#and these are just the ones that i personally was invested in

[mageofmadness]

LADS MEN + ANESTHESIA

(2k) 𓍯𓂃𓏧♡ sfw [17+] includes: talk of surgery though non-descript, under the influence of anesthesia, pitiful men, pathetic attempts at ass grabbing, possibly ooc. go easy on me, i've never written zayne or xav. we're trying.

SYLUS unfortunately does not handle anesthesia well.

he doesn't handle hospitals well, preferring to take care of any issues he has himself. he hasn’t stepped foot in a hospital in years but cannot take care of this problem himself, and he's mad about it. pissed. he’s dismissive of everything said unless it’s coming from you and you have to remind him on more than one occasion to be nice and to stop acting so childish. no biting the nurse's heads off, the doctors are just doing their jobs, etc. he’s a nightmare patient who is only amicable when you’re by his side. sylus is all bark and no bite, too big for the damn hospital bed as they roll him into surgery.

despite that, everything is going relatively smoothly. you kiss him before he leaves, glaring at him as he says, “if i die in there, wait for me. promise i’ll be back.”

he comes out of it immediately and starts yelling for his wife. you two are not married, but good to know where things are going.

he's the one that freaks out and security almost escorts you from the building. you try to calm him down but he’s beside himself. sylus is too big to be manhandled back into the bed, seemingly forgetting he’s hooked up to all these wires, and he refuses to speak to anyone but his wife. gritting his teeth, “where is she? what did you do with her?” you (the she in question) are standing right there, but there’s been a shift change and new nurses and they don’t recognize you and he starts yelling the moment you touch him, trying to get him to lay back down:

"i am married do NOT touch me. do not...don't touch. my wife will kill you. she will! don't touch me, where are the doctors? get her out of here, my wife...oh she's going to be so mad. you touched me, she's going to be so mad. I'm going to be in so much trouble."

it takes you leaving the room, standing awkwardly in the hall as people glance at the commotion, and walking back in for sylus to suddenly recognize you. he looks absolutely pitiful, relieved beyond thought at the sight of his wife finally, and you know he’s never, ever going to live this down. 

CALEB is relentless.

even under the, quite frankly, insane amount of anesthesia he had to be given before surgery, he’s still trying to do for you. caleb tries to give you his blanket because he’s cold (you are not, but the gesture is sweet.) he offers you his sad hospital food, insisting you need to eat and must be starving “y–you…love jello, pips” (you love jello as much as the next person.)

he tries to give you his only pillow and asks for water from the nurse for you as well. he gets mad there’s nothing you want to watch on the tv: how dare the hospital not have your favorite show. he ignores the doctors and glares at them as he scoots over to make room for you to lie down next to him, scoffing at the suggestion that something as vital as you being as close to him might not be the best idea right now.

“it’s in your best interest to let her lay down,” caleb says, eyelids heavy. the doctors eyes widen and you wince. “i��m paying for this hospital stay, correct? that’s what i thought, so this bed is mine, therefore it’s hers and if you don’t want her laying in bed with me, maybe invest in some more comfortable couches. not just a chair.”

it’s all very sweet, except through all of this his speech is slurred and he keeps nodding off in the middle of talking. it’s hard to take his harsh words and mean looks seriously. it makes his glaring at the doctors quite ineffective and when caleb’s finally brought the water, he doesn’t remember he asked for it for you, and drinks it all. his attempt at fluffing the pillow for you is nothing more than weakly punching it a few times, and he offers you the blanket by half-heartedly pushing it onto the ground before powering down like he’s been unplugged.

he only calms once you are in bed with him, sending apologetic glances at the nurses and doctors. telling him yes the water was great and yes, you’re very warm and content (he still has the entire blanket and you’re sweating actually. he runs so hot.) and yes the pillow is fine (you’re not even laying on the pillow.)

RAFAYEL is a runner.

he’s insistent, the moment his eyes open, that he’s ready to go home. pack everything up, give him his clothes—he’s not taking no for an answer. the hospital smells weird and he wants his own bed. these are the words of a man determined to be heard as if he’d have the ability to stand, let alone put on his pants. rafayel is halfway to unplugging himself from everything, scanning the room for his things, asking you for what you think are the car keys as if the way he’s slurring his words isn’t a great indicator of his ability to operate a motor vehicle right now and he’s an arguer. he’s pouting. he’s rolling his eyes and throwing his hands in the air, dramatically throwing himself against the pillows.

rafayel insists he’s fine enough to go to the bathroom himself: “if i can piss by myself, i can drive a car.”  his logic is flawed. you also say no when he mumbles from the bathroom, “can you come hold it? my dick while i piss?” which negates his previous logic and you do tell him that to which you get a pout and shoved out of the bathroom. 

rafayel is the type to look you in the eyes and half-consciously mumble something about, “i’m not trying to have domestic dispute in the hospital, are you? take me home.” you gently try to push him back into the bed, reminding him he’s in a hospital gown and his ass is out. you’re amazed at the large words he’s using, not so impressed with the way he’s trying to get out of the bed again. and again. you’re also not impressed with the way he’s swaying in place, telling the nurses with a pout that he’s fine. that you’re there to take care of him now so, “you’re dismissed, your services are no longer needed” and that if you’re not going to take him home, rafayel will just go get the car himself and pull it around. you love how overly confident he is, and it really is ideal that he’s so weak from the drugs that he’s easily overpowered.

it takes three nurses and a doctor and you raising a brow at him, pointing your finger and narrowing your eyes, for him to flop himself back down into the bed. he loses steam quickly after that, waking up later and not remembering a thing but you do remind him that he flashed his bare ass to the entire staff.

XAVIER concerns the doctors with how long it takes him to wake up.

he’s out like a light and wakes up after sleeping like the dead and sees you speaking to the doctor. he’s silent, he’s not yelling. he’s quite sound up there in his head despite the anesthesia but he doesn’t like that doctor or how close he’s standing to you or the doctor’s hand on your shoulder or the way the male nurse comes in to ask you something and while he’s the most level headed of them all, he still can’t help but say something. 

you and the staff seem really chummy, and who knows how long he’s been out. he finally clears his throat, both you and the doctor looking over. 

“leave.”

xavier glances between you and the doctor. you’re tired, you’ve been there since morning, and you give the doctor a clipped smile, thanking him and nodding, letting him know it’s fine, and you’ve got it from here. xavier’s eyes don’t leave the doctor until he’s out the door and for the next few hours, you are confined to the small sliver of hospital bed with him as he silently fumes that the doctor was trying to make a move on you while he was indisposed.

