#bcos WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT AGAIN????

[hellion-child]

ok after seeing gifs and having the time to think about the episode itself some more, i have some thoughts. about how poorly it was done, abrupt, and like a slap in the face, etc. i still hate the notes of biphobia in it but also i can Forgive the biphobia if they also take the time to address the biphobia, yknow?

pls keep in mind that this is partly my interpretation, partly my fix-it/make-it-make-sense, partly my criticism. also im not a writer, im a bitch w brain damage to the communication part of their brain who refuses to shut the fuck up lmao this shit is hard for me to write out

so its the 6 month anniversary date and tommy is all in, hes exactly what we were shown him to be: fucking smitten. he gives his boyfriend an (i assume expensive gift?) (idk bball ticket prices) anniversary gift. buck doesnt have a gift for him, but like thats not the end of the world, right? its only 6 months, after all. but this moment should be the beginning of tommys insecurities. the ending of the honeymoon stage. a teeny tiny niggle of maybe buck isnt as invested in this relationship as tommy thought?

maybe thats just a fleeting insecurity that is immediately fueled by the hot chick. again, hate to lean into the biphobic stereotypes. as a bisexual, fucking hate it. buck unconsciously going to use his phone to take the picture and hot chicks "trying to get my number" comment. the way buck doesnt just say "actually im here with my boyfriend" (and buck doesnt have to say it, he can come out to who he wants to, when he wants to, when hes comfortable to. im firm on this but i can also acknowledge that it can also feed into tommys insecurities) this shouldve been when tommys insecurities start coming in and they shouldve shown it. show us the way tommy might use his cool confidence as a mask to hide his vulnerability!!

instead of bringing up abby now, let tommy sit on this feeling. hell, show us that hes feeling this way and hates it. we know hes all for clear communication, and has come a long way with himself. hes confident and comfortable. so show us him struggling with feeling insecure about buck possibly not being as invested as he is. eg with the one sided-gifting, tommy always showing up for buck and we havent been shown buck reciprocating (which means fuck-all with this show but could be used rn to further the angst), the reminder buck is new to dating men etc

they couldve shown us tommy talking to hen or chim about feeling insecure about bucks baby bi status and "being his first but not his last" and hating that he feels that way. that hes doubting buck like this. they gave us this man who worked hard to be where he is, why couldnt they take one fucking scene to show this to us?? its pretty common, actually, for a LI to talk to one of the 118 without the LIs partner being there. but not this LI? ok.

and bcos of how shitty tommy feels about it all, that is why he, uncharacteristically, does not talk about it with buck. tommy is still processing this internally and isnt comfortable bringing it up to buck. but we know buck, hes good at picking up on when something is wrong. maybe he asks and tommy brushes it off. maybe buck says nothing yet and just feels a little, wrong-footed maybe? a little insecure himself? something he has been working on in himself for a long time now and doesnt want to put on tommy.

and that leads to the abby of it all. for the bare minimum of fucking continuities sake, they were never engaged lmao just together a long time during a difficult time for both of them (tommy closeted and abby w her mothers decline) maybe they were talking marriage. i wanted this to come up in another scene (maybe even another ep). i think it makes more sense, for buck to straight up say in this conversation that yeah, he is The Himbo.

tbh, play into the absurdity of it all, classic 911 style. like, this convo happens when one is heading to work or something?? so the only time they have is to think "huh, what are the odds??" and awkwardly laugh about it. set it up that they dont have the chance to really think about the implications until later, when theyre apart.

later comes. and now, they are both spiralling. theyre both feeling insecure in their relationship, for different- and unknown to the other!!- reasons. this is when miscommunication takes over and both parties are hurt and confused and brings them to the point of being unable to have that mature, adult conversation about their issues

buck still goes to maddie, and josh still gives his lovely speech. now bucks feeling better about tommys past (also when maddie makes her "turned them gay" comment buck corrects her and fucking says hes bisexual) wouldve been great to see tommy talk to someone too, about him and abby and abby and buck. also fill in some of them plot holes while they are at it lmao

tommy talking to bobby, preferably. bcos he wasnt Captain Dad when tommy was there, they were never close. and they mention how tommy only referred to abby as "his gf" and she never had the time or interest to meet the 118 or visit the station idk and tommy didnt push for it either. give their relationship some nuance and clarity i guess!! and back up joshs great speech with some of how tommy felt back in those days! really take the time to fill all of this out, yknow?? and maybe talking with bobby about their shared past helps tommy feel a bit more secure with buck right now and ready to talk about it with him.

and now we get to the break up. now that these cracks are shown and seemingly repaired. they both try to talk about their insecurities, but it just goes wrong. buck spooks tommy with the moving in and marriage talk, tommy hurts buck with the "im ur first not ur last."

except this time tommy isnt saying it like a its a fact, instead he says that he fears that hes bucks first but not last. but buck takes that badly (understandable), like tommy hasnt been as invested in this relationship since he apparently has been waiting to break up for 6 months? and if so then why act like he was all in? etcetc

and tommy, yeah tommy has some shit to work thru still, but its also the way buck is talking of moving in and marriage and forever, his impulsiveness has tommy questioning again if they are really on the same page here. i can see tommy getting stuck on the "move in with me" bcos why would tommy leave his larger home to move into bucks loft? has buck even thought about this at all? hell, while they discuss abby, u could have buck, in an attempt to reconnect and reassure his trust in tommy, talk about mistakes hes made with exes (obvi example, what happened with taylor). and instead of reassuring tommy, it does the opposite (tbh im not a big fan of that, bringing up bucks past mistakes. but also it kinda does balance out tommys treatment of abby and continue bucktommys tit-for-tat sharing, yknow? except this time it goes wrong)

basically, theyre both trying to communicate and work thru these insecurities, these fucking hurdles, but theyre both too hurt and scared in this moment and we are watching them both try to make sense of it all and work it out, and we know they both want to but in this moment they just, cant. emotions are high and it gets a little mean (from both sides! not just tommy saying "i was never ur last", let buck do more than just be broken up with), the break up happens, tommy leaves.

(and then they cry and pine and get angry and try to move on and they cant and then somethings brings them back together (CTH!! 🚁💥🏥) and now they are in a better place to communicate and work thru these issues and kiss and make up and maybe at some point during all this theres a discussion or two about biphobia)

thanks fer reading this fukcing novel lmao i just feel that, if they had taken the fucking time to let this storyline fucking breath (god, let any of them breath this season, fuck) and put some fucking effort into it, i would not be so upset. maybe they had intended to portray some of this in that episode, if so they did it fucking terribly

anyway. again, im not very good at this but i love talking about and reading other ppls thoughts!! if someone feels they could write something more coherently, god. pls do lmao (also pls tell me if theres a typo or word or sentence that just makes no sense, i triple checked but aphasia is a cunt lmao)

[alien-ally]

shoutout to last twilight for having the first ever watchable and LOVELY singing scene in a thai bl.

[dullahandyke]

i look at some of u guys talking abt a new show u watched or a new thing u read and im like. holy shit thats a thing u can do. im in awe of u. i spend my time slowly ping-ponging between several interests whose base componants i can never experience because i get scard

[penny-anna]

ok further thought having finished re-watching the OG Descendants:

not only is Cruella de Vil wildly out of place in a line up of otherwise fairytale & fairytale-adjacent villains the film also just completely fails to grasp her as a character?

Like: Jay's thing is that he was raised to be selfish and only look out for number one and he learns the value of being a good team player. Evie was raised to think being beautiful is the only thing that matters and learns that she's actually smart and talented. they're both solid character arcs w good messages for the audience and engage with what made their respective parents evil.

Carlos's thing is that he was. raised to think dogs are bad and then learns that dogs are nice? problems here:

a. this isn't a Growth Arc like the others bcos its not like he was raised to think dogs suck bcos love & friendship are bad his mother straight up lied to him that they're dangerous and as soon as he met one he realised they're not. he doesn't have a personal flaw to work on, he was just ignorant.

like there's shades of a good arc here w idk his mother having raised him to think love&friendship are overrated and that the only thing that matters is what people can provide for you? he would be all like 'what's the point of having a dog they're nuisances who just eat and poop all day' and then he would learn about unconditional love. but no that's not what happens bcos his mother just lied to him about what dogs are.

& this stands out bcos the other character journeys are actually very solid!!

b. hating dogs. was never Cruella's thing? Cruella's thing is consumerism. she's into furs bcos it's a way of showing off how rich and powerful she is and slaughtering 99 puppies just to make the world's fanciest coat is the ultimate expression of her conspicuous consumption. its a custom baby seal leather boots situation.

so like Cruella's kid's issue should be having been raised to value material goods over people's feelings which is an arc that absolutely could be resolved by him befriending a dog but again the root cause of his issue with dogs is that they're 'rabid pack animals'

aughhhh (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

[ohai-there]

post canon SVSSS x minato hokage era naruto crossover where it's scumplane (bcos i love scumplane) heading to the elemental nations on official business for some reason or another (maybe theres a barrier between their lands to prevent leakage of spiritual energy or somethign) SJ hates being alive purely because it means he's in SQH's debt for ripping him out of SQQ's body that Shen Yuan was inhabiting and reviving SJ (because SY decided to fuck off and live his best life as the demon emperor's wife and Cang Qiong NEEDS a peak lord for Qing Jing)

canonically immortals are extremely beautiful (even SQH is described as a 'proper' face iirc) and SJ is like TOP TIER beauty, but also immortals are sometimes described to have faces 'carved from jade' so I imagine when they step into immortality, they no longer have micro expressions and have like... crazy control over their facial muscles - so it kinda freaks out the ninjas, because the only emotions they can see is exactly what scumplane want them to see (SJ - disgust, usually. SQH - cowardice/flattery)

Scumplane also have 0 sense of danger when it comes to shinobi - they're immortals and old (lets say this is an indetermined amount of time after canon wraps up) so things like mundane steel and mortal poisons mean nothing to them when theyre so old. They also don't even bother holding back their tongues because what can these mortals even do to them? Worse comes to worse, they just seal up the worlds again, or just wait out for all these mortals to die (a strategy they use for troublesome emperors or politicians).

