#Well for the NA release date that is!

[know-fear]

Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004)

[nariism]

“Do you like me?”

Neuvillette freezes in his chair, eyes drifting up from his stack of paperwork. They find you sitting across the desk from him with what he can only imagine is a mixture of a pout and a mischievous smile.

What could have sprung this on? He tries to think back to the morning, if he had perhaps forgotten to give you a kiss good morning. Or maybe he had accidentally left his coffee mug unwashed in the sink again. Or–

“Well?”

“...We’re married,” he reminds you, in case you've forgotten. You haven’t.

“Okay, but do you like me?”

He sighs, shaking his head and turning his attention back to his work. “Yes, I like you. I love you.” Lilac eyes meet yours again in confusion. “What brought this on?”

“Is it so wrong for me to just ask?”

Neuvillette doesn't understand where this came from. He doesn’t think he’s good at being a lover, not even slightly, and a part of that is because he simultaneously knows you inside and out, yet not at all. Unsure of how to respond, he stands and makes his way over to you on the opposite side of the desk.

“I love you,” he repeats earnestly, leaning in far too close for you to remain unbothered. “For as long as my heart beats, my answer will always be the same.”

His fingers gently brush a lock of hair behind your ear before he closes the distance between you, lips pressed against yours in a show of reassurance. What he doesn’t expect is how big your grin is when he pulls away.

“Just kidding,” you muse. He sighs again, but smiles nonetheless.

Yeah, he’ll never understand humans.

© ALABOADOA 2023 — please do not translate or post my works to other platforms.

a/n: hii everyone i have one neuv short queued for his release date (in NA server) and also a wriothesley... ahem... thing that's getting posted to my other account so stay tuned! ^_^

[yuikomorii]

Ayayui date♡

// I'm not sure why, but I suddenly got a burst of creativity. There's no special occasion for this post; it was really just an excuse to edit Yui in my favorite Princess Collection outfit. I like how the merch line was released right on Ayato’s birthday, so I really wanted to see an Ayayui date in those outfits! 😌💕

I was in the mood to write a special scenario again. You just have to click on ‘Keep reading’ to find it. This one is set after the LE events, particularly after the After Story, so I hope you enjoy it! ( ˶ˆ꒳ˆ˵ )

Ayato: Haa… finally!

After all this time, I’ve managed to sort out every single problem in the Demon World.

Geez, I’m gladly taking a break!

( Ever since I became king, I’ve been buried in an endless pile of documents—so many that I’ve grown sick just being in that place. Things seem to be getting better in the Demon World, though I’d lie to say it’s perfectly stable. )

( Well, whatever. I shouldn’t bother too much about that… for now. )

( Right now, all I can think about is her. Ugh, these stupid king duties have kept us apart for way too long. I’m sure she must’ve felt really lonely, huh…? )

( Damn it! That was never my intention, but I know it must be boring as hell to be stuck in the castle all day by yourself. )

( That’s why, I’m definitely going to make it up to her today and take her somewhere nice~! )

Place: Their room

Ayato: Chi-chi-na-shi, guess who’s ba—

( Hah!? She’s not here? )

Oi, Yui!

( She’s still not answering? )

Yui, where are yo—

???: Ayato-kun..!

— hugs his back —

Ayato: What the—!

Yui: Fufu, sorry for taking you off guard. I was just thrilled to see Ayato-kun again!

Ayato: Geez, next time I call you, answer me, understood? You’re still in the Demon World, anything could happen when no one’s around, y’know?

Yui: Ah… I’m sorry for being careless. I hope I didn’t make you worry…

Ayato: No need to sulk now. What matters the most is that you’re alright.

Now… about the thing you’re wearing. Where the heck did you even get it from? It’s the first time I’ve seen you in it.

Yui: Oh, actually I bought it last time we went shopping together. You see… I didn’t show it to you back then because I wanted it to be a surprise, but uuh… does it not suit me?

Ayato: Haa… normally, when a woman wants to surprise her man, she wears lingerie or something sexy, but I’ll forgive you this time. Why? Because you look hella cute in that, can’t deny.

— Yui blushes —

Yui: Ayato-kun… thank you! I’m really happy…!

Ayato: ( Is she seriously almost on the verge of tears for that? )

C-C’mon, don’t get all emotional over every little thing. The date hasn’t even started yet! You really want people to see you with red eyes and puffy cheeks outside?

— Yui shakes head —

Ayato: Good, now let’s go!

— He takes her hand —

Place: Kaminashi City

Ayato: Can’t believe I’m gonna say this but I somehow missed this place.

Yui: Is that so? I thought Ayato-kun didn’t like the Human World.

Ayato: I don’t mind either of them, but right now I’m sick of the Demon World. If I see one more document, I will end up throwing up on the spot.

Yui: Ayato-kun…

( That’s right, he’s been working a lot ever since he became king. I’m sure it must truly be tiring spending days in front of all those documents. )

I’m glad you put a lot of effort in your role, but take it easy, okay? I can’t do much in this situation, yet… If you ever need help, I want to be there to support you!

Ayato: Hmm… anyway. I’m not here to talk about work again. I just want us to enjoy some time together for once.

Yui: ( Ayato-kun really sounds exhausted… He’s matured so much these past few months, which isn’t bad, but I just wish he could relax a little. )

Then, let’s make the best of this day!

— tugs onto his arm and starts walking —

*Timeskip*

Yui: Haa… it’s way better outside.

( Ayato-kun is still waiting to pay for our things, but it was way too hot in that store, so he told me to get some fresh air. )

( Now that I think about it, vampires are always cold, so I doubt the heat bothers him as much as it does me, right? Even so, seeing him care about my comfort makes me really happy. )

— warm breeze hits —

Yui: Mm… so ni—

— something suddenly hits her —

Yui: Kyah! What on earth was that!?

Eh? That’s—

Familiar: Greetings. Pardon my interruption, but could it be that you are Komori Yui-sama?

Yui: ( ‘Sama’? Uuh… I feel like that’s an exaggeration. )

Yes, I am. Did anything happen…?

Familiar: Rest assured, there is no need for alarm. My purpose here is simply to entrust this to your care. Unable to find Ayato-sama, I must rely on you to deliver him this letter.

— Yui takes it —

Yui: But, what’s this letter about?

If it’s possible to tell, of course.

Familiar: In essence, a new set of documents has been prepared for Ayato-sama. Please inform him at your earliest convenience, as his return is eagerly anticipated.

Yui: Wait! Does it mean that he really has to return now—!

( Oh no! The familiar is already gone! )

( To think that Ayato-kun was finally starting to relax again… )

( All this letter will do is ruin his day, that’s for sure. )

( But at the same time, not showing it to him… that would undoubtedly get him in troubles. )

( Uuh… This situation is so complicated. What should I do…? )

Ayato: Chichinashi!!!

Yui: ….!

— suddenly hides the letter —

A-Ah, Ayato-kun, you’re back!

Ayato: Duh, and I kept calling your name but it seems you only answer to Chi-chi-na-shi~.

— He starts pinching her cheeks —

Yui: Whey dwont, staphh!

Ayato: Hehe, that’s what you get for spacing out and ignoring me.

Anyway, you weren’t approached by any creeps, were you?

Yui: N-No, not at all!

Ayato: Hmm… that doesn’t sound too honest. Are you lying?

Yui: No way! I… I’m just hungry and my stomach won’t stop growling, which is really embarrassing…

Ayato: Haa… you never change. Always getting embarrassed over everything, but no worries, I didn’t hear anything. Though, if you’re really that hungry, I guess we could get something to eat.

Yui: Y-Yeah, that sounds great!

* Timeskip *

Yui: ( After the restaurant, we went to the mall, then back to the center. Ayato-kun… we walked a lot today, but instead of getting tired, he just got more and more energetic. )

( I suppose he was really in need of this break, so maybe hiding that letter wasn’t entirely bad, no…? Still, I’ll have to give it to him today, otherwise I’ll surely put him at risk… )

Ayato: Oi Yui, look!

Yui: W-Woah! I’ve never seen such big Takoyaki before!

Ayato: Heh, right? It’s even bigger than the ones from the Demon World!

Also, Ore-sama got you this, so I better see you eat it all.

Yui: Eh-? This is such a big donut! T-There’s no way I could eat all of it!

Ayato: So you’re refusing my donut? You’re way too ungrateful for a Chichinashi. Well, in that case, I guess you don’t need it any—

Yui: No, no, the donut is good!

— starts eating it —

Come to think of it, today you’ve spoiled me quite a lot, Ayato-kun.

Ayato: And why would that be bad? I thought women liked that.

Yui: It’s not bad, but I really didn’t do anything special. You’re the one who’s been working all day and night, for this reason I believe you deserve this treatment more.

Ayato: Haa… getting all self-conscious, just like always.

Look, you know I’m not good at sentimental shit, but after everything we’ve been through, your presence is special enough for me.

I guess I just want to cherish you, that’s all.

Yui: Ayato-kun… I feel the——

A-Ah, oh no!

( The chocolate… it melted on my hand! )

I-I’m sorry, I’ll be right back!

— tries to stand up —

Ayato: Nah, nah. C’mere.

— grabs her and sits her on his lap —

Yui: Wait, don’t!

— he starts licking her hand —

Yui: A-Ayato-kun, stop it! We’re in public…!

Ayato: Mnn… Mm…

— slowly bites —

Yui: Uuh…

( At this rate, people will definitely start watching!)

— starts moving —

Ayato: Tch, you’re making this way too hard for both! Just stay still and stop acting like I’m about to kill you!

Yui: ( I know his intentions aren’t bad, but this is getting too embarrassing…! )

( I’m sorry, Ayato-kun! )

— tries to push him away but falls down —

Yui: Oww…

Ayato: ( Geez, what a klutz. )

Haa… are you hurt?

— grabs her arm and picks her up —

Yui: Ah, I’m alright, no worries.

Ayato: Oi.

What’s that?

— picks something up —

Yui: ….!

Ayato: Is that… a letter for me?

— starts reading it —

You… you had it all this time with you and didn’t say a word?!

Yui: I… I can explain!

You see, I thought—

Ayato: Shut up!

Do you even have the slightest clue about what you just did!? I seriously doubt you understand how important king duties are, do you?

Hah, of course, you don’t! Why would you?

You sit around doing absolutely nothing all day while I’m working my ass off to make sure you and everyone else can live comfortably!

I’m out here putting in the effort, grinding to create a decent life, not just for you, but for everyone, even if I didn’t ask for this shit. And you do this to me!?

I thought you matured too, but at the end of the day, you’re nothing but a selfish bitch!

Yui: Wait! Ayato-ku—

Ayato: Don’t touch me!

Yui: …!

Please, listen to me!

— grabs his clothes —

Ayato: Quiet! I’m not risking to go through that again only because of someone like you. Get lost!

— pushes her away and leaves —

Yui: …!

No… No… this can’t be the end…

How… How could I be this stupid…? Hhn… Ngh…

Kuh… Ayato-kun.. Nhn…

Place: Avenue

Ayato: (Fuck! I can’t return to the Demon World right now. )

( On top of that, why the hell am I the one feeling guilty now!? )

( She… Yes, she deserved that treatment. That’s what she gets for sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Besides, what she did could lead to something dangerous. )

( It’s not the first time she pulls such shit on me anyway, but… )

( Why can’t I stay mad at her no matter what she does to me…? )

Tch, such bullsh— Hah?

Guy 1: Aww, she’s playing hard to get~!

Guy 2: Aren’t you a bit too feisty for a crybaby?

???: S-Stop it! Leave me alone!

Ayato: …!

( That voice… Yui! )

Place: Alley

Yui: I-I told you to stop!

Guy 1: Just come with us, it’ll be fun~.

Yui: No, I don’t want to!

Guy 2: She keeps struggling, isn’t she cu——

— gets punched —

Guy 1: What the—

Guy 2: Such strength!

Yui: Eh?

Ayato: Get out of my sight, you bastards! If you don’t leave this girl alone right now, I’ll make sure your already disgusting faces get even worse!

— they start running away —

Yui: Ayato-kun… thank you!

( He came back for me… )

Ayato: ….

— grabs her hand and starts walking —

*Timeskip*

Yui: ( Ever since Ayato-kun saved me, he hasn’t spoken a word. )

( It’s obvious that he’s mad… )

( But if both of us keep quiet, this conflict will never be solved… )

Ayato & Yui simultaneously: I’m sorry.

Yui: ( Eh? Did he just— )

No… I’m the one who should apologize. I hid that letter, knowing full well the consequences it could have.

However… I only did it because I wanted Ayato-kun to have some free time for himself too.

Ayato: You…

Yui: I’m aware of how much work you have to do, and being king is definitely not easy. That’s why, I really admire your for that.

Nevertheless, it saddens me seeing Ayato-kun so stressed out and exhausted. I want Ayato-kun to be always as energetic and cheerful as he was today, but… I do realize that I’m just being selfish.

Ayato: No… You… You’re not selfish, I am.

I was the one who didn’t listen to your side of the story. It’s just... I’m afraid of failing as king. There, I said it!

I don’t want to put the people I care for in danger, nor can’t I accept being a worse king than that old fart, so all I have to do is carry out my duties. Hell yeah, they’re a pain in the ass but that’s my responsibility now, which is why I can’t back off.

Yui: ( Ayato-kun… I never thought you felt that way… )

N-no, the way you reacted was understandable. Anyone under that much stress might have done the same, and I can’t blame you for it.

Besides, I can’t say your words were wrong. I am indeed incapable of fully understanding the challenges you face, however… no matter what happens, I want you to know that you’ll always be the best king to me…!

