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lanceeselhombre · 2 years

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An analysis of Xiao’s mental state

Okay so I’ve finally finished gathering all the info to make a coherent post about this. It took a hot minute but it was so worth it. The new trailer is a gold mine and it confirms some things that I’ve been thinking about for awhile now. Given the time of year, I think it’s time I pointed out something that’s so obvious, yet I have never seen a discussion about.

And that is Xiao’s (and his fellow yakshas) experiences with psychosis, and what it could mean for 3.4.

⚠️ DISCLAIMER ⚠️

I am not claiming that Hoyoverse intended to write Xiao with a mental illness and I am not diagnosing him with a condition. Psychosis is a symptom, not a condition in and of itself, and it can be caused by many different things, not just mental illness. I am also not going to be exploring a cause, simply pointing out that Xiao’s experiences as they have been shown to us so far (as of the ‘Endless Suffering’ teaser trailer) are an accurate depiction of psychosis.

That all being said, please proceed with caution. This post talks about and contains examples of delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations, disordered thoughts, and other features of psychosis, as well as character death. If these are triggers for you, please be careful.

Also, obviously there are spoilers ahead.

Discussion begins beneath the cut.

According to the DSM-5, psychosis is “defined by the presence of delusions, hallucinations, formal thought disorder (ie, disorganized speech), or abnormal psychomotor behavior (grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior), not better explained by another mental disorder, substance use disorder, or medical condition.” I realize that probably means a whole lot of nothing to most people, but don’t worry. Let’s take it one piece at a time.

Here, delusions do not refer to the in-universe devices made by the Fatui. Delusions, as a feature of psychosis, are false beliefs about reality that a person cannot be dissuaded of, even when the belief is undeniably proven to be false.

Let me give you a real life example. Imagine you have a friend over for dinner and you notice they haven’t touched their drink (let’s say it’s soda). You ask them what’s wrong. They say they refuse to drink the soda because the manufacturer is putting poison in it. You tell them that can’t be true because it would be on the news if it was true. You tell them that you have never gotten sick from this soda. You even drink a cup of it in front of them and nothing happens. Still, they insist it is poisoned.

This is an example of a common delusion. However, delusions come in many different forms.

Now, Xiao doesn’t immediately appear to have any delusions, admittedly. Even if he didn’t, that wouldn’t mean he isn’t experiencing psychosis; of the four features, only one needs to be present. That being said, I do want to point out one potential delusion:

His belief that his presence (or more specifically, his power) harms mortals.

I want to be clear that I am not talking about his backstory here. Xiao harmed mortals while enslaved to a previous god and I am not saying that didn’t happen, or that it was a result of a mental illness (because it wasn’t). What I am saying is he seems to believe that just existing around people can and will harm them, when what we see in game says the opposite. And no, I’m not just referring to vision holders, but normal people as well.

He claims that adeptal energy harms mortals. We see this several times in game. He says it when we first meet him.

And still seems to believe so during Perilous trial. (Otherwise Paimon wouldn’t be comforting him over the thought.)

Yet, we as the traveler, nor any other character he has interacted with on or off screen (that we know of) has fallen ill. Now for vision holders (aka playable characters) that can be explained away. For whatever reason, visions seem to increase a mortal’s tolerance to this energy.

So sure, if we assume his power really is dangerous, then ours, xiangling’s, and the Perilous trial gang’s lack of sickness from being around him doesn’t disprove this belief. But you know what does?

This NPC.

And all the visionless soldiers from the fight against Osial.

And everyone that passes Xiao in the harbor from the newest official video.

This isn’t even mentioning event content, like the time that we call for Xiao in the harbor to taste Xiangling’s cooking, or the in-game novels about the yakshas and adepti, which have only good things to say. You would think that one of those legends would tell of the horrors that follow the Vigilant Yaksha if such things were true.

But okay. Let’s say that none of these interactions were ‘long enough’ to cause the harm he believes will come to those around him. That still doesn’t explain why Yelan has a voice line about his presence aiding visionless mortals.

It doesn’t make sense that his presence could both have a comforting effect and a harmful one. And considering Yelan has an account of a person who had a (recurrent) positive experience from Xiao’s presence, and we have no accounts of a person who had a negative one, I’m inclined to believe Yelan. Yet, as far as we are made aware, he still believes enough contact, even with vision holders, will hurt them.

Remember, I’m talking about his power, his presence, not his karma.

See the parallel?

Let’s move on to the next feature.

Hallucinations are experiences of sensations that are not actually present. They can be heard, seen, felt, smelled, tasted, etc. Most people hallucinate from time to time, especially if they’re tired. Ever thought you heard someone call your name and they didn’t actually say anything? Pet owners, ever thought that you saw your pet walking in the corner of your eye, when they were sitting right next to you? Those are examples of hallucinations.

