#also the playlists I have public make up most of what I listen to lol

[bbyobbyo]

You don’t usually wake up at the same time as Jihoon, but he definitely makes sure that you wake up with him everyday.

content: fluff, established relationship, idol!Jihoon x non-idol!reader, domesticity, spotify as a plot point lol

wc: 1.6k

note: inspired by this reddit post which i thought was 100% something jihoon would do especially now that i know he uses spotify lol. i feel like im the only one who finds it hardest to write for their bias, i get really in my head about whether or not im portraying him in the way I want to. i’ve never written idol!au either (bc i think it’s easy to overdo) which only adds to me overthinking ahhhh but hope that you guys enjoy this one !! as always feedback or comments are appreciated 🥰 I read all of them and they make me so happy hehe

[read pt.2 here!]

Jihoon swears there's something magical about waking up to a calm and quiet morning. The sun is barely just rising, blanketing the world in a soft twilight that cuts the dark blues of the waning night. And in his bed, he finds something equally as magical: your soundly sleeping figure next to him. The world is silent except for your steady breaths, and he has to take extra caution to not fall asleep again if just to enjoy the brief moments of tranquility like this during his otherwise busy life. Eventually he gets up to start his schedule for the day, taking one last look at your peaceful slumber in fondness before he closes the door behind him.

Make no mistake, Jihoon loves his job. Having 13 members in his group is fantastic, except when you realize that 13 people requiring styling and wardrobe before every public appearance takes a lot of time. His mornings may start early, but in reality most of his time is spent listening to music in salon chairs and dozing off in waiting rooms.

In fact, it was in the middle of getting his makeup done when he discovered that around 8:20 am every day, his Spotify (which he uses to listen to his daily Bruno Mars Mix playlist) stops playing on his phone and switches to… the speaker at home? He bought a new speaker a few days ago because the last one you had was on its last legs from years of use, but if it’s malfunctioning already then he might have to look into getting a new speaker sooner than he thought.

Upon closer observation, Jihoon also notices that the song has changed — it’s playing one of his songs, your favorite one actually. Immediately he realizes what happened. He contemplates shooting you a text to tell you to disconnect him and just sync your own Spotify account to the speaker, you’re home more often than him anyway. That thought quickly disappears, however, as he imagines you getting ready for work listening to the sound of his voice and genuinely enjoying the music that he pours his heart and soul into, he can’t bring himself to disturb you even for a moment. His eyes soften as he stares blankly at the Spotify home screen, headphones now deafeningly silent. Surely, Jihoon decides, he can live without his Bruno Mars Mix for just a while longer.

-

You sometimes wonder if your boyfriend is magic. Although a good morning text has been standard in your relationship since the beginning, it's starting to concern you how perfectly timed it is.

Normally, your morning routine is simple. Wake up. Get out of bed. Bump some tunes. Check your notifications. Brush teeth. Wash face. Get dressed. Pack bag. Leave the house.

You’re usually the one to text him good morning given your later wake up time, yet he’s been beating you to it lately. Yes, he knows you set your alarm 8:15 everyday because it's “the perfect amount of time you need to get ready and still make it to work on the dot”. But that doesn't explain why “rise n shine babe :))” pops up on your phone as you brush your teeth on the days you wake up early, too.

[8:06 am] you have to tell me how you do it

[8:06 am] Do what????

[8:07 am] im onto you mister 👁👄👁

[8:07 am] 👍👍👍

You spiral through the possible scenarios in your head: he has your location, but that wouldn’t tell him when you woke up right? Does your icon move around on the map? No, the location data isn’t that accurate. Maybe when you open your phone, your Facebook status shows that you’re online? No, you know for a fact that you both haven’t opened that app in years. Hmm, did he plant cameras everywhere in the apartment? Sure, you get the security utility of it but if he did it without telling you, there would be some SERIOUS things to talk about, maybe it really is all just guesswork and coincidence?

Sigh… you’ll get to the bottom of this eventually.

-

Jihoon doesn’t plan on telling you, but rather wants you to figure it out yourself. After all, he’s been dropping so many hints already. Your chill hangouts at his studio have a gentle hum of your favorite songs as background noise. He purposely asks you about the new albums of your favorite artists that, surprise, he’s already listened to. He even makes it a point to remind you that the speaker at home is hooked to his account every now and then.

Sometimes, he swears that you’ve figured it out and were just messing with him when you make little comments about your his song choices like “Really babe, you listen to your own songs this often? Are you sure you’re not a narcissist or something?” But besides these moments, there was no indication that you knew about his secret morning routine as you questioned him regularly about his tactics.

He has to admit, it was kind of amusing to see you growing increasingly suspicious of how on earth he figures out when you wake up, being particularly fond of the cute annoyed face you make when he tells you “No babe, I did not put an Air Tag in your pajamas, you barely sleep in clothes anyway.” Even your pout is adorable as you pretend to give him the silent treatment, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long. His little secret is safe for another day.

-

Jihoon has been working brutal hours lately. As deadlines for the upcoming albums drew near, his days start earlier than ever and end equally as late. However, the one thing he can always count on is coming home to you waiting for him.

It was the night of the new album release and you were more excited than usual, greeting him at the door like a lovesick puppy as soon as you heard the door handle turning. “Hi love, what are you doing up so late?” he pulls you into a quick kiss as he sets his stuff down.

“I wanted to wait to listen to the new album with you so you could see my reaction to it!” your eyes were beaming with enthusiasm. Jihoon’s heart swells at the sentiment, knowing that his partner supports him and his passions with such sincerity. You excitedly motion him to join you in your shared bedroom, full of anticipation to hear the fruits of your boyfriend’s labor for the past months. “Alright, you’re not allowed to be disappointed then” he jokes as he pulls out his phone, quickly finding the recently released album and making sure the volume is high enough before tapping the first track and handing it over to you.

Only a few seconds of the song passes before an idea flashes across your eyes. “Wait, let’s play it on the speaker!” you interrupt. You’re on your feet in seconds and before Jihoon could even reach over to press pause, you’ve already commanded your home speaker to play the track out loud. The music immediately ceases on his phone and switches over to the speaker.

Shit, he’s done for, he thinks to himself. He studies your face carefully for any indication that he’s been found out but surprisingly, your attention is laser focused on the melodies now reverberating around your apartment. You’re mostly quiet during the songs but the rhythmic nodding of your head and facial expressions are a tell all of how much you enjoy each track that plays, contorting in a myriad of impressed shapes as killing part after killing part reaches your ears.

As the album comes to an end you look like you’re about to burst at the seams. Your boyfriend can’t control his smile as compliments and detailed thoughts flow freely from your lips for the rest of the night, not ceasing even as the both of you walk through your unwinding routines together. God, you love comeback days. The elaborate music show stages that you will undoubtedly watch later that evening has already been pre-recorded, giving you precious time together in the morning before his schedule whisks him away from your arms once again.

As you get ready for bed, you drift off to sleep knowing that tomorrow, for the first time in what seems like forever, you can finally tell him good morning in person before he can.

-

Your alarm rings at 8:15 am. Jihoon doesn’t need to be up this early, but he would do anything in order to be the first thing you see when you wake. You roll around in his embrace and press a kiss to his cheek. “Good morning” you both whisper to each other at the same time, sending you both into a fit of giggles as you argue who said it first.

Jihoon watches in adoration from the bed as you so naturally go through your morning routine, one that he misses out on more often than he would like. Today, you forgo your usual morning songs as you queue up your personal favorites off the new album, much to his delight. He tries his best to burn this scene into his memory as you gather your things and prepare to head out, giving him one last kiss. You’re about to unlock the door when you pause in your tracks.

“Baby?”

“Hmm?” he hums back from the bedroom.

“Enjoy the speaker, I can’t kick you off today.” you say with a smirk on your face as you exit the apartment, leaving Jihoon speechless.

[hwaslayer]

wildfire (cs) | two.

—spotify playlist | series masterlist

—summary: assistant professor in bioengineering, incredibly attractive, lonely and divorced; that’s how most people describe san. but despite the events that have happened in his life, san has a lot going for himself. he’s a successful, sought out professor due to his brilliant contributions to science at just an early age of 32. he worked hard to get where he was now; head deep into his research, his publications, building his lab and creating a name for himself. everything was good and smooth sailing— until it wasn’t. because when he meets you, a bioengineering grad student interested in rotating in his lab, he finds himself ready to risk all the blood, sweat and tears he put in throughout the years just to keep you close— his need for you spiraling out of control like a wildfire.

—pairing: asst. professor!choi san x grad student!f. reader

—genre: (18+ - minors dni) strangers to lovers, grad school au | fluff, angst, eventual smut

—word count: 4.3k

—chapter content/warnings: cussing/mature language, very much giving slow burn till chapter 5 (sawwie hehe but san/oc drop more hints in ch 3-4), mingi tryna be matchmaker but san's mind is elseeewhere (which will add a lil more spice to the spice thats already planned lol), flashback scene that involves crying & hints of infidelity

"Wow, there's a lot more people here than I expected." You tippy-toe to look over the crowd, falling in line to get your freebies at the entrance of the winter quarter welcome event.

"Do you know where the boys are at?"

"They said they were coming?" Eunchae says, also looking around and over the crowd. The line inches quickly, bringing you closer to the free university-branded hats and water bottles they were giving out. Today's event was not only to set the tone for the quarter, but to showcase all the student groups, benefits, and wellness programs available for everyone. As soon as you grab your freebies, you, Eunchae and Jurin completely forget about the boys making their way over and start walking around to grab more. You find that one of the student groups is handing out reusable bags, which you gladly take one in order to walk around comfortably. You, Jurin and Eunchae also participate in a few small games and raffles, taking pictures at the photobooths set up. Some university staff snap photos of you three while you wait in line to cash in your free lunch voucher at one of the food trucks. 

Once you've grabbed your food and settled down, the three of you find a good space on the lawn near the stage to slowly indulge in your food and the dessert. Namjoon is getting ready to start his speech for the event, while the other professors set to give a small talk are hovering off to the side engaging in conversation.

"Yo! Is anyone listening?" Professor Kim Namjoon, department chair of bioengineering, taps the mic a few times as he steps on the stage. He slowly paces around with a hand in his pocket, giving off a smile while he waits for everyone near the stage to quiet down and listen to his little speech. "Nice, nice. I'm grabbing attention, I still got it." He chuckles to himself. "Anyway, they had me come up here to kick off the welcome event. There's a good lineup of talks coming up, so please stick around for that. I promise it'll be worthwhile." Namjoon points to San. "Choi San is on the lineup. Kang Yeosang. Just to name a few. I know ya'll wanted to hear that in particular." He jokes. The crowd laughs when he gives everyone a certain look, scanning the crowd to read their expressions. "Alright, so another quarter—" Is how he starts his speech off, giving himself two minutes to give a heartwarming welcome to all the students, faculty and staff. The next session kicks off shortly after, with a few faculty members talking about their early days in their departments and what they're focusing on now. 

After Namjoon wraps it up, he introduces San and kicks it off for him— giving him a big, warm smile as he greets him on the stage and hands him the mic. He's dressed in a thick, black half-zip sweater, black slacks and boots. You briefly glance around the crowd, all eyes glued to Professor Choi; lots of people looking at him in pure admiration just like you and your friends. His talk flows well, and he easily transitions from talking about his early career days to where he is now and what his focus is. He speaks with so much poise and grace, it's obvious he's incredibly passionate about what he does. He has a softness to him, a certain glint in his eyes while he slowly paces the stage and maintains contact with his crowd. 

