#aside from a few bumps my interactions have mostly been pretty positive

[james-p-sullivan]

ive officially been writing for a year now and so far ive managed to put out 140,374 words, and that doesn’t even include wips or deleted works. i want to thank everyone who’s read my works and sent me nice messages or kudos, it’s been such a wild ride and i can’t wait for the year to come :)

[adam-banks2024]

Bliss

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: Adam steals you during a long study session to go play some hockey like the good old days.

The scent of parchment paper filled the Great Hall, along with that of fresh ink. You could see it shine on the paper if you were seated directly in front of a tall window. The most light comes through during sunrise and sunset, but at the time I’m studying, I wasn’t there during those hours. 

It was almost noon on a Saturday, but here I am, studying. These tables were a place I usually enjoyed, mostly because of the large quantities of food, but it soon had become the place that gave me migraines and a strong urge to doze off every now and then. 

Ever since I started my sixth year, the advanced potions class had turned into a monstrosity that I wasn’t sure I could handle. At first, it started with a few trips to the hall every month. Then it turned into weeks...and now I’m studying during most of my free time. 

I can’t understand why I’m struggling with this class in particular. In all of my other classes, I’m performing above average. Apparently, I just can’t get the hang of “the art that is potion-making.” God, if I hear one more uninspiring word from Snape I might jump from the Ravenclaw tower.

At this point I had been studying for at least four hours now, and I hadn’t even eaten anything that would resemble breakfast. Unless two stale crackers count. The best part about the whole situation is that I had only managed to memorize the ingredients of one potion in my whole time studying. One. So, still, I must persist. Because I do not want to spend a study hall with Snape. I let my grade fall once and suddenly I found out how awkward and unsettling an hour with the professor was. It’s not like he would even help me. He just told me to read from the book and stared at me the whole time. As much as I hate to admit it, having no time to relax was better than spending any extra time with Snape than I had to

As I reached across the table for more ink, a separate hand was already there. 

“Hey.”

 A long, dark robe hung from his shoulders, and a green and grey scarf was loosely wrapped around his neck. His cheeks and nose had a blush, while the rest of his face appeared icy. He carried a bag with him that had unorganized papers going every which way. 

“Oh hey, Adam. How’ve you been?”

Adam passed the vial to me and I dipped my quill. He put his belongings on the table and sat on the bench. 

“Pretty good. You?” He ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm the mess. 

“Eh. I’ve been better.” My voice was laced with tiredness and a pang of hunger. Nothing that would have been noticed, though. 

He paused for a moment and then spoke again. “What’s wrong, Snape got you down because he couldn’t meet for a study session?” 

I snorted. Me missing Snape? Yeah, sure, in his dreams. It took me a few seconds to compose myself before I responded. “No. Quite the opposite actually.” Adam hummed in response and gave a small laugh. 

Once the noise subsided there was an awkward pause. I was waiting for him to respond, and I honestly didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t had a decent conversation with the kid since the beginning of fifth year. Now we’re almost done with our sixth. I decided that maybe if I returned to my studies, he’d take that as an opportunity to drop the conversation. 

I hadn’t even gotten the chance to open my book before he cleared his throat. “Gosh, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” He leaned his arm against the table and rested his head in his palm, fingers twiddling with the feather of my quill. 

I sighed, slouching in the process. “Yeah. Social interaction has been foreign to me.” 

Adam moved his other arm to the table, resting his head in both hands now. “Well I’m glad that you were just studying and not being torn apart by the whomping willow.” 

“Haha, yeah. I think I would prefer the willow.” We both laughed, knowing that potions class was hell. Well, I assumed that he thought it was hell. 

“Ahh, don’t say that.” It looked as though he was trying to think of what words to say. Mouth opening and closing, eyes darting everywhere. He must have pieced together what he wanted to say.  “You should join me and the guys for some skating.” I shrugged my shoulders, not answering. I knew that if I entertained the idea at all then I wouldn’t be productive the rest of the day, so I decided to read over my notes to get my mind off the subject. Still, Adam persisted. “Maybe take away some of your stress?” I paused. A break sounded really nice, but could I really afford one right now, or even have enough energy? 

“I don’t know, Adam. I have an exam on Tuesday.” 

Adam stood up and walked around the table with a childlike bounce in his step. “C’mon, y/n, it’ll be fun. Just like old times.” Now he was sitting right beside me, his lip now forming a pout.

 “Well...I guess skating for an hour or two couldn’t hurt. What time were you thinking?” He pulled me up. “Right now!”

All of my belongings were still in the hall, but I don’t think Adam had any regard for that. He seemed extremely excited that I had agreed to go skating with him. Well, and other people. Obviously. It’s not like it was just an invitation with him. They probably just needed an extra player so the teams were even. Whatever the case, I was glad to leave my studies for a few hours. 

We earned glares from the portraits as we ran through the west wing haphazardly, bumping each other as we went. Giggling filled the air and it was just like it was a year ago. There was no awkwardness, no distance. It was like we had stayed in touch the whole time we were apart. I’ll have to make a mental note to not let that distance between Adam and I grow again. 

“So, this is where I leave you.” I smiled at him as I turned to enter the Hufflepuff common room. “Well, for a moment. I don’t really want to get yelled at for being in  another house.” Adam shifted his feet.

“Oh. lighten up, cake eater.” He didn’t say anything, just stared at me. “Okay fine. If you’re that much of a stickler to the rules, you can stay out here.” He gave a sheepish grin.

As I walked up the stairs to my dorm, I wondered how that kid was even in Slytherin. He follows the rules, he’s super kind, and he brightens the room. Then again, you find tons of kids who break their house’s stereotypes. 

I ended the thought as I reached to grab a coat, scarf, and my skates. It had been at least half a year since I used them, so there was no doubt that I would be a little rusty when I got back on the ice. Once I was all bundled up, I made my way back to the hall where I found an Adam Banks standing in the same position that I had left him.

He gave a small smirk as I exited. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

He hooked his arm through my arm and started to tow me to the frozen lake that was above the Slytherin common room. A blush drew to my cheeks, but I wrote it off as the scarf I adorned. Thankfully he didn’t notice. He was so focused on getting to the makeshift rink that I don’t think anything could have phased him. Not even Dumbledore in a bright, pink dress. 

The trek was long, but there wasn’t a lot of snow, so that made the trip more enjoyable. As we neared the lake, I could see the other guys in the distance. I could only make out Connie and Guy because they were holding hands, but there were four other people that I couldn’t see out on the rink. 

“Who’s all gonna be there today?” I looked up at Adam. The blush on his nose was even darker now because of the cold.

“Umm, Charlie. He had the idea in the first place. Averman wanted to come too. I think Connie and Guy. And then we asked Julie and Goldberg so we had goalies.” He smiled as he spoke, his love for hockey apparent.

Adam and I had played together when we were first years, but we hadn’t really known each other then. That’s where I first learned how to even skate. While I was still getting the bearings, Adam was already an extremely skilled player. When we were closer he used to tease me about it all the time, but he eventually stopped, and then just stopped talking to me all together. Maybe that’s why I’m so excited to go skating with him. After all, there’s no better feeling than reconnecting with an old friend.

The lake was pretty bare aside from two makeshift goals on the ice, and a few benches on either side. There weren’t any blue or red lines that we would have for actual games. Just plain ice. 

“And you’re sure the lake is frozen enough?” Images of me falling through into the chilly water invaded my mind. 

Adam shrugged his bag from his shoulder, “I’m a hundred percent sure. And if I’m not, I personally allow you to punch me.”

I rolled my eyes as I started to sit on one of the benches, putting a skate on. “Wow. how convincing.” He didn’t respond, so I just laced up my skates. Looking at the other people skating around, I wasn’t so sure how good I was gonna be. It had been at least three years since I’d really played a game of hockey, and you could clearly tell that these people practiced consistently. 

I stood up once I laced my other skate, and started to make my way to the ice. Much to my surprise, my balance wasn’t awful. I could successfully skate and stop without much effort. There were still times where I would wobble or need to regain my balance, but I should be able to hold my own. 

Adam brought me a stick and nudged my shoulder. I almost tripped, but I caught myself before anything else could happen. 

“You’re real funny, Banks.” I spoke through gritted teeth, still struggling to stay afoot. He offered both of his hands out to help me gain my bearings again. To my surprise, he started skating backwards, pulling me forward. I laughed, “where are we going?”

I could see Adam’s breath as he laughed with me. “To play, silly goose.” An amused expression was painted on his face while speaking, and he gave a big smile after. I started to skate with him instead of just letting him drag me along. After a moment, he just stopped. Because physics exists, I kept sliding and bumped into him. I almost fell but Adam grabbed me by the elbows before I could drop to the ice.

When he pulled me up, our faces were only an inch or two apart. The world around me seemed to fade until it was just Adam. Neither of us had said a word, we just stood there. Staring at each other. It was in that moment when I realized the blades of my skates were slipping on the ice. I didn’t really know why, because the lake was definitely frozen over, like Adam had said. It might have been because my knees had locked

Then I noticed the slight tug on my arms. I realised I was being pulled, not slipping. I was being moved at such a tiny rate that it was almost unnoticeable. Almost. As I neared Adam’s chest, I simply stopped breathing. My heartbeat sped, and I slowly started to lose my hearing. This feeling that I was only now feeling, had it been there the whole day? At the table, running through the hall, walking to the lake. Was it there the whole time? I was just to blind to have seen it. All of the time Adam and I had spent before we lost touch, was the feeling there too? 

Once there was no more room between him and I, Adam started to part his lips. My stomach was instantly in knots, and my mind preparing myself for the moments that were to come. Nothing else was said, and Adam closed his eyes. With no hesitation, he closed the gap between us, and pressed his lips against mine. 

There were no fireworks. No sparks, no pits in my stomach. Just pure bliss, as I kissed the boy that I met in fifth year.

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

a poem for small things

by Admin 1 & 2

The time has come, the first proper post for this segment we’ve settled on calling a poem for small things, a nod toward BWL and its Korean title. Like we said in our call for submission post, this is supposed to be something like a place full of positivity for vminnies (and perhaps the occasional namjinist) where you (and us) can share whatever we’d like in connection to vmin, both as vmin and as Jimin and Tae the individuals, and have something to raise our mood and also strengthen our vminnie confidence. We’ve gotten several wonderful submissions and quickly realized that for this first post the theme is mostly how I became a vminnie, even if three submissions talk more about vmin moments they enjoy instead.

I think it’s a really interesting theme, especially since everyone’s story is different, and everyone seems to find something else about vmin that captured their attention and hearts so sharing these memories and experiences is a great way to start off this segment. We’ve said it many times before, though I don’t think you can say it enough times, but this bond that Jimin and Tae share is truly special and so one of a kind, it’s wonderful to see how we all relate to and resonate with it in our own way and find something in it that makes us fall in love with their loves, regardless if we see it as platonic or romantic love. Love is love after all. 95z is love.

For the order of these submissions, we’ll simply go in the order in which we’ve received them. Most of them came from anons, which is more than okay. We’ve also opened the possibility of submitting posts for those who would like to submit wordier posts/asks, should we do another edition of this. It all depends on how much you’ll enjoy it and if you’ll come through with more submissions that could be gathered for future posts.

Anyway, enough talking from our side, let’s dive into these submissions below the cut, shall we? Like we said in the original post (and demonstrated in the preview post), we’ll add some of our commentary and observations along the way, too.

