#also: expect ridiculous amounts of friendship

[fairyhaos]

◈ love of my life // yoon jeonghan

jeonghan x gn!reader, 2k+ words

tags: technically requested by lots of people bc everyone wants jeonghan fluff, childhood friends to lovers, fluff, crack, mutual pining, almost-confessions

warnings: light swearing

summary: in which your relationship with jeonghan isn't exactly platonic and isn't exactly romantic... but rather, it's a secret third thing.

It has to be at least two in the morning when Jeonghan's ringtone blares throughout his bedroom, and he rolls over with a groan, grappling blindly at his nightstand before finding his phone and pressing it against his cheek. 

“Who is this and what do you want?”

“Jeonghan, let's go on a date.”

He recognises your voice in an instant, even in his half-asleep state, and he huffs a laugh, flopping back against the pillows and rubbing his eyes. 

“Gee, at least ask me when it's not ass o'clock in the morning, won't you?”

“No, no, this only works if you get up right now,” you say. “Come on, Jeonghan, just go on a date with me. Right at this very moment.”

Jeonghan rubs his eyes, before taking his phone away from his cheek and peering at the screen so he can read the time. “See, you’re not presenting a very good argument,” he says, once he’s put the phone against his ear again. It’s almost three in the morning. What are you thinking? “I don’t wanna date you that much.”

You make a sad sound on the other end of the phone. “What will it take to get you out of the house?”

“Wire me an obscene amount of money right now and I’ll think about it.”

There’s a pause.

“No. Best I can offer is a pretty please.”

Jeonghan can’t help smiling at your dry tone, and he rubs his eyes once again with a yawn. “Fine. I guess I can’t expect anything better from you, anyway.” He can almost see you biting your lip in annoyance, wanting to quip something witty back at him but also wanting to keep quiet so he’ll actually come. 

“You know me so well.”

“Yes I do,” Jeonghan teases, and groggily hauls himself out of bed. “I’ll be ready in ten. Where do you want me to go?”

“Don’t worry, princess, I’ll pick you up,” you say, suddenly sounding excited. “Just wait for me and I’ll come over to take you out.”

Jeonghan raises an eyebrow. “Is that a threat?”

You laugh, bright and happy, like it’s not two in the morning and you’ve asked your best friend to go on a date with you. Jeonghan can’t help but smile again, even as he grapples blindly through his dark room to find some clothes.

“Don’t worry. It’s a promise.”

───────────── 🌘

Jeonghan is, admittedly, more than a little confused when you just take him to the nearest playground.

Sure, maybe this entire thing is weird—you calling him up during ridiculous hours of the morning to “go on a date” is definitely not something you’ve done before—but that’s just the kind of friendship he and you have. 

It’s like how, last year, he spent an entire month calling you increasingly ridiculous pet names, ranging from “beloved” to “honey butter snuggles bunny bear”, and purposefully took you out to public cafes and restaurants to test them out for everyone to see and hear, preventing you from punching him as hard as he probably deserved. 

So this is, like, nothing new. Just a funny and silly thing the two of you do, because you've known each other for the whole of your lives, and when it comes to the way your relationship works, the lines separating “platonic” and “romantic” have always been curiously nonexistent. 

It doesn’t mean anything. It’s never meant to mean anything.

But sometimes, sometimes, it feels like it should.

“I think I’m going to end up alone forever,” you say abruptly, and Jeonghan looks over at you in surprise. You’re sitting on the swings next to him, dragging yourself back and forth as you look up at the sky. There’s nothing to see up there, with the clouds obscuring any moonlight, so it's obvious that you're just looking away so he can't see your face. 

It's so quiet; Jeonghan didn't realise that the world could be this quiet at 2 in the morning, and it makes your words echo extra loud into the abyss, before they're swallowed by the darkness. 

Jeonghan shrugs. “Maybe you will.”

Instantly, you're leaning over to swat him on the arm, and he laughs. 

“Asshole,” you say, but there's no venom in your voice, even as you level him with a glare. “You're really no help. I'm trying to unload all my deepest fears for you, here, practically begging you to reassure me, and yet all you can do is be mean.”

“You said one thing,” Jeonghan points out. “I don't think that counts as unloading all your deepest fears.”

“Yeah, well, maybe it's my only deepest fear.”

“Why are you unloading your deepest fear on me?” Jeonghan asks, kicking his legs out in front of him. “We're on a date. Our first date, mind you, so this hardly seems appropriate.”

“Asshole,” you say again, but like before, the word has no bite. You glance over at him, before realising that he's looking at you, and then quickly raise your gaze to the sky. “I'm being serious about this, you know.”

Jeonghan says nothing for a long moment. Watches the way the pale light from a nearby lamppost gives you an unearthly, almost otherworldly glow. 

“I'm being serious too,” he decides to say, looking up at the cloudy sky with you. “You shouldn't be saying that stuff on a first date. Kinda makes it sound like you don't think things will work out between us, you know?”

You huff a confused laugh, looking over at him again. “Jeonghan, wha—?”

“And maybe you will end up alone,” he carries on, thoughtfully, as if he's talking to himself, forgetting that you're sitting there too. “But maybe you won't. I think you probably won't. And even if you do, it's fine, because I'll still be with you.”

It's a painfully vulnerable thing to say, made doubly so by the quietness of the night. Like a love confession, almost. Except it's not, because he's not in love with you. 

He isn't. 

“That's really sweet,” you say, almost begrudgingly, as if it pains you to admit that Jeonghan actually said something nice, and he laughs. “Though wrong. If you’re with me, then I'm not alone, am I?”

“Oh, I see. When you said alone, you meant in general. I thought you meant, like, romantically.”

“Well, maybe. But maybe I also meant overall,” you shrug. “I didn't think you'd want to spend the rest of your life with me.”

Jeonghan swallows, tilts back on the swings, head still raised to look at the sky. “I want to spend every life with you.”

You look away from the sky at his words, turning to face him in surprise. The echoes of what he’d just said were already fading away, muffled and pressed into the velvet dark of the night, but the surprisingly soft air that followed in its wake still remained.

 Now, he's the one avoiding your gaze, keeping his eyes firmly locked on the shapeless, misty blur of clouds above him so he doesn’t have to look at you. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see you tilt your head, and smile. 

“Oh, look at you, you sap,” you say, bright and teasing. “Face it, you like being with me. Oh! I bet you're in love with me, seeing as how you agreed to date me and everything! Isn't that right, Jeonghan? You love me.”

Jeonghan pulls a face, and you burst into laughter, so ridiculously loud and happy even though it's two in the morning and the whole playground is silent, the sound of your happiness ringing against the cool air of the night. He can't help but look at you then, exasperated and fond, shaking his head as you grip the swing chains and sway back and forth, still giggling to yourself. 

He sniffs, feigning annoyance as he leans to the side, making a dramatic show of pulling his swing away from you. 

“This isn't a real date. I could never date you.” He scrunches his face in faux disgust for good measure, and you laugh again, rolling your eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. And yet you still came out when I called, didn't you?” you tease, smiling widely, and Jeonghan has to admit that you're right. He's here because you asked him to be here. He’s here for you.

Hm. This was getting weirdly soul-baringly truthful for what he’d thought would be a silly little hangout in the middle of the night.

“Next time you call me at 2am, I’m blocking you forever,” he says dryly, giving you an exaggerated look of disdain just so he can revel in the laugh that it pulls out of you.

“No you won’t,” you say cheerily. “Because you looove me.”

“Um, lies.”

“No lies. You literally love me so much.”

“I don’t.”

“You do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You do. You do, you do, you do, you’re actually genuinely in love with me and there’s nothing you can do to deny it, because it’s so obvious that I’m literally the love of your l—”

Jeonghan makes a clicking sound with his tongue and leans over to shove your arm, causing you to swing to the side as you cackle with delight at his reaction. He glares at you, again, sighing with exasperation as you continue to laugh.

“Yes, yes, I love you, just as much as you love me. Now if we’re not actually doing anything of importance, then can I go home?”

“What?” you say indignantly. “Of course not! If I can’t sleep, then that means you’re not allowed to sleep either.”

“I knew it. You called me out here because you couldn’t fall asleep.”

“Duh. Now come and push my swing, will you?”

Jeonghan rolls his eyes and stands up from his swing, groaning and holding his knees like he’s some kind of grumpy grandpa. You laugh, mocking him for his bad joints as he walks around to stand behind you, and he snarks back something ridiculously funny and rippling with light, twisting through the cool air.

And then his hand presses against the small of your back, soft and yet sure, and suddenly all you can focus on is that gentle, feathery point of contact that connects you to him.

Your laughter subsides as he begins to gently push your swing, and you move up, and down, and up, and down, the fleeting warmth of his hand an intermittent pressure against your back. He doesn’t say a word. Everything is quiet, in your head. Like his touch alone could silence any worries that still floated around in your brain.

It’s one of the things you adore most about Jeonghan. He makes you feel safe.

“For the record, by the way,” you say, voice quiet, “I really do love you.”

There’s no noise but the metallic creak of the swing, sounding weirdly small in the yawning abyss of the dark. Jeonghan’s hand is still steady as he pushes you, again and again.

“As a friend?” he asks, eventually.

You can’t see him, and maybe that’s for the best. His voice is tinged with a colour, an emotion, that you can’t quite name, warm and cool and fleeting and present all at once.

Yet more silence greets his words. You continue swinging, and he continues helping.

It’s hard to know what he means by that. As a friend, in a hopeful way? As a friend, in a meaningful way? Or as a friend, in a way that could maybe, maybe, signal that he thinks, or wishes, that you mean... something else.

More.

These things are difficult to tell, when it comes to Jeonghan. Who wears his heart on his sleeve and yet also hides it away where no one can see.

“Yeah,” you say, after it has been far too long since he’d asked, but it’s clear that you were both waiting for your answer anyway. The word leaves you as a sigh, threadbare and thin. “As a friend.”

Jeonghan huffs a soft laugh. Maybe because he believes you, or maybe because he doesn’t. You’re not too sure.

“Okay,” he murmurs, pale as moonlight. “In which case, I love you too.”

fics tags: @jeonginssa @weird-bookworm @minhui896 @slytherinshua @haowrld @belladaises @moonlitskiiies @mirxzii @zozojella @kawennote09 @a-wandering-stay @abibliolife @doublasting @wonranghaeee @icyminghao @sweet-like-caramel @your-yxnnie @odxrilove @kyeomyun @crackedpumpkin @jeonride @kellesvt @eightlightstar @onlyyjeonghan @aaniag @starshuas @raevyng @isabellah29 @hrts4hanniehae @mcu-incorrect @dokyeomkyeom @suraandsugar @haodore @tulsa24 @melodicrabbit

[the-kaedageist]

It’s so funny that Essek was taken aback by Fearne summoning Teven, but if you’d asked me before this episode (or at least before Fearne met him), “which party would be more likely to randomly summon the champion of a betrayer god out of thin air without warning?” I would have immediately answered “The Mighty Nein”. 

I love the implications of this. I love the idea that the Nein’s antics might STILL throw Essek years later, but isn’t that also why he loves them so much? Didn’t they win him over by relentless friendship mixed with absolute batshit amounts of chaos? 

On the other hand, I can also imagine a world where yes, Essek totally would have expected this from the Nein - but he never expected any other adventuring party to be as ridiculous as his friends. 

This poor drow will never escape the confines of being trapped within the indignity of a game of dnd, and I love that for him.

[starryjkoo]

"the best trips i've had in my life"

I’m still stuck on Jungkook saying that the AYS trips were the best of his life? That’s actually a crazy thing to say when you look back on those trips and where they went and what exactly they did. Hearing “best trip of your life” you would expect something more grand, but for Jungkook it really was just hanging out with Jimin, doing pretty mundane activities and eating a lot of delicious food. Somehow these trips were impactful enough that he felt they were the best of his life? That’s crazy to me.  

Sapporo was beautiful, but Connecticut was… Connecticut lol, it’s pretty but not that interesting compared to other places they’ve traveled and Jeju is somewhere they’ve both already been plenty of times. The accommodations in Sapporo were especially nice, but CT was a camping van and the house from my suburban nightmares. The Jeju house was gorgeous but not anything particularly new for them either. 

The activities? They definitely did a lot of fun things, but most of them were things they had already done before, some of them even on other seasons of BV or with other members, friends, and on “private” vacations. A lot of the trips were actually filled with pretty mundane activities. Jimin even said in Sapporo that was just how he usually spends his time at home. It gave them an excuse to eat lots of delicious food, but that's hardly the only time they’ve done that either.

And yes, obviously they would enjoy these trips because they basically planned them. But that’s another thing, how compatible Jikook are and how well they click because not everyone would enjoy this kind of trip. Even TH questioned why he came at first because they already do all that in Seoul anyways, or how he went off to play golf one morning. So obviously Jikook were going to enjoy AYS, but I still never thought that these trips would end up being the best of JK’s life? Eating, taking drives and playing around with Jimin really topped every other trip he’s ever been on? 

The Jimin part is important because while some of the activities like snowboarding were fun on their own, what made the little things entertaining was how Jikook could take any simple activity and make it so silly and fun. I especially loved things like Jikook shining their bedside lamps at each other and how delighted JK was with that game, how happy he was when JM started playing along with him. Playing cards or having dinner with someone or playing in a pool, shining your bedside lamp at them or taking a drive wouldn’t be fun if you weren’t with someone who made those kinds of things fun and dynamic, if they couldn’t match your humor and energy. In fact some of those things could be pretty boring or tedious with the wrong person. 

There’s so many delightful examples of Jikook being adorably silly while doing these simple things like the mock cooking show in Sapporo, the way they made that scuzzi jacuzzi so fun with the snow, or Jikook coming up with the pool slap game and being so proud they showed it to TH and taught it to him the next day. You could list off so many examples like this and it’s just one of my very favorite things about AYS and Jikook’s friendship in general. I mean, the amount of mileage they can get out of a tiny pool or some bedside lamps is really crazy. JK talked about how they would be copies of each other if they were the same age and it really shows in AYS.

But what I also think really encapsulates Jikook’s bond is that even when things went wrong, such as in CT, they still had a ridiculous amount of fun and considered it a good trip. The cursed hamburger, Walmart, Jimin’s stomach virus, getting eaten up by mosquitos, getting nailed with rain that felt like hail, JK having a cold, JM getting burned by the motorcycle and then stepped on, JK falling into the river, elbowing JM in the face, JMs nose being bruised half the trip, having a fever, honestly just annoying the hell out of each other lol. But they loved that trip! JK wanted to do twelve more seasons after, they started planning Jeju and future trips before CT was even over, (they signed up to enlist together right after this!), JK recounted the trip to Yoongi with the biggest smile on his face. They enjoyed watching that first episode so much and laughed so hard at moments I didn’t even think were that funny (to be fair they were a little drunk there lmao).  