"He's so fucking dreamy, are you kidding?" Eunchae mumbles. You giggle and gently nudge her before returning your attention to the stage. Your eyes glance over to the side, smiling to yourself as Namjoon plays around with everyone around him. Professor Lee Iseul stands off to the side next to her husband, and they quietly remain to themselves. She watches as San does his talk, arms folded tightly against her chest and she couldn't look any more disinterested. You clearly don't know the full story, and it's definitely none of your business. But, you can't help but be a little curious as to what happened between her and Professor Choi and why she acts the way she does around him.

"Aye." Felix plops down next to you. "Where have you been, loca?" You snort, pushing him and causing him to almost fall to the side. "Ouch. We've been calling and texting!"

"Next time, don't be late." Jiung plops down next to him.

"We were trying to find the free smoothies and acai bowls!"

"Excuse me?" Jurin looks at Jiung. "Why didn't I know about this?!"

"Maybe cause you were too busy drooling over Professor Choi and his friends." Jurin sticks her tongue out at him. "It's over there. We just didn't get to it before coming to the lawn."

"I'm definitely going as soon as these talks are over." 

"I want some, too!" Eunchae adds.

"We can go." You chime in.

"We're gonna lose you guys again!" Felix slightly whines.

"You won't! You can just sit here and save our spot." Eunchae smiles with some sass. "That way, we have our spots and you won't lose us."

"Fine." Felix clicks his teeth before returning his attention to the stage. The rest of the talks also go well— Yeosang taking the stage next after San, with a few other professors. Iseul does a talk, and although San doesn't care much for it, he at least tries his best to show some support in front of the crowd and be the bigger person.

He does it to just keep the peace. Mainly for Namjoon. San knows he did a lot to try and bury all the mess that went down, even got in trouble for trying to do so. Namjoon cares about San and his other friends, he'd do anything to protect them. But yes, there is no denying that it was a shit show. 

Once all the talks have concluded, you, Eunchae and Jurin scurry off to the smoothie and acai booth, taking the boys' orders to kill two birds with one stone. The lawn and surrounding areas are back to being loud and chaotic with everyone trying to go around and finish grabbing freebies and samples, and participate in other games. You and your friends fall in line and wait for about 15 minutes before they've taken your orders, another 10 minutes before they've given you your drinks.

"Oh shit, this is good." Jurin sips on her drink as it sits in the carrier with Felix's and Jiung's. 

"It is. The boys finally have a good eye." You snort.

"Leave them be."

"What! It's true! I didn't think they'd care much for the stuff here at the event, but here they are, putting on their favorite girls to free smoothies." You laugh, sipping on your own matcha smoothie. Once Eunchae has gotten her drink, the three of you start to make your way back towards the boys on the lawn.

"Oop—" You let out a small squeal, damn near coming face to face with Professor's Choi's chest when you turn. He's about to grab his own smoothie from the worker when you quite literally almost run into him trying to keep up with Eunchae and Jurin. "Oh, I'm sorry Professor Choi." You feel the heat rise to your cheeks even though you didn't do anything wrong.

"No worries. Good morning, ladies." Professor Choi flashes you, Eunchae and Jurin that 100-watt, dimpled smile that everyone is crazy head over heels for. He does a curt bow to acknowledge you and your friends properly, Eunchae and Jurin biting on their bottom lips to prevent themselves from smiling too big and giggling too loud. "How are you doing?"

"Good. Really good. Great talk, by the way!" Eunchae says, making him chuckle at her reaction. "How are you doing?"

"Aw, thanks. I'm good, can't complain. You guys having a good start to the quarter already?"

"I'd say so, yeah. Can't complain either." Jurin adds, holding onto the drink tray tightly. He nods, but turns his direct attention to you with a small smile. "Y/N. Excited to meet next week and talk about projects."

"I am, too." His eyes linger on yours for a little longer and Eunchae doesn't miss it. She gives your arm a good, subtle [but hard] squeeze— one that has you slightly squirming in her grip while trying to maintain eye contact with Professor Choi. He furrows his brows a bit when he catches it, trying his best not to chuckle at the way you and your friends are acting around him.

"Yo!" Mingi says, patting San's shoulder. His eyes go from him to the three girls in front, still lingering around. "Beautiful morning, ladies! Hope you're enjoying the event." 

"Hi Professor Song." You all say dreamily, watching as the taller man chuckles and bounces to the music playing. 

"Sorry to have to do this, but mind if I steal Professor Choi from you?"

"Go for it!" You respond. "See you next week, Professor Choi." You smile sweetly at him and he swears he feels his knees buckle a bit. He watches as the three of you turn and squeal, definitely talking about them as you continue to walk away and find other things to distract yourselves with.

"What's new?" Mingi laughs, making San chuckle.

"Stop it. They're just enjoying themselves." Mingi gives him a look that screams 'sure, whatever you say,' but he keeps it professional. Doesn't make any side comments and keeps it at bay, even though he enjoys the eye candy himself. They're still young. Although work and keeping up with their labs is tough, they're finally out of school— which their days only consisted of science, publishing papers, graduating ASAP and launching their own careers. Of course, they've had their shares in relationships, one night stands, situationships; whatever you wanna call it, all clearly not working out because of all the work they've had to put in. The attention they've had to put into their education, early careers. It has become such a norm for them that a relationship isn't even in their minds right now. Not because they don't want to, but because they're afraid. Afraid of not having enough time while they're still balancing their loads, afraid they'll accidentally put their relationships on a backburner. Afraid of things just falling out terribly. Mingi can honestly say he's afraid because of how San's marriage unfolded. Of course, all experiences are unique, but it still doesn't mean he can't be afraid of his own. 

Once they've gotten a better hang of things, then maybe. Right now, everything seems risky. Everything.

"Mmkay." Mingi snorts. "Good talk earlier."

"Thanks, my guy." San smiles. "They asked me to do it last minute because someone else dropped the ball."

"That was a nice impromptu talk then." Mingi and San start walking down the path, greeting other faculty and students that pass them by. "How is your progress report going?"

"Almost done now that I've gotten my class schedule out of the way."

"You have two TAs this semester, right?"

"Mhm. Alex is actually doing a bulk of the classes, then the TAs. I'm teaching 8 classes this entire quarter."

"That's nice." 

"What about you?"

"Around the same. I've got Doyun helping take over most lectures, along with the TAs."

"Can't believe it's another quarter."

"Time just flies." He nods towards another group of professors. "By the way, have you met the new Applied Physics professor? Zara?"

"What's her last name?"

"Cho."

"Oh." San nods. "Yeah, heard of her. I saw the announcement about her starting, but that's it."

"Let's go say hi." Mingi smirks, causing San to furrow his brows in confusion.

"Why?"

"Don't we like meeting new people?"

"For good reason, yeah. Not yours."

"Hey, mine is a good reason. Who says it isn't?" Mingi smiles. "You know, just making her feel welcomed." He lazily hangs his arm over her shoulder. "Discussing potential collaborations, joint advising." San rolls his eyes, shaking his head just as they approach the group. 

"Yeah, let's keep it there." 

"Maybe—" Mingi suddenly shifts his attention to the group as soon as they face him and greet the both of them. Phew, San thinks. Now he doesn't have to hear the stupid shit bound to come out of his mouth. "Hey!"

"I was looking for you two." Namjoon has hands dug deep into his pockets with that usual Namjoon smile of his, Yeosang on his free side. "Wanted to introduce you to Zara Cho." He looks down at her and gestures at the two. "Zara, this is Mingi and San. Both under bioengineering with me, Mingi in Biology by courtesy, too."

"Oh, I've heard all about you two." She smiles. She's got a beautiful smile, and San notices the way her eyes glaze over him the most. She's attractive, and she's softspoken; has a certain grace that she upholds. Her hair is in a pretty bob that comes right below her jawline, and it fits her well. "It's an honor, truly." She says, shaking their hands.

"So, how's it been on campus so far?" San asks.

"It's been alright, I think. Settling in well and trying to get a hang of things."

"Thats good! Taking it day by day." She nods in agreement with a small giggle. "How's getting the lab situated going?" Mingi chimes in.

"Ah, it's tough but I at least have a post-doc and grad student onboard." She shrugs.

"It's a start. Sooner or later, it'll be overflowing with them." She giggles and nods.

"Yeah, that's the hope." She fully turns to San again. "Now that I'm a bit settled, I was hoping we could chat a bit more, San." Mingi shoots him this certain Mingi look before slowly nodding with a smirk.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

"Don't you have a free schedule in the afternoon?" Mingi instigates, making San furrow his brows in confusion.

"Uh yeah, but I was hoping to—" Mingi nudges him.

"Sure you can make a few minutes, yeah?" Namjoon chuckles. San doesn't mean to shrug her off or anything. Truthfully, he can get pretty shy and he is aware of the work she does. He just doesn't wanna make a fool out of himself, and he wants to make sure their conversation is productive; as with any he has.

"We can meet any time, no worries." 

"No, they're right. Later is good. My office is at the Harvey Center."

"I can stop by later in the afternoon if you're around? 4:30 or 5?"

"4:30 is good."

"Cool." She looks around before checking her watch. "Hate to cut this short, but I have to head back for a meeting." She gives everyone a curt bow. "See you all around?" Everyone says bye in their own ways before Namjoon and Yeosang close the gap in between them, Mingi and San.

"I knew I couldn't trust your reasoning." San glares at Mingi and he chuckles.

"Bruh, I told you. Collaborations and co-advisorships are in the works." Namjoon laughs.

"He's not entirely wrong but, she seemed to be a big fan of your work. Thought it'd be good to chat with her anyway."

"I don't trust you guys." Yeosang snorts.

"Just have a good productive meeting." Yeosang pauses. "And if it ever flourishes into anything, we'll be right there to support—"

"I knew it. I'm heading back to my office." San starts to walk away from the group, sipping on this smoothie.

"Just want you happy!" Namjoon yells.

"I am already!" San smirks before saluting at the three and heading back to the Harvey Center. He greets people on the way over to his office, checking in on a few of his lab members before shutting himself away in his office. San likes to think he's happy. He feels happy. He doesn't think he's lacking anywhere even though for the longest time, he felt like he was after his marriage fell apart. It took him a long time to get to where he is now, and he hopes he'll never go back to feeling that way. Feeling hurt, lost. Betrayed.

—FLASHBACK

"Hey." Jongho looks at San with concern, stepping aside to let him into his home. San gives him a forced, tiny smile, but doesn't say much— immediately making his way to Jongho's couch. Jongho can tell it's been a rough couple of days, San looking more exhausted than he's ever seen him. His eyes are red. Hair's a mess. He can tell San hasn't had a proper meal or sleep, yet he's still coming into work like he's okay. 

He can only imagine how difficult it is. To have someone go from being your world— to absolutely nothing. Your bestfriend being the most trusted person on earth— to nothing.

"What's going on?" Jongho feels like it's such a stupid question, but he isn't sure how to break the silence right now and he needs to. He watches San sink into the couch and just let out a sigh, and it's clear he's about to release everything he's been holding in. "What happened?" Jongho repeats in a different form.

"Where the fuck did I go wrong?" Jongho sees his bottom lip trembling before he buries his head into his hands and starts sobbing. It breaks his heart to see his bestfriend like this; he wishes he could tell him everything will be okay because he knows it will, even though it feels like miles away right now. He wishes that'll be enough. He wishes he could just take the pain away and shove it somewhere else. Because someone like San, someone who loves hard and deep, someone who is loyal until the very end, doesn't deserve this.