From anon: This is going to be long winded story but Vmin is like a Serendipity to me. I've heard of BTS mainly from my hubby when he complains that times sq is packed because of BTS (when they’re in town and doing their rounds of morning shows). I knew they were very popular but it was a great surprise that i discovered them after watching ILand during lockdown. Their songs were great and i started playing their classics like Fire, DNA Fake Love etc. Then they did an appearance in the show...

I love how you heard about BTS because of your husband and Time Square being packed, this is honestly the most original and unique version of how I’ve come across BTS I’ve read over the years. Amazing!

I was drawn to Taehyung's beauty during their appearance in Iland. And my first Vmin ? moment was when Tae commented about being handsome and attractive are 2 things and being attractive weighs more - along those lines... then JM made a comment that its unfair that he's both and Tae was like Im talking about you... I went like ok he thinks JM is attractive- theyre good friends.... then Jimin did the FakeLove choreo and the camera focused on Tae and he had this wide smile...The Iland Tae/Jimin clips made me do a double take but I dismissed it since it was just only a few seconds worth of screen time but still...

I-Land vmin was really something else in both episodes. 

Fun fact: I-Land was the first Korean survival show I’ve ever watched, mostly because it had something to do with BH and since it was streamed online with subs in real time. Unfortunately, my faves—Daniel and Taki—didn’t make it into ENHYPEN, though I’m happy that Taki will be in a future Japanese BH group.

But, going back to vmin, that moment with Jimin dancing FAKE LOVE and Tae looking at him with that boxy smile as though Jimin hung the stars in the sky? I melted, even if it was just one of those brief moments, yet still it’s so cute! And it was all over sns being shared by vminnies and non-vminnies alike. What a great time that was.

Then VMAs Dynamite perf happened- both Vmin looking good. I saw a lot of their promos especially the Jimmy Fallon interviews... and I noticed in hindsight how JF was so careful when referring to Jimin ... Since Tae was my first bias, I searched YT for Tae related content eventually saw in my YT feed Vmin moments. Theres a lot of Vmin content in YT or maybe the T*ek*ok ones didnt really register as extraordinary to me. But defo the Vmin moments were extraordinary to me,,,the BV4 sleeping together, kitchen role play & BV3 JM excited to see Tae and them holding hands and then Tae crying and then Tae's busking with Jimin cheering him on were all amazing to see. Up to this day this specific YT vid stood out to me first 

I actually went to check what video this is, and also looked at the comments where my favorite was this one: The staff member went straight to Jimin to tell him V was crying. That's all you need to know. They’re not wrong with that one, are they? That is pretty telling. BV3 vmin were a work of wonder, truly. Jimin watching Tae sing that Sam Smith song during the dinner in the sky looking all soft and endlessly fond?

Jimin encouraging Tae to busk and gently petting his hair was just such a pure moment and showed how much Jimin appreciates Tae and the talent he has, how in moments when Tae might brush aside wanting to do something, is a little hesitant and unsure, Jimin will stand up for him and give him strength/encouragement, which reminds me of Tae’s vlive in April 2020 and the fact that Jimin had told him that he wants to be his source of strength. Beautiful. And it shows that it wasn’t just pretty yet empty words, but something he truly meant. They both do.

Then i came across vid trans of Friends & cried first time hearing it especially when it got to the part "One day when the cheer dies down, stay hey.." It felt raw and honest to me. Then there's MOT:E concert and that part in Dynamite where they bumped their heads seemed bizaare to me - i was like were they fighting? because JM looked really fierce(or maybe emotional) then i saw the close up. i couldnt remember the exact moment I became a Vminie but it made quarantine easier...

This, I’ve noticed, seems to be a recurring theme among quarantine ARMY and vminnies, the fact that becoming ARMY and vminnies made it easier, and it fits with what we’ve been saying about BTS for years: they will find you when you’ll need them most. And in these trying and uncertain times, it’s certainly proven true once again.

Thank you of much for your submission and sharing your story with us, and I’m glad they could make quarantine a little easier for you.

From anon: I've been following BTS on and off since BST, but only really consider myself a true fan late 2019. I can't recall having a bias at first, but I was captivated by Jimin's everything when I binge-watched all their content. I must admit, my first OTP is T*e/k*ok, where I fell down the route of considering Jimin 'an interfering 3rd party' in their relationship, and it shamed me. Since then I've been cycling through Jimin ships, namely yo*n/m*n, j*n/m*n, m*ni/m*ni, and I even thought that j*/k*ok was real at some point. Strangely, Vmin never struck me as something extraordinary. I don't want to blame anyone, but Vmin caught my eye after I watched official BTS content without filter (presumed bias/judgement) all in their glory. I realized that while other ships may go up-and-down as in one day there's a frenzy and another day quiet af, Vmin has been and is still going constant. That's what makes me love Vmin, and for the first time in my fandom life, I have no qualms about whether they are real or not. Their bond, whatever it is, is already precious and something to be cherished forever. Thank you for providing us vminies a special corner to speak up about our experience 💜

You’re very welcome! I hope you’ll like how this turned out as well. Thank you for sharing your story with us and personally I find it fascinating how, despite Jimin being the one who captivated you most at first, you still fell into the “he’s an interference for my ship” trap that’s quite popular with that particular ship. I’m glad though that that never ruined your love for Jimin. It’s also really interesting for me how you went through different Jimin ships yet it took you the longest time to notice vmin. I feel like, because vmin and vminnies are more “low key” than the other bigger and louder ships, as well as Tae and Jimin simply being quieter in their interactions (not always but you get the point) as compared to, for example, Jimin’s interactions with Hobi, Jungkook, or even Namjoon, it takes people a while to really notice them.

This is my favorite part of what you wrote, and I think it’s a great way to describe vmin in general and what makes them different from other ships in the grand scheme of things: I realized that while other ships may go up-and-down as in one day there's a frenzy and another day quiet af, Vmin has been and is still going constant.

From vminot7: So i fell into BTS hole after watching blood sweat and tears mv casually on youtube. Jimin immediately stole my attention with his unique voice, graceful moves and handsome features even though i didn’t know their names at that time. I watched more MVs and jimin continued to hold my attention but i was also extremely drawn to taehyung's voice and facial expressions. So i started looking for more content such as RUN BTS and other compilations and realized my love for all 7 of them. I also noticed how jimin always had a soft spot for taehyung and was curious about their dynamics. I started looking at more of vmin content and i was really surprised to see how in the early days they were nowhere near as soft with each other as they are now. I think they have a unique bond and i have never come across anything quite similar. Now vmin are both my biases and my bias wrecker is hoseok.

I admire jimin for being a hardworking, passionate perfectionist but also a caring soul who is always ready to offer love and comfort to people in need. I love taehyung for how he looks at the world in his unique ways and how he has a childlike awe for things and how he is so passionate over the things he loves. The thing i love about vmin together is how they are so different yet work so hard on their relationship when it would be easier to just not try that hard.

Ah, another mention of the queen that is Blood, Sweat and Tears. The MV truly is such a masterpiece so I’m not surprised that it caught your attention, and especially Jimin since he was…something else in that MV, or like Tae said, his eyes were temptation (this boy, I swear). Since you mentioned how in the first years they were nowhere near as soft with each other as they are now, I think watching their dynamic and relationship change and evolve over time showcases the one thing I think a lot of people (as well as movies and TV shows) forget or gloss over, despite it being so incredibly important: in order to make a relationship of any kind work, especially in order for it to grow as deep and strong as the one between all members and especially vmin, you need to put in the emotional work to make that happen. You have to make an effort, have to learn to understand the other person and teach them to understand you as well, learn to appreciate and love their little quirks and how to accept others. And it’s so clear that that’s what vmin did, continue to do, and it more than paid off in the long run. I’m glad you highlighted that in general but also as something you love about them.

While the overall bond between the members is a class of its own, I think especially what vmin have achieved is a whole masterclass in relationships and fostering strong ones, in and of itself. There is a lot I think we can learn from them and I’m so happy that people recognize how special they are.

Thank you so much for your submission!

From anon: There’s this small moments in Dear Class of 2020 that i just adore! I’ve watched it at least 20 times this past month

It starts with “Spring Day”- tae and jimin laugh and look at each other and it’s just so sweet!

Also, maybe it’s my delusional mind but after tae’s and jin’s small and adorable moment- it seemed that jimin did the same with junkook right after maybe out of i duuno if jealousy but like “pay attention to me too” kinda way- dont know really and maybe it’s me being extra🤷🏻‍♀️

I agree partially, in that Jimin watched Tae’s and Seokjin’s adorable moment, obviously must’ve thought of it as cute just like we did, and thought he could do the same with JK. I don’t think it had anything to do with jealousy, especially if we work off of the idea that vmin are a thing, but also because it’s a performance and these things primarily serve the purpose of being cute and entertaining use, in other words, it’s fanservice (which isn’t the evil word some portray it as). Also, within that same performance, Tae and Jimin actually sang some of the lyrics toward each other, therefore they, too, had a cute moment they shared with big smiles and everything, just like you mentioned.

But we’ve gotten to see much more of Tae’s friendship with Seokjin in 2020, and especially the second half, so it was really sweet to see them interact during that song. Their friendship and dynamic is really a beautiful one, just like JKs bond with Seokjin, which I feel we’ve also gotten to see more of in recent months. Part of me (and that part can very well be wrong) feels that perhaps once the members caught on to Seokjin feeling the way he said he did/does, they decided to give him an extra dose of love and affection, off camera but also on where we can see it. That isn’t to say that they didn’t show him any of that before, but maybe they increased the intensity a little, a reminder that Seokjin truly is loved, that he deserves all of this, that it’s just his imposter syndrome (or at least what sounds like it) lying to him.

I’m still so touched and moved by the fact that he trusted us enough to share his feelings with us, to gift us Abyss and how it came to be, and that Bang PD was on his side and coaxed him into pouring his feelings into music, even if it would be “bad”, that the fear of it potentially being “bad” shouldn’t hold him back (and Namjoon helping in even if just a tiny bit with the lyrics). It was one of those times where I feel like we were all reminded that regardless of our opinions of BH and their doings, the members are surrounded by kind people who have their best interest in mind. After all what’s good for Bangtan is also good for the company, a win-win for everyone.

…wow, okay, I kind of went off on a tangent, I’m sorry…

Either way , then we have “Mikrokosmos” where we have a sweet moment at their part and towards the end where they switch mic and hear each other

I love this performance overall and especially “spring day”- jin’s and j-hope’s lovely voices and of course tae’s!! This song fits them so well and all the members of course

Well this is my rent , i love your blog and always wait for another post! Also i love the new idea and look forward to it!

Thank you so much for your submission and for bringing up their Dear Class 2020 performance. It was a truly magical one, and after reading this the first time, I did go and watch it again. To this day I’d still very much like to know how and when and why the mic switch between vmin happened, and I kind of hope that we might get a Bangtan B*mb or EPISODE about this eventually and it might shine some light on that question. Overall it was one of my favorite performances on 2020.