“you smiled at him,” he insists. “i don’t trust him. i’ll report him for medical malpractice.”

you take none of this personally, quickly reminding him being nice as a doctor is a good thing. you almost find humor in it, if xavier’s calm demeanor wasn’t somewhat unnerving after the second and third hour. you ask him if he’s in pain, he says no. you ask him if he wants to rest, he says no. you ask him if he needs anything, he says no. you realize too late that he’s doing everything to avoid the doctor coming back into the room. when he finally does, xavier speaks for himself. slowly, a bit stilted, but he’s impressive with his lucidity. tightening his arms around you and asking for the door to be shut this time when you two are left alone. 

“i’ll sleep when we’re back home.”

safe to say he manages to pull it together well enough to be discharged as soon as possible, and once you’re home, he drops the act, turns into a bit of a baby, and passes out to sleep again.

ZAYNE is 100% handsy.

he’s a doctor, he knows what he’s getting into and what’s going on when he wakes up. he wasn’t worried before, he’s not worried now and you’re actually the one that’s been stressed this entire time. zayne has the wherewithal to understand he’s stuck for a bit in this room, and while his can you hand me that water? is genuine, he narrows his eyes as you walk past him and reaches a limp hand out to grab your ass. you turn around, startled, and he shrugs. he has the drugs as an excuse, not that zayne doesn’t appreciate your ass on the regular, he just has an excuse now to grope you in the hospital bed which, let’s be real, he’s kind of into. not the whole him-in-the-bed situation, or you in the bed if the roles were reversed but, well. the thought of you as a hot nurse does cross his mind. he might not remember this later, but his defenses are down, and he won’t blame himself.

“lay in the bed with me,” zayne mumbles, eyes closed. “c’mon.”

you remind him that’s not the best idea, he’s a doctor, and he should know this but he frowns and opens an eye. it’s endearing, this side of him, and you know what’s coming before you even lay down. zayne’s hand falls from the bed, grabbing your ass again as you slowly try to crawl into the bed with him. the doctors come in, and zayne is dismissive, spouting off responses to their questions with his eyes closed as if this is all a walk in the park as he feels you up still under the blanket. a handful off your ass is squeezed every time he has to answer another annoying question.

you whisper, reminding him that he’s not being the best patient right now, and zayne scoffs, seemingly letting the anesthesia work its magic on his limbs and lack of filter:

“i’m lying in bed resting, i don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“stress is not good for recovery.” another squeeze. “don’t stress me out.”

you relay all of this to him after he’s fully conscious, even slipping in his mumbles talk of you as a hot nurse he’d let slip while asleep, and he blinks. there’s a slight blush, but he does not deny or condemn his own actions. like he said, he won’t blame himself.

@ mageofmadness 2025. ִֶָ. 232.161.195 161.178.232

[dubiousculturalartifact]

like obviously i am emotionally invested in buddie going canon from like, a character/story perspective but from a 'got a degree in sociology, has been on tumblr since 2012, was once a superwholocker' perspective, i am FAR more invested this shit is delightful and fASCINATING. despite all the shit in the world, despite the backlash towards LGBTQ people happening right now, there is a major network television show that already made one half of a m/m fan ship canonically bi, had him fuck a (different) man, and is now poised to make the pairing canon after more than SEVEN SEASONS OF SLOWBURN. like: they are a pairing that started as a classic wink-nudge jokey queerbait, possibly nearly went canon years ago before that was shutdown, but now it is HAPPENING. and no, i'm not here for arguments that it isn't. i know better than is good for me, what queerbaiting looks like, and it DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THIS. i have been in like 15 different shipwars for queerbaited pairings. I am that fan who once went up to the showrunner of OUAT in a restaurant to tell him, personally, to his face, that queer fans like me deserved better. and now, eight years after that incident, the queer fans of an ABC tv show might just be getting that 'better'. like. what the fuck. how did we get here?

this is a phenomenon that has literally never happened once on live action american television, and we are all watching it unfold, whether actively or via the persistent ubiquity of fandom osmosis and i am studying this show and TPTB and the actors and the fans like BUGS

[mamayura]

Revelator analysis: Marinette remembering the Umbrella scene incorrectly

You know what I find really interesting about the interview scene in "Revelator" where Adrinette retells how they met? Marinette is actually getting a few details wrong.

Mind you, no deal breakers. She got all the emotional beats down accurately. And I will only truly take this as canon anyway when the French original has her misremember things the same way. But for now, it's really interesting that MARINETTE is the one who gets a couple of details wrong about the moment she fell SO in love with Adrien, while Adrien himself is out here making no such mistake in the whole interview:

This is correct. Simple as that.

This one... is on very thin ice. In reality, Marinette had just left the building and noticed it was raining when Adrien started talking to her. Yes, she was ready to wait until the rain stopped, but she never truly got to the waiting part:

But, by all means, if this were only this detail, I wouldnt make this post right now. Even if, factually, she didnt wait, she just noticed it was raining and thought she had to wait.

But let's get back to this later because there is another layer to this that was the catalyst for me writing this. But for now, moving on:

This is correct again. Adrien, in fact, had an umbrella.

But here is the thing:

This is... straight up wrong. Objectively. What Marinette reacted negatively to was Adrien trying to be friendly and saying "Hi" to her:

He only offered his umbrella at the end, so Marinette claiming so confidently in "Revelator" that she at first turned down the umbrella is false. Adrien opened it for himself because he was the one standing in the rain for a bit while explaining his perspective:

I sure don't see any umbrellas being turned down here, Marinette. So what exactly are you remembering? Just saying.

From this point onwards, the Adrinette interview is accurate again because 1) it's about the emotional core of it, and 2) well, Adrien is then talking the most because it's about him and Marinette is mostly just adding to it. So, yeah...

Look, I don't wanna say that this is some deep betrayal of love and proof that Marinette's love for Adrien isnt real. Of course not. And again, there is still the chance that the line in question is right in the French original (though, I do gotta say, I doubt it because that would change the natural flow of the conversation)

I just find it interesting that the thing about THE Umbrella scene that Marinette gets wrong is the UMBRELLA itself and how and when it was extended to her.

Cause, well... This is not a documentary. Marinette is not a real life person who can mix some things up without it meaning anything. She's the main character and the main narrative tool of the story.

This is the moment SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH ADRIEN. Pretty much 80% of what she does in this show goes back to this moment. In story-telling practice, yes, her being the one who recalls that moment incorrectly should mean something.

Bad faith reading: it's a major indicator that Marinette is actually not as invested in Adrien and their relationship anymore as she was once upon a time. Her needs and desires have changed and that's causing problems now.

