#also i managed to do a spring vibe i think and i just love how light this one turned out in comparison to the one with the lil castle

[bookyeom]

pairing: wonwoo x reader word count: 2.3k warnings: a couple of swears, kissing

Author’s Note: this fic is part of the Thirteen Valentines event, but can be read as a standalone! also, i would suggest listening to the song listed below to get a feel for the vibe of the fic, but it’s not necessary.

idk by jeffrey lenh, joanna

i think that i’ve been falling ever since that day out in the park and i don’t know if this is love, but maybe this could be the start

“I guess this isn’t so bad.”

You open one eye, looking up at Wonwoo from where you’re laying in the grass. His back is resting against a tree, and you watch as the breeze catches a few strands of his hair. It makes you smile, how calm and content he looks.

”I won’t say I told you so, but…”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes, but the corner of his mouth is turned up in a smile. Your eyes don’t leave him as he pushes his glasses up with a finger, his eyes taking in the surrounding park. You like seeing him like this. You’ve managed to drag him out of his dorm room on the first warm, sunny day of the year, and you’re glad he came. You’re always glad when he’s with you, but seeing him bask in the first golden glow of spring is something else.

“You just didn’t want to do this alone, and I was your last resort.”

You tsk, closing your eyes again, letting the warmth of the sun wash over your face. “That’s not true. You’re not my last resort, you’re my charity case. Helping the old man get out of his house and all that.” 

Wonwoo gasps dramatically, and you can’t help the giggle that leaves you at the sound. The two of you fall back into contented silence, the only sounds around you coming from the wind in the trees and some children playing across the field. 

“Seriously,” he speaks up again a few minutes later. “Thanks for forcing me to get off of my computer and outside for a bit. It’s a nice reminder that since winter is finally over, I can take a break from writing essays and gaming inside. So, thanks.”

You’re beaming up at him, even as he avoids your eyes after his little speech, but you know he knows you’re looking. “Glad you’re here,” is all you say. When he sends a smile your way, you know you’ve said the right thing.

You’re so warm — inside and out — that you can’t help but doze off. It’s a little while later when you stir, your eyes fluttering open as you come to. You startle when you realize that you must have nuzzled into the warmth of Wonwoo’s thigh while you slept, and you wince. Then your next thought has you realizing something even worse: his hand is gently resting on your head, and his thumb is brushing soothing circles into your scalp. 

Your breath catches. It feels so intimate, and you know that you absolutely cannot succumb to how you’re feeling, because it’s Wonwoo, and Wonwoo definitely, absolutely, 100% does not like you back. 

You make a show of stretching your toes, and as you predicted, Wonwoo’s movements stop. He drops his hand as you roll onto your back, and you try desperately to hide the blush on your cheeks. “Sorry I fell asleep,” you say, and Wonwoo shrugs, lifting a hand to run through his hair. 

“It’s all good.”

And that’s that.

You watch as Wonwoo games from your spot on his bed, his fingers clicking so fast it makes your head spin. You’re supposed to go out for something to eat soon, but he’d begged you to let him finish one more game. You’d pouted, but you don’t really mind waiting. 

You flop down on his bed, arms falling dramatically out to your sides. It’s been a long few weeks as you and your friends prep for your final papers and exams. The only time you’ve been able to see anyone is when you eat together, and Wonwoo is no exception. It’s been a week or so since you saw him last, and you wish the sight of him would stop making you feel the way it does. That doesn’t seem likely anytime soon, considering that when he’d opened the door tonight, his greeting smile alone had rendered you breathless. Lately, you’re more excited to see Wonwoo than a kid in a candy store, and you’re not sure what you're supposed to do about it.

Because Wonwoo doesn’t like you like that.

“Alright, GamerGirl17. I’m out. Good game.”

Your ears perk up at the username. GamerGirl17. You hear about her from Wonwoo all the time. Apparently, he’s made friends with one of the top players in his favourite game. You can’t believe you’re jealous of an online friend, but you happen to know through Wonwoo that she only lives a couple of hours away. Maybe they were dating already and Wonwoo just hadn’t told anyone? 

Wonwoo regales you with the mission the two of them had just completed as you walk to the restaurant, explaining why it had been so important to finish. You’re not a gamer yourself, but Wonwoo always listens to you talk about your niche hobbies, so you’re always willing to listen to him. 

Except today, apparently, because for some reason you’re more irritated than usual about the topic of Miss Gamer Girl. 

“Have you asked her out?” 

You interrupt Wonwoo mid-speech. You don’t look at him as you ask, but you can tell he’s surprised by the way he stumbles a bit, catching himself before he trips into a garden of freshly blooming flowers. 

“Huh? Who?”

You glance at him as you near the burger place. “GamerGirl17.”

Wonwoo’s footsteps slow, and you raise your eyebrows at him. He doesn’t say anything else for a minute as you enter the restaurant. It isn’t until you’ve sat down and ordered drinks that he answers you, and you clench your fists in an attempt to stay calm.

“I’m not going to ask her out,” Wonwoo says, and you meet his gaze. He looks embarrassed to say it.

“Why? You like her, no?”

Wonwoo’s mouth opens and closes a bit. He looks down and away from you, suddenly finding something on his empty plate far more interesting. “Um,” he tries again, “I’m not really interested in… in dating anyone right now, I guess?” 

Your heart sinks as you try to decide if that’s better or worse for you. You think worse.

Ouch.

”Oh,” you reply with a slow nod. You clear your throat. “That’s cool, then. I just wasn’t sure, that’s all.”

Your food arrives soon after, and you try to push past the awkward conversation by asking for pictures of Wonwoo’s parents’ new puppy. It works to distract him, but you don’t forget his comment. 

I’m not interested in anyone right now.

“I’m sorry for the last minute notice,” you offer as you wait by Wonwoo’s door. “I didn’t know I left it here.”

He hums in acknowledgement as he grabs your cardigan from the back of his chair. “It’s all good.” 

You try to ignore the once over he gives you as he hands you the sweater. You’re dressed up, and you feel a bit embarrassed under his gaze, though you’re not sure why. “Thanks.”

“Where…” Wonwoo trails off, and you watch as he leans against the doorframe. He’s gathering his thoughts, and you hate that he’s got you feeling nervous for no reason, even now when you’re about to go on your first date in months. You know you look nice dressed up in your cute flower pattern outfit for spring, but you feel so shy when he looks at you. “Where are you going?” 

“Um,” you clear your throat, “Kwan set me up on a date with a friend of his.”

Wonwoo’s eyes widen, and he straightens. You wish you could disappear into the floor. “Oh.”

”Yeah.” Your cheeks are on fire. You need to leave, now. You pretend to glance at your phone as you say, “I should probably get going.” You hold up the cardigan. “Thanks for the missing piece of my outfit.” 

As you turn to leave, your eyes squeeze shut briefly. It hurts to know he doesn’t want you in the same way, but you think you’ve just officially confirmed it. You inhale a shaky breath, willing the tears to remain at bay as you descend the stairs to the lobby. 

You’ve almost reached the front door when you hear footsteps rapidly approaching behind you, and you turn in surprise. Your heart jumps into your throat when you realize it’s Wonwoo, barefoot and out of breath.

“Wonwoo, what—“

“Don’t go.”

You pause. “What?”

“Don’t go,” he repeats, and you’re confused. He can’t mean what you think he means, not after all this time. Your lip starts to tremble. 

He seems to notice, a hand lifting in your direction as he takes a step closer, and your breath catches. He doesn’t touch you, though, just looks at you for a moment, mouth opening and closing. Then he quickly glances around the room. The only other people around are the Resident Assistant at his desk and a couple of other students walking in and out of the building. After a second, Wonwoo gently takes you by the elbow and around the corner so you’re tucked away, and he’s suddenly so close that you can’t breathe. 

“When I said I didn’t want to date anyone right now, I meant anyone else. Other people.” His words are jumbled and rushed, and your eyebrows knit together.

Your back slumps to rest against the wall behind you. He’s not making sense, but you have a feeling in your stomach, and you can’t believe what you think is happening here. You can’t. “Wonwoo,” you say quietly, voice trembling, “You need to be super clear with me right now, because I can’t…”

You trail off, and Wonwoo steps even closer. The proximity causes you to straighten, every single part of you on edge. You still don’t know if it’s good or bad.

His eyes search yours. Then he speaks, voice so soft and sure that you think it surprises even him. “I meant that I don’t want to date anyone other than you.”

Your mouth falls open. You search his face, desperately trying to comprehend what he’s just said. You can tell he’s nervous, and your immediate instinct would usually be to comfort him, but right now, you can’t think. You can’t breathe. When you don’t say anything, he takes a step back. 

“I’m sorry. You can go on your date, I just… I needed you to know—“

“Wonwoo.” It comes out strangled, but you had to say something. Anything to stop him from leaving. He stops, and all you can do is shake your head in disbelief. He gives you a moment, his gaze falling to the floor, but you can’t look away from him. “If you mean that,” you say slowly, “then I’m not going anywhere.”

Wonwoo blinks back at you. It’s almost comical, how wide his eyes have gotten behind his glasses. The way you can practically see him buffering. 

“You’re not?” He finally says, and you can hear the relief in his voice. It makes your heart ache a little, because how can he not know how you feel? You shake your head. 

“Unless you have other plans.” Your voice is shy, uncertain, but he’s quick to quell your fears.

“No,” he says, firm. “I’m all yours.” 

The second the door to his room closes, you’re in his arms. You’re feeling so unbelievably shy at all these new revelations, and you can tell he is, too. He stumbles a bit when you wrap your arms around his waist, face pressed to his chest, but he’s quick to respond. His arms pull you in tight as he laughs, and you can feel it against your cheek. 

You don’t remember the last time you felt this nervous. 

“Wonwoo?”

He hums, and you gather enough courage to pull back and look up at him. When your eyes meet, you have to resist the urge to hide your face from him again. He looks so fond. So happy.

You don’t know what you were going to say as your gaze falls to his mouth. You watch as he swallows, his fingers gently squeezing where they rest on your waist in an attempt to help you refocus, but it’s a lost cause. 

“You’d think I’ve never kissed anyone before with how nervous I am right now.”

