#i've connected the dots/hasn't connected shit

[cherrywhite]

drawing THE flimsiest of lines between these two but idk there's something about the way they both build lies around themselves and how Hayward rewriting the conception of Paige's god parallels Faulkner telling his part of the verses. the way they both attempt to tell their stories, as twisted as they are

[edwardshundredyearoldspunk]

space babies comes first, there's no doubt about that. but everything else feels out of order. and nothing solidifies it more in my mind than ruby asking susan twist if they've met before. because what if they haven't? and what if also, they have? what if everything is happening at the same time? and that's why ruby simultaneously feels like she's known the doctor a lifetime and not long at all

[tortoisesshells]

89/274

[adamantiuminsides]

wrestling is to cm punk what brendon urie is to dallon weekes

[cowboyhorsegirl]

Dracula Daily, May 7th:

Dracula Daily, September 22nd:

[mr-saavik]

R.E. that last post about The Emissary may I suggest this niche letterboxd list I made

[casual-praxis]

Adding to the Four Swords x Tales from the Gas Station AU thing..

Despite the fact I said I was abandoning it immediately, I've still been thinking about it while getting swamped at work. Maybe it's just the sucky minimum wage job aspect, but it's taken up refuge in a small corner of my brain now. It owes me money, rent is due.

+ I'm committing to the setting being an actual gas station, though the whole town probably features at least a little in the groups antics. Red's apartment in particular is where everyone defaults to when bored (or in need of shelter due to some weird town-wide spooky shit goin' on).

Red starts off ecstatic about the constant company, but gradually starts to treat it like, "oh, hey, welcome home I guess, [Green, Blue, Vio]'s here too." If it's Shadow he will shut the door immediately, though that doesn't stop Shadow from getting in anyway if he really wants to.

+ Green works multiple jobs all over town and is struggling through student debt, of which comes up in conversation quite a lot as a running joke. He doesn't have many shifts at the gas station, but when he does, some weird shenanigans are pretty much guaranteed to happen. Dude's cursed or something.

He's always pretty low energy due to being run ragged, but always has energy drinks on him that he offers the others whenever there's even a slight inconvenience. He, like Blue, doesn't immediately assume something is supernatural despite the weird ass town they live in, so he's always walking into danger. At least a quarter of his soul now belongs to Vio because of how often Vio has to influence it after Green almost dies (memory alternation doesn't usually taint the souls of those afflicted, but overexposure is one helluva drug).

Also made the executive decision that he's aroace in this AU. Not relevant to anything really, I just think it's neat. Had to self-project this onto one of the Colors eventually lmao.

+ As the main character, Blue interacts with everyone quite a bit for one reason or another, but I've decided that his best friend is Red, his favorite coworker is Green (rip Red, literally whoops), his potential love interest is Shadow, and Vio is a work-acquaintance who he keeps seeing at Red's place and hasn't connected the dots on why that is (they're more than just "good friends", Blue).

+ Shadow and Vio hate each other early on. It is on sight, and it's not even subtle. When asked about it, they give a different reason why every time, often contradicting each other. Both are missing limbs in their true forms as a result of their last scuffle where they went all out.

I haven’t yet decided what causes them to start getting along, but as of now, I don’t think they ever really become friends, more so they just tolerate each other more. Blue and Red probably have something to do with it.

+ Red and Shadow don't particularly like each other, but they aren't outright spiteful of each other. Red's soul belonging to Vio marks him as an enemy to Shadow, but Red being friends with Blue almost negates that fact. Almost. He likes to tease him.

At some point they set the cornfield on fire with a Molotav cocktail and bond over arson.

Until then though, their interactions mainly consist of Shadow poking fun at Red for one reason or another, and Red playing along for Blue’s sake (unless it’s jabs at his relationship with Vio, in which case Red will tell Shadow point blank he hopes Vio kills him ((that’s a lie))).

+ Blue’s memory of Red dying was erased, which, unknown to him, put a strain on their friendship. Shortly after, Shadow makes his appearance, and causes them to unintentionally drift further as Blue starts to spend less time with Red, and more with Shadow.

While this had the potential to become very angsty, it instead just turned into a very convoluted B-plot with Shadow striving to get Blue's memory back from Vio so Blue can fix his friendship with Red--not because he has a soft spot for these two or anything ((liar)), but because Red is spending more time with Vio as a result, and Shadow will do anything to ruin Vio's fun.

It still gets a little angsty once Blue's memory does come back, since, ya know, he unintentionally got his best friend killed. But it's okay, they talk it out. Blue also gets let into the loop on supernaturals at this point, so that opens up a whole lotta exploration potential.

+ I like to think the actual relationship status between Red and Vio is ambiguous, but whatever it is, it's strange. Like, are they just really close coworkers, or are they secretly making out in the camera's blind spot?? Blue thinks they're just good friends, while Shadow is convinced they're together. Green barely even knows who Vio is, so his opinion cannot be sourced at this time.

Either way, Vio stalks Red outside of work. Red is aware, and does not care.

+ Finally, a rapid-fire list of weird shit Blue has seen at the gas station so far:

Lawn-flamingo in the freezer. He got stuck in there when he went to check it out, and then couldn't even find it afterwards.

Headless bird chillin' in the reach-in refrigerator. It was still alive and well, even after being in there for who knows how long--up until they released it and it was immediately eaten by an even bigger bird. Nature is brutal.

Weird nebulous cloud thing that appeared from the cash register. Floated up to the ceiling after a while at which point Blue and Vio took turns hitting it with a broom.

The chip display that only shows up on Sundays. Only contains off-brand chips that don't seem to exist anywhere else. No idea what happens to them once they're bought.

Every now and again, the shitty store phone will get a call on line 4, which shouldn't even be possible. Picking it up usually results in a headache, but also the sound of very faint, reverbed k-pop playing at what appears to be the end of a wind tunnel. Green apparently had a conversation with someone on line 4 once, but didn't remember the contents of said conversation afterwards.

Red somehow catching his hand on fire while restocking the shelves, proceeding to stare at it, then at Blue, then back at his hand, then back at Blue, and in the most monotone sounding voice Blue has ever heard from him, announce "ow," before fleeing to the bathroom.

Corn stalk growing in the air vent. They've been ignoring it, but recently it's been starting to poke out into obvious view of the customers, so Blue is debating contacting the store owners. Sometimes, Blue catches Red staring at it when he's by the lighter display. Not sure if he should be worried about that just yet.

Shadow.

No one believes him on this, but once Blue saw Vio eat a spider completely unprompted. Of course, when he asked why tf Vio did that, Vio just shrugged and said he didn't know what Blue was talking about. Before proceeding to smirk, open his mouth, and let the spider crawl back out--fuckin' weirdo. Ew.

