#i promise we do actually pay attention to the plot as well

[lemotmo]

I'm not sure how you feel about getting these anymore but I thought this was hilarious so wanted to share for you at least to read even if you don't want to post. 😊

Q. I really was trying to hold onto the belief that the show wasn't going to make Eddie gay but it's really hard to see what other storyline is possible given those latest Ryan interviews. I would love to say gay or not the show would just keep Buck and Eddie as platonic best friends but there is zero chance of the show not pairing them together. They really did just use my man as filler until they were ready to tell the Eddie story. That's so gross.

A. Well, anon that's the point of a plot device. Their only reason for being is to move a larger story forward. By definition their filler characters. They have no individual significance or purpose. Their purpose is the story they're being used in. I've been telling you this for months now. Many of us have. He was never going to be anything more than a plot device. The show wasn't subtle about it either. It's been pretty much a connect the dots picture of plot device usage. Go back and watch his scenes in season 7 with this new found realization and I promise it will not be hard to see. And I agree, especially with the context the latest Ryan interviews gave, there's really not any other story it could be. He also confirmed they're not turning him into the new Bobby, and he's not siding with Gerard. So it was nice of him to debunk the latest round of ridiculous takes during the interview. If I could offer you a suggestion though I would encourage you to give the story a chance. If you pay attention to Eddie, and not your fandom people telling you to hate him, you will like him. After all there's a reason you all tried to hijack his entire backstory and history for Tommy. Let yourself enjoy the character those things actually belong too. Let yourself enjoy the actual story.

Oh Nonny! I feel joyous and happy whenever I get another of these posts in my ask box. While I'm asking people to not ask Ali any questions through my blog, I'm still perfectly happy posting her asks here. 😋

Especially since, for most of us, this is the only way to read Ali's posts and we do love her posts very much. So don't hesitate to drop something in my ask box. The only things I don't post about are the direct posts about the BT fandom, but Ali has told me she isn't replying to those posts anymore anyway, so that eliminates that problem.

As for the ask itself...

Yeah, so many of us have been saying this since day one. Tommy was only ever there to help Buck out of that closet. He was never really meant to be anything more than that. Sure, the change of the storyline because of the early renewal, gave Tommy some more time on the show, but that's where it ends.

So yeah, going back to rewatch the previous seasons, knowing what you know now? It will change the way you see Eddie and Eddie and Buck's friendship and maybe you'll find some joy in them. Just let it happen.

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[gonchmovie]

I hope you don't mind that we're going ham on the homoerotic subtext. This will be the gayest non-canonically gay movie anyone has seen

[edgeray]

Ray! 🍅 anon here, I said I wasn't going to request but there's one idea I've been really, REALLY itching at.

So you know how you reblogged "cold nights" by beiibeii? Yeah about that... I think I cooked an angst idea of this on a related tangent? (If you choose to write this, ofc)

How about Mother!Reader who is faced with the same scenario of Arle neglecting them to the point that she loses hope in their relationship? Think of the angst when the children constantly remind their Father of important dates but she's away or somehow missing most of them because of work. To the point reader just implies for them to stop trying and accepts the fact that they married Arlecchino but is now simply the Knave's wife? Like even the children can see them losing hope which is why they sometimes lowkey plead with their Father to actually pay more attention to Mother. Mother marrying Father means that Mother is strong but behind their strong facade you can see their sadness! You can feel their loneliness! And their sense of isolation and sorrowful acceptance of their new reality. And Arle does not pick up on the subtle signs until it's Too Late. Like. Reader in the coffin Late.

And as the Knave's wife Reader does need to undertake missions like in "I am Fine in Your Arms" but because reader has lost so much hope in living a wife outside of being the Knave's wife, reader does not make an effort to return alive. The angst of the burial, maybe the children blaming their Father etc. The really young ones aside, I don't think they would be actively angry with their Father, just very, VERY, disappointed. HotH would lose its warmth for a while before Lyney, Lynette and Freminet try their best to build it back (but of course, it never becomes as warm as it used to be)

Whether or not you choose to give this one a happy ending is up to you, but on my end the only happy ending that I cooked up for them is that Arle wakes up in the next Samsara with all these memories of losing Reader and prevents the relationship from going South in the first place. (Bonus points if Reader also has the memories and compares it to how they were treated by Arle previously, makes a comparison, and goes "How I wish this were my Arle" without knowing that it actually IS their Arle, just acknowledging she fucked up BIG time and is now making heavy amends for it. and Arle Knows because of that look that Reader gives her, sorrow and joy in a complex blend.)

...I think by now you can tell that I'm an angst writer too HAHSHHSHA Nobody leaves my fics without getting a knife and I promise it's just for the plot (like we always say).

I've still been keeping up with your writings (Beauty and The Beast actually fits, holy-) (Someone send Siren!Arle a whole farmhouse of ham for her consumption please) and yes I agree that you've been pumping out bangers after bangers. (I mean. Given that, you probably can afford to be a little indulgent? If writing this much quality about your muse doesn't give you the OK to put your hands all over them, abs and all, what does?)

As always, prioritise your sanity and schedule first, stay well rested and hydrated!

Lost Warmth

(Arlecchino x GN! Reader)

A/N -  Link to my momma's (@beiibeiii) piece right here. If I see you read this before reading the masterpiece I just linked, know that I am a very disappointed axolotl. 😔  Anyways, you might be able to tell just how long this has been sitting in my inbox… haha… my bad guys. T^T. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to write more angst. :3 And thank you for the additional comments 🍅 anon. I do have quite a soft spot for siren! arle, seeing that she was my first request (and requested from my momma :3). Wanted this to be a little longer, but I do have to wake up earlier tomorrow, so this is what you get T^T. Hopefully it's still good. Content warnings / info - angst, character death (duh), reader is referred to as ‘Mother’ but is otherwise GN!, 1.4k words

Cold is a feeling you've long gotten used to. Cold is your husband's dismissal of your existence, with every interaction ending with her blunt words and back towards you, leaving you with a crumbling heart. Cold are the long nights as you anxiously wait for Arlecchino's appearance for a candlelit dinner you spent half the day preparing, only for her never to return until you fell to exhaustion on the couch, a flower bouquet that remains unreceived in your hands. Cold is the creeping loneliness in the late hours of the night, when you've finally grown tired of anticipating someone that will never come, and returned to bed alone. Cold is the way you shiver underneath the thickest of blankets, no one's body warmth to sink into, no one's softly whispered words into your ear to drift you to sleep. Cold is when instead of your husband, only dim stars, a bottle of liquor, and the tears that stream your face join you in bed.

When was the last time you had felt warmth? 

You recall when the Knave first started courting you, how gentlemanly she was for such a rumored cruel Harbinger. You were first just a caretaker of the House of the Hearth, this small orphanage which you quickly found to be home for you. You couldn't help but adore the endearing children, watching as you slowly became a staple in this family. Despite your best efforts of hiding it, Arlecchino noticed when you snuck in the occasional pastry or cake from the town's most lavious bakery for the children, out of your own paycheck as well. It was then, your husband admitted, when she first fell for you. It had taken her months of encouragement from her ‘pestering’ children before she asked you out, and it was impossible to not fall for her charm.

How could you not? Not when she held you like you were her world. Not when she viewed you higher than the Tsaritsa herself. Not when her touch was heavenly, her words silky and sweet. When she proposed to you, your heart leapt with levity, and you thought your life was perfect now. A warm house, fitted with warm parents, that was what you had had, you had never felt so content. 

Then came the long nights. Nights when she trudged home later than usual, where she fell asleep without a word but sunk into your arms still. Then she started forgetting, forgetting about the dates and birthdays, and anniversaries more and more. At first, you chalked it up to her demanding Harbinger duties, but as time grew and the excuses started to run out, the perfect life you knew was crumbling. 

You became aware of this two years after your marriage when you had been preparing dinner for the two of you once she arrived home, slow cooking a steak since the early hours of the morning. Just as you exited the kitchen, you heard some children surrounding your husband before she left for another Harbinger meeting, telling her that you had a surprise for her once she came home and how excited you were for her to enjoy a new recipe you created. Your heart swelled with hope and appreciation for your children, especially when Arlecchino promised she would return in time. 

You should have known better.

You ate your tear-ridden steak alone and went to bed, leaving the steak out for her for whenever she returned home. Just like how you fell asleep, you woke up without your husband's presence, and when you arrived at the kitchen, the meat and the note besides the plate were untouched. 

You tried to eat the cold steak for lunch as well. You threw it away at the first bite. That day, you gathered your children, pleading them not to ‘pester’ Father with more reminders, as she was very busy. All that you gained back from the children was pitied expressions, and the agony in your chest worsened. Your children could pity you, but your husband couldn't? Even with your husband's coldness, you still carried out your Mother role, if only for the children. You cannot deny that the children's antics helped you forget the ever-present void inside you, caused by Arlecchino. 

You never learned the reason for Arlecchino's behavior, why she had grown so cold towards you. Now, you suppose, you would never know.  

Red fills your hazy vision as you lay on the ground, your entire body aching and fatigued, desperate gasps for air while your heart pounds in your eardrums. Your side was sliced, and the crimson liquid quickly poured out of the wound while you tried to stop the bleeding, but to no avail. 

This is your end, you think to yourself as you weakly turn on your side, every nerve in your body protesting against the movement. Your bloodied hand comes into view, your engagement and wedding ring gleaming slightly underneath the blood. The rings bring your thoughts to Arlecchino–oh, how you imagine the common disappointment in her otherwise apathetic expression, disappointment at your mission's failure. Your eyes bubbled and blurred with tears, vivid memories of your wedding flashing through your mind. The wedding ring is beautiful, still polished with that bold scarlet, the same color of her eyes, the same eyes you could never stop drowning in.

Would she even know your absence? Would she ever acknowledge you, treat you properly like her partner even if you did return? You doubt it. Did you want to return a cold bed, to a husband that does not love you, to a house no longer warm? 

It's warm. 

Your body feels like fire courses through your veins as you feel inexplicably hot, yet it's a welcomed heat. It's the first time you've felt this, but it feels familiar, comforting, like a hearth, and you want nothing more than to surrender to it. It soothes your heartbeat and calms your breath, easing your body as if you were to sink into the most plush of beds, swallowed by the thickest of blankets. The warmth coils around you, wrapping you like a cozy embrace, evoking you to sleep. Your eyes flutter shutter, a faint smile plastered on your lips.

It feels just like Peruere's arms. 

— 

Arlecchino receives a letter addressed to her on the third day you've been sent on a mission. The contents make her drop the paper, and she rushes outside, without an additional word, leaving the House. 

The children do not see her until she returns late into the night, a body wrapped in cloth in her arms. Arlecchino raised her children to be smart, to be attentive, to be logical. Whose body it is, they realize with little difficulty. 

The children weep that night. Arlecchino does not. How can she, when her source of emotions is gone? 

The burial takes place soon afterwards. As your body is placed into the ground, Arlecchino can feel the weight of her children's stare on her back. The charged tension between her and the children is palpable without words. She cannot discern which of the two reactions cut deeper. The seething fury underneath the oppressive grief for the young ones, having to lose another parent, or the crushing dismay inhabited by the older ones, specifically the twins and Freminet. 

Their thoughts are clear, even when none of them speak out loud. 

How could you fail Mother?

The House of the Hearth no longer suits the orphanage's name, not with your missing presence. There is no warmth, no matter how much the trio tries to fuel a lost flame. Even with Arlecchin's pyro vision, it is futile.

Arlecchino stands before your gravestone, a bouquet of your favorite flowers in her hand, and she rests it beside the other bouquets by your grave. Six bouquets in total, for each day after your burial. 

“For all the flowers, I should have given you, my love,” she whispers as she addresses you, glancing up to the heavens. The last two words make her feel like a fraud, undeserving of calling you hers, when she had clearly never shown so. 