So, even when things went wrong they still enjoyed their trip immensely because they have the kind of relationship where they can take something bad and bond over the experience, turn it into something positive and memorable, create inside jokes that'll probably last forever. They also never truly got annoyed or stressed out at each other either despite both being sick or tired. You have to be so close and get along with someone so well to be able to do that?

So despite JK going to Jeju & Busan with his 97 liner friends, despite allegedly going to Japan with Eunwoo, despite already going snowboarding with TH and WS, despite any other trips or breaks or BV seasons over the years, despite CT being a mess, Jeju being somewhere they’ve both already been, none of the activities being that new or particularly exciting for them, despite being “company content”, in that moment JK felt so strongly and so positively and so fondly about his AYS experience that they felt like the best trips of his life. You don’t even need JKs words to know that, it was clear by the constant smiles and laughter throughout the show how much he loved it. And what made those trips so fun and impactful was clearly that they were together. That’s just amazing to me? To have someone you get along with so well, someone you have so much fun with and enjoy being around that much? 

I do think these trips offering a break from his insane schedule made them more impactful and meaningful to Jungkook too. You could tell how exhausted he was working nonstop during his solo schedules. Jimin even said in CT he was glad he came because otherwise JK wouldn’t have gotten to do all of those things. It’s funny that solos & tkkrs tried to make it seem like these trips were just piling onto JK’s busy schedule when in fact they seemed to offer him a much needed break to relax and do something fun instead. So the timing of these trips probably did add to why JK loved them so much.

I also think that JK felt so strongly about it specifically in that moment because Sapporo was a pretty emotional trip for them too. Based on JKs words they were also using the trip to make memories to look back on during enlistment, probably also wanted to have one more enjoyable experience before they would have to go away for eighteen months. I think that played a part in this trip feeling more special and sentimental than it ordinarily would have. I thought it was especially sweet how when they were both feeling particularly emotional/melancholy on the train ride they shared that moment together and took comfort in each other. Jimin said that he didn’t think he would have felt excited about the snow in SK, but in Sapporo he loved it so much. And JK saying that he wanted to return to Japan because it was the location of their first trip was terribly sweet. It was a really nice and poignant way to end AYS, because those trips and Sapporo in particular did have a lot of meaning for them, clearly. They truly loved AYS so much.

I have so many other thoughts and feelings about AYS I’d like to unpack eventually but really I think what encapsulates my feelings on AYS is just JK saying that these were the best trips of his life. I guess this is just my really long winded way of saying how special I think Jikook’s bond is. You can’t really argue that JK enjoyed AYS as much as he did for any reason other than that he was with Jimin. Even if JK simply enjoyed getting to take a relaxing trip during his busy schedule, what made a lot of the small things so fun was Jikook’s unique dynamic. That trip wouldn’t have been possible with someone else because quite simply it wouldn't have been the same trip. It had to be Jikook for AYS to be so incredibly relaxing but also have the right amount of activity, eating, and playing, for the simple things to be that enjoyable, the food so prominent, the shared dorky sense of humor, the few moments of softness and vulnerability, the comfortable vibe between them.

I’ve never seen JK yap that much in BTS content either, you can tell how comfortable he is with Jimin in particular and how easy and familiar their dynamic is too. I’ve never honestly seen them that relaxed and stripped back in BTS content before, which was part of the reason I enjoyed AYS so much. I felt like I got to genuinely know them better and I really loved that. They could have made the show more dynamic and entertaining by packing it full of activities or other people, but it seems like the main focus was just doing the things they enjoy doing together and having their ideal vacation, which I massively preferred.

I also thought it was really meaningful that they did their little AYS thing right before they enlisted together. They just really enjoyed that show so much, they really bonded over creating it, had so much fun coming up with the title and the little details, and clearly felt so much genuine fondness for it. For them to end their CH2 with AYS was really meaningful, because that’s literally how they closed out the whole CH2 “solo” era, with something they created together. Just the fact that they were even thinking about AYS in that moment shows how impactful it was for them. Jikook closed out their CH2 together while at the same time entering the next chapter of their lives together too. They just make my heart so warm for real. I really loved AYS so much and I’m so glad that Jikook loved it just as much as we did if not more.

ending this with my favorite Jikook edit ❤️‍🩹

[raguiras]

SKETCH COMIC: Deuce/Yuu at the beach

Reblogging is highly appreciated! 🥹🙏

AAAAA finally another Spade of Storms post! Today is their 150 days anniversary, so I just HAD to post!! More coming soon ^^

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NOTE: My Yuu is named Allen and primarily uses he/him pronouns. However, I tend to change this in comics for general insert purposes.

Part 3 of the relationship timeline (= how they finally got together) below the cut!

More ship content

Previous parts of my Deuce x Allen ship introduction: 1 // 2 // 3

Deuce x Allen blog: @spade-of-storms

Event where you can draw this ship & get art of your own ship back :3

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Relationship timeline (pt. 3)

♠︎♤ POST BOOK 7 ♤♠︎

By now, pretty much everyone at NRC knew that Deuce and Allen had a thing for each other, and many people even assumed that they were a couple already.

Nobody could blame them, though: the two boys were not only inseparable and constantly smiling at each other, but also extremely touchy nowadays. Having built unparalleled levels of trust and being incredibly comfortable with each other, Allen and Deuce did more and more together, eventually even cuddling in public on the regular.

One day when Deuce had done incredibly well on a test, Allen gave him a cheek kiss out of sheer euphoria. This absolutely made Deuce bluescreen and he later rambled to Ace about it — it was his first ever kiss!!! Did Allen like him back?! Did this kiss mean anything?! Would it be okay for him to give Allen a kiss as well?!

When they were watching a movie together in Allen's room, Deuce decided to spontaneously kiss Allen's cheek, too. The blonde boy got incredibly nervous as he had not expected this in the slightest — after all, he was "disgusting and unlovable" — and simply laughed it off.

Another time, Deuce was comforting Allen during one of his low moments. As Allen went on about how much he hated his body, Deuce was basically rendered speechless and could reply with nothing but sincere compliments on Allen's appearance. This warmed the Ramshackle prefect's heart a ridiculous amount... did Deuce really mean it? Was Allen actually beautiful to him...? Why was Deuce not growing sick of complimenting him and instead always sounded genuine...? After a quick gaze was exchanged, Allen suddenly found every area of his face other than his lips being covered in gentle, soft kisses. "I'm here for you. You're so beautiful."

These happenings caused them to occasionally kiss the other in various places (except for the lips) — yes, including their necks — which shocked everybody due to the physical distance both held with other people. However, it was still strictly "platonic" as neither Allen nor Deuce dared to say a thing. Everyone around them was losing their minds in the meantime — how could they act this lovey-dovey with the constant cuddles, gazes and kisses and STILL not be a couple?!

Deuce was convinced that he was way too average for someone like Allen. Despite the Ramshackle prefect's many flaws, he was the embodiment of perfection in Deuce's eyes. Allen would definitely want someone prettier and smarter, right...? Deuce surely couldn't compare...

Allen, on the other hand, still firmly believed that he was not only ugly, but unlovable, undeserving, and easy to replace. In his opinion, he had to be absolutely perfect in every way to be a worthwhile partner, and his crushing fear of rejection held him back anyway.

Both boys were terrified of destroying their friendship through a love confession. While they strictly avoided the topic of the rumors and of them potentially getting together in each other's presence, both Allen and Deuce secretly rambled to their friends and were desperately searching for advice. No matter how often everyone told them that the other one definitely liked them back, neither of the two teenagers could/wanted to believe it.

Sometimes, Deuce and Allen even talked about their crushes together, describing them to each other's face in hopes of them realizing that the other one was their crush. However, this backfired A TON: neither could believe that the described positive traits applied to THEM, and instead, Allen firmly believed that Deuce was crushing on someone else (and vice versa).

Ace couldn't stand it anymore and forced Deuce to gift Allen a red rose to test the waters. While the Ramshackle prefect did want to believe that the gesture was of romantic nature, Allen instead decided that it was a platonic souvenir from Heartslabyul's gardens — after all, Deuce had described his crush as "beautiful, kind and the most perfect person he had ever seen", which SURELY couldn't have been Allen...

Deuce didn't know what other hints to drop (outside of the fact that he regularly gave Allen gifts, complimented him a ton, got touchy with him despite hating it with other people, was eager to hang out with him all day, and literally KISSED him). Allen simply appeared to be oblivious to absolutely everything.

One day when they were cuddling on Allen's bed while watching a movie, Deuce yet again planted little kisses on Allen's neck and spontaneously decided to be bold, asking Allen if they could finally kiss on the lips. The Ramshackle student blushed and was taken by surprise, but obviously agreed. Their first kiss was innocent, loving and downright PERFECT — both felt as if they were about to explode — until Allen brushed it off as "practice" with a sad chuckle. Deuce's heart was broken within a second.

Allen was so heavily traumatized and convinced that he was unlovable that he genuinely thought Deuce wanted to use him as practice for his future relationship with the aforementioned "perfect, kind and beautiful" crush. Deuce thought the same about Allen — so this wonderful kiss was only practice for the blonde boy's upcoming relationship with his crush, huh...?

Both yet again talked to their friends in search of help, but all they got was further reassurance that the other one DID like them and that there was simply a massive misunderstanding.

At some point, Deuce couldn't wait anymore. He loved Allen more than anything and he NEEDED him, but Deuce knew full well that he'd likely get too nervous and stumble over his own words if he confessed to Allen in person. Instead, he decided to gift the boy another Shiba plushie, place it in front of Allen's door, and attached a letter to it.

Unfortunately, this also backfired. Allen was convinced that the letter was a prank; he was convinced that someone was impersonating Deuce and recreating his handwriting with magic in order to give Allen wrong hopes and possibly destroy the friendship he had with Deuce (however, Allen did keep the letter and plush Shiba). When Deuce heard about this, he was even more saddened — what did he have to do for Allen to realize that he was not only worthy of love, but actively loved by Deuce? What did he have to do for Allen to realize... that Deuce wanted him more than anything else in life? There was only one way left...

Deuce planned the confession in detail and even practiced in front of his mirror. He bought twelve red roses, two matching gumball machine rings, and another plushie. Additionally, Deuce also wrote a second love letter.

He then invited Allen to a blastcycle tour, which the Ramshackle student obviously agreed to. When it was time for them to go, Deuce showed up at Allen's window and blasted "Baby" by Justin Bieber at full volume, and once inside Allen's room, Deuce gifted him the bouquet. But this time, Allen couldn't just mentally brush it off as a platonic gesture — he saw the desperation, sincerity and love in Deuce's eyes, and took the flowers with a bright blush while nervously thanking Deuce.

The two teenagers went off to the beach, with Allen holding onto Deuce tightly as they rode the blastcycle.

When they arrived at the beach, Deuce's heart was pretty much beating out of his chest. After a short walk, the blue-haired boy gathered all his courage, breathed in deeply one last time, took the gifts out of his bag, and went on one knee in front of Allen.

Allen's heart was beating out of his chest as well. He couldn't deny it any longer, his insecurities couldn't deny it any longer — this was indeed a confession.

Allen opened the letter and teared up immediately upon reading Deuce's sweet words. It was another sincere love confession, this time handed to him directly by Deuce. There was no excuse and it couldn't be mistaken for a prank. The Heartslabyul student kneeled in front of Allen, looking up to him with the most desperate, nervous puppy eyes — Deuce wanted nothing more than to date him.

Allen couldn't believe it yet and started crying. Deuce actually loved him... Deuce genuinely wanted to be with him. All his life, Allen had been told that something like this was impossible... but here he was now, being confessed to in the sweetest way by the sweetest person he had ever met. He was loved.

Deuce slowly got up to comfort Allen, but instead, the Ramshackle prefect initiated a kiss. This time, it wasn't "practice" — it was their first genuine kiss as a couple, and it became one of their most treasured memories for both of them.

They were officially together now... and little did Allen know that they'd stay lovers for the entirety of their lifes.

"I love you." — "I love you, too."

Deuce and Allen had fixed the mistakes of the past; Allen's previous incarnation had died before Deuce's got the chance to confess. And in their next lifes, they'd be together as well.

They were destined to find each other in every universe.

♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤♠︎♤

Fun fact: There are 3 Spade of Storms days.

22th March: The day when I first decided that I want them to be together in an old rp server. It was likely the first official confirmation of the ship, and it was 150 days ago.

20th May: The day when they got together in the canon lore.

27th July: The day that's exactly in between of their birthdays (3rd June & 20th September).

Thank you very much for reading! 🥹🥹

[jolynesmom]

aging yourself up or down in your dr (+ dating)

I actually refrained from talking on this topic on my tiktok since I knew I was going to get chased off the app and didn’t see a point in talking about it on tumblr since everybody here seems to be more open minded and mind their own business, until I saw multiple posts a few days ago here, where the op were shaming people for changing their age or changing the ages of people in their dr

those people definitely came from tiktok and I honestly hope this post reaches them as I didn’t want to directly interact with them

I think one of the posts was about how adults age ‘minors’ in their dr to date them is problematic, which made me laugh, because how is it problematic if they’re both the same age in their dr?

and the sad thing about that post is that the op said that they’re aware how shifting works and all that, but still finds it problematic and hopes people that do that never shift which is just… girly I hope YOU never shift because you don’t deserve it for shaming people trying to live their lives

I’m not going to go into details about the og posts, but they still have the outdated idea that if you shift for a character that is much younger than you here it’s ‘problematic’. once again: how is it problematic if you’re the same age in your dr?

and then they hit you with another outdated take ‘it’s problematic because you find them attractive here’ which is ridiculous because of so many reasons

1.many characters (especially anime characters) don’t act or look their age. if your perceived a character as an adult initially then found out they’re a minor, I simply don’t care. ages in fiction never matter, if your mind perceived x as a certain age then they’re that age idc; 99.99% people are attracted to a character for who they are, not their age

2.many people had crushes on characters when they were younger or the same age with that character and still like them. let’s boo them that their crush on the character didn’t die and their fav character didn’t age, acting like you’re not going to be in their place in a few years

‘not true I’ll stop liking my favorite character when I’m of age 😡’

okay sweetie keep telling yourself that, because I keep seeing people on tiktok that had this mentality: they liked an underage character when they were minors and wanted to shift for them, now they’re adults, haven’t shifted yet but STILL like that character and regret having said they’re gonna stop liking that character when they’re adults because it didn’t happen lol

3.people don’t always script that an underage person here will be their s/o, it just might happen. I’m actually going to use myself as an example for this: so here I’m an adult and I’m also aroace which I dislike because I always dreamed of a fantasy novel like romantic relationship, so I’m straight or bi in most of my drs so I can date. in my jujutsu kaisen dr, all the people in jujutsu tech are adults because I don’t like teens or kids and don’t wanna hangout with them. in my 30+ drs I only have 3 scripted s/os which are all adults here. I didn’t script an s/o for my jjk dr, because I want to focus more on friendships and training there (but secretly hoped choso would pick me, a girl can dream ok); a few weeks ago I channeled multiple people from my dr (yuuji, megumi, nobara, gojo, nanami and geto) and I received normal messages from all of them. I expected all of their answers, except yuuji’s answers which had romantic aspects to them. that made me realize that he might have a crush on me and maybe we’ll even date in my dr or something? who knows, I didn’t think too much about it so idk

so now if a character that’s underage here likes me in my dr, am I supposed to refuse them or shift out? lmao you’re delusional if you think I’m doing that

4.people that have never experienced adolescence love here. a lot of people dreamed of having that sweet experience of teenage romance that disney and an insane amount of shows and movies love to push, but instead their teen years were filled with abuse and hate. why shouldn’t they shift to experience what was taken from them here?

