#but i read a tweet the other day of someone saying that when he realises he isn't dying its like the failure complex over again

[jinhyun]

—in a different light.

pairing: hwang hyunjin x reader

genre: fluff, pining, non-idol au, best friend’s little brother au

word count: 5.2k

summary: when another girl makes hyunjin question the way you see him, inevitably leaving him to sulk, he wants nothing but to go to you and hold you in his arms. and good thing he did, for that was all he needed to realise how wrong she was.

a/n: here she is! like i said this part doesn’t show the upcoming convo between y/n and dahye but!!we have a very good hyunyn moment if you ask me and a lot of you were asking about hyunie’s tweet about the almost kiss lol. as always i hope you guys enjoy! i would love to read your different thoughts on this<3

Hyunjin wanted you to rely on him.

Ever since the night you broke down in his arms when Mingyu left, he promised to himself to always be there for you no matter what. And then when you grew closer as the new year started, not only was his goal to be there for you anymore, but for you to notice that he was, and therefore to know that you could go to him whenever you felt like you needed someone.

However, the thing was, that just as you began to rely on him the way he wanted, he failed to realise that he, too, started to rely on you the most — not to say to need you more than he ever had.

It only hit him after the very unpleasant conversation with Dahye he had that afternoon.

Although he sounded cold, unbothered even, he couldn’t help but feel upset about it.

It wasn’t even Dahye threatening with telling you about his feelings for you what he was upset about — he was being so obvious about them already anyway, if anything her telling you would only confirm what you deep down already knew. It sucked that it wouldn’t be on his own terms and timing, sure, but that was it.

He could also always confess that day, before Dahye even had the chance to do it for him, but he didn’t want to rush into something he knew you weren’t ready to hear just yet, only for Dahye not to end up acting on her words in the end. In all honesty, he didn’t think she would do it. She wouldn’t, right? He wanted to believe she wasn’t obsessed with him to the point of actually coming in between your relationship.

No, that wasn’t it. What upset him were her spiteful words about his age, and how you would never be able to see past your age gap.

He knew it was stupid. Three years were nothing. Maybe they were when you just met, when he was still a high schooler, a teenager, but not anymore. Not now that you were both in your twenties and he had a career, a job, a car. Now that he was able to drive you around, take you out, buy you stuff just because. Most importantly, three years were definitely nothing now that you grew close enough to become actual friends —although there was nothing platonic on his end of your friendship—, being able to joke around and treat each other as equals, finally leaving behind the ‘little brother/big sister’ dynamic you had unintentionally adopted with him by being Yeji’s best friend, and which he grew to despise with everything in him as the years went by.

He had even brought it up to you only a few days ago, how he didn’t want you to still see him like the teen boy you met six years ago, and you promised him you didn’t; that you saw him as the man he was now — as Hyunjin. Just Hyunjin.

Nevertheless, although he knew your small age gap was nothing now, and although you had confirmed it to him not even a week ago, up until he managed to make you fall for him, it would always be his biggest insecurity when it came to you. And, therefore, having someone point out how ‘clearly’ you treated him like a child, even if it came from a place of spite, like he knew it did from Dahye, could only make him sulk.

And it was when his mind was spinning and his heart was hurting, that he realised he wanted nothing more but to go to you in that moment.

He wanted to hold you close, to wrap his arms ever so tightly around you, and to have your arms wrapped around his body just as fondly. He wanted to feel your chest move up and down against his with every breath you took, to feel your breathing on his neck as you hid your face in the crook of it, and to take in that sweet scent of yours he loved so much.

He wanted to be with you, close to you. Simple as that.

And, thankfully for him, expressing his wishes to you was all it took for you to accept him at your place. Even though you were busy right then, having him say he was feeling down and wanted nothing but to be with you was all it took for you to put your workload aside and focus on him.

That’s how Hyunjin ended up at your door only half an hour later, entering the passcode he knew by heart. It was still surreal for him to have reached this point in your relationship, where you’d tell him to just help himself into your place when he arrived, like you had texted him to a few minutes ago.

It felt almost domestic, without you being a couple yet. And he loved it to bits.

“I’m here!” He announced his arrival as soon as he entered your place, not to have you freak out over your door opening so suddenly.

“Hey, I’m in the kitchen!” You replied from the next room, just as he took his shoes off and put on the slippers you kept for your guests by the door.

Wasting no time, he made his way into the kitchen, unable to hide the beaming smile creeping up his face at the sight of you in an apron, with your hair tied up into a ponytail, as you were just putting a tray of what looked like chocolate chip cookies in the oven.

“Suddenly felt like eating something sweet?” He asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame as he admired you.

You shook your head no, closing the oven and then quickly fixing the heat before you stood up and finally looked at him — your eyes inevitably softening when they met his. “Just thought we could have some coffee and your favourite cookies later in order to cheer you up…”

Being too shy by your own statement, you missed the way his lips parted into a lovesick smile that showed his teeth. You did, however, hear the breathy laugh that escaped his mouth right after, feeling him enter the room and get closer to you right as you cleaned up the remains of flour on the counter.

And maybe you focused a little too hard on said task, for you failed to realise how close to you he actually got — only doing so when you felt his chin rest on your shoulder and his arms sneak around your waist, loosely enough not to push any boundaries.

“Thank you…” he mumbled cutely, unable to see just how flustered you were. “You didn’t have to, though. Just being with you is enough to make me feel better”.

You bit your bottom lip in a poor attempt to avoid a smile from showing on your face, looking down to his intertwined hands over your stomach, before you found yourself covering them with your own and gently rubbing your thumbs on his soft skin.

“There was no harm in taking it one step further and making you a sweet treat, was there?” You asked, tilting your head back so you could look at him.

Hyunjin smiled softly, eyes going down to your mouth for a second before he nodded his head. It was only becoming harder not to lean in and press his lips to yours when you were so close to him.

Luckily —or not really— for him, you put some space between the two of you by undoing his hold around your waist and turning around, so you could properly look at him.

“I may have gotten a bit caught up and ended up making more cookie dough than I intended to, though” you confessed, undoing your ponytail and beginning to take off your apron. “So I put the rest of it in a container that I’m giving you to take back home later. Just keep it in the freezer and whenever you feel like having some preheat the oven at—what…” you shyly wondered when Hyunjin could not hold back a giggle, quietly placing the folded apron on the counter.

He shook his head in disbelief, letting out another small laugh as his warm hands cupped your face.

I love you, is what he wanted to say.

Fuck, he loved you.

He loved how you cared for him and everyone you loved. Because you loved him, he knew you did, even if it was only platonically.

He loved how you had dropped everything that day, regardless of how busy you were, just to be with him when he said he needed you.

He loved how you showed affection by baking and doing small acts of service.

He loved the way you loved so beautifully, so selflessly; without asking for anything in return — although, unknown to you right then, he was willing to give you everything in return.

He loved you. All of you.

From head to toe, inside and out, he loved every last bit of you.

“You’re the best” he said instead, adoringly looking at you while his thumbs drew gentle circles on your cheeks.

“All I did was bake some cookies…”

“And you’re the best” he repeated, leaning in once more and tightly wrapping you inside his arms.

“Hyunie…” you sweetly called his name when he began to softly rock your bodies together.

“What, I said I wanted to hold you” he mumbled nuzzling a ticklish spot in your neck that had you letting out a laugh.

“I thought maybe you’d do that after I took the cookies out of the oven”.

At that, he smiled, pulling away just enough to look at you. “Now why would I do that, I’m taking every second I get”.

Rolling your eyes in amusement, you playfully tried to pry his hands away from your body. “You’re a dork”.

He chuckled, only tightening his hold on your waist and lifting you up with ease. “Maybe,” he sat you down on the counter, not wasting another second to pull you into his arms once again and to hide his face in the crook of your neck, all while you were still trying to process what had just happened. “But I did say I was coming over just to hold you, so…”

“Just to hold me?” You wondered, for once and for all hugging him back and feeling him relax under your touch.

“Just to hold you” he hummed, getting lost in the way your hand gently ran up and down his back.

“You won’t be eating the cookies I made especially for you then?”

He chuckled, somehow managing to pull you closer to him. “I will be eating all those and then taking the dough you told me about home with me”.

“I would’ve been very sad otherwise” you pushed it, earning a brittle laugh from him.

“You’re gonna have to text me the instructions, though, because otherwise I’ll most definitely end up fucking it up somehow and burning them”.

“I’d expect something like that from Han and not you, honestly” you admitted.

“Oh, he’s not allowed anywhere near my cookies”.

“Don’t be selfish now” you called him out.

“You made them especially for me, though” he stood his ground.

“Should I make a whole batch for him then?” You teased, pulling him away by his shoulders, so you’d meet his eyes right before you pensively stared at the ceiling. “Maybe one for Minho as well”.

“Yah, they can get their own person to bake for them” he called you out. “You’re mine”.

Trying your hardest to ignore the butterflies that had just been unleashed in your stomach, you played dumb. “Oh, so I’m like your personal baker now?”

He smirked, knowing all too well what you were doing. “You know that’s not really what I meant”.

Finding it hard to meet his eyes without growing nervous, you looked down to your lap instead, noticing his loose grip on your waist. “Let them at least try one if you don’t want me to send them some, then”.

“I’ll think about it after the nap you promised me” Hyunjin negotiated.

You chuckled, only then locking eyes with him. “We gotta wait until the cookies are done first. They take around ten minutes, there isn’t enough time left for us to actually fall asleep”.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t cuddle in the meantime” he fidgeted with the fabric of your t-shirt.

“I guess you’re right…” you agreed softly. “We could go to the sofa for now”.

“For now?” He questioned. “Where are we going next?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to take a nap?” You confusedly asked right back.

“Yes?” His eyebrows furrowed. “I thought on the couch?”

“Oh,” you felt your cheeks burn. “The couch, of course”.

“Where were you thinking?” He smiled —more like, smirked— as he caught on.

“I’m not saying it” you sheepishly looked away, earning a throaty laugh from him that had him resting his forehead on your shoulder for a moment, as he collected himself.

“I have no problem napping in your bed as long as you’re okay with it” he managed to put into words what you refused to.

“I simply thought it’d be more comfortable but now I’m too embarrassed, so let’s just go to the sofa instead”.

“Don’t be,” he lovingly pulled a strand of hair behind your ear. “It’s all about comfort after all”.

“Never mind, I’m too ashamed now”.

“Couch then?” He suggested, not wanting to push your limits.

“I mean, I guess, but it’s gonna be uncomfortable though…” you mumbled, taking the two of you back to the night you fell asleep together on it, and how your bodies hurt the next morning.

He knew first hand that your couch wasn’t the best place to sleep on and that you weren’t just using it as an excuse to take him to your bed — although he wouldn’t mind it if you were.

“Then bed” he stated the obvious, unable to hide his grin.

You half laughed, half whined, letting your head fall on his shoulder to hopelessly hide yourself from this conversation.

“Y/N, if you don’t decide within the next five seconds, I’m choosing one and carrying you there”.

“You wouldn’t” you mumbled.

“Is that a challenge?”

You shrugged, still refusing to lift your head up and to give him a proper answer.

“Okay then,” he sighed, making your heart jump when you felt his hands grab the back of your knees to pull you closer to the edge of the counter —and, therefore, to him—. “Just for the record, I warned you”.

With that said, his hands travelled slightly up to the back of your thighs, lifting you up enough for you to wrap your legs around his waist out of instinct, just as a small, surprised squeal escaped your mouth.

This wasn’t platonic, you thought while you crossed the door and entered your living room. This was so way past being platonic.

His hands on your thighs, your legs around his waist and your arms around his neck while your face hid in it, as you were too shy right then to look up and meet his eyes that would be only a couple of inches away… These weren’t touches you’d share with a friend, let alone with just anyone else.

You could see the red lights in your head warning you about the risky path you were taking, and yet, you didn’t want to turn back around.

“Okay, last chance” he stopped right outside the door to your room. “Where are we napping”.

“I thought you were choosing instead?” You tilted your head back, finally earning enough courage to look at him.

“I was, but I’m trying to be a gentleman here and let you have the last word”.

You chuckled, feeling like you were losing your mind. “Just take me to the bedroom already”.

His head tilted back in surprise, eyes sparkling in a way you’d never seen before. “Oh?”

“No, don’t” you helplessly tried to fix it, placing a hand over his eyes so you wouldn’t have him giving you that look that for some reason made you so fucking weak. He giggled, accepting his fate as he could not use his hands right then to remove yours from his eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that”.

“You know, when you say stuff like that I—”

“Yah, Hwang Hyunjin” you moved your hand down to cover his mouth instead, before he could finish his sentence.

“You’re the one who started it” his loud yet muffled words were enough for you to withdraw your hand completely, placing it back over his shoulder.

“I didn’t mean it like that, though?” You repeated your previous point.

He sighed overdramatically, shaking his head as he could not contain his amusement. “You really need to start watching your words”.

“Last time something like this happened, you said it was cute” you reminded him.

“Last time it happened, I wasn’t carrying you like this when we were alone at your place” he pointed out, managing to bring even more heat to your face. “I’m just a simple man, Y/N”.

“Ugh, can we just go take a nap before I get even more embarrassed?” You begged, having already shamefully hidden your face in the crook of his neck.

Hyunjin laughed lightly, silently complying with your wishes and entering your bedroom for once and for all, where he carefully laid you down on your bed before he slumped down next to you.

Not satisfied with just being next to you, he lied on his side to face you and threw an arm over your waist, so he could pull you closer and make the most out of this lazy evening with you.

However, instead of closing his eyes like you’d expected him to as soon as his head hit the pillow, he kept them open, using that moment to admire your face from up close and giving place to a comfortable silence to take over the room, as your eyes remained fixed on him as well and neither of you dared to look away from each other.

“You know, you’re supposed to close your eyes when you’re trying to sleep” you teased him in a whisper after what felt like minutes.

“You’re looking at me instead of closing them, too” he bit back, in a whisper as well.

“There’s no use for me to try and sleep yet, I have to go and take the cookies out of the oven any minute now”.

“Well, I guess I’ll just stare at you as well until that happens, then” Hyunjin said, and at that you could only laugh under your breath, shaking your head as your adoring eyes remained locked with his. “What?” He couldn’t help but nervously ask — somehow the look in your eyes feeling all too new for him and not knowing how to react.

“Nothing, I just…” you kept quiet for a moment, thinking carefully about your next words. “Never thought we’d be like this one day”.

“Like what, about to take a nap in your bed?” He joked.

You playfully shoved him off, having him take that small action of yours to his advantage by grabbing your hand, in order to keep you from pushing him again. “You know what I mean…”

He nodded quietly, staring down at your hands right as he intertwined his fingers with yours. “Is it weird?” He asked you, unable to hide the fear in his voice.

Staring down to your interlocked hands now resting in the small space between your bodies, you shook your head no, and Hyunjin released the air he didn’t realise he’d been holding for the five seconds it took you to give him a sincere answer.

“It’s just new,” you confessed, looking up at him. “Different. Not weird”.

