#hes just not in proximity of a character I really really hate thats trying to flirt with him

[skitskatdacat63]

If I had a nickel for every time there was a romanlukas piss scene, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

[dispotatorulzz]

Logging on here to say nonsense about Viv and Vex and then leaving again. Anyway if you didn't kno w Viv is my wife btw . Btw .

[readingwiththestars]

₊˚⊹♡ THE GRANDEST GAME

["Riddles are for people who enjoy playing,” .... “Do you consider yourself playful, Mr. Hawthorne?”]

| ✮ 4 stars |

THOUGHTS ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° . [!!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!] this is very long guys sorry

ok so *cracks knuckles* lets talk about tgg

!!warning i'm finishing this like four days after i read tgg so i might've forgotten things because reading until 2am and remembering what i read is apparently a hard thing for me to do!!

first of all.... JLB, you and i need to have a chat because that ending was not okay. you literally just left us with no answers. seriously. what the hell????? and while i wanna kick my feet and scream because we got two kisses and then you had to go ahead and ruin it in the span of two or three pages and give us that shitty ending.

i would like to point out one question i had through out the book, which was why was grayson playing? what was the point of that???? like seriously was there an actual need for him to play or was it just jameson, avery, xander and nash fucking with him? whatever it was it didn't make sense and just felt like jlb was trying to shove lyra and grayson into forced proximity so they could interact.

speaking of thatttt i love graysonlyra and rohansav (more thoughts on sav later) the banter the looks the touches the everything i love it sm omg AND AVERYJAMESON!!!!!!! THE CRUMBS WE WERE GETTING MADE ME SO HAPPY OMG!!! I CAN DIE HAPPY!!

i will say i feel jlb really did pull out all the stops for this book the different levels of everyone's connection and knowledge of how to solve the riddles/puzzles (i was literally CLUELESS) like how does one make all that connect. the level of detail was insane connecting books and characters together just weaving some kind of intricate web of characters.

and at first i did feel like the game felt really short but i think that was just my 2am dumbass brain forgetting this is only the first part of the game lol. i did kinda hope there would be more like running around and trying to solve things on the actual island not stuck in a house though but who knows whats happening in the next book soooo

it did get very confusing there with calla (who is fucking INSANE BY THE WAY!!! SHE TORTURED KNOX??? WTF????) and the whole calla lily thing with lyra and odette was confusing af. so its like calla (the person) has a connection with knox and brady and then a calla lily has a connection with odette and lyra (also kinda gray cause he knows abt it i guess)

and and and and im a die hard gigislate shipper (and brady daniels hater) so im praying that we get an enemies to lovers with gigi and slater where he's forced to be mean/hate or wtv because of *gags* eve and then its like oop no im breaking you out of here idc what eve thinks because i only care abt you. ESPCIALLY because gigi was talking abt how no ones ever looked at her the way jameson looks at avery throughout the book (SOMEBODY HIRE ME FR)

OK THATS ENOUGH RAMBLING ITS TIME TO FOR THE CHARACTERS

CHARACTERS ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° .

lyra - ok i love her. she was such a good strong character it was so much fun to read about her interactions (with grayson 😏) she was actual so wife material but idk why i felt like i wasnt allll that into her character too much like i love her but didn't really feel connected with her?? idk she was a very good fmc to read about tho!! but i do wanna know about miles end and her whole connection with her dead dad (who btw is an ass who tf kills themself in front of a FOUR YEAR OLD???) and whoever's stalking here (honestly i had a whole ass thing thinking its ALL PROBABLY EVE LIKE SHE WOULDA DONE THAT MUCH RESEARCH OR SOMETHING or maybe eve was js there for gigi) but now i think it might've been something to do with alice. who knows honestly

gigi - this is my time to shineeeeee. if gigi has zero fans i am dead (and slater bc im delusional like that) i love gigi so much omg. she's my no 1 girl i love her. my girl just needs someone to love her fr she talks through out the book about how she wants to be looked at with so much love (she thought it was brady BUT NO EW) i loved reading from her perspective abt how she just wanted to prove that she was good enough to be in the game AND SHE IS!!! im still bitter about her getting kicked out of the game - AND IM NOT EVEN GONNA TOUCH ON THE WHOLE KIDNAPPING AT THE END (GIGISLATE ENEMIES TO LOVERS WHEN????)

rohan - marry me. thats it. honestly just marry me. u need to work on ur nicknames tho- it was super interesting to read about his way of think and the whole labyrinth thingy lol. there wasn't too much more about his backstory tho WHICH IM SO INVESTED IN FR. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HIS FIRST MEMORY IS DROWNING????

savannah - girboss fr. she could step on me and i'd say thank you. its really interesting to me how (obviously) she's been manipulated by eve and it'll be super interesting to see how jlb will play out her whole revenge plan. she's extremely driven which is admirable and a good characters (she's literally like a female grayson imo - which also reminds me of that one scene where she goes "i am grayson hawthornes sister" which made me smile so big fr)

there are so many characters oml

knox - ok so my buddy boy knox. broski, brozilla, broville, brother from another mother, u need a hug? i didn't really like him in the beginning tbh he was a moody lil girl working through his issues. but after a while when he warmed to gigi it was nice to see the softer side to him (which tbh wasnt for very long until oop trauma dumpppp) but seriously oml knox baby the scar???? imma find calla fr (jlb cant write new characters also why complicate the shit out of everything and have a calla lily be relevant to lyra and also have calla be a person???) i did like how sweet/soft he was with gigi when she fell though that warmed my heart.

odette - iconic grandma shit tbh. she was third wheeling the entire time and at some points actually seemed like she was shipping them but then two seconds later she was warning them? saying no? idk the whole 'seizure' thing seems faker than eve's lies. and the fact she instantly gave brady the watch after gigi said no. like um what about knox? idk if thats js my brady hate coming through here though so yeah idk if i trust her or not (bet everyone is working for eve except for gigi, lyra and rohan)

grayson - marry me. love me. choose me. pls. i'd do ANYTHING. my simping for this man aside. IT WAS SO GODDAMN REFRESHING TO SEE A HEALING GRAYSON. like yes. it made me so happy to see him admit he was wrong but also know that its okay to be wrong skdjhaasd. this is so short because i love him and cant write proper thoughts about him fr.

brady - *cracks even more knuckles* brady daniels....... you know i've always wanted to know what it'd be like to write a hate paragraph. i guess im finding out now. i hate him. literally. i have unbridled hate for this man - who by the way still shocks me that he's only 20 he acts like he saw the fucking first world war. its one of the reasons i never liked him like he sooo took advantage of gigi's smartness and kindness like HE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING during the game gigi carried the entire team and when she refused to take odette's watch and then him instantly taking it. ICKKKK don't even mention how he lied abt his mom like dude just admit it you knew you were fucking cooked in that fight and the only way you could win was by lying. AND WHAT ABOUT THE WHOLE BOMBSHELL ABOUT HOW (i cant remember his name but the dude who raised knox, calla and brady) died??? and then being a little shit and dropping gigi's heart. like we get it u dumbass man child u think you're clever cause u can speak so many languages and read even more but NO. i was onto you, i never trusted your crusty old man ass. like he even touched gigi without her permission (on the stomach) which so gross to me, the dogshit under my shoe can do better than you brady. seriously. i hate him. i'm the leader and founder of the I HATE BRADY DANIELS CLUB. so thats at least something to sate my anger. help this got so long 😭

QUOTES ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° . [i'm putting like two because this already wayyyyy to long for anyone to actually bother reading.]

"you will come back to me, or i will make you come back to me." - grayson

"Beside Avery, Jameson was looking at her like she was the sun and the moon and the stars and eternity, all rolled into one." - gigi

"give me your eyes sweetheart." - grayson

if you're here at the end of this *APPLAUSE* i commend you on getting through that kilometre of my shit thoughts. have a piece of cake 🍰

[love-beyond-space-war]

hey if you feel up to it could you do one about Jega? one where there's no mention of his death, he acts increasingly sweeter towards the reader, isn't too violent, and is protective? if not thats completely fine!

I assume this was meant to be a short story but I decided to try and experiment with those kinds of fics that's like a hybrid of HCs and a short story so I can experiment with a plot for this :0 Sorry if this is what you wanted and it took too long, still trying to get back into the swing of my side blog.

I kept the pairing general, I hope it all came out okay!

Jega 'Rdomnai being protective/caring of Reader

(HCs and Story Segments - Halo Infinite AU)

Synopsis/Summary: HCs and mini interactions/story pieces of Jega 'Rdomnai showing softer behavior towards reader and ways if could work.

Content Warning: Gender-Neutral Reader/Male Character pairing, Romantic/Platonic pairing, OOC Jega 'Rdomnai at times (Normally a sadistic character), Canon typical violence/death, Sangheili/Sangheili pairing mentioned, Human/Sangheili pairing mentioned, Dark themes mentioned, Mature language.

Jega is a Sangheili that joined the Banished due to his cybernetics.

He is also much more bloodthirsty than most Sangheili, even befriending Escharum despite the animosity between their species.

He is part of The Hands of Atriox and is a Spartan Killer.

Many fear him and his sadistic tendencies during his hunts.

He's killed many humans and is merciless to enemies.

Which is why the concept of him being softer towards anyone is foreign.

No one really expects Jega to have any sort of soft side.

He's a cold killer... for the most part.

In terms of how reader could meet them, here's some ways I think you could be compatible.

You'd have to be part of the Banished, be you taken in as a prisoner before joining or joining willingly.

Jega's affections towards you would be quicker if you were Sangheili as well, both betrayed and abandoned by your kind.

When you first met Jega it was a relatively cold greeting. Both of you haven't had the best interactions with your own kind. However, The Banished promised to give you a fresh start to make your own life.

Most of the time you two ignored each other. He was often off hunting the UNSC while you had your own duties. Yet you hoped the relatively cold interactions wouldn't last long.

After all, part of you felt intrigue towards the Sangheili, despite his Cybernetics.

Maybe he even felt similar to you and just did not show if as of yet, instead opting to walk by you with a passive glance.

If you're a human, another option I enjoy the thought of, Jega would take longer.

Even though you're part of The Banished for your own reasons, he still sees you as one of the many weak humans in this world.

However, part of him may feel particularly fond of you despite the opinions he expresses.

Humans are indeed part of the Banished. Be it soldiers no longer willing to be loyal to the UNSC or humans who were willing to make business, everyone had their reasons. Reasons they did not have to share if they did not wish to.

All that really mattered was you were Banished now and you worked with the group loyally.

When it came to Jega you tended to stay away most of the time. He's known for killing humans and you'd rather not piss him off. Any sort of proximity to Jega was usually met with you shuffling away and nodding at him to pass by from a distance.

Despite this the Sangheili often passed by you during work. You thought it was because he didn't trust you. Yet it was so often it did make you wonder if he had other intentions.

After all, if he hated you, why would he come by so often?

Either way, Jega would be someone who's slow to show anything other than stoic emotions and sadistic violence.

Unlike Chak 'Lok, Jega isn't as polite as The Tower's torturer.

He thrives off the suffering of others, so when it comes to you he isn't used to being so... close?

His companionship towards you is definitely slow to occur.

It takes some interaction between you two, maybe even some favors, in order to grow close.

He finds it understandable that he'd want to be close with a Sangheili, but a human puzzles him.

Why does he want to be close to the very prey he kills?

For some reason... when you aid him as a member of The Banished regardless on your species, he finds companionship towards you.

It's like how he felt with his fellow brothers before he was tossed out of his entire society.

He finds comfort in you despite the bloodshed he reigns in.

Just maybe... you're someone he should keep an eye on?

Jega wasn't sure why he felt such a... fondness towards you. It wasn't quite like how he felt towards Escharum. With the Jiralhanae he felt something more like a brotherhood relationship.

When it came to you he felt more... calm? He felt something that he hasn't felt towards anyone in what felt like forever. It was only when he met you that he felt such a way.

Jega decides to make a silent promise to himself to check in with you more often. Maybe if he becomes a closer member with you he'll find why you make him this way.

He just hopes Escharum will allow him to explore such a curiosity.

Once Jega catches wind of his own affections to towards you he would definitely be one to scope out why.

He doesn't want it conflicting with his duty so he spends free time hunting you down to look into this interest of his.

As expected, someone of his infamy has trouble connecting with you.

Part of you expresses that you're impressed, however if you're human you certainly express more discomfort.

He tries his best to listen to conversation that you bring up, finding himself listening closer than he thought when you bring up pieces of your backstory.

He appears hesitant to speak about his own but eventually he'll share pieces of how he got here.

Honestly through conversations, favors, and time... you could probably unlock some sort of softness in Jega when you're alone?

Jega isn't going to be the type who is overly affectionate or anything like that, most Sangheili just aren't.

He shows his care for you in subtle ways.

You notice his tone is less gruff and he eases it to be softer around you.

To you it appears he cares, but it's subtle enough others don't really notice.

Or if they do, Jega threatens them to keep quiet.

He's still violent, it isn't going to change, but never towards you.

In fact he's more protective and loyal towards you, similar to Escharum but softer.