They also bring their disciples (Ming Fan specifically because I want him to have a redemption) and after canon had wrapped up the PIDW's story finished, everyone in the world actually bounced back into their rightful places (e.g. MF suddenly got a second puberty, his face improved to be beautiful as it should be and his intelligence returned to the level that the head disciple of the scholarly peak should be).

I want it to be during Minato hokage's short, short tenure - Minato is 23, a war hero and recently hired as ninja president, Konoha just came out of a war and suddenly the daimyo is paying WELL and hiring for the best teams of Konoha to escort these foreigners who are so otherwordly beautiful and so otherworldly RICH, like, the material of the clothes they wear puts the daimyos court to shame, they can pay in pure gold and stones thrumming with power.

SJ's whole thing is like... based on image. So imagine SQH bowing and being like 'ooh thank you for your hospitality' and SJ just grabbing him by the back of his collar and hauling him up like 'wtf dont even bother bowing to this guy. Have some face. he's only got the same rank as you AND he's a fucking child.'

(He's figured that Daimyo = weak emperor-ish, because what kind of a emperor only has control of such a small land AND has others in nearby lands with the same, competing title????. Hokage & Konoha is like the sects, and all the peak lords of CQS are of the same rank as a sect leader. Of course, they all defer to YQY officially, but tbh all the peaks run like their own individual sects, and SJ has never allowed himself to act below YQY in rank)

During Minato's reign, Orochimaru is still a loyal Konoha shinobi.... his interest in immortals makes him soooooo crazy invested in them....

SJ looks at Orochimaru who's questioning him on immortality and is like, 'out of all these people, you are the closest. Your mind is too unstable, however (ironic, coming from SJ) and you still cling too tightly to the material world. Abandon all worldly matters and immortality may be in your grasp, if the heavens deign it so.' acting like he's a good teacher or something, while SQH is in the background, the voice of reason like 'SHIXIONG WTF!!! WE'RE NOTT SUPPOSED TO BE GIVING UP THE SECRET TO IMMORTALITY TO THE MORTALS OF THE FORBIDDEN REALM????'

Maybe SQH does know they're in the naruto world, and knows what naruto is, (hc that the water walking we see YQY do in the donghua was ripped off from naruto, when SQH was still writing PIDW) but it's been like 200+ years! He can't remember shit!!! This is all new information to him!

[elrielbaby]

The hope I carry with me.

Alright, folks. This is the first thing I’ve written in bloody years. It’s rough, I did it in about 20 minutes and I did it on the notes app on my phone bcos my laptop doesn’t get here til Sunday and the idea was literally not leaving me alone so I had to get it out - so I apologise in advance if there’s any spelling/grammar issues, I did go through it but the notes app is not the best thing to write in 😆 it’s based on a headcanon I have that Elain & Az will have to bathe after their secret rendezvous, in order to hide the others scent. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

As the sun rose over Velaris, Elain lay her head on Azriels chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. The gossamer curtains of the four poster bed were drawn around them, swaying gently in the breeze. They wore nothing but their skin and even in sleep, Azriel held her as if she might slip from his grasp at any given moment - gentle, but with a hint of aggression that threatened anyone who might take him from her.

Elain had begun to stir as the sun rose. She knew what was coming, and she hated it. She wanted to live in this moment for as long as possible, in the peace and quiet with the one who understood her best, the male who had captivated her heart and soul. A change in his breathing let Elain know that he was awake, so she began to draw light circles on his ribs and pressed a kiss to his chest.

“Good morning, my love” he murmured, resting his cheek on her head “what time is it?”

“It’s still early” she replied “we have time.”

A wicked gleam entered Azriels eyes and with that his hands were in her hair, his mouth was on hers and she was on her back as they began to make love for the fourth time since they’d reunited the previous evening.

The sexual appetites of the Fae had shocked her, but none more so than her own. She had wanted as a human, yes, that much was clear by her short lived connection with Greyson… but turning Fae had turned her hunger to starvation, and no one made her feel as famished as Azriel. It was one of the many reasons their relationship being a secret was so painful.

She wanted him so much it was agonising to be apart, to pretend at family gatherings. She ached for the day they could be together openly, with nothing and no one standing against them. She yearned for the mundane, Azriel coming home after a long day, or her returning from work to find him working on reports from their home. She longed to make dinner plans, for them privately but also for their family, where they could be open and honest about their love. She wanted nothing more than to be able to make small plans and decisions with him - what they should get Nyx for his birthday and solstice, if they should go on a couples retreat with Nesta & Cassian, what they were having for dinner, what colour they should paint the walls in the hallway, where they should place the portraits and where to plant the flowers in the garden.

After a particularly emotional reaction from the pair of them at the prospect of leaving each other again, Azriel had been ready to let the world burn for her. He had been ready to march into Rhys’ office and tell him everything - Elain had stopped him. It was too soon, after the birth of Nyx & the politics of Prythian were still all together too precarious. They couldn’t risk alienating Lucien, although she was sure he wanted as much to do with her as she with him, she needed to be sure, and to minimise the potential fall out.

“I love you” Azriel whispered, his eyes brimming with emotion as he looked at her.

“I love you” she whispered back, and with that they were both falling over the edge, coming together.

They lay entwined, sweaty, breathless, their foreheads pressed together.

“It’s time” he said, his thumb stroking her cheek.

She sighed as she heard the bath tub filling in the bathroom adjoined to their room. They had to do this every time they lay together. Scrub every inch of their skin, in order to remove the scent from the other. Azriel wasn’t as much of an issue, he could somehow hide much of his scent from others although he’d never explained how he was able to do that. Elain however, was covered in him. She loved it, and that’s why she hated this part. She was desperate for the world to know they belonged to each other, that they had chosen to be together - as mortifying as the prospect of her family knowing just exactly what she’d been up to actually was.

Azriel scooped Elain into his arms and walked her through the doorway to the bathroom, placing her gently in the water. The temperature was perfect, soothing the aches from their more fervent couplings, and it was scented with cherry blossom & tea rose, her favourite. Azriel sat on the floor, his head resting on the tub watching as Elain scrubbed at herself half heartedly. The sadness in his eyes wrecked her, and she knew that she wore a similar expression. Once she was done, hair and body washed thoroughly, Azriel gestured for her to stand as he wrapped her in a towel and drained the tub. He carried her back to the freshly stripped bed, and set her down gently.

“This never gets any easier does it?” She said, her voice thick with emotion.

“No,” he replied “it gets more painful with every passing day. I don’t have your powers of foresight, Elain. But if there’s one thing I know for certain it’s this - we won’t be doing this forever. At some point, the pot will boil over, neither one of us will be able to stand it anymore and we’ll tell everyone. Or, we’ll stop caring so much about what everyone thinks, or how everyone else feels, we’ll get sloppy and they’ll figure it out. I hope it’s the latter, but I don’t really care which way it happens, so long as this road we’re travelling ends with me being able to call you my wife, to love you openly. So long as it ends with us loving each other in the small moments and the big ones, and all the moments in between I will be happy. That is the hope I carry in my heart every day I’m forced to be without you”

The tears Elain had been keeping at bay spilled over, Azriel catching them with his thumbs.

She once again pressed her forehead to his and said “that is the hope I carry with me too”

[desafinado]

secret relationship hcs with them...

°｡⋆ it's not necessarily confidential or forbidden, but the two of you would just rather have each other to yourselves...

°｡⋆ kaveh, diluc, ayato x gn! reader

note: i love the secret relationship trope bcos like.. it's like yeah u guys still live seperate lives but those moments when it's just the two of you, it's as though the world doesn't matter.. bc ur each other's world im so 😭.. also this is a repost bc initially i think it got shadowbanned or something 💀

kaveh ♡

it's not that the both of you are trying to keep it a secret, but… you're a very busy person in a somewhat high position in the akademiya so you barely ever get some time alone.

this only motivates kaveh to be more romantic with the short moments you guys have.

expect him to have a bouquet of dried flowers every time he goes to meet you.

secret meetings in all the best viewpoints in sumeru city and port ormos (bc ofc he knows them).

or if he needs to, he'll be happy to adjust for you

"my love… i came through the window just to see you" "my office is on the first floor?" "exactly"

sitting on his lap while you do paperwork, or vice versa.

kisses that always feel as though he'll never get the chance to kiss you again.

the first time alhaitham caught you visiting kaveh, alhaitham simple did not want to believe.

"ah y/n, did you want to discuss something…? i must say i'm not sure how you knew where i live, but-… oh.. this isn't what i think it is, correct? please?"

he makes much more romantic and maybe even.. sensual… architecture designs.

and whenever people ask him where he got the inspiration he simple replies "ah well, love is everywhere.. im simply the messenger"

however their praises can never compare to the look of astonishment you have when you show him his newest design.

"this.. is beautiful, kaveh" "only for you, my love.. only by you was it possible"

whenever you get the chance to spend the night together, he makes sure to hold you tight and stay with you until you wake up.

diluc ♡

does he loves you? of course. would he rather you not get swept up by the rumors and dangers that surround his life? very much.