Hyunjin smiled sweetly, leaning slightly in so that his head would rest closer to yours on the pillow — close enough for his breathing to mix with yours, for his nose to graze the tip of yours, and for a small tilt of his head to be all it’d take for him to press his lips to yours if he wanted to.

But he wouldn’t. No matter how bad he wanted to kiss you and how hard he was trying not to, he wouldn’t go as far as to close the gap between your mouths and press them together, because he wouldn’t push you.

The ball was in your court. It had been for a while now. He would only get as close as he could without making you uncomfortable, and you would be the one to make the final decision. Whenever you were ready, he would be there, ready as well to take whatever it was you were willing to give him.

The way he caught your eyes going down to his mouth, staring at it for what could be considered longer than normal, to then fix them back in his eyes before they went back down to his lips, just as he was hopelessly doing with yours right then, was enough to let him know you were considering taking the risk.

Nevertheless, right as he felt you move just an inch closer to him, just as he held his breath and thought maybe you would finally make the move and allow him to taste your lips like he had dreamed of countless times by now, the alarm you’d set up on your phone was heard going off from the kitchen.

You inevitably jumped up and away from him, undoing the previous hold of your hands while at it and clearing your throat, almost as if you’d just been pulled away from a trance.

“T-The alarm, I should, um…” you tried your best to compose yourself as you began to stand up. “The cookies…”

Hyunjin simply nodded, just as stunned, letting you know it was okay for you to go.

“Do you want me to bring them to you or maybe come with me and eat them in the kitchen or…”

He smiled. You were blabbering.

Cute.

“As much as I’m dying to try them,” he genuinely let you know. “I just want you to come back here already so we can go back to how we just were before the alarm went off”.

Feeling your cheeks burn, like it seemed to be the norm when you were around him now, you nodded; clumsily stumbling back and pointing towards the door, to let him know you were heading out of there.

With one last lingering look after he nodded his head for you to go, you left him alone in your room to shove his face into the pillow as a mixture of an incredulous laugh and a frustrated whine of his was muffled into it.

That was just his luck.

But he wasn’t crazy, was he? You had been staring at his lips and you did lean closer to him the moment before the alarm went off. The tension was so clear, so palpable, he couldn’t have imagined it. He wasn’t that delusional, was he?

He sighed heavily, resting on his back and defeatedly throwing an arm over his eyes. Had it not been for the stupid alarm, maybe he would be feeling your lips on his right then.

You, on the other hand, although just as frustrated as him, remained speechless, unable to understand what had just happened.

After having mindlessly turned off the alarm as you rushed to take the tray out of the oven, you just stood there in the middle of your kitchen, almost frozen, as you got once again lost in your thoughts.

You wanted to kiss him.

You could try and blame it on the atmosphere surrounding the two of you being just right and luring you into it, or maybe even on the way he looked particularly handsome that day and having his pretty face only inches away from you was being of no help at all. You were only human, after all. But even then, you couldn’t deny that, whatever the reason was, for a moment there you had really wanted to kiss him. Had you even leaned in at some point?

God, had it not been thanks to your alarm, you would probably have ended up rushing into something you were not ready for yet and turning your relationship with Hyunjin into a mess.

Were you really willing to kiss him regardless of the consequences?

It had been, what, a week since Chan opened your eyes about this whole situation with Hyunjin? Roughly one week since you started questioning everything? And you were already thinking of risking it all and kissing him?

You couldn’t just rush into things. Not with Hyunjin. Not when you weren’t sure about anything.

You didn’t know what you wanted, nor what you were looking for yet — either with Hyunjin or with anyone else for that matter. And you cared about him too much to even dream of playing with him.

Which didn’t mean you weren’t willing to explore your feelings for him. You were certain now more than ever that you did feel something for him. Maybe minimum, maybe just a small crush, but you couldn’t deny that there was a spark in your heart that ignited when it came to him. And you wanted to lean into that warm and safe feeling you got whenever you were with him.

You didn’t feel ready to jump into a new relationship just yet, and you didn’t exactly know what Hyunjin wanted from you either; for you knew that, in male language, flirting and giving someone special treatment didn’t always translate to wanting a serious relationship.

It felt too soon to ask him about his intentions with you, too entitled to demand an answer from him right then. But, so far, you were okay with how things were. You were just figuring out your feelings and the depth of them, and you guessed so was he.

Still, whatever it was that you felt, and whatever it was that he did, you couldn’t ignore that there was something going on between the two of you anymore. The conversations you held, the looks you exchanged and the small touches you shared during the past week… Furthermore, the tension you had felt only minutes ago and the urge to lean in and press your lips to his, were all the realisation you needed.

Taking a deep breath, feeling ready to go back to the man waiting for you in your room after managing to clear your mind, you grabbed your phone before you could head back. However, a particular Twitter DM caught your attention before you could do so. Standing in your place, you stared at the notification, reading Dahye’s words over and over.

‘Hey, girlie!’, followed by the smiley emoji with blushy cheeks, which could only come off as cynical from her.

You immediately felt sick to your stomach. You’d gotten a text like that once before in your life, by one of Hayun’s annoying friends trying to warn you about Mingyu and her, and you had wrongfully ignored it —only at first, until you could no longer look past the signs—, so you knew better than to ignore a text like this now. But that didn’t mean you were opening it today.

You had already gone through enough emotions that day. From waking up early to catch up with the project, to have Hyunjin publicly call you pretty on Twitter, to have him text you about feeling down and inevitably making you worry, to have him tell you he wanted to hold you, to have him actually hold you, to feel flustered as ever over the sudden couch or bed discussion whilst being carried by him, to feeling like kissing him for a moment there… You definitely needed a rest, and you wanted nothing but to do so in his arms.

Whatever it was that Dahye wanted to tell you, it could wait — for you knew it had to do with Hyunjin, and you were neither emotionally nor mentally prepared for yet another disillusionment.

Was it wrong of you to want to live in an illusion for just a little longer, in case Dahye’s DM ended up being bad news?

Either way, regardless of your wishes, the nauseous feeling you got at the simple sight of her name and the way your mind was sent spiraling because of her text, could only serve as a reminder of why you weren’t ready for a new relationship yet.

Not even bothering to take your phone back with you anymore, you locked it and left it on the kitchen counter before going back to your room.

Once there, a smile curved up your mouth at the sight of Hyunjin. He was now lying on his back with his hands behind his head, and his eyes had been closed until he felt you cross the door and they inevitably focused on you.

Without a word, he opened his arms for you to go over there. And, without a second thought, you did just that.

Feeling his arms wrap ever so tightly around you as soon as you crawled next to him, you let out a contented sigh as you instantly felt at ease; right before you realised just how close your face was to his and you hid it in his chest.

“What” you daringly mumbled when you felt his chest tremble and his laugh reached your ears.

Instead of answering you right away, he took you by surprise by pressing a soft, lingering kiss to your forehead. “You’re adorable” he said, resting his chin on your head and tightening his hold on you.

“Just go to sleep already” you scolded him, in a way cuter voice than you’d intended, which had him laughing once again and mumbling something about how cute you were under his breath.

Feeling how nervous you got both by his words and by being that close to him again, and how you had clearly hidden your face in his chest to avoid having either of you possibly leaning in again, Hyunjin could only confirm that he had not imagined you staring at his mouth and leaning closer to it earlier that day.

Even though you were visibly nervous over it now, and although he could tell you didn’t feel ready just yet, just knowing that you were now beginning to see him in another light, just enough to look at him with longing and maybe even considering to kiss him, was enough for him to be on cloud nine.

He had come here because he needed to feel you close after Dahye planted all those doubts in his mind. He needed the reassurance that you didn’t see him the way she said, and he couldn’t be happier now that he had just confirmed that you were indeed able to look past the baby image you used to have of him.

In the end, he was right to tell her she knew nothing about your relationship, because she truly didn’t. She didn’t know how you acted around each other, how you talked to each other, how you looked at each other.

Only you and him knew how your relationship worked, and even when it came to the bits of it that neither of you were sure about, it was still only for the two of you to figure out.

He realised right then that he shouldn’t mind what outsiders —let alone Dahye of all people— had to say on your dynamics, and that he was actually okay with people not seeing the changes in the way you treated him as long as he was able to feel them.

After all, he was the one who almost got kissed by you when no one else was around.

tag list: @jehhskz @iknowyouknowminho @doohnut @saintcosette @lailac13 @kayleefriedchicken @rikibun @yongbokkiesworld @seungzsmin @beautifulcolorgarden @hyunetopia @velvetmoonlght @automaticpersonabatpaper @httpdwaekki @brinnalaine @wondering-out-loud @feelikecinderella @nujeskz @amarecerasus @liknws @nhyunn @midsoulz @tirena1 @tinyelfperson @thatonexcgirl @iovecb97 @hynier @phenomenalgirl9 @your-favorite-pirate @jin-from-the-block @yearofthetiger25 @quokkacidal @stayconnecteed @kwanisms @yoonguurt @143hyunes @iiriam @cookielixie @hyunlvrs @allyrarara @machaandlofi @mehli-00 @justiceforvillains @minhosprettywife @whats-my-question @armystay89 @jaiuneamesolitaiire @hyeon-yi @skzstannie @onlyhyunjin @shyshyshytwice @nicoleparadas @​broken-glowsticks

[laurelsofhighever]

On Lucanis and ace representation

I have mixed feelings about it. Spoilers ahead, obviously.

On the one hand, I have been writing ace representation into Dragon Age fandom for at least five years by this point; I have made posts speculating which characters in the franchise could be read as aspec, I have critiqued the conflation between apparent aspec identities and brokenness that happens so often in mainstream media, and I have longed for a canonically aspec character in the stories I love. To me, however, this new declaration about Lucanis does not feel like a victory.

It feels convenient.

Mary Kirby tweeted six months ago that she specifically wrote Lucanis to be a disaster bisexual, not panromantic demisexual. In the real world, of course, people can discover new things about themselves and change their labels, and it’s fine. The problem is that Lucanis is not a people, he is a character with a static set of responses to a limited set of inputs from the player. In other words, he is what he is. That this change in Word of God about his sexuality comes directly on the heels of the very poorly received AMA from the devs is something I don’t view as a coincidence.

To be clear, this isn’t an attack on Mary Kirby, nor is it a tantrum about not getting a sexy Zevran 2.0. I am ace – I love slow burn emotional depth before physical intimacy, and I was drawn to Lucanis because of his struggles with alienation and the softer playfulness that’s there to see if you look for it. (And the voice, and the wings, but that’s not relevant here.) However, there is something severely lacking in the connective tissue of his romance. For the first two thirds of the game he is unresponsive to flirting to the point where the game feels like it’s bugged. Multiple people have pointed out that it’s almost impossible to tell when the romance is locked in without looking at the companion screen – I myself only realised when took him to Rivain with Taash and they started talking about him popping out the wings. The idea that this woodenness was a deliberate choice does a disservice to everyone who has pointed out a valid critique of the content – mechanically, rather than narratively – of the romance.

It is also immediately contradicted if you don’t romance Lucanis. Because instead he gets together with Neve in a relationship that not only lacks the emotional closeness that is required for Rook to lock in a romance, but also gets physical far more quickly, which is the exact opposite of how demisexuality works. For Rook, romancing Lucanis requires repeated declarations of support and care, and he will only fully reciprocate once they have battled through his inner demons to encourage him to start healing from his trauma. Even after that there is no physical touch between them until after Rook is pulled from the Fade prison. Neve, meanwhile, is one of the locks on his cage, but creates a ‘hats off’ rule for Spite. It's like watching Aveline run around finding marigolds for Donnic all over again. Not to say that all ace experiences are the same, but if someone described these two relationships to me, I would assume only one of them involved a demisexual character.

Truthfully, however, this isn’t really about the evidence for whether Lucanis is or is not demi. You could argue that back and forth all day because interpretation goes both ways. For example, he says he’s inexperienced in relationships, but then he’s arguably more competent than the other companions who ask you for romantic help, more lacking in confidence than skill – and analysis of that is a whole other post. But it’s not useful. There isn’t one way to be aspec, and I’m certainly not saying he can’t be read that way.

What this is about is the way representation feels like it has been retconned in as a response to the genuine critiques brought up in the AMA and elsewhere. Excusing the gaps in his romance by saying it’s because he’s demisexual feels like a cheap attempt to divert attention away from weak character writing. Perhaps I’m just being cynical, but after all the dodged questions and misrepresentations from the devs in almost every aspect of this game, if Lucanis had been planned as aspec from the beginning then the TRANS WOMEN ARE WOMEN game would have made a huge thing of it. I know this, because they did it already, they stated all the companions were pan (except for Lucanis who was bi).

And I don’t know what’s worse: it not being planned and only trotted out as a smokescreen to avoid engaging with the flaws in the writing; or it being there from the beginning without any care for how it might look to have the ostensibly aspec character be a literal abomination whose interpersonal issues stem from being imprisoned and tortured. Again.

A good slow burn would have addressed Lucanis’ relationship to attraction, though hopefully with more nuance than Taash was allowed. A good slow burn would have not made one character exchangeable for another in a romance regardless of the personal journey Lucanis can only take with one of them. A good slow burn would have at least had him reacting to the things the PC says to him. But this is not a good slow burn and the devs are using a token attempt at queer rep to cover for whatever went on behind the scenes to give us such a patchy final product.

[giselleloversclub]

NCT SMAU REC

MARK LEE :

Cryptic crush @jji-lee

Fuckboy mark x fem reader

are you looking for something deeper than just superficial romance? of course you are! sm university presents : cryptic crush the only on campus app that is 100% anonymous. sign up now and we'll randomly pair you with someone ready to chat! who knows? they might be the one...

I WANNA FUCK MARK LEE @luvyeni

Idol mark x YouTuber reader

in which a clip of you goes viral in ncity twt and it gains the attention of mark lee ( the center of the tweet ) — and all he can think is 'why saying chenles' cute friend saying she wants to fuck him?'

Personal fav

WHEN YOU SMILE @svnnw

Mark x fem reader

Fake dating au

after barely passing your recent exam you're now desperately looking for someone to tutor you so your friends wouldn't worry about you and your grades.

or in which you find yourself making a deal with mark lee, a top students who seeks for your help. mutual benefit right?

DOWN BAD @hyuckswoman

musicmajor!mark x fem!reader

in which a random business major finds herself joining a random music class not knowing the guy she had been fawning over attended it aswell.

Maybe after all her efforts he’ll finally notice her? After all this was the IT guy mark lee, what else could she have done but fall in love with him?

I GOT MY ION YOU @chenlesfavorite

Tutor mark x fem reader

you’ve failed yet another chemistry exam, high chances are you’re gonna have to retake the entire class next year and miss out on almost all school breaks due to studying and fixing your bad grades, and that is until your trusty friend suggests a tutor to you.

