#and i wasn't even in the episode for this... i just happened to be scrolling around looking for a couple of other scenes and i was like

[girlgenius1111]

Just Admit It

part 2 of do you need me!!

does it count as proofreading if I scrolled through it really fast before posting?

Falling asleep in Alexia's arms seemed to be a cure all- you'd woken up a few hours later and the pain in your head had dulled significantly. Alexia was just so relieved that you were feeling better, and didn't want to ruin your good mood by bringing up how you'd acted earlier. So, even though your reluctance to allow her to take care of you worried her deeply, she let it go, vowing to keep a close eye on you.

You wished that that had been the end of it. It should have been; your migraines were normally really rare. You'd never had more than one in the span of a few months, normally going a while in between episodes. Which was why you just dealt with them; they weren't a common enough occurrence for you to go to a doctor or something.

You must have been extra stressed, though, which you knew was the cause of your migraines. Between a hectic club schedule, and an insane international one, you were exhausted. Seeing how stressed Alexia was only made you feel worse, until you were a walking ball of anxiety going into the holiday break.

You and Alexia had just played last game of the year, a champions league group stage game, extremely ready to relax. It seems your relaxation time came a little late, though, because you felt the beginnings of a migraine starting to pulse in your brain on the drive home.

You were determined to keep this one to yourself. What had happened a couple weeks ago, letting Alexia see you in that state, could not happen again. Even if she told you she didn't mind. Even if she'd specifically asked you to tell her the next time you didn't feel well. You just couldn't. You kept quiet all the way home, heading inside and immediately curling up on the couch while Alexia sat next to you.

Alexia wasn't stupid, and she knew you very well. She knew you weren't feeling well, could tell from your silence in the car; normally you'd be all hyper after a game, changing the song every other minute and talking nonstop about whatever came to your mind. She loved hyper-post game y/n, who always managed to bring a smile to her face, no matter what mood she was in. Your lack of energy in the car was concerning, as was your behavior upon arriving home. Normally, the two of you picking dinner consisted of you going back and forth until one of you was so hungry that you just agreed to something you didn't want. Alexia pulled out her phone, prepared to start listing ideas, expecting this to take a while.

"What about sushi?" She suggested, half joking because you really didn't like sushi, and would normally complain about having to pick something random off the menu.

"Sure." You responded quietly, and Alexia's head raised to look at you, thinking she must have heard wrong.

"Okay... do you want fried rice?" she asked, eyes studying you closely.

"I'm actually not that hungry, I'll probably just make a sandwich or something" you replied, and Alexia's eyebrows rose even farther up on her face. Ordering food out was... your favorite thing. Choosing to eat something from home instead of getting something from a restaurant was unheard of. She had half a mind to check you for a fever, but she was already suspicious that your head was hurting.

She took in your appearance, really looking at you. Your eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if allowing your eyes to be open all the way was too much. You unconsciously rubbed your left temple with your finger, and your jaw was completely clenched. It was clear that you were in pain. Alexia set her phone down, scooting a little closer to you.

"Are you feeling alright?" She asked, bracing herself for your response. Sure enough, your whole body tensed, and she watched your face as all traces of discomfort were wiped away.

"I'm fine, just tired." You assured her, not really aware of how aware she was of how you were feeling. Alexia decided to push, just a little.

"If you're sure. You can tell me if you're not feeling well, cariño. I won't be mad." Her voice was soft, as if she was talking to a cornered animal, and you were suddenly fighting the inexplicable urge to cry. You want to tell her, you really did, but you couldn't. You didn't want to be too much, and you'd already been far too weak in front of her before. You forced yourself to meet her eyes, willing yourself to not feel anything as you took the love and worry she held on her face.

"I'm fine, amor, seriously." You responded, fighting to keep your voice steady. You were careful not to promise anything, not wanting to break it. You were fine. Your head hurt, and the lights made your eyes ache, and the room was starting to spin lightly whenever you moved your head, but it wasn't anything you couldn't handle. You gave Alexia a half smile, and she sighed, smiling back. You could tell she didn't really believe you.

If you were going to be stubborn, you could be stubborn. Alexia was dead set on you coming to her this time, on forcing you to realize that you needed her, and that was okay.

The rest of the evening passed slowly. Alexia put on some random reality show that she insisted she only watched for you, even though she'd let out comments like, "well maybe if you weren't such a douche, derek, everyone wouldn't hate you" completely unprompted. You promised her you'd eat after the episode ended, her food arriving in the middle. Instead, the credits played, and you avoided her eyes as you spoke.

Standing up only slightly unsteadily, you said, "I think I'm gonna go to bed Ale, I'm really tired." The pain in your head had only intensified and you were desperate to escape to your bedroom where you could hide your tears in the pillow. Alexia looked up at you with surprise and concern.

"You haven't eaten anything, y/n, and it's only 8:00."

"I know, I'm really not hungry though. Goodnight baby, I love you." You didn't even kiss her goodnight as you headed to bed, knowing that if you tried to bend over to do so, you'd probably end up face down in her lap. She looked after you, bewildered. She really couldn't understand why you were so reluctant to tell her that you weren't feeling well.

You changed into pajamas and curled up under the covers, surprisingly finding yourself rather sleepy. Your head hurt, a lot, but somehow you felt yourself drifting off.

Alexia tried to stay up till a normal time, but she couldn't resist climbing into bed with you. At least in your sleep, you couldn't push her away from you. So, at 9, she headed into the bedroom, finding you asleep, head buried in her pillow instead of your own. She smiled, taking in the sight of you completely dressed in clothes from her side of the dresser. She was tempted to pull clothes from your side of the dresser as revenge, but instead settled on a pair of her own shorts, and the stupid fuzzy sweatshirt you loved. She didn't like wearing it, and she hated sleeping in it, but the look on your face when she put it on last time, as if you'd maybe begun to understand a fraction of the love that Alexia had for you, was enough to get it on her tonight.

She slid into bed next to you, fitting herself into the small space you'd left her when you'd taken over her pillow. You had the hood of one of her hoodies pulled up, and under it your face was flushed, you looked warm, so she carefully pulled the hood down, allowing fresh air to hit your face and hopefully cool you down. You grumbled slightly, shifting over until you were practically laying on top of your girlfriend. Alexia held in a laugh, and snuggled into you. She felt sleep tugging at her, and she hoped when you both woke up in the morning, you'd feel better.

-----

You didn't. You woke up only a few hours after Alexia had come to bed, in blinding pain. Your head had never hurt this bad before, no migraine had every felt this intense. You knew you should do something, wake Alexia up probably, but you really couldn't move. You were laid on top of Alexia, head tucked into her neck. She was sound asleep, one arm wrapped around you, holding you securely against her. You tried to shift, just a little, but the slight movement intensified the pain in your head, until you were biting your lip to keep from crying out. You couldn't stop the tears, though, and they fell steadily onto Alexia's neck.

Alexia woke to the sensation of something wet on her neck. She was incredibly groggy, and she just barely registered that you were laying against her.

"Why is my neck wet?" She grumbled, speaking in her normal voice, although much more garbled than normal. At the volume of her voice in your ear, you let out a whimper of pain, unable to contain it.

Alexia was fully awake in a second, remembering that you'd gone to bed not feeling well, the sound you'd just made alerting her to the fact that you were silently crying into her skin. She didn't move though, only starting to rub your back softly.

"Hey, bebé, what is it?" she cooed, keeping her voice at a whisper. You didn't respond, shoulder still shaking with silent cries, and she grew even more concerned. "Please tell me what's wrong, I can't help unless you tell me," she pleaded.

The desperation in her voice got to you, and you managed to roll yourself off of her, onto your back, with minimal sounds of discomfort. Alexia rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow to look down at you. She kept her touch feather light as the pads of her fingers lightly wiped away the tears on your face.

"Open your eyes for me, please?" You did as she asked, thankful for the darkness. Your face was screwed up with pain, eyes red and puffy from crying. "Now tell me what's hurting," she said, because there was no question you were in pain.

Your bottom lip trembled as you looked up at Alexia, trying to find the words to express what was going on.

"M-my head," you told her, voice breaking as you spoke through your tears. "Migraine. Really bad."

"Oh, bebé, I'm so sorry. What can I get you? Medicine? An ice pack? Anything," she seemed so eager to help, to fix it, and you felt even worse about what you were about to say.

You'd never felt this bad before. You could barely think. What few thoughts you could form, all told you that you needed to go to the hospital. You knew once the words were out of your mouth, Alexia would freak out, and there'd be no going back. You took a deep breath, closing your eyes, before speaking.

"Ale, you need to take me to the hospital." She was silent for a few moments, and you opened your eyes again to look at her. The fear painted across her face was horrifying.

Your words stunned her. For you, stubborn, independent you, to tell her she needed to take you to the hospital, you must have been in indescribable pain. She allowed herself to panic for only a moment, before she took a deep breath, and burst into action.

"Okay, hospital, I can do that. Should I call an ambulance?" She tried to sound more put together than she felt.

"No, too loud. Drive me?" You were back to speaking in half sentences. She would drive you, she really would, but she took one look at her hands, shaking uncontrollably in panic, and she knew she shouldn't get behind the wheel of the car. Maybe she should have been better in a crisis, maybe she would have been if it had been anyone else. But it was you, and you were her weakness. She didn't want to worry you, though, and she knew if she said she was panicking too much to drive, you'd worry, even in this state.

"Okay mi amor, let me change, and we'll go." You mumbled an agreement, and she climbed out of bed, grabbing her phone. She headed into the closet, shutting the door behind her before flicking the light on. She dialed quickly hoping to god that Mapi had her ringer on.

"This better be good Putellas, I swear." Mapi's voice came over the line, grumpy and harsh.

"Mapi, I need you to drive me and y/n to the hospital." Alexia felt tears pricking her eyes, and she blinked them away, knowing she needed to keep it together.

"Por qué?!" Mapi responded, sounding much more awake. Alexia heard shuffling over the phone, and a yelp that was probably Mapi waking Ingrid up.

"She has a migraine and she said it's really bad and she needs to go to the hospital."

"She asked to go?" Mapi sounded surprised.

"Si."

"Shit, okay we're coming now, we'll be there in a couple minutes." Like Alexia, Mapi recognized how bad you must have been feeling if you had asked to go to the hospital. Neither of them had ever been so grateful to live so close to each other before.

Alexia headed back into the bedroom, having changed while on the phone into sweatpants and a t-shirt, and leaned down to kiss your forehead.

"Mapi's coming to drive us, she'll be here in a minute. I'm gonna pick you up to carry you to the car now, vale?" She whispered the words against your forehead.

You replied with a soft, "Okay," pain lacing your voice. You didn't care that Alexia had called Mapi, you didn't care about anything as long as you didn't have to go in an ambulance with the sirens on. As carefully as one would pick up a newborn baby, Alexia gathered you into her arms, holding you tight against her, carrying you out of the room and to the front door. It opened right as she got to it, and Ingrid was standing in front of her, spare key in hand, hair sleep tousled, but looking alert.

"Take her to the car, I'll grab your wallet and keys," Alexia nodded, sliding on shoes before heading out the door, thanking the universe that she had such good friends. Mapi was waiting by car, pulling the door open, wordlessly helping Alexia slide into the backseat. You sat sideways on Alexia's lap, head tucked back into her neck as your tears hit her skin over and over. You clung to her tightly, hands fisted in her shirt, as you tried to stop yourself from sobbing loudly. The walk to the car had been enough to almost make you pass out, but you'd held on to consciousness.

Ingrid climbed into the front seat then, quietly telling Alexia she'd locked the door behind her. Mapi pulled the car out of the driveway, looking in the rearview mirror every so often, studying your form curled up against Alexia. She'd never seen you like this, and she'd never seen Alexia this panicked either. Ingrid was thinking the same thing, and she reached a hand back, giving Alexia's knee a squeeze.

"Everything is gonna be fine, the doctors will know what to do, they'll fix her up fast." Ingrid kept her voice low and reassuring. Alexia nodded, slightly frantically, holding you tighter against her.

The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever, Mapi taking care to drive as carefully as possible, since every jerk the car made caused a whimper of pain to spill from your lips. Alexia paid no attention to the dark city passing her by, her only focus on you in her arms.

Mapi pulled the car right up in front of the doors to the emergency room, and Ingrid was flying out of the car, opening up the door and helping Alexia get you out. Mapi drove off to park the car, while Ingrid walked the two of you inside. Luckily, it was pretty empty, and the nurses ushered Alexia to put you down on a bed in a room almost instantly. She explained the situation, as you were clearly in too much pain to speak, and the nurses were nodding, hooking you up to all sorts of things, before telling Alexia to wait in the waiting room until they had run some tests.

She hesitated, looking desperately at you. You looked so small in the hospital bed, eyes squeezed tightly shut against the harsh lights, hands balled into fists. There were 5 people working over you, all seemed calm and not worried, but Alexia still had to fight the urge to climb into the bed with you, and pull you into your arms until you stopped crying. She felt a hand on her arm, tugging her into the hallway.

"C'mon. She'll be okay, you need to let them work though." Ingrid stated, encouraging Alexia to follow her out into the hall. With one last look at you, she let Ingrid pull her out of the room and walk her back to the waiting room. They found Mapi there, arguing with the nurse at the desk, trying to figure out where you went.

Alexia took a seat in a chair, sighing heavily, and burying her face in her hands. Ingrid and Mapi exchanged a look, taking seats on either side of their captain. Mapi rested her hand on Alexia's back, and was startled when she heard Alexia sniffle into her hands.

Ingrid rolled her eyes at the look on Mapi's face, who looked completely stunned to see her best friend crying. Sure, Alexia never cried, ever, but this situation definitely warranted it.

"She's gonna be fine, Ale. She's in a lot of pain, but thats how migraines work. They'll give her something for it, make sure nothing else is going on, and discharge her." Ingrid told her, clearly trying to make Alexia feel better.

"She's right. Y/n has had a stressful month, this is just her body reacting to it. She'll be fine." Mapi continued, pulling herself together enough to comfort her friend.

Alexia lifted her head then, and both other girls wanted to cry themselves at the look on her face.

"I've never seen her in that much pain before. And for her to ask me to take her to the hospital, she must have been in so much pain." Alexia's voice was shaking when she spoke, wiping her face with her hands to rid it of tears. Mapi and Ingrid looked at her sympathetically.

"I know, but they've probably already got her all drugged out, she's probably not even in any pain anymore. She's funny on pain meds, remember when she got her wisdom teeth out?" Mapi tried to lighten the mood. Alexia smiled slightly, remembering how goofy you'd been. Her friends had helped, she felt marginally better.

And Mapi was right. The doctors had ruled out any serious brain issues, and given you a nice big dose of painkillers. You felt the ache in your head fade as you yourself drifted off again. Your last thought before you fell asleep was that you hoped they'd let Alexia back soon, and that she'd brought the fuzzy sweatshirt she wore to bed, because you were kind of cold.

