#i could totally manage it by february right?

[hyukascampfire]

cupid yeonjun…. who’s with me

[with-my-calamitous-love]

please don’t ever become a stranger (whose laugh i could recognize anywhere)

k. bakugou x reader

moments in the year where katsuki realized he’s in love with you. happy new years 🤍

inspired by new years day

february 14

he’s driving you home after a date, one hand on the steering wheel, the other intertwined with yours. city lights pass through the windows in a blur, the road long enough for you to tell it’ll be a long way home.

he’s stressed, a little. you can tell by how he grips your hand, and the way he seems not totally focused on anything in particular. you still feel safe- he’s a great driver- but his inner thoughts aren’t lost on you. normally, he’s the toast of the town, and you’re right there with him. he’s aware of his reputation, and the love he gets from fans. but with fame comes the public eye, and even he isn’t immune to it.

he’s been striking out more lately. his abrasive attitude that you love isn’t always loved by everyone. his slip ups and mistakes seem to make headlines more than his achievements. its grating on him, and he hopes you don’t notice.

but you do, because thats what you do for people you love.

1. 2. 3. you squeeze his hand three times. i love you, it spells out. i’ll love you when you’re at your best and worst. no matter what.

at first, he thinks you’re just playing with his hand, crimson eyes flickering over to you and then back to the road. exactly 2 seconds later, he gets what you really mean.

1. 2. 3. 4. he grips your hand back. i love you, too. he says, without actually saying anything. i will never not love you. you’re the only person who stays for me no matter what. and for that, i love you.

unspoken words you both know to be true that night.

april 20

he doesn’t really celebrate his birthday, but his friends and colleagues always insist on it. he snarls, scoffing, finding it all pompous and unnecessary, until he sees your starry eyes planning his special day. he can’t say no to you.

he wasn’t expecting much when he unlocked the door to his apartment. he had a feeling you’d throw him a surprise party, but he didn’t think you’d gather his old classmates in his home to celebrate with him.

he’s stunned for a moment, until his lips curve into a begrudging smile. a room full of people, on his birthday, and the first person he looks for is you.

“thanks, dumbass.” he murmurs, a few drinks in while his arm finds your waist. his smile is like sunshine, though you rarely see it when its genuine. you pretend not to notice the ‘ews’ and laughs from your peers when he presses a long kiss to your cheek.

he has work tomorrow morning. he’ll definitely regret drinking as much as he did. he decides he’ll take an advil and get it over with.

he knows how much he’s loved you from the moment he entered that party. he realizes it more when you call in for him the next day, his hangover palpable, with you by his side.

“you didn’t have to do that.” he groans, but he isn’t annoyed. its a little embarrassing being taken care of, but he isn’t complaining when its with you.

“its just one day, babe.” you hum, holding his hand, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. “you deserved the break.”

“pro-heroes don’t get breaks.” he adds.

“okay… but i missed you.” you smile a little, trying to win him over.

you already have.

june 26

katsuki is used to criminal activity. when he hears about it, he keeps a level head and a resting bitch face, ready to deal with whatever comes his way. all that rationality is thrown out the window when he hears you had been caught up in it and injured.

he runs through every medic, frantically searching for you like his life depends on it. he’s imagining every worst case scenario, heart beating out of his chest and snapping at anyone who asks whats wrong.

“katsuki!” you finally call out to him. he turns and is relieved to see you’ve only managed a broken arm. the sigh of relief that leaves his lips is a testament to how much he cares, arms wrapping around you, not giving a single fuck who sees.

“are you okay, idiot? are you hurt anywhere else?” his eyes scan you for injuries. you physically have to cup his face and bring his attention back to whats important: you’re okay. and so is he.

“i’m fine.” you almost laugh, savouring his rare moment of vulnerability. he has things to do, reporters to talk to and damage to control, but you’re the priority right now. you’re what he loves the most.

you never know how much you care until you think you’re going to lose it.

september 12

being a gruff, muscular, powerful hero, katsuki think’s he’s too strong for panic attacks. he’s also wrong.

he hopes you’re in a deep enough sleep not to notice his pacing. to him, the room is on fire, only the smoke is invisible and only he can feel the flame.

his breathing picks up, pains in his chest while the tremors set in. his heart races, nauseous and sweating while he tries to get his bearings. all of his heroes die all alone, just like he will.

“just breathe.”

he’s commanded by you, not even realizing you woke up. he feelings your touch on him, taking his hand and placing it overtop your chest. he wants to ask you when you woke up, or for how long you’ve been watching him, but he can’t seem to ground himself enough for that.

“its okay, kats.” you coo, pulling him into a hug, as if shielding him from his own anxiety. “just breathe. you’re safe here.”

he can save you from villains and threats, be your knight in shining armour, your hero. you, on the other hand, can save him from himself. and thats the moment he knows he’ll love you for as long as he breathes. even if you were to one day become a stranger to him- his heart would recognize you anywhere.

december 31st - 5 minutes to midnight

there’s glitter on the floor, polaroids tossed around lazily. kirishima’s annual new years party wouldn’t be complete without you and your boyfriend, katsuki, in attendance. people drink and blast music, reminiscing on this past year. in just 5 minutes, the world would begin again.

he could be with his friends, drunk on love, laughter, and booze. he could relish in the fame of his success and achievements. but all of that seems so small, so trivial, when he sees you out on the balcony, alone.

“idiot?” he peers out, seeing you leaning over the railing, looking out at the stars. “what’re you doing out here? everyone’s gonna start counting down.”

“hey.” you hum as he walks over to you. his arm so naturally finds its way around your waist, like it belongs there. loving you is like breathing for him.

“you know 5 years ago today, you just graduated.” you reminisce, watching his red eyes grow contemplative.

“yeah? so?” he utters, not getting your point.

“nothing, just… so many people spend new years focusing on whats ending. and thats good. i just… when i look at you, katsuki… i think of my future.”

his heart swells at that.

“damn it, idiot.” he huffs, forehead resting against yours, a dumb smile on his face. “my life has been better with you. everything has been better since you.”

you both hear the sounds of cheering, counting down to midnight. time ceases when katsuki looks at you, whole centuries passing when he holds your gaze. you melt his tough exterior and the ashes of his ambition. you become his dreams, his everything.

“10!”

“i never want you to be a stranger, ever.”

“9!”

“i wanna laugh with you for the rest of my life.”

“8!”

“i wanna hold on to every memory with you.”

“7!”

“this is so fucking corny.”

“6!”

“i know, i don’t care.”

“5!”

“i’d spend all my midnights with you.”

“4!”

“and all my new years days.”

“you hate cleaning up after parties, though.”

“i can’t hate anything when its with you. i love you, [y/n].”

“i love you too, katsuki.”

“3!”

“2!”

“1!”

january 1st

the truth is, he has always known he’s loved you. he’s never needed the reminder, like its the one sure thing in his life. for as long as he lives, he’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on new years day.

[delusional-day-dreamer]

paige x olympian gymnast hcs!

‣ paige bueckers x olympic gymnast reader!

‣‣ synopsis: gymnastics has always been your entire life, and your dedication truly paid off when you made team usa for the 2016 rio olympics, but what happens after your injury while in the running for the 2020 tokyo olympics? #uneditedfornow

‣‣‣ a/n: just a few headcannons i have in mind for this story, if i were to make this a full blown series it MIGHT be a wattpad story with an oc or just a full tumblr series because of how long it would be... 👀

your life leading up to and including the 2016 rio olympics:

you've been doing gymnastics since you were three years old

at the age of thirteen your parents switched you to online school so you could train full time, but during this process it set you back a year, making your graduation year 2020 (same as Paige)

at the age of just fifteen you qualified for the rio olympics (meaning you were born in 2001)

your roommate that year was simone biles, and you competed at the olympics, taking home two golds (all around team and beam) and one silver (beam).

following the olympics, you became very popular for your skill at such a young age, leading you to signing many brand deals, sponsorships, photoshoots, etc.

it just so happens that your popularity reaches a certain basketball player, miss paige bueckers. in her slam interview in 2019, when asked about an athlete she admires outside of basketball, she says you. you have no idea who she is, but dm her regardless thanking her for her kind words. this is the only interaction you two have until uconn.

you continued online school for the rest of highschool, and throughout the next three years you received thirty recruitment offers out of the sixty-two schools that had a women's college gymnastics team.

your dream school had always been the University of Connecticut, but their gymnastics team didn't impress you throughout the recruitment process.

your graduation year is 2020, which happens to be the same year you got injured, right before choosing a college to commit to.

injury-related; 2020-2021:

in february of 2020, you got into a car crash while driving home from a late night practice.

you tore your left acl, dislocated your right shoulder, fractured your left collarbone, had a concussion, and suffered a left femoral fracture (ouchies i know)

thankfully you were mostly okay, but the accident completely put you out of the running for the 2020 (now moved to 2021 due to the pandemic) olympics, and doctors told you it would take at least two years to fully rehabilitate before you could even beginning training for competitions again.

your left leg had quite a few complications with the acl tear and the femoral fracture, and you had four surgeries in total on the leg.

during this time, you decided that since you couldn't compete in gymnastics, you might as well commit to the college of your student-life dreams, the university of connecticut.

UConn Era!!:

you commit to uconn for your undergrad in the sports management program, since you couldn't compete, you still wanted to remain in the athletic world.

your freshman year classes (2020-2021) was fully online due to your injuries and the pandemic, but it just so happens that you're placed as an intern with the women's basketball team for your sports management program.

you meet the team before the school year starts, and it just so happens that paige bueckers has remained a huge fan of yours.

the only reason the team recognized you immediately before you were even introduced is because of how much she has fangirled over you

you get your own apartment at uconn due to the program and your status (okay olympic privilege), which meant the team loved to hang out at your giant, well-furnished place.

you become extremely close with the team, and your first two years of rehabilitation seem to go well. it also happens that in your sophomore year, your best friend paige also fractures her meniscus, so the two of you are the resident cripples of the team!

paige has always had a huge fangirl crush on you, but over the years of you being friends, it seems those feelings develop into a little bit more...

one night while you were having a sleepover with her during her acl recovery she confesses, and the two of you start dating on the very down low

during your junior year is also when you are fully cleared to start re-training and you start getting back into gymnastics with a new coach (idk who yet!)

while balancing school and your duties with the wbb team, you start to train only four days a week, slowly getting back old skills on all four events.

you start competing in the 2023-24 season (i believe that’s how it’s measured?) and qualify for the 2024 olympics at the 2024 Xfinity U.S Gymnastics Championship

it’s safe to say your girlfriend and the entire wbb team were your biggest supporters apart from your family

Actual Olympics:

i can see you being roommates with Hezley Rivera, since she reminds you so much of yourself and you’re able to form a connection because of that.

Paige is unfortunately not able to make it to the first half of the Olympics, but she is your biggest supporter from home, constantly posting and hyping you up.

While competing, you definitely wear jewelry that she gifted you for good luck, and your hair has two braids going up into your bun, just to keep a piece of your girl close to you. Maybe even a purple ribbon braided into your hair at some point?

You also definitely took half of her closet of hoodies with you so that you could wear them and have her scent with you at night

the entire uconn wbb team, both current and players from your earlier college years, show support for you on social media, but paige’s is a little.. different than theirs

while all the girls post you on their stories or tweeting about you as, so proud of our husky 💙🐺, that’s my our uconn girly!!, etc. Paige’s are a little more special, hinting at your relationship, ex: so proud of my girl 🫶🫶

there were rumors about you and paige circulating since your freshman year, but you never bothered addressing them, and this only fueled them further.

You definitely text Paige as much as possible during meal times, facetiming at night, sending selfies all the time, etc.

The other girls definitely make fun of you if they overhear you on the phone with her, mocking you since you call each other baby as a term of endearment. They also make a tiktok cut together of a bunch of clips, basically every single time you were texting or atp with paige. the tiktok has over 50 clips!

“can you pass me that y/n?” suni asked you

“yea sure, here” you passed her the makeup brush

“thanks, baby,” she teased, making you blush

After the olympic athlete who ran straight to his girlfriend after breaking the Olympic record, I can definitely see Paige flying out to surprise you for a week or so in Paris.

Her flying out to come visit is when you guys actually hard launch, posting pictures of you at dinner with the captions, “my girl is finally here” or “yk i had to come cheer my girl on in person”

a/n: this is #uneditedfornow but that’s all i have for now yall! idk when i’m gonna make this a series but i have so many ideas for it i just might have to, but i also have two other unfinished series rn so… 😓😓

[invisibleicewands]

Bringing revolution to Port Talbot - by Michael Sheen

On a recent February morning, I woke up to find I was wrong. Not a particularly uncommon experience in itself, but unusual to discover that on this occasion I was being publicly accused of it by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. “Michael Sheen has said that ‘the people of Port Talbot have been let down’,” Kemi Badenoch wrote in the Daily Mail. “But he is wrong.”

It was a big day. I spent all of last year directing a three-part drama series for the BBC called The Way, which was to air that night. It begins in my hometown of Port Talbot, where a strike at the local steelworks becomes the spark that ignites a violent descent into national chaos. Clearly, Ms Badenoch had been given a sneak peek of the series before forming quite a strong opinion on it. But no: reading her article, Ms Badenoch admits that she hadn’t watched it at all. Why let a total lack of information prevent a full-throated denouncement, eh? Presumably, she also assumes that we managed to write, film and edit the entire series after Tata Steel announced the imminent loss of some 2,500 jobs at the steelworks mere weeks ago.

While the winds of change have only been blowing in one direction for many years, the events in our story were dreamed up some years ago and act as a fictional catalyst for all that follows. Surely even Tory ministers understand there is no VIP fast lane for making a TV series. This isn’t a PPE contract, after all…

Nothing to see here

After that episode aired, it occurred to me that such shenanigans in the right-wing press could have been about a couple of things. Since the ITV drama about the Post Office scandal, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, caused public outrage, I imagine the government has a new fear of the impact a TV show can have. A pre-emptive strike against a series it perceives to be criticising its actions around the steel industry must have seemed a useful tactic. And, having seen Breathtaking – based on Rachel Clarke’s memoir of how the Covid crisis unfolded in the NHS, which aired on ITV the same night as The Way – I wonder if her piece was an attempt to distract attention away from more dangerous territory.

