#and after that i watched this cute video i AM COMPLETELY FINE

[yandere-sins]

Imagine getting isekai’ed into otome game as a background character, watching the main character going down routes as you live your peaceful, mundane life, but you’ve unknowingly been going down a route as well, a route for a hidden character that you didn’t discover during your time playing the game.

That character being the reason the game has a dark content warning.

Gosh anon, that idea is so good!!!! I didn't know it would tickle all the right places in my brain, but when I started I couldn't stop lol. Love it, thank you for sending it in ♥

If this had one of these super long titles that are tmi it would be:

I got Isekai'ed into an Otome Game as a Background Character and now I Have to Finish It with the Secret Yandere Love Interest!!

»»———————— ♡ ————————««     

A serene smile spread over your lips as you watched the two lovebirds in the corner of your coffee shop.

Swirling the milk into a cup, it created a little white heart surrounded by foamy coffee, its aroma drifting into your nose. Had someone told you that the little things like a cup of coffee made with love and care were enough to give you the peace of mind you always wanted in your previous life, you would have laughed at them. For you, it had always been the hustle, the making money, finding a partner, and creating a family. Make everyone proud while being successful, whether it costs you nights of sleep or days without proper meals. But looking at yourself now, it all seemed so far away now, and you let out a content sigh before setting down the cup in front of the customer at the bar. 

"You seem happy today," your regular at the counter noted, picking up the cup and taking a moment to appreciate the aroma just like you had. A smile sneaked onto their lips, too, after they took a sip, and you couldn't help but feel your heart swell with pride and happiness when they gave you a satisfied nod. 

"I am! I'm really getting accustomed to my new life here, it's... been a while since I've been so content."

The truth behind everything that happened to you was something you couldn't speak about lightly. Not when it turned the life you knew upside down, leaving you to start over completely. One day you were an employee of a well-known company, responsible for sales and reports and everything stressful. And the next, you were in your favorite, cozy video game, running the coffee shop the main character liked to visit with all the romance options in the game.

Isekai was the genre that came to mind when you thought about your situation. Luckily you were spared the memories of your death in the real world, the circumstances blurry as you barely remembered going home late from work, only to wake up in this very different universe. Perhaps you were just comatose, and this was a dream. Still, by now, you had managed to slip into your role as the barista of the small coffee shop, a barely mentioned background character, just fine.

Your eyes jumped back to the couple in the corner, giggling and teasing each other over a group project, and you felt an immense relief you weren't reincarnated as the main protagonist and had to go through the years of studying and trying to establish connections with the love interests again. You already did that in your old life, and it wasn't as romantic and fun as the game made it out to be. You only played it because it got your mind off things, the art was pretty, and it had the exact amount of cozy time management you needed to relax. But living as the main character in it? No, thank you!

"Jealous?" your regular teased, and you chuckled, shaking your head. They tapped their—now empty—cup, and you took it from them, replacing it with some water until you had the next cup of coffee ready for them.

"I just think it's cute. I never had someone so interested in me they'd take me out for coffee and share their cake with me when I was younger."

Your words tasted a little bitter on your tongue. Still, you genuinely couldn't wish for anything but the main character's happiness. It was just the feeling of being loved, desired, and wanted that you missed, even though your new life was more than satisfactory despite you feeling a little lonely sometimes.

"Well, it's never too late to start," they chuckled, taking up their fork and cutting off the tip of their strawberry shortcake, including the big chunk of strawberry on top, picking it up and holding it out towards you. 

"Oh, I wouldn't dare--"

"I insist! As thanks for the amazing coffee every time I come here."

Nudging your lips with their fork, you let out an awkward chuckle. It was okay, right? They wouldn't sue you for eating the cake they paid for, would they? This was just a silly little game. What could go wrong with you accepting their kindness?

Opening your lips, you let them feed you the cake, taking a moment to let the sweet and fruity notes mix with the fluffy whip cream before you were sent straight to heaven. Not to toot your own horn, but your baking skills had improved so much since you started working at the shop. Who knew you had that in you?

Occupied with the moment of bliss as you let the cake flavor mix in your mouth, you hummed happily before devoting yourself back to making the coffee with a smile on your face. Unaware of your regular fixating on the fork you had just eaten from, staring at it like it was some strange artifact. Your phone dinged softly in its drawer, and you checked it briefly to see the notification pinging up, saying, "Achievement unlocked: Cake-Master - Provide the most delicious cake to your customers."

"Excuse me!" the main character called out to you, stepping up to the counter, and you directed your attention to her, ignoring the little game notification you've been receiving since starting your new life here, the love interest not far away before the two began fighting over who was going to pay the bill this time lovingly. Of course, the love interest won, but you wouldn't have expected it any other way. Seeing the blush on the main character's face after her romance option told her he'd "always take care" of her made you grin like a little fan, and you cheered them on in your head. 

By the time you returned to your regular, their knuckles had gone white with how hard they were gripping the fork in their hand, their eyes following the couple who was about to leave. For a moment, it made you wonder if they had a crush on either of them, their sweet interaction surely uncomfortable if that was the case. But you didn't remember there being a jealousy scene in the game. You'd know, almost playing it 100% before your death. There apparently was a secret route you never got but were trying your hardest to achieve. Now you were left to wonder what it entailed.

But the second you returned, they looked up at you, expression softening and the tension disappearing, and you chalked it up to having witnessed a cringe moment that they had gotten so awkward. "Thank you for the cake, that was really nice of you! Do you want another fork?" you asked and were met with a headshake and a smile. 

They quickly began eating their cake and complimenting your baking skills, stroking your growing ego when they rubbed their belly. 

"I never had a cake that good!" they proclaimed, and you laughed out loud, overjoyed that you had made them so happy. 

"Say..." they suddenly spoke up again, leaning on the counter and watching you with gentle eyes. Your heart set out for a second, tension rising as you didn't know what they were going to ask. Ever since you opened the coffee shop, the main character, love interests, and this regular had come by constantly. If you were honest, you enjoyed their visits more and more. Their presence felt like it belonged here with you, and you were a part of something bigger after all, washing away the small, lonely part of you. 

And maybe... just maybe... this was how your happy end would play out.

"Are you this nice to every customer?"

Halting your movements, you set aside the brew head that you used on the espresso machine, despite having to clean it, thinking about your answer for a moment. It was a strange question to ask someone who worked in customer service. Still, you appreciated your regular, so you didn't want to give them a snarky answer.

"Uhm, well, I am just trying to make everyone feel welcome! But of course, it's a bit different with my regulars! After all, they come here often, like a second family. So I guess I'm a bit nicer because you really get to know and appreciate these people that stay to chat and tell stories."

"I see," they muttered. "Family, huh..."

After that, you suddenly were swamped with sudden orders, excusing yourself to fulfill them, chatting and laughing with even the people that were just passing by. Maybe you really were just nice? Perhaps this new environment had made you more relaxed and gentle than the harsh world you lived in, and it was showing? But their question was shoved into the back of your mind as you kept fulfilling orders and earning your keep.

Once the rush was over, you returned to your regular, only to find their seat empty. Strange, you thought. You could have sworn that you felt their eyes on you the whole time you were away, but luckily, they didn't walk out on their tab, leaving the money and a folded-up napkin beneath their empty cup for you to find. You quickly stored away the bills, trusting your regular with knowing what they had to pay after so many weeks of the same order.

You were about to throw away their napkin when you noticed some red marks on them, unwrapping the paper to find a note scribbled in what you had to assume was ink. 

"You're so beautiful when you laugh."

The surprise wore off quite fast, and you smiled, thinking nothing of it but that it was a nice compliment from your regular. Still, you ended up throwing the napkin away—not knowing if it was dirty, after all—taking the coffee cup and plate to the sink to clean them, overseeing the red tip on the fork that was too dark to be from the strawberry.

The rest of your day was uneventful, and by the time you were closing, you were tired and ready to tug in for the night, wrapping up your business at the shop quickly before walking home. You didn't have a chance to look at your phone since you glanced at the achievement notification, so you took it out, startled when you saw a dozen new messages. 

Achievement unlocked: Happy new life - Be content with your new life

Achievement unlocked: A fork for two! - Share a fork with someone special

Achievement unlocked: Jealousy - Make someone special jealous

Achievement unlocked: Soothing - Calm someone special down with your presence

Achievement unlocked: Family - Have someone be moved by your words

Achievement unlocked: The nicest person in town - Be beloved by all, but especially by someone special

Achievement unlocked: Blood in the cup - Have someone hurt themselves at your coffee shop

Achievement unlocked: Wonder-Barista - Complete twenty orders in less than thirty minutes

Achievement unlocked: Strange compliment - Receive a compliment through unusual means

Achievement unlocked: Blooming infatuation - Have someone special fall in love with you

Achievement unlocked: Shop-Pro! - Close the shop twenty times after making a profit from your work

Achievement unlocked: Tired - Hard workers deserve to relax

You blinked a few times, surprised by what you were reading and a little weirded out by some of these achievements. They gave you some extra coins in your shop till and reputation with the townspeople, so you usually didn't mind them. But to say some of their descriptions were weird was an understatement. You couldn't even remember someone getting hurt at your workplace that day.

By the time you reached your apartment, you decided to ignore the strange notifications and just let the day come to an end with a hot bath and your favorite show. But you were startled when your phone suddenly began ringing loudly, even though you had turned off the sound back at the coffee shop after the first notification. The first messages that appeared before you were more achievements, and you stopped turning the key in your door as you read them.

Achievement unlocked: Follower - Have someone special follow you home

Achievement unlocked: Welcome home! - Arrive at home, not alone

Achievement unlocked: Wherever you go, I'll be watching you - Ɨ ΔΜ ΔŁŴΔ¥Ş ŴΔŦĆĦƗŇǤ ¥ØỮ

Lifting your head, you looked around you, glancing over your shoulder and into the courtyard below. No one was out; everyone was at home eating dinner and occupied with their lives. Confused, you swiped all the notifications away before another pop-up appeared.

ALERT! You're about to enter X's route. Do you want to continue?

> Yes > No

Panicked at this point, you pressed "No," but nothing happened. You kept tapping it repeatedly, not understanding what was happening with your phone. But nothing changed, the notification staying in place. The sound of something breaking inside your apartment tore your focus away from your phone, startling you. 

You must have finally managed to close it, the pop-up disappearing just as you unlocked the door to your apartment, still having held on to the key when you were surprised by the sound. Darkness and silence greeted you from inside, everything seemingly normal.

Majorly confused, you shook your head, slowly entering the hallway leading inside. "Hello?" you called out, reaching for the light switch. The light flickered on, and... there was no one. Holding your breath, no sound reached your ears, and you groaned, realizing you got freaked out about... nothing. 

This wasn't some kind of horror game, and the story never had a murder-solving subplot. True, the ratings for it were kind of strange—it being rated as 18+ on the website—but seriously, what should happen in a cozy little city like the one the game played in? You didn't even think they had a police station here.

Pushing off your shoes as you shrugged off the weird feeling from before, you walked up the hallway to your living room, turning on the light before coming to an abrupt halt. There were broken pieces of glass underneath your living room window, but what really freaked you out came into view only when you lifted your head. You could look into the mirror of your cabinet door from your position, red marker dripping from it as if someone had hastily scribbled on it just seconds ago. You weren't sure it was a pen anymore, judging by its deep red color and the fluidity of it.

"𝘪 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺"

Your phone pinged.

Achievement unlocked: 

On the Highway to Hell - Unlock the secret route

[enluv]

bewitched

pairing: anton x mentioned gn reader! (pls lmk if there are any gendered terms I may have missed)

synopsis: in which anton has a not so tiny actually really big crush on reader.

genre: fluff that made me smile to myself so hard that I had to remind myself this was just a fic, idol!anton & idol!reader, angst if you squint, pouty anton & his hyungs love to tease him for it!

coco’s <3 note: this was something I wrote up after a really long day of studying for finals last week so if you hate it lie to me (I’m sensitive) and it’s completely self indulgent 😭 + not edited well…

small but important a/n: I am so happy people love this fic as much as I do but I unfortunately will not be making a part two for it! originally I didn’t plan one and still in my heart feel like it doesn’t really need one!! sorry my loves, ty for the understanding 🤍

anton who smiles to himself as he watches you do his groups dance challenge, he’s seen you backstage countless times now with your group and he swears you’re his soulmate.

loud and energetic, your personality compliments his usually timid and introverted one.

the first one to notice is seunghan, always the one with the keenest eye, he teases anton throughly when you walk past them in the music show halls, pushing his shoulders and tugging at the boys pink cheeks.

the next two to notice are wonbin and shotaro, having caught their youngest replaying your groups music video just after briefly being introduced to you, he claims it’s so he can learn your dance challenge but the boys can tell from the way his voice raises an octave, that he’s lying.

eunseok and sungchan take note as they watch his eyes sparkle up at the screen in their room backstage, there’s no hiding the proud smile he wears as he watches you move about on stage smiling and enjoying the time you have with fans, they can see just how much he admires you.

sohee is the last to know as he walks right up to you, laughing and joking like old friends do, anton goes through the five stages of grief so quickly the rest of the members laugh loudly at him.

first, he denies what’s taking place in front of his eyes, he can’t fathom how you know his friend, or why you two seem so close.

second, he’s angry. not at sohee or you, never you of course, but at himself for not seeing the obvious signs. you’d done their dance because you knew his friend, not just because you were interested in him them.

third, anton tries rationalizing with himself. this was okay, it’d be okay, and if you ended up with sohee it would be fine because technically he’d never admitted to liking you, and so technically you weren’t anyone to him, so really if he thought about it, he’d be fine, especially if you made his best friend happy.

fourth, he’s pouting, and not even on purpose in a cute way, he’s full on pouting at the scene taking place in front of him. he’s sad you’re so close to sohee, sad he isn’t the one making you laugh loudly or putting a smile on your face, sad that he has absolutely no chance with you at all. this isn’t fair, but he can’t do anything so he resorts to pouting and clinging onto his older brothers for comfort (as they laugh and tease his current state).

finally, anton thinks he’s over it. he’s been watching you and sohee giggle about back and forth for what seems like hours now (it’s been less than five minutes) and he thinks he can finally accept this reality. you’re into his friend and he’s chopped liver. yeah that’s totally fine, he’s totally okay with this outcome.

the older boys smile at one another as they watch anton bury his head deeper into eunseoks broad shoulders, seemingly shielding himself from the scene in front of him. they know when their maknae is upset and it’s a million times clear just how much he is right now.

“anton, are you okay? I want to introduce you to my friend.” sohee’s soft voice pulls him out of his depression, slowly rising his head he’s met with a pair of eyes he knows too well, and his ears turn red.

“this is my roommate, he’s the one I told you about, the one that’s a big fan of you,” his friend laughs after his words and anton isn’t sure what’s worse: you being madly in love with sohee or you knowing he’s madly in love with you.

“anton right? I’m also a big fan of you, if that’s not totally embarrassing to admit to you.”

and just like that he’s swooning again, all the thoughts and feelings from before melt away as he pushes past eunseok to stand in front of you. now this, this is just perfect.

sohee shoots him a smile and a thumbs up, and it all clicks, anton is almost ashamed of how he’s acted.

sohee knew about his crush, how could he not? they shared a room together, of course he’d caught him watching your content, laughing at things you’d said, and bashfully liking your pictures from his spam account, he’d done this on purpose, he’d introduce you to one another on purpose.

“do you want to maybe grab some lunch with me?”

so maybe that wasn’t what he’d planned to say to you first but at least he’d spoken…right? even if it was straightforward and not like him at all.

your laugh makes his ears even redder, and he’s instantly smiling as you nod, taking his hand and leading him to “a really good cafe” as you put it. anton isn’t listening fully, he’s just happy he can finally admire you in person.

yeah he’s definitely too far gone. he thinks he might be in love.

coco’s <3 note x2: I love love love writing for riize they’re honestly my favorite boys ahhh I love them!! hopefully now that I am on break I can write more for them :) thinking of opening requests for them too maybe? and like if you know me you know I don’t do that often so !!! hope you enjoyed this fic, feedback & reblogs are always appreciated <3

riize taglist — @palajae @txtlyn @rllymark @soheekisser @luvbinnies (can’t tag those in bold 😕)

Want to join the taglist? Find the forms here!

[nerdieforpedro]

I love how you write and it makes me so glad you are here.

can I ask what inspired you to start?

signed - a maybe inspired future fic writer

This is such a wonderful ask! 🥰

I'm glad you enjoy my writing. I have ideas and I write them is my short answer and explains nothing I realize.

The long answer:

I've written fanfic before, off and on for maybe the last 10-15 years. Very different fandoms. Started out with anime, dabbled a bit in Yaoi then transitioned to Marvel and now I'm firmly planted in the Pedro Pascal, Oscar Issac, Benny Miller triangle of hotness.

Fanfic for me is an expression of a story, show, movie, video game or pice of media that I enjoyed so much, I just had to make something. I can't draw, no mixing of hot tracks or beats, I've just started dabbling in photo editing this year and am a beginner at that. It's all purely fun for me. I enjoy it and it's fun to share with other people who create and are like, "Hey! You like that? I like it too. Let me see yours and I'll show you mine. Where'd you get the idea for that?" And then hilarious conversations leap from there.