The words are out before you can stop them, and you’re absolutely mortified. Your hands immediately lift to cover your face. A few seconds of silence pass, and then you realize that Wonwoo is laughing. 

“Oh, is that what we’re about to do? Kiss?” 

You freeze. Is he… teasing you?

“What happened to shy Wonwoo from before? Bring him back,” you whine, hands falling from your face to send him a glare. 

“He knows you like him back now, so he’s a bit more confident.” He’s grinning, and you pout. He quirks an eyebrow, one hand lifting to your jaw as he adds, “He knows now that he makes you nervous.”

You would be absolutely scandalized by his words if it weren’t for what happens next. Because suddenly he’s kissing you, and all bets are off. 

It’s not much, just a soft press of his mouth to yours, but it’s enough. 

“For the record,” Wonwoo says as he pulls away, and you vaguely register the flush of his cheeks under the dim lamplight, “you make me nervous as hell, too.”

“For the record,” you smile, “I don’t want to go on a date with anyone that’s not you, either.”

A/N: thank you so much to everyone for all the love on pov! Here’s the second of our Thirteen Valentines. I can only see Nana Tour Glasses!Wonwoo, all the time.

Please please please reblog if you can to spread the word, and check out the Thirteen Valentines masterlist! If you want to be added to the taglist, send me a message :)

Taglist: @waldau @wqnwoos @tae-bebe @gyuminusone @savventeen @eoieopda @minisugakoobies @wheeboo @lvlystars @darkypooo @christinewithluv

[atxxzist]

spring in our hearts | c.s (preview)

summary: the spring where you finally fall in love and experience everything that comes with it; the good and the bad

pairing: choi san x f!reader

genre: angst, slice of life, suggestive, romance, fluff?

release date: sometime around next week, idk

and he probably didn’t push too hard because it’s almost like he knew you’re gonna be there; waking up before it’s even 7 and sitting at the same table from before, watching guests go in and out of the room hoping to catch the boy that sent you the text last night.

his face lights up the same as you when he enters, waving in the air and heading your direction, you really shouldn’t feel so nervous but excited at the sight of him walking.

“hey!” he greets cheerfully, sliding into the seat across with a smile.

“good morning,” you return, hands curled in your lap and happy he can’t see them because you wonder what he’d think.

“how you’d sleep?” he ask the same time he combs over his morning hair, never in your life has someone looked so good doing so, you didn’t even think it was possible.

“good,” you manage to answer with composure. “and you?”

“alright.” he shrugs. “wooyoung was just mostly drunk and annoying from last night’s dinner.”

a small giggle also laced with empathy escapes from you. “well i’m sorry to hear. i hope today will be better.”

he nods. “hopefully.” then realizing you haven’t even gotten your food, talking in a concerned tone, “don’t tell me you were waiting for me.”

“i was,” you say. “don’t worry about it. i’m not that hungry. the dinner last night kept me filled plenty.”

“if you say so…” he lingers a bit before continuing, “should we go now?”

“sure.”

you also get close to the same thing you got last time, with the exception that they’ve switched out pancakes for waffles, getting a question from san after sitting down about your food choices.

“well, i really only eat korean foods,” you tell him. “i’m not too fond of anything else besides what’s on my plate right now.”

“ahh. so you’re a picky eater?”

“somewhat. that’s why yeosang hates going out to eat with me.”

san lets out a quiet snicker, something more mischievous bubbling in his eyes that you don’t read into.

“you talk about yeosang a lot… does yours and his relationship ever bothers your other friend?” he asks, the question stopping you from sipping your coffee.

the friendly and harmless tone still in the air but you can’t hide the fact the question flusters you a little.

“well, me and yeosang have known each other for a while… even before grace, so she understands that we don’t see each other like that at all.”

san quirks his lips and nods, taking your words for it.

“why?” you speak again. “do we give out that kind of vibe?” you ask worriedly, because you would never want to unintentionally (or intentionally) hurt grace in any ways. on your life you have never seen yeosang for more than the annoying middle schooler you couldn’t get rid of.

but as san shakes his head, you feel a sense of relief, watching as a light smirk creep up on his face.

“just wondering,” he says, so calmly but eerie at the same time, you can’t quite grasp the intention. but then something else comes over, and you forget all about deciphering san’s answer; not really wanting to but letting the intrusive thoughts win.

“and that girl you were with yesterday? you guys together?” you ask, no menance in your voice; just a natural curioisity because you wanna know… not for any reasons deeper.

“she’s a friend,” he answers fast and casual. “i know her from my previous school because we were under the same program and have similar interests and whatnot.”

“i see,” you mumble, a light smile anyone would’ve missed because you don’t wanna admit to anyone why the fact brings you a sense of comfort.

but it doesn’t cut it with grace.

“that’s what they always say!” she cries dramatically, after storming into your room when she was finally done sleeping past noon and the events of yesterday hit her.

but you don’t have any reasons to doubt san, even if you love your best friend and wanna take her words for it, you don’t think it’s fair to assume someone you barely know is trying to take your man that isn’t really your man.

“for all you know, they could be fucking behind doors.”

“grace!” you yell your friend’s name at such accusation, your ears turning red at even the thought of it.

“sorry,” she mutters, but barely meaning it, only shrugging off what needed to be said.

“i just don’t want you to be hurt in the end,” she says, voice a kind of sympathy you didn’t even know you need.

because yes, you think san is handsome. he is kind and unusually attentive to you for whatever reasons, and seeing someone else by his side made your stomach queasy all for the wrong reasons… but you don’t feel justified in feeling a certain way just because your friend says you should.

you’re not with him and you still don’t even know if you wanna be with him.

“trust me, grace,” you assure her, a confident smile settling on your lips that she only frowns to. “i’ll be fine.”

and as much as she wants to believe it, it’s hard not to doubt knowing the way you are.

how, though you’ve navigated through life barely getting romantically involved with boys, it wouldn’t be difficult for someone like san to get you wrapped around his fingers if he wants to.

the guy way too charming; how he just casually checks all criteria from looks to personality, the girl herself rooting for you and him initially, but quickly rethinking the choice after last night.

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

Hey hey! I was wondering if you could do the greasers with a hyperfeminine reader? 🫶🏽

Sureeeeeee pookie

The Gang x Hyperfem! Reader

(Tried to find accurate pics but there’s like none on friggin google- ps I could only find pink but hyperfem doesn’t necessarily mean always pink! And Hyperfem can be an umbrella term for many aesthetics (Lolita, coquette, old money, etc. that help you embrace a youthful look and femininity!)

Ponyboy Curtis

-he sees you sitting under a tree, studying one day

-and he’s like Whoa

-the background is fitting, it’s just begun spring and all the flowers are blooming around you

-quite fitting indeed for your flowy dress with light pastel heels

-he really loves your style

-and loves that you embrace your femininity

-he would try to get you things that he thinks you would like

-he smiles when he sees a pretty fabric that reminds him of you 😊

-he compares you to a lot of similar women he sees on screen with similar style (Marylin Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, etc. maybe not time period accurate but whateverrr)

-“Hey uh Y/n! I saw one of those girls that dressed like you in the movie the other day!”

-absolutely draws you

Johnny Cade

-he thinks you’re stunning

-he really loves your style and how it stands out from most people

-I think fashion wise you two contrast pretty well with you wearing more lacy things and him wearing a jean jacket

-just an aesthetically pleasing couple tbh

-he calls you things like “lovely” “love” “princess”

Sodapop Curtis

-he also adores your style

-you two fit like a key and lock

-I think for even his time period sodapop is the most embracing of his own femininity

-and he loves that you can appreciate yours

-he would let you doll him up for fun

-like putting lace or bows in his jeans and hair

-he shrugs it off whenever the other greasers give him shit for it

-he’s simply above their opinions

Darry Curtis

-he’s stunned when he sees you

-you look as graceful as a swan

-his illusion is quickly destroyed whenever you fall on a rock, right in front of him

-and before you fall he quickly catches you

-and you awkwardly get up, uttering a small thank you with an embarrassed smile

-which he thinks is adorable

-I love you guys yall are such perfect husband and wife vibes

-he loves your outfits and you both are such opposites fashion wise

-💀he throws on whatever is clean

-while you spend thirty minutes deciding what to wear

Dallas Winston

-oh, he hasn’t seen a broad like you since New York

-he thinks you’re amazing

-all dolled up

-you two definitely met when he was catcalling you on the street (why is it always Dallas 💀😭)

-and you know walked up to him, in pretty neat strides despite your heels

-and gave him a hard slap (poor dal I always make y/n slap him)

-(cuz he needs it)

-but anyway he’s kinda like whoa… you’re feisty. Don’t worry, I like that. (bc he would say that 😭)

-and you would roll your eyes at him, giving him a polite hand gesture

-before storming away in your heels

-I don’t even know how he’d manage to date you it would take months of effort

-but once you both are dating you’re pretty cute together, and you try to make him less of an asshole

-(which idk what voodoo you pulled out to make that happen but it eventually works a little)

Two Bit Mathews

-when he sees you his jaw drops to the ground

-he really loves your style

-he touches the lace and various things a lot in admiration

-he shoplifts things for you that he thinks you’ll like

-“Aw, Two! This is so nice! But, where’d ya get it?”

-“Y’know…. Don’t worry ‘bout it, y/n.”

-he makes jokes but their kinda more just about admiring your outfits

-he’s really proud of you

- drinks less when you both are a couple

Steve Randle

-he pretends to not be super impressed and amazed at your style whenever you walk into the gas station

-but he totally is and talks to Sodapop about you way too much

-“Hey, but, did you see that one chick, y/n? With all the pretty clothes and stuff?”

-sodapop makes him talk to you next time you’re at the DX

-you actually think he’s pretty cool and you two hit it off really well

-even if you both have different styles and hobbies you both love learning about eachother

-he remembers all the small things, what perfume you like, what lipgloss is your favorite brand, etc.

[razorblade180]

Catching a Vibe

At the home of The People of the Springs, Aether finds himself calmly on a surfboard. Dawn has barely broken and the waves are calmer than his thoughts; although that wasn’t exactly a hard task. His mind flowed like the currents underneath him and his eyes stared off into the horizon so much he didn’t notice the tribe’s most famous guide paddle up to him.