His protective tendencies over you are done out of respect.

He knows you can fight if you're a Sangheili, yet will stick beside you just to make sure you do come out fine.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Spartan Killer." You comment when the infamous Sangheili materializes out of his camo beside you.

"I was called here." Jega answers simply, following you as you continue your patrol.

"Really? Last I knew someone of your skill is never called for patrols." You say back, a teasing bite in your tone.

"... seen anything?" Jega answers simply.

"No, if I needed back up I'd call for it." You slowly turn to him. "However... I don't mind the company, since you're so free."

Jega says nothing else and cloaks beside you in silence until he's called to slaughter another demon.

When it comes to if you're a human he appears to stick around more.

Fear is not in Jega's vocabulary, he just feels if your base is attacked you'll need a strong warrior to help.

You're both Banished partners after all, regardless of species.

"I want you to hide." Jega's order is demanding, a warning.

"Aren't I supposed to fight, Jega? For the sake of The Banished?" You ask, hiding the fear in your gut.

"And get yourself killed? Stay out of this. That's an order." Jega growls, shoving you out of sight.

Jega doesn't care if you're an ex-spartan, far as he knows he's going to treat you like a weak human. You've managed to make an impression on him and he isn't going to lose you to something stupid. He doesn't care if others look at him in disgust or amusement...

If you're alive and under his protection, he can rest easy.

He makes a mental note to see Escharum about moving you to somewhere more secure.

The most I can see Jega being when it comes to affectionate is him rewarding you with his protection and companionship.

He could see you as simply another Banished ally he's close with, or something much more.

He's already been cast out from his species by using forbidden cybernetics, he's already befriended Jiralhanae, at this point he does what he likes.

If he wants to dedicate himself to protecting you and caring for you, he will.

Jega cares and maybe even feels love towards you in his own way.

He may not be very affectionate or "loving" in the "traditional" sense.

But there is certainly a sense of care there when it comes to you.

"I used to be intimidated by you." You say softly towards the taller Sangheili.

"You're not now?" Jega scoffs.

"Don't get me wrong, you're infamous and terrifying at times. But between me and you... I feel safe." You go on with a slight laugh. Jega listens softly, eyes flicking to you.

"What are you implying?"

"I'm saying... I care about you, from one Banished to another." You finish, leaning against a wall. Jega soaks in your words before nodding softly, checking to see if you're still in private.

"... I can say the same." Jega admits. "You provide a sense of comfort no one else can. For that, I thank you."

You shine him a small smile.

"That's a first. I hope we can keep such a thing going?" You ask in a hopeful tone.

"Don't let it get to your head..." The Sangheili grunts before softening his tone. "... but I think the same."

[andromeddog]

pls talk more about your scottish highlander regiment ocs…… they are so enchanting.. i love the officers

anon i hope you are prepared for a lot of rambling under the cut

hello and welcome to my twisted mind.... i'll try to condense the 10k google doc of lore into something passable here. BASICALLY all of these ww1 guys are part of a web of interconnecting stories that intersect and span before/during/after the war. the main group are the four rugby boys who live in Stirling, Scotland and are drawn into the war in 1916 following the military service act...

from left to right we've got connor, james, peter, and johnny! excuse my bad handwriting but here's the jist of their dynamics. they play rugby together before everything goes to shit (peter is captain, james is the star player, johnny is stupidly reckless, and connor keeps getting into fights) a group of good guys, if a bit rowdy. they join up with the 14th Service Battalion of the Argyll & Sutherlands and spend most of the war fighting on the western front!

two old sketches of johnny and peter..... i think these r from like spring 2022? anyway i could go into more detail about their interpersonal issues but it's a lot and i feel like that could b its own post... ultimately connor gets killed taking out a stormtrooper (another oc) and peter loses a leg about a week later. james contracts influenza and gets sent home but eventually recovers, leaving johnny to finish out the war by himself. their group is definitely not the same after the war, and peter & james in particular really struggle with ptsd in the following years.

AND THE OFFICERS. WOO. aka toxic old man yaoi aka Lt Kincaide and Lt Irvine. these two spend like three full decades being catty and hating each other before they end up getting together LOL it goes something like this: kincaide is from a wealthy family, irvine is not, they meet at school and end up going to the same military academy prewar. they rly hate each other from the beginning and would probably just be petty rivals HOWEVER. irvine is sneaking around somewhere he 1000% should not be and catches kincaide in a very compromising position w another man. irvine intends to tattle but kincaide blackmails irvine into keeping quiet- irvine is there solely on scholarship and kincaide has enough social clout to ruin his military career. basically if kincaide goes down he's taking irvine with him.

that sets the stage for a decades long contentious relationship- partially bc they just keep bumping into each other. irvine obessively tries to find ways to end kincaide's career and kincaide loooooves fucking with him. individually they're very competent people- kincaide is an especially beloved officer even if he is a bit of a romantic snob, and irvine is insanely effective if a bit rigid and cold. these guys got issues on top of issues but proximity eventually leads to a healthy rivalry that becomes something like friendship that becomes basically being married. by the end of the war they are staples in each others lives but they dont get together until a decade or so after it's all over... they each take some damage during the war and spend their later years taking care of each other :')

my beloved old men. they are so fucked up. mutsache4mustache <3

there is so much i could say about them individually and the deep lore but im such a horrendous writer. also this is like a quarter of all of their stuff minus about four characters. the ideal format for this story would be a 300 chapter webcomic/graphic novel but i have neither time nor skill nor attention span for such a sprawling story so it'll just be random illustrations and blurbs in the tags. and my google docs. if any of this has interested ppl i've made a rugby boy playlist and an officers playlist bc im insane. you can get the vibes of their stories a lot better.

and uh i think thats a super rough version of these guys. anon i hope you know that i love you and this ask was so delightful to get <3

[bbgmessi]

O!Erling and A! Odegaard enjoying a lazy Saturday Morning:

Martin is frustrated after yesterday's game and feels like he failed his team despite his trying his best. Man City is quickly climbing the ladder behind Arsenal, and Erling(though elated) is understanding of his boyfriend's feelings

He gets up early and makes him a breakfast in bed with all his fav things.

(IDK much about Norwegian food Lefse was very good but I have the weirdest food preferences so you help me w what you think Martin would like but whatever it is Erling makes it)

(do swedish ppl and norwegian ppl eat similar food? Sorry for the proximity bias lol)

Martin is upset at first waking up alone

But he hears his man in the kitchen and calms himself down

I headcannon Erling doesn’t like breakfast food so maybe he makes himself a mini pizza

Erling’s hatred of breakfast would always make martin laugh bc its very out of character for him

Erling bringing up the food 

They are silent until theyre half way done w their meal

Alot to unpack

Some media sources contributing their shit performance due to his “distraction” aka his relationship w Erling

A LOAD of online hate from supporters and opponents

Fans worried Erling is tryng to sabotage him mentally so Arsenal fumbles the league

Opponents just saying this is what happens when you sleep w S*ts 

Live love twitter trolls you know. 

Erling reaffirms that he was the heart of the game and that he did his best 

Real fans still love him and if he wants to do better he needs to keep his head up

Martin in turn checking on haaland bc of the missed pk

Erling’s dm’s always weird b/c 50% normal hate 

Like ppl saying hes a machine and he ran out of oil and thats why he missed the shot (Completely igoring his other goal)

Others saying its an example of omegas craking underpressure

Hyperanlysing the kick and saying its indicative of a bad future 

Despite the fact that its like the only goal he’s missed????

Twats

Some fans want an end to their relationship bc it stresses THEM out as if Erling’s personal life is their business

The Erling are Marting are in love and trolls wont change that 

 Martin is very appreciative of his boyfriend’s gesture  and he show it.

The two usually have such strict schedules but for now they’ll relax with their food and a harry potter marathon (I see them adopting a yellow lab so perhaps their dog is in bed watching with them.

ok before answering the hcs i’m so fascinated by u anon when did u try lefse ❤️ we do eat some similar food but not all but also i like to hand wave around it and claim scandinavian privilege for fic purposes❤️ (sometimes i just make up what fits my ideas best. it’s my universe now)

martin knowing disappointment so well, he’s lost enough games with norway, spent enough time loaned out from rm and all that so arsenal kinda choking is such a dark but familiar feeling for him 😔 so erling tries his hardest to help him relax by making breakfast for him… it’d be so funny if erling was like hey babe did you see what they’re saying about us. and martin is all. you shouldn’t read that you know but erling just finds it funny how much people hate him so he’ll read out loud from his phone about how people think he has an evil master plan to destroy martins psyche so city can come out on top (as if i’d do that to team norway.. fuck up our team dynamic forever just for that… he sighs)

also about the penalty kick.. that was like the first one he’s missed in what two years??? but people are tearing him DOWN over it, and martin can sense that he doesn’t really find it that funny anymore. maybe it’s getting to him a little:(( like erling is not even twenty three and he’s trying and working SO hard and martin makes sure he knows that it’s appreciated but trolls online are SO harsh. they both just need a pick me up lol

[zalrb]

"Stefan was walking over to Bonnie’s. The words the witch Damon took him to, Nandi, had been ringing in his head nonstop, tearing and ripping him, pulling him apart: “You want her free? You have to set her free. Tell her to live her life without you and never think of you again, to stop caring about you, and then leave her. That's the only way around the sire bond.”

NOT ME THINKING THE WITCH WAS GONNA TELL HIM ABOUT THE HUMANITY SWITCH LOOPHOLE. wait... now that i think about it... if stefan knew about the humanity switch loophole, do you think hed tell her to turn it off? i kinda feel like he wouldnt lol

"He had confronted Damon afterwards.  “You knew this didn’t you?”

Damon shrugged, which meant yes."

"But still, he needed to get a second opinion, needed to talk to Bonnie about the possibility that there was just something, something they were missing."

THATS SO STELENA

"Stefan was going to speed away but it was too late, Elena had seen him. She was halfway through the door and Stefan was deeper in the foyer but their gaze, both anguished and relieved, was fixed to each other, charging the air around them with yearning.

Elena walked into the foyer fully, closing the door behind her, and it didn’t take long after that. They were in close proximity to one another for no more than a few moments and their bodies were already syncing to each other, their heartbeats had found the same rhythm, they were breathing in tandem."

lol theyre hopelessly in love with each other and im hopelessly in love with THEM

stefan giving in, STELENA MAKING OUT

"He ripped away from her, panting heavily. Elena slid down the wall, heated and gasping and wanting. 

She watched him back away from her and slowly shake his head. "I'm sorry," he panted. "I'm sorry."

"His eyes were squeezed shut. "I shouldn't -- I shouldn’t have -- that was selfish --”

LOL. this really highlights the contrast between damon and stefan. damon always goes on about selfless he is with elena while actively hurting her. meanwhile stefan hates himself for the smallest mistakes. like yeah, i get why hes trying to stay away from her but ONE make out session after weeks of restraint doesnt make him selfish. poor guy is so hard on himself, which (unfortunately) is very in character for him

"Look at me. Stefan? Look at me. I love you ---”

THIS FANFIC MAKES ME PAINFULLY AWARE OF SINGLE I AM, I NEED MY OWN ELENA

"He was shaking his head. "No, no no, I can't do this, Elena."

Suddenly, he took off. 

Elena followed him."

GET YOUR MAN BACK

LOL. this really highlights the contrast between damon and stefan. damon always goes on about selfless he is with elena while actively hurting her. meanwhile stefan hates himself for the smallest mistakes. like yeah, i get why hes trying to stay away from her but ONE make out session after weeks of restraint doesnt make him selfish. poor guy is so hard on himself, which (unfortunately) is very in character for him

yeah, i was just thinking of the way the sirebond plays out in season 4 and the emphasis is this

and I was like nah, Stefan isn't agonizing over whether or not it's real or whether or not her feelings are heightened or how it makes him feel, he's agonizing over the power dynamics.

NOT ME THINKING THE WITCH WAS GONNA TELL HIM ABOUT THE HUMANITY SWITCH LOOPHOLE.

oh you know i won't make it that easy, lol.

[redxblueihateloveyou]

Hiiii!!! 💫💕🌸🥳

Can I bother with a question... I was (re)watching that zhang qiling edit (not today) - 'cause it's so cool, btw- and I wondered if Reboot Xiaoge’s your favourite one...? And if you're up to answering, what do you think about the other adaptations? Especially (our small bean) xiao yuliang's interpretation of xiaoge?

🤗🌺💐🐰💕

Hey, my precious patootie hehe ILY it always makes me very happy knowing that you rewatch my vids <3

lol dang it, I was kinda hoping to avoid this question, just because I feel like I'd find it hella hard to explain some things, but I'll try my best and hopefully it'll make some sense xD

I'll start from afar bc I wanna try to explain my reasonings, since I don't want to go without arguments into such highly debated question lolz. I talked about this a bit in my previous asks somewhere, but not broadly as to why that one guy hit all the right spots.

