#i swear the story will be better and more interesting i just needed to info dump

[glazeish]

meet the chastains!

dianna chastain (upper left) - 47, currently working at prescott preparatory school and working nights as a waitress. shunned from the rest of her family she met reese.

reese chastain (upper right) - (not gonna lie, got him off the gallery but changed the name and some outfits. i just dont like making male sims.) 49, the father of dianna's children, but he looks like he hasn't aged since 30. he had no intent of marrying dianna until he found out that she was pregnant with their first born justine. he's a great father, but relationship wise he continues to crave more, something new.

justine chastain (bottom middle) - 16, really the only child that understands their situation, understands finance, and knows that there's something going on with her parents. she was tasked with raising the twins ever since they were born. this caused a divide between justine and her parents because she can't help but wish that there was someone else to care for her besides herself.

aubrey chastain (bottom left) - 10, the most outgoing and happy person in the whole family. she thinks her life is perfect. the second something goes wrong her outgoing and happy personality disappear and she shuts down completely.

sydney chastain (bottom right) - 10, even though she is still young she is always thinking- overthinking. however, she doesn't understand her overthinking is occasionally correct.

the world:

dianna's workplace- prescott preparatory school (K-12 private school for the children of celebrities, ceo's, or just people with a lot of money. has a handful of international students- children of royalty)

reese's workplace- magnolia enterprises: working in the IT department. one of the parents at prescott prep is a large investor (an "owner")

justine's school (prescott prep)- justine has been attending prescott since 9th grade. however, the twins both attend blakely elementary because dianne can only get discounted tuition on one child unless she gets promoted.

the twins school (blakely elementary)- a K-6 school that serves their neighborhood. one problem... due to underfunding, more things are getting cut and more teachers are quitting. dianne needs to get them into prescott... no matter what it takes.

[onlymurdersintheafterparty]

OMITB S4:E3 ‘Two for the Road’

This episode was interesting and raised even more questions. While we start off and end the episode with the trio, in most of the episode we watch them branch off with their respective actors and have their own mini adventures. I thought it was a great idea to give us a better idea of who Zach, Eugene, and Eva are in this universe and to delve more into the main characters’ personalities apart from each other. There were several bombshells dropped so as always spoilers are behind the cut.

At the beginning of the episode, we find out from Detective Williams that the FBI has taken over meaning she won’t be on the case. That doesn’t stop her from giving them what information she does have as well as breaking the fourth wall in reference to the three previous seasons which was hilarious. We also learn that she’s a fan of Zach Galifianakis when she discovers the actors are also in the apartment and threatens Oliver not to let him get hurt and implies he’s her hall pass 🤭 Honestly same bc the man is not only hilarious but handsome as well. Shortly after she leaves is when everyone branches off so I’m going to break up each segment based off the duo.

Oliver and Zach don’t do any intentional sleuthing this episode. Oliver is fed up with Zach’s indifference and lack of desire to connect so he lies saying they need to monitor the ham radio and whisks him off to his apartment. I know Oliver is a mess but I really don’t like the way that Zach treats him like a loser. At some point they appear to bond as Oliver teaches Zach how to snort, grunt, and dress like him which seems to have gone well until Zach is overheard saying otherwise. Howard tries his best to stand up for Oliver in that passive aggressive way and we know he means well but it ultimately does nothing to change Zach’s impression. I agree on one thing though: Oliver’s resilience and choosing to wake up happy every day despite the chaos is admirable. That’s what life is about because every day is a chance to change your fate.

Charles and Eugene’s dynamic was different. Are they buddies? No but they both have the same goal in mind which is to get Vince to take off his eyepatch to see if he’s hiding damage from the gun recoiling. These two clearly share one brain cell because every attempt failed. First they come up with a story about Charles having a cousin who is an eye doctor with magic eye drops that they swear will work wonders. Instead of taking off his eyepatch then and there, Vince instead goes into the privacy of his bathroom. Take two goes even worse because Eugene’s idea of doing a spit take to get the eyepatch off leads to him getting punched in the face by Vince after he spits water on him. It does lead to a clue though. When they all hug it out, Eugene notices a photograph and signals for Charles to view it. It’s all the Westies and a figure with their face scribbled out. What in the world is going on here? Is Dudenoff Moriarty? Is Dudenoff not even involved and someone else just utilized his apartment as originally suspected? I’m so confused.

Mabel and Eva were giving frenemies. No actual hate, just two people forced together with nothing in common. Though her methods were unconventional and unhinged, Eva did manage to get a lot of info for Mabel.

The gun on the mantle is a movie prop that shoots nerf gun like ammo

Christmas Guy HATES Christmas; now this had me shook ngl; this man is a fitness influencer who has been typecast into a Christmas role and is basically held hostage by his decor 😭

The tinsel is not tinsel!

A few days ago I made a post about a theory regarding the killer(s) and whether or not they were in attendance at the party in the S3 finale and @bbeeebbo brought up a really good point about the tinsel being a red herring for Christmas Guy and that it very well could have been from the party. While we have yet to confirm if it was from the party, we now have confirmation that it’s actually not tinsel at all!

The sleuthing with the two ends shortly after this reveal and we see Mabel get the idea to look up squatter’s rights and temporarily move into the Dudenoff apartment. When they all reunite at the end for Mabel’s housewarming party, they put their clues together and realize that 445 is a radio frequency. Earlier when Mabel and Eva were sleuthing they discovered a ham radio in the Christmas apartment as well so clearly the Westies have some secret communication going on. When Mabel turns on the radio to the right frequency, a woman responds and tells them to stop snooping because the last person that did so is dead (Sazz). She also was in a hurry to disconnect giving the impression she’s on the run. Is she the mysterious Dudenoff or a tenant we have yet to meet? I’m so confused!

Final Thoughts

I feel like the writers have caught on to how smart the redditors are because a lot of theories were confirmed or debunked this episode. Someone theorized Mabel might end up squatting in the Dudenoff apartment which she does at the end of the episode and another theorized that Vince’s eyepatch was to cover a bruise from the gun’s recoil which is false (he actually does have pink eye and it’s gnarly 🤢). I’m bracing myself for the moment in the season finale where everything was obvious af and I was just overthinking everything 😂 What do you guys think so far now that we’re 3 episodes into the season?

[digimontamerlayne]

I'm playing Cyber Sleuth for the first time because I got it on sale, and I am now angrily glaring at past me for not looking for it on deals sooner cause I love it. So here's my over excited rant of my general experience. I actually cut this short remarkably.

I am only on Chapter 4, so my info only goes to after defeating the Eater in the Subway.

At the start I felt pressed on the whole Pokemon Starter-esque way you gotta choose between Terriermon, Palmon, and Hagurumon. But you can still get them all later which is nice. The need to choose just put me on the spot.

Normally, I'd have jumped at getting Terriermon (I prefer Lopmon but you can't go wrong with Terriermon), but I wound up doing "wheel of fate" and got Hagurumon.

And now I'm attatched to it. I digivolved it to Clockmon cause I knew one digivolution was Guardromon, so I was curious about the others' possibilities. I could tell one was Scumon, though, and that was not happening. Thank you.

My current team set up is Clockmon, Gabumon BLK (I got attatched to him too), Fanbeemon originally but it has been switched for Lopmon for now, and Impmon in my reserve because the moment I found out Kuramon and then Pagumon digivolve to Impmon that felt mandatory to do.

Story thus far is pretty cool. Interesting characters. Kyoko Kuremi is pretty and rather interesting, but she needs to have her coffee pot removed from her office immediately. Anyways, she and Nokia feel a bit on the nose to pull in specific audience through use of "attractive allure" (*eye roll*), but I was told for Nokia it's part of her character of how she likes presenting herself and I know people who do the same and especially when they were 17 like she is, so she does make sense to me. But half the time that outfit of her's does not. It defies logic, I swear. Pretty or not. But Nokia's connection and partnering up with Agumon and Gabumon is pretty freaking cute and feels like a hint at her true colors underneath the choice of flashy-ness.

Arata felt pretty enigmatic, though less than Yuugo because Arata had just enough "I'm deliberately acting too cool" and was just enough of a smirking "jerk" to counter most of the enigmaticness. And then he gushed about the Cyber Sleuth thing after trying to brush off his interest. He revealed his true colors: he's a geek like the rest of us. I will hold that and the fact he ditched me to escape Crazy Detective Date on my own over his head whenever I talk about him. But the rest of him still feels "mystery" enough.

I'll talk more about other characters some other time when I feel more connected or understand them better. Right now, I only really got connected to Nokia (plus Agumon + Gabumon) and now Arata enough to give opinionable interest. Except one, dude. I'm gonna gripe about Jimiken here in a minute for a reason.

But anyway, I love a lot of the side stuff going on too.

Example: Mirei sending me to make hackers abusing Digimon repent is nice. But in the second round, the Three Scammers Siblings you go after, I was not ready for that! The oldest sibling as a nonbinary character with motives linking towards their identity and how pressed they felt having to "choose", and how their scams (which were mostly just catfishing compared to their brother's scams) link back to their harsh emotions towards that. Not justified (especially if you look at the "forcing their digimon to do the work" part which is why you're confronting them) for what they wound up doing to others, but clear in what motivated them. I was neither expecting nor ready for that, and I love it. And the fact we get to give them a pep talk about how they were strong and are a great sibling to their brothers to cheer them up was awesome. I am sorta sad that the dialog where they ask for our digiline wasn't actually interactable. C'mon, in Pokemon Soul Silver and Heart Gold, you get more numbers than you can keep up with. Why not with this?

So, I'm having the time of my life with this game.

Although I found out the hard way about the Game Overs when you lose a battle. I loath Jimiken and the chapter and a half BACK he sent me. What I felt on par with "not saving in Pokemon and your device dying" level of despair. I had to redo chapter 2 and then my progress through chapter 3 back to that stupid fight, saving every few minutes out of sheer paranoia! It undid digimon I had converted and digivolutions I had done!

I was cussing out his Devimon and Meramon while fighting it. I was having flashbacks to Adventure Devimon, just channeling 12 year old me's emotions to relive that hatred of Devimon for this fight... But that died the moment Jimiken blamed his Digimon for losing. I became this specific Devimon's number 1 advocate cause screw this Paul Stanley wannabe. It is not this Devimon's fault you suck. This Devimon was Hella strong and made me scream cause it took me from just under half health to no health on my reserve digimon when he himself had just one last hit point before I beat him (can you tell I'm still a little sore on that?).

This was an amazing moment for me. I hated Jimiken so much it somehow bulldozed right over the loathing I had for Devimon in general that my introduction to Digimon drilled into me in a matter of moments. This is a bizarre development for me I'm still getting used to.

Also, WHAT IS CRAZY DETECTIVE LADY DATE!? What is her problem? It's funny but she is unsettling with her yelling.

Alright, I'm cutting this rant short here before I keep going over board.

I got carried away in the tags, so there's a rant in there, too.

[awkwardpasta004]

I wanna talk about this somewhere but I’m so into working on my book series again. Months of meltdowns and depression ending with me loosing a job has just sparked the need to work on it again. I’m so determined to get the pre writing shit done so I can start writing.

I’m currently trying to compile all the world building info into one page per country instead of the massive folders I have rn so I can better see what I’m missing. At this point, one country has been thought out a good bit but the other 3 need the same treatment.

Also I’ve already drawn one of the MC and the secondary characters from the one country, let’s call this country T even though I have posted this stuff online so it won’t be hard to find. Man I’m bad at keeping things secret but I want people to know my countries and characters! Anyway, I still need to draw the others.

Oh oh! So before I was trying too hard to be the YA version of Game of Thrones even though I haven’t even read it and only know a general gust of the story. I’m also only taking 1 minor inspiration from that but I was so against having mythical races and magic in my world when that’s what I love about fantasy. It’s there now! The magic is back and it makes the story so much more interesting and brings more challenges and ahhhhhh so excited!

Reading The Hobbit helped and I’ve started Fellowship. I’m in between 3-4 books. Goodness I need to chill. But now my story has gone from Harry Potter inspired (that’s from so so soooo long ago) to inspired by Avater the Last Air Bender, Tolkien, a tiny pinch of Game of Thrones, and dnd.

For those who don’t know, I’ve been working on a YA fantasy series on and off since 2017. I’ve been stuck on the overall plot and world building for a while. Ik the plot but it’s kinda blurry and I’ve been trying to clear the fog. And the world building….I just really like world building but! I swear it’s important! The cultures and history of the countries are important to the story and are a big part of the characters since all of them (the main cast) are each from a different country. And now I’ve made up new races which yes I do plan on creating them into homebrews.

Speaking of how cool would it be that after I (hopefully) get my series published that I make an rpg guide for my world?!

Ok that’s all. I’ve always wanted to blog about my writing but Ive always tended to take such long breaks but I’m hoping that won’t happen this time now that monsters and magic is back in my world *knocks on wood*

[kayetra-spade-queen]

Because @drawnfamiliarfaces got me into their AU rabbit hole of a variant version of the Teen Heroes™, I hope they don't mind of me making my own variant (I'm self-conscious, please excuse me-).

First and foremost, I can't draw, at least not to the extent of completely fleshing out a sketch out of my ass (ok- I can, but only a single eye, and even then it looks like shit to me-). I can draw clothing better than making a full body to make a whole ass scene. Comics are out the window cuz I will suffer.

Second, it'll probably be more on writing than making fanarts.

Third, I didn't watch the majority of the other characters' respective shows. I watched Danny Phantom a bit because of Nicktoons, and Ben 10 because of the same person who got me into starting this whole thing. I'll probably get my own snips and bits of necessary info from the wiki, but don't expect any accuracy, and I'd appreciate if anyone could dump some info that could prove to be very necessary for me.

Fourth, this is an entire AU itself, so I'm mostly not gonna follow canon at most. There will be stories I will try to twist to my liking.

Fifth, ships. Yes, but bear with me here; thanks to my overconsumption of media, I will be putting just a few ships that I think are neat, but if anyone disagrees with me or didn't like how I didn't mention a ship they like (cuz I barely knew shit about the characters), then please just either move away from my blog, or block me entirely to avoid unwanted conflict. We all have our interests that make us happy, the least you could do is to respect and/or completely don't interact.

Sixth, the clothing are gonna filled with my own personal headcanons, mostly their clothing when they battle (the characters themselves too, but I'm gonna focus more on the clothes because I'm a fashion illustrator). Danny, Ben, and Randy are gonna wear heels because yes.

The ships involved;

Tigerghost (Manny Rivera from El Tigre x Danny Fenton from Danny Phantom) (I completely blame izbubbles for this one)

Benrex (Rex Salazar from Generator Rex x Ben Tennyson from Ben 10) (surprised? Probably not lmfao-)

Jimmytimmy (Timmy Turner x Jimmy Neutron) (first and foremost; no, none of the Nicktoons (Jimmy, Timmy, SpongeBob, and Manny) except Danny and Jenny are part of this team. Danny and Jenny still go on missions with the NU team because duh. And second; they're only here as some sort of filler and cuz I really love Nicktoons since most of them I have watched)

Headcanons involved (will get expanded in due time I swear-);

Trans Danny

Anodite Ben (still wields the Omnitrix. His anodite powers are pink too)

Dani and Dan are Danny's kids (under a different name because they have to go through a re-birth process that I'll touch upon later)

Ben's necrofriggian children now comes to earth to live with their mom (like I said, I'm not following canon)

Randy is still ninja, but because this AU involves a 3rd power/skill, I'll have to twist a bit of the canon my way, especially when it comes to the Ultimate Lesson and memory wipe

There will be some Genshin Impact references here and there, because I do play them, and I love it-

Ghost King Danny (by extent, Ghost Princess Dani and Ghost Prince Dan)

Fashion designer Ben (his sassy and confident nature could be more of a use tbh)

Primal Iudex Randy (he and Furina would get along nicely-)

Pearl Keeper Jake

Side gig magician Rex (leave me be, I think it's neat-)

Engaged Rex and Ben (all of the members are adults over 20, so don't be surprised)

Sandra Tennyson is French, so that makes Ben half-French by heritage

Ben and Randy are pen pals turned close friends by the time Ben moved to France (yes, I made Randy somewhat French here for this reason, but I'll have to put in more details later)

Rex won't lose his memories, but he'll get short-term amnesia often, which just need something to trigger the old memories back

Everyone is under the same universe

Danny's ghost team are Sam-Tucker-Valerie-Jazz and his parents (Valerie deserves better than what was given to her by canon)

Yes, Maddie and Jack knew Danny became a ghost from the very start, but they didn't treat him any differently than he was before; if anything, they felt guilty that their son had paid the price for their ignorance and neglect

Phantom Planet do not exist, and it shouldn't have been to begin with, but whatever

Valerie had always been part of Danny's gang. In terms of Shades of Gray, I'll have to change a lot of things, that includes her father's job (he didn't get fired), so I have other things in mind regarding Cujo

Cujo became Danny's pet dog later on, cuz you can't tell me these two aren't made for each other

Members from oldest to youngest, I do hope @drawnfamiliarfaces wouldn't mind me using their headcanon as well (eldest Kim, youngest Randy). I think they're really neat.