LOST IN TRANSLATION @spiderm444rk

business major! mark x fem journalism major! reader

you, as the promising journalism student of NCUT, were more than willing to join the school magazine when you got offered. to your disappointment, the only section they let you have is the anonymous confessions one - which is mostly really, really boring. i mean, who even posts any cool confessions nowadays ? especially in a damn college magazine? they only offered you the job no one else wanted.

on the other hand, mark, a business student, was never more annoyed with the choice of his major. sure, business is cool and hopefully it'll earn him money, but it's not something he could really get into. he always wanted to do music. but after long considering, he chose business instead, to make sure he gets a real job in the future. and he doubts that choice was correct more and more every day.

once the school band announces they're looking for a new guitarist, he's absolutely ready to apply until he reads the music students only part. pissed off, he starts typing a message to the ge, but it ends up going to a different number - and you finally get to help some poor random stranger who confessed with something interesting.

DREAM BOYFRIEND INCOMING @wonbin-truther

College student mark x fem reader

it wasnt your fault mark was the first profile to appear on your instagram! and it was most definitely not your fault when you told your annoying older cousins that mark lee, the captain of your unis soccer team, was your boyfriend and somehow got him invited to the next family reunion ...

DEAL OR NO DEAL ? @yutarot

Basketball player mark x Drummer reader

when you and your best friend mark realise the severity of your shared single-dom, you make a bet with each other that the first person to get in a relationship wins. what happens when the bet gets pushed a little too far? and who will be there to stop it?

OLD BLOODHOUNDS @mvrkieboo

College student mark x college student reader

You and Mark go all the way back to your childhood years, getting to know each other through your older brother. When you were both just 15 years old, you made a choice that broke your brother's heart, and you were dead to Mark Lee ever since. You never got to reconcile with him as you moved away.

Now, you meet again in your college years, and Mark is noticing there's some weird things about you. First of all, are you a sugar baby?

FRONT ROW @beomqu

Guitarist mark x college student reader

it is a habit of y/n to attend ENCT's festival every year and this year isn't any different. while enjoying the festival and waiting for her friend's favourite artist to perform they stand in front row of a band they have never seen before.

——————————————————————————

HUANG RENJUN

MUSE TO MUSE @404tytrack

Art student Renjun x fem reader

in which the art and photography departments pair up students for a collaborative project, & the art to your photography is renjun. the prompt: earth's beauty. with differing opinions on how to do the project, will you & renjun be able to work together & get a good grade?

MESSENGER @dojunie

College student Renjun x fem reader

Stranger to lover au

YOU FIND A PHONE NUMBER WRITTEN ON THE MIRROR OF THE SULIM LIBRARY'S SECOND FLOOR BATHROOM. It's scrawled messily across the glass in erasable expo marker, the handwriting underneath almost closer to hieroglyphics than lettering— and what you thought it read, was 'SEND DUCK PICS FOR A GOOD TIME.'

——————————————————————————

LEE JENO

HOT TO GO @sungiejpg

Idol jeno x aespa stylist fem reader

being aespa’s stylist is an easy and a lovely job, that’s what yn thought until she met Jeno by mistake. She now finds him scary

TWIN FLAME @justalildumpling

College student Jeno x fem reader

Stranger to lover au

chenle was convinced that his two introverted friends were destined for each other so what does he do? bribe them to text each other of course ⎯ or alternatively, when jeno started to fall for an anonymous mutual friend of chenle's

Personal fav

FIDING CINDERELLA @justalildumpling

Jeno x fem reader

it wasn’t often jeno showed emotions of love and affection, let alone kissing a stranger at a party that he doesn’t even remember?! determined to find his nameless cinderella, he began searching the campus far and wide but as hidden secrets started surfacing, he started to wonder whether the midnight spark was meant to be pursued after all.

——————————————————————————

LEE HAECHAN

AT MIDNIGHT @svnnw

Non idol Haechan x fem reader

after y/n's boyfriend broke up with her, all her friends tried to distract her by sneaking into a college party not knowing she was going to find new friendships and possibly a new relationship.

Personal fav

SHE’S THE MAN @yutarot

Gamer Haechan x gamer fem reader

after you discover your love for gaming, you soon find out that your college won’t let you in any of their e-sports teams due to your gender. but what happens when your twin brother leaves town just before he’s about to start at a new college, where not even NCU’s e-sports captain, lee haechan knows anything about him? there’s only one problem, your brother’s crazy ex is trying to hunt you down. will they all find out your true identity? and will their views on you change if they discover who you really are?

BLOOMING HEARTS @jji-lee

Flower shop owner Haechan x fem reader

Enemies to lover au

a new flower shop has opened up in front of your dorm housing and has been creating problem after problem for you. now you and shop owner, lee haechan have an ongoing feud that neither of you are willing to put to rest. as the weather cools and the flowers wither away maybe something else will begin to bloom between you two…

or alternatively, your battle against a ridiculously attractive flower shop owner (spoiler you lose)

ONE NIGHT ONLY @mrkified

College student Haechan x fem reader

three years since your falling out with lee donghyuck he has suddenly transfered to your college in hopes to make it big with his friends in his band. unfortunately for you, your unresolved friendship started causing problems between you and the people around you, especially since your best friend is his ex. so — why have you found yourself in his room with a raging hangover?

DIVINE TIMING @v1si0n

College student Haechan x fem reader

you confessed to your longtime crush, donghyuck, back in high school because you figured you guys would never see each other again. you begin to question your faith in the universe when you run into him on a rainy tuesday night, and you start seeing him every day after.

BAD IDEA RIGHT? @i-kai

Idol Haechan x idol fem reader

dating lee donghyuck was every hopeless romantic’s dream. his late night serenades, affectionate touches, secret song dedications, and endless love letters were just some of the things that you — the hopeless romantic that got to live said dream — were on the receiving end of. everything seemed perfect, right?

until you received the worst message ever in your life two weeks before you made your debut. the four words, “we need to talk” made your heart drop from what felt like a skyscraper filled with all the sanity you had left.

after that, you’d never give your ex a chance ever.. again.. right..?

DEAR MR. CUPID @justalildumpling

Childhood bsf hyuck x childhood bsf fem reader

it’s no lie that haechan only started his college matchmaking business due to his nosy personality. it’s also no lie that he was a little jealous of everyone he had helped out as he had no love life of his own. well, that was until his childhood friend moved back and mysterious love notes started appearing in his matchmaking inbox… addressed to HIM?!

ALWAYS FOREVER @jaeyunluvbot

Streamer hyuck x streamer fem reader

y/n and haechan are both well-known streamers with overlapping fandoms, what happens when they're paired up for a fortnite tournament?

THE DREAM STORE @jammingjaem

Idol Haechan x producer fem reader

rising up in the music industry as a young songwriter and producer, you wouldn’t think that you’d get hired by sm entertainment and write a song for your favorite group. although there was one downfall: you don’t think making music makes you happy anymore. but the endearing and charismatic lee haechan has swept you off of your feet. and here you’re asking yourself— what are you waiting for in life?

GG (GOOD GAME) @sunflowerhae

Fanboy Haechan x YouTuber/streamer fem reader

Famous YouTuber and Streamer y/n just moved in next door to scholastic loser haechan! No sweat for him! No big deal! Not like he has her picture above his computer! Not like he owns her merch that he stayed up all night to get! Not like he cried when she started playing his favorite video game! Not like he’s completely and utterly obsessed with her and all his friends know it!

FEIN @anglswon

Ex bf Haechan x fem reader

In which you finally find a new plug to feed your addiction but he’s annoyingly attractive.. and your ex.

WHO ARE U ? @sungiejpg

College student Haechan x fem reader

when renjun asked her to create a fake twitter acc to take revenge on haechan she did not expect to fall in love

I LOVE YOU I’M SORRY @hhie

Idol Haechan x dancer reader

2 years ago , you and your best friend fell in love with one another. Only for him to leave you and cut you off with no explanation. What if , 2 years later, you decided to take a big step into your career, thinking that it is the best decision you’ve made in your life.

Unaware of what’s going to happen … you should be fine right?

——————————————————————————

NA JAEMIN

DON’T BLAME THE LOVECATS @yojeongin

Neighbor Jaemin x neighbor reader

jaemin and yn have never had a good relationship due to their troublesome cats but it only gets worse when both felines cause chaos and wreck property forcing these enemies to spend day and night together to avoid eviction and charges for the troubles, not expecting this experience to lead them towards unexpected information and interesting feelings.

WHY ME ? @sungiejpg

Enemies to lover au

he is known as the nicest guy on the faculty who gets along with everyone, well…maybe not everyone

Personal fav

LOVE ON THE COURT @polarisjisung

Basketball player Jaemin x basketball player reader

Enemies to lover au

every college student has their struggles, but raising her younger brother has Y/N top of the list, struggling her way through college whilst balancing her academics and basketball captaincy is difficult no doubt and with Jaemin, her ex best friend and captain of the guys basketball team, and his growing one sided hatred towards her, it doesn't seem to be getting any easier

SURF’S UP @mrkified

Coworker Jaemin x fem reader

Jaemin’s crush on you wasn’t a secret — everyone seemed to know except you, who always thought of him as your nice coworker from the morning shift. As summer was about to start again, Jaemin was ready to change his relationship with you. But how could he, when you had a crush on another coworker — Sungho. Everything seemed to change when you offered Jaemin swimming lessons, giving him a chance to get closer to you.

THAT’S THAT ME ESPRESSO @sourrpatched

Coworker Jaemin x fem reader

Overworked at her understaffed job Y/N finds it hard to enjoy this summer vacation even with the school semester having ended. It doesn’t help that it seems nobody is interested in working at a little coffee shop even if it’s just for the summer. That is until fate brings Jaemin into the picture who happens to be desperate for a job and love. Let’s just hope this time around he can actually keep it.

or, the one where jaemin needs a damn job and Y/N needs a damn break.

SEX FASHION GUITAR @luvyeni

rockstar jaemin x stylist reader

l/n y/n fashion major and photographer on the side who says what she wants, na jaemin music major and lead guitar player for underground band DREAM. After yn forgets her to change her account and says something that catches the eye of jaemin she tries to ignore him — expect thanks to chenle she now works for them.

YOU CAN'T HAVE ME... UNLESS? @justalildumpling

College student Jaemin x fem reader

after getting ghosted by your crush in high school, you swore off dating at university, earning yourself the title of ‘the unattainable’. after 3 years you were convinced that there would be no way the two of you would ever cross paths ever again. well, that was until he announced that he was your boyfriend at a party.

——————————————————————————

ZHONG CHENLE

NIGHT RIDER @chenlesfavorite

motorcyclist chenle x fem reader

working night shifts 24/7 at the convenience store while also supporting your boyfriend’s obsession with watching motorcyclists race is not easy, but little did you know that one of the bikers that he loves soon gets involved with you.

FOLLOW ME NOT @lowkeychenle

idol chenle x fem reader

After Chenle "accidentally" hits the follow button on Twitter, you try to get him to unfollow you by any means necessary, even if he's keen on staying right where he's at.

ICED LOVE LETTER @jammingjaem

college student chenle x ice skater fem reader

at ncit, figure skater y/n receives daily letters signed ‘zcl’ from a secret admirer. as she gears up for a crucial showcase, the mystery of ‘zcl’ fuels her determination throughout the semester, leading to an unfolding journey of curiosity and motivation.

WE YOUNG @a3r3n

childhood friend chenle x fem reader

A sudden change happens in y/n's life when her father kicks her and her mother out after their divorce, and they're forced to leave China to go back to South Korea. Luckily her mother's best friend lives there with her son Chenle, one of y/n's childhood friends, and they're willing to host them until they find a better place to stay. But now that y/n and Chenle have both grown up, will their friendship be the same as when they were children?

SERÁ UNA NOCHE INOLVIDABLE @galacticseonghwa

biker chenle x fem reader

your friends were all you needed, they were your brothers from another mother they loved to say. but that all went to shit after ricky dragged you to one of his motorbike sprints.

who are you to say no when ricky's opponent claws his way into your inner circle and present himself as your dream man?

——————————————————————————

PARK JISUNG

LIE WITH YOU @strrykais

art student jisung x astrology student fem reader

you were nervous, and that was an understatement. you actually couldn't believe that you were able to transfer into your dream school, leaving behind your family, your home, and your loving boyfriend. when you meet your upstairs neighbors, things start to change for the better - or worse. you tried everything to keep your distance from the boy that showed her the stars in the sky have nothing to the ones in his eyes. he knows it won't last, and you know it too. personal fav

SCORE THAT GOAL @lqfiles

football player jisung x fem reader

after your college had announced that all the students were required to join a club and attend it twice a week, you were planning on either a) dropping out, or b) join the art club and pretend to be sick most of the times. that was before you discovered that park jisung is a long time member of the football team. change in plans: you LOVE football.

or in which you mindlessly join the football club in hopes of catching your crush’s attention (and to maybe secretly check him out too) who cares if you can’t even kick a ball up in the air?

GAME ON ! @hyuckswoman

astronomy major jisung x astronomy major fem reader

a story in which y/n finds herself meeting her roblox bestie in real life. turns out he’s not exactly everything she hoped for… who would’ve thought her nemesis park jisung would be user plumblossomer

DRUM ME STUPID ! @jirsungs

drummer jisung x fem reader

a story about a college student enjoying her life in school perfectly fine, until one of her friends drags the group along to watch their school's band perform. little did she know that day would be marked as the day her whole world turned upside down because of a particular, nonchalant, and difficult drummer boy. a drummer boy who spilled his entire drink on her brand new outfit at a party and never came back.

LINGER @beomgewz

college student jisung x fem reader

despite all of your efforts, you still cannot get over your 5 year crush on the shy boy from high school. to top everything off, he has a long term girlfriend of 3 years!

THE BOTLER @lowkeychenle

Your friends call you "the bolter," because every time someone gets close, you run in the opposite direction.

When you meet Jisung, things are working behind the scenes--things you can't see and don't acknowledge.

Can you overcome your metaphorical running in time for Jisung to secure your heart?

RAINBOW @a3r3n

park jisung x fem reader

Y/N has just moved to Seoul from her home country and finds herself now alone with her parents, but no friends. Fortunately, her neighbor Chenle is a guy her age, nice and fun to be with, and they eventually become friends, even attending the same International Class for Transfer Students at Nct High. But what will happen when y/n meets Chenle's friends, and one of them catches her eye? And what if things don't go as planned?

——————————————————————————

[corrodedcoffins-blog]

The Trip To Cornelia Street

main masterlist

spencer reid x famous!reader universe

word count: 1.5 k

warnings: slut-shaming? i think thats all

Being away from Spencer was hard, especially when they had just spent a week together. But now they were both in New York, Spencer here on a case and Y/N staying at her rented place on Cornelia Street. Sadly though, being as Spencer was here for a case she didn’t know exactly when he would get off and be able to come see her. So Y/N had gone to a bar, wanting to see her girl friends. But god, she couldn’t have picked a worse time.

Y/N phone would not stop going off in the back pocket of her jean shorts, grabbing it to turn off her notifications, she sees messages from some of her friends that weren’t with her now, asking if she was okay? Why would she not be okay? Y/N takes a step towards the bar to sit and check twitter. One of the biggest mistakes people make everyday. 

Kim Kardashian had posted an altered video of Y/N saying she approved the lyrics. God it felt as if Y/N world had come crumbling down, some of things people were saying. Calling her a liar, and playing the victim card. The bar suddening started getting hotter, felt like it was closing in on her.