So throughout the books Wu Xie always does this wonderful thing, where he very tangibly describes the feeling he gets when Xiaoge is near, I mean like the aura around him. And he always somehow does it so colorful, that this mix of safety, assurance, calmness, composure and some things I can't quite put into one noun, that he brings to him, I think everyone who've read the books can recognize as this almost magical "Xiaoge feeling". It's not just the way he acts in some dangerous situations or smth like that. It's just everything. You either have it or you don't. And here goes my first argument... to me none of them, except for Huang Junjie and Yuliang have it.

I mean it's not even the obvious stuff, it's like the way they move during the action scenes, the way they even stand and hold themselves, the way they touch Wu Xie, the tone of their voices (both of which are like soothing as fuck), little things you'd think wouldn't matter, but when you watch it and all the puzzle pieces are together, you're like... fuck yeah, thats him.

Also not really that weighty of a point, but to me there's always a joy to see that the actor who plays the character not only gets what's he's playing, but also loves it, bc it's always seen on screen. Usually when some asked about the character they play and what they have in common for example they answer with obvious things like if some character is introverted they're like "well I also don't talk very much" or smth like that, you know what I mean. When I was watching interviews of Yuliang and Huang Junjie I was just smiling so much, bc they've said such things that made me go "yeah, Qiling is safe in their hands".

In Reboot case working in such close proximity with the author definitely also played a huge role here. Bc it kinda gets complicated in some aspects since the books are written from Wu Xie's point of view and you can't only base your picture on his perspective, just bc it's coming from a person who after being basically told "you're my whole world" goes "I'm just a person he randomly passes by in his long life" in his thoughts. Not only he's utterly clueless and dumb when it comes to all this, that he wouldn't notice the way Qiling looks at him and other things, its also not that kind of book, that would go "I suddenly caught poker face looking at me like I'm his whole existence" (and I honestly don't want it to be that book lmao). So you have to take into the account here stuff like what author says to get the whole picture, bc if you look at that from the point of Qiling's view for example, this shit takes a whole wild turn. So I really loved that in UN and Reboot ways of showing Qiling's feelings were well thought out and fit the timeline.

Bc it also works both ways, when it comes to other adaptations. Like Qiling is very and I mean ETREMELY hard to win over. We all know that it was a very long process of gaining his trust and even longer for him to fall for Wu Xie to the point of him being his everything. So what I want in those interpretations is for them to get at which point of their relationships what Xiaoge's behavior makes sense. I do not need any fanservice if it ruins the character, I'll just hate it. The thing that their feelings didn't come out of nowhere is what I LOVE about this ship, bc I'm not the kind of person who believes in "we love for nothing" thing and love at first sight thing (only "got hots for each other" at first sight), bc thats bull. Wu Xie became his everything after a long LONG process of getting to know each other. At the beginning tho he was the same stranger to him as everyone else. So what Reboot Qiling feels for Wu Xie is not what UN's Qiling feels for Wu Xie yet and what UN's Qiling feels for Wu Xie is not what Lost Tomb's Qiling feels for Wu Xie (which at that point was nothing). And I feel like not everyone gets the fact that you can totally wreck the character if you make him behave not the way he behaved in that particular time. Like for example, if someone would make a MDZS adaptation where at the very beginning of their relationships LZ treats WWX the way he treated him after the reincarnation just because "who cares, it's still LZ", that would be dumb af, see what I mean. So Xiaoge having a weakness for Wu Xie in part one is automatically not a Xiaoge to me, bc a huge part of his character and the thing NPSS speaks a lot about is just how IMPOSSIBLE it is for someone to catch his attention and how long it took Wu Xie to get there. So let's just say to me UN and Reboot Qilings for the first time didn't feel like some mashup or character summary/parody, they were Qilings the way they are supposed to be in that part of the story, bc it was the only times someone actually bothered to coordinate it.

Now as to why I prefer one to another. Xiaoge has this thing... the way he holds himself with other people, that is sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally suppressing.

Like everyone knows that if you're a passerby, Qiling genuinely doesn't fucking care and would in fact be pretty harsh about it in terms of treating people like they do not deserve their attention. He won't be like "please, don't bother me", he simply ignored them like an empty space. He is also like that with acquaintances who in his opinion do not deserve his respect like that girl who went hysterical, bc she was upset that he was the only one who wasn't drooling on her like all other men on the crew, Chen Wenjin, Wu Xie's uncles and etc. He's not openly disrespectful unless they trigger him in some way (usually by trying to act superior or later on for not treating Wu Xie right), but if they do, he will in fact remind them their place in sometimes a very rude way, at times humiliating them in front of ppl bc he looks younger than them and talking starts.

He's always doing things on his own terms and hates being told what to do. Like he legit scared Chen Wenjin just with a look and the tone of his voice when he said "let go", when she tried to command him on the mission and grabbed him trying to lecture him about what he should or shouldn't do. That's why Wu Erbai didn't even try anything like this and let him do whatever he needed to do and equally lead the mission in Reboot. And why the scene where Wu Xie 'commands' "Xiaoge, come back" and he immediately listens holds another special place in my heart. Bc he NEVER and I mean NEVER allows such things to ANYONE.

So here I came to a point of why despite loving them both dearly, my favorite Xiaoge is Huang Junjie.

I have this dissonance with Yuliang's version when to me in many scenes it felt like he and Wu Xie are the same age. Like if he was Xiaoge, but in his 20s. In his interactions with Chen Wenjin the dynamics was turned upside down, with him being okay with her telling him what to do and just in general the way she behaved with him. Same as like I didn't always quite believe him to be on par with older generation or even Pangzi, it just felt like he was truly younger than them. Some scenes that I do find extremely cute just don't fit book Xiaoge at all, I'm talking about some moments like his face when Wu Xie gave him food, or him pouting and many things he's done, when you were going "uwu he's a baby". He just never gives me this feeling in the books ever, not just bc he's 100 years old, but sad fact here.. bc he's simply unable to behave that way. Like in the books you'll desperately want to shower him with love, but he's just... I can't quite explain, it's very sad.

I guess it's just you know these characters, who are like hundreds years old, but look like they're 18? I think you have to be very careful with how you write those, so you could deliver that. And in UN because of some changed dynamics and scenes I straight up forgot about it, until Wu Xie threw some joke like "he's an old man" in front of a restaurant.

In Reboot Xiaoge could make Wu Erbai stutter with one move, put Yuliang's version in the same scene, I just don't think it would've worked. Like I'm trying to imagine him telling UN's Wu Erbai what to do and having troubles already haha. Same as I don't think he's capable to be genuinely mad at Wu Xie, and HJJ nailed it esp in one of my fav when Wu Xie was laughing at Pangzi's joke about him catching cold. The look he gave him and how ZYL just retreated was priceless xD. And boy could Qiling get angry with him in the books!

Otherwise I didn't have any drastic fall outs there, like with Joseph's Wu Xie and Ah Ning's death, because that was just too much of a difference, but there were still moments where it was once again this the same scene completely different emotion thing. He was more tolerable to ppl in general here, more pliable. And 50% of the time he gave me the cute lost kitten type, which I just cannot connect with the feeling he gave me in the books. His personality is a cat type 100%, but like seriously "cute baby" is the last word combination I would ever apply to book Xiaoge, but with Yuliang's version it's easily applied. So small bean he is indeed. With Joseph and in UN it works incredibly perfect to me, but the way he is in UN is at times too gentle. And there are lots of scenes where Joseph himself looked at him in a way "you're too cute, let me pinch your cheeks" kind of way, or the way he like sat down next to him on the coast, he was a bit babying him at times. I can't imagine book pingxie doing that. It's just a whole different vibe, the way he takes care of him, the way he lets him take care of him... it's...uuuuuuuuu another vibe (see, I'm so good at explaining lmao).

It's also kinda funny to me, bc HJJ who's the smallest and who irl truly a kitten never once gave me that feeling on screen for some reason. The one babied and loved by every crew and old ppl, who was cutely hiding behind ZYL's back on set, who won't sue an ex who almost ruined his career bc of how stupid she is, bc he "didn't want to hurt her", who according to staff can't even step on a fly, whom CMH was petting for several minutes after he had to hit him with a prop brick bc he didn't wanna do it lmao. I was just like.. ok, this is hilarious, bc I in fact didn't expect him to be a small bean, so watching all the bts made me go LOOOOL. Probably ZYL acting like a 3 year old helped him transform and the age difference problem got lost lmao

As for other adaptations. You know I can't watch seriously "Lost Tomb", I think some ppl probably have some nostalgic feeling about it, but I'm sorry, to me it's fucking hilarious. Like I've already said it looks like some type of twilight parody thing or smth. Soft damselle Wu Xie esp killed me, bc 1st when he ever was that, 2nd in the first book he's salty af, I don't even know this dude in this interpretation, I was like who's this. YangYang I know him from other things, I really don't think it's his role. I know the script and everything is bad. I know the costume and hair are horrendously funny, but it's just I was watching him in those action scenes and was like no... just I'm sorry but I'm not feeling it. I simply just don't know what to say about the whole thing seriously, bc I don't even know where to start. 10 episodes of some salad finished with one mutilated scene from book 6 for no reason the fact that characters are weird themselves also I can't quite tell, did they really just meet or they imply smth else lmao.. I'm sorry, but I do not get it.

I've given LT2 another try after finishing all the books and I've dropped it half way through, Cheng Yi wasn't even close to how I pictured Xiaoge in any aspect. He in fact didn't do anything OOC or off the book or anything, I just was like "not my Qiling". Happens sometimes.

Explore with the note you already know how I feel about this lol let's just forget.

P.S. To be fair here also maybe we should take into account the fact that some got luckier than other with "at which point" Xiaoge they're playing. Like for example, "Wrath of the Sea" and "Qingling Tree" books which is LT2 is not exactly you can say much about Qiling there, he trolls them there in the beginning (in a brilliant way that was totally lost in the adaptation) and he is there in "Wrath of Sea", but it's not the part that can make his character shine in any way, there's not much things happening there that would make you fall for him or get to know him; Yuliang grabbed the fattest piece bc it's middle several books, when they're always together and his character shines the most in terms of clues about past, opening up to Wu Xie and Pangzi, and there are many many events where you can get the picture of what kind of man he is; Huang Junjie grabbed my fav piece of utter devotion, where he's already fully and wholeheartedly belongs to Wu Xie, that I'm just weak for. So like... there's also that I guess xD.

[omwriter]

Some Character Thoughts

[in regards to Belphegor]

Happy Valentine's Day, I don't. Have ROMANTIC content per say, but this should contain discussion of Familial Love .. and we've evolved enough as a collective society to have today be about all sorts of love, right? Right,

My.. notes?

These might be an unpopular opinion. Fair enough, I just wanted to address that.

This will, unfortunately, look a bit like a written variation of the Pepe Silvia meme. Apologies in advance.

I might ...? Do more of these? Or even more parts to this one? We'll see. Would like to know if anyone cares for this sort of thing. (Though that won't exactly affect whether I do more or not.)

There are spoilers for chapter 16, in case thats a concern. Also mentions of death.

I find that while quite a few will tap into other aspects, one aspect I don't really see is Belphie's love for his family and the lengths he will go for them.

(Interestingly enough, this is a similar thing I've noticed when looking for content about Lucifer.)

Yes, Belphie killed MC because he hates humans. Yes, he only really started warming upto them after learning about their connection to his sister.

But I haven't really seen the connecting of dots between "Belphie went to the point of killing MC, and after all the obstacles put in front of him" and "Belphie hates humans because he believes his sister is dead because of one".

Or rather, those two points have been made but . Not the points in between? Or the points after? (?)

Belphie hates the humans he once loved so much because of his sister's death... and feels a big enough type of way about a human being in close proximity to his brothers to the point of plotting their death.

(Anger? Fear? A mix of both?)

(Is this making sense...? In other words..) Belphie, the Avatar of Sloth, the lazy demon that sleeps through most everything and is smart without really trying, went through the effort of plotting MC's death after being locked away. Not for himself, but because he felt some Big type of way about his brothers interacting with humans, a feeling(or feelings) probably influenced by his belief that the root of his sister's death was a human.

...What I'm trying to say is that he cares about his family to the point of expending this sort of effort to keep them safe and with him. (Time and again with Belphie actual effort put in = care.)

('Why are you saying it in this weird roundabout way?' I'm trying to be open about subjective details haha. 'Isn't this whole post subjective?' ... I SUPPOSE!)

Backtracking a bit, I also don't see alot of mileage out of "Belphie loved and was fascinated by humans"? Though, to be fair game canon kind of threw that in and then didn't do much of anything with it.

(Very odd.. my first thought when considering it was .. "Belphie loved and was fascinated by humans.. surely he would have been the perfect person to put in charge of looking after MC for their student exchange program if he hadn't been locked away? As long as they were both watched carefully.. or even if they weren't wouldn't it be interesting if-")

(Maybe this should have been a post about my contemplations on that divergence of the timeline. Haha.)

(.. did you really stick around to the end here? Ok. A Note. Do I think Belphie is completely redeemed in killing MC? Not really. However, I do think there's more nuance on the hows and whys and whats that I hope others can consider as well!)

