#also she made them into big posters too lol

[litleo123]

me and my friends couldnt go to the bravern cafe back in march, so we coped by making our own cafe merch

[stackslip]

your post about fma03 are good and i'm stuck thinking about scar for hours at a time again. stories talking about 'revenge' can read really bad to me because a lot use 'this oppressed minority trying to fight state violence is bad' plotline. fma03 was honestly pretty unique in that scar was this tragic hero instead. it's sad, it's clearly difficult for him and he see him struggle, but everything he does was also necessary to prevent further genocide.

YEAH, it's a trope i absolutely loathe and scar in the og manga is its poster boy and everyone and their mom loves to pretend it's super progressive or something lol. there are aspects to scar's manga character i wish i could have enjoyed more were he not constantly scolded by half the cast for being an Evil Murderer when the war criminals' redemption arcs are assumed to be done by now and they're good people we should all root for. bc like. i genuinely LIKE the idea of scar's brother's other arm being about reconstruction. i LIKE the concept of scar holding destruction and rebuilding at once, and being able to one day move on and participate in the rebuilding of ishbal! but it comes with the idea that he is wrong for wanting to destroy amestris's military and the people who've murdered his people in the first place, it comes with him calling himself scum for being a Bad Murderer, it comes with the only other major talking ishbalan character BEING A MEMBER OF AMESTRIS'S MILITARY, UNDER THE COMMAND OF A WOMAN WHO CURSES HER BROTHER OUT FOR NOT HAVING JOINED IN THE GENOCIDE, basically scolding scar in turn for daring to want revenge. lol. i likewise would like the thing between him and mei a lot better if it didn't feel like it didn't play in tropes of "this big brown scary man is actually sweet bc this cute pale skinned girl makes him Soft" which.... i'm not fond of. i like mei and his relationship to her a lot, I Do Not Like The Framing. i do not like what arakawa does with scar in the manga, and this will always, ALWAYS be my biggest contention with fma, my line in the sand that i refuse to back down. so many things i can chalk up to taste, but i'm never not going to argue that scar's treatment in the og manga is absolutely abysmal.

in comparison, the way 03 reframes scar from his very first appearance as someone a lot more vulnerable/human and understandable, how his violence is put into context for what amestris has done to him and how al and him have this direct connection and mutual understanding, down to al flat out saying "if someone killed my brother i'd probably want to burn down the world too".... it's just. really good all around. scar's arc does not revolve around the elrics' plot, but when he does encounter them it's not so ed can scold him for being a murderer--because scar can and does bite back ed for participating in the military in the first place. his encounter with lust, the dynamic between him, his brother and his brother's love and how all three of them have been denied even their very names and identity in the aftermath of the genocide..... unbelievably bleak. how lust and scar likewise are trying to reclaim an identity as specifically Ishbalan in different ways too! lust by remembering what she was made from, going against dante and realizing what has been taken away from her, dying while proclaiming I WAS A WOMAN FROM ISHBAL. and then you have scar, who refuses his past name because he died with his brother and he died with the old ishbal. amestris murdered him along his people. there's no coming back from this. and like.... it's tragic, because it means scar is doomed from the start. he sees himself as a ghost and he is unable to not be one. but he also *chooses* to do something of it. to not simply pursue revenge but to actively stop amestris's military from repeating the genocide in liore! he is STILL enacting violence, he is using ishbal's own old alchemy and usurping amestris's claims so he can turn their own weapon back on them. ishbal was murdered for amestris's principles, and likewise scar is going to destroy as much of the amestrian military as he can in the name of not only avenging ishbal but stopping it from ever happening again! and his plan works. it works, and it's tragic, but also triumphant. it's tragic because scar was a good man.

that's the difference between the treatment of scar in og fma and 03. in the former, scar is the one character who has to Grow Into A Good Person, because it is assumed that no good person should use violence even to defend their people and avenge genocide. because violence is the prerogative of the protagonists, and because it is easy to remove the "bad people" from the premise--you can just excise them as a tumour, and then amestris is no longer a fascist and genocidal hell state. never mind that a sympathetic character (one often touted as a feminist icon ffs) is actively defending her choice to participate in the genocide to the end and derides another for NOT participating in it, but apparently she's fine! but scar has to Learn To Forgive and becoming a good person means settling down and things will magically improve. and scar has to learn this from the elrics, even as they talk down to him and see him in a very negative light, because apparently the two blonde protagonists understand violence better than a survivor of genocide does.

in 03, scar is a good person. or at the very least, he's entirely justified. and he might not be right 100% of the time, but he is from the beginning considered to understand a lot more of the world than the elrics are! he is a tragic hero because he died long ago, and there was no other path for him. and he isn't.... wrong. it's been shown in 03 that ishbalan survivors literally get hunted and displaced wherever they go. they can't rebuild, as long as amestris is as it is! you can't just spout platitudes about how violence is bad, because even if you give up violence it will show up at your door and burn your refugee camp and the only way to counter is meeting it with violence yourself. where ed sacrifices himself at the end for his brother in another tragic hero ending, scar sacrifices himself for not only the memory of his brother but for all of ishbal AND liore to be able to live. and he's right! he's destabilized the military enough that when roy makes his choice and kills bradley, the military has been crippled and is forced to take a step back, and amestris is suddenly on the defensive and no longer able to take on offensive wars. ishbalans and liorites are shown rebuilding in peace, as amestrian soldiers are no longer able to attack them. scar's sacrifice worked. he took on the identity of old ishbal's avenging ghost, and he pushed it to the end. he finally accepted his brother's love and sacrifice, and sacrificed himself in turn--like the elrics do! his last words are words of love. they're tender. in the moment that he kills hundreds of amestrian soldiers, music swells. yes, it's tragic. fma 03 isn't saying that justified violence is all glory and roses, it's still painful--the soldiers' death isn't a fun happy time, but.... they were coming in to murder thousands of liorites, possibly rape some of them like they did rose. their lives, 03 says again and again, are *not* more important than the lives of marginalized people. they've made their choice. violence here was the right call, it was an act of love, and it is framed as such. scar's final act is mirrored by the final act of the protagonists, there too an act of love. scar in 03 is so much more humanized and respected a character than he is in the manga, and regardless of 03's other failings or differences in taste, i will argue that his story in 03 is more relevant and real as ever today as it was during the political context of 2003-04

[yellobb]

Had book club discussion about Carry On today! Here’s some of the highlights:

People were mostly a big fan of the Magic system. Main criticism about it was that it would sometimes take them out of it, like the snickers spell while ebb is actively dying

There was much discussion over Penny and Baz kidnapping the dog, which was very entertaining to me

One of my managers asked if Agatha was in the rest of the series. I told her “she is, but I don’t think she wants to be”

People loved Baz lol. There was a bit less love for Simon (that’s okay, that’s what I’m there for)

I explained the lore behind Fangirl and why the titles are the way they are. Thoroughly confused some people

Someone had to leave the zoom call halfway through because his neighbors called the cops on his van???? Idk that was just wild

One dude who showed up also didn’t even finish the book yet, which I didn’t find out until partway through, so that was fun

They noted some Harry Potter similarities, but agreed it was a very different book

Number one complaint was that “nothing happened”. They were really interested in the politics of the world, how relationships were formed and were pretty disappointed that a lot of that was exposition

One coworker was confused as to why Nico couldn’t do magic anymore, since they mentioned he used to be able to use Ebb’s staff and honestly I don’t remember the answer, so help here would be great if anyone knows. He should be able to even though they snapped his wand, right?

One coworker was frustrated that Simon lost his magic because he thought that was the most interesting part. I told him that he was not alone in that, since I remember so many people being upset back in the day

Everyone saw the plot twist that the Mage was the bad guy coming. Tbh, I read it so long ago that I can’t remember if I was surprised

Everyone also saw snowbaz coming lol. One guy said “I knew by chapter three that those two would be fucking” (oh just you wait my friend. Soon the issue will be that they’re not fucking)

They found it very entertaining that the endorsement was from Lev Grossman because “The Magicians is the polar opposite of this book”

I brought in Skee’s ABC’s of Carry On, Venessa’s art book, the whole series, Fangirl, Scattered Showers, MRB, and various pins from Selkie and others. Also wore my dragon wing earrings and Kris’ shirt :P I let myself be unhinged about it because this is my time to shine. I also have the Wayward Son poster pack at my desk that I pointed out

Overall reviews are positive. Most people didn’t love it quite like I do, but they enjoyed it well enough. I am lovingly forcing two coworkers to finish out the series because they made the mistake of being my friend lol

One guy’s review was “I liked it and I don’t know why. I hate Harry Potter and stuff like it usually.”

Very happy that this is done though, since I can finally hang back up Kris’ Carry On poster. It has too many spoilers, so I’ve had it on the ground hiding for two months for when people came over 😭 it’s going back in its place of honor next to my TV

[yumeka-sxf]

It's time for another merch post, my biggest one yet since I went kind of crazy for merch in Dec/Jan...my wallet is still recovering 😵‍💫 (also, I made scans of some of this merch in a previous post here if you haven't already seen).

First is one of two Mercari orders. I only intended to get the movie booklet (which I've posted about previously) but added some more stuff to make the shipping worthwhile!

I got the towel with the cruise arc outfits that's part of the merch line for the Tokai Steamship collab. It's a bit small, but I still love it!

I always liked the art for the Tower Records collab, so I got a poster! (the seller also included stickers and postcards).

I also like the art for the Cruise Buffet collab, so I got a paper placemat which makes a great poster! The seller shipped it in this nice plastic cover, so I decided to keep that on to protect it (they included a postcard too, which will be part of my next miscellaneous scans post 😁)

The below acrylic stands were recently released as part of the movie merch line (sold at theaters I believe). Anya had a couple different designs, including one where she's in a director's chair and one where she has 3D glasses. But I picked the one where she's eating popcorn since Bond is with her (gotta always get the whole family when I can!)

