#although actually the couple of the times in the series where we have to teach a Disorganized group of cats The Power Of Borders comes clos

[noivern]

warriors contains a lot of jank but not much of it has made me as angry as leafpool's wish

[the-thing-withfeathers]

exceeded caution part 2

first time for everything

series masterlist | next part

a/n: heyy y’all!! so this is part 2 of exceeded caution. a lot of it follows the actual movie because i needed set-up for ghostface. there’s still a lot of interaction between the reader + sam & tara but some of it is from the first 30 minutes of scream vi essentially.

warnings: violence (gun usage, knife usage), cursing. he/him pronouns for ghostface. 5.8k words.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

a few days ago, sam was nowhere near the forefront of your mind. you had stayed with the group as they navigated their way through accepting that ghostface might be back.

you hadn't spoken to tara much, you felt like you wouldn't be any help to her. she didn't need her ex-girlfriend that she only dated out of convenience around her constantly.

instead, the other carpenter sister started to find solace in your presence.

you found yourself over quite a bit, you noticed that they valued strength in numbers. you even all set a rotation between the group for who would cook that week.

during your week to cook, sam insisted on joining you when grocery shopping. as you promised her that she wouldn't be alone, she mentally promised you the same thing.

"it's just a simple beef stroganoff recipe, sam. you really don't have to come." you smiled sheepishly as you pulled up outside her apartment, she was hopping into your passenger seat.

"ghostface won't let a grocery store stop him from taking lives." sam was firm in her words, you sighed in defeat and drove off towards the shops that were only a couple minutes away from her place. you wanted her to feel safe still.

she pushed the cart while you took ingredients off the shelves, mumbling to yourself as you chucked them in the cart.

"tara used to say your food was amazing. where did you learn to cook?" she asked you, you looked away from your list to smile at her.

"my mom, she's amazing at cooking. she gave up her career to support my dad and become a fulltime housewife." you explained. "i used to help her cook all the time."

"that's pretty cool. i find myself never having the time for new foods. i should probably get on that."

"i can teach you some. or make some for you, i like cooking for people." you shrugged, taking another ingredient off the shelves.

sam would normally decline if you were anyone else, but she felt the urge to accept.

"sure. that would be nice." she nodded at you.

sam had enjoyed you being around more often and getting to know you outside of tara. she even found herself calling you a friend.

or rather, she tried to keep it at friend. she was trying to hide the fact that she felt a pull to you, she didn't know how to explain it. although, one thing was sure, there was an element of guilt to it.

she wasn’t the only one feeling guilty. you felt almost dirty with how much you thought of sam. because of the frequency of your contact, you found yourself wanting to see her more.

was this against some form of girl code that you shouldn’t want to hang out with your ex’s sister?

“um… how are you?” she could see that you were nervous to ask her that. “i know you probably get asked that all the time but i never ask… and i want to know.”

“that’s fine. i figured you would get curious. you always seem to be.” sam commented.

“is curiosity bad?” you teased a little, noting her phrasing.

“no! not at all.” she perked up, shaking her head.

“don’t worry sam, i’m joking.” you realised that the carpenter sisters weren’t used to bantering with someone they weren’t extremely close to— or someone they didn’t love.

“right.” she bit her lip. “but no? it’s not bad at all.” she chuckled. “but i’m… not okay?”

you nodded, respecting her answer and silently thanking her for being honest.

“i hoped that we would escape this when we moved. and i’ve been doing everything to protect tara but it didn’t end for sidney prescott— so i assume that it won’t end for us.” she scratched her brow, the stress getting to her. “i’m sorry you got involved.”

“it’s okay, sam. i knew what i was getting into when i dated tara.” you nodded. “if it happened again, i already knew i’d stick around.”

“that’s admirable.”

you felt your heart clench a little when she said that. nobody had ever told you that your desire to stick around was admirable. you always got “clingy” or “overbearing.” that was the first time you’d ever gotten a compliment on it.

“oh! um… thank you.” you stuttered out, a blush flooding your cheeks. you knew that sam meant it too, she wasn’t just saying it to make you feel better. she was genuinely saying it.

“it’s true.” it was.

you tried to push your flustered down into the depths of your mind as you struggled to reach the top shelf with the last of your ingredients. you were definitely taller than tara— everyone was. but not tall enough to face this eight layered shelf.

sam was.

sam was taller. and she made that perfectly clear when she basically pressed up behind you to grab this damn dijon mustard for you.

oh no… oh no… you had to stop those thoughts. you had turned around too quickly, basically coming chest to chest with the girl. she didn’t seem to mind— and you refused to mind.

you had never been this close to her before. your eyes trailed over all her features, taking them in. she looked just like tara… maybe that’s whats got your heart beating at the speed of light.

but she wasn’t tara. no, she was sam. and you found that to be what sealed the deal for you.

you found her pretty.

you remained silent as you finished off the last of the ingredient collection. you walked over to the self check-out, scanning the items as the blush continued to make its presence known as sam hovered.

you shuffled some things around in your pocket to try and find your card but before you knew it, sam was paying for your groceries.

“what—“ you tried to protest but the transaction had gone through already.

sam didn’t know what overcame her.

it was her way of taking care of you.

it was even her way of apologising to you.

"sam, you didn't have to do that." you shook your head at her.

"my treat, i didn't get to cook for everyone so this is my way of contributing." she shook you off. you knew that was a lie because mindy sent you a photo of meals you missed, one being sam's.

there was no undoing it now. you sighed and reached for the bags, but sam was one step ahead of you, grabbing them and walking out of the store.

you wished you could wash the blush off with soap.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

when you arrived for dinner with your groceries. everyone was already at the carpenter’s apartment. they were spread out across the entire floor, conversing with each other.

you got to cooking almost immediately, knowing that everyone had potentially been there for a while. sam left your side to talk to quinn.

you kept feeling eyes on you.

the shorter carpenter sister was talking to mindy when she felt her attention turn away from her and onto you. she watched you cook, she actually always loved your cooking.

she loved when you would make a dinner catered just to her. she actually missed how lively the kitchen used to be when you were in it. you were even dancing around now, your headphones tucked over your ear.

she smiled a little at how you shook your waist to the music. everyone knew not to bother you so you could get it done quicker.

but tara wanted to bother you. she wanted to approach you and say something, anything to break the silence.

you were friends before everything went down. she thought that maybe she could at least salvage that, that would be her way to redemption.

mindy kept talking and talking before cutting herself off suddenly, realising that tara was no longer paying attention.

“tara, don’t.” mindy said, disappointment clear in her tone. “this is something you need to give time to.”

“there’s been a lot of time.” tara muttered, glaring at mindy.

“you can’t just break her heart and expect her to let you back in so quickly.” mindy held her shoulder back.

“i know it won’t be quick, but i have to try.” tara said through her teeth, pulling her shoulder out of mindy’s grasp and starting to make her way towards you.

tara stopped on her heels when she saw her sister already take your attention. she thought that she’d better not interrupt you.

“whatcha listening to?” sam asked you, her arms crossed over her chest.

you pulled your headphones back a little.

“sloppy jane.” you said.

“sloppy jane? what kind of name is that?!” sam laughed.

“she’s cool! i promise!” you raised your hands up in defense. you took your headphones off your head, you gently placed them on sam. your hands nicking strands of her long hair before you pulled them away.

she held eye contact with her as her head bobbed to the music, you matched the bobbing, knowing which part of the song she was on.

a smile formed on her face while you two were in sync. your eyes started to crinkle up with a smile as your hair started getting in your face when you headbanged. she joined you until the kitchen was filled with laughter.

“okay… okay. i see it now. she has a good sound.” sam agreed with you, placing the headphones back on you but leaving an ear open.

“thank you.” you chuckled, moving the beef strips into the bowl you intended to serve it in.

“this smells soooo good.” sam practically moaned out, you laughed at the noise she made.

“well, you’re gonna have to wait like everyone else!” you teased.

she groaned and rolled her eyes. you liked seeing her loosen up a bit more, you were grateful she was getting more comfortable around you.

as you two laughed, tara stared on.

she remembered when she was in sam’s place. she even felt herself grow jealous at her sister. why did she ever think that what she was doing to you was okay? your heart was gold and tara thought she had turned it dark— she realised your golden heart’s integrity never faltered. you were still just as good.

she was cruel and she broke your heart. she didn’t think she would regret it— until she suddenly felt all that guilt wash over her. was she regretting it?

you enlisted sam to help you bring all your dishes to the table.

“beef stroganoff, pasta, and rice. choose your carb to go with it and enjoy!” you presented your meal to the group.

everyone admired your work and sat down at the table. you ended up sitting beside mindy who talked your ear off about some pottery class that she and anika took.

you glanced over at sam first, her eyes meeting yours during her conversation with ethan. you two exchanged heartfelt smiles, you had a good day because of each other.

then you looked at tara, who was already looking at you. her first serving was practically gone. you knew that she loved one thing about you, and it was your cooking. she held a sadness behind those eyes, you saw into it, but you had your doubts that it was sadness.

when you noticed her plate, you felt yourself flash her a smile too. she returned it, it was shy but still genuine. her plate was cleaned up just seconds after everyone served themselves.

crumbs of you, tara would take. she cherished that smile you gave to her, even if it was forced or accidental. it filled her brain.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

washing up had to be done, you wanted do it yourself, saying how you were on a roll from cooking that you wanted to do the cleaning too.

sam was about to speak up but suddenly, tara found her voice.

“i’ll help!” she said, chirping up. everyone looked at her with confusion. they didn’t expect that she would do that for you.

“oh… okay!” you said, making your way over to the kitchen.

you scrubbed the plates and handed them to her to dry. it was a good system that worked.

“you did well with dinner today. your cooking is always good.” tara smiled at you.

“thank you, tara. i appreciate it.” your lips pressed into a thin line.

“i just wanted to say that.” she put the plates onto the drying rack. “we haven’t spoken in a while.”

“i know. i just wanted to give you space. i felt like i wasn’t much help to you ever. and i felt like i wouldn’t be much help now.” you confessed. “but i want to stick around, i would be a pretty shit person if i didn’t.”

she felt horrible that you thought that you wouldn’t be help. in fact, there were some nights that tara found herself longing for you.

“we were friends before this, do you think we’d be able to get back to that?” she asked, searching your face for hope. but all she saw was doubt.

“maybe, tara.” you turned to her, handing her the last of the dishes. you saw the dejected look on her face and sighed. you wanted to go back to that too, you missed the tara that was a good friend to you. “but we can try.”

tara’s face lit up, a bit of shock also hidden between the lines. “okay! yeah… let’s try.” she put the dish away and held her hand out, you chuckled but you shook it.

what you failed to see was your maybe friend’s sister staring at you both from the living room, her jaw tightened as tara touched you.

sam zoned back into the conversation, realising that the show they were watching was long gone and replaced by the news again.

there was another death.

sam erupted in her anger, suddenly storming into the kitchen, grabbing the sharpest knife that she owned.

you had no idea what just happened, tara followed her sister back to the living room, the commotion having everyone sit up.

“sam! slow down!” tara yelled after her sister, you joined them after putting the dishes away. “can we please think about this before you decide to abandon my college education?!”

you couldn’t blame sam for wanting to leave. this was something that she just wanted to escape. as much as you would be upset, you would understand. you’d help, even.

you would help them pack up if it meant they were away from everything. you were prepared to never speak of the carpenter sisters again, in hopes that they would never have to go through this again.

“this can’t just be a coincidence, tara!” sam yelled back at her. today was the day where you saw the genetic stubbornness displayed by the carpenter sisters.

“quinn, can you please call your dad?!” tara asked their roommate, quinn immediately nodded. you could tell she didn’t want to get yelled at by sam but it was a reasonable point of action.

ring!!!

everyone flinched. you didn’t. it was just a phone ringing to you, but to everyone else, it was so much more.

sam’s phone blared on the table, she walked over only to see that it was gale weathers, she declined the call without a doubt.

you watched as quinn travelled across the room, telling sam that her father wanted to speak to her. you heard the muffled voice of mr. bailey from where you were standing.

“okay, thank you. i’ll be right there.” sam hung up. “he wants me down at the station.”

“i’ll drive you.” you said, grabbing your keys. “i live close to the station.”

“you shouldn’t have to—“ you cut sam off.

“no. i will. no man left behind, remember?” you said, firm in your decision. sam sighed but nodded.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

you, sam, and tara made it out the door and started to walk to your car.

suddenly, sam’s phone rang again. the two girls stopped when they saw the name displayed on the screen.

richie kirsch.

richie? you recognized that name. you huddled closer to the sisters, closing your eyes to rack your memory for where you knew that name.

no. wait.

it couldn’t be. he was dead, wasn’t he?

“don’t pick that up.” tara said, looking up at sam.

sam hesitated, but it could be important. these calls were life or death for them. she picked up.

you looked at your surroundings. you suddenly felt so exposed, like anything could happen to you now that you weren’t in the comforts of your own home— or anyone’s home.

“who is this?” sam asked into the phone. you couldn’t hear the responses, only sam’s facial expressions changing as time went on.

her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes changed. you saw woodsboro glaze her pupils, you knew she was thinking back to her life before the city. everything was resurfacing.

“i want you to think long and hard about whether or not you wanna do this because the last two people that fucked with us ended up dead.” she said, planting her feet down with determination.

your eyes started to tear away from sam, not absorbing the conversation.

bad gut feeling.

you had to stop ignoring those.

“you better watch your back, asshole.” sam said.

and tara yelled.

a cloaked figure sporting a ghostface mask suddenly grabbed tara, you sprung into action. tara elbowed the figure and you shoved him into the bike rack.

“go!” you said, running just behind the two sisters.

“there!” sam redirected you into a little corner store. you stood with your front to the door while the girls yelled at the cashier to help them, starting a fight with someone in line.

suddenly ghostface walked in.

you backed up into sam, pushing her backwards a little bit while one of the customers stood tall in front of the infamous killer.

you watched as ghostface drove their knife into the man, multiple times.

you gasped, your hand flying to your mouth. you had never seen anyone get killed before. you thought ghostface had specific targets, this wasn’t just an ordinary killer, this killer wasn’t afraid to take any life that stood in his way.

you turned around and the three of you flooded into the back of the store as the clerk wielded his gun.

when the first gunshot rang, sam’s arm flew to cover you as chips flew everywhere. tara was crouched just beside the two of you.

suddenly, there was a second gunshot. but only after you heard the clerk start begging for his life.

you tried to stay quiet, you didn’t realise where parts of your body were. you had a hand on sam’s abdomen, bunching her shirt into your fist. you were terrified, you had never gone through this before. you couldn’t imagine what sam & tara were feeling.

you couldn’t move— or else he would know where you were.

the corner store was quiet, it was like a cruel game of cat and mouse. you heard crunching as the sound of boots got closer to you.

all three of you rounded the corner to avoid detection. sam hid behind a freezer while you and tara hid behind the shelving. you saw sam’s eyes flicker to a can on the ground and you knew what she was trying to say.

carefully, you reached out and picked the can off the floor. it was disgusting and sticky. was this what they had to result to when defending themselves? putting themselves in disgusting situations? you felt twisted picturing them going through this once— now twice.

you threw the can across the corner store, hearing boots walk in the other direction. it was a successful distraction. the three of you started crawling towards the exit.

when you heard the boots stop moving again, you paused. sam leaned forward, you could tell that she could see a lot clearer than you. she slowly inched towards the shelving, then she suddenly shoved it with her shoulder, knocking it down.

god, she was strong.

had she been training herself to get stronger? in case this happened again?

the three of you hauled ass to the exit, being met with cop cars and their sirens.

the three of you were escorted into the cars. the sisters rode in one while you went in the other. you fidgeted with your fingers. then it was daunting on you.

baby’s first ghostface attack.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

you sat in an interrogation room at the precinct. the walls were closing in on you.

you had been close to death before. you remember when you and your parents got into that gnarly car accident that had you coming out with several broken bones and whiplash. you cradled your arm, feeling the after-effects of the worst injury you sustained.

but this wasn't a car t-boning yours. this was a killer.

and you felt like death was kissing your cheek.

you didn't know where sam and tara were, you assumed a different interrogation room. you were waiting for ages, you thought that maybe someone was attending to them first.

you sat in silence for about ten more minutes, trying to decompress the situation.

the lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing detective bailey. you had met quinn's dad in passing, never really speaking to him.