Y/N called her car, after she got out of the bar her fresh air. She then sent her friends, who are still in the establishment, a text saying she was leaving and that they should stay and have fun. She didn’t want to ruin her friends' nights. 

Her car arrives, not leaving her waiting long. Sitting in the backseat of the car, her mom texting and trying to call, all Y/N wants to do, the only person she wants to talk to is Spencer. She knows he was on a case, but it was very much possible that tey had finished the case. They had been on it for four days. Maybe it was her emotional state or the few drinks she had in her, but nonetheless Y/N called Spencer. Miraculously Spencer answered after the third ring.

“Hey, baby.” His voice was soft, yet raspy at the same time. He must had been just going to sleep.

“Hey.” Y/N’s voice breaking as she speaks, it was at this moment she realised she was crying. 

Spencer on the other line, sitting up in bed at the tone in her voice asking, “Baby, are you okay? What's wrong?”

She said “I’m fine.” but they both knew it wasn’t true.

“I know you’re not fine. What happened?”

“They hate me.” Her voice breaks again.

“Who-who hates you?”

“Everyone. You remember- of course you remember.. I told you about the lyrics in Kanye’s song about me?” She waits to hear him mumble a quick ‘mhm’ before continuing, “And when Kim s-said that I knew about the lyrics, well she… She posted an altered video that sounds like I agreed. And now everyone hates me. Y/N L/N is over party is trending worldwide. They hate me.” Y/N says struggling, having to pause a couple times to wipe tears or sniffle 

“Love, where are you?”

“You can’t come, you have a case.”

“No, not anymore we solved it. Where are you?”

“I-I’m uh in my car.. Going to my place on Cornelia Street.”

“Okay I’ll meet you there. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

-

At this point Spencer had calmed Y/N down enough, with a bath, and sweet cuddles, mixed with even sweeter kisses. Spencer had asked for a few days off to help take care of Y/N, Hotch gladly let him, knowing Spencer wouldn’t ask unless it truly was important. 

It was now the next day. Whenever Y/N was with Spencer he hadn’t let her on social media, but with Spencer in the shower there was sadly no one there to stop her. Y/N reading tweet after tweet with the hashtag Y/N L/N is over party. Tweets saying she was a liar, always been a bitch, and a slut. Someone saying she’s a mess, and that her new hot boyfriend should get out now, that she didn’t deserve anyone. Y/N couldn’t help but agree, she never thought she deserved Spencer and now with someone else saying it and thousands agreeing, it clearly had some truth. But the worst came when someone replied with a picture of Spencer hugging another girl. No one she recognized, it surely wasn’t any of the women on his team.

Was he just leading her on, did he love someone else? She trusted him, she thought he was worth trusting. 

Y/N was in an emotional, and irrational state, there was no logic to her next move, of leaving the rented house, without saying goodbye to Spencer. She quickly packed her bag, while Spencer was still in the shower, then she left. Not leaving a note, just leaving. 

-

Spencer walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, walking towards his and Y/N’s shared bedroom. Seeing the room in a dishevelled state, one of Y/N’s suitcases, and quite a bit of her clothes gone. Spencer immediately calls Y/N, pacing around the bedroom as he lets the phone ring several times, Y/N not answering. Spencer decides to get dressed while he continues to call. Placing the phone on the bed, on speaker, slipping his pants on, buttoning the buttons of his shirt. Spencer was borderline ready to call the team, worried out of his mind. Until Y/N had finally picked up.  

“What do you want, Spencer?” Y/N asked harshly, she never spoke to him in this tone. And never calls him by his full name. It’s also Spence, or baby, or his favourite my love, never Spencer.

“Where are you? Where did you go- why did you go?”

“I saw the pictures of you and that woman, Spencer.”

Once again with her tone, it told Spencer that she was not in the least bit joking. Yet he had no idea what she was talking about. Him and another woman? Anyone would be stupid to do that to a woman like Y/N, and Spencer is provably a genius. Not to mention that he had no idea how he got Y/N to go out with him, he couldn’t do it again if he tried. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, baby.” Hearing him call her ‘baby’ caused a tear to drip out of her eye, not being able to handle it, not being able to handle the idea of losing him. 

“Spencer. I saw the picture of you with a red head, you were hugging her. Your hands were on her waist.”

At that Spencer had finally registered what she was talking about. He had seen the cameras yesterday, taking pictures of him while he was getting victims of the serial arsonist they were dealing with. The woman in question he was hugging, her son hadn’t existed the building yet. Spencer comforting and holding her so she didn’t run into the building herself. 

“Y/N no- please come back so I can explain. And I do have an explanation.”

“I want to hear it then.” 

“Okay.. That woman was a victim of a serial arsonist and her son wasn’t out of the building yet. I was holding her back from running inside. I didn’t tell you, because I know you don’t like to hear about the bad side of my job. I’m sorry, I should have told you when I saw people taking pictures, so this didn’t happen.”

Boy, did Y/N feel stupid, with all her past relationships it seems she always expects the worst. But Spencer wasn’t like all the other guys she’s dated he was better, kinder, gentler, definitely smarter, yet she still expects the worst in him.

“Spence, I’m so sorry.”

“No. You don’t have to be sorry, I didn’t tell you.”

“You shouldn’t have to tell me every time you comfort a victim, that’s your job. And I promise I won’t run away like this again, I’ll talk to you first.”

“Okay, are you coming back then?” Spencer’s voice sounded small when he asked, like he wasn’t sure if Y/N needed more time. It made Y/N smile, he was so god damn adorable, and she loved every bit of him.

“Yeah, I’m turning around now. I love you.”

“I love you too, Sweetheart.”

-

The next few days were spent at the Cornelia Street house, cuddled together on the couch, each taking turns picking movies to watch. Which caused weird combinations like the 2002 ‘Solaris’ movie, Spencer had gone on and on about the original being a 5-hour long movie in Russian, not that Y/N minded, she always loved listening to Spencer talk about topics he knew a lot about, which happens to be almost any topic she could think of. ‘Solaris’ was followed by ‘Mean Girls’ which was quite a culture shock for Spencer.

They spent the night in the secret oasis of their bed, sharing sweet kisses, and gentle touches. It was a good escape for Y/N given all that was going on with her name at the moment. Spencer was a great escape for her.

[gilverrwrites]

GOOD MORNING CENTRAL CITY

Axel Walker/Reader, 1K words Kinktober entry 15: Sex tape Warnings: Intox | public humiliation/exposure | hang over Requested by: Authors choice I love him, he's my emotional support disaster man and has been for over a decade and I need ya’ll to love him too so I can feel validated in posting insane shit about him.

A big smile, a shock of fair hair, and a funny-looking hand. “Micks gonna owe me big bucks when I tell him about this.” An unfamiliar voice cackles. That’s all you remember prior to blacking out.

Some say that the best indicator as to how good of a night out you had is how bad you feel the next day. If that’s true, you must have peaked yesterday, because this morning you feel like death warmed up. The only thing worse than your pounding head right now, is how the world seems determined to irritate it; your flatmate is up and making a racket in the kitchen, your curtains aren’t closed properly and so a stream of sunlight is blaring right across your favourite spot on the bed and your goddamn phone won’t stop pinging.

Determined to sleep off your hangover, you roll across the bed, away from the light. Clumsily you switch your phone onto silent, accidentally dropping it to the ground in the process before pulling your comforter over your head. Unfortunately, you’re only afforded a few minutes of peace before your phone begins to vibrate against the flooring. Blindly sticking your arm out, you feel around looking for it, swearing when you accidentally bat it further away. Damn, your coordination is off.

With all the effort you can muster, you pull yourself out of bed, dropping to your knees quickly, weak legs barely able to stand. How much had you had last night? You might still be drunk.

Eventually, you stumble over to the purveyor of unwanted noise, precariously holding it high above your head as you lay down, scrolling through many, many, many notifications. Jeez, were you dead or something?

Lots of links, lots of caps locks, lots of intensity that you don’t have the brainpower for. You’re about ready to turn the thing off when a new message comes through from your bestie, the latest in a series. You don’t bother reading the whole string, just clicking on the most recent link they'd sent you. It opens up to a garish-looking, and fucking verified Twitter account.

Trickster II ⭐️✔️ @.1stheworst Young, dumb, full of fun. Taken 💛

His bio is dated to yesterday which strikes you as odd, but ultimately, what do you care? It’s The Trickster, and not even the cool one. This loser was responsible for blowing up your favourite sandwich shop, amongst a slew of other highly inconvenient catastrophes.

But despite your distaste for the guy, your interest is piqued, so you keep scrolling.

@.1stheworst: comment if your babe is hotter than mine 😍 [link]

The image is behind a paywall, which, fair, get your bag dude, but the replies have been turned off and you’re not sure if it’s meant to be a dumb joke, but it makes you chuckle... and then groan as the laughter causes a searing pain to shoot through your brain. At the same time, your flatmate drops something. The jarring clang of metal on tile echoes through the apartment and makes your whole body throb.

@.1stheworst: GOOD MORNING CENTRAL CITY [image]

The next tweet has an actual image attached, a photo of him, face covered by a blanket as he rests his head on someone’s, presumably his 'babes', bare chest. There’s nothing particularly evocative about it but for the myriad of matching hickeys and bite marks on each of their bodies. You will say, however, that this mystery person has good taste in something. You have the same bedspread…

No.

The realisation dawns on you slowly.

There’s no fucking way.

You live in Keystone, it can’t be you.

You would never…

Disbelief holds firm until you run your fingers down your neck, hissing in pain when you brush against a tender bite mark that had not been there yesterday.

Shit.

Dread seeps in your heavy bones as you rack your brain, trying to recall a modicum of anything that happened last night, but you come up empty.

With an intentionally deep breath, you delve further into his feed and are greeted by a nightmare you hadn’t realised racked your psyche until now. It’s a video, posted at 3 AM this morning.

Starring: You.

In the clip; you’re on your knees. Eyes red and glassy. Swollen lips giggling around the head of a cock. The Trickster's cock.

“Shit, ya know, you’re the hottest person I’ve ever met. I'm so fucking lucky.” His tone is laced with laughter, high-pitched, almost hyena-like. Blue-painted nails brush your scalp, and your eyes roll back in response, drool escaping your open mouth as you moan aloud. “Oh fuck, that felt good.”

Clearly impatient, or perhaps just excitable, The Trickster starts to rut his hips, nudging his dick further into your mouth. The grunts and groans that escape him are frankly obscene, and he only grows louder when you stick your tongue out and begin to work his length deeper down your throat.

“Shit. Shitshitshit, you’re gonna take it all?! Neat trick, makin’ it disappear.” In spite of his elatedly shaking body, the camera stays stock still in his cybernetic arm, allowing you a clear-cut view as you take every inch of his pale pinkish cock down until your nose is buried in his blond bush. “Yeah, yeah like that.”

He doesn’t seem to shut up once, any lulls in his chattering, filled by lusty cries and pants that make you feel admittedly somewhat aroused.

“This is the best head I ever got.” He praises and your body flushes in real-time as you watch yourself bobbing along his shaft, barely gagging even when his head seemingly delves repeatedly and frantically into your the back of your throat. “Shit, you're fuckin' solid gold babe. You don't mind me postin' this do ya? My fans will bust a nut when they see you."

Your words are garbled around a mouthful of cock and saliva, but you nod, clear as day before the video cuts off abruptly. There are no more relevant posts except another link that supposedly leads to the full video. The host site looks shady as hell, but you immediately start entering your details until an incoming text grabs your attention. It’s from your housemate, reminding you to water their plants while they're out of town.

So, if they’re not home. That means��� fucker.

Hi friend, I'm so glad you exist!

Kinktober Masterlist

[asthedeathoflight]

so I was reading your post about the band au and i was going to rb and give thoughts about the other gangs in the au (and I still might) but then i realised how funny it would be if my thoughts on the bizzies took place in canon so i’m sending you an ask instead so we can consider both possibilities

so i have fully accepted in my mind that the bizzies are a band. like they’re a gang as well but above all they’re a band. that’s why there’s so few of them they don’t let in anyone who’s pitchy. i think they do weekly ‘concerts’ in union square (or around bc from what i’ve heard the station probably is far too crowded to perform in) but performing in front of crowds that big they probably draw some attention. bc let’s face it they’re pretty good. and if they can get some cds going i think they could have a fairly solid cult following in new york. maybe book out a couple of small-ish venues. never too famous but like the name seems familiar.

anyway i think that eventually the warriors come across a poster advertising a show and cochise, cowgirl and rembrandt are like ‘is that?’ and they go to the show and it is. (and they fucking sing we got you) so then after recovering from the shock they all react in different ways.

cochise just doesn’t care. moves on with her life. she thinks about it sometimes and is like damn that’s crazy but that’s the extent of it.

cowgirl lowkey milks it. whenever she’s talking to someone in a bar or is in a situation where she has to give a fun fact about herself she’s always going to talk about how one of the bizzies bit her. there’s a 50/50 chance the other person knows what she’s on about.

rembrandt wants them cancelled. unfortunately she does not have the technology to do that (if she did have twitter cal could tweet anything and she would respond with ‘remember when you tried to kill me with a knife :D’ and he blocks her) so she’s just in rooms sometimes and she’s like ‘i’m the only person in this room who knows that the bizzies are attempted murderers’ bc she can’t exactly go up to people and just tell them. that would be weird.

by the time social media is invented she’s lost interest in cancelling them. however i do think there’s a comment on a youtube video of one of their songs that’s like ‘one time a girl told me a guy in this band bit her. new york is crazy man.’ and the top reply is like ‘no that happened i was there that was the night they tried to murder me.’ and everyone who ever sees it just thinks it’s a really weird joke.

but then it’s also really funny in band au, where they’re more famous and have like their own fandom and stuff. bc obviously there would be no reason for them to try and murder the warriors. but i still think rembrandt wants them cancelled just bc she’s a hater and bc their song is just constantly on the radio and it makes her want to bash her brains out.

(maybe the bizzies hosted a party once and ajax insisted on bringing rembrandt with her, she would’ve avoided going but all the other warriors were going so it would look strange if she was the only one who didn’t show, so she sucks it up and in the 5 minutes it took ajax to go to the bathroom a drunk cal has accidentally(?) pushed rembrandt into a banister and thrown up on her. she had to sign an nda)

however, cowgirl still got bit. this is very important bc i feel she probably gives the least pr-approved responses in interviews (along with ajax). so when she gets asked her thoughts on the bizzies instead of saying she respects them as artists or something she goes ‘omg lance actually bit me one time’ causing chaos. (idk if this is supposed to be modern day or not but if it is then bitegate trends for days i think) rembrandt tries to use this to start the cancellation. the bizzies almost have to put out a statement. the next the public hear about it is a few months down the line when cowgirl and lance are spotted together at a restaurant or holding hands or something like that. once again chaos.

anyway this was a lot longer than i thought it would be but fortunately at least some of it is relevant to what you posted so i can still justify sending it to you

Okay this is so real and I love it for canon. Rembrandt being the number one Bizzies hater in every universe is also real. Also yes the band au is a modern au bc remember that to ME the band au is really a Rembrandt-is-a-concert-lighting-director au and she deserves to have the best toys modern technology can provide.

