#i made a cameo in this one. guess who i am.

[mappingthesky]

nymph being a physical touch girlie is so real which leads me to a prompt idea¿

a 5+1 kinda thing with the 5 times nymphia was a cuddly pda gf and the +1 that jane initated the pda

baby i jus wanna dance (with u)

here’s my super late response to this cutie prompt in honor of the cute lil touchy moment from pj’s story today ::) i’ve had this one written for a lil bit but kept it in the drafts for a while, but it feels alright to share it with u today <3 thank u to my beloved headgleeksana for being such a muse & the best beta reader of all time <3

Jane comes back to it often - the first time she knew she was in trouble.

She’d only known Nymphia for a few minutes before she’d been dragged to the center of the dance floor. She’d like to have said she was playing hard to get, or that she was just naturally mysterious and completely unmovable, but none of that was true. Jane was just awkward, and not much of a dancer, and Nymphia was making her nervous. The bass thumped in Jane’s chest, but it could’ve been her heart. The mirrorball sent silver squares of light shining in her eyes, but it could’ve been that Nymphia was really just that bright. She was glowing, even in the dim purple light of the nightclub. She was endlessly captivating, all hips and dark hair and glittering eyes looking up expectantly at Jane.

“I didn’t take you to be so nervous,” she laughed, looking every bit like Jane’s dream girl except paralyzingly, overwhelmingly real.

Jane hesitated, open-mouthed and dazzled. “I don’t really dance.”

Nymphia just shook her head, rolled her eyes, one corner of her mouth twisting up into a smirk. “Just follow me,” she insisted.

And then Nymphia did it - reached out and touched Jane for the first time. She took Jane’s hands and guided them to her waist, laying them against the curve of her hips like she knew they’d fit. Nymphia’s hands lingered for a moment over Jane’s, holding her there as she started to move, giving Jane permission to follow the ebb and flow of her body, watching her eyes as they caught on the swing of her hips, how her breath hitched in her throat. Then Nymphia smiled, because she knew she had her. When Nymphia went to drape her arms around Jane’s shoulder’s, Jane didn’t dare let her go. Nymphia was a figment of her wildest dreams, not the sort of thing you can take your hands off of. Her body shimmered beneath the lights, curving with every change in tempo, eyes low and dangerous. Jane didn’t have to be a dancer. She just had to be good at being awe-struck by Nymphia.

“Not so hard, was it?” Nymphia yelled over the music a while later, a bit breathless and grinning.

No, Jane thought. Not at all. 

-

It was some weeks later and they’d agreed to stop meeting like this - unplanned and every weekend and in line for drinks at the bar. Instead they’d try the real world on, see if their dancefloor encounters could translate into coffee shop dates. Jane was nervous; it was one thing to be wanted in the dark, and entirely another to be wanted in the light of day. She wasn’t sure it would work, that Nymphia could want her in the same, all-consuming way Jane had come to want her. She was worried, even when Nymphia was sitting across from her starry-eyed and smiling. Even when Nymphia slid around the table to show her something on her phone, and her hair brushed against Jane’s cheek because she had leaned in that close. And then Jane said something stupid that sent Nymphia into hysteric, head-tilted-back-open mouthed laughter, and her hand was resting on her thigh, squeezing just above Jane’s knee. And then, somehow, Jane wasn’t so worried anymore.

It had been several hours and Jane and Nymphia were still too enthralled in each other’s company to notice the barista shuffling around the shop, a bit too polite to say they were closing in five minutes and should really be on their way. 

“Can I walk you home?” Jane asked when they were finally shooed away. She’d been thinking it for the past hour - that she didn't want the afternoon to end, that she wanted to accompany Nymphia into the night, to follow her as long as she’d allow. Nymphia beamed as they pushed through the doorway and onto the street, “I thought you’d never ask.” 

Then, without even looking, she reached for Jane’s hand.

It was like some ancient dance they’d done in a past life but were remembering now; Nymphia’s palm sliding against Jane’s, coaxing her fingers apart in some unspoken command. And then Nymphia had taken Jane’s hand, laced them together as though she’d done it a hundred times before, and was leading Jane down the street like it was as natural as breathing. Like she was ready to take her on. Like she knew exactly where they were going.

-

Jane was trying really hard not to be a total bitch about this situation, but it was proving difficult.

It was supposed to be a quick trip to the store for snacks and wine and whatever else they needed to hole up in Jane’s apartment for the rest of the weekend, but it was taking much longer than anticipated. The line hadn’t moved in ages, for some unknown reason Jane and Nymphia had been guessing at for the past ten minutes in a desperate attempt to keep morale high.

“I mean, really, are they paying in fucking pennies?,” Jane grumbled, but not quietly enough. The man standing in line ahead of them glanced over his shoulder, and Jane resisted the urge to sneer until he had turned away, then did so at the back of his head.

Nymphia muffled a laugh with her hand, even though the situation had stopped feeling fun and silly several minutes ago. She was tired, they both were. It had been a long day, an even longer week, and their Friday night escape into each other’s company had been the guiding light through all of it. That light could not be any more necessary at this moment, or feeling any more out of reach.

“This is taking too long,” Jane groaned, rose on her toes and craned her neck towards the front of the line.

“I know,” Nymphia squeezed her hand.

Jane fell back into place, defeated. “I’m tired, Nymph.” 

“I know, baby,” Nymphia sighed. “Me too.” 

And then Nymphia leaned into Jane, letting her head come to rest on the taller girl’s shoulder. The weight of Nymphia against Jane was gentle, grounding somehow, a light pressure that held Jane down. It reminded her that Nymphia was real, that they were, that this was; in that, there was always comfort to be found. And then there was a small smile on Jane’s lips, because if she had to be stuck with anyone at the end of all things, she was glad it was with Nymphia. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” Nymphia said, voice small and just for them to hear, and Jane wholeheartedly believed her. 

-

It’s a Sunday afternoon, and they’re at the birthday party of one of Jane’s friends. The summer sun is still high in the six o’clock sky and promising to shine for a while longer, filtering down through the trees and shining soft and gorgeous over the scene: people gathered in clusters across the backyard, drinking or dancing or waving their hands as they emphasize the details of some hilarious story. Jane hasn’t bothered with the formality of informing everyone Nymphia is her girlfriend, but she doesn't really have to. She slips Nymphia into every conversation, takes her home at the end of every night, brings her with her to bars and birthday parties. That says enough to anyone who really knows her. Jane looks out across the gathering and spies Nymphia across the way, engaged in conversation with a gaggle of Jane’s friends. On the way here she’d made Jane promise not to leave her side, something about being scared and socially inept, but here she is now - arm in arm with people she’s only just met, and already has them doubled over with laughter. Nymphia smiles, and the day seems brighter somehow. Jane smiles too, if only to herself, because she knows Nymphia is supposed to be here with her. She’s never doubted that for a second. 

The song that’s playing over the speakers fades out, and is quickly replaced with the opening notes of another. Nymphia’s head turns, and Jane knows she’s scanning the party for her, because this is one of their favorites. This is the one they couldn’t remember the name of for weeks on end, the one that randomly reappeared on shuffle when they were making dinner two Sundays ago, the one they sang to each other in the kitchen, dancing and spinning and sliding across the tile in their socks. Nymphia finally spots her and the corner of her mouth pulls into a smile, because Jane is already making her way over to her. 

“Mind if I steal her away?” Jane says to her friends, who are still laughing at whatever absurd story Nymphia had been telling, and curls her arm around Nymphia’s waist. She doesn’t mind when they ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ and jokingly make Jane promise to give her back later. She completely understands. She’d want her back too.

“Couldn’t go on without me, huh?” Nymphia beams, hand already finding Jane’s as they walk towards the garden.

“Something like that,” Jane hums and brings Nymphia’s hand to her mouth, kisses it absentmindedly. “Wanna dance?”

“You’re not a dancer,” Nymphia teases, like she’s not already putting her arms around Jane’s neck, like she’s not already falling into step.

Jane shrugs, smiles, and takes Nymphia’s waist. “It’s not so bad,” she says, because it isn’t. Not with Nymphia. 

They come together. It’s not the electrically charged dance of a nightclub, it’s hardly the sort of song you ask someone to dance to, but it doesn’t really matter. They’re dancing anyway, soft and sweet in the garden and surrounded by friends. 

There’s a lot of things that could be scaring Jane right now, but aren't; not that she doesn’t know how to dance, not that she and Nymphia are in the light of day, not that another week starts tomorrow. She’ll get through it. She’s in good hands. 

When Jane pulls Nymphia closer, she’s not scared at all. Not scared of what it means, or what people will say, or that everyone will know that her heart belongs wholly and completely to Nymphia. She’s not scared that people will see, not concerned with explaining it to anyone. She won’t have to. She’s showing them herself.

[berzahoes]

manifestation, baby! | tom blyth

summary: fans find out tom’s girlfriend has an old youtube channel where she reviewed the ballad of songbirds and snakes (and she definitely manifested her life)

an: the way i thought about this idea and quickly wrote it down so i didn’t forget it. i used to have an app that made those fake tweets but i’m just tired to make fake profiles 😭 maybe i’ll change it later idk

for the purpose of this imagine, let’s pretend tbosas book was published between 2017-2019

liked by zeglerslove, 444_bri and 35,377 others

tomblythxsnow apparently tom’s girlfriend has an old youtube channel where she reviews books and she reviewed the ballad of songbirds and snakes and she literally manifested her future 😭

lucymygf WHATTT WHATS HER CHANNEL NAME

tomblythxsnow it’s yn’s book corner. she hasn’t posted since 2019 ngl i need her to review a little life because that book destroyed me

nat76_ omg i used to watch her videos!! i’m still subscribed to her 😭 i remember only buying and reading the books she liked because i wanted to be her so bad

j4ckaszlol “if someone ever makes a movie adaptation of this book and casts someone attractive to play snow then i am sorry for the person i become��� REALLLLL

graybairdsmockingjay dude the part where she said “i’m calling it now whoever plays young snow will be my boyfriend. movie studios always cast someone attractive as the younger version of a character!” MY JAW DROPPED SHE NEEDS TO TELL ME HER WAYS

“guess what rachel just sent me.” you heard tom say when he arrived to your shared apartment.

“wedding invitations?!” you gasped as you almost stood up from the sofa since you were watching reruns of criminal minds, but tom stopped you.

“no, it’s better!” tom sat beside you and showed you his phone. “why didn’t you tell me you had a youtube channel?” on his phone screen was your review of the ballad of songbirds and snakes, which had become a very popular video over the past couple of days.

you hid your face with a pillow and groaned. “don’t remind me. i just wanted to talk about my books and my family didn’t care. don’t watch it! it’s embarrassing!”

“i think it’s cute. aw look, your dog made a cameo!” he pointed at your old dog you used to have that walked into the frame.

“indi! no, come sit right here. oh . . . and she’s walking away. okay, anyways.” your younger self said in the video

“indi? why Indi?” tom asked you even though you were still hiding from embarrassment.

“after indiana jones. my dad and i loved those movies and he gifted me indi as a birthday present.” you confessed.

“love, don’t be embarrassed. i think it’s cute that you manifested your life according to the comments on instagram,” tom paused the video then cuddled up to you. “i won’t watch it if you don’t want me to.”

“it’s fine, i just didn’t think anyone would find it. we can watch it together.” you uncovered yourself and sat down properly to watch the video with tom. before he pressed the play button and together you watch your younger self review the book.

“i’ve read all the hunger games books at least four times and this one did not disappoint. but i do hope whoever ends up being cast as young snow is someone hot. i’m sorry it’s the rules! and they will be my boyfriend, i’m calling dibs.”

tom smirked at you. “if only younger you could see you now.”

