#also hi new friend i will also reply to ur other meme in case this is too heavy of a topic!
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miercolaes · 1 year ago
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we should run.
❝ try again. ❞ she doesn't even take a glimpse at juliet, wednesday standing still only a few feet away from the other. hand slowly reaching behind, as a grin forms upon her countenence. of course juliet fell for it, wednesday knew how to psychologically torment her victims. it was probably the reason why the fog chose her when it threw her in this wicked game.
a sound reverberates from the back of her throat though her mouth sealed shut after her previous response. it's soothing knowing the fun will soon begin. with both feet steady on the ground, she sways left and round. the sight of her eerie to say the least, a certain madness emanating from her actions. then, in a heartbeat she intends on stealing for the fog, the humming and the moving in her place comes to a halt. her gaze upon juliet as she blinks once, though her chin still pointed downward.
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❝ this was fun while it lasted, but it grows impatient. i don't want it to grow impatient with me, no. no. no. no ❞ both hands move upward to the level of her head, as she lightly taps her temples. she finally reveals what was concealed behind her back. a bloodstained dagger.
❝ i think it's time you should run little rabbit. run, run, as fast as you can, ❞ mad eyed gaze focused on the dagger as she's wielding it in the thick air, creating whatever symbols she still remembers. as a child, her dear grandmama taught her the secrets that lie behind some of the ancient occult rituals out there. she still remembers some of the marks. perhaps, if she has time, before dragging juliet to the fog, she can play around with the strange symbols embedded on her retina.
❝ come on, i'm giving you a headstart. after all, you've been so kind to me trying to protect me from the other killers. you unfortunately failed to perceive me as one, but that's okay. that's what makes this fun. ❞ that's what gets her going, what fuels the darkness within. there's only so much entertainment in the world for someone like her. someone different.
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photographerstanheight · 5 months ago
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FIRST DEAD BODY I'VE EVER SEEN...
THEY LOOK DIFFERENT IN REAL LIFE. THEY DON'T MOVE.
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Hi. I'm Adam. Adam Stanheight. 26 years old. He/Him, what else do I say... I got no goddamn clue what I am. Bi? Gay? Pan? Don't give a shit. Women are cool. Men are fucking great. Like all those kinds of people. I'm that one guy, you probably know me, from that fucking bathroom shithole or whatever. It fucking sucked. ...And now I'm here. Posting on some random website I thought was interesting, plus it's full of freaks to make fun of. What will I post exactly? No fucking idea. Cats, photos I've taken, maybe some death threats to Jigsaw... By the way Jigsaw go kill yourself. Old Prick. Anyway. Do whatever. I really don't give a shit, you wanna talk? Talk. You wanna send memes? Send memes. Make sure they're fucking funny. You wanna whine to me about how sad your sorry life is? Go right ahead. I'm not a therapist so I'll probably laugh in your face.
Everyone shut the fuck up we have a fucking art fridge now this is a new addition yes I’m serious
Art 1. (Mr Millipede ily /p)
Art 2. (Aka me kissing billy its canon)
Art 3. (Smiling friends… smiling friends save me…)
Art 4. (Me and the HOMIE!!! A COUPLE OF BFFSSS!!! Unless… WHO SAID THAT!!!!)
By the way look at my cool ass cat. Her name is Mabel.
OOC UNDER THE CUT
Frowns... Hi chat... It's me... Dew... Sighs....... I have been uncovered from the depths of hell.... sad face emoji... but hi :,]
I'm sure all my mutuals will come swarming so i'm not gonna go thru the whole junk ab pronouns or whatnot ugh... he/him just in case. also don't be weird. I am an adult and yeaes ... so yeah if i see age below 18 i will nawt be doing weird 18+ stuff BITES OWN ARM OFF
But heeeeeyyyy, I'm a chainshipping, rustynailshipping and yapping FREAK so i made this to hopefully hang out w chatters... but also i wanna bother the fuck outta apprentices and other people sorry not sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Erm.. what else... my writing of Adam will be that he's trans!!!!! Omg ur transgener... That is so cool... He has top surgery but not bottom surgery,, guh... girl queen pussy boss....
AAAAnd I think I'm gonna let a bit of my chaos out so expect poootentially sooome sexual schtuffs?? Yours truly has some sillies in mind as a hypersexual loser like myself... I won't make it his whole personality tho idk :P
How did Adam get out of the trap? I don't fucking know and I am too goddamn lazy to think of it rn. I'll post tho when I actually can think , puts splinters in my eyes
Tags... lame. Whatever yapyap i'm a loser and i like 2 b fan see
|📸| ~ 𝑴𝑶𝑫 𝑻𝑨𝑳𝑲𝑺. - ya boy is yapping
|📸| ~ 𝑨𝑫𝑨𝑴 𝑨𝑵𝑺𝑾𝑬𝑹𝑺. - ask replies ofc
|📸| ~ 𝑨𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺. - hes talking to people waoah,...
|📸| ~ 𝑨𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 𝑹𝑨𝑴𝑩𝑳𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺. - he's talking!!!!! just for fun
|📸| ~ 𝑷𝑯𝑶𝑻𝑶𝑮𝑹𝑨𝑷𝑯𝑺. - beginning to roleplays perhaps idk i just like to have them
anyway erm... face reveal!!!!
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theunconcernedembalmer · 3 years ago
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Toko! I was thinking of creating an ask the character blog for IDV or Genshin Impact and wanted a few tips on how to start off. Anything you can share?
ey yo my dude!! thank you so much for this question, now im lowkey tempted (again) to make a genshin ask blog sjadhlkshgkahshglsaj anyway my 1.5 cents is under the cut, yall know how much i talk here HAHAHAHAH
uhhhhhh so i guess we start with picking a character u really Vibe with tm? I KNOW THIS SOUNDS LIKE COMMON SENSE BUT LIKE ive been considering making a genshin ask blog for a while now but i never really got to it cos i couldnt really decide on a character (plus the fact that their outfits are. so intricate. is also a hmm since i try to follow details to a t) (at first i wanted to do zhongli, but i feel like to be able to muse him well u need to know the lore super super well, which i dont n im too lazy to research on that aha. n u know how much i respect characterizations, especially for such a complex character like him. i also considered xiangling for a period of time mostly for guoba but also like i have 2+1 blogs here n having one more might not be a very good idea aha) (as for aesop he was my Hyperfixation Character tm also cos i looked at his kit n went Yep i could work with this. probably)
so assuming ur not a dumbass like me n u kinda know who u wanna pick, id actually say to snoop around here for other ask blogs n kinda get a feel of the... scene? is that the word? or like u know, other blogs that u can potentially vibe with. ive run a couple of ask blogs before this current one (both that have died for different reasons) n from my experience interacting with other blogs (if theyre okay with it, i think most should be) is pretty fun. it also kinda helps get ur blog around to other ppl on other blogs so they can go Oh whats this cool shit n check u out, n its also a reason why we kinda reblog promo posts for other blogs (also cos we’re always excited when someone new comes on, its really the more the merrier. we see all :eyes:). interacting with other blogs is also an option when ur inbox is looking real roomy too
another reason why i havent exactly done a genshin blog is that idk i cant actually seem to find genshin ask blogs around (i have seen rp blogs, or those that answer asks with mostly text instead of art, but thats. not my thing since i hate my own writing aha) (i did find one aether blog some time ago, but for some reason i hardly see them around anymore??? idk man i might be wrong). its not like im trying super hard to find them ask blogs, so im sure they exist out there (hopefully?? im not sure but im being optimistic). i mean theres nothing wrong with just starting an ask blog without others around, but for me i do find a difference when i interact with other ask blogs n when i dont, n i prefer when theres others to have fun with (unfortunately i couldnt find any ask blogs to interact with in my previous fandom. i tried, but the blogs i approached seemed to go inactive shortly afterwards...) plus u get to meet friends that way too :D (i made a lot of friends via idv askblogs n its really been a joy vibing with others)
as for the idv scene. gestures around me. unfortunately there are a lot of ask blogs that arent that active anymore, but theres still some of us who are alive n kicking empty inboxes, n im sure everyone would love to see a new face around. winks at u. also there seems to be a lot more blogs popping up lately, which is really heartening to see.
then u kinda just. make ur blog? n a starting introduction post so ppl can reblog it n spread the word XD n yay u have a blog i guess??? XD
i gotta say tho. dont expect ur blog to take off immediately (especially for smaller fandoms like idv, tvbh i didnt think my blog would even get half this far when i started cos of how non existent idv tumblr seemed to be) n ur inbox will probably be looking pretty empty a lot of the time (or at least filled with some that u havent quite thought of how to reply to yet aha) (but also like empty inboxes happen pretty often, im sure most of us here have experienced this problem)
in the case of the first ask blog i ever started, it never really took off at all. ngl it was kind of demoralizing n depressing but to be fair i had picked one of the more obscure characters in the series, so obscure that many ppl in the fandom would have never heard of this character before. if u wanted to know, i took a character that only appeared in the 2nd musical of the series, who also made a very brief cameo in the manga to acknowledge his existence within that universe. thats how obscure my character was, but i went with him purely because he was my favourite character. i will say though i did enjoy it while it lasted n i learnt a lot from the experience, n i think thats whats important really.
i guess this kinda leads on (not really but let me digress) to the whole uhhhh thing where if u choose a more popular character, u get more attention. which is fine i guess? if u really vibe with the character, i mean theyre popular for a reason. n choosing a more popular fandom (like genshin) would objectively also get u more viewers n numbers. but like honestly i believe that ask blogs are meant for u to have fun with, n like trying to get popular gets tiring pretty fast (this shouldnt be like a main goal, but u know sometimes u subconsciously also want that gucci follower count n bomb ass notes or something. i used to be guilty of this until i realized it isnt worth it) especially if ur not enjoying yourself in the process. (case in point: my previous fandom was considerably larger n my blog got about 700 followers within a year or so, but it got very tiring n stressful to maintain after my interest in it died, n no one was really interacting with the blog even though i tried which kinda made it even more depressing despite the so called success n popularity of the blog)
anyway on a less serious note, theres a lot of fun stuff u can do with the ask blog, like some ask blogs have really fancy tags that i really like n try to do but also like not really HAHAHAHA. i kinda just channel what i want to see in an ask blog into my own ask blogs (good art is one, i try very hard for it to be good :,DD another is characterization, n others is just extra miscellaneous arts n stuffs like au ideas or memes. these are also somethings u could work on during ask box downtimes perhaps)
uhhh another side thing is like a posting schedule i guess? like ppl would be more likely to interact (i think) if ur blog is relatively active, n this is usually determined by the last post u made (i think XD). but like generally for blog maintenence id say try to kinda find a frequency that ur comfortable with?? cos i know my once a day posting is kinda insane if i wasnt so hyperfixated on all of this n fight the urge to dump all ur replies when u finish them XD (though ive seen some blogs do that n they do it pretty frequently so its pretty nice to know once u see their post u can spend some time going through the latest batch of posts XD) the queue function is pretty useful here even though i truthfully have never really used it, i kinda just post from my drafts really but it also helps to space out ur content to seem somewhat active especially when u dont have the time to be working on replies sometimes. i hope u know what im trying to say here aha
ANYWAY that was like my 1.5 cents cos i dont even think its worth 2 cents HAHAHAHAH these are just my thoughts from running all my blogs up till now, some that are still running n the others that have just died a natural death. i wouldnt actually delete them (theyre still around actually XD) cos theyre kinda like archives n i can look back at what i did last time. cos ngl i made some high quality stuff back then, n i dont even know how i managed to do that aldhflhdsgk. also ppl do look at archive blogs every now n then for the content thats there yknow
BUT YES anyway if u do decide to join the idv ask blogs hmu, ill be sure to give u a lil shoutout here. winks
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dreamsafterhours · 4 years ago
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college boyfriend!markhyuk au series: II (mark’s pathway)
a universe in which roommates!markhyuk meet each other's s/o in class
markhyuk are roommates, my/n and dy/n are roommates, mark and dy/n take classes together and so do donghyuk and my/n — how will their fates intertwine?
genre: fluff, some angst pairing: platonic!donghyuk+my/n, surprise visit from mark format: dotpoint AU universe: non idol, college best friend warning: a lil swearing (best get used to it)
masterlist
or click here to continue your friendship with eng lit!mark!
I ⇤ | II | ⇥ III
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II: relationship consolidation.. it’s platonic i swear
the fellowship continues (donghyuk + my/n)
hello again
are we ready
ever-ready i’m going whether u r or not lol idc you’re COMING
aight so ;;, donghyuk,
this boi,,
to meet someone new who he sees as almost a personal challenge,, to befriend and get to That Point™ in the friendship where you can talk about anything and everything without judging each other
he doesn’t have many friends that he can do that with tbh,, , he does have a lot of friends and people he knows and has conversed with but not a lot of friends he can crack jokes with and know they don’t take it personally
lots of dark humour and sometimes suggestive ones and political jokes and all that shit ,, intellectual puns and suicidal jokes,,, the lot
the basics for gen z humour right
he just wants someone to talk to and explore different concepts and abstract meanings and philosophical questions and get new perspectives on things he’d never thought about before
but also be able to say “ah fuck me upside down” without it actually affecting the relationship bc you’re just that close
sometimes it’s hard to have that relationship with the predominantly straight boys he surrounds himself with a lot of the time
and he’s always wondered what it’d be like to have a female friend like that and unfortunately he hasn’t befriended anyone and gotten to that point yet that he can ask genuine questions for the female point of view on certain topics
so meeting you,, and finding out you’re going for the same faculty after your undergrad course ,,,. then you being genuinely comfortable with him and his jokes and openly willing to accept his humour
he’s like /exclamation point appears above his head/
will this be The One™
so he lowkey ,, unintentionally,, in the process of getting to know you
develops a smol crush on you
it’s unintentional but he can’t help the fact that he falls in love really quickly but is also capable of getting over people fairly quickly if they don’t reciprocate his feelings and seems to be okay with that
but who can blame him for liking you??
you’re really damn cute
and genuinely good company
when he hinted that you could get married and have children in the future,,
his thought process was that ahaha i’m kidding.. unless?
so yes he was flirting but like ,, experimental flirting
and over the next couple of weeks he continues flirting with you
random lines like
“hey you look familiar, have i taken a class with you before?” he literally said this on the second day of classes with you
you honestly thought he was being genuine and actually didn’t remember you so you were like wait what ??? you literally walked me to my next class yesterday../? how? do you forget that??
and then he pulls a
“really? i swear we had chemistry” hand stroking his invisible beard
and then laughing at your reaction when you deadpan
“it was biology, donghyuk”
and sometimes u keep having that thought that u had in the middle of ur first lecture together, how he’s probably like this with everyone and he can easily befriend anyone else he’s probably gonna end up being those people that you know vaguely
but then you realise he’s been waiting in the same spot outside the lecture theatre every morning and afternoon, leaning on the wall, and looking up occasionally
smiling when he finds you in the crowd, picking up his bag from the floor and making his way over to you to walk into the lecture together
and you decide hm? he sticks around, i’ll stick around
on a separate occasion in some study session he’s like
“are you my appendix because i have no idea how you work, but the feeling in my stomach makes me want to take you out”
and you’re like “wow looks like you went ahead in the course donghyuk we don’t have human anatomy until next year. but how’s tmr at 7”
“perfect i’ll pick you up wear something nice”
hold
and then he bURSTS OUT LAUGHING and HOLLERING and yelling about how that was a good one tho right
you’re both in this sort of grey area where neither of you know where this is going
the reason he’s been saying all these things is to see what you were comfortable with in conversation and trying to analyse from your reaction whether or not you were actually flirting back or not
he’s ranted to mark in his dorms about it a couple times ,,
and so have you with your roommate
you return to your dorm after a day of doing a lot of back and forth semi flirting with donghyuk and you collapse onto your bed
your roommate looks over from her desk like “u good bro”
"i’m confused”
“fair enough”
“seriously idk if this kid is actually flirting with me or whether he’s practising on me or what”
“is this the donghek boi”
“yeah donghyuk” aka your future s/o yEET
you sit up and look at her
“uk what he said to me today”
she turns in her chair to face you fully,, ready for the tea
so you tell her the pickup line he came up with that day & your response to it and then his reaction to that bc he always seems to go for it but then tap out afterwards when you actually respond
and now you’re thinking,, do you really like him as more than a friend ??
and its???
so ?confusing to you
if you can’t tell if you like him for sure then you probably don’t, romantically
but then what effect are your responses having on him
what he actually does like you and all those flirty comments are genuine??? and you’re /internal gASP moment/
what if you’re leading him on?? what if it’s always gonna be him initiating the flirting but you’re accepting it with insincerity?
you decide this goes entirely against your morals
and you tell this to your roommate and she goes hmm,,
if you don’t feel committed to the idea of that,, then you don’t have to feel obligated to keep it going,, be honest with him ,, draw lines if you have to .. yes leading people on is a bad thing and it’s gonna affect the friendship
but also maybe it really is just part of the humour and that’s the friendship dynamic he wants to build with you?
so you decide to sleep on it bc it’s 1am and significant choices should not be made when drowsy and you’ve lost a lot of sleep these past couple days anyway
not that you get good sleep that night anyways
meanwhile donghyuk is shrugging @ mark like
“idk bro do i like her?? or do i like the idea of having someone to say that to”
“and yes she returns the gestures but then also i don’t think she means it? do we just keep it at that and keep being friends like WHAT IF I CATCH FEELINGS”
and mark is just staring at him like dude idk don’t ask me
“you’re so bad at giving advice mark”
but you wake up the next morning and decide to have a serious conversation with him after class bc that day you have a free hour after your lecture
it’s all you can think about during the class so you’re kinda distracted plus the partial sleep deprivation is getting to you
and he notices so he’s like
“bro u alright?”