It gave Ms Badenoch a chance to trot out her line about how the people of Port Talbot should be grateful for all that the government is doing to save the steel industry, not moaning about the impact job losses will have on their community. But the people of Port Talbot have been let down, no matter what Ms Badenoch wants us to think. Not by any single entity, but by years of neglect. That she immediately assumed my comments referred to her and her government tells its own story. In the words of a much older drama than mine: the lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Then and Nye

“This crisis is a privateering racket with your friends lining their pockets!” No, not an accusation against Boris Johnson, but something I currently say to Winston Churchill every night. We opened a new play called Nye at the National Theatre this week. I play Aneurin (“Nye”) Bevan, who attacks the prime minister for turning a wartime crisis into a money-making scheme for him and his cronies. It’s one of many moments in the play that seem to speak to past and present at the same time.

The entanglement of “now” and “then” is heightened by the fact that I am wearing pyjamas. Nye is lying unconscious in his hospital bed at the end of his life, and we follow him through a dream of his past. He wanders from childhood memories of overcoming his stutter in Tredegar library to his meteoric rise through local politics, to becoming the youngest member of Clement Attlee’s pioneering postwar cabinet. And, of course, as minister for health, his tumultuous birthing of the NHS on 5 July 1948. It’s an extraordinary, surprising and moving experience telling this story on stage each night. That shared space between actors and audience, where all is felt but unseen, crackles with electricity.

Once more, with feeling

It seems that exploring the motives of politicians, the uses and abuses of political power, and the quest for justice that saw the creation of the NHS taps into deep wells of emotion. Like the pockets of gas that miners feared within the coal seam, their release brings risk and reward. At a recent show, we had three instances of people needing to be helped out of the theatre, the final one forcing us to pause the show moments from its end. Thankfully, it was nothing more serious than someone fainting. But emotions are running high.

I’m more than happy to invite Ms Badenoch to a performance. But I realise, of course, there’s no guarantee she would make it to the end.

[dontforgetukraine]

Hryhoriy Bakalo, Photo - 1953

"I am Bakalo Hryhoriy Omelkovych. I was born at the end of 1923 in the village of Bohuslav. There were seven children in our family. We lived together with our grandfather and grandmother, Yavdokha.

We were not wealthy, but, for those times,we were not poor either. We were considered well-to-do. They demanded our father join the collective farm: they often came to our house and threatened him.

Little Vasyl was afraid of strangers and cried,so our mother took him out of the house. So he caught a cold and died.

When joining the collective farm, my father gave away the horses and all the livestock, so only a cow remained in our own household. As a successful owner, my father was appointed either foreman or head of the collective farm stable.

The farmers from the collective farm reluctantly accepted the collective farm (it could be called silent sabotage), and treated the collective farm poorly. A rider could leave a horse warmed up by running in the cold, etc.

In the end, poor care, lack of fodder, and unsuitable premises with the onset of autumn cold led to the death of horses. My father was accused of this.

He had an opportunity to "make amends": they offered him to organise the seizure of horses from those people who had not yet joined the collective farm. He did not agree, so he was arrested.

My father's arrest was a signal that a brigade would come to confiscate property.They came to us to seize our property on a horse-drawn sleigh (late November - early December 1932).This entire confiscation brigade included local peasants, but as they said, "not ours" led them.

It was very difficult to hide something from the brigade of collectors. They took everything with them, even clothes and canvas. They burned the icons right in the middle of the yard.

Using sticks, they found two sacks of wheat, one of flour, pine cones and seeds buried by my father in the yard. The utensils from the oven, including the dish in it, were also taken.

In total, they took eight carriages of goods (food, clothing, household goods, utensils, cloth, potatoes). They also took the cow, chickens, ducks - meat; before that, my father had slaughtered a heifer, so they took it too (it was hanging in the attic).

They did not find only the bag of flour, hidden in the barn under the barrel. I think that the older ones could have gone somewhere and there, maybe even survived, but they were "blacklisting" right after the arrest of our father. They were not allowed to leave the village.

Our mother cooked soup from the bag of flour left, and what she managed to exchange for clothes and jewelry (a necklace): water and a little flour...

By the spring, in February, when it got a little warmer, everyone was so exhausted that they could only lie down. Only I walked. I remember my sister calling: "Hrysha, go catch a frog and bring it to me."

I walked around the garden, went down to the river and then came back. "No," I said. And she asked: "Give me the scissors, I'll cut my hair and eat it." I handed over them and stood at a distance. She suddenly threw them at me, almost hitting me.

Later, my sister bit the skin on her fingers. Our mother beat her and wrapped her fingers with rags, but she took off the rags and again bit and sucked her fingers.

Our mother poured soup,and I carried it to my brothers.When I ate my share,I was sitting waiting, maybe,something else left for me.Mother:"Take it to Arkhyp." I brought it,and he said:"Put my bowl down,I don't need it." Then he died. Ivan didn't ask anything, he died quietly.

In March and April, everyone died except for me, Kolia and our mother. Our mother periodically, twice or even three times a week, went away to exchange that junk. And my brother and I wandered around the village.

My brother did not want to walk because he was thin, his legs and arms were like sticks, and his stomach was huge and transparent: the liver and intestines were visible.

My father returned seven months later after he had been taken away, in May, unshaven for seven months, scary, barely able to move his swollen legs wrapped in rags. My mother wasn't at home.

And I said: "Dad, now we will survive - there are only four of us: you, mom, Kolia, and me," and Father only replied: "They took all my strength there." The next morning, he went to the collective farm to sharpen scythes.

In the evening, he brought a quarter of a beet and some soup - he earned for the day. He gave it to us, told us to eat little by little, and lay down and wheezed. Foam came out of the mouth and nose. I ran to our neighbour, saying: "Something is wrong with dad."

She came, looked - "your father died." She covered him with a black blanket. He had been lying like that for two days until our mother came. Everything she earned was spent on the coffin and digging the grave..."

The carriage came to take him to the cemetery, and our neighbour came, asking: "Take my Pylyp to the cemetery too (the neighbour's son was my age). As I won't be able to take him there..." They took Pylyp away. On the way, someone else was taken away.

A storm broke out there. Thunder, lightning, rain, wind. The diggers quickly left. My mother covered the hole with her own hands..."

Source: Holodomor Museum

[starchaserwrites]

@jegulus-microfic / february 10: violin / word count: 488

Regulus is a dead man. Somewhere on the way home from violin practice, he forgot his expensive musical instrument, but he can't remember where. Most likely it was on the train, as he couldn't help but doze off several times during the journey, having slept only about an hour the night before. The worst part is that all this could have been avoided if he hadn't insisted on going to practise on his own and just let the house chauffeur drive him there as usual. But Regulus, at the age of 18, felt the urge to do something on his own for the first time in a long time, and look how it turned out.

So as he curled up in a corner of the station, he couldn't help but feel the pressure building in his chest. His phone keeps vibrating, surely it is his mother, ready to demand an answer as to what is taking him so long.

After a while, when he manages to recover a little and gathers enough courage to look at his mobile, he is surprised to see that all the missed calls are from an unknown number. If someone has called him so incessantly, it must be an emergency. Prepared for the worst, and just as he is about to call back, another call comes in, and this time he answers it.

"Hello?" he says tentatively into the receiver.

"Finally! Are you Regulus Black?" a happy voice calls from the other end.

"Yes? Who are you?"

"My name is James and I found your violin!"

Regulus can't help but feel like an idiot right now, he'd completely forgotten that the violin case had his name and phone number engraved on it, just in case something like this happened. Without wasting a minute, after talking for a few more moments and agreeing on which station to meet at, he sets off.

When he finally arrives at the station and sees a guy about his age and height standing at the ticket booth with his violin in one hand, his soul finally returns to his body.

"I could kiss you right now," is the first thing that slips out of his mouth in front of the stranger.

"That can be arranged." James says, a smile slowly spreading across his face. Regulus is not only incapable of stopping the heat rising to his face, but also of looking away. "What do you say we go grab a coffee now?"

"Oh, I can't," and Regulus hates himself for being the cause of the change in expression on the face of the boy with the beautiful light brown eyes. "But what do you say we go out on Saturday?" and there it is again, that dangerous grin that has the potential to become an addiction.

If anyone asks him, the reprimand he gets from Walburga for being late for dinner is totally worth it in the end.

[agaypanic]

Hey :) I was wondering if since it’s a leap year you would maybe write a oneshot or blurb or smth with James Maguire x reader (maybe like Quinn!reader from your series??) where she proposes on the 29th of February bc it’s a tradition that comes from Ireland?? I just think it would be so cute bc he just totally wouldn’t see it coming and I’ve never seen anyone do it in a fic before

Leap Day (James Maguire X Quinn!Reader)

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Summary: You, the girls, and James are now well into your twenties. Life is perfect, except for one little thing that’s been on your mind. After taking with your friends about it, you figure you should take matters into your own hands.

A/N: won’t put it on my series masterlist, but this could be seen as an epilogue of sorts to the fella series (even tho it’s not finished yet lol) but obvi it can be read as its own thing. Also im american so sorry for any terminology and such i get wrong. reader, james, and the girls are obvi aged up

***

If you had told your younger self that you and your friends ended up staying in Derry after finishing school, she would’ve thought you lost your mind. All she thought about was graduating and leaving home, traveling the world, and escaping her pain-in-the-ass sister Erin and somewhat crazy family.

But if she saw the life you had now, she’d probably understand. Because you had everything you truly wanted.

You had a nice little job close to your flat where you managed a bookstore. It was a quaint shop that became a frequent stop for some of the local teenagers. Erin also stopped by every now and then to boast about what she had already read.

When you weren’t working, you were with your friends. You were a bit more tame than you were in your adolescence, but that all usually went out the window when Michelle got a drink or two in her. Which happened often.

But the best part of your day was when you’d go home to see your boyfriend of many years, the love of your life, James Maguire.

“So, what’s goin’ on with you and him, anyway?” Michelle asked as she messily poured everyone a glass of wine. Every now and then, you and the girls got together for a night to get drunk and catch each other up on anything that happened since the last time you’d gotten together. For some reason, you and James were a bit of a hot topic tonight.

“What d’ya mean, Michelle? You know what’s going on with us.” You laughed, taking your wine glass from her.

“I mean, when are the two of you getting hitched? Has he even popped the question to ya?”

“Believe me, Michelle, you’d all be the first to know if we got engaged.” You said a bit glumly, downing your drink and waving your glass around for Michelle’s attention to fill it again.

“He still hasn’t asked you?” Clare asked with an incredulous look. From the start, she had been a big supporter of your and James’ relationship. If it was up to her, you’d probably have a few kids and a house in the countryside by now. “You’ve been going out since we were sixteen! And you just turned twenty-five a few months ago, didn’t you?”

“Yup.” You responded, popping the ‘p.’ “Nine years and no ring.” You held your bare hand up to prove your point. “But I don’t mind too much. As long as we’re together, that’s really what matters.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” Clare cooed.

“It’s shit.” Michelle countered.

“Michelle’s right, Y/n,” Erin said, grabbing a crisp from the bowl in the middle of the table. “You’ve been waiting for James to propose since we finished at Our Lady Immaculate; admit it.”

“Have not!” You laughed at the absurdity of your sister’s sentence, but the looks everyone gave you made it die down. “Okay, maybe a little. But not seriously! It was just like a dream, you know? Like Erin thinking she’ll get published or Granda thinking Ma will actually divorce Daddy.” 

Everyone giggled, except for Erin, who was grumbling about your little jab.

“Be serious, Y/n!” Clare laughed, patting your hand. “You’ve been waiting for him to ask for a long while.”

You looked down at your glass, swirling the wine around with a sigh. 

“Maybe a bit.” You answered quietly. It hadn’t really nagged at you too much until recently. After all, you had been together for almost a decade, and everyone else around you seemed to be getting engaged or married. You loved James; truly, you did. But it felt like you were missing out a little. “But I’m fine with waiting.”

“The question is, Y/n, how long are you gonna have to wait until he actually does it?” Erin asked, leaning forward to stare at you. You shrugged, not really knowing the answer and not really wanting to respond.

“You might as well ask him, Y/n!” Your cousin Orla said with a grin. She was always an optimist. “He might just be scared you’ll say no!”

“You know, now that you say it, that’s probably why he hasn’t asked yet,” Michelle said, taking a sip from her wine glass that had been filled more graciously than anyone else’s. “After all, James is a pussy.”

“Don’t call my fella a pussy, Michelle!” You reprimanded, yet you still laughed along with everyone else.

“I can call my cousin what I want. And the fact is that he’s a pussy!”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea, really,” Clare said when everyone’s chuckles had died down. She gasped. “This is a leap year! You could ask him on the twenty-ninth!”

“That’s next week, Clare.” You said a bit nervously. Of course, you’d marry James in a heartbeat. But the thought of proposing, especially so soon, made you a bit sick to the stomach. Now you realize why James probably hasn’t asked you yet.

“It’s either next week or another four years, Y/n,” Michelle said with a teasing smile.

You gulped, feeling everyone’s eyes on you. As you thought about it, you had to admit that it wasn’t really a bad idea. Sure, you had less than an ideal amount of time to plan everything out. But you could probably get something small but nice together.

“Okay… Who’s going ring shopping with me?” The girls squealed at your question, getting up to surround you in a drunken group hug.

***

It was the twenty-ninth, and you were a nervous wreck. The ring weighed heavy in your pocket as you paced around your dining room. Dinner was sitting waiting on the table, and you were playing your little speech of love over and over in your head. All you needed was James, who should be home soon. But as the minutes ticked by, you wished the clock would freeze so you could have more time to prepare for this.

“Darling, I’m home!” James called out as he opened the door, and you realized you were out of time. You skipped out to the front hall to greet your boyfriend.