From Sky: While I enjoy cute, physical moments with VMIN, I really do value how emotionally attached they are to each other. For example (I don’t know if it fits as vmin moment but), I love how Jimin asked V to take the Promise cover photo, and how he ended up putting V’s name for credits on the cover. (Special Thanks to V, Best Photographer) This really shows a lot. Coz he can easily choose any Bighit photographer to take it. He could have chosen JK because we know how he takes good pics and vids too (and also apparently alot of people say that vmin had a falling out and that Jimin and JK were much more closer, lol). Or he could’ve asked Suga too bec he’s into cameras too. But he didn’t. He chose V, and chose to shout it out to the world how thankful he is for V’s help. RM co-wrote Promise, and maybe had offered more help in this project, but he didn’t put it in the cover. I’m not saying Jimin is ungrateful for not crediting RM in the cover. The difference is that he and RM had a vlive regarding the making of this song, a lot of people already know RM’s participation, he was officially credited as co-writer and Jimin really showed how thankful he is to RM. But no one knows of V’s participation (except for a snippet in that Run ep), so Jimin felt the need to tell it to everyone. I’m sure it’s not only the photos, I think he wanted to acknowledge how V helped him through the process, whether directly or indirectly. Also, remember this is Jimin’s first non-album solo single. By putting V’s name in it, he is sharing this very special song with his soulmate. How endearing it is! V also included Jimin in his first full English song. He used the two bears given by Jimin as Winter Bear’s cover photo and he included the photo Jimin took (sleeping V in the plane) in the MV. Like, seriously, they are trying to consciously imprint each other in their life’s milestones, openly or subtly. I’m crying. 😭

This was lovely, and yes, Jimin could’ve asked whoever to take those pictures, could’ve chosen any other ones, and yet he wanted Tae to be the one to take them, wanted those specific ones as covers. It’s very sweet and creates this subtle connection between Jimin, the song, and Tae. Sure, it isn’t the first time a picture Tae took is the cover for a SoundCloud song (the picture of JK on the 2U cover was also taken by Tae if I remember correctly), but it’s the fact that Promise is Jimin’s first non-BTS song, his first solo release, that makes it that much more special. Even more so when you think about how meaningful that song is to Jimin, and by having Tae as cover picture photographer, he’s in a way forever attached memory wise to that song as well, right?

The same also goes with Winter Bear and the two ceramic bears. Remember how excited Tae looked when I kinda spoiled that gift being a thing happening in an upcoming RUN episode during Jimin’s vlive during the summer 2019? Adorable. It’s also curious how though the title is singular—winter bear not winter bears—there’s two ceramic bears. One for Tae, one for Jimin? Maybe, or maybe I’m reading too much into it. Either way, it’s really cute, and it was a very thoughtful gift, even more when we think about just how much Jimin loves that song.

From anon: Love this idea it's super cute!! 1st thing that came to my mind is a rather simple moment, jimin bopping taehyung's nose and making a lil game out of it

Taehyung asking for more and that dazed smile 🥺 he had the same expression in that concert when jimin placed his face just above him, tae's smile afterward... it was so pure u could almost read "love" in his eyes lol

What a lovely note to end this post at, thank you for that. I don’t know what got into them during that photoshoot for Season’s Greetings 2020 but this was so disarmingly adorable. I remember when that moment appeared all over every sns and everyone just melted, myself included. Their smiles, the cute clothes, Tae’s head on Jimin’s chest, the softness and innocence of it, just all of it. It truly was so pure and like this sweet visualization of ‘love’.

And with that, we’ve reached the end. Did you like this? I had a great time reading your submissions and adding my little comments to them. If you’d like for us to continue this, same rules as last time, send in a submission marked with “VMC” and once we’ll have enough of them gathered, we’ll do this again, if you’re interested in more, that is. Send in whatever positive vmin you have, a thought, a moment, a memory, whatever you’d like.

Thank you once again to everyone who participated! :)

[shawnsorangeglasses]

Better Conversations - Part 8

3.7k words

Look who finally decided to post!

Synopsis: Another assistant AU, you’ve known Shawn since the beginning but you don’t really become friends until a label party in New York. Then he offers you a job as his assistant.

Some after show tension occurs.

warnings: mild woes

...

Six hours until showtime. It is all hands on deck for everyone in the stage crew. Busy bodies move about the arena, putting together final touches for tonight’s performance. The tour is a little over thirty shows in. Since joining in the middle of it all, (Y/N) is finally starting to get the hang of things. Andrew made it clear that Shawn was her only priority, but with the new extra hours in the day, she tries to do for anyone on the team whenever she can.

She’s coming back from a local deli in the area with three paper bags full of food for Shawn and the band. Sandwiches for the band and salad for Shawn. A singer’s diet, though sometimes he’d cheat and get a small something dairy or doughy. They hardly ever request anything for lunch, but she always picked up something for them anyways, knowing they wouldn’t eat until much later.

As she walked down the sidewalk, she took note of the growing line of bubbly fans waiting out front. Every single one of them looked so sweet and pretty. A few girls wave to her as she passes by and she waves back.

After some time, she became closer and more at ease with the Mendes Army. A majority of them demanded that she make an account on Instagram to see her and Shawn interacting behind the scenes. Eventually, (Y/N) caved and made one separate from her personal profile one after about three days of them pushing Shawn about it. The account gained 100,000 followers in roughly two hours.

She cut through the alley to find the back door that leads to the main stage. It was really interesting to see the crew slowly build the set from the ground up every night. Earlier in the day, the sounds of metal barriers clanging and loud machinery filled the arena from top to bottom, but now it was mostly quiet aside from the well-practiced sound check from the band. Shawn and the guys were onstage doing last minute rehearsals. (Y/N) jogged across the general admissions floor, squeezing through the barrier to meet them stage left.

She hoisted the bags up onto the stage, peering over in silence as the guys practiced. Shawn was sat on the edge of the stage next to one of the larger amps, kicking his boots to the beat Mike was drumming. (Y/N) could tell from the baby blue guitar on his lap that they were running through “Nervous” again.

The musicians drop everything and run over to her in a huddle to claim their food. “I got you guys the fresh stuff. Fruit salads and some sub sandwiches.”

“Thank you, (Y/N)!”

“Yeah, thanks (Y/N).”

They each disperse to their own little corners. Shawn is still hunched over his guitar testing chords. (Y/N) saunters over to him, jostling a separate bag near his feet. “No tomatoes this time, Mendes,” she sings.

Shawn snaps back into reality again. The first thing he sees is (Y/N)’s proud, squinty smile. Last time she brought him a salad with the tiny tomatoes in it and he still hasn’t forgiven her completely. It’s become an inside joke for them.

He crosses his arms at her, giving a new definition to the muscle shirt he was sporting. “You sure there’s no tomatoes?”

“I’m absolutely positive. I checked six times on the walk back here. It's like 50% avocado.”

He slides his guitar safely behind himself and holds his hand out to her. (Y/N) takes secure hold of his wrist as her hauls her up on the stage with him in one swift motion. She watches intently as Shawn empties the contents of the paper bag. He briefly bumps his head into her shoulder, giving (Y/N)’s hand access to the tufts of hair falling on his forehead.

“Y’know, you don’t have to get us lunch if we don’t order anything,” he reiterates. “It only comes out of your pocket then.”

“I know, I know, but you guys workout in the morning and then keep moving, so you should all eat something. Besides,” she pinches his cheek, “you’re still a growing boy.”

“You sound like a mom.” Before he takes a bite, he asks, “What’re you going to eat?”

“Oh I filled up on free samples at the deli.” (Y/N) pats her belly. “I should be good until dinnertime.”

“Nice,” Shawn chuckles.

(Y/N) looks past his shoulder at all the guys chatting over their meals near center stage. “Don’t you want to eat with the other boys?”

“Ah, I’ve been around them all day. I haven’t seen you at all.”

(Y/N) refrains letting that last part go to her head. He didn’t mean it like that, even if a teensy part of her wishes he did.

“Well there’s always the time in hotels.”

Oddly enough, most of their hours were spent apart now. Shawn was either hard at work with the band and writers or catching up on sleep. (Y/N) often had errands to run when she wasn’t tending to Shawn. Even on the tour bus and flights, he needed those hours to rest.

Time in the hotels was the saving grace of this whole journey, Shawn always unabashedly requested to have the room next door to (Y/N) now. “For proximity purposes” he claimed, so that he might have her nearby in case he needs something. And although it may have started out that way, it quickly turned into late night talks and occasionally eating whatever singer-safe snacks (Y/N) could buy from local stores. It became their own little tradition.

“That reminds me,” Shawn says through a mouthful of sandwich, “what are we doing tonight?”

“Whatever you want to do,” (Y/N) mutters. She wasn’t really paying attention. Cez just sent her a text about the next flight details. She sort of zones out looking at the emails. Words become letters. Letters become squiggles. It’s hard to concentrate since the brush with Jason a few weeks ago. She was used to his empty threats but that was when she had leverage. Now she has nothing to hold him, not even shame.

Then Shawn nudges her elbow, but she hardly looks away from her phone.

“Huh?”

“We’re doing dinner later this evening. I know you don’t normally join but- hey are you okay? You look really pale.”

(Y/N) takes her time to meet his eyes. They appear to transition to a darker, more intimidating shade of brown. Her stomach does four backflips.

“Yeah just thinking. You know, assistant stuff. Listen, I gotta go.”

“Oh. Already?”

(Y\N) gets to her feet and dusts off the seat of her pants. “Yes, already. Is there anything else I can do for you before I go help set up the Q&A, sir?”

Shawn wags a finger at her. “What did I say about the ‘sir’ thing?”

“Sorry. Force of habit.”

He gets up too, wearing a smile so bright it’s blinding. A bright red blush tears through the pigment in his cheeks. He just wanted to keep talking to her as long as he could, waste no time. Unfortunately, he ends up thinking of the most basic question of all. “Thanks for the sandwich.”

She shrugs. “Just doing my job.”

...

Parents and young adults filed into the room, filling it with conversational buzz. (Y/N) peeked through a slit in the curtain at the little community that gathered there. One group of girls in the very front started singing “Never Be Alone”, prompting everyone else to join in. It was amazing to see the love and devotion among so many different looking people.

(Y/N) goes to collect Shawn from the green room. The clock on her phone read about ten minutes before he had to go greet everyone again. He’s in the middle of pulling up his jeans when she walks in.

“Oh you’re- I am so sorry.” She turns around and brings her hand over her eyes. Blood furiously rushes to her cheeks and ears.

“No no, you’re fine, come on in. Sorry, I’m almost done.”

She steps in with caution and focuses on the upbeat country track faintly pouring from Shawn’s phone. Travelling so closely together, (Y/N) was bound to see a few people at their less than decent. With Shawn though, it was starting to feel like he was doing this on purpose or just stopped caring altogether. She had no choice but to get comfortable with him.

“God, Shawn. Maybe put a sign outside next time so I know you’re naked.”

“I am not naked.” He glances at her. She’s propped herself  against an end table, still shielding her eyes. “Geez, you act like you’ve never seen me in my underwear.”

“Don’t say underwear to me.”

“Would it help if I sang it?”

“No it would not-”

“Underwear,” he riffs. “Underwe-e-ear, yeah.”

“You’re so annoying,” she chuckles nervously with a slight shake of her head. He beams, proud of himself for yet again finding a new way to gently embarrass (Y/N).

He’s referring to the time she accidentally walked on Shawn in his dressing room. It was weeks ago, early on in a completely different city, but it was also burned into the back of her brain. That definitely broke some of the initial ice between them.

(Y/N) chooses the brick wall as something else to focus on. She hears his footsteps getting closer. Out of her peripheral, she can see Shawn’s shirt is still very unbuttoned and his chest is very exposed. He’s almost closed the space between them, leaving only a few inches of air between their bodies.

“You’re standing in front of my cologne,” he mutters.

“Oh.”