ALSO let’s switch this around: why is okay for minors to date adults in their dr, but not the other way around?

‘it’s not as bad 🤓☝🏻’

imma be the devil’s advocate and say it’s just as bad

do you genuinely think it’s okay to be a minor here and date an adult in your dr? like do you really think your s/o would feel comfortable being sexualized by a minor and dating a person that’s a minor in another reality? you lowkey forced your partner to become a pedo if you think about it 🙁 /jk

and also if you shift to a reality where you’re a minor and become of age there, you’re officially an adult and shouldn’t date minors anymore, even in your ‘original reality’ where you’re still a minor. please keep the same standards for yourself

[vethbrenatto]

TLOVM Season 3 Retrospective

I am not a campaign plot purist. The concept of fitting a meandering D&D campaign into a 12-episode season of television is, by all accounts, ridiculous. TLOVM is based on the campaign, not a blanket retelling, and we've all known that from the start. In fact, that's why I'm not particularly worried about the comments about the M9 series that CR has released, how the plot will change vastly. D&D, especially in worlds DMed by Matt Mercer, is extremely sand-boxy and will not one-to-one translate to the time allotted in TV and movies. VM is actually the campaign that I think translates the best to the medium without much modification as it has very clear arcs and corresponding antagonists (Briarwoods, Chroma Conclave, Vecna).

That said, the core behind plot changes is that the narrative heart should remain. The character beats, the character arcs. And I do think Season 3 dropped the ball with this.

Let's start with those that I think were handled better- Vex and Percy. Percy's relationship with both Ripley and Vex, I think was handled excellently. We see Percy's journey to move beyond vengeance and try to grasp something real beyond it, the start of the man who just wants to be a clockmaker. Vex struggles to be loved and deal with her fear that's she's a curse to those she loves and then her reluctance to do it while Percy was still alive, thinking she's missed her shot.

Vax and Keyleth have an odd role switch in this season, with Kiki (initially) hopping into the Vaxleth relationship while Vax feels it's too risky to get involved? This just feels weird to me, as a lot of Vax's characterization is so centered around still pulling for love in the face of death and adversity. Outside of Vax, Kiki gets a late season arc about believing in herself and coming into her own as a leader, but I felt this was somehow both redundant and underplayed. Keyleth's fire plain aramente in Season 2 felt reminiscent of her E10/11 scenes in Season 3, so I got a bit of deja vu. But also the stem of her belief in herself in this season, her instinct about Raishan is so underwhelming. Keyleth's moral compass and instict is a pivotal character beat for her, she's the only one who clocked Raishan and that matters. The others disregarded her opinion and that matters. And yes, it got brought up, but the take away ends up being just tying back to Vax and "You have ties to this world. Don't be afraid to let people in." ?? These are two separate issues, my guy. (On this point, I feel I must point out that while plot changes are necessary, Keyleth spent an episode and a half doing a scrying spell. Could she not have been better utilized exploring her emotional connection and friendship with Percy in the Vax/Vex chasing down Ripley plotline?)

Grog is absolutely shafted in this season. I can't say it's shocking- Grog is a simple guy (Likes ale, fighting, loves his friends) and I don't expect him to reach the character depths others do. But he had a very clear place he could’ve soared this season- yes, the Scanlan stuff. Not only is the “fix him” character beat a muffled whimper, but he’s left to comedically hold Scanlan’s limp body while Pike goes off to save him (by finding Kaylie). Grog could’ve easily slid into that side story, Kaylie could’ve heard not only from Pike about Scanlan and why he’s important and good and worth saving, but also from Grog, a man who cares about very few people in the world, but so very deeply when he does and Scanlan is one of those people he cares about.

I enjoyed the amount of Pike content this season (that’s my girl!!!) and I won’t get super into because I already made a post about it, but I just didn’t really get the crisis of faith arc for her. She’s already experienced a crisis of faith in a prior season and it’s not something I feel like campaign!Pike would’ve gone through, even IF Ashley was full time at the table. It weirdly almost feels like ground building for the current Bells Hells/Downfall/Calamity takes on the Critical Role gods as opposed to how Pike would feel about her deity, specifically. I did enjoy her relationship to Scanlan in the season and her support of Scanlan building a relationship with his daughter, it felt like a nice connection to Scanlan asking Pike to be Kaylie’s person if he died during the campaign.

And Scanlan. Oh, Scanlan. Just… confused, is all I can say. The show has had Bard’s Lament seeds for multiple seasons, including in S3 itself, and then just doesn’t go through with it. I simply don’t agree that it couldn’t work in the medium- what it feels like is that this is the more palatable story to tell. The resentment is so important to his character development. The show makes this all about Kaylie and fatherhood, which is of course a huge part of ABL, but the lament is also about Scanlan himself (in fact, I'd argue that Kaylie is more of a loose factor in it; his promise to kaylie [another egregious cut in the story] being a spur of the scene and Percy calling him out changing the trajectory of what Scanlan leaving actually was. it's about Kaylie, but it's kind of not). It's about feeling neglected or undervalued. There are scenes in TLOVM throughout alluding to this (a couple with Vex in particular I can think of in 1, 2, AND 3) but then no payoff? That part of the character development is completely swept under the rug for both Scanlan AND those around him. Pivotal moments in the campaign have been honored in TLOVM, even with shifts in them (the arrows in Ripley's heart and mouth, Keyleth stands up to Raishan, "My heart is yours"), but when the defining campaign moment is Scanlan's, it's completely changed. I simply think this is too far outside of the original intent and character beat to pretend it's honoring the moment.

So, yeah, I really don’t care if Scanlan just goes down instead of gets fully resurrected. Or that the fire plain and the trek to the city of Dis is combined into one journey. Those are just plot points.

What gets me is that these character beats, the meat and heart of the story, are getting shifted dramatically and not in ways that I feel are aiding the narrative.

ALL THAT SAID, this is going to sound a lot more negative and hatery than I really feel. This post is mostly of summation of criticisms, when there were of course, many highlights in the season. TLOVM continues to be a beautiful, well done show and would not keep getting renewed if it was a flop. But there are certainly things that I think could be done better.

[insteading]

So, I'm newish to fandom, right? Though I'm not new to being obsessed about particular shows, my last rounds of obsession came when the blogosphere was still a thing, and that's where my blathering about it in the tags energy went.

I get that "Positive feedback only on art and fic" is a way of extending support to artists and writers who make things for free! (I also have ascertained that we don't have the same norms for meta / nonfiction, which I find fascinating AF. Is it that meta's commitments are more explicitly intellectual, and that we therefore expect and accept a level of critique we wouldn't where fic and art are concerned?)

The caveat I've been seeing "Except where racism is concerned-- we call out racism ..."

We don't. Not universally, not consistently. And I'm going to bet calling out racism when that calling out actually happens is a comparatively new fandom norm, and there are some people who dismiss it as a form of moralism. My point here is:

Fandom norms aren't eternal, and (this is my blogosphere training talking)

Re: "ship and let ship," you like what you like, but what you like is culturally influenced. Subtracting the wrinkles from someone you're drawing comes from somewhere (and it's not always "I'm drawing an AU in which these guys met in high school"). Drawing someone as skinnier than they are comes from somewhere. (I'm thin. The number of times IRL someone has attempted to force-team me into bonding over snarking on someone for their fatness is substantial and not cute.)

The norm of "If you don't like it, use the back button" means if I nope out of your fic in chapter 7 because I just read a sentence in which Stede's eyes are blue, and that has been a pretty reliable proxy for racism, you will never know why I stopped engaging. You won't know that I stopped reading because your Ed can't read-- a detail that you think is canonical but that has been disproven multiple times in the show. You might think life intervened. No. I have three hours of commuting and a ridiculous amount of reading time. If I didn't finish a fic there is a reason why. Maybe you're happier not knowing it. Meanwhile I'm thinking: if we were actually friends, I would be working up the courage to talk to you about it, because Blogosphere Years Ago I promised that I would not let pointing out racism, fatphobia, ableism be the sole responsibility of POC, fat people, and people with disabilities.

I get that it's stressful to be called out. Hell, it's stressful to say "I have a problem with this" too! But I've also seen people do absolute master classes in responding to a gentle callout without defensiveness, and with changed behavior, and it made me better at in-person conflict to witness. One of my blogosphere lessons is: Preferring harmony over growth isn't neutral. It's culturally white, and it has costs (mostly to the people who don't share the cultural positioning of the majority).

So yeah: part of what makes me sad about the back button norm is that I think it reinforces a producer / consumer relationship between writers and readers. If I can't tell you when I've got a problem with something, and you can't tell me when you've got a problem with something, that's a hard limit on the extent to which we can know each other. (Also: because I write meta rather than fic, it is absolutely within tumblr norms for you to tell me my take is bad, even if it's not within fandom norms for me to say "I love this fic except for X.") And as someone who made enduring IRL friendships from my blogosphere days, I find that a bit saddening.

[percheduphere]

I wanted to find and gather some lesser appreciated Mobius moments from S1, and some thoughts occurred to me.

When we see Mobius drill into Loki about his choices, his thought patterns, whether or not he enjoys hurting people, Mobius comes down on Loki HARD, cruelly, goading, and manipulating (Sound familiar? Just wait...). He does so in a way that's confident he will get the answers he expects from Loki, which he does.

When we cut to the scenes with Renslayer, Mobius's truer, gentler side appears. The side that is kind and soft and believes in second chances. Notice, also, the difference in lighting between these scenes.

And then it hit me:

Mobius was using a carefully constructed persona--an illusion--with Loki to control the situation and get Loki into the headspace of self-reflection. He uses the very same technique Loki uses regularly to get the outcome that is beneficial for both of them.

Genius, really.

As we move into S1E2 and E3, the power dynamics are decidedly uneven, but once they are out in the field, Mobius's actual power and control over Loki is quite limited and actually banks on a LOT of faith. A ridiculous amount of faith, to be honest. Despite logical misgivings, Mobius makes a POINT of giving Loki freedom and trust because he has analyzed Loki enough to know that lack of trust perpetuates a destructive self-fulfilling prophecy.

So when Loki chooses to escape with Sylvie, all those centuries of belief and good will Mobius invested in him were thrown in his face. He's understandably furious, but the interrogation scene after both Lokis are captured simply does not read as normal without the additional lens of jealousy. If Mobius were not emotionally compromised in some way, he would have handled the interrogation clinically, and he would have sent Loki to be pruned without a thought.

Mobius doesn't do either of those things. Rather than asking Loki objective questions, he focuses on Loki's attention on Sylvie and verbally twists the knife where he can. His punishment for Loki after the interrogation is shockingly personal:

A word about the Sif loop scene: I really, REALLY hated that Mobius did that. It honestly made my gut churn. I think the writers tried to play it off for laughs because Loki gets kicked in the balls repeatedly, but the emotional undercurrent of Sif's words and everything that it means is just awful.

That said, I understand that this scene reveals not only Loki's vulnerability but ALSO Mobius's. This is a "passionate diagreement" through proxy. Mobius knows what would hurt Loki the most psychologically. But why would Mobius choose to hurt him this severely with these specific words?

Remember, this might be a memory, but Mobius is choosing to speak his feelings to Loki through Sif.

I think the answer is 4-pronged: First, Mobius put his career, reputation, and friendship with Ravonna on the line for Loki. The stress of the potential repercussions (which were HIGH) should Loki betray him was a constant heat on his neck. Despite this, Mobius chooses the riskier route of believing Loki would not betray his trust. And yes, within the context of what Mobius has done to advocate for Loki and what's at stake for Mobius should he fail, Loki absolutely betrays him.

Second, Loki told Mobius everything he believed about the TVA and his place in the multiverse is a lie. When was the last time Mobius reacted so violently?

When Brad called him a "nowhere man".

Mind, there is guilt beneath this anger. Not only has everything Mobius believed in been revealed as a lie, it is revealed he was complicit in the genocide of multiple timelines for which there was never any ultimate good. YIKES. That's a lot to take in, and Mobius at his core is a deeply empathetic person. The guilt of this horror, at his hands, is probably why Mobius does not defend himself when Sylvie tears him a new one in S2E4.

Three, I think Mobius may have wished for a friendship with Loki long before his intervention. I've written elsewhere that his intervention appears to be premeditated. Mobius was only waiting for his chance to come along. Who knows how many centuries that took. I believe he may have rationalized away his emotional attachment as a means to help the TVA succeed. Mobius is adept at suppressing not only his emotions but his wants.

Four, by S1E3, Mobius came to love Loki to some degree, platonic or otherwise. I think it's very difficult to not develop love for someone or something you've been tasked to be an expert on. Having Loki actually beside him, engaging with him over lunch and work, no doubt added some much needed color in Mobius's life. It's hard not to become infatuated with someone fun and exciting.

The jealous rage that overwhelms Mobius doesn't last long. When it comes down to it, Mobius can't help but believe in Loki. Doubt in the TVA takes root once his immediate anger dissipates. So Mobius steals Ravonna's TemPad, verifies Loki's claims, and immediately self-corrects. Mobius could have dug his heels in with more denial, but he doesn't. Why? Because Mobius ultimately cares more about Loki than himself.

When Mobius returns to Loki, he asks a few other questions that I can't share images for because of the 10-image limit. Those other questions include but are not limited to:

Do you care about Sylvie?

Do you really believe you deserve to be alone?

I should point out these questions are not at all tied to the well-being of the TVA or the multiverse. They are specifically tied to Loki's well-being. Loki's happinness.

Why does Mobius ask these questions? Because, in my opinion, Mobius was preparing himself to let Loki go, be with who he wants to be with (Sylvie), and fight the battle he wants to fight. Mobius will not be the obstruction to Loki's path to personal success even if that means letting go of the TVA, letting go of Ravonna, letting go of Loki himself.

All of this is a selfless act of love. What kind of love that is is up to the viewer, but it is very much there. It's real and integral to the story.

Classic Loki points out that this is a high cost. In response, Mobius takes the crux of his belief in Loki and directs it to himself.

The beauty of the goodbye scene in S1S6 is that the emotional thrust of selfless love is echoed and amplified in Loki's own self-sacrifice in S2E6. Loki lets go of the TVA, lets go of Sylvie, lets go of Mobius himself. Ouroboros.