Arlecchino, the Knave, the Fatui Harbinger, does not plead, does not beg, does not kneel. However, her knees drop to her dirt, and she grovels. “Please… wait for me one more time, my dear. Once I meet you again, I promise I'll never leave you alone, I'll never let you out of my arms again.”

There is no reply. 

Arlecchino feels cold. 

[starillusion13]

(TEASER)

“Obsession is a dirty aspect to look at, but the night is dirtier, my love. Either we kill you or we kill the night. What you say?”

Pairing: Criminal! Ateez ot8 x f! Reader

W.C: 2.3k (Main plot: ???)

Genre: Smut, Strangers to Lovers(?), Thriller , Yandere

Warnings: sweet threats(lol), meeting strangers, agreeing/ doing something without your consent, inappropriate touch (a little), mention of gun(not for shooting), pervert looks of Ateez. There’s not really any warning for here other than these all. (Rest all the warnings to be announced in the main plot.)

Network: @k-vanity

"Who?"

"I don't know." The young girl groaned and held her forehead, elbow resting against the wooden table where different liquor bottles and designed glasses were placed. "Honestly, I haven't seen them before and I don't think they belong here or from anywhere near, where are they actually from?"

You asked again, sitting in the stool opposite to her, "and if so, then why are you so concerned about them? They might be attending our night party like other men from around."

"Noooo." She whined and sat straight, giving her full attention to you. She eyed your white and brown combination dress with the knife placed in the leathered strap holder of your waist. "They asked Mr. Byun for an arrangement." looking into your eyes directly, the words fell from her lips.

You knitted your brows together and leaned forward, "and what for?"

"They want to have a party here." She scoffed and raised a brow before mimicking your posture, leaning forward and whispered, "and there would be only them. No one else is allowed."

"Why are you whispering this?" You asked her but in a whisper. "Also, how can it be a party if they are the only ones attending it?"

"Right? No. That's not the case. They want someone to accompany them through the night. A well known and trusted person of Mr. Byun and he even agreed to it."

A frown appeared on your face, "who is accompanying them?"

"You."

"No way." You stood up and glared at her, "don't tell me you supported him in this."

She slowly nodded. She remembered all the words exchanged between the men and the owner of the grand tavern of the kingdom, Mr. Byun. She was there from the beginning till the end of the goodbyes shared. Not really a proper goodbye. She remembered how a man with sharp eyes placed a box on the table and slid across from him towards the old man, before smirking at him.

When she wanted to protest against it, another man, might be the oldest one among them because of the way others were addressing him, he glared and stared at her as if challenging her to dare to speak.

She gulped remembering the scene. The box had some gold coins and jewels and the old man happily accepted the gift.

She flinched when you tapped her shoulder, "where is he? I need to talk to him."

She shrugged and stood up, "I don't know. Might be planning for tomorrow night. Soon, he will call out for you."

"I'm going out to search for him. I'm not accompanying some men whom I have never seen. If it was to serve drinks like any other night in the presence of others then I would have no problem. But alone, that's a different story."

You turned around towards the door and when you were about to step forward, she grabbed your arm and made you face her, "they offered him a huge amount of money in advance and also they promised to pay him more."

"So?" you eyed her grip on you, it was like a warning but also a pleading to accept the situation you were currently into.

"He won't be backing off. You know Mr. Byun and his greediness for money. Do you think he will change his mind?" she loosened the grip, when your hand fell by your side dramatically.

Why suddenly the situation is like this? Just a few minutes back, you were okay with everything then how the situation turned into against you and you are left with nothing just to accept your coming fate. It's not like you can't run away from this, but if you do then the consequences won't be good. Serving the guests with drinks and some occasional dance is what helps you to earn for your living and even if you run away from here, where will you go? Nowhere. You haven't been to any other place, other than the outskirts of this village.

You stared at her for a while and when she was about to speak something, you raised your hand, stopping her midway, "tell him I will be here tomorrow evening. Before...before the men could arrive at the tavern."

"...okay." her eyes followed your figure leaving the grand fancy wooden door of the inn. She sighed and slumped back into the stool beside, rubbing her forehead and mumbled, "I don't know if it's going to be good or bad." suddenly, she smirked, "but I hope she will get one of them for herself. She doesn't have to be single anymore and they are so breathtaking...oh my god."

>>>><<<<

"Mr. Byun?"

Hearing your voice, he turned around with a smiling face and with quick steps, he strolled across the room to hold your hand and drag you inside. The more you explored your surroundings, the more you realized the men inside the room were all unfamiliar. You haven't seen those four faces ever and the way you were staring at them, it seemed sure that you were......attracted?.......curious? But they are literally attractive and breathtaking. Whatever. You averted your gaze back on the old man holding your wrist.

You could feel the four sets of eyes boring a hole in your figure but you didn't pay attention to them. Or rather, you didn't have the courage to do that. You were feeling so shy and exposed in the room, even when you were all covered and beautifully dressed up because you were planning to go to the market wit Miara and before that, you decided to meet the owner if he did need anything.

"Meet them, y/n. They are our new guests." he hummed and nodded towards them. You were questionably looking at him. Guests? And why do you have to meet them?

Hearing your name for the first time, they tasted the word again and on their lips. rolling their tongue lovingly to see how sweet it will feel and sound like to call you with the name. the name really suits you and they have to tell you to make you aware of it.

You casted a subtle glance towards them, before one of them could hold your gaze with him, you turned around quickly but still you noticed one of them smirked at your activity and the one near you whispered, "sweet." and you are sure, it was meant to be heard because the way someone behind you chuckled and the man in front of you joined in their play. "Isn't she sweet? She is the best worker of our inn and tavern. I know she will take good care of you all."

"Huh?" you were so confused with the way he was talking about you to those men in the room, "take care of them? Who are they? And I don't-"

The old man laughed cutting you mid sentence, "of they are the-"

"Wait." The tallest one of them stood straight from where he was leaning against a shelf. He was all in a brown and black pants with a brown long coat with several layers of clothing inside it.

He chuckled seeing your little scared expression which you were trying your best to hide from them with your strong facade, he noticed how your eyes were nervously looking around the room to avoid his gaze. The way you pulled your lip between your teeth and bit down on it, a groan escaped his throat and the dirty smirk grew on his face.

He stood tall in front of you. He looked taller when he was so close to you, you tilted your neck back slightly just to look at his face. "Well, I think I want to introduce myself to her." he looked at the man who was still holding your hand and noticed his grip, poking his tongue to the inner cheek, he said with no emotion, "I would like to have some space. No need for you, old man...ah wait what's again..."

another male, who was manspreading on the leathered and cushioned sofa spoke up, "Mr. Byun." and chuckled after giving away the old man's name.

"Yes, Mr. Byun. you can leave now. We can introduce ourselves to her." hearing the order from the man in front of you, he wasted no time to leave your hand and leave the room. Wow. he promised to give you shelter and keep you safe from the outside world, just to leave you to die in this dangerous inside world.

"Hello, pretty." he bent a little forward, his eyes scanning your face, a little mole on your chin. He touched it with his thumb and smiled. "You are really pretty when close to me."

Your mind was screaming to push him and step back. And you did listen to your mind, but to only one thing: to step back. He quickly grabbed your hand and again chuckled, "why are you running away, princess? We mean no harm." his other hand poked under your chin to make you look up. Wait! That feels like metal. Yes it is. A Gun. "or we mean harm." he pushed your chin up a little more and whispered, "but in a good way. By the way, I am Yunho."

you were staring at the ceiling in absolute fear.

"Yah...don't scare her." Someone separated you from the tall man who was smirking while standing a few steps back. The other male patted your cheeks and smiled, "I'm pretty sure if we introduce ourselves like that. She won't accompany us tomorrow."

You whispered, "tomorrow?"

"Yes. haven't you been informed about the party?" he asked and tilted his head, his eyes traveling down your whole figure. The thoughts running inside his head were more impure than his already dirty, flirtatious gaze on you. But his bright smile. Oh, if only Miara was here then she would have started talking with him this instance.

He was in a black tight pant and a loose black shirt hanging in his body with a black thin cotton belt around his neck. You have seen this style on some younger men in this area, "It costs a lot to look at me this long, sweet one."

You gulped and clutched your dress by your side, "I know about the party but..." so these are the men? That is why Miara was excited to see them again. "Well, this sexy and attractive face has a name, that's Wooyoung." he winked in the end.

The one manspreading on the sofa smirked and poured a drink into a single glass, only one-forth of it and took it in hold. He was in a pretty similar outfit like Yunho but his coat was light in color and shorter in length. The other glass in his other grip was half filled.

When he walked towards you, Wooyoung stepped aside for other one to come exactly in front of you. Well, the two who have already introduced themselves to you stood close enough to you to observe your small reactions to every little detailed movement of theirs. They were enjoying the control they had over you. They were satisfied to see how they were making you feel small in front of them.

The glass with little quantity of liquid was extended towards you, "Here a drink for you, my love. And, the name is Seonghwa." you grabbed it and eyed the liquid with confusion. "Not the drink. That's my name." you nodded absent-mindedly and he smiled sweetly at you, before brushing his fingers over your cheek, "i think I will enjoy the night a lot."

"Hm. me too." Wooyoung nodded and folded his hand.

Seonghwa made a clunk sound with your glasses and sipped the drink of his own. The last male, who whispered 'sweet' when Mr. Byun was there, stepped towards four of you, "drink it." there was an authority in his tone. His furry jacket with the fancy hat and leather pants, he seemed like to be extra fancy than others. As if his looks and how people would look up to him matters a lot.

"I...I don't drink." you mumbled.

"That's a good girl." the way the words sounded so attractive from his mouth and you felt like you were going to comply with every order dripping from his mouth but you scolded yourself. You are no one's property and without any reason, it's so wrong for someone to order you around except mr. Byun. "But a single sip won't matter."

You eyed the drink and glanced at him.

This time, Yunho spoke up and it had a demanding undertone, "drink it, princess. We usually don't repeat a word but for you...fine. We can be a bit dirty." He laughed afterwards.

After a mental battle of fighting yourself, you finally brought the glass to your lips. Their intense gazes on you and the way the fourth male stood beside you and placed his hand on your lower back to urge you to take the sip and Wooyoung patting your cheek slightly, you closed your eyes and gulped a sip, coughing a little when it directly went down your throat and you removed the glass from your lips. "This tastes so weird."

they laughed hearing your complain.

"I know. I know. Take it slow. But gradually, you will feel fine." when you kept staring at him without a word, he laughed, "I know what you want to ask. But that's for tomorrow. You have to impress me to know my name." he leaned towards your neck, inhaling your scent with his sharp nose like a pervert, "or it's too bad."

What exactly is bad?

Who are they? And why are they acting like this?

Seonghwa again clicked his glass with yours, "Arriba!"

COMING SOON...

_____________________________________________________

Note: please I want to thanks to people for reading and reblogging. Reviews are always appreciated. Spread love not hate. also, you can notice I haven't described the members in details because it will be mentioned during the main night event when others will also appear.

Taglist: @mymoodwriting @justhere4kpop @anyamaris @yeoobin @icchyi @jwnghyuns @piratequeen-queenofgames @dinonuguaegi @hwanring @sanwifesstuff @hyuukah @kazscara @aceofspadesbiofalltrades @nvdhrzn @vtyb23 @haechansbbg @dassmyname

[open!]

[ashton-sano]

Blue Lock Characters in: Being Jealous

(Characters Inclu.: Yoichi Isagi, Meguru Bachira, Seishiro Nagi, Reo Mikage, Chigiri Hyoma)

Trying to get into the habit of posting more often, so have these headcanons. A Bit short but I hope you enjoy

Yoichi Isagi

-Somehow the worst one on this list

-He's likely to give the nastiest glare to whoever you're wasting your time with (of course when you arent looking)

-Post Blue lock Isagi is kinda the same, Just a lot less subtle. curses and maybe a fight or two if its Kaiser. 