What inspired me to start specifically in the Pedro Pascal fanfic world was The Mandalorian. It was the first time I realized, "that's the man I've seen before!" And then realized I've seen Pedro Pascal in many of my favorite shows, (The Mentalist was watched for the sake of completion. After season 6 and the first episode of season 7, there wasn't a real reason to continue other than spending time with my mom. She's fine, when I tell people that they think she's passed on but the woman is still lifting 50 lbs mulch bags in her mid seventies. She more than fine.) I then became fixated on this man, reset the password on my AO3 account and found Pedro Pascal character fanfics. I was then led back to Tumblr which before I was on years ago for anime and read fics by @secretelephanttattoo ( I shall always sing about Headshots. It inspired the first fic I posted on Tumblr and is just so damn cute. El is also just a sweetheart.) and @morallyinept whose Tendrils fic only deepened my brain rot for that tall beskar bucket, she's also a dear friend who's made me laugh, cry in a good way, inspired me and very time I turn around she's crafting something new. Fics, banners, self-care, doodles, smut, databases, and all sorts of Pedro interviews and dialogue. Because I'm a fangirl of them both and many others actually, I keep 👀 on them.

What keeps me going is the fandom overall and that despite, recent tribulations let's say politely, we're all still here. Geeking out over a goofy, handsome, I know he gives the best hugs, actor who loves what he does and has been working at it for years and it's finally paying off.

I've met wonderful friends and moots who reach out, give me encouragement, tell me I do well (I'm starting to listen to them I swear. I'm not good at taking compliments in person so it's even worse online FYI.

So I hope this answers your ask and I do encourage you to write that weird, funny, smutty, cute, sweet, dark, twisty, angsty fic that you want to write. I do hope whoever you are, you tag me in it so I can read it. 🤭

Special love to the following and if I left anyone off, I'm sorry. It's after work, I rubbed my eyes, wipes my glasses because I got them wet while writing this and it was a lot:

@maggiemayhemnj @megamindsecretlair @soft-persephone @angelofsmalldeath-codeine @magpiepills

@mysterious-moonstruck-musings @for-a-longlongtime @i-own-loki @undercoverpena @connectioneverywhere

@soft-girl-musings @perotovar @julesonrecord @lotusbxtch @604to647

@yorksgirl @pedroshotwifey @fhatbhabiee @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @bitchwitch1981

@jessthebaker @avastrasposts @inept-the-magnificent @lady-bess @grogusmum

@schnarfer @boliv-jenta @iamskyereads @iamasaddie @chaithetics

@tinytinymenace @yourcoolauntie @alltheglitterandtheroar @musings-of-a-rose @rhoorl

@trulybetty @laurfilijames @wannab-urs @legendary-pink-dot @din-cognito

@sin-djarin @beefrobeefcal @spacecowboyhotch

[dragonridernoobie]

Hello, hello, hello! I saw your requests were still open and since your one of the few tfp writers that has their requests open(plus your writing is awesome) I’ve returned with another request>:3 I really enjoy seeing headcanons where reader is similar to a character I love soooo, here I am as you did so well last to, could I possibly request some headcanons for TFP Ratchet, TFP Shockwave, TFP Optimus Prime, and if your able to TFP Soundwave(completely optional!) with a S/O who’s very nervous and twitchy, very similar to tweek from South Park(I can’t think of another way to describe it:,))

OR

If you don’t feel like doing that, some scenarios with TFP Bumblebee, Optimus Prine(Bayverse or TFP, your choice:>) with a reader like Eska from The legend of korra, similar to Bolin and Eska’s relationship( here’s a video as an example: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRTUnBXW/) idk why but they are just oddly cute-

Anywayyyyss! Remember to take breaks, and don’t feel forced to write this, I shall eventually return with hopefully more creative ideas! Have fun!

I'm so happy you enjoy my writing! It makes me all giggly seeing people say that. I agree there is not many transformer writers or they take a long time to respond. Also, thank you for telling me to take breaks! Don't worry, I will (meaning I will immediately go grind on a game that will make me mad). I hope this is up to your standards and that you love it! Don't remmber to take breaks yourself. (Sorry this took a bit)

TFP x Nervous Reader

Optimus

When optimus met (Y/N), the first thing he noticed was (Y/N) was twitching and was extremely nervous.

He was gonna tell them to stay calm and he ment no harm.

Intel the decepticons appered.

(Don't ask)

Once he got to a safe place, he faced (Y/N).

He was concerned at first and asked if they were ok.

He learned that they are fine but can't control it.

When (Y/N) was brought to base, leave it to miko to make (Y/N) uncomfortable.

She probably said something like "why do you twitch? Is there something wrong with you're head?" 😑😑😑appeared.

Which caused bulkhead to yell at miko

Optimus looked up what was wrong with (Y/N), along with ratchet.

When he figures out what was wrong. He made sure to help (Y/N) as best as he can.

He loves being with (Y/N) since (Y/N) is very nice when they are calm.

He also made sure to keep little things inside of his subspace for (Y/N) like blankets, fidget toys, snacks, etc.

Ratchet

When ratchet meets (Y/N), it was when optimus brought them to base, after they where almost captured by the decepticons.

Even though he is a grump, he aint a asshole.

He knows something wrong, he might be annoyed at first but he will come around.

I can see ratchet being really protective of (Y/N), since they can hurt themselves from twitching alot.

He will look up ways how to help (Y/N) with their twitching.

Once he figures out, he will act on it immediately.

He will take (Y/N) away from anything that will cause them to twitch or get extremely nervous.

He will also ask the kids to get fidget toys from (Y/N) so they have something to do.

Ratchet now has a friend with him while he works on his Computer.

He will listen to (Y/N) talk, since when they are calm, they have a very nice voice.

He will also listen to (Y/N) when they tell him to take a break or take a drive with them.

He will also be willing to drive them to work/school/home.

Soundwave

When he met (Y/N), it was when the vitcons kidnapped them, megatron couldn't figure out why they were twitching, so sent then to Soundwave.

Since Shockwave was busy with predaking or he wasn't here at the time.

Soundwave immediately put (Y/N) in a caps thing (I don't know the name) and watched them

Obviously (Y/N) would twitch non-stop and Soundwave wrote this down.

Eventually, Soundwave will look up what (Y/N) has and once he figures out, he reports it.

Sorry (Y/N), you are the new pet of the decepticons.

(Get you're fucking head out of the gutters you sinners! Shame on you!😤😤😤)

Eventually Soundwave would actually start to build a friendship with them.

He would tell lord megatron they will be their "guardian" and protect (Y/N).

Lazerpeak also loves (Y/N) since they pet their head when relaxing.

(Y/N) is mostly stuck with Soundwave, so Soundwave gets used to (Y/N) just sitting next to his keyboard.

Soundwave would listen to (Y/N) and is penitent when he waits for (Y/N) to finish their sentence.

I can see him trying to teach (Y/N) how to speak normally while stressed.

Random funny pitcher.

[itendtothinkalot]

confession 3.0

Summary: reader has suppressed her feelings for huening for so long, believing that she could manage without confessing. sooo how will she react when she discovers that kai had gone on a blind date.......

Genre: fluffy

Characters: huening kaix f!reader

Words: 6202

a/n: suUuUuper busy at work rn but i managed to write something rly quick today! i didnt rly proofread or edit this so i'm sorry if thrs errors! also stream #ggum!!!

Completed (oneshot)

Kai, It’s hard to find the right words when I’m about to say something that could change everything between us. But here I am, thinking maybe, just MAYBE, you would feel the same way. (Though, I’m on my period, so maybe I’m reading too much into it.) We’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember. You’ve always been my rock, through every high and low. Maybe that’s why it’s taken me so long to see you as more than a friend. But now, I think I’m ready to face the truth. I like you—probably more than a friend should.

It’s been two years since you wrote that letter. You and Kai had just graduated. Maybe it was the adrenaline from graduation, but you wrote it the night he kissed your cheek after you were named valedictorian.

“THAT’S MY BEST FRIEND!” you heard him yell from the seats. You rolled your eyes as you walked up to get your diploma, but you couldn’t ignore the look in his eyes as he mouthed the words, “I’m so proud of you.”

“The letter’s collecting dust,” Beomgyu teased, lying on your bed, reading the letter you wrote for Kai all those years ago.

“You come to my house, rummage through my memory box, and take out this hellish letter?” You glared at Beomgyu, who knew you were getting irritated. “What are you trying to achieve? If you want me to cry, just call me dumb. I’m on my period anyway.”

“TMI, but I’ll let it slide since I am a huge female supporter.” He chuckled, “But here’s a thought! Give him the letter.”

You snatched the letter from him. “And why would I do that?"

"Why not? It's cute!"

"Cute?"

"Yeah!"

"In what way?" You asked.

"It has like words. And stuff." Beomgyu paused. “Besides, you two belong together! Plus, I need some drama in my life. Ever since Soobin and Yeonjun went to study overseas, things have been so boring.”

"Are you insinuating that Kai, Taehyun, and I are boring?" you asked, deadpan.

"I'm not insinuating. I'm literally telling you that," Beomgyu chuckled, draping his arms over your shoulders like he hadn’t just insulted you.

"You’re an idiot," you scoffed, shaking your head. "Besides, I’m perfectly fine with how things are."

"Oh, you mean staring at him lovingly while he’s eating?" Beomgyu teased, widening his eyes and pouting dramatically, doing his best imitation of you watching Kai.

“I could kill you.”

“But you won’t.”

You stuck your tongue out at him, knowing he was right. It was cruel—the way you felt about Kai. Almost comically so. Falling in love with your best friend felt like a cosmic joke.

“Do you think he likes me back?” You sighed.

“How would I know?” Beomgyu rolled his eyes.

“Well, for starters, you three have guy’s nights.”

“We talk about games. Football. You know, guy stuff. Do we look like the kind of people who talk about feelings?”

“Kinda. Yeah.” 

—

The living room was filled with high pitched screaming (mostly from Beomgyu) as the four of you—Beomgyu, Taehyun, Kai, and you—were completely absorbed in a random game Kai had discovered in a video he had seen somewhere.

Taehyun, with a mischievous grin, leaned back on the couch. “Hey, did you guys hear the news?” 

“What news?” Beomgyu asked, his eyes still locked onto the TV.

“Kai has a girlfriend~” Taehyun sang, before getting elbowed in his stomach.

“Dude!” Kai said, his eyes shifted to you and then to Beomgyu. “It was just a blind date my sister set me up on. It was stupid.” 

Your fingers froze. You glanced over at Taehyun, still grinning as he played, and felt a sudden surge of jealousy. Your hands fumbled with the controller, struggling to keep your composure as your heart raced. You shot a quick look at Kai, whose focus wavered as his eyes were still locked onto your every movement as if waiting for a reaction.

"Why would you bring that up when we’re about to beat the last level?” Kai sighed, his brows furrowing in mild annoyance as his hands tightened around the controller.

Taehyun smirked, leaning back lazily against the couch. “Would you have preferred I brought it up on the first level?” he teased, eyes gleaming with mischief.

Kai rolled his eyes, exhaling in frustration. “It wasn’t a big deal,” he muttered, his voice casual, but there was a slight tension in his posture as if he wanted to brush the subject away quickly.

“So it did happen?” Beomgyu exclaimed, freezing his character mid-air on the screen.

“A couple of days ago,” Taehyun said casually, his attention still on the game. “I was surprised too. He didn’t mention anything about it, I only happened to walk past his little date at the cafe I frequent.”

Kai shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Yeah, it was just a setup my sister arranged. It was... fine.”

You felt a pang of jealousy and frustration, struggling to ignore the growing lump in your throat. You shifted in your seat, trying to refocus on the game, but your movements became increasingly erratic.

Your fingers pressed random buttons, desperately trying to regain control, but it only made things worse. The game character on the screen flailed aimlessly.

“Stop dying! You’re pulling us down!” Taehyun yelled, clearly exasperated with your lack of focus.

The criticism hit a nerve, and you snapped, unable to keep your frustration in check. “Oh, sure, blame it on me, Taehyun! Maybe if you hadn’t brought up Kai’s stupid blind date, I wouldn’t be so distracted!”

Taehyun looked taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s just... annoying!” you shot back, your voice sharp. “I’m trying to focus, and all I can think about is how—”

You suddenly noticed the three boys staring at you with wide eyes.

Realizing you’d let your frustration get the better of you, you quickly backpedaled. “I mean—sorry. I was just distracted,” you said, your voice trailing off awkwardly as you tried to recover from the outburst.

Beomgyu, ever observant, immediately noticed the shift in your demeanor. He shot you a sideways glance.

“Hey,” he said quietly, leaning in a bit closer so only you could hear, “I know you’re upset. Just take a deep breath.”

You met his gaze and saw the empathy in his eyes. 

“Thanks,” you murmured.

Meanwhile, Taehyun was still chatting away about the date, completely oblivious to the tension. “So, how did it go, Kai? Did you have a good time?”

Kai shrugged again, looking a bit uncomfortable. “It was okay. We talked, had dinner. Nothing special.”

You clenched your jaw, trying to mask the jealousy. You had no right to be upset, but the idea of Kai with someone else was expectedly hard to handle.

Like you said, curse.

—

It had been a couple of weeks since you last hung out with Kai, and you'd been avoiding him, using work as an excuse. You hoped everyone bought it, though Beomgyu didn’t seem convinced. But you didn’t care. You had already turned down Friday night dinners twice in a row, and there was no way you could get away with skipping a third time. So here you were, back at their place, feeling a knot of nerves twist in your stomach.

You wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but you were terrified it’d be awkward with Kai. Ever since you found out about his blind date, your feelings had been gnawing at you relentlessly, making every thought of him more painful. You feared how being around him might make those emotions harder to suppress especially since you almost gave yourself away the previous time.

But when you arrived at his house, all your worries evaporated the moment Kai pulled you into a tight bearhug. "I missed you so much!" he exclaimed, his voice warm and genuine. You found yourself melting into the embrace, forgetting every ounce of awkwardness and jealousy. For a brief moment, all that mattered was the familiar comfort of his arms around you, and everything else faded away.

You loved being in his arms. Kai felt like a giant teddy bear, soft and comforting in a way that made you feel safe. You had thought about it many times before—if comfort could take the form of a person, it would be him. His hugs were the kind that melted away stress, and being close to him felt like home. No matter how anxious or upset you were, being in his arms always made you forget, even if just for a little while.

“I missed you too," you fumbled out, your voice softer than intended.

"God! It's been two weeks, but it feels like a year!" he laughed, pulling you over to the sofa. His excitement and warmth made you feel like you’d never been away. 

"I knew you were busy the last couple of weeks," he said, reaching for his phone and opening the notes app. "So I made a list." He grinned, scrolling through it. "Here are just some things you missed during our dinners."

"You wrote them down on your notes app?" you giggled, genuinely amused by the thought of him keeping track of everything just for you.

"Of course," he replied with a playful glint in his eyes. "I can’t leave you out."

You don’t think he realizes just how sweet he is—or how incredibly frustrating it is that he's constantly this sweet. You're pretty sure he has no idea how much you want to scream every time he makes you feel this way. It was maddening, really, how effortlessly he could make your heart race with just a few words or a simple smile.

It had been about an hour since Kai filled you in on the events of the past two weeks. From what you gathered, Beomgyu sharted in his pants when he had diarrhoea from eating at a place down the street and Taehyun got drunk and wasted $500 sending TikTok gifts to Yeonjun during a live dance stream.

It seemed plausible enough. You missed them. Two weeks had passed, but it was more than enough time for you to fully feel their absence. Sure, they checked in on you every day, flooding the group chat, but you didn't respond—afraid you'd accidentally reveal your feelings for Kai. You weren’t about to make that mistake.

Still, you were starting to realize that avoiding them felt incredibly immature. You had forgotten just how much you loved your friends—and how much they loved you. Every part of you wished they wouldn’t change, not even a little. You wanted them to stay exactly as they were, unchanged and constant.

It was possibly why you were so adamant about keeping your feelings for Kai to yourself. The thought of confessing felt risky, one wrong move and the most precious friendship you’ve ever had could shatter. You couldn’t bear to be the one who ruined that.

Still…you wondered, how long you could take before you finally cracked.

“Do you think… we’ll still be friends when we’re older?” you asked, your voice soft and a bit uncertain.

Kai tilted his head, considering the question. “Like Yeonjun old or like my dad old?”

You laughed, trying to clarify, “Like, y’know, further into our adulthood.”

“Like when we have kids?” he asked, his tone casual but with a hint of curiosity.

“We?” Your heart skipped a beat, suddenly racing. The idea of him envisioning a future with you was both exhilarating and terrifying.

“Yeah?” He paused, looking at you with a thoughtful expression. “Like when you have your own family and I have mine.”

You nodded either way.

Kai looked at you with a genuine, reassuring smile. “Why wouldn’t we be?” he asked, his eyes warm and sincere. “We’ve been through so much together. Why wouldn’t we stay friends?”

Sure, you took some sort of comfort from his reassurance but there was a part of you still grappling with the realization that your feelings might never align with his. 

You took a deep breath, forcing a smile as you met his gaze. “Mhm.”