"mr. bailey. how are you?" you asked him, sitting up in your chair. you noticed he had files in his hand. this was going to take longer than you wanted.

"i'm good. thank you... how are you doing? you weren't around for woodsboro, i'm sure it's a bit of a shock to be involved now." straight into it.

"a bit is an understatement, sir." you let out a dry chuckle. "i'm assuming you're going to be asking me more than just 'how are you' though..."

"i'm sorry. i know you're probably tired." he sighed, you nodded. you were trying to hold back a yawn.

"it's fine."

he sat down across from you, opening the file and putting its contents in front of you.

"you're the newest addition to the group, quinn has talked about you. i know you and tara had a past relationship. were you frequently in and out of their apartment?" he asked.

"yeah... tara and i were together for a bit. i usually visited her and i also hang out with mindy and chad, so yes, i was frequently at theirs." you nodded, you often found that honesty was the best policy with these things.

"i know that your relationship with her ended badly." he stated, you scoffed.

"surely a bad break-up isn't enough motivation to go on these killing sprees, right?" you asked, a bit offended.

"sometimes it might just be."

"did you have access to sam carpenter's belongings?" he followed up. what did sam's stuff have to do with this?

"um... no. not really. i never really interacted with sam until ghostface was rumored to resurface. and even then, i don't really have that access." you crossed your arms across your chest, your eyes scanning the photos on the desk. you spotted a photo of sam's license, bloodied and dumped at the scene of the crime.

someone was trying to frame her.

"we found sam's license next to the body."

"well she was with me all day. we went grocery shopping and i cooked everyone dinner." you quickly jumped at the chance to defend her. "tara was there too."

mr. bailey nodded at you confirming their alibi.

"sam said the same thing." he reassured you. he leaned in a bit closer to you. "although, i'd be cautious about those sisters. especially sam. i wouldn't get too close."

your brows furrowed in frustration.

"i'm sure i have nothing to worry about. they're good people." you didn't want to speak any further on the matter.

you hated that the thought of either of them being responsible for these deaths even crossed the detective's mind. he was supposed to be helping them.

two knocks against the door turned the detective's attention to another officer walking into the room.

"the fbi is here." the officer said. detective bailey looked confused.

"the fbi? where?" he stood up then turned to you. "you're free to go. i think sam and tara are waiting for you."

you stood from your seat and followed him, making your way over to the two dark-haired sisters. tara was the first to spot you, nudging sam until she turned around.

you sped up, you didn't know what it was. you just had to make sure she was real.

you wrapped your arms around sam. you felt her tense up out of shock but return the gesture.

"i'm sorry." you apologised for the sudden hug.

"it's okay." sam smiled warmly.

you turned to tara and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing softly.

tara's eyes met yours. those pleading doe eyes, they wanted more than just a squeeze on the shoulder. she wished she was sam in that moment.

"i'm really glad you two are okay." you cleared your throat. sam smiled at you, even if it was forced, it was nice to see.

you heard two voices chatting just a little bit aways from you. sam started moving towards them, you and tara followed behind.

"kirby?" she spoke, getting the attention of a blonde woman.

"hey sam." kirby replied, moving to hug sam as well.

"do you know each other?" bailey asked.

"yeah... we went to woodsboro high together. she was a senior when i was a freshman." sam clarified. you studied the woman in front of you.

all you could say was that she looked cool. she was an fbi agent that had been monitoring the sisters for a little while. you realised that this had been the kirby involved with the killings too. they shared a very unique experience between each other.

you stayed behind sam while they conversed. kirby was handed the mask that was left at the scene. the mask used in the 2011 killings. kirby lifted her shirt to show the scar that charlie walker gave her.

sam looked uncomfortable. she realised then that this was bigger than just a killing spree, they were trying to send a message.

kirby proposed you all worked together but sam interjected, not giving her the chance to finish.

"we're getting out of town." she pushed through kirby and detective bailey.

"i'm sorry, that's not possible. you're both persons of interest. all three of you are." bailey warned.

"are you serious?" tara stepped forward, the growing frustration evident in her voice.

"he's right." kirby confirmed. "but if we work together-"

"we're going." sam basically barked an order at you and tara.

"my car's back at your place." you said. sam nodded. a small part of her brain was happy that you would be around after that.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

when the three of you made your way out of the precinct, you had never seen so many cameras before. reporters swarmed the three of you, immediately asking sam questions like if she had an alibi or if tara felt safe with her sister.

they didn't pay you any mind, how could they? you were fresh meat to the group, they didn't care about your story. luckily, it allowed you to mercilessly shove them back, helping make space for sam and tara to walk through the flood.

you found yourself holding onto sam's waist, pulling her towards the open spots you've created with your body pushing against the reporters.

"gale weathers." a voice sounded out in the crowd, causing the sisters to stop in their tracks. you knew that name too, it felt like an endless revision on who was who, if you had studied well enough. "do you ladies think that you're the reason that the ghostface killer has come to the big apple?" she asked.

you saw it in sam. she snapped. she'd had a long night, she nearly lost her life. she nearly lost her sister. and her... friend.

she swung with her fist out.

"sam!" you exclaimed as gale ducked, avoiding the punch. you pulled sam's waist back, you knew she didn't need another video of her going viral. she put her hands over yours, allowing you to hold her back. you had to admit, it felt nice knowing you had a bit of pull on her.

although, you failed to account for the shorter carpenter sister. you failed to catch her pulling her elbow back and swinging at gale with a force of her own.

you jumped at the noise made by the contact and had to hold back a laugh at gale's shocked face. sam cracked a smile, she couldn't help herself.

"stay away from us." tara spat at gale.

you two turned to walk towards a cab that was parked outside the station. you pushed sam slightly by her waist, hoping she wouldn't turn back around.

but gale weathers just had to say something.

"are you two seriously still mad about what happened?"

"you wrote a book. about them." she didn't expect you to say anything. she didn't know who you were or what you were to the carpenters. she looked at you as if you were irrelevant, like another body that ghostface could dispose of just to raise the numbers.

"and who are you?" she asked, a snark in her voice.

"doesn't matter. you took advantage of them. of the fact that they lost their friends, they nearly lost each other." you shook your head. "i remember you, from tara's stories."

tara watched you fight back. how could you still do that after she hurt you? you were full of surprises. she had never seen your tongue so laced with venom before.

"you lost someone too. dewey... if someone kept shoving that down your throat, how would you feel?" you asked, glaring her way as sam and tara entered the cab. gale's stance shifted, she was uncomfortable with a stranger knowing so much information about her personal life. but then again, she put the carpenter sisters' life out there for the whole world to see.

"i remember your book too. you called sam unstable, you painted her in the worst light possible. and i thought you had been through enough with her to know that that's not true." you turned back to the two girls, opening the door to the back of the cab for them.

sam's face was unreadable as she hopped into the car. she stared at the back of your head, or more like the back of your seat. you stood up for her, breaking your kind and golden-hearted demeanour. she was worried that being in this situation would change you for the worst.

you sat in silence after telling the driver where to go. leaning back into your seat, you tried to keep your eyes open. you hadn't gotten any sleep since last night, your time divided between the carpenter residence and the station.

there was so little to say and yet so many words were jumbled in your brain.

when you arrived at the carpenter's apartment, you yawned as you exited the cab. sam caught you do so and stopped you before you could unlock your car. her hand covered yours, gripping it in her own.

"you should rest here for a little bit. you're too tired to drive." she said, looking down at you. you wanted to get home and sleep in your own bed but you knew she was right.

you put your car keys away and walked upstairs with them.

tara immediately made a beeline for the bathroom. she always showered after coming home, she couldn't go a day without smelling like vanilla.

sam put pillows and blankets down on their couch and walked into her room, coming back out with some clothes.

"you can change into these for now, you might as well make yourself comfortable. and you can sleep for as long as you want." she said, you took the clothes and nodded at her.

she sat down on the couch and pulled the blanket up slightly to cover herself, you grabbed the blanket to stop her.

"what are you doing? i'll take the couch." you said, furrowing your brows.

"no. you'll take my bed." she looked up at you from the couch.

"it's your damn bed, sam." you didn't mean to sound so ill-mannered but the tiredness was getting the best of you.

"i know. so i'll do with it as i please." you know it was just her trying to show that she cared. "so you're taking it."

you sighed sharply, you were about to take a massive risk.

"share it with me." you said, holding your ground. you didn't want to kick sam out of her own bed.

she saw the determination on your face. you two were going to sit here and bicker if she didn't give in now. she nodded, standing up and making her way back to her room.

you changed into sam's clothes, her scent wafting as the shirt fell over your figure. then you cracked the door open enough to slip yourself into her room.

just as you entered sam's room, tara came out of the bathroom. she had the look of a shattered woman on her face, you should have been going into her room. she should have offered first.

you shut the door behind you, walking towards the bed where sam was sitting. you spotted her nursing her hand, spotting a deep cut from crawling on glass at the bodega.

"sam, you should've gotten that taken care of." you scolded her a little, walking to her bathroom and grabbing a medkit you knew was there. tara had told you that she put one in every bathroom.

you knelt in front of sam, unpacking the kit to grab the antiseptic and a bandage.

"it's fine, it's only a cut." she protested.

"if ghostface doesn't get you, an infected cut will. and i think that's extremely embarrassing." you tried to make light of it, your exhaustion washing over you. "this'll hurt."

you dabbed the antiseptic into sam's cut. she hissed at the sting. but the sight in front of her was better. you, in her clothes, patching her up. this was probably the worst time for her to form a crush, and probably the worst person to form it on. her sister's ex-girlfriend, who was now involved in the ghostface killings. but your soft features, your concern for her, it was hard to resist you.

she chalked it up to exhaustion, maybe this crush would fade away when she was in her right mind.

but when you situated yourself next to her in bed, your respectful nature forcing you to leave ample space so you two weren't touching each other, she hoped that she would one day earn the honour of closing that gap.

as she closed her eyes, she listened in to your soft breathing. and even when you accidentally ended up shoulder to shoulder in bed,

sam refused to move.

𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩 𓆪𓆩

author's journal okay i actually spent way too much time on this chapter, i had to write out the first 30 minutes of scream vi with a reader insert so it was a little bit more cohesive with the storyline. i don't know how i feel about this one chapter in particular but i'm starting to see the vision for the rest of the series teehee. i promise it wont just be the whole movie written down but it'll definitely have canon events. next chapter is most likely going to be non-canon as much as possible just cause this is a romance fic at the end of the day.

also this is the song i intended for the reader to be listening to with sam

[mudisgranapat]

FitnessInfluencer!Reader x GymBro!Ghost

so i’ve recently really gotten into going to the gym and i can’t stop thinking about Ghost working out and reader being an annoying influencer that is always recording at the gym. the last thing he needs is a camera in his face when he is trying to work out and de-compress from his deployment.

After finally finding a 24 hour gym, you get your things ready to film your content. Your youtube channel is one of the most popular nowadays, and it’s the platform where you make most of your videos. Most of them teach people workout series, ranging from stuff they can do at home, hardcore exercises and even a step to step guide on how to use each gym equipment, so newbies don’t get scared of training for the first time by themselves. However, sometimes, you do some vlogging on the side, showing your daily routine and other things, like skincare.

You figure 3 am is a good time to go to the gym and record - no one is at training by then and your schedule is already fucked anyways. Not having an office or regular work hours has its ups and downs, but at least you are in charge of own routine, since you make a surprisingly good amount of money from your videos.

You take your own time, making a protein smoothie (and obvioulsy recording it, as you had a paid partnership with the supplement’s brand) and writing down your ideas for the video you want to do today. You stick to a simple “leg day” vlog, typing on your phone what machines and reps you want to do.

Choosing a simple purple top and matching leggings, you make your way towards the gym on your Range Rover, Stanley cup filled with water on the cup holder. You roll your eyes as you make a turn and can feel the water dripping out of the cup. You make a note to yourself to bring a water bottle the actually works next time and keep it off camera, so the useless cup can just sit on frame for aesthetic purposes while your record.

If you had to point out one thing you hated about your job, it would be having to keep up with all the (in your opinion, useless) trends, so you could reach a bigger audience. At the end of the day, it was about making money, although you loved how your content got to inspire people to be more active. If it meant you had to carry a metal 40oz lead poisoned cup with you for a couple of hours, then so be it.

As soon as you park your car at the gym’s empty parking lot, you pull out your vlog camera, not noticing the single black truck parked in the far corner, under a tree.

Sometimes you wonder if you would hate your “vlog persona” if you met her in real life. Repeating the same phrases over and over again, trying to get the best take, constantly looking for better lighting. What looks good on camera, in real life, just looks painfully awkward sometimes, specially when you are talking to an audience that isn’t even there. You push those thoughts to the back of your head, as you slide your card at the gym’s card reader, opening the doors.

“Anyways, guys. I know it sounds crazy right?” You make your way into the gym, re-recording the introduction at least 3 times so you know you’ll have good material to edit later. “Training at 3 a.m. I don’t even know if it’s technically morning or night right now.” You joke to the camera. “Let me know in the comments if I should start the videos with ‘Good morning’ or ‘Goodni’-“ a hand suddenly grabs the camera from your hand, holding it right above your head. You stare at the man who seemed to materialise out of the shadows.

“How about ‘Goodbye’.” He says, and you barely have time to register his sarcasm as he slams your camera on the floor, breaking it in pieces. You stand there, frozen, while the man swings his duffel bag over his shoulders and heads out of the gym.

When you finally regain your senses, he is long gone, and you’re left wondering to yourself, not only who he is, but also who does he think he is. You barely had time to register what he looked like, simply recalling we was well over 6ft tall and build like a fucking tank. But regardless of his built, if he believes, even for a second, that he can do something like that and just walk away unscathed, he is dead wrong.

You can’t wait to see him again.

A.N: wrote this with my eyes literally closing, but i just couldn’t get it out of my head (sorry for any mistakes, def not proofread). hopefully it’s not complete shit. let me know if you want to see more of this! i could see this becoming either a short series or at least having one more part. Let me know if you want to be tagged if this has a part 2 :)

[quitealotofsodapop]

I thought about Huebei and thought of a couple of really cute ideas.

First and foremost, I can see archeology and paleantology being a special interest of hers even going into her adulthood. Girl wants to work on archeology dig sites and stuff and loves the museum. In Soft Boiled Wukong asks MK to help him out by taking her to a trip to a museum while he and the rest of the Noodle Gang set up a surprise party for her on the island the first time her birthday comes up after the monkey family met the group.

Second... and I don't really know WHY, but I can see her being a dancer. Maybe a ribbon dancer or something, but I think of her dancing gracefully as her tall, lanky teenage self and as her buffer adult self and think,'Yeah, that fits.' I can only assume it's the bit of Macaque's dad's influence that she likes performing. Goodness knows she didn't get it from Wukong! Although he can be just as artistic too and as someone who is artistic from an artistic family, I find that if an inheritance trait, even if my style of art is completely different from my siblings' preferred media. We all joke I'm the only one who can draw even tho all the rest of them can play music, something I frankly am terrible at no matter how much I practice altho that could be the stage fright speaking

Third, I can totally see her and Red being inseparable as babies. They were born not far apart in age and basically have similar powers to each other, whenever Uwkong needed a break he'd go to DBK for babysitting and vice versa up until their falling out and Wukong being forced to seal DBK away. It's for this reason I imagine she would like to sneak out to Uncle Bull's resting place just to be near him again. She knows her dad didn't really have a choice, but she misses Uncle Bull and Red. She makes sure Red never sees her or knows she's there when the Bull Family visit.

