#anyways i ended up remembering this moment and went insane and posted it

[xlillyle]

"We can delay the mission for another two minutes."

[widevibratobitch]

i hate them with a passion

[mylovesstuffs]

OT13 reacting to their idol s/o’s Calvin Klein photoshoot

Request: hihi! Could I please request svt reactions to their idol s/o’s Calvin Klein photoshoot? (think of like the jennie/jungkook ones, ABS OUTT) thank yew!!

A/N: oooff, so good! had fun with this one lmao. I remember going crazy over Jungkook's shoot and the recent mingyu shoot [I wasn't a carat during his first]

Content warning: Slightly suggestive; mostly implied, nothing graphic

Seungcheol: He didn't know you're having a photoshoot with CK, so, honestly, he was surprised. "That's... wow. You look... incredible." He stares at the photos for a second too long, jaw clenched. He’s proud but slightly very possessive. “You killed it, baby, but next time… give me a heads-up so I don’t pass out scrolling.” High-key wants a private version of that photoshoot for his eyes only.

Jeonghan: So smug, it’s annoying [in a hot way]. “Oh? That’s my y/n?” He smirks like he’s the one who styled you for the shoot. “You’re breaking the internet, huh?” He’ll tease you to no end but worship you behind closed doors. “Should I be jealous of the camera or all the men that's now gonna droll or just be proud you’re mine?”

Joshua: Flustered but definitely not innocent. Eyes widen, ears go red. “Babe… that’s… you look hot.” He’s speechless for a moment before collecting himself with a soft laugh. “Should I be worried about how many people are zooming in right now?” But trust—he saves every photo and sets one as his lock screen of his private phone; the one that's not showing too much of your abs because he does not want others to see it.

Jun: LOVES it. Can’t stop staring. “Damn, I didn’t know I was dating a Greek statue.” He’s openly proud, thirsty, and extremely supportive. “Can you model those for me at home too?” He posts the pic on his story like y’all see what I get to come home to? [With the fire emoji, obviously.] He'll buy you the whole CK collection even though you'll get them for free or cheap anyway but he wants to spend for!

Hoshi: Head-empty. Just “wow.” Stares at the photos in silence, then just blurts, “WHAT IS THIS?!” Has to sit down. “I need water.” He's flustered but eyeing you up like crazy. “You’re too sexy. I’m scared. Please marry me before someone else sees this.”

Wonwoo: Two words [technically four] internal crisis, external calm. When he sees the pictures for the first time in his feed, he stares at the photo, pushes up his glasses, and just goes: “Hm.” Inside he’s combusting. “You look stunning,” he says, then gives you that look. “But I hope you’ll do a private shoot for me too.” Say less, sir.

Woozi: Acts chill but miserably fails. Raises a brow, lips twitching into a smirk. “Interesting.” Tries not to show how much it’s affecting him but his neck’s red. “You’re gonna cause trouble with this one.” Complains jokingly, but you catch him staring at the pics late at night, looking dangerously in love. And when you confront, he's jumping on you—

Dokyeom: “What… what is THIS???” He’s loud, thirsting, flailing—but also SO proud. “Babe, you look insane. Like—INSANE.” He can’t stop smiling but also starts hitting the gym immediately. “I need to keep up with you!” And damn if I say he doesn't look sexy himself. Power couple ngl. Just know that he's thinking about the shoot 24/7 from now on.

Mingyu: He did NOT expect that you'd turn it on him when you went feral over his photoshoot and rightfully so. So imagine the way his eyes widened and his pulse started to rise... Now, he's Jealous, flustered, turned on. Help. “You collaborated with CK?! Are you trying to kill me??” Super proud but a little possessive because he knows how the shoot goes; people fixing your outfit, photographer staring, and so many men and women [yes, women are a threat to him too very you're that gorgeous and hot] around. He zooms in, stares, and then texts you when u get home, we need to talk [bring the Calvin Klein]. Ends up buying matching sets for you both.

Minghao: He just smiles. “Oh, we’re doing this now?” You better believe he’s ordering a giant print for your bedroom. "You looked perfect. But next time, I’ll be the one behind the camera." You can actually expect him to do a photoshoot at home, but this time, it'll be him who'll improvise the whole shoot. Expect some roleplay too; I'll leave it to your imagination.

Seungkwan: Kwan is flustered but v v v impressed. “WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THINGS—” He spirals, hiding his phone, peeking back at it. “You can’t just—how am I supposed to breathe??” After his panic dies down: “You looked amazing though.” You better believe that now on, he'll hit on you, even you're already his s/o. He's really into the high.

Vernon: For the first I think he's not gonna be chill but this because damn you look sexy af. “Yo… you ate.” He won’t stop glancing at the photos. He saves one and sets it as his home screen. Later goes: “So, uh… wanna do a shoot like that just for me?” Not like in a weird way but he'll take out Pinterest for inspo and actually might do a photography course but he needs to see this version of you more.

Dino: Mind = blown. His whole soul leaves his body. Once he recovers: “Wow, you looked like a supermodel. Wait. You are one.” He’s flustered, a lil jealous, and completely wrecked—but makes sure you know he’s obsessed with you. He'll probably even touch your abs in real time because he can't touch a picture to feel your abs, obviously. He's obviously but I'm letting you know, he'll go crazy crazy next. Up to your imagination.

[dear-ao3]

what IS going down with daniel? ive seen a few things about it but nothing that actually explains (i am very much not an f1 person, apart from knowing some names from what you guys post lol)

ah yes. daniel ricciardo's fall from grace.

daniel ricciardo is a driver at vcarb. vcarb is the second team of red bull racing. red bull wins stuff, vcarb is meant to ready drivers to get into the red bull team.

daniel was previously a red bull driver and he was doing well there. he was the number one driver at the team for a few years (meaning he was prioritized over his teammate because he was the "better" or "more successful" driver) and red bull wasnt really winning anything at that time, but they weren't sucking. i think he joined red bull around 2014? was teammates with Sebastian vettel (who had won 4 consecutive championships with red bull fro 2010-2013) for a year until he went to ferrari, then was teammates with daniil kyvat for another year and then i think it was partway through 2016 max verstappen, who was at toro rosso (the old team name for vcarb) got swapped with daniil who was "under performing" (red bull do this a lot) and max became Daniels teammate

at first this was fine. max was really young, like 18 years old really young, and daniel had a few more seasons under his belt. daniel was still the number 1 driver. but max was kind of wild and insane and regarded as a future world champion and after a while he started getting better and better and becoming more of a threat to daniel

i need to stress here that the two of them were friends. like absolutely they were friends. they aparently shared hotel rooms and lived in the same building for awhile. they are very good friends. that was not the problem that they hated eachother.

the problem was that daniel wanted to win a world championship and he couldnt win a world championship if the team decided to prioritize max over him.

this all came to a head in 2018. daniels contract was up at the end of the year. the car was fast but not quite fast enough to win the championship, though they did manage to get a few good wins in that year (namely daniel won in monaco which is a big deal) but they also had some shit moments (max and daniel both crashed into eachother while max (?) was leading the race in baku) and the car had some technical problems, mainly with the engine. the engine was a renault engine (renault was another team on the grid, only so many comapnies or teams make f1 engines so multiple teams use the same engine) and it kept literally exploding. daniel was making it work (he won monaco unable to shift past like 3rd gear) but it was not ideal if you want to win a world championship

red bull was set to change their engine provider for 2019 and they were going to go with honda. but daniel was still unconvinced because honda hadn't done f1 engines before (or recently i dont remember which) and also there was the whole max thing.

everyone was still convinced he was going to resign with red bull. but he didnt. he signed with renault. the team with the bad engines.

renault were no closer a championship winning team than red bull were, they were actually slightly behind red bull in the championship at that point. and this shocked everyone. why did daniel choose this? well he wanted to be a teams number 1 driver and also he liked the project they were working towards and whatever whatever etc. anyway this doesnt pan out. daniel was at renault for 2 years and then signed with mclaren.

which was by all accounts a disaster. mclaren at this point were still a flaming hot disaster. (mclaren prior to mid season last year were a definitively mid field car). his teammate was lando and lando had only 2 years of experience in f1 and was still quite young (20 i think) but lando essentially had a better time driving the car than daniel did. which no one was expecting. daniel did manage to win a race with them though, in monza in 2022. mclarens first win in many many years.

despite that, he was not treated well. it was easy to see. he looked underweight a lot, looked generally miserable and clearly the team didnt really care too much about him. he and lando were friends though, which was good. media tried to pit the two of them against eachother, but they were and still are good friends.

anyway. daniel's contract was supposed to run through 2023. mclaren and daniel supposedly both elected to end it early at the end of 2022 (mclaren signed oscar as a replacement) leaving daniel without a seat and retired

which was not great. daniels a big personality in f1, hes a funny guy, he says out of pocket stuff, hes goofy and whatever else. people like him, hes fun. so this was upsetting to see the spark leave him and then also see him leave the sport.

adding salt to the wound here, max won the championship in 2021 and 2022

so he got a call from Christian horner, the red bull team principal. christian is not a great guy but he likes daniel. he invites daniel back to red bull as a third driver, which basically means he does pr.

now remember the junior red bull team. in 2023 it was called alpha tauri and yuki tsunoda was there along with nyck devries. nyck had had an awful season by mid point and scored no points. christian had daniel do some tests in one of the red bull cars, his numbers were good and promising and what do you know daniel was back on the grid as a driver at alpha tauri. it seemed the plan was to leave him there for the rest of the season then maybe swap him with checo peer, the second driver at red bull, for the following year.