Please keep in mind that none of this follow canon whatsoever, they follow my headcanons and versions. Character backstories are written purely by my own personal headcanons too. I'll probably add actual canon when I didn't have anything good to offer, but this is what I could put for now.

[jayoonology]

𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐮 | 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

𝗮/𝗻 - y/n redemption arc thank god 😭😭 sorry for updating in a while 💔 I hope the extra long chapter makes up for it. (plus all the extra y/n and soobin content)

𝘄���� - 11.6k

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 - swearing, bullying, y/n taking part in bullying, (disclaimer - this is not the actions of the idols and is purely fiction. I’m not condoning bullying.)

𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 ◁ | 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 | 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 ▷

You wake up every morning with a knot in your stomach. You go to school and try to ignore Misun's presence, but you can't help but feel jealous every time you see her talking to Yeonjun. You keep telling yourself that it's silly because you're the popular girl who has it all, but jealousy consumes you.

Every time Yeonjun talks to Misun, you feel a pang of anger and frustration. You try to ignore it, but it just keeps getting worse. You can't focus in class because you're too busy thinking about Misun and Yeonjun.

You start to question yourself. Why are you so jealous of someone like Misun? She's just a scholarship student, and you have everything she could ever want. You feel stupid for feeling this way, but you can't help it. It’s just been too much to handle.

You used to hate the feeling of jumping through time, having days with memory gaps but now you wish for nothing more. You want the days to pass without seeing Misun but you can’t. Ever since the story started you’ve noticed the jumps getting less frequent, and when they do occur it’s just the next scene on the same day.

You tried staying home, telling your parents you don’t feel well but when the scene changes all of a sudden you’re dressed and at school. No matter what you do you can’t seem to escape fate.

You walked over to Taehyun's desk during study hall, feeling a weight on your chest that you just couldn't shake. Taehyun looked up from his book as you sat down heavily in the chair beside him.

"I just can't stop thinking about it, Taehyun. It's like this jealousy is consuming me," you say, placing your head on the table.

“Hello to you too I guess.” 

“It’s only been a week since the story started and Misun and Yeonjun are so close already! I don’t get time to speak to him with her hovering right there.” You whine into the table. 

"I know, I know," Taehyun replies, sounding a bit exasperated. "But you really need to stop focusing so much on them. You're a great person with so many wonderful things going on in your life."

"But it's so hard. Every time I see them together, it just makes me feel so small and insignificant," you mumble into the table.

"Look, I understand that it's hard to see someone you like with someone else, but you can't let it control you like this. You're better than that," Taehyun says, trying to be encouraging.

"I just wish I could make him see that I'm the better choice," you say, letting out a sigh.

Taehyun raises his eyebrows. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

You shrug. "I’m working on reading different books and Haechan said he could teach me some football. I’d get into more of Yeonjun’s interests but I just haven’t had time to get to know him yet!"

Taehyun sighs. "I don't think that's a good idea. Yeonjun seems happy with Misun, and besides, it's not fair to try and break them apart just because you're jealous."

You lift your head in annoyance, "I’m the better choice for Yeonjun, he’ll be happy with me. It’s an embarrassment that he’s hanging out with her!"

Taehyun tries his best to stay quiet but your jealousy has been taking a toll on him too. Lately, all you seem to talk about is Misun; forget Yeonjun, he thinks you spend more time thinking about her. It’s getting exhausting. 

“Whatever Taehyun.” You stretch, getting up from your chair, “Please get some more info on Yeonjun.” Taehyun nods, biting his tongue. Well, at least you said please. 

You walk over a couple tables down to your friends, sitting in between Yunjin and Haechan, discussing your plans for the upcoming weekend when you overhear them whispering about Misun. You can’t help but listen in. 

"I can't believe she thinks she can just talk to Yeonjun like that," Yunjin said, her voice dripping with venom. "She's nothing but a loser, and she needs to learn her place."

Haechan nodded in agreement. "We should teach her a lesson. Maybe pour a bucket of water on her or something. That would be hilarious."

“Y/N, you in?” Yunjin shoots you a mischievous smile. Pouring water on her? That’s going to ruin her uniform…completely embarrassing her! Yeonjun would be so embarrassed to be with her then, wouldn’t he?

Just as you’re about the nod you pause. If you do that then you’re taking part in bullying. Yes, you’re popular but you never took part in bullying, not even in primary school. You always thought it was best not to get involved, it always kept you out of trouble. You’d be lying if you said you were innocent though. Though you never took part, some of your friends did while you just sat and watched. It wouldn’t be the first time someone you’re friendly with has bullied Misun. 

Who cares anyway? This isn’t even a real world. You live in manhwa, nothing you do is real unless it’s illustrated and you aren’t doing this on stage. Taehyun warned you to not do unusual things in the shadow, and it’s definitely not unusual for Misun to get bullied. It used to be a daily occurrence. It isn’t like it’ll hurt your reputation, once the scene changes everyone will forget it ever happened. Plus, at least now you get to relieve some of the tension you’ve been feeling the past week. 

“Count me in.” You smile, shaking Yunjin���s hand. Haechan pats your back, happy that you’re taking part in his plan. 

As you walk down the hallway with Yunjin and Haechan, you see Misun walking towards you, carrying a stack of books. Yunjin and Haechan started to snicker, whispering to each other, "Let's do it." 

Before even rationalising it, you grab a bucket of water from a nearby janitor's closet and tossed it on Misun. The water splashed all over her clothes and books, leaving her completely drenched.

Misun looked shocked and started to cry, and you were at a loss for words. The hallway erupts into laughter, some students even giving you and your friends a high-five. But somewhere deep in your heart, you knew it was wrong. You stood there silently, unable to feel the same high your friends were. It doesn’t seem very rewarding. 

But before you could even process what had happened, Yeonjun came up to you, looking furious. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded. "How could you bully someone like that?" 

You stammer, not expecting Yeonjun to be somewhere in the crowd. “I-I... It was Haechan!” You exclaim, pointing straight at your friend who was holding the bucket. 

“Yo, what the fuck, you were part of it too!” He exclaims, surprised that you would turn on him like this. 

"Why did you do that?" Yeonjun asks, his voice shaking with anger. "What did Misun ever do to you?" You felt your heart break into a hundred pieces, the way he looked at you made you want to cry. Yeonjun’s eyes showed nothing but disgust. 

Yunjin and Haechan exchanged another glance before Haechan spoke up. "We...we didn't mean to," he said, his voice wavering. "It was just a prank."

"That's not a prank, that's bullying," Yeonjun said firmly. Three of you looked more sheepish than ever as you shuffled your feet, unable to meet Yeonjun’s intense gaze.

"You three should be ashamed of yourselves," Yeonjun said, his voice cold. He turns to Misun, who’s shaking as she cries silently. 

He walked over to Misun and helped her up, handing her a towel. "Are you okay?" he asked gently 

Misun nodded, still sniffling. "Thank you," she whispered. He wraps his blazer around her shoulders, taking her hand and walking away. 

Haechan scowls at you, "I can't believe you betrayed me like that. You lied to Yeonjun and made me look bad."

“Well, it was you who came up with the idea.” You shrug, standing defiantly. This did not go according to plan. What is Yeonjun doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to be at practice with Taehyun? And now on top of all that he thinks you’re an awful person for what you did to Misun. 

“Not cool Y/N,” Yunjin says, taking a couple steps back from you, crossing her arms. 

“What, it wasn’t me who did anything, I just watched.” You tried to defend yourself even though you knew you were in the wrong. 

Yunjin and Haechan don’t say another word to you, turning away. Before you could chase them down the hall, you feel a tight grasp on your shoulder. “Ow ow ow!” You exclaim, 

You feel a hand on your arm, pulling you into an empty classroom. It's Taehyun, and he looks serious. "What did you do to Misun?" he asks, his tone firm.

You look at him, feeling a lump form in your throat. You know what he's talking about. You tried to bully Misun, just like your other friends did. You feel ashamed and guilty, but you can't bring yourself to admit it to Taehyun.

"Nothing," you reply, trying to sound casual.

"Don't lie to me," Taehyun says, his eyes narrowing. "I heard about what happened. You need to tell Yeonjun the truth."

You feel a knot form in your stomach. You don't want to lose Yeonjun, but you know that you need to take responsibility for your actions. "I know," you say quietly. "I messed up." You can feel tears welling up in your eyes as he continues to scold you. You know he's right, but it hurts to hear it out loud. You feel like a terrible person for not standing up for Misun.

As Taehyun scolds you for your behaviour towards Misun, you begin to feel overwhelmed. His words start to blur together and you feel as though you're underwater. You can see his lips moving, but you can't make out what he's saying. All you can think about is how much you messed up and how much you wish you could take it all back. You feel as though you're floating away from your own body, observing the situation from a distance. It's like you're stuck in your own head, unable to process what's happening around you. Eventually, Taehyun stops talking and you snap back to reality. You can see the disappointment in his eyes, and it stings. You know you messed up, but you feel like you're unable to make it right. 

"Are you even listening to me?" Taehyun asks, his voice tinged with frustration.

You snapped back to reality, "I'm listening." 

"You need to stop obsessing over Misun and Yeonjun," he said sternly. "It's not healthy, and it's not fair to me or our other friends."

You couldn't bring yourself to respond, and Taehyun's voice grew louder.

“You only ever talk to me when you want to vent about Misun and Yeonjun and it’s fucking exhausting Y/N.” His words hit you hard, and you could feel the weight of his disappointment. You knew he was right, but you didn't know how to break free from the jealousy and obsession that consumed you. "You need to stop acting like a victim all the time," he says, his tone serious. "You have everything, and Misun has nothing. She gets bullied every day, and you're complaining because she has Yeonjun? That's not fair to her."

“Taehyun-“ 

"The point is, you're acting entitled. You act like the world owes you something, and it doesn't. You need to start being a better friend to me, like when was the last time you asked me how I was? I’m tired of you making everything about yourself." His face only getting redder, "I know it's hard to be the second lead," Taehyun continued. "But that doesn't mean you get to act like a diva and throw a tantrum every time things don't go your way. You need to check your ego.” 

You feel a lump forming in your throat and your eyes start to water. You try to hold back your tears, but they start to trickle down your cheeks.

"I can't believe you would treat someone like that," Taehyun says, his voice firm but gentle. "Misun doesn't deserve to be treated that way."

You try to speak, but your voice is caught in your throat. You take a deep breath and manage to choke out a response, "I know, Taehyun. I just feel so jealous and angry all the time."

"I can't take it anymore," you say, your voice trembling. "Yeonjun is supposed to like Misun on stage, but it's like he doesn't even notice me in the shadow."

Taehyun's expression softens as he places a comforting hand on your shoulder. "I understand that it can be tough, Y/N. But you have to remember that the writer has a plan for each character, and sometimes it doesn't always go the way we want it to."

You sniffle, wiping away your tears. "I know, I know. It's just hard to see Yeonjun paying attention to Misun all the time when I'm right here and I have everything. It doesn't make sense to me."

Taehyun sighs, shaking his head. "You're being insecure again, Y/N. It's not about what you have or what Misun doesn't have. Yeonjun likes her for who she is, not what she has or doesn't have. You need to stop comparing yourself to her and start focusing on being a better friend and person."

"But I'm the second lead," you say, wiping your tears. “But he doesn’t pay any attention to me.”

Taehyun looks at you sympathetically. "Y/N, you can't let your insecurities and jealousy control you. Yeonjun likes Misun, and that's just the way it is. You have to accept that and move on. You're more than just a character in this manhwa, you're a person with your own feelings and desires. Don't let the writer's control over the stage overshadow your own desires."

You take a deep breath, wiping away your tears as you look up at him. "I'm sorry, Taehyun. You're right, I've been so caught up in my own feelings that I haven't been a good friend to you," you say, your voice shaking with emotion.

Taehyun pulls you into a hug, rubbing your back soothingly. "It's okay, Y/N. I know you're going through a tough time," he says softly. "But you need to realise that Misun is a person too, and you can't keep treating her like she's less than you just because she's not popular or rich."

You nod, tears still streaming down your face. "I've been so awful to her," you say, your voice barely above a whisper. "And I'm sorry I've been such a burden on you too. You don't deserve to deal with all of my drama."

Taehyun pulls away from the hug and looks you in the eyes. "Y/N, you're not a burden. I care about you and I want to help you through this. But you need to start taking responsibility for your actions and treating others with kindness and respect," he says firmly.

“I should probably apologise to Misun and Yeonjun now.” You say, wiping your face with the back of your hands. 

“It doesn’t really matter anymore.” Taehyun straightens his posture, “The scene is about to change, they’re going to forget that this ever happen—“

click

You walk down the hallway with a heavy heart, feeling guilty for what you did to Misun. You wish you could go back in time and change things, but you know it's impossible. Suddenly, you hear someone calling your name. You turn around and see that it's Yeonjun. You feel your heart beating faster as he approaches you; both because of nervousness and fear. You know Taehyun just said the scene has changed but you can’t help but still feel a bit afraid. What if Yeonjun remembers?

"Hey, Y/N, how are you?" He asks, flashing you a charming smile. You almost felt like you were going to throw up. His eyes were different than before, there was no indifference. Yeonjun doesn’t remember the Misun incident. Thank god. But that doesn’t help you from feeling guilty. 

You feel your heart race as you reply, “Same old, stressed about Mr Cho’s homework. Have you finished it?” 

“Oh shit, I completely forgot about that,” he replies, running a hand through his hair. “But listen, I wanted to ask you something."

“If it’s about the homework I won’t be able to help.” You laugh. You’re thankful you’re on stage because if you weren’t you wouldn’t be able to keep your voice steady. 

"Well, my football team has a game coming up this weekend, and I was wondering if you'd like to come watch. I know it's not really your thing, but it would mean a lot to me if you came." He says, somewhat nervously. 

You feel your heart flutter at his invitation and quickly agree, "Of course, I'd love to come watch. What time is it?"

"It's at 2 pm on Saturday," he answers, flashing you another charming smile. "Thanks for agreeing to come, Y/N. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Yeonjun," you reply, feeling a bit flustered.

As he turns to leave, he pauses for a moment and leans in a little closer to you. "Oh, and by the way, thanks again for speaking to Johnny about getting me on the team. I owe you one."

You feel your cheeks heat up a little bit, but you quickly compose yourself and reply, "No worries, Yeonjun. I'm always happy to help."