A couple weeks ago I took a trip to Animate, where they just happened to be having a SxF promotion where you'd get postcards of the new camping designs if you spent a certain amount on SxF merchandise. I bought the four camping acrylics, which was more than enough to get all the postcards 😊

Also picked up these two magazines, since a Kinokuniya store was at that mall as well (scans of these coming soon!)

Below is the second Mercari order!

I absolutely love these painting acrylics! They're definitely one of my favorite sets ❤️

Some acrylics from the movie! The big one in the middle is really cool, the background is reflective but transparent too.

I love the Waku Waku Park designs, but was only able to find acrylics of Anya & Bond. Hope to add Loid and Yor to the collection one day. So I just got a clear file in the meantime, lol.

Couldn't resist this adorable CODE: White overnight bag! I decided to use it to hold my many TCG decks 😅

And lastly (kinda of) was my usual Amiami preoder!

The "Anya helping with chores" designs are so cute, I got them as both acrylic stands (from Amiami) and reusable bags (from the aforementioned Mercari order).

I got more acrylics and postcards of the lovely kimono designs ❤️ (postcards scans coming soon!)

As I posted about previously, I got the Operation Diary video game along with these nice goodies that came with the preorder! (that keychain is rare official Twiyor merch 👀)

And I got even more TCG accessories! (another set of sleeves, a few deck boxes, a card box, and card holder).

The reason I've been getting so much TCG stuff, as well as why I said the Amiami order was only "sort of" the last of my merch from the past couple months, is because I had also preordered a case of SxF Weiss Schwarz cards! I preordered it back in August, and the set officially released in English last week...but that will be covered in another post, so stay tuned~

[canmargesimpson]

Fruity four in NYC

ive posted this like at least 3 times in different accounts and they always get deleted so im posting its again lol

-

Corroded coffin has been really blowing up, and since Eddie signed a deal with his manager, he started going on tour. The tour was a month long, and they went through a bunch of cities till they got to their last destination. New York City.

So, Eddie invites steve, since their dating, but steve can't be without robin, so she comes along too. But robin can't be without Nance, so nance is also included. So the four of them go to the big city together. The entire pack was stuck in a already crowded tour bus.

Since  none of them could cook, they decided to go to some diner, and found one that was very similar to Benny's back in Hawkins, so they went there every day. So Friday morning, the four of them were eating together. So they wouldn't raise suspicion, Steve and Nance sat together on one side, and Robin and Eddie on the other. But of course they sat across from their partner.

Eddie ordered some sunny side up eggs with bacon (he arranged it into a smile, obviously). Robin got some waffles and a smoothie, while nance got pancakes too, but with a coffee. And Steve, he not only got his sandwich with his orange juice, but he also got the waitress number. But of course, Eddie just threw it away with a frown.

As they ate, they started hearing the crowd from outside, cheering and shouting, which quickly grabbed their attention. Eddie, who was next to the window, was starring in awe at the large amount of people with banners and signs. Of course, being attracted to chaos, Eddie jumps off the chair and runs outside with a piece of bacon in his mouth. Then ran robin after him, making sure to slurp the last out of the smoothie. Then ran Steve, calling for Eddie, and finally Nance, who made sure to leave a 20 dollar bill on the table.

Once they were all outside, they started at the people rioting and shouting, holding signs and posters about the lgbtq+ rights. People, rainbows and noise all around them. Eddie quickly grinned and got himself into the plethora of people shouting. Steve went to follow him, but lost sight of his boyfriend quickly. Robin tried to keep him in place, so they wouldn't get separated. Nance went to ask for an explanation to some of the people participating, but only got the same chant everyone was yelling

"Love is Free, Love has no Rules!"

Steve turned around and looked at the couple and held his hands out

"Okay, Eddie's concert is at 6,  so at 5 all of us meet back a t the hotel. I'm gonna go find Eddie, you guys.... Idk"

now, this are a few things that happened during that protest

Robin went into the crowd to see what the hell was going on. As she walked through the protest, she got to meet a group of lesbians, who had experienced the same thing she did with Tammy Thompson. She felt so comfortable being able to talk it out loud with someone who understands how it feels.

Nancy, met this old woman who had a bunch of pamphlets, brochures, papers, and even a magazine about the lgbtq+, which Nancy took and started reading. All of them filled with information and facts about the community.

Eddie, who was just trying to talk to as many people as possible, ended up meeting the one and only RuPaul herself. Of course Eddie freaked out to meet a real drag race for the first time, even better yet, RuPaul. So Eddie, trying to act as cool as possible, asked for makeup advice, because he just couldn't get the eyeliner right, and he too used to try on his mom's hill as a kid, trying to be like the guys from KISS. Rupaul, gave him all the information he needed on makeup, told him his hair was amazing (Eddie just bragged about the cool cream his boyfriend got him) and told him the perfect store to buy hills in men's sizes.

Steve accidentally bumped into an ex football captain, high school prom king, and jock of the school, who also had a hard time coming out to himself. They bonded and shared their issues about having shit parents. Steve might have gotten a little too emotional

Both robin and nancy, got little rainbows on their cheeks painted by a non-binary person who was so nice. Then as they walked out, Nancy, by instinct, grabbed Robin's hand. Then they went into the middle of the protest, to make sure they were around people who wouldn't judge them, and kissed for the first time in public.

Eddie got himself robbed of a bunch of shit, and stuff from the parade. Which was how Steve found him, wearing a tank top with the words ``Love is free'' and a bunch of bullshit on his arms and a poster saying "Homophobia sucks, but my boyfriends sucks better", and he also was wearing a rainbow flag as a cape. Eddie might have gotten a little too excited but it was worth it.

After talking to one guy, Steve felt much better about himself and just went to Eddie and kissed him, in the middle of the street. Eddie obviously kissed back, but he couldn't reach for steve since all of the shit in his arms would fall

When the clock hit 5, they were all back at the hotel. Since they've all had an exhausting day and really wanted to be with each other, they all stayed in one room. At first Eddie and Nancy had to share one room, and Steve and Robin shared the other, since they didn't want to look suspicious. They went all to eddie's and nancy's room, where eddie was getting ready for his show, nancy was passing out the pamphlets and steve and robin were talking

Robin, who was holding a brochure, was reading the definitions of the different sexualities and their names, reading them outloud for everyone in the room to hear

"Bisexual: Those who are attracted to more than one gender"

"More than one gender? like... liking men AND women?" steve asked

"i mean you could also like non-binary people, or Agender, or whatever they prefer"

"I like men and women.... Does that make me.... Bisexual?"

"Yes steve, that's literally what i've just said"

Steve, who was putting the pieces of the puzzle together, then stood up tall with a proud smile "Im bisexual"

"I think i might be too" nancy agreed "I mean... I still like guys, and I love robin so... I guess im bisexual too"

Robin smiled and kissed nancy on the cheek

"Okay next, Lesbian: female who is attracted to other females. That's me!"

"But wait, Nancy also likes girls, doesn't that also make her a lesbian?"

"no steve '' Robin sighed "but... picture it like this, i'm a vegetarian, okay? so i only eat vegetables. Nancy on the other hand is omnivorous, meaning she eats vegetables AND meat. Not because she eats veggies, makes her a vegetarian"

"OOOOOOOOOOH, that makes sense, so like, nancy and me are omnivorous, cuz we eat males and females, and you are a vegetarian because you eat only women"

"Correct"

"But then what makes that eddie?" Steve pointed to his boyfriend who was practicing his eyeliner, and finally looked good.

"I think i might be pansexual" eddie said

"what's that?"

"Here it is! Pansexual: those who love others no matter the gender or sexuality"

"So wait, if robin is vegetarian, me and nancy are omnivorous, then eddie eats what?"

“Oh Steve, boy” Eddie says as she leans into his boyfriend “I eat everything in my way. But you… You steve boy… you are my favorite meal”

“EW!” robin whined as she covered her ears and trying to erase that memory as fast as possible.

[i-rebelled-for-this]

Agatha all along episode 6 Part one

Familiar by thy side

It was beautiful and honestly answered a lot more questions than I expected it to do.

Seeing Agatha from Teens perspective was hilarious.

Both Williams was handled very beautifully and Joe did a fantastic job!

The chair that resembles a toilet seat at William’s Bar Mitzvah really throws me out of it though. I’ve seen it about six times now and I just can’t with that chair. Who saw that chair and went, yes this is it?!

Billy is going through a blue drapery to get to a mostly red space about his future. I see what you did there.

Also I love the lamp

Lilia herself in gold and blue, no necklace.

Very nice blue and red colours together in Lilia’s tent.

Also notice the tower tarot card, representing Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation and awakening.

And The wheel of fortune card, representing karma, good luck, life cycles, destiny and turning points. Notice that I’m not a that good at tarot so I may get it wrong.

Also more sun symbolism with Lilia

Upside down Billy

Lilia says the tower reverse, a big personal change and transformation coming. Make total sense

Lilia just remembering something, once again, kin implies she exists out of time, what is time for her, how does she experience it, can she affect it?

I yelled when Billy said he loved the vibe in the tent, very early Argento. I had to take a break.

Argento, the director and writer of Suspiria, the witch movie which was the inspiration for episode 4.

This is huge! This indicates that it’s actually Billy that keep the road in movie/tv-themes, not Wanda or any leftover of her spells. Which we also see mote of later in the episode.

Of course, now we have new questions.

Like does he know?! Or is he trying to cope with losses like his mom?

The sigil is interesting, (not just because it’s a beautiful nod as a W or WW) but does it hide Tommy too? Since neither Wanda or Billy can find him. Also notice how later Agatha will say there are two of you, implying the are one or two pieces of a whole.

Why does Lilia want to hide them?

Interesting that the radio air the first episode of WandaVision.

William shouting “mom, look out” as they get in the car crash. Don’t touch me!

And the dome and the dead tree by the car. Beautiful but hurts.

Red glass shards. Once again beautiful but hurts.

Bye Tommy

ALICE! Good to see you darling!

Greg knowing what’s up.

WILLIAM/BILLY’s room!

His signature blue

The movie posters and the actual wizard of oz toys in his bookshelf.

I started writing down all the movie posters but some were obvious or too hard to make out so I let it go.