so you just think fuck it and go
“hey real talk tho”
“ya”
“maybe i’ve been overanalysing this so,, tell me if i am but”
“sure”
“do you ,,, actually mean all those pickup lines ,, like are they based off, , real feelings or is this just part of the friendship dynamic”
and you’re almost surprised when he gets serious with you
he’s always been so lighthearted and sarcastic about things
but when he listens to your side of things and how you’re worried about whether or not you’ve been leading him on or something
he lets you finish and just tells you his feelings as well
“i’ve always wondered what it’d be like to have that dynamic and i guess i tried it on you without being honest ,, half to see if you would flirt back and half to just joke around ,;; i’m sorry that you got confused but i guess this means you don’t have? romantic feelings?”
so you have to reply honestly
“not necessarily ,, it’s been fun to have these conversations and laugh at pickup lines but”
“nothing behind it right”
“..yeah”
and instead of putting a damper on the atmosphere
it’s actually
refreshing
it clears the air in a way you didn’t expect
“right? nah it’s fun what we have going”
and you agree
aside from the confusion behind the flirting it’s been really fun talking to him and getting to know him
half of him was a lil disappointed that it didn’t go the romantic path but then again he wasn’t sure he had romantic feelings anyway
so he settles for
The Best Friend™
and so the friendship turns into sibling-like teasing and petty arguing from that day onwards
legit you’ll catch him staring
“what” “wHat” “what u lookin at” “whAt U loOkIn At” “stop copying me” “sToP CoPYinG mE” /you slap his arm/ “oW”
whimpers a lil clutching his arm uwu babie
“you hit harder than the bass drop”
sending each other bio memes and yelling at each other to go commit lysis
“lysosomes can take you out because you’re TRASH”
“i would send a macrophage after you you PATHOGEN”
calling him a parasite when he asks u for notes that he missed in class but it happens vice versa anyways lmfao
then one morning lab class he forgets his pencil case in his dorm like he forgot his laptop on the first day
except this time you call him a forgetful dumbass
all while offering a pencil from your own pencil case
which he takes
so he calls his roommate who “has a noon class and is probs still sleeping lol” to ask him if he can bring it down for him bc he’s got more lab classes that day
so after the class you wait outside the building for his roommate to arrive
and when he does he gives you a rlly nice smile and says “ʰᶦ”
“oh hello”
“yes this is my adoptive younger sister and my/n this is my roommate the Elder”
“ah you’re overreacting” the roommate turns to you and u ,, gotta admit ,
he’s really cute ,,, “don’t listen to anything donghyuk says, all he does is lie”
“hEY i am a SINCERE MEMBER OF CIVILISATION”
the roommate points to donghyuk again and goes “see he’s even lying about being civil”
so you laugh and gang up on donghyuk like “oh i saw through him a long time ago”
“wow he even lied about how” /puts up air quotes/ “ugly you AREN’T”
“wHAT”
“HE SAID IT NOT ME”
donghyuk is flabbergasted at this point
“wHEN DID I SAY THAT MY/N WAS UGLY”
“WANNA TELL ME THAT YOURSELF MR LEE DONGHYUK HUH”
which results in a sulky hyuk and you two laughing at his reaction of being Wronged™
he regrets letting u two meet in that moment
oh but we don’t
“ok u did ur mission. u can go now”
“so mean :((”
but donghyuk’s roomie waves at you while turning to leave and you wave back ,,
trying to calm yourself bc you’re highkey feeling kinda hot ur cheeks r burning up
he said ?? donghyuk was lying when he said u were ugly?
damn
donghyuk’s pickup lines had never been direct compliments about you
but this one from his roommate wasn’t a pickup line it was just
a statement
and it made u feel a typa way
dw baby it’s gonna be a happy ending uwu
and u tell ur roomie that night abt it too
“bRO his rOOMMATE”
“what’s his NAME i gotta FANGIRL WITH YOU”
“.. idk”
“.. oh”
/short pause, lip smack/
“.. lib tomorrow?”
“.. ya sure”
the next day after classes you check your phone and see that she’s texted you asking if her friend and his friend from eng lit can come and join you guys in the lib
and, naturally, u don’t see why not
so u reply
“the more the merrier”
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the more the merrier for us too sweetie hmm hmm
eeeeeeéeeeeeèeeeeee
mhm mhm mhm it’s finally getting somewhere
click here to continue your friendship with eng lit!mark!
I ⇤ | II | ⇥ III
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toziers · 5 years ago
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can you explain what's going on right now? i keep seeing big IT blogs talking about some discourse or something but i have no idea what they're talking about other than it involves you lol
alright i like. i truly do not like having diScOurSE out in public because i’m not one to air out my dirty laundry 24/7 but seeing as how it was brought into public against my will i feel like the least i can do is clear up the situation for those who’ve been seeing the posts. 
i’m putting this under the cut bc it’s long. tws for some biphobia, brief mention of transphobia and, at the end, a rape mention. 
so if you don’t know: hi, i’m migz, i’m an it fandom blogger. its okay, i know, its really cool. part of my shtick here is that i like to turn normal thirst tags into works of art for the sake of comedy. perhaps you’ve seen some of my highlights from my “fhg” tag - perhaps your brain has been spared. either way, it became kind of “my thing” around the third or fourth week (mid nov) of me having this blog. at first, i tagged just about every ask i got mentioning the thirst tags with “bill hader” - they had to do with him, so why not tag him? it would draw more like minded people! about two days into that i got a message asking me to tag my nsfw. i am a big dumb idiot, and apologize for not initially doing it. i havent had a following bigger than like 10 in several years and completely spaced on basic etiquette. so by the end of november i was tagging everything applicable  with “notsfw” and “bill hader”. 
now you’re caught up.
on december 1st i got this message from user billhaderanti:
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now i want to start by saying i absolutely was in the wrong here. i didn’t even think about how many people were being subjected to the asks i was getting - especially ones who had no idea they were all jokes. i don’t track the bill hader tag, so it just didn’t even occur to me - that’s ignorance on my part, and to anyone who was subjected to the terrors of me before my tagging system: i am genuinely sorry. i relay the same sentiment in my response, though you can tell i’m on edge.
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and they replied:
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clearly they Were offended by it but thats.. not the point. at this point, im feeling Really weird about the whole interaction, but still understanding, because again - i GET it. i know my posts are gross - that’s the point. it doesn’t make it excusable, though, which is why i understand why people are offended. so i responded with the only solution i Knew would keep us both safe and happy posting on our own blogs. 
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so i thought this would be the end of things! i’d been pretty anxious lately already since i’d started to receive anons telling me i was gross and whore-ish for thirst posting in this way (i delete all of those, so if ur thinking about sending one, i guess no one’s stopping you but it won’t be seeing the light of the dashboard). i’m unsure if it was immediately or a few hours later, seeing as how i have a bad concept of time and the post-dates are right on the edge between nov 30 and dec 1, but i went to their blog - because anyone who has been on the internet knows the opportunity to vague post is near irresistible. and...what do ya know
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fair! it’s their blog. however i am an emotionally fragile egg girl and immediately got freaked out. the odds that they were the only one who thought this were low. and, again, i’ve been very open on my blog about how important it is to respect boundaries; my posts are absolutely prone to breaking those boundaries people have created for themselves. 
so i made my own, semi-vague post, letting my following know (and i’m pretty sure i’d answered asks about it before, but this is going to be long enough w/o me searching those up too) that i understood if they wanted to block me or unfollow or whatever - people need to create their own safe spaces. the tension is pretty clear in the tags, i’m not trying to hide that. i felt that the way this woman slid into my dm’s was pretty abrasive (just my opinion/how it made me personally feel) and i let myself be a lil emotional about it in the tags of my post.
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alright! maybe this is the end. maybe we both go our separate ways and post happily on our own blogs... except it’s not the end. later in the day (some of this was happening like 1/2am, so now its Day day, i believe - again, not good w time passage lol)
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clearly, i’m upset. my groupchat double checked that i didn’t get too emotional in my response - did i mention im anxious about discourse lol - and apparently.. it did the trick. she didn’t message me again. great. it was over. 
at this point, i decided i needed to make an even bigger change. so a few days after i’d calmed down i created an entirely new tag for my thirst posts so if people hadn’t already hidden the notsfw posts or just blocked me outright, they’d have a third option to escape the madness. at this point, id had my blog about 6? weeks, but there were still 2k posts for me to sift through - some of them were completely untagged. i also had to do it post by post, because one of xkits features - the mass re-tagger - was getting blogs deleted for some reason, and i wasn’t going to do that. so i spent a few days going through all 2k+ posts, adding the “fhg” tag. 
YEEHAW! a brand new tagging system, no more hopping into the bill hader tag (minus one or two really funny, not super explicit asks, like the bill hader farquaad meme), and, tbf, i’d completely put this woman out of my mind. i don’t seek out drama and do my best to stay in my lane. yesterday, i checked my activity for the first time in awhile since id put out a couple new original posts that had started to get traction and i Love reading tags. i noticed a mutual had @’d me, and realized i havent checked my @’s in...ever, maybe. i see a post from my good pal billhaderanti. 
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since i dont follow them and never check my @’s, i’d completely missed it. however, once i did see it, i was horrified. id gone through all that fucking work to keep my blog My Blog and also respect everyone’s boundaries and it still hadn’t been enough. i’d been awake for almost 24 hours and went. a little crazy. and i didn’t reply immediately because i just had no words. i sent it to my friends because i... i just wasn’t going to be able to figure it out myself. 
there’s a lot to unpack in this post alone, but whatever, i’m gonna put my own grievances with the immaturity of 1. making a callout post to begin with when i’d been nothing but civil 2. making a callout post about something as (in the grand scheme of Life) minor as some tags where i refer to a someone’s genitals as a “whack pack” and 3. making a callout post in such a rude way - aside. at the end, she calls me (and whoever else!) a demonic mlw (man loving woman, we assumed, and then later confirmed with a post further back on her blog). 
which - yeah, we started scrolling. at first we were looking for more vague blogs, and then we just...started finding things. billhaderanti is a self proclaimed lesbian separatist, which... fine. but it’s already pretty clear that this woman hates me on some level simply because i am a bi woman (demonic mlw, remember!) which is just. damn man i can’t believe we are still fighting the biphobic fight lol. so the more we scrolled, the more we uncovered - and not just the biphobic / vaguely mtf transphobic things they posted (or put in tags), but we also found that they had their OWN thirst tags. certainly not as hyperbolically comedic as mine, but they were there, talking about his body and his person the same (and, frankly, a bit creepier for other reasons) as mine. 
there’s one post in particular that snatched my wig in it’s creepiness - and i say creepiness in the sense that it feels personal. like this woman feels like she knows bill to some degree where she can say these things. my tags have always had a sense of distance, as they’re written for humor. and maybe this particular post was written for comedic purposes, but it doesn’t read that way, and if it WAS, then she has no right to call ME out for MY comic tags and posts. 
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i’ll let it speak for itself, mostly because i don’t want to read it again. 
i also won’t be going through her blog again to find the posts with biphobic and other Interesting:tm: tags because there are plenty and i just really! want to be done with the whole ordeal! her blog is public and i’m sure you can all find it and look to your heart’s content. 
feeling a bit feral and a bit pissed off now that we knew the depth of how rotten this woman’s vibes were, a couple of my pals made a post or two similar to what my tag’s are like except turned up to eleven (if possible) - and tagged them with “bill hader” (and notsfw!!). yes, a bit childish, but at this point, the entire situation was childish, and making jokes was truly the only way we were going to get through it. another vague post went up on her blog soon after.
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talking down to us, calling us children, and then for whatever reason calling us virgins... whatever, weird post. around this time most of us (est) went to bed, because it was nearing 3 or 4 in the morning. 
and then today happened. i woke up fresh and ready for the day after a wonderful 4 hours of sleep and found that jane had made an incredibly intelligent post in response to the situation. i won’t ss it, but i’ll LINK in case you missed it. attached there in the reblog is my own response. i think they can speak for themselves. 
after that, things were kind of jumbled, since i wasn’t online a lot and when i was i was Not checking my activity simply because i was afraid of what i’d see. for the most part, it ended up just being support (which i am very grateful to all of you for - it means a lot that you all enjoy my content to any degree). 
there was some more vague posting from both “““““sides”””””” of the “““““argument”””””” - mostly just people restating the fact that this is a public space and we should All be aware of how we effect others. i still hadn’t heard directly from billhaderanti, so i assumed we’d all be dropping and disengaging and moving on. i still wasn’t blocked, though, so who really knew what would happen. 
eventually, it culminated in this last post. tw for mentions of rape
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i’m going to start by saying that 
1. there are nearly no teenagers that were involved in this. im turning 23 in january and most of my friends are 20+. maybe one or two are 19. 
2. none of us sent any sexually violent asks - most of us didn’t send asks at all. i believe one or two of my friends admitted to sending asks however they assured me their nature wasn’t bad; as far as i know, everyone remained civil in whatever went on (again, unclear to me as to what was being sent; no one was actively posting or talking about it. if billhaderanti wishes to elaborate, they can, but i don’t have anything to put in). 
3. before i finish this, i would like to apologize to billhaderanti. as a comedian - not just my stupid tags, i mean in real life, too - i know that humor can hurt. it’s not always funny, it’s not just stupid hahas. sometimes things that are supposed to be jokes just hit people differently and cause bad things. i recognize that. i never meant to trigger you (if you’re reading this) or cause you any severe mental/emotional harm. i apologize for my humor bringing up your trauma, and i never meant for that. regardless of my own thoughts and opinions about the nature of my posts/the thirst tags themselves, they hurt you, and i’m sorry. 
anyway, i’m going to wrap this up (i’m bad at endings, what can i say! steven king and i took the same writer’s class!). if you read all this... sorry. i probably won’t be taking any asks about it, because i find the whole “drama” of this to be stupid and rooted in some seriously biphobic issues this fully grown woman has. 
tldr; i attempted to contain my blog so this woman could exist and function safely on her blog, but it wasn’t enough for her, so she called me out, and then some of the fandom called Her out for being biphobic and mean and overall just immature about the situation. as of now, she’s yet to block me, though her and her wife have blocked a few of my friends. her wife continues to clown on my friends. this post was made for clarity’s sake. the end, i’m getting a drink. 
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ilusionis · 4 years ago
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THE MEGA RP PLOTTING SHEET / MEME.
First and foremost, recall that no one is perfect, we all have witnessed some plotting once which did not went too well, be it because of us or our partner. So here have this, which may help for future plotting. It’s a lot! Yes, but perhaps give your partners some insight? Anyway BOLD what fully applies, italicize if only somewhat.
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Mun Name: vinn (or ila, for close friends)     Age: 22       Contact: IM, discord
Character(s) I rp: aizen sosuke on here, askin nakk ke vaar (@ levaer) and lille barro (@ firstritter, sideblog) Which muse(s) inspires you the most atm?(for MM): all of them actually. Current Fandom(s): bleach. Fandom(s) you have an AU for:  none. i’ve been debating about making a modern au but i wouldn’t be sure what to explore in it. within the context of bleach, though, i’m very interested in developing a bunch of AUs. My language(s): i’m only confident in writing in italian or english.  Themes I’m interested in for rp:   Fantasy / Science fiction / Horror / Western / Romance / Thriller / Mystery / Dystopia / Adventure / Modern / Erotic / Crime / Mythology / Classic / History / Renaissance / Medieval / Ancient / War / Family / Politics / Religion / School / Adulthood / Childhood / Apocalyptic / Gods / Sport / Music / Science / Fights / Angst / Smut / Drama / etc. Themes/Genres you have an AU for: none.
Preferred Thread length: one-liner / 1 para / 2 para / 3+ / novella. Asks can be send by: Mutuals / Non-Mutuals / Personals / Anons. Can Asks be continued?:   YES / NO   only by Mutuals?:  YES / NO. Preferred thread type: crack / casual nothing too deep / serious / deep as heck. Is realism / research important for you in certain themes?:   YES / NO. Are you atm open for new plots?:  YES / NO / DEPENDS. Do you handle your draft / ask - count well?:  YES / NO / SOMEWHAT. How long do you usually take to reply?:  24h / 1 week / 2 weeks / 3+ / months / years. I’m okay with interacting: original characters / a relative of my character (an oc) / duplicates / my fandom / crossovers / multi-muses / self-inserts / people with no AU verse for my fandom / canon-divergent portrayals / au-versions (as main or only verse). Do you post more ic or occ?:  IC / OOC. Are you selective with following others?:  YES / NO / DEPENDS.  
Best ways to approach you for rp/plotting:  if you want to plot, it would be best to send me an IM and ask me, then we can definitely move to discord if you’d rather. it’s possible to approach me for rp without plotting first, best way would be to send me a meme when i reblog them or simply an ic ask, which i will answer, while memes might get lost. ic asks are good ice-breakers, we can continue plotting from there.
What expectations do you hold towards your plotting partner:  i need my partners to be as interested in our plot as i am. it would be great if you already have an idea, but it’s still good if you don’t, i get that coming up with ideas can be hard sometimes; mostly, i require honesty. you can definitely tell me that you got no ideas and i will do my best to help, ask questions, try to spark something. i do require the feeling of having that commitment reciprocated.
When you notice the plotting is rather one-sided, what do you do?:  i tend to straight up drop the conversation lmao. no hard feelings, but if i get the feeling you’re not interested, i will take my distance - i won’t waste my energy on a plot if my partner doesn’t share my enthusiasm. still, you can always approach me again, if you’re feeling up to it / have new ideas / whatever. nice thing of online convos is that they don’t have an expiration date lol.