This feature is more obvious for Xiao. Starting with the most obvious, he experiences visual hallucinations, which were very clearly shown in the ‘Endless Suffering’ video.

Now before people brush this off as an artistic representation of his karma haunting him, may I remind you that there is literally a scene where the hallucination is shown through his eyes, and when he blinks it disappears, replaced by a little girl with a replica mask.

Notice how he sees the hallucination before looking to the little girl’s location. This shows that he was hallucinating beforehand, not mistaking what he saw for something else.

I believe the ‘other Xiao’ that he was shown to be fighting with earlier in the video to be something else. Due to the black aura coming off of him there, that seemed to be some sort of miasma or karmic manifestation. This makes sense, as he was fighting other monsters like hilichurls just beforehand. Regardless, the Xiao with the black aura and the greenish Xiao from the harbor were intentionally made distinct to show that they are not the same thing.

Similarly, he might also experience auditory hallucinations. I wasn’t able to catch something from the video that seemed to be this kind of hallucination, though Xiao does have a voice line about hearing voices.

This one is less concrete, as this is a fantasy world and the voices he hears could very well be really there. He tells us that he also hears the wishes of all those that wish on the lanterns at lantern rite. It could be an adeptus thing. So feel free to believe this one or not, but I wanted to put it out there.

Next is formal thought disorder. This feature refers to impaired ability to sustain and express coherent thoughts. Xiao does not seem to struggle with this at all, so I won’t dwell on it. Again, he doesn’t need to experience this to be experiencing psychosis, since we already established he is experiencing other features.

Abnormal psychomotor behavior looks at outward responsiveness to the environment. Both behavior that is unusually active (combativeness, restlessness, emotional agitation) and unusually absent (unresponsiveness) are possible manifestations of this feature.

Xiao is said to experience unprovoked bouts of anger and fear in the book ‘Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti’ just as his fallen comrades did as well. This book outright confirms that the other Yaksha all experienced psychotic episodes prior to their deaths and is both a great source of evidence for this topic as well as just a great lore read. The cutscene of Bosacius’s last moments is also a great example of psychosis. But I digress.

I was surprised to find that Xiao’s voice lines indicate he is pretty restless. Hoyo doesn’t repeat information unless it is important, and Xiao has not one (1), not two (2), but three (3) voice lines about his dislike for standing around or being idle.

Seems pretty restless to me.

Returning to the video once again, we can infer from the little girl’s dialogue that Xiao is at times unresponsive. If you want to watch again for yourself, the dialogue is from 2:22-2:39.

If you don’t, the scene is of the girl speaking to Xiao, but he doesn’t respond to her comments about her mask, or her asking if he is okay. Even when the girl calls to her grandfather to give Xiao some rice wine pudding, his only reaction is to close his eyes.

This is very unlike Xiao. From the Perilous trial quest, we know that he does not become withdrawn like this when tired, so exhaustion from fighting wouldn’t explain his behavior. He has never been shown to act like this, even around strangers. If he didn’t want to interact, he would simply teleport away. Except Venti’s later comment of the rice wine on his breath implies that he stayed. Therefore, this also seems to be evidence of abnormal behavior.

Everything I have discussed so far are positive symptoms, which cover abnormal experiences of psychosis. There can also be negative symptoms, or reduced experiences, that occur at the same time. These can be inability to show emotion, apathy, or withdrawing from social experiences, among other things. Presence of these symptoms starts to lean towards a specific condition, namely schizophrenia, but since they are relevant to Xiao’s behavior, I still want to mention them.

While Xiao openly admits to not understanding or experiencing human emotions, this is clearly an adeptus thing. Other full-blooded adepti such as Cloud Retainer share this experience, so I won’t consider it here. And while Xiao says he can’t understand human emotions, he seems to be able to sympathize, or at the very least treat others’ emotions with respect.

On the other hand, for what otherwise seems like an improvement, Xiao’s want to rest instead of stay with Venti concerns me. Firstly, because he has been shown to deny the need or want for rest every time it comes up in recent events. Secondly, because their dialogue indicates that late nights drinking on the roof are somewhat commonplace for them. Thirdly, because he was actively experiencing other psychotic features directly prior to the interaction, and him turning down Venti’s offer could be him starting to withdraw socially.

It should be noted that Xiao has already almost succumbed to his karma once, and the description of that event seems to suggest that he was deep into a psychotic episode at the time. This parallels the fates of his closest comrades, who all met their ends in this way. It is implied that his condition has since improved, though lantern rite is always a difficult time for him, and the trailer is letting us see for the first time what that really means.