Mualani:Ah, so you’re the brooding type. You and Kinich are going to hit it off.

Aether:Huh?! Oh, h-hey. What brings you out here.

Mualani:Shouldn’t that be my line. This entire place is practically my backyard. Where’s Paimon?

Aether:Asleep. I wanted to practice my surfing. She’s not exactly a swimmer and gets anxious when we’re separated.

Mualani:Ah, how kind of you. No worries can happen when her head is full of dreams. Also to answer your question, I’m out here because someone was wading in the water at the crack of dawn all alone.

Aether:That’s not normal here?

She gestured to the entire area. Aside from a few fishing boats in the distance, there was a definite lack of people in the water.

Aether:Hehe, I guess not.

Mualani:It’s one thing if you were in a hot spring, but open water is another thing entirely. Not that I’m particularly worried for ya. I imagine Fontaine has made you quite the strong swimmer.

Aether:*shudders* Honestly I think it’s the only reason I find it normal to be out here right now. Anyways, I’m fine. I’ll head back in a little while so if you have anything you need to do…

Mualani:I got nothing that can’t wait for actual sunlight. Staying out here isn’t a problem. Also…*leans closer* between you and me, a certain floating companion asked me to keep an eye on you a couple days ago.

Aether:…Haha, man, I guess I can’t get past her.

Mualani:I won’t disclose details but I will say I pretty confused at first. From what I could tell you seemed to be managing. But…after everything we’ve been through recently I think I understand a bit better. Things sure got complicated fast.

The surfer let out a chuckle and a wary sigh before shaking off the feeling.

Aether:Things really got crazy for you. Need to vent?

Mualani:Nah I’m good. At first it was… a lot. Still is, but I’ve processed the situation more or less. No need to sweat it. I’m actually grateful. From the moment we met your vibe felt a little out of wack in a way I couldn’t explain. Now I’m sure it’s because you’ve been dealing with crisis like this often, right?

Aether:Did you just call my vibes horrendous?

Mualani:You get what I mean! Paimon sure would.

Aether:I…can’t argue that.

Mualani:Don’t worry. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to and I won’t pry.

Aether:So what exactly are you hoping to accomplish.

Mualani:Hmmmm…

She takes her pointer fingers and places them on the corners of Aether’s mouth, raising them up to make a smile to…well…smile at. She removes her fingers to pleasantly see her work stay as Aether looked at her with mild confusion.

Mualani:Uh huh. Just as I suspected. Your smile used to be way bigger I bet. That’s probably what Paimon is worried about. It’s gone into hiding, hasn’t it?

Aether:I-I wouldn’t know. I’m pretty sure my smile has been the same so… sighs

Mualani:See? Can’t even convince yourself. Never a good sign. I don’t know when you lost it; only you can really answer that. Your friend misses it, and I honestly would love to see it. Not to say your smiles so far haven’t been wonderful, but now I’m invested. Kind people always have the best smiles. They really light up a room!

Aether:Haha, you’re right about that. Kachina really knows how to make a person want to do their best.

Mualani:I know right! She’s so adorable. That smile means so much to me. I can also tell yours brought her a lot of comfort. Seriously, thanks for sticking your neck out for her. It means a lot. Kinich typically reins me in whatever someone is bothering her. It was quite the interesting change to have someone also want throw down against those jerks slandering her.

Aether:I don’t know if we should call that solitary or enabling.

Mualani:Hahaha! Either way, I’d say we’re thick as thieves now. More importantly, war buddies. I couldn’t ask for anything better.

Aether:Heh, funnily enough, I seem to make war buddies left and right. Never thought it would be as common as it is. Although…this time is a little different. You’re different.

Mualani:Oh?

Aether:Natlan is pretty amazing, and the way of your people, the way you act is refreshing. I know I said something about solidarity earlier, but honestly it’s more like I’m catching your vibe. Instead of worrying about my journey and the things ahead I’m just…taking things as they come. No use worrying about it all, right? Thanks Mualani. *smiles* You’re pretty cool.

Mualani:*smiles* Oh hehe, thank you. *holds fist out* “No one fights alone.” From here on out, we have each other’s back. How about tomorrow I can teach you some really epic surfing tricks. If you can keep up that is.

Aether:You’re on.

He bumps fists her proudly as the horizon makes the water shimme. For the first time in what felt like awhile, the Sun emerged in full force.

[storms-path]

So, How 'bout That Arcadion?

So I had (and still have) plans to do a write-up on Dawntrail's final dungeon and how it contrasts so interestingly with Amaurot and The Dead Ends after my analysis of Dawntrail and Conquerors, but then Arcadion decided to spring out of nowhere, grab me in a headlock and demand I talk about the music and how it reflects our new darling challengers.

So I'm gonna. As always, spoilers below, read at your own risk, etc. etc. Also I know very little about actual music theory so a lot of this is based on vibes and how things relate to themes and characters and all that. I'll leave the proper music analysis to the musicians. I'm here for the fighters!

So, let's start at the beginning with the cunning, cutting Black Cat. You might be surprised to know that Yaana and her theme were what inspired me to write about this in the first place! While her battle theme might not blow away anyone, that's kind of the point. She's a rookie, unestablished in Arcadion and just as hungry as you are, if not moreso, to prove herself a rising fighter.

The lack of any real lyrics aside from the crowd chants are very effective at displaying how the Black Cat lacks a proper identity at this point. That and the shared leitmotif with her sister (we'll get to her later) foreshadow that she is trying and failing to escape Eutrope's shadow. It's clear that even now Yaana's older sister's disappearance haunts her, to the point that she's following in Eutrope's footsteps to find the missing fighter, or failing that, answers.

Honey B. Lovely, on the other hand, is about as in-your-face as she can get. There's very little subtlety to this one, she wants your love and adoration forever and ever. And she wants so much more than only you can give. I do love the contrast between her song's incredibly chipper, saccharine sweet melodies and singing voice... as she's singing about essentially turning you into a mindless drone who will wait on her hand and foot, right down to threatening terrible violence if you manage to break free of it.

Charming lady, this one. Just look at all her new fans. Someone please get her song out of my head I can't stop hearing it while I try to work I just want to be a good little drone please stop

Speaking of contrasts, Brute Bomber is about as far from Honey B. Lovely's chipper little ditty as you can get. Another song without any vocals, unless you count guttural growling and roaring as vocals (though sidenote, I adore how they degrade into chiptune towards the end of it, that's so good). But unlike Black Cat, Brute Bomber very much has his own identity and purpose. In his case, the lack of lyrics are because he simply doesn't need them.

Where Honey B. Lovely is desperately trying to win you over and failing to hide the venom beneath, Brute Bomber is just here to beat you up until you stop moving. He's the champion! What does he need with some stupid lyrics? You don't need to understand him, you just need to understand that he's better than you and he's going to prove it by beating you bloody. His is a refreshingly simple track. Hard, heavy, no frills. Just like him.

And then there's our surprise final challenger, Wicked Thunder. She's in a whole other league compared to the others and she knows it. Really, there's not much to say about her that her song doesn't spell out. She's desperate, driven to try the unthinkable thanks to her slowly eroding soul. She's tasted glory but the aftertaste has her choking, and only claiming our soul for her own will cleanse the palate.

That being said, the sheer confidence in her vocals are what really sells her as a serious threat. While most of the song focuses on what she's lost, the chorus is a battle cry, a ringing roar of protest against anyone who thinks she's beaten. The repetition is used excellently throughout, hammering home both her desperation and her conviction. She will win, even if it costs her everything she once held dear.

Anyway, all of this is really to say that I completely adore Arcadion so far and I can't wait to see how the new tiers fold me over a table and shatter my spine from the top rope. They absolutely nailed the wrestling vibes with this tier, right down to the electric theme songs. And to think, this is only the beginning!

[aqua-dan]

hello!! Do you have any Garth comic recommendations for someone (me) who has never read a Garth comic outside of a handful of TT issues before?

Hi!! I definitely have some recommendations! This definitely isn't a comprehensive reading list by ANY means (although I do want to make one eventually!), but rather a small smattering of Garth centric comics that I think are fun or noteworthy! (These are also not in any particular order, just written out as they come into my brain lol)

Tempest (1996) - Obviously the Garth holy grail! There is no better Garth comic than this. It is peak and honestly one of the best books DC has ever put out. It's short, too (only 4 issues), so it's not too intensive of a read.

Adventure Comics #269 - "The Kid from Atlantis" - Garth's first appearance! Don't get too hung up on the lore here, as it changes later on, but it's a sweet issue and obviously important!

Adventure Comics #270 - "The Menace of Aqualad" - I love this issue for a multitude of reasons-- including the fully unintentional foreshadowing,-- but mainly I love it because it showcases what a sweet person Garth is and always has been.

World's Finest Comics #133 - "Aquaman's New Partner -- Aqua-girl" - Again, the lore needs to be disregarded, but this issue fascinates me as an early iteration of Garth's insecurity about where he stands with Arthur/feeling useful.

I probably shouldn't list everything individually so this post doesn't end up being a mile long, haha! So I'll start putting some groupings together:

Aquaman vol 1 #14, 18, 23, and #33

The Brave and the Bold #54

Teen Titans vol 1 #11 (not particularly Garth centric but just especially fun to me lol), #17, #19, #28, #29, #44-end of series. (Side note that @ttwasteland has a really good podcast covering volume 1 of Teen Titans! Actually, they have a lot of Teen Titans podcasts! Which is really useful for those who struggle to read Silver Age comics + I am immensely pleased with Hub's Aqualad enthusiasm!)

The Brave and the Bold (vol 3) #10

Death of a Prince (Technically, I recommend reading all of it, since it'll help you understand how things got to this point. But especially Adventure Comics #452 and the Aqualad stories in #453-455.)

Tales of the Teen Titans #85 & #86 + Teen Titans Spotlight #10

Teen Titans Spotlight #18

Teen Titans Spotlight #21

Aquaman vol 5 (Yes, all of it lol)

Showcase '96 #1

Teen Titans (Vol 3) #12-16

JLA/Titans

Titans (vol 1) At least the Devin Grayson portion, but I don't dislike the later stuff either!