The first thing Wukong teaches her, besides how to control her lazer eyes, is the transformations. This was a bit of a necessity since, during the journey and shortly afterwards, Wukong would find himself in a situation where demons and celestials of all walks in life would try to sneak onto the island to search him and his cub out. While most were just curious, a few beings did not mean them well, but luckily for Wukong, they only ever searched for a monkey and his baby... they never searched for a sparrow or a tiger. Fresh from the Journey, visitors were the last things Wukong wanted to deal with!

Yuebei quickly starts to see MK as a sort of big brother figure, in spite if her jealousy that he of all beings got picked to be her father's heir and not her. It didn't matter to her that she had explicitly told her father once she never wanted to follow in his footsteps, that staff is her BIRTHRIGHT! Even so, the first time MK got hurt in front of her (Calabash episode actually) she near lost her shit.

Haha! I do love having Yuebei be interested in bone-based sciences due to her literary association with bones. She was def a "dinosaur-kid" who would run up and down beaches, digging up little shell fossils to bring home and show to her baba. Wukong isn't 100% sure what a trilobite is, but his cub is super excited to explain them to him when she found a weird fossilized pillbug. Wukong just loves that his babygirl has such a passionate interest in the world.

As Yuebei gets older, she goes through phases of hyperfixating on different archaeological eras and cultures. As someone who has an ornament cabinet full of Egyptian god statues from one such phase, I can imagine a few sections of the Stone Palace treasury has been organized so Yuebei can display her interests.

I can imagine (even pre-series) Tang running into Yuebei at the museum, the little glamoured demon just fascinated by a display/diorama on Tang-era trade routes. The scholar thinks its the cutest thing ever! The two become sort of nerd buddies once Yuebei warms up to the Noodle Gang.

And ooo ribbon dancer Yuebei!!

I have watched some performances, and many of the dancers are buff af.

I can see Wukong struggling to find a creative or physical outlet his daughter would enjoy, only to turn around to find the cub dancing with a stray phoenix feather. He sighs, knowing that the theatrical spirit of Macaque has lived on in some way. Heavens know Yuebei is far more confident on stage than Wukong will ever be!

Yuebei and Red Son were def tight as cousins well up until Bull got imprisoned, and they still have an "older sibling, younger sister" relationship in the modern day. PIF and Red never held Wukong's actions against his child, and if the little rebel liked to visit her auntie and cousin without her baba's permission, then they would accommodate her.

I love the idea of Wukong training his daughter some key powers, like the transformations. Yuebei's different transformations tend to be dark furred/scaled/feathered with little red-orange flecks. Almost like a certain Macaque's... one thing she has trouble changing is the age of the animal she turns into. She's almost always a juvenile of the species no matter how hard she tries.

Yuebei, showing off: "Watch this! I can turn into a tiger!" MK, excited: "Sweet!" Yuebei: (*transforms into a tiger cub*) MK, wondering if that was intentional: "Umm..." Yuebei, furious: "Not. A. Word."

And ofc the baby girl had a problem with her lazer eyes shooting off whenever she had a tantrum - so Wukong had to devise a way to help her control those early on. Welding goggles and sunglasses help a lot on his end, but Guanyin also helped teach younger Yuebei meditation techniques so she could calm down in the moment and avoid triggering a shot.

In the end, even if Yuebei naturally developed a lot of her baba's powers, she sort of resents that MK was chosen as his successor and not her. But she also *knows* it killed her baba to give the Nüwa-made cub up to give him a "normal" life. A life that she couldn't have...

She wants MK to realise his responsibility and not waste it. But also wants to be a kid like he does. The two have to work together to make a balance.

[alovethatkilled]

The Turners

I wrote this out after episode 13x05 regarding the Turners and what I want to see. I spoke about it to someone else before, but I wanted to share my thoughts here, too. 

I actually wanted to write a fanfic regarding this matter, and it's the reason why you’ll see some dialogue. Who knows, I might bite the bullet and do it if inspiration strikes. This is also a rough draft, as emotions were present while writing this. Anyway, here we go. Please ignore all the grammar mistakes.

I actually WANT them to take her away. I want May to be taken away and be put with a different family. Now, hear me out before any hate gets thrown at me.

I want CTM to show the struggle of Patrick, Shelagh, Tim (if he is home), Angela, Teddy, and other characters close to the Turners.

I know Shelagh’s way to cope is to throw herself into work and to keep busy. Show me how Shelagh is struggling to cope with May being gone so show me her breakdown. Have Patrick, Sister Julienne, Sister Veronica, or even Mrs Higgins try to console Shelagh. That chat that she had with Sister Julienne was so short and knowing it probably took a lot of Shelagh to open up was disappointing so have them open up more or just give the woman a hug Sister Julienne, she needs it!

Have Cyril be the one that takes a crying May away from her parents. Show me how every time one of them sees Cyril afterwards, they look away because even though they know he was doing his job, that doesn’t change the fact that they are still hurt by it.  

I want to see May be put into a different house. I like to see May become withdrawn. The house where she is put up isn’t bad, but it isn’t the best for her. Show me Esther seeing May like that. Show Esther looking at the pictures Shelagh has sent and how happy she looks. Then, have her look at May and realise that May was always with the best family she could have because she has parents and siblings who love her deeply. Although it is painful for Esther because she knows she can’t care for May, she understands that the Turners are giving her child a good life. I want Esther and May to talk, even if it’s briefly, and let her choose what she wants. Then give me a cute moment of Esther teaching May some of her native language. Maybe something silly or teach her to say “I love you”. 

Then, give them a reunion. Have Mrs Williams or Esther return May to the Turners. Not at their house, but somewhere public, like a park. Have them not know that May will return until she does. Have May run from where she was standing and call out “Mummy”, then have Shelagh and Patrick turn around frantically at the sound. Shelagh crouches down just in time for May to barrel her way onto her arms. Secure, Shelagh inhales May’s hair as she did at the Mother House. Patrick suddenly envelops both Shelagh and May into a hug. Then, have May say something silly like “I can’t breathe” they panic, but once they see May laughing, they join her or have May say “I love you” to them in Cantonese/Mandarin. And when Shelagh or Patrick asks what it means, Esther approaches and says, “It means I love you”.

Have Shelagh grab Esther’s hands as she repeats, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” 

Then maybe have the Turners meet Esther and let them talk. This part doesn’t have to be shown, but this talk could be about them trying to communicate more for May. Have Esther ask the Turners to send May to get Cantonese/Mandarin classes so she doesn't forget her roots.

This is one of the most essential parts. I don’t want this to be a one-episode story. I like this to be a multiple-episode situation. Have it be until the last episode of the season/series. Or even if we have to wait, have May return to them during the Christmas episode.

The Turners are a beautiful, loving family. We often see bad things happen to them and they pull through like they always do. It’s their strength to have faith and trust in each other, and it’s what makes them so amazing. In the show, we see couples come and go, but none have been as firm as them (with the exception of The Buckles). They are the longest-lasting couple in the series. Show us why we initially fell in love with them and why we still do ten years later. 

Their 10th anniversary was overlooked, and in the Tuberculosis episode, there was no mention of Shelagh or how that particular case could have affected Patrick and Timothy in the aftermath. It is as if none of these things was crucial or significantly impacted them and their friends in the series. So give this to them. 

Anyway, the rant/mini fanfic (?) is done for now.

If you have your own thoughts on the matter please share them but don't be mean.

[the-earnest-gemini]

(ALMOST) GIVING UP COFFEE, LIVING CLOSER TO FRIENDS & LIFE POST-TEACHING

SUMMER 2024 NEWSLETTER

I frequently tell the story of the time that I drank an entire pot of coffee on my own, but I’ll tell it again. Early on in the pandemic, when we were all still doing virtual school and meetings, I had taken to brewing my morning cup of coffee at my work desk. Typically, I would drink it throughout the day, but rarely finished the pot on my own, if I even bothered brewing a full pot at all. I was taking a class that made me so nervous that I wanted to crawl out of my skin, and this day in particular, I had chosen to busy my hands by sipping on coffee for the duration of the meeting. By the end of the 90 minutes, I’d consumed the whole pot and proceeded to stay awake for almost 48 hours straight. I felt so sick to my stomach that I kept praying I would get sick- anything to get it out of my system, but I didn’t. I swore I would never drink coffee again, but of course, I did, and a few short months later I was back to my regularly scheduled levels of caffeine dependence. 

Recently, I’ve made the decision to quit coffee…sort of. It’s been a slow process, first cutting it down to two cups a day, then one (I thought I was going to die), and over the last couple of months I’ve made the decision to swap my coffee for green tea- with the exception of one, blessed, day of the week where my 4 a.m shift allows me to indulge in one, singular, delicious, cup of black coffee. I was a coffee drinker based on principle and function alone- what can I drink that’s going to wake me up and give me the zoomies in order to power through whatever I’m doing? It was never about the taste or how fancy it is, although I have been known to enjoy a fancy cup of coffee from time to time. Even still, I loved gas station coffee and soy peppermint mochas equally, and I didn’t think I would ever give it up. Even less did I expect to become the type of person who wakes up extra early in the morning to put a kettle on and whisk my matcha powder in a bowl before topping it off with crushed ice and oat milk- I think I even made a joke about it less than a year ago. But here I am, regardless. This, amongst other things, is one of the changes that occurred in my life since deciding to live a more intentional, slow-paced life following my career change. Since slowing down, I’ve become so much more in tune with my body, emotions, and feeling physical sensation.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that drinking so much coffee was actually making me sick, flaring up certain symptoms and undoubtedly contributing to my spiked cortisol levels, and so, begrudgingly, did I make the switch. 

Plenty of other things have changed since I decided to leave my job as a public school teacher. I realized just how much of my identity was wrapped up in the “what do I do” portion of my life. Very little of my identity was shaped by who I was as a person, what I valued, and the things I cared about. So much of my identity was about my relationships, the ability to provide for others, and how highly I could achieve while doing so. Unsurprisingly, when these things ceased to function in the same way they used to, certain relationships ended, and my life took turn after turn, I found out, very quickly, that I had no idea who I was at all. The last few years have been a series of tearing down, rebuilding, and learning. I’ve done more reading and writing than I have in several years, and have become increasingly in touch with a creative part of myself that I’d sworn off during my Undergraduate degree; the same creativity that as a teacher was met with, “but why?” – I digress. 

A value that I’ve uncovered surprisingly recently is having good people in my orbit- old friends, new friends- people who are interested in investing into our relationship; people who I am able to be comfortable around and feel fully like myself (a whole separate practice I could write essay on essay about). I recently took a trip to visit some of my oldest friends in Denver and it hit me like a ton of bricks: this is what community feels like, this is what “feeling known” is. That trip, and a previous visit I’d taken to see some friends from school, have been really enlightening for me. As a result I’ve made it a priority to try and keep touch with these people as much as possible, as well as to continue to explore the new relationships I’ve created more recently. It’s interesting for me, I suppose, to gain the perspective of how many of my previous relationships were built on proximity or professionalism. I wonder frequently how many people in my life really “knew me” or were interested in me, and how many of them were just interested in the things that I could do- more specifically, the things I could do for them. I have very little interest in relationships built on anything other than genuine connection these days, as hard work as it is to create a connection based on that. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that curiosity and honesty seems to go a long way in doing so. Now, to convince some of my friends to move closer to me… then, I would be completely satisfied. 

In other news, I’ve been making a lot of zines recently and spending some time recording things and learning how to mix and master tracks. Many of these projects are private and will continue to stay that way, especially because much of it is incredibly slow work, but I’ve placed a few things down below that I feel proud of and comfortable enough to share. I’ve been watching tons of Studio Ghibli films, taking pictures, and potting plants. I’m learning about peat-free soil blends and propagating like a fiend these days to prepare for an event I’m doing in September. I start my grad work here in a few days. Though it feels slow, sometimes I think I can feel the gears turning. Occasionally, I feel like there is some sense of direction in my life, though for the most part it feels like wandering, aimlessly. Maybe that’s okay. 

For now, 

Emma 

[kagayakuseiza]

So I finished the Netflix live action AtLA last night... it wasn't terrible. The original is still better, of course. Cue string of disorganized thoughts on it...

Is it just me, or does the actor playing Sokka in live action look more like the Ember Island Players version of Sokka than the actual Sokka? Did anyone else get that impression?

One of the first things I noticed was when we got a herd of CGI flying bison, they were blurred into the background and/or obstructed by light beams, so I immediately wondered if they were going to be trying to cover up bad CGI throughout the series. Buuuuut when we see Appa up close as Aang is talking to him, he actually looks decent. CGI Momo on the other hand... he looks very similar to how he did in the cartoon, and that's the problem with him. He looks out of place in the live action series.

The bending effects actually look pretty good. This, coupled with actors that have actually trained in martial arts, makes for decent fight scenes... though I'm probably not the best judge of that.

Not as many fun moments as the original... I guess they were going for a more serious tone, but it did still manage to make me laugh at times. I was glad that they kept in Cabbage Man, and the minstrels that sing the secret tunnel song.

I didn't like how they changed Bumi... Rather than messing with Aang for fun while delivering his message, he just... forces him into a duel to the death to try to teach him about making impossible decisions. Granted, it ends well, but still... eh, just didn't like how that was done, and the points that were made (war requiring impossible choices and Aang knowing that he can rely on his friends) were points that were made at other points in the series, so it just didn't feel necessary to change that part.

Another thing that kind of bugged me was that although Katara still wears her iconic necklace, its significance is not at all mentioned, which is disappointing. So Pakkun changing his mind about women water bending doesn't come from the realization that Katara's Gran Gran was the woman he loved, who left the northern water tribe. Noooo, instead, they have this series go out of its way to say "look how amazingly feminist we are!" Like... the anti-sexism message was clear in the original, and it came across more naturally. This version feels like they're trying too hard to drive home the point.

There were some changes that I actually liked though. Zuko's outburst during the war meeting where he protests the plan to sacrifice the 41st division is there with different dialogue but the same point. But having Ozai then send them with Zuko in his exile saying he can have the 41st division if he's so concerned about them was a nice touch. As Iroh notes, they are alive because of Zuko's sacrifice.

Sooo... as far as live action remakes go, it's ok. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being Dragon Ball Evolution, and 10 being the Netflix live action One Piece, I would give this maybe a 6 or 7. The original is better, but this version still has the same core story so far, and it doesn't suck.

As a side note, I know that one of the reasons for live action remakes is to reach the segment of the audience who simply won't watch something if it's animated. And just... can we please kill the ridiculous stigma that says "cartoons are for kids"??? Animation is simply the best medium for some stories, and it is absolute ludicrous that the medium of a story's portrayal would be what determines what demographic should be watching it. Japan seems to get this; if only the west did, too.

[boneswizard]

ok, I'm done fucking around and waiting, I will finally divulge the secrets of the series I'm writing. I won't reveal the ending of any of them in hopes that you buy and read my books. also feel free to send me asks about the stories and characters! I'd love to talk about them

since there are four novels, I'm putting the details under a cut.

The four novels aren't in a hard and fast order, I only know which one I want to publish first.

The first thing you need to know is that all of these take place in the same universe, which is a sci-fi future, I don't know how far in the future it would take place, but it's the future.

Between the orbits of earth and mars, are a plethora of space stations. these range from vast farming stations, to city-stations, to small villages or towns. There is no real government that rules over all of them, but they all generally subscribe to a set of rules.

Mars has been inhabited, but barely. There's one city that actually exists, and most of the towns are there to mine resources and water. There is also a chemical compound found in the soil of mars that is made into the drug Achilex, which makes one have feelings of power (except in certain cases, but we will get to that later.)

The earth has become a withered husk, the only people who still live there live in big cities, or in small mining communities, because the only thing left on earth are the rocks and minerals that can still be mined.

