#i'm very set in my ways and a little bit of a complainer in case you haven't noticed

[the-physicality]

i actually hate the cable cam for a lot of reasons but mostly because there is no second angle on the dt block from last night. if you know of one please let me know.

[autistichalsin]

Two questions because I like hearing your thoughts:

What do you think Halsin's biggest flaw is?

And

Is there anything in his writing that you just don't vibe with / would like to see changed?

So, I am going to put two here for his flaws, just because what I perceive to be Halsin's biggest flaw is something a lot of people don't like being stated as such, because it's an extension of something that can actually be a good thing.

Halsin's biggest overall flaw: he is self-sacrificing to his own detriment, which also results in him brushing off his own pain/trauma. As a result of this, he also has a habit of developing hero-worship for those care for him the way he cares for others, I.E. the player.

Halsin's biggest flaw that can't be seen as an extension of a good trait: He can't control his basal instincts/urges very well. Not only can he not control his bear (the transformation into it and his actions in that shape) very well, but he also has lines in combat that rival the Dark Urge's in bloodlust; "let our enemies' corpses nourish the ground!" "May the carrion birds grow fat on you!"

Things I would change about his writing:

So... Most of the things I would change, I would not because I have a problem with them, but because I'm tired of others complaining about them (I.E. make his flirting banter with SH in act 3 only trigger if you're polymanced, make the Drow orgy start only at your invitation instead of his suggestion, etc). The highest on this list for me is the Minthara ultimatum (which still hasn't been implemented). I would like to see them make Halsin's case stronger; point out the Absolute still hunts him, make it clear how much Minthara triggers his trauma, let him talk more about things that happened to him in the goblin camp because of her- with her continued lack of remorse (she never even as much as says she sympathizes with what happened to the Grove) helping make his case. Also, make it more clear that what happened to the Tieflings was the result of this (because this scene was written to only trigger if the Rite of Thorns happened); show how haunted by their deaths Halsin is. People wrongly think Halsin had no stakes in this argument, when the truth is that they just didn't remind the audience what they were.

For things I actually would want changed... well, I'll put that in two categories, the things that could be changed while keeping the game mostly the same, and then my "pie in the sky" things.

Realistic changes:

-Halsin's post-Drow dialogue is tweaked just a bit more to fix a line from Tav that comes off as condescending, and to clarify some things (did Halsin's captors' house fall out of favor, or were they attacked by a lower house that wanted to unseat them? Halsin says both, but these are two different things in Drow culture). Maybe the house and the house that wiped them out get named, as well.

-While Halsin's act 3 arc was good considering how little time there was, I feel that there needed to be more highlighting his transition from nature-focused to people-focused. We see his anguish at the failures of the city, and the early stages of him dreaming for better, but I wish we could have had more of a bridge to him deciding his commune is the answer. I'd like to see a scene with Halsin adopting Yenna/inviting her to the commune once he starts it, a scene with Halsin's decision to found his commune and inviting the first group of refugees, that sort of thing.

-Make a quick tweak to That infamous party banter that makes it clear chimeras pass the Harkness Test in this setting so that people stop using it as justification to claim Halsin fucked the boar at the Grove (yes this is a thing). Or cut it entirely, I guess.

-Go back to the planned concept where Halsin's scar was in fact from a battle. It being from a shebear doesn't inherently bother me, but I liked the idea of it being a reminder of how badass Halsin is.

-I wish we had more lines reminding us what an amazing healer Halsin is past act 1.

-Fix a few of Halsin's lines so that he sounds as concerned about the Shadow Druids' influence as he should. He brushes them off a bit too easily, especially in the line patch 6 added where you could show him the note sent to Kagha.

-For the love of God, let Halsin get pissed off if you as a Drow Tav/Durge threaten to sell him back into slavery. Make him break up with you on the spot, maybe even leave the party- and if not, lose a huge chunk of approval at least. Players who make Astarion bite Araj rightfully get chewed out- Halsin deserves the same. It doesn't have to be rage, either; it could be hurt, or fear, or some combination of the above. But please, a line that evil deserves something more. They would never pull that on any other character.

Pie in the sky things that would probably never happen but I wish they would:

-After Halsin's Drow confession, we get a chance to suggest to him he might want a turn as a consensual submissive, complete with a sex scene of the player dominating Halsin.

-A scene with Astarion and Halsin bonding over their shared trauma.

-Reintroduce parts of the original concept for the Shadow Curse plot. I don't have to have the Halsin accidentally killing Isobel bit, but I liked the plot with the Promise dagger and him using you as a beacon to find you once he goes in the portal. It was so romance-coded; I'd argue it was even more romantic than Halsin's actual romance plot!

-Let us watch Halsin win over the orphans going to his commune. For pure self-indulgence reasons, make at least one of them a baby.

-A resist scene for Durges. I don't care if it would always be platonic, and yes, go ahead and give Minthara one too. Just please?

-MOST OF ALL, Origin Halsin.

[marsbar17]

im like a woman in a desert dying we are so depraved of bloodhound x reader stuff pls just give anything at this point 😭😭😭🤲🤲🤲🤲🤲

Don't worry pookie I am here to quench your thirst <3

Bloodhound is honestly my favorite character to write about and this one flustered me a bit dbsbbsjska

CONTAINS: established relationship, alcohol consumption, jealousy, possessiveness but in a non-toxic way, a little bit of spice, not full on smut but it gets pretty spicy >:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celebrating a win was very popular amongst the legends. Mirage often invited everyone to the Paradise Lounge for some drinks and good laughter, even the less cheerful legends attended most of the time. Caustic could be found sipping beers and glaring at people, while Ballistic complained on and on about how they didn't even serve good tea.

Today, you sat at the bar between a very tipsy Fuse and an arguably even tipsier Valkyrie. Mirage popped in and out of the celebration as he served customers, but he always made sure your glass was full with whatever drink you desired.

"Mate! That wingman shot was bloody beautiful!" Fuse practically yelled into your ear as his metal hand clapped you on the back, making you wince slightly. Somehow, you had managed to pull off a win after responding in the last ring with only a wingman and one other teammate at half health. I guess whatever god is out there took the wheel because suddenly your aim was the best it's ever been and you downed the last two enemies with two headshots.

"I know, Walter. You've told me about fifteen times since we sat down." Rolling your eyes, you down the rest of your drink before scouring the crowd of legends to try and find Bloodhound. They said they'd be there, but you hadn't seen them yet. Although, it's hard to find anyone with the flashing lights and the alcohol starting to take effect.

Giving up, you turned back to your empty glass and smiling friends. If they didn't come, that was fine. They usually didn't enjoy settings like this anyway, they only only came to guide you back to room after you got wasted.

"The old man's right, though." Valkyrie added in, dragging your attention away from Bloodhound and back into the party. "Seeing you hone into the fight always surprises me, I swear your whole energy changes. It's fucking hot."

The pilot said it so nonchalant, taking a swig of her drink and signaling to Mirage for another like she didn't just call you hot. You couldn't tell if the heat on your face was from the alcohol or how flustered you felt. Probably just the alcohol.

"I'm gonna hafta agree with Valk on this one." Fuse said, still quite loud. He put his arm around your shoulders. "You make bloodlust look bloody sexy. No pun intended." His laugh is deep and booming, shaking your body as he leans on you. What the fuck is happening? You knew the two of them were flirty drunks, but you'd never had their affections directed at you before.

Again, you found yourself looking around the room, and this time you spotted Bloodhound leaning against a wall, watching you. Fuck. They were mad, you could tell. Even without seeing their expression you could practically feel the anger rolling off of them. The fact that Fuse was now playing with strands of your hair and Valkyrie had her hand on your upper arm didn't help your case at all.

You quickly got up, saying a small goodbye to your companions before making your way to a pissed off Bloodhound. They didn't even wait for you to get to them before they walked out the door, leaving you to hurry after them.

"What was that, elskan?" Their voice surprised you as you left the building, and you whipped your head around to see them beside the doorway. They leaned again the wall once again, arms crossed over their chest.

"I'm sorry, Hound. They were drunk and they surprised me and I didn't know what to do and I didn't mean to let them keep going and I-"

"Hush." Bloodhound interrupted your nervous rambling, holding a hand out in a 'halt' gesture. You shut your mouth as quickly as you possibly could, not wanting to anger them any more than you thought you already had. Before they continued speaking, they led you around the side of the building into a less visible alleyway. "I am not blaming you, I simply wanted to know what happened."

They weren't mad at you? Thank the Allfather. Having Bloodhound mad at you was something straight out of a horror film. Your body relaxed, but you still kept your head down instead of looking into their face.

"They got drunk... and we were talking about my win." You started your explanation again, slowly this time to avoid rambling. "Their compliments started getting flirty, and then they started getting touchy. I should've pushed them off, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. You are not responsible for the actions of drunken fools." Bloodhound grabbed your chin with a gloved hand, lifting your face to look them in the eyes. Well, where their eyes would be behind the goggles of their mask. "I trust you, elskan. I know that you are mine, and you would not betray me. Especially for someone like Walter Fitzroy."

You laughed, the tension leaving you as you slowly let yourself process the fact that they weren't mad at you. From the way their shoulders jumped slightly, you could tell they were laughing too.

"However," Bloodhound continued, letting go of you and reaching behind their head. "It seems like our other other companions need a reminder of who you belong to." You heard the familiar sound of their mask being unclasped, and soon enough you were really looking into their eyes as they set their mask along with their respirator onto an old wooden box beside the two of you.

You couldn't even speak before they grabbed your waist, spinning you around so your back was pressed up against the rough brick wall. You could only gasp as their hands gripped at your skin and their face nuzzled into your neck, leaving small kisses along your jawline.

"You are so beautiful. So perfect, ástin mín." Bloodhound muttered praise as the kisses slowly became more desperate. They nibbled at your skin lightly, not enough to hurt just yet. You looked towards the alley opening and whined slightly.

"Hound, someone could see us..." You grabbed at their shoulders, trying to push them back away from your neck. They pulled back, not even looking at the alley, only into your eyes.

"Would you like me to stop?" Bloodhound rubbed soothing circles into your hips, keeping your attention on them and not the possibility of someone seeing the two of you.

"No... but what if they see your face?"

"They will not. I will be too busy giving you tons of pretty marks."

Bloodhound didn't let you speak again as they dived back into the crook between your shoulder and your neck, sucking on the skin harshly. You couldn't suppress the moan that left your lips no matter how hard you tried, and you quickly slapped a hand over your mouth to muffle any further noise. They just continued to mutter praise into your skin while they savored every reaction you gave them.

It hurt, and you squirmed in their bruising grip. They were determined to mark you up until they were satisfied and wouldn't settle for any less. It was a miracle no one managed to walk past the alleyway while Bloodhound ravaged your neck and collarbones. It wasn't like you were being quiet either, the intensity at which they sucked and bit at your skin was enough to make tears well up in your eyes and to bring so many sinful noises from your mouth.

"I should just take you right here, where anyone could see how good I make you feel, elskan." They whispered in your ear, making your knees buckle and your eyes roll back. Good thing they were holding you against the wall, or you might've just fallen to your knees right then and there.

After what felt like forever, their teeth stopped grazing your skin and their grip on your waist loosened. You could feel their tongue darting out of their mouth to lick at and soothe the dark bruises they left on your skin. Your moans and whimpers turned to soft whined and sighs as the pain slowly faded into dull numbness. Bloodhound took a couple of steps backwards, looking at their work with a smirk.

"Absolutely gorgeous, kæri. Now, everyone will be able to see your devotion to me." They gave you one last look before grabbing their gear and putting it back on.

You just finished wiping any stray tears from your face before Bloodhound grabbed your hand and led you back into the Paradise Lounge. They escorted you back to your seat at the bar, giving you a pat on the head before walking back to the wall you saw them at before everything happened.

"....Bloody hell." Fuse's mouth was practically hanging open as he stared at the dark purple and red marks that littered your skin. "Didn't take Houndy to be the possessive type." He just laughed and shrugged before going back to his drink. Valkyrie had disappeared sometime during your absence, and all that was left was two empty soju bottles and a $20 bill on the bar.

"Yeah... So where did Valk go?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for requesting, I hope you like it!

Reminder that liking and reblogging my work really helps me as a creator, and it takes like 10 seconds so why not support a little gay gremlin author

Requests are always welcome! They help me get the inspiration to write and produce more content for you! Request anything that's on your mind :)

[onigirio]

Hi! I love ur workk!! :) Could i request percy x child of apollo where hyacinth flowers bloom where they walk and they can summon them? (Yknow, bcz of apollo)

🐝: TYSM! i really liked this concept but i feel like this may be too short...lmk if you want a part 2!

camp half blood was no stranger to miscellaneous flora. after all, it was a camp in a forest, so there was bound to be a lot of plant life. however, recently, percy noticed a drastic increase of a new kind of flower, especially around the apollo cabin.

normally, he would ignore these things since flowers weren't his forté (he left gardening to the demeter kids) but the way the flowers were popping up seemed...too intentional. they formed intricate pathways from cabin 7 to the dining pavilion, or to the shooting range. hades, they were even popping up during capture the flag games!

damn his curiosity, but when percy noticed a new path, how could he not follow it. it's like someone was leaving a trail of bread crumbs for him to follow. the flora went from cabin 7, to the big house, to the dining pavilion. sometimes he would get mixed up with the different paths, but keen ocean eyes noticed that the colours differed from day to day, and today they just so happened to be blue

of course they had to be blue.

it was like the gods were poking fun at him. now everyone was wondering why percy jackson was walking around camp with his eyes glued to the ground. as far as he knew, he was going to get duped. this seemed like the perfect set up for a youtube prank video. fortunately for him, that wasnt the case

the trail of blue flowers led up to the edge of the strawberry fields, and right at the fringes sat someone overlooking the fruit as they baked in the summer heat. percy didn't know whether to be relieved or concerned, because yay! he wasn't getting pelted by eggs or falling into a pit of snakes, but at the same time, he wasn't sure what exactly this meant.

before he could ask the mystery kid about it, they turned around and immediately started blushing and rambling about cleaning and distractions. the ocean eyed boy only caught something about a "stupid sun god" followed by a significant amount incoherent mumbling. when they finished, percy just looked at them with a confused expression and they sighed

"my bad, i thought you were coming to complain about the flowers" they said sheepishly.

percy could only smile, "no, I'm not here to complain I just- decided to follow the weird trail of blue flowers".

this caused them to laugh, a sound that clearly had the ability to make flowers bloom considering the reason he was there. it made his heart run laps in chest.

"they're hyacinths" they clarified, unable to hide their amusement with him, "they bloom wherever i walk, because apollo had a crush on this guy named hyacinthus or something. either way, it's not exactly the best combat ability" they said with a small laugh, and it seemed that today percy's heart decided to be a track star

"If it's any consolation, I think they're very pretty" he took a seat next them, sitting criss cross applesauce as they overlooked the strawberry fields

"thanks bubble brain"

percy quirked an eyebrow at the new nickname they had given him. usually he'd feel a little bit offended, but after seeing the smile on their face, he couldn't help but smile too.