Kai’s smile widened, and he playfully nudged you with his elbow. “C’mon. We’ll still be annoying each other, like always.”

You laughed softly, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

"We won't change."

As you looked over at him, your eyes began to well up with tears. You looked away, pretending that you weren’t actually about to sob. 

Kai’s gaze softened when he noticed the glistening in your eyes. He placed his hands gently on your thigh, as if sensing that something was troubling you, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

“I promise,” he said softly.

“Right…sorry..I’m just–”

“It’s fine. I get it.” He nodded, cutting you off. “You don’t have to explain.”

You often wondered how someone who knew you so well didn’t have any idea that you liked him. The thought was both comforting and frustrating. 

“Anyway, there’s still like 3 more things on my list.” Kai said, showing you his notes app.

You nodded, “All ears!” 

Despite enjoying Kai’s animated recounting of the ridiculous things Beomgyu had done the week before, your mind was a tangled mess of thoughts about his recent blind date.

You tried to focus on the present, nodding and laughing along, but the image of him with someone else kept intruding.

You hesitated, your fingers nervously tracing patterns on the armrest of the sofa. You took a deep breath as you waited for Kai to finally finish his last story. 

“Hey, Kai, can I ask you something?” you finally managed to say, your voice barely above a whisper. Your heart pounded in your chest as you waited for his response.

“Sure, what’s up?” he replied, still looking relaxed and upbeat.

“So, about that blind date your sister set you up on…” you began, your tone more serious now. “How did it–um– go?”

Kai’s expression shifted slightly, and he leaned back, thinking for a moment. “Oh, that. It was... okay. We had dinner and talked a bit. It was nice, but nothing special.”

You tried to mask your disappointment, nodding slowly. “I see.”

Kai looked at you with a hint of curiosity. “Why? What’s up?”

You shrugged, forcing a casual tone. “Oh! Nothing. I was just–uh–curious!”

“Well, to be honest,” he started, “the date was actually kind of fun. She was really nice and pretty. We had a good time talking and hanging out. She’s been asking me out on another date, but I’m not sure if I should go.”

You felt a wave of jealousy bubbling inside you, but you tried to keep your voice steady. “That’s nice!” you said, forcing a smile. “You should go.”

As soon as the words left your mouth, you winced inwardly, realizing the absurdity of what you’d just said. Here you were, encouraging the guy you had feelings for to go out on another date.

You looked down at your hands, trying to hide the flush of embarrassment creeping up your cheeks. “I mean… it’s your choice. Do what you think is right,” you stammered, trying to backtrack.

You tried to shake off the discomfort, but the conversation with Kai had left you feeling unsettled. As your phone rang, you seized the opportunity to shift focus.

“Hey, Beomgyu. What’s up?” you answered, trying to sound casual.

“Hey!” Beomgyu’s voice came through the speaker. “Just wanted to let you know we’ve got a busted tire. We’re going to be home 2-3 hours later than usual.”

“Shit, you guys okay?” 

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Beomgyu replied, chuckling. “Taehyun’s totally losing it with his insurance company. It’s kinda hilarious. I’ll send you a video in the group chat.”

You heard Beomgyu laughing, and then Taehyun’s distant shouting.

“Fuck. He’s coming over to yell at me to delete it,” Beomgyu added quickly.

“Yeah, okay,” you said, trying to ignore the awkwardness from earlier. “I’ll see you guys later.”

You hung up and looked over at Kai, who was watching you with a curious expression.

“Well,” you said, attempting to lighten the mood, “looks like it’s just us for dinner tonight.”

Kai grinned, clearly unfazed by the earlier conversation. “Perfect. More time for us to catch up.”

Whatever he had just said did nothing to quell the storm of emotions swirling inside you. You couldn’t help but think, Curse you, Huening Kai, you perfect son of a bitch, as you watched him move about the kitchen, completely unaware of the effect he had on you. 

—

“Can you pass me the salt?” “Hey…” “Dude!”

You suddenly felt a flick on your forehead and snapped out of your thoughts, turning to Kai, who had been trying to get your attention for a while.

“Oh! Yep. You should!” you blurted out. “You should totally try a new hairstyle.”

Kai laughed, the sound warm and reassuring. “We’ve moved on from that topic.” His expression softened as he leaned in, gently placing his hand on your forehead. “You alright? Are you feeling sick?”

His hand was surprisingly warm against your skin, and if his touch lingered even a moment longer, you were certain your cheeks would be hotter than the soup you were drinking. You nodded quickly, trying to brush off the heat rising to your face.

“Are you sure? It feels like you’re getting warmer,” Kai said, his voice tinged with concern.

Embarrassed, you pushed his hand away, the warmth of his touch still lingering. “It’s probably just the summer heat.”

“You sure?” he asked, still looking worried.

You nodded again, trying to sound more convincing. “Yep.”

“Hold on, you have a little…” He leaned in and gently used his thumb to wipe a small crumb from your lip.

The unexpected touch of his thumb against your lip sent a jolt through you. Startled by the sudden closeness and the tender gesture, you fumbled with the bowl of soup. In your flustered state, your hand slipped, and the bowl tipped over. 

You abruptly stood up, wincing as a sharp, stinging pain shot through your foot. “Fuck,” you cursed under your breath, your voice tinged with frustration.

Kai’s face immediately filled with concern. He hurriedly rushed over to your side of the table, reaching for the spilled food and trying to help you clean up. “Are you okay?” he asked, his tone anxious.

“I’m good!” you said quickly, trying to push his hands away. You didn’t want him to see how flustered and embarrassed you were. His touch was warm, but right now, you just wanted to avoid any more attention.

You noticed a flicker of hurt in his eyes before you shook your head, trying to reassure him. “I didn’t mean to—I just—I should go get this cleaned up.” You quickly made your way to the bathroom, your heart pounding as you tried to escape the situation.

You heard Kai’s footsteps follow closely behind you. As you entered the bathroom, he called out, “The first aid’s under the sink.” There was a sigh in his voice, a mixture of frustration and concern. “You sure you’re okay?”

You nodded, even though he couldn’t see you through the closed door. “Yep,” you called back, trying to sound more confident than you felt.

Silence continued between the two of you as you carefully bandaged your scalded thigh. The faint rustling of Kai’s movements outside the door made it clear he was still there, waiting.

Then, you heard him whisper, almost too softly to catch, “There’s something wrong between us.”

You stayed silent, not trusting yourself to respond.

A moment later, his voice grew a bit louder as he repeated, “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yep.” You replied.

“You sure we’re okay?” Kai’s voice softened.

You didn’t answer, letting the silence stretch between you. Each second felt like an eternity, your mind racing as you tried to gather your thoughts. You could hear the faint rustling of Kai’s movements outside the door.

Finally, you took a deep breath and emerged from the bathroom, the bandage awkwardly wrapped around your leg. Kai stood there, looking at you with a mixture of worry and something else you couldn’t quite place.

“Sorry about that,” you said, forcing a smile. “It’s just a minor burn. Nothing to worry about.”

Kai’s eyes softened, though he still looked concerned. “It’s not just about the burn, is it?” He stepped closer, his gaze searching yours. “Something’s been off for a while now. I can’t help but feel like you’re distancing yourself from me.”

You felt a lump form in your throat, the vulnerability of the moment making it hard to speak. “It’s complicated,” you finally admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. “I’ve been dealing with a lot of emotions lately, and I didn’t want to drag you into it.”

Kai’s expression shifted from concern to understanding, and he reached out, gently touching your arm. “You don’t have to go through things alone. If something’s wrong, I want to be here for you. I care about you too much to let things stay this way.”

His words struck a chord, and you felt your resolve begin to crumble. The warmth of his hand on your arm, combined with the sincerity in his eyes, made it hard to hold back your feelings.

“I—” you started, but the words caught in your throat. You looked down, struggling to find the right way to express what you were feeling. “I just… I didn’t want to make things awkward or complicated.”

Kai shook his head slightly, his gaze never leaving yours. "Please,” he whispered. “Just let me share the pain you're going through."

You met his eyes, finally allowing yourself to be vulnerable. “I… I care about you a lot, Kai. More than I thought I could.”

Kai’s expression softened further, and he took a step closer. “I care about you too.”

He didn’t get it. He didn’t understand the implication of what you were trying to say—that you liked him. That you cared about him differently from how you cared about Beomgyu and Taehyun.

You forced a smile. “Thank you. Let’s get back out there.” You nudged his shoulder.

He shook his head. “No.” He gently pulled you back, stopping you in your tracks.

“Kai…”

“No,” he repeated, his grip firm but gentle, careful not to hurt you. He guided you to the wall and leaned you against it softly. “I don’t want to leave it like this. I don’t know what this is, but I don’t feel like we’re okay.”

“We are.”

“You’re lying,” he sighed.

“I’m not—”

“Your eyes,” Kai said softly, “they tell me everything I need to know.”

“Are they telling you anything else?” you asked, your frustration clearly showing. “Since you know me so well, can you read anything else in my eyes?”

“Why are you getting mad at me?” Kai asked, his voice getting slightly louder, confusion and hurt in his voice.

“Because!” you snapped, your voice rising with anger. “Because!”

“Because what?!” Kai shouted back, his own frustration surfacing. “It’s like you don’t even want me around anymore!”

“And who said that? Stop assuming everything about me!” you yelled, your voice trembling with emotion. “Stop acting like you know everything about me!”

“Don’t I?!” he exclaimed, frustration evident in his tone.

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “You’re always going on about how much you know me, but do you really? You can’t even—” You paused, the words caught in your throat.

“Can’t even what? Notice that you’re avoiding me?” Kai’s voice was tinged with hurt and confusion.

The room was charged with tension. Your heart raced as you faced each other, your eyes locked with his despite your desperate urge to look away. His voice dripped with anger, and his eyes shimmered with a deep, wounded hurt. 

“Have you or have you not been avoiding me?” Kai asked, his voice dropping to a deeper, more serious tone.

“I wasn’t igno—”

“You’re lying.”

“I wasn’t intentionally ignoring you,” you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper, filled with apprehension.

Kai’s shoulders slumped in defeat, his voice cracking with vulnerability. “W-why? Did I do something wrong? Did I say something wrong? Listen, whatever I did, I’m sorry—”

"You didn’t do anything." You sighed, burying your face in your hands.

"Then... why have you been avoiding me?" Kai gently pulled your hands away from your face, lifting your chin so you’d meet his gaze. His eyes searched yours.

“I–”

"You don’t think I’ve noticed? How you've barely been texting me, or the group? We used to talk every day. And now, for the past two weeks, it’s just been me... constantly asking about you. And the only person who seems to know anything is Beomgyu. Not even me." His voice cracked with frustration. "It used to be us. Just the two of us against everything. But now—"

“I—I’ve been going through some things on my own. You don’t have to know everything about me, Kai,” you said, your tone sharper than intended.

It almost felt ironic, and just as infuriating, that he stood there acting as if he truly understood you, when he didn’t even realize the most important thing—your feelings. 

“We’re supposed to be best friends. What happened to being friends till we grow old?” Kai’s voice cracked, as if the weight of the words would somehow pull you back to him.

“Some of us don’t want that,” you snapped, your self-restraint finally shattering. The words left your lips before you could stop them, sharp and unforgiving.

Kai froze, staring at you in disbelief. The hurt in his eyes was unmistakable. Slowly, the grip he still had on your arm loosened, his hands falling to his sides, as though the very act of holding on had become too heavy.

“Kai—” you sighed, realizing your words had gone too far.

“No. I’m—I—” he cut you off, sighing heavily as he pushed his hair back. “I’m an idiot.”

“Kai—” you tried again, your voice softer, unsure of how to fix what had just happened.

He stayed silent, inching away from you slowly. Then, without a word, he knelt down to look at your injured leg. “Feel better,” he murmured, gently tracing the edge of the hasty bandage wrapped around your thigh.

He stood up to walk away, the silence between you growing heavier with each step. But just as he turned, your frustration finally boiled over, pushing you past the breaking point. You couldn't hold it in any longer.

With a voice raw and desperate, you shouted, “I LIKE YOU!” Your eyes were wide and your chest heaved with the effort of the outburst. The words seemed to crackle in the air, and your hands clenched into fists at your sides, trembling slightly as the intensity of your emotions took hold.

Kai froze in his tracks, his back still turned to you. The air between you crackled with the weight of your confession, the echo of your words hanging in the silence. You stood there, heart racing, unable to believe you had actually said it.

Slowly, Kai turned to face you, his eyes wide with shock and something else you couldn’t quite place—hope, maybe? Confusion? Possibly.

You swallowed hard, “I—I didn’t mean to shout,” you stammered. “But I’ve been holding it in for so long, and I just… I didn’t know how else to say it.”

Kai’s expression softened, his brows furrowing as he processed your words. “You like me?” he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper, as if he wasn’t sure he heard you right.

You nodded, “I just thought if I kept my distance, maybe it would go away… but it didn’t.”

He took a tentative step closer, his eyes never leaving yours. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I was scared,” you admitted, your voice trembling as you spoke. Your hands fidgeted, fingers twisting nervously. “Scared that it would ruin everything between us. Scared you wouldn’t feel the same. And the blind date that Taehy—”

“It wasn’t even that serious to begin with, my sisters were just sick of hearing me complain about–well about you.” he interrupted, his tone gentle but firm. He took a step closer, his expression softening as he reached out, his hand almost brushing yours.

“Me?” 

Kai let out a breath, his shoulders relaxing as the tension between you began to fade. “I never knew,” he said softly, taking another step closer. “But… you didn’t have to be scared. I—”

He hesitated, his voice catching in his throat, before finally meeting your gaze. “I like you too.”

“Oh.” 

“Yeah. Oh,” Kai mumbled, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, clearly unsure of what to do next.

You laughed, the tension breaking slightly. “No one ever tells you what to do after… a confession.”

Kai chuckled softly. “I figured Beomgyu might know what to do. He’s been egging me on to tell you how I feel.”

“He has?” you asked, surprised.

Kai nodded, and a brief silence settled between the two of you, heavy but not uncomfortable. Finally, he spoke again. “I’m sorry.”

“What? Why?” you asked, confused.

“I should’ve told you sooner, when I had the chance. I didn’t realize that keeping it in would hurt you, and that was never my intention.” His voice softened, regret evident in every word.

“That makes the two of us,” you giggled shyly. “Well, I wasn’t exactly broadcasting my single status and going on blind dates, but still—” you teased playfully.

“For the record,” Kai said, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin, “my sisters were only sick of me complaining about how much I like you and how much of a coward I am for not telling you.”

“Oh. What exactly have you been complaining about?” You teased.

Kai’s cheeks pinked, “N-nothing. Nothing important.”

“Really? You do know I have Hiyyih’s Insta. I could probably just ask her myself,” you said with a mischievous grin.

“You wouldn’t.”

You nodded, a playful glint in your eye. “I absolutely would. So it’s either you give me a summarized version and keep the details to yourself, or I get the 100% detailed account from Hiyyih.”

“It’s not even—I just… you have to promise me you won’t laugh. Or make fun of me.”

“Promise.” You said, pretending to zip your lips with a playful wink. 

Your eyes were filled with genuine adoration for the man standing before you. His vulnerability was written all over his face, and it only made your heart swell. Your gaze softened, allowing the affection you'd kept hidden for so long to shine through. After years of bottling up your feelings, you could finally show them, even if only a little.

“Well, uh… this is so embarrassing,” he mumbled quietly to himself, taking a deep breath to steady himself. “I’d tell them how… uh… pretty you looked every time we went out together,” he said slowly.

“Uh-huh…” You nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“And I’d tell them how you didn’t deserve the guys you were dating. How they were all assholes,” he went on, his voice growing louder and more passionate as he gained confidence with each word.

“And I’d tell them how much you deserve someone who genuinely loves you, someone who knows how funny you are, how quiet you get when you’re overanalyzing something, how loud you become when you're passionate, and how loving and protective you are to the people who matter to you.” He gulped, his voice shaking with emotion.

“How… much I deserved you,” he finished, his gaze searching yours.

You stood there, feeling a rush of warmth flood your cheeks. Your mind raced, but no words came. All you could manage was a soft, hesitant “Umm…”

Kai’s gaze was fixed on you, a mixture of hope and apprehension in his eyes. Seeing your struggle to find the right words, he took a deep breath and gently took your hands in his. 

You hated to admit it, but Kai seemed to be winning the confession game you had inadvertently started.

As his words settled, you found yourself slowly leaning in, your heart racing with a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation. Kai’s eyes fluttered shut, and he met you halfway. His lips gently brushed against yours, the kiss starting soft and tentative.

Your hands gripped his, pulling him closer as the kiss deepened. You felt Kai’s arms wrap around your waist, guiding you gently against the wall.

“God, I like you so much,” he whispered into the kiss.

Just as you were losing yourself in the moment, the abrupt sound of the door slamming open ruined the moment the two of you had.

“WE’RE HOME!” 

Taehyun and Beomgyu burst into the room, their eyes widening in disbelief as they took in the sight of you and Kai locked in a kiss.

“What the—” Taehyun’s voice came out as a high-pitched yelp, his hand flying to his mouth in shock.

The room was filled with a jumble of screams—your and Kai’s shocked cries mixing with Taehyun’s and Beomgyu’s high-pitched shouts. The noise was deafening, with each of you trying to out-scream the other. 

“YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HOME!” you yelled.

“THE GUYS AT THE TOWING COMPANY SENT US HOME BECAUSE THEY LIKED ME! WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?!” Taehyun shouted back.

“DO YOU EVER KNOCK?!” Kai yelled at the two of them.

“THIS IS A SHARED APARTMENT, YOU IDIOT!” Beomgyu countered.

“Enough about us! What the heck are you two doing? Spit-swapping in front of us like that?” Taehyun yelled.

You and Kai stood there, red-faced and speechless, your hands still intertwined but your mouths firmly shut. The embarrassment was palpable as you both tried to avoid eye contact, your cheeks burning with the sudden realization of being caught.

“We—uh…”

“We—”

The two of you glanced at each other, then back at Taehyun and Beomgyu.

“We…”

“Spit it out!” Beomgyu rolled his eyes, clearly impatient.

“We like each other?” Kai managed to fumble out, his voice trembling slightly.

At that moment, the room erupted into a new kind of chaos. Taehyun and Beomgyu, now visibly relieved and overjoyed, screamed with happiness.

“FINALLY!” Taehyun shouted, his voice a mix of triumph and excitement. “I KNEW IT!”

“Oh my god!” Beomgyu exclaimed, clapping his hands together in delight. “We can finally sleep in peace!”

“No more emo Huening Kai nights!”

“No more sad songs!”

Beomgyu and Taehyun grabbed each other’s hands, jumping in circles and celebrating for reasons you couldn’t quite grasp.

“Emo Huening Kai nights?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Every time you went out on a date with someone, Kai would come home with this sad look on his face,” Taehyun explained. “He wouldn’t want to play any games or do anything fun.”

“He’d just pout, act like a baby, order Chinese takeout, and then moan about how the guy you were dating didn’t deserve you,” Beomgyu continued, trying to hold back his laughter.

You looked at Kai, who was now blushing deeply and rolling his eyes in mock annoyance. “Well, that explains a lot,” you said, chuckling.

“When you both explain it like that, it makes me sound pathetic,” Kai said, shaking his head.

“But it was pathetic?” Beomgyu asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I think it’s cute,” you said with a smile.

“Gross,” Beomgyu said, scrunching up his face in mock disgust. “Wait, does this mean we’ll have to see this more often? GROSS!”

“I can’t believe Huening found a girl before us,” Taehyun sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.

“It’s possible that the two of you lack a certain charisma,” Kai replied with a teasing grin.

“Oh, and you have it?” Taehyun laughed, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I do have the world’s greatest girlfriend,” Kai said, glancing at you with a proud smile.

“Girlfriend?” You teased, your eyes twinkling with mischief. “Who said anything about me being your girlfriend?”

Kai’s face turned a shade redder as he stammered, “Well, I—I just thought—”

“Thought what?” you interrupted, a playful smirk on your lips. “That I’d be your girlfriend even if you didn’t ask? I’m not that easy.”

“I’m sorry,” Beomgyu interjected, “You’re a little confident right now. Aren’t you the same girl who messaged me about how Kai looked like he had the most pillowy, kissable lips you’d ever seen?”

Your cheeks heated up. “CHOI BEOMGYU!”

“Oh, and also that cute little private TikTok you did after you cried over Kai…? Really cute,” Beomgyu continued, his grin widening.

In a desperate bid to stop him from revealing more, you clenched your fists and lunged at Beomgyu. You jumped onto his back and covered his mouth with your hands, muffling his voice before he could spill any more secrets. 

Taehyun and Kai erupted into giggles, but Kai's laughter suddenly faltered as he realized, “Wait… what TikTok?”

“She did a TikTok where—” Beomgyu started, but you quickly shoved your hands over his mouth, pressing down firmly to silence him.

Unfortunately, Beomgyu was way stronger than you. With one swift move, he had you slung over his shoulder, your legs flailing as you tried to wriggle free.

“Fine. I won’t tell. Yet,” Beomgyu said with a mischievous grin.

[stardustluvs]

Hi, I loved your writing for Nolan✨️✨️

Is your order open? If not, you can disregard this ask

my idea: after recording "7 days drifting at sea" Nolan arriving home and just wanting to rest his girlfriend. I need more Nolan stuff! he is so funny and cute

Fighting Sleep - Nolan X Reader

Word Count: 838

Pairing: Nolan Hansen x fem!Reader

Summary: What the req says

Warnings: None

Author’s Note: Am I the Nolan blog yet?

Requests are open! || masterlist

It had already been nearly an hour since Nolan’s been home, and he was visibly exhausted. You couldn’t really blame him either. He had been gone a whole week on a raft in the middle of the sea, and you hadn’t really had a way to keep in contact with him.

He hugged you for what felt like ten years, not that you were complaining, the second he saw you.

It was probably the longest you two had been apart since you started going out, and it was only for a week, which really spoke volumes. Who was to blame you though? You were basically attached at the hip. You had been invited to nearly every video set, and it was very rare that you declined, just because you wanted to be near Nolan.

You did however, decline the offer for this video. It didn’t appeal to you at all and you had no desire to drift at sea for a week, not when you had your own things to tend to here at home. You didn’t even really want Nolan to go, but for whatever reason, he accepted Jimmy’s offer.

Currently it was going on eight pm, and the house fell silent as you laid cuddled up with Nolan in your shared bedroom. A movie played softly on the TV, but you were positive neither of you were paying attention. He was too busy running a hand through your hair gently, or whispering to you about how much he missed you.

“I wish you were there, but I’m also glad you weren’t,” He laughed softly.

You tilted your head up a little to look at him. You moved up slightly to kiss his cheek.

“I’m glad I wasn’t there either,” You responded, poking fun at the fact that you knew it could not have been enjoyable, judging by the fact that Nolan just seemed so drained.

“Why don’t you sleep, you’re tired,” You told him.

He just shook his head, “I just want to lay here with you,” He replied, trying to hide the fact that he yawned almost immediately after.

You gave him a knowing look but decided to not push, knowing that he’d be out like a light soon enough. You were just waiting for it to happen.

He kissed the top of your head before you snuggled back up to his chest. You wished he never left, and you were just so glad to have him back in your space.

His arms which had been wrapped around your body squeezed you lightly. If you hadn't known that he was tired before, you would have figured he was exhausted by now.

You glanced up at him again, watching him fight sleep. You noticed the way his eyes would shut for a few moments before he would open them again, over and over.

"Sleep, Nol..." You whispered, "I'll still be here in the morning," You reassured.

"No, I'm fine, I wanna stay up with you for a bit longer," He insisted, shifting a little as a way to try to keep himself awake.

"From what I heard, you barely slept at all this week, don't keep yourself exhausted," You said, offering a slight laugh at the end of your sentence, trying to prove how ridiculous he was being.

He just shook his head and you rolled your eyes, "Tell me about your week," He said.

"Just hung around, missing you. Wondering why on Earth you wanted to do this video," You teased.

He knew it definitely was not a video for everyone, but he appreciated the challenge and knew it couldn't be so bad as long as his friends had been there with him. He did feel a little iffy about drifting at sea with no way to expect what would happen next, but Jimmy had reassured him at least twenty times that everything would be completely under control.

Well, everything but the weather.

The weather was the worst part, and he's surprised he didn't end up sick from being out in the rain like that, or even the heat.

"I missed you too, a lot," He replied, "I'm glad I get to be home now."

You were glad too. If you could, you'd never let him leave your side, but that was unrealistic, and you refused to be that kind of girlfriend. He reminded you of how he appreciated you nearly every day.

After a few beats of silence, you noticed the way his breathing slowed. You felt his arms loosen around your body, and you smiled to yourself.

You smiled softly at him before reaching down and pulling the blankets over the two of you a little higher. You shifted slightly, getting comfy before shutting your eyes.

Honestly, you hoped he'd never leave for something like that again, but you knew it was inevitable, and as long as was enjoying himself. Though, you didn't quite see the appeal in drifting in open water for a week straight, but to each their own.

"Goodnight, Nolan."

[bbfeelings]

I couldn’t stop thinking about small waist pretty face so I wrote a silly little thing inspired by @hubbydaddies’ post. Happy BD Friday!

Edit: a completed version of this fic, Small Waist, Pretty Face can be found here!

After another easy, victorious, and unsurprisingly boring round, Rei checked his phone. 1:28 am. He took a drink of beer and joined another game. The phone on his lap suddenly started vibrating and startled him. Rei killed the game and held up the phone. It could only be one person. There was one person in this world who’d call him.

Kazuki wants to FaceTime.

Rei took off the headphone and carefully pressed the answer button.

What he did not expect was to see Carol’s face.

“Rei-chan—! Took you long enough to pick up!” She whined.

“Um…uh, sorry?”

“He picked up!” Carol announced cheerily, shoving the phone in front of Kazuki.

“Hey, Rei, hehe,” his drunk face was stupidly stupid. “My bad…I had one too many!” His foolish grin under the neon lights was stupidly stupid. Rei rolled his eyes.

”I’m coming home now!”

“Just don’t wake Miri up when you do.”

“Okie-dok, Rei-chan—” The video went blurry then dark; he must’ve dropped his phone. Idiot. Rei sighed. His partner had a tendency to be extra loud and obnoxious when intoxicated. Not that he’d ever awoken Miri with his drunken shenanigans. But still.

An unfamiliar face appeared on the screen. Rei only knew of Carol and Dorothy. “It’s fine! It didn’t break!” She said, and a cheering crowd of girls could be heard from the background. “So this is Rei-chan? He’s so cute!” She exclaimed, “Kazu-san, you never told me he’s this cute!”

Girls swarmed in front of the camera, squealing and giggling, “What a cutie!” “This is the pretty face you go home to? Kazu-san, you sly dog—” “Rei-chan, Rei-chan! Tell us what Kazu-san is like at home!” Rei felt his face go hot. What the hell? “Aww, he’s blushing! We’re embarrassing him! How adorable!” “Don’t worry, we don’t touch Kazu-san! He’s all yours!” The girls laughed.

What the hell?

—

2:07 am

“Rei—the door won’t open,” Kazuki whined over the phone. He’d finally made it back to the apartment building, but he was long gone. Rei sighed as the elevator arrived at the building lobby, “Coming.”

Upon seeing Rei, Kazuki happily draped himself over Rei’s slimmer frame, crying about forgetting how keys work. He smelled of booze and some tacky cheap perfume that made Rei’s nose itch. He cursed under his breath. Seriously. 28 years of age, acting like a hot fucking mess. Kazuki started humming off-key and mumbling some lyrics to himself as they exited the elevator on their floor.

Five minutes later, Rei was standing in the bathroom door, watching Kazuki puking his guts out. Between the dry heaving and whimpering, Rei’d hand him a tissue. He didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy toward his miserable partner. Why does he like drinking himself into oblivion? Getting a bit tipsy, sure, but Rei absolutely hated the feeling of being wasted.

Kazuki crawled into the shower. Rei passed him his toothbrush and toothpaste and left the bathroom. He then returned with a fresh towel, hung it on the door before closing it.

—

2:46 am

Rei made some cup noodles. Kazuki came out and stumbled across the living room with the towel around his waist. The steam coming from the bathroom told Rei that Kazuki took a boiling hot shower, if his red as a cooked lobster body didn’t give it away. He watched Kazuki dropping himself onto the couch and curling up. Rei scowled.

“Oi,” he said as he chewed, “sleep in your own room.” Kazuki retaliated with inaction and started humming and mumbling again. Rei couldn’t risk letting him fall asleep on the couch like that. The bathroom was damp and nasty, and no way he was going to sleep there tonight.

“Get up,” he towered over Kazuki, who was making noises like a complaining 4 year old would. “You’re gonna get a cold.”

—

3:11 am

Kazuki finally got up and made it into his room, but not without Rei basically dragging his ass. “Clothes,” he said. Kazuki obediently reached into the dresser. Rei’s job here was done; he wanted to finish his cup noodles, which was probably soggy and cold by now.

Kazuki turned around and muttered something sing-song-y in Rei's direction as he was about to close the bedroom door.

“…small waist…”

“What?”

“You.” Kazuki pointed.

“What about me?”

Half clothed, Kazuki waltzed over and took Rei for a dance as he hummed; Rei was too tired for this shit. They stumbled around the room. Kazuki’s eyes were half closed and hazy, “…big boobies…small waist…”

Rei snickered. What the hell?

“Wait, no,” Kazuki frowned as if he was thinking hard, if he could even think at all with that soupy brain.

“Small waist…pretty face.” Kazuki resumed his drunken shenanigans. Quickly losing his patience, Rei maneuvered out of Kazuki’s grasp. “You’re gonna wake Miri.”

He pointed again, “That’s you.” Kazuki fixed his gaze on Rei, “Small waist, pretty face.”

Rei felt this utter embarrassment in the form of increasing heart rate and a full body goosebumps followed by a shudder.

While Rei was momentarily immobilized by the sheer humiliation, Kazuki seized the opportunity, launched himself at Rei, gently grabbed hold of him again. He planted a quick but clumsy kiss right on Rei’s lips, inevitably knocking his own teeth on his.

They fell into bed and Kazuki took no time to cling onto Rei, snuggled in while letting out a satisfied sigh.

Rei went blank.

What the hell?

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: The Second (And Final) Odd Squad UK Trailer

Cute that FRP suddenly cares about Odd Squad when they haven't even so much as peeped about it for...what, over a year now? Two years, maybe?

Yeah. Anyway, it seems that PBS had to step up on their alt -- the franchise's social medias, you see -- and grab it from them, because it's clear they weren't gonna do it. Especially not during Hispanic and Latino Heritage Month when Alma's Way is the top dog. (You know how Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is PBS Kids's golden kid? Alma's Way is FRP's. It's like the Spongebob of the prodco, really.)

But enough stick-up-the-anus cynicism. I did one Seren's Study on the gadget competition results video, and now I'm moving on to the one for the second trailer for Odd Squad UK. Some of it repeats bits from the first trailer, but it's otherwise completely new.

Let's dive below the break!

If you look closely, the badge number says 86.

Which would be fine, if I hadn't run numbers only to realize that neither Orli nor Ozzie have a badge number of 86.

So either someone's trippin' balls or I'm the one trippin' balls and can't math correctly.

What sleep deprivation does to a motherfucker: I saw this and immediately thought of "Two Agents and a Baby" because of the equipment Ozzie was holding. So I thought, "Okay, so they're babysitting?"

It's actually from "Planes, Trains and Oddmobiles". And as I've said before, I can predict, with stunning accuracy, what shots and what scenes line up with which episode. If you've seen the synopsis for "Planes, Trains and Oddmobiles", this brief snippet speaks for itself.

(Makes me wonder...anyone wanna set up a PonyGuessr game, but for Odd Squad screencaps? Would be fun to test your knowledge! I know I'd love one.)

*in about the best Bill Nye voice I can do*

Please...consider the following.

Dino Dex crossover.

(Hey, it's not impossible. If you've been watching this franchise, you know it's not impossible.)

They didn't even try with the house thing.

Is that not the same row of houses from "Training Day"? Am I delulu? Am I tripping? Or is that the same row of houses? Different color, maybe?

...I CHECKED. IT IS THE SAME FUCKING ROW OF HOUSES. BY G O D I'M ON FIRE!!!

Ah, I see we've also got some not-so-subliminal advertising for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in here.

(See, it's funny because, IIRC, they made a jab at the UK in the trailer. So in a way, you could say they've come full circle!)

Funny how we go from the appropriate reaction one should have to having lightning shoot out of your head to "this is going to fuck up my entire life because I can't wear hats now" in...oh, I don't know...a scene or two, maybe? Five at best.

Ah, and we have our first look at Dottie Doubloon from "A Dicey Situation"! I will say, she does kind of look like a pirate attire-wise, which is what I was hoping for. Maybe she'll talk like a pirate too aaaaaaaand I just figured out the connection between her and Captain O and I need to go absorb my fat lil' body into the grass outside now thank you.

new villains

shows the Icy Mousey about to do a Hadouken

I don't think I need to explain what the direct distinction between creatures and villains are. It's like looking at a dog that bites your hand and equating him to a guy who killed his son. They both did bad things, but only one is an antagonistic animal in the more instinctual sense while the other one is a straight-up villain.

At least they show The Trifler right after...but still. It's all about sentience. Do I need to make a whole-ass sentience chart and tell- just keep rolling with it?

*sighs* Okay, fine...if I must.

I'm sorry...I honestly didn't believe this trailer would make me laugh, but then this guy comes in with a "Gadzooks!" while holding something gross and I lost it.

Behold: genderbent adult-aged Willow from The Owl House has made his way into Odd Squad UK. He's even got the hat on and everything!

new gadgets

shows the tubes

I'm just...I'm fuckin' tired, man. Is this some kind of joke? Is this a game? Because I want a Perplexus ball and not this shit, thank you.

It's like blinking Oprah...Oprah...she do the blink...in "Dance Like Nobody's Watching"...but...but 's Captain O...with a squinty squint...

Alternatively: I lol'd, until I serious'd.

I see Orwell Kubrick has some charm beneath all that "scare the kids but not too much". Good for him.