"mysterious" gifts left at your door stop every night delivered by the dark knight himself… flowers, chocolates, anything you might want

on the rare occasion, the gift might even be himself "hello dear… may i?"

he rather stay over at your place, because it lets him pretend for a second that he lives a normal quaint life with you.

will sometimes ask you to tend his wounds, which ends up with you lecturing him for however long it takes.

he just wanted to babied with your touch he didn't ask for this :(

you'll also tell him about your day and he listens attentively, asking questions every so often.

you'll also tell him the latest rumors about him

"they think.. im a vampire..? how ridiculous.." "can you not crush my dreams?"

he also might drop by after a particularly exhausting night at angel's share.

his head in your lap as you mindlessly stroke his hair, it's just so…

"you're so pretty.. you know that?" "i..thank you."

is still a bit hesitant in being intimate, so you proudly take the first move just to make him feel comfortable.

holds you as though you're made of glass, kisses you as if it's both your first time.

he always makes sure you know that he loves and cares for you, and he would never take you for granted.

he waits for the day he can just fade away from the public's eye and live in his own little world with you, and only you.

ayato ♡

this man is the whole reason i decided to write this.. and the trope feels most reasonable with him

make-out sessions in his office, stolen kisses in the most secluded areas of the city

kisses that feel forbidden, only causing more of an adrenaline rush

honestly though, thoma knows about it because he often acts as correspondence between the two of you.. and everything he knows was learned against his will

"my lord.. im not telling y/n that.." "but it is simply how i feel? this is an order, thoma."

now it isn't too suspicious for him to be talking to you a lot, since your small family business often play a big part in preparations for festivals

nor would it be too suspicious to find you both walking through the festival checking on the stalls, enjoying the atmosphere

but when the grand fireworks display go off, and the both of you are nowhere to be seen.. it gets just the slightest suspicious.. but oh well, not many seem to notice anyways

he loves teasing you and almost exposing your relationship in front of others

"are you free to discuss the layout later?" "a-actually, i have a-" "so it's settled, please meet me in my office"

nothing with you ever feels forced, you make him feel so relaxed. work leaves his mind and insecurities die down

anything he asks of you.. time, affection, forgiveness.. you give him, but also don't let him off so easily. you keep him grounded

he always feels like he's not enough, and that someone else would make you so much happier

"I'm sorry, love.. I-" "no, i love you so much, and i can't imagine a future without you. i don't care how long it takes, what it takes or how, but i believe in us."

requests are open!! please do not repost on other sites.

[hyunfilms]

blue side of the sky (lmh) | nine.

♡ spotify playlist | series masterlist

—summary: waking up after 3 months with no recollection of your past, your friends do what they can to help you remember. except, they omit an important piece to the puzzle - afraid you would remember the heartbreak and hurt all over again.

—pairing: lee know x f. reader

—genre: (18+) exes to lovers, bestfriends to lovers au | fluff, angst, (eventual) smut

—word count: 3.4k

—chapter content/warnings: somewhat of another filler bcos ch.10 gonna be quite the ride 😫 but more focused on oc x minho getting closer and cuter!! cussing/mature language, mentions of alcohol consumption / intoxication / hangovers (not oc), lots of text exchanges lol sorry, oc getting back into the world!

"I feel like I'm still hungover." Jisung says over the phone, pretending to gag. You laugh a bit and shake your head, kicking off the dirt on the bottom of your shoes before entering the pottery classroom.

"Yeah, you were a mess." 

"Was I really?"

"Kinda? You plopped onto the bed and fell asleep in such a weird position."

"Was I loud?" 

"A bit."

☁︎ FLASHBACK | NIGHT AT THE HOTEL

"Cielo!" You hear Jisung's voice through the room door. "Cieloooo, I can't find the keycard thingy." He laughs. "Cieloooooo!" He repeats loudly in a sing-song tone. You let out a small yawn as you step out of bed and hurriedly help your bestfriend into the room. 

"Ji, people are sleeping."

"Sorry! Oop—" He yells, then switches up to a loud whisper. "Sorry! I'm just soooo glad to see you."

"I am too." You chuckle. "How are you feeling?" He smiles, stumbling his way into the room and onto the bed. He plops down face-first, body laid sideways as he mumbles into the sheets and tosses his hat to the floor.

"Think I'm pretty drunk, the world feels all loopy. Unless.. am I in the upside down? You know, that weird, dark place in the show Stranger Things? Looks like it'd smell bad." He hiccups and kicks off his shoes.

"You're not." You sleepily giggle.

"You sure? Kinda feels like it—"

"You should get yourself comfy, pachi. And drink some water." You place a water bottle on the nightstand and let out another yawn. "You're gonna be okay, right? Should I call Minho?"

"Ew, god no. Don't call him." He whines. "Please Don't call Minho. He's going to yell at me and shit. I'm the fun one between us two." You chuckle and slip back into bed. "Beeeeesides, I-I said I was fine." He hiccups again.

"Prove it by getting changed and getting into bed."

"Fine. Ugh." He groans as he groggily gets up and stumbles against the wall, grabbing his pajamas from the end of the bed before walking into the bathroom. A few items drop in there, followed by Jisung's tiny complaints to himself. You finally hear the sink turn on, signaling that Jisung was brushing his teeth and getting freshened up for bed. He swings the door open and shuts off the lights, tossing his clothes onto his suitcase before jumping back into his position on the bed. "Happy?" His face is planted sideways on the sheets, so you can see when he shuts his eyes the moment exhaustion begins to take over his body.

"Just want you comfortable, Ji." You snap a photo as you sink back into bed and send it to Minho. Just as Jisung starts to hum to himself and slowly drift to sleep, Minho responds to your text.

you: he's home!

minho: jeez, look at him

minho: still don't wanna switch? 😅

you: haha no, it's okay. he's about to fall asleep. thank you though. ☺️

minho: alright. just call me if he starts being gross and throws up.

you: hope not! don't worry. thanks minho. goodnight!

minho: goodnight y/n.

☁︎ END

"Cielo, be honest." Jisung whines a bit. "I couldn't even ask yesterday because I needed to sleep on the way back. I would've thrown up." You giggle.

"It's fine. You were okay, and you were safe. That's all that matters."

"Also, how the hell did Minho know I was slumped? He was on another floor."

"I just let him know you were home, that's all."

"With a picture?!"

"Proof." You shrug to yourself as you put your bag down. "Well, I'm here."

"Good. Have fun, cielo. Let me know when you're ready?"

"I can take the train and bus back."

"You can, but I also don't want you to overexert yourself again."

"Hm." You hum. "Okay. I'll text you."

"Cool." And with that, you hang up and prepare yourself for today's class. Though, it is hard to focus because you find yourself reminiscing about the weekend's festivities.

It was fun.

It was nice to be surrounded by loved ones.

It felt normal.

And although you were glad to spend that time with everyone, you were especially glad to finally have some time with Minho. He's been such a mystery. Not that you wanted to force anything between you two, but you were hoping to talk to him. Get to know him, understand him.

Be his bestfriend in one way or another.

It felt weird? Incomplete.

So, that was nice.

It felt normal.

As class goes on, you continue to work on a few household items— a mug, plate, bowl. You're starting to feel more comfortable, as if the muscle memory was stringing along right at your fingertips. You felt content with today's class, and you were excited to head back to the floral shop to play around with more arrangements you've had in mind. 

When class unfortunately comes to an end, you take your time cleaning up your area before grabbing your things and brushing yourself down. You wave at your instructor before clutching into your tote bag, making your way out of the store and towards the floral shop.

It wasn't busy.

"Um, hi." You approach the counter shyly with a few different, smaller bouquets and small plants. "I'm not sure if you remember me—"

"Of course, I do! How could I forget that pretty face?" The lady chuckles. "How did your bouquet arrangement turn out, love? Ready for more I see." You chuckle and approach the counter, placing down the small bouquets in your arms.

"I think I did alright." You show her a picture just as she's ringing you up. 

"Wow, you really have an eye for colors and that monstera leaf in the back? What a great touch." She smiles.

"You think so?"

"I mean it." She looks at you. "You're hired." She laughs it off as a joke, which makes you feel a little shy knowing you actually came to see if she was hiring.

"Actually.." She tilts her head to look at you while you hand her some cash. "I did want to ask if you were hiring. I haven't worked in quite some time, but I can be of help if you needed." She softly smiles and nods.

"I would love that, but I wouldn't be able to pay you well. It's just little ol' me running this shop." She nervously chuckles.

"It's okay. I just.. want to be out of the house, doing things I enjoy again." She cocks up a brow, afraid to ask what you mean— but you give her a quick, vague explanation anyway. "I got into a car accident and I was in the hospital for awhile." She gives you a sympathetic look, making you shake your head in return. "I'm okay. I just want to keep moving forward."

"Can you start tomorrow then? 9am." You give her a soft, toothless smile and nod just as a couple walks into the shop. "We can talk a little bit more about details."

"I can." You step back and acknowledge her once more with another nod. "I will see you tomorrow. Thank you." You feel silly accepting the job when you don't even know her name, but she picks up on this quick— smiling at you before she finally reveals what you've been thinking about for the past few minutes:

"Mrs. Pak." 

"Mrs. Pak." And with that, you walk out of the shop. You check your surroundings once more to see how busy it is at this time of day. It's a colder day; the sun is out, but the wind is a bit stronger than usual. Not too many people are walking around and it feels quiet than other days.

You head down towards Sunday Morning to quickly pop in for a visit just to see how everyone was doing. You figured it might be slow since there wasn't heavy foot traffic happening. Besides, you haven't heard much from Minho since the weekend and you wonder if he's okay.

Your mind wanders to him, lately.

Surprisingly, it is actually empty in the store. There's a notice on the front door that lists special hours for the next few days. You check your phone and realize you have 10 minutes before the café closes for today. You pop in anyway, catching Minho wiping away at the front counter. He looks up when he sees someone walk in through his peripherals, slowing his pace when he realizes it's you.

Yet again.

Which, he's relieved— let's get that straight. If it were anybody else, he'd shoo them away even if he had 10 minutes left until closing. He wasn't in the mood to deal, no.

But with you, he'd always make an exception.

"Y/N, hey." Minho tosses the rag to the side. "What can I get you?"

"Oh no." You chuckle as you walk towards him. "I'm sorry, I know you're pretty much closed and I don't mean to barge in. I just wanted to say hi and see how everyone was doing.. but you're alone?"

"Ah, so you came for JJ and Soobin." You laugh and shake your head.

"I came for you, mainly. If that makes you feel any better." He laughs a bit.

"I'm kidding. But, it does make me feel a bit better." 

"You've been quiet since the wedding."

"Well, it's JJ's turn to leave. It's my aunt's birthday, so he's out of town to celebrate." You nod. 

"That explains why you're closing early for the next few days."

"Mhm. I have workshops to teach."

"I see."

"Soobin left not too long ago." 

"I'll catch him next time then. I'm glad you're doing okay."

