#and it's really fun having them for my au and i bet there are ppl who also enjoying having such things

[beneathsilverstars]

i've gotten so good at these portrait sprite edits that i'm tempted to see if ppl would be interested in me opening commissions for them, do ppls human loops or au designs etc... but it would be weird to take coms that are specifically copying another artist's style. but ppl used to do like dragon age tarot card style coms or homestuck talksprites all the time, ive done alphonse mucha style myself. but it's different when it's someone famous or a game w a whole team of artists vs one lil indie dev. but it's not like i'm drawing whatever in id5 style, i would specifically be doing only the exact type of portraits from the game, for ppl who are already fans of her work, so it's not like that could end up with me taking business away from them in any way. idk i feel like it's a grey area :/

[longeyelashedtragedy]

Frank James Lampard OBE 👀

ougughgh, you whipped out the order of the british empire? 🫡 😳 maybe i was wrong to judge them teaboos back in the superwholock days (that's a JOKE)

@protect-daniel-james i'll respond here but i might use your ask to post some more Photos cause i'm not sure how to pick just one photo of the Long Eyelashed Tragedy

favorite thing about them: uhhh...so much? he gets me right in the FEELS, man. he tells on himself constantly and seems to be completely unaware. sadboi footballer with pretty dead eyes who loves to Read and took a little notebook with him on the team bus. the intersection of having it easy/privileged childhood & traumatic things that shouldn't have happened--i relate. exhilarating to watch his old performances and he seems like he'd be fun to have a conversation with. fascinating to analyze, this all feels sort of reductive...i'm very Fond of him and some of it is hard to put into words, but i feel very "what's not to love?" about him lol. and he has such a Narrative. he's very easy to write about though it probably doesn't turn out well at all (sounds great and deep in my head though)

also i find a lot of footballers hot but don't really experience significant attraction to them but he is an exception you know what i'm just going to end this here

least favorite thing about them: he lost weight after everton BOO HISS

favorite line: omg, frank james lampard OBE is funny because he's often so intelligent and articulate and then just whips out the WEIRDEST/most cringe thing out of nowhere. some examples:

-his "fight" with klopp on the touchline

THIS wtfery:

these BANGERS:

this classic example of childhood trauma "too old when you're young and too young when you're old" (what some ppl would call "entitled male athlete" but like..i know better than that lol). it's also just patently RIDICULOUS he was like 36...bolding is mine for the classic lines

But it was while on a night out in Manchester during pre-season that the ex-West Hamer star showed his new American team-mates exactly how ex-Premier League stars like to party.

Columbus Crew centre-back Josh Williams was with NYCFC at the time and he told the story to the Athletic.

...“This place is packed, multiple levels. And as soon as we walk in, you could see everybody recognise Frank. And it’s just me, my teammate and Frank and all the energy is just on him.

"He picks up a bottle, this huge bottle of Grey Goose, picks it up, opens it, just starts downing it. Passes it to me and goes, ‘Boys, we’re not putting this down until it’s fucking gone.’”

The trio passed the bottle around three times when the rest of NYCFC showed up.

After about an hour in the club, Lampard approached Williams and asked him about 'that game you Americans play where you throw the little balls — he’s talking about beer pong.'

ok let's see...

brotp: random one but i recently learned that he and ian wright are friends? and i just love that so much both as a gooner and a person. wrighty complements him well and is very...respectful lol. if we consider lamperry to be only one-sided romantic, then definitely lamperry

notp: franko x steven gerrard...there's only One situation in which i've enjoyed that ship (and it was an au). it does nothing for me normally, and i personally don't find stevie g attractive, so! again, it's like an "ew get it away from me" notp, it's just not my vibe.

otp: i mean...lamperry requited. franko x cousin jamie jamie jamie ....maybe someday they can give romeo and juliet their happy ending. and of course, frank and mason...i just really like this ship so much and it keeps my brain so entertained...even though it's not "healthy" and doesn't end well. these ships are all SO good!!!

random headcanon: oh gosh idk...i don't think i have any "headcanons" because everything he says and does in public just kind of tracks. bet he's done coke lol. idk

unpopular opinion: HOO BOY!!! here we go!!! i am aware that i have a wooby nature, but i actually like that about myself. i'd rather approach someone--anyone with softness and then tone it down when i decide they're a dick, than be uncharitable for no reason. that's my way and that's how it's gonna be! so that said...franko gets accusations of "arrogance" and i...i don't see it at all. it might come from his disingenous press conferences at chelsea and everton, but i see that as a man who has horrid self-esteem, was used to being treated by media and fans like a Starboy, and once he started doing badly, had no idea how to handle professional failure--not one single idea. remember on "diary of a ceo" over the summer when he said his first chelsea sacking was the first time he's ever failed professionally? that's insane. Like, imagine making it to age FORTY-TWO and not having a legitimate school or career disaster. that's insane to me. so he just put up a front and got cranky and defensive and funky about where he placed the blame (and to be honest--he has not done a good job as a manager, but he also wound up in some pretty dismal positions. taking chelsea caretaker manager was really shooting himself in the foot because that season just needed to be put out of its misery lol). i'm not saying he's a bastion of humility, or some misunderstood coaching genius, but i don't see him as any more or less arrogant than someone else. idk--i see a weird level of contempt for him that doesn't really feel deserved? he's just a sad sack. sort of a hubris tale in a sense, but also a tale of a man who is still stuck as a kid in some ways...i need to stop before i write a really bad dissertation lol

uh that said...

song i associate with them:

finally a footballer i can give a good answer to this for!!!

name me a better combination than me x lamps x pink floyd x this summer! comfortably numb, shine on you crazy diamond (all of it, but particularly sections vi-ix), wish you were here...

(i know this sounds basic...i know there are more i'm not remembering)

"money" in some ways because i listened to it while writing "visited upon the sons" (it hit me afterward that the fic and the song are structured in the same way...the chicken or the egg?)

from the oooold first days of the lampardverse:

behind blue eyes/a well respected man

also! wouldn't it be nice kind of reminds me of him and cousin jamie loool

favorite picture of them:

dude idk! i really love looking at photos of him! this is granit levels of difficulty...i Cannot choose so let's go with this sad sack from the blessed everton days:

[birthdaycakeplate]

same anon asking for Blitzbee fic recommendations, tried to message you but unfortunately your account is set to only people you follow doing that.

but hmmm, I'd say my personal taste in fics are actually slow burns, I really like fics that focus on Blitzwing and Bee forming an unlikely relationship based on their 'home lives' in a sense of it, where neither are understood and often viewed as annoyances/loose canons leading both to a feeling of isolation and a mild desperation/willingness to connect with anyone even at the risk of 'treason' for interacting with the other side.

I also enjoy the progression for Blitzwing of seeing Bumblebee as a harmless amusement to him somehow becoming a bit of a hyper focus that causes the big bad con to develop some empathy and *gasp* morals.

Meanwhile Bee is just a cocky little bastard who refuses to accept Blitzwing as the actual threat he is and then feelings are caught when his view of the world is shifted and he finds out Decepticons are also actually just people with complex feelings and motivations (also bonus if break down of autobots 'all warbuilds are evil because' bs is broken down)

I realize now I'm rambling so apologies its just a very fun ship to babble about.

If I was to ask for any fic, if you could set one in your Nemesis AU that be amazing, the size difference you give in that is spectacular like omg I stare so politely.

Also the concept is just very fun to me and I'd love to see that au world expanded.

As for spicy content I don't really have any ideas? Sorry I'm actually terrible at writing it my only preferences are Blitz top and preferably consensual.

for ease if we keep talking like this I'll sign off as

Curiosity

GOD, of course I invited you to talk with me and then blocked you from doing that elekkeem 🌝 I think I fixed my messaging where I’ll get your stuff now, if you’d like to try again 😭 I swear I’m always this dysfunctional.

But anyway, your message here is good, true, andfantastic. I CRY. Your view on the ship is perfect and pure D,8

I LOVE when Blitzwing is stunned when his desire to squash the useless yellow gnat and be done with him is suddenly evaporated by the sudden realization this guy is slowly becoming the only thing in his life fun and full of life (and kind of precious if he’s being honest, ok???). Because their chemistry is crazy- they’re both wrekcless little freaks when left to their own devices, but full time loyal, fucked up little creatures to the ones closest to them. The handful Blitzwing can afford to let in to his life, even if ‘friends’ isn’t the word he’d use, and the few Bumblebee can make real connections with, when he’s a mischievous ant with a complex to make ‘something great’ of himself.

But he already IS great and bad boy Blitzwing needs to make it his immediate life’s goal to get that through to him and give him lots of love. (I ramble, too, you’re in good company)

I’m bad at stating my thoughts, I get overwhelmed when it’s my own emotions. But I typed and retyped something along the lines of how I’m noticing we have lots of similarities here in terms of what our favorite flavor of Blitzbee is 🩷🩷🩷 I bet lots of ppl who read this would agree with you and appreciate you throwing out there the love language of these complete messes of men✨

Does that mean my attempt to translate these tastes into fiction beside my ideas will make for good reading and also provide you a happy source of top Blitz/blitzbee? God, I HOPE so. You deserve it and I’m going to try.

I have the first chapter half written, because-

OH MY GOD, YOU LIKE MY AUTBOTS JOIN THE NEMESIS AU STUFF EKEKKEE

OoooOOOHhhh aAHHHHHHHH

I SCREEEEEEAM 💕💕💕 thank you???!!! That means so much to ME and makes me insanely happy, because I was so surprised when you said that, and I REALIZED how amazing it is to hear a thing like that. That I’ve got a thing going I didn’t imagine would become liked enough for a fic request for it.

I’m hoping to finish this first chapter by next Friday. Probably sooner than that? But I’m scared life won’t allow it. Thanks for your messages💕

(The other anons who messaged me, too, about some top Blitzwing fic stuff, I see you and I’m elated to hear from so many of you, thank you✨)

[toxicpineapple]

The amamota essay is so good! If you’re willing to say more I’m super looking forward to a part two 🌸 No preshpresh though! 💚 🚀 🥑

hmmmm well anon if you have any more specific questions i would love love to answer them :) as things are rn i can offer you some headcanons!

(link to the original amamota essay for those who haven't read it!)

rantaro is a big spoon, it just comforts him to sleep while holding somebody. kaito is also more big spoon leaning but with amami in particular being held by him makes him feel safe... the favourite way for them to sleep is facing each other, amamis arms around kaito's neck/shoulders, kaito curled up against his chest, their legs tangled...

post-game vr au is my favourite amamota setting... rantaro who is so exhausted after multiple kgs and kaito coping with the fact he doesn't rlly feel like a hero anymore. they lack any expectations for one another, esp on amami's end since he died before kaito could really get into the hero business, so they can just... relax. they can just rest. they dont need to Be anything with each other.

i think postgame kaito struggles w a phantom cough, especially after nightmares, sometimes he wakes up and it's like he's still in the game and still dying... but just seeing amami's face comforts him. reminds him that he can't be there anymore because AMAMI wasn't there.

these two are both asexual as i stated in my essay and specifically i also think they're both arospec/grayro. rantaro feels a lot of anxiety around romance/people crushing on him and kaito has just Never experienced romantic/aesthetic/sexual attraction the way people describe. with each other they just feel this closeness, like soul-deep, and this comfort around each other, like... there's none of that weird heaviness, no pressure for anything more than what they want their relationship to be. they are just each others ppl. smiles

they're so infodumper x listens! kaito loves to talk about space and rantaro loooooves listening to kaito talk about things. and he remembers them. asks kaito "oh that's what you were talking about last time?" and just knowing that rantaro was hearing him makes kaito so happy hehe.

they definitely go on a lot of trips together, not just to find rantaro's sisters but to have fun. rantaro likes taking kaito places, to visit NASA headquarters, out camping to see the stars, to visit the aurora lights... they see the world! lots of sailing, hiking, big outdoor hobbies couple.

on the same note as the last bullet these two LOVE going to the beach together. kaito loves tidepooling bc marine bio is one of his hyperfixations so he likes to tell rantaro about all the animals. they both love swimming and surfing and sunbathing, kaito always gets rantaro wrapped up in a splash war... and rantaro likes to buy kaito treats from ice cream trucks. hehe

kaito loves old jazz, they spend a lot of mornings just lazily slowdancing in the kitchen while their breakfast cooks. they're so in sync with each other their eyes r just... closed while they both sway back and forth. arms wrapped around each other soooo tight.