[therealabednadir]

"I've connected the dots!" (he hasn't connected shit)

[olderthannetfic]

fandom social justice history anon here - aaah, thank you, early fandom being dominated by academics definitely connected the dots I was missing, thank you! Yeah, now looking at it with this in mind, it's pretty obvious how the tone of the meta essays from that era, while often snarky or even outraged, definitely sounds more like the tone of people who are used to passionately arguing in a setting that doesn't allow you to just throw whatever ad hominem accusation at your opponent's head. In contrast, tumblr's (and as a result, twitter's and tiktok's) style of fandom drama now reads to me even more blatantly like a catfight between high schoolers who have just recently learned some Big Words they only care to use as ammunition. I've read multiple older fans (including your invaluably informative blog) talking about how tumblr definitely reshaped fandom and brought in a TON of new people, and how slash was far from the "mainstream" of fandom even in the livejournal-ffn.net days, and I'm having a feeling that, for all the imperfections of this first tumblr generation of fans' activism ("let my gays marry" etc etc) the thing that got slash to be "mainstreamed" within fandom the way it currently is, also has to do with this pretty sizeable influx of new fans being mostly teenagers. As in specifically, overwhelmingly teenage girls who were having their first sparks of interest in romance during the height of the "I'm not like other girls" era + everyone shitting on twilight & "girly" musicians, because if you look at the posts from that period, they often contrast being a slash reader with being the slutty partying "other girl" or annoying hipster & at my school too slash kind of spread as a "not like the other girls" alternative to mainstream romance. Yes, not the healthiest attitude either, and it's good we've mostly grown past that, but like I said, there's a good chance that was what buffed up the numbers of slash fans to the point where today people are surprised fandom ever even was hostile to it, and at least in my environment, fandom activism, for all its flaws, was most people's first exposure to any sort of "-rights" activism at all. But (as is probably obvious) I did not experience most of even that era personally (I joined tumblr fandom in 2014). Anyways, excuse the rambling, if you feel like adding anything to confirm or deny my hypothesis, I greatly appreciate it, and I hope you have a nice day/evening!

--

M/M still isn't mainstream in plenty of fandom contexts, just not the ones I hang out in, and "not like the other girls" of the type you describe was already big in the 90s among people who'd heard of fanfic. It's just that fanfic was harder to stumble across overall.

I think the two biggest factors are the changing attitudes towards gayness in mainstream culture in a number of countries and... well... AO3 getting popular.

FFN was the big place in the past, though not for my crowd. Now, AO3 is taking a massive bite out of not only its market share but now, in the last few years, Wattpad's.

When the visible institution around which fanfic revolves puts filtering out het front and center, it sends a strong message that previous fandom platforms did not. You had your m/m-only archives and your f/f-only archives and your places that let you filter for those but that treated het as an unmarked default.

Look at early discussions of AO3. There's an undercurrent there that we all assumed it would be one of a number of archives and that we didn't expect it to get this big.

Nobody could have foreseen the Het-Is-Eternal-Default Wattpad crowd being forced by their own platform's suckitude to come camp on the thing built by slashers. Now, we are the admins and they are the also-tolerated. That never happened before.

The thing that makes people not report gay hand holding as evil porn that must be eradicated is simply AO3 putting its foot down.

Anyone who thinks that virulent slash hate is gone just hasn't looked at other spaces.

This is not about individual fans behaving better: it is about institutional power.

[chaoticbooklesbian]

I hate my dad.

If you've been around these parts for any time at all, you probably know that already. He's a goddamn asshole who sucks shit.

There's also something wrong with him. Like, big, scary health issue type wrong. He won't go to the doctor about it, won't believe me or my mom when we tell him, but it's there.

It's there when one sentence, he's asking me about my knitting club at work, and after I reply, he thinks I'm talking about D&D. It's there when he says a string of words that have nothing to do with each other, then gets frustrated and refuses to elaborate when we don't know what he's talking about. It's there when he watches a movie "for the first time" twice and gives the same review, verbatim, both times. It's there when he falls asleep at the table, startles himself awake, and doesn't remember it happened when we ask if he's tired. It's there when he tilts his cereal bowl toward himself and opens and closes his mouth like he's taking bites when the spoon hasn't left the milk.

(That last one was especially disturbing to me for reasons I can't articulate. He was half asleep already, the milk seemed ready to spill all over him, there was still cereal on his tongue from the last bite he'd taken. I keep seeing it in my mind, over and over again. I can't eat when I remember it. I lost my appetite when it happened.)

It's there when he spills his drink twice in one meal and can't connect the dots to put the lid back on the bottle to keep it from spilling again. It's there when he does it again the next night, and the next, and the next. It's there when he spills my drink all over me at Christmas and apologizes more times in a row than over the entire rest of my life up till that point. It's there when he spills his drink on me at dinner one night and can only plop his napkin down on the puddle already absorbing into the tablecloth, leaving me to get the paper towels and wipe down the table underneath.

(That was just last night. I was so angry. He just sat there. I washed his dishes and took out the recycling and the trash just to have something productive to do that wouldn't land me on the news. Those are his chores to do and he'd left them so long they were overflowing.)

It's there when he eats sweets and sweets and sweets. It's there when he leaves popsicle sticks and wrappers all over the place in the middle of the night. It's there when he finishes off a quart of ice cream by himself over several nights and doesn't remember a single bite of it. It's there when he eats the cereal my mom got for me before I get a chance at it. It's there when he eats the ice cream he got for me before I get a chance at it. It's there when he eats the cookies he got for me before I get a chance at them.

(That drives me up the wall. I asked my mom to stop getting me that cereal after the fourth box he ate entirely on his own. I asked him to stop getting me ice cream after the third quart he polished off because I took too long to get to it, never mind that I was saving it. He forgot and got me more ice cream, then ate it.)

I try not to blame him too much for these lapses. I know they're the result of a health issue he can't control. I also know they're worse when he gets high, which he does nearly all the time. He sundowns most days, but especially when he's high. I try not to blame him, but a lifetime of blaming him makes it easy to do. I resent him already for the care he's going to require as whatever this is progresses. I've resented him my whole life for the care he was always going to need in his old age.

He's approaching 70.

He'll need care soon.

[invisiblegarters]

The Heart Killers Ep 4

I'll be honest, I kind of don't want to watch today.

I've seen enough spoilers to know that we've got some stuff that resembles the novel a lot coming up, and there's one scene in particular that imo is indicative of everything about the novel that I hated and made me not want to watch in the first place. So even though I have been reassured it's not quite as bad as that, I head into today's ep with trepidation and not the fun kind.