"what? you're that poseidon kid right?"

percy laughed, "well, yeah. does that make you buttercup?"

"they're hyacinths, bubbles" they reminded him with a playful nudge, "and my name is (name), but buttercup is also accepted"

'note to self ' percy thought, 'stop and smell the hyacinths more often'

[splatsvilles-fashionista]

Splatoon 3 Version 8.0 patch notes breakdown

A bit late with this one, as I didn't have the time to write it last night, but nevertheless, here's a quick rundown of the patch notes for version 8.0, which should release in a couple of hours as of time of writing.

First of all, the Sizzle Season 2024 content is being added, but will not be available for another 24-ish hours. That includes:

A new Catalog

The new stage Lemuria Hub

Two new main weapons, two variants of those main weapons, and six alternate sets for preexisting main weapons.

14 Tableturf cards

Two new songs by SashiMori

The renovated Hammerhead Bridge and Barnacle & Dime, which will be taken out of stage rotations when the update becomes available.

Wandercrust Journey 6.

Additionally, this patch also adds data for the new Triumvirate King Salmonid fight and a new Grizzco Weapon, as well as the new Splatfest features, both of which will not become available until a later date.

With Sizzle Season 2024 stuff out of the way, let's move onto the changes that will be available right away, starting with Stage Changes, which there are a lot of.

In addition the Hammerhead Bridge and Barnacle & Dime changes, Museum d'Alfonsino, Um'ami Ruins, Brinewater Springs, and Scorch Gorge are all getting layout changes, with Museum getting some extra changes in Splat Zones and Rainmaker specifically. Eeltail Alley, Hagglefish Market, Flounder Heights, Marlin Airport and Manta Maria are all getting "slight" changes, while Crableg Capital and Bluefin Depot are getting slight changes in Turf War and Splat Zones, and Clam Blitz, respectively.

I'll be entirely honest, until we see these changes for ourselves it's impossible to gauge just what these changes will be like, but I am willing to be optimistic given just how much improvement we've seen in the Stage design over the last year or so. I think they'll be slight improvements at worst.

With that said, let's move onto Main Weapon changes, starting with a bunch of weapons getting the exact same change.

Sploosh, Jr, Aerospray, Luna, Clash, Carbon, Splat Roller, Inkbrush, Octobrush, and Dapples will all now deal 10% more damage to Splash Walls. I'm not sure why this was listed on each weapon individually and not just all collected as a Splash Wall change, but I digress. The intent here seems to be to make short-range weapons specifically, better at dealing with Splash Wall, the users of which they'll generally be outranged by to begin with. It's a small and specific change, but it's not one I think any of these weapons will complain about.

N-ZAP will now be able to fire for longer before its hits max bullet spread. In case you didn't know, all shooters that have bullet spread have a property where that spread gradually increases the longer you hold ZR, which slowly goes back to normal if you stop firing, and now that'll take longer on N-ZAP specifically.

N-Zap didn't really need this buff, but it's also not something that moves the needle much to begin with. It's pretty rare outside of low-level turf wars that someone fires for long enough to the spread to be a major factor, so it's fine. It's just a very strange change.

Moving onto more deserved buffs, L-3 has its damage increased by 2, taking a full three-hit burst from 87 to 93 damage. This is not a significant change, but 30 is a pretty important damage threshold to hit, as it combos with a lot of things, and it does mean that getting even lightly chipped by almost anything at all puts you in one-shot range, so watch out!

Rapid Blaster now starts recovering ink after firing about 3 frames faster. It's another nice little buff, though like N-ZAP it is kind of strange this weapon is being buffed at all when it's in a pretty good spot right now.

Now here's something interesting, Tri-Stringer will now paint the ground better, and will now paint lines more consistently. Turfing has always been one of Tri-Stringer's biggest weaknesses, so this is a very nice buff!

Last but not least is my favourite change in the entire patch. REEF-LUX now charges at full speed while in the air, similar to how Squiffer works. This is just a fantastically cool buff if you ask me, it's one of those things that seem insignificant on paper but can really change up how a weapon plays in a major way. It wasn't until after Squiffer got this change in Splatoon 2 that the weapon really came into its own, after all.

With Main Weapon changes down, let's move onto Points for Special changes, of which there are four (technically three):

Big Swig Express and Painbrush are ten points cheaper, and both variants of E-Liter are ten points more expensive. Not a lot to discuss here, so let's move onto Special Weapons:

The rails that indicate the Reefslider's path will now ink the floor as they extend forward, potentially allowing you paint over an enemy's feet before running them over. The rail will now also follow moving terrain, which is a change I'll admit I am not sure what it does? We'll just have to see when the patch goes live.

Big Bubbler now paints the ground inside of the shield. A nice quality of life change that could potentially be used to do some silly things in Splat Zones, if you're so inclined.

Ink Vac will now paint the ground behind you while it's active. Nintendo specifies later on in the patch notes that this is because they want you to be more reliably able to use it while retreating, and yeah, that's what this change will do.

For our final Special change, Splattercolor Screen now deals more damage to Beakons, Sprinkler, Splash Wall, sponges, and the Rainmaker's shield. Like with the Ink Vac changes, Nintendo specifies what the purpose of this buff is in the patch notes, and in this case it's to reward people more for using the Screen well.

And that's all the balance changes for this patch, but there is actually one more Main Weapon change that is not listed with the rest, because it's a bit different:

These changes are very wordy, but the TL;DR is that Squeezer now has a hard cap on how fast it can fire, which is the same as its regular fire speed. That might sound like a completely pointless change, and I thought so initially as well, but it seems the intent here is to not have the weapon be improved by turbo controllers, as they can let you mash ZR at much, much faster paces than intended.

With all that said, let's round things out with some miscellaneous changes:

If you roll or dash into the Rainmaker shield you'll now slide off it, as opposed to the game continuously attempting to place you where the shield is at and dealing a bunch of contact damage to you, splatting you almost instantly.

You'll now start the next season in S+0 if you were top 1000 in the previous season's X rank.

Squid Beakons are now accounted for when awarding the Super Jump Spot medal, which I am frankly surprised wasn't the case already?

I lied, there is one more Main Weapon change. Grizzco Dualies now deal 5 more damage with their actual bullets. That means they three-shot Chum now!

Reflected Drizzler torpedoes will now collide with terrain less, reducing the situations where you shoot one back only to have it immediately crash into a ledge it just barely touches.

Finally, purchasing the Expansion Pass will now net you 10 free Sheldon Licenses. If you've already bought the Expansion Pass then you'll be given the Licenses after downloading the update. Just in time for ten new weapons to be added as part of the Sizzle Season!

[bildads-shoes]

Ever since I saw this incredible post I've been thinking a lot more about the book vs show differences, and one of the things my brain keeps returning to is the very different presentation of Heaven and Hell.

In the book, I feel like the majority of the time Heaven and Hell are mentioned, it's simply in reference to them being adversaries. They're often just referred to in the context of being Aziraphale and Crowley's bosses, both equally uninterested in humanity or the details of their employees' actions. Hence, we really do see them as not being so different from each other, and dislike them both equally. Personally, I feel this is a bit different in the show.

In the show we actually get to see Heaven and Hell. We get to see Beelzebub for more than a couple of lines, we get to meet Gabriel, and we get to feel the atmosphere of Heaven and Hell as settings.

In terms of their general vibe, the difference feels pretty stark. Heaven is empty, cold, unfeeling; every interaction between the angels we see is laced with mistrust and two-faced scheming. Hell, on the other hand, does have emotion; it's a deeply unpleasant space, of course, but the way the demons complain to each other feels more honest. Take Uriel and Michael: we've seen them throughout both seasons, yet I can't recall either of them expressing a single honest feeling. Shax and Furfur, on the other hand, have had a lot of honest moments both with each other and with other characters. In a bizarre way, Hell becomes more relatable, more likeable, in the show.

Of course, there are massive issues with Hell, but they don't necessarily come across at first glance. The really dark aspects are almost always played off with jokes, to the extent that we don't talk about them that much. Beelzebub is pretty well liked from what I can tell, despite evidently having extensively tortured their employees - but it's part of a funny scene so we instinctively overlook it. Gabriel, on the other hand, seems widely loathed; he's just blatantly a dick in Season 1, and we don't see enough of him actually as himself in Season 2 to balance that out. I'm sure that's also in part due to fake-Aziraphale's trial being resurfaced in Season 2 as a serious, traumatic event for Crowley. We aren't shown the impact that Hell's treatment of Crowley had on Aziraphale, so once again Heaven ends up seeming like the more 'evil' side.

So I suppose it's no surprise that we end up having more discussions surrounding dismantling Heaven in Season 3, with Hell's toxicity being a slightly lesser topic of conversation. It does instinctively feel a little like Heaven is the 'bad one' in comparison, whereas we have to actively analyse those throwaway/comedic moments to acknowledge the massive issues with Hell. Therefore, to me, that neutral/equal presentation of the two 'bosses' in the book is no longer the case in the show.

Perhaps this is all because the show is shifting more towards commentary surrounding religious institutions as opposed to the Cold War energy of the book. Or perhaps we'll be explicitly shown more of Hell's dark side in Season 2 and will return to truly seeing them as equally bad. Or maybe you have a totally different interpretation (please let me know 👉👈). I don't know man, I just needed to get this thought out honestly lol.

[naexity]

POP TARTS. LEE HAECHAN

SYNOPSIS: You can't seem to confront your best friend about your very embarrassing crush on him, so you do what you think is best (which is not very wise of you to do so) and you avoid him. What comes of it is a very messy tale of how you and somehow, Donghyuck(?) bond over having the same love for Pop-Tarts. PAIRING: friend!donghyuck x fem!reader x best friend!renjun GENRE: Friends to lovers, major fluff, minor angst WORD COUNT: 10.3k AUTHOR'S NOTE:  I've been putting off writing this for so long and I'm so glad I've come around to finally completing it! Either way, writing this was so fun and I hope you guys had an equally fun time reading this as well :D

Renjun could be classified as your best friend and your enemy depending on the situation. 

And right now, he was the public enemy #1 with very valid reasons. Well, according to your thinking that is. To others, it would seem very petty. Perhaps, maybe because it was although, you would never acknowledge that fact.

Renjun had set you on a blind date, stating that he’s tired of hearing how you’re always complaining about being single. And as your best friend, he had to do something about your fretting because he sure as hell wasn’t about to spend the rest of his college friendship life with you, listening to how you’re so dead single.

And in some circumstances, you would’ve been glad that Renjun had put some thought to your words for once, but that, unfortunately, wasn’t the case in this circumstance. You were not informed, and to add on, the date was today. In 2 hours. 

Renjun had great timing, didn’t he?

“Look, it slipped out of my mind!” He exclaimed, putting his hands up in personal defence as you were glaring at your best friend from across the room, a tub of ice cream in your arms as you grumbled something about how forgetting something as important as a blind date was so unlike him. 

And maybe it was but Renjun wanted to have some fun too, you know. Pulling your leg was the best out of everyone else’s because your reactions were always so dramatic and blown out of proportion.

“I look as bad as you did when we played Romeo and Juliet for our musicals!” You sneered as you gestured to yourself, in your pyjamas with messy bed hair and a tub of ice cream across your mouth as you munched on your frozen treat. 

Scoffing, Renjun crossed his arms, an eyebrow raised in challenge, “Please, I didn’t look that bad…well,” He thought, eyes scanning your figure in your bed pitifully, “Better than you, definitely.” He shrugged, laughing at the last bit of his sentence as you threw your pillow at him.

“Not funny.” 

“You laughed!” 

Sighing, you slumped over to your blankets, wondering what the hell you were going to do. Renjun only had to look at you once to know that you were overthinking again. He rolled his eyes as he sat down on your bed, feeling the soft surface of your bed hit his thighs. He pondered for a second about what to say as he glanced at your figure under the covers of your blanket.

“You’re gonna be fine.” He tells you, smiling a bit as he pulled down the blanket and patted your head. Ruffling it a bit to only chuckle and mess it up even more. He hoped that what he did could comfort you, even if only a little.

And it did. Renjun wasn’t known for being comforting even though you were pretty sure the dude was compassionate inside, you guess he just chose not to show it. And you respected it but, being comforted by Renjun was something that you least expected despite the both of you being friends since the 8th grade. 

“Let’s get you a good dress for the date.” 

–

You were twirling in front of your mirror, Renjun standing close by, as the both of you inspected your outfit for the day. A black turtle neck, accompanied by a graphic shirt given to you by Renjun, a black and white plaid skirt topped off with white boots. You quite liked it.

Renjun finally looked up from scanning your outfit to look at you through the mirror as he shoots a grin and two thumbs-ups as a sign of approval, “It looks great!” 

You turn towards him as you flashed a smile, “A compliment from Renjun? That’s quite rare.” You giggled, taking your purse from the desk as you threw it over your shoulder, giving it another check to make sure everything you needed was inside. 

Renjun couldn’t help but laugh at your statement, after all, you weren’t lying. Getting a compliment from him was something that people bragged about. This one time, he complimented an art student’s painting, and the girl went feral over it and posted about it the next day in the school’s newspaper, exclaiming how her painting got Renjun’s approval and since then, his opinion mattered a lot more than you thought it was worth.

“Hey, I give compliments where it’s due.” He stated, merely shrugging off the fact that the shirt he gave you upgraded the outfit in his eyes. Or maybe that was his mind playing with him, who knows. 

“You should probably get going,” He said, looking at the time on his phone as he pocketed it and gave you another look over, making sure everything was fine. That was until then that he realised that he forgot to give you the gift that he intended to give you on your birthday, a few days ago, when he was, unfortunately, buried with his art assignments. 

He ushered you towards his bag as he pulled out your gift, and your eyes widened like saucers, a gasp escaping from your throat as you looked between Renjun and the gift that lay in his hands. “That’s for me?” You ask incredulously, mouth open in amazement. 

Renjun couldn’t help but chuckle at your surprised expression as he brought his hand up towards your mouth to shut you up as he nodded, “Happy belated birthday, I was busy with school so I forgot to give it to you sooner but, here it is. I hope you like it.” Renjun grinned at you. 

Timidly, you took the gift in your hands and you blinked twice. You were still in a state of shock because it was even rarer that Renjun got anyone gifts. You felt a new surge of respect for him as you opened the gift as carefully as you could. After all, a gift from Renjun should be treasured. 

Underneath the gifting wrap lay a box large enough for your hand to cover the surface. You looked towards your friend and gave him a questioning look as he just gestured for you to open the gift already. 

And you were going to, you just wanted to take your sweet time in relishing the moment of opening a gift given to you by Renjun. Who knew you would get a gift from him? 

You pressed your palm on the top of the lid, and lifted it slowly as you could, and inside laid the most beautiful necklace you’d ever seen in your entire life. Letting out a gasp, you gulped and took the necklace in your hands and inspected it. The necklace glistened in the light and you noticed that there was a pendant with the letter ‘R’in the middle, which you assumed stood for Renjun. Him being the clever best friend he was.

You sat there, staring at the necklace for about 5 minutes until Renjun nudged your shoulders, bringing you to reality as he asked you, “Do you like it?” 