There are also storylines that I think are fun or important that happen in across various books/stories (Obsidian Age, Aquaman vol 6, other (Teen) Titans stories, Blackest Night, CoIE, dare I even say Sword of Atlantis...), but I'll save those for a more in-depth reading list some other time! These ones are just popping up in my head rn.

If you want N52/Rebirth stuff, there are also a few stories that are pretty good. Sadly, they're pretty few and far between since canon changes and DC tossing their character bibles have left poor Garth in an odd, largely OoC limbo for years. Although I don't /love/ these stories as much as others, they still manage to vaguely pass the vibe check:

Nightwing & the Titans in Team Building (Robin 80th Anniversary 100 Page Super Spectacular) It's not super Garth centric, but it's fun!

Aquaman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 - “It’s a Family Affair”

Aquaman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 - “Lady in the Lake”

World's Finest: Teen Titans & DC's Spring Breakout "Relay for your Life" Garth's characterization in these... isn't right, but I feel like it has the spirit more than the vast majority of things published in recent years.

Titans (2023-) I... don't totally feel right putting this here, but I feel like slowly... extremely slowly... they are starting to fix Garth's characterization. We're not quite there yet-- and it is sadly written by Tom Taylor,-- but I feel like it's going to lead to something that's actually good for Garth again. (Aka so many hints towards a potential new Tempest mini-series or one-shot have been dropped lately, and I feel like this series will be context important.)

Ok, to try to finish this out: Also consider watching some stuff with Garth in it like Aquaman (1967) TV show / DC Super Hero Girls (2019), or reading some cute, non-canon series such as Tiny Titans! It's just good fun!!

Anyways, thank you so much for the ask!! I hope this helps!!! (And thank you for allowing me a chance to ramble lol!)

[vampiric-succulent]

OUAW EP 20:

It’s not even past the bean footage yet and already I have a thing to comment about—

“Hey. Keep working. Keep your hands down.” Idk if it’s just Mace or if it’s me but this is an interesting thing to start the episode with

Also I lowkey already watched this but considering that I wasn’t really paying attention due to Sleep im rewatching

Oh this is the Silly Goofy episode. Got it.

Watching this is so different now that I know how tall each of these people actually are in real life

“Mr Kremyyyyy….. Torbek had a nightmaaaare………..” torb <3

Hot jones?

Why is Mikey using the King Shmebulon voice

Oh the energy here is so weird today

NEXT YOURE GONNA TELL TORBEK THAT A SHRIMP FRIED THAT RICE and they’re gone

The improv shenanigans here are SO GOOD— “the wee hours” watches and the blue J and the bottle of something

HOT JONES!!!

“There was that guy and he was like… woah.” Bi Gricko!!!! “Why you always watching these kingly types and looking at their woah?” Lmfao Gideon you are no better

Degenerate Jones

TABAXI TORBEK and eughhh Mammon Tiefling Gricko (applying for all Mammon Tiefling Gricko)

I love how Kremy is super paranoid thinks everyone is out to get him but still immediately tells Gideon everything (I need to see Gideon do some sort of something back bc coalecroux is feeling increasingly one sided and it is making me sad)

“Torbek was happy with the infinite abyss”

THE FEDS

Poor Twig she went from dealing with absolute loneliness to dealing with all this bullshit. She needs to have the space to Bogart out a little bit like get this woman a destruction room

Twig 🤝 Torbek

coping mechanisms

Gideon has such older brother who acts like a father figure to Twig vibes

THE FEDS THEYRE IN THE CLOTHES

Torbek is simply following suit… following the suit to the ground lmfao

PENIS NOSE?????? HOW IS THAT AN OPTION

Gideon is overwhelmed by Penis im sorry

This is just reminding me of when Frost got the proud nudist curse and Derek made that slapping turn joke 😭

Obligatory “im walkin here” please stop

Nvm we have the coalecroux and also poly party affirmations (long shots and headcanons)

OH!!! Woah there Kremy

“Think of the Federal government!” Quick Gid take your clothes off!! The government!!!

OH NO THE ORCIFICATION

NO THE FUCKING CABINET

DEREK. DEREK WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT DEREK WE COULD HAVE NEVER GONE DOWN THAT ROAD

Love Torbek’s Spring Aladrin voice. It’s like some sort of old English aristocratic friend of Oscar Wilde.

Oop! Theseus’s Ship mentioned (kind of)

“Did we do a bunch of drugs before bed again?” Funny you should have asked that Gideon given what is now happening

“Tentacles probe me” “yes Gideon join us the time is now get naked”

WHY IS IT ERECT NOW DEREK. PUT THAT DOWN. “Something about beekeeper helmets…” HUH

Oh god Twig is gonna bogart out

PUT IT DOWN. PUT THAT THING DOWN AND AWAY.

“STOP BEING ERECT. STOP EATING MY BONES”

Love how Nikkie says “your mind is back to Gricko” and Mikey just starts screaming

Whoops!

It is so impressive how Twig is so controlled. Like she has every justification to absolutely freak out right now and she’s keeping calm and trying to manage things.

Thank god Hootsie is out of this lol

NO TWIG LOOK AWAY

“Torbek was *very* thorough.”

Okay seriously how old is Twig?? This is a very important question. Like REALLY important.

I’m imagining Spring Aladrin Torbek lying on a couch like he’s gonna say “draw me like one of your French girls”

Guys. Please. We are nearly halfway through this video. Please.

YES CAST SILENCE. HUSH MICHAEL.

No Twig it’s not your fault!!!!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!

Not the Pennsylvanian sperm trees

“After what I’ve watched today I don’t think you’ll accomplish anything of value.”

Not the milk joke PLEASE y’all not the cilk

Frost is so sweet tho

No more Hot Joneses :(

Yesss Twig establish those boundaries!!!!

Tom is such a deep cut

Okay so Twig is at least 200 years old. Good. That’s really good. Good to know.

Grinko is having a stronk. Please call the Gronkulance.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HOOTSIE.

Omg she’s their niece!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But also HOLY FUCK HE HIT HER??? WITH A CABINET????????

“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.”

Menasith, and their older sibling Menapauthe.

The Glowing Anus 😭

Oh this is Nikkie’s fault. Fantastic.

MORNING FROTH CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE

“That’s very funny Gricko. Your daughter is possibly bleeding out.”

Ohhhh Hootsie’s okay thank god

Gricko however is really not

Okay so I know this is a fantasy campaign and we are in the literal Feywild so this like kind of doesn’t matter but how does Gideon get energy??? Does he need to absorb nutrients or is it just sort of as long as he keeps his internal furnace alive he’s okay?

Twig boundaries 100 with regards to Torbek but fully get the party’s concerns

Also Twigsy ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Not Gricko being hypnotized by Spring Aladrin Torbek’s hip sway

Torbek does not know but Torbek must dance!!!!

Oh Torbek’s ticket is so sad

“This is an Acorn Satchel!!!”

Mikey annoying Nikkie so much that she just takes things away

Frost getting jealous over the Gricko impression 😭❤️

What is a mud meffet?????

I love Andy so much. Oh he’s wonderful. So glad he’s here.

KLUTZY RETURNS for like two seconds

Love these guys. Oh my lord. Also what the fuck happened in the first like hour???? Still a fun little episode.

[bradshawsbaby]

Letters to My Love // Part III

Blue Moon

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Bob Floyd x Female Reader

Summary: When you signed up to volunteer with the USO, you never anticipated that you would meet a man like Ensign Robert Floyd. Fate brings you together one balmy spring evening in Charleston—the night before Bob is set to ship off across the Atlantic. Pen and paper become your only means of sharing your heart with the naval aviator who’s captivated it, igniting a correspondence that spans the distance between you. Can love blossom even as war rages and thousands of miles keep you apart?

Word Count: 2.8k

Author’s Note: I’m making a serious effort to be as historically accurate as possible in each of these letters, but I also realize that I may reference things that some people are unfamiliar with or confused about. I’d be happy to answer any questions about the time period if you have them!

Set the Mood: If you’re looking for some 1940s vibes, check out the playlist I made to pair with the story!

Song(s) referenced in this chapter: Chattanooga Choo Choo // Blue Moon

Dedication: As always, dedicated to my sweet friend, @luminousnotmatter​, as well as everyone who has offered such lovely support for this series!

Warnings: Alternating POV, references to war and its impact, allusions to rationing, plenty of fluff.

July 6, 1942

Dear Peach,

Is it alright if I call you Peach? I suppose being in and around the Navy for as long as I have, I’ve become sort of used to the notion of nicknames. We’ve got one for everyone around here, and Peach just seems to suit you. I admit, it’s how I’ve come to think of you. But if you don’t like it—or if it seems too familiar for me to be calling you a silly nickname—you let me know right away and I’ll be sure not to do it again.

Gosh, I can’t tell you how happy it made me to receive your letter. Mail Call is always a good day—you should see the smiles around here when the fellas get letters from their sweethearts and families. But it felt a hundred times better the day I got your letter. Benny was about ready to tear it out of my hands and open it himself, and Tommy Boy wasn’t too far behind. Paul practically had to knock their heads together so that I could have a little peace. I kept it in my pocket and saved it to read until after dinner that night. Let me tell you, it was certainly sweeter than any dessert they could cook up in the mess (although, admittedly, their dessert could use some work, even on a good day).

I’m sorry that it took me so long to write back. You wouldn’t believe this, Peach, but they’ve really got us working hard over here. It’s almost like there’s a war on or something.

I’m sorry, was that a terrible thing to say? I don’t mean to make light of it. None of us do. But I think we’ve found that if we look for a little bit of levity every now and then, it makes this whole thing a bit easier to bear. We haven’t been here long, but we’ve already seen and heard things we’d rather not remember. So we look for the good where we can find it—like Mail Call, when we get special letters from lovely girls back home, just like you.

To answer your question, I’m doing just fine. I suppose I won’t try to get one past the Office of Censorship this time around, but we’re still in the same region of Europe and expect to be so for the foreseeable future. I wish that I could paint you a beautiful picture of what life is like here, but it’s rather bleak at the moment. You can still see the pockets of beauty though—I’m sure it was a wonderful place before this war. I hope that one day, it will be again.