"You didn't go wrong anywhere. It was never you, San."

"Why would they do this to me? Why didn't she just talk to m-me about everything? How could she do that so easily?" He continues to mumble as he cries, Jongho rubbing a hand down his back. He truly hates this. He has never seen San so defeated.

Destroyed.

"Because they're both immature and didn't care. I know this is a lot easier said than done but this isn't worth it. You don't need her. You don't need him. They don't deserve you and you'll find someone who'll truly love you for you and who wouldn't even dare do this to you. I'm sorry it had to happen to you, but I promise you'll find someone better. Worth everything. Let yourself feel this out and process it, but once you do, brush it off and continue to move on." San doesn't say anything because Jongho is right; he still needs to process this, and he still needs to feel this out in order to properly move on. 

"Jongho, I don't even know how I'll make it past this. I really don't know how I can."

"You will. Give yourself some time, but in the end, you'll come out stronger and you'll realize why all of this was never meant for you in the first place. There's always a reason, one being that something way better is in the works." San doesn't say anything, but he continues to cry. He continues to wallow in his sadness, what's left of his heart crumbling to pieces and shattering. He knows this is only temporary— but that light, the 'better' that Jongho speaks of, seemed so, so far away.

Unreachable.

—END

San shakes off the thoughts and continues to power through his work, getting through other emails and lab financials he needs to sort through. He's also skimming over his class schedule and hopping into a quick kick-off call with his TAs and lecturers this quarter. 

Sooner or later, time flies on by and he's wrapping things up, getting ready to meet with Zara. He realizes he didn't give her any details on how to get to his office, so he grabs his phone and heads upstairs to wait for her. 

"Hi!" She rushes in, heels clicking against the floor. "Sorry, I'm running a few minutes late." San chuckles and shakes his head.

"No, don't even worry about it. I, uh.. just realized I never gave you proper directions to my office and the lab." San digs his hands into his pockets and presses the button to the elevator. "How was the rest of your day?"

"Good, busy. Just feels like it's nonstop." She giggles, stepping in next to him but with some distance. 

"Mm, yeah. I get that feeling all too well." He laughs. "But, it'll settle in due time." Luckily, the elevator ride isn't too awkward and it's quick— prompting San to step out and lead her down the basement hallway. "I can show you around the lab."

"Do you still have lab members lingering around?"

"Oh, always. They're always holed up in a behavior room or doing surgeries. Some of them really just prefer to work late nights so they don't have to share the space and equipment with anybody."

"Makes sense." She smiles up at him and he nods. He continues to show her around, taking her room by room; allowing her to see his wetbench lab space, his behavior rooms, laser rooms and the mice. She's impressed by how tidy and kept together the lab is despite so many people running around and being together in one space. It's bound to get messy and chaotic, and it does, sometimes. He explains that he tries really hard to keep his space clean and organized, emphasizing it to his lab members so much that they do actually listen especially when it's time for them to go and start their own careers. He's never had a problem with anyone leaving mess behind. He always tells people it's a space for another person to grow and they take that to heart. It's the least they could do after San has been nothing but supportive of them during their time in the lab.

Afterwards, he takes her into his office and she compliments him on all his awards. He rubs at his chin to brush off the heat rising to his cheeks, sitting onto computer chair to talk to her a little more about her plans. She even turns to him for advice about how to keep things steady once they get going, how to tour the labs with donors properly, how to successfully snag grants and funding for the future. The conversation turns out to be a long, productive one, even though San doesn't feel like he's qualified enough to give great advice. Yes, he's done most of it on his own but a lot of it was through Namjoon's guidance. He does slip that in there, giving her a nudge to talk to him a bit further about the perfect grants to go for at this stage, things to do to keep recruiting great postdocs and lab students, funding in the meantime. She appreciates all the guidance and help— so much that the conversation continues even as San packs up and heads out of the office with her.

He does enjoy their conversation, but he definitely could tell you he wouldn't take this anywhere even if his friends tried to push him into doing so. He respects her, he respects her work and he respects her as a colleague.

"Look, look, look!" Eunchae grabs your arm and pulls you aside. She stops in her tracks and nods towards the other side of the street, spotting San speaking to Zara. "He's talking to the new applied physics professor. Professor Cho or something."

"I heard a bit about her work. She's really smart."

"And pretty." You nod in agreement. "He's legit walking her to her car and everything. What if they're into each other already?! Or, do you think it's a tap and dash thing? Do you think Professor Choi is an undercover hoe?"

"Girl?" You look at her questioningly. "What do I do with you?" You laugh and playfully nudge her. "Professor Choi is probably just trying to be a good colleague to her."

"Yeah, okay. She's definitely interested, though. Look at the way she looks up at him. I mean, who wouldn't be?"

"Definitely can't get anything by you, can I?"

"Nope. I'm excited for your rotation with him."

"Excited for the wrong reasons." You playfully run a hand down her hair. "Get out of your head, missy." She snorts.

"I can only dream and live through you." You laugh and link your arm with hers, carrying onto the gym. Meanwhile, Zara finds her way to her car with San in tow.

"Well, it was great talking to you, San." San smiles and nods, watching as Zara gets into her car in one of the smaller lots near the Harvey Center. "Thanks for showing me around your lab and for all your advice."

"Yeah, of course. Let me know if you need anything else. Happy to help. Maybe I can swing by once your lab is settled and kicking off." She nods. "But, definitely try to catch Namjoon and get that old man's wisdom." She laughs.

"Of course. Will do. Have a good rest of your evening." He gently taps the hood of her car before giving her a small nod.

"You as well, drive safely." He waits until she gets settled in her car and drives off before slowly walking over to his car in the usual lot he parks at. He catches sight of you and Eunchae walking towards the gym, your laughs echoing as you seem to be joking around, playfully pushing each other and in good spirits. Hearing your laugh brings a small smile to his face, remembering the events earlier today.

He can't help but be a little flattered, even a little curious as to what exactly you think about him.

—taglist: @asjkdk @interweab @woojirang @svintsandghosts @cheolliehugs @persphonesorchid @mxnsxngie @jycas @cowboydk @vcutparis @chngbnwf @struggling101 @sanhwalvr @angelqueendom @barbielibra @brown88 @choisansplushie @yunhoswrldddd @hyukssunflower @vickykazuya @lucid-galaxys-world

[horseforeplay]

So I’m very autistic about music and I loved how succession made Kendall’s music taste have so much character and be so accurate to who he is and who he thinks he is, which made me start thinking about the other siblings listening to music. I just cannot imagine it. I can’t imagine Roman putting on his little AirPod and opening up a Spotify playlist or putting on posters in his room for a certain thing. The idea of shiv being into drill and grime is extremely funny to me. I think connor tells Alexa to put on slow old Spanish ballads blasting (at an appropriate volume) through every floor of his desert house and Willa wears noise cancelling headphones constantly. I just can’t decide if Roman has an obscenely normal man music taste (like what plays in gyms) or if he actually cares about music. And then I listened to horse foreplay again and I need to make a playlist for it so basically: what do you think Roman would listen to?

incredible message. oh man. for one, connor genuinely seems like a music lover because that’s in line with his situation being the only sibling to genuinely enjoy the spoils of wealth and just stuff generally. he also has that fleetwood mac line at tom’s bachelor party, and famously karaokes a fucking leonard cohen song. love him.

kendall’s music taste is central to his character, we all know what ken’s taste is (or at least i think we do, i have seen some very funny “ken listens to this” mixes. they should resemble the intern-curated obama end-of-year picks LOL). shiv i have no idea about, but i wouldn’t be surprised if she had some appreciation for whatever dad liked if dad ever bothered to point something out. i don’t think she listens to florence + the machine though be serious you guys just see a girl with red hair…………….

my personal read on roman’s whole Deal is that he has the least “life of his own” of the siblings. even his reputation / the rumors about him (that he’s a playboy who loves coke) are the least accurate to his actual behavior and preferences (esp when contrasted with ken’s public takedowns which hurt his feelings precisely Because they’re often true). it’s difficult for me to imagine roman having strong personal taste in….. pretty much anything, even when he sees his choices symbolically (“i want steak” speech in america decides). in the end, roman is most interested in cultivating an image of himself that is going to be the most protective of his true desire for authenticity and connection, but we know that he has no idea what to do with himself when he is confronted with an opportunity to actually “express himself”.

all this to say, it is very difficult for me to imagine roman sincerely enjoying music/art without a level of detachment, irony, or jokey judgement. if he likes certain sounds, i couldn’t see him singing along like kendall in the backseat. maybe a handful of songs are nostalgic for him, maybe some post-hardcore (…. fugazi….. honestly……) or even MAYBE some britpop or eurodance from the european half of his childhood. he wouldn’t allow himself true sentimentality with it though. he certainly knows all of the lyrics to a few songs bc he’s very In the World, esp culturally impactful songs, but he just seems like a guy who fucking hates bohemian raphsody. he knows who the pinball wizard is but i can viscerally feel his frown at hearing the baba o’reilly opener in a shop. he simply would never admit to loving a band, let alone buy a t-shirt! (i think i get a little annoyed generally with assumptions about roman that cast him as even a little bit twee just because he’s silly. look at how he actually dresses. this man would not paint his nails or have a charm on his phone. you’re thinking of kieran culkin!)

anyway this is my fav horse foreplay fanmix by @gotouda just bc it’s bursting with songs that are simply About Romtom. full of stuff me a young millennial gay person listens to so i play it a lot lol. there’s also an unsettled/upsetting undercurrent to some of these choices that matches the tone of the fic PRECISELY!!!! i have no idea how someone would go about building a mix based on romtom AND character taste just bc it is nigh impossible for me to picture roman roy listening to a song BECAUSE it reminds him of tom.

tom on the other hand…………….. that’s elton john, that’s ABBA, that’s broadway original cast recording, that’s george michael, that’s adele. ok

[ask-serendipity-sky]

Hey,

Hope you’re having a lovely day. I sent this ask because I believe you and I are in the same place, the middle ground, not a pjm but not fully ot7(at least by twt standards)

I would like to have a discussion on the drawback of Jimin. I’m new to the fandom but even before I joined I distinctly remember the name Jimin.

I was a 1D fan and Jimin was all up on my YouTube. I remember watching his compilations before I could even tell the band members apart.

Anyway flash forward and that same Jimin is what has me joining a tumblr space to share my woes. Why?

Because I genuinely care for the guy. Like if something were to happen to him I’d cry. I resonate with his albums. Appreciate his music and I feel proud seeing how his voice has improved.

I don’t feel the need to be up in his private life but I still like to know he’s okay once in a while.

He is kind of like an acquaintance.

Anyway, I feel it’s important others know, as a past local, that Jimin knows how to shine.

This guy is smart, he knows himself and he knows his charms and if he WANTED to, he would.

No one can ignore Jimin. Everything about him stands out: his looks, his voice, his charms, his dance.

My take on FACE as someone in marketing: it’s poor marketing.

Hybe knows how to market.

You don’t become a multibillion dollar company and not have a marketing team.

My take on the marketing strategy: Use Jimin to draw the public eye, then as a ladder to push the other artists up.

On the street, smoke sprite, face, people Pt 2

All released around the same time. Multiple music shows, beat coin, Jimmy Fallon, face playlist, behind the scenes content, face live

Did I miss anything? Maybe it was such a whirlwind.

Anyway I give the marketing of FACE a 5/10. Nice buildup but chaotic/ crazy at the end.