think they have a lot of plants :) and they're all named. kaito walks in on rantaro talking to them sometimes. lowkey i think rantaro just likes the sound of his own voice HAHA

they play games together, kaito has this natural competitive drive that i think he riles amami up with. sometimes kaito gets into something and all he has to do is go "bet you can't beat me" and rantaro will be On It. he's a dangerous man to challenge!

they r both huge romantics i believe. rantaro always comes home from trips with a thousand little gifts for kaito like "it just reminded me of you" and meanwhile kaito is always bringing him bouquets of flowers, serenading him, comparing his freckles and scars to constellations...

they're soooooo huge on physical affection. lazy and chaste. they take baths together, massage each other, kiss each other all over... kaito likes to joke that rantaro's freckles are a map for him to kiss. and rantaro will tickle kaito just to hear him laugh. they also play with each others hair a tonnnnn always ruffling, stroking, braiding, scratching each others scalps... kaito also likes to nuzzle into rantaro's shoulder and rub their noses together.

they bake together <3 <3 rantaro's a little embarrassed the first time but they just have so much fun. kaito flicking flour at him and singing while he whisks. they sit on the floor and trade stories while their cookies are baking.

huge storytelling couple these two are btw. rantaro has that really engaging storytelling style where you just genuinely get so wrapped up in what he's saying and kaito thinks he's SO FUCKING AWESOME. meanwhile rantaro hugely enjoys kaito's stories, he thinks they're so fun and exciting. rantaro's official stance on them is "so what if they're not real? i believe them anyway" and kaito always grins about it later hehe.

these two never fight. they just get along so well. the closest they get is chafing over each others' low self esteem, and even then they resolve conflicts rlly fast. its just that they balance each other out well. rantaro always nipping kaito's silent insecurities in the bud while kaito refuses to let rantaro isolate himself.

i want these two to have kids together... i think kaito would be such a good parent with his mix of blunt honesty and tactful compassion... and ofc rantaro... augh. i just want him to be able to build his own family is that so wronggggg.

sillier au note but vampire rantaro x werewolf kaito is so fun. rantaro gets endless sippies from the immortal wolf and kaito's like a big puppy. he can play as rough as he wants with rantaro since he is also immune to damage from anything other than like... crosses LMAO.

they COULD both be nonbinary. if i wanted. and they like 2 wear pretty clothing together. but they also both like suits! kaito can't tie a tie so rantaro's always doing it up for him. and he gives him a little kiss at the end for staying still.

they're both pretty needy abt touch. kaito will flop over into rantaro's lap and demand attention. rantaro sometimes leans his head over for rantaro to pet him. they are HUGE pda bastards.

i always imagine them as that one functional overaffectionate couple. i actually love them as the bg ship in fics because they'll just be there functioning as a unit, double trouble great at communication advice and comfort. they WILL hardcore support u and they will be so good at it. hehe.

thank you for your interest anon. i love amamota 💚💜

[starry-night-rose]

Mallellis but Howl's Moving Castle inspired. You have the sickeningly sweet soft romance from the movie and the loveliness of the book.

Now, my idea is *inspired*, so it's takes some liberties.

.~

Malleus who lives in a castle that wanders around for his studies abroad or whatever. And everyone's afraid bc "Woah! Strong magic, how frightening! I bet Sir Draconia wanders around looking for young girls to curse so that they sleep forever and he can do evil things to them!"

Ellis who's tired of her mundane life and seeks adventure. She goes out to the town's festival and gets crowded by rowdy young men who won't leave her alone. But Malleus is there in disguise, looking to have fun in public even though he wasn't invited :(

^ That's where the iconic Howl's Moving Castle scene comes in (where Sophie gets to 'fly' with Howl). Ellis loves seeing everything from above. She thinks it's really cool. That moment inspires Ellis. She wants to have more experiences like that, so she becomes and adventurer looking for more fun times.

Ellis who is in search of adventure and gets pricked by a magical rose thorn on one of her treks through the forest. The magical rose thorn is poison, and she needs to find a cure lest she fall asleep forever! (See, the reason ppl think Malleus curses young women to sleep for eternity is because he hails from a land infested by poison roses.) Ellis who is bold enough to seek out Malleus' travelling castle in hopes of him having the cure.

Malleus is actually kind-hearted, though oblivious and poor at social interactions. He lives in the travelling castle with his little fireplace buddy, Sebek, who is loud and distrustful but is extremely loyal to Malleus (he cooks the best eggs and bacon). Silver who is Malleus' combat partner. Lilia who housekeeps and keeps Malleus on top of his studies.

Ellis who somehow gets into the castle and finds that everyone is super nice and friendly. Malleus remembers her from the town festival and has already taken a strong liking to her.

They don't have the antidote for the poison, but Malleus asks Ellis to stay. He's confident in his abilities and vows to make Ellis an antidote.

And you can imagine the rest!

I………….I asked for Mallellis crumbs and you gave me a FEAST

MY GOD I ADORE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS JUST THE IDEAS ARE JUST FLOWING THROUGH ME

I ADORE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS AU I CANNOT PROPERLY EXPRESS IT IN WORDS JUST I ADORE IT SO MUCH

I WILL NOW NOT STOP THINKING ABOUT IT FOREVERMORE

MWAH MWAH💖

[mugenloopdalove]

This is the problem with social media. No amount of notes will ever be satisfying. You will always wish for more, it's part of the addictive cycle. At first you were begging for a couple notes on it. You got 10, that's awesome! People even left kind tags and everything.

Then you see someone who got 50 notes and suddenly you are dissatisfied again. This happens even with really big accounts. As they get more followers the new expectation for the base amount of notes goes up. The 'this got no attention' goal post gets moved from 5 notes to 100 notes to 1000 notes and so on.

I post drawings which admittedly makes it easier to get notes but is still never a guarantee. I never have any expectations for posts because it's a slippery slope that's bound to make you dissatisfied with what you made rather than happy that someone else besides you enjoyed your work at all. Ive had art that got 5 notes and I've had art that got thousands of notes. Often times the 5 note is the more fun and self indulgent art that I really love to create.

If the goal is just pure engagement something like an astarion x reader fic is obviously gonna garner more attention because that has a much broader audience than a niche au. I don't know the f/o fic that got 50 notes but I'd be willing to bet it's something less niche than your fic and/or they got lucky!

It's not bad to want attention on the things you make , everyone would love a billion notes and nice things said but it's just not realistic. The only way to be happy with what you get is to lower expectations and stop constantly comparing yourself because there's always going to be someone who's better or has more notes than you .

I'm going to be addressing this bit by bit so if it feels weird and like I'm addressing stuff you say later in ask that's why. I'm just a bit high in an attempt to see if being under the influence would help me pack hsjdjd

Yeah the tags. Helped a lot. I just wish I knew how ppl got 50 notes in self ship fic ya know. I wish I knew what it took. Bc I do all the stuff people say you need to do and it's like none of it works despite it working for everyone else

It's rlly hard for me to write Astarion x reader breathe than Theil bc I'm REALLY weird about sharing Astarion in particular and dint trust most Astarion fans. I feel like most would turn up their nose at me hcing them as trans fem considering they can hardly respect their trauma. And I don't think Karlach/reader and ESPECIALLY Jaheira/reader would hit it off as well. And even then, other self shippers don't gotta do that ya know? They write about their own self inserts and get 20-50 notes. I appreciate the notes I got and the tags but I have to wonder why other self ship fic gets way more. Makes me feel like the problem is Theil, this AU I have a lot of dedication towards, and my writing, esp after that one anon.

The fic I saw was just. A normal self insert fic I guess? I feel like I explain the au well enough in the post to make it... Not so niche. No more niche than a fic about a self insert that someone doesnt explain anything about in their fic post.

I try not to compare myself at all but when I haven't seen any self ship fic get less than 20 notes it's really really hard Not To. Like when I haven't seen any do it it makes me feel like there's something wrong w me personally especially when I get anons telling me it's me.

[spinosworks]

Tell me more about only freaks go to gotham for a fieldtrip!

rjdjd HHAA okay so-

ive always thought that people going to gotham for field trip fics was just??? so dumb and silly. love how certain ppl can execute that in fics but the thought of ppl going to Crime Town USA for enrichment is hilarious to me.

then i started thinking 'huh, i bet amity parkers would be that crazy' and did some more thinking. i started cobbling together different aus that have been floating around the phandom until i got this monstrosity: the guardian spirit field trip au (those posts are just some stepping points for those who don't know. its one of my fave aus)

the casper high field trips had steadily been to more and more dangerous places (or at least activities that most people would be too scared to do bc of the high chance of death). the final straw was when students asked if they could go to gotham and the staff didn't see anything wrong with it. after all, why worry when phantom was just a prayer away?

the effects of phantoms protection has left a lot of amity citizens a bit more blasé abt these things but they care. they leave letters from their travels and gifts for phantom. they're still new to having someone be able to save them if they needed it

danny on the other hand has slowly been getting a bit more unstable. he's a bit too keyed into his obsession right now and needs help managing it. when he hears about the trip to gotham, he's actually relieved.

'batman is a guardian spirit too,' he thinks to himself with a relieved sigh, 'batman will know how to handle this, the paranoia'

TOO BAD BATMAN IS JUST SOME GUY HAHAHA (that's mean of me sorry)

anyways, danny is one of the people who is out here advocating to staff how educational and safe the trip to gotham will be. he's fighting tooth and nail to get the trip approved. it's true that he could fly to gotham and just ask, but getting an alibi and a place to rest while there would take a huge load off of his shoulders.

when the trip is finally approved, danny (and a lot of other people) are ecstatic. that is, until the conditions.

no reanimating your lunch with street ectoplasm ("we're serious about this, the next person to do so gets suspended")

no going anywhere without your phantom necklaces

no students with grades less than a C average for the past grading period

danny is devastated. his grades had been on the rise but with the added sensory hell that is being able to tell when the people you protect get hurt, he hasn't been studying as well as he could.

as the rest of casper high's students heads out to gotham, arms loaded high with phantom merchandise and promises to send back gifts for their resident hero. danny can only watch as he realizes he sent his people into gotham alone.

gotham on the other hand, are not ready for the almost cult like mentality of amity parkers teen population. gothamites think phantom is just some hero who got a really big head. and an entire school group heading to *gotham* of a places for a fun weekend getaway? they don't know what's in the water up in amity but it sounds like it's going to get someone killed.

the bats think it's suspicious and try to look into it. extending an invitation to tour one of the many wayne facilities/programs wouldnt be too out of place would it? either way it would be good for them, keeping clueless civilians who don't seem to care about the danger they're in out of harms way is just part of the job. (they just wish that getting information that made sense from them was that easy)

[sscarletvenus]

Pushing my FemDaniel agenda by asking for Fem Danny hcs 🙏

fem daniel headcanons!!!

i think it would be really fun to see the other students guess daniel’s s/o after her identity reveal… like just gossiping about who the j high goddess is with.

is it that architecture department alleged-gangster weirdo, who keeps hanging around her and buying her chocolate milk? is it that ex-bully boxer? (some say that he already has gf… others say that after meeting hyungseok, his heart melted and he stopped bullying cuz the power of true love… we’ll never know.) is it the fashion department prince, who’s so cold and intimidating and aloof in general, but behaves like a literal golden retriever when she’s around? there’s also a rumour about this tall dark handsome guy in ray bans picking her up in a white corvette after school… lots of bets being placed.

daniel somehow becomes zoe's bi-awakening

crystal and daniel end up becoming besties tho

like there’s also lot of pervs hitting on big daniel, and she’s just too nice to kill them even if she could in a heartbeat. crystal, who has a similar shitty experience with men sees one particular incident that crosses the line and beats the guy’s ass all while saying something like “ughhh this annoying bitch. kick his balls or something why’re you just standing there.” and BOOM bffs. (crystal doesn’t realize her beloved bodyguard oppa is perv-in-chief all the while lmao)

i headcanon big daniel and mitsuki having the same hairstyle, or big daniel’s hairstyle being like lee jihye from orv. smol daniel’s hair’s short bob and bangs with a range of super cute hairclips!!! (horrible descriptions here we go)

big daniel’s wardrobe is literally all fashion week collections (thank you jay we luv u), while smol daniel would probably dress like na jinsol from loser life (another ptj webtoon lol)

also johan and daniel would be such an iconic duo in this au. like they’re sort of each other’s ride or die (johan reluctantly comes around). johan is also weirdly protective over her which leads to a storm of gossip that “oh. did you hear? the gangbuk goddog has lost it over some pretty chick. i bet she’s something, having tamed that dog.” it’s safe to say they’re both fighting for their lives against this untrue rumor, and johan also rises up the ranks on several ppl’s hitlist… (ahem gun, that is)