Ayato: …!

Heh… you really never change.

— hugs her—

Yui: W-Well, I suppose I can’t change if I do nothing all day.

Ayato: Hmph, are you throwing shade at me for what I told you?

Yui: Eh? No way, it was just a coincidence! I swear!

Ayato: Pfft, proved my point. You'll forever stay the clumsy, stupid, and oddly adorable woman that you are.

Yui: Hey, that’s backhan— Mm…!

Ayato: Nn…

Yui: ( Ayato-kun… his kiss is so gentle… )

( I really missed Ayato-kun’s kisses. I’m so happy…! )

Ayato: Oi, don’t tell me you’re about to cry again.

Yui: I’m not but…

I just want to know, will the letter get Ayato-kun in troubles…?

Ayato: I might get some weird looks for not showing up on time, and maybe a lecture or two, but it shouldn’t be too bad. I was supposed to start on them today since there’s a lot, but... I think I’d rather spend my time with my girl instead.

Yui: Is that so? Thank you.

But doesn't that mean you'll have to work even harder to make up for today?

Ayato: I guess it can’t be helped. I don’t want to think of tomorrow, all I want is to focus on the present.

Yui: Fufu, I see. By the way…

Will you uhm… stay overnight too?

Ayato: Heh~? Is that supposed to be a sex invitation?

Yui: I… T-That’s—!

Ayato: Heh~, don’t even try to get out of it, it’s written all over your face.

Rest assured though, the invitation is accepted~.

— Smooch —

[tubatwo]

workaholic - kang taehyun

summary: doing soobin a favor leads to a night alone with your boss... who you just so happen to be crushing on

pairing: gn reader x kang taehyun

genre: fluff; 1.6k words

a/n: maybe in a dream world a boss would let you take all the hours you wanted LOL but let’s just pretend~

some would call you a workaholic, but you simply called it living. there was no such thing as “working too hard”. you liked having money, and you didn’t dislike your job. especially as long as you got to see a certain someone. a certain someone who may also play a teensy tiny part in the reason why you enjoy working so much.

maybe that certain someone was your boss.

who you definitely did not have a crush on.

nope…

the door to ‘kang cafe’ chimes as your coworker soobin walks in, halfway through the process of putting his apron on. “y/n! you’re here already?” he asks while opening a drawer that held all of the staff name tags and important keys. 

“yup,” you nod, “i’m working day shifts this week since i’m a little ahead on schoolwork.” you had been working your ass off teaching yourself the material since your professors proved themselves to be absolutely useless. going to class in the mornings only wasted your time and frustrated you further, so you decided to switch up your schedule a little. 

there’s a hint of disappointment and guilt in soobin’s eyes, his fingers still fumbling his name tag around, desperately trying to attach it to his apron. “I was gonna ask if you could cover my night shift tomorrow…” he whines slightly. “I can’t ask you to work a full day…”

“huh? you won’t be here?” you ask. soobin shakes his head before a shy, proud smile covers his face. “nope, I happen to have a very special date,” he responds before loudly groaning, “ah, this stupid thing!” you laugh at the sight of him still struggling to get his name tag on.

“here let me..” you reach over to help the clumsy boy while giving him a reassuring smile, “and don’t worry about coming in tomorrow, I was gonna take some extra hours anywa–”

your words are interrupted by the sound of the back room closing and footsteps approaching. you both look over to see your boss, taehyun, looking at the two of you with a startled face. the sight of you and soobin, close proximity, your hands laying on soobin’s chest. he quickly clears his throat before returning to his usual chill persona.

“okay one, sorry for interrupting whatever this is,”

“um, they were just fixing my na–”

“and two, y/n, what are you talking about?” he looks at you, a glint of confusion in his eyes as he completely ignores the boy next to you. 

your hands finally release from soobin’s nametag as you turn to fully face your boss, trying your absolute hardest not to scan his entire body. what was someone so attractive and close to your age even doing owning a coffee shop like this? I mean, you know he’s slightly older. graduated too. but shouldn’t he be the manager at a best buy or something? better yet, working a modeling job? 

stupid kang taehyun.

stupid kang taehyun and his stupid black tee that just so happens to be tightly clinging onto his–

“y/n?” taehyun snaps you out of your trance while soobin snickers to himself behind you, pretending to make himself busy with a random cup.

“huh?” you ask, completely dumbfounded and a little embarrassed. 

“why do you need more hours? you’re already scheduled every day this week.”

oh right. “oh, um, well you guys know me…” you start, “always working...” the chime of the door sounds again as a trio of customers walk in. taehyun gives soobin a look, signaling him to handle the small crowd as he grabs your hand to take you to the backroom. you don’t even have time to digest what’s happening or the dizziness that’s suddenly consuming you because taehyun immediately continues his light scolding.

“y/n, I know i’m your boss but i’m not a shitty one,” he says with a sad look, “I know you still have classes, so you don’t have to worry too hard about the cafe, okay?”

“no, I promise it’s okay! I don’t mind helping you, really.” you explain, quickly shaking your head, “it could be busy too and I know the feeling of having to handle it alone…” taehyun sighs at you, his eyes filled with an emotion you can’t really point out. at least not until his next words:

“ah, you’re too sweet to me, what am I gonna do with you?” 

your eyes widen, blinking quickly as you mentally remind yourself to scream into your pillow about this later. how do you even respond? why was he looking at you like that? maybe you’re overthinking. does he talk to soobin this way?! 

“um… g-give me a promotion?” you joke, trying to distract yourself from whatever just happened. 

…

“alright, get back to work.”

“are you absolutely positively sure you’re okay with taking my shift?” soobin asks for the hundredth time over the phone. 

“yes, soobin, now please go get ready before I punch you for making your date wait.” after a few more minutes of bickering (and lots of complaining from soobin’s end), you end the call. you guess you could say the angels were on your side since it was extremely quiet tonight. since there weren’t many customers, taehyun had excused himself to run a few errands. he told you to call him if a large crowd ever showed up. but they didn’t. only a few customers here and there. you spent most of your time scrolling through tiktok and seeing if there was anything you could restock. 

you start trying to remember if you restocked the toilet paper already before your thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the door chime. you look up to see your boss, dressed in a different black tee, looser this time, and a pair of sweatpants. 

great. 

“taehyun? you’re back already?” you ask, trying your hardest to keep yourself composed. 

“mhm, I finished my errands a while ago, just went home to get into some comfortable clothes if that’s okay with you.”

“oh, no it’s okay!” you shake your head, “never thought i’d uh– see my boss in sweatpants but here we are.” taehyun lets out a light chuckle before joining you behind the front counter. he pulls a fancy notebook out of the drawer and begins writing inside. whatever it is, it’s probably business owner things since it looks quite important. 

“so, uh, do you know what was so important for soobin tonight?” he asks, eyes still locked on the paper.

“he’s on a date tonight~” you respond, slightly exaggerating your words in a teasing manner. taehyun’s hand freezes and his eyes immediately shoot up to look at you. “a date?” he questions. you nod, a bit confused at his reaction.

“but I thought you two…” he trails off while looking somewhere else. anywhere else but you. 

your eyes widen in disbelief. soobin? you? and soobin? I mean sure, the guy is handsome, but he was like an annoying brother more than anything. “huh?! no– no, me and soobin are just friends!” 

…

“ah, that’s a relief…”

you freeze. taehyun was a good-looking guy. you’ve witnessed customer after customer try to flirt with him multiple times but he usually didn’t go along with it. instead, he would give a blunt answer that would leave you snickering in the background. 

but with you, things were different. it started with small compliments on your performance, then your personality, then maybe one or two about how you did your hair that day. then it turned into long glances from afar and warm smiles. and now, it’s these comments that he keeps making. comments that are making you feel like you’re one more word away from exploding.

taehyun was silent for a while, taking a moment to find the right words. “actually, i’ve been meaning to tell you something, and I hope you don't mind me being honest.” turning to give your full attention to him, you nod and wait for him to continue.

“over time, i’ve come to realize that I really really like you, y/n. not just as my employee, but as a person too. you bring so much joy to this place, I can't help but feel drawn to you."

his words leave you in shock, your mouth gaped and your hands sweaty. you can’t even come up with anything to say, but he wasn’t finished yet. 

“and you work so hard. so hard to the point where it leaves me conflicted. because sometimes I wish you would just give yourself a break, but I also wake up every morning excited to see you again…” 

“i’m sorry if this is crossing the line, and I understand whatever decision you decide to make after this. I appreciate the relationship we had, no matter what happens."

you smile warmly, taking a few steps closer to taehyun, making him flustered in the process. you reach out to grab his hands and rub them with your thumb. ”I really really like you too, tae, you have no idea.” 

taehyun smiles widely at your confession and your nickname for him before hiding his face in your neck, letting out one of his famous cute noises. “oh? who knew my boss was such a softie?” you let out playfully. “don’t tell soobin.” he whispers, making you laugh. taehyun removes himself from your neck to cherish the sight of your smile, one of his hands reaching up to rest on your cheek.

“is this okay, darling?” 

“more than okay.”

you both lean in to finally press your lips together. the kiss is soft and sweet, filled with the unspoken words you two had been sharing through glances and gestures. as the kiss becomes deeper, your arms wrap around his neck loosely and his arms wrap around your waist to pull you even closer. the two of you are so wrapped up in each other that you don’t even hear the familiar chime of the door.

“guess who just had the worst date eve– OH MY GOD”

[moiraimyths]

An Announcement on The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe)'s Route Order

Happy Saturday, fateful friends! We hope you're enjoying the update, if you've had a chance to play!

Some folks have asked us, both now and in the weeks leading up to Shae and Maeve's routes, what the overall route update order will be for the rest of NDM.

We're going to answer that question today, much too rigorously 👇

Initially, we'd planned to keep the route order a semi-secret in order to hype up the reveal for the next batch of characters, but after some thought/observation, the Moirai Myths team now thinks that revealing the order, and further explaining the order, would be more holistically useful to our players.

First things first: We are most likely always going to do route updates in two half-batches, instead of releasing the full route for one character at once. Two halves of two routes is roughly equivalent to one full route, so we could release each route one at a time, but this decreases the odds of us having an update that interests you if you're only presently interested in a few members of the cast. With this in mind, we've purposefully plotted out the routes so that the midway point for all routes will end on a cliffhanger or point of intrigue to encourage discussion/speculation regarding "what could come next," etc. If you've played Shae and Maeve's routes thus far, you'll know exactly what we mean by that. 😄

On that note: Why are Shae and Maeve's routes first? A small part of it is logistical. While they're not our most popular characters, most people like Shae and Maeve well enough coming out of the demo (Vol. 1), which gives them a decently broad appeal-potentiality. Preliminary data of ours also suggests that the average person's interest in these characters increases following the update. *wink* However, the second and larger reason is because of NDM's overarching story. While each route, as with other dating sims, explores the specific character arcs and personal struggles of their namesakes, these things are not the sole focus of the routes. NDM's story begins in a cold war scenario that could very well turn into a hot war scenario under the wrong set of circumstances. These plot points are persistent across the game, but certain elements are looked at more closely in some routes than in others.

Shae and Maeve basically serve as the introductory characters for our world beyond Vol. 1. Their routes explain essential concepts, such as the class dynamics of Tír na nÓg, the nature of the War of the Courts, etc., and they get some pretty big backstory questions answered and out of the way early on. This allows future routes to focus on other, similarly critical subjects, unimpeded by the need to go over previously-revealed information from the other routes in the same amount of detail. To that end, since major reveals in Shae and Maeve's routes may be comparatively understated in the next batch of routes, this begs the question...

✨ Is there an official recommended reading order? ✨

Yes. And some of our players have already guessed it:

Book of the Traveller (Vol. 1) is the "inciting incident" content for the game and must be read first. After that, you should play Shae's route (Book of the Soldier, Vol. 2), then Maeve's route (Book of the Warrior, Vol. 3). This means, according to the numbering: The next route batch will be Flannán and Aífe. Following them, Robin and Keagan.

We understand that in a lot of visual novels, routes can be read in any order without much impact to the story or experience. This is not so much the case with The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe), for the reasons we have previously explained. While we would not say the game would necessarily be ruined if players chose to, say, start with Keagan's route and work their way backwards, it would nevertheless be a less satisfying experience because you won't be getting the gradual build up of certain concepts and plot points in the prior volumes. In a sense, it would be somewhat similar to reading an actual book series out of order: You could probably read The Two Towers ahead of The Fellowship of the Ring and still have an enjoyable time, but you might find yourself asking, "Hm, why are they sending Hobbits on an important task like this? Sort of odd that an elf or human wasn't given this duty instead."

We hope this post is clarifying as to our artistic intent and general plans, and remember: Your favourite characters will appear in major ways across multiple routes, and we will be releasing side story DLCs featuring the other characters in between updates. 😊

Slán go foill! (Bye for now!)

-The Moirai Myths Team

[venusvity]

                   DO YOU REMEMBER EMPHASIS? A few people do. They fall into the "nugu but not nugu disbanded girl group" category. They were famous during their short year of activity.

Initially, Emphasis acted as a sister group to Angelico's first and smash-hit boy group, Priority. It was meant to be a collaborative project, with Emphasis and Priority meant to come together once a year and make an album together.

This would never end up happening.

Shortly after Emphasis' debut in 2014, the group fell inactive before disbanding in 2016 after a year of inactivity and two releases to their name. 

Emphasis has effectively been wiped from Angelico's history, erasing all their content with the exception of their official music videos. The erasure of Emphasis has always left a sour taste in people's mouths.

What happened? Why did they disband so early and so quietly? Where are the girls now? 