*with the tightest fucking smile any doctor has ever seen on a person*

"Is that his house? I- Is that Onom's fucking house? Take me to my best friend's house, I loved you then like I love you now? T- The iPod touch circa 2011?!"

I will say, I appreciate the analytics behind each pose here. Lots to dissect, if the Discord server is any indication.

Those five words might've just put a dent in my "ah, they'll drop 'em all on the 1st and forget about it" theory.

It could still happen -- PBS still hates the show, mind you. Netflix, Hulu, and most other streaming services do the same thing. There's a chance. You watch. You watch and see.

--------------------------------------------

Overall, a nice solid trailer. Doesn't exactly stoke any hype in me, but it did stoke my curiosity in finding out what happens. Funny enough, unlike the Season 3 trailer, there's no mention of the big bad or anything. At least there, The Shadow got a couple seconds of screentime. For the Terrible Three, though, there's nothing. Which...concerns me on a number of levels in terms of how well they're going to handle the story arc.

But either way, we've got a week to go until launch date, so I'm not expecting too much else news-wise. Still waiting for BBC to drop those teaser images, and for PBS Kids's main Twitter account to recognize the show and rep it with not-so-subtle lil' hints using past seasons. (Only one of those sounds more plausible. I don't think I need to say which one.)

Like I've said before, my first Seren's Study regarding the new series/season, when it drops, will be an episode followup on "Odd Ones In". And before you ask me if I'm going to be reuploading episodes onto my YouTube channel: clearly you haven't been there for all the times I bitched and moaned on Twitter about PBS, their distribution branch, or their security partner taking down my videos that contained snippets of episodes. It's not happenin'. Given how the series/season getting another season/more episodes is dependent on legal viewership, promoting illegal means of watching it feels wrong. If Odd Squad UK gets a continuation of some sort, maybe they can take steps towards improvement. That's what I'm hoping for, personally.

Seren out!

So, with all that being said, I will see you all sometime in early October for that first followup. Keep your eyes peeled for more news in the meantime, because we could either get a trickle or a flood.

Oh yeah, and if you wanna watch the trailer, view it below!

(Editor's note: Managed to kick open the floodgates last night before I even published this. Teaser images are already up, news articles are sharing bits of info...don't ask me how, just accept it.)

[ssruis]

Recommending this again bc its got updates. & also because I’m obsessed. It’s so good… go read…

Leaving my full comment here as well bc ao3 called me out for my immensely wordy method of commenting so. Y’know. Spoilers. Go read first.

Nene tucks her bag and coat under one of the seats in the stalls, then tries to find a person who doesn’t look terrifying to speak to so she can ask what they need help with. She barely recognises most of them, having not properly met with any other tech crew since the first rehearsal. Well- maybe if she just…stands here, someone will ask-

HELP… I love her so much. Nene Kusanagi. the most girl of all time.

“It’s so interesting learning about how much there is going on backstage! I guess I never really thought about it before…” Minori leans back to grab more paint, leaving another handprint on her leggings as she does. Should Nene say something…? “I bet the cast work really hard too! Having to sing and dance whilst smiling and acting the whole time too…that’s something I really want to learn!”

yayyy minori she’s so cute :) meeting of the fail girls. I love how you’ve worked in so many of the other pjsk characters in a way that feels very organic (instead of just random roles) and gives them a little spotlight even if they’re not the focus. You can tell there’s so much love and care put into everyone’s characterization.

I…have to be proud of the person I am now, if I want to be proud of the person I’m going to be.”

Wait, what is she saying? That’s not- that’s not something she came up with-

Somewhere tsukasa just got a huge ego boost. Thank god he’s not here he would be so insufferable.

He always speaks to her like a worried parent…the message might as well read ‘did you make lots of friends at your first day of school?’.

So real… he’s so annoying… Rui acting like that despite being like one year older than nene will never not be funny.

“I am about to fall over!” Tsukasa yells back breathlessly, hunching over once the piano stops.

“If you have the air to complain, you have the air to hold that last note!”

Insert the “I’ve hired a tyrannical director” tsukasa quote.

“Right? You’ll be fine.” Rui watches as A bends down to check on Tsukasa, lightly patting his shoulder. “We’re almost there.”

Tsukasa has died (cheering) (end story)

“Maybe!” Rui shrugs. “Honestly, I wasn’t completely sure at first, but I’m glad my intuition was correct. Seems like the star quality runs in the family, after all.”

“...I think you’re right,” Nene says quietly.

Nene and tsukasa relationship progression… smiles…

“N-no…” No, don’t remember me from auditions. Actually, please just forget my entire existence-

“Hopefully you make it next time, if that’s what you wanna do!” An says. “A little bit of confidence goes a long way, y’know? And you can always fake it if you’re not sure!”

she’s so funny I loved this part. The nene & an dynamic of girl with horrible social anxiety and girl who is so so cool but also so so excited to get to know everyone will never not be funny.

“Nene, your outfit looks so cute!”

But apparently there’s always one person who manages to find her. Nene looks up from her phone, Emu already barreling over to her. So long as she keeps away from the very heavy, very expensive lighting equipment, they’re fine.

The return of the pink thing… (The crowd goes wild)

Probably because you never sit still, Nene thinks. Especially right now. If Nene is rattling from nerves, Emu looks about to burst with excitement. It must be nice to be immune to any and all fear.

“I hope everyone is gonna enjoy the show tonight!” she says, smile bright even in the dark. “I bet it’s gonna be super wow wow yay yay woo woo!”

1 so true getting that thing to sit still is a losing battle 2 I love how you write her dialogue so much… perfectly straddles the line between her very silly onomatopoeia laden moments and her more serious moments.

“Every time I see the light I’m gonna know it’s you and get super super smiley!”

:) I care them

Nene repositions the light towards the stage, casting the bright circle over Tsukasa. He instantly looks up then recoils at the light, squinting up at them.

“Oi, what’re you doing! That’s bright!”

“Hi Tsukasa!” Emu calls back, waving. “You look super shiny shiny sparkly bright!”

“Oh, really?” His angry face quickly swaps to flattery, and he poses accordingly. Nene turns the light off. “Hey, put it back on!”

I laughed he’s so funny. Anytime Tsukasa gets irritated or upset (or completely unreasonably hesitant about a perfectly safe sane and normal stunt that is definitely necessary for the show) you can just redirect him with flattery. Works every time.

“Are you curious about the hair ties?” she asks. “We’re wearing them in mutual support with Saki, since she can’t be here tonight. She has one too! It’s cute, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah,” Nene says. “Is she, um…recovering okay…?”

“I believe so! According to Tsukasa, she should be out in a few days.” Honami laughs. “She really wants to attend closing night…she keeps talking about it non-stop.”

“I was worried talking about it would make her sad, but she seems more excited than anyone else,” Ichika adds. “It’s a really great thing we didn’t have to cancel the show. It would make her really happy to be able to catch our last performance.”

“She should focus on getting better first,” Shiho says, not taking her eyes off her bass. The other two just smile and shrug. 

"Let's hope Saki can join us soon," the tall pianist says. Crap, Nene can't remember his name- Aoyagi? Nene isn’t sure what their relationship is, though he has a scrunchie tucked into his shirt pocket too. "She cares about this performance very much."

THATS SO CUTE… I love how well the L/N interactions are written. Shiho & her concern that comes off as uncaring when it’s anything but… also toya with the scrunchie too awww…

Nene stares. “What part of this is fun…?” 

“You’re all part of the team, so you all have to join in,” Rui says, and Nene groans, trudging out the pit with the others. It’s fine, if she just hides at the back, maybe she can get away with half-effort… “Here, Nene. You can stand next to me!”

Bastard. Nene jogs alongside Rui, ignoring his pleased expression.

Making a gamer exercise. Rui truly is a bastard.

“So this is what the life of a stage actor is like…” Aoyagi muses from up in front, hands barely stretching past his knees.

I giggled. Truly built like a wet paper bag, that one.

“Something like this is easy for me!” Tsukasa says, still looking strong with his hands planted on his hips. If Nene had more energy, she would stab him right now. “I’m not tired at all!”

And so he lives another day. It’s ok nene. there will be other opportunities.

“Um, no, I think you need to stay with the rest of the cast…” Nene says, aware that the company is mostly split into their separate groups. Surely she’s not supposed to stand alongside the actual important people, like the director, the lead, the important actors…even if it seems like they…want her there?

OUUGH you get it… You Get It… nene is so so loved but her anxiety ridden saw trap of a mind makes that so difficult for her to see.

“Absolutely…”

“Huh?” That’s not what she’d…

“Not!” Tsukasa finishes, holding his head up high. Nene quickly hides any and all concern.

“Makes sense an idiot like you would be stupid to get nervous. I didn’t care anyway.”

HELP…. ‘I didn’t care anyway. Idiot.’ I love how you write them so much.

It’s too soon…she needs Emu to cling to her arm and say stupid stuff so that it doesn’t feel so real-

Obsessed. I know what you are nene.

nene & tsukasa scene

I’m so happy this fic exists all the time but esp during the nene & tsukasa interactions they are so fascinating to me and you write them so well… nene telling tsukasa he’s overthinking it is so funny. I liked the little moment of him having a moment abt whether or not to send saki the pictures it reflects their whole dynamic so well. And him getting the text from saki and going SAKIII 🥺😭 was so cute.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you down here, Nene,” Rui says, and the way his eyes glint with just a little pride make her want to curl up and avoid everyone ever for the next ten hours. She settles for just crossing her arms.

Hes so annoying… I love how you’ve written their dynamic…

“But wow, the others really did a good job with you, Tsukasa,” Rui says, studying Tsukasa appreciatively. “You really look professional. And the hairstyle is very cute.”

“Cute?” Tsukasa narrows his eyes. “I’m not cute! I’m cool! Cool!”

“Yes, yes. Very cool!”

“Hm, that’s right.” Tsukasa flicks a strand of hair back, grinning to himself. “I’m so cool.”

Yuck (said fondly)

“Yes, I think you’ll do well tonight,” Rui says, taking a seat on the table at the side. Can’t he sit on a chair like a normal person?

I grinned at that. I love all the little details you put in your writing like Rui’s passion for sitting like A Weirdo… it’s like putting treats in an enrichment toy for people who are insane about these characters (me) to giggle at.

“You really know the script inside out by this point.”

“Of course I do,” Tsukasa says. “Especially after last night when you made me recite lines whilst throwing goldfish crackers at me…”

“What the hell was that for?” Nene asks Rui. 

“It was just really fun!” he says.

“Seriously, what’s wrong with you…”

“Don’t worry, we didn’t study too hard last night,” Rui says. “We even watched the original movie to help keep the atmosphere. It’s important to have fun sometimes.”

“Fun for you! You were still throwing stuff at me even then!”

“Well, a good actor needs to be prepared for the unexpected…”

they’re so funny. I can’t keep saying “I love how you write x dynamic” because it’s true for literally every dynamic in this fic…

Emu gasps, jumping back. “Oh, sorry, I mean, um- break your legs, Nene and Rui!”

“No, it sounds kind of terrifying when you say it like that…” Tsukasa mutters.

Emu and inventing entirely new sayings. She’s doing her best <3

Kind of amazing that any guy can sound so sincere singing about love whilst wearing knee-high boots and beaded booty shorts, but.

HELP MEEEE… He really will do anything for a show won’t he.

Nene wishes she could be down there too. More than ever before. To be part of something. To be alongside others. The way Tsukasa gives it his all and shines…Nene wants to try that too. There's a fire down there burning so strong that its sparks are lighting her too. 

YESS I loved this part I love the acknowledgement of her competitiveness & “I want to do better I want to be on stage” attitude, and how that drives and motivates her

“I thought so too! They didn’t seem to think it was weird at all. Even my mom said she liked it, but I think she just likes the idea of two guys dating…”

new favorite side character: Fujoshi mom

“O-oh, um, I’m…um…” Nene fumbles for the words. Well, obviously, she took off her tech stuff so they don’t recognise her…and, actually, thinking about it, it’s not like they would let her sit at the table full of cast members anyway. They’re the important ones. Not Nene. Heat rises to her face as she takes a step back, because, seriously, what had she even been thinking, deciding to sit with everyone else like this-

“Nene’s a part of our team!” Tsukasa’s voice thunders out from behind her, and Nene jumps, turning to them. “Of course she can sit here!”

“Yeah, Nene is super important!” Emu adds, jumping up to grab Nene’s arm. “Wiithout Nene we would all be completely in the dark and the audience would just be looking at nothing for two hours!”

WxS is actually a theatre troupe second and a nene hype squad first.

“Wait, Emu!” Tsukasa holds up a hand. “Next time, can you try not kicking me whilst we’re in the Irish dance line?”

“Huh, I kicked you?”

“Oh, I thought I saw that,” Rui says.

“And you’re still telling her to do things the same tomorrow!?”

“Sorry, Tsukasa!” Emu bows. “Next time I’ll try not to kick you so hard.”

“Don’t kick me at all!” Tsukasa sighs, recollecting himself.

Writing group dialogue - esp for a visual novel that relies solely on dialogue and can rely on visuals instead of writing “x said” “y said” - is such a challenge and you do it so well… you can always tell who’s speaking and it flows so nicely…

“I’ll tell Ena and Mizuki not to be too rough tomorrow,” Rui says, then his face turns coy. “I do think that bunny suit looked good on you, Tsukasa.”

(Spraying Rui with water) inside thoughts! Inside thoughts!!!

“That’s my dream role,” Emu says, almost shyly.

“Hm? You want to be Cinderella?”

“I wanna be the cow,” Emu says dreamily.

“The cow-?” Tsukasa chokes. “That’s not even a human role!”

Emu’s face falls. “But I wanna be the cow…” 

“Don’t crush Emu’s dreams, Tsukasa,” Nene says.

“It’s not even a speaking role! It’s just a model of a cow on wheels!”

“Tsukasa, we have to be kind to our fellow company members,” Rui says. “I believe in you, Emu!”

Everyone ganging up on tsukasa… you love to see it. My experience with theatre is rather limited, (in that I attended the shows my sister was in, and took photos during their dress rehearsals), but I will say that when my high school put on into the woods we actually had a girl (not my sister, she was the bakers wife) be the cow. The girl actually requested it… she wanted to be the cow... That costume was terrifying. All that to say: I believe in you emu.

“Yeah, after the past two weeks I can see that…” Tsukasa says. Nene is sure she can almost see the trauma in his eyes. Rui tilts his head, suddenly forlorn.

“How can you say that, Tsukasa…? I’ve always been so considerate to your needs. When have I ever done something mean to you?”

“You made me stand on one leg for an entire rehearsal once!”

“To improve your balance and muscle strength-”

They are so irritating.

“Maybe we should consider that for a future show?” Rui says, and Nene suddenly realises something momentous. They’re talking to her because they want to. They’re talking to her because they see her as a friend. And they’re all here because they love theatre and they love putting on shows, and Nene is the same. She loves it too. She belongs here. They’re her friends, too. 

I love this part so so much… nene realizing she belongs… I feel like her own hang ups about having friends goes unnoticed by a lot of people in favor of rui’s (which, to be fair, his are a little more blatant). it’s so nice to see a fic that examines nene & her realizing she’s a part of the group and that they all love her.

[tinytimism]

thots on the great gatsby bway musical

let’s get right into it

-i liked it more than i thought i would. i saw boston gatsby back in june and after reading a lot of negative stuff about the one on broadway i thought i’d hate it but i went anyway because i am still not immune to jeremy jordan. but it was solid. i liked it.

-great chemistry between eva noblezada and jeremy jordan. also in the last scene of act 1 gatsby wears light pink and daisy wears light blue and i thought that was neat.

-really good dance numbers. watching jeremy jordan honest to god dance was like watching the big bang

-HATED how they paired jordan and nick as a romantic couple. i know they go on some days in the book but it’s so fake and loveless. nick is jordan’s gbf and jordan is nick’s lbf and you can’t take that away from me!!! ESPECIALLY after i saw boston gatsby!!!

-samantha pauly and alex prakken did great though - i have no complaints about the actors only the script.

-i had no problem with how george wilson is portrayed - all im saying is that his songs are definitely the to break in a glove of is show if you get what im saying

-didn’t like how they turned mr mckee into a sex pest creeping out poor heterosexual nick (and also into a weird joke about opened relationships??? like hello???)

-jeremy jordan’s translantic accent was cute.

-really liked how they did the pool.

-really like the ending - the ending of boston gatsby felt more hopeful while this one felt more cynical and both of them work in the context of the book.

overall i felt like boston gatsby was more earnest while broadway gatsby was more ironic - and both tones work fine! still think boston is the superior of the two tho

alright so now im gonna rant a little. i am pro-bootleg. i understand that bootlegs have given shows new life and have allowed them to prosper in ways they wouldn’t have been able to without bootlegs. i understand that nyc being a train ride away from me is a privilege few have and that a bootleg is very often the only way someone can experience a show. i am, however, anti coming in fifteen minutes late with your entire militia literally as soon as jeremy jordan makes his first entrance and taking videos and pictures while you’re in the second row (there’s a reason so many bootlegs are filmed from the balcony). in the beginning of the tea party scene where jeremy jordan’s the only person onstage i saw one of them take a picture of him and it made me really mad about how the damn phones have ruined the way we experience art and tainted the relationships of those who give us it - how we view them as products instead of artists or in this case performers.

to end this post on a positive note the stagedoor was a lot chiller than i had imagined it would be. i had brought one of my copies of the great gatsby from home for them to sign and everyone that came out did. by the time jeremy jordan came over i had mustered up the courage to ask them to sign it instead of awkwardly holding it out to them (eva noblezada and samantha pauly i am sooooooooooooooooooo sorry) and he said “i’ll sign your book!” and signed it so now my life’s kinda complete ig

(my signed book underneath the cut!)