"That blonde asshole has no place talking to you, you're mine.."

-Don't be alarmed, he's unlikely to take his jealously out on you

-Unless you're teasing him on purpose, then he might get a bit agitated with you

- "My dear, I'm not too fond of how you let him touch you just then, please stop that."

 

-He's a two way street, either a sweetheart who tries to dodge around it or a straight maniac who will plot murdering whoever it is.

    -Nothing to mistake, he isnt brainless, so theres always a chance he wont care

-He's mostly secure in your relationship with him but could use reassurance in times like that

Meguru Bachira 

-Relatively tame for the most part

-If anything, he may get clingier

-He honestly doesnt even acknowledge the person youre talking to at first, he's too invested in you

"Oh, Baby! You busy today? I wanted to try this- hm? Oh, you're talking to someone...? Anyway, its this cool bakery I saw, we should try it!"

-If you aren't giving him your attention, that's when he'd get pouty

-He's a child at heart, naturally he's gonna get upset if you aren't paying him mind, no matter the reason

"Babyyyyyyy, gimme attention...! I dont care who youre talking to, love me!"

-Its cute so you usually give him his way and stop what youre doing

       

     --> Little do you know, he does it on purpose because it always works

-Definitely a michevious little bumblebee

Seishiro Nagi 

-Another rather tame one

-Hard to tell if he even cares with how lazy and laid back he is 

-It usually never bothers him since he does trust you 

"Hm? Your friend asked to hang out today? Sounds cool.." 

-Like Bachira, he only cares when it cuts into your time with him, now its something of note for him

-How could you leave your boyfriend for some lame hangout? Playing Video games with him is much more important

"You want me to get off..? No...Not until you promise you'll stay and hang out with me..."

-Please just stay, he might actually cry if you leave (he wont, but it always gets you because you believe him)

     ->A 6'2" babi, why wouldnt you want to give him what he wants?

- Eventually he makes you forget why you were trying to leave in the first place

Reo Mikage

-Have you seen how he gets with Nagi? Safe to say he wont be very happy

-As mad as he'd be, I doubt he'll make sure you see that

-All smiles and grins when you look at him, what do you mean you swear you saw him scowl at the guy behind you? You're just seeing things love

 

"Dove, who's this? A..friend? Ah, well im sure we'll get along well, real well...."

-We all know how privledged he is, he would be appauled that you want time with anyone besides him, what could they give you that he cant?

-Granted, he wouldnt give it much thought at first but as you keep focus on this person, itll eat away at him more before he's pouting and begging for you to give him your undivided time

"C'mon Dove, how bout we go to that new cafe you were talking about, hm? No, im not trying to distract you, how could you say that..?"

(Thats definitely what hes doing)

-Eventually he'd bribe or sweet talk you into giving him what he wants 

    -"Dont ask about where that guy went, hes not important....Now lets go get some ice cream, yeah?"

-A tad creepy and overprotective but with all that money, who is to stop him?

Chigiri Hyoma

 The most tame on this list, and by a rather large margin too

-This pretty boy knows you'll eventually give him your attention, nothing to worry about

-If anything, he encourages you to allocate your time doing what you want and speaking to who you wish

-That can change if the person is too touchy with you, however

"Pretty sure they asked you to take your hands off, keep them to yourself."

 

-He trusts you entirely, its the people you hang around that can overstep and agitate him 

-Hence why he's almost always hanging out with you, your friends are his friends right? What better way to show them that you're happily taken then to bring your sweet, beautiful redhead with you?

"Going out sweetheart? Mind if i tag along? I mean only if you don't mind."

-Truly a man who knows his worth, but it would help if you told your especially pushy friends to mind their manners when he's around 

    -A few of them have actually attempted moves on him once or twice

-We stan a Pretty King 👑 

[harus-simp]

Wearing their clothes (maknae line)

Shen Ricky, Kim Gyuvin, Park Gunwook, Han Yujin

Genre: fluffy fluff

Warning: none

Word count: 1.1 K

Author's note: Here's part 2 hope you enjoy it <3

Hyung line

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How would your amazing boyfriend possibly react when he sees their partner wearing his clothes?

Ricky

♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡

Another day with ricky another day were you were being spoiled by your boyfriend. He specially loved to invite you to dinner dates, seeing you all dressed up for him made his heart race, you looked like a beautiful doll, and he couldn't believe you were his.

You were coming back from a new restaurant near your house so you went there walking and you were returning like that as well. However, it was now much colder than it was before, so you were fighting against the freezing wind.

Luckily for you, ricky noticed this and offered you his jacket, saying that he is felt hot (he was obviously lying).

As you got home you plopped yourself on the sofa still with the jacket on and without the intention of taking it off at all.

"I see you like my jacket babe"

"Yeah, it's really comfy"

He laughed at your slightly tipsy tone, the champagne you had drank making a little bit of effect.

"I'll get you one so we can match"

You looked at him panicking.

"Noooo, I want yours"

"Why?"he asked smirking curiously

"Cause it smells like youuuu"

That made his smirk disappear completely and be replaced with a shy little smile, his cheeks turning red as well.

The way you literally had his heart and whole being at your mercy was driving him completely crazy. He wrapped his arms around your waist and carried you to your shared room.

"You don't know how much I love you babe"

"Mhmm love you too"you said after kissing his cheek

"Alright, let's get you to bed"

Gyuvin

☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆

After lots of bickering from your tall ass and lazy baby you finally got him to go out with you to the cinema as a movie you had been waiting for had came out recently, and there was no way you weren't going.

So you decided to bring gyuvin with you to watch it together.

You got to the venue were the cinema was located at and now was waiting for him to not be late or else you would kill him because you really wanted to see that film.

You had picked your outfit really blindly without paying that much attention, so you grabbed a hoodie that was laying on your chair.

You recognised it as one of gyuvin's hoodies, actually one of his most used ones. But that wouldn't stop you from using. On the contrary, that impulsed you to wear it even more.

Ten minutes before the movie started you finally watched him running towards you at full speed because he obviously was late.

"I'm so sorry baby I lost track of time, let's get going"

You nodded and grabbed his hand pulling him inside the place.

The movie finished and you got out quite happy with the end of the plot and so did gyu.

But suddenly your boyfriend looked at you with a shocked expression.

"Hey, that's my hoodie, give it back!"

"But I'm your partner gyu, you should give it to me"

"No it's mine, you hoodie stealer"he said tickling playfully your side to make you break

"Nooooo"you started bickering back

But all jokes aside (we know how playful he can be) he actually lived for that sight before him, he felt enchanted by you and wanted to keep this beautiful memory forever.

Gunwook

♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡

It had been a long and hard week of school and the least you wanted to do at the moment was to go outside. But you had already made the promise to gunwook to have a stroll at the park and you didn't want to make your pookie sad.

So that's were you were right now, resting a bit on a little bench to see families with their children and people with their beloved pets.

"The weather's nice huh?"he said

"I wouldn't talk too early pookie, it can change at any moment"

And just as you predicted the air suddenly became colder making you shiver from its spontaneity, hugging yourself in the process.

"See I told you to watch your words wookie!"you playfully hit him

You kept hugging yourself not expecting gunwook to notice, so it came as a surprise when he suddenly stopped walking and asked you about it.

"Are you cold baby?"

"Oh, yeah a little bit"you responded giggling at his shocked face

"And where's your jacket?"

"I might have left it in class"

At this he instantly took off his own jacket and helped you put it on, folding the sleeves so it didn't cover you entirely.

"Thanks wookie"you said smiling at him

His immediate response was to grab your cheeks and squish them lovingly looking at you with heart eyes.

"Are you always this cute?"

"No, only for you"

That was it, he couldn't stand how cute you were, how everyone could see this side of you and only him.

"I'm tired let's head to your house and cuddle"

Yujin

☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆

On a random and boring day of summer you and yujin were lazily laying on his bed without anything to do other than show each other memes that were on your phones. But nothing that interesting to be honest.

And you were starting to get quite irritated from not doing anything productive in itself, it was such a waste of your time and your holidays.

However, you just got the best idea ever, you'd be trying some clothes from yujin knowing damn well that, despite his soft and delicate looks was a tough and muscular figure.

At last, curiosity got the best of you,so while he was distracted enough you went through his closet in search of something to try on, and as you got back with something good you picked his interest turning all his attention on you.

"What are you doing y/nnie?"

"Got bored so I'm trying your clothes, do I look like you?"you asked posing like you were on a runway show

"Pffff, not at all, you look tiny. You are so small"he said laughing

"Not my problem you are an early developed teen!"you shot back sticking your tongue out.

You knew he was teasing you, of course you knew it. But looking at how red his ears had turned you figured out he thought the opposite of what he actually said.

And you were right, the way he blushed as he saw how his hoodie was draping down to your knees made his mind go crazy.

But what can we say? Young kids in love <3

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Taglist: @zumblrnet

[stariekis]

love novels.

pairing : non idol! jungwon + librarian!reader . genre : fluff . cw : none ! let me know if i should add smt . wc : 2.6k not proofread

— synopsis : who said that you can't live those things you always read in your romance novels ?

— note : long ass hiatus damn ... sorry for being so inactive babies but i've been pretty busy with uni and resting too ngl but i promise i'll repay u🤞🏻 <3 n e wayyys here u have a lil woni one shot :D hope u guys enjoy it! all kinds of feedback and reposts are always appreciated as u know 🤲🏻⭐

This new semester you decided on working for your college's library. You loved reading and you go there pretty frequently so you thought that this was the perfect job for you and you can also have some extra credits

The first days there you notice a particular student entering the library at the same time every day, five o'clock to be precise. At firts you didn't pay much attention to him, he was like every other students after all.

But as the time passes by you find yourself looking for him every afternoon, hoping to see him again at the same time.

He was pretty - a pretty handsome guy to be fair - so it was obvious that he would eventually catch your attention. He also has a unique and calm aura, making him more interesting to you.

This is how we ended up in this exact day. The day was pretty boring, not many people entered the library and you spent most of your shift seating behind the desk and organizing the shelfs.

The sound of the door opening caught you attention. It was him, the boy with pretty eyes. Looking at the clock you smiled, five o'clock, right on time.

He, as usual, when straight up to the 'romance novel' shelft. You wanted to talk to him so bad, but how he will react if you just approached him out of the blue ?. So, when you saw him grabbing one of your favorite books you knew you couldn't let this opportunity slide away.

— 'That's one of my favorites books' you said, standing behind his back. He turned around as soon as he heard your voice, smiling at you. He was tall, his frame almost towering you, and he was even prettier up close.

— 'Really? i didn't know that you were into this type of books' actually he knew it perfectly, he saw the same exact book on you desk the other day that's why he choose it.

You didn't notice but since the first time he entered the library he was enchanted by you. Images of you behind your desk with your glasses on and you hair up in a messy bun keep repeating on his mind since that day, he then started frequenting your workplace more.

— 'I actually love romance novels but this one is amazing really, the characters are so well written that you empathize a lot with them and the plot is like strangers to loves and-' you looked at him for the first time and you were shocked to say the least when you found him looking directly at you, totally hypnotized while listening to you. — 'I talk too much don't i?' you look at you feets trying to avoid his gaze.

Jungwon giggled, putting on of his hand under your chin and lifting your face until your eyes met again. You almost melt under his touch. — 'Not at all, i love hearing you talk' he said almost whispering, you didn't realize how closr both of you eere until he backed up a bit.

He handled you the book — 'Sadly I have to go now i have some things to do but i will come back to rent this book okey?'. You nodded, you were completely out of words and your heart was beating fastly. — 'See you around pretty librarian'.