-----

When you woke, it took you a few minutes to remember where you were. Your brain felt heavy, but not in the painful way it had before. You tried to blink your eyes open, but they weren't really cooperating yet. You tried to bring a hand up to rub at them, only to find that you couldn't move your right arm at all. Using your left hand, despite the IV, you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes, and cracked them open. You looked down to see what had taken your arm hostage, and found Alexia passed out on it. Her cheek was smushed up against your sheets, both arms wrapped around your one, while her hand somehow held tightly to yours.

You were suddenly overwhelmed; by both the love you felt for the girl laying at your bedside, and the love you felt from her. Tears sprung to your eyes again, and you sighed, slightly annoyed with the amount you'd been crying recently. She stirred at the slight sound you made, eyes blinking open, slightly confused, before she shot straight up in her seat. Her hands released yours, and they hovered frantically over you, as her mouth opened and closed. She was groggy from sleep, and alarmed that you were crying, and her brain was not moving fast enough to decide on a course of action. It would have been funny if she hadn't looked so panicked.

She found her voice then, raising her hands to cradle your cheeks. "Are you in pain? Why are you crying? I should call the doctor, let me find a nurse," her words came out a mile a minute, and you smiled at her, placing your hands over hers.

"Relax, amor. I'm not in pain, sit back down." She looked at you doubtfully, slowly sitting back in her chair.

"If you aren't in pain, why are you crying?" She asked. She was surprised when you blushed, no longer meeting her eyes.

"I just woke up and you were here with me, and... I don't know. It was overwhelming. In a good way. I just love you, a lot." You stuttered through the sentence, before lifting your eyes to meet hers again. her gaze had softened, and you melted at the look on her face.

She pulled you in then, pressing a bruising kiss to your lips. She pulled back after a minute, peppering little kisses all across your face until you were laughing, and she had cracked a smile. Quickly, though, her face turned serious again.

"Of course I was here when you woke up. Where else would I be?" She asked, seeming genuinely unsure of where else she would possibly have been.

"I don't know. You still surprise me sometimes, with how much you care. I don't always expect it." You responded. You weren't sure if you were just feeling sappy, or if the drugs were making you talk, but you found yourself overly willing to be honest with her.

"Bebé, why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well last night?" She replied, eyes searching yours.

"I didn't want to bother you, you were tired too. And, I guess I'm just worried."

"Worried about what?"

You took a deep breath, picking at a stray thread of the thin blanket laying across your legs. "Worried that if I let you see me like that, all weak, you won't want me anymore. Why would you want to take care of me?"

Alexia was quiet after you spoke, and you made yourself look back up at her. She looked like she was thinking hard.

"Nothing you could ever do would be too much for me. Nothing. Not being sick, or in pain, or sad, or angry. I want you just as much then as I do when you're happy. And I always want to take care of you. You are mi niña bonita y perfecta. I want everything with you, even the stuff that isn't so fun." She spoke slowly, determined that you catch every word. "Okay?"

You swallowed the lump in your throat, and nodded. "Okay. I promise to try to do better, and let you help me." You figured it was the least you could do, after the little speech she just made. A speech that made you want to run home and grab the ring you'd hidden in the back of your closet, and ask her, right then and there.

Alexia smiled, satisfied, leaning in to kiss you again. You asked her what the doctor had said, and she told you that he thought you hadn't rested enough after the last migraine, and you'd obviously been extra stressed recently. That, combined with the lack of sleep you'd been getting due to early trainings and late nights filled with... other forms of exercise with Alexia, had compounded to give you the migraine you'd experienced.

He recommended a neurologist, who could help you manage them, and also that you find a better way to deal with your stress than... not dealing with it at all. You were free to go once the drugs wore off though. Alexia made you promise to see the neurologist before she brought up the topics of visitors.

"Ingrid and Mapi are still in the waiting room. They were both pretending not to be worried but Mapi has been pacing pretty much since we got here, and Ingrid's gotten all snippy, the way she does when she's worried." You laughed, picturing the scene clearly. You told her to go get them, and she left to do so.

While she was gone, you thought about that ring in your closet again. You had big plans for it over the summer, but you wondered if maybe you couldn't wait until then. You might have to plan something sooner, or risk blurting it out while waiting for the right time. Either way, you were more sure than ever that Alexia was it for you, and more convinced that you'd ever been that you were it for her.

[ripleylove]

I need just you and nobody else.

requested by @stellakiddsblog saying: Rhea x reader Reader is autistic and gets overstimulated at and has an episode during Rheas match backstage and the workers are franticly trying to calm her down and it makes it worse till Damien grabs Rhea

pairing: Rhea Ripley x autistic fem reader.

warnings: Rhea uses very soft tones with reader,for someone could be triggering so I put a warning :)

genre:angst + fluff

summary: while going to the bathroom during raw,a lot of interviewers started to bother you,and you get really upset and overstimulated,but Rhea is always here for you.

A/N: a big thank you to @bibibi-tchx for all the support cause I would've fucking fell asleep. (And thanks for the help and the support clovey clove muah xx)

⋆ ˚｡⋆𔓘⭒๋࣭

This was the first Raw you went to,you always watched it on tv but this time you were really here. Your girlfriend Rhea insisted that you should have watched her match,and you gave in.

It was really crowded and very noisy, and Rhea noticed that,so she softly put her hands on your ears,while you hugged her tightly,feeling secure from all the dangers of the world.

The Raw episode was going to start in two hours,and you already felt excited for your girlfriend, because you knew she was going to win.

She took your hand in hers,and she brought you to thr locker room he shared with The Judgment Day.

While she was doing her makeup,with her signature black lipstick and the words "dirty dom" on her cheek,you couldn't help but think what would happen while Rhea wasn't with you,scared that something bad would happen.

Your girlfriend noticed that you spaced out,and she asked you: "Baby,what's in your cute little head,mhm?". She comes closer to you,her eyeliner long forgotten,and strokes softly and sweetly your now red cheek.

"It's jus' that I'm bit worried,what if somethin' happens?" You said with a worried voice, and Rhea's eyes soften.

"Baby it's okay,nothing will happen if you're in our locker room. You have Damian,Finn and Dom to protect you. You're safe sweetness. And if something happens to you,I'll make sure to kick their asses!" She said while still stroking your cheeks,and you let out a giggle after the last sentence. You were sure now: nothing is going to happen,you're safe with your and Rhea's friends.

The laughs of the both of you were interrupted by the noise of the locker room's door open. Damian,Finn and Dominik waved at you,and Rhea told them to keep an eye on you while she's out on the ring (and she might or might not have threatened them,saying that if something happened to you she'd kill them with her own hands,but nobody knows.)

She finished doing her makeup,and she started putting her gear on. Her hair were done by an hairstylist, slicked back with little braids on the side.

Before leaving to go to the ring,she kissed you sweetly, as if that was a good luck kiss that would help her succeed.

You were in the locker room watching Rhea fight Becky Lynch when you suddenly felt the need to go to the bathroom.

"Damian,is it okay if I go to the bathroom? I'll come back as soon as possible." You asked Damian,who was scrolling on his phone. "Sure Y/N,but don't get lost,okay?" You nodded as a response,and you went out of the locker room.

You saw a few interviewers coming to you,asking if you were Rhea Ripley's girlfriend and if you were with her only for money.

"Listen- I- I-" You tried to speak,but the words got caught up in your throat,trying desperately to escape but with no use. Your breath was starting to become unsteady and your hands were heavily shaking.

Soon enough a crowd started to form around you,making you panic even more.

Damian noticed that you were out of sight since 20 minutes,and he decided to look for you. He saw a lot of people in one single place,and he wondered what was happening.

He pushed aside all of the people that were blocking his vision,and saw your crying and shaking form.

"Go away! Leave her alone!" He shouted,and your hands quickly covered your ears. "Hey,hey,hey. You're okay now. Can you stand up?" His voice was unsure,but he was trying his best to comfort you.

You couldn't talk,and you just wanted Rhea to hold you and to reassure you.

"You don't wanna talk? It's totally okay. Should I call Rhea?" He asked,and you nodded. You were still crying and trembling from the fear and the anxiety,but you would do anything to have Rhea next to you.

Damian called Dominik to tell him that he had to get Rhea and bring her backstage because you needed her,and he quickly did what he was requested to.

Just as Dominik was going to get her,she hit a finisher on Becky Lynch and she won the match.

Dominik ran down the ramp towards Rhea and he told her why they needed her,and saying that she ran backstage was an understatement.

"Where is she?!" Rhea asked Dominik,and he pointed the direction where you and Damian were with his finger.

Your girlfriend quickly found you on the floor,with your knees in front of your chest,and your head buried in your arms.

"Oh,sweetie." She got on her knees next to you,and she pulled you in a comforting embrace,that you were waiting for a lot of time.

"Rhea I-I am so sorry f-for interrupting y-your match" You tried to say through your sobs and your sniffles and her heart broke at the sight. "Baby,it's okay,it's not your fault. They didn't have to overstimulate you like that and they could have minded their own business. And I won by the way,so you didn't interrupt anything." She smiled sweetly to you,while picking you up,and you clinged to her like a koala.

You went in her locker room,and,from her bag,she picked a little blanket she kept just in case. She laid you on the big couch that was in the corner of the room,and pulled the little blanket over you.

"Baby,rest for a bit. I know you're tired with all of that crying,and I'll stay right here close to you until you fall asleep. Okay,sweetheart?" You nodded,and closed your eyes and you were quickly knocked out in at least 5 minutes.

Rhea gave you a kiss on the cheek,and stood up to go out of the room,where The Judgment Day was.

Her eyes darkened,looking at the three men.

"So,what did I tell you before? That if something would have happened to her,I would have killed each one of you with my own hands,right?" She chucked while cracking her knuckles.

"Oh shit"

"We're fucked"

taglist: @stellakiddsblog @bibibi-tchx

[destinysbounty]

A lot of people wonder why Zane's sixth sense became less prominent over time, and a number of theories have been thrown around without the fandom ever really reaching a consensus on the matter. So allow me to throw even more gas on the fire by adding my own speculations into the mix!

Looking at the timeline, Zane's sixth sense began to decline shortly after being rebuilt. Of course he did still experience visions for a short while thereafter - the vision of the titanium dragon being an iconic example of this - but then his premonitions gradually became a scarcity over time, to such a point that Jay straight up didn't believe him when he had that vision in s11.

So why did that happen? To answer that question, we first need to talk about Pixal.

In the season 4 episode "Versus", Pixal states that she is fascinated by Zane's ability to dream, and has "always wondered what that's like." Implying that at this point in the series, she wasn't able to dream.

However, her dream sequence in season 11 "A Cold Goodbye" demonstrates that at some point between s4 and s11, she eventually developed the ability to do so.

(Side note: it makes a a little bit emo how Pixal used to think dreams were an amazing thing that she longed to experience - but when we finally see her doing so, she has a nightmare instead.)

Within the context of canon itself, Pixal's dream in this episode is the only instance throughout the series of a nindroid having a non-prophetic dream.

...or is it?

Let's take a closer look at that dream, shall we? Most importantly, the part where Zane slips from her grasp.

Pixal is holding onto him, but she loses her grip and he falls into some sort of vortex/tunnel of light and cloud. And yes, of course, my Pixane-loving heart is aching at the sight of this - but pay close attention to the appearance of the vortex itself.

Look familiar? No? I'll give you a clue.

Yeah, you're seeing that right. The vortex from Pixal's dream is uncannily similar to the Never Realm portal that opens up at the end of that same episode.

For those of you who haven't seen s11 in a while, allow me to clarify exactly why that's so remarkable: Pixal had this dream before they opened the portal, before they even knew Zane was actually alive. Somehow, within her dreams, Pixal managed to construct a replica of the Never Realm portal without even knowing it existed.

Like, really sit and think on that for a minute. Pixal had a dream in which Zane falls into a strange vortex that just so happens to look like the portal to the Never Realm. Y'know, the same portal Zane got blasted through just an episode prior. Without Pixal herself being aware that this had happened to him.

Do I think it's a coincidence that Pixal's dream just happened to represent Zane's true fate with an eerie level of accuracy - that he hadn't died, but instead been lost in a portal to another realm? You're certainly welcome to think so, but I sure don't.

So here's what I think happened: in season 4, Zane placed Pixal's neural drive into his processor. From that point on until season 7, they effectively shared a brain. Maybe the experience of sharing the same mind for such an extended period of time caused them to inadvertently...share Zane's sixth sense as well . Maybe it slowly began to split between them. Zane's ability would slowly decline over time as portions of it bled into Pixal - while Pixal slowly developed the ability to "dream", unaware of exactly what that ability entailed.

This would explain a number of things:

Why Zane's premonitions become much more scarce from s4 onward.

Why Pixal is suddenly able to have dreams in s11 when she wasn't able to before - and why that dream is so uncannily prophetic.

Why the Scroll reacted to Pixal. Given the fact that it didn't react to Kai, we can assume it doesn't do anything when someone without any kind of power holds it. which suggests that Pixal has some kind of power (be it prophetic or otherwise).

(Of course, that last point is dependent on the validity of certain interpretations of how spinjitzu, forbidden spinjitzu, and elemental power work within canon. And yes, you can rest assured I have theories for that too. But I'm still fine-tuning the kinks to that theory, so don't ask me to explain just yet.)

If this is true, I highly doubt anyone has realized that this premonition-sharing happened at all. Zane probably just assumes his decline in prophetic ability was caused by the spiritual damage he sustained in his fight with the Overlord (which is another viable theory), and Pixal simply assumes that her newfound ability to dream is a result of her developing humanity. Meanwhile the rest of the team is none the wiser.

[starlight-bread-blog]

Katara is More Patient Then We Give Her Credit for

Katara has been getting a lot of flak for supposedly being hot headed and getting angry at very minor things. Even those who love Katara seem to accept this as the truth. But it's not. In reality, Katara is simply a female character who owns her rage. And I feel like there are two main components that debunk this notion.

Warning: Long, long post.

1. In the instances where Katara is angry it's either justified or makes sense in context.

The Waterbending Scroll

Katara stole, wouldn't you know it, a waterbending scroll. She practices before giving it to Aang, and fails hard. Then Aang who she's supposed to be teaching, gets it right and explains how to do it. Katara has an outburst.

Katara: Will you please shut your air-hole! Believe it or not your infunite wisdom gets a little old sometimes. Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted!

Why is Katara that mad here? Why did she have an outburst? Because she was carrying the burden of being the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe her whole life. Because her waterbending is the reason Kya died. Because she have been independently studying waterbending her whole life. And now her student is having it all easy and is trying to teach her.

And wouldn't you know it, she realized what she did immediatly. Literally, a second later.

Katara: Oh my gosh Aang. I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me. But you know what, it won't happen again. Here [the scroll] is yours. I don't wanna have anything to do with it anymore.

She even apologized to Momo. Katara had an isecurity rooted in trauma and pressure. When Aang try to teach her she hit a breaking point and lashed out. And not one second later she's already apologizing.