Eddie being cute.

Freak like momma.

And he taking everything Billy tells him better than I would have.

Nice trans flag.

Now as he have grown up, it’s all horror movies and the occult.

We’re off to my second scream and had to take a break in this episode.

But first, their usernames? lol. They worked hard on those two.

Ralph/Randall/Pietro/Peter (in my culture we have a saying that goes, a loved child has many names.) You are doing great sweetheart!

I gotta admit I thought they were gonna let us wait for VisionQuest to see him again. I’m thrilled!

Not really a fan of the red hair they gave him but, I get it. It matches Wanda

Also, love his stealth, very stealthy.

Nope, sorry Ralphie, can’t call a a kid Bub when you willingly goes online as Bohnerrific69. There are rules. And also made me google that just to get the spelling correctly.

Notice how he talk about Wanda, ge calls it sad but he talks gently about her and the one he is actually actively angry about is Agatha.

Also notice how when Billy asks about if it changed him or if he can do stuff now, he gets very serious for a moment and ask him what he is talking about.

Billy, I need to know if that water actually hurt you.

And never, ever yell Mr. Bonherrific.

I really can’t make out what Ralphie is shaking? First. Thought it was mr Dibbles or hoped. lol

The market value? Hon, she is still in the house! Priorities here.

My sweet baby, but yeah, keeping Monica in the attic was a bit much.

RIP Sparky. It was Ralph all along.

Speedster and mind reading brother. Babies!

Wanda is dead, sure jan.

Not the blu-ray collection!!!

Another movie buff in the Maximoff family. I get emotional writing this.

Agatha can keep his Bow-Flex, thread mills. Funny, not liked he needs it.

Go to his one man show in Paramus please!

Dreadit lol

Down the road baby!

[little-cereal-draws]

Details I noticed in The Last Wish pt 2

This also includes some of my favorite lines that don't get talked about enough lol

There are eight tally marks next to Puss's wanted poster, one for each life

When Puss is basking in the applause after he defeats the giant, there's a lady in a wheelchair on the left side of the crowd

After the Doctor tells him he needs to retire, Puss says, "Are you the village comedian as well?"

In the fight against Death in the bar, Puss actually does cut a chunk of Death's fur off. Like we know that Puss is a good fighter, but this solidifies the fact that when he's actually putting all his effort into it, not preforming like he was with the giant, he is a crazy force to be reconned with. Which then in turns shows how powerful Death is. But kudos to Puss; he may brag constantly but at least he does actually have the skills to back it up

The characters actually get dirty. This happens after Puss swims through the sewer and then walks through the woods but also to all of the characters as they go through the Dark Forest. Everyone gets progressively dirtier and more scraped up

When Puss starts singing while holding his funeral at Mama Luna's, he says, "Who is your favorite fearless hero? You were, you were."

When they're eating at the kibble trough and Perrito keeps hitting Puss with his tail, Puss elbows him as he tries to get him to stop it

Puss must have made some friends, or acquaintances at least, while at Mama Luna's because he nods at a cream and white cat, who nods back, when him and Perrito walk past

When the crime family arrives, Mama says, "Listen to your sister, Baby!" To which Baby responds with, "She's not my sister, she's a fugitive orphan!!" Idk, his delivery there always gets me lol

While the bears ransack her house, Mama Luna calls out, "You think this is the first time I've been stuck in a piano???" ...Which makes me have a lot of questions about her life lol

The way Perrito says, "If this Puss in Boots is such a big deal, maybe we shouldn't be desecrating his grave :D" with a big smile on his face as he digs it up lol

With every character, with the exception of Kitty, there's a big build up before they show their face. Puss: we see his boots and people's reactions while he flips around for quite a while before he finally lifts his hat up, the Doctor: we hear him first and then see his back, the three bear crime family: we get a POV shot from Golid as she's riding on their backs and then they're backlit, Mama Luna: we see her dress and then Puss' reaction, Perrito: we see him from behind and then Puss' reaction, Jack Horner: we see his shadow then a poster of him as a kid and then close ups of him eating a pie, the Serpent Sisters: we see them from above/behind and then a close up of the chest, Ethical Bug: lots of glowing/sparkles and Jack's reaction. Kitty is the only character who almost instantly gets a face reveal (even tho we briefly only see her eyes for a second), probably for the shock value of her dramatic reveal

While Puss and Kitty are hiding behind the chest after taking the map, Jack says, "Aha! There it is!" Puss lets out a sigh of relief after realizing that Jack was referring to the Midas touch and not their hiding spot. Just all the little details that show he's more on edge and anxious than he was before his encounter with Death

During the fight/chase for the map in the factory, Goldi smiles and nods in the top left corner while Papa says "You shouldn't have done that, mate" after Puss hits him in the nose with his stick

Kitty's path through the Dark Forest consists of the swamp of infinite sorrows, the mountains of misery, and the abyss of eternal loneliness. I think she might give Puss a good run for his money on who's the most depressed lol

Puss starts scratching at his beard as early as the pocket full of posies

Jump to the end now bc I got too caught up in the movie to notice any new details lol

In the second to last scene, as the Commodore walks out to the dock to go on his vacation, villagers whisper and glare at him behind his back. He is not very well liked lol

Part one , Part three, Part four, Part five

[petitelepus]

Foreign Student reader is making halloween themed candy/caramel apples for the Halloween party! Buuut she was struggling on making them by herself, she usually makes them with her dad but she got some help from Haganezuka and Genya instead! (I imagine that haganezuka is secretly nagging Genya to ask her out for this Halloween party lol- Sanemi asked him to do it for him and in exchange, Sanemi gets him his fav food)

Summary: You and your candy apples are famous so it's only obvious you would be selling your treats at a Halloween party. Though, you weren't expecting a confession just yet!

Warnings: None, FLUFF, CUTE

A/N: Fem!Reader, Female Reader, Genya

It was a day before Halloween and you were busier than ever before! With the big Halloween party coming, held by the school, you had a lot of work to do! You were a foreign student, but with your ability to create amazing candy apples, you had gained yourself a nickname Ringo Onna, aka Apple Woman.

"Oh Gosh!" You gasped as you saw the dark sugar-coated apples that Genya pulled out of the fridge.

"W- what?" The young man stuttered, "D- Did I mess them up?"

"No, they look absolutely perfect!" You smiled happily, "Thank you so much Genya for helping me with my apples! You're a life saver!"

"Oi!" Haganezuka snapped, but before he could shout, you turned and smiled at him, "And of course, thank you so much Haganezuka-sensei for lending your classroom and kitchen to us!"

"Tch, just remember to clean up after yourselves…" The masked teacher grunted as he turned back to the book in his hands. You smiled a little at the eccentric teacher and Genya silently admired that smile of yours. No matter what, you always tried to smile and he admired that in you.

"Oh, I think we may just have enough apples for tomorrow!" You counted that you had made enough apples to feed a small army!

"Hopefully these will sell!"

Genya swallowed nervously, wanting to tell you that your apples were out of this world, but his shyness won and he averted his gaze from you… Something that Haganezuka noticed.

"Oi," The masked teacher caught your attention, "Why don't you go and print some posters for your apples? I'm sure they will sell with proper advertising."

"You're thinking like a true businessman!" You smiled as you grabbed your bag and left the classroom, but not before smiling to Genya, "Please look after the apples while I'm gone?"

"Y- Yes!" Genya nodded and just like that, you were gone. The young man sighed and Haganezuka grunted, "If you won't confess soon, someone else might."

"I- I-!" Genya blushed, but he couldn't deny it. You were a new transfer student and super cute also. He was sure you had admirers… But he wanted to call you HIS girlfriend…

"I'll do it tomorrow." He nodded, "After the party. Then I will let her know about my feelings!"

"Just hope it isn't too late," Haganezuka grunted.

So, the time passed and it was Kimetsu Academy's Great Halloween party! You and Genya were nervous but for no reason. Due to your nickname and apple-themed reputation, your apples were a huge hit, selling like hotcakes. Your witch costume helped a lot too.

"Enjoy your poison apples!" You said cheerfully as another happy customer took their apple and left. You looked at your small register and beamed happily. You were easily making profit!

"Hi there Ringo Onna-chan!"

You looked up and saw Tanjiro and his friends Zenitsu and Inosuke stop by your small booth.

"Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke! What a pleasure to see you guys!" You said cheerfully and the young men smiled, "Yes! We would like some of your famous poison apples!"

Coming right up!" You smiled as you grabbed 3 apples and the young man handed you the money in exchange, "I hope you enjoy them!"

"I will!" Inosuke shouted and all three of them bit into their apples and you watched excitedly how their eyes widened.

"So sweet!"

"Delicious!"

"It's hard to believe that Genya actually knew how to make these!" Zenitsu wondered out loud, much to the other young man's annoyance, "Oi, I'm not that bad in the kitchen!"

"It's true!" You smiled as you looked at him, "Genya has been such a huge help to me and I'm so thankful for it!"

Hearing you say something so nice about Genya… Made him blush, but before any of you could say another word, you noticed that you were running out of apples, "Oh, I'm going to go and grab more apples! Can you manage the register, Genya?"

"Y- Yes…" The young man nodded and you smiled as you excused yourself and rushed to get more candy apples. As soon as you were gone, the three young men turned to stare at blushing Genya.

"Dude, you have it hard." Zenitsu thought out loud and Genya snapped, "I don't want to hear that from you!"

"Just confess!" Inosuke shouted and Genya frowned, "I will! I just… Don't know when…"

"You can do it Genya!" Tanjiro smiled, "You're braver than you think!"

"You…" The young man blinked, "You really think so Tanjiro?"

"I know it!" The young baker's son smiled and his smile caught Genya also. And just like that, you were back with a tray full of apples, dipped in dark caramel, "I hope you are hungry because my witch's cauldron had more apples floating there!"

"Actually, could I get one more for Nezuko?" Tanjiro asked and you smiled as you handed him an apple, "That one is on the house, but don't tell anyone!"