Then he made his way towards the door and, before closing it, he gave your the sweetest smile ever showing his pretty dimple.

You stood there with the book in your hands. When you were about to put it back on the shelf you saw a piece of paper sticking out tje side.

You picked it up and opened it. You put your back against the shelf and slid down until you were sitting on the floor smiling at the note.

i've always wanted to talk to you so, if you want too, text me :)

+ xxx xx xx xx

pd. you are really pretty btw <3

att. jungwon

[raayllum]

I know you were ready to lay CHET to rest after this season but… Callum still has the cube, we still don’t know *exactly* what it does but Aaravos will presumedly need it, and all that foreshadowing about Callum choosing Rayla over the greater good? I still believe

i'll have a more coherent post about this when i'm not running on under 7 hours of sleep for 24+ hours (close to 30+ now honestly) but no i feel so Fucking Crazy right now precisely because i went into s6, our penultimate season, expecting to finally get to lay CHET and its variants (5x08 my beloved) to rest after 4+ years, every season for 3 seasons in a row i've been ready to lay it down, and yet it's still on the Goddamn Table arguably more than ever before

Obviously certain things have changed — Callum's thematic associations with freedom would switch probably to having a role to play in 'unlocking' Aaravos' full power and/or giving him access to the other Startouch elves somehow — but both of those things are stuff I've considered being related to the cube before (as well as dark magic) so not much is actually changing there fundamentally.

What continues to change is the sheer assortment of evidence that Callum is going to play into Aaravos' hands for her (the initial basis of CHET), and Rayla is likewise going to refuse to sacrifice him (thereby shortly followed by mutual salvation theory), and 6x03 is a Giant Sign blinking Pay Attention in bright neon.

Rayla: Listen to me. If you ever have to choose between me and the greater good, do the right thing. Make the sacrifice.

Nevermind that 'right thing' is subjective and that sacrificing loved ones is routinely seen as Bad ("We must be willing to sacrifice, even the things we love" / "My daughter [...] and I tried to kill you") and that Aaravos (one of Rayla's primary foils) likewise demanded for Viren to 'make a sacrifice' regarding Sir Sparklepuff in 5x09. It'd be one thing, mind you, for Rayla to just bring up this Hypothetical and it could conceivably be dropped, but then Callum makes the basis of CHET's adjacent Mutual Salvation Theory explicit in tethering Rayla's request to his own:

Rayla: What? Callum: If Aaravos ever controls me again, if he ever uses me, promise me you'll kill me. Rayla: Yes. I promise.

(There's a few different things we can read both into Callum's renewed approach and Rayla's changed response, but meta for another day).

What this conversation does, though, is link these things in the audience's mind. If half is called upon their deal in a scenario, it's only logical that the other will be too. And, of course, Aaravos has to inevitably possess Callum, and Callum (as a main protagonist and usher of a new age of magic) cannot die, so Rayla has to break her promise (a la TTM) to keep him alive, freeing up room in the narrative to Callum likewise break his (more thinly made tbh) promise as well. The easiest order of events, therefore, is for Callum to break his promise first in order to save/protect her, be possessed, and then Rayla breaks her promise in saving him. Mutual salvation and all that

The fact we have other characters and plot threads routinely referring back to and building up Rayllum's thematic basis for each plot turn in S7 is just the cherry on top.

(We also see Rayla talk not just one but two 'monsters' down corrupted by desperation and grief, so while it may retread more territory if she does the same to Callum, there's certainly more than a precedent. For Callum, 2/3 dark magic times were for Rayla, and you don't introduce Big Extra Scary 'permanently ruined by dark magic' Stakes if you're not gonna use them as a way to escalate things, either, even if of course given that it's S7, there will be ways out and a happy ending).

Insert Callum putting the star rune sign directly down against her palm.

I think it's likely the cube is still involved somehow (all the ominous foreshadowing including and most prevalently featured in the pawn intro doesn't suddenly go away, and was only added to in S6) and really, this is about the only parallel I personally need anymore to keep chugging along theory wise:

Like it's Over and at this point we just gotta wait for S7, tbh, especially when a big juicy angsty mutual Rayllum plotline is more than in order after their relatively fluffy (loved) plotline in S6

[whiskeyswifty]

putting this under read more so if you don't know how to be normal about a discussion of reputation (the album) or ariana grande (if you choose to read it'll make sense, i promise) you can just keep scrolling

i had an epiphany today when thinking about the artistic exercise of Eternal Sunshine, ari's new album, which was not an epiphany about it's execution. that much is very clear and i enjoyed very much upon first listen, but if you want a refresher is this: after a very publicly broadcast and discussed personal scandal, the dissolution of her short-lived marriage and her appearing as the romantic entanglement in someone else's marriage dissolution, the interested general public was hotly anticipating her next album. they had expectations that she would discuss/confess/air her dirty laundry about these events, as she is a semi-autobiographical and confessional songwriter and performer, at least when it comes to her most prolific personal affairs. these expectations were brought to higher levels of titillation when she named the album after the titular movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I won't get into the plot as you can use google if you don't know and didn't have the pleasure of having your brain exploded as a teenager watching that in a college dorm room, but everyone of course anticipated the relationship that she would be exorcizing from her memory would be that of her ex husband. Ariana, knowing full well this is what people were going into her album expecting, decided to play with these expectations in a particularly fun bait and switch game artists of all kinds are known to do on occasion. first with the lead single, which is an interestingly offensive approach, scolding news and media outlets for talking about her life and judging it without knowing her. then if you've listened to the album, you of course realized very quickly that while there are a few songs where she starts off by giving the audience what they wanted (be it the bad behavior anthem the boy is mine or ex diss tracks like boy bye and the title track), the lead single was perhaps more of the central focus of the album after all. Songs that begin talking about liars and breakups soon weave contradictory elements in (wait she will wait for their love? i thought they broke up? situationship? weren't they married?) and depending on your self awareness, at least by the end you realize that perhaps a large chunk of the album was not about her jilted lovers or current messy romantic life, but about you. the fan, the critic, the audience writ large. songs like true story where you think it's about her lying ex husband, but by the time you get halfway in, you realize oh wait... perhaps its about more than one thing, or something else entirely... perhaps the ones "fantasizing about her demise" and the ones who "pay to see play the scene" are her audience. to whom she is biting and vindictive in her martyrdom, being whatever the public wants her to be so she can keep that love, because attention is still love in the eyes of a pop star. songs like we can't be friends play with that expectation that you think it will be about her ex husband or the early stages of her sneaking around with her new beau, but no, it is about how fraught her relationship is with her fans and audience. how pop stars do not have actual "friendly" relationships with said fans because of how fickle and superficial they are, how little these fans/audiences really know her at all due to the triple-paned window between them, but how desperate pop stars are for the love of those hands pressed against the glass. she slips in these fraught emotions and turmoil amongst the gossip you gobble, a little sugar to help the medicine go down in a way. But not too finger wagging, as often it's hard to tell what the song is truly about. all you know is it's not as simple as "my ex husband sucks." She knew all eyes and ears would be on this album and toyed with the listener to the point where she got them to listen to her airing her grievances to them about themselves, pay her even to hear it. a delicious little feat.

and of course by now you know where i'm headed, which is we know someone who did something quite similar. had a public scandal, understood the expectations of her, a singer/songwriter, releasing an album after said scandal and toyed with the expectations of that audience with that album. one she cheekily named reputation, doing the opposite of what ari did. where ari played into the promise of a gossipy album about her relationships but turned it into a confessional meditation on fame and the ups and downs of what it's like to be a popstar, taylor promised that discussion by titling it reputation, but her bait and switch was that she ended up telling you gossip about her new relationship. like ESotSM, reputation does dabble in what was promised up front, but as gleaned by listening yourself and as proclaimed by the artist herself, the album ultimately was more interested in gabbing about her newfound happiness where you expected fraught sadness.

this is not a discussion about which one is more "successful" if you can even quantify that. you can't really, outside of capitalist metrics which as we know are not arbiters of taste or quality. (and personally i'm way more interested in hearing the rarely revealed musings of a pop star wrestling with the way they've shackled their self worth to public opinion and fame, rather than hearing some girl talk about another one of her boyfriends. so it's no secret which one i find more artistically stimulating lol). but more of an epiphany that these two women, under similar duress of having their narratives taken from them, lives judged without any grace given, resorted to the same tactic. regaining control in what small way they could, luring people in with the bait of gossip and pop stars self flagellation that they so cravenly desired and force feeding them something else once they'd waded too far in to turn back. startlingly self indulgent and vindictive for someone who's job it is to appeal to as many people as possible, which makes it so curious to me.

Most interesting to me is the conclusion of both of these creative and pseudo-therapeutic endeavors. While taylor claimed to have found peace and refuge from the thirst for public approval (although you could argue that metatexuauly, the release of an album about it, the subsequent massive tour, and her obvious devastation on grammy nomination day as depicted in MA say otherwise), Ariana comes to a similar conclusion in her three closing tracks. first, i wish i hated you which is the piece de resistance in this experiment in dubiousness, as it offers two readings impossible to irrefutably confirm. a song that quietly and beautifully speaks about a dissolution without any obvious wrongdoer or wrongdoing. just a natural drifting apart and how hating them would be easier than accepting some things just don't work, no rhyme or reason. in what sounds like one take, refreshingly tactile in sound and her breath catching towards the end, is this ariana bearing her truth about her divorce finally? confessing that sorry to disappoint, but there is no "tea" or drama, just two adults who weren't right for each other and mature enough to know that and part amicably? or is this about you? us? the pursuit of fame and the connection to an audience she tried so hard to achieve and enjoy, but has realized that it just isn't right for her? her choice to step back and away from the love she has come to want so desperately, but knows isn't good for her, despite not being able to find it in her heart to hate her fans/audience as much as she secretly wants to? It's followed up by imperfect for you which argues the opposite. is this about her new yellow rectangular beau who takes her with all her flaws as she is? does she feel understood by him and has found peace in him? or was the previous one truly about her husband and this one is about her fans and audience, who she feels love her despite her messiness and bad behavior and imperfections, to say the least? are they both about the audience? or neither? they allow room for both, purposefully so, and she's taken to not really talking about in detail it at all, perhaps an answer in and of itself.

the closing track ultimately ends in the same place as taylor. less of an answer but a discovery of peace with the reality of it all. for ariana, ordinary days is once again elusive in it's subject, as it talks about how she has found comfort in the subject with whom there are never going to be "ordinary days." is this a person? her family perhaps, as her grandmother is pointedly featured at the end? or is this once again about her fraught relationship with her fans, for whom she can credit for making no day ordinary ever again, as they have made her extraordinary with their adulation and love? and is she saying for better or worse, happy or sad, it's never ordinary and that's what makes it all worth it in the end? her grandmother's speech that caps off the album is rather contradictory to everything ariana has done in her romantic life thus far. among other things, she says "I mean, I could have packed up and left a million times, you know? It's not that we never fought, you can overcome that, you know?" We just listened to a whole album about how she did leave and didn't overcome the problems in her marriage.... or did we listen to her talk about her relationship to us, the listener, and how she didn't leave fame behind and despite the turmoil, constant and never ending and never tipped in her favor, she is choosing to overcome it every time... once again?it's hard to know as always with art, but it's a path laid out for you to choose as you wish. another question to answer the initial question on the album that she poses in track one, less to us and more to herself. She asks "How can I tell if I'm in the right relationship... If the moon went dark tonight and it all ended tomorrow, would I be the one on your mind?... and if it all ended tomorrow, would you be the one on mine?" Her and taylor (when they point to the pictures, please tell them my name // i'm still trying everything to get you looking at me) and Beyoncé (the legacy, if it's the last thing I do. you'll remember me) and all anointed pop stars probing the same question. not asking us if we will remember them, but asking themselves if the pursuit of that immortality is worth all of it, the self-crucifixion of fame. is this what they're going to choose? is she going to erase us from her memory or are we going to be her great love despite our fickle nature and the guaranteed pain and suffering? The album, much like the movie, offers no clear answer as to what the right choice is, or that she's even capable of being someone who could dole out such wisdom, but ultimately decides maybe there is no choice at all. we can't go back. we are all moths to one flame or another, forever changed by what we do and what we become. a non-answer that i had never really thought about before, that instead interrogates the very question as something worth asking in the first place. which perhaps it isn't. we do what we do because we must, so at least don't do it alone.