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏𝆹 🌐. ˚  . . ࣪. BASIC INFO ?!

DEBUT DATE: January 12th, 2014.

DISBANDMENT DATE: March 21st, 2016.

FANDOM NAME: SWEETPEAS.

YEARS ACTIVE: 2014 - 2016

DISCOGRAPHY:

EMPHASIS would release TWO mini albums in their short time as a group. They operated on a dual-concept system where they would have a "Cool" song and a "Cute" song, promoting them both simultaneously to show off their versatility and milk the mini album for all it's worth.

Their debut mini-album would feature the tracks "Feel Special" and "Du Du Du!" as well as the b-sides "White Lotus" and "Hot Stuff!" which were not promoted but performed on occasion. The mini album, tilted EMPRINTSIS, would perform decently, and the girls would garner a small but dedicated fanbase within Korea as well as Australia.

Their final mini album would be titled "EMFACT" with the title tracks "FANCY" and "LOVE BOMB!" accompanying the three b-sides: Singled, Interlocked, and Sugar Sweet. Fancy and Love Bomb were hits. Literally, the success of their first comeback is every Kpop company's dream. These girls were talked about everywhere and they were everywhere. Everyone wanted a part of Emphasis and to see what the girls had in store.

What did they have in store, you might ask? A year-long hiatus.

Then what?

Disbandment.

Upon the announcement of the disbandment of their now-deleted fan cafe, Emphasis announced that it would release a farewell single that would not be promoted anywhere but would act as a gift to their Sweetpeas. "Pinky Swear," though a beautiful and heartfelt ballad, is one of those songs you never listen to unless you want to cry. Leaving Emphasis on a depressing and hollow note.

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ 𝆹 🌐. ˚  . . ࣪. THE LINEUP ?!

SUZUKI AKIKO, 96' LINER ; LEADER + MAIN RAPPER

JUNG YOONAH, 98' LINER ; MAIN DANCER + CENTER

PIPER JEON, 98 LINER ; LEAD DANCER + LEAD VOCAL

KANG YEONA, 91' LINER ; LEAD VOCALIST + VISUAL

NA CHAEWON, 98' LINER ; MAIN VOCALIST + LEAD DANCER

KITAGAWA SUKI, 97' LINER ; LEAD DANCER + LEAD VOCALIST

KURODA MIRAI, 99' LINER ; LEAD VOCALIST

ACHARA "STAR" SHINAWATRA, 97' LINER ; LEAD RAPPER

IM LUCY, 99' LINER ; LEAD DANCER

KIM "JOOE" MIJOO, 00 01' LINER ; MAIN DANCER

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ 𝆹 🌐. ˚  . . ࣪. WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?!

AKIKO would be the first member to terminate her contract with Angelico, but rumors still circulated she had her contract terminated by Angelico instead of leaving like the other girls. She would return to Japan within the same month as Emphasis' disbandment, retiring from idol life and becoming a producer and director. It would later be revealed in 2020 that Akiko was blacklisted from Korean entertainment after she had to explain why she rarely worked with KPOP artists. Though she will never work in the KPOP industry again, she recalls her time in Emphasis very fondly and takes any chance she gets to call Son Jinhwa a creepy loser.

YOONAH re-debuted in 2018 under the stage name BAEBI, one of the two Emphasis members to stick with Angelico. She would debut as the group's leader, main dancer, and main vocalist. Baebi is one of the most successful female soloists in KPOP and is often referred to as an "icon" and "it girl" when brought up in conversations. It's very rare for Yoonah to mention Emphasis, whether because of contractual reasons or because she doesn't want to is unknown, when she does bring up "her first group," she speaks fondly of them and often gets emotional. She always posts something on Emphasis' debut anniversary and wishes things could've been different.

PIPER is the leader, main vocalist, lead dancer, and visual of Mydol entertainment girl group Sugar n' Spice. She has also become known for her solo projects (solo releases, OSTs, acting, MCing, etc.) and her influence in the fashion world. Even though her time in emphasis was clouded with negativity, Piper saw the group as her first official home after leaving Australia, and she remembers it as a time that should be treasured despite everything that went wrong. despite being very aware of everything horrible that went down during that time period, it took until very recently for Piper to take off her rose-tinted glasses to see how truly awful the girls were treated and to fully process everything they went through.

YEONA is on her way to pursuing an acting career as she thinks the idol community causes a lot of suffering and criticism. Yeona felt that being with the group was like growing up in a household of sisters as they fought, they laughed and they had fun with each other. She says the group was there for her despite her temper when she first joined, so she can't say she doesn't miss the group, but she's glad they've gone their own ways

CHAEWON signed with STARBORN CREATIVE in early 2018, shortly after leaving Angelico, and trained there for another two years before debuting again in the girl group PRIMADONNA in 2020. She views her experience in Emphasis as just a fond memory. She prefers to look back at the good times she had with the girls, as well as at the girl she was back then before the group unfortunately disbanded.

SUKI is the leader, visual, and main vocalist in the Fearful Entertainment group, FEMME. She feels very bittersweet about it. She's happy that it lead to her having a career, but doesn't want to go back to that era, ever, because of how toxic it was for everyone involved.

MIRAI is mainly an actress now, and she's a very successful one at that! She's been in dramas such as Hotel del Luna, Stranger Things, A Tale of the Nine-tailed, Alice in Borderland, Squid Game, live-action remakes of Kakegurui and Kimi ni Todoke. Mirai also went solo while in AKB48 in 2017 and recently returned to the K-pop market this year. She views her time in the group as a learning experience and something she doesn't really regret. It just told her that maybe the Korean idol market wasn't entirely for her, which is why it took so long for her to actually return to it. Overall, though, Mirai treasures the connections she made with the other members, but she would rather not feel that insecure or unsure again.

STAR is the main rapper and lead dancer of La Vie under Prismatic Entertainment. The group has had its own turmoil, but she refuses to let her career end in a dumpster fire like Emphasis did, even if it's the last thing she does. She views it as learning from mistakes. Her time in Emphasis was a few very high ups and many lows. She doesn't generally like to talk about it unless it's a brief positive comment in an interview. The long hiatus almost made her believe her dream was over, but getting a second chance only made her dig her claws deeper into what she has now.

LUCY became a streamer after leaving Angelico. She would keep up with her YesImLucy account and do various comedy streams. In 2023, she decided to go back into music. She would debut as a soloist under Dream Media with the album "LOVE AND ...". Her music was well received by her current fans, but she was cursed to nugudom by netizens. She thought it was a waste of time. Lucy loved being in the group and spending time with the other girls, which gave her little experience. They felt more like a group of YouTubers singing together than an actual K-pop group.

MIJOO made her third, and hopefully final, debut in the girl group JelliB under Poser Records back in 2023. Her positions are that of main dancer, lead vocalist, and face of the group. Mijoo has since been deemed "the idol's princess" due to the huge amount of love and support she's garnered over the years, not just by her fans but also by people in the industry. Mijoo's experience in Emphasis will always be seen as positive. They were and forever will be her first home. Even when she was being overworked to hell and back and often found herself growing frustrated and empty from the extensive training, she knew that the moment she stepped into the practice room, she was going to be smothered in adoration. Their love pushed her to work harder, and even though they didn't last long, they remained the best part of her time in the group.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THESE AMAZING CREATORS WHO GAVE ME THEIR OCS FOR THIS! 🤍 ; @fearfulent + @luckycnes + @lcmonriize + @ofmanycol0rs + @snspice + @shoujog1rl + @ratedstar + @starbcrnes

[sehyunie23]

Huwag Muna Tayong Umuwi - (BINI Mikha)

A night is commonly linked to the time where people rest or time where work ends. Countless hours passed and many if not almost all of the people were either fatigued or stressed from school and their everyday lives. Though normal for the eyes of some, all of us can't deny the repetition sometimes makes our life bland.

“Bilisan mo YN !!! Matra-trapik tayo!” Mikha said as she ushered him to hurry up because of the scary traffic of Manila, reasonable reasoning tho…

But not these two people named YN and Mikha whose energy is recharged when they are together, talking through their phones, or even just sending some random photos while chatting their day. They can't see each other everyday because of life constrictions, but today, this is a rare day where Mikha and YN can meet and date.

“Sandali lang! Excited ka naman masyado,” YN released a chuckle which also made Mikha whine like a baby. A sight to behold for YN though as the way her eyes squint and nose scrunches every whine she is doing, an uncontrollable force got over him and slowly, his hands connected to her soft cheek like a marshmallow and pillow.

“Ano ginagawa mo?! Huyyy!!! Ako lang to!” Mikha said to YN as the man just giggled at her reaction while unbeknownst to him is that this is one way how Mikha deals with the flutterness in her heart. 

Mikha fanned herself as she went out of the house she is living in, meaning YN is there to pick her up for her date. The couple were busy with their own career in life, hobbies, and friends but this day is a special day for them.

YN arranged something for fun that will surely make Mikha happy and destress from the negative outlets that surround her. The girl group Mikha belongs in, BINI is garnering popularity these days which they do truly deserve but on the opposite side, haters will also hate.

With their simple outing, YN aims to boost her happiness to the roof, supporting Mikha in her activities, as well in her dream to perform and make people happy.

“Bilis mo naman maglakad Mikha,”  YN voiced out as he saw Mikha have created a distance between them as she walked out first. Mikha looked back and saw her partner walking to her, she smiled and chuckled as she stopped and awaits for the man who she loves.

“Hindi ako mabilis, ikaw lang tong mabagal,” Mikha chuckles and when YN caught up with her, he stretched his right arm and slowly enveloped Mikha in a hug of security and warmth.

“Clingy ah~,” Mikha said and booped YN's nose and the man scrunched it as a response.

“Sulitin mo na, hindi na kita papakawalan,” YN smirked while Mikha laughed loudly and slapped YN's shoulder repeatedly as she found this cringy, yet so beautiful to hear.

“Sabi mo, panindigan mo,” Mikha sternly said to YN and the man nodded and pecked her crown.

“Of course. Not gonna let go of that promise alright,” YN assured Mikha and while the girl already knows this, it's relieving for her to hear that they are committed to this relationship.

Although young and still have many paths to walk on, YN and Mikha try their best to be the leaning shoulder for each one. Remove the celebrity title for today as today, they are just a normal couple who is sharing mutual feelings.

“Saan na tayo nito? Masarap yakap pero gusto ko parin umalis,” Mikha spoke out in a teasing manner, making YN playfully roll his eyes which popped a nerve in Mikha's head.

“Ah ganon… sige wag na pala,” Mikha began to sulk, making the one who initiates the joke plead in for forgiveness. Y/n uses any words that can dilly-dally the mind of Mikha and make her calm down but when in reality, Mikha is always calm and a great actor, she can also actually make YN fluster like right now.

A couple of minutes passed of YN soothing Mikha, the girl gave in and laughed at YN whose mind is a mess from the jumbling of the right words he will use for his (pretending to be) sulky girlfriend.

YN then led Mikha to his car to start their date.

________________

For the first itinerary of this date, YN brought Mikha to a volleyball match between rival colleges in the capital city. Mikha was beyond happy and was excited to watch a sport that she loved so much. Fun fact, Mikha was a volleyball player and a sporty girl!

YN bought the ticket and as soon as they entered the main hall of the arena, the energetic crowd greeted them, also pumping the adrenaline and excitement inside of their body.

Mikha was giddy from the time she entered and took a seat that was designated to her then, the game started.

The two teams rally and score with the spikes of their own, some points are from aces, and some are from the blocks of the tall players who are guarding at the net.

The ball alternated its court as it was being hit by the players. Watching a game of volleyball never disappoints as there is no such thing as a big lead, as long as you have the determination to win, you can win. 

Also, supporters of each school showed up as they nearly filled the arena to its full capacity. Mikha, who loves the game, was in bliss and her passion also comes out by saying something like; “Ay! Sayang!!!” or “YN, kaya ko kaya ma-spike yun?” Mikha’s emotion was in the game as well as like she was playing with the players in the court.

Set by set, each school got two each and now they are fighting for the 3rd set win. Only needing 15 points instead of 25, the fight just got fiercer. 

The last set commenced with the two teams rallying like crazy, literally diving for the ball at all cost just to set their team to attack. YN and Mikha were on the edge of their seats, while neither of them picked a team to support, the game itself will drag you to its intensity.

Two teams, the yellow team and the green team were fighting head to head until the libero of the green team miscalculated the trajectory of the ball, missing it and it also means that Yellow team has a point.

Mikha exhaled while holding YN's hand, fully immersed in the game they were watching.

“I-kalma mo Mikha, kulang nalang ikaw na pumalo ng bola eh,” YN used this opportunity to joke and his girlfriend just hugged him tightly with her eyes still on the court.

“Ay nako YN, papakitaan talaga kita pag ako naglaro,” Mikha said.

*whistle*

Game point, Yellow team served the ball to the opposite side of the court and green team received it and set up with a shot of its own. The setter of the green team throws the ball in the air and one, two people faked before the third person struck the ball but the yellow team saw this coming as the tall blockers blocked the shot, signifying the green team loses the game.

The players from the yellow team celebrated while the players from the green team motivated each other up and in the end, the sportsmanship prevailed as the players from both teams lined up in the net and greeted each other for a nice game.

Mikha on the other hand cheered loudly as the magnificent game had a magnificent ending, she jumped happily while YN just watched his girl with a smile while being happy and enjoying her time.

_________________

“Saan mo nanaman ako dadalhin?” Mikha asked, a little bit annoyed with YN but the man just shrugged it off.

“Basta magugustuhan mo yung lugar,” YN assured but Mikha continued to protest.

