#anyways i was mainly thinking the GA with this quote

[sade-alicious]

”The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” -Dustin Henderson quoting Sherlock Holmes (4x05)

[lumilasi]

"Lone wolf's a Dead Wolf. Healthy Wolf protects the Pack."

Earlier this week, I reblogged a fanart piece for the Mouthwashing game, wondering why it was so popular, as while I had seen the game months earlier, seeing Tumblr get so into it was surprising as at the time, it didn't stand out to me too much when I first watched it. After being nosy and snooping around the tags, I now fully get why it has become such a phenomenon here.

Anyway, the whole thing kind of inspired me to want to make my own lil space crew. I'll be keeping their designs simple though, as I don't wanna stress myself out with this too much; its just a small side thing for funsies. I don't have full design ideas for others yet, but I figured I can at least post this guy for starters. I admittedly don't fully like the poster one, buuuut IDK how to fix it rn so I'll leave it as is.

More info about him below: (under the cut bc ONCE AGAIN my descriptions get far too long....)

The poster's Lone wolf quote is basically Stefan's mantra; it both shows how despite what he may seem like at first glance, he very much cares about the people around him, and how the whole "lone wolf" thing isn't even realistic (and in a way, harmful way of thinking), and Stefan knows that.

When I say "dad" I mean he is the responsible friend who tries to keep most shenanigans at bay - mainly from their tech assistant Mara.

The person yelling for him is in fact Mara

He's bi, tends to be oblivious to people's crushes on him because of a lot of self-loathing caused by what happened. He also learns later on he is polyamorous too.

He met pretty freaky people in prison, but NOBODY was as scary as his current captain, according to him.

His childhood friend has a crush on him, and so does the medic lady. He is aware of Matt's crush on him, but somehow completely oblivious to Cherry, even though she shows it more obviously.... (the Captain and the systems officer find it VERY fun to watch)

Those two aren't competitive or anything about their shared crush, they're both the kind of people that just want their loved ones to be happy and would be happy for either if they got lucky - provided the dumbass would notice either.....

His wolf motif is because of his surname meaning "wolf"

BG STORY STUFF: Stefan wears a gas mask, because of his sensitivity to a common gas type utilized in most spaceships' systems in this story; a special type of non-flammable gas, that unfortunately can cause hallucinations, and in his case, causes bouts of severe aggression/Lack of sense of pain.

-----> The reason why he has an odd reaction is because of some evil scientist shenanigans he had to go through as a kid, unknowingly to him and his mum, who thought the doctors were trying to cure a terrible illness he supposedly had. (They were just testing out brainwashing stuff, you know, usual evil government bullshit)

------> he ended up in prison because while working in another ship, he had a severe fit and killed a lot of his coworkers (whom he already had negative emotions towards due to their shitty behavior towards the woman staff - he was raised better by his mama)

-----> There was a massive riot in the prison he was in, hence he managed to escape.

His friend insisted on helping and got him in the ship; Stefan initially avoided everyone else like plague afraid he'd have a fit, but did grow fond of the oddball group pretty quickly.

Then, during a space-pirate raid, he learned that he can actually recognize this group even in that state, so they aren't in danger from him - plus their captain is a very prepared woman, and had already figured out his history. (She has stuff to knock him out to sleep it off)

[marquisegallery]

I said at the end of my big Devil Theory Headcanons post that I would "hiberate" for a while. I did genuinely meant that as taking a break from BRC fan art to do other stuff, but well, that didn't work out because I ended up making OCs!!

Inspired by other people's designs for unique cyberheads, like this set and these designs, I was thinking, "Ooo, imagine someone having a cyberhead that looks like a plague doctor's mask!" That lead to Rook (the top two pics) and then eventually a whole crew for her, lol

(More rambling under the cut!)

Note that I tried using copy-paste and warping to make the turnarounds easier to draw. That... did not work out as well as I hoped, I can see some stuff that are off about the turnarounds, oops. Welp lesson learned!! Anyways.

I have "Umbra Apex" in quotes since I'm noooot 100% sure if I wanna go with that name? Or even continue to develop these OCs after this. Still, I think I might stick with Umbra Apex as the crew name just because it's probably the best name I could come up with lol

Rook of course is a cyberhead, but the rest of her crew are just wearing masks (designed to be combos of plague doctor masks and gas masks).

The crew is sort of a reverse situation as FUTURISM. Rook is a lady but the rest of her crew are all guys.

The default movestyles for the whole crew are inline skates.

The regular crew's outfits are inspired by cybergoth fashion.

Rook's coat is inspired by a very specific music video. If you know, then you know. :u

Rook's top hat is mainly meant to be a pun. "Rook" is a type of corvid, but also, y'know, the chess piece too lol

The rest of the crew are also named after corvids too of course. I probably should have labeled them as Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter too to match the in game alts, but whatever, just assume they're in the same order too! :P

Rook is a tall lady and the rest are pretty short (in comparison to her at least?)

So yeah, that's about it! For now? Maybe, I dunno.

[thetisming]

DRAMATIC GASP greys anatomy is a super silly medical drama and half the characters are gay btw omg anyways the mc is meredith grey she says that famous line "pick me choose me love me" so bbyg and anyways the series follows her as a resident but also showcases other characters along with her. im sending you quotes that mainly include callie torres, one of the first 2 characters to not be straight. after she gets married to george, he ends up cheating on her and they get a divorce. after that she meets a woman and everyone thinks they are dating so they try to figure it out, but drama happens and the woman ends up leaving GA. after that, callie explores her sexuality and ends up dating a lesbian woman named arizona. when arizona has to go to africa, they break up and callie sleeps with her best friend. after a while, arizona comes back, wanting to take her back and stay with her, but callie tells her she just found out she was pregnant. she ends up keeping the baby and the 3 of them decide to raise the baby. in season 7 ep 17)or 18) callie and arizona get into a car crash while shes 23 weeks pregnant., after in the car arizona randomly asks her to marry her. that episode is a musical, as callie as auditory hallucinations of everyone ( including her ) singing. they give birth to the baby girl, and they get married. until later, after arizona gets into a plane crash and callie has to amputate her leg, they start fighting and arizona cheats on her and they get divorced. callie starts dating penny ( whos one of the doctors that fucked up while they were treating merediths (the mc ) husband when he got into a car crash ) but when they move to new york they break up. after awhile arizona goes to new york to help callie raise their daughter, who has to fly to seattle and new york every week. after that we have no idea what happens with them.

sorry i started ranting i just love callie so much. whats your ops ?

i should watch this

[oddlyunadventurous]

In a different timeline I would've made an excellent university professor. I believe I possess a gift for oratory - a gift that mainly consists in transforming, say, a simple, four word sentiment such as "I can speak well" into a multi-line bloviation of a sentence that fools the easily impressed into thinking I am smart, when I am merely simulating intelligence through verbal signifiers I know not the meaning of. I also hate working with people, which is, I am led to believe, another pre-requisite for being a teacher. I would have to toil extra hard to get tenured so that I could terrorize the student body with impunity. Ah, how I love to imagine that dream life of mine sometimes.

I would walk in smelling of Baileys Irish Cream. Despite being fifty with a gross, long and grey beard, I would still have the alcoholic preferences of a 20 year old woman with mommy issues. I would saunter over to the podium, or the pulpit, or whatever you call that piece of shit wooden doodad that the gods of teaching have put there so that the students can't see if you decide to scratch your ass, and I would cold open with something irreverent and funny, like "Hey have you ever stuck the open end of a condom in your ass and farted in it? How big do you think you could get the fart condom/balloon? Could one pop it if one had enough gas?" The students would flush in embarrassment and confusion and then I'd hard cut to the lecture proper: "Alright, well I know that we were supposed to talk about Pynchon's Gravity Falls or whatever the fuck but I believe it's far more important to "interrogate" (I would annunciate the air quotes) the text of The Boy With The Striped Pajamas and see why it's so goshdang sad! Skibidi!" This one-two punch of lowbrow humor and highbrow intellectual rigor would cement me in their view as someone relatable, as their friend, their schoolfellow, even! I would convince them - maybe not straightaway, but in due time - that I am just like them, that I, too, am an average and normal human being, quirky but approachable, fit to lead but not afraid to be a public servant.

I would, of course, not have read either of those two books but it wouldn't matter, curriculum probably provides talking points for all of this shit anyway. Plus, I would be well aware that all my students wouldn't have read the material either, instead opting for a 15 minute spoken summary by the Google Notebook robot podcast hosts, or another somesuch AI slop. All talk of "texts" is wonderful regurgitation after all, wonderful because nothing new gets produced and, as consequence, it is incredibly easy to coast through it all without thinking. Pynchon or Proust, or Wallace, they all got to think enough for a thousand people, so that means, really, that the rest of us could stand to take a little break once in a while, huh?! Kinda like with Jesus Christ, you feelin' me? Come on now.

In this happy and sedate mood, I would drone on incessantly and automatically in a perfect little simulation of the immateriality and inconsequence of the world at large, right here in this tiny lecture hall, all the while ogling my young, female students and sweating, desperately wishing that I got to fuck around more when I was 20 (something I technically did do, but with women who weren't as hot, or as numerous, or as slutty as these mass-produced Hebes ambulating around the campus appear to me to be). The lecture would proceed thus, in a perfect delirium, and upon its ending all the whores and reprobates would start filing out of the door, no doubt sniggering behind my back about all the stuff that young people get to do while I'm left to rot, abandoned and uncared for, stuff like sex (like I said above), being reckless, probably more sex, having fun and not regretting it later, and not having back pain. They would laugh at all that freely, in earshot, and swish their perfectly coiffed hair in my direction, and I would be blinded momentarily by the fresnel reflection, which I would identify as such, because I am smart and knowledgeable in the field of optical phenomena, or at the very least I am knowledgeable of the terminology. I- I know the word "fresnel." He was a guy, that was his surname, they named the thing after him- you know what, never mind. Forget it.

Before they all leave me for dead, I would start, as if thrown out of a daze. Still drowsy, I would motion to a pimple-faced, slouched student of indeterminate gender, sluggishly making their way towards the exit, giving them to understand that I would like them to stay a minute so that we could talk. Making sure that everyone else has left, I would unhinge my jaw and swallow them whole, clothes, notebooks, backpack and all, and then lick my chops contentedly, pat my big, round belly, and burp. I would then waddle to the teacher's lounge for a brief four or five hour break before my next class, where, while I wait for the poor devil in my tummy to be fully digested, my fellow academics and I would wag our tongues about exhilarating subjects such as paper stock, baby vomit, plaster figurines of scared horses, old CRT monitors and other such various items of daily life which exhibit the excellency of the color beige.

In short, life would be good.

[dallasareaopinion]

The one thousandth post

It has been over twelve years since I first started this blog. And I knew the 1,000 post was coming up, so I wanted to write something so profound the universe would stop, you know the pride thing going on. Well…I can’t think of a thing.

And between spending three weeks in Washington D. C. moving, being tired, and uninspired I haven’t gotten around to this post. Yes we are in a new place and are settling in so do I have all the good excuses not to be Mt. Tibet inspired to save you all from your daily drudgery?

I was thinking this morning just in general not for this blog and thought the more I travel the more I realize how little I know. And that just sounded so familiar that I internet searched. Yep there are quite a few similar quotes running around about traveling and realizing how little you know.  Yet I do feel quite strongly about that thought. And I think I have blogged about something similar before because one of my favorite quotes is from St. Augustine “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” And as always he hits the nail on the head. And my thinking is quite a few problems we face could be eventually solved if more people had a better idea of everything going on beyond their scope of life. And besides traveling is quite fun.

So the above is not quite the earth shattering post I wanted to make, however, it does incorporate one of my favorite topics and pastimes, traveling. I love to travel and see new and even familiar places. Right now though I am sitting on my couch trying to figure out what to post.

And since I have not reached the peak of thought for mankind I decided I just needed to make my post and move on. I still owe you the rest of my independent or fictional third party platform for 2024’s election. It isn’t like our government is racing to solve all our problems right now and with Tucker in Russia committing treason, Trump crying don’t do anything so I can win, the Democrats caught between the games the Republicans play and their inability to push through them, the left and right wing media all geared up to tell us how bad is the other side, and absolutely no legislation of any kind about to be passed we, the people as usual are screwed. And quite frankly the Republicans now saying we shouldn’t do anything until the people decide with the next election along with them saying it was a rigged election if they lose, we can now guarantee nothing will be achieved for years.

And yet for some reason, as little as I don’t like government it would help if it actually did address some issues. And yes I know the Democrats are trying to do something and there was a bi partisan attempt at the border issue, but hey Trump passed gas so the Republican righteous jumped at the prescribed height and so no border bill.

And for the vast majority of us, we are stuck paying too much for everything, mainly now for corporate greed because hey, Wall Street prescribes the height they are to jump to, and no help from the people who we pay through tax dollars to protect us from enemies within and outside of our borders.

I will continue my tirades just so when the deal goes down there is something in writing that says I tried to tell you so. Maybe some future alien civilization will come across the remnants of our planet and dig through all the terabytes of information left behind and go, hey at least someone knew things weren’t working. Ah to be so redeemed.

Anyway if you are reading this on Tumblr or Wordpress you may go I do not see 1,000 posts and that is because I originally started this on blogger or blogspot or whatever and then somewhere along the line I started this same blog on the other two platforms and just copy and paste the same post to all three sites. My thinking is I need to try and reach more people. Who knows if that is succeeding. So if you want to catch up you have to go to blogger or blogspot and read from the beginning. I also changed my original description of this blog. At first it was a couple of paragraphs long, now it is a simple sentence that really doesn’t describe the blog, yet is more of my feeling about the whole sha bang.

Eventually I do want to do a podcast tied to this blog while still posting in the written word. I have a microphone someone gave me, however in all the moves we have made in less than a year I cannot find it. Once I do, be forewarned. My plan is for some of the podcasts to compliment my written posts and some to be on separate topics. And then there is the quote the best laid plans of mice and men and if you want to read something profound maybe read Steinbeck. And according to all the modern world thinking, I also need to create a brand so people can understand who am I. That is simple: crotchety old man who thinks he knows it all, who is frustrated that the people who say they know it all keep screwing it up. How about that for a brand?

Folks, we all need something better than the current leadership we have in this country and elsewhere on this planet, and honestly I hope we find it because I want to travel to where you live and enjoy life with you.

Cheers!

And before I forget, Go Mavs, Stars, FC Dallas, Rangers and then Cowboys (sheesh). Wish Dallas had received the World Cup Championship, but we did receive 9 games so it will be fun around here in 2026.

And yes there is quite a bit of news right now, but everyone else is commenting on all the craziness so another time maybe.

[herd-reject-arts]

Pisgah was cool. Weird, but cool.