He nods, flashing you one last smile before walking away. You can't help but feel a little giddy, feeling grateful that he asked you to come to his match. Is this your luck really turning around? Is Yeonjun finally noticing you? You try to calm yourself down and remember the conversation you had with Taehyun, you can’t obsess over this. Of course, you won’t give up on Yeonjun but you aren’t going to stand between him and Misun. You know you need to make things right with Misun, but for now, you can't help but enjoy the attention of the guy you've been crushing on.

click

You don’t watch Yeonjun leave, instead, you decide to make things right with Misun. You walk up to Misun's locker, taking a deep breath before you open your mouth. "Hey, Misun," you say, trying to sound casual.

Misun jumps at the sound of your voice and turns to face you, eyes widening in surprise. "H-hi," she stammers, clearly taken aback by your sudden appearance.

You clear your throat and try to sound as sincere as possible. "I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry for how I treated you before. I know I was really mean and I regret it. I hope we can start over and be friends." 

Misun looks at you confused, clearly not expecting such an apology from someone like you. “But you’ve always been so nice to me Y/N,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry, I don't remember what you're talking about," 

You feel a pang of guilt in your chest. Of course, she wouldn't remember. The scene had changed, the writer had made it so. But you still feel the need to apologise.

"It's okay if you don't remember. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for anything I may have done to hurt you in the past. I didn't treat you with the respect you deserve, and that's not okay," you say, trying to keep your voice calm.

Misun looks at you with surprise in her eyes. "Why are you apologising to me?" she asks, her voice quivering.

"Because it's the right thing to do," you say, feeling a sense of relief wash over you. "I shouldn't have treated you the way I did, and I want to make it right."

Misun looks down at her hands and nods her head slowly. "Thank you," she says softly. "I appreciate it."

As you turn to leave, Misun looks up at you, a small smile on her face. "Hey, Y/N?" You turn around to face her.

"I don't have any friends, and I was wondering if... if maybe we could hang out sometime?" You feel a surge of warmth in your chest as you realise that maybe, just maybe, you can make a difference in someone's life. 

"Of course, Misun. I would love that." Suddenly you feel a weight on your back, you stumbled forward slightly before steadying yourself. You could recognise the person before they even spoke. Beomgyu.

You feel Beomgyu's weight as he clings to your back, his arms wrapped around your neck. "Ooh, look who's got an invitation to Yeonjun's football match!" he teases, his voice dripping with playful mockery, making kissing noises. 

You roll your eyes, but can't help the grin that spreads across your face. "Shut up, Beomgyu," you playfully retort, giving him a light nudge.

Misun looked on with a mixture of surprise and discomfort, feeling out of place in the interaction. Beomgyu didn't seem to notice her presence,, as he excitedly spoke to you. You couldn't help but smile at Beomgyu's enthusiasm, but you also felt a pang of guilt for Misun, who was standing there awkwardly, clearly feeling left out. "Uh, Beomgyu, this is Misun," you said, gesturing to the timid girl beside you. "Misun, this is Beomgyu." 

Beomgyu hops off your back and falls into step beside you. "Hey, Y/N, I know it's not my business, but are you and Yeonjun...you know," Beomgyu trails off, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

You roll your eyes, feeling your cheeks heat up. "No, Beomgyu, we're not 'you know'," you reply, trying to keep your voice level.

Misun looks uncomfortable as Beomgyu continues to tease you. She clearly likes Yeonjun too and the thought of you and Yeonjun together seems to bother her. "Hey, Misun. Sorry about that. We didn't mean to ignore you."

Misun shrugs, trying to hide her disappointment. "It's okay. I was just...listening."

You nod sympathetically, not wanting to make her feel worse. "Well, if you want to come to the football match with me, you're more than welcome. It'll be fun!" It’s hard to be nice to her, it’s hard to even admit that it’s hard to be nice to her. But Taehyun was right, you can’t be a bitch, you need to be a better person, even if it means inviting Misun to the football game. 

Misun's eyes light up at the invitation. "Really? You want me to come with you?"

You nod, silencing your inner demon, “The more the merrier right?” Before Misun could answer, Beomgyu grabs your wrist. 

“Okay, see you later Misun!” He pastes a smile on his face, dragging you away from her. You feel your body tighten as Beomgyu drags you away from Misun, who looks confused and a little hurt. You genuinely wanted to invite her to the football game. You try to protest, but he doesn't seem to be listening. Finally, he stops in front of his partner Cat, who looks up from their book with a raised eyebrow. 

"What's going on, Beomgyu?" They ask, closing their book.

"This one," he says, gesturing to you. "Invited Misun to Yeonjun's game." Your friends' eyes widen, as they lean forward to hear more. 

Cat exclaims in surprise. "Misun? That girl who Yeonjun likes?”

You feel your cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I didn't know that," you say quietly. "I just wanted to be nice to her." 

Beomgyu rolls his eyes. "Yeah, well, you're not doing Yeonjun any favours. You're just making things worse by taking her to the game."

"But I promised Taehyun I'd be a better person," you protest. "And Misun is really nice once you get to know her."

Cat looks at you with a sympathetic expression. "I understand what you're trying to do," They say. "But you have to be careful. Yeonjun likes Misun, whether she realises it or not. Taking her to the game will only push them closer together."

You feel a sinking feeling in your stomach at her words. You don’t really like Misun all that much but you still want to try to like her. You just hope that by being a better person, you'll be able to find happiness, even if it's not with him. You try to smile, but it feels fake. The thought of Yeonjun liking Misun is too painful to bear.

Beomgyu nods in agreement, still looking unhappy about the situation. "We just don't want you to get hurt," he says, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder.

Kai, being the peacemaker that he is, tries to defend your point of view. "Guys, come on. Misun didn't do anything wrong. Y/N just wants to make things right with her. We should give her a chance."

But the others don't seem to see it that way. They see Misun as some evil person trying to take away Yeonjun from you. "She's always trying to get close to him. It's so obvious," Cat chimes in.

"But Misun is always causing drama," Yoon interjected. "She's just trying to steal Yeonjun away from you." You want to roll your eyes and tell your friends it’s actually the opposite. Misun is supposed to be with Yeonjun, you’re just trying to worm your way in. 

"You're being too soft, Kai," Haechan said. “Look the damage is done, you invited her. But what if we stop her from going?” 

“What are you suggesting?” Cat raises their brow. 

“Let’s just say she accidentally gets locked in the supply closet.” Haechan laughs, eliciting one from Beomgyu too. 

"Look, I appreciate your concern," you said, trying to sound as diplomatic as possible. "But I made a promise to myself to be a better person. And part of that means being nice to everyone." You can’t let Haechan bully Misun and you definitely cannot join into it. 

“Whatever, you can be friends with her but I’m not.” Beomgyu rolls his eyes. You sigh, at least it was a start right? You were getting tired of trying to explain yourself, so when Kai suddenly announced that he was going to talk to Taehyun, you quickly tagged along.

Kai looked surprised to see you following him. "I didn't know you were friends with Taehyun," he said, a note of curiosity in his voice. “I thought you said he was a creep.” Kai tased. 

You laugh in embarrassment at the memory, “You’re right, he’s a good guy.”

Kai chuckles, and the two of you continued down the hallway in silence for a while. Finally, Kai spoke up again. "I don't know why they're all so against Misun. I mean, sure, she's not the most popular person in school, but that doesn't mean she's a bad person."

You sigh, nodding your head, “They're just so convinced that she's trying to steal Yeonjun away from me."

Kai shook his head. "It's ridiculous. Yeonjun is his own person. He can make his own decisions. Besides, if he does end up liking Misun, then it's not like you can control that."

You nodded in agreement. "I just wish they could see things from my perspective."

Hyuka put a hand on your shoulder. "Hey, it's not your job to make them understand. Just do what feels right for you and if that means inviting Misun to Yeonjun's game, then go for it. It's your life, not theirs."

You and Kai walked down to the football pitch, the sun beating down on you as you approached the field. The sound of cleats hitting the pavement filled your ears, and you could see Taehyun warming up with some of the other players.

"Hey, Taehyun!" Kai called out as the two of you made your way closer to the field. “When does your practice end?”

Taehyun grinned back at you, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. “Just trying to get warmed up for the game, haven’t even started yet. You guys coming to watch?" he asked, gesturing to the bleachers on the sideline.

"Yeah, we're planning on it," you replied. "How do you think you’re going to do?"

Taehyun chuckled. "You know, I’m pretty nervous about this one. We’ve lost every time a play against YG.”

"So, have you heard anything about YG's team?" you ask Taehyun.

Taehyun nods. "Yeah, they're really good. But we're not going to let that get to us. We're going to play our game and give it everything we've got."

Kai smiles, throwing his arms around a sweaty Taehyun. “I believe in you guys! You’ll definitely win!” 

Taehyun warms in the hug, lightly patting Hyuka. “I know we will.” He says meeting your eyes. You know exactly what he meant. This is the first big game the team is having this year, and it’s extra special because it’s Yeonjun’s debut. With Yeonjun in the team, you aren’t going to lose. He’s the main character, everything is going to go his way. 

"Hey, I'm going to go grab a drink. You want anything?" he asked you and Taehyun, pulling away.

Taehyun shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks, though."

As Kai walked away, you turned back to Taehyun. "Hey, so, about earlier..." you trailed off, unsure of how to bring up the topic of Misun and Yeonjun.

Taehyun raised an eyebrow in question. "What about it?"

You take a deep breath, slightly nervous, “Are we.. are we okay?” 

Taehyun's expression softened. “Yeah we’re okay, don’t worry.” 

“Are you sure because—“

“We’re good, I promise Y/N.” He smiles. Suddenly, Taehyun’s eyes sparkle mischievously, “Anyways, I heard Yeonjun personally invited you.” He nudges your shoulder playfully, “Looks like he’s started noticing you huh?” 

You feel your cheeks flush even deeper, “It isn’t that big of a deal, I mean I did help him land the gig. He probably just felt obligated to invite me.” 

As you turned to head back to the bleachers with Taehyun, Kai came back with a bottle of water in his hand. "What'd I miss?" he asked, looking between the two of you.

"Just some girl talk," Taehyun joked, giving you a playful nudge. You settle on the bleachers with Hyuka and Taehyun. You find yourself tuning out of Kai and Taehyun’s conversation, finally getting a moment of peace. You haven’t felt this carefree in well..forever! At first, it was the jumping and then it was Misun but now it just seems calm. You seem to be figuring out what to do with the entire situation. It's a relaxing and carefree moment, a nice break from the stress of school and life. Who knew sitting on the bleachers watching someone play football can be so therapeutic? You take a deep breath and enjoy the peaceful moment. The sun is warm on your skin, and the breeze is gentle. You close your eyes for a moment and just soak in the calmness of the moment.

As you open your eyes, you notice someone walking towards you. It's Yeonjun. Your heart beats faster as he approaches and sits next to you. "Hey," he says with a smile. "Enjoying the game?"

"Yeah, it's been fun to watch," you reply, trying to keep your cool.

Yeonjun smiles and looks at you with his piercing eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the cafe the other day. Can we go today instead?"

Your heart skips a beat as he apologises, for some reason your throat starts to close up. You start to feel flustered and awkward, not knowing how to respond. "I, uh, I'm not sure if I can go today," you manage to stammer. 

"That's okay," Yeonjun says with a reassuring smile. "Let me know if you change your mind. I'll be around."

“Um, uh. Cool!” You say suddenly standing up, “I have to go now.” You take long strides, walking away from the pitch. 

As you're walking away from the bleachers, you suddenly feel someone grabbing your arm and spinning you around. It's Taehyun, looking at you with an amused expression. "What was that all about, huh? Running away from Yeonjun like that?"

You feel your face heat up with embarrassment. "I don't know, I just got nervous, I guess," you mutter, trying to avoid Taehyun's gaze.

Taehyun raises an eyebrow. "Nervous? Why would you be nervous? It's just Yeonjun."

You can't help but feel annoyed by Taehyun's dismissive tone. "Well, excuse me for having feelings, Taehyun," you snap back. "I know it sounds stupid, but I just can't help it. And besides, I didn't want to go out with him today. I have other things to do."

Taehyun looks at you sceptically. "Really? Because it seems like you're just making excuses. Are you sure you're not just afraid of getting rejected?"

You feel a pang of anger at Taehyun's accusation. "No, I'm not afraid of getting rejected. I just don't want to go out with him today."

Taehyun gives you a knowing look. "You're not actually interested in him, are you?"

"What? No, I am!" you protest, feeling defensive.

Taehyun tilts his head, looking at you sceptically. "Really? I've seen you talk to guys before, and you're always super confident. Are you sure you actually like him?"

You furrow your brow, feeling a little defensive. "Yes, I'm sure. Why wouldn't I?"

Taehyun shrugs. "I don't know, I just get the feeling that maybe you're not really into him."

“I do Taehyun, I promise.” You respond, staring deep into his large brown eyes. 

“Okay.” He nods, accepting your answer, “I’ll catch up with you later, I need to get back to practice.” You nod, waving as he walks away. 

Suddenly the thought of seeing Soobin crosses your mind. You're not sure why, but you feel a sudden urge to talk to him. You excuse yourself from the conversation and begin your walk towards the library, where you know he spends a lot of his free time.

The sun is still shining brightly, warming your skin as you make your way through the busy hallways of the school. You pass by students chatting and laughing, some heading towards their next class, while others are making their way outside to enjoy the beautiful weather.

That’s right! What’s gotten into you? You should accept Yeonjun’s date and wow him with all the books you’ve been reading! You mentally facepalm, why did you have to act like such an idiot in front of him? Now that you think about it, you also have Soobin to apologise to. Although you got his number, you’ve barely used it, using it just once or twice to get some book recommendations while you wallowed in your self-pity. In fact, you haven’t even spoken to him since he walked you home from the cafe.

‘Man I really was a bitch huh?’ You think to yourself, ‘Thank god Taehyun spoke some sense into me.’ As you step into the library, the smell of old books and the sound of quiet whispers fill the air. The shelves tower over you, filled with books on every subject imaginable. You take a deep breath and begin your search for Soobin. You walk past the rows of bookshelves, scanning the tables and chairs for any sign of him. You spot a familiar head of brown hair in the corner, and you make your way over. As you get closer, you see that Soobin is surrounded by books and papers, his eyes darting back and forth as he scribbles something down. You clear your throat to get his attention.

"Soobin?" you say softly.

He jumps at the sound of your voice, knocking over a stack of books in the process. He quickly scrambles to pick them up and straighten his papers. "Oh, hi," he says, his voice quiet and shy.

"I just wanted to say hi," you say, trying to keep the conversation light, taking a seat next to him. "It's been a while since we've talked."

Soobin nods but doesn't say anything. You can tell he's uncomfortable, and it makes you feel guilty for not reaching out to him sooner.

"I know we're not close or anything, but I didn't want things to be weird between us," you continue, hoping to put him at ease.

Soobin shifts in his seat, and you can see his fingers fidgeting with the pages of his book. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he says quietly. "I didn't want things to be weird either."

You both sit in silence for a moment, and you feel a pang of regret for not making more of an effort to be friendly with Soobin. He's always seemed so shy and awkward, and you can't help but wonder if he has any friends at all, you’ve never really seen him talk to anyone. “Uh... I read the book you recommended. The Taebaek Mountains?”

Soobin looks surprised but pleased. "Oh, I'm glad you liked it. It's one of my favourites."

You smile, hoping to put him at ease. "Yeah, it was really well-written. I especially liked how the author was able to capture the struggles of the people in rural areas. It was eye-opening for me." You pause for a moment, gathering your thoughts

Soobin's eyes light up. "Yes! That's exactly what I love about it. It's such an important book, and I think more people should read it." 

You can’t help but admire the twinkle in Soobin’s eyes. His eyes light up and a smile spreads across his face as he describes the intricacies of each book he's read. It's like he's transported to another world, completely absorbed in the story. It’s kinda cute. 