This is where the first story in my series starts. Orion, a teenage boy, gets his leg blown off in a mining accident the first time he goes into work. While he's in the hospital, his best friend Andromeda runs away, getting off earth to chase her fortune.

Orion decides he wants to run away as well. In part to find his friend, and in part to get a prosthetic leg, because medical opportunities on earth are slim.

When Orion is finally able to find a way out of the hospital, he runs off and becomes a stowaway on a ship off earth. He is found by a woman who gets him fake papers and sets him up with a job transporting things across the populated universe. In his quest to find a leg, and his friend, he gets a taste of all the different walks of life on his routes.

–

The story that is perhaps most connected to this, and the one I am most furiously working on now, is about two characters. Butterboy (Butter) and Boss. They begin life in a factory that manufactures a nutritious drink mix. Butter is transferred to work on Boss' floor where they do quality checks. It's only a 2 man job, because it's a small factory floating by itself in space, although part of a larger company. While Boss is initially distrustful of Butter, he eventually warms to him, although he tries to keep his distance. He teaches Butter how to read, and, when he gets injured, Butter helps him heal. Eventually they decide they need to escape their factory. And they do so. yay.

They then meet a stranger... it's Orion!!! yay! Yippie! He finds them in the hold of his ship, and decides to get them set up with some people he knows, so they can actually get a job. He finds that some of his friends are in need of two other crewmates. These friends are a lesbian couple Violet and Broccoli. Butter and Boss enter their ship to find that Broccoli grows food in their ship, and Violet is an arms dealer for the Space Mafia. As they travel they learn to live a life outside of the factory, and discover that their souls are still legally owned by the company they used to work under. This leads them to attempting to get their souls back.

–

The third story, the one I have probably written the second-most about, is about the very space mafia Violet sells guns to.

A worker at a restaurant that is definitely noooottt a front is selected to be a bodyguard for the daughter of the head of the mafia in one of the space cities. the daughter is named Sofia, and our protagonist is called Gatto. The story follows them as they fall in love and topple the mafia. The story is more exciting than I make it sound, because Gatto is an idiot and Sofia likes to exploit that.

–

The final one, the one where the story is most conceptual, is also the one that I think has the most backstory. and the backstory takes the most explanation.

So, remember Achilex, the drug I mentioned earlier? well, if you have a specific genetic thing, instead of making you have feelings of power, it makes one go into a blind, murderous rampage. (sorry it's so edgy, I made this part when I was 16 and I got attached)

the main character of this story is Bil, she was used by her father as an assassin. He was a powerful business man, and would send her to his political rivals, where she would drink a solution of Achilex and murderate them. It was easy to get away with this because minors are usually let off for murdering someone under the influence of Achilex (can go into detail if you ask me about it) He specifically chose her mother so he could have her, a child with this specific gene. Once she was old enough she was able to get away from her father and pursue an education in medicine.

after she graduated school, she married her wife, Alice, and they lived together on an earth city. At some point, Bil accidentally ingests Achilex and murderifies her boss. She and Alice need to get off the planet. So they take a job on Mars, as the only doctors for a small town. The majority of the book is about this, them working in the town, which is on the mars frontier.

–

anyway, those are my books! once again, asks about the characters and plot are appreciated :)

[psychdeliks]

V. Don't We All Just Suffer More in Imagination than in Reality

Did you think you could escape it?

Studying, school, stress, sleep, grades, validation. In the course of my entire life, studying was never deemed to be exciting or fun. There would be a couple times where I would try to excessively romanticize my study sessions, blasting Clair de Lune slowed and reverb or listening to some dark academia playlist from Youtube to feel like an 18th century scholar during the Enlightenment. Despite these fastidious efforts, my study sessions always seemed to be more tiresome and draining than fulfilling. Because of this negative reinforcement of belief towards studying, my mind would literally do anything to not study. I would choose to go out with my friends, bake, cook, read, clean my room, scroll in Tiktok for four hours, or plan the course of my whole life for the 12th time. I would resort to literally anything to escape a study session and its lack of a dopamine hit. I mean what was the use of allocating my limited time to something that did not even fulfill me?

Although after a series of feelings of anxiousness before a deadline, I asked myself if I really have to feel this all the time. Because what, there were deadlines every week, so am I meant to be anxious weekly? Delaying these tasks did far from relieving me because the deadlines felt like they were chasing me in my head, whispering in my ear that I had not done them yet. I felt guilty, and I felt that I could not respect myself and my sense of accountability towards myself. Then, I realized that I will be studying my entire life, as I plan to go to medical school. I might as well learn and teach myself how to make the experience an enlightening and fulfilling one.

The Rising Action, It Actually Might Last Forever...

I decided to change things up because I realized how procrastination was deeply rooted with my feelings of depression. When I tell myself that I would do something but I did not, I lose respect towards myself. It's the same if someone keeps making empty promises towards you, it's logical to choose not to trust them anymore. I also decided to not let studying dictate my life, I will be in control and let my life dictate my study habits.

When I started to accept studying as a peaceful and intimate activity, I started to develop study habits. My study habits are organized a few minutes after I wake up. I already have a calendar of the deadlines and exams, thus I allocate tasks and to-do lists per day up until the deadline or exam, so that I would be able to study or do the requirements bit by bit each day. Then on individual days, I have a timeline of the day and will paste the tasks on the specific time in which I am free. I do not want study sessions to prevent me from experiencing life thus I have study sessions in short intervals, but daily. If I am about to study for an exam, I plan days ahead on the specific things that I will need to do to prepare for the exam, such as writing notes or compiling the notes. This is so that on the day of the study session, I will not be overwhelmed as everything is already arranged in order, compiled in one place. While studying, I normally like to go to Youtube and watch Study With Me videos that incorporate 25-5 Pomodoro technique. This means that I study for 25 minutes, rest for 5 minutes, and repeat until the session is done. I say all of these, but this is the ideal. I cannot say that I am still 100% consistent daily because there are times when life really just happens, so I think I will always be improving but never really reach a specific climax into my studying habits.

Self-Regulated Learning

In the Psych O'clock topic, the speaker focused on the topic of Self-Regulated Learning. She mentioned that self-regulated learning gives individuals the ability to learn outside the environments of school, and that procrastination is not supportive of it. I learned that time-management is a good school, and a good tip for this is to schedule readings for every particular subject on the same day and same time each week. Tasks are meant to be proximal, specific, and challenging, and positive reinforcement should be used when starting a difficult task. With the aspects of self-regulated learning, I realized that I had truly understood the meaning of why procrastination cannot be done for self-regulated learning. When I procrastinate, I do not actually learn or understand the lessons, I only memorize them which is the shallowest form of learning. Self-regulated learning aims to get deep with the lessons, so that the learner would be able to connect the lessons to other lessons and to their life. When it comes to situations wherein an individual does not like the topic that they are studying, the speaker advised the individual should look for a specific aspect in which the individual is interested in, to at least start the studying session with curiosity. Overall, self-regulated learning focuses on the learning of learning, to optimize learning and to make learning an environment of curiosity and enlightenment, not burnout and distress. With regards to self-regulated learning, I can say that I have implemented many things mentioned such as making my tasks proximal, specific, and challenging, as I make each task's instructions specific to prevent from being overwhelmed. The podcast also made me realize that procrastination is truly an enemy when it comes to studying as it creates the illusion that studying is a stressful experience that causes more suffering than learning. To be able to create an environment of learning, and to learn how to learn optimally is extremely important even outside the realm of academics. We learn each day, it is so much more effective to find a way that works for you and use it. I believe that self-regulated learning is effective for me. I never knew there was a specific terminology to what had truly benefited me in my study habits.

Why did I write about my study habits? What is the significance of study habits in my life?

Writing about my study habits and its significance means a lot to me because studying has brought me an immense amount of stress. It has caused emotions of anxiety and depression, but in reality it was just my methods of studying that brought me to the perception that I was suffering. In reality, studying is a work of art. It is something that can be refined so that one can perceive life in a much more optimal way.

References

What is Self-Regulated Learning? (n.d.). Develop Self-Regulated Learners. https://serc.carleton.edu/sage2yc/self_regulated/what.html

Word Count: 1098 words

May 14, 2023

0 notes

[prongsmydeer]

Ayesha Liveblogs She-Ra S1

“Is that a mouse?!” Why is it just an accepted fact of this universe that some people are furries and scalies

“This is what I raised you for,” is a messed up thing to say to anyone but particularly in the context of a military draft

I know “Horde” is an actual word but that it’s called the Horde and their leader “Hordak”... imagine if the Empire in SW was “the Darthettes” 

Based on only these two scenes Catra seems like a difficult friend to have with the sulking and not waiting her turn at the helm

“Dear Mom, I feel like you don't respect me.” A teenage mood 

Bow picking up and folding Glimmer’s clothes, what a sweetheart

“Will you fight for the honour of Grayskull?” Seems like an unfair question without defining Grayskull

“Not much for talking, huh?” “I prefer not to swap pleasantries with my captors.” Adora makes a very reasonable point, Bow

Speaking of captors, I assume that Adora did once have parents:

“Where’s a blinding flash of light when you need one?” We call that foreshadowing

Glimmer’s core personality trait so far is stubbornness to a fault

“I never knew where I came from or who my family was. Shadow Weaver said it didn’t matter who I was before, that I was nothing before Hordak took me in. There’s always been a part of me that I just don’t know anything about.” Which came first Finn from Star Wars or Adora from She-Ra lmao

Adora discovering birthdays and horses and all she missed of the outside world is really very endearing 

“She’s been messing with our heads since we were kids.” “How could you possibly be okay with that?” “Because it doesn’t matter what they do. The two of us look out for each other. And soon, we’ll be the ones calling the shots.” It’s actually really sad that Catra is so resigned to being manipulated and that she views Adora as her entire support system, someone put these girls in therapy

“But I was stupid. And a jerk, and I almost got us killed.” That was a quick turnaround time on the stubbornness, good on Gimmer

“It’s been an honour serving beside you, Horsey.” I delight in every minute of screentime that Bow has

I feel like a lot of these Horde soldier concerns can be partly addressed by making sure Adora has a different outfit when she meets the queen

I love the immediate friendship with the horse and how they just call them “Horsey”

“She attacked our troops with a sword and then fled with the help of a winged beast.” I mean... Adora defended herself with a sword, which is not the same thing as attacking. These guards are lying. She-Ra said, even in pastel space: ACAB

“I know her secret.” “And what’s that?” “Hm. Like I’d tell you.” Everything about Catra just screams I am gay and in 10th grade at all times. I’m sorry I compare everything to Naruto but she is Space Lesbian Furry Sasuke. I will not elaborate

I’m guessing Mara is a previous host(?) of She-Ra 

“I don’t have my glasses, you’ll have to speak up.” I relate to this sentiment, Madame Razz

Very genuine question: Is She-Ra’s pacing/dialogue slower than the average animated series because I keep having to switch it to 1.25 speed in order to move through the show hfkjhfkjhf what is up with it

Although I understand that this is a struggle between a corrupt military empire and a rebellion of united forces/nations a la Star Wars, whenever they bring up that this is a monarchical system, I can’t help but be like, “Dissolve the monarchy!!” I blame Magi the anime. Or the British empire. Probably both

“Catra has been nothing but a disappointment to me.” “If you have failed to condition her properly, you have no one but yourself to blame.” Hordak and Shadow Weaver are like a divorced couple who can’t agree on how to teach their kids responsibility

This is the second time I’m mentioning it, but how much of the outward hostility towards Adora would be solved if they got her a different outfit???? A lot of it, probably

I am assuming that Shadow Weaver is fixated on Adora mostly bc she is a lost princess and not bc she has any emotional attachment to her

“You want She-Ra to fix everything, but you won’t even try to save yourselves?” They are so close to the idea of democracy and yet so far 

Lmao @ these three teens turning a diplomatic supply mission into encouraging a pacifist nation to throw away their ideology and smack people down with plants

How the heck was Adora hiding that GIANT sword in her Horde uniform and somehow no one took note. No one ever managed to look at her back as she walked in?????

“Would I get to hit more people with flowers?” Perfuma said: Actually it turns out, I love violence

Bow and Glimmer giving Adora a firmer bed and sleeping in her room bc they understand she’s used to military barracks... I love the Best Friend Squad 

It’s funny how often Queen Angella makes war decisions based on ‘Glimmer asked very nicely’

“Everyone here looks like a real pirate.” I’m gonna be real with you, Bow, it looks like you’ve entered a lesbian bar rather than a pirate’s tavern, but I guess there is a Venn diagram crossover of interests

“Tragically, they went down in flames.” “How did that happen?” “I set them on fire.” I think I like Captain Sea Hawk

The men on this show are fun. Bow is so easily excited and impressed and Captain Sea Hawk is no thoughts just vibes

Gkhgkgjhg Shadow Weaver not giving Catra the Force Captain orientation while simultaneously using her to hunt Adora is kind of like cutting off her nose to spite her face

There is something about the concept of Mermista and Sea Hawk dating that I find very endearing:

Does some voice innately speak to Adora or does she point the sword and hope

“Try being the daughter of an immortal queen when your powers are ‘sparkles.’” 1) Salt in the wound to be named Glimmer kghkgjhgk imagine if Superman/Clark Kent was called Laser Eyes also 2) Way to casually drop that Queen Angella is immortal??? What???

 Makes a lot of sense that Bow would have the advantage in a battle since he seems to have been an active part of the rebellion for some time vs these Horde cadets who are on their first mission

She-Ra’s height is a little perplexing bc Adora seems to essentially maintain her proportions so rather than being a tall person she just looks like a person x1.15. Adora + HST (Hardy Size Two)

Update from 3 minutes later: Mermista just described her as an ‘eight foot tall lady’ which doesn’t make any sense at all. She is one (1) head taller than Catra, and I don’t think Catra is 7 feet tall. She-Ra’s gotta be like. 6′5″ at best  

Confused by Bow’s gesture with Mermista, is he participating in the magic or just posing???

“The Horde almost destroyed my home. I wanna help fight them.” This feels like a strong description for what happened. They knocked at your door and you kicked their sixteen-year-old asses. But I see your point, Mermista 

The sixth episode intro is giving very much Jumpstart 3rd Grade 

“I designed the castle as a labyrinth. I’m the only one who can navigate it.” What a horrible thing to do to your staff. Even cartoon rich people have no perspective LOL

[Glimmer Tiktok audio voice] 🎶 Adora wake up, I don’t like this, Adora wake up 🎶

I understand that Entrapta’s thing is tech but characters who like to experiment on beings with sentience give me the heebie jeebies like would she normally dissect a person like Adora??

Also I feel like it would’ve been more humanizing if she felt any emotion at all towards fighting the First Ones tech robots. But she seems to be indifferent to both people AND robots???

I appreciate that they’re starting to show the need for and strength of individuals like Bow and the kitchen staff in this world where princesses seem to be the be-all end-all of strength against the Horde

“You each have a skill that only you can do, even if it doesn’t come from some magical jewel.” Bow on theme as always. Love him to pieces:

Also LMAO @ Bow convincing the staff to join in on the robot fight in less than 10 seconds

“I don’t have enough energy to teleport us all right now. Not without leaving someone’s legs behind.” Is the implication here that Glimmer has left someone’s legs behind before jkhgkjhg

Loving how much this ep relies on teamwork <3 Go Bow’s Kitchen Robot Mercenary Squad hahaha

Entrapta immediately putting back together the disc that nearly just killed them. Hoo boy. Always trust your heebie jeebies

“My Aunt Castaspella is head sorceress there.” JKGHKJGHKJGH I guess I understand why Angella named her daughter Glimmer. They do literal names only in this family LMAO

They’re reinforcing that She-Ra is eight feet tall, which again, HOW?