My first night, I got hopelessly lost because my GPS can't tell the difference between someone's driveway and a national forest. Ended up parking along a highway that I think was in Pisgah, but I'm bad at reading maps. During the night, some guy in a dark (maybe red?) pickup with what sounded like a dog in extreme pain drove by 5 times, always from my left. Now that I have service, I looked at the route he would hand had to take, and it's 53 miles round-trip. And he did this 5 times. There was also some weird frequency that started at exactly 1am and ended at exactly 2am that was loud enough to shake the windows of my car. It sounded like a generator at first, but it changed pitch twice during the hour and stopped sounding like a genny once it did. No idea what it was. But I've filed it as one of those Appalachian "not my business" sounds. There was also what sounded like a person making bear calls at 6am or so; it clearly wasn't a bear, but it didn't also quote sound like a person.

Second day I accidentally found the highest point in the Eastern US. It was super piney up there in a way I've never seen on this side of the country. Felt very Pacific Northwest. I made fajitas right before it started pouring. Found some cool snails and a salamander and a newt. All the rocks out that way contain tons of micah, which is neat. There was some extreme mountain running thing going on in the part of the park where I set up camp, and I could hear people being cheered at for completing the race until 1am. People were not only running like 14 miles, but in the pouring rain and complete darkness. That's kinda badass. Can't relate.

Now I'm in Asheville eating pizza that was way too fucking expensive (but it's really good, so oh well), but that's downtown for you I guess. Anyway, Manicomio Pizza is worth hitting up if you can afford to drop $30 on a single pizza (help me, that's more than it'll cost me in gas to get like 200 miles home!)

It's supposed to be pouring rain later, so I'm tapping out and going home. My dogs hate rain. One scuffed her ankle really bad trying to get in my car and out of the rain. I feel bad, and I did what I set out to accomplish - mainly, get the fuck away from people. I feel a lot better now.

Here I go to spend several days by myself in the North Carolina wilderness. Wish me luck. Never gone camping alone (but I have my dogs, and I trust them more than any people I know), so that's intimidating. Hopefully I don't have to fistfight a bear over whatever I'm cooking that night. Not looking forward to no toilet or shower until Monday, but it is what it is. I absolutely have to do this, for my mental health. I'm losing so much money taking the time off work to just have mountain time to myself. But I gotta. My life has been such a chaotic mess for over half a year now - everything that could go wrong, has - and I've never felt so close to just letting myself snap. I can feel it boiling right under the surface at any given time.

But yeah. Should be a time. Might post pictures upon my return (provided a bear doesn't decide I'm on the menu). Wish me luck!

[selenuntius]

Zhang Longevity - Southern Archives

Hello I know I just wrote about this at length but like I acknowledged in that post, I hadn’t read Southern Archives. Well now I have, and I’ll make a couple of additions/speculations based on the information in that. Don’t read if you haven’t read Southern Archives. Some of this information is related to plot points.

The main takeaway from Southern Archives that’s truly unambiguous is that there is a way to destroy the Zhang longevity (quite violently it appears).

Two other ones that have ambiguity to them are related to qilin blood. It’s a bit hard to just give a conclusion so I won’t be giving one here. My take beneath the break, or just read the novel.

Again, I’m trying to make clear what’s speculation and what’s actually in there, but I think even just by pointing out ambiguity, I’m making an argument. Just read the goddamn novel, really, especially to draw your own conclusions about the qilin blood things.

There are some other takeaways from Southern Archives about Zhang clan lore but I thought I should make a followup of sorts to my previous post with new info. Also Southern Archives was a pretty good read. I enjoyed the third-person POV and the period atmosphere. Zhang Haiyan, Haixia and others are some very engaging characters. I feel I may be a little attracted to Zhang Haiqi but I also want to call her mommy, so you can say I’m in a bit of a Haiyan predicament.

Zhang longevity can be destroyed

Probably one of our biggest takeaways from Southern Archives. This was achieved here via some kind of gas. The people who became aware of this in Southern Archives are Zhang Qishan (and some of his clan?), Zhang Haiqi, Zhang Hailou, Mo Yungao.

This may give support for the Zhang Qishan died because he found a way to age normally theory.

Zhang longevity is in their “blood” (not said to be the same blood as qilin blood; might just be blood as in they’re born with it)

This one is more ambiguous. The quote I’m drawing this from is in c.55:

“That German nerve gas was not produced in Germany, and its origins are unclear. It seemed to be able to destroy the mechanisms within Zhang people’s blood. Mo Yungao mentioned in his records that he found this by chance, and only possessed a single cylinder of it.”

If you’re checking your sources and see that this translation and merebear’s edited MTL is different and want to know why, I will leave a note at the end about this.

Anyways, like I said, I feel like immediately saying that this blood refers to qilin blood is a bit of a leap. I, for one, mostly read it as like a Zhang inherited trait rather than qilin blood. I went into a bit of why I felt the qilin blood is directly linked to their longevity theory wasn’t the best in my previous post, and I did see a reblog also theorising about that but I was too tired to finish writing my response (and I didn’t want to seem like I’m trying to start shit; I really just have too much time on my hands).

If qilin blood is directly linked to longevity, then everyone who has lived for longer than usual has to have a bit of qilin blood. That would mean there’s some kind of threshold for recognising qilin blood, and below that threshold it counts for longevity, but isn’t strong enough to detect.

To confirm the theory, we need some kind of confirmation that an in-between state between full-on qilin blood and non-qilin blood exists. The blood has different degrees of strength - this is true. Wu Xie speculates that the Qiling is chosen by who has the strongest qilin blood (book 8 c.81; N.B. that in Shahai 3 a different reason for selecting our Qiling was hypothesised), and Zhang Haike talks about hearing rumours as a child that our Zhang Qiling had the strongest form of their kekkei genkai blood (ZHH 2 c.7).

However, I still think there’s a distinction between the ones who do and the ones who just don’t, and it’s not all about how strong the blood is. Going back to the Qipan Zhang sect, they wielded quite a lot of power within the clan because they “held the qilin”, which Wu Xie guesses to mean the qilin blood (book 8 c.50 p1). Don’t know if that meant only Qipan Zhang had qilin blood, or if there was just a higher occurrence and a greater strength (I’ve read a headcanon that it’s because the Qipan Zhang absorb anyone who has the blood). Also, Wu Xie says in the 2017 short of Zhang Hailou, “You’re from the branch family… like me, you have to worry about mosquitoes.” Wu Xie, by this point, is quite knowledgable about the Zhang clan so what he says is kinda? reliable. In fact, all three of the Zhang that have qilin blood are from the main family or descended from a sect of the main family (Haiqi is one of the few Hai-generation main family members, southern archives c.47; Qiling was part of the main family according to Haike; Foye is a descendant of Ruitong of Qipan Zhang and Wu Xie speculates at the end of book 8 that Foye’s father brought their entire sect out of the Northeast Zhang’s control, which makes Rishan a descendant of Qipan Zhang too). So is it only the main family that ever has proper qilin blood? If it’s a thing all Zhang have to a degree, surely sometimes it pops up in the branches too.

This is pretty much a joke but I was going to say that maybe bare min qilin blood only protects you from mosquitoes and nothing else but still counts for longevity, and I can’t even make that joke anymore…

The problem here is at what point do we stop saying the longevity has to do with qilin blood and just say the longevity runs in the family, and for some reason, Foye didn’t get it (or died for other reasons). And even if we take a step back and say, yes, longevity does come with the Zhang blood but qilin blood makes you live even longer, not enough time has passed for us to say that.

An addendum about qilin blood, not directly related to longevity: Can qilin blood be an acquired trait?

Mo Yungao believes qilin blood to be an acquired trait, because he asked Zhang Qiling about it and he said it was acquired (Archives c.55).

This is contradicted in other places, for example, by Zhang Haike in ZHH 2 c.7, where he specifically talks about qilin blood as an inherited trait. The two previously mentioned passages about Qipan Zhang and from Wu Xie duking it out with Xiao Zhang Ge also support this, though less directly.

So, why did Zhang Qiling tell Mo Yungao it’s acquired?

There are a couple of possibilities, including Zhang Qiling lying and this actually being true and everyone else being wrong, but I think this was a misunderstanding.

Mainly because I don’t think the line is entirely without ambiguity.

He had asked this strange person if he had been born with his extraordinary abilities or if they were acquired, and the person had replied that they were acquired.

(I have another note about this line but it doesn’t matter for the ambiguity bit, so I’ll leave it at the bottom too.)

The key here is that Mo Yungao, in this omniscient narrator recollection, did not specifically ask about his blood. Mo Yungao clearly meant his blood, because a couple of lines above, Mo Yungao is saved by this person and his blood, and his later obsession is with this blood. But what he actually asked was his extraordinary abilities (plural) so maybe Zhang Qiling took it to mean combat ability rather than specifically his blood?

Again, there are other possibilities, but I prefer a simpler answer rather than a complicated one that takes more speculation to support.

Nerve gas line note:

The original contained the phrase 张家人血液中的肌理, literally “the skin texture of Zhang people’s blood”. This is because 肌理 (skin texture) was likely a typo of 机理 (which I translate as mechanisms here; not necessarily the best one. Could also use principles but I felt that sounded less physiological and more philosophical). These two words have the exact same pronunciation. XL makes these mistakes quite a lot, and because most of our stuff is sourced from his serialisation and web versions, these mistakes don’t get corrected. I suspect this is why merebear uses the vague sentence “but it seemed to specifically target the Zhang’s family blood” instead. It’s not a huge difference, but I thought I should explain my addition of mechanisms and using destroy instead of target (this I don’t quite understand, the original says destroy and I don’t see an issue with simply using destroy) so it doesn’t seem like I’m making stuff up.

Acquired abilities line note:

“Extraordinary abilities” is actually my guess of what XL means when he wrote 无常的能力, because I feel the adjective used is a misuse of the word. 无常 can mean changeable, can be a reference to a Buddhist concept of the cycle of life and death (don’t have the best grasp on this, but bear with me), can be a euphemism for death, or can be a kind of ghost? spirit? that collects people’s souls, kind of like the Grim Reaper I guess but they work for the king of hell. None of these quite fit here. The two characters, taken on their own can maybe mean something like extraordinary, so I’m thinking maybe that’s what XL’s trying to get at but used a slightly different word to replace what you might usually use for extraordinary (不凡 or smth idk), but not to great effect.

[purplesurveys]

1129

[created by: youvebeensurved - LiveJournal]

How often do you get fountain drinks from a gas station? I’ve actually never tried getting a drink from one of those fountains. I find them nasty, and the fact that gas stations aren’t the most hygienic of places certainly doesn’t help their case.

If you get online and look at graphics, what website(s) do you go to? I never find myself looking for graphics. The closest thing I search are vector icons, and for those I have an extension on Chrome that lets me look for icons to place on slides and such.

Who would you say your favorite celebrity is? At the moment it would be Rosamund Pike, but my all-time favorite would be Beyoncé.

Have you ever slept in your car? If so, explain. Sure, mostly when I took naps in between classes. There were also a few times I had late nights out and didn’t have a place to crash at, so I’d sleep in the car for the night before heading home in the morning.

If you were forced to murder one of your parents, which one would it be? This is a horrible question.

What song are you currently obsessed with? Find Me Here - Hayley Williams.

Explain your last run in with the police: Never happened.

Who was the last friend you hung out with, and what did you guys do? In terms of a physical get-together, I was with Angela, Hans, Pia, Kyelle, Al, Gab, and Sam and we had dinner and drinks at this gastropub that announced its impending permanent closure by the end of February. Virtually, I hung out with Andi, Peter, Carmel, Rita, Robin, Mik, and Elis to have a Jeopardy game night over Zoom.

What time do you usually go to bed and wake up? On weekdays I try to turn in anywhere between 9–11 PM and wake up by 6:30. On weekends, I try to stay up until midnight at the earliest, but I’m trying to make it a habit to stay up until like 2–3 AM just so I can catch up on my hobbies and shows. I wake up anywhere between 5–7 AM.

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be? What's stopping you? Lawyer, which is a route I seriously considered for a few years. I get extremely tense in arguments though so I doubt I’d be the best fit for that kind of career.

Do you have a friend that's in a horrible situation right now? Explain. Yeah, my college batchmate (who’s now also my co-worker) Aimee tested positive for COVID this week after being in and out of a fever over the last two weeks.

What was the last store you were in, and what did you buy? I suddenly needed plastic bags while I was packing groceries at the office the other week, so I went to the nearby convenience store to check if they had any. They didn’t, so I left without buying anything.

Who was the last person you texted, and what did this text say? I was texting some media friends to tell them some shoes we had ordered for them to try out are going to be delivered to their address within the day.

What is the reason for the last time you cried? A show I had been watching had an emotional scene.

Who is your favorite character in your favorite movie? Joanna, of course, mainly because that’s the character Audrey Hepburn plays.

What color did you last paint your nails? I can’t remember the color I chose the last time I had my nails painted 79472394348 years ago.

It's 112 degrees out today, describe your attire: A very thin tank top with airy shorts.

Do you have any friends that are currently in jail? Explain their situation. Not friends but I can think of a couple of relatives who’ve gotten ‘in conflict’ with the law. I won’t get into their cases but for both of them, it was because they got tricked by their respective abusive bosses, hence the quote marks.

Do you tend to take long or short surveys? I like taking those whose lengths are right in the middle - anywhere between 35-80 questions. Shorter ones look boring and I find the longer ones too time-consuming.

What do you currently desire? I changed my mind about La Creperie and will be going to Ramen Nagi instead since I just remembered they currently have a truffle ramen thing that’s only going to be around for a limited time, and I want to get my hands on it before they take it off the menu.

How often do you honk your horn? Depends on how stupid the people I’m driving with are on a given day.

For what reason were you last at a park? We don’t have too many parks here so there’s little opportunity to stay at one. I remember seeing one with Gab when we were at BGC a little over a year ago, but we only walked through it since it was part of the route we were taking to get to our actual destination.

What junk food can you never pass up? Salted egg chips and pizza.

If you're a girl, what is your favorite brand of feminine hygiene products? If you're a boy, what is your favorite brand of condoms? I don’t have a favorite.

Where was the last place you went on a walk to? Just around the neighborhood. I also wanted to make this morning’s route with Cooper a little longer so he could walk more, so we went to parts of the village we don’t normally reach.

How are you feeling today? I’m content :) It’s the weekend so I’m not too tense like I normally would be on weekdays. I also have plans to go out later today so I’m looking forward to that.

Do you ever make your own surveys? Never tried because I know I wouldn’t be able to come up with new and interesting questions.

How flexible are you? Not very. I can’t even reach my toes when I do stretches.