Unfortunately, people who experience psychosis and psychotic disorders have poorer life expectancies than their peers. In game, psychosis has been shown to be a staple disorder of yaksha who are overwhelmed by their karma and will soon die. And right now is the time of year that it is all at its worst for the yaksha.

Death flags are waving for Xiao.

At the same time, his support system has grown larger than ever. Not only does he have Zhongli, but the traveler, Xiangling, Yelan, Yanfei, Itto, Shinobu, Qiqi, Baizhu, and Venti. Osial has been buried in the ocean once again and the earth rests. Burdens such as Bosacius’s unknown fate have been lifted off his shoulders, and he’s learned that maybe his siblings’ wishes for a mundane life aren’t out of reach after all.

With update 3.4 only a few days away, we’ll soon get to see what all this means for him going forward. Hoyoverse posted this video a few days before the update for a reason, and its contents show Xiao’s struggle in such a raw, new way for a reason. I can only assume we will see his current health addressed in some way, and while I will prepare for the worst, I will also hope for the best.

As an aside, I would like to take the time to applaud Hoyoverse for the effort they have put into making these depictions accurate. Psychosis is clearly an important topic when it comes to the yaksha and the effects of the bad karma they receive from their duty. I believe it is being used as a foreshadowing tool now, but despite being used for narrative, the disorder has been accurately and diversely represented amongst the yaksha (Bosacius’s cutscene vs Xiao’s teaser trailer), and most importantly, these characters remain fully fleshed-out people, not caricatures of mental illness.

Xiao is psychotic. He is also kind, loyal, and a strong warrior. He mentors others when they ask. He loves almond tofu and music. His dream is to dance among flowers, free from his duty as a yaksha. And despite Xiao’s past, of the violence he was forced to commit as a slave, and the danger that comes with battling alongside him, Hoyo makes a point to show that he has sworn to protect mortals and has never wished to harm anybody.

That is a distinction that is sorely underrepresented in media. Experiencers of psychosis are not inherently dangerous or violent, and of the two psychotic episodes they have depicted in detail, neither included violence toward people around the sufferer.

Once the second dropped, I couldn’t continue keeping this to myself, not when this gem of a detail has been going unnoticed by many. So once again, may I just say: well done, Hoyoverse. Well done.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk. Happy Lantern Rite.

#tw psychosis #psychosis #tw delusion #tw mental illness #tw disordered thoughts #genshin xiao #genshin impact xiao #long post #genshin yakshas #genshin analysis #character analysis #character study #genshin 3.4 #genshin spoilers #other content

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funkymbtifiction · 2 years

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Hey, is this common for high ne? Whenever I am really interested in something a part of me really wants to share that with others (friends, family) but at the same time I also want to keep things to myself because it often feels like things lose their meaning, joy and fascination once I share them with others.

This is what I hear from INFPs a lot of the time. Sharing it ruins it, gives others the chance to hate on it, and feels less interesting than to cradle it inside their Fi and plumb it for the depths of meaning it holds to them. Strong Fi can often override a Ne-driven excitement in sharing what's discovered. ENFPs rush to tell everyone what they have found that they love; INFPs tend to horde and cradle it closer in their soul for a longer period of time, and sometimes others aren't even aware of their interests because it doesn't dawn on them to be transparent about their current fascinations nearly as much.

For example if I read a really good book I kind of want to tell my friend about it but every time I do that and tell my friend that she needs to read it and how good it is and then she actually ends up reading it and tells me she read it and that I was right and the book really was good my reaction usually is “Oh, cool”. At this point all my excitement is gone and I couldn’t care less whether she read the book or thought it was good. I assume this is partly because I have already moved on to a new interest but even if I have not this is usually my reaction.

What if they sat down and read it that afternoon and then could talk to you about it? Would you be apathetic then? I find that I have to strike while the iron is hot, either in talking about things or getting others to watch them and discuss them with me, otherwise the moment has passed before they get around to it.

I think for me it is more enjoyable to have an interest, tell people about it without actually convincing them. In a weird way it always feels as if I have lost when I can convince people to take an interest in something I am passionate about and it somehow is more fun when I can be passionate about someone and everyone else around me sort of knows that but nobody actually ever develops a similar interest to mine. I am not sure if that makes much sense tbh but that is how I usually feel: I want to share my interests with others and try and convince them of giving it a try but I don’t actually want to succeed with that and hope they won’t get interested.

So. Much. Introverted. Feeling.

Another thing regarding interests and I thought could maybe also have to do with fi is that if I have an interest in something that is very personal to me and happens to be something rather rare and then someone comes along with the same interest I immediately perceive that person as an “enemy”. If I have an hobby that nobody else I know has and nobody takes particular interest in but it is something that has always been a strong interest of mine and I tend to be rather good at it and then suddenly a person shows up who happens to have the same hobby my first reaction is always dislike.