(I'm kinda open to discussion.. however I also acknowledge that again, I don't think I'm in the majority 😅 so quite a few things I've found I just don't agree with when reading them.. this to say that don't let me discourage you from differing HCs!)

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Julie and the Phantoms Theory

Wow so I just binged watched julie and the phantoms on netflix and this show is amazing, like really really fantastic. It is aimed at a younger audience than most of the series I watch but it really doesn’t matter, I do think this is a show that any age group can enjoy. The music in it is so so good and I’ve been listening to the songs on replay non stop. Also have two new ships I am obsessed with Juke and Willex. If you haven’t seen the show it is defo one I would recommend. However despite watching the whole season I have soo many questions that need answering and well anyone who has read any of my posts ever know how much I love to over analyse and obsess/ theorise about tv shows. The rest I am going to put under the tag because of spoilers so if you want to hear some thoeries/ analysis then read on, but I should warn you I am going to be talking about the sensitive topics of death and bereavement so only do so if you feel comfortable. 

 So one of the biggest questions I have is regarding the deaths of Alex, Luke and Reggie. Now I know that they die from eating bad street hotdogs and I know alot of the reason why they die that way is for the comedy aspect of it. I mean one of the many things this show did really well was balancing the comedy aspects with the emotional aspects. I appreciate that as the audience we are suppose to just accept this somewhat wacky death and go with it but well thats just not me and I kept wondering what exactly was wrong with the hotdogs that it actually killed them. Some things about it just don’t add up and I hate not knowing the answers so here are some theories I have, some more outlandish than others. 

Theory 1- Food Posioning (Honestly this isn’t really a theory but lets just go with it)

My first thought when I first watched it is the most obvious one which is they got food poisoning. I mean the place they got the hotdogs from didn’t look the most sanitary. However here’s the part that doesn’t add up for me and that is how quickly they died. We know from Alex’s comment to Willy in episode 8 that they were two hours away from going on stage the night they died. This means they had to have started showing symptoms within those two hours before the show which lead to the ambulance being called. In the first episode Reggie says that after they floated out of the ambulance they went to a dark room. The part that caught my attention here is the line about the ambulance as this tells us that they died in the ambulance before they ever got to the hospital. Now I don’t know how far away the hotdog place was from The Orpheum but I’m assuming it was fairly close considering how important the show was to them, I personally wouldn’t go too far from the venue if I had a big show in just a couple of hours.  According to my google search the nearest hospital to The Orpheum is Diginity Health California Hospital Medical Center. This hospital is only 5 mins away from The Orpheum, obviously I know this time would be effected by traffic amongst other factors but the point is the time between ingesting the hotdogs and them dying was relatively short. Which makes it unlikely that they died from food posioning. Whilst food poisoning can kill its very rare and usually takes a lot longer than a few hours I mean ordinarily it takes days. So the likelihood that all three of them would have been killed by food posioning that quickly is actually slim to none.

Theory 2- It was Premeditated.  

My next theory is much much darker and definitely more out there. It also depends on how dark they plan to go with Bobby/Trevor’s character. But we know that Bobby stays behind and doesn’t go for hotdog’s claiming to be a vegetarian (which was a lie), he also seems to be pretty eager for the other three to go. Now in the scene it seems like the reason for this is so he can be alone to filrt with Rose but what if Bobby had more sinister plans what if he had some hand in the boys’ deaths and had actually posioned them or arranged for them to be poisoned. Maybe he always planned to steal Luke’s songs and take all the credit, fame and money for himself. When Julie looks up Sunset Curve on her phone you can get a glimpse at the article she reads. In the article it says ‘There was a surviving band member, Bobby, but no one has been able to track him down...’ This article seems to have been written about a week after the night they died which shows that Bobby went under the radar pretty quickly after his bandmates died. Now again this could be explained away as Bobby grieving and wanting to stay out of the spotlight as he worked through that and that him stealing the songs was a more opportunistic act than him premeditating his bandmates murders. 

Another possible variant of this theory is that it was still an orchestrated death but it wasn’t Bobby who wanted the boys dead but Caleb. During that opening scene they were still alive and we know normally lifers can’t see ghosts so for all we know Caleb could have seen them perform and had decided then that he wanted them as his house band, he didn’t want to wait for them to die so he took matters into his own hands. We assume that the first time Caleb hears about the band is from Willie but there was that scene from the first episode where he bumps into Alex and to me it almost seems like he recognises the group. Also I don’t think its a coincidence that he bumps into them right outside The Orpheum. It could be that he knew they would show up as ghosts at some point and figured they would go back to The Orpheum when they did and so would sometimes patrol that area just waiting for them. It could also explain why he’s willing to let Willie skate around the streets of LA maybe he was hoping Willie would do exactly would he did and bump into one of the boys whether Willie was aware of this plan is a whole other kettle of fish I feel like most likely he wouldn’t have because I feel like he would have told them Caleb had sent him to find them when he told them about the jolts. Point is the whole thing could have been one big elaborate plan of Caleb’s to get the band for himself, his obsession with the band could have been bigger than what we were shown in the first season. 

The last variant of this theory could be a mixture of the previous two. Maybe it was an elaborate plan made by Caleb but with the help of Bobby. Maybe Bobby made a deal with the devil so to speak and in exchange for fortune and fame he gave up his bandmates. Maybe he even gave up his own soul too but he gets to live out his dream life first. We know through Willy that Caleb has made deals with lifers that are part of the Hollywood Ghost Club so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to think he could’ve made a deal with Bobby. 

To be honest I’m not completely sold on this theory purely because the show is aimed at a younger audience and although it does cover some mature themes around death and bereavement I think murder might be a little too dark for its target audience. But then on the other hand they did have that storyline of Caleb trying to destroy the boys with those jolts so maybe I’m wrong.

Theory 3- The Car Battery. 

Ok so this theory I think is the most likely out of them all. When you think about what we know about the boys death and the timeline its that 1) They ate hot dogs that tasted bad. 2) They obviously started to show worrying symptoms that lead to somebody calling an ambulance, these symptoms showed up in under two hours. 3) They died in the ambulance before getting to the hospital (which was approx 5 mins away). Also from the sound of it they all died around the same time, as in all of them were in the ambulance it wasn’t a case of one of them died at the scene, another in the ambulance and another in the hospital. Meaning the effect time was pretty consistent, we know that they all took the first bite at the same time. So keeping all that in mind lets look at the scene again. The first thing I want to point out is that when the boys get the hot dogs they don’t show us them actually being handed the hotdogs, when we see them they already have the hotdogs and they are at the condiments adding their pickles and sauces. This in my opinion tells us that the hazard did not occur during the cooking process but at this moment when they were getting the condiments. Also we see Alex talking about how he couldn’t wait to eat someplace where the condiments weren’t in the back of a car. This scene opens by showing us said condiments and also whilst Alex is talking focusing in on the car battery. Right after his comment about the condiments Alex goes up to the seller and apologises for getting pickle juice on his battery cables once again this draws attention to the battery and its close proximity to the food. The seller just laughs it off stating that maybe it will help with the rust. This seems like a throw away comment but it could actually be a big clue into what happened to the boys. This tells us that not only is the battery near the food but its rusting and in a bad condition and if its in a poor condition it could be leaking. Ok so why is this important to how the boys died? Well because car batteries have sulfuric acid in them. I said before that the whole food poisoning thing didn’t add up for me because generally speaking when things go wrong during the cooking process such as something being undercooked or unclean, it doesn’t tend to kill you and in the rare circumstances if it does it usually takes days to weeks; but the chances of surviving food posioning are very high. However if someone were to ingest sulfuric acid even a couple of drops could be fatal. For examble if there was any sulfuric acid in the bottom of the trunk it could have gotton onto the utensils they used or onto the bottom of the sauce bottles which could then have tranferred over to the food. 

Also sulfuric acid usually kills a person within a few hours and can start having an effect on the body pretty much immediately. The mortality rate of sulfuric acid poisoning is very high the survival rate is only around 35% which would make it much more likely that not only did they all die but that the all died around the same time after exposure. The reason why it can kill so quickly is because it can effect the airways. Also the comment the seller made about the rust could have another possible explanation because whilst a leaking battery could have contaminated the food, sulfuric acid can also be found in some anti rust treatments. So if the seller was trying to treat the rust on the battery without removing the condiments from the trunk then that too could have created an opportunity for the food to become contaminated with sulfuric acid. 

So yeah this is my best guess at how the boys died, they accidently ingested sulfuric acid that had contaminated the condiments that had been stored next to a rusted car battery. It’s tragic and more tragic than that is that although it can only take a few drops obviously the less posion a person ingests the more chance they have at surviving. We know that even though the first bite tasted weird they continued to eat the hotdogs but if they had stopped after that first bite they might have actually survived. Obviously I’m not an expert on any of this so I could be totally wrong but to me this is what makes the most sense. 

Anyway what theories do you guys have? Also what questions are you hoping to get answered if we get a season 2 (we better get a season 2 or I’m gonna be real mad)? 

[crowsent]

so i started watching kings avatar pt. 2: spoiler edition electric boogaloo

condensed reaction from all episodes but first things first:

i already waxed poetic about the characters and set design of kings avatar in my first post so ill get to the point here:

lowkey thought that the excellent eras logo was the flag of fucking canada for a hot second there i mean

fucking seriously????????????

but enough about discount canada look at this man

look at him

“im very mad” said with a smile

i fucking love him

..

i fucking hate episode 2 timestamp 7 minutes tho

not posting any pictures but

the spiders

so creepy

with the scuttle scuttle sound

ew

no

i know the game has good sound design but was realistic spider animation/sound really necessary???

..

someone who can gif please please please gif that moment where excellent era announces ye qius retirement please. like. the fancy weapon twirls, the fire, the snow, the leaves. that moment was so fucking beautiful

..

xiao tang is uhhhhh so cool?????? what the fuck???? beating players in a game she doesnt play purely off of hand speed and apm???? and then joining that same game to beat ye xiu someday?????? amazing. 10/10

..

i am gaining more understanding of this man as i watch this silly lil anime what the fuck

..

real talk tho

i want glory to be a real game

the mechanics are interesting, the class systems seem p balanced, and there are plenty of in-game systems to take advantage of

would be nice to actually physically play it tbh

..

“the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment”

..

lowkey tho why is steamed bun out here trying to guess everyones sign, trying to get everyone else to guess his sign, trying to attribute everything to signs... bro you aint in fucking homestuck. i see no fucking grey skin or orange horns on you. chill the fuck out and stop trying to astrologise everything

..

mucheng is precious. id kill for her. her devotion. her dedication.

..

i need the plantago seed duel as a separate video. it is immaculate.

the rolling camera pan, the fast strikes, the colours, the music

so good

..

who is this man

“the brawlers style, to put it nicely, is “free-willed”

honestly, its a complete mess”

what a legend

AND he figured out ye xius true identity just from playing one match w him. can i ask for more? i think not

..

..

thank you to the animators that made the ye xiu v jiexi look so goddamn good. the fury and panic that went into the animation of their fight, frantically clicking the keyboard, moving the mouse around, that fire effect where the floor cracks? godtier

amazing

..

lowkey why does steamed bun irl look like that????

..

“the brain is a useful thing, make sure to bring yours next time”

bruh just fucking murder the man why dont you

..

the man aint really subtle tho

..

“lord of analysis”

bruh

you got fucking exposed

“why dont your footsteps make any sound”

yo why is the character design so good???????

this is unfair

every character so far is unique and has good design

this is unfair

..

can the translators fucking

TRANSLATE

i cant read chinese

and there is no way on gods green earth am i going to call my father for every time the translators dont translate the text on screen bc then he might as well just watch the anime with me

its right fucking there man

translate this shit

..

so mr tactician over here said that the upper limit for unspecialised is lvl 95 but methinks that mr ye xiu is gonna find a way to overcome this

..

does

does GLORY have proximity chat or are these morons ‘shhh’ing each other bc they are THAT dedicated to roleplay

..

shaotian

shaotian shaotian shaotian

i love you

fucking chaotic chatterbox bastard

this motherfucker tripped on his goddamn feet and ye xiu IMMEDIATELY made fun of him

can you believe

i want what they have

i want that friendship motherfucker

amazing

“huang shao’s trash talk is magnificent”

and this fucker got everyone convinced he isnt huang shaotian purely bc of his ability to annoy other people and his dedication to keeping his identity a secret

can i ask for more?

i think not

look at this

i want their fucking friendship man

this motherfucker is fucking talking so goddamn fast

what the fuck

“who is chanting prayers?”

BOI you have no goddamn room to speak with this speech bubble wall youve made

“where did you find this clown?”

AND YE XIU CALLED YOU OUT BOI ye xiu straight said “what gave you the right to call someone else a clown” and he is CORRECT

..

okay i know for a hot second i keeep talking about shaotian but like

ye xiu easily slotted back into my favourites list bc this motherfucker is talking to the customers of the internet cafe WHILE HES PLAYING THE FUCKING GAME like

the big dick energy

yes he goddamn is boys and what the fuck are you gonna do about it? thats right. NOTHING. bc hes just that good at the game

..

