#i'm actually gonna credit/link people properly!

[nullbound]

Apologies for the absence! I've... idk just hit some bad burnout but i managed to make this for Caesare as a little surprise gift fanart thingy! First work of the year! gonna try at least one per month. The humanoid in question is a gjinka(?) or otherwise humanoid design of a flight rising dragon. Yeahhh the anatomy is kinda fucked up a bit but like... considering it's my first real attempt and a fully rendered work of a humanoid body other than that one with the plague doctor and capybaras plus some concept works with my inhumanly-porportioned noodle of a mascot (which is very definitely leeching through here) it turned out quite well. Definitely a lot to work on but getting somewhere!

----- L. Zevi 73109. Feat. The Nightmare King, Rex. owned by Caesare Umbrage Jan 29th 2024

NOT for free use. ALL rights reserved. NO: NFTs (non-fungible tokens), A.I. Training, Reposting, Or any other uses not EXPLICITLY Authorized by the artist (me :3c).

Recipient (giftee/commissioner) and/or character owner has permission to use as pfp and post to personal page(s) with credit. My work may be shown with credit (credit is considered linking to my social(s) or pinging me. Otherwise, i am un-credited.)

Hope you enjoy!

[navillee]

I need to talk about sub Sylus. I got the mental NEED to go against the grain and spread the word, so here I am.

All lads' men can be subs. You guys aren't seeing it cause you vision what a sub should be is restricted.

Sub Sylus 𓅨

an Introduction

Sylus has so much potential as a sub and you all are committing the nastiest sin for ignoring that possibility;

I'm gonna say that once: all that facade he proudly polished being the Onychinus leader is just to hide the fact that he's a finsub. And probably a SAM too;

Let me elaborate to the people who also knew he was into something but couldn't figure it out. Sylus doesn't fit what most people consider the standard for a submissive men is, but that doesn't mean that he's automatically a dom, or that the things making Sylus eyes spark – quite literally – are approaches reserved to doms only;

First of all, it is clear he's a finsub. Finsub is a shortcut to 'financial sub', and the term explains itself. I'm 100% sure that as soon as you enter the N109 zone, he was already requesting a credit card for your use exclusively. It didn't get delivered in time. That's why he landed his at the protocore auction;

"5 million. You offer will make people think I'm broke. Wouldn't want that, sweetie." That line alone explains everything, on top of he only sounding satisfied when you bought every protocore there;

He loves showing off to others how healthy he is and how no other but him is suitable to spoil his dom miss hunter;

Did you ever notice he's always spoiling you? Dresses, high-quality protocore-based weapons, week dates to expensive and exclusive restaurants, jewelry, even a private fireworks show. Luke and Kieran are always running down to Linkon to deliver you something new in the middle of the week because Sylus can't wait the entire week. He never can;

Sylus gets off watching his bank account movement as you spend his money. As higher the spent, better his orgasm;

You can spend all you want, but he made sure to request that every time you wish to buy a new set o lingerie, he could give his humble opinion on it;

On top of that, he always gives you hints about what he wants you to use on him. That's why you had to stop opening your message app on the hunter's association computer browser: Sylus can send you links to a new sex toy any time during the day. As I told you before, he can never wait properly;

"They made an exclusive high-quality leather collar craved in rubies." *sends the link of the N109 zone's craftsman* "Wouldn't that match my eyes, mistress hunter?"

It's a matter of three days wait to receive the said collar at your apartment's door. That's Sylus way to make you visit his mansion;

And THATS when his other side bloom. The SAM sub side. 'SAM' is also a shortcut that stands for a combination from "pain slut" and a brat. Sylus is both;

I mean, come on, he made you shoot him, and since the evol resonance failed, he acted like a desperate brat. When he noticed that his behavior was making you dislike him, Sylus noticed that it was better to show his freaky side little by little, to not scare his darling away from him;

But he couldn't even if he wanted to. You two are attached to levels that neither of you can actually understand. He knows that, and he wants to explore his desires with you because they're made to suit yours. He knows that deep inside, you want to devour him as much as he wants to feel the pain;

Is that threatening feeling that makes his eyes sparkle in blood red. That's why there's this push-pull dynamic happening with him. It's because he's desperately trying to bring out your dom side;

That's when the second name he refers about you appears. "Miss hunter," "mistress hunter," is just the surface level of Sylus as a sub;

It's when "ma'am" slips out his mouth that you know you have this man on your hands. And "ma'am" isn't "mommy." There's a substantial difference between them. That's why every sub is different;

As an example, let's use another lads man as an example: Rafayel. Rafayel is the type of sub that refers to you as "mommy." From his behavior to his tone of voice, his "mommy's" melodic calls are a meeting awaited for centuries, it's a sign of obedience, an eager plea for guidance to a comfort place where he doesn't have to worry anymore;

Sylus "ma'ams" are pleas for destruction. He wants more, and he wants harder;

"Yes ma'am. Can you do it harder? Fuck! I need it harder!"

You're entropy to his universe. As you two reach the chaos together in a complex dance of testing the others' nerves, more alive he feels.

He teases, and he teases way too much. You should always keep attention to his body signs cause he's reckless when there's a collar around his neck. When he watches the rubies of his now favorite collar shining on the mirror, all he wants is to you to break him;

Put a pretty gag on his convinced smile. He doesn't want praises, so when he starts drooling slut him out. Watch Sylus getting hard with your condescending tone. He will keep mumbling back cause he wants more;

Force him on his knees, kick his legs spread apart, and pull his hair back. The face of eagerness approval he will give you is gonna be priceless;

Slap his skin, face with your hands, thighs, and ass with the so commented good leather toys he bought. Do that every time he shows himself unable to keep his damm hands on the handcuffs;

Rip his skin with your nails. It isn't like he gives you other options. When Sylus notices you're scratching him, he will find a way to piss you off. "I thought your nails are sharper than that," "a kitten can't scratch it like tiger after all, shouldn't put my expectations too high." Watch him hiss and arch as you paint his torso with thin red fillets of his ripped sensitive skin;

I think he's also okay with spit, especially on his mouth;

He is large and tough. He can take anything, and I mean ANYTHING you give it to him;

Shove a vibrator right on prostate and keep pumping his cock, test him to see how much he can handle until he breaks;

Because when he, in fact, breaks, there's nothing left but a dumb slut that can only mumble unconnected words – swearing disconnected sentences in its great majority;

When you finish with him, he will be a mess, head too cloudy to think as you take care of his bruises;

Isn't it like you could prevent him from walking around with little to no fabric on his torso inside the house. He's definitely an exhibitionist. Those are bruises worthy to show of, anyway, he likes seeing himself in the mirror with them, it feels right;

As he watch them fade away, it is just a matter of time for him until he starts to get on your nerves again, to make your obscene art on his skin and on his mind.

[getvalentined]

Was talking on the twits about how "not mine" isn't a source, and how you shouldn't be posting other people's art in general but definitely shouldn't be posting other people's art without at least linking back to them, and thinking about the most egregious example of this that I have personally experienced. I haven't really talked about it to anyone because it seems almost petty compared to the rest of the related situation, but bothers me more every time I think about it.

I think most of the people who know me are aware of my old in-character askblog, @askvincentvalentine; I'm redrawing all entries to eventually release as a solo anthology, but I have a lot of anxiety about it and it's going very slow. I think this hesitation (I might even call it apprehension) is in large part connected to this unspoken experience, and maybe finally talking about it will help.

A month or two before we broke up, I found out that my abusive ex had reposted every Ask Vincent Valentine entry to his personal Facebook, starting years before we really met, never linking back to Vincent's blog or to mine. He'd reposted a lot of my art, actually, and treated this like a totally normal thing, saying it wasn't a big deal since we didn't know each other at the time.

Looking back, it's a little...creepy. We met properly in 2020, but I remember him showing me a screenshot of a post he'd made in like 2015 where he reposted a piece of mine drawn in 2005, posted on my original dA account, under a different handle that is pretty much completely unconnected to my current online identity. I'm not saying he was stalking me for years or anything (I'd seen his fanfiction on AO3 for ages so it's not like we were unaware of each other's existence), but it still feels really fucking weird.

On top of that, by reposting it to that particular platform, he allowed my work to eventually be scraped to train multiple gen/A/I models without my consent. As if he didn't mistreat me enough during our relationship, he'd apparently been taking advantage of my work for years before that.

The more I think about it, the more it bothers me. Like...what the fuck, honestly. I don't have any other way to quantify it other than "what the fuck."

Just...why would he do that? And he didn't tell me about it until years into us knowing each other. When I said (as gently as possible) that I didn't like it, he said that he couldn't ask me back then because he didn't know me, so it was okay—and it would have been okay by now anyway, since we were in a relationship, so it wasn't like I was gonna tell him to take the posts down.

I don't know. It's bothering me a lot recently. Reposting other people's art without even trying to credit is bad enough, but this just feels like some next-level bullshit.

[gemsofthegalaxy]

Hello, I loved your analysis between Greg and Marianne's relationship

I would love to know what are your thoughts on that scene where Greg is cancelling his cards, because his mom is panic buying a bunch of stuff (I think because she's scared he's gonna lose his job, i think?)

I'm curious what in you think? And sorry if it's a bother!