[aphelio-mara]

its actually so good to hear someone else out there is lying awake at night thinking. “omega earth has a valorant legion fan convention.” and “i wonder how many shitty movie productions exist in omega earth that completely ruin an agents character.”

like. imagine turning on the latest big hit movie about your life and saving the world and theres a horrible romance sideplot of you and your best friend. hilarious. mortifying. the rest of the legion doesnt let it go for months, until the next big scandal drops and focuses the attention onto the next poor soul

going absolutely insane to the point that i made a whole scenario based on this because YES YOU GET IT 🫵‼️

can you imagine phoenix getting promised a biopic in the aftermath of his heroism in aiding lisbon (pearl)

he's ecstatic; sage, omen, and jett are all supportive, save for the lighthearted teasing every once and a while by them and the others

the day of the premiere comes and he's bubbling on the red carpet, giving fist bumps and side hugs to his friends and colleagues that attended, the paparazzi going particularly crazy when he drapes his arm over yoru (he chalks it up as them being excited that yoru even came with his elusive persona)

the movie begins and phoenix is impressed. the plot flows well, it highlights aspects of his life and personality that's meaningful to him, and the acting is incredible! he doesn't even comment on the fact that every time movie him and movie yoru interact, the vibe of the scene changes in the smallest ways into something more...sentimental? oh, who cares, the movie is cool!

he doesn't even pay mind to the fact that when movie him was in peril, movie yoru had an entire scene of him rushing to the communication room, trying to reach him. he doesn't say anything when the end of the film comes near and they have a conversation with yoru hugging him. i mean, they're good friends beyond their public rivalry, he wishes that yoru actually hugged him during that time. this is such a nice homage to their friendsh—and they're kissing

phoenix feels heat rush up to his cheeks and ears as the tips of his hair flicker ever so slightly with sparks, turning immediately to yoru who's looking at him with the same unspoken "what the fuck"

jett is laughing her ass off and sage looks like a proud mother until her face falls when she realizes that the whole subplot probably isn't real and either 1.) phoenix and yoru's relationship just got outed or 2.) phoenix is Not Gay (the prior option sounds much more plausible to her)

the legion pr team has to physically stop phoenix from answering any interviews after the premiere. his face is plastered in the tabloids the very next day, the yorunix hashtag is trending everywhere, and thousands of dms are entering his social media accounts about how it's okay to be gay ("i know it's okay but are we gonna ignore the fact that they think i'm dating him???")

jett and sage are masters of deflection when asked about it, omen doesn't leave hq enough to be caught in an interview, and yoru himself is back to being too elusive for paparazzi to catch him...and poor phoenix is left to rethink his entire dynamic with one of his best friends

the rumors only die down after almost half a year of not entertaining questions about it, being ultimately overshadowed by another wave of seasonal "bisexual chamber" allegations (they are not allegations at all, chamber knows what he likes but god does he likes to see people speculate)

and hey, phoenix isn't mad anymore. it helped him discover a new part of himself, after all

not the being gay part though; it's the fact that he's probably helplessly in love with yoru and he has no fuckass clue what to do about that 💀

[year2000electronics]

Hi, just being curious, what do you think is the greatest difficulty you’ve faced carrying out the storyline in your ask blogs (aside from potential burnout)?

Is there any time where the asks were not going towards the direction where you’d want them to go, and how did you steer the story back on track?

Do you have any techniques giving out clues or keeping the pace of the ask blog?

[sorry these are a lot. Of questions. It’s just, it’s amazing how you are able to run multiple successful askblogs, and I’m curious how you did it]

OOOH THESE ARE SOME INTERESTING QUESTIONS! really pickin at my old noggin here...

id say probably the most difficult part is like... ok through my tenure ive obviously had some physically taxing moments, moments of people being way too mean, people being way too NICE, people complaining that every single member of a giant ensemble cast doesnt get the exact same amount of screentime etc etc, but id honestly say the hardest part is just. making the medium Work. when i run an ask blog like this, im basically asking people to drive the story forward with no promise of whether their choices even like. Matter. if youre not tethered enough to your asks, it can feel like youre just asking people to put a coin in the slot and letting the story play for another page. you have to play this balancing act of wanting to tell the story you want to tell while also needing peoples' help to get there. thats why an engaging story and endearing characters are so important. i wound up telling people here on my main that y2k would end with a good ending specifically because i got people concerned i genuinely would end it with a Bad End, but still even knowing that people would tune in. so its like. i always have to make sure its Engaging enough. for people to be willing to play this game with me at all. the hardest part of fishing is getting the fish to bite yk.

2. YES ALL THE TIME LOLLLL a lot of the time i will end up either picking an ask from before the topic came up and answer that one, or plant my own decoy ask. basically jingling keys at people HJSSKHASGK. but sometimes even that doesnt work! benrey in y2k has a very touchy complex about his helmet specifically because I DIDNT HAVE SPRITES WITH HIS HAIR. and i thought that his hair was kinda boring compared to what people were probably expecting (its very short and simple i draw his hair like bootleg barney) so i ended up having to answer that little thread by having an explosion and then presenting my own resolution (gordon calm him down :)) i like to think ive gotten better at key jingling though haha. usually the two types of key jingling topics i find work best are either little plot teases or a 'now back to what we were doing' ask, but if you dont want things to advance quite yet, i usually use questions that will elaborate on a character trait or introduce a new character fact

3. dont be me. /j ok actually the thing about this specific medium is like. people will send me asks guessing my twists WAAAAY early on but the thing is i can just. choose not to answer them. hehe. id personally pay attention to how often people are guessing your twists though because like. its BOUND to happen if you lay out clues some people will pick up on them. if theres not a lot of people guessing, then you can lean more into the big sting reveals of like 'NOOOOBODY EXPECTED THIS' but when a lot of people have guessed the twist, i usually make sure to present it in a way that doesnt imply that there was nobody on the right trail or that people got bamboozled. as for the clues themselves. well im about to figure that out myself again! i have some clues i need to lay in bmfe!! dont get discouraged if people pick up on what you thought was really subtle, cos like. literal day 1 of episode 3 someone literally made a powerpoint saying 'LEADING LIGHT IS BACK' and i was like ok i was just on my first crumb DAMN. as for pacing, it doesnt matter if you get the blog done in one month or one year- what does matter is PLANNING. if you know what your goal is, what your landmarks and checkpoints are, youll be able to stagger stuff successfully no matter the length. some of the best-recieved parts of y2kvr were parts i went into the session going 'this is my goal for today' for. the goals dont even have to big, it could even be something as small as like 'get from place a to place b'

SORRY THIS GOT LONG but ty for the question! reflecting on my process is interesting :]

[starlitangels]

Last Night (Mistake)

C’mooon. You know I had to do it. That bit was so intriguing to me 2.9k words

[Spicy warning! No smut, but spice] No spoilers for yesterday’s video, but definitely spoilers for two-days-ago’s video!

—

I jolted awake and looked around. In the dim half-light of a weak morning sun fighting its way past blackout curtains, I recognized the room I was in—and it wasn’t mine. The curtains were dark teal and the posters on the off-white walls were of bands I knew but didn’t like enough to keep posters up. The duvet draped over me was covered in clouds that matched the curtains.

Blake’s bedroom. God only knew I’d sat on this bed doing homework enough to recognize it on sight.

I shifted slowly on the mattress, looking around. How had I… I’d never slept in his bed before. Sure I took a nap on top of the covers occasionally if we’d stayed up late playing video games—but I never got in the covers.

The moment I moved I became acutely aware of the fact that I was naked. And sore. Dark, bruise-like marks peppering my shoulders.

A long string of swearing rushed through my head as the memories came crashing back in.

—

Vzzt! Vzzt!

New Message: Blake Hey! My parents aren’t home tonight. Wanna come over and play Zelda and have pizza?

I chuckled and tapped the Reply option.

Me: Sure. Be over soon.

I grabbed my backpack and slung it on one shoulder. “Mom! I’m heading over to Blake’s!” I shouted.

“Be careful!” Mom called. I grabbed the keys to my old beater of a car.

“I will! We’re just gonna play Zelda and get some pizza. The usual.”

“Drive safe!”

“Will do.” I ducked out the front door and went to my car.

I drove to Blake’s house, where he was already waiting for me with the front door open.

“The order for Max’s has already been placed and it’ll be delivered in like an hour,” Blake said as I approached the door. We exchanged a hug and he pulled me inside, shutting the door behind us. “Think you’re ready to see if you can actually beat ‘Twilight Princess’ tonight?”

“Hey, slowly chipping away at an older game is a perfectly valid play style.”

“Up until the point when you can’t remember where you were at or what the plot even was.”

“Shut up, you jerk,” I snapped. “It hasn’t been that long.”

He laughed and led me to the basement where the game room was. The big open space right off the stairs. His bedroom was through a door to the left but we didn’t bother with it, flopping on the giant beanbag together. Blake passed me the Wii controller. “Good luck,” he teased.

We played until the pizza came, then we played while we ate. We took turns, switching back and forth when one or the other got stuck. The way we always played single-player games.

Neither of us even realized the sun went down until we looked outside when a car’s headlights swung past and saw stars though the basement window well. We laughed. “Another one of those nights,” I joked. He smiled and nodded through his laughter. The clock on the basement microwave—that was mostly there for popcorn—read 2:56AM.

“Yeah, guess so. C’mon. Hand me the controller. My turn.”

I passed it over. As he took it, his eyes unfocused a little, looking through me.

“B? You tired? Wanna call it a night?” I asked.

He shook himself back into focus. “No, no. I’m good. I promise.” He drew the controller closer to himself and settled into the beanbag. Unpausing the game and picking up where I left off.

After a while, I realized I had no idea how I ended up with my head on his chest with his arm around my shoulders. He was still playing, acting like he hadn’t even noticed either. Maybe he hadn’t. But the position was… comfortable. We tucked against each other with a precision like we’d done this a million times. Even though we never had before.

“You’re staring at me,” Blake said.

“When did you put your arm around me?”

“When you snuggled in.”

“When was that?”

He shrugged. “Wasn’t paying attention.”

“Do you… want me to move?”

“You don’t have to. You’re not impeding me.”

We stayed in that position until my shoulder started to ache from how long I’d been lying on it and I finally had to move. I took the controller from him and sat up better on the beanbag.

I played, but was only half thinking about Zelda. The other half of my brain was on my best friend sitting beside me. We’d always been close. People always thought we were together when we were at gas stations or going to grab dinner or whatever. But we’d just… never been like that.

“Hey,” Blake piped up quietly while I was trying to figure out the temple puzzle. “We’re… we’re always gonna be like this, right?”

I paused the game and looked at him over my shoulder. “Of course, why?”

“I don’t know. Just… we’re graduating high school soon. I know you’re going to D.A.M.N. and I’m gonna commute to the school in Ferris that has the better Dreamwalking program but… I just really don’t want us to fall out of each other’s lives.”

“We won’t. We never will.” I smiled at him.

He was staring at me with such intensity that I couldn’t even think of a way to tease him about it. “Blake?” I prompted.

He blinked, finally, but didn’t say anything.