Daniel ended up breaking his hand a few races back at zandvoort and was replaced briefly by liam lawson, who was the red bull and alpa tauri reserve driver. liam lawson did better than anyone expected and managed to get points and also knock max verstappen out of qualifying in his most dominant season ever.

daniel finished out the last 5 races of the year and had a contract with vcarb (name changed again) for 2024.

checo had a rough end to the 2023 season and it was rumored for awhile that they were going to swap daniel and checo at the start of 2024 but this never panned out. most cause it seemed like daniel was not performing as well as they thought he would. there were a few times where everyone thought he was going to get cut and get replaced by liam lawson again who is still on deck. checo also got resigned at red bull for 2025 and despite having a not so great run for awhile is still on the team.

daniel has not been re signed for 2025

the rumors bounce back and forth every week. some weeks people say hes leaving some weeks people say hes getting promoted to red bull. he generally ignores them. but its no secret he wants to go back to red bull to finish his career.

this all came to a head this weekend in singapore.

heading into the weekend there were some heavy rumors that daniel was going to be replaced by liam lawson for the last 6 races because daniel is underperforming. and this was a Strong rumor. so strong in fact that it started to get properly addressed by commentators and announcers.

why would red bull pick now to swap him? not sure. williams did a driver swap a few weeks ago and that has worked in their favor. it would also i guess let them see if liam still has what it takes for 2025. whos to say.

in any case. daniel had a bad qualifying and ended the race in 18/18. however. at the end, they pitted him to get soft tires. (the fastest ones) to potentially get him the fastest lap of the race.

fastest lap of the race gets you one extra championship point if youre in the top 10. and daniel was not in the top 10 but it would take the point away from lando norris, who was winning in his mclaren by almost 30 seconds. lando is behind max in the drivers championship standings by about 50 something points and slowly gaining.

so daniel ricciardo, in what might have been his last ever f1 race, goes balls to the walls in a slightly shit box mid field car, on the second to last lap, and pulls out what is not only the fastest lap, but the track record fastest lap, taking a point away from lando norris, who drives for the team that mistreated him so badly and kicked him out of the sport the first time, all to help max verstappen, his ex teammate and the very reason why he left red bull in the first place, win the championship.

yeah.

anyway, all of the commentators were treating it like it was daniels last race. they asked him what his emotions were getting out of the car and he almost cried in the interview, they showed him a montage of his career, the whole team was waiting for him outside of the hospitality when he got back, he got voted driver of the day by the fans despite being virtually in last place. it seems like hes done and he knows hes done but unfortunately no one can say anything about it yet.

which is unfortunate. as i said everyone likes him. and it was general consensus of everyone announcing this weekend that he deserved a better send off than this weird cut right before the end of the season. for someone who has in fact done so much for red bull, it feels like theyre shooting him in the foot.

[crispy-kitten-princess]

Some fanarts to bring attention to the long post about the books!

Yesterday i had finished the httyd books re-reading (it's been A MONTH), and today i watched the httyd movie for like the 30th time idk (i was really keen of it as a child)

Friendship with movie Hiccup ended, now Tuffnut and Ruffnut are my best friends. They are iconic. I remember book!Tuffnut being kinda sorta a background character, like somebody amongst the Hooligan tribe. And that's the move i liked about the dreamworks version, heh

Longpost and possible spoilers under the cut

Yeah, i loved movie Hiccup and associated myself with him very much... But now, after i reread the books, refreshed my memory about The Ending (and cried my eyes out), i found the movie rather.. strange? It leaves a lotta questions, like the world building, Astrid's behaviour, poor stylistic choise of making her as skinny and wimp as Hiccup, and Stoic s attitude towards his son, like.. stop??? He is an awful warrior ok but plz quit telling everyone around how much you are ashamed of him. Plus i miss Alvin as the main antagonist. He was one of a kind, never saw anyone so persistent to living and killing your distance nephew. And i miss Fishlegs No name as he was so cute and sarcastic. Movie Fishlegs is rather cliched

Weeeeell this whole post exists just bc i love book Hiccup sm AND THE WHOLE STORY AND I LOVE THE FIRST HICCUP AND THE SECOND AND I LOVE FURIOUS AND HIS STORY AND I LOVE FISHLEGS STORY AND DEADLY SHADOW AND I ADMIRE VALHALLARAMA AND CAMICAZI AND CHINHILDA AND TANTRUM and i miss them and i want to share my love for the books with everyone around... But amongst all my friends i don't have somebody who would've read the YA fantasy book about a 10-15 yo viking boy and his tiny arrogant dragon, and i would not either if i had not became a fan at my 12-13s by absolute chance. This is insane. I love my fixations (that's the whole point of fixating) but it hurts that I can't share it, and even if i try to explain to one of my friends who are ready to listen, I can't tell why exactly would i cry for half an hour about the children's book ending where OMG the dragon died, no waaay

I really wish it were a cartoon series based on books specifically, bc that way i could show them to my friends, which is waaaay easier than making them read the books (which is impossible, i tried). But ig.... It would stay a wish forever

I wanted to tell something about the books again. Why i like them so much? But i get too emotional about them and can't muster up ANYTHING. What CAN i say??? They are good. They are perfect. Cressida Cowell made a great job. The slightest gradient between the first and the last book makes the neighbour books in the series feel alike, but the first and the last are nothing like the other. The first is really a cute local story. WHILE THE LAST IS ABOUT CHANGING THE WORLD AND WHOLE NATION. This is incredible

Myself, i like the first 4 or 6 books more. They are so funny! I read them just for fun. But when i do, i just cant stop. And as i proceed further, the world changes, and the Fate follows the main character with a knife of misfortune (i wish i could play with English words as i do in my native language lol) - or good luck! Who knows, when you survived so many terrible moments, are you extra lucky or the exact opposite?

The first books don't even have in them the main thought of the last - dragon slavery. Or do they? Now, when i think of it, i do recognise the abuse and unappropriate attitude towards dragons, like foreshadowing... It's hard to tell if Cressida planned it all from the beginning or expanded the world as the books went further and further. Anyway, the first book os nothing like the last. The last is insane

I hate the book series endings almost every time, but not in that case. No. No. No. This one is solid perfection. It is logical. It is mature. And most importantly, it is painfully realistic. That's what broke me. The realism of the ending, where the magical creatures have to vanish from the human world just to save themselves. It is common for books like that to end with death of all magical (like it dies when we grow up, blablabla and so on) and it is the story of maturing, but that is not all. It matches with our world, where all living things die away and vanish eventually, if they are not significant for human race survival... But in our case they will never ever return from some North fields or sea hollow. Abused animals have neither intelligence to speak for themselves nor some kind guy to save them. Theme of war and death is extremely actual rn too. And i was devastated when the peace was established and shortly after that Furious died 🤪🤪 amazing, thank you. It killed me when he said that he was dead for all these years, and lived again only after Hiccup III spoke to him and returned him to his right mind

This is a mess I'm sorry 😔

I remembered now that it supposed to be a post bout the movie I've just watched. Well. The movie's best part is that it brought my mother's attention to the book series,, i was obsessed with the movie therefore she gifted me the books, and i became so obsessed with them that she even yelled at me for rereading them so frequently, lol

I can't say anything about the movie. I have no thoughts. I guess i just re watched it too many times as a kid to feel anything anymore. It didn't work with the books though. Reading them again 6-7 years later the latest reread, as an adult, i figured out that they aged extremely well. I found inspiration in them. I'm lost in thoughts about them. I want them to be more popular and well-known. And i hate fucking live action movie btw if you even care 😘💅 not to think about all of the resources that could ve been put in use to make cartoonish HTTYD books real

Plz, if you came that far, reblog or comment with something thoughtful, it would be mush appreciated

Upd.: this one is obvious but I loveeeee the trope. When Hiccup went on the impossible journey of Training His Dragon Toothless, he learned how to deal with arrogant, whining, lazy people. He learned how to be a a leader who listens to his followers, a teacher, a mentor to all the crazy arrogant and wild viking nation, and that is why the title of the book focuses on Training your dragon

I'd looove to hear everyone's opinion about the series. Plz share yours!!! I love you fellow httyd fan