(Y/N) side steps out of his way. Shawn takes the bottle and sprays his neck and wrists, not once taking his eyes off of her. That is until he has to return to the other side of the room to button up his shirt. He leaves a couple buttons free at the top like always, then pays special attention to her reflection in the glass, holding his arms out. “How do I look?”

(Y/N) looks over at Shawn. He’s looking at her through the full length mirror mounted on the wall. She rolls her eyes.

“You know how you look.”

Shawn peers at her reflection, then bites his lip. (Y/N) pinches her wrists behind her back.

“Except for one thing,” she says. She takes notice of his lopsided collar and quickly adjusts it for him. Shawn’s breath hitches just barely. His hands are idle at his waist, not really doing anything, but clearly so desperately wanting to touch her. (Y/N) actively pretends to not notice the effect she seems to have on him.

But Shawn captures (Y/N)’s hand in his right before she pulls off, resting it on his shoulder. The fabric is hot underneath her palm. His whole body has become a furnace. He’s about to say something bold. Or stupid.

“(Y/N) I-”

A knock at the door propels Shawn and (Y/N) away from each other. Cez appears in the doorway.

“Oh you’re both in here,” he says with a playful smile. “You ready, Shawn?”

“Y-yeah,” Shawn makes a few more unnecessary tucks of shirt into his jeans. He turns back to (Y/N), “D’you want to come watch?”

“Uhm, I’ll be behind the curtain. I can see everything from there.”

Shawn understood, but he couldn’t help but feel a little dejected. (Y/N) tugs at his shirt around the waistline to loosen the fit again right before he goes out. “I’ll be right behind you, I promise,” she assures him. “If you need anything I will bring it to you.”

"Anything?"

"Right, almost anything."

Shawn smirks. "Just checking," he purrs.

They venture down the hall to the common area that was built in less than an hour. (Y/N) stops just short of where the dimly lit hallway ends and a room full of people begins. Screams and cheers replaced the chatter the minute Shawn set foot in the room. He can barely be heard greeting them over all the excitement. (Y/N) peeks through a sliver in the curtain.

“Before we start,” he begins. “What am I calling this city tonight?”

The room erupts again with all sorts of answers. Shawn singles out one girl in the front and everyone agrees.

“Okay then, um just one thing, if someone’s asking a question please don’t speak over them and speak loud so I can hear you. This is a big group today. Other than that, go crazy.”

Hands go up instantly. Shawn chooses from the back then from the left middle. On and on this goes for a few minutes and the fans ask the usual questions, fun or otherwise. (Y/N) allows herself to relax. Her mind just goes elsewhere.

She’s imagining the last day of the tour, sad as it makes her. Will she still be an assistant when it’s all over? What will have changed by then? She looks at nothing in particular down the makeshift hallway the team has made in the arena. Connor's messing with his camera settings. Cez is talking to a lighting tech. And like she always does in her free time, she zones out.

“Where’s (Y/N) right now?”

The voice, though small, came with a level of conviction that could only be from a small child. That was the demographic of (Y/N)'s fans. They liked seeing her on the street. She's even received a few drawings in past weeks.

Shawn wrestles with himself to give a straight answer. Then he makes the mistake of looking back at the curtain. People start to become restless.

“Guys, guys, I’m sure she’s busy right now. I don’t want to bother her.”

“I’m not that busy,” (Y/N) blurts impulsively, much louder than she meant to. Everyone erupts in chatter. She looks back at Connor, who has the camera aimed at her now. He was getting a shot between slit in the curtain but now the focus has shifted. She peeks her head out at all the fans and Shawn. A collective gasp captures them and they begin waving so she waves back. All the bright happy faces are reassuring enough.

“Do you want to come out,” Shawn whispers as quietly as he can. A few girls in the front overhear and squeak.

She widens her eyes at him. He knew what she was saying. You really want me to come out here? And the answer was a resounding yes, as indicated by a brisk wave of his hand. (Y/N) peeks her head out and all but recoils at the enthusiastic and sudden attention she receives. Then it all died down just as it quickly came.

“Hi, (Y/N),” says the same little voice that asked for her. Everyone in the aws.

“Hello,” she replies. “I remember seeing a few of you outside in the line. Sorry to interrupt.”

“She actually bought everyone lunch today during rehearsal even though I told her she doesn’t have to,” Shawn adds. Someone in the back goes “whoop” and the whole room is brimming with laughter and applause again.

“Okay I better go,” (Y/N) says immediately. “That’s enough fun for me.” She slips behind the curtain again, waving behind her as a few more people say goodbye.

Connor's snapping his viewfinder back into place behind her. He shares a look with her that can only be that

"Can I use any of that?"

"Sure, dude. It's your footage."

She says so each and every time he asks. Connor always made very sure to protect (Y/N)'s privacy when it came to recording her. If she was in the background of any video, he'd make sure to ask. It's what made him a great videographer.

He scurries away to whatever room holds his editing equipment. (Y/N) slides down to the floor, resting back on her heels so she can still see through the partition. Shawn's still somewhat rambling about her to his fans. It's interesting to hear what she is to him through his eyes. Often times she leaves the Q&A as soon as it's been set up. Under these special circumstances, she stays a while, hoping to learn something new.

…

It's evening. The hotel room is the neat chaos (Y/N) left it when she comes back. She learned several cities back never to spread out too much in these rooms after leaving a few chargers in the walls and drinks in the mini fridges.

"We'll go back and get it," Shawn said the first time it happened. "Can we turn around," he politely asked the driver.

"I'll answer that, no we will not," (Y/N) said firmly. "It's like two little bottles of kombucha. I'll live Shawn." It was never mentioned again.

He was always going out of his way for her. Everybody found it endearing, but (Y/N) didn't want him doing any special favors for her. Their relationship was special enough without grand gestures.

She fishes her planner out of the messenger bag on her bed to go over the next week at the hotel desk. Her sister's birthday is today. (Y/N) checks the timezone on her phone. There was still time to call.

The line rings for a while then cuts into an excited voice.

"Hey girl! Mom was wondering when you'd call. She's sleeping now."

(Y/N)'s heart drops to her stomach. "Bea I'm so sorry, I haven't said happy birthday to you all day. I feel awful."

"Aw you know I don't care about that shit. But bitch, Mom made this cake, you are missing out. I'm trying to save you some."

"I don't know if that slice will be edible by the time I get back, but thanks for the effort."

"You know I'm looking out for you around here." Bea sighs. "Girl I wish you were here. It's boring as hell with no one to tell my jokes. Or argue with."

(Y/N) smiles to herself. Bea always got bored by herself. They were lucky to grow up close in grade school, so they always had a playmate at recess or someone to talk to at lunch.

"What're you up to?"

"Same thing I was up to yesterday. Watching these Game of Thrones episodes."

"Did you make another fake HBO account?"

"Yep, but honestly a week is not enough for a free trial. Netflix gives you a whole month."

She goes on about her other temporary subscriptions. A knock comes at her door, the one joining her room to Shawn's.

"Hold that thought Bea. I think Shawn is going to ask me to come to dinner again."

"He what now?"

She swings the door open. "Not that kind, dumbass."

Shawn smirks at the little nickname, knowing right away it wasn't meant for him. Sure enough, he's dressed to go out.

"Your sister," he whispers. (Y/N) nods. "Hi Beatrice."

"Hi Shawn! I swear, only that man can make my full name sound good. Bitch, if you don't want him, I will gladly have some."

"I have never been more glad that he can't hear you," (Y/N) mutters. Shawn smiles downwards. He's only talked to Bea once before, so he can definitely imagine what she's saying.

"You're selfish, is what you are. The man clearly wants you and you're being your usual self."

"I'm ignoring you." (Y/N) directs her attention to Shawn's hopeful face. He’s propped himself against the door frame too, hands in his pockets. Between her waiting on his question, and him waiting for her to say no was a deafening silence.

"I know what you're going to ask,” she starts. “You know how I'll respond."

"Well in that case, I’m not going either," he says, undoing some buttons.

"He said what?!"

"I'm going to hang up on you," (Y/N) warns. She leans on the door frame as he sheds his shirt and shoes. "Shawn, you don't have to stay for me."

"I'm not," he says calmly. "Honestly, I’m doing this for me."

"If you don't let that man love you right now, idiot sister of mine-"

"Bea, I'll call you later. Happy Birthday."

(Y/N) taps the end call button. One last text comes through, almost too vulgar to read, so she shuts her phone off before Shawn can see it. He’s milling around his room, looking for comfortable clothes among the scattered ones.

“Shawn you don’t have to stay here on my account.”

“Well I’m not going to have any fun without you there.”

Shawn pulls his undershirt off over his head. Muscles in his back flex and relax as his arms go up and down. (Y/N) clears her throat, to which he doesn’t react. Tour life has made him so comfortable with clothing changes, he doesn’t always think twice with another person in the room. At the very least, he warns somebody when his pants are about to come off.

“That’s really unfair to everyone else, isn’t it?”

“Not in that way. I mean I’ll just be there the whole time wondering why-”

He stops himself short, ending with a mumble.

(Y/N) crosses her arms. “If this is your way of guilt tripping me or tricking me into saying yes-”

“It’s not,” he says, almost in a corrective way. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Don’t you know that?”

She doesn’t. She wasn’t sure of anything at all when it came to her employer’s intentions. People often cross you because that’s the nature of the business. Trust wasn’t something she gave so easily to someone with that much power over her. Normally, (Y/N) knew when to leave a job that no longer suited her, but Shawn has yet to give her a reason to run.

Shawn picks up a white t-shirt from his suitcase and slips it on. He doesn’t normally wear a shirt to sleep, but he wanted (Y/N) to feel as comfortable as possible. Although she’d never admit it out loud, he’s noticed how she gets around him shirtless. He sits down on his bed and beckons her to sit next to him. (Y/N) takes baby steps to his bedside and sinks into the soft sheets.

“You should at least tell Cez you’re not coming,” she insists.

“I already did.” Shawn waves his phone then sets it on the nightstand. “Right now, I need to talk to you.”

...

TAGLIST:

@spider-mendes @sebsdreamboat @innositer @sauveteen @sauveteen @sinplisticshawn @sohani02 @yourkidsfavbabysitter @matchamendes @gxccicoffee @daisychains4 @nervousaroundmendes @st3p-hani3 @rulerofnocountry @darloing-shawn @learning-howto-be-myselfx3 @cheerfulmendes @imaginesofdreams @thesmutpeasant @enchantingbrowneyedgirl

[shinjukuspiritcommittee]

Spirit Committee Mod’s Christmas Gift to you

So back earlier this year when I first started this blog, one of the first ever requests I received was a question asking me “What were my 20 favorite Housamo characters?” At first I really didn’t have an answer since I was trying to reintroduce myself to the cast, but now that I’ve ingrained myself into the community a decent bit I can give you guys what I look for in a Housamo character as my thanks to all of you for just enjoying my content really. I look for what appeals to me visually (I’m the kinda writer that likes em big and beefy) but also well written. While not every character may or may not be the best written character since there’s so much reading I have to go back and do, but I am comfortable 20 characters I find to be downright great.