“Hi, Jamie.” You cooed, giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek before stepping away so he could hang up his coat. 

“Sorry I’m a bit late, needed to finish some things at the office.” 

“Oh, that’s okay, hun.” You waved your hands, both to dismiss his unneeded apology and to get rid of some nervous energy.

James gave you a quick peck before walking off to the bedroom to change, leaving you to overthink a bit more. You wanted tonight to be perfect. James deserved nothing less than that.

To pass the time, you grabbed a candle and placed it in the middle of the small table, finding a lighter to light the wick.

“It’s so nice to be home,” James murmured as he walked over to you, arms slinking around you to pull you close to his chest. He buried his face into your neck, leaving a kiss or two before taking a deep breath. “Dinner smells good.”

“Thank you, Jamie.” You turned your head to kiss his cheek before pulling away from him. The two of you sat down and started putting food on your plates.

You talked about anything and everything, James leading most of the conversation, which you were grateful for. You felt that if you had to talk too much, you’d either stutter too much or end up spoiling your surprise. James held your hand most of the time, playing with your fingers absentmindedly as he talked about something amusing that happened at work.

Eventually, your plates were clear and your cups were empty. James was finishing up a story about something a few of his lads had done while they were all watching some sports game you didn’t know much about. You knew that now was your time.

“Jamie?” He hummed, perking up at the sound of his name. 

“Yes, love?”

“I love you.” You didn’t really know how else to start.

“I love you, too, N/n,” James said, smiling as he squeezed your hand.

You took a deep breath, about to give the speech that you’d been preparing in your head.

“I’ve known that you were the one for me since we were fifth years. Probably since I first saw you at the bus stop. That’s probably crazy, knowing something like that so early and so young… But it’s true.” You laughed, thumb sweeping over his knuckles. “These have been the best years of my life, being with you. And it might be a bit selfish of me, but I want more of them.”

“Y/n…” James whispered, tilting his head. “What are you saying, darling?”

“We have a bit of a tradition here.” You say, wiggling your hand from James’ grasp and standing up. “Ladies’ Privilege, Bachelor’s Day, whatever you fancy calling it. Where on Leap Day, girls can propose to their fella.” You stuck your hand in your pocket, fiddling with the ring. “And seeing how it’s Leap Day now, and I have a ring and all, I guess there’s just one last thing to ask.”

James’ expression turned even more stunned when you got down on one knee, now holding the silver band up in front of him. 

“Will you marry me, Jamie?”

In the few seconds of silence after that question, you could feel your heartbeat in your ears. He looked at you stunned, and you desperately wanted to know what was going through his mind. How long would you have to kneel on the ground for him to give you an answer?

But then he smiled brightly, and all your worry slipped away.

“Of course, I’ll marry you!” James slipped out of his chair to join you on the floor and grabbed your face, giving you a long and deep kiss. You gripped his curls in your free hand, the other resting on his shoulder. When he pulled away, he let out an airy laugh. “I never thought I’d be the one being proposed to.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” You giggled with him as you slipped the band onto his ring finger. “Happy Leap Day.”

“Happy Leap Day, indeed,” James said before kissing you again.

[simplegenius042]

Music Monday & WIP Tuesday

Tagging @voidika @raresvtm @josephseedismyfather @noodlecupcakes @imogenkol @socially-awkward-skeleton @inafieldofdaisies @aceghosts @cloudofbutterflies92 @cassietrn @direwombat @adelaidedrubman @derelictheretic @davrinsgriffons @shallow-gravy @strangefable @statichvm @carlosoliveiraa @g0dspeeed @wrathfulrook @starsandskies @ladyoriza @la-grosse-patate @thewanderer-000 @omen-speaker @alypink @shellibisshe @josephslittledeputy @skoll-sun-eater @afarcryfrommymain @strafethesesinners @turbo-virgins @florbelles @minilev @justasmolbard @yokobai and @seedsplease + anyone else who'd like to join.

Got three Hellaverse songs for my The UnTitledverse and Life, Despair & Monsters series and one FC5 WIP for The Silver Chronicles, and since we're coming up on "No John January", I thought to might as well show off one final snippet of John right on this post before never mentioning him for a whole-ass month (instead the only Seed siblings to get that honor would be the rest of them, mostly his brothers, right up until "Only Faith February", where she's the only Seed to talk about).

Listen and read below the cut:

First song is for The UnTitled Ventures saga of The UnTitledverse, where I imagine Joaquin Lockwood would be singing this lullaby as an assurance to both Eveline and Elise that if anything were to happen to him, he'll make sure they will be fine. His daughters are pretty much his driving motivation in his decisions throughout this saga. Listen below:

"It always seems more quiet in the dark It always feels so stark How silence grows under the moon Constellations gone so soon

I used to think that I was bold I used to think love would be fun Now all my stories have been told except for one

As the stars start to align I hope you take it as a sign That you'll be okay Everything will be okay."

The next song is for my Hellaverse WIP Smile Tunes. Now in the scene this song takes place in, Krunk and Samuel are on a date at Ozzie's, but when Blitzø and Stolas are outed by Asmodeus and Fizzarolli, neither stand up for the IMP boss nor the Goetia Prince, in order to not be outed as dating, which a dramatic point for Krunk and his boss (as well as Krunk and the Morningstar's Royal Advisor he's dating). This sets up an arc that eventually pays off in this WIP's version of "Mastermind". [CW: This song involves references to sexual references]

"Is that Blitzo? So you're showin' your face? Hey, everybody, this guy's a total disgrace! Some nerve you've got to comment on a relationship Last I checked, your love life is a pile of shit!"

"Oh, Blitzo? I used to date him." ("Date him, date him!")

"Oh, Verosika, you're here."

"I'd stroke him, I'd fellate him ("Fellate him, fellate him!") Yeah, but when it was my turn ("My turn, my turn!") He did no reciprocatin' ("What a dick-bag!") A selfish imp in the sheets, and just as bad in the streets A reckless, heartbreaking freak!"

"Who's that at your table? Is your date a demon prince? Stolas, is that you?"

"Are you sleepin' with an imp?"

"Woo! My dark lord, how the mighty do fall You used to have a smokin' wife, a kid, you had it all I hope you didn't give it up so you and him could get it up!"

And lastly, this song is a singing simplification of how Icarus manages to resolve the gap between him and Hatter, managing to reach a resolution where avatar and parasite can finally communicate with one another in their original WIP from my Life, Despair & Monsters series. And yes... it involved Icarus drinking a spiked tea that one of his alters, Xavier, left out for him in order to get both him and Hatter to speak to each other through their weird-ass dimension breaking connection. Since Moxxie's the only person singing in this song while Blitzø's part only involves dialogue, I though it was only necessary for Icarus/Hatter to since Moxxie's part:

[CW: References to recreational drug use and sexual references]

"Hatter*? I can't see you God, this smells awful! What's that music? Is that you? Is this a prank? Because I swear to-"**

"It is no prank, bitch!"

"Hey! Why do you sound like that?"

"Because you, my precious little bitch boy-"

"Stop it, Hatter*!"

"-are tripping balls!"

"No! What? How could this be? I've never tried acid, shrooms or DMT It's a bad trip, oy gevalt! Of course, Hatter*, this would be your fault!

My lungs are full of honesty Would you promise me That you won't judge?"

"Yes, bitch!"

"Not trying to divulge too much But I'm in too deep, so first of all

Fuck you!"

"What?!"

"This is just typical Well, two can play at this game of dismay 'Cause if I'm here where you're causing frustration*** Xavier and Hinode must be experiencing their own hallucinations!****

Why do you hurt me so?"*****

"I know!"

"Why must you push our friends away?"***** "I push my friends away!"

"Why does it seem like a recurring theme That you alienate with your toxic routine?"

"I don't know, eventually everyone goes!"

"'Cause you're thoughtless and cruel and you'll end up alone!"

"Why, Icarus*, why Have you held your true feelings inside?"

"I am scared of rejection!"

"Why, Icarus, why Do you reach so close for the sun?"******

"Because I'm an arrogant perfectioni- Wait a minute!"*******

"No need to hide We accept your true feelings, so promise me!"

"That I can do..." "...to be true!"

"The world is your anus so peg it with honesty!"

"Ugh..."

"I've been a jackass, it's true!"

"I've been a jackass, it's true!"

"But as soon as we're back to our normal selves."

"I will be a better friend than I was before!"

"Be better at speaking my mind!"

"And together, we can begin To become fine!"

[*Changed names to Icarus and Hatter since that's the focus. **Their not in Hell, so Satan's name wouldn't make sense. ***Since Icarus is only speaking to Hatter due to their shared connection being high enough, it wouldn't make sense for Hatter to be experiencing his own hallucinations when he's sharing it with Icarus, so just changed it to the reason below. ****Changed for the reasons above to Icarus noticing that Hatsukami and Xavier aren't with him and Hatter and makes the safe assumption that they're elsewhere in the recesses of his tripping mind. *****Changed it to collective pronouns (us/our) since Hatter's actions isn't just affecting Icarus. ******Icarus doesn't have a partner yet and also sex-averting so just changed it to a inside joke of his name. *******Icarus does not enjoy the joke that much despite being self-aware of the similarities between him and his famous namesake. >< Also Icarus saying "Ugh" towards Hatter's words is more an annoyed groan towards Hatter's lack of filter (where Icarus just finally gives up on trying to get Hatter to speak in a less vulgar manner) rather than the description of the action itself.]

Here's a WIP snippet for You're Almost Like Family where John finishes conversing with Silva at the gas station... before his loop restarts once more: [CW: Character death and minor description of gore]

The Deputy regarded him with a stoic mask, clearly processing the information he revealed to her.

It reminded John of Jacob in a way, but also of Faith, although the latter had a knack for copying qualities of the former.

The Deputy was quite a paranoid woman, as he's come to discover in these loops. She was, for the most part, closed-off to her allies, and held distrust towards strangers, even more so towards those she perceived as her enemies. She lacked belief in the Father and the Project long before she came to arrest his brother.

He was aware he had a hand in that, even if he doesn't know how. Although he wondered if this distrust went further back before even her arrival in the county.

The Deputy tapped her fingers against the belt around her hips, chewing against her cheek, before exhaling through her nose.

Moment of truth; did she believe him, or was he going to die a brutal death again? Though John was no longer a stranger to death, how the Deputy kills him was always a gamble of how much it was going to hurt.

Especially since she had no weapons, and there was a smashed plate nearby.

When her grey eyes gazed to him, she responded, "And I suppose since that directly goes against your family's whole mission of converting me to your cult, you'd want to inform me of this as soon as possible. Yeah, that weirdly makes too much sense."

John felt relief wash over him once more, his grin even more excited now that he's made actual progress. Though he wasn't finished yet, it was a step closer to his goal of saving her soul now that she believed him.

"Exactly," John told her, though toned his excitement down when she eyed him as if he was the strange one, "Now that we're on the same page, I want to propose a temporary truce between you and the Resistance in Holland Valley. Until this threat is successfully dealt with."

The Deputy raised a brow, inquiring, "And what makes you think this mystery killer is going to stick to Holland Valley?"

John didn't actually know. He's just been going off of what he's witnessed from previous loops. He doesn't actually have evidence to suggest most of her deaths were deliberate assassinations or sabotage.

However, what he did know is that wherever the Deputy was, her killer would likely be somewhere nearby.

He of course couldn't tell the Deputy any of this; the first time he told her, she called him a horrendous liar, and the last time he tried again, she outright told him she didn't believe him before attempting to escort him to the judgement of Fall's End... only to enter a truck that he could only guess had been planted with an explosion.

That... had been amongst his least pleasant memories in these loops.

And it wasn't like he could prove it to her. No matter what, the circumstances kept changing, too many factors were always shifting and it was rare for the Deputy to do or say the same thing twice as a result.

So instead John spoke as close to the truth as possible, if only to ease the Deputy's uncertainty, "Call it a hunch, dear. I've prosecuted and defended many in my time as an attorney, and if there's something I've learned about killers, they like to remain at a distance that isn't too far from their prey."

The Deputy did that curious little hum that he's always found endearing; it was short, too short for his liking, but he liked the sound of it. Made her seem beyond the remorseless killer full of wrath that his faithful had fallen to.

Thankfully, she didn't argue against his words.

"So a truce until we can dispatch whoever is after me?" she repeated his conditions, looking to him for confirmation, "That's it, right?"

While John was tempted into trying to push the Deputy into a deal that would benefit his family, he didn't want to fuck up this chance of gaining her cooperation in dealing with this threat.

Though John knew she'd be tempted in utilizing this in trying to gain her own conditions to her agreement, he decided to add.

"Yes, that's all I offer. Neither your rebellion nor my faithful will shed blood in this Valley. I'm unwilling to negotiate anything else until this threat is dealt with."

It'd do wonders for him if she'd stopped dying altogether.

She seemed displeased by that, and opened her mouth to argue.

Instead he retorted, "Besides, wouldn't you rather be alive if wanted to get Deputy Hudson back? I think it'd be counterintuitive if you wasted precious time better spent on hunting down your assassin."

She glared at him, but conceded in silence.

"Alright," she replied, reluctantly adding, "I'll agree to this truce. But I'm not sure how likely the Resistance will believe you. Do you have evidence on hand that could help better help us in convincing them?"

...Evidence?

John's previous joy was replaced by frustration at himself. How could I not have thought of that?!

"Uh, not on me, no," he admitted sheepishly, cringing at overlooking such an important detail, "But I'll gather it up back at the Ranch and Gate."

In other words, he was gonna have to quickly find something that would convince those sinner's to not disagree with his offer.

"I guess we'll rendezvous again when we do," the Deputy stated, and for that John could almost feel himself relax until she added, "But if it turns out to be an elaborate trap-"

John cut her off, "Yes, I understand, Deputy. I'm not going to deceive you into an ambush. You have my word."

The Deputy didn't seem completely convinced, and he suspected his word didn't mean much to her, but she was going to have to be satisfied with it.