I do very much want to talk more about Marianne and Greg and the fact that he was a GUARANTOR on her credit card????? According to the script, I haven't watched it in a bit but my friend linked me the part in the script where that happened.

which is, like, fucked. Being a guarantor for someone's debt is a very big comittment and in my understanding is not something they let just anyone do? He would have to likely show proof he would be reliable, as in, his paystubs from his job.

and if Ewan did indeed cut her off during the show, [I can't recall what he actually said vs the script piece i posted], it was presumably because she encouraged Greg to go to Waystar and Greg wouldn't quit, which is abhorrant.

As well, with regard to buying nutribullets, I am assuming that she was doing that with the idea she might be able to resell them, as a backup plan.... and investing your money is fairly wise! Probably not investing it in nutribullets.... but she got the spirit. Either way, it very much screams that she knows scarcity and has very little idea how to manage money properly.

Which, managing money is genuinely hard. I have a taken a course on financial education for my previous job and one of the first things we learn is that money is an emotional topic that is often wrapped up in guilt and shame and pain, and people try to move away from the pain by ignoring it. Ewan clearly did not teach her how to manage her money, or do anything to encourage her to learn on her own.

It's very sad to me. This is why I feel that Ewan is just living in a delusion where his child and grandchild should just be living as if money doesn't exist, and that he thinks money is the root of all evil. I also think money is highly evil, and our economic system SUCKS ass and that financial management being a basic life skill is frustrating because it's scary and complicated and inaccessible as hell. But pretending it doesn't exist is not going to help you or anyone until we can actually dismantle the system (notably, Ewan does nothing to help that either!)

[wysteria-clad]

Hey guys, I want to make one thing clear.

When I share my ideas as little imagines/fic concepts, I'm not posting it as a writing prompt or giving out fic ideas for others to write.

So kindly don't add 'someone turn this into a fic' comments when I share a fic concept as a preview/sneak peak because I'm too excited, and couldn't wait to tell you guys about it until I finished it as a full fic and ready to post it.

I post it as a little preview/sneak pic and for 'Pick your poison' voting thing as I already did many times before on my blog or sometimes leave it as such.

Like, I get it some concepts & ideas are similar and it's not reposting or copying like:

breaking up

arguing in fight

yelling mid fight

death of character/reader

sex themes & kinks

domestic stuff

Kids/pets

pranking, etc

That's cool and it's fine, it's normal, no one owns those and it's not copying, it's common stuff.

But I don't appreciate people copying my detailed and specific fic idea.

All my fics are my own, unless it's a request from someone else/a request based on prompt lists/someone sharing their thots on my ask box. In that case, I give them credit by linking properly to the posts.

All my pieces/fics are based on my ideas, dreams, daydreams, real life dialogues/incidents.

To name a few,

1) You are gonna be the death of me was based on one of my vivid dreams.

2) I accept in cash & kisses was based on my own dialogue irl

3) The Unicorn sticker was based on an actual sticker I created when I was texting my friends.

One time it really pissed me off when someone tagged another person on one of my little imagine posts, asked them to turn it into a fic when I added the link to the drabble I had already written.

Another time, someone reposted my pic edit without asking me or giving me credit. I dm-ed them politely asking them to give me credit or take it down. Thankfully, they apologised and took it down. We are cool now.

And another time someone reposted this line from my Jake fic Cucumber face mask and Fist of Vengeance

Reposted this as a quote on their blog with 'wysteria-clad' under. No link to my blog/didn't tag me/didn't ask me. I blocked them.

I don't appreciate people reposting or copying my stuff, whether it's a simple edit, single line/quote from my fic, my fics or just the concept.

I stated clearly in my 'read this first' link and 'masterlist' link both on my bio.

[verobatto]

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. XCVIII

It was a love story from the very beginning.

The Mirror

(13x09/13x10)

Hi there!!! We are here today to talk about Mirrors. A very known Destiel mirror in the fandom: Claire and Kaia and and Patience as a switch mirror between Castiel and Jack.

The One that Walks between Worlds

Episode 13x09 starts with Jack and the Dream Walker.

That scene recalled me to Constantine movie scene in which Keanu put his feet in water and takes a cat, because he said Cats where a portal between this world and the after life dimension.

Well, Jack is the cat her, he's the portal between worlds and also, he's a resume of all of them himself: HELL/HEAVEN AND EARTH.He is Light and Dark (that's why Amara ended up being part of him).

We jump into the scene with Sam and Dean. Dean asks about Cas because we have Asmodeus calling them using Castiel's voice, they don't suspect nothing.

Then, Dean calls Patience, but the girl doesn't answer.

She's under his father's commands. Just like Castiel was with Heaven, but she's receiving Dean's calls, as Castiel did, and she will end up answering and rejecting his father plans for her.

Not Just we have a Castiel mirror here, but also Jack: because we will see him interacting with Lucifer in this season, listening to his plans for him. And Jack will end up following his heart, and rejecting all of those plans.

Visual Narrative

There's a quick scene when Sam and Dean parks Baby in front of a painted wall.

This was something that @gneisscastiel explains magnificently in this meta here.

The wall had this drawing...

Pic credit: @lets-steal-an-archive

Berens delivered us an episode in which an artist (the Dream Walker) painted the different worlds he had dreamt. And now, we have this wall here, the writer wants us to pay attention to it: As it was described by @gneisscastiel, the blue wings represents Castiel, in front of the huge number of yellow birds (angel) as if they were being guided by the kid (Jack in blue) and Castiel back to Heaven. The Restoration of Heaven. Wich was what happened at the en of the show, and what I suspect, intended to be one of the main plots in season 15, that see the light properly, just in a few words said by Bobby to Dean in Heaven.

Playing with mirrors: Patience, Jack and Castiel

To continue with this game of switching mirrors, we hear Jack saying this to Sam and Dean:

Jack: You don't... I'm– I'm doing this for you.

If this is not. Cas mirror, I don't know then heheh.

It was the excuse Castiel gave to Dean on seasonn6 in their first break up. As if that could justify go into the dark side. Well, Jack won't go into the dark side in a way Castiel did turning into Godstiel, but he will be souless in season 14 Wich will be a huge problem.

There's another visual element with an image of Jesus Christ crucified, which always was a reference for Jack, as the Savior, the Messiah.

Another thing to point out is Dean in soldier mode, focused, just like Cas is about Jack. This is important because that's the idea Dean will express to Castiel in a future.

And back to Patience...

Patience: You raised me to do what's right, and this is what's right. If I don't go, people will die.

This could be taken the moment Cas decided to fall and how Jack will take his decisions, based on what his new family will teach him.

And then Kaia...

Kaia: I mean, you picked the wrong bait. I'm not the kind of girl folks come for. In this world, I don't even rank a milk carton. No one is gonna come for me. I'm not white, rich, blonde. No one's gonna fight for me. I don't matter.

This point of view full of sadness and depression, is related with Castiel in season 12. There's patrons in Kaia behaviors that reminds us to Castiel in season 12, where we had his death. And that's because Kaia will repeat Castiel's ending in the next episode.

Repeating the ending of season 12

Episode 13x10 starts with Claire hunting, but also Jody calling her by the phone saying this:

JODY (on the phone with CLAIRE)

They were on a hunting trip and I haven’t heard from them in a few days. It’s time to come home.

A recalling to episode 'Pilot'.

But let's focus in Kaia and Claire relationship:

At first it's a kind of enemies to friends trope, just like Dean and Castiel.

When they're talking about their scars, Kaia reaches out her finger to touch Claire's forehead. Just like Cas does when he heals Dean. But the symbolo of talking about their scars, is related to Destiel too. How one broken man with too many scars found love and comfort in a broken angel with his own scars too.

KAIA: You’re scared.

CLAIRE:

Yeah. Jody always said I’d get myself killed, hunting, and I’d be like, good. If I’m going to go out then that’s how I want to do it, doing something great. But Patience’s vision… It’s one thing thinking that you’re going to die but actually knowing it? For once a part of me kinda just wants to sit back and let Jody handle it, you know? Stay safe. But Sam and Dean saved my life and I can’t sit this one out.

KAIA: Then don’t. If you go, I’ll go with you. Maybe together we can save them.

Kaia talking about her own death is a blatant mirror of Dean and Kaia saying "I'll go with you" is Cas. As a demonstration of his devotion and incondicional love towards the hunter. And, of course, loyalty to the end.

Kaia supposed dead it's similar to Castiel's. With a rift to another world involved.

But also the trope: two lovers separated by a rift to two different dimensions, is just how Destiel ended up in 15x18.

To Conclude:

Wauwards Sisters had en entire episode and one prelude because the idea was to make a spin-off with their story which, sadly, never saw the light.

But the repetition of the Destiel tragedy with Kaia and Claire, giving them a very romantic atmosphere, and the Berens admitting that was written to be a Destiel mirror, is another evidence that Castiel dying and suffering as he suffered was because he's in love with Castiel.

Hope you like this meta, see you in the next one!

Tagging @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weird-dorky-little-d @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @authorsararayne @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica @isthisdestiel @dizzypinwheel @jawnlockwinchester @horsez2 @qanelyytha

@destielle @spnsmile @shippsblog @robot-feels @superlock-in-the-tardis @superduckbatrebel @2musiclover2 @madronasky @anon-non2 @cea1996 @lisafu02 @asphodelesauvage @destiels-canonahhhhhhhhhh

If you wan to be added or removed from this list, just let me know.

If you wanna read the previous metas from season 12 here you have the links:

Vol. XCIII, XCIV, XCV, XCVI, XCVII

Buenos Aires, January 31 2021 2:21 PM

[tuancore]

Purple Hearts || {Part 1} :

Starring- Jinyoung x reader

Genre- Angst | Non-Idol AU, Disorder AU

Summary- I will continue to love you for as long as I'm breathing, but I won't let my love come in between your happiness.