Good faith reading (and I genuinely mean good faith reading. Fucking BEST faith reading, in my opinion):

The details that Marinette gets wrong about the Umbrella scene actually correspond with the ending of "Strike Back" where Marinette's lightning moment happened with Chat Noir:

Cause if you combine Marinette's memories of the Umbrella scene with the Strike Back scene, then, yes, Marinette WOULD remember standing way longer in the RAIN before Adrien eventually came to her:

Not because that's how it factually happened in "Origins", but because she was alone in the rain for a solid bit before Chat Noir arrived in "Strike Back".

But the most important thing is that, if you combine the two lightning scenes, this objectively incorrect line actually checks out again:

Because the moment Marinette fell in love with Chat Noir was about him having extended his hand several times but her having pushed him away and held at arms length:

Marinette in the Umbrella scene didnt turn down Adrien's umbrella. Not only because that simply didnt happen, but also because Adrien only had the opportunity to offer it ONCE which she then immediately took. Chat Noir, on the other hand (is that a pun?), did offer the gesture she then fell in love with more than once, which she initially turned down, but eventually accepted.

So, again, worst faith reading: we were supposed to pick up on Marinette remembering the iconic Umbrella scene incorrectly which is supposed to subtly tell us that life has changed Marinette's feelings for Adrien for the worse because she's simply not the girl she was a year ago and the love she once wanted doesnt fit her needs anymore, so it's fading and getting drowned out.

Best faith reading: It's a subtle hint that the love she once wanted doesnt really fit her needs anymore, but the one that does more and more now is Chat Noir who, as we all know, is Adrien Agreste.

Though, no matter which one it is, one truth remains: Marinette remembered the UMBRELLA SCENE wrong and that means something.

[qoldenskies]

untapped potential in mikey being so into art. we should give him a fursona

[ivysos2001]

One thing I think is so interesting about sotr is that it all but proves in my mind that the rebellion never would’ve or could’ve been triggered by just one person, no matter how rebellious or lucky they were. If it could’ve been, then maybe haymitch or beetee or any of the other victors who I’m sure tried and failed in their own ways over the years would’ve done it.

Bc it wasn’t just katniss’s rebellious streak that triggered the rebellion, it was never katniss alone who did it: it was her and peeta together and their unrelenting love for each other that changed the game entirely.

They showed people that love can overcome the Capitol. Because the games were trying to prove that people were animals who’d easily become vicious killers under the right circumstances. They were set up to foster division and animosity amongst the districts. But we’ve seen for ourselves in every games we’ve encountered that that’s not true, that the tributes (despite the horrible circumstances) naturally begin to care about each other, to take care of each other, to mourn each other, to fight for and with each other and not just against each other. And because the Capitol seems to have always edited out any and all proof of love and support between tributes (they obviously did it for haymitch and the newcomers), I think katniss and peeta were special because they were the first ones to show people that kind of love and humanity within the arena in a way that was so undeniable and also so impossible to edit into anything else.

The gamemakers got so hooked on getting everyone invested in this love story that they forgot that cardinal rule. They were thinking how great a romance could be for their show and how it didn’t matter anyway because they’d get them to turn on each other in the end. But these two didn’t, and they stayed loyal to each other in a way that was so huge and impossible to predict or hide or edit around that suddenly it was impossible for anyone to ignore.

They showed everyone that the love and friendship and teamwork between people is where real power lies. And then the next year they (along with their fellow victors turned tributes) kept up with that message of showing the power of unity and teamwork even in the face of all their deaths.

So yeah I’ll say it again, this is the the piece haymitch and plutarch are missing when they’re talking about their lucky future person who can succeed in launching the rebellion- it was never going to be just one person by themselves. Katniss and Peeta succeeded because they did it *together*, which was the *only* way it was ever going to work

[tetheredfeathers]

No, because Katniss wasn’t just luckier—she was the person who fit the puzzle perfectly.

Sparking the rebellion required a specific formula, you need a leader and good support, it wasn’t something that could come together with just a few random elements. Haymitch, for example, could never have executed it. Why, you ask? Because the people didn’t connect with him emotionally—it was difficult to root for him.

Not only that, but all of Haymitch’s acts of defiance went unnoticed because the Capitol had no reason to broadcast that footage. In contrast, Katniss’s actions were essential to show, because the audience was emotionally invested in her.

Take, for instance, the romance between Katniss and Peeta. Even though it began as a strategy, it became an act of defiance. The Capitol’s rule was clear: only one victor could survive. But here were Katniss and Peeta, taking an oath to protect each other, going directly against the Capitol's narrative of self-preservation.

This idea of self-preservation is key to understanding the Capitol's control. It’s what breaks down the power of the districts, keeping them subdued. Over time, people in the districts stop fighting, stop rebelling, all for the sake of saving their own lives. Katniss even points this out when she volunteers for Prim—she explicitly says what she did was 'radical'.

Anyway, back to the point: Haymitch was never someone the Capitol’s citizens could root for, Katniss was. The Capitol and District grew emotionally attached to her, which turned her into a symbol. Katniss’s entire persona is emotional and instinctive, and even Plutarch mentions something along those lines—I can’t quite recall the exact quote. It talks about the importance of emotional connection I think, ugh I can't remember.

[barnesdolls]

Steve Rogers and the Increasing Urge to Retire

Steve Rogers had seen a lot in his time. He had fought Nazis. Punched aliens. Time-traveled. He had literally been to space.

But nothing—nothing—could have prepared him for Bucky Barnes in the modern age.

Bucky Barnes, who had been a highly trained assassin, was now a highly trained menace to society.

And Steve? Steve was one incident away from handing in his Avenger’s card and checking into a retirement home.

—

INCIDENT #1: THE GREAT ESCALATOR WAR

It had started as a simple mission.

Go to the mall. Get in. Get out. No shenanigans.

Which is why Steve, like a fool, thought it was okay to take Bucky and you with him.

His first mistake.

“Alright,” Steve sighed, rubbing his temples, “let’s just—”

But you had already skipped ahead, dragging Bucky toward the escalator.

And that’s when Steve heard it.

The sentence that nearly made him walk into the ocean and never return.

“Steve, look!” Bucky called. “Metal stairs! That move!”

Steve turned just in time to see Bucky, a fully grown adult man, hesitate at the base of the escalator like it was some forbidden dark magic.

“…Bucky, please,” Steve begged.

“I dunno, man,” Bucky muttered, eyeing the steps with suspicion. “Seems dangerous.”

