#i don't think i've ever had a ml background

[rui-drawsbox]

remembering the most memorable mc's (with canon appearences) from the otomes i played

all of them are phone games btw. and looong rambling about the games after the cut!

Mystic messenger has been in my radar since i was in elementary school but i played it for the first time after the spanish traslation came out (2017 i think?) Seven shaped my type in such a specific way that im not really sure why loved him so much (it was the whole "he loves you in every route" stuff). I like a lot the default mc, most of the fandom did and that was enough to won me over

Rosa is top tier protagonist tbh, Tears of Themis has really good story and characters (as far i played, not a lot but i enjoyed it) The reason i'm not that much of a fan is bc the game is expensive asf and not very free to play friendly. You're either lucky or have a big wallet with the gacha

i miss my wife man(Marius)

Ephemeral has to be one of the best free to play otomes i've played tbh (if my memories aren't tricking me, it's been years) Good artwork, good storyline, good characters and as far i remember you can unlock one chapter of the character route per day (mabye two days, idk) and the mc's background has an important role in every route (she's a zombie! she's pretty now but eventually will fall apart, aaaaand her story gets expanded in one of the routes!) ((shes also adorable)) There's also a sequel, if you wanted more of the boys! never finished it but i'd recommend it

Honorable mentions! Huellitas Mágicas is a great game! has a really good cast with well fleshed arcs for all the characters, even the scondary ones! The game shines more for the development of *all* the characters rather than just the protagonist/ml. The main theme is overcoming insecurities! Each love interest has a different way of helping our (very insecure) protagonist and helping different characters with their own struggles :DD

10/10 i recommend this game if you want something cute and can be finished in a few hours, if i remember right. It also has a sequel! with like- 12 new love interests, also never finished it bc i didnt found a guide that worked for me but ñek

A3! is my canon event as a gacha player. Discovered the english/global server, tried it and got bored, left it for a few months, tried it again and fell in love, noticed the game was going to shut down bc low sales -HAHA :(-. This is not a otome btw, this is here bc Izumi has to be one of my favorite protagonists in gacha games ever

last but not least! Obey me! Shall we date? oh dear, what have they done to you :(. The original had intense powercreep to force you to pull cards -multiple times bc that makes them stronger- and even now, the company showed a lot of favoritism to some characters, leaving others to dust bc they don't make the same money. Not to say, they released a new game with the same cast and new main story (ignoring all what happend before). And let me say: THEY LITERALLY WANTED TO KILL THE ORIGINAL GAME.

Nightbringer might be a decent game but i don't trust the devs anymore, i still remember what happend with Asmo's birthday right after the release, and honestly i don't want to sit there watching how they disrespect my favorite characters again and again and again. Loved the characters hated the devs. 5/10 you can play it if you want but i don't recommend spending money on it, it's not worth it, just search #obey me here in tumblr and enjoy the amazing fanworks that i can assure you have a lot more love than the game itself

i miss my wife man (mammon and levi)

[ilikekidsshows]

I've recently watched the ML London special and had to think about your words several times. Mostly about Maribug's pity party and coddling.

My negative coddling highlight (which also made me laugh in disbelief) was when Marinette questioned her decision to keep Adrien in the dark to "protect him" and she "had no choice" so Tikki tells her she isn't the Kwami of Truth (???) and Marinette should "stop thinking and take some rest". What the heck. That felt like they wanted to show a worried, sympathetic Marinette, but quickly brushed aside anything else. A simple "we don't know" of the Kwamis would have felt more natural, too, instead that cryptic Kwami of Truth nonsense. Plagg apparently doesn't care much about Adrien anymore now that he's under Marinette's wings, he has shown no emotions or opinion about Adrien's wellbeing. Sad, very sad.

Also, seeing the whole conversation in which Marinette decides that Nathalie has to be Adrien's surrogate mother, while Nathalie was not convinced of that but was ready to go to jail instead....wow. Forced motherhood onto a woman who clearly didn't feel called for that position and who rather atone for her very real crimes... feels kinda sexist to me. Why is Marinette the one to decide that for Nathalie and Adrien? And Marinette and Nathalie suddenly having a bond strong enough for hugging and that shit? Where did that come from? Everything for coddling Marinette, apparently, everyone but the new villain is on her side.

The only scene that felt worthwile to me was the very short moment in which Adrien lashes out at Bug Noire. He finally felt alive and as his own person for the first time in forever (S5 essentially), even going as far as - gasp - making Ladybug uncomfortable. Chat Noir also was completly forgotten the whole special, only to come back into existance for that empty Ladynoir scene at the end in which he has to spout his obligatory "you and me against the world" speech.

I did like the background music, though, and the fighting choreography, which actually made me realize that Ladybug never before has fought hand-on-hand that long on her own. Which, of course, she had to here, since there was no Chat Noir to do it for her this time. I couldn't not think about your "Chat Noir fighter" post then.

Sorry for the wall of text. I just wanted to let you know that I had to think several times about your posts and answers during the special.

---

Thanks for the peer review, Anon! In media analysis, someone watching or reading the work and finding the analysis a good match for the source material is a clear indicator that the analyst has hit a resonant reading.

I think what we have in the Nathalie example is a writers' crutch becoming obvious. I can point several instances where Marinette gets instant or near instant support as soon as she needs it, but the Nathalie situation is extra glaring in how little in-universe sense it makes. Cat Noir propping her up in ‘Origins’, ‘Miracle Queen’ and several other times makes sense; he’s her superhero partner. Alya makes sense, she's her best friend. In ‘Love Hunter’ Luka almost magically drove past and happened to notice she was upset and could drop whatever else he was doing to tend to her instead as soon as she needed someone to cry against. That one is a bit ridiculous, but it was used to set up them getting together later so it feels organic after the fact.

The notoriously stoic Nathalie, who has zero bond with Marinette up until now suddenly holding her more gently than she's ever held Adrien while she cries happens only because no one more appropriate was around to do it instead. It's an escalation. Luka’s super timing was stretching believability so much people started to joke he had actual empathy-based superpowers. With Nathalie, it's completely out of nowhere, but the stans ignore it because the show has made it a staple that someone will always prioritize Marinette, and because they're just so glad Marinette has someone to comfort her because she's such a miserable wretch who never gets enough support. Finally, there's an adult she can count on! Except, Nathalie also starts immediately taking marching orders from Marinette, so it's just even weirder.

It's not that Nathalie is actually being set up as a confidant to make up for her past misdeeds, she's just instantly a Marinette groupie because the writers needed someone to prioritize Marinette's feelings. It functions as a way to make it clear to the audience that this is what they should worry about: how Marinette is feeling. And it worked; just as Adrien started voicing his own emotions, he got shut down by our lead and a big part of the fandom was more concerned about Marinette being upsette than Adrien, who is infinitely worse off than Marinette.

[moononmyfloor]

My Year End C-drama Review (2023)

Last year, I did two Cdrama Wrapped posts for each half of the year. This year, I watched so much stuff right away I got arrogant and was about to do a January-February summary. And then life happened and handed me my entire ass, so here we are right back on the ground zero.

Well, not exactly. I watched lots of dramas I liked this year and would like to give nods to as many as possible, and before I start forgetting details I thought I better go ahead with the entrees that I'm sure of the answers.

My initial Cdrama reviews were inspired by anniedelavoye's this post 2 years ago, I've extrapolated a lot from there but some entrees remain same.

Part 2

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1. First drama I finished in 2023

Hi Venus. Modern workplace romcom isn't my go-to-genre, least of all if the ML is a CEO. If not for the unusual-for-the-genre setup of initial few eps and the strong recommendations of my friends, I might not have pressed play at all. And I'm so glad I did because it turned out to be one of the most refreshing takes of the genre, it was funny, the pacing nor the dialogues were ever draggy, the characters were intelligent and pleasant, and down to earth. It never leaned to the tropes of helpless/badass FL or tsundere/beta ML extremes, there was no dramatic villain arcs, down to the supporting characters everyone were so reasonable and mature and simply had the nicest time ever together. Now I put it like that, it sounds boring but trust me, it wasn't. Do give it a try. Your time won't be wasted.