"I'm alright." He looks at you. "Did you have fun over the weekend? Besides Jisung being loudly drunk and annoying?" You laugh.

"It was fun."

"It was."

"Thanks again for walking with me that night."

"Course." His eyes linger on you for a little longer than you're used to and it makes you shy. "You sure you don't want anything?"

"No." You shake your head. "I should probably call Ji to come pick me up—"

"I mean.. I'm closing soon so I can take you home. I have enough time before class. Plus, not that I care much for him but it'll save him a trip." He shrugs as he teases.

"Are you sure?"

"To what, both? Yeah." You giggle. "Just let me finish cleaning these down and we'll be out of here, okay?"

"Alright." You watch as Minho officially flips the 'open' sign to 'closed.' "Thank you, Minho."

"No problem." He gives you a toothless smile before proceeding with his cleaning.

you: minho said he can take me home

jisung: why is he abandoning his café

jisung: doesn't he have shit to make, errr whatever?

you: stop. lol. JJ is out of town so he's closing the café earlier for the next few days.

jisung: ahhh i see

jisung: what about his dance class?

you: he said it's fine

jisung: arrrrright then

jisung: you sure you're good? i'm just wrapping something up

you: yeah i am, i'll go with him. why? you sound unsure?

jisung: nah. sorry cielo, i just wanted to make sure it was okay.

you: it is, promise. i'll text you when i get home?

jisung: mmkay, sounds good!

"Alright." Minho says, coming out of the back as he unties his apron and hangs it up. "Ready?" He shuts off the lights to the back and double checks everything on the counter.

"Whenever you are." You give him a small smile. He starts to lead the way, checking his surroundings before shutting off the lights and locking the front door. "Were you and Soobin okay today?"

"Yeah. We have someone else come in from time to time, but she has limited availability cause of school." You nod.

"That's good you have more help." You let Minho lead you to his car, allowing him to open the door for you. You slip in and buckle yourself in, silently waiting for Minho to settle into the driver's seat. It's quiet for awhile, even as his music starts to softly play in the background. "Wait, this won't be a trip for you since you have to get back into town for class?"

"No." He shakes his head. "I don't mind the drive. Kinda a stress reliever."

"Alright then." You chuckle.

"Did you tell Jisung?"

"Yeah." Minho slowly nods. "I think he felt bad, he kept asking if I was sure. Or, if you were okay with it." Minho knows it's not that— maybe 2% of it, actually. The other 98%? Jisung being overprotective and trying to shield you from him. But, can Minho blame him? 

Yes and no?

He'll expect the questions later, even if Jisung tries to beat around the bush about it.

"It's fine. He's probably worried I'll end up beating his ass for it." You chuckle.

"You won't right?"

"No." He smirks a bit. "Not yet."

"Minho." You whine a bit.

"I'm kidddddding." He elongates his response. "It's really not a problem. I don't mind the drive, I told you."

"Okay. You said so." You shrug a bit, making him laugh. It's cute. You were always worried about Jisung because that boy had a tendency to be way too impulsive, on top of already chaotic. He was a recipe for disaster growing up. But, it was never to this extent, where you're whining and showing off those puppy eyes. "Guess what?" You turn to him and Minho cocks a brow up.

"Hm?"

"I got a job at the floral shop."

"Down the street from the café?" You nod. "Nice. You feel ready for it?" 

"I think so. It'll be fun. At least, I think it will be."

"It will. You'll be doing what you love. You're good at what you do, Y/N."

"Am I?" You giggle.

"You are. You have always been." Minho says, avoiding eye contact. He still remembers your drawings he's stashed away. The random paintings, the little sculptures and figurines you'd make him in Ceramics class. He still has it. He could never toss it out.

"I hope I get there again."

"You will. Baby steps. Any progress is progress."

"Right." 

"You'll be fine, Y/N."

"Thanks, Minho." You yawn a bit as you look out the window. The rest of the ride is quiet, but it's a comfortable silence. Minho looks over every now and then, a tiny smile forming at the corners of his lips before he returns his attention to the road.

It's you.

You're here.

You're breathing.

It's you.

Suddenly, your phone dings on your lap and Minho can't help but quickly glance over. He sees you smile a bit before unlocking your phone, clicking on the message to respond right away. Minho nibbles on his bottom lip while he watches you every now and then in his peripherals, probably sending off messages to one other person he can think of—

san: how'd it go?!

you: it went well! i got it. ☺️

san: i knew you would, i think she really adored you from the beginning. lol. how couldn't she?

you: lol ya right!

san: you'll be a big help to her. 😊 let's hang out soon, celebratory dinner or something? on me.

you: you spoil me too much, lol. but sure! that'll be fun.

san: nah, it's nothing. let's go this upcoming week. lmk when you're free after you get your schedule or something.

you: okay. ☺️

san: 😊 have a good evening, y/n.

You finally shut off your phone and start looking out the window again, giving Minho some relief as he continues to drive off.

"Everything okay?" He asks to play it off.

"Mhm!" You look at him with that look, one that could make him immediately melt. "San was asking how it went at the floral shop. He wants to hang out soon to celebrate."

"Do you hang out often?"

"We have, from time to time. He calls a lot to check on me."

"Hm. That's nice." Is all he says. It's all he has to say. Respectfully.

"Yeah." You chuckle a bit to yourself before looking back out at the window, resting your head against the side. Minho thinks you're probably trying to offset the slight motion sickness with the way you shut your eyes for a bit. Luckily, you don't have much longer until you're home.

Sooner or later, Minho is arriving at your house and a huge wave of nostalgia washes over him again. He sets the car in park, watching as you unbuckle your seatbelt and gather your things.

"Thanks for bringing me home, Minho." You look at him softly. "I appreciate it."

"Course." He gives you a toothless smile. "Do you need help?" 

"Ah, no. I'll be okay." You giggle. "Have fun at class? You should really get some rest."

"I'll try." 

"Good." You give him a smile before shutting the door and making your way towards the side of the house. Just as you reach the side gate, you turn to give Minho one last wave before stepping inside. Minho drives off contently, unsure of this lingering feeling of emptiness he's been experiencing since that night of the hotel.

Since every night after the accident.

But, since that night at the hotel especially.

Before he can even dig deeply into his feelings, his phone vibrates and lights up in the middle console. He's hoping it's a text from you, thinking you probably forgot something, thinking you just want to thank him for the ride again.

It's not.

kat: hey, wanna swing by? i think we should talk about the last time you came by. i'm sorry.

He feels everything within him drop to the pit of his stomach, energy drained and mood soured. He quickly thinks about that night at Kat's and how she had the audacity to bring you up with that specific tone. 

No.

minho: i appreciate that, but i don't think i'll be coming by. too tired.

kat: oookay.. kinda hate how weird you've been towards me

minho: sorry, just lots going on. jj's gone so i have to hold down the fort for the café

kat: i see. alrighty then, goodnight minho.

Minho debates on saying goodnight back, but he doesn't. And if it's one thing this conversation showed him— it's the fact that he's done. 

This is done.

☁︎ FLASHBACK | A WEEKEND DURING SOPHOMORE YEAR IN COLLEGE

"I have something for you." You sit in Minho's passenger seat with your hands tucked into your jacket, a huge smile breaking out on your face.

"What is it?" Minho cocks a brow up while chuckling at you.

"Close your eyes! Please. Close your eyes." Minho groans a bit but does as he's told. "Yay, thank you!" You giggle, holding the tiny gift in the palm of your hand for a second. You watch as he sighs a bit, the impatience starting to take over bit by bit.

"Y/N?"

"Oops, I forgot it." You joke.

"You can't be serious—" He whines with his eyes still closed.

"Kidding! I wouldn't do that!"

"I wouldn't put it past you."

"Hey!" You say before adjusting your position in his seat. "Here." He opens his eyes, watching as you hand him the little Pusheen looking figurine you made him in ceramics. 

"Aw." Minho laughs. "How cute is this? The eye is lopsided."

"No the fuck it's not! How dare you!"

"Dude, look at it." 

"You're such a dick." Minho laughs louder and shakes his head. 

"I'm kidding, babe. It's cute, I love it. Thank you." He smiles brightly at you before gently grabbing at your wrist to pull you over the console. He places a kiss on your cheek, before moving to the tip of your nose, to your lips. You giggle in between, making Minho repeatedly peck you with more small kisses. 

"I'm glad you like it. It was a random thing I made in between."

"Of course I do. I'll put this on my desk, where I can see it every single day. Okay?"

"Kay." You laugh before giving him one last kiss. "I should probably go, my uncle is probably wondering where I'm at."

"Do you really have to go home this weekend?" You chuckle.

"I need to spend time with my grandparents, so yes. I'll be back tomorrow evening!"

"That's too far." He furrows his brows, making you softly smack his forehead with a laugh.

"I'll be back before you know it. You have Chan, Seungmo and Jisung! Make sure Jisung doesn't do dumb shit." You start to unbuckle your seatbelt. "Thanks for driving me home, babe." He smiles. "I love you!"

"I love you, too." He says. "Hey, wait?" You look back just as you step out of the car. "One more for the road?" He smirks before puckering his lips. You lean down and give him one last kiss before shoving him away by the forehead, earning a loud laugh from Minho as you shut the door and walk off. You wave him goodbye just as you step to your front door, unlocking it and stepping inside— giving Minho the clear to drive off.