Cough. 4 fix. Cough.

My isfj friend is much different because whenever she encounters someone with the same interest she is usually delighted and sees the other person as a potential best friend. Could this be a fe/fi difference that fe users are usually more happy and positive towards similar people, while fi users may perceive similar people in a more negative way or even as a threat of some sorts?

No, it might just be 4ish Fi "I don't want anyone else to be remotely like me." In general, Ne and Fi is glad to talk about things with people, because they may have an angle or insight we didn't consider when we discovered it that could open us up to more exploration!

It is really weird when I have this kind of negative perception but the other person has a positive perception and this person comes up to me and says how great it is to have someone with the same interest and that we are definitely going to be great friends when all I am thinking is how being friends with that person is pretty much the last thing I want to be.

4 frustration confirmed in your tritype.

#queston #enneagram #mbti

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genericpuff · 2 years

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(1) Hello, than you for your posts about Lore Olympus and for recommending the Pyrrhic_Victoria podcast. I'm a very casual reader of the series, at time going months without checking the episodes and it's fascinating how many problems just flew over my head, although I had weird impression when reading the chapter about Persephone defeating Kronos, it felt odd and off (the reporters - just... how?).

Considering you put this into 3 parts, I'll just be responding to all three in one post if that's okay! (hence the copy pastes above!)

The S2 finale was definitely where I really started to go "uhhhhhh" with the series. The trial already had me raising my eyebrows (such as the Eris reveal) but the S2 finale was where I really just started to drop off and lose the love I once had for the series.

ETA: I realize the tone of this post kinda went off but it's a hot button topic of mine that I enjoy talking about so bear with it haha Thank you for wishing me luck with Rekindled, I got big things planned ❤️❤️❤️

To address #2, I actually have a liiiittle bit of beef with that notion. As a writer, I don't think it's necessarily good form to blame the audience for failing to meet expectations. Yes, audience members can come up with some wild theories and expectations especially when it comes to serialized stories like this, but the core of the issue is that LO/Rachel doesn't manage what it sets up well at all. Even the most basic expectations for where the story is going seem to be dropped, expectations that anyone who pays an inch of attention to the series would come up with.

For example, I don't think it was too big of an ask to expect the time skip actually show more than it did. A lot of people were hyped to see Persephone be on her own, forced to do her mother's job, and live up to everything she had bragged about at the start of S2 (about how she had 'peaked' in her mother's duties) not to mention offer her an opportunity to make spring her own. There was also the theory/expectation that it would potentially lead to an actual genuine abduction, through Hades option to go to the Mortal Realm and take her "back" to the Underworld in defiance of Zeus' sentencing.

And of course, there's what happened with the Eros x Psyche myth, the return of Kronos, and the Hymn of Demeter, all of which are stories that not only had setups as far back as S1, but Rachel has butchered within the confines of LO because she wants to try and be "subversive", not realizing that being "subversive" doesn't mean completely screwing over the original meanings of these myths or writing a poorly-constructed story.

These, to me, are not wild expectations to have in the slightest for a comic that's claiming to be a retelling of the taking of Persephone. But LO is as far from being a true retelling as retellings can possibly get. It can hardly even be called fanfiction at this point.

Point is, it's up to the writer to fulfill the expectations they set, and that's a separate thing entirely from an audience setting their expectations "too high". It's not like people are asking for anything that's outside the reasonable realm of what Rachel is tackling, everything that I see people "expecting" is pretty par for the course for the stuff Rachel has noticeably set up (like the return of Kronos, for example).

I see the argument crop up a lot that people should just "lower their expectations" of LO for the sake of enjoying it, but frankly, if I were in Rachel's position, I would be downright insulted and disappointed in myself if I found out my audience had to lower their expectations of me and my work to enjoy it. I don't want an audience out of pity, I want an audience because I've put out a damn good piece of work that's earned that audience. And this isn't something that's unique to me, this is pretty much the viewpoint of every other creator I know, so if Rachel is seriously hiding behind the notion that it's her audience's 'fault' for having their expectations too high, then she's a coward, full stop. She set those expectations herself in a lot of ways, and especially by going so far as to claim LO as a 'retelling' of some of the most beloved myths in literature.

As a writer, it's disrespectful as fuck to see people come up with these kinds of arguments instead of expecting better of someone who claims to be a professional and regularly brags about their awards (which weren't even earned, they were very likely bought).

As an audience member, I shouldn't have to turn off my brain and forgo my own intelligence as a reader to enjoy someone else's work. I'd rather just stop reading it altogether and put that energy into something else far more enjoyable and worth my time.

#just have some integrity and write an actual story #own up to your mistakes and be willing to learn #lo critical #anti lore olympus #lore olympus critical #ask me anything #ama

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skelekidd · 1 year

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2 for you as well, aaand 11!

