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir/Annie Edison (Community)

Danny Fenton/Sam Manson/Tucker Foley (Danny Phantom)

Neal Caffrey/Peter Burke/Elizabeth Burke (White Collar)

Dave Strider/Jade Harley/Karkat Vantas (Homestuck)

Chiaki Nanami/Hajime Hinata/ Nagito Komaeda (Dangan Ronpa)

Blue Sargent/Richard Gansey III/Henry Cheng (The Raven Cycle)

Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Kagami Tsurugi (Miraculous Ladybug)

Ferris Bueller, Cameron Frye, Sloane Peterson (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)

The bracket is seeded so that the ship with the most votes goes against the ship with the least (1 v 32, 2 v 31, 3 v 30, etc.)

Polls will be linked below STARTING ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 7TH

Round 4 - Semifinals: (April 29 - May 6)

Parker/Alec Hardison/Eliot Spencer (Leverage) VS Zuko/Sokka/Suki (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) VS James T. Kirk/Spock/Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Star Trek TOS)

Round 3: (April 21 - April 28)

Parker/Alec Hardison/Eliot Spencer (Leverage) VS Chel/Miguel/Tulio (The Road to El Dorado)

Zuko/Sokka/Suki (Avatar: the Last Airbender) VS Danny Fenton/Sam Manson/Tucker Foley (Danny Phantom)

Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) VS Elphaba Thropp/Fiyero Tigelaar/Glinda Arduenna Upland (Wicked)

James T. Kirk/Spock/Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Star Trek TOS) VS Merlin/Arthur Pendragon/Guinevere (BBC Merlin)

Round Two: (April 14 - April 21)

Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who) VS Parker/Alec Hardison/Eliot Spencer (Leverage)

Chel/Miguel/Tulio (The Road to El Dorado) VS Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer of Vengerberg/Jaskier (The Witcher)

Zuko/Sokka/Suki (Avatar: the Last Airbender) VS Thanatos/Megaera/Zagreus (Hades)

Danny Fenton/Sam Manson/Tucker Foley (Danny Phantom) VS Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir/Annie Edison (Community)

Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) VS Alucard/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades (Castlevania)

Elphaba Thropp/Fiyero Tigelaar/Glinda Arduenna Upland (Wicked) VS Lito Rodriguez/Hernando Fuentes/Daniela Velazquez (Sense8)

James T. Kirk/Spock/Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Star Trek TOS) VS Wolfgang Bogdanow/Kala Dandekar/Rajan Rasal (Sense8)

Merlin/Arthur Pendragon/Guinevere (BBC Merlin) VS Joaquin Mondragon Jr./Maria Posada/Manolo Sánchez (Book of Life)

Round One: (April 7 - April 14)

Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who) VERSUS Ferris Bueller, Cameron Frye, Sloane Peterson (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)

Parker/Alec Hardison/Eliot Spencer (Leverage) VERSUS Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Kagami Tsurugi (Miraculous Ladybug)

Chel/Miguel/Tulio (The Road to El Dorado) VERSUS Blue Sargent/Richard Gansey III/Henry Cheng (The Raven Cycle)

Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer Vengerberg/Jaskier (The Witcher) VERSUS Chiaki Nanami/Hajime Hinata/ Nagito Komaeda (Dangan Ronpa)

Zuko/Sokka/Suki (Avatar: the Last Airbender) VERSUS Dave Strider/Jade Harley/Karkat Vantas (Homestuck)

Thanatos/Megaera/Zagreus (Hades) VERSUS Neal Caffrey/Peter Burke/Elizabeth Burke (White Collar)

Megamind/Roxanne Ritchi/Metroman (Megamind) VERSUS Danny Fenton/Sam Manson/Tucker Foley (Danny Phantom)

Finn/Poe Dameron/Rey Skywalker (Star Wars) VERSUS Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir/Annie Edison (Community)

Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) VERSUS Will Herondale/Jem Carstairs/Tessa Gray (The Infernal Devices/Shadowhunters)

Alucard/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades (Castlevania) VERSUS Lonnie/Kyle/Rogelio (She-Ra & the Princesses of Power)