“Ih~ sige na! Sabihin mo na please~,” Mikha hugged YN’s arm and showed him the smile and cute face she can show but tonight, YN’s control of flutterness with Mikha is quite strong.

Mikha sees that any effort she does will not end in something she wants, she just lets YN drag her to the place. Though Mikha could assume something because they are already at BGC, maybe it will be a lovely dinner or bar hopping around the city.

YN held Mikha’s hand as they walked under the moon and stars who are floating above the vast emptiness of the horizon, also passing by the cars and other people who are exploring the city just like them. The city is not bustling anymore as many were not working, making this a more peaceful time for everyone.

As silence falls between them, the feeling of comfort strengthens as their hands are holding each other for warmth. A night in the Philippines is normally hot, but that didn't stop YN and Mikha from going out as the fire inside their hearts is far more important than just the hot weather. The warmth, love, and tranquillity they feel when they are together is far more beneficial not only for themselves, but also for the love they are still building.

The couple eventually reached BGC high street where a park with scattered vendors selling a variety of items was seen. Y/n turned to Mikha at this point and the latter also looked at him.

“Ikaw na masusunod. Saan mo gusto?” YN said and asked Mikha as the girl began to think. Though Mikha thought that YN had a plan, she smiled cheekily rather than being disappointed.

“Wala kang plano noh~,” Mikha teased while YN nodded, guilty as he had been caught.

“Yes. Nahuli mo ko,” YN chuckled as Mikha did the same. The girl didn't have to think long though as dinner immediately went inside her mind.

“Edi kumain na tayo, gabi narin naman,” Mikha said. YN nodded in agreement with her plan.

“Alright, saan mo gusto?” YN asked but Mikha suddenly pulled his arms and now, it's her turn to drag someone.

“Alam ko na kung saan, hehe~,” Mikha said happily while YN shook his head at her with a smile.

Mikha walked with YN beside her and they arrived at this restaurant which has a nice minimalist ambiance. The girl pointed to the restaurant and YN just shrugs but agrees to her suggestion.

The two entered the restaurant and were greeted by a waiter who also guided them to their seats. Come to the time they were ordering, Mikha was struggling on what food to eat as the menu of the restaurant looked so good, her eyes shifted to every dish name written.

YN saw how focused her girlfriend is at looking at the menu, making him release a chuckle, also loud enough to be heard by Mikha.

“Gusto ko kainin lahat!” Mikha whined, making YN laugh again.

“Bumalik nalang tayo dito para sa iba, pili ka nalang ng pinaka-gusto mo ngayon,” YN said as Mikha pouts but nodded.

“Sabi mo yan ah,” Mikha said, reassuring that YN will bring her back to the restaurant they are in.

“Sabihin mo lang kelan ka libre, dadalhin kita dito kahit pagod ako, para sayo, para lang makita ngiti mo,” YN said, adding his uhm… words.

“Huy!!! Ano sinasabi mo!” Mikha cringed at this and laughed at her partner who said the cheesiest line this evening, but even though that line is cringy, the adoration she felt for him just grew.

“Hehehe,at least napatawa kita,” YN said as Mikha just scrunched her nose but agreed with him.

“Sige~ oh, order na tayo ah?” Mikha with a smile asked and YN called the attention of one of the waiters to take their order.

YN and Mikha ate peacefully while throwing some topics in the mix, also using the time to catch up with each other's life and feelings.

Their dinner was a success as both of them were satisfied with the taste of the food they ordered. Paying and leaving the restaurant, the night was now late and the people outside in this city were lessened.

YN and Mikha walked around as winds hit their skin, cooling them off from the remnants of the heat left by the sun. Sitting at a bench, Mikha suddenly babbles with the air, making YN look at him weirdly.

“Ano ginagawa mo Mikha,” YN scooted closer and hugged his girlfriend. Mikha, who was now looking at the sky leaned her head at YN's chest and began to hum.

“Kinakausap ko lang yung langit, sinabi ko sana wag matapos yung araw na ito,” Mikha muttered. YN hummed and began to play with Mikha's hair.

“Bakit naman?” YN asked.

“Gusto ko lagi gento, magkasama tayo sa ilalim ng buwan, masaya, tahimik, nakikita ka,” Mikha said and slowly tightened her hug at YN.

“Hindi man lagi, pero sisikapin. Darating din yung araw na iyon Mikha,” YN said.

“Huwag muna tayong umuwi YN,” Mikha said softly.

“Heh, wala rin akong balak pa. Gusto pa kitang makasama,” YN said to her girlfriend. 

YN and Mikha then let the night pass by while hugging each other in the presence of comfort and warmth. Midnight arrived and that means a new day, but for the two, there is no early or late in the day as they are together, feeling the love they entrusted with each other.

______________________________

[jaemified]

major, minor, and the things in between - nishimura riki

"are we friends, lovers, or whatevers in between?"

pairing ; nishimura riki x fem!reader

genre ; slice of life, enemies to lovers-ish (y/ns mean to riki smh), romance, drama, fluff, small angst, non idol au

warnings ; swearing, drinking, brief mention of blood (someone gets cut), mention of offing yourself but its just niki making a joke

wordcount ; 7.0k

synopsis ; though never quite well acquainted, sim y/n had always felt strongly against nishimura riki, until her brother jake had forced them to get along. but, what was meant to have them get closer turns into something a little more.

note (5/29) - there isnt rlly much mention of jake/nikis actual siblings but for one scene theirs like additional (baby) siblings

note (7/10) - its finally here!! im a little upset it took me 2 months to write 7k since i used to be able to write 4k in 8hrs but summer has been kicking my ass so im glad its out despite being 10 days past release date

taglist 🏷️ ; @stinkoscope @asyleums

read below the cut !

"'when im with you, i.. im so happy. i like you, na bora!' 'i like you. i like you too! i really really like you!'" y/n cried at her computer screen, rewatching 20th century girl for the 2nd time this week, before being so rudely interrupted by her brothers presence, bugging her with the same, repetitive question. the same question hes been asking for years on end now.

"the guys are coming over and of course you know niki is gonna be here as well. i want you to talk to him. why cant you just be friends?"

"id appreciate it a lot if youd leave, this is my space."

"i dont know if you noticed, but this is a small flat with not much room to move around. its not only you living here you know." jake reminded.

of course y/n knew there was limited space, she knew the moment she first realized she had already circled about the unit, trying to escape her brothers nagging.

"if you know theres not enough room for you and me then what makes you think theres room to accommodate an additional 6 other grown ass men. go to your room, im doing homework.'

'annoying..'

"you were literally just crying watching 20th century girl milliseconds before i walked in, and im not asking much y/n! all i want is for you to talk to him, even pretend like youre getting along, thats it!" jake remarked, before catching the pillow y/n attempted to throw at his face.

'so damn annoying.' y/n thought, growing more and more annoyed by her brothers constant nagging as each second passed.

"whats so hard about getting along with niki? hes a good kid!" jake complained. since his little sister couldnt get along with one of his best friends, it made even the intimate gatherings.. unpleasantly awkward.

"hes annoying, like you are being right now."

"no, why do you really hate him so much."

"i dont know! he just reminds me of someone i guess? and he always cheated on projects back in middle school. even stole my ideas so he could make it look like im in the wrong."

"thats it? youre holding a grudge over him just being a middle school kid from, what, 5 years ago? cmon, theres gotta be something better then that. not to mention even if there wasnt, that makes you sound hella dumb holding a grudge from the 7th grade when youre graduating next year."

y/n thought to herself. of course there was another reason, but it seemed unnecessary to bring up. and she also just didnt want to share it with jake. or maybe, it wasnt the right reason after all.

"well hes cocky as hell and is still a better dancer, basketball player, volleyball player then i, not to mention ive been playing longer and layla likes him more then she likes me!"

"thats your fault youre never home, laylas just more used to him. and me. i am clearly her favorite between you and i."

"more like his fault hes practically living in my apartment cause hes never at his own home. and how can she be more used to him when ive known her since way before she met riki.."

"tough luck." jake pat y/n on the head on his way out before shutting the door.

__________________________________________

the sound of the doorbell awoke y/n from her, well, what was meant to be a quick nap (which later turned into a 4 hour sleep). just as she slowly got out of bed to answer it, she heard jake yell from down the hall, "ive got it! make sure you dont look stupid or anything in front of my friends!"

she rolled her eyes and climbed back into bed, thinking about her outfit. standard pajamas, plaid shorts and a black tee (which probably wasnt even hers). she thought about how the one person out of the 6 she didnt want to see would be out there. truth be told, even she herself didnt know the best explanation as to why she hated riki so much. y/n figured it was because of a little mishap back during freshmen year and she just couldnt bring herself to apologize for everything that had been said during that time, so she forced herself to continue hating him. 'yeah, seems about right.'

the sound of the door opening caught her attention and the next thing she knew, there was a boy in a cream essentials hoodie jumping onto her.

"oh shit, what the f-"

"hi y/nnn!" sunoo smiled, carefully getting off his best friend.

y/n was in joy once she realized who it was, and brought him into a tight hug.

"hey sunoo! god it feels like forever since i last saw you!"

it was really only a week.

"i know right! its been too long!"

she smiled, no matter what mood she was in, sunoo always was the sunshine in the rain.

"so, whos here?"

"oh, you know the usual. sunghoon, heeseung, jake, and jay hyung. niki and jungwon are supposed to be setting up something in the courtyard."

"setting up what?"

"a volleyball net. jake was on nikis ass all week and wanted him to 1v1 you while we all played basketball. jungwon just wanted to help however he could, hes been tired all week from his job and the dance program."

no fucking way.

"youre saying i have to be alone, with nishimura riki? hell no!"

"isnt it great?" "this is a disaster!" they both exclaimed in unison.

"how is that bad?" "how is this good?!"

sunoo signaled for y/n to continue first. "i just cant stand riki. jakes been on my ass to talk to him but i didnt think hed actually talk to him, or that hed even listen either."

"seriously? i always thought you had a thing for him. i mean, you look good together, you both share mainly the same interests, mainly the same circle, not to mention the undeniable love you have when your eyes meet-"

"okay thats enough! you know what, how bout we go outside, im hungry anyway."

sunoo shrugged and went along with y/n down the hall.

he was slightly surprised when he saw niki and jungwon sitting on the couch, having a sip of their drinks.

"back already? i thought you were setting up the nets."

"yeah, but it was easier then expected. and we didnt even need to go to the lobby for the stuff. it was all already in the courtyard." jungwon told the two with a smile, proud of their work.

"y/n." niki looked at her with that stupid grin she had always hated.

"nishimura."

"i didnt know youd be here." he observed, ignoring how she had addressed him by his last name instead of niki, or riki.

she scoffed, crossing her arms.

"i live here dipshit. you think id run away just cause i knew you were coming?"

niki got up from his seat and walked closer, and closer, until their faces were mere centimeters away.

"just like you ran from all our problems in freshmen year huh?"

"you realize it was all because of what you did, dont you?"

it took niki a minute to notice how close they were. he looked down at her lips before realizing what sunoo and jungwon were saying in the background. "are they about to kiss?"

"hell no!" y/n and niki both yelled out in unison, quickly pushing away from each other.

"whatever. i need to use the bathroom, i cant stand seeing your face." she remarked to niki.

as soon as y/n closed the bathroom door, she let out a breath she never knew she was holding in, slowly trying to register what had just happened. 'did i really almost kiss him.'

minutes after being stuck in the bathroom for so long, she left and walked into the main living space, only to notice everyone was gone.

well, almost everyone.

"are you serious."

y/n dryly stared at the boy sitting on her couch, in her spot, watching her favorite show.

"i forgot you were still here." niki yawned.

"where is everyone?"

"did you seriously not hear them say theyre gonna get food and that theyll be back in.. three hours or more?"

"three hours or more? it does not take that long to get food, youre fucking with me." y/n walked into hers and jakes individual bedrooms to see if anyone was hiding from her, to her dismay, niki wasnt lying.

"it does if youre getting food from busan."

"why the fuck are they going all the way to busan for food??"

"language! my young ears cant take this!"

"shut up nishimura youre only 11 days younger."

"more like 11 years at heart cause you act like a grumpy old lady all the time.."

"whatd you just call me?"

"nothing!"

"so why are they going all the way to busan for food again?" y/n reminded, getting niki back on track.

"cause they got a friend whos house is down there and hes in town for the weekend, they said theyll bring us home our own order."

y/n walked into the kitchen, rummaging for food.

"what are you doing now?"

"looking for food, im gonna die if i see your ugly ass face any longer."

"what are you on about 'ugly'? girls at school love this face."

"and apparently you loved those girls too much in return.."

niki got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen bar, sitting down. "are you still mad at me about that?"

she stopped what she was doing and looked at niki, not saying anything, hoping it was enough of an answer.

"so you are." 'so he isnt all that dumb'

"look, i didnt know she had bad intentions, and you were right, i shouldve listened to you. but you really have to stop avoiding me. how was i supposed to tell you i didnt realize what she was trying to do if you keep running away?"

"how do you not realize no matter how many times i warned you?"

"i thought you did it because you were jealous."

"i did it because i loved you!"

niki froze, thinking he was crazy, thinking maybe he hadnt heard right.

"you what?"

"past tense. loved, not love. and how could you think so badly of me? we were supposed to trust each other, always tell the truth, and you thought i told you she would end up using you was because you thought i was jealous? how could you?"

he sighed, thinking about what he had done, realizing how badly he had mistreated y/n in the past, realizing there was no reversing it. he walked into the kitchen where y/n was, backing her into the corner as the kitchen was just as small as the apartment itself.