You were wheezing. “Come on, Grandpa. I believe in you.”

Bucky took a deep breath. Stepped forward—

And immediately started moving.

“OH SHIT,” Bucky shouted, grabbing the railing like his life depended on it.

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. “God give me strength.”

“I’M NOT BUILT FOR THIS,” Bucky yelled, clutching the railing as he slowly ascended.

You, crying from laughter, stepped on behind him effortlessly. “Oh my God, I can’t breathe—”

Bucky turned, eyes wild. “DOLL, HELP ME—”

And then he reached the top.

Which meant the escalator ended.

Which meant Bucky had to step off.

Which meant—

“WHAT DO I DO.”

“Step off, you idiot!”

“I CAN’T.”

Steve watched in horror as Bucky flung himself off the escalator, hit the floor dramatically, and just laid there like he had been defeated by technology.

A mall employee walked by. Took one look at the grown man face-down on the tile. Kept walking.

Steve sighed. “I hate my life.”

—

INCIDENT #2: BUCKY VS. THE AUTOMATIC DOOR

Steve was so close to leaving Bucky at the mall.

It had been ten minutes since the escalator disaster, and now they were heading toward the exit.

Which should have been easy.

Except Bucky stopped walking.

“Wait,” Bucky muttered, staring at the automatic sliding doors. “What the hell is that.”

Steve followed his gaze.

“It’s a door,” Steve said flatly.

Bucky frowned. “But it knows we’re here.”

“That’s how automatic doors work, Buck.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. Stepped forward—

The door slid open.

Bucky immediately jumped back.

Steve aged ten years.

You, fully invested in the drama, gasped. “It senses your presence, Buck! It’s alive!”

“I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS,” Bucky announced, pointing at the door like it had personally offended him.

Steve inhaled deeply. “Bucky, for the love of God—”

But Bucky wasn’t listening.

Bucky, instead, was testing the door like a cat trying to figure out a new toy.

He stepped forward. The door opened.

He stepped back. The door closed.

Forward. Open.

Back. Closed.

You, absolutely encouraging this, were recording on your phone.

“Doll, this is black magic,” Bucky muttered.

You nodded. “It knows all, Buck.”

Steve, having an existential crisis, just walked straight through the door and kept going.

“STEVE, NO!” Bucky shouted after him. “YOU’RE GONNA GET TRAPPED IN THERE.”

Steve kept walking.

Steve did not look back.

If he looked back, he might actually throw himself into traffic.

—

INCIDENT #3: BUCKY VS. THE SMART SPEAKER

Steve entered the living room with the quiet dread of a man who knew he was about to witness something deeply stupid.

And he was right.

Because there was Bucky.

Sitting on the couch, glaring at the smart speaker like it had personally insulted his entire bloodline.

Steve closed his eyes. Breathed. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Bucky grumbled.

You, sitting next to him, cackled. “Oh, he absolutely did something.”

Bucky shot you a look before turning back to the speaker. “Listen, I just asked it a question.”

Steve already had a headache. “And?”

Bucky clenched his jaw. “And it was rude.”

Steve sighed. “What did you ask?”

Bucky crossed his arms. “I asked it if it feared me.”

Steve stared at him. “And what did it say?”

Bucky’s eye twitched.

It was you who answered, barely holding in laughter. “It said: ‘I don’t have emotions, but I appreciate your curiosity, James.’”

Steve wheeze-laughed. “It government named you?”

Bucky pointed aggressively at the speaker. “It’s a fed, Steve. It knows my name.”

Steve shook his head. “You registered your name when you set it up, you idiot.”

“I DID NO SUCH THING.”

“You literally did.”

“I TRUSTED IT, STEVE.”

“WHY WOULD YOU TRUST IT?”

Bucky, now fully losing it, stood up and pointed dramatically. “I challenge it to single combat.”

You clapped your hands in delight. “Oh my God, fight the smart speaker. Punch it. I wanna see.”

Steve threw his hands up. “You can’t fight a smart speaker, Buck!”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “Not with that attitude.”

And then—before Steve could stop him—Bucky picked up the speaker, held it at arm’s length, and whispered menacingly:

“You listen here, you little shit.”

Steve turned on his heel and left the room.

And from behind him, he heard the speaker cheerfully respond:

“That’s not very nice, James.”

[sanesaviour]

Omg can’t believe I finished drawing all of them (at least ones I’ve planed)

MJ🌹

Headcanons:

1. She is super popular, everyone knows her, everyone wants to be friends with her, she is invited to every party… but still she likes to spend most of the time with Peter and Harry

2. She lowkey roasts Flash Thompson every chance she gets, especially when he tries to act tough

3. She figured out Peter was Spiderman way before he told her - his excuses were just too bad. She just waited for him to admit it himself… she knows like everything about Spiderman, if she ever got web shooters she’d use them way better than Peter did his first time and she keeps a hidden stash of spidey photos she’s too embarrassed to admit she takes for fun, despite being a serious journalist

4. She and Peter are childhood best friends, they went through lot together and their friendship is most valuable thing for both of them and even if they argue they always make up quickly, they know each other too well to stay mad for long

5. I think Harrys and MJs relationship is bit complicated, they went through fighting for Peters attention (Harry was 2nd friend of Peter ever so MJ was naturally jealous about it), to being “friends” just to make Peter happy, to secretly crushing on each other, to being real friends… but after Venom incident Harrys and Peters friendship strained and so did his friendship with MJ, she still wants to help him tho

6. Luke & MJ - Luke is one of the team who gets along with MJ best (besides Peter), he sees MJ as Peter’s anchor and keeps an eye on her whenever things get too dangerous

7. She always admired Ava’s no nonsense attitude but on the other side Ava at first did not like MJs party girl vibes at all… but after she get to know her better, bc of Peter, they actually make quite good duo and they start spending lot of their free time together

8. Sam is really impressed by her from beginning, he tries to be friends with her so hard, he just can’t keep eyes of her (she is naturally really beautiful) and she knows it! She randomly drops lines like “you are such an amazing FRIEND” just to make sure he doesn’t get any wrong ideas. But she likes him tho but only as friend… also after some time MJ has theory that Sam is way too invested in pages dedicated to make fun of Spiderman or just mocking Spiderman in general. She has notebook labeled “Nova (?)” where she gathers evidence (after finding out that Peter is Spiderman it’s pretty easy to find out who are the other members of spidey team lol, also when they find out she knows they immediately starts to blame each other for telling her and she just hit them with “you really think it was that hard to guess”)

9. MJ thinks Danny is weird and his calm zen wisdoms sometimes gets on her nerves… she respect him, but still thinks he’s weirdest person in their circle

10. Even tho she is not superhero, she saved the team before - usually by using her investigative skills or just quick thinking.