“she would definitely think ‘wow, how did we pull this beautiful man?’ then be confused as to why the hunger games and fnaf is trending in 2023.”

liked by tomblyth, rachelzegler and 1,377,389 others

ynlovesbooks told ya. love you tomblyth ❤️

rachelzegler she is THAT girl

ynlovesbooks no u

everdeenx12 bestie he’s EVIL

ynlovesbooks he’s a walking red flag but my favorite color is red 😍

chamaletproblems pls tell me how you did this

ynlovesbooks i figured out who they were casting and kept him hostage until he agreed to be my bf

tomblyth true

[flawseer]

On the False Dragonets of Destiny

Recycled art... Forgive me, I can't physically draw more than I currently am.

Just a little while ago I was looking at some replies to my recent work, and I noticed a nice comment from someone who expressed they enjoyed my comics featuring the false dragonets of destiny, but couldn't really get into them in the books. I am thankful for that comment, but even more thankful for the opportunity to ramble at length about something I kind of wanted to talk about, but couldn't find a plausible excuse for. Until now.

All of this is just my reading of the material, of course. You don't need to agree with me on this.

Content Warning: Some discussion of abuse, trauma, violence. I don't know if it's severe enough to warrant a warning, but better be safe.

General discussion

The false dragonets of destiny, the alternates, or whatever one wants to call them. They enter the story proper in book 4, after having made a few minor cameo appearances before, and serve as a kind of hybrid antagonistic force and pseudo-allies for Starflight during his stay on the Nightwing Isle. During that time, they are very abrasive, stand-offish, uncooperative, and a bit annoying, and I guess that doesn't make them come off very well. But like, in spite of that or maybe partially because of it, I am really fond of these guys, and I'd like to take some time talking them up to you.

One can examine how these guys act and conclude that they are a bunch of dysfunctional screw-ups. And they absolutely are that, don't get me wrong. But one should keep in mind: the majority of the time they are in the spotlight, they are in an extreme, tense, and frighteningly uncertain situation. It's easy to forget how stressful these situations are because the books as a whole really like to gloss over the more frightening kind of subjects on account of being written for young readers. You can't really go deep into themes of abuse, trauma, and depression in a story like that without tripping over some kind of censor on the way, but the implications are there, between the lines for you to find.

Understanding the group

Who are the false dragonets of destiny? They are posited as a mirror image of the true dragonets of destiny, who have all been extensively schooled in matters of education and martial prowess. The first thing we see THIS group do on page is brawl, so one may think they must be trained and capable fighters. Viper and Flame constantly throw around death threats and aggressive quips, so one may think they are hyper-violent and dangerous. They are neither. Nautilus admits the Talons haven't bothered training them at all, they haven't seen real combat, they've likely been deliberately kept away from the war as a whole. Flame doesn't even know how to use his fire breath correctly. Starflight, who is by far the least physically adept of the arc 1 protagonists, is able to outpace them even as four of them team up against him.

They are neither killers nor a crack team of badasses, rather they are a bunch of play-fighting, posing delinquents who talk a big game with little in terms of actual skill to back it up. Realizing this is key to understanding just how out of their depth and ill-equipped they are to handle anything that gets thrown at them on the Nightwing homeland, especially past the negotiations at the Skywing outpost.

Abduction and imprisonment

When Starflight first finds them, they have been on the Nightwing Isle for a good while, and they are suitably bristly because of it.

Look at this situation from their perspective. These guys have known nothing other than their semi-peaceful life in the Talon camp. Then the leader of that camp, Nautilus--a figure they all know and trust, essentially sells them to a frightening stranger, who looms over them and is so physically large he could crush each of them easily. This stranger pulls them away from their home without even giving them a chance to say goodbye to their relatives (I'm convinced Avalanche would not have let Morrowseer take her son if there was a chance to intervene, so Flame must have already been gone when she found out).

A contingent of Nightwing awaits them, blindfolds them so they don't know where the entrance to the Nightwing home is. They pass through a kind of eldritch tunnel that pulls at their souls. When they are finally allowed to see again, they find themselves trapped on an island where there is no sunlight and every breath hurts as the air is thick with ash.

The Nightwings won't let them leave, in fact they don't know if they will ever be able to leave again. Nobody tells them what's going on, what they are meant to do, or what the plan is. They are left confined in some room with nothing to do, and they (sans Fatespeaker) can't go outside without being arrested. Food is brought very infrequently, and usually inedible, so they haven't eaten since they were forced to leave home. They don't know where they are, nor where their parents are, nor if their parents know where THEY are. They are completely cut off from anywhere, isolated, trapped in this little slice of hell with no means to escape and little hope to acquire any soon.

I think if I was in a situation like that, I would be pretty cranky too. More than that, I would be scared out of my wits, and I believe that they are as well. If you look at their actions through a lens of them being frightened, their irritating quirks suddenly become very relatable. Viper is coping by throwing out threats and making herself seem bigger and scarier than the thing trapping her. Flame makes offensive jokes about killing Fatespeaker because making light of the situation helps him keep his wits together. Ochre is hard to read, but I think he's just tuning everything out. Squid is convinced that his father--who is the most important and smart dragon in all of Pyrrhia--has made the correct choice and knows what's best for all of them. And Fatespeaker is in complete denial, choosing to trust an inaccurate vision of the future while ignoring all the red flags that don't fit into it.

I think it's interesting that you can read this as all of them having a different strategy to cope with the uncertain and frightening situation they're trapped in. That's part of why I like them; they're very flawed and make interesting decisions.

Trauma and Empathy

You can look at someone like Squid and see his surface traits: He is annoying, he whines and complains constantly, he brags about who his father is, and he seems completely incapable of doing anything useful. If this guy was in any other story, I would probably dislike him. But Squid has the benefit of being a whiny dweeb in a situation where it is very appropriate to whine and be scared. He has a scene where he makes a somewhat goofy speech at Morrowseer where he calls him stupid and wants to go home, and is subsequently exiled. It's a bit silly in execution, but for me it did succeed in making me feel bad for Squid as he desperately and pathetically pleads for Morrowseer not to send him to his death.

But then you can read beyond the lines a little and view the scene in the full context that isn't really dwelt on. Here, you've got Squid, who is inept even among his peers, sheltered and doted on by his father, whom he has never been away from for any real amount of time until now. This guy, who probably can't even feed himself (otherwise he might have been able to catch fish in the waters around the island), keeps telling himself that his father has a plan, that all of this, even the questionable stuff, is happening for a reason. He hasn't eaten in weeks and he's been the punching bag for everyone else's frustrations (because Fatespeaker is not around enough, hanging out with Starflight). Now he has been chased halfway across the world, forced to cross the ocean while tired and starving, to be told he has to talk to a bunch of violent strangers who hate his kind and want to kill him. He tries to hide but is grabbed by the throat and held in the air by a soldier twice his size. This is likely the first time his life has ever been threatened that directly and with genuine intent.

The strange new Nightwing who was sent with them somehow manages to deescalate the situation enough to save him, but then, without warning, more dragons burst into the room. Suddenly everything is on fire, including the soldiers who just a moment ago threatened him. He is close enough to them to watch their forms twist and writhe in agony as they slowly burn to death.

As he is made to watch this horrifying spectacle, all the feelings he repressed by reminding himself of the faith he has in his father come flooding back in at once. It becomes too much for him to bear, and he breaks. He starts crying and verbally lashes out at their abuser for the horrid conditions they have been placed in and demands--half asserting and half pleading--to be allowed to go home. This isn't really whining anymore, this is a full-scale mental breakdown, rendered to be simple and digestible to a young audience. Imagine how harrowing this scene could have been if it wasn't filtered through a child-friendly narrative.

Closing thoughts

There is a scene some time after that I found kind of poignant. At one point, Starflight looks out and he sees Flame just standing out there, silently staring into the distance. There's maybe one line dedicated to it, and when you read the book normally, you don't really dwell on it since it's so nondescript. But this scene happens shortly after the visit to the remote outpost. The soldiers that burned to death in there were all Skywings. Skywings like himself, and like his mother, who also was a soldier before she joined the Talons. Whenever I picture him standing there, I imagine he is reliving that moment, hearing the dying screams of his kinsmen. I think he will be hearing them forever.

So in conclusion: The reason why I like the alternate dragonets so much is because of the enormous, untapped potential they possess as characters, and how deep some of them run if you take some time to look at them. I feel like all of them have a story to tell, and it's a bit of a shame that Sutherland likely won't come around to telling any of them. If I had infinite time, money, and energy, I would love to make many more comics about them, as they are an interesting lot.

Especially Flame's story I feel is such a heartbreaking tragedy, and thinking about the way it ended saddens me. He's one of my six all-time favorite characters in the series, I wish he could have gone out in a happier, healthier way.

[doctorcurdlejr]

Niko!! what'd you think of I saw the tv glow. I finally saw it last night and noticed you posting about it so I wanted to know your thoughts :)

Levi!!! I was JUST wondering what you were thinking about the movie after I saw you posting about it as well... we are so media discussion pilled in this way, it's awesome. ANYWAYS I've had so many thoughts since I first saw it and I've been trying to turn them into something coherent for a little bit now.

Ummm okay I have written 1k+ words about this movie, the suburbs, and escapism via teen TV.... clearly I was dying for somebody to ask this I guess so thank you for indulging me <3

First and foremost, I absolutely loved it! I've seen it twice now and the first time I watched it I got to see Jane Schoenbrun talk about the film right after. I already really liked it from that first watch alone. I found it so deeply relatable to my experiences - both in terms of growing up gay and trans, but where I am now in my 20s trying to navigate adulthood. Hearing what Schoenbrun had to say really cemented my feelings and thoughts about the film.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a big influence on the movie (it's why Amber Benson makes a cameo as Johnny Link's mom). Even though I don't have the same emotional link to Buffy since I never watched it, I recognize it as the same type of warmth I experienced growing up with Riverdale. When Owen says he feels like his insides have been scooped out but that he's too afraid to look and have that wrongness everybody knows is there be confirmed, Maddy simply responds "Maybe you're like Isabel. Afraid of what's inside you." Tears forming but not falling, breathing shallowly, I grabbed the paper and pen the theater keeps at the seats for people to order food with and wrote that line down - the slip of paper is still somewhere in my car. Writing it now almost feels lame in its simplicity, but it felt like my insides were being flayed open.

During the director discussion, Schoenbrun talked a little bit about this idea of how truly fucking bizarre it is to grow up in the suburbs. Like, when we think about the pinnacle of normality in American culture, it's the image of middle-class cis-hetero-white suburbia. At the same time, despite this cultural dream of normality, everybody is hyper-aware that the suburbs are one of the least normal things ever. So, the ACTUAL cultural understanding of it is that it's where we go to, like, passively kill ourselves (*George Costanza voice* WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY YOU KNOW!). This idea isn't new, I mean there are so many films and shows about navigating that specific bizarre dissonance from Rebel Without a Cause to Heathers to Twin Peaks. Probably half the pre-teen to teen TV I watched obsessively growing up, stuff like Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, Making Fiends, Truth or Scare, and eventually Riverdale, were never shy about being weird and morbid and saying "yes, the suburbs are exactly as bizarre and lethal in the ways you can already feel in your bones at 13." I Saw the TV Glow does a really good job of keying not only into that mental dissonance but more specifically into how those of us who have felt so intrinsically weird and different and wrong fell back on these shows like they were capable of doing the emotional version of a rescue breath maneuver after being drowned.