[actual-changeling]

when gabriel/jim (jabriel?? gim?????) talks about his "one particular person", aziraphale's smile is such a blink and you will miss it moment but so incredibly precious and we don't pay enough attention to it.

so, welcome to another round of alex's unhinged meta corner where i over-analyse micro expressions while losing some more braincells.

firstly, here's a clip of that scene just so we are all on the same page since i don't know how much time everyone else spends watching that show. don't ask me it's probably at least 6 hours a day at this point

what i want to focus on is aziraphale's reaction to jabriel's words right after "person". did i slow the clip down and then go through it frame by frame to get the following screencaps? yes. yes i did.

there are two parts to this, the spaced-out smile and then his shock/fear. also before we start can i just say how fucking insane whoever made the trailer was for putting the 1941 dinner scene RIGHT THERE??? with THAT expression??????? yeah. no. i need therapy for that alone.

anyway.

while he is talking, aziraphale is looking at jabriel the entire time, but honestly, i don't think he is actually seeing him, he's neck-deep in his memories of crowley. he as that sparkle in his eyes he tends to get around crowley/looking at crowley and that smile appears rather slowly (or as slow as something can be while lasting less than a second).

personally, i'd call that expression "completely and utterly in love" or besotted if you wanna keep it simple. a content little smile meant for no one except himself, the kinda look he probably wears in private while calling crowley to ask him to come hang out. aziraphale loves him and in this short moment, he knows it - and so do we.

when jabriel (preferable over gim, in my opinion) trails off, aziraphale remembers that hey, wait a minute. that's my boss. that's the archangel fucking gabriel. he can't know about me and crowley.

at this point, neither we nor he know what exactly is up with jabriel, so there is a very real danger that everything aziraphale says or shows will be reported back to heaven. the shock sets in, the smile disappear and aziraphale falls from cloud 9 (pun intended) and lands face first back on earth.

while aziraphale does not have crowley's memory of what exactly went down in heaven when they tried to burn him to a crisp, he has always been incredibly anxious around gabriel and the other archangel. he is fidgeting, unable to stand still or even keep his gaze from flicking around. the only moment he calms is, you guessed it, when he is zoned out and thinking of crowley.

the very real fear that settles on his face is not just about himself, it is mostly about crowley. if heaven knows, hell will, too. everyone knows about the back channels, most just try and keep up plausible deniability. the fact that it is michael who seems to be directly in contact with hell for the most part and not gabriel is worthy of its own post at some point.

another thing worth mentioning is that aziraphale is so afraid, in fact, that he physically backs away from jabriel and gets as much distance between them as possible. jabriel looks like a lost toddler, very non-threatening, but the trauma runs so deep that it does not matter how much of a danger he really is right now. he has been a constant threat for over six thousand years, you cannot deconstruct your view of a person, especially your boss, that quickly. not even if they turn up with total amnesia on your doorstep. naked.

this was less unhinged than some of my other posts but i think this is a moment that gets overlooked a lot. at least i haven't seen anyone talking about it yet since we are all understandably focused on the ending of episode 6.

[cityofjieun]

★ . . . . -ˏˋ 2KIDS ROOMˊˎ | EP. 3 - JIA x HAN

date: february 2022 era: maniac word count: 1.4K

a/n: this took a lot longer than i planned and i'm not sure if i like it but if i don't post it now i literally never will. 2 ji is a realtionship thats very dear to me so i hope i did them justice. please lemme know what you think 🙇🏽‍♀️

THE 2KR INTRO PLAYS, FEATURING A COMPILATION OF THE TWO GIGGLING AT EACH OTHER’S EXPENSE, THE OTHER MEMBER USUALLY STARING BLANKLY OR STRUGGLING TO NOT RETURN THE SMILE.

HAN: [sitting on the couch by himself, looking off camera] are you going to come over here so we can start or are you going to stall a little longer?

JIA: [OFF CAMERA] i’m waiting for manager-nim to find the clause in my contract that says i wouldn't have to film with han-ssi outside of group schedules... i think this is a mistake.

HAN: [GIGGLING BUT LOOKING TOWARD THE CAMERA] do you see how difficult jia-nim is… aish, she’s caught the celebrity disease.

JIA: and you would know all about that, oppa-nim [ SITTING DOWN ON THE COUCH ] i mean, you caught it before you were even famous.

HAN: okay, moving on!

꩜

SEUNGMIN: han and jia.

FELIX: they’re like oil and vinegar.

CHANGBIN: in what way??

CHAN: they don’t mix necessarily, but they still go together well.

[ FELIX HUMS IN AGREEMENT ]

꩜

JIA: [ CLAPS ] chidongz 2kids room!

HAN: i still don't know how to feel about that?

JIA: you learn to live with it, i mean it’s a cuter way of calling us rodents…

HAN: [SIGHS]

JIA: anyways, when was the last time we hung out, han-ssi?

HAN: i remember we watched that j-drama you saw on tiktok together but i can’t exactly remember when that was. i see you so much that it kind of blurs together.

JIA: honestly, we are together a lot. you are a homebody, so we don’t actually go out as much as i wish we would, but we usually hang out together at the dorms.

꩜

HYUNJIN: have you noticed that they always tend to end up at our dorm?

JEONGIN: which is interesting, because you'd think jisung-hyung would just come over to ours more because jieun and lino-hyung are there and he could kill two birds with one stone.

[ THE TWO LAUGH]

MINHO: ??

HYUNJIN: that gives him too much credit, it's too sensible.

MINHO: [POINTEDLY IGNORING HYUNJIN] i think it's because jisung-ah thrives in his own personal space, while being home for too long might make jieunnie feel a bit trapped.

꩜

HAN: but we did go out recently to... [TRAILING OFF] umm… what was it…

JIA: [CUTTING HIM OFF] so the time we spend together means nothing.

HAN: stop.

[ THEY STOP LOOKING AT EACH OTHER SERIOUSLY FOR A MOMENT BEFORE JISUNG BREAK INTO LAUGHTER FOLLOWED BY JIEUN ]

JIA: anyways! we went to a cafe in hannam-dong i really wanted to try. i saw it in yoon seung-ah’s vlogs. they’re known for their bagels and that location specifically has a pretty view of the river so i wanted to take insta pictures.

HAN: OH! and we got lost trying to find it?

JIA: because you insisted, we didn't need directions. HAN: [ROLLS EYES] hey, we found it eventually, didn't we? JIA: after wandering around for an hour! by the time we got there the wait was insane.

HAN: [UNDER HIS BREATH] yeah and the bagels were a bit mid for how long we waited.

JIA: we wouldn’t have had to so long if some had gotten up when i told him to originally AND actually used his phone maps [WACKING HIS SHOULDER TO EMPHAZISE HER POINT]

[THE TWO START TO BAT AT EACH OTHER BEFORE THE SCENCE CUTS]

JIA: i think we should go on a trip together next time we have a vacation. we’ve never gone anywhere just the two of us like that it could be fun.

HAN: a vacation with you….

JIA: what’s that supposed to mean???

HAN: i’m kidding i’m kidding

JIA: yeah sure.

HAN: you are very J so you would make a whole itinerary, wouldn’t you?

JIA: i think having a general plan of what you want to do make sure you get to make the most of you time

HAN: hmmm sure...where would we even go?[THINKING] Japan could be fun. Lots of great food, and it's a short trip. What about you?

JIA: [SMILES] Japan sounds fun. But I'd say Europe. We could explore so many different countries and cultures. I’d love to be able to use my french.

HAN: oh, i have an interesting question, what would we do if the other disappeared.

JIA: oh, this gets a bit serious.

HAN: [SERIOUS] it's funny because i think with any other member, i think i’d want to let them have their space because obviously if they run away, it's for some reason and they want to be alone. but i think if you were so upset that you’d isolate yourself, i’d have to check on you immediately. [ TOWARDS THE CAMERA TO AVOID EYE CONTACT WITH JIEUN ] she isn't someone that likes to be by herself, alone time isn’t really something she seeks because she thrives around others, so i think if she's going out of her way to be by herself like that something is really wrong.

JIA: [A BIT STARTLED AT HIS SERIOUSNESS, AS WELL AS THE SLIGHT READ] aww ji…[POKING HIS ARM] i think i'd obviously want to respect the fact that hanji wanted time alone, but i'd have to check in at some point. [SHE PEEKS AT JISUNG BEFORE CONTINUING A BIT BASHFULLY] i know we have very different social batteries, and hanji is pretty good about just letting me know when he needs some time to himself. but i think if he was to go off and not respond i’d be worried.”

꩜

CHAN: honestly, i think out of everyone, jieun has opened up to han the most, besides seungmin.

FELIX: which is interesting because they’re so different.

[THE FOUR MURMUR IN AGREEMENT]

SEUNGMIN: i think they get on so well because they’re aware of how different they are.

CHANGBIN: oh absolutely. the two used to clash a lot, and i think they came to a point where they had to understand how they were different, and what accommodations they need to make to understand the other better.