What is your favorite class? Any history elective. I also like biology, anthropology, and some aspects of political science.

What is your boyfriend's name? I don’t have one.

What is your favorite drink? Non-alcoholic, cold water. Alcoholic, Long Island Iced Tea for mixed drinks, and tequila.

Who is your best friend? Angela.

What time is it? 11:20 AM.

What is your middle name? My second name is Isabelle, but I’m not sharing my legal middle name.

What 3 websites do you visit daily? YouTube, Google Suite, and Twitter.

Where do you work? At home, haha. But under normal circumstances I’d be working in an office somewhere in Metro Manila.

What is your favorite band? Paramore.

How do you feel about abortion? Personally not a fan of the procedure for myself, but I am as pro-choice as it gets.

Do you want any kids? Very much so.

Have you ever microwaved soap? Nah, but I know what happens to it from watching YouTube videos hahaha. It’s so fun to see it gradually expand and become a pretty lil cloud.

Are there any new movies that you want to see? I Care A Lot, but I feel sooooooooo lazy about watching new movies. Idk if I’ll ever get around to it.

How many places have you lived? I’d say around five in total, including the house I currently reside in. I’ve lived in my parents’ apartment in Manila, then we briefly moved in with my dad’s parents, and then I spent most of my childhood in a duplex living with my mom’s side (and got to live in both houses), until we finally settled here when I was 10.

Do you have any health issues? Yeah, the main one I have to live with is scoliosis.

Are you texting anyone? Nope. And I don’t really text anymore, either. Most of my conversations take place on Messenger or Viber.

What do you drive? A Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback.

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? Sure, both male and female ones.

Are you drinking or eating anything? Nope but I am starting to feel a bit hungry.

What color is your shirt? Yellow with some grey text.

Do you drink? Like...alcohol? Sure. I have the occasional soju night.

What year do/did you graduate? I graduated high school in 2016, and college in 2020.

Do you play any sports? Table tennis, though it’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to play. I got to take it as a PE elective on my last sem, but my time with it got cut off because of COVID :(

Do you pop your fingers? Yeah, I just cracked my knuckles a few minutes ago.

What is your shoe size? I can wear a size 6 or 7.

Have you ever had a UTI? Apparently I’ve had one, but all I got from it was a persisting high fever. I didn’t actually have any difficulties or felt pain in my urinary tract, though of course I felt scared to pee during that time because I thought it would hurt lol.

What was the last thing you baked? Cookies. A lifetime ago, since I don’t normally bake.

When was the last time you showered? Yesterday afternoon when I was finally able to clock out of work.

Would you rather go to the dentist or the doctor? Dentist. I actually find the procedures soothing. There’s a whole lot of issues that can be unpacked when you visit doctors, so I’m kinda scared of that.

Have you ever been in love? Yes. I miss the feeling and being able to act on it, but I’m liking being with myself too.

How do you feel about public speaking? I’m ok with it for the most part. I know I can speak well and generally have a good hold of my thoughts, so I don’t mind if I have to do it unless I have to talk about something I’m greatly unfamiliar with, like insurance or economics lmao. The latter situation is the only time I’d feel unprepared or scared of public speaking.

Do you see anything green? Yeah, since we have artificial plant accents on the coffee table.

What shoes do you usually wear? Sneakers or running shoes.

Do you take any birth control? Nope.

Who is the last person you talked to? My sister; I just asked her to turn the volume down on the TV.

Are there any fast food restaurants that you refuse to eat at? Just Tokyo Tokyo. I can take or leave Burger King but for the most part I find their burgers too plain.

Do you recycle? Whenever I can, yeah.

Do you know what you want to major in in college? I wanted to take up journalism. I suppose I don’t regret it, since I ended up wanting to be in a field that’s close enough to it anyway and I don’t feel like the skills I learned went to waste.

Have you ever snuck anyone in your room? Nah, I always let my mom know if I’m letting someone over since she doesn’t knock and would find out anyway.

Who was the last person in your bed besides you? Gabie.

Have you ever been in the hospital? Other than when I was born, yeah, at least once.

What's the last movie you watched? I watched Midsommar with Nina and some cousins last Christmas lol. We unknowingly downloaded the Director’s Cut, which we found out wasn’t as good as the main version since they added cheesy scenes to it, which ruined the suspenseful mood of the movie.

What's your favorite fruit? Avocado.

What do your bathroom walls look like? The bottom half has coral-ish tiles, while the top half is just a plain white wall. In the downstairs bathroom the setup is the same, but instead of coral tiles we have light blue wall tiles instead on the bottom half.

What do you spend most of your money on? At the moment, most of the money that I do take out of my account is the money I give to my parents every couple of weeks to help out with the bills. The next main thing I spend on is food, because I always have cravings I need satisfied haha.

Do you have any weird obsessions? Reading about serial killers and unsolved crimes isn’t really considered ‘weird’ anymore since a lot of other people have taken up the interest. But that’s probably the most out-there ~obsession that I have.

Do you bite your nails? I do but not obsessively.

What's the last color you dyed your hair? I’ve never tried dyeing my hair yet.

How do you feel about mustaches? Not my personal preference, but you do you.

Is there anyone that you really want to see in concert? Beyonceeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[curioussubjects]

come be a season 12 truther, baby, with me

In honor of tonight’s Berens/Glynn episode (!!!!), I’d like to take y’all on a magical journey in which I share why I think Dean and Cas got together in season 12. 

Keep in mind that this post takes for granted that Dean and Cas are in love with each other and that their relationship has been increasingly coded as romantic with each passing season. Consequently, what this post does is point out some key moments in their relationship and argue why they don't get together before 12. I'll also go briefly over 13 and 14 for reasons I'll explain later in the post. First, though, let me go over seasons 4 through 11, with some pit stops along the way:

Seasons 4 & 5: this isn’t the destiel you are looking for. the ust is delicious, yes, and i, too, got sucked in posthaste immediately groped by an angel lj community style. At this point Cas is still too alien for anything beyond the development we see on screen happen. HOWEVER, season 5 is the first time we get to see Cas being human (The End) and Cas being less connected to heaven and how that affects his behavior. This will matter. 

Seasons 6 & 7: the pining omg the pining. The notable things I want to point out with these seasons is a. this is the beginning of Cas doing things to spare Dean and it not ending well (Cas dies #1, soulless!Sam); b. Dean is v. sad; and c. we also start noticing the emotional toll of Cas’s divided loyalties and how human he has actually become since s4. Hurty feels all around.  

Season 8: purgaytory babes aw yeah! Still lots of terrible awful pining. This is a turning point with the addition of the bunker as tfw hq: we have a home in play now, a static emotional center. Cas is still off doing his own thing, Dean still wishes Cas would just let him (+ Sam) help out. Cas going off on his own leads to disaster #2 (Angels fall, Cas loses his Grace). For all deliciously angsty get together purgatory fics and spec, there’s too much of a gap between Dean and Cas on Cas’s part due to his guilt over betraying the Winchesters in s6 & slaughtering angels & leviathan. On the other hand, we do see Dean being more emotionally open, but to no avail. Bad timing. This is a trend. [oop also worth noting we get Dean being kinda done with the one night stand thing because always with the adios and ahem also hint hint Cas refusing to stay put]

Seasons 9 & 10: aka Dean and Cas make bad decisions, but mostly Dean. The biggest turning point here is Cas being human for an extended period of time. There is still plenty of spec over the effects of being human on Cas’s Grace and his Soul. What we can say for sure, though, is that Cas is much more human once he becomes an angel again. In contrast to s8, s9 sees Cas being vulnerable and Dean pushing him away (first because of Gadreel, which he didn’t want to do really and that’s even sadder kdjfgksdfj & later because he was pushing everyone away due to the mark).  

9.06 Heaven Can’t Wait: there’s been so much amazing fic and spec about this episode with its fanfiction gap, but I can’t see a deancas get together here, folks. I know, it’s terrible. The lying from Dean and the hurt from Cas, imo, make the distance between them quite insurmountable at this point. While the episode is amazing (Bobo’s debut, too! So ♥) and has some notorious subtext throughout, I just can’t see the character bridging that gap into anything physical, much less emotional. Nevertheless, this episode does show perhaps the first intentional romantic tableaux with Dean and Cas, and that’s not nothing. 

10.16 Paint it Black: from the point Dean gets the mark of cain until the end of season 10, anything between him and Cas is quite impossible. But one of the reasons I’m bringing up this episode in particular is because of the confession scene. For one, it’s a rare bit of emotional honesty from Dean and for two, it tells me that while he and Cas may be well aware of the thing between them, it’s still uncharted waters. Makes sense, too, there’s been A LOT going on since s6.  Anyway, he’s the full confession, so we can put a pin on it:

You know, the life I live, the work I do…I pretty much just figured that that was all there was to me, you know? Tear around and jam the key in the ignition and haul ass until I ran out of gas. I guess I just thought sooner or later, I’d go out the same way that I live – pedal to the metal, and that would be it. [...]  Now, um… recent events, uh… make me think I might be closer to that than I really thought. And…I don’t know. I mean, you know, there’s – there’s things, there’s…people, feelings that I-I-I want to experience differently than I have before, or maybe even for the first time. [...]  Yeah, I’m just starting to think that… maybe there’s more to it all than I thought.

Do you ever see a character having an epiphany and find yourself wanting to cry because this is it right here. Dean is just blatantly admitting he wants more, which all culminates in season 11, so...

Season 11: The pining is still here, but it’s worse now since it’s the whole plot? It’s been *checks calendar* 5 years of this. How are any of us still kicking I don’t know. Your slow burns could never. Cool worth noting points: Cas says yes to Luci (bad decision #2.5, lots of mitigating effects_I don’t actually hold it against him that much but Dean is another story & not entirely rational at this point); for the first time since the early days, Dean and Cas are on equal grounds: they’ve both fucked up a lot and have hurt each other. The issues this season are outside their dynamic. Amara and Lucifer here serve as externalizing forces for Dean and Cas’s problems and by the end of the season we’re getting a clean slate. We’re also getting a new showrunner, so. No wonder. What this season does that is also super important is that it sets up the stage for the possibility of an actual relationship between Dean and Cas, something that has, up until this point, been pretty much impossible. 

11.04 Baby: Y’all know what I’m about to quote here, right? The convo between Dean and Sam about having something with someone who understands the life. Here we still have Dean reverting to the idea that it’s impossible, which is a direct contrast to the openness in 10.16. It’s understandable, though, considering there’s been little reason to think anything like that would be possible (see all the mess and poor timing from seasons past). The quote in question, though, marks a continuing development in on of the things Dean is struggling with this season:

DEAN: Piper? That's awesome. Heather. One-night wonders, man. Shoot, we're lucky we still get that at all.  SAM: Really? You don't . . . Ever want something more? DEAN: I'm sorry, have you met us? We're batting a whopping zero in domestic life, man. Goose eggs. SAM: You don't ever think about something? Not marriage or whatever. But . . . Something? You know, with a hunter? Somebody who understands the life?

Compare this exchange with what we get from 11.11 and 11.19:

11.11 Into the Mystic: I’m bringing this episode as a crossreference to 10.16 and to show again that for all the closeness between Dean and Cas there’s still a marked distance they haven’t yet bridged. Thanks Mildred for the delicious exposition:

Darlin'...If there's one thing I've learned in all my years on the road, it's when somebody's pining for somebody else. [...]  Oh, don't try and hide it now. Follow your heart. Remember?

11.19 The Chitters: Continuing our trek regarding Dean wanting certain things we have this gift of an episode with Jesse and Cesar, and this exchange:

Dean: [with realization] Oh, so … [points back and forth to Jesse and Cesar] Cesar: Yeah. Dean: Okay, that’s… Cesar puts his beer bottle on the table and looks at Dean, while Jesse is being silent. Dean: What’s it like, settling down with a hunter? Cesar: Smelly, dirty. [turns to Jesse] Twice the worrying about getting ganked.

I’d like to point out, too that the fear of getting ganked is thematic when it comes to the tension between Dean and Cas. More on this when we hit s13. 

Alright, now having said that, let’s take a look at season 12. Bear in mind, this is the official start of Dabb’s era, even if he kinda began taking over in 11, and the change in vibes is obvious. In fact, 12 jumped out at me as a turning point in retrospect, after getting smacked by the domesticity of 13 and 14. Under the cut because I can’t shut up, and things are long enough as is. 

Season 12:  Finally, the promise land, y’all. So, what s11 was for Dean in terms of setting up the relationship stage, s12 was for Cas. In its initial beats, any way. Important to keep in mind that until the Kelly debacle, this was the longest Cas has been around the bunker. Things seem remarkably chill. Of course, we’ll notice that there’s still a lot of baggage hanging around because despite Dean and Cas being in a more stable place, they haven’t actually dealt with their interpersonal problems. I didn’t single out directly this episode, but do keep in mind Cas’s declaration in 12.09 First Blood as far as how much the Winchesters matter to Cas & how we also see Dean and Cas be particularly singled out with them seating together in the backseat of the Impala. 

12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets: This episode, oh my god, the goodness. In the wake of 12.09 we have Dean and Cas in a tiff because Cas mistake #3 (killing Billie and “cosmic consequences”), this is a pattern. Twice the worry of getting ganked, etc etc. But where this episode really shines is through the contrast between Ishim’s obsession with Lily and Cas & Dean’s mutual affection for each other. Ishim sees no difference here and, to him, Cas’s feelings for Dean are a human weakness. Returning to my point about human!Cas, this episode underscores that Cas’s increasing humanity is what puts him in the place where he can want what Dean wants instead of either being too alien to get it (see s4 & 5) or unable to experience it properly (Ishim). 

12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You): Cas’s trajectory culminates here with the whole I love you (@ Dean), I love all of you (@ Winchesters). Let’s note too that Cas is dying here, in a way that is much more human than going up in light. This declaration of different types of love is entirely human. It’s also a definitive step wrt to Cas and Dean’s relationship because of what happens in 12.19. This. is. it.

Offscreen happenings: Mixtape, how Cas knows the Colt is under Dean’s pillow. This is hella suspicious. 

12.19 The Future: This episode changes everything, y’all (bobo and meredith, folks, bobo and meredith ksjdhfakjshlfksd). Consider watching this episode again and pay attention to some weird things: 1. Dean’s reaction to Cas going awol. Compare it to Sam’s, who is like whoa Dean chill. Now, thought experiment, imagine something happened between Dean and Cas, and then just radio silence from Cas. Imagine how Dean would react with getting ghosted by Cas specifically after something happened between them.  2. Cas comes back to the bunker with the specific goal of stealing the Colt, which he already knew was under Dean’s pillow -- something Sam didn’t even know.  3. “He came into my room and he played me.” So, this quote right there, makes it seem like some seduction for personal gain, right? But Cas clearly knew where the Colt was already, which means something happened before  Cas came back to the bunker. Cas played Dean in seeming to have reconsidered not working with Sam and Dean wrt Kelly. This is still a point of drama, but it leads somewhere else (see s13 & s15). 4. WHEN DID DEAN GIVE CAS THAT MIXTAPE OMG 5. Dean and Cas’s brief convo in Dean’s room is clearly Dean just wanting Cas to stay, so they can work (and be) together -- because they’re better that way. Which, yeah, truth. 