How do you usually plot with others, do you give input or leave most work towards your partner?:  i always ask if they got any ideas to begin with. if my partner already knows, more or less, what kind of dynamic they wanna build with my character(s), that makes it infinitely easier to build something meaningful. it’s still fine if they don’t, i will usually ask a lot of questions regarding their muse’s opinions / feelings / etc., and try to navigate from there. a question i usually ask is: is there any aspect of your muse you’d like to explore? i think that’s a pivotal point in any interaction. 
When a partner drops the thread, do you wish to know?:   YES / NO / DEPENDS. - And why?: if they feel like telling me, why not. but usually, i don’t warn when i drop a thread, so it’s not expected of my partners ever. - What should your partner do when dropping a thread?:  nothing in particular tbh. they can tell me or approach me to start a new thread if they wish to, but it’s not required.
What could possibly lead you to drop a thread?:  i might lose interest in a thread, especially if i feel like it’s going nowhere or if the inspiration for it simply doesn’t come. it’s never happened so far that i had to drop a thread because it was making me uncomfortable, but that could still be a reason for me to. in general, though, i would approach my partner in that case. - Will you tell your partner?:   YES / NO / DEPENDS.
Is communication in the rpc important to you?   YES / NO. - And why?:  absolutely. i’d rather avoid awkward situations or misunderstandings of any kind; if something’s up, tell me. i also like to communicate with my writing partners (be it in the tags of our threads or in IMs), makes me feel like the enthusiasm is not one-sided and i find it generally pleasant.  - Are you okay with absolute honesty, even if it may means hearing something negative about you and/or portrayal?:  sure. we gotta stay polite, but honest. - Do you think you can handle such situation in a mature way?  YES / NO.
Why do you rp again, is there a goal?:  to have fun, to cultivate my writing skills and my english, and to explore my favorite characters. 
Wishlist, be it plots or scenarios:  i want to develop aizen’s wandenreich verse, because i’m deep in quincy hell and i think his dynamics with quincy muses could be super interesting. anything involving the intricacies of bleach politics is super interesting to me, be it with aizen or with my two quincy muses - who, btw, are also good to explore dynamics between quincies / their culture / relationships etc.
Themes I won’t ever rp / explore:  i won’t write anything pertaining to sexual assault. 
What Type of Starters do you prefer / dislike, can’t work with?: it’s gotten difficult to work with starters such as “you summoned me / do you need anything / did you call for me” etc. i used to receive that kind of starters all the time with aizen, and i can’t come up with something new every damn time. i also have a hard time working with starters / replies that already feel like a closed conversation and don’t give me anything to reply to.
What type of characters catch your interest the most?:  i’m not sure i have a type. aizen is pretty much an exception, the only example of an already well-built character i write, since i tend to gravitate around minor ones that don’t have much material and that i can work on and expand without being affected by the fandom’s opinion or whatever. somehow i always tend to rp tall guys-
What type of characters catch your interest the least?:  children and teenagers don’t interest me for the most part. characters who don’t have a shred of an opinion or can’t offer any interesting conflicts. overly friendly, mushy, affectionate and flowery characters are really not my cup of tea either. 
What are your strong aspects as rp partner?:  oh god i have no idea. i’m very laid-back, i guess. i’ll never pressure my partners for replies, i don’t think i’m owed a reply in the first place because we all have lives offline,  so i’ll never take it to heart if a partner drops a thread. if i really feel like our roleplaying styles don’t mesh, it will be at my own discretion to do something about it. another strong aspect i have ....... i think i have a decent grasp on all my muses? especially aizen. of course ur free to disagree lol. also, lately i’ve been p active, so that’s it. 
What are your weak aspects as rp partner?: i’m really slow. i might speed up for my closest friends, with whom i plot / rp regularly, but usually i take quite some time to reply to random unplotted threads. i probably have a thousand other flaws as a rper, but this is the biggest one that comes to my mind rn. 
Do you rp smut?:  YES / NO. Do you prefer to go into detail?:  YES / NO / DEPENDS. Are you okay with black curtain?:  YES / NO. - When do you rp smut? More out of fun or character development?:  i don’t write detailed sex scenes. sorry lmao they’re just not interesting to me. however, i’m super-ok with writing anything around it, like intimate scenes etc. in fact i find it somewhat soothing.  - Anything you would not want to rp there?:  the nitty-gritty part is already a no, but i guess also sexual violence and shit like that. it’s a no.
Are ships important to you?:   YES / NO. Would you say your blog is ship-focused?:   YES / NO. Do you use read more?:  YES / NO / SOMETIMES. Are you: Multi-Ship / Single-Ship / Dual-Ship  —  Multiverse / Singleverse. - What do you love to explore the most in your ships?:  all my ships are with snow 8′) and ur never bored with her. in general, i love being able to explore the muses’ relationships, their conflicts and their peaceful moments, especially in relation to canon events! - What is your smut tag?: nsfw / ........ my n*sfw posts are rare anyway.
Are you okay with pre-established relationships?: YES / NO. - And what kind of ones?: to an extent, i prefer pre-est relationships to first meetings - which they can get a bit dull after some time. i’m ok with mostly anything, and only more selective when it comes to relationships that might severely alter my muse’s canon / past / overall character. 
► SECTION ABOUT YOUR MUSE.
- What could possibly make your Muse interesting towards others, why should they rp with this particular character of yours now, what possible plots do they offer?:  not to stroke my own feathers but aizen offers a perfect chance at character development to any and all bleach characters. he’s the main villain, he holds some wild opinions, and whether you agree or disagree with him, he leaves no one indifferent. aizen is the main cornerstone of bleach, and if you want your muse to questions themselves and the system / world around them, interacting with him is the best way to start. also, aizen interacted with a fuckton of people, knows practically everything there is to know, is responsible for significant amount of canon events, so you see ... whatever character you write, aizen has the full potential to be extremely relevant in the course of their development.
- With what type of Muses do you usually struggle to rp with?:   children, ordinary low-ranked shinigami (i find it hard when it’s out of the blue, even in aizen’s captain and lieutenant verses ... because interactions would likely be only work-related, and won’t go far), characters whose personalities really have nothing to do with aizen. unfortunately, he’s not my easiest muse, and i don’t want to force interactions with him.  - With what type of Muses do they usually work well with?:  characters who have opinions, some political involvement, in general characters with whom aizen had a dynamic in canon. 
- What interests your Muse(s) in general:  reading, calligraphy, philosophy (especially in-world philosophy), science (again, mostly related to the specificity of the bleach universe), the very careful crafting of his plan- - What do they desire, is their goal?:  kill the soul king and take its place, destroy the institutions of soul society, subdue them. and then rule, as the soul king never did before. - What catches their interest first when meeting someone new?:  the idiosyncracies in their behavior, the particularities, their possible weaknesses.  - What do they value in a person?:    very little, usually. he may appreciate a resolute personality, strength, and intelligence. - What themes do they like talking about?:  speaking mostly of mundane talks, he likes conversing about his interests. it takes a lot for him to share any personal information, though. - Which themes bore them?:  anything about the greater good, friendship, love, very human topics.
- Did they ever went through something traumatic?:  seeing the soul king, in all things like a ghost stalking his dreams, and well ... spending his early life in rukongai as a whole. being forced to consume other souls in order to survive. the first times his reiatsu killed anyone who tried to get near him.  - What could possibly trigger them?:  it’s rare that he will outwardly show signs of distress, i’d say almost impossible. the few times the soul king still appears in his mind, greatly upsets him though. - What could set them off, enrage them?:  the soul king gets him particularly heated. urahara, as we witnessed. after his defeat, ichigo, to an extent. - What could lead to an instant kill?:  kubo was a coward who didn’t dare let him kill any relevant character, but actually aizen kills very liberally.
- Is there someone /-thing they hate?:  the soul king, urahara. he has a strong disdain for yamamoto, and that joke of C46. - Is there someone /-thing they love?:    himself. tousen
Is your Muse easy to approach?: YES / NO. - Best ways to approach them?:  he’s only really easy to approach for bleach characters, who, depending on who they are, have different eligible verses to further facilitate the interaction. humans / powerless bleach characters can’t really interact with him tho. - Where are they usually to find?:  soul society or hueco mundo. i have a verse set in the wandenreich.
Something you may still want to point out about your muse?:  aizen is not a particularly easy muse, but it’s part of his overall mosaic to be somewhat unapproachable and distant. i’m not out to make him someone he is not, so forgive me in advance if plotting with me turns out to be difficult in a way or another. he’s very dear to me, and i try my best to do him justice! while my main headcanons may not affect our interactions specifically, i still ask my partners to look them up (they’re linked in my about page) because they’re essential to my portrayal and it makes me happy to have them acknowledged. i think that’s all lmao. come visit me over at my quincy boys too.
CONGRATS!!! You managed it, now tag your mutuals! ♥
Tagged by:  @skyvar​ I DID IT AT LAST. Tagging:  i don’t know who has been tagged so, you know what to do.
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zepdeans · 5 years ago
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this is highkey like a month late (i mean wbk im a chronic scatterbrain procrastinator) and she’s thicccc but without further ado. my skam s4 thoughts.
I first just want to say a couple things: im not a muslim woc so my thoughts on s4 don’t hold as much value as those of a muslim, woc, or a muslim woc. I also don’t know to what degree sana’s representation was true to real life. I made an effort to look for posts from muslim woc on sana’s season but to no real avail, especially given it’s been two years since skam ended and a lot of blogs have deactivated, changed urls, or posts have become buried :( [if you know of any good posts regarding sana’s season please lmk!]. from what I can recall in 2017, there were mixed opinions on s4 with most being upset (or at least disappointed) with the ultimate execution of sana’s storyline and I agree w that. while s4 means so much to me and has a really special place in my heart, I do 100% acknowledge its flaws. ok!!!!!! lets get into it😤
ep1 -as much as I wished isak stayed in kollektivet I’m glad he and even had a rlly sweet happy time this entire season. also evak making their friends move all their furniture while they whisper romantic shit to each other and makeout? peak comedy -you fuckin wish!!! -sana is the one to say “of course you should tell noora about william”.. she Knew and still takes the fall for it :( -this opening clip is such a jarring shift into sana’s pov!! e.g. while easy to overlook in previous seasons, sana’s exclusion from the girls is glaringly obvious once we’re looking through her eyes -adding onto that! sana is the friend who notices everyone else- she’s so observant, which hurts even more when you notice her friends don’t do the same (except mayhaps chris- in my heart of hearts I know chris is also the friend who notices and goes unnoticed, but unfortunately we don’t get enough of her and sana’s relationship this season to fully see that) -yousef and the balloon squad’s entrance.... ICONIC! also I cant believe for 2 seasons they presented those dickbag nissen 97s as the be all end all of hot amazing boys when the bakka third years were RIGHT THERE like,, the penetrators vs. balloon squad + even? no contest ma’am -also! it’s so interesting that we literally had no idea sana had a brother, or that yousef etc existed until now? it’s as if she has a whole private world at home, separate from her friends and nissen (and I think a theme of this season is those two worlds merging) -im obsessed w the yousana train scene but yousef being the only one who notices sana standing off to the side? ;-; -fy faen is such a stunning clip oh my god. when sana leaves to pray? possibly my favourite skam scene ever. it’s exquisite.  -sana is so cute and awkward squeezing thru the crowd shsdhgfhshdf I LOVE her love her -the last shot on yousef and noora... oh my GOD oh my god bc like. being that friend who never ever tells your real feelings or your crushes or is vulnerable with your friends?? and then having to listen to them talk about how good your crush would be with someone else (especially one of ur friends) while ur sitting there silently dying inside? and you don’t say anything since you can’t be vulnerable with your friends and u don’t think u stand a chance anyways so. (in the words of s3 noora. I think sana struck a nerve with the emotional unavailability! abbey r u ok) -this episode is a masterpiece and did such a phenomenal job of both introducing us to sana’s perspective while also touching on a multitude of her struggles AND establishing the themes of the season. plus the cinematography, editing, soundtrack and aesthetic...... o baby. (case in point I deadass just rewatched it after writing this)
ep2 -every shot of sana praying is beautiful (and beautifully edited!!) -sana’s room is usually messy... not smart enough to fully analyze this but I’m sure it means something  -an interesting contrast of what’s expected of her vs. of elias- I can’t speak for muslim families, but I know even in non-muslim families girls are always held to suchhh a higher standard (source: I have 2 brothers rip) -”if you find immaturity charming” hilarious bc sana actually does in fact find immaturity charming  -what’s interesting is how noora comes across in sana’s POV- kinda obnoxious, kinda ignorant, seemingly perfect (compared to how noora is portrayed in eva’s season, for example) -even is one of those ppl who uses the bill gates argument on why dropping out of school makes u richer sdfhfsjskfjfsd -sana staring down the pepsi max squad. fuck em up. -vilde adding magnus to the groupchat jfkjsjfdjfsfsdkj -isak missing eskild :’) sidenote I fucking live for isak and sana’s chats this season. they’re literally my lifeblood like.... 
ep3 -the kiss me scene god I go FERAL -“you need to pull it towards you, not push it away. okay?” yall mind if i SCREAM!! YOUSEF!!!!!!!!!! -there rlly is something about seeing sana, who in everyone else’s POV comes off as cold and harsh and stoic, just absolutely meltinggg when she talks w yousef like she doesn’t stop smiling she’s so sweet!!!! ah🥰 and yousef is 100% that guy who ppl tell “your gf is so intimidating and ruthless bro” and he’s like are y’all talking about sana??????? my baby?? my fuckin cinnamon apple????? -yousef’s lil smile watching sana peel carrots. 911 it’s me again -vilde and sana’s relationship has a really interesting dynamic bc like.. vilde says ignorant shit to sana while also genuinely looking up to her. and sana is probably the harshest to vilde within the group but it’s because she actually values their friendship a lot  -IM HURT BECAUSE YOU NEVER REPLIED TO MY MEME -sana pulling 2yr old receipts off the top of her head to defend vilde. god I stan -sana doin research taking notes..... shameful she isn’t canonically a virgo (honestly her and isak both but like-) -she’s so soft and smiley w her mamma awh... “of course he likes you, who doesn’t like you?” her mamma only knows the real, gentle, beautiful loving sana oh im CRY -even is so kind and loving and thoughtful yall mind if i....... -”you can’t escape the internet girl” foreshadowing mayhaps?