Listening to Jimin I realize he’s very humble and hardworking.

he’s the kind of person that you can’t help but praise, and that stirs jealousy.

his members praise him, the persons who work with him praise him, his fans consistently praise him, his friends praise him, he’s even made an impact on his tattooist.

locals praise him. But he also stands out too much. Like from a marketing POV, JK is much safer? Even look at reactors, they feel so strongly toward Jimin that they have to preface: I’m straight blah blah whilst the others it’s just “yeah I like RM, JK/V”

I don’t know how to describe it. Jimin is so unique he’s controversial.

I could be watching a BTS video with a muggle and they recognize no one but the “guy who looks like a girl”, then all of a sudden we’re in a conversation about their sexuality .

it’s kind of frustrating, and annoying….so most Jimin fans are understandably silent. Especially with this influx of jealousy and hate

But what is silence? Silence is not good for data.

so what does hybe marketing team see? A whole lot of jungkook and tae

Jungkook and Tae on instagram. Jk and Tae on TikTok. Jk and Tae topping google searches. JK especially

so they likely conclude, we should make JK our pushed product. Because they can’t afford to push everybody.( or can they?)

And then, what happens? Jimin who’s been basically working with his in-house producers this whole time comes and pushes the competition out the water by topping the billboard, AS A DEBUT, with a song in KOREAN.(again the man isn’t safe lol)

I can’t describe to you how mindboggling this is. If I was a marketer I would have been shocked and realized that, Jimin has a silent fanbase but a highly engaged fanbase.

There is a reason Tiffany and Dior wanted him. A highly engaged fanbase is more likely to spend money, while a bigger but less engaged fanbase is good for mass appeal( say Calvin Klein)

A highly engaged which is so much more important imo. That is the foundation BTS propelled itself off of. That means you just need proper promotion, his silent fanbase just need to find the courage to speak and share and you have a force.

The issue? Jimin’s fans are silent because Jimin is silent. They were loud when Jimin was loud, locals couldn’t stop hearing Jimin. They subconsciously follow what Jimin wants, and maybe, like many others, they probably feel Jimin isnt ready to shake up the whole world yet as a solo artist yet.

and he made it clear he isn’t. He made the album to get it off his chest, and is basically saying he does NOT want to outshine his band members. (JM: I know you love me but remember BTS is first everyone)

so Jimin fans are basically stuck supporting his music and sticking with the ot7 till another time.

but I want to say to all Jimin fans, with that #1 on Billboard you made a statement. There’s a reason kpoppies are all up in your grill. There’s a reason Hybe is putting more focus on the other members. There’s a reason Jimin is not promoting himself that much.

cause they know, they all know. Even Jimin himself knows he’s a force to be reckoned with. The man just wants to chill as a member of the band for now, but continue reminding him and the company time and time again that he has the potential to shake up the industry .

Hi anon,

Thank you for sending this. I really do appreciate it. I'm sure a lot of people do as well.

Perhaps Jimin does want to do things quietly or perhaps not. But I don't want him to ever think that he is not enough for us and therefore we didn't do enough for him.

So let's follow what this anon is saying. Stream his music, give views to his MVs and fancams, engage with any content that has Jimin like Tiffany, Dior, naver articles, all of that.

We will see what happens in the future but for now, this is what we do.

Jimin deserves the world.

Thank you for sharing all this!

-I have attached a post with Jimin centric playlists:

-Please give views to this video (it's a competition, ok?):

-If we want Jimin to get awards, we must give Youtube views. I hate Youtube but it must be done.

-Presave Angel pt2, which will be released on Thursday, 6/15. Don't buy on Thursday, wait until Friday. I will post playlists once the song is out:

I think the link might not work for everyone so try here too:

https://fastx.lnk.to/AngelPt2

I think that's about it...for now

[yandere-sins]

Heyo! Can you please answer Q6, Q4, Q2, & Q16. Also have a peaceful and lovely day/night<3

[Writer asks here]

Thanks so much for asking ♥ I am surprised so many of you were curious!!

»»———————— ♡ ————————««   

#2 Do you listen to music when you write? What does your current writing playlist look like?

I actually do! And very specific ones, I have a few selected youtube videos which are either lo-fi hip hop or writing/studying music and just run on repeat. I'll link some of my favorites to give you an idea!

1 | 2 | 3

Most important is no lyric (especially not if I can understand it, but I usually also don't like the songs that are have people humming or singing to the songs and will skip these), upbeat but I keep the volume low so it really is just a background music (but that means like classical music doesn't really hit the itch), and preferable with ambiance sounds like rain or waves or so.

Sometimes music can be almost too much, so I use mynoise.net for either the Irish Waves or the white noise, depending on what suits me that day. It's my personal recommendation for anyone wanting background noises.

Lastly, yes, I am very jealous of artists who can do their art while watching movies or the like. But I can't even have someone talk to me while I write so that is just the biggest no-go lol

#6 When (and not if) you ultimately finish your WIP and publish, do you picture yourself giving readings and signings and interviews, or would you prefer to stay out of the public eye? 

Hm, complicated. I am not a super private person and I love talking with people (I am an introvert but my family and my job raised my tolerance lol) so I'd probably do well if I wanted to do events. But, if I ever get to finish my book, I'd go for self-publishing so the chances that I'd ever have a signing or reading is just super low because pulling it off on my own just seems... harder. Not impossible but harder. I don't think the genres I want to go into could be picked up by traditional publishing, so it would be a lot of work, and I don't know if I have enough dedication to see it through. Passion, yes, time and resources, no.

However, I think if I did have a book, I might start tableing at my conventions! I see a lot of authors there and that might lean towards my target audience more!

I think I'd still like to sign books though, maybe have a special sale and then sign them and send them to people or something. That would be cool. It was nice to write a special note to everyone who got my Yantober book, so I know I'd really like to do that!

#16 CHALLENGE: Tell us about your current project in three sentences or less. 

Oooh, hmmmm, let's see. It's something all of you guys chose in a poll a while ago, so how do I tease it without revealing too much hmmmm...

It's an isekai story and inspired by an existing manga (manhwa?). The concept is similar but I haven't read the original, I am just turning the core idea around and making it properly yandere (although the idea has been done in different versions a lot). The main character/reader misjudges the effects it'll have to just level up one certain stat and it comes back to bite them in the form of a typical noble getting overly obsessed.

Hope that keeps everyone guessing lol! :D

[cuoredimuschio]

15 people, 15 questions

tagged by @patchworkgargoyle!! 💚💚

1. are you named after anyone?

my dead name was possibly in honor of my grandmother and great-grandmother, but i 100% named myself after noah czerny (trc) when i was 17 👻

2. when was the last time you cried?

probably yesterday? idk, it happens a lot and my memory's terrible

3. do you have kids?

no. probably never will, whether i want them or not. i'm a little too scared of how easy it is screw up in parenthood

4. what sports do you play/have played?

i played softball from kindergarten through eighth grade, but that last year, i had a coach who benched me for over half of our games and screamed at me during practice in front of the whole team and made me sick to my stomach at just the thought of playing, so i decided i was done with the sport and didn't try out in high school lol

5. do you use sarcasm?

constantly. too much probably. but like, not with strangers usually, and i try to make it pretty obvious if i am being sarcastic

6. what's the first thing you notice about people?

the way they look at me/their expression, maybe? i'm just like. constantly on edge in public and i don't pass super well and also i'm just like. wildly self-conscious, so i'm always like 'okay, let's see, does this random stranger already hate me? 🤔'

7. what's your eye color?

i guess hazel would be most accurate answer. i've always said brown (dishwater brown to quote the midwife who helped deliver me), but it turns out there's actually green in there too and it's just brown around my pupil (a fact i genuinely did not realize until i was like. 17) so....yeah, hazel

8. scary movies or happy endings?

you know i always say i don't like scary movies because i'm very easily spooked, but i'm currently back on my chucky shit (sorry followers, but tis the season) and honestly, i wanna cop out and say both, scary movie with a happy ending.

9. any talents?

the sad thing is, no, i genuinely can't think of a single one. like, all i've got is that i can make a star with a rubber band, but i don't think that's a talent lol

10. where were you born?

ohio, unfortunately :/

11. what are your hobbies?

writing, reading, playing way too much zelda/stardew valley, occasionally knitting, taking walks, crosswords, making niche playlists, listening to the same song on repeat for hours

12. do you have any pets?

i am the proud proprietor of the cutest dog this side of the mississippi, miss ellie rose. (seasonally-appropriate evidence of said cuteness below)

13. how tall are you?

5'4" (and three quarters) #shortkingnation 😔✊

14. favorite subject in school?

english and math!!

15. dream job?

honestly, i have no idea. i've never had very lofty ambitions; when i was a kid, i wanted to be a bus driver or a mail man, and i never really found anything that stoked my soul in the past two decades. trite english major answer here, but i guess maybe working in a library or a bookstore would be nice (i'd say author but girlie, i could never) 🤷‍♂️

no-pressure, zero-obligation tags: @hellfiredemon, @starryeyedjanai, @pizzaqueen, @thefreakandthehair, @cheatghost, @vecnuthy andddd that's about everyone i know, sorry if i double-tagged anyone!!

[melloncollliegirl]

🌷 may questionnaire challenge 🌷

(i did these a while ago but forgot to post it)

1. How did your relationship start? Was it you who did most of the initiating?

i first met her on introduction day but we didn’t talk, then on the first day of classes we were the first one in the class so she initiated a convo with me and some friends

2. How often do you think about them?

too often like a lot A LOT

3. What kind of weather matches their vibes? What about yours?

she’s such a fall person. she just radiates that coziness and her red hair perfectly matches the leaves. i am probably a spring person

4. May the fourth be with you! Do they have a favorite movie franchise? Do you?

i’m not sure if she has a favourite franchise but i know she loves horror movies (like me). i love the hunger games and the scream franchises

5. Do you have a playlist dedicated to them? what are your favorite songs on it?

i do!! my favourite songs on it are 1979 by the smashing pumpkins (one of our favourite bands, hence my username), just like heaven by the cure and first time by hozier

6. What's your go to fantasy/day dream about them?

it varies a lot but really i just dream about spending a day with her, getting to hug her and hold her hand, lay in her lap etc

7. If you had the opportunity, would you go on a date with them? (If they're married/taken, imagine their partner is out of the picture) If so, what would you want to do?

YES no question, i’d wanna do something with movies or music cause it fits us

8. Do you dress up on the days you see them? How so?

i do🫠 i like to put on an outfit i feel very pretty in, that gives off vibes that fully fit me. and i do my makeup a bit better and when i arrive at school i make sure to fix it up. and i wear a lot of jewellery

9. What's your favorite memory with them?

a certain class given by another lecturer but she sat next to me and we joked around

10. Have you ever thought about a future with them?

i’ve day dreamt about it, but i know it’ll obviously never happen

11. Does she give you physical affection?

nope

12. Happy Mother's Day to all who celebrate!

Have they ever told you anything about their family? Have you told them about yours?

she doesn’t know anything about mine but i know she has a daughter, a boyfriend and a sister

13. Do any of your classmates have a crush your tc?

no thankfully lol

14. What's something you wished they knew about you without you having to tell them?

my name??? idk😭 my other teachers have talked about me so im hoping she picked something up

15. If your tc was invited to a wedding and asked you to be their plus one, what would you wear, and what would you want to see them in? (Theme of the wedding is up to you, so you can choose your outfits)

i would wear the most beautiful silk dress and i would like to see her in a suit, probably dark blue because that’s her favourite colour and with some nice jewellery

16. Do you have any photos of them? Either those that you've found on their social media or ones you've taken yourself?

i have some i took from the school social media account and i have one postcard that she’s also on which i got from another lecturer. i also have a picture i took in class of her when she was explaining something (she doesn’t mind)

17. Have you ever listened to break up songs/love songs and thought of them?

all the time i love crying ✌🏻

18. What style/haircut/tattoos/facial hair/etc do you think would suit them best?

i love her current hairstyle it fits her so well. she has some tattoos and i love them, id love for her to get more. i know every arm tattoo she has and where they are by memory. my fav is a swallow

19. Which color would you assign the feelings they give you? (Ex: happy → yellow or something bright)

like a beautiful sunset orange!!