[violet-1atte]

Kinktober Day Twenty-Six: Masturbation - Jisung/Minho

Tags: Fingering, getting caught, roommates, voyeurism

AO3 Link

When Jisung had first learned that he was going to get a new roommate for the next semester, he was a little nervous. He had been rooming with Chan for the past year and now he had graduated, so Jisung was left to find a new roommate. Chan thankfully knew of someone who was just a year below him and in need of a roommate so Jisung agreed they could room together. He felt a little less nervous after knowing he would be with someone who Chan knew because he trusted the elder with his life, even though he had an atrocious sleep schedule. 

What he hadn’t expected was for Chan’s friend to be so hot . Lee Minho. The hottest man Jisung had ever laid eyes on. He was a walking wet dream. When he walked in the door, Jisung nearly got on his knees right then and there. He had a perfectly sculpted face–high cheekbones, a perfect nose, and a jawline one could cut marble with–and a rosebud pink mouth, and eyes that pierced through Jisung’s soul. He was clearly well built, with hard lines of muscle and prominent veins going up from his hands to his forearms. Jisung wanted to bite him. 

Not only was he hot, but he was also the funniest–albeit weirdest–and sweetest person he had ever met. He took care of him, cooked for him, and he loved cats, and put up with all of his rants about random topics that didn’t even make sense half the time. Jisung was a weak man and Minho seemed to hit all of his weaknesses square on the nose. He wanted him in every way possible, but as far as he knew, Minho wasn’t interested, even when their friendship got to the point of hanging out with each other at every waking moment. His friends said he was in denial, but he informed them that they were reading into things. 

An unfortunate outcome of living with a man who looked like he was straight out of a kdrama and had also made his way into Jisung’s life as his best friend was the incessant horniness. He had never gotten off so much in his entire life. He burned with shame every time he thought about Minho like that–above him, touching him, kissing him, fucking him . But his need always overrode the shame and he ended up touching himself to those thoughts anyway, coming with loud cries of Minho’s name. 

And that’s where he found himself one evening after Minho had left to go to his evening class. They shared a bedroom so Jisung always waited for him to be gone from their apartment or he got himself off quickly in the shower. Now he had a whole hour of free time and he wasn’t going to pass it up. 

Minho had looked especially good that day. When Jisung was crawling out of bed with messed up hair, Minho was returning from the gym, wearing nothing but some baggy shorts and a tight black tank top. His arms were bulging with muscle and his veins were even more prominent from his recent workout. And then he showered and left the bathroom with only a towel on, and Jisung nearly died right then and there. Somehow, he continued to look progressively more attractive even as he got dressed, putting on a lavender turtleneck that hugged his arms and torso and made him look so pretty he could have cried. It was too much. 

So now Jisung was here, two fingers deep in his ass, lube dripping down his thighs from the ridiculous amount he had used. Next to him on the bed was a dildo, one big enough to make him sore the next day. His chest was pressed against the bed, ass in the air, and he muffled his moans against the bed as he pumped his fingers in and out of himself. He imagined his finger’s were Minho’s. They could probably reach so much deeper than his did. Jisung’s fingers never did enough, but he knew just by the amount of times he had stared at Minho’s hands that he would be able to fill him up so well with those alone. 

He slipped in a third finger after a moment, moaning out a whiny, “Minho,” as he did so. He imagined Minho behind him, holding his waist, digging his fingers into his soft, sensitive skin. He imagined Minho calling him pretty as he stuffed his hole with three fingers and pressed them against his prostate. Jisung’s body jerked at the mere thought. 

He spread his fingers and mewled at the stretch. It was good but it wasn’t enough . He needed more, needed it desperately. He needed Minho’s touch, Minho’s cock. 

“Please, please, fuck me,” he whimpered helplessly against the sheets. No one responded, but he had an active imagination. He could almost hear Minho, his overly sweet, teasing voice echoing inside his head. “So desperate and needy, hm? You really need my cock that bad, jagi?” 

Jisung moaned and nodded. He pumped his fingers inside himself a couple times and gasped when he just barely brushed against his prostate. “Yes, Minho-hyung, I need you so bad .” He bit his lip as he began to push his pinky finger against his rim to fill himself up with four fingers. The stretch burned a bit but it wasn’t his first time doing it. He let himself adjust for a moment before his began fucking himself like that. 

The stretch felt good but he couldn’t get deep enough. He let out a huff of frustration and removed his fingers. He was stretched enough. He could take the dildo now. It wasn’t a real cock but he could close his eyes and pretend it was Minho he was riding. 

He positioned himself on his knees and placed the dildo against his hole. He bit his lip as he began to sink down on it and a whimper caught in his throat. It stretched his hole more than even his four fingers could and by the time he’d fully sat on it he was already breathless. He raised him on shaky legs and then dropped his hips. His mouth fell open in a moan and he closed his eyes, letting the pleasure warming his stomach take over his senses. He imagined Minho in front of him, holding his hips as he rode him. He imagined him kissing his neck, praising him with his soft lips pressed against him. Jisung shuddered. 

“ Hyungg ,” he whined. A drop of sweat ran down his face. “Minho, Minho.” Minho’s name spilled from his mouth like a desperate prayer. He wanted him so bad it hurt. He was so fucking desperate, so needy. He needed Minho. Minho, Minho, Minho. 

He was so lost in the pleasure twisting in his stomach and filling his head with a pleasant buzz that he didn’t notice the sound of the front door opening. He didn’t hear the footsteps approaching the door, or the creak of the door as it opened. His own moans and Minho’s name were the only sounds his ears registered. That was until the subject of his fantasies started to speak, clearly not paying much attention either. 

“So apparently my professor canceled class and decided to just not tell, so I went all the way–oh shit.” 

Jisung’s eyes shot open and he snapped his head to the side to see Minho standing in the doorway, completely frozen in shock. His bag slipped from his hand. Jisung stopped all his movement and then rushed to move off the dildo and pull a pillow over his lap. 

“Hyung!” he exclaimed, cheeks aflame. “I-I thought you were going to be gone.” 

“I was!” Minho said back, his voice cracking. “I’m so sorry I–” he paused and his eyebrows furrowed. “Were you saying my name?”

Jisung’s stomach sank. Oh fuck . Minho had just seen him getting himself off. While saying his name . And he heard . He felt tears spring to his eyes and his entire body burned. “I–I’m so sorry, hyung. I was—I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d hear. Oh no, now you’re uncomfortable. I’m so so sorry , you must be so disgusted, I can leave. I’m so sorry, Minho-hyung.” He didn’t even realize he had started crying until he saw the droplets begin to fall onto his pillow. He buried his face into his hands as his chest heaved with a sob. 

“What? No– no , Jisung-ah, stop that, don’t cry. Shit.” Suddenly Minho was beside him and he was immediately enveloped in his scent, which somehow managed to comfort him even in this situation. “I’m not disgusted at all–really jagi, I promise. Hey come on, look at me.” 

Jisung hesitantly removed his hands from his face and tilted his head up to look at Minho. He didn’t look disgusted with him at all. In fact, Jisung couldn’t even read his facial expression. But he didn’t look upset. 

“There you are,” Minho said softly. He cupped Jisung’s cheeks and brushed his tears away. “I promise I’m not upset at all. Quite the opposite.” 

Jisung wasn’t sure his brain was working properly. “Huh?”

“You really are so dense,” Minho huffed, but there was no bite behind his words. “I’m not disgusted because I like you, Jisungie. In fact I’m kind of ecstatic that you were just getting off saying my name. I’d be hard right now if you weren’t crying.” 

Jisung’s eyes went comically wide and his jaw dropped. “You–you– what? ” he gasped eloquently. “You’re not disgusted? And you like me too? Please tell me I’m not dreaming, hyung.” 

Instead of responding, Minho pulled his face closer and pressed his lips to his. Jisung squeaked but quickly melted into the kiss. He closed his eyes and committed to memory every detail–the softness of Minho’s lips, the taste of his chapstick, the smell of his cologne filling his lungs, the gentle touch of his hands on his cheeks. He never wanted to forget this. 

When Minho pulled away, Jisung stared at him, starstruck. “That give you enough of an answer?” he asked with a playful smirk. 

“Oh my gosh,” Jisung breathed. “Holy shit. Wow.”

“Yeah, so… You’ve got nothing to worry about. I didn’t mind one bit.” Minho smiled and Jisung felt a blush creeping up his cheeks. 

“Ugh, that’s still so embarrassing though…” he whined. “I can’t believe you walked in on me like that.” 

“Nothing to be embarrassed about, jagi,” Minho said softly. Jisung felt a chill run up his spine. “Actually…you know… I wouldn’t mind if you finished. There’s definitely more I want to do to you now that our feelings are out in the open, but I liked what I saw. And I kinda want to watch.” 

Jisung’s blood rushed south so fast he felt almost dizzy. Arousal pooled in his stomach and he licked his lips. “I think–I think I could do that,” he said bashfully. Minho grinned and Jisung’s stomach swooped. 

“Yeah? How bout I sit back then while you touch yourself. Then I’ll touch you more if you’re still up for it.” 

Jisung nodded quickly, his arousal already making thinking difficult. “Yes, yeah. Sounds good. Can you um–can you kiss me again first? Please?” 

“Of course my Jisungie,” Minho said with a sweet smile. Jisung’s heart nearly melted.

Minho grabbed his jaw and directed him to tilt his head so he could slot their lips together. Jisung moaned against his mouth as he squeezed his jaw and Minho slipped his tongue inside. Jisung couldn’t hold back his whimpers and Minho swallowed down every one of them as he kissed him deep. So deep. And with more passion and feeling than Jisung had ever experienced in a kiss. It was like he poured all his feelings into a single searing kiss and it was almost too much. 

When Minho pulled away, Jisung was back to full hardness again. Minho smiled at him and pecked his lips once more. “Good?” he asked. 

“Mhm, perfect,” Jisung mumbled. Minho moved back and Jisung hesitantly removed the pillow from his lap. He swallowed thickly at the weight of Minho’s gaze on him as he went to pick up his dildo again and grabbed the lube. His hands shook as he uncapped the bottle and squirted a decent amount onto the silicon. 

“Wh-what do you want me to do, hyung-ah?” he asked, his voice small. 

“Just touch yourself like you were before. I wanna see how you make yourself feel good while you think about me.” Jisung shuddered and nodded. He considered for a second that maybe Minho wanted to observe him to see what he liked. And that made him burn hotter. 

He positioned the dildo underneath himself like he had before and carefully sank down. He was still fully stretched but that didn’t take away from the pleasurable feeling of getting stuffed full again. He squeezed his eyes shut as he lowered his ass down until he bottomed out. He let out a shaky sigh that bordered on a moan as he let himself adjust. He heard Minho shuffling and then he spoke up. 

“Want you to open your eyes, jagiyah,” he said. “I want you to look at me.” 

Jisung inhaled and opened his eyes. Seeing Minho was like a punch to the gut in the best way, because how had he already gotten so worked up? He was just as red as Jisung probably was, maybe even redder, and he was looking at Jisung like he could eat him. “Hyung,” he whined and Minho licked his lips, going to palm himself through his pants. 

“Come on, Jisung-ah. I know you must be worked up. So go on. Be a good boy and fuck yourself on your dildo for me,” he instructed. A knot tightened in Jisung’s stomach and he let out an obscene moan at just his words. Fuck.

“O-okay,” he whimpered. He grabbed hold of the base of the dildo and lifted his hip so that he could begin fucking down onto it. It was so much easier to imagine it was Minho’s cock with him right there, watching him with hooded eyes. Still, he couldn’t wait until it was the real thing. He needed to feel Minho, hot and pulsing inside of him. 

His thighs quivered as he slammed back down on the dildo and tilted it just right so that it hit his prostate. The knot in his stomach tightened and he let out a strangled moan. “Mm-Minho-yah,” he moaned, his mouth going slack. Minho started undoing his belt and slipped his hand into his pants, and in response Jisung picked up his pace. He was so desperate from not getting his release before Minho came in and now with Minho actually there everything felt so much more intense. 

“How’s it feel?” Minho asked and Jisung could hear the strain in his voice. 

Jisung’s breath hitched and his hole clenched around the dildo. “F-feels soo good, nghh, just wan’ it to be your c-cock,” he hiccuped. Minho hissed and the sound made him feel giddy. 

“Fuck, Jisung. You’ll get my cock, I want to fuck you so bad. Make yourself come first though. Then I’ll take care of you so well, my sweet boy,” he promised. 

Jisung nodded vigorously and put more focus into coming. His thighs burned but he still bounced on the fake cock with as much energy as he could muster. He tried to thrust up to meet the rolls of his hips but it was a bit difficult with the angle. He needed more.

He took in a shuddering breath and wrapped his free hand around his cock as he fucked himself on the dildo. His needy moans, keens, and sighs filled the room. Precum dripped down his cock in little droplets which made the slide of his hand easier but it was also a little embarrassing that he was turned on so much. Luckily, Minho didn’t seem to mind, especially with how his eyes moved to the motion of Jisung’s hand over his dick. 

His orgasm was steadily approaching as he continued touching himself. Pleasure curled in his stomach at the combined stimulation and when he looked over at Minho again his mind reeled. His heated gaze scorched Jisung’s skin. He wanted him so badly it hurt. 

“ Please , Minho-hyung, please, I need to come,” he whimpered. His cheeks burned and he knew he probably looked like a disheveled mess, but Minho was still staring at him like he was the epitome of beauty and sex. He’d never felt so wanted. 

“Come for me, jagi,” Minho said, his voice rough. Jisung wanted to hear it over and over again. 

The pleasure melting Jisung’s insides built up quicker than he anticipated. His moans became more frequent and in between each sound he muttered, “Minho, Minho, Minho.” Minho held his gaze the whole time, his hand moving over his cock in his pants in time with Jisung’s thrusts. And when Minho moaned softly with one particular twist of his wrist, the knot in Jisung’s stomach came undone. “Ohhh f-fuckk , hyung!” Jisung exclaimed. His jaw dropped and he choked on a moan as his hole spasmed around the dildo and his cock spilled cum all over his hand. The corners of his vision went black for a second and he shook like a leaf throughout the entire thing. His orgasm wracked his entire body and it felt like he was coming for ages, even if it had only been a few seconds. Minho’s eyes never left him. 

When he was completely finished, Jisung let out a soft groan and crumpled up on the bed from exhaustion. Holy shit.

“Goodness, Jisung-ah. My Jisungie.” Minho got up from where he had been watching and moved to Jisung’s side. He brushed Jisung’s sweaty hair out of his face and cupped his heated cheek. “That was so fucking hot. Shit, you’re so hot. I loved that. Did you, love?” 

“Mhmm,” Jisung nodded softly, a warm feeling spreading through his chest at the nickname. “I did. Was so good, hyungie.”

“I’m glad.” He brushed his thumb over Jisung’s lip and he took it into his mouth. He swirled the tongue around the digit and Minho inhaled sharply. Jisung couldn’t help but smirk. 