Of course, you did, Renjun already knew from the sparkle in your eyes and the soft gasp that left your mouth. Well, if that didn’t prove how much you liked it, you not being able to take your eyes off the necklace for the past 5 minutes surely told him that you loved it. And he sure was relishing in the happiness that was presented on your face. If he knew you would be this happy about receiving a gift from him, he would’ve done it years ago. 

“I love it.” You said, wearing it immediately as you grinned at the mirror. Turning around, you hugged Renjun as you settled your head on his shoulder, your smile ever widening when he hugged you back. And once again, you could only thank the Lord who gave you Huang Renjun as your best friend. 

“I’m glad you do.” He chuckled, patting your back as the two stepped out of your apartment, he waved you goodbye and wished you good luck on your blind date.

–

Who would’ve ever guessed that your supposed, ‘blind date’ was going to be Lee Donghyuck, your friend from high school? To say you were caught off guard was an understatement. (To also say you were surprised he didn’t have dirt across his face was also, an understatement) 

Donghyuck didn’t know what went into his head when he agreed to go on a blind date that Renjun had asked him about and now, he suddenly regrets all the decisions he has ever made. Besides, he’s a good friend of yours. Putting two good friends together for a blind date was just, weird.

He stares at your figure in front of him. You? The girl Renjun claimed to be beautiful, amazing, smart and totally his type? Sure, the both of you might go to different universities, therefore leading the both of you to have different friend groups while sharing a mutual friend without knowing, however, this was just uncanny. 

He loved you as a friend, he really did.

But that’s where it ends. You’re a good friend and nothing could ever change that fact. Nothing ever will. And besides, Donghyuck has never seen you in such a light before and he doubts he ever will. All that matters is that you still are his friend, and very much involved in his life. 

He can feel a mixture of confusion, fondness and frustration all at once as you stare back at him, mirroring his expression as the both of you were at a loss of what to say. 

You were going to beat Renjun’s ass for sure, that’s all that you knew as of now.

You already knew not to have high expectations from a blind date that Renjun only reminded you of 2 hours prior, but you couldn’t help but weigh the high hopes from the lower ones. I mean, how bad could it be? Renjun’s friend would totally be a cute guy, right?

How terribly and incredibly wrong you were to think of that. You could feel your eyes twitch in annoyance at the sight of Donghyuck at the table where Renjun said your blind date would be waiting for you. Lord, this was going to be more complicated than you thought. 

You loved Donghyuck, you really did. 

But you don’t think you would ever go out with him. You know too much about him that would turn off any interested girl. Besides, you could only scoff at the idea because how ridiculous must Renjun find you to think you were suitable for Lee Donghyuck, I mean, look at him. 

He sat opposite you, mouth wide open as you took a seat and blinked a few times at him. 

Well, this is awkward. 

You never thought you would ever have an awkward moment with your friend, but it turns out life likes to twist its way in many directions that seem very uncalled for. And unfortunately for you, it came in the form of making your friend act like a fish, mouth opening and closing, still at a loss for what to even utter in the given situation. 

Finally, you decide to be the one to talk first as you scratch the back of your nape awkwardly, “Well, this is awkward…” You muttered, casting your shoes a dirty look as you shrugged slightly. “I was kind of hoping it was going to be Jaemin.” You joked, albeit your laugh sounded more strained than you meant it to be. 

“Yeah, well no shit,” Donghyuck rolled his eyes, “I was lowkey hoping for Karina to show up but I guess a Walmart version showed up.” He joked, smiling a bit at the end of the sentence as you let out a scoff.

“Yeah well, at least Jaemin wouldn’t be complaining about even the Walmart version.” You stuck your tongue out. You looked outside the window and weighed your options. You could get out right now, save yourself from embarrassment and smack Renjun for setting you up with Donghyuck or you could just have a day out with your good friend like two besties.

Yeah, of course, you could do that with him instead of murdering Renjun today. After all, the main course is always served after the starters.

“So, I take it you have a crush on my best friend?” Donghyuck pointed at you accusatorily, an eyebrow raised as he tilted his head the slightest bit. 

You rolled your eyes, “You say that as if Karina isn’t my best friend either besides Renjun.” You only smiled slightly at his blank expression as he rethought his words. 

“Right, I forget you’re kind of a loser. You never hang out with anyone other than Renjun and Karina, do you?” He asks nonchalantly, playfully throwing a jab at your loneliness. His sudden mean demeanour surprises even you because usually, he’s the type of nice guy who gives lonely girls pop tarts, but I guess not anymore. 

You couldn’t deny Donghyuck because he was right. You never really hung out with anyone besides Karina and Renjun because, primarily, they were probably the only people you would ever trust in your whole life. 

“Wow. Okay mister popular, that was a very nice joke you made right there,” You deadpanned at him as your crossed your arms, “For the record, I can tell you that they are way better friends than any of the excuses of friends you have.” You shot back. 

Although, this didn’t fuel Donghyuck’s anger as you thought it would. Instead, it just ensued him to raise an eyebrow at you in amusement as he chuckled, “You mean Jaehyun and the gang?” He asked knowingly. 

It wasn’t news to anyone when Donghyuck stopped hanging out with the little friend group that you had made in high school that consisted of him, you, Renjun, Karina and a bunch of other friends whose names you couldn’t care to remember, for a bunch of frat-looking, hormonal seniors.

They invited Donghyuck over to their lunch table and suddenly your friend group was too uncool for Donghyuck to hang around with anymore. Although, none of the people in the friend group condemned him for it because he always came back and stayed for about a lunch break or 2 but just enough for them to not hate him. 

Ever since, everybody else in the friend group started drifting apart, falling into more of an exclusive besties kind of friendship whilst you, Renjun and Karina maintained your company that you so hold dear now. 

You realise you haven’t answered Donghyuck until he’s shaking his hand in front of you, trying to grab your attention, “You good? You spaced out for a good 5 minutes.” He said although a bit worried while still trying to keep the mood light.

“I’m fine, I was just thinking about…high school,” You confessed, taking a sip of the cup of water.

Donghyuck raised his eyebrows at that, “High school? Well, do you still keep in touch with Mark and Jeno?” He asked, leaning closer only by a bit as he took in your features, noting how you’ve definitely grown way more beautiful than he remembered you to be back in high school.  

You nodded your head slightly, “I see them when they’re over at Renjun’s,” You just happen to always be at Renjun’s apartment when Mark and Jeno decide to come over, and honestly, you don’t even complain about it because they were such fun people. Mario carting was more like a drive to hell if you’re on the verge of losing. Very amusing, indeed. 

At this, Donghyuck raises his eyebrows, “I’m starting to think you have a thing for Renjun,” He begins slowly as the corners of his lips lift a bit when you don’t deny him immediately. 

“It’s him, isn’t it!” He exclaimed, a huge grin plastered on his face as you felt the eyebrows furrow deeper, how the hell did he even come to that conclusion? 

“No?” You asked with confusion as you stared at Donghyuck’s figure dancing around the table for the two of you.

“You totally do! No wonder you like hanging out with him so much!” He grins at you as he puts his hands on his hip when the necklace on your collar catches his eye. He’s never seen that before, maybe it was something you got recently?

“Hey, that’s a pretty necklace. Where’d you get it?” He asked, calming down a little as he observed the little R in the middle of the chain, making his eyebrows shoot upwards, “And what does that R stand for?” He pressed. 

You fumble with your necklace for a hot second as you let out a nervous chuckle, “It’s from Renjun- and well, the R stands for Renjun, I suppose.” You replied shyly, a blush of dust across your face as you took a peek at the necklace that lays securely on your chest.

At this, Donghyuck takes both your hands, looking at you with such sincerity that you almost think he was going to ask you to buy more pop tarts for himself. (Which you would, by the way. Because why would anyone pass up on buying pop tarts?).

Until he opened his mouth, that is. 

“Are you blushing because of Renjun right now?” He asked you, staring into your soul as you couldn’t help but go even more red at the name of your best friend. Did you like Huang Renjun?

Now that you think about it, you realise you’ve always wished to be good enough of a person that Renjun would love hanging around and that’s when it hits you that you actually do. 

You like your best friend. 

The realisation hits you like a truck as your confused face morphs into one that exudes more of a worried look as you look back at Donghyuck, whispering to him even though there wasn’t anyone to eavesdrop.

“I think I do.”

–

Maybe coming to terms that you liked your best friend was harder than you thought because, now that every time Renjun came over to your apartment to hang out with you, you were just a little bit too nervous each time. 

Every single eye contact the two of you held, the normal hand-holding and the movie night cuddling all seemed to make you feel different suddenly. It made you feel like this was what you were going to experience if you were just his girlfriend. 

And you’re not. You know that very well. You don’t mean to disrespect his future girlfriend in any way but dreams can be dreams, Let a girl fantasize, will you? 

Things started taking a turn when Donghyuck showed up at your apartment unannounced. He made himself at home and managed to finish all your pop tarts without thinking twice and then your blood was boiling every time you reached out for your favourite candies box only to find it empty, finished by that idiotic man.

Annoyed by his antics, you got ready to go out grocery shopping for pop tarts amongst other things as well. Pulling your jacket over your shoulder as you sighed. The weather was getting real bad these days and you had a seriously bad cold. You almost felt like your head would blow off every time you sneezed. 

And yet, even then, as if your cold wasn’t enough to bother you, here came the everlasting singing defect of a human, tagging along with you happily. (you only say singing defect because you would never be caught complimenting Donghyuck in front of him) Arms swinging side to side as he exclaims how nice and chilly the new weather is. 

And if you could, you would’ve socked him and left him next to a trash can to make sure he doesn’t talk for the rest of the walk to the grocery store but you had to hold yourself back. Self-control, baby. Not the best at it, but you’re getting there. 

Donghyuck poked at your shoulder, a visible pout as he blinked, “Can you get pop tarts for me?” 

“...No.”

“Why not?!?” 

“You finished mine!” 

“I didn’t finish yours, I was just vacuuming the remaining crumbs!” 

“What you define as crumbs is the whole fucking pop tart, you chip idiot.” 

It’s not unusual for you and Donghyuck to fight. You always had disputes back in high school too. Whether it was about having a better library book or predicting America’s Top Model’s rankings, the two of you always differed in opinions. 

Donghyuck only looks at his shoes and stomps on the ground like a child throwing tantrum. He wraps his arms around himself and casts you a scandalized look, “I didn’t get my money,” He whines again, pulling at the sleeve of your jacket as you had to hold yourself back from physically smashing his nose inward. 

You turn towards him, a few dollars in your hand as you shove it to his chest, “Go get some pop tarts, you big baby.” You groaned, frowning as you put your cold fingers into your jacket pocket again, hopefully, to warm it up. 

Donghyuck flashed you a cheeky grin as he hopped off to the sweet section as you sighed, picking up the last of the vegetables from your grocery shopping list. You bend over to pick the rather sad-looking capsicum when someone’s hand reaches it before you. 

And you jump back in surprise only to see your best friend, flashing his white pearly teeth in your face as he greets you, “I didn’t know you were here!” Renjun exclaimed. 

You grinned at him, as you chuckled a bit, “Well, what can I say, sad-looking capsicums are the life of my love, right?” You cheered, your hand resting on your hip as you took in the sight of your best friend. 

Renjun only raises an eyebrow at you and flicks your forehead, “You mean, love of my life. Not life of my love.” He laughs at you as you rub your forehead with a slight pout. 

You were about to ask him if he was busy when a female voice calls out for your best friend before you can even speak. “Renjun? Get your ass here right now or I’m leaving you for the streets!” She screamed, her voice clearly dripping with sarcasm. 

You couldn’t help but pause at the voice as you glance at Renjun chuckling into his fist as he ruffles his hair, “That’s my cue to leave, gotta go or else girlfriend’s gonna go ballistic. Catch you later!” And just like that, your best friend leaves you as soon as you had seen him. 

The sad-looking capsicum that was once in your hands, was rolling down the floor as you tried to process the information. Huang Renjun, your best friend and your crush, had a girlfriend. 

Huang Renjun had a girlfriend. And he isn’t available. 

God, you were pathetic to ever think you ever stood a chance. 

You felt your heart sink into your stomach as you look towards the floor, a single tear rolling down your cheeks as you think back to the times it was only you and him. Was it all fake? No, how could you even ask such a question? He was never yours, to begin with. 

You’re his best friend. That’s right. You needed to know your place. You weren’t his girlfriend, and you probably won’t ever be. 

Donghyuck returned with 2 boxes of Pop-tarts when he finds you breaking down in front of the vegetable corner, dropping the boxes into the cart, he rushed towards you and pulled you into a hug. Patting your hair lightly, he tried to give you some sort of solace. 

You cried out your heart’s content, and although you must admit it might’ve been embarrassing to do it in public, you were glad that Donghyuck was there to hold you through your breakdown. You felt like shit. Quite literal shit and you couldn’t do anything about it because Renjun didn’t even do anything wrong. He was just, being himself. 

And yet here you are, crying because of him. Donghyuck’s heart was filled with pity for you because he was sure that Renjun returned the same feelings for you. I mean, who else talks about their best friend the way Renjun does about you? He runs his mouth on and on, talking about the interesting day the both of you had together, face to face or on social media platforms, you were everywhere. 

And yet, with all of the thoughts that ran through Donghyuck’s mind, all he could muster out was a sentence of comfort that probably did nothing to cease your pain. He repeated, hoping it will help, “It’s okay.”

You gripped onto Donghyuck’s grey hoodie as you sobbed, even more, the feeling of rejection hitting stronger. You could only wish that you won’t have to see your best friend because although you entirely and thoroughly love him, you feel like you’ll break down whenever you see him. And that meant one thing, to avoid him. 

And that’s what you did.

–

You avoiding Renjun like a plague stabbed him straight into the guts ruthlessly. Had he said something wrong? What was it that he did that made you want to avoid him? The countless thoughts that ran through his head bothered him so much. 

In the beginning, it was okay. He just thought you were busy. Usually, your chats would include tons of face times and calls but it soon turned dry quickly when you only responded with just one-word answers, never pick up his calls or just leave him on seen. 

And it hurts him. Renjun has always been there for you through your ups and your lows, now you won’t even tell him what he did wrong? He couldn’t bear the thought of you not trusting him after all you’ve been through together. 

And it troubles him so much. So, so much. So much so that even his girlfriend is starting to take notice of his worried expression. And most of the time when he talks it out to her, it never usually ends up as a nice conversation. 

“You’re too busy with her to think about me!” 

“That’s not true!” 

“Well, then tell me why you haven’t planned anything for our 1st anniversary?” She seethes

And there it is, Huang Renjun is speechless because he has totally forgotten about their first anniversary. He feels terrible. He can’t explain how he feels because he doesn’t think words can even define the guilt he’s feeling right now as he opens his mouth to say something, anything. But nothing comes out.

Sieun is always an understanding girlfriend to Renjun. She has always been so excited to meet you because of the many exciting stories he always recited to her. She thinks she would’ve been good friends with you if only her boyfriend was so clearly not doing his job at being a good boyfriend. 