"get away from me!" she yelled, throwing ramen packet after ramen packet at niki.

"no. i know i havent been the best to you-" "more like you know youve been the worst."

niki glared at y/n.

"-and i know theres no reversing it. i realize i cant undo the past, but what i can do, is fix our future. i want to show you i can be better to you then i was then. we can be what we used to be before, us. our spark."

"there is no us, or we, or, our. but maybe just you, caught up in your daydreams." y/n pushed niki out the way, and walked out the kitchen, not noticing she was slowly being followed.

"i loved you too you know. except for the fact that i still do."

"can you just please leave." she turned around, now facing him.

her vision blurred, head dizzy, face stained, all as her glass like tears trickled down her cheeks.

"hey, its okay. dont cry."

"get away from me!"

niki attempted to hug y/n as she fought against him, trying to run from his grasp, struggling to no avail. she eventually fell still in his hold, forgetting its natural warmth and comfort.

"im sorry for everything." was the last thing y/n heard before falling asleep, growing tired and stressed from everything that had just happened.

__________________________________________

it was late at night by the time everyone else had come back, 2am to be exact. traffic was unusually heavy though it was a saturday night, not to mention the designated driver and his understudy (heeseung and sunghoon. yikes, scary night) ended up being the most wasted while everyone else was still tipsy. poor jungwon, still tired from a 4 hour nap after being on 2 hours of sleep all day, had to drive everyone through the slow traffic.

jake, who was slightly sobering up, turned on the lights in the dark room and dimmed them as his head was still throbbing. he walked into the living room and saw y/n, fast asleep with her head on nikis shoulder with his arm around her as he finished the rest of avengers endgame.

jake knew his sister well enough to know she had been crying once he focused on her puffy red eyes. but, it was a sweet moment, y/n was passed out, niki was barely conscious, and everyone was painfully drunk or achey. he figured he would just yell at riki for whatever happened in the morning.

sunghoon and heeseung ran into the kitchen (as best they could without tipping over) for water, jungwon had knocked out as soon as he sat down in the chair next to y/n, jay was busy trying to figure out how to use jakes water filter, and sunoo was sitting at the kitchen bar eating a pudding cup.

jay called for jakes help, just as his eyes had fluttered shut. begrudgingly so, jake got up and helped the three boys it the kitchen. "you press the bottom button, not the top button. the top is for ice."

"thanks." "yeah whatever."

"i know youre tired hyung, but so are we. where are we all supposed to sleep?" sunoo quietly asked, putting his hand on jakes shoulder.

he thought, looking at the three sprawled out in the living room, and the three bubbling nonsense in the kitchen. "jay and sunghoon can stay with me, ill move niki and y/n to her room, you can stay in the living room with jungwon and heeseung hyung. but move jungwon to the couch since he drove everyone."

"thanks-" sunoo cut himself off as he heard the sound of jakes receding footsteps.

__________________________________________

morning came, and though it wasnt a good one, y/n wanted to remedy that. or, remedy the nasty hangover she knew everyone would be experiencing.

she had woken up with her eyes puffy and red, and even though she didnt want to get up she knew she would have to eventually.

"is that hangover soup i smell?" jake asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he walked out his room.

"well i know riki doesnt know how to cook and jungwons still asleep. so who else would be making it?" y/n flashed a tired smile, pouring a serving for jake.

"so, why were you crying last night? and dont say you werent or that you just didnt sleep well. ive lived with you long enough now to tell the difference between your 'i didnt get enough sleep' eyes, and your 'i was crying pretty hard' eyes." he interrogated as he took a big sip of the soup. so good he almost felt better already.

"what did he tell you? or were you watching me?"

"he didnt tell me anything, he was already asleep by the time we came back. i just saw the look on your face and knew."

"just reminiscing on some bad times is all."

jake raised a brow at his sister, taking another sip.

"you dont have to tell me now if you dont want to. but i do want to hear about everything. later. when my head isnt pounding like when i heard mom push you out in the emergency room. after i take a nap. and when youve bought jungwon some coffee."

"me? why do i have to buy him coffee? im not the one who drove him because the designated drivers were too wasted."

"we typically treat him to an iced americano since hes always up taking care of us when were drunk, but we havent gotten this wasted in a while. and he spent so long getting sunghoon out the house, not to mention the long drive to the point he ended up falling asleep as soon as we got back."

y/n thought about it before mumbling a, "tough luck" to jake, patting him on the back before walking into her bedroom.

she was met with the sight of niki making the bed as she walked in. "when did you wake up?" she quietly asked.

"not too long ago, you?"

"about an hour ago. i had to cook for them."

"ah. did you sleep well? i know sleeping upright on the couch mustve been a lot less comfortable then this."

"i guess. i dont remember waking up to walk here though. jake probably carried me."

"he was way wasted, snoring loudly way before i woke up. how else do you think you got here?"

it took a minute for it to click in y/ns mind when she realized it was niki who took her to the room and slept next to her. this whole time, she thought it was her brother who lent his own room to his friends.

"of course not, he just asked me to help or make sure you got to bed safely and that i could stay with you since there was nowhere else."

'that bastard.. ill kill him one of these days. im surprised i havent already.' she spoke to herself in her head.

"so. are we good now?" niki questioned, walking over to the other side of the room.

"how can you ask me such a thing after making me relive one of the worst memories of high school ive ever had?"

"it wasnt my intention. i was just trying to explain-" "theres nothing to explain when i had already given you multiple warnings. thats on you."

y/n threw a pillow at niki and walked away, back outside.

"what was that all about?" sunghoon asked, taking a sip of the coffee he had just made. 'where did he get silk pajamas from. are- are those mine?'

"what?"

"not to bother, but i mean, you were kind of yelling." heeseung explained to y/n.

she let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead in stress.

"i dont want to talk about it right now. i- actually. you know what? ill be back."

"where are you going?" sunoo asked y/n, following her to her room just as niki walked out.

"somewhere, not sure yet. dont follow me."

"i wont, i know how much you value your alone time but- oh youre changing. hold on ill turn around. but please be safe. when will you be back?"

sunoo turned back around and saw she had changed into beige cargos and a white crop top. realizing he was staring, he looked around the room, before a certain picture caught his eyes. he walked closer to get a better look. it was baby jake feeding yogurt to baby y/n. 'awe, they were always close werent they.' he hadnt even realized y/n was talking to him, and by the time he faced where y/n was standing, she had already left out the front door.

y/n🤨; srry, u were so immersed in that picture of jake and i as kids, but i rlly wanted to leave. i cant handle being around niki. see u l8r

sunoo😴 ; no worries, have fun, stay safe, and dont take any candy from strangers lol

__________________________________________

y/n drives to her favorite cafe she always used to visit with her brother, mama han's. she sits down at the bar and scrolls deep into her camera roll, coming across some mundane memories of her and riki back when they were close.

"what can i get you, hun?" the waitress, jiwoo, asked with a small grin. she didnt look to be any younger than 40 something now, compared to the last time she visited the spot. jiwoo was always the waitress here, even served the two frequently in their childhood when they visited from australia.

"just a vanilla shake is all. extra whip please."

"sweetie, arent you lactose? it must be pretty bad if you want extra dairy."

"yeah, it is. but, im not comfortable talking about it at the moment if thats alright."

"of course it is. just hope youre doing okay." jiwoo pat y/n on the shoulder, before reaching down to get the ingredients.

"hows your brother? havent seen either one of you in a while."

"hes well, a little hungover, but hes fine."

jiwoo laughed as she poured milk into the blender. "of course. what more to expect from your brother. well, how are you? i realized i didnt really ask."

"im alright. and, do you remember niki?"

"little niki from when you were kids? the one you used to like- oh dear, dont tell me hes the reason as to why youre so down?"

"long story, but yeah. its fine though, ill deal with it. but what about you, whats going on? did you ever pursue your dream as an actress?"

"no, and i regret not going for it. i didnt get to be in stairway to heaven, but shinhye and taehee did though. which is why you need to go for what you want, otherwise you really will regret it." jiwoo advised, adding the cherry on top of the extra whip prior to sliding the glass over to y/n.

"so i should forgive him?"

"if its what you want. though i dont know the backstory, i do know that as long as its something you want then its worth a shot. the worst he can say is no, you know?"

"yeah.. oh and jiwoo, can i get a chocolate shake to go?"

"no problem, just give me 4 minutes. and- oh dont worry about it, put your card away! its on the house."

___________________________________________

y/n heard her phone buzz in the center console as she pulled into an empty parking lot. she turned the engine off the car and pulled out her phone.

sim jaeyun ; Can you come home

Y/n Sim ; can u stop using caps

sim jaeyun ; I don't think it matters but okay

sim jaeyun ; can you stop disappearing whenever you're mad at someone

Y/n Sim ; can you change my name so its not in caps

sim jaeyun ; can you stop changing the topic and just drive back because niki wants to talk to you and i was getting worried

Y/n Sim ; can u change my name

'sim jaeyun' has changed your display name to 'y/n sim'

y/n sim ; i bought u a shake from jiwoos

sim jaeyun ; no you didn't she probably got it to you for free

y/n sim ; cz im her fav sim

sim jaeyun ; im going to tell all the guys about how you pissed yourself at disneyland on splash mountain

y/n sim ; driving home rn

sim jaeyun ; no texting while driving love u

y/n sim ; lyt

she let out a small laugh at her brothers texts. she quickly got out the car, taking some pictures of the sunset for her instagram, and posting it, before driving out as the milkshake was beginning to melt.

niki got the alert y/n had posted and pressed the notification at the top of his screen. he didnt miss how the caption referenced wave to earth as it was always their favorite band to listen to together.

@/05sim_y/nn ; how can my day be bad when im with u? - [9m ago]

liked by @/02sim_ikeuu, @/suniskim, and 99 others - 20 comments

@/rikimura has liked this post ! [now]

___________________________________________

after getting back home and taking a relaxing shower (thanks to everyone leaving 2 hours prior), y/n had continued to keep herself up at night for the past week before deciding it was time to talk to riki.

she pushed her feelings aside, waking up on a random wednesday morning at the crack of dawn then randomly told herself 'ive got to do this, for my brothers sake and our friend group.' (or so she unconvincingly tried to convince herself, but thats already another thing she didnt want to get into at the moment) y/n quickly threw on whatever clothes she could gather laying about the floor, then ran to grab her car keys and hurry out the door.

as soon as she swung the big piece of metal open, she was met with the familiar sight of nishimura riki knowing when hes done wrong, his guilty face, with his hand raised and ready to knock.

"what are you doing here at the ass crack of dawn?"

"what are you doing ready to run out your apartment like its the olympics as the ass crack of dawn?" he responded to her question with a question, with the intent of knowing how much she hated it.

"actually, i was about to leave to see you. i think its time we had a talk. you know, after my.. moment, that i had last week."

"yeah. i know. its not your fault i realize now, or, im telling you that but ive realized it since the moment i lost you. i think-"

niki was interrupted by jake shouting from across the flat, "if youre gonna finally have this talk i think you should go somewhere else! can you leave soon? 'cause my girlfriends gonna come over at like 12!"

"i seriously doubt any place is open for us to be going to at 5:41 in the morning." y/n yelled in response.

"you know well mama han's is open now, and jiwoo works day and night, just go there so i can be alone!" "for 7 hours?"

niki laughed in response as he registered what jake and y/n were arguing over.

"what girlfriend?-" "-talking stage, technically, but he says theyre dating because she accidentally kissed his cheek on their first date when reaching to grab something near him."

"i remember her lips on my skin like it was yesterday, meanwhile you have yet to kiss niki." jake scoffed in english, the words flowing smoothly off his tongue with his accent before walking closer towards where y/n was standing.

"gross. if anything her accidentally very barely brushing her lips against your stupid face is the only action youll ever be getting if you keep trying to get rid of your one and only favorite little sister." y/n muttered in response, slightly ignoring niki muttering about how he thinks y/ns accent sounds cute.

"really?"

-

and so y/n found herself driving to mama han's cafe with niki after jake called their eldest brother, complaining she should listen to him because shes younger and if she wouldnt listen to jake himself then maybe she would listen to her older-older brother.

"you should listen to your older siblings but jake, if you had someone coming over you shouldve told her in advance. and what are you even gonna do alone for 6 hours??"

after being seated and placing their orders, niki brought back the conversation from earlier that had sort of been killed by jake.

"i get it, youre mad at me, and i shouldve listened to you. i know i fucked up and i know you see it too. i get it if you dont want to forgive me yet, or if you ever even will. but when you decide we could be good, im always here for you."

"why would i be here if i hadnt been prepared to forgive you?"

"huh?"

"i seriously question how dense you are sometimes."

"thanks for believing in me."

"no problem, but seriously. i forgive you. as much as i hate to admit it since i know youll use it against me, but i kinda missed having you around. i mean, you were my first love among other things but you were also one of my first and closest friends. it wont always be the same but im sure if we try enough we can get pretty damn close."

"god have you always been so philosophical?"

the two burst into laughter together, smiling as they took a sip of their milkshakes, reminiscing on the times they had spent together in their earlier high school years. it was moments like these that they has missed the most.

by far the most fun together (said niki), by far the most fun theyve had in a while (said y/n) after having spent the morning together, discussing and going over whats happened in the past few hours before going to pay. "ive got it," niki said, pulling out his card. "its the least i can do."

"thank you for today. i know i was hard on you but i needed this."

"no worries, i think ive owed you for a long time now right?"

"i need to do something in here real quick. you mind waiting in the car?"

"wait are you gonna be okay? i dont wanna leave you here alone."