*GIF not mine, credits to the owner*

Holding a bouquet of flowers you ran around the streets bumping into a few people, the bouquet so huge that you couldn't even properly see the road in front of you.

"I'm sorry!", You shouted after bumping into the fifth person, thankfully the sun has set otherwise all those people might form a communion and beat you in the middle of the road, taking a final turn, you ran even faster towards the venue.

"What took you so long?!" Someone called you from behind, siding the bouquet slightly you saw the person's face, a sarcastic smile adorning your face, "Ahh... Jackson Wang...Do you want me to slam these flowers on your head?".

"Of course not! Those flowers are looking perfect exactly where they are", He surrendered raising his hands, he examined your dress from head to toe, "You were running in a floor length dress?".

"I'm just gonna kill that Mushroom head!", You growled shoving the bouquet in Jackson's hands, "Woah, it's actually heavy, how did you even manage to carry it and run around", he praised you.

"Don't be so flattered, I've bumped into five people on my way, almost got hit by a pole three times, and even stumbled multiple times due to my heels", You huffed in annoyance.

"Life is hard I guess, I thought Yugyeom went to take the flowers?", He questioned.

"He backed off to flirt with girls, He's dead meat for sure once I find him", You said roaming your eyes in hopes for finding your good for nothing brother.

"I think I saw him around the drinks section—" That's what you needed to hear, lifting up your dress a little you walked away, "Jackson please take those flowers to my stupid friend I've to see my beloved brother, thank you...".

Standing a metre away from Yugyeom, you saw him standing in the centre with two girls surrounding him, one with blonde hair seemed to be too much immersed into the conversation or maybe into Yugyeom, she ran her well manicured nails on the fabric of his shirt. Another brunette had her arms linked with him.

A pure wave of disgust hitting you seeing your brother's not very well flirting skills, it was so clear from the body language of those girls that they wanted nothing but to get into your brother's pants.

You strode towards Yugyeom shoving the two girls, holding onto his collar harshly, "How dare you?! How dare you do this to me? To us?", You sniffed loudly, gladly the party had some loud music and busy people who weren't really paying any attention to your tantrums.

"W—What?" He stammered shocked to see you crying. The girls glared at you ready to claw your eyes out, but you faced them tears brimming in your eyes, they seemed to be taken back.

"Please don't get lured by him and his sugar coated words", You glared at him, "We dated for two years, even after being in a relationship with me he cheated on me with multiple other girls and when I told him that I was pregnant, he left me....", You sobbed hugging the blonde, "Please don't trust him, he's a player, top notch....".

"What the fuck are you saying n—", He yelled.

"See now he's mad at me because I revealed his true face....".

"Yugyeom, I'll see you later I think my mother is looking for me!", The blonde said, walking away while the brunette advised, "You shouldn't do that to a girl, she's so pretty why don't you just accept her and your baby".

"Wait!" He yelled but none of them turned back, "The fuck would you say something like that Noona!".

Wiping away your tears you scoffed, "I have every rights to do what I did I'm your elder sister, plus that's what you get for sending me to bring those flowers!".

"What?! Now because of your little revenge, I've lost the chances of actually being with someone", he grimaced staring at the girls from back. Smacking his head, you frowned, "I can't believe that you're my brother, your standard is so low. If nothing you want to date playgirls, eww Kim Yugyeom!".

"One orange juice please", Turning around you asked the bartender.

"So now we are talking about standards hm? Atleast I have guts to confess while on the other hand you don't even have the guts to confess to—", You hushed him pressing your palm to his lips, slowly shaking your head.

"Don't...Not today atleast...hm...", Your gaze turning utter soft. He nodded with a defeated sigh.

This party was thrown for no one else but your bestfriend to celebrate his success for starting his own company, and you didn't want anything to go wrong.

"Noona, Why is Jackson hyung roaming like a lost puppy with those flowers?" Yugyeom asked pointing at Jackson, his words made you choke on your drink.

Great! You forgot to tell Jackson where to actually bring that bouquet. Since those flowers holds a special place in your bestfriend's heart you had to bring it for him especially when today's such a fortunate day for him.

"You idiot those are not just flowers, those are those flowers which I asked you to bring and you ended up here to flirt with bitches", You rebuked glaring at your brother.

"Oopsie", Yugyeom giggled sipping on his cocktail bringing his free hand to catch his ears.

"I'll be back", You rushed towards Jackson grabbing the flowers from him, "Thanks Jackson, you're the best!".

Stepping inside the mansion, you climbed the stairs leading to the terrace in a hurry, You knew his mansion like the back of your hand, how can you not when you grew up playing in this place, "Damn these heels and damn the heaviness of the bouquet".

Panting heavily you managed to push open the door to the terrace, but you forgot to notice a marble piece ahead putting your foot inside you lost your balance, preparing yourself for a hard hit, you closed your eyes.

"Be careful", A pair of arms catching you few feet up from the surface, "You should see and walk, what if you get hurt?".

"Thanks for saving me again my savior", You chuckled picking the flowers from ground handing him, "And here you go with your purple roses".

"Thanks.....actually I want to show you something", He added, putting his hands on your shoulders guiding you towards a small table which was decorated with scented candles and flowers with two chairs, on four corners it had pillars with lightings, rose petals sprawled on the ground.

Your eyes lit up at the arrangement, everything looked so romantic and perfect, walking closely you inspected the entire set up, your eyes landing on a small red velvet box.

"I can't believe it that you did everything on your own, it's so beautiful!" You squealed in excitement, clapping your hands.

"I'm glad you liked it", He said, his hands shoved in his dress pants pockets, "It really took a lot in me to go this far".

Holding the velvety box, he opened it taking off a beautiful diamond ring from it, extending it towards you with a soft smile, eyeing the ring lovingly you declared, "It's so beautiful....".

"I know. Do you think Somi will like it?" He exclaimed with hopeful eyes. Holding his hands gently, you whispered "She'll love it".

"Do you think she'll say yes to me?", He smiled nervously locking eyes with you, searching for some hope.

"She'll say yes to you, trust me", You breathed, squeezing his hands lightly in a reassuring way with a gorgeous smile.

He grinned happily hugging you to his chest with his hand holding your head, your nostrils filling up with his cologne which always managed to drove you into frenzy, for a moment you didn't want him to let you go, his embrace being your safe place.

Gulping an invisible knot in your throat you pulled away from his embrace, "Look it's already 7:50....I must go... Somi might be here any moment, don't screw this up, be a man and get your girl".

You turned to leave but he held your wrist turning you over to face him again, You confusedly glanced where he was holding your hand.

"Thank you for bringing these purple roses, they're very special to me".

"I'm your bestfriend stupid, don't thank me for it".

Still with your wrist in his hands, he leaned over to pluck a purple rose from the bouquet, "Here.... to the most wonderful person in my life", he extended the rose for you to hold.

You could feel your eyes getting glossy as you stared at the rose and then at him, "Thank you", You mumbled taking the flower from his grasp.

"All the best Jinyoung".

Stumbling your way downstairs, you locked yourself inside the library, your tears finally streaming down your face, the purple rose in your hand making you sob harder.

This is it. This is where your heart ends, you finally gave the person whom you have loved all your life, your first friend, your only bestfriend, your first love and maybe the only person you'll ever love in your life, Jinyoung to someone else.

"One of us had to sacrifice and I can't see you getting heartbroken, so instead I'll give up on my love for you.... Jinyoung. Atleast one of us must get their love", You cried bringing the rose to your lips.

Part 2 | Master list |

______________________________________

(A/N :- Hey!! I'm back buds with another Jinyoung FF, I hope you're all gonna like it as well. Thank you so much and I'm quite excited myself! Weeeewoooo!!)

[finding-fallen-stars]

YGO Questionnaire Part 2 Electric Boogaloo

So, my gf/bf @howaboutalittlehelpneos tagged me to do this again a... good long while ago, and I had wanted to wait until I'd finished my GX rewatch before trying this again. But ouch oof I accidentally also got through all of 5Ds again before getting to this lol

But the 5Ds rewatch definitely reshaped a lot of my thoughts, so... cracks knuckles. This won't be spoiler free, fair warning~

Favorite Series: ugh the formatting killed my original essay on this but okay GX and 5Ds are pretty tied in my book, now-- I love them equally, but in different ways! GX fulfills my love for subversive coming-of-age stories with a heartwarming, humorous, and also soulcrushing touch, and I love how each season brings a new story and new characters-- it's like reading installments of a novel series, and I think the formatting works wonders for it as a whole. It has some absolutely phenomenal character writing, too-- even the characters I dislike are ones I can appreciate for what they introduce to the story! And honestly, not enough people give the first two seasons of GX the credit it deserves: they're half the charm, really. How are you going to feel the full impact of the heartbreaking content in seasons 3 and 4 if you aren't properly attached to the characters?

But on 5Ds's side of things... it fulfills my love for stories with time loops, found family, human nature, and of course, love and death and how they intertwine. I love how the leading characters are just a bunch of broken kids from broken circumstances who all find a home with each other, and of course, how it highlights class disparity and how fucked up the prison/"justice" systems are. Yea, sure, maybe it underwent executive meddling and all, but I genuinely love it for what it is and I wish more people appreciated it... my only problem with 5Ds is the untwist with Z-ONE and then the ending s m h I adore it overall and I could go off for a long while on it. Overall, these are my two instinctive recommendations for anyone getting into Yugioh!