Anywho, without further blathering, here we go I guess. Yay?

Also in case the above wasn't clear, there will be some novel spoilers in this one. Read on at your own risk.

Honestly the thing that hasn't left my brain all week is Captain Krist slapping Kant's thigh. They could have showed it again in the previouslies I would not have complained.

Pffft Kant I like you a lot more than everyone else here save Fadel, but I don't think the cops give two shits that Bison is into BDSM OR the northern lights, like. Come on honey.

Ooh I like the stairs. And they have rails. We love rails.

It would be funny if he pulled out some of Bison's BDSM stuff. "I just wanted to keep the blindfold as a memento, okay?"

Oh hey there's the vomiting. And to think that last week I said Bison had it easier than the secretary he and Fadel drugged. You know, the one that they just left praying to the porcelain god with vomit still drying on her chin.

PFFFT is he really just standing outside their house taking pictures bold as brass? I know Fadel is taking care of Bison but what if he decided Bison could wait five minutes while he made sure Kant took off?

Just kill him? Bison if Fadel took you up on that offer and was like sure let's kill him, I don't think you'd like it.

Okay I'm pausing because this is once again what I mean when I say I'm skeptical of the Bison has been playing 4D chess all along stuff (and what will make me roll my eyes if the show tries to convince me of it later). If Bison was as suspicious of Kant as people keep saying, he'd have done the damn background check himself. He wouldn't need Fadel to be connecting these dots for him.

Here is what I know of Bison based on what I am getting from the show thus far: he's something of a loose canon, he's a bit naive slash a lot naive in spite of what he does for a living, he wants a boyfriend and to be done with the assassin shit, he enjoys power and yes, is having a great time leading Kant around by his dick. NO, he does not believe that Kant is as into him as he says and that's mostly been fine because Bison has been more in love with the idea of someone wanting him than interested in Kant as a person. So much is made of Kant not actually wanting Bison but frankly I doubt Bison wanted him all that much either. He wants a boyfriend, I don't really think that he wants Kant specifically.

There were a few points last ep when it felt like maybe he was liking Kant for himself, but not enough for me to really be sure of it. For the most part he seems to be just enjoying playing around with Kant / using him as a stepping stone to the life he'd rather have. I genuinely do not think the person matters to him at all.

That said, I still don't think that he's thinking that Kant is much more than a playboy doesn't like being told no.

Until now. When FADEL has to point out all the things that Bison should have thought of if he were actually suspicious of Kant doing what he's actually doing.

Or maybe he's just that excited to tie someone down and whip them. It could be that too.

And again. I do think that up 'til now he has been suspicious of Kant's motives. I just don't believe that until this particular point his suspicions have been even close to being in the right direction.

Now what I can see happening from here is instead of Bison choosing to trust Kant in spite of himself, he does start playing the game that Kant's actually been playing this whole time and every moment between them from now on is false on his part just as Kant starts to get more real.

Which would normally be interesting to me, except I barely believe Bison likes Kant now so the game playing wouldn't be that impressive. And I don't trust Jojo not to drag it out too long, squash the "reveal" and the "forgiveness" (with maybe about three or for other conflicts in between) into second to last episode of the show and then try to make me believe that suddenly Bison has real affection in the last ep because the script says so. Romance!

Don't tell me he didn't do that in OF we were all there. Mew and Top had a pretty solid arc though, I'll give him that. Then again since they were based on real folk that arc was kinda laid out for him, eh?

Aside over, back to our regularly scheduled program.

Oh hey Fadel does remember the secretary. Do you also remember how you left her passed out on the toilet? I really hope you at least locked the door when you left her there boys.

SEE! THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE. NO Bison I DON'T actually think that you would notice if you ingested the same drug you used on the woman literally nobody gives two shits about because you CLEARLY DID NOT NOTICE.

4D chess, baby.

Lol poor Style having wet dreams. Hey where is his racecar bed?

HA dad is mean but I like him. And whatever, I like Style too. I like that he's an ass. Genuinely my favorite thing about this show is that all of these people suck. I can root for and against all of them.

Except Fadel. Shut up. I just need him to be loved okay my baby has been through it I literally don't care if everyone else winds up miserable so long as he is happy.

Him looking everywhere for Style is kinda great. Style knows exactly what he's about right now, doesn't he?

Why is this so funny.

Hm, Bison using Kant's tricks on him eh? But also he might not be the best at this spying gig but he's not gonna leave evidence in plain sight either, if that's what Bison is there for. Come the fuck on.

Gosh Kant is pretty. I'm just gonna focus on that and not on the fact that apparently he pays no attention to that brother he adores so much JUST so Bison can figure out something's wrong instead. Sure why not.

STYLE WHAT ARE YOU DOING.

This man is insane. Now that Kant is entering his useless and stupid era this man right here is probably going to take his place as my second favorite.

Uh oh Fadel mad.

LOL Kant smacking the bully kid around is pretty funny.

Smack him again Kant.

Pfft ducking out of sight like that wasn't suspicious at all no sir.

Well now he needs to die.

Okay Kant that's nice but maybe stop giving us exposition while breaking into a fucking car jesus. Time and place, babe. Literally no one in this show knows how to do any of this stuff properly. No, not even them.

Maybe Mother Lilly. She looks competent, although since this is pulp her competence will totally fail at a crucial moment lol.

I respect Kant still trying to run his game in the middle of a little B&E though.

I don't keep my ugliest secrets in my car, Kant. Except maybe that I am bad at getting the poor thing washed but that's out there for all to see I wear my shame on the outside.

Sorry I missed whatever they were saying I was distracted by how hot Kant looks when he's pissed off and planning to beat a man.

Wow to hear other people talk Bison defeated that dude with his eyes closed and one hand behind his back while Kant cried in the corner. But it did not go that way at all. They both took their fair share of hits and got their fair share in too, imo. I know why no one else seemed to watch this version of the show but also please be serious, fandom.

I'm not bugged about Bison delivering the final kick because I would hope he knows how to fight. Kant is scrappy but a car thief isn't necessarily going to be a fighter. Plus he's been living a more cushy life of late whereas Bison should still need those skills. Theoretically.

Fadel full on broke a man's arm with his thighs Bison has a LOT to live up to.

Teacher is fucking gross.

Kant beating him with the plunger was funny.

Oh my GOD is that Freddie Mercury the second?

Oh oh OH. OH Fadel's FACE when Freddie 2 was talking about his BF just saying he didn't love him anymore..