“Are you up for more?” Minho asked for a moment. Jisung’s heart stuttered in his chest and he swallowed. Getting to have Minho like this was going to take some getting used to. 

“Yes, please,” he said eagerly. “Just let me rest for a minute and then you can fuck me for real. Please.” 

Minho grinned and leaned down to press a soft kiss to his lips. “I can’t wait.”

[leftneb]

okay final thoughts on the collision because I've had time to think it over properly now

TLDR;

the contact itself was caused by max

they both had to be driving aggressively (=racing) for it to happen

stirring personal drama and/or refusing to admit to fault is ridiculous (and I'm including the media in this)

I. max moves off the racing line to block lando from taking the inside line

this move makes sense, max is trying to prevent an overtake

it also means that he's left the racing line open

II. lando takes the outside line in turn

it's important to consider WHY he does this here, lando at this point has 2 options

option 1 -> follow behind max on the inside this option makes no sense, no sensible racing driver would willingly file behind their opponent, that would be handing max the lead here, lando isn't about to roll over

option 2 -> stay on the outside with this he wouldn't neccessarily be able to overtake max, but he can keep the pace

natually lando went with the 2nd option. from then on (if max had kept the inside line, which was a sensible assumption to make considering their positions) I can imagine this going 2 ways

-> lando keeps off the breaks and runs wide he likely would not have made this mistake

-> lando takes the outside line, untimately stays behind or wheel-to-wheel with max this creates an opportunity for an overtake later on

with those possibilites in mind all lando has to do is: not fuck it up

he IS absolutely taking a risk here, but again, to run a good race you HAVE to take those risks, you HAVE to see the opportunities that are presented to you and HAVE to atleast try taking them. otherwise why race?

III. max takes an unusual line instead of staying on the inside

this is the direct cause of the collision

generally speaking when you take a line you're expected to stay on it

max here is driving almost erratically, he veers off the line he was taking a moment ago, even moving after he started breaking into the turn. this is almost completely illogical

it does NOT line up with what lando would have been expecting, if max had seen that lando was already at his side I highly doubt he would have drove off his line, but appearantly that wasn't the case

you could excuse this by saying that max just didn't see lando at this point (which I think might be true, though we can't know that for sure without a statement from him) but you have to consider just how WEIRD this move is

max blocked lando from taking the inside line - which leaves lando the outside - and then tried going back on the racing line - which lando already took (logically so)

this leaves lando to either run himself off the track to prevent the collision, or to not move at all. I think it would be within reason to assume lando could not have predicted max basically driving into him instead of staying on his line and (even more importantly) leaving lando the space

IV. they collide

max basically set them on the collision course, yes lando took a risk by the outside as quickly as he did, but not doing so would have left him out of the battle. the contact required both drivers to make risky decisions in the heat of the moment. but ultimately it was max who caused the incident, putting lando out of the race entirely

I also went over the other overtakes/attempts in my previous analysis

about their statements post-race

I've actually changed my mind (a bit) about this since yesterday

first of all, lando's statements are getting MASSIVELY exaggerated by the media and fans, often being paraphrased to implying he'd end his friendship with max outright

he did not say that. what he DID say was

"depends what he says. if he says he did nothing wrong then I lose a lot of respect for that. if he admits to being a bit stupid and running into me - being a little reckless in a way - then I'd have a small amount of respect for him."

even though the interviewer included the term "friendship" in their original question, lando wasn't talking about that

I'd also like to point out (and this is the most important bit IMO) that interviewers and the media in general try to stir up drama and conflict, partially through getting reactions out of the drivers, on purpose.

don't ever forget that they put these interviews right after races, when the tensions are still high and they haven't had a real opportunity to debrief yet. after getting his race ended (a race he could have WON, regardless of whether he was driving fair or reckless before) obviously he's going to be a bit pissed about it. I think he gave a relatively fair statement

I don't think conflating friendship with their on-track rivalry is particularly healthy (I don't think I have to elaborate on why we've all seen alpine) but that's obviously not my (or anyone's) place to say whether either lando or max is handling their interpersonal relationships right

as for max's denial of responsibility, I think he's just plain wrong. but again, he was interviewed at a time when he would have still been emotional (though this shows up differently for him than it does for lando, which is why people have such varying reactions to it) for max that means he's not yet thinking completely rationally, every driver denies their fault at first

KEEP IN MIND that this is all just my opinion and I am by no means a mind reader. and that I very likely missed some things or interpreted them in a way that was comfortable for me despite trying my best to stay unbiased.

[agirlwholovesrockstars]

don't you forget about me

☆ EDDIE MUNSON'S MASTERLIST ☆

❣ AGATHA'S MAIN PAGE ❣

๑ Summary : will you be true to your word that you won't forget about Eddie when both of you stood on your ground with your hopes and dreams succeeded?

๑ Word Count : idk if y'all like longer fics, but I'm just eyeballing it on the right amount, I'm so excited for this one hehe

๑ Warnings : 18+ Songwriter!Eddie Munson x Popstar!FEM!reader, cursing, use of y/n, highschool classmates, set in modern era (but with 80's aesthetics) Eddie is (21), reader is (20), Eddie is also very shy doesn't know how to express he feels but he cares, reader is jittery and rambles when she's nervous! VERY CUTE! I promise :))

๑ What to Expect : friends to lovers, unrequited feelings, FLUFF! this can be slightly awkward but I am a woman of my word it would be absolutely adorable!

๑ Note To Reader : I just had this idea that Eddie and reader while reunite after so many years later and they both can't handle that their friendship has never changed! it's still pretty rock solid! 😭🫶🏻✨

๑ Author Note : I worship John Hughes films, so, you know the drill! 😉 and um- sorry if I'm bringing myself some of my fics in this but the beginning happened to me in real life, so, yes, I miss that specific person (yeah the same guy that had a crush on for 10 fucking years 😃👍🏻) I haven't seen him since 2018 👀

"Stop- what are you doing?!" you said to him while having a breathy laugh

He smirks as he looks at you within his eyelashes as he tries to hold you still while writing something down on the back of your hand

"Eddie, this is ridiculous" you say to him as you shook your head sideways but a fond smile is sitting on your lips as you glanced at your back a bunch of students are hollering in excitement for the school year end because knowing damn well that whatever he is written down on your hand it will not stay, it would be easily removed once you took a bath when you get home

But, you don't mind it anyways, you smile at him as you watch him curiously as you can see his lips muttering different words under his breath as he writes

"You're the one who is being ridiculous" he says to you not looking at your eyes yet

You chuckle at his reply as you playfully roll your eyes at him

"There" he says as he brings back the cap of his blue ballpen, you heard it with a click

You bring your hand close to your face as you read what it says

"Don't let anyone else stop you for following your dream"

you lightly giggle when some of the words are not aligned as it goes wonky down on the back of your hand but still it's nice and you liked it

"Don't forget about me when you get famous with your singing career" he leans forward to get close to you, so, you could hear him clearly

The hallways are filled with whooping and screaming in excitement of students that are cheering for the school year end, Eddie chortled at the sight of it

You missed the way he looks at you

You raised your head as you flash him a sweet adoring smile as you nod

You shyly taken a back from his words of encouragement that really meant true as you judge by his tone

You snort "Okay, Eddie"

A smile tugs to his lips as he leans his back on the railing as he spoke again "I mean it, Y/N"

You look back at him and you directly look into his eyes

"Just don't ever forget about me, okay?"

It's very heartwarming to you that he is so kind "Of course, I will never forget about you, Eddie"

How would you ever forget Eddie Munson?

When he's the only one guy in your school campus who is so respectful towards you?

That was 2016, nine years ago

You've been classmates since 7th grade and even though you don't both have the same section from 8th grade and 9th grade

You still see each other and interacted a little

You kinda wish that he was still your classmates all those years

Sometimes, though, you winced at the memories when you're with him, you cringe at it at how you make things weird and awkward

You hate it when you get all so jumpy and nervous around him, I mean- it's just Eddie but the problem is that he doesn't know that you just realized it back in 8th grade that you finally figured it out that you developed feelings for him

You both weren't exactly close

Yeah, both of you tease each other and make fun and silly jokes sometimes

Yes, you both have a few conversations and slightly deeper talks about both of your families when your teacher on P.E class partnered the both of you together for the dance project

That's the only time that you ever both talked real to each other

That little moment, until now is still vivid to you

But still, you're not that close to him

He was just a good friend or maybe just a good classmate that you had

You encountered him again back in 2018 when both of your paths crossed while being on the escalators

You noticed him first but before you call out to him, you made sure that it was him because you moved on to another school after 9th grade, so, pretty much something's have changed but him?

He never did, he is still stylish as ever and so are you

But of course, both of you grew up

You're now already looking at him and you expect him to notice you, so, you didn't do anything at first and when you both finally met in the middle of the escalator and he is still doesn't saw you on the other side and he is mere inches close to you and you're too fucking shy to call his name out, you tried to tap on the handles to make a sound but no to avail, as you had no choice but to say his name

"Eddie!"

He whipped his head around the second you call him

He smiles and leans back forward as the both of you stare at each other

You shyly wave at him as you duck your head down to look at where you're going

From the corner of your eye, you saw him reached at the end of the escalator, his eyes still locked on you

But goddamn, it's 2024, you're 20 and he's 21

Both of you are college students now

Your feelings for him remained the same way and all of the crushes that you had from elementary to highschool

He's the only one ever to take over your heart this long

So long that sometimes, you wonder, if you try to confess it, so, it will be all over

But isn't that embarrassing? since well....

You haven't seen him since what?!? 2018???

2018 was the last time you ever saw him

You also haven't talked to him for years

Besides, seeing him on his Instagram profile but that doesn't count

But you did some risky stuff and you made such a big deal out of it because you're too overreacting with your giddy feelings for him

Like for instance

You complimented him on his Instagram stories in 2021 and he only heart reacted on it

You greeted him on his birthday for the first time ever in 2022 (you're wishing that he won't find it weird that you know his birthday and you hoped that he still remembers that he also wrote on your slambook back in 7th grade, that's why you knew) you also send your pictures with him from the field trip that you both had in 8th grade

And that right there, you received a message

A message that is so short but so endearing and it really means a lot to you

He says that he is sorry for not reaching out to you after all of those years passed and he is glad that you hadn't changed ever since then and he appreciates and he is so grateful for the highschool memories that you both had together

Even it's just a short amount of period at that time

2023, you greeted him again on his birthday but he only said thank you

You kinda hoped that he'll message you

But, girl- thank god that you aware of the term called "reality check" because why would he message you all of the sudden since that you both didn't knew very well

You sigh in hopelessly romantic manner wishing that he'll talk to you someday

Yeah, a smile grows on your lips all the time when you always receive a notification that he likes your posts

Damn, only a notification from him already lightens up your day

How fucking great, that's how pathetic it is

"5 minutes then you're good to go!"

Okay, fast forward from your train of thoughts, right- you got a show to run

You're a popstar now and you made it like you always wanted to be

Despite, everyone from your school bullies tries to pull you down

Eddie

Eddie is the only one who believed in you and supported you all the way even both of your lives are different now than before

While in the autograph signing table

"You're such an inspiration!" A young girl said as she beams up as she watches you sign up of your portraits photograph

"Thank you so much, sweetie! I'm very happy to hear that, did you had fun?"

She aggressively nods as she starts bopping up and down on her heels in excitement, you chuckled at that and you gave back the signed picture of yours to her as she gives you huge smile as she takes her leave

You didn't noticed the next person as you start signing

"As you walk on by, will you call my name?"

The sound of the person's voice is too unreal for you to hear and to register of what you just heard as you paused on what you're doing as you slowly raise your head up at the person who is standing in front of the table across from you as you gasp that you thought you're not going to see him again after 2018

But, now, here, he is finally once again

You've always dreamed about this

You've always wanted this to happen

It's unbelievable

You know that face and voice and that iconic smirk on him as you take him in

"Eddie?" You're still gasping in shock as you cupped your mouth in surprise as you look around you and your eyes are twinkling as he looks down on you in adoration and now the other fans that are waiting in line are getting curious and they flash you a smile as they relished and witness the reunion of the both of you

He grins as he nods as he shoved his hands onto his pockets "Ah- she remembers me!" You giggled to his classic antics

He hasn't changed

You could hear everyone who is asking, the buzzing "who is he?" "omg- they knew each other?!?" "wait- maybe he is the guy from her songs!"

You're too overwhelmed from all of this that you almost forget that you have to sign all of the pictures

You motion for him to lean down as you say "Can you wait for me backstage?"

He smiles "Yeah, sweetheart- I'll meet you there"

You sheepishly smile at him again as you gave him access that made everyone eyes goes wild, the crowd seems to go nuts over it

And by that the following question had been like this

"Who is the lucky guy?"

"Why is he getting the special treatment?"

"Is he your boyfriend?"

You don't give them all the personal information from your life and all the details but you confirmed that he is the guy from your songs and you love how your fans squealed and get thrilled from this

After an hour, the show is over and you bid goodbye to your fans and thank them for attending, you stretch your arms out and massage your neck as you exhale as you headed into the backstage

"Y/N's a star now" he leans his back on the wall as he smiles at you

He says the moment you moved the curtains on the side as you snort at his comment

You went into the small comfort room as you change your clothes into much more relaxing attire

"Hey, Eddie, I hope you didn't get bored for waiting"

"Nah, I don't mind it- sweets"

Once you get dressed, you open the door, so, you can talk to each other as you start to remove your makeup with a cotton pad as you double cleanse with rinsing it thoroughly

He watches you put a tinted lip balm on your lips, he swallows as he hangs his head low for a while

You groan at the hairstyle that you had earlier but you absolutely loved it getting all glammed up but you're just so tired and wanting to get this everything off so you can get to rest

Both of you kept talking but you didn't notice how he looks at you and watches your every move from removing the pins and hair ties from your hair from brushing it and you let your hair down as you grab your shoulder bag

He is so entranced by you like as you do too

Only if he knew

And only if you knew

His daze has cut off the time when you're literally now in front of him, he snapped out of it when he tries to recall of what you just asked him

"Do you want to walk outside?"

"Y-Yeah sure, come on, let's go"

You told your crew that you'll be back and you look out for them and always saying thank you for getting the job done

The walk was.....pleasing....but too quiet for you

It seems like Eddie can read your thoughts as he finally spoke up

"How many years had passed?"

A knowing smile is showing onto your features as you glanced at him

"9 years"

He raises both of his eyebrows "Damn" as he chuckles in disbelief

"Yeah" the smile still lingers on your lips

"Did you get to do it?"

"Do what?"

"Your band? Corroded Coffin?"

There's a glint on his eyes as he stops to his tracks as he stares at you for a moment

"What?" You ask him in confusion

"Nothing, it's just- you still remember that?" He tilts his head at you as he squints his eyes

"Well, of course! you told me not to forget about you, right?"