Sequence of events: Cas tells Dean he loves him -- Dean is clearly shook by it -- Dean gives Cas a mixtape (romantic gesture, often a declaration of feelings; in true Dean speak too lolsobs) -- Cas somehow knows the Colt is under Dean’s pillow -- ???? -- Cas goes awol -- Dean acts like he got ghosted by his partner.

Like. Y’all realize they probably had some emotionally constipated getting together moment, right? Something that Dean clearly initially thought meant things were gonna change, now. Something that Cas couldn’t allow to happen until he could give Dean a win. Y’all are seeing this, yeah? I’m not saying they slept together and were full of feelings, except that’s kind of what I’m saying. But ymmv, there are other possibilities beyond sex. The full of feelings isn’t up for debate, though, even if the whole thing is informed by ridiculous amounts of miscommunication. 

Ok, maybe the narrative is still too subtle (?????), but as I said before, looking at 12 with the knowledge of 13 and 14 does offer a new perspective because of the difference in dynamic between Dean and Cas. I know lots of people look at 14, mainly, as having dialed back on the destiel side of things, but I always thought that was a strange take. Largely because they’re so domestic and their dynamic, ie, the lack of tension, reads like an established relationship. It’s a different kind of beast than we have been used to so far, so it does look alien on screen, especially since we “skipped” the conventional getting together cue that would let us change gears. Let’s take a look at 13 and 14, then.

Season 13: Ah, yes, the season of shit gets domestic. The pining? Gone? What? Deancas now reading like an established couple? It’s more likely than you think.

13.1-13.5: Dean’s grief mini-arc. Dude’s acting like a widower. We all know this. I want to gesture towards the reunion moment though with “it’s never too late to start all over again.” To. Start. All. Over. Again. I’m just saying. 

13.6 Tombstone: hi this episode is pure love and Dean is so happy his sweetheart is back from the dead? He’s even ok being Jack’s third dad now? What a time to be alive. Also? apparently Dean and Cas were just having movie night together? Dates? Mutual Pining dates prior to shit going to hell in 12? Do you ever cry? What else are they getting up to offscreen? What else will they get up to off screen? MUCH TO THINK ABOUT. 

Season 14: MORE DOMESTICITY. With some pining because Michael. But...heart eyes when Dean comes back? Watch that scene again with Dean going off to shower. Suspicious. But then shit hits the fan and we’re all sad again. boo. 

14.15 Peace of Mind: Look me in the eye and tell me Dean and Cas talking in the kitchen about Jack doesn’t read like husbands talking about their child. Look me in the eye and tell me Cas just texting Dean to gossip about Sam isn’t coupley asf. 

14.18-14.20: Ah, yes, the divorce arc. Awful. Terrible. The culmination of Dean’s problem in all this: he lashes out, he pushes Cas away, his anger is alienating. Cue all of us suffering. But while Dean is clearly in the wrong in how the deals with his feelings, let’s not pretend some of his anger doesn’t come from a long established issue between him and Cas, which had its last traumatic turn when Cas died in s12. Dean isn’t being rational here; he saw Cas doing something on his own, and he saw that his mother is dead. What else could happen? Why won’t Cas just trust they can work as a team? Divorce arc was entirely too literal. 

But what about what we’re building up in 15? That seems like it could be a getting together plot, too, right? Well, yeah. It could very well be. But I’d argue the tension we’re seeing isn’t a will they or won’t they because they already have. The tension is instead will they or won’t they use their words to talk about the baggage that has kept them from truly being confident about their relationship. There’s a crucial step in their togetherness that they’re still missing, which is also the bedrock of the divorce arc that spanned TWELVE FRIGGIN’ EPISODES. Y’all. Y’all that’s half a season. And we’re not even entirely done with it yet because Dean was cut short in purgatory, and they haven’t dealt with Cas’s side of blame in this mess yet either -- that Cas keeps going off on his own and getting hurt (and getting other people hurt), and Dean has to deal with the fallout. The deep emotional understanding, the truly being on the same page is what we’re on the edge of our seats for. And, you know, that’s a whole lot more exciting than witnessing their for realsies first kiss. I’m also confident Dabb & co will deliver the conclusion to this emotional arc and it will be a whole mess of feelings on all our parts. 

For the moment, though, it’s looking a lot like Dean and Cas had a rocky start to their ~involvement, then DEATH, then they got together feat. sweet sweet domestic fluff, then DIVORCE. So, yeah. Season 12, guys; it’s where it’s at. 

As for the more performative aspect of Dean and Cas’s relationship…that’s a whole other thing and all I can say is they got the green light for something, but I don’t know what it is and it’s driving me bananas, but it’s definitely something and we can talk about that, too. Place your bets, etc.  I’m clowning on the “I love you” pay off because it’s a glaring missing piece in this whole story. See also: holding hands? Carving Cas’s initials on the table? Saileen endgame parallels? All supported by the narrative. Like a lot. So. *finger guns*

[eeveelizard1229]

I Think You Misunderstood My Intentions When I Asked For Your Heart.

Before the mini Crypto Dragon drawing I did I had finished this one, so welcome to the ring gas dad! Picked the quote mainly for @soulheartthewolf because she’s gas mom and I love her 💚, showed her this early too! Just wanted to see gas mom happy :3

Also! This goes for anyone who like my Dragon Legends drawings- I think I said this before on my last drawing thing but I have the memory and brain size of a peanut- if you ever like any of these lil transperant drawings you are allowed to use em as icons as long as you credit! I’d say before you use one repost the post I showed em in and state so and give credit that way?? Idk how things like this really work beside giving credit to the original owner but oop, I’ll probs work on better ones one day for icon pictures in like a pretty lil color palette thing haha! Anyway thanks for reading my ramble and enjoying my art!

[malicerewatchesdoctorwho]

The Macra Terror - Episode Three

Written By - Ian Stuart Black Director - John Davies Producer - Innes Lloyd Animation Director - Charles Norton Animation Producers - Paul Hembury and Rebecca Richmond

Episode Three

(*constant coughing* - Jamie being stuck in a mine shaft full of Macra while poisonous gas is leaking into it.)

Likes

- The Doctor complaining about the rhymes in the songs being sang about enjoying work XD Just...the way he said the person who wrote the song should be sent to the danger gang and not them is priceless.

- Jamie calling the Doctor an old man and totally meaning it.

- Polly taking the work instead of the supervisor position, because at least she knows what she's doing there.  Even with the men constantly saying she shouldn't be doing it because it's men's work. 

- The Doctor doing science. 

- The Doctor getting the computation of this problem figured out in the short time he was there, being happy about it and crossed out the 10 at the top of his score of 10/10 and gave himself an 11.  The Doctor is so extra in this.  I love it.

- Jamie getting out of there.  He just goes off into the wilderness of the mines.  With no gas in them.  Nice.

- Ben slowly breaking out of the control of the hypnosis.

- The Doctor just shoving a whole beaker into his jacket pocket.  Pockets for days.  They're obviously bigger on the inside XD

Dislikes

- Ummm....why didn't Medok put his mask on?  That's a bit stupid, isn't it?  Especially since he was the one that was yelling about getting everyone masks...

- Speaking of Medok, if the gas kills you if you breathe it, shouldn’t ALL of them be dead now, since they just all breathed it in?

- How did no one hear the rattling of the keys?  It was loud enough.

- Why did everyone in the mine take their goggles off if they're supposed to be protection from the gas?

- Ummm, didn't the Doctor tip a little of the green gas liquid into the test tube of red gooey liquid? Why did he afterwards just dump all the red liquid into the green?  Shouldn't he have waited for a reaction one way first?  I have not done science since high school.  It shows. 

- How did that Macra miss Jamie being behind that small bit of hiding spot he's behind?  Especially since it was waving its pincers around right where he was...just what?  Said it before, but sometimes the hiding places in Doctor Who are not hiding places, but they hide there successfully anyway. 

-  Why didn't Jamie put his gas mask back on when the room he was in was flooded with poisonous gas?

Awesome

- I like the control panel Officia uses to control the miners.  Also, the Doctor in charge of machinery.  Things will either go so well, it's amazing, or fall apart around him.

- Gas masks.  At first I thought that the goggles were supposed to be the gas masks and I was like O_o but, no, I was wrong.  Nice little prop there.

- The board the Doctor uses to do his science on.  I think it is the first clear board that actually makes it easier to see what is written on there, instead of incredibly difficult to read.  Mainly because the background is so dark and he is using bright white marker.

- I liked the slight gas look in the background constantly in this episode.

- That drill looks awesome.

- That awesome seat Officia has.  it's a bench with a moveable seat on it.  I want one.

Shitty

- The bright green of the gas when it comes right out of the pipes, when the rest of the gas looks more brown to me than green.  Just looks like the wrong colour.  Yeah, I am watching the coloured version of it.  I didn’t know there was a black and white version until I had started, oops.

- That damn alarm! Please someone, get a new less annoying noise.  That noise wouldn’t make me run, or hide or follow orders.  That noise would have me crawled up in a ball right where I was standing with my hands clamped around my ears, screaming for the damn alarm to be turned off.  That...is sadly not an exaggeration.

- I don't much like the running animation when Jamie was in the cave alone the first time we see it and he is running towards the camera.  It looked very odd.

In Conclusion

Yes, that is the ‘quote’ I went for.  Jamie coughing.  Shut up.

Eh, I still like the second episode better.  This wasn't bad by any stretch, I just like the second episode better.

This one has Polly being awesome and doing what she wants, because that's the way she rolls, gender role be damned.  Jamie doing a lot, including getting out and doing a prison break.  Ben starting to get out of his hypnotic control and the Doctor doing science.  Seems all the characters have their own thing to do now.

I look forward to the next episode. 

Body count - 1. Medok.  Killed by Macra.  Or so it looks like anyway.  He might still be alive.  But i am putting him down as dead anyway, because of puddle of viscous green goo with his goggles in it all that is left.   Ew.

[prorevenge]

Loud, messy, and generally annoying roommate learns his lesson

So I had a roommate over this last summer, as we subleased an apartment in my hometown from a friend of my roommate's who was traveling for the summer. It worked out perfectly, because he was able to give us a cheap enough rent that I could work a factory job in town and still save enough money to put towards tuition for the next year of college.

Now for a little backstory. This friend of mine, we'll call him "Alex", for privacy. I don't like the guy, but I'll still respect his privacy. I use the term "friend" fairly loosely, as we come from a small town (about 5,000 people), so everyone knew everyone, and Alex and I graduated together. We never hung out together outside of the classes and extracurriculars we had together, but I had never had any issues with the guy before this.

So, fast forward to the first week of living together. All was ok at first, some minor annoyances, but nothing major. However as time went on, things started to pile up. Literally, and figuratively. It started with some minor annoyances. We're both guitarists, and would occasionally play together. I'd been playing consistently for about a decade at this point, he'd been playing on and off for a few years. However, when we started living together, he started playing more, probably motivated by seeing how much I played. Nice, right?

Well the biggest problem with this was that he worked the 3rd shift at the same factory (midnight-7am) and I worked the first shift (7am-3:30). So he would play his guitar in his room (right next to mine) at all hours of the night while I was trying to sleep. His typical routine was to crash as soon as he got home, sleep until 3 or 4, (usually he was awake by the time I got home, but not always) make himself food, and then divide the time between then to either play video games with his friends online, or play guitar. Loudly. I typically tried to be in bed by 9, but was almost always woken up either by his guitar, him screaming loudly during a League match, or him clambering loudly around the apartment to get ready for work. I swear it sounded like he was wrestling Macho Man Randy Savage himself in the living room and kitchen at 11:30 at night every night. On top of all of this, he would have his girlfriend over occasionally, as well as other girls I'm assuming he had met on Tinder (as I saw him swiping through occasionally). And the walls between our rooms were very, very thin. I had many conversations with him to try and explain that the noise was bothering me, but he responded with "Sorry dude, just get carried away sometimes. Have you tried headphones?" (yes, that's an exact quote, and yes I had tried headphones, but to no avail. They were too uncomfortable to sleep in). I was exhausted at work every day, relying on the Monster they sold in the break room every day to get me through (so yes, I do blame him for my current addiction to monster). So like I said, things started to pile up, figuratively in that regard, and it was getting old.

On the literal side of things, Alex was a slob, and his things would LITERALLY start to pile up. He'd leave his change of clothes in the living room when he'd change before work and wouldn't pick them up for a week at a time. His room started to smell, and soon, so did he. I don't think I saw him take out the trash in his room once, and I would constantly have to enter his den of despair to retrieve dirty dishes, as he liked to eat in his room while watching anime or playing League, and just leave the dishes on his nightstand. I also started noticing food items going missing from the fridge. Again, I approached him about it, and again, was given an apology and a promise to clean up. But that promise remained unfulfilled. The last straw finally came around mid June.

At work, there are small lockers that employee's can use to store their things. They aren't assigned, so it's a first come first serve basis. You write your name on a sticker and put it on an empty locker, and you are responsible for getting a lock for the locker. I got a simple padlock with a combination, and took the last available locker, recently vacated as one of the employee's got moved to a different assembly department within the factory. I gave Alex the combination and told him he could share it with me so long as he didn't mess with my stuff. Things in there started to pile up as well. Mainly work gloves and safety glasses, as he would put them in there at the end of his shift, and then forget and just get new ones. Our factory handed out gloves and safety glasses for free, so I'm sure he never thought anything of it.

This was just another minor annoyance until one day I left my wallet in my storage locker, and didn't realize until the next day, as I was on my way to work and stopped for gas, and didn't have my card to pay for it. No biggie, this has happened before. I get to work, and as I'm walking in, Alex is walking out. After my shift, I grab my wallet and go to get gas when I notice there's $60 in cash missing from my wallet. I know this because it was money I had set aside to go to a concert later that summer (the last Warped Tour, bittersweet, I know). I went home and confronted him about this when he woke me up clambering around in the kitchen again, and he denied it (of course), even though he's the only one with the combination to my lock. So I decided I was done. Over the next week, I tried to think of a plan, and had a eureka moment when my boss asked me to switch to second shift for a few weeks while another coworker from that shift was taking advantage her years of accumulated vacation days. Perfect.

Finally, ON TO THE REVENGE.