ep4 -david and ulrikke together are fucking hilarious -noora’s “you’re lucky you don’t have to think about this stuff, heartbreak and that” :/ it’s not just vilde who says ignorant things to sana! -that being said sana and noora are cute asf in the exper5 scene.. dorky noora rise (omg josefine and her yogurt in the bloopers too sjhfkjdf) -I HANDLE BALLS BETTER THAN YOU -the yousana scene is sooo gorgeous whew...... -I always cry a lil bit (ok a lot) when yousef brings up even. and sana knew too. even sweetie ily :( -sana talking about her religion is beautiful. it’s so lovely to learn about how she thinks and sees the world. -yousef’s smile watching sana leave like ur kidding right....... -“flawless since 99″ is so cringey. it’s so cringeyyy -sana uses “smh” I knew we were soulmates
ep5 -eavesdropping on ur parent/brother’s argument is peak sibling culture -when ur always paranoid but ur always right..... -sana’s green jumpsuit sign me up babey -I really really really love elias and sana’s conversation -u dont even realize how tiny sana is until she’s standing next to isak and even -not finding out why yousef avoided the fight and why he kissed noora will haunt me forever (could we not have expanded more on that instead of noorhelm.......) -the parallel of sana washing isak’s blood off her hands vs. her washing her hands during maghrib in episode 1. gotta sit down. -vilde gossiping to the pepsimax girls stings SO bad it’s just such a betrayal?:( -“the other girls seem cool, especially noora! she’s so pretty!” ok much to unpack here but: sana again comparing herself to noora (who she sees as /perfect/)... sana being written off despite putting so much effort and passion into the russ bus while noora, who has done literally nothing and at best is indifferent to russ, is the one they like the most. disgusteng -love will tear us apart.. bitch..... -sana abt to cry god I can’t -if sana is anything like me (I mean I think she is but jkjjkhsdfhfsd). looking stupid is the absolute worst so like, her sending out emails abt being bus boss when she was actually being lied to? being played? and her being “paranoid” about sara being shady, but deciding hey maybe im just being crazy? except she wasn’t she was right and she Knew!! and she’s probably thinking how dumb it was for her to get her hopes up, everything always ends badly anyways and no one actually likes her :((((((( -dont rlly know what my feelings are on the fight. im not against it bc isak does have a temper but his apparent motive always seemed weak to me?? and god I feel so bad for even
ep6 -forgot about sana getting bullied in middle school yall mind if I sob?? -sana lying and getting defensive bc it’s hard to be vulnerable, or because she hates looking stupid? or both?:( -isak looking up dandelions in his textbook just bc even put one behind his ear. I HATE this man -sana’s dad asking if she had a bad day aw :( -all the boys (and sana) wearing black but yousef wearing white.... what does it mean.............. -the carrots are back goddammit -radio station playing during this scene: “if I have to choose between the just non-muslim and the unjust muslim, without any doubt I would choose the non-muslim who is just” -ISAK’S NOSE SFFJDFJFSDKJSDF -sana’s text about chris I’m going to bawl my eyes out.           “yeah! looking forward (to going to nissen) but a bit worried. don’t know               anyone else starting there.”           (J: new friends?) “yes, at least one of them. I have german with her (chris)           and she’s very cool!” -the contrast of how blunt sana came off when we’re first introduced to her vs. how she was really just excited to make a new friend bc she was scared no one would like her :( especially knowing her past with bullying and how nervous she was to start at nissen? chris baby I LOVE YOU thank u ;-; -also sana keeping 2yr old conversations on her phone... same -sana is honestly too smart and scheming and overthinking for her own good. she has these elaborate plans that more-or-less always get ruined by her being more kind than she gives herself credit for (e.g. wanting to protect vilde in s1, clearing isak’s name in s4) -everyone in skam texts back so fast smh -chris calling sana “sonic”...... a moment please -I cannot watch the sana/evak apartment scene without thinking of the bloopers and losing it lmfaoooo.. “this is where we live. just come in” -ik it’s based off fanart but there is little I hate more than their matching outfits  -“remember you’re both geniuses!” 🥺even  -once again isak studying is uhhhh me - “you’re a good person” yall i love isak i really do. he puts his foot in his mouth pretty often and doesn’t have a great brain-to-mouth filter and he can be awkward and rambly and blunt and unsure of what to say in emotional situations but also? he’s so genuine. it’s just his honest thoughts and he says it bc he cares about sana and knows she needs to hear it!! -ᶠᵃᵉⁿ ᵉᵛᵉⁿ -sana’s inner turmoil.. thank u iman for inventing acting (ik I haven’t mentioned it much yet but god iman is SUCH a phenomenal actor I owe her my life) -LETS GO BITCHES
ep7 -sana crying silently in her room breaks my fucking heart (IMAN!!!!)  -idk how I feel about the instagram plot but sana watching as her plan falls into place and then storming up to sara... pretty bada$$ -“it’s creepy it was published but it’s more creepy we have a bus boss who talks shit about everyone” THANK YOU vilde -i love s4 isak thanks -sana and jamilla’s chat aw :~) -how awkward do yall think the walk to the bench was lmfao -what sana tells isak is SO powerful and I love it a lot -isak does actually make a good point- the other girls are like that too.  -unfortunately I have been in situations isak describes, where you want to learn more about your friend’s culture or religion because you care about them and you’re genuinely interested, but you don’t know what questions are okay to ask and you don’t want to sound rude or ignorant, so you ultimately end up asking no questions at all. but I hate that the responsibility is put on sana to constantly educate people bc I cannot imagine how exhausting that must be [[[ok so. I know there are VERY mixed opinions on the bench scene but here’s my dumbass two cents. 1- I genuinely think isak was trying to make sana feel better by attempting to relate to her and pass on advice that really helped him. however, I don’t think isak realized what sana eventually told him- that her experience wearing the hijab is a lot different than isak’s experience as a gay man. do I agree with everything isak said? nooo. do I understand why he said it? yeah. 2- it was not isak’s place to tell sana norwegians aren’t racist, or not to look for racism in questions. I think there’s some truth to ppl often just being ignorant, and he does add that there are probably a lot of racist people in Norway, but yeah. not great. 3- in conclusion I think while isak shared some meaningful advice w sana, he put his foot in his mouth too and said some stupid shit. im not trying to defend that. I will add, though: a. we actually do see some growth on isak’s part. when he and even are yelled at on the street, that’s the moment it clicks for him that oh shit, this is what sana was talking about. this is what she has to experience? and that’s why he texts noora, “in the speech for sana, you have to include how insanely strong she is. I don’t think many people understand how much bullshit she has to take” and b. isak’s (bad) advice of “not looking for the racism in things” is ultimately contrasted by yousef (a moc who lived most of his life as a muslim) suggesting instead to show people what islam really is. and that’s so much more meaningful. I think the root of a lot of the issues isak brought up- i.e. ignorance- is a general lack of education, representation, or effort by non-muslim people to seek out information themselves. so sana leading by example and showing what it means to her to be muslim is so much more powerful.]]] -𝒃𝒂𝒎!  -BEST BUDS 🥺
ep8 -haper du har plass weaving in and out of this episode until the chorus finally breaks when the los losers van shows up...... miss julie 😭 -oh my god the pictures. im a fucking MESS bc they’re not only significant to the scene and to sana but also like,, as part of our goodbye to the girls?? -the balloon squad and even :( while the timeline of them reconciling within just this week is kinda wack, seeing even back with his friends looking so happy makes my heart uwu so i’ll allow it just this once -eva’s message to vilde about her and magnus being able to trust each other w/o reading their texts... growth or irony -chris is such a phenomenal friend (and this is why I wanted more of her in s4!!) -sana’s phonecall to the girls breaks my fucking heart bc like. right off the bat she’s finally being vulnerable with them?? telling them about her fears and insecurities and struggles? typing this im gonna start crying lol but god I love her so much. she’s so brave and she put all that on the line bc all she really cares about are her friends, she loves them SO much even if (she thinks) they don’t love her back -lowkey sobbed so hard during the haper du har plass clip I almost threw up and it gave me a headache :)  -anyways this is one of my favourite skam clips and god just. the moment you hear the girls calling for sana??? I LOSE it. when sana just starts BEAMING omg🤧 the girls love sana and support her and if you fuck with sana you fuck with us!!!!!! god. cannot articulate how dear to my heart this scene is. -haper du har plass feels like the end of the episode and the party clip is kinda just tacked on but I love how happy everyone is!! they’re all drinking champagne (who taught isak how to hold things) and dancing and smilingggg 💛 -yousana rise!!!!!!!!  -ok don’t get me wrong I hate william for crashing the party but their entrance slow-mo kinda slaps.... also sana popping up in between noorhelm SENDS me
ep9 -this is the point in the season where the amount of time dedicated to noorhelm is beyond beyond beyond significantly damaging to the story. this is sana’s last episode!! instead of having them makeout in front of william’s car for 20 minutes mayhaps we could’ve had a conversation between the girls and sana, or with her brother (if they had continued the elias alcoholism plotline rip), or maybe even with jamilla or her mamma? like I don’t care at ALL about noora or william. give me anything else. ple a s e -what makes skam scenes so brilliant is their quiet moments!! julie let the scene breathe. not everything needs a tacky song playing over top. -I’ve said this abt like twenty clips now but MAGHRIB. oh my GOD. an absolute masterpiece and definitely tied for my all time favourite skam clip. can’t rlly put into words how stunning it is. & I love sana and yousef’s conversation so much. -“of course I brought food! my name is yousef!” mr. acar you’re the only man I trust
ep10 -as much as my heart yearns for 10 sana episodes I think splitting up the last episode of skam into individual POV clips for different characters was brilliant and such a poignant way to say goodbye :( -okay don’t think about what sana could’ve written in her texts to everyone or ur heart will go sicko mode -I won’t write anything abt this ep since I’ve already written too much but like.. (elias should’ve gotten a clip instead of william. pchris can stay because his clip was funny but he’s on thin fuckin ice) -kjaere sana was such a beautiful way to say goodbye to skam. so yeah. bye skam. i miss you. 
overall ➔I’m not really sure why (possibly a lethal combination of my undying love for sana bakkoush, how much I relate to her, this but my ass was crying EVERY single episode of season 4...... F ➔I’m obsessed with s4′s aesthetic. imo the best editing, soundtrack and cinematography of any season!!!! julie is so talented at making each season feel distinct- to me, sana’s season is cool, vibrant colours (aka the late-night sunset aesthetic- gabie i hear u laughing shut up), crisp electronic/pop music and rap, ethereal city nights..... also sana has the best style of any skam character it had to be said ➔sana’s growth! seeing her open up and be honest and vulnerable with the girls during that phone call. sana sending all of her friends literally the sweetest messages of how much they mean to her and how much she values their relationship. sana being the (MUCH) bigger person and making amends with sara, ingrid etc. I love her so much :’((( ➔I’ve thought a lot about what I would change in season 4 and honestly? im a mf scatterbrain and have no real, structured ideas. my biggest issue is too much noora. dream s4 would be william staying in london and noora being happy on her own (but not rly on her own bc she has the girls and kollektivet!). as :/ as I am about the noora/yousef plotline, I’m not really sure what I’d do to replace the yousana conflict in ep5. maybe involving elias, or the balloon squad and even? related to that- in lieu of all the noora/noorhelm screentime, I would so much rather have a follow-up plot to elias’s drinking problem bc it was kinda just dropped? at the very least, the william clip should’ve been elias’s. I also would've killed for more one-on-one scenes with chris (even vilde or eva!), jamilla, even, members of the balloon squad... there are so many interesting stories that could’ve been explored instead of going down the noorhelm rabbithole again. furthermore, I feel like the social media plot was a bit... weak? again I’ve tried thinking of what I would’ve done instead (while also keeping the haper du har plass clip, y’all can pry that one from my cold dead hands) to little avail. what especially threw me about this plotline is that sana did this in s2 to jamilla, fucked up, and it bit her in the ass. I know that she gets irrational when angry but from a storytelling perspective, it seems repetitive. just.. I feel like there could’ve been a more powerful plot in which sana follows the same character arc. another thing I would’ve loved to see is beyond the los losers van, an apology from the girls to sana. or even just a conversation where they tell her “hey sana, we’re sorry for not paying attention and we’re sorry for being thoughtless/ignorant.” an apology from vilde about things she’s said in the past would’ve been <3. even a gesture! the girls order pizza again but this time it’s halal, or they make an effort to learn about sana’s religion and culture. I know it’s implied through the letter they write for sana, but a final standalone scene would’ve been so nice.  ➔i’ve noticed soo many remakes do this thing where they like.. water down shitty behaviour of their characters. which like- sure. I would love for everyone to be kind and thoughtful and not as horrible as they could be but also... I think that’s the point of skam? to show that people fuck up, but that doesn’t define them as a person. no one is perfect and no one can be thoughtful and considerate and kind all the time. and often these ‘problematic’ actions are integral to the story- e.g. elias saying stupid comments to isak (related to isak’s internalized homophobia and fear of coming out to his friends), the girl squad being ignorant about what sana can eat, etc. so..... your remake is not better because it erased every horrible action every character has done. (nuance.. where r u.........) ➔despite its flaws, I will say- the good moments of season 4? ineffable. I think we sometimes forget that julie literally wrote, directed, and I believe (?) assisted w editing and soundtrack too. i cant imagine doing all that under so much pressure, trying to bring so many storylines to a conclusion whilst simultaneously creating a goodbye-season to a show she put her life into the past two years. I’m so fucking appreciative of her. and you know what? all in all julie wrote some pretty damn beautiful episodes and scenes, and you can tell she loves this show just as much as we do. ➔and honestly this is maybe one reason I’m more wary of watching remake s4′s, bc like.. this season meant SO much bc it was the last season of skam. we knew it was the last season. the final episode is more or less a love letter, a goodbye to the show. whereas w some remakes (do i have to say whomst) its  like.. that love isnt there. it’s just another season. yknow? in conclusion I miss skam so much :(
ok whew if ur reading this ur a champion but also why did you just read 5k of me rambling about how much I love sana bakkoush?? 
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mahaliciously · 7 years ago
Text
Atlantis
Rejoice children, for I have finally contributed to the Overwatch fandom with something other than memes.
I’m also choosing to contribute under the flag of my favourite pairing, sadly a rare one, but it’s okay because content is made to be created and I just loved every second of writing this thing!!
It unexpectedly turned out much longer than the initial headcanon suggested, but it’s definitely for the best since it constituted a solid character study for me that’ll help me for my future writings :D
SPECIAL KUDOS TO THE ANON WHO ASKED ME AFTER THE ONESHOT HERE IT IS AND TO THE LOVELY @xallyxcatxs​, @tart276​ and @gngu​ FOR THEIR NEVERENDING SUPPORT AND KETTLE NOISES LMAO
burn in cybun hell
And of course, special thanks to @b3tar3ad3r for the beta :D I recommend going to them in case you need help!
IF YOU LIKED THE ONESHOT, DON’T FORGET TO SUPPORT IT BY REBLOGGING IT OR BY CHECKING MY AO3, IT’S UP THERE AS WELL! O/
archiveofourown: click here!
Word count : 8915
She wouldn’t have been able to tell when her heart had started to ache at the thought of him, or when she’d started to miss her shots when she’d hear him laugh through the voice chat. Wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint the exact moment the stories he told her about his love conquests had started to sting, or when she’d stopped making fun of the girls he’d had wrapped around his fingers like rings.
‘yo d.va when u gonna invite genji and lucio again on one of ur streams??’
Hana Song briefly glanced at the Twitch chat before taking down an enemy to her left, swallowing a curse.
‘so trueeee,’ another message chanted. ‘genji was so cute i love his voice’
‘how about lucio? dat dude is a human puppy lmao’
‘rofl’
The chat box was hectic, messages piling up at an incredible speed, english and korean weaving all over the screen. It didn’t bother Hana who was used to the fraction of a second she had to keep up with the fleeting topics and requests. Her bubble gum popped as she eliminated another enemy with a headshot and she readjusted her camera.
“Aww look at this,” she chimed teasingly. “I used to like Lucio and Genji but it does seem like they’re causing my own fanbase to neglect me now.”
The chat exploded with new messages and she smiled for the camera. Inside, she was pretty much crumbling.
She had organised that last-minute stream in hopes to keep her mind off her budding crush and the existential crisis that had come along with it. Instead, her fans had been spamming her for more content with her friends, and by extension, with the one person she was trying to distract herself from.
She almost felt like sighing, though she knew the camera and the attentive eyes that were watching her wouldn’t miss it. She glanced again at the chat box.
‘just genji x d.va gameplay tbh he’s got some dope skills i want to see competition between them’
Her heart jolted in her chest and she missed. The split second was enough to take her down. The camera switched to the kill cam, a flashy crimson message announcing her death as she popped another gum bubble. She almost winced at the ridiculous come and go her character had made that caused its death killed. She’d hesitated.
It was over for her and she didn’t feel like spectating the rest of the game, so she reported her full attention to the chat. What was this ridiculous suggestion to stay in a room alone with Genji Shimada and play videogames until she died of a heart attack?
Impossible.
But it annoyed her more than it embarrassed her. Or maybe a bit of both.
Because she could have organised that a few weeks ago. She could have invited him over platonically, wrecked his ass and watched her entire fanbase cheer for her. Just like she would have invited Lucio today.
But now she couldn’t.
She wouldn’t have been able to tell when her behaviour had changed, but she could guess the trigger. Maybe that one drunk night they’d spent playing a certain dumb fps game was at cause. Maybe finding her intoxicated self on top of him was the reason she couldn’t stare at him anymore without thinking “I want to spend more time this close to him” and “He’s actually pretty cute”. Maybe that was karma getting back at her for all the girls she’d made fun of.
“Alright,” she announced to the camera, waving. “Sounds like that’s gonna be all for today! Stay cool buns, until next time... Love, D.va!”
She grinned, smile as practiced as it could be, fingers into her signature V right before she turned off her camera with her other hand. She only breathed then.
There was no way in hell she could allow herself to fall for the 24-year-old ninja.
Genji Shimada, playboy extraordinaire, was not the kind of guy she’d let herself be involved with romantically. He was one of her closest friends, too precious to lose over a crush, and her ego would never let her drop to the level of the many girls who pooled at his feet. They had a precise friendship that revolved around platonic, shameless flirting and the certainty that she was the girl he’d never have, he the guy who’d never pursue her. It was but a constant verbal sparring that rhythmed their every interaction. Sass against sass. The very origin of their friendship. Their daily dose of challenge.
Truth be told, he was a lot of great things. He was handsome, even with that ridiculous dyed hair of his, funny, a bit of an asshole but caring still, and he was amazing to hang out with. Along with Lucio, they consisted of a great trio.
Genji was the kind arrogant, Lucio the resident puppy, always happy and idealistic, supporting but probably with one of the greatest senses of humour she’d seen in years, and she was the diva, the princess. All three of them were pretty much a walking disaster. Their brains together only amounted to ridiculous ideas like using Lucio’s speed boost to race on a frozen lake and crash into the snow at the speed of fast, or making fidget spinners out of Genji’s shuriken. They’d gotten a bunch of bruises, but a lot of outweighing laughs and she cherished those two idiots more than she’d care to admit.
Becoming close friends with Genji irremediably led to discover that beyond the playboy reputation and the biting sarcasm, he was a loyal friend. He was boastful, barely ever serious. He was terribly friendly, making everyone at ease in matters of seconds, breaking down fights with a couple of jokes any chance he got. She suspected that was a safe reason that led the girls to run to him in bunches. He was quite like the sun. Summer-like. That, and there was his catastrophic flirting.
He was smooth, she’d concede. But ask her secondhand observer side and she could think of a bunch of hilarious pearls she’d teased him with over the years.
But he wasn’t a sun. Or maybe his rays shone so bright they blinded people and kept them from seeing the deep cracks he bore. Just like any human being. She knew that sometimes he liked to sit on his own because being so social exhausted him, she knew that his gaze got lost more often than he’d like to admit, lost in a whirlwind of doubts he bragged about not having. Like if he’d hurt someone with his raw, spontaneous humour, or if he could have done things better.
She knew he dreamed of travels and adventures, knew that he scolded himself for knowing his flaws but never fixing them. He was a child guilty of acting like a child.
And though she didn’t have the same issues as him, she understood them.
But what had definitely moved her was the intensity of his gaze on that night. There had only been the flashing lights of her screens, sculpting his features, maybe dotting his black eyes as he looked up at her. His cheeks had been almost as red as hers from the alcohol, indicative of the obvious drunkenness of her friend. But it shouldn’t have been weird seeing how they’d played drunk a bunch of times before. Definitely shouldn’t have. She’d been laughing, they may have been playing that game where he holds her wrists and she has to push him back because she was a very strong lady. And she’d been. He had still been holding her wrists in his hands, her own chestnut hair framing his face as she looked down at him. His gaze hadn’t been really focused, hazed by the liquor’s effect, but it had never left hers until he’d pulled her to him and his arms had slithered around her petite figure, wrapping themselves around her. It had taken her a moment to realise he was hugging her.