CHAN: wahh changbin, you're so insightful.

꩜

[SENTIMENTAL SILENCE]

JIA: this may be the only time i every admit to this, but sometimes i wish i were more like you in some ways

HAN: in what ways?

JIA: i mean, like you said earlier i’m not one who enjoys being by themselves. i think when i'm alone for too long i begin to think too hard and get into my own head. honestly, i think not being able to properly spend time alone with myself is a bit unhealthy. i kinda admire the fact that you are capable of being on your own and enjoy your own company.

꩜

MINHO: i’ve been trying to get jieunnie to understand that it’s not wrong to want to be around others and have companionship, it's an innately human thing, you know.

HYUNJIN: she’s a lot like changbin-hyung. he likes to just sit in my room with me to just be there.

JEONGIN: [GIGGLING TO HIMSELF] well, that's because it's you and changbin hyung…

HYUNJIN: …

꩜

JIA: skz-gi behind the camera look like they want us to start wrapping up

HAN: any final words?

[JIA HUMS, SEEMINGLY WEIGHING SOMETHING BACK AND FORTH IN HER MIND, BEFORE SIGHING AND GRABBING ONE OF JISUNGS HANDS]

JIA: i know i don’t say this often but thank you.

HAN: what for?

JIA: being my person i guess? you have always worked really hard to understand me, as well as help me understand myself. i’m so grateful to have a friend like you in my life and i’m so happy i get to live out my childhood dreams with my best friend.

HAN: jieun...

JIA: hey, let me finish. thank you for growing with me thus far, and I'm so excited to see where we go... together.

HAN: jieunnie..

JIA: if you cry so will I

HAN: thank you for understanding me as well. i know i haven't always been the easiest to deal with but y

[ THE TWO SIT IN SILENCE FOR A MOMENT, SOAKING IN JIEUN'S BEFORE JISUNG CLEARS HIS THROAT. THE SOUND MAKES JIEUN SNICKER FOR A MOMENT BEFORE THE TWO DISSOLVES INTO SILENT TEARS. THE VIDEO CUTS TO THE TWO, LESS TEARY BUT NOSES OBVIOUSLY A LITTLE STUFFY]

JIA: well, this was fun.

HAN: should we take our picture and head out?

JIA: yes please [END]

©︎ cityofjieun, all rights reserved. pls, do not copy or repost my work.

[quatregats]

I havent even finished reading the list yet but I saw barbara in vienna and BOLTED here to ask for that!!

Yayayay I <3 this fic my favorite Barbara through a wringer moment which I have not worked on since Insane Influenza Injanuary (an attempt at alliteration was made, sorry)

There's a lot going on in this fic but I liked this opening and since it probably won't make the final cut in this form I may as well post it:

So he had gone to France after all—she received his letter in Vienna the day before they were to host a party, the largest party yet, which the Tzar himself was supposed to attend. She had felt the temptation to sit down and stare at the wall, visions of his pretty French mistress with the auburn hair flashing through her mind; but instead, she had pulled herself together and gone down to impress upon the butler the importance of polishing the silver properly, until the color is perfectly even and perfectly white, or I shall have to see that you and the rest of this household are replaced by servants with the slightest understanding of English competence, and after that, she had spent the rest of the afternoon overseeing the set-up of the grand ballroom, making sure all the decorations were in line. By the end of the evening, she thought smugly to herself, she had quite forgotten the letter at all; it was only when Arthur asked after young Richard that she had let slip about the boy’s father and his whereabouts.

“What in God’s name is the man doing in France?” Arthur exclaimed, looking up from his pile of reports and papers with surprise. “He might as well be in Vienna, if he is going to go traipsing around the continent.”

“He is visiting some old friends of his, who kindly sheltered him during his time in France,” Barbara said, the words carefully forming on her tongue. “The Count of Graçay and his daughter-in-law, I believe.”

“Ah, yes, I remember seeing them in Paris,” Arthur replied carelessly; years in the field had made him very good at reading the intentions of men, but less good at seeing through the cares of women. “They seemed decent enough people. A bit too provincial, though.”

“Quite. But I suppose one must go pay respects to one’s friends, provincial or not.”

“The girl was very pretty.”

Barbara bit into her lamb with such vehemence that she nearly took her tongue in the process. “Very pretty indeed.”

“Though she rather more like a count’s mistress than a count’s wife. Her manners were fine enough, but she was rough at the edges.”

There was a brief pause; Arthur did not look up from his report.

“Well, perhaps they might prove more fitting company for your husband anyway. The man knows his way around a ship, but when it comes to matters on land...” He looked up then, caught Barbara’s eye. “You oughtn’t let yourself be so bothered, not over a man like that.”

There was an admonition there which she had gotten from Richard many a time since she had married Horatio—he’s a very fine man, but you are a Wellesley—and she, in her stubborn Wellesley pride, had refused to heed it. But now she could see what he had meant, and her stubbornness turned in the other direction.

“He is a fool if he—” Arthur began, but Barbara cut him off.

“He is a fool,” she said levelly, taking another bite of lamb. “And I am utterly unbothered by anything he chooses to do. I washed my hands of him in Paris.”

“Good,” Arthur said, and went back to his report. Barbara went back to thinking on the china for tomorrow evening, and not about Horatio at all.

[zeninsama-moved-again]

@fangirl0027 this was going to be an ask in your inbox but as you can tell, it got really long, so here's my answer to your post about what it felt like to fall in love + how i met my current partner lol.

hello starry! regarding your post about falling in love: it will be eight years in september since i met my current partner! it sounds insane but i knew like almost immediately that i loved him. we went to the same summer camp and ended up being cabin-mates so we spent the next few days in close proximity.

right off the bat, i thought he was really cute. tall, dressed kinda goth but in a nerdy way, and at the time he was using one of those color-depositing conditioners to make his hair silver which baby silas thought was impossibly cool. he was quiet and shy as well, he was actually the only person in my cabin i hadn't immediately befriended but i caught him looking at me a few times.

we didn't start talking until the next morning in the breakfast line and i wish i could give more detail other than we hit it off straight away. he asked if i was hot since i was wearing a sweater in the middle of summer and i said not really, but i'm wearing shorts so i think that cancels it out?

starry, when i tell you all of the stars in the universe aligned for us... we ended up in almost all the same workshops and activities for the rest of the weekend, which we picked privately before we even started talking. we didn't sit together at first, but i would always watch the door and wait for him to show up and smile when he did, and every time i glanced over throughout the workshop, he was already looking at me.

i'm not used to people liking me. growing up autistic and the 'ugly duckling' of everyone was really hard and i still feel the aftermath to this day. baby silas was only ever flirted with as a joke and the sheer thought was immediately met with an 'eww!' from whatever guy i had a crush on. i had one 'boyfriend' prior to meeting my current partner and that crashed and burned. some aspects i still look back at fondly. the tldr version is that he didn't disclose to me that he had a boyfriend, and i didn't even know we weren't dating until he told me – on a date – that he had a tinder date later. insane behavior.

anyways, back to the point. it didn't take very long for me to get in my head about what i was feeling for my current partner. it felt uncanny, like it was too perfect. this guy that i find impossibly cute is looking at me, and wants to walk beside me and talk to me in between workshops. even when i would experimentally pick up my pace thinking maybe he was just hanging around me to be nice, i would instantly hear the gravel crunching under his shoes as he ran to catch up with me and i couldn't help but smile.

it took two days for me to fall in love with him. that sounds crazy and sudden, especially when you consider all the factors. we just met, and i was only fifteen, and he lives in a different city so the odds of me seeing him again after this, or even staying in touch after camp, are very low, but i remember the exact moment it dawned on me. it was the last night of camp, during the bonfire. we sat together and watched the fire and talked the whole time. the stars looked beautiful.

i remember thinking it felt like a movie, and that if i died and there was an afterlife, i would want it to be this moment, over and over and over.

the next day, we sat together on the bus ride back and i fell asleep on his shoulder.

our relationship most definitely hasn't been perfect. we tried after camp but we weren't in the same place emotionally for a relationship, he had it really rough at home and carried a lot of grief that he had yet to work through and it resulted in a lot of self-sabotaging behavior, but we remained friends.

eventually, we saw other people, which sucked for both of us. my feelings for him never went away and seeing him with someone else on a serious level made me feel like actual shit so i had to set some boundaries. we actually stopped talking from 2020-2023 and i made peace with the thought that i would never hear from him again... until i did lol. turns out it was always me. no matter what, it always came back to me. even in his dreams, i would be there.

this felt unreal to me because i started seriously doubting the validity of our relationship, like i was just some guy he met at summer camp several years ago, and it's me of all people. when i saw him again, it felt like everything just fell right back into place. everything picked up right where it left off and it'll be two years for us in august.

umm so to answer your question, falling in love for me felt like something straight out of a movie. it feels like cool summer nights with a big bonfire, and dancing with glow sticks to whatever gay anthem was huge in 2017, and hearing the gravel crunching under his shoes.