I started with small, reasonable things, like not washing the dishes, hiding the few that were mine in my room, and washing them and putting them away as I used them. The apartment had its own washer and dryer, but the guy we were renting from took his laundry supplies with him, asking him to use our own. Fine by me, I had bought the detergent and dryer sheets anyways. I promptly moved those back into my room as well, and started only doing my own laundry. At work, I had made a new friend who agreed to let me stow my wallet, keys, and phone in his locker during the work day, as I was now temporarily on second shift and my things were usually gone by the time he came in for his shift. Alex's laundry started to pile up. By the look (and smell) of it, he was rewearing clothes several times without washing them. I have no idea what he started using for dishes, I can only hope he wasn't eating off of the gross used ones. He never came and talked to me, and I'm not sure if it was out of laziness or if it was because he knew he didn't have a leg to stand on. But sadly, the smell just kept getting worse, and my efforts seemed to just accelerate his degradation into grossness. But I still had one more card to play.

See, the best thing for me about moving to second shift was that I would now come home at midnight and be able to sleep peacefully while he was gone. When he came home at 7, I would be waking up to start my day. And start my day, I did. First thing I did was make myself some breakfast. Usually a nice fruit smoothie in the blender, the loudest appliance in the kitchen. I would then go into my room, crank up the volume on my amp and jam out to some music, singing along to Mayday Parade, All Time Low, Sum 41, and a myriad of other bands I was listening to at the time in preparation for Warped Tour. I'm not a bad singer by any means, but I'm no Jason Lancaster. I would also occasionally invite my then-girlfriend over during that time, and we were, by no means, quiet. This seemed to be the last straw for Alex now. He stopped me one afternoon before I left for work, and asked me to keep it down while he slept, as it made it hard for him to focus and stay awake at work.

I responded in my most fake-sincere voice, "Sorry dude, I guess I just get carried away. Wanna borrow my headphones?" After a few more days of noise, I think he got the memo. He bought his own laundry detergent and dish soap, and slowly worked his way through the massive pile of shit in his cesspool of a room. By the time I switched back to first shift, he was the quietest, and most considerate roommate ever. However, the smell didn't leave the room, and I was concerned, so I called the friend we were renting from to ask if he had a carpet shampooer I could use to get the smell out. It was at this point the friend told me that this wasn't the first time this had happened, and apparently Alex had rented the apartment the previous summer as well, and the friend came home to find it filthy. Lucky for Alex, the person he was sharing the apartment with left to go back to school early for a university job orientation, and the friend came home to find Alex trying to clean the last of the apartment, blaming the smell and the messiness on the roommate who had left. The friend started to put it together and thanked me for letting him know, and that he would take care of the smell when he got back, but I insisted.

The Pièce De Résistance came when I sacrificed a couple hours of sleep to go into work while he was on the assembly line, grab his phone (which he kept unlocked) from the locker that still had my padlock on it, and found very incriminating text messages from the various other girls he had probably brought back to the apartment. I screenshotted them, send them to myself, and then deleted the evidence that could trace back to me. When I got home, I sent them all to his girlfriend, another girl I had graduated high school with, and that I was ACTUALLY friends with. I also sent screenshots to his "Tinderella's", who's numbers were in the screenshots of the texts under the contact names. And that was the end of that.

Alex was no longer allowed to stay at that friends apartment, but hopefully I taught him to respect his roommates. Because after sharing an apartment with him, with my own separate bedroom, I can't imagine having to share a dorm with him. As for his girlfriend, she dumped him immediately, and Alex spent less and less time at our apartment for that last month, probably going to his Tinder girls' places instead. In retrospect, I should have found a way to mess with his Tinder to stop him from getting matches, but I'm not sure what I could have done, and I think I made the poor guy suffer enough.

Anyways, sorry for the length, I'm not the best at condensing stories. I have a few other, more juicy revenge stories I'd be happy to post another day, I just had to deal with a roommate conflict earlier today (I'm an RA) and it reminded me of this situation. So I hope you enjoyed!

(source) story by (/u/LeoDGTV)

[braincoins]

Okay so, at this point, I have no freaking clue if I’ll get this done by Halloween, esp. since I’ll be in Walt Disney World for a week, BUT just so y’all know what I’m working on.

Take Max Brooks’ World War Z. Take Mira Grant/ @seananmcguire‘s Newsflesh series. Mix them together. That’s the AU I dropped our beloved characters into this creepy season. Possibly best summed up (right now, at least), as:

Lance: YOU WERE A ZOMBIE?!?! Shiro: ... ... I got better.

and of course you know it’ll be shallura ‘cause I continue to have needs

Anyway, I started work on it before Happy Fun Radiation Times began to kick my ass (I still have two more treatments [groan]), came back today, re-read and did a quick editing pass on what I had, and started adding to it. Teaser.. rather long teaser, actually, sorry ‘bout that, below the cut:

           They were devolving into their own squabbles and dirty comments, and she felt herself bristling. She cleared her throat and yelled above the chaos, “INFECTED CAN BE CURED!”

           They all stopped dead and looked at her.

           “Bullshit. Bullshit,” the one-eyed one said again for emphasis. “You can’t cure a zombie with anything ‘cept a bullet.”

           “You can’t cure a zombie,” she agreed, “but you can cure an Infected. They act differently than zombies do AND they are, just barely, still alive. What kills Infected – outside of bullets – is starvation and malnutrition, exposure to the elements, occasionally another illness they  had before being turned that isn’t being treated, or an injury that festers – most often the very bite wound that turned them. Because they mainly bite and tear off a chunk, eat that, and move on. THEIR bite transmits the virus that creates more Infected.

           “Once an Infected dies, they become a true zombie, and true zombies just eat. They don’t care about leaving the target alive to spread the disease, but a virus wants to be spread. That’s what the Infected do: spread the virus.

           “Technically, being bitten by a zombie is only dangerous in the sense of the bacterial transmission from their mouths, same as a normal, living human, only probably much worse due to the lack of oral hygiene and the rather…carnivorous diet.” She cleared her throat. “Only the Infected spread the zombie virus, and if you can find one, they can be cured.”

           Silence reigned until the young girl spoke up again. “You’re saying they can be cured. Are you talking theoretically or…?”

           Allura smiled and raised her voice a little to call, “Captain.”

           The door opened to admit a young man her age in a white t-shirt, gray hoodie & sweatpants, and standard issue shoes. He would have blended into any crowd and disappeared were it not for his handsome good looks and broad shoulders… and the strange shock of white hair, the angry scar over his nose, and the fact that he was missing his right arm. (Though in the aftermath of the Z War, missing a limb wasn’t all that uncommon.) He walked over to stand next to her, door closing behind him, and cleared his throat.

           “My name is Takashi Shirogane,” he said. “I’m… I was a captain in the Air Force. And… I used to be Infected.”

           Everyone in the room jumped up with shouts of “bullshit” and “lies” and “hoax,” save for a young man with dark hair who just stared at him.

           “I TORE A LITTLE GIRL’S LARYNX OUT!” he yelled at them.

           They shut up again, and sat down.

           Allura winced and laid a hand on his arm. “Shiro, you don’t have to…”

           He pulled away from her and continued to glare at them. “WITH MY TEETH. And it felt right, it felt good, it felt like exactly what I should be doing! Do you know what it’s like, to be cured now and to still have the memory of her blood in my mouth? NO, YOU DON’T!”

           The tears ran down his cheeks but he continued, “I was bitten on the right arm. My buddies cut it off to try to save me. It didn’t work. The virus moves fast. Most of the rest of my scars are after I turned. Even some of my hair went white. I don’t know how that happened.

           “I bashed my head through a glass window to try to get at some people. That’s where I got this,” he traced the scar across his nose. “I didn’t care that I was bleeding. I only had one thought: Bite. Bite. It wasn’t even ‘feed,’ it was bite and that was all I cared about. It was the only thing I cared about. To me, humans weren’t human. Or maybe they were, but they weren’t like me. They were things to bite, to feel the tear of skin and the gush of blood. THAT’S ALL.” He hung his head. “That’s all I could think about.”

           Allura pushed herself forward to take over the narrative again. “We found him when he was still recently turned. As you can tell, he hadn’t lost much muscle mass yet. He hadn’t started to deteriorate. There may be a point at which we can’t turn them back, where they’re too far gone physically to survive being cured.”

           “Look, what do you want from us?” the one-eyed man said quietly.

           “I want a few people from your unit to come help us in the field. And I have something to offer in exchange.”

           “What’s that?”

           She held up the small, sleek, thin silver box with a dish antenna the size of a large man’s hand attached to it. “This is…”

           “…an iPod. I haven’t seen one of those in ages,” the young girl said.

           “…a scanner,” she continued as if the interruption hadn’t happened. “And yes, we used iPods; we were able to get our hands on a lot of them, and they were easy to convert.” She cleared her throat. “This can correctly tell you who’s a zombie and who’s Infected, as well as who’s a living breathing human.” She set it down on the desk. “And these,” she picked up what looked like a smoke grenade, “are filled with the cure in gaseous form.”

           “Uhhh,” said a large young man near the back, “doesn’t that just make a bunch of normal humans around a bunch of zombies? I mean, if what you’re saying is true…”

           “Well, yes, but that’s why you use the scanner to find and take out the zombies first. The cure won’t work on them. The cure is nothing but smoke to us – which we will cough and choke on, like any other smoke – and to the zombies, but they don’t breathe, so they won’t care. The Infected will cough and choke and fall to the ground. Then they start having seizures, but once the air clears, they’re mostly cured.”

           “Mostly,” repeated one of them. It was the young dark-haired man who’d been staring at Shiro since he’d walked in.

           “Mostly,” she agreed with a nod. “Shoot them then with this,” she pulled out a small dart, “and they’ll be fully cured. The gaseous form starts the cure, but it’s not enough to cure them usually: it’s too diffuse. This is concentrated, and it’ll finish the work the gas started. It can also work on its own, if you only have a single Infected to deal with, but for large crowds, the cannister will work better.”

           “Do you remember being cured?” the young girl asked Shiro. She seemed very intent upon this and upon him.

           His brow furrowed. “I remember seizing up. I was shot with the tranq dart, not gassed, and as an Infected, you don’t really feel pain. I knew I was bleeding badly when I got this,” he pointed to the scar over his nose again, “but it didn’t hurt, and I didn’t care that I was bleeding. I was just aware of it. So I was aware of a poke, but then when I started seizing that was when things changed. I was… scared. For the first time in a long time, I was scared of what was happening to me, and then there was pain again, and I was screaming.” He closed his eyes. “I thought I was dying, and I was glad. I was glad I was dying and that was when I realized something had changed because I hadn’t felt good about anything except biting people in weeks. Everything went dark, and when I woke up, I was in a bed in a room. I mean, I guess it was technically a cell: I couldn’t open the door from the inside. But there was a window at the top, no glass, just some bars, and I yelled for some water. And food. And that’s when I realized I was… me again. Or at least more me than I had been.”

           Allura broke in again. “We monitored him for weeks. Took samples. He reads fully human, slightly malnourished.”

           “I still think this is all bullshit. How do we know any of this is true?”

           “I was there.”

           Everyone turned to look at dark-haired young man who had spoken.

           “I was there right after he was bit and we had to…”

           “Keith?” Shiro moved around the desk towards him. “Is that really you?”

           “Is that really you?” he shot back at him. “I saw you get bit, I helped hold you down while we cut your arm off... if you’re really Shiro.”

           Shiro stopped and considered that. “Ask.”

           “How old are you?”

           He arched an eyebrow. “Well, I’d say I’m twenty-five; you’d say I’m six and a quarter ‘cause you’re a fucking brat and I’m a leap year baby.” He grinned.

           She thought Keith might have stopped breathing. “How’d you meet me?”

           “They sent me to your school to recruit the kids about to graduate. You gave me a hard time because you hate authority, but you wanted to fly, I could see it in your eyes, I could almost feel it. And the first time you got in the simulator, you blew everyone away. You even beat my top score. You wanted to fly, you wanted the thrill of it, and you had natural goddamn talent. So I convinced you…”

           “…that putting up with the bullshit was worth being able to fly the sort of planes I could only get my hands on in the USAF.”

           Shiro smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Keith.”

           And Keith launched himself out of the old school desk and into a hug that Shiro returned instantly. “You were dead.”

           “I was mostly dead. Turns out mostly dead is slightly alive.”

           “Oh, shut the fuck up with your cheesy movie quotes.”

           “But you caught it.”

           “You made me watch it like a dozen times.” Keith sniffled against Shiro’s chest.

           Allura looked around at them. “Convinced yet?”

[justkpopjokes]

Side Effects Analysis/Theories

Miroh/Yellow Wood || Side Effects [Teaser] [MV] || Double Knot

I’m back with tiny details to help all your theories uwu, more of notes than theories

NOTE: anything with asterisks* means it is mentioned again later in the post (it’s a long post ok)

YELLOW GUI

(basically the overlays/coding)

someone is logging in*, shown with PASS_LOGIN (followed by a long list of letters I’m too lazy to list) on the right side, along with

#00001 (yes, there’s a space)

#00002

#0003

most of the code on the left is refers to these codes+lost of letters, just a program being executed

the left side also has a “TOTAL” that starts at 297 and decreases to 149

the right side has 3 percentages listed that start at 0% and go up to 99% until the first drops back down to 98%

(the first percentage is the first to appear/increase btw)

the screen clears once the 3 listed ones hit 99%*

there’s also a 4th one that goes from 0% to 40% at the bottom right

also this is probably obvious, but the screen flashes yellow whenever smth bad is about to happen**

IT IS REFLECTION. Finally I can stop being so ominous, but the left side gui says “*it is reflection*”!! Right here!! Wth?!?!**

Idk if this is smth significant but I’ve never seen it before in code so

THE BUS STOP (take 2)

the bus station route has 5 stops, ending at the NEW WORLD (03)

the 5 stops seem to be the first 5 letters of the Greek alphabet in lowercase: α β γ δ ε****

y’all can see clearly the signs next to the elevator saying BE PREPARED TO STOP and DETOUR

there’s are two moons: the one on the left is the colour of the sky and is fading, whereas the one on the right is tinted pink/red/purple and has a clear silhouette***

LICENCE PLATES

the plate of the City Jungle bus (w/their signature lion logo) has AD2540*** skip to the end to see my revelation :)

skz’s truck thing has B2Y1017 and a tiger symbol on the driver’s side door

I didn’t come up w/this but 1017 is probably a reference to October 2017, when Hellevator was posted

****if so, then the B2Y could be referencing the Greek letters here, or maybe “Back to You”? maybe that’s how they’re confirming that they’ll go back to the hell elevator or bujakyong i guess lol

connecting to smth I mentioned in my first analysis: the tiger in a Korean legend wasn’t able to persevere and become human, whereas the bear was. Maybe it’s symbolism they couldn’t go on w/o ditching the truck at the end?