The Waterbending Master

Katara and Aang are going to see Pakku, the waterbending master. But when Pakku sees she's a girl, he says he won't teach her. This is why Katara gets angry. She flew across seas just to get rejected due Pakku is being a sexist freak. I think we can all agree that being denied something because of sexism is a good reason to get angry. And when Katara realized Pakku won't teach Aang if she'll keep insisting, she drops it abd tells Aang to drop it too.

However, that doesn't mean she won't study in secret. She deserved to learn waterbending and she knew it. She took the consequences into consideration and decided to not make a fuss.

But of course, they both get caught. Pakku says he will no longer teach Aang, the Avatar who absolutly needs to study and still refuses to teach Katara because he's still sexist. Only then Katara challenges him to a duel. Only when they have nothing to lose. She challenged a sexist prick to a duel, one who shamelessly denied her oppretunity because of her gender.

The Chase

At the start of the episode Katara gently hints Toph to help unpack a camp for the night. This is when she's not tired yet, and shows patience.

Katara: So Toph, usually when setting up camp, we try to divide up the work.

Toph: Hey, don't worry about me. I'm good to go.

Katara (still calmly): Well, actually, what I'm trying to say is, some of us might fetch water while someone else might set up the fire pit or put up the tent. *smiles* Even Momo does his fair share.

Toph (slightly irritated): Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire. I've already collected my own food. And look. *earth bends a tent* My tent's all set up.

Katara: Well, that's great for you but we still need to finish-

Toph (loudly): I don't understand. What's the problem here??

Katara: Never mind.

Katara then goes to apologize. While also attempting to make sure her and Toph are on good terms by having her acknoledge that she wasn't 100 absolutly in the right.

Katara: Hey Toph, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I think we're all just a little tired and getting on each other's nerves.

Toph: Yeah, you do seem pretty tired.

Katara (slightly irrutated): I meant all of us.

Toph: Well, good night.

Katara: Good night.

By all means, Toph is in the wrong for the sheer refusal for communication. At first Katara calmly explained to her what was needed without even spelling it out. Toph was being passive, so she dropped it. And then she apologizes after doing nothing wrong just so they could be on good terms. Toph was the one being passive agressive. And Katara pretty much let it slide.

This is Katara. The patience she showed right here is her natural, normal self. The rest of the episode is under the context of sleep deprivation and how it's making them all hostile to each other. Including the pacifist Aang. Who's outburst leads Toph to leave. After she does, both Aang and Katara express remorse.

(Side note: I heard people take issue with the line "The stars sure are beautiful tonight, too bad you can't see them, Toph". It's been interpreted as Katara making fun of Toph for being blind, but it's just another instance in the recurring joke of the Gaang forgetting Toph is blind, and listed as such in the official A:TLA Youtube channel).

The Runaway

Update: This section, especially, is majorly outdated.

The episode has a silly opening where Aang is trained by Toph and Katara. Toph misses and accidently hits Katara with a big rock. After Toph doesn't apologize, it leads into a fight which is absolutly not to be taken seriously, that ends with Aang pointing out that it was supposed to be training.

It doesn't work as an exapmle for supposed hot-headedness because the reason this whole thing started because Toph hit Katara with a rock and refused to apologize.

But moving on to the real conflict of these episode, Toph scammed someone and Katara makes it clear that they shouldn't do it again, it'll draw attention to them. Aang promises her it won't happen again but.. um.. you know what happened.

Katara, being responsible, told them to quit because they'd potentially get exposed. Toph didn't reach well, telling her to lighten up. Katara rightfully gets angry, because they really might get exposed and Toph is dismissing her like her concerns are nothing. They have a short argument and Toph storms out.

This is why Katara was angry this episode. Her reasoning for being upset is the Gaang potentially exposing themselves for easy money. That's the conflict.

The Painted Lady

In this episode Katara sees a starving Fire Nation village but Sokka won't allow them to stay due to time limits. So she faked a disease for Appa so they could. Sokka confronts her. At first, she gives up and packs to leave. But since she destroyed the factory that's been polluting the villages water and taking their medicine, the people in charge assumed it was the civilians, and were coming to attack. Sokka and Katara get into a small but intense argument. Important to note, that she doesn't react intensively until Sokka does.

Katara: Well, what was I supposed to do?

Sokka: Leave! Do nothing.

Katara: No! I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me.

Her anger here doesn't highlight hot-headedness, it highlights compassion. Compassion is one of Katara's core traits. She's angry because she's being angrily demanded to see people suffer and stand by. And she will not tolerate it. She will never, ever turn her back on people who need her.

2. In reality, Katara is defined by her patience and compassion.

What I did here was listing off times where Katara did get angry. But Katara is generally a caring, kind person. Rather if it's cheering up Sokka, going shopping with him after he admitted to feeling useless; if it's pulling Aang out of the Avatar state, putting herself at risk when he's out of control; if it's helping deliver a baby of a stranger; or if it's freeing prisoners of the Fire Nation. She demonstrates impressive patience throughout the show.

The Deserter

In this episode Aang was asked to just control fire. Aang gets irrutated himself at this, but Katara assured him that it's probably for a good reaso. But when his master left, he firebent. He was being extremely careless with his new found Fire Bending and burned Katara's hands.

Did she...

A. splashed some water at him.

B. Yelled at him.

C. Ran away crying.

Yeah, she didn't express anger at all. Sokka was who's angry at Aang.

The Desert

The sand benders stole Appa and the Gaang is suck in a desert. Katara demonstrates her patience a lot this episode.

Toph and Aang are arguing about Toph not stopping them.

Aang: You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone.

Katara: Aang, stop it. You know Toph did all she could. She saved our lives.

Sokka: Who's gonna save our lives now? We'll never make itout of here.

Aang: That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves. You don't care whether Appa is okay or not.

Katara: We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now.

Aang accused the Gaang of something horrible. Katara told him to stop, but still understood his anger and calmly explained to him that it's important not to fight in a life threatening situation.

Aang then storms out to look for Appa. Katara's response?

Katara: We'd better start walking. We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se.

She didn't get angry, she was rational and thought about the greater good.

After Aang comes back, Katara suggest they should try sleeping, gives the Gaang all of her bending water without drinking herself. And then finds a way to get to Ba Sing Se using the locations of star systems.

The Gaang spots a cloud and mistakes it for Appa. But Katara realizes the potential in a cloud. She tells Aang to fly and bend the water from the cloud so they could drink.

Katara (disappoibted): Wow, there's hardly any in here.

Aang (intensively): I'm sorry, okay? It's a desert cloud, I did all I could. What's anyone else doing? *Points at Katara* What are you doing?

After dealing with everyone's tireness, Sokka's high nonsense and Aang's attitude, carrying everyone, thinking of possible solutions to ensure they'd all survive, how did she react to Aang accusing her of not doing enough?

Katara: Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head this direction.

And after everything she did for everyone, she pulls Aang out of the Avatar state when he's raging, out of control.

Katara is not so hot headed.

She's sweet, nurturing and caring. She demonstrated incredible patience and perhaps even saved the Gang's life in The Desert with her resilience. Katara's compassion is her defining trait.

But that doesn't mean she's not a human being – she's allowed to be flawed, and in the moments where she does, she's very remorseful. And in the moments where she doesn't, people will still hold her accoutable for simply feeling a justified emotion.

Does it make you oh-so-hot headed to stand up to a sexist denying her opportunity? To make sure your friends don't destroy your chances to win a war? To not tolerate being told to see people in need and do nothing in a middle if an argument she didn't start? Of course it doesn't.

And other characters are allowed to express anger, to be flawed, in ways that are way worse than Katara without being labelled annoying hot headed by the fandom.

Katara is widly known to be irrational, letting her anger get the better of her, but it's simply not true.

[lxvsiick]

CAMPING HORRORS: EPISODE ONE | BOYNEXTDOOR

PAIRING: college students! BOYNEXTDOOR! members x college student! fem! reader

SUMMARY: finishing their exams for the year, they thought a camping trip would help them reconnect with nature and get away from the busy student life -- after arriving to the camp grounds, strange things start happening and the weird feeling in their stomachs starts to grow ,, how did this camping trip go so wrong?

GENRE: horror, thriller, imagine

WARNINGS: mentions of killing, deaths, blood, gore(ish), etc.

WORDCOUNT: 2.7k

A/N: i was supposed to post this yesterday but i actually hibernated... enjoy!

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It was early, and the air had a crispness to it that hinted at the adventure to come. Y/n stood by her car, loading the last of the camping gear into the trunk. Woonhak had already claimed the front seat, bouncing with excitement, his face pressed against the window.

"Is that everything?" Y/n asked, glancing over at Leehan, who was hoisting a cooler into the back of the car with ease.

"Yup, we're all set," Leehan smiled, his laid-back attitude a sharp contrast to her own anxiety about making sure nothing was forgotten.

From the other side of the car, Taesan leaned against the hood, arms crossed, watching with a look of clear disdain. His lips curled into a smirk as he eyed Leehan, who had offered to help her without even needing to be asked. Taesan rolled his eyes, pretending not to care but clearly annoyed by the whole situation.

"Can we leave already?" Taesan muttered under his breath, loud enough for her to hear but still avoiding direct eye contact.

Jaehyun, along with Sungho and Riwoo, finished packing up the second car. After a brief head count and gear check, everyone piled into their respective vehicles. Y/n took the driver's seat, Woonhak already buckled in beside her. Leehan climbed into the back behind her, and after a dramatic sigh, Taesan took the last spot, pulling on his headphones and immediately tuning everyone out.

As the cars pulled out of the driveway, Woonhak gleefully scrolled through the music playlist. Soon, the familiar beats of their favorite road trip songs filled the car, and he was singing along, loud and off-key, but full of energy.

"Are you really gonna do this the whole way?" Taesan grumbled from the backseat, not bothering to lift his head or remove his headphones.

Y/n chuckled. "He’s excited. Let him have his fun."

In the rearview mirror, she glanced at Leehan, who had already leaned back in his seat, eyes closed, fast asleep. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she took in the peaceful look on his face. It was rare to see him this relaxed, and the sight made her heart flutter.

But just as she thought no one noticed, a sharp voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Don't get too carried away staring at him," Taesan snarked from the backseat, his eyes still glued to the window. His tone was dripping with mockery, and though he hadn’t looked directly at her, she could feel the heat of his judgment.

She shot him a look through the mirror. "I wasn't staring," she said quickly, though her face flushed, betraying her embarrassment.

"Sure, you weren’t." He pulled one earbud out just enough to hear her response, his smirk widening. "But don’t worry, your little secret crush is safe with me." The sarcasm in his voice was impossible to miss.

Woonhak glanced between them, oblivious to the underlying tension. "Are you guys talking about Leehan hyung?" he asked innocently, his eyes wide with curiosity.

Y/n sighed, trying to brush it off, her hands tightening on the steering wheel. "No, we're not," she said firmly, turning up the music to drown out any further comments from her brother.

Taesan laughed softly, satisfied with the slight discomfort he’d caused, and returned to his music, but not without throwing one more glance toward Leehan sleeping in the backseat. "Must be nice to sleep through all this drama," he muttered under his breath.

Y/n just shook her head, focusing on the road ahead. The trip had barely started, and she could already tell it was going to be a long ride.

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The cars slowed to a stop at the edge of the woods, and the group piled out, stretching their legs and taking in their surroundings. The campgrounds were deep in the forest, with towering trees casting dark shadows over the area despite the sun sitting high in the sky. Jaehyun glanced around, his face scrunched in unease.

"This place looks kind of... creepy," he muttered, shifting his backpack nervously.

The others groaned in unison.

"Already?" Taesan rolled his eyes, grabbing a cooler from the trunk. "We just got here, and you’re already freaked out?"

"I’m not freaked out, I just—" Jaehyun trailed off, eyeing the dense forest that seemed to swallow all sound. "I have a weird feeling about this place."

"Yeah, yeah," Sungho chuckled, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "That’s what you said about the last camping trip, and we survived that."

The group laughed as they grabbed their bags, tents, and coolers, beginning the walk down the narrow, winding trail. The tall trees loomed overhead, their branches intertwining like claws, creating a canopy that dimmed the light. Their footsteps crunched over dry leaves, and birds chirped distantly, the only noise in the stillness of the forest.

"Where is everyone?" Leehan asked, peering down the empty trails that branched off into the woods. "I thought these campgrounds were supposed to be popular?"

Riwoo whipped out a camcorder and pointed it at the group, capturing their journey as they made their way deeper into the woods. "Guess we’re getting the VIP treatment," he said, laughing lightly. "Private campground, no distractions."

Jaehyun wasn’t convinced. "I still have a weird feeling," he said again, his eyes darting around as if expecting someone—or something—to jump out at any moment.

The others waved him off, continuing down the path until they finally arrived at their campsite. A clearing in the trees revealed a flat patch of ground, perfect for setting up their tents. They began unloading their gear, chatting as they worked, when a strange sound broke through the rustle of leaves and snapping of branches.

It was a dull thud, like something heavy hitting the ground.

Y/n and Taesan froze, their heads whipping toward the source of the sound. The rest of the group fell silent, following their gaze down the trail.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Y/n asked, her eyes scanning the treeline.

Jaehyun, now visibly tense, edged closer to Woonhak, gripping his arm. "What was that?"

Before anyone could answer, the faint shuffle of footsteps drew their attention. Emerging from the trees was an old woman, hunched over, gripping a cane as she made her way toward them. Her skin was wrinkled and her movements slow, but something about her presence sent a chill down their spines.

The group exchanged uncertain glances but politely bowed as she approached.

"Are you young folks here to camp?" the old woman asked, her voice raspy and thin.

"Yes, ma’am," Leehan answered, forcing a smile. "Just arrived."

She nodded slowly, her eyes scanning their setup. "This campground is old. Very old. Been here for 127 years," she said, her voice cracking on the word old.

"Is that so?" Y/n replied politely, though the tightness in her smile hinted at her unease.

Sungho cleared his throat, trying to keep things casual. "We didn’t see any other campers on the way here... Is it usually this quiet?"

The old woman hesitated, her bony fingers tightening around her cane. "The grounds are big," she said slowly. "Campers are... spread out."

A suspicious tension gripped the group, but they nodded, not wanting to press her.

The old woman gave a faint smile, but there was something unsettling in her eyes. "Make sure to keep your lamps and lights on at all times," she warned. "The forest gets... dark."

With that ominous advice, she turned and shuffled down the trail, disappearing into the trees before anyone could say anything more.

"That was... weird," Riwoo muttered, his brow furrowed as he watched her go through the screen of his camcorder.

"She was creepy," Taesan added bluntly, crossing his arms.

"Hey, watch your words," Y/n whispered, glancing nervously back at the trail. "She could hear you."

But when they looked back, the old woman was nowhere to be seen. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

"Wow, she sure does walk fast." Sungho joked, trying to lighten the mood. A nervous chuckle rippled through the group, though the tension remained palpable.

The group finished setting up their tents, the eerie feeling from their encounter with the old woman still lingering in the air. With the sun still bright above, they decided to rest for a bit before planning the rest of their day, though none of them could shake the unsettling feeling that had taken hold since the old woman’s visit.