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2. An actor who took my breath away

Jing Boran as Lan Jue/Peizhi from The League of Nobleman

I mean

Look at him. Instant KO.

I remember watching this scene (and every scene that followed after, especially when he had his hair down) and being in disbelief about how he's real. He's literally glowing out the screen! His performance as a model scholarly minister, the way he conducted his glance, his steps, his speech and temperament were nothing but enchanting and... look, I can write poetry about him for ages lol.

And then I watched every single work I could find of him and ended up even more in love, because his resume was nothing but diverse. A measured scholar, a bubbling-out-of-his-skin social butterfly, a ballerina in a tutu, a man pregnant with the cutest radish monster ever, there's nothing he cannot play. I'm definitely going to check out every single work of him that'll be coming out in the future as well. Even if the plot fails, his character will surely be interesting.

(Also, I was FINALLY lured into DMBJ fandom thanks to going down his profile as well, and now I'm here to stay🤭)

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3. Most relatable character

Bai Moxi from Gone With the Rain

She was street-smart and sassy, but never foolhardy. She wasn't a damsel nor was overly clever. She had her moments of daydreaming, but she knew what was and wasn't reasonable. She had a high sense of self-worth, she also knew when to make herself scarce. Despite being the most outgoing and energetic personality in the room, she didn't make everything to be about herself. In fact, she couldn't have been happier to be a background supporting character of the story, quietly minding her own business in her corner. In summary, she just felt very real, and exactly like how I love my FLs. Every decision she took felt like what I'd also have done in her situation. (Btw I hope noone messages me about loving Moxi but hating her sister because I don't. I think her character also made a lot of sense based on her circumstances even though she was bit more difficult to love than Moxi.)

Most of all, she was played to a tee by Zhang Nan, the young actress was allowed to shine to her true potential in this role, as she used to be quite stereotyped in either bubbly or petty mean girl roles. The drama horribly fell apart in the latter quarter (I'd like to pretend it all ended before that Great Seperation Scene), but I'm going to remember her charaacter for a long time to come.

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4. Most inspiring character

Li Lianhua from Mysterious Lotus Casebook

The tumblr tag for MLC is already filled with Grade A+ poetry, prose and analysis dedicated to him and I'm not capable of wording it any better than them. All I can say is he really touched a vulnerable corner of my heart, and gave it strength. He's just so very admirable and represents all I ever want to be, and his entire character design and all its metaphors and philosophy especially resonate with me as a Buddhist. Like Cheng Yi said at the end of MLC concert, "At the end of the day, if you have a lotus flower in your heart that you can call your own, that's what matters."

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5. Best Couple of the Year

Lu Zhaoxi and Ye Shilan (Zeng Shunxi and Liang Jie) in Hi Venus, Zhao Jian and Yuan Zhongxin (Zhou Yutong and Zhang Xincheng) in Young Blood 2

Here are two couples who were each others' equal match in every big, small and miscellaneous ways possible. Where their roles in their partnership did not have anything to do with society-determined gender or power dynamics, not about conforming to them nor about beating them. Everything about their relationships simply had to do with what they meant to each other their admiration, respect and love towards the other person, from beginning to end. In Hi Venus, it was never uncomfortable to watch Shilan being Zhaoxi's subordinate, for he always treated her like any good superior should in any healthy professional relationship. In Young Blood 2, Zhongxin would fully trust Zhao Jian with everyone else's and his own life, not because his head was in wishful romantic clouds but because he was 100% confident in her capabilities and would never disrespect her with "girls should be protected, you stay back and let me take the sword for you" nonsense.

I may check out like 50 dramas per year and may never come by such Het pairing dynamics in some years, yknow? I do not hate on any other kind of dynamic (plus I'd have next to nothing to watch in that case lol) but, THIS... this is so rare -for me to not be icked out by not even a single second of a fictional het couple's screentime lol- hence the gushing! (Though I know I'm not doing the greatest job of phrasing what I feel😆).

Following that note, though not a couple, honorable mentions to Chufeng (Bi Wenjun) and Robin (Zhu Zhengting) from Silence of the Monster who took Sui Yi (Sun Yihan) into their home not because they thought it'd be chivalrous to help a girl, but because it's the nice thing to do as a fellow human. For continuing onto integrating her into their world with ease and enthusiasm not because any of them had feelings for her but because they simply found her a good friend to hang out with.

Suffice to say I DIG ANY relationship where gender does not come into play, like, at all (or barely, if you must).

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6. Best harem of the year

Orchid and Lotus harems (from League of Nobleman and Mysterious Lotus Casebook)

(Only sharing the pics of Orchid Harem because it was from the earlier quarter of this year, whereas pics of Lotus Harem will be everywhere in the Cdrama scene for quite a while to come lol)

The support group of devout puppies, zhijis, friends-with-benefits and all sorts of other polycule postions, all centered around one precious babygirl enigma of a man is just my jam, and I love it when it happens because it brings forth the fandom's most unhinged high-art. 😌😌😌

(ALSO ME AND WHO WHEN!😭)

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7. Best ensemble of the year

Young Blood 2, I Am Nobody

For me a perfect ensemble is where the supporting characters are just or almost nearly as engaging and thoroughly written as the main leads, you'd love every second spent on any character just as much as you love that of any other. The ultimate relaxing experience where your brain doesn't have to pick favorites and you don't have to speed watch or fast forward or be antsy about who's going to appear next because you know it's gonna be enjoyable no matter whom.

And this year, it's Young Blood 2- with its Class 7 members who were all so different but all so compelling and equally contributing to the plot, complimented by the Class 8 and the unnervingly captivating villains.

And I Am Nobody- with its extensive spread of young and old heroes/antiheroes alike, all with dramatic backstories and individual charisma that were not second to another.

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8. Favorite posters/promos of the year

Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Young Blood 2, Sunshine By My Side

Really liked what MLC did with positioning the characters on various spots of the titular Lianhua Lou, the wind-sway choices for the wisps of hair and the skirts... idk the exact angles of it all were just right for each character and their vibes and appealed to me a lot.

The blending-into-painting style poster of Young Blood was so pretty too, plus these Suoyi raincoat posters.

The comic strip posters for Sunshine were also super cute, unique and perfect for the drama's themes.

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9. Best opening credit sequence

Love You Seven Times

The drama itself was a hot mess but the opening sequence was entirely worthy of being a parallelish-universe story to Love Between Fairy and Devil without a debate. IF ONLY they put the same effort to the story itself.

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10. Favorite Prop/Set designs

A League of Nobleman- Lan Jue's Tea Pavilion, Mysterious Lotus Casebook- Lotus House

I wish I could install a fixture in my home where me and my imaginary homies can chat over tea while being seductively separated by an active stream of freshwater, while my not so elegant period-style caravan is waiting outside in the yard for more cozily cramped get-together times. 🤧

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11. Favorite lighting/color grading of the year

The Forbidden Flower, My Journey to You

The former, a kaleidoscopic explosion of colors, a celebration of fleeting life, youth, summer and nostalgia. It was a daring drama on so many fronts and nailed each of them as well, and the use of colors represented its bold soul perfectly.

The latter, a marvelous combination of mountains shrouded by mist, dark-toned wood pavilions and fur-lined robes, pale, dusty makeup with rosy lips and plump cheeks; all combined together on screen to bring a palpable ambience of a secluded glamorous hideout in a dystopian world and its ethereal residents. Seriously, how I especially loved to stare at the bride candidates in their white getups, it was like the light bounced off of the fabric to shine on their faces even more, and the skin and hair looked non-oily and baby soft. And it didn't feel over the top but convincing because the camerawork and editing conjured a believable image of an upcountry with dense and dewy forests, waterfalls and rivers, there's no sun, no heat no sweat, only cold air and pregnant humidity. OF COURSE you are going to look like THAT.