Many times she noticed how absent-minded Renjun gets when they’re having a date. Multiple times she would try to ask him what the matter was but he would always dismiss it, saying it was university assignments that were bugging him. 

It took her a while to realise, but she wasn’t too surprised when she overheard Renjun talking to himself. 

“Renjun, Please. If you don’t love me, just leave me, for fuck’s sake. You’re just hurting the both of us.” Sieun said quietly, her tears staining her cheeks as she lowered her head towards the floor. 

She loves Renjun, Oh god, who wouldn’t? She loves him so much that she can hardly think of letting him go. And despite that, it isn’t a decision she gets to make because even if Renjun is in a relationship with her, he isn’t her pet that she can order around. 

And that was probably the hardest step she had ever taken. The tears brimming her eyes were endless and ever-flowing. Every time her tears hit the cold floor, the more Renjun’s guilt rose. 

He was in such a dilemma that he hadn’t noticed his own girlfriend’s needs and important days such as anniversaries even though Renjun wasn’t the type of person to just, ‘forget’. 

He hugged Sieun tightly, his chin landing on her shoulder as he held himself back from his own tears. “Love, don’t you dare think for one moment that I don’t love you. I love you and you know I’m an honest person. If I ever lose feelings for you, I will make sure I’ll try my best to regain them.” His voice was soft and although a bit quiet, it held all the strength Sieun needed to build back her faith in him. 

As she pulls back, she gives her boyfriend a slight smile, her hand gripping his shoulders as they help her stay rooted to the ground. Sighing a bit, she leans towards Renjun’s forehead and explains, “Oh, Renjun, You can’t make yourself love someone, silly. The heart wants what it wants.” She giggled lightly. 

And Renjun couldn’t help but roll his eyes upon hearing her statement, “If silly is what it is, so be it.” He laughed. 

–

Apparently, no amount of ice cream could help you from getting over your best friend. So much so that even Donghyuck was glaring apprehensively at your sickeningly sad state. 

“Oi, get up and clean your room.” He barked an order at you as you were laying on your couch, TV  on and your cheeks still wet from the fresh tears that rolled down just a few minutes ago because you were watching sad moments to wallow yourself in even more sadness.

You whined, “I don’t want to. I bought you pop tarts man. Why can’t you clean my room for me?” You said exasperatedly, getting up to face him with a slight frown. 

Donghyuck could barely hold in his laughter as your bizarre hair came into his view. His lips stitched together as he chuckled. Trying not to trigger the hell out of you. Too late for that I guess because you were already tossing a pillow directed at his head. 

“Okay, okay. You have to help me though!” He exclaimed, a grin on his face as he dodged the pillow. And. happily, you got up and took back your pillow, flicking Donghyuck’s head as you agreed it to be a fair deal. 

If you had known that Donghyuck was going to ensue a pillow fight between the two of you though, you definitely would have said no. 

Because right now, Donghyuck had launched the pillow right at your face as you fell backwards, into your bed. You couldn’t back down. Not now. You would never hand Donghyuck his victory, that would be like letting a dwarf become tall. 

You laughed as you threw your pillow directed at him, hoping it hit him. And when it didn’t, you already had another pillow in your hand with a mischievous grin as you were about to throw it on Donghyuck again, until he holds your wrist and pulls you down against the bed with him. 

Landing on the bed was probably the roughest landing, but it didn’t matter to you because the two of you were laughing your asses off. Donghyuck turned to you and flicked your head as well, “I win, Fiona.” 

You rolled your eyes, “Well, you don’t say, Shrek.” You laughed. 

And for once in the entire week, you were able to forget about Renjun, even if only for a few minutes. And for that. you thank Donghyuck so much. For without him, you were sure to be still wallowing in self-pity and sadness. 

At least you could say you found comfort in a friendship that you thought was once buried.

–

The next few weeks have been increasingly worse for Renjun. Lately, he’s been able to concentrate more but he still doesn’t have answers to why you’re ignoring him. And he’s getting irritated. 

Not to mention, Sieun’s medical side of things isn’t looking too good. Ever since Sieun and Renjun started dating, she hid the fact that she’s been suffering from respiratory problems until only last week when she failed to sustain a note in her singing competition due to the lack of air reaching her lungs.

Renjun is stressed. He’s fucking stressed but he knows he can’t be the one to complain. From the sudden appearance of his parents mocking him by asking whether taking art was any good, to the way you’re ignoring him without giving any clarification as to what exactly he did wrong, it really sets him off but he cannot complain. He mustn’t.

Because he has other matters which are way more important. 

After Sieun had collapsed to the ground due to her lack of oxygen, Renjun drove to the hospital immediately to check up on her. And thankfully, she wasn’t in a critical condition, but still needed to stay in the hospital for the next 3 days. 

He quietly thanked the gods above as he counted his blessings. At least he wasn’t suffering from any sort of disease or condition. And that in itself is something to celebrate for if you take anything for granted, you will highly regret it in the future. 

As Renjun started walking out the doors of the hospital after checking up on Sieun, the cold wind hit his face like a slap of reality. And all he could do was stand and sigh as he shrugged on his jacket, feeling somewhat down and chilly today. 

Getting ready to drive himself back to his dorms, he heard a couple of familiar voices down the street. Curiosity took the better of Renjun as he peered over his shoulder to take a better look at the people. 

And lo and behold, came you and Donghyuck, both laughing away at something he had said. Apparently, Renjun’s choice of parking was a bit too obvious for Donghyuck and you to spot, so when you did, Renjun could only stare at you while your smile faded a little. 

He wasn’t angry, he told himself. He wasn’t about to become jealous of Donghyuck when he was the one that set the both of you together. He wasn’t about to lash out in front of his best friends. That would be so unlike himself. 

Well, fuck that.

He brisk walked his way towards the both of you in a swift motion as he could feel slight anger building up inside him. He needs answers and he needs them right now. If it delays by any more than this, Renjun will combust out of pure frustration.

At the sight of Renjun’s rather unhappy face, You and Donghyuck exchanged glances as you willed yourself to stay put so that it didn’t seem like you were running away although, in all honesty, you just wanted to disappear and never return. 

Donghyuck rubbed his hand up and down your back, trying to soothe your nervousness as a million thoughts ran inside his head. What if Renjun broke up with Sieun? What if you confess to him and he takes you as his girlfriend? What will be of him then?

As he ponders on such questions, he comes to a sudden halt. His hands freeze immediately behind your back as he takes a huge gulp and glances in your direction. Too scared to know the reality, he brings back his hand towards his head and gives it a good nudge. You must be delusional, Donghyuck. He thought to himself. There’s no way you like her, right?

But before he could continue pondering on that question, Renjun was already glaring at the both of them thoroughly as if he were the mother of two high school teenage delinquents who got caught sending notes to each other in class. 

And you could only continue staring at your shoes because you knew what Renjun was here for. You knew exactly why he was glaring down at you like he was at the moment. You knew Renjun had his questions and he was entitled to knowing the answers to them. But damnit, you were afraid.

There was no way in hell you were about to confess your love to your best friend in the middle of the street right after he was done visiting his girlfriend in the hospital. 

Renjun sighed, watching the way Donghyuck’s cheeks were slightly pink. Due to the cold, or you, Renjun didn’t know. Nor did he want to know, honestly. But as he was observing the both of you, he could only frown a little when you and Donghyuck don’t meet his eyes eventually.

“Are you guys hiding something from me?” He asked, his eyes closed in an attempt to put his temper under control as he heard you and Donghyuck shuffle your feet. A wave of anticipation comes over him as he lifts his head to look at you already staring right at him.

“We’re not hiding anything from you, Renjun.” You state, albeit, it’s a bit hard to face your best friend in such a predicament because you’re sure he thinks you hate him when you could do anything but that. 

“Well then, tell me why you’re ignoring me.” Renjun crosses his arms in front of you with a visible frown and eyebrows furrowed. You could only whimper a bit in desperation as you weighed your options, you could tell Renjun, get it over with and lose him for a friend forever, or you could lie to his face, keep him as a friend but he’ll get even madder.

Donghyuck opens his mouth before he thinks through with his plan, “We’re a bit busy planning a party, so we’ll tell you then, Renjun. Trust me, it’s valid reasoning and she’ll tell you when she’s ready to, right?” He nudged you a bit, your mouth hanging wide open as you shook your head vigorously. 

Or you could do that too. You smiled at Donghyuck for saving your ass for the 127th time.

Renjun couldn’t believe this. Valid reasoning? That’s bullcrap. But he guesses he’ll have to wait until the party to find out because the both of you sure as hell weren’t about to spill right now. And clearly, you were uncomfortable with the topic being brought up. He could only sigh when he sees your figure being uncomfortable around him because he’s never experienced you being like that with him. 

“Fine, when’s the party?” Renjun asked, his phone brought out to mark it on the calendar. 

Donghyuck glances at you as he replies immediately, “The 23rd of June?” There’s a slight question in his tone as you nodded vigorously and agree with him, “Yeah, the 23rd of June.” 

Renjun marks it and pockets his device again as he thinks it over, “That’s a week from now,” He voiced as he looks at the both of you with determination. “Very well. I’ll let you two keep your secret for another week.” He said as he walks away towards his car again, about to drive back to his dorms when he turns around, “Do sleep earlier, Y/N. You got eyebags.” He comments off-handedly. 

And as soon as he’s gone, you and Donghyuck let out a sigh of relief, “Thank the lord you have my ass next to you.” 

–

It’s 2 days before the party and you’ve barely covered enough food and drinks for the whole of your high school reunion group. You’re regretting this so much. 

As you glance towards Donghyuck, you see him ordering a bunch of alcoholic drinks that you didn’t even know existed as you look around your rented place for the time being. It was pretty neat. The decorations weren’t half bad and you were going to set up the LED lights today. Sounds about fun. 

You slump onto the couch next to him as you fiddle around with the red LED lights, “I regret saying we’re throwing a party,” You hear him say. Chuckling a bit, you turn towards him, “That wallet finally having a hole now?” You joke as you stood up to fix the lights into place around the ceilings. 

Donghyuck groaned as he threw an arm on his face, “More than that, there’s going to be so much to clean up afterwards,” He had a point, you knew that. But right now you just want your friend to help you fix these damn lights because you were about to fall off your stool. 

And thankfully, Donghyuck seemed to take notice of your little predicament and walked towards your figure trying to secure the LED lights into place as he just laughs at your failed attempts. And before you know it, you’re jumping off to grab another stool and point at him to help you out. 

He’s already snickering as he stands up on his stool and watches you with intent as you keep failing. He wonders what comes over him when he puts his hand over yours and fixes the lights into place with his hand on yours. And he doesn’t even know what he’s saying as he brings your hand into his and intertwines their fingers together as he exhales a bit, “God, your hands are so nice to hold,” 

And your face is lit up with redness you never thought could happen as you laugh nervously, “I guess?” You seem unsure of your statement as you stare at Donghyuck intently looking at the way your hand fits into his so well. 

He continues holding your hand as he looks toward you and shares your same stare. Smiling a bit, he brings your intertwined hands towards his lips to kiss them, and needless to say, you were about to combust because of that action. 

And just as he was about to let go, you, being the clumsy self you were, misplaces your leg on the stool. With a cold shiver running down your spine, you fell right to the ground with Donghyuck on top of you. 

Groaning, he pushed himself up to find you lying there with a face that screamed flustered. Smirking, Donghyuck tested the waters. Bringing himself close to your nose, he laughed at your state, “Are you blushing, sweetheart?” He teased you as you could feel the way your mouth hung wide open, in a state of pure shock.

His ego is surging high when you don’t give him a coherent sentence and he only laughs at your face once again, “I guess you’re too dumb to speak now, huh.” He grins at you as he swipes your lips once and gets up, offering you a hand as if he just didn’t do what he just did.

“You’re so easy to being shy,” Donghyuck laughs as you get up with him, Dusting off your skirt, you frown a little at him while crossing your arms as you blow a strand of hair out of your eyesight. 

“That was so unexpected, what was I supposed to do?” You scowled as you looked away from the boy in front of you, your cheeks still dusted a light pink due to the incident. It was still replaying in your mind and you couldn’t stop it no matter how much you wanted it to stop. 

Donghyuck could only stare at your figure picking at the end of your sweatshirt as he sighed. He was questioning his mind right now because why the hell did he just consider kissing your nervousness away? Not only was it uncalled for but, it was also terribly out of character of him to just randomly want to kiss someone. 

Shaking his head, he turned to you, hands on your shoulders as he flashed you a smile, “Let’s get this done, yeah?” 

–

That incident only spewed more flirtatious glances from Donghyuck towards you from that day on, and even though you still were trying to get used to it, you sometimes fire back with pick-up lines that were probably as cheesy but worked a good deal on Donghyuck.

And before you know it, Renjun being your source of sadness had long been forgotten. You had gotten over him. And you were going to tell him on the day of the party, you were gonna come out clean with the confession that you used to like him, but not anymore.

That should be it, right? Sounds pretty easy.

Well, thing is, that’s the opposite of what it was because, in reality, you were still a stuttering mess in front of Donghyuck every time the two of you rehearsed what you were going to say to Renjun. It was embarrassing because this was your best friend, someone who’s practically seen you through your downs and ups and you were still nervous, it was a bit corny.

“C’mon, this isn’t even that long of a message,” Donghyuck rolled his eyes towards you as he watched you fail for the 5th time in a row. It’s the day of the party and the house is decorated and it’s just before the two of you get ready. The party was starting in 2 hours and you were freaking out. 

“This is Renjun we’re talking about, Donghyuck. Huang Renjun, a guy I used to like.” You state bluntly as you scratched your head as if that will serve you more concentration. “Isn’t there a way you can be there in the conversation too? You could help me out when I’m lacking…” You offer, a small smile appearing on your face before Donghyuck flat-out rejects you. 

“Absolutely not. This is concerning only you and Renjun. Me being in the conversation will be so unnecessary. Plus, you need to make it seem sincere, if I’m just there lazing around, it’ll probably bring the mood down.” He reasoned with you as he shrugged towards the end of his sentence.

You sighed, you know he’s right. But you wish you could get some moral support while you face your past crush slash best friend whom you decided to ghost for no good apparent reason. Well, good reason according to you, but not so good reason according to others. 

It’s been about an hour since you’ve asked Donghyuck to help you and you still haven’t made any progress. Wonderful. If there’s one thing you regret right now, it’s probably the fact that you even agreed to this stupid party because people were starting to fill in the room. 

And you have nothing planned. 

You can do this freestyled, right? Renjun’s not going to suspect a thing so why be so nervous? Even if he does know, what’s the worst that could happen? (Although in the back of your mind, you could list a number of things that could go wrong, like him not wanting to be your friend anymore, or him being weirded about you liking him- you get the point.)

But you know Renjun’s not like that so you eventually let go of your initial anxiety about facing him when you realise this is your best friend you and Donghyuck are talking about. Someone you’ve known since you were 13 years old. You shouldn’t be scared of him, moreover, be so embarrassed about a simple crush. It’s a normal thing. 