WHAT IF YAMAZAKI YOUNG MASTER GUN HAS A RYUHEI MOMENT? like he tells crystal something like “behave properly, your sister-in-law’s here” at school and she’s like WTF???

sadboi hours but if big daniel didn’t hide her identity, zack would’ve still been hostile towards her when they first met. probably cuz u know, he would assume that she’s one of “those” ice-princess iljin popular kid who will hurt and bully mira if given the chance. mira would also be constantly compared to her and get a lot of shit… (there’s really no universe where zack and daniel are meet-cute sigh)

lmaooo also dg gets asked a cliche interview question — what’s your ideal girl? And he just. describes daniel (the smol one bcz the tall one's actually famous? and that would cause quite a scandal) in excruciating detail. cut to weeks later and there’s somebody posting on facebook about the employee at their local convenience store… who exactly fits dg’s ideal type description.

i’m also gonna take some liberties and make jake a girl in this au to push my fem!jake agenda. because WHAT BETTER THAN 2 GIRLBOSSES MAXIMISING THEIR JOINT SLAY??? The only thing better than a pretty girl kicking ass is 2 pretty girls kicking ass.

i can totally see jake and daniel being like dabin park and na jinsol from loser life… like the contrast? jake in her form-fitting suits, 9 inch heels and sinu’s coat, and daniel in an 80’s tennis skirt, tank top, and an oversized jacket. i want them to slander the men in their lives over some soju and fried chicken. club vivi arc would also hit so much different altogether omg

ALSO RUNWAY ARC would be so much different to see if daniel was a girl, because some asshole would’ve uploaded her pics on sns too. would love to see her and mary team up. also that one scene after jay saves danny and zack from chuck and justin, and danny asks “why’re u here jay? oh, for your sister right?” and jay would be mortified and flustered… just red all over because he CANNOT admit that he’s here to avenge his uhhh crush? loml?

in conclusion i have fem daniel brainrot, yeah. I’ll continue later because I HAVE LITERALLY SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO SAY.

[sanderchu]

I’ve always had a things for casino au (or las Nevadas) you know how cool that stuff is, I’m young but I play card games with my family and it’s so much fun

I think I’m into that stuff bc of the thrill I watched movies shows and even read books about it and it’s always so entertaining even if it’s not in front you you and you have to visualize it

Anyways Bc im on that topic here are some jobs I think dsmp members would have if they worked/and little hcs, at a casino 🎲 (this doesn’t connect with las Nevadas it’s just an au I designed to my liking and my opinion) also this is just a tired thing so yeah be nice-

Dream ��(bartender)

I see him as a bartender type of person. It just fits and he can probably do those cool tricks when mixing drinks. Probably also gambles with ppl as they drink just to put some fun in his job. A big show off in general

George 🦋(cleaner)

I see him as that worker that got the job because of someone else, in that case it’s dream. He just walks around really until things close. So he can at least get paid he cleans after hours or during when ppl get to sick from drinking. Hates it but it’s pretty alright. Not the gambling type but will do a slot machine for fun once in a while

Sapnap 🐼(bodyguard)

I see him as Like the “bodyguard” of the place like an extra set of protection on the inside of the place. Likes to see fights and takes videos before breaking them up. His job makes him feel strong. Him and dream play cards after hours for fun.

Karl 🌀(waiter)

One of the waiters of the place. I can see him as a server. He really likes his job because he can slack off here and there then just say it’s because the food was taking to long. Not the gambling type either but him and sapnap play simple card games together on break. (Sometimes since karl isnt the gambling type sapnap Carries a pack of uno around)

Quackity 🐤(manager)

The manager of the place. He’s like the side boss of it all. Always gambling and watching over the place. Last to leave work to make sure of everything. (Charlie stays with him sometimes so he doesn’t have to be alone). Prevents things from happening between workers (mainly tommy and dream and you’ll see why)

Ranboo 👑(waiter)

I see him as another waiter. He just doesn’t give me the gambling vibe. Tommy dragged him to work there so he wouldn’t get bored. He knows how to gamble he just doesn’t want to. Everyone that goes there sees him as a simple nerdy waiter.

Tubbo 🐝(cleaner)

I see him as a cleaner too. Nothing special it just gives him an excuse to get things done on his computer and then clean. Him and George actually make good small talk because of that. They have the most tea on the guest and share it around.

Tommy ♥️(bartender)

I see him as Like a noobie bartender. Dream definitely makes fun of him and always teases him for no reason. Tommy is not bad at Making drinks it’s more of the tricks. Wilbur actually got him to work there with him. Tommy is sorta the gambling type as long as his brother is with him if anything(aka Wilbur helps him cheat)

Wilbur ☕️(card dealer)

One of the biggest cheaters. He host all the card games. If people challenge him he cheats for sure to make them regret it and always have some crazy bet attached. He stays after since I feel like tommy stays after too bc of tubbo to talk and he knows tommy will need a ride home.

Niki 🌸(Slot watcher)

I feel like she watches over the slot machines. She really enjoys her job and finds it really fun. She finds it funny when people loose hundreds on a simple machine. Always motivating people. Jack is like her protector.

Jack 🔴🔵(slot watcher)

Nikis protector basically. Seen more around the bar talking to Tommy(mainly talking shit lol) talks to everyone at least once through out the day. Him and Wilbur gamble in there free time always challenging each other. Brings food for niki and water for her. Basically his whole backpack if filled with essentials for everyone and they can just go to the back and grab anything.

Fundy 🦊 (cleaner)

You gotta admit this place has to be big so ofc we have another cleaner. I see him as a pretty fast cleaner finishing before anyone else. To make it easier for him and everyone I see him making List of what each person should do so they don’t repeat it. Mainly listening to music or just enjoying the background noise of gnf and tubbo gossiping.

Purple 💜 (pool worker)

I see him working for the pool tables. Probably challenging solo players all the time and makes it obvious he’s talking shit and making fun. Enjoys seeing the drunks loose it amuses him a bunch seeing people angry but drunk make it better. Finds his job boring overall and is kinda jealous of quackity. Plays pool after hours alone.

Punz 🤍(bodyguard)

I can see him and sapnap teaming up to be the inside bodyguards. More like an aggressive bodyguard. He’s mainly around dream who makes him little shots so he doesn’t get to wasted during the job but enough to just give him a boost.

Techno 🐷 (Card dealer)

With Wilbur, there both card dealers. Techno scams people of there money as Wilbur cheats. Techno is Seen around the card area or talking to Tommy. Tommy makes him drinks here and there. Always talking shit to people when they loose. Very quiet just enjoying his job but he doesn’t admit that. Ever.

Foolish 🦈 (back up)

I See foolish to be used for more like events or like parties. He mainly makes sure every item is in tack and counts the money and stuff. His job is pretty easy and has his own office where he can work and do papers. Very chill job for a very chill guy.

Charlie/Slime 🟢(assistant)

I see him as Like the boss and the managers assistant. He’s pretty clueless so that’s the best job for him. Quackity just walks around and talks to him as Charlie takes down notes when he never needs to. Always asking questions like he’s new no matter how long he’s been working there. Quackity enjoys his company and help, it helps him relax after a long day just talking to someone so innocent and sweet after dealing with assholes.

Phil/mumza 💚💜

The owners. You can’t change my mind on this and there sons are like their watcher reposting back to them after a long day. That’s why each work at least in almost every section. Mumza is Seen around when Phil is in the office. Mumza is More used to welcome people and give people there money after winning. Always so happy doing her job. Phil is her protector Making sure no one takes advantage of that. The parents of the casino

————————————

This is definitely not my way of asking for casino au request- (50/50, I’m just sayingggg) please give me request of casino au- I will marry u-

[saetoru]

TEE TEE I AM GOING TO YELL ABOUT RICH BOYS IN YOUR INBOX BECAUSE THEY HAVE A FUCKING DEATH GRIP ON ME 😟 quick warning bc I ramble LMAO

okay, so first of all, gojo satoru… I feel like when he was younger, he would buy a ton of really expensive shit purely because it was from a designer brand. like, it could be the ugliest fucking thing ever, but he would still buy it just because he could LMFAO 😭 he definitely had a ton of really ugly but expensive shoes… he looks like he would. he probably didn’t even wear them all 😔

thankfully, as he grew a little bit older, he stopped doing that and started buying things that ACTUALLY looked good. (only exception is those fugly rectangular sunglasses 😦 what on earth. I bet that bitch wears them just to piss people off smh. by people I mean me ☝️) even though they’re still really fucking expensive, it’s still a good upgrade from his childhood PFFT

his mama is glad, and so am I 🙏

I also wanted to talk about how gojo and getou are. they’re similar, meaning you don’t really have to put in a lot of effort to find out that they’re rich. gojo is the kind of guy who clearly flaunts his wealth in the most obnoxious way possible, but at the same time it’s not just the things he buys that makes him seem rich. You can see it in the way he carries himself. the best way I can explain it is like this; gojo is like a peacock. he likes to show off his feathers, but he’s already so naturally beautiful that people are already looking??? he just looks grand, if you know what I mean. he’s almost always got that air of confidence and superiority surrounding him that it can make you wanna BEAT HIS ASS UP 🤬🤬 but he’s also weirdly endearing :( he’s loud asf but we already know that LOL

AND when I said that getou is similar, I meant that he also just feels rich. he’s what you would expect someone from a high status family to be like tbh. he’s polite, respectful and is just all around elegant?? but he’s also kind of simple if you get what I mean. think of him as a swan — they’re plain, but everyone sees them as this really elegant and graceful creature. they also bite. hard. holy fuck. he’s a lot more subtle. even though he’s definitely intimidating and looks like a delinquent (😭), his actions show otherwise.

so, honestly to simplify what I’m saying, rich bitched getou and gojo are different sides of the same coin. both rich, but one formal and the other informal.

im kind of annoyed because there’s so much I want to say but I literally can’t articulate any of it properly. that’s my bad. but I can’t believe you’re not a mind reader smh how dare you 😡 I NEEDED TO WORD VOMIT SO BAD EHEHENR THANKS FOR READING IF YOU DID u are my lord and saviour ily 😸 BYE MWAH MWAH

I went from talking about how shitty satoru’s taste was to analysing rich boys getou and gojo wtf. what happened

CRYINF THIS WAS SO FUN TO READ BESTIE FKWKFKR OMG i love the rich boy! au so much

gojo definitely had a HORRID fashion taste LMAO like he’s grown to be a bit better after ppl have told him over the years 🥲 but i just feel like gojo naturally has an awful sense of coordinating outfits 😭 geto in contrast is so simple like u said and elegant like he wears a simple white shirt but it’s ✨fancy™️✨ jfjsjfjs

GOJO IS THE OBNOXIOUS TRUST FUND AND BOASTFUL RICH BOY and then there’s his best friend geto who’s sweet and humble and he helps people get around campus with a sweet smile and a little wave and gojo’s just like “oh are new here ??” with a horrendous smirk and he’s so gosh darn annoying omg djrksjfj

i feel like rich boy gojo has a good relationship with him mom he’s a mommas boy for sure but him and his dad have a rough relationship that’s why he’s so attention seeking and also rebellious low key LMAO he wants to piss his dad off at every chance and do things the opposite way but he also just wants to be acknowledged u know. and then geto’s just a sweet lil boy who minds his business probably has polite convos with his moms friends while they have tea he’s like their favorite little golden boy they all want their daughters to be his wife ndnfskjfd god i could go on i rly do love this rich boy au sobs

TY FOR SCREAMING ABOUT IT W ME UR WELCOME TO ANY TIME I LOVE HEARING UR THOUGHTS i’m sorry this took me a bit to reply to !!

[vettany2]

Top 10 fanfics I've written for the MarcoAce pairing

10. A Surprise Under The Cherries

post-marriage au and a long distance relationship

This one was a part of a spring challenge (as well as some others on this list) but it was really difficult to come up with a concept for the prompt. As I was writing it, I was thinking "is this even right?" "Should I keep it like this?". In the end it was not as bad I thought but it was no fun writing either.

9. A Wish Come True

high school au

This was better as I had the concept in my head immediately after reading the prompt. Tho I was sad I couldn't make it longer, I felt that if I stretched it a bit more, it would lose it's magic (or what). But it is pretty short according to my standards so I can’t give it a higher position.

8. Special Easter Egg Hunt

modern world au and a confession au

Coming up with this concept was hella difficult but it turned out quite entertaining to write. Can't help, domestic Whitebeard Family is always a pleasure to write. And nervous Marco as well.