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12. A drama that taught me new things

Hi Producer

The infuriating thing about Yu Zheng's show-off genre of costume dramas is that the story may be a hit-or-miss, the "historical facts" provided in them may need to be taken with a grain of salt, but they almost always provide me with great entry points to do my own research 🥲. Most niche facts that take me by surprise and things I'd never have thought to look up on my own are randomly sprinkled all over the place and I run around like a headless chicken trying to collect them all.

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13. Most exhilarating drama/scene

Three-Body

That scene in ep 5. The entire buildup to it and the resolution. The phenomenal acting bringing forth the exact emotion and exact tension required. The moment you start to understand at least a sliver of why exactly all the characters are making this much of a fuss about what's happening to them.

I cannot spoil, not even a bit. You'd have to see for yourself.

I Am Nobody

(lol Three Body and I Am Nobody. I swear that was an unintentional coincidence!)

The great V-match between certain two characters, I can't elaborate. (See the thing about exhilarating scenes is that you have to see it for yourself what's the big deal is about lol.) I really liked how both their biggest vulnerabilities and yearnings were pulled out mercilessly in public, how they both fought themselves through each other before actualizing the philosophy of what it was all about. It was beautiful to watch visually as well.

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14. A drama location I'd love to visit

Yunnan province

I've seen glimpses of the prosperous and both naturally and culturally diverse Yunnan province through Bite of China Documentaries and Dianxi Xiaoge's vlogs, the beautiful bucolic backdrop of Meet Yourself only heightened the wish to experience it all in person.

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15. A drama that was a pleasant surprise

I Am Nobody

Perfect casting job, earnest effort from everyone involved to bring out the 2D to live action in the bestest way possible, it was like a dream come true to see a genre that was previously limited into written media like comics and fanfics (modern cultivation) as a drama even if it meant labelling all the cultivators as aliens lol

It had a lil bit of a flavor of western coming-of-age/"teen gets powers and goes on an adventure in search of their origins" stories, a bit of Japanese anime presenting style and the chaotic-gaggle-of-youth-and-veterans-with-different-extreme-powers genre vibe. And then they incorporated Chinese wuxia philosophy into it and made it their own thing. I hope to see more of this in future, and definitely a season 2!

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16. An old drama I watched in 2023

Shaolin Wendao (2017)

This is one of the best period dramas I have ever seen, but I don't recommend it unless you have a strong tolerance for angst. Like, worse than Royal Nirvana and Heroes (2022) level of angst.

HOWEVER, unlike those two, Shaolin Wendao will leave you feeling rewarded for your suffering. This drama achieved a number of things that very few other have managed to do, especially for a story with such a heavy and dark premise.

The characters remained true to their selves from beginning to the end. They grew up in various ways, at the same time remained consistent. The story made sure to make all the characters aware of their individual faults and address them.

The characters were put through immense wringer but also provided viewer with the resolution they deserved. It was SO exhilarating at times, I cried. It felt like a detox, sometimes.

They prioritized telling a realistic story about the changing nature of humans. The ending was blissful but not in the idolized, wrapped-in-a-bow-tie way one would imagine. They wanted to tell a story about tribulations and letting go, and did exactly that.

It will ignite the pain but will also make sure to thoroughly quench it. So there's that.

Oh and also, respect to all the actors. All those characters were so layered and had some quite difficult scenes. I do not understand how Guo Xiaoting didn't get any good roles matching of her caliber for years after this. She was magnificent.

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More Posts by Me

[solradguy]

Hey Mr. Radguy, do you know where this Daisuke art was originally used/what it was used for? I've never seen it before until seeing this image. This is a wallpaper from the Guilty Gear Desktop Accessories Vol. 1 CD-ROM. Identifying the exact stock image used for the background would be cool too.

This illustration haunts me because I genuinely have no idea what it was used for. The style is 100% from the Missing Link era, which is confirmed by this photo of what looks like a telephone card that's copyright dated 1998. This was from Volcanic Fighter's images archive that he shared with me. I don't know where he found it:

This is the only other instance I know of this illustration being used. It isn't in any of the art books and wasn't printed on any of the Broccoli trading cards. I don't think it ever had an official art print version either, but those seem to have been pretty uncommon in the ML era. With how refined the style is compared to a lot of the other ML art, I wonder if it wasn't drawn sometime after Missing Link's release. Unfortunately, we'll probably never know. It seems like a lot of Arc System Works' art records from before about GGXX got destroyed or lost somehow.

Something fun/interesting about this, though, is that it's one of only two illustrations I know of were Daisuke Ishiwatari actually signed it. The other one is the illustration used for the GG Comic Anthology (1998) cover, which was also reprinted on a Broccoli card, but it's a bit harder to see the detail there. Bottom right, under the G.GEAR bit.

This one's been reprinted in some books too. I don't know why the Sol and Ky one wasn't ever reprinted though...

Anyway. To answer your question: I genuinely have no idea but it's highly possible it was done for a promotional telephone card and that's all it was ever used for until the wallpaper in the accessories pack. It wouldn't be the first time Daisuke did art for a promotional card that was never used again...

[shipmistress9]

20 question for writers tag game

tagged by @taumoebaa Thank you! 🥰

1. Total number of ao3 works?

105, apparently.

2. Total ao3 word count

1,154,048 That... a lot of worde o.O

3. Fandoms I've written in

Fandoms I've published in are: How to train your dragon Zelda Miraculous Ladybug The Empyrean - Fourth Wing Pokemon Stardew Valley But I also wrote many unfinished fics, for fandoms like Final Fantasy VII & VIII, Crescent City, ACOTAR, Starcrossed (Josephine Angelini), and Divergent.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

Okay, this feels a bit ridiculous... 😆 1. When Three Wrongs Make One right. (1449) (ML) 2. For The Love Of A Princess (709) (HTTYD) 3. Keeping The Facade (701) (ML) 4. Resurrection (615) (HTTYD/MCU) 4. My Kingdom. My Throne. my Queen. (317) (The Empyrean) 5. Part of our 'us' (311) (The Empyrean) I crossed out Resurrection because I didn't write this one, I was just one of the alpha-readers. But this shows so well how little Kudos really say about a fic. The two Miraculous fics there? I love them, but especially Keeping The Facade is just a cute/angsty little smutshot for a (relative) rarepair. That fandom is/was just so huge that the hits/Kudos catapult it up there to the top. In comparisson, FTLOAP is my big epic story, close to 400k words, many years of planning and writing. That just doesn't measure up.

5. Do I respond to comments?

I try to, yes. I just have this thing where I only respond to comments (in longer stories) when I'm about to post the followup-chapter. Which leads to... some comments never getting answers when I fail to keep writing. Or comments on previous chapters getting lost in my inbox. 😶

6. What has the angstiest ending?

Thats's difficult. 🤔 I don't even remember all my fics anymore. 😅 But I think that must be 'Follow Your Heart', at least without the (optional) sequals.

7. What has the happiest ending?

I feel like all my fics (with few exceptions) end on a lovely happy fluffy note. That's just my thing, and trying to pin down which is the happiest doesn't work.

8. Have I received hate?

Oh, yes! Some years ago, there as a dedicated Anon in the HTTYD fandom, who methodically attacked every writer who didn't write their fav couple as 'pure' as they wanted them to be. They would write loooong and elaborate comments about aaaaaaall the things we as writers did wrong and how that clearly reflects how awful people we are in RL. The fandom banded together to drive them away, but... those there some rough months.

9. Do I write smut? And what kind?

YES! I love writing (and reading) smut. 😁 There's always an underlying tone of emotions and devotion and love in my smut, even or especially when I dive into BDMS and D/s dynamics.

10. Do I write crossovers?

Not really. There are fics in my list that are 'tagged' as crossover, but they're really just characters from one fandom slipping into the world of another. Like modern AUs, in a way, or the [Hiccup=the doctor, Eret=Capt. Jack Harkness, Astrid=T.A.R.D.I.S.] thing I once wrote. Or random (disney) characters showing up as background characters in some httyd fics.