"If that's all, I'm going to head back to Fall's End," the Deputy said, turning to leave. While John didn't believe Fall's End was the safest option for her, he knew he really can't do much about that.

He did think about using Bliss to incapacitate and bring her back to his Gate, but he ultimately decided against it; not only would he have a pissed-off Deputy who'd be even more resistant going after him, which could lead to Hudson's escape as well, but the assassin has proven to have an unfair expertise in infiltrating his family's troops.

It'd be a redundant effort on his part. At least with the Sinner's home base, the Deputy would be surrounded by her allies, and if she believes anything he's said thus far, would be on guard.

Though before she left, he couldn't help but ask one last question.

"You know, Deputy," John said, earning her attention, "I know neither of us are on the best of terms, but since it shouldn't be such a big deal to you, I'd appreciate it if you told me what your name is?"

Her brows furrowed as her expression shifted from confused to surprised realization, "You don't know what my name is?"

John blinked, cocking his head before shaking it, "No?"

"Hadn't Nancy, I don't know, given you my files beforehand?"

Ah, so she's assumed we knew she'd joined the force, John mused. Obviously she believed the arrest was an orchestrated ambush, and not God connecting their fates together. He'd clear up that misconception then.

"Nancy wasn't in a position to have access of such documents, I'm afraid. And given her role, she wouldn't have been able to inform us about your addition on the Marshal's taskforce," he informed her.

The Deputy hummed, looking to the side before her grey eyes returned to his blue, "And if I don't tell you?"

John just shrugged, "Then there's not much I can do then, is there, Deputy? Although, I have to ask, do you really want me to keep calling you Deputy for the remainder of the Reaping?"

She snorted, "I wouldn't have cared much until you kept pronouncing it that way."

He found offense to that, but refrained from making a comment as the Deputy looked down in contemplation, her stoic face giving away nothing.

When she looked back to him, his excitement was short-lived when he noticed a shadow enter through the station's door.

"It's-"

No words were quick enough to escape out of his throat when the back and front of the Deputy's skull exploded into chunks of flesh, brain and blood that sprayed onto him, with the bullet propelling through towards its next target.

John could see how it slowly made its way towards the bridge of his nose, the Deputy's fresh corpse limply falling forwards towards him at much the same pace.

He forced his eyes to gaze towards the assassin's figure, feeling the agonizing effects of the loop preparing his next restart.

He wondered if the assassin had followed him or the Deputy here, or if they had just been passing by.

Regardless, they had just nullified all his efforts to get to this point.

Desperate to not waste the remaining seconds left before either the bullet or the loop take him, he stared hard at the figure afar, their weapon drawn, so effortlessly quick, faster than he'd seen Silva draw her own.

He noticed the assassin was heavily draped in the Sinners usual clothing. And although difficult, John could also notice the unshaven stubble across the culprit's unfamiliar face.

John's eyes tried to capture more of what he saw of the assassin but the pounding ache once more resonated into his head as he-

The chapel's door's closed, indicating the Deputy and Joseph's departure, and all John could do to avoid falling off the podium behind his brother and sister again was reach for the wood behind him to steady his shaking legs.

He felt nauseous from being that close to such gore, but soon it was replaced with jubilation as he now learned of a new detail about the Deputy's killer.

But even that feeling didn't last when he realized where and when he was.

With no way to better process his raging frustration at his efforts being reduced to nothing, he articulated all of anger through one single word.

"FUCK!" he shouted, alarming Jacob and spooking Faith.

[disgracefiles]

☻ ₊ ⊹ THE DOWNFALL OF 2LUVU

2LUVU (often shortened to 2LU, which, let’s be honest, is weird and kinda stupid since the name wasn’t exactly long to begin with) was JYP Entertainment’s first and last attempt at a coed group, currently inactive and disbanded. The lineup consisted on four members (two boys and two girls): Liv, Hanse, Jules, and Junseo. 2LUVU made their debut on March 12, 2018, with the EP ACTION!, which, unfortunately, flopped hard due to JYP’s half-hearted promotion efforts.

The EP was promoted for the sad amount of three weeks, including the pre-release period in which JYP posted a couple of photos of each member and called it a day. The MV teaser dropped only three days before the actual release, leaving no time for barely any hype to build up around the group’s debut. Once the EP was out, 2LUVU only performed the title track U READY? four times. Surprise, surprise! They didn’t get any wins because who were they, anyways? No one knew! They came out of nowhere so no one was expecting them. On top of all the lack of promotion, a lot was going on in the industry at the moment. Just to name some names, KRUSH and STUPID CUPID happened to be promoting around the same time, which banished any remaining hope the group had at getting any win at all. If the effect these groups had wasn’t negative enough for 2LUVU, the VENUS debuted only five days later, completely overshadowing them and their silly little song. Let’s just say, JYP wasn’t the brightest when deciding on the group’s debut date.

Following their debut, 2LUVU remained silent for almost a year. This made the few fans the group had gathered completely forget about them. Honestly, with JYP in charge, the group was doomed from the start, but leaving them without any new music for a whole year? Even their small fanbase was losing their minds! Rumor has it that JYP had bigger, more successful groups to focus on, so they just sidelined 2LUVU after their flop of a debut. I guess, at some point, someone remembered the group existed and that they hadn’t had a single comeback. So, they got a second chance in February 2019, though this time with a way smaller budget but slightly better promotions. Their digital single XOXO did better than ACTION!, but it still wasn’t enough to cover all the costs. JYP ended up disbanding the group and pretending they never existed in the first place. I mean it! No one in the company talks about them and, when being asked about their time in 2LUVU, the former members always avoid the question. Expect for Junseo, I guess. He likes to point out how awful his time in the group was and how much he despised their concept and discography.

₊ ⊹ DEBUT DATE: March 19th, 2018

₊ ⊹ DEBUT EP: ACTION!

₊ ⊹ DISBANDMENT DATE: July 7th, 2019

₊ ⊹ COMPANY: JYP Entertainment

☹ ₊ ⊹ THE MEMBERS + WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

(FROM LEFT TO RIGHT)

🙂 KANG OLIVIA ‘LIV’, 1999 ₊ ⊹ After 2LUVU’s disbandment, Liv became a trainee once again. She trained for a around a year before being sent to Mnet’s Once Upon a Dream, where she ranked 3rd and got to redebut. She’s now an active member of IDOL MAKER’s EVERMORE as the group’s main vocalist and visual princess.

🍓 CHOI HANSE, 2002 ₊ ⊹ Hanse’s contract was bought by IDOL MAKER right away, but he’s still in the company’s basement ever since! His fans continuously beg for his redebut on twitter, but so far IDOL MAKER has turn a deaf ear to their pleas.

🦋 JULIANA ‘JULES’ SANTOS, 2002 ₊ ⊹ Jules is now one of the famous Pick Me dolls! After 2LUVU disbanded, Jules was sent to Girls Planet 999, where she didn’t make the cut to debut with Kep1er. But then her contract was bought by Heartbreak and she’s finally got the success she always deserved.

🌈 LEE JUNSEO, 2000 ₊ ⊹ Junseo, now going by the stage name JUNO, is a soloist under IDOL MAKER. He redebuted on 2020, only a year after 2LUVU’s disbandment. Even though his redebut was a total success thanks to IDOL MAKER’s management, he’s initial fame has been declining lately. You could say people has grown tired of his music!

thanks to @venusvity, @stcpidcupid and @urmykrushhh for giving me permission to mention their amazing ocs <3 love you lots!

[ggukkiedae]

going back

date: mid october 2018

warning/s: talks about yoonmi’s biological parents and them disowning her a few years prior

notes from c: i promise this isn’t hard angst aksjdhfng remember dialogues in italics are spoken in english

word count: 2k

yoonmi is met with an unfortunate ex-family related situation

It wasn’t getting out of hand.

No, there was no way Yoonmi would admit to that. Her members believed in her, so she didn’t want to disappoint them. She promised her teachers that she would stay on top of her work, so she would always give work of the best quality so she could graduate on time next February, and she promised Haechan she’d graduate with him. She committed herself to the different staff and companies she was working with, so she wouldn’t slack off on her responsibilities. People on the internet were coming after her again for suddenly accepting acting gigs, so she was going to prove to them her abilities and talent.

Therefore, she would not admit that she was being overworked.

She’d been eating well enough by her standards, thus deciding to skip out on taking any of her supplements. She always forgot about them anyway. Besides, the members, though more lenient now, still somehow managed her eating and sleeping well enough.

She’d be fine. She just had to focus on the task at hand, which was acting calm in the face of going back to the same place she originally grew up in. 

England. 

Given she was going to London instead of Newcastle, but she knew her biological parents had based their companies in London. They had shown up and made a mess of her life before, which thankfully led to her being accepted into a big loving family with a mom, a dad, another older brother, and two younger siblings. 

However, it took a long time for her to be relatively okay after that. If the whole situation a few months prior said anything, her thoughts and reactions had been completely affected by what her birth givers did to her.

It’s totally normal for her to be scared that they would show up, right? But, if they did show up, she had to keep it together. She shouldn’t show them any weakness.

“Hey,” Jungkook nudged her while pulling her hands from her thighs and placing his hoodie-covered arm under her hands instead. Her nails were digging into her skin, and she didn’t notice. She didn’t even notice Jungkook was awake. “We’re going to have some free time to explore, alright? Let’s get you de-stressed before the concert, then we can have fun with ARMY.”

She pursed her lips, “It’s not that….”

“I know,” he whispered to keep from the others overhearing just in case they were awake, “you’re worried about seeing them, aren’t you?”

“They turned my life to shit multiple times, they can do it again.”

Jungkook’s sigh didn’t escape her ears, especially since he moved to make her head rest on his shoulder. It was only then when she realized she was pressing her fingers quite hard into his sleeve which, despite having a thick cover, probably still hurt at least a little bit.

A quiet apology flew past her lips while she curled her arms into herself. Jungkook took it upon himself to put Iron Man 2 on for them. He plugged their earphones into the dual adaptor and placed one in her ear and the other in her hand. 

“We won’t let them,” Jungkook reassured her. “You’ve got us backing you, your siblings and new family, your friends, and the law.”

“It’s not like I have a restraining order,” she shrugged, “I just got emancipated then adopted.”

“Well, one wrong breath in your direction,” Jungkook began, “and Yoongi hyung, Yoonsung hyung, and Chan are gonna file a restraining order.”

She laughed and let herself relax into her seat. Her trio of overprotective big brothers, as Jungkook not so fondly called them, were a force not to be reckoned with if they were all angry for the same reason, and she took comfort in the fact that they had her back. 

A poke in her dimple brought her out of her thoughts, making her turn to meet eyes with a satisfied Jungkook. She laughed, knowing he took pleasure in making her forget about the people who she thought were her family so long ago. He just turned back to the screen in front of them and hoped for the best.

The concert went by smoothly until they got off the stage and finished taking their pictures for the day. Manager Sejin approached her with a serious look on his face, pulling her and Namjoon to the side.

“You’re not going to like this,” he shows them his phone with her biological mother’s sports training center website on the screen. 

It wasn’t just that. Right on the home screen, almost taking up the full phone screen, it was a picture of Yoonmi on stage just earlier. It was an impressive feat, having someone both take and edit the photo within an hour at maximum (considering it was her in the first set’s outfit), but she couldn’t find it in herself to be impressed.

What was this?

For years, she had just wanted to make her birthgiver and sperm donor proud of her, but they never approved because her methods were “not in line with the family image” or something stupid like that. The very same argument they used as the final deciding factor in disowning her seemed to not matter to them as half of them used her picture—in the profession they disapproved of—for promotional material.

Apparently that wasn’t it because, as soon as Sejin switched tabs, it was her picture on the front page of his motor-sport business’s website.

Yoonmi let out an emotionless laugh, making her leader and manager look at her in worry. “This has to be a joke.”

“Hyung,” Namjoon addressed the manager, “have you reached out to legal? We have to get these pictures down. No way are we associating with those people.”

“They’re working on filing a lawsuit as we speak. It helps that they illegally brought in a proffesional camera not permitted by the company despite the clear guidelines saying not to.”

Namjoon nodded in approval before turning to Yoonmi. She had gone silent, staring off into space as she processed what was happening. He quietly asked manager Sejin to bring the rest of the boys back to the hotel and not tell them about what was going on while he spoke to Yoonmi alone. 

“Hey,” he rested a hand on her head for a bit before letting it slide down until he could gently pat her cheek, “you okay, Yoon-ah? Legal’s working on it, don’t worry.”

“I can’t believe they’re doing this,” she muttered, looking down. “They fought so viciously to get me to quit being an idol, and now they’re using my status as one in order to promote their companies? After they disowned me?”

Namjoon brought her into a hug, rubbing her shoulder. She didn’t return the hug. She didn’t move at all.

“Neither of their companies even relate to my job, they’re being so stupid about this,” her voice was on the verge of breaking, and Namjoon could feel her tears starting to soak into his shirt, “This is so stupid.”

Knowing she defaulted to English when in distress, Namjoon spoke in the foreign tongue as well. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

There was a shake of her head.

“Do you want to be alone?”

A nod.

“Do you want me to stay with you?”

For a moment, Namjoon didn’t get a response, which worried him greatly. He made the slightest move indicating he would step out of the hug, but her hands went up to grip his shirt while she nodded. 

With a sigh of relief, he gently maneuvered her so she was tucked under his arm on his side and led her over to one of the spare green rooms. He looked at one of the staff members standing by the door while he stepped in with her.

“Could you grab us our stuff, please?” 

The staff member nodded her head. “I’ll order you kids some food, too.”

With a nod of thanks, he shut the door behind her then brought Yoonmi over to the couch. He sat against the armrest and the backboard of the couch with his legs up, letting Yoonmi settle in front of him and hide her face in his shirt. All he could do for her while she didn’t talk was be there for her. He was her guardian, her leader, and her brother. He needed to be a pillar she could depend on. 

He couldn’t let her feel the anger rising in him.

Yoonmi’s tears were silent. As much as she wanted to thrash around and throw a tantrum despite being in her late teens already, she didn’t want to give the satisfaction to her biological parents of breaking her to that degree once again.