[erosmutt]

ur the only person i trust to write this but like.. aotc anakin using a fleshlight or smth cause hes just so needy and misses u so much while youre away on a mission.. 😍

I'm always so flattered when people say I'm the only person they trust to write something 😭 it makes me feel so special, I love it. I shall deliver! ⠀★⠀⠀─⠀⠀WRITTEN BY EROSMUTT 25.03.23

Anakin has been missing you all week. You're away on a mission, planets away, too busy to answer your comlink, and it's agitating him to no end. Usually, he can go to your quarters and get a quickie in, but there's no one to keep him company.

For times like this, he invested in a sex toy. Sure, he could just sneak out and find a girl to sleep with, but no one can treat him like you can.

He lays in your bed, sheets tousled, blanket pulled back. You forgot to make it when you left, and he happily parked himself in it. He stripped himself of his robes, and now holds a fleshlight in his hands.

The squelching is nothing short of disgustingly lewd. Anakin lets out a low whine as he moves the toy up and down on his cock, back arched off the bed. "Oh, oh," he squirms, unable to stop himself. "That feels so good," he pants to no one in particular - there's no one else there, but he likes to think you can sense him through the Force, that you know he's playing with himself to the thought of you.

Anakin whines, moving around much more. He rolls onto his tummy and starts to fuck the fleshlight quicker, pretending that it's you, that he's putting his hand on your stomach to keep you from squirming lots. "Hnn, hnngh," his legs tremble and he falls onto his side, thrusting against the toy, unable to keep himself still. "Kriff, please," he pants.

His hips stutter and he cries out against your pillow as he spills himself into the toy in ropes. His hands shake as he pulls it off his softening cock. "Hhuhhh..." He smiles, cheeks flushed. "Mmh, come back soon, please," he whispers softly.

[cryinggirlnamedhelen]

I hope this isn’t a weird question but which bllk chars do you think would put up with a partner who mistreats them badly? Like cheating or insulting them constantly? And which do you think would immediately bail

lmao it is but honestly i find it funny so no worries😈

will endure/stay

1. isagi. okay, ik slursagi exists, but my main argument is that isagi is actually a really chill and meek guy outside of the field. remember how during the shibuya arc, when his old teammate tada said that isagi only made it out of luck, he was seething on the inside but said nothing? yeah, clearly an endurer to me.

2. nagi. okokokokok hear me out, but nagi’s lowkey just a chill guy. i don’t think he’ll even realize that it’ll be a toxic or abusive relationship since he’s not even invested enough to realize or he just thinks that it’s too much of a hassle to really care or break up with you.

3. kaiser. he has attachment issues, i think the series makes that clear. now, you can say all your yee yees and yee haws, but even if kaiser is the abuser in this relationship, he’s too much of a coward to actually break up. ness is an exception (which i will elaborate on if someone asks)

leaving IMMEDIATELY

1. chigiri. yeah no, his princess personality is NOT going to put up with someone toxic. he’s a canon narcissist and has an extremely high self worth, so i genuinely can’t imagine him standing to be with anyone abusive. if anything, he’ll be the one to leave a nasty text message and leave.

2. aiku. self explanatory.

3. otoya. self explanatory.

[elodieunderglass]

Driving to the car shop to get my snow tires off (as one does) and I was ruminating on Charlie’s anxiety about his natural boy-child being a secret prince able to inherit the horfe business.

Then it occurred to me that all Bill’s issues would be fixed if he would just allow Ciara to inherit.

Then it occurred to me that maybe some of Ciara’s issues would be fixed if they just acknowledged that a woman can inherit and run the business as well as or better than her brothers?

And now I’ve accidentally invested in a head canon where Ciara has a redemption arc in which she stages a coup, takes the reins of power, and joins Pippa and Rossa in an open relationship in order to set Pippa’s exquisitely tiny jockey babies up for D-generation inheritance.

(messy horse dynasty / charlie's inheritance worries)

OOOH.

In addition to misogyny (and there IS misogyny!) part of why Bill (and his father) want a D-generation inheritance is to manage things like the inheritance tax burden; Killie is actually a perfectly decent (if currently absent) heir, firstborn son of a firstborn son etc, but a huge sticking point is how he doesn't have kids. In addition to needing to dodge/manage the 33% inheritance tax, there's always the spectre of the fact that 20+ of The Family depend on the horse businesses; the businesses make NO profit; and the land itself is worth millions. Leaving it to the wrong person, even if it's The Right Person but they have no clear heirs (i.e. if Killie falls off a horse and breaks his neck For Real This Time, dying young) risks the whole empire landing on someone who sells up and cashes out.

Ciara is (fairly) considered to be untrustworthy, and probably unlikely to put The Family first. She would be INFINITELY more appealing as an heir with a spouse and family to properly nail her down. Turning up with a Baby(TM) would be a BALLER move. This is an excellent idea!! and exactly the kind of plan she'd come up with to seize power from Killie! the baby would probably have to carry the family name, but if you're already putting in the hard yards to do all this to seize power, you probably want that to happen anyway.

however...

is this fair to Rossa? to poor darling Rossa???? is this not like feeding a beautiful hamster to a ravening giant poisonous spider? You EXPLOIT Rossa?? EXPLOIT HIM for his gametes? :-(

(I did not think of them this way before, but something about evil-princess-schemes-for-political-marriage-to-unwilling-local-idiot is extremely amusing to me. political violence. i approve.)

[spacelessbian]

Thoughts on Cobel's interest in saving (and imprisoning) Gemma

I wonder how much of the whole Mark-Gemma situation (him working on her torture on the testing floor) was orchestrated by Cobel.

She doesn't run the testing floor, so I imagine Gemma was not picked by her, but rather by doctor Maurer or his superiors. But Cobel must have been in charge of hiring employees for her floor. So when Mark applied, she jumped at the opportunity. I think Cobel getting Gemma to come up to the severed floor and interact with Mark must have been her idea and she convinced Maurer to approve it.

We don't know much about him, but we can assume he is a part of the Kier cult. He is very similar to Cobel in how he speaks and behaves (and even how he looks), they are both scientists working on severance and they are both heavily invested in their test subjects. He also engages in roleplay, just like Cobel (shoutout to Mrs. Selvig, your cookies will always be famous!).