"We won't!" The three young men promised before leaving. You and Genya spent the rest of the evening selling apples until the Halloween party ended. You were one of the last ones left, cleaning the place after the party. While you were cleaning, Genya was collecting his courage… Only that seemed to go on forever until you were all done with cleaning and ready to head home.

"Thank you for your help today Genya." You smiled as you took off your witch's hat and bowed to Genya, "I had tons of fun with you today."

"Y- You're welcome…" Genya blushed and you smiled, reaching for your bag and phone, ready to call your parents to come and pick you up, but then you noticed your father's car by the side of the road, already waiting for you.

"I gotta go, that's my father there," You said as you waved to the young man, "See you after the weekend, Genya?"

Genya nodded, but just as you were leaving, he collected all his courage and called after you, "W- Wait!"

"Hm?" You turned to look at the young man, "Yes?"

"I…" Genya swallowed nervously as he collected his courage… And finally, he said it, "I like you… A lot more than as a friend… And I hoped we could be more…?"

"Genya…?" You blinked as you registered his words… And then you smiled, "Are you asking if I'd like to become your girlfriend?"

"I…!" The young man swallowed nervously as he nodded, "Yes…"

"Oh, Genya," Your smile grew, "I'd love that!"

"Wait, really!?" He gasped and you smiled happily as you moved forward and hugged him, "Of course! I like you, but I couldn't ask you out myself!"

"I- I-!" He was absolutely speechless. Did you return his feelings? Really?

You hugged him tighter, "It's why I asked you to help me, but I didn't have the courage needed to confess to you first!"

"Y- You…!" Did you really want to confess to him? You smiled as you pulled away from the hug, but you didn't go far, holding him by his shoulders as you smiled at him, "I'm so happy you had the courage I lacked."

"I…" Genya swallowed, "I really like you…"

"And I like you," You grinned as you leaned forward and time seemed to stop as you pressed your lips against Genya's cheek. The young man was taken over by a furious blush, his whole face turning red as you pulled back and giggled.

You were about to say something, but your father honked his car's horn and you looked over your shoulder before looking at Genya again, "I have to go, but you have my number and… If you like, would you like to go see a Halloween movie with me?"

"I- I would love it…!" Genya gasped and you smiled as you quickly pecked his cheek and turned to leave, but as you were running off, you looked over your shoulder and waved at Genya, "See you later, 'Nya!"

Genya waved after you, stunned by your kindness, your beauty, and your sweet nature. It was like he was in a trance, and he finally snapped out of it when he heard his big brother's voice coming from behind him, "About time you two confessed!"

"B- Brother!?" Genya yelped and the Math teacher grunted as he started to walk towards the brothers' home, "Are you coming or not?"

"H- Hold up!" Genya called as he ran up to his brother, his mind full of questions, but your kisses were strongest in his mind.

[sowoozoo-7]

Love, Lust & Litigation | Ch 1

Pairing: Jungkook x Fem Reader x Namjoon

Genre: lawyer!AU, coworkers to lovers, slow burn, eventual smut

Rating: M (18+) whole fic, this chapter PG-13 (for language lol)

Warnings: some swearing in this chapter, nothing explicit

Word Count: 4k

Summary: Unfortunately, you have developed a massive crush on your new boss. Even more unfortunately, your equally attractive coworker is also harboring massive crush on your boss. AKA Jungkook and reader both pine for big, sexy brain Namjoon. 

A/N: Phew! Here she is! The first chapter of my first fic. This has been slowly chewing away at my brain for the last few months, and I finally decided to say fuck it and write it. I don't know anything about law or lawyers other than what I've seen from movies and read in books so I'm sure I've gotten something wrong, but whatever, it's my own alternate made up universe.

Anyway, I’m new to all this — longtime reader, first-time poster — so I’d love feedback if you have any! Hope you like it ~

mlist | ch 1 | ch 2 | ch 3 | ch 4 | ch 5 | interlude | ch 6 | ch 7 | epilogue

Two hours into your new job at Bang and Associates, and you’ve already made a fool of yourself.

The first couple of hours went smoothly. Check-in with HR was all standard forms, waivers, and NDAs, and the view from your new office is killer. 

Though your new boss and the other associate on the litigation team are at court for the morning, you get to meet two of the paralegals on your team, Jimin Park and Hoseok Jung. They look like they just stepped out of a menswear ad, in their fitted suits and slicked back hair. You'd normally be wary of office workers who look a little too put together, but you get the sense that they’re going to be good coworkers from the few minutes you spend talking to them, both good-natured and quick to share a laugh. 

It’s when they’re giving you a tour of the office that your heel slips on a set of marble stairs and you find yourself briefly experiencing flight. You decide flying is overrated when you land on your ass and bounce down several steps. One of your shoes takes its own trip and lands a few yards away. You sit on the steps, frozen for a minute, with your bare foot just out there for the world to see. 

“Oh my god,” says Hoseok as he rushes down to the step where you landed. “Are you alright?” 

You’re quiet for a moment while you deliberate whether or not you’re going to cry. It’s inevitable that you’ll cry in front of your coworkers one day, but looking around, you see everyone else in the atrium glancing over at the absolute idiot who fell down the stairs on her first day. 

Not the day to cry, you decide. First impressions and all that. At least you wore a pantsuit today and not a dress.

“I think I’m okay,” you say with a rueful smile. “Just a bruised ego.”

Jimin retrieves your shoe and hands it to you with a sparkle of laughter in his eyes. “Another one bites the dust." It’s not malicious, you don’t think.

“He means that you’re not the first to slip down the stairs,” says Hoseok. “We think the janitors are polishing them extra to get back at all the asshole lawyers.” 

You limp for the rest of the office tour. 

***

You get sent to the courthouse after finishing the brief admin in the office to shadow your new boss, the firm’s superstar. 

Namjoon Kim is mesmerizing.

You have heard of his reputation — how could you not? Top of his class with a winning streak unmatched in the industry — but you have yet to see him in action. 

He lives up to his reputation. 

You sit at the back of the courtroom, trying not to put too much weight on your bruised ass, watching as he delivers his closing statement.

His voice is deep and measured, drawing everyone to the edge of their seat to hear every twist to the argument he’s crafting. You pity the opposition. They went first with their closing statement and now they’re squirming in their seats as Namjoon takes down every argument, point by point. The jury hangs on to his every world. 

Maybe it’s the way he carries himself, with a quiet confidence and authority, maybe it’s that he’s built like a tree and looks like a dream in his pinstripe suit. Whatever it is, you get the feeling that working under a beautiful genius is going to be some kind of Dantean torture. 

“Thank you, Your Honor.” 

You blink, realizing it’s over, and you watch as he goes to sit. Silence hangs in the court room in the brief second it takes the courtroom to snap out of their Namjoon-induced daze. The room shuffles as everyone shifts back in their seats. The closing formalities continue, with the judge sending the jury to deliberations. 

“Court is adjourned.” 

The room rumbles with a flurry of activity as everyone goes to exit. You hurry to catch Namjoon — you want to introduce yourself to your new boss as soon as possible — but you get lost in the shuffle of people filing out. By the time you catch up to him outside, he’s giving a press interview on the steps of the courthouse. 

You wait on the outskirts of the small crowd that’s gathered. Deja-vu hits as you watch the reporters lean in to hang on to his every word. He takes the questions with grace, and even a little humor, and smiles at a joke one of the reporters makes. 

Dear lord. He has dimples.

“Spectacular, isn’t he?” 

A young man stands next to you, smirking as if he knows how much you’re fangirling over your new boss. You recognize him as the second attorney at the defendant’s counsel table. The remaining member of the litigation team. 

If you weren’t so preoccupied with Namjoon, you’d be mooning over this man instead. His just-messy-enough-to-show-he-doesn’t-care hair frames his face in waves. An eyebrow piercing and a lip piercing glint in the late morning sun. Tattoos decorate the back of one of his hands. He would look like a punk kid up to no good, but you can the tell the suit he’s wearing costs more than your monthly rent. Jesus. Is everyone in the office just a walking GQ campaign?

“Excuse me?” 

“Namjoon,” he says with a smile that changes his expression entirely, from a little rakish to boyish in its delight. “I call it the Namjoon Effect. No one’s immune. I think it’s the dimples.” He puts out his hand to shake yours. “Jungkook Jeon. I’m th—“

“The other associate on the litigation team. I know.” You shake his hand and introduce yourself. “Looking forward to working with you.” 

“Ah, I thought it was you. Jimin texted me to look out for you today.” 

The impromptu press conference breaks up and Namjoon ushers his client down the stairs. 

“Come on, I’ll introduce you,” says Jungkook, flying down the steps. You follow at a slower pace, the twinge in your hip reminding you of your fall earlier that day. Still, you try to strike a confident stride in your heels. First impressions and all. 

Namjoon pats the roof of the private car he has bundled his client into and straightens as Jungkook claps him on the shoulder. 

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about any type of evidence to the press.” 

Namjoon raises an eyebrow. “The PR team said that. I didn’t agree to anything. Besides, it’s the same evidence we presented at the trial, just in a different light. Even if we have a less-than-favorable verdict, we’ll still have the public on our side.” 

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Why do you even bring me with you?” He sees you and gestures you over. “Namjoon, may I present your latest lackey.” 

“I resent that,” you say, mock-frowning and pointing a finger at Jungkook. “But you’re not wrong.”

You introduce yourself to Namjoon and shake his hand. It’s warm and firm. You hope yours isn’t cold and clammy. “Pleasure to be working with you.” 

“Pleasure’s all mine. I’ve heard great things from your former boss,” he says with a smile. There go the dimples again. He glances at his watch. “Shall we discuss our caseload over lunch?” 

You feel a little thrill at being included in the “our.” Bang and Associates have a reputation for working on some of the most high-profile cases in the city and you’re ready to dig your greedy little fingers into the cases. 

“Cat’s Pajamas?” asks Jungkook. He doesn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll drive.”

Namjoon sighs as Jungkook turns to walk towards the garage. “He always weasels his way into lunches. I swear he’s a never-ending pit,” he says with a note of fondness for the younger man. 