It had been three years since they cut her off, and not once did they try to contact her. She was happy. There was no feeling of restraint anymore because her big brother and her grandmother still loved her, she had a new family to call her own, the brothers she found in her group mates had a stronger bond than ever and were set to renew their contracts in a few weeks, hell she even made friends and got a boyfriend who genuinely cared for her.

So why?

Why would they come back into her life at this moment? Why would they want to use her like that? Especially how they made it clear that being an idol was not proper? She thought she was finally free from them, but here they were. It felt like they were starting a new vicious cycle of tearing her down right when she was reaching peak happiness.

The vibrations from Namjoon’s phone distracted her from her thoughts. He must have had so many people looking for him given the fact they were headed to Amsterdam soon and he needed to approve a few final details for Waste It On Me, but he stayed there with her, not even looking at his phone. All his attention was on her and just being there for her.

Yoonmi pressed her head closer to his chest, listening to the thumps of his heart. It was steady and constant, something she needed.

“Thank you for staying with me,” she muttered, hands reaching up to wipe the tear stains off her face.

Her sudden words after a little over thirty minutes of silence jolted Namjoon. “Of course. I’m always going to be here for you, okay?”

She sat up, looking at her leader with an expression he could only describe as guilt and hurt mixed together. He fixed himself, swinging his legs over her head with a sound effect from his mouth to try and lighten her mood. A smile broke onto her face, which was a win for him.

“There’s that smile,” he placed his hand on her head, lightly rubbing her hair with her thumb before taking it back. “Do you want to talk about it now?”

“There’s nothing much I can say,” she shrugged. “I’m hurt, they’re being hypocritical, and I don’t want to be associated with them. Is the legal team…?

Namjoon nodded, “They’re handling it as we speak.”

“Good,” she nodded, relaxing a little. “By any chance, can we see if they’re using Yoonsung oppa’s company in any similar way? I mean, his company did blow up last year.”

The leader nodded once again before tapping the side of her leg. “Of course. Anything else I can do to make you feel better?”

“Just be here?”

He smiled and opened his arms for a hug, which she gladly gave, cuddling into her leader. He was never the most affectionate of her members, far from it, but he was probably the most comfortable and reassuring member to hug objectively speaking.

“Don’t worry, Princess,” Namjoon’s rare use of that specific nickname made her smile and sink further into the hug, “You’ve got me and the whole of Bangtan at your side. Those people have no idea what’s coming for them, and you’ll certainly be millions richer when this is all over.”

She actually let out a laugh at that. Namjoon stood up with a smile and held his hand out for her. 

“Let’s go grab our stuff and our food so we can stop the others from worrying.”

The faint sound of Jimin and Taehyung yelling her and Namjoon’s names reached their ears. 

They exchanged a look before Yoonmi spoke. “Too late.”

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[drippingmoon]

Merry new year to everyone, again! 🥳💞🥂

I know it wasn’t an event this year, but writing a yearly wrap-up is really therapeutic, you know? So I decided to continue the tradition, and if anyone wants to join me, absolutely view this as an open invitation^^ Introduction is over, and now let’s see what 2023 looked like:

(spoilers: I adored it. I'm also probably going to make this my fixed post, in case anyone ever wants to catch up with me. And also because my second baby, AoS, is growing, and it doesn't have an intro, but I can't leave it out.)

Stats

Aquiver, Aglow: 181k (draft 4) + 195k (draft 5) + hmm, draft 6 is an outlier, because I didn’t rewrite from scratch, so I’m unsure of the written word count. I didn’t change much from draft 5, so I’d say an extra 15-20k. Total word count: 376k+

Remains of a Night: 120k 

Aberration of Sunlight: 134k

This was definitely my most productive year to date. And I got so hungry: the more I wrote, the more I just wanted to keep writing, and honestly? I’m proudest of myself for literally carving writing time whenever I got a spot into my schedule. Mostly it was from 8pm-11pm, but I had a mad run where my only free window was from 1am till I literally felt I was dying… I’ll talk about that separately🤣🤣👌

Though, I'm seriously understating it.

Like a lot of other people, I would have all these hours when I was younger when I didn't have anything to do, yet I'd still find some excuse not to write. "I'm waiting for the right time." "I'm anxious I'm not going to get it right." "Tomorrow! Tomorrow I can start right from the morning, and I'll have more time to write, yeah?" or "I'm too tired now, it's late..." and so the snowball rolled down and downhill and I found every reason under the sun not to write, now that I think about it. Sigh. So much time wasted. But I can't regret it either, because I needed those baby steps at that time.

And now! Now I do what I thought I'd never learn to: I prioritize, and I actually organize my daily stuff so it's not so impossible anymore to have a little bit of writing time. I don't take it for granted either. It feels like such character growth for me, I'm immensely proud of it.

And for the record? This year was a huge improvement over yesteryear mentally, too. It turns out, what I needed to get over my word count anxiety… was to be faced with people who literally didn’t give a fuck about it, and just cared about the story. One of the most unexpected things beta stage managed to do to me… was to quench all my anxieties. It’s as simple as that. I read and enjoy very long books. People also do that. So, I’m very happy to say I’m no longer in a tizzy about ‘quiv. It might kill my chances for trad publishing, it might not. I’ll be happy come what may.

Because it’s so simple how working on ‘quiv or thinking about it makes me joyous, and now I can just enjoy that freely. I will miss writing this story so much. I really will. But at least I’ll have it forever to reread, and I hope this thought brings comfort to everyone who also has problems letting go, like it does to me.

Let’s break it down a little, shall we?🤩

Aquiver, Aglow◇◇◇

My little star of the hour. How fond I am of it.

Like you could glean from above, ‘quiv went through three drafts this year. More specifically: in the first part of the year, practically almost as soon as February arrived. I knew it was getting closer to the final version, and gave me the push to finish all three back to back. I couldn’t justify anymore the bazillion AUs I do with rewrites (basically, WHAT IFs from events, WHAT IF it went this different way, WHAT IF Tyrone actually said this here… and so on and so forth. I wanted to test out as many pathways as possible, and did I exhaust every one of them in existence? Definitely not. I don’t think that can happen, you just keep getting new ideas. On and on. What happened, instead, is that these couple different pathways, at some point, cemented themselves as canon in my mind. I didn’t want to tease myself with alternatives anymore, and that’s when I knew they would be it. Some bits from the first draft, some from the third, some from the second. Some were even draft 6 originals!

It’s a bit of a weird process. I definitely didn’t need to reach draft 3, and meet Mezusa, because I could’ve feasibly made it work with just Yles in the story. It still would’ve made sense, though in a different way. But if I hadn’t… I might’ve missed one of the best characters I’ll ever probably have created, and the story (and Yles) is much stronger for her, if you ask me. 

For that matter, yes, full rewrites every single draft might take a lot of time and effort, but honestly I don’t think I’d ever change my writing process (save for the moments of frustration when I think I will lol) because of the sheer satisfaction of it. Whoever said so long never to settle on the first version, I owe you a beer and probably some curses as well lmao, but very lovingly. You shaped my writing life.

I don’t have much else to share about ‘quiv, other than it’s off with my beta readers my beloved, and maybe a tentative promise that, if anyone wants, you’ll be able to read this precious ball of hope of mine relatively soon. This story is so gentle to me. And as much as I loved to write and work on it, I dearly hope that whoever decides to give it a go, is treated just the same. That’s the only wish I have.

I also don’t know if I’ll go trad or self-published. Instincts say trad, because I fuckin’ suck at marketing (fact), and I know I’d grow resentful if I’d have to put so many hours into advertising when I know I could instead… write. I’m a writer. That’s the only thing I know how to do. Trad, however, might not be as kind on a ~200k as life’s been, so I might not have a choice. If it comes down to that… I’ll just treat it as I do everything. I don't love this story any less if I just write, publish without a fuss, hope that maybe, just maybe, a reader or two will stumble upon the story and we could talk. Maybe we can have the fun of our lives, create some genuine connection. I know that’s applies to a lot of writers. I hope we can accomplish it.

And so, I’ll finish this section of the wrap-up with a kiss to my ‘quiv, for all the warmth it’s ever brought me. It’s come so far, I know it can live distinct from me from now on. It brings me great comfort. And I look forward to the times I’ll reread it, and we can relive our best experiences together. Never thought I’d get to this point. Thank you, ‘quiv.

Remains of a Night♤♤♤

Mwhahaha! And because ‘quiv took all the pressure, this left AoS to be an extremely fun and spirited experience. Literally the chillest I’ve ever been writing. In many ways, it’s more my thing than I expected ‘quiv to be: I get to murder characters left and right, it’s more plot-heavy and banking on the tension created by a creature that horrifies the characters down to their marrow, but still the only way to defeat it is to know it better, which, uh, might have unpleasant consequences for them. It’s got chase and stealth scenes, and it always shoots me with adrenaline to think about them. In short, exactly my jam.

It’s not a new book, nope. You knew it before as Aberration of Sunlight, but from the get-go I felt it would be bigger than ‘quiv. Very fortunately for me, I had a place where to break it, and behold: there’s RoaN (book 1), and AoS (book 2). There might be a third book, which I dearly hope not because titling sucks, but it depends on the Sycamine arc. More on that in AoS.

One last thing to note, before we delve into the story (hoo-ray for earlier drafts, because I can talk more frankly about them). This is the culprit of my 1am writing adventures!!😫❤ My schedule became too packed, then NaNo came round and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to honor how AoS began, because it was last year’s NaNo, aaand I’m happy to say I won NaNo, somehow, with 56k down before I died. At that time, I only had one section left to write (from both books), otherwise, hahahaha, yeah, it wouldn’t have flown. Still, most of draft 2 I’d written in September-October, with my fairy lights, late nights, and cups of hot cocoa, exactly like how life should be<3

Alright. We’re going through them chapter-by-chapter again, exactly because I love seeing the titles so much:

ACT 1

Cracked Visor, Scorpion Grass

I did it! I did! Twas another shower thought I managed to get down in time. Bare broken sentences, but they did the impossible, and arranged this chapter into a structure I adore to bits and won't ever change. (And 'quiv's naughty voice left me alone for once and I could write it properly!) While I don't think I'll ever be happy with a first chapter (not as a concept, but the writing — part of me will always wish that the reader just had all the information already lol), this one is in the right place.

It pays its respects to the story of the broken helmet at the foot of a spaceship, and how it reconnects Madigan with all the people who'd suffered from being tethered to the planets when they yearned to fly, but the Beast punished them cruelly for it. It makes him feel phantoms of their efforts. The tone is exactly what I needed this story to start from: melancholy and numbly hopeless, against the backdrop of the Beasts's echoed cries.

Rain Through the Universe

Unlike 'quiv, because RoaN and AoS are way more plot-heavy, it's not as easy to change things willy-nilly (whereas 'quiv was all about character bonds and dynamics). As such, it's very similar to draft 1. Because of that, I'll frankendraft next (select and combine drafts 1 and 2, rewrite to connect them) and afterwards I'll try something I've always wanted to. (Scrivener keeps hinting at it!) I'm gonna split the chapters into scenes, and focus on those individually and how I can just rewrite them and set their purpose in stone<3 I'm excited!

As for the chapter itself, gods, I love the atmosphere. Just the wreckage of a sundered ship, and Madigan’s sudden madman appearance making a lasting impression on Spica, because how could it not. They no longer answer distress calls in that age, it just means more dead bodies. In fact, they're forbidden to. Madigan instead brings him what he himself lacks: hope. And a lot of crawling around while dreading the Beast's lambent eye opening, and oh my, the moments are really flying by😈👏 extreme fun for me as the writer.

Aberration of Light

If you remember, the books follow two timelines, which will connect at some point. The first and main one is Madigan and Spica’s story. The other is Holloway’s, in the distant past of that universe, and who’s been dubbed the most selfish man in existence. That’s important, because of how the Beast came to be. But that becomes important later. For now, a weird-ass new recruit has joined the ship, and the witchy crew will very soon start making bets if she’s the Beast in human flesh, which really wouldn’t bode well for their future.

Night Falls On Their Reflection

Draft 2 became Spica’s draft. It was high time. He didn't exist in the original idea beyond chapter 2, but he refused to die with his story untold. And now he's one of the most independent thinkers I've ever written. Now he's Madigan's son (yes, even at 25), best friend, back-to-back partner all in one, and I could watch the trust and mutual respect between these two forever. To be sure: Madigan comes up with the dumbass plans, and Spica's only too happy to follow him through everything (it is good fun.)

He's repaying the incredible kindness Madigan's shown him when answering his distress call, after all.

But it goes a bit further than that, doesn't it? Madigan is used to watching over myriad people. He's the Superintendent of his planet, and while he genuinely loves people, kindness is his default. It doesn't go further than that for him. He doesn't necessarily think people need, much less desire his presence there beyond Madigan extending help, and most of the time, he's content with that. Kindness does make him happy. And it should be the same with Spica now, shouldn't it? He's kind, but he's not Spica's family, nor ever will be. Yet he immediately feels a connection with the boy, that has nothing to do with bonding over escaping-a-cosmic-disaster. And so does Spica.

This is the moment when Madigan starts feeling guilty, for stepping where he should not. But here's the beauty of Spica's character: he's nothing if not dead sure of his own feelings, and what he sees with his eyes. It's okay if Madigan keeps unexpectedly taking steps back. For very long, there'd been nobody to support Spica's beliefs. So he does the same, as when he followed his heart to go into dead space: he believes in himself and Madigan, and that their paths aren't meant to diverge. They mean too much to each other for that to ever happen.

(In short, and legend says you can still hear me screeching about these two ten thousand years later, I love these two so much, and especially the parallels between Spica going alone into outer space and loving Madigan.)

(And, okay, obviously all these developments don't happen in a single chapter, but I couldn't stop gushing🤭🥰.)