11. Have I ever had a fic stolen?

No, thankfully not. Or at least I'm not aware of it. But someone once stole one of my AMVs, and it felt awful.

12. Have I ever had a fic translated?

Someone once asked me for permission to translate one of my fics. But in the middle of it, their government shut down the fanfic platform they were using, so they never finished the tranlsation.

13. Have I ever co-written a fic?

I have! Though never in an equal share. I've helped and received help in the form of alpha reading, which at some points feels like co-writing (but isn't). And I wrote a fic with a friend (though not under my general name 😅) where I would contribute full chapters here and there after we talked about the general plot points. That was so much fun! 🥰

14. What is my all-time fave ship?

I don't think this is a question I can answer. Maybe I can say that Hiccstrid is the ship that had the biggest influence on my life, for various reasons, but naming them my all-time fave would diminish what I feel about other important ships.

15. A WIP I'll never finish

Uh... probably too many to count. But I can say for certain that I'll never finish 'Astrid's Diary'. It was a POV fic, the first HTTYD movie and the TV show from Astrid's POV. But the background story I had in mind died a quiet sad death with the release of more seasons, and I lost interest in either writing my version or adapting it to the new canon.

16. Writing strengths?

Dialogues and emotions, or so I've been told.

17. Writing weaknesses?

Descriptions of places, how something looks. My brain works 100% non-visual and that makes it hard to a) imagine how a place or a person looks and b) to describe it once I made the effort to build the look up in my head. I just go by vibes.

18. Do I like foreign language dialogue?

Not really. As English is already a foreign laguage for me, bringing in others feels weird to me. Except for that one time I had a multi-lingual character who'd always slip into cursing in other languages during sex. That was a lot of fun. 😁

19. First fandom I wrote for?

I... have no idea. Maybe 'Saber Rider and the Star Sherrifs' or maybe 'Detective Conan'. Though in both cases, I didn't even realise something like 'fanfiction' existed, I was just writing for myself. Then I wrote half of a Divergent fic after reading a few others. The first fic I ever published was for HTTYD.

20. Favourite fic I've written?

I can absolutely not answer this question. Sure, I might like some of my fics better than others, but I also 'love' all of them. But generally, I think I like my longer fics the most. The entire 'I Should Go' series, NOOT, WIMTBC, and FTLOAP for HTTYD. WTWMOR for Miraculous. MtO and the Violiaden Series for Fourth Wing.

tagging @taketheshot21 @heathenvampires @athingofvikings @dayeongi @drakaina-amore64 and everyone who else might want to do these. 🥰

[miraculoushitposting]

I hope y'all have ml desktop backgrounds, otherwise I'm disappointed

Take me to court, fucker

- mod Levith

[calehenituse-brainrot]

Lately these days, all I've been reading are romance manhwa's and it got me thinking about what kind of ml would cale be?

On that note, it also made me think about what kind of fl in romance manhwa he would date. Would he ever think of dating a green tea fl? Basically two faced, someone who acts all nuce and kind but is actually manipulative and evil. Or one of those villainess fl??

>.< CALE AS A MALE LEADDD

please omg

Cale is obviously the reliable type of ML and places you as his equal — the type to tell his subordinates to treat you as they treat him.

He's charming and I would like to think that he's the ML that didn't really show potential (at least to the FL) at first considering how passive he appears to be and the heavy nickname he carries around.

He's the type to support from the background so as the FL, you'd rarely see his deeds but as Readers??? EVERYONE WOULD LOVE HIM.

His love is silent and subtle — hearing you talk about the things you want so he gets them for you the next time you meet or even have them sent to you. He'll help you with anything you need help with if you asked and even if you don't, he'll always be around to make sure you don't run into any trouble.

If something happens to you that could have him separated from you, he's always the one to be the calmest and plans ahead, and yet also be the first to run into your arms and bury his face into the crook of your neck, sighing out how he's so relieved he had found you.

If something happens and you end up unconscious for several days (CLICHÉ, IK BUT I LOVE THIS TROPE OKAY), he's always by your side and also starts preparing everything to the way you like it.

With him as the male lead, it's definitely a slow burn romance with a hint of angst, hurt/comfort.

If he were to have a relationship, it would most importantly be built on respect first. After that, there comes the feeling of trust, of being able to depend on them, to attentively caring for their well-being, and then butterflies just from the slightest touch of your skin against his.

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT KINDA FL HE WOULD BE INTO.

He's into honest people, from what I can tell.

People who has great ambitions and honest with the way they navigate through life, but not to the point of being taken advantage.

He likes them cunning and smart — makes them so much more appealing than the people who are just nice. I have a feeling even if the FL is "just nice", after befriending him, they'll probably adopt some of his scamming traits lmao.

He'd probably be into an FL who can help him further out his ambitions as well (that's probably one of the reasons why they managed to bond a friendship first).

Though, I really do think Cale would be drawn to an FL who's smart and/or sly — the misunderstood villainesses type or the woman who had been talked badly in social circles.

He'd probably be one of the people who have been staying neutral between the good female lead and the misunderstood villainess so people don't drag him into unnecessary drama, but then he'd realized that the villainess is misunderstood this whole time and kept his eyes on her for awhile.

His interest was piqued the longer he watched this villainess but he stayed on his seat, preferring to become one of the audiences first.

He'll then finally join the villainess side when she came to him, offering him a deal or maybe he would approach her first, claiming to be interested in her and how he'd like to get to know her more (it's mostly to see whether she has the potential to become one of his people).

As the story goes on, he began grounding himself by her side, making it known that he was on her side to everyone after being neutral this whole time over the petty drama. If questioned, he'll simply answer that it's none of their business and even question them back on why they think so badly of the villainess.

He'll challenge every belief the public has regarding the villainess to the point that everyone will say "she's actually not that bad"

He's a lovely male lead to read, I'm sure of it.

[imthepunchlord]

Which of your story did you enjoy writing the most?

For fics I've written, I've found I've enjoyed those that are more in-depth and emotional, and those that are comedic.

As a little list of what I remember most fondly:

this is why she can't have nice things was a funny little oneshot playing off animals traits in users

Over the Wall was me doing an original fairytale, loosely inspired by Stardust.

A Declaration of Love was soooo much fun. That was like, pre s2 one shenanigans days, we had just seen the designs of Duusu, Trixx, and Pollen but didn't have their names and before really doing a lot of research, just rolled out some ideas and had fun with it.

Curiosity and Satisfaction was my take on enemies au, as ultimately back in the day when I liked Adrienette, I couldn't find an enemies au that I really liked. So wrote my own. I admit bias, but it's more along the lines of what I wanted in that au scenario.

Same for Trouble in White which dabbled in Mariblanc.

Grumpy Cat was my first Felinette fic ever, and ironically, I had wrote it to prove why Felix and Marinette wouldn't work. Well, that didn't happen. Now it's one of my fav ML ships.

Oops was the first ever dabble in Butterfly Marinette and its just cute and short and funny.

Just Our Luck was a oneshot Sky High au that was interesting to write, and it actually wound up far more popular than I expected. Sadly never had any ideas to do more as people wanted so its a oneshot for now. If I ever touch on it again, I can't promise it'll be Adrienette.

Arguably, Loyal Chevalier is one of my more sadder pieces and a rare akumanette fic that was interesting to write out; though I think Minpa holds the title as my saddest piece. Don't read Minpa you will cry, and chances are good Loyal Chevalier will also make you cry.

Manynette is my 2nd akumanette fic which was also interesting and fun. Which does remind me that I need to continue the collab with @nobodyfamousposts soon. Now that I am more refreshed can get back on it.

Leave for Mendeleiev I'm actually very proud of, especially taking background characters that didn't have a whole lot to them and bringing a lot of life to them. They were fun and it was a lot of fun exploring this different scenario. I know it had a hiccup with me doing an overhaul for it, but I think it wound up a lot better for it. Very happy with how it came out.