She’d felt his chest against her face, rising and dropping steadily, smelled his woody perfume mixed with sweat and booze and it should have felt familiar. There had been something in the beating of his heart against her ear though, and she’d loved the warmth of his arms, the little drum of his fingers against the small of her back before he’d said:
“I love you.”
Hana groaned at the memory, shaking her head to snap herself back to reality. It hadn’t meant anything. It had been a platonic confession. The kind they threw at each other to joke around, or to really appreciate each other as friends. Because love was way more than the eros and the grand amour. It was something she firmly believed should be told more without any over calculation.
But in the dim light of her room that night, tangled in a messy hug with her friend, lulled by his breathing and the buzz of her console, her heart had fluttered before she’d fallen asleep, and it had been her biggest mistake.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the 8-bit ringtone of her phone and a familiar contact picture lighting up the rectangular screen of the device.
“Hey there, frogman,” she picked up, trying to sound as enthusiastic as humanly possible.
She could feel Lucio roll his eyes before he even spoke. “It’s Mr. Frogman thank you very much.”
“Sure, frogman,” she replied, teasing. “What’s up?”
“Eh well, the usual,” the musician chuckled. “Just wondering if you have any time to kill with Genj and I?”
Once again, she hesitated. It wasn’t like her, but the bubble of unease that was growing in her chest was distracting her coherent thoughts. She opened her mouth, hoping that it would help her brain form a faster sentence, but she couldn’t decide whether to say yes or no. She knew that Lucio wouldn’t press if she refused, and she was afraid to be disappointed at the beep of her phone when he’d hang up.
She bit her lip. “I don’t really know… I could but probably not for long.”
“Feeling sick?”
“Not really, just meh,” she said with a humourless puff, chewing on her gum.
“Huh,” Lucio acquiesced. “Well we’ll get you better. Healing beats by yours truly and all.”
She really laughed this time. A small, but genuine laugh that cheered her up instantly.
“Okay fine, I’ll see you in 20.”
Swiftly, she jumped into her trainers and grabbed her headphones. That along with her phone and portable console were all she needed in her sweatshirt’s pockets to exit the flat and head towards their usual spot, the arcade square.
The weather was fairly nice for an autumn day. She’d grown used to the occasional chill and the complete closet confusion in the morning. She still loved the salted remnants of summer that floated in the air but preferred the calm and peace of office days. The streets were mostly empty, shops deserted from the jam of customers that came in the evenings and weekends, an occasional laughter from one of the nearby cafés would break the tranquility of the walk. As Hana approached the arcade, the city sounds shifted and fluctuated, roadworks and klaxons replacing the flutter of the trees and the exclamations of children in their courtyard, gasoline perfumes weaving with that of coffee and urine. The sun reflected on the glass windows of skyscrapers and towers, its rays slithering their way through the buildings to lit up the cold, shadowed avenues below as she hurried down the underground entrance. A puff of heat welcomed her when she walked down the stairs, the smell of rubber and iron filling her nostrils, chatter and screeching trains swallowing the noises of the city as she aptly made her way through the wide, tunnel-like corridors of the station. It was a common thing to use the tangle of underground networks to avoid the stoplights and the many avenue crossings, and to Hana, it was more convenient as every single crossroads below had far more indications than the streets and the boulevards above.
She let out a sigh when she finally exited the underground to find the flashy neons of the arcade facing her. Lucky for her, her usual spot with her friends was right outside the station, a little square lost between towering buildings that seemed to have forgotten its existence. As such, there was one old tree in the middle, a couple of broken benches, a café and the arcade. The location was meant to be in a fancy business neighbourhood, but the spot had become so hidden by the city’s continuous metamorphosis that it was mostly frequented by students and a few hippy omnics.
She spotted her friend’s ponytail on the first glance.
“Yo Lucio!” she called, grinning.
“Hana,” the young man exclaimed with a soft smile, pushing off his headphones as he stood up to greet her. “You ready?”
“To beat highscores? Always,” she said before looking around. “Where’s Genji?”
She nervously avoided eye contact as she asked the question, which was in itself a very bad idea since the whole point was for him not to suspect a thing. She scratched her arm and forced herself to look back at her friend, adding a smile for good measure. Lucio didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he frowned and focused his entire attention on her. In that instant, she could feel her own heart stumbling like a cartoon character, panic clutching it under the observing eyes of the musician. She caught her breath, widened her smile in hopes to get him off her back. Finally, he shrugged.
“Saw that college freshman from the other day and followed her inside.”
Ouch.
“Of course,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Typical Genji.”
“Right,” Lucio answered, raising a dubious eyebrow.
Sensing the danger, Hana grabbed him by the hand and pulled him after her and into the arcade. The air was cooler inside, due to the many air vents that peppered the walls. It was dimmer there, blues and pinks lighting the huge room and the machines, green strobes running around the walls and the floor. She glanced around and spotted Genji at a shooting machine, not so far from the entrance. There was a girl with him, more specifically in his arms as he seemingly showed her how to use the plastic gun to shoot the enemies.
From where she stood, Hana couldn’t hear much of their conversation, but she could see the way the girl’s shoulders shook in hilarity, the closeness of their two bodies, the way his thumb gently stroke the back of her hand. His mouth was on her neck, hovering, teasing until he pressed a quick kiss under her jaw. When she blushed, he flashed a satisfied smile, borderline smirk that Hana knew by heart. The girl smiled to herself, elated, and moved a bit closer to him. Too busy to flirt, she missed the shot and looked taken aback by the game over screen, causing Genji to chuckle in her neck and nuzzle her.
It was a sight Hana was used to. She’d seen him coax a thousand of girls before, walked on him making out with a thousand more and teased another thousand if they came asking after Genji. She found it funny, entertaining, didn’t mind the PDA. It had become the usual and he barely even flinched whenever she or Lucio would stumble upon him with a girl, almost said hi and asked about their day.
Well, they had limits. Wouldn’t barge in during more private activities.
It was therefore a sight she was used to. But now she was envious. Envious of the way the girl’s hair curled around his shoulder, her hand under his, the giggles that escaped her tangerine lips. She wanted his arm around her waist too, and his hair tickling her temples and his soft chuckle in her ear. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be one of those stupid girls she laughed at.
Her chest swelled with an all too painful sadness. Envy was a terrible emotion. It didn’t come with jealousy or directed anger, it just nibbled at her, brought doubts and fears and swallowed her whole as she sat alone in her room.
Envy was the very reason she was so upset with herself. For allowing herself to stoop so low, for wishing something she mocked so much. She shouldn’t be crushing on Genji. She shouldn’t wish to be a weak girl, a toy. He would probably be too afraid to ruin their friendship, so she couldn’t even stand where that girl did. He would try to reject her as gently as possible, probably feel bad, she would smile. She would understand that he valued her too much to play with her, that she deserved a real relationship, a caring boyfriend.
And yet… She ached for his touch, and it killed her inside.
She felt something around her hand snap her back to reality, and she glanced down to see that Lucio was tightening his grip. She noticed he was responding to her own steel-tight grasp and that she’d been crushing his hand for the past couple of minutes. She abruptly let go and wondered in panic if she’d outed herself to her friend.
“Wow they’ve brought a new machine!” she announced excitedly to hide her embarrassment, cheeks burning. “Sounds like a new highscore for me to set!”
In an attempt to convince him of her genuineness, she turned around and accompanied her exclamation with a little V sign and a wink:
“MVP D.va ready to rekt.”
“Get good D.va, I already set the highscore to beat.”
She jumped when she felt an arm around her shoulders. Only the familiar woody scent and silvery voice allowed her to put a name on their owner. That, and the more unsafe skip of her heart. She took a short breath.
“Do you hear something, Lucio?” she asked, looking away to dissimulate her sudden difficulty to breathe. “It sounds pretty distant, can’t understand a word. Could it be… A scrub?”
“Wow,” Genji gasped. “How could you call me a scrub? After everything we’ve been through.”
“I have sudden amnesia.”
“You mean you forgot our bonding episode over the delicacies of ramen?”
“Completely.”
Genji gasped again. Louder. More dramatically. The sight was funny, quite Genji-like, and just as expected, his honeyed chuckle followed the antic. Hana felt a little flick on her cheek and almost jumped when she felt his breath tickle her ear:
“You look out of it, could it be you’re jealous?”
She almost choked on her saliva as alarms started blaring in her head.
“Please do enlighten me,” she scoffed, not quite looking at him yet. “I can’t seem to catch what I’m apparently jealous of.”
She knew he was smirking as he leaned closer to her ear, murmuring:
“I saw you looking at us moments ago.”
“Saw me? You mean you look at other girls while flirting with one?” she tried, firming her trembling voice with a huff. “Aren’t you the one trying too hard to make me jealous?”
He laughed and she finally felt his weight on her lessen.
“Can’t blame a man for trying,” Genji conceded, shoving his hands in his pockets as he briefly greeted Lucio with a grin.
“Man you guys should totally sort out this tension you two have going on,” Lucio declared, crossing his arms with a little disappointed shake of the head. “The air is getting hard to breathe lately.”
He chuckled.
“Nah,” the ninja replied. “Might miss our back and forths. Genji and D.va, D.va and Genji, how could I ruin our mythical duo? We’re tension builders.”
“He can’t stand ramyun,” Hana commented. “I’m not going out with a wimp who can’t stand spicy food.”
Genji clutched his chest. “Shots have been fired. Lucio, I need healing.”
Their banter was interrupted by an excited squeal from behind Hana. Turning around, she saw the college girl excitedly skip in front of the arcade machine.
“Genji, look!” she exclaimed. “I did it! I killed the boss!”
“See,” Genji cheered, walking back to his companion. “Told you I had a radar for talented girls.”
The girl blushed lightly, flattered by the compliment. Hana watched her look up at him when he reached her, and she could’ve sworn the girl was dying to kiss him. The sight was painfully evident, and though she knew Genji would undoubtedly play with her for a few days before granting her wish, Hana felt repulsed by her obviousness. How much respect was there in not being hard to get?
She rolled her eyes and sighed, meeting Lucio’s gaze as she turned back.
“You totally like him,” he said, taunting her with the biggest shit eating grin.
“I totally don’t,” she protested.
“Oh come on,” he pressed, wrapping an affectionate arm around her shoulders. “You know you can tell Papa Lucio anything. Especially things he’s already figured out.”
“I don’t see what you’re talking about.”
“You totally do.”
“No, I don’t.”
“It’s okay, no need to beg me, fofinho. I’ll wingman you.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me.”
Lucio looked at her for a full second, studying her silently. “I’ll read that as a yes.”
“It’s not!”
D.va pulled her hood over her head, tugging at the fabric to cover half her face as she groaned. What was her life?
“We’re just friends and that’s how it should stay,” she declared, revealing her eyes from under the hood. “That’s just how we roll. You know it.”
A giggle erupted from where the lovey-dovey couple was standing and D.va couldn’t suppress a wince.
“I’m just a bit touchy lately,” she concluded.
Lucio watched her without a word. His gaze had softened, stance more relaxed as he closed the gap between them. He put his hands on her cheeks and squeezed them, giving her a funny fish face as he did so.
“You know,” he said with a smile. “Reality is the mirror of our very own consciousness. What we notice. Change, on the other hand, is what we realise. And maybe it’s our inability to fathom the entire picture that deceives us into thinking that everything is only what we’ve been, up until now, conscious of.”
She pouted, shoving her hands in her sweatshirt pockets, but didn’t answer.
“In other words… You gotta let the beat drop when it has to drop,” he added, laughing. “That’s always the best part of the song.”
This time, she couldn’t help the little smile that tugged at her lips. “That’s pretty deep, Mr. Frogman.”
“Of course it’d be,” he chuckled. “Wouldn’t be selling albums if it weren’t.”
“Still waiting for that autograph, by the way.”
“Still waiting for yours.”
She laughed. There was a part of truth in Lucio’s words, probably when it came to how focused she was on her own interpretation. But it was only in part, and she’d been brooding on her situation long enough to be overwhelmed by fears and doubts. She wasn’t convinced. The change had been too sudden, and it had probably affected her only.
Genji couldn’t be crushing back on her.
Her mulling was interrupted when Genji walked back to them.
“Hana, Lucio, let me introduce you to Aya,” the sparrow’s familiar, cheerful voice chirped. “I asked if she’d like to join us for the day, if you don’t mind of course. Lucky for me, she said yes.”
Oh how Hana knew where Genji was getting to. Knew that he hadn’t mentioned any friends whatsoever. Knew that he was toying with the poor Aya, and her expression as she realised it wasn’t a date was priceless. The little twitch of her smile as she tried to keep a polite face, tried to hide her disappointment. Her gaze lasted a bit longer on D.va, probably measuring how much of a competition she represented. It was petty, but necessary, and Hana was more than used to the calculating gazes of Genji’s conquests. Sometimes, she’d pretend her and Lucio were a thing to get them off her back, or on the contrary, taunt them shamelessly by flirting openly with Genji. The urge for the latter was the strongest in that instant, despite Hana’s emotional confusion. She was a gamer, a challenger, and her passion for games was the hardest to fight.
Pulling out her tongue, she V signed over her eye and stared directly at Aya, taunting.
“As for this beautiful lady,” Genji continued, battling to keep a straight face at Hana’s antic as he pulled Aya closer. “She’s a foreign student going for a history degree, and very probably my heart. I guess you can just call her Mrs. Shimada already.”
Hana rolled her eyes. “Here I thought that title was reserved for me.”
“Should’ve stated your claim on my heart before, darling,” he replied with a smirk. “You took your time and got caught off guard.”
“I don’t need flirting lessons from you, honey,” she scoffed.
“Graciously offering my help only to be brushed off like a mere peasant, do you see that Aya dear?”
The young woman made a tight smile, as though she didn’t feel comfortable with the faked tension. Still, Genji was surefooted and Hana watched him lean in to murmur something in Aya’s ear. It seemed to lighten the mood from the way her features relaxed and she wrapped herself around his arm.
Hana knew that Genji would never badmouth her, that she was sure of. But the intimacy stung, and it took her inhuman efforts to keep a smile plastered all over her face as she watched the two together.
“So how about that new arcade game?” Lucio asked in an attempt to break the tension. “Maybe we should grab something to eat first?”
“Totally,” Genji acknowledged with a strong nod. “I’m starving.”
The DJ gallantly offered his arm to D.va as they walked towards the food court. Gladly, she took it and instinctively moved away from the couple, rather focusing on the arcade machines and the various players. There were younger gamers, boys hanging out together to beat each other’s scores, girls gathering around dance machines or air-hockey tables. Many couples were meeting up at the arcade too, as it called for proximity and adrenaline. Their own voices gradually died in the mayhem of bgm and sound effects as they got closer to the snack bar. There were a few free tables, wobbly, missing a few chairs, but the group settled at one regardless.
It was Lucio and Genji who offered to get the orders, and soon Hana was left alone with the college girl. Though it should’ve been uncomfortable, both girls barely gauged each other, one checking her phone, the other pulling out her portable console to resume her platform game.
Despite the buzz around them, the silence that weighed on them was particular. None could tell if it was rivalry or just plain disinterest that filled the air between them. Not even them. It was just there. An unqualifiable silence.
“Do you think I should pursue this with Genji?” Aya asked finally. She’d said that without looking up from her phone, nails swiftly tapping the tactile screen as she typed.
Hana played with the stylus caught between her teeth, eyes glued on the jumping character of her game. She felt her heart skip a beat at Aya’s question, making her wary of herself.
“What do you mean?” she asked nonchalantly.
“Well,” the college girl elaborated. “You two seem pretty close. I’m not looking for anything serious, but I also don’t want to get caught into any drama between you guys. I have better things to do than play third wheel. So I’m asking for your opinion, because I don’t want to be a thorn in your side.”
Hana blinked.
No, she was supposed to say. Genji is a famous playboy, so it’s kind of our game to flirt back and forth. It’s got nothing to do with any feelings between us! I’m not crushing on him or anything like that. I’m just teasing you. Just enjoy your time with him. If it’s not you, it’ll be another girl.
It sounded more like an inner ramble than a potentially coherent answer. There was no way D.va could say that out loud without sounding like she was desperately looking for an excuse. It looked meek even to her.
Focusing back on her game, she didn’t answer immediately, rather clearing the level until she spoke again.
“There’s no way you could be a thorn in my side since there’s nothing going on between Genji and I.”
“Is it?”
“I don’t see why there should be.”
“Maybe there is,” Aya retorted, flashing a glance towards Hana. “At least from the way I see it.”
The gamer girl pressed the last jump button before the checkpoint and let her character fall into the river. Only then did she look up at the other girl and smirked.
“Are you shipping us, by any chance? Because we do have this one fanclub…”
Aya rolled her eyes with a little laugh. “That’s ridiculous. But it is true that you’d make a nice couple. Maybe Genji’s right. You’re the problem.”
Hana raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not my role to nudge,” the girl answered with a contrite shrug, smiling.
The girl’s smile seemed genuine, which felt weird considering all the mean glances D.va had grown used to over the years. It made it difficult to be upset at this strange girl, and Hana didn’t like one bit of it. It put her off guard, brought down her sarcasm defenses and made them inadequate.
She was confused. She didn’t know what any of Lucio or Aya’s words truly meant. It felt as though they knew so much more than they wanted to let on, and it drove her crazy. They were evasive, puzzling, and she couldn’t figure out a reasonable reason to justify it. A reason her defenses would appreciate. She liked clear objectives, clear instructions.
Not half sentences she couldn’t allow herself to interpret.
She couldn’t afford a game over.
“You shouldn’t bother yourself with interpretations,” she said, though her voice sounded smaller than she would’ve liked as she looked back at her console. “If you’re not looking for anything serious, Genji is the right pick. You’ll both enjoy it.”