In high school, if there were two things about me that any person who even vaguely knew me could list off it was that I watched Riverdale, and I was a lesbian - and I was mocked more for the Riverdale. At that age, I was, without a doubt, the most miserable I have ever felt in my life. I rarely left the house because my family lived in a development that made me want to scratch my skin off when I walked out our front door. Owen didn't leave the house for days, afraid Maddy could somehow force him out. I sobbed constantly and frequently to depressing indie rock on the floor of my closet while hoping my family would just once read the (honest to god) KEEP OUT poster plastered on my door since I didn't have a lock on it. Owen didn't leave his room for days, afraid of what Maddy recognized in him. I didn't go on dates and kept my chest binder shoved to the bottom of my bookbag while wearing dresses that could've come from a how-to-be the perfect 50s housewife manual. Owen didn't leave his bed for days, afraid of Maddy touching his neck and Isabel's dress. I also watched Riverdale with the kind of zeal you see in a Pentecostal who has found God and started speaking in tongues to let you know it. I own a button that says, "Don't Make Me Go Dark Betty On You," I cherish it in a way that is only achieved by knowing exactly how corny and trite it is and then moving straight past that because well actually, and most people wouldn't get this, she's holding back something deeply dark and wild and- and disgusting. something painful yet intrinsically her. but i get it, obviously. or maybe not obviously! hopefully not obviously, but- basically, I'm just saying I get it: the experience of reflection and recognition through the other and all that.

Whatever, the point is that this movie is one big glaring trans allegory about how it sucks dog shit to live in the suburbs, and even at our most repressed we find these little snow globes of actualization in the glow of a tv screen that isn't afraid to show you the world you see. I've seen some people say that, like, in this context accepting or coming into your transness is this monumental death of self, which I get, but I feel there lacks a nuance in that because either way Owen is dying. Unlike Maddy who buries herself alive only to come out renewed, Owen doesn't kill himself upon facing the reality that the world is constructed to keep him miserable and the only way out is to take back what it is that the world wants to keep scooped out of him. Instead he just passively lets it drag him to a much more permanent death. This lack of suicide sucks in the kind of way that forces you to sit in your car on the midnight drive home and think to yourself am I letting myself suffocate because at some point knowing the misery became less scary than admitting I've been capable of doing something about it the whole time?

Clearly, I’ve been enchanted by the film’s narrative and meta-textual language. If you're familiar with it, you can see how Schoenbrun built this movie like a long-form dream episode of a canceled teen show filmed in Vancouver. Lynchian? Yeah, sure. Riverdalesque? THIS we cannot possibly deny. Schoenbrun said they included Amber Benson as an act of healing the inner rage experienced at Tara’s death in Buffy. This is a Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa ending Riverdale with a bisexual polycule after his gay Archie play got ceased-and-desisted type move. There’s probably more I could say about the soundtrack and the visuals, but I’ve hit over 1k words on this, so I’ll leave it at I enjoyed this movie a lot. :)

Maddy is an out lesbian who left town to escape the misery and found it strapped to her ankles. She slinks out, an animal pressed against the gymnasium floor, and says "I'm not telling you anything you don't already know." Owen looks into the camera and narrates. He cuts himself open with a box cutter, fully acknowledges what's there, and the movie ends with his suffocating apology parade for the unremarkable inconvenience of his excruciating suffering. You can be gay and trans, you can know it and you can stop repressing it, but you're not going to stop suffocating until you can find a way to destroy the part of you that truly deeply does want to die, reaching for the comforting euthanasia of normalcy. Stop visiting the dream of the life you want and make it into your reality with the same kind of unrepentant conviction seen in some underfunded but wildly ambitious teen television series. In other words: you must try to survive the ego death of being weird. A weirdo, who doesn't fit in and doesn't want to fit in!

[quixotical-lymbo]

Pairing: Wukong & gn!Reader Rating: SFW Summary: Coming back from a training expedition by your mentor was ruined when your reunion led you to meeting his true successor.  Warnings/Tags: Post s5 (i don't think this counts as spoilers since i haven't mentioned anything significant about s5 in the post, but spoilers I guess??), Hurt/No comfort, MK cameo but not really idk he's there being nosy, angst, might make into a mini-series, idk, Wukong being Wukong always withholding important info till the last second. Word Count: 1000+ words

"What the heck is that?" 

Wukong's face paled as he turned to look over his shoulder where MK pointed in the sky. There, looking akin to a shooting star with (f/c) trail of sparks, a ball of light came shooting toward the mountain the pair were training at. 

 

"OMIGOSH, MONKEY KING, MOVE! IT'S ABOUT TO-" MK tried pulling on Wukong's sleeve to move him out of the way of the meteoroid, but the simian simply stood his ground as the ball of light finally landed. MK dropped to the ground as dust and dirt sprayed from the crash, but as he cracked open an eye the only thing he found was an non-destroyed mountain, his mentor frowning, and a person standing in the middle of a crater where the meteorite was supposed to be at. 

MK shot up from the ground and leaned close to his mentor to whisper, "...uh….who is that?"

"...uh, crap, kid, they're..um, they were my-"

"Heyyyyy, monkey king! Did ya miss me?" Your voice carried a lot of weight as it echoed. You grinned widely while stepping out of the crater you formed, clenched hands trembling at your sides as your eyes sharply switched to the rando standing beside your teacher. "I sure as hell missed you…but, I didn't know that this duo became a trio…strange, right?" 

Wukong rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "[Y/n], what a pleasant surprise! I didn't think you'd be-"

"Back so soon? Yeah, well, I'm just that good, aren't I?" You cut in as you stalked closer to the two. Wukong's loop-sided smile fell into a tight line as he took a step forward and kept himself between MK and the mysterious '[Y/n].' 

Your smirk nearly faltered seeing the arm held out to keep whoever was beside him from harm's way. At least your mentor knew damn well how much of a threat you could be.

"It's just…finding the little tears and cracks in the sky made me think that I should pay my ol' pal a visit and see if he might need my help!" You crossed your arms over your chest before gesturing to the sky. "Though, it took me a while to get back since I was sent across the world for my training…it seems like everything is fixed up! I. Wonder. Why." 

"Am I interrupting something…or…?" MK clutched the staff in his hands nervously as the '[Y/n]' person's gaze on him darkened. MK's eyes widened as he snapped his head to look at the monkey king while fuming, "Please don't tell me this is another one of your enemies coming back to bite you-" 

"-Woah, woah, kiddo! It's nothing like that but…I dunno, why don't you ask our mentor, hm?" You watched in pleasure as the rando's scowl morphed into shock as he gazed at Wukong—who flinched at the sudden attention from both of his students. "I'm sure he has all the answers you're looking for." 

"Give me two minutes," Wukong held out his hand toward you in an attempt for a merciful interlude to your much needed conversation. You blew air from your flared nostrils, but nodded at him and looked away while Wukong turned to MK. 

"Who, what, where, and why?!"

"I'll give you the long version later, but right now all you need to know is that before I met you there was another person I was considering giving my staff to…and yeah," Wukong scratched the back of his head.

"Wuh-huh-what?! You were messing with another student when you were getting all up in my ass for having Macaque as my mentor?" MK exclaimed angrily. 

"Let's not dwell on the past right now, just head home and we'll pick this up tomorrow alright?" Wukong chuckled nervously as he patted MK's shoulder and shoved his reluctant successor away. MK puffed his cheeks out as he prepared the staff to launch him into the sky, when he disappeared Wukong sighed and turned around slowly to face you. 

As the air whizzed past and filled his ears with their whistles, MK's mind was filled with the image of you. Why did you come back now of all times? Were you just another enemy he would eventually have to defeat all over again?

MK's frown deepened as he glanced over his shoulder for a moment, conflict crossing his features. Maybe if he intervened this time…he won't have to go through with another saving the world fiasco if he could convince you to forgive the monkey king for whatever he did.

MK shook his head at the ridiculous thought, but the terror of not trying to prevent another disaster was eating away at him. MK groaned in frustration and ricocheted himself back toward the mountain he just left. 

Honestly, he was sick and tired of the same routine. Peaceful, things go wrong, an old enemy of his mentor appears, the world is somehow ending, repeat, repeat repeat. Perhaps it was time he actually tried to prevent the bad things instead of being the cause of it--directly or indirectly. 

MK landed on the side of the mountain, the staff stabbed into the earth as he stood on it to peek over the edge. Luckily enough, MK could clearly see Wukong and '[Y/n]' talking given by their exaggerated arm movements. MK leaned closer and strained his ear to listen in on the conversation. 

"...didn't mean for this…"

"...why…n…enough?"

"No, no, your…jus…important…" 

"What.....he ha... that I...don...ave..?" 

“It's nothing that you don't have it's just…he's different and I made a m-” Wukong's voice rose just enough for MK to clearly hear him.

“Mistake? Ha…hahaha! So, so I'm a mistake now?” 

 “Shit, I worded that wrong, but you know what I mean!”

“I know what you meant! When were you even going to tell me that I was being replaced?”

“You're not…you're not being ‘replaced’ you're just…I-hey, who even told you this?” 

“Does it really matter who told me?!” 

MK winced as he reeled back at the shout that ripped from the stranger's throat, his brow creased with worry as Wukong approached them only for his hand to be slapped away. [Y/n]'s muffled sobs could be heard even from where MK was spying on them, but that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was when MK's eyes met with the teary-eyed gaze of the monkey king's first student. 

Their eyes met for a brief moment, but in that moment MK could see so many things that were left unsaid swirling and burning in their eyes. MK didn't realize that he wasn't breathing until the ex-classmate of his turned away and left the same way they came from that ball of light. 

Wukong stood there with his outstretched hand hanging in the air before it fell to his side. 

"I am sooo going to get my ass kicked for this later." 

Wukong looked down for a moment before tilting his head.

"You can come out now, kid." 

MK climbed up and took a seat on the ground. Wukong, silently crossing his legs as he joined his successor, pinched the space between his eyes.

"I guess I should start at the beginning." 

🍜 - I do not give permission for anyone to translate, copy, republish, or plagiarize any of my written works. I provide no permission for any of my literary works to be used in artificial intelligence. sparkle banner(s) by @adornedwithlight !!

[makeitmingi]

Cause Baby You're My Muse [Chapter 60]

Genre: Romance, Idol!AU, Music, Slight angst

Pairing: Mingi x Reader (y/n)

Characters: Producer!Reader, IdolLyricist!Mingi, IdolProducer!Hongjoong, Idol!Seonghwa, Idol!Yunho, Idol!Wooyoung, Idol!San, Idol!Yeosang, Idol!Jongho, cameo(s) by other celebrities

Summary: You always preferred producing underground, having an unknown face and governed by your own rules. But when you start freelancing for idol groups, you say goodbye to your lone wolf lifestyle as you learn to work with idol producers and lyricists.

Word count: 4.5K

[A/N: Longer chapter to end off the series! Thank you everyone who has been patient with me and supporting me through this series.]

You took a deep breath as you stepped out of the airport. Haneul followed close, holding onto the end of your jacket as she yawned tiredly, rubbing her eye. Poor thing was half asleep, following you and trying not to sleep while walking.

*I'm home.* You smiled softly as you pushed the luggage cart through. It was 4 am in Korea so the airport was relatively empty.

"Unnie? I'm sleepy." Haneul whined.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry, let's go home and get some sleep." You chuckled. Just as you were about to get a cab, a van pulled up in front of you. You blinked in confusion until the driver came out.

"Joong?!" You yelped. Hongjoong gave you a sleepy smile as he stepped out, hugging you tightly.

"What are you doing here? It's 4 am. You should be sleeping!" You asked in shock but hugged him back nonethless.

"Ah, I can always sleep later. Of course I would be here to welcome my baby sister home. And even babier... sister?" Hongjoong chuckled, patting Haneul's head.

"Yeah, the princess is sleepy." You giggled. Hongjoong nodded and you both loaded the bags into the back. You made sure Haneul was comfortably seated in the back with the seatbelt on. Hongjoong even reclined the seat slightly for her to sleep. Then he opened the door for you to enter the passenger seat.

"I think this is the first time I've seen you drive." You chuckled.

"Really? I guess I don't have much opportunities to drive at all. Honestly, I'm surprised the manager hyungs let me take the van." He said, starting the engine.

"Well, I'm grateful you came nonetheless." You said as he pulled away from the sidewalk and drove to where your apartment was.

This new apartment was arranged close to the HYBE building, put together, prepared and arranged by the Big Hit team for your return to Korea.