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Laughter filled the air as the group finally finished their lunch, which had taken nearly two hours longer than expected thanks to the guys' constant horsing around. Y/n wiped her hands, trying to suppress a smile at their antics, but inwardly she was growing restless.

“Anyone want to check out the campgrounds?” she asked, eager to explore.

Sungho leaned back, arms crossed. “Someone should stay behind to watch the campsite. You never know.”

Before anyone else could respond, Leehan stood up, stretching. “I’ll go with you,” he said casually, though his eyes held a softness that made Y/n’s heart race.

“Yeah, sure,” she replied, trying to sound nonchalant as her nerves buzzed inside.

The rest of the group waved them off, too full from lunch to move much, and soon, it was just the two of them walking the dirt path. Tall trees towered above, casting deep shadows, and every once in a while a cool breeze would rustle the leaves, making the woods feel even more isolated.

“So, how’s everything going? You seem a bit quiet today,” Leehan asked, glancing sideways at her.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Y/n replied quickly, cursing herself for sounding so awkward. Inside, her stomach twisted with nerves, but she forced a smile. “I’m just enjoying the walk.

"Uh, who's watching your fishes?" Y/n asks, nervously fidgeting her fingers.

"I asked my parents to." Leehan replied, a smile on his face at the mention of his beloved fishes.

They fell into a comfortable conversation, but she couldn't shake the butterflies. Every time he spoke, her pulse quickened. She was so distracted by her thoughts, she almost didn’t notice when they approached something unusual.

“What is that?” Leehan pointed ahead.

In the distance, nestled between the trees, was a small, rundown house. Its walls were covered in vines, and the roof sagged under the weight of age. The windows were dark, and the whole place looked as though it hadn't been touched in years.

A breeze swept through the trees, carrying with it a chill that made both of them shiver. Y/n wrapped her arms around herself as an unsettling feeling crept in.

“This place is... creepy,” she murmured, unable to take her eyes off the house.

A sudden snap of twigs behind them made them both jump. They whipped around just in time to see a tall bush near the path rustling wildly.

Before either of them could react, Taesan popped out of the bush, covered in leaves and twigs, muttering as he swatted away the foliage.

“Seriously?” Leehan breathed, letting out a laugh.

Y/n clutched her chest. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!” she scolded, though the adrenaline in her voice betrayed her.

Taesan raised an eyebrow, looking between them with a sly grin. “What’s going on? Did I interrupt something?” He gave them a knowing smirk, eyes flicking between Y/n and Leehan.

“Nothing,” Leehan said quickly, though his voice held a playful edge. He pointed toward the dilapidated house with a smile. “We were just checking that out. You up for exploring it?”

Taesan blinked in disbelief, then glanced at the house in the distance. “You’re crazy,” he said flatly, eyeing the old, worn-down structure as if it might come alive at any second.

Y/n let out a nervous laugh, her hands already pushing at their shoulders. “Yeah, no thanks. I’m not about to end up in some horror movie.” She ushered them both back to the trail, eager to put as much distance between them and the eerie house as possible.

As they made their way back, the uneasy feeling lingered in her gut. Leehan chuckled beside her, but Y/n kept glancing back over her shoulder, the tension refusing to fade.

They didn’t see the door to the house slowly creak open as they walked away, the heavy, wooden door moving just enough to cast a shadow on the ground.

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The forest was unusually quiet as Y/n, Leehan, and Taesan continued to walk down the narrow trail. The towering trees arched overhead, blocking out most of the sunlight, casting long shadows across their path. They were trying to see if they could find any other campers or hikers, but so far, the trail remained eerily empty.

Taesan walked off to the side, hands in his pockets, casting side glances at Y/n and her crush as they chatted ahead of him. His eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance every time he caught them exchanging a laugh or a smile, but he said nothing.

Suddenly, a faint sound of footsteps broke the stillness of the forest.

All three of them stopped in their tracks, the laughter dying in their throats. They looked around, eyes scanning the dense trees and shadows, but there was no one in sight. The footsteps continued, slow and deliberate, getting closer.

"Did you hear that?" Y/n whispered, her heart beginning to race.

Leehan nodded, his eyes wide as he looked around. "Yeah... but where’s it coming from?"

The footsteps grew louder, the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs filling the air. They turned in circles, trying to spot whoever—or whatever—was approaching them, but the trees were too thick to see through.

Y/n turned to Taesan, her voice sharp. "Is this you? Are you messing with us? Did any of the other guys follow us?"

Taesan scowled, crossing his arms defensively. "What? No. It’s just me. I wouldn’t waste my time freaking you out—"

Before he could finish, the footsteps turned into running. The sound of something—or someone—sprinting toward them echoed through the trees, pounding footsteps getting closer and faster.

Leehan didn’t wait to find out what it was. "Run!" he shouted, and without hesitation, he took off down the trail, his face pale with fear.

Without thinking, Taesan grabbed Y/n's hand and yanked her forward. "Come on!" he urged, pulling her with him as they both ran after Leehan.

Their footsteps thundered along the trail, matching the speed of the unseen figure that was still running behind them. Y/n’s heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she tried to keep up, her breath coming in short, panicked bursts.

They tore through the trees, branches whipping past them, the campsite finally coming into view. As they neared the clearing, they stumbled into their group. Woonhak and the others looked up, alarmed at the sight of them running breathlessly back.

"Whoa, what’s going on? Noona? Hyungs?" Woonhak asked, standing up from the log he was sitting on.

Panting, Taesan bent over, hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. "Something... or someone... was running at us," he managed to get out, his voice trembling with adrenaline.

Leehan, who had collapsed onto the ground, nodded in agreement. "We didn’t see them, but they were close. Too close."

The group exchanged uneasy glances. Jaehyun, already looking nervous, clung to Woonhak, his eyes wide. "What... what do you mean someone was running at you? Was it... a person?"

Sungho stepped forward. "I’ll check it out," he said, grabbing a flashlight as he walked back toward the trail. The rest of them watched in tense silence as he disappeared around the corner.

Several minutes passed before he returned, shaking his head. "There’s no one there," he said, though his tone was far from reassuring. "Trail’s empty."

"Maybe it was just a deer or a fox," Riwoo said, trying to sound casual, though the nervous waver in his voice betrayed him. "It’s probably nothing."

But the heavy, uneasy feeling that had settled over the group remained. Y/n glanced back at the trail, the trees now swaying gently in the breeze. She couldn’t shake the sense that something was watching them, just beyond the tree line, waiting.

The group sat down again, though the air felt colder now, and none of them spoke for a while. The forest was still quiet, but the silence was no longer comforting—it felt like it was pressing in on them, thick and oppressive.

Even though the sun was still up, casting dappled light through the trees, none of them felt safe anymore.

And so it begins.

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THE HAUNTING HOURS MASTERLIST | BOYNEXTDOOR MASTERLIST

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, lxvsiick, 2024

[ghostsandfools]

Solar and Lunar's Relationship is so Underrated

Alright. I already typed out like a whole essay about this in one of my friends dms (I am so sorry you had to read all that-) but I decided to post an even LONGER essay here! Because I can :]

Solar and Lunar are just... Just the best. I love them. SO MUCH.

Lunar:

Lunar was the first person that Solar met from the main dimension. Lunar was obviously terrified of Solar at first, considering he looked and sounded just like Eclipse, but I love how Solar treats him when they first meet. He says "I don't know how anyone could hate you" and "I know I'm not your Eclipse. but you're not a mistake" and is just super sweet in general. It's been a while, but I recommend y'all go back and watch that episode, it's "What if Eclipse isn't evil?! In VRCHAT" and it's genuinely so so adorable.

It took a while for Lunar to get used to Solar, but Solar was patient with him the whole time and I love that. He understood why Lunar was scared of him and was just as sweet as possible until Lunar could feel comfortable around him.

One thing I think is interesting is that when Lunar went in Solar's head, he saw the memory of Solar killing his Moon. I don't think he saw the exact moment when Solar shot him, but from the fact that Solar was still alive and had never told anyone about it, he could probably infer what happened. He knows it happened, but he never held it against him. He never told anyone, he never blamed Solar or called him a murderer, because at that point he knew he wouldn't hurt someone without a reason. He knew Solar was trustworthy.

I think it's nice how their friendship was developed more in the background. Solar and Moon were always 'the besties', always spending time together, working on projects together, and it was the same way with Earth. But even though Solar and Lunar never spent as much time with each other, I feel like they understood each other better than anyone else. Their friendship was special, even if it wasn't as prominent.

When Lunar killed Eclipse, Solar showed him the same patience and care and kindness that he's always shown. Earth was scared of him, Gemini was angry at him, but Solar understood exactly what he was going through, because he'd been there once himself. And just like Lunar didn't judge him, he never judged Lunar.

Solar:

In his home dimension, Solar didn't really have anyone that he could trust. His Moon and Sun BOTH died. In the episode he was introduced in, he explained that during the separation or sometime after, his Moon passed away, and the version we saw who tried to kill him was a copy of his Moon with the same memories. I wonder if that's why he's so unwilling to except what happened to Nexus, because he's seen it all before. And I wonder if maybe this will become a pattern, and what happened to his Sun will end up happening to ours?

Anyways. Solar had to come to the main dimension because his Moon tried to kill him and scrap him for parts and was just being an abusive asshole in general. It does remind me of Eclipse and Lunar. Solar was just a byproduct to his Moon, a useless machine he could use for extra labor, and when Solar wasn't useful to him anymore, he tried to scrap him for parts, desperate to get back his Sun, his star. In a way, I think Solar sees himself in Lunar. That's why they understand each other so well.

When Solar killed his Moon, he didn't tell anyone. I really wonder if that'll ever get brought up again, because he and Lunar have both been hiding it for so long. I can't imagine the guilt he'd feel afterwards, even if it was justified.

I'm going to talk about self harm now, so if you're sensitive to the topic, just scroll past this pink section.

Now, this might be me projecting, because i used to self harm and in a way, I see myself in both Lunar and Solar. But I can see the signs in both of them. Both of them, at this point, have got to have some kind of self worth issues. Constantly being told you're worthless is going to critically damage your self esteem, and it's clear that it's taken some kind of toll on them.

Solar is always working, constantly, and I think that's for two reasons. The first it to distract himself, of course, but i wonder if he's trying to prove himself. He wants to prove to his family that he IS worth something and that they don't need to punish him or scrap him for parts because he IS useful.

And Lunar is the same way. He hasn't shown as many signs, but he's had a lot of pressure on him since he came back. He feels like he has to be good with his powers, to keep both him and his family safe. He has quite literally got the entire world on his shoulders, with Rez threatening him and Taurus threatening him and worst of all, the looming threat that Gemini will probably never speak to him again if he can't master his powers, that's A LOT.

They're both dealing with a lot, and being constantly overwhelmed like that can drive a person to hurt themself. It's more of a headcanon with Lunar, but I could see it being canon for Solar. Like in one of the recent episodes where he was talking to Jack and said "Break the habit Solar- I mean, break the habit Jack!" I wonder if that's what he could be referring to? Idk, let me know what you think.

Okay, I'm done talking about that now. Anyways. When Solar died, Lunar didn't really react. Earth screamed and cried, Nexus went insane, but Lunar didn't really react. And looking at things from a surface level, you could say it's because he and Solar weren't as close, but i don't think that's really true. Lunar said he didn't really feel strongly about it, but how could he? With how much trouble his own emotions cause him in the past, how could he possibly? Maybe he didn't want to lose control of his powers again, maybe he didn't want Earth to be scared of him again. And everyone around him was already so sad, he needed to be stable so they didn't have to worry about him too. But just because he didn't have an outwards reaction, that doesn't mean he didn't care. That doesn't mean he didn't grieve, it doesn't mean it didn't effect him.

Sadly, we haven't seen Lunar's reaction to Solar's return yet, because youtube decided to chaunce around and be stupid, but I'm excited to see how he feels about the whole thing.

I have a little theory/prediction for you all before I end things off. Lunar got star power because he was rebuilt in space. Eclipse's lab was apparently next to the sun.... Maybe Solar will get star power as well? It would make sense, why should he not? He was rebuilt in space as well. It would be dumb if he didn't. Their lives are very parallel to each other after all, even their names.

Anyways. That's enough chauncing about from me, I've got to get to school. But let me know what you guys think! Are Solar and Lunar best duo 2024? Will Solar get star powers? Will the be fire themed and cool as fuck if he does? Does Solar is gay??????? I guess we'll have to wait and find out.

(Jesus Christ, you are DEDICATED, I don't know how you made it this far. If i saw a tumblr post this long, I would not have the patience to read it, you get a gold star for coming all this way ⭐)

[imminent-danger-came]

A "MK is Related to the Underworld Somehow. Probably." List With Commentary (And I Consider it Evidence for EAMK)

(1x08 Skeleton Key)

(LIKE CAN I PLEASE HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR THIS SCENE. CAN I PLEASE HAVE AN EXPLANATION??? WHAT. WHY. WHY WOULD YOU EVEN GIVE HIM THE KEY IN THE FIRST PLACE.)

-

(1x08 Skeleton Key)

(Idiot boy putting the skeleton key in his ear.)

-

(2x03 Pig Pong Panic)

(MK + Bones. Never a good sign)

-

(2x05 Minor Scale)

(Is this perhaps just LBD trying to take control of MK? Maybe. Is it also really weird how her powers interact with MK in general? For sure!)

-

(2x06 Game on)

-

(2x07 Shadow Play)

(Number one: The Lady Bone Demon wasn't here to provoke this, number two: MK using "blue vision" to see his friend's fate inside the lantern is equally strange!)

-

(2x09 72 Transformations)

(Again, could very well be LBD trying to take control of MK here—however, it doesn't seem like she's trying to do much of anything to MK in this scene, as she's focused on spider queen. So it weirds me out and goes into this post!)

-

(3x03 Smartie Kid)

(So, if the stuff in s2 was LBD affecting MK then I get it. BUT THEN WHY HAVE MORE BLUE EYES IN S3 AFTER LBD HAS ALREADY "TAKEN" MK'S POWERS AND THE STAFF. Genuinely want to know what this was meant to imply.)

-

(3x12 The Corrupted King)

(LBD HAS ALREADY POSSESSED WUKONG HERE. Wukong and the Mech alone was spreading her too thin. She certainly wasn't attempting to posses MK here—so what was happening?)

-

(4x01 Familiar Tales)

(The scroll ink touches MK not once, but twice this episode and it doesn't ensnare MK. The scroll touches Monkey King once and this is what happens to him: )

-

(4x02 Familiar Tales)

(The scroll's ink emanates from MK, which I thought was crazy at first BUT IT THEN HAPPENS AGAIN IN 4x11)

-

(4x03 The Great Tang Man)

(Soooo we see a vision of an all inked up MK, then we see the stone cracking, then we see a shot of the curse from 4x02, and THEN MK turns Tang Sanzang's golden power blue, a color associated with both LBD and the underworld in general. HM.)

-

(4x06 Show Me the Monster)

(There's no hair flip so it's not MK, so it would make me think that this is an ink version of SWK next to the stone. It's weird so I'm including it!)