I'm still sure ex was killed but did he break Fadel's heart first? Do we have a Jim from MLC situation on our hands where Fadel never got to come to grips with the heartbreak because his lover "disappeared" before he could, thus sort of leaving him in a helpless limbo where he can't forget or properly forgive? Don't threaten me with a good time, show Jim is my favorite character in any Thai show ever. I'm not even kidding whenever I rate a show I ask myself "is this as good as MLC?" It never is.

Nope you know what. No this makes perfect sense for Style to do. He fucking would. I don't even feel bad for Fadel. I feel bad for the poor support group who has to deal with this shit. They did not sign up for these shenanigans. Poor Freddie Mercury 2 was just trying to get some support.

Hahaha even the group leader is like "the fuck?"

Oh no Freddie don't buy into this. Don't do it. DON'T try to commiserate with Style he does not give two fucks about your pain he's needling someone.

...and that's the second time Fadel has dragged Style out of there. Are they going to fuck in one of the rooms again?

PFFFT I'm genuinely surprised that Style didn't yell at Fadel that he totally DID get him pregnant, so he needs to take responsibility dammit. That sounds like something he would do.

"I'm not hiding a thing from you! Just the ex wife that I may or may not have. The cop I'm working for who I may or may not have slept with. The ex with the Kant tattoo who I may or may not have honey trapped before you. Oh. Also all those pictures of your BDSM equipment I may or may not keep wanking over. And the blindfold that I may or may not have stolen for said wanks. But other than that I'm an open book I swear."

I don't buy a word of this. I don't care how much pretty music you put over it. I do like the song though.

Fadel dragging Style out into the woods is cracking me up. I would not be following that man I'd be worrying he was gonna do a murder.

Oh my gosh imagine if Style had decided to just drive home. He would totally call Kant to ask him how to hotwire that Jeep and that would have been a delightful conversation.

Fadel, honey. He absolutely thought about strangling Style for a sec though. Like if I kill him I won't have to worry that this will turn into something beyond my control and hurt me the way the last one did.

My boy is so gone. Poor baby really has no defenses against this sort of thing, does he? See this is what happens when you keep yourself from even the most superficial affection. You should have been out one night standing it like your brother.

Although I don't think that would have helped you. You're our main love starved character Fadel. You never had a chance.

Oh hello brooding shower scene. See though, I was right that pathetic simp Kant is coming. You can tell because now we're actually getting a scene of him alone so we can get a sense of where his head is really at. I will miss ruthless Kant so much. I really think he showcased First's abilities in a big way.

Pffft you're about as in love with Kant as the wall (the wall might have a better chance actually).

Fadel on the other hand...baby is not god's strongest soldier.

Okay not buying that this dude was responsible for their parents' deaths even a little bit. It's way too convenient. Also we KNOW Mother Lilly is a bad guy (duh). Red suit of evil, remember?

Well I am glad that Kant told Style about the assassin thing. But I don't know if telling him and then asking him to keep helping is the best thing to do here. The emotional blackmail was also a choice, hahaha. Why do I like him best when he's being awful? I'm going to miss this version of him so much I feel like I need a support group.

Kant I admire your confidence but they're totally gonna catch you. in like, five minutes.

I expected Style to be a lot more angry but I'm kinda loving how this bit is shaking out.

Poor Fadel he's being a good boyfriend and Style is busy freaking the fuck out because he's dating a literal hitman I love this for them. I know I said I didn't want Fadel hurt but I have no doubt they'll work it out in the end and both be just as ridiculous about each other so right now I'm just enjoying the ride.

Oooh I like this James. He's a twerp but honestly so is everyone. Can he make out with Kant a little? As a treat for me specifically?

HAHAHA this guy is a delightful asshat I hope he sticks around for a bit. Kant strung him along long and hard enough he got a whole ass tattoo to represent their love, poor thing, which is why we don't do things like that. Just buy some couple T's like everyone else. Then when the obvious playboy breaks your heart you can burn them as a representation of your ability to fully love and trust another person going up in flames. Think smarter, James.

I wonder if he was involved with a past job? I genuinely would not be surprised if Bison wasn't the first time Kant went with the "I'm just so into you baby" routine to have an in for a job.

Well Kant, kinda a jerk does describe you. This is not a criticism I like you best when you're a jerk.

Also is it better to get a tattoo blackened or removed? who wants a black bar behind their ear? Although I guess one is probably less expensive than the other.

Kant still hasn't put those glasses back on. This is an attack against me personally.

Yes Kant he's unhinged. Were you unaware? Although to be honest if he weren't working with the cops I bet he'd find that threat hot. Yes, even knowing Bison is an assassin. This is the man who dropped a bowling ball on someone else's foot and thought it was a perfectly okay thing to do to communicate jealousy you can't tell me he wouldn't be super into someone he actually liked threatening to murder an ex lover if he flirted with them. Come on.

That said, I don't really think Bison's pissiness has much to do with Kant at all. And I do not think that his ire when he finds out what Kant's been up to is going to be hurt. He's just gonna be pissy about Kant trying to trick him. But seriously he could spare us the drama and just put a bullet in the man's head. Save us all some time.

In conclusion, I'm back to not enjoying KantBison. We had a couple of brief, shining moments last ep but they were not meant to last, apparently.

Oh well. We had a good run.

I will say that it makes sense that Kant would start to see Bison in a different light once he helped him help Babe. In retrospect I should have known that part of the novel would stay, because it's probably the only way show!Kant would ever have looked at Bison differently - Babe is his whole world, that man would do anything for him, so of course that's the reason he'd start to soften and actually see Bison as a person and not just a means to an end.

I was hopeful in spite of myself that the novel had changed a lot with them at first because Fadel and Style have been different in ways that make them much better and because Kant was less emotionally compromised from the get go. But alas, I now think that I was wrong. Too bad, their dynamic in the novel really turned me off.

What I would love and am now positive I will not get is Bison who deliberately turns a blind eye to how sketch Kant is starting to look because he already likes him too much. I want him to throw himself into this head first not because he likes the novelty of being in a relationship but because he likes being with Kant specifically. I want him to tell Kant what he and Fadel do, not as a manipulation tactic but because he needs Kant to know and accept him anyway.

And then have it get to the point where he can't ignore it anymore and so he makes up all these elaborate rituals for getting rid of the problem but what it really is is stalling because he can't kill him but he's also not ready to forgive him. Plus let's be real he deserves a little bit of torture for fun. I want him tearing rooms apart from sheer rage because he let this man in and now he can't bring himself to kill him so what is he supposed to do, huh (the answer might be psychologically and maybe physically torture Kant a bit)? I also want him to think that Kant might actually be dead at one point and lose all his shit, because that would be fun. For me.