[stateofcharles]

Interview with Amina Zaripova on her new job in China (source - translating a translation!)

"The Chinese were shocked": Mamun's former coach - about working in a new country, professional freedom and benching. Zaripova accepted an offer to work with the Chinese national team via social media

The Chinese's victory in rhythmic gymnastics group AA in Paris 2024 was not a sensation, although rhythmic gymnastics in the country is only beginning to really gain popularity, five-time world champion Amina Zaripova said in an interview with RT. In her opinion, in the near future Chinese athletes have a good chance to achieve high results in individual competition. The coach also told how she decided to work in a foreign country, explained why she was afraid to commit herself to a long-term contract and noted that the new rules make this sport insanely interesting.

At what point in your life did the subject of working in China arise? It arose very trivially and completely by accident. At the very end of 2023, I was with my son abroad, flying to him for the New Year holidays. One day I was browsing social media and saw information in my personal messages that representatives of the Chinese rhythmic gymnastics team wanted to contact me.

Did you know any of these people? No. China has an amazing recruitment system. The enquiry does not come to the sports federation, but is a kind of headhunting: like, here are some people looking for a coach, would you like to consider this offer? I responded to this post more for the sake of fanfare.

So you didn't think the offer would be serious at all? No, absolutely not. Especially since in the second message they asked me to send my CV. I thought, ‘That's normal. They ask me for a CV too.’ But I sent some text that a journalist friend helped me to compose and translate. And somehow everything was wrapped up very quickly….

What conditions did you set on your part? The main thing was a guaranteed opportunity to perform with Chinese athletes at international competitions. In our sport, China is famous for the fact that its gymnasts rarely go anywhere at all - and they perform very rarely, and even then within the country. So for me it was a fundamental moment.

It seems that while staying in Russia, you suffered greatly without a real job. It would be wrong to say that. I left the Russian national team consciously. After Rita Mamun and a few years later Dasha Trubnikova (champion of the 2018 Youth Olympics. - RT) finished their careers, I got a good girl, Nicole Rimarachin Diaz. We even managed to win competitions for children of pre-junior age with her. But I left her to Irina Alexandrovna Viner and went into freelancing. I took care of my school, travelled with master-classes. I felt a little tired: there had been too much big sport in my life. Plus I had my fourth child and was trying to finally become a real mum. That was the most important thing in my life at the time.

To be honest, I still can't comprehend it: leaving the Russian team to be able to spend morte time with family and suddenly such a change! Let's start from the fact that my children are adults already. Arseniy is 21, Afanasy is 16, but he is an indipendent boy too. The girls stay with me.

And how did your husband react? Fortunately, both he and I are totally crazy in our profession. So Lesha said we should at least try it. so that we would not regret it later. And in the meantime, see how many pros and cons there were. Pros were more and the decision was taken anyway. Especially because I understood myself how much I was missing real work. I felt it in a particularly brutal way whilst watching the Paris Olympics. I remember sitting in front of the screen and not being able to erase this thought: I want to go back.

When talking about pros, do you mean being able to compete internationally? Not just that. The absolute freedom of coaching, too. Profession-wise, I've never been so free.

I have a very good contract, which states that I can leave the country should personal necessities arise. Generally, when we started contract talks and they discovered I have four children, they were shocked. Especially considering that in China, for a long time, normality was having one child, rarely two.

I thought those times were over... Such things stay in the mentality for a long time. Even a two-children family in China is rare. I haven't seen anyone with three. It's surprising, actually. As I've heard whilst being in the country, after COVID the government is even ready to pay young families so that they have children, but young adults don't want to.

If you have such a good contract, why not signing it immediately for the whole four years, until the next Olympics? I was offered to, but I chose otherwise: why binding myself to it? If everything keeps going smoothly, we'll simply extend the contract. A contract is, up to a certain extent, a picture. Maybe I think this way because I've never been a contract kind of person. Now I have to consider many shades. For instance, I cannot post photos on my social media accounts without permission. I posted them once and they told me no. I'm also forced to approve everything regarding the national team. If at some point I want to go home for a while, I need to give a 3-week notice and find a replacement. I have to get used to all these details.

How is your work in China structured? My job description says I'm the head coach of the whole national team, including junior and pre-junior teams. I only work on the individuals. The groups work is coordinated by Nastya Bliznyuk.

How competitive can Chinese gymnasts be in individual competitions on a world-level? There's a very talented girl, Lulu (Wang Zilu), with whom Ukranian coach Olena Diachenko has been now working for some years. We met at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, when Trubnikova won, and last year Lulu became the first Chinese gymnast to ever qualify for the individual Olympic final and to enter the top 10. Which means, last year she was a true competitor for all the best gymnasts. Obviously, I don't expect to train her in any way: Diachenko and she work well together and they only ask me for some tips, nothing more. Consequently, my current job is recruiting other gymnasts to support Wang and create a team she can lead.

At the Olympic Games in Paris, I remember the group gold medal as a great sensation I don't think it was a whole sensation: after all, the Chinese group was already on top of the game two years before Paris, at the World Championships in Sofia. And what is Olympics, we know it very well since Rita Mamun, when everyone bets on a gymnasts but another one wins. To me, the Olympics is a competition that doesn't have to do with reason, but with some sorts of manifestation of higher powers. Especially when it comes to groups. If in the individual championships before the Olympics everything is approximately clear, everything can still happen in the group competition. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins. Which naturally doesn't take away the unpredictability of the Chinese win.

Is Chinese rhythmic gymnastics similar to the Russian? Not at all. As I've already said, gymnasts don't really compete. There are two official competitions per year: the Chinese Championships and the Chinese Cup. That's how thy do it. It's incredible to me, discovering that people train to compete twice in their country. Nastya Bliznyuk made a huge effort so that her girls started to go to the World Cup and other international competitions. Again, differently from Russia, here there's no huge benching. You choose between five or six people, basically. Rhythmic gymnastics in China is just now becoming popular. But it's still far away from trampoline and artistic gymnastics.

I know that in these sports Chinese have been copying Soviet methods for many years. Is it still visible? They have their own training methods and, when I met the girls, it killed me, to be honest. I noticed for instance that after the general training, the girls stay at the gym to repeat the exercises. At the beginning I thought I was giving them too little work. But then I discovered that top athletes, including all those from all the national teams, have to regularly pass physical tests like push-ups, jumping, 3000m run.

When I discovered that my girls had to lift 30kgs whilst laying down, I cried, I felt so sorry for them. It was like lifting a wardrobe. Why? I tried to convince them it wasn't right. But they told me everyone does it. Artistic swimmers, weight lifters, volleyball players: everyone has the same set of exercises. If an athlete doesn't pass them for any reason, they can be expelled

I can imagine your state in that moment. I believe a sane mind cannot comprehend this. I still fight, explain that you cannot put a rhythmic gymnast on the same level as a volleyball player or a runner. This year, the weights were removed and the standards were somehow simplified. But, as a matter of principle, I don't go to the gym during these training sessions, because my heart breaks and I cannot do anything.

Are all Chinese athletes constantly under these conditions? Yes. In this sense, their system is basically the same as the USSR's

Do you also live in a sports center? As Nastya Bliznyuk, I'm also renting an apartment in Beijing. And the training takes place in the university.

Are you learning Chinese? I'm in the process, let's say

Is it your choice or something that was requested by your employer? I believe this is only basic respect for the country, for the girls I work with. Little kids don't understand English and I have to constantly explain some things, like "lift your head", "up your toes"... About this, in the first months this required a lot of my time and efforts. Now they already understand my English and Russian. I really like when they come to me at the end of the training and they say in Russian "Miss, I'm done with the session. Thank you!"

Will we see you at the World Championships in Rio this year? Surely. And before, the Junior World Championships in June. For China, this will be the first Junior Championships

Has rhythmic gymnastics changed a lot since you and Rita Mamun won the Olympics in Rio? Truly a lot. The rules change every four years for us. Gymnastics now is closer to me rather than to the one of 2022-2024, because there's more artistry. We have less DBs, only eight. But this doesn't make the sport easier. Firstly, you have to master these elements and secondly there's more focus on artistry, on the coreography. Every accent, every movement has to fit the rhythm, everything must work: the facial expression, the body. Combining all this in a program is really difficult. But these rules, to me, are incredibly interesting

[softshrimpy]

How To Woo A Hot Principal

Step 16: Vulnerability

Summary: Working at the Weathervane was exactly what you needed. The routine, the people, your co-workers. It certainly helped that a certain tall, blonde, fucking gorgeous woman happened to frequent the cafe. Now some may call hopelessly flirting with your customers inappropriate behavior.

But truly, when it came to Larissa Weems, who could blame you?