-

(4x06 Show Me the Monster)

(So. Ink blotting out the sun, something MK/SWK are often associated with, and then pouring out of the cracked stone, which we just learned MK was born from. And then the curse takes MK's form. I'm tripping over my own conspiracy board here.)

-

MK: "You're not my friend—you're NOT me!" Curse MK: "Sure I am! I'm your best friend, well, closest at least! I know more about you than you'll even admit—to yourself, or to others."

(4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

(The curse claiming it's a part of MK is weird! The curse looking like MK in it's most weakened state is also weird! It's all weird!)

-

(4x08 The Brotherhood)

(Absolutely no reason for a weird teal smudge to be there, and yet)

-

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

(BOOM. SCROLL EMANATING FROM MK AGAIN.)

-

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

(The broken memories flickering in the scroll are very similar to the way MK flickers in and out of monkey form: )

-

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

(Scroll ink touches MK again and he does not become imprisoned inside it again. The scroll at the very least has no affect on the boy)

-

And I think for now that wraps up this post!

[gaybananabread]

if its still available

could you do lee ragatha and ler pomni with day 8?

TickleTober Day 8 - Nuzzles

~AUUHAGA these two! I watched the new episode right before writing this. They're just so- FFFFFFFFAH! This was a pleasure to write, dear anon. I would say ship if you squint, but let's be honest: I was projecting so bad. Thank you for requesting, and I hope you Enjoy!~

Lee: Ragatha

Ler: Pomni

Summary: During an impromptu cuddle session, Pomni realizes how much she loves seeing Ragatha smile and laugh. When she accidentally makes an adorable discovery, the jester makes good use of that knowledge.

Warnings: spoilers for TADC! This is a tickle fic, so if you don't like that, scroll away!!

She was going crazy; that was the only real explanation. There was no way on Earth it was actually happening.

And yet, there she was, Ragatha cuddled up next to her, her eyes shut peacefully. She could feel the simulated warmth of the doll against her; while she knew it wasn't truly real, it was still nice.

Pomni sighed as her mind wandered further, letting it roam—not much else to do when her mind was the only part of her that still vaguely belonged to her.

Despite everything the clown had done to her, Ragatha still stuck around. Sure, the excuse that Pomni was having an existential crisis could maybe hold up, but it didn't explain all of her behavior. It was kinda nice to have someone stick around, even if she really didn't deserve it.

The jester girl sighed as she started to run her hand through Ragatha’s woven locks, trying not to delve too far into the negative thoughts. It was healthy to confront and feel them, but she didn't want to start panicking again out of nowhere.

The gentle touch seemed to stir Ragatha from her half-asleep daze, looking groggily up at Pomni. Her one true eye half-opened as she rubbed at it.

“Pomni? You okay?” Dang. Barely two seconds of being aware, and she'd already noticed Pomni was feeling a little off. The woman had talent, to be sure.

“Uh…honestly, not really. You're amazing, you know that?” Pomni sighed, not wanting to lie to her. The compliment would hopefully soften the less-than-chipper answer; the jester still meant every word, though.

“I'm sorry. And…thank you, Pomni. That means a lot.”

That smile. Pomni had concluded that Ragatha's real smile could always cheer her up, no matter how she was feeling. She wouldn't be surprised if it was the cure to abstraction.

The jester couldn't get enough of it.

Before the redhead could notice her staring, Pomni hugged her closer and buried her face in the doll's soft neck. She really did feel just like a pillow, though more…alive.

The way Ragatha's breath hitched as he nuzzled in made her pause. Was she doing something wrong? Did it feel bad? Was she rethinking everything? F–

“S-sorry, that tickled. You're good.” Ragatha's soft head nudged Pomni’s, snapping her out of her disassociation. Oh…right. Not every semi-negative response was a complete rejection.

“Oh. Okay.” Jeez, she felt awkward. Ragatha's smile was still there, but it was less…bright. Less joyful. Pomni didn't like the change; she intended to fix it.

“You say sorry a lot, ya know. That can't be good for you.”

Ragatha felt the soft fabric of Pomni's hand brush her cheek, the woman's pale face nosing against her neck. It made Ragatha bite her cheek as she tried to stay quiet.

“I-I guess nohot, but ihit feels right.”

Pomni couldn't help but feel lighter when she heard the giggles slip through. They were so bubbly and carefree; she had to hear more.

“Just because it feels right, doesn't mean it is.” Pomni started deliberately blinking against Ragatha's plush skin, her small lashes gently tickling there.

“P-Pohomni!” Ragatha giggled and shook her head, gently kicking out one of her feet. She wasn't really trying to get away; the doll just couldn't sit still.

“What? I thought you wanted to cuddle, Ragatha.” Pomni spoke against her neck, making the ragdoll squeak and giggle like a schoolgirl. Ragatha had always known her neck was ticklish, but Pomni somehow seemed to make it ten times more sensitive by just existing.

“Y-yeheah, but- GYEE! Pohohomni!” Ragatha had tried to speak, but Pomni decided that was the perfect moment to nuzzle under her chin while gently tickling her stomach. “Youhu’re dohohoing thihis on puhuhurpose!”

“Doing what on purpose?” She hummed, knowing the vibrations would make it tickle more. The jester was honestly surprising herself; she usually wouldn’t have the confidence to do any sort of teasing. It was…really fun. “Did I say something funny?”

“Pohohomnihi!” Ragatha kept on saying her name, but nothing substantial ever really came after it. It was kinda cute.

“What? You keep saying my name; can you please finish your sentence?” She, of course, spoke against Ragatha’s neck the entire time, still gently tickling the doll’s belly. Pomni wasn’t sure how their digital bodies – especially a cloth doll’s – could be ticklish, but she wasn’t complaining.

“Wh-whyhy are youhuhu tihickling mehehe?” Ragatha wiggled and weakly batted at Pomni's hands and back, but she was mainly just giddily taking the tickles.

“Your laugh is nice, and being happy feels good. You're always making sure I'm okay; I wanna return the favor.”

Ragatha's plush heart nearly burst a seam at that. Pomni was so sweet; she'd have to convince Caine to have a soft adventure next.

“Th-thahat's reheheally sweheheet of youhu, Pohomni.”

“You deserve it. Now shush.” Feeling her cheeks heat up from the giggly appreciation, Pomni started to firmly knead Ragatha's sides; it would definitely keep her from making the jester's heart flutter.

“YEEEK! POHOHOMNI!” The adorable giggles quickly gave way to happy laughter as the doll's sides were targeted. Her squirming doubled, though she still made no real attempt to get away.

Pomni just rolled her eyes fondly as she continued to tickle the digital ragdoll to pieces. It was actually really fun, both to tickle her and hear her laugh. She could've continued for ages.

That is, if Jax hadn't chosen the most inopportune time to find them.

“Hey, freak out and ragdoll! Caine wants us to- uh…” He froze as he came across the scene, color glowing on his purple cheeks. What the *BOINK*?

Pomni immediately stopped when she heard his voice, not knowing how Ragatha would react to Jax seeing them.

“Wh-whahat was thahat, Jax?” Ragatha was tickle-drunk as she slowly sat up, hugging her sides with a tired smile. She didn't seem bugged in the slightest that Jax had walked in.

“I…tch, whatever. Caine wants everyone at the stage for another adventure. Hurry up.” With that, he walked off, his ear twitching slightly for some “unknown” reason.

“Ragatha, I… I'm sorry. I didn't hear him coming.” Pomni wrung her gloved hands, hoping she wouldn't be too mad. She looked calm enough, but that didn't mean anything.

“What? Pomni, you're fine! Jax had seen me laugh like that plenty of times — everyone has, really. No harm done.”

The gentle back rubs Pomni received after that immediately put her at ease. Ragatha seemed to have recovered quickly enough, and she couldn't sense any hidden anger or discontent.

“Oh…okay. Let's go, then.” Pomni started walking to the stage, but Ragatha grabbed her wrist. Before she could ask anything, the jester was swept up into a tight hug, her feet leaving the ground for a moment.

“Thank you, Pomni. Really. It feels good to laugh with someone trustworthy here.”

With that, Ragatha walked off, quickly catching up to Jax. His shouts were soon heard across the tent, squeaky and embarrassed-sounding.

Pomni's mind was racing. That hug felt…good. No, understatement: that hug felt wonderful. Ragatha's smile, her giggles, her laughter, the way she sounded afterwards…

The jester girl looked down, finding her face slightly reflected in the sparkling tile of the circus floor. Her usual pinwheel pupils were shaped differently, resembling…hearts.

“...F-*SPROING*-k.”

[mamisfavmosher]

Rhea x reader where he forgets Readers birthday because of how busy she's been and reader is upset she forgot, but Rhea makes it up to them in the end?

okay this wasn't specified smut so i just didn't write any.....

melting birthday candles // rhea ripley x fem!reader

warnings: language, suggestive language, slight angst

Readers POV

Rhea would be home any minute now and I was so excited. Today is my birthday and she promised that she would be home from work early to celebrate the night with me. I had everything set up, too.

There were balloons in my favorite colors floating in the air, all of the best candies in a bowl on the counter that are ready to go for the movie we're watching later on, and I even baked and decorated my own birthday cake.

All I needed now is Rhea.

I checked my phone to see if she had sent any messages on what time she would be arriving, but nothing appeared. Shrugging, I plopped down on the couch and watched some TV while I waited.

Time went by slowly as I watched episode after episode of old reruns. Maybe something happened? I checked my phone time after time and still got nothing. Curiously, I scrolled through social media. Clicking on Dom's story, a video popped up of all of them at a bar, laughing and smiling.

Tears stung my eyes as I accepted the sinking feeling that Rhea forgot my birthday. Sighing, I tidied up the kitchen and placed my cake in the fridge, tears continuously falling down my cheeks. I climbed into bed and fell asleep, hoping to forget all about today.

***

"Sorry, babe. Didn't mean to wake you up." Rhea whispered as she climbed into bed beside me. For a split second, I felt joy as I realized she was home, but quickly remembered the sadness she had caused me earlier. I remained silent and turned to sleep facing away from her. "Babe?"

"What?" My voice was more harsh than intended, but I guess it got the point across.

I felt her go still. "What's wrong? Did I do something?" She gently placed her hand on my arm and I quickly shrugged it off.

"Doesn't matter. Let me go back to sleep." I muttered while attempting to turn my body away from her even more.

Rhea's arm snaked around my waist and pulled me to face her. "Babe, it does matter. Whatever I did, I swear I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"Rhea, do you know why today was so special? Hm?" I sat up and crossed my arms. I watched as she slowly shook her head before talking again. "You should know! You promised to come home early from work to be with me. It's my birthday, Rhea! And you left me here to celebrate by myself!"

Her face immediately dropped. "Shit, baby, I'm sorry. Please, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot." She reached out to grab me, and this time, I cuddled into her embrace. Kissing my head and all parts of my face, she continued apologizing. "Can we re-celebrate tomorrow? I'll take the entire day off and we can do whatever you want?" Her hands held my face to look at her and a small smile crept onto my lips.

"Yeah. I guess we can do that." I giggled as she attacked my face with kisses.

"I really am sorry, babygirl," she sighed into my neck. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you right now?" She asked with a suggestive tone, her fingers playing with the waistband of my pajama shorts.

I hummed in pretend thought and smiled at her. "You know, there is something you can do."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." And with that, I pulled Rhea out of bed and down the stairs to try my homemade birthday cake, which she loved.

[cher-rei]

afterglow pt- 11 [ T.A.A ]

pairings: trent alexander arnold x fem!reader

summary: young and aspiring marketing and business major jamie carter (you) is privileged with working alongside the liverpool marketing and public relations team while also getting entangled with their star player and right back, trent alexander arnold.

genre(s): friends to lovers, fluff, slowish?? burn

[wc: 4.2k] [part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8] [part 9] [part 10] [part 12]

notes: so many things are happening at once, I kid you not.

“that reminds me.” you snapped your fingers in realisation. “are you free this weekend? I wanted us to go to the planetarium.”

clara who was sat opposite you on the couch at the axa training lounge hummed in thought, despite her already knowing the answer. “unfortunately not. I have family coming over.”

you dropped your phone into your lap with a groan at the familiar answer. this was the third time in a month that she's been unable to hang out. “dude are you serious? are you ditching me because you're like secretly a spy or something.”

your retort made her laugh, but she shook her head. you couldn't deny that it made you feel slightly upset that clara has been busy whenever you wanted to hangout, and there was a flicker in your mind wondering if she was being serious or just didn't want to be around you too much.

you continued to scroll aimlessly through your phone while clara watched with a somber look. “why don't you invite you know who over?”

without saying anything you simply looked at her, the look in your eyes being enough of a tell tale of how you felt about that. trent had been over at your apartment nearly everyday for the past week— not that you were complaining of course. over the course of the week, you'd gotten closer than you expected.

it's not like either of you had anything better to do, so your afternoons after work consisted of making supper, for two instead of just yourself, and lounging around just for the fun of it. however, this week he'd be busy with his physio and you didn't want to interrupt that part of his routine.

so you started to mentally plan out your weekend which you'd be spending alone. “how do you feel about mason mount by the way?”

the question was out of the blue, seeing as you just saw an edit of the footballer on your for you page and it got you thinking. you and maya had talked about it before, she liked to call it “the downfall of mason mount”. at some point, there was a bit of delusion in you that believed that chelsea would take him back.

something flickered in clara's eyes, and she visibly stiffened for a moment. what do you--” she tucked a loose strand of her behind her ear and cleared her throat. “--what do you mean? I feel normal about him, yeah like the normal amount.”

your face scrunched at her answer. “okay? but what do you think about him?”

once again, she began rambling and you wondered if she was even understanding the words coming from her mouth.

“what's that supposed to mean?” she laughed, but the awkwardness didn't go unnoticed. “It's not like I know the guy.”

that wasn't what you meant at all but clara misunderstood entirely. your gaze traveled to her hands that was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt but you pushed the thought to the side. with a sigh you nodded slowly. “uhm, okay then. world cup mason was an era though, ugh take me back.”

“yeah, the best,” clara trailed off and all you could was stare at her blankly, your lips slightly parted in confusion.

the day came to an end quickly, so when you finished up answering the last of your emails and going over the footage of the new ‘up the reds!’ episode, you called it a day and dashed straight to your car.

seeing as it was friday, you didn't need anything and took the liberty of hopping straight into the shower when you got home. of course, you were tackled by a very excited honey on your way in and gave her the necessary attention for a bit.

“hm, we can definitely take a run tomorrow,” you said and gave honey a quick kiss on her head.

you ran yourself a hot relaxing bath and decided to treat this as a self care weekend. it was a peaceful evening which was just what you needed to unwind from the last few weeks of work and confused feelings. when you got out of the bath, you stayed in your towel for a bit and began prepping your supper.

when you finished up with your skincare and got into your pajamas all you needed to do was finish up with your supper. you had the music blasting from your living room, your taylor swift playlist being as bipolar as ever.

spamjam._.

liked by fía.messi and 1 324 223 others

spamjam._. weekend reset🌙

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fía.messi smash. [liked by spamjam._.]

no.elle look at honey 😭 [liked by spamjam._.]