[kyoonnyoon]

CW: this post discusses my theory on who the traitor(s) might be for mwiii.

i didn’t want to be the one to say this but…

i think alejandro and, by extension, rudy and the rest of los vaqueros might be the traitors in mwiii.

alternatively, if they aren’t the main traitors, i think they would at least end up assisting in some way.

“omg how could you say that they are cute spicy bois they couldn’t possibly be the trai—,”

hush. i have my reasons.

after my 3rd time watching through the entire campaign this week—i can’t even count how many times i’ve sat through the 4 and 1/2 hour videos on youtube since the game came out—i think i’ve gathered sufficient evidence to support my theory.

buckle up, babes, it gets kinda wild.

note: this is probably all garbage and completely incorrect/all over the place, but i’ve hyper fixated on it for weeks so i just had to share it.

𖤐𖤐𖤐

laswell and alejandro seem to know each other quite well. where there is history, there could be (eventual) intent/motive. we don’t know how they know each other, but i wanted to point this out for anyone who might question why it could be possible for ale and the cowboys to turn.

when ghost and soap first arrive in las almas and meet ale and rudy, rudy makes a comment in spanish along the lines of, “i am afraid of ghosts.” it might be a funny throw-away comment, but i always thought it was a bit weird considering the fact that ghost and soap were there to fight as allies. this, coupled with the fact that ale asks if ghost and soap could speak spanish after rudy says it, makes me think that rudy was trying to warn ale about the duo. i’ve always been interested in the fact that the special forces can send units out anywhere in the world, regardless of language barriers. maybe rudy assessed the two new-comers and decided that, while soap definitely didn’t speak the language, maybe ghost might know spanish. the warning might have been to let ale know not to say anything… untoward… even if it was in spanish. just in case. (this only applies if they’ve already been dirty dealing, but who knows? i sure don’t.)

ale: “we love this place, and we will die fighting for it.” a bit more motive? served.

soap asks ale where his family is during their mission to capture hassan. ale tells him that he “keeps that information a secret for their protection”. that’s all fine and good, but will play into my theory a bit later.

how the heckity hell did alejandro manage to take down a guard and act as a cartel member in diego’s mansion so easily? he never even gave an explanation as to how he did it! as if “violently” can explain how he snuck to the perimeter of the mansion, got inside without notice, and no one questioned the new guy???? hello???

when soap tells ale that el sin nombre is actually a woman named “valeria”, he pauses. i believe that he knew EXACTLY who soap was talking about, but hesitated because he couldn’t believe it was HER. when seeing her dragged onto the helo when she got captured, ale looks like he’s seen a ghost… and maybe he has. maybe he and valeria know each other a lot more intimately than simply serving in the forces together. maybe he and valeria are related in some way. now, this all kinda sounds crazy… until you realize how strangely “familiar” the vibe between the two is when they interact with each other. they way they argue during her first interrogation seems waaaay too intimate for two soldiers from different squads. and then ale tells valeria that she’s a “disgrace to the army… y tu hermanos no?” WHY DID HE BRING UP HER BROTHERS (as if he would know them) AND WHY WAS THAT LITTLE TIDBIT TACKED ON AT THE END IN SPANISH??

maybe when he realizes that valeria cares about las almas just as much as him (enough to turn into a literal cartel leader and deal with terrorists to decrease hits on the drug trafficking trades that las almas would ultimately profit from) he can’t help but leave the interrogation room trembling with rage. because this DOES change everything. after all, he would die fighting for las almas… and the military certainly puts up enough red tape to make his mission difficult.

i’m not leaving out rudy and the other vaqueros. the symbiotic relationship between the special forces, mexican army, and cartels that exist in and around las almas is turbulent, sure, but it seems to work just fine when people are willing to turn their heads and mind their own business. and maybe that’s the ultimate goal they are hoping to achieve to keep las almas from falling. after all, they’ve literally been force fed the reality of what happens when that symbiotic relationship isn’t checked, balanced, and maintained, and now they’re left to scrape bodies off the streets, return crying children to remaining family members (if any), and rebuild the city on top of the blood and other horrors that came to them at the hands of shepherd, graves, and the shadows. and, let’s be honest, rudy and los vaqueros are so utterly devoted to their colonel that i doubt they’d fall out of line if alejandro decided they needed to take matters into their own hands.

at the end of 141’s time with los vaqueros, valeria states that she will be out of custody within 24 hours. she’s right for several reasons. first, there’s no physical evidence that could trace back to her involvement with hassan. two, if el sin nombre disappears, the special forces/mexican military will fall out of favor with the remaining citizens of las almas. three, i believe that any evidence that might have been found related to her involvement with hassan, the cartels, etc., will most definitely be expunged… since it’s super helpful to know someone who knows other someones in high places. plus, we know ale and the cowboys treat each other like family. if valeria IS family, how do you think they’ll go about treating her now that she’s in their possession?

in all the time we see ghost and soap working with los vaqueros, it isn’t until they are leaving las almas that alejandro realizes that ghost could speak spanish THE ENTIRE TIME BUT CHOSE NOT TO. of course, if alejandro and los vaqueros are the traitors, this could mean that ghost could definitely know things he really shouldn’t if he eavesdropped on any of the conversations around him (he most definitely did). you know what they say, you gotta eliminate any and all witnesses… especially if that witness may have heard bits and pieces about a possible plot to defect from the rules and regulations of the military.

…and that’s why i think ale and the cowboys just might turn into traitors in mwiii.

of course, this is just a theory.

a game theory. *rapid fire air horns*

[bagelrites]

Hello dear Amie bagelrites I have a question. Would you say the skephalo dynamic changed after they met in person? did the gay pining get better or worse or did it stay the same? Also do you think they will ever get their shit together or are they doomed to simply be boy best friends forever. I would love your opinion if u want to give it ^_^ 📋🖊

oh boy oh boy!!! it did for sure change, but it's part of a larger pattern of change. Prior to meet-up they went through a period where there was clear and uncomfortable tension, and a bit of emotional distance between them, which culminated in Skeppy posting the "Best Friend" music video. They must have had some kind of talk which including agreeing in much more solid terms that they were going to meet up after that, and things seemed to smooth over. Skeppy acts jealous when Bad meets up with q first, but it's clearly playful and very um... it feels like how dream said he doesn't mind George meeting other people first because when he meets George it's gonna be forever? A bit like that? Except the forever part is perhaps delusional on Skeppy's end... See, because when they first meet up, Skeppy is happier than we've ever seen him. That night, he joins q on a twitter space and says, giggling the most love-sick giggles I have ever heard, that he thinks Bad is going to move in, and he's just "giving him a vibe."

Anyways. Their online closeness seems to translate very, very well to in-person closeness. If you want to see the extent of that, watch some clips from Hannah's valentine cookie stream and the stream Bad did where Skeppy was sleeping in the background (and where they open a fan package that has a skephalo flag in it. and hold it up to the camera and seem very happy about it.) Something shifts after this in that their on-camera bickering seems far less like actual annoyance and much more like a practiced bit they love to do (which, to be fair, it always was, but man... it just hit different right after meet-up). The second meet up is much the same, they seem really obsessed with each other and sweet to each other (Skeppy eating the hot chip on the munchy crew hot wings stream because he "needs to suffer with bad" for example). They even seem to have gone on a date (???) at this time.

But now they haven't met up in a while, and the last time they did, things were slightly weird? Like mostly still acting cute and obsessed as per usual (Bad singing Skeppy's name as he walked around the hotel and getting that plushie from the claw machine that reminded him of Skeppy, for example) but Skeppy seemed a little... off? In Bad's stream from the vidcon hotel room? Like, he does not seem happy at all about Bad continually suggesting that they log onto q smp and talk to his egg. And now... idk. They've had some pretty typical skephalo crazy-isms on twitter, but Skeppy isn't posting that many videos, and it's hard to tell what's going on behind the scenes right now because we just can't see it.

Honestly? They could be fine. They could be talking a lot off camera because they realize their off-camera relationship is important, too, or they could be getting weird and distant again. We just don't know. I am firmly in the camp of delusional skephalo believers, though, and I do think it's completely possible that they'll get together and actually have a stable, functioning relationship someday. I just think it's gonna take a while, as do all things with them. But, hey! They met up after like 3 years and most of us had given up on that! Maybe they just need 3 more years to move in together, you know?

[realhotgirlshitah]

Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl

Jack Champion x Fem Reader

Warnings: None just teeth rotting fluff lol. Implied black reader but not too heavily.

Synopsis: Jack’s been following you on Tiktok for a while but doesn’t expect to actually meet you when Jasmine and Mason take him out clubbing to play cupid.

You loved TikTok. It was a fun and cute app where you took every given opportunity to post your thoughts and random lil videos bc you're silly like that.

Soon enough after downloading and posting for fun you built up quite large following who found you both hilarious and amusing.

Including Jack Champion.

At the time he started following you, you weren't quite sure who he was and didn't think much of it but following the release of Avatar 2 and Scream 6, you realised that this dude was... following you, like you were followed by an actual celebrity.

However you had the attention span of a bagel and were a massive scaredy-cat so you hadn't watched either movie. So, you just carried on your merry business making TikToks that people found funny and relatable and watched your following grow from there.

One thing that you didn't like about how people viewed your content was that on TikTok, the assumption was being insanely attractive and funny were mutually exclusive. You were funny, HILARIOUS even but you were also gorgeous, it's just your personality was so big it shone through.

So when you'd post a video and get comments that said stuff like:

Why's she kinda-

Hear me out

Wait why are you low-key cute

It bristled you a little, you wanted people to stop playing in your face like that.

So one evening, while getting ready to go out clubbing with your friends, you went completely against your character by posting a thirst trap. An absolutely scrumptious one.

The outfit was cute as hell. A pink miniskirt, a cream low-cut top that made your boobs pop, some cream knee high boots and some accessories to match.

"You look so fine Y/N," your bestfriend squealed before snapping a bunch of pictures. "I would honestly kill for a body like yours!"

You grinned and threw your arms around her in excitement. "I love you so much girl, thank you for letting me borrow your boots,"

"Anytime, now let's film that TikTok!"

Jack was in London doing press for the movie Scream 6. When the cast had finished for the day, they went back to the hotel together and Jack decided to chill out with Jasmine and Mason as per usual, not to do anything but just for the company.

"Dude, you're probably in here more than I am," Mason laughed causing Jasmine to chuckle in agreement.

"I'm just so bored," Jack sighed scrolling through tiktok and flopped against the bed.

"Well since we're in the UK we could always go out tonight, giving that you're legal an all- Jack?

Jack wasn't paying attention. Because that's when he saw your TikTok.

He was speechless (for once) staring at the way your plump glossed lips moved to lip sync with the attractive sound with a smirk. The way your seductive dark eyes looked up at the camera before placing it down and showing off your outfit. The way your French curl braids bounced with every step you took backwards (your hair wasn't the only thing that bounced with each step). In short, Jack was enchanted, he'd always thought you were gorgeous, as well as funny. But in your usual videos, your intention was to get your point, or lack thereof, across, to rant, to make people laugh.

However, your intention with this video was almost to seduce the person watching. You were confidently acknowledging how attractive you were and making it known.

And boy did Jack know.

"Jack? Jack? Dude, why has that sound been playing on your phone for the last 10 minutes?" Mason walked around to the bed and caught what the brunette was watching before he could hide it. "JAS, COME LOOK AT WHO JACK HAS A CRUSH ON!" The whoop of delight that simultaneously left Jasmine and Mason's ears was almighty.

"Jack! You're into Y/N? I didn't know you were down with the swirl, somebody wants to be invited to the cookout," Jasmine smirked teasingly at him as he blushed profusely. "We're mutuals on TikTok, she's literally the sweetest! If you want I can-

"No!" Jack exclaimed. He was scared. He genuinely didn't think a bad bitch like you, who was confident and brash, not to mention intimidatingly gorgeous, would want anything to do with him. Yes, there were many many girls all over the world who would throw themselves at him but he thought you were WAY out of his league, you didn't even follow him back on TikTok! "Let's just- change the topic please?"

Mason and Jas looked at each other with a knowing glance before shrugging in unison.

"Sure little bro, like I said earlier, how about we go clubbing? I know a great one nearby and you'll be able to get in since the minimum age in the UK's 18 instead of 21," Mason smiled. "If you go get ready now, we can grab a taxi and leave in five minutes?"

Jack, who was grateful for the subject change, nodded in excitement. "Yeah, that sounds like it'll be fun, I'll go get ready,"

Before he knew it, they were at a nightclub, he had a couple shots but decided he wasn't too fond of the taste and wanted to have awareness for the entire night so stopped his drinking there. However he had enough alcohol to make him even more smiley than usual and man he wanted to hit the dance floor.

"See any girls you like, Jack? Or are you still thinking about your TikTok crush?" Mason nudged him playfully earning a laugh and shove back.

"Leave him alone, Mason, he'll find what he's looking for soon enough," Jasmine smirked.

Oh. That sounded ominous.

Jack however, was too laid back to care and decided to dance a bit, so he made his way through the crowd to find space.

That. Was when it happened.

'Movie' by Megan thee Stallion was playing, and everybody who knew you knew that was your song. You also didn't have too much to drink but enough to make you clap your hands in excitement as your body buzzed to get on the dance floor with your friends. You felt hot and the song made you feel hotter. As your body moved in sync with the music, you rapped along with the lyrics, your friends hyping you up and smacking your booty, screaming about how fine you were.

They weren't the only people who thought you were fine.

Jack had just pushed his way through the crowd and immediately his eyes were on you, absolutely enthralled, shocked and terrified. Out of all the places in London he could've gone to, it was the one you were in? He turned back to glare at Mason and Jasmine who were grinning at him and putting their thumbs up, encouraging him to say something.

They knew. It was a set up, they set him up!

He felt like his feet were stuck to the ground as he watched you dance, moving like nobody was watching when in reality they were, people stared at you in jealousy and awe at such effortless beauty. Jack of course was staring with the latter.

He was about to retreat back to Mason and Jasmine when 'Killshot' by Magdalena Bay started to play, not as hype as the previous song but it was one that made you feel even sexier.

As the chorus was about to start, you turned around and made direct eye contact with Jack, his eyes widening at your gaze. You didn't recognise him immediately but it clicked after a couple of seconds since there were edits of him all over TikTok, not to mention you noticed Jasmine grinning with Mason.

You recalled the text convo you had with Jas before you left for the club.

Hey Y/N, I saw your recent and noticed on the caption it said you were going clubbing, where you off to?

Hey sis! I'm off to Kiko's, really nice club about a 10 min drive from the O2 xx

Oh cool! I'm staying at a hotel with some friends I think you'd love, our hotel's literally connected to the O2, see you there maybe?

Now girl, you know what happened the last time we went clubbing together

We'll behave, I promise!

If you turn up you better get us our own section pookie

You know I will!

I know das right!!

Then it dawned upon you that Jack was the friend and judging by the look on Jasmine's face, she had a plan. The sneaky devil.

You didn't mind though, there was no denying he was a massive cutie, tall, strong looking and very handsome but he also looked really sweet. Also, the way he was looking at you like you were the only girl in the room gave you butterflies, his eyes were so gorgeous, it was difficult to not stop and stare.

So you smiled at him, making his heart stop and his eyes widen. He was already hooked.

"I'll be back, you guys want any drinks?" You asked your friends. They all shook their heads no and continued dancing prompting you to make your way to the bar as the chorus continued to play. "One shot of tequila please,"

"Make that two shots of tequila please," You looked behind you to see none other than Jack Champion looking down at you. "Hey, I'm Jack,"

"I'm Y/N, nice to meet you Jack," you flashed him a pearly white smile, immediately making him forget himself. "I'm guessing you're here with Jas?"

"And Mason, they really wanted to take me here clubbing and now I think I know why," he grinned making you laugh.

That laugh.

Jack would literally dress up in a clown costume and do the worm in front of millions just to hear that laugh. It was like music to his ears, a drug he'd have no problem becoming addicted to.

Two shots of tequila were put in front of you along with lime and salt on a small plate, the way he looked at it dumbfounded made you giggle slightly.

"Never had a tequila shot?" You smirked.

"N- No, this is my first time going out and drinking, back at home the legal age is 21," Jack explained as heat rose to his face.

"I'll teach you if you want," you looked up at his towering frame and must have said it too quietly because he looked at you inquisitively before bending over so your lips were nearer his ear.

Girl, if you could blush...

You smiled and pulled his hand up in front of you before balling it up in a fist. Then you took a pinch full of salt and sprinkled it on his hand before doing the same for yourself.