☁︎ END

♡ taglist: @ppiri-bahng @jihanlovic @meloncremesoda @sweetlikecherry @hoes4lino @skzddicted @skzho @edgaralienpoe @harui-zen @bestleeknowstan @havenwithleeknow @septicrebel @heesdazed @borahae-reads @yoontaethings @pearbunny @bintificreads @lukeys-giggle @ajxreads @everglowdaisies @allaboutsan @endzii23 @leeknowsramen @heres-your-ramen2000 @morningstardada @mal-lunar-28 @downbadreading @lilysophie @feelikecinderella @urmomma0324 @ddazed-lhs @djeniryuu @melanctton @i8rsie @maru-matt @sleepyleeji @taerifin @nattisbored @jisunglyricist @m111nho @drhsthl @nixtape-foryou @arminseas @guiltycoco @syuuji @sulkygyu @cadihyo @reianagarcia @leeknowyah @smndjdufuehr [bold = couldn’t tag 🥺]

[dairyminki]

Inked By Fate - TWO

↬ pairing/s: park seonghwa x fem!reader, choi san x fem!reader ↬ genre: soulmate!au, racers!ateez, rivalry, angst, romance, fluff, pining ↬warning/s: lots of profanities, illegal racing ↬wc: 3.6k ↬a/n: early update (this is where the fun starts)! bcos i might be busy next week hehet. this wasn't proof-read so i'm sorry for the errors if there are. i would also love to hear your thoughts abt the story so far, thanxx!

*reblogs and feedbacks are much appreciated!

・・・・・★

Waking up to the smell of cooked eggs and bacons, you quickly sat up on your bed, brows furrowed.

Is your sense of smell fooling around with you?

Someone's definitely cooking in the kitchen. But who could it be?

Oh no.

What if it's an intruder - making itself at home knowing that you were dead asleep?

If the person sees my tattoos, will that be enough to scare them?

With that thought in mind, you went out of the comfort of your bed and slipped into your fuzzy slippers, praying that whoever was inside your apartment was someone your own size, who you can actually fight, or you'll be dead meat.

On your way, you took the baseball bat that was placed just in front of your room's door. But when you see who was moving inside the kitchen whilst humming to a song, you halt in your steps. It was a guy.

Should I hit him now? or should I wait when he turns around so I could hit him right in the face?

With your hand still raised together with the baseball bat in the air, the person turns around, nearly dropping the plate of newly cooked baconstrips when he flinches.

"Motherfucker, you scared me!"

"Yeosang?!" You exclaimed in disbelief. You stared him up and down. Oh, so that's why you didn't recognize his back like you always would, he's got his hair dyed again - this time it's light ash blonde.

"Yesss, it's me! Now, if you could just...lower that bat down...please?" Yeosang asks gently, not wanting to anger you further because of his sudden appearance inside your humble abode.

"Oh, right. Sorry." You smiled sheepishly. You put back the bat to its original place, then came back to the kitchen to join the latter for breakfast.

He didn't burn the kitchen this time. Wow, Jia must've rubbed off her cooking skills on him.

You wait for Yeosang to fill your plate with food, before you straighten up on your seat, arms-crossed.

"Now, why are you here dear brother?"

Yeosang looks up from his plate, raising his perfectly sculpted eyebrow at you. "What? I can't visit my own sister now?"

You scoffed at this. "Sure. But just so you know, this is so out of the blue, Kang Yeosang. If I remember clearly, I haven't seen your face for like what? Two years? So why now?" This time, it was your turn to raise an eyebrow at him, suspicious at his sudden actions.

Yeosang continues munching on his food first, before he places down his fork, sighing. "Okay, okay. You got me!"

With a triumphant smile, you leaned on the table, your elbow rested on top as you propped your chin on your palm.

"Jia told you, didn't she?" You muse, looking at him dead in the eye, which sooner turned into a staring battle between the two of you.

Of course, Yeosang lost.

"Ugh, she told me not to tell you this though. But you're a smart bitch so I guess it's not my fault." He shrugs, but you know yourself that your brother's going to have a scolding from his girlfriend later.

Yes, Jia is Yeosang's girlfriend. What a small world right?

"Well, thank you dipshit." You fire back, grinning, but he just rolled his eyes at you. And then he turns serious.

"Also, to answer your question, yes, Jia told me." He says, eyes now looking solemn. "But seriously? Eight tattoos in a week? What is your soulmate? A masochist?" Yeosang huffs, to which you just glared at.

"Yeo, my soulmate doesn't know." You said sharply. Wanting to prove a point to him.

"Sure, they don't. But that doesn't change the fact that you're always in pain because of that piece of shit."

"Yeo, tone down your language!" You hiss.

"Fine!" He exclaims.

Soon the table was filled with a tense silence, neither of you chose to look at each other, blood boiling because of different reasons.

You know that Yeosang is just protective of you, his only sister, his only family left. But it doesn't mean he can go around and curse your soulmate like that, your soulmate is still your other half.

"Alright, I'm sorry Y/N." Yeosang breaks the silence first. Your brother isn't really one who is fond of doing apologies first, given his high-walled ego. So you just nod.

"Look at me, though." Yeosang pleads, and without looking, you know he's already sporting that pouty face of his.

Imagining him looking silly, far from his usual cold and cocky facade, you break into a smile.

"Now, that's what I like." You heard him say and when you looked at him he was already smiling at you.

"Okay, so as I was saying, Jia told me about your sufferings, and it pains her to always see you like that, so..."

"So?" You repeat, raising one of your brows.

"She asked me to convince you to take a break from the flower shop first."

"Break? You know I can't do that, Yeo." You pout, just imagining how boring your life will be if you'll just spend the rest of the following days inside your apartment, probably just repeating the same routine. Wake up, eat, sleep, and repeat.

Working in the flower shop was the only thing that you looked forward to, and now you're asked to take a break?

Was it because you accidentally forgot to wear a shirt that was long enough to cover your tattoos? Did it scare a customer and they end up telling Jia about it?

Before you knew it, you were already overthinking, luckily though, Yeosang was quick to notice it and eventually snapped you out of it.

"Y/N, Jia has the purest intentions, believe me. You didn't do anything wrong, okay? We just want what's best for you." Yeosang reassures you, stroking your cheek gently. You leaned into his touch, nodding your head.

"Alright, I'll take a break..."

"Good. Then you better be ready tomorrow because I'm picking you up." He states, making you move away from him to look at him in the face.

"And where exactly are you taking me?"

"Weren't you curious about where I work? I'm bringing you there tomorrow." Yeosang smirks.

You don't know why, but you feel like this will be a bad idea, but at the same time, you were kind of excited?

"Yeosang?" You say, uneasiness slowly creeping into your system.

"Relax, it's nothing that illegal-well, who am I kidding? Of course it's illegal - anyway, I assure you it'll be fun!" He chuckles, relishing in the idea of finally bringing you to see his world.

But say what - did he just say illegal?!

"Kang Yeosang I swear-"

"Oh trust me, you'll love it dear sister."

・・・・・★

"You work at a club?" You turn to your brother who's behind the steering wheel of his red chevrolet camaro.

Yeosang merely shakes his head, then the car slows down, his side of the window rolls down, and the next thing you knew, he was talking to a buff guy, who seems like a bouncer to you.

You see the buff guy throw you a look before he tells you to reach out your hand.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Just reach out your hand, Y/N." Yeosang tells you, and you do oblige, because the guy outside the window is scaring the shit out of you already.

The guy straps a leather band on your wrist, and just like that, he was out of your sight, and the camaro was rolling back on its wheels.

Although confused, your mouth opens in awe when you realize you weren't headed for the luxurious club. Instead, a passageway opens just at the side and Yeosang has led the car through it.

So now you're like inside of a tunnel, a tunnel that felt endless as Yeosang drove. But then you see it.

The lights.

And then you hear noises.

And that's when you see the big silver ass of a sign.

KQ-STRIP

"Y-Yeosang?" You mutter, your eyes never leaving the sign.

"Hmm?"

"Where are we?"

You hear your brother chuckle before you look at him, only to see him wearing that devious of a smirk on his face.

"Welcome to the world of underground racing, sister."

・・・・・★

When Yeosang said his job is illegal, you totally didn't expect to find yourself standing inside the walls of an underground racing facility.

Seriously? Illegal speed racing?? This is what he does for a living? Can you even consider it as a job, when it's more of like a dangerous hobby?

Still, you know your brother gets paid tons for this shit, seeing how the place looks so unrealistically expensive, so you're just gonna shut your mouth like the good sister you are.

"Does Jia know?" Is the first thing you asked him when the two of you walked further into the venue where you could already see the racing track and the expensive looking cars all scattered around.

"Of course she does. You know that I could never lie to that woman."

"You've got a point there." You say and then you let your eyes wander around.

The place was filled with people, either walking inside the area, or up in the bleachers. Some were even holding huge placards with what you presume were the racers' names. The place was humongous, lots of varying lights brightened up the race track.

Are you perhaps...dreaming?

Because there's no way something like this exists? And you only knew of it like, now??

Where on earth was Yeosang wandering that made him able to discover this place?

"If you've got questions, go ask now." Yeosang tells you.

You have lots of questions in mind, but you don't know what or how to start. This information for just one night is too overwhelming, it almost made you speechless.

"Have the authorities found out about this place? Or like, did you get arrested once?"

You admit this place might be considered close to utopia for some, but you can't also deny the fact that this, whatever this shit your brother is doing is illegal. Not to mention, the potential harm it can cause to everyone involved with it. To think he managed to bring you here...in his world...should you be scared?

Yeosang did say he wanted you to take a break and that he wanted what's best for you. So is this the solution to that? When this whole thing is close to giving you anxiety? That any minute now, a police might barge into the place and then-

"Kang Y/N!" Yeosang spoke with so much power in his voice that it was enough to bring you back to reality.

"You're doing it again, you're overthinking." He says, gently this time.

Yeosang moves closer, gripping his hands on both sides of your shoulders, looking you in the eye. "I promise you, you need not worry. I wouldn't bring my precious sister here if I knew it wasn't safe enough for her."

"Endangering you is the last thing I would ever do." Yeosang tells you, and it was enough of a reassurance.

Right, when has Yeosang ever broken your trust? Never. Though the two of you fight like cats and dogs every single damn time. But yes, you trust him.

"Plus, not to brag, but our higher officials have never ever slipped even once. The reason why KQ-STRIP has been underground for almost a decade." At that he's back to his cocky self, and you had every urge to roll your eyes at him, but you don't.

At a distance, you hear screeching tire noises, and then three cars; green, blue, and orange come into view, pulling up beside your brother's red camaro.

"Ah, speaking of them devils. They're here." Yeosang clasps his hands. You turn to him, puzzled, but he just loops his arm with yours and drags you with him to the three newly arrived vibrant looking cars.