7. Unintended Double Date

modern world au and (as the title suggests) unintended double date ft. Lawlu

Coming up with this concept was more fun that writing it. Still, I'm quite pleased with the result. I like the bonding of Marco and Law over their crazy boyfriends.

6. Øtchi

close friends and a modern world au

This was such a weird mood when I was writing this one. Marco and Ace are odd fellas since I can imagine them in almost every scenario. And so it didn't feel wrong for them being close friends. Tho I like the last date part more than the rest of the fic :D

5. It's (Not) Mutual

soulmate au, canon setting

Eventhough this is my top ranked marace fanfic in terms of hits and kudos, I struggled with like a half of the fanfic. I was deep in Soulmate AU rabbithole and wanted to write sth similar. And I think it's apparent from the writing that it's kind of forced. Nevermind.

4. You And Your Damn Freckles Are At Fault!

uni teachers au 

As I accidentally stumbled upon the prompt for this fanfic, I knew this would be a hit. Marco and Ace being teachers just made my heart flutter and when we add Marco's mistaking Ace as a student into the mix, my god, what a funny fanfic. The only thing dragging this fic down is that someone wrote for that prompt before me and I tried too hard to make this fic not as similar as theirs (cuz we dumb and we read it before writing mine).

3. Daily Flowers

modern world + coworkers au

Yet another of my Spring challenge fics. This one is my all time favourite out of them. Since it was linked to spring, I thought, flowers ofc. Since I know many ppl suffer from pollen allergy, I thought, that could be original. Then I thought, maybe I could sprinkle some flower language and the fic basically wrote itself. It was so much fun cuz office romance offers quite a lot of ideas. Hence the fic grabbing the third place. 

2. One Heroical Act Was All It Took

accidental meeting and a modern world au

The concept for this fic was basically me rewriting a dream I had. It was supposed to be very angsty and a bit scary as well which I tink I accomplished. Even if I don’t believe in love at first sight, it fit this fic well and I love this story very dearly. 

1. It All Started With A Bet

hospital au

And here we have the winner. It’s not only my most favourite fic but it’s also my first marace fic ever written. Everything about this fic is just perfect, the use of language, the way I structured the plot, the way I portrayed the characters... I just love this story very much. It has the right amount of angst, but still is more lighthearted than the previous one. I’m sad this fic is not as popular as I’d wish but that’s maybe because of the setting. Hospital and serious injures aren’t exactly fan favourites. Still, if you like marace, give this story a shot.

There were some more fics I had to leave out as I’m not as happy with them but still, if you feel like checking out any of the fics listed here, it will make me happy. If you feel like it, leave a comment as well.

[bears-necessity]

im curious of what you think about the yiik characters. i need to know what other yiik fans think. alex is my personal favorite (i want to kick him down the stairs) but i like michael a lot too. theyre all stupid nerds. honestly if you have any headcanons id love to hear them.

OMG THANK YOU FOR ENABLING ME TO BE ABNORMAL I HAVE SO MUCH THOUGHTS ABOUT THESE GUYS OKAY SO im putting this under a cut just so its not super long on ppls dash here

first off every YIIK character is queer and neurodivergent becuz I'm queer and neurodivergent and I said so, the specifics of that depend on my mood and what sort of au bullshit i'm coming up with at 2am in a VC with my friends tho

Alex is complicated. i hate him hes a massive douche but also I really do get what the devs were trying to with him. the occasions when he's being nice and having fun with his friends are where he shines and honestly at heart hes just some guy who needs to get a grip and get his shit together (relatable). if i knew him personally i'd probably slap him and then we'd be good, he probably specialised in sci-fi/fantasy creative writing for his libarts degree and definitely wrote an essay at somepoint about videogames as an art form. He has tattoos but they're all probably really cringe and embarassing because they were super trendy when he got them and then fell out of fashion, he has one of those barbed wire ones around his upper arm.

Michael is my FAVORITE GUY OF ALL TIME HES SO SILLY but also i've made him horribly angsty in my brain as well it's so. i think him and alex have a really good "friends who are used to each other's bullshit" dynamic but also i ship them a little bitty bit just cuz i'm a sucker for besties who are obliviously in love with each other as a trope. He would hate-watch ancient aliens and buzzfeed unsolved because he thinks he knows better than them. If you read his comments on ONISM he also seems to be a really sweet and supportive guy with the userbase and thats rlly cool hes such a guy Aside from that though he has the most unexplored depth as a character imo, since it's confirmed he isn't from the present reality and at some point definitely becomes aware of that fact I like to think underneath the funnyman bestie thing he's probably having a crisis about who he is and stuff because even before he's consciously aware of it he probably felt this vague subconscious feeling of like,,,Not Belonging ig? idk i think he probably knows this isn't where hes really meant to be and hes trying to truck through it but the impostor syndrome is definitely there. I love michael so much he is a certified blorbo

Rory is sooo mecore I stole his name online because he's so mecore we are both emo/scene kids and his canon favorite song according to some questions directed at the dev team is a brighteyes song that i also love its like fate. ANYWAY I feel really bad for Rory because i think his character is probably handled one of the worst just with the tonal whiplash a lot of his character-centric moments has. I bet he listens to weezer and radiohead. If YIIK was set now he would be into creepypasta and he would get michael into it since it ties in with his paranomal urban legend stuff, they would vlog hunting for slenderman together. him and alex run a gaming channel together (THIS IS AN INSIDE JOKE BUT I HAD TO PUT IT IN I COULDNT HELP MYSELF)

Vella is pretty and I think she's super cool, one of my besties LOVES her so I kinda let him be the friend group CEO of vella stuff but my biggest takeaways from her is that I hope she gets back into making music again, but for her own fun this time instead of to fulfill some success pressure. maybe she starts a crappy little garage band with some of the gang and they write terrible songs about aliens who smoke pot and dance the macarena and she's the only one there who can actually play but they have fun with it. She also knows all the videogame cheat codes and keeps setting high scores that alex and michael cant beat. Also her mind dungeon reminds me of yume nikki and thats super cool cuz i love yume nikki

Chondra and Claudio deserved way more time for their characters to develop and also their lore is weird and confusing and I think the whole missing brother thing is rlly weird too becuz of the reveal of how that all works with alex and shit. BUT if they had been handled bettter they probably would be my favorites because I think claudio is super fun and his VA sounds like he's really going for it and he's just such a chill guy and he's super passionate about his interests and i respect that and 100% would be his bestie chondra is super cool too, she's clearly really into sports and I bet she hangs out at the local skate park and impresses everyone cuz of her roller skates and also probably gets vella into skating too and they go together and have matching customised helmets just for the extra cool factor. alex and michael and rory come and watch them but are too pussy to try (alex has had enough from that stupid skateboard ability you get in vella's dungeon). Maybe she goes to some competitions for it and stuff too

uhhh some other various stuff the essentia is really cool but also confusing and it took ages to make sense of her lore but i LOVE her voice the effects to make it robot-y are *chefs kiss* and essentia 995 is just SO idk how to describe it the part when she says "often it is necessary to lie to oneself to get a tough job done" hits really hard for some reason. shes metal as fuck, metaphorically and literally. sammy is literally a caricature of a real life dead girl and i think that's pretty fucked up and they shouldnt have done that, but she would have been really cool if it wasn't for that big yikes. in general i really love a lot of the influences yiik has i'm a huge fan of rpgmaker horror and murakami books and a bunch of the other shit that it references so hehehehehe thats cool

this is long but also this is everything I can think of off the top of my head thank you for letting me be abnormal about this stupid game i hate it and love it so much :D

[chittapornswife]

Ring My Alarm

Genre: university!au, bff!au, fluff, slight mystery!, love alarm!au, angst Word Count: 10.4k Warnings: swearing, making out, 2 cheesy 4 lactose intolerant ppl😭 Pairing: Donghyuck x gn!reader

Synopsis: After having no success with the Love Alarm app when you were young, you try it out again only to find out someone’s been sabotaging you...

A/N: This is for the Love Alarm event hosted by @nct-writers​ ! I had a lot of fun writing this but struggled a bit with midterms happening😭 Also this is the longest fic I’ve ever written... Hope you enjoy it nevertheless! and Happy Valentines Day to everyone! :D (Mood for the fic!)

nets💌: @nctcreations​ @czennienet​ @neoswitchnet​ @neowritingsnet​

It was too lovely of a day for it to be placed in February.

The sun was shining bright, accompanied by a speckle of wispy clouds dotting the light blue sky. It felt like summer was coming even though winter had barely ended, was only starting. But it was nice. A sense of calmness washed over you as the chirping of birds fluttered past your ears and a slight chilly wind kissed your face.

You stopped in the middle of your walk to your university and just closed your eyes, really taking in the perfect moment. It was a moment to remember forever, keep ingrained in your mind on the days you yearned for summer. That is, until you were interrupted by some squealing and shrieking.

“OH MY GOD. I JUST GOT TWO RINGS!!!!!”

“NO FREAKING WAY. I GOT THREE!!!!! EEEEEEE!!!!”

You winced at the shrill sounds, opening your eyes to see a couple of teenaged girls, no doubt on their lunch break and most likely talking about the app that haunted you no matter where you went.

Love Alarm.

The stupid app had come out when you were just about to enter high school and had been the biggest thing to be released ever since Instagram had come out.

The basics of it were that once downloaded on your phone, the app connected to your heart and monitored its pulse to see how it reacted to the people around you, specifically the people you were interested in. It had a 10 meter range so that if you liked someone within that range and they had the app, then it would ring and a little pink heart would show up either on the app if it was open or beside your battery indicator on your phone. Inside of the heart would be a number of how many people were interested in you and had rang your alarm.

All in all, it was tempting and addicting when downloaded as it boosted an individual’s confidence to see how many people physically liked them. Yet, the downside was if you barely had any rings at all, then it could drive you to feeling pathetic, unattractive and worthless…..

You remembered how in high school sometimes there were bets and even contests into seeing who had the highest amount of people ringing their alarm in one day. Of course, back then it was a bit faulty as the app would still ring if you had passed by someone who had rung your alarm earlier in the day.

But now the app was more developed, it gave a reminder of how many times someone had rang your alarm throughout the day, making it easier to find out who liked you and you could also turn it off when you didn’t want to see it on your home screen.

Just like the squealing girls you were passing by now, you had once been filled with excitement at the idea of seeing that little heart fill up with pink and a number inside. But to your dismay, it had only rung once in the couple of weeks you had had it. And that was on the first day you’d downloaded it.

After being discouraged and embarrassed by this fact, you had deleted the app and decided to focus more on school and your close ones rather than put your everything into an app that pressured you into rethinking your attractiveness. Not to mention that the beginning of high school wasn't such a great time for you as you didn't have many close friends nor did you interact with others a lot, being too shy to reach out.

Perhaps, it was due to the fact that you were new, as everyone else was in the beginning of high school and needed time to make friends, to gain people's interests in you. Yet, it still hurt your teenaged fragile mind so much that for the rest of high school, you refused to try again. It was better off to remain clueless.

You stuck your earbuds in, clicking on your "springtime🌻" playlist in attempts to forget the bitter memories you had buried deep, as well as to drown out the girls.

All of a sudden, you were hit in the back by the side of a body as an arm slung over your shoulder and warm, heavy breathing hit the side of your face. The calming classical music in your ears abruptly stopped as your earbud was yanked out of your ear and a loud, "GOOOOOOOD MOORRRRNNNINGGG" bellowed in its place.

Great, as if the girls hadn’t been loud enough, now you were going to lose your hearing from the obnoxious yell from the biggest doofus in the world.

“First off, it’s not morning, second, you have point three seconds to get your arm off of me before I punch you.”

“Woah, woah feisty in the mornings aren’t we pumpkin?”

You turned to glare at the annoyingly good-looking boy who still had his arm around your shoulder, now accompanied with a wide, glowing smile on his face.

Lee Donghyuck. The most irritating boy you had ever met and who happened to unfortunately be your best-friend. You had known each other since elementary and despite not being so close for many years, simply just passing by one another like class-mates, somehow you had grown closer in high school and became each other’s conscience.

Hyuck was the wild, more carefree one who loved to take risks, not caring so much about what others thought of him, simply acting upon his thoughts. Meanwhile, you were hesitant and enjoyed the security of things, not wanting to be exposed into situations that you could regret after.

You balanced each other well and everyone around you found your friendship odd at first but would quickly get used to it. Many thought one of you had feelings for the other, after all being best-friends from high school and going to the same university now, pursuing different careers yet still closer than ever, feelings had to arise right?