Aya couldn’t answer as the boys came back, putting down their trays as they resumed their festive conversation, roaring with laughter. Under normal circumstances, Hana would have joined, bullying them to get them to share the topic. Obviously, they’d tease her, Lucio would pull his signature “Why are you so angry” line as she’d feign being mad. It would probably end with her challenging them to the arcade games in exchange for their apologies, with Lucio breaking the highscore of the dance machine, and Genji fighting body and soul to beat D.va’s shooting game score.
But this time, she was silent, focused on her own little game, barely caring about the surrounding noise. She had too much to sort out and only the repetitive jumps of the character emptied her mind from the anarchy of her thoughts.
She felt upset and confused, and not where she needed to be in that instant.
For the first time in ages, D.va, the outgoing cheeky world renowned gamer, ached for silence and solitude.
“Oh no, my smoothie is already empty.”
“Thirsty much, babe?” asked a playful Genji.
“Very funny,” Aya answered, probably rolling her eyes in amusement.
“Well I do hear that pretty often so… I think I can safely highlight that as one of my many qualities.”
Aya laughed and Hana almost cringed when she felt Genji’s leg under the table as he moved closer to the college girl.
“I’ll go get you a drink,” he announced finally, voice dripping with cajolery.
He stood up, his chair creaking as he pushed it back but was interrupted by Aya’s sudden exclamation.
“Hold on,” she said. “I’ll just come with you.”
And she did, couple walking away, arm in arm as they murmured things in each other’s ears. It was in that instant that Hana made the mistake to look up and meet Genji’s gaze, looking back at her even as he had another girl with him, even as he walked in the opposite way and had no reason to be glancing in her direction.
It had been fast, lightning fast but it had been enough to tighten the knot in Hana’s chest. The knot she’d been carrying ever since Lucio had implied that there could be more than friendship towards her from Genji’s part. The knot that had grown unbearable as Aya implied that she was a problem, that she was a coward. Because none of them knew how much she valued Genji, and how devastated she would be if she were to lose it all.
She felt dizzy, nauseous almost, the sounds around her merging into the most disastrous of cacophonies. She needed to leave.
“Lucio, I think I’m gonna go,” she managed to say as she stood up.
“Are you sure? We haven’t even played yet,” her friend replied, worry starting to paint itself on his face.
“Yeah, I just don’t really feel like it today.”
She smiled at him, shrugging. She was becoming a great actress, even though she knew Lucio was smarter than that. It also meant he wouldn’t press because he knew.
“Okay,” he said. “Just stay safe, okay?”
“I promise, I’m a big girl.”
She hugged him before leaving. A tight hug, the kind that didn’t really need any words, any language. The kind to which he responded with the same strength, if not more. It was comfortable, comforting, familiar. She needed the warmth and the understanding of her best friend, the calm drum of his heart to soothe her and the rugged texture of his dreadlocks tickling familiarly her cheek.
“Don’t worry too much about this, Bunny Hop,” he murmured in her ear as she pressed her face in his shoulder. “Everything comes in its own time.”
She didn’t answer, nor nod. She simply stood up, smile not leaving her face until she turned around and left, not even as she V signed to Lucio to signal that everything was okay.
Nothing was okay.
The walk to the underground station felt surreal, but the cool air of the evening soothed her nerves and made her sight less blurry, though her heart showed no sign of calming down. She took a deep breath as she entered the station, hurriedly walking down the stairs as she pulled out her underground card from her phone case. She’d decided that a packed train would be better than walking through the wide avenues of the city and risking to get run over by a car. She would squeeze in there and give free reins to her thoughts as the stations passed one after the other, people came and went, tunnels started and ended.
The train arrived shortly after she sat down and she scurried inside, apologising as she tightly tucked herself away between two passengers, the lack of space making it useless to cling to any hanging strap. She sighed deeply, pulling her headphones over her ears, scrolling down her music player as she waited for the door to shut down.
She hadn’t found a proper song when someone slipped inside the metro right before the doors closed, disturbing the careful arrangement of the packed vehicle as he made his way to a specific area of the train. She hadn’t planned to look up and glare at the newcomer for lack of interest, but her eyes definitely widened when she recognised his voice.
“Hana.”
It took her approximatively all her self control not to look up at him. Especially when she recognised the orange hoodie and the woody perfume that stood out despite the mixed scents of sweat and dust, she recognised the concerned tone in his voice and she wanted to be far away from there.
She hoped he would think she was listening to music and didn’t hear him. Hoped he would give up.
But the latter was far-stretched.
“Hana, I know you can hear me,” he said, reaching for her phone where no song was being displayed.
Without thinking, she pulled away before he could touch the device, shoving it in her pockets as she lowered her head further.
Fuck, she thought.
This was going horribly.
The train stopped at the next station, the pre-recorded voice repeating emotionlessly the name of the stop as the machine halted abruptly. The jerk sent D.va forward and into Genji. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around her waist, protecting her from the wave of passengers who hurriedly left the train by fear of colliding with the hasty crowd who tried to get in, and Hana felt almost deaf from the erratic scramble of her heart in her ears.
“Look at me, Hana,” Genji asked again. His voice seemed firm, but in the jolt of the train starting, she could have sworn she heard a slight shake at the end. Whether it had been caused by the movement of the vehicle or something completely different, it would’ve been hard for her to tell, even less bring herself to ask. But when she didn’t answer, she heard him again:
“Please.”
It was way more than she could take. And for that exact reason, she was all the more terrified to look into his eyes.
“I did something wrong, right?”
She glanced at him at that exact second, shaken by the train’s inconsistent trajectory and the unbalanced passengers who bumped into her. Those should’ve mattered, even more so than the chest of the boy in front of her, even more so than the gleam in his eyes as he looked at her. That gaze shouldn’t be tugging at her heartstrings the way it did. That look of pure worry shouldn’t be this intense and genuine.
“No, you didn’t,” she breathed out, throat clogged.
He sighed. “Then why do you look so sad whenever you look at me?”
“I’m not sad,” she mumbled, looking away.
The train stopped again. It was Genji who bumped into her this time, pushed by the incoming passengers until D.va felt the metal of the pole grip against her back. The heat was more intense in this part of the train, probably due to the fact they were far from the doors now and people were the most concentrated where they stood. She almost lost her balance in the tangle of legs below, but held onto the pole to keep herself standing as the train started again. She vaguely wondered how many stops there would be until she’d be able to leave.
When Genji spoke again, she realised he was too crushed against her to be able to look at her, his breath tickling her ear as he seemed to think of an answer, almost stumble as he searched for proper words. She was about to break the silence, narrowly missing the murmur that eventually escaped his lips. The sound was drowned in the screech of the railways, in the cough of a nearby commuter and the whine of a little child in the distance. She hadn’t been supposed to hear him, but she had. It had been crystal clear.
“Why do you make this so hard for me?”
Maybe Genji’s right. You’re the problem.
“Do I?” she asked, tightening her grip around the pole.
He inhaled, taking in the sweet perfume of her hair as a self-deprecating chuckle escaped his lips.
“Yeah,” he said. “You do.”
“Then why not cut me off, if I’m so problematic?”
The train quivered again as it stopped at another station. She quickly glanced over his shoulder to see that she would be able to get off in two more. She tightened her grip around the pole and Genji took advantage of the new wave of passengers to put enough space between them and look at her. She didn’t meet his gaze.
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, increasingly fed up. “I just don’t know anything anymore. I’ve been struggling for weeks, trying to make sense of emotions that everyone around me seems to understand better than I do. No one wants to explain anything to me and it makes me feel like I’m being toyed with.”
He tilted his head, puzzled. “What emotions?”
She gestured frantically towards the both of them, using the little space she had and sighing all the while in frustration. She shouldn’t be getting this upset. “This… You, me, us.”
“Us?”
“And I just can’t sort anything out. All my attempts at fixing myself fall apart and I don’t know-”
“No, what about us?”
She looked at him then. He had tensed all of a sudden, his gaze intense, maybe expectant. It felt almost like he was hoping for something, hoping for a specific answer but she bit her lip, reluctant to deceive herself with unfounded interpretations.
“There is no us,” she asserted. “At least beyond our friendship.”
Hana would have been unable to describe the exact emotion that flashed in Genji’s eyes in that instant. Spontaneity would have wanted it to be disappointment, hurt, maybe sadness somewhere? Reason, however, couldn’t find any valid argument and she decided to overlook whatever misunderstanding there could be, preferring to blame her own treacherous mind rather than fool herself.
“Right,” he smiled, clearing his throat. “We’re just friends, of course! Wouldn’t want to retire from my playboy days so soon, eh.”
She raised an eyebrow, genuinely startled.
His eyes widened slightly before he looked away, the train’s motion briefly making him lose balance.
“I mean,” he spouted. “Should there be an us… I believe you’d deserve to be more than just another girl.”
If her heart hadn’t been loud enough before, Hana could have sworn she’d heard a gear or two pop out of their place as she struggled to keep herself from paling. No, her reaction was being ridiculous. He was doing exactly what she’d predicted he’d do if she ever confessed.
Remind her that she deserved more than a playboy, and that she didn’t belong with him. That he was nowhere near retirement and that he wouldn’t like her to waste her time on him.
The simple thought was enough to bum her a bit. It was something to anticipate a thing, another to take the impact. And she didn’t think she’d been ready for her pessimistic scenarios to turn out to be correct.
“Which further strengthens the idea that we’re not suited for each other as anything other than friends!” she announced with forced positivity.
She didn’t expect that Genji wouldn’t answer immediately, rather finding a sudden interest in the surrounding passengers he decided to contemplate. He looked back at her after what felt like ages and put on the widest grin he could.
“Definitely, you couldn’t have said it better,” he acknowledged, tensing a bit when the jolt of the train pushed him back into D.va. They were once again crushed against each other, but for the first time since they’d gotten into the train, Hana noticed the way her arms had instinctively wrapped themselves around his waist. She let go.
“So, how does this ‘us’ thing link to people knowing your ‘emotions’ more than you do and toying with you?” he asked after managing to position himself at a respectable distance.
“Oh well uh,” she stammered. “It’s just…”
Her voice trailed off for a lack of explanations. She nervously looked around.
“You know what? I have to go,” she mumbled as the train stopped again. It wasn’t her stop yet, but she needed to leave this place as soon as possible.
Hurriedly, she slipped under Genji’s arm and sneaked her way through the passengers, aiming for the door as the recorded voice repeated relentlessly the station name. It was more difficult than she’d assumed, the compressed bodies barely giving any space for her to leave, each passenger fighting to get in and off the train as quickly as possible.
She felt his hand on her wrist halfway through her escape.
“Hana.”
She tried to free herself from his grip, as the beep signaling that the doors would close soon resonated in the vehicle. But it was in vain.
She didn’t want that frustration building in her chest, or the growing panic that was blurring her sight. She wanted to leave and never have to confront Genji. This was a mess and she hated every second of it.
“Let me go,” she whined almost, still pulling her arm.
“Not until you’re okay!” Genji retorted and she knew he was shaking his head vehemently as he said so.
“Why would you even care?”
“Have I ever not cared?”
She bit her lip, unable to turn around and face him. She hated how right he was.
“Why shouldn’t I care, Hana? Give me one reason and I’ll do it. Right away. I’ll stop caring. Because I care way more than friends should and the fact that… No matter what I do, no matter what I try, I can’t get you out of my head… It’s driving me crazy.”
There was something in the way his voice cracked that made her turn around even as the train rattled again and weakened her balance. Grabbing the pole by the door, she looked at him and the hurt and regret caught in his eyes. There was that and it was although there was so much more than just his voice that had cracked, making her wonder why it was that his sentence just didn’t sound the way it should’ve. Wonder why it was that it made her heart skip a beat.
Maybe it’s our inability to fathom the entire picture that deceives us into thinking that everything is only what we’ve been, up until now, conscious of.
He briefly looked away, breathing out in irritation, fingers still around her wrist. Eventually, he closed the gap between them, pressing her against the plastic of the wall as he prudently cupped her face in his hands.
“Do you know how hard it is for me not to kiss you whenever I see you?” His voice was barely a murmur, lost between a sigh and a whisper. “Do you just have any idea of how hard it is for me not to kiss you right now and you’re asking why I would care?”
Her own consciousness seemed to slip away as she took in his words. She felt numb, but somehow still stood on her feet, as though her body had gone on auto-pilot while her own brain tripped. The sounds around her hadn’t vanished, contrary to what books and movies tended to suggest, nor had the heady smell of the underground or the flickering light of the wagon. But she was painfully aware of Genji’s presence and the weight of his gaze on her, dark and pained, albeit with a flicker of hope and nervousness.
She took a ragged breath, trying to make sense of the fluttering thoughts that invaded her mind. She had to say something, anything, but no words came to her as she only stared at the boy in front of her, his hands burning against her cheeks.
“You’re-” He looked away from her gaze, eyes running over her cheeks, her lips, her chin, as though they held the words he was so desperate to find. “You make it so hard for me to keep it to myself. I’m not brave. I’m not brave enough to risk losing you. I can stay your friend and banter with you back and forth if it means you’ll still call me to hang out. I don’t mind. But it’s so hard. And then you just- you start waving these signs that maybe you like me back, that maybe it’s not so wrong from me to be so wrapped. And I can’t trust myself, but I do, only for you to tell me there is no us and leave again.” He peered at her again and the grunt of the machine below their feet got louder. “Why?”
“I’m scared,” she finally whispered.
“What?”
“I’m scared of losing you.” She drummed nervously her fingers on the pole at her left, head throbbing, heart quaking. “I’m scared of the way my heart has started to run wild when you’re around, of the way I ache for your touch and the confusion and the feelings that build up in my throat whenever someone mentions your name. I’m scared of these feelings, because I don’t know how strong they are and if they’re worth me ruining our friendship over a no-tomorrow adventure. I hate myself for envying all these girls that strut about and end up in your bed, for wishing for what I abhor and what I mock. I don’t want to be them, and yet… It hurts so much not to know what to do.”
“Hana…”
His arms were around her before she could even comprehend what was happening, her face pressing tightly against his chest and the zipper of his hoodie. She felt his hands on her hair and his chin on her head, fingers soothingly playing with her brown locks. She could sense his heart pound against her face, hasty, and for the first time, she allowed herself to hug him back, her hands clinging to his vest like a lifeline as she inhaled his familiar scent.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled in his chest. “I’m being really lame and cheesy right now.”
“It’s okay.” His shoulders shook with the little chortle that escaped his lips and he pulled her closer. She heard his voice through his ribcage, as though there was only him to be heard in the train. “I don’t care. I love you.”
Again, her heart skipped a beat. Just like it had so many weeks ago, as he held her in his arms in a similar way. This time she smelled no booze and no sweat, only the soap of his clean clothes and the incense. She felt precious in his embrace, as though she would break or flutter away, and it felt strange because she’d grown up a soldier, trained by her ragged government. It felt strange, and at odds with her strong diva persona, but she liked the feeling of being protected.
It was supposed to be soothing, probably one of those sweet movie scenes with a ridiculous upbeat romantic music and a guitar in the background. Hollywood had definitely taught her a thing or two about snuggling and letting the credits roll, but right now, she was a disaster. A secret disaster. Her heart was scurrying through her chest, running around alarmingly, brain packing for Hawaii, throat begging to let out kettle noises Hana was desperately trying to stiffle.
There was very few words to express her current state of panic, and even less to describe the inhuman effort she was making at hiding it.
Because Genji Shimada had just said he loved her. Genuinely. And none of her half-baked scenarios had prepared her for the eventuality.
“People might start believing you if you say it so loud,” she scolded in a poor attempt to look nonchalant.
He slid a hand under her chin to make her look at him. “Would it include you if I do?”
Yes.
“What am I to you?” she asked carefully, drowning in the brown of his eyes as she urged herself to play hard to get.
“Much more than the girls you envy.”
“And why would I believe you?”
“I don’t know.”
He’d answered spontaneously, as though it was the most natural response to her question. It felt odd, and Hana realised she’d expected him to have a script readied. A series of smooth lines and compliments to every single one of her questions. She’d expected flowers and his regular Genji gear, but there was none of it and she felt dismayed. The train trembled again and jerked as it stopped, pressing Genji further against her as the usual crowd poured out. The placid voice repeated the name of the station. Her station.
The distance between their faces was negligible, and she only needed to tilt her head to feel his lips on hers. It could’ve looked like an accident. But her gaze was glued on his, on the warmth and tenderness and lit his dark pupils, and she couldn’t move. He was beautiful.
She needed to leave.
“Then why is it that my heart’s still running?”
She felt his mouth at the same time that she heard a sigh, something like defeat, escape him. She couldn’t tell if she’d kissed him or if he had, but as she brushed her lips against his, she tasted exhilaration and something that intoxicated her senses and her thoughts. He cupped her face in his hands and her own instinctively found the front of his shirt, pulling him closer as she tilted her head.
She heard the doors beep, then close, and the train resumed its chaotic journey, bumps and creaking sounds and heat surrounding them.
She’d missed her station.
But right now, as she tangled her fingers in Genji’s hair, it didn’t matter at all.
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bint-amina · 7 years ago
Text
after peter wolff writes his son a short letter in which he relates the details of how the matriarch of iris’s coven came to him and asked if damian might be able to email iris or something just to reassure her that he’s ok, damian takes out his phone (he has changed his number since he last talked to her) and he texts a familiar number.
[d] Stop trying to contact me.
[i] Damian???????? [i] Oh my god????? Jfc I thought you like [i] Died [i] Are u ok??
(a day passes)
[i] If u dont reply Ill assume the answer is no and get Grace to talk to ur dad again
[d] That was a low blow.