Yet somehow as the sentence rang in your head, it felt rather wrong. The concept of Renjun being your crush somehow diminishes as you picture Donghyuck instead. Your cheeks heating up, you press your hand to your face and feel a sudden wave of embarrassment all over again. 

Wow, are you really falling for that asshole right now?

What are you going to even tell him? Oh yeah, I did like your best friend, but now I like you! Bad idea. You don’t even think Donghyuck’s about to take you seriously and, even if he does, you doubt he reciprocates the same feelings for you. 

Shaking your head, you try not to think of it, this wasn’t about him. You look around your surroundings and notice that your living room is packed with college students all holding onto their red solo cups, dancing around, and having a good time. Some eating and hogging the food tray, and some already chugging down the alcohol, you’re not even surprised. 

You spot Jaemin in the crowd and gather the courage to walk up to him. Smiling a bit, you wave to your classmate as he waves back at you, pleasantly surprised by the fact that you and Donghyuck were holding a party, no less one that has alcohol. 

“Why hello m’lady,” Jaemin laughs as he hugs you, patting your shoulder as he pulls back with a grin. You grin back at him and let out a chuckle, “Hello Jaemin, I’m glad you could come!” You say enthusiastically as you eye him up and down, “You look good too.” You add, winking a bit at the end of the sentence.

Brushing off your comment, Jaemin rolled his eyes and shrugged, “First time I’m seeing you hold a party, there’s no way I’d miss it. Plus, this is really cool.” He said, eyeing the place as he gave a satisfactory hum followed by a nod as he drank from his almost empty red solo cup. 

Scratching your neck sheepishly, you agree with what he says. You’re not a huge fan of huge gatherings or just alcohol in general so it comes as a surprise to Jaemin when you announced that you would be holding a party this weekend. He thought it was cool you were stepping out of your boundaries though, he could appreciate your efforts. 

“Listen, about Renjun…” You begin slowly as you look down at your shoes, clearing your throat as Jaemin nods understandingly and puts his hand on your shoulder to make you look at him. 

“I already know,” He laughs, pulling back his hand as he points over to Renjun somewhere in the crowd, Sieun under his protective shoulder. Smiling lightly at both of them, you feel a bit less pressured to tell Renjun about your little predicaments now that you’ve gotten over him. Sure, it was a little bit childish of you to pull such a move, but you haven’t ever dated a guy before. You don’t even know the first thing about dating, or even love. 

You glance back at Jaemin and thank him for his wonderful services and tell me him to enjoy the party as you make your way towards Renjun and Sieun, a bit nervous as you get nearer to them, and nearly out of breath when you’re finally in front of the pair. 

Renjun noticed your presence and looked up at you with a questioning eyebrow as if to say, ‘You finally gonna tell me?’ as you let out a nervous laugh. Your eyes dart towards Sieun as she smiles brightly at you, surprised at your presence since you and her haven’t really met each other before. 

“Y/N right? It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Sieun voiced out as she shakes hands with you, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she grins down at Renjun, “I can’t believe I’m finally meeting her,” She says quietly as Renjun sighs a bit, scratching his head in disbelief, “Can’t fathom the fact you would ever want to meet this mess of a person,” He lightly jokes as he glances up at you and offers you a smile that you haven’t seen in weeks. 

Laughing a bit, you reciprocate the excitement, “It’s a pleasure finally meeting you too, Sieun. Renjun here has been gatekeeping you for quite a while,” You complained as you shoot him a glare. Sieun burst out in laughter as she lightly punches her boyfriend, “Hey, how could you? I thought I could trust you to introduce me to her,” She pouts as Renjun is conflicted with either to flame you for saying he was a gatekeeper of his girlfriend or comfort said, girlfriend. 

Nothing comes out of his mouth as he gives you a disappointed glare that you don’t miss. And that’s when you remember what you really came here for. A nervous laugh comes out of your mouth as you start fiddling with your hands again because his girlfriend was right there, she was there laughing with him and you weren’t about to ruin the mood. 

“Sieun, I’m gonna go grab a drink with her, I’ll be right back, honey,” Renjun said as he gets up from his seat, Sieun shooting him a grin with a thumbs up as she heads back to her friend, Sumin as they laugh about something incredibly silly. 

You follow Renjun around until the both of you stop at the drinks sections, picking out a red solo cup for you and him, he tosses it to you and leans against a wall, looking at the very interesting cup as he finally addresses the elephant in the room. “So, I expect you’re here to explain everything?” He begins lowly. 

You groan a little on the inside because it already seemed like Renjun wasn’t taking this well. I mean, of course, you knew he wasn’t because he practically was stuck to you by the hip as best friends when you decided to disappear on him without an explanation. You feel like an asshole, and to be fair, you are one.

You clear your throat as you fill your cup with a drink and chugged it, Renjun’s eyebrows were raised in amusement as he observed you drink your first cup of alcohol. If you were about to embarrass yourself, you’d rather not remember it. 

Slamming the cup on the table, you look at Renjun as he stares at you with expectant eyes. “I have an explanation,” You began as he nods his head, urging you to continue. His arms were still crossed and the leather jacket that he wore, stuck to him like a second skin, folding at his elbows

“I liked you.” 

And at that moment, the cat was out of the bag. The secret was told and you couldn’t take it anymore as you filled yourself another drink and chugged it again. You were so embarrassed, you couldn’t even face Renjun, you were looking down at your shoes and you were about to start crying. You are such a loser, your own best friend won’t be able to look at you the same way ever again. 

You sniffled a bit as you coughed, your nose was starting to run and you still needed to explain, “I thought the best way to avoid my feelings for you was to avoid you as a whole,” You said, your voice wavering a bit as you sighed, feeling a little bit better for confessing but still feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders at the same time. 

Renjun couldn’t believe his ears. He really couldn’t because his best friend, whom he’s known for god knows how long, was afraid he would judge her for liking him. Now, Renjun’s been accused of many things but being regarded as someone who’s not understanding did the job. He was sad, maybe he didn’t prove that he could be there for you through thick and thin. And well, he was speechless. 

“Look at me,”

You were too scared to as you continued looking at the ground, you continued rambling, “I know you have a girlfriend and I want you to know that I don’t like you anymore because I actually like Donghyuck- wait, uhm no- you weren’t supposed to know that, fuck- sorry- god, anyway I liked you and I know I was dumb but please don’t leave me-” 

“Shut up, will you?” Renjun laughed at your figure rambling on, and on. He couldn’t care less whether you still liked him or not, or about the fact that you liked Donghyuck, admittedly thankful that his blind date got somewhere, but he still didn’t care. He just wanted you to keep quiet now that he understood what your view was. 

“Listen, I’ll tell you this, I do love my girlfriend very much, and I’ll tell you for one that I never had feelings for you, but I want you to know that I’m always here for you. Through thick and thin, I’ve always been there for you, and you’ve always been there for me as well. I’m not going anywhere so you should tell me whenever you feel burdened.” Renjun said as he smiled a little, opening his arms as he got closer to you. 

“A hug for a welcomed reunion?” He suggested as he grinned at you, the tears in your eyes prickling at your skin because you were so glad that Renjun still wanted to be your friend. You never knew why you were so scared of his judgement in the first place as you sobbed like a baby and hugged him like you haven’t seen him for 2 months. 

Renjun lets you sob your heart out for a while as he pats your back understandingly, swaying your body back and forth as you sniffled into his jacket and your crying eventually came to a stop. 

“Now, what was it that you said? You like Donghyuck?” Renjun teased as you felt your body freeze right at that moment, stuttering you replied, “I- I thought you wouldn’t catch on to that-” You pulled away from the hug as you bit your lip in embarrassment. 

Smirking, he pulled you by the wrist and called out for his dear friend. Panicking, you clawed at his jacket, shouting at him, “Renjun, what do you think you’re doing- You’re out of your mind!” You ramble as you tried your best to get away from Donghyuck. 

“Trust me,” Renjun says simply as he sees his friend right around the corner, becking him to come towards you and him as Renjun turns to you, “You will confess to him right now, and if you don’t I’ll block your number for 2 weeks,” He says menacingly as he holds your shoulders, looking at your eyes for confirmation as you simply blinked.

“That’s cruel!” You wept, “At least make it one-” 

“No can do, now go!” Renjun pushed you towards Donghyuck as he ran towards the other side of the room to find comfort in his girlfriend’s arms again. He loved his best friend sure, but he loves his girlfriend in a different way that just propelled him to be with her 24/7. 

Donghyuck notices you standing awkwardly in the crowd, noting that Renjun had left. He turned to you with a grin as he studied your features, “Told you it wasn’t going to be so bad,” He joked, nudging you as you laughed at him, “Yeah I guess you’re right…” You said absent-mindedly as you stared at Donghyuck for a good minute. 

He blinked at you, was there something on his face? Did he look bad? What was it that made you stare at him? “So uh, what did Renjun call me here for?” He looked away from you as a light blush painted his cheeks, clearing his throat as he told himself to stay focused. 

Regaining your thought process, you refocus your eyes on Donghyuck as you stare at his red cup filled with water, your heart softens at the fact that he refuses to drink alcohol because he knows you despise the smell or the taste of it. 

You grab the little bag you carry around with you as you dig into your pockets with confidence because, for the first time, you weren’t worried about what Donghyuck thought of you. You knew he’d welcome you as you are and you were going to take his response like an adult that you are. If he doesn’t like you back, big deal. Suck it up, you’re 18. 

You bring out Donghyuck’s favourite flavoured Pop tart, Frosted Rasberry Pop tarts and hand it over to him with a smile that you manage to muster within the little time you had searching for the sweet that he adored. 

Donghyuck took it gratefully but he looked at you with confusion. Eyebrows furrowed and his pink plush lips puckered up as he looks at you weirdly, “You bought me my favourite pop tart, that’s amazing, but what’s the catch?” 

“The catch is you’re going to go out on a date with me.” You say confidently as you bring your hand to his and cross your pinkies with his, his figure in a state of shock as you giggle a little and press a little kiss on his hand. 

The apparent blush on Donghyuck’s face causes you to laugh as you give him a hug, your lips pulling into a smile as you look at him with fondness in your eyes. You laugh at yourself, but also him because he was already kissing you with the same redness. 

The feeling of his plush, soft lips on yours felt like heaven as you wrapped your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as you could feel the rhythm between the two of you pace slowly, sensually and lovingly. You grin into the kiss and the both of you eventually pull back, Donghyuck sporting a sheepish smile while you grin up at him. 

This was such a change-up, you were usually the one being flustered, now look at you all confident, Donghyuck silently thought to himself as he cleared his throat, “I will humbly like to accept your very amazing clause,” He replied as he laughed at the situation. 

You couldn’t help but laugh along because you can’t believe you just asked out Donghyuck to a date using a Pop Tart but you know what? That’s what makes your relationship so special. 

You may have thought you would never see Donghyuck in this light, but how wrong you were. You saw more than what met the eye and you’re so grateful to him for letting you so who he truly was. From the times he was there to help you out, to the stupid little jokes and pranks, he would pull to make your day at least a little better. 

Some may find it weird how your relationship developed but honestly, you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

[givepie]

Hm! I feel a rant coming on! Everyone duck!

MY THOUGHTS ON THE HYPERIA STORY AND ITS THEMING. ALSO A GENERAL RANT ON COASTER THEMING.

Let start with a general question: what counts as theming?

To me, theming is the set pieces, pre-show, and anything laid out in a rides area to help develop a story. Most of the time this helps world-building more than anything. To me, even music can be a piece of theming because it helps to set a tone. For example, when riding Smiler, the laughter sounds almost manic and it makes you realise straight away that something is off, before you even step foot into X-sector.

Anything that DOESN'T fall into this classification such as website and app pages, falls into "storytelling". In a theme park, it is almost impossible to tell the entire story from one repeated instance inside of said story. To tell a complicated story like that of the Smiler, it would take so much exposition, which is very much not the point and would take away from the experience as a whole.

So storytelling isn't a bad thing, it's how they handle it.

To me, there are three behemoths of theme park theming and storytelling worldwide. That I know of.

Baron 1898, X-Sector post-Smiler, And Forbidden Valley post-Reborn.

Baron 1898 is pretty easy to grasp while you're there, even as a non-speaker of the language. You're going on a mine tour and 3 ghost ladies are PISSED that you're going down there. The actual theming is downright impressive ans I would love to see it in real life. You can then look up the story to find out who the ghosts are, who the Baron is, and how the mine came to be. Really good treat for people who decide to look.

Forbidden Valley has a story that has remained relatively consistent throughout the years. It has wondering actors that establish the world in a realistic yet entertaining way rather quickly. There are an official operation; there are people opposing the operation so there is something sneaky going on; there is a tour group taking advantage of the centrepiece so the Alien is a tourist attraction in this universe, too. Just little things that help put together a bigger picture.

Of course this starts coming apart a little bit when the audio starts explicitly telling you what is happening, but it still holds. You see someone's office, a crashed helicopter, weapons for warding off the alien. All things to help build up this universe you are now ankle-deep in. And then there's the 3 pages on the Internet that break down the story for you, which can also be seen in the shop.

Finally, of course, there's X-sector. It doesn't usually have roaming actors, and the theme suits better that way. Without the roaming actors, you see that the Ministry are secretive. Trying to stay out of the limelight, except for the skeleton crew they send out to keep the coaster safe and operational. It shows a tone.

However, people casually wondering what this is about can never get an easy answer. Cause the answer is spread out across what remains of a decade-old marketing campaign. Fun for people who want a deep dive, not so fun for people who are just lightly curious. The website barely tells you anything either.

But, on a positive light, the story is so complex it keeps a fandom. Not many coasters have that. It's an insane accomplishment.

And I have a theory as to why. Now, stay with me here I think I'm about to upset some people:

It has aspects of social and political commentary. "Not everything is political" ALL GOOD ART IS A COMMENTARY ON THE TIMES AND CIRCUMSTANCES YOU WERE RAISED IN SIT YOUR ARSE BACK DOWN.

RIGHT, so, Smiler is a story about the government dedicating an organisation to keeping people artificially content to keep people compliant. What are Brits notorious for doing, in comparison to the French?

Doing fuck all. This wasn't always the case. We would riot, we would strike. Now we strike but while the other half of the country complains and just tells the strikers to sit back down and take the mistreatment. We are miserable, we complain, and we go about our day. And that's the joke. Its funny. So why bother changing it?

And if we can't be bothered changing something cause it's funny, what happens if they make everything purposefully funny? They'd never have to deal with the strikes in the first place.

The government functions off of our social compliance, which can come from making jokes at our own expense. We even see it now with our drowned-rat-faced PM as he continues to make a fool out of himself so he's funny. If he's funny, we want to see him more. That's a valid strategy nowadays.

Smiler. Is about how Keep Calm And Carry On is a stand against progress.

Smiler. Is a political and social commentary on the people of Britain. You're welcome.

Anyway!

HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO THE NEW WORLD-STAGE COASTER IN STAINES?

The problem is: it doesn't. Instead of taking inspiration from its sister park, Alton, Thorpe decided to take inspiration from Icon and its shoebox station.