However for the band au I raise you the Bizzies and the Warriors are actually from the same neighborhood and both started out playing at the same bar and THATS why they know each other and also thats when the ill fated cowgirl/lance hookup happened. Rembrandt has hated the Bizzies forever because Cal was always trying to come talk to her about the lighting design and she was like stfu go away let me do my job in peace. She was so glad to be rid of them forever when Cleon offered her the tour contract only for them to get on like X Factor or American Idol or something a few years later and blow the fuck up and now every party she's at there's the risk of them being there. She hates them soso bad because she's an art snob in the way only true theater professionals can be and she hates pop music (this is why she also hates Mercy but she's more civil about that for Swan's sake).

I think Rembrandt's twitter is iconic because its all like insane awesome photos of Warriors concerts and fun bts stuff and advice for new professionals in the industry and then every once in a while just unhinged Bizzies haterism. I think she would be happy to hate them silently but Cal keeps reaching out to her offering her more and more money to do the production design for their next tour because I think genuinely he admires her and thinks shes brilliant but that just makes her hate him worse bc he's trying to "steal" her (even tho the offers have been pretty respectful they actually just want her to do the like stage concept and then they'll have someone else tour with it bc they know she can't commit to a year+ long tour with them but Rembrandt is like ME??? hand my design off to SOMEONE ELSE???? THIS IS A GRIEVOUS INSULT) and so she stays mad enough to occasionally badmouth them in public. This makes her a fascinating and enigmatic figure in the music industry because her loudly hating an extremely popular band should be career suicide but also she's locked in with the Warriors so she doesn't give a fuck about ever finding another job.

[scoringeffects]

NEED to read a natemac cmd fic kind of desperately now. Um. also thinking about the people connecting them… off the top of my head, sidcros, tyson barrie, mitch marner? like. cmd in cole harbor like I Am Here To See Sid. Uh. Definitely The Only Reason. ALSOOO weren’t they on that one golf trip together with sidcros and marner too???

GUYS. i cant believe we forgot. team north america. they were actually teammates at some point. also according to my personal favourite nhl related site hockey teammates notable shared teammates, outside of tbarrie, include: aaron ekblad (more 1oa connections and such, via tna), am34 (see aaron ekblad), nail yakupov (rip), our beloved rnh (on tna, more 1oa angst and such, something something rnh seeing how connor is w leon and then how he is w natemac at the world cup and then having a sit down with him), jeichel, JODROU ! (team north america i miss u every single day, something something jodrou having a sit down w natemac 'we broke up three years ago bud either fuck mcdavid or stop flirting with him for all our sakes'), calvin pickard, and also burakovsky and macdermid who were both on the otters w connor and the avs w nate

ALSO. somehow over the years nate's turned into connor's most consistent hook up (they were messing about during tna, spilled over into the regular season - not every time they played each other because sometimes they really do have to dip out the city as soon as they've taken their skates off, but nearly every time, and the all star game is. well. like sure, its entirely for fans and to make money but watching connor win fastest skater year on year... sometimes the competancy kink wins out over the competitiveness) and OBVIOUSLY. this changes during the 2022 playoff series (connor has some misplaced blame in the anger/disapointment post-ecf (probably knows it's misplaced but wallows in his misery), airs nate's texts and calls and the tiktoks and tweets he sends him entirely, cannot think about him without thinking about how much pain leon was in during that series, can't watch him lift the cup, can't watch him be so fucking proud of cale, without feeling sick with jealousy, and obviously someone (rnh/tbarrie..?) notices how he's so weird about it all and connor's insistent that it has nothing to do w how they were hooking up ('it's not just hooking up if it's been going on since 2016, connor' 'what else would you call it?' 'the most annoying courtship ive ever had to witness. i just got here from the leafs, connor') and that he can in fact be super normal just in general and maybe this is the natural end of their situationship ('you are way too old to be using words like 'situationship', tyson' 'who just got asked about their biological clock, connor') and its fine. really) AND THEN sid extends an invitation to connor (and to leon becuase lbr sidcros INVENTED the hockey boybestfriends who cant do anything without each other) to train at gary's that summer and connor accepts a bit too quickly knowing he'll have to sweet talk it to his agent a bit because he did agree to biosteel like, six months ago, but cmon it's sid! and in the euphoria of training at gary's (max. 20 people) instead of biosteel (half the damn gta) it slips his mind that cole harbour's second son will also be there until leon reminds him when he facetimes him. ('are you sure training with crosby is worth seeing your ex for half the summer?' 'dylan's at biosteel' '...' 'leon i have got to quit the nhl. he's not even my ex.'). ANYWAY. training at gary's also involves jonathan drouin and it's fun for connor to see what nate's like around someone he really does care about, instead of, say, a fuckbuddy and leon notices him be so fucking weird about drouin and connor's watching sidney freaking crosby and brad freaking marchand do puck battle drills in nova freaking scotia when he realises he might actually have a crush on nathan mackinnon. who's flirting with jo drouin so aggressively connor has half a mind to send a text into the old erie group chat sincerely apologising for when he was clumsily trying to flirt with dylan. (leon tells him later that helping jo with his wristshot is not actually flirting, because helping someone with thier job is not flirting, and connor mortifyingly realises that all those times leon wanted help with his stick dangles back in hte day he was not flirting. leon also tells him that he has got to get his jealously under control before jo notices, because he really doesn't deserve to get caught in all this, connor). something something eventually jo does talk to him and ends up asking if he's with leon 'out of curiosity, you guys seem close' and connor can't help himself but ask similarly about nate -> 'we messed around as kids, years and years ago, but he, uh, has his eye on someone' -> connor pretends he isnt crushed about it, because he's not, obviously, and just because nate's been connor's most consistent hook up definately doesnt mean that connor was nate's, and connor can kind of only assume it's cale, or quite literally anyone else in the denver area (is there a greater denver area? it's not really connor's bussiness to know, anymore or ever, really) -> connor and nate FINALLY. talk

maybe at the fated golf trip w sid and mitch? mitch is making nate laugh and giggle and connor realises he has it really fucking bad when he thinks that he wants to be hte one to make nate laugh like that. jesus christ -> ends up coming last by an insanely large margin -> after nate's like let me make you feel better, and they havent done this since the regular season, and jo told him that nate likes someone, and connor just, can't, be a convenient hook up for him anymore, because he knows the way these things go and he knows that the smart thing to do is to quit while youre ahead and failing that, pull the parachute when you're falling, not when youre crashing into the ocean, and nate thinks. either he can respect that, and that's fine, or he can push, just a little, because it's connor and he's pretty sure he's been a bit in love with him since team north america (and tyson has a tendancy to tell him that he falls in love with his friends as easy as breathing, but it's a different type with connor, because he loves cale, he loves gabe, he loves EJ and tyson and jo, and yeah sure he's a little bit in love with all of them, but connor he's wholly in love with, so much so that he doesnt really know what to do with himself, doesn't know what to do when he sees oilers admin post clips of him, leon and tyson messing around, or when he sees him and ekblad turn back into sixteen year olds with eachother or when he sees the way he sticks to leon's side like there's nowhere else he can be, wants to accept that he wouldnt even crack top ten of connor's list of people he cares a lot about, but.) anwya. -> nate pushes a bit connor thinks nate knows? and has known the entire camp and gets a bit upset about it -> nate literally just found out now. world changed. stunned. tyson cannot find out for at least a year. he owes cale a slushie (cale, who was there at the all star game. cale who shoved him in connor's direction when they were all at the bar and told him to stop making eyes at him if he wasn't intending on picking him up). -> they get together ♥️ eventually.

[lottiecrabie]

As a recent lottiecrabie enthusiast and longtime feral consumer of a certain M Healy related writings, I saw something about a tutor!au. Here are my dreadful, frankly illegal thoughts. Do whatever you will with them, Lady Lottie. Your works kill me in the sweetest, sexiest way and resuscitate me harshly back to life.

1. You're a maths student , year two in the university. He's the newly joined English TA that's been developing a bit of a reputation for his longwinded rants in class and his unconventional assignments.

2. Like what the fuck is "Write about being an influencer in a dystopian world where you have to sell a graffiti eraser for VR devices after artists are actively vandalising the metaverse"

3. Anyway, hallway whispers about how attractive he is find their way to you but you're wholly unconvinced because pfft, really now, this is a cliche. One drunken evening at the local bar and you're jostling shoulders, he's ordering a long island iced tea just because and eyeing your whiskey on the rocks. He's really as pretentious as you thought he was - a dark mop of curly hair, crisp linen shirt and this dense, buttery jacket scented with menthol, marijuana and bergamot. He has a delicious rasp, holding court with his little circle of friends about how fullstops have come to mean something completely different when people text each other in the present day. There's not much you think of it - except one night after you break things off for good with your boyfriend who asks if you've come five minutes. into sex.

4. That night, you find yourself wondering if his neatly filed nails would leave red crescent commas on your skin, if your moans would be the em dashes between his consecutive thrusts. You imagine him seeing you at work, chalkboards filled with a haze of numbers and letters, you're arguing about why pure math PhDs and English PhDs are really two sides of the same coin, languages to explore the textures of the world.

5. You realise you're irrevocably fucked.

The annual debate between your college and the rival one is announced and you want to take part, as you always do, except this time it's a whole series of complex themes that require you to be assisted by someone else. Guess who you're assigned as your mentor.

6. You can't think straight, but you want to impress him so much. He's pretty much unfazed - logically unfolding his stances like an origami blossom. His mind entices and frustrates you : how can you possibly read Shakespeare today and a bunch of e-girl tweets the next and use both of these in your speeches?! Good lord. The longer you resist the urges, the worse they become. He dances in circles around you. Sleepless nights. Scattered sheets and unfinished drafts. Smoke breaks across the campus. Joints rolled with thin paper you bum from the art department, you sit blowing plumes at each other one orange afternoon. He reveals himself in delicate slices - a flash of a tattoo on his taut abdomen, soft voiced calls to his mother, Heroin by Velvet Underground playing from his tinny earphones.

7. He's dissatisfied - there's some verve and rawness that's missing from your stage presence. you're not emoting enough. He jokingly wonders what the cause might be - the lack of sleep, or the lack of sleeping together? Wait, you haven't had sex in months? There it is.

8. He says that sex sells. In order to convince the audience, you need to have seduce them with your mind.

Prove it, you say.

9. He finds May I Feel by e.e cummings and decides to walk around you as you take turns to recite it. By the fifth line, you've had enough. His knees are behind to yours, his skin branding into your stockings. He places his fucking mouth close, so close to your ear - warm enough to entice you with the possibility of a kiss, but instead he takes it away just as swiftly.

10. "let's go said he

not too far said she

what's too far said he

where you are said she" (side note - I recommend listening to the Tom Hiddleston version of the poem!)

You laugh, because it's so bitterly on the nose. He wonders aloud if he's really too far - too far away from you, that is.

His first kiss is like a wine tasting. He sips and nibbles your lips, sweetly parting it with his inquiring tongue. His fingers snake across your body, a low laugh caught in his throat when his hands brush your guilty nipples. Dilated pupils, and filthy promises. His kisses are poisonous, intoxicating.

11. Rutting mindlessly over his desk. Panting, whining in back seat of your car. Wet kisses in a darkened theatre. Hand jobs in the library, leaving the both of you a shivering mess. He is relentless, rendering you feverish for more. He refuses to have sex until he's satisfied his desire to explore you enough.

12. You try to take matters into your own hands and dress in a tiny skirt, with the smallest scrap of lace covering your soaking cunt. You end up over his lap, his handprints still warm on your back.

13. He worships you. He spits in your mouth. He ties your hands to the bedframe. He calls you sweetheart, baby, my darling. He doesn't stop edging you. He makes you read poems and eats you out, with the threat of stopping if you stutter even a little. He makes you think, he makes you dream, he makes you laugh.

14. You don't care about the debate anymore.

oh my god this was so lovely!! love when u guys leave me blurbs like this to read i feel like I’m the one getting bedtime stories for change. you have such a vivid and imagery way of writing it’s so beautiful. the prose is so delicate and effective; i can so clearly Feel and See the moment. i especially love ‘his first kiss is like a wine tasting’ and ‘you sit blowing plumes at each other one orange afternoon’. get on tumblr mama start writing there’ll be a spot opening up soon✊

although this is a lot more professor!matty than tutor!au🕺 (the tutor!au staples are weird loser virgin nerd with cool popular bitchy experienced girl) you actually kinda knocked it out of the park for professor like yeah that guy is making her read poetry while eating her out. yes ofc they’re making out on his desk. well yeah he’s debating you and only getting you more worked up for him

[mexxs-blog]

Shameless

Tws:

N/A

Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio both went through messy, unexpected breakups, and after a few weeks, the WWE universe starts to realise just how much tension they had, and eventually, they realised it too.

(an: if i were you, i would listen to shameless on loop while reading this, trust me 🤞)

________________________________________________

Though both Rhea and Dominik had both posted about their lovers or partner, Rhea was a lot more open. They WWE universe was turned upside down for the both of them when they started having issues. Rhea was the first one of the two to come clean, tweeting a short paragraph stating that she had left Buddy Mathews, and almost instantly, people had left comments and support on her tweet, making sure she was ok. But the one person she was being comforted by was Dominik. He was the very first person who she told.

The breakup of Rhea and Buddy shocked the WWE universe, but not even 4 days later, Dominiks came to the light too. He had left his fiancé, another huge hit to the WWE universe.

Nobody knew why that things had ended between the two couples like it did, but the officials could tell that Rhea and Dom had both been impacted by the breakups, the side affects showing clearly. Rhea looked sleepless, and seemed a lot more quieter backstage, even around the judgement day. Neither her or Dom seemed to smile as much, both of them seeming more agitated.

The next week on RAW, When the Judgement came out to confront Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, Rhea didn’t smile when Sami made his jokes, which would make any normal wrestler break character. When the Judgement Day weren’t performing , things started falling apart backstage.

________________________________________________

Dominik knocked on the Judgement Days dressing room door, taking a deep breath, before coming in and shutting the door behind him. He had gone to see his dad, just to get some advice. He was in mental shambles, and needed the support of his dad. He had developed feelings for his co-worker, and he had no idea what to do.

When he walked in, Finn and Damian were sitting side by side on the couch, Rhea at the other end, her face looking stormy and irritable as she scrolled on her phone. Finn looked up at Dominik, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“ Where were you Dom? ”

Dominik felt a stab of fear. What happens if they didn’t like that he went to his dad? He opened his mouth, trying to think of an answer, but before he could come up with anything, Rhea answered for him.

“ Shut the fuck up for once Finn. Let him do what he wants. ” She muttered, still boring holes into her phone screen.

Damians brows furrowed.

“ Are you serious, Rhea? He was asking a question, stop getting so butthurt over everything. ” He snapped, and edge to his voice.