(look at these boys they're so important) Favorite Protagonist: Oh, believe me, absolutely nothing has changed here-- Yusei Fudo is and always will be my favorite protagonist, and my rewatch only solidified that.

I just... love him so much? He's seen so much hell in his life and carries so much guilt on his shoulders, but he still has room in his heart to believe in others and to believe that anyone can defy fate and find hope even at rock bottom. I love that he's initially introduced as this quiet, brooding figure when he really just turns out to be a huge softie who wears his heart on his sleeve half the time and wants to bring about change for Satellite and its people. Plus I just really love that his greatest flaw is something that would ordinarily be a positive trait-- he's Overly self-sacrificial, to the point where he's basically setting himself on fire to keep others warm, and that's not really framed as something Heroic

Just... he makes me so happy. I have two Yusei charms that I ordinarily keep on my keys (one was a gift from Zenzen) and they're a constant source of serotonin for me. He's Peak comfort character for me. Best protag in my book Favorite Rival: Same deal here-- still Manjoume!

look at him he's so important

While he spends a lot of the anime getting the good old damsel in distress treatment (getting suckered into a cult, getting knocked into a coma, becoming a zombie, getting fucking Killed, etc), I still think his character arc is really well-written overall and I only appreciated it even more when I watched GX again. I love the fact that he's got a soft heart he buries beneath the edgy facade, and that he's simultaneously really sharp and also kind of dense lol. He's just a fun character and watching how he evolves from episode one to episode one hundred eighty is such a satisfying journey.

Plus, props to him for being such a versatile duelist-- 50 wins in a row is HARD as is, let alone with a deck full of cards he just found laying around in the Arctic. Three ace monsters, three different archetypes... he's a really good duelist and I'm proud of him for it

Oh, but honestly, I don't really dislike any of the rivals-- I'm neutral towards Revolver and Reiji, but the remaining four (Kaiba, Manjoume, Jack, and Shark) compel me. yes I accidentally wound up liking Jack Atlas shhh Favorite BFF: Honestly, I really like most of the characters who fit this archetype-- Joey, Crow, Gongenzaka, Soulburner... I still lean a little bit more towards Joey, but I really appreciate all four of them. I'm gonna say Joey again, just because I find his evolution as a character the most compelling, but I appreciate the other three a lot. Soulburner has the best design though Favorite GFF: Oh absolutely still Aki, but I honestly... really love most female Yugioh characters? I'm assuming this is lead girls only, but like. I'm dumb and gay and I love Girls so this is naturally the most difficult one for me to answer lol

Aki just resonates with me the most because she's the prime example of how trauma doesn't always manifest in palatable ways-- when we first meet her, she's angry and lashes out at anyone and anything just because she wants the world to suffer in the same ways she's suffered, and then... we get to watch her grow from that, once she's free from Divine and able to heal the way she needs to heal. I know the second half of 5Ds didn't give her character the attention it deserved, but I'm still proud of her for winding up on the path she did-- seeing her channel her power and energy into wanting to heal and help others was just so good and was one of the few things I really Loved about the 5Ds ending.

oh, but like. Asuka Tenjoin and Aoi Zaizen are very close seconds for me!!! Aki just has a vice grip on my heart Favorite Villain: Okay, it's still technically Vector-- I think he's the most entertaining, well-written, and effective villain out of all of the ones we've seen so far, but... I also want to add Takuma Saiou and then all of Yliaster as honorable mentions?

As someone fond of tarot myself, I was naturally pretty intrigued by Saiou the first time I watched GX, but my attachment to him only grew the second time around where I actually got the chance to understand his character better. Plus, like... the visuals with him are fucking astounding and he's always so interesting to watch.

As for Yliaster, I just... really love how the big bad of 5Ds turned out to just essentially be a broken man desperate to save anyone and anything and three robotic reconstructions of the friends he'd lost. I still think the untwist with Z-ONE was stupid and I much prefer the idea of him and Yusei being the same person, but I'm still compelled by the other three-- well. Paradox less so, because we don't get a lot of Paradox lore, but. Aporia and Antinomy for sure.

ugh Yugioh has some damn good villains

Favorite Card: now that I actually play the TCG game...

Stardust is always going to be my favorite of all cards because it checks every box for me (my favorite YGO character's ace monster, space theme, what more could I want), but Aromaseraphy Rosemary has really become one of my aces in my best TCG deck! I'm still mastering irl plays, but I'm happy with my progress and I love my plant gang...

Favorite Episode: alright, here's where there's actually been a Lot of change, so...

Season 0: Episode 16: "Turnabout by a Hair's Breadth - The White-Robed Crisis" -- The more I think about this one, the more I love it; there's a... lot of corruption in the medical industry, and I've seen a lot of it firsthand, so just. Seeing a corrupt doctor get what he deserved at the end was cathartic, in a way? Plus, a Jounouchi-centric episode is always a good time.

Duel Monsters: Episodes 96-97: "Darkness vs. Darkness/One Turn Kill" -- this hasn't changed, I still love seeing Marik and Bakura bitch at each other for two whole episodes LMAO

GX: Episode 152: "Activate Super-Fusion! Rainbow Neos" -- This one hasn't changed and it likely never will-- I take so much pride in seeing Judai push forward, past the fear and guilt he's carrying, all to save Johan... it's cathartic and I never get sick of watching it.

5Ds: sweats. still all of Crash Town, but also episodes 137-147-- the Ark Cradle is one of my favorite parts of 5Ds and one of my favorite YGO arcs period, and even though each duel is a fucking gut punch, I love the emotional intensity and weight in each episode... It hurts but in a mostly good way

Zexal: Episode 143: "The Aloof Duelist 'Nasch': The Destined Final Duel" -- this one hasn't changed! Still hurts, still love it, I still weep over Ryouga Shark Kamishiro on a daily basis

Arc-V: Episodes 81-82: "Our Respective Battlefields/The Ultimate Falcon VS The Black-Feathered Thunder" -- Okay, honestly, this was hard because I... genuinely. really don't like Arc-V very much at all lol (it's just not my cup of tea, but more power to those who do like it!), but I thought this duel was a lot of fun! Shun is my absolute favorite from Arc-V and I really like the friendship he struck up with Crow a lot, so here we are

VRAINS (so far): Episode 25-26: "Virus Deck Operation/Three Draws Leading to Hope" -- honestly I am so biased because I just really love Blue Angel and I loved seeing her get a well-deserved victory like this lol. I'm not done with VRAINS, so this is probably gonna change, but anytime Blue Angel or Soulburner are on screen, I'm happy

Favorite Decks to Use: Aromages will always have my heart, but I adore Cyber Angels too! I'm building my Trickstar deck, my Synchron/Stardust deck (just waiting on Dawn of Majesty...), and my Magician Girls deck, too! Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, XYZ, Pendulum, or Link?: Synchros my beloved... but also Ritual Years in fandom: I've been here for just a little over one year now! and I wuv it... I'm never looking back Who am I tagging: no one I'm too shy

[poppy-and-pomegranate]

So as luck would have it my PC (a laptop from 2014) and PS4 both decided to bite the dust roughly around the same time--PC has a battery issue and PS4 is just in a broken loop of needing to be updated with a flash drive cause it won't do shit otherwise and is somehow stuck in safemode.

However, I'm not gonna let that bug me too much, been planning on a new PC for 2 years anyway and I think I'll need a decent PC for the stuff I plan to do anyway!

Unfortunate that they'd both crap out on me right as I decide to do a random sims challenge and actually document it, but the PC still functions a bit so I still might be able to do it!

Please don't ask me where I found any of my cc though, I'd like to credit the creators properly but for the life of me I don't know which of it I found and can link people to and which of it a friend of mine has given me when trading households with them back and forth.

:^)

--Grams

[epochryphal]

fk: So a big thing that got discussed in a circle I'm vaguely in: many creators arguing about how uncomfortable they would be if anyone was kin with their ocs, and don't almost all characters count as someone's oc? And that it's claiming it, possibly going against characterization, generally insulting the creative process they went through if it's 'memory/past life' fictionkin. And I'm a creator too, so definitely I would feel weird and uncomfortable over someone being kin with my characters

see, okay. i’ve had this convo with creator-types a couple of times. because of course you don’t want someone stealing your hard work, claiming it as theirs, and portraying it in a way you disagree with, right?

but let’s examine those claims.

stealing your hard work: what do we mean here by stealing?

obviously not ‘enjoying’; if that were the case reading a fic or viewing a drawing would be theft, and that’s not true (even when things leak, i believe, but waiving that dimension of grey morality).

benefiting from it? well, if it makes someone’s life better, inspires them, uplifts them, helps them make sense of the world and connect to people… that’s benefiting; is that undesirable? why are you creating and putting your creations into the world?

profiting from it? yes, okay, bad without your approval and mutual profit - but we’re not really talking about intellectual property theft turned into marketing for money through merch. i don’t think there’s a financial profit component to *being kin.* that’s some… uh, criminal/asshole behavior, notttt really linked to identity.

my honest best guess here is - stealing as in “benefitting from in a way i didn’t intend and which makes it feel taken out of my control, making me feel i’ve lost it as though it were physically taken from me.”

and that’s the “claiming” thing, right? asserting authority. standing up and saying, “actually, this is mine, and i know it best and have the final word.”

but the vast majority - and i know this may seem unbelievable! because looking around, the highly visible ones are the troublemakers - the *vast* majority of kin, yes fictionkin too and whether spiritual or pastlifey or otherwise, don’t fucking do that!

look, it sucks ass to look around and see “x character against y thing” as if kin-ness was proof of personal opinions. i hate it. and it’s an appeal to authority, a fallacy. and yeah there are some who are saying their word is canon, is Truth, overwrites canon, *they* would *never* so that part’s invalid. these are bold claims and uncomfortable and painful and icky.

and - to be perfectly clear - i’m not trying to appeal to a “but we’re not like THOSE kin, we’re GOOD and BEHAVE” respectability bullshit, i’m… i’m legit just trying to say that, that’s Bad Behavior, by Anyone

because? it’s not only kin who can/do that actually! roleplayers, other creative types, other fans. anyone can proclaim My City Now and go canon-divergent and loudly insist they are the canon now.