→ spamjam._. uhm hello??? girl where have you been??

→ no.elle studying 😭 but I'm back now!!

→ spamjam._. studying for 4 years straight 😃 you left me for germany!

→ no.elle. shut up you're making me sound like a horrible person!

→ spamjam._. I'm gonna need a very long explanation then, my dms are open bb xx

saffiekahn woah there, second pic 🤭 [liked by spamjam._.]

→ curtisjr ??? literally what

→ saffiekahn don't worry about it hun xx

you sung and danced along to your shuffled playlist in the kitchen while plating your food. and by the time you were finished, your phone started to ring. the music was quickly paused and you answered the video call with an excited smile.

“I saw your instagram post and I felt the need to rush over immediately,” sofía said from the other end if the line.

a laugh ticked at your throat as you set your phone up and sat at the bar stool while you ate. “how are you holding up?”

a heavy sigh left your friend's mouth and she went off camera for a moment to shut her room door. “I'm okay. but I'm not the one recovering from an acl injury anymore.”

a frown formed on your face at her answer and you realised who she was referring to. “I can't imagine how he must be feeling right now.” you picked at your food for a moment. “but it was nice of you to offer to help him you know?”

sofía smiled, and made herself comfortable under her blanket. “pablo's strong, he’s just a little lost right now.” there was a hint of hurt in her voice as she thought back to the day that gavi tore his acl, recalling just how her stomach dropped when she got the call from his mother.

“and he means a lot to me so I want to be with him right now. jamie you should've seen the look in his eyes when I got to the hospital.”

sure you weren't there but you saw the videos and could account for the pain in his eyes as he limped off the pitch. an acl injury was no joke either, so this was really a tell tale of how much sofía truly cared for him even if she was always complaining about him.

the two of you continued to chat for a bit, catching up since so much had happened since you last saw each other at the last clasíco. “and how are you and trent?”

sofía's question made you cringe. “don't go quiet on me now, I know that somethings up.”

yes something was up. but you weren't sure what it was. “uhm, i think it's going somewhere. it's still too early too tell though, but moves are being made.”

on the other end of the line sofía sighed in relief, causing you to roll your eyes. “and I thank clara for that.”

the following day, you started your morning off with a some fruit oatmeal and coffee before changing into a pair of leggings, a tank top and a zip up hoodie to throw over for your walk with honey.

the weather was a bit chilly despite the sun beating down on you. you and honey took a trip to the park and played around for a while, got some coffee and then went back home. after your shower, you fed honey and got yourself something to eat and sat down to do some work.

you checked the team's schedule for the rest of the month and made notes for filming days and photoshoots, as well as the football match that you and trent had agreed upon a while ago. it was going to be a charity match, which you'd be organising and setting up.

then there was the efl cup final at the end of february as well. the next few months were going to be hell and you could feel it creeping up already. you packed up your work things at about 12:45 and decided to watch some t.v for a bit.

with honey in your lap and the t.v playing in the background you scrolled through your socials when something popped up on your feed. your jaw dropped at clara's post.

clarashaw

liked by maya.carter and 98 234 others

clarashaw weekend with my babies 💌

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you didn't know whether to call her or wait it out. she lied to you about having family over, but you weren't even mad. heck she had a boyfriend!

honey squirmed in your lap and you soothed her back to sleep. “your aunt is a liar. but we'll call her tomorrow so she can enjoy her little date weekend.”

“guess who's back?” you joked and waved at your viewers through the camera.

it had been so long since you last streamed, and you missed it. even if you were just here to chat for a few hours, you felt the need to catch up with your fan base who were more than delighted to have you back.

“how is everyone doing? it’s been so long since we've done this.” your eyes ran along the comments on your monitor, when one caught your eye. you hurriedly hopped off your chair and left the room, coming back with honey in your arms.

the live chat started flooding with comment on how cute she was. the puppy in your arms wagged her rail in excitement as she saw herself on the monitor. “this is an official introduction. trent was the first of everyone to see her, and I took her to work the other day where she was treated like a celebrity by the way.”

you spoke to your viewers about how work had been so far, and how you had the opportunity to meet so many people. everyone already knew about sofía, but there was one person that was more recent.

“okay, so we can play a little game,” you said with a cheeky smile. “I'll give you guys a hint, she's the wag of someone who's club we played recently.”

immediately your chat was flooding with names of every wag to date, which had you rolling your head back in laughter. after a while you gave them one last hint— she was someone that you mentioned on stream a very long time ago, and that you described her as “a gift from the heavens”.

from that, the correct answer came in. “yes!! sophia weber!!”

you put your hand to your heart at the remembrance of your meeting at the emirates stadium the week before. you were coming down from the press table when you bumped into her. she flashed you the most breathtaking smile and you felt your knees go weak, fumbling over your words as you tried to apologise.

“and the best part is that she knew who I was!” you gawked. “like who even am I? I'm no one and she knew my name! and said that she'd like me to sit with her the next time we play arsenal.”

the topic then changed to the lastest television drama as you shared recommendations for shows and movies.

“firstly I think they did a great jo–” you were interrupted by your phone buzzing on your table. with a smile you answered seeing that it was jobe, probably calling to check up with you.

“hi, my angel what's up? you're on speaker by the way,” you answered and he went silent for a moment, not having registered that you were streaming.

when he got the message he greeted the stream as well, followed by a bashful laugh. “I called to check up on you. you know, to see if you're alive and all.”

the sound of jobe's voice made you smile. “oh, so you didn't call because you missed me?”

a scoff echoed through the other end of the line. “me? miss you? never in a million years.”

you hummed and played along with his antics, clearly he didn't want to be embarrassed. suddenly you recalled the fiasco from earlier on in the week when trent came over. “also can you please explain how you blocked me from our netflix account to everyone? I'd really appreciate a full explanation.”

jobe burst into a fit of laughter at that, and you sat patiently and waited for an explanation. you, jobe and jude shared a netflix account and have for years, and when you tried to log in the other evening after trent left, the password was wrong.

“it wasn't me though! jude changed the password, I didn't even know I swear,” he defended himself by shamelessly throwing his older brother under the bus.

you shook your head and looked at your camera. “I'm the one paying for the account by the way.” you paused at the sound of his resounding laughter through the speaker. “not the two professional footballers.”

“I'm like 99% sure that you make more money than I do.”

the call didn't last long after that, but you appreciated the call. you hung up after wishing him luck for his match the following day, waiting until he said that he loved you to fully end the call.

the weekend was finally coming to an end. and that meant one thing— clara was about to get beat up (obviously that was an exaggeration). it was after lunch that you called her, but you stayed silent on the line for a good few minutes to emphasise your feeling of betrayal.

you were in the kitchen when the sound of the front door opening rung through your apartment, as well as honey’s excited barking. that was a clear indication that trent was here so you weren't worried.

clara was rambling on about explaining herself when you felt the presence of someone behind you, his hands resting on your sides to tickle you but you fought him off with a stern look.

“I'm not mad that you have a boyfriend, I'm just confused that you lied to me,” you said honestly which caught trent's interest.

he watched with curious eyes as you took a seat on the island and stood opposite you, waiting for an explanation. to this you raised your hand, telling him to hold while you got the full story.

trent was impatient as he listened to you talk to clara, having no clue what was being said from her side. all he got was that she had a boyfriend and that you might know him.

you sighed at clara's words. “yeah but what was the big de– you're what???!”

both honey and trent jolted at the sound of your scream. the look of utter shock in your eyes told trent that this was groundbreaking information and he needed to know. he'd been silent for long enough, his curiosity was eating him up.

this was when you got off the counter and began pacing the kitchen, with him following after you like a lost puppy. he tried to get you attention but you waved him off every single time.

you stood with your hands in your hips. “how long have you known? were you surprised? you'be been engaged for how long?? clara you've been screwing the enemy for 4 years!?”

trent's mouth fell agape, and he couldn't help himself. “screwing the enemy??”

your hand flew to cover trent's mouth, because clara didn't know that he was there until he decided to speak up. you tried to divert the conversation again and shot the footballer a look but all he could do was focus on the lack of space between the two of you.

your body was pressed up against his, so he took the liberty of snaking his arms around your waist and to his surprise you didn't mind. you were barely focused on him at all, which wasn't ideal but he loved the proximity.

then you heard a voice in the background of clara's and you couldn't help yourself. “that's him isn't it? don't lie to me clara, put me on speaker right now.”

after a bit of reluctance she obliged and you did the same, earning a smile of victory from trent who was listening intently until the sound of the familiar male voice.

“hi mason, it's jamie,” you greeted in your nicest voice possible, fighting back the laugh in your throat because of trent's look of disbelief and confusion.

“jude's friend jamie?” he asked clara and she nodded, causing him to smile. “yeah, I remember we met a while ago during the world cup. how are you?”

you pursed your lips at his question. you couldn't be mad at him like this, he was being too nice. “I'm doing great. I should be asking you since you're going to be a father.”

“clara’s pregnant?!”

you slapped trent on the chest but he couldn't stay quiet any longer. your friend om the other hand was more than upset.

“you said that trent wasn't there,” she argued but you were just as fed up and argued back with a scoff.

“yeah and you told me that you had family coming over.”

it was mason's turn to speak during the unfortunate encounter. he was so oblivious to what was going on, and you could hear the excitement in his voice when he realised that trent was there, seeing as they were friends and called out to him just to check.

you gave trent a look, gesturing for him to answer. he cleared his throat and said hi. “hi mate, it's been a while. how are you holding up?”

the conversation didn't last too long and after a mutual agreement clara ended the call. you looked at your screen with a groan, this was not what you had expected at all. absentmindedly, you rested your head on trent's chest, trying to process what had just happened.

it came as such a shock to you, and by trent’s confused rambling he was having a hard time comprehending it too.

“so clara is getting married and she's pregnant,” he repeated to make sense of all the information. “and it's mason mount, who's also the father and they've been together for 4 years and nobody knew at all.”

the only question you had at the moment was why everyone was either getting married or pregnant. what happened to taking it slow? them again you had no right to speak seeing as you weren't even sure if you were ever going to make it that far.

“what are you doing here by the way?” you llifted your head to look up at trent, who merely shrugged. it only dawned on you then that his hands were resting on your waist which caused you tense up.

the pit in your stomach grew and you tried your best to seem as casual as possible. he must've noticed because he was eager to break the silent tension and told you about his physio assessment as he limped over to the couch. the lack of warmth on your wasit was harsh, almost foreign even though it wasn't something that's happened between the two of you before this.

the past two weeks had been a blur regarding your relationship. it was more than obvious by now that there was something going on, but neither of you addressed the topic. a few days ago you called maya to ask her for advice and she said that he was probably waiting for the right time.

which made sense. things always seemed to get messy whenever the two of you got closer, for example, skylar showing up, the recent speculation of him having a girlfriend (who wasn't you), and now his injury. only this time, you weren't planning on backing away and were prepared to stay until it was clear that you had no chance with him.

the rest of the month flew by without any further issues. the team was performing well, trent's recovery was going great and you officially met mason and absolutely melted at him and clara's relationship.

you joined them at clara's house not too long after the call you had with her, and needless to say, you were extremely happy for her. there wasn't a couple that you've met that smiled at each other more than they did. you could practically feel the love and adoration floating through the air when you were around them.

then something else shifted.

you knew something was up when a meeting was called after work hours that friday. but you couldn't think of any issue so you went in with little care, ans sat down at the table beside clara as per usual. it was when you scanned the room that you realised it was just the media team in the room and not the coaching staff as well.

just as you were about to bring it up with clara, jurgen walked into the room with a lopsided smile. he shut the door behind him carefully and took his spot in front, preferring to stand instead of taking a seat.

“good afternoon everyone, I'm sorry for keeping you all after hours but I just finished talking to the boys,” he apologised which had you questioning.

he continued on but it took him a while to get to the point, but eventually he made eye contact with you and smiled but it was somber. the usual excitement wasny present in his eyes, so you sat up in your chair and waited.

“I will be retiring as the team's manager at the end of the season.”

you wanted to throw up, hoping that this was just some sick joke for april fools but the issue was that it wasn't april. the room broke out into mummers and questions for jurgen who looked as if he wasn't taking the news well himself.

he tried to keep it as short as possible, and proposed the idea of content being pushed out as well as a formal announcement video by the end of the month– which was in five days.

the meeting ended after 20 minutes of discussion and more apologies for the late and abrupt news. of course everyone was devastated, and you were literally fighting back tears. then it hit you that the team just got told as well, and all that sadness tripled and hit you like a truck.

there was still three months left of the season, and this could either motivate the boys or ruin everything.

to your surprise jurgen asked you to stay behind for a moment. when the media team finally left, it was just you and your broken heart.

“you know I didn't even feel this broken when I broke up with my ex boyfriend,” you said and shut your eyes to force back the tears daring to escape.

a hearty chuckle echoed through the room and he came to sit next to you. it was silent for a moment again, to give you some time to process the news. “do you know why I make sure that you're so involved with the team?”

you looked at jurgen with furrowed brows at the question, not quite catching on. you agreed that there was a drastic difference between other clubs and their media managers, as opposed to you who showed up to all the matches, travelled with them, stayed during training and got the opportunity to form an actual bond with them.

“because I knew that when I leave, I'll need someone to be a sort of pillar for them.” he hummed and tried to find the correct way to put what he was saying into words. “a new coaching staff will be hired, people who the boys have been with for most of their careers will be gone but I want them to have a familiar face.”

you nodded in understanding. it was difficult for people to leave most of what they know behind and start fresh and grow comfortable with their surroundings so you could account for his reasoning. that didn't mean that any of this would be easier for them though.

“I just need them to feel at home, and you've been doing that exceptionally well from the moment you started working here,” jurgen said and laughed, recalling the early morning that you joined them at the training center.

there was a curious but nervous look in your eyes that day, and just by looking at you then he knew that you'd be a vital part of the team for as long as they stood. and now more than ever, was your role as detrimental as ever and you were determined to make jurgen's departure one that he'll remember.

that evening when you got back to your apartment, you weren't surprised to see your phone blow up with messages from the group chat.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Silver Lining 3

Warnings: non/dubcon, speech impediment, bullying and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Characters: silverfox!Bucky Barnes

Summary: You have an unpleasant encounter with an older man.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

"So your sister will be coming by next week with the little ones," your mother declares as you stand at the sink, scrubbing away the remnants of roast beef and potato. "You'll get to play auntie for the day."

"Mhmm," you nod, "what about Justin?"

"Oh, your brother's down visiting with his fiance's family. He said he'd try to make if for Christmas Eve but you know how her family is."

You sniff and pretend to know. You really don't. It's all hearsay to you. You don't hear much from either siblings; they have lives, you just happen to be related.

"S-sounds great," you utter as you put another plate in the rack.

"Oh, honey, you should just use the dishwasher," she says.

"It's f-f-fine, this works," you insist.

"Well, what about you? What are you up to?" She leans on the counter.