Who Puts These Tombs in Ice

Overall, I think draft 2’s Luitgart performed worse than draft 1. Mainly it's the setting I want to revert (still an icy, sempiternally dark hell, but with different ice constructions) because some of the beats are a huge improvement, and again, I gotta combine the two. Otherwise, I’m still as obsessed about the Luitgart arc as I’ve ever been, and huge thanks to it for being so strong it could function as an ending of its own, allowing me to split the book.

Gettin’ into spoilery territory, but I have to un-kill Madigan so many times it leaves me in hysterics. That was what I was supposed to fix this draft. It got worse. Considerably.

(One constant: the chapter being a love letter to Madigan, and how his first answer will always be to help the other, no matter if they deserve it or not<3 and finally, finally, he gets acknowledged for it, and the favor returned.)

ACT 2

Lemon-Dotted Days + Remnant

Two Holloway chapters! I’m actually massively pleased with how they’ve turned out. Last year, I said the main issue was that I had an outline, and that never works for me. So I did what I do best and rewrote everything from scratch, and the result is both uncanny and… unexpected.

Unexpected, because I never in my life thought Holloway’s voice would make me laugh so much. He’s supposed to be unsympathetic, but then you get his interactions with Saintlark (the new crewmate, possibly Beast) where they’re contemplating the harvest of a nebula, and he’s harshly critical of it, which gives Saintlark hope… only to go deadpan One Moment Later: if they’d used the nebula to prolong their lives instead of bolstering the war, they wouldn’t have died like clown idiots. 

And, they could’ve maybe stolen immortality from the nebula. They would've had to share it with him, of course. Or he would've murdered them to get it.

That, my guys, is his personality in a nutshell.

I have a lot of feelings on Holloway now, and most involve me huffing and slapping my forehead while groaning, but oh my gods. Was it ever so fun. And wait, wait, wait. Since I'm talking of humor (apparently a lot of comedy fit into this horror lmfao) I have to show you guys the following section🤣🤣👏:

Corpse Snow

The drifters are set howling on the ice. They share glances, five separate vehicles nodding at each other. Madigan revs up the engine, splitting the air with a jet of steam and vibration.

The last of the marines are climbing into the box. A figure flashes past Madigan’s drifter — and he leans over, teeth grinding because of his ribs, and he does his very best to grab someone by the back of their suit and pull. Workout days were never his strength, though. He only succeeds in stopping them in the frost smoke.

It’s Spica dangling from his hand, expressionless.

Lieutenant Hahn instantly seizes on the situation. He throws Madigan a long, withering look. “Whatcha doing, Boss?” he asks softly, about to unhinge his jaw again.

Madigan nudges Spica into the drifter. “Picking up your boy.”

Spica gets the hint and deposits himself into the front seat, glancing from his father to his Superintendent. He seems to give up on whatever’s going on, and makes himself cozy in the frosty spot. And Madigan, of course, pretends not to notice Hahn’s drifter sliding closer.

“And you didn’t consider I might want to have my son with me?”

Madigan looks up and sighs. “Lieutenant, dear Lieutenant,” he starts pleadingly. “Why won’t you show some leniency to a poor, wounded man?”

Hahn’s drifter stops, summoning a breeze across the icy floor that gently rocks the other vehicle. His breathing distorts the comms with static. “And what exactly is my son right now?”

“My trusty navigator,” Madigan answers easily.

“Sir’s emotional walking stick?” Spica pipes in at the same time.

They both look over. Spica’s quietly turned to the navigation, as serene as daylight, seemingly oblivious to how Madigan's expression changes, lightning-fast. He quickly hides it under the guise of a polite mask, as the marines stir and turn their attention on them. They’re snickering.

Lieutenant Hahn throws up his hands, giving up on everything.

This is also the first 30k chapter I’ve ever written. It's everything I've ever wanted to do with ice.

Heart of the Void

The end of the book. Originally, it was the ending section to Corpse Snow, but since it already got so ungodly long, I chipped off that bit and I have to say I’m very happy with how it works as an epilogue! So it ends the frosty, weary journey, and I can’t see the two books as separate yet, but here we bid goodbye to the first.

Aberration of Sunlight♧♧♧

I did the unthinkable and created a fifth arc. This might not seem like much to you, but I was screaming bloody murder you guys😭😭😭. Sigh. It’s so sigh. For so long, AoS consisted of four clear-cut acts, but it was necessary. With the introduction of Sycamine, and making it two books, it was just needed. It’s still one of the worst things I’ve ever done because I was used to four😃💔

(The chapters continue from where RoaN left off – from chapter 10, to 21.)

ACT 3

Retro Spectrum

Sycamine, oh Sycamine. Definitely the break I needed before Days in Darkness. It made for a really neat beginning. It’s calmer, focusing on the knowledge they have on the Beast. It’s also a reflection on Procyon (their main star) and the story of the two straggler dog constellations, and what they'd been running away from. I liked the direction it took. It veered away from the Beast for a bit, so the tension kept expanding in the background. And when it returns, well... maybe they shouldn't have been so eager to see it again🤭.

It suffers from the same syndrome as draft 1’s first chapter… it’s there in the vicinity of the idea, but too much to the left. Not bad for a first attempt. The setting annoys me – I really don't enjoy writing cities, and AoS didn't change that. So, for our next try, I was thinking... maybe we don't need to be on the planet, but up close and veeery personal with it. It's a secret❤.

And, oh gods. I put a moustache-twirling villain in this. And then I couldn’t stop myself from naming some sucker Sweetman Calories. I don’t know what happened to me during those days, but I’m crying🤣🤣🤣.

Toast to the Light

Holloway and Saintlark’s story is slowly coming to an end. Unexpectedly bleaker than draft 1, yet it feels much more sincere. Holloway has a way of saying everything Saintlark needs to hear. No surprise. They did that to themselves.

Dissonant Recognition

Ahhhh, the Madigan-is-slowly-losing-his-grip-on-reality chapter, or maybe he should really stop staring into the suns. One of my favorites<3 Also because it features Moren (!!!) who has a blast staying in the grey morality area, because she doesn’t know if her actions could ever matter, or if she could change anything. Does she just exist? Is she a player or just pawn? Who knows. Besides that, she gets along great with Spica. They form such a teasing duo, the level of mutual respect they felt for each other on sight was a delight to write. My favorite ally of theirs, even if her destiny lies elsewhere.

Night Beneath the Elevator

Best title hands down, dethroning Solgesis. I’m going batshit crazy about the visuals, it's exactly my thing. This half-light slanted over an elevator waiting in a rundown basement to be boarded. And there's something underneath it, and always has been. Something insidiously creeping up and waving its tendril fingers at you as you're just waiting for the fucking thing to ascend. Immaculate, guys, I'm telling you, and I'm cursing my hands because I can't make a wallpaper of this. I want to eat that atmosphere.

Time-sensitive missions, y'all.

And why the heck did nobody inform me I was going to add Command as an actual character and have them talk with Madigan?! That entire convo, made up entirely on the spot but somehow with a direction, made me realize what an idiot I’d been for not doing it sooner. They mean so much to Madigan, after all.

(And Mariya. So much Mariya in these chapters.)

ACT 4

Loop System

Like Who Puts These Tombs in Ice, draft 1 might’ve done it better. Not Spica and Madigan, though, because of the sheer development Spica’s been through and the dynamic he’s managed to form with the crew. It's different from Madigan’s, but similar enough that it’s got Hahn commenting lightly: [Spica’s] picked up quite a few habits from Madigan, hasn’t he? Almost as if they’ve gotten very very close, huh? How about Madigan tell him more?

(I adore writing Hahn.)

Outreach

Another Holloway chapter. Doesn’t have the punch of the kids subplot from draft 1, but this just makes it worse for Saintlark personally, because, this time, the consequences are on her.

Days in Darkness

I knew the moment I first got the idea this would be my favorite chapter. Well, it finally happened in draft 2: when the entire crew is here, this time, and ready for the final countdown, to relive the experience of being trapped in a ship that's disintegrating. No more heroes left behind. I'd been so tired writing this chapter in draft 1, but this time around it was incredible. Everything went up sharply from here, both in terms of events and how on fire I was.

(Maybe less than the gorgon, but I was.)

ACT 5

Echo Terminal

The first of the two log chapters.

I've never written smoother, more visual chapters than in this period. Days in Darkness changed me so much, I was writing day and night by this point and couldn't get enough. Well, I hit my limit in the second half of the very last chapter, but I am beyond satisfied. Even the Beast's metamorphosis took me by storm, because I'd been wondering what the final verbs, the final images, the final design for it was going to be. I didn't expect it to come to me this early, and with such thrill. Those were my very best days of the year, and I toast to them.

(And I knew it was going to be fantastic when Halo's Warthog Run OST started blaring in my head, with as much adrenaline.)

Where, Now? + Solgesis

My beloved. The second and last of the two log chapters, but it’s Noelle Saintlark’s log.

Holloway’s timeline ends here. Or maybe it just gets carried into the future. I thought I’d want to rewrite his parts again, make the plot just a tiny bit more psychedelic and nonsensical because it’s so close to the Beast… but Solgesis put all my fears to rest. Even the formatting and layout is a bit of that special thing I’ve always wanted to try, and it really changes the perspective of the previous chapters. There's a new confession that stands at the heart of Holloway's stories.

Honestly, the only thing that needs urgent working on is the anger at the end of the chapter.

Anger is so hard for me to write sometimes. Not because I don’t connect with it, but because I feel self-conscious writing it. The wildest I felt it was when I tackled 'quiv's chapter 3 and Imera's Turning speech, both in quick succession (before I'd even written draft 1. I'd been taking notes.) Since then... I just thing back to how keenly I'd felt that anger, and I kind of intimidate myself out of it. Kind of like a natural resistence, I quench it from myself. Which is actually hilarious when you think about it. It’s like I’m going I BANISH THEE FROM MY BRAIN because generally, as a person, I dislike feeling and operating on anger. But no worries. I’m going to find a way around it.

Watch me😎.

What Goes Around…

(Now it’s the time for me to start crying some rivers, and, alright, it won’t be visible so I’ll say it: the chapter titles are holding a conversation, guys. They speak to each other. And sometimes it’s both sides of the same coin, like how What Goes Around (comes around) hints here. If you take two chapters, one from the beginning and one from the end (for example 1 and 21) it'll tell you a little secret. Okay, What Goes Around and Rain Through the Universe communicate through their plot, which I can’t spoil but of course it has to do with Madigan and Spica and how they first meet… but there is one title pair that does it best visibly. 

Lemon-Dotted Days and Days in Darkness.

And I hadn’t even planned this. All the parallels I wanted to draw… I feel like they built themselves, guys. They really did, and it makes me so wildly happy I don’t even know how to stop my hands from flailing.

And, with them being 21 chapters, they meet in the middle, on the one unpaired chapter.

Called Toast to the Light.

I friggin’ love everything.

New Sunrise, Forget-Me-Right

Of course, Forget-Me-Right is a play on Scorpion Grass. But it’s also such a gentle name for the chapter, because everything ends here. Lying on their backs, staring out into the universe, and it really, really is over. Just a dark horizon on which stars flare and bloom. And suddenly, that maddened rush to make every sacrifice count, to remember every soul they’ve encountered because the legend says the Beast absorbs you when it kills you – all that suffocating pressure dissipates. Lightness remains. Because they’ve protected each other.

For the first time in my writing journey, blood rushed to my head with such emotion I had to stop writing, which never happens. I had to look up and exclaim, holy fuck. But how could I not, considering how the story ends for the Beast? I am speechless. A lot of gorgeous surprises this draft.

Conclusion□●□

Whew, what a year it's been! As for how 2024 will probably look like, though I don't like making plans: finishing the beta stage for 'quiv, and tackling RoaN and AoS's draft 3. Thaaaat one I'm actually starting on Christmas, when I can (finally!!) reread draft 2 with my mug of hot cocoa (or maybe mulled wine for a change) and, no surprises here, I'm hyper stoked for that<3 <3 <3 I legit can't wait to see where the new draft brings them. I might not have set any expectations for them, but they're vying to keep up with 'quiv and I adore it🤭❤

As for my lovely friends... well, you know by how I spam your tags how much I adore you and wish you happiness forever🤩🥺🥳 I don't know what my activity will look like in the near future, so for now I won't be saying anything, and my semi-hiatus continues. Semi, because you're unforgettable and I crave to see what everyone's been up to and (!!!!) what you've written!

So let's meet in 2024 again, and all the best wishes to you, the reader🥰🥂❤.

[theqtinkblot]

Helluva Wonderland AU: Sinners

With the Overlords/Housewardens’ backstories finished, let’s see how the others got to Hell. This will only talk about their short time on Earth and what they did in Hell before joining the cult. Also their will be a tiny bit of info for future characters, which I hope you’ll like.

Again, some warnings (18+): mentions of drugs, mentions of guns, underage drinking, unhealthy relationships, demonic practice, implied suicide, angst, violence, death, etc.. You get it, onto the post!

Ace Trappola:

Ace was born on September 23, 1988, in Camden, London, with his mom, his dad and his older brother. He lived a very modest life, but the only bad stuff he’s done was ghosting his girlfriend in middle school, gambling in small pubs for quick cash, and stealing only necessary items. But still, he did manage to go to college in America at the age of 21, before dying in a hit and run on March 5, 2010.

The moment he woke up in Hell with back pain, he immediately saw the red sky and freaked out seeing the creepy monsters around him. He ran towards the nearest store he could find to ask where he was only to be greeted by his new demonic reflection. He looked pretty much the same as he did before, with the only difference being his new reddish skin tone, pointed ears, sharp teeth, and his left eye having a black sclera with a red iris in the shape of a heart.

Ace’s first day in hell was just spent playing card tricks for crowds, gambling for quick cash, and stealing food just to survive. Things get a little messy when he ends up in the Heartslabyul district, Ace has just finished playing some tricks when he spots some tarts left alone. Little did he know, those were for the Crimson Tyrant, who found him eating one of his tarts and was about to behead him. But Ace begged him to spare him, so Riddle made him sell his soul to serve him whenever he demands it, making it very clear Ace must follow the rules Riddle made.