"im a regular here, i know the people. its fine."

"are you sure?"

"if you go ill let you have the aux."

thats all it took for niki to run straight for the car, rushing to open the door.

y/n laughed as she saw him waving from the passengers seat, before going to talk to jiwoo who was busy wiping down the counters. she took a seat at the bar and felt comfort as jiwoo flashed the same smile she always would throughout y/ns childhood.

"thats a hell of a boy youve got there. special one isnt he?"

"you could say that in the very least. hes definitely special to me though."

"thats the boy you were tellin my sister about? he aint from round here, that right?" an distinct, familiar, voice spoke from the back kitchen.

"auntie jiwon?" y/n questioned in shock.

jiwon is jiwoos sister, she also used to work at the cafe just as much as jiwoo did. had been a favoritre of the customers including the sims themselves before moving to the countryside, only popping up on occasion. jake would call jiwon auntie since she was older and it had also grown on y/n.

"thats my name isnt it?" she chuckled as y/n ran up to hug her.

"wow, i cant believe it. i havent seen you in like, 7 years!"

"been a long time right? well, im just down here for a short while before i gotta go back. just here for a weddin and thought to visit my sister at work."

"thats great auntie, too bad you arent here for longer."

"yeah, well. thats what happens when you get 3 divorces and run out of money, that right jiwoo? but, seriously, whats with that boy of yours? he dont seem to be from here."

"hes not, hes from japan, for the dance academy we all go to."

"that explains a bunch. i always knew youd be a dance. you have quite the physique for it, no?"

jiwoo interrupted jiwon from rambling on the way she always would, quickly seeing y/ns desire to leave as she has other things to tend to.

"alright well, im sure y/n has plenty of things to do as do we, so we all really should be going. its about time for the regulars to start coming in." jiwoo awkwardly laughed as she too seemingly forgot her sisters idiosyncratic personality.

"you dont want to spend time with your auntie jiwon is it? kids nowadays have no sort of respect for their elders. you could drive a preacher to drink!"

y/n awkwardly cleared her throat and put on a smile, frozen in a sort of way as auntie jiwon hadnt seemed to be the same as she was 8 years ago.

"oh im only joking now! go on then, ill just see you in another 8 years." she sighed, overexaggerating the moment.

"its not like youre her real aunt anyway." jiwoo muttered, yet jiwon heard it.

"like your supposed to be? what are you to her anyway?"

"someone whos around of course! i practically raised her and babysitted her on top of running a restaurant with my own children whenever her parents would be in office from dusk till dawn with her brother busy at school with his own life."

"i was there too you know! she would tell me things she never told you."

"she only told you things because you made her! she was scared of you!" jiwoo rolled her eyes at jiwon before quickly gesturing for y/n to go.

"what are you doing- where is she going?" "somewhere where youre not."

-

as y/n go back into the car, she slightly scared niki in the middle of a game.

"what happened in there? looked kinda tense. never seen the other lady before."

"jiwoos sister. shes kinda crazy and possessive and scary. didnt even know she came back."

"maybe we should go.. shes kinda walking towards the car so i suggest to step on the gas."

"shit- shes what??"

------------------------------------------------------

within the next few months, niki and y/n drew closer to one another like they were before.

it was only a matter of time before their unresolved feelings for one another began to surface, yet they continued to push it down with all their might, not wanting to ruin anything like before.

so here y/n was, watching some random kdrama out of boredom, completely uninterested before she received a text from niki.

nishimura ; help

sim ; with what

nishimura ; baysitinf

sim ; the fuck

nishimura ; hold - my brother just took my phone

sim ; babysitting?

nishimura ; yes pls

nishimura ; jake literally js dropped off ur sister here while my brother was having a hyper thingy

nishimura ; hes just very hyper

nishimura ; send a swat team.

sim ; i dont rlly wanna watch sarang tho😐

nishimura ; BUT ITS UR SISTER??

sim ; yea but she’s a headache i have to deal with that like every weekend

sim ; i gave her to jake so i can have a free day just for her to bounce back to me😒 sim ; i hate guys named jake

nishimura ; thats what u get for abandoning a 5 year old

sim ; then im not helping

nishimura ; that lego set i bought you arrived today

sim ; see u in 20

and so here y/n found herself driving towards nikis apartment, reminding herself to lecture her brother once they both get home.

“good thing you came otherwise i mightve actually killed myself.”

“this better be good, i dropped crash landing on you for this.”

with that, niki stepped aside to point at the kids behind him without breaking eye contact with y/n, not wanting to look inside only to furrow his brows as she tilted her head in confusion.

“is this a joke?” she scoffed.

“what are you talking about?” his jaw dropped once he saw sarang and hiro getting along together just fine, completing some puzzle together. “i swear they werent getting along and hiro was just bouncing off the walls, plus sarang was like having a meltdown about ice cream!”

y/n slightly grinned then spoke, “you look fine. they look more then fine. you don’t need my help. did you just want an excuse to see me?”

“no! i- i mean i kinda wanted to see you but that’s not why- i, ughh!”

y/n held back a small laugh at nikis frustration before she heard the two kids watching them giggle adoringly at their older siblings.

“riki has a girlfriend!” “y/n has a boyfriend!” hiro and sarang exclaimed in excitement.

“im going home.”

“absolutely not.” y/n groaned in annoyance while niki pulled her into the house by grabbing onto her shoulder.

“so.” he awkwardly started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously with the palm of his hand.

“so??”

“about yesterday.”

“what about it.”

“we’re good right?”

“of course we are.” she reassured.

just as niki was able to reply, sarang began to cry loudly, like she saw a monster in her closet or something.

“what happened?”

“i cut myself!” she cried, showing the skin between her fingers. her and hiro had been doing small arts and crafts for the past hour, so she has hurt herself with the scissors.

“just put a bandaid on and ice it.” y/n rolled her eyes, shaking her head while not even bothering to look up from her phone.

“you’re so mean y/n unnie!” sarang pouted before holding her ‘injured’ hand up to nikis face.

“what is this, the school nurse? you gotta be a more helpful sister then that.”

“i am helpful. i asked her what happened then gave her a solution.”

“but you were so mean to her.”

“im teaching her to be tough! our parents were hard on me and my brothers, so we have to be hard on her.”

“but you aren’t your parents. you’re y/n.”

“but what if i don’t want to be just y/n?”

“well, then that’s not something you can control. you’re you whether you like it or not. you gotta learn to accept life as it is. that’s what really being hard on yourself is, and that’s what it does to you.”

niki goes over to sarang to pick her up and carry her over to the kitchen. he sets her on the counter and grabs a pastel flower print bandaid before placing a small kiss onto where he placed the bandaid.

he coos at her lovingly, with him who’d always seen her as his own sister having had watching her grow up since she was born despite her not really remembering much of him.

y/n felt her heart melt as she saw how good he was with her baby sister.

she got up from her seat to go over where they were, wrapping her arms around nikis waist to envelop him with into a warm back hug, pressing her head into the space between his shoulder and neck, letting it rest there.

“mean unnie.” sarang stuck out her tongue at y/n, pushing her face away from niki as she stuck out her tongue back.

“what are you, 5?”

“no but she is.”

niki sighed before pulling away (he really didnt want to but you didnt need to know that) grabbing his car keys, and picking up his brother.

“let’s go for some ice cream.”

so here you were, sitting at the local ice cream parlor together.

niki’s face turned as he watched you absolutely devour those three scoops (scoups) of mint chip.

“i seriously dont see how you could eat that. it tastes like toothpaste.”

“why are you talking when you’re eating plain vanilla.”

“hey, sometimes basic is better!”

“well you don’t have to like mint then. ‘cause me and this kid do!” she jokingly replied, hugging said kid (hiro) while niki and sarang rolled their eyes with their vanilla cones.

“hate to be a bother, but you guys are such a cute little family. youre just like me with my kids when they were still young. and, little girl, you really have your fathers eyes.” an elder women from a table across the parlor smiled, patting y/n and niki on the shoulder as she ignored her husbands remarks “stop disturbing the little couple!”

“do we really look like a family?”

“sort of, if you really think about it.”

“okay but she had to be lying because your eyes look nothing like sarangs.”

“i mean.. if you look closely enough.”

“you aren’t even korean!”

they laughed together, for the first time in a while.

“okay, but on a serious note. what are we? are we friends, lovers, or whatever’s in between?”

“i mean.. I guess for now, in between.”

“please date y/n unnie! shes sooo lonely and boring.” sarang interrupted, tugging on nikis sleeve.

“yeah! and i want more playdates with sarang!” hiro pouted, looking up with puppy eyes at y/n.

niki laughed at the kids’ reactions, before taking y/ns hand into his.

“well, no matter what you decide, let’s see where this takes us. they seem to be up for it anyway.”

“you’re right. alright, fine. but if you fuck this up again, you realize you’re not getting another chance, right?”

“i promise i won’t hurt you again. it already cost me everything last time.”

“glad you’re aware.” she bitterly mumbled.

“so. you will date me then?”

“ill think about it.”

[thelensofyashunews]

BBYMUTHA SHARES NEW SINGLE "LINES"

The defiant Chattanooga-born, Atlanta-based artist and underground staple bbymutha has just shared her new single “lines” from her upcoming album sleep paralysis—out 4/19 via True Panther Records. Defined by colorful lyricism and genre-bending production, bbymutha instantly stood out among other SoundCould-era artists on her 2017 hit “Rules” (6M+ Streams) and solidified her name a year later with "Lately" featuring Rico Nasty, as well as the poppy, R&B-infused banger "Sleeping With the Enemy" (9M+ Streams). A viral performance of “Heavy Metal” on COLORS in 2019 followed by the release of bbymutha’s critically-acclaimed debut album Muthaland in 2020 led to subsequent collaborations with Zelooperz, Baby Tate, Na-Kel, Pink Siifu, Kelela, and Fly Anakin on her most recent album, Muthaleficent 3. Most recently, bbymutha announced a 25-date tour in support of the forthcoming sleep paralysis, along with new tracks “gun kontrol” and “go!”, with Pitchfork praising the former for the “allure and force of [bbymutha’s] voice, a thick Tennessee drawl that she wields like a weapon”. Cementing herself as a staple in the Southern underground scene, bbymutha is continuing to usher in a new era of self-discovery and reinvention on her new single “lines”, and forthcoming album sleep paralysis – out on 4/19.

With its jittery beat and electric-shock lyricism, “lines” finds bbymutha continuing to challenge traditional genre boundaries by experimenting with new sonics and textures – a trend that will continue across sleep paralysis. A unique blend of Punk, Electronic, and Rap, “lines” is a heart-pounding thrill ride packed with lyrical barbs (“Religion, worship, purpose / Love is not enough for me”) tied together with an infectious UGK/Fat Pat-referencing hook (“He wanna cut me / Like the lines on the dresser”). The track is the third offering from sleep paralysis, which compiles beats from nine different Electronic and Club producers including Foisey, Bon Music Vision, and Kilder. Marking bbymutha’s first full-length LP with True Panther Records, sleep paralysis layers steely and hilarious musings over windswept synths and echoing industrial 808s, bringing both an urgency to bbymutha’s words and a glint of experimentation to her ever-developing sound. The album’s inspiration was derived from a post-lockdown tour in the UK on which she was introduced to the sounds of 90's Garage and UK dance music, a revelating moment following a gauntlet of bad luck and creative rut during the peak of the pandemic. The album’s title, sleep paralysis is a literal reference to the syndrome which bbymutha has been afflicted with since childhood. Providing a way for her to dive back into memories she didn’t even know she had was essential in crafting the album. Showcasing why NYLON recently hailed bbymutha as “Chattanooga’s best rapper”, it’s an album fascinated with the dreamlike nature of trauma, personal history, and fantasy.

[deancaspinefest]

The Reel Deal

Author: TwinOne | Artist: Kit Shay

Posting on Sunday March 31

Dean has always had a plan. Study hard, find a job, fall in love, and live life to the fullest. The first two worked out well for him, but falling in love has been a pain in the ass. His roommate’s obnoxious prattling about his online boyfriend is not helping Dean feel any better. Then, on Valentine’s Day, a handsome blue eyed stranger knocks on his door and throws himsef into Dean’s arms, hugging him like a long lost lover. Dean has no fucking clue who this man is but he’ll take the hug no questions asked. When the man calls him “Aaron” though, he instantly knows something is very, very wrong.

Keep reading for a sneak preview!

A knock on the door distracted Dean from his Valentine’s date with Godzilla.

“Shit.” He looked around for the remote, pushing quilts around and searching under cushions. “One second!” He said loudly when he heard the person knock again. Finally finding the remote and pausing the movie Dean looked down on the clothes and shrugged. Whoever was on his doorstep would have to get over the fact that he was wearing hotdog pajama pants and a Stormlight Archives hoodie in the middle of the afternoon.

Dean opened his apartment door to see the most gorgeous man standing awkwardly in front of him. He was wearing a beige trench coat over a navy blue suit, white button up shirt and a bright blue tie that was tied backwards. Dean could not help but stare at this beautiful man.

“Hello.” The blue eyed man said with a huge smile on his face.

“Uh. Hi?” Dean answered. Did he know this man from somewhere? He would’ve remembered him for sure.

Dean’s confusion didn’t seem to matter to the man because he simply walked over to him and hugged him. Strong arms surrounded him, the smell of old books and soap all around him making it impossible for Dean to stop himself from wrapping his arms around the stranger. After a few quiet moments the man released him and stepped back.

“I cannot believe you are here.” He said with a soft voice. “I thought you said you had work today? I hoped your roommate would let me in and I would surprise you when you got back.”