At that moment, the three drivers went out, and you had to suck in a breath. The first one was tall with black hair, he had soft facial features but he screamed manly, nonetheless.

Meanwhile, the owner of the green car had light brown hair, slicked back, and had dark glasses on. Just like the first, he was tall.

Lastly, the owner of the blue car steps out, and unlike the two towers, he was smaller, even a tad smaller than your brother.

Despite his height though, he displayed the same cockiness as Yeosang and had platinum blonde hair, with some fringes dropping to his forehead.

They were gorgeous alright.

As if Yeosang knew what you were thinking, he nudged you ever so lightly.

"They're my friends, and no you're not hitting on any of them."

"I wasn't planning to." You grit your teeth. They're gorgeous, yes, you give them that. But you're loyal to your soulmate alright?

"Well, well, who do we have here?" The short one says, examining you up and down.

Tonight you wore a black leather jacket just like your brother and the rest of these guys. Yeosang told you it's a part of the dress code.

"Hongjoong hyung, this is my sister, Kang Y/N."

"Sister you say? She's pretty!" The one with the black hair exclaims, then he sends you a warm smile, enough to make your insides all fluttery.

"And hot!" The one with the glasses adds, whistling. Of course, you had to look away to hide the blush on your cheeks. "Well, thank you." You say quietly.

"Mingi, I didn't bring her here for you to hit on." Yeosang glares at the taller man.

"Alright, alright. Geez, I was just merely giving her a compliment." Mingi defends himself, and when he catches you looking at him, he sends you a wink.

And now, the other tall male was hitting him, telling him to tone down his flirty antics.

Then you hear someone cough.

"I'm sorry about them, they can be pretty handful sometimes. Anyway, I'm Kim Hongjoong." The blonde introduces himself, and offers his gloved hand in front of you.

You were about to accept his hand when another hand came into sight, pushing the former away.

"And I'm Yunho, Jeong Yunho!" He says, catching you off guard.

"It's nice to meet you, Yunho." You say, chuckling, as you shook his hand.

"The disrespect." Hongjoong mutters at the side, but then he turns to your brother.

"Why bring her this time, Sang?" He questions.

"Dunno. Just thought this would be a perfect place for her to have her break and distract her for the time being. Plus, she would be able to see her handsome brother at work." Yeosang says, winking at you.

"Ooh, ooh! Does that mean you'll bring her the following nights too?" Mingi chirps in, looking expectantly at your brother.

"Well, I guess? If she ends up liking it here. Then why not?" Yeosang shrugs.

Then as if something in you shifted, your focus wasn't on their conversation anymore, your system feeling like it's burning with anticipation and excitement...?

Because just at that moment, three other cars entered the scene, all black in color.

And when the first car door opens, revealing a tall man, clad in all black from head to toe, your breath hitches and you can't find it in you to look away. Even when his eyes met yours for a brief second and then turned his back.

You tug your brother's sleeve, whispering, "Yeosang...who is that?"

"Oh. That's...that's Park Seonghwa. And he's someone you shouldn't go near to Y/N."

・・・・・★

"Why?"

"Because he's the King, the King of the tracks. And he shouldn't be messed with." Yeosang supplies, and then Yunho suddenly appears behind you two, saying, "But you can mess with his two friends, they're nice and funny! On a second thought- no, they could break your heart if you get too attached with them."

"Also Inferno is our rival, therefore they're not a friend, but a foe." It was Hongjoong who spoke this time.

Inferno?

"What do you mean by Infer-" Before you could even finish your sentence, Yeosang cuts you off, grabbing a hold of your wrist. "That's enough info for the night, so why don't we just go and-"

"Elysium, my friends!" A voice cuts through the air, halting you and your brother in your tracks.

"Piece of shit." Yeosang grumbles under his breath, and the two of you turn around only to see three males clad in black approaching you and Yeosang's friend group.

The way they carried themselves screams confidence with a slight arrogance in their steps.

The guy in the middle was smiling and the other on his left was smirking, his gaze falling on your figure, while the one on the right- the tall man you saw earlier- Park Seonghwa - was wearing a blank face, stray strands of his midnight black hair fell on the other side of his face.

Then your wrist begins to itch. When you look at it, it's exactly on your soulmate mark.

"Oh, and who is this?" The same high-pitched voice speaks, and you look up to see the three of them looking at you while Yeosang was glaring at them, his hand still gripping your other wrist tightly.

"None of your damn business." Yeosang says through gritted teeth, making the latter laugh.

"You're so funny Kang. I haven't even done anything, yet." He says much to his amusement on seeing your brother steaming in anger.

"What's your business, Inferno?" Hongjoong speaks up this time, his voice calm and collected, as well as his face, so unlike your brother who's close to bursting.

You know Yeosang is protective, but not this protective. Then that just means that Inferno guys are really bad, bad.

"What's her name? Is she Yeosang's sister?" The same guy speaks, shamelessly checking you up and down. He's really talking like you're not here, huh? How rude. You're starting to not like him already.

So you speak up.

"That's right, I am. Got any problem with that?" You raise an eyebrow at him as you step forward, crossing your arms.

"Ooh, feisty." You hear Mingi say from the side, but Yunho was quick to shush him.

The guy in front of you laughs, and that's when you notice that his hair's colored half black and then blonde underneath at the back. What a bold choice of color, and it seems like his personality is too.

"You're just like your brother. But oh gosh, where are my manners? My name is Jung Wooyoung, and you are?" Wooyoung offers his hand in front of you, like a gentleman.

"I'm Kang Y/N."

"It's nice to meet you Y/N-ie." He says, catching you off guard. So you're on a nickname basis now? This guy is surely something.

Then he turns to the others behind him and introduces them.

"This guy here is-"

"I'm Choi San." The guy with the black hair and striking green streaks steps forward and kisses the back of your hand.

You hear Yeosang gasp. "Oh you did not jus-" Hongjoong and the others calmed him down, holding him in place, while Choi San merely smirks. Then he goes back to his place.

Wooyoung laughs again, then turns to the almost stone-cold like person on his other side.

His face was void of any emotions.

And you don't like it.

"This is our Seonghwa-hyung." Wooyoung introduces him. The said male just looks at you for a brief second, nodding his head in acknowledgement and says nothing.

While the others showed interest in you, he didn't. And it sparked up an unknown flame inside of you.

You're suddenly irritated.

So you turn your back and walk away.

"Hey, wait up!" Yeosang says, trying to catch up with you.

His friends followed suit. Mingi, questioning you first. "Why'd you walk away, angel?"

You don't answer him though. Instead, you ask, "When's the race starting Yeo? I'm about to get bored just walking around here." And talking to some jerk, who doesn't give a fuck about your existence.

Why are you so pressed anyway? Why are you so worked up over Seonghwa not giving you even the slightest interest?

Also what a perfect timing for your wrist to itch - the cherry on top, to your flaming annoyance.

"How about you three, including Mingi, go find seats, while me and Yunho go get ready for tonight's match?" Hongjoong proposes. And so the five of you separate.

・・・・・★

The race was already starting, one of the competitors being; Hongjoong and Yunho from Elysium; which you just found out to be the name of Yeosang's gang, and Wooyoung and Seonghwa from Inferno.

You like cars, you're okay with watching races, but tonight, you just can't help but keep sending glares on the innocent race track, plus your wrist was still itching for who knows what reason.

So you decided to excuse yourself and told Yeosang that you'll go to the comfort room, and thank god you were good with directions cause you immediately found it.

After doing your business and washing your hands, you head out, only to squeak when you find a familiar male leaning by the doorway.

"San?" You say, unsure, because he had his head hung low. But when he looks up, it indeed is him.

"Oh, I see, you're finished." Unlike his smirk earlier, he's sporting a dimpled smile.

"Yes…? But what are you doing here?" You ask, looking at him and then at the sign on top of you that clearly says 'female'.

"Waiting for you of course. What else?"

Okay? He's very straightforward.

"But why?"

He removes himself from the wall and faces you, both of his hands placed inside of his pockets.

He leans in up to a point where it was almost uncomfortable, but surprisingly it wasn't uncomfortable for you in the slightest. In fact you even close your eyes.

Then he speaks, his breath hovering over your lips, his fingers brushing away some of the fringes from your face.

"If I asked you to go on a late night drive with me, would you go?"

You opened your eyes and found yourself staring back in his dark brown eyes, so deep that it made you weak.

And when your knees gave up on you, San was quick to hold you by the waist and steady you.

After a few seconds, you mutter in a soft voice, "Yes, I'd go with you."

・・・・・★

taglist: @rockstarsanie @purple-bell @huachengsbestie01 @ellelabelle @annacroft23114 @sallymurda @http-gyu

↬ IBF MASTERLIST ↬ ATEEZ MASTERLIST

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

slight spoilers for deadpool & wolverine

NO BCOS LOGAN WOULD BE SO SCARED TO FALL IN LOVE W YOU BCOS OF WHAT HAPPENED IN HIS WORLD, he would always be so cold towards you bc he can't lose someone so close to him. not again.

so he'd be an absolute asshole to you and you would not know why

THATS KILLING ME BC THATS SO TRUE!!!

just mean and grumpy towards you bc he doesn’t want you liking him AND doesn’t want to accidentally warm up to you too much and realise how much he actually likes you. arms length and then some

he’d rather have you hate him but be able to see you than not at all

AND the worst part is he wouldn’t even tell you the reason why. just standoffish and distant even though you’ve been nothing but nice and friendly

OMG you've got me going now, bc imagine if one day you take the hint and stop trying🥲 and don’t bother talking to him and look the other way etc. but it’s not in a way of guilt tripping, just that you’ve given up trying and feel awful being rejected constantly

and then he notices you being distant with him and it kills him💔 maybe MAYBE that’s when he tells you about the [REDACTED]

[sandraharissa]

I’ve seen somebody call the dynamic between Cait, Vi and Jinx a love triangle and they praised arcane for utilizing it in a unique way that doesn’t solely involve romantic love. And I completely agree, but the thing is is that arcane did it so much that those love triangles are all over the place. It really is such a unique concept to apply this kind of dynamic to platonic relationships cos typically ppl don’t think of platonic bonds as exclusive, so how would the conflict of two relationships that are inherently in opposition to each other even work in that case? and yet, when arcane figured out how to do it they went all in.