The 2 year overseas stint was done and with investigations over, you could safely return with Haneul. Turns out, it was KQ CEO's own personal assistant that sent you those threats.

She caught you and Mingi once and was jealous. She thought she could get close to the boys, being the CEO's personal assistant, and possibly form a relationship with one of them. But it didn't work. She hated that you got close with them so quickly.

Once investigations were concluded, she was taken to jail. There was news article about it. But the details of the case was not made public.

"How was the flight?" Hongjoong asked, breaking your train of thought.

"Stuffy and long. It feels good to be out of there, I can finally stretch my legs properly and the air isn't so stale anymore. Plus, it feels good to be home." You let out a long exhale.

"Yeah, those kidns of flights always feel too long. Are all your stuff in the new place already?" He continued.

"Hmmm, not yet. Most of our stuff are but I had some last minute stuff to pack. They'll get shipped over in due time. But I think I have enough to unpack and keep me busy for a bit." You sighed.

"We'll help in any way that we can since we're on vacation." He told you. Ateez had finished touring and completed yet another successful comeback season. Now, they were on their well deserved vacation time.

"Alright, here we are." Hongjoong pulled up into the carpark. You turned around to see Haneul fast asleep.

"If you can help me put her on my back, I'll piggy back her up to the apartment." Hongjoong said, noticing your concern before you could even voice it.

"Really? She's not exactly a little kid anymore." You asked with uncertainty, you didn't want him injuring his back somehow.

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have offered. Come." Hongjoong got out. You opened the door and unbuckled Haneul's seat belt. You carefully moved her onto Hongjoong's awaiting back.

"There we go." He stood up, making sure the support her bottom.

"Let's bring her up before coming to get the bags. You shouldn't be carrying all of them on your own." He said.

"Alright. I'll just take my small bag." You took your cabin bag. You tapped the access card on the lift panel to go up and put in the password on the door lock. Big Hit assured you that this apartment compelx had the best security, which was your main concern. You held the door open for Hongjoong to enter.

"This way?" He asked. You nodded, showing him Haneul's own room. Luckily, you had made sure that she had a bed upon arrival. You removed the vinyl covering and Hongjoong placed her down.

"Let's bring the bags up." You said to him. The both of you brought up all the bags in one trip.

"Just hold on a second. Let me get Haneul settled." You rushed back to Haneul's room to remove her jacket and shoes.

"Thanks again, Joong."

"Stop thanking me." Hongjoong laughed. You looked around the house, some furniture was set up as per your request. The moving boxes were neatly piled in a corner.

"I need to order some groceries to the house. Hopefully they will get here by morning." You rubbed your forehead while scrolling on your phone.

"Or we can go get some stuff in the morning." Hongjoong suggested, settling beside you on the couch. You let out a contemplative hum. You sighed and leaned against his shoulder, his hand coming up to pat your head.

"Wooyoung and Jongho would kill me when they wake up, knowing I came to pick you and Haneul without them." He chuckled.

"Ooh yeah, can't help you out of that one." You winced. Hongjoong pulled away to shoot you a glare.

"What? You know it's true. Wooyoung loves me and Haneul has Jongho wrapped around her little finger, the moment they are together, they're inseparable." You shrugged.

"I don't want to die. My vacation just started." Hongjoong groaned.

"You are more than welcome to crash here for the rest of the night." You patted his thigh.

"I may just take you up on that offer since I don't want to drive back. But what about you? Please don't tell me you're going to pull an all nighter and unpack." He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to shower first then unpack the necessities at least. It is going to take a while for Haneul and I to get over the time difference. Might as well use the time to be productive somehow." You stood up, going to your luggage to get the small soaps that you had packed with you. Hongjoong let out a defeated sigh.

"When do you start work?" Hongjoong asked with a yawn, turning to lay across the couch now that you were not sitting there.

"Two weeks? Need time to settle the moving stuff, Haneul's school and get over jetlag." You rubbed your eye as you sat in front of your luggage to get sleepwear out.

"Alright, I'm going to shower." You announced as you stood up. Hongjoong nodded and waved you off.

"Indi?" He called out. You turned around, blinking.

"Welcome home." He gave you a sleepy smile. You couldn't help the soft smile that formed.

"Feels good to be home, Joong. And call me (y/n)." You said softly and went into the bathroom. You were grateful Hongjoong was the first person you saw when you stepped off the plane.

Seeing Hongjoong made you feel more calm and collected, just having him around was comforting enough. Mingi didn't know you were coming home today though, you wanted to keep it a secret and surprise him later on.

When you came out, Hongjoong was fast asleep, snoring softly. You took the blanket you had in your suitcase and covered him with it.

"Now, let's unpack." You sighed softly, sitting in front of the luggages and boxes with the necessities you and Haneul would need before you could get to the other stuff.

"Luckily there's no dust." You noted, putting Haneul's clothes in her closet. You went over to her sleeping form.

"I love you." You kissed her head and slept beside her instead of your own bed.

By the time you woke up, you heard Haneul speaking to someone outside. It wasn't just Hongjoong's voice though. You poked your head out to see Haneul on Jongho's lap.

"You just can't resist her, can you?" You raised an eyebrow, crossing your arms. Jongho shrugged, focusing back on Haneul.

"Wooyoung hyung went to get food for all of us. Hongjoong hyung drove him. You can go back to sleep if you want, I got it covered here." Jongho informed, gesturing to Haneul busy drawing with him at the table. You nodded and yawned, waving to the two before collapsing back onto the bed.

"Indigo... Wake up..." You didn't feel like you slept long before Wooyoung was laying in bed with you, wrapping his arms around you to snuggle.

"Hi, Woo." You opened your eyes.

"Welcome home. I missed you." He smiled softly, holding your face to give you a big smooch on your cheek.

"I missed you too. All of you." You chuckled, draping your arms and legs over him just like he was your own bolster. You let out a tired sigh, eyes closing again.

"As much as I would love to cuddle, I told Hongjoong hyung I would get you up to get some food in you." Wooyoung chuckled.

"Alright, let's not get in trouble with Joong. Oh and Woo? Call me (y/n)." You pushed yourself up and got out of bed to wash up, leaving a stunned Wooyoung there. You heard him yell in the room.

"Unnie!" Haneul grinned from her spot on the couch. She jumped down and ran over to hug you.

"Hey, baby." You leaned down to hug her, patting her butt and kissing her head. She held your hand, following you to the bathroom. She stood at the door, waiting for you to brush your teeth, wash your hair and do your skincare.

"Are you tired, baby? It'll be a while for us to adjust back to Korean time." You chuckled, combing her hair after you combed her own. She shook her head.

"I'm not sleepy."

"Alright, alright." You patted her head. You knew she wasn't tired now but she will definitely feel it later.

"Let's go eat!" She pulled you along to the living room where the boys were sitting at the dining table already, with disposable cutlery since you haven't unpacked any kitchen stuff.

"Sorry for the mess of the house. And the lack of kitchen utensils." You apologised.

"You just came back this morning, it's completely understandable. No need to apologise." Jongho chuckled, pulling the chair out for Haneul to sit next to you. Wooyoung slid an iced coffee over to you. You took a sip and let out a blissful sigh of gratefulness. The coffee machine also wasn't set up yet.

"I got you some basic groceries. Not sure what you use specifically but we got the princess some yoghurt, milk, eggs, your iced coffee, etc." Wooyoung informed.

"You guys are life savers. Let me know how much it costs and I'll wire you back." You said, taking a portion of food for Haneul.

"No need. Take it as a welcome back gift. And don't argue with me." Wooyoung shook his head.

"What's your plan after this?" Hongjoong asked.

"I'm gonna see Mingi's mom. Then surprise Mings at the dorm." You replied, chewing your food. You leaned over to help Haneul wipe the sauce off her lip.

"Sleepover?!" Haneul's eyes brightened, looking over at you. You couldn't help but laugh at how excited she looked.

"We'll see." You said. You didn't want the boys, especially Jongho, to think that you were always leaving Haneul with them. At some point, you didn't want Haneul to think that you were never around too. So you would have to consider it.

When you were done, the boys helped you with clearing up. You were feeling a little stressed, knowing you still had to do the unpacking of the house.

"Why are you frowning?" Hongjoong came up behind you, massaging your shoulders as you were washing your hands in the kitchen sink.

"Moving is always stressful. Knowing how much more there is to be done is worrying." You sighed.

"I know me telling you not to stress won't really help. But seriously, count on us to help you with all this. You and Haneul can stay with any of us if you'd like." He comforted.

"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without any of you." You leaned against the counter.

"Suffer." Hongjoong teased, making you jab him in the ribs.

After a bit, you got yourself and Haneul ready before the boys dropped you off at Mingi's mother's apartment. You chewed on your bottom lip as you stood at the lip. You didn't know how much she knew about what happened. She would know that you and Mingi separated right?

"Unnie, are you okay?" Haneul looked up at you. She wanted to buy Mingi's mother a 'present' too so you prepared a little fruit basket for her to give. She was a lot more excited than you.

"I'm fine, baby. Don't worry." You smiled and pressed the lift to go up. The lady might yell at you and kick you out of her house.

She had every right to.

"We're here." You said, stopping before the door. Haneul put the basket down, tip toeing to press the doorbell. You gulped as you heard the door lock beep.

"Hello?" Mrs Song opened the door. She seemed to pause when you saw her. The first thing you did was bow deeply.

"Omonim, I-" She cut you off, pulling you into hug. You blinked in confusion, not really expecting her to hug you. Haneul giggled beside you.

"Let's talk inside." She pulled away, smiling at you softly. You nodded and let Haneul in. She removed her shoes before holding out the fruits basket out to Mingi's mother with the biggest grin ever. Mrs Song cooed and bent down.

"My name is Haneul." She introduced.

"Thank you, Haneulie. This is really sweet of you. I'm Mingi oppa's omma. You can call me omonim too." She received the basket and gave Haneul a hug.

"So this is the famous (y/n)." A deep male voice said. Your eyes widened as you saw an older man sitting on the couch.

"Mr Song, it's nice to meet you. I'm (y/n)." You bowed to Mingi's father. He was tall as well, features similar to Mingi's. He chuckled and stood up, moving to stand in front of you.

"It's nice to finally meet you too, (y/n). I can see why my son has fallen head over heels for you."

"Jagiya! Don't embarrass our son." Mrs Song hit her husband's shoulder.

"Just call me abonim, no need for Mr Song. It's too formal. We're family here." He shook his head. You nodded and bowed your head. You waved Haneul over to introduce herself to Mingi's father. She bowed formally before introducing herself. Just like everyone else, you could see the way he melted when Haneul spoke.

"(y/n)." Mrs Song called you over as Haneul was distracted by Mr Song. You went over to the kitchen. Seeing that it was finally the two of you, you finally did what you wanted to do.

"I'm so sorry for everything I, omonim. I don't deserve-"

"Stop." She cut you off. You squeezed your eyes, awaiting the lecture that was coming.

"(y/n)..." She called and you straightened up. You could see how she softened and reached out to hug you tightly. You wrapped your arms around her.

"It's not been easy, hasn't it?" She whispered.

"No... It has not..." Your bottom lip quivered as tears threatened to fall again. At that point, you knew that she knew what really happened.

"I hurt him so bad, omonim. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." You shook your head. She rubbed your back.

"(y/n), you went through a lot. I know you didn't intentionally hurt him. I don't blame you, abonim doesn't blame you. You went through a lot on your own and you had to be strong for Haneul. You didn't deserve to go through that." She pulled away, staring at you.

"You did it because you wanted to keep Mingi safe. You wanted to keep Haneul and Ateez safe. I understand." She rubbed your arm. You nodded your head.

"I'm just glad you and Mingi worked it out." Grabbing a tissue, she wiped your tears.

"I don't deserve his forgiveness, or any of yours."

"Let's not talk about who doesn't deserve what. Because Mingi would say he doesn't deserve such a selfless person like yourself. Every couple goes through hardships." She smiled softly.

"I'm glad Mingi didn't let you get away. I knew that you weren't the type to just break his heart and leave." She said.

"Thank you for everything." You hugged her again.

"Nothing to thank me for. Now, I have two daughters to care for." She giggled, looking over at how Haneul was now seated on Mingi's father's lap, animatedly telling him something. He had a fatherly smile on his face as he listened to her intently. You couldn't help the laugh that escaped you.

"So have you gone to see my pabo son yet?" Mrs Song asked as she moved to cut up the fruit that Haneul gave her.

"Hmm, not yet. He doesn't even know I'm back. I'm planning to surprise him later on at the dorm but I wanted to drop by here first. It's been too long." You said, leaning back against the counter.

"How was it? Living in America."

"It was interesting, I learnt a lot there in terms of work. Culture is different too. But nothing beats being at home." You shrugged.

"Oh yes, I forgot Mingi told me that you signed to a big company. But of course, home is still the best. Home is where your family is." She chuckled. You nodded in agreement.

"Alright, you two. Let's have some fruit." Mrs Song brought the cut fruit out to Mr Song and Haneul.

"Abonim." Haneul beamed and held out the pick with an pear slice at the end. Mr Song chuckled and leaned down to take a bite, patting Haneul's head. You grabbed an apple slice and handed it to Mrs Song, who was seated on the couch beside her husband.

"Is this what it's like having daughters?" Mr Song asked, staring at Haneul and you fondly.

"Right? I said the same thing when I first met (y/n)." Mrs Song giggled. You laughed, knowing Mingi and his brother would not be amused at their parents fawning over having daughters.

"I think I like having two daughters." Mr Song tapped his chin.

"Better not let your sons hear you say that." Mrs Song slapped his arm lightly.

"Please like you don't tell Mingi that you like (y/n) more." He rolled his eyes. The way they joked and interacted, you hoped that you could be like that with Mingi one day.

When the fruit was finished and you spent some time with Mingi's parents, you got ready to leave to Mingi, Seonghwa and San's shared dorm. You didn't want to go too late, especially with Mingi already having texted you a few times while you were at his parents' place. Haneul hugged the two.

"See you next time!" She giggled, hugging them tightly.

"Yes, you are welcome any time. Good girl. Be good to your unnie." Mrs Song chuckled, hugging her. She nodded her head and went to hug Mingi's father.

"Come back soon, alright?" He kissed her head and hugged her tightly. You melted, glad they got along well with her.

"Bring her back to me soon. And yourself too, (y/n)." Mr Song said, hugging you.

"I will, abonim. Thank you for having us and entertaining Haneul. Please take care." You chuckled. Then you moved on to Mingi's mother, who hugged you extra tight.

"Don't stay away for too long." She told you.

"I won't. Take care." You bid them goodbye with a final bow before leaving. With Haneul by your side, you called for a cab to take the two of you over to the dorm. During the drive, Haneul fell asleep. Poor thing, she was probably fighting the sleep for a long time.

When the cab pulled up to the dorm, you sent San and Seonghwa a message to let them know you were downstairs. You had to wake Haneul up.

"No..." She whined.

"I'm sorry, baby. You can sleep soon." You apologised, really feeling bad. You should have properly let her adjust to the time difference instead of drag her out with you the entire day.

"Hey." You greeted San and Seonghwa. Seonghwa hugged you while San helped a sleepy Haneul to his room.

"I missed you." Seonghwa hugged you tightly.

"I missed you too, Hwa." You relaxed in his arms, smiling. When San came back out after helping you settle Haneul into his bed, you hugged him too.

"Good to have you back, Indigo." He chuckled, stroking your head. You hummed in agreement. Seonghwa went to the kitchen to get you a drink. You received the glass of juice and took a sip, sitting on the couch with them for a while. San had informed you that Mingi was napping so he didn't come out to greet you.

"I shouldn't have dragged Haneul out. Poor girl, she's probably exhausted." You sighed.

"She'll adjust soon. Don't worry too much. She can sleep in my bed for as long as she needs." San smiled kindly.

"Thank you." You smiled. The way all the boys were just always ready to help you and Haneul melted your heart. They really treated you both like family.

"As much as I would like to catch up with you, this is the perfect time to surprise Mingi." Seonghwa said.

"Right. I hope he's still asleep." You put the glass down and stood up. San and Seonghwa watched in amusement.

"Good luck." San wished. You pressed your ear against Mingi's door to hear if he was awake. There was no sound of movement or Mingi's voice, which meant that he was still asleep.

You took a deep breath, it had been so long since you've seen Mingi physically that your heart was pounding. You slowly turned the door knob and crept in. Mingi was still sleeping, tucked under the blanket with his back to you. Getting in bed behind him, you hugged him.

"Ugh, San?" Mingi croaked out with a groan. San was known to go to the other members' rooms to cuddle so he must have assumed you were him.

"What time is it? Go back to your own bed and let me sleep..." He clicked his tongue.

"Fine. If that's what you want, I'll go." You chuckled. You felt Mingi's body freeze in your hold. His head whipped around and his eyes widening as he looked at your face.

"BABY?!" He sat up and looked at you as if he was dreaming, rubbing his eyes.

"What are you doing here?!" He asked.

"Surprising you." You laughed at his expression. Mingi's hands immediately came to cup your cheeks, pulling you to him so he could press his lips to yours.

"Wait, when did you come back? I'm confused, you didn't mention this to me at all when we texted or called. I'm not actually dreaming, am I?" He pulled you to his chest to hug you.

"You just kissed me and you're physically hugging me now, pabo. How can you still think you're dreaming? And I already said that it's a surprise, that's why I didn't tell you. I came back early this morning, Joong came to pick me up at the airport." You laughed. Mingi scratched his head, letting all this sink in.

"How long are you back for, baby?" He asked, fingers coming to weave through your hair as he held your cheek.

"Forever. I'm staying forever, Mings." You softened.

"Y-You are?" His voice shook, as if he couldn't believe what you were saying right now. You nodded with a hum, wrapping your arms around him as you sat in his lap.

"I missed you so much. Now I have you with me forever." He looked at you, pressing his forehead against yours.

"Yes, no more distance." You said softly.

"If you two are done with your reunion, could you come out, please?" Someone knocked on the bedroom door. You and Mingi looked at each other in confusion. You went to open the door.

"Welcome home, Indigo!" All the Ateez boys were there with Seonghwa holding a cake.

"Shhh, Haneul is sleeping." San reminded and Jongho nodded, looking at everyone threateningly. They wouldn't dare be loud now.

"Guys..." You softened, not expecting them to be the one to surprise you. You soon felt Mingi's presence behind you, he put his hands on your shoulders.

"Thank you for welcoming me home. It feels good to be back with all of you. And please, we're family, aren't we? Family calls me (y/n)." You looked at all of them. They all stared at you with soft smiles at the mention of your real name. You went over to greet Yeosang and Yunho with hugs since you haven't seen them.

"Good to have you back, (y/n)." Yunho whispered. You nodded and patted his back. With everything that happened, you're glad you and Yunho could come to an understanding and work things out.

"You've lost weight. Have you not been eating well?" Yeosang chided as he lifted you up.

"I have been, I promise!" You laughed, slapping his shoulder.

"Now that she's back, we'll make sure she's really eating well. We ordered a lot food to celebrate! So eat up." Hongjoong said. You giggled and nodded, about to follow behind the boys to where the food was.

"Mings?" You blinked when you felt him hold your wrist to stop you. You turned back to him, only for him to tug you to him, until you fell against his chest.

"Welcome home, baby. You're finally home where you belong." Mingi whispered. You melted, looking up at him before you hugged him back, your ear pressed to his chest to hear his heartbeat.

"I love you, Mings." You said.

"I love you too, my muse. I'm never letting you go again." He kissed the top of your head, holding you just a little tighter.

You couldn't agree more. Home was here, with Hanuel, Mr and Mrs Song, Ateez and Mingi. These people were your family, people you knew you could rely on and count on. And you wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

~

Series Masterlist

[blanketforcas]

everyone's problematic!! yes, even that one, yes even you. that's life etc. i could've probably made this and include every actor from spn but i want this to actually be useful to people, so i made my own (i guess slightly biased cause that can't be avoided) decisions in that. i tried to make it as lighthearted as i could but unfortunately some actors have really made a mess of things so read with caution if you're easily triggered

again, i trust you to draw your own conclusions and do your own additional research. that also applies to actors i didn't include here. i'm not gonna tell you where to draw the line and who you should or shouldn't support. a lot of newbies get lost sometimes and this is for them

receipts under the cut

mark p

twitter thread

DHJ

jared:

chad

sam ferris

ty

Osric Chau

this twitter thread

check the #osricchauisoverparty hashtag on twitter

Christian Kane

twitter thread/article

JDM

TAW

[anxresi]

A Short Zoe Rant Cos I Is Bored

The ONLY way Zoe would’ve been remotely acceptable in the show is if she’d been introduced MUCH earlier.

Like, the very first season.

Show her as a ‘counterpoint’ to Bully Chloe as one who is actually bullied, and how being raised in a completely different country & continent can influence one’s behavior & outlook.

Maybe she can have a few cameo scenes until she’s a full-time regular, show her chatting on the phone to her dad, sending letters to her sister etc.

Then, when she eventually DOES turn up later, give her more personality than ‘feel sorry for me, oh and btw I’m a lesbian’. Not everyone has to fall hard for her the minute she appears, and if you ARE going to make her a superhero, don’t give her the miraculous in her second ever episode!

And Mr Astruc wonders where these accusations of favoritism come from, when all this coincides with Chloe’s sudden descent from being a semi-complex character to a raving lunatic sociopath? Anyway…

Have Zoe perform some actual function in the show: like, give her a pivotal role in her sister’s redemption. Let her have some negative traits, apart from I-don’t know-how-special-I-truly-am (a common trait of badly written Mary Sues). Don’t let the finality of her character arc be a single pink streak in her hair(!) (talk about lack of ambition).

A few other ideas: Give her a girlfriend crush who ISN’T Marinette, because not everything has to revolve around Baker Girl. Quit putting words in the mouths of other characters how ‘perfect’ she is to manipulate and influence the young audience, it’s distracting and annoying.

Basically, the only thing I’d keep about her in her current incarnation are her shoes, which are pretty groovy TBH. Everything else can be ditched, including her name (Too close to ‘Chloe’ idk… I think something like ‘Arabelle’ would suit her) and design, (again, too similar to Baker Girl)

But, as anyone with half a brain cell would’ve figured out by now, she was only created as a flawless counterpoint to you-know-who so Mr Astruc and his lovable team of hacks wouldn’t have to do any real development on Chloe… they gave us a ready-made, blandly nicey-nice ‘cute’ replacement to just simper away in the background without doing anything of value and contributing the grand total of nothing to the dynamic of S4 onwards.

And seeing as how S4 is generally seen by a lot of people as the beginning of a steep decline in quality of the show, I guess she’s in good company.