I can easily imagine them working together at some point, him being obviously rewarded by ascending (or descending lol) to the testing floor, and her (because she is a woman and because she is dangerous to them as the inventor of the procedure) being relegated to middle management. But there would have been history between them, perhaps she has leverage over him, perhaps they are friendly enough to do favors for one another.

While Ms. Casey must be one of the 25 innies completed by MDR, she doesn't fullfil the same role as the others. She is not doing anything harmful to herself and no active harm is done to her (with the exception of the break room punishments) and she actually interacts with real people, not just the creep Maurer in a wig. She gets the closest to being happy as she can probably get. She is also less closely monitored by the testing floor people – we can think Maurer is watching Ms. Casey at the same time Cobel is, but we have no evidence of that.

So Gemma was chosen by Lumon and Mark was chosen by Cobel personally. Over time she started to care about Mark and to some extent about Gemma. But what if she worked behind the scenes even before that?

Maurer worked in a fertility clinic and Cobel has some sort of expertise with nursing and/or caring for postpartum women (she gives Devon actual good advice). That feels like a definite and deliberate connection. In this scenario, Cobel and Maurer picked Gemma (and Mark) together, or she did and he took the credit. He was given the testing floor and she the severed floor. They were sharing Gemma as if she was a child of divorce. They also must have been sharing information about Mark and Gemma's life, because Cobel seemed to know a lot.

Cobel was invested in finishing Cold Harbor just as much as Maurer was. She wanted Mark to finish the file before saving Gemma, which didn't seem necessary. He could have gone down any time and grab her, it would have been easier, there would be less scrutiny (and even less security, I imagine). But Cold Harbor had to be finished. I think Cobel wants the chip. If Gemma dies in Lumon, the game is over, because Cobel has lost access. Why does she want the chip? No fucking clue. We gotta wait for season 3.

[seafoamreadings]

week of march 23rd, 2025

these are written predominantly for the *rising* signs but they are also intuitively "channeled" enough that they should work for any dominant energy you have! (try your sun if you don't know rising, or more advanced readers can try moon, anywhere you have a stellium, etc and see what works best for you!)

aries: venus exits your sign back into pisces yet the spotlight remains in many ways on you. that's due to a solar new moon eclipse in your sign - your already stereotypically volatile/short fuse energy is even more chaotic. keep a cool head if you can. not to mention the big one (yes bigger than an ECLIPSE!) which is neptune finally moving into your sign after many years in pisces. that's at the very end of the week, but can make the results of the eclipse seem a bit shrouded in confusion.

taurus: it's hard to think of a more emotional period than what is coming up this week. there are the watery feelings and the passionate expressions of fire plus major (MAJOR!!) sign changes and an eclipse. you're doing shadow work the entire time too, whether you do it on purpose or not. might as well direct it intentionally.

gemini: in a lot of ways, neptune in aries might feel refreshing to you. but you probably won't notice it right away due to the very intense eclipse shortly before that ingress. for now, chaos in your social networks may feel almost completely untenable. it's temporary but try to learn from any mishaps.

cancerians: even more than usual, and even more than usual *for an eclipse*, put extra extra super effort into self care practices. a bubble bath will not do; this needs to go very deep, treat yourself like a little baby if you need to. needs not met will find ways to get met even if that means dismantling your longest-held structures. and dismantling is the nice way to put it.

leo: some really deep and interesting ideas/insights/epiphanies are headed your way but don't get too attached or invested or deep into them just yet. this is a time of extreme volatility. the good ideas will stick around even as things chill out. bonus info, i don't recommend travel at this time for you, especially over long distances. actually i would strongly advise against it. if you can postpone, do, and if you cannot, be cautious, very cautious, and if you were going to plan things out early now, this is not the time.

virgo: your committed partnerships are undeniably changing, romantic or otherwise. it might feel extremely tumultuous for a while. even if the changes are quite positive, don't rush to consolidate all your resources with those of your partner. keep all the independence you can, at least for now.

libra: you are about to enter a new era of relationships. it's a long one, too. but it kicks off first of all with an eclipse in your 7th house, which might feel more like an ending than a fresh start. sometimes it's both.

scorpio: if you have not made your daily routines and structures into habits of ritual that really have meaning for you personally, if you have been devoting your life to a cause or force that isn't in alignment with you, you are about to find out. or maybe you already know and are just bracing yourself for the consequences? but if you've made your life sacred to you, even if changes occur, they are clearly just steps along your path. forks in the road where you actually know exactly where to go.

sagittarius: probably things are about to get fun in your personal life, and i don't even mean that as a euphemism. however, this week coming up may have you skeptical of that as the era takes a new form. and yes it's true, just because you're having a good time doesn't mean the world around you is necessarily flourishing.

capricorn: shakeups are coming around your family of origin, and/or your physical abode, and/or your ancestors. family skeletons may emerge from closets or you may have issues with roommates, for example. in fact if you were looking for new roommates, best to find them before the end of the week or even call it off altogether.

aquarius: any long term money issues should start to ease up but your community/neighborhood/maybe sibling relationships become cloudy and confusing, starting with a sudden explosion by the aries eclipse and then a much longer term issue with the ingress of neptune into aries at the very end of the week.

pisces: your last second house solar eclipse for a *long* time occurs this week, which is likely to be hard on your resources. shortly thereafter is the even bigger news. neptune, your own ruling planet, has been at home for so long in your sign it may have been easy to forget. this week it follows the eclipse into clouding up your 2nd house. that has its pros and cons of course, but it is certainly a completely different vibe. you haven't seen the last of neptune and yet, an era is clearly ending.

watch the transit posts in real time to have the best guide through your week. want a little more? have a look at my patreon or ko-fi.

check out my etsy for a private reading or fill out this form to set up a reading through venmo, cashapp, or paypal.

[our-queer-experience]

hi! i (cis) have this close friend who i am honestly so in love with. anyway they came out to me as a trans woman the other day and i am so excited for her!! she was happier than i've ever seen her after she told me (im the first friend she's told) and i get emotional just thinking about how it felt to see her so joyful. but here's the part i need advice for. she told me she wants to fully medically transition and especially wants to get vocal chord surgery. i am supportive of everything of course but part of me is so devastated to hear that because her voice is one of my favorite things about her. it's so comforting and was one of the first things i noticed about her and it's so unique and pretty. and now everytime i think about her transitioning i can't stop pre-emptively mourning her voice. how can i get over this so i can fully invest my energy into supporting her transition??

alright so first off!!! you sound like a great friend. when you say you’re in love with her, do you mean romantically? thatd be my only question.

second off, you have to consider your feelings separate from her. things you like about people may change. styles, voices, haircuts, whatever, are all things that change. you can like them while they’re there, but its best to embrace change as something equally beautiful. if you still miss or mourn her voice, keep those feelings to yourself in private. trans people are very vulnerable and insecure a lot of the time and hearing that other people dont like something you do about yourself can be a really deep wound and doesnt always go away. what she does is out of your control and you have to learn to love all the parts of her, that are changing, because that is the person you are going to get for the next forever.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

coney island x mbobhft

WHAT A COMPLETE SHOCK I WONDER WHAT INSTIGATED THIS /ijbol

Sorry for putting you on blast friend but also this is a very unique experience we share 😂

Ah, London N6, a night that will live in infamy for many reasons, not the least of which being IT WAS RARE WE WERE THERE WE REMEMBER IT ALL TOO WELL.