“What are you reading now?” You ask, leaning in a bit closer to take a look at the book and notice Soobin's face flush a bit. But you don't pay it much attention as you nod and say, "Oh, I've heard of that one. Is it good?"

Soobin seems to relax a bit as he starts to talk about the book, "Yeah, it's really interesting. The way Murakami writes just... it's like he reaches into your soul and pulls out all these emotions you didn't even know you had." Soobin's eyes light up as he starts to explain the plot to you. As he talks, he becomes more animated and less shy, gesturing with his hands and even laughing a little at some of the more humorous parts.

Finally, he finishes his explanation and looks up at you expectantly. "So, what do you think? Sounds interesting, right?"

You nod, "Yeah, it does. You really know your books, Soobin."

He looks down, bashful. "Oh, it's nothing really.” He says, handing you the book. You feel a small jolt of excitement as Soobin hands you the book "I think you'll really like it," he says with a smile, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

"Thank you, Soobin," you reply, feeling grateful and a bit surprised by his gesture. "But aren't you still reading it?"

Soobin shakes his head, "It's okay, I can always get another copy. I want you to have it so we can talk about it later."

You can't help but feel a warm sensation in your chest at Soobin's thoughtfulness. He's always been so kind and generous with his recommendations, but this feels different somehow. It's as if he's extending an invitation to connect with him on a deeper level. Your eyes soften as you look at the book. Soobin is such a sweetheart and you’ve been so awful to him. 

"I'm sorry I haven't talked to you in a while, Soobin. I've been going through some stuff and I guess I kind of shut everyone out," you say, trying to make amends.

Soobin looks up at you with a small smile. "It's okay. I understand," 

You shake your head, feeling guilty. "No, it's not okay. You're always so nice to me and I appreciate it, I should be a better friend to you."

Soobin's smile fades slightly and he looks down at his book. "We're not really friends, though, are we? I mean, we've only talked a few times about books."

You reach out and gently touch his arm. "But that doesn't mean I can't try to be a better friend. I want to get to know you better and hang out outside of the library."

Soobin looks up at you, surprise evident in his eyes. "Really? You want to hang out with me?"

You nod quickly, “Of course I do!” You plop your elbows on the table, leaning your head on it as you look at Soobin. “So, Soobin, what do you like to do other than reading?”

"Um, well," he starts, "I guess I like to write a little bit."

"Really?" you ask, intrigued. "What kind of things do you write?"

"Just some short stories," Soobin replies, a hint of shyness in his voice. "I don't really show them to anyone though. It's just something I do for fun."

“Oh my god! Really?” you say with a smile. "I bet they're really good. Will you let me read one?”

Soobin's cheeks turn pink at your compliment. "Uh, yeah, maybe," he says softly.

“So, how’d you know Taehyun?” You ask, deciding to bring up your mutual friend.

"I'm actually in the music club with him. We play instruments together."

"Wait, you're in the music club with Taehyun?" You ask, curious.

Soobin nods a small smile on his face. "Yeah, we're both in it. I play the piano and Taehyun plays the guitar."

You were impressed. "Wow, that's really cool. I didn't know you played an instrument, Soobin."

Soobin hesitates for a moment, but then he looks up at you and shyly admits, "I play the piano." He chuckles awkwardly, “I don't really talk about it much. I guess it's just not something that comes up in conversation very often."

You had no idea that he had such a talent. “No way! You can play the piano? You’re like some creative genius.” you gushed, feeling genuinely interested in learning more about him.

Soobin's face started to turn a shade of pink, and you couldn't help but tease him a little. "Aww, you're turning red, Soobin. Don't be embarrassed, you should be proud of your talent!" you said with a grin.

Soobin looked down, still blushing, but you could tell he appreciated your compliments. "Thanks," he said softly, still looking a bit bashful.

"I've always wanted to learn an instrument, but I never had the patience for it." You say.

"It definitely takes a lot of practice," Soobin says, smiling.

You gasp suddenly, causing Soobin to get slightly alarmed. You look at Soobin with a playful glint in your eye. “Can you teach me how to play the piano right now?"

Soobin looks surprised by your sudden request, but he can't hide the small smile that tugs at his lips. "Um, I don't know if I can teach you right now. I mean, we're in the library and-" You grin excitedly and take hold of his hand, tugging him along as you begin to make your way through the busy school halls. Soobin stumbles a bit at first, caught off guard by your sudden enthusiasm, but quickly regains his balance and starts walking with you. You both weave in and out of the crowd of students, dodging backpacks and classmates, until you finally reach the door of the music room.

Soobin's heart beats faster as you hold his hand, he's always admired you from afar, impressed by your confidence and outgoing personality. I mean who wouldn’t? He never thought he'd have the chance to be alone with you, let alone hold your hand. He tries to push aside his thoughts of you being out of his league and instead focuses on the task at hand.

You quickly push the door open and pull Soobin inside, feeling a surge of excitement as you take in the room filled with instruments. Soobin looks around nervously, his eyes flickering over the pianos and drum sets before he turns to you and says hesitantly, "Are you sure about this? I mean, I'm not really a teacher or anything…"

You give him an encouraging smile and pat his shoulder reassuringly. “It’s okay! I’m sure you’re a great teacher.” He takes a deep breath and tries to calm his racing heart, hoping he won't mess up in front of you

Soobin sits down at the piano and motions for you to sit beside him. You take a seat, feeling a little nervous but mostly excited to learn from him. "So, where should we start?" you ask, looking at Soobin expectantly.

"Let's start with some basic chords," he suggests, placing his fingers on the keys and guiding your hands to do the same. "First, we'll start with C major."

You follow Soobin's lead, your fingers awkwardly hitting the keys, but with his guidance, you start to get the hang of it. At first, your fingers fumble over the keys and the notes come out all wrong, but Soobin patiently corrects you and shows you how to position your hands properly. You feel a bit embarrassed at your lack of skill, but Soobin encourages you to keep trying. You play a few more chords, and with each one, Soobin's eyes light up with excitement. He's such a good teacher, and you can tell he's passionate about music.

After a while, you start to get the hang of it and play a simple melody with a big smile on your face. Soobin claps for you, and you feel proud of yourself.

"Wow, you're a natural!" Soobin says, grinning. "You picked that up so quickly."

"Thanks to you," you reply, feeling grateful for his guidance.

As you sit at the piano, your fingers tracing the keys under Soobin's watchful eye, the sound of the school bell suddenly fills the room. The loud, jarring ring echoes off the walls, interrupting your concentration and causing both you and Soobin to jump in surprise. For a moment, the two of you simply sit there, frozen, listening as the bell continues to ring. Soobin looks over at you, his expression hesitant as he asks, "Do you have to go to class?"

But you were feeling too euphoric to let the bell interrupt your time with him. "Yeah, but I'm skipping it," you said, grinning at him.

Soobin's eyes widened in surprise, and you could see the corner of his lips twitching upwards as he processed your words. "Really?" he asked, sounding both hesitant and pleased. He felt his heart flutter in his chest. He had never expected someone like you, who was so popular and outgoing, to choose to spend time with him, someone who had always been in the background.

You nodded confidently, feeling a surge of boldness coursing through you. "Yeah, really. I'd much rather be with you," you said, beaming at him.

A soft smile graces Soobin's face, and he turns back to the piano. "Okay, then let's keep practising."

Soobin carefully places his fingers on the piano keys, guiding you through each note as you watch his every movement. The atmosphere in the music room is hushed and serene as you both try not to make any noise, afraid of getting caught for skipping class. The only sounds that can be heard are the soft tinkling of the piano keys and the occasional sound of rustling pages as Soobin flips through his music book to find the next piece for you to practice.

His patient guidance and the calming sound of the piano help ease your worries and clear your mind. His gentle guidance as he helps you navigate the keys feels like a warm embrace, and you find yourself smiling without even realizing it. The sunlight filtering through the music room window casts a soft glow on your surroundings, and everything feels serene and calm. For once, you're not thinking about being popular or impressing anyone.

Despite the occasional mistake, you were improving with each passing minute, and Soobin seemed genuinely pleased with your progress. He'd lean in close to give you pointers, and you could feel his warm breath on your neck, sending shivers down your spine. You can’t remember the last time you felt this happy and carefree, and you know that it was all thanks to Soobin.

Suddenly you hear the sound of footsteps outside the music room. Soobin immediately freezes and looks towards the door in a panic. You both frantically look around the room for a place to hide, but there's nowhere to go. The music room is large and open, with just a few instruments scattered around and a couple of chairs pushed up against the wall. You're about to panic when Soobin grabs your hand and pulls you towards a small corner of the room, hidden from view. You follow his lead and huddle in the cramped space, your bodies pressed against each other. You try to slow your breathing as the door creaked open and a teacher's voice calls out.

"Is anyone in here? This is a reminder that all students are required to attend their scheduled classes."

Soobin's hand grips yours tightly as the footsteps grow closer. You feel hear your heart beating in your chest and you know that if the teacher found you, you’d be in big trouble. The footsteps stopped just outside the corner where you and Soobin are hiding. You hold your breath as the teacher's shadow looms over you. But to your surprise, the teacher's attention is drawn to a pile of sheet music on a nearby table. He picks it up and starts rifling through the pages, muttering to himself about how unbelievably messy the music room was. You and Soobin exchange a relieved glance and tried to remain as quiet as possible, waiting for the teacher to leave. Soobin's grip on your hand tightens, and you can feel his rapid breaths against your cheek. You look up at him, and your eyes meet his. Even in the dim light, you can see the sparkle in his eyes. You reach out and squeeze his hand reassuringly, hoping to calm him down.

The seconds tick by agonisingly slowly as the teacher seems to hesitate before finally leaving the room, their footsteps fading away as they walk down the hallway. As the door to the music room finally clicked shut, you and Soobin let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. You can feel Soobin's heart racing against your chest, and you wonder if he can feel yours do the same. Your bodies were still pressed against each other, and you could feel the heat emanating from his cheeks as he realised just how close you were. He opens his mouth to apologise, but nothing comes out.

You can't help but smile at how cute he looks when he's flustered. "It's okay, Soobin," you say, still grinning. "I don't mind being pressed up against you like this."

Soobin's eyes widen, and he looks even more embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry," he stammers. "I didn't mean to be so close to you. It's just that we had to hide, and there wasn't enough space."

You laugh, shaking your head. "It's fine, Soobin. I was just teasing you. You don't have to be so nervous."

Soobin nods, still blushing. "Okay," he says softly.

You feel a surge of affection for Soobin, and you can't resist the urge to give him a playful nudge. "You're so cute when you're flustered," you say, grinning.

Soobin's eyes widen even more, and he looks like he's about to pass out. "W-what? I-I'm not cute," he stammers.

You chuckle. "Oh, you are," you say. "Especially when you're all red like that."

Soobin shakes his head, still looking embarrassed. “I-I don't know why you think that," he says.

You can’t help but continue teasing Soobin, his flustered reaction just too cute to resist. "You know, Soobin, you still haven’t moved,” you quipped, grinning mischievously at him. Soobin's cheeks flush even deeper, his eyes darting away from you.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something, but then your stomach let out a loud rumble, interrupting him. Both of you burst out laughing, and Soobin's tension seemed to ease a bit.

"Looks like you skipped lunch too, huh?" Soobin said, still laughing.

You nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed about your stomach making such a loud noise. “What's your favourite food again?"

“Um..bingsu.” He chuckles, still unable to look you in the eye. You pull away from him, straightening your uniform.

You turn to face Soobin, a mischievous glint in your eyes. "Soobin, come with me. I want to show you something," you say, grabbing his hand once again.

Soobin looks hesitant, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What are you talking about? We can't just leave," he protests softly. “School isn’t finished yet.”

You give him an excited smile. "Trust me, it'll be worth it."

With a small nod, Soobin allows you to lead him out of the music room and into the empty school halls. You take a moment to make sure there are no teachers or students around before continuing on your mission.

"Where are we going?" Soobin asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

"To the secret cafeteria," you reply, your eyes lighting up with excitement. “They make the best bingsu."

Soobin looks at you sceptically. "And we're going now? During school hours?"

You nod enthusiastically. "Yeah, why not? It's more fun to do things when you're not supposed to." It’s like Taehyun said, nothing really matters anyway- you live in a manhwa and doing this isn’t causing trouble. If anything you’re not interfering with the story at all.

As the two of you sneak around the halls, you can feel your heart beating faster with excitement. You've always been a bit of a troublemaker, and the thrill of getting caught is only adding to the rush. Soobin, on the other hand, seems to be getting more and more nervous with each passing minute. You can tell he's not used to breaking the rules like this, and the fear of getting caught is starting to weigh on him.

"Are you sure we're not going to get in trouble?" he asks, his voice shaky.

"Relax, Soobin," you reply, trying to sound reassuring. "We'll be back in no time. And even if we do get caught, it'll be worth it for the bingsu."

You lead him through the winding hallways of the school, ducking into alcoves and behind pillars whenever you hear someone coming. As you approach the back of the school, you can feel your heart racing with excitement. Soobin is trailing behind you, looking a little apprehensive. You turn to him with a grin on your face.

"Come on, it'll be fun," you say, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the fence.

Soobin looks up at the fence, which is just low enough to jump over. He looks hesitant, but you can see the excitement in his eyes. With a deep breath, he nods his head and takes a step closer to the fence.

"Okay, let's do it," he says, taking your hand and squeezing it.

You both step back a few feet, preparing to run towards the fence. With a deep breath, you take off towards the fence, Soobin hot on your heels. As you reach the fence, you both leap up and grab onto the top, pulling yourselves over with a bit of effort.

As you land on the other side, you can feel your heart racing with adrenaline. You turn to Soobin, who looks a little shocked but also exhilarated. "That was amazing!" he exclaims, grinning from ear to ear. You both take a moment to catch your breath and let the adrenaline settle.

You stroll down the sunlit street with Soobin by your side, enjoying the warmth of the spring afternoon. The flowers are in full bloom and the air is filled with the sweet scent of cherry blossoms. Soobin looks up at you with a curious expression, trying to catch a glimpse of where you're leading him.

“Y/N, where are we going?" he asks, but you simply smile and keep walking.

You smile at him, keeping your lips sealed. "It's a surprise, just trust me," you say, your voice light and playful.

Soobin nods, a small smile on his lips. "Okay, I trust you," he says, his hand brushing against yours.

You lead him down a path that winds through a park, the vibrant colours of blooming flowers and green grass surrounding you. You can feel Soobin's curiosity growing with each step, but you keep your focus on the path ahead. The sun casts a golden glow on everything around you. The air is filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers and fresh grass, as the trees rustle gently in the light breeze. The sky is a deep shade of blue, scattered with a few fluffy white clouds. As you walk, you can hear the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze.

As you walk through the alleyways, the air is filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers, and the gentle breeze brushes through your hair. The alleyways are lined with small shops, selling all sorts of knick-knacks, from antique books to handmade jewellery. The colours of the shops and the decorations outside make it feel like you're in a different world. The sounds of the bustling city seem to fade away, replaced by the soft chatter of locals and the occasional song from a street musician.

Soobin is looking around in wonder, his eyes taking in every little detail. He keeps asking where you're taking him, but you just smile and say "You'll see." He walks alongside you, his hand brushing against yours occasionally, sending shivers down your spine. You notice how the sun hits his face, making his eyes shine even brighter than usual.

You lead Soobin through the winding alleyways until you reach a small, hidden cafe. The entrance is unassuming, a small sign above the door simply reading "Coffee Shop", but inside is a cosy and inviting atmosphere. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods wafts out the door, enticing you both inside.

As you step inside, you're greeted by the sound of soft music and the hum of conversation. The decor is quaint, with exposed brick walls and mismatched furniture, giving the cafe a charming and rustic feel. Soobin looks around in awe, taking in the cosy atmosphere and the eclectic artwork hanging on the walls.