But the difference was that, even if you ever developed serious feelings for Hyuck, you knew that you would just be a friend to him, his best-friend. He teased you just like one, never holding back from using his full strength when he punched you in the arm to greet you, the soreness was clear evidence of that. He treated you just like he treated his younger brother except with more affection, calling you pet names and acting like you were his child.

That didn’t excuse the fact that he was attractive. Ever since you had known him there had never been a doubt about how physically blessed he was.

He was babbling about something now as you looked at him, noticing how he had changed from high school.

The once average dark brown hair was now this rich autumn reddish brown colour and much shorter, complimenting his honey-toned glowing skin. Although, you still missed those adorable brown wavy curls that reminded you of 2011 Harry Styles. He had also grown taller, transforming from a high school soft bodied boy to a slightly toned, acquiring a straight jawline “i could thirst trap if I wanted to” type of guy. The only things that hadn’t changed about him were his twinkling brown eyes, either due to mischief or happiness (usually both), as well as those adorable moles splattered on his face and neck.

He was extremely good looking and he knew of it too, constantly informing you of all the people in his class who approached him and gave him their numbers or asked to study with him. It wasn’t as if he was super intelligent but obviously their motives were something else other than trying to get better grades. You couldn’t blame them really but for some reason you were content with the fact that he always turned them down. His reason was that he was too busy with school and friends to think about being in a relationship which reassured you that even if he did get into a relationship, he wouldn’t lose sight of his friends, of you.

“-Anyways, Jeno was telling me that they’re going out for pizza tonight, wanna come with?”

“Hmm? Yeah sure, i’m down.” You luckily caught onto his last couple of words. Hyuck had taken his arm off of you as the both of you turned the corner and entered your university that was littered with students. Instead he snuck it in between your arm, sticking his hands in his jacket pocket which pulled you in even closer to him. Classical clingy behaviour.

“Alright, I’ll let him-”

“Hey, (y/n)!!!!” A familiar cheery voice shouted from behind you two, cutting off Hyuck.

You turned around to see who it was and where, when a certain boy running to you caught your attention. Of course it was Mark, with his dark bouncing hair and beaming smile that could be seen from a mile away. He was also a high school friend but you had only gotten closer in the last year or two. You were fortunate that most of your high school classmates attended the same university so it wasn’t so terrifying to start someplace new as you had some familiar faces around you.

Mark slowed down once he got near you and looped his arm in yours, imitating Hyuck. You laughed at his antics, watching how the sun shone down on him in such a brilliant manner. No wonder his Love Alarm notifications were going crazy.

“Oh, so I get threatened for yelling but when Mark does it then it’s all just peachy keen huh?”

You rolled your eyes, “That’s because he didn’t attempt to make me lose my hearing like you did, dumb-dumb.”

Donghyuck huffed and retracted his arm from yours, sulking and ignoring you as Mark laughed at your everyday banter.

“I’m just happy that all three of us are finally in the same class together.”

You grinned up at Mark as he shot back a puppy-like grin himself at you. He was like a happy virus, always brightening anyone’s mood no matter the moment.

“Real cute Marky, anyways, did you do your homework? You know I’m depending on you to get us good grades in this class.” Hyuck looped his arm back into yours, his small sulking moment all forgotten as he fluttered his eyelashes towards Mark who clearly wasn’t having his bullshit.

“The day I let you ride off my grades is the day I know I've lost my mind and seek help from a medical professional.“

Mark leaned over you and pushed Hyuck’s arm out of yours, jabbing, "And get your grubby hands off (y/n), you’re crimping their style.”

And just like that, they started their daily bickering like an old couple fighting over how to take care of an infant. Of course, you played the role of the infant. It was pretty amusing watching them and seeing the attention they attracted.

Usually, you were not one for attention but there was a bit of a thrill every time you saw people shoot envious looks your way for having such attractive friends. Except, being a couple semesters in these scenes were now normalized compared to the beginning of your uni year when Hyuck had had a hair pulling fight with Jeno, who was also a part of your friend group and in the Automotive Service program.

Luckily, most of the catfights ended after Jeno finished his pre-requisites and now mostly hung around the repair shop, only being available after school or sometimes between classes. You missed his comforting presence but you were still proud of him for doing his own thing.

As you walked into your philosophy class, you wondered how you were going to get through the rest of the semester with these two causing trouble by your side, surely the catfights would soon make an appearance.

"So what? You're gonna stay celibate for your whole life then?" Your friend Demi bluntly asked in disbelief while you stood in the lineup at the campus café.

You closed your eyes, unable to be fully annoyed with her, knowing you brought this upon yourself by bringing up this topic. But she could at least be a bit quiet about it??? The people in front of you had been giving you both weird glances ever since you had told Demi you didn’t use Love Alarm.

"Dem, I just don't like the app, what's wrong with that? I can find myself a date just fine without it, what do you think people did all those years ago?" You spoke in a hushed tone, hoping she’d get the gist that you were trying to keep your conversation on the low.

She laughed, "(y/n) hon, this isn't the 1600's where I'd send a messenger pigeon to explain my love for you after seeing you twice at some ball."

"Okay first off, that's inaccurate-"

"Besides," She cuts you off, "Legit everyone's got the app, it's like a better version of Tinder with all the new updates to it."

Luckily, the people in line with you had gone back to their normal chatter but Demi was always one for being centre of attention. You couldn’t even stop her fast enough as she tapped the girl who was standing in front of you.

"Real sorry to bother you, it’ll be quick, but do you have the Love Alarm app? Asking for my friend over here who doesn't believe in it."

She rolled her eyes, gesturing at you as if you were some outcast which made your cheeks go warm and you averted their gaze.

The girl seemed a bit hesitant as she looked between the both of you before nodding slowly, obviously taken aback by Demi's straightforwardness.

Demi politely smiled and thanked her, turning back to you, once more continuing to pressure you that you should download it.

“Dem, I’m fine without it! Seriously!” You whined as you moved up the line.

Philosophy had finished and now you were on your break which to your dismay, Demi a rather new friend of yours, had asked you to join her for coffee. Hyuck and Mark were going to catch up with Jeno who was on the other side of the campus so you told them you had to bail for a bit, knowing you were going to see one of them in your next class.

After the two of you placed your orders and found a spot to sit, Demi was quiet as she stared at you in thought. For once, it seemed like she was thinking before speaking, often reminding you of Hyuck and how didn’t have a filter either but tried to be careful about his words on occasion.

“Okay, so you don’t wanna rely on an app to find love, I’m slowly trying to comprehend that. But, have you so far found anyone successfully then? Like not on any app but just plain ‘hey i’m (y/n), let’s go out’?”

You pursed your lips, knowing that your answer wasn’t going to help you defend your choice. So you shook your head slowly, waiting for her to retialite.

“Ah-ha! See I told you, finding love or a fuck buddy is hard and even harder now that you don’t have a dating app.”

The barista called your order numbers, finally you had an out. 

You quickly got up before Demi could add on anything, knowing that she wouldn’t follow you as one of you had to secure your sitting spot. And if you were really lucky, perhaps she would forget the subject and begin talking about something else. Maybe like how you and Hyuck needed to get together, a rather popular topic she brought up constantly, completely ignoring you when you’d remind her that you two were strictly best-friends.

Or maybe she’d talk about all the cute girls in her class. All you really had to do was bring up the subject and she’d totally forget. Her mind was similar to that of a goldfish’s at times.

As you picked up the drinks and thanked the barista for their help, you gave it a serious thought. You couldn’t help it as Demi had been pressuring you for so long now. For a fleeting moment, you wondered, what if?

What if you downloaded that stupid app again?

You were in university now, there weren’t any of those stupid games or people checking their love alarms constantly, (well many weren’t at least). But you could do it again, try to have some fun.

As cheesy as it was, you only had one life and wouldn’t know until you tried it out again to see if things had changed.

Your somewhat grouchy attitude towards it all of a sudden 180’ed and now you were seriously contemplating it. Of course, you weren’t going to tell Demi that otherwise she’d set it up for you right then and there and you weren’t ready.

At least, not yet.

“Lay off the drinks, it’s a school night you know.”

Donghyuck didn’t even respond to your advice, his eyes glued to the TV screen as he shouted to his “team-mates” in a game he was playing on his Playstation-whatever new edition it was now. 

He was sitting on a pillow on the floor with a bowl of chips and several cans of light beers neatly arranged beside him from empty to full. His gaming outfit was always simple but effective for him and others to know what mood he was in.

He wore all black, showcasing that he was not in the mood to be messed with and definitely not in the mood to interact too much or he’d have a what you called a “kindergartener tantrum”.

You were only over because you didn’t have too many plans yourself, as pizza night had been canceled due to exams and hanging out at Hyuck’s dorm was much more comforting than going back to your lonely one.

Many people thought you were lucky to have a single dorm and you were. But very soon the loneliness had caught up to you and not having many of your friends in your dorm building made it worse.

Luckily, Hyuck and the guys’ building was right next door so you always crashed at their places. They never minded anyways, the more the merrier. Besides, Hyuck had been cursed with a partially single dorm as his room-mate was in an exchange program in some other country.

“SHOOT! SHOOT! OHHHHHHHH!!” He yelled abruptly, making you flinch at the random yet excessively loud noise.

It was evening now and you two were supposed to be doing your homework as well as studying for exams but you were laying on the couch scrolling aimlessly through tiktoks while Hyuck of course played his nightly sessions with his friends.

The whole afternoon you had been thinking of giving Love Alarm a shot again. It’s not like the app itself kept a count of how many people rang it like a Snapchat score since that would be a dumb development as well as super stressful.

But it was nerve-wracking to get back out there even if it was somewhat anonymous. You didn’t know if you wanted to do it, especially during a busy time in your semester. In a week you had reading break which coincidentally was a free week that you would be preparing a Valentine’s day picnic with the guys and some other friends.

It was a cute idea you kept seeing everywhere and since the weather had been so nice so far you thought, why not?

But it was stressful to do midterms and try and finish everything before the break so you didn’t have to worry about it afterwards which left you in major procrastination mode.

You groaned, forcefully quitting out of the Tiktop app and placed your phone in your pocket, trying to motivate yourself to study.

“Okay, Double D’s.”

Hyuck didn’t respond, ignoring you as he hated that nickname. It was really his fault for getting it as it had started from one night when he had gotten so drunk that he demanded to buy double D bras for himself because he wanted to feel “secure” and like a “boss ass woman”. You weren’t sure how wearing a bra really related to that since it’s main function was just to keep them literally secured. Nevertheless, he was now called double D’s which was fitting since his name started with a D too.

“Hellooooo, Double D’s, i’m talking to you.”

You could hear the snickers from his headphones as Hyuck scrambled to take them off and quietly hissed, “Don’t call me that!!”

“Whatever,” You rolled your eyes, “Anyways, shouldn’t we be studying for our midterms?”

Now he rolled his eyes at you, his hair looking messier than usual as he adjusted his headphones and turned back to his game. Hyuck truly looked like a little puppy right now which was slightly endearing if he wasn’t angrily yelling at his friends through the mic.

“Hey this is so cute!” You exclaimed as you came across this one tiktok. A person had shared a japanese poetic way of saying I love you and it went like:

the moon is beautiful, isn’t it?

Then another person had duetted and shown that the response to that was:

i can die happy

You messaged that to Hyuck knowing he wasn’t going to be paying attention to you right now to listen to it anyways.

Speaking of attention, you thought about sharing your thoughts with him from earlier today. You had to know what he thought about you trying out the Love Alarm app since he always gave you truthful advice.

“Hey Hyuck,” You started off a bit nervously,

“What?” He mumbled monotonously, his tense back and shoulders flexing from hitting all the buttons on the controller so fast.

“What do you think if I got Love Alarm again for maybe like um a day or two?”

Suddenly, the smashing of the controller buttons paused and it was oddly silent. This was only for a second before he went back to resuming as if nothing had happened and muted his mic replying, 

“Doesn’t really matter to me but why do you wanna do it all of a sudden? I thought you hated that app.”

You put your phone down and fidgeted with your fingers.

“I mean yeah but like I was talking to Demi and-“

You were cut off by a scoff, “Of course, I should’ve known.”

Excuse me? You raised your brows towards him and tilted your head at his rude interruption.

“You know Demi just wants to live a fantasy movie type of life (y/n), listening to her is like taking advice from a horribly written cheesy teen movie.”