Rhea finally looked up, glaring at Damian, slamming her phone on the couch next to her before standing up.

Fear washed over both Finn and Dominik, as they watched Damian stand up straight after. They weren’t used to fights, and when two of the strongest in their group get into a fight, it’s going to be an issue.

“ Tell me, Damian, what do you think gives you the right to jump in? “ She crossed her arms across her chest, her anger building quicker and quicker by the second.

“ Because some nobody little girl insulted my boyfriend, what’s it to you? ” He sneered back, his tone cutting and malicious.

“ And he can’t fight for himself? he’s a grown man. ”

Damian rolled his eyes.

“ This is a waste of my time, YOU’RE a waste of my time, you’re so fucking insufferable. You know what- Get out. ”

Rhea paled instantly, Finn and Dom made eye contact, Dom wincing at Rheas obviously hurt reply.

“ What.? ” She whispered, uncrossing her arms, her eyes widening.

“ Awe, is someone hurt? I said GET OUT. ” Damian yelled, his voice reverberating around the room. everyone instantly froze. Damian never yelled.

“ Damian i- ”

“ OUT! ”

Rhea didn’t say anything else, but she pursed her lips, her eyes watering, tears threatening to spill. She backed out of the room, her angry demeanour shattering. The door slammed behind her, and even then they could hear her sobs as she walked away.

Damian sighed, his anger evaporating as he ran his hands down his face, regret hanging in the air heavily.

“ I’m going to go check on her.. ” Dominik muttered, making Damian and Finn look at him. Dominik sighed.

“ But before i do.. i should tell you guys this. ”

Finn nodded, looking curiously at Dominik as he bit his bottom lip, a slight blush tinting his cheeks.

“ It’s Rhea… i have feelings for her. ”

Damian and Finn looked at each other, right before bursting out into synchronised laughter.

“ We knew that Dom. We’ve known for ages. Go check on her. ” Finn said, ending his sentence with a wink.

Dominik grinned back, Opening the door, closing it with a bump behind him.

———————————————————————————

Sobs wracked Rheas body, her breath short and erratic. Why did she do that? What was wrong with her?

Rheas eyes shot open, a yelp escaping her as she felt arms grab her waist gently, catching her off guard.

She squirmed slightly, her breath hitching as the persons body pressed into her from behind, their grip tight on her hipbones.

“ It’s only me, Rhea. “ Dom chuckled, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. What was happening to her?

Rhea flushed slightly,

“ Hi again, Dom Dom. ” She answered softly, her body visibly relaxing against his.

“ Listen Rhea, I know breakups are shitty at their finest, But i’m here for you ok? Damian is ready to apologise, and he and Finn both understand what you’re going through. ” He whispered, making Rhea tear up again.

She flipped herself around in his hands, throwing her arms around her neck, her head falling onto his shoulders as the tears started flowing again.

“ Thank you.. so much.. “ she said in between sobs, clinging to Dominiks shirt.

He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as tight as he would allow himself without hurting her.

“ Anything for you. ”

________________________________________________

ANDDDDD STILL, YOUR SMACKDOWN WOMENS CHAMPION, RHEAAA RIPLEYYY.

*My emotions are naked, they're taking me out of my mind*

The referee held her wrist, holding it above her head. Rhea had fear melted at her feet, relieve washing over as she realised she won the match. Her face broke into a grin as the referee dropped her wrist, going to check on her opponent.

As feelings settled in for good, Rhea realised Dom was climbing into the ring, and instead of staying where she was, she ran towards him, jumping onto him, unable to contain herself.

Right now, I'm shameless, Screamin' my lungs out for ya.

Dominik was caught off guard, surprised at the character break, but still, he upheld her weight easily, smiling up at Rhea.

The world seemed to stop for both of them as he stumbled into the middle of the ring, watching Rheas face. Her pupils dilated as she looked at him, her head spinning and overwhelmed.

“ What is going on with Rhea and Dominik!? ” The announcer, Michael cole said, the crowd going ballistic as they realised what was happening. Damian slung an arm around Finn, both of them watching intently as Rhea and Dom stared at eachother, waiting to see if they would finally do what everyone wanted them to.

Neither of them had wanted to admit their feelings, but right then, right there, they did.

Not afraid to face it

I need you more than I want to

Need you more than I want to

Rhea smashed her lips against his, her hands on the side of his head as she steadied them. Dom kissed her right back, dropping her to her feet gently, instead holding her waist, neither of the two wanting to come back up for air. Her lips were soft, seeking comfort and attention, which Dom gave her, pushing their bodies together more, feeding into each other. When they finally pulled apart, a huge cheer came up from the crowd.

Show me you're shameless

Write it on my neck, why don't ya?

Dominik looked back at Damian and Finn, both of them nodding, grinning back at him.

He looked back at Rhea, smiling as he held out his hand to her, which she took instantly. Together, they climbed out of the ring, meeting Damian and Finn on the sidelines, giggling like school girls. As they started walking down the ramp, Dominik paused, sweeping Rhea off her feet, Placing one of his arms under her thighs, another one steadying her at the back as they walked.

Later on, Rhea and Dominik broke the internet, neither of them addressing the rumours circulating already that they were actually together, instead, Rhea tweeted a photo on her twitter, of her and Dom, Dom sticking his tongue out to the camera, his arm around her stomach, the other draped on the back of the couch, her on his lap, her back pressing against his chest as she smiled broadly at the camera.

Within minutes, the photo went viral, and everyone instantly knew that Dominik and Rhea had finally found themselves, and each other.

(an: this is so cheesy 😭)

[gossippool]

ur anora post 🔥🔥🔥

it was EXACTLY what I was thinking about the other day when I kept seeing the same discourse circulate over and over again. People love to complain about media being oversimplified nowadays, but when they watch an actual movie that forces them to understand subtext and read between the lines, they moan about it not being explorative enough and cry that it’s misogynistic so people will jump on the bandwagon and refuse to critically think because they’re scared to be accused of agreeing with misogyny.

like they genuinely talk like they’ve never seen a film before because it’s pretty common to not have exposition thrown in your face in well made movies? I watched Conclave recently and I could tell you even less about Ralph Fiennes’ character than I could about Ani, yet I haven’t seen one person say he ‘lacked interiority’. It was very clear in his performance just as it was in Mikey’s (it honestly just doesn’t sit right with me that the movies that have attracted the most discourse this year are the female led ones, whilst the male ones have Brat edits made and old man yaoi written about them…)

I’m pretty sure 1) it’s a 2024 favourite and people love to be contrarians 2) people hate Sean Baker and went into it already making up their minds that it was gonna be bad 3) the cast is full of unknowns (in Hollywood) and Mikey (who doesn’t have a huge fanbase) and so the hate is going unchecked and 4)it was marketed as a romcom when it’s clearly not that.

I honestly mostly despise that they’re hating on it in the name of feminism. It really rubs me the wrong way, especially when you see tweets like ‘only yt perverted men actually like this’ like they have some morally superiority over people who enjoyed it. And I wouldn’t be as frustrated about all of if it weren’t for the fact that 90% of the ‘critiques’ are literally just people disappointed it wasn’t what they wanted and acting like that’s a moral failing of the writing and performances. I fear media literacy really is dead and people think logging films on letterboxd suddenly makes you an expert in feminist theory in media.

Sorry for the rant but I’m just so glad to see people speaking sense!

no yeah and a huge part of it is that people are no longer challenging themselves past what they're interested in. she didn't say it outright but i have a friend who just doesn't like watching movies that... require critical thought?? 😭 like people are not actively seeking out new media, books, information etc. by themselves because everyone now is spoonfed or expects to be spoonfed. and this is not even just for interpretations of media but what you said about people hating sean baker because to them everything is black and white aka bad person = bad media, bad thing happens on screen = bad message--hence portrayal of the possible consequences of sex work on screen = misogyny???

(and ADJACENTLY. wow clearly i have a lot ot say about this topic but adjacently there is now this phenomenon /neg where someone will vaguely post about a celebrity being problematic and another person will comment "omg what did they do" and receive a completely biased/unnuanced summary of the situation which everyone will immediately accept?? like the number of "nooo i used to love them 😭😭"s i've seen over the years from this is batshit lmao and i have just as many times done my own research on what happened and realised it was really not that straightforward. and that's the problem right, people take everything they hear to be the truth. they don't pick up a book or show unless they've heard good reviews, and they're afraid to digest anything unpalatable)

and i could go on a whole other spiel on ai but the fact that we now have AI overviews for internet searches to further simplify what was already revolutionary in accessibility of information is fucking crazy to me!! and yeah ur so right the fact that there are now apps that make public everything you do people think increased consumption and the illusion of being an actual critic makes them smart

but like if people can't even see the nuances of a piece of entertainment god forbid they ever touch a news article or research paper 😂 misinformation and conspiracy theories etc. are literally a result of a lack of critical thought and also ego which should not go together but very much do nowadays. lmao

[mystverse]

NCT SMAU REC/READING LIST

NCT DREAM

_MARK LEE

LOST IN TRANSLATION - @spiderm444rk

business major! mark x fem journalism major! reader

synpsis: you, as the promising journalism student of NCUT, were more than willing to join the school magazine when you got offered. to your disappointment, the only section they let you have is the anonymous confessions one - which is mostly really, really boring. i mean, who even posts any cool confessions nowadays ? especially in a damn college magazine ? they only offered you the job no one else wanted.

on the other hand, mark, a business student, was never more annoyed with the choice of his major. sure, business is cool and hopefully it’ll earn him money, but it’s not something he could really get into. he always wanted to do music. but after long considering, he chose business instead, to make sure he gets a real job in the future. and he doubts that choice was correct more and more every day.

once the school band announces they’re looking for a new guitarist, he’s absolutely ready to apply until he reads the ‘music students only’ part. pissed off, he starts typing a message to the gc, but it ends up going to a different number - and you finally get to help some poor random stranger who confessed with something interesting.

DEAL OR NO DEAL - @yutarot

basketballer!mark × emodrummer!yn

synopsis: when you and your best friend mark realise the severity of your shared single-dom, you make a bet with each other that the first person to get in a relationship wins. what happens when the bet gets pushed a little too far? and who will be there to stop it?

VOLLEYBALL FOR DUMMIES (In Love Edition) - @jaeminvore

manager!Mark x fem!volleyball player!Reader

synopsis: Mark Lee has been called many things. Dedicated was one of them and that dedication lead him into joining NeoTech College's well coveted Women's Volleyball team, the NeoTech Tigers, as their manager in hopes of winning the infamous setter, Y/N's heart. But there was one problem, being academically inclined did not come with the extensive knowledge of anything related to the sport, and to put it simply, Mark Lee doesn't know shit about volleyball.

I WANNA FUCK MARK LEE - @luvyeni

synopsis: in which a clip of you goes viral in ncity twt and it gains the attention of mark lee ( the center of the tweet ) — and all he can think is 'why saying chenles' cute friend saying she wants to fuck him?'

CRYPTIC CRUSH - @jji-lee

fuckboy!mark x fem!reader

synopsis: are you looking for something deeper than just superficial romance? of course you are! sm university presents : cryptic crush the only on campus app that is 100% anonymous. sign up now and we'll randomly pair you with someone ready to chat! who knows? they might be the one...

maybe you should've kept in mind that anyone looking to find love is allowed on the app even campus fuck boy mark lee

WHEN YOU SMILE - @svnnw

fake boyfriend!mark x fem!reader

after barely passing your recent exam, you're now desperately looking for someone to tutor you so your friends wouldn't worry about you and your grades.

or in which you find yourself making a deal with mark lee, a top student who seeks your help. mutual benefit, right?

OLD BLOODHOUNDS - @mvrkieboo

You and Mark go all the way back to your childhood years, getting to know each other through your older brother. When you were both just 15 years old, you made a choice that broke your brother's heart, and you were dead to Mark Lee ever since. You never got to reconcile with him as you moved away.

Now, you meet again in your college years, and Mark is noticing there's some weird things about you. First of all, are you a sugar baby?

DOWN BAD - @hyuckswoman

musicmajor!mark x fem!reader

summary: in which a random business major finds herself joining a random music class not knowing the guy she had been fawning over attended it as well. Maybe after all her efforts he’ll finally notice her? After all this was the IT guy mark lee, what else could she have done but fall in love with him?

DREAM BOYFRIEND: INCOMING - @wonbin-truther

college student! mark x college student! yn

synopsis: it wasn't your fault mark was the first profile to appear on your instagram! and it was most definitely not your fault when you told your annoying older cousins that mark lee, the captain of your unis soccer team, was your boyfriend and somehow got him invited to the next family reunion ...

_RENJUN HUANG

MUSE TO MUSE - @404tytrack

artstudent!renjun x fem!reader

in which the art and photography departments pair up students for a collaborative project, & the art to your photography is renjun. the prompt: earth's beauty. with differing opinions on how to do the project, will you & renjun be able to work together & get a good grade?

NICE GUY - @fullsunstrawberry

synopsis: meeting a cute guy at one of your best friends' halloween parties should be fun, right? but why does everyone seem to not like him? he’s a really nice guy

MESSENGER - @dojunie

[★]; YOU FIND A PHONE NUMBER WRITTEN ON THE MIRROR OF THE SULIM LIBRARY'S SECOND FLOOR BATHROOM. It's scrawled messily across the glass in erasable expo marker, the handwriting underneath almost closer to hieroglyphics than lettering— and what you thought it read, was 'SEND DUCK PICS FOR A GOOD TIME.'

(You suppose, in hindsight, it was a good thing this person's penmanship was so shit— because if you knew what it really said, you might have never stumbled across the oddly intriguing inbox of one Huang Renjun.)

BELLADONNA! - @winwintea

actor!huang renjun x fem!reader

you've been tasked with visiting and inspecting the grand rose theatre, a theatre that's been plagued with mysteries over the years. all seems well until a string of murders follows your visit. as you further investigate, you find yourself falling for huang renjun, the beautiful male lead, and your mystery murderer who leaves you love notes and clues about who they could potentially be. will you be smart enough to be a step ahead of the killer? or will you find yourself caught within their trap?

_JENO LEE

HOT TO GO - @sungiejpg

synopsis: being aespa’s stylist is an easy and a lovely job, that’s what yn thought until she met Jeno by mistake. She now finds him scary.

_HAECHAN LEE

PAY THE PRICE - @lqfiles

neighbour!haechan x fem!reader

after getting evicted out of your old place, you're left with no other choice but to look for a cheaper alternative. which is how you end up becoming neighbours with lee haechan, who has a passion for music and disturbing whatever peace and quiet there is.

or in which you found yourself a very nice apartment, the only issue? your neighbour is your friend's somewhat ex-situationship who won't stop playing his guitar at 2 am in the night.