MUCHENG CARRY

MUCHENG CARRY

MUCHENG CARRY

trap these motherfuckers girl

FUCKING CORNER THEM

CARRY CARRY CARRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

..

so

ye xiu really just ambushing the people who wanted to kill him by waiting outside the dungeons and then killing the players and then he even has the audacity to say “hi”

fucking big dick energy king right her folks

..

"as for that ghostblade,

shaotian with the fucking callouts

..

GET YOU A GUY BITCH

GET YOU A MAN WHO CAN BE THIS FUCKING CONSIDERATE

“mu mu”

mucheng carried and now ye xiu fucking protecting her identity

WE STAN

..

“every opponents weakness... i remember all of them”

my understanding of this man...

..

bro why the fuck does vice captain zhang eat so fucking SLOW

..

so vice captain zhang plays an mmo like a fucking game of chess i see

..

bruhhhhhhhhhhhh

the desert dust v one autumn leaf fight

bruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

the skill

the mastery

the animation

the SONG

THE SONG

YALL THE FUCKING SONG THAT PLAYED DURING THE DUEL

..

[fatrainbowmermaidunicorn]

Lost In Japan (Jimin x You)

A/N: this idea just popped in my head while I am taking a bath, and I rushed through my skincare routine just so I can jot this down 😂 anyway, I am going to combined this request with another. This being part one and the other part two. but it can also be read as a oneshot. I had wanted to do a story based on this song ever since I heard it (Lost In Japan by Shawn Mendes) bcs it just reminds me of the feeling you get at night on your holidays when you are just strolling around after a long day of exploring the city and met someone exciting ❤ and I dont know from what country you are anon, and I am not from Japan either, its just based on this song so you can imagine elsewhere ❤ Sorry if this is not what you have in mind

MASTERLIST

A/N : And also, I’m trying a new thing here and you are in no way obligated to do it but if any of you like my stories and want to give some support, why not buy me a coffee? ☕💜

A/N: I cant just keep a good thing to myself, so for those who are looking for a variety and affordable BTS and KPOP merchandise. visit this link right here okay

"Ahhh finally!" Jimin dropped his carry on on the floor and lie down in the middle of the bed, spreading out as wide as he can after taking off his stuffy jacket and mask. Airport arrivals are fun. Fun seeing their fans coming out all the way just to catch a glimpse of them and to welcomed them to their country. But as much as it is fun, it is also damn tiring. Especially when they are mobbed by crazy fans. Jimin is thankful he and his brothers managed to get out from the commotion as fast as they could and arrived safely at the hotel. And he is more thankful that they  have individual rooms now.

Dont get him wrong. Sharing a room with Taehyung or Jungkook or even one of his hyungs are fun. Theres someone he can talk to and do fun vlive clips with, but sometimes he needs some space without anyone breathing down his neck too. Times like this, where he juat want to rest his tired body.

Japan.

A country they are so familiar with already.

Two days of concert here and three days of free days for him and his brothers to roam about before they fly back to Korea for their other schedules.

Jimin cant wait to shop, sightsee and of course eat. He had learn long ago to treat every tour like a vacation in order to make the whole journey less tiring, more fun and less stressed. Just like what the others told him, it doesnt matter as long as they have fun performing, their fans will surely have fun with them too.

But Jimin can feel that something more exciting is going to happen this time.

He can just feel it.

/////

"Y/N, YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS!"

Y/N calmly look up from the table shes wiping. Shes so used to her bestfriend yapping around like crazy. She used to get excited at first, but now, she learns that its better fir her to actually hear the news first. Mika can get super excited about a rock for all she knows.

"What is it that I wont believe Mika?" Y/N laughs. Thank god the cafe she works in has less customer today.

"BTS is coming! For a two days concert!" Mika shrieked.

"Okay... and?" She give her friend a short glimpse and turn back to her task.

"And?! What do you mean and?!" Mika went around and shakes her shoulders.

"Mika, they come here fir a concert every year! Sometimes even twice a year. Its not really a huge news," Y/N rolls her eyes.

"Oh right, I forgot," she giggles.

"You forgot they have a tour here every year? Every year that you become crazy everytime its announced?" Y/N eyed her friend, tapping her foot.

"No. I forgot about the news that you will not believe. The great news is...." she paused for dramatic effect before jumping and yelling, almost breaking Y/N's eardrum. "I got us two VIP tickets and a special fansign invite for both days! Both! Aaaahhhhhh!"

"Oh, thats great Mika! No wonder you are excited!" Y/N's smile grew. Mika has been trying to get tickets every year but she never made it. Online or physically lining up, she never gets the chance to get one. Y/N wonders how hard she work to get the tickets this time.

"Well, arent you?" Mika looks at her weirdly. "I know you are an ARMY too. And arent you excited? You can actually meet them, and converse with them! What if they fall in love with one of us?!" Mika exclaimed, already excited at the thought.

"Well, I am an ARMY," Y/N laughs at her friends cuteness. "But I only like them as a talented idol Mika. I dont even know what to talk to them about. And falling in love?" She giggles. "That only happens in fan fictions my friend. They will most probably already forget about you once the next fan came in view," she shakes her head and continue to clean the table, making Mika pouts.

"Sometimes I hate how practical you are. Cant you just let me dream a little?" She crosses her arm across her chest. "But still, you are coming with me right? Riggght?"

"Well, if you are willing to take me, then of course Mika," Y/N grins. "Of course I'll go with you. Who knows, maybe one of them will really fall in love with me," she giggles at the ridiculous statement.

Or she thought so.

/////

"Lets go people. We can do this!" Namjoon calls out behind the curtains, a few minutes before they are meeting their lucky fans who won the fansign event. After some peptalk and group hugs they went out and start the event.

The crowd is packed and loud, as usual. Girls screaming out their names and waving, trying to get their attention. Each of them did they usual routine, smiling, asking basic questions, answering the questions given to them, making aegyo, handshakes, posing for photos, wearing cute headbands and all sorts of fan service. Jimin is enjoying his time meeting his fan. He loves the attention they gives him and he appreciate all the support they gave to him all these years.

"Next!" The security calls out so the line will move as the fans switched to the next members. Jimin reaches out for the album and booklet in front of him, still looking down at thr album, flipping to the post-it where he should place his signature. But the post-it came empty, its just there as a mark to where he should place his signature. Iy seems the fan has no questions for him, which is a first. Their fans always have multiple questions for them to answer

"No question?" He looks up and immediately stopped blinking. In front of him stood the most beautiful angel he has ever since. Well, shes an angel to him, at least as everyone else seems to be perfectly normal.

"N-no question to ask?" He stuttered and mentally slapping himself. Shit, what is wrong with me. You are Park Jimin, composed yourself!

"Oh," she laughs, the most beautiful sound Jimin has ever heard. "No. Just an autograph will do,"

"Uh.. o-okay," with shaky hands Jimin put down his signature. God, what is wrong with me. I have met so many girls before and I am never like this. Calm down Park Jimin, composed yourself before she thinks you are weird. Come on, say something!

Jimin look around at the laughing fans by around him, talking to to the other members, talking to Taehyung and Jungkook, who is on his right and left side and he realized how quiet and awkward he is with this fan.

"O-oh right. I am Jimin. Whats your name?" Introducing yourself at your own fansign? Are you stupid Park Jimin?

She giggles.

And Jimin's heart skipped a beat. How unusual.

"I know you are Jimin. How can I come here and not know you," she leans forward to a whispering gesture, making Jimin's heart thumped faster at her close proximity. "ARMYs will kill me if I dont," she giggles more and leans back to her normal position in front of him. "And my name is Y/N,"

Jimin smile. How bold. How interesting. And what a name. Beautiful. Just like her.

"And Y/N.. how come you have no questions to ask? Arent ARMYs always curious?" He taps her post it to show the blank paper and Y/N shakes her head.

"No. Not really," she smiles. "Nothing that I want to know,"

"Just nothing for me or for everyone?" Jimin feels the need to ask. He felt like he needs to know if Y/N is just not interested in him or she really doesnt have a question for everyone.

"Well, its not just you. I dont have a question for everyone," Y/N's smile got bigger. Jimin raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Well, because everything you are allowed to tell me, it will be published in the news, or articles or something anyway. And if I asked you a real question, you wont be allowed to answer truthfully anyway. Isnt that right?" she laughs. "So no. No questions,"

Jimin was stunt. Never has anyone ever throw that cold hard truth to his face. Its true. Whatever they are showing and potraying in public, the character that they show, all of it is something that they want their fans to see. There are still parts of them that their fans doesnt know. A part of them, rhat is the real them that they didnt show the world. Mouth agape, Jimin looks at Y/N's face, not knowing what else to say.

His gut js right. Jimin is right, fron the moment he looks up to her face, he knew theres definitely something special about her.

"Well, whats your real question?" Jimin finally find his voice and the bravery he needed.

"When you are allowed to answer it, then I'll ask about it," she giggles, just in time for the security to shout next, and Y/N waves a hand and move aside before Jimin could say anything else. Y/N move to Taehyung, leaving Jimin speechless, and fascinated.

Y/N... hmmm.. his feelings is right then. Japan is going to be interesting this time around.

/////

Jimin knew he is going to see Y/N again at the concert. Everyone who attends the fanmeet has a VIP ticket, which is a particularly small section that is made special for them right in front of the stage. He is sure if he look hard enough, he will see her. Shes too beautiful, and too special to him now for Jimin not to notice.

And sure enough, the moment their went on stage, Jimin saw her face, smiling brightly with her Army bomb in hand, giggling with her friend. A surge or energy runs through him. Jimin suddenly feels like he needs to do the very best tonight, no, extra best tonight. He needs to show her that he is Jimin, and he is up here, looking at her  and apprently, only at her.

Jimin never kept her eyes off her, which is a little hard to do considering he needs to sing and dance and converse with his fans, well, other fans too. And its a stranger feeling for him, when a pang of jealousy hits him hard when he saw Y/N waving and taking photos of Taehyung, jumping and singing along to the other members' part.

What the hell is wrong with me? Shes a fan! She didnt pay for the tickets only to see you alone Jimin.

Without realizing, Jimin suddenly feek the need to futher make his existabce known. Known to Y/N. And keeping his eyes only on her, he starts to show off his dancing skills, making extra sexy moves and flirty gestures, which of course, make the packed stadium roared with cheers but reveiving weird looks from the other members.

It doesnt matter.

The crowd. The music. The members.

What matters is that if this will make Y/N looks at him, it was all worth it.

At least he hope she understand the sign hes trying to tell her.

/////

"Woah, what is wrong with Chim today?" Mika stares at the satge, mouth dropped opened. "I mean, I know he is sexy and all, but thats like being possesed with a sexy spirit or something," she points to Jimin who was grinding on the stage floor. "I dont remember the cheography being like that,"

Y/N shrugs.

"Maybe its a concert only special performance," Y/N justified.

"How are you so calm? He is even looking at you while doing all that. Oh my god, he really is!" Mika jumped, waving her Army bomb with excitement.

"Not at me Mika. My direction. Our direction. He cant even see the crowd with all those blinding lights. And look around you, theres thousand of people here," she laughs. "You think he wouls pick me out from the crowd?"

"Hey, you never know. You personally met him at the fansign. Maybe he remembers you," Mika giggles at how practical her friend. Girl, dream a little!

"Hello," Y/N rolls her eyes. "Everybody here went to the fansign Mika. This is the VIP section!"

"Oh my god. I forgot! Maybe you are right. But hey, its not wrong to imagine!" Mika laughs, Y/N joining her.

"Stop imagining useless things and just enjoy the rest of the concert!" Y/N yells through the noise, laughing. "Besides, its Park Jimin, being sexy and flirty on stage is his thing. I dont think thats anything extra anyway,"

"Okay, okay, you are right. Lets just enjoy this!" Mika grab her shoulders and starts bouncing, waving her Army bomb around. Y/N joins in, singinf along and recording videons of her and Mika, totally not realizing how hard Jimin is trying to wink her way.

/////

"I did everything I can, and she still dont even acknowledge me!" Jimin huffed.

"Are you serious? Shes a fan and you still cant get her to even look at you? Wow Chim, you really have no jams," Namjoon laughs.

"Hyung, its not funny! What do I do?" Jimin grumbled.

"Okay, okay. Lets think. The whole two days. She didnt look at you? At all?" Namjoon inquired, trying to help the younger man.

"Well, she does look at me..," Jimin ponders.

"Okay. Then whats the problem? You did talk to her at the fansign yesterday right? And today? Did you guys hit it off? Did you two share any interest? Maybe you are just not her type. What did you two talked about? Tell me everything from A to Z," Namjoon pulls a chair and sits in front of him, giving Jimin his full attention.

"T-talk?"

"Yeah. Talk. Like what we are doing right now. Hi I'm Jimin, I like you, can I have your number so I can take you out sometime, that kind of thing," Namjoon eyed him carefully.

"W-well... I didnt really talk to her hyung.." Jimin trailed off.

"What do you mean? You get her name. What else did you ask her? You met her twice at a fan sign Chim," Namjoon eyed him curiously.