It's been a rough two weeks and I craved Larissa comfort. So enjoy! 🦐✨

Tags: @variant-2402 @the-bagel24 @autumn-leaves-chasing-breeze @kimiinou @muffintopxs @h-doodles @bbykens @lilfartbox1 @bigolgay @winterfireblond @gela123 @i-like-reading @hopelessly-sapphic @alder-saan @im-a-carnivorous-plant @weemssapphic @barbarasstar

(pls let me know if you want to be tagged/ I missed you!)

Chapter 15

Cross Posted on AO3 Here

HWTAHP Masterlist

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

Larissa was busy. Which was fine! And understandable considering all the antics Wednesday has been up to recently. Her dedication to finding the monster that had attacked you was sweet, a little insane, but sweet. However, the way in which she was trying to find it was…unorthodox to say the least.

She had asked you almost a hundred different questions about the night you were attacked, not that you remembered much of use anyway. All you could remember was that you were in the woods (how far from the school you didn’t know), you had been crying so hard you hadn’t heard anything and that Marilyn had showed up very shortly after you were attacked…

Which was bothering you for two reasons. One was that if she had been close enough to be there right after you were attacked, why didn’t the monster attack her? Wednesday had hypothesized(her term not yours) that the monster had probably gotten spooked by a second person. It still didn’t sit right with you though.

And the second reason was that you had barely seen Marilyn since you were brought back to Nevermore. She had popped in briefly when you were unpacking to say hi and say she was glad you were doing better and then all but disappeared off the face of the planet. You know the two of you weren’t all that close but you honestly thought you’d at least see her around a bit.

You knew her and Larissa were close, she had told you about the long chats over many glasses of wine and their morning coffees together. And the two of them hadn’t stopped hanging out, not until Larissa went into full crisis(Wednesday) management mode. And it’s not like you spent all your time holes up in your room (anymore, not that Vlad allowed it in the first place). And with all the fucking walking around the Nevermore campus you were doing you really did not understand why you hadn’t seen her at least once.

So you decided you would try and find her today. Partially because, yes, you were lonely. But also because you wanted to thank her properly for saving your life. So you set out to find the funky lil redhead, vowing to yourself that you would find her before the end of the day.

Surprisingly she was in the first place you checked; the greenhouse. This did make you wonder if you were imagining her avoiding you. She was on the phone when you entered. She seemed to be in the middle of a heated argument with someone, hand gesturing wildly as she whisper-yelled at whoever it was she was speaking with. You stood awkwardly at the door, trying to figure out if you should stay or go.

Before you can make a decision the phone call is over and she's angrily sighing and shaking her head. You knock on the closed door behind you, hoping to announce your presence properly before stepping further into the greenhouse. At the sound she turns, rather swiftly. The look on her face goes from proper anger to shock, then to something you can’t name before swinging back around to anger again. You don’t even have a moment to open your mouth before she storms over to you, poking your chest with her finger.

“You! You just- you had to- and now I- UGH!” She groans, tears gathering in her eyes.

“Marilyn…?” You mumble, staring at her, confused as fuck.

“I-I’m sorry I don’t know why I-“ she tries, stopping when her voice cracks.

She looks moments away from bursting into full-blown sobs. Her eyes are wet with unshed tears and her lower lip is trembling. She opens her mouth to speak again but you wrap your arms around her, enveloping the small woman in a hug. She does burst into tears then, hugging you back while burying her face in your neck. You pat her back, doing your best to soothe her.

She calms eventually, her cries dissolving into the occasional hiccup. She takes a step back from you, wiping at her eyes and letting out a shaky breath.

“Sorry..” she smiles, “I don’t-you shouldn’t have had to deal with that I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. Are you okay though?” You ask.

She nods and sniffs, shooting you what you assume is meant to be a reassuring smile. You smile back at her, squeezing her shoulders.

“I’m fine, I mean I will be fine. Sorry. Is there- can I do anything for you?” She offers.

“I actually just uh wanted to chat to you. And thank you properly for you know saving my life and all.”

“Really you shouldn’t thank me. It was the least I could do…” her face falls for a second before she smiles, “Is there anything else? Sorry, I’ve got uhm-I have to head into town to pick up a plant delivery.”

“Oh…oh no. It’s- no it’s cool! I’ll just- I’ll leave you to it then,” you murmur.

You say your goodbyes, feeling a bit better when Marilyn suggests you get coffee sometime. When you leave the greenhouse you stand dumbly for a bit, trying to figure out what to do now. You figure it would be best to go back to your room. Your mood can’t get that much worse just by vibing in your room.

———

Apparently, it could get worse. Much worse.

As it turns out dissociating in your room actually made you feel so much worse. You had ended up staring blankly at the really nice window you had while thinking back on all the ways life had gotten so fucked in the last few weeks. And then you ended up thinking about how your life had been fucked up the whole time. Which was a super fun little exercise to be doing before a physio session with Vlad.

And really Vlad was so sweet, really. So kind. However you felt like utter shit and he was making you do all these stupid, painful stretches that were making your scars and body ache. Which when combined with your already shit mental state leads to a rather terrible outburst.

“Come on kiddo just a few more of these,” he encourages you.

“I can’t.” You huff, wincing at the pain in your stomach.

“Sure you can kiddo. It’s just three more you got this-“

“No I fucking don’t! So can you just fucking let me breathe?!” You yell.

“Alright, let’s take a breath then-“

“No that’s not going to fucking help! Nothing is going to fucking help because things are just fucking fucked!” You end up kicking the nearest thing which just so happens to be a wall.

Which is how you end up sitting in the infirmary with a fucked foot and a dent in the wall you had taken your frustration out on. Turns out the vampire strength did not save your bones from being obliterated by concrete. The nurse had been very sweet, wrapping your foot and sending you on your way. Vlad had helped you back to your room, not asking any questions and leaving you with a simple ‘call if you need anything.’

And so you lay on your bed, frustrated and angry and hurt. You feel tears welling up in your eyes and get even more frustrated if that’s even possible. Part of you knows you’re just having a bad day, that these feelings will pass and you’ll be okay. But another, louder part of you says this is how things will always be.

That’s how Larissa finds you, laying on your back on your bed, foot wrapped in a lovely bandage, crying your eyes out. She silently takes off her heels, padding over to your bed and sitting herself next to you. She brushes some hair out of your face, smiling down at you.

“I hear you’re going around destroying property.” She hums.

“I’m sorry, I can- I can get it fixed and pay for the damage I-“

“Darling, I’m certain your toe suffered more damage than the wall. And even if you destroyed a wall you would never have to pay for it.” She reassured you, brushing the tears from your cheeks gently. “How’s your foot?”

“It’s fine, I was being ridiculous.” You grumble.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” she frowns, “do you want to talk about it?”

You sigh, squeezing your eyes shut in an attempt to keep the tears from falling. You shrug, biting your lip as you sniffle.

“It’s fine I’m-I’ll be fine,” you croak.

“Talk to me darling,” she murmurs.

“I…” you try, not really sure where to start, “I don’t know I’m just…I just feel like- I just- everything is so overwhelming at the moment. I just- I feel like I’m drowning.”

Larissa taps your arm, gesturing for you to sit up. You do, a bit confused. You feel your heart melt when she shuffles behind you, pulling you to lie back against her. She wraps her arms around your stomach, squeezing you gently and pressing a kiss to the back of your head.

“Go on sweetheart,” she murmurs.

“I just-my whole life has been like flipped upside down. I mean I-I almost fucking died and-and then oh no wait I didn’t because it turns out I’m a vampire! Which is- I mean it’s really cool! And I’m not- I’m not upset or anything but…but my parents hid it from me my- my whole life and I-how am I supposed to feel about that? And my father is all high and mighty about it, pulling the ‘I was doing what was best for the family’ crap. And I can’t even fucking ask my mom about it because she’s-“

Your crying restarts in earnest then. You hide your face in your hands. Larissa holds you tighter, whispering soothing gentle words into your hair. She doesn’t ask any questions, simply holds you as you cry and reassures you that everything will be alright. It’s nice that you can just be with her, that she doesn’t expect anything from you. When you’ve calmed enough to speak again you continue.

“I can’t ask her about it because she’s dead. And she’s been dead for years and it still. I mean I went to therapy for it at the time. And I-it helped. But I-I keep wondering if- if she knew? If she- I mean she probably helped keep it a secret from me but…did she feel the way my dad does? Did she hate who I am too? Would she think I’m a monster?”

You sink further into Larissa’s embrace, grasping her hands with with of yours as you breathe shakily. She shuffles a bit, squeezing you again before she speaks.

“Your father is an idiot and a bastard for the way he treated you,” she whispers, “and I never knew your mother, so I won’t claim to know how she would feel. However, I do know you. And you are one of the kindest, most accepting, most lovely people I’ve ever met in my life. You’re always looking out for others, you’re always trying to help people. There’s nothing even remotely monstrous about you, my love.”