(and there are degrees, y’know? and degrees of reactivity to it. creators who dislike *any* fanfiction because it will be *inevitably* misrepresenting their world and characters. creators who only dislike x kind because *it specifically* is misrepresenting their intent. creators who say “go wild, it’s all canon.”)

fictionkin can be, probably are, the most egregious / visible / provocative case, to be sure. because there’s that specific claim to authority, sometimes with a spiritual tinge which makes it very hard and awkward to disagree/argue with. and because wow, personal, someone saying they’re *your* character and *you’re* wrong / hurting them.

but… mm. yes, all characters were oc’s once. where’s the line where they become public domain, become open to having fic written about them, to fix-it arcs and au’s and kidswaps and playing with how they’d be different in different scenarios, become “not weird” to find that people are kin with?

because if you’re saying that line is a certain threshold of popularity/cultural saturation, a certain size of fandom… why? and are you sure you’re not arguing it shouldn’t happen at all? that it’s only Maybe an Unfortunate Expected Thing if something hits critical popularity?

and then… why wouldn’t people connect to, find themselves in, things regardless of size? regardless of date made? sure, most popular = most visible = highest exposure = maybe more finding there, but…

and further - why does it hurt anyone, invalidate anyone, that that person over there conceptualizes of their connection as reincarnation, as spiritual? that that’s the lens of meaning they ascribe there? as long as they’re not trying to convert you to their belief system? as long as they’re not using it to manipulate people?

seriously. why isn’t that a fucking compliment, that someone finds your character to resonate so strongly, so particularly, that they believe maybe that was them in a past life? is that too woo? too weird? too crazy? too awkward? too cringey? or is it fear of what they might do?

because if it’s about actions, about claims to authority and that sort of - stealing without credit or respect, fostering resentment of you - okay! totally! but that’s behavior not identity.

and if it’s about the other stuff… please stare at that.

specifically, please ask: **what would it take to make me comfortable with someone being kin with an oc of mine?**

if they promised to respect your vision and rights as creator, even if they disagree, and to never argue their feelings usurped your creative license?

if they promised to never bring it up where you could see it, including by accident in public..?

nothing…? why..?

as a final note, i know a lot of creative-types, actually, who are flattered as fuck by people being kin with their oc’s. (interesting factoid? usually furries. which i could opine about the whole sona culture and what’s complimentary and expected etiquette &c.)

so“possibly going against characterization” - so do fanfics, friends, that’s how it be“claiming it” - hopefully not in an asshole way, if so, please block as an asshole. if merely using the *word* kin constitutes “claiming” to you… that’s not good faith“insulting the creative process” - some people believe in multiverse theory, or that all our stories/fiction/etc really happened somewhere else and creators are channeling that. it’s a belief, a mode of thought. many of those same people still deeply respect the work it takes to share/create that stuff. if you feel they’re not acknowledging your hard work, taking you for granted, acting assholeish, block ‘em, treat them like any other entitled person. (on the other hand if you feel they’re not Properly Acknowledging and Lauding you with enough Disclaimers and Praise every time they discuss what you’ve created or relating to it… hm)

it really fucking is just. hey, a sort of subculture and word people use about intensely relating to stuff. doesn’t mean that intensity is gonna disrespect you. some might. but seeing that and leaping instantly to DISRESPECT is… missing a lot, and tarring with same brush, and is pretty disrespectful itself.

[elenatria]

I totally agree with you, I enjoy the promo tour very much, I love everything: the games, the interviews, the song, OMG, nothing will be more cuter than that and so! :D I'm relieved that I'm not the only one who expected more of the film and have negative opinions. Thank you for your understanding and your answer, it means a lot to me! I like "talking" with you ( it wasn't the first), you always take time to answer properly and honestly and I'm so grateful for that.

I’ll never forget the promo tour, it was the first ever Marvel promo tour I followed vid by vid while it happened.

But this whole situation kinda reminds me of what happened with Game of Thrones. I was a casual fan of the show for the first five seasons and then BAM, season 6 happened. It wasn’t awesome just because of how funny and captivating Briemund was, it also  had some major epicness with the Battle of the Bastards, Cersei blowing up the the Sept of Baelor, the awesome music, the build up, everything. Then we waited patiently biting our nails for a whole year for season 7, and didn’t we just LOVE “The Walk” clip with “Sit down” by James. Then it aired and it was nothing like our expectations. Did we enjoy the ride? Of course we did. The same happened with “Thor:Ragnarok” and Infinity War. I was a casual Marvel fan (with the exceptions of “The Dark World” and “The Winter Soldier” that blew my mind) until “Ragnarok” happened and I got obsessed. As it goes, I had expectations.

The “Marvel Bunch” was the SHIT, I swear to god, funniest promo thing the Marvel stars have ever made.

Well. It’s okayyyyyy to have a negative opinion. We demonize negative opinions so much because some people have a tendency to care too much about what the majority says and others abuse the tags by hate tagging a film or an actor or a character. There’s no room for “unpopular opinions” on tumblr because total strangers gang up on total strangers (a thing that would NOT happen in real life) that’s why people put on disclaimers so much. :-P But if we don’t respect our own opinion and say it out loud, do we expect others to respect it as well?

IW is loved by many, and it has enough tragedy and beauty. Maybe the fact I didn’t like was that it’s not a standalone movie (so it didn’t come full circle), also there were too many characters in it to focus on just a few, and it’s hard to do that in two hours and a half. Also it’s not a movie about the Avengers, we know their stories already. It’s a movie about Thanos. 

But even the end credit scene was mostly about advertising the new product, “Captain Marvel”. I’m sure it’s gonna be an awesome movie but I can still criticize the fact that it felt too much like “product placement”. Will I get criticism for that too? Am I not feminist enough??? The horror, I’m a woman, I should be supporting films with super heroines no matter what!!!11 

I WILL support it if I see it and like it. But for the time being all I see is product placement.

So I’m still waiting for Avengers 4 to see what actually happens, to say for sure whether I liked this storyline or not.

Same goes for season 8 of Game of  Thrones, though I’m not getting my hopes up. Once bitten...

We can still love a movie for all its flaws like I love “The Dark World” (not the Earth parts but yeah). But we can also criticize a movie even if most people like it. If we were on reddit right now my views would probably be downvoted - and we call that “democracy”. Well democracy is not about what most people think is true, democracy is not about downvoting opinions we don’t like and shutting people up. Democracy is about speaking our minds even if everyone else disagrees, and letting others be heard. 

You’re very sweet. *you are not aloooooooooooone!*.

Also watch this space, I’ll be posting a link to the IW chatroom soon. In a couple of hours would be great to meet, what do you guys think?

[tea-and-toblerones]

Unison Chapter 2 - I'm a Midnight Talker

Once again, comments, questions suggestions, whatever, are always welcomed! I love your feedback! 

I would link the first chapter, but  do everything through mobile because internet is expensive out in the country

I can't believe I'm sitting at a diner with Ed Sheeran at 2 in the morning. If you would have told me this 36 hours ago I would have laughed in your face. Is my life descending into utter chaos?  

Bridget had stayed over for a couple hours before she headed home. I continuously messaged Ed through the entirety of her stay. Every time she heard the phone ping, there would be a small smile that crossed her face. I could tell she was curious about the conversation but didn't ask a second time what we were talking about. How I had managed to keep the smile from my face when he had brought up a date was a shocker. Maybe I didn't, maybe I'm not as sneaky as I thought and she was just waiting for me to tell her.                

After she left, I glanced over to my bathroom. I had snunk a quick peak earlier and it wasn’t the horror show that I had pictured in my mind. All of it was contained to my bathtub. By the looks of it I had tried to rinse it out. I had to give props to my drunken self. At least she was somewhat considerate.                                                                 

As I began scrubbing out the tub, my mind wandered to the conversation I had been having with Ed. We hadn't set an exact time for our date, deciding to play it by ear. My idea. No matter how strongly he insisted that it was the hangover cure, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it down and by the looks of my tub, I'd horked my guts out enough for one day. The thought of it sent shivers of anticipation down my spine. Something I thought I wouldn't be feeling for a long time. He seemed fine with me setting the time and place, which worked perfectly for me. I loved having everything scheduled, knowing what was coming up when. I was a master of the white board calender, everything written out in advance. Everything in order.                                     

We both had swapped some of our wildest drunken stories. Mine being how we broke into the campus, via a window, to use one of the bigger lecture halls to watch movies, unknowingly tripping a silent alarm that alerted the campus police. Somehow we had all managed to sneak out without getting caught and ended up drinking on some abandoned train cars instead. His being how him and his mates had gotten beyond wasted, went swimming in some random pond and had stolen someone's birthday cake and pig. Apparently it was a chocolate cake with bits of reese's throughout and it was one of the best damn cakes he had ever had. After having a good laugh at our own expense, he changed the subject.   