But I’m sure you don’t want to hear me ramble on about the sad state of the world right now. Should we talk about something happier? How was your Fourth of July? I hope it was swell. I admit, my mouth was watering a bit the other day when I thought about all the things my mother always makes to celebrate. I’ll never know how she manages to get it all done, but she prepares a feast for us every year. My favorite part has to be her apple cobbler—drop a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, and I swear, it’s heaven. All of us were missing home a little extra this Independence Day, so we ended up swapping stories of home and all the ways our families celebrate. I have to say, it did help to dull some of the homesickness. Tommy Boy had us all dreaming about parades marching through town, and Benny couldn’t stop talking about his mother’s berry icebox cake. We made him promise that when this is all over, he’ll have us as dinner guests so that we can sample it for ourselves. Do you have any special Fourth of July traditions?

Speaking of families and traditions, I’m so glad to hear that Paddy, Dottie, and little Frankie are doing well. Although I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting your sister, from everything you’ve told me, it does sound like Paddy has found his perfect match. She sounds like a woman who can certainly keep him on his toes. By the way, please let Paddy know that we all played a rousing game of Rummy in his honor. We look forward to getting to play with him again when we get home.

Gosh, there’s just so much I want to say. But it’s kind of hard, isn’t it? Knowing the right things to say, I mean. I’ve always been kind of amazed at how eloquent people’s letters can be. Mine sort of just end up coming out like a jumbled mess. It’s like I want to tell you everything that crosses my mind—as if we were sitting on that bench together on King Street—but I can’t think of a proper way to do it. So I apologize now if this letter is horribly scatter-brained and messy. I’ll try my very best to be more organized in the future.

What I do have to tell you—and I should have said it earlier—is how much I appreciated your lovely description of your day back in Charleston. Unfortunately, it was rainy and gray here the day I received your letter, but reading your words made it feel as though the warm southern sunshine had been delivered right to us. I hope you don’t mind, but I read that part of your letter to some of the other fellas. They really appreciated it. They’re also very grateful to know that you’re thinking of us and wishing us all the best. So am I. It gives us the boost we need when the days get hard.

Nothing would make me happier than the thought of you saving a dance for me. Maybe next time, I’ll even get to hear that pretty singing voice of yours. I know you said I couldn’t be certain that you were a good singer because you were just humming, but trust me—I know. We listen to music over here sometimes when we’re able, but I do admit it’d be much more fun to be listening to it at another USO dance. Sometimes I’ll hear a song that played that night, and it makes me smile.

Anyway, they’re calling us now, and I should probably stop running my mouth so much. It’s funny—I’ve never been much of a talker (just ask Paul), but with you, I feel like I could write pages and pages, and it still wouldn’t be enough.

I hope this letter hasn’t bored you to tears, and I do hope to hear from you again soon. Thanks for sending along the sunshine.

Sincerely Yours,

Bobby

July 22, 1942

Dear Bobby,

Peach is just fine! It’s lovely, in fact. I’ve never had a nickname just for me before, so that one makes me feel quite special. On top of that, it’s also officially Dottie-approved. She insists she only happened to glance over and “accidentally” catch sight of the beginning of your letter, but I think she may have just been snooping. See? I told you she’d get on wonderfully with Benny and Tommy Boy.

Mail Call sounds like a wonderful day for all of you. The USO has been reminding us how important letter writing can be. They’ve been saying how much it boosts morale for our boys overseas, and clearly they were right. I’m touched that my letter seemed to mean so much. If it really does brighten your day, then I’d be happy to write hundreds of letters. I’m not so sure my words are really sweeter than ice cream or pie, but I will try my hardest.

You don’t have to apologize! I can only begin to imagine what it must be like for you over there. As happy as I am to receive your letters and to know that you’re doing alright, I understand that it may take a while for you to be able to write me. And you most certainly don’t need to apologize for trying to do what you can to preserve your peace of mind. My heart breaks to think what you and your friends, and all the other men over there fighting, have already seen and experienced. They say war is hell, and I absolutely believe it. I could never dream of being even half as brave as you are, Bobby. I mean that. If your heart ever feels heavy with all the burdens you have to carry, please know that you can lay it down with me. I’m more than happy to listen. I know that I won’t have all the answers—who does?—but I’ll always try my hardest to help you carry the load as best I can.

I’ve never been to Europe before, but my parents went to Paris for their honeymoon back in 1916, and my mother still talks about how beautiful and magical it was. It makes me so sad to think that countries that were once so full of life and art and beauty and culture have been reduced to war-torn husks. Like you, I have hope that one day very soon, this horrible war will be behind us and all those wonderful places will be filled with magic once more. And maybe one day in the future, I’ll get to travel there. I’d like that very much.

My Fourth of July was very nice! I have to admit, reading about your mother’s apple cobbler and Benny’s mother’s icebox cake had MY mouth watering. There must just be something about mothers because my mama also LOVES baking up a storm to celebrate Independence Day. One of her favorite desserts to make is—can you believe it?—peach tarts! Maybe we can convince our mothers to swap recipes.

This is the first Fourth of July that I haven’t celebrated with my parents back home in Georgia, but Paddy, Dottie, Frankie, and I had a wonderful day. It was Frankie’s first, so we took him to the parade in town, though I think he would have been more than happy to stay home. Poor baby is teething, and he’s been downright miserable some days. I’m sure Paul knows what that’s like, and I’m sure Natasha is dealing with the same with Paul, Jr. right now. It’s hard to watch him suffer—I know it just about kills Dottie.

Speaking of Dottie, she was rather upset that her baking plans got a bit derailed by our ration cards. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but sugar is being rationed now. We pooled together as many ration cards as we could save, but there’s been such a demand for it that there was hardly any to be found. We settled on a simple pound cake with strawberries, which Dottie wasn’t happy about, but Paddy made sure to cheer her up by making a big show about how it was the best pound cake he’d ever tasted. Personally, I do think it could have used more sugar, but please don’t tell Dottie that I said that.

Thankfully, Frankie took a good nap that day, so he was in much better spirits by the time the fireworks went off. We went down by the water to watch them, and he was mesmerized. I enjoyed them, too, but it felt sort of strange to be having such a nice day when I thought of you and all the other men who have gone off to fight for us. It felt wrong somehow to be celebrating as though there wasn’t a terrible war waging halfway across the world, a war that’s been taking more and more of our men every day. But Paddy helped to put it into perspective for me slightly. He said that the men who are over there fighting—men like you, Bobby—are doing so precisely so that the rest of us can enjoy these freedoms. He said that, if it were him, he’d be happy to know that we were safe and still getting the chance to celebrate our independence. Was he right, Bobby? I hope it doesn’t feel like rubbing salt in a wound, me telling you about our Fourth of July.

Can I tell you something? I think Paddy’s been having a hard time wrestling with the fact that his job allows him to remain stateside during the war. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I heard him and Dottie sitting up in the kitchen one night, talking. I think he feels a bit guilty, being a part of the Navy, but not having to go fight the same way you all are. Dottie has been trying so hard to reassure him, but I noticed that he’s been working even longer hours now—he wants to do whatever he can for the war effort, and to help bring you boys home as quickly as he can. That’s what we’re all hoping for.

I have to admit, I giggled a little bit when I read the part of your letter about feeling like what you write is a jumbled mess. I feel the same. It’s a little tricky to have a conversation on paper, isn’t it? It’s much easier when you’re sitting face to face. Tell you what? I’ll forgive your messiness, if you forgive mine. Does that sound like a deal?

Oh, I’m so glad to hear that the talk of sunshine made you happy, even on a gray and rainy day. And I’m happy that your friends enjoyed it, too. Would you say hello to Paul for me? I’m not sure if he even remembers me, but I’m still so grateful for his kindness at the dance. Maybe say hi to Tommy Boy and Benny for me, too? Even though I haven’t met them officially, I feel like I know them so well through your stories about them.

I’m not sure about where you are, but it’s brutally hot here in Charleston now. Still sunny though, so I’m picturing scooping some of it up and sending it your way. Unless we have errands to run, Dottie and I have been staying mainly inside with the baby. I know we’re supposed to be conserving as much power as possible, but Dottie doesn’t care a fig if there’s a war on when it’s this hot—she’s got all the fans running on full blast. I hope wherever you are, you’re able to keep cool.

I have to say, Ensign Floyd, you really are going to give me a big head one of these days. I assure you that I am not as talented a singer as you seem to think I am, but perhaps I’d be willing to sing along to one song at the next dance we attend. But you have to promise not to laugh when you discover I’m terrible at it. Humming, I promise you, is very different from singing.

Now that I’m on the topic of music, however, I wanted to mention that every time Dottie puts on one of her Glenn Miller records, I think of you and your mother. I know you said she was a big Glenn Miller fan, and I like to think that maybe somewhere in Iowa, she’s listening to “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” same as us.

Just last night, while we were cleaning the kitchen, Dottie and I were listening to the radio and “Blue Moon” came on. Do you know that one? The Al Bowlly song? I think he has such a lovely voice. Anyway, I was listening to the song while I was washing the dishes and it got me thinking about the moon. Gosh, that sounds so silly now that I actually write it out. But it’s true. I was thinking about the moon, and it struck me that the moon that was shining down on me was the same moon that was shining down on you. Even though I don’t even know exactly where in the world you are, when I look up at the moon at night, I can be sure that it’s the very same moon that you’re looking at. I don’t know, maybe it’s silly, but it kind of brought me some comfort. Does that sound horribly hokey? I’m sorry if it does. Maybe if it doesn’t strike you as too terribly sentimental, you can share it with Paul the next time he’s feeling down about missing Natasha and the kids. This war might be keeping us all apart, but at night, when we look up at the moon, we can remember that we’re not so far apart as it seems.

Your letter certainly didn’t bore me to tears, Bobby. On the contrary, it made my day. Now I just hope that MY letter doesn’t bore YOU to tears. Maybe when all this is over, you and I will feel more confident in our letter-writing abilities. I certainly do hope that’s the case.

Stay safe, Bobby. Sending you all my very best.