Deuce Spade:

Deuce was born to a single mother on June 3, 1994, in a small city in England. Growing up, he was nothing more than a total punk, ditching school, hanging with thugs, smoking and drinking, getting into fights, all the works. But one day, coming home late at night at the age of 21, he hears his mom crying about how awful a mother she must’ve been. After running away in tears, Deuce vowed to become a better person, but he didn't get that far when he got shot in the head on May 27, 2016.

After waking up from a splitting headache, the man immediately freaked out after seeing a demon get run over by a car. Deuce backs up into a glass wall and spots his demonic reflection. Not much about his appearance changed like his bleached hair, but his skin was now a bluish skin tone, pointed ears, sharp teeth, and his right eye having a black sclera with a blue iris in the shape of a spade.

In Hell, Deuce tried to change himself for the better, doing some good deeds and changing his bleached hair blue, but many sinners just see him as a thug. When he experienced Hell’s annual purge, Deuce was trying to find a place to hide but saw Riddle trying to escape an exorcist. Deuce knocked the angel out from behind, allowing him and Riddle to run back to the Heartslabyul district. The Overlord, thankful for his help, offers Deuce sanctuary in his domain, in exchange for his service as his guard.

Ruggie Bucchi:

Ruggie was born on April 18, 1981 in a very poor part of New York city. His childhood wasn't the best, his mom dying when he was born and his dad just abandoning him, only to be raised by his grandma, so Ruggie did whatever it takes for them to survive. He kept up stealing and selling drugs to earn enough to support her until her passing, afterwards, he dies from a laughing gas leak on February 10, 2004, at the age of 22.

Ruggie violently woke up, coughing up a storm, only to find himself in somewhere that looked like a lion's den, before noticing a humanoid lion staring down at him. The lion man, or Leona, the King of the Hellbeasts, asked him, “How did you manage to trespass and enter my territory, hyena?” Ruggie didn’t understand what he meant until he discovered that he had indeed become an anthropomorphic spotted hyena demon.

With his laid-back, yet cunning personality, Ruggie became Leona’s right hand man, deceiving others to gain their secrets, stealing important and or valuable items, and currying out favors for Leona. Due to his versatility and street smarts from his poor upbringing, although very loyal to his Overlord master, he does find Leona's laziness or privileged behavior a bit annoying. But still, he doesn't go against Leona's orders and makes it his duty to make sure to remind Leona of his duties and that the Hellbeast sinners contribute to the Savanaclaw territory.

Jamil Viper:

Jamil was born on September 12, 1970, in the Middle East. For generations, his family has been servants for the Asim household, he was only born to serve, guard and be a companion to Kalim. But all his life, Jamil secretly hated being overshadowed by Kalim and giving up everything for him, which made him ultimately try to sabotage Kalim’s image while still acting as the servant the family expects of him. At the age of 22, Kalim got really into American pop culture, heard of a movie based on the 1001 Arabian Nights stories and wanted to go there, much to Jamil’s protests, only for him to be killed by a servant on November 25, 1992, from a venomous snake.

Jamil groaned in pain before realizing the venom suddenly subsiding, but when he tried to stand up, he felt his legs were unresponsive. Instead, he was shocked to find his legs had merged into a long snake tail and his hair now acted like a cobra’s hood. In the midst of his confusion, he notices someone fall next to him and sees a white otter with a water-like lava lamp chest wearing a turban, only to immediately groan, knowing exactly who he was.

Their first week of Hell was difficult as they tried to survive, but when Kalim got in contact with a group of demons who wanted to start a merchant business, Jamil was skeptical before they agreed to help. This led to business growing and many sinners willingly offered their services to Kalim, making him an Overlord, and Jamil low key hated it. Seeing that Kalim is succeeding and gaining power, just like he had before when they were alive, and even if Jamil is no longer bound to the rules and traditions his family was restricted to at birth, he’s still just second rate.

Sebek Zigvolt:

Sebek was born in Paris, France on March 17, 1993, living with his mom, dad, his siblings, and grandfather, who was actually a descendant from the Draconian cult. Sebek would spend time with his grandpa, learning about their family’s demonic bloodline, how he was part of the war between Heaven and Hell, and founder of their cult. With this knowledge of his heritage, Sebek proudly devoted his life to the Draconian cult, even slaughtering any traitors, until his “sacrifice” on May 28, 2014, at the age of 21.

The first thing Sebek noticed when he awoke was a humongous chandelier lit with green flames, along with two men with demon horns staring back at him. His eyes lit up when the much taller demon introduced themselves as Malleus and Lilia before Sebek straightened himself and bowed at their presence. Later on, he would examine himself, only to see that he looked very much like his pathetic human form, except for the pointy fangs and his eyes having a black scleras with yellow-green eyes and vertical-slit pupils.

Once he is properly a part of the cult and settled down in Malleus’s castle, Sebek asked Lilia to train him to become a knight for Malleus. Sebek then began his combat training and magic lessons along with Lilia’s adopted son, Silver, who although didn’t seem to be demonic in nature and in appearance, still considers him as an equal, even if they argue at times. However, due to his dedication to Malleus and the cult, he almost looks down at every sinner around him and rarely has any friends to talk to.

[idoltime]

Idol Time’s First Episode featuring Venus’ Chloe Lee (@venusvity), aired on February 17th, 2024 with the shows host, Everlast’s Cody. The video gained 10M views in the first 3 hours and 25M views overall, earning it a #1 trending spot.

The Idol Time studio lights up as the video begins and a smiling Cody walks in, sitting down on a conveniently placed chair. He holds a set of queue cards in one hand, his other hand playing around with the microphone that sits in front of his face.

The setting is somewhat simple, two plain-coloured chairs opposite to each other, with a few lights strung above the seats and a glowing sign with ‘Idol Time’ scrawled over it, in a space-themed font.

Cody waits a couple of beats before saying the opening line, with the most enthusiasm he could possibly muster, “Welcome to Idol Time, the only interview show you need to worry about and the best interview show you’ve ever seen. Obviously, hosted by the Shin Junseo. Or Cody, whatever works!”

“Here we are. Episode one of Idol Time and honestly, I can’t believe I’ve gotten far enough to have my own show.” He laughs in mock sadness, wiping away faux tears. “But anyways! I'd like to introduce the first guest of the show, my favourite member of Venus and a very familiar face, Chloe Lee!” Chloe, right on cue and clearly rehearsed, walks into frame and sits down in the velvet blue chair placed next to Cody’s. “Hiii everyone! So nice to be here!” Chloe says cooly into the mic, waving to the camera with an excited but nervous smile.

“So? What are your thoughts so far?” Cody questions, clearly overjoyed by her presence. She nods slightly in response. "I'm very excited to be here, actually! Super excited to tell everyone about the album and everything in between.” She's not really excited to do either of those things but Chloe manages to pretend she is.

“Great! I was a little nervous having someone as famous as you on here, but I’m glad we’ve started off well.” Chloe chuckles quietly at Cody’s response, covering her mouth with her hand, politely. Smoothly, Cody introduces the next question. “You’ve been working hard recently, I’m sure everyone’s seen your face around a lot. Starzie especially, has been a big hit in the past few weeks, how was your debut?” His lips twitch to form a tight smile as he grips onto the queue cards, the mention of Starzie bringing back a few somber memories.

“Oh Starzie is...So much fun! Um, it's a lot to be promoting at the same time as Venus but it's fun. It was totally worth all that stress,” Chloe answers with a laugh, running her hand through her hair with a nod.

“I like working with everyone but Finn. He's a bit unpredictable," Chloe jokes with a playful smile before shrugging, “I was super excited to work with Doah and Poppy. Those two are so cool, especially Poppy. I really look up to her since she's the most experienced out of all of us. It's been super cool working with everyone and collaborating like that.”

Cody hums, nodding along to her words. “And I thought Finn was the most responsible member.” He responds to her joke, nudging Chloe’s shoulder. He tilts his head, preparing for the next question. “So I listened to the album and then again last week to refresh my memory and I absolutely loved it. Back 2 U and Beautiful Liar were my favourites but, we’re here to talk about you. Did you initially like the album and can we expect a comeback anytime soon?”

Chloe opens her mouth when asked about liking Starzie's debut before she inhales sharply, making an unsure face with a tilt of her head. Chloe laughs with a shrug, leaning back in her chair. “I mean! It's not what I'm used to! It's very loud! But I think we killed it. I liked working with the Starz especially on the B-sides. I think the B-sides are really where the album shines.” Cody silently agrees. He shifts in his chair before replying, “I like that about the album, though, It shows that a title track doesn’t need to carry the whole album to be a good listen, you know?” Chloe’s smile brightens with each word. “Exactly! You get it.”

Chloe continues, “I hope there’ll be a comeback soon! I hope we get a full album next time. Because, you know, promoting with those guys is super fun, I really enjoy it especially the girls--Oh, I love the girls. We're the show, really,” Chloe rambles, talking with her hands flippintly as she does so. “When we're backstage together, I always forget I'm not with Venus--It's such a weird feeling. Like, I'll look to my left to tell Bliss good luck and she's literally not there. It's Oliver. It's crazy. I love it! Just crazy, you know?”

“I know, we all get so used to a routine so when it changes it’s so weird.” He pauses, “You’re lucky, I bet it’s a nice change. I get so tired of promoting with my group every comeback. Love those guys though, don’t get me wrong.” He says, lightheartedly.

“Next question! We were on the same survival show, I killed it, You killed it, but I think we should be truthful about our experiences.” Cody starts, “Personally, I had a lot of fun, it was great and all, but there were some tough times. So I wanna know how you viewed it? Were things the same on and off camera?”

Chloe clicks her tongue as she looks up in thought, humming with an unsure expression.

"I wouldn't do it again. 'Wasn't my favorite experience," Chloe admits with a subtle shrug,

"You were there! You saw how stressful it was! Sorry 'bout that," Chloe laughs anxiously, giving a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I don't really...Like survival shows really put me in a bad headspace and I think that was really clear on the show. Like...l just wasn't doing well on that show. I wish I behaved differently...Sorry you had to experience that, Cody." She teases, reaching out and playfully putting her hand on his with a laugh.

Cody laughs along with her, shaking his head slowly. “It’s fine, Chloe. If I had to apologise for all the times I’d cussed out people in my life, I would be old and withering by the time I was done.” He stares at the camera awkwardly and the clip cuts to the next.

Cody clears his throat before continuing, eyes glued to his lap. “Do you—think anyone could’ve been rigged into Starzie?” Chloe pauses, looking down with a quirk of her lips.

“Um...l don't think so. No offense,” Chloe teases Cody again with a chuckle, trying not to look bored of the Starzie questions. He rolls his eyes in response, smiling sweetly straight after. “I thought there would be more boys, honestly. There's only two in the group and that was just barely...Maybe one of them was rigged in,” She speculates with a chuckle, “Finn was probably rigged in. I'm shocked SM didn't rig that Aespa girl in. I heard they tried but it didn't work out.” Chloe shrugs.

“I don't feel like being in a group called Starzie is that serious for rigging, you know?”

“Well, you heard it here first, everyone! Starzie is not a repeat of any of the Produce shows.” He voices, sending a jab their way. “Now, onto more pressing matters than a tortuous survival show, Venus! I also happened to love Venus Victrix, how were promotions?”

Chloe perks up at the mention of Venus, glad Cody’s moved on to a different topic. She sits up straighter and crosses her legs.

“They've been great! I love Venus!" Chloe laughs, smiling brightly. "It's been, you know, stressful with all the overlapping promotions but I'm coping! I'm growing...Everyday is a new adventure and I love that.”

“Any songs you disliked?” Cody entreats, his voice increasing in pitch as he asks. “Disliked? Um...l mean...7Seconds is kind of boring. It's not my favorite. Sorry to Noah. I know he liked that song but it just bores me. The rest of the album is flawless though. I'm really pleased with it.”

Cody blinks at the camera a couple of times before relaxing his face, a serious expression covering his usually bright smile. He quickly looks down and returns to the script “You’ve been talking about how stressed and overworked you are, I know it’s a sensitive topic. Is there anything you’d like to share with viewers?”

Chloe deflates slightly with sigh, nodding in defeat. She looks up, inhaling sharply though her teeth as she starts to pull out her acting skills.

“I've always had, um, struggles with my mental health. When you've been an idol for as long as I have—l've literally been doing this for eight years,” Chloe emphasizes how long she's been working, looking back at Cody with a forced smile. “You go through lows and I...l'm in a low. It's just...It's been really hard juggling everything—“ Chloe makes herself get chokes up, voice breaking pathetically making her look away and dab the inner corners of her teary eyes, sniffling.

“And it's so strange because I should be really happy! Venus is doing amazing, Starzie is doing well, everything I do is great, but I just wake up and feel like I'm stuck and I hate it.”

It's so—“ Chloe struggles to think of a word, taking a deep breath through her nose before deflating with a defeated shrug. “I don't know.” She sighs, silently looking away.

“I was diagnosed with, um, PTSD recently so l think, maybe, that has something to do with it? But, yeah, it hasn't been easy lately.”

Cody looks at Chloe, giving her a sort of sad-sympathetic smile. Chloe doesn’t pay this any mind and simply signals for him to continue, which he does. “Thank you, Chloe. I hope things get easier for you, don’t feel like you have to be happy because everyone and everything around you is.” He replies, earnestly. “Now, fans have been asking and would love to know, What’s your Ideal type?”

Chloe blinks at the question, no matter how hard she tries she looks agitated at the question. She pushes out air through her nose in lieu of a laugh.

“My ideal type is someone who works hard, is tall, strong, and will protect me,” Chloe lists, bouncing her leg anxiously as she thinks over the fan question. She can't stop herself from smiling because she knows where this is going. Cody hums again in response and decides then to attempt to cut to the point of all these previous questions. “So, would you date a fan?”

Chloe shrugs and replies simply. “I mean, fans are just people. Why not?” Cody’s not sure he can agree with that one, but he pretends like he can anyways. He takes a slow breath before proceeding to read off of his script once more, “There’s been some rumours floating around, and I wanted to be the first to ask you about them. Anything about you and a popular fansite you’d like to tell us about?”