My Top 10~20 Housamo Characters

Honorable Mentions: Characters who do definitely qualify in the Top 20, but are just simply hard to place exactly in a definitive slot (lists like these are pretty hard to write for in hindsight…)

~Aegir: This is a character that’s very hard to place for a few different reasons. On one hand he’s easily one of the more aesthetically pleasing characters to me and I don’t just mean his body. There’s just always something about outfits in Housamo that just look amazing and I think Aegir’s is one of the better ones because they both show off his best assets and are pretty snazzy. His color scheme in most of his outfits tend to say hes an ocean man and I like you can just tell by looking at him given the whites and blues along with the gold he adorns himself with. Sort of what you’d expect from a treasure hunter such as himself. And yes he is a total heart throb alongside that I do have a bit of Gacha bias here and for the next one since I have all variants of them and some really good artwork. On the other hand, what do I know about him? Well, he’s a pretty boisterous fellow who loves to show off and is a big man. What else? Um…. Unfortunately Aegir’s events aren’t fully translated and his voice lines and bio do leave a bit to be desired for me at least. When it comes to writing him I have no issues, but when it comes to trying to visualize him as a character among the vast cast it just becomes hard to give him a good place beyond “He has a nice chest and bulge” most of the time. It’s not anything personal and my opinion of him may change after this Christmas event is over and translated by the Housamo Blogspot and GomTang is one of my favorite artists working with LifeWonders so he may get bumped up or off. As an additional upside I do like how his gameplay in both of his variants reflect his character, it’s a nice touch game designers often do.

~Takemaru: Yes, both 2019 Christmas boys. And yes, it’s because of their tiddies. I’m mostly kidding… But in all seriousness Takemaru is one of the better offensive supports in the game who’s one of the easier units to pull in the gacha, especially right now considering he has an alt on the banner so in theory he should be showing up more frequently as a 3star. But that’s just a theory. The thing with Takemaru I like beyond his design is the fact with how genuine sweet he is as a character. He’s rough in how he speaks but his personality is very sincere (for the most part from what I can gather) However he falls into the same trap as Aegir since I haven’t read the events he’s a part of just yet. Plus he is a crafter boy and you never say no to a Crafter.

~Kengo: One of two Summoners on this list. I have a bit more preference for Kengo over the other summoner that did make the list, but to be as fair as I can in my judgment I have to leave Kengo in the 11-20 pile. Visually he has all the check boxes that just draw me to a character initially and his personality is simple, but I like that he’s simple. Characters don’t always need to be complex and multi faceted to be engaging, plus I just kinda want someone who would encourage me to be more active and I feel a few characters alongside Kengo would do that, he’s a Chad and a bro. So why is he not in the inner circle for this list? It’s cuz the story treats him the worst. What do I mean? deep breath If you’ve read Chapter 3 of the main story then you should know the absolute mess it is. It tries to shove in as many characters as possible during this part of the story which, okay understandable since this is a gacha game but they forgot to give Kengo, you know one of the cover boys, a proper role in the story and it really feels LifeWonders thought that they could bank on Kengo’s Himbo status and just showing us the others. But I need sustenance. I need to read! He did because he has moments that could have been much more if they just shifted the focus back on Kengo for more than a few moments at a time and he sort of highlights a lot of my issues with the way the stories are told in this game but those are for another time.

~Arc: In my perspective, the antithesis to Kengo. Not to say I find Arc visually unappealing, but they aren’t for me the way other characters are though. As a character though Arc’s story is honestly one of the best stories has to offer and they actually have (pardon my pun) an arc. I won’t spoil too much of their story because it’s all pretty late into the game but you really do sympathize with Arc and begin to understand the larger narrative the game has. Plus a nice detail is that Arc’s voice lines change depending on the point of the story you’re in I guess? Or maybe it was a release thing I’m not too sure how you trigger one over the other but they get 2 sets of lines. And they actually integrate Arc into the story and revolving cast pretty well instead of casting them to the wayside for 80% of their story. I can’t go much deeper than that unfortunately. All I can say is read Chapter 7 and 8 but do know that they are some of the more darker and serious chapters in the game so far.

~Durga: The only Yoyogi girl who strives to be number one. Unfortunately she joined the wrong list and wound up in the runner up tier. But for starters Durga has one of my favorite voice actresses who plays a number of my favorite characters in anime and games so I’m glad LifeWonders are capable of getting such talented voice work. As a character I know what this character is mostly about and the event I haven’t really read yet is her initial one so when that gets an official TL I’ll read it to grow more understanding. But from what I have now I can safely put her as one of my favorites because her drive to be number one is inspiring to try your best and everyone should follow her example to some degree. I say that because she really does feel naturally flawed given her alleged age. I won’t spoil much of Dreamland but I will say how Durga’s struggle is further amplified is totally understandable given her position in the group of athletes and her desire to always win and why she always pushes herself to be her best at any cost and it’s definitely something I can see someone doing (without as catastrophic a breakdown when it backfires and just learning what works best for her). As for why she’s not in the other category given my praise of her character is because I don’t have the full story much like with a few prior entries on the list. But when that event does get a TL at some point I do want to read it and finally have the full picture for her so I can rank her properly.

~Kyuma: I shall dub him my Kouhai because he is a first year. A lot of people don’t like Kowmei’s art, myself included, but overall his characters don’t really put me off that much since there’s only one in particular. Kyuma’s good though. He is a good, hardworking kouhai I’d enjoy being around given he seems the most levelheaded of his friends despite his age.  Or maybe its because of his age? There’s no grand singular reason he’s on this part of the list. He just needs to be in more events and get an actual alt. That’s all.

~Zao: I wish he was introduced in a better event because he is one of the better characters released in year one. But good lord does his event drag you through the dirt with terrible battles and awful pacing. It’s unfortunate his whole story is dragged down because the game was still in an early spot when this event originally came out. Outdated gameplay aside I think Zao does best in setting the precedent for shop units when it comes to writing and design. I like his arc going from a stubborn mountain man to a more open and accepting person. However he has a similar issue with Kengo where he has to share his spotlight with characters of varying degrees but unlike Kengo the other characters who appear in this event are meant to compliment Zao rather than detract from him.

~Amatsumara: He’s the dad of the Crafters and is who makes the Crafters really feel like a family. Every member feels like they have a role in the Guild and you can really see how much Amatsumara values them. He just seems like the doting father type who gives you noogies and I can respect that. Seeing him interact with characters in Chapter 9 was also one of the more enjoyable aspects of that chapter. I won’t spoil it but it was pretty good.

For the final 2 they’re just characters who’s designs I like a lot and just need to do more research since this game has a lot of characters to try and find information on

~Dagon

~Tomte

And yes, its cuz they’re cute and new. I am shallow… ;u;

Now for the Top 10 favorites, but even then placement can change depending on what LifeWonders plans to do with them down the line.

10. Gunzo: Kicking off this list is the rugby player himself. To start he’s a very dorky athlete. He isn’t the greatest at handling social situations and kind of a goofball when it comes down to it. But those are not bad things, in fact they’re what landed him on the list. His quirkiness is just plain adorable and I do enjoy the antics he and his classmates get into. Not only that but he’s a pretty laid back guy once you get to know him a bit better. It’s his lack of awareness that is his best strength, but worst weakness at times.

9. Kurogane: deep breath ANIKI~!!! Jokes aside Kurogane is the character that when I first saw, I was very disappointed he wasn’t playable. (Then GoGo happened and made me one happy person) and he’s voiced by the same guy who did Broly back in the day so that’s pretty awesome. Kurogane actually likes it a lot when you call him “Big Bro” and I would totally call him that once I found out he did because he’s so wholesome and goodwilled. Plus he does deserve some recognition as someone older since he is the youngest in his Guild. Not only that I can sort of relate to Kurogane’s desire at being an engineer since when I was still attending classes in college that was what I was studying as my major. I can’t quite match the same level of enthusiasm as Kurogane, I do see where his character does come from when tackling certain things, which is how he easily became one of my favorites.

8. Claude: You want a sugar daddy? Claude is probably your guy. So the leader of the Berserkers Guild is a great guy, most of the time. He has his moments where he can get carried away with his own desires rather than doing the correct thing, but honestly there’s something satisfying about a man just taking what he wants. That and well, getting a bit of a wake up call that you can’t just do all of that because you’re bored. His character quest is what really sold me on Claude as a character and something about it felt very real. A lot of it was very vague terminology and confirms Claude’s status as a bottom. Claude is also very intelligent and he’s always trying to make the best move that will benefit the most amount of people, whether or not its for his own interests usually. Also this wouldn’t be your mod if I didn’t mention how good he looks, especially his outfits. Bombom just really knows how to design clothes.

7. Moritaka: Arguably the face of the franchise right after Salomon. Moritaka, to my knowledge, is one of the most popular Housamo characters and to be frank I can see why he would hold that title. He’s just a lovable character with cute art. I really think I show my love for him in my Headcanons so I’ll keep it brief by saying he’s a really enjoyable character.

6. Maria: Our local Lesbian sister will help you find true love, I promise. Maria is another really popular and well-liked character and again I can totally see why. She’s cute as a button and really compassionate towards everyone she meets. And from what I’ve seen from her, Maria is very honest with herself going forward from a certain point which is so satisfying to see. I won’t spoil her entire arc even though her chapters have been out for a while just so you can experience it for yourself. She’s too precious for me to spoil. But her character growth aside, she’s a very compassionate and kind character even to those who aren’t the most kind in return and she even goes out of her way to try and relate to those characters despite the fact they might not make sense.

5. Hephaestus: Here we have my son, please buy him Legos instead of Mega Bloks or he’ll cry. I was a little hesitant with Hephaestus at first to be blunt. He seemed to be quite crude in certain places and really uncaring and a little cliché with his attitude. Plus he’s quite nasty to Talos, often times getting mad at Talos for simply doing what he was made to do. But Chapter 9 really put it into perspective. For spoilers I can’t say what made me turn around from wanting to look away from wanting to just hold him and protect him. All I can say is that he has been put through the wringer and just deserves to be happy.

4. Ashigara: Best bear, Volos stans don’t come for me. I explained it before but Ashigara is a character that tends to radiate “me” energy and I can totally see us being friends in real life. He’s the kind of guy who’d send you memes when your sad but he’d eat all your food, which is why you were sad in the first place. All about give and take.

3. Oniwaka: A bully BF uwu god have mercy but yes. Oniwaka was actually my first ever Housamo summon when I first began to play and on my most recent account (I’ve been on and off with the series until I started this blog and became more of a permanent player) he was my first 5star unit so it weirdly came full circle with him. His alternate skins are an absolute delight to behold and he is no slouch in the writing department after the slog that was Chapter 3. If anything he just got better with each appearance. He was rough around the edges, but seeing his softer sides just warms your heart.

2. Wakan Tanka: Touching down at silver place is my “Housamo Husbando”. Weird I know but let me explain. Wakan Tanka is a character I very much love and cherish, he is a really cute boy who just wants to do good by everyone he meets. He hates treating people especially different which is societal goals. However, he has a tendency to come off as a bit too perfect. While I really like him, he’s also feels more like an ideal than someone who can actually develop and grow. Wakan has basically achieved ascention. As for the top place on this list though…

1. Taurus Mask/Daisuke Ikusaba: Much like how Oniwaka was my first pull, Daisuke was my first Housamo crush. First and foremost his design is what I consider to be very tasteful. It’s both an incredibly attractive outfit, it’s also very appropriate and it isn’t too distracting. Second I love how LifeWonders leans into a character completely and just goes all out with a number of references to their lore or culture. Since Daisuke is a luchador inspired character its really cool to see his Summon Day be May 5th. Thirdly and finally, his writing as a character completely wins me over. He is a shy senior by day, but wrestling prodigy by night. Not only is that badass, but you have the perfect set up and the writer in me squeaks like a little fan girl that I am. Wrestling was never really my thing growing up so while I don’t have any fondness for it in particular, if I had seen Taurus Mask in action you would see me in the crowd shouting for him. Daisuke is just that amazing and why he’s my Number 1 favorite Housamo character.