Cat’s Pajamas is an airy bistro just a few blocks away from the offices. There’s a sizable lunchtime crowd, filled with self-important business people taking their clients out to lunch. Jimin and Hoseok meet your group at the restaurant. 

You wince at you sit down, rubbing at the side of your hip. The bruise you expected from the fall is developing faster than you thought. 

“Are you okay?” Namjoon asks. 

He and Jungkook look at you with concern.

You wave them off. “Just a bruise.” 

Jimin shakes his head. “The marble stairs have claimed their newest victim.” 

“Ah,” says Jungkook with a knowing nod. “I almost broke my wrist when I fell down those stairs a couple months ago. It’s practically a rite of passage at Bang and Associates at this point.”

“Looks like you’re already part of the team,” says Namjoon, lifting his water glass in a toast.

***

The rest of the day passes quickly.

You return to your office to find a stack of documents already on your desk, with a sticky note from Hoseok on top. Welcome to the team!!!! it says, with a big looping smiley face next to it.

You slip out of your heels and bring your legs up under you as you settle into your desk, a routine study position that has followed you from college through to your professional life. There’s nothing you like more than finding your way in the maze of paperwork and laying out your trail in court. You lose yourself in the legalese, getting familiar with an ongoing case that Namjoon mentioned over lunch. 

Jungkook pulls you into his office when you’re returning from the bathroom to strategize about the case. His office is exactly the same as yours, with enough space for two guest chairs, a large desk and a set of bookshelves crammed with leather-bound law books. And, your inner petty competitor is pleased to see, the view is also almost exactly the same. Of course, he has a slight advantage because he’s worked here longer, but you have the same job title, the same office. You’re almost on even footing. You’ve noticed a competitive streak in him, and you’re excited to play against it. It’s only going to make you a better lawyer. 

The “quick chat” turns into an hour-long discussion and you decide by the time you leave his office that you’ll head home at normal close of business hours. You’ll be staying late anyway as your caseload grows. 

You’re surprised to find a brown paper bag on your desk, one of the simple gift bags you can find at the drug store. Inside, you find a get well soon card with a cartoon of a man on a hospital bed in a full-body cast with a thermometer coming out of his mouth and an ice pack on his head. Inside, it reads: 

Even though your welcome to Bang and Associates was a painful one, I’m very happy to have you on the team and I look forward to working with you. Now you know to avoid the stairs :) 

-Namjoon

Inside the bag you find a bruise balm and a travel size pack of ibuprofen. Warmth spreads through you, pleased at the gift. There’s another layer to that warmth, a feeling that you don’t want to examine too closely, because he’s your boss, and you suspect (no, you know) it's inappropriate to feel that towards your boss. 

Later that night, though, as you’re applying the balm to the colorful bruise on your hip, you can’t help but think of his dimpled smile.

***

“You’re babying me.” 

You’ve won your first case for Bang and Associates. Your client, a rich young widow who married an older man for love, was the sole inheritor to his massive fortune. His children, some older than the widow, were upset that they got nothing in the will. As you worked with the client, you got the sense that she was genuinely sad about her late husband’s passing. Not that it made any difference. She was a paying client, and you had to represent her regardless, but it made rooting for her easier.

“I thought it was for sure a trick case and that there would be something to trip me up in the prenup, but it was so straightforward.” You’re in the elevator with Namjoon heading up to the office. He was present at the trial, to keep an eye on you to make sure you lived up to the promise of your initial interview.

He shrugs. “It’s nice to start off with a win. You’d be surprised with how many people don’t prepare or get wrapped up in how things should be and completely flounder.” He pats your shoulder as the elevator dings open. “You did good today. Good prep, good execution.” 

He nods a goodbye and heads to his office without looking back. You head to yours at a slower clip, your shoulder burning where he touched you. You feel warm overall anyway, knowing you did a good job, but the praise still feels good. A little too good, maybe. 

Over the next month, the cases get harder and harder, and you have to pull out the most obscure references from your time in law school. You start spending more and more time at the office, racking up insane amounts of billable hours. You have a permanent cup of coffee at your desk and you change into your fuzzy slippers you brought from home to give your feet a break from heels whenever a new case file lands on your desk for review. 

At least you’re not the only one pulling crazy hours. The rest of the litigation team often stays late. You fall in quickly with the guys, cracking jokes over the Nespresso machine you all hover around. They were wary of you at first, an unknown entity coming into the equation, but you proved worth after the second night you stayed late and cracked the key piece of a case buried in ancient tax laws. They treated you to drinks at the local watering hole afterward. The biggest reward though, was getting a small dimpled smile and a thumbs up from Namjoon before he called it a night.

It helps that your boss stays late with the rest of the team. Every time you come to him with a tricky case, without fail, he gives brilliant insight or a nudge in the right direction, giving you advice on where to look for the answer.  And when he goes to his fancy client dinners, he’ll always bring something back to the office when he inevitably stops by the office on his way home. You can’t say no to a good takeaway creme brûlée. 

One Friday afternoon, Namjoon pulls everyone into a meeting a half hour before close of business. “It’s been a tough few weeks. You’re all going home at five today.” He holds up a hand when the team starts to protest. “I’m going to be at Silver Spoon for happy hour. Drinks are on me. You don’t have to come, but you can’t stay here.” 

“I have too much work to do,” Jimin says with a pout. 

“I’m firing you if you don’t leave at five on the dot.” The good-natured threat falls easily from Namjoon’s lips. “That goes for all of you. Wrap up what you need to.” 

You spend the rest of the time cataloguing what you need to finish Monday morning. Usually you’d work Saturdays too, but with the promise of an early weekend, you decide everything can wait until open of business Monday. Well. Maybe you’ll work on that memo from home over the weekend, but everything else on your to-do list can wait. 

You join Jungkook and Hoseok at the elevator bank three minutes before the hour. 

“Think he’s gonna make it?” asks Hoseok with a laugh.

You check your watch. “Two minutes left. He’ll make it right at five.” 

“He’ll be two minutes over,” says Jungkook.

“I think five over,” says Hoseok. 

“Loser buys the nachos,” you say. They both shake on it.

Jimin runs into the elevator bank just as the clock ticks over to five. You pump your fist in victory while the other two groan. 

Jimin leans over to catch his breath. “I thought I wasn’t going to make it.” 

He straightens just as Namjoon rounds the corner from his office.

“Glad I’m not losing any of the team today.”

“And I get two sets of nachos,” you say, getting into the elevator behind the rest and pressing the button for the ground floor.

“Hobi gets the nachos. I’ll get the wings,” says Jungkook.

Jimin looks back and forth between you two, a confused pout on his face. “What did I miss?”

***

Silver Spoon is all leather and dark wood. Namjoon leads the way to a large booth in the back, waving to the bartender behind the gleaming wooden bar. 

“You know everyone,” comments Jungkook as you all pile into the booth. It ends up with Namjoon in the middle, you and Jungkook flanking him, Hoseok next to you, and Jimin next to Jungkook. 

“I’ve been working in this area a long time. It pays to get to know the people working at your favorite haunts.” 

Namjoon drinks whiskey, neat. Junkook orders a pint of the house craft beer. Hoseok has a glass of red wine, and Jimin has a double straight vodka. You get an elderflower spritz, light and refreshing in the unusually hot fall afternoon. 

The conversation deteriorates to work talk, as it usually does among coworkers. The nachos and wings follow the drinks, and everyone digs in. They’re good, just the right amount of elevated to make the price worth it, but not so fancy that the bar food is unrecognizable. 

Silver Spoon fills up as the finance bros and hedge fund managers who work in the area trickle in. You recognize a few former coworkers, and you raise your glass to them in a toast when they wave hello, but you don’t attempt to engage further. You don’t care to reconnect with them. The cutthroat, backstabbing environment at your last firm is what made you leave in the first place. Bang and Associates hires ambitious lawyers, but fosters a workplace that manages to keep the ones that are ambitions without the cattiness, encouraging a collaborative work environment over individual hotshot lawyers. You're settling into your new workplace just fine, thank you.

Namjoon gets a call shortly after the third round of drinks, and Jungkook and Jimin shimmy out of the booth to let him out so he can take the call in private. 

Hoseok picks up where the conversation left off, brainstorming where to start to research a tricky case. Jimin interrupts him before he can get a full sentence out.

“Uuuugh,” he says, dragging his hands down his cheeks. “Can we talk about anything but work?” 

“Please,” you say. 

Jimin looks at you with a mischievous grin and pops his chin onto his hand. He calls your name in a singsongy voice. “Are you seeing anyone?” 

You snort into your drink. “Do I look like I have time for a relationship?” 

“It’s amazing what you can get up to in our limited free time if you have some determination,” mutters Hoseok with a sidelong glance at Jimin. 

“Jimin is slowly working his way through the office,” explains Jungkook.

Jimin crosses his heart with his finger and holds a hand up. “All above-board with HR, of course.” 

“Doesn’t mean you haven’t left behind a trail of broken hearts,” says Hoseok. 

“They all knew what they were getting into when they consented to the relationship.” 

“Or lack thereof,” says Jungkook with a snort. 

Jimin turns to look at him, eyebrow raised. “Speaking of lack of relationships, still hung up on Namjoon?” 

Jungkook turns an impressive shade of red. “Stop, I’m not—“

“Ever since he broke up with his ex-girlfriend, he’s had this massive crush on Namjoon,” Jimin tells you.

“Shut up!” 

“We all see how you look at him,” says Hoseok, not unkindly. “Stars in your eyes when you think he’s not looking.”

So you hadn’t been imagining that. 

Jungkook’s only response is to chug the rest of his pint. 

“I don’t blame you,” you say, then freeze as three heads whip around to look at you. “What?” you ask, voice squeaky.

“Not you too,” groans Jimin. 

“What?” You hope the heat creeping up your face isn’t noticeable in the low bar lighting. “I have eyes. He’s attractive. You can’t deny that.” 

“And smart,” says Jungkook morosely. 