"You're always true to your word, sweetheart, I like that for you"

You both sat down on the bench in front of the fountain as you watch random kids playing

He sighs but he notices that you're awaiting for his answer as you quirk an eyebrow at him as he snorts

"Uh, no- Jeff, Gareth and Me, played for 4 to 5 years, I think? We had a blast but I realized that being a rockstar, it's not for me permanently"

"But, I thought you always wanted to be rockstar"

"Yeah, well, we got a record deal for a while-"

"What?!? Really?!?"

He chuckles to your excitement as you turn your whole body facing to him

"Yup, and we- uh- did a little tour here and there but, it just felt like that's not what I was looking for" he shrugs as he looks down as he starts to fidget his rings

You notice that, you always do, it's his nervous habit, you smile at him sadly

"How about Jeff and Gareth?"

"They got all their own ambitions and all of us took the same thing and we agree to not totally disband but, maybe, someday I don't know in the future, we'll get back to where we started"

You nod at him in understanding "I still feel superior to be one of the very first audience" you smirk

He whips his around at you at that and he blinks slowly like he just had a flashback

Yeah, if he's supportive to you and so do you

"the most loud cheerier ever, I gotta say" he laughs as you facepalmed as you can remember all of it

"So, what do you do now?"

"Uh, I'm a songwriter"

You react in delightful way and he chuckles at your face that you make

Both of you reminiscence your highschool memories as both of you look back at it

"Y/N, you-"

"Yeah?"

He hesitates for a few seconds as he chuckles as he dismissive his hand at you

"It's getting late" he says as he clears his throat

Your smile slightly falls as you glanced on your watch

It's been 2 in half hours

"I guess, we better get going then"

You both stand up as he walk you through the parking lot

You dig your nails through your palms as you think twice if you should tell him right away how you really feel about him

You can't chicken out now

You're not a kid anymore, you can take the rejection and well....

At least you tried, so, it will bring you peace

You've been fighting for your whole life not to ask him before, it's plaguing every year passed

Only a few more steps, you can sight your van

You took a deep breath, you know you'll make a rambling mess out of a speech but you don't care

"Eddie" you say as you turn around to look at him

He raises his head the moment you call his name

You walked closer to him as he looks at you as he waits for you to speak

"I know this is going to sound so out of place but uh- I have feelings for you since we we're 7th grade, I didn't know that I had it since I just suddenly realized it when we we're in 8th grade and ever since then and now I still have it for almost 10 years and it's okay, you don't have to-"

"I know"

You're stunned, you can't function to speak anymore

"I-I'm sorry?"

"I know and I'm aware of it"

He can't just say that to you like it was nothing

You're definitely screaming inside to this mind-blowing revelation

Your cheeks starts to glowing red as you feel all bashful to his gaze

Your eyes suddenly can't manage the hold to look in his anymore

"Even before?" You whisper as you wrap your arms to yourself

He's now the one who moves towards you

You're appalled and you didn't even noticed that your mouth is hanging agape as you shut it and swallow

"How did you find out?" You ask without looking at his eyes

He runs his tongue over his lips "from Gareth, and you know him he's got a big mouth and all that"

You close your eyes in humiliation as you bite down your lip

Fuck

You shouldn't have been talking to him or giving a clue

But, sometimes though, you give hints when you're having a conversation with him

Gareth, somehow, finds the missing puzzles and figures it all out

Traitor

You couldn't stand here and you feel ashamed of what you just did, my god, what are you thinking?

"Listen, uh- it's good to see you, I gotta go" you say as your drag your heels to walk away from him as fast as your feet can take you

But, he reaches out and holds your wrist making you stop

"Y/N, don't go"

"Why?"

"Because-" he sighs as he runs his fingers through his hair

"I'm no expert in showcasing my feelings, okay? I-I'm shy"

Your entire discomfort of being flustered has completely washed away

You find it amusing, well, Eddie has always been shy but really???

There's nothing to be mousy about when he's with you

"You're shy?" You echoed what he just said as you pursed your lips together

He scratches the back of his neck as he clicks his tongue as he nods his head slowly

You exhale "Well, fuck- Eddie, I'm shy too! I can't even blurt it out loud of what I've been carrying for what?!? 10 years?!?"

You start pacing back and forth in front of him as he breathes through his nose

"See, Eddie, I've always liked you, okay? or maybe I took your kindness way out of line" you throw hands up

He gave you that doe eye look and you avoid looking at it as you continue rambling at him

"I can't even comprehend why? Why am I still clinging onto you for all these years? I hate that you still made me swoon over you and make me feel things!"

His mouth starts to slowly hanging open to your subtle confession

"You know what's unbelievable to me? Is that you don't know me and I don't know anything about you but still it feels like I knew you even though we don't talk a lot back then and it hurts, it hurts that you're so big-hearted and it pains me that you're just so mellow person" your voice cracks and that's where the time the water works starts to fill up in your eyes

You sniffle as you quickly wipe your tears from your cheeks "You're the only guy that has ever been so nice to me, the only who cared, the only one who hasn't changed towards me since highschool, I don't even know what's the reason why"

He is still remains silent, probably still processing every information that you just told him

His eyes softens and his heart is begging to leap forward outside of his chest

"Y/N" he holds your forearm softly as he runs his thumbs over it, you shivered from his touch

"Have you ever wondered why I still don't have a girl beside me?"

He is still single?!? What?!?

You gulped as you look at him with hopeful eyes and tear-stained cheeks

He smiles down at you as you scrunch up your face in a shameful way that you don't like him to see you crying like this

Oh

That's right

You haven't seen anyone with him since elementary or highschool

He had a couple of silly crushes that you heard from your classmates before but still

You don't saw anyone else with him

And that alone made you think a lot since Eddie is not an asshole, it's mind-boggling

You're still in denial that you might think he has the same feelings for you

As if

"Eddie- I think you're a great human being, anyone is lucky to have you"

He chuckles slightly as you dodged his point

"I didn't date because why?"

You take all the courage that's left inside of you as you look at him

"You already have my heart, darling"

Your eyes flutters to his admission, your heartbeats faster that it might burst any second

He likes you?!?

"A-Are you sure? I don't u-understand- why didn't you m-make a move before?" You stuttered, your voice sounds so small and it makes his heartache

"I was a coward" he pulls you closer to him your eyes widen but you melt to his touch

"W-What about the messages that I sent you? Does that mean anything to you?" A sprinkle of insecurity is showing through your tone and he catches it, he reassures you that it means a lot to him

He grins at the birthday wishes that you make before

"I appreciate them all, I-I just didn't know how to express it in there, so, when I found out that you're have a show in here, maybe it's time to take it to the next level, it feels it's the right thing to do in person"

He embraces you for the first time and the only time that you ever became this much closer to him, you feel his warmth enveloping you his arms surrounding you in the most cozy way possible, you sigh in content as you squeeze him

"Feel better?" He asks as he still holds you tightly

"Yes" you whisper softly as you smile against his chest inhaling on his scent, it's intoxicating

The moment you pushed yourself away from him, you slipped on the thin ice as his reflexes are fast enough to catch you before you can hit the icy cold ground

You gasp as your eyes goes everywhere to his face as you held on him to stabilize you to get back up on your feet

He's so mere inches close, his eyes sparkle as he stares at you

He slowly lifts you back on, both of you didn't break eye contact

He can't help himself as his hand crawls at your waist to flush your body against his, you fight for your breath for the idea that he's about to do

His eyes flits through your eyes and to your lips, he goes for it as you close your eyes as you kissed him back

"Is it too late?" The smugness is radiating off of him when you chase his lips to peck on it

"I think we both waited on the right time" you say as you kissed his cheek

His cheeks blooms red as he dramatically freaked out as you let out a fit of giggles

"I'm relieved that you're patient to finally let me get out of my shell"

"Oh, be thankful that I have a wide patience or else I'll fucking lose it"

He laughs as he rest his forehead against yours

"You're the most perfect girl ever"

You smile brightly "And you're the most perfect boy ever"

Your crew call out to you saying that you have interview tomorrow morning

"Be with me?"

"Forever?"

You snort as you elbowed him as he catches you off guard pressing another kiss to your lips

"I love you, Y/N- you have absolutely no idea"

彡★

[drpsychobabble]

2024 Anime List - The Good

Let it be known that assembling this one, even when I'm saving up for a Special List, was quite difficult. So I had to repeatedly break my completely arbitrary rules to allow myself to talk about this year's many shows that gave me a significant amount of enjoyment.

11. The Fable / The Elusive Samurai

Since I'm already cheating right from the start, I'll be brief.

The Fable is a show I found fascinating because the first episode kept me guessing about what was the tone. Mostly because it was very dry in delivery, which could work for a serious drama. But the show makes it work wonders for comedy as well.

Finding out that Ryosuke Takahashi was directing quickly cemented my decision to keep up with the show, and I was not disappointed. Sure, the visuals are not the best. Sometimes things look off model, and the limited action isn't the flashiest or most fluid. But the show knows what it's doing and hits every seriously ridiculous situation right where it should be.

A story about a dedicated Hitman piecing together a humanity through his multiple encounters with a normal daily life (and sometimes not so normal).

And then there's The Elusive Samurai, which surprised me despite the identifying badge of being a Shonen Jump title.

The production manages to use various tools to create unique moments that stand out visually, producing that world that is on the borderline with pure fantasy while remaining historical fiction.

I always favor historical fiction so it did not take much for this show to attract my attention. Since the wait for more is going to take a while, it's likely that I'll switch to the manga. But at the very least I'm happy I gave the anime a shot.

10. Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF / Kinnikuman Perfect Origin arc

A bizarre pairing but both of the shows are deserving of that position right on the edge, where I want to talk a little bit about them.

For most people who could care a Spice and Wolf show did not offer much at all, probably. They had already seen the original back in the 'aughts. However it happens that I had not. So not only I benefited from the new production, I also enjoyed a story that was new to me.

And so I did. It is a story that is nowadays very unusual among the many other seasonal shows. Episodic, low on action, quiet. The heart and soul of the show are scenes of conversation and that is fantastic.

The back and forth between the titular Spice and Wolf feels unusual for anime, a more mature interaction that isn't as charged with expected fan-service appeal. Through it the mystery of Holo unfolds little by little, as we take the perspective of the patient Lawrence who is ready to listen to her but won't push her to explain anything.

Studio Passione did a decent job with the show's appearance, perhaps containing their worst tendencies to over-exaggerate some things.

And then.

After hearing the news that a new Kinnikuman show was arriving, I realized that... Kinnikuman had continued. Due to the dub version of Nisei annoying me as it was the dub of the American adaptation, I always avoided that sequel. But I was glad to find out that the creative duo Yudetamago had also taken into consideration the Nisei dead-end and started an increasingly divergent path that continued the story from the end of the original Kinnikuman manga. So, of course, I re-read the whole thing.

Kinnikuman is a thing that is very much the true spirit of Shonen Jump. A shameless sequence of exciting nonsense full of dumb gags and constant retcons. At one point the villains steal the heroes' friendship, which was stored inside a box. It's brilliant.

However it's also very casually racist. Characters like Ramenman live between being admirable and a cartoonish parody of a Chinese person. Geronimo has an incredible story about aspiring to be a superhero while being a normal human, but also he's a cartoonish parody of an Apache (maybe, doubt the authors originally thought about which tribe is he actually from). Brocken Jr dresses up like his nazi father.

I would call it a very childish way to portray other people that could fly easily in the 70s and early 80s. It's there and it's part of the lifeblood of the series, so I have to do the due diligence and mention it.

Perfect Origin Arc started in the 2010s, so at the very least I expect more sensitivity out of it. The anime at the very least adjusted Brocken Jr's uniform so it looked less like... what it is.

I enjoyed the show quite a bit because it managed to provide me with more of the original manga's nonsense and fun surprises. Completely ridiculous characters figuring out how to fight other completely ridiculous characters is simply Just Fun. I'm not particularly into wrestling but this is when I can understand the fans of that the most.

The arc also brings back the Devil Chojin, something I could appreciate more because I had recently done the re-read. And it makes all of them shine.

Poor Buffaloman rejoins the Devil Chojin but has to pretend to be fully into their camp since he is still clearly a Justice Chojin to the core.

I await the next season so I can be surprised by even more unexpected reversals and crazy tricks and powers.

9. The dangers in my heart s2

I will keep repeating how I'm vulnerable to starting something with a negative impression and then the impression turning around. My appreciation always overcompensates. This series benefits greatly from it because not only it manages to grow past the initial awful premise, but also it makes "growing up" a core theme.

The way the series deals with the protagonist slowly maturing and realizing he is put me in mind of, specifically, a couple of novels I really liked in my youth. Vasconcelos' "My Sweet Orange Tree" and its direct sequel "Let's Warm Up The Sun" (my own attempt at awkward translation for that one). Both follow the lonely thoughts of a child growing up in modest poverty and later on adopted by a wealthier family but still in disconnect with his peers and himself as he goes through adolescence. The self-centered perspective and extreme drama it creates echoes in all works as we can easily place this in the "coming of age" category.

But the series offers me another favorite: a dual perspective in a romance. Not only we remain in Ichitaka Kyotaro's head, we can also spy from the very beginning that Yamada Anna's behavior accuses her own inner feelings about the world in general but also about this classmate of hers that she happens to find herself interested in. Even though she is the more demonstrative of the two regarding her feelings, she still keeps as much as Kyotaro bottled up. Her fears and anxieties are always at the bursting point. And that's where he can understand her and offer the reassurance that he himself has isolated from.

The anime improves on the manga with ease, rearranging each episode to keep a consistent theme and the satisfying beat of taking a step forward in the path to growing up.

It's also -really funny. so there's also that.

8. Astro Note

In this position I'm playing favorites to explain why I placed this show so high. For one it's an Original. But the other side of that coin is the obvious inspiration in Maison Ikkoku and generally the romcoms of the late 80s.

Astro Note is a show that probably flew under most radars since it's not exactly easy to grasp what it is doing. It's hard not to just compare it to "a Rumiko Takahashi remix" given the already mentioned main inspiration for the romantic comedy aspects, but also the sci-fi components bring forth an Urusei Yatsura quality.

The cast of tenants in the titular Astro Note lodging is quite colorful and entertaining, each of them providing their own brand of silliness to spice up the dynamics in the house.

The two-faced idol, who provides some musical bits and drunken slob comedy.

The jobless salaryman and his precocious child who not only open the path to a story about adoption and the love of a found family, but also explores the child's interest in reflecting about their gender identity. The fact that the overly concerned father agrees to let them experiment but only at home and that compromise is seen as not enough is an interesting and unexpected path to explore. It doesn't take up a lot of the show's run time but I liked seeing it.

Then there's the elderly resident who laments the passing former Manager and dear friend.

And the extremely shy girl who slowly left her room to find that the man she loved had moved in.

The main couple is formed between a chef seeking a place to belong and an alien princess who is only there to find a token from her galactic kingdom that would allow her to inherit according to the strict customs that keep her from exploring her newfound pleasure in experimenting things for herself. Namely: food.