Ever so slowly, he lifted a hooked finger and placed it under my chin. Drawing me closer while he leaned in. I thought about stopping—about pushing him back. About saying we couldn’t. We were best friends and that was all. We couldn’t just throw our friendship away like this—

But by the time all those thoughts passed through my head I was already kissing him. Soft and gentle at first.

I swallowed and pulled away. In the darkness, both of us lit only by the TV screen the Wii was hooked up to, his pupils were blown wide, nearly swallowing that vibrant teal of his eyes. We were both breathing harder than we were a moment ago and my mouth was hanging open in surprise.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I grabbed at his shoulders, curling my fingers into fistfuls of his T-shirt and yanked him closer.

We crashed together with reckless abandon. His hands slipped under my shirt and held onto my bare sides, keeping me close.

With my grip on his shirt, I pulled it up. He let me go long enough to yank it off and throw it somewhere else in the game room, then he grabbed at the hem of my shirt. I let him pull it off. I’d seen him shirtless pretty often, but in the dark, like this, it was different. His skin shimmered in the bluish light of the TV, and was soft under my touch when my hands slid over it. I’d hugged him without a shirt on before, sure, but I’d never really run my hands over his skin with reckless, wanton abandon. His fingertips dug into my bare back in kind, feeling like the points of contact were setting my skin on fire.

We made out on the beanbag until my head was spinning, the bare skin of our torsos pressing together. Holding onto each other like we were never going to be able to let go.

He scooted us off the beanbag and pulled me across the room until we were at the door to his bedroom. He pinned me back against it. “This okay?” His voice was nothing more than a breath as his fingers darted daringly under the waistband of my shorts. Just enough to imply he wanted to take them off.

I nodded breathlessly. “It’s okay.” My hand fumbled behind me for the knob to his bedroom door. I got it open right as he stripped off my shorts and underwear, leaving me naked, before he shoved his own off too.

We tumbled into his room and one of us—not sure who—kicked it shut with magic. Before we fell onto his bed.

—

“Oh God,” I whispered, staring at the hickeys on my shoulder. “Oh, my God—what have we done?!”

Blake stirred beside me. I twisted without softness or subtlety to look at him. The wax he used to spike his hair up away from his face was mostly gone from sweat, leaving his short bangs flopped over his forehead. He was still naked too and there was a smattering of fewer hickeys on his chest. He looked peaceful, a tiny smile touching the corners of his lips even before he was fully awake.

He blinked bleary eyes open. “Good morning,” he said tiredly, a small smile on his face.

“Blake!” I hissed. Panic was making heat rise in my chest. Whether that was my Core or my heart pounding, I had no idea. “Blake, what have we done?!”

After a moment, he blinked again. Clarity came back to his eyes.

He sat up abruptly. I looked away as the sheet and duvet fell off of him. “Oh, my God,” he whispered. With a few quick, efficient movements, he slid out of the blankets—while I slammed my eyes shut—and I felt him hop over me and open the door to his bedroom with a soft creak. I didn’t feel his parents’ auras in the house… yet.

I heard and felt the soft pulse of magic and the rustling of fabric. Next thing I knew, familiar textures were being pressed into my hands.

“Here. Your clothes,” Blake said.

I sat up, eyes still shut, rearranging the sheet to keep my modesty covered, and did my best to at least get my shirt on. I heard the scrape of fabric over skin as Blake put his own clothing on.

I peeked one eye open in time to see Blake in his underwear and a fresh T-shirt that covered the majority of his hickeys, yanking into jeans.

Still hiding under the covers, I pulled my own underwear and shorts on.

“Blake—what the hell do we do?”

“I don’t know! We just—we got carried away!” Blake hissed.

I tumbled out of his bed once I was covered by my clothes. “We’re still in high school—my parents are going to kill me. Then… you. Then me again!” I grimaced. “God—I am sore everywhere! Like, in places I didn’t even know could get sore—and I play tokenrun.”

“We can’t tell our parents,” Blake said.

“How can we not tell our parents? I don’t know the kind of healing magic that would get rid of hickeys—or the soreness. My parents will just be able to… tell.”

Blake ran his hands through his short hair, mussing the half-waxed spikes. “Uh… text them. Tell them we stayed up all night playing Zelda and we’re gonna walk to grab some breakfast at that diner over on Sunkissed Avenue. Stay here long enough to stop being so sore and then… then maybe we can text Lacey and see if she’d be willing to heal…”

“You want Lacey to know we slept together?!” I hissed.

“She wouldn’t know—”

“Yes she would. She can be a bit of an airhead but she’s not so stupid that she wouldn’t recognize hickeys on sight.”

Blake took a deep breath and sighed. “Text your parents… let’s go get breakfast… then… we’ll figure it out.” He swore under his breath.

—

“Fantastic, as always,” Blake muttered around a mouthful of hashbrowns. We were at our usual booth at the diner on Sunkissed Avenue—an old run-down place that had been around since at least the eighties with cracking vinyl seats and hometown charm.

“Mmhmm,” I agreed as I poured a little more syrup on a pancake that was a little dry. I cut off a piece using my fork and shoved it in my mouth.

Blake sucked in a breath. His eyes were doing that thing again where he was unfocused, staring into the middle distance. “Hey,” he said softly. “Are we… you know… gonna talk about it?”

I sighed and rubbed the side of my face with one hand. “What’s there to talk about?” I asked.

He flinched. Just slightly. If I hadn’t known him as well as I did, I never would have noticed. “W’ll, I just… I guess… what changes, and what doesn’t?”

I scrunched my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

His face reddened. “It, uh… I really…” He swore under his breath. A few times. “I feel like everything just clicked into place. Like, we’ve been friends since we were kids but… these last couple years… I don’t know. It felt like our dynamic shifted. Like we were more than friends.”

“You mean, like, best friends,” I said like I was stating the obvious.

“More than that, even.” He swallowed, the still-developing Adam’s Apple bobbing. He shoved his still-half-waxed bangs out of his face. “And… last night—it finally made sense to me. I finally realized why. Kissing you—holding you—all of that, with you. That’s what the missing piece was, for me. The last piece of that puzzle slotting into place. Last night was incredible and it feels like… like a light turned on. Like I’ve been living in the dark all this time and now I can really see. Like life is in color now, not just greyscale and shadows.” He reached a hand across the table, toward me, but not quite able to reach and touch me. “I think that was it. Last night—”

“Blake. Last night was a mistake,” I said sharply. I rubbed my face with both hands this time. “Don’t you realize? We’re not ready for that kind of commitment. We’re still in high school for God’s sake. And if we do this now, before either of us is actually ready for something like this, we will crash and burn and—and our friendship will be absolutely screwed. I…” I huffed a frustrated sigh out my nose. “I don’t want to lose what we have. We’re so close to going to our academies and graduating high school and… and if we jump into something like that now we could lose everything. Are you really willing to risk that? Are you willing to risk our futures? For what? One night of getting carried away? Being hormonal teenagers?”

Blake’s hand slid back across the table toward him with a quiet squeak. “Don’t… don’t say it like that.” His voice had gone small. Quiet. “You don’t know that we’d be risking our futures.”

“And, what, you do?” I snapped. Then winced. “Look, I’m sorry. That was harsh. I didn’t mean to say it like that. But… we’re best friends. I love you, really. But… but it was a mistake.” I licked my lips, realizing how dry they were. “I… I don’t… I don’t want you like that. Not right now. Maybe someday? But especially not now.”

I dug my wallet out of the pocket of my shorts and pulled some cash out of it, setting it on the table.

“I should head back to grab my car and go home. That should be enough to cover breakfast. If it’s not I can pay you back the difference later,” I said.

I got up.

“Wait—” Blake tried to protest.

But I rushed out of the diner. Despite being sore all over—still, despite the painkillers—I took off at a brisk walk.

—

Many Years Later…

—

“Don’t do this, unless I’m what you really want. Because if we start, I’m not ever going to want it to stop.” Blake paused to take a breath, looking me dead in the eye with those intense, vibrant teal eyes. “So, you’ve gotta choose. Draw the line here, and I won’t cross it. I swear. But if you pick this, it’ll be all of me. All of it. And we both know a lot of that’s not pretty.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Please… don’t give me this unless that’s what you want. Don’t give me that hope…” A tear fell out of his eye and slid down his face.

I leaned across the couch cushion and pulled him close to me. He met me in the middle with desperate fervor, our lips crashing together the same way they had that night back in high school. Blake’s hands found their way under my shirt the same way they had back then. I balled my fists in the shoulders of his shirt the same way.

Instead of scrambling against each other and haphazardly pulling each other toward his bedroom in his parents’ basement, this time we took measured, easier steps back down the hallway of my small apartment and into my bedroom. I kicked the door shut with magic as Blake’s fingertips darted darlingly under my waistband again. “This okay?”

“More than okay. Please, Blake.”

He stripped me down and I did the same to him before pushing him down onto my bed.

Times had changed. We both had. All I could hope was that I wasn’t making another mistake.

[gracesshelves]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

            The first time I watched anything related to The Lord of the Rings was last year when my friend made me watch the extended editions of the first three movies, so I was glad that I had some context while coming into The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012). However, I have not read any of the books, which I think made it harder to watch this movie in particular. I would rate this movie a two out of five, which is the lowest rating I’ve given in class so far. One of the most important things when consuming media is the ability to keep my focus. I’ve watched some really poorly made movies, but they kept my attention throughout the whole thing, something I cannot say for this movie. I sat and watched this whole thing and I cannot remember half of what happened because it dragged on for so long. Connecting to our discussion this week on the dangers of alienating potential fans through adaptation, I do think this movie kind of does this. If I’d read The Hobbit before, I would’ve been more invested, but since I had no context of where this was going, it was very hard to pay attention.

            This movie follows Bilbo Baggins sixty years before the events of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Despite his adventure-filled youth, Bilbo mellowed into adulthood and thought he was content to live the life of a simple hobbit. However, this illusion is shattered when Gandalf the Grey invites a bunch of dwarves to his house for dinner in an attempt to convince Bilbo to join their quest. Their goal is to reclaim the Kingdom of Erebor, which was captured by the dragon Smaug 171 years ago. Despite some pushback, Bilbo eventually agrees to join their group. In this film, we follow them on the first leg of their quest. Honestly, I think Martin Freeman was the perfect choice for this role. He’s kind of developed a type cast as the cautious, reluctant, sarcastic protagonist/sidekick, but he plays it so well. His personality got me through the lulls of action during this movie.

            I promise I have some nice things to say! I really enjoyed the whole Rivendell scene because I got to see some characters I actually knew. I also think it did a nice job of establishing Gandalf's philosophy, which makes his choices of protagonists make so much more sense. My favorite scene in the whole movie was, of course, the scene with Gollum. This section had the most tension and highest stakes of the film, in my opinion. I was folding clothes while watching the majority of the movie, but I had to stop what I was doing during this part because I was so invested. Andy Serkis does an amazing job of making Gollum creepy, yet sympathetic. His performance always draws me in, and I think the movie would have suffered without the inclusion of this scene.

This week I don’t particularly have any comments on themes, because I have a hard time recalling what the plot was in general besides getting from point A to point B, but I did appreciate Gandalf’s whole speech about why he picked Bilbo specifically. He says: “Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love” (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 2012). I think that is what stuck with me the most walking away from this movie. Will I finish the franchise? Probably not. I have a lot of diehard LOTR fans as friends, and they loathe this trilogy so I don’t feel the need to watch it, but I might consider reading the source material. Unfortunately, the studios kind of shot themselves in the foot with this one. I would’ve had the patience to sit through a four-hour-long movie if it covered the whole book. Making a trilogy out of a book that is shorter than any of the The Lord of the Rings books was not the best idea.