"This place is amazing," he says, his eyes widening in appreciation.

You smile at his reaction, feeling proud to have shared your little secret with him. "I come here sometimes when I need to escape from the chaos of school," you admit.

Mrs Kim, the owner, looks up from the counter and her face lights up with a smile when she sees you. "Well, well, well, look who we have here," she teases, making you feel like a schoolgirl again.

You roll your eyes, grinning. "Mrs Kim, please," you say, trying to hide your embarrassment.

"Who's the lucky guy?" she asks, her eyes flickering towards Soobin. "I've never seen you bring anyone with you before."

Soobin looks at you curiously, and you can feel his gaze on you. You chuckle nervously, feeling a bit embarrassed by Mrs Kim's comment.

"Mrs Kim, this is Soobin," you introduce him, hoping to move past the awkward moment.

Mrs Kim turns her attention to Soobin and smiles warmly. "Nice to meet you, Soobin. You must be a special one if she's brought you here," she says, winking at you.

Soobin looks a bit taken aback by the comment, but he smiles politely. "It's nice to meet you too, Mrs Kim. This place seems really cosy," he says, looking around the quaint cafe.

Mrs Kim nods happily. "Yes, we like to keep it that way. We're a small operation, but we put a lot of love into our coffee," she says, gesturing to the counter where a barista is brewing a fresh pot.

You can't help but smile at the familiarity of it all. The smell of freshly roasted coffee beans fills the air, and the walls are adorned with pictures of local artists and musicians. It's always been a haven for you, and now you get to share it with Soobin.

“What can I get you both?” The older woman smiles, guiding you to your usual spot by the window. Soobin peers at the menu, taking in the assortment of food they serve at the cafe.

“2 coffees and a strawberry bingsu please.” Soobin orders, smiling.

"Ah, going for the bingsu, I see," she says with a smirk. "You two must really like each other."

You feel your face turn red as you stammer out a response, but Soobin just chuckles and shakes his head. "Mrs Kim, you're too much," he says with a smile.

Mrs Kim laughs and heads to the back to make your order, leaving you and Soobin alone at the table. You take a deep breath, feeling your nerves settle as you relax in the chill atmosphere of the cafe. Soobin catches your eye and gives you a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, I know she's just teasing us," he says, his tone light and playful. "This place is really nice though, I can see why you like it."

You nod your head, feeling the warmth spread through you at Soobin's words. You can't help but feel grateful for his company, especially in a place that holds so much sentimental value to you.

As you wait for your bingsu to arrive, you and Soobin chat about school, music, and everything in between. You feel at ease in his presence, enjoying the simple pleasure of good company and delicious food.

Eventually, Mrs Kim returns with your bingsu and coffee, setting the frosty bowl down in front of you with a smile. You and Soobin dig into the sweet dessert, savouring the cool, refreshing taste. You catch Soobin's eye and smile, feeling a sense of contentment wash over you.

You take a spoonful of bingsu and close your eyes, savouring the sweetness of the icy dessert. Soobin follows suit and lets out a small sigh of contentment.

"This is so good," he says.

You nod, "Yeah, Mrs Kim makes the best bingsu in town."

He couldn't believe his luck; here he was, sitting with the most popular girl in school, skipping classes and enjoying a delicious bingsu in a secret little café tucked away in the alleyways. You were so beautiful, he thought, with your hair slowly swaying by the air of the fan and your eyes sparkling in the warm spring sunlight. He felt his heart race and his cheeks flush, wondering if you could hear the thumping of his heart. "How did you find this place?”, he turns to you and asks.

You smile at the memory. "It was a rainy day," you begin. "I was walking through the alleyways trying to find a shortcut home, and I saw a small sign for the cafe."

Soobin looks intrigued. "And you decided to come in?"

You nod. "I was curious. It was pouring rain, and the cafe looked so comforting and inviting. Plus, I had never seen it before, and I love discovering new places."

Mrs Kim, who is standing behind the counter, overhears your conversation and chimes in, "And now look at you, a regular customer! Bringing new friends and all!"

You laugh, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well, it's just such a hidden gem. I couldn't keep it to myself forever." Soobin couldn't help but feel grateful for your generosity. He was a quiet, reserved boy, and he didn't have many friends. But here you were, sharing your little secret with him, he couldn’t help but feel a bit special.

Mrs Kim brings over refills for the bingsu, she gives you and Soobin a mischievous grin. "So, are you two lovebirds dating now?" she asks, making Soobin choke on his bingsu.

You laugh, feeling a little flustered but mostly amused by Mrs Kim's teasing. "No, Mrs Kim," you reply. "We're just friends hanging out."

Mrs Kim raises an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. "Uh huh, just friends," she says with a knowing smile. She clucks her tongue in disapproval. "You should be dating, dear. It's been too long since that Dongsik broke your heart. It's high time you found yourself a new boyfriend."

You sigh, "Mrs Kim, we're just here to enjoy some bingsu, not to talk about my love life."

She waves a dismissive hand. "Oh, I know, I know. I'm just teasing you. But honestly, Soobin here would make a great boyfriend. He's such a nice young man."

Soobin looks like he's about to die of embarrassment. "Mrs Kim, please," he mumbles, looking down at his bingsu.

Mrs Kim shrugs and gives you a knowing smile. "Well, you never know. Sometimes the best relationships start as friendships." You roll your eyes playfully, but can't help but feel a little flustered. Mrs Kim always seemed to know more than she let on.

As Mrs Kim leaves to attend to another customer, you turn to Soobin and give him a reassuring smile, “I’m so sorry about her.”

Soobin nods, but you can tell he's still a little flustered, “It’s alright.”

Soobin pauses for a moment as if debating to say something. “Are you okay?" Soobin asks softly, “About the entire Dongsik thing?”

You let out a small sigh. It's been a few months since the break-up and the drama seems to have died down, but the memory still stings a little. You shrug and offer a small smile. "I'm fine, really. It was just a high school relationship, you know? It's not like it was going to last forever."

Soobin nods, but he still looks concerned. You can't help but appreciate his kind heart. Even though he's not Yeonjun, he still cares enough to ask about your well-being.

You find your mind wandering back to your past relationship with Dongsik. You remember how everyone in school was excited when the two of you started dating, how you were suddenly the IT couple that everyone looked up to. But deep down, you never felt the same way about Dongsik as he did about you. At the time, you thought it was just because you were still young and didn't know what love was supposed to feel like. But now, looking back, you realise that it was all just a part of the story. The writer had planned for you to be with Dongsik, to create drama and tension in the plot. And you had unknowingly played your part. Dongsik was a piece of shit, and you can’t believe the author made you date him for over a year.

Soobin looks nervous as he fiddles with his spoon, staring down at the half-eaten bingsu. He takes a deep breath before finally asking the question that's been weighing on his mind.

"Y/N, do you think you'll get back together with Dongsik?" he asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

You can't help but chuckle at his question, knowing that the answer is a resounding no. You shake your head and reply, "No, Soobin. I don't think I'll ever get back together with him."

Soobin seems relieved at your answer, his shoulders relaxing a bit as he takes a sip of his drink. You smile at him, feeling a sense of happiness that he cares for your well-being.

"Don't worry about me, Soobin. I'm doing just fine. And besides, there are plenty of other guys out there. I'll find someone who's right for me eventually."

Soobin nods, a small smile gracing his lips. "Yeah, you will. And he'll be lucky to have you."

You feel your cheeks heat up at his compliment, and you quickly turn away, hoping he doesn't notice.

Suddenly, Soobin clears his throat and looks up at you with a small smile on his face. "Um, Y/N… I just wanted to say thank you for bringing me here. I've never been to a place like this before, and I'm really enjoying myself."

You can't help but feel a warm sensation in your chest as you watch Soobin speak. His voice is soft and gentle, and it's clear that he's trying his best to express his gratitude to you.

"It's no problem, Soobin," you reply with a grin. "I'm happy to have you here with me." Soobin's face turns bright red at your words, and he looks down at his lap, still fidgeting with his hands. It's clear that he's not used to receiving compliments or attention from someone like you. But you can't help but feel drawn to Soobin's shyness and vulnerability. It's refreshing to spend time with someone who isn't trying to put on a front or impress you all the time.

As you both continue to enjoy your bingsu, you take a moment to appreciate the simple pleasure of just sitting and chatting with Soobin. There's no pressure to impress each other or keep up appearances, just two people enjoying each other's company in a quiet corner of the city. The thought of Yeonjun briefly crosses your mind, but you quickly dismiss it. You're allowed to have fun and make memories with other people, regardless of your crush on the main character of this manhwa. For once, you're living in the shadow and free to do as you please.

𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 - @fairyofshampgyu @human-misery @goldennika @multistansimp4life @blondsoobinenthusiast @captivq ~ lmk if you want to be part of the taglist 💗💗‼️‼️

[queriesntheories]

how do you do?

I love to make Stuff: writing things, artsy things, music things, whole buncha things. I also post a lot of nonsense thoughts, and share the cool things I find around the web, especially artsy fun things and stuff that makes internet surfing a little easier.

You’ll see some swearing in the tags, but any jokes on the ruder side I keep tagged; block #not so family friendly if you don't want to see that.

I have a Good Omens sideblog on @bananafishgorillashoelace (with a dash of nutmeg) :D

I'm proudly queer and genderfluid! Not entirely out everywhere, still figuring myself out but generally just trying to do whatever feels fun. All of my trans/queer/questioning siblings out there; I see you, I hear you, and I love you /p (and to folks who are aspec in any form, you're the freakin coolest and I hope something nice happens to you this week! this is entirely unrelated to me, I just hope you have a great day!)

If you need anything tagged just shoot me a message, I’m easy going and don’t mind it. Actually just message me generally I like talking to people :>

More info about this blog and the stuff I do under the cut, but thank you for stopping by regardless of the reason why ^^

And remember folks: Don't like what you see? Blocking is free! (and constructive criticism is recieved gladly!)

I exist on YouTube as AychTooOh, making music shitposts, playlists, and the occasional fan edit! I try to upload when I can; if you have any playlist ideas send them my way :D

I have made a Wug Picrew, so you can make a cute creature from child linguistics (this is one of my favourite things)

Sometime I write fanfiction on AO3, on the rare occasion that a silly pairing or a scenario socks me in the face with inspiration

I exist on Themeplaza too, occasionally making silly fun 3DS system themes/splashes! (and if you have any requests, shoot me a DM and I'll see what I can do!)

I have some old art on Newgrounds; very very inactive over there, but that's where you might see art I post for collabs :P

Aside from my GO sideblog, I'm also working on turning my tag #q’s internet trinkets into a neocities page! Check back soon for updates, and please send me stuff you think might fit ^^

I also have a pretty hefty original project of my own that I've been chipping away at for the better part of two to three years! If the fates align, you might see it this year!! ;D

Here are some cool people I think are very neat that you should follow too

@paperoxalis - very skilled 2D and stop-motion animator, sculptor, artist, and writer too! They recently released an adorable animation you can watch here :)

@scottysee - artist, writer and animator working on so many projects; always amazed by their work! You can join their Discord server here :)

@unknown-is-aaaa - very talented artist with an interest in plenty of fandoms, and a heck of a cool-looking art style! They also have a Twitter you can check out here :)

@galandrielle - long-time writer with a heck of a story to tell! Check out her work here! (I’d recommend starting with Michael and John - A Story of Friendship)

@canceltheact - more like a group, but these guys on the theory team are the best and are such wonderful friends to have! <3

@midnightnautilus - artist/animator/writer/squid, creator of the amazing Markiplier AU “A Bit of Madness”!

@backlitrabbit - ARG enthusiast, aspiring writer and all-round very cool human. Check out their YouTube channel here :D

#putting this in my pocket for later - stuff I save for future things

#things q thinks are cool - posts that make me go “:o” (I have many a subtag for this that usually starts with "and by cool i mean (adjective)")

#Q’s creations - the stuff I make :D (don't question the capital letter, i messed up)

#friends of q - things from my friends :)

#q’s internet trinkets - Fun/useful internet things I find that you can use (mostly free if I can help it, bc fun is essential to the human experience even if you’re tight on cash)

#q rambles - my funny little soapbox

#asks go brrr - asks :D please send me asks they're very fun

#not so family friendly - Not entirely PG-13 stuff I find interesting/funny, but still want to share. Block this tag if you want a clean dash, I won’t judge.

#bag of rainbow things - like the things I find cool tag, but LGBTQ+ community/education/history related. (and also probably personally related to me ahaha ^^;)

#yay recipes! - recipes from places! Some of these may also be in the pocket tag; I’ll work on sorting them eventually

#q’s crow obsession - for all your Corvid needs

#wiggly frequencies - the hills are alive with the sound of muse (yes I’m making a DaThings reference on my pinned post cause her stuff rocks. Anyway this is where the music stuff lives)

#because funni - *slams whiteboard* LAUGH!

(ps if you're wondering where I got these cool little gifs from they're from blinkies.cafe and they rule <3) (I also got this star divider from here!) (last updated 12/05/24)

[blackjackkent]

im so inspired and in lovvveee w u (as a fan!! no parasocial shenanigans here I swear 🫶)

When they said they weren't doing any more DLC for the game, I wasn't sad, actually. I noticed there's a big divide of peeps who like the game right? I realized this when I saw there were people who *always* play Durge and think it 100% hands down better than Tav, and seeing in the forum why people actually *liked* playing Tav over Durge, And it's like because Tav can be anyone with any story. Durge is really just a customizable pre-existing character (That's why they're under origin character, right?)

So that's what I realized the divide of people. There's always going to be certain people who prefer to play Something with a pre-existing story, people who don't enjoy the extra work of making your own character. But for people who do, the lack of DLC is disappointing but not a big deal. Because ask someone who has always enjoyed making her own characters, The end of a story is never really the end for me. And all that jibber jabber to say I see it in YOU too, and I looooooovvvve it! You're such a good writer and it's fabulous 🫶

though, as someone previously non-experienced with D&D, I do admit that makes imagining the future a little bit harder, despite, What really is probably one of the most Fanfiction-Friendly properties 😂

I did want to ask for advice on that if you have any to spare! Like, for example, I'd love to write about my own Tav and Karlach rolling around in Avernus, but I have no idea where to start even looking 😭

:O This was a fun message to receive! c: I appreciate so much that you like my writing and reached out. <3

You def make an interesting point about the Durge vs Tav experience. I think there's a lot of room for character headcanon even when you're playing Durge tbh (certainly I'm enjoying giving Rakha her own sense of personality and such), but you're right that it adds a bit more of a "built-in" framework for people who prefer that kind of experience and not having to think too much about the character details.

(It also, without giving too much away, is very representative of the character experience in BG1/2 - which was more of a Tav/Durge mix, really.)

But yeah, I also feel okay about the lack of DLC because there is lots of room to come up with the story I want outside of the events of the game. :)

As far as advice - I think you're asking specifically for advice on writing within the Forgotten Realms world and D&D sphere in general? Tbh I am not the hugest expert on the subject myself; there is a lot more FR lore than just what comes up in this series and I am by no means familiar with most of it.

My practical advice would be to point you towards the Forgotten Realms wiki, which is where I get most of my info that I can't get from the game's own dialogue. (Sadly it's a fandom.com wiki - if anyone else has other resources that particularly like for FR lore I would love your comments also!) There's lots of info in there that I've drawn from when needed for my fics.