It is simply a pleasant and fun romance with a solid and exciting conclusion.

7. Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

With a name like that it was simply impossible for me not to watch this show.

As someone who has consumed many a romcom back in the day, I recognized a pattern in my behavior that kept making me root for the most obvious "losing heroines". Those characters that have an honest interest in the protagonist and try their best to break their shell and appeal. But ultimately fall to the fateful power of The Main Heroine

So, how about a show where -all the heroines are losing heroines-? A collection of notable weirdo losers that completely fail to grab the attention of the people they like. Not through a fault of their own but rather because they are too late to act, too slow to openly reveal their feelings.

To accompany them on this ride we have the Tepid Water of Protagonists, Nukumizu. We are obviously expecting him to pick up the pieces and end up with any one of these losers. But Nukumizu's role in the story is mainly to be a companion first to these girls who are Going Through It. From his own cowardice and slowness to act or reflect on his feelings Nukumizu prioritizes offering a shoulder for them to lean on as they are rejected.

Another very enjoyable aspect of the show is the Literature Club activities which allow us to peer into the world of those people who publish their stories to Absolutely Not Shosetsuka Ni Narou. A collection of web novel / light novel gags and parodies keep providing funny gags and mild critiques of the space this story itself shares.

Another strong point that should not go unmentioned is the show's visual style. The moody palette really makes the show stand out above the rest. Though it also puts their full effort into... honestly unnecessary fanservice scenes. This show feels better than *that*. But ah well, it's there.

I hope the show returns soon.

6. Mayonaka Punch

From the dead of night, good morning! Mayonaka PUNCH!

A completely unexpected original show with a very fun premise that deals with a glamorous but mundane thing while also incorporating fantasy concepts largely for comedy's sake.

Masaki is a youtuber, in trade and in essence. She's always thinking about new ideas for videos and doing her best to execute them at the best of her ability, editing and all. However this makes her a very tense person, as she's constantly faced with the unpredictable whims and cruelty of the internet. Which comes to a boil when her frustration turns a casual argument into a shouting match and, finally... She ends up punching her partners live on stream. The girls she had been friends with and working with for years turn their backs on her, dropping her as fast as they could to get rid of the weight of the public perception as a toxic person.

But when she's at her lowest point she runs into... a vampire! Called Live! And she REALLY wants to taste Masaki's blood. But she needs her consent. So Masaki has a condition. Live will help her launch a new youtube channel... and if they hit 1 million subscribers... She can be Live's meal.

This is the basic premise and it doesn't stray much further from this. The introduction of Live's mansion and the other vampires that live with her extend the cast and introduces more fun personalities to work stories with. Episodes slowly show the channel's development but also a couple focus on the other vampires and their very vampire-like way of suffering tragedy. A stand out episode devotes to Fu, the shy one in the group, who is invited to sing for the show but declines the chance. And this makes the others learn about a chance she missed to be able to do music with another woman, stopped by her concern about being found out as a vampire if she stepped on the limelight. But that very essence is what allows her to forever keep thinking about that partner she betrayed.

A very funny, very energetic show, that still manages to hit key emotional beats with ease.

5. Puniru is a Kawaii slime

Lately I end up gravitating towards shows that have some of the energy from 80s or 90s shows far more than more current ones.

Luckily for me those seem to be proliferating.

Puniru is a Corocoro show, which means it's aiming for a younger audience than the average Shonen Jump and etc series. As it's sometimes said, it's "peepee poopoo humor". And sometimes the simplest humor just hits best.

The show shines by having a cast of All Idiots who are constantly acting dumb in their own special ways.

Our Kawaii protagonist (not the slime) is suffering from growing pains and is overly concerned about revealing his personal preference for cutesy things, instead trying very hard to appear "cool" in front of his crush. This is however a partial lie because he actually doesn't try very hard at anything. We have a Nobita who thinks highly of himself in comparison to his companion but does absolutely nothing deserving of attention or recognition.

Meanwhile the titular Puniru is the archetype of the Nosy Annoying Character. Puniru proudly proclaims their cuteness at every possible opportunity. They simply cannot believe they could be considered to be not cute. And most of the world definitely agrees... but not Kotaro. Puniru wants him to admit it as he used to when he was younger. Puniru is, also and by the way, a slime. Mixing some borax and laundry starch we somehow ended up creating life. Their form is very flexible and quite sticky. This also allows Puniru to mix in additional ingredients to perform a transformation into various shapes and costumes... As long as they are Cute.

We round up the cast by having...

Mami, the love interest, who has a deep love for performing the role of a mother. She needs to be in jail.

Nanpa! Initially thought to be a sort of PUA type, Nanpa is not a playboy. He's a play boy (I completely stole this equivalent wordplay from someone else, but it's perfect). Nanpa is completely committed to enjoying youthful passions to the extreme. He doesn't think about how old he is, he just loves to have fun with his toys and children's card games.

Alice fulfills the spot of the haughty rich kid, but her loneliness comes forth clearly in all her actions. She is dedicated to making the friend she imagined in childhood into a worldwide appreciated mascot just like her dad's company's Kyuthi-chan (essentially Hello Kitty). Seeing Puniru she also wishes her Runrune was alive, which ends up in her personal maid creating a simple toy robot Runrune who disappoints her by proving to be Just A Toy.

That robot who later gets a separate name, Runru, seems to have a plot cooking up...

In short, it's a very silly show with very fun visual gags that are only mildly gross in their sliminess.

4. Ranma 1/2 (2024) / Urusei Yatsura season 2 (2024)

How am I writing about two mega classics of manga and anime showing up in 2024? How is it possible that my first favorite series is back and once again shining as bright as it could?

It's not like this list isn't just my personal bias from start to finish, but this entry is definitely the most biased of all. Rumiko Takahashi's works have been with me for almost 30 years.

The year started with the last of the new Urusei Yatsura. Colorful and energetic, it properly represented the dynamism in Takahashi's pages. Some people were at odds regarding the stories chosen, but I had a blast with all the hijinks regardless. It seemed to give Ryunosuke as much time as possible which felt like a hint that Ranma might happen later... And, SURPRISE!

I can't say much else about UY that isn't just describing. Explosive comedy of horrible people being horrible with occasional moments of emotional sincerity.

I expected the show to end in the Fate Doors arc as it is a proper capstone for the spirit of the series: "Ataru does love Lum but he just wants to play around". But they did end in the very final arc which had the grandiose feel of a movie.

Ranma, it's just Ranma. Eye opening at the time in many ways, it's still at its core a very funny series about a bunch of horrible people being amusingly horrible. The Takahashi formula of comedy never fails!

Childish Ranma butts heads with the equally stubborn Akane while the swirling spirit of martial arts chaos envelops them. The ever expanding cast only adds more and more characters to yell more and louder.

The new show brought back the original anime's cast back and the growth in their voices is palpable. With hindsight they are able to enhance the things that matter most, so we're getting a Ranma that plays the emotional beats with a much richer depth than the first time around.

I hope the show fuels a new generation's fantasies and once again illuminates how much of gender is purely performative.

3. Oshi no Ko season 2

The show's first season was my number one for 2023.

By the time I'm writing the list the manga has been over for some months. And it was an ending I found quite unsatisfying.

But I don't believe the diminished position is connected to that and it's simply that my preferences found other things to focus on.

Because this second season was absolutely fantastic. The theater play arc is likely my favorite one in all of the manga, and the anime made it shine while taking into account the irony of an adaptation playing the story of an adaptation.

The cast of actors get to show off their different acting philosophies while the production meets trouble after trouble because of adaptation woes and later on from the author of the original work directly.

That this all connects to the first season's brief Drama arc only makes things better. The bonds between Akane and Kana shine through as they shift from rivals to admirer and idol and back to rivals, professionally and romantically.

The plot at large also continues as the arc wraps up but foreknowledge prevents me from enjoying those parts as much as I could if I counted on ignorance.

Despite the disappointment I do want to keep watching how the show handles the rest of the story.

2. Dungeon Meshi

And talking about adaptations... here's another one that knocks it out of the park. Studio Trigger keeps doing their best work when they have help from outside writers. And Ryoko Kui served them a magnificent story to work with.

In years where dozens of series about fantasy worlds with game mechanics flood the pages and screens, Dungeon Meshi does the same thing but in a different universe of quality entirely. The gaming inspirations for the setting and mechanics are clear, but the author makes everything their own by being completely earnest.

The theme of "meals" is woven incredibly well through the entire story, connecting all the characters little by little as they can all join the same "table" and share the same food.

An excellent cast of characters with plenty of depth and full backstories help the show keep its feet on the ground at all times.

And, of course, the comedy glues everything together and keeps it as Fun as it could be.

Hopefully next year I'll be able to write more about why I love this story so much, when a second season ends the show.

1. Brave Bang Bravern

There was no way for this show not to be my number one.

Bravern is a show that was custom made for me.

It plays both ends of the mecha spectrum, with the military tragedy on one side and the BRAVE heroism on the other.

It's a comedy. It's a romance.

It's simply beautiful.

Masami Obari worked on this project and tried to play a prank on the audience by making it seem that the show was going to be -just- the military side. And nearing the end of the episode I was quite pleased with how things were going! But as the end was approaching BRAVERN! arrived and completely changed everything. In a few seconds the discombobulated Isami was riding inside the colorful talking hero robot, teaming up to save the world against an alien threat.

The name quite clearly shows that Bravern is inspired by the many shows in the Brave series that Obari worked on through the years.

And to add to that the companionship between the human and robot turns to straight up romance, as Bravern is openly fixated on Isami. This creates a tiny romantic triangle as fellow pilot Smith was also smitten with Isami's bravery in the military exercise they shared before the invading alien forces hit the planet.

The family circle expands when Smith finds a strange young girl who only talks in "beeps" (GAGA PIII!) and was being used by the invading robots as a disposable battery for enhanced power. Smith ends up taking care of her and she gets to quickly grow up and becomes part of the team of two dads, an additional robot dad and one robot uncle.

Blow by blow Isami and Smith find an understanding and Isami also manages to do the same for Bravern, all of their bonds growing ever closer.

A subtle but very ingenious component is naming the invaders "Death Drives", which helps create a very psychoanalytic tale (even more material to appeal to my very specific tastes).

The show simply has it all and it remains the most fun I've ever had with a weekly series in the entire year.

Well, that's it. Go home!

A "special" list is forthcoming Soon (tm).

[di-daynamic]

@hinnymicrofic

September Prompts Day 21: Murderous

Harry was the Man Who Conquered. The Head Auror.

And he had never faced a situation quite so tense.

Ginny fixed him with a murderous gaze before slowly moving her eyes to her brother. “Which of you was it,” she said in a low, dangerous voice that typically preceded hexes, most likely the Bat-Bogey variety. “I want the truth. Now.”

Harry was used to making decisions on the fly, but this was ridiculous.

“Answer the question, boys,” Hermione said disapprovingly, perching on the couch, her book closed for once.

Harry made an executive decision.

“It was Ron,” he threw his best mate under the bus with no small amount of remorse.

“Harry!” Ron cried out in betrayal as both women honed in on him with murderous gazes and flared nostrils akin to bloodthirsty hellhounds (he ought to know; he had a case related to them not two months ago).

“Did you do it, Ron?” Ginny asked, now very calmly. Somehow, this was worse than the angry tone. Hermione was fingering her wand as she stood up, also very calmly.

Harry loved his girlfriend and best friend. He really, really did.

He was just also extremely scared of them, as any sane person would be.

“I cannot believe this,” Hermione intoned lowly. “From you of all people. I would’ve expected this kind of impulsivity and short-sightedness from Harry—”

“Hey,” Harry cut in broodingly, because doing suicidal reckless things was kind of in his nature, but shut up when Ginny raised an eyebrow.

“But not from you,” Hermione shook her head sadly, ignoring Harry completely, which he was grateful for, but also a little offended by. “How could you?”

“Hermione, c’mon, I didn’t mean to do it!” Ron cried out desperately, confirming his guilt and sealing his fate.

Then he proved just how little Harry’s friendship meant to him.

“Harry was the one who brought it up, anyway.”

“Ron,” Harry said hoarsely, disbelievingly, as the girls’ murderous looks were trained once again on him.

“You started it, mate,” Ron shook his head sadly too, proving he spent far too much time with Hermione.

“Harry,” Ginny said slowly. “Did you bring up the party to Mum?” Hermione stared at him incredulously.

Harry saw his life flash before his eyes.

He could lie to the press, the whole world, his coworkers, the Weasleys, even Ron and Hermione and Teddy, but he couldn’t lie to Ginny.

He took a deep breath. Steeled himself.

“Yes. I did.”

“How could you?” Ginny whispered. Harry could swear there were tears in her eyes, but Ginny Weasley never cried. “Do you realize what this means for us, Harry? What the next three months of our life are going to be like?”

“I know,” Harry nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Hermione sighed. “Of course you didn’t,” she murmured.

Ron made an indignant noise. “Why is it when Harry’s to blame you two go all soft and when I am you look murderous?” He complained.

The girls threw scathing looks at him. “We haven’t forgotten that you’re the one who dealt the final blow, brother,” Ginny said threateningly.

Ron gulped and shut up, because he had a sense of self-preservation.

“I’m sorry,” Harry repeated, because despite how ridiculous it sounded, he could display some self-preservation too. Occasionally.

“I know you are,” Ginny said soothingly, murderous expression disappearing, as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. Hermione sighed and sheathed her wand.

“I hope you know we’re leaving all the work to you,” Hermione informed them.

Harry and Ron blanched, exchanging looks.

“We know nothing about party planning,” Ron said flatly.

“Well, you should’ve thought of that before promising Mum our help,” Ginny smiled, showing all her teeth. “Unless you’d like to also be the one to tell her we can’t.”

Harry would, quite frankly, rather face Voldemort again.

Ever since the extended Weasley family (which consisted of most of the Order and the DA along with the actual blood family) had started marrying and having children, getting together on days such as Christmas and birthdays had become nigh impossible.

Mr. Weasley had discovered the American holiday of Thanksgiving, and his wife had decided that was the one day every single person of their acquaintance would sequester themselves in the Burrow and celebrate.

It was the most exclusive event of the year, according to Witch Weekly, and Mrs. Weasley’s mania regarding it exceeded even her grief after the war and the craziness of her children’s weddings.

And Harry and Ron had just promised to help her plan and organize it, something the others took literal vacations to avoid (George and Angelina were currently in Botswana; Percy, Audrey and Oliver were pretending to be sick while definitely not being so; Bill, Fleur and Victoire had escaped to France; Neville was apparently swamped with work at the office while Harry knew he was tending to plants in his terrarium all day; Teddy had suddenly started throwing tantrums with destructive accidental magic again according to Andromeda; Kingsley was assigning himself paperwork, which was truly desperate).

“We’ll do the work,” Harry said defeatedly, Ron nodding morosely beside him.