“How nice that Glimmer has finally started making some friends.” We all have an aunt like Aunt Casta jghkjghgj

“Adora, do you know what ‘aunt’ means?” “No, I was just hoping someone would eventually explain.” KJHGKJGHKJGH Adora, what do they teach you in evil military space school

“Some say she never really left. That’s she only biding her time, waiting to exact her revenge.” Wgkjhkgjhg the connect between Light Spinner and Shadow Weaver is as subtle as a ton of bricks

Awww Glimmer and Bow immediately understand that Shadow Weaver is Adora’s Terrible Mum

Wasn’t sure til now if Shadow Weaver knew that Adora was She-Ra 

“You never loved me. You just played twisted mind games.” Everything about Shadow Weaver and Adora is like. Hallmark abuse

It’s cute how the beach has clouds as waves. I love world-building

“If you want to take down Adora, you have to go for the heart.” 1) Don’t like that 2) Why the lingering shot on Bow rather than Bow and Glimmer

“Unfortunately, you’re the only I can trust around here.” “Because we’re best friends.” Scorpia is kind of delightful lmao

“I never really fit in with the other princesses.” It’s tough being a half Scorpion in this economy

Princess Prom is SO cute I love their outfits and the ball concept

“But don’t you see? That’s how it starts. Then suddenly everyone has new friends and nobody needs me anymore.” Glimmer needs to talk to a therapist about her anxious attachment 

Bow is VERY good at communicating his feelings and boundaries with Glimmer re: having other friends. We love an emotionally aware man

“She stole my food and asked me to spy on people with her. Is this what love feels like?” Being gay and in 10th grade: Jealousy Edition

I guess Scorpia and Catra chose Bow first because he was the more accesible target, given Glimmer’s teleporting abilities

Catra continues to ruin Adora’s life and then question why she doesn’t want to hang around with her lol

“We’re the Princess Alliance. And the Horde took one of our own.” YEAHHH MERMISTA, I LOVE A TEAMWORK <3333333

Fjgkhkgjhg I would say that Mermista got the short end of this mission task for the sewer thing, but Perfuma and Adora have to wrangle Sea Hawk and Entrapta lol

GKJHKJGHKJGH a very honest take from Bow:

Bow: Why are you telling me all this?

Kyle: I don’t know... I guess because you’re the first person who’s listened to me. 

Bow: I mean, I’m being held prisoner, so I don’t know that I have a choice... but sure!

“Go to the force captain barracks and pack your things. Now that Adora is back, there’s no need for you there.” I feel like the flaw in Shadow Weaver’s thinking is how she possibly believes Adora could fight for their cause again

Adora sacrificing herself to get the rest of the Princess Alliance out is giving Season 1 VLD Allura, Dreamworks got one mission move 

“You shall stay willingly, because I am going to wipe your mind.” Ah, there it is

GO GLIMMER GIVING SHADOW WEAVER THE PUNCH SHE DESERVES:

“This is not because I like you,” said Catra as she handed over the sword, even though it definitely was, proving that being gay and in tenth grade can in fact lead to the downfall of imperialism

[Princess Alliance as ATLA voice] ‘Did Entrapta just die?’ ‘You know, it was really unclear’

Gjkghkjgh the fact the flames were the same moody green light for the door shut/burst of flames as it was for Jet in the underground. If the people who wrote this ep did not watch ATLA, I would be SHOCKED

As a sidenote, I don’t think Entrapta’s dead lol. It wouldn’t have even crossed my mind to consider she was dead until Bow suggested it LOL, I really just thought it was the door closing 

“If I had known, I never would’ve agreed to your foolish plan.” All this Horde team meeting suggests is that Hordak is not a particularly effective leader LOL 

I think honestly they should’ve kept him obscured for longer to up his villainous aura. Like on a scale of cartoon villainy from like, Dr. Doofenschmirtz to Him in that one really fucked up episode of Powerpuff Girls, this guy seems like a solid Hawk Moth. He’s certainly not as scary as the comparable media of VLD’s Zarkon

“What do you do when you have a cold?” “Remain out of sight.” [Concerned glances] “What? Displays of physical weakness are strongly discouraged in the Horde.” Once an episode Adora reminds everyone of what a horrific childhood she had 

Not sure what Glimmer plans to achieve by hiding her Dark Magic Flu, surely deceiving her mother will only result in more restrictions later on 

In answer to an earlier question, Adora’s strategy for figuring out her She-Ra powers really is just ‘point the sword and hope’

“Hey, you can’t just touch another woman’s tail without asking,” said Scorpia, like they weren’t holding Entrapta captive without asking

In fairness to Glimmer and Adora, they really just had to take the others word for it. They didn’t see what happened to Entrapta!

“Am I the only one who cares about sword safety around here?” Poor, rational Bow has been cursed to be besties with two people whose only two braincells constantly scream, ‘Magic’ and ‘Fight’

Again, I get that Entrapta is representing a specific type of person but it doesn’t sit right with me how ambivalent she is about the Horde. What is ur moral code Entrapta? What matters to u, aside from making technological discoveries? Who matters? 

“I was hard on you. I won’t deny it, and I won’t apologize. I just wanted to prepare you for the world. I wanted you to be strong.” “Well, congratulations, I’m plenty strong now.” Yaddah yaddah generational trauma 

“I shouldn’t have been so weird about you hanging out with someone else. I’m sorry Bow.” Glimmer’s hand on Bow’s chin as she reassures him: <3 Best Friend Squad 

“I don’t know how you feel? I got your father killed!” WHAT IN THE ABBY GRIFFIN

Ah, it was more of a battle decision than a betrayal lol

“Don’t make the same mistake I did. I should have kept fighting, and you should too.” Wow, this episode wasn’t kidding about yaddah yaddah generational trauma 

“You must let go.” Does this mean that She-Ra also has to go on a spiritual journey towards asceticism and not prioritizing her loved ones with a mystical racially-coded guru a la Aang

Update from 18 min later: Yeah.

I like that Catra and Adora are finally getting to hang out again, even if it is while they are being attacked by giant spiders during the Alien Mega-Computer Hang-out Cyber-Security Lockdown 

“I knew you’d be weird about me letting you escape. I told you it’s not because I like you,” Adora said the furry doth protest too much

These Fright Zone simulations are very sweet <3 Childhood!!

I love the subtle contact like Adora smiling when Catra’s tail brushes her hands 

“Adora, you must do a better job of keeping her under control.” Again. This favourite and scapegoat.... sickeningly realistic abuse tactic hoo boy

“I didn’t want you to come back.” We have circled back to Space Lesbian Furry Sasuke. Sever your bonds so u can get stronger Catra (derogatory/affectionate):

“I wonder what I could’ve been if I’d gotten rid of you sooner.” You would’ve unlocked your mangekyo sharingan, Catra

“You ever meet someone and just instantly click?” Awww Scorpia’s adoration of Catra is quite sweet

NJFKKJFHFKJ what I imagine to Catra’s inner monologue

Scorpia: She is the best friend ever.

Catra, biting her fist to keep from crying: Adora used to call me that.

“I watched you grow up from afar.” That’s a weird thing to say

KHGKJHGKJGHK lmao @ Adora pointing it out as well. “Creepy? Yes, I have, I been called this before.” I’ve only known Light Hope for like 10 seconds but already I enjoy her

“Our horse!” “I... am my own horse.” WHAT THE HELL SWIFT WIND CAN TALK?

“As part of Adora’s herd, I need your help.” That’s so cute and weird that Swift Wind measures friendship by herd. I am so thrown by this horse thing, I had no clue this was coming

“I will not consign you to the same regrets.” Angella said the generational trauma ends with me!!!

“Etheria’s not just a planet. Whatever the First Ones did to it, it went deep.” Oh good, I have been perplexed about what the hell Etheria was in the first place. A solar system? A galaxy? A country? So they are all living on the same planet, yeah?

I didn’t know the ‘You’re asking me about my theories’ audio came from She-Ra

“The First Ones were explorers who journeyed from beyond the stars to settle Etheria.” So were they like the actual first ones or is this a North America type of situation

“You are the first She-ra in a thousand years.” Ah, exposition

“Which means, [the runestones are] our best access point to hack the planet.” ENTRAPTA. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

Is this little guy Hordak’s son or like. The Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys

Oh. He’s like that iDog Robot that plays music from ur mp3 player

“You are distracted by your attachments. There was one before you who could not let go.” Oh no, Adora’ll never reach the Avatar state now

Wait Madame Razz knows Mara the She-Ra from ONE THOUSAND YEARS AGO? How old is she????

“Mara stranded us in the empty dimension of Despandos.” Stranded whomst?? Etheria?? Did she plop u down like a pin on Google Maps??

I assume it will become apparent to us that Mara had a reason for what she did

“You’re really going to let this... this Princess tinker with my runestone?” “Her tinkering has boosted the firepower of every weapon she’s touched. So yes, she gets to tinker with whatever she wants.” This what happens with u mix feminism with imperialism LMAO

On that note, is power passed on matrilineally in this universe? Since it’s all princesses using the runestones, I guess gender must be a relevant factor in magic usage, huh? Unless weirdly for two generations everyone just happened to have exclusively daughters?

“Freedom, equality and hay for all.” Fascinated by the horse politics 

“What good is all of your power if you don’t use it to help the people you love?” This is why I don’t see the point of these spiritual or emotional journeys to let go of the people around u. Ultimately, isn’t their reason for continuing to pursue balance, or the mission, or whatever the hell, the love of their people? I can’t believe I’m taking narrative reflections from a horse

“I didn’t do this fulfill some destiny. I became She-Ra to help others. My attachments, my friends, they’re part of who I am.” THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING, ADORA

“It’s in the name. Net-ossa. I toss nets!” “Yes darling, you have beautiful nets.” Are Spinerella and Netossa girlfriends? <3 <3 <3 Love that for them

“All I did was push [Catra] further to the side of evil.” I don’t think you can take responsibility for that Adora, Catra chose this all on her own 

Kinda worried they might kill or incapacitate Angella. Glimmer only has one living parent! 

Catra is being so mean and for what? Cause Adora’s more athletic and she’s the Avatar-Jinchuriki-Jedi-Chosen Magical Girl? Please 

Wouldn’t covering Etheria in darkness make it unsuable for the Horde? What do you gain from destroying the planet? Isn’t that where you want to take over? Very, ‘I’m one of the idiots who live there’ 

Oh my god. Has Glimmer been glitching because she’s connected to the Black Garnet now. Oh my god. IS GLIMMER GONNA BLOW UP THE HORDE

Adora apologizing for not being able to save the world on her own and Bow immediately comforting her, paying no heed to the weapons aimed at them... I LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP A LOT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Also really enjoy how apparent they’ve made it that Spinerella and Netossa are 1) very nice and 2) very talented and battle-equipped

MERMISTA AND SEAHAWK AND PERFUMA WOOOOOOOOOOO

Even the little ice princess whose name I cannot recall!!! Whole gang’s here

Entrapta could be here too if she gave her friends the benefit of the damn doubt and didn’t terrorize the world for the sake of science!!

Absolutely LOVE that Sea Hawk and Bow are part of the princess magic rainbow blast:

“You will have other chances to prove your worth to me as my second in command.” Hate this for Catra. Like the Non-Space Lesbian Furry Sasuke, I just want her to get some therapy for her childhood trauma and then understand that experiencing love is not a weakness

What a colourful and happy ending to a violent battle. This show is really trying to balance two wildly different aesthetics and tones, huh? It’s grown on me, though! I like it 

[conarcoin]

MLP episodes that try to talk about serious real-life topics, which ones succeed, and which ones fail

Note - I haven’t watched season nine.

The Good

Griffon the Brush-Off: I don’t like a lot of bully-centric episodes in cartoons. This one has a good message. If people are being shitty to your friends, tell them to fuck off.

Bridle Gossip: Not perfect, but definitely the best of the series’ attempts at making an episode about racism. Zecora becomes a recurring character, which is nice. Love her.

Lesson Zero: Cartoonish but actually pretty good representation of OCD with Twilight part one. Episode ends with Celestia listening to Twilight’s problems and making accommodations for her which is great.

It’s About Time: Cartoonish but actually pretty good representation of OCD with Twilight part two.

It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies: This episode was the episode that turned Fluttershy into a near-perfect character. Super good message about how sometimes the best thing you can do for someone may not be the easiest or nicest.

Maud Pie: Pinkie’s autistic-coded sister visits Ponyville and Pinkie excitedly introduces her to her friends, who have a bit of trouble becoming friends with her because they don’t have anything in common with her. Episode ends with them realizing what they have in common with Maud is their love for Pinkie and ultimately accept Maud the way she is.

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3: Rainbow Dash struggles with studying and her friends try to help her succeed in her own way. Pretty good representation of ADHD.

Tanks for the Memories: Pretty good episode that can be used to teach kids about dealing with loss, although Tank is fine, just hibernating.

All Bottled Up: Don’t like Starlight, but this is a perfectly fine episode about how bottling up your emotions is unhealthy.

The Maud Couple: This is basically the same lesson as Maud Pie except Pinkie does an ableism this time instead. Good lesson for the same reason but I have no idea why they would choose Pinkie for this. Or tell this lesson a second time.

Surf and/or Turf: Wonderful episode that can be seen as a metaphor for many topics, and I’ve seen it interpreted brilliantly in various ways including being about children with divorced parents, children of mixed heritage, and genderfluidity. Just a good episode that can be applied brilliantly to a number of important topics, and I like seeing that it’s so well-beloved by a number of people for very different reasons.

Molt Down: It’s not for me, but I can see this episode being really helpful for kids going through puberty.

The Bad

Over a Barrel: Oh boy, a native american themed episode. It sure would suck if the native stand-ins were portrayed as aggressive and unwilling to compromise and the lesson was “we should all get along guys 🙂”. Buffalo are also never mentioned again lmao.

The Cutie Map: I literally don’t fucking understand what the metaphor is here and half the fandom thinks this episode is about communism for some insane reason so obviously they didn’t get their point across clearly enough.

Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?: Had a lot written but it made me mad so instead I’m just going to say: Why the fuck would you put a magical self-harm allegory in your cartoon for elementary school children, have it “solved” by the end of the episode, and then never again discuss it?

Newbie Dash: How the fuck are you gonna do bullying right in S1 and then write this garbage? Fuck off.

The Times They Are a Changeling: WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU WRITE A RACISM EPISODE WITH YOUR POC STAND-IN BEING A SPECIES WHO’S ONLY OTHER APPEARANCE WAS THEM LITERALLY TRYING TO TAKE OVER EQUESTRIA???? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MINDS?

Parental Glideance / The Parent Map: PLEASE for the love of GOD stop writing episodes where a grown adult is portrayed as being in the wrong for being mad at their parents being fucking weird. Jesus fucking christ?

A Rockhoof and a Hard Place: Holy fucking shit they did a fucking magical suicide allegory for the love of god please help me. What the actual fucking hell? Oh my fucking god you guys cannot keep doing this shit

[fullofsunsetwhispers]

I want to hear more about your AU where Chase raises Omi!

Omg that was only a spur-of-the-moment concept I had while reading this lion king quote xD However, if you ask so nicely I can add several things.

Omi lives in Chase's lair his whole life, so Master Fung and Dojo don't know about the boy's existence. YET.

Omi's training had begun at a young age (4 years old), but it goes way much smoother than under Fung's wing. For one, Chase is more aware of the boy's needs in the actual show. Another reason could be that Chase is ecstatic that Omi turned out to be the dragon of water.

Fallen warriors are eager to aid Omi with his training, as well. When Chase isn't looking they spar with Omi and give him a couple of pointers too. That's why Omi is so knowledgeable about various fighting styles across the world.