RANDOM ROAD TRIP STUFF

(anything that happens while they’re on the truck)

Chan spots smth red in the ground?? (flowers?) but thas real sketchy bc the slowly emptying gas tank is shown right after the screen turns red

this is the only instance of the screen going just red during this mv

Hyunjin gets a solo shot after

Hyunjin’s vs Felix

Felix stands up on the truck and Hyunjin tries to get him to sit down, only to be brushed off by Felix

when Chan did this, Hyunjin didn’t do anything, only get that solo shot

Hyunjin vs Seungmin

I won’t go deep into this bc other people have better theories, but if Hyunjin was worried abt them being watched, then it makes sense that he’d try to stop Felix from making them obvious or getting hurt (which then they’d need to find someone to help him)

the papers on the ground they step on say: new road/elevator, road closed/_min_ _ation_

also Peach pointed out that the older members go to Hyunjin, and the younger ones go to Seungmin owo

when the gui percents reach 99%, they break the gate blocking their way

***as I said before, the screen turns yellow before smth (really) bad happens, but not before the truck tire gets pierced?? (again, maybe they were supposed to ditch the truck???)

the city in the sky

obviously, the city in the sky is the City Jungle, and being in the sky (cloud 9-esque maybe??) keeps them away from the mostly-abandoned Yellow Wood floor

the lightning probably shows the true face of the City Jungle (go figure)

they all run away from search lights? So they were found again, but also how did they end up back here????

THEORIES: the bible, the login, and Reflection

NOTE: the only theory that’s possibly accurate is reflection lol so you can skip down

If you read my previous 2 analyses/note posts, you know I’ve been curious about reflections and Bible references. Admittedly, I don’t think the bible stuff will be as prominent (bc it’s religious), but the reflection stuff will probably be focused on.

THE BIBLE

As I said, this stuff likely isn’t accurate, but it would fit really well if they decide to go this route!! It started with the cross earrings/necklaces in previous comebacks (mainly worn by Hyunjin), the fact Hellevator  is HELLevator, and when skz runs together at 3:18 (in Side Effects), they form a cross, with Hyunjin up front.

I’ve also mentioned some bible verses that I found using numbers in the mvs (note that I use the New International Version to quote anything). Most of the ones were mostly irrelevant though. Other people have brought up in another theory that “AD” on the licence plate AD2540 could reference Anno Domini which could mean this was happening in the future, but I double-checked bible verses again.

Book of Matthew, 25:40 = “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

This section is about the King who has separated his “sheep” (those who have done good) to the right and “goats” (those who haven’t done good) to the left. The king says the sheep have done good things for him, but the sheep say they didn’t do those things to him specifically. This verse is referencing that the king knows they have done good to another person, and therefore him.

Obviously, if this were actually what skz were going for, they probably would’ve referenced the actual verse where the king separates his sheep and goats, but regardless, it does bring up the question: where else have we seen left and right, where one is bad?

We’ve seen it a few times: the two roads taken shown side by side when they take the bus or don’t, the two moons, and possibly skz vs the City Jungle.

THE LOGIN

Hyunjin, the “error” (other people’s posts go more in depth), is a focal point in this mv. We’ve also heard about “glitches” Jisung and Felix. So who can disprove that they’re just in a computer? (Jk but listen)

The yellow gui (and other code screens in Miroh) suggest we’re monitoring them. Or maybe the gui is in Hyunjin’s brain?? But I do know the percentages mirror what skz are doing (when they break the gate at 99%) and the screen goes yellow before smth bad happens (which is usually stuff Hyunjin notices).

There also seems to be an error in the code… idk how to explain this well, but the “error” might actually be planned. (I’ll make another post to clarify.)

REFLECTION

I mentioned in my 1st post that the lineup of skz on the rooftops in Miroh and the Yellow Wood teaser were mirrored, except 2 members switched with the 2 right next to them (Jeongin/Minho switched and Jisung/Hyunjin switched—did Hyunjin become the glitch at that point?). This might be a coincidence since it isn’t exact mirroring.

Anyway, there’s definitely some reference to reflection, because of the yellow gui! It might just be a nod to smth but hm. This is where I just dump some ideas

As I said in the Bible paragraphs, there’s references to left/good and right/bad. So reflection could reference:

people you thought were good are actually bad and vice versa (reference to Hyunjin, Jisung, and Felix maybe?)

the choice that’s on the left is good and the right is bad (getting on the bus was a good choice, which technically it was bc they’re sleeping peacefully) or the other way around

The moon on the right is “bad” (discoloured), but maybe actually the better one once reflected

You can also consider our left is their right, but that’s just confusing lol

Honestly, none of these seem right, but the gui is telling someone (likely just us tho) that smth is being reflected, and maybe not in a good way, since we aren’t seeing things the right way, or we’re seeing the bad parallel.

[unimpressedperson]

akai-ito

(Found this cute picture in @btsreactionmemes. Thank you for posting it, sweetheart)

Genre: Fluff, Angst

Warnings: None, I guess.

Pairing: Min Yoongi x @agustdlovcult, Min Yoongi x Reader

Word Counting: 7.8k

Synopsis: Jade always obsessed over stability, wondering about how her best friend, Jung Hoseok, could live wildly and moving from place to place, relationship to relationship constantly. Once the only thing she most valued was taken away, drinking a little seemed fair. Her choice made a new connection, an akai-ito. Yoongi and Jade had one thing in common uniting them.

A/N: Hey Jeeeeeeeeed! What's up? After weeks of waiting I finished it! Hope you enjoy it. The character itself isn’t a reflection of your personality, ‘cuz you are one of the best creatures I have ever met. It has a total of 7.824 words, but comparing to what you deserve, it’s nothing. Hey Jadie, I love you and hope you are feeling alright :) Sorry for the bad grammar, hope you enjoy it x

- x - x - x - x -

Jade was pissed off. Everything around couldn’t seem or sound more annoying, from footsteps, pigeons walking on the sidewalks (c’mon birds, what were your wings made for?), even the slightest signal of loud breathing could trigger the woman into punching someone. She marched across the streets, arms tight in front of her chest, pressing the thin white sweater firm against body. Her steps were noisy, white sneakers hitting the asfalt harshly and expressing how angry Jade was.

Her morning began normal. Alarm rang 7 a.m, waking Jade up to another day of working, seeing the same faces all over again, talking about repetitive subjects, as if her life was nothing but a clockwork, repeating day after day the same boring routine established by human biological needs supplied by money, which buys foods, snacks and pays for Netflix. Well, it also reimburse bills, rent and gas, but it’s always implicit anyways.

Usually, living the weekly cycle wouldn’t bother her. As long as that routine left her free from getting in debt, then no changes were necessary. Jade had been living like that for over five years now, why to change? Take the risk of becoming unhappy and indebted. Goosebumps would run up her spine whenever imagining such possibility.

Feeling safe and sound, Jade enjoyed that sensation. Whenever she drove her car, arrived at home and had dinner peacefully, any doubts or thoughts of quitting her 9 to 5 job would vanish. Pasta tastes better than starving. However, not everyone she knew lived like that, Hoseok was, quoting Jade’s own words, completely out of his mind, moving and crashing into a different home every month, coaching dance in several academies, but never establishing in one for longer than five groups of 30 days. His routine was so unsure and unpredictable.

Of course, Hoseok always had something new to tell. Everytime their group of mutual friends decided to reunite in a bar, the currently redheaded man would entertain everyone with a story about how he spent three nights sleeping on a janitor’s room, or how he convinced someone met on Tinder to let him live for a whole month into his house. The man had no boundaries or roots, anyone related to Hoseok would admire it, except for Jade. She always listened and judged his choices as something out of reality.

She never felt surprised by his wild, borderline insane, tales. They met young and even back in then, Hoseok was a gypsy and lived happily by not settling. Basically, according to Jung Hoseok himself, after watching his parents divorcing and having two different homes, not digging roots and always gaining for a period of time somewhere new to name as home, felt like relieve. Jade always offered to pay him some psychiatrist appointments, because not a single thing from his discourse sounded sane for her.

Who the heck would possibly feel constantly happy, mainly not knowing if there would be a roof above his head next morning? Her thoughts on Hoseok were so low, that after hearing he bragging about fucking with a girl only to sleep at her place, Jade lowered even more the standards for him.

However, that morning something happened, a situation which her mechanic had guaranteed wouldn’t happen so soon: the car broke. Something about a fan inside engines. She couldn’t rationalize what was happening with the automobile, not whilst trying to run and get a bus to downtown. By the way, not knowing the schedule to public transportation can kill any tight routine, and Jade found it out quite late, literally, her shift began at 9 a.m and by 8h45 a.m she was not even close to get there.

Working as a hospital receptionist, punctualism was a must, which was Jade’s forte. She hardly arrived late for any occasion, missing a day of work? Not even in her wildest dreams. Mainly in an important day, like when the boss scheduled to pay a visit and check if his investments were in good (read responsible) hands.

What were the odds? Murphy’s Laws are a bitch. Jade hated with all heart The Chaos Theory, mainly watching years of good work ruining in front of her eyes, as 9h45 approached and she was still seating still on one of the subway’s benches. Her receptionist co-worker texting and asking where the fuck she was, quit reading them after replying three and feeling desperation racing the heart, making it pound against her ribcage.

Every functioning speaker inside the wagon announced an emergency stop, ‘cuz apparently someone decided that rush hour was an appropriate moment to jump in the rail tracks. 10h12 a.m and the subway began moving again. Jade melting on her seat.

In the moment she arrived in her station, Jade jumped off the wagon and ran with every remained trace of oxygen. Driving a car, and counting on the traffic jam, she would have had arrived in 45 minutes, even with accidents and SNOW she never took over 2 hours to get at the hospital.

After sitting on her desk and gaining a very intimidating stare from the co-worker, Jade began turning the computer on and answering calls. She wanted to act as nothing odd have had happened, working hard to compensate the delay. Typing faster than ever, scheduling examinations and MRIs, some x-rays, also paying attention everyone arriving and asking for directions. Her determination was admirable, but things never were purely good, not in such a shitty day.

Between schedules and calls, Jade took a look on the Excel spreadsheet and the agenda she noticed a BIG FAT mistake. When arrived and desperately began working, she forgot to check which day was marked on the page she began typing the examinations and appointments, after two hours nonstop Jade realized that everything were written and scheduled for the day before. Conclusion: all the work worthed nothing and she spent her shift fixing everything.

The boss was nowhere near happy with all delay and asked Jade’s manager about her performance. It was no secret that Mindy disliked Jade, but no one would ever imagine the woman lying by criticizing nonexistent flaws, such as constant lateness and rudeness against patients, and about incompetence. Well, he took her dirty words for granted and didn’t even bother in asking for more than one opinion.

To put it shortly: Jade was no longer a St.Bartholomew's employee.

Jade left the building feeling anger consuming every pore and cell inside her body. Five years, not five months. FIVE FUCKING YEARS living, breathing, eating and existing around working for St.Bartholomew and suddenly a shitty day was enough to be kicked out, as if every extra shift and hard working, good execution and quick learning meant nothing.

Ok, maybe she wasn’t the best co-worker. Possibly a bit rude sometimes. Hardly joined everyone in get-togethers or lunches. Never contributed in paying birthday cakes (or joined the choir when Happy Birthday began), but at least Jade always replied the “good morning”, “good afternoon” and “good night” proffered to her. So what she barely answered texts? Or befriended almost no one, except for the security guard, from there? Not everyone is a social butterfly such as Hoseok, she had close friends and were glad with them.

Also, you don’t get a prize or ‘Best Co-worker Award’, but working hard would always turn into remunerated vacations. Who would even think that treating people with indifference can actually hurt them? What is she now? Dr.Phill? Oprah?

While furiously wandering around the avenue, Jade figured that a huge glass of Martini would help. No! Not a Martini, but a whole bottle of wine and Cup Noodles, watching thoroughly some high-quality Netflix content. Maybe inviting friends over? No, not friends, she wanted distance from humankind for a few hours.

- x - x - x - x -

Jade was walking to Walmart, when someone began calling her name. She searched for whoever that was (possibly wishing to punch that person), but got startled in the moment Shmailah appeared from inside the shoes store beside her, carrying a huge bag. They hugged and the conversation started, whilst looking for a bar or pub.

– What a shitty day, Jadie. - Shims said caressing her friend’s back, watching her swallow in one long sip a cup of vodka. - Let me pay your drink, you deserve some comfort now.

– I still have money, Shims. - Jade said and grinned, even wishing to sink down in a whole gallon of hard liquor. - But if you really want to pay me something, then next month you can take charge of a few bills.

– Don’t be silly, you’ll find another job like that. - The girl with dark hair and shiny eyes said, snapping fingers and smiling, sipping on her chocolate milkshake right after.

The music playing around them was calming, rhythm soothing and healing, if the words sang repeatedly weren’t so painful and sad, then the ambience would feel even romantic. Whoever were the responsible could fucking drown with Jade and her good mood, since she was feeling like a whole dumpster and the voice’s owner was probably someone quite sensitive.

– I’m going to punch that man singing. He is making me feel sad and lonely. - Jade said and took a short sip on the vodka. - Somehow his voice is making me want to start dating someone, only to break up and say those words along. Music is powerful, dude.

– He is also quite cute. - Shims uttered looking in the small and darkened stage, glaring at a small, skinny, black-haired, korean guy with noticeable cute cheeks, playing his guitar and singing with soul and body. - Ugh, whoever cheated on him probably didn’t see it coming. What a sad song.

– We are so much better. - The small korean guy sang, a deep voice astounding those who paid attention. - When we are, not together.

Jade looked back, trying not to fall from the chair and stared at where Shims was also looking. Indeed, he was cute, talented and kind of hot… Wait a second, Shmaillah never said anything about him being hot. Maybe Jade was already lightheaded, so brand new unannounced information popped up inside her head like internet pop-ups, or Youtube advertisements.

Employed Jade would never drink at 5 p.m and think dirty stuff about someone unknown at 6 p.m. What a turn of events in less than 24 hours, huh?

– Shims, can you please help me go there and give him money? - Jade asked raising one eyebrow. - I want so bad to give him something, and I think money wouldn’t be considered harassment.

– Jadie, we can totally go there, but please stop drinking, it’s your second cup and you’re already planning to get laid with someone you know nothing about. - The dark-haired woman said seriously and smiled, not leaving traces of tension. - Two more cups and you’ll be starting to consider raising kids with him.

– Our children would look great, ok? - Jade said laughing and finishing her second cup of vodka, still staring at the singer.