"Well, at the first meef, I asked her for her name, so I can sign her album. And she explained to me why she dont asks any questiona, and then I blanked out and before I know it, it was already Taehyung's turn," Jimin pouted. "The time is too short for each person!"

"Well, you never complain before!" Namjoon roll her eyes. "Them what about today?"

"T-today?" Jimin stutter nervously as the memory of today's fansign entered his mind.

He was in no mood at all today After the concert on the first day, Jimin was frustrated. Y/N didnt notice him. After the concert she went back like everyone else. She went out so fast he didnt even get the chance to ask security or his managers to call her out. Jimin knew that he wont evenr see her again. Having that in his mind ruin his whole mood.

He went by fan by fan, signing their album and giving small smiles when required. When asked, he only says hes a bit tired and his fans will express their worry and tell him to get some rest. Never would have thought that he would hear the voice again as a a flatten box of their offical light stick and the photocarda were slide in front of him.

"You already sign all my albums and posters yesterday, so this is all I have left for you to sign," Jimin look up to the smiling face of Y/N and he thought hes dreaming.

"Y/N?"

"Yeah," she smile. "Wow, you remembered me!"

"O-of course I do!" Jimin tries to calm himself. "I didnt think you would come again, and both fansigns? Wow,"

"Well," she giggles. "I guess I am your biggest fan. All of you were great last night,"

"Yeah? But you went off so fast!" Jimin pouts and cursed himself for saying that when Y/N gives him a weird look. Now he sounds like a stalker.

"So fast? How did you know?" Y/N asked him curiously. Did Jimin really saw her in the crowd?

"Uh well.. call it intituition," he laughs awkwardly and Y/N just nodded.

"Well..." Y/N looks around, feeling awkward as she waits for the fan in front of Taehyung to move and lets a breath if relief when she does. "Okay, I'll go now,"

"Wait!" Jimin panics. This might be his last chance to have any sort if way to contact her. "Do-you-think-you-can-give-me-"

"And oh, good luck for tonight," Y/N suddenly say at the same time as his word jumble and patted his hand. The moment her hand touched his, eventhough its just a pat and for a second, Jimin blanked out, all his senses gone, heart pumping so rapidly it almost burst out. Bedore he can calm himself down and find words again, the security already shouted next and Y/N quicy waved and move on to Taehyung.

"Both times? Seriously? You blanked out both times??" Namjoon is shrieking out now. "God, you are hopeless!"

"Y-yeah..." Jimin look at his hyung, scared. "Its not my fault she touched my hand hyung!" Jimin try to defend himself.

"Touch Chim. Not even hold. And you have done this with countless fans! Girl fans!" Namjoon is at the brink of giving up.

"But hyunggg," Jimin wailed. "Thise firls are not Y/N! She's so pretty and smart, and not startruck and everything she said to Tae and Kookie are funny and smart then I'm the one who kinda got starstruck..."

"Oh my god, you are a bigger idiot than I thought," Namjoon hissed and slap Jimin's forehead, making him rubbed it  "Okay, fine. But if you barely even talked to her, why are you saying she didnt acknowledge you? I mean... even if she does, which I think she should with your stupidity, she didnt even have a chance to say it, right?"

"But hyungggg, even if I didnt directly say it, its obvious I am flirting with her. And only her!" Jimin answered as if his effort is the most obvious thing in the world.

"Flirt? How?" Namjoon asked, curious on what Jimin meant by flirting if they never even have a proper conversation.

"Didnt you see my extra sexy moves on stage? My winks, my flying kisses, my hip thrusts, how many times I run my hand through my hair, and seductively too if I might add, during these two concert?" Jimin smile proudly.

"Wait, are you saying your little cabaret show this past two nights is you flirting with her?" Namjoon rubs his chin.

"Duhh, of course hyung. What else? I am not a man slut like Kookie who do it for fun hyung,"

"Idiot!" Namjoon slap his head hard this time.  "That is what you call flirting? We thought you were possesed by some strip club ghost or something!"

"Ow hyungg, what the hell??" Jimin rubbed his forehead.

"How the fuck is Y/N supposed to know you are flirting with her when you do that in front of a packed stadium you dimwit? A stadium full of screaming girls too! And you always do those shit, yeah, its a little extra this time, but she will just think you are doing your typical flirting with the crowd thing," Namjoon hissed

"W-what?" Jimin panics. "Do you really think she thinks like that? That I am justsome big flirt to my fans?"

"Duhhh," Namjoon roll his eyes.

"But its all for her!" Jimin wailed.

"She didnt know that dumbass. You should have shown your interest during the fanmeet. Both freaking times!" Namjoon sighed and stands up.

"Wait, where are you going hyung? We are not done yet!" Jimin stands up and follow his hyung like a puppy.

"I am not entertaining this dumb shit. Im going,"

"But what am I going to do?!" Jimin wailed for help.

"Nothing. The concert is over Chim. Just pray that you will see her again," Namjoon shrugs before he leaves the room. "You have three days before we fly back home. Make it count,"

/////

Their free day was filled with sight seeing, shopping and eating. Jimin had fun, yes, but he cant help but feeling down whenever he thought about his lost chance of getting to know Y/N more. He has never been this interested in a woman before, nor has he even felt this kind of amazing chemistry towards a girl. Y/N is special, Jimin know she is. And although he doesnt know for sure if she really is the one for him, but he is sure that he atleast wants to get to know her better. And he wants to see where they will go from there.

"Cheer up hyung! Its only a girl. You will forget her soon. I am sure of it," Jungkook smile and roughly hug his shoulder, dragging him into the anime store. "Atleast your amazing favorite maknae is still here with you,"

"Yeah. Annoying maknae," he laughs. "I am in no mood to look at animes abd robots Kook, and also in no mood to hear you and Tae arguing about whos the better hero or whatever," he looks around the street. "I am going to head there, the coffee shop. Meet me there okay?"

Jungkook shrugs and pulls Taehyung to the store instead as Jimin make his way to the coffeeshop. Securing his mask and cap, he enters and nothing surprised him more than seeing the perfect girl smiling at a customer behind the cashier counter.

Y/N.

/////

"Okay.. if thats Y/N.. why are the three of us hiding behind this huge flower pot like some criminal?" Jungkook asks Jimin in confusion. His hyung rans in panics and drags both him and Taehyung to the coffee shop. And with panting breath, he nervously points towards a girl and only one word comes out from his mouth. "Y/N" and they have been hiding behind a huge flower pot in the coffee shop since then.

"Well, because I dont want her to see us. See me. What do I say?" Jimin wioes his sweaty forehead.

"Thats it? Thats the reason you ran all the way, drag me and Tae-hyung here, and hides behind this pot for 40 minutes now?!" Jungkook looks at his hyung, not believing his reason. "Thats it, I'm going in and introducing us and getting you her number!"

"Wait. What?? No!" Jimin drags Jungkook back behind the pot.

"Why? Isbt that what you want hyung? Her number? You have been moping since last night!"

"Y-yeah.. but how can I just ask her. Thats Y/N. Y/N! What if she say no? O-or she laughs at me? Or thinks I'm weird?" Jimin is freaking out and even he hinself doesnt know why he is like this.

"Well, we dont know if we dont try Chim. Let me and Kookie go and ask for you," Taehyung speaks up and stands up, revealing himself. Jimin panics and pulls him back behind the pot.

"What the hell! No! Sit Tae. Let me just think of something okay? I need to impress her somehow. So she would never ever say no," Jimin rubs her chin and the three sits behind the pot for a while longer, all in silence before Jimin suddenly shouted. "Okay, I got it! She will say yes to be my girlfriend after this! I am sure of it!"

/////

"From Park Jimin? The Korean idol Park Jimin?" Y/N eyed the flower delivery man curiously as he smile and nods. "Is this a prank? Tell me, who put you up to this? Its a girl right?"

"Uh no.. its really Park Jimin. He came to the shop. With Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook. I know its them because I am a fan and also," he taps the note on the flower, "Park Jimin put his name there,"

"So right now... you are saying.. that the world famous idol, Jimin, Jungkook and Taehyung, just walk into your store, in broad daylight, and ordered flowers.. for me?" She points to herself.

"Uh.. yeah. Thats about right," the deliveryman nods again and smile. Y/N lets out a loud sarcastic laugh.

"Okay, good one. I am pretty sure this is a prank now," she received the flowers and sniff it. "Atleast I get flowers, prank or not. Thanks,"

The delivery guy shrugs and leaves, but not before looking at Y/N as if shes crazy.

"It must be Mika. Shes the only one who thinks Jimin is looking at me at the concert," Y/N shrugs and continue her work, the flowers forgotten.

Or so she thought.

Throughout the day, many more weird deliveries were made. More flowers, big, expensive ones too, cupcakes, balloons, choclates, chocolates bouquets, and even a puppy, which Y/N immediately asked to be sent back. At this rate she knows it couldnt be Mika. Is it really Jimin?

But why?

How does he knows where she works?

Even if he did finds out, did he really remember her?

And even if he did remember, why is he sending her all this stuff?

Y/N was confused for the whole day, and shes also embarassed when the customers and even her supervisor keeps complimenting how sweet her boyfriend is. Truth is, shes nor even sure if its really Jimin whos sending her all this stuff.

The gifts continue for the next three days, and Y/N just accept and places it all at the store room, even fivinf out the food to her colleagues and loyal customers. After a long hard shift, its finally time to close up. And deciding to leave everything she receives today at the shop, she cleans up and cloaed up the shop. While locking the door suddenly someone tapped her back.

"A delivery for Miss Y/N..."

"Seriously?!" With a frustrated and tired sighed she turns around. "Its almost 12 am at- J-Jimin?"

Y/N couldnt ever imagine thats its really Park Jimin standing in front of her, holding a huge bouquet of flowers. His face is covered with a mask, yes, but theres no doubt that its him.

"Well.. yeah. Are you expecting someone else?" Jimin cocks his head. Even he is nor sure where he gets his sudden confidence.

"Well... no. But I didnt expect it to be you either. Is it safe for you to roam around Japan like this? Are you lost?" Y/N furrowed her brows. How can he be lost? Where is manager?

"No. I am not lost. Unless you count loss of words everytime I see you," he smile.

"Huh?"

"Uh.. no, no, nothing. Uh.. you dont sound excited to be receiving all the gifts I sent you?" Jimin suddenly remembered hows frustrated she sound earlier when she thought he ia the delivery man.

"Well, to be honest. Not really. I mean.. I am not even sure it its really from you. And even though it is, I am still curious as to why? I mean... you dont really know me... and we are not really friends. Right?" Y/N looks at him.

Jimin is speechless. Doesnt girls like that kind of stuff? Especially from someone like him? But as he look at Y/N who is standing in front of him, face full of confusion, he realizes, Y/N is not like normal girls. thats why he felt attracted to her. Look at her right now, standing in front of him bur isnt starstruck at all.

"Uh.. to be honest, I kinda feel a chemistry between us when we first met at the first fansign..." Jimin takes a deep breath. Courage dont leave me now. "And.. I uh.. would like to talk more with you. To get to know you,"

"Okay..m so you decide to stalk me?" Y/n take a step back, a little scared. Jimin raised his hands up defensively.

"No, no! Its not like that. I didnt stalk you to find out where you work. I accidentally found out where you work 3 days ago, so I thought I could send you gifts, as a way to break the ice-"

"Wait, so you had known where I work for three days, and instead of coming in and say hi, like a normal person, you decide to flaunt your money and buy me stuff?" Y/N is trying to understabd what is the man trying to do.

"Well.. uh.. it sounds bad when you put it like that...but-but I thought you knew about my interest in you!" Jimin tries to safe whatever dignity he has left as Y/N eyes him carefully. "I have been flirting with you for the two whole concert days!"

"Flirting? When??" Y/n questioned him. "You barely even talk to me during the fansign Jimin-ssi," Y/N reminds him.

"D-dont you see me malong eye contact with you on stage? All those dance moves? Those extra stuff I did?"

"Huh?" Y/N looks straight at him. "Are you telling me that is you flirting?" Y/N didnt know if she should laugh or be pissed right now. "Thats the way to show me that you want to talk to me?"

"Y-yes,"

"Jimin... If you want to talk to me you can just ask. To be honest, I find you interesting to talk to too," Y/N smile.

"Really?!"

"Yeah... but after this weird gift giving thing... I am not sure..."

"What? No! I am not weird! Uh actually," Jimin panics. Is Y/N really going to just shut him away now? He has to do something. The thing that he planned to do when he came here. "Actually, I'm flying back to Korea tomorrow but before I leave... I just uh... wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend," he quickly pulls out a box with a white gold diamond bracelet inside. "And give you this,"

Y/N was silenced for a moment and Jimin hope that thats a good sign. He knows its rash, but hes leaving to Korea tomorrow and he needs a way to stay in touch with her. To just... make her his.

"Are you seriously kidding me right now?" Was Y/N's answer after the silenced.

"N-no?"

Y/N scoff.