Dean scratched the back of his neck in confusion. Who the hell was this man? Surprise him? He seemed to think they had met before, but Dean had no recollection of the fact. “Umm, I’m sorry but, who are you?” He finally asked. “What do you mean, Aaron?” The man said, the smile on his face seemed to slowly morph into a grimace of confusion.

"Aaron? Na, man. Aaron’s my roommate.”

(continue reading on Ao3 on Sunday March 31)

[wonwoosthetic]

Soompi 240111 🌷 Minnie

< series masterlist

SEVENTEEN’s Minnie joins the cast of the upcoming variety show “Apartment 404”!

The idol singer will be starring alongside comedy legends Yoo Jae Suk and Yang Se Chan, as well as actress Oh Na Ra and actors Lee Jung Ha, and Cha Taehyun. Created by Jung Chul Min, other known as PD Jung, who has already been credited with the hit variety show “Sixth Sense”, the six entertainers will have to solve the mystery behind multiple curious events that occur in their new residence.

tvN’s upcoming “Apartment 404” will mark Minnie’s first ever fixed casting in a variety show made for television! In the past, selected episodes of the idol’s group own YouTube entertainment show “Going Seventeen”, have been aired on TV, gaining her and the rest of the members a lot of national attention, as well as praise.

“I watched the first ever Gose (short for “Going Seventeen”) episode on JTBC, back in 2021 and just couldn’t stop laughing,” PD Jung told the reporter. “I was so surprised how idols could be so effortlessly funny. All of them seemed so smart while reaching such a high level of comedy.”

When asked how the producers came to choose Minnie, Jung Chul Min explained, “It was almost by accident. We were in a meeting and just talking about other possible cast members. Of course, we all knew that we’d need relatable and funny characters that would be entertaining to watch.” After a lot of back and forth, Minnie’s name fell and the room started laughing. “Kim Minnie is a very well acclaimed name, not only within South Korea, but also internationally, so she seemed very out of reach.”

After all, SEVENTEEN have reached the achievements “fastest selling global album of the century”, “first artist to exceed 3 million copies sold in the first day of release in Hanteo’s history”, and “highest pre-orders for albums in history, with 4.6 million sales”.

“But Yoo Jae Suk convinced us to ask her.”

The comedy legend and Minnie had already met years ago during an episode of “Running Man”, where the idol singer had appeared as a guest star. They seemed to have grown closer and kept in touch even after the shoot.

“SEVENTEEN was still on tour and had just finished filming another variety show with Na PD, but she found time to meet up with us and agreed almost immediately,” PD Jung recalled. “She shared her personal schedule and we set up filming dates right away. It must’ve been so busy for her… I remember her telling us that she had just landed and came to set right from the airport. I really respect her dedication.”

Filming for the variety show started last year, already gaining a lot of Carats’ attention when a picture of the cast was posted on Social Media.

Twitter, Instagram, and Naver exploded with interested fans, who couldn’t believe their eyes.

“Since when is Minnie doing variety shows?!?!”

“IS THAT MINNIE FROM SEVENTEEN???”

“Jaesuk and minnie back together after running man😭😭 omg I’m so excited for this”

“Seventeen seems to be doing more tv stuff nowadays, I’m really happy!”

“Whatever this is, you better bet I’m watching it!!!!”

“Casting her turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” the producer admitted. He promised that Carats and variety show fans will be very happy with her appearance.

The show will air on February 15 on tvN and will make its international debut on prime video on February 23. The teaser has already got us on our tippy toes!

I watched the first episode today and remembered I had this in my drafts🙃

[heartseungs-archive]

boats against the current [DISCONTINUED]

an nct dream 00 line series inspired by the great gatsby (f. scott fitzgerald)

genre: historical au set in 1920s american high society, specifics differ depending on the story, some historical inaccuracies here and there members: huang renjun, lee donghyuck, na jaemin, lee jeno 

AND, ALL AT ONCE | H.RJ

| genre: artist! renjun x art curator! reader | estimated word count: 9k-11k | release date: 30.1.23

He’s eclectic, short-tempered and moody: everything you hate in an artist and a partner. Even so, the lines between love and hate blur much too easily, like the paint on his beloved canvas. Or in other words, you’re an art curator determined to snag Renjun as the headline for your exhibit, even if he infuriates you to no end.

WRITTEN IN INK | N.JM

genre: scholar! jaemin x socialite! reader | word count: 15.2k

There is one thing Jaemin likes more than black coffee, fountain pens and hardwood desks: a well-written thesis. Or at least that’s what he thinks until you enter his office, bringing champagne, silk dresses and the frenetic energy of high society to his neatly arranged bookshelves. Jaemin may know human psychology like the back of his hand, but he finds himself horribly clueless about his feelings for you.

READ HERE

BETTER THAN GOLD | L.HC

genre: nobleman! haechan x childhood friend! reader | word count: 16.4k

His family comes from old money, and you’re nouveau-riche. Unfortunately for them, Haechan’s never been one to listen very well, especially when his parents tell him to stop fraternizing with you. Because for all the flamboyant dancing and endless alcohol at his parties, nothing makes Haechan dizzier than your smile.

READ HERE

FIRE AND OCEAN | L.JN

genre: soldier! jeno x nurse! reader | estimated word count: 12k-13k | release date: TBC

When they returned, the soldiers were bruised, battered from the horrors of war. It was a nurse’s duty to grit her teeth and help them. But some scars run a little too deep for you to fix. When you encounter Jeno in a hospital ward, you’re the one applying a tourniquet to his arm. However, the quiet soldier just might be the one to save you from yourself.

[bp-zb1fics]

My heart keeps on

pairing: na kamden x secret s/o reader

pronouns: none used

genre: canonverse  (finale), angst ish, fluff

tw/tags: long distance relationship, very emo in general, a lot of tears LIKE A LOT, you surprise kamden twice, citing ep 12 as my ref for all this, kinda secret relationship, realities of dating a trainee/idol, reunions so more emo, cuddles, cheek kissing, using a pic as a page break, yes the title is fr kam’s rap in switch ty for noticing 💜

wc: 2178

summary: kamden hasn’t seen you in over a year. you surprise him.

a/n this was supposed to be a gift fic for 101 followers but y'all are 200 now 😭😱 omg so thanks so much for supporting my little blog!!! I know this took a little longer than expected so thanks so much for patiently waiting! 💜Special thanks to the anon who sent me an ask about missing kamden and especially to @seok02 for giving me the motivation to finish this fic and kinda just helping me with the overall process 💜💜💜

check my pinned for more fics!

“Star Creator, we always thank you and love you!”

They wrap up the pajama party livestream, thanking the staff and staying to chat as the cameras are switched off. (Or so they think, lol)

“The vibe was pretty good,” Kamden tells Matthew. The other boy agreeing instantly.

“I think we were able to show new sides of ourselves.”

Suddenly the staff play a recording, surprising them all. It’s video messages from Star creators all over the world for them to watch. Kamden grabs a fluffy pillow as he watches everyone slowly get emotional. Seungeon cries. Zhang Hao cries. Yujin cries. Almost everyone is crying. 

Kamden gets a message from a fan in Norway, which is pretty cool. Then, something he never expected happens. He recognises your voice before he even realises it’s you.

“Kamden, annyeong~”

The pillow falls off his lap.

It’s you. It’s really you. You who he hasn’t been able to video call in a few days because of practice and your schedule and the time difference. He almost calls out your name but it sits tight in his throat, unable to reach you. 

You’re on screen, wearing one of the shirts you’ve stolen from him, holding onto the plushie he bought for you at that silly little shop after you insisted it looked like him. God, he hasn’t seen you in over a year.

“Dude, you okay?” Jay asks him softly.

He must look like an idiot, eyes blown wide, mouth slightly open, hanging onto every word that comes out of your mouth.

“I’ve been watching Boy’s Planet since the teasers were released. And you’ve always been my favourite.”

Kamden knows. You’ve been spamming your chat with him with all these little clips from the PR videos to the behind the scenes footage. Screenshots of you voting for him on the Mnet+ app, comments you’ve left on his fancam videos, even the funny memes you found of him on Twitter all greet him when he opens his phone after practice.

Hope my favourite trainee is doing well and staying healthy! Take care of yourself and know I’m always rooting for you! I love and miss you so much! Hoping for your debut!

Your messages are his favourite. And speaking of:

“I’ve made a little compilation of photos right here. I hope you like how I decorated them, I really tried my best~”

All the trainees ooh and ahh over the handmade album you bring up to the screen compiled with photos of him from the program and cute little notes and stickers. Kamden can’t move, can’t talk. 

Because that’s your album, the one you had insisted on starting when he and you began dating. He knows that if you flipped to the other pages, it would be full of photos of both of you, dates, anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, awards that either of you might have won, events that were important to you or him or both of you, everything carefully labelled. It was one of your favourite things to print out all the photos and he’d help you decorate them.

He can’t believe you kept that up after he left for Korea.

“You’ve stood out to me in every performance. You’re so talented and so many people are cheering you on so please remember to have confidence in yourself.” Your voice wavers a little towards the end of the sentence and as slight as it is, he catches that. He knows you.

Kamden only registers the wetness on his cheeks when the tears are already going, fast and furious. He reaches up, trying to dab them away gently with his sleeve. On screen, you blink rapidly and he knows you’re trying your best not to cry either. Even thousands of miles away, on a video you probably recorded weeks ago, you and him are still in sync. Maybe the rest of the trainees don’t see it but he does. Of course he does.

“I hope you take care of yourself always. Make sure to eat enough and get enough rest. I’ll be voting for you everyday so just do your best in practice and performing and us Star Creators will take care of the rest. We’ll support you so you can achieve your dream of debuting~”

To everyone else, you were just a particularly supportive fan. But to Kamden, you were his person, the one he was devoted to and he can’t help it, sobbing a little into his sleeve. Several pats on the back as the other trainees around him try to comfort him. He can’t help but cry even more. Why were you so far away? Why couldn’t you be here where he could hug you and kiss you and just be with you?

“Na Kamden hwaiting! Saranghae~”

That’s it. He turns and buries his face fully into his hands as if doing that would soak up all the tears that won’t stop coming. Matthew and Jay have scooted over, voices overlapping as they rub his shoulders and back and ask what’s wrong. Even Zhang Hao’s hovering a little on the side, equally concerned.

Maybe he’ll say something later, when there are no mics and no cameras. He’s been training for years and you’ve both agreed that in a career like the one he aspires to get into, keeping it quiet would be the best. Idols don’t date. Idols don’t have a significant other in a whole other country that they call when they can find free time. Even when it comes to casual conversation where there isn’t a camera directly trained on them, Kamden just doesn’t say anything.

They do ask him later. And when he says you’re a close friend he hasn’t seen in awhile, their faces light up in recognition. He leaves it at that.

You walk into the arena with a little trepidation. 

It’s all been a blur. Packing your things, flying to Korea, meeting up with Kamden’s mom and brother who have been kind enough to get you a ticket pass for the family section. Of course, he has no idea you’re even here.

You’re quite a bit more nervous about surprising him than you thought. While you’d give anything to see him again, it was a little risky in such a public venue with so many people watching and cameras everywhere filming almost any angle. Maybe you can be discreet enough if you do break down but Kamden’s on stage, the spotlights bright and on him. Fans are probably filming him on their own devices.

At this point, you’ll just have to trust your boyfriend to keep his reactions to a believable level. You don’t stand too close to his family, trying to keep your distance but also staying near enough that you’d be in the same general direction if Kamden glanced your way.

You end up on the side, along with a few other people who seem to be dressed as discreetly as you, masks on too. The looks you exchange seem to come to a general understanding of why you’re all here and who you’re here for.

Kamden doesn’t notice you when the Top 18 first file in. You don’t expect him to but you see him though. There’s a growing knot in your stomach, emotions welling up from actually seeing him not through a screen but so close that you could walk on stage and touch him. You don’t do that, of course. But still, he’s so near that it almost hurts not being able to throw yourself into his arms for a hug.

You’ve wanted this so much, especially after more than a year of not seeing him. But right now, you feel frozen. You only watch as they start getting into positions for the signal song. Fans are cheering, even the family members and friends of the trainees are calling out words of support. Still, your voice sticks to your throat, as much as you want to shout out, something keeps you from doing it.

Good thing Kamden’s brother does it for you. It probably surprises you and his mom more than it should but who can blame you when he almost never does that? Kamden’s surprised too, maybe it’s a twin thing but he immediately stands up straighter looking for where his brother’s voice is coming from.

And then he sees you.

His eyes meet yours and they widen considerably. His mouth even drops open a little. You’re smiling so much and you’re sure it shows from how your eyes crinkle, just a little glossy. But you’re not going to cry just yet. Instead, you wave at him. He can’t do much more than give a little wave back before they seem to be ready to start filming. 

Suddenly, your heart feels just a little lighter. You step back and watch him dance the signal song. You’ve seen him do it a thousand times, every time you stream his video. It feels so surreal, being able to see it like this, right in front of you. When the song ends, you see his eyes flick back in your direction, searching for your face. When he finds it, his expression brightens.

It’s amazing, watching someone you love do what they love. Sure, you’ve seen Kamden dance, you’ve gotten him to sing and even rap for you a little before. But it’s different with the stage and the lights and the crowd and he looks so comfortable there. You laugh when you see the Jelly Pop teaser, maybe you’ll get him to wear that dress again, just so you can get photos. The final song is almost bittersweet and you try your best but a few tears do slip out.