“You thought I was a monster though…” you mumble, bracing yourself for anger.

“I did,” she sighs shakily, resting her chin on your head, “and I-I can’t apologize enough for that. I need you to know that what I said, had nothing to do with who you are. I was-I took out my anger and fear on you. You’re not-there is absolutely nothing monstrous about you darling. And I will spend every moment of every day for the rest of my life trying to show you that.”

Your breath hitches at the sincerity in her voice. You awkwardly manoeuvre yourself to sit sideways between her legs, your foot preventing you from turning around completely. You stare up at her from where your head is resting against her arm, pouting and probably looking like a mess. But Larissa just smiles down at you, her face filled with so much love and adoration you feel the weight on your chest ease a little.

“I’m sorry-“ you start only to be interrupted when Larissa presses a finger to your lips.

“None of that now,” she chides, “you don’t need to apologize for feeling things. I’m so- I cannot express how much it means to me that you shared that with me. I know that one conversation isn’t going to solve your problems, but I promise I’ll be here for you whenever you need me. You know you can call me whenever you need alright?”

“But what if you’re busy I don’t want to bother you…”

“Nothing is more important than you darling.”

She says it with so much authority and sincerity that you genuinely forget how to breathe for a moment. She brushes a few more tears from your cheeks before kissing your forehead. It’s a bit awkward with the way you’re positioned. She chuckles at the noise of protest you let out when she adjusts the way she’s sitting.

“How about we go back to my quarters, get changed into more comfortable clothes and order some takeout? How does that sound darling?” She suggests.

“I-you don’t have to go through so much trouble for me Rissa.”

“I know I don’t. How about you let me anyway?” She grins.

Honestly, you don’t know what to say to that, and her cute grin makes your brain malfunction. So you nod up at her, your face flushing as she escorts you to her room.

And as you sit cuddled up to her later that evening, with her tracing abstract shapes on your arms, you truly feel like everything will be okay.

[lucabyte]

any thoughts about postcanon loop and mira relationship? i dont think i saw much about it in text posts but it looks like you might have something. bats eyelashes

okay i have rambled about this in a few places in mostly privately and in the tags of my own posts and self-reblogs but. grabs your shoulders. can you fucking imagine how funny loop would be as mira's beard. hear me out.

like. i'm already here for isiloops. im also already here for miraloop and mirasif qpr. im also here for miraisa qpr. im also not a coward who thinks odile should be excluded from this but thats besides the point. what im saying is that the whole things a fucking polycule and there's yet still ways this could be made way, way funnier.

So. It's obvious that Loop's theatrics are more than a bit of a facade. (They drop them when taken off-guard or in serious moments with Siffrin, and Isabeau remarks on them seeming 'shy' at the end)

But we also know that they aren't *that* much of a facade due to their speech patterns being directly reflected in act 4-5 sif's inner monologue. It's clear that Loop's regular goofy bullshit is just the manic end of Sif's emotional state unfiltered and externalised, presumably because they went fucking insane.

So while I imagine they'd probably be slightly more toned down with the party in postcanon, I don't imagine the bonus confidence that comes with Constantly Performing like that would just like... go away? Plus, new identity means you've got no expectations to be held against so... I think it would make sense for them to keep up the theatrics, the bitchiness, the change in humour from dumb puns to sharp and cruel wit.

So the idea of them proposing to Mirabelle that they could just, *pretend* to be dating isn't out of scope, to me. In a situation where she's perhaps fretting about keeping up appearences as an ever-changing housemaiden, or has heard through the grape vine that someone is going to try and make a move on her at a formal gathering, I think Loop offering to theatrically play up being her partner 'as a joke', so that they can offer her support and comfort while still under that arm's-length plausible deniability, sidestepping the emotional vulnerability of 'feelings buddies'.

(Remember, after all, that Act 6 Mirabelle's 'no spoilers' policy means she only got Act 5 Sif's fucked up little talk? There's genuine question as to how long it could take her to unpack things again after that. She probably still feels that social pressure even in a scenario where she has something again to the regular friendquest talk again, anyway...)

It lets them be 'in on a joke' together, and also gives Loop an excuse to hold hands with their friends that doesn't require they be honest about things. ("Well there's the thing, Housemaiden! I've no mouth to kiss, so we don't even have to do gross things like that to keep up appearences!") And thus gives Loop a niche in the party to slot into that otherwise probably wouldn't be filled by anyone.

And would anybody question it? The chosen saviour of the country has a weird little ethereal freak on their arm. That sounds about right for a magical saviour, and means there's really no need for any explanation for why they seemingly only showed up after The King's defeat. They're clearly Mirabelle's spirit guide, or something.

. anyway as with all things loop feel free to place this after everyone knows who they are for this to become a "relatively normal thing that can happen",

or you can place it before everyone knows who they are for the added twist-of-the-knife that is "guilt over keeping secrets" and "a really awkward and potentially upsetting recontextualisation later on"

also in case you havent seen . images related -> (x) (x)

[just-a-dumb-gay]

So despite having been so deep in the Lady Dimitrescu fandom before and during the games release, I only just started playing Resident Evil Village myself today (i watched playthroughs as soon as it released though) and I can not believe how much my love for her and her daughters affected my emotions and general gameplay even though I kinda haven't been around for a while

Like the cutscene where she yeets the vanity, if I was gaming alone I would've immediately went and reread this fic (which I'll reread after posting this anyways even though I rarely reread my own work for fun)

Her daughters, I defaulted to calling Cassandra and Daniela Cass and Dani a couple times, although mostly fullnamed them when they jumpscared me, which was OFTEN might I add. Almost called Lady Dimitrescu "Alci" but I game with my mum who already knows how much I love that character but I didn't wanna go that far.

IM NOT EVEN GONNA GET STARTED ON HOW MUCH I HATED KILLING THEM!? 😭, I refuse to sell the daughters crystal torsos or crystal Dimitrescu I dont trust duke to take care of them they're staying with me.

And to top it off the amount of times I had a "Is this part of their backstory and I haven't found the diary/note/whatever yet or did I read it in a fic?" moments I had for both the Dimitrescus and Donna and Angie is insane. And I'm sure it will continue like that when we play more cos we stopped right after finishing in house beneviento. And that god awful wretched creepy nightmare baby god no ew when we play this on hard mode I need to record myself because I said some wild shit while getting chased 😂

So to finish off my tangent because I could go on forever: to the entire Alcina Dimitrescu fandom and to every Alcina x Reader writer and to everyone who gave me immense support during the brief period I wrote Alcina x Reader stuff - You have all permanently altered my gameplay experience with this game (mainly within the Castle Dimitrescu but definitely more with other characters too) more than I expected and I appreciate you all for it because it made it way more emotional but also helped me end up more immersed because I would run around exploring and have so many "I REMEMBER SOMEONE SAID/WROTE/DREW SOMETHING COOL RELATING TO THIS!"

So, thank you for that. Thank you for helping me experience a game in a way I never expected to.

[zoobus]

I'm not normally a victim of FOMO tactics, nor do I usually let being late to the party stop me from chatting about a piece of media but I'm genuinely sad I didn't get into Obey Me/Nightbringer earlier. It makes me want to write a million essays but the disposable and decentralized nature of gacha kind of makes it feel like you missed your chance to talk about it. I keep coming across years old, unrepliable comments that I want to jump on sooo bad but I can't because the moment is gone and most of these people have likely moved on to less overtly money-hungry games.

Which sucks! because one essay I want to write in particular is how this game is extremely skilled in arousing your desire to create, to actively engage with the characters and worldbuilding, to do fandom shit, and I find this enormously fascinating in itself. The story isn't good but to a certain extent, it's not supposed to be; it functions as an elaborate set of writing/art/rp prompts for its audience to expand on and tailor to their needs.

And I think Obey Me does this well! Amazingly well. I find discussion of narrative structure fascinating, the study of how we define writing as effective, good, or as failures, so I'm drawn to this story full of contradicting lore, one-note characters, and half-finished plots. The story isn't good but that hardly matters because it's not here to be a good story; it's here to throw you into imagination boot camp. It compels you to speculate what it could be, what this character could be, what a slightly different tone would look like, what other people think about it. It feels distinct from the average popular show fandoms where, to an extent, creators congregate simply because that's where the people are. Creating for your own sake is nice and all but validation is usually a stronger force. Usually.

I keep coming across old high effort researched posts about abrahamic religions and occultism from fans setting themselves up for inevitable disappointment. I keep coming across creators leaving notes on their work like "I haven't written a thing in ten years, but,". I keep losing it over heartfelt posts defending x and y canon story decisions with their whole chest, oblivious to the fact that they're misremembering their personal tweaks/headcanons as what happened in the game, like it's seriously so cute when they're so passionate and completely wrong.