20. Which decade would they be best in? How about you? (Based on fashion, technology, art, music, the fun stuff.)

80s/90s for us both! love the music

21. Have you ever run into them in public? (Or tried to?) How did it go?

i haveee once, and it was the best thing ever. i was walking around in the city and i just ran into her. i had been debating going home early but thankfully i didn’t!! i was genuinely freaking out and couldn’t stop smiling lol

22. What pushed you to create your blog?

i’ve been crushing on her for a while and while i’ve been writing about her in my journal, it was nice to communicate with other people going through the same thing, i felt very seen :)

23. If you could know anything about your tc, what would it be?

if she’s into women, like at all 😶

24. How do you think you'd react if they confessed their feelings to you?

i honestly don’t know. i think she would find it strange cuz we aren’t that close but she might find it brave that id tell her?

25. Have you ever done/read/watched/listened to something you may not have been interested in because they like it?

while we listen to a lot of the same bands, she recommended one in an insta page i’d never listened to before. i love especially one song now, but the rest i can’t really get into

26. If your tc was your age, would you date them? Do they have any red flags?

i would even tho i have a massive weakness for older women. also shes the greenest flag ever

27. If your life was a book series/tv series/movie and you had a fan base, would your fans realistically ship you and your tc? (Got this one from TikTok lol because I love the thought)

maaaaybe, it would probably be so obvious i’m into her so i guess

28. What's something that always makes you think of them?

a bunch of music/bands/vinyls, the colour dark blue, swallows, cherry’s

29. Let's chat for a sec! What's something you've been dying to talk about regarding your tc?

our favourite bands!!! we got loads in common and she doesn’t even know

30. Do you flirt with them? If so, how??

i just stare at them trying to look pretty😔

31. What's something you're manifesting happening between you two? (If you don't manifest, what's something you hope happens?)

i’m manifesting getting into her class again in september and for her to remember me:3

[flowers-all-around-me]

Yeah, I'd love to know which mechanisms songs you think I should start with, or if it's a particular album. I actually went and listened to a few seconds of one after reblogging the post. They remind me just a little of The Amzing Devil. I'll be honest, that specific specific song didn't keep my interest too long, but I'm sure someone who knows their music could point me toward the better ones. :)

Ahhh! Thanks for reaching out :3 (and also hope you don't mind if I make this public, just in case someone interested might see it :'>)

I'm going to assume you know nothing about them just in case (and also since I know some songs are less good for casual use/can take a little warming up to :'3)

The gist of it is that it's a storytelling cabaret where every band member is in character as an immortal space pirates; as such, their albums are retellings of "actual events" they have "witnessed" during their travels in space.

I think I will put the rest under a Read More though because! I went off a bit! Sorry about that :'D

I recommend listening to their albums as they interest you to get the general gist of the stories. Once I got that, I added them to my shuffle playlist and listen to my faves - that way it's not confusing to me and I don't have to "suffer" through the other parts when I don't wanna listen to a whole concept album.

The "main" four albums all follow a similar structure of switching between narration/song, with varying amount of information relayed in the song (as in, sometimes it's just about a concept of the story, sometimes it's more akin to a musical piece where the story moves as well). The songs themselves are often based on various extant, mostly folk, songs (e.g. Bella Ciao, WW1 songs, and I can't think of any more rn because my brain is cooked).

If you want the cliff's notes version of these albums (none of which have a "happy" ending, so be aware of that going in):

Once Upon A Time (In Space): their first album, Grimm's fairy tales but it's about a space rebellion against an immortal, tyrannical king with an army of clones.

Ulysses Dies at Dawn: greek mythology but it's a noir cyberpunk planet-wide city. Contains (in my unbiased opinion lol) very good and interesting takes on how the setting would influence some of the myths we are familiar with today. Fair warning though: will contain references to the original material you might miss if you are unfamiliar with the OG characters, but it's still enjoyable

High Noon Over Camelot: Arthurian legend but it's a diesel-punk desert space station with bike-riding cowboys. SPECIAL MENTION TO THE MOST BANGER BANJO (again, in my opinion), specifically in Peacemaker. It's going wild in there.

The Bifrost Incident: Norse Mythology but told as a space-train noir mystery. Notable for not being narrated by an outer character, but actually told as a "recording" of the police officer investigating. Features a very good banjo in "Expert Testimony" (which is narration) (also the banjo is in a genre I like to call "bastard" because oh yeah, what is happening in-story is that a character is being A Bastard <3)

As for Tales to be Told I and II, they contain smaller stories (either relating to the main albums, origin stories for in-universe band members, or self-contained ones)

There is also a standalone single, "Frankenstein." Guess what that one is about lol. It, along with "Alice" and "Gunpowder Tim vs. The Moon Kaiser" are "songs" on the longer side that contain shorter narration/song segments.

Lastly, there's Death To The Mechanisms, which was the band's farewell concert in 2020 when they disbanded. It's been recorded and put together as a live album and contains fun banter and character lore regarding their deaths.

IF you want my favourite songs, regardless of album, it's probably Red Signal, Peacemaker, Blood and Whiskey, Thor, Rose Red, Alice, Acatea and Lyssa, Lost in Cosmos, The Ignominous Demise of Dr. Pilchard (which also has fun banjo), Elysian Fields, Ragnarok II: The Calling, and Riddle of the Sphinx.

ANYWAY! Extremely long, heatwave induced rant aside, I do hope you'll check them out! Feel free to reach out and let me know how you liked the songs/stories, I am always down for recommending the band to more people :3

Lastly, allow me to link the unofficial YouTube channel TheVoidSings (here!) which has all their albums with lyrics and in neat playlists so you can listen to them in order!

(I would link the band's channel so that they'd at least get some youtube cents from it, but it got demonetised under the new guidelines a few days ago, so that's fucked and yes, I am mad about it :'D)

[virtue-and-beneviolence]

Hiii, I saw your self-ship ask event and omg, it's so cute! Anyway, I wanted to ramble about me and none other than Ran Haitani (doing so makes me really happy and warm) Thank you so much for doing this event :")

I'm allergic to showing the people I like/love that I like/love them. So this means I can be kinda "tsundere" in a way as a panic response when someone notices that I like them? It goes a little like this:

Person: "Aww, you did [favor] for me! Are you going soft for me?"

Me: "I only did it because I had nothing else to do." (lying)

You can already see how that'll go with Ran lmao. I feel like he'd just smile and say "If you say so~" because he can see right through me.

I'm the type to do something drastic when I get really angry. While me and Ran are both generally calm people, he's the calmer one of the two of us. I'm all rational and reasonable until I get angry which is why it's Ran who has to hold me back.

I don't know what to do with myself when someone shows romantic interest in me. If someone is trying to hint that they like me in that way, I will act like the most dense motherfucker ever. Giggling at the thought of Ran being entertained at first and then getting frustrated the longer it goes on.

I'm likely to write/make art about the people I love. (I may or may not have written poems and created concept playlists about Ran) That's one of my love languages along with Quality Time and Acts of Service, I guess. I never show the poems and artworks to my muses, though. I would die before I ever do that lol. I think Ran would have a knack for finding my work and knowing when it's about him. I'll never hear the end of it.

I'm down for just sitting in silence or napping together which I bet Ran would be very happy to do. I feel like we can both stop caring about being interesting when together alone and just exist.

I don't have a playlist but the songs that give me the most Ran feels are:

Don't Delete the Kisses - Wolf Alice

Tokyo Love Hotel - Rina Sawayama

R.E.M. - Ariana Grande

That's all, thank you!

■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■

◇─◇──◇── @tenjikubaby  x Ran! ──◇──◇─◇

■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■

A second birthday special! Happy birthday!

□ Ran adores your playlists and lets you curate the music on every drive you take together. Sometimes he listens closely to the lyrics and will tease you if there's a chance you're playing it because it reminds you of him.

□ Ran doesn't snoop. He doesn't! But sometimes he does drop a sketchbook/notebook and he happens to notice a doodle of a person that looks suspiciously like him. And sometimes he likes to pull poem books off the shelf to take a peek at any loose leaf sheets poking out.

□ He wishes sometimes that he could express his feelings that way for you, but he opts instead for tugging you to bed to cuddle and nap. You can usually guess he's found something when he gets EXTRA physically clingy <3.

□ Ran also loves quality time, I think it might be one of his top two love languages. You know, he's such a gossip lol. I think he loves to spend chatty time before naps, arms wrapped around your back, tugging you to half lay on him,,,

□ I feel like Ran loves PDA and doing silly grand gestures that he knows fluster you. Eventually he gets a feel for the lines he cannot cross, but honestly, here and there, his antics (a little slap to your ass in front of the guys or a big dramatic sign and flowers to pick you up at any public transport or event.

□ He will scoop you up and leave kisses up and down your face and you'll be blushing FURIOUSLY and you probably pull him by his hand to leave as quickly as possible because such histrionics are probably uncomfortable for you (same tho)

■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■

Consider Ran (before you're together) having a week where he get's frustrated with the chase. And you part on rocky terms. But through it all, my god he's really genuinely grown so attached to you and he needs to find a way to fix stuff. For ease, lets assume he has some myspace/discord portal to see what you're listening to and he finds you listening to don't delete the kisses on repeat. He leaves a note in you bag the next time you see him, he leaves a note in his weirdly neat handwriting:

"Get over it and take me out.

It's meant for you.

-r"

It's the most romantic this he's done and that he may ever do but shit. Maybe it won't be too hard to hit him up at least....casually...right?

■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■━■

Come make my day, tell me about your self ship, and get some hcs of your own.

[bethorz]

Foo Thoughts - let's talk about Shifty's (old) song An Atheists Prayer

Chris's first Dead Peasants album was on my playlist a lot last year while I was deep in my Taylor feels (I say "was" like I am not anymore, sad lol). It's kind of moodier than any of Chris's stuff since, three songs in particular got a lot of play "Not Going Down Alone" which I have been convinced for years is about the Foo Fighters, "Death March" which fully made me cry a few times because it's so sweet and this one, "An Atheist's Prayer" which seems to be about wanting to help someone who is struggling but not being able to. For obvious reasons, that one hit different, despite being written in 2009ish and clearly being about a different situation. However, one night I was listening to it and something occurred to me that I had never considered before. What if it is actually about Taylor? specifically the London incident in 2001.