Hello Travis My Lovely Mutual Travis!! :)

ask game here

2. Song or two you've had on repeat recently?

Recently, I've only really been listening to some witcher game soundtrack music to help me sleep sometimes lol. Out of the playlist, my faves are probably River of Life and The Dike by Paweł Błaszczak.

11. Ideal haircut/color on yourself? If you could do anything

I've been cutting my own hair for ~6 years now and I'm alright at it, mostly doing some variation around mullet/wolf cut territory. I never found a reference that hit the right spot I've been thinking of, until the other day I saw this tiktok and I was like THERE THAT ONE. It's a little hot to have my hair that long atm, but it'll be all over for the haters once it gets chilly again. My hair color/texture looks pretty similar to the example in the tiktok (maybe a little blonder? Depends on the lighting). Mine doesn't hold shape that well because of how fine it is, and I haven't found the right product(s)/routine to get it to behave how I want it to consistently. Probably using a blow dryer would help? lmao

So anyway, that would probably be the ideal style for me atm, but color is another issue. I have thought about dyeing my hair, but picking any fun colors would mean that I'd have to coordinate my outfits with that color (already involves many bright colors and patterns and shapes), which might mean ruling out some of my outfits. So I guess ideally, I would want something that I could change to coordinate with my outfits and mood. but part of it is that I wear a lot of different colorful outfits, and if I made my hair something more fun, then all my outfits would have to take my hair color into account in the coordination. Which could potentially mean some outfits/clothing pieces wouldn't be as viable anymore. So I guess ideally I'd just be able to change it whenever I want based on my mood/outfits, lmao. I was thinking that maybe having sorta cloud gray hair tinted with some color coordinated highlights/ends (probably like teal, lavender, lime green, hot pink would be faves). I think my ideal hairstyle would probably be a similar cut and length to the one in the tiktok, but with some slight differences in how I style it personally.

thank you for the questions ! :) <3

#asks #officialgleamstar

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pinklovesandwich · 1 year

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A review of Blackpink’s Singapore Leg of Born Pink

I want to preface this by saying that I am going to be rather critical. I felt that it didn’t live up to the standards that I would expect from the biggest girl group in the world right now, as well as from veterans that have been in the industry for over 7 years. If you enjoyed it, I’m genuinely happy for you and I do think there are things to enjoy about the concert. So let’s start with the positives

Girls looked really great. Some outfits I particularly liked were Jisoo’s Flower outfit and Lisa’s outfit for the second act.

Production looked really fantastic. It’s honestly the most beautiful lighting I’ve seen in the National Stadium (props to them for selling it out both nights) especially with the Pink Ocean.

They have some very talented backup dancers and musicians.

Solo stages were really good overall, and I would’ve loved to see more of that creativity in the group performances.

Now on to the gripes I had:

Duration

o This is the most common one I’ve heard throughout the tour and for good reason. Tickets are really expensive – ranging from $190-$400++ (including booking fees). For that price, a 1hr 40 min runtime in total is just pretty underwhelming. This includes the long ass VCRs, performances by the backup dancers and musicians. That’s just really short no matter how you spin it. TWICE for example consistently puts out >3 hour long performances. I’m not expecting that length for all groups but I do expect longer than 2 hours at least.

Crowd interaction

o This is a major gripe of mine. The crowd interactions were both brief and few, and basically were just “How’s everyone? I love Singapore food! The weather is hot, I’m so sweaty! Ok our next song is!”. There were zero details or like follow ups about what they liked about Singapore in particular, it was so lazy and just made it feel like they were checking off a box. I don't expect an entire essay but I think there were only like..five short interactions in total? And the last one when Jennie was saying we only have two more songs I was like bro wtf u just got here, don’t gaslight us into thinking it’s been a long concert lol

o I don’t think language barrier is a problem since the girls are clearly fluent in English sans Jisoo, and if it was then just bring a translator up? A performer/musician should always want to connect with their fans on a strong level, because without the fans they are nothing.

o When I as a fan see how brief and obligatory the interactions are, it makes me feel that my idol seems to just want to go back to the hotel room and rest rather than be forced to perform and interact with the crowd, and makes it hard for me to enjoy the concert.

o Like come on man, you are making a killing on this tour leg and you can’t even be bothered to show some love to your fans…it’s kinda off putting

Performance energy

o This is the other major gripe.