“And kind and he’s a good leader. I’m surprised you guys aren’t also harboring secret crushes,” you say, as if they’re the idiots for not having a massive crush on their boss. In reality, it’s terrifying to say these things out loud, everything you’ve been thinking over the past month you’ve been working at Bang and Associates. 

“Unfortunately, I’m straight,” says Hoseok. 

“And disgustingly in love with his fiancée,” sneers Jimin. “It’s actually sickening to see them together. She’s super pretty and an amazing dancer — you’ll see at the holiday party— and you really want to hate her but she’s also really nice on top of all that.” He takes the rest of his drink in one shot without a wince. You’d think he was sober if you hadn’t seen him down his vodka doubles like they were water. “And I’m not straight, but I know a lost cause when I see one. Namjoon’s practically married to his work. There are other men and women still waiting to be added to my bedpost.” He waggles his eyebrows in an exaggerated imitation of a leery cartoon character. 

“You’re disgusting, you know that?” 

“Thought I don’t know about Namjoon.” Jimin continues like he didn’t hear Jungkook’s comment. “I don’t think he’s married, because I’ve never seen a ring, and I’ve never seen him flirting or taking anyone home after drinks. No dates to company parties.” 

“Maybe he’s asexual,” says Hoseok. 

“That would be a shame because I bet he’s got a big d—“

Jungkook interrupts Jimin with an elbow to his side. He sits up straight, and you follow his line of sight to see Namjoon coming back to the table. They move out of the booth to give him his spot back in the middle. 

“Sorry about that. What are we talking about?” asks Namjoon as he settles in, just an inch closer than he had been sitting before. The intoxicating spicy smell of sandalwood that you’ve come to associate with Namjoon fills your nose and you suppress the urge to take a deep breath. 

You and Jungkook exchange guilty glances over the table. Jimin heaves a dramatic sigh, thankfully drawing Namjoon’s attention away from you two. 

“We were just bemoaning our single status. Not Hoseok, of course.”

“I’d be surprised if you all have time to date, what with the hours we’ve been pulling.” 

“How do you balance it all? Work, a social life, dating?” The question falls from your lips and you wish you could shove it back in your mouth. Jungkook kicks you from the other side of the table, and Jimin looks impressed that you actually asked the question. 

Namjoon lets out a hollow laugh. “I’m the wrong person to ask.” 

You exchange glances with Jungkook again. Does this mean he’s single? 

Before anyone can ask a follow-up question, a group of lawyers from the (mostly) friendly competition approach the table to make small talk. You want to shoo them away like pigeons so you can continue the conversation, but you busy yourself with your drink instead. 

Your coworkers disperse soon after, with Hoseok slipping away to go home first, red-faced and quiet. Namjoon talks to a group of his law school classmates by the bar. 

As the evening progresses, it’s painfully obvious to you now that Jungkook is mooning over Namjoon. You’d had your suspicions before, but after the conversation from earlier, the not-so-subtle glances make you cringe a little. You hope you’re not that obvious too. 

Not that Namjoon’s presence stops him from chatting up sone of the women who join your table. They work in the advertising firm a few floors below you, and you’ve gotten friendly with them over the past few weeks. The petite woman with the swishy blonde hair touches him a little more than necessary. 

You and Jimin exchange looks when you both clock her hand on Jungkook’s bicep for the third time in as many minutes. 

Jungkook and the blonde head out together not too long after. Good for him, you think, not getting so hung up on Nmajoon that he can’t focus on a different pretty face for the night.

When it’s just you and Jimin left at the booth, he leans in a little close. “What do you say you and me head out?” 

You laugh in his face. “I’m not going to sleep with you, Jimin.” 

He takes it in stride, and stands with a wink. “If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.” 

He blows you a kiss before zeroing in on one of the finance bros who’s been looking over at your table for the past hour. He won’t know what hit him once Jimin is done with him. 

You don’t bother trying to pull someone at the bar, choosing instead to slip away without any fanfare. Though you’re no stranger to one-night stands, you’re looking forward to sleeping in and you can’t be bothered with the logistics of a hookup. Tonight, you have a date with your bed, and your bed only. 

The air has a bite to it as you step out of the bar, and you pull your coat around you as you hurry to the curb to your Uber. You settle into the back of the car as the driver pulls out into traffic. 

You can’t help but feel kinship with Jungkook, what with both of you lusting after the same ill-advised man. The city lights blur by and you let your eyes unfocus.

You wonder what would happen if you were the last three people left in the world. Would he go for you or Jungkook? In your buzzed state of mind, you think you really wouldn't mind sharing.

©sowoozoo-7 2023

Please do not copy or repost. I do not crosspost anywhere else.

[cashweasel]

🏨 gimme those blorbo rooms fdsfdsfsfsd, since it’s Pinterest can I ask for more than one? XD if so ima ask to Karimas and Shaheens OH and also Gideons (low key I know what valens/yazans looks like but its a good excuse for u to get to share) so if u want to Valens and Yazans wild be fun 😌

K BYEEE <3 😘

LOLL im glad you asked and yes i will give you all of them 😌😂😂

Karima: she’s obsessed with collecting room decor and she has a crochet corner, half of her decor is crocheted too honestly 😂 I think she also has a thing for animal print stuff esp curtains and pillow cases, she’d keep small ceramics stuff she made with daemon everywhere

Shaheen: idk why it was funny to imagine his college dorm lol he uses space very efficiently also his desk is very important 🧠

Gideon: his room is so big and so empty but he’s barely home so who cares, the only notable thing about it besides the diabolical toys collection on display is the display cabinet he keeps all his medals, plane models, pictures, uniforms etc in

Yazan: yazan’s room as you know is a Dumpster 😂 it’s impossible to find anything in there and it’s never tidy, also so many posters and records + ofc drum corner

Valen: very pretty but his room is an entire house in itself you need directions to where everything is 💀 Texas king bed with a canopy, mirror above bed/on ceiling, maximalist unique decor and very beautifully coordinated color wise. Also huge portraits of himself obviously lol

[OC headcanons: Picture Edition!]

[erikiara80]

Theory: Jancy’s first lie scene is also about Jopper and the curse

I was rewatching Murray scenes in S2 and S3 and I noticed something in this one I never did before. This could be a big evidence that young Jopper, or at least Hop, are really cursed and that they probably were together in the og timeline.

I talk about the possible hints that they were married and are Will and El’s parents here

So, I think the first parallel/connection is when Nancy and Jon mention the theory that El is russian (later they also drink vodka)

This is foreshadowing of Jopper’s storyline in S4, not Jancy’s. Hopper is in Russia, Joyce gets a doll from him but Murray suspects it might be pregnant with an explosive device. Something Owens compares El to a few episodes later. And interestingly the doll is actually “pregnant” with the message that Hopper is alive.

Then the first lie scene. If the vodka and the mention of Russia are foreshadowing of Jopper’s storyline in S4, this could be about their past

After Nancy and Jon say that they're just friends, Murray laughs. "You told me a lot of shockers today but that... that is the first lie.”

That reminded me of the First Shadow. In my defence, I couldn’t make the connection before they announced the prequel, lol.

And @chirpsythismorning noticed something very interesting. The song that plays when Hopper is stuck in the tunnels in S2 is Shadow in the tunnel. That doesn’t mean that he is the shadow, but that he is associated with it. 

Nancy insists: "It's not a lie." Murray: "No? You're young, attractive, you've got chemistry, history. Plus, the real shit. Shared trauma." This could be about young Jopper too. Because we know that something bad happened way before 1983. In 1959, the year Hopper said he started to feel cursed.

Murray continues and tells Jon (our Hopper here): "Trust issues, am I right? Something to do with your dad." 

"No, I mean, my dad is..." 

Nancy: "An asshole." This is about Lonnie, but it could also be about Hopper's father, who thought his son was a piece of shit.

@shippingfangirl013​ I have to quote you here:  And the “my dad is…” “An asshole” Paired with the “well they must have gotten married for some reason” in S1. “I wasn’t around for that part” = Jonathan’s parents being in love.

Yep.

And then Murray mentions a curse: “It's a curse to see so clearly."

First lie, First Shadow, and a curse...

Hopper is the only character who’s been saying since S1 that he feels like he’s cursed. In S4 he even says that HE is the curse. And Jo pointed out that episode 4x02, Vecna’s curse, starts with Hopper apparently dying, only to reveal that he’s actually alive. Hm, stuck in a loop, maybe? I’m working on a post about Hopper and the curse, but I’ll just say that after he wakes up in 4x02, we see Max wake up too, from a Vecna nightmare, we see the poster of The Endless Summer and hear the clock-bike sound effect. Here the video.

But back to Murray and the first lie. It’s Nancy’s turn. Murray tells her that she wants safety (like Joyce)

Then another big parallel with Jopper. The We like Steve (Bob) But we don’t love Steve (Bob) 

Murray calls Nancy out. Saying that she loves Steve (Bob) is the second lie of the evening (and so is Joyce not being with Jim, the man she loves)

As Kayla says: Safety = Bob = MK Ultra manipulation, because of the flashbacks she has in S3 after being around Hopper.

Then THIS poster. It never made much sense to me when I thought about Jancy. But it makes a lot of sense if the scene is not just about them, but a parallel with Jopper and Hopper, the cursed one.

Here another parallel. Murray tells Nancy and Jon to have sex. The same thing he tells Joyce and Hopper in S3.

(red and yellow here, El and Will’s colors)

And I think this is important. That night Nancy and Jonathan GET together, and we don’t see the poster when they kiss, because they're not the ones that are cursed. Hopper and Joyce Maldonado are. The part with Murray is the parallel with Jopper’s past. Someone has been watching them for a very long time.

Note: The poster is a Big Brother poster. Brother, The lost brother, the original title of The Lost sister, an episode with tons of references to One and the lab (here, here and here)

Kayla also made another great connection with the song at the end of S2, Every breath you take. Maybe it’s not just about Will or El. It’s about their family. They’re all there. Will, El, Jonathan, Hopper and Joyce.