Chloe chuckles when he says "popular" quickly going back to a neutral face. She looks at the camera then back at Cody, shaking her head.

“It's been a really hard few months. So, I wasn't making the most wise of decisions but I mean,” Chloe throws her hands out before dropping them on her thighs, “He's a grown man. I'm a grown woman. I don't see the drama in this? Everyone just overreacts at the smallest of things. We went on a date,” Chloe confesses to the camera despite the distressed look on her manager's face from behind the camera. “Like a singular date. Sue me. I think a man my age is cute and want to have a drink with him.” Chloe dismisses with a sigh, leaning back in her chair. “Every idol is dating someone. Get over it.”

Cody snorts. “Little overprotective to be just one date.” Chloe sends him a quick and discreet glare that makes Cody immediately quiet down. “No, you’re right.” The clip comically cuts there and begins to play the final segment.

“To wrap everything up, Is there anything else you’d like to say to the viewers?” He asks, “Or maybe some future plans you want fans to know about?”

“Yeah!” Chloe forms a heart with her hands, beaming at the camera. "Dulce, I love you!” She laughs, blowing a kiss towards the screen.

“Oh! After Venus Victrix wraps up...l'm going to be releasing my first solo album!" Chloe announces with an excited smile, giving a thumbs up to the camera. “There will be a lot of Venus solos so keep an eye out! We're all very excited to share them with you guys!”

Cody cheers eagerly at the news and pumps his fist in the air for exaggeration. “A win for me.”

Chloe laughs at Cody’s gesture and now gives finger hearts, smiling sweetly to the camera with a tilt of her head to look cute.

“Thank you so much for having me! I love talking so thank you for listening! I'll see you all soon!” She blows a kiss to the camera one last time before waving.

“Thank you for watching and supporting Idol Time, See you next time!” Cody finishes, giving the final words of the Episode to Chloe.

“Stream Venus Victrix, Cush by Starzie, and follow me on Instagram at ChloeLee! Thank you! Bye byeee~”

[gravity-what]

GASP! Could it really be? The lost season 4 of Xiaolin Showdown is finally being released to the public! OH I am SEATED 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿

Kicking off the season with another 🤝👫team-building exercise👥🧑‍🤝‍🧑 from Master Fung, how classic! A lot of those in the show itself, so the opening slots right into the roster! Feels so real!

The different is that this time it's a team-building exercise that's meant to emphasize the team that's no longer composed of equals, since one of them is apparently their better and their superior now... Shaking up the team dynamic after all that talk about them working together as one by promoting one to manage the others, I can see why it's already going to Raimundo's head and he's trying to pull rank. He was sort of doing that already in season 3 before it was even official, so now that it's official, that 🤴"as your leader"🤴 talk is so so him, LOL... Mixing pulling rank in with one of the kids' usual bouts and adding Kimiko's hair-trigger temper into the mix too! 😡 And Master Fung comes in just in time to break up the fight and use it to segue into today's lesson! I can only imagine how many rewatches you've have of the series because that whole set up in the opening plays out exactly like it does in the episodes itself! That's so cool!

And I didn't expect a cameo from Megan again after all this time! 👧🎀 She's still the cutest! And the age-typical brattiness makes her even cuter! And Jack is cute looking after her! The Spicer cousins are being so cuuuute! 🎀🍥 And Megan even gets a part in the showdown a little like Dojo does sometimes! The powers that be gave Megan a better role than they usually give Dojo though.

I never even imagined that mochi-making could be a showdown challenge! 🔨🐇 Kimiko had some ANGER put behind those blows! Cute having her bring in something from her culture for the playing field today too! That's how you stack the odds! And it finally gave Kimiko a chance to show her expertise and show a situation where she gets to take charge and has the knowledge they need. Even in season 3's own Kimiko episode, they made her sit out the solution solving so Raimundo could have an A-HA! moment and tell her how to fix her mistake for her and that was so frustrating. This feels like it really fixed that!

Raimundo learned his lesson, Kimiko has been vindicated, Jack has been defeated, lunch has been caught and cooked, Megan had her fun time, all's well that end's well-- OH NO OMI?!

🥺😢 Poor Omi, I totally forgot he doesn't even eat meat! And so did the other monks! 😭😭😭😭😭 OMIII! At least Dojo is looking out for him. Best dragon right there, true MVP of the episode 🐉🔥🐉🔥

‘Championship Strikes’ feels like it's supposed to be a reference to something.... But I don't know a lot about video game franchises. (I don't even know what Goo Zombies is supposed to be a parody of in the show even though I'm sure it's probably something) 🎮🕹️👾 Can I ask what Championship Strikes is riffing off of? What kind of game is it? Is it sport stuff?

Those are super cute outfits for Kimiko and Megan in the title card! Their braids and hats and ribbons are super duper cute! Megan looks like a little adventurer and Kimiko is rocking that sporty look! Boys in the back all being kinda huffy or sad, meanwhile right up front are my GIRLIES! 👗👢👒🎀👚👟

If this episode was on a streaming service I could rate it 5/5 stars like it deserves, so here you go: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’m so honored by this review 😭! I did my best to emulate an actual episode when I wrote this so I’m really glad that I succeeded!!

Honestly it was so much fun to bring Megan back! It felt like a good low-stakes episode to bring her back~ it was also fun to let her judge the showdown! Poor Jack though, he didn’t manage to win even with his cousin deciding the outcome.

The motchi making showdown came from me getting able to participate in a motchi making class allll the way back in February and going ‘this would make a really fun showdown!’ And it just fit so perfectly into this episode~ letting Kimiko show off while at the same time getting a chance to terrify Raimundo and teach him a lesson really was so much fun to write!

And Omi….oh Omi. He isn’t doing too hot after everything that happened in the other universe and in the hypothetical future he saw with Jack and now his needs are being forgotten too…At least he has Dojo looking out for him. Always.

And the ‘ championship strikes’ game is just meant to be a reference to a soccer game like the FIFA games! So you were definitely right that it was a sports game!

Thank you again for the fun review! And I’m glad you liked the first ‘episode’!

[creepedverse]

Give us Arthur info dump

Personal Journal (tw for animal death!)

Entry 003, XX/XX/2008

Haaaaaah. Farnbury… What a place! I expected to be shell shocked when I got here, honestly! But, underneath the starry sky… I feel at home. I guess I’m home when I’m in the trees, no matter which direction I find myself! ^^ But, there are some differences compared to New York. For starters, it’s not as cold! I love the cold weather, so I never complained at home, but now in February, I feel overdressed! I also… I made friends!! Two of them!! Can you believe it!? Of course I can believe it, me! They’re both so… just wow!

I was just setting up my camp for the night when I met him! My first ever friend!! (Better late than never!) He seemed startled to see me out there, but I think he relaxed once he realized I wasn’t like a bear or something! (Even though being a bear would be super cool!) He was very quiet, and I started to fill the space by talking! I… I usually find it hard to start conversations, but talking to him came so easy! He just listened, and that was nice. I guess that’s what friends do! Anyways, that’s how we first met! Ever since then, I’ve been running into him here and there! He actually works at the diner I go to for breakfast! He’s probably used to my order by now, since I always get the same thing! (Pancakes, short stack, and coffee) His name is Tommie! And I think that name suits him marvelously! He is very much a Tommie! ^^

I made my second friend just recently! Here I am, braving the wilderness in hopes of solving the mystery surrounding the farnbury entity, but… well… this is taking longer than I thought it would! When I found that cursed picture online, it only took me two weeks to contain the entity! Bam! Done! No more silly dog! But… this entity seems… different. It’s… stronger than most. I have some theories about it, but I’ll detail them in my proper investigation journal. Anyways! Where was I? Right! It’s taking a long time to get to the bottom of this thing! So, I soon found myself almost out of money. And so, that means I needed a job! The only problem is that… well… no one wants to hire a guy living out of a tent! Except for one person! Bonnibel… Bonnie! My beautiful Bonnie! She saved me from total, utter despair!! Heh… okay that’s dramatic! But! She hired me to work at her antique shop! And I’m so proud to say we get along swimmingly! She’s so gentle and kind and doesn’t yell at me if I miscalculate change! Actually, now that I think about it… this is my first proper job! Huh! How epic!!!

Bonnie has a truly beautiful ability. She can see ghosts! What are the odds of her befriending me!? She’s surrounded by the paranormal, and I hope she’ll let me help if anything troublesome bothers her. I have a whole section in my notes dedicated to banishing spirits! I hope she can rely on me… She actually… She told me a ghost follows me. A small hare… hopping wherever I go. I… um…

Well I guess if I’m telling this journal everything, I’ll tell it everything. When I first encountered the farnbury entity, I lost control of myself for a second. The entity seemed to try and get in my head. It completely mixed my thoughts around, I couldn’t make out up or down, left or right. I started freaking out, in the woods, all alone. My tics started going haywire! I couldn’t control my body anymore and I just… spazzed. (I guess my high school peers were spot on with that nickname.) I ended up falling down a steeper-than-average hill. I must’ve hit my head because when I woke up, it was daylight. I was fine again. However… on my way down the hill, I… crushed… a rabbit. I felt so awful! The poor little thing! I started to panic! Luckily, my brother had taught me well, and I managed to calm my breathing (and my tears!) and took care of the rabbit by giving it a small burial. I didn’t really have any tools on hand, so I used what I could to make a little grave. I must’ve looked like I was going to faint when Bonnie told me she saw a hare with me! But, how I’ll choose to interpret it is that the rabbit is looking after me. After all, I think he knows it was an accident (I hope he knows!) Maybe he’s hopping around after me to keep me out of trouble! I’ll choose to look on the bright side!

In all my years, I’ve endured countless jabs and bullying and that one fight before I left high school. I can’t help but admit that I was losing hope I’d ever make actual friends… But… Here in Farnbury, things are different. I made friends. I have friends. And I will do anything to protect them, and any other future friends I might make. I will figure this entity out, nullify it, and invite Tommie and Bonnie to travel the whole country with me when I’m done!!!

[sirignatius]

My thoughts on Persona 3 Reload

I recently finished Persona 3 Reload and it has definitely been a journey. I wanted to sort out some of my personal experiences with the game and share a few details that stuck with me. Spoiler warning if you keep reading! I included some thoughts on certain parts of the game, including some clips of the ending cutscene, so keep that in mind if you haven’t finished it yet!

Persona is such a dear series to me. After finishing P4 and P5, P3 was the last one I needed to play to complete the modern Persona lineup. So, when Persona 3 Reload released on February 1st, I was really excited to play it, but I had to hold off since I was right in the middle of finishing my thesis.

March was just absolute chaos for me: I went through some personal hardships and, finally, turned in my master’s thesis. Easily one of the most stressful periods of my life. Thankfully, I had some incredible friends by my side, supporting me through every step, then and now. I honestly couldn’t have made it through without them.

In the meantime, I figured it’d be better to hold off on P3R for a bit, partly because of its heavy atmosphere and the darker themes, but also because I honestly wasn’t in the best mindset to enjoy it.

For the record, I’m just obsessed with the Persona OSTs, but I wanted to stay away from the new P3 soundtrack so I could experience it in-game. But of course, ONE song managed to sneak past my defenses and land in my playlist. On my way to work, Color Your Night came on for the first time, and honestly, my jaw just dropped.

To this day, I still think it’s a beautiful song! I listen to it almost daily, along with a bunch of other tracks from the game. I wasn’t expecting something so intimate yet so upbeat, and it totally blew me away. Thinking back, I honestly think it gave me that extra push to finish my thesis so I could finally start the game.

This is not meant to be a full game review, but as I played, I felt like P3R wanted to clearly distinguish itself from the original P3. Where the OG game had this edgy, darker vibe, P3R felt more like a celebration of life in comparison. I haven’t played the original, but I’ve listened a lot to its OST, and you can tell they tried to step away from that feeling while honoring Shoji Meguro’s masterpieces.

The interface design is just chef’s kiss. I'm obsessed with the pause menu. It feels like every time I hit pause, time just stops —a little break from all the stressful thoughts, like looking at the world through a calm water barrier. Can we take a moment to appreciate how gorgeous that menu is??

I love how the designers went all in for the water aesthetic: it’s in the menus, the color schemes, the little effects on the music tracks ( like that bubble sound at the start of Full Moon Full Life, 0:28 if you are wondering :] ). They really nailed it.

Then, there’s the endgame. It hits hard with the “take responsibility for your actions” thing, especially after December 31. Choosing to fight to the end completely changes the atmosphere—the color palette gets less saturated and the music takes a more nostalgic tone (Living with Determination, Memories of School, Memories of the City; I find that last one quite disturbing). It’s like the game is telling you that everything comes to an end. It wouldn’t be as impactful if it didn’t. I feel like these songs are the MC’s memories of all the places he’s been in the past year, knowing things will never be the same.

It’s especially heartbreaking on that last day when the MC talks to all their confidants, and they start sharing all the things they’re planning to do soon. Shoutout to Koromaru-san, the goodest boy of them all ;-;

And then, that final scene with Aigis absolutely destroyed me. I wasn’t ready. I like to think she’s using that moment to show us how she’s found her own purpose, and even though she feels sorrow for the MC, she’s learned how to keep going. It hit me so hard. The moment itself is sad, but the atmosphere feels so calm and gentle, like floating on a cloud. And then, after the cutscene, it’s over, and I’m left in tears—not just because it ended, but because of everything we, as the MC, left behind along the way.

And as the game closes, we get Memories of You. After years of listening to it out of context, I finally realized it was the ending theme all along! If you haven’t heard the English lyrics, please do—they’re beautiful, like a love letter from Aigis, saying she’ll be there to protect and remember you forever.

This ended up being a bit of a brain dump, so I hope it makes sense. Please feel free to share any thoughts you may have about the game if you feel like it! And thank you if you read all the way to the end! Truly, thank you so much.

Final shoutout to my dear friends for all the support they gave me through everything. I hope I can also protect them forever as well.