Welcome to the dumpster fire, Zoe. We have cake! 🔥 🧁

[fallenclan]

so!! starting off to say Moon 263 [part 2] might be one of my favorite fallenclan updates ever. here are some more specific thoughts because i have A Lot

the first panel with the "not actually chosen" ones chatting is so nice. the colors for this update are so tasty and really have a mystical vibe, but i especially like this first panel with the mushrooms. also, the textboxes look so neat overlapping. i like how wolfbite is quieter and not saying much while feathersight is speaking the most. it can be inferred that he's explaining about how starclan/the glowcave usually works with darkstone and honeysong occasionally adding on, and at the end wolfbite is just like "all right guys, i get it."

the way the starclan cats are drawn is so cool... the "fading" effect that makes them look all watery, as if bits and pieces of them are drifting away?? incredible. i love it! i also really like how the stc textboxes are a different shade. it's just a neat detail. the star effects surrounding them is so pretty also. i just love how you draw the starclan cats in general, they look so magical. i like how away from the glowcave, their colors bleed past the lines, but at the glowcave they appear more solid, as if they're stronger there. i just,, i love it

the cameos! omg. i literally never thought i would see nick again but here we are. i'm a big fan of all the appearances!!

silverbelly is adorable. i love how excited feathersight is to see her. also, when she first appears, i like the detail of darkstone sweating. despite being a medicine cat, he's literally never seen a fully formed starclan cat before. he's nervous!! wolfbite looks shocked but i feel like this is more about the idea of her being "special" rather than seeing silverbelly tbh. she's like "damn i guess i actually am plot relevant."

salmonskip... i was so happy to see her... she's such a goober. nick's "we all had our own cats we hoped would come" was such a fun line as well for its thought provoking effect. i feel like it's a nod to how there were so many different "fourth cat" theories in the discord server but i could be wrong. we all had our ideas! now i'm super curious as to who nick was rooting for... and also who each of the previous leaders wanted (should i send another ask with my theories on who specific starclan cats wanted to be the fourth cat?)

big fan of the "you weren't actually chosen, you chose yourself" yada yada. wonderful! i love choosing your own destiny narratives. i'm sure nothing bad will happen to our little feline heroes

sleepycloud :(

"you sound different than i thought you would" - honeysong, had me in shambles. honeysong is older than lionsong was when he died... he looks so young here

poppyfeather made me laugh. i love the "not that this isn't heartwarming..." that i read in a 100% sarcastic tone. she is not in the mood for happy reunions!! she has a dictator to depose, guys. time to see her vengeful trait come into effect...

the ending! darkstone and honeysong look so envigorated whereas feathersight looks exhausted and wolfbite... looks ready to "do what has to be done." i love how happy she was to see sandsnap, and then how her happiness is buried once the poppyfeather and cherrystar step in with their plan, as if seeing sandsnap only strengthened her desire for revenge.

i had a dream after this post where the squad was about to confront ravenstar and he was all like "you thought i didn't know about your little schemes? cute." and his little gang rolled up (sleepydawn, flamefall, levi, patchback, etc.). i don't remember much else of what happened but i woke up like " oh no . . . the little guys are in danger . . . " anyway this segues into my prediction that there will be at least one death as a direct consequence of their attempt to depose ravenstar.

-🐉 (giggling and swinging my feet)

as always dragon... you literally never miss

i'm so glad you picked up on the textbox thing, you basically got it in one!!! feathersight and honeysong explaining helpfully, darkstone chiming in with his little snips and jokes, wolfbite talking less because she's got somewhat of a listening role there etc

IT WAS SO FUN TO DRAW THEM LIKE THAT... the white lines made it kind of difficult to see the white cats (looking at you sleepycloud) but otherwise. so fun. your assumption is correct, they're more solid there than they are as ghosts, and then in Starclan they arent wispy at all, just faintly glowing with those white lines (though they're so fun to draw like this i might have to just draw the ghosts like this always. idk)

cameos!! Nick was a special request from my sibling that I agreed with wholeheartedly. he was so silly

"damn I guess I actually am plot relevant" LMAO

yup it was a nod to all the guesses!! if i had infinite time and energy i would have put in more starclan cats as nods to specific guesses (Canarywish aka the greatest red herring I ever fished comes to mind), but alas. and you KNOW id love to hear all your thoughts fuck yes!!! (I didn't have anyone in particular in mind for Nick, but if I had to choose I'd say he was hoping for Snailpetal as well, she's his only surviving descendant)

i'm sure nothing will happen ! nothing bad at all!

sleepycloud :( indeed. i will let slip that i've got some plans as far as the sleepydawn situation but that's all i'll say about that for now

SHES ALMOST TWICE THE AGE HE WAS WHEN HE DIED... i always forget how young Lionsong was. not even 30 moons :(

i love Poppyfeather she is ALL business. "listen you guys can come back to the glow cave literally any time after we kill ravenstar's bitch ass can we get on with it pls"

YES EXACTLY!! Honeysong and Darkstone are the Young Optimistic ones, Feathersight is very cautiously optimistic but has seen a lot of shit and is more realistic about the odds they're facing, Wolfbite is in Get Shit Done mode. she's locked in. her thirst for blood has died down a bit upon seeing her dad and now it is HER job to save her clan. weight of the world on this poor girl's shoulders

i'm sure there will be no consequences. dont worry

[professoruber]

Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi Reading List

Last Updated: 7/1/2025

A list I have decided to make for the purpose of compiling the various appearances so far of Maps Mizoguchi; since she is a character I like whom has also been receiving some focus as of late. I will also provide some brief description/thoughts for each one.

Gotham Academy (2014-2016) - All Issues

Maps of course first made her original appearance in the first run of Gotham Academy.

Gotham Academy: Endgame (2015) - #1

A one-shot comic which was one of several tie-ins made for the Endgame event which was going on at the time. Basically just shows what Maps and the GA crew were up to while Gotham was being overrun by Joker zombies.

Gotham Academy: Second Semester (2016-2017) - All Issues

The continuation of the Gotham Academy storyline, with of course has Maps in a major role.

Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy (2016-2017)

A crossover between Gotham Academy and the Lumberjanes, which I'm pretty sure is non-canon but still probably worth checking out. I have not read it, nor the Lumberjanes comics yet, although I do intend to do both as some point (due in part to ND Stevenson being one of the authors of Lumberjanes, and me really liking the She-Ra reboot and Nimona)

Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death (2016) - #1

Maps, alongside other Gotham Academy students (including Olive, Kyle, Colton and Pom) have a brief cameo in this first issue of this run. Maps and Olive each get one line each.

Batgirl (2011—2016) - #51, #52, & Annual 4

Maps (along with Olive) also showed up briefly during the Batgirl of Burnside run. My assumption is this is due to them sharing an artist and being published concurrently. I do know what Burnside!Babs isn't everyone's cup of tea so keep that in mind, I suppose.

My Video Game Ate my Homework (2020) - #1

Maps and Olive show up behind the main characters in the first page as a cameo... and that's about it. The comic seems fun though, for the record. Mostly including this because I'm just going through the list of Maps' appearances on the DC wiki.

Batman: Black and White (2021) - #4

One of the stories in this issue has Maps appear as Robin. Non-canon but still a very neat and fun appearance by her.

Batman (2016-) - #119, #120, #121

Probably Maps' first major appearance since the end of the Gotham Academy: Second Semester. These give some additional exploration of her home life and relationship with her parents. Has her dressing up as Robin to investigation the disappearance of another student.

Batgirls (2022-2023) - #11

Maps shows up here and has an adventure with Cass. This also means that Maps knows Babs, Cass and Steph. Which is neat. I do know that the portrayal of the Batgirls in Batgirls isn't everyone's cup of tea (namely portraying them as younger / less mature than they have been in the past) so that that's worth keeping in mind. Interestly, Maps' big brother Kyle has a larger role; appearing in #10, #11, #17, #18, #19 and the Annual as a possible love interest for Steph.

DC's Saved by the Belle Reve (2022) - #1 

A one-shot with several stories, including one which returns to the Gotham Academy crew and gives some information on what's happened since the end of Gotham Academy: Second Semester, along with a fun adventure.

Gotham Academy: Maps of Mystery (2023) - #1

A one-shot which acts a compilation of Batman (2016-) - #119, #120, #121, as well as Maps appearances in Batman: Black and White, and DC's Saved by the Belle Reve.

Birds of Prey (2023-) - #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #11, #12, #13, Uncovered

The newest Birds of Prey run has a surprise appearance by Maps. Which I think is a neat sign of her receiving some increased focus as of late. To get into some mild-ish spoilers... the Maps who appears is a Maps from the future. I have made a few posts/reviews of this run, which you can find on this blog, and I guess personally I am not the biggest fan of her portrayal in this comic. Still is neat to see her receive more focus. Do kinda also think it could've been neat if Present!Maps had shown up instead of Future!Maps.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2023-) - #10, #11, #12

Gotham Academy returns! As does Present!Maps. A fun ongoing story of Maps getting to team up with Batman once more.

Nightwing (2016-) #112

Meriden (future Maps from Birds of Prey) shows up for a single panel cameo alongside the BoP.

[random-sparks-98]

So, the Sunlit Gotham Sequel (TBN) is officially underway in terms of planning/writing. I'm hoping to start officially posting in March, giving me some time to get a good handful of chapters done ahead of time so I'm not dedicating all of my free time to writing a chapter a week while posting (again)

That being said, I'm gonna be having some Twitter Thread convos in the first chapter (and maybe some later chapters - idk on that one) but I am apparently struggling hard with coming up with usernames/handles for it (keep reading below the line if you're interested in helping out)

I need help with handles (and maybe comments) for people who are:

Pro-Wayne's

Anti-Wayne's (or jaded towards the Wayne's)

Highschoolers from Sky's old school who would have made memes about a random kid from their school getting adopted by Bruce AND random Gotham Academy kids who would also be tweeting about it

People who are Pro-Meta/Demigods

People who are Anti-Meta/Demigods

People who are jerks online and don't really respect the privacy of celebs (if you've read certain MiraculousXBatfam fics where social media goes wild about Marinette maybe being a Wayne then you know the vibe I'm looking for with these people)

And finally, people who don't like the above category of people and come to the defense of the Wayne's/Kent's/Richardson's

So I guess if anyone has any suggestions and/or would like a cameo in Sunlit Gotham feel free to comment on this post or message me!

ALSO MEMES!!!! I will definitely take any memes you think people in Gotham would be making with a New Vigilante, New Wayne Kids, Bruce and Selina being engaged, and the fact that Mythological Stuff is real

(Please keep in mind that I cannot guarantee every name/comment will be used as I'm not fully sure how the convos will turn out yet, but I'll make sure to credit everyone who helps out no matter what)

[5mcsinatrenchcoat]

(Not a plot spoiler, but skip this if you're unaware of what everyone is recently complaining about)

I've almost reached acceptance stage with the whole choices thing (I guess I'll just treat Veilguard like something akin to Absolution - a story focused on a particular party where everything else is glossed over and cameos conveniently don't have time to mention anything).

I am, however, boggled by the fact that people are comparing it to ME3 in terms of your choices not mattering. Like, hello?

Sure, ME3 fucked up with the endings with a similar sentiment, only thing that really mattered in any capacity was how much power you've amassed (some endings don't get unlocked on low power levels), while everything else just mattered in your heart. I'll say, I don't have too much beef with that one, but it is a complaint many had. It also obviously doesn't follow up if Shepard died in ME2 and has some fuckery with the Council returning to status quo.

As far as "references and cameos" go tho? Put some damn respect on her name!!! They've followed through with so much stuff you chose in the last games, starting with mentions (i.e. dialogue changes depending on if you played Arrival), small cameos like Kirrahe if he survived aaall the way back in ME1, BIG cameos of basically every single one of your old squadmates showing up and having at least one related questline. And they did it following up on two games where A LOT of those people could've died. Didn't stop them. Put in replacements for every single important one (see: Wrex's brother leading the Tuchanka mission if Wrex was killed in ME1) so that they had a place reserved in the story IF they happened to be alive. Instead of, y'know, shelving everyone who could've been dead at some point or weirdly 'resurrecting' them. Your episodic romances like Kelly made an appearance. A terrorist guy you let go (if you did) in ME1 showed up to try and kill you again.

The genophage quest acknowledged if you destroyed the cure research in ME2. The fate of Rannoch could suffer depending on how you've handled Tali's and Legion's quests in the previous game.

There was SO MUCH. What sorta fumbled your choices was the ending, not the continuity with the previous installments. I WISH that continuity work was what we got with DAtV.

Like, we have a right to be upset (I am still upset. I'm just very tired and opt to focus on the positives for my own well-being), but get your facts right 😤 It's not a 'ME3 problem', it's like a direct opposite - new choices (allegedly) matter, old ones ditched.

[abessive-art]

finally finshed my TMA relisten holy shit. wth. There was so much stuff i didnt remember at all. [BIG SPOILER WARNING FOR THE END OF TMA I GUESS:]

LIKE??? I did not remember ANYTHING about Jon's whole self sacrificing deal being so intentional, and i certainly did NAUGHT remember that he betrayed everyone basically?? holy shit. oh my god was I even payign attention the first time around or is my memory just that bad, jesus.

Also the fact that the Tapes were ALLLLL because of The Web?? what?? Considering im now relistening to TMAGP from the start that is. WORRYING. It hadnt dawned on me that we are basically listening to another one of the universes the fears have wormed their way into after the TMA finale.... not great! not great news for our cast...

Also had forgotten the specifics of who survived but im so so glad basira melanie and georgie made it <3 but it does make me sad that that probably means no cameos of them on TMAGP :,UU

well now ive got enough in the old brain again to really start putting together an animatic >:) i hope. I can bering myself to finish it i am v excited.

[boydepartment]

MY ONLY LOVE: Jake Sim x Reader: Ch. 15

description- y/n is an upcoming soloist in belift, she was previously in a disbanded group and the company decided to give her a chance. one day she runs into ex-boyfriend, jake sim, in the canteen. it was awkward and embarrassing and for weeks she tries to avoid him. you can’t avoid people forever though, especially when the company who gave her a chance tells her she has to fake date her ex boyfriend publicly.

genre- exes to lovers, fake dating, idol AU, romcom, fluff, comfort

includes- enhypen, y/n (obviously), bahiyyih (kep1er), hikaru (kep1er), p1 harmony, different idol cameos (i.e probably mark lee, bangchan, new jeans, etc)

WRITTEN CHAPTER- 500+ WORDS

“YOU TAKE WALKS TOO?”

when you got to jakes house, arriving with him, you were taken back by his mom putting you in a bone crushing hug.

“Y/N! DARLING!” she laughed as she wrapped her arms around you, layla got up from her dog bed and started to wiggle at the commotion.

“hi again mrs. sim!” you hugged her back and knelt down to pet layla.

“she remembers you!” mrs. sim smiled down at you and the dog. jake just stood there awkwardly at this interaction, it was difficult to take in you guessed. i mean, it’s not everday that your ex girlfriend from trainee days is in your home again, and now she’s your fake girlfriend.

“and you! you need to try to come home more often!” jake’s mom hugged him after that and let you both farther in the house.

it was just as you remembered it, the family portraits, old trophies from school, even the décor was the same. it shouldn’t be surprising to you, it was more homey than surprising.

you and jake sat at the table as his mom started giving you life updates about the sim family, it was really nice to be around familiarity. you didn’t get that often anymore. what really scared you was that this felt right.

“sooo jaeyun told me about the contract.” she flipped around and leaned against the counter, “is it going okay? they aren’t being weird towards either of you right?”

jake’s mom always looked out for you when you were a trainee and it was refreshing that she was still looking out for you even now, “yeah… i am okay, the only really bad thing was the whole group drama and the fansign…”

from the corner of your eye you saw jake tense up. in fact anytime the fansign was brought up he seemed to become tense.

“i know honey, jaeyun was telling me that some stuff like that was going on with you.” she sighed and handed you a cup of water. you thanked her and took a sip, jake was silent and his ears were pink.

“jaeyun it is not embarrassing that you made sure she was okay!” his mom had a shit eating grin on her face, you couldn’t help but smile behind your cup.

jake blushed harder and groans throwing his head back, “mom stop! you don’t need to tell her!”

his mom started laughing, “anyways, i will leave you two be for a bit alright?” at that she walks off to another room of the house.

“so you kept tabs on me?” you asked, smiling. jake side eyes you and you start laughing.

“its not funny! i just wanted to make sure you were doing okay but i was too shy to approach you! i thought you hated me so anytime something bad would happen to you i would go walking because i was always so stressed because-“

you were smiling and jake stopped talking, embarrassed, “you take walks too? when you’re stressed?”

jake nodded silently

“maybe we should start taking walks together then.” you smiled at him, “if that’s okay.”

“YES- i mean yes, yeah that’s cool. we can do that!”

you took another sip of your water, “good, i’m glad. we should visit here more often too…”

jake’s mouth dropped before he smiled, “sounds good y/n… sounds good…”

___

MASTERLIST

taglist- open :)

@bloofairyfox @enluv @kaykay11sworld @tumblemumblr @haisuken @bluxjun @breadlover01 @ghostiiess @filmofhybe @yourmomscuntis2tighy @beomgyusonlywife @enhaz1 @surefornext @stellarpsh @peachyun02 @softiehee @miniature-tragedy @forevrglow @imsodazed @darlingz99 @isawritesss @xoxo-jeans @firstclassjaylee

comment, dm, or send an ask to be added

PLEASE only ask via comment to be on taglist on the masterlist chapter, or teaser

a/n: i am sorry this chapter took forever and the fact it is short af

[buginateacup]

Fanfiction Author Interview Game

Thanks for the tag @cornistasiathecoblinking!

How many works do you have on AO3?

75, plus a few more on fanfiction.net that will probably stay there forever.

What's your total AO3 word count?

1,104,028 Yay I cracked a million! (I am a wordy bitch)

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

Tea with Topsy

Presentation

Rings

Wait a minute!

No one calls you honey when you're sitting on a throne

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I try to get to them as they come in, but sometimes it makes my brain feel good to look at a clump of emails from AO3 in my inbox or I get behind trying to edit and things build up for a couple of weeks. If someone is willing to take the time and effort to say something after reading my fic I want to thank them for that.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Probably Until the echoes fade away though I think that might wrap into something larger someday. But and if you choose to take that path/would you come to make me pay probably gives it a run for its money

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Probably Rings? Its the most earned happy ending to me if that makes sense. Somethign that is pure fluff doesn't feel like a happy ending fic unless you have something for the characters to get through first. So while I have fluffier stuff overall, its Rings or and the taste of you sweet on my tongue that feel like they have the happiest endings

Do you write crossovers?

I don't. Unless you count the occasional Edna Mode cameo in some of my fics. Though I've been bouncing an idea for a Megamind and Roxanne wind up in Reboot/bodyswap with Dot and Megabyte for a whole (Megamind is very jealous of Hex's outfit)

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Only once and I deleted it. Not worth wasting the time on.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I LOVE writing smut! My favourite kind is the emotions are running so high we can't not fuck about it. Though I did get a little bored of explaining Megamind's nethers so many times so I tend to skip first times or go less into explaining how it works nowadays (of course then I went and wrote Moondust by starlight and found myself incredibly stuck trying to write sex between two humans...okay used to be human...revived undying creatures of light/partial hive gods/whatever so there are challenges everywhere I guess. Smut where the relationship isn't resolved/characters aren't talking about it is one of my pleasures. Working out how characters are connecting while hiding their emotions behind their actions is just so delicious.

My favourite smut I've ever written was for Ricochet, Recoil, Rebound which was so incredibly joyous i still makes me smile every time I reread it.

A horny oneshot is an excellent palate cleanser and I like writing them when I'm getting too stuck on something else.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! More? Behind the Scenes, Coffee Date and Catch and Release have been translated into Russian (I salute anyone who can translate because I'm monolingual so massive kudos to all those translators!)

And Fishcakes has also been made into a podfic!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Just the once with @nientedal, we wrote Blue streak together in a kindof bouncing back and forth and it was so much fun!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Oooooooof that is a HARD one! I have so many favourites that fall into certain types (Megarox, Erik/Christine, Sarah/Jareth) not to mention my weakness for political marriage tropes like Sansa/Tyrion. I don't know how to choose?!

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Probably a few. I started a What we do in the shadows WOP back after seaosn 3 that I never finished, and there were some Bridgerton fic I scribbled down but it doesn't really appeal to me anymore. But I'll keep them just in case.

What are your writing strengths?

I love writing dialogue. And smut. Anything where characters get to go head to head.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with characters wanting to or articulating their feelings in a sincere way, (hello trauma from always having Serious Conversations whenever I got in trouble). It always feels the least in character for me to have them sincerely talk about their feelings than try to find any other way to get them out. Yelling feelings is valid though, see the head to head comment above.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don't have a problem with it. I don't do it myself but if I was to I think I'd have the english translation in hovertext. It depends on the flow of the story and what is happening.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

oooohhhhh...I think I'd like to write something for Pacific Rim or Deadloch someday. Or Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Something where I can really let some bleak dry australian humour through.

What's your favorite fic you've written?

Oh lordy um...how do I choose? Tea with Topsy I think for the sheer four years of my life I've poured into it. But I also have a real fondness for Ricochet, Recoil, Rebound and Moondust by Starlight

I'm going to tag @jurijurijurious, @thatfilthyanimal, @wishuponastarion

[wexhappyxfew]

And then “Look at you! You're spilling coffee.” For Brady and Annie >:)

HI POET!!!!!!! thank you so much for sending in a prompt + incredibly sorry it is so SO late for a response!! my summer has been so incredibly busy and i've only just gotten to this now, so i truly hope you enjoy!!! <3 annie and brady are an absolute joy to write and i always love getting to play around in the areas of time we get to see them in - so this is in the early days of getting to know each other and - you guessed it - it involves coffee haha! THANK YOU AGAIN!!! (also hi and hello i am back after an absolutely chaotic af week)!!!!!! <3333

porcelain, silk and starch

(a/n): ANNIE X BRADY GIRLIES THIS IS FOR YOUUUU!!!! getting back into some 'early days' sorta stuff for these two that i felt were needed for their connection. just those early moments of first meetings and interactions that i wanted to work with a bit! and ofc a cameo from co-pilot francis who is my fav of favs fr! a queen in true form!!! i hope you all (and poet most of all - this was a great prompt THANK YOU) enjoy!!! :D

“Silver Bullets should’ve been put into mass production the day she made the run over Caen,” Francis said, pulling her cigarette from her lip and patting the edge of the wing, the early dawn rays of the sun tickling the edges of the metal, “flies like a fucking angel, I tell ya, Bradshaw.”

Annie looked up at the large berth of wingspan for the B-17 and smiled a bit; it was evident how much Francis cared about the plane, like it was this thing they were caring for day by day, somehow watching it grow. It seemed Francis was coming around - they were actually on a name-to-name basis rather than incredibly formal 'Lieutenant Bradshaw' and 'Lieutenant Montez' callings. It was actually kind of nice. Annie knew Francis still held her bearings about everything, but she was more receptive and open-minded than she had been a few days back.

“So, how’d you get wrapped up in all this?” Francis said turning to Annie, a slightly darkened look in her eyes, “Some stupid bet, couldn’t handle a joke from a sick fucko back home? I’ll do you one better, an old boyfriend who thinks he’s God’s greatest gift-“

"Joined the WAC," Annie said, rather unceremoniously - not like her mother had been pleased, so Annie was just used to the lackluster of it all because of that fact (no one had been excited for such a thing, for someone like her, from where she was from), "started ferrying planes - fuel reloads, supply drops. Seems they liked me in the higher ups. Now I'm here." Francis watched her for a moment, smoke lingering up from the butt of her cigarette. With their uniforms on, they both actually looked half-decent - no pilot gear and uniform looking mangled from a mission, no sweat, burnt pieces of hair, frozen eyebrows and bloodied cheeks. Just like normal people for once.

“You know, I like that for you,” Francis said, “I had some guy tell me I could never pilot a plane. Showed him up.” Annie smirked from behind her aviators at Francis - quite the character, she could hold her own and had no problem telling it how it was. Yeah, Annie was already sold, even if Francis wasn't sold on her.

“So. The WAC. Do tell.” Francis said, pointing at her.

“Well, I did translating for a good period of time before I was wrapped up in flying. Gotta say if the opportunity had been presented, I would've stuck with it.”

“Whatcha translating?”

“German, French…tried to get a handle on Russian. Still trying my best with that.”

“Damn, Bradshaw,” Francis said before pointing a finger at her, “what the hell did that have to do with flying?”

“They said we couldn’t do it.” Annie offered back, crossing her arms and shrugging, "That sorta stuff you listen to, even if you don't want to. And then you do, even if they think you can't."

"Birdie really would've loved you." Francis said, the first real genuine smile growing on her face as she crossed her arms, "Wanna see inside?"

Climbing up into the belly of the plane, the lingering silence hit her like bricks, the feeling inside the fort. What had happened here. What they all knew had happened her; what the women of Silver Bullets had experienced. What had Montez said to let them know their pilot was dead? That she had to take control of the plane and the body was in the front seat? What mind-fuck had they gone through to wrap their minds around that fact?

"Pretty isn't it?" Francis said from behind her, briefly patting the edge of one of the seats as they both moved towards the cockpit.

"She's beautiful." Annie said, adjusting herself in the left side of the cockpit, running her hands along the buttons and the wheel and the edges of the window, "Really, it's a beautiful plane."

Glancing back at Francis, she noticed the woman far-off it seemed, eyes glazed, staring somewhere out to the hazy horizon. Annie slowly brought her focus forward again - Birdie had died here. Right where Annie was sat. It was a wonder Francis could even walk up here again - Annie gave her a lot of credit.

"Well," Francis started, blowing breath from her lips, a quick smile darting onto her lips, "we'll have plenty of time to admire this bucket of bolts in the coming days, for now…we oughta get ourselves to the dining hall. Breakfast. Ain't they say it's the most important meal of the day?"

Francis' voiced trailed off somewhere between her talking about breakfast and saying how she thought the most important meal of the day was actually dessert. Annie stood there for a moment, in the middle of the plane, lingering in the stillness, the plane that had launched that crew up into the sky and came back down without a pilot. Who still stood tall and strong, right here, right now.

Annie tried to clear her mind. She hopped out of the plane, landing beside Francis, rather gracefully, and looked up at the co-pilot in the morning sun, who was grinning like a goose at her.

"How many missions you been on?" Annie asked Francis, genuinely curious. She was trying to connect the dots from the incident to now. Had they been up in the plane after what had happened? With a new replacement that hadn't made the cut? How many had Birdie been on?

"Only two." Francis said with a slightly constrained look, before seeming to shrug it off as they made way towards the dining hall, "They wouldn't allow us to go with any of the replacements until we did a practice run or two. As you can see, those didn't go too well." Annie glanced at Francis and evidently saw the stress running rampage through her. It was evident in her face, in the way she spoke - she wanted something to work, she wanted to get in the sky again, she needed something to go right for the first time.

"If I get the position. Officially, that is," Annie started, looking up at Francis, "I intend to keep Silver Bullets as one of the best B-17s in the air. With the crew we've got, the co-pilot," Francis smiled, "I don't doubt that. Birdie had the crew for a reason." Francis watched her, a bit of sentimental air wafting through them as Francis reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

"You're a good one, Bradshaw," Francis said and Annie quirked out a smile, "c'mon."

Entering the dining hall - Annie realized quickly it was only for officers and high-ranking officials when she saw the likes of Major Cleven and Major Egan at a table together, huddled over some coffee alongside Kidd, Crank and DeMarco.

"Here we go." Francis said, leading Annie towards the center strip of table, covered in a white tablecloth, filled with all sorts of baskets of goods, utensils, coffee and mugs, "Usually, you can just get it served to you. But. Figured you'd want to see the spread, huh?" Annie's eyes widened at the assortment of things as Francis gently gave her shoulder a tap.

"I'll get us a table, get your fill, I'll get the food." Francis said before walking off, giving a wave to a few, fellow officers down a few rows of tables, bee-lining towards the food line.

Annie stood quietly for a moment, her eyes running over the length of the table in slight amusement and wonder. Growing up, she never had the sort of luxury as much as simple things like sugar or cream - even in coffee. Coffee was usually black, and a little watered down (it saved them from having to buy so many coffee grounds, you know?), and usually it was bitter. But you washed it down because it was what you had.

Now - there was sugar, cream, honey, biscuits for dipping, actual cloth napkins, a little spoon just for stirring! Gently, she touched the white tablecloth, the soft texture something so delicate and foreign to her in ways someone shouldn't have to think of.

Tablecloths were rough, scratchy and torn where she came from.

Here - they were soft, cream and stitched.

Annie retracted her hand and instead focused on the coffee.

Coffee.

Sometimes all she wanted day in and day out was coffee.

Reaching forward, she picked up a mug and cradled it in her hands - it was still warm, like it had just been freshly cleaned, straight from the hot water.

Annie had remembered feeling out of place before - plenty of times had she done things in her life where being the odd one out was normal for her. But now - even with just beautiful tablecloths and hot coffee mugs - she felt like being the odd one out was something she had to address. Right now.

Glancing around, officers and officials at the tables weren't looking at her (of course, they wouldn't be, why would they, this is normal for them), but for her, being in a place like this? With things like this? Annie set the mug down and then looked at the pot of steaming coffee. She debated. Did she need the cup of coffee?

"Hey," a voice said from somewhere to her left, causing her to turn away from the coffee pot and towards the voice, finding Lieutenant John Brady there, a smile on his face, as he slowly removed his crusher cap, "Bradshaw, right? New pilot for Silver Bullets?" A smile popped onto Annie's face as she suddenly took in that it was that pilot - from a day or two back - John Brady.

A part of her had been wondering when she'd see him again or even just around. He'd been nice, hospitable, and had a funny sense of humor she could get behind. People like that you wanted in your back pocket. Even if all she knew was his name and that he had a nice face.

"Yes. Annie Bradshaw." she said, unable to help her ever-present mannerisms and held out her hand (as if they hadn't met a few days ago and they'd all but tag-teamed Major Egan), "….uh, Brady?" He grinned - she knew it was him too, she couldn't forget a face like that, but she wanted to test the waters. Give a bit of it back.

"Brady. John Brady." he said, reaching forward to shake her hand, smile growing on his own face, "How's it been going? Hopefully Egan wasn't bearing too hard after your introduction a few days ago." Annie laughed - almost a bit nervously and awkwardly - trying to make impressions was something she was never great with, but things usually weighed in her favor at the end of the day.

"No, no, it was fine, really," Annie said, as she slowly dropped his hand, a slight tinge of warmth pooled in her stomach at the thought of his hand again - and the fact that was the second time she had even touched his hand, "Major Egan is definitely quite the character."

"That he is." Brady said with a laugh, shoving his hands in his pockets, nodding to her aviators in her front pocket, "Busy day?"

"Francis' showed me Silver Bullets," Annie said with a nod and a smile, "she's a beautiful plane." Brady smiled at her and then glanced over Annie's shoulder at Francis, before readjusting his eyes on her.

"That crew's really glad you're here," Brady said, face falling slightly, "after what happened…." Annie nodded to fill in the gapping hole of words.

"I'm giving them my all. After everything." Annie said quietly and Brady nodded, watching her, something in his lingering gaze a comfort in a way she would never make out, "Well, don't let me be in your way-"

"No, no not at all," Brady said quickly with a nod, "coffee drinker?"

"Yeah," she said, reaching up to run her hand along her hot collar a bit - almost like she couldn't get her mind in gear properly, "never did have much of any of these sorts of fixings back home, so….to say the least, I'm pretty stoked to try it out." She looked back to Brady who was watching her with a quiet look on his face, a soft grin riding his cheeks as he reached forward and took his own mug.

"You said you were from Mankato? Minnesota?" he asked her as she reached forward and picked up the pot of coffee and began pouring.

"Yeah," she said, turning to look at him as she poured, "didn't have a whole lot, but…it was home." There was a twinge of pain to that word. Home. Her mind blanked for a moment, before she was hearing a voice in her ear and her hand was burning.

"Look at you! You're spilling coffee. Here, here-" Annie blinked and turned her eyes and found Brady slowly removing the coffee pot from her grasp, the mug overflowing with hot coffee there on the starch table clothes, stained with dark puddles of drying liquid, her heart pounding. She watched frozen as Brady grabbed some napkins to dab at it, before looking to her gaze again.

"You okay there?" he asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Didn't mean to batter you with questions, I swear my folks just raised me like that, questions and all-

""No." Annie said quickly, shaking her head and looking at her hand stained with hot coffee and gave a nervous smile, cheeks turning a bit pink, "I got….distracted. About home and this place. It's…it's all good. Sorry. About the coffee. And now the damn table cloths." Brady chuckled and took his hand off her shoulder and grabbed the empty mug and poured the coffee to a reasonable amount before handing it to her.

"Don't you worry, Little Birdie," he said with a smile, "it's a big place here. Lots to look at, get distracted by. Being so far from home anyway, that is. I'll let the cooks know-"

"Little Birdie?" she said, interrupting his train of thought. Brady grinned.

"You're a lot like Birdie. Captain Faulkner. You remind me of her, ya know? So - Little Birdie." he said with a smile, "Much better than Egan calling you No Name, too." Annie let out a laugh and nodded.

"Yeah, way better." she said and Brady smiled. For a moment, they stared at each other before Annie cleared her throat and looked at the coffee cup and back up at him.

"I'll be-"

"Your hand okay-" The two looked at each other before letting out a few nervous laughs.

"You first." Annie said, "Rank does its duties."

"We're both Lieutenants, Bradshaw."

"You're 1st. I'm 2nd." she said with a smile, "So?" Brady smirked, before the corner of his eyes and lips softened.

"Your hand okay? The coffee was pretty hot." he said softly and she nodded.

"Fine." she said, "Had cuts and bruises worse than this. Climbed trees as a kid." Brady watched her, brow peaked in interest. She smirked. "Also fell out of a lot of trees, too, so….all good." Brady let out a chuckle at her words, watching expectantly as she cleared her throat.

"And yes…..I was just going to be going. Don't want to hold you up." she said and then looked up at him. "I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, of course," Brady said, "probably flying club, right?" Annie raised a brow.

"Flying club?" She really was quite clueless on more than she thought.

"Drinks, dancing, music - get the tension out of your shoulders sorta thing." he said, another grin growing, "So, I'll probably see ya tonight?"

"Right." Annie said with a smile, holding the mug close to her, forgetting about cream or sugar, "Sounds good to me. I'll see you around. Thanks. Sorry again." And with that, she was turning away, slightly mortified at her clear inability to pour coffee efficiently. She hurried towards Francis at a table with their food, slamming her body and the mug of coffee down, meeting Francis' slightly annoyed gaze at the rough presence announced.

"You okay?" Francis asked her, eyeing the coffee and Annie's face again, "You look a little flustered. Hey, you drink black coffee?" Annie looked between the coffee and Francis and then sighed again.

"I meant to grab…." Annie looked over her shoulder and watched as Brady poured some cream into his own coffee cup - the one she had previously overflowed, to her own mortifying realization - and was now wandering away with, sipping it ever so gently, settling into a spot beside DeMarco. A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face and she turned quickly to look at Francis.

"Grab what? The LT's attention or a donut?" Francis said, before chuckling at Annie's slightly flustered expression and chuckled, "I'm just kidding you, c'mon, let's eat up. I think we're doing a practice run, just us girls - maybe with Just-A-Snappin', too." Francis bit into a piece of toast, "Harding wants to see us in the air. 'Longside another crew."

"Alright." Annie said with a nod, "We can make that happen." Francis smiled.

"Good," Francis said, "now, eat up. Don't need my pilot going hungry in the cockpit. Might have to feed you some of Margie's crushed up peanuts she's always carrying around-"

"Oh God." Annie murmured, "Bessie warned me….briefly…"

"Yeah, they're a goddamn curse on that thing, but she swears on it. Superstitious that one is." Annie chuckled at Francis' words and they continued to eat and discuss their day. Annie couldn't help but think of it all though - porcelain, silk and starch.

Everything and all things.

When you came from nothing, things like that were practically gold.