And the last words we hear before the last shot, the Mind Flayer looming over the school: Oh don’t you see? You belong to me

(Water is always involved too, right? Sorry, just wanted to point it out)

So, in conclusion I think that this Jancy scene is Jopper coded and maybe it tells us what happened to them. 

The question is: why is Hopper cursed? Were he and the others there, Joyce, Bob, maybe Scott Clarke, when the exorcism happened and something went wrong? Or maybe they stopped Betty, who wanted to help Henry, because they wanted to protect her (if she's really Bob's sister it makes sense) But without her help, something horrible happened. Or maybe something bad happened to her.

I feel like Hopper did something that changed everything. Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing but he was wrong and made things worse. We’ll see!

Anyway, I really like this theory. Tagging you too @lilitblaukatz​ 

[needlesandnilbogs]

I guess art is going on tumblr instead of on blogspot today lolll cause I’m lazy. half the high school au crowd goes to see a movie. that is all. (If I successfully did this then there will be a read more bc I put the fic here and it got long)

Image ID: two digital drawings. One is of high school versions of murderbot characters dressed in costumes and standing in front of a movie poster: from left to right, Rin (high school au murderbot), Bharadwaj, Overse, Gurathin, Pin-Lee, and Indah. Rin has dark curly hair and dark brown skin. It is not dressed in a costume, just a blue hoodie and gray pants, and is standing behind and apart from the group. Bharadwaj has dark brown skin and her hair is under a light purple hijab which extends into a cape behind her; she also wears a long dark blue dress belted at the waist and a silver circlet. Overse has light skin, shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, and glasses; she wears a light blue dress with pink trim and sleeves, pink shoes laced up her calves, a Magen David necklace, and a small pink crown. Gurathin has the lightest skin, brown hair cut unflatteringly, and big round wire glasses; he is wearing a red shirt and leggings with gold armor over it, and he has a silver flute hung over his shoulder. Pin-Lee has lightish skin, black hair in a bun, and wears a green bodysuit half covered in green and pink feathers. Indah is the tallest except for Rin and has medium skin and light brown hair; she is wearing a turquoise shirt, purple leggings, a skirt in a different shade of purple with gold trim, and yellow shoes.

the other image is the poster that is behind them. It is for a made up movie called “Sunshine Warriors: Day of the Second Sun” and features an orange and yellow stylized sun on a blue background. On the sun there are images of a pink crown, a red eighth note, a green bird, and a purple butterfly. Under the movie title, at the bottom, it says “Ten Years Later…”. End ID.

anyways this is for chatfic I am deciding whether to post to ao3 or not, I wrote the fic last year and it’s part of the hsau’s summer between Mensah and mb’s senior year of high school and going to college. The relevant bit of the fic itself is as follows:

———

DM: Lee (Pin-Lee), bhara (Bharadwaj)

[10:01] bhara: Hey, wanna go to the river w me this afternoon?? I need out of the house and my aunt won't let me take the car

[10:03] Lee: I'm down, want me to pick you up?

[10:03] bhara: That'd be great \o/ I have no agenda lol I just really need a break

[10:04] Lee: Also, want to come to the movies tonight with Indah and me, too? We're making plans to see the Sunshine Warriors film in full costume tonight, possibly with Gurathin and Overse and Rin too.

[10:04] bhara: OMG I FORGOT THE MOVIE COMES OUT TONIGHT AAAAAA AND ITS LIVE ACTION LIKE THE PART IN THE DOCUMENTARY WHERE THE ACTORS DID THE SCENES

[10:05] Lee: I was actually about to ask if you wanted to come when you texted me!

[10:07] bhara: I CAN GO \o/ \o/ \o/

[10:07] Lee: Great. Pick you up in ten for river time, at 4 for the movie?

[10:07] bhara: o7 but also changed my mind, let's go see how much of a costume we can put together in the time between now and 4?

[10:08] Lee: I'll make a group chat so we can coordinate costumes!

New Chat: Pin-Lee (Pin-Lee), Bharadwaj (Bharadwaj), gurathin (gurathin), indah (indah), Overse (Overse), Rin (Rin)

[10:10] Pin-Lee (Pin-Lee) started chat

[10:10] Pin-Lee (Pin-Lee) changed chat name to Sunshine Warriors Assemble

[10:11] Pin-Lee: So. We are doing this, okay? I call dibs on being Feather, he was always my favorite.

[10:11] indah: I'd forgotten how much I loved this show

[10:12] indah: I want to be Color, if possible, I have the most clothing I could use for her.

[10:15] Overse: Arada isn't interested in going but she says she'll lend me her floofy skirt so I wanted to be color

[10:15] indah: I'll duel you for it. Swords at 2 am on the 29th?

[10:16] Overse: wow rude

[10:16] Overse: whatever happened to reasonable sleep schedules? [10:17] gurathin: Not to interrupt but I want to stake a claim on flute, the least terrible warrior

[10:18] Overse: omg Gurathin just be sun lord, you're already that pompous <3

[10:18] Bharadwaj: So we have Flute, Feather, and two people who want to be Color, who wants Princess and what do the rest of you want to do?

[10:20] Overse: well, I can be princess instead, i do have good high heels for it, but what do you wanna do?

[10:20] Rin: I'm not coming in costume.

[10:20] Bharadwaj: I was thinking Queen Midnight but only if everyone else is down for going with the villain?

[10:21] Pin-Lee: I am *always* down for going with villains. I'll be over in 5 minutes and we can hit your closet and the thrift store, okay?

[10:22] indah: The plan is meet at Pin-Lee's house at 4, carpool to the movie theater, see the 4:45 showing, get dinner, see the 9:50 showing, go home, unless anyone can't stay out till midnight.

[10:30] Bharadwaj: I just checked and my aunt says that's fine

[10:30] Bharadwaj: She also says if we want to come over after and watch the documentary that came out a couple years ago about the making of the show we are welcome to do so and then sleep over!

[10:31] Bharadwaj: It's SUCH a good documentary, it's a beautiful letter of love to the way the show was made and the choices the writers had to make to make it socially acceptable

[10:31] Bharadwaj: I know I just like documentaries in general but I really love this one and not just because it's about fiction I enjoy

[10:35] Overse: omg perf

[10:35] Overse: I have to be princess then bc I loved her voice actor in the show

[sneezemonster15]

when you talk about incest, you mean between mai and maki? it’s funny, because while gege dis portray them sharing a kiss, the way it was made, i didn’t feel like it was romantic… more like it was supposed to represent trough closeness that maki and mai are two parts of the same person, since they’re twins and all. but yeah it definitely can seem disturbing at first lol 😅

It's more than that. Not only Mai is shown to be having a crush, which she doesn't tell Maki about, but also at Todo's request, she goes to see Takada, that pop icon, and she is thrilled. Her reaction to Takada does not look platonic at all. Also the kiss itself doesn't seem platonic. I think Gege meant it to be romantic or at least sus. She is also shown to voluntarily talk about her romantic interest, which means she certainly has one. And she kisses Maki on the lips at such a tragic moment when Mai sacrifices her life for Maki's sake, which I simply cannot deny, is quite unconventional and not used to depict sisterly feelings. I think it's romantic. And hence incestuous.

There are other instances with incestuous themes.

And this too. Imo.

Plus, Mai won't be the only person in the manga who is 'not straight'. Megumi is pointedly shown to prefer 'person' over a girl. This is not even that cryptic, it's Gege telling us he likes men, and not women. Itadori is pointedly shown as confused about his preferences. Like yes, he likes tall girls with big butts or whatever, but he picked Ozawa of all the girls in his class when his friends asked him to pick. He was quite nonchalant about it, even though he knew the context of the questions, but he still did not objectify a woman like a straight boy would probably have done, when he easily could have. He has a poster of a girl, but no girlfriend, instead he is very close to Megumi. Megumi is the first name on his lips no matter who else is there, when he is concerned. When Todo asks him the question about what kind of women he likes, he is baffled and he doesn't really think about his answer the way Megumi does, he just gives the same answer he had been giving his school friends, but he still picks Ozawa, a short girl. Who is then pointedly shown to have grown tall. But Itadori is still not romantically interested in her. Itadori is also pointedly shown to be indecisive. Gege has described Itadori as indecisive. There is so much conversation around the height of Itadori's prospective mate, and some emphasis is also put on Megumi's tall and lean build lol, and all this is deliberate. Plus, Itadori and Megumi show accountability towards each other, Gege shows them taking stock of their feelings for each other and acting accordingly. Of course it's not black and white, but I am sure Gege is telling us something here. He is being cryptic, like Kishi was. The episode shows Ozawa liking Itadori but not able to do anything about it until just then. Nobara is shown to have feelings for Itadori. And Megumi is shown as the person closest to Itadori, like c'mon, they were together for a mere two weeks and they were already making meatballs together. They spend time with each other outside missions, their rooms are right next to each other, they know how the other person thinks and acts, what they like and dislike. That whole episode shows how close Itadori and Megumi are, and it's not the only instance. Gege is certainly showing us more than he is telling. Once I finish the manga, at least the current chapters, maybe I can write about it in more detail.

But well, jjk world is not as old fashioned/traditional as Naruto world. The characters aren't so prejudiced or narrow minded as they are in Naruto. Well except for people inside the clan system, jjk folks are more open to express themselves, less bound by convention. They are all practically crazy, they have got to be, and they own it. It's more healthy than what Naruto's characters do. And there are people like Gojo to guide them, a good leader (unlike Kakashi) who fights the corruption and obsolete convention of their world, who will fight for his students, who will empathize and try to understand them without judging them harshly, and won't deprive them of the simple pleasures of youth.

I can't surely say that Gojo and Geto are also of the same inclination, but I guess it's a little ambiguous the more I look into it. Since Gege is a fan of non linear storytelling, one can certainly expect to see more in that direction and I am still reading the manga. Well, what I can say is that there's more reason to think SatoSugu are romantic than not. So I will wait.

I think Gege knows what Naruto the story is about. He knows. It's like he is trying to break specific shounen conventions with his manga...