Elphaba Thropp/Fiyero Tigelaar/Glinda Arduenna Upland (Wicked) VERSUS L/Light Yagami/Misa Amane (Death Note)

steve harrington/Nancy Wheeler/Jonathan Byers (Stranger Things) VERSUS Lito Rodriguez/Hernando Fuentes/Daniela Velazquez (Sense8)

James T. Kirk/Spock/Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Star Trek TOS) VERSUS Donald Duck/José/Panchito (Disney/Three Caballeros)

Don Lockwood/Kathy Selden/Cosmo Brown (Singin' in the Rain) VERSUS Wolfgang Bogdanow/Kala Dandekar/Rajan Rasal (Sense8)

Merlin/Arthur Pendragon/Guinevere (BBC Merlin) VERSUS Link/Zelda/Ganon (Legend Of Zelda)

Will Stronghold/Layla Williams/Warren Peace (Skyhigh) VERSUS Joaquin Mondragon Jr./Maria Posada/Manolo Sánchez (Book of Life)

The final 32 Contestants are as follows:

Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who)

Parker/Alec Hadison/Eliot Spencer (Leverage)

Chel/Miguel/Tulio (The Road to El Dorado)

Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer Vengerberg/Jaskier (The Witcher)

Zuko/Sokka/Suki (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Thanatos/Megaera/Zagreus (Hades)

Megamind/Roxanne/Metroman (Megamind)

Finn/Poe Dameron/Rey Skywalker (Star Wars)

Legolas/Gimli/Aragorn (Lord of the Rings)

Alucard/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades (Castlevania)

Elphaba Thropp/Fiyero Tigelaar/Glinda Arduenna Upland (Wicked)

steve harrington/Nancy Wheeler/Jonathan Byers (Stranger Things)

James T. Kirk/Spock/Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Star Trek TOS)

Don Lockwood/Kathy Selden/Cosmo Brown (Singin' in the Rain)

Merlin/Arthur Pendragon/Guinevere (BBC Merlin)

Will Stronghold/Layla Williams/Warren Peace (Skyhigh)

Joaquin Mondragon Jr./Maria Posada/Manolo Sánchez (Book of Life)

Link/Zelda/Ganon (Legend Of Zelda)

Wolfgang Bogdanow/Kala Dandekar/Rajan Rasal (Sense8)

Donald Duck/José/Panchito (Disney/Three Caballeros)

Lito Rodriguez/Hernando Fuentes/Daniela Velazquez (Sense8)

L/Light Yagami/Misa Amane (Death Note)

Lonnie/Kyle/Rogelio (She-Ra & the Princesses of Power)

Will Herondale/Jem Carstairs/Tessa Gray (The Infernal Devices/Shadowhunters)

Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir/Annie Edison (Community)

Danny Fenton/Sam Manson/Tucker Foley (Danny Phantom)

Neal Caffrey/Peter Burke/Elizabeth Burke (White Collar)

Dave Strider/Jade Harley/Karkat Vantas (Homestuck)

Chiaki Nanami/Hajime Hinata/ Nagito Komaeda (Dangan Ronpa)

Blue Sargent/Richard Gansey III/Henry Cheng (The Raven Cycle)

Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Kagami Tsurugi (Miraculous Ladybug)

Ferris Bueller, Cameron Frye, Sloane Peterson (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)

The bracket is seeded so that the ship with the most votes goes against the ship with the least (1 v 32, 2 v 31, 3 v 30, etc.)

Thanks to all of you who voted in nominees, to all of you who sent in asks talking about your favorites, and to all of you who are here now! I hope you enjoy!

[allofthebeanz]

We Were There: Ganymede

Ganymede was a divine hero from Troy. He is described as the most loveliest among the human race by Homer. His beauty caught the attention of Zeus who needed a cupbearer to replace Hebe who had married Herakles.

The young man was tending to his herd of sheep when an eagle abducted him. The eagle, under Zeus’s command or perhaps even Zeus himself, brought Ganymede to Olympus where he was given immortality in exchange for duties as the gods’ new cupbearer.

In many stories, Hera sees Ganymede as a romantic rival. The Iliad even depicts Hebe as retaining her cup bearing duties while Ganymede is appointed Zeus’s personal cup bearer. Some tales suggest Ganymede is the constellation Aquarius, placed in the cosmos by Zeus next to the eagle constellation Aquila.

Prints

Bonus of the best sheep ever: