#i just saw online that you can only get one

[luvst4rc0r3]

Loser!Jinx x Reader Headcanons

Jinx wasn’t just a loser—she was the loser. The kind who sat in the back of the class doodling in her notebook instead of taking notes, who always had a random bruise from doing something stupid, and who somehow had a negative GPA but could explain the entire plot of an obscure 90s anime no one had ever heard of.

She wasn’t exactly hated at school, but she was weird, loud, and unpredictable, which made people avoid her. Except for Vi, who was always yelling at her to “Get your shit together, Powder,” and Sevika, who only tolerated her because Vi forced her to.

Then there was you.

The first time Jinx saw you, she short-circuited. She was just trying to make it through another miserable day of Algebra when you walked into the classroom, and suddenly, math didn’t exist anymore. All she could think was:

“Oh no.”

You were effortlessly cool—new to school, good at everything Jinx wasn’t, and way out of her league. But you were nice. Too nice. The kind of nice that made Jinx go home and kick her feet while screaming into her pillow because why would you ever talk to her unless you were planning to ruin her life?

- The first time you talk to her, it’s because you sit next to her in Algebra.

You: “Hey, do you have a pencil?”

Jinx, panicking: “Wh—uh—I—yeah—no—I mean—” (frantically digs through her backpack, pulls out a crayon).

You: “…Thanks?”

Jinx: “Yeah! Totally! I only use crayons, actually. Pencils are a government conspiracy.”

You: “Oh? Tell me more.”

She thinks you’re messing with her. But you don’t laugh. You actually listen. And when she rants about whatever nonsense is currently living rent-free in her head, you just nod along like she’s making sense.

She falls in love immediately.

- Jinx is the type of loser who spends all her time online, plays obscure indie games, and has a concerning amount of conspiracy theories about random things (like why the school vending machine is always out of strawberry soda).

- She is hopelessly, painfully, pathetically in love with you. Like, full-blown kicking her feet and giggling into her pillow kind of crush. She doesn’t even try to be normal about it.

- If you so much as glance in her direction, her brain short-circuits. Immediate blue screen of death. Malfunctioning Jinx noises.

- She swears she’s being subtle, but the entire school knows she’s down horrendously bad for you. Like, it’s embarrassing. Vi has tried to stage an intervention. Sevika has bet money on how long it’ll take before she faints in front of you.

- If you actually talk to her? Oh, she’s done for. Stammering, tripping over her words, probably dropping whatever she’s holding. You could ask her the simplest question, and she’d be like:

You: “Hey, do you have a pencil?”

Jinx, sweating bullets: “Uh—uh—uh—uh—I—pen—yes—no—I mean—I do? Maybe? What’s a pencil?”

- She definitely stalks your social media. She has your entire posting schedule memorized, knows all your interests, and tries to bring them up in conversation to impress you—but it just makes her sound insane.

Jinx: “Soooo… I heard you like frogs.”

You: “What?”

Jinx: “Uh. Frogs. Y’know. Ribbit.”

- If you compliment her, even as a joke, she will take it to her grave. Like, you could say, “Hey, cool jacket,” and she’ll wear that same jacket every day for a month straight.

- One time you called her cute. She has not recovered.

- She tries to act cool around you, but she’s the type of loser who fumbles everything. Drops her phone. Walks into doors. Trips over air. It’s a miracle she hasn’t spontaneously combusted yet.

- If you so much as smile at her, she’s writing about it in her diary like it’s the most life-changing event to ever happen.

“FEBRUARY 8TH, 2025. 3:47 PM. Y/N SMILED AT ME. I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW.”

or

“February 8th, 2025. 3:47 PM. Y/N TOUCHED MY ARM. I CAN NEVER WASH IT AGAIN.”

- Jinx, in her head, planning out all the ways she could confess to you: Writing you a love letter? Making a mixtape? A grand, romantic gesture?

- Jinx, in reality: “I like your face.”

- If you start liking her back? Oh, she’s doomed. Malfunctioning. Exploding. Game over.

People still don’t understand how you two work, but at this point, it doesn’t even matter. You and Jinx are in your own little world, and honestly? It’s kind of perfect.

- You keep hanging out with her. At first, just in class, but then at lunch, after school, texting late at night. She stops feeling like a loser when she’s with you. She starts hoping.

- The first time you realize you like her back, it’s because of something dumb.

You’re at lunch, sitting with her, Vi, and Sevika. Jinx, being a disaster, spills her drink all over herself. Instead of being embarrassed, she just goes, “Guess I’m drinking it the hard way.”

And something about the way she owns her weirdness makes your heart do a stupid little flip.

- The first time you flirt with her, she malfunctions.

- The first time she realizes you like her back, it breaks her brain.

It happens after school. You’re both walking home together when you grab her hand, lacing your fingers through hers like it’s nothing.

She nearly trips over her own feet. You just laugh and squeeze her hand tighter.

Oh no, she thinks. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

She’s never going to recover from this.

(She doesn’t want to.)

Random Cute Couple Things:

- Jinx is the kind of girlfriend who will 100% steal your clothes.

Not just hoodies—everything. She once showed up wearing your jacket, your socks, and your backpack, and when you pointed it out, she just went, “Yeah, and?”

The worst part? She looks stupidly cute in your clothes, so you can’t even be mad.

(You started “accidentally” leaving extra hoodies at her place just so she’d always have one of yours to wear.)

- She gets insanely clingy when she’s sleepy.

Jinx isn’t really a cuddler during the day—she’s always bouncing off the walls, getting into trouble, dragging you into her weird ideas. But the second she gets tired?

Good luck getting up.

She’ll wrap herself around you like a human koala, mumbling something about how “you’re warm and smell good” and refusing to let go.

(You’ve accepted your fate. You live here now.)

- She makes the dumbest bets just to get kisses.

• “Bet you can’t solve this riddle. If you lose, I get a kiss.

• “If I make this paper ball into the trash can, you have to kiss me.”

• “Okay, rock-paper-scissors, best out of three—winner gets a kiss.”

You caught on pretty quickly and just started kissing her before she could suggest a bet. It completely breaks her brain every time.

(She still tries, though.)

- She doodles all over your stuff.

If you lend Jinx a pen, it’s over—your notebooks, your arms, even your homework will be covered in little scribbles.

Sometimes they’re just random sketches. Other times, you’ll find little hearts with your name inside them.

(She denies drawing them. But the blush on her face says otherwise.)

- She absolutely loves when you play with her hair.

She pretends she doesn’t care at first—shrugs it off, acts like it’s whatever. But the second you start running your fingers through her hair, she literally melts.

(If you braid it, she’ll leave it in all day, even if it looks ridiculous.)

- She’s always touching you.

• Holding your hand? Obviously.

• Leaning against you when you’re sitting together? Yup.

• Linking pinkies just because she can? Of course.

It’s like she needs to be physically connected to you at all times.

(If you ever pull away too soon, she’ll dramatically gasp and go, “What, you don’t love me anymore?!”)

- She makes up the dumbest excuses just to hang out with you.

“Babe, I need your help with something.”

“What is it?”

“I dunno, I just wanted to see you.”

And honestly? You wouldn’t have it any other way.

I love Jinx

I want sleep

[saebyeokbliss]

JUST MEET ME AT THE APT.— K. SAE-BYEOK

CHAPTER FIVE

synopsis: managing a rising rock band is already chaotic enough, but when you're stuck touring with four reckless musicians, things get even messier. between late-night facetime calls, teasing that feels a little too knowing, and a certain guitarist who might just be your biggest problem, keeping things professional is getting harder by the second. but hey, no one said the music industry was easy.

warnings: mutual pining, intense eye contact, teasing that borders on flirting (or maybe it is flirting), friends who refuse to mind their business, late-night facetime calls, secondhand embarrassment, slow burn that burns, emotional whiplash, cheol being a cutie

playlist: spotify

After the whirlwind that was Coachella, returning to Seoul felt almost surreal. The festival had been a massive success—HOT DIVISION’s performance was already blowing up online, clips of their set spreading across social media like wildfire. Fans, critics, and even other artists were praising them, calling it one of the best rock performances of the year.

But before diving back into the madness of the industry, the girls had one important stop to make.

Dinner at the Kang household.

Ms. Kang had insisted on it the moment she heard they were coming back. She had been supporting from afar, watching livestreams, keeping up with the news, and making sure Cheol—Sae-Byeok’s twelve-year-old brother—did his schoolwork while obsessively following his sister’s every move.

Now, gathered around the small but cozy dinner table, the energy was warm, filled with laughter and the kind of comfort that only home could bring.

"You guys killed it," Cheol said excitedly between bites of food. "Seriously, my friends won’t shut up about it. They keep asking me if I can get them tickets to your next show."

Ji-Yeong smirked. "Tell them we’ll consider it if they start a fan club in your honor."

Cheol lit up. "Wait, really?!"

"No," No-Eul deadpanned, making everyone laugh.

Ms. Kang smiled as she refilled everyone’s bowls. "I saw the performance online. You all looked amazing. I’m so proud of you."

Sae-Byeok, who had been mostly quiet, gave her mother a small, genuine smile. "Thanks, eomma."

Se-Mi leaned back, stretching. "It’s crazy how much attention we’re getting now. Feels like overnight, we went from ‘rising rock band’ to THE rock band."

Ji-Yeong grinned. "I mean, we are that good."

"Yeah, yeah," No-Eul muttered, rolling her eyes.

And then—

Ji-Yeong smirked knowingly. "Oh, speaking of new fans…"

You had just taken a sip of your drink when she said it, and something in her tone made you pause.

"You guys won’t believe this," Ji-Yeong continued, looking at Se-Mi and No-Eul. "Jisoo made a group chat for us."

You froze for just a second—just long enough for it to sting.

"A group chat?" you asked, forcing your voice to stay light. Casual.

"Yeah!" Se-Mi laughed. "She’s actually hilarious. She’s been sending us memes all day."

"And you didn’t add me?" you joked, smiling like it didn’t feel like a punch to the gut.

Ji-Yeong blinked. "Oh, shit. We didn’t, did we?"

Se-Mi shrugged. "Didn’t think you’d care. It’s just dumb stuff."

You waved it off, keeping your expression perfectly neutral. "Nah, it’s fine. I barely keep up with my messages anyway."

Sae-Byeok didn’t say anything.

Didn’t look at you.

Didn’t correct them.

And that hurt more than you wanted to admit.

After dinner, you insisted on helping Ms. Kang clean up. The others were still chatting in the living room, but you needed a moment—just a moment—to push down the sinking feeling in your chest.

As you rinsed dishes in the sink, you felt a presence next to you.

Cheol.

The little troublemaker had grabbed a towel and was drying plates with surprising focus for a twelve-year-old.

"You don’t have to help, you know," you said, giving him a small smile.

He shrugged. "Figured you could use the company."

You raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And why’s that?"

He hesitated, then asked, "Are you okay?"

You stiffened.

He was twelve. How the hell was he this perceptive?

"Of course I am," you said easily, forcing a chuckle. "Why wouldn’t I be?"

Cheol gave you a very unimpressed look. "Because you got all weird when they started talking about Jisoo."

You almost dropped the plate.

"Cheol—"

"I mean, I get it," he continued, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. "She’s kinda stealing Sae-Byeok-noona’s attention, right?"

You swallowed hard. "Cheol—"

"And you like her."

Your heart stopped.

You turned to him, actually speechless, but Cheol just shrugged like it was obvious.

"I mean, it’s pretty clear," he said matter-of-factly. "I don’t know why no one else sees it."

You opened your mouth—then closed it.

What were you supposed to say?

Cheol sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "Adults are so bad at talking about their feelings."

You let out a weak laugh, ruffling his hair to distract from the fact that your entire soul was currently malfunctioning.

"You’re too smart for your own good, you know that?" you muttered.

He grinned. "I know."

And as much as you wanted to deny it—to brush it off, to pretend none of this was getting to you—Cheol’s words lingered.

Dinner had settled into that comfortable post-meal haze—everyone lounging in the living room, sprawled across couches and chairs, half-full cups of tea resting on the table.

You had tried to stay engaged, really.

But it was hard when all the girls were glued to their phones, laughing at whatever Jisoo was sending in their group chat.

Ji-Yeong snorted. "No way she just said that."

Se-Mi cackled. "I swear, she’s funnier than you, Ji."

Ji-Yeong gasped, clutching her chest like she had been personally attacked. "How dare you."

No-Eul, who had been silently scrolling, smirked. "You walked into that one."

Even Sae-Byeok, who wasn’t the most expressive when it came to things like this, had a small amused smile on her face as she read whatever Jisoo had sent.

And you?

You were just… there.

You weren’t in the chat.

You weren’t part of the inside jokes.

You were just sitting on the edge of the couch, feeling like an outsider in a group you had been with since the beginning.

It wasn’t their fault.

But that didn’t make it hurt any less.

You exhaled quietly, deciding it was probably time to head out.

"Alright," you said, standing up and stretching. "I should get going—"

"You wanna draw with me?"

You paused, turning to see Cheol looking up at you from the floor, where he had been quietly doodling in a sketchbook.

He held up an extra pencil.

"You don’t have to," he added quickly, like he didn’t want to pressure you. "But, like… it’s more fun with two people."

Something in your chest softened.

Here was this twelve-year-old kid—who could’ve easily gone to play video games or ignored you like most kids his age would—but instead, he noticed.

He saw you feeling left out.

And he was giving you a way back in.

You smiled, genuinely this time, and sat down on the floor next to him. "Alright, but only if we color too. No boring sketches."

Cheol grinned. "Deal."

Cheol had a surprising collection of colored pencils and markers, and soon, the two of you were deep into a ridiculous art session.

You had started drawing a cat, but somehow, it had turned into a superhero cat with sunglasses and a cape.

Cheol was drawing a rock band made up of aliens.

Every few minutes, you’d nudge each other’s arms, messing up lines on purpose, and burst into laughter.

It was silly.

It was fun.

And for the first time that night, you didn’t feel like you were on the outside looking in.

Unbeknownst to you, two people had noticed.

From across the room, Sae-Byeok had glanced up from her phone, her gaze lingering on you and Cheol.

She watched the way you smiled—really smiled—for the first time that night.

The way Cheol leaned into you, like he had claimed you as his favorite person in the room.

The way you weren’t paying attention to any of them anymore.

Sae-Byeok’s grip on her phone tightened slightly.

She wasn’t the only one who noticed.

No-Eul, ever observant, caught the look on Sae-Byeok’s face.

She didn’t say anything.

Just met Sae-Byeok’s gaze for a second—just long enough to acknowledge it.

Then, like nothing had happened, she went back to scrolling through her phone.

And Sae-Byeok?

She looked back at you again.

And this time, she really saw you.

And maybe—just maybe—she realized that she didn’t like seeing you find comfort somewhere else.

taglist: @everly-summers-solace @knfthxv @madebysae @knfthxv @katieschry1 @imlackingsleep @lyzem @stellssxo @wiltingconquest @peelover25@monroesturnns @laurenkens @yenyu1s @idontliketoread2137 @bitchybananaflower @lyuuw

[sleepymccoy]

if you wanted to convince someone who had never seen any star trek that they should watch it, which episode (from any of the shows) would you show them and why?

Okay so I'm going to beg forgiveness and give you two episodes just cos I did this with my dad and I still think it's so so interesting

First is an episode of strange new worlds. The one where captain Pike gets told he's gonna become disabled and he tries to avoid it so they play out the plot of the balance of terror with Pike in charge and because he's a bit more reluctant to go to arms against the romulans and he obeys the word of the law, causing war to break out

Then we watch the balance of terror from tos to compare

And I think anyone who likes sci-fi or film history will enjoy that, and that gets you past the why are we watching this to oh this is interesting and then they can decide themself if they liked the show enough to watch it. But you can frame it as almost educational about film in general, not just watching star trek for the sake of it

Because the snw version is so modern. It doesn't really feel it when you watch it, they try to be a bit 60s about things and exist just as sci-fi but like. The lens flares. The increase in injuries. The drama! Oh my god the interpersonal drama. And it's always noisy, if no one's talking then the music is swelling. The scenes cut fast and change constantly. It's kind of exhausting

Then you watch tos and yeah it's the same sort of plot but it's done totally differently. Jim doesn't voice every thought he has, but you can see him thinking. Injuries are minor except the death, and even then it's not gory at all. There's long long periods of silence with only radar bleeps. I saw someone online describe it as submarine warfare and it is. You feel the mystery of the unknown and the tense parallel with chess. It's amazing

I think the TOS episode is miles better. My dad grew up with star trek so he's not the example you gave, but he hadn't watched any in decades. I made him watch these two back to back with me, snw first then tos, and we talked about film and tv editing and how submarines work and the sort of statement each episode was making and which we thought was stronger for thirty minutes after. And I think that is a very good outcome for a star trek watch

Trek is just so much more esoteric and political than people expect. So if you can get someone in a frame of mind to engage on that level they may appreciate it. And if you can do it in a way that's here compare these two pieces of film in a vacuum (like, the show explains everything. There's no series plot in tos and snw drops most of its season arc for that ep) then it levels the playing ground. It's not you as the holder of star trek lore lecturing them on what political view is being stated, it's just two mates talking about the two episodes they just watched. And I think starting with the newer one is better cos it matches what people expect more, tos is quite a tone switch if you've only seen the latest Netty dramas for the last few years. But it softens you up to being able to engage in tos with an open mind

Unless you're both drunk, in which case watch The Arena

[shy-canadian-snowflake]

Not Hungry- Mentally Unwell Wade

Something was wrong. Logan knew it in his gut, knew it in his metal bones. Something was up and Wade wasn’t saying a goddamn thing. He watched the man as he raced around on his Mario Kart game, swearing and shouting along to whatever the hell was going on. Something was wrong though. Something in the look of the other’s face.

“You’ve been taking your meds, right?” Logan asked, throwing his arm around the back of the couch to seem a lot more relaxed than what he felt. Wade shot him a look from the corner of his eye before going back to the game. 

“Yep, Five pills in the morning, one at night. Got my alarms set so I never forget- Fuck! God damn blue shell-” He let out a line of swears. 

“No new symptoms?” He asked casually again, this time looking at the TV. He saw Wade give a half shrug and turned to face him again. “What’s going on, Bub?”

“Same old shit, people coming to kill us in the middle of the night. It’s fine, I’m dealing.” There was something to the other's face that made Logan think that wasn’t everything. There was something else going on. He reached over and patted Wade on the knee before giving it a little squeeze. 

“You’d keep me updated if there were new symptoms.” It wasn’t really a question. It was a silent agreement between them, Wade would tell Logan, Logan would keep track. It’s been that way since Logan first found out Wade was prone to hallucinations and delusions. When Wade didn’t reply Logan frowned. 

“Talk to me, what’s going on?” Wade continued to play his game and only gave a half shoulder shrug again. 

“I’m dealing with it. When it becomes too much I’ll let you know, don’t worry your pretty little head there Babygirl.” Logan didn’t like that answer. He wanted to know now what the other was dealing with, but knew if he pushed Wade would clam up more. So he only grunted and patted Wade on the knee again before turning to the TV.

“What do you want for dinner?” Logan asked after a while, it was getting late and it was something they should think about. With Al on a date to steal some rich oldman’s money, they were on their own tonight for food. 

“Not hungry.” Wade said, still focusing on his game, tiling his body with every curve of the road. Logan raised a brow at that. The man was a black fucking hole, always gobbling up shit that wasn’t his to eat. He watched the other for a moment longer. 

“I’ll order a pizza, you can always eat it cold.” Wade made an agreeing sound still focused on his game. “You are going to eat right?”

“Like I said Babygirl, not hungry. Maybe later.” It was the short answers that were bothering Logan. Normally he had to wait through verbal diarrhea before he got the answer he was looking for. These quick quips were even more concerning. 

“Can you pause your game?” Wade shook his head. 

“Playing online.” 

“Can you stop playing for a second?” Wade gave a big sigh before closing down his game. He turned to Logan, waiting. Logan waited back. 

“Did you make me quit my game so that we could stare at each other? I mean I don’t mind looking at ya, you are easy on the eyes baby, but did I have to stop my game for this?” Logan waited and Wade tilted his head back on the couch to look up at the ceiling. “Nothing is wrong, yes I’m seeing and hearing things that aren’t there but it’s livable. I’m not about to do something stupid.”

“So you’ll eat dinner with me?” Wade side eyed the other before shaking his head.

“Like I said. Not hungry.” 

And Wade stayed ‘Not hungry’ all that night, all the next day, into the following morning. Logan watched and the fucker didn’t eat a goddamn thing. Something they both did a lot because of their healing factor, so he knew the other was starving, but still Wade refused to eat. 

“Is your brain telling you you aren’t allowed to eat?” Logan asked that morning over coffee. Wade just sipped his and shook his head. 

“I’m fine, Peanut.”

“Are your meds making you not hungry?” Again Wade shook his head. 

“I mean sometimes they make me forget that food is a thing I gotta do, but no, I’m just not wanting to eat.” Logan zeroed in on that.

“Why don’t you want to eat?” And again they went around in a circle of Wade’s answers always being ‘I’m not hungry’. By the fourth time they did their little song and dance around the topic, Logan thought he was going to lose it. 

“Eat something. I don’t give a fuck if it’s a pudding cup, or a granola bar. Eat fucking something.”

“I’m not-”

“You say that one more fucking time and I’m shoving something down your god damn throat.” Wade snapped his jaw shut. Logan sighed and ran a hand down his face before looking into his own coffee for a moment. 

“Is there something I can buy that you’ll eat?” Wade shook his head no. “Can I make something you’ll eat?” Again, another shake of his head. “Bub, if you don’t eat something soon, I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“And what are they going to do? Look at me disapprovingly until I eat something too?” Wade fiddled with the Hello Kitty cup in his hands. Logan gave him a lost look. 

“They might give you an IV so you have something in your system.” Wade seemed to debate that for a second. Logan could feel his throat close up. Was Wade really thinking an IV would be better then eating a goddam sandwich or a fucking pudding cup? He reached over and put his hand on Wade’s. Wade took his hand and started playing with Logan’s fingers, distracting himself. 

“I’m fine baby.” Wade whispered, still playing with Logan’s fingers. 

“I’ll give you a fucking blowjob if you eat something.” Wade gave him a half smile before shaking his head. Logan ran a hand through his hair and shook his head back at Wade. “I’m really fucking worried Jackass. Explain to me why you won’t eat, and for the love of god don’t tell me it’s because you are not hungry. I heard your stomach growl last night.” 

“I’m just… I can’t… There’s little worms in my food.” Wade finally said, letting go of Logan’s hand to bury his own face in his hands. “I know there's not, but there is. I keep seeing them.” 

“Okay.” Logan got up from his chair, stood beside Wade and pulled Wade into him, holding him close. “Okay, I need to know shit like this Wade. We can work something out.” 

“Or just wait it out.” Wade’s muffled voice came from where it was pressed into Logan. 

“We can’t wait this one out, Bub. You need to eat.” As if on queue, Wade’s stomach made a sound. 

“I can’t, the worms.” He sighs. “Don’t make me eat the worms, Logan. I don’t want them wiggling around in me.”

“I know Darlin, I know. I won’t make you, we’ll find a way to work around this, it’s going to be okay, Bub.” He didn’t know if he was saying that more to Wade or to himself.

Ha ha ha. Yep, throwing my issues onto Wade. Started for me two days ago. I'm not this bad yet, but I'll stop eating once I see the worms. I know logistics there are no worms in my food, but I can see them wiggling, and know they are there. I'll stop eating if I see them. I'm eating enough that I'll be fine, and my care team will learn about this on Friday so it's fine!

[ryansemporium]

Hey I'd like to add my perspective growing up queer (cis, gay male) during the 2000s in Western Europe.

There was a lot of shame. Especially as a small town boy, there was the very real feeling my family would never accept me. I went through an entire "I'm bi I'm bi I'm bi I can't be gay that would be the worst thing ever, I'm bi" phase.

My country had legal gay marriage (not even just 'civil partnership', actual marriage) by the 2000s. Despite that, mainstream opinion was still that we were a bunch of freaks and fruits. The big tv channels had "lifestyle" segments on gay people that were exoticising, demeaning, and very much "look at how these freaks live".

In true European fashion, anyone who complained was told "well AT LEAST you don't have it as bad as AMERICANS" (see also: racism)

'Don't ask, don't tell' was a thing not just in the US military but in high school as well. Palpable sense of "don't tell me you're gay so I can continue to be civil to you"

When I was out during the last year of high school, a gym teacher asked me "Hm, shouldn't you get changed in the girls' locker room instead?" (On a positive note, several of my straight male classmates immediately shut him down by calmly going "Excuse me? What? What did you say? You can't say that.")

Parties were pretty great. This might be nostalgia talking. There was (is) a semi-government-funded organisation focused on helping queer youth, and they threw parties about once a month. They had an online forum (discontinued only a couple of years ago! I hate the current internet and the Discordification of social online spaces) where I made a lot of friends, some of whom I'm still friends with to this day. Anyway, the parties were fun. I'd take the bus there and dance through the night and make out with people, thinking "are you a boy or a girl? does it matter?"

The internet was WILD. Only freaks were on there. 'Groups' and chatrooms were a big thing. I was in an MSN or Yahoo! group for Final Fantasy VIII yaoi. I made friends there too. We used ICQ messenger and Yahoo! messenger, before MSN messenger was even a thing. I sent and received nudes. Much later I wondered about some of the people I sent nudes too, and how maybe they were not 16 like me but a whole lot older. (And also: I lived. It barely affected me.)

I realised I was gay when I was in some sort of summer camp. Another kid was panicking because he thought he might be gay (he was, and in retrospect it was very obvious.) He'd got the idea from a GOVERNMENT FLYER on "you may be gay (and it's okay)", containing a bulleted list on "Things that indicate you might be gay." ("Masturbating while mainly thinking about people of the same gender as you" was the big one for me)

There were government posters up in libraries about "1 in 10 people are gay, it might be you, and that's okay!" It was... weird but well-meaning, I guess?

9/11 and the Bush Administration and the Afghanistan and Iraq war were... something. Yeah. I think a lot of us forgot that the War on Terror was a semi-religious war against islam. I know I forgot how big a role Bush's born-again christian thing played in it all until I saw some clips of his "God bless America" and "If you aren't with us you're against us" and it all came rushing back.

Chick-Fil-A being homophobic was a thing back then too. Back then straight people didn't care either. It's kinda funny how that came back up again recently.

Cultural imperialism is a thing. As a kid in Europe you get inundated in American tv shows and movies, whether you want to or not, and there's no telling what will stick. My mom and sister were really into Seventh Heaven, a shitty religious / evangelical Aaron Spelling show. I was really into South Park. I feel this has only gotten worse now that the entire Internet has narrowed down to five American-owned mega-sites.

At the same time, there was a sense of pride that most European countries didn't blindly go along with what Bush and Cheney and Powell were trying to sell about "Saddam's weapons of mass destruction". The whole "freedom fries" debacle was the first time me and many of my peers realised America is a deeply unserious nation.

The internet was a lot better, though.

…I’m asking this as a younger queer person who was busy with other things during the 2000s (namely being a toddler/very young child)…what was being queer teen in the early 2000s like? Also, before I go interrogate the first willing 40 year old I find at the LGBT Center…do you know of any books or articles about this time period?

it was a lot of being forced through abstinence only sex education, getting hate crimed, being super eating disordered and that being completely normalized and even considered healthy, having classmates die of a mix of eating disorders & drug use, rampant teen pregnancy, both teachers and students getting into fistfights, being sexually harassed literally all the time, the one trans kid having to take school online so he wouldnt kill himself, 25 year olds hanging out around the school giving girls cigarettes and sexually assaulting them, working a part time job at the mall for 5.50 an hour then driving home to find your mom watching bill oreilly ranting about how people like you are evil and disgusting and next thing jeff dunhams on the tv doing jokes about dead muslims. cant tell you just how ambient and everywhere both violent homophobia and rape culture were like it was omnipresent. lotta slurs too. lots of teens getting black out drunk all the time and puking and getting into situations. what resistance to the wars i got to see in my small ish city was a few rallies of a few dozen people and some protest signs tied to highway overpasses, but otherwise american flags and jingoistic propaganda were everywhereeeee, on every minivan window and classroom etc. nobody spoke up for gay people that wasnt gay and everybody hated women and were so so anti black

the internet was a lot better though.

[bluhourz]

when he chooses a pet name

-

It started as a perfectly ordinary evening. You were sprawled on the couch, your laptop balanced precariously on your lap as you half-heartedly scrolled through an online store. A sitcom played in the background, the laughter track filling the room. Hueningkai was sitting at the dining table nearby, fiddling with something you couldn’t see—most likely one of his new hobbies, knowing him.

“Hey,” he called out, his voice lilting with mischief. “What’s your opinion on… ‘snuggle muffin’?”

You blinked, confused, and turned your head toward him. “What?”

“‘Snuggle muffin.’ As a pet name,” he clarified, looking at you with his trademark cheeky grin. His eyes sparkled with amusement, and you could tell he was up to something.

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “It’s terrible. Who even says that?”

“Okay, but hear me out,” he said, abandoning whatever he’d been working on and coming to sit next to you. “It’s so over-the-top and gushy that it’s perfect.”

“For what? Annoying me?”

“No,” he said, leaning in closer, his grin widening. “For you.”

Your jaw dropped, and you smacked his arm playfully. “Absolutely not. You are not calling me ‘snuggle muffin.’”

“Why not?” he asked, feigning innocence. “It’s cute.”

“It’s so cringey!”

He laughed, his head tilting back, and the sound was so contagious that you couldn’t help but laugh too. “Okay, okay,” he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “I’ll think of something else.”

The next few days, Hueningkai seemed to be on a mission. Every time you saw him, he had a new pet name to try out, each one more ridiculous than the last.

“Hey, my little sugar plum,” he greeted you one morning, his voice overly sweet.

“Good morning, my angel-faced cupcake,” he said another day, dropping the line with a straight face before bursting into laughter when you glared at him.

By the third day, you were starting to think he might never stop. “Kai,” you groaned as he called you “honey bunny” in front of the barista at your favorite coffee shop.

“What?” he said, looking genuinely confused. “It’s adorable.”

You rolled your eyes but secretly loved the way he was grinning at you, like teasing you was his favorite pastime.

One evening, you were lying on the couch together, his head resting on your lap while you absentmindedly ran your fingers through his hair. The TV was playing some show you weren’t paying attention to, and the room was bathed in the soft glow of fairy lights.

Out of nowhere, he looked up at you with a soft, sleepy smile. “You know,” he said, his voice quieter now, “you’re my favorite person in the whole world.”

Your heart melted at the sincerity in his tone. “You’re my favorite too,” you replied, leaning down to press a quick kiss to his forehead.

He reached up to gently tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. “How about ‘lovebug’? That one’s not too bad, right?”

You chuckled, shaking your head. “You’re never going to let this go, are you?”

“Never,” he said, grinning. “But only because I love seeing you get all flustered.”

You rolled your eyes, but the warmth in his gaze made your cheeks heat up anyway. “Fine,” you said, giving in. “Lovebug isn’t the worst.”

“Really?” he asked, his grin widening. “Then it’s official. You’re my lovebug.”

“Don’t push your luck,” you warned, but your smile betrayed you.

He laughed, his joy filling the room, and you couldn’t help but laugh with him.

A few days later, you found yourself absentmindedly calling out, “Hey, Kai? Can you pass me that, please?”

“What’s the magic word?” he teased, holding the remote just out of your reach.

You huffed, narrowing your eyes at him. “Please, lovebug?”

His eyes widened in surprise, and then a goofy smile spread across his face. “That was so gushy,” he said, clearly delighted. “But it was also so cute.”

You groaned, grabbing a pillow and lightly hitting him with it. “Don’t make me regret it!”

He laughed, catching the pillow mid-swing and pulling you into his arms. “You could never regret it,” he said, pressing a kiss to your temple. “Because I’ll keep calling you lovebug forever now.”

And as you melted into his embrace, you realized you didn’t mind one bit.

[ayrennaranaaldmeri]

what kind of sick fucked up joke is it for coral island to let you only get ONE pet from the shelter

[xxplastic-cubexx]

BIRTHDAY HAUL courtesy of a very lovely friend of mine 🥺

bonus goofy pics of a bday snack i had earlier with my favorite menace …..

[d8tl55c]

me: waiting for shoe(s) to drop

Personified Alan Becker YouTube Icon: oh... buddy...

[rigelmejo]

Something that always annoys me is the idea only 1 language learning method works. Which is not true. While it may be possible that, for a particular individual, only a few out of many study methods may work well enough for That Individual to make progress and stay motivated... that doesn't mean all the other study methods won't work for anyone else out there, or that those few methods will work for every other given person.

Obviously if you've been studying a while, then you already figured out what kinds of things work for you and don't. If you're a beginner, just wading into studying?

I would suggest you simply look for study methods that: 1. Teach you new things regularly, 2. Review and practice things you've learned, 3. Include studying things you need for your particular goals (for example if your goal is to read X book then the study materials at some point should involve reading practice and some words the book contains, if your goal is to talk about Y then the study materials should include some information about pronunciation and words you'll need to be able to say).

As you can imagine, a TON of study materials will meet these requirements. And you can study a given skill in a LOT of ways.

(Reading is my focus lol so just for reading, a beginner might: do vocabulary study with lists or conversations with native speakers or watching shows and looking words up or listening to dialogues with a transcript like in a textbook or graded readers or a picture book with word labels in the target language or a video game with labelled objects in target language, all of those things as long as your vocabulary is improving or reading practice is happening would help you make progress). So to improve reading skill as a beginner: you could study with a textbook, a podcast with transcript, a classroom or tutor with words written down in target language (like TPRS), a video game, a TV show and a translate app on your phone, a friend you talk with (who either writes words down or you look up words you hear with a translate app), a friend you text with, srs flashcards like anki (provided there's text) etc. As long as there's new words, and/or you're practicing reading, the study method may work. If it works will come down to if you can stay motivated doing it regularly, and make sure you regularly learn some new things and review/practice things you've already studied.

So consider those things when you see people selling a study method as a product (especially when it's costing you money). Consider if it teaches you NEW things, and are those new things related to your goals, and how MUCH new stuff will it teach you before you finish it? Consider if it provides review or practice, or if you can use it's materials to review on your own making up your own method, or if you'll need to do separate review/practice.

So examples:

LingQ. Can it teach you many new words? Yes, thousands, since you can import any texts you want when you get done with their provided material (I have no idea how much their beginner material covers though in terms of words... I would hope 1000-3000 words but that can be researched). Is your goal reading? It's suited to reading, so you will practice and review often with it. Cost? I think it was $12 a month when I last had it, and the price may have increased. Is it worth it? Depends on a learner's needs. I found it was wasting my money, so I chose to use free tools like Pleco and Readibu apps - since those apps are suited for Chinese learners and have better translations, Pleco has better paid graded reader material if I was going to spend money, and both Pleco and Readibu let me import texts so I can learn thousands of new words just like LingQ but free. Now that I'm not a beginner, I often use Microsoft Edge to read chinese... since I can still click-translate words easily (all my web browsers have that tool free), and Edge's TTS voice is helpful for pronunciation and sounds quite good. I read webnovels online so Edge works well. But it's translations aren't as good as Pleco or Readibu, so if I still needed translations more I would use them. So... is LingQ a good study method? Its certainly a study method marketed to buy. Well... the method is suited to improving reading skill, at least. It costs money, which is a negative, but it does offer a lot. However: everything it does regarding reading can be done free with other apps or sites or web browsers on their own. So if paying money motivates you to read... sure. LingQ does have a few word tracking features a learner may find worth the money, keeping in mind the actual read-to-learn method can be done free without lingq. (Also... while LingQ is a valid option for improving reading, if the learners goal is speaking then it would be important to think of what study activities the learner will do OUTSIDE of LingQ to improve speaking... because I've seen how LingQ is marketed as "how to learn a language" but it's only focused on some skills. It has vocabulary and grammar in some sense, since you'll read a lot and encounter new words and structures. But it doesnt have speaking or writing practice at least last time I was on it. Those activities would need to be worked on, on your own).

You can do that kind of cost/benefit contemplating with any study method material you see being sold. Amother example: there's a beginner Mandarin course called Mandarin Blueprint. It teaches like 800 words. Thats all. It may be worthwhile for a beginner... who still needs to learn 800 common words. But if you already know a few hundred words, the benefit of the course is less, you'll need to find a new material to teach you more new stuff soon. And the price was like a few hundred for the course... which for me personally was too much to spend, when I had already learned 800 hanzi from a book that cost me 12 dollars and 2000 words from a free user made memrise deck. The course claimed to get a person speaking, competent, but anyone not a beginner would say speaking basically with 800 words is nowhere near the level of working in Chinese or just doing a lot of daily life stuff, or reading/listening to media. (Although for the motivated beginner if you're learning 800 words on your own like I was, its definitely close to the point of jumping to learn more words and start reading kids and teenager books, and watching easier shows if you're willing to look new words up). So to me... Mandarin Blueprint felt like overselling some basic beginner materials. (Again when I know several other things that teach beginner stuff either more in depth so HSK test prep classes, and college courses, or that teach beginner stuff to the same depth as Mandarin Blueprint but free).

Some study materials aren't going to act like they teach everything. I've seen chinese courses just for learning to speak tones better and general pronunciation - probably worthwhile if your goal is to improve speaking and a teacher could help improve the issues your having. But a learner needs to be aware for that course that they'll need to study vocabulary on their own, its JUST a pronunciation improvement course.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

Just want to say: a, I admire very much that you've figured out a healthy way to work on your fics that allows you to have fun with it. And also b, am very excited to hear that you are getting there with pez! It has fully given me brain rot ever since I read it last year, there is just such a lack of content for the highly specific trope of using time travel as a device to explore extremely unhealthy levels of self loathing.

I just adore everything you're doing in it. Neither midoriya is anywhere approaching okay for any portion of the fic and I love rereading and mining into all the subtle characterization pointing to that. It's a bit like nhtycth in that some really goofy funny stuff is often hiding some really fucking worrying things, but the fact that characters DO do that stuff—that todoroki uses his teaspoon's worth of extremely stunted social skills to bludgeon his friend's door open and help him, that a rpf shipping war is an actual source of drama despite how goofy the sentiment seems on the surface, that about half of what jon says is deeply worrying and the other half is extremely funny and there's a lot of overlap between the two—really lifts the tension and brightens the universe. It's sort of similar to what you did with gerry, in that endless misery isn't nearly as painful as the ups and downs of a life that, when you step back and zoom out, has something deeply and horribly wrong with it.

(jon sort of reminds me of spider-man in that he uses human to deal with trauma and stress, except I don't think he at any point realizes how fucking funny he is. He's just there, in a home depot, gnashing his teeth because he's got so many bodies to dispose of and this cashier sure is taking her time.)

I really, really, really have had trouble finding fics that take everything midoriya has dealt with to task. It's a hell of a thing to live 14 years as a disabled minority, have it heavily shape your existence, and then one day you wake up and you realize you're...not that, or at least, nobody will ever acknowledge you as that again. You've lost all claim to it. Those experiences that shaped who you are? Dust in the wind. 14 years of pain and life might as well be buried in the ground for all the good they do you. Nobody's going to cut you any slack or quarter, you've gotta simply work harder, be better. And now when you do that you get the results you wanted, so that's fine, then. That's good. There was something wrong with the you before, and there's something right with the you now, and if the transition is a little rough, well that doesn't matter, you're the same as everyone else now, so it's your own job to fill in whatever gaps you need to.

I really can't get over how mentally fucked it must be for midoriya to run into quirkless people, run across quirkless issues, and be silently caught between, incapable of speaking his mind and too scared to do so anyway around those he can trust.

Also I should mention, I'm just very excited for bakugou to get back from the gym. He's been there like a year I hope he's getting a good workout in.

Me realizing that it’s been a year since pez dispenser debris:

I feel like there’s just this very specific type of grief that Izuku has to grapple with in the span of pez dispenser debris that I’m just obsessed with. He’s sort of silently mourning who he could have been, when 1) he has to present like there’s nothing lost to maintain his secret and 2) the entire world is constantly inundating him with the message that there was nothing lost.

Like. I don’t want to get too deep into it because it risks spoiling things and I do have major plans to continue it (I’ve loved this story for so many years before I ever even hit publish), but the emotion that Izuku’s feeling right now is so much more complex than “I hate who I used to be and want him to stop existing” or “I just want to keep my secrets.” And I think the way he interacts with Mirio is the biggest evidence of that.

Izuku’s placed himself at the very center of the Quirklessness debate with his support of Mirio. He fights for Quirkless heroes, very publicly, to the point where he’s not even graduated yet but considered to be one of the most prominent voices on the matter. If you took a poll of Quirkless people as to which hero would be most supportive of them pursing their own career in heroics, Izuku would be right at the top of the list. When it comes to Quirklessness itself, he’s nothing but supportive.

But he didn’t tell Mirio the truth of his own Quirklessness.

Out of everyone, Mirio’s the one everyone expects to know, despite him being a relatively newer relationship compared to someone like Iida or Uraraka or Todoroki. And I tried to imply that he’s sort of the one who knows the most about Izuku out of everyone save All Might.

Like, we’ll get into how much exactly Mirio knows soon, so I won’t divulge what, if anything, Izuku has told him. But we know that Mirio knows, weirdly enough, that Izuku is deeply fucking haunted. He knows that boy has many violent ghosts in his bones. He finds it hilarious and will tell their realtor about it. Izuku told him about the discontent spirits who died in a violent passion and live on inside of him before he told him about his Quirklessness.

And I just feel like one of those things is a little bit easier to discuss than the other.

Izuku has decided to keep his own Quirklessness quiet in a way that surpasses secrecy about One for All. If it was just about OfA, he could tell people he didn’t get his quirk until the entrance exam, and it wouldn’t even be a lie. He’s purposefully obscuring his own past as Quirkless even as he takes a forefront of the Quirkless hero debate with his open support of Mirio.

And the fact that he’s at the forefront of this debate in and of itself requires a difficult dichotomy. He is the world’s most vocal proponent for the first Quirkless hero. He is a known figure in the Quirkless community now.

He isn’t considered one of them anymore. He’s an outsider coming in.

It must be such a strange, odd sort of grief to come to the people you were home amongst for most of your life and be greeted as a stranger. To return home, and to be welcomed in for the first time, and to not even be able to tell people that you’ve lived here all your life and don’t need a tour.

It’s a sort of death of self, I think. And I think Izuku never expected to have to grapple with his own ghost.

[worstloki]

negative connotations to Arabic phrase ‘God is Great’ incorrect. average praying Muslim does takbir (says Allahu Akbar) a minimum 95 times a day and should have been counted.

[philsmeatylegss]

Ask the librarian subreddit about getting my degree online and the responses were not encouraging to put it simply😭 other reddit posts asking have better comments? It’s different everywhere I look girl I just want to be a librarian why is life so hard😭

[loveguts]

i’m not a transandrophobia truther in the slightest don’t get me wrong, but i think some people on here really need to realize and comprehend the fact that cis women, way WAY more often than not, hold extremely significant social and political power over trans men the vast majority of the time in our day to day lives

[jichanxo]

how it started:

how it's going:

[sparklejumpropekitty]

Credit to: xxjdesu on X

(Eng Trans) JAMESSU AT PONDONAIR EP4

#PondonairXJamesSu

- James: Facing the Storm and Finding Strength -

MC: Have you ever encountered a very serious drama? Can you tell me about it?

James: Which one should I tell you about?

MC: The one that you feel was the most difficult, the most overwhelming, the most extreme.

James: The one about my decision to become a solo artist, that was a very difficult matter, so difficult that I was completely lost.

James: Because everything was discussed beforehand, but because I am a public figure, I cannot say everything. I cannot sit here and talk about all the inside stories, all the behind-the-scenes. I have to save the feelings of the people who work with me, my feelings, and the feelings of my team.

James: So it resulted in that conclusion. Which I want to say that there were both people who understood me and people who didn't understand me, people who were disappointed in me, and people who were ready to give me encouragement. There were both.

James: At that time, it could be said that I was attacked until I almost lost my mind.

MC: You mean you were criticized?

James: Criticized, cursed, things like that. Everywhere I opened [social media], I would find [those comments]. The feeling was like, "Why did you choose this? Why did you leave from there? Why did you abandon the other person?" or whatever.

James: Which I want to say that there were discussions beforehand, a very long time ago. There were many things that many people could not know, and I could not tell, because it was related to the company. It's not just what everyone sees.

James: What I encountered made me feel that I didn't want to see anything anymore. Looking at the balcony of the room and thinking, "Will it end? Will everything end? Are my parents' debts all cleared? My sister is almost finished studying. Should I leave this lump sum of money for them?" Things like this. I was thinking like this, what should I leave behind so that it wouldn't be difficult for them.

James: I was thinking like that when I woke up. It was the incident on the day that it was announced and the next day I thought about it.

James: My name was trending. The news was on every channel, on X, on TikTok, which I tried to avoid it, but could not avoid it. I saw everything and I thought, how will I continue living?

James: And there were many impacts that I encountered, whether it was about work, whether it was about my own blemishes that I had. It was very uncomfortable and I could not say it. There were only people in [the know] who knew. Outsiders didn't know because I chose to explain it like that. But after the matter passed, everything got better.

James: To be honest, I almost don't believe how I got through that. When it was the most difficult, I didn't call anyone at all. There were only Yok and Boat that I called. (His sister and sister's bf)

James: And during that time, it was also the time that my leg was injured. I fell on the stairs and had to get 16 stitches. Everything happened at the age of 25, in February. On my birthday, after that, I fell on the stairs. And there was already a plan that [the news] had to be announced on which day.

James: As soon as I fell down the stairs for two days, I had to announce the news and then encountered the drama. My phone's notifications didn't stop at all until I had to turn it off. I supported myself with a cane, stood on the balcony, looked at the sky and thought about things. At that time, I was completely lost.

James: I felt that at that time I was very lucky to have Yok and Boat who were near me, have my mom and dad come to see me, stay with me almost every day during that time, buy food for me, play games in the room together, take me to get my wound dressed.

MC: How long did it take to get through it?

James: I don't know how long it took, but during the first period, it was extremely torturous to get through each day. I wanted to sleep and warp through this period. There were people who gave me encouragement, but what I saw was much more with people who criticized me, plus the discomfort that I could not say some things. It made me suppress myself.

James: But now I feel that everything is good. The fact that we separated our paths, it's not that we are separated from each other. We can still be good friends to each other. Everyone can be friends with each other, including until today, we are still friends.