o I know Blackpink isn’t a vocal/dance heavy group, but that being said it felt like they (with the exception of Lisa) were phoning it in for most of the night, especially when comparing it to their rightfully acclaimed coachella stages just a few weeks ago. Some of the remixes and arrangements of their songs are literally the same as their previous tour as well. Lazy is not swag. Performing is part of your job – you guys are a 7 year old group that has trained most of their lives to be idols. I felt like they only gave maybe 50% of their full potential to us. As a former dancer I can also tell you their dances are not hard to learn at all, it takes probably an hour or two max. There’s no real reason other than laziness to not go all out ESPECIALLY with how short the concert is (and the fact that Singapore is one of the last legs on the tour). A common refrain some will say is “I’d like to see you dance and sing at the same time”. Literally numerous other idols do it with way harder choreography before BP was even formed such as SHINee, EXO. It’s not an excuse.

o I watched a newly formed group, Le Sserafim's comeback show recently as well after BP's concert clips and I was really shocked. There is such a stark difference in the passion, the level of choreography and expression, the energy, the hunger to perform. All the girls give it their all and bear in mind this is just a one year old group. One of their members Sakura I found out even has been in the game longer than Blackpink – she’s been in the industry since 2011 with AKB48 and later on IZ*ONE….and she’s still bringing her A game no matter where it is.

o A group as old as time, SNSD came back after 5 years. Some of them who are actresses haven't performed for years and they only practiced when they had free time from their individual schedules yet they did well both in their comeback stages and concerts so I don’t think having a long break in between is a good excuse.

o Groups similarly around the 7 year mark such as TWICE, Mamamoo, Seventeen and BTS are still giving it their all in every performance they have…so that makes it rather disappointing as well.

o There has to be minimum standards for A WORLD TOUR, like do they just bring those for Coachella?

My thoughts on the individual members

Jisoo: Jisoo is my bias but she seemed a bit…off. Maybe it’s being the non-English speaking member but she just seemed like she didn’t want to be here and was politely going through the motions. Kinda low energy. She spoke barely a few lines to the crowd. Her solo stage was decent and she did sing live for the most part if I’m correct, so props for that.

Jennie: Jennie really really disappointed me the most. I get that she’s arguably one of the hottest female stars in the world, so why don’t I see it in her performance and energy? Is Singapore just not important enough a market? It’s disappointing cause she is talented even at pre-debut and you know she can bring it when she wants to - but it’s so fed up that you who probably only will see them once in your lifetime, have to be at the mercy of which Jennie will show up today. Is it the moody, tired Jennie who only complains about the heat? Or is it the fierce, charismatic performer? Sad to say it seems she doesn’t give a damn unless it’s Coachella or US, looking at the fancams. I felt a real lack of professionalism from her.

Rose: I think Rose kinda tried a bit to liven the mood up at the start but towards the end after her solo also just seemed very low energy. She’s not the worst offender but similar to the other two members above I felt they could’ve tried harder to engage the audience throughout the concert.

Lisa: I’ll admit I never understood the Lisa hype but honestly she may have just become my new bias. Even though she’s the youngest, she gave it her all in every single performance. She tried to always hype the songs up in the background with her vocals, danced her heart out, even did some really decent pole dancing for her solo (for someone that has only learnt it for under a year I believe). She really tried to interact with the fans the most as well. Very professional and I wish the other girls had her energy.

Conclusion

Singapore is one of the last legs of the tour so rusty and nervous should not be an excuse by now, especially for a group that’s been around as long as they have. Overall, as someone who has been to numerous concerts in kpop, I can’t help but feel let down. You can call me a hater if you want, but personally as a former hardcore Blink – I know the girls are just capable of more looking at other performances that they went all out. This inconsistency in performance energy especially with members not named Lisa is just rather offputting frankly for a group that people paid good money to come and see and have supported them despite taking uncommonly long hiatuses in the past between. Glad I finally saw them but probably won’t pay such an exuberant amount to do so again.

reproduced:

#blackpink #blackpink lisa #blackpink rose #blackpink jennie #blackpink jisoo #kpopidol #coachella #bts #twice #aespa

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stampy-offical · 4 months

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More of hells little darling.

Due to not wanting to cause a massive issue. [Aka deal with the fact that ultimately Alyx is in danger at hell and in the foster system.] She has to go to the mortal realm to go to school and oddly Noone questions anything.

Like..

Noone has her address and the one she gives is an old factory Noone found.

Her contacts are numerous and they can't find their work. Lines they've heard are ('Hello! This is the hazbin hotel! I'm Alastor! How may I help your wayward soul?' 'Hello. Hazbin hotel! Dove speaking.' 'Rughbbh..hazbin hotel Husk here...' 'this is the hazbin hotel mail office Stampy speaking.')

The one pta meeting they got invited too it was only Stampy who showed up. And due to him being the mailman he never told anyone PTAs were a thing. (The staff like him but the parents don't know why he looks like a old 1930s cartoon man fashion wise.)