Meanwhile Kant has fallen into his own trap and is now willing to turn that ruthless streak of his towards doing whatever it takes to get Bison the hell out of the assassin gig because that's what Bison wants. I want him to realize that he genuinely doesn't care one way or the other what Bison does because he's all in and it's not like he's a saint either. I want him to be conflicted and messy and caught like an animal in a trap, and I want him to want to tell Bison what's been going on but not be able to get there before it's discovered (and also be shitting his pants because he's aware Bison might actually kill him). I want him to somehow almost get away clean but then be absolutely unable to leave Bison to his own devices. I want him to save Bison's ass at some point, lol. That's for me.

I want them to be utterly unhinged about each other. Like "for any normal people this would be enough for a break up and a restraining order" levels of unhinged. "We would rather die than live in a world without each other" levels of unhinged. "We will burn the entire world down if anyone tries to separate us" levels of unhinged.

Barring that, I'd take them both using each other til the end. So long as they feel mostly evenly matched I don't really care tbh.

Alas, I do not think this is what I will get. I think what I will get is a Kant who falls into his own trap and a Bison who never really seems to care about him beyond what he represents - a life outside of being an assassin. I think Kant will be devoted. Bison will accept that devotion as his due. Romance!

I like Kant with Babe. I wish there were more scenes with those two but I know that their relationship is not that important to the plot except as a catalyst to get Kant to work with the police in the first place. Still. They are sweet together, and I love seeing Kant in big brother mode.

I also quite like Kant and Style together. I would like to see more of them please. They're dicks but I do think they care about each other. And as I said I appreciate that Kant didn't let Style stumble into the whole assassins thing on his own.

Fadel and Style are excellent. I loved Style's reaction to finding out that Fadel and Bison are hitmen, it was perfect. And Fadel. Oh, that man. He's spent so much time holding himself in such rigid control that I'm really not surprised he's moving so fast now. Fadel is the opposite of Bison for real. One says he wants love he's more into the idea of it than anything else. The other says he doesn't want or need love but he is so very weak for it. I think it's more a case of not wanting to want love because he was burned so badly before. He thinks that by shutting himself off from everyone but his "family" he's saving his heart from being broken again.

But he can't help himself. Because Fadel was made to love. His heart is soft even if he wants it to be stone, and there's no more proof than this episode. I don't think he's in love with Style either yet, but I do think he craves the kind of affection Style is offering him. When he does let himself fall it's gonna be so hard, for real. But I get the impression that Style's gonna be just as bad when he falls, so that's good. Fadel deserves good things. Or barring that, he deserves to have the little asshole he's in love with love him back just as hard.

I do really want more backstory on that ex though.

I am really looking forward to how these two will develop. Fadel is starving for affection, I've said it a million times already but he is. And Style's an ass but it's very obvious that when he cares about someone he's all in. Look at how he didn't even get that mad at Kant for siccing him on a literal murderer! Look at how he let him talk him into continuing with said murderer despite all the reasons why he shouldn't! Style is the ride or die type, I know it in my bones. He's not there with Fadel yet but it's coming. We all know it's coming. And I for one am very excited to see it play out.

I think that Fadel won't be able to kill him like he should, I don't think he'll even try tbh (which makes the likelihood of him having killed his ex even less), but I do think he'll try to get rid of him in other ways. Too bad for him Style is like an unfairly attractive burr. That man is going nowhere. Except not really because I doubt Fadel is going to want him to go anywhere even if he pretends real hard that he does.

There's also, admittedly, that I just prefer my couples to be equally obsessed with each other, and FadelStyle is looking to fit that bill in a big way. The whole servant and god dynamic is not for me.

Also, randomly, I want to know what's going on with Keen and JJ No Name (did he get a name and I was just too busy yelling about giving him a BL romance? Dunno but I'm too lazy to go to MDL and check). Please let it be something gay.

[artisticallyaroacecrickett]

right so I know there's only like four other people on here that have ever heard of this musical but my school's doing it in march and I'm just the slightest bit obsessed soooooo

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (musical) Incorrect Quotes!

Jasper: And I just want you for my own~ Rosa: Please leave me the fuck alone~ Alice Nutting: You know, I do love working here with the Music Hall Royale. We have a lot of laughs. Also Alice: FUCK OFF JANET. I'M NOT GOING TO YOUR FUCKING BABY SHOWER. (more under cut)

Crisparkle: All the festive decorations are up! There's only one thing left to hang! Everyone else, in complete unison: JASPER. Crisparkle: no.

Datchery: I've connected the dots. Killer: You didn't connect shit. Datchery: I've connected them. Jasper: I'll have you know that I have been a perfectly decent vocal instructor. Puffer: You fucked up a perfectly good kid is what you've done. Look at her, she's got anxiety! Bazzard: I truly believe that water can solve all your problems. Bazzard: Weight loss? Drink water. Bazzard: Clear skin? Drink water. Bazzard: Want to get rid of someone? Drown them. Puffer: Well, who the fuck- Chairman: LANGUAGE, ANGELA. Puffer: Ah, sorry Bill. Puffer: Whom the fuck- Chairman: When life get tough, I like to look at this photograph of all the actors that I keep in my pocket. Throttle: Aw, that's surprisingly swe- Chairman: It reminds me that if I can deal with those dumbasses on a daily basis, I can deal with anything. Throttle: There it is. Helena: That's ridiculous! Rosa doesn't have a crush on me. Neville: Yes she does. Puffer: Yes she does. Rosa: Yes I do. Helena: Two truths and a lie, I’ll start! Helena: I’ve killed someone, I'd do it again, and I'm not lactose intolerant. Drood, visibly nervous: I don’t- I don’t like this game. Rosa: Underestimate me. That'll be fun. Chairman: Janet, keep an eye on Alice today. She's going to say something to the wrong person and get punched. Janet Conover: Sure, I'd love to see Alice getting punched. Chairman: Try again. Janet, sighing: I will try to stop Alice from getting punched. Drood, at the top of a ladder: I'm scared, Jack! Jasper, holding out his arms: Do you trust me, Ned? Drood: Yes! Drood: *hits the ground, hard* Jasper: Rule #1, never trust anybody.

Bazzard: My life isn't as glamourous as my wanted posters make it look.

Crisparkle: Impossible burger? Please. Crisparkle: Through Christ, all things are possible. Chairman: Alright, listen up you little shits. Chairman: Not you, Mr. Throttle. You're an angel and we're thrilled you're here. Clive Paget, with his leg stuck in a chair: Now, you may be asking, "How did you do this to yourself, Mr. Paget?" Clive: Well, kids, Mr. Paget hasn't got a damn clue either. Durdles: *Pulls a glass of wine from out of nowhere* Deputy: Where did you get that? Durdles: My pocket. Deputy: How do you keep of glass of wine in your pocket? Durdles: Skills. Jasper: Am I going too far? Rosa: No, no, no. You went too far about two years ago. Now you're going to prison.