"Lick the salt off your hand, take the shot and then suck on the lime as quickly as possible in one go," you said into his ear, which looked a bit red. You both picked up your shots and tapped the glasses before licking the salt, drinking the alcohol followed by the lime. The eye contact paired with the little smile he gave you during the mini lesson made a wave of heat wash over you and go a lil feral but he didn't need to know that.

"Oh, ooo big no no," he screwed his face up at the taste making you laugh again.

"Not the first time someone's reacted like that, maybe you're more of a beer guy?"

"Nope, I hate the taste,"

"Finally someone that gets it! Beer is just despicably vile, an abomination to beverages" you declared passionately making him smile at your voice. "What're you staring at?"

"Your accent is so incredibly cute," he looked down at you with a soft grin making your cheeks heat up again.

"I can't even imagine how many girls you must have said that to,"

"Only you, I honestly think I could listen to you speak all day,"

You smirked up at him as 'Wild Thoughts' began to play. "Wanna dance, Jack?"

"I uh uhm-

Before he even had the chance to answer, you took his hand within yours and pulled him through the crowed back onto the dance floor. As you led him through, his hand immediately found the small of your back, protecting you from the crowd, making your knees go weak. Soon, his arms were around your waist and your arms were around his neck, moving to the beat of the music.

"I love this song!" You grinned up at him.

"Me too!" He smiled. "You know... I follow you on TikTok,"

"Ah, I thought you did! Just wasn't 100% sure,"

"Well now you know,"

You gasped thinking "shit I don't follow him back"

He read your thoughts perfectly and smirked "It's okay, I'm here with you now so hopefully I can leave with something even better,"

"Oh really?" Your smirk mirrors his perfectly. "And what would that be, Mr Champion?"

"Your number plus a time and place i could take you out,"

Fuck this guy had all the makings of the perfect heartbreaker.

Once again, your heart rate increased at both his words and smile, that fucking smile.

"Depends. How many dates have you gotten since you've arrived in London?" He laughed again at your words.

"The only women I've properly spoken to since getting to London are you and Jas,"

You hummed thoughtfully, knowing that he was telling the truth, but not wanting to make your feelings too obvious. Jack felt like his heart was going to explode with the way you kept your dark eyes on his, a small smile tugging on your lips as he leaned in closer.

You were dangerous. And he was loving it.

He smiled softly at you, his thumb gently caressing your waist and bottom lip tucked under his teeth.

"You're so perfect, you're so so unbelievably perfect," he whispered, absolutely enamoured by you.

You grinned back, lightly twirling his curls at the back of his head with your fingers as he leaned in closer before making eye contact with Jas. She raised a brow at you and nodded towards the stairs, making you quickly catch on.

"Come with me," you smile against his ear making him go red as you tug him back through the crowd and up the stairs. Immediately the two of you are in a more private section of the club, guarded by two bouncers who let you through. The interior was very expensive looking and while you could see everything that was going on down where everyone else was dancing, it was a lot more private, with only you two occupying the room.

"Where are we-

"Private section of the club, Jas really hooked us up," you laughed. "Now I can actually hear you without having to lip read,"

The words coming out of your mouth however, fell upon deaf ears. Jack still couldn't get over how gorgeous you were, and still trying to understand how much time you were spending together without you thinking he was a waste of your time. His gaze was on you and nothing but you, thinking of you and just wanting to spend the moment with... you.

"Jack? Earth to Jack?" His eyes snapped back to yours, finally showing that he was paying attention. Immediately his arm found your waist again and he gently pulled you in, maintaining his gaze on yours. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Yes, the music was still thumping and causing the room to vibrate but it was like the two of you were floating away on a cloud, lost in each others eyes.

"Y/N... I'd really, really like to take you out on a date," Jack confessed, gently caressing your cheek as your eyes widened. "I mean I've actually been wanting to for a while but I thought you would probably be way too cool and think I'm too boring or you'd want someone better but I really would love to get to know you mor-

"Jack," you laughed adoringly at his nervous rambling  before placing a hand on the back of his head, getting on your tiptoes and pulling him in for a kiss.

And what a kiss it was.

Time felt like it had stopped for the curly headed brunette as your lips moved in synch perfectly. He felt his heart melt as you leaned more into him, nibbling his bottom lip lightly. It was perfect, you were perfect.

And in that moment, Jack knew that he wanted to spend every moment of his existence making you aware of how perfect you were to him.

"Jack Champion I'd love nothing more,"

A/N: My gawd he’s so cutie patootie pookie. Also side note: I saw a tiktok comment talking about how it makes perfect sense Jack is the “We rocking with Mark bc Mark is rocking with us” of the friend group and I in fact have not been the same since, it actually inspired this storyline lol.

[spelllingandthemysteryschool]

hello! what is your ranking of the rv title tracks, im curious to know, unless you've posted it before im sorry 😭

hi! 🌟 oh my goodness i spent quite a while on this because i am TERRIBLE at ranking things and i also had a lot to say... but here you go! disclaimer that i genuinely love red velvet’s discography to pieces and even the songs that are ranked lower on this list are among some of my favorites. i also decided not to include their japanese singles, solos, subunits, or sm station releases to make things a little easier for myself. you may notice that chill kill does not feature on the list & that’s because it hasn’t been out for long enough for me to ascertain my feelings towards it just yet! okay soooooo with all that out of the way . here are my thoughts 🦢

russian roulette - ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS OF ALL TIME. i got into red velvet immediately after hearing this back in 2016 & showed it to absolutely everyone i knew because i was so completely head-over-heels for it... i adore its playful synthiness and how bubbly and sweet their voices sound here, i LOVE its accompanying music video of course. when i think of kpop at its very best i think of russian roulette by red velvet!

automatic - i’m forever blown away by this song like it is literally perfect to me… smoldering, minimalist, effortlessly beautiful. i can’t believe they put this out so early in their careers, like genuinely what a feat. i love it so much

rookie - i feel like rookie is strangely underrated & i never understood why? it’s fun, it’s cute, it’s silly, it’s extremely loopable. really excellent instrumental imo and it shines even through their vocals… the strong bassline and brassy chorus in particular are highlights for me. also i think seulgi had a lot of fun this era in particular and it was so nice to see!

one of these nights - i absolutely love the creative direction of its music video & the song itself cemented rv as some of my favorite vocalists ever. easily one of their best title tracks, red or velvet. like it’s just perfect… melancholic and soulful and utterly magical

rbb (really bad boy) - i think this is one of their singles that best shows off their vocals… belting, shrieking, breathy whispering, chanting… the harmonization, the adlibs… so cunt, so interesting to listen to, so all over the place in the best way possible! no other group could have done it

umpah umpah - okay i personally feel that this is their best title track of the original festival trilogy in addition to their best summer single… never fails to lift my spirits, like it’s so joyful and unabashedly fun! i love that it sounds like it’s from a musical and i don’t mean that sarcastically at all

dumb dumb - literally one of the most unique kpop tracks like how many other songs can you think of that sound like this. still SO genuinely novel and exciting to listen to for its quirkiness and nonstop momentum that just builds and builds and builds

bad boy - very evocative of a particular moment in kpop but it aged like a fine wine! delicious to hear then & delicious to hear now… swaggering and silky and impeccably produced. i also think that the styling & sets for this music video were heavily imitated afterwards with songs of lesser quality from other groups. rv 🔛🔝

be natural - SO GOOD... sleek and sultry and understated. i also really love the way the music video is filmed and i think it belongs in the criterion collection. i’m ranking this a little lower than it deserves maybe by virtue of it being a cover rather than an original song and also because of taeyong’s rap

peek-a-boo - PEOPLE DIED. i feel like it’s almost impossible to listen to this without thinking of its music video—not at all a detriment because it’s a complete delight to watch. very catchy and clever and cool despite not being particularly upbeat. i feel like… again… it’s one of those songs where i can’t imagine a group other than red velvet putting out a comeback like this. it’s so them

feel my rhythm - love the structure of this song so much… brings together so many unexpected elements so elegantly. the noisiness caught me off guard a little bit when it came out but now i love the way they transition between the pots-and-pans quality of the verses and the orchestral ambience of the choruses. it really does feel like a frenetic, enchanting festival

power up - SO SILLYYYYY i’m a fan! i love songs with video game-inspired instrumentals & power up is one that’s fast and upbeat and summery and impossible not to dance along to. the japanese version in particular does something to my brain

birthday - i really did not like this when it first dropped but i enjoy it a LOT now… it feels like it’s building up to something it never really reaches but despite this i think it’s so catchy and bold & i love the sample the song is built around

ice cream cake - okay honestly very fun and i loved it back in the day but i don’t find myself listening to it a ton now... really enjoyed the collective blonde moment though & how ahead-of-the-curve they were with its noisy instrumentals!

queendom - i do think the lyrics can get a little corny and it’s not among their strongest title tracks, but it’s cute and easy listening vibes to me and there are some really wonderful vocal moments here and there!

psycho - good song but it was super overplayed a few years ago and it’s sonically not as interesting as their other singles. i know some people feel it’s their best but i don’t agree because i feel like i prefer songs with less muddied instrumentals. very quintessentially rv though, if that makes sense!

zimzalabim - was this a bad song… NO. do i like it that much… ALSO NO. the bridge is stunning though, one of their prettiest bridges ever, and i loved the satanism accusations that were flying around when it first dropped

red flavor - super popular, i know, and i do think it’s nice and nostalgic still, but i don’t feel it’s their best summer track and don’t actually listen to it all that much… oops. i love the twinkling sounds in the chorus but it has an empty and echoey quality to it at certain points that i find i’m not the biggest fan of

happiness - kind of a lackluster debut sorry... i do like the refrain and the pre-chorus though so the only time i ever seek out this song is when i wanna hear that bit... like yes joy! exactly joy!

[ghastlybin]

How so you feel about youtuber Gahyeon X youtuber reader and both fandoms ship them together? I think it would be really cute 🥺🥺🥺🥺

I love this idea so I shall grant your wish :) I just hope I did it right haha! ILY and thank youuuu for requesting! :)

Pairing: Youtuber! Gahyeon X Youtuber! GN Reader

WC: 1.3k

Genre/contents: Fluff, Youtuber AU, Y/N is lowkey awkward.... As hell. But it's fine, you still pulled.

Note: I'm kinda sad lately, especially today, so thank you for requesting smth fluffy :) I don't really have much of a note because I'm lowkey out of it and it's 1 am, surprise, surprise. I would say I have a YT channel but I am socially anxious so I'm gatekeeping that, however I would like to say I did NOT BASE THE Y/N OFF OF ME! Even though I could totally pull Gahyeon :') jk lmao. I hope you enjoy though! Whether you are a youtuber reader or an awkward reader, or a bold/ confident reader or a reader in general. Ily and if this flops, it's because y'all don't like me...

...I'm 100% joking LMAO

also, I fcking love this picture & I love her, goodnight/morning/afternoon!

Admittedly, you were popular.

If you imagined every subscriber you had in a room, it would be sardine packed.

Ten people was a lot.

One-Hundred people was a lot.

One million? A lot.

As the number grew, so your popularity. You were consistent with putting out content, you had a magnetic energy to you that had people across the globe returning for more.

You’ve cheered people up, made people laugh, and you’re someone’s role model, just as your role model is for you.

“Hey, all! Welcome back!”

You loved reading comments of encouragement. The endless compliments that would multiply by the hour.

This was your hobby. Making videos and sharing them with the world— Not as easy a task as you’d expected, but you were proud of yourself for making that jump, and that’s all that mattered.

Then there was Gahyeon, as stunning as ever and just as popular, if not more.

She was energetic and had a way of making even the most irritable person smile. Even you found yourself drawn to her.

“Welcome back, Gahyeon!” Gahyeon’s greeting played through your headphones, watching her latest video.

You never realized how similar your intros were. It was almost as if she completed your intro with her name. The thought of her watching your videos gave you a warm feeling that couldn’t be explained in just words.

Gahyeon watching your videos— Watching you, knowing what you looked like, sounded like, as well as your hobbies, and the schedule you typically posted.

You scrolled through the comments as her ‘Q&A’ video continued to play while you were waiting on a lengthy car ride to the convention you were a guest at.

As you scrolled further down, you noticed your name being mentioned more. At first, once or twice every few comments, but the further you scrolled, they became back-to-back full of mentions of you and a specific time stamp.

The comments varied from excitement that her fanbase felt when you had been mentioned to comments that stated how they shipped you and Gahyeon. All of them made your heart flutter.

You clicked the timestamp, hearing Gahyeon’s voice as she moved on to the next question.

“Have you seen Y/N’s videos?”

Your heart thumped hard against your chest as Gahyeon’s eyes lit up as she looked at the camera.

“Who hasn’t? They are amazing.” Gahyeon’s answer made you immediately pause, trying not to garner any attention from anyone in the vehicle with you.

The last thing you wanted was to cause a wreck because you felt like screaming.

Then again, you felt you could die a happy death.

“I actually really love them. They seem like a nice person, so Y/N,” Gahyeon leaned closer to the camera. “Hit me up.”

You paused again after she winked at the camera and screamed, startling everyone in the vehicle.

-

Upon entering the venue where the convention would be held at, you noticed how many fans were wearing shirts or hold signs that had either you or Gahyeon on it, and occasionally the other guests.

The excitement you felt when you noticed Gahyeon was at the booth beside yours, shot through the roof.

You had to remind yourself to be professional and that you were here as a guest, not a fan.

Screw that.

Gahyeon was right there.

You wanted her autograph just as much as the long line of people in front of her booth.

“Y/N.” A staff member caught your attention and you realized you were holding up your own line by staring at Gahyeon.

“I am so sorry.” You apologized to the fan in front of you, signing their autograph. Your fans were luckily understanding, if not happy, that you were staring at Gahyeon.

The next fan came up to you, handing you something to sign, “I think you and Gahyeon would be cute together.”

And for a moment, you felt a rush of confidence.

“I agree.”

The fans around had all heard you, gasps and awes filled the area, causing you to become flustered.

The fan left, satisfied, and you noticed them entering Gahyeon’s line next.

For a split second, you wished you were behind a screen, hiding from how bold you were moments ago. Sure, you were a celebrity— Technically, but you often forgot that fact. Making videos was your hobby. You were still as much a regular person as Gahyeon was and the pedestal you placed her on made you bolder than you would’ve been if you said that about a random person.

You began to consider the fact that maybe you were crushing on her.

Then you remembered Gahyeon saying she loved you.

Only as a fan, but she still said it.

As you signed more autographs, you would occasionally glance over at Gahyeon, only you were more nervous seeing the fan you agreed with reaching the front of the line.

The next time you glanced at Gahyeon, she and the fan were both looking at you, her cheeks were a tint of pink as she wore a smile on her face.

You quickly looked away, now knowing the fan relayed what you said, despite not being able to actually hear their conversation.

’She thinks I’m weird.’

‘Shut up, no she doesn’t.’

Thoughts swam around your mind, trying your best to focus on the fans in front of you.

‘You can’t rush yourself into a relationship.’

‘Watch me.’

‘No, Y/N. Stop overthinking.’

At this point, you felt like you were talking to yourself in your mind while your mouth was on autopilot.

As your line came to an end, and so did the convention, you were escorted to the private area, separate from the public area.

As you were getting ready to leave, yet another successful event complete, you were frozen when you spotted Gahyeon on her way towards you. You were too star-struck to really function normally, but she exuded confidence. She always seemed to get what she wanted— And she wanted you.

“I’m sorry.” You weren’t sure what exactly you were apologizing for. Gahyeon obviously didn’t understand why you were apologizing.

“Why?”

A question you didn’t know how to answer.

“I don’t know why I said that.”

Gahyeon grinned, holding out her hand for you to shake, formally meeting you. You shook her head gingerly, if not nervously.

‘She’s a normal person like you. Don’t be nervous.’

And to be fair, she’s very gorgeous, and that alone was enough to justify why you felt so nervous and why your heart pounded inside your chest the way it did.

“A lot of people like us together.” Gahyeon held onto your hand far longer than a regular handshake.

“Guess we’re married with two kids, one dog, and three cats?” You felt an annoying amount of awkwardness when you said that out loud, wishing you replied with something else less forward. Instead, you played it off as a joke, and refused to let go of her hand first.

“I guess so.” Gahyeon smiled, taking you by surprise.

You thought back to the influx of commenters shipping you with Gahyeon. It could work, you two jumping into a relationship. You both had massive amounts of support from both of your respective fanbases. You felt she could read your mind when Gahyeon had leaned close enough to whisper in your ear, goosebumps blanketing your skin. You worried she could hear your heart beating as loud as you heard it and somehow ceased any and every thought you had.

“I think I like us together too.”

And she let go of your hand, her eyes meeting yours again, followed by a wink.

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

So I understand that I have a tendency to politics and rage post quite a bit and while I'm scrolling through my feed I like to go through and kind of mix things up with cute videos of animals and just wholesome things.

But the reason things have been picking up with me posting in general is because I have a bit too much free time recently and my work is a delivery job currently. Now as to what I'm about to talk about it is going to be me bitching. And it's because there is a demographic in the country that I can't tell whether or not they are just stupid, ignorant, or malicious. Though there is a possibility that it's a Venn diagram and that there's overlap or potentially a perfect circle.