"I..." you don't know what to say. You need a lie, anything to appease her. Your brother's engaged, your sister has the white picket fence and you have nothing, "oh, I h-have a job interview."

"You do?" She sounds thoroughly disbelieving.

"Uh, yeah, w-well," you stammer through, trying not to give away your deceit, "since n-no one wants to h-hire me in my f-field, I f-found something new."

"That's exciting," she chimes, "what is it?"

"Uh, I w-want to see i-if it turns out b-before I say," you give a tight-lipped smile, "don't want to d-disappoint you again."

"Sweetie, you're not a disappointment," she hums, "I'm always happy to see you trying."

You look down at the sink and shrug. Behind that comment is the inference that you weren't trying before. That you haven't been. The long nights with vivid nightmares don't exactly motivate you and you've been all but blacklisted as an executive assistant. Even admin roles aren't responding. Even if you do get a bite, the job market is drawn out and tedious.

"Thanks, mom."

"Just... try not to mope around the kids," she chides, "it's Christmas."

You flutter your lashes, "sure, mom."

That's what you are to everyone; weak, pathetic, useless. No, don't do that. You'll make another appointment with Lisa, she always knows what to do.

☕️

Well, this is it. A last resort. One of those freelancing websites that pays pennies. It's better than nothing and will keep you from having too big a gap on your resume. You could easily do the writing gigs, easy money for transcription. You apply to a few of those and scroll on.

You sit up as you see a particular posting that interest you. Oddly enough, the pay isn't half bad. It's also labeled as 'may lead to ongoing work'. Well, well, well, now that's something.

You click into the posting for 'Podcast Script Writer' and review the details. A sample is required for application and lucky enough, you have lots of those hanging around. If it wasn't for your stammer, you'd have an episode done by now. You deleted enough recordings to the point of giving up. Well, this is a solution. You can get your work out there without having to embarrass yourself.

You go through the application, putting in your info and editing a draft before attaching it to the application. You just hope it's thorough enough. You never really let anyone else see and hitting submit makes your stomach flip. With the final click, you close your laptop and quickly get up. Alright, you're not going to dwell on it. If you hear anything, you'll worry then.

You try to read but can't focus. It just makes you think of the posting and your application. Oh jeez, imagine you're rejected but worse, they tell you you've done everything wrong.

Appointment! You can't forget that. You login to the app and put in a request for a Zoom appointment that week. Alright, you're getting things done, you can't say you've done nothing.

You put a video on your phone and lean it on the pop out grip, propping it up on your mattress to watch the compilation of sitcom moments cut together on Youtube. Your mind wanders and your eyes begin to sag as the day shrouds you in fatigue. You slip into a shallow doze as the glare of the screen flickers over you.

The distant clack of keyboards and clicking of mouses needles behind your ears. It's as if you're trapped in a bubble of silence, all colours and noised dampened by the unseen wall. You shudder as you hear his voice, the only thing that's clear. Your name crawls up behind the shell of your ear with his breath as his hands settle on your hips. Your body aches as every muscles tightens and your bones lock in place. Please, no, not again...

"Sir..." you try to speak but nothing comes out. He's always tugging your skirt up, his hand is around your throat. You close your eyes as tears stain your cheeks.

You wake with a start, your phone black as the battery's drained from neglect. You sit up and pant, looking around your dark bedroom, the moonlight limning shadows sinisterly. You gulp and fall back, watching the ceiling as the tears rise in reality and sting your eyes.

If you'd just said no. A simple word. Even you can manage that.

You lay for a while until your restlessness boils over. You get up and plug in your phone. The screen lights up as you rub your eye socket and yawn. There's an email notification in the taskbar. Probably more ads for things you can't afford.

You pull down the menu but find ‘Application Update’ emblazoned across the notification. Oh wow, that was fast. You keep yourself from tapping on the email.

You don't know if you can handle another rejection. You'd rather languish in the uncertainty. You've been doing so for so long, it almost feels safe.

[bored-trans-orchidsexual]

This is not a post *About* Kipperlilly, this is about the discussion.

As mentioned before, I'm done talking about her, even with more episodes coming, because of how the discussion around her is evolving. Now, I'm just scrolling Tumblr tonight because I can't sleep and...

Then I see a post about a cute animal, followed by

I need to ask is this just like, normal for Tumblr (I'm new here) or is Kipperlilly Copperkettle just *that* polarizing she has people on both sides so passionate? Why are there *sides* on this character she's almost all references and jokes there's so little character there

She's a trope, two DnD Jokes, and a tone all wrapped up into one, inspired by an old PC Brennan played like once I think, and she has people so fucking *heated* I'm tempted to just block her name on Tumblr.

And this isn't a call-out post to either of these people, no hate intended, this is the larger trend and the fact I so easily saw them back to back. Like yeah @r0sebutch 's post is one I don't personally agree with as much, I find it hard to project this girl who was in counciling but never listened as someone who knew her anger wasn't good for her, but sure it *might* have happened. But as much as I agree with @chungled , projecting that everyone who likes Kipperlilly is doing so because it's fun to root for a vile person, like come on, Kipperlilly stans mostly think she isn't nasty and are sympathetic to her, there's no need to take *your opinion* of a character, and make it an attack on people who disagree.

What is it about Kipperlilly we're finding so personal, so polarizing, and so significant that we're turning to attack? From random and opinions to argument? Not here for drama, this is probably stupid because drama will likely happen, I'm just hoping to say clearly this doesn't need to be an *argument* or *fight*, and curious if anyone cares to share if this is normal or why this might be the case

[hetalian-veteran]

Hetalia Feels Like Home

I initially sat down to write something that would be a quick and easy read. Something you could read in a minute or two before you continue scrolling. But the more I thought about what I wanted to say, and everything that ties into it, the more I realized that this was going to be a much longer post.

I want to talk about, what else, Hetalia. But more importantly, I wanted to talk about how this show, and by extension, it's fandom, has not only left a massive impact on my life, but me as a person. I have a lot to say here, so strap in.

I'm going to start by explaining where I was in my life when I first watched the series. Then I will move on to explaining what I liked about it and how it entertained me. I'll also go into the different interests and fascinations that branched off of it. After that I'll discuss my seven-and-a-half-year hiatus from the fandom and what it's been like coming back.

Like many fans, I was a tween when I got into Hetalia. Specifically, twelve years old, and just barely into middle school. And for a number of reasons, this was the first time in my life that I began to seriously struggle with my mental health. While I don't feel comfortable divulging too many details, I will say that my homelife growing up was fairly chaotic. I understood that plenty of other kids out there had it way worse than me, but I can't say I was doing too well either. (Sidenote: me and my family are doing great now, in case you were wondering).

At the beginning of sixth grade, I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD all in one fell swoop. This, on top of things at home, was already a lot for twelve-year-old me to handle. And having to deal with the stressful changes that came with a new school and puberty was the watery icing on the crummy cake.

As mentioned in a previous post, it was a new friend I made that introduced me to Hetalia. You can read about it here, but in short, I was sent into the show completely blind and found myself both lost and confused. I initially decided the show wasn't for me, but after some convincing from my friend, I gave it another shot. I returned home to watch the show again and tried to have an open mind.

And it was then that it clicked for me. This show was about events in world history and geopolitics. And the countries of the world were all being portrayed as their own personified characters. Greatly stereotyped characters, to be sure. But it was still an interesting concept. One that was new to me. Not to mention, after I got over the initial whiplash and understood the abnormal flow of the almost non-existent narrative, I discovered something. Not only was this bizarre show a comedy, but it was freaking hilarious! I remember sitting at the computer laughing my head off with every episode. When I finally understood how the show worked, it became a fun, wild ride.

And more importantly, it made me happy. During a very dark time in my life, right at the beginning of adolescence, I found a show that managed to make me smile. All during a time where I felt like I forgot how to.

And then I discovered the fandom.

Now, I was not new to fandoms. As someone who grew up deeply invested in the Warriors series in elementary school, and who happened to have access to the internet, I was exposed to fandoms at about the age of ten. Heck, probably even earlier, seeing as I am from a family full of nerds. But the internet definitely gave me a much more immersive way to interact with fandom.

I don't know exactly how I found the Hetalia fandom specifically, just that I loved finding and reading fanfiction, as well as looking at cool fanart and headcanons to add to my Hetalia board on Pinterest. But goodness, if the show hadn't gotten me totally hooked on Hetalia content already, the fandom certainly did.

Now, I made it a point to not be social online growing up. Mainly because I managed to be socially awkward not only in real life, but on the freaking internet of all things. Not to mention my elementary school teachers showed us videos about the dangers of talking to strangers online as a kid, and that scared me straight. As a result, I never talked to anyone online about Hetalia. I was part of a Facebook group, but that was it. Instead, I was just lurking around and taking in all kinds of fan content. And it was the fan content that really dug its claws into my brain, as this is how I learned about all of the fanon.

I saw all the different ways people interpreted the characters, and all the different ways the characters could be depicted regarding different ideas and concepts. Once I realized how versatile the characters could be in fan content, my own creative brain went into overdrive. While I never posted anything, I found myself creating my own fanart and fanfics. And without realizing it, started to construct my own versions of these characters in my head. Characters that began to feel more personal to me individually. As if I knew them.

But Hetalia didn't just get the creative juices flowing. As is the case with many fans, I became deeply invested in world history as well. I wanted to know everything there was to know. I began watching WWI and WWII documentaries frequently. I found myself researching the formation of Europe after school for fun. I endlessly researched the history between Austria, Hungary, and Prussia. I became deeply invested in learning all I could about the Kingdom of Prussia and the Teutonic Knights. It got to the point where my mom got me a book on the entire history of Prussia in seventh grade, and I was over the freaking moon about it!

Hetalia also managed to get me interested in my ethnic background and where my ancestors are from. I began to research my ancestry and was ecstatic when I learned that I potentially had family that hailed from the Kingdom of Prussia. I also got super invested in learning about all the cultures that made up my background, and since then I've been learning all I can in an effort to connect with them. Especially since as an American, that's a part of me I'd often felt disconnected from. Hetalia truly inspired me to dig into my family's history!

Not to mention that the character songs for Hetalia absolutely slapped. A lot of them are certified bangers, and you cannot convince me otherwise. Songs like 'Aiyah 4000 Years', 'Mein Gott', 'Pub and Go', and many others would play in my brain on repeat.

Ah yes. Hetalia truly had me in its grasp. I was deeply obsessed and invested in Hetalia and so much of the content within the fandom.

I mentioned earlier that there was a lot going on growing up, and that I struggled with some pretty severe mental health issues for a tween. The reason I felt the need to bring that up was because I genuinely feel as though this played directly into why I got so into Hetalia. In a world where it felt like everything was falling apart around me, Hetalia gave me a reason to laugh and smile. It gave me new creative outlets to further explore. It helped create new interests, hobbies, and passions. It gave me characters I came to deeply love and find enjoyment and even comfort in.

But most of all, Hetalia became a safe space for me. An escape when things got too difficult or scary to deal with in the moment. A space where I felt comfortable. Where I could be myself.

And then, after four years of being deep into Hetalia and its fandom... I lost interest.

Now, this might sound a little odd, considering how much I emphasized the importance of Hetalia in my life up until this point. But for some reason when I was going on sixteen years old, I just fizzled out. I can't explain it, but over time, I slowly began to care less and less about Hetalia. Not because I hated it, but because I just... Sorta dropped off. I remember having this feeling of, "I've already seen everything the fandom has to offer," so I suppose that could have been the reason. Either way, I started to drift away from the series and fandom that had previously brought me so much joy.

And it was weird. For a solid week there, I was both parts accepting of my losing interest and panicking over it. Again, this only lasted for a week before I fully took off from the fandom and series. But losing my interest in Hetalia felt like losing a dear friend. Which, at the time, was also happening with the friend who got me into Hetalia in the first place. Life took us in different directions, and we drifted apart. And for some reason, my love for Hetalia went with him.

And then I was gone from the fandom for about seven-and-a-half years. Everyone would say that Hetalia was the fandom you couldn't escape from, but I really didn't think that was true for the longest time. I mean, yeah, I would find myself humming 'Pub and Go' once in a while, but other than that? I didn't think about Hetalia at all. I never thought about the characters, I didn't think about the series every time I looked at a world map, and I certainly wasn't shipping countries together. But even so, the effects of my time in the fandom were still there. And over time, I began to dislike it.

Not the effects, but how deep into Hetalia I was back in the day. Like many others, I cringed looking back at my middle school self. Still do, honestly. But in high school the annoyance for my middle school self was unreal. I was irritated by what a freaking weird kid she was. And after I found out about some of the controversies that somehow went completely over my head? I became deeply ashamed of having ever liked Hetalia and being in the fandom. I didn't think about it too much at the time, but there was definitely this feeling of, "I cannot let anyone know I was into Hetalia." A phase common among old Hetalia fans.

And yet, somehow, against all odds, after years of being away from the fandom and Hetalia itself, even after a new season came out... I came back just earlier this year. Several months ago as of writing this if we want to be more precise.

But what was it? What brought me back? Well, I'd say it's a combination of two things.

First off, the theory of Germany being HRE came into my mind. I don't know why this happened, or how this came up. But either way, my brain was now fixating over that theory, as well as the interesting writing ideas that can branch off of it.

Second off, and I think this may be the most important one, is that I had recently gotten into an accident at work that temporarily took away my ability to write and draw for several months. The two things I am most passionate about, and were my number one stress relievers, were now inaccessible to me. And as medical treatments did nothing to help, and my condition got progressively worse, my mental health took a steep decline as well. I began to fret over the idea of not being able to write or draw ever again. I would lay in bed sobbing over the idea. (My hand is better now by the way).

And it was during this difficult time that Hetalia somehow came back and found me again. After Hetalia came back to my mind, I decided to look it up on TikTok just because. And I was floored when I saw how many Hetalians were on there! I even checked back in with the Tumblr side of the fandom and saw that, sure enough, you were here as well! I had seriously believed that the fandom was dead and gone, but it was still alive and kicking to some extent.

And so, I decided, "Why not?" And rewatched the entire series. And next thing I knew, I found myself diving into the fandom once more. I created this blog to try and connect with other fans, and I'm so glad I did. This blog has not only been doing wonders for my mental health, but it's been so fun and wholesome to see the fandom as it is today.

I find it interesting that I found or came back to Hetalia during difficult times in my life. Maybe there's a reason for it, or maybe it's just coincidence. Who can say? But what I can say is this.

Hetalia, and more importantly, its fandom, have been a massive comfort to me in my life. It has affected so many of the things I now love and find enjoyment in. It's impacted my absurd sense of humor. It's impacted the person I am now because I engaged with it on such an intense, visceral level. I find so many of the characters to be comfort characters for me now. No matter what, I'll always have them.

Hetalia truly feels like home to me. And I think that's largely why I ended up coming back after all these years. Now, however long I'll stay this time around is anyone's guess. But even if I do take off again, I know I'll be back. At some point or another, I'll be back.