Where is Fearless Valley taking place? When is Fearless Valley taking place? What point in the story are we looking at here? The issue [only issue, really] with Hyperia, is it entirely relies on storytelling and a few bits and bobs in the queue.

Remember the shortcoming in Nemesis? Where you can get a good grasp of the story without it being blasted in your ear? Yeah here they straight up tell you the story, too. The theming has BECOME the storytelling.

Next question: what is Hyperia, the coaster, supposed to be? Yes, we know the story is that a goddess called hyperia overcame her fear of the sea by building wings and escaping the island she was trapped on [for some unspecified reason. Is hyperia evil?], but what IS the coaster supposed to be?

Smiler is the Marmaliser, the machine that transforms you into a smiling advocate. Nemesis is the tentacles of the monster overtaking the metal that pins it down. Baron is the track the drill takes to get into the mine.

What is Hyperia? Are we following Her as she soars, were we stuck with Her; the Icarus to her Daedalus? Are we following in her footsteps as part of a ceremony Her followers reenact for her blessing? Are we supposed to be Her? It's never really specified.

The station is chocked full of a last-ditch attempt of theming, which in comparison with the whole lotta nothing you get from the queueline? It feels cramped. It feels cheap. It barely feels like it belongs on a stage alongside Taron, Velocicoaster and Voltron Nevera. If they didn't have the budget to do the storytelling and the theme, they should've gone for theme.

Any story with no theme feels cheap and artificial. Any theme with no story still stands out and has breathtaking scenes. If they focused more on the white-gold colour palate and maybe had a few statues around and about they could pass it as some sort of pantheon, like climbing Olympus.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm disappointed in all aspects of the Hyperia theming. It feels lazy, tacky and underwhelming when you consider Swarm is a 5 minute walk away. I'm hoping it improves at some point.

I geniunely think the stone head of Collosus is much better than anything in Fearless Valley and its inconsistencies. The Black and gold buildings feel very sleek and out of place for a story ultimately about a goddess who forged. She forged her own wings. She forged her own bravery. Shouldnt the building look a little home made? Where are the bolts? The soldering? I want to see her anvil and hammer pride-of-place, not shoved in the corner of the station.

Cmon thorpe. Get your arse in gear.

[kazoosandfannypacks]

summary: sabine's been having a rough day, and though she can't quite put her finger on why, she's pretty sure ezra can make it a little better. set on lothal during season 4. word count: 1K a/n: i hope you guys like this fic! let me know what you think; your reblogs here and comments on ao3 mean the absolute world to me! shoutout to @kanerallels for betaing this one! taglist:@laughingphoenixleader @accidental-spice @kanerallels @piraterefrigerator @jedi-nurse @dootchster @lucasbridger @redroverrider @light-umbra @commander-tech {if you’d like to be added to or removed from my Sabezra taglist, let me know!}

also on ao3!

The Bad Day

 Sabine's day was not going very well.

 It all started innocently enough. Waking up from a nightmare, only to find she'd overslept. Tripping on her way out the door. Chopper pulling a poorly timed prank. Hera getting upset at her for attacking Chopper because of his prank and sending her by herself on a supply run— a chance to cool down, Hera had reasoned, but it only steamed her up more.

 Then there was the guy in the market whose catcalling would've been met with her fist if she hadn't been carrying the crew's supplies and trying to avoid imperial suspicion. And then the upcharged groceries that never seemed to fit their supply budget. And the annoyed screams of Zeb when she returned without his beloved space waffles that had been so significantly overpriced, she figured she could skip them this time. Then the angry words she'd yelled as she'd stormed out. Then Kanan trying to ask her what was wrong like he was some kind of dad.

 That was the last straw. Usually, she didn't mind her family on The Ghost. But today? After the dream she'd had last night? The last thing she needed was more family to worry about.

 She left The Ghost in a huff, thinking maybe some time by herself would calm her down, though she knew the opposite was often the case when she was left alone with her thoughts.

 But then she saw Ezra, tinkering with some circuits on the underside of the ship, lost in his own little world, a Loth Cat curled around his leg.

 Now, Sabine had never been known to have an affinity for hugs, and she'd also never been known to have an affinity for Ezra, but something inside her told her a hug from Ezra would make this nightmare of a day a bit better.

 So, she marched up to him, fists clenched, her mere frustrated presence scaring away the Loth Cat. Ezra, however, didn't seem to notice her right away, instead watching the Loth Cat run into the distance.

 "I need you to give me a hug," she said, quickly, sharply, as if upset at herself for saying it and stopping herself from stopping herself.

 Ezra turned to her and smiled at the sight of her, but with deep confusion in his eyes.

 "What?" he asked, then shook his head and blinked a couple times, "wait, why? Is everything okay?"

 "I'm not talking about it," Sabine said, knowing what would happen if she tried to talk about it, and not ready to cry right now, "I just need a hug. Don't make me change m...."

 Before she could finish speaking, she was in his arms. On any other day, if she'd even let him get this close, she would've complained that he smelled like Loth Cats and mechanical failures, and about how sweaty he was, and how whatever kind of starship grease he'd been using was all over his hands and staining her shoulder pauldron and her sleeve— but with everything that had happened that day, she almost didn't notice, and if she did, she certainly didn't care.

 He'd pulled her in so quickly, she hadn't even the chance to hug him back— not that she needed to, instead clinging onto Ezra's shoulders in front of her as tightly as she could.

 She wasn't sure when he'd gotten taller than her, but she was glad that he had, because his heart's gentle beating beneath her ear calmed her own heart rate down as well. She hadn't noticed how cold she'd been until Ezra's arms closed around her, his warmth quickly spreading from her back and arms all the way down to her toes and her fingers.

 "Is this okay?" Ezra quietly asked.

 "Yeah," Sabine whispered.

 As he held her, held her close to him, neither of them backing away or making it weird, Sabine's stress floated away, like a leaf in the wind, like every layer of hardships she'd faced that day peeled itself away from her, and when they were all stripped back, maybe it wasn't so hard a day after all— except for the nightmare she'd woken up from.

 Even an eternity in his arms couldn't fix that one— not that she normally would've liked the idea of spending an eternity in his arms, but this sacred moment made it a tempting prospect.

 She heard him sigh as his arms slipped out from around her and he took a step back from her, though his hand still rested on her shoulder.

 "Are you okay?" Ezra asked, his gaze seeing through her rough exterior.

 "I just," she shook her head, "just a bad dream."

 "In the middle of the day?" Ezra asked, and though anyone else could've meant it sarcastically, he seemed legitimately confused.

 "No, last night," she explained.

 "And you're still stressed over it?" Ezra asked, and when she nodded, he added on, gently, "may I ask what it was about?"

 "The Empire," Sabine said, letting the words come out angrily rather than risk letting sorrow herald them, "somehow they'd recreated the Duchess, and they," she let a deep breath fight against the tears she knew would betray her, "and my family...."

 She couldn't bring herself to say it, and she didn't have to. Once again, Ezra cut her off by pulling her into a hug— and this time, she hugged him in return.

 As her head hit his chest, she found that her tears fell faster than she could stop them, and hoped Ezra wouldn't notice a few teardrops mixed in with all the sweat and grease on his shirt.

 "I couldn't stop it," Sabine said, "I had to watch...."

 "It's okay," Ezra said, his hand moving off her shoulder so he could cradle the back of her head, pulling her closer to him in support, "it was just a dream." 

 "It felt so real," Sabine said, through gritted teeth.

 "I know," Ezra said, the softness in his tone smoothing out the rough edges of hers, "it's okay. Your family is okay."

 "And what if they're not?" Sabine asked, pushing a little bit away from him, though he didn't take his hands off her shoulders, "what if the Empire tries again?"

 "Then we'll stop them," Ezra said, "we always do."

 Sabine wanted to argue, but she knew it was pointless to try and disagree with those reassuring blue eyes and the confident smile below them.

 "Yeah," Sabine nodded.

 That was all she said. That was all she could say, and she hardly even looked at him when she said it.

 But it was apparently enough for Ezra. His smile shifted ever so slightly, and Sabine responded with a smile of her own.

 As one last comfort before she inevitably put up her walls and shut him out again, he pulled her back into his arms, close to his heart.

 And Sabine sighed with contentment as she returned his embrace.

 Maybe today wasn't going so bad after all.

[hongtiddiez]

hellooo i love reading your opinions but im too shy to ask you this off anon so here it is. I’m like you enjoying the sign and loved the direction of the recent ep so I don’t really understand the divisive reactions on tumblr esp since twitter seems to always heap praise on the show. what are your thoughts on how phaya tharn’s relationship has been paced? and how do you think it may be concluded? I saw some people on here being disheartened and expecting a sad ending but I don’t really see that to be the case and I for one have loved their r/s pacing and also the mythology (my main gripe would be some of the way the cases were handled). but what’s your opinion on that and why people here are more divisive about the show? (While all opinions are valid some of the criticism almost feels nitpicky but I would love to hear your thoughts on this!)

QUICK NOTE- ANON SENT THIS BEFORE THIS SATURDAY'S EPISODE, SO THIS ABOUT EPS 1-8 hello love!! sorry it took me a bit to put together my thoughts and feel like my brain was put together and, well, i still haven't accomplished that but i didn't want to leave you on read any longer. also you're ALWAYS welcome to DM me here or discord or wherever! but i totally get being too shy lol despite how i am on the dash i am also very shy

so, i can kind of understand where people are coming from in that there wasn't a lot of courting between phaya and tharn which may make it seem like their relationship was fast tracked. idk, i'm not entirely sure what other people's thoughts are on it, i've kind of just been scrolling past posts that have complained or seemed like they didn't like it. i welcome everyone's opinions but i don't always want to read all of them (and i expect people not to read mine if it's not for them.)

i think it's important to keep in mind that courtship can look different for everyone and while they didn't go on dates, didn't overtly flirt, etc. they've been performing a delicate dance between each other and flirting very much in their own ways (from the hat tugs, the sparring, the attitude.) sometimes flirting is being obnoxious, getting on someone's nerves simply because you know how. half the time my husband flirts with me is my driving me fucking crazy because he's the only person in the world that knows exactly what makes me tick.

i think it also helps to keep in mind the fantasy element here; that wansarut and sakuna live inside tharn and phaya and are drawn towards each other and i think sometimes tharn and phaya's own feelings and attraction have to play catch up. i think some elements of their dynamic were very much both tharn not wanting to get close because of his fears but also not fully realizing the depths of his feelings because they seemingly came out of nowhere (wansarut.)

overall, i've really enjoyed the pacing, enjoyed how they've fallen together through various circumstances, how we've seen tharn's resistance dwindle until he finally had to let himself have the object of his desire. i also think it's a very adult relationship, it's really not all that messy or complicated once you remove the fantasy elements. sometimes desire comes first and love comes later. sometimes things begin physical and end in love.

there is no set roadmap for romance or relationships and to pigeon hole BL couples into a set pattern is a little silly in my opinion. their journey just looks a little different, it doesn't mean they aren't in love. we also have to keep in mind that there's so much going on in this show plot wise that to focus more on romance and courtship would steal time away from other elements that are already struggling to get addressed.

"but doesnt that mean the show is trying to do too much?"

sure, but i'd rather a show strive to do too much than do too little. i love to see the ambition and the passion behind it and even if things aren't concluded perfectly there's so much the sign has done right (addressing that men are also victims of sexual assault, constantly reminding us that tharn - while smaller and seemingly more 'effeminate' - is still every bit as strong and capable as phaya, the continuous reminders that they are a switch partnership, showing us that sex can be goofy and funny with khem and thongtai, etc.) i'd much rather all of this than to watch a show that made me feel nothing at the end of the day and the show has done SO much to educate foreigners on Thai culture. (the copaganda could go tho, we all know i'm an ACAB bitch so i DO have to wear blinders during those scenes lmao)

sorry- i got a wee bit off track. ANYWAY how would i like to see it concluded?

i'm a little torn because there are so many ways i'd be happy. i'd be happy if they finally rid themselves of chalothorn forever and were finally able to be together in peace. (i think everyone's ideal ending)

i'd be happy with a timeline where phaya dies to protect tharn in a reverse parallel of their first life, with a renewed promise.

i'd be happy if they died together and began the cycle once again.

two of these i recognize are HELLA unpopular opinions, but there's really not much this show could do to make me unhappy as long as they stick to the story and the narrative foils they've put in place. i think the only thing i would be unhappy with is if something felt like it came out of left field.

thank you SO much for this ask. i was so flattered i read it out loud to my husband the other day. i'm always SO open to asks like this and really find it so sweet that anyone out there values my opinion at all, i'm just a silly little guy

[curseofhecate]

Doomed from the very start

Edmund Pevensie x Female!Reader

In which they didn't know who each other was, yet they still fell in love with one another.

1.4k

tw: clinche, and it's giving fairytail (or maybe it's just me).

This is set after the first movie. Both Edmund and reader are aged up. Maybe around 16 or 17.

Yesterday's masquerade ball was all everyone seemed to talk about. Maybe because it was the first one Cair Paravel had hosted in a while or maybe because it was the first one organised by the Pevensie siblings.

Most people they encountered with congratulated them. Susan took great pride in it, as she was the one who was responsible for organising every little detail. Peter, who was The High King, also took great pride in the ball's success.

Under any other circumstances, Edmund would be the first to complain about his brother's ego that only kept growing. But that wasn't the case today. The boy had barely been able to focus in anything else but her.

Last Night, at the Ball

The younger king of the two couldn't be seen, hiding in the shadows and avoiding any short of people that walked his way. From Peter, who wanted him to meet the rulers of near kingdoms and talk about, well some short of politics, to pretty princesses his age, dressed in beautiful gowns asking him to dance with them.

He preferred to keep his distance from the crowds, opting to hide in the dark corners of the room, from where he could easily see people dancing and conversing.

The soft music coming from the orchestra. the constant but subtle chatter and the occasional laughs, the clinking noises the glasses made had him feel both nervous and at ease in the same time.

He could be dancing with the prettiest girl of this entire magical world, but he didn't. Instead he sat there, leaning against the wall, watching the events of the night unfold before his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" a voice asked. The raven haired boy immediately turned his head to face a girl. Maybe it was because of the mask, black with silver details, that did a really good job at disguising her. She seemed familiar, as if he had seen her in a picture or randomly passed by her someday without realising it.

Her eyes were a beautiful shade of e/c and Edmund found himself getting lost in them. Shaking his head he snapped out of it, mentally taking notes of her appearance. Her skin tone, her h/c hair that were pulled into an elegant bun, the black dress she was wearing.

Everything about her had something magnetic, something that pulled him towards her. The boy sighed, realising he had been starring for way too long without answering her question. "I'm hiding from my brother".

The girl looked at him and smiled. "Your brother must suck then" she said. "Well, yeah sometimes" he admitted. The girl looked at him up and down, as if taking in his appearance. The young prince didn't fail to notice as a soft pink tainted his cheeks.

The girl chuckled at the sight of him blushing. "What's your name?" she asked. Edmund was surprised. No one had ever asked for his name since his crowning, it was well known that he was King Edmund the Just. "I'm Edmund" the boy answered, and for once he didn't feel like he had to pretend being someone else.