Firstly and most speculatively we have Silco, Vander and Benzo. Vander and Benzo seem like best friends and Silco and Vander were ‘brothers’ but I get the vibe that Silco and Benzo never got along and there was no love lost there. They just purely dislike each other from what we’ve seen and it seems like the only reason they’d hang out is cos of both of their connections to Vander. If there was a deeper character choice there for Vander to make when choosing between the two that is not explored in arcane.

Then there’s Sevika, Silco and Jinx, and again, Sevika and Jinx are the two closest ppl to Silco and the only ones he seems to have any sentimental feelings towards, and yet Sevika and Jinx can’t stand each other, likely only hang out in each other’s vicinity bcos of Silco and would murder each other if they could. Again, there’s no love there and it’s almost like a competition for Silco’s favor. Sevika also represents his devotion to his dream and Jinx his devotion to her, his family.

And then there’s Silco, Jinx and Vi. With the two characters being the two closest bonds Jinx ever had and both being her care-takers. The two are in competition with each other over Jinx and are actively trying to kill each other. They represent the mutually exclusive options of morality/sanity and immorality/madness.

Then there’s the aforementioned Jinx, Vi and Cait. With yet again, the two being the absolute closest ppl to Vi in the world and yet themselves being mortal enemies to each other who’d kill each other if they were left together in a room. If I were to give these characters their thing then I think it’d be Cait representing morality, a future that Vi could have, hope and a healthy relationship where Jinx represents immorality, the past, guilt and a toxic relationship. Altho the finale and Jinx leaving wasn’t really a choice Vi was making between the two. And notice how so far it’s the first example of a romantic relationship being a part of these love triangles.

And lastly a shout-out to our Piltover characters with Mel, Jayce and Viktor being portrayed as tho the romance gets in the way of Jayce and Viktor’s friendship and vice versa. Altho so far it’s subtle cos shit hasn’t hit the fan yet.

I could be missing one but just the examples I already listed are so many, and they cover most main characters and all the most crucial players. Thinking about it, if they hadn’t cut out the Ekko flashback I’d probs be able to add Ekko, Jinx and Silco to the list. (Maybe even Mylo, Vi and Powder count, if Vi agrees with Mylo then Powder’s a jinx, if she protects Powder then Mylo gets his face bashed in and she just gets a pass. Also what about Vi, Cait and Cassandra? could they count? it's kinda underdeveloped but they kinda fit)

But anyway, great majority of the bonds involved in all these triangles are platonic and there’s always intricate character reasons why certain bonds, platonic vs platonic or platonic vs romantic, are actually mutually exclusive. But even stuff as simple as ‘they don’t vibe with each other’ is good enough to justify a completely platonic love triangle where a person has to choose between relationships that on the surface level don’t seem incompatible, like two friends or family members. Most of the competing relationships also typically represent two drastically different choices/life paths a person could choose, where the choice of one inherently excludes the other person from being a part of the character’s life, like a ‘going down a path I can’t follow’ situation. If Silco picks Jinx then Sevika wouldn’t be able to follow him anymore. If Jinx picks madness then Vi can’t follow her anymore. Etc. etc.

[diudiudiu]

do u have any wenclair fic recommendations?

it's times like this when I wish I was more organised with note keeping or have the memory of something better than a hamster

I haven't been reading (for them and just generally) nearly as much as before I started writing for them. Not bcos I think it disrupts any writing process (can't disrupt no process 😌) but just bcos I don't seem to have as much time

But here's my attempt at a varied-ish list in no particular order:

[M] The Sisyphean Nightmare (16ch) by HonestToBlogJuno Adult Wednesday is contractually obligated to participate in the marketing of her book, to her dismay. Luckily she is married to a werewolf with a communications degree and side-hustle in social media.

[Unrated] you could be the one that i keep (1ch) by overnights - Genie AU And Enid, who’s wished on every star and comet and birthday candle she’s ever seen, looks at Wednesday now and comes up impossibly short of an answer. One wish left, anything in the world at her fingertips, and all she really wants is more time to spend with this enchanted, enchanting mystery of a girl.

[Unrated] backseat (3ch) by reputationstation - Celeb AU Wednesday Addams is a failed fencing prodigy with a once promising career and a troubled past (and if everything goes according to plan, a troubled future as well) who has no intentions of becoming friends with the overly excitable, bubbly girl who calls herself a 'social media influencer', whatever that means. However, like most things in her life, her plans are inevitably thrown off the course.

[Unrated] gifts from a cat (1ch) by Rennajade the one where wednesday is basically just a cat in human form

[T] Dia de los Muertos [now with chapter breaks] (11ch) by WishaDream Wednesday invites Enid over to her house for Dia de los Muertos. It promises to be a horribly fantastic day.

[T] Shot Glasses, Tacky Jewelry (i know you mean more to me than that) (8ch) by RainbowJeff - Holiday/Mall AU Wednesday has somehow been dragged into the mall employees' yearly Secret Santa. What's worse, she's pulled Enid Sinclair as her giftee.

[G] a day like a day in summer (4ch) by poetroe Wednesday has strange ways of showing affection; Enid becomes intimately familiar with them.

[G] yours, eurydice (14ch) by hanjisgirlfriend - Celeb AU Best-selling horror author Wednesday Addams hasn't written in years. Everything changes when Enid Sinclair moves in across the hall.

[M] once bitten (try again?) (1ch) by nd_mindoir Enid learns how to touch Wednesday and why Wednesday is so much softer with her in return

There's also Our Lady of Wild Beasts by Pelgraine which is no longer on AO3 because she's publishing it into an original fiction novel. Sad for us, but extremely good for her. Huge congrats!!

Explicit recs

(I guess it warrants its own section? 😇)

[E] Hysteria (1ch) by IndieBones918 Wednesday emotionally dumps on her girlfriend's best friend after her and Enid's first time and Yoko's having the absolute time of her life.

[E] Gift (1ch) by Mikkie_Mouse (Mikbates) - ABO/Omegaverse AU Wednesday's inability to understand the commitments of a relationship leaves Enid frustrated... and taking matters into her own hands.

[E] A raven's dream of wolf (2ch) by tokyocorgi - ABO/Omegaverse AU the one where Wednesday literally had a hot and steamy sex dream with a lot of feelings.

[E] I'm Just Here To Love You (2ch) by SaturnHaze Wednesday never moans during sex so Enid comes up with a plan to finally draw them out of her. Well, she and Yoko.

[E] First Time For Everything (1ch) by geekomancer, Onhirel Wednesday and Enid having been dating for what feels like ages now, but their relationship hasn't taken that final step... until now. A make out session simply doesn't stop, confronting Wednesday of the simple fact that she doesn't actually know what to do. Thankfully, Enid is there to help her figure it all out.

There you go, happy reading (or not, whatever, you do what you want) with whatever floats your boat 🛥️

[oc-tournaments]

ROUND THREE - MATCH 2

TRISTAN CASTELLANE vs LORELEI “SMITH”

TRISTAN CASTELLANE: @the-demoness-next-door

LORELEI “SMITH”: @mackelleo

VOTE BASED ON THE INFORMATION BELOW CUT!!

Propaganda Content Warnings: Physical torture for TRISTAN, familial death, plague for LORELEI.

TRISTAN CASTELLANE:

PROPAGANDA: okay so this blue eyed bitch boy (he's a sweetie ignore me) is LITERALLY a god's punching bag. spent almost seven thousand years being exactly that bc the god of hatred + hope wanted to prove a point to his enemies. to be clear tristan is just A Guy. normal guy you would find on the street. nothing special about him. apart from the fact hes very pretty if thats ur thing. and he spent. seven thousand years enduring nothing short of Actual Torture every cpl days. and now he's got real severe trauma bcos of it bc... how could he not. like cmon he's LITERALLY a god's punching bag what more can i say. also he's a demipan demiboy so we love a queer king

THEME SONG:

LORELEI “SMITH”:

PROPAGANDA: There are precisely three things written in the personality section of Lorelei's D&D character sheet: doormat, golden retriever, and wet paper bag. She was an unwanted second child, had a lonely childhood, and inherited a terrifying "hunter's instinct" magical bloodline gift at the ripe old age of 6 (and her family never really explained what was going on to little ol' Lorelei)!

She then later lost her entire family, home, and culture in a massive pseudo-nuclear-reactor explosion that disintegrated half a goddamn continent. In the wake of the explosion, malicious wild magic coalesced into a sentient disease called the Spellplague, which corrupts regular people into the worst versions of themselves - while giving them potent magical powers to boot. Over the course of the next year, Lorelei studied the disease, learning that it was a) incurable, b) capable of evolving into more powerful versions, and c) a single evolved individual could wipe out a village in one devastating explosion.

In her research, Lorelei traveled to the frozen northern wastes of the world, and was turned to stone by an unknown force. She was freed from petrification over 1000 years later by a massive insurance corporation, who then strong-armed her into working for them (or else she'd be whisked off to a laboratory and never seen again).

Since then, she's been struggling to adapt to "modern" life, and has acquired a parasitic entity known as Cay, who latches on to individuals who have experienced great suffering (she feeds off of their pain).

THEME SONG:

[welcome-to-latveria]

Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver #1 thoughts (w/ spoilers):

I loved Pietro's speech and mannerisms at the start! He's sarcastic as hell and it feels like a long time since I've seen that properly represented on page

The plot has definitely peaked my interest - I want to know what that note said and I want to know NOW

Gorgeous art throughout 🥰

The argument between them both really aggravated me at first bcos of how quickly it escalated into Pietro shouting absolute nonsense but by the end of the comic I wasn't bothered too much bcos Wanda gave as good as she got and the whole purpose of the argument was to separate the twins for plot anyways so whatever ig

There's one thing Wanda says during this argument that really annoyed me which was 'when you goaded me into changing the world' - idk if this is bcos they were arguing or this is how the author genuinely thinks House of M played out but Pietro did not tell Wanda to alter reality for a laugh; he himself gained nothing from it other than *checks notes* being murdered by his own father

Speaking of - breaking news - a comic acknowledges that Pietro was murdered by his father Magneto during House of M which is like the only time I've ever seen it brought up

The Wizard is there? Bizzare but go off I guess. He's not the main villain I think, just working on their behalf?