Because Hetalia makes me happy. Because it gave me reasons to continue laughing and realize that life doesn't end just because something bad happens, or because life is painful. Because it gives me endless creative material to use and draw from whenever I want. Because connecting with Hetalia and its fandom feels like reconnecting with an old friend.

Because Hetalia feels like home.

[violett-orwhatever]

I'm going insane. (LMK season 5 spoilers at the end)

Trying to put together a timeline for JTTW in LMK is fucking hard.

Like it starts with Sanzang getting the pilgrims together, that's the same as in the book. But after that it gets wacky.

LBD should be the first demon the group encounters so I'm gonna say that is what happens in LMK too. After that nothing major happens that involves LMK.

Not long after that they should encounter Kui Mulang (in JTTW without Wukong because he got banished for killing LBD but that didn't happen in LMK so...i guess he's still here. Probably. Maybe. Or he got banished for some other shit, but for the sake of my sanity we're gonna pretend like he's at Flower Fruit Mountain like he should be**) who captures Sanzang, prompting Bajie to bring Wukong back.

In season 4 we see Kui Mulang together with a captured Ao Lie. So maybe in LMK it was Ao Lie who got captured...which in my opinion would probably be a better reason for Wukong to come back, because LMK seems to imply that the two of them were friends and Wukong probably didn't really care for Sanzang at that moment. (Granted this was in the Memory Scroll so who know if that even actually happened)

But then again these two kidnappings could also have happened seperatly because in JTTW Kui Mulang is married to the maiden he lost in LMK...but we'll ignore that.

(** also i just noticed, if Wukong got banished in LMK too and went back to Flower Fruit Mountain...that would mean he still found it burnt down and was livid but I can't help but wonder if he questioned where Macaque was? Because LMK makes it seem like Macaque joined the Brotherhood at Camel Ridge after their argument under the Mountain so...you think Wukong thought about that? Because now I'm thinking about it)

Then we come to Red Son's arc...things start getting tricky here. In JTTW Red Boy uses the Samadhi Fire to hurt Wukong prompting him to get help from Guanyin.

Guanyin then brings an ocean's worth of water with her, which does happen in LMK.

Tang recalls this event during the episode "Dumpling Destruction" if i remembrer correctly. He also mentions that he doesn't remember which demon Wukong fought during that time, meaning in LMK's version it most likely wasn't because of Red Son.

(Also this could just be because Tang is telling the story, but in the first image you can see Wukong in his usual attire, not the one he wears during the journey. He also doesn't have the circlet on, which, even if this is Tang's interpretation, Wukong should still have that but we'll come back to that later.)

So let's say this event occured because of a different demon, that than begs the question: when was the sealing of the Samadhi Fire?

If it was, let's say, shortly after the Guanyin thing that would mean Wukong meets DBK (and consequently PIF) before he and the pilgrims reach the Burning Mountain which technically should put him in the Bull Family's good graces, I'd argue. But in JTTW neither PIF nor DBK trust him during that time so i don't know if that would make sense.

But the whole Burning Mountain arc itself sort of wouldn't make sense in LMK because PIF and DBK's relationship is actually functional here so...

And Wukong is - yet again - not wearing the circlet during the sealing of the fire.

"Amnesia Rules" also doesn't make this any easier because during his amnesiac state Wukong doesn't question why there's no torture crown on his head...but he also confuses a stick with his staff so he was probably just out of it in general.

Then there's the matter of Macaque's death and the impriosonment of the Brotherhood.

I'm gonna say that after Macaque split from the Brotherhood he died around the same time as in JTTW (so after the Kingdom of Women arc).

After that should be the Burning Mountains thing but...again wouldn't make a lot of sense if that was after the Samadhi Fire thing so...eh.

Some time after Macaque died the Brotherhood should have gotten sealed away.

Which - and this might be a long shot - but maybe that's why Wukong looks so...stoic when he had to fight the Brotherhood. Because his best friend just died and now he has to deal with his other former friends who are working on taking him out...

(I know this isn't technically a flashback but it is how Azure remembers Wukong being like during their fight. Stoic, kinda emotionless in general...just not exactly giving off cheeky-mischievious-Monkey-King Vibes like in...almost every other fight except LBD (looks a lot like posessed Wukong tho))

Just an emotional rollercoaster all around, I suppose.

But then again, when fighting the Brotherhood he wears the circlet, so that obviously happened during the journey.

Which can't be said about the other stuff because he isn't wearing the circlet this is driving me nuts!

But the Samadhi Fire can't have happened after the journey because during "Amnesia Rules" Wukong already knows about the four rings while thinking they're still going to the western heaven so obviously that must have happened during the journey.

BUT THEN WHY ISN'T HE WEARING THE CIRCLET THEN BUT HE'S WEARING IT DURING AN EVENT THAT HAPPENS YEARS LATER??

Don't even get me started on the Xiangliu thing. In season 5 he says that him and Wukong are old enemies and according to JTTW that's true because Wukong fights the Nine Headed Beast because Xiangliu and his father in law are conspiring or something so yeah. Wukong should know the guy.

That...doesn't explain why Xiangliu called him an old friend as well or why Wukong doesn't remember him. But honestly not important right now because all that does is fuck up the timeline even more.

That should have happened after the Brotherhood got sealed away. I'd theorize, because I have some far fetched theories, but this is exhausting to think about.

I just want answers...please

[lizaluvsthis]

SPOILER FOR THE NEW EPISODE! CHRISTMAS WARS! SCROLL OUT IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED IT YET!!!!

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"Hey Liz how'd that new christmas episo-"

*ME BREATHING HEAVILY*

Consider on Smg3 having a good point for hosting his own party (why cant he just throw a party with the dead memes? Like invite them in his cafe right aw-) thats exactly why. Dead memes cant re-enter the living realm. (Also the reason what happened during the 10th year anniversary episode because we DONT want that mess again?

So instead of dead memes he literally chose to host it WITH his new friends this time. Smg4's crew.

"But why tho? Didn't he hated them?" YES. but at the same time. Please dont forget his mere messages during IGBP on the line he says "But I've met your friends man..." again. Ask me WHY theres another reason he moved in next to four's castle?

(He doesn't want to feel alone again not only four was the reason but his friends too)

Okay but when after the castle and three's coffee shop got burned down by santa clause, where do you see that bright explanation from the crew.

AND LITERALLY. SMG3 IS ON TSUNDERE MODE ACTIVATION WHERE HE- BLUSHED- I mean its okay- its totally fine its perfectly normal.

Not for three. He never celebrated christmas in the early 2020 not even after the arc but four was kind enough to invite three in the recent years to make him have to experience whats special about it.

But three was too embarrassed from four's crew because they've shown alot of kindness towards him that he'd never experienced at all and this was his first time hearing it all out on them.

After he says "f-friends?!" He continues on playing "I'd rather die than have you guys as friends"

Which also meant he did. Almost. Die. Saving four.

Did you notice smg4 in this scene? Did you see the way he looked at three? Did you SEE how he giggled and laughed just by seeing his expression?

Heart tingles you know? And this IS also the first time he's done that.

Wait for it...

WAIT FOR IT...

WOW SMG4 THAT BACK HOLD AT THREE WAS SUPER SMOOTH I'M OBVIOUSLY BLIND TO MYSELF THAT I CANT "SEE" WITH MY OWN EYES.

And NOT ONLY THAT- EVERYONE'S REACTION WERE THE SAME PLACE EXCEPT WHO? MARIO.

WHO'S MOUTH IS OPEN AND MAKING A HAPPY EXPRESSION (that also means... HE HAD JUST WITNESSED FOUR BEING A F-KING FRUIT AGAIN-) (MARIO BEING A REAL SMG34 SHIPPER IS SO REAL)

Not only was it delicious- Three too was smiling at four, supporting his idea and not even LEAVING by his side. (Like have you noticed right after both of their places got destroyed- these two completely HAVE NEVER SEPARATED AND STUCK CLOSE TOGETHER?)

This also provens he's on the right role after all. His character development did improve his changing around his friends even after 2020th - 2022nd

Who knows that maybe four's crew knew that three wasn't so bad after all? That he was just in need of friends because he'd been so alone from time to time?

Still. He smiles. Not just for the holiday spirit, but to his new friends, and four to have on. (Mention of mario makes turkey for upcoming xmas episode four convinced EVERYONE from the crew including three, BUT HE NEVER LEFT BY HIS SIDE. Literally the moon is stuck with the sun)

Four and three? They both contacted atleast EVERYONE from town they know. (Even three never considered belle, whimpu, or the so called fake-other-versions of theirs who became his crew during 2020th wotfi he still has a heart to consider them all as being in part of his life.)

We never get a mistletoe scene sadly but we had a precious smg34 collection here...

Even after this hand taking, Three and Four looked at eachother together before they start to sway and celebrate the christmas holiday.

"Liz it's just two of them looking whats so important from that?"

You dont see these fruits being like that often, so its a very rare one in the new episodes. (Considered again. Three has gone soft. TOO soft for being with four's crew and being with... smg4...)

He wasnt even angry or done with this bs he still had that christmas spirit and all that matters is celebrating it with four and his other new friends.

OKAY THERE IM DONE I'M EVEN GONNA BE MORE ILL-

*insert audio losing pulse*

[glisten-inthedark]

This is a Rant, continue at your own risk

Look, I'm not even going to lie I've read a bunch of things from a Mil*even blog that has both like seriously peeved, so if you don't want to be hit with a bunch of thoughts just scroll by and be on your marry way because now I'm going to speak my mind. Excuse moi.

Will Byers is one of the most annoying, unimportant characters of the show.

Ok, ok. Cool, cool, cool. I'm guessing I watched another first episode then. I guess the pilot of the show was actually called "The Boy on The Woods" or "The Vanishing" or whatever other thing that wasn't actually "The Vanishing of Will Byers". Ok, my bad. Mistakes can happen.

But if that's the case then I'm pretty sure I watched the whole wrong season, the one in which, you know, they spent 8 episodes aka one week focusing on trying to find this very unimportant child. And I'm guessing it was the magical wind that opened the shed door too, got it.

And if asked, I also want to state for the record that you know, Harry Potter is also unimportant and not the boy who lived, and that Luke Skywalker is equally unimportant and not the one that the prophecy spoke off.

The whole story starts with the disappearance of Will Byers, and it progresses as he is possessed by the Mind Flayer and then starts to feel it and Vecna by the end of season 4.

And him being able to feel the Mind Flayer and Vecna. Does that sound oddly familiar? Yeah, if you're thinking Harry + Voldemort I'm sure you can see where I'm going with it. But in this case, Vecna, unlike Voldemort, (and oh, both lack noses and have names that start with V's) doesn't appear to want to kill Will (that we know for now) so maybe there's a fucking reason?

Now that we got the first part covered, let's talk about how he's supposedly annoying.

Will Byers is the most caring, selfless character of the show. He had his hopes, his dreams, torn apart when he got taken.

When he came back, all he wanted was to believe that he could have a part of his childhood back. That's it.

All Will has ever wanted was for Mike to be in his life.

All he ever wanted was to be Mike's best friend. Will doesn't expect Mike to love him back, he stopped believing that would happen long time ago.

To say he is annoying when he has constantly forgiven Mike over and over again is just petty.

Vecna is more afraid of Eleven

Well, obviously. But that's because I don't think the purpose Will serves is to stop Vecna, when he was talking about the Mind Flayer he explicity states that it wants to kill everyone else. (The except him is very much implied, though). So why is that?

Mike and El's relationship doesn't have issues

You know what I find it interesting? Is that this is so clearly not true that I can't understand what they mean.

Ok, let's forget about the whole "not spend time with his friends" bit. We know how relationships can be, especially when they're young, so ok I can understand that.

What I can't understand is how they can think it's normal for Mike and El to continuously lie to each other. And the lies aren't small, they are big lies.

El lies about every single aspect of her life in Lenora, she goes as far as to beg for her bully to help her because she doesn't want to break the facade.

Mike makes El feel like she's a monster. Like he's scared of her. She tells him how he says doesn't say he loves her and his first response isn't to say: What you're talking about?

Its to say: I say it and we are provided with the information that he can't even write it. Almost like what he says doesn't align with we know to be fact. He then goes on to say that she's being ridiculous, and that she knows what he thinks (notice the lack of the world feels) about her. Mike, she isn't questioning the idea you have of her, she's questioning your love for her when she shouldn't have.

If she doesn't feel secure enough in that love, there might be a reason right? But what do I know?

Will needs to learn to accept himself and needs to understand Mike loves Eleven and that's his arc.

Ok, let's say this is true.

Let's claim, for the sake of argument, that this is the point and recap from there.

Mike and Eleven didn't actually have a conversation by the end of the season, their main issue, which even is how Mike feels or doesn't feel but that they don't understand each other, has yet to be resolved.

Saying I love you didn't help El win, and there are lies in what he says to her as well. He claims that he knew from the moment he met her that he loved her, but if that's the case then his actions directly contradict the claim.

If he knew he loved her then, why would he try to send her away to a mental institution? Why would he be so rude towards her?

I could write this off as him not knowing he loved her, but he says that knew that he did so I'm guessing I'm slightly confused? Which one is it?

If he told Eleven that he feel in love with ler little by little, that he's learned all the things there is to love about her I could buy it, but with the way it was worded it doesn't seem to be the case.

It appears to me that people are under the impression that Will believes that one day Mike could love him back. He may have believed that during season 2, but by the time season 3 and 4 came, this stopped being the case.

Will was ready to sacrifice everything, even his art, for Mike. He's not living under the illusion he'd ever have a happy ending, he doesn't seem to think he'll ever find love, not like what he has with Mike.

So, what is the song and dance all about? If this is the case already, we are already at this point, all they needed to do was get Mike to tell Will.

"Look, El doesn't know shit about DnD so I know you weren't talking about her. Were those words yours? Yeah. Ok, Will... You're very important to me, but I love El. I accept you, and you'll always be my friend, but I can't love you like that". That's it. Would it hurt? Yes. But again, Will already thinks this is what he's going to hear anyway.

Byler bating vs Queerbating

I made this joke before but at this point I don't even think it's a joke, more of an statement.

I'd call queerbaiting if they hadn't established Will as queer, but the fact that they did is what gives me pause. Look children, I've been down this road before ok. Been there, done that.

They have established Will as queer and at no point did it feel like they were making him the punchline of a cruel joke.

Say that Mike doesn't feel the same and Will needs to let him go. Again. WE ALREADY THINK THIS IS THE CASE. Most of Bylers believed that to be fact in 2022. People were angry, upset and all that jazz.

Sure, Will learning self acceptance is important, but clinging onto that and forgetting his romantic arc would be nothing short of cruel. Will doesn't want some random guy. He said it so himself. Mike is the only person that has ever made him feel good about himself, Mike is the only person he'll always need. This isn't some passing crush.

Its the choice of making Will so in love with Mike that legit has me questioning these writers if the whole point was to get El and Mike back together.

I just have more to say but I need sleep. I might come back to this tomorrow. You are all welcomed to share your thoughts on my points and disagree if that's the case.

I love hearing other people's opinions on things