"So how are you spending your afternoon?"              

"Cleaning up this crime scene of a bathroom then a shower. Most definitely a shower."            

"What happened to 'Only pussies puke?'"                                                   

I groan, kneading my forehead with my fingertips. Yep, that was said. It used to be our groups' motto everytime we'd go out and get hammered. It was a rule among us, if you puked while drinking you were the one that bought the first round the next time out.  Still, it didn't make it any less cringeworthy. With them it was a tradition, with Ed, it was probably just cocky sounding.                                                                                                                

"Guess I'm a pussy then."                   

"Well, the first step is admittance."               

"I'm pretty sure its acceptance there bud."                  

"What's the difference?"                

I shake my head, not knowing if he was being serious or not. Instead I decide to ask what he was doing. After I scrubbed every inch of my tub clean I took a moment to scour the room for my contacts. While I was highly impressed that I even remembered to take them out, I was less impressed about where I could have put them. After looking throughout my entire apartment, I decide to call it quits.                                                                 

Guess I'll be wearing my glasses until I can get in to get new ones.                                    

I check my phone before I get in the shower.                                     

"Simpsons marathon. I'm trying to watch all of them in a week."                

"You DO know that's impossible right? With over five hundred episodes and each episode being about 22 minutes. You can roughly fit 3 in a little over an hour. All together would be about 183 hours, which is a little over a week. Without sleeping."                                                            

I set my phone down and after a long shower I start to feel like myself again. I wrap my hair up in my towel before brushing my teeth. I definitely looked like hell. My eyes weren't the honey color they usually were, but more of a muddy color. Fitting. It felt like I was wading through a bunch of it. I had always been fair skinned, I spent all of high school being called Wednesday Addams. so the circles that had shown up under my eyes really stood out. As did the light splattering of freckles. They'd lighten up to almost vanishing once winter hit and I wasn't outside nearly as much. The ones on my shoulders and arms were the only ones that stayed the same year round. I traced the long jagged scar that ran from my left eyebrow to my jawbone, curving toward my ear in a elongated crescent shape. I hated that scar. A constant reminder of things I’d like to forget. At least I could cover a majority of it. The only part I couldn’t was the part that cut through my eyebrow, leaving it bare. I drop my hand and pull my hair down before exiting the bathroom.                                                                                                                        

I flop down on my couch, pull up netflix and start browsing for something to watch. It's a shame The Simpsons aren't on here because I kind of want to watch it now. I settled on Dexter instead, getting comfortable under a nearby blanket. Once I get situated hoe I want,  I pull up Ed's message.                                                  

"Thanks for killing my dreams with logic."               

"I'm sorry. Better to find out now than later though."                      

I turn my attention to my tv, watching the opening credits. Oh, steak and eggs, that looks good...I'm kinda hungry. I'll make something quick to eat after this episode. Being snug and warm under my blanket, paired with having a late night with poor sleep I was out before the episode had even properly started.                                                                                                         

I woke up to a dark apartment. Confused and groggy, I feel for my phone, rescuing it from between the couch cushions and searing my eyes all in an attempt to figure out what time it was. 1 A.M. I sat down at 4 in the afternoon. Goodbye normal sleep schedule. I had already missed my morning run and my Saturday trip to the market. Guess I'll go shopping tomorrow instead, but that left me with next to nothing to have for dinner. I could go fetch some takeout I suppose. I notice the notification that Ed had messaged while I was lying in a puddle of my own drool.                                                                                    

"What, that you're gonna shit all on my dreams? Gonna make sharing real hard in the future. How am I gonna feel comfortable telling you about my dream of having my very own nacho bar and chocolate fountain when you'll just squash it with your dirty logic"     

I felt my heart sink when I read the first part of the message thinking I had, in some way, offended him. It wasn't until the latter part of the message did I realise he had been pulling my leg. I laughed out of relief. He was going to keep me on my toes, I can see it now. There's never going to be a dull moment with him in my life.                                         

"Oh you shit I thought you were actually angry! Not the important or feasible ones but I'll keep my 'dirty logic' to myself next time. And you can sign me right up for the nacho bar and chocolate fountain. That's something I can get behind."                                            

I stand up and stretch, trying to work the kinks out of my back and neck before wandering into my kitchen. My toast had long since wore off and my upset stomach was in the distant past. As I rummage around for something quick to make, I hear my phone ping. Surely he's still not up. Sure enough.                              

 "Why are you up at this hour?"                 

"I could ask you the same thing y'know"               

"Got hungry. So I'm gonna go get some breakfast."                    

My stomach growled at the thought of breakfast, especially at the thought of chocolate chip waffles. He just had to say chocolate fountain.                                                                

"Care for some company? Breakfast sounds pretty good."                                 

I bit my bottom lip, staring at the message for a minute or so. I could hear Bridget's comment A girl can ask a guy out you know! I didn't want to butt in where I wasn't welcomed. He may want some alone time or could already be eating with other friends. I also just met him, asking to meet up the next night might come off as desperate or clingy, which is something I really didn't want. I never stress about this kind of stuff. After everything that had happened with Mike, I slammed the door to anything even resembling a relationship. Yet, this felt different, he felt different. I couldn't explain it. I hit send and held my breath. I resisted the urge to throw my phone as far away from me as possible, vowing to never again text a single soul. When I hear that tell tale ping, I almost didn't want to look at it.                                                                                              

"On one condition. You have to come in whatever it is you're wearing right now."                         

I look down at what I was wearing to see just how embarassed I was going to be. When I had gotten ready for my shower I grabbed whatever I could get my hands on. I snorted when I saw I was wearing my black tshirt with a highly faded Scar and Hyenas from the Lion King that said I'm surrounded by idiots and grey leggings I use mostly for running.  Could be worse I suppose. The shirt was in decent shape at least. Maybe he'll get a laugh outta the irony.                                                                                                                                       "You strike hard bargain. Alright, what diner?"               

He sends me the address and I recognise the place. It's not too far, maybe ten minutes by a cab. I grab my sneakers and throw my now dry, but dried in a weird bed head way, hair  up in a sloppy bun. I put my jacket on, checking to make sure I have my wallet and messaged him that I was headed his way now. I flag down a cab and hop in, giving the driver the address. My leg never stopped bouncing the entire time. I practically flew out of the backseat, only stopping to give the cabbie his cash.                                                                   ��

The drunk crowd wasn't due in for another hour, so a majority of the blue booths were empty. There was a few people seated at the counter and one very haggard looking family, probably stopping for a quick bite to eat before heading back out on the road.  I spotted Ed two tables away in the  corner, closest to the windows. He hadn't seen me come in so I pause before heading over to him in an attempt to collect my thoughts. He was staring out the window, lost in thought. His head resting on one of his hands, the other was wrapped around a mug on the table. He was wearing a plain heather colored tshirt that made the ink on his arms stand out. The whole scene looked so perfect that I slipped my phone out of my pocket and took a quick picture. Not for anyone elses eyes but my own.                                                          

He noticed me as I started walking over to him and he quickly stood up. He was wearing blue and white flannel pajama pants with black and red sneakers. So that's why he told me to come as I am. He looked me up and down and let out a laugh. Those haunting eyes gleaming. I braced myself for the worst but was surprised when a giant smile came across his face.     

"Well look at you, participating in my pancake pajama party!"                                                                                                                                     Do I hug him? That seems too familiar. Do I shake his hand? No, that's to formal. I have to do something. God, he looks good, even in pajama's. Wait, shit, what did he say? Did he say pancake pajamas? Oh, pajama party. That's probably it. What's pancake pajamas? Is that pajamas with pancakes on them or pajamas you wear specfically for eating pancakes? Dammit Adi stay focused!  

"Well that was the price of admission. Who am I to argue? Plus I had absolutely no food in my apartment since I slept through shopping day."                                                             

He motioned for me to sit down, so slid into my side of the booth taking off my jacket and placing it beside me. I noticed a blue hoodie laying on his bench seat. Well, at least he matches I suppose. He sat down across from me, staring intently at my face.                                                    

"I didn't know you wore glasses."                                      

I reached up and touched the side of them, almost like I was making sure they were still there. Of course they are, they just didn't vaporize because he mentioned them, but I guess your social skills did.  I played it off as I was adjusting them, partly wondering if that's what he really wanted to comment on.                                                                                                                                                                                       

"I usually wear contacts but I've seemed to misplace them in my drunken...ness."                                                  

He shuttered. "The thought of sticking something in my eye is just- I'd rather go without seeing for a bit.."                                                                    

"You go without your glasses alot?"                              

"Only when I perform. Or I misplace them. Tend to do that quite often."                                         

I sat there for a moment, toying with the sleeve of my jacket. I could feel his eyes boring into me, patiently waiting, not trying to coax me into talking, just waiting for me to speak on my own. Finally I find my voice (and my courage) asking the one question that had been plaguing me the entire day and the one that I was the most afraid to have answer to.                                                           

"Can I ask you something?"                                    

The corners of his mouth turned upwards, his eyes softened. It looked like he felt slightly guilty about me being noticably worried about his response.  "Of course." His voice was soft and gentle.                                                                                                                      

I take a deep breath. "Why'd you text me? Not that I'm not grateful, I am, I really am. It's just, you've probably got so many girl's giving you their number, why'd you choose me?"                                                                                                                                              

It had all came out in a rambling rush. I could feel my face flushing at the hurried mess that had came out of mouth. Way to play it cool. I expected him to look angry or even offended but he laughed,  throwing me for a loop.                                                                                                                                         

"I'm sorry, I was bracing myself for the worst by the look on your face. You're right, I've had literally hundreds of girls give me their number. And I've never contacted a single one. Never even bothered saving their number. Know why?" I shake my head, starting to worry about what sort of things I could have possibly done to catch his attention when others had failed.  "They gave their number to Ed Sheeran, singer songerwriter. You gave it to Ed, some ginger bloke you met at a bar."                                                                                        

I stare at him in amazement as he takes a sip of his drink. He made a weird face muttering something about proper tea it before putting it aside. He interlaced his fingers together, once again turning all his attention to me. That gaze, it was like I was the only thing that mattered in that moment. It was almost overwhelming. I realised that my mouth had been slightly open, so I closed it in a hurry. I hadn't realised it had been that obvious.                                                          

"How long did it take you to realise I had no clue who you were?"                                                                                                      

"I knew when you introduced yourself.  There was no spark of recognition when I said my name was Ed." He bit his bottom lip, I could tell he was wanting to add something. I must have had the same look of uncertainity on my face just moments ago. I shouldn't be surprised that he'd have questions that he wasn't sure he wanted answered. "Is this going to change things now that you know who I am?"                                                                                                                       

I knew this question would be coming at some point, most likely sooner rather than later and I had given it alot of thought while I was on my hands and knees cleaning my bathroom. I loved order, being in control of my own life. He's got an erratic schedule and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel with the spontaneity that came along with that. On the other hand, something needed to change. I wasn't about to throw in the towel before I had even tried. Or before there's even a 'thing' to try.                                                                                                                                                                      

"No. Well, it will affect some things. I'm not going to lie, there was some freaking out. That's expected I suppose, but it's not a deal breaker if that's what you're wondering. I mean this in the nicest possible way, I couldn't care less about how much you're worth. Hell, I still wouldn't know if it wasn't for my friend Bridget mentioning one of her friends had seen you in town." Relief had flooded over his face. He had leaned back, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, exhaling as he did so. I could feel all the tension that had filled the booth vanish as quickly as it came.  I hadn't noticed his hands were in fists as he was waiting for my response until he relaxed them.                                                                                                

"Well, that's a big weight off my chest.  I bet your friend really freaked when you told her."                                                                                                                            

"I didn't, actually. She was at the bar and did see you, but not your face. She thinks you're some blonde dude named Ed and I didn't correct her."                                                 

He seemed surprised at my answer, His eyebrows coming up, lost under the ginger curls that hung down his forehead.  He also seemed thrown when I said she thought he was blonde. There was still an odd expression on his face, almost a mix between humor and curiousity.   

"You're a very special person. I guess you weren't lying when you said it didn't make a difference." There's that cute lopsided grin again. He seemed to perk up quickly, eyes gleaming again. "But this leaves me at a huge disadvantage here. You know everything about me, but I don't know anything about you." His hand came up, rubbing his chin in thought.  "Well, besides you're named after your grandmother, you were supposed to be a boy and you're not above doing some fairly dirty dancing around a cue stick as a distraction"  He counted each fact off with his fingers, grinning at the last one.                                                                                                        

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I'm competitive under normal situations, but add alcohol to it and I can resort to some pretty over the top methods to win. Did it at least work?"                                                                  

"I was planning on sight seeing today, hit up a couple shops and spent all of it in bed. You tell me."                       

I laughed. At least it wasn't wasted. The waitress chose then to show up looking like we had personally offended her with our presence and laughter. She simply dropped some menus down on the table and asked, quite flatly, what I wanted to drink. After I gave my drink order Ed asked for a glass of water and it was like he had asked for it from God's personal pool. After she walked away, he looked at me, his mouth pulled downwards, his eyes widened slightly, flicking towards her in a 'Oh boy' type of way. I snorted, quickly stifiling my laughter behind my hand. He smirked as I flicked the menu open, pretending to focus really hard on what was printed, while still trying not to laugh. She came back with my coffee and Ed's water with the same gusto she had when bringing the menus. She quickly took our orders and left.                                                                                               

"So, you were going to help fill in some blanks?"                                        

I nod, "Right, well you're really not at a disadvantage. I only pulled your picture up to see if you were really, well, you. I wanted to find out things the old fashioned way. But, I'll tell you my whole life story, if you answer one more question."                                      

"Is it 'what were you doing at a metal show?'"                             

"What we're you doing at a metal show?"                       

"I wanted a night out, without having to deal with a bunch of fans. Who gives no fucks about Ed Sheeran? Metal heads. Where's the last place you'd expect Ed Sheeran? At a metal show. I got to have an great night without having to deal with a flock of people asking things from me. Plus I met you, I call that a win."                               

He was right. Metal heads definitely couldn't care less. You tell a metal head you like Ed Sheeran, they'll look at you, kinda tilt their head to the side and go 'aww, that's so cute'      

"Well, a deal's a deal. Whadya wanna know?"                   

"Whatever you're comfortable with telling."                                                          

I take a sip of my coffee. Whatever I'm comfortable with telling huh? Interesting wording, alright then.                                                                                                                                     

"Well, lets start off with the basics.  I'm 25, orginally from Dublin, Ohio. I moved out here when I turned eighteen and got a nice office job where I do a bunch of boring ass stuff that's completely meaningless. I've got an older brother and my parents are divorced. I'll let you decide what to focus on from there"                                                                             

"Let's go with family. You've an older brother? How's your guy's relationship, typical sibling one?"                                            

"His name's Nate, he's 28 and stayed back in Dublin to work at our dad's office. We're close now, but when we were younger there was definitely a sibling rivarly that went on."                                                                                                                                        

"Was some of that anger from the fact that he got things from the souvenir shops and you didn't?"                                    

Out of all the ways he could have worded he had a normal name and you drew the short stick, he chose that. That earned him yet another laugh. I wonderd if he was tired of hearing it.  Or worse, that I was just laughing because I found him attractive.                                                                                                                            

"Nah, it was more of a resentment due to the fact he was dad's favorite. When I was little I thought Nate was stealing all the attention and there wasn't any left over for me. It was when I was older and realised that they just had more in common and if Dad really wanted to spend time with me, he would. Laying the blame on Nate wasn't fair because he wasn't the problem.  That's when our relationship grew out of the petty fighting bullshit. Now we talk at least once a week and visit each other twice a year, outside of holidays."                                                                                                                           

"Your parents divorced? Did he go with your dad, you stay with your mum? Have two Christmases, that sort of thing?"                                              

I shake my head  "They didn't separate until I turned 18 and moved out here. You could tell when we were younger that they were in a 'stay together for the kids' type of marriage. They waited until we were out of the house so it wouldn't affect our childhood. The spilt was pretty amicable and they're still on pretty good terms. We all still get together during the holidays and everything. They just fell out of love and drifted apart."

Is that what I have to look forward to? I don't know what's worse, losing interest in a person that loves you or having the person you love tell you they just don't care about you anymore.                                                       

I hadn't realised I had drifted off into my own little world and missed what Ed had said until I felt his hand touch mine. light, like he was worried that he was going to startle me.  His eyebrows were furrowed in a look of concern.                                                                                                                      

"You alright? You kinda had this weird look come over your face."                                                     

I took a deep breath and forced myself to smile. I felt a rush of guilt come over me at the look on his face. Don't go there Adi, not tonight.                                                                                                 

"Yeah, I'm okay, just got wrapped up in my thoughts is all. Sorry, what did you say?"                                                                 

I could tell he wasn't buying what I was selling, "Are you sure? If I did something to upset-'             

I cut him off. "No, you've done nothing, honestly." I added when he still looked unconvinced. "I promise." I held the pinky finger of my free  hand out and he gave me a amused look before locking his own pinky in with mine.                                                             

He gave my other  hand a squeeze and I must admit, it felt nice. That simple act really meant alot. He didn't let go of my hand, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on the back of it. I felt myself relaxing, focusing on the soothing repetitive motion.                                                

"So, what do you're parents do for a living? You said your dad had an office, what about your mum?"                                                      

I welcomed the subtle subject change. "She's a teacher, first grade. I alway kind of felt bad because Dad was always caught up in his work so she had to deal with fighting kids at school, come home and have to play peacemaker between me and Nate. She has the patience of a saint, my mom has"                                                                                  

"Sounds like you admire her a great deal."                         