Chase made sure Omi was accordingly educated. That's true, Omi likes Chase's library because the old scrolls amaze him. Moreover, he has a bigger scope to choose from. Chase also owns more modern books of various genres. (In the original series everything Omi knows is from these positions monks tend to read albeit Omi's knowledge about the life outside the temple is well... poor) In this regard, Chase accustoms Omi to his laptop and teaches Omi how to use the Internet. Not only that! Trips to city centers are obligatory! In this way, Chase makes sure Omi won't miss out. And it's for the better for both of them! Congrats Omi, you made this loner go out to people sdfgh. They both enjoy local festivals - Omi always manages to persuade Chase to buy a souvenir or two

Angst time - Omi had been calling Chase his dad for a while and when he was old enough to understand some things, finally asked Chase about his mom. It was really hard for Chase, but he decided to break down to Omi he's not his biological father. The news broke that little boy. He ran away. Fortunately, Chase found him and reassured him that their bond is way stronger than genetic ties

Female cat warriors after that incident have decided upon being moms to Omi. 'We will MOM the heck outta that precious little one' Omi finds that annoying at times due to the fact he can do several chores on his own, but he's always up for cuddles.

One time Omi asked how come the fallen warriors can transform. And then Chase snaps his fingers and pulls a prank on Omi. Once the little one figured out he was changed into a cat instead of being scared - was amazed by Chase's magic skills. Sometimes Omi would approach Chase with the request 'dad, change me into a cat'. And Chase couldn't say no, of course. Omi finds the world from a cat's viewpoint even more interesting, so he likes to take a stroll in that form.

I like Omi sneaking out to meet with Chase in the original series, that's why I think it's reasonable to assume Omi would sneak out to the temple out of curiosity. He meets Fung and Dojo and makes friends with them. Later, Omi starts coming back to see Kimiko, Clay, and Raimundo. He loves his life with his family, although he lacks companions his age.

Once Chase finds out, he keeps on telling Omi that they'll brainwash him. Omi has never been punished before, but every time Chase sees Omi fraternizing with monks - he's grounded.

'But dad I like them! They have amazing adventures where they fight an evil boy genius, who takes orders from a ghost hag Wuya in a never-ending battle for shen gong wu' - Omi tends to reason with Chase in such a manner

In the beginning, Chase is against it, but he thinks it through and eventually comes to the conclusion that could be a nice form of training. This is how they start showing up on showdowns. Omi is not so eager to fight against his new friends and explains to them it's his duty as a Heylin warrior. Raimundo, Clay and Kimiko don't push him away - on the contrary. Omi is always welcome to pay them a visit if they're not fighting over shen gong wu.

However, Omi has a dilemma. Chase made it clear he can't be friends with xiaolin warriors. So, Omi invites Jack over. ' What, you said I can't hang in with good guys' Jack interrupts him: *hang OUT* Omi: Yes. Dad, you said nothing about the other Heylins. Chase: He's not even a Heylin. He's a pathetic excuse of a villain Jack: I'm standing here! Chase: One more word and you're gonna be a chew toy.

Omi most of the time saves Jack from Chase's wrath.

Of course, Jack and Omi still act like tsunderes towards each other. However, deep down they enjoy their little alliances. They both have a funny way of bargaining. Example:

Omi: Spicer, Raimundo suggested I should have a 'playlist'. Kimiko gave me this MP3 player and I have to 'create my own music taste' Could you help me with that?

Jack: NO.

Omi: Please?

Jack: that would be 5 bucks.

Omi: I can give you my dad's autograph ;)

Jack, feeling over the moon: D E A L.

Chase, later: Why would you need such a thing, little one?

Omi, a smart cookie: I want to practice writing your name in English!

Chase: Ah, here you go. <3

The other time, Omi comes back in an unusual outfit. Black clothes and even black hair with a long fringe that covered Omi's left eye.

Chase: Erm, what's with that attire, son?

Omi: This is my goth phase, father. this is who I am now.

Chase, looking at him in shock, speechless: Wha-

Omi, breaking the serious facade: Oh, My friends encouraged me to add more clothes to my wardrobe. Jack picked out these for me and Kimiko ordered this wig for me. And now excuse me I'll be in my room listening to Green Day

Chase, trying to hide he's angry: This.... THIS IS FINE.

And more comedic situations occur. Chase changes into that kind of overprotective parent. He comes up with more and more evil plots in which he would make Omi cut off these friendships. It always fails.

Chase even asks Jermaine for help. He takes him in as an apprentice, hoping Omi would lose interest in Jack. Unfortunately for Chase, they all become like bros

Why do I want to make Chase an angry mess when it comes to sharing Omi with other people? Idk but I find it hilarious. Overall, this au would be a mix of wholesome son-dad moments, hilarious 'Omi tries new things and the others watch - scenarios', Omi failing at being evil, Jack rubbing in Chase's face he can't kill him because otherwise, Omi would be sad, and OMI'S ARMY OF CAT MOMS

oH. aND Master Fung gives a side- mission to the Xiaolin apprentices to win Omi back from Chase once it is revealed Omi is a dragon of water. The rest don't push Omi into making that decision, they enjoy his company no matter what his alignment is.

[hyunjinspark]

only fools fall for you | hyunjin sm au | part 6

series: only fools fall for you

pairing: dancer! hyunjin x dancer! reader

fic type: social media au (with few written parts)

genre: college au, angst, enemies to lovers, smut and some fluff

word count: 6.5K

warnings: cursing, drinking, slight angst, making out

masterlist

You’d never been to a party like this before, was the first thing you realized when you approached the large neon sign, which spelt out “Tate’s” in a pretentiously cursive font. Anything about the venue would give away the fact that it was the go-to college hotspot, starting from the snakingly long line across the block, the number of young girls in outfits that you could never pull off, or the drunk couples making out right by the window. You felt Yeji squeeze your hand tightly. She had been way too excited to come here, up until this moment. You turned to smile at her, the sequins under her eyes catching in the neon lighting, her mouth stretched into a smile and you squeezed her hand, reassuring her that it would be fine. She smiled back, although forcefully, tightening her grip on your hand.

“Are we going to stand here forever, or are we going in?” You heard Han, as he stepped up to wrap an arm around you.

Han was always that person in your group, the push you needed to get to where you were going. He was the one who’d convinced you to apply to this university, even though you felt their dance program was far too complex and advanced for a mere peasant like you. If it wasn’t for him, you would have never even considered sending in your audition tape, much less have gotten in. The program was expensive, to the point where you knew you would probably be years in debt after it was over, but somehow this would be all worth it. You’d get to learn dance from the best people in the industry, partner with students who would teach you as much as you would teach them and get to be part of large-scale performances that your high school budget could never afford.

All in all, to say you were excited for everything to come was an understatement. High school was fun, but it’d been problematic due to a number of reasons, certain people being one of them. Even though the actual bane of your existence also somehow happened to end up here, in the same university as you, you were going to stay far, far away from him. You would put past everything that happened and focus on you. This was your time. You weren’t going to let anybody take that away from you, especially not a boy.

“Let’s go!” Yeji declared with newfound confidence, and you let her take the lead.

Minho had told you to meet him and his friends in a booth at the back of the club, and you wonder how being freshman students, they already had enough credit to score the most exclusive seating in the club. They must be coming here every day.

Jeongin was right behind Han, as all of you entered, getting the back of your wrists stamped with a glow-in-the-dark sign. Yeji led the way, her blonde curls bouncing around her as she pushed through groups of sweat-clad, tipsy students. You could spot a few familiar faces from orientation, but no names stuck out to you. Maybe you should have interacted with more new people, then perhaps you’d be just like Han right now, who was giving off a high five to every third person you passed. You could never imagine being as social as him, it was like he fit well into any room he was put into. You kept your head lowered, making sure to not trip over anybody, or step in any spilled alcohol as you passed over to the back of the pub, your stomach sinking the closer you got. You didn’t even know Minho; you’d met him one time and then taken up his offer to come here.

But then again, isn’t that what true college life was all about? This was your time to experience every first, that you hadn’t already had before.

“Wait!” Yeji suddenly stopped, making you bump into the back of her head and you let out an oof as you stepped on her.

“What?” Han asked her, raising his eyebrows at her, momentarily distracted from his hounds of acquaintances.

“We can’t just show up empty handed right?” Yeji asked, turning around to look at the three of you “That’s so lame”

“Um…” You trailed off, not sure how much college movie dynamics applied to real life situations. Was it actually lame to not drink at a party? I mean, it wasn’t 2005 anymore, but hell if you knew the current social norms of acceptable teenage behavior.

“That’s so dumb” Han said, voicing your inner concerns. Around you, everybody had a drink in their hand. Maybe she was right.

“I mean, it doesn’t hurt to grab a drink, does it?” You shrugged and Jeongin nodded, a wide smile on his face at your agreement.

“Okay, then we take a small detour” Han said.

»»————-

You stood at the bar, staring at the menu in hand. What kind of drink were you supposed to get? A cheap one, or something classy? What would it say about you? You had no idea what kind of guy Minho was. You didn’t even follow him on his social media, which now that you think of, you probably should have done. It would have given you a better idea of what kind of stuff he liked, what he found humorous, and what he absolutely despised. All you knew was that he seemed to like cats and was really really cute.

“Can’t decide?” Han asked, and you nodded. Again, you were glad Han was here. Even though this was just as new to him as it was you; he knew how to handle it. Most times, you liked to tease him for acting like he knew too much, but times like this, you really appreciated him. You let him take the reins yet again, and he placed the order.

Yeji and Jeongin on the other hand, as inexperienced as they were, seemed to enjoy this already. His arm was around hers as they talked to the bartender about what their best drinks were and got an extra order of jokbal. You tapped your fingers on the counter, watching him mix what you hoped was your drink. You didn’t want to keep Minho waiting long. That is if he showed up.

Oh. You hadn’t even thought about the chances of him standing you up. You felt a bubble of anxiety rise up in your throat once again, and just as it was about to take over you, Han squeezed you slightly, his arm around your shoulder.

He leaned in to whisper “If you’re worrying about him not showing up, I spotted him a while back, don’t worry”

Bless Han for literally always reading your mind.

“Who said I was worried about that?” You shot back, with a chuckle and Han rolled his eyes. He knew you too well. You turned slightly, leaning your weight on the bar, to try and sneak a glance at Minho and his friends. You were curious to see who they were, and to see what he looked like right now. You had taken a shot in the dark wearing this dress, which revealed almost your entire back, had just enough material to cover your ass, and your worries would be quelled if he was just as dressed up.

You craned your neck, through the crowds of unknown faces, who all blended into one, hoping to spot the one you knew.

Just then, Han tapped on your shoulder and you spun around, as he handed you your drink. It had a wedge of lemon perched on top, and it reminded you of the drinks you used to sneak with Yeji as underage teens, since you always thought they looked so classy.

“Let’s go!” Jeongin yelled out, giving you a slight push and you tried to not stumble over your shoes, walking forward.

You got this, you got this, you got this.

You approached the back of the pub, booths lit up from dim purple lighting, half of them filled with people making out and the other half with intimidating groups of friends. Where was Minho? You ran your eyes through the crowd, skimming over the people, until they landed on the booth right at the end.

There he was.

He looked absolutely gorgeous, and it was a wonder you didn’t spot him before, since he stood out so well. He was in an open flannel shirt, his sleeves rolled up showing off his nicely toned arms, taking a sip out of a red solo cup. His other hand was tucked in his jean pocket, so casually and so confidently.

You were silently glad Yeji had spotted him in the cafeteria earlier, albeit if it had only been to subtly distract you from Hyunjin.

Well, it was definitely working, and now you were sort of glad you’d been so pissed at Hyunjin earlier. Out of all the terrible things he did to you in your life, letting you meet Minho was the only good one.

Before you knew it, Han gave you a gentle push at the small of your back, and Minho became closer every step.

He let out a loud laugh at something his friends said, and then turned, his eyes landing on you in an instant. His eyes lit up in recognition, and he smiled, his mouth upturned in an impossibly attractive smirk.

“Hi” He mouthed, with a wave of his hand.

“Hi” You smiled, coming to stand in front of him, unsure if you should go in for a hug. You stared at him for a second, taking in his appearance, his smile growing and he said “I wasn’t sure if you’d come”

“Why wouldn’t we!” Yeji yelled, a little too loud and close to your ear, jumping forward with her hand outstretched. Guess her nervousness was gone. Minho seemed taken aback but let out a laugh at her excitement.

“Hi, Minho” She beamed “I’m Yeji, also the girl who’ll beat your ass up if you end up being a dick”

“Well, as far as introductions go, that’s one I haven’t heard before” He smiled in return, and you were glad he took it in humor.

“Well, Y/N, Yeji, meet Seungmin” Minho said, just as a boy stepped up next to him, with brown locks and a wide smile, a handful of peanuts in his hands and a red cup in the other. Minho pointed over to the booth, continuing “The blonde one’s Felix -”

“Hi, Felix” You smiled.

“- and Hyunjin’s gone out, but he’ll back in a second”

Your eyes fell on Felix, who was sat at the table, recording something on his phone, a small smile on his face and you wondered how it was possible that all of Minho’s friends were beautiful. Felix grinned at you, looking like sunshine and you felt Yeji physically swoon, already knowing that she would not shut up about him the rest of the semester.

Wait, the end of Minho’s sentence sunk in, clambering onto your brain, a sense of confusion immediately overtaking you.

What did he just say?

“What the fuck is she doing here?”

Oh.

Your eyes fell on the last of Minho’s friends. The boy who had just uttered those words, stolen them right from your mouth, before you could say them.

You turned to see him standing by the booth, dressed in all black, a drink in his hands, staring at you.

Hwang Fucking Hyunjin.

The last person you ever wanted to see.

You felt the ground beneath you disappear, as you stared at him. He was staring right back at you, in an accusing manner, his eyes narrowed in revulsion, and you noticed he’d grown his hair out, as if that would make him look like less of an asshole.

You instantly recalled every single reason that you hated him, a film reel of memories running in front of your eyes, things he’d said to you, done to you, the looks he gave you during practice, the way he snickered like a child when you messed up a routine, the air of arrogance that surrounded him and his posse in high school.

All reflected in the boy standing in front of you.

“Me? What the fuck are you doing here?” You found yourself saying, stepping forward, as if to assert dominance. Any other day, and you might have tried to be a little civil, you wouldn’t go so far as to say hi, but you wouldn’t have yelled at him either. Right now though, was the last place you wanted to see him at, with Minho nonetheless, and the way he was glaring at you didn’t do anything to calm your slowly rising annoyance.

He let out a laugh, crossing his arms now “Wow, that’s rich. You’re the one standing in my pub, with my friends, over at my booth”

“Does the pub have your fucking name on it?”

“Yeah, well at least if it did, you’d stay far away from it and I wouldn’t have to talk to you right now” He shot back.

The look on his face was enough to piss you off, as was his arrogance and the way he talked to you right now. You couldn’t believe he was here, saying these things to you.

Every memory you had of him tormenting you through middle to high school was flooding back, as did your anger, and you had to physically hold yourself back. You hated him with every fiber of your being.

He’d made your life a living hell, and here he was, back again, pretending as if nothing happened.

“As if you could ever stop me from doing what I want” You spoke, crossing your arms.

“Well, at least my introduction was a tad bit friendlier” Yeji spoke up, nudging Han.

“You say that as if you didn’t follow me into this pub” Hyunjin spoke “Just like you did to this college. You think I didn’t notice you staring at me on the first day? Then you choose to ignore my text, as if you’re so much better than me”

“Oh, fuck you Hyunjin” You said, losing your grip on this argument and your temper. You swore if he spoke another word to you, you’d start swinging. Your right hook had gotten a lot better since Han taught you.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa” Han spoke up, stepping in front of you, blocking Hyunjin from your sight.

“Don’t whoa me, I swear I’ll kill him” You said, pushing him to the side, you didn’t need protecting.

“Um, Y/N?” Minho asked, clearing his throat, and you’d almost forgotten he was here. So was Yeji, Jeongin, Seungmin and Felix.

God, what were you doing? Creating a scene on your first night out?

“Yeah?” You said, trying to get a grip on yourself.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t kill my friend” He said, a slight smile on his face.

“Your friend?” You asked, as if your brain hadn’t already made that connection but was pretending to ignore it.