"You never even introduce yourself properly to me. Or get to know me. Or even talk to me for the matter! How do you know you even really like me? If its only a blind atttaction, only because you like how I look, then I dont want any of it! Yes, I am your fan and I kmow mostly everything about you, but I dont want to know you as BTS' Park Jimin, I want to know you as Park Jimin... do you get it? And giving me ridiculous expensive gifts for three days is flirting and a way to talk to me?? And please know that hip thrusting and swiping your hair back on stage doesnt count either. What are you trying to do? Do you think I am that kind of girl Jimin?" Y/N look softly at him.

"I want a guy to ask me out, to ask me if I have plans and take his time to know me. I dont need your money or your fame Jimin. If you really like me, you would know thats the kind of girl I am. I am leaving, I am sorry, I have to declined. Have a safe flight back to Korea," Y/N bows and walks away, leaving Jimin alone.

Jimin was silenced by her unexpected outburst. He really didnt think ahe would say all this, nor did he think about how stupid his plans are. Taehyung and Jungkook has warned him, even suggested to just greet her and ask for her number, but noooo, he has to feel like he needs to impress her with expensive gifts. Now look what happen.Everything she says just make Jimin realized that she is excatly what he wants, who he needs in a woman. In a life partner. He wants to get to know her, all of her, but it seems like hes too late now.

/////

"Hyung? You okay?" Jungkook sat beside him on the bed. Its been a few days after the tour, and Jimin has been sad and locking himself in his rooms ever since.

"Yeah.. I guess?" Jimin answered lifelessly.

"You dont look okay Chim. You look... lost?" Taehyung sat at the other side of him.

"I am lost Tae. I have never been this lost in my entire life. I think I lost myself in Japan, I acted the way I would never have, and because of it, I lost my love,"

"Well.. if you lost something in Japan... I guess you have to go and get it back. Simple Chim," Taehyung grins and pat his back, hoping his best friend will understand what he meant.

/////

What happened last week is still a blur to Y/N. Did Park Jimin really sent her gifts for three days straight? The Park Jimin? Worldwide idol Park Jimin? And did he really showed up to her coffee shop and tell her he lijes ber, and wanted her to be his girlfriend? And did she rejected him, just like that?

Everything is like a dream to her. She is not even sure if it really happened it shes just imagining it all. But the wilted flowers and uneaten chocolate bars proves that all of it is too real.

She cant lie to herself. Her heart did do a little flip at the sight of Jimin that night. Yes, shes practical, but theres still a part of her that wants a fairy tale ending for herself too. She almost say yes, her heart is beating out from her chest. She cant believe its happening, Park Jimin likes her... but then her practical side takes over. Reminding her that they barely knew each other, what if Jimin ends up not liking her? And what she told Jimin is true, she wants someone who will ask her out, who will take his time to learn about her, just as mich as she will learn about him.

Maybe Jimin is only a drean afterall.

As she walks along the sakura covered park, Y/N sighed. Shes at her happy place. Her beautiful home, but she has never felt so lost.

/////

"Thank god I found you here," the voice behind her pants. Y/N immediately turns around only to see Park Jimin panting, holding his knees. Is she hallucinating in broad daylight now?

"Jimin? Is that really you?" She looks at the figure closely. Jimin looks up after catching his breath

"H-hi. I'm Park Jimin, and I came all the way from Korea just to find you, and someone told me that you are at a sakira park, but theres a lot of sakura park during during spring in Japan and I went to like 30 of them and then I got lost all over Japan, but I dont care, because I can handle being lost in Japan, but I cant handle losing myself again and worse, losing a chance to know you," he smile at her stunt reaction. "Y/N.. I got lost all over Japan, just so I can ask you..," Jimin wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans as Y/N smile at his stuttering form.

"Yes, Park Jimin?" Y/N flashed him a wide smile, easing his mind and making all his doubts dissappear, a surge of confidence suddenly surfacing in him.

"Do you... do you perhaps have any plans tonight? Because I want to take you out. I want to spend the whole night getting to know you, all about you," He took a step forward and bravely hold her waist, grinning widely.

"And why would you want to do that when you just met me three times Park Jimin?" Y/N hide her smile any longer.

"Because I.. well, because honestly Y/N..." he tuxks a stray hair behind her ears and look straight into her eyes, "I cant get you out of my mind,"

[exaliant]

TRAJECTORY NOTES

I previously mentioned I wouldn’t be putting out a plotter call but I think I should at least be frank about what I want out of Dimitri for everyone to see! this isn’t a plotter call in the traditional sense, liking this will NOT get me into your ims, but if you SEE THIS AND THINK YOU HAVE AN IDEA for how your character slots in, you’re more than welcome to SEND A MESSAGE.

Also this got really long so its going under a readmore. Sorry in advance if it’s kind of stale I tried to bold and caps whats important.

OVERALL; Dimitri’s main objective is currently GETTING BACK HOME TO FAERGHUS because at his current canon point, he’s been coronated and he’s technically responsible for a bunch of people. No matter how many of his castmates are here, their presence does not automatically change this, he’s going to try and find a way out. He may be willing to cooperate with other characters he wouldn’t normally cooperate with because of this, and he’ll be looking to seek out answers where they might not be in his world. Lots of research, lots of asking people things.

characters who’ve BEEN HERE A WHILE might find themselves the subject to his prying.

Also good to note: while he’s post-berserk in this canon point I personally interpret Dimitri as still healling from the several-year snap that he had; since azure moon only covers a couple months. There’s a lot of loss and trauma that’s still fresh in him, and I believe that with the right circumstances he COULD SNAP AGAIN. (though not at anyone specific!!! don’t take that as a threat, he hates hurting people as odd as it is)  

WITHIN HIS CAST; there’s already some things going on--he’s coming to terms with how the war played out across different continuities (as a lot come from the route where byleth chose edelgard, but in his canon point byleth stayed by his side). Dimitri is AWARE THAT THERE ARE OTHER TIMELINES, this is information he’s gleaned talking with Edelgard during dreamscape. (he is not aware of his role in crimson flower/verdant wind/silver snow, however he will probably assume some things given how azure moon played out) 

Anyway, he’s generally not in the mood to pick a fight with his castmates (aside from Edelgard), and will likely be cooperative. (you are 100% WELCOME to see him as a threat given your canon points because hoohoo this guy’s gotten himself into some hot shit) You got shit you wanna work out with him you’re more than welcome to spitball ideas w me.

Due to proximity in housing he and Slyvain are more close than usual but it’s platonic. He’s currently hit a rough patch with dorothea because he’s BEEN USING AN ALIAS AROUND CERTAIN CHARACTERS, mostly castmates with pre-timeskip canon points. (He would prefer people remember him as he was, in that case, but some characters (like m!byleth) will figure it out anyway)

OUTSIDE HIS CAST; Dimitri’s likely going to be focusing on overall objectives with people he doesn’t know from Garegg Mach. If he seeks people out it’s either going to be to get more information, to lend a helping hand, or for training purposes. He doesn’t consider this place a permanent residence by any stretch of the imagination, so he’s likely not thinking too far outside his own immediate experiences aside for research purposes.

I would like for him to get used to modernity though! 

SHIPPING; im mostly putting this here for clarity’s sake since he’s a rather popular character within fandom sdhgah (currently, I don’t see him wanting to seriously engage in romance, even if his behavior with some people suggests otherwise). I’m fine with most popular Dimitri ships but I also think most have their issues that need to be sorted out before anything gets serious with them, I’ll talk to muns about that as it applies. Dimitri’s BISEXUAL and while as a king he’s sort of expected to carry on bloodlines, given his political opinions thats NOT REALLY HIGH ON HIS LIST OF PRIORITIES. Given his medieval-adjacent universe he’s probably ok with polyamory but I’m not confident in my ability to write it in a way that everyone’s happy, so don’t bank on it. 

I’m fine with humoring the idea of crossovers and obscure ships within the canon,just note for crossover ships you’ve got a big uphill battle since he’s not thinking about settling down here.

[rosebudmendes]

La Vie Est Belle I Part 4 (Shawn Mendes AU)

Description: She has to take care of her ill father. He has to provide for his younger sister. Just when they think their lives couldn’t get busier, fate intervenes. 

A/N: So sorry that I took so long to update this, enjoy! 

Warnings: Alcoholism, terminal illness, fluff

Word Count: 2.2K 

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Masterlist

It had been three weeks since you last saw Shawn. His appearance was now becoming a figment of your imagination. Which was forcing you to create this idea of him that was highly desirable. You knew he worked a lot so you didn’t put too much thought into his disappearance. Besides, he still texted you at least once a day. Which was enough to keep you wanting more. 

The text exchanges between the two of you ranged from flirty, to comforting, and then back to flirty. There were moments when you thought he was going to open up about his past, but he changed the topic anytime you got close to knowing more. There was something he was hiding, something important. You didn't push him to share that information, though. What you guys have was good, and you wanted to keep it that way. No drama, no problem. 

Your father had been meeting with the specialist everyday now. There was little progress being made which made you feel hopeless. Although he wasn’t gone, you were already preparing to say goodbye. Thats why you spent every second with him.  At the specialist rehabilitation center, there was family rooms that allowed one family member to stay overnight with the patient. 

Your mom was easily persuaded into going home for the night. You weren’t even sure if she ever made it home most nights, though.  She always came back the next morning with an intense stench of alcohol on her lips. Eventually, you had gotten used to her immature behavior. It wasn’t that you enjoyed seeing her like this, you hated it, but you understood why she drank. 

It's a way to numb the pain. A way to momentarily forget about everything. Forget about the illness, the finances, the future. You didn’t know when it started and you didn’t really want to know. There was so many things that you both were dealing with but neither initiated a conversation about it. 

Today was no exception to the pain. It was the day the specialist gave an estimated timeline of how long your father had. You knew this was coming, but yet you weren’t prepared. 

It had to have been at least 5 days since your last shower. Your nails had dirt caked underneath, your hair was knotted and unmanageable. The dark circles under eyes traveled for miles, and your skin had broken out. Your diet consisted of cafeteria fries, deli sandwiches and horrible coffee. No wonder your head felt like it was surrounded by a thick fog. 

You didn’t care how awful you looked or felt. You had an entire lifetime ahead of you to worry about your appearance. Time was getting cut short for your father and that’s all you could think about. Well, that and Shawn of course. 

“Good morning, beautiful x” Shawn’s contact named appeared on your iPhone screen. You felt your stomach do a cheerful twirl. “How are you feeling about today?” You were shocked that he remembered what today was. 

“I’m dreading it. Wish you were here. xx” The thought of Shawn being here with you, having his hand to hold when the doctors gave the news, made you feel safe. You didn’t want to burden him, though. No did you want to make your father seem unimportant. 

Today was all about your father and his health. Avoiding all distractions, you turned your phone off and left it on the counter of the kitchen. 

You were back in your condo to grab a few more clothes for your dad. The living area was a horrendous mess. No one had taken the responsibility upon themselves to clean, and frankly you didn’t care enough to do it yourself. You grabbed a few granola bars before heading back to the rehabilitation center. When you arrived you found your father wandering around the hallways on his own, using his cane for support. “Hey, Pops. What are you doing out of bed?” You were trying your best to hide the concern in your voice. You knew he hated how worried you were. 

“Oh don’t worry too much darlin’, Doctor Reyes said there was nothing wrong with a little physical activity.” He chuffed. You accepted this as a solid argument and offered your arm for more support. He shooed your arm away and carried on slowly making his way back to his room. You stayed with him, laughing at the jokes he cracked and asked him to tell stories of when he was younger. You have countless memories of your father sitting in his office, glasses resting on his nose and cigarette in his hand. He’d call you in and have you sit in the leather chair across from him. “Picture this,” He’d begin telling a story that he created in his lively mind. 

Even though his day job was in advertising, he had aspirations to be a writer. There were probably 100 stories already typed up on his laptop, just sitting there collecting e-dust. You’d try to sneak a peak at his files anytime you were home alone. 

One winter night, while your parents were at your grandparents house you found a file titled “my loves.” With curiosity flowing through your bloodstream you opened it, and suddenly wished you could take it back. Instead of finding a intriguing story full of made up characters, it was a letter to you and your mom. He must have written it the night he got his diagnosis. 

       My Beautiful Girls,            This letter is to remind you of how much I love you. Please, don’t forget to stop and smell the roses every once in awhile. You both have such child-like souls that aren’t meant to be kept in a cage. I will be with you, always.        With much love, Pops.

That was the last time you went snooping on his computer. 

It was two hours before the doctor would be around to give you the news. Your mother was sleeping on the recliner in the room. She was snoring slightly, which caused a small amount of rage start up. No. Not today. You will not be angry, you will not rage. You will be there for your father. Nothing less, nothing more. Suddenly, Shawn appeared in the doorway. “Shawn, what on earth are you doing here?” You panicked. How did he know you were here? Didn’t he have work? So many anxious questions flooded your thoughts.

“Can I talk to you in the hallway, (y/n)” Shawn stood there with his hands in his pockets, shoulders obviously holding all his nerves. Whatever he was here for was weirdly important to him. 