BLOOMING HEARTS - @jji-lee

flower-shop-owner!haechan x fem!reader

a new flower shop has opened up in front of your dorm housing and has been creating problem after problem for you. now you and shop owner, lee haechan, have an ongoing feud that neither of you are willing to put to rest. as the weather cools and the flowers wither away, maybe something else will begin to bloom between you two…

or alternatively, your battle against a ridiculously attractive flower shop owner (spoiler you lose)

SHE'S THE MAN - @yutarot

gamer!haechan × gamer!yn

synopsis: after you discover your love for gaming, you soon find out that your college won’t let you in any of their e-sports teams due to your gender. but what happens when your twin brother leaves town just before he’s about to start at a new college, where not even NCU’s e-sports captain, lee haechan knows anything about him? there’s only one problem, your brother’s crazy ex is trying to hunt you down. will they all find out your true identity? and will their views on you change if they discover who you really are?

ONE NIGHT ONLY - @mrkified

college-student!haechan x fem!reader

three years since your falling out with lee donghyuck, he has suddenly transferred to your college in hopes to make it big with his friends in his band. unfortunately for you, your unresolved friendship started causing problems between you and the people around you, especially since your best friend is his ex. so — why have you found yourself in his room with a raging hangover?

DIVINE TIMING - @v1si0n

synopsis: you confessed to your longtime crush, donghyuck, back in high school because you figured you guys would never see each other again. you begin to question your faith in the universe when you run into him on a rainy tuesday night, and you start seeing him every day after.

NO IDEA - @jirsungs

loser!donghyuck x fem!reader

synopsis: a story where both you and lee donghyuck seem to get what you want. he's the perfect pawn in making your ex-boyfriend jealous and the smarty pants tutor helping you pass your math class. donghyuck has it easy too, he's finally able to seek out and experience the world of dating through you, his long-devoted crush and surprisingly enthusiastic tutoring student. but then again, when meaningless tutoring sessions soon evolve into reciprocated feelings, is it really that easy?

BAD IDEA, RIGHT? - @i-kai

idol!haechan x idol!reader

dating lee donghyuck was every hopeless romantic’s dream. his late night serenades, affectionate touches, secret song dedications, and endless love letters were just some of the things that you — the hopeless romantic that got to live said dream — were on the receiving end of. everything seemed perfect, right?

until you received the worst message ever in your life two weeks before you made your debut. the four words, “we need to talk” made your heart drop from what felt like a skyscraper filled with all the sanity you had left.

after that, you’d never give your ex a chance ever.. again.. right..?

WHO ARE U? - @sungiejpg

synopsis: when renjun asked her to create a fake twitter acc to take revenge on haechan, she did not expect to fall in love.

_JAEMIN NA

LOVE ON THE COURT - @polarisjisung

basketball player! jaemin x fem! basketball player

synopsis: every college student has their struggles, but raising her younger brother has Y/N top of the list, struggling her way through college whilst balancing her academics and basketball captaincy is difficult no doubt and with Jaemin, her ex best friend and captain of the guys basketball team, and his growing one sided hatred towards her, it doesn't seem to be getting any easier

SURF'S UP - @mrkified

Jaemin’s crush on you wasn’t a secret — everyone seemed to know except you, who always thought of him as your nice coworker from the morning shift. As summer was about to start again, Jaemin was ready to change his relationship with you. But how could he, when you had a crush on another coworker — Sungho. Everything seemed to change when you offered Jaemin swimming lessons, giving him a chance to get closer to you.

or where you teach jaemin how to swim

FIRST TO FALL, FIRST OF ALL - @hannie-dul-set

when you were asked to make a public confession as a punishment for losing a game, what you expected to get was rejection, mortification, and heaps and heaps of humiliation— not a sudden new boyfriend whom you don’t even know the name of.

THAT'S THAT ME, ESPRESSO - @sourrpatched

Overworked at her understaffed job Y/N finds it hard to enjoy this summer vacation even with the school semester having ended. It doesn’t help that it seems nobody is interested in working at a little coffee shop even if it’s just for the summer. That is until fate brings Jaemin into the picture who happens to be desperate for a job and love. Let’s just hope this time around he can actually keep it.

or, the one where jaemin needs a damn job and Y/N needs a damn break.

WHY ME? - @sungiejpg

synopsis: he is known as the nicest guy on the faculty who gets along with everyone, well…maybe not everyone

_CHENLE ZHONG

NIGHT RIDER - @chenlesfavorite

motorcyclist!chenle x fem!reader

working night shifts 24/7 at the convenience store while also supporting your boyfriend’s obsession with watching motorcyclists race is not easy, but little did you know that one of the bikers that he loves soon gets involved with you.

FOLLOW ME NOT - @lowkeychenle

synopsis: After Chenle "accidentally" hits the follow button on Twitter, you try to get him to unfollow you by any means necessary, even if he's keen on staying right where he's at.

ICED LOVE LETTERS - @jammingjaem

college student!chenle x ice skater!fem!reader

synopsis: at ncit, figure skater y/n receives daily letters signed ‘zcl’ from a secret admirer. as she gears up for a crucial showcase, the mystery of ‘zcl’ fuels her determination throughout the semester, leading to an unfolding journey of curiosity and motivation.

_JISUNG PARK

LIE WITH YOU - @strrykais

art-student!jisung x astrology-student-fem!reader

you were nervous, and that was an understatement. you actually couldn't believe that you were able to transfer into your dream school, leaving behind your family, your home, and your loving boyfriend. when you meet your upstairs neighbors, things start to change for the better - or worse. you tried everything to keep your distance from the boy that showed her the stars in the sky have nothing to the ones in his eyes. he knows it won't last, and you know it too.

GAME ON! - @hyuckswoman

astronomy-major!jisung x astronomy-major!reader

a story in which y/n finds herself meeting her roblox bestie in real life. turns out he’s not exactly everything she hoped for… who would’ve thought her nemesis park jisung would be user plumblossomer

DRUM ME, STUPID! - @jirsungs

drummer!jisung x fem!reader

a story about a college student enjoying her life in school perfectly fine, until one of her friends drags the group along to watch their school's band perform. little did she know that day would be marked as the day her whole world turned upside down because of a particular, nonchalant, and difficult drummer boy. a drummer boy who spilled his entire drink on her brand new outfit at a party and never came back.

SCORE THAT GOAL - @lqfiles

football-player!jisung x fem!readerafter

your college had announced that all the students were required to join a club and attend it twice a week, you were planning on either a) dropping out, or b) join the art club and pretend to be sick most of the times. that was before you discovered that park jisung is a long-time member of the football team. change in plans: you LOVE football.

or in which you mindlessly join the football club in hopes of catching your crush’s attention (and to maybe secretly check him out too) who cares if you can’t even kick a ball up in the air?

: MYST

[cherrytea556]

Dude, I thought you were done talking to me. But if you wanna continue, why not.

How can you still continue to say that he only brings facts and evidence when this tweet of his clearly showcases bias towards trans people? All the pic contains is 'protect trans kids' with the flag, no surgery or child mutilation shown, just a flag with a phrase that's not even the centre of attention since it's in the background. So if TBYS problem with trans people is letting kids access to surgery then why does this tweet exist? Did he just take the information from the article without any fact-checking? That's pretty odd for someone who supposedly 'brings the true facts and evidence.'

Plus you still never address why he specifically equates trans people with child predators, a popular transphobic stereotype used to discriminate trans people while also damaging trans kids. If he doesn't hate trans people, then why call them child predators? Something actually harmful and dangerous to society? Truly, tell me.

Something also to note of is that the videos you listed to me are older than the tweet. Those videos were from 2021, two years before this tweet which was in 2023. And if you take a look at the content of his channel, you can see the progression from anti feminist to anti woke content and with anti woke typically being against trans people (or anything LGBT really) then it wouldn't be surprising that even if he previously stated that he doesn't hate trans people or condone the hate towards them, that stance could've changed overtime within who he associates himself with.

I never talked to you about being sensitive. Anyone else who read the replies to our argument would also see that. Seriously, you have a pattern of just making stuff up. Similar to TBYS I guess.

Y'know it's funny because I actually did do what your suggesting me to do a few years ago where I offer him criticism and did so in a constructive way. Yet how did that go? Well when I asked him of his thoughts on one of his community posts, his response was notably filled with making stuff up about me. The most prominent one that I remember was his first critique of my critique, where he said I didn't offer advice like I 'promised.' I never promised him anything, I was very clear in just offering him criticism, not advice. Yet that was what he said. I have all of the screenshots of the conversation and it's not deleted so you can still find it if your curious.

The example your bringing up (that being of Coleen) it's a case of a groomer and victim. That's entirely different from right wing YouTuber got done wrong by bigger animated channel. TBYS and Illy are a case where both are shit in different ways (and when I include TBYS, it's not to Illy specifically but his content in general) Adam and Coleen on the other hand is where a predator uses their power to punish their victim for revealing them being a perpetrator. Your doing an argumentative technique I used to do a lot when younger but stop doing so much of because I realised that some situations aren't as comparable for an argument since it would contain a difference that wouldn't make the comparison work anymore (like the argument of why straight people can't have their pride parade despite them not having any discrimination for being straight since day 1 of earth)

Your experiences are pretty different from mine (as another asexual whose also an aromantic mixed Latina) I watched a lot of content of varying backgrounds which included right leaning content such as comps making fun of feminist cringe or the red pill. It didn't matter whether or not I even agreed with it, I just watched it for the sake of it (especially red pill) Now that I'm older, I tend to take what I watch with a grain of salt, not trusting right leaning content anymore and find it a waste of time. You can say it's a bad thing because I'm not 'opening my mind' but here's the thing: if you already find the persons videos bullshit, why still watch them? We control what we watch online so why not watch things your actually interested in? I do admit that I am bias and lean more towards the left side of the political spectrum but mostly because of the social aspect. I believe in letting people do whatever they want as long as their not harming anyone and given how right wing people voice their hatred over people such as trans people, I would ask: 'why do you care? How is it affecting you that these people are just living their lives?' I'd like to have an open mind and listen to other people's opinions on things, even if I disagree but what I draw the line is bigotry. That's not just your opinion, it's a whole group of people who are shown to be harmed by that opinion. And this is something tbys is doing with that very tweet, Futher contributing to the notion of trans people being child predators that causes so much harm towards them, especially with the rise of transphobia in the 2020s.

While its nice to see you think the shades of grey than just black n white (because as humans, were never simple so nuance is essential for us to consider), unfortunately, the red pill isn't exactly a good source. It is heavily biased against women (which is something tbys does clearly by being in the red pill community) and does deceive people, particularly young boys into harmful, misogynistic rhetoric about women. The most infamous example is Andrew tate. TBYS isn't someone who takes things neutrally and I'm shocked that few people see that given his clear red pill content where it's full of bias with little factual evidence and even sometimes made up. Along side the tweet that should tell you his personal bias of trans people. If you want to look at the shades of grey, maybe study someone like idk, Riefenstahl, and form your own conclusions instead of the red pill or TBYS.

And for some reason, your now gonna make our yapful conversation more well known here so, for anyone reading this post, you can find our conversation through this person's replies to their post which got 100+ notes. Read it and form your own conclusions, always remember to take someone's claims on the internet with a grain of salt and fact check.

You still trying to reach out to me despite this post having nothing to do with you (but TBYS fans/defenders in general because yours just so happen to be a common defense I seen multiple times) is a choice to say the least. Idk how to even feel about it.

Are people really defending this run-of-the-mill anti-woke YouTuber just because Illymation wanted him reported for his reaction video to ‘Perks of Being the Fat Kid’??

[florenzzis]

dabi saying that the league was a means to an end hits different after ch. 350 because his main goal isn’t to kill endeavor, his father’s death is just part of the whole process. endeavor dying is like a last supper kind of thing for him, his main goal is to die in a way that has some kind of meaning and that’s why he couldn’t repair on admiting he cared about other people because everything is just meaningless in the end 

[sytokun]

Just so we can clarify. You actually think the Shane Newville Letter is legitimate? Also, you mentioned Monty's Tweet that involved defending Barbara Dunkelman. You said it was never specified who? Do you seriously believe that M&K "Ruined Monty's vision?" Was it not Miles and Kerry who Monty asked to help him write RWBY, and not Shane or Sheena? Why put on a pedestal people who had nothing to do with the show?

I'm leaving this under Read More because this is a tiring conversation we somehow still have to talk about.

Let's get to the root of this matter, which is the word of the letter vs. that of Rooster Teeth.

A company we now know is willing to spin whatever yarn if it means winning fans over to their side, and more than 40+ employees besides Shane have spoken out against once they actually felt safe to do so, because for once the fandom's opinion wasn't just 100% on RT's side and would immediately dismiss the workers on any other day? We're talking about that company, enabling that fandom, right?

Alright, cool. Because if you still don't think that the letter is at least worth reading after Rooster Teeth is revealed to be one of the worst workplaces ever, after numerous people have spoken regarding petty office politics, blatant theft of intellectual property and PR shenanigans, then I don't think you're here to actually discuss anything other than to get some "gotcha" moment you feel entitled to.

Shane's letter doesn't exist in a vacuum. It exists among years of abuse and coverups at Rooster Teeth, among dozens of anonymous reviews and now dozens of public accounts and callouts from employees we now know is true. All of which Rooster Teeth is more than willing to delegitimize, ignore or divert fan attention from. You realise that's the stance you're taking, right?

What do you see when you think of Shane's letter? Like honestly? That some pissed-off employee would spend 36 pages to gripe about some company that didn't give him what he want, like some spoiled brat? The letter would be laughed out the door and forgotten the moment it went public. But people are still talking about it, and you are still bringing it up and calling it to the witness stand as well. Almost like it still has something useful to say and people just don't want to confront that.

I find it funny that you think you can arbitrate who had nothing to do with what, when we know this is a company that ousted Georden Whitman from running his own show and sought to undermine his involvement with Nomad of Nowhere at every turn. M&K are hardly the actual villains here, but they're there because Monty found them cool to work with on his world, and because RT allowed it so they could keep RWBY in line like they did with Nomad. Almost like this is a grey situation where not everything is clear-cut, and there are human interests and corporate interests involved? You agree with that, right? So why not extend the same coddling sympathy you readily extend to M&K to Shane as well - someone who killed his corporate interests outright because he felt he had something to say about his human ones? Why not him? Because they're the poor little victims and Shane is the bad guy?

Both Shane and M&K were affected by Monty's death. Both probably acted how they felt was best for RWBY. I don't doubt that. One felt it was right to point out the rampant corruption and politicking going on within RWBY's production, which we know is true, and the other... hasn't said anything to counter the former other than "We're doing our best" and "Please don't bring this topic up again". Also they (Rooster Teeth) either fired the people who took his side or those people quit, or they were pressured into deleting their tweets that agreed with him. Do I have to spell out who's the one under attack in this situation, and who's the one exercising their clout to silence and turn public opinion against the other? A whole ass media corporation against one person?

One was candid and thorough with his thoughts and felt it was important enough to risk blacklisting himself in the eyes of the industry and the community entirely, and the other is still hiding behind the corporation backed by a PR team and piles of NDA agreements, and the goodwill of thousands of fans willing to back up this combination of curated responses and willful silence.

It'd make perfect sense for Monty to talk freely about RWBY to Sheena, i.e. his life partner, which meant talking about future plot points and ideas, even if she "had nothing to do with the show" in a strictly professional sense. But that's not what you're concerned about, are you? You're more interested in who you can put in the "bad box" with Shane and who you can put in the "good box" with Miles and Kerry.