“Yeah, his friend” Hyunjin answered instead “So what are you doing here?”

“Hyunjin…” The boy named Seungmin said, stepping up to him.

“He invited me” You answered.

“You what?” Hyunjin asked, his gaze falling on Minho, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. Minho was quiet, but he didn’t seem afraid of Hyunjin’s wrath, just calm and used to it.

“No way, she’s the cute girl?’ Hyunjin asked, recoiling. The flutter your heart did at Minho’s secondhand compliment was overshadowed by the disgust in Hyunjin’s voice as he said it.

“Yes, she is” Minho replied simply “Problem?”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened, as if he couldn’t believe what his friend was asking. He had a million problems with this, where would he even start? How could Minho have invited her, knowing how much he disliked her?

“Okay, can we all please calm down?” Seungmin spoke up “Let’s not ruin a perfectly good night”

“Your and my definition of good is widely varying” You spoke, under your breath but Hyunjin’s ears perked at it and he rolled his eyes obnoxiously.

“He’s right” Jeongin said, stepping up, still smiling despite the atmosphere “Now that we’re here, can we maybe forget your hatred for each other and have a good time?”

You turned to him, raising your brows “Are you serious?”

He stayed quiet, telling you what you needed to know.

“I can’t believe this. I’m leaving” You muttered, turning around. Before you could take a step, Han grabbed your arm, stopping you.

“Y/N, can I please talk to you?” He said.

“What?”

Han pulled you aside, dragging you forward and away from the booth. You cooperated, stepping near the wall as Han cornered you, and wrung his hands together “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going home”

“No, you’re not. You’re creating a scene”

Even though you agreed with him, hearing him say it irritated you, just because he was right. You groaned, dragging your hands over your face.

“What do you expect me to do?”

“Maybe behave in a civil manner? Be the bigger person. Ignore him” Han said, holding you by the arms to calm you down.

“I don’t know…you know how I feel about him, and what he just said? I did not follow him. If I’d known he was here, I’d stay a thousand miles away from him”

“Ignore what he said, that was all in the past. Can you not let it go for one night?” He asked, and pointed to the booth, where everybody was staring at the two of you and you felt embarrassed. He was right. God, you hated how he was right. You couldn’t forgive and forget, especially not Hyunjin, but maybe you could ignore him. Just for one night.

“And look how gorgeous you look right now, the boy can’t stop staring at you” Han added, running his hand over the strap of your dress “Do you really want to waste this outfit just because of Hyunjin of all people?”

You spotted Minho, who was curiously looking at you, and he looked so good, that maybe you would just give this a chance.

You sighed, running a hand through your hair “Okay. Just this once”

Han burst into a smile, giving your shoulders another squeeze and said “There’s my girl”

»»————-

You slid into the booth, Yeji first, and then Minho followed. The booth was big, but you were still a lot of people so Seungmin and Han pulled up barstools, dragging it over the open side of the booth so you could all sit comfortably.

“Well, this gathering got off on the wrong foot” Seungmin smiled.

“Sorry” You mumbled and gripped onto your drink tightly. Jeongin placed their drinks and jokbal over the table and you saw Seungmin instantly reach for it.

“It’s no problem. Hyunjin can be a bit of an ass” Felix said, and you smiled. Hyunjin scoffed, taking a sip of his drink.

You were sat next to Minho, squeezed into the booth. His thigh touching your bare one, his right hand tapping on the table, the silver bracelets clinking together from the movement, and you could smell his cologne. It was the same one Han used, but somehow Minho made it seem more attractive. The purple lighting was so dim, and you could barely see past your own group of friends, but you could hear almost everything going on in the pub. The music was loud, but not so loud that you couldn’t hear each other, and there was so much going on around you. All of your senses felt heightened, even though you’d barely drank yet.

“So, what are your majors?” Jeongin asked, leaning in.

“Well, the three of us are in Dance and Seungmin’s in Psychology so you can expect a thorough analysis of your childhood trauma within the next fifteen minutes” Minho answered.

Han let out a loud laugh “Don’t we all need that just now? Well, I’m in Music, Yeji’s in Communication with Jeongin, and you already know about Y/N”

“Dance, right?” Minho asked, turning to you and you noticed how close he was sitting to you. You nodded, putting on a smile, you couldn’t ignore Hyunjin’s presence here, even if everybody else could. You grabbed your drink again, taking a nice and long sip, feeling the burn in your throat. It was a fruity flavor, but it was good, and still strong. You were glad Yeji decided to get the drinks earlier since you definitely needed alcohol to get through the night.

“You look really good, by the way”

You turned to Minho again, who was smiling at you, his eyes on your dress. You felt your ears turn red and you shot him a smile back “Well, I dug this dress out from the back of my closet and spent more than fifteen minutes trying to get into it, so I better look good”

Minho laughed loudly, his eyes trailing over your figure and you saw Hyunjin look up at the two of you, his face twisted in distaste.

You turned your attention back to the boy next to you “You look pretty great too”

“Hmm, I spent all of five minutes deciding what to wear, so I better” He replied, a slight smirk on his face. He was so charming.

“So…I feel like I owe you an apology” He said, tilting his head in Hyunjin’s direction.

“It’s fine. I should be the one apologizing” You swallowed “I acted like an immature kid. I didn’t mean to come off as petty, it’s just…”

“You don’t need to explain” Minho interrupted you “Maybe I should have told you the names of my friends before, so you’d be mentally prepared”

“Well, I wouldn’t have shown up then” You said honestly, and he laughed.

“Well, I would have hated that”

You heard Yeji’s loud laugh, and she was well immersed in her conversation with Felix and Seungmin. Han and Jeongin were listening, wide smiles on their face and you wondered what they were talking about.

“So, your friends seem nice” Minho said, taking a long sip of his drink as his eyes peered at you over the rim of the glass, his arm now around the back of the booth, his fingertips barely ghosting over your skin.

He seemed so effortlessly cool doing just about everything.

“How long have you known them?”

“Well, I’ve grown up next to Yeji, on the same block and Han, me and Jeongin went to the same school” You answered, fiddling with the hem of your dress and letting yourself feel the alcohol “If it wasn’t for them, this college thing would be a lot tougher”

He laughed “I know what you mean, people make all the difference”

You found yourself glancing at Hyunjin again, curious, and he seemed too busy on his phone, a soft smile on his face. You wondered who he was texting. Who would ever want to talk to him?

Now that he was quiet and sitting still, you realized how different he looked from high school, even though you’d just seen him weeks ago. His hair was longer being the obvious change, but something about him seemed different. Maybe it was the overflowing confidence. He was always arrogant, but being in college, away from parents, and surrounded by young adults who hype you up for every little thing, seemed just like his scene.

“Ah! I have an idea! Doo you guys want to play a drinking game?” Yeji asked, and you noticed that half her glass was empty, just like the others.

“Why not?” Felix laughed, placing his glass on the table, with a loud clink “We will need refills though”

“I’m out” Hyunjin said curtly, before getting up and sliding out of the booth, taking his phone and drink with him. You saw him walk over to the bar, and you scoffed. He was so full of himself. Minho glanced at your reaction and let out a soft chuckle.

“Well, then that leaves this table in a much more amicable environment” Seungmin laughed.

“Soo, what game shall we play?” Han asked, leaning forward.

“Ooh, never have I ever?” Felix suggested. Jeongin’s face lit up at that, you knew how much he always wanted to play that game.

“Okay, I’ll get us more drinks” Han said, standing up along with Felix and they made their way over to the bar. You looked over at Yeji, who was well absorbed in her conversation with Seungmin, asking him about Felix. She really was not subtle at all.

“Does he have a girlfriend?” She asked, biting her lip in the adorable way that she always does. Seungmin shook his head.

“Boyfriend?” Yeji asked, her voice dropping an octave and you laughed at how cute she was being.

Seungmin laughed louder “No, he doesn’t”

“Okay” She said, going back to sipping at her drink innocently. Just then, the boys came back with the refill and you held your glass out as Felix poured it in till the brim.

“Okay, I’ll start” Minho said, crossing his arms over the table as he looked round at everybody. Everybody settled down, and you leaned forward to hear them better. You’d played your fair share of Never have I ever games before, at high school parties, and you usually always dreaded the questions they would ask but at least this was infinite times better than playing Truth or Dare, so you wouldn’t complain.

“Never have I ever passed out after being drunk” Minho said, starting out slow. Yeji laughed, along with Jeongin and you watched as she, Jeongin and Felix took a long sip of their drinks.

“More like, every time he drinks” Seungmin said, pointing to Felix with a laugh.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go next” Felix said, his cheeks flushing and he narrowed his eyes “Never have I ever stalked an ex on social media”

“I think we’re all guilty of that one” Han said, raising his eyebrows and just as he predicted, everybody took a sip.

“Never have I ever swam naked” Jeongin went next, and you saw Minho reach for his cup, a small smirk on his face.

“Wow. Where, man?” Han asked.

“A few weeks ago, me and the boys went out to this pool, and it was a particularly hot day” He explained, smirking.

“No way, all of you?” Yeji asked, and you tried to stifle your laugh at how wide her eyes got.

“Just me and Hyunjin. Seungmin would never, and Felix was too busy recording a TikTok by the edge” Minho said, and you tried to not imagine them both naked, especially Hyunjin.

Ugh.

A few questions, and way too many sips later, you found yourself leaning back, much more relaxed, enjoying the company of the boys around you. Yeji seemed to be feeling the same, by the way she didn’t seem to mind being squished between Seungmin and Felix. Your drink was almost empty, and your head was already light. Minho seemed to be much more comfortable around you too, his hand now on your thigh like it was nothing, tracing circles onto your skin. He was really smooth.

“I can’t believe proper classes start next week” Jeongin said, putting his head in his hand.

“You just haad to bring that up” Han said, sighing.

“Hey, maybe we’ll be in the same class” Minho said, turning to you and you nodded. That would be so great, maybe he could even be your partner.

“What about your dance group?” You asked.

“Well, that’s a separate thing from our major. We rehearse off class hours” He answered “Hyunjin and Felix are with me in it too”

“Never have I ever kissed someone of the same sex” Felix said suddenly, and you forgot the game was still going on. You turned to look at the group, taking a sip of your drink the same time as Yeji.

“Oof” Yeji said.

“I’m going to guess you’ve kissed each other?” Minho asked and you nodded, laughing.

“Back when we were drunk at a sleepover” Yeji clarified, blowing you a kiss.

“Well, you can’t just say that and not do it” Felix said.

“Um, what a perv” Han said, poking him.

“What? I’m just curious” Felix replied “Either you kiss or you chug the rest of your drinks”

“That does not seem fair in any sense” You replied. Yeji was giggling at the situation, clearly enjoying her intoxicated state around the boys. She seemed like she would be okay with literally anything at this point, which was why you needed to be the one to stop her.

“I am not kissing Yeji for you guys” You clarified, gripping your drink “But I caaan chug this”

Yeji pouted, pretending to be offended by being her dramatic self but picked up her glass nonetheless. You locked eyes with her, glancing at the remaining liquid in your cup as you closed your eyes and brought it up to your lips. The boys cheered around you, making you feel like you were part of a frat ritual, as you felt the liquid move past your throat, burning.

You smashed your glass down onto the table when finished, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, a smile on your face. Your head was feeling much lighter now, and you were definitely way past the point of being just tipsy.

“That’s hot” Felix said, raising his eyebrows and you watched as Jeongin took a sip too.

“Whoa, who have you kissed and how do I not know this?” Han asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Jeongin started explaining the time he accidently kissed a French exchange student, a story you’d heard recounted almost fifty times and your eyes wandered the room, trying to put focus on all the blurry shapes around you. The pub was in full swing, and it was getting pretty late now.

Hyunjin stood by the bar. A girl was with him.

“Never have I ever had sex on a first date”

She was pressed up against the bar, in a short red sequin dress, facing him, as his hands caged her body. Her blonde hair fell till her hips, and she looked tiny compared to him. He towered over her figure and ran a hand through his dark hair as they effortlessly laughed, probably over something dumb.

It reminded you of the time you’d walked into the dressing room before the show, with a girl literally on her knees for Hyunjin.

“Never have I ever kissed more than two people in the same night”

You could see him leaning in now to whisper something, as he cupped her jaw and she let out a giggle. Gross. They were acting as if they were the only two people in this pub. Just like he used to be backstage, with all his conquests after every successful show. He left no spot vacant; you recalled the time he was making out with a girl right behind the costume rack, as if that would conceal the way he was straight up devouring her.

“Y/N?” Yeji asked.

You wanted to throw up as he leaned in to kiss her neck, right in front of the bar, where people eat their fucking food. He had no respect for anything or anybody. She immediately grabbed onto his long hair, tugging at the roots, and even though you were far enough away, you swore you could hear the moan he let out at that.

You needed some fresh air.

“Um” You cleared your throat “I need some space. I think I’m going to be sick”

“Whoa, you okay?” Minho asked, concern etched on his face. You nodded.

“I just need to walk around a bit” You said, staring down at your empty drink. You’d clearly drank too much in too short a time, by the way your head was now pounding, like somebody was banging a hammer against it.

“Of course. Do you mind if I come with?” Minho asked.

You shook your head, standing up and so did he.

Yeji raised her eyebrows “You fine? You kind of zoned out there”

You nodded, and Minho stood by you “We’ll be back in a bit”

Yeji and the others continued their game, and you tugged on your dress where it had ridden up. You had your eyes on the back door and nothing else, almost like tunnel vision, not wanting to look at anybody else. If you looked around at the number of people and the dizzying lights, you would definitely throw up. Minho followed, and even though he wasn’t touching you, you could feel him closely guide you out of the pub. You weren’t drunk, but you were definitely feeling sick.

Minho pushed open the door, and a cold breeze hit you, giving you goosebumps on your bare arms and legs. You stepped out, fumbling in your step as your platform boots caught in the ground. Minho grabbed you by the wrist, helping you regain your balance. You found a brick wall to lean against, and let out a deep breath.

“Sorry, it was just getting really stuffy in there” You said, your eyes closed as you rest your head against the wall.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Hmm” You nodded.

“You’re not gonna kill me?” Minho asked, and you smiled.

“No, I won’t”

“Is this because of Hyunjin?”

“What is?”

“You feeling sick, needing some air” Minho elaborated.

Your first response was to scoff at him, to ask him why he would ever assume that you gave Hyunjin so much importance, but the sight of him making out at the bar came back to your mind and you instantly felt sick.

You couldn’t stand him or being around him. It was past a point of trying to be civil, he’d just done too much.

“Maybe” You said, opening your eyes to look at him “Sorry, I know he’s your friend”

“It’s okay, sometimes I hate Hyunjin too” He laughed.

You laughed at that and he came to stand closer to you, leaning against the wall too.

“I don’t hate him” You said, picking at your nails.

“You could have fooled me”

“Maaybe I do” You sighed “I just have disliked him for so long, he doesn’t even have to do anything and I get pissed. It’s like my body’s automatic response to him is anger”

“I find your hatred for him endearing” Minho said, smiling.

“Why?” You laughed “He’s your best friend, isn’t he?”

“He is, but you’re cute when you’re angry. Maybe I’ll bring him around more often if I get to see you like that”

“Being cute was not what I was going for”

“Okay, you’re a bit scary too. I really thought you were going to punch him back in there” He said.

“I might have if Han didn’t stop me”

“Well, as much as I like you, I don’t think I would have liked seeing Hyunjin’s pretty face get wrecked” He said, and you rolled your eyes.

“His face might be all he has going for him” You replied.

“Oh?” Minho raised an eyebrow “So you agree it’s pretty?”

You turned to look at him, raising a small gap between your fingers “You’re this close to getting hit”

“Well, you’re much more violent than I had expected” He said, and you let out a huff of air “I could be into that”

You rolled your eyes at his insinuation, if any other guy had said this to you, you might have considered telling him to fuck off, but it was Minho and you’d only known him a couple of hours but well, everything seemed more attractive and appropriate when he did it.