On a more general level though - honestly I think my best advice is to get comfortable with the idea of getting lore wrong. We love to play in this sandbox but we're allowed to bring our own toys too. :D So if something feels like it'd make a better story by being a certain way, then fuckin go for it. :) Any reader who wants to make a stink about details being off isn't actually there to appreciate your story anyway. And the vast majority of readers are there in good faith to see what you're going to come up with and enjoy it. :)

(I've been thinking about this a lot in the context of writing "Open Your Eyes", because they're off to Calimport now and I have realized I know nothing about Calimport. XD So I've been studying the wiki a lot but I've also made an executive decision to not stress myself overly about it and focus on making the setting work for the story and not the other way around. I dont really mind if someone ends up letting me know (politely) that I missed the mark on something, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it if I'm pleased with the story regardless. :D )

I hope this is the sort of answer you were looking for! Sending very supportive vibes for your writing adventures also. c:

[marzmeltdown]

Familiar Taste of Poison - pt.3

⌦ Pairing: Wonwoo x Fem!Reader ⌦ Genre(s): series,, angst,, fluff ⌦ chapter specific genre: fluff,, angst ⌦ Warning(s): !!TW: LIGHT MENTIONS OF Drug Use, Alcohol Abuse, mentions of depression!!, reader kinda uses Wonwoo, a lot of this will be in multiple pov's(I will clarify when it changes pov's), some mention of being sick, swearing, most of this chapter is all Wonwoo's pov, Wonwoo goes on a date with someone else. ⌦ Word count: 3.07k ⌦ Summary: You and Wonwoo have been friends since childhood, though you're both a little estranged from one another, the only contact being when you call Wonwoo for help. ⌦ A/N: This chapter is a bit longer than the last two but a lot happens to push the plot forward. It's really random that I put skz in here but I needed someone who had a sister. Fun fact about me, cause it's brought up in this chapter: I'm allergic to apples. The end of this chapter almost had a bitch crying at 4 am. If there's anything you feel I should improve on in the future, don't hesitate to let me know! You can find progress updates on this story and everything else I write in my pinned post every Wednesday.:) ⌦ I have attached a link to a website with help hotlines around the world, this series has heavy themes of mental health and substance abuse. This link will be added to every chapter. ⌦ International Mental Health hotlines

⌦ Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6

⌦ marz’s tag list ⌦ marz’s req form

⌦(Wonwoo's pov) It had been a little while since he had heard from you; granted, you had never gone longer than a month without needing him to clean up your messes. This new-found silence from being your knight in shining armor allowed him to begin streaming again. For awhile, he had stopped because your calls of need would come in at least 4-5 times a week.

To say he missed you would be an understatement; he would lie awake after a long night of streaming, waiting for his phone to ring so he could pick you up. After three weeks of no calls, he began to believe that you had fully forgotten about him, all because of a little spat that he could've handled better. He had plans to express how he felt about you, but the world had different plans that day. Maybe you two just weren't meant to be friends anymore.

Wonwoo had tried to take his mind off things; he would distract himself by playing video games until the sun went down. That night, like every other night, he stayed up to play online with a few friends.

"If I die one more time because you're not paying attention, I'm gonna strangle you," Vernon threatened through Wonwoo's headphones. To be honest, Wonwoo was a little distracted today; he kept glancing down at his phone, hoping for a call, a text, or something.

"Sorry, I've just got a lot on my mind," Wonwoo replied, the sounds of his mouse clicking and keys clacking filling his room and his eyes beginning to grow tired from staring at such a bright screen for an extended period of time.

"Woo, you need to let her go. She's clearly not interested in your friendship and hasn't been for awhile," Minghao said. If Minghao were talking to anyone else, they surely would've been offended, appalled that he could say something so cold so calmly, but Wonwoo appreciated his honesty; he wouldn't want Minghao to be any other way.

"I agree with Hao; you should put yourself out there; stop waiting for someone who isn't hurting without you," Seungcheol chimed in, everyone having paused their game to give Wonwoo some free therapy while they sat in the Fortnite lobby.

"Are you guys suggesting a date?" Wonwoo asked, pushing his glasses up as he put his hands on his face, muffling his question just a bit.

"Well, I wasn't, but I know someone who'd be great for you," Seungcheol said. He could hear the shrug in his voice, playing matchmaker so nonchalantly. "I'll send you her info; she thinks you're cute anyway," he added. Within seconds, his words were emphasized by the sound of Wonwoo getting a text message. He glanced at the notification, half hoping it was from you and half hoping it wasn't.

It wasn't.

Wonwoo opened his phone, seeing that Seungcheol had sent her Instagram profile along with her phone number. He clicked on the link, leaning back in his chair as he scrolled through the professionally taken photos that filled the girl's profile.

"She is really cute," Wonwoo said, clicking on a few photos. There was a familiar face in a few of the photos, though they looked too much alike to be anything more than siblings.

"Seungcheol, is this Chan's sister?" Wonwoo asked, zooming in on one of the photos to get a better look at the girl's alleged brother.

"Bang Chan?" Seungcheol asked.

"Yea, Bang Chan,"

"Yea, why?"

"Just curious," Wonwoo said. He chewed on his bottom lip as he swiped back into his messaging app, looking down at the series of numbers Seungcheol had given him. "You said she thinks I'm cute?"

"Yeah, she talks about you all the time at work," Seungcheol said.

"Well, I'll text her when we get off. Wanna go for one more round?" Wonwoo asked, setting his phone down and getting ready to unpause the game.

"Sounds good," everyone said, continuing with their match.

One game turned into two.

Two games turned into four.

4 turned into 6.

By the time Wonwoo looked at the clock on the PC that displayed his Discord server, he was shocked.

3:26 a.m.

Wonwoo must have really had a lot on his mind; he never stayed up this late, not unless you had needed his help. He yawned, stretching his back when they were back to the games lobby, cracking his neck as it had grown stiff from sitting hunched over a keyboard for so long.

"I think I'm gonna get off guys, I'm getting tired," he said, not waiting for them to object before closing the game and turning his headphones, mic, and pc's off. Wonwoo grabbed his phone as he got up, walking to his closet to grab a pair of night pants and changing into them.

He unlocked his phone, looking at the number again as he began brushing his teeth. After a moment of hesitation, he finally added Hannah's contact information to his phone, messaging her as soon as he finished brushing his teeth.

⌦ Wonwoo: Hey, it's Wonwoo. I know this is super random, but Seungcheol gave me your number, if that's okay.

Wonwoo didn't expect an immediate answer; it was almost 4:00 in the morning. He looked at the unopened message as he left the bathroom, slipping his phone into his pocket and turning off the light. His phone dinged as soon as he walked into his room, and he only opened it once he had lied down in bed.

⌦ 3:55 a.m.

⌦ Hannah: Hey, Wonwoo! It's totally chill; why're you up so late? (Read 3:55 a.m.)

Wonwoo found himself smiling at her message and answering immediately.

⌦Wonwoo: I could ask you the same thing, lol. (Read: 3:57 a.m.)  ⌦Wonwoo: But I was playing Fortnite with Cheol and a few other friends and lost track of time. (Read: 3:57 a.m.)

⌦Hannah: That sounds like a lot of fun. (Read: 4:00a.m.) ⌦Hannah: Why did Cheol give you my number anyway? (read: 4:00 a.m.)

⌦Wonwoo: Uh, he's trying to play matchmaker. (Read: 4:00 a.m.)

⌦Hannah: Right (Read: 4:01 a.m.) ⌦Hannah: Well, what are you doing tomorrow? (Read: 4:01 a.m.)

⌦Wonwoo: Nothing as of right now. (Read: 4:02 a.m.)  ⌦Wonwoo: Why are you trying to ask me out? (Read: 4:02 a.m.)

⌦Hannah: Yea. (Read: 4:02 a.m.)  ⌦Hannah: How's coffee sound tomorrow at noon? (Read: 4:02 a.m.)

⌦Wonwoo: You're straight to the point, aren't you? lol (Read: 4:03 a.m.)  ⌦Wonwoo: But, noon tomorrow sounds great! (Read: 4:03 a.m.)

⌦Hannah: Great, I'll send you the cafe's info tomorrow. I'm about to fall asleep (Read: 4:03 a.m.)

⌦Wonwoo: Awesome, sleep well (Delivered: 4:04 a.m.)

Wonwoo reread the small interaction he had with Bang Chan's sister, smiling softly as he put his phone on the charger. He turned off his light, took his glasses off, and went to bed.

⌦(Wonwoo's POV cont) Wonwoo was thankful for his habitual routine of waking up at 9:00 a.m. every morning, regardless of when he went to bed. He forgot to set an alarm, having fallen asleep as soon as he put his glasses on his nightstand. Waking up this early gave him a few hours to kill before he had to get around, creating a schedule in his head for how long it would take him to eat breakfast, take a shower, shave, get dressed, and drive to the cafe. He planned on being 15 minutes early; he was always early.

Hannah had already sent Wonwoo the address of the cafe; thankfully, it was only a fifteen-minute drive from his apartment complex with traffic. He ate a light breakfast of two pieces of toast and a glass of apple juice; he'd be damned if he were going to willingly drink orange juice. He rarely ate toast, but with few food ingredients in his fridge or cabinet, toast was his only option.

With thirty minutes to spare after getting ready, Wonwoo grabbed his keys, locking his door as he left to go to his car. Hannah was already at the cafe when he got there, sitting in her car as she waited. Wonwoo parked next to her, pulling out his phone to let her know he was there. When she looked up from her phone, he waved at her with a smile, stepping out of her car to greet her on the sidewalk.

"Hey! I'm so glad you could make it," Hannah smiled as she pulled the taller male into a hug. Wonwoo was stunned at first; she surely was a bold woman, which he seemed to like about her.

"Why wouldn't I?" He chuckled, hugging her back for a moment before they pulled away and walked into the cafe.

It was a small cafe owned by a sweet elderly couple from France. The cafe always had French music playing softly through the store speakers; normally, Wonwoo would have found it nice and cozy, but today it felt cheesy. The two sat down after having ordered their drinks, exposing the poor barista to a small argument over who was paying for their drinks. Hannah won.

"So, tell me about yourself." Hannah smiled, taking a sip from her cappuccino before moving it to the side of the table so she could place her elbows on it, letting her chest rest against her forearms.

"There's not much to know," Wonwoo chuckled, swirling his straw around in his Americano and watching the ice move around with it. "But I'm in college for mechanical engineering, I stream on Twitch sometimes, and I'm a big Marvel buff," he said after a moment.

"Mechanical engineering? So you're smart and cute, huh?" Hannah teased, smiling at the redness that grew on Wonwoo's cheeks from her compliment.

"Tell me about yourself," Wonwoo said, directing the conversation back to the original topic.

"Well, I'm in college for fashion design; I also really like Marvel; and I want to get into PC gaming," she said. Wonwoo looked up at her, stunned that Seungcheol had finally set him up with a girl who shared some of his same interests, and he was already friends with her brother.

Wonwoo was pulled out of his thoughts as his phone rang in his pocket. He looked down at his pants and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Your name and contact photo were displayed on his screen; seeing this made his smile drop slightly. He clicked the side button, silencing the call, before looking up at the girl he was on a date with. "Sorry about that; I thought I put my phone on silent," he said as he placed it back into his pocket.

"It's no problem; if it's important, you can step out and answer it; I won't be upset," Hannah said, gesturing to the window that the two were sitting by. Wonwoo shook his head.

"It wasn't, and besides, it'd be rude to answer a call on our first date," he said.

"And you're considerate? Well damn, I might ask you to marry me right here," she laughed. She stood up after a moment, and in that moment, Wonwoo half expected her to get down on one knee and ask her to marry him. Instead, she grabbed her coffee with one hand and his hand with the other, pulling him up from his seat. "Wanna go on a walk?" She asked, swaying their hands back and forth.

"Are you gonna murder me?" Wonwoo asked, grabbing his coffee from the table.

"I might," she winked, sipping her cappuccino once more.

"At least you're honest," Wonwoo chuckled. His phone began to ring again once they left the building. He looked at it and canceled the phone call.

"Wonwoo, if you need to answer that, I don't mind," Hannah reassured as they began walking along the pathway.

"I don't, I promise." He said.

The walk was nice, and Wonwoo and Hannah seemed to be getting along a lot better than he would have ever imagined. It didn't take long for it to start raining. May's weather was never consistent, which seemed to be the only consistent thing in Wonwoo's life. Inconsistency. Wonwoo had given Hannah his sweater as they walked back to their cars; only when Hannah safely got into her car and pulled out of the parking lot did he leave.

He looked at his phone for a moment, seeing that he had five missed calls and ten messages from you, asking for your help. He almost answered the texts, apologizing that he was busy and couldn't get to his phone. Just as he was about to send his text, he sighed, thinking about what his friends had told him only 12 hours ago. Instead of sending the text, he closed his phone and drove home.

⌦(Reader's POV) You groaned angrily when your phone went to voicemail for the second time. Where was he? Why wasn't he answering? Was he still mad? Your head began spinning, even though you couldn't tell if it was because of your impaired state or because Wonwoo was finally giving you a taste of your own medicine. You had ghosted Wonwoo for the better half of your freshman year of college, having found new friends and devoting all of your weekends to partying, so when you finally got ahold of him, he was shocked.

"He works from home; where is he?" You said it angrily, your plethora of messages having been delivered but unread for the better part of two hours. That was what really set you off. He couldn't even give you the respect to apologize.

Against your better judgment, you snatched the keys from your kitchen counter and stumbled out of your apartment, having decided to confront him at his apartment. You've had a few years of practice when it came to driving under the influence, taking back roads, watching the road extra carefully, and driving cautiously, it was easy. Parking your car, you stormed up to his apartment, noting that his car wasn't in the parking lot when you had gotten there.

You called him again.

and again.

and again.

Until finally, you gave up on calling him and decided to send him a hundred more text messages.

⌦You: Wonwoo, I need your help... (Delivered: 11:00 a.m.)

⌦12:45 p.m.

⌦You: Wonwoo, why aren't you answering me??? (Delivered: 12:46 p.m.)

⌦12:57 p.m.

⌦You: Hello? Where are you??? (Delivered: 12:58 p.m.)

⌦1:05 p.m.

⌦You: I'm at your place (Delivered: 1:05 p.m.) ⌦You: Hello!!!!! (Delivered: 1:05 p.m.)

Just as you were about to call him again, you saw that all of your delivered messages had been read. You watched as the three dots by Wonwoo's name appeared.

Then disappeared.

Appeared again.

Until they disappeared for a final time.

Your texts to Wonwoo began to be sent one right after the other, sitting with your back against his front door as you drunkenly blew up his phone. Fifteen minutes had passed before you saw a pair of feet standing in front of you. You looked up and saw the man in question.

Angrily, you stood up shoving your phone in his face as you began to speak.

"I've been trying to get ahold of you for two hours now! Where were you?!" You yelled, and Wonwoo gently pushed your phone out of his face. He looked down, unlocking his front door before opening it to let you in. He waited for you to walk inside, quietly apologizing to his elderly neighbor before stepping inside himself.

"I got coffee," he said, setting his keys on the table by his front door and taking his shoes off.

"It took you two hours to get coffee." You asked in disbelief, crossing your arms as your blurred vision did its best to lock onto him.

"You didn't let me finish," he continued. He sat the now-empty to-go cup on his kitchen counter. "I was on a date."

Your heart dropped, and you weren't sure why either. He was only your friend, your shoulder to cry on, and your emergency contact because you knew he would bend over backwards for you.

"Oh," you said.

"Yea."

"You still could have answered after she left," you said. Your anger had softened just a little bit.

"Why? So I can pick your drunk ass up from some stranger's front lawn? It's 2:30, and you're already fucked up." He said, "Your jaw dropped. What was his deal? Why was he being like this?

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you being such a dick all of a sudden?" You asked.

"Because I'm tired of only seeing my best friend when she needs me to be her chauffeur because her other friends left her strung out on God knows what in some stranger's bathroom because she's too drunk to get home." He said. You could see that his words were hurting him just as much as they were hurting you; he wasn't making eye contact with you either. "I can't drop everything to come save you every time you need me; I have a life too," he said. This time his words were soft, almost upset that he'd finally told you how he really felt.