She found some of Vellettes old class mates [she died in 2010 according to Vizepop] and muttered about val and vox and they thought she was talking about a different Vellette which turned into the students thinking she's cursed.

The hotel is the talk of the town by various news places that claim something wrong is going on or there's a plot. Cuase hells only nifelhim Lucifer and his daughter an ex exorcist hells most successful porn star and three overlords are there. So...it's an issue.

Carmella brought it up one meeting about how the people in neutral territories are getting suspicious and she sighs about how someone might be sending assassins after the hotel. They crew responded with.

Alastor:oh ho we know that already! I've made an example out of them! Also thank you for teaching Jackie my dear rosie! His Chilli was wonderful!

Husk:I'm certain at least one of the people in this room saw the halo collection of exorcists we've kept?

Stampy:Carmella. With all due respect. Where the fuck do you think I got all the angelic weapons I've sent to my factories to melt down to make the metal bits I use in my products?

Charlie made a suggestion box for added activities to do at the hotel or potential patrons they can have visit. So far the only suggestion was Angel's older brother cause apperntly he spends a lot of time at Husks bar and he's fed up with him being quote 'a fucking coward who can't man up enough to try and fix things with his brother and would rather cry to me while looking through the bottom of the bottle he's got.'

Charlie keeps getting confused on the various things she keeps learning about her patrons.

Jackie:yeah I died saving a friend. But hey! I got to meet you all and met rosie...hehe...

Stampy:she knows you're the one sending the letters. They smell like you according to her.

Jackie:*Spits out drink.*

Or..

Husk:*Yelling at someone in Russian*

Charlie:huh?

Stampy:*pulls out a collection of books he had gotten to help out with language barriers die to vaggie cussing in Spanish and angel mocking people in Italian.* uh...I think that's Russian?

Husk:I can speak a lot of things.

Charlie:like?

Husk:Italian, Russian, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese. Though I'm not a PhD major in them can say some basic stuff. And other...what? (He's canon fluent in these. Like damn.)

Alastor:I must Say husker! I wasn't expecting you to be so smart! Why I can barely count as fluet in my second language. (It's French. FYI)

Husk:ill take it.

And finally.

Nifty:why is that meat in the fridge seem so icky?

Stampy:that's mine.

Nifty:you eat that tough cow stuff?

Stampy:it's moose. And I'm cooking dinner tonight.

Nifty:Moose?

Stampy:yeah. We didn't have Gator. And I don't want to deal with angel.

Angel:I'm saying it's technically cooked pus--

Stampy:I SWEAR TO FUCK ILL SLAP YOU!

Nifty:?

Stampy:it was couger.

Angel:oh? I think I'd know a few..*ducks after stampy throws a handful of peanuts at him* ha! Nuts. *runs away with stampy hot on his tail*

Alyx is working out with Jackie how to get mortals to summon demons cause alyx thinks it'd be a great idea to just summon everyone in the hotel for like a day or two.

Stampy keeps trying to get everyone to go to therapy. He's not successful.

@siempreminta (dove mention also alastor lore.)

@hopeful-hellion (I've mentioned jackie like so much.)

@alyxdefoisnthere (more AU stuff!)

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afr0-thunder · 9 months

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[Poor Chronicles Pt. 41]

Topics: Work (Vacation)/Chicago vs. CPD/Photography/Vocabulary/Girls/Super Bowl/SEXI (Final Update Pt. 2)/Phoenix “Theory”

Week 1 of my work “vacation” is complete. I am not scheduled for this entire holiday season. This may have been one of the only weeks I’ve had off since I had started.

I was almost murdered by the police for ignoring their “greeting” and being identified as someone holding a firearm. It was a visual misunderstanding. Still, he pulled his gun on me and I was not entertained. Will not elaborate any further.

I took some more pictures, my Ralph Lauren Polo sweater is actually more intriguing than I had initially thought.