[elliepassmore]

Queen of Shadows Review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: series, fantasy, magic, multiple POV, strong female leads, scheming, foreshadowing Half the cast of the book is in a bad situation when this one opens. Aedion's locked up, Dorian has a Valg collar on, Chaol's disgraced from his previous position, and Manon + the Thirteen are stationed in Morath. Fun. Even still, everyone has their plans and schemes and tempers, my god, it's almost as if being immortal, or being in proximity to someone who's immortal, makes you extra cranky. Rifthold could do with some Snickers. Since I've started the reviews with Chaol for the last two books, I'll continue the tradition here. He is...frustrating, to say the least. He was doing so well in the last book, and then he just fucking tanks for almost the entirety of this oen. When we first see him, he's meeting with Arobynn to make plans and do other rebel stuff. Maybe it's two-faced of me, since Aelin also meets with Arobynn for things, but it bothers me so much that Chaol goes to Arobynn knowing what the guy did to Aelin growing up. Aside from that first instance, which is really one of the lesser points of his actions in the book, he acts like a complete ass when he and Aelin finally come face-to-face and BLAMES HER for everything that's happened in Rifthold since her incident with the Valgs in Wendlyn. Are. You. Kidding me?! He was doing so well in the last book, accepting Aedion and Aelin being from Terrasen and potentially raising a Court, struggling to accept Dorian's magic (it's the effort here, right?), and even feeding info to the rebels. It was like !!! progress, our baby boy is learning something other than blind obedience....and then this book comes along. To be fair, Chaol is not blindly obedient anymore, and he's coming into the full realization that he served a monster for years without question, but his actions toward Aelin, toward Dorian, toward Rowan, even toward his 'friend' Nesryn (friend is in quotes because he's an ass to her too), it absolutely ridiculous. He acts like he's the only one with clean hands in any of this and that the King of Adarlan is doing evil things now just because Aelin announced herself. Bullshit. His actions end up getting people in trouble multiple times, and when Aelin tips him and the rebels off to certain things, he's not even grateful. Awesome. On the plus side, after there's a little incident in the woods involving Dorian and some witches, Chaol kind of pulls his head out of his ass. He finally admits that he may have gone about things poorly and that Aelin wasn't *being an ass* just to be an ass, but that her *being an ass* was mostly 1) her being right and him not wanting to hear it, 2) a direct reaction to his being an ass, or 3) both...or 4) she really was just being an ass because she's like that sometimes. By the end of the book, he has, thankfully gotten over himself and is willing to help other people, not be a dickhead, and even free magic. Whoopee, he's back to HoF!Chaol. Aelin's fun to read in this one, she had so many different faces throughout the series it's interesting to see her try on several of them throughout the book. Naturally, she's Aelin to most of the people addressing her and when it's her chapters, but there are still times she goes by Celaena, and even goes by a 'new' name entirely, Ansel. She also seems to be back at Blade levels of cunning and planning in this one, as there's so many different strings she pulls and weaves together while making her plans, leaving nearly everyone else in the dark. She orchestrates all these plans and then has fun revealing them to the people around her, a move that becomes a staple of hers for the rest of the series. Aelin really gets another layer of 'bad-assery' with all her sneaking around and planning. There's still some healing going on, as well as some growth into queenhood, for her in this book, but I feel that this one is largely a development static book for Aelin. There's so much action going on with everyone, and there's so much character development for a lot of the other characters, that Aelin's arc has slowed a little in this book to allow room for all of that. In the context of everything going on in the book, it works, it doesn't feel like we're missing something by having her arc stagnate a little in this book, and I honestly didn't really notice until I went to analyze her arc in this book and found it less development-filled than normal. Dorian was, obviously, absent(??) in his chapters. He has the collar around his neck, and a Valg prince in his body, but we still get chapters from his POV, which I thought were particularly interesting. in HoF, we didn't get to see inside someone who had a Valg in them, we only saw the Valg from the outside, but here, we have Dorian, who's been a narrator since ToG, and now has a Valg possessing him. Dorian is still alive inside, so it's cool to see how he and the Valg interact with one another, especially when it comes to who's more in charge of the body. In the beginning, it's obvious that Dorian has maintained some level of control and presence, and is fighting back against the Valg in his mind. As the story progresses, however, the Valg chips away at Dorian's control more and more until there's little-to-none left. So, as the others prepare to carry out their plans, we have Valg!Dorian in the palace ready to move and act at the king's beck-and-call, which definitely puts some kinks into everyone's plans. As an aside, Dorian having the Valg and darkness shove him down after everything that happened at the end of HoF almost seems like a physical mirror for the mental darkness Aelin was shoved into after the ending of CoM...but I could just be reading way into things. I really like Manon in this one. After being chosen as Wing Leader, she and the Thirteen are sent to Morath in preparation for...something or other, it isn't really revealed entirely other than a vague 'for war' explanation. In Morath, Manon is definitely put on unsure footing. She's used to being in charge, used to not being questioned or ordered about, and especially not by humans. Naturally, all that occurs in Morath, plus a little extra challenge from Asterin. Manon is Not Happy, and more than that, she's beginning to question things. I know I get on Chaol for blind obedience, but if you want to talk to blind obedience, it's name is Manon Blackbeak. For some reason, her blind obedience doesn't bother me as much as Chaol's...maybe because she's been lowkey rebelling since the beginning? Those thoughts aside, Manon's definitely dealing with issues of obedience and morality in this book. She knows what she's been told, but she also knows what her senses and history tell her, which is that things are Not Right in Morath and she and the other witches should not be subject to whatever the humans are doing. Manon's character develops by leaps and bounds in this one, and the ruthless witch begins questioning the aim of her ruthlessness (and questioning what the fuck is actually going on). Someone Manon runs into in Morath is Elide Lochan. Yes, the Elide Lochan who was a Lady of Terrasen and whose mother saved Aelin's life, that Elide Lochan. Turns out she's spent the last ten years being locked in one tower or another, serving her uncle who really only wants political gain and for Elide to just disappear. Despite having been a prisoner for most of her life, Elide is extremely observant and resourceful. I mean, she manages to endear herself to Manon, which is a feat in and of itself when your blood runs red. These kids from Terrasen really have a knack for being badass while in shackles, albeit in different ways. Elide is literally shackled, and is basically Erilea's Sherlock in terms of observation powers. Despite being shy, almost meek, Elide has courage for miles, and isn't afraid to get in the middle of things sometimes. Aedion...gotta give him points for spirit. Imprisoned at the start of the book, he seems pretty well convinced that if he can just get blood poisoning fast enough, then the king can't use him against Aelin, which is....sweet and strategic, but I don't think for one second the king woulnd't've used his dead body to lure Aelin in, so it's also a bit misguided. Anyway, he does survive to his execution day, much to his chagrin, and proves his spirit even further by thinking of ways he can 'lose his shit' and get one of the guards to attack him and kill him, all while taking a few of them out himself. So, definitely not someone you want on your bad side. Once Aelin gets him out, the two of them but heads a little, unsurprisingly since they're so similar. He's also a general, so being left out of Aelin's plans chafes at him more than a bit. But more than anything, he supports and loves Aelin, and receives the same love and support in return. As is mentioned several times throughout the books, they are two sides to the same coin. Both had to do things they aren't proud of, both had to serve the king that took everything from them, but they both came out the other side and they each understand the cost of survival the other had to pay. Rowan's back in this one too, yay! He came back due to Lorcan, one of Maeve's cadre, fleeing to Rifthold from Wendlyn. I really like reading Rowan's interactions with everything, I just like his character and I can't even pinpoint exactly why, other than he's super supportive of Aelin and matches her sense of humor pretty well. Anyway, the two of them reunite and things are mostly good, though they have some bumps about Aelin not sharing her plans, among other things. He's still coming out of that healing phase he and Aelin were in in HoF, and he seems the better for it. He's definitely more open in this one, more willing to let other people take the lead and even just more open to people in general, which was nice to see (it's also nice to see Rowaelin start, but that's not the point). Like Aelin, though, I feel that most of Rowan's development is external. We don't see *a ton* of internal development, though there is some--I'd even say he gets more internal development than Aelin does--but a lot of his actions have to do with external forces in this one, rather than internal development of self/character. Another character who makes a return is Lysandra. She's still chilling around Arobynn and, naturally, gets caught up in the entire mess with Arobynn, Aelin, Chaol, and everything else. However, she's a lot better than she was in Blade, so like the rest of the cast of characters, she's undergone some serious character development. She and Aelin become fast friends, now that they're both older and have eased a bit from Arobynn's toxic influence. Lysandra is one of the people who starts by calling Aelin Celaena, though being informed the two are the same person doesn't seem to faze her as much as it did some other characters. Despite what we saw of her in Blade, Lysandra seems a genuinely loyal, caring person, and she's another character who, like Elide, has courage for miles. She's not from Terrasen originally, but by the end of the book, she's nudged her way so thoroughly into everyone's hearts and proven her fighting ability well enough that Aelin offers Lysandra a spot in her Court. A lot of the stuff re: Lysandra is spoilery, but she's such a badass character and I love her so much, I want chapters by her. Nesryn Faliq is a new character who's a rebel. She's generally quiet, but she's got plenty of tricks and knowledge up her sleeve. I especially like how she just flat-out lays down the truth to people, and am really glad we get to see more of her in ToD. We get to see Arobynn and his scheming ass again. He's definitely creepier in this one, more manipulative, and he deserves everything coming to him. Kaltain is someone we see again and, much like Lysandra, is someone who was bitchy in Part I of the series, but now is just in a really shitty situation. References to Kaltain come back in the following books, and I really like how Maas handled things regarding her going forward. Lysandra has a young charge named Evangeline, and she's an absolute darling and menace. I feel like she's a perfect mix of still-innocent and grew-up-too-fast, and she has some funny lines both in this book and the ones going forward. We get one line about Philippa, but not much else, unfortunately. And also, Fleetfoot is in this one a little. This book has a lot of Easter Eggs for future books in it, and it's a nice book to give Aelin a bit of a break from things for a little bit while still keeping things action packed and quick-paced. It's a solid book with lots of quality content, and I like the way it ended, especially, with the groups splintering five ways, so we'll be able to see a lot more of the world and goings-on in EoS and ToD.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Twenty-Four: Something New ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura ] [ SasuHina, SakuIno ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

“Aw, c’mon Sasuke!”

“There’s no point.”

“It’s a one credit class! Just one hour, once a week. That’s it! It’ll get you outta your dorm, and up and movin’, huh? You gotta try new things, sometimes!”

Scowling as he ducks out from under Naruto’s arm, Sasuke rebukes, “You just don’t want to do a stupid class by yourself.”

“It’s not stupid!”

“Then why pester me about it?”

“Cuz I really do want you to do it!” The blond nudges an elbow into his friend’s ribs, wiggling his eyebrows. “Mostly because I heard it’s a really good place to meet girls! They never have enough guys for partners, so -”

“Naruto, I’m not looking for a girlfriend right now. I’m in uni to study, not get laid.”

“Psh, that puts you in the minority. I think you need a good shag - maybe you wouldn’t be so grumpy and high-strung all the time, huh?”

Color flushes across Sasuke’s nose. “You’re stupidly crude, Naruto...I’m not high-strung!”

A brow perks. “Then why are you being so stubborn?”

“Because a business degree doesn’t require a dance class, Naruto. It’s a waste of my time!”