Nothing for it, after all.

Ginny smiled and kissed him, which made his outlook a lot more positive.

She was worth the entire world.

Even spending his days buried in invitations, letters from various great-aunts and fifth and sixth cousins, gifts, catering orders and décor options.

[ivebeattheoddsbefore]

@suchamessiputoutflames

[Ben. He and I had been friends since college. That was the sort of friendship that rarely lasted. Usually once college ends, you gradually lose touch with those people who once meant the world to you. Especially from the guys' perspective of things. Guys were terrible at keeping in touch. Ben though... We couldn't shake each other, and after years continued to pass, we found that we didn't want to. After leaving Pennsylvania for LA in order to join the police academy and ultimately become a police officer, it was Ben who supported me. Don't get me wrong, he told me "I was completely out of my mind, and that midlife crisis' usually look more like a weird hairstyle, an earring, or buying a car I neither need nor want. They usually aren't in the form of a completely ridiculous career change at forty." He was right, but it didn't deter me either. He may not have understood it, but he continued to support me; even letting me crash indefinitely at his pool house, and sometimes the main house too, when he was on his lengthy business trips. He was a great friend. One who's back I would always have, like he's always had mine, which is probably why I reluctantly agreed to this blind date he allegedly set me up on, even though dating was the last thing I had on my mind] "John, you're in a rut. You haven't dated since the divorce. Sarah is already remarried, so if you feel guilty about dating, don't. It's time. Past time, if you ask me. You're not getting any younger, so it's time to find the one." [I didn't necessarily agree, but I respected his perspective on the situation nonetheless] "She's beautiful, seems nice, and when I did a background check on her, she checked out all the important boxes." [I shook my head in response. Leave it to Ben to run a background check on a woman he wants to set me up with. The police officer in me would let that go in one ear and out the other though. Ultimately I agreed. Not because I wanted to go on this blind date, because I didn't, but because I knew if I didn't agree, Ben would never drop it. Ben went out of town for his next business trip, and as promised, I went to this blind date. Found myself at the highly demanded table that Ben requested when he placed the reservation; sipping on a drink while waiting for "Bailey" to arrive. Problem was, she never did. Yes, I waited there an embarrassing and pathetic amount of time before finally throwing in the towel and leaving. Mind you, that wasn't before I heard my waiter, one of the bus boys, and even the restaurant manager asking me if I thought she showed up, saw me, and left. Oh yeah, that's one to wound the pride for sure. It was worse though once Lucy and Jackson found out, since they made a point to tell everyone else; leading them to also tease me that she probably showed up, saw me, and left] Great, guys. Thanks for the vote of confidence. [I said flatly and without humor as we proceeded with the morning meeting and would commence with the start of this day. Ben was expected back at some point today from his business trip, so I'd be sure to give him an earful in person once I was home later this evening. Nope. Never again would I let him set me up on a blind date. Rut or not, I'd find my own dates from here on out. I thought to myself as morning meeting ended, and Nyla and I left, so we could get started with what I expected would turn out to be a busy day on patrol]

[stevie-petey]

hello your honour (m), me and my partner, val @southelroy would like to take this opportunity to defend our client, one steven marie harrington. we intend to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that his behaviour and actions are born from a place of genuine trauma, that his intentions, while marred in teen angst, are clear, and finally, that his bearing is better than certain past, shall we say........bonds.......cough johnathan cough.

idk how longer i can keep this bit going, but seriously, guys c'mon cut the guy a break, all steve and bug have been doing since midway season 1 is drive their car to struggle citadel and pray at its pews. Also m this season is so crazy delicious i will get into singing your praises in a minute, after i prove my case with evidence. thank you.

firstly, i'd like to establish a baseline from which we can work upwards from. frankly, steve clears. he has been worshipping the ground bug walks on since the day he saw her, and he made clear his high regard of her the moment he got to develop some sort of friendship/relationship with him. even just taking these last three chapters, the amount of outward steve shows bug, completely unabashedly, is ridiculous. it was the most physical, outward admiration bug has gotten out of her peers, aka, the teen boys her age. I'd like to point to one moment in particular, "You exhale deeply, wrapping your arms around his body, and Steve nuzzles his face into your neck and presses a gentle kiss there.". This parallel to johnathan and bug ending their closeness at the end of season 2, as well as the phone call/car ride johnathan takes in season 3, posits steve as the new "love interest", the new What-if/maybe of bug's love life. However, his romantic intentions are much more straightforward than johnathan's ever were. The end of season 2, he very clearly stated that he wanted to, eventually, be in a relationship with bug, that he would need some time before it happened, and bug understood this, and agreed to it. This is drastically different from Not Talking About It for years on end. I would argue that bug herself knows, at least to some extent, steve's feelings for her. She certainly knows the care he feels for her, "You know he doesn’t want to scare you, that he’s always trying to make things easier for you, so you tilt your head at him and nod slightly; you want him to tell you." The ease with which they kiss each other's cheeks is an openness bug did not experience in season 1, especially when shit with nancy and johnathan started becoming #real #deep. there is a certainty that is present in these interactions that bug and johnathan did not have until they were literally doing a friend break up.

Now that we've established the evidence of steve's background, i'd like to move the jury to view evidence of motive, with your permission your honour (hi m <3). As stated in the opening statement, bug and steve are getting stamps on that struggle card like their featured on tlc classic, extreme couponing, and baby they are making cashback! Bug's daddy issues are well documented, as are steve's. In fact, they are so well established, that the defense would like to claim that throwing a gren@de at mr. harrington's car would be an all round net positive to society. We know that steve thinks highly of bug, including post spring summer of '85, and that while they have moved past it, o would argue that a fear of abandonment is not unfounded in the young man's mind, particularly when his own self image is currently being shredded by a medieval torture device known as mr. harrington. Steve is being beaten down, it sounds like quite frequently, "He hadn’t turned into who had expected to become, something that you know his father reminds him of every time he comes back from some business trip. ", and it's showing in his relationship(?) with bug, "Steve leans into your kisses and smiles at the praise, relieved that you don’t think he’s some idiot." We see this when he rants to robin in episdoe 1, he is an, ultimately, scared and insecure teen, who is getting requited affection for the first time in a long time, from a person whom he deeply respects, admires, and holds dear in his heart, and, unfortunately, was unable to maintain a relationship with him during the beginning of their friendship. I ask you, the court, were we not understanding of bug then? Could we not see the place where she came from? While we disagree with her actions, did we not see the ultimate place she was coming from? Surely we can extend that grace to mr. harrington.

I'd like to perhaps bring in a new angle, that steve and bug's tiff at the end of episode 3 is not their fault expressly. We know bug has a giant guilt complex that makes my religious background look carefree. We know she has a very real fear of having a relationship pass you, due to someone whose name rhymes with bonathan, and is perhaps more sensitive to being strung along than she otherwise would be. We know steve's battling daddy issues, a need to prove himself with a great opportunity right in his lap, and a fear of relationships changing because of someone noticing his inadequacy (very incheresting to me that he's relieved that bug doesn't think he's an idiot.........he's my unmedicated undiagnosed adhd baby.....we're twins in that sense. also in the sense that we like women :P), which could happen when they are in a full blown relationship. Him not knowing how to ask bug out is valid, he's on a new man journey of shedding his old self off, he feels like he's batting way out of his league (he is), and he has a girl who fell out of love with him on his scoreboard, and a girl who used to be in an intense codependent friendship with a boy who is now currently dating said ex. That is a situation to be in!

While me and my partner understand bug's frustrations and empathise fully, and make clear our support of her, we only ask the jury lay the blame not at our defendant steve's feet, but rather the circumstances that have brought them here. And if they really want a target, feel free to aim towards one johnathan byers and mr. harrington, local triple f, (flop failure father).

The defense would now like to play offence. Johnathan, what the hell are you even doing here???? Get out of our family's business! What in the good lord's name are you doing ringing up a girl's number in the dead of the night??? The one you were a hair's breadth away from dating if you hadn't strung her along for a marathon length of time at that???? And then venting YOUR relationship problems, the very relationship you strung her along for, about a girl you left her for!!! The audacity of mr byers!!! While we understand this to be an affront to Ms. Henderson, we posit this is an affront to Ms. Wheeler as well. We ask you, the jury, how comfortable YOU would feel if the guy you were dating, told HIS ex best friend-turned-complicated-situation-turned now friends with boundaries all about your relationship problems while driving around at night, a deeply date like activity? While you may posture and say "oh, well, if it's a girl like Bug!". Girls..... That would make it worse. AS IT SHOULD! We maintain this isn't bug's fault as it isn't her relationship to protect, but mr. byers!

Okay we rest our case.

M, I apologise for this stupid essay above, but omg omgo omg omgogkogmogmgomgm I am EATING!!!!! YOU ATE!!!!!! This was so crazy delivious yummy!!!! Love love love the way steve and bug are interacting, all the casual affection has me giggling and kicking my feet like they're everything hehehehe. All the cheek kisses are so so so cute and making me crave affection like a motherfucker. All the flirting vibes between them is driving me up the wall...."So you admit you're flirting with me?" BITCH! I MIGHT BE!!! I am cheesinggggg. I remember you said that season 4 is going to be stug struggle era and my stomach is in knots already becasue the brief glimpse of unhappiness they experienced at the end of episode 3 made me want to cut my heart out of my chest, you have made them too lovable i fear.

SPeaking of cutting my heart out of my chest, may i say, you served with robin. Like. The struggle of being a closeted person really hit well. Not to get heavy, but the crushing weight of it was so subtly put into robin, it got to me alot. "She hates that you’re purposely excluding her and taking Steve’s side in this. You wish you could tell her the truth." This genuinely is sooooo fvnnvbvknsnbfe. I want to shake her through the screen like girl do NOT fall for your friend whose attracted to boys that is NOT a situation that ends well and you will NOT leave unscathed!! It felt like a lot like high school, when its a big thing you have no one else to tell, and there's too much at stake to say it. and omg. this part, "When Robin sees his wink, she only clenches her jaw and turns away before releasing your hand.". Devestating. If I were robin, i would have had a crush on both bug and steve and witnessed carousel kissy face gate, it would have turned me into the joker, i would have no choice but to pull the nastiest stunt this small town has ever seen. I feel absolutely awful for her, and it makes me kinder to my younger self. Just, omg, really excellent work.

Apologies for the length of this, but just on a final note, i really wanted to say thank you for writing this great story. it's been a tough couple of years, and my brain has gotten worse on me and i really have a lot of trouble concentrating on anything, including things i enjoy, and your story is one of the few guaranteed things i know i can sit down for and fully because i know i will love every minute of it. Wishing you luck and love wherever you go and always rooting for you <3!!

u bringing up bug abandoning steve first ,,, oh ur so right and i WILL be addressing that (steve finally asks for the entire reason ,,,, trust)

and ur so right about how grim of a situation it is. steve and bug reflect the hurt nancy and jon gave onto them. steve is afraid of being lead on again and not being enough (nancy lied about loving him and he wasnt enough in the end). bug is afraid that love itself isnt enough, that theres more than just loving one another that goes into a relationship (jon loved her and yet in the end it wasnt enough).

both babies are hurt :((((

LEAVE JON ALONE THO MANS NEEDED TO VENT TO HIS BESTIE AND BUG WAS ENTIRELY OK WITH THIS !!! SHE NEEDED TO VENT AS WELL !!! (nancy wont be ok with it tho lmao)

and im happy everyone is loving robin <333 i have a cute and sweet scene planned between her and bug later that im so excited to share :')

the final part of your ask, im so so so happy my story means that much to you and i am sending you a million kisses my love <3333 im always rooting for you as well and youre such a sweetheart

[studyingmusiccarolinasversion]

Taylor Swift, political endorsements, and criticism

Hi everyone! I’m Carolina, and my favorite artists right now are Adam Lambert, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, and Elton John - the list goes on and evolves all the time.

Today I’d like to discuss how Taylor Swift seems to be held to a much higher standard than other artists in terms of politics and political endorsements, or lack thereof.

I am thinking specifically of the couple of days before Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris. Taylor Swift had been photographed at a football game with Brittany Mahomes, an alleged Trump supporter. This sparked outrage online (especially Twitter / X), with people saying that Taylor had lost all her values, that she had no moral compass, that she was “spineless”, and so on, despite the fact that she had been endorsing Democratic candidates for years. After the presidential debate on September 10th, Taylor Swift made an Instagram post endorsing Kamala Harris. Although many were excited to see this, it didn’t entirely put an end to the “she has no morals” discourse, with some saying that the only reason she endorsed Harris was public pressure, rather than genuine support, that it was just PR damage control. In my opinion, it’s quite obvious that she purposefully waited until after the presidential debate to post her endorsement, as that is when it would gain maximum attention, and thus have the biggest impact. The Harris-Walz campaign also started selling friendship bracelets (Eras Tour-style) immediately after her endorsement, showing that it was most likely planned and coordinated ahead of time.

In contrast, it seems that almost no other artists have faced this massive amount of pressure to speak on their political views. I think the closest would be the reaction to Chappell Roan’s interview for The Guardian, in which she said: “I have so many issues with our government in every way. There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone. There’s problems on both sides. I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote – vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city”.

The same thing that happened to Taylor Swift was now happening to Chappell Roan. What seems to have caused the most backlash was her “There’s problems on both sides” statement. It’s as though all the times she has spoken about her beliefs have suddenly been forgotten. Some even took this to mean that she would be voting for Trump. She posted a video in which she clarified that she would not vote for Trump, and that “actions speak louder than an endorsement”.

It is also worth noting that this type of criticism over political endorsements seems to be reserved for female artists. I have not seen this type of backlash towards male artists for the same reasons, or if there has been backlash, it certainly has not been on the same scale. Right now, it looks like Taylor Swift receives the most hate for doing or not doing something, followed by other female artists, and then male artists, who receive the least criticism.

I find it fascinating that there are such high expectations of artists to talk about who they will vote for. An endorsement from someone as incredibly famous and admired as Taylor Swift probably will have some impact, but it also seems ridiculous to wait for a celebrity to tell you who to vote for instead of just deciding for yourself. Surely, all the people who were furious before her endorsement of Harris were planning on voting for her anyway, hence the anger. It’s not like they were waiting for the green light from Taylor Swift to allow them to vote for Harris. Maybe then it’s more about wanting to see your views reflected by those of someone you look up to.

I think this could potentially be linked back to the idea of the audience as submissive and easily manipulated. The idea that popular music audiences do not possess the critical thinking skills to form their own opinions, and instead rely on the artists they idolize to tell them what to do. I think that the fact there can be this much criticism of an artist shows that the opposite is true. If the audience truly were submissive, there wouldn’t have been any outrage, at least not to this degree. Although those with a platform should absolutely be using it for good and to bring attention to things that matter, it’s still up to each individual to think for themselves.

To wrap it up, here is a tweet I came across recently. I think it sums everything up quite well.