[cyrassol]

HI i wrote an incredibly self-indulgent avery fic instead of drawing the requests, here's hoping folks enjoy anyway!!!

Avery x PC — who will they believe?

pc: unnamed, no Y/N either. gendered terms "woman" and "girl" used, but no mention of genitals or defined pronouns. second person POV

avery: male pronouns, amab

word count: little over 2k

content warnings: mild violence (hair pulling, not the kinky kind), "whore" used as a derogatory term once, yelling (avery is ANGRY), typical toxic dol relationships, mentions of and brief (albeit graphic) descriptions of sexual activities in dialogue

description: y'all know the scene with high crime and at least a little rage!avery where they drive you to the police station and threaten to turn you in? and defiant pc claps back? yup, this is based on that one! PC is a successful phantom thief who slipped up, and avery is none too happy about the effects that might have on his reputation

enjoy!!! likes are appreciated, replies and reblogs even more so ❤

•••••••••••••••

There's no way in hell.

"What's wrong, my little nymph?" Avery asks, a worried frown tugging at his mouth as if he hadn't parked on Barb Street, a stone's throw from the fucking police station. At least his car windows are darkened so there's no way for anyone to see you from the outside, but if a cop decides to come closer and investigate then it might all be over.

How does he know, anyway? You've been careful, you've been so goddamn careful—face hidden, gloves to avoid any fingerprints, staying out of sight from any would-be witnesses, doing favors for Landry every other week. No one should have been able to trace you, so how does he know?

And more importantly, why does he care?

"So quiet, all of a sudden," he hums, eyeing a couple of police officers as they escort someone with the same build and hair colour as you into the station. "Nervous, perhaps?"

"What's this about, dear?" you ask, tone dripping with the same insincerity, because one does not mingle with high society every weekend without picking up a thing or two.

"I was hoping you could tell me," he sighs, finally meeting your gaze. His expression and voice are perfectly composed into faux-concern, but as adept as Avery is at pretending he fits right in with the upper echelons of society, he still hasn't learned to mask the rage in his eyes. "I've tried to assume you must have good reasons each time you reject my generosity," he continues, mask briefly slipping when wrath makes his voice quiver on the word 'reject'. "But alas, it'd seem I was mistaken."

He doesn't expect a reply yet, and so you don't give him one. You've turned him down here and there for months and while it's clearly hit a nerve, it's nothing new. He hasn't told you the real reason he's mad yet.

"Instead," he goes on, just as you knew he would, "I start hearing rumours."

Ah. Shit.

"What sort of rumours?" you ask, curiosity feigned and genuine at the same time—feigned because you can already imagine what they are, but you also need to know where you fucked up.

"A phantom thief," Avery says, reaching out to twirl a strand of your hair between his fingers. "Several of my acquaintances have been hit by this scoundrel. They say the thief breaks into a new mansion every night, leaving no trace except for emptied coffers and missing family heirlooms."

You won't lie, the way he's describing you makes you a little proud. It's concerning that your victims have connected the dots that you're a single individual, of course—the chances of you getting caught are significantly higher if they've figured out your modus operandi—but hearing yourself being spoken about in such a romanticised way almost makes you want to keep going exactly as you are.

Provided Avery's bluffing about turning you in, naturally. And if you've messed with his reputation through people somehow figuring out the girl hanging off his arm at social events is the very thief who's robbing them blind, unfortunately there's a very high chance he isn't.

"And what makes you think I'm involved in anything like that, babe?" you ask, perhaps laying it on a bit too thickly with the nickname. He's never asked you to do it, but you figured out a long time ago that hearing a beautiful woman half his age call him that always makes him preen a little.

Avery gives you a tight smile, and it's the only warning you receive before his grip on your hair turns to iron.

"Because, my little sunshine," he grits out through his teeth, "the thief happened not to notice a security camera on their latest little exploit."

"Fuck."

It comes out before you can stop it, but it wouldn't have been any use keeping quiet anyway. Not if you've been caught on a fucking camera.

"Aptly put," he says with a chuckle that's entirely devoid of mirth. "The acquaintance who caught this criminal on camera made sure to show the footage to a whole group of us as well as the police, so we'd know who to be on the lookout for."

"Surely the thief had a mask on," you say, because you did, and also because you're desperately trying to find anything that might give you the plausible deniability you need to save your ass. "And their hair was definitely hidden, too. How would they have been recognised?"

"Their identity is still unknown," he agrees, before pulling painfully at your hair to tug you closer until you're inches from his face and you can see every fleck of green and every speck of rage in his eyes. "I, however, would recognise that ass anywhere, grainy security footage or no." Avery's smile is all teeth and no warmth. "I fuck it every weekend, after all."

You breathe out slowly through your nose, closing your eyes in defeat. "And if you can recognise me, it's only a matter of time until someone else does."

"Good girl," he says, letting go of your hair. "We finally understand each other."

A few moments of silence pass by as you consider your options, and he considers you.

Finally, he turns forward, hazel eyes cold and staring straight ahead at the police station. "Tell me why I shouldn't turn you in."

Chewing your bottom lip, you study him from the corner of your eye. "... Have I ever robbed you?"

He snorts. "Not yet, you haven't."

That's good, at least you haven't made it overly personal. "To be fair, if I had then it wouldn't have been on purpose. I don't know where you live."

"Don't try to distract me," he hisses, immediately erasing any trace of mirth from the conversation. "You're a liability. Who's to say you won't get caught again? Do you have any idea what I'll go through if people find out I was the one who introduced a thief into their midst?"

You'd have robbed them regardless of knowing them or not, but saying that won't do you any favours.

"If merely knowing me is an issue, you're already in trouble," you say instead, and instantly realise it wasn't the correct thing to say either.

"Yes, brat," Avery snarls, eyes flashing. "That is precisely the problem. And right now, I can only see one way to solve it."

"Come on, they don't know who I am yet," you snap, patience running out now that you've already antagonised him anyway. "Turn me in and they'll know for sure that you've been hanging around a criminal."

He scoffs. "I'll plead ignorance, naturally. They have no reason to think I knew anything."

"I'll tell them everything else, then," you vow, because at this point you have nothing left to lose. "Every sordid little detail. They may forgive you for unknowingly associating yourself with a thief, but will your reputation survive word getting out that you approach vulnerable orphans so you have an easy target to groom into the arm candy you want? Into your perfect little sex toy?"