[i] It was desperate u mean. Which is tru [i] But Im not fucking kidding. I thought you were dead
[d] That’s a lie.
[i] How would u fucking know huh
(half a day goes by)
[i] I heard about the guys in the city [i] Thought maybe after that ur dad got sick of ur shit and called a priest or something lol [i] Cuz ur a demon
[d] Clever.
[i] Actually that wasnt clever sorry. If u have to clarify the punchline u really cant in good conscious call it clever can you
[d] Not really, no
[i] Lol [i] Good to see you’ve still got ur sense of humor
[d] ‘Humor?’ [d] Is that a Korean word?
[i] Har har [i] You speak korean dummy [i]  작은 년이되지 마
[d]  나는하지 않으려 고 노력할거야.
[i] You google translated that one didnt you
[d] I’m out of practice.
[i] Its ok, me too
(another day goes past)
[i] Hows your mom
[d] I don’t know. I haven’t seen her in six years.
[i] Wait what lol [i] Then where are you
[d] Some school somewhere. [d] Not Columbia, obviously
[i] Obviously lol [i] What kind of school
[d] I don’t know how to describe it. It’s designed for creatures like us.
[i] Wait your dad sent you to VAMPIRE school [i] One might even say........... Vampire ACADEMY [i] Wait what the fuck is it a high school lol
[d] Sort of. It’s a combination. [d] I’m in classes that supposedly will transfer back to Columbia when I return
[i] Oh youre coming back?
(sent at the exact same moment:) [d] Be more specific [i] To NY i mean?
[i] Lol
[d] Hole in one.
[i] Good call tbh. It sux up here [i] Did you know vermont is the whitest state in the country
[d] It’s second actually, after Maine
[i] Ahhh yes the compulsive fact checking.......almost forgot why I broke up with you
(20 minutes later)
[i] That was a joke lol
[d] I thought it was
[i] Nah you didnt
[d] I was around 80% sure
[i] Not statistically significant enough to reject the null hypothesis [i] Cmon Damian get back to your roots. Do some math to figure out your feelings
[d] Insufficient data
[i] Lol
(two days later)
[i] Lily says hi
[d] She’s still around? I thought for sure she wouldn’t make it through her first year.
[i] Lol yeah [i] She had a couple accidents too but [i] Nbd tbh. Im not going to get worked up about it anyway
(an hour later)
[i] Im still dating her btw
(a few hours later; in early morning, after class)
[d] I was almost hoping you’d lie to me
[i] Yeah. Sorry [i] She said I could if i wanted to but I would rather not lie to you tbh [i] I feel like........if we’re going to try reestablishing trust and everything [i] Then I should try not to lie at you
[d] Why would we be doing that?
[i] Cuz we dated for two years and itd be great if we could like get along [i] Cuz you ghosted me for a fucking reason and honestly? Id like to know why
[d] I’m sorry.
[i] Yeah you are
[d] It wasn’t my intention to hurt you.
[i] Yeah and it probably wasnt graces intention to imprison me in the immortal shell of a 16yo but ya know. Shit happens [i] We deal
[d] One silver lining to us breaking up. The age difference thing doesn’t come up.
[i] Bitch if we were still dating I would personally find u a new ratbag every god damn day to make sure u didnt look a day over 17 [i] Cuz thats creepy
[d] Fair.
(a day later)
[i] Ok..........sorry for saying “if we were still dating” [i] I just read a cosmo article that said Im not supposed to say that to an ex
[d] It’s fine. I know what you mean.
[i] Im not hitting you up to get back together [i] Ok?
[d] I know.
[i] Like.............itd be great if we could be friends [i] If we cant thats also cool [i] But hmu once in a while so I know youre not dead?
[d] And when the inevitable happens?
(Damian’s phone starts to ring. He looks at it. After three rings, he silences it, then waits until the ringing has stopped.)
[d] I didn’t mean it like that.
[i] Shit like this is why I worry about you
[d] Don’t you think it’d be easier on us both if you just lived with the idea that somewhere out there I might be dead?
[i] Why are you being mean to me lol
[d] I’m not trying to be mean.
[i] Did I fucking ask what you were trying to do Damian [i] I forgot its such a crime to care about someone you dedicated two years of your life to [i] A year ago you wanted me to marry you and now youre saying Fuck off and let me die [i] Like your own feelings aside thats just disrespectful to me [i] Anyway lol have I told you that this is your problem cuz it is [i] Its Damiantown 24/7 with you. I feel like that meme bitch from the brady bunch [i] “Damian Damian Damian”
(three hours later)
[d] Sure, Jan
[i] Oh my fucking god
[d] Sorry.
[i] What the fuck is wrong with you lol
[d] In my defense, that meme is extremely funny
[i] You dumb fucking idiot [i] I cant believe you just turned the one meme I EVER showed you against me
[d] You also sent me the article about the frog once
[i] Ya cuz I was afraid you were on reddit accidentally trading memes with nazis
[d] That’s just insensitive.
[i] I said accidentally didnt I? I was looking out for you in case your dad ever checked your search history [i] Not that he knows what the fuck an internet search history even is [i] But he’d be devastated 
[d] He actually would kill me, in that case
[i] (wooden stake emoji) [i] Not if I got to him first
(Damian spends a few minutes scrolling through his emojis)
[d] Where did you find that one?
[i] I downloaded a vampire pack [i] Without using an ip blocker or anything [i] Just to fuck with the nsa
(20 minutes later)
[i] Do you ever think about how we’re the irl x files
[d] Constantly. And I’ve never even seen The X-Files.
[i] Bitch I sent you the netflix link like 20 years ago
[d] I lost your login information.
[i] Ah yes [i] Just like how you [i] “Lost” [i] My number
[d] No, I just didn’t write it down
[i] I think its off netflix now anyway
(3 days pass)
[i] Oh i totally forgot [i] Did you take my jacket
[d] The one with the fur is my jacket
[i] Wtf I sent you the link!!!!!!!!!!!
[d] And I bought it because I liked it.
[i] Are you fucking kidding me
[d] I thank you for your impeccable taste in style.
[i] I let you take it cuz you liked wearing it [i] Tbh so disappointed you didnt take the other stuff you liked wearing [i] Toxic masculinity Damian
[d] Could we avoid any potential taunting please.
[i] Im not taunting [i] It looked good on you
[d] Great. Thanks
(an hour later)
[d] I actually don’t have the jacket anymore, you know.
[i] Did you leave it at home??????? Score [i] Ur dad likes me anyway so Im just gonna hit him up then  [i] Bye lol
[d] No. [d] I actually may have passed it along to someone else.
[i] OH????? What the fuck lol [i] Who
8 notes · View notes
wonizm · 8 years ago
Text
Cool & Cute pt.1
Tumblr media
type: FLUFF
pairing: Minghao x Reader; side Meanie
synopsis: You somehow end up on a double date with your best friend, his boyfriend, and someone new. That someone is so adorable save carats’ hearts
words: 3595
a/n: Sorry for any mistakes, this is my first try at writing something! Also, I’m not sure how the format for texting should be so I hope it didn’t seem awkward or they texted for too long! I’ll be writing mostly reader and member scenarios here and then I’ll probably be doing some other work with member x member ships on AO3 (my account name is the same as my url here)! Thanks for reading!
Your alarm goes off at 6:00 in the morning. You get up, eat breakfast and then pick out an outfit for another day at school, deciding on a pair of dark jeans, a simple top, and a jacket to keep you warm. Just as you’re gathering your stuff and leaving the house to meet Wonwoo and walk to Pledis High, you realize something. It’s Saturday. You groan and quickly retreat back into the warmth of your home. 
“Ugh, how could I forget to turn off that stupid alarm again?” You look down at your purring cat, glad that you have someone to complain to. She snuggles into your side and you take that as a hint that it’s time to cuddle. So you scoop her up and take her back up into your bedroom and your pile of blankets on your bed. 
No one else is home (your parents work on Saturdays), so it’s just you and Mochi. Said cat has decided that it’s actually not time to cuddle, but time to play around in your sheets. As you watch her in amusement you decide that you should probably start making plans for the day; so you text your best friend to see what he’ll be doing today. You’ve known him forever. So you know that by now he should probably be awake and reading in bed before going down for breakfast. 
to: jeonuwonu
-hey what’s up my bro
from: jeonuwonu
-why r u up so early 
to: jeonuwonu
-…I did it again
from: jeonuwonu
-HAHA R U SRS 
-ur so dumb haha
to: jeonuwonu
-why r u so mean
-i just wanted to hang out with you
-you don’t need to be a meanie
-lots of people forget to turn off their alarms
from: jeonuwonu
-yeah, but most people haven’t done it 12 times
to: jeonuwonu
-UR COUNTING ????
from: jeonuwonu 
-ofc i am.
-anywayyy I actually have plans for us today so get dressed and look pretty.
-I’ll swing by your house with Gyu after lunch okay
to: jeonuwonu
-okay fine but I hope you guys aren’t too mushy and couple-y today ):
from: jeonuwonu
-it’s not my fault that ur sad and alone 
to: jeonuwonu
- )):
from: jeonuwonu
-yeah, i know
-too far
-sorry
-say hi to Mochi for me okay 
-L8rs
“Hey Mochi, Wonwoo says hi.” The cat doesn’t seem to understand what you’re saying as she just looks up at you curiously. You question why you told her in the first place. 
SInce you’ve got time to kill you pull out your computer and scroll through tumblr. Your friend Hansol must be on tumblr too because he reblogged some of the memes you found. You should’ve known not to log on because before you know it, it’s time for lunch. 
“Okay sweetie, I’m going to go eat and get ready now, so I’m gonna need you to get off of me for a little,” you tell the small animal on your lap, who’s starting to fall asleep after playing too much. She purrs and stretches herself out on you as a way to tell you she doesn’t plan on moving. With a sigh, you scoop up the reluctant kitty and place her gently onto the bed. She seems upset but soon calms down and falls back asleep. 
You head downstairs and make yourself a quick lunch. After eating more than you intended to, you head back upstairs. This time instead of packing for school, you’re getting things ready for going out. Just as you are done getting ready, you hear your phone chime.
from: jeonuwonu
-hey we r outside come now
-pls
Instead of replying, you just put on your shoes and head outside. In your driveway is a brand new car that you know isn’t Wonwoo’s. You would’ve seen a new car in his driveway down the street if it was his. So you conclude that it must be Mingyu’s since his parents are loaded and he got his license recently. As you open the door to the backseat, your guess was confirmed as Mingyu is smiling at you from the driver’s seat.
“Whoa this car is so nice Gyu!”
“Thanks y/n! It’s my new baby!”
“I thought I was your baby,” Wonwoo pouts.
“You are my baby, now I have two babies.”
“Okay, gross. Alright, where are we going today, my friends?”
“It’s a surprise, y/n, and I thought I told you to dress nicely,” Wonwoo teases. 
You look down at the outfit that was originally chosen for a day at school. It does look kind of simple now that you look at it again. Noticing that you didn’t reply, Wonwoo looks back at you and smiles. He starts laughing at you and MIngyu joins in.
“You know I’m kidding right,” he says in between laughing at your embarrassed expression, “Come on y/n you look great.”
“Well, how was I supposed to know if I was dressed appropriately if you two won’t tell me where I’m going!”
“Okay y/n we get that you’re embarrassed but you don’t need to take it out on us.”
You pout and buckle your seatbelt as Mingyu finally pulls out of your driveway. After about a twenty minute drive Wonwoo tells you to close your eyes as you are getting closer to the surprise destination. When it’s time to reveal where you will be spending the rest of the day, he finally tells you to open them.
“Surprise!”
At first, you just see Wonwoo smiling and waiting for your reaction and Mingyu recording you with his phone. Then you look up behind them and gasp.
“I didn’t know they opened this place up again!”
“They actually didn’t open yet, Mingyu has connections,” Wonwoo states while looking up at Mingyu lovingly. You think to yourself how cute they are as a couple and feel only a tiny bit of envy for their adorable relationship. 
Your attention returns to looking back at the giant ice skating rink that has finally returned back to your town. This was the place where you first met Wonwoo and became best friends 8 years ago. You were nine years old and he was ten. That was the year that Wonwoo had moved here. You’re parents had brought you to this outdoor rink ever since you could walk. You can see little Wonwoo trying to teach himself to skate. You remember the laughter that you both shared when you later volunteered yourself to show him how to skate and he pulled you down with him as he fell.
“Why did they close again?”
“This rink is owned by a Chinese company that decided that it was better for their company if they closed all of their rinks that weren’t in China. But recently, the CEO has decided to let her son start making some of the bigger decisions. He chose to open up this rink because it was their biggest source of income, outside of China, 8 years ago and he believes that this will become an even better one in the future if they do it right,” Mingyu explains.
“Mingyu knows all of this because the CEO of this company is actually really good friends with his parents. This is why the son of that CEO is actually MIngyu’s bestfriend,” Wonwoo adds.
This makes sense as Mingyu had just moved here from China two years ago. Although he was had no chinese blood in him, he spoke korean and chinese since his family lived in China for most of his life. You vaguely remember him saying something about his family’s huge Chinese branch of their company once.
“Yeah, so Minghao came here to make sure the re-opening is going to go smoothly but also to visit me. He should be here soon to let us in and meet you two,” Mingyu says while checking his phone. 
“Wow thanks so much for setting this up guys! Ohmygosh this is going to be so great!”
“You sound really excited! I’m glad that I can make this happen for you,” says a sweet voice behind you. You turn around and, not unlike earlier when you saw the rink, you gasp again. This time you have to cover your face in embarrassment because in front you stands the most perfect person you’ve ever seen. He had the most adorable pink and blue hair ever and his nose was so perfect it made you want to cry. He wore an outfit pretty similar to yours; dark jeans and a simple blue shirt with a jacket over it. You’ve never seen anyone so stunning. Just as you started taking in his height, you noticed he was only about five centimeters shorter than Wonwoo, you feel said friend poke you in your side.
“Stop staring,” he whispers. You snap out of your trance and realize how awkward that must have been for Minghao, but when you look up he seems to be going through a very similar situation to yours. Mingyu was laughing at you both after having stopped Minghao from staring at you too. After the awkward moment is over, Mingyu decides to make the formal introductions.
“So! Minghao, this is my boyfriend Wonwoo and his bestfriend, y/n! Y/n, Wonwoo, this is my bestfriend Minghao!”
“Nice to meet you,” you and Wonwoo say together.
“Nice to meet you, too. Alright! Let’s get in there,” Minghao says. He goes up to the gate and enters a code to open it up. He then leads you all to the building to the right of the rink.
“We created this rink with almost the same exact plans as the original rink. But just in case you don’t remember, this building is where customers will pay for skate rental and the building on the other side of the rink is where they could buy snacks and drinks,” Minghao says while gesturing towards the other brightly colored building on the far side of the rink. You can’t help but admire his amazing visuals as he gives the tour. He asks you all for your shoe sizes and heads to the back to get the skates. You watch him go and hope that you don’t look as creepy as you feel. He speaks korean so well that you make a mental note to ask how he got so good at it. 
“You don’t have to be so obvious that you want him,” Wonwoo teases you, snapping you out of your thoughts.
“What?! I don’t want him! What are you talking about? I’m not greasy like your friend Jun! Okay, I admit he’s really cute but come on, don’t tell me you wanted Mingyu right when you met him. You know what? Don’t answer that…” you trail off as you see Minghao returning with the skates.
“Hey Hao! Thanks man,” Mingyu says as Minghao returns in an attempt to make sure you don’t say anything you don’t want to say in front of his bestfriend. You send Mingyu a look that you hope said ‘thanks’ and make another mental note to thank him for helping you out.
“No problem, Gyu. Let’s get our skates on and then get out there!”
You all quickly get your skates on and head out onto the ice. The moment you step onto the ice you realize two things; 1) it’s been way too long since you’ve ice skated 2) it really hurts to fall on your butt. 
“Y/n are you okay?!” 
“Im fine,” you say while standing up (with the help of Minghao who came onto the ice second).
“Thanks for helping me,” you say while blushing as he still has his hand on your arm.
“Of course,” he says with a smile, “Do you know how to skate?” 
You’re tempted to pretend that you don’t know how so that he’ll teach you but you also know that Wonwoo knows how well you could actually skate so you decided against it. 
“Actually, I taught Wonwoo how to skate,” you finally say, “but Its been about 8 years since then. The rink closed the year we met.”
“Really? You taught him how to skate?” he asks, glancing at Wonwoo who’s skillfully pulling Mingyu along with him around the rink,“you must’ve been really good! How about we warm up together?”
“Yeah,” you laugh,“it seems as if the student has surpassed the teacher. Oh, and I’d love to warm up with you.”
Suddenly, Minghao realizes he’s still holding onto your arm and quickly lets go. You have to admit you’re a little disappointed but you’re not sure why; you’ve just met this guy!
Mingyu and Wonwoo have done a lap or two by the time you’re done talking and they are halfway through their third when you two start skating. After warming up, you become more comfortable and are able to glide smoothly like you had so many years ago. In your excitement, you almost forget that Minghao is there with you. Almost. When you turn around to look at him, you see him looking back at you with adoration in his eyes and he waves at you shyly. You gesture for him to come closer because you had accidentally left him behind. You both skate together and catch up to Wonwoo and Mingyu who were just a little ahead of you. You notice that Minghao is actually really good and comfortable on the ice.
“Wonwoo! I can’t believe how good you’ve gotten! I thought we’ve both been out of practice for so long you’d have forgotten how to skate just like I did,” you exclaim.
“Y/n don’t you remember all of my family vacations to my aunts house during winter break? She has a skating rink near her house that I always went to when I was bored and I practiced.”
“Ah, so that’s what you were doing while I was eating holiday food and watching Christmas movies by myself,” you laugh.