Now the video that I'm about to share before I get into this topic is going to feature a person that I am aware that a lot of people don't like for a variety of different reasons. Having said that however I find man on the street videos pretty optimal for testing the general climate of people in general. Having said that here is the video.

Now if you decide to not watch the full video that's completely fine because my response is mainly only to the first and third person that are interviewed. And this is a broader conversation about Democrat voters in general. So I am going to put a read more tag under this because it will probably be long but if you end up giving it a read I appreciate it.

I don't know if it's because of mainstream Media or pundits or talking heads but Democrat voters in the United States seem to be heavily uninformed to a point of sheer ignorance or just general stupidity. And if you are honestly asking me I can't tell if it's again, ignorance, stupidity or maliciousness. But the first guy in this interview basically literally talked about forming a totalitarian government even if he's not implicit about it that's what he wants. Because he very much said that he didn't want to stack the supreme Court and then said that yes he actually wants to have full power of the house the Senate and the presidency so that they could stack the court and then prevent Republicans from ever getting that kind of majority so that they could keep power.

Because even if all of that wasn't explicit he very much made that clear in what he implied. And between him and the third guy who both claimed that people are misinformed the irony is palpable.

As to the third guy I don't think that he's malicious I think that he's ignorant and bordering on stupid and I don't say that to be crude. I actually say that because I believe it to be the case in this instance because of how he talks. This seems like a guy who un-ironically watches CNN and MSNBC religiously. And then literally only repeats the things that he hears. Because he talks about a stalemate when it came to the border bill. A border bill in which didn't actually do much of anything. The bill itself allows 4000 illegal immigrants in throughout the day and after the 4,000 mark they are supposed to halt illegals from coming in. Part of the bill was also an aid package to Ukraine. Now if you look at it from both of those angles it sounds pretty clear to me that it really doesn't do anything about the border. Actually if anything it codifies illegal immigration into our country.

Then there is the supposedly banned books. The actual definition of a book being banned is an instance in which societally and often governmentally a book is removed from circulation from all means. In other words society and the government say you can't publish this book anymore owning this book is literally forbidden and we will imprison you or file charges against you if it is found in your possession or if you are found to be distributing it. That is the actual definition of what banning a book looks like. Meanwhile what was actually taking place in a lot of instances where that a number of books were being looked over for their potentially inappropriate content in regards to children. And they were not being banned. They were being removed from elementary and intermediate schools and an instances some high schools. Why? Because a number of them have explicit sexual content in them. And the only reason that they were functionally allowed was because the only sexual content that Neo progressives want in schools is LGBT sexual content. If you asked quite a number of them if they thought that Playboy or any other number of publications that do dirty smut stories featuring straight people they would freak out at the prospect in some cases.

And so I'm sorry to tell you Mr number three but yes if you have literally no issue with LGBT sexually explicit content in schools just say it. But in all likelihood he doesn't know. He just heard some talking head at the New York times or MSNBC or CNN telling them that the stories were just about LGBT people and did not actually feature anything bad. Despite the fact that one of said books actually features essentially a how-to on giving a blowjob and it's depicted in a picture, and another of the books teaches you how to use Grindr but it is not locked behind a hint hint, wink wink, of if you are under the age of 18 don't read this next part. Yes because a person who buys a book is not going to read everything in it if they bought it with the intention to read it regardless of their age. What's more there are a lot of people who will still argue to this day that drag queens are not explicitly sexual. To which I respond with 99% of all forms of drag performance have historically been sexual in nature in some way shape or form. But it asks a broader question of why is it only that drag queens want to read in front of children and literally no other groups? You never hear about drag queen story hour for old people you never hear about drag queen story hour for you know community viewing. It's always intentionally aimed at children often small children. So I would say yes there is very much an agenda there. And the agenda is to normalize sexual depictions of people in explicitness as well as degeneracy.

Now understand something. Functionally speaking most of the people I know are filthy degenerates. But most of them know where to draw the line. Societally speaking most people do not. And that's part of the issue. Because most instances of drag queens are explicitly sexual and drag shows themselves are often if not always explicitly sexual. You would not be stripping at a drag show and dancing in a sexually provocative way if it wasn't meant to be sexual. Performative or not it is meant to be sexual. And for a lot of drag queens it is a sexual fetish. Because they get sexual gratification from it.

Which leads me interestingly to a point that I did not think I was going to talk about but seeing as this is kind of a rant I'm going off script. People need to understand that kinks and fetishes are fundamentally sexual in nature. And the reason that I say that is because you don't call your likes of something a kink or a fetish unless the implication is that it is for sexual gratification. And there is a very specific reason why. I do not call my love of seafood a kink or a fetish. I don't call my love of anime a kink or a fetish. I don't call the fact that I enjoy going on Long scenic drives a kink or a fetish. And the reason is because they aren't. I've had a lot of people recently try to draw this weird distinction between sex and sexual stuff and also can kink and fetishes. And most of you seem to be ill informed so as somebody who has experience with those specific communities let me weigh in with age old wisdom. If you like something then it is a like if you like something and it gives you sexual gratification it is a kink or a fetish. And it is probably about time that we stop pretending those things aren't related to sexual gratification.

Having moved that out of the way however, I can kind of get back to what I was saying having made that statement. When you see amen on the back of a truck strapped to a sex cross being flogged in public while nearly completely naked that is a form of actual degeneracy. And the specific reason as to why is because it is intentional public showing of things of an explicit sexual nature. Mind you I don't know if this was last year or the year before but that very instance was featured at a pride parade.

But back to the video because it is important the third man interviewed seems to be wildly actually misinformed when it comes to what is going on in the world. No the economy is not good. Any look at prices of restaurant food or store-bought food would very much showcase that is fact. Gas prices would actually be almost $4 if not north of $4 even in places like Texas if not for the fact that Biden is literally emptying out our reserves right now to artificially lower costs. And then you have groups and communities who are very much upset with the current state of illegal immigration into our country because it is very much taking its toll on not just our economy but also culturally.

It's weird because when you talk to Democrats, and yes this goes both ways but it's not nearly as bad, they have this stereotype in their head of what someone on the right or who is Republican is. Which is a dumb redneck who sits on his ass does nothing but watch sports drink beer while literally plugging his brain into Fox News and then going dig ditches or something. While making Facebook posts about how he wants to bring the KKK back and how he wants to hunt down all the gays.

99.99% of people who would vote Republican do not even remotely embody that stereotype. Then again extremes on every side in every culture in every faith in every political party will always exist. Because extreme people will always exist. But when it comes to voters who are Democrats I am unable to truly process how there are so many things that they don't know. It literally makes no sense to me. And what's more interesting is the fact that black voters are starting to actually realize that the Democrats don't actually give a damn about them. Which I'm excited to see. Because it was funny watching Texas and Florida and other states, send illegals to New York Illinois New Jersey and other places. Because prior to now a lot of those people had never truly understood what border states deal with on The daily basis.

Me personally? I live in texas. And I have steadily seen the population of Latino people grow exponentially over my time growing up. But unchecked Mass migration has gotten so ridiculous over the years there are areas in North Central Texas around Dallas where there are 10 to 15 mosques within 10 to 15 miles. Which is absurd. Now I don't have any problem with mosques existing in any cities or states. But I will say one thing specifically. When you are seeing mosques overtake churches in the United States and you have enough of a population of a different culture(s) that you need 10 to 15 mosques in that range? It's pretty much safe to say that you are functionally being replaced. And you don't even have to take my word for that. Cuz if you listen to a lot of the people in the Bronx and other areas like Chicago and what not where there are currently illegal immigrants taking over hotels and homeless shelters, as if their rights are that of free things provided by taxpayers in this country. You are seeing a lot of them talk about the fact that they are being replaced. And I actually believe that they are. Because people Mass imported into this country will be added to the census. And if the Biden administration has anything to say about it he will get them identifications and voter IDs before the election comes around. Because recently over a million new registrations of voters have come out of Texas tens of thousands of whom have been dead. We had a similar phenomenon in Missouri I believe. And the way that this was found out, was through a program that is specifically meant to be used for new voter registration not in fact to clean voter rolls. Never you mind the fact that Biden has been selling us out to other countries by moving all of our stuff over to other countries. And the only positive thing that he has done was something that Trump had already been planning to do in the first place. Which was the chips act. More or less to start producing silicon here because it is better that we bring a lot of our manufacturing back to the United States. Especially when we are perpetually at economic war with China.

Democrats in my opinion feel incredibly uneducated. And for some God forsaken reason they think the going to school magically grant them an education. But then you listen to them talk and it is clear they have absolutely no clue what is going on with the world around them. They literally just repeat things that they've heard. Which honestly doesn't shock me. However it doesn't make it any less sad if you consider the fact that they're allowed to vote while literally not knowing anything about what's going on in this country.

Never you mind the charisma scandal with Joe Biden and Hunter biden. Never you mind the fact that Joe Biden used his position as vice president to protect a company that his son was working for that belonged to a foreign nation. Never you mind the Joe Biden used his power as vice president to get his son, or try to get his son lucrative deals in the energy sector in China. We have found out so many things that the Democrats lied about. The inflation reduction act which actually increased inflation. And had more to do with the green New deal then literally anything to do with reducing inflation. Then there was the LIE of the don't say gay bill. Which convinced a lot of people you could no longer say gay in schools or some people believe that you could no longer say the word gay in the state at all. Despite the fact that the bill was called the parental rights in education act, and it's entire goal was that teachers were required by law to tell parents when issues were arising with their kids. And that they could not have extracurricular discussions about LGBT topics in schools. But see here's the fun caveat. the law The Way it was written also prevented them from talking about cisgendered topics. In other words it barred teachers from using class time to explicitly discuss sexuality or gender identity. As teachers jobs is quite literally to teach academics in particular subjects related to what they've been briefed to teach. So if you are a math teacher, your job is to teach math. Not to talk about how your wife is Polly lesbian Ace and how she just got a train ran on her at a fetish community event that was pro LGBT. (No I did not hear about this being an actual thing that happened but it is an extreme case of what was happening. IE: teachers talking about their romantic and sex lives openly to their students and prompting class time discussions about LGBT topics that had nothing to do with what they were allowed to teach in the first place).

The fact of the matter is so much of the things that the Democrats have put out via the news and other sources have been bald-faced lies. And most of that can be proven generally. But the problem is the news are not going to tell on themselves. Which makes things frustrating because when cnn, msnbc, the New York times, abc, the guardian, the daily beast, and many other outlets outright lie they all align democrat. And so they are not going to tell on themselves or tell on each other unless there is absolutely no choice but to do so. We saw a member of Congress intentionally set off a exit/fire alarm in order to delay proceedings. But guess what he had a D in front of his name so he got away with it. Hillary Clinton destroyed evidence of malfeasance, gross negligence and possibly maliciousness, by having her staffers destroy cell phones with hammers and use bleach bit software on servers to remove the fact that she had sent dozens if not hundreds of classified documents to foreign entities. Never once prosecuted because of course she has a D in front of her name Rachel maddow almost cried on live TV whenever they said that no Trump was not in fact linked to Russia. And that Russian gate was a hoax as a whole.

Moderates left of center people and people on the right seem to have a far better idea of what is going on in this country rather than run of the mill liberals. And they certainly know significantly more about what's going on in this country then neoliberals. Under Trump the economy was good. We had no new wars. There was an actual attempt to bring our soldiers home had many generals not lied about how many soldiers we had in foreign countries. Remain in Mexico was great policy for mitigating immigration. And the easiest way to understand why the media hated Trump is one very specific instance. The one time that Trump specifically opted to use military force explicitly in a very specific drone strike. Many of the dem aligned media opted to call that particular act presidential. Even though technically what they said was finally Donald Trump starting to act like a president. Donald Trump fired Bolton. Yes a little too late, but the fact remains that he did. So if I were to take a wild guess as to why the media hated him it wasn't because he was a fascist. It wasn't because he was a dictator. It wasn't because he was going to form gay hunting parties. And it wasn't because he was trying to reform the kkk. It was because he was a threat to their power. And while certainly there were more powers granted to the deep State under trump, we had significantly more victories generally speaking as a country because of trump. Specifically the Abraham accords. The fact that under Trump no new wars did start. The fact that Donald Trump without security walked into North Korea as a symbol of good faith. Something no other president has ever done. Trump held up an LGBT flag that said gays for Trump in front of the rnc. And the RNC clapped for him. I grew up around Republicans, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that The stereotype that constantly gets put on to Republicans is functionally false in most cases.

Meanwhile the Democrats consistently claim that they want to help minorities and that they are trying to protect democracy. Except one, we don't live in a democracy. We live in a constitutional republic. And two, Democrats are literally the party of the KKK. And contrary to Democrat messaging and several Neo progressives messaging no there was no broad party switch. Almost every form of legislation passed by democrats has negatively affected minorities in some way shape or form. It is consistent. And it is frequent. Democrats as they are and have been for the past 20 plus years are in my opinion a malicious organization of evil autocrats. Or more accurately a group that seeks to be autocrats. No having said that I will say one thing. This is a post specifically about democrats. However I will concede to the fact that there are Republicans who very much are no better. But I think the scales are functionally different. And imagine the scale like this. You have one scale with 30 lb on one side and 5 lb on the other side 30 lb is the evil rot of the Democrat party and specifically The crazies. Be 5 lb are the same people. Where as Republicans you are looking at a 30 lb weight on where as Republicans you are looking at a 15 lb weight on one side and a 10 lb weight on the other side. The 15 lb is the neocons and the actual unit party assholes. The 10 lb are the decent Republicans regardless of whether I disagree with how they do things. And you might think by me saying this that I am a republican. Except no I'm not even conservative. Mind you, it is my obligation to tear the party that supposedly is supposed to support me to shreds because they are malicious snake oil salesmen who do not actually care about this country. And are frequently doing everything that they can to bankrupt the American people, flood this country with people that they can buy off, and sell us out infrastructure and all to foreign entities specifically China.

Speaking of which. Let me just mention one thing because it's insulting to me. China is currently in the midst of genociding Uhygur muslims. Which includes forced sterilization. Forcing them into labor camps. And having Han Chinese men rape the Uhygur Muslim women. And based on the reports multiple times daily. I have seen more people harass random Jewish people and any company that could theoretically be linked to Israel then I have seen any backlash against China whatsoever. The reason this is so extraordinary to me is because I have seen vtubers and celebrities get literally harassed and dog piled because they wanted to buy something from Starbucks but because something something Israel all of a sudden Starbucks is on this "evil blacklist of companies controlled by the evil Jewish state". Meanwhile I have heard zero pushback or boycott for any extended period of time against China whatsoever. You arrogant f**** are all still using tick tock. You're still buying stuff off temu, which is actually worse because guess where your products are made from that website? Oh yeah right Uhygur Muslim labor camps. A video on that here-

So. I have gone completely off script at this point. And I understand that this is long and effectively a rant. But it boggles my mind that even when confronted with actual reality people will continue to vote for Democrats because they've literally bought into the lie that they are the party of love and tolerance. When they have done so much more damage to varying communities including minority ones. Fun fact about things like affirmative action. All they actually do is make other people hate you for getting a job based on your skin color. And nothing anyone can say will prevent anyone from viewing it that way. Because you have quotas to meet under affirmative action saying you have to have X number of insert demographic here. Which means that if you only have 50 spots that you have to hire for you are legally obligated to save positions for people based on the color of their skin. Rather than first come first serve. Then you have DEI bullshit. In which even people who thought that DEI had a different definition soon realized that it was actually making people more racist. Which honestly shouldn't shock anyone. And then you have the welfare state. And which you can survive pretty decently off of welfare up to and including social Security and food stamps. And it is actually easier to survive off welfare then it is off of a job paying between nine and twelve dollars an hour depending on where you live. What's more they make these benefits particularly lucrative for certain demographics of people. Meanwhile other people get the shaft. Because a group depended on the government will always bow to the government. And those in power are very much aware of this. And if you really need any more actual proof look no further than california. Where it is been a constant that they have been trying to "fix" homelessness and clean up the city in general. Only for people like Gavin newsom and others to say that it was impossible to do in a short period of time and likely would not improve. Only for Gavin newsom's communist hero Xi decided to come to a conference and he got the city very clean very quickly and kept it such until the man left. Not to mention has forwarded several different forms of legislation that have made life worse for people in california. That $20 minimum wage that you thought would be so great? Yeah 10,000 people lost their jobs over it. Color me shocked. Oh except for the fact that Panera bread didn't have to abide by this because they donated a s*** ton of money to Gavin. So it was never about helping the people. It was literally just placation. Or maybe you could look back at the legislation where he tried to repeal the part of the California Constitution that says you can't discriminate based off of XYZ protected classes. Which means he wanted to allow discrimination based off of those things. Or there is the ever so present fact that it is no longer a crime much less a felony to intentionally and knowingly give your partner HIV.

Are there uni party republicans? Absolutely. There are also RINOs. As well as warhawks. But almost all of them fall right in line with the Democrat establishment. Because for all of them it is war money and power. Now I'm going to wrap this up a little bit by saying this. There are quite a few decent Republicans that get a bad rap because of mainstream media who exceedingly have a Democrat bias. And yes there are a few although not many Democrat politicians who are not evil assholes. But that shortlist is in fact a very short list.

*Rant Finished