He’s messaged you about barely making it to the finale, you’ve monitored the program, watched his rank. You both know his chances are slim. But they’re possible. Still, he’s told you that he’s prepared for the equal possibility of not debuting. His company should have plans, he assured you. You watch him walk over to every one of his fellow trainees who’ve made it to debut, offering hugs and congratulating them. And as the number of spots dwindle, you keep your hopes up but you begin to accept it as well.

By the time they’ve called third, you watch as he walks over to Matthew, one of the trainees he’s closest with from what he’s told you. Maybe he lingers a little longer. Maybe you catch his eyes as he looks over. Hwaiting! You mouth, shaking your fists a little in encouragement. The emotions are swirling inside you. When the camera pans over to him, he’s teary eyed, covering his face the way he always does when he gets like that. You can’t help it. The emotions are starting to spill over and you breathe between the occasional tears.

After they announce the ninth place, everything suddenly starts moving so fast and so slow. They wrap up filming. The audience begins to file out. The cameras switch off one by one. You go backstage.

When he walks in, mic gone, still in that uniform that you keep teasing about, you don’t hold back. His arms wrap around you and you fall into him, holding him so tightly you wish you didn’t need to let go. And then both of you start crying.

“I missed you so much, Kam.” You’re holding onto the fabric of his jacket, gripping at it so desperately you’re almost afraid it might rip.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” He manages, his head somehow buried on your shoulder, tears soaking the cloth of your shirt.

“Surprise?” It comes out weak, a little shaky as you both laugh brokenly through your sobs.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” He holds you even tighter, like he’s afraid you might fade into thin air.

“I’ll be here for a while.” You tell him. “I wish I could’ve come sooner but-”

“It’s okay seriously, you’re here now.” If he squeezes you anymore, you feel like your heart might burst. “I’m so happy to see you.”

He goes back with you. There’s few brief introductions to Jay and Matthew and a few other trainees he’s grown close with, nudges and knowing looks and raised eyebrows. But it’s nothing to stress about, you manage to make it back under the radar.

You feel him watching you as you grab a few more things from your suitcase after both of you have showered and you’re wearing another one of his old shirts. Before you know it, your legs are tangled together, your head resting on his shoulder, your hands intertwined. 

“I don’t want to sleep,” he says quietly. “I don’t want to wake up and find out this is a dream and you aren’t here.”

“You aren’t dreaming, Kam.” You reassure him, lifting your head to kiss his cheek. Even in the privacy of this room, he blushes.

“Even if I didn’t make it, at least I have you.”

“You do, Kam. You always do.” And you know he will make it, one day.

[timelinetea]

The Cannes Connection

Since Sophia Bush left the Cannes part of her Glamour essay vague and portrayed it as fun coincidence that she and Ashlyn were working together, I wanted to provide some pertinent background information to the timeline (full timeline and background info will be coming to this blog in the following days):

March 26th - Ashlyn and Sophia reconnect with each other at the Angel City vs Gotham home opener in LA and they both share photos posing with one another and Ashlyn comments on Sophia’s Instagram post. 

March 30th - Gotham FC announces their season sponsors, and among them is Johnnie Walker Whisky. Why is this important?

1. Johnnie Walker Whisky also sponsors Angel City FC, the club in which Sophia is a partial owner

2. If you google “Sophia Bush Johnnie Walker Whisky” you’ll see that Sophia has a long standing partnership with Johnnie Walker Whisky, dating back to at least 2019, possibly longer

3. Ashlyn’s role at Gotham FC as the Global Creative Advisor, according to the original press release, is described as the following:

May 25th - Stagwell announces the speaker lineup for Sport Beach at Cannes Lions. The first panel Ashlyn is scheduled to speak at on June 19th includes two other speakers and a moderator. The two other speakers: Sophia Bush and Sophie Kelly, the Senior VP of NA Whiskey Portfolio and Diageo (Johnnie Walker Whisky’s parent company)

**When the original schedule was released, Ashlyn was also scheduled to speak on another panel on June 22nd, but for some unknown reason the final panel lineup changed slightly. (Ashlyn continued to stay in Cannes through the end of the week. Sophia left the day after her panel on June 19th).

Now that we've cleared that up, let's briefly break down what went down in Cannes.

Day 1 - Ashlyn and Sophia Speak at their panel together. Here's a short excerpt.

After the panel, they attend a dinner together, along with mutual friend Sue Bird, as well as other friends and colleagues.

Cannes Day 2

***Sophia leaves after Day 2, but she posts this upon her return. (I have no idea who took it, or if it was a self timer, but including it for reference)

Cannes Days 3 and 4

Meanwhile...

Cannes Day 5

That's all for Cannes, but I thought I'd include these minor post-Cannes details here as well.

June 26th - last public appearance for Grant and Sophia at the West End performance of Accidental Death of an Anti-Christ

June 27th - *date of separation listed on Sophia and Grant's divorce docs* (divorce not announced until August 4th)

Late June - Ashlyn returns from Cannes and immediately breaks up with Ali. (this is from the Daily Mail, so take it with a grain of salt)

I will try to continue updating the full timeline in the coming days, but these are some of the most glaring errors in Sophia’s Glamour article.

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: August 2023 ~ 

🕶️ Happy September!!! 🌻

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post! 

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff!  -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 Stay Still - August 1st (Hong Kong)  🌟 Sing My Crush - August 2nd (South Korea)   🌟 The New Employee (movie version) - August 3rd (South Korea)  🌟 Love in Translation - August 5th (Thailand)  🌟 My Personal Weatherman - August 11th (Japan)  🌟 Love Class Season 2 - August 11th (South Korea)  🌟 Only Friends - August 12th (Thailand) ✅ 🌟 Dangerous Romance - August 18th (Thailand) ✅ 🌟 I Feel You Linger in the Air - August 18th (Thailand) 🌟 Friend. Boy Friend - August 19th (Thailand)  🌟 Lucky Love - August 20th (Thailand)  🌟 Casanova Begins - August 20th (Thailand) 🌟 My Universe - August 20th (Thailand)  🌟 Kiseki: Dear to Me - August 22nd (Taiwan)  🌟 My Plantito - August 23rd (Philippines) 🌟 Why R U? Korean Remake - August 24th (South Korea)  🌟 Man Suang - August 25th (Thailand, cinema release) 🌟 Firstly "Like" You (movie) - August 27th (Thailand) 🌟 Crazy Handsome Rich - August 28th (Thailand) 

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ Only Friends - I mean. do I have to add anything lmao. that shit has me in a tight ass chokehold lmao. there are a few minor things that I wish were different but overall I'm obsessed and it's nice to have something that lives up to the hype. we don't get that very often. Thumbs in up.

👎🏻 Dangerous Romance - so far I don't like it, let's hope it gets better.

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Fermat Kitchen (manga adaption) - Date TBA (Japan)

🎥 Love Supremacy Zone - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Blossom Campus - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 A Secret Love (starring Kimmon W. & Kut T.) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Organize The Chaos - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Iridescent Love - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 The Hell Guards - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Wheels and Axle (movie) - Coming November 17th (Japan)

🎥 Love For Love's Sake - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Ambiguous (high school romance) - Coming early 2024 (South Korea)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ Actor Inn Sarin (The Miracle of Teddy Bear) joined GMMTV. ❗️ The upcoming Domundi BL Middleman's Love as well as the GMMTV adaption of Cherry Magic have commenced filming. Both shows will likely air towards the end of the year. ❗️ Over a year after its initial announcement, the upcoming BL Wish Me Luck (starring Na Naphat & Fiat Pattadon) is now in production. ❗️ The uncensored Chinese BL Stay With Me was renewed for a second season. Further details are unknown.

❗️The Korean BL manhwa The Art of Taming a Tiger is getting a Korean synchronization/dub. Mingyu (Boys Planet), Lee Minwook (My Magic Closet), OBON (BOYS24) & Han Gi Chan (Where Your Eyes Linger) were announced as the main voice actors.

❗️The 2014 Thai BL Love Sick is getting a remake that is scheduled for 2024, marking the 10 year anniversary of the production. The show was Thailand's first mainstream BL and is considered a classic and a milestone in the industry. The remake will be produced by the company Tia51. Further details are unknown.

❗️The GMMTV BLs The Eclipse and Moonlight Chicken won Best LGBTQ+ Programs Made in Asia at this year's Content Asia Awards. ❗️ The period BL Man Suang (starring Mile Phakphum and Apo Nattawin) has made history as the movie with the highest advance ticket sales in Thailand in the last 20 years, grossing over 10 million baht on its opening day alone.

❗️Actor Bright Vachirawit announced that he is leaving GMMTV to start his own entertainment company.

❗️ It was revealed that the GMMTV2024 event will take place in October this year. Every year the company hosts an event where they announce their new project lineup for the upcoming year, including a trailer + a short Q&A with the respective cast. The event usually takes place in November or December. A GeminiFourth BL has already been confirmed by the company a few months back; rumors for other BL mains include PondPhuwin and JoongDunk, as well as a new GL couple. Further details are unknown.

Upcoming series & movies for September

👉🏻 Senior Love Me? Season 2 - September 1st (Thailand)

👉🏻 Naughty Babe - September 2nd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Venus in the Sky - September 2nd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Marry Go Round - September 3rd (Thailand)

👉🏻 The Promise: Honeymoon Lost and Found - September 9th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Our Story - September 9th (Philippines)

👉🏻 You Are Mine - September 15th (Taiwan)

👉🏻 Bump Up Business - September 15th (South Korea)

👉🏻 Right Time, Right You - September 17th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Kimi ni wa Todokanai - September 27th (Japan)

👉🏻 Absolute Zero - September 27th (Thailand)

[knuckleduster]

"On the night of August 6, 2022, Israeli soldiers drove into the Palestinian village of Susiya in the South Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank. They handcuffed and blindfolded Nasser Nawaja, a longtime activist and advocate for Palestinian residents in the region. Soldiers took Nawaja to a military facility, where he was kept—still handcuffed and blindfolded—for twelve hours, before being brought in for interrogation with the Shin Bet. The Israeli officer asked Nawaja about his activism and demanded that he “stop causing trouble,” before releasing him home. Nawaja had been through this before. As a leading advocate against the planned expulsion of his community of over 350 Palestinian residents of Susiya, he has been routinely retaliated against by Israeli forces. The primary reasoning behind the impending expulsion of Susiya residents: an Israeli archeological site on village lands.

At Susiya, archeological digs are used to service the expansion of Israeli military control and Jewish-Israeli settlement. Palestinians have lived in the village of Susiya since at least the early twentieth century; the Israeli military government itself initially recognized the village, as well as the documentation validating the Palestinian private ownership of much of its lands. Yet under the aegis of archeological research—and with the aid of Israeli universities—this recognition has gradually been entirely rescinded. Joint military and archeological surveys and mapping of the area around the village of Susiya began in 1969 and excavations commenced in 1971. The digs were pioneered by the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University. The first Israeli academic archeological center, it was established as its own institute, with no coincidence, in the wake of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territory in 1967. Hebrew University archeologist Shmarya Guttman oversaw the digs, through which Israel claimed to have uncovered the ruins of a synagogue and a Jewish town that date back to the fourth century CE.

Since the first digs at Susiya, archeological research and Jewish-Israeli settlement have expanded in tandem. Akiva London, who participated in the digs under Guttman and would later become an archeologist at Bar-Ilan University, returned to the area in 1981 as one of the founding members of the settlement Carmel overlooking Susiya. Recalling the decision to establish Carmel, London explained that he came to know the location through the archeological excavations and became concerned that the area was “entirely empty of Jewish settlement.” In 1983, following the expansion of excavations, Jewish settlers established a settlement adjacent to the archaeological site. In an attempt to erase the contemporary Palestinian village, they named the Jewish settlement Susya and declared that they were “reclaiming” Jewish presence on the land. London was one of the leaders of the development of the archeological site at Susiya and later moved his family to the settlement of Susya.

This explicit use of proximity to an archeological research site to expand settlement construction proved only the first step. In 1986, the Israeli military occupation administration, euphemistically called the Civil Administration, officially recognized Susya as a national archeological site. Following this decision, Israel expelled Palestinian residents of Susiya who had lived there for generations and transferred some of their privately owned lands to the jurisdiction of the settlement of Susya. Archeological excavation in Susiya led by Israeli academics has continued through the 1990s. The digs at the village of Susiya were expanded by the Israeli Antiquities Authority as well as by Hebrew University professors Yizhar Hirschfeld and Avraham Negev. Ruins of a mosque were also found on the very same site as the synagogue, yet these were swiftly erased from the historical record; there is no mention of them in official documentation or at the site itself. The Israeli state narrative about Jewish and Muslim life at Susiya has been selectively and unscientifically shaped by Israeli archeologists. Israeli research on Susiya has focused almost exclusively on the time between the first Byzantine and the Islamic periods, when the city was settled by Jews. Research and documentation of life in Susiya during the Muslim periods were not conducted, and archeological layers of the site covering the last 500 years of the city—including generations of Palestinian life at the village—were almost entirely destroyed.

This historical and contemporary removal of Palestinians is ongoing. Since Israel’s expulsion of the Palestinian residents of Susiya from their original village in 1986, they have resided on their agricultural lands. The Israeli military has since repeatedly expelled them. Each time they have returned to increasingly smaller plots of their lands, because Jewish-Israeli settlers have replaced them. In parallel, Israeli settlers have expanded thesettlement of Susya and built two new unauthorized settlement outposts, one of which was established on the lands of the archaeological park of ancient Susiya. Archaeological arguments have meanwhile been repeatedly used to justify the Israeli settler and military occupation of Susiya’s lands."

Maya Wind, Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom (Verso Books, 2024). (p 36-39)