[ageless-aislynn]

Back in the day, (around 2006 or so, I'd wager) I decided to try making a Bag End-inspired diorama display thing for my Lord of the Rings (and friends) figures out of plastic canvas and yarn. (No pattern, I was just winging it.) Here are some pics of how it turned out. 😉

The front with the famous round, green door. I also gave them some lattice-work windows and a couple of plant pots with greenery, just 'cause. 😉

Closer up on the door and one of the plants.

This is the wall that was beyond the window and plants, on the left side as looking in that orientation. I couldn't really do a hill without it looking weird so went with a tree motif on both sides.

The wall on the right of the door, this one with a "rope" swing, just for funsies!

Interior on the door.

Everybody needs a free standing closet to store your stuff in, right?

Yes, that's an Ian McKellen Magneto wearing Gandalf's hat and politely levitating his sword into the closet.😜

Behind the door standing open a bit is a coat closet.

I wanted a sort of marble inspired pattern. Plus, I really liked this variegated yarn so...

Everybody needs a table with a vase of roses on it! And yeah, that's a Nazgul wearing a tea ball strainer on his head. It was from a joke at the time. Also, we see our Hobbit guests putting their cloaks away in the closet.

Interior behind the big window. I thought of this as a combo kitchen/dining room area with a decorative rug.

Eomer CANNOT BELIEVE that we don't have his favorite brand of coffee! Storm thinks we should have a dance party. Boromir is heading over to lean on the fireplace mantel. 😉

Clearly Gandalf is HERE for a dance party! Oh and I do believe there might be a Boromir/Eowyn "leaning on the mantel" love connection going on back there? 👀👀👀😂

It's a little known fact that Darth Vader LOVES a nice tree swing! He even brought a droid friend, d'aww. That's my Xena poster on the wall in the background, btw. One of my most favorite Xena pics ever!

I also made Shadowfax, Gandalf's horse!

He can stand on his own. And yes, I made that fishbowl, including the Very Famous Fish Rear End on the side panel, lol! Nothing but UTTER ACCURACY around here, thank you very much. 😜

The chair was made from a kit. The cushion comes off and you can store things in the bottom box part. The mug of hot chocolate has marshmallows on top and also the rim raises up so you can store small things in it.

The flower vase was also from a kit. I famously got my hand stuck in it while doing the bottom stitch to finish attaching it to the base. I thought I might have to unstitch it a bit to get free but thankfully didn't have to. Absolutely no one who saw me with a plastic canvas vase stuck on my hand laughed. 😑🤣

(As well they should have. I laughed, too, once I got my hand out of there, lol!)

My mom loved lighthouses so I made her a day and night version. They're the same size but this was 2 separate pics edited together and the different angles made the night version look smaller.

Anyway, that's a few things I made back in the day. Nothing sophisticated but I just enjoyed playing around with it. The canvas got really hard to find for a while and then got very expensive once I located it again, so I stopped making things. 😢

Oh, almost forgot to add the pic that made me think to post these to begin with: Barbie with one of my ducks from my earthquake post.

I made a bunch of these little ducks for a project I never completed, then found them in a Ziploc bag the other day. Now there are little ducks all over the house, lol! 🦆💖

PS - I may have posted these pics before. I know I did on my Livejournal but couldn't find them on Tumblr. If this is the second time you're seeing them, though, apologies. Ais is old and the memory just ain't what she used to be. 😑😉

[br1ghtestlight]

random late night thoughts on my famous jimmy junior concept (specifically w/ tinimmy)

jimmy jr moved away in his sophmore year of high school because his mom got him accepted into a really good and well respected performing arts school in california. mom moved to california to live with him while he auditioned and studied and dad stayed behind with andy and ollie (they both missed their mom and jimmy jr SOO MUCH but they'd get to visit during the summer and spring/winter breaks)

tina and jimmy jr continued on again off again dating thru 8th 9th and 10th grades but they were always friends so tina took it super hard when jimmy jr moved away </3 she dated a few guys after him but honestly despite being a hopeless romantic she never felt much of a spark. i think she just missed him too much & never got over her first love. she vowed off dating until after high school

she definitely cried everyday for WEEKS when he actually moved away and stopped hanging out with her friend group w/ tammy and jocelyn. she still kept in contact with zeke but he had a pretty busy life at that point too yknow how it is

jimmy jr would call and text with tina and their friend group sometimes but he got really busy w/ school and life so they eventually fell out of contact. the type of middle school friend you only keep up with through their occasional facebook status updates

jimmy jr got his big break and became a famous teenage heartthrob type when he was around 17 years old and he did NOOOT take it well at all lol he got a huge ego and made so many terrible decisions <3 bless his heart <3 maybe he even thought he was too good for seymour's bay or his friends back home even though i think secretly he missed them. basically stopped talking to his family around this time. super weird for everybody who knew him in seymour's bay that he was now famous and totally idolized but he became something of a local legend to their town like "the birthplace of jimmy pesto jr omg" which was probably good for tourism

jimmy pesto's also got more randos visiting his restaurant because they wanted to see where jimmy jr grew up and harass his family basically lmao which jimmy pesto HATED especially since he became estranged from jimmy jr

it probably settled down after a few years when everybody realized jimmy pesto doesnt talk to his son and also he's an asshole

tina was always very proud of jimmy jr even as his friend because she knew how important dancing and attention/fame had always been to jimmy jr and his passion for it (she'd known him since kindergarten obviously!!!!) so she was always cheering him on like yay ^_^ she might attend an event he was doing locally but ngl he did stay clear of seymour's bay feeling like he had unfinished business there he didnt want to think about. tina was genuinely just happy for him & mostly over her feelings for him

she DID buy all his merch even the cheesy shirtless posters that were definitely made for 12 year old girls to kiss at night. she's LOYAL OKAY!!!!!!

because jimmy jr never came around to seymour's bay and avoided the area he kind of got a reputation with the locals that he thought he was "too good to acknowledge where he came from" so their opinion of him is slightly negative tbh. which isnt UNTRUE but it was less about the town himself and more about the people he left behind

jimmy jr found it really hard to make genuine friendships at his new school bcuz everybody was always trying to compete with each other and eventually he just stopped trying so he's been very socially isolated for a long time which DIDNT help his mental health. he never had another close friend like tina or zeke it was mostly just random party buddies and one night stands but nobody he could be himself around :(

jimmy pesto's relationship with jimmy jr in this fic is much too complicated to describe in a tumblr post lol but its very. uhh. they both want the best for each other and jimmy pesto truly isn't a horrible dad. andy and ollie adore their big brother though and they'll always ask him about his fancy life in hollywood when they go to visit

when jimmy jr first became famous there was some slight attention from younger fans directed @ andy and ollie who were like ooooh they're like jimmy jr but our age and single/not famous?? boyfriend maybe? a few stalkers but that pretty much died immediately when they realized andy and ollie are actual literal Freaks <- they never realized this is also true of jimmy jr though!!!!

he is bisexual. he never told anybody he's bisexual and nobody knows he's bisexual but he is bisexual of course. there is no universe where that kid is straight sorry

[farasen]

no fr WHY is everybody a single parent. I was SHOCKED to hear that Markus actually has a mom that's around lol. Also Leon deserves to be bullied but i don't blame the kid who does not have a mom for having abandonment issues. even if he shows them in interesting ways.

Oh, since we've started talking about moms, lemme rant about that

Apparently, we have a bunch of kids with mommy issues, even Jojo has it to a certain extent. But the one that shows it the most, a so-called CEO of that mess, is Leon.

If we look closely at the photos in the Wessel's kitchen, we can see some pictures that look a lot like a wedding. Thus, we can be sure that his dad was once married. You know, I could assume that she died, but honestly, I think she just left them or she and his dad had a tough divorce, that affected lil Leon's mind. Maybe that's why he and Marlon have such attitude towards girls, simply because they didn't have a good role model in their life.

Also another thing about Leon that keeps me awake at night for no reason. I remember in S1E2 he said to Willi that adults always lie or some shit like that. I'm probably digging too deep again, but I think that could also reflect his childhood trauma and resentment???

Also his whole behavior, Leon just has to be the best, to get attention from others.

And, it's just a theory, but maybe it might as well come back to his mother's departure. Some children from divorced families tend to blame themselves for one parent leaving them or trying to "be better", so they would come back. Maybe Leon one of these cases? Perhaps he's unconsciously trying to make his mother return by being "the best" or the opposite: he's trying to prove it to HIMSELF to not feel shitty?

I told you I was digging too deep

Btw, about Marlon. He seems to be the most conscious and mature in general. But I don't think it's only because of his age (c’mon 1 year or so is not that big). If their mom really did leave them, Marlon, as an older sibling, probably had to take care of Leon along with his dad. Maybe that also somehow affected him and now he feels some kind of responsibility for the bunch as well. Like "a big bro" energy.

Jojo we've already discussed, though I don't really understand how this little sunshine could come out from such an environment.

Markus tho. Yeah, he's mother isn't dead nor did she leave or drink, but the show made it clear that she's hardly ever around. She wasn't even shown outside of the posters on the wall, and Markus mentions her like 2 times throughout the series.

We know that he has BIG daddy issues too, so he has to deal with it on his own, because there's no one around to stend up for him, but even if there was, it's not guaranteed that she would pick his side. And that's why he consideres the bunch his second family. He's true family, I would say.

That might have had an impact on his self-esteem too, cause' literally none of Markus's family members was approved of his interests. That also might be the reason he wants to become a famous goalie - just "to show them"

I think Vanessa in the books (movies??) didn't have a mom. She might be in the same situation as Leon and Marlon: she didn't have a good role model so she has bias attitude towards other girls.

Idk about Deniz and Raban tho. Deniz's mom wasn't mentioned anywhere in the cartoon. Maybe she is dead indeed.

And Raban... He's parents weren't mentioned AT ALL. Poor boy doesn't get enough screen time. But that's a good thing in some way, I can headcanon whatever I want and I'm going to headcanon him mommy issues.But actually he has an unstable self-esteem and he always sticks to people who are mean to him (ahem...Leon..ahem). Soo, maybe that's also sort of his parent's fault? Idk