They kept on talking, well, Shims started commenting on something about Hoseok. Apparently the redheaded man is now dating some guy he met during one his classes in an University (Jade didn’t even knew Hoseok graduated in something other than High School). Someone named Taemin and also a great dancer. Jade moved her glare from “The Singer” only to login in Facebook and find Hobi’s new boyfriend.

It’s not like Jade was surprised Hoseok was dating. They met during High School, and beside all differences, their friendship lasted long and remained even after so many years. Not surprisingly, the group began growing considerably with Hobi inviting Taehyung, who brought his love interest together, Shims, which introduced them to Taylor, Zariah, Robin, DiLayla, Bárbara and Emerson, she who had been dating Kim Namjoon, a friend of Seokjin, Jungkook and Jimin, whose great humour ended up mingling well and becoming part of the pack.

Whoever decided to understand their group of friends from an outsider perspective, would probably go nuts, because not even them understood. Also, their relationship was complicated, basically, everyone at some point kissed everyone, except for the long lasting couple Emerson and Namjoon. The greatest bacchanal began when Taehyung and Shims broke up for the first time and he made a move towards Di, they kissed, but never ignited a make-out session. Shims would never be left behind and called Jin, who was fighting with Zariah (his significant other, and possibly the closest person).

Shortening a long and rather intrincated story: Jin is now engaged to DiLayla, Jimin and Robin got surprisingly closer, Shims and Taehyung are still together, Namjoon and Emerson is the unproblematic couple, Zariah is dating someone called Bang Chan (she never formally introduced him, so he is not officially part of The Chaos Club), Taylor even denying is totally dating Jungkook, and Bárbara is with someone called Lisa, an actress who spends more time in Korea than in New York. Jade had a short affair with Jimin, but the man liked Binnie way too much. She also dated for a long time someone called Calum, and after the breakup decided to focus on her career.

While Shims kept on discussing the probabilities of Hoseok remaining into that relationship for longer than two months, Jade was far and deep inside her own mind, tangling herself between thoughts and drunk fantasies, “The Singer” somehow appeared as well, his voice working as the narrator for whatever she was thinking.

– It’s been so long every since I felt something other than indignation towards Hoseok. - Jade pronounced out loud, with a bass voice, imitating “The Singer”.

– What? - Shims questioned chuckling.

– Sorry, I was thinking out loud… With another voice in my head. - Jade explained and brushed off. - But I'm serious, I broke up with Calum four years ago and every since then I never felt another warm sensation other than tears, whilst watching some emotional crap on Netflix. I went to dates with some dudes, but things never… You know, never made my heart beat faster and all that romantic and lovey dovey stuff.

– Complicated. - Shims furrowed her eyebrows, raising them in an arc seconds later. - The Singer stopped singing and is taking a break. It's now or never. - She pushed Jade's chair and watched the woman trying to let her long dark-blonde hair down.

– I don't know what to say. Should I buy him a drink? - Jade questioned worried sick and smoothing out her clothes, and obviously trying to procrastinate. She just got fired and felt touched by a sad song, it’s not like Jade actually wanted to go on a date, maybe get laid, but not while feeling emotionally wrecked and confused.

Fuck. Jade wanted to chicken out, but something on Shims eyes seemed very intimidating and without realizing, her legs began working on their own, guiding a half-drunk woman in The Singer’s direction.

There he was. Standing beside the stage with a glass of wine on one hand and checking his cellphone. His black hair fell like a sheer, soft-looking curtain on his forehead covering a bit of his small and dark eyes. A big black shirt with long-sleeves folded to the elbows, jeans painted the same colour, with trenched knees, and a dirty pair of Vans. Ok, the man seemed even hotter staring him closer. Jade wanted to run and have four more drinks before going home, but before she could escape, he looked up and saw a woman looking at him, without blinking.

– Can I help you? - He asked with a voice as soft as his hair, no trace of accent found.

– Hmm, Jade. - The woman said, trying desperately to find coherent words, but only facing a HUGE URGE to use her long hair like a cocoon, hiding and only leaving when butterfly wings grew on her back. - I mean, my name is Jade.

– Nice to meet you, Jade. - The man said and binned his cellphone in one of the back pockets. - My name is Min Yoongi. Can I help you with something? Like teaching you how to blink.

– What? - Jade raised her eyebrows and blinked a few times before smiling and slowly remembering how to act like a proper adult, not a drunk grown up, which was her actual situation. - Sorry about that. You’re a really good singer. Is that song yours?

Min Yoongi smiled, a gummy and cute smile. He sat down on the stage and patted the wood beside, inviting a very flustered Jade to join him. That simple action made the blood before accumulated on her body flow straight to her cheeks, warming the whole face. Nevetheless, she took the place beside the skinny man.

– Thank you. And no, the songs I chose for today aren’t mine. - Yoongi proffered, looking at Jade. - They are from a korean band called NELL. I do compose, though.

– You are hot and talented, of course you also compose. - Jade almost bit her tongue after letting those words accidentally escape. - Sorry. I’m visibly punchy and pissed off at the St.Bartholomew’s Hospital.

– Thank you and I’m sorry, I guess. - Yoongi said, not knowing exactly what to say, but feeling his cheeks getting warmer. - Well, I only have to sing for more ten minutes and then I’m free. Do you want to talk about it, whilst drinking a soda? I ain’t gonna pay you more alcohol, or you’d become a walking fire hazard.

– Deal. - She said and stood up, shaking hands with Yoongi and walking in the bar’s direction, flustered and internally panicking, leaving a smiley man behind.

Jade made her best to sit beside Shims and not fall. Yoongi was clearly staring, so slumping to the ground would be rather embarrassing. She stayed silent, ‘til listening to his voice singing again, then turned to her friend and began speaking.

– I was about to ask if you wanted me to help you getting home safe and sound, but now I’ll just casually leave. - Shims chuckled and touched her shoulder. - I ain’t gonna third wheel your first date in ages.

– Shims! I’m not in condition of dealing with such a cute and hot guy! - Jade was still tipsy and holding the tears. - My plan before meeting you was to buy a ton of Cup Noodles and wine, so I could mildew alone at home. You can’t leave me with him! I strongly doubt someone would ever feel attracted to a grown ass woman whining and sobbing.

– See, Jade, I will stand up, pay my bar tab and leave. - The dark-haired woman said while petting her friend’s arm. - You can do whatever seems right. If running for your life sounds better than speaking to someone so talented and sweet, then go for it.

– Thank you. That’s exactly what I’ll do. - Jade told and stood up after grabbing a twenty dollar bill and some dimes inside her pocket, throwing everything on the counter, trying to leave without stumbling and falling, being followed by a giggly Shims.

- x - x - x - x -

Unsurprisingly, in the moment Jade arrived at home with four chicken-flavoured Cup Noodles and box of wine, she immediately felt regret for leaving the bar. Placing all the food on the kitchen table, she dragger herself to one sofa, laying heavily there.

– What the fuck? - Jade questioned staring at the ceiling. - Why such a shitty day? What the actual fuck, God? Not a single good thing happened to me! I know I’m not the most interesting human being walking on earth, but I certainly don’t deserve to be punished twice in a single day. - She turned to one side, looking at the TV and seeing her reflection there, shrunk in a fetal position. - Great, now I’m speaking to myself. Unemployed and crazy. Even worse. Unemployed, crazy and definitely not getting some.

Weary of staring at her own misery reflected on the turned off TV, Jade decided to stick to the original plan: eat Cup Noodles, drink wine and watch as many cliche, lameass rom coms as she could find on Netflix.

It’s The Notebook night, bitch.

…

– WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN, MR.DARCY? - Jade yelled at the TV, accidentally dropping one of the chopsticks, a bunch of used and new tissues around her tiny figure in comparison to the huge sofa. - Elizabeth loves you! True love is a total lie.

She was sobbing in a pool of self-pity and tears, some of them drying on her cheeks, some just bathing her old pajama t-shirt (a very ancient Bananas in Pajamas one). Totally fed after consecutively gulping down two Cup Noodles and three glasses full of wine, considering the idea of ordering some pizza and a male stripper.

– Goddamn Lord. That Yoongi guy ruined me. - Jade thought out loud, after picturing herself calling somewhere with strippers. - Before listening to his depressive songs and staring at his cute eyes and cheeks, I was satisfied with my nonexistent romantic life, now I’m considering the idea of nurturing a very dirty business. What the fuck? Why am I talking to myself again? Gosh, I better stop drinking. - She placed her glass on the coffee table, but not before chugging the wine.

Jade knew that “The Self-care night” was pure bullshit. She wished to avoid at every cost thinking about her day. Rationalizing all the occurred would make her feel desperate and sad, a bit anxious as well.

Stability. That’s exactly what Jade looked for her whole life. A settle down lifestyle, without worrying about money or having a roof above her head.

After leaving her parents home and going to college, she defined as a goal to live comfortably somewhere secure, with a good job and being able to eat, sleep, spend a bit more without losing her mind over lack of money. Stability, she found it and established in a small apartment, working everyday and slowly acquiring more and more stuff.

Most people considered her lifestyle a bit boring. Not even a single worry. Nothing different happening. No adventures. The friends admired her strength and how hard Jade worked, but would never trade some of their “easy struggles” for her settled living. It was incredibly predictable and perfect. Completely opposite to what Hoseok lived by. The young man took YOLO way too seriously and constantly found himself drowning in debts, but somehow also always gained money paying everything and going back to exploring what life had to give.

Totally opposites. Two different polarities from a same magnet. Although, in such a complicated situation Hoseok was always the first person Jade thought about calling. They knew each other for long enough to trust and deal with their differences as well as with similarities.

After the end scenes of Pride and Prejudice, Jade grabbed her cellphone and still sobbing dialed Hoseok’s number, hoping he could answer the call and chat a little bit.

– Hey, Jeed. - Hoseok picked up and said happily, as always. A loud music playing around him. - What’s up? Everything is smooth and soothe?

– Hey Hobi. - Jade tried to speak without crying, but thinking about the current situation made a sobbing mess of her. - Everything is shitty. So shitty. Oh Hobi, my life is ruining like Constantinople!

– Calm down, my friend. - He asked, voice soft and sweet as a sunny day of summer. Loud music still could be heard, slightly fading as Hoseok walked far from where he originally was. - Tell me what happened, don’t spare details, you know I love them.

– Aren’t you busy? I can hear a loud EDM music. Are you working on any dance academy? Or worse, were you busy WITH Taemin? - Jade questioned feeling a bit of guilt filling her guts.

– Don’t worry, Jeed. I’m in a party, some friend of mine took a job as DJ and invited me to prestige his work. Nothing new, I attend to gigs like that almost everyday. - Hoseok uttered, still using his sunny sounding voice. - Now tell me, what happened?

– If you insist… - She sighed and poured some more wine, ignoring her own promise of stop drinking. - I was fired from my job on that hospital, St.Bartholomew. But before being dismissed, my day began shitty when the car broke and I took public transportation. Traffic jam, accident in an avenue, someone tossed itself on the rails making me two hours late. I fucked up some Excel sheets and scheduled appointments, my boss was there checking if everything worked alright and Mindy, the nurse and manager I commented with you that hated me, she lied and it made me get fired. Unemployed and sad. That’s how I am.

– But I feel that something else happened after being fired. Did someone hurt you? - Hoseok asked. Now Jade could no longer hear the EDM song playing as a background sound.

– Well… I met someone at a bar with Shims. - Jade felt her cheeks getting warm only by thinking about Yoongi’s voice. - I bumped on her and we decided to have some drinks to seize my pain. After two vodkas, I decided to chat with the cute guy singing there, and fuck, he was hot and invited me to drink some soda, ‘cuz he wouldn’t pay me more alcohol or, in his own words, I’d become a fire hazard. He got back on stage to finish his presentation and I ran away from that bar, even after accepting his drink offer.

– So now you’re feeling lonely and guilty? - The redheaded man questioned, she could picture him raising one eyebrow in disapproval. It made Jade grin and stop crying.

– Basically.

– Did you even ask the man’s name? Or you just said something incredibly smart, flirted a little and then made him fall for your beauty? - Again the disapproval voice, she could picture one of his eyebrows almost touching the hairline.

– I did ask, you moron. Stop assuming I was that drunk. - She cooed and looked at the wine inside her glass. - Min Yoongi.

– Ooooh! You flirted with Min Yoongi? And he didn’t turn you out? Lucky girl. - Hoseok’s sunny voice made a comeback, changing back to disapproval seconds later. - Bad news, now he probably hates you.

– I know, I would hate myself too. - Jade murmured, feeling sad again. - I wish I could talk to him again and explain everything, maybe justify all the mess.

Hoseok told Jade that he would turn off the phone, but was going to call her in a few minutes. Giggling, the redheaded demanded her to not pass out or go to sleep, receiving a very ugly word in response.

Before getting to actually know Hoseok and Jade, people would always assume they were a couple. A common mistake, considering how close and for how long they would’ve been annoying and supporting each other. Everytime one had a problem, the other would automatically try its best to solve or at least help. Monetarily (as Jade assisted Hobi so many times) or emotionally (as they used to lend a hand more often than both would ever admit).

Nevertheless, their relationship never crossed the thin line between everlasting friendship and romantic bond. What they had was so rare and unique, that even after bringing so many new friends to their “pack”, some sharing more similarities with both, Hoseok and Jade only fully trusted each other.

Despite everything mentioning, affirming and proving how strong their bond is, Hoseok and Jade indeed had REAL and SERIOUS fights. Once the argument made them stop talking to each other for almost a whole year, when they detached everything they could possibly keep in common (even mutual friendships, that’s when most couples formed actually).

During that period of time where Jade and Hobi were separated, Taylor mentioned something about ‘akai-ito’, a serie she watched with Jimin and found very intriguing. Basically, akai-ito is a thin red yarn connecting every human being, uniting mainly soulmates. Everyone shared an ‘akai-ito’ sometimes with more than one person ‘cuz it worked both with friends and romantic bond.

Apparently, the red wire connecting Hoseok and Jade never allowed them to detach forever. After one full year not even glancing in the other’s direction, he had serious problems with a girlfriend and needed somewhere to stay, specifically a place where Ellie wouldn’t even imagine where. Watching her friend desperate and begging for forgiveness, Jade felt the heart melt a little and things got back on track.

While Jade choose what she wanted to watch next (something between 17 Again and Marley & Me), Hoseok called back.

– Why did you turn off the call? - Jade inquired still tracking something good to watch on Netflix.

– Well, you want to apologize and ask for Yoongi hyung’s forgiveness, right? - Hobi said and before she could even think about replying, he continued gladly. - Well, it’s your lucky day. Guess who is the DJ friend I mentioned previously?