As many of you will know (and @claudiajcregg literally witnessed next to me as I mouthed WHAT THE FUCK), this is the mashup that broke my brain because it made my third eye open in the rafters of fuckass Wembley Stadium.

Warning: this is going to be a very long one because I am far too personally invested in it 😂

(It's so interesting seeing it from this angle head-on given that we were behind the stage 😂 I don't think I've ever seen it properly lol.)

First of all, My Boy was one of those songs that I loved as a bop when TTPD came out, but then when the voice memo version was released last summer (iirc a few weeks before this?) it made the song click even more pointedly because it made it infinitely sadder (and clearer and maybe confirmed my own inklings but anyway). Looking over my blog archives the day it was released is a trip because it can just be summed up as: IT'S SO FUCKING SAD! The idea that someone who you considered your closest confidant also being the one to help break you into a million more pieces? Devastating! "It sounds sad because I'm sad in general," ugh. But I digress.

Then you have Coney Island, which is where I confess that despite evermore being my favourite album, the song was one I didn't particularly gravitate towards. It's beautiful! It's evocative! It just wasn't one that like, permeated my consciousness all that much. It was one of those "wow she's sure telling a sad story with pretty words" type of things. Until, of course, she combined it with My Boy to maximize their joint slay that wrecked my brain and made me reconsider BOTH of them.

OK ENOUGH BACKSTORY LET'S GET TO THE PLOT 😂

Should've known it was only a matter of time, my boy only breaks his favourite toys... Break my soul in two, looking for you but you're right here, and if I can't relate to you anymore, then who am I related to? I loooooooove that transition! Again, one of the fun parts of the mashups that has become more evident as I've been on this exercise is that sometimes you can see the "hook" lyrically of what makes her craft the mashup. Here, it's the break toys/break my soul parallel.

And I *think* this might have been the point at which my brain went WAIT WHAAAAAAAAAAT in real time lmao. Again, I don't know why Coney Island never quite rooted itself in my brain, although thinking back on it, I do wonder if the fact that it's a duet played a role in that; as someone who tends to gravitate towards melody/sound before lyrics, maybe the fact that it's split between Matt Berninger and Taylor just made the story "split" in my brain? I don't know, but Taylor playing it on her own on the piano somehow made it click haha.

So back to the story of the mashup: You have the start of the story about the a cycle of depression (voices in his head), resentment (only breaks his favourite toys) and lashing out (I'm queen of sandcastles he destroys). And the cycle is on both parts tbh (sickest army doll/rivulets descend my plastic smile). It's a contrast to the early days of the relationship, where she felt like they were something special (but you should have seen him when he first got me/it fit too right, puzzle pieces in the dead of night), even though reality would set in and destroy it.

So then enter Coney Island, where she/the narrator is saying: you keep breaking me because you're pulling away from me (ostensibly because of said cycle) and I don't know why. You used to be the person I relied on the most in this world, and now I feel like half of me is drifting away. (At least, that's how I read "break my soul in two.") Like, this person is still physically there, but in every other respect, they're a million miles away. (Looking for you, but you're right here.) You used to be my everything, my other half, but if you're now pulling away from me, how am I supposed to exist in this world without you? (if I can't relate to you, then who am I related to?)

So admittedly this is where the duet vs. solo gets complicated in the narrative lol and I'm probably going to contradict myself just as a warning. But the theme from the start of My Boy is totally reflected in, "If this is the long haul, how did we get here so soon? Did I close my fist around something delicate, did I shatter you?" Again, the idea of: this was supposed to be our forever, yet it seems like we have just hit the beginning of the end. Was it something I did? Did I break you the way you've broken me? Is that why I'm in so much pain? IT'S SO SAD. (And again: is not only very similar to the theme of My Boy, but IMO of TTPD in general.)

The chorus of Coney Island is what this mashup REALLY illuminated for me: The idea of remembering the good times at a spot that used to be yours together, and wondering how the hell you lost sight of each other (lol) and ended up here, broken and alone. "Sorry for not making you my centrefold, over and over" is so ouchie because if it's the narrator singing that, it could almost be a little resentful, like, "I made you the centre of my universe, sorry I couldn't keep doing it again," but if it's the subject, it's like, "sorry I could never prioritize you the way you did me," and either way it's SAD.

"Lost again with no surprises, disappointments close your eyes and it gets colder as the sun goes down," REALLY got me, because it's just so resigned! Like, you keep expecting things to get better, but they don't, and you're just continually disappointed and floored with every setback. There's no grand gesture, no magic cure to save the day, everything just wilts and fades away. "It gets colder and colder as the sun goes down," is just like... all the life in your home and your relationship bleeding out like, well, death by a thousand cuts.

The bridge of Coney Island finally really hit me here because it's like the promise of youth being completely replaced by the jadedness of adulthood. "Were you waiting at our old spot in the tree line by the gold clock, did I leave you hanging every single day?" to me just feels like: I knew you were waiting for me [to join you-- and IMO that's a metaphor for "you were waiting for me to be ready for our plans"], but I kept stalling and with every day that I stalled I hurt you even more. Obviously this may be reading too much into it, but I could make a case for the "old spot by the tree line" being a stand-in for a familiar beloved space (e.g. home) and the gold clock being a stand-in for counting down to life plans that had once been on a timeline that no longer were. But this is getting deep into literary analysis instead of a walk down memory lane with the mashup itself 😂 Anyhoo this just gave me more thoughts about another song but we are not going there on main.

And of course, "did I paint your bluest skies the darkest gray a universe away" ties into so much of what we hear on TTPD (and imo much of rep through Midnights too), but also calls back to "here we go again, the voices in his head call the rain to end our days of wild," in the My Boy intro of this mashup. Like I said, this is where the duet vs. solo gets complicated if you're looking at it from a performance point of view here 😂 but it makes sense to me. (And to borrow from twitter brain rot, it fits my narrative.) But, this person drifting away emotionally and taking it out on her (a universe away) completely tears her world apart and turns her world into sadness in kind. (Which: again, is the theme of My Boy too.)