“It’s just one quarter, Sasuke. It’ll get you out of your dorm for something other than number crunching! And getcha a little exercise...maybe you’ll even have a little fun, huh? C’mooon, ya bastard!”

“Oh hell, fine! Just shut up and leave me alone, will you?” A hand pushes against Naruto’s face as the blond cackles, swerving aside and clearly unbothered. “But if it starts interfering with my grades, I’m dropping it.”

“Okay, okay! But you gotta give it at least a few weeks, got it?”

“Whatever.”

Finally splitting paths, Sasuke stuffs hands in his pockets and heads back toward his dorm. He’s lucked out with a single this year, making his way in and shutting the door. With a flop, he collapses atop the mattress and slings an arm over his eyes.

...he’s going to regret this, isn’t he? Try something new, Naruto says...like it’s just that easy. Forearm moving up to his brow, Sasuke stares at his ceiling. He was hoping to escape his four years of classes without having to dip too much into the social aspect. It was bad enough Naruto got into the same school on a sports scholarship. He’s hardly had a day where his friend from high school hasn’t just so happened to bump into him. Now he’s gonna take a class where he has to actually interact with other students?

Ugh.

Well...this isn’t getting my homework done. Sitting up, Sasuke runs a hand back through his hair before dragging himself to his desk, clicking on a lamp and fetching his laptop.

It’s gonna be a long night.

.oOo.

After a brief Spring break (spent back home with his parents), Sasuke starts his first week back with a dreading in the back of his mind. Come Friday, he’ll finally have to subject himself to Naruto’s hare-brained scheme. He’s pretty much already made up his mind: he’ll be dropping it after two classes. Enough to keep to his word of trying it, and hopefully short enough he’s not too disrupted or annoyed. At the tail end of the week, he makes his way to a part of the campus he’s never been to before: the more...artsy part. Music, dance, theater: those sorts of classes. Looking to the other students he passes by, sure he sticks out like a sore thumb (obviously not one of them), he hurries along to the proper hall, and then the proper room.

Or perhaps “theater” is more like it. He finds himself in a recital hall, complete with a stage. Several other students linger around, and Sasuke can’t help but notice they look like him: meaning someone clearly not here as part of a major. Just...a one-off class.

And Naruto was right: there’s a significant majority of women compared to men.

Speaking of Naruto...he’s not here yet.

...if he stood me up to take this class alone, I’m gonna string him up from a flagpole.

Several of the people already inside glance up as he enters, but thankfully none keep staring. A great majority look just as unsure and almost regretful. Only a handful look genuinely excited. And that includes a pair of women clearly trying to enthuse a third.

“It’ll be fun! I promise - I have a cousin who took this class, she loved it. It’s nothing to difficult, really. Just a few basic dances. It’s super chill.”

“Yeah, for sure! You can totally just take it easy, Hinata. We’ll be here with you!”

Wringing her hands nervously, the dark-haired third wheel gives a nod. “...okay.”

“Okay class!” Stepping out another door, a woman with black waves up in a messy bun and ruddy brown eyes calls their attention. “We’ll be starting in a few minutes! Go ahead and partner up - we’re going to hop right into things.”

Sasuke stiffens. Wait, what -?

“Wait! Hold on!” Bursting through a door, Naruto immediately draws all eyes at his exuberant entrance. “Don’t - don’t start yet!”

The professor perks a brow. “...we haven’t. Find a partner.”

Looking to Sasuke, Naruto wiggles his brows.

“No.”

“Aw, but -!”

“I said no.”

Already everyone else has squared up. The blonde and...pink-haired? women from before quickly latch together, leaving their friend clearly out by herself and scrambling.

Sasuke makes up his mind.

Crossing the room and ignoring Naruto’s call, he steps up beside her. “Hey.”

A startled sound escapes her. “Uh -?”

“Look, you seem just as uneasy as me. We can suffer together.”

Large pale eyes blink at him. “Um...o-okay.”

He nods to her friends. “They drag you here?”

“...y-yeah. Something about...getting out of my dorm and -”

“- trying something new?”

Another blink, and then she actually laughs. “You must have heard the same…?”

“Yeah, from the blond idiot who made a spectacular debut just as we started.”

“He, um...a friend of yours?”

“Somehow, yeah.”

“O-oh!”

“...why?”

Hinata, as she’s apparently called, flushes pink. “I just, um...w-well, my friends, they’re -”

“They a pair?”

“Y...yes.”

“Well I’m definitely not that idiot’s boyfriend. He couldn’t handle this, anyway.”

She laughs again, and Sasuke can’t help a small smile. Where...did that come from? He doesn’t make jokes, not with strangers. He’ll crack something dry with Naruto, and he quips with his brother...but -?

“All right everyone, got a partner?”

There’s a murmur of assent. Even Naruto has one, a girl with matching brown-haired buns.

“Good! I’ve got my husband here with me - we’ll show you the first set of steps. But first, a little something to loosen everyone up. We’re going to take five minutes to just freestyle and get the nerves out. Remember, this is a casual class: not a competition. We’re all here to have fun, and learn a few dance moves. We’ll have a few quizzes about trivia, but honestly this class is pretty laid back.” A manicured nail pushes the play button on an older-style CD player, and random jazz music starts playing through a set of speakers.

“...uh…”

Everyone seems to look around before slowly breaking into random shuffling and jerking. Glancing to Hinata, Sasuke shrugs and shifts his weight a bit, bobbing with the beat. She tries to do the same, giggling a bit as they slowly gain a little confidence...or lose a little care for reputations.

Then the professor - Kurenai, she asks to be called - starts lining everyone up in front of a wall of mirrors before standing with her spouse, Asuma. “Now, take this first position.”

Everyone obeys to varying levels of success.

“We’ll start with four bars of movement.”

And so it goes. The eldest pair demonstrate a few steps, have the students mimic to the best of their ability, and then repeat until they get through an entire song.

“Obviously, this is just like the sketch of a drawing. We’ve got some basics down, but it needs cleaning up. Polishing. Color. I’ll be putting up a video of this on the class digital board you can watch and practice if you want in your spare time, but it’s not required. For now, we’ll repeat the first section a few times until class is over.”

Watching the instructors, Sasuke does his best to fumble through the movements. So far, he has a good sense of rhythm, but not nearly enough certainty in himself to progress. Hinata too stumbles through the paces, her grip dainty on his hands.

“Here,” Kurenai cuts in as the other pairs practice. “You need to be more firm.” She takes Sasuke in her grip, jerking him forward with a small yelp. “You’re the leader! Show her where to go, how to go - she’s depending on you!”

In turn, Asuma sees to Hinata. “You’ve got to hang on, and keep up. Hesitate, and you’ll throw the both of you off.”

Clearly each flustered, the students eye one another before taking up their posture again. Swallowing, Sasuke does his best to firm up his grip. Eyes flickering between his feet and Hinata’s face, he takes them through the first few bars again, and Hinata follows.

“Good, very good! Much better.” With that, the elder pair move to another.

Looking to one another sheepishly, Hinata and Sasuke both chuckle nervously. “That...that was better,” Hinata notes.

“Yeah…”

“All right, that’ll do it for today! See you all same time, same place next week!”

With this being his last class of the day, Sasuke finds himself walking to the door with his new ‘partner’. “I’ll admit...t-that was more fun than I feared.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t too bad.”

“Um...would you...want to be partners again next time?”

Sasuke gives her a glance, a bit taken aback. “...uh, sure.”

“...o-okay! Oh, I...I didn’t get your name…?”

“Sasuke.”

“I’m Hinata! It’s...nice to meet you, Sasuke.”

“Likewise.”

Free of the building, they find themselves going their separate ways. Watching her go for a bit, Sasuke jostles, deadpanning as Naruto latches onto him again.

“Sooo…?”

“So?”

“How’d it go?”

“...fine, I guess.”

“Ha! Told you you’d like it!”

“Whatever…” Maybe he did like it...but he won’t give Naruto the satisfaction.

...at least, not yet.

     PHEW, a wee bit earlier than I've been managing, haha! I need to work on my time management skills, whoops...      Anywho, a little modern action today, specifically college! A subject I know next to nothing about, so...here's hoping I winged it okay, haha! A friend talked once about a swing class she took in school, so...I thought we'd subject Sasuke to some dancing!      But I think he ended up enjoying himself ;3      Aaand that'll do it for today! Thanks for reading!

[elizabethrobertajones]

Hi Lizbob! 💕💕 This is more meta wank than anything else: but I was wondering if you think there's any significant reason why both Dean and Cas comment on the water pressure in the bunker? Dean first in 8x13 and Cas says it (I think) in 9x03. Do you think it's a parallel of some kind? Or reflecting on Cas' humanity? All the best!!! 💕

Heya :D

Oh gosh this is one of the older posts on my blog:

https://elizabethrobertajones.tumblr.com/post/94289820218/awkward-fallen-angel-alovelikecas

It’s still hilarious. :D

I think the humanity thing is probably the ~reason~ for it. I was thinking about this in the car today while driving around staring at various mountains in Scotland (I can multitask, shhh… There was a farm belonging to the MacLeod’s so my brain kinda went wandering from Vacation Mode and got here somehow)… Mostly about how for example you always get something like Regarding Dean, at least these days you can pretty reliably expect weird concept stuff to hit Dean and for him to be the one having stuff happening to him, while I guess Sam stuff is about Sam - he dealt with Magda, and the girl in the next episode, as mirrors to his story, and just emotionally reacted to these stories with his own experiences… Dean tends to have ridiculous effects and things hit him… Stuff as far back as Skin where it was him who was shapeshiftered, or like, I don’t know, the episode where he was aged up to an old man or whatever. I guess because Sam had the big myth arc stuff about him, the stuff exploring the sense of transformation and body horror and inner darkness and consent violation etc etc that can slap them on the MotW circuit is already happening to him on a grand scale; Dean as the emotional POV to Sam’s big mytharc has similar things happen to him on a smaller scale where we explore him differently… And that’s a sort of older thing, because Dean was in the focus over the last few years and it’s only this year he’s shifting back to being JUST the emotional POV… 

but anyway, all these little characterisation details seem to hit him - with him being the focus in random moments about domesticity and home and so on. I think going all the way back to how Sam was introduced as the one who’d had a bit of normal life and seemed to have a better understanding and comprehension as it. He might have been raised a hunter as well, but he was still closer to being understandable to the audience because he had lived as a muggle even for a few years. Dean’s never been settled and never had home like that, so anything that makes a deal out of that is automatically more interesting to go to him, just because from a writing POV he’s the most complex mentality to approach from the standing start. Sam craved normality and Dean seemed to have rejected it, always, in his early seasons characterisation. It automatically makes his inner world and desires more fascinating, while Sam initially seems to just want the white picket fence/revenge, Dean has a sort of inside view on hunting and the job, so is aligned much more with the world/mindset of Supernatural. 