And while not done yet, I've been having a lot of fun with Copycat. It's like a 2nd go at Grumpy Cat, but being more in depth and more canon compliant now that we've had more seasons to see more of certain characters and got a bit more of the world and set up. Kinda. Either way, I'm glad to be working on it again. Hope to start some steady updates come February.

And those are the fics I've enjoyed writing the most. I'm hoping to have more on the way and to also do some other fics outside ML.

If anyone is going to check these out, be aware that a lot of these are Adrienette. Most of it written back in the day that I liked them.

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts and Reaction to Mr. Pigeon 72!

I knew this was going to be a really good episode, just because the synopsis we got and the trailer seemed pretty bland. Whenever ML does that, a lot of big things happen in that episode. I screamed and choked on my water in the opening scene where Ladybug's with Alya in Marinette's room. I've been looking forward to Alya and Marinette scenes sooo much since Gang of Secrets! Wayzz & Alya: Hey Marinette, you should take a break and rest. Marinette: Nah, I'm good I gotta keep working Alya: YOU'RE LOSING IT, GIRL! Marinette: Don't care, must work Alya: Okay... you know Adrien and Kagami broke up, right? Marinette: Wait what?! Oh no, Kagami needs me! Alya: Not the reaction I was expecting but okay "Let's not wait for the storm to pass, but let's dance in the rain." I really like this quote! Even during bad times, you need to find the good and enjoy it. And Marinette reaaaally needs to do that. But in a literal sense, please don't dance outside during a dangerous storm.

ALYA AND TRIXX ALDJFSLJDS oh I love them, I'm so happy we'll get to see more of them. The way they both reacted to Marinette saying she has to go console Kagami, they weren't expecting that. xD But I was! I find it very amusing how in episodes like Frightningale she was more upset with Chloe being Ladybug than Chloe being in a video with Adrien that Alya's shocked by her decision, and in Frozer where Marinette was putting Adrien's wants before hers. I really don't understand why people think just because she likes Adrien, she'd not want to help make those around her happy even if it wasn't what she wanted for herself. I'm not surprised at all that Marinette would do this for Kagami, but I'm very happy that she is. "Alya, in Paris, Kagami has no other friend except me. Only I can console her." This makes me so happy. The only times in this show I like Kagami, is when she's with Marinette. After watching this episode, I'm more and more thankful she finally told Alya about being Ladybug I don't even want to know the state she'd be in had she not. O.O She almost ran out of her room as Ladybug (whoops), then almost ran out in her pjs (again, oops). Thanks to Alya, she didn't do either. xD That little detail where Marinette runs out and the sun's really intense, letting us know she's been inside a really long time, so everything outside is really bright. I really appreciate the little things like that. Or at least, that's what I take it as. Unless they're hinting at summer coming up soon... Dang Marinette, just jumps on Kagami's back LOL Kind of reminds me how Chat Noir likes to come up on Ladybug. xD "Your so original friend." Marinette is pretty original! I know the tone implies that's not a good thing, but eh. She's letting her go with Marinette and spend time away, so who cares! Marinette trying really hard to convince Kagami to get back with Adrien and how she's going to help her. I think it's really sweet of her, but Kagami of course clearly doesn't want to. Plagg: What's wrong with you, jumping into ice water! YOU'RE LOSING IT! Adrien: *exposes duffle bag full of Camembert* Plagg: I take back everything I said about you Also huh, Alya just told Marinette she's losing it, now Plagg tells Adrien he's losing it...hmmm. Bob Roth is a horrible person and each time we see him, he does something else to show it. Poor Adrien's allergic to pigeons specifically. I guess he's okay with some birds but not others? Idk? But he told Gabriel it'd be doves, so he approved. But it turned out to be pigeons instead. To be fair, at least in the US, Mourning Doves are often mistaken as pigeons, at least where I live, so they'd make a decent substitute... if it wasn't for Adrien's allergy. Adrien in Gorizilla to Wayhem: If you stop following me around screaming, I think we could be good friends! Wayhem with Cardboard Cut-out Adrien in Mr. Pigeon 72: ADRIENNNNNNN! :/ Marinette has a bag full of everything she may need in all kinds of situations. Comes in handy but good grief girl! How do you lug that all around??? What kind of scenarios do you think up to think of

some of that stuff!? Marinette's so adorable in her bathing suit awwww! Dude. Bob Roth. He said he's allergic to pigeons! And you blame Mr. Ramier because Adrien sneezed and it scared the pigeon away? How is this man successful again? He doesn't listen to anything or anybody. Marinette's like hey Kagami, look at Adrien. You'll start liking him again. Do you feel your heart beating fast now? And she's like "I feel especially bad for the trainer (Mr. Ramier)". I mean same though. He's being treated horribly! x.x Next take, Adrien dives and he sees Marinette with Kagami. But I think he only saw Marinette. Because he says he thought he saw a friend from school (Kagami doesn't attend their school, just the fencing class, as far as we're aware) and also he makes no mention of Kagami at all in this episode. Which means...

Why's your jaw dropping at the sight of your "just a friend" in a bathing suit, Adrien? And, you know, Kagami's literally right there in a bathing suit, too. Just saying. But it's like she's not even there to him. Hmmmmm. Poor Kagami's like, this entire thing is embarrassing, I feel embarrassed for me, Adrien, and this situation. Kagami: Marinette, stop! It's getting crazy! Marinette: Love is crazy! Don't think about it! I love how the more Marinette tries to help Kagami, the more things are working out in Marinette's favor. Interesting, isn't it? The more she tries to tell Adrien her feelings and make opportunities for them, the more they fail. The more she tries to help Kagami, or someone else, the more opportunities for her land in her lap. Hahahahaha the way they both fall LOL "Marinette? 😮" *guilty smile* AND THEN THEY TAKE DOWN POOR EDGAR! :( Mr. Ramier's in the background giving the poor bird CPR as he's drowned and Marinette and Adrien are just casually talking not paying attention lolol "What are you doing here?" "I came to surprise you." Kind of, she was hoping to help Kagami get back with Adrien. So that's a kind of surprise! "Uh, well to relax!" True too, actually. Alya did send her off because she needed to get out of the house and relax from her Ladybug and Guardian duties. Marinette, everyone needs to be careful when at a pool. Clumsy people like you especially need to be careful! lol Good thing Adrien's already seen her fall so many times, it's nothing new lol Gabriel: It's a failure Bob Roth: It's not my fault, it's his! Mr. Ramier: You are under arrest! Edgar is my best friend. He's the most intelligent of the pigeons! Gabriel: It's a pigeon Bob Roth: WHAAAT? IT'S A PIGEON? RAMIER, YOU LIED TO ME. Sorry Gabriel, I'll replace this man! I know a shark trainer First off... LOL that whole scene XDD I actually knew Bob Roth was going to say that entire thing before I heard it lolol Second... awww Edgar's okay! c: and third... I'M SORRY, YOU WANT OUR PRECIOUS BOY TO BE AROUND SHARKS?!?!? Who keeps this man employed?!?! Idk why but this whole time I thought that everyone would turn into giant talking pigeons lol ah well "I realized my mistake! We'll recreate the moment where you fell in love!" ohhh? Like I mentioned earlier, whenever she tries to do something to help Kagami (or someone else) that's when her intentions work out best for her. 😉 One of my favorite things from Style Queen was Plagg and Ladybug working together. Now they're working together again and just... ahhhh I gushed so much at that scene! x3 YESSSSSSS what I've been waiting for! Ladybug can just call Alya now and be like hey, I need your help! And Alya can just be like okay cool, and either goes to her room to get the Miraculous herself, or finds her and gets the Miraculous. So cool! Of course, I'll be most excited if she ever gets to just keep it on her, but... baby steps. Rena did a phenomenal job speaking as both Ladybug and Chat Noir lol. She's such a fan of them both, she knows just how they are around each other. Oh, oh no. We're trapped against a wall by a few pigeons. Looks like our only option is to give up and remove our Miraculous and reveal our identities. Are you seriously buying that, Gabriel? Plagg's like HELLO I'll be taking this! Alya did everything from inside Marinette's room. Ladybug was trapped in that room at the pool the entire time. All it took for this akuma to be defeated was Illusion that can be done from anywhere and Plagg getting the object off Mr. Pigeon. That's amazing! Also, this is the first time Ladybug didn't have to actually see things around her to know what to do. She just focused and thought about it. o.o Okay so hold up. Thanks to Alya, Marinette now knows she can create charms to protect past akuma victims and keep them from getting reakumatized, which is wonderful. I love how much of an impact Alya knowing is having! BUT How exactly does Monsier Rat come about then if he has a charm to protect him??? 🤔🤔🤔 I really like how her drive to want to figure things out was

especially because Mr. Ramier's been akumatized so many times, and she wanted to help him from having to continue to go through that. "This girl is truly Miraculous" awww cute how he got to just watch that this time.