The girl shook his hand, an act unusual for girls, as most greeted him and his siblings with a curtsey and not a handshake. "What's yours?" he asked, letting go of her hand. "That's for me to know and you to find out".

"Hey, that's not fair!" the boy complained. "I told you my name so now you owe me yours".

"Is there any other way I could repay you that's not telling you my name" she asked hopefully. She knew the moment he learned her name he wouldn't want to be anywhere near her. She was no fool, she knew of the rivalry between his kingdom and hers.

The boy thought about her offer for a bit. "How about a dance then?" he asked hopefully. He wanted a chance to hold her and touch her as they swayed back and forth. He wanted to know what her touch felt like.

The girl agreed, knowing deep down that not one part of her could resist him. And even though she shouldn't, she knew she was already falling for him.

When the song ended, he took her hand and dragged her in the middle of the room. He stood there, placing a gentle hand on her waist as her arm found his shoulder.

The orchestra started to play a slower tune and they started dancing. Edmund was trying not to step on her feet, but it was clear he was failing miserably. "Sorry" he'd apologise. "I'm still not very good at this".

"It's fine" the girl would respond. "It took me years to learn how to dance properly" the girl chuckled, thinking back to the countless times she spent trying not to step on her partner’s feet.

The smile he gave her lit a flame in her heart. She was melting on the inside, and it scared her. The girl was used to being independent and confident. But something about Edmund made her feel shy and completely dependent.

By the end of the song they both had lost control over their feelings. They had fallen in love with one another, yet still pretended they didn't.

The boy smiled and let go of her waist, but still grasping her hand. He pulled her with him, walking towards the wide open French windows that lead to the balcony.

"Where are we going?" Y/n asked, a laugh escaping her lips as the boy continued to drag her. "Just follow me"

The made their way down the marble stairs that lead down to the garden. The music of the crowded room was fading with every step they took.

Making their way through trees and bushes the boy stopped in front of a fountain. It was made from white marble, a statue of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty decorating it. The sound of water flowing form under the goddess' feet was the only one that could be heard in the quiet of the night.

"It's so beautiful" the girl voiced out, amazed by the sight in front of her. "It really is" the boy agreed. Only he was talking about her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the girl asked softly, noticing how close her face was to his. "You are really pretty".

The boy's hand rested on her cheek as he slowly took off the mask that was hiding her face. Y/n didn't say anything, nor did she try to pull away or stop him.

The mask fell off his hands as he gazed at her now unmasked face, refusing to believe how pretty she was. How could someone be so beautiful?

There was no reason to pretend anymore. "Would it be weird if I told you I like you" the boy asked in a hushed tone. "No, I think it would be weirder if I told you I feel the same way".

The boy leaned in, lips brushing against hers. He looked into her eyes one last time before closing the distance that remained between them.

Their lips connected and time stopped for the both of them. If they could stay like this forever they would.

But they couldn't. Eventually the pulled apart, both of them struggling to breath. "This is wrong" the girl spoke. They boy' expression turned to a confused one.

"What? Why?"

"You'll learn eventually" the girl sighed before pulling him in for a second kiss. This time it was longer, full of passion and love. The girl pulled away, resting her forehead against hers.

"I have to go" she said, taking a step back.

"Wait!" the boy shouted alarmed grabbing her wrist. "Can I have one last kiss?"

The girl nodded and leaned in for a third time. This time it was more of a goodbye kiss.

The ghost of her lips still lingered over Edmund's, even when she said godbye to him before walking away. Turning back one last time the girl looked at him, as if trying to mesmerise every feature of the boy's face.

"Y/n"

Edmund just stood there, watching her walk away. Y/n. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.

Only when she was completely out of sight did he realise who she actually was and why she seemed familiar.

And in that moment he knew, they were doomed from the start.

[olderthannetfic]

While we're on the topic of Mainstream Publishing Discourse...

There's a lot of discussion about how a lot of sci-fi/fantasy written by women and especially WOC that is not YA gets miscategorized as YA on Goodreads and other sites like that. And sure, sometimes it's unfair and just misogynistic/racist. Like, no one should be calling NK Jemisin's writing "YA."

But sometimes you get writers who will make that argument about where you're like.... okay, the reason people keep thinking you're YA is because of actual features of your writing that are similar to YA. Like if R.F. Kuang (she's the one I feel like gets complained about the most lately and I recently read Poppy War and Babel and agree with the complaints) wants to stop being seen as YA, she could maybe learn to have enough faith in her readers to not feel like she has to mention the moral of the story - that is already obvious from every other feature of the story - explicitly spelled out like 50x. She also seems to assume that her reader will disagree with her unless she does that, which is a strange thing to conclude about "colonialism bad" which I don't think anyone who is picking up Babel and reading the description on it is going to go in thinking the opposite of! And that is what makes it feel like YA: because so much YA is designed as intros to "serious issues" for teens that writers assume don't pick up on that stuff without explicitly being told (which I think is a bit insulting to teens, but whatever, it is the genre convention and it is why by 15 I was already reading books for grown-ups in both my free time and my classes). You don't NEED to do that and if you didn't, way fewer people would think your books are YA!

Or like Erin Morgenstern, you'll be seen as YA less if you were able to construct a coherent plot and characterization and didn't instead seem to be going entirely on aesthetics and vibes. Or like Casey McQuiston, whose books absolutely do read like YA books that just have more explicit, fanficcy sex scenes in it. You cannot be shocked people think of Red White and Royal Blue that way when it has such a YA-tastic romance premise that there have been multiple actual YA books since that were blatant rip-offs of it.

I also saw a post about how a lot of these books seem to be set in things like "magical boarding school" or focus on teen protagonists and like, yeah, I feel like in general if your books keep focusing on teenagers in a very similar to way books written FOR teenagers, you can't be shocked that people keep thinking they're YA. Of course there are books about teens that are for adults, but they are usually approached in a very different way with different plots.

Anyway, I do wish people would stop assuming that books that are clearly not YA "are YA" because they are sci-fi/fantasy written by women, because it just makes it that much harder to talk about the ones that really do feel like YA in ways where the authors should probably take that criticism to heart a little bit more. Someone like Kuang clearly does want to be writing for a more adult-litfic-style audience, and should probably listen to the people telling her that her books are too didactic in a way that feels insulting to people who aren't BookTok YA readers.

I tried to bring that up to my book club though when we read Poppy War and one person wouldn't stop shouting me down about how it's "just sexism and racism." And I had to keep shouting back, dude, yeah, I know that's what the discourse is. I know that's why writers like this can brush that off. I'm saying though that in this case, I think some of it's warranted based on how *the book is actually written*

--

[autistichalsin]

I know I am in the extreme minority, but there hasn't been a single change Larian has made to the game post-release that I have worse than neutral about, and most of them I consider moderate to extreme improvements. There are some added lines I didn't like per se, but I never liked those less than what was (not) there originally. Some examples (most Halsin-focused because those are the ones I pay the most attention to)

Neutral:

Changing Gortash's note

Allowing the Dark Urge to have a flirty line with Gortash (if that has been confirmed)

Changes to certain dismissal lines

Halsin's line if you show him Kagha's letter

Spawn Astarion's response if the player sleeps with Mizora

Some of the new lines for Halsin re: Baldur's Gate, Shadow Druids, etc

Liked:

Additions to the epilogue that let you talk to your (former?) love interest if you went to hell with Avernus, rode dragons with Lae'zel, etc

Other new lines for Halsin re: Baldur's Gate, Shadow Druids, etc

Scenes dealing with Vlaakith path Lae'zel ascending, the implications of this, etc in the end

Loved:

New kisses

Camp idle behaviors

The Halsin-Minthara ultimatum

The epilogue party

Halsin's expanded post-Drow discussion

Halsin's platonic path

The updated lines when spawn Astarion gets burned in the sun

Cuddling cinematic post-Drow foursomes/moresomes

The new bad ending sequence, both in terms of animation, and the fact that now romanced Minthara or Ascended Astarion who encouraged the player to take over are spared by the player (if anything, I feel they could change this bit MORE and give us more of the aftermath of the player thralling their friends and loved ones)

The new note in the epilogue from Archdruid Francesca, mentioning sending Ormn to live with Halsin at his commune

The new Speak With the Dead lines for Halsin if he dies to Orin instead of in the goblin camp

Karlach's ending with Wyll and/or the player in Avernus

The option to tell Halsin you want to join him at his commune

... Etc.

I can think of nothing off the top of my head that I think made the game worse. At worst I might go "strange to add that as it didn't change anything," I.E. Halsin's non-reaction to Kagha's note. I didn't hate it- I just felt it added nothing. (Maybe it's a way of setting flags for the dialogues specific to Halsin knowing about the Shadow Druids in case the player didn't investigate Kagha before finding him?) But I can't think of anything that made the story/my experience worse in any way.

I know people keep complaining that Larian is "listening to some fans over others" and such, but to me, I don't think they have done that? Very few of these seem in any way like they were influenced by fan complaints (and the few that were, were, in my opinion, definite improvements, I.E. the player/Wyll going to Avernus with Karlach, Halsin's additional post-Drow dialogue, etc). And of course, Larian has shown they also have no problem NOT adding things when it goes against their vision- they have repeatedly shut down requests for an expanded evil path, haven't added to Wyll's story despite very loud fan outcry, haven't made Halsin monogamous despite a very vocal group of fans calling for this on the Larian forums and Discord... etc. It clearly isn't number or loudness of the fans influencing 95% of these changes- it's Larian adding things that already fit in their vision.

I guess it is also baffling to me because I'm used to games that are either from series that have been dead for decades or are rushed out just as money grabs (Pokemon) with little attention given after besides minimal bug fixes and content for paid DLCs (cough, Pokemon). To see a game that reflects on their story (or just general experience, like their constantly giving Cazador buffs in tactician mode) and constantly changes what they think should be is, in my opinion, pretty admirable. I truly don't understand all the outrage- to me, it's a sign they care about their story and want it to be the best they can make it, even after people have already paid them for it.

I know i'm in the minority here, but the changes make me respect Larian a lot more than I already did.

[ladykailitha]

Hello,

I am probably being a mom about this (having been described as a mother hen even before I had my own kids), but I have a very different take to the two most recent gifs of Joseph Quinn I've been seeing today.

Both of them were at a film festival where he is very dapperly dressed in that cream suit with the black button down. I can't find the gifs right now, so you're going to have to hope I describe them well enough (writer power activate!)

The first one is of him standing with another man, older and taller than Joe. The man puts his arm around his shoulder and Joe makes this funny hand sign, like he was trying to do the horns and the peace sign at the same time and then just ends up awkwardly waving.

And everyone is going on about how cute and goofy that little wave was. But I think people missed the part where as soon as the other guy puts his arm around Joe, his arm holding his jacket immediately goes up and knocks the other guy off. Then you can see him go "oh shit" and he turns it into the awkward wave.

And for me it's that little "don't touch" move that makes the wave a little less cute and little bit more, "poor Joe!" Because he shouldn't have to turn him setting his boundaries into an awkward wave as to not get in trouble.

And the second one. Joe is talking to someone else but it doesn't seem like the person is a guest (the guy is wearing a t-shirt and shorts). He's got something in a wine glass that he is holding both casually and stiffly. And he appears to be upset and he's saying something like "that's just how I am" or something like that. Which I originally thought he was saying "that's not how I am" but the second word looks more "just" and the third looks more like "how" the more I'm watching it.

First off I don't like how the shot is framed. It looks like someone filmed it from angle where Joe didn't know they were filming him. Well, same for the other gif, too. Because in both he's not looking at the camera filming him. I get at events like this people are going to be filming all over the place, but these two both seem to have caught something they shouldn't have.

In the second one's case he looks like he's having an argument or something.

Now here's where I get really uncomfortable, because if this is after the awkward wave, this could be him complaining that he didn't want to be touched like that and "that's just how I am". Because if that's the case whoever is doing the filming of these caught Joe in the act of having his boundaries violated, by violating further those boundaries.

I don't know. I could be reading too much into it. Projecting my own feeling on him. But it does look like that to me. And this isn't me saying "oh you can't find it cute!" because I'm not. I'm just saying he doesn't look comfortable and we should examine why.

And since this already too fucking long, I'm going throw in another Joseph Quinn problem I have.

How different he looks from Eddie Munson to his other roles or just in general. I can't find the article now (shakes fist), but Joe talked about how on Stranger Things he dropped 10 kilos or 22lbs to play Eddie so he looked younger and was more sinewy. That he fasted, gave up carbs and had one coffee a day to look the way he does in season 4.

Like actors shouldn't have to do that shit for roles. Isn't there a healthier way to do that? So when that one picture popped up today of Joe looking into the camera I saw someone tag (could have been @vecnuthy) that it looked edited in some way. But it was the most Eddie like I'd seen him look since the show dropped. And if it wasn't edited that means that he dropped those 20lbs again.

And of course I hope that means Eddie's back but even if it is or it's for another role, I hate how thin he looks in that picture (and I love his "slutty Eddie waist") means he's crash dieting and that makes me sad.

Sorry about this. Just...ignore me I guess. But I don't think we talk enough about how actors go through this shit as much as actresses do just in different ways.

[sardonic-the-writer]

—bad luck buddies

SUMMARY | sometime in between filling in for carver and completing your mission with ladybug, the two of you manage to have a few laughs

PAIRING | ladybug x reader

REQUESTED | no

WARNINGS | strictly platonic, spoilers for bullet train, hit men, guns, mentions of murder, etc

WORD COUNT | 600+ words

AUTHORS NOTE | very goofy man. funny too. a short little one shot this time though sorry. wasn't having a good night tonight and just wanted to get this done

🐞 Masterlist 🐞 Navigation 🐞 Rules 🐞

"Are you sure I can't get you to give up the number for Barry?"

A gruff voice chuckled next to you as you both through foot traffic, hair bristling in the wind.

"Sorry (Y/n). Gotta keep him all to myself. I can recommend another therapist, though."

Laughter.

"Are you two done talking yet, or should I wait untill you've finished to give you the mission details."

A smile blossomed on your face as the earpiece nestled snugly in your ear buzzed with the sound of Maria's voice. You spared a quick glance at the man next to you, his own expression riddled with amusement—the twinkle in his eyes a dead giveaway.

"Sorry Maria." You grinned. "But Ladybugs' new mindset has me rethinking some of the ways I do my job."

"See! That's exactly what Barry was talking to me about. Put a positive mood out into the world, and it comes back to you." Ladybug snapped his fingers with a triumphant smile, much to the chagrin of Maria. Who by now had sighed in your ear more times than you could count on both hands.

"Please don't tell me you two left the guns in the locker."

You could practically see her pinching the bridge of her nose right now—smudging that weird eyeliner she always insisted on applying. Probably regretting letting the two of you fill in for Carver; that bastard. It was bad enough that separately the two of you barely scraped by on missions. But together? Even you had to admit that the universe seemed to push against your every move. Hence the whole therapist talk. It was high time you tried professional help. At least that's what your targets told you right before you stabbed them in the neck.