[chrisbitchtree]

The One with the Trick that's also a Treat (Unless you ask Mike Wheeler)

Harringrove Harvest Day 2

Prompt - The Henderson's Annual Halloween Haunted House

1.8k - G

***

For all his insistence that he disliked most of Steve’s friends, calling all the kids except Max and El soul sucking gremlins, and Nancy names that made Steve gasp in horror, he had a deep dark secret. Grumpy, grouchy, meanie Billy Hargrove just wanted to be liked. Wanted to be accepted by the group at large, not just Steve and Robin. He didn’t want to stand in the corner, snapping and snarling at anyone who dared get too close. Which was how he’d ended up volunteering to play mummy to Steve’s vampire at the Henderson’s annual haunted house.

One night in early September, Steve had casually mentioned that he and Dustin were going shopping for Halloween costumes. Billy’s ears had perked up, and he’d placed his finger in the novel he was reading, marking his page, then turned to face Steve. “Babe, I know you like to stay in touch with your inner child, but aren’t you and Dustin a little old for trick or treating?”

Steve laughed, fixing Billy with a mock glare. “First of all, you’re never too old for trick or treating, and second of all, that’s not even what we’re doing. We’re getting ready for the Henderson’s annual haunted house. Dustin’s outgrown his old devil costume, and I need a vampire costume. I told him I’d help out this year. Plus, we told Claudia we’d get some extra cobwebs and plastic bats.”

Maybe this could be his chance, Billy thought. “Do you guys have a mummy?” he asked, trying to sound casual. “I’d make a real mean mummy.”

“Why?” Steve asked, looking shocked and sounding suspicious. “Are you seriously volunteering? Because they could actually use a mummy. It used to be Mike, but he decided that he’s too old for it this year, and he’s refusing to participate, no matter how much they all beg him.”

“Yeah,” Billy replied, shrugging. “I’ll help if you’re really in a bind. As long as you promise to suck my blood after.” He waggled his eyebrows, making Steve laugh.

“Thanks, babe,” Steve said, walking over to the couch and kissing Billy on the cheek.

Billy took the opportunity to pull Steve into his lap. “Come show me how thankful you really are, pretty boy.”

Steve chuckled. “I’d love to, but I’m already almost late to pick up Dustin. “As soon as I’m home,” he promised.

Billy swatted his ass as he walked away, cackling even as Steve huffed at him. “I’ll be waiting.”

Proud of himself for how well that had worked, Billy returned to his book with a smile on his face, barely paying attention to the words on the page as he started to dream up his mummy costume.

***

Billy spent the next month trying to seem like he was completely disinterested in the haunted house, and only participating as a favour to Steve, but secretly, he was working hard on getting his outfit just right. He spent hours driving to three different fabric shops to find the perfect strips of cotton, and through lots of trial and error, he learnt how to dye fabric with tea so it would look aged.

More than once, Steve came home from an evening shift at the video store to find dirty dishes in the sink and laundry piling up because Billy had focused all of his attention on the costume, instead of household chores. He’d explain it away, saying he got caught up in a good book, or had fallen asleep, smiling to himself as he filled the sink with hot, soapy water, pleased that Steve had believed his fib, plotting in his mind what else he had to do to get his costume just right.

***

Finally, Halloween came. Steve announced to Billy at lunch that he was going to head over early to help Dustin put up the final touches on the decorations. Under the guise of not wasting gas, Billy told Steve that he would join him, excited to get to the Henderson’s and get over the initial anxiety he always got when he hung out with Steve’s friends.

“Steve!” Dustin called, waving at him from atop the ladder that he was standing on as he hung fake cobwebs on the edge of the roof.

Dustin tentatively waved at Billy too, and Billy returned it with a wave of his own, trying not to be too awkward. He’d spent so long putting up walls around himself and pushing everyone away that he feared it might be too late to change things, no matter how much effort the put in, but he was going to try anyway.

He silently followed along behind Steve, helping him and Dustin hand up bats and drip fake blood down the garage door before he gravitated inside to Claudia Henderson. Where almost everyone else had turned away from Billy, giving up when they’d been unable to penetrate the walls he’d put up around himself, Claudia had been nothing but kind to him, bringing him yard sale finds to help him furnish his apartment when he first got out of the hospital, and bringing him meals, pans of lasagna and pots of chicken noodle soup, because “any friend of Steve’s is a friend of mine,” she’d say with a wink. His angry front had never stood a chance around her.

“Billy, honey,” she greeted him now from her position behind the kitchen counter. “I’m happy you could join us tonight! Steve said you’re going to fill in as our mummy! Thank you so much for helping us out!”

“Of course, Mrs. Henderson. Happy to be here. Is there anything I can help with?” he asked, rolling up his sleeves. He ended up spending the next hour mixing punch and icing cookies, putting out bowls of candy and chips, all for the pre haunted house dinner.

At 5pm, Claudia deemed the party preparations complete, and Billy excused himself to get changed. He locked himself in the hall bathroom and started from the bottom up, wrapping and pinning the tea-stained strips of cotton around himself until he was satisfied with how it looked. He exited the bathroom to find Max and Lucas standing in the hall, clutching white sheets. When Billy had talked to his sister earlier that week, she’d told him the two of them were going as matching ghosts.

“Billy, man, your costume looks so cool!” Lucas said, by way of greeting. “Way better than Mike’s ever used to look. He put like, no effort into it. He’d just wrap himself up in toilet paper, then complain when it tore and looked like shit.”

Billy felt a swell of pride in his chest at Lucas’s words. It felt good to have his hard work and effort recognized by someone other than his boyfriend. He walked into the kitchen to a chorus of surprised compliments from the other guests, happy to feel like he was a part of the group for once. Maybe Steve was right, and he did just need to open up and let people in.

Steve, who was in the living room, chatting with Will, who was dressed as a werewolf, turned when he heard the commotion. His eyes lit up at the sight of Billy, and he made his way over, a huge grin on his face.

Seeing Steve so happy made Billy smile too, his heart warming at the sight of Steve looking to adorable in his vampire garb.

“You look great, baby,” Steve said, his speech slightly impeded by the plastic vampire teeth he had in his mouth.

Billy giggled, blushing under Steve’s praise. “You look great too, pretty boy.”

Steve scoffed. “That’s Count Pretty Boy to you.”

Hand in hand, they perused the table full of snacks before settling together in a quiet corner to eat and watch the kids run around, hopped up on sugar.

Finally, it was time for the haunted house to start. Just before they headed to take their assigned positions, Dustin and Lucas approached Billy.

“We have a teensy favour to ask of you, Billy,” Dustin started.

“What’s that?” Billy asked, skeptically.

“We convinced Mike to come walk through the haunted house,” Lucas explained. “And he doesn’t know we’ve replaced him with you. We’re gonna tell him you’re a mummy doll. Can you try to scare him?”

Billy grinned. Mike Wheeler was a little shit. Maybe a good scare would do him some good. “Absolutely,” Billy replied, nodding. “Just tell me when, and I’ll scare Wheeler so bad he’ll piss himself.”

***

After about an hour in the haunted house, Billy heard Max’s voice. “Come this way, Mike,” she said, loudly, so Billy was sure to hear. “We want to show you the mummy doll Dustin’s mom got to replace you.”

Billy snapped his eyes shut, resting gently against the back wall of the Henderson’s garage.

“Woah,” Mike said, as they approached Billy. “That’s so cool. Where did she get that?”

“At a big Halloween store in Chicago, you should…”

Billy moved his left hand slightly, and Dustin was suddenly cut off by Mike, a tremor in his voice as he asked if anyone else had seen the doll move.

The others assured him that he was seeing things, and Dustin continued.

Billy stayed motionless for a couple minutes, then turned his head a tiny bit to the right.

Uh, guys,” Mike said. “I really think that things moving!”

The others laughed, moving on to talk to Steve, who was a few feet away.

Billy cracked one eye slightly open and could see Mike looking at him. He turned his foot in a ghost of a movement, and Mike started backing away slowly, silently, bumping into Dustin.

Billy took that as his cue to start moving more, slowly making his way over to the kids.

Mike screamed at the top of his lungs, falling backwards onto the cement floor, his face turning tomato red as he realized that no one else was panicking, and instead, they were all laughing.

“Are you scared?” Billy asked, cackling. “Does little baby Wheeler need his mummy?”

The kids laughed even louder at that, and Mike stood up and walked away, huffing.

“Nice one,” Dustin said, holding up his hand for a high five. Billy met him in the middle as he caught Steve’s eye and winked, mouthing “thank you”. Steve was right. It did feel good to be with the team, not against for once. Billy could get used to this.

***

That night, as they lay in bed, October rolling into November, he holds Steve close, holds him in his arms as they close their eyes, and gives thanks for this beautiful man that pushes him every day, helping Billy become the man he wants to be.

[itsana004]

I have to ask for Droite for the character meme! (Or if you already got an ask for her, then Gauche?)

Ahhhh, first of all thank you so much for the ask! 💓 This one is special because it's about a minor character I care about a lot, and did for literal years and I'll do my best not to make this a paper scroll long (can't make promises). So let's roll! Here lays my truest thoughts on Droite/Dextra

•How do you feel about this character

You'd be surprised to know, but I did not like her character at all when I saw her for the first time.

She looked so... cold, had a lack of personality, unlikable boring character? Or maybe it was the fact she looked much older and more mature than the other main cast at the time, especially when she was strict? I can't pinpoint the specific reason, but there was really a time when I saw her as most viewers of Zexal see her as: an uninteresting boring minor character.

So how come I changed my mind? And got so attached to her to the point literal years passed and I still love her character?

The first time I ever saw Zexal episode per episode was probably when I was 10-11 years old on the TV, and Zexal was pretty popular in Italy back then, and I distinctively remember this character made an impression on me on episode 54 in her duel against Tron, with her solid strategy and clever tactics (and it was very unique compared to any other character), cause let's be real, this show is about dueling, if the character weren't good duelists, they really didn't stick to me in the long run (and Droite sure didn't give her best duel at all in that Droite and Gauche Vs Yuma duel, it was generic and boring to me), but Droite was doing very well against the main antagonist of that season, Tron (and it even made me root for her!) and the way he got around her strategy and the cards he used felt very oddly specific because of the nonesense rule that Yu-Gi-Oh women cannot win, so we can forget a minor character woman actually beating the main antagonist of that season (I understand the plot was needed to be driven forward with Tron as the main antagonist ofc lol but I have more thoughts on how they could have handled it better but I don't wish to digress) - anyway this duel stuck to me and as I said, Zexal was fairly popular in my town and I was talking about it to my friend, a frustrated naive young me saying how she felt about that the butterfly girl with purple hair losing and for some reason I didn't catch her name and my best friend told me it was "Drua" (from Dorowa but fandom decided it was Droite and I was confused but I found here in the end!), and then I searched her name on Google and saw a gorgeous fanart of her holding a butterfly and you could say my spiral started then (so in a way I am the way I am because of my friend, it's all her fault). From that point on I started to form an attachment to this character and pay attention to every time she appeared on screen, but boi young me was in for total disappointment because from that point on Droite was never given this kind of focus, or any development nor deliver a duel like that ever again (In Italian dub from 4kids they censored Droite and Gauche being homeless orphans being picked from Mr. Heartland so extra less scene 🤬). Young me also kept wondering, what happened to all those feelings she poured in ep 54? And I figured in the end that's a question only god knows, cause Zexal writers definitely don't, and so fanfics gave me much better answers. As years passed, I have to say I only grew to love her character more and more, I just kept learning new things about her and appreciated her character paying attention to every time she appeared from the limited screentime she had and I'm going to list some things I really love.

I was glad to learn that dueling wasn't something she was forced herself to learn for the purpose of training or for the sake of becoming stronger like Kaito, but it's something she enjoyed ever since she and Gauche discovered Duel Monsters when they were homeless orphans living in the streets (I feel like this adds more to her personality), and for them being only kids struggling to live day by day, found a little joy in their lives, and it even became their star of hope, something to look forward to in their hellish life (MY POOR BABIESSS I LOVE THEM MUCH).