Sincerely,

Peach

[gottagetback2u]

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 JOBS THAT WOULD FIT STRAY KIDS MEMBERS

these are all specific stores!!! most of these are american stores (i think?) so sorry if they are unfamiliar!! i may or may not have worked at these places before…

BATH AND BODY WORKS

-LEE KNOW!

-chan

-felix

-changbin

what do u mean when u tell me lee know has never stepped foot inside a bath and body works before?? HE IS MADE FOR IT OMG. the apron tied around his waist, his pretty visuals literally drawing customers in. people would actually take the scent testers from him. imagine asking for recommendations and him leading u around the store, calling out scents by name and their “floral, dark, clean” notes. his favorite scent is definitely a spring scent like book loft or a classic like crisp morning air. ALSO imagine his shy, working voice when asking people for their rewards number and then going to the back, rolling his eyes and immediately complaining. made for the job. he’s perfect.

chan and felix are also great fits! they would definitely be a lil too knowledgeable (thanks to sisters and genuine interest). imagine asking for recommendations for scents and felix whips out gingham gorgeous (aka one of the strongest, clean scent with floral). my wonderful body care men :’]

let’s be honest. changbin in an apron. that’s it.

BARNES & NOBLE

-hyunjin

-seungmin

u mean to tell me these nerds wouldn’t apply for barnes & noble at least four times? (honestly, it seems like they’re always hiring then never hire lmao)

hyunjin definitely likes the “quiet” vibe of the workplace. it’s definitely not always quiet, but being surrounded by books and drawing when he has no customers at the help desk is nice. he likes roaming around and looking at new journals, stationary, popular authors, etc. he doesn’t always read, but if the book seems popular enough he will get it to try it out! also, hyunjin dressed as a nerd with his eyebrow piercing and dyed hair. sHEEESSHH that’s the death of me.

ur probably wondering why seungmin isn’t the first name. he is literally the member that ppl said his room was “boring” bc of all the books and that he probably studies for fun. BUT, i don’t think he would necessarily like it as a job? he likes to keep his interests and hobbies to himself, so constantly recommending books or seeing others buy an author he absolutely hated might not be his favorite. although, some days he walks in and is GRATEFUL that he chose this over any other mall job. some days it’s his escape. bookworm 4L.

TARGET

-han

-jeongin

-changbin

han as a target worker is literally canon at this point. lets be honest, he would be a perfect fit. he would wear the same red zip up jacket ever shift, no matter is he’s doing shipment orders or register. mans just wants to be comfy and make money. but in all seriousness!! he likes the people he works with and enjoys how organized everything is. less to get confused and overwhelmed by.

u could find jeongin either at target or ur local grocery store. he just fits the grocery store worker vibe so well. don’t know how to explain.

changbin in a target is something i never thought about but it would work so well? imagine him at the customer service desk asking for ur card information for a refund. like how does it seem so normal???

BEST BUY

-CHANGBIN!!

-felix

first person i thought of for best buy. changbin. he just seems like such a lil dork when thinking about it?? ur telling me he wouldn’t giggle and act flustered when u thought the iphone 15 and 15 max were the same thing? he would. u know he would.

felix just works and we all know it. his mom definitely made him apply bc of his love for PCs and he kinda just got the job. loves doing tech things!! (but hates how rude some of the customers are :[)

TILLY’S

-chan

-jeongin

-han

for those who don’t know, tilly’s is kinda like an alternative skater/surfer clothing store! like beach clothes for skaters… if that makes sense…

from past experience of working here, chan just fits the manager role so well. diligent when working and so nice?? customers never feel overlooked when talking to him, all workers respect and like him, and he does amazing at his job! another thing that fits him so well is how tired he is :(( tillys puts their managers to workkk i am telling u.

jeongin would feel a lil outcasted when working here, cuz he never expected to work at a mall store??, but he likes it pretty much. he likes being on fitting room duty the most bc he could be on his phone most of the time. but he would DREAD if he was called to be on register bc he always forgets to take the security tags off.

han would fit right in. a lil… too good. he’s there for that employee discount and the limited nike clothes that get put out. would always want to be on register so time goes by faster. once again, he’s there for that check.

[vind3miat0r]

redacted listener hcs — favorite animals

i was bored and decided to give the listeners favorite animals based purely on vibes :) (also some pet hcs heheh)

long warning

Angel — most people would assume that they like something basic, like cats. while they do like cats, they like llamas and alpacas more; they think theyre silly and cool and always whines about David not letting them ride any when they go to some sort of fair or carnival

Babe — classic cat lover! they grew up with cats, so it was to be expected. they also likes dogs a lot; their favorite breeds of both being devon rexes (cats) and borzois (dogs)

Sweetheart — they like lizards. while they never had any pets growing up, they became acquainted with the multiple lizards that lived in their school friends’ gardens. they specifically like green basilisk lizards and draco volans

Darlin’ — surprisingly, they like insects. they found a preying mantis egg sac in their backyard when they were ten, and they managed to convince their parents to let them keep one of the mantises once it hatched. they like carpenter ants and preying mantises

Lovely — they like both snakes and cats. after turning, they joked to Vincent about how they were “like an albino snake now.” they begged Vincent for them to get a cat, even though cats tend to disagree with Vincent. they like corn snakes a lot and had one as a pet before they met Vincent (Rory lived a good 13 years and passed away peacefully a few weeks before the E&E 2021 games began)

Treasure — they like deer. they loved reading about the “majestic creatures” in the library, and always beelined to the deer enclosure when they visited the zoo with their family. they particularly love sambar deer and sika deer, liking the way their antlers are shaped

Freelancer — they never gave much thought to things like favorite animals, and theyd often ask growing up, “I’m supposed to have a favorite?” but, they do have an inclination towards zebras and mantis shrimp

Coworker — they love love love ferrets! when they were little, one of their friends got a ferret, and they begged their parents to let them get one (they got a hamster instead. and yes, it died because one of their siblings put it in the microwave). they did all sorts of research on ferrets (what they eat, what amount of love is good for them), and then scolded their friend because they only had one ferret and ferrets need socialization with another of their kind, or they’ll be sad and lonely. they currently have two ferrets of their own, Muffy and Minx

Starlight — theyve always liked birds, even when they were little. a local event that was hosted at a reserve near their house called the Hummingbird Festival took place every spring and fall, and their parents always made the long drive so that they could see the hummingbirds as they migrated. theyve flipped through a few favorites over the years, but the current ones are: barn owls, rosefinches, and ravens. they also like planaria worms, mainly because theyre easy to care for if kept as a pet

Sunshine — they reeeally like horses. like,, reeeeally likes them. bro was that girl /gn growing up: always begging their parents for a horse a pony, even when they knew realistically that it would cost waaay too much. they like black forest horses, colorado rangers, and gypsy vanners the most

Cutie — they went out of their way to like “different” and “unique” animals while growing up, and that habit followed them into adulthood; unlike in school, however, they genuinely like meerkats and lemurs, instead of just saying they do in order to gain clout. they also like beta fish and axolotls

Doc — same as Freelancer, they never gave much thought to their favorite animal. usually, they just said they liked dogs in order to get whoever was asking off their back. after many years of saying that as their answer, its kinda become true. while theyre more of a cat-person, they do like dogs, and has owned them in the past. currently, they have a siberian cat named Vale, and they want to get a bearded collie

Warden — while having favorite animals is considered a “human thing,” Warden likes jellyfish and sea bunnies. one of their charges really likes sea creatures, and they asked her to tell them about them, resulting in about an hour long lesson on whales and sharks. Warden (of their own accord) started researching other sea animals, and found that they really like jellyfish and sea slugs. they specifically like moon jellyfish, mushroom jellyfish, sea bunnies, and sea angels

[differenteagletragedy]

hello, i've been thinking about musical theatre nerd Baxter since the Phantom of the Opera ask, and now i need headcanons about it, please, personally, i also think we would've made a great Orpheus for Hadestown

I love all the theatre nerd Baxter talk, it's so fun to think about!

-- He started dancing when he was 8, so by the time he gets into high school, everyone definitely knows it's a thing. He's also very good! Because of this, he gets approached his freshman year when the theatre kids are putting on the ~spring musical~

-- They have kids that know how to dance, but he's getting to be known for his talent, so hey, why not ask him to help out?

-- He's got some free time and a pathological need to please, so like sure, he's down.

-- Instantly obsessed. He's not unfamiliar with theatre, and he's seen musicals (old black and white movies with all the dancing, he loves), but actually being involved in the production of one? What a blast for him! The drama of it all!

-- As a former costume crew member, Baxter also gives me costume crew vibes. Just sitting in the shop sewing stuff and talking trash about everybody else. Could hem the hell out of a pair of pants and make an actor cry at the same time.

-- Him with a measuring tape around his neck at the sewing machine, just working and suffering. No, you can't try on someone else's costume for fun. No, you can't borrow something for a party. Get out of his shop. Seriously, get out.

-- Stage Manage Baxter too. He has his binder, his headset and he is TIRED OF EVERYONE. Learn your lines. Build the set. He doesn't have TIME for this.

-- I'm just realizing that you didn't specify high school, that was in a comment somewhere, so this can be for college too, or an AU! Baxter is an old soul, he's always going to be like this.

-- Could also perform! He could sing if he wanted, so he'd be your classic triple threat with his dancing talent, and we all know his dramatic ass could handle the acting.

-- Baxter pretty much IS Bobby from "Company," but he couldn't play the role until he was the right age for the character, so no school productions, it would hit too close to home.

-- "Somebody hold me too close, somebody hurt me too deep, somebody sit in my chair and ruin my sleep and make me aware of being alive," like COME ON.

-- We've talked about Phantom Baxter more than once, so that's a thing too!

-- I would do anything to see him do Emcee in "Cabaret." Tell me he wouldn't kill it, you can't do it.

-- Jamie in "Last 5 Years" -- "The Schmuel Song" is something he'd actually do for MC, so that's cute.

-- I'll lose my mind -- Baxter proposing like "The Next Ten Minutes," just think. "Will you share your life with me for the next ten minutes, for a million summers till the world explodes, till there's no one left who has ever known us apart?"

-- He will absolutely belt his heart out when he's alone in the car. And the shower. And maybe while cooking and cleaning.