Again I find it all very telling that even after it's been clear that the ex-employees of this company aren't the bad guys and RT have never been interested in giving its community the full story, fans are always quick to dismiss and demonise the ex-employees immediately. Almost like it's a trained reflex. Almost like that's exactly how the company wants you to perceive them - a bunch of nobodies and crazy kooks stirring up trouble.

There never was a "Monty's Vision". But I don't need Monty's Vision™ to know what RWBY is and to see clear as day that Rooster Teeth squandered every opportunity they had to do well by this series based on its own established setting and themes. That's what RWDE has a problem with. I bring up Monty in my posts because he created the show and said very specific, public and unambiguous things about it, whether in writing or in the show itself, that pointed to specific and clear outcomes in the show, not because he had some airy-fairy Vision. That's called reading the text and what the author said about his work to determine what the final, finished work accomplished regardless of authorial intent, AKA media critique. I am not weaponising his Vision™ by saying "He wrote this or clearly implied this, and then CRWBY didn't follow through". I am practicing basic pattern recognition.

And whether it's Barb, Miles or Kerry, obviously Monty saw them as friends. How friendly they were is a different topic from "are they the upper management and higher-ups in a corrupt system and may have perpetuated bad practices for years, whether unwittingly or not?" - something that Monty would not be exempt from either, because early RWBY is sketchy as hell too the more you dive into it.

I'd have been happy to have a civil discussion with you. Just because I'm salty in my posts where I post on a public platform critiquing a faceless company doesn't mean I talk to others directly that way, unless they're being an ass. But you saw it fit to waltz into my ask box and have free license to be passive aggressive and make sweeping assumptions about me, i.e. being an ass. So here's your response.

Go read Shane's letter and the 40+ accounts of worker abuse and favoritism in the company:

The same company with the sole right to make RWBY and played it up as "such a great honour" to continue Monty's work;

mishandled and abused that right every year by their consistent lack of understanding of its themes and characters;

used that right to exploit their fanbase to create a shield of sympathy and sentiment around RWBY, so anyone critiquing it or its certifiably horrid production is immediately demonised;

and will use that right to drag RWBY to the grave with them if they go under;

and then you can come here talking about Monty and what he created. You're the one who brought up Monty's Vision™ and whether I think M&K butchered it first, so clearly you care a great deal more than me about bringing up a topic that everyone agreed is stupid and irrelevant to bring up when talking about RWBY.

M&K didn't ruin Monty's Vision™, they, along with the rest of the writing team and RWBY's upper management who approved their poor decisions, ruined a good story with so much going for it if they knew what to do with it. The fact that you say Monty entrusted them with it like some kind of blood-sworn oath and not because RT owns the copyright on his story only makes them look even worse by comparison.

[dilucids]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤCelebrity crush, Genshin boys idol! au

admitting you're their celebrity crush and their reaction to your reaction

includes: kaeya, diluc, zhongli and xiao

( can't stop thinking about idol! au genshin. any type of celebrity but it's hinted that you're a singer in xiao's. )

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 KAEYA ALBERICH ━━ FROSTWIND SWORDSMAN 〕

━━ this man is sooooo fucking slick with it.

━━ he'll slyly bring it up in an interview or a live with a smirk on his face and then act as if it never happened when someone questions him.

━━ his members just stares at him when he brings you up, knowing, that beneath that sly persona and nonchalant act, there was millions pounds worth of fan merchandise in his room.

━━ he would evade the subject and if it's an interview, the host would have to pry answers from his members instead as he sits there proudly with a smile on his face as his members tell his fan behaviour instead of him.

━━ in a live, he would somehow convince his fans they were hallucinating but someone would post the clip and everyone would just go ballistic, it'd be one of those "top ten things i can't believe kaeya managed to get away with: gaslighting his fans into believing they were crazy."

"Who's your favourite celebrity?" Kaeya reads out from the comments passing quickly through his Instagram live, he pretends to think. A smile forms on his face when he 'decides' on an answer, "probably [Name]."

He watches the comments speed through even quicker before changing the subject, dropping the matter as if it never happened. His fans are all freaking out though, wanting to get more details on his crush on the celebrity but Kaeya ignores all comments about the subject. They never die down though, only ending when Kaeya himself ends the live.

━━ you may have ended on the same show some time after him and the host brings it up ( 100% planned for views ).

━━ it makes you smile because you've already been informed about this topic by your fans and kaeya's.

━━ you'd end up thanking kaeya for the support and say that you've also been lowkey a fan of his group but you've never openly stated that to anyone.

━━ his fans and your fans immediately get to work and start tagging kaeya's insta/twitter, group and personal, under the clip of you shyly admitting you're a fan of his also and he goes mental.

━━ probably sits there watching the entire interview with a huge smile on his face, and it doesn't leave, not even after he finishes the interview ( bonus: diluc is very disturbed ).

━━ HUGE ego boost for the rest of the day. kaeya's normally very confident but he's extra confident, like starts strutting around like he's the shit and even had the balls to nod his head at diluc as if to say "what's up" with the largest shit eating grin on his face.

━━ diluc definitely thought he was picking a fight.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 DILUC RAGNVINDR ━━ DARKNIGHT HERO 〕

━━ more likely to come from one of his members than him.

━━ or he'd be very smooth with it, and brings it up rather subtly. it'd be a small "oh, i ingest their content and enjoy it" and he'd just continue about his day

━━ and his fans will still go insane because diluc actually enjoying something seems weird, especially another celebrity's work

━━ this would obviously reach you, who was an open fan of his group, and you'd freak out when you see it but wouldn't bring it up because he only said he enjoyed your work, not he was a fan.

━━ would definitely get questioned if he was being interviewed on a talk show, he wouldn't evade the question.

━━ he doesn't really see a point in lying, so he simply shrugs and tells the host that he is a fan and owns some merchandise.

"Diluc, a few fans are curious about your statement the other day," the host redirects the questions to Diluc, who raises an eyebrow. "Is it true that you're a fan of [Name]?"

The question makes his heart pick up a little, he leans back on his chair and clears his throat, composing himself before nodding. "I am a fan," the host seems happy by his response. The conversation continues to steer in this direction, asking Diluc if he had attended any fan meetings or merchandise, how he would feel if you two collaborated for a project and then finally ending once the host asks other members if they were fans of anyone.

━━ he thinks nothing of it, continuing with his day as usual but when he gets mentioned by your twitter? the man loses his shit.

━━ he sits there staring at his screen like he was hallucinating and literally tunes everything else out, staring at your little: "i'd love to work with you too!" message with a small smiley face at the end.

━━ he checks the account multiple times just in case it was one of his fans trolling him but clicking on the @ takes him back to your account so he gives in at some point

━━ he types out a normal, professional "thank you, i hope a time comes when we can collaborate" and "i look forward to more of your works" but he's still losing his shit.

━━ stays in his mind for at least a week.

━━ fans always bring up the fact that y'all never did end up collaborating.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 ZHONGLI ━━ VAGO MUNDO 〕

━━ the public is very aware.

━━ he's never made an attempt to hide how he is a fan, not even the massive poster in his room or the little keychain that he hangs on his bag nor the red eyeliner belonging to a makeup brand that you became a brand embassador for, also now one of his favourite brands.

━━ so no one is really surprised when he talks about you or your upcoming work, what is kinda surprising is when he straight up says that he says you're his ideal type.

━━ not because it's shocking that you'd be anyone's ideal type but because they didn't expect the out of the blue question from host and it's even more mind boggling when the man doesn't even stutter nor even think before just saying your name.

━━ members are sat beside him literally losing their shit in both negative ( scandals and shit ) and positive ( it's fucking hilarious ) ways as he just blinks.

━━ he doesn't even look the slightest bit worried as he stares dead straight through the host's head.

━━ obviously scandals emerge, there are positive and negative reactions. some people suddenly realise how good you two would look together and others are mad you "stole" their man because we have delulus in all fandoms.

"So Zhongli," the host starts before clearing his throat, obviously a tad uncomfortable under the eldest member's sudden gaze, "who is your ideal type?" The members also seem curious, as they stop their interactions, staring over at their unusually emotionless member.

One member laughs, waving the question off as a joke and as a way to avoid any possible scandals, knowing that Zhongli wouldn't filter his words due to his lacking understanding of social cues. "C'mon, there's no way that he has an id━━"

"If I had to say, then [Name] suits my preferences." The member who tried to wave it off blinks, staring at Zhongli like he just murdered someone and other members laugh. The host seems pleasantly surprised, peering at the camera with a raised eyebrow and a certain look on his face. The entire studio never gets over it.

━━ it's brought to your attention on twitter because twitter is usually where shit goes down.

━━ you've always been aware that zhongli has been a fan but you've never been able to speak up about it due to your management.

━━ luckily for you, your contract with your previous strict company had ended just a while ago and under your new management, you were more free to do whatever you wanted.

━━ so obviously, you quote tweet the video, tag his account and say in a jokingly way that he should take you out on a date first.

━━ he doesn't publicly reply to your tweet because he already got in trouble with his management for answering such a risky question anyways and your tweet is a little too suggestive.

━━ but he also wants you to know he has seen the tweet. so his solution? to slip into your dms.

━━ and all of a sudden, the next time you're both seen together, you're besties? so people started connecting dots and shit, were they good at connecting them. moral of the story: never underestimate zhongli fans because collectively, they may be able to beat zhongli in an iq test.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 XIAO ━━ CONQUEROR OF DEMONS 〕

━━ best believe this man got death threated or held at gunpoint into admitting you're his celebrity crush.

━━ or he didn't do it at all and his members confessed for him just to tease him.

━━ happens on a group live, members are just vibing.

━━ xiao is sat in the back somewhere, scrolling through his phone with his earphones in so he doesn't notice his members shifting the camera to him or jumps onto him whilst holding the camera.

━━ when he does notice though, he takes out his earbud and your song just blARES through his earphone and it's fucking loud.

━━ he immediately turns it down but his fellow member already has this shit eating grin on his face and jumps onto xiao, successfully grabbing his phone and showing the live of 100k+ people.

━━ his homescreen is one of those "boyfriend/girlfriend/partner material" lockscreens of you and it shows that your song had been playing.

━━ xiao literally attacks his members and grabs his phone back, walking off to escape the embarrassment but can hear the echoing laughter as he walks down the hallway and slams his door closed.

Xiao lets out a sudden 'oompf' when his members glomps right ontop of him, grinning widely as they held up a camera to show off themselves and Xiao. Glancing at the camera, Xiao takes off an earbud, freezing when a loud upbeat tune echoes throughout the open area. Xiao ignores the feeling of his face heating up and turns down the song, ignoring the obvious gleeful stare of his member.

Almost on instinct, he moves his phone away but curse his parents for their genes because all it takes is a little stretching for his member to have his greasy fingers all over his phone, ripping it out of his hands and immediately running away to shield themselves from the wrath of all 5" and a bit of Xiao. When they deem it safe, they click on the home button of the screen, grinning amused at the homescreen.

"Look at fanboy Xiao!" And just like that, Xiao's cold demeanour had been shatteres infront of a plethora of people.

━━ you find it one of the most endearing things ever.

━━ literally how could you not? you find pride in yourself to have such a popular member of an idol group enjoy your work and it helps gain a little more confidence in yourself.

━━ it's brought up on a talk show kinda casually where the host is one of your friends so they are slightly teasing you for it all the whilst remaining on the professional side.

━━ and it's obvious to say that you're embarrassed by the way you chuckle and mess with your fingers and hair, but you hold yourself together anyways and manage a sweet "thank you for the support" to xiao when the host asks if you wanted to say something in case he was watching.

━━ and the very next day, on xiao's official instagram, he has a signed album and poster of yours, tagged and everything.

[emiliagalotti]

I was cooking up fanfic on the bus to work, as one does, and got to thinking about why so many people have reacted so emotionally negative to sentiadrien - and conversely, why the chorus of “he’s just like any other human being, Thomas said so on twitter” is so frequently sung by those who like the concept. 

The obvious problem is, of course, that the show hasn’t made any statements about the physical makeup of magically created beings, and for all we know, it never will. You don’t really need to think too hard about this to realise that no-one in charge ever wanted you to; Adrien eats, so his toilet probably stinks just like anyone else’s. The issue isn’t the logic, but the fact that after some three seasons of them, we’ve seen the insides of a number of sentimonsters and they sure don’t bleed; they dissolve in black plasma at the end of the battle. People were asking of sentibug could’ve had children and whatnot, and that says all that needs saying about how unclear this topic has been present on the show. 

I’m not among the crowd going “the author is dead la la la I can’t hear you”, but it’s relevant context the vast majority of the ML audience don’t follow Astruc on twitter. Most readings of his story won’t be done in the light of extratextual information provided on social media, and writers can’t rely on people knowing that you compared it to IVF when someone tweeted you about it. 

(the third problem, of course, is that test tube babies aren’t genetically engineered to absolute obedience to any person holding a random object, but that is a tale for a different day of “this is a show for kids, you’re not supposed to take it seriously”)

The not-so-instantly-obvious problem is the showing and the telling, which this show has a hit and miss relationship to already. There is definitely a tendency to put words into characters mouths that are supposed to explain something on-screen but just don’t convince because we never saw these things happen. Marinette supposedly being in love with Luka while both the relevant episodes show her being far further gone over Adrien; Ladybug sweet-talking Lady Wifi about how they’re BFFs when we’ve never seen them interact outside of battle and a couple of interviews; Chloé simply being selfish and evil to the bones despite being repeatedly shown to deeply care for Adrien and her father and even Miss Bustier. (Someone on youtube really hit the nail with how this is why “Kuro Neko” falls apart, but watching that one vid sent the algorithms straight into “maybe you’ll like these fifty thousand channels devoted to telling people why Miraculous Ladybug is terrible”, so approach with care)

In the end, the show hasn’t been telling much about sentimonsters at all, and what it has repeatedly shown is that they are doomed: not a single one of them has survived the episode in which they were introduced. The human sentimonsters are uniformly depicted as living dolls -  we only hear them speak a handful of lines suggesting that they have some conscious mind of their own, and only ever in dialogue with whoever has the Peacock. Nothing has been stated on-screen to lend nuance to this, barring our heroes being horrified to watch a copycat Ladybug be snapped out of existence and this was allegedly Very Sad (but not sad enough for anyone to remember it two minutes later, and so clearly not important to the story as a whole).

If Adrien is one of them - well, of course there’s going to be a solution of some sort, be that by somehow magically turning him into a Real Boy, giving him somehow secure posession of both Duusu’s miraculous and the amok, or somehow cataclysming himself and breaking the bondage. 

But those all rely on speculation and lore yet unknown (or known only on twitter, as the case might be), and not a single one of them seem obvious from the current standpoint. The show has consistently been depicting human sentimonsters as clearly not human through how instantly they are controlled and who easily they are destroyed, and the only contrary evidence are statements scattered on Thomas Astruc’s twitter history. 

Yeah, I get why the people are crying.