I have no idea if fandom actually plays a role in the lucrativeness of a franchise (though as a personal anecdote, I 100% started Obey Me after a single piece of horny Mammon fanart crossed my dash), but it makes more sense to me now, less a projection of wishful/haterful thinking from those with strong opinions about Fandom. Maybe it really does matter.

---

Other essays I missed the boat on:

A Casino Right in Your Home: goddamn is the pre/sequel's gacha obscene

Satan: how to put a mid character into S-tier with one simple trick (make him insane)

Sorry Belphie defenders but you're imagining a better psycho than you were given

Solmare added a shiny new rhythm game but didn't fix the now four year old coloring error on Levi's hands lmfaooo the disrespect is crazy

Remember when you saw the Nightbringer trailer of them glaring in bdsm gear with freshly blackened wings, and you thought "ah, so this takes place right after they fought god and lost. After they went to war to protect their sister only for her to die anyway. After one brother in particular saves someone, but not her, the focal point of the war. They will finally take these to their logical, guilt despair rage pain and grudge filled ends." And you were correct until that very last sentence? lol

Remember when the Ruri-chan event gave you the option to tell Levi you're not cheating on him and then the rest of the event was just making out with his brothers? Then it ends with you kissing him in front of them? Bring that energy back!!!

[sco07ut]

what just happened!!!!!!!! s19 rambles (negative) ↓

going to be messy cos im just planning on writing whatever outrageous moments stand out as i go along

first of all????? DOC FUCKING DIED?????????? i literally had to rewatch a few times to realise that’s what they were saying 😟 when the fuck did he die bc doc eas Inside the staff of charon and wash was fuckijg idk?? on the surface of chorus right?? how did doc die saving him what (genuinely someone smarter than me if you’ve figured it out please tell me) bc like the point of the charon fight is that they were stuck in the mementos room right? idk

anyway he was done so dirty i literally do not think there was a reason to reveal doc was dead in the last five minutes

on that note, where was donut?? did he die too ? how long after chorus is s19 set like was that undisclosed location iris or what. did he do his whole ‘tour of the universe’ thing early? like i would’ve been fine with even just a passing comment but they were so vague with it

WHY DID SARGE DIE AND THEN PROMPTLY BECOME IRRELEVANT????? aside from simmons grif & caboose not a Soul mentioned the fact that a whole man was dead. i was so convinced that there would be some big funeral with everyone attending at the end

i did sort of like the plot though, simmons getting a leadership role was kinda fun

tbh i did like simmons this season it was so great seeing him finally get recognition but good grief i cannot talk about simmons without bringing up the ending/lack of grimmons

it makes sense that they wouldn’t get together if grif went home and simmons stayed in the army BUT WHY DID SIMMONS STAY IN THE ARMY?? RICHARD YOU DO NOT HAVE A FUCKING TEAM ANYMORE (on that note. where did lopez go. i’m only just realising that he literally vanished) i’m so insane why did they do that. they could’ve gone home together. and kissed about it idk

i mean i didn’t actually expect grimmons to happen but i thought they’d stay together?? it’s always been them. like that’s the whole point of their characters. every other person who’s been on their team before has died and left them (grif sleeping through being glassed, hammer dying during basic, the red team at rat’s nest and now sarge and donut i guess?????) why did they not stay together

also on the grif family note, the kai cameo was nice (though i will say i do Not understand the point of the whole retro con thing, i feel like it went on for ages, did nothing to set up the plot. the meta could’ve been introduced some other way surely)

also while i’m thinking about it, why did it take tucker/the meta months to get from chorus to a point where he was actively searching for epsilon ?

anyway sorry kai cameo fun but she should’ve had a bigger role idc

it kind of feels like they suddenly realised almost all their female characters were overlooked and they tried to shove them in to be like ‘ohhh look we care about our female characters’ and then screwed them over by making them either insignificant or nothing more than a cameo

with the exception of tex maybe. i fully did not expect her to come back prior to watching but when caboose was like oh help me remember i started to get a feeling it wouldn’t be church. i’m also so glad they addressed the whole ‘created from failure/destined to fail’ thing, tex fuckijg deserved that win. sad that she died though (i wasn’t expecting that either and was like fully geared up to start making post restoration fanart of carolina and tex hanging out and learning how to be friends/family again)

idk i just feel like we missed out on so much stuff due to time constraints, there were so many scenes that should’ve been put in imo like carolina and tex having some sort of moment together, grif and kai having a moment, carolina & wash seeing 479er again

ok wait different chain of thought. everyone was like really eager to kill tucker. there was no moral dilemma of everyone being like ohh beneath the meta hes our friend we can’t hurt him but we still need to take him down what’re we gonna doo. although on second thought it was red team so . yeah the mindless attacking does make sense a bit

new thought again overall it just felt weird like everyone had their assigned pairings and couldn’t acknowledge anyone outside of them?? like during the fights there wasn’t much of a reunion when tex/carolina joined and then wash (and apparently not fucking doc) like idk. i was under the assumption thatvthere would be a sweet little scene where they got the gang back together

whatever man that’s everything off the top of my head. i had no expectations going in and still somehow left disappointed. i Will be making an au version that fits all the things i wanted to see

[im-an-insane-man-lover]

Okay this is really long and absolute yappery just. I NEED to shove this out somewhere besides with my pookie

So I think like a few people know who Alexi is??? Right, my silly until dawn oc. Him and Mack (or Moose) are me and my friends silly ud ocs right

I'm focusing more on these sillies than Alexi IN ud so I'm yapping about them !!! Because they're so silly

To the 3 people (pookie and like. Idk other goobers) who might read this tell me if you want more yapping of them because they're infecting my brain rn and I want me and pookie to yap more

ALSO INCLUDING SOME DOODLES AND DRAWING BY POOKIE!!! @roverthegoober

GOLLY I love these guys..... a LARGE portion is just like angst or the aftermath of the ud events

Two goobers meeting in early middle school only over the fact Alexi was asking him for help on work and after that he kept bothering him. Not even for help, asking random questions, and trying to know him better.

Alexi having Mack over for a movie night, and he's either forcing him to watch some sad rom-com or all of The Thing movies and explaining the comics and lore, pointing out small details and references in or related to The Thing (its his favorite horror series? I think it counts as a series right)

Like after the events of ud (saying everyone lives ending), they're both screwed up, but Mack had suffered from tbi (traumatic brain injury). Alexi is also suffering, obviously. Half his face is still messed up, his arm and hand are, but he doesn't have severe head injury (facial yeah, but erm... not head or brain, yknow)

Alexi isn't making any efforts to talk to anyone else (the group, not REALLY his family except if it's his brother, which is unlikely), but he's talking to Mack. Only talking to Mack, even if they're both struggling and trying to recover, he's literally worried sick about him and not metaphorically (because his anxiety is increased tenfold now)

Depending on how severe the tbi is, Mack COULD have memory issues with recalling what went on that night and everything that happened (long-term memory loss, he'd also struggle to remember how to do this or that and what this is etc). So Alexi is just dumbfounded.

Alexi can remember everything perfectly fine, and he just can't grasp that the person closest to him can't?? He can't go to Mack for any questions on what happened, how he got injured (at least for the injuries he wasn't present for, or Mack already told him after) and he can't go to him for any reassurance and comfort.

He's just in shock because he is ABSOLUTELY NOT going to confide in someone else, like family or a friend, because you have to be so insanely close to this guy for him to trust you to that extent.

So, over the years, he's sticking with Mack since he still remembers him, but not completely. He can't recall facts about him or moments that happened between them, and its not completely Mack.

ANYWAYS, IM GONNA LEAVE THAT THERE BC I DONT WANNA YAP ABOUT SAD SHIT ALL IN THIS POST

Don't come after me for anything that's not super medically accurate. Im not a doctor or anything. im just spit balling to get an idea out. Like Mack would probably have different symptoms and stuff, but this is just for silly fun for our ocs and I just wanna be silly 😞😞 this is literally just for fun so don't come at me with a pitchfork and mob

More art giggles

I love these guys I need them dead

Alexi was almost a theater kid, but he was too scared to because of his anxiety, but he still really wanted to try singing (he wasn't exactly too big on the dancing portion). He only did a few times at his house in his room, but his mom caught on and offered to get him a personal vocal coach (or trainer, idk the exact title).

So he CAN sing somewhat, but it's been a bit since he has, and he definitely isn't telling that to just anyone. Mack only found this out when they jokingly had a karaoke night, and Alexi didn't suck at singing

Also, if anybody is confused about why he has red hair, sometimes it's because his natural hair color is red, but he dyes it black. His older brother has black hair, and he was really close with him, and so around the start of high school, he started to dye it a bit to try it, and eventually he just ended up doing it completely and making it a routine.

Mack helps him dye it sometimes, but that's not often since he isn't the super best at it..... helps with getting Alexi what he needs mainly

OKAY THATS ALLLL !!!!! IM GONNA try to finish drawing Mack and Alexi as Paul and Sam from TGWDLM and sleep...