"Whore!" he roars loud enough for you to fear it was heard outside the car, and grabs you by the hair again. "You think you can threaten me?! It'll be my word against a random orphan's, who do you think they'll believe?"

"They may not believe me at first, no," you half-chuckle, half-gasp from the pain. "But once I'm gone and you've found some pretty little socialite to hang off your arm—because it certainly wouldn't do to hang around any more 'random orphans' for a while lest they really start getting suspicious—you know that won't be the end yet."

He opens his mouth to reply, but you don't let him, too incensed to stop now. "It won't be the end, because when that pretty little socialite is sucking your cock in my place, you can bet she'll want to see if those other rumours are true so she can tell her friends. So tell me, sir, when she runs her tongue along the vein under your dick and your eyes roll backward like I said they would, or scrapes her teeth just the tiniest bit against the tip and your hips thrust forward, just like I said they would, who then will they believe?"

For a few seconds, all that's heard inside the car is the sound of your combined laboured breathing. His jaw is clenched so tightly that it'll be a wonder if his teeth are intact after this.

You break the silence first. "Let me go, Avery."

His grip tightens for a moment, before he finally relents. He doesn't speak a word as he turns away from you, switches the ignition on and leaves the parking spot.

"The orphanage?" he asks curtly.

"No," you reply tiredly. "Harvest Street, if it's alright. Need to get some footage deleted as soon as possible."

It's not a request you'd ever risk making normally for many reasons, but these are special circumstances. He hums in acknowledgement, and the rest of the journey is silent.

Finally, Avery parks in an alley close to Harvest Street. The very last part of town that's still respectable, in case there's anyone around to recognise his car.

"Don't tell me where you're going," he says, eyes still staring ahead. "But when you're done, you're coming straight back here. I'll wait."

You grind your teeth, considering your options. He's obviously not happy and you're definitely going to catch hell for earlier, but at least he's not dropping you entirely.

"Twenty minutes, tops," you finally say, and he only nods in reply.

You're back in fifteen. Landry had cringed when you told him about the footage, and luckily you still had some favours he owed you so it didn't take much at all for him to assure you any traces of you would be gone from both police records and private security cameras by the end of the day.

"Will this happen again?" Avery asks, turning on the car as soon as you're back inside it.

"No." You'll make sure of it.

"You must be rather satisfied with yourself." His voice is calm, but when he glances at you, there's still traces of his previous anger in his gaze.

You really aren't. You got caught on camera and nearly lost both your freedom and your most stable source of income for it, as well as whatever weird relationship you two have outside of the sugar daddy and sugar baby dynamic. Avery is a nasty, angry man who thinks throwing money at people will make them love him and cares far too much about what others will say, but none of that means you want to lose him.

No, you're not satisfied at all. But you can't say any of that without reigniting his temper, and you're already on thin ice. So you stay quiet.

Until you notice you're no longer heading towards the orphanage, that is.

"Where are we going?" you ask before you've had time to make sure no panic would slip into your voice.

"My place," he replies, instantly flooring you. "After all, it wouldn't do for you to rob me next simply because you didn't know it was my house."

You open your mouth, but no words come out.

"Plus," he continues, voice far too nonchalant in a way that instantly snaps you back into reality. "You didn't think you were getting away with your little tantrum without consequences, did you? You're lucky I don't give up on you once and for all."

He only briefly looks at you before turning back towards the road, eyes full of rage and lust in equal measures which immediately tell you everything you need to know about what your next hours are going to be like. Possibly the next day.

"Come on, babe," you chuckle nervously, hoping to appeal to the lust you saw in hopes that it makes your punishment if only a little bit lighter. "You know whatever little socialite you found after me was never gonna feel as good as I can make you feel."

His eyes flash towards you again, but he doesn't reply—and yet that matters little, because that brief look was enough to know with full certainty that you're right. You both know damn well he doesn't want to lose you either, whether he wants to admit it or not.

Which he won't, but there's no need for it. After all, Avery's weakness has always been and will always be that no matter what words leave or don't leave his mouth, the truth never stays hidden for long once you look into his eyes.

[kayla-marie-writes]

We are HALFWAY through My Demon! Time for Episode 8! (Again, I'm not sure if Song Kang's career is taking off like crazy, or if it's me being new to his work, but I've added a few more of his dramas to my watchlist).

Also. The thing is dramas where blatant crimes happen in public and it's never noticed is INSANE! YES, GET HIM! THE MASK CAME OFF! WHY ARE THEY TAKING PHOTOS, WHAT THE HELL?!

I know Seok-hoon is upset, but he wouldn't wish death on Jeong...oh. The tattoo isn't working?! Oh SHIT. What's going on with that? Oh-tears? Second male lead pain. My heart.💔 Okay, seriously WHO IS THAT LADY?!

Sigh. Still. I do not care for Star Jin. I don't. If you cared about him so much, you wouldn't be acting like a brat. I've never understood that fandom/crush trope. They can only be happy if they're yours? I understand that him falling for someone else hurts. I've had it happen. My issue is the whiny behavior. I can't relate to it.

Oh. Spontaneous combustion must be slow and awful. He is a baby when he's hurt. Why is it cute?! Awww, he keeps asking for Do-hee!😭😭😭😭🥹. Honestly, I'd use the Wild Dogs to track tbe killer down. They're funny and loyal. I think they'd be useful, too. Why. Are. They. Adorable?!

The leap out of bed was so-what's with the cutesness in this episode? I hope we get more of the office in the series. Or maybe I need a good workplace comedy to watch.

Oh, people are connecting the dots. I KNEW THEY WERE WORKING TOGETHER!! OMG!! They just wanna cuddle, but you know...he's gotta charge.😉 Awwww, OMG, I CANNOT!! 🥹😍 Cuddly demon...

I LOVE Do-hee's assistant, and I think she lowkey ships them. What's that?? I think the butler is handsome, honestly. He is sunshine. And funny. Jeong is so (again) cute when it comes to sweets.

Right, so the truth about Madam Ju and Do-hee's parents hasn't been revealed yet. We still don't know who killed her, as that's the one death we haven't seen signs of Creepy Bastard being involved...WHY IS HE KEEPING HIS PAIN FROM HER?!

Do-hee, I'm pretty sure he knows about demons and we KNOW HE KNOWS the killer. I was just about to comment that it was nice to not see her family this episode...the bitch got what she wanted, and she's STILL annoying.😒

Okay, WAIT WHAT?! Why is she telling him this?!💔💔💔 I am so sick of them. *eye roll*...okay, so I missed when Needy Jin said something to Doo-hee.🙄 He's not in love with you, you aren't doing this for his sake. You know Do-hee has the tattoo.