-- There is never going to be one single instance at all ever in which he doesn't know his lines or his choreography.

-- If this is school Baxter though, there's always a fight because he excels at both musicals AND period pieces, but he is only one person and can't be in everything. He's one of the strongest dancers but also just a natural at that elevated speech in more classic plays OBVIOUSLY.

[dangermousie]

I really loved the first six episodes of AJTL. It feels adult in a way too few cdramas do nowadays. The protagonists are (sometimes sociopathic, weird) adults and the narrative is adult and the humor and darkness are both adult. Now, I don't mean this is some sort of meditation on the human condition like Royal Nirvana or NiF or Three Kingdoms, but the situations and characters are of a nature you wouldn't usually see in youth-oriented stuff nowadays - whether it's the fact that our FL just wants to ML for stud so she can have a baby with good genetics and no family ties or the fact that literally every politician in this is a complete scumbag.

I actually love that our FL isn't just the most terrifying mofo in the narrative full of killers but that she is a bona fide borderline sociopath who has no understanding of boundaries or proper behavior or consent or even any sort of flirtation let alone a deeper feeling. She's been a killer since childhood; what normal does she have? The fact that she's managed to have any sort of emotions left is a miracle.

So her deciding she needs a child because her benefactor told her she should as a dying wish and picking a sperm donor in our ML because he's suitable, all with about as much understanding of relationships as an alien - she doesn't want ML because she fancies him, she doesn't want a child to love. It's basically a weird duty thing. It all makes sense.

It's a wonderful gender reversal, with FL the goal-oriented, robotic psycho and ML going "but wait a minute, feelings, also no way, no how." His realization as to how crazy she is, is something else.

Look how she explains it, as if it's the most logical business transaction - your genetic material is great, you are not married so nobody will be hurt, if you die on this mission you will have someone to carry on your lineage, you are scheming so if a kid takes after you and is scheming, it's good. None of it will seduce a man in the least, let alone anything further. But I think in a way it's a weird mark of respect where she's not trying to lie but put all her cards on the table. But also - it shows how far from normal she is that she doesn't even realize how insane it sounds to anyone. He may be a spy but his life has been pretty different than hers; he's got friends and he had family - he is a fairly functional dude. She doesn't have any relationship, and the closest she had was weird stubs...

Like - she is acting like an alien...

Yeah, I don't think psychotic rose through the ranks assassins are big on consent.

She's bona fide nuts and I love that for once we have an unhinged FL. But one of the things I love so is that you slowly see her melt a little around the edges, if barely, because he keeps treating her as a proper lady however murdery and crazy she gets - she was an assassin and then she was a spy-whore, she's basically never been treated as a proper person instead of a tool, except possibly by the dowager and that was a long time ago. No wonder she gets drawn in - like she did by his decency in that rooftop speech scene. It's such a great reversal!

Like she genuinely doesn't get why he doesn't jump at the offer.

I really do love the ML who'd be the unhinged one in any other drama but here he's the sane one. And also his angry decency is mmmm.

I don't usually have fantasy casts for characters; there are very few exceptions - CGY and LYX for the mains of 2ha, Chen Kun for the ML of Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir, SZE for Prisoner of Beauty (alas), but LYN is on that short list - he's 100% my fan cast for Yuwu's Mo Xi and stuff like this gives me mad MX vibes:

I mean...

Anyway, this drama is awesome!

PS also the way secrets don't get dragged out. ML knows her true identity and we are long moving on to other stuff, hooray!

[aranarumei]

hi kiri What’s the deal with a3’s timeloop day. you shouldn’t be surprised that I am asking this. okay I love you bye

ok this is actually a pretty simple answer! but i got rambly so here's a readmore.

A3! (which stands for Act! Addict! Actors! <- don’t ask me why it’s this. idk) is a gacha game where you play as the manager, Izumi Tachibana (I’m doing first name, last name here) and you work to revive a dying theater company called Mankai. there’s 3 Acts, each with like, 4 big stories in them. and a bunchhhh of shorter event storiess which imo are crucial to experience. The first 2 acts, along with the interceding events, have been completely localized, and were run on the now-defunct English server. There is, however, an archive—if at any point in time you are ever interested, feel free to shoot me a message. And I’m serious. Even if it’s like two years later. It’s been like almost 3 years since I started going thru a3 and I haven’t even finished act 2. I’m slow

Anyways, Act 1 deals with establishing the company—in its former glory, there used to be four troupes that rotated by season. Izumi’s dad also used to run it, and he disappeared. So that’s why there’s four big stories each act: it’s one per season. In Act 1, each story deals with gathering the members for each season troupe together, and then pulling off their first play. And it also deals with like, the issues all the characters are facing. It is like, within the yumejoshi genre so there’s definitely that vibe of like. wow look at all these pretty boys who are kind of into me!? but I think it’s pretty mild on that point and like. something I enjoy is that I can see Izumi as like. an actual Character as opposed to just a self-insert. Which is nice. but the real selling point for me is that there’s a lot of like, found family and rich character dynamics within the cast. It is even homosexual sometimes.

One thing I find really interesting about a3 is that I think it has really strong character writing and development. And it’s really good at establishing different “moods” across each troupe, which works well in creating dynamics and also because each troupe specializes in something different. So spring is like, the “classic” troupe—they tend to do lots of reinterpretations of classic works, though that’s not exclusively their thing… but anyways. they do like. nice fantastical stories in my opinion. Summer does comedy, autumn does action, and winter does drama. and winter HAS drama.

Now up until winter there’s been some wackiness in a3 but it’s been like, pretty grounded in how it’s played out. and then winter rolls around and. see the issue with winter is that unlike some of the younger members they’re all composed of adults. so they’re bad at talking about their feelings, because instead of just shouting things out loud they will just shut down and like. Leave. I love this about them and I think it’s such a good writing choice.

Enter Tasuku Takato and Tsumugi Tsukioka. Tasuku and Tsumugi used to be like, the best of friends. they acted together and followed their passions together. and then they both auditioned for the God Troupe together, which is this prestigious famous troupe (it’s also evil.) and while tasuku got in and became one of the lead actors, tsumugi failed his audition. This left a deep scar on Tsumugi, who ended up kind of running away from acting as a vocation all together. now, Tasuku quit the God troupe because they were engaging in some shady stuff, and ended up joining Mankai along with Tsumugi, who coincidentally was inspired to try acting again. tsumugi’s been elected the leader of winter troupe, and therefore the person who’s meant to take the lead role in their first play. Tasuku is constantly snapping at him whenever he’s unconfident, and it’s just not great vibes. To top it all off, they’ve been issued a challenge by the God troupe, where they’ll both perform and the audience has to vote on which play they like better. Tsumugi is not really confident he can stand up to them for obvious reasons. Tasuku gets mad at him about it. Tsumugi runs into this weird doll, and the next day, they wake up in a time loop.

See, the thing is, they’re on such a tight deadline for the play, and winter is So Bad at talking about their feelings, that magic is real now. this is somewhat of an oversimplification, but it’s funny to say it like this. Anyways, there are like, seven mysteries in Mankai (have I mentioned they all dorm together! they all do! Each of them has a roommate and they all live in a big dorm that’s connected to their own theater and stage. It’s part of why they’re in such big debt and trouble at the beginning—its really hard to maintain those facilities) and one of them is about this doll that will put you in a time loop unless you become friends. essentially. And this is what happens… eventually they end up talking to each other for real due to the time loop, and each affirms just how much they respect the acting of the other. later on when Tsumugi slips back into being unconfident tasuku is able to resolve his past mistakes, because part of why he was so angry at Tsumugi was also because he was angry at himself for like. not reaching out. And telling him how much he loved him and his acting. Because their styles are very different—tasuku is loud and commanding, and Tsumugi is a more understated and subtle.

A3 is also very very cool in that parts of its plays mirror real life? so like. this play, sympathy for an angel, has two leads: Michael (Tsumugi) and Raphael (Tasuku). In it, Michael becomes interested in this woman on a list of people who are about to die, and ends up visiting the human world. He writes letters to her. His friend, Raphael, warns him against this, saying that he’s foolish for going so far for someone he can’t even meet. And each time he steps into the human world, his own soul gets weaker, and his wings begin to wither. Still, he persists against objections. Eventually, the woman recovers, gets a fiancé, and he returns to heaven. Thinking he’ll just wish for her happiness even with his unrequited love, he looks at the list and finds out that despite recovering, she’s still on the close to death list. Despite the danger to himself, he descends into the human world, and takes her place in a car accident. As he’s dying, his soul about to be obliterated because he’s been in the human world too often, Raphael descends and holds him in his arms. Michael says that he’s happy he got to do something for the person he loves, and he’s happy to be held by his best friend. Raphael says that though he’d called Michael the fool, it was him that truly was one: because he stood by, unable to protect both the person he loves and his best friend. Because he was in love with Michael the whole time of course. And then Michael dies in his arms. Now this makes me weepy as does the accompanying character song but what I really love most about it is like. Raphael’s regrets in that he didn’t protect Michael kind of directly mirror Tasuku’s own regrets in being unable to help Tsumugi when he was going through a tough time? only Tsumugi isn’t dead and so Tasuku has an actual chance to fix things, which is sweet.

It should be mentioned that one guy in the spring troupe WRITES all of these plays which is deeply funny to me bc it means that 1) he is probably gay and doesn’t know this and 2) he has precognitive abilities regarding the inner psyche of all of his castmates. and that’s a3 timeloop day. some of these a3 characters have me by the throat btw I just get beamed visions of them chatting and introspecting like constantly. I definitely haven’t explained everything but I think this is enough?

[solarwynd]

https://www.tumblr.com/solarwynd/753644440437080064/releasing-the-same-day-as-a-bp-members-new-single?source=share

Can't lie, armys are kinda useless right now. They love the idea of members continuously releasing but they don't have any fucks to give in actuality after week 1 even if they're competing with other fandoms especially now that they're all enlisted and we have such limited promo. The only hope one has is that Jimin has a great track record of making songs armys vibe to - they will not usually stream beyond a day unless they actually like it. If they end up loving the album though, that could fuel their competitive spirit.