First, these are the lyrics (they are wrong in a few very key places anywhere I've seen them online)

It takes a tragedy, to get through to you and me It takes a tragedy, to see what’s next to me You went searching every road, but what were you looking for? Always a locked door, you chose to fight your secret war It’s temporary, that is all Hold you tight when you were falling Feels like you’ll sink forever, but when you blink, you’re coming up for air It takes a tragedy, to get through to you and me It takes a tragedy, to see what’s next to me Well, how many times was the gun to our head? But we never came up dead So close your eyes and we’ll cry for peace An atheist’s prayer will track for me⫮ It takes a tragedy, to get through to you and me It takes a tragedy, to see what’s next to me I wish I knew you better, I wish I would have been there I wish I knew you better, I wish I would have been there

⫮ this is the only line i am not 100% sure on but the last part is definitely "for me" and not "for free" as it is written on lyric sites

I'll point out that these are sadly pretty universally applicable and still just as poignant even if I'm way off. And also lyrics aren't necessarily about just one thing. I also don't mean this post to imply that I think that OD was T's COD, I really don't think it was, and this reading is independent of that. That said, lets see why this song might actually be inspired by Taylor.

The reason I had never made the connection before, is the last few lines (I wish I knew you better...) make it sound like the subject died. Which I had never really thought had tracked with other parts that were kind of hopeful. Or the "to get through to you and me" part. Much lesser so, the fact that he thought he might have not known them that well but was still affected enough to write the song.

But "I wish I knew you better" could also be in general (he still does wish that) OR in hindsight "I wish I knew you better [like I do now]". And I actually think this read makes the song hang together better.

It's not as talked about as much, because he was fortunate to avoid any sort of public incident like Taylor and flew more under the radar in the band in general - but young Chris, by his own admission, by early band interviews after he joined, and if a lot of his more recent song lyrics are anything to go by, loved to party. He seems like he tried all the drugs. He and Taylor were the younger guys and seemed to not show as much restraint as, say, Dave and Nate. They were both fans of the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll era of music and that lifestyle in a way that the others weren't. They were also both the only ones sober in more recent years. Even if they weren't super close (and I don't think they were, though I do think Nate, Chris and Taylor were closer then they get credit for, just from working together a long time and IMO doing most of the heavy lifting live) that (being sober in Dave Grohl's band) has to foster some sort of kinship/understanding.

It also makes sense, as the whole song is pretty much addressed to "you" and "our", which makes more sense if "you" is still around. I have always seen Taylor's OD as a wake up call for the whole band as young men. Dave has even said as much (it made him reach out to Jordyn). Additionally, I think, apart from Taylor, Chris probably needed it the most. And it seems like it worked, because it's when they all started settling down. Chris in particular seems like he was married/had his first kid by the end of 2003 or 2004 at the latest (his oldest started college in September 2022) after being flagged as the hardest partier in several early interviews.

All that to say, even if they weren't super, super, close, that would have have still be a very important milestone in his life. "I wish I would have been there" also kind of has the vibe of an AA mantra.

Regardless of the actual circumstances of the song can we talk about this devastating in hindsight line:

"How many times was the gun to our head, but we never came up dead"

Oof :(

I am aware could be way off, but there is not enough Foo Fighters content in the Foo Fighters tag so have a Sunday afternoon essay (you're welcome)

[maskymoo]

Procreate. Never got the hang of it and I like to use it for animation instead.

I often draw characters facing to the right or left because drawing in the front can get a bit confusing for me, since many of the characters I draw have some sort of complication in their designs I need to spend extra time on when drawing them.

Idk. I guess you consider a very small detail that's part of the art style that I've had since I technically started my art.

Bella, Scar, and Annie. I love them to death but I often have trouble keeping their scars consistent between drawings.

I post most of my art online since I do usually post daily. There are a few drawings I keep for myself, but those are usually just sketches.

I know a lot of art styles from artists I use to like have served as unintentional inspiration for how I draw and parts of my style.

Rug art. spay painting, painting, embroidery, really any art that isn't digital. I would love to do those someday, but all the physical labor is difficult and I have a huge respect for people that do art like that.

I got a few, but making comics has always been a huge difficulty when I try to actually finish one. There's one piece I love about how it turned out, but it's actually an unfinished comic. I also have trouble making huge pieces that include more than 4 to 5 characters all interacting with each other.

Just put a and the number after that so when I upload a file of my art it shows at the front of my files. Makes my job easier since I upload on 4 different sites and I also try to share my art frequently

Robes/dresses. Long, don't take that long, can just be one color.

I usually listen to podcasts, videos, or playlists with music from Youtube. I got too many things to watch/listen to, so it all works out.

The entire face/head. Been practicing for years.

A few artists that I use to follow had lovely art, but the vibe of the art wasn't something I wasn't exactly fond of.

Depends on the piece and what story it may tell. So not exactly, but maybe in the future I'll figure out what motifs I like.

Anywhere lol. Home, in public, standing, sitting, laying down, doing a back kick on a kid, as long as I can hold my tablet with minimum shaking, I'm fine drawing anywhere.

Flipping the canvas. I love to see how much I've improved with how both sides look, but it kinda sucks since I'm not used to it and it takes up more time when I'm drawing.

Yep! Anything really as long as I can munch/sip on while drawing.

Had a tablet of mine broken by someone else. I try to be very careful with my stuff since it's all expensive.

Flowers and pillows. Means it's usually a simple, happy piece!

Hands, the other eye, doing a fullbody. I mean, I did work hard to master those things, which I am proud of!

Semi/realistic art. Whether it can still be considered cartoon art or not, I love those ttyposstyles, and I can only hope that with time and practice, I can also develop a style like that.

I stretch my arms and hands.

Nope!

Yep. All the time!

Stories that I've never read before but that person has.

Someone asked my if a feral cat I drew had boobs. It was a very uncomfortable experience.

No. Just straight into work.

I've entered into a few thumbnail contests for MAPs and I am currently in a zine. I've also been part of a few collabrotions that are still kinda in the works.

A lot cartoons watch inspire me to create, but not as specific inspiration for my art.

The piece below isn't underrated itself, I just love showing it around like a parent with their kid. It's just fun to show a piece I genuinly shows my ability as an artist.

Weirdly Specific Artist Ask Game

Didn't see a lot of artist ask games, wanted to make a silly one.

(I wrote this while sick out of my mind last year and it's been collecting dust in my drafts, I might as well let it run free) 1. Art programs you have but don't use

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)

3. What ideas come from when you were little

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in

9. What are your file name conventions

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what

12. Easiest part of body to draw

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing

14. Any favorite motifs

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.)

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any

23. Do you use different layer modes

24. Do your references include stock images

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines)

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated

[teememdee]

15, 24, 33! if someone has already asked you one of these questions, jump to the next number on the list! <3

Hello sorry this took me a while to get to!!! Thank you for your ask and in my usual fashion I’ve answered with way more details than necessary.

(link to ask game!!)

15- What's your favourite League-related fanfiction? If you can't pick, feel free to answer with multiple!

Hmm tough esp as these days I really just re-read my own works or pure smut But I’m gonna go for fine & scandalous by robiland. This is THE Akalynn dynamic to me, the reason I’ve never written an Akalynn focused fic is because this gave me everything I wanted. As always I can never just give one answer I also have to give a shoutout to Keep the Leash Loose by UmbreonGurl that made me fall in love with Kahri as a ship and dynamic… 4 whole years ago. And I’m still here lol

24- What character has the most fitting voice/voice delivery for their character? Alternatively, for non-speaking characters, best sound design?

Evelynn absolutely. Mara Junot is such a fantastic voice actor, and she nails Eve’s character perfectly, the seductive and teasing tone is just spot on. I love her performance as Jenda’kaya in the Ruination audiobook as well. She’s fantastic.

I also really like Thresh’s voice and performance, Mark Oliver is fantastic and it’s funny he’s also the VA for Garmadon from Ninjago, which I was a massive fan of as a kid.

I really should have an answer on the sound design question as that’s literally the career I’m pursuing, but I don’t know off the top of my head. The speaking monstrous characters like Fiddlesticks and Naafiri sound great, and I think I’ve listened to Vel’Koz’s noises before but I don’t remember.

33- Any song(s) you associate with a particular character?

Oh I have whole playlists.

Jinx’s playlist is all pop punk / alternative, my fave song off of it is probably “weapon” by Against the Current. “I swear I didn’t mean to be a let-down” fits her too well.

For (K/DA) Kahri, the song that always makes me think of them if it comes up on shuffle is “Love Bites” by Wolftyla. The rest on the playlist fit them, but this one is literally sung by Kai’Sa, I think Ahri bites, and in my headcanon world they keep their relationship a secret from the public for a few years. It’s such a fun song. Only line that doesn’t fit is “it ain’t love but this is close enough” because it IS love for them but I can overlook that.

For Star Guardian Kahri, my playlist is half early 2010s pop edm with star/space related lyrics and half actually based on my fanfiction. The song that fits both these categories the most is “Stay the Night” by Zedd and Hayley Williams. What a banger, they don’t make songs like that anymore

For (K/DA) Akalynn… sorry for being a swiftie with that playlist lol. However the song that I associate with them the most is “honey” by Halsey. “she’s mean and she’s mine” like that’s THEM. I made a whole annotated lyrics thing making them fit. I’m so serious about this

And then for Kassadin / Kassfam. I’ll admit a lot of this playlist is just vibes. “FIND YOUR WAY BACK” by Beyoncé and “Never Get Used To” by Seinabo Sey I took off someone else’s Kai’Sa playlist, but the rest are my own original picks. I know “Red Like Roses pt.II” is a RWBY song but it’s about them to me now. Kai’Sa gets first verse, Kassadin second. And I know what you’re thinking. Why is “All is Found” from Frozen 2 on here? And my answer is that I have my headcanons about Kai’Sa’s mother singing to her, and a “river full of memory” makes me think of the Void. It works, trust me.

Thank you so much for your ask!!

[jazzyjazzin]

okay, I finished daisy jones and the six

what the actual fuck. camila dies?? and her last wish is for daisy and billy to get together after? what in the everloving fuck possessed the writer to end it like that? she takes him back after all his public philandering AND THEN she gets sick? her? the one who hasn't been snorting coke and destroying her liver and kidneys every night like the rest of the band? SHE gets sick?!?

I would've sooner put my money on billy or daisy joining the 27 club before I considered that plot point, let me tell you that. jesus my blood pressure just rocketed sky high. they kept her a saint throughout the whole show and she went out like one as well, I guess.

at least they resolved all the rifts in the friendships with the women, that's one win I suppose. daisy was on thin fucking ice with her whole "are you in love with me?" schtick she pulled on simone (like back tf up woman that's my mother you're talking to. also, yay simone and bernie hea!! my mothers deserved nothing less). glad that she apologized after 'cause that's her most stable relationship, and I love that camila went with karen to the clinic, no questions asked.

that's all I can say right now about the show, my head hurts now after that ending. I'm fuming. they should've killed off billy instead but I guess nobody would've given enough of a fuck to do the documentary 20 years later.

p.s. I'm the only one that saved the vamp au playlist? hahaha at least you know who's listening to it! sometimes I find that I turn into something of a curmudgeon whenever a playlist of mine gets saved by a bunch of other people I don't know. it's like walking into your own living room and seeing a bunch of strangers hanging out lol, like who gave you the address? how'd you find this place? but I guess it's also nice to know that people are vibing to the same thing you're vibing with 😂. give it a while, I'm sure after you post the next chapter more people will be tuning in.

anyway, hope you're doing good! sorry this got a little long lol.

-🧛🏻‍♀️

excuse me for answering this a couple of days late vamp anon!

yes the kindest loveliest character dies at the end and i balled like a damn baby about it 😭 I think her encouraging them to get together in the end though was more about her care for the both of them, allowing them (especially billy) to find happiness after her in a way they would have never been able to.

and yes, daisy is the queen of self-sabotage though and she knew she was wrong and simone definitely deserved her happy ending 🥺 I love the female friendships in the show a lot actually, karen and camilla’s friendship especially. billy definitely never deserved her that’s for sure.

that’s so funny 😂😂😂 i’ve never thought about it like that. i have kind of given my key over though. 😂 and I’m definitely making the playlist and listening to the playlist even if we’re the only two that ever listen to it. every story needs its soundtrack while i’m writing it.