I loved the scene of Pietro running and ranting to himself. I especially loved how he's angry about Wanda calling because he says she knows how a 2-minute phone call would feel to him. Again something I haven't seen for a while in comics featuring Pietro which is the mention of how he perceives time compared to everyone else

In general the main issue the twins have with each other was well demonstrated which is that Wanda wants independence and to be treated as an adult versus Pietro who has been told from a child he has to protect her which is a sentiment he carries even as an adult because he knows without her he would have no one (Wanda has always had other friends, other relationships but Pietro not so much)

A strong first issue and I can't wait for the next one. Wanda is clearly supposed to be the more main character of the two but I would say the twins are both represented equally - one is not shown as particularly worse than the one which is what can happen in a lot of comics featuring them

[mikanotes]

— hanabi

arisu x gn!reader

genre: fluff bcos i’m being nice, implied soulmates, shortfic

warnings: canon divergence and mentions of death, hospitals, injuries, blood, underage drinking and alcohol.

synopsis: It’s New Years’. You take some time to think about your closest friend and how nice fireworks are.

author’s note: happy new year! thank you for all the kindness this year again. i hope you can continue to enjoy my works as i hopefully improve even more! thank you again. enjoy the fireworks as well as this fic featuring one of the characters that bring me most comfort! arisu ryohei. cheers c:

“How long has it been since you last saw fireworks?”

“Since that day.”

You looked up as the fireworks found by a group of hopeful teenagers set off and fired into the sky. They exploded into what felt like millions of colors from this up-close, floating above the hill you laid on. The grass was cold but the breeze was light.

It was New Years’, according to someone who’d managed to keep count. In the Borderlands, you didn’t think you’d ever celebrate that. But as old habits die hard, so do traditions. So when a group of high-schoolers giddily yell about having found nice alcohol and fireworks to celebrate, you can’t really do anything about how much their anticipation rubs off on you.

“I didn’t think I would feel this happy watching fireworks.” Arisu hummed in thought, before nodding to himself with a tight-lipped smile, “In here or ever, really.”

“Did you watch them before all of this? We didn’t talk much back in high school.”

“If Karube and Chota managed to pull me out of my room, then sometimes, yeah.” he said and cracked a bright, nostalgic smile. “Did you?”

“Maybe.” you sighed, smiling to yourself.

“So vague.” Arisu chuckled, “But really. This is kind of nice.”

You hummed in agreement. “It is. Surprisingly so.”

You heard cheering from further away and watched as the lights flew closer to the stars again. Arisu’s hand slowly moved over yours, and then clung onto it like it was the most important thing in the world. Truth was sometimes it did feel this way. Maybe you were the most important thing in each other’s worlds. Maybe you cared about one another more than you did anyone else. Maybe you would never admit it alive unless you’d fear one of you would die. But sometimes even while unsaid, some truths are spoken silently— Like in this case, through the touch of your hands holding each other.

You ignored the pain of the open wound under the bandages on your finger and Arisu did the same. Blood seeped through the white fabric and you knew you’d have to redo the whole bandage soon but in this moment not a part of you could worry or care about that. Maybe the comfort of holding each other’s hand was enough to numb the pain.

A new year didn’t mean much here. Maybe it didn’t mean much at all, even in the real world. But you made a wish to the stars for things to be okay this time around— For you two to be together, always. And Arisu silently hoped for you two to survive and somehow get out of this happy, and together.

Months since the meteors. And since the hospital.

You met Arisu Ryohei again.

You two were in the same class for a few years back in high school but hadn’t really talked much since. Somehow, seeing each other again while walking outside the hospital and realizing you’d both survived what seemed like the impossible brought you back together. And as of now, he was probably your closest friend.

As his closest friend, you decided it would be nice to spend New Year’s together to watch the fireworks or maybe fall asleep before it even reached midnight. Whatever it was, Arisu seemed to be on board. He liked coming over and staying with you, anyway.

The sun had long set and the stars were bright.

“Has it been a while since you saw fireworks?”

“Logically, yes. Somehow it doesn’t feel that long.”

Arisu hummed in agreement. “Same. Weird, huh?”

You laughed. “After everything? Honestly, not that much.”

Arisu chuckled and leaned back against the couch on your apartment balcony. It was a funny feeling to be thankful something as unbelievable as meteors crashing down on Tokyo and nearly killing you happened. It was a funny thing to love someone so much you’d be alright going through all the pain again if it meant meeting them again.

Arisu felt it too. Something way longer than the minute the doctors had told him about. Something like a lifetime of suffering spent alongside someone he held dear. Someone who helped him stay alive and not give up. Someone who sat at his side, watching fireworks in comforting silence. Someone he always felt close to without knowing why.

There was something both nostalgic and comforting about the fireworks. You couldn’t tell why exactly.

When Arisu’s hand timidly reached over to hold yours, you felt like it always belonged there, telling you all the things he didn’t dare say out loud.

I think I love you.

You tightened your hand around his and took a deep breath.

This is stupid but it feels like I’ve always known you.

Maybe the stars shining alongside the light of the fireworks had been kind enough to make the two of you meet again. Or perhaps the red scars that circled around your pinkies like rings were made with fate. Either way, you were meant to be.

[andromedasummer]

Over a third of the way through The Whispering Skull heres my current thoughts

- If I were Lockwood and Lucy I would be a little bit mad about George missing the whole "area theyre searching was an execution ground for criminals" thing but also I feel like it's the first clear sign we get that something is off with George. Like hes burnt out. Hes tired. Hes just a teenager. They all are and theyre working adult jobs and literally dont have the capacity or past experience to communicate with one another. Very realistic for teenagers.

- I love Kipps so much I love how full of himself he is I love how pathetic he comes across even when he gets the upper hand I cannot wait to see him and his team get cut down to size.

- That being said I would have thrown down then and there had I been struck with a Mag Flare like that. better ways to go about ghosts, its dangerous as shit, badly damaged L&C's clothes and perfectly shows that the Fitts agency arent really trained in a people-first way. The way they put pressure on their teams to secure a source above all and encourage hostility towards other agents.... Super telling about management and an early warning sign to me. Esp with what we know happens to Ned Shaw (which i'll have a lot to say about later when it happens) and Kat, Bobby and Kipps v trauma.

- I liked Joplin a lot when I read the books as a kid + my reread 2 years back but now... idk. Too reckless, esp with how he treats ghosts when in the company of teenagers and children. Hate how comfortable all the adults in this world are about putting children at risk. They really treat them as a resource or rather than anything else.

- The skull is such a fucking shit stirrer which again makes so much damn sense when you learn hes a teenager whose been stuck with no one to talk to in a jar for like a hundred+ years. Of course you're trying to push apart Lockwood and Lucy. You are a fucked up ex-cultist teenage boy who finally found someone to talk to and are perpetually stuck in your teenage brain and hormones. You are So Jealous.

- Lucy, George and Lockwoods argument about the Georges recklessness and then The Skull seeding distrust again drives home my point about communication but also Christ these kids need more friends. Their entire childhood and teen years are stripped from them. They have no family to talk to or guide them. No non-work friends their age to vent to. Immense trauma and no one to help them through it.

- Jonathan Stroud give me a follow up series following the team in their mid twenties coping with having their lives dedicated to a job they literally cannot do anymore and the repercussions of no education and no safety nets for agents once they reach adulthood. What do they do? Where do they work? Where do they go? How do they afford to live? What happens to agents who only built relationships with coworkers they cant even face because of trauma? Agents disconnected with their families? Nightwatch kids whose education was ruined because their days were spent recovering from their shifts? I need to know.

- Okay back to the book the ghost cult stuff hits so much harder in a post-covid world. I was there getting harassed by anti vaxxers when they invaded parliament for a month and it ended in violence. of course in times of fear people become vulnerable to misinformation. You Are Not Immune To Cults. Or Propaganda. Again, spin-off following the people who try to fight those who profit off of peoples fear and build wealth and followings off of it. Theres so much interesting stuff in this world I want to explore.

- Kipps and Lockwoods teams having to work together bcos of Barnes is so good. I love Kipps team so much I love seeing them

- Kat Godwin is autistic and I know this. Because I am Autistic. Also she comes off as someone who has shut down to everything around her because, again. trauma of her work. at 16 theres no way she hasnt been through something similar to Lucy or Lockwood. I'm sad we see less of her after book three. same with Bobby.

- Now I want to write a hyper empathetic autistic lucy/low empathy autistic kat fic where they both realize they have a lot in common with their Talents and work and bond it doesnt even have to be romantic i just want to see more of Kat

- A LSO i need lucy to have more female friends for the love of god i understand this is your pick me phase of your teens but it makes me so sad to see your internalized misogyny even though it ABSOLUTELY makes sense for her character and is so common for teen girls like her but the way she talks about sensitives and every other female operative she meets. girl. who are you trying to impress rn. you dont need to.

- Ned Shaw getting the shit kicked out of him by Lockwood DESERVED.

- I love this little nightwatch boy who helps the team with all my heart. what is his name. my son. hes such a little cunt.

- FLO TIME FLO TIME i am so excited to see Flo you people DO NOT UNDERSTAND shes so fucking cool mudlarkers are so fucking cool fuck you if you hate flo this is a flo bones appreciation zone

- obligatory "i miss holly" comment even though. she hasnt been introduced yet and wont be until the next book. i love gay people okay.

- Anyway I'm enjoying this a lot I said TWS isnt my fav book (mostly the stuff later on in the book isn't as compelling to me) but this stuff at the start rules. I didn't expect to write so much. Im having so much fun.