I screamed at this moment because I knew. Since Origins, we have not seen this exact sky. Even during rainy scenes like in Chat Blanc or New York, they didn't look like this. YES, Kagami knows that the way Marinette feels about Adrien shows how much she loves him, but she knows she doesn't feel that way about Adrien too. And "You're right, Adrien is perfect... perfect for you." With a smile and everything! Awwwwww! This acceptance, and the Marinette and Kagami friendship in this episode is really, really good! 😭 "Wow, have you kept it [the umbrella] all this time?" She sure wasn't expecting that!! But wow Adrien, you noticed? Then Coup de Foudre happens again. Yeah, this girl is never getting out of her feelings for him.

Of course she's having trouble with her words still, but that's okay. But she's like oh, I'll give it back, and he just pushes it to her and says she'll need it to get home... unless she'd like a ride with him. AND SHE ACTUALLY ACCEPTED AND WRAPPED HER ARM AROUND HIS OMG.

To then only have the umbrella close on BOTH of them!

AND THEN ASKS IF HE WANTS TO WALK INSTEAD BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE UMBRELLA! She's come so far! And the sheer disappointment when he remembers he can't because of his Chinese lesson :/ And then, because he can't not be looking at Marinette, he hits the back of his head on the car, making himself look silly, just like in Origins she made herself look silly. This time she laughs, and he laughs with her. And it's literally Umbrella Scene 2.0 and it's absolutely everything.

DORKS ❤️❤️❤️ "They are made for each other." awwwww instead of Master Fu, this time it's Kagami. And she sounds very okay with that, that's so nice. "Let's not wait for the storm to pass, but let's dance in the rain." Then proceeds to dance in the rain!

Ahhh what a refreshing, good episode after how much she's been struggling and crying! So lovely! Her friendships with Alya and Kagami were really strong in this episode, her doing her best to help her friend with the guy she herself has always liked, and then Kagami was the one that wasn't really into it, and it made both girls realize that Marinette loves Adrien and is the one best for him, not Kagami. And I'm pretty sure this episode helped Adrien to open his eyes to Marinette more too. At least, this is the beginning of that, anyway! Alya's such a tremendous help to Ladybug now, which is everything. I do wonder if more friends will very slowly start to find out her identity and they end up contributing more to bringing down Hawk Moth, so she really, really isn't alone like she once thought. I don't really have any complaints about this episode at all! Just a bit sad we had no actual Chat Noir, but we got Ladybug and Plagg from it, so it's fine with me! x3 I know some may see it as "Chat Noir isn't necessary, how dare they do this to him!" but no, he's very necessary, sometimes he just can't be there and she can't do it alone. You have to remember how much Chat Noir means to Ladybug, and that she wouldn't even BE Ladybug if it weren't for Chat Noir! I'm really curious now about what episode 5 is, since now we've gotten Episodes 1-4, 6, we're getting 7,8, and 13 later, and we've already gotten 11. Filling in the gaps for the first half of the season! This entire week is going to be crazy with the new episodes, and for each one I'll be writing one of these posts for, so be on the look out for them!

[atinyidea]

Glitch | Ateez Gang!AU | ONE

⟶ gang!au, hacker!au, love triangle? poly? female!original character

How curious it is, the fact that the police just gave a media conference, confirming ATZ’s involvement in Kyungri’s families newly-appointed murder, just as she sat down for her best friend, Jaehyeon, to be tattooed by one of the gang members?

⟶ glitch ml! main ml!

⟶ prologue | next

⟶  note! if anyone wants to be on a tag list for this fic just let me know!

⟶ 4046 words!

⟶ edited 06.03.2020

ONE: Make Sure One Isn’t Stupid.

Thursday 23 October 2025, 21:39.

“I don't see the point of getting a tattoo to commemorate you breaking up with your girlfriend.” Pyo Kyungri grumbled into her scarf as she and her best friend, Lim Jaehyeon, walked down the street in the freezing, open air. She had been dragged out of her comfort zone – which was essentially just her memory foam bed and fluffy penguin onesie – to make sure Jaehyeon didn't do something one hundred per cent idiotic. She was there to keep his idiocy to a low minimum of 75 per cent.

“It’s not about that,” Jaehyeon replied, grinning across at her, “not really.” He took a pause as the crossed the road. “This is a new step in my life. I want this tattoo to commemorate the best decision I've ever made in my life.” This time his pause was because he was a dramatic idiot. “To get that woman out of my life.” He stressed. “To let go of five years of toxicity. To have my eyes finally re-opened from her cheaters blindfold.”

“Such a way with words for a cold-hearted evil bitch. You can call her that you know, it’s officially her title now.” Kyungri replied, looking at her best friend with a heavy heart.

For five years Jaehyeon had been strung along by his ex-girlfriend, Evil Bitch, and no-one was any the wiser. Kyungri carried around so much guilt for not catching on to it sooner, for not looking into her like she did with literally everyone else, for getting so caught up in a closed case of the crash that killed her parents and brother, that she forgot all about her best friend and what he was going through. Though to her credit, he thought he was in a loving relationship – for all relationships had arguments right, so where was his right to complain about the large small arguments they got into? Jaehyeon hadn’t really opened up about his relationship with Evil Bitch like he previously had with his other relationships. He would never blame Kyungri the way she was blaming herself.

Jaehyeon sighed with a chuckle, watching as his breath came out as mist in front of him in the cold air. At the sight of it, Kyungri seemed to shrink further into her scarf. “Just because she cheated on me – tore my heart out, stabbed through it with her devilish heels as she crushed it under her foot, spat on it before kicking it into the middle of a busy road just for multiple cars to drive over it forever – doesn't mean I'm going to start calling women derogatory names. I never have, and I never will.”

Kyungri’s eyebrows raised as she looked over at Jaehyeon with an amused expression yet, said nothing as they stopped in front of the shop.

Why Jaehyeon chose this particular parlour she wasn’t sure. The shopfront was indeed very appealing, with the purple neon lights casting pretty coloured shadows across the dark street as well as their faces. It was very pretty and Kyungri had to fight the urge to take several million pictures of the shopfront and look like a complete weirdo.

“C’mon, I’m a minute late already,” Jaehyeon mumbled as he pushed forwards through the glass door. He looked back at her as they walked towards the front desk – where a blonde-haired man sat silently tapping away at his laptop – “I won’t stop you though.” He grinned, continuing their conversation from outside. He took no note on how the receptionist had raised his head and now could hear them perfectly, but neither did Kyungri.

No one ever thinks about the receptionist.

“I will!” She exclaimed, grinning back at him. “I’ll call her an Evil Bitch all I like! I call upon the right to freedom of speech!” The young woman joked as they finally turned their attention to the receptionist.

The blonde man – whose hair was looking more sandy-brown than blonde – smiled up at them. As he and Jaehyeon began talking, Kyungri tuned them out taking more of an interest in the receptionist’s face rather than whatever Jaehyeon was saying. His face and features were small, cheekbones high with a clear complexion. His eyes were a gentle brown but Kyungri could see that he was trying hard to hide something behind those kind eyes. She decided not to think about it too much – everyone has their secrets and worries. He wore makeup, subtle oranges around the eyes and his lips were adorned with a light red tint. However, what caught her eye the most was the sheer amount of ear piercings the man had. That and the singular tattoo she could see peeking out from under his collar and around the back of his neck – where his hair was slightly longer and covering it.