No worries either, i’m sorry for responding so late! hope your well ❤️

[megan-loves-surveys]

#38.

1) What is your favorite room of your living space? Why? My room, cos all my stuff is in it.

2) What do you wear when you are lounging at home? Depends on the time of the year - in summer I wear shorts and tank tops, in winter comfy pants and a sweatshirt or hoodie.

3) Do you sleep with one blanket or many blankets? I have a duvet and that's it, anything more and I'd sweat to death no matter what time of year it is.

4) Slippers or socks? I get super cold feet so I always have big fluffy winter socks and ugg boots on in the colder weather. Sometimes (like right now) even that's not enough and they're still cold :/

5) What do you do right before you go to sleep? I set my Pokémon Sleep app to sleep mode to track it xD

6) Do you fall asleep right away, or do you need something to help you sleep? like music, drugs, sex….: It has to be quiet, if I can hear people talking or music somewhere I won't be able to fall asleep. And it has to be not too warm, I sleep far better in winter than in the summer.

7) What is the FIRST thing you do when you wake up? Look at what time it is.

8) Breakfast or no breakfast? Depends.

9) What do you usually have for breakfast, if you do at all? Toast or cereal/muesli.

10) Do you watch t.v. in the morning? Cartoons or news? No, I'll usually just put on a YouTube video of some sort.

11) Shower or bath? Shower

12) Do you make the bed every morning, or just leave it? I make it cos I have loads of plushies that I need to set up on it xD

13) What helps you get going in the morning? Just getting out of bed and getting ready.

14) Do you set an alarm or wake up another way? Alarm, but most of the time I wake up naturally before it even goes off. The only time it actually wakes me up is when I've been super tired.

15) Do you have any rituals you perform before you leave your home for the day? Not really.

name: Megan. birthdate: July 13. birthplace: Auckland. current location: Auckland. hair color/eye color: Blue & purple / green. height: 5'3". boyfriend/girlfriend?: Yep, together for 2 years. siblings?: None. living arrangements: I live with my Mum, but my boyfriend and I live on the same street xD pets: None.

[ <> * % # CURRENTLY <> * % # ]

date: June 28, 2024. time: 3:39pm. hair: It's just down. listening to: Ayumi Hamasaki - I am... (Acoustic Orchestra Version) on tv: It's on downstairs but I dunno what's on. talking to: My Mum, she's in the hallway nearby cleaning the cupboard, lol. # of people on buddylist: - cd in player: I'm shuffling a playlist. people in your house: 2. makeup: None.

1. What is your Name: Megan.

2. What color pants are you wearing right now? Black.

3. What are you listening to right now? The above Ayu song, it has 1:30 left to go cos it's 5:42 lol.

4. Do you wear pajamas to bed? Yes, when it's cold.

5. What was the last thing you ate: Yoghurt.

6. If you were a crayon what color would you be: Purple.

7. How is the weather right now: It was sunny before, but the sun is gone now, it's dull. It's also quite cold.

8. Last person you talked to on the phone? Someone at work.

9. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Their face.

10. Do you like the person who sent this to you: -

11. How are you today: I'm good, it's a public holiday so no work.

12. Favorite Drink: Water or Starbucks frappe.

13. Favorite Alcoholic drink: Jim Beam or Malibu.

14. Favorite Sport(s): Wrestling.

15. Hair Color: Blue & purple.

16. Eye Color: Green.

17. Do you wear contacts: No, I have glasses.

18. Siblings: None.

19. Favorite Month: July.

20. Favorite Food? Mac & cheese.

21. Last Movie you Watched: Hmm... not sure.

22. Favorite Day of the Year: Christmas Day.

23. Are You too shy to ask someone out: Depends.

24. Summer or Winter: Summer.

25. Hugs or Kisses: Both.

26. Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate.

27. Something nice about the person who sent this: -

[ Infos ] Name: Megan. Do you like it?: Not really. Nicknames: Mox Girl, MG, Mox, Moxxy/Moxie, Shorty, Meg. Age: 36. Birthday: July 13. Sign: Cancer. Location: NZ. Status: Taken. Crush: My boyfriend and Jon Moxley lol. Virgin?: No. Natural hair color: Blonde. Current hair color: Blue & purple. Eye color: Green. Height: 5'3". Birthplace: NZ. Shoe size: 5. Bra size: 16D lol.

[ Family ] Parents: Margaret & Mike. Siblings: None. Live with: My Mum. Favorite relative: My Mum & Dad equally.

[ Favorites ] Number: 13. Color: Purple. Day: Saturday. Month: July. Song: Right now it's Angelina Mango - La Noia. Movie(s): Hmm. Food: Mac & cheese. Band: Five or Blue. Season: Summer. Sport(s): Wrestling. Class: Computers/IT. Teacher: - Drink(s): Water & Starbucks frappes. Veggie: Potatoes. TV Show: Raw, Smackdown, Dynamite, Big Bang Theory etc. Radio Station: - Store: Converse outlet store. Word: Online, it's probably "lol" or "lmao" xD Animal: Cats. Flower: Tulips. State: NY.

[ This Or That ] Me/You: You, cos you're saying that so that means me lol. Coke/pepsi: Coke. Day/night: Night. Aol/aim: This survey was made like 20 years ago, wasn't it? LOL. Cd/cassette: CD. Dvd/vhs: DVD. Jeans/khakis: Jeans. Car/truck: Car. Tall/short: Tall for guys, short for me. Lunch/dinner: Both. NSYNC/BSB: BSB, but I like *NSYNC too. Britney/Christina: Britney, but Christina is great too. Gap/Old Navy: Old Navy. Lipstick/Lipgloss: Lipgloss. Silver/Gold: Silver. Alcohol/Weed: Alcohol, I don't smoke weed.

[ Love and Relationships ] Do you have a bf/gf?: Yes. Do you have a crush?: Yes. How long have you liked him/her?: Years. If you're single…why are you single?: - How long was your longest relationship?: Over 2 years. How long was your shortest relationship?: 9 months. Who was your first love?: My boyfriend. What do you miss about them?: He's still with me xD

[ The Past ] What is the one thing you would change about your life: I wish I had money to travel and go to wrestling events. What is the biggest mistake you've made in your life?: Hmm. Last thing you heard: A song starting. Last thing you saw: Discord. Last thing you said: "Oh" to my Mum, cos she was saying something about looking for something and it was right in front of her lol. Who is the last person you saw?: My Mum. Who is the last person you kissed?: My boyfriend. Who is the last person you hugged?: My boyfriend. Who is the last person you fought with?: Not sure, prob some random at work. What is the last song you heard?: Atomic Kitten - Nothing In The World

[ The Present ] What are you wearing?: Black yoga pants and a purple Seth Rollins sweatshirt. Oh, and winter fluffy socks and ugg boots. What are you doing?: This survey, listening to music and posting on Discord. Who are you talking to?: Nobody at the moment cos my Mum went back downstairs lol. What song are you listening to?: 愛し子よ- ルルティア Where are you?: In my room. Who are you with?: My Mum is downstairs. Are you online?: Of course. How are you feeling?: Alright. Are you in a chatroom?: No.

[ Future ] What day is it tomorrow?: Saturday. What are you going to do after this?: Prob go play something on Steam. Who are you going to talk to?: Depends. Where are you going to go?: I might go see my boyfriend later. How old will you be when you graduate?: I already did, years ago. What do you wanna be?: Hmm. What is one of your dreams?: To travel. Where will you be in 25 years?: Who knows.

[ Have You Ever ] Drank?: Yes. Smoked?: Cigarettes, yes. Weed, no. Had sex?: Of course. Stolen?: No. Done anything illegal?: Probably. Wanted to die?: No. Hit someone?: Jokingly, yes lol.

[ Other ] Do you write in cursive or print?: No clue. Are you a lefty or a righty?: Lefty. What is your sexual preference?: Bi. What piercings do you have?: None. Do you drive?: I have my learner's, but that's about it. Do you have glasses or braces?: Glasses. Did you like this survey?: Sure.

[ Physical Appearance ] What do you most like about your body?: My hair and my boobs. And least?: My stomach. How many fillings do you have?: None. Do you think you're good looking?: I'm average. Do other people often tell you that you're good-looking?: Not often, but it happens lol. Do you look like any celebrities?: Not really.

[ Fashion ] Do you wear a watch?: I have a FitBit if that counts. How many coats and jackets do you own?: No coats, but I own a leather jacket and a bunch of hoodies. Favorite pants/skirt color?: Black, blue or purple. Most expensive item of clothing: If shoes count, then my Converse collection. I have almost 20 pairs xD Most treasured?: Of my clothes? Again, Converse if shoes count. Otherwise, my entire wrestling shirt collection cos a lot of them you can't buy anymore. What kind of shoes do you wear?: Converse lol - the only time I don't wear them is at work where I wear heels and when it's super hot, cos then I'll break out the flip flops instead xD Describe your style in one word: Casual.

[freshfromhell]

Hi dear!

I finished reading Mania’s latest chapter just like yesterday so let me just take a step back and bow at your work cause DAMN.

I’d be honoured to blab to you all about my experience with mania and our beloved Mandy Mueller but I don’t wanna burden you yet.

For now , I’d like to ask you if by any chance you’ve got a public Pinterest board and/or a music playlist dedicated to Mania and Mandy.

I’ve been coming up myself with a playlist made of the few songs mentioned in the story, and also a Pinterest board. Though I must admit the later has been more difficult to build as i wish to be the most faithful to reality as possible.

I’ve been wondering for a while now how you all depict it in your head. Words can only describe so much and I’d love to see for myself the way you picture Mandy, her style, her room, her house, her parents, everything ( can you tell I’m the visual kind and obsessed ?? ).

You know how they say your brain can’t differentiate a fictional character from a real person ? And how you get attached just the same ?

It seems I always end up orbiting around mean, cold-hearted, badass female characters and Mandy is no exception ( a pattern I can most certainly link to past traumas LOL ).

Anyways, all of that to say that I’m loving the glimpses we’re getting of Mandy’s personal life; the brands she wear, the stuff she owns, her habits and preferences, likes and dislikes, and I’d love to see more of it ! That might be a bit materialistic of me I’m realising lol, damn.

Though of course I’m only making a suggestion here, I wish for you to remain true to your writing style and habits as it is the reason why I’m so infatuated with your story!

I’m not sure if you’re familiar with webtoons and manhwas but in some of them, the authors would post a special chapter specifying their characters traits and specificities; q&as.

Though I know ao3 isn’t exactly the same and the readers there dont have the same expectations as on these other platforms, I’d love to know all about Mandy, so feel free to vent to me!

I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have stumbled upon such a jewel in a sea of synthetics. I am continuously baffled by the way the story is unfolding itself, the characters development, the threads linking past to present and present to past, character to character and event to event. Many have tried to make such a complex and formidable feat emerge from their pen without ever succeeding to ! I’m also just very taken aback by your intelligence and the diversity of your vocabulary cause ain’t no way I’ve actually got to check the words’s meaning every five goddamn lines. My gallery is SUFFOCATING.

Um… excuse my non English native speaker ass.