Now you rolled your eyes, “Okay Dad, as a matter of fact it’s not because of her. Despite her annoying me to get the app I’ve just been thinking that I should give it another chance, yanno? Like I didn’t properly give it a chance because I was so young too, so who knows now, right?”

You were extremely nervous about this. Usually, you never cared too much about Hyuck’s opinion but for some reason this mattered to you on what he thought. It wasn't that you were asking for his permission to get the app so much as how much he cared about your feelings, knowing how you had slight anxiety about this topic. 

Not to mention that although he was goofy and loved to annoy you all the time, his opinion was one you really trusted and one that had never let you down all these years.

Hyuck huffed, silent for a couple of minutes probably thinking of how to respond.

“Gimme a second wait.” He said before turning his mic back on and telling everyone he had to go. Then he shut off the gaming console and walked up to the couch you were on, making himself comfortable with a not so pleased look on his face.

“Why are you so nervous about it though? If you don’t wanna do it you don’t have to. I know I have the app so I can’t say much but there are people like you out there who want to try and find someone naturally. There’s nothing wrong with that you know.”

“Yeah, no I know I’m nervous it’s just that it’s scary putting myself out there again like that. I just don’t want anyone to make fun of me if I get like one ring or something.”

Hyuck snorted, “If anyone even tries to make fun of you, you know their faces would be right up on the ground.”

You rolled your eyes at his remark, “Of course let us always resort to violence as the answer Mr. ‘I wanna become an elementary school teacher’.”

A small smile appeared on his face and he shrugged.

“Try it out if you want, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. After all, you wake up everyday actually choosing to look like that and go out without any embarrassment.” He made a disgusted gesture at the matching sweatsuit you were wearing.

“So, it doesn’t matter if you don’t get many rings, you’re still fine without it. You shouldn’t base your attractiveness off an app.” 

His eyes held so much care for you that it warmed you to know how lucky you were to have him in your life. If only they weren’t directed towards you as a friend...

You tried not to think more into the care held in his eyes and beamed at your best-friend. It was like he knew what you were thinking and just voiced the thoughts you were scared to take on yourself which motivated you to go on with your actions.

“Thanks Double D’s, you know you’re okay.... sometimes.”

Hyuck glared at you but you could see him hiding a smile as he dramatically exclaimed, “Well thanks for ruining my game night I guess I’ll have to go study now.”

You smiled as he got up and walked away groaning about how he was going to fail and had wasted his time talking to you and not that he had spent two hours playing. Regardless of it all, you knew he cared about your feelings and it made you feel special. He always knew how to make you feel so special.

No.

You shook your head, clearing those intrusive thoughts about you and him being together in a romantic way once more. It was stupid and unfathomable even though he was attractive and so close to you, he would never think of you in that manner so your mind had to give it up. 

The feelings kept lingering at times, such as now, which made it even harder on you. But the last thing you wanted was for your friendship to get ruined over some feelings that could be temporary or were incorrect and mistaken.

“Hey, should we order some pizza?” Hyuck’s head popped out from his bedroom with his phone in hand, no doubt already on the line with the pizza place. You rolled your eyes but nodded as he excitedly went back into his room and ordered.

A couple days later, you grew the courage to download the app and did so during a lecture break at the library. But as you were in the middle of it, Hyuck had borrowed your phone because his had just died and he needed to quickly see if his assignment had been submitted or not. Unfortunately, he had accidentally closed the app so you had had to fill out all your information again. Of course, the idiot would.

However, you had gotten it up and running and noticed all the small changes that had happened since you last had had it. Now the little heart showed up and burst like fireworks on your screen when you had your notifications on and was red, as shown in the tutorial.

It was interesting to see that there were different skins to put on as the background too besides the original light pink one.

Overall, the graphics were cleaned up and it looked much better than what you remembered it was like.

Yet to your misfortune, that whole day you had not gotten even one damn ring.

In Philosophy class, English, even in your freaking Developmental Psychology class about love and relationships, you hadn’t managed to get one ring. Yet you heard all of the annoying rings around you on campus which only added to your bitterness and frustration, confirming your thoughts that truly you were the only undesirable one.

You knew in the back of your mind that this probably wasn’t true but you couldn’t help it because why didn’t you have at least one ring yet?

You understood people had certain types and everything but still, no one wanted you romantically or thought you were the slightest bit attractive?

Every time you opened the damn app, it just added on to your misery by showing the whole:

“Nobody within the 10m radius loves you”

Demi had been comforting you by saying that her alarm had only been rung like three times in the whole week but you knew that was a lie as each time you hung out, she gotten at least four to five.

The other guys like Jeno and Mark didn’t know how to cheer you up and so they brought you snacks as a way to show that they cared for you and had awkwardly turned off their alarm notifications so it wouldn't ring around you. That just only made you feel more pathetic and made you think that they thought you were like a sensitive toddler waiting to explode with a tantrum.

Meanwhile, Hyuck was somewhat avoiding the topic as if it was natural for you to not get any rings and that you didn't have the app at all. It made no sense really since he had just been assuring you that it was fine a couple days ago and now it was as if he had forgotten about it despite hearing what was happening to you.

Finally, as the day came to an end, you decided that you didn’t want to feel this way anymore so while at Jeno’s dorm, you deleted the app, still leaving up your account on there for god knows why.

“You know you can’t just base it off one day right?”

You closed your eyes, soaking in Jeno’s words knowing how true they were but refusing to accept them.

Stage 1: Denial

“But you don’t get it, literally everyone has gotten their alarm ring more than once and I can’t even get one in 24 hours! Like am I that ugly?”

Jeno scoffed as he cooked, you were over at his dorm since Hyuck was deep into rushing to finish all of the assignments he had put off. Mark was also over but was napping on the couch from being exhausted with all of the midterms so it was just you and Jeno.

“I don’t think you’re ugly at all. But I also think of you as just my friend and that’s why I can’t ring your alarm.”

“Then who can!?” You groaned, sinking to the floor in a dramatic way that usually would’ve been something Donghyuck would’ve done.

“Well I don’t know, I’m not a psychic nor a time traveller.” He put down the wooden spoon in his hand and crossed his arms, looking oddly cute with an apron on and pajamas underneath.

“But I think you just need to give it another try (y/n).”

“But- but, what if I don’t get any again?”

“Then there’s probably something wrong with your phone.” Jeno somewhat joked, trying to lighten the mood except this stuck with you.

Actually, it stuck with you even after you ate the really amazing pasta that Jeno had made and after you had gone back to your dorm and washed up. As you lay in bed, you couldn’t help but wonder maybe that was it? You knew at least that when you first had the app it had rung once so it worked but now that you had a new phone maybe there was a glitch or something.

It was a solid possibility, not crazy to think of at all since technology had issues at times.

So with that piece of knowledge in mind, you messaged someone who could help you with this and got an instant reply from them back accepting your request. That night you slept a bit more peacefully than you had during the whole week as you were finally going to see if you were undesirable or simply unlucky with your phone.

“Okay, hmmmm.... mhm mm, yep"

"Mhm hmm.... yep, okay got it.” 

Jaemin fiddled with your phone as you looked around at your surroundings.

You had forgotten to put your phone on "Do Not Disturb" and really hoped the groupchats you were in with the crazy names didn’t start blowing up in front of him.

Well, Jaemin was kind of weird himself so it was probably fine.

Na Jaemin was an acquaintance of yours from one of your previous classes and someone who had helped you when your laptop had broken down. After that, you hadn’t really talked much but he was always still there to help with technological problems around campus. Your other friends knew of him but he was a bit of a recluse as he spent his time in the computer labs working on god knows what.

He was the only person you could think of that would be able to find the problem and solve it as he enjoyed picking apart and solving issues with phones and computers.

“Okay.” He pushed himself away from the desk while on his rolling computer chair. Jaemin was now facing you and he took off his glasses in a serious manner which contradicted to the casual tone of voice when he said,

“To simply explain it, someone did a certain thing on your phone that prevented the app from functioning, specifically from getting alarms and from you ringing anyone else's alarm.”

"Excuse me?" Was the only thing you could think to say as you blankly looked at him. Jaemin clasped his hands and looked at you calmly like this was an everyday type of thing he dealt with.

"Yep. I'm not going to explain how since it's a bit complicated but they did it in a pretty amateur way so it shows that they were either in a rush or not so great at doing this stuff. Either way, whoever did it had access to your phone so you might know who."

A million thoughts were running through your mind. Somehow, you had not expected your phone to be tampered with and had thought the app had a problem. But someone had deliberately done it to you, but who? The only people that ever were on your phone were Hyuck, Demi and very rarely Mark. Besides that, you had never given anyone your phone and no one else knew the password either.

So was it from those three then?

If so, then why?

It was crazy to even question whether the people closest to you had tried to sabotage something that you felt so anxious about. They all knew about how you had felt about it too. Yet, you couldn’t help but feel uneasy at the fact that you had to ask yourself:

So which one of them did it?

"Do you know who?" Jaemin asked you nonchalantly, wiping his glasses with his t-shirt.

"I-I don't know. There's only I think three people that have access to my phone but they'd never do it though, I’m sure of it." You ran your hands through your hair, trying to process this all.

Jaemin shrugged, leaning back in his chair as he said, "Well you never know people's true intentions sometimes. The person you think of as the nicest could also be doing a lot of shady shit behind and plotting out your demise."

Great, just what you needed.

"Any who, I think you should ask those three if you can either directly or indirectly because I sure as hell wouldn't want someone like that to have access of my phone, who knows what else they could do to it?"

You stayed silent, wondering how this was going to play out now. Should you confront them all right away or wait on it a bit and see how they reacted if you told them you got a ring?

Or maybe... Maybe you knew of a way to get the person to reveal themselves.

"I know this is a weird request but..."

Today was the day.

You were with the guys and Demi at this cool new cafe by the university called “Food For Thought”. It was a super cute 70's cafe with colourful walls plastered in retro wallpaper as well as funky paintings adorning them. The seating was like regular booths but instead of the usual slide in straight and scoot over to the wall, they were half-circles which was cool and had really unique decor pieces on the middle of the table.

Now you were going to see who had sabotaged your phone. It pained you to do this and you had given yourself a major pep talk in the couple of days before leading up to this moment. Even though it was going to hurt no matter who was the culprit, you had to know before they had the chance to do something else even worse. It had affected you so much you began to overthink every small thing in your interactions with all of your friends.

Everyone was having a great time chatting with each other about the relief that midterms were over and that the next week was reading break. This was the perfect moment as everyone was caught off guard so you pulled out your phone, ready to ask Jaemin to do his thing.

That day he had told you that your phone had been sabotaged, you had asked him if there was a way that he could hack into your phone and make your Love Alarm go off while you were with your friends. It was the only way you could think that would get an authentic response from all three suspects because surely, for even a split second, they would not be able to conceal their true feelings when they heard you get a ring.

Jaemin had worked out a way and had told you just to message him when to do it which is when you suggested to all your friends to go out to the new cafe in a non-suspicious way rather than only be around just Mark, Demi and Hyuck. There was a big part of you that wanted to believe that it was none of them. Surely, sweetheart Mark wouldn’t have done it nor would have Hyuck as he was your best-friend and would never want anything bad to happen to you. Demi also wasn’t one to do this behind someone’s back as she simply cut off the people she didn’t like out of her life from the countless times you had heard her stories of her ex-friends.

Jaemin sent a “kk” text and right after seeing it, you heard your phone ding.

No one paid much attention to it, either they thought it was their alarm or that it was just a normal text notification.

Okay showtime.

You took a deep breath, unlocking your phone to see the pink heart with fireworks pop up and using your best acting skills, you made a dramatic noise exclaiming,

“Guys! Holy crap! I got a ring!!!!!!!!’

The loud chatter dimmed instantly as everyone was absolutely shocked. Before you could look at their faces to see who was out of place, Demi broke the silence as she tackled you from your seat and squealed in your ear, yelling how she was right in her belief all along that you would get a ring.

Alright, so definitely not Demi. Unless she was an incredible actress and quick at thinking...

From behind her hair, you could see that Mark was beaming literal sunshine rays and just pure happiness in his eyes with no evidence of bitterness, unhappiness or anything behind it.

So not Mark.

That left only one person.

No, but, it couldn’t be.

You hesitantly and slowly turned your head over to Hyuck, praying that it wasn't him and that Jaemin was wrong and your phone was just glitching.

But as your eyes fell upon your best-friend, your heart broke at the expression on his face. Donghyuck looked frustrated, brows furrowed and his mouth set in a grim line as he paid no one else attention scrolling and tapping on his phone aggressively.

This was just probably a coincidence right?