“Feeling better?” He asked after a beat, and you nodded, taking his hand in yours as you went back inside.

Yeji and the others were far gone now, their laughs heard all the way to the back, and you loved to see your friends enjoying themselves. Half of the cups were upturned, telling you that they were way done with the game, and were just shooting questions at each other for the sake of it.

“Y/N!” Jeongin yelled, spotting you and immediately standing up “You’re baackk”

“Yes, I am” You giggled, feeling much better after being outside and let him pull you into a hug.

“I missed you” He whispered, into your neck.

“I was gone for ten minutes, Jeongin”

“Ten minutes too long” Yeji cried, joining in on your hug.

“Where’s Hyunjin?” Minho asked, looking around.

“Oh, I saw him and the girl go into the bathrooms” Felix answered, with a knowing tone.

“Ah” Minho said “Guess he isn’t coming home tonight”

“Is he always like this?” Jeongin asked, pulling away.

“No, just tonight” Minho replied, looking at you “Probably needed to let off some steam”

“Did you guys drive here?” Seungmin asked, getting up.

“No, we live just on campus” Han replied, as he helped Yeji stand up “She’s feeling a bit sick so I’ll take her home before she does something she regrets”

“Okay, us too. You guys wanna head out now?” Seungmin asked.

»»————-

You found yourself walking next to Minho as he walked you out towards your dorm. Yeji and Han were just in front of you.

“Thank you for coming tonight, Y/N” Minho smiled, his hand brushing against yours “And I’m sorry again that you didn’t have the best time”

“Noo, stop! I did. I just sort of zoned out at the end there, thanks to Felix making me all but chug my drink, buuut I really had a great time with you. We should do this again. Thanks for inviting me, Minho” You said, as you reached a crossroads. You guessed Minho lived with his friends on the other side of campus and you all stopped to bid farewell.

“You’re cute” He laughed, referring to your rambling “I hope I see you in class on Monday”

He leaned in to hug you, and you stood on your toes, meeting him halfway. He smelt so nice, despite the smell of alcohol surrounding him, and his hands on your bare back felt soothing, shooting tingles down your spine but you weren’t sure if it was cause of him or the buzz running through your body.

“See you on Monday” You smiled, stepping away from him “I really hope we get to be partners”

“Me too, Y/N” He smiled, pushing his hands in his jacket pockets and he watched as you walked away. You ran to catch up to Yeji, Han and Jeongin and they pulled you into their embrace.

“Thanks for tonight, babe” Yeji smiled “Now it finally feels like we’re actually here, living our best lives, just like in the dramas, and I can’t wait to meet all of them again!”

Han laughed, noticing your face falling, and reached forward to teasingly poke your stomach “Maybe not all of them”

»»————-

⇐ masterlist ⇒

taglist: @caratinylyfe @peachy-maia @lemmonhood @born5sos @rawrrainn @the7thcrow @annawolfhard19 @skzooo @velvetand-roses @rindomo @gothmingguk @hyunjun-jpeg @sofianunes10

comment to be a part of the taglist, and also send in an ask/feedback if you liked this part cause it inspires me 😚

[nari-nim]

hongjoong as your boyfriend

nari note: ah yes, my bias wrecker :’) got requests for mingi and jongho, so they’re coming soon...but who else after them for this series? gif creds go to @hongjooong

Listen, his time is so precious so when he’s spending it with you? You’re precious. He doesn’t bother wasting his time with people who do not add value to his life, so when he’s paying extra attention to you and offering to buy you coffee on the way to work? Someone likes youuuu ;)

Likes to be friends first before dating

You definitely catch him staring at you a lot

He just thinks you’re so beautiful doing the most mundane tasks :((

Will make sure the relationship will work out before asking you out

Or ask him out and he’ll move mountains to make it work

Oh god he takes intimacy and closeness so seriously, so he will be careful about skinship when y’all first date

But he loves the feeling of you in his arms

Or when you back hug him at work

Speaking of work, absolutely the type to produce and sing love songs for you

Like a whole fucking album

But he won’t publish all of the songs for the public, some are simply just for your ears 

Not in the way where all the lyrics are all R-rated, although he will make some of those songs for sure

But like very much likes to pour his heart out into the lyrics and beats, so those songs especially are just for you

He’s so loyal. Will work anything and everything out. 

Love language is quality time (receiving) and acts of service (giving). This combination leads to a lot of romantic and sensual nights in! Think: making dinner together, eating candle lit dinner, warm baths, stuff that leads to more (expanded on later ;)), all those good cliches.

If it’s in the daytime, scenic drives while blasting music, taking photos on film cameras, chilling by the ocean, all of this fits so well with Hongjoong. 

Date where he teaches you how to reform clothes and you end up creating a matching set together. Couple outfit. Couple goals.

Also nap dates!! 

Cuddle him while he gets this well deserved and much needed rest! 

Remembers literally everything you tell him

Very attentive listener, most likely won’t accidentally fall asleep

This means he gives really thoughtful and sentimental gifts, remembers all the important dates, and absolutely will remember that random person in college that hit on you from one singular conversation about them

all or nothing. Just super devoted and loyal.

Will want to help you learn, grow, and pursue your goals. Not exactly a hype man, but will help you slowly and steadily in the background

For example, uses his connections to help point you to the right direction for this risky career choice but won’t take credit for it unless you press him about it

Hmm.. the type to mentally fixate on a problem or try to solve it on his own because he just wants to see you happy, so make sure you try to coax whatever might bother him out so y’all can face the issues together!

But, he’s extremely good at communicating and conflict resolution

After the first few months, arguments are super rare because y’all worked out the biggest issues by then

And if anything comes up, he is so good at actively listening to you, finding compromises, and voicing his needs in a super understanding way

Ugh someone cuff this mans

Speaking of communication, he’s the type to only talk about his deepest worries or insecurities with the closest loved ones in his life so get ready to see a whole new side of him when dating

Will be so vulnerable and open with you so treat him gently and with kindness!

Deep conversations until the late am

A great ear when it comes to listening to you

Always has great, heartfelt advice

He’s someone you can always lean on! He has your back, always

But also make sure to be there for him because we all know he goes through so much and the strongest people need the strongest support

He’s okay with PDA, but not too much in front of people in KQ

Sticks to hand holding and little else

But he is such a cuddle bug in private! He actually lay on top of you or trap you on his lap, not letting you leave unless it’s an emergency

His hugs feel so safe

When y’all cuddle, you always feel so secure, warm, and loved

Dating him is the equivalent of understanding what a deep sense of belonging feels like

Haha y’all should dare each other to try spicy foods 

Because if you like spice/take it well, watch him look at you in amazement and slight horror

And then proceed to sneak the spicy foods in his dish onto your plate whenever y’all eat out together

Even better, you eat the spicy looking food first as his personal taste tester and after a solemn nod, you just quietly take it off his plate for him/move the dish closer to you. You are his superhero.

Or if you can’t take it well like him, at least you both have fun chugging milk together

A true bonding experience either way

NSFW after this

Switch but with an extremely heavy dom lean

Eager to please. More than anything, likes to make sure you’re both pleasuring each other. 

Loves to hear details of your sexual experience and what you like in bed. Simply as a way of getting to know you more. So y’all could literally be talking about choking on his dick casually over lunch. Seonghwa almost spat his drink out while passing by

He is consent king wbk

When y’all first started dating, there were times he forced you to stop kissing him just so he could pressed his forehead against yours and take some ragged breaths, hands gripping at your shoulders tightly, as he pulled himself together and tried to calm down 

Because intense makeout sessions really turn him on

But once you experimentally rock your hips against his, watch his eyes shoot open and look at you with bated anticipation

The first time y’all get down and dirty he’s literally checking in with you before he does anything

Which is so cute, but you’re literally like “just fuck me” at one point

Once he knows your limits though, likes testing them little by little, but always checking in to see how you are doing

Definitely has hard dom potential, especially after both of you get super comfortable

But he still checks in, whether it be gruffly demand your color or pausing to look at you with a questioning look. Just depends on how fucked out you are.

Always coming up with ways to maximize your pleasure, will give everything you suggest a shot

He appreciates visuals. Likes seeing you in his clothes or in lingerie he bought you

Really into orgasm control

He loves loves loves hearing you whine for him

But also

He’s into breath he’s into breath play he’s into breath play he’s into breath play

Hm shamelessly bringing in astrology: so his scorpio ass can actually be quite freaky. But more than anything, he’s very intense during sex. 

But would fuck you as stress relief after a long day 

That… that gets really intense

You’ve used your safe word against him a few times before on those particular days

Also y’all have needy, desperate sex a lot 

Because he’s so busy and you have your own life so when you get to have your time together, it can be a little animalistic the first few rounds

Then it transitions to like love making…very sweet, slow, and sensual :)

OH he is so romantic on anniversaries! He absolutely loves making it special and will spend the night making you shake from pleasure

But on other days where he’s tired as fuck, this is your chance to take care of him! Not necessarily doming him, but being a service top and cuddling him so well afterwards? He honestly loves it so much more than he lets on

Honestly though, I do see him as someone who will let you dom him if you are both feeling it

Not always, but again, he wants to maximize your pleasure

One time he let you top and you started licking his nipples  #hongtiddies and it felt so good for him, you can tell from the way he starts squirming, rutting his hips up at you, and whimpering for you

Got shy before he hit subspace and you used it to mock him a little

Peg him. He'll take it. Like a mess. 

Cums so hard

Was so red after

Pillow talk hits so different

Y’all are both bathing in that post-sex glow, faces inches apart, him kissing your knuckles tenderly, looking deep into your eyes while you both talk about your future, dreams, and aspirations

Whispers his “I love you”s at this time with such sincerity

You can just see the love in his eyes and gentle smile 

</3

[variousqueerthings]

some ace-johnny thoughts

@elsonambulo totally unformed thoughts

1. so the thinking is: we all know that johnny is obsessed with performing correct masculinity, even though it consistently bites him in the ass (and not in a good way)

AND we know that johnny hasn't really been laid in awhile + even when with carmen is too busy thinking about karate rival/ex to... do much -- in fact in that one blooper/deleted scene from the con he turns her down, because he's training for his karate showdown (idk if it's actually a deleted scene or vanessa and billy fucking around, but I can see it happening, so will take it for this read)

and really it's a lot of similar thinking to reading him as gay (which I also still do) with an added dose of "billy kisses a little better than he used to, but it'll never be his strong suit"

btw I think the first time he and carmen had sex he really did want to, but after that his brain is like "cool, that was fine, now maybe if she has time I'll teach her some karate..." -- alas carmen, you and johnny could've been such good friends, but now it's a bit more fucked up by him being a terrible boyfriend

2. I read a couple of "johnny discovers asexuality" fics, which I enjoyed and were key in getting me here --

SOME MENTIONS OF UNHEALTHY/INTERNALISED ACEPHOBIA THINKING HERE: I think I lean towards grey-ace or sex-indifferent (rather than sex-repulsed), because by now sexuality and masculinity and karate are all twisted up in his head in a way that makes defining anything really hard for him + allosexuality has been an important part of his identity for so long that it'd take something for him to even be able to glance at asexuality without feeling like a failure As A Man + there are times he can point to (like a little AHA! in his head) where he really did want sex

it's also an added boundary to realizing he's gay, because he doesn't have particularly strong sexual feelings about anyone almost all the time (and as we all know, only sexual feelings count // sarcasm), and why does it even matter if he's gay if he's not The Pinnacle Of Sexual Masculinity (because the gay community has some real issues with that too)

another big thing is having to unlearn the idea that being asexual means having been sexually assaulted (and there can be layers to that as well, because sometimes asexuality does happen off the back of assault or abuse..... I'm thinking of @an-sceal's doubt series, which also has Johnny's sexuality be less defined, because he's trying to rediscover what he likes in the aftermath of abuse) --

but let's say for now it's been a life of some sexual encounters -- less than Johnny brags about and decidedly less that he was at all enthusiastic about, but not anything truly scarring, so there's no way he could be like that (up to you whether he's tried to have/had encounters with men, I always like to lean on yes, but he excuses it for drugs/drinks reasons + outdated ideas about what sex is, that is "only penetrative counts")

(this whole internalised thinking -- some unfortunate kid is gonna have to sit him down and school him, probably)

3. I read him as karate-sexual really

as in, sex isn't as good as karate, but karate can be very vey sexy/sexual... hence the karate-sex dream + turning down carmen because he's just too busy training for karate with LaRusso

I could read it as, say he gets with Daniel -- sex is something his body can do and he's not going to let that go because he enjoys feeling good/touching daniel/thinks daniel is really really hot/holy shit he can make daniel make those noises/he really likes xyz sex act (you decide which), but after the first honeymoon glow has faded he'd never initiate and 99% of the time he'd rather do karate, but that's because if he could choose he wouldn't be doing anything else

4. but it becomes a huge relief -- as it has been many times before -- to eventually take off another block of "how a man has to be" off his back. there really are no expectations, although the mortifying ordeal is still very much going to be an ordeal

[beepboop358]

The first time we see Nancy and Steve kiss in season 1, we see their reflection in the mirror. Do you think it's related to the mirror imagery throughout the series?

Have a good day.

Hey anon!

I totally think it's connected to the mirror imagery in the show. The mirror imagery is really interesting because the mirrors in the show don't have the exact same purpose for every single usage. But each use of the mirror has specific purpose, it's just not the same purpose for every single shot, so there isn't a clear theme with the mirrors.

Some of the mirror imagery is of people looking at themselves in the mirrors, some is to show reflections, and sometimes mirrors are used as dividers.

Nancy and Steve kissing:

This is the only time in the show we get almost a side by side split between characters and the mirror, which sets these shots apart from the other shots with a mirror. We see Nancy and Steve, and their reflections in the mirror right next to each other. Almost as if there are "2 versions" of the couple, which is never good. And it may actually hint to their eventual breakup.

A Will and Eleven Parallel, to hint to their connection:

Nancy in the bathroom at Barb's parents house, grieving Barb's death and feeling responsible:

The mirror usage here is soft and reflective, similar to the Will & El parallel. Each of the characters is going through/dealing with something (Will's dealing with his upside down trauma and just coughed up a slug, Eleven failed to find Will and feels like she let everyone down, and Nancy is devastated over Barb's death), and the mirror reflects to us their pain, their emotions.

Eleven and Mike:

Eleven has never seen herself look like this before When she looks at herself in the mirror she says "pretty". It's definitely a big moment for her, getting to see herself dressed like a human being rather than an experiment. The mirror definitely has positive connotations here.

Billy getting ready for his date before his dad gets aggressive with him:

Billy is very full of himself in this scene, and we get this very macho man portrayal of him when he's getting ready in the mirror acting all tough, but then what follows totally strips him of that, as the fight with his dad leaves him crying. Here the mirror use is almost sinister, because of how Billy is using the mirror. Here the mirror is used very differently compared to how it's used for Eleven's "pretty" moment and the Will & El parallels, where it's gentler and more profound.

The carnival funhouse mirror room:

Like the scene of Billy in the mirror, the mirrors in this scene have negative connotations. It's a creepy scene, Grigori is not a good guy, and a gun is fired through the mirror, shattering it.

Sometimes it's used to compare things & point out differences:

Mike's dad helping Mike tie his tie, Nancy's mom helping her get dressed, and Jonathan all alone, struggling to tie his tie because he never had a parent teach him, very different to the previous shots of Mike & Nancy, which is a purposeful contrast.

Eleven and Max separated by the mirror in El's room:

They're on two different pages here, although Max is trying to get Eleven on the same page as her. Max is trying to help Eleven become her true self, and Eleven is still working her way there at this point.

So overall the mirror are used to show a lot of different things in the show, they don't all have the same running motif like other pieces of subtext in the show do, such as the word "crazy" or the baseball bat, etc.

thanks for the ask! this is super interesting, I hope you're doing good! x <3