"Fine. I'll leave then." You said this, stepping toward the door only to have the pathway blocked off. "Wonwoo, get out of my way."

"No, I can't let you drive home like this," he said.

"Wonwoo. Get out of my way." You repeated. He didn't move.

"No," He said.

"Now you care about my safety?"

"I've always cared about your safety!"

"Evidently not; evidently it was a burden to you!"

"Do you know why I always dropped everything to come get you?" He snapped.

"To feel better about yourself?" You asked, your words laced with anger. Your eyes began brimming with tears, and your body began to shake. You need to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Because I love you, y/n!" Wonwoo snapped back. He stopped for a second, realizing what he had just said.

"What?" You asked, finally looking up at him.

"I love you.. and it kills me that you're killing yourself like this, but I can't be around you anymore if you're going to continue to hurt yourself. I will always love you, y/n; I hope you know that." He said this, grabbing his keys off the table once more. "Let's go; I'll take you home." You were sure this would be the last time you'd ever hear from him again.

[patterpea]

Dear Patterpea,

Why are you apologising, I am not sorry it was 5k instead of 3k at all😁 It was so fun to read. Thank you for sharing, it brightned my morning.

Of course Porsche is a cat. It seems Kinn is not a shifter himself? That would be so interesting in what would it do to power dynamics between Kinn and Porsche. Like when they are both human thay have similar physical strengths, so Kinn comes out on top (this is so punny but i couldn't find a better way to say it) with the money. But with one powerful with money and one powerful with a "5ft from shoulder to paw and 12ft from nose to tail" body, not to mention lack of debt, I can see Porsche ending arguments by shifting and just plopping over Kinn 😂.

(Or Kinn just didn't want to shift and leave his clothes somewhere dirty?🤣)

My words tend to get away from me and I worry I drag the story on sometimes, I swear it was 3k words when I replied to you Anon!

Yep, a big fuckin cat. It seemed more Porsche than a wolf (but I love any kind of shifter aus/werewolf au.)

No, Kinn is not a shifter in this AU, but he is very familiar with their kind.

There are 5 'known' shifters in this AU: Porsche, Porchay, Chan, Arm and Porsche/Porchays momma.

There would be a lot of juicy angst between the two, especially as Porsche thinks Kinns family are "collecting" shifters, so he doesn't know if Kinn wants Porsche or his shifting capabilities.

This is exasperated when he finds Kim has been hanging around Porchay. He hits the fucking roof.

And yes, once they are together, that's how he ends their (playful) arguments. He does love to snuggle his panther head against Kinns chest on a lazy Sunday morning. Kinn loves it too, the sap.

Thank you for reading my dear anon! I might post some more shifter AU info later, because it still hasn't left my system and I need to get it out.

[nickgerlich]

An Apple A Day

I’ve told the story a dozen times. OK, probably more like three or four dozen. But it is worth retelling, if only to set the stage. Besides, if you have never had me for a class before, this story is new to you.

I recall the early 2007 announcement from Apple about a revolutionary new phone. The iPhone would change our lives, they said. It offered a phone, iPod, and camera all in one. Of course, there were a few other features, but the App Store was not yet created. This was primarily a three-trick pony.

And I ballyhooed it roundly. Why did I need to spend that kind of money ($599, if you can believe that!). I already owned a phone, iPod, and camera. So I quickly dismissed the notion as just a flight of Steve Jobs’ fantasy.

A year later I came crawling to the Apple Store begging forgiveness. Silly me. Why carry three devices when one superior one would suffice? Because it was the future, that’s why. The only problem is that the legions of us who bought in relatively early, and everyone since then, including competing phones, have become ringside spectators to a paradigm shift that included us downloading our brains (well, not quite) to these devices, as well as sacrificing personal privacy.

Make that massive amounts of privacy. These things are computers, and unless we turn them off or switch to Airplane Mode, they are keeping an eye on us, and sending information somewhere. We even said it was OK when we checked all those Terms Of Service boxes without reading a word.

Apple as well as Facebook and Google have increasingly come under the magnifying glass of scrutiny. Between the devices themselves and the apps loaded on to them, there’s a treasure trove of data being collected, transmitted, stored, and sometimes sold. Apple in particular has taken heat for the amount of data it collects from users.

While Apple has earned some high praise for trying to be forthcoming and transparent about the data it collects, it has still drawn the ire of some European nations, where privacy is more of an expectation than it is in the US. The problem is that, and Apple admits this, the phone and its applications simply do not work as well if we do not opt-in for data collection. That’s kind of like having to strip down at the doctor’s office for an X-ray.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect, at least to some, is Apple’s ability to personalize advertising. Of course, Facebook and Google do it, too. But when you make the device in the first place, you’ve got a home court advantage, as well as the power to limit what third-party apps can do.

So how does this ad personalization work, and why is Apple interested in advertising anyway? The answer is pretty straightforward. Apple has long been a hardware and software company, but has recently evolved into the entertainment business as well, along with advertising. After all, it commands many hours of eyeball time from users each day, and it would be foolish to miss an opportunity.

Personalization works by examining available demographic data, interests and activities, mobility (meaning where you go), and how you use your phone, meaning apps, websites, and searches. Some information is explicitly provided, while other info is deduced. The result is a very accurate user profile, which they swear will never be associated with your name, nor sold as such. We thus see ads that are placed with laser-like precision, which I rather like. It’s better than seeing ads for things I would never buy.

Still, they know it is you, even if your identity is supposedly shrouded. Some people are rightfully creeped out about that prospect.

I have had this debate before with students (in a civil way, of course). As for me, I do not mind all of Apple’s activities, nor those of other third-party apps. I willfully gave up that privacy when I bought the device (actually, six of them now), as well as installed apps. The device and apps work together to give me a robust user experience. I have said many times that our phones are lifestyle devices first and foremost, and how we use them is up to us. But in the process, we cede information. It’s not a matter of having nothing to hide. This is about having a device that greatly enhances my life

That’s another way of saying that ship sailed long ago. If you were onboard, then you know the arrangement. If you don’t like it, you can always try to jump, but that may not work in your best interests either. YMMV.

Yes, it can be scary how much data is collected, and it is easy to feel that Orwell’s 1984 has become reality. But it is also up to us to decide how we are going to live in that new environment.

Dr “Sell Me Something Good“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

[gaminganxious]

Buried Stars - Review

Genre: Visual Novel

Release Date: July 30th 2020

Playtime: 6hrs

Completed: No

Would Play Again?: Yes, I at least want to finish a full playthrough and see how it ends

I swear I let RNG pick this month's games. Why it decided it was sad dark games February is beyond me, but I have to give another heads up here before we git into this one. WARNING: This game deals with themes of death and anxiety. Along with most of the BS that comes from literally any form of social media.

Buried Stars is about a group of contestant singers that become trapped on the set of a game show after disaster occurs. You play as one of five contestants, Do-yoon Han. You'll try your best not to do it and stay sane while hopefully doing the same for the people trapped with you. If being trapped under rubble was enough drama for you, don't worry. Everyone you're trapped with comes with a boatload of their own secrets and agendas to uncover along the way.

I haven't played any before but the art is really good in my opinion. The characters are all well-defined and easily distinguishable from each other, and I don't get bored looking at them for minutes at a time, which is good because thats what you'll be doing most of the time.

The menu interface is dynamic and fits the theme well. I do sort of wish the character models had more than three or four expressions when you interact with them. I think that's something that might be fairly common for this type of game, but still. The music is non obtrusive, but it's also nothing to write home about, which I thought was surprising considering the premise of the story involves singers. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone actually sings in it. They haven't done so in my playthrough so far.

This game combines like three of my worst fears. Being buried alive, talking to people I don't know very well, and social media. I honestly kind of bulked at it when I first started playing and realized I would have to get people to like me. That's something I almost always need a guide for. That and I made the mistake of talking to Hyesung first, and he's a little asshole in the beginning. I toughed it out, though, and I'm glad I did. There's a Quick Save Feature that helps you manage conversations if you feel you're about to touch on an unsavory topic with someone. Or if you want to avoid losing sanity. I mean that literally, by the way. You have a sanity meter, something I completely ignored until it was almost gone. Some topics raise it, others; like investigating that body yall just found in the rubble, lower it. There's also Phater, the games version of Twitter to keep track of, and you will want to keep track of it as it will give you most of your talking points. Sadly, it is just as toxic as it's real life counterpart, so be prepared for that, or it will drop your sanity too. At least it only updates every chapter or so. Controls are super easy and well labeled throughout. There is also a very nice fast-forward option if you had to do a reload and don't want to flip through all the dialog again. 

The story so far is quite good and getting better as I go. I'm excited to see how it'll end, though I'm not sure how close to that I am yet. More than just the main story, though, each individual character has an intriguing backstory to uncover. They even convinced me to to totally hate the crappiest character by far. At least i know why he's a jerk now. I'm sure there are multiple endings based on who trusts you and your sanity level as well. It's a lot of information at first, but since you go over a lot of the info multiple times throughout the story, it's not too difficult to keep track of. It can be easy to get lost on the details if you're not paying attention, though.

Currently, Buried Stars is listed for $44.99 on the Playstation store. I would hold off on that, though. I bought mine a while ago, but I'm pretty sure I got it on sale. It also looks like it goes on sale pretty regularly. If you do find it on sale, I think it's worth grabbing, especially if you like visual novels. You can save almost whenever you want, so it's a good one to play for a bit here and there or shotgun over a few days if you prefer. 

[starsandnoodles]

Let’s talk about Magolor finally (for the 100th time)

Every time this question is asked I have to like take a deep dive into my past and admit to my autism on the internet I swear to god lmao

So here it is: the full finally complete explanation but shorter than last time for those with very little time

The Too Long Don’t Wanna Read:

When I was like 6 Kirby’s Return to Dreamland came out and I was given the game for my birthday. Little me got so obsessed with Magolor for a mix of reasons (design, his whole little story, etc). From there he basically changed my brain chemistry lowkey and I still love the guy. That’s basically the idea though there are details left out that I will explain below

The full explanation (below cut):

The Logical “It’s His Character” Reason Everyone Who Likes Magolor Can Get Behind:

If you ask a Magolor fan why they like Magolor it’s likely a mix of these three things:

Design

Character Arc

How Relatable He is

Which, I can agree with. These are all things I also enjoy about Magolor! However I will mainly be going over design seeing as other reblogs (mentioned a specific one later in the post) talk about the other two things listed above better than I think I could!

We will start with design simply to get it out there. It’s the more info dumping section of the 3 and makes it easier for me not to bring up his design in later segments. Then we’ll move on to his story, what (at least to some extent in my opinion ) makes him an interesting character… then finally we’ll talk about how he is relatable to some from the way he presents himself to how his story can be seen as something very innately human.

Design

To begin, I’m including here a picture of Magolor for reference as it makes my life personally easier.

Now, the first thing I want to point out is the shape of him. He is a very welcoming and friendly shape and you can get a lot of information about him and how he carries himself based solely on the shapes used for his design!

His main body is an oval which while being why he is called an egg actually leads you into more of a security. This is due to something in character design called Shape Language!

Here is an example of this made by Pikatl on Twitter using specifically kirby! ( Link here as well as on Pikatl’s name cuz I’m careful ):

Now, applying this to Magolor… his rounded shapes are supposed to give off this weight of him being harmless and a little helpless. His very design supports what he claims to be while hiding hints at his true nature (the rounded triangular ears, etc ). Even the gears based in his design tell you a lot about him with and without shape language! You can just tell so much about him from how he is shaped alone!

A small writing after thought that I needed to include here specifically that I forgot to mention at all in this bit was how his mouth is purposefully covered. You can’t see if he’s smiling or frowning or what he is truly feeling. You can only tell through the eyes which you can manipulate into displaying whatever you want if you know how to do it. I only bring this up as an after thought because I was going to bring up the use of Magolor’s mouth later and forgot to even mention it here!

Another thing about this design that I see as very important is the colors used for him because in my opinion there was a heavy use of symbolism and color psychology used when he was created.

To begin, color psychology has all to do with how the brain perceive different colors and how we psychologically associate them with different feelings and things each (example: People often see Kirby as a girly series of games even if that isn’t true because Kirby is pink )

With Magolor there is a specific use of Blue and Yellow (which fun fact the yellow was confirmed to be a reference to Christianity but we will get more into that when we talk about the character arc of Magolor ). Blue in this particular case is meant to provide a sense of security. It being a main color of his palette heavily benefits him to appear more trustworthy to a player who has never seen the game play out. Then the secondary color he uses most heavily being yellow compliments that psychology by bringing a hopeful and happy feeling to his design. Another thing that heavily compliments the blue is the white of his cape and scarf which makes him look far more innocent than he is while the grey of his belt buckle shows that he can basically hold it together.

Finally, the purple of his design, my favorite piece of character design foreshadowing ever.

Purple is the color of royalty and mystery. At first it could easily be more associated with Mystery or even left unnoticed to those viewing his design but once the cutscene on Halcandra happens and he gets the crown? It all clicks. He has the color of royalty in his design because ultimately his goal is to be the supreme overlord of the universe.

Which brings us to Traitor Magolor (Pictured below)

The first thing to note is how triangular his body is. He’s supposed to be overlord of the entire universe and this design definitely carries that idea with the way they make his body less defined and more almost wispy. Not only that but one of the biggest things to notice is that despite being more triangular he is far more rounded still, in fact the most triangular and pointed thing about this design is the master crown because it’s the actual threat here (specifically to Magolor).

Next is the color. The other’s I’ve already discussed above however, the one to point out here is particularly the addition of Red to his design. Magolor in this form is dangerous. Not only that but angry. He’s trying to actively shoot Kirby out of the sky at any chance he gets and is rather annoyed with how our heros are not giving up their pursuit of him. It’s a nice little addition. It’s also very enjoyable how the purple is added more significantly in this design! It’s not a big thing but a good touch given that he’s crowned!!

Speaking of, let’s talk about Phase 2 Magolor from Normal Mode!

I really did mean it when I said I was leaving no Stone unturned.

I won’t dwell too long on phase 2 Magolor for the sake of everyone’s sanity because in my opinion when compared to Magolor soul this design tells you so much less about the crowns influence. There’s heavy proof that Magolor to some extent despite being held in the crowns grasps that it’s still him. That’s actually one of the few details I do enjoy of this design. You’re forced to be aware that even as the crown is forcefully holding him hostage that is still him you’re fighting. The Crown is the main focus of the design and it’s warped to show you how it is the thing in control here rather than Magolor. Outside of that though, there isn’t much to talk about… which brings me to Traitor Magolor EX…

To open this up, in the EX doesn’t he is a tad more pointed than he was in the original. Specifically down on the body. It looks as if he’s a little more torn, and there are more holes within his form creating both a awesome visual effect and a physical show of how the crown his slowly wearing down what’s “Magolor” and what is itself. The crown also loses its golden shine and starts to fall into its true nature of something more sinister. Though, outside of the palette changes and noticeable few physical changes he’s still far too similar to the original Traitor Magolor to truly go on a tangent…

Which brings us to the Crowned King himself… Magolor Soul

Immediately what struck me about this design was the use of the colors green, turquoise, and black. Not because of any character psychology but because together they create an almost grimy look as if Magolor or.. what remains of him is coated with a thick substance likened to tar holding him there.

The use of triangles are all particularly coming from both the crown and Magolor’s hands. These are the only times we see triangles unrounded in his design this much. The fact that there are spikes in the crown tells you how dangerous it really is as it digs into him and holds him there forcefully.

His mouth his noticeably forced into a smile as well. This is one of the few times we even see his mouth and this is the most effective of its uses. It shows how truly in control of Magolor the crown is. Not only is dark matter’s eye in his mouth but his mouth seems to be almost forcefully opened to the point where some of him is still connected right over the eye.