Also to the anon that's worried about opps linking up, tbh it's not easy work to spend money or stream music even for fans. I doubt these people are doing anything extra for someone they don't even care about just because it harms Jimin. All they love doing is running their mouth on twitter and that's probably the extent of it. For skz, their endless variants are the only threat and for Lisa, the autoplay and playlisting she'll get. Unless they get some truly viral moment, based on history it seems unlikely we'll have to worry about them long term.

If skz decide to go the let's pollute the earth path and release a lot of versions, then a bb200 #1 will unfortunately be difficult. I can only hope BB might suddenly apply their anti-kpop bias with some handy filtering. They haven't so far but hope springs eternal (for me).

Also regarding 2 versions versus 3 - extra tools are handy and I desperately need Hybe to do their job but I'll always appreciate if an artist, when he has to choose between artistic sensibility and charts goes for the former. At least I know Jimin will never embarrass me as a fan with some transparent cash grab album or some empty music. Long term I think it's more valuable to build that kind of relationship with your audience and have that kind of reputation.

Lastly while I'm really hoping for some great debut numbers, the real lynchpin of Faces success was twofold - it's artistic merit that's acknowledged by almost all and it's lasting power. While Jimin is responsible for the former, I hope that longevity is our goal for Muse as well. The way Face and LC pulls streams more than a year after release with it's (comparatively) limited covers and remixes is actually amazing.

More than anything I'm excited to see what Jimins planned for his sophomore attempt. Will his pre-release be something experimental (for him) like last time? What kind of sound will he be going for? Can he live upto my frankly massive expectations built up after face? Are we all dead on about the 70s theming and how might that influence the tracks? Ahhh it's hard to wait for answers. New music in 10 days. That's crazy 😭

Very much agreed on pretty much all of this.

I’ve been thinking it to myself that armys have silently been waiting on some quality music from somebody, somewhere, to drop. They’re still churning out hit tweets about Like Crazy till this day. You’d be hard pressed to see an army wax on about prior releases the way they have about LC. You wouldn’t have even though Hobi dropped anything this year the way they don’t mention it. I have faith in my man that he’ll deliver, I do. Even if it doesn’t exceed Like Crazy I still believe it’ll be a good song.

Like I remember the estimates for FACE when they came out were like 105k-110k and we managed to bring it up to 164k by the end of tracking week when our competition at the time was Morgan Wallen and we had an almost 100k gap to bridge. I know we still didn’t beat him (atp it was an after thought cause Jimin got #1 on hot100 with LC 😭) but the work everybody put in back then? On level with a BTS comeback and although it was stressful it was still fun.

The #JIMINJIMIN and #MUSE hashtags on twitter have been trending for nearly 2 days now with 2M and 1.5M respectively, the interest is absolutely there. I also want longevity with MUSE cause to think LC will still be charting by the time the pre release come around is amazing. I don’t want MUSE to fall off quickly and I want it to be impactful just like FACE was.

If we could get more digital album versions (cause that’s really what it’s gonna take), I think we have a shot We’ll just have to see what MUSE’s estimates puts it at to gauge the effort we have to expend. I’m still first and for most here to enjoy the music cause I’ve been begging for it forever I don’t want charts to take up too much space. I think Jimin’s gonna be pulling from the people who inspires him in sound potentially. So not necessarily 70s but MJ, (and he’d actually do that man justice unlike the sorry attempts Hybe pulled last year 🥴) Neyo etc . and just genre hopping in general. But considering those two do a lot of RNB and pop, I’m really excited for it.

[crimeronan]

Oh my goodness! Thank you for the Darius Lore. I must now reread it several times then go reread WWAITSOATL with my newfound knowledge!! >:3 Would love to read the bit you said you've written of the with Belos, GG, and Darius should you feel like sharing (No pressure tho!)

i'd need to edit the full scene a LOT to make it worth posting, but i can at Least give u this snippet from the draft:

and in looking for this, i also found one more scene that i forgot i'd drafted, a bit of which is passable enough:

-

“Oh,” Darius says, surveying the scattered equipment and the sigil-less witches in the room. “Wrong door. I’ll be going, then.”

He’s managed to exit and stride almost all the way down the hall when a hand grabs his wrist, hard. His magic springs into action almost before he’s registered the movement, a tendril of abomination snapping out at the assailant.

The assailant’s grip does not loosen.

Darius whirls, jerking his arm out of the offending grip, and finds himself face-to-face with Hunter. No mask, full uniform, staff gripped in his other hand.

He’s about to snap something about personal space, but then Hunter grips his arm again and drags him through a previously-unseen gap in the castle wall. Possibly a previously-nonexistent gap.

Darius finds himself in a narrow stone alcove, the opening concealed behind a tapestry. Hunter presses him back against the wall, releasing his arm in favor of pressing a gloved hand over Darius’s mouth.

Darius makes an indignant noise. Titan only knows where the fabric has been lately.

“If it was anyone else,” Hunter murmurs, his eyes focused, intent, boring into Darius’s own, “this would be a different conversation. But I just need to check. Are you going to tell anyone?”

Darius flicks a glance down at the offending hand, raising an eyebrow. Hunter removes it from his mouth.

“Tell anyone what?” he says.

“Darius.”

“Honestly. Right now all I’m thinking about is how irritated I am with you. You give me a heart attack thinking someone’s trying to murder me, and then you get your slimy gloves and these slimy walls all over my clothes. I literally don’t know or care what you’re talking about.”

“Darius.”

“I will not tell anyone that you shirked a patrol to relax with a handful of other duty-shirking miscreants for an hour. You were all passing around apple blood and sharing gossip about weird former high school classmates. The irresponsible party vibes were astounding. Someone was most of the way to passed out under the table, I heard some whispered arguing about whether to fess up to the Healing Coven, and I’m almost certain I saw someone sticking chewing gum to the Emperor’s statue. About what you’d expect from a bunch of twenty-two year olds who don’t feel like doing their jobs.”

Hunter’s shoulders relax, just a tiny bit. He takes a small step back, putting as much space between them as is possible in the cramped area. “I can explain.”

“Are you going to get hurt?”

“Probably.”

“Then -- yeah. You will explain.”

[cherry-pop-elf]

I saw you say that you like Raver/Scenecore music, and it has me wondering if you have any thoughts for George and Fred (or even just the rest of the Weasleys too) for what sort of music they'd like?

Ooooo!!! Good ask good ask! I love music so much, and even studying piano right now! My final recital song is even Wizard Wheezes! ((My special interest is Weasleys, what can I say?)) So this is a super amazing and awesome ask! Thank you so much anon! I love love love love music!!!!!

Types Of Music The Weasley Siblings Listen To

William ‘Bill’

Bill is very much a Rock person. You’ll hear him listening to Ghost, Three Day Grace, My Chemical Romance, the classics like that. Just different types of Rock in general. Pop Rock, Rock and Roll, etc. Even go as far as to play an electric guitar. How did he manage to? I mean, magic. Who says you need to plug it in anywhere, when you can just produce magic itself to work it? Loves Alternative Rock Music. Favorite song? Gotta go with a classic like Mary On A Cross

Charlie

Of course he loves punk, and alternative, but he did mellow out a bit when he finally settled into his job. Playing softer music for the new born dragons made him come to love softer songs. Like jazz, country, and folk. So to kinda wrap it all together, he’s a Taylor Swift fan. He’s not a swiftie, but he does enjoy her music. He also loves to play guitar, many kinds, and even knows how to play the flute. Thanks to Hagrid. Playing the guitar, or flute, for the baby dragons is a passion time he wouldn’t trade for anything. Favorite song? 100% Taylor’s ‘No Body No Crime’ for sure

Percy

100% is the type to believe in the Mozart Theory. He listens to classical musics constantly. Such a nerd. Genuinely though, he does enjoy it. It helps him study and focus. So if you were to introduce him to the genre of lofi? He really would like it. Soft wordless music to play in the background, as he works. So he would be such a Stan for The Lofi Girl, if he was to say if he has a favorite anything

Fred And George

Big Band, Jazz, Swing, Techno Swing, they LOVE that high energy bop music. I mean, look at what their literal shops theme song is ((Fun fact, as I am writing this I am ACTUALLY playing Wizard Wheezes on the piano right now, for a recital!)) They gotta love that high energy music. Love it love it love it. Fred and George go nuts for Fully Dressed With Out A Smile. They also will break into Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better if given the chance. They especially loved singing that with Ginny, while growing up

Ron

He was invested in Rock, of course. The side effects of being a younger sibling to a big family, but Hermione helped him explore other interests as well. Helped him be more brave in what he liked. He does love Rock styles, but Pop Rock was more his branch. Pop just has a more fun energy to it. Different from his day to day life. Helps him stand out a little as well, since Bill is more into the alternative/emo/goth aesthetic types or Rock. One Republics ‘Run’ speaks to him a lot. Don’t tell anyone I told you this, but he also really likes Sk8ter Boy. Because it makes him think of Hermione. Shhhhh

Ginny

Musicals. She just can’t pick a genere. Growing up with six brothers gave her a love of different types of music. So if you ask her what she likes, she will say musicals. Musicals have so many types and moods. It’s perfect for whenever you don’t know what to listen do. In a romantic mood? High energy? Even depressive gothic? There’s a musical for it. She’s learned to keep her mind open, and invest in different interests. Her favorite song really depends on the mood she’s in, or vibe. But if you had to twist her arm, it’s gonna be that classic Merry Poppins Step In Time. It reminds her of her brothers, whenever they had to do spring cleaning together. If she’s sad, that song will ALWAYS make her feel better. If not? Clearly a imposter!

Bonus: Belladonna

Fun fact about me! I am currently learning piano! I just love music so much. Piano is also good for me health wise, because I have dexterity issues because of my muscle spasms. I’m practicing a recital song, and it’s Wizard Wheezes. Which I’ll perform as my final. I hope to post it on tumblr in the future. As for music I like? Scene/Ravecore and Techno Swing. I guess I just love high energy songs with electric vibes. Ironic, given I have chronic fatigue. Along with, ya know, trapped in a wheelchair. Slay. Thank you again anon! I love music so much, and I am forever grateful I have hearing to enjoy it. A really great ask!!!