"I do, I wish I had half the strength she does."                                                    

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by the waitress coming with our order. It was only then did he release my hand. She placed my plate of chocolate chip waffles in front of me and Ed's plates of pancakes, scrambled eggs, a couple sausage patties and toast. We thanked her and got a half hearted nod in reply. I poured a generous amount of syrup on my waffles. Ed picked up one of the sausage patties with his fork, studying it closely before putting it back down, muttering "I'll never understand your sausage. Americans are weird." I watch in a mortified fascination as he poured an excessive amount of ketchup on his eggs and sausage. Enough to warrent the joke 'would you like some eggs to go with your ketchup’ but I kept it to myself. He probably heard that enough.                                                                                                                

The conversation died down slightly as we ate our food. Ed had suggested we share, that way we could try each other's meal. I had a sneaking suspicion that he just really wanted to try my waffles. He offered up a bite of his pancakes off his fork. Instead of taking the fork, I lean forward and take the bite. He smiled, sliding the fork out of my mouth, watching my reaction as I chewed. I savored the sweet taste. Light, fluffy, with a hint of butter. I held out a fork full of waffle, that just happened to be loaded with chocolate. His bite seemed to go in slow motion once his lips hit that fork. Slowly dragging the food off, his tonuge gliding over them, licking the syrup chocolate mixture off. His eyes closed, a look of bliss coming over his face. I don't think he could have made that any hotter if he had tried.                                                                                                                               

As we ate, Ed told me some about his life back home. How him and his brother left home at practically the same time and the struggles he faced as a sixteen year old trying to make it in the music world. We had kept chatting long after the food was gone. I hadn't realised how long we had been sitting there until a large crowd of drunken guys came stumbling in choosing to sit a booth away. One of them kept glancing our way and you could see the gears turning as he was trying to figure out why Ed looked so familar. Ed must have noticed because he leaned forward on the table, using me and the back of the booth to shield him from view.                                                                                                                 

"You want to get out of here"? It's starting to get a bit rowdy."                                     

He wasn't lying. The group had be causing a bit of a ruckus, practically screaming at each other, spilling their drinks on the table, floor and each other. The guy that kept looking at our booth nudged the guy beside him, pointing to our booth. Now they were both looking our direction. It was only a matter of time before they figured it out and we had the entire diner at our table asking for pictures and autographs.                                                                                           

"I agree, let's leave before the next wave comes in. It's gonna fill up fast."                                    

No sooner than when he went up to go pay, another group came in. I was standing by the door so our table could be cleaned and be used for the next group. While I waited one of the guys that had just came in wandered over. He leaned against the wall, uncomfortably close, leering down at me.                                                                                                                                                   

"What's a hottie like you doing in a place like this?"                                        

I could tell he was drunk but not as drunk as his companions. He was pretty average looking, tall, thin, black hair that was held back with hair gel, his brown eyes fighting to stay focused on me, a hint of lust hidden behind the alcohol cloud.  The smell of booze radiating from him. When I turned to look up him, I saw his eyes go straight to the left side of my face, his eyes widened and an Oh...popped out of his mouth.                                                                                                

Typical reaction. I had a retort on on the tip of my tongue, ready to shoot back at him but was cut off before I could get it out.                                                                                          

"Is there a problem, love?"             

I felt Ed's arm come around my waist, pulling me closer to him in a protective sort of way. I wrap mine around his waist in return. He was calm, but I could detect a hint of anger in his voice. I could feel how tense he was, his grip tightening on my hip. Is he jealous? Or is he just over protective? Maybe he senses something about the guy that I don't.  I start rubbing small circles on his back in hopes it would calm him. It was almost like he was on guard. The guy looked him over, like he was sizing him up. The moment seemed to drag on for an eternity.                                                           

"Nah man, we were just talking." The guy looked Ed up and down. His eyes squinting as he stared at his face. "You look familiar, do I know you?"

Ed brushed it off, his voice still a little heated. His grip still not loosening. I noticed he was angling himself so that he was between me and the  guy. "I get that alot, I’ve just got one of those faces."                                                                                                                                   The guy had been loud enough that the entire diner's eyes were on us. Great, Exactly what he had been trying to avoid. Ed opened the door, gently guiding me out of it. The last thing I heard was "Hey, wait you’re -" The door shut before the guy could finish his sentence. I did however see the waitress's stunned face through the glass, her mouth open slightly. I smirked, kind of glad she hadn't recognised him. By the look on Ed's face he was glad as well, but he still had a dark expression.                                                                                                                             

"That guy was nothing but bad news. I hope you don't think I did what I did because I thought you couldn't handle your own."                                                                      

"I didn't. Hey, don't let that drunken douche ruin our night."                                                

He seemed to relax at that. He finally dropped the gloomy expression and let a small smile break through.                                                                       

"You're absolutely right. Well, what do you want to do now?"                           

I pondered for a minute, thinking of what we could do so early in the morning. Finally it clicked. He did say he was supposed to spend the day sight seeing. What's stopping us now? We could still go visit the parks and square. It's not like they close.                                                                          

"Well, you said you wanted to go sight seeing right?"                                      

He must have thought I was joking. When he saw my face he realised I was being serious, he scoffed "What, right now?"                                                      

I shrugged "Why not? It's a nice night, the sky's clear, it's not overly cold and there's not a flock of people around. So you really get to enjoy yourself."          

He looked at me in a what am I getting myself into sort of way before shrugging, shaking his head.                                                                                                                                                                                     "Why not, I couldn't have a better guide."                                    

As we walked, Ed's pulled his arm away from my waist, slipping his hand into mine. I was pointing out landmarks, good places to eat, what places had the best coffee and most importantly, places he'd want to avoid if he wanted to go under the radar. After I had ran out of the major hot spots, I started to show him some of my personal favorite spots, one of them being a certain train car I mentioned to him earlier. There was one spot in particular I wanted to show him. A simple park, with the river cutting through one part and a fountain in the middle lit by small flood lights lights. Sometimes there would be live musicians playing, giving it a whismical feel. The trees around the fountain were always wrapped in white christmas lights. If I ever needed to decompress or take a minute, this is where you could find me. We sat on a bench in front of the fountain, taking in the the view.             

"I found this park my first week living here." My voice was soft.  My gaze had turned to the fountain, letting my eyes fall out of focus. My mind going back to my first visit. Ed's attention was fully on me when I started talking. I could feel him shift on the bench so he was facing me instead of facing forward.  "I was scared, this was the first time living on my own and I was hundreds of miles away from any family. It was pretty lonely, I'll admit, I had thought maybe I had made a mistake. I was wandering around, kind of lost since I hadn't quite figured out where everything was at. What better way than just wandering aimlessly, right? Then I stumbled across this place. The sun had just started to set and there was this lone jazz musician playing a pretty sad tune on a trumpet." Ed's eyes never left my face as I talked. I had pulled out my wallet, turning it over and over in my hands. My eyes had completely glazed over, overtaken by the nostaglia  "I was wondering if I'd ever be able to call this place home. So I did what any child would do. I made my wish on a coin and threw it in the fountain. It sort of became a tradition. Any time I'm upset or feeling lost I come here and chuck another coin in the fountain." I fished a couple pennies out and held my hand out. He picked one out of the palm of my hand.                                                                                                   

"Did it come true? Your wish?" His voice just as soft as mine. I turned to him, finally meeting his gaze.                                                                                                                           

"Yeah, it did."                                                                                      

"Well then, if it worked once...Close your eyes and make a wish." His eyes twinkling in the light of the fountain. I stood up, walking up to edge of the fountain. Ed had followed suit, standing to the left of me. I follow his suggestion and close my eyes, wrapping my hand around the small coin, holding it close to my chest in a clenched fist. Let this be the beginning of something good. I'm so tired of all the bad.  I released the coin, hearing it's faint splash as is sank to the bottom with all the other wishes. I kept my eyes closed, hoping it wouldn't have a nasty twist like the last one. It may have came true, but it ended up causing alot of heartache in the end. I'm either an optimst at heart or just too stupid know when to give up.                                                                   

I felt his arm come around my waist pulling me towards him.  His lips came to mine, brushing against them gently. That little sneak. No wonder he told me to close my eyes. I slip my arms around his neck, threading my fingers through his thick, silky hair. Once he knew I was fully accepting of his kiss, it changed from careful to something more. I could feel his mouth open, his tonuge just grazing over my bottom lip. I opened my mouth, letting his tonuge in.  His other hand came up, settling on the back of my head, his thumb brushing against my unmarked cheek. I found myself pressing against him, my hands pulling his head closer to mine, his arm pulling me closer to him in response. It felt like he was simataneously filling me and emptying me at the same time. I felt a pull from deep inside, bringing with it a spark of yearning. We could have stood there for minutes, it could have been hours. When he finally pulled away, I lightly bit his bottom lip, letting my teeth drag across.                                                                           

"Wow..." I muttered breathlessly.                              

"Wow indeed, I've been waiting all night to do that." His thumb was still brushing against my cheek, the other hand at my back.                                                         

"Was it worth the wait?"                                     

"It was more than I ever could have wished for." His voice was low and husky                                                           

"I agree, nothing could have prepared me for that."                                             

When we separated, he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the penny I had given him. He looked down at it, letting his own eyes fall closed. A small smile forming on his face,  he jostled it a couple times before tossing it into the fountain with mine. Light had just began creeping its way across the sky, mingling with what stars were left. He took my hand in his again before we headed off in the direction of his hotel. We stopped just outside the door, still hand in hand.                                                                                                                                         

"Well, this isn't exactly how I pictured our first date..." He said sheepishly, running his hand through his hair.                                    

I'm guessing he had pictured us in a restaurant, nice clothes, sort of romantic. Not at a diner at 2 AM and definitely not in causal sleepwear.                                                                                                     

"Me either, but I had a really good time. If I could do it over, I would keep everything the same." I wrinkle my nose  "Might have taken Douchey Mcgoo out of the picture though "                         

He hesitiated, pulling his sleeves down over his hands again. I'm starting to see that it had nothing to do with hiding his tattoos, it's a nervous habit of his. "Would you- would you like to come upstairs? I've still got, what, seven days of the Simpsons to get through, if you'd care to join me. It's alot more fun when you've got someone to laugh and enjoy it with."                                                                                       

After a brief debate of is he talking about watching the simpsons or "watching the simpsons" I had decided.                                                             

“I'd like that. I'm not ready to call it a night just yet."