It had to be.

Yet, it wasn't.

For as he looked up, he let out a sigh, his lips turned downwards in defeat that is, until he looked in your direction and saw you staring at him. Right then, it was like a switch. Donghyuck forced a smile on his face, trying to convince you of his happiness as if you hadn't seen the bitter expression adorned on his face just seconds before. It would have been believable alright but the hostility in his eyes still shone through, unable to conceal his true thoughts.

Demi pulled back from her tight hold on you, blocking your view of Hyuck and was yelling to everyone in the cafe what had just happened. Normally, you would’ve been embarrassed but you were more annoyed that you couldn’t see what Donghyuck was doing now.

So many emotions were going through you, anger being one of them. But the most prominent one of all was confusion.

Why? Why did he do this? What was the motive?

Was this supposed to be a joke? If so, he knew how you had felt about being an undesirable loner yet he still did it? What was the point?

You just needed to know the reason and didn’t care about anything else. But you knew that you didn't want anyone else to know so you still tried to act happy around Demi and the others. As you got up with Demi and everyone kept reassuring you how they knew you’d get a ring, you noticed that Donghyuck was missing from the table which was weird. Did he leave?

"Hey, where’s Hyuck at?”

“Oh, he went to the washroom real quick.” Jeno replied just as the waiters came by with your food.

You got up telling everyone that you were just going to go wash your hands and since they were all so busy with their food, taking pictures and what-not, you up and left. You had never felt as powerful as you did right then, about to confront your so-called best-friend of so many years.

The walk to the washroom was far more elegant and stronger than any model walk you had seen in your life (at least it felt like it).

And just to your luck, Hyuck was walking out of the washroom as you entered the hall, still looking visibly upset but his expression faltered as he looked up to see you and surprise took over.

“Cat got your tongue?” You bit out, crossing your arms, absolutely livid at how he had ruined something so critical to you.

“What the hell does-”

“Why did you hack into my phone and prevent my Love Alarm from working?”

You cut him off and cut right to the chase. You didn’t want to delay it any longer with mindless questions.

He shut up right then, strangely silent, lips pursed and conflicted as how to respond. You waited for a lie to tumble out of those pretty pink lips and you weren't wrong as the only thing he could come up with to your bold question was,

“What do you mean?”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes at his attempt at avoiding the question. Did he really think you were dumb?

“Hyuck give it up, just tell me. I’m your best-friend, or at least I thought I was, but I still deserve the decency to know why you would do this to me.”

He frowned, agitated now as he raised his voice a bit saying, “I didn’t do it! I don’t get why you’re so upset at me when you should be happy that you finally got a damn ring!”

You really wanted to punch him in the face, he was trying so hard to not give it up which only hurt you more. You didn't want him to keep lying to save his own sorry ass, you wanted the truth and the evilness to finally show. Those once warm brown eyes that had looked at you with such a tender care were filled with a cold anger now.

“So you wanna keep lying huh? You want me to explain it then? Okay." You walked up closer to him, a fire ablaze in your heart as you said,

"When I downloaded the app you were the one I gave my phone to in the midst of it and right after that it wasn’t working at all, that can’t just be a coincidence. I got it checked out later on and was told that someone had sabotaged my phone to stop me from ringing someone’s alarm and to not get any rings myself. Basically, my app was useless. Only you, Demi and Mark have access to my phone and frankly, they all look freaking happy out there so I know as hell it wasn’t them. Meanwhile, you’re all upset and plaster the fakest smile on your face when you see me looking at you. So tell me why you did it and maybe I’ll move on. I just wanna know why."

You jabbed a finger to his chest as you snarled, "Why. Did. You. Fucking. Do. It.”

There were tears in your eyes now because you were so done with it all. As if being exhausted with exams wasn’t enough, now you had to watch your back from someone you had been so close to and rethink not only everything he knew about your life but your friendship.

What was real? What was a lie? Was he using you? There were so many irrational thoughts in your head now, had he done anything else? He knew all the passwords to most of your things after all.

Donghyuck's anger had given away to concern now and he tried to calm you down by trying to reach out to your arm, saying, “Look, (y/n) I-”

“Don’t touch me!” You hissed, backing away from his grip. The same touch that had comforted you so many times when you were upset, would always be on you when you’d walk side by side was now utterly repulsive.

Screw this, you didn’t want to talk to him now. He could explain himself later but right now you were so pissed and upset that he could do this to you. You felt like the biggest piece of shit in the world when in reality he should have been feeling this way not you.

“I-I’m sorry, I can’t say why but I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you I just-”

"I know what I just said but just, just explain some other time because I don't wanna be around you right now. I'm really tired." You wiped your eyes, hating that you couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

Donghyuck looked so exasperated and so tired in front of you that you mentally kicked yourself for feeling any sympathy towards him at the moment. He couldn't just play victim when he wanted to and get away with it.

So you walked away, wiping your tears and trying to discreetly exit the cafe. You messaged the group chat that something school-related had come up so you had to go quickly, not wanting anyone to bother you for a bit.

Then you turned off your phone and made your way back to the dorms ready to just fall in bed and cry for the whole day.

A couple of days had passed and now Valentine’s day was just a day away. Your plans of doing a picnic with everyone had been destroyed as you had told everyone that you weren’t feeling well and had an assignment due that day so it had to be delayed to some other time.

Of course, Demi caught your bluff and made you spill what had happened. To which then you had had to use your full strength to hold her back from going to Hyuck and beating him up. You had also told Mark only because you were all in the same class still and didn’t want to see Hyuck nor sit near him. Mark had told you that it was okay and that he would sit with you and would try to get some information from Donghyuck for you but you declined, wanting to hear the truth straight from your ex best-friend's lips.

Life was pretty shitty without your best-friend and you hadn’t realized how much you had depended on him. The breaks in between classes were so quiet, despite your earbuds being in and Demi sometimes joining you. Some things you laughed at, she didn’t find humorous and it just made you miss Hyuck knowing that he would've laughed or rolled his eyes at you pretending he didn't find it amusing but he really did. This left you feeling torn, you wanted your best-friend back but at the same time you didn’t want to give in.

You couldn't forget what he had done.

Now evenings were spent in your dorm or sometimes Jeno’s who had gotten the gist of what was happening but didn't ask, instead teaching you how to cook or watching movies with you. But it just didn’t feel the same as it did before.

Hyuck had stopped calling and texting you as Mark had told him to back off and now he was giving you space. But for some reason you weren’t content with that, you wanted the attention as selfish as it sounded. You wanted him to keep bugging you with texts and calls because it meant that maybe he cared. Deep down, you told yourself that it was that reason and not that he was just trying to selfishly salvage his friendship as Demi had reasoned.

And now you were going to be spending Valentine’s all alone and miserable.

You had deleted Love Alarm now too despite it being fixed, as it was just filled with negative memories that weren’t worth it for that short thrill.

As you were walking back to your dorms, earbuds in, it was ironic that you wished you could go back to the days where they would be yanked out of your ear and a loud yell would resonate through your soul. You missed the obnoxious game playing and you wondered what he was doing now. Why wasn’t he messaging you? Why wasn’t he finding a creative way to do something to make it up to you?

God, you felt pathetic.

The sun tickled your cheeks and your thoughts swirled into nothingness, just trying to enjoy the simple nature around you as you observed the trees swaying and lots of happy couples around you. Normally, you would be bitter at the happy couples but you didn’t want to focus on the idea of romantic interests now.

Your new Valentine’s plan was just to order takeout and watch rom-com’s to make you feel better about your own. Then you were going to make a small cutely decorated cake like the ones you had seen on Pinterest. Originally, it was supposed to be with Hyuck or Demi but now those options weren’t there anymore.

Well, Demi was, but you felt that every time you two were together now it just didn’t feel the same.

With a sigh, you trudged to your dorm wondering what you could do tonight to take away the loneliness, maybe binge on old Wattpad fics? The cringe in some of them could possibly lighten the despair.

As you went to unlock your door, a bright yellow sticky note sticking right above the lock caught your eye.

Huh? Was this some kind of prank that uni students played on one another?

You looked from side to side to see if it was on other doors but nope, it looked like you were the only one.

You picked it up and squinted reading,

"Meet me at the dorm rooftop tonight @ 10. I'll explain it all but please come. - DD"

A smile crept onto your face but you pursed your lips trying to stop it. Just because he had signed off using the Double D's nickname didn't mean he was let off the hook. You were just a tad desperate and had been dwelling on when he would reach out to you.

It was still a bit weird nevertheless since Hyuck had usually apologized in the past to you by showering you with food and sweet comments, both of which he knew you loved. Also 10pm? That was pretty late and even if it was going to be the weekend soon, you still valued your sleep. But he was going to explain finally and that's what mattered. A huge part of you hoped that everything went back to normal after this and you two could hang out again. You hated not being able to talk with him, he was your number one person to be with.

The hours dragged by so slowly that you decided to just eat some dinner and throw on something nice to show that you hadn't been that affected by this whole ordeal. It was a bit stupid as he had obviously seen your dark undereyes in class and large hoodies you were sinking in around campus.

But tonight there was some excitement buzzing through the air, this was the first thing in a couple of days that you were looking forward to.

Finally, it was fifteen minutes until ten so you shoved on some boots, threw on a large puffer jacket as it was a cold night and made your way to the rooftop.

Each stair you took only brought another question or reason to your mind on why Hyuck had done what he did.

But none satisfied nor seemed right and that was when you came face to face with the door.

God please make it go well, you didn't want to lose your best-friend and start again. You wouldn't be able to start again.

With a deep breath, you opened the door slowly and stopped when you saw what was in front of you.

The usually gray and dull rooftop was now adorned with tea candles and what looked like fake rose petals, covering all the gray. In the middle was a large pink blanket with a picnic basket, smaller blankets, two plates and a laptop in front with jazz music playing from it.

This was definitely not what you were expecting at all.

Where was Hyuck?

As if your mind had conjured him, he stepped from the side, a nervous look on his face as he held a rose surrounded by peonies in his hand and his phone in the other.

You were just taken aback by it all that you didn't speak, just staring at him.

He was in a red sweater with a white button up underneath and jeans, more stylish than what he usually wore yet still in the theme of the holiday tomorrow. Was this a- was this a makeup hangout for tomorrow?

"I uh, first off," he cleared his throat, licking his lips, "First off, I'm sorry. I know what I did was stupid and you don't have to forgive me I get it but I just, I don't how to explain why I did it. I mean I do but I-"

Hyuck sighed, "Do you still have the app?"

Huh?

Why in the hell was he speaking about the app in a moment like this?

"Uh, I deleted it."

"Oh." He looked everywhere but at you. Why was this so awkward?

"Yeah... Um why?"

"Um can you just like download it?" He twirled the flowers around, some of the petals lightly falling to the ground.

You took out your phone and did as he asked, wondering what scheme he was up to now because you couldn't figure it out.

"Okay, downloaded."

No sooner than you had said that, you heard a ding.

It couldn't be.

You weren't even in the app but the little heart with the fireworks exploded on your screen as a 1 showed in the middle of it.

But, but how?

You thought-

"This is why I hacked into your phone."

But if his went off then what about-

"I turned my notifications off because I don't want to know yet and I wanted to share my feelings with you first before rushing it. I know you might not ring my alarm but still I-"

You cut him off as you ran to him, the flowers falling out of his hands as you squeezed him in a hug. He was still for a second before relaxing and hesitantly putting his arms around you.

Hyuck liked you?

The boy you had never thought would have liked you and had beat yourself up over for sometimes having feelings for liked you?

It was like a dream you never wanted to end.

The both of you stayed like that for a bit, being comforted by each other's warmth and fast heartbeats.

You weren't sure how long it had been before you pulled back, your cheeks warm not only from his body temperature but also from the flush at the news.

Hyuck liked you.

Lee Donghyuck, Donghyuck, Double D's liked you.

His eyes glimmered under the moonlight as he smiled. The emotions were different in them now, completely different.

You didn't know what to say besides,

"Why. Why me? I'm not, I'm not even that pretty like those other people that want you."

He frowned, great now you just ruined the moment with your honest thoughts.

"You are beautiful." He whispered as if it was just a secret for him to tell you,

"There’s no if, no when, no but. You are beautiful and alwayswill be."

A shiver ran through you and tears flooded your eyes at his statement, this time from happiness and you buried your face in his warm neck once more as he held you so tenderly. If this was a dream you never wanted to wake up.

Soon, he nudged you off joking, "As much as I love to hug you, the snacks I made will freeze plus my laptop's battery might die out so let's sit."