Kyungri looked away from the receptionist, Hongjoo as he had introduced himself, not wanting to look a creep for staring exactly the right amount of too much. She glanced down, staring at the bag that hung on her shoulders that carried her laptop. If she was forced to say what her favourite possession – for one never willingly tells anyone their favourite thing in the world if they're not stupid. It would never be taken if no one knew it was important... or something – it would be her laptop. It may be a cliché for a hacker’s favourite possession to be a laptop but this one was quite special, this one she had built with her father. This one she completed her first hack with. While she never really went anywhere without it, all the files on the laptop were actually stored in an external hard drive that never left her person.

That hard drive was the real jewel.

It would be better to ask if she could use their Wi-Fi instead of hacking into it, right? That’s what polite people did.

When she looked up again, snapping out of her little daydream – the memory of switching out parts with her father by her side fading away from her mind – she noticed she stood in front of Hongjoo alone. The blonde man smiled at her, amusement written across his face and Kyungri had to make a conscious effort not to let a blush take form upon her cheeks. She cleared her throat, trying not to make it obvious that she was embarrassed and after a few seconds of silence she finally had the thought to break it.

“Do you have Wi-Fi?” She mumbled, not listening to her own words. She grimaced as soon as the words were out, immediately knowing how stupid she sounded. “That... I can also use?” She dragged out the sound of the words, trying (and failing) to make them sound planned. She looked anywhere but the man in front of her. If Kyungri ever disliked anything, she hated when she got tongue-tied in front of attractive people she had to be around more an extended period of time.

Hongjoo’s amusement never faltered, the smiled on his lips turning into a grin as he shook his head playfully, grabbing a pen and post-it note. He said nothing and if Kyungri was paying attention to anything other than the blue spot on the wall behind him she would’ve seen how his jacket had revealed a bandaged around his right wrist as he lazily reached for the post-it pack.

“He went through to San in the back.” She finally registered his voice, switching her gaze from the wall behind him to Hongjoo himself. His smile was now sweet, gaze playful, as he handed over the password, post-it note stuck to the fingertip he had extended out to her. He motioned with his other hand the way her best friend went. Kyungri gave him an appreciative, if not slightly embarrassed, look as she gingerly took the post-it note from his fingertip, mouthing the words ‘thank you’ as she stumbled her way through to the back. She hadn’t noticed that her attempts to smother her blush had also failed. She had never been good in front of people.

Once she was through to the back, the first thing she heard was Jaehyeon’s laugh. The second was the TV, hanging on the wall, it’s volume setting quite low like it was only on for background noise. She glanced over the room, gaze falling on a chair near the bed Jaehyeon was currently sat upon and she made a bee-line for it.

“What took you so long? Tired of daydreaming?” Jaehyeon teased her once he noticed she was with him once again. Not looking at him, the blush from her cheeks faded and her eyes rolled, Kyungri’s comfortable personality filtering through the small scowl on her lips. Jaehyeon had often told her she was like two sides of the same coin when it came to other people – she could be shy and uncomfortable with someone one second and the next she was rolling her eyes and slapping him on the back of the head for ‘saying something utterly fucking stupid.’ Jaehyeon grinned when he saw her small scowl, knowing that she was becoming comfortable once again before he moved on to introduce the other person in the room.

“Ri, this is the one and only Choi Yusan.” He began, slinging an arm around the other man’s shoulder. Kyungri made no move to answer him so Jaehyeon continued, “Best tattoo artist I know!” He boasted like a father would his only child.

“I’m the only tattoo artist you know.”

Yusan’s reply made Kyungri snort. The sound coming from her before she could tell herself not to. Making the decision that she had to now acknowledge the other man, she finally lifted her head to look in their direction. The man introduced as Yusan – or just San as she recalled the receptionist tell her – was grinning up at a flailing, and ever dramatic, Jaehyeon who looked simply appalled at his words.

“The only?!” Jaehyeon cried out, clutching at his chest like his heart had just been ripped out. Kyungri decided then that she wasn’t going to listen, again. Instead, she looked to Yusan. He was shorter than Jaehyeon. Not by much but she could tell from the way Jaehyeon’s elbow rested on his shoulders and how his head was slightly tilted to look up at the dramatic blonde-haired man. She only noticed this because it was how Jaehyeon himself looked like when he looked at her since she was slightly taller than him. The man beside her best friend was also quite attractive. He has a sculpted face with sharp cheekbones. When he smiled, Kyungri noted the deep dimples that made him both more attractive and way too cute. His hair was dark, a dark brown with dark red highlights, curled slightly at the top like he’d just run a hand through the locks. She decided she liked his hair. Yusan’s grin was cheeky as the two boys began to play around with each other and Kyungri noted that they must be friends. That or they were both overly dramatic and became best friends in the span of a minute – it wasn’t impossible when Jaehyeon was involved.

“I don’t really care how many tattooists you don't actually know, Jae. I’m here to make sure you don't get a penis on your forehead.”

Now it was San who snorted, clapping a hand on Jaehyeon’s back. “You would actually do it and you know it.” He said before Jaehyeon had time to disagree with Kyungri. The two watched as he nodded to himself, accepting that he would probably do that.

With a small smirk lifting to her lips, Kyungri raised a brow at their direction. “You know each other?” She asked, watching as the two of them sat back down next to each other, comfortable enough with one another to be leaning against the other. Jaehyeon nodded at you with a grin.

“I’ve told you about him before, haven't I? We went to the same high school. He was a junior when I became a freshman!” – Kyungri raised her eyebrows in amusement – “Met during my time on the swim team.” Jaehyeon said, sniffling slightly like the thought of no longer being on a high school swim team was so painful. “Been super best friends ever since!”

Now, she knew Jaehyeon was exaggerating but she found the whole thing rather amusing. She looked at the red-haired man with an entertained, questioning look. San chuckled, pushing Jaehyeon away by the face.

“You were on the swim team for three days before you got kicked off and we spoke four times.”

“That sounds more like Jae. He didn’t do very well?” She asked at the same time Jaehyeon exclaimed, “Exactly! Best friends!”

“Not if my memory serves,” San replied to the girl, who had now switched her laptop on and was sat with her legs curled into her body.

“Anyway, please call me San. It just... sounds better.” He grinned, the smile holding a secret that Kyungri didn’t know if she wanted to know.

“Sure. I’m Kyungri.” She smiled before turning her head down to her laptop. When Jaehyeon had shown up at her house earlier that night she was halfway through a job. It wasn’t a particularly hard job, which is why she was able to continue doing it on her laptop and hard drive. Kyungri didn’t like leaving a job unfinished, a pet peeve of sorts. Once she started a job she finished it, there was less chance of being traced the quicker the job was done. Close by, she could hear Jaehyeon’s voice, loud as he always was, talking with San about his tattoo. She felt the smile pull at the corner of her lips before she could do anything to stop it.

Soon after San had begun the tattoo Hongjoo entered the backroom with another man behind him. He wore a work uniform with the name badge ‘Yoosang’ pinned to the black material of his shirt. His expression was slightly downcast: eyebrows furrowed like he had just heard some bad news. However, his eyes sparkled as he shared a laugh with the blonde-haired receptionist as they walked into the room. Hongjoo held a tray with mugs on them, catching Jaehyeon’s attention.

“Oooh? What do you have there?” He asked, nothing but curiosity lacing his words.

“Hot chocolate,” Hongjoo grinned at him, “Want some?”

Jaehyeon was quick to nod, his whole body moving as he did so. Kyungri had to smother a small laugh with the sleeve of her hoodie, he really did look like a child. The small glare San sent him didn’t help the image either. Yoosang made his way to a chair, pulling up next to Kyungri while Hongjoo made himself comfortable on the other table bed on her other side, smiling down at her and offering her a cup.