Anyways, I ended yapping without really meaning to but my message finally ends here.

I do hope that you are doing well, both mentally and physically and otherwise am praying for your well being. Do not hesitate to tell me all about what’s been on your mind if you ever need an ear to listen.

XO

- Sophie, a reader

omg! hello, my love!! you're so sweet! 😭 you could never burden me!!

I don't have a public pinterest board or playlist, but I have MANY private playlists (i sometimes make multiple for one chapter heehee). It honestly has never occurred to me that ppl would want that! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I may make some public ones soon, now that I know there's interest!

I cannot express fully how honored I am that you liked MANIA enough to make a pinterest board and playlist! (show it to me 👀 show it to me please 😫)

tbh, I think the greatest part of writing is that the reader gets to fill in the details themselves on some things. A lot of the best faceclaims I've had for Mandy have actually come from readers. I usually imagine her as a vintage mix of Kim Alexis, Barbara Bouchet, and Paulina Porizkova (with a sprinkle of Bobbie Jean Brown). As for more modern faces, I like Jean Watts, Sabrina Carpenter, or Margot Robbie (in The Wolf of Wall Street or The Big Short). I'm really loose when it comes to my idea of her, tbh!

here's the vibe:

I'm the same way, though! I have always gravitated to mean female characters (for absolutely the same reason, haha). I don't think there will ever be enough of them to satisfy me!

Omg, I don't think it's materialistic! I consider it, like, world-building, lol. I'll definitely try to implement more references to older brands. I'm actually obsessed with vintage designers and '80s fashion lol. Early on in MANIA, I tried to sprinkle in a lot more references to fashion and branding (I love putting ppl onto older stuff!), but since the plot has become heavier I've kinda fallen off lol. I'll definitely keep that in mind!

I'm totally unfamiliar with webtoons and man-hwas, but I read some manga growing up, so I think I know what you're talking about. I don't know if I'd be able to pull that off, though. I don't think I'd even know where to start, tbh! lol, and as for q&as, my ask box is always open! I'd answer random questions about Mandy anytime, haha.

I would also just like to say, I am SHOOK that english is not your first language and you read my story! The amount of American slang and wacky words I use is CRAZY. It is truly an amazing feat that you read it all! and I am so honored that you did!! but also, I am so sorry!!! I use so many words that aren't even in word-editor dictionaries!!! I really don't know how you do it! 😭 and your poor photo gallery!

Aaaaaaaah! This whole message has my heart so full! I love you so much I could cry! 😭❤️✨ I swear it is the BIGGEST compliment that you have read my whole (long ass) story, that you powered through and looked up so many words and phrases from a language outside your native language, and STILL want to know more about Mandy and her world!! Any question you have, I will answer in a heartbeat! Just ask!

Also, thank you for the well wishes! ❤️✨ I love you so much and wanna hug you so bad!! 😫

[my313]

beautiful stranger ⟡₊ 🚎 ⊹ ࣪ ˖ choi beomgyu

now playing 𝄞₊ ⊹ beautiful stranger - laufey

⋆ pairing: beomgyu x gn!reader

⋆ summary: what better way to romanticise the commute to class than listening to laufey and re-living that elevator scene from 500 days of summer?

⋆ genre/themes/warnings: slice of life, university au, fluff, love at first sight, strangers to ???, crack-ish lol, also kind of loser simp manic pixie dream boy gyu, lots of laufey mentions and references, 500 days of summer reference (the i love the smiths scene if anyone hasnt watched but has seen it on tiktok)

⋆ word count: 1591

a/n: if ur looking for realism this isnt it ... this is me trying to imagine my own romcom. also my bad i think i got too carried away yapping and with too little dialogue. this is definitely self-indulgent but!!!! here’s my first post :) i’m thinking of making this a laufey songfic series for all of txt but depends on my inspo LOL. this was inspired by a girl on the bus who was tryna show me her taehyung lockscreen cuz she probably saw my soobin one HAHAHA. hope u guys enjoy :3

act i. looked back for a second  didn’t want to be rude i tend to fall in love on the tube

falling in love is simple for choi beomgyu. his eyes sparkle on default, glossy and rose-tinted - at least, on days where he can bring himself out of the university dorms. on most days, he finds that the world has a dull enough filter to put his pink-coloured frames to rest. he definitely thinks so every time he has to begrudgingly work on his assignments.

the universe decides today is not one of those days.

it really should be, though. the bus is overcrowded on a monday morning and he’s running on four hours of sleep after regretfully queueing on league with soobin and kai. he taps his foot impatiently, unable to hide his discomfort from all the squeezing and lack of personal space. his final saving grace is the tune of paramore’s the only exception from his headphones, only slightly distracting him from the screech of the tires and the chatter of freshmen. the public transport announcement for the next stop comes as a breath of fresh air for beomgyu as people rush out the doors. he breathes a sigh of relief and absentmindedly takes the closest unoccupied seat. 

it’s not everyday that beomgyu gets to see the outside world (willingly), so he decides to challenge himself on the remaining half hour he has on the bus. he blinks, once, twice, more. anything to keep him awake. 

the announcer’s voice fills the bus again to call for the next stop, but that’s not what wakes beomgyu up. no. the doors open and he catches a glimpse of someone’s cute plushie strapped on their bag. like a cat follows a laser beam, beomgyu’s gaze is fixed on the plushie until it stops moving. it’s right next to him. he raises his head, trying to be discreet and potentially avoid looking into this stranger’s face. unlucky as he is, beomgyu is met with your eyes almost immediately. his brain freezes in the way it did when he tried yeonjun’s mint chocolate ice cream out of summer heat desperation. it short circuits, and all he can think is so pretty; like it’s the only word in the dictionary, and right next to it is your name (even if he doesn’t know it yet). he swears he almost says it out loud. 

taken aback, beomgyu can only hold your stare for a second before quickly turning away. his cheeks flush as he attempts to appear nonchalant (he is anything but), fishing into the pockets of his leather jacket to find his phone. he aimlessly unlocks it, showcasing his ‘romanticizing & touching grass’ playlist at full brightness. he cringes, thinking how ironic it is to have laufey’s beautiful stranger playing as he quite literally tries to avoid looking at a beautiful stranger in real-time. half of him entertains the thought of you seeing it and sparking up a conversation, a meet-cute that rivaled the quirkiness of the elevator scene in 500 days of summer. the other half of him continues to sink into himself, cringing at the thought.

still, he lifts his head and quickly glances at you, his phone screen lit up in anticipation.

act ii. beautiful stranger catching my stare it’s fate we collided right then back there i wonder if he felt the same thing too innocent crush on the morning commute

the boy next to you has looked up thrice in the ten minutes you’ve boarded the bus. if he wasn’t the prettiest you’d ever seen in your time riding this specific commute, it definitely would have been weird. it’s even more adorable that he’s tilting his phone screen towards you, a laufey song proudly on display as his attempts of appearing casual throw him under the bus. 

you laugh to yourself, lips tugging into an amused smile. lightly nudging him with your elbow, beomgyu’s shoulders jerk as he looks back at you. he has his headphones on, so when you gently say, “i love laufey!” he doesn’t entirely understand. his eyebrows slightly raise in confusion. in the midst of taking his headphones off to hear you better, he stills when you move closer. your lips are too close to his already warm ears, and it certainly doesn’t help that you’re practically whispering “i love laufey” with the most unassuming, goofy yet endearing smile. your excitement must be contagious to beomgyu, because his embarrassment is quick to dissipate. you haven’t moved away. he’s not sure if you’re doing it on purpose - if this was how strangers on buses flirted. if that ever happened at all. 

“oh, um,” he starts off awkwardly, “me too!” beomgyu’s stumbling over words he hasn’t even had a chance to get out yet, they’re all rushing to leave his mind but the damned announcer beats him to it. your gaze flickers from him to the blinking sign ahead. by now, you were back to leaning on your seat and away from beomgyu’s face. you really wished time slowed down, but the next stop was yours. you pursed your lips and contemplate your next words. what are the chances you’ll see this guy again? 

“by the way,” you turn to beomgyu, expression determined like braving getting on a rollercoaster. “you’re really pretty.” 

the announcer cuts through the silence and you’re quick to be up on your feet, ignoring the rising pink on both yours and beomgyu’s cheeks. “it was nice meeting you!” you manage to squeak out. just like that, beomgyu’s lost you.

act iii. but my beautiful stranger will have to remain a stranger until i see them again

beomgyu’s gone delusional over the past week. he’s sure that laufey will be his top artist on spotify this month, all because of you. 

it’s monday again, his classes are canceled and yet he’s seated in the bus hoping to catch a glimpse of you. no, he wants more than a glimpse. this time, he’s certain he can do much better than a bunch of ums and awkward smiles. his posture straightens sharply as the bus makes a gradual stop. it’s yours.

this time, beomgyu’s quick to crane his neck over and look outside the window to make sure you’re there. the universe is kind, because there you are. the corners of his mouth rise on their own accord when you meet eyes, tapping the seat next to him that he totally did not reserve for you the whole ride. 

you’re pleasantly surprised by the pretty boy’s re-appearance, smirking while making yourself comfortable next to him. 

“i should’ve known you were one of the crazy ones. nobody listens to laufey normally…” you sigh, tone satirical and disapproving, but your expression is anything but. it’s obvious you’re glad he found you again. he wasn’t the only one squealing over the past week. 

beomgyu’s voice comes out more confident than last monday, playful yet baritone. “nah, you got it wrong. i’m only crazy over you.” you’re both looking at each other in silence before bursting into fits of laughter. beomgyu tries to keep his giggles polite by covering his mouth with his palm, but you’re flailing and find yourself leaning into his shoulder to muffle your laughs. 

that only makes beomgyu grin wider, lifting his hand from his face and training his eyes on you. he doesn’t wait for you to stop laughing, sneakily capturing your hand together with his. the sudden warmth melting your frigid hands makes you jerk away from the comfort of beomgyu’s sweater. you’re instantly faced with his wide eyes. before uttering a word, beomgyu cuts you off with a silly expression, eyebrows wriggling mischievously, “so that scored me a date, right?” 

“you’re such a freak,” you taunt. “i don’t even know your name!” beomgyu rolls his eyes, brows still raised comically. “you laughed into my sweater, i think we’re so past that.” 

“but since you asked… how about i give you a good deal?” 

“i’m listening.” you play along with his banter, nudging him to go on. beomgyu nods smugly as he lays out his cards, confident you won’t say no. you couldn’t, right?

“i propose that you get my name right now.. but only if you take my number too,” he says cheerfully. “great deal, huh? can’t get it anywhere else. a bus 11 exclusive!” 

you pretend to give it a thought, complete with a pondering stance and looking up at the bus ceiling in contemplation. when you look back at beomgyu, you can’t help but smile at his overly-excited puppy-eyed look. it makes you want to tease him even more, but you decide against it. your stop is threatening to cut this short again.

you bring out your phone, unlock it and hand it over to beomgyu. “gimme it then, stranger.” 

“it’s beomgyu,” he says as he types up his number. he locks your phone before returning it into your hands. “i’m saved as love of your life though, so…” 

“weirdo!” you shriek while opening your phone to double check. it’s just beomgyu with a heart. “i thought you actually did that.”

beomgyu laughs. the announcer’s familiar voice fills the bus again and it’s your stop next. swiftly, you open up a new chat with beomgyu, sending him a message before standing up and waving bye. he returns the gesture fondly, watching you get off and walk away.

once the bus starts up again, beomgyu sees the notification from you:

wanna hang tonight? :)