Once seated, the both of you began to talk endlessly as if you hadn't seen each other in decades.

This time it felt different than before, like best-friends but more affectionate, like lovers.

He explained that he hacked into your app so that it wouldn't go off when he was near you and only stopped you from ringing others so that you wouldn't be busy for Valentine's as he was planning this all for you.

You were a bit upset but his intentions were never to be harmful and he swore that he was going to tell you tomorrow before you went ahead and figured it out. Still, he took the blame for what he did but he told you that for so long he had wanted to tell you how he felt. But each time he either chickened out or your friends joined so he faltered.

This year he wanted to make it different except now he somewhat ruined it.

But you assured him that it wasn't ruined, you still were in awe and on cloud nine from this all. Never had you thought that he had feelings for you and he laughed.

"You never noticed my gaze on you when you smile and talked excitedly with one of the guys or your other friends?"

You shook your head.

"Really? Or the way I always clung onto you, got super close to you and teased you?"

"Nope. I was too busy focusing on the punches you inflicted on my arm and your obnoxiously loud voice."

He laughed which made you smile. He really was like a burst of sun-rays and you wanted to be engulfed in him. A sliver of boldness ran through you as you got up and sat on his lap, taking him by surprise when you rested your head on his shoulder and loosely put your arms around him.

He smelled so good and felt so good too.

"I wish I could be like this forever with you. You have no idea how happy I am and how long I wanted to be like this with you."

"I can't believe we both missed each other's flirting with each other and thought the other only wanted to be friends." He laughed, his chest moving as he did so.

The night was so beautiful and perfect as if it were made for you and Hyuck. The stars twinkled and the moon was so beautiful, shining down upon you.

The quiet jazz music was so relaxing and you felt so at peace now but wondered one thing.

"How come you didn't do this tomorrow?" You yawned, feeling so comfortable in his arms.

He slowly laid down with you still sprawled on him then replied,

"I didn't want my Valentine to be sad the whole day."

You rested your chin on his chest, just centimetres away from his face, filled with pure ecstasy at his sugary sweet words.

The adorable freckles and his love-filled eyes, reflecting you had gotten you so caught up that you leaned in and gently kissed him.

His lips tasted sweet, like the chocolate you just had and very quickly, the kiss got heated. Donghyuck sat up and you wrapped your legs around him, feeling something stir below as he tangled his long honey-toned fingers in your hair while you tugged at his reddish brown locks.

You were the first to pull back, completely enamoured and in awe with him. This was like one of those perfect dreams you had but even better, so much better.

He delicately leaned his forehead against yours, making you close your eyes as he murmured something so softly that you couldn't hear.

"What?" You whispered, opening your eyes.

He pulled just an inch away before he repeated himself.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

The moon?

Wait.

The tiktok, the japanese meaning.

A slow smile spread across your face, a sweet warmth like summer sun-rays beaming through an open window filled your chest. And you leaned in so that you were right next to his ear and softly whispered just for him and only him to hear,

"I can die happy."

[vermillioncrown]

Building the SS MianLin

Ok, bc of the existence of the Lan Wenhui au, I'm content to disembark from the jc/zyx ship. And, of course, forever happy to go where the story takes us. But Mianmian and Yunxun! This could be fun! And unlike lxc/zyx, doesn't require as much 'hasn't happened yet' to make the shop float. (My personal feelings on ot3 are already documented.)

- Comparable levels of snark. I mean, the two are basically trying to raise jzx into a normal human being, and they understand that this is an Undertaking and must be done w a certain level of humor/exasperated self-awareness wrt to difficulty of the task that no one asked them to do

- And they're part of Gucci Gang together! Established friends! Trauma bonding!

- Lqy would fit in beautifully w Shuangfeng, is my bet. Just enough gremlin, just enough political savvy, would be over the moon at ppl not taking her less seriously bc of her gender

- Least likely to take zyx's gender fuckery as deathly injury to their worldview/paradigms. Would honestly probs be amused and Understand thoroughly

- No need for any sort of widespread gender reveal!

- If they got married, she could be in on the gender fuckery. "Ah, yes, my....husband... 😏" "Oh no, this is my sister-in-law"

- (Congrats her on bagging one of the jianghu's top 5 lmao)

- Would not infect zyx w the Drama. Lqy isn't immune to Drama (see her canon quitting of the Jin Sect), but she's too sensible to suffer fools and knows when to peace out. Unlike the rest of the contenders on dbd's The Bachelor, she isn't a Drama Magnet

- Also, zyx wouldn't be tied to a sect leader/heir. Big sigh of relief

- Previously referenced sensibility means she'd also be able to bring the side eye of judgment down on zyx when they get too wrapped up in convoluted research and neglect bodily needs, but also knows when to let things be

- Lqy is the closest thing this franchise has to a normal, emotionally even-keeled character. A selling pt all on its own. Also the character probably least likely to make zyx feel like they have to tend to their partner's emotional needs and growth

- Would be A-OK w trolling the hell out of wwx for his longstanding crush on zyx/be unimpressed w his tryhard insinuating teasing

- And, most importantly, basically guaranteed that there would be no untoward biomechanics troubleshooting 😂😂

haaa.hahahahaa

idk if it's a good time to start considering mianlin with gucci gang turbulence - hmm perhaps it's the perfect time!

(we're only so far into the fic + allowable character interactions, so again, can't count anyone out yet)

i think you're the first to really bring this possibility up, too. addressing each point

- yes, there's already personality chemistry between the two of them, esp when lqy comes out of her shell

- friendship is a very important foundation, and they've started on their way to building it (even the current issues, of which lqy's part hasn't been fully addressed yet, is all part of sweet sweet development)

- true, but a lot of the misfits of the cultivation realm (ie. most of the canon characters) would do okay-to-well there, too

- true to an extent - i feel it still depends on when and where and other developments between them. while we all like joking that lqy is the best and most boss-ass, rational bitch in the house, she's still a teen that's growing and maturing, she's still a person that has human flaws and biases. when everything settles, amusement and understand will probably the general feeling, yes.

- also true - but depending how things play out for others and wherever gender reveals are dropped, can be the same for others (not saying i'm dropping these genders whenever i feel like being saucy - a lot of these moments and instigations have already been plotted)

- YES. 100% post-canon shenanigans, bonus points in really annoying the shit out of nosy canon-folk that want to know about zyx's family (eg. wwx only gets nosier and nosier w his favorite people)

- (damn bro, yes, you clocked the self-indulgence, zyx will absolutely go up in rank)

- Also yes to the lack of Drama(tm), just regular drama.

- Also very true, and it also makes [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] easier

- Another aspect of lqy and zyx getting along, having inherent balance in their respective personalities

- Equality is important in a relationship (even if not perfectly 'equal'). Helps that zyx would have to get to know lqy as a person more than what the media showed her as (sassy, rational, etc etc). it's more organic

- see the point on gender fuckery, this is an extension of it

- no one's gonna die via a giant skewer, but there's definitely a learning curve nonetheless

all of these are nice points made... but none of them take into account to how it takes two to tango

so while we're seeing dbd and the other characters through zyx...

how do you think lqy sees zyx???

[bakerolivias-archived]

please share your mikaelsons as teens modern au headcanons

ooh boy, i just have so many thoughts about this tbh

i imagine klaus is for sure 100% in his moody, grumpy, i hate everything teenage boy phase, fueled by testosterone and angst. he would be a monster as a teenage boy in the modern world and definitely a handful

but while klaus may be an asshole he's always, always kind to rebekah and kol, especially rebekah because as much as he loves all his siblings she's not so secretly his favorite (and everyone finds it really endearing). he'd never snap at her, he's always the first to hug her if she's had a bad day, and he lets himself be more tender around her without saying "if you tell anyone about this i'll kill you" out of concern for his reputation as he does with kol and elijah and freya

klaus loves playing pranks on kol, though, and sometimes rebekah or elijah joins him

everyone is literally so protective of each other. if someone breaks a mikaelson's heart then they have to deal with all the mikaelsons. they all especially take it upon themselves to protect rebekah, but she makes sure to remind them she can also take care of herself and isn't a fragile person

elijah and finn are the annoyed and tired dads moms of the group, always making sure everyone exercises healthy habits and yelling "KOL, DON'T RIDE THAT SKATEBOARD IN THE STREET" or "KLAUS, GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT"

kol and rebekah are the kids yelling "mcdonalds! mcdonalds! mcdonalds!" while freya and klaus drive up to the window, order a black coffee and leave, and finn and elijah are the "we have food at home" types. kol's always sulky the rest of the ride home until rebekah lets him share her skittles to cheer him up

elijah taught klaus how to drive. elijah's always gentle and firm in his instruction and klaus loves the quality time

freya also taught finn, and they both used this newfound skill to sneak into the best parties

kol's always quoting vines at the dinner table or just in any situation ("this chicken's almost as juicy as my ass!!" at the dinner table, freya, rebekah and klaus bursting into laughter and elijah and finn sighing and shaking their heads)

sometimes the fam records the stupid shit kol does and puts it on vine

family game night except it always ends in violence

klaus always teases rebekah about her many, many crushes, from marcel to matt to stefan to nadia. then one day he comes home and there's a slight blush on his cheeks and when elijah asks what happened rebekah comes in looking smug and says "caroline gave him a forehead kiss and he hasn't been able to stop smiling on the way here"

klaus brings hayley home once and they hang on the couch to watch bad movies and make out sometimes, before deciding to just be best friends. he encourages her to make a move on elijah since it's obvious how she looks at him and klaus wants her to be happy

oh by the way all the mikaelson siblings are like, really bi. they also like to go for the same ppl and see who catches their attention first (sometimes they both do). it's become a fun competition for them, and it annoys the fuck out of finn.

elijah and rebekah both make a move on hayley, and klaus and kol have a bet going on who wins

rebekah and freya make a joint tiktok account together and call themselves the mikaelson sisters, they see this as sisterly bonding. they rub it in klaus's face when they become verified

if you're a friend of one mikaelson, you're a friend of all the mikaelsons and invited to mikaelson family game night. it's actually quite an honor to them even though they try to act like it isn't a big deal. stefan, hayley, camille, marcel, caroline, lucien, and keelin are permanent invitees.

i hope you enjoy my wildly incoherent thoughts, lmao. teenage!mikaelsons are just really precious to me

[meticulousmaker]

In my danganronpa AU's I make Sayaka and Taka have a sibling like relationship! I agree with your post a lot, I thought my idea of them getting along was just because they are two of my favorite characters from the first game, but I'm glad I find someone who agrees

YO im glad to hear ppl agree!! that post got more attention than i expected but 100% i agree with you, i could totally see them acting like siblings - down to squabbling like siblings over trivial stuff. time to ramble more headcanons yeehaw

given how strict taka is, i imagine that one way he shows care for other people is being overly protective of their needs, if that makes sense? like "you should be eating three full meals a day and achieving at least 8 hours of rest! any less may be detrimental to your performance as a student!". we see some of that in-game. i imagine him kinda hovering around sayaka to make sure she's hydrated and taking breaks after performances, and she's just like "taka, thank you, but i've been doing this for years."

i also imagine that taka doesn't really care for pop music - he says something to that effect in both his free time events and school mode, i think, where he admits he doesn't really keep up with pop culture in general. but!! the idea that he would start to get invested in it because of sayaka is making me happy. like, in his free time events, makoto gives him the advice that getting into pop culture stuff will give him something to talk with other people about, right? i can imagine that conversation happening pre-despair or in a non-despair au, and as a result taka launches into studying up on the things his classmates enjoy to talk with them. what we see from the free time events is he absolutely leaps at the opportunity to study, regardless of what he's studying. i can imagine him diving DEEP into pop idol content and being, like, kind of confused but in a respectful way. like it's not his thing personally but if his friend likes it, then he likes it! and it's wonderful to hear people light up talking about their passions.

speaking of that, as i said before, i think he and sayaka would recognize that Determination and Drive in each other and respect each other for it. it's the same reason i imagine both of them would butt heads with leon, who is basically one of the Geniuses taka dislikes so much. he's a guy who's coasted on his talent without working for what he has and takes his opportunities for granted. i could similarly imagine that sayaka wasn't a fan of mondo at the start for the same reason taka wasn't, though i imagine sayaka would more than anything just be intimidated by him. after taka and mondo bond though i imagine that would ease her worries about him A Lot, which then leads to the fun idea of mondo and sayaka as friends. i mostly just imagine they would talk about mondo's dog, i bet sayaka would like lil fluffy white dogs dfkhsdf