“What’s up?” You forced your voice to sound cheerful and upbeat. He would believe you were fine if your voice met the tone of your texts. Once you were in his reach he latched onto your wrist softly, pulling you into his proximity. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” His thumb was grazing the top of your hand that was latched in his. “I, uh, kinda missed your voice.” He looked down as he said this, as if it was too sensitive for him to say. 

“Well, I am glad that you are here,” Your body gave in to the temptation and pulled him against you, wrapping your arms around his neck. Vanilla and cologne filled the air around you. “And also a bit creeped out. How did you know I was here?”

“Uh, you have your location turned public on snapchat.” His chin was pressed against your shoulder, which made you aware of whenever he moved his jaw. It was nice being so close with him. It felt oddly more comforting than you expected. This was a terrifying feeling, but you embraced it anyways. 

“Now that you are here, would you mind staying with my dad while I run to find the doctor?” You pulled your body away slightly, arms on each of his shoulders. His body tended up, and you could see the hesitation in his face. “It will only be 5 minutes, and then we can catch up.” Before waiting for an answer you placed a small peck on his cheekbone, suddenly feeling your body heat rise. 

Noticing this, you quickly peeled yourself out of Shawn’s grasp and headed to find the doctor. As you strolled down the hallways you kept thinking about Shawn. How he smelt, the way his hair brushed your check when you hugged, torsos so close heat was radiating off each other. It was all very intimate, and very soothing. The only other man who made you feel so appreciated was your father, and who knew how much time he had left. Maybe it was a good thing you had met Shawn. Maybe he will be able to help you deal with the grief that would soon come. 

It didn’t take long before you were able to locate the doctor. He was busy talking with another nurse, his clipboard in hand and eyebrows weighted with concern. 

“Doctor, do you have a minute?” You broke his concentration, and the nurse took a few steps to the side. “I was just wondering if we’d find the test results soon. Everyone is getting a little antsy.” You tried fidgeting with your fingers to let out any sort of anxiety that you were wearing on your face, but did not feel very convincing. 

“Yes, I will be by in approximately two hours with the final results.” The doctor mentioned with a rather harsh tone. You knew he was busy with other patients but the least he could do was try and feel empathetic. Maybe there was a small misinterpretation through accents, but either way it made you think worst-case scenario. 

When you returned to your father’s room Shawn was comfortably sitting in the chair next to your father, his hands clasped together. He kept looking at the floor while listening to your father go on and on about something entirely unrelated to his sickness. Shawn’s cheeks were rosy and his leg was bouncing uncontrollably. 

Before making your presence known, you stood away from the door just to observe their interactions. 

“She means the world to me, Shawn.” Your father continued. “I may not look like the toughest man right now, but I will not hesitate if I find out you hurt my daughter.” 

“Oh, I would never sir. She is such a sweet girl, I will take care of her as best as I can.” Shawn was locked eyes with your father, full of confidence. Your stomach leaped with excitement as the words left his mouth. Even though the two of you had just became friends, there was something between you that was worth holding onto. Maybe it was his charm, or his good looks, nonetheless you were addicted to his presence. Of course you would never admit that to him, though.

  “Doc says it’ll be two more hours, pops.” Shawn immediately stood up from his seat when he heard your voice. He didn’t waste any time being away from your side, either. His shoulders toward over you as he opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when your father starting coughing. You rushed to his side to help him. Shawn stood there awkwardly before he headed out of the room. 

Before you had time to dwell on the thought of him being gone, your phone started ringing causing you to snap back to reality. The caller I.D. said it was Shawn, which made you confused as he just left the room a few minutes ago. You stepped away from your father, and answered his call. “Shawn? Is everything okay?” 

“Come meet me in the courtyard.” He definitely had something up his sleeve, which gave you a nasty sense of unease. With Shawn, this emotion is worth it. He is worth the uncomfortable silences, awkward glances, and painful anxiety. You hung up the phone without thinking twice and headed towards the courtyard. You wondered how Shawn knew this place so well, and why he cared enough to stay. 

When you found Shawn, he was accompanied by an old hospital sheet and an assortment of deli sandwiches, fruit, and pudding cups. “I managed to sweet talk the cafeteria workers into handing over some croissants.” If his voice could be translated to a color, it would be light pink. He sounded like sunsets after a day spent on the lake. Warm and full of possibility. 

“Shawn, what is this?” You were standing right in front of him, close enough you could feel this breath on your cheeks. 

“Your dad mentioned you have been putting so much focus on him, I wanted to make sure you felt cared for too.” His arms were wrapped around your lower back, which sent a tingly sensation into your stomach. “Now, lets eat and skip this hospital talk.” He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on your forehead. You both sat down and began sorting the food. Shawn was right, you hadn’t had time to focus on yourself. You didn’t think it had been a big deal until he mentioned it. Everyone needs someone to take after them. Now, Shawn was your person. taglist: @stockholmshawn @bluerroses @yellowmendes@itrocksmysocks @accioarmenian (sorry if i missed your user, send me a message if you want added or taken off!) 

[jellycreamjammedart]

(copypasted from discord bc im REALLY not in the mood to have tis train of thought all over again)

lords i really absolutely HATE when people are like "im so sorry i said very terrible things but i was just really angry and i didnt mean any of it" eSPECIALLY people who have anger issues and dont care how it affects them and others around them

because 1) it basically culminates to people not really being sorry and apologizing being just a formality to get themselves free from the responsibility of their actions followed by "i may have said very awful things that hurt you or made you feel bad in a rage but since i didnt mean them it doesnt really matter and your feelings towards it is a you problem"

and 2) the "i was just really angry i didnt mean it" is BOGUS

when people are angry, its when they are the most unrestrained and uninhibited. its when they are the most true to themselves. everything people say when angry might be exaggerated in expression, but there is truth to it

so, yes, those awful things people spew out when angry, they DO mean it, they just will never admit it unless enraged

so if you have people who spit awful things at you or around you and try to shrug it off as soon as their mood cools down, keep those in mind bc those are the closest you get to someone's true colors

i say, as i remember my dad angrily bitching about how he hates women and that if they become victims of feminicide its because they asked for it... while living with his wife and daughter, who are women. or when he in a drunken rage said hed sell me and mom to trafficking so that he could get himself upper in life. or when we found out one of his cheatings and since i was old enough then i actually called him out on it and his response was how much he hated that i was related to him and demanded his surname be withdrawn from my identity

nobody talks about it or minds it because "he didnt really mean those things, he was just angry"

hes perpetually angry and spiteful at the entire world as if it owed him something. he can stay angry at the same damn thing for weeks and bitch about it like it was the first time and acts like it was the fault of anyone who is in closest proximity to him in his bursts. so any stupid thing sets him off and people just forgive him as soon as hes calm no matter how much hes hurt others around him

his excuse? "thats the way i am, i cant change it"

BULLSHIT

if youre like that and want to get better, then you work to improve yourself

"i am this way i cant change it take it or leave it" means youre not only an awful person but that you dont care about becoming a better person, especially for the people around you

i HATE how literally EVERYONE here IRL just, lets him get away with his shitty character. im the only one who sees this shit, and i cant really say anything because then I will be the unreasonable one

where is this coming from? he just came home drunk (AGAIN.) immediately cursing everyone and everything upon getting home, because one of our dogs knocked their bowl of food off. angrily expressing how much he hated our dogs and felt like either dumping them onto the streets or even killing them-- even though he was the one who rescued 4 out of our 5 dogs

over a knocked off bowl. that didnt even break (plastic) just knocked dog food on the ground

ugh. could have done us a favor and not have returned home at all until tomorrow

[jtroupe]

where season 4 went wrong and how season 5 is making it right

season 4 was a trainwreck in writing, characteristion and general enjoyability. enough that i couldnt physically pull myself to finish the series, i just read the summaries and watched smaller clips. taking too many risks to stay relevant, season 4 ultimately ended up falling flat.

the first thing that can be immediately noticed is that the season 4 colour pallet is darker, setting the tone that this is a more gritty series. that sounds great on paper, this is a change for the next step, we’re losing a lot of older characters and this pushing an edgier tns is fitting. although promising at the start, it becomes apparent that the writers havent done their research on interesting dark plot points, and within 10 episodes, there is already 3 relationships going on at once.

we all know that tns has a problem with relationships. when a pair get together, in most cases, the woman loses a great chunk of her personality and all scenes end up with her guy. the main talking point is the james/riley/alfie drama, and let’s be honest, it’s wholly unnessesary and out-of-character. james leaves for england, and after an episode or two, riley starts crushing on prince boy alfie. now i’m not an expert on jiley, nor do i particularly like the pair, but i expected that after all theyve been through, their relationship would be strong enough to withstand a swiss prince. nevertheless, this storyline worked in the producers’ favour as it riled up the fanbase and got them commited. that doesn’t keep it from being badly written and unneded.

noah getting with amanda baffles me to this day. amanda went from being a complex character with an interesting personality and backstory to the complete opposite just because she saw a guys muscles. not to mention that amanda was the dance captain of elite’s A troupe while noah was in J troupe, but thats a story for another day. i can imagine the writers’ reasoning for this relationship is that they didnt have anything else to do with amanda, so they spun a wheel and gave her a boyfriend. another indicator that this storyline was pointless is that they just break up at the end of the series because amanda goes on tour. no one grew from the experience, it ended in nothing. noah is the same girl-obsessed, whiny, unlikable character that he was at the start.

i know very little about what came of sloane/latroy/amy, as i didnt stay to find out. but i can say that it was unnessasary all the same. one of the diamonds in the rough of s4 was the friendship between sloane and latroy, they were fun and likable at the start, their friendship was strong and i wholly enjoyed the scenes they had together. then the curse of the tns writers came in and latroy gained a crush on amy because She Was A Woman He Was In Close Proximity To Once. then after that confusion, in hope of getting fans riled up again, they through sloane in there to be jealous. i dont think i have to further explain why that was dumb.

the writers desperately try to give screentime to the abundance of characters theyve introduced, while still giving spotlight to the relationship drama. this just leaves them with characters who are half-developed and one-sided. michelle gaining a more mature personality was interesting, along with her coming to accept change. but she does little else because there simply wasn’t any time to do anything else with her. cassie is another character that recieved nothing, although being branded as a main character, she got no development or meaningful story and left at the end of the season for an unknown reason. we can compare this to hunter, who although being present for only one season, developed meaningfully and was interesting althroughout the season. unfortunately, as i’ve stated, the writers were biting off too much for them to chew in season 4.

riley becomes studio head in season 4, and i’m certain it was just fanservice. riley wasn’t ready to become studio head and her character proved that. and it didn’t end up being a good learning experience for riley’s character, it made the slowness of their journey to regionals frustrating and a lot of the time i wanted to reach into my screen and slap our new studio head. for a fan-favourite character, she really wasn’t doing herself any favours. losing regionals could have been a shock and an eye-opener of how much the series is changing. but after the mess of the troupe althroughout the series, i actually wanted them to lose regionals.

overall, season 4 was an experiment gone wrong. after that trainwreck, i was extremely reluctant to even bother watching season 5, because i was rightfully afraid that i’d just be dissapointed and bored for a second time. but i persisted as i heard that emily would be returning as studio head, something i wanted for season 4. then apon watching, i was really surprised. everything that made me hate season 4 seemed to be resolving itself right before my eyes.

emily was reintroduced as studio head of the next step, her ruthlessness in the audition reminded me of how much i loved emily, as she was kicking A troupe into shape to make sure they became a winning competitive team. daniel as choreographer also left me with a pleasant feeling. michelle gets angry about how cutthroat emily is being at the audition, and goes off to form her own troupe, setting the story of season 5. the inclusion of two whole teams left me worried that the writers would have trouble giving screentime to everyone, but i was proven wrong.

most of the characters were getting scenes that were interesting, and they each had personality traits that had a lot of room for exploration. 18 episodes in and there’s only one romantic relationship of noah and jacquie. and you know what? its not awful! as we didnt know jacquie prior, only by name, her getting with noah was no problem as it didnt tarnish anything already set in stone. what really shook me was that jacquie was allowed other personality traits outside of noah. now That gives me hope of any future relationships that may happen

the pacing of season 5 feels natural, as there are points that mark progression for both teams. the split, the growing anger between michelle and emily, the dance battle, and the eventual union of both troupes. the series is moving along and its not sacrificing character building to do so. even elliot, a character who showed up for 5 episodes max, got a well-paced, interesting storyline. the only fanservice i can pick up on for season 5 is the nods and paralles towards seasons 1 and 2, which are not to be frowned apon as it leaves a good taste in the mouths of dedicated fans who have been there from the start, not the fans who joined in halfway or fans who watch from time to time.

after erasing the constant drama that seemed to be the mantra of season 4, season 5 blossomed into the well-rounded series reminicant of the earlier seasons. i’d like to applaud whoever took a step back after the previous season and re-evaluated what the core elements of the next step really were and made sure those were woven into season 5.

days are still early and we’re not even at the mid series point, but so far, there is major improvement in season 5 as it cleans the grit and smoothens the edges of season 4. i’m excited to see what it becomes, and that’s coming from someone who’s a stubborn fan of early seasons.