"Hey don't sweat it boss man. Er—lady." You readjusted your coat, briefly stopping to apologize to the few pedestrians you would bump into. Didn't expect train stations to be so busy at this time of day. "You said this would be a breeze right? So no guns, no problem."

A beat of silence.

"Your lack of response tells me that you either see the brilliance of the situation or hate us right now." Ladybug scratched at his scruff, nearly knocking his ridiculously chunky glasses astray meanwhile.

"I'm thinking the second one." Maria deadpanned. All she got in response was a cheeky grin from you and Ladybug.

Quick work was made of hopping on the bullet train as you both continued your banter, footsteps falling in sync as you padded up and down the carpeted iles.

"Now you're looking for a breifcase—"

"Could you be a bit more specific?"

"Let me finish (Y/n). You're looking for a silver breifcase with a train sticker on the handle."

"That's not at all ironic." Ladybug cracked a joke, lightly setting his arm on your shoulder to prevent you from toppling on him as the train began to move with a hiss. To which you sent him a goofy salute.

"Fuck it's cold in here. You couldn't have picked a warmer train to stash this case?" You complained, half to Maria and half to Ladybug. Both rolled their eyes, albeit one more playfully than the other. A few nearby passengers didn't seem to take as kindly to your loud complaints though, tossing a nasty look or two.

"Well sorry if the twenty million in cash didn't ask before picking a route out of Tokyo. Did you want to ask the current handlers about a change in plans?"

"Nope." You popped the p while continuing to meander after Ladybug. "I'd rather snatch it from under their noses thank you very much."

Ladybug turned around momentarily to join in on the conversation, clearly buzzed about the promise of a short and easy trip.

"After all." He grinned. "How difficult could this job be?"

[yesimwriting]

could u do something about stu being sweet w the reader after something making jokes but she’s being sensitive and he realises she needs sweetness from him

ofc i can!! i love stu sm, even though the oldest daughter of an immigrant household in me would fr be fighting with him every two seconds lmao

also part 5 of final girl is coming, she's just big😭 and my homework levels are insane and i don't want it to feel rushed, and these drabbles/fics are easier to get out during weeks like this!! but i'm working!

warnings: bit of toxicity tbh (expected tho lol), mentions of Billy bc they're a matching set in my mind lol, but it's brief and his role in the relationship is pretty open I think, pinch of manipulation, cheesiness lol

----

Sometimes the way you care about people gets under Stu's skin, like a bug bite that he can't scratch because it's on the inside.

He doesn't hold it against you, or at the very least, he really tries not to. But sometimes, when you get like this on the behalf of other people...

Stu lets out a low sigh as he shoves his hands into his pockets. When he first realized that you had locked your window, he had briefly tried to not jump to worst case scenario. Maybe you weren't that mad, maybe the early fall draft kept blowing the window open, or maybe you were out with Sidney and Tatum. But no, the tightly shut window was intentional.

After knocking on your front door and being greeted by your mother, Stu had learned that you had just been in the kitchen, complaining about being bored.

"You're actually that mad at me?"

At the sudden intrusion, you snap your head back, the chair in front of your desk moving back slightly with the motion. Your panic lasts for less than a second and is quickly replaced by a small sigh and an eye roll.

"Stu, you nearly gave me a heart attack." It's not the first time that you've scolded him for that. Despite his typical energy and tall frame, he can maneuver like a cat when he wants to. "I-I locked the window, how are you even in here?"

He leans against your doorway, angling his head so that he's looking at your dresser instead of at you. There's something about your room that's just so you. It's comforting and sometimes overwhelming if he hasn't gotten off in too long.

He could spend an entire afternoon looking through your drawers and sampling your perfumes and lotions. He actually did that one Friday you slept over at Tatum's.

Stu shifts his gaze, his eyes meeting yours. You're trying to be harsh, he can see it in the slight draw of your eyebrows. It's endearing, especially with the stubborn almost pout of your lips. Sometimes when you're mad all Stu can think about is kissing you.

"Your mom told me to go ahead and let myself into your room," he mumbles, pushing away from the doorway as he steps entirely into the room, "You might be mad at me, but she's not."

Your eyes narrow a little at that. You know that Stu knows exactly what he's doing. "Well, she shouldn't have." You scratch the back of your wrist, trying your best to avoid Stu's gaze. "I'm doing homework."

"She said you were bored."

"History homework tends to do that."

Stu takes another step forward. You move your hand, gripping the back of your desk chair. When it comes to staying mad at Stu, physical distance is your only ally. The closer he gets, the less your brain functions.

"You said your history homework wasn't due until next week." Another step forward, the skin over your knuckles strains. "You can't be that mad at me." He continues to walk further into your room until he's so close to your desk chair that he has to turn his head down to look at you. "Let's just watch a movie or something. I'll let you pick."

His piercing gaze cuts straight through you. You can barely breathe. You drop your gaze in order to be able to get your thoughts out. "No, I said I wasn't talking to you."

Even in your own ears your words sound weak. Stu, already feeling his victory, reaches forward. He takes your chin between his pointer finger and thumb, tilting your head up so that he's inescapable. "All of this over a few things I said to Randy? I was joking, he knows I was." When your frown doesn't go away, Stu lets out a sigh, "If it means that much to you, next time I see him I'll give him a joint or something and we'll be even. Promise."

You lean back, pressing your spine into the side of your desk. "It's not really about Randy, y'know." You inhale, thinking through your words carefully. Stu takes your reproaching well as long as you don't cross any invisible lines. "You can't just say what you want about people. It hurts their feelings, and you might forget about it after a second, but that person doesn't."

Stu blinks, an oddly uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach. You genuinely care so much about how other people feel. Everyone. Even people you don't know.

Thinking about it too much makes him uneasy. It makes him feel like anything he feels for you is so much more than anything you could ever feel for him. You consider everyone's feeling, he can only bring himself to worry about how you and Billy are feeling.

He forces himself to back away from you. Stu moves to sit on your bed. Safe distance. The thought is mainly subconscious but that doesn't stop it from rolling in his stomach. He likes to think that he wouldn't actually hurt you over something this small, but he refuses to take the chance when it comes to you. Even more so when Billy isn't around as some kind of silent assurance.

"I thought that the other woman was supposed to be less of a pain in the ass. You're cute, sweetheart, but at least Tatum knows when to drop something."

Out of all the things he could have said, that stung the most. And he knows it. Your relationship exists in a world of in-betweens. You didn't like the idea of being some kind of side piece, especially the side piece to one of your best friend's boyfriends. But you guys never figured out how to stay away from each other.

Stu had spent so much time swearing to you that things were different than they looked. He promised time and time again that his real feelings are for you, that you were it for him, and that he couldn't just blow off Tatum for the sake of the group. With everything going on, with Sidney still grieving, it'd be selfish to risk it all over feelings.

By keeping your thing together secret, you were protecting everyone's feelings while still not breaking your own hearts.

But that single comment burned it all away. You were just starting to believe him, and now... "Really?" The word is pointed, but nowhere near as violent as you want them to be. "You really don't care about anyone's feelings but your own." Your eyes feel teary. "I'm such an idiot because I-I defend you when people say things like that about you, and I'm always thinking that it's just that they don't know you like I do. But they're right--you're--" None of the words that come to mind feel harsh enough, so you decide to just be honest, "You're mean."

Stu blinks as everything you've said settles into his chest. A rare, fleeting touch of a feeling some might have labeled as guilt stabs at him. He crossed a line, and now you’re looking at him in a way you never have before. And your eyes...fuck, your eyes are so wide and glassy. You're about to cry.

He had dealt with your anger before. Petty, teasing anger, sure, but still--anger. Stu could handle that. He knows what to do when you push him away and pout and even knows what to do when you curse at him. But this, this is so much worse than any of that.

You're more hurt than angry and Stu hates it. He hates that he doesn't know how to fix it. He hates that a part of him wishes that Billy was here, he'd be able to smooth this over and get you to stop looking like that.

"Not true," Stu finally manages, his voice nearly wavering at the shocking amount of honesty in it, "I care about someone's feelings."

You shift in your seat, rolling your eyes. "Yeah, your own." Stu watches expectantly as you squeeze your hands together on your lap. "You should go."

"No," Stu stands, "I'm not leaving you like this." Before you can register what's happening, Stu is by your side, placing a hand on your shoulder. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it, I just--" He can't put it into words, and even if he could, he wouldn't be able to express it to you without making you want to call a psychologist. "I'm sorry. You know how I feel about you."

With a sigh, you look up at him. "Stu, go." You stand up, forcing him to let go of you as you start walking towards your bedroom door. "I mean it. Either go or I'm going downstairs and telling my mom I have a migraine, and she'll tell you to leave."

Stu's quiet as you take another step forward. You should have taken his silence as a warning.

You're about to walk out into the hall, but before you can make it, something strong catches you by the waist. You instinctually squirm, but Stu ignores that as he forces you down onto your bed.

A small yelp escapes your lips. You hear the door to your bedroom shut before you can sit up fully. "Stu!"

He's on you in a second, trapping you so that you're forced to stay on your back. If you were struggling to think before, being completely beneath Stu has made it impossible.

Stu's hand finds your face, his thumb soothingly moving across the apple of your cheek. "I didn't mean it." That was true. Tatum is just a part of the plan now, and an occasional lay. But you--you're his first and final thought each day. You're everything, more than you'd ever understand. "You're it for me. No matter what."

You bite your tongue, fighting to not give in to the way he's looking at you. His eyes are pure adoration. "You said that before, and look at how quickly you changed your mind. Since I'm so annoying and I have no interest in being 'the other woman' as you put it, go away."

He doesn't want to talk about this anymore. It's making him feel something that he can't name. He doesn't want you to be mad or upset, he just wants things to go back to normal.

Stu slips his hand across your cheek so that his fingers can twist themselves into your hair. Before you can question him, he presses his lips to yours.

The kiss feels different than the normal way he touches you. It's persistent despite the patience behind it. The way his mouth moves against yours is vulnerable and the way he swipes his tongue against your barely parted lips is pleading.

Your hand instinctively find his chest. You push against him with lethargic force. Stu pulls your bottom lip in between his teeth. A breathy sound that's equally surprised as it is needy escapes you. He takes that as his opening to deepen the kiss.

Just as you start feeling out of breath, Stu pulls away, resting his forehead against yours. I love you.

The thought comes so suddenly Stu has to bite his tongue hard to keep from blurting it out. It's not like he's never felt that towards you, but this is the closest he's ever come to blurting it out.

It's instinct to shut your eyes as you focus on your breathing, but you can still feel his eyes on you. You feel him move, but before you can say anything, Stu starts kissing down your cheek. You don't open your eyes until you feel teeth grazing against your jaw.

"Stu." It's supposed to be a warning.

His hands move, forcing the oversized shirt you're in to ride up enough to expose your hips. Stu squeezes the newly exposed skin as he starts to kiss down your neck. "Do you trust me?"

Yeah, after the way he's been acting, there's no way you're answering that. "There's no way I'm doing anything even remotely sexual with you after what you--"

He finds that one spot near your collarbone. Your breath catches itself in your throat. Stu moves, pushing your shirt up a little more. He kisses down your stomach. You're lost in bliss until you feel his teeth sink into the soft skin of your stomach.

You nearly jump out of your own skin. "Stu!"

Grinning at your tone, he rests his head against you, chin pressing into your hip. "What?"

You're desperate to hold onto your anger, but with the way he's looking at you? It's nearly impossible to not smile. "You're so weird."

"You love it."

Pressing your lips together, you pause to think. "I love it better than you being an asshole."

Not taking the bait, Stu squeezes your hips a little firmer, "I love that smile. It's your 'you-wish-you-were-more-mad-at-me' smile. I think that that's the smile I see the most."

Fondly rolling your eyes, you casually move your hand in order to softly comb your nails through Stu's hair. This is a cute game. "I love that my anger amuses you."

"I love when you do that thing with your nails."

You finally let yourself grin. There's just something about Stu when he's like this, all relaxed and touchy and content. "I love when I can tell you're happy."

"I love you."

Your hand pauses, still in his hair. There's no way you heard that right. "Shit," he breathes, hiding his face against the fabric of your shirt. "I said that out loud." Oh my god--you did hear that right. He just said-- "I was going to be romantic about it. I was going to take you out to that one hill where you can see all the lights from town, and then we were going to go to my place. And I was going to let you pick the movie, and I wasn't going to talk about it, even if you picked that really lame one you're always talking about."

Still in total shock, you blink, stiff beneath him. "I kinda like when you talk about the movies we watch." Stu, looks up, but you don't meet his gaze. "But that's not what we're talking about, so I um--" You shift awkwardly. "Did you mean it?"

Your rush of words come out jumbled, but Stu understands them regardless. "So much. I love you, and I'm sorry that I'm an asshole, but you're not--" He lets out a breath. His silence forces you to finally meet his gaze. "If you think the friend group and Sid can handle it right now, I'll go over to Tatum's right now and break up with her."

Stu's boldness nearly surprises him, because in that moment, he really thinks he might mean it.

Everything you want is hanging there, right in front of you. Every selfish fiber of your being wants to say yes. You want to send Stu off and have him back in your arms in less than an hour. Stu can see it, but he can also see the hesitance in your eyes. After all, you care so deeply about everyone's feelings.

"It-it wouldn't be right," you whisper, more to yourself than him, "Not that any of what we're doing has been right, but that feels meaner than it needs to be. To just completely dump her on a random Saturday night without starting to pull away to prepare her first."

"I'll start pulling away." He's glad to have something productive to latch onto. He could start to pull away from Tatum (like he hasn't already with all the time he spends with you) carefully. Not enough to get her to break up with him, just enough to ease you. He could play at that game until he and Billy finish their plans. "Really laying the ground work for a breakup starts next time I see her."

You nod absentmindedly, the excitement from his confession waning fast. You're retreating into that quiet version of yourself that comes out whenever you think too much about your arrangement.

Stu leans over, pressing a quick kiss to your side. "I think I might've already started because you're all I think about."

"Shut up."

He adjusts his hold on you, "I mean it." You still don't seem too convinced. "You can scold me as much as you want about being nicer to people or anything else. I'm in love you." You finally crack, a smile playing at your lips. "Which is something I've said three times now without you saying it back."

At that, your jaw playfully drops, "Hmm...yeah, you have said it three times now. Weird."

The glint behind Stu's eyes is dangerous. He pulls himself off of you with no warning. You're too confused to do anything until you feel his hands on you. He moves his fingers swiftly, tickling you as you squeal and try to push him off. "What were you saying?"

Through fits of giggles, you manage to get out, "Th-that I'm--" You can barely breathe as you push against him. "That I'm in love with--with a--sadist."

At that, Stu pauses. "In love with, huh?"

"Unfortunately," you sigh.

Stu throws you an exaggeratedly offended look. "Rude. You're going to need to make it up to me."

Deciding to play along, you hum in agreement, "Let me guess. You have something in mind."

Stu leans down, placing a quick kiss to your lips. "You know me so well. C'mon let's go to my place and watch a movie."