And maybe my favourite part of the mashup, thematically and sonically because it brings it all together:

When I got into the accident, the sight that flashed before me was your face, but when I walked up to the podium, I think that I forgot to say your name... but just say when I'd play again, he was my best friend down at the sandlot, I felt more when he played pretend than with all the Kens, cause he took me out of my box, stole my tortured heart, left all these broken parts, told me I'm better off, but I'm not.

It's this idea of: this person loves you more than anything (e.g. your face being the first they see when their life flashes before their eyes), but being unable to show you that kind of love and taking you for granted in spite of it (forgot to say your name). Like, I'd die for you, but I still can't be there for you. THAT IS HEAVY. (Yes, complicated by duet/solo, no, I don't care.) And in spite of it all, I would have still tried again! (And she did, ahem.) Because even when you hurt me, I still loved you more than anyone else! This love felt like it was worth more than the pain it caused, even when I was denying how much it was hurting me! I somehow believed you every time, but I know it was killing me. OOF.

(I could say "told me I'm better off, but I'm not," sounds like "You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues?" but I don't mean to veer into muse discourse because the mashup stories stand alone on their own etc.)

In the end, it comes down to "he saw forever, so he smashed it up." If you're looking at it as one full story, My Boy is like the context about the dark place they both find themselves in, and Coney Island fills in the lines about how said boy broke said favourite toy, little by little, until it turns into the destructive force you find in My Boy that leaves her in pieces to pick up on her own. And this is a case where the mashup really deepened my understanding of BOTH songs! Coney Island wasn't just a tale of fading love in the backdrop of the place of childhood dreams, it's a whole metaphor for a shared life disintegrating. And while I got the themes of My Boy instantly, pairing it with a song that's a little more grounded in reality kind of highlights the darkness behind the toy box conceit even further. My Boy sets the stage for the fallout from mental health and personal struggles, and Coney Island shows how that happens.

As an aside, she does some incredible things vocally in this mashup, and the way she belts out "I'm not" repeatedly is one of them! The power! The emotion! Master class in using your voice as a tool to tell a story! From the first quiet "I'm not," to the final angry one, it is a journey!!!

Thank you so much for this bestie!!!! It took me literal hours but it was worth it 😂 Aaah August 2024 you will always be famous.

(And for everyone else: we are still on a moratorium for mashup madness asks because I still have too many to go through lol. I will let y'all know when I am accepting requests again!)

[xxtoptaexx]

IT WAS A SCHOOL TRIP - p1

♪　𝄢　♩　♫　♬　♭　♮　♯　𝄞

Summary: Mina and seunghyun meet unexpectedly during a school trip and form a special connection that changes everything.

pairing: choi seunghyun x reader 

genre: romance - 2000s

warnings: fluff! (this is my first time writing for him, English isn’t my native language T - T)

note: [please if u saw any weird stuff just lmk]

It was early 2009, the era of Blackberry phones, MP3 players, and oversized school blazers. Mina, a high school junior, was on a school trip with her classmates, heading to a historical site outside the city. The bus ride had been loud, filled with chatter, camera flashes, and the occasional ringtone of "let’s go party" by 2NE1

Their bus came to a halt at a gas station for a short break, and students from different schools poured out, eager to stretch their legs and raid the small supermarket attached to the station. Mina, in desperate need of a snack, pushed through the crowd and entered the store. But just as she reached for a bag of chips, she froze.  

There, by the instant noodle aisle, stood her cousin—Jihyun. The one person she wanted to avoid at all costs. He was older, annoyingly nosy, and always had something to say about her life. If he saw her, he’d either start teasing her about school or try to embarrass her in front of her friends.  

Panicking, Mina did the only thing she could think of—hide.  

She swiftly ducked behind a stack of massive water bottles near the beverage section, hoping to make herself invisible. Just as she was crouching down, she heard a chuckle from above.  

Turning her head slightly, she saw a tall guy leaning against the shelf, watching her with amusement. He had shaggy black hair that fell over his eyes, a sharp jawline, and a lazy smirk playing on his lips. He was holding a bottle of soda, looking as though he had just witnessed the most entertaining thing ever.  

“Uh… what are you doing?” he asked, his deep voice laced with laughter.  

Mina pursed her lips, debating whether to answer or just ignore him. But she figured he had already seen too much.  

“I’m… hiding,” she admitted, peeking between the bottles to check if Jihyun had noticed her.  

The guy raised an eyebrow. “From who? A teacher? A stalker?”  

“My cousin.”  

He laughed, a rich, hearty sound. “That bad, huh?”  

Mina sighed. “You have no idea.”  

Instead of walking away, the guy crouched down beside her, his presence suddenly making the ridiculous situation feel less embarrassing.  

“Well, if you’re gonna hide, you need a better strategy,” he said, glancing around. Then, without warning, he grabbed a random magazine from a nearby rack and held it up in front of her face. “Here. Pretend you’re super invested in reading this. If he looks this way, I’ll block his view.”  

Mina blinked at him. “Why are you helping me?”  

“Because this is hilarious,” he admitted, grinning. “And because I feel like we’re in some kind of spy movie.”  

She let out a quiet laugh, relaxing a little. “What’s your name?”  

“Seunghyun. But my friends call me T.O.P.”  

Mina tilted her head. “That’s… a unique nickname.”  

He shrugged. “It’s a long story.”  

Before she could ask more, she heard her cousin’s voice getting closer. Mina tensed, gripping the magazine tighter. True to his word, T.O.P casually shifted his body, leaning against the shelf in a way that shielded her from view.  

After a few tense seconds, Jihyun walked past without noticing her. Mina let out a relieved sigh and turned to T.O.P with an impressed look.  

“Okay, I owe you one,” she said, standing up.  

“You can pay me back by telling me what school trip you’re on,” he said, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets.  

Mina furrowed her brows. “Why?”  

“Because I’m on one too.”  

Her eyes widened. “Wait… are you serious?”  

T.O.P pulled out his phone and flashed the itinerary on the screen. Mina stared at it, then pulled out hers. Identical schedules.  

“No way.”  

“Looks like we’re stuck on the same trip,” he said with a smirk. “Guess this won’t be our last meeting.”  

Mina didn’t know why, but something about the way he said that made her feel like this trip was about to get a lot more interesting.