I also love the fact Droite and Gauche treat each other as equals, they must have helped each other to get stronger by dueling one another, there is no air of superiority between them like Shark is towards Rio when it comes to dueling, so I assume Droite and Gauche have always one up the other to the point they have the almost same number of wins and losses against each other, and they must have spent their time mostly support each other as well. I love how she recognizes Gauche's move against Esper Robin instantly showing how close they are. WE NEEDED MORE SCENES OF THOSE TWO SQUABBLING, ACTUALLY, WITH THOSE THREE WITH KAITO, I NEED THEM TOGETHER IN ON LINE OKAY.

Also can we talk about how this girl had endured powerful electric shocks?? And joined up to the top 3 in elite duelists with Kaito and Gauche like the QUEEN SHE IS???

Also girlie just tasted tomato juice which was implied to be blood so casually what's up with that????? (That scene is so funny it will always be one of my favorites).

This woman is such a girlboss!!! Droite can casually fly a helicopter, run around the Tower like she owns it, being assertive in general a force to be reckoned with throughout the little time she appeared in Zexal, and humble her man to back away (THE NOTORIOUS NUMBER HUNTER TOO) and catch this man in his lies then HUMBLE HIM AGAIN IN THE W.D.C. AND YEET HIM FROM HER LANE (PLEASE THIS SCENE WILL ALWAYS BE FUNNY TO ME) .

Idgaf that she lost against Vetrix, she manhandled him in this duel, and not even his crest power from Barian world worked on her THIS IS QUEEN BEHAVIOUR RIGHT THERE.

Despite her lack of appearence in the second part and the complete abysmal decision to make her lose TWICE MORE LIKE IT WASN'T ENOUGH, I still appreciate the little contributions she was allowed to make.

I guess, a part of me is still attached to her for what she could have been? How she could have been used? (I brainrot about that every day) and it's painful to love a character that isn't very liked or even recognized while also completely understanding why, but I guess I still love her character and that doesn't seem it will change for a while.

•All the people you ship romantically with this character

I ship Droite with Kaito and no- I don't care what anyone says, if Zexal writers sent an announcement right now saying they will never be canon, I would still ship them because fanfics convinced me, cause some fans will always be better at writing romance than Zexal writers would ever dream to. I really love picking up from what was left and actually putting them to use by adding more things to the table to fix the mess, and I'm gonna die on this hill.

I also don't mind any other ships with Droite (as long as they are not problematic...) but one of my favorite rarepair has to be Droite x Akari (my comfort ship <3) - they haven't interacted once but they are both girl bosses and hot and I don't need any more reasons.

•My non-romantic OTP for this character

Just like I said in Gauche's one, this has to be Droite and Gauche. I refuse to see them through a romantic lens. It is true they share a lot of care for each other, but canonically Droite has romantic feelings for someone else and familial/platonic love exists, and interpreting them that way makes their relationship much sweeter and deeper in my eyes. Gauche being the only family that Droite has in a world where she was born with none will always be more meaningful and deeper to me than them being in a romantic relationship will ever be.

Another fact I forgot to mention in Gauche's one is although they don't have a specific label for each other in the sub, the Italian dub seems to be the only one where they actually refer to each other as "Fratello and sorella" (Brother and sister) - Kaito says "It's right that his sister duels", and although dub changes are not always for the best, I am fine with either one, in one they have a label for their relationship where it isn't left blank and it enforces their familial bond - (Droite says along the lines of "I'm his manager so I have to pull him out of this" in the sub - of course, she's not just a "manager", but at this point what do they even refer to each other... there is no label, and for two people who literally grew up together and spent so many years together, I find it odd - but on the other hand, these two never knew what the word family even meant when they were orphans living in the streets, and that being the reason for the lack of label to their relationship is just─

•My unpopular opinion about this character

She best girl─

•One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

(Omg this part will be so long I'm so sorry)

1 - In episode 54, I wish instead of Droite giving up and losing because of her own free will, they could have made it so that she couldn't handle the power of the crest and collapses right after she draws a card, after trying so hard to resist it as long as she did - first, it doesn't make her look incompetent or make her look bad and still makes Tron a threatening villain. Second, it leaves the outcome with "No result" and still leaves it ambiguous than a straight "Lose" because of the notorious "female characters cannot win because they suck" awful rule the Yu-Gi-Oh series has created that screams sexism and misogyny from the writers - and no - the fact that the audience for this show is mostly boys does not excuse it.

2 - She should have won the duel together with Yuma in episode 104. Zexal has a really tedious habit of making strong female characters sacrifice themselves to show their valor and significance - no - that's not good enough when it is done again and again (Rio for her brother, Anna for Yuma, Droite for Kaito and Gauche and... Yuma?) and god I hate this so much, they could have found plenty of ways to show that without making Droite lose, we already know how dedicated and devoted Droite is for the people she loves/cares about, she tried to call Gauche back to conscious several times and took the fall for Yuma several times, they didn't need to kick her out of the duel to reinforce that same pathetic excuse again.

3 - Droite, Gauche and Kaito are the three people who have the most connection with Mr. Heartland (than Yuma will ever be) as well as having actual reasons to retaliate against the late Mr. Heartland, as they were exploited and have suffered hell from him, so why on HELL Yuma and Astral were shoehorned into that frecking duel - I do not care they are protagonists - I do not care people love the touching moment between Astral and Yuma before they transform into Zexal III - they could have animated that exact scene in their battle against Don Thousand or any other duel - there was no reason at all that would explain this decision in terms GOOD WRITING - to rob Kaito from that duel - imagine: after Kaito wins the duel against Mr. Heartland, since Droite and Gauche were already in Heartland City because of Yuma's friends understanding the world was in danger, Mr. Heartland in his last efforts could have pleaded Gauche and Droite to help him and manipulate them telling them how he saved them as orphans and they are here today because of him. But to his surprise, they don't, instead they use their ace monsters to attack him instead and send their farewells, and Mr. Heartland meets his demise - heck, they could have been the ones to take over after Kaito collapses - no matter what anyone tells me, either of the two ways it's how it should have played out because all of those three characters meet a proper closure with this man, but zexal writers do not give a sh8t about any other characters except their precious main and that leads to bad writing.

4 - I'm not really a fan of Droite being Gauche's manager? My reason for that is Droite spends most of Zexal serving/helping/sacrificing for other characters and is never her own person, and to me this is one of many examples. It's fine that she's his manager but what I wish would happen is Droite starts to miss competitive dueling and feels confused about her feelings of doubt towards her current job, and so for the upcoming W.D.C. Tournament (becoming a yearly event) that everyone including all our beloved cast will participate in it, Droite takes it as an opportunity to seek answers she needs through this Tournament and is encouraged by Gauche as well to "get a piece of the action", so she participates as a competitor together with Gauche - it lets her be her own person instead of being a "cheerleader" for Gauche (she can still be supporting of him while being a competitor) + it shows Gauche and Droite will support each other no matter in what they do and there are no ill feelings if Droite decides to resign from being his manager.

5 - The complete lack of development or scenes between Droite and Kaito, heck, it might be as dry as the sahara desert, and for me to say it is very concerning, luckily for me fanfics exist! So for the "what I wish would have happened", there is a fanfic called "I'll Always Be With You" by AquaMagic.389 (is my canon now, and in the second chapter I WEPT) - yeah, that's what I wish had happened, it's just adding the little things in the flashback that can slowly build up overtime.

Fun fact: In the Japanese W.D.C. 3DS game in Shingetsu Rei's route as Droite is her opponent, Yuma tells some things about her to Rei and he literally blurts it out for everyone to know about Droite's feelings in public to piss her off lmaooo - and later with Kotori's help Droite confesses her feelings properly but we don't know what happens after that (damn I-) so another I wished is them having actually some development post-canon, who knows, maybe through a Tournament (my brainrot from "La puissance de zexal" fanfic from griffon chap 20 is showing) yeah I'm gonna stop right there.

6- Finally, the last point. Every anime ever has a beach or light-hearted episode, why couldn't we have that like a field trip?? Also, I always found it interesting Hart and Droite's love for butterflies, I wish I could see them having such a cute moment where Hart admires her deck and it reminds him of those peaceful days when his big brother and he would chase butterflies and would share about those days with Droite it's just-

I'm so sorry this post turned into a paper scroll after all, if you ever reached until here then thank you and sorry for making you read all that, take care and have a good day! And again, thank you so much for the ask 💖

[sayruq]

So, I just finished watching episode 10 of HoTD and I swear I was so bored for like 55 minutes of the whole ride, the only moment I was actually paying attention was when Aemond was on screen and the only emotion I had was me cackling at Aemond's tectonic "OH SHIT" face when Grandma Vhagar did her war crime.

I cannot believe that this is meant to be a challenger to the brilliance that is RoP, which had me at the edge of my seat from start to finish at every episode. Like, miss me with this failed Targ shit, the writers are so clearly not getting it.

Rings of Power writers care so much about their characters and they committ to the story they're telling, nothing is half assed. They want us to be attached to the characters and they work hard to make sure that we do and that hard work paid off. Look at how well received their finale is compared to this one. Ep 6 brought several characters together and not only did it feel like a big deal, the episode itself was tense, heartbreaking, dark and filled with more morally grey characters than HOTD. Adar>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Daemon. RoP was not scared to have Galadriel promise genocide nor did it ignore what that says about her. HOTD won't even let Rhaenyra express murderous intent after she was usurped and her son killed. She just stares into the camera.

I read the leaks so I knew what was coming and that usually doesn't detract from my enjoyment of a show because I love spoilers but even I was counting down the minutes to Aemond. It felt like an ordinary filler episode. Things happen without urgency or tension and not once did I feel like I couldn't wait to see how other characters will react to the new plot developments except Aemond's scene (he really is the MVP of the show). It didn't feel like the beginning of a new catastrophic war.

This show doesn't understand how to pick it's scenes. Instead of a very long miscarriage and body preparation scene, we could have spent more time on Rhaenyra's anger at being usurped, her fear of what it means for her children and her grief at her father's death because she barely reacted to that. There should have been only one Black Council scene after her coronation where we get

Team Black talking about their allies and Team Green's allies and you know strategizing

Rhaenys and Corlys slowly changing their minds about Rhaenyra (the show given reason why they chose her is very stupid because even the Greens want peace but whatever) as they watch her handle herself

Daemon trying to wrest control from Rhaenyra. You can even have him start the Council without her to show his eagerness for war. Instead of him standing around the table talking about the island's defenses, we should see him attending to that, ignoring her while she's in pain

Rhaenyra resisting it because of the prophecy which she doesn't talks about just yet. We should see people constantly pushing her to declare war and attack King's Landing and Rhaenyra standing her ground

Plans are made to send Jace and Luke to act as messengers

Instead of war, Rhaenyra plans on gaining enough allies to back the Greens into a corner without a single person dying

Then Otto Hightower comes. Instead of the dumb dragon scene, show Rhaenyra struggling to walk there but being determined because she's now queen and this is her duty but also because of the prophecy. She listens to the terms offered, trades insults with Otto, Daemon is Daemon. The page is offered, Rhaenyra cries and she decides to give her answer the following day.

Daemon thinks her attachment to Alicent is problem but she tells him about the prophecy. He strangles her. Rhaenyra spends the night thinking about how unpopular her decision is, she doesn't want to waver despite all the pressure she's facing.

Luke dies and Rhaenyra finds out right before she tells Otto her terms for peace. Instead of Emma staring at the camera, we can have the iconic line

Tell my half brother that I will have my throne, or I will have his head,” she said, sending the envoys on their way.

Now we see how Rhaenyra has been transformed by her son's death and we don't have to spend the entire last episode spinning the wheel until Aemond enters the picture.