I also find it worth noting that Magolor’s actual eyes being white shows how he was naive to the true nature of the master crown. He didn’t know what it would do and is now retroactively paying for it…

Magolor’s Epilogue - The Wet Cat “oh fuck” design

If you were to ask me what do I think is the most important part of the changes in this design from his very first one I would say the lack of the buckle. The main true to design square in his design that showed stability being removed shows exactly what kind of a state Magolor is in during epilogue. The lack of colors is a symbolistic cleansing of who he is which was stripped from him by the master crown but the removal of the only true Square that was not part of his gear design and replacing it with a knot that had to be tied to not fall out is so important to me. The way his once elegant outfit has become a tattered mess… just.. everything about this design is wonderful. Though there isn’t much to talk about on it other than those above. In all honesty a lot of the appeal of this design needs the story line to support it but general speaking this is when he looks the most like a wet cat.

Microtransagolor

Now, generally speaking the shape language here is the same. I think the importance of this design comes in the use of yellow in said design. Magolor is much happier when he hits this point. He went through hell and back, survived, and got a cool new outfit. The buckle also makes a return!!! His stability is back along with his joy! Of course he’s green both because of money but also because of how green is a color of nature, of growth. Etc etc.

I won’t go into Merry Magoland Magolor because I might make a whole separate post about that in the future so I apologize to any Manager Magolor fans

Character Arc and Relatability

I personally was going to make a section on this but I think @desultory-novice said a lot of what I was going to say here and worded it a lot better than I can so I’m going to heavily recommend you check out their reblog since I don’t wanna just repeat what others have said.

I thought it was worth mentioning desultory novice’s reblog because I heavily agree with everything said within it and I think that it’s worth the read if you like deep dives into Magolor! ^^

The Personal Part

This is where we get into my own personal history with Magolor as a character. Particularly I will be expanding on what I said in comments in the past.

Basically when I was 6 years old I was given Kirby’s Return to Dreamland. Magolor was a quick favorite if we’re being honest. I loved everything about him form the start and felt a kind of sympathy for him I haven’t felt since. I was obsessed with the game, cursed in the heart whenever Magolor betrayed everyone.

Still he kept coming back to mind and I kept playing the game over and over again. I got a plush of him in 2020 before Covid in New York City and he’s become a comfort character of mine and was part of the driving force that made me realize I was transgender

So basically it was just the autism and everything else mentioned above

Anywho, thank you to anyone who went and read through this post! I shall leave you all with a Magolor gif!

Honest question for Magolor Fans, why do you like him so much? I wanna hear your opinions.

[kitkatt0430]

11, 16, 24, 74 and 75 for the fic asks please

11.) Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around?

Mostly in order. The story usually flows that way in my brain and then even when I know for sure what's coming later and I'm more interested in that part of the fic... often I just need too much to get it down in the correct order to write out of order.

But there are exceptions and sometimes writing out of order is actually easier? My brain is a strange place sometimes.

16.) Do you write by hand, on your phone, or on your laptop?

I started off writing a lot by hand. Way back in high school there was a significant chance that everyone would see me writing and assume that as studious and good student I must have been taking notes. I was not. I was writing fanfic. A lot of Tales of Symphonia fanfic that never made it to the computer. I don't know how much is actually left.

Once I started writing on the computer, I rarely went back to hand written. I can type faster than I write, fix errors more effectively, and I don't have to worry about whether someone will find and read it before I'm ready. (Estelle can look over my shoulder all she wants. She's snuggly, only judgmental about the fact that fanfic takes time away from adoring her, and she's a dog so... does not read as far as I know.)

I don't like writing on the phone - the screen is too small and typing using a touch screen leads to too many typos and I just... don't like the experience. Tablets are better since they're bigger, but are at their best when paired with an external keyboard so it's basically like writing on a regular laptop.

24.) How do you choose whose POV to write in?

I swear sometimes the fic just chooses for me. It's generally what feels like it's most natural for the story. Like... whose reactions do I want the most info about and whose are fine second hand? So I'll generally have a gut feeling and just go with it. This isn't always right and I do have to stop and think about it if there are two PoVs competing for attention.

For Moments In Time, I'd been keeping to just Cisco and Hartley's PoV in the larger series so that was what I stuck with there too. But I started getting interested in what was going on elsewhere and introducing some pre-Westhallen. And thus I created Hurricane, which after considering whether or not to include Iris and Eddie PoV became a solely Barry PoV venture. But even after deciding anything I wanted to do with Barry would be a separate story, Moments In Time had some parts where I just knew without question whose PoV to do where. The intro to the story needed to be Cisco's because this was where his visions came into play in a big way so it was important to open with his dream/vision before he woke up. But the scene following that where Hartley offers to attend Dante's party with Cisco made more sense from Hartley's PoV because he's got a lot going on in his thoughts regarding Cisco's family's treatment of Cisco and wanting to protect Cisco from some of that verbal abuse, if he could. That detail was important regarding Hartley's evolving feelings towards Cisco - particularly his protectiveness of Cisco, which is something that came out a lot in that fic both in the original version of the day and in the current version after the timeline reset.

But sometimes it's really useful to have the same scene from two different PoV in order to achieve something specific. With Moments In Time, I had the first chapter close on the events of Cisco, Hartley, and Dante's kidnapping from Cisco's PoV up to where he passes out. Then in the second chapter I start with revisiting some of those events, but this time from Hartley's eyes. It allows showing a bit of unreliable narration between two characters - which can be fun to play with - while also filling in details with character B's PoV that character A wouldn't have noticed and allowing me to give the readers something closer to what I'm envisioning for the bird's eye view of the scene since I know what all the characters involved are experiencing.

74.) Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

I wanna say the last time I answered this I talked about Cassandra - a Doctor Who character fic about New Who's most interesting trampoline. But I do have a few other fics that I wish maybe got a bit more attention.

But I think maybe I'll go about answering this question in a weird way. And talk about a fic that did not initially get a lot of attention but since has. (Why Won't You Respect) When I Say No is a fic I wrote pretty much immediately after the final season of Major Crimes finished airing. I was fed up with how the show had essentially gone out disrespecting the main character's legacy not even a handful of episodes after she died (the actress may have been fine with it, or maybe that's just what she had to say, but I was definitely not) and even more so fed up with how Rusty/Gus was treated as endgame despite Gus' behavior after cheating on Rusty was entitled and selfish. He apologized and was sorry and still loved Rusty so he deserved Rusty back regardless of Rusty's feelings on the matter?

So I wrote a fix fic and was nervous about it. And while it got some nice initial attention - a couple of kudos and even a couple of comments - but it disappeared pretty quickly from view on the main page and while I was a bit disappointed that there weren't more people who were interested... the show was over and there were only a handful of fics for Rusty/Gus anyway. So it was disappointing for me but not necessarily surprising. Looks like even now there's only... seventeen Rusty/Gus fics - and it's a canon ship.

But, over time, the kudos count did frow. I posted it back in 2018 and today in 2023 it has 63 kudos, three comments, and five bookmarks. Which, for the tiny niche of the fandom it inhabits is pretty impressive. And it's validating to know that so many people liked the alternate ending that grew from my frustration with the show. That I wasn't alone in my irritation with how the characters were treated or my desire for them to have better. It just took time for a lot of the people who'd enjoy the fic to find it.

75.) Is there a particular fic that readers gravitated towards that you didn’t expect?

So the fic Spiral was a weird one that was more narration than anything. It's one that I could have used for the question above, because it is strange and not a shipping fic and it's Eobard's story slowly twisted by time travel, accidents, and a profound loneliness... but also about compassion against all odds.

And while I'd love for that fic to have more love... it also did get quite a bit of attention already too. At this point its got 27 kudos, which isn't too bad for where it resides within the larger Flash fandom. And between the those who left comments and the notes in the bookmarks, I do feel like the enigmatic and non-linear feeling I was going for really hit home the way I was hoping. So it may not have gotten the amount of attention some of my other fics did, but I'm really glad it resonated well with those who read it.

[lida-adventures]

Campaign 01, Crawton & Map of Menardi

Session 01, 2022-12-11, DM: JG

Day 00

Was minding my own business and chatting with the critters by the swamp when some half elf came up on his fancy boat. He must've found it odd that a dwarf like me would enjoy croaking with the frogs.

Elf said his name was Sa'ag, but I swear it was Sna'ag when he first said it.

He offered me a ride on his boat with the fellows travelling to the town down river. What luck! No more trudging around the bog for me.

Turns out the elf used to be a bard himself and still likes to perform, though more with the fancy knife throwing.

He's all right. Even if he gets way too distracted by any shiny reflective surface. Don't know if all elves enjoy primping so much or if it's just him.

We found a funny map that's got some quirky riddles. Might as well see what kind of puzzle it is. Even better if there are shinies and a good story at the end of it.

Day 01

Had some good performances on the boat with Sa'ag. Earned us some nice coin. Got to Crawtown in the evening... or is it Crawton?

There's a festival happening all week! Got ourselves some fancy leis when we arrived.

Found a cozy inn called Slug in the Cabbage. Sa'ag and I decided to share a room. Comes with free dinner and breakfast.

Food is a delicious Cajun gruel, lots of toppings, real filling. Had myself 5 beers.

Sa'ag can't handle the spice though. Guess elves like their food mild. Maybe he'll get used to it once he travels more and tries different foods.

Elf and our barmaid Gabrielle started flirting with each other. She's going to show us around town later tomorrow.

Day 02

Gave the elf my bread in the morning since the food was still spicy.

Went into town to look for the temple baths. Stocked up on some candied nuts along the way.

We went to the Temple of Augma. Elf went for one of them fancy baths with perfumes. No need for me.

Met some fellow dwarven travellers in the baths. Might visit their towns after this journey.

Talked to a priest about the history and stonework of the place. Strange fellow. Kind of secretive. Lost some pendant of his that he needed for an exorcism.

Sa'ag and I offered to look for it. Ran around the temple all morning but couldn't find it. Might've been too distracted by the carvings and chatting with folks.

Hope the exorcism goes well. You'd think they'd have a spare amulet for these things.

Had lunch at the temple.

Met up with Gabrielle. She knew more about the lore of the town and showed us some statues of the town's mythical war sorceress Menardi. Same name as what's on the map.

Lady loved feathers. Had her soldiers all wearing them too. Wonder if it was a kink thing. I like birds and feathers and all, but it sounded like they had a lot. Though the town seems to really like feathered masks too.

Stopped by the town hall for busking licenses when the barmaid had to leave for a bit. Met an interesting gnome.

Poor man is being forced to work the holidays without extra pay or time off! Told him they should unionise and demand better treatment. Exchanged contact info in case he ever wanted to chat about how things are done at my town's mines.

[shirakumos-sandwich-shop]

Tale of the Flower Hashira

CHAPTER 2

Master list

Chapter 1.

INFO:

This story will contain Kyojiro Rengoku x Reader, Tengen Uzui x reader and Douma x reader. All separately. (Tengen is still in a poly relationship with his wives.)

Y/n Shinaguzawa is 18 at the start of this story.

This fanfic will only follow the plotline of seasons 1&2.

WARNINGS:

If you are uncomfortable with any of the following then DNI.

(Extreme gore, Swearing, Manipulative behavior, disturbing content, Unhealthy relationships, disturbing relationship between child y/n and a demon.)

Chapter 2. 

After a fairly sleepless night, you got up and dressed yourself in your uniform and gray haori. Sanemi was already up, getting ready for a mission, and you made yourself busy by preparing a simple breakfast for the two of you. After eating in silence, he set off on his mission, promising to be back soon. 

Knowing that the flame Hashira would be at your doorstep at any moment, you set out a covered meal for your younger brother Genya. You tied the purple cloth around your blind eye and stepped outside into the crisp morning air. Just as the light began peeking over the horizon, a certain flame haired man began strolling down the path to your home. An unfamiliar tightness filled your chest, it only got worse when he smiled at you. 

“Good morning, ready for training?” 

You nodded, taking up your nichirin sword and fastening it to your belt. Kyojiro Rengoku spun around and began marching back the way he had come, making you run to catch up. 

“You aren’t what I expected the flower hashira to be like.” He commented, once you had matched his stride. 

You knew exactly what he was talking about. When someone hears the name Flower Hashira, many would instantly think of a beautiful bubbly lady like Mitsuri, someone who would most definitely be wearing beautiful clothes. Not a plain, quiet girl with a tattered haori. 

“Well, not all flowers are beautiful.” Was all you said. 

Rengoku looked over at you, giving him a moment to take in your face. “I disagree. But I’m sure you know more than me on such subjects.” 

_____

After perhaps the most intense exercise regimen you had ever endured, you and Rengoku decided to spar. The few times you got the better of him made you grin in satisfaction. Having always spared with your elder brother, this was a new and interesting experience. You took note of his breathing style, wondering if you could adapt it into your own forms as well. 

During your sixth sparring session the purple cloth that covered your eye came loose and fluttered to the ground. Kyojiro viewed your uncovered face for the first time. His expression faltered and his eyebrows knit in concern.  Panic contorted your features as you hurriedly covered your left eye with your hand. 

He must think I’m hideous, why else would he make that face. 

He picked up the eye covering but hesitated in giving it to you. You cowered, trying to avoid his eyes. 

“Why are you hiding?” His voice was warm and gentle, much different than his usual loud tone. 

“Can I have that back please.” You held your free hand out for the cloth. He slowly placed it in your hand and you immediately wrapped it around your head again. 

“You don’t need to hide your scars, it’s alright.”

“No it’s not. I don’t want you to look at me like that.”

“Like what?” He seemed genuinely confused. 

“Like… nevermind.” 

“Was it a demon?” 

“Yeah, a marechi like me can’t get far without them tracking me down. Especially when I was little.” For a moment you contemplated telling him the whole story. But you held back, after all you didn’t know Rengoku well. “It doesn’t matter now. I guess it comes in handy, being a demon slayer, I never really have to go searching for demons.”

“I’m sorry, did I upset you?” He asked seriously, his wide eyes fixed on you.

“No, it’s nothing.” 

“The pain you’ve gone through isn’t nothing. You’re a very brave person, Y/n Shinazugawa. I’ve always thought so.”

“We only met yesterday…”

“Well I must confess I have been watching you for quite some time now. Ever since we were children I’d see you when I came to the master’s estate. And when you were reunited with your siblings, you were always trailing behind Sanemi. I’ve always wanted to talk to you but whenever I tried to approach you seemed to just disappear into thin air.” 

Your face heated up so much you thought you had been set on fire. “Is that so?” 

“Of course! And now that you aren’t running away from me, I can ask you all the questions I want!” He stood up and put his hands on his hips. “Maybe we can even go on a mission together and take out whatever demon harmed you!” 

The words tumbled out of his mouth like he hadn’t really thought about it before speaking. 

However, a faltering smile crept to your lips. “It’s already dead. There’s nothing to take out anymore.”

“Was it my father? I know he’s the one who rescued you.” Rengoku said solemnly. 

“No, that was several years later. I don’t remember who saved me. I only saw him once that I know of…”

You recalled the panicked screeches of the demon who had clawed your face open. Something large had slammed into it, sending it flying into the wall. 

Kaleidoscopic eyes met yours as you attempted to cover the bleeding gashes on your face. Sight was blurry in your unharmed eye, causing you to only see the fantastic swirl of colors. 

“It’s alright now little one, no one’s going to hurt you now.” 

You whimpered and shut your good eye as a soft cloth was pressed over the wound. 

“That should help for now, how about you come home with me!” His voice sounded airy and light. You found yourself gravitating towards it and your small hands clung to his sleeve. 

You were hoisted into the air by strong arms and held against a broad chest. Long blond hair tickled your nose as you instinctively wrapped your tiny arms around the man’s neck. He chuckled lightly.

“You are such a precious little thing, I could just eat you up!” He chuckled again like he has made a joke only he could understand. 

Chapter 3.