“Thank you,” Kyungri smiled shyly, taking the medium-sized bright orange mug from the blonde man’s hands. He sent her a wink in response.

“Got kicked out of another job, Yeo?” San asked, not lifting his gaze from Jaehyeon’s calf but letting a smirk glide over his features. The man next to Kyungri just slouched in his chair. Kyungri could feel the way her head tilted slightly at the way San called him Yeo... Didn’t his name tag say Yoosang? Perhaps it was just a nickname, she had no place to judge what friends called each other.

“Yeah, man. That place was just rough.” Yoosang sighed, causing both San and Hongjoo to erupt in laughter. Kyungri didn’t make any move to let them acknowledge she was listening while she watched her program run.

“You’ll find one that’ll stick,” Hongjoo reassured him.

“You need a job?” Jaehyeon piped up as if he knew Yoosang and wasn’t a complete stranger. Yoosang simply nodded.

“Our friend, Chaeyoung, works at a cafe that just had an opening. She’s been bugging me about helping her find someone because her boss doesn’t promote on the internet and Chae has, like, no connections.” Jaehyeon grinned, flapping a finger between him and Kyungri as he explained. “You want it?”

“Dude! you might be a lifesaver, what cafe is it?”

“The Cafe.”

“Yeah, which one?”

“It’s called ‘The Cafe’. Jaehyeon’s a bit dumb to not explain properly.” Kyungri spoke up, not looking away from her laptop. She smiled as Jaehyeon let out a small ‘Hey!’ and San let out a small laugh. “It’s about two blocks away, maybe three I can't remember.”

“Even better, thank you.”

Kyungri glanced up to the man beside her, flashing him a smile. She didn't need to be thanked, Jaehyeon was the one who thought about it anyway. She had opened her mouth to retell her thoughts but was distracted by the sound of a news jingle coming. from the tv. She looked over at Hongjoo – “Can you turn that up for a second” – who just motioned to Yoosang, who lifted a remote in his hands and gently nodded at her.

It was the ten o'clock late-night news. It was usually uneventful but the big red lettering of ‘BREAKING NEWS’ put Kyungri on edge. She didn’t like the feeling that wracked through her.

“In the last hour ago a police report was leaked from Seoul’s Dongdaemun Police Station about an old case that was on the verge of being re-opened with new evidence. A few moments ago we received an official statement from the Cheif of Police of the station, Kwon Soonchul, who announced that the report was real and that the Pyo Family Car Crash of the twenty-fourth of November two-thousand-and-eighteen, a long seven years ago, because of new evidence brought up involving the well-known criminal gang known as ‘A. T. Z’.”

From beside her, she could see one of Yoosang’s arms raise, remote in hand to switch the channel. Without much thought, Kyungri reached out her own hands and stopped him, taking the remote from his fingers and turning the sound up. She hadn’t cared that it may have been rude, she could always apologise later but there was apparently something she hadn’t heard about her family going on and she wasn’t going to just not listen to it. She missed the way the three workers shared a glance only they would understand. Jaehyeon had fallen silent.

“Cheif Kwon also revealed that he would be taking point on the case and that it would have his full attention since the involvement of ‘A.T.Z’ especially since one of the victims, Pyo Mina, had been a quote ‘close partner.’”

Kyungri no longer listened, her eyes unfocused and her body still. Why was this happening now? How was ATZ involved? Why did Kwon Soonchul have to take point? Did the news reporter know they were saying the gang’s name wrong?

“Ri? You good?” Jaehyeon asked, more worried about the expressionless girl who wasn’t moving than the pain in his calf and San continued his tattoo. “What’re you gonna do now?” He continued when Kyungri remained silent, her eyes still stuck to the tv screen but Jaehyeon could tell they were unfocused. He kept talking at her, not wanting her to slip away and shut down in a room full of strangers, she would never forgive herself if she did that. He was about to motion for San to him to stop she Jaehyeon could physically move Kyungri, she moved.

She tore her eyes away from the TV and stumbled a little back into the chair she sat in. She pulled up her laptop from the floor, she had fallen from her lap as she stood up, and started tapping away at the keys. “You’re not thinking you’ll find ATZ are you?” Jaehyeon guessed, knowing his best friend. He was never one for subtlety, why he would talk about this is a room of strangers to Kyungri one would never know. Fortunately for those of KQ Ink, Kyungri was too focused on her laptop and Jaehyeon was as oblivious as always to how all three men seemed to freeze up slightly, falling into silence at his words. “Not doubting your skill or anything but they're not called the Ghost Gang for nothing.”

“No one calls them the Ghost Gang apart from you.”

“Yeah, well.” Jaehyeon grinned, happy with himself that he got her to reply. “People should, its a cracking name.”

“I’m finding out what the police know, please shut up.” It was like the two of them had forgotten they weren’t alone.

“Don’t be emotional about this. It’s just a news report.”

“I.. just need to know.”

“Kyungri! ATZ is an invisible force of immense power!” Jaehyeon emphasised loudly before continuing much softer, genuine concern lacing his words. “I don't want you to get hurt.”

“If they are,” Kyung swallowed, looking up at Jaehyeon, tears on the verge of clouding her vision. “If they are the reason my family is dead. Then I will find them.” Her words were cold, strong, final and Jaehyeon knew she had made up her mind about it. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to change it.

“Kyungri.” His voice was soft. “It’s been seven years.”

“I know.” Her words were fast, snapping back at him. She bit her lip before continuing a few seconds later, her tone much softer and her shoulders falling slightly. “I know how long it’s been. This whole thing doesn’t make any sense, that’s why I’m looking, okay?” She glanced back at Jaehyeon, her eyes flittering between him and San, who had his head down in what looked like concentration. She didn’t want to say anything else, realising just how much they had spoken about her family and her job to complete strangers.

It didn’t take her long to break the police force’s security system and firewall. She would have to notify Gongmyung about how the police may be coming to them with a job quite soon.

“Do you know a Jo Jowon? Or a Choi Jongho?” Kyungri asked, opening the files she had just hacked into. She had asked Jaehyeon but had spoken the words to the whole room. She figured it wouldn’t hurt, they had already heard more than enough. They didn’t seem to care anyway.

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Jaehyeon replied almost instantly. “I know a Chu Jongho though, Chaeyoung lives next door to 'im. Why?”

“They're the lead the police have. Chaeyoung’s father is the head officer on the case by the way. As if that makes me feel any better.” Kyungri spat. It wasn’t hard to tell she held contempt for Chaeyoung’s father. She blinked twice before lowering her tone, “I’ll ask Chae later.”

“And we’re done,” San spoke up for the first time since he started working, wiping Jaehyeon’s calf twice with a cloth before leaning back and grinning at him. “You’re done.”

Jaehyeon’s lips were turned to a grin in a split second. Like he felt no pain, he bounced up from the client bed and bounded over to Kyungri, pulling her up by the forearm and dragging her to the mirrors. Kyungri, extremely used to this from her best friend simply rolled her eyes and let him drag her.

“Is that my drawing?”

“Yup!”

“You got my drawing on your leg?”

“Yup!”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my best friend.” Jaehyeon smiled. “Plus you drew it for me.”

“Yeah, when we were fourteen!”

“Well, it’s still my favourite thing you’ve given me.”

“You’re an idiot.” Kyungri smiled, letting her head fall on his shoulder, her arms winding around his torso to squeeze him quickly. Jaehyeon just smiled.

The pair of best friends split off from one another, Kyungri went over to collect her things and pack away her laptop while Jaehyeon was led to the front of the shop by Hongjoo to pay for his tattoo. Her laptop was sat on the floor with the files of Jo Jowon and Choi Jongho up on the screen. Kyungri mentally cursed herself for being so careless and prayed that the other three people in the room hadn’t snooped. They had, but she didn’t need to know that.

As the left the tattoo parlour, exchanging small smiles and tired waves with the three men, in walked a fourth boy. They passed each other so quickly that Kyungri failed to realise that she had been staring at his face for the last twenty minutes.