“Do you guys want to go get some snacks? It’s all on the house by the way,” Minghao asks.
“Oh yeah, that sounds good. Thanks man,” Mingyu says.
You all leave the ice but keep your skates on. As Minghao opens up the snack bar, you hear Mingyu talking behind you.
“I’ve never seen him look at someone like that”
“Like what?” you ask curiously while turning around.
“Well he’s had crushes before, but he’s never liked someone so fast. He looks whipped.”
“It can’t be that bad,“you laugh shyly, secretly hoping that Mingyu is right because you feel like Minghao’s so cute and caring.
“I’m back,” Minghao says, returning with four hot cocoas and some pretzels.
“Wow that was really fast!”
“Yeah, we got this new machine that makes everything really quickly!”
You glance around the seating area for the section where eating is allowed. There are rows of tables along the walls and some that were higher than others. It all looked really well placed and organized. You were impressed.
“Wow, Minghao this place is really impressive,” you compliment as he sits down at the table with you all.
He blushes as he thanks you and hands out the snacks. Everyone becomes quiet and awkward again.
You remember to ask about Minghao’s korean, “Minghao you’re chinese right? Is it rude to ask how you speak korean so well?”
“I taught him,” Mingyu laughs, “my parents spoke to me in both Korean and Chinese so I was fluent in both. I taught Hao so that we could have this language that none of our classmates understood. It was great, right Hao?”
“Yeah it was awesome,” Minghao sighs, reminiscing the times when he still had his best friend with him. “It sucks that I can’t see you as often anymore.”
“Aw man it’s okay, I’m really glad you’re here. Thanks for coming down.”
“It is my pleasure to be here.”
“Alright are you guys done eating yet?” Mingyu asks.
You look down and see that you have barely finished half of your pretzel as you were mostly just looking at Minghao this whole time.
“I think y/n is still eating. You guys can go ahead and start skating, I’ll wait for her,” Minghao says before you can say anything.
Mingyu gets up to go and Wonwoo makes a face at you. You blush and stick your tongue out at him. As they’re leaving you could hear Mingyu telling Wonwoo to be nicer to you and you laugh. Minghao hears it too and joins you.
“I love him, he’s my best friend, but sometimes he can be too much! I’m really glad he finally confessed to Mingyu last year because they really complete each other,” you share.
“I get what you mean! Mingyu wouldn’t stop talking about Wonwoo ever since he moved here! He finally calmed down when Wonwoo confessed! I’m sure he loves him a lot!”
“Mingyu really loves you too! He talks about his best friend so much that Wonwoo thought you two were dating when Mingyu moved here! He says you’re smart and caring. He didn’t mention how handsome you are though”
“Thank you,” Minghao blushes, “that is an extremely flattering compliment, especially coming from someone as beautiful as you.”
Now both of you are blushing messes so you decide to change the subject after thanking him.
“You’re really young to be handling this place all by yourself, I’m very impressed,” you compliment.
“Thank you. I don’t usually talk about it with other people, but I’m actually really nervous about opening this place up again. I worry that if my first official choice for the company turns out negatively that I might never become as good of a CEO as my mother is.”
“You seem very smart and hardworking, I’m sure you can handle it!” you say, as you finally finish your snacks.
“I’m all finished! Thanks for staying with me, let’s get back out there!”
You head out into the ice and see Wonwoo and Mingyu attempting to do fancy couple tricks on the ice. Mingyu seems to have no idea what he’s doing and Wonwoo is trying to explain it. It’s a huge mess.
“Wow they’re a mess,” Minghao says behind you, voicing your thoughts.
You laugh, “Yeah they are, but they’re our mess.”
You both watch as Mingyu clings onto Wonwoo’s arm and pulls him down as he falls, not unlike what Wonwoo did to you many years ago.
“That’s really close to how Wonwoo and I met,” you share.
“Really,” Minghao laughs, “That’s actually way better than how Gyu and I met; in the woman’s bathroom of his father’s company building. Long story short, we are the reason that children were no longer allowed in that building.”
“That’s hilarious, you have to tell me the story sometime.”
Minghao smiles, “We should definitely hang out some more after today.”
How does this boy do this to you it is not fair. His smile is making your heart melt and your stomach is full of butterflies. Lost in your thoughts again, you snap out of it to see Minghao a little ahead of you. He turns around and he skates backwards. Can this boy get any better? He notices your shocked expression and smiles at you, causing your heart to flutter all over again. You skate up to him.
“Can you please teach me how to do that?”
“Do what?” he playfully teases.
“Skate backwards! I’ve always wanted to try but I wasn’t allowed to when I was nine! Please teach me!”
“Okay, I’ll teach you,” he smirks, “but you have to hold my hands.”
Your whole face turns red but you understand how that would make sense. So you nod and grab onto his hands shyly. He turns you both around so that now you’re the one going backwards and he is the one facing forward. He then explains how to do the motions with your feet. You listen carefully and take it all in. Then you start moving and Minghao is slowly guiding you across the ice. The more you listen to his voice and concentrate on him, the more comfortable you become. Soon, you’re the one pulling him as you have become more confident in your abilities.
After a while you think that it’s been enough time learning a new ability and thank him for teaching you.
“Thanks Minghao! This is so much fun!”
You let go of one of his hands but continue to hold onto one as you skate around the rink. He smiles and looks down at your hands. You both blush but don’t say anything about it. You love how calm he makes you feel and how happy he was to help you learn something. If he asked you out right now, you would probably say yes. So, of course, he does.
“Y/n do you want to go out with me? I mean on a real date? Without Mingyu and Wonwoo?”
You’re shocked that he said that right after you thought it so you don’t realize that you’re supposed to reply. When you don’t say anything right away he freaks out.
“I mean- sorry! I know I just met you and you don’t even know anything about me! And I don’t even know anything about you! But I wanted to know more! I mean, that probably sounded so creepy but I think you’re so pretty. Ohmygosh that sounded bad too but what I meant to say was…”
You squeeze his hand to reassure him that you don’t think he’s a creep and smile at him.
“I’d love to go on a date with you Minghao.”
a/n: Sorry this was so messy! Thanks for reading this and giving my terrible writing a shot! This is probably going to end up being a two-part I’m not sure yet but sorry if this was kind of slow pace and if I used the word ‘rink’ too much! If I used any word too much please let me know! Constructive criticism is totally welcome here! This was my first but I wanted to dedicate it to my sister because she’s the best and I love her so much and Minghao is her bias!
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moonwalkertrance · 7 years ago
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New Mexico School Shooter Had Secret Life on Pro-Trump White-Supremacy Sites
For years before William Edward Atchison killed two students and himself, he lived a shadow life online—one full of crude alt-right memes and praise for school shooters.
In real life, William Edward Atchison—people called him Bill—lived in a little yellow house with his parents, about a mile away from the Giant gas station where he worked and from Aztec High School, where he shot and killed two students and then himself last Thursday.
At the murder scene, police found a thumb drive with a note that read, “If things go according to plan, today would be when I die. I go somewhere and gear up, then hold a class hostage and go apeshit, then blow my brains out.”
He wrote “work sucks, school sucks, life sucks. I just want out of this shit.”
“It’s a shame he wasn’t on our radar,” San Juan County Sheriff Ken Christesen told Fox News last week. “I don’t think he had anything so much as a traffic ticket.”
And yet online, the 21-year-old New Mexico resident lived a prolific life as a white supremacist, pro-Trump meme peddler who was most known for his obsession with school shooters. For a half-decade, Atchison spent most of his days online, repeatedly posting threats of violence and cries for help.
When users saw posts from Atchison, who went by dozens of names like “Adam Lanza” and “Future Mass Shooter” on both larger platforms like YouTube and racist communities like The Daily Stormer, they would often ask how his manifesto was going.
Despite local law enforcement’s claims that he wasn’t a known threat, and a visit from the FBI in 2016, Atchison spent most of the last half-decade glorifying school shooters on alt-right websites and posting plaintive appeals for help in fixing his life, according to hundreds of posts analyzed by The Daily Beast.
At EncyclopediaDramatica, a Wikipedia-style site for fringe internet users to describe memes and in-jokes in detail, he volunteered as a SysOp, the site’s word for an administrator. Atchison’s page, now replete with his screen name @satanicdruggie and his real identity, is filed under the “An Heroes” section, reserved for people who have killed themselves.
On the alt-right forums and hate groups he frequented, Atchison appears to have made many enemies. Despite later becoming a moderator of the site, one of Atchison’s most popular EncyclopediaDramatica accounts, AlGore, was banned from the site for two years when it was labeled as a “troll.”
And in the run-up to the 2016 election, EncyclopediaDramatica users excoriated Atchison for abusing his powers as a SysOp of the site. Users were upset he was appending too many pro-Columbine shooting memes and “shitty facebook commentaries” praising Donald Trump on the site’s home page.
In the thread, as it often did with discussions about Atchison’s last account @satanicdruggie, the conversation invariably turned back to his obsession with school shootings.
“Do you fantasize about shooting up the bullies at your school?” one user asked.
“Yah i remember him literally bragging about being *obsessed* with Columbine,” a user responded. “In 2016.”
“Have you completed your manifesto yet?” another asked.
Atchison even spread his affinity for school shootings and Nazi ideology in more sanitized parts of the web.
On Steam, an online video game store and community, Atchison used the reviews section to criticize Wolfenstein games, which are set in World War II-era Germany.
“I find this game highly offensive for featuring mass murder against your own race,” he wrote. In another review, he simply wrote, “RIP Hitler.”
In a review of Doom II, Atchison referred to the Columbine shooting as “LOLumbine.” His review for the game Hatred, a game which was initially pulled from Steam because the main character’s goal is to “slaughter innocents,” simply reads “ur going to ALL pay.”
And his recent posts reflected what seems to be a migration from trolling to honest espousal of an extreme right-wing political ideology.
In November, Atchison wrote on Steam, “How am I supposed to function in this world? Wherever I go, I see degeneracy. Pointless materialism, hedonism, sexual decay, dirty n**gers who do nothing but slowly break down this society etc. it’s fucking everywhere. No way to escape it, 99% of people are part of it and whatever I do I am confronted with the death of the West. Go to the store and buy groceries in peace? Nope, here’s a group of LGBT liberal filth in line with you. And there’s a n**ger family with 10 kids over there. And a Finn too, but he’s overweight as fuck and he’s buying alcohol and shit junk food. Fucking fantastic.
“I used to think that this was a phase and we’d get over it, but I have now come to realize that I was born into a literal dystopia.”
On Kiwi Farms, a forum that describes itself as a place for “gossip and exploitation of the mentally handicapped for amusement purposes,” Atchison frequently posted commemorations of mass shooters. Two days before his own school shooting, under his username “Fuck You,” Atchison posted an explicit sexual reply endorsing Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath, a failed mass shooter from Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Atchison used a photo of Kiwi Farms administrator Josh Moon as his profile picture for Steam.)
On YouTube, Atchison admitted he posted anonymously on pro-Trump, white-supremacist sites like 4chan’s /pol/ board or The Daily Stormer, but gave up when domain registrars kept shutting down The Daily Stormer’s domain names. He, along with most of The Daily Stormer’s community, said the sites were “shoa’d,” an anti-Semitic slur.
“[I’m] on different youtube channels, anonymous posts on the chans, or my work on ED,” he said. “Formerly DS before it got shoa’d and I’m too lazy to get TOR again.”
Atchison had also posted on Blockland.us, a forum for the Minecraft-like multiplayer video game, since 2014. His more than 40 usernames were meant to offend. Almost all were racist or violent by design. Several were modeled after school shooters, including Cho Seung-Hui, Omar Mateen, Adam Lanza, Elliot Rodger, and Anders Breivik. He also went by “School Shooter” and “Future Mass Shooter.”
Ryan Lenz, who monitors hate groups and extremism for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said Atchison’s pattern is typical of white extremists—even if his years-long archive of school-shooting proclamations might be unprecedented.
“Generally, mass shooters spend a period of time prior to their action steeped in studying previous shooters. They study the aftermath of these individuals. They have a great deal of esteem or respect for others who have done the same,” said Lenz.
“Add in the ideology, in this case these forums—it compounds the severity and the rate of radicalization.”
Lenz said the cocktail of violent rhetoric, mental illness, and economic despair is what leads to “mobilization,” the word experts use for the shift from radicalized online rhetoric to real-life behavior.
“What we’ve found with these ideologies is that they repeatedly lead to violence. There’s a dual line of radicalization happening,” said Lenz. “To steep yourself in Daily Stormer rhetoric and the sites like it is to put yourself in the headspace of where the violence is when not if.”
In his final days, Atchison used “Sam Hyde” as his display name, the name alt-right users on websites like 4chan and Twitter employ in an effort to dupe the media into sharing false information after mass shootings.
“The internet has changed a lot of things. Make it much easier for an alienated, isolated kid to find communities where they feel they belong,” said Lenz. “And it sometimes goes unchecked because of how the alt-right has presented itself: It’s just irony. It’s for the lulz.”
On EncyclopediaDramatica, Atchison also appears on the entry for Bob8466, or Carter Boyles of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a 15-year-old who shot and killed himself at his high school on Sept. 11, 2016. Atchison, who called himself a friend of Boyles on YouTube and the video game site Steam, wrote the Bob8466 EncyclopediaDramatica entry after the Iowa teen’s suicide.
“It is believed that [Boyles] was calmly talked down from going postal, instead unfortunately choosing to take his own life and becoming an [sic] hero to us all,” Atchison wrote under the username AlGore.
Like Atchison, Boyles was active on Steam and on YouTube, where he posted videos of simulated school shootings. In Boyle’s final video, a first-person walkthrough of the school where he shot himself, online acquaintances gathered to post comments in memoriam.
“Suicides are ignored,” Atchinson wrote, under the name Vance Stone. “Suicidal people who commit mass murder, however, get the entire world’s attention, garner thousands of fans / fangirls, become a household name and become celebrities.
“His action of suicide was tragic and it’s a shame he had to go out like that, because he was pretty damn cool when I chatted to him.”
Boyle wasn’t Atchison’s only school-shooter friend, according to “Smith,” a YouTuber from Texas who considered Atchison a friend. Smith’s channel, “Aesthetic Autism,” features mostly footage of war synced to music, and he recorded but has not released a podcast with the New Mexico murderer.
Smith told The Daily Beast that Ali Sonboly, the teenager who shot and killed nine people in a Munich McDonald’s last year, was also a member of the Steam group that he and Atchison started, called the Anti-Refugee Club. (Smith claims the group—which was taken down two months ago—wasn’t racist but “mostly satire.”)
“[Atchison] wasn’t alt-right. He wasn’t a neo-Nazi,” Smith said in a direct message. “Bill hated both sides... His emotions mixed with his politics.
“He was edgy, he was offensive, and he was shocking. He said a lot out of pure shock, but I didn’t think he’d be so moronic enough to do what he did,” Smith said.
That shocking content brought the FBI to Atchison’s door in 2016.
Acting on a tip that Atchison had posted a comment on a gaming forum asking users where he could get “a cheap assault rifle” for a mass shooting, the FBI interviewed him and his family, and ultimately determined that no crime had been committed and closed the investigation.
“He was cooperative,” Albuquerque FBI Special Agent Terry Wade said at a press conference last week. “He told us that he enjoyed trolling on the internet.
“The agents specifically asked him if he had plans about conducting attacks and expressed the seriousness that we take these type of things. He assured us that he had no such plans,” Wade said.
Atchison described the visit on his YouTube channel, writing in a comment, “I was part of the trolling and lulz... the feds investigated me cus some fag reported my profile to troll me... they said they didn’t think I was a serious threat and understood the satire…”
The Daily Beast reached out to Agent Wade about Atchison’s online behavior. Wade’s spokesperson referred a reporter to the San Juan County sheriff and said the FBI wouldn’t have further comment on the case at this time.
Brice Current, a captain at San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, said they were just beginning to process the crime scene and Atchison’s home, at which they confiscated his computer and Xbox 360. As for a motive, Current could only speculate.
“We don’t have a motive other than it was planned,” Current said. “He obviously did something in his life where he came up with this plan and idea and went through with it. Online gaming, or the people he associated with, or what. This was his plan and I don’t know, I don’t know. I really don’t think he had a motive other than to be famous in that world, whatever world that is.”
Despite building up a reputation for trolling on forums like EncyclopediaDramatica, Atchison took to other platforms like LiveJournal in a sincere search for someone who would hear his cries for help.
On the website Think Atheist, Atchison titled his sole post “Stuck in a Rural Redneck Town” in September 2014. “I don’t want to be lame or anything but I should probably come out about all this,” he wrote.
Under the name Demetrius Alcala, Atchison outlines his floundering career and social life in rural New Mexico. He applied to fast-food restaurants and dollar stores and was rejected. He hadn’t had friends since childhood, when two people took advantage of him after he loaned them video-game consoles that were sold or weren’t given back.
He had a 3.5 GPA, he said, but dropped out in 10th grade because of anxiety and the “backwards as hell” culture at school. He says he tried to go back but dropped out again, citing his abusive family.
He called his father a “fat lazy idiot who watches fox news all day” and his mother “a psycho hillbilly drunk from florida who’s really mentally ill.”
Two years before the FBI visited his home, and three years before he killed two people in a New Mexico high school, Atchison pleaded for advice on how to fix his life.
“Look, I’m sorry if I’m rude and hateful or anything, but I don’t know what to do. I’ve lived no life for nearly 19 years, most of which was in the miserable ass sun-belt. Did you know new mexico has the fourth highest suicide rate?” Atchison wrote.
“Should I escape this dump or deal with it? How can I become polite and make some friends out there in this world?”
Over 230 people viewed the post. No one responded.
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