Again, something they quickly move away from because Sam starts that slide from 1x22 and in 2x02 it’s clear the writers literally swapped their motivations/relationship to the job etc and while I think they drift back to their original spaces, they’re always more complex about their stances after season 2. And of course Sam picking up the powers and demon blood arc gives him an additional thing in his inner landscape which ties him to the supernatural even if it’s again something pushed on him and disrupting/forcing him away from the normal life (and that’s the big emotional reveal in 5x22 - that Lucifer would never let him have the normal life and he’s been surrounded by demons the whole time, so that’s the conclusion of a 5 year arc >.>)

… Could probably keep talking about that for much longer but I’ve been having a hell of a time concentrating and lost the thread 100 times trying to write this in a room with people talking loudly non-stop so I think I was originally aiming at pointing out how Cas as an outsider coming to terms with humanity or just in a wider sense than season 9 being curious and drawn to it and it forming a sort of magnet pull to his story and of course starting from the position of being probably the most utterly inhuman thing they’d met at that point (it’s not until much later, like, Eve or Leviathan, we start meeting other monsters that are implied never to have been human in the same way angels are, while monsters and demons are always human in origin)… Dean’s got the similar path towards domesticity and “normal” things; in the early seasons stuff like Bugs showing him appreciating the hell out of the power shower in the fancy show homes, for example, is teasing the idea of Dean interacting with a normal life AS an outsider in honestly a lot of the same way as Cas. 

I think basically they’re both outsiders/not part of the ~normal~ social order while Sam’s lived there and been there done that as well as has a somehow more normal outlook, as well as doing little things like all the many sources of meta commenting on how Sam eating salads is rejecting the specific structures of hunter social life - diner food and fast food are part of their world and Dean and then Cas are heavily linked to things like burgers or gas station food. 

So I think it’s a whole mix of things like Dean is often the one being emotionally explored anyway because he gets the little stories about him, and his emotional day to day nonsense is often on screen far more than Sam’s, honestly maybe just because he TALKS more even if it’s grumbling about stuff or mouthing off about things or just keeping up a commentary. Sam’s much more the strong and silent type so not likely to venture opinions on food and comfort and whatever, and generally tries to get through their life without touching the sides, while Dean will happily steal from mini bars or use the magic fingers or comment on the porn selection in a motel room and so on and so on. Which all goes to exclude Sam from ever being included in having an opinion on showers or even being likely to bring them up, because though we’ve known for years he became a fancy shampoo guy somewhere around season 6/7 (when his hair became long and glossy rather than just shaggy or fluffy) he’s literally never ever bitched about the conditions on the road that would make his personal grooming a hassle - I mean if anyone would ever have 1001 horror stories about tiny cramped motel showers you couldn’t turn around in and bumped your head on the ceiling… But nah he’s silent on it and Dean gets to have multiple incidents of musing on showering philosophically or indulgently, and we’re just generally in his head more and following him around on the nitty gritty stuff that episodes focused on his immediate shit would turn up (for example Yellow Fever letting him have an epic rant about the quality of life when hunting)… And then Cas follows similar GROUND even if he’s obviously coming at it from totally different directions, learning humanity and so on…

The fact they BOTH comment on the water pressure could then JUST be because that’s how they’re both written, as almost entirely separate thing (until you get back to a root cause and that Cas is mostly a Dean mirror if you have to be crude about his role in the narrative aside from being his own character)… 

On the other hand the “shower sex is complicated” thing is one of the funniest TV conspiracies I’d read at that point in my life, being still a baby to the fandom and not jaded by the daily nonsense that produces… :P 

I mean the fact it’s such a direct repeat of what Dean said, when Cas brings it up, does make it a point of comparison - that they both find a sense of home and comfort at the Bunker, and in both cases it seems like, in a way that they’ve never experienced before. For both of them, the Bunker seems like an ideal happy endgame place to live, and letting human!Cas try out the plumbing seems a great way to give him a real desire and something to tease HIM about it never mind us… That the Bunker is a real promised land of comfort and of course a place he could settle. So it does ACTUALLY tie them together in not crazy conspiracy ways :P 

[faemoria]

IS MY MUSE A SUB , DOM , OR SWITCH ?

        switch  ,  sub  ,  dom  ,  power bottom  ,  you name it  .  she finds power struggles exciting  ,  so if it befits the general mood to play as any  ,  you can probably expect that she won’t stay in one role the entire time  ,  even if it’s only for brief moments of flustering her partner(s)  .        but  ,  it’s also not a dynamic she needs to enjoy herself  .  if her partner(s) isn’t interested in such a dichotomy  ,  or too much makes them uncomfortable  , then she’s perfectly happy being more  .  .  .  idk  .  “ vanilla ”  ?  since she’s so empathetic  ,  she’s pretty good at reading what others want  .

WHAT WAS MY MUSE’S FIRST TIME LIKE ?

* drags my hands down my face *

         so tooth’s first time happened when she was around thirty . ( which i know sounds pretty old but keep in mind that she was just an angry child isolating herself in thailand with no interaction  &&  therefor no real growth in social maturity for much of her early life .   )   it was when she traveled to europe to do the whole sword reforging thing  && she stayed with the faeries helping her for about a year  .  the name of her partner was å synge med stjernelys who was  ,  in fact  ,  three faeries who identified as the same being  && it was a very gentle but it was also very  ,  very  ,  very weird experience  .  not as in  ,  it was weird because it was tooth’s first time  ,  but as in everything that faeries do is very Extra™  && surreal  && decidedly not-human  ,  with the fact that different kinds of faeries have different cultural practices of approaching sex to top it off  &&  this was theirs  .         honestly comparing it to an extreme drug trip wouldn’t be too far off the mark  .  but i suppose what matters in the end is that it was a positive experience  && the fact that it was so unconventional probably plaid a part in how comfortable she is with sex in general now  .

DOES MY MUSE PREFER TO BE ASKED ON A DATE ?

       i’m not exactly certain how best to explain this  ,  but toothiana doesn’t really go on ‘ dates ’ for the most part  ?  she simply doesn’t schedule the  specifics of spending time with other people  ,  merely categorizes it generally into ‘ things to do between my work ’ , which means she’ll just sort of  .  .  .  show up  &&  spend time with them  &&  do whatever they both decide they want to do  ,  or try to set the time aside if they do the same to her  .        so if someone is interested in organizing a ‘ date ’ with tooth , unless their relationship is already very well-established  ,  the best they’re probably going to get is  ‘  i will see you again soon  .  ’  which could mean anywhere between a few days later to months  .

WOULD TOOTH HAVE SEX ON THE FIRST DATE ?

             considering the previous answer in regards to tooth having ‘dates’ I’m going to just substitute this for ‘the first time she meets someone’ in which case the answer is yes  .  very rarely  .  like only if it’s pretty clear that sexual interest is  all the attraction is   && there’s no point to beating around the bush  && what she’s doing at the moment is super unappealing/uninteresting  && running off with someone for a few hours would be an improvement .

HAS SHE EVER BEEN IN LOVE ?

           so many times  .  tooth falls in love in every manner of speaking very easily  ,   just by nature of how passionate a person she is  .  but she’s self aware of this  && it doesn’t really trouble her not to act on it or if it isn’t reciprocated  .  most of the time  .

WOULD TOOTH EVER BE UP FOR A THREESOME ?

          she lost her virginity in a foursome  .   this seems self explanatory  .

WHAT IS HER ROMANTIC/SEXUAL ORIENTATION ?

           tooth doesn’t identify as anything  .  she is older than the western gender binary  && scales of sexual orientation  ,  modern descriptions of such are things she can only point to as ‘close enough’ for the sake of keeping things simple to anyone who cares to know  .  && unfortunately I do not know enough about anthropology  && etymology to know what identities she would have used based on her childhood in ancient Thailand  ,  if any  .         but as far as writer’s prerogative goes  ,  she is pansexual  && panromantic  && a nonbinary woman  .  (  if a character is not interested in women I assume they will not be interested in tooth  )

WHAT ARE HER FETISHES/KINKS ?

          b l u H  .  this would be a long list  .  presumably this list would be longer than my entire knowledge of what kinks even exist because tooth has had approximately 100x the amount of time  &&  experience to figure this stuff out down to the most acute specifics  .  but here’s some of the general trash that comes to mind first : - power play  ,  obviously  .  does being an annoying little shit fall under this  ?  she honestly loves frustrating people so much  . - worship in either direction  .  pretty much spells itself out when it comes to a certain piece of garbage because they’re  .  .  . literally a king  &&  queen  .  but also stuff like admiring her wings if she trusts someone enough to touch them will make her really happy  . - Bondage  &&  Sensory Denial Lite™ i guess  ?  I feel like i just legitimately do not know the extent people will go to with these things  && that what she does would be considered child’s play to someone out there  .  but it’s your standard stuff  ,  tying wrists  ,  blindfolding  ,  pinning  ,  choking etc  .  again  ,  something she enjoys both ways . - oh  ,  biting  ,  obviously  .  && scratching  .  really just leaving marks in any way that last beyond the encounter  .  she’s usually not trying to really harm her partners or looking to be harmed by them  ,  but exceptions need not be named  .  ( also i swear this is the closest she has a to a ‘tooth fetish’   .  she doesn’t care how straight your teeth are so long as they can chomp  .  no she’s not going to get off on pretending to be your dentist  .  pay her if you want her to clean your mouth so she can take the money  && say ‘ no ’ because she’ll find that more sexually gratifying  .  ) - GARBAGE BOY TRASH MAN DOES WEIRD THINGS WITH SHADOWS . - doing stuff in secret/trying not to get caught  .  not in places belonging to someone she actually respects though  .  && definitely not any place mostly occupied by children  .  more like rubbing someone’s leg under a table during a fancy dinner  ,  or intentionally being really flirty  && suggestive in a situation where it can’t be acted on  ,  or sneaking off to a closet at a party or something like that  .  or you know , making out with the eldritch entity the man in the moon specifically told her to keep away from entirely . weird that so many of these are relevant to cavity . really really weird … . - she likes praising  &&  being praised so long as it doesn’t come off as just being condescending   ,  which admittedly is a thin line if she doesn’t know someone super well .

WOULD TOOTH EVER GET MARRIED ?

         as some sort of political/power union yeah maybe  ( see : her  verse with this stud  )  && even then it would almost certainly be polygamous  .  otherwise it doesn’t make sense to do something so official  .  monogamy is          while certainly not unheard of        considered the unusual when it comes to entities that live hundreds to billions of years  .  one of the few exceptions i can think of is that tooth would probably commit herself entirely to a relationship with seraphina  ,  which I don’t think would culminate in a literal marriage  ,  but definitely some sort of symbolic oath to one another  . but can i please just make a note here  &&  say : give me all of your fake marriage tropes so i can roll around in them && absorb them directly into my skin .

WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TOOTH SAYS ‘ I LOVE YOU ’ WITHOUT ACTUALLY SAYING IT ?

       simplest way in general  :  she’ll intentionally dedicate  &&  premeditate time to them  .        otherwise  ,  romantically  ,  tooth will study them  ,  memorize everything she can  ,  keep track of their tastes  &&  especially things they unintentionally show they enjoy even if they don’t admit it  .  she’ll open up to them more  ,  leave herself more vulnerable both physically  &&  emotionally  ,  trust them to handle places like her face  &&  wings  .  she’ll tease  &&  play with them  ( non maliciously that is )  &&  physically touch them in a lot in mundane ways  ( place a hand on their shoulder  ,  bump foreheads  ,  sprawl over them when laying down  ,  stroke their hair , etc. )  .          platonically  &&  overarchingly  ,  tooth will be more protective in certain ways  &&  be upset with them if they act self-destructively  .  she’ll invite  &&  encourage their company in her home  ,  even if they aren’t necessarily doing anything together   . gifts will become pretty common if the other person enjoys such things  .  specifically she’ll become especially privy to dressing them up  ( && incidentally  ,  back towards the more romantic side of things  ,  dressing up in their clothes as well )  .  you can also tell if toothiana likes you because her little faeries will generally betray her more withheld excitement of your presence  .