–You’ve got to be kidding me! - She dropped the remote control and stared blankly at one white wall. - Is it a prank? I’m sad, Hoseok. It’s not cool to play with someone’s sadness.

– Hi Jade. - A cold well known voice said on the other end. - It’s Min Yoongi, or the guy you dumped earlier.

In that moment Jade froze, not knowing what to say. When she began venting about Yoongi with Hoseok a few minutes earlier, Jade was still beginning to think about what could be said as an apology. Whilst holding her phone and trying not to cry again, the woman risked to gather some coherent words again.

– Min Yoongi. I’m surprised to hear your voice. - She pronounced and regretted immediately, aware that her words and tone sounded as if he were the guilt one. - I’m sorry, I sounded cocky and I’m actually so insecure about that call, because as you may know, or not since Hoseok is a complete scumbag, I wasn’t expecting to put together so soon a whole apology for what I did earlier. Like, I never intended to accept and dump you, I didn’t even know you earlier and I was sad, recently unemployed, a bit horny and tipsy. So yeah, Hoseok isn’t the only scumbag, I’m the whole trash can. Sorry. I’m really sorry and I drank half a box of wine and my mind is blurry, but I’m sorry for sure. Hope you can forgive me, or at least consider the idea before dumping it like I did with your soda invitation. Right now I’m a fire hazar…

– Ok, can you please let me talk? - Yoongi demanded, still sounding cold, or it could be only Jade’s insecurity, since she heard his talking voice for five minutes and couldn’t possibly know how to differ happy from bored Min Yoongi. - Hoseok may be a scumbag sometimes, and he slapped me for saying that, but yeah he is also a very cool guy, which used his friendship with me to explain your situation. See, I’m still feeling my ego ache a little, but considering everything you went through earlier, then I can forgive you, under one condition...

– That’s alright. I’ll never call Hoseok a scumbag again. - She declared and then realized Yoongi didn’t finish to say what he wanted. - It’s your condition, right? Not calling Hoseok a scumbag again.

– No, it’s not. Two conditions now, nothing related to Hoseok, though. - Yoongi’s voice sounded less irritated. - One, you have to make me a proper dinner invitation, and two, don’t interrupt me while I speak. It’s annoying.

– Oh, ok. Shall I get your phone number so the dinner details can be discussed with more compromise? - Jade asked in a flirty tone.

– Not a problem, I’ll send you my phone number through Hobi’s phone. - Yoongi stated with also a flirty voice. - Thank you for the apology. Bye, Jade.

Yoongi turned off the call and a few minutes later a message made her mobile ring. Hoseok sent a phone number. Jade took no time in saving and texting him something cool:

‘Hey bro. Sup? What will it be? McDonald’s or Burger King?’

‘It’s not proper. Or an invitation. Try again, Jade’

- x - x - x - x -

– It's dumb! - Jade said and grabbed Yoongi's fist, trying to open it. - You can't and won't put an olive inside your nose! Not under my watch.

– Come on, Jade! Hoseok once tried to put a dollar dime in there and surprisingly it fitted. An olive is easy and greased. - Yoongi chuckled, closing his fist even harder and watching the woman beginning to scratch every piece of skin exposed. - He was high, but who cares? HE INSERTED A COIN IN HIS NOSE.

– Stop yelling. - She felt her cheeks getting warm with everyone around them staring. Maybe having a “casual date” somewhere fancy wasn't a good idea. - I know Hoseok did it. When we were in high school someone doubted he could make a condom pass from his nose to his mouth. He almost choked on the latex but won a bet. You really shouldn't base on Hobi’s personal experiences to define what you can or cannot do. Mainly when it comes to inserting stuff in any body cavity.

– That phrase wasn't well planned. - Yoongi chuckled and when it clicked, Jade felt her face getting even warmer. - You convinced me of not testing my nostril flexibility. Shall we order? Or shall we pay for the breadsticks we consumed and go grab something at In ‘N’ Out?

– Honestly? I’m still unemployed and there are no job offers in sight, so In ‘N’ Out seems financially better for me. - Jade cooed staring at the menu. - The cheapest dinner course here can pay two combos in any fast food place.

Leaving the restaurant, Yoongi and Jade felt light. Mood couldn't be better, without tension or alcohol involved their conversation. It was endearing and scary. They had a great and, if I may say, cliche connection. Completing each other’s phrases and blushing whenever their looks crossed, fingers “accidentally” brushing. The woman felt like everything was a romcom, and couldn’t be more gleeful.

Before meeting and having that great date, they texted each other for two days straight, trying to relocate Yoongi’s scheduled gigs and work in a music studio (apparently, he not only composes, but also produces, sing and can rap. What a package, Ma’am). After a lot of talking, he decided to leave the studio earlier and spend a whole night beside her.

Going out with someone she actually enjoyed the company felt weird. Jade decided to focus on a successful career and comfortable life rather than romance, so after breaking up with her boyfriend no one else really appealed. A couple of one night stands, but nothing serious or swore to last.

Therefore, Yoongi appeared.

Jade was far from being in love with Min Yoongi, but would never deny that his texts were funny, and himself was a delight to speak. Somehow his sarcastic nature and cute face completed a perfect combo, and the woman could spend hours staring at how Yoongi’s cheeks seemed always filled with marshmellows, or how some words were pronounced with a pout on lips. The gummy smile, that memorable gummy smile.

…

They ordered some burgers and fries from In ‘N’ Out, deciding to eat somewhere else. Yoongi invited Jade to his place, so the dinner could happen for free on his roof, under stars and moon.

Yoongi’s appartement was small and cozy, with blueish LED lights against dark blue walls, making the room seen smaller, and a huge black leather sofa. Whilst grabbing some blankets and pillows to cover the floor, he mentioned that his favourite thing about there was actually the soundsystem and soundproof walls, which were the first two things installed when he finally got enough money.

– I was 24 and Lenny Kravitz paid for one of my compositions. - Yoongi bragged and opened the stairs door, guiding Jade up to the last floor. - Of course only Lenny’s wage didn’t pay it all alone. I saved every sight of money I could and, it’s a secret, skipped several meals, only to eat less. Now I can totally live off what I receive from the studio, but singing in pubs and bars is fun.

– Inspiring. I would never give up the opportunity of having a definitive work, even with my family, to live such a crazy dream in a whole another country. - Jade said, trying to breathe calmly after climbing four sets of stairs. - You left Korea, knowing a bit of english and basically made your life here? Without any help? Inspiring, truly inspiring.

– I won’t play humble. It was hard and lonely, until I met Jung Hoseok. We shared the rent several times. - Yoongi smiled and finally opened the rooftop door.

The rooftop wasn’t incredible. It had some plants and flowers being cultivated here and there, old and rusty benches, but in the middle of everything could be seem a small clean space.

– I guessed you wouldn’t actually want to have dinner somewhere fancy, so I paid Mr.Edwards, better known as my Landlord, to clean a small piece of the rooftop. - Yoongi murmured, hiding his cheeks and embarrassment. - Hoseok said I was crazy, that you would never accept to leave Olive Garden to eat some takeout here. According, and I quote his words, you are way too dependent of comfort and boring adult conventions to live such a childish experience.

– Can I call him scumbag? - Jade questioned feeling flustered and gaining a gummy, also flustered, smile from Yoongi.

Hoseok wasn’t completely wrong, though. Jade hated to leave the comfort of a restaurant and, of course, would never imagine herself eating junk food on a rooftop full of barely recognizable plants. She valued the stability and predictability from certain situations, mainly over scenarios where something could go deadly wrong.

What were the odds, though? She was unemployed and if ever allowed herself to have complete meals in expensive places, would run out of money shortly after. The idea of being so unstable freaked Jade out, but as the tough woman she became, admitting wasn’t even an option.

Years working and leaving night outs early, all with the finality of being a good employee. Her happy and borderline boring life depended on that job. Losing it resulted in anxiety attacks for two nights in a row and liters of tears, desperate sobs and a feeling of failure, deep down.

Jade became her work.

Focusing on Jade’s expression, Yoongi captured a feeling of emptiness. As if her happiness was only a momentum situation, not constant. Every time the woman lost herself in a sorrow brain and waves of thoughts, the beautiful eyes got opaque and sad, shortly after brushing it off and desperately trying to hide how far she actually looked. I mean, a body was definitely sitting beside Min Yoongi, but the mind would go and come back, an ocean-like motion.

– How don't you get motion sick? - Yoongi questioned, still staring at Jade. He took a bite from his burger and chewed, focusing on the city lights.

– What do you mean? - Jade answered with another question, dipping a fry on a small puddle of ketchup.

– Your mind. It seems so work like a sea. - He replied and turned to look at her. - I can see by looking into your eyes. You think about what's bragging in waves, focusing on that sorrow subject and distracting, going back and then letting go again. Waves. I'd totally feel nauseous.

– Well, I do get nauseated sometimes. Whenever the waves become tsunamis, my stomach flips. - The woman answered and took a sip from the soda.

– You are thinking about your old job aren't you? - He cocked his head to the side.

– I don't know. I don't feel comfortable about venting. - Jade couldn't look straight at Yoongi, flustered with the idea of telling him what passes through her mind. - But you seem like someone reliable. See, I always loved feeling secure and stable. The stability of having a job, a tight routine and security of earning enough to pay all my bills loosely, nothing ever felt better. My parents always had problems with money and a house, so leaving their wings and spreading my own, being able to construct a boring yet safe life became my main goal.

“I am independent by nature, safety doesn't mean having someone to stand by me, but owning a whole fucking place to warm me up during cold winters. A house, or apartment, with walls and somewhere to cook. I felt complete. Now everything is confusing. I don't know if I'll be able to pay my rent in two months. Instability is a nightmare.”

Yoongi wasn't sure about what to do. Should he hug? Tap her shoulder? Caress her back? Kiss Jade? Suck her sadness out by the tongue? Oh, it's taking a whole different turn, which he never intended in taking.

In fact, Yoongi felt a sort of attraction towards Jade. Who wouldn't feel? A great, independent, smart, attractive and funny woman, in her own way, also unique and deeply interesting. Her passion was admirable, reminded Yoongi of himself.

When they first met, at the bar, Yoongi thought she was beautiful, even a bit punchy, and honestly wanted to pay her something to drink (even considering the idea of buying stuff in trade of physical contact was narrow, edging old-minded). He felt offended when Jade left, literally running away.

He felt surprised when Hoseok appeared with his phone in hands and babbling about a friend, specifically a girl who dumped him in a bar and was now regretting it. At first Yoongi wanted to ignore Jade, but her day seemed to end pretty shitty. Why not to give another shot?

Gladly he did.

– I'm afraid of compromise. - Yoongi murmured, trying to make Jade listen, but not wanting it at the same time.

– Well, it's not something bad. - Jade slide her hand closer to his on the blanket, slightly touching pinkies. - I don't have problems with compromise, as long as they don't disturb my routine.

– You don't get it. I like going out with people, but engaging in a romantic relationship frightens me up. - He still murmured, but now a little louder. - Making a relationship work isn't a piece of cake. Not for me. I understand when you say your priority is working and becoming stable. I think exactly the same. Ugh, it's so lonely to live like I do, but producing songs have always been my dream...

Jade got courage and ran her fingers along Yoongi’s, intertwining them. Both blushed and grinned. Slowly, and unsure, the man turned around and bent a little, brushing his soft lips against Jade's cheek. She made the same movements, but intentionally kissing him. A small and shy peck.

Like magic working through their veins, Yoongi rested his hand on Jade's cheek, deepening the kiss. In a slow pace, they putted the food away and laid down, trading smooches and pecks, with no intention of going further. His body on top of hers, under moonlight and stars.

They stayed there, in a comfortable silence for a long time. Watching the moon and trying to forget problems and outside world.

- x - x - x - x -

Three months later, Yoongi and Jade were still seeing each other quite often. Suiting his frighten of compromise, they never meant to label what kind of bond were shared.

Yoongi helped Jade to improve her resume, with some editing and a bit more of detail, no one could possibly deny a job. One month after their “unofficial date”, she was hired by a newspaper as a receptionist and occasional movie critic (She sent her opinion and whenever it sounded coherent, they published and paid an extra).

Her obsession with stability and security remained, but now sharing worries and struggles with someone special.

Hoseok proudly took credit for reuniting them after the bar fiasco. Shims disagreed saying their akai-ito tied in the moment she and Jade entered that bar and coincidentally where Yoongi was singing.

The Chaos Club decided to reunite somewhere fun (or the bar Yoongi and Jade first met), have a few drinks and talk about life, listen to some new stories from Hoseok, and turn Yoongi officially a new member of their pack.

Taylor held hands right with Jungkook, Robin and Jimin were indeed together, Emerson and Namjoon kept their title as Unproblematic Couple, Zariah and Bang Chan had bickerings but remained as a couple, Jin and Di were still engaged, but now planning their wedding party and preparing to invite their best men and maid of honour. Bárbara was glad, almost morphing into Lisa through a hug. Shims and Taehyung were throwing bread crumbs on each other, but occasionally stopping to say something sweet, teasing and starting all over again. Hoseok was surprisingly quiet, whispering things on Taemin’s ear.

The loud speaking and confusion stopped when Jade and Yoongi appeared, getting in the bar holding hands and laughing at something she said. His work finished an hour earlier, but he showed at her job and made company until she could leave as well.

In the moment the couple settled down and ordered some drinks, Hoseok showed up with a closed umbrella.

– Can I start the acceptance ceremony? We have to celebrate their unlabeled relationship! - Jung Hoseok pronounced and stared at his friends, and boyfriend (already accepted as a Chaos Club member), Taemin.

– Just go, Jung. - Yoongi said, rolling his eyes.

– You cannot tell me what or not to do, yet, Min. - Hoseok mocked and raising an eyebrow in fake disapproval.

– Then I can. Just go, Jung. - Jade told harshly, but smiled innocently right after.

– Now that an official Chaos Club said it, I can start. - He cleared his throat and began talking. - Today, my fellows and lover, we are willing and ready to accept a new member to our family, our club, our escape of human average intelligence and cheap humour, The Chaos Club. Here we have Min Yoongi, Jade's partner in crime, and a friend of mine. Do anyone have any problems or anything to add? Is anyone against his addition to our deary club of friends? - Not a single word, everybody just smiled at how theatrical Hoseok seemed holding the umbrella like a sword. - Since not a soul disagreed with my words, I proclaim Min Yoongi as a member from The Chaos Club. - He touched both Yoongi’s shoulders with the umbrella. - Now everybody drink a shot of tequila in honour of this historical moment. Cheers!

Everybody took in one sip the previously poured tequila. Jade and Yoongi smiled widely and kissed, getting their crowd to applause their action.

Jade and Yoongi were now officially together.

- x - x - x - x -

P:S I love you x