Oh. Both male leads face off. Seok-hoon has been going through it. AAAHHHH!!!!!!! CONFESSION??! Maybe? Kinda?! (Not the dramatic sprinkler🤣😭😍). Ok, so now, I wonder if the powers will work better, or become stronger now? OOH THE PREVIEWS FOR THE NEXT EPISODE! I can't wait until tomorrow!

[fizzywashere87]

It Was Fun While it Lasted Pt.1

notes: kess emak. Warnings!: breakups, crying, physical pain, angst. Also, this isn't an x reader

M. List | Pt. 2

She's walking to her locker, binders from her previous class in her arms, She finds a piece of paper sticking out of one of the top slots of her locker.

It's February 13th, is it a Valentines day note?

Yes. Yes it is.

She only skimmed through it, only picking up things like a compliment on her hair and her smile. She wasn't amused, flustered or flattered, though she was very confused when she seen who had written the note. This wasn't real. Haha, funny prank, She's not fooled.

She drops her stuff off in her next class before heading to lunch, the note hasn't left her hand yet. On the off chance it was actually a confession, She didn't want to throw it away, although She was planning to reject Him. Of course, the one I'm narrating for is a fucking genius and an complete dumbass bitch at the same time. Constant overthinking, yet constant impulsive decisions.

On her way to lunch She spots her friend, the note was still in her hand she walks up to him. "Bro, I just got a love note from someone." She says, showing her friend the paper with the shitty ass handwriting. "Don't say anything though, I don't even think it's real." Her friend grabs the paper and immediately has a knowing smile on his face. She wasn't in the mood for this shit honestly.

"What?" She raises her brow at him, getting a shrug in response. "It's probably not even real, I've never talked to him once bro." She says as they get closer to the lunch room she begins balling up the paper. "Who do you think wrote it?" She asks him as they walk.

"Probably (A)." He shrugs, as if (A) had been pranking people around this time. Why would (A) know where her locker is? She didn't feel like thinking too much into it, deciding it's fake to be easier on her, she throws the note away, and her and her friend part ways as they go to sit at their own tables.

Debating whether or not she should mention it to her friends, she stays quiet for a few minutes as they wait to get dismissed to get their food. As they wait in line for their trays, she pulls one of her friends to stand next to her. "I got a fake love note today." She tells her friend, who looks as confused as she did when she first read the note.

"From who?" Her friend would ask her, nose scrunched in confusion.

"Him." She answers, and her friend's face contorts in mild disgust.

"I know, I've never even talked to him before. He's not that bad though." She shrugs, not really caring. "I think it's fake though, (AB) told me (AA) probably wrote it as a prank." She says and her friend nods, though still also confused.

She decides not to tell anyone else about the note, not wanting to spread untrue rumors about him, as she thought it was someone messing with both him and herself, but that doesn't stop her mind from talking about it. Why would he choose him to make it from? And damn, she probably looks like an asshole if that note was real. Part of her hopes the note is real, but most of her mind is still conflicted...

If the note was real, would she reject him? Would she accept him? Her problem was that she had never even talked to the boy, how is she going to know if he's who she would like?

Although, now that she's thinking about it, he may actually have a crush on her. She wasn't stupid, she knew how to connect the dots, she knew to play dumb until she knew for sure, but, one thing stuck out to her as she thinks back...

"Hey," (AA) calls her attention as he's walking to his seat, causing her to perk up slightly and look at him.

"Hm?" She hums in acknowledgement, she hasn't ever talked to him before so it's kind of weird he would be calling her right now.

"Do you like Him?"

Huh? Why him? She's never talked to him before. To her understanding, he was friends with (AA) so he could be just messing with his friend but still. She glances at him briefly, seeing he's not even looking this way, and turns back to (AA)

"No, I've never talked to him before." She answers honestly, seeing (AS) who was sitting next to her also turn his head to look at her. Before she could ask why, he spoke up again.

"Would you ever date him?"

What the fuck. Where did that come from? Bro's pulling this shit out of his ass because what in the Redbull gives you wings?

"Uhm," She didn't want to say no. He wasn't half bad looking at all, but at the same time, she didn't even know him, and she's doesn't want to go for looks. "I don't know, I've never talked him before, how do you expect me to answer that?" She says, slightly irritated if she was honest.

"Is he cute though?"

Alright bud. Alright. She shrugs her shoulders, there's no way in hell she's saying yes to that when he was sitting right there. "Why're you asking me these questions bro?" She asks watching as he just shrugs his shoulders with a little smile. Whatever.

Yeah. That probably meant something. But you know what? She doesn't care unless she knows for sure. She goes through the rest of her lunch break not saying anything about the note, and she messes with her friends like she normally would. As her table gets dismissed to go back to class she spends time in the hallways with her friends as she already put her stuff in her 5th hour class before lunch. (On Tuesdays their schedule is changed up and they're let out 90 minutes earlier from school.)

The rest of the day was boring as hell, she went through it like it was any other day. She probably enjoyed gym, it's not really important as of right now though. She went to her basketball practice, everything went normally. She came home, ate, took a shower, and eventually went to sleep.

On Valentine's Day, nothing out of the ordinary happened with him, although, she did technically get asked by another boy...

She was setting her stuff in her 4th hour class, going to lunch right after when (S) calls her name. She's never talked to (S) before either, she only knew him because he was dating (MS), one of her close friends.

"You're @^@ 8@221, right?" He asked her, getting a slightly confused nod from her. (S) looks to the boy standing outside the door by him who seems to be awkwardly standing there like he was waiting for something. The boy had a crush on her, she found that out a few weeks ago.

Welp, she knew what was coming next. Damn, she was hoping this wasn't going to happen right now but it seems fate has woven itself already. Sighing internally, she listened to (S) as he began talking while mentally preparing herself to say no respectfully, "Uhm, he likes you and he wants you to be his Valentine, do you accept?" On impulse, she shook her head in a small-ish manner,

"No." So much for respectfully.

(S) muttered a 'damn' and turned to his friend who was already down the hallway, and instantly she felt like shit as she heard (S) call out to his friend about her answer. Damn.

The rest of the day was uneventful, nothing happened. It was boring again. Though now, as a few days went by, she's thinking about him a bit more, here and there, sometimes when she's in her thoughts, they'll walk back little ways to the note she wishes she read slightly more thoroughly now. Still, not knowing if it was fake or not, still not really interested, though now, she can't help but notice him.

[mscribbles]

i've connected the dots (hasn't connected shit)