I will be referring to my housing design as an “assortment”. I want a 50-story assortment so that my promiscuous wenches must go through multiple levels of physical activity before fucking me. Showers on the 47th floor. For example, “wife” #1 must complete a video of 10 three point shots, 1 min of jump role (freestyling), obstacle course with barbed wire (Jokes. Possibly. I like crazy women). First woman to the top, no reward. Just fucking. I don’t want the others to get jealous, but she was first and this ideally shouldn’t take the same amount of time for them all, so it shouldn’t even be an issue on finishing first (for them). Not like if I did…sexually. Like who makes it to me first…because it’s not a race, so they won’t finish near eachother in time, as I only have one dick in my arsenal. How would I start fucking 50 bitches at once? A bit of a friendly fire on myself for the “finishing first” originally. But nonetheless (anyways), unless I make my room door transparent… should I just make them come join? Do I make them edit it and put it all together. If they have time. DON’T. BE. LATE! Class is in session *yard stick slam on the desk* (All jokes). Timed? 30 mins or less, if task based not speed based. Effort based? Like “punitive” measures for intentional slacking/decrease in quality? I will obviously do mine as well. I may do timed 30 minute sessions for myself as well for hobbies such as sketching to say sharp. There may be a hot tub or even a pool on my level. A large TV! First done can pick today’s show or movie. Watch whatever show in the meantime. Or update others as they come if you don’t choose an [appetizer show]. Paused? Or maybe it’d just keep getting stopped from someone new always entering the room and become a big group discussion. Once a week. I forgot they’d have to have jobs and have to travel a lot so I can’t make them do it ALL week. Can I? They may have time. It depends. Can’t complete a level? That’s okay. Ends at 2:00pm. We’ll have those digital clocks with the red numbers, so everybody knows what floor and hour they are on. Make it tomorrow’s whole day goal. If met early, complete other tasks from previous day (for daily fitness/exercise). Until you can complete the circuit by 2:00pm, don’t set a new goal. (This would be a great reality show, but I don’t want cameramen, have any interest in entertainment as far as movies/television and I could potentially do this naked. Why would I record obstacle course porn?).

The Ravens continue to reign dominant. Lamar Jackson is a spectacular Super Bowl champion versus the Dallas Cowboys. The Philadelphia Eagles will be there though. Obliterated the Dolphins for that 28 point comeback last year. I like Tua, but damn Lamar did him dirty.

I have decided to reduce the number of baby mommas. I said I would never speak to SEXI again, last year in 2022, for my own personal reasons. She responded to the direct message from the other day and said “Thanks” with a crying laughing emoji. I said she looked “sexy”. I’m about to leave this bitch on read for life. I, however, elect to resume fucking up people’s lives. I will not fuck up hers in any fashion. As long as she holds this fumble in. Otherwise, they will make fun of her.

Your pathways from birth until death carrying every breath you take, following your every step. New cells are created, hair sheds, skin sheds, blood, sweat and tears, saliva shed. One day, they will all follow along the same path as the airways and in the perfect moment will all come together and you will rise again as phoenixes do. Everything you once were will all come back together long after your death and you will rise once more. If you hate your being, you will continue to pollute the airways and deteriorate your natural being through practices such as drug consumption and heavy eating.

I have more thoughts, but time to smoke.

- MH (2023)

[12/31/2023 - 7:59PM]

#personal #poor chronicles #poor #poverty #life #lesson #life lesson #life lessons #guidance #struggle #chicago #2023 #LilMark #PUNKAssMark #afr0-thunder

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neonstatic · 11 months

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i am bad at taking compliments

i'm not terrible at it. i don't particularly indulge in self-deprecating humour. when i do a good thing, i acknowledge it. i know i am intelligent, i know i do my job well, i know i look cute, etc etc. but sometimes... someone will give me a compliment and i will just. get so mad abt how inaccurate it feels. example: i have a pleasant voice. if i were to apply myself, i'd have the potential for radio work or voice acting. my singing voice? it's quite good. i've got range but no passion. one time i had a regular at work, sweet old gentleman, and he said that my speaking voice was so nice that he could tell i could sing like whitney houston....... it's like he wanted so badly to compliment me that he aimed too high and now, well, i just felt insulted. still do, btw! (ms houston i'm so sorry this stupid bitch talked abt you)

or. one time i was working the donations. i was hot and sweaty, in a plain black fit w my hair in a slick low bun. like, i looked normal but i felt gross overall. and my coworker/friend passes by and says, "ray, you're gorgeous." ,,,y'all. i straight up told him to "fuck off!" jabfakjbb what followed was likely the most confusing back and forth of his life, with him defending his stance that he "just wanted to say smth nice" and me chewing his head off abt it. dw i didn't yell at him. i don't yell <3 i was just. cold and short. bc "gorgeous" out of all the words? i'm cosplaying as a hard-at-work, sweaty steve jobs -- don't call me gorgeous, wtf is wrong w you?

recently, my sister and i were discussing breaking bad habits. she said i was getting better at some of mine and i was downplaying it, giving all kinds of excuses as to how it was getting better bc of outside circumstances (not rly) and then my sister just went, "oh my god! would you stop it, we aren't playing compliment ninja!!" and i was like ok weird analogy but i get it lmao

anyway the reason why i thought abt this is cus this new girl at work told me she liked my fit. i forgot what i was wearing so i looked down at myself and i was so unimpressed that for a sec i nearly forgot to say thank you. cus i was abt to argue w her and thought better.

now why do i act like that? well it's a cocktail combination of low self-esteem and impostor syndrome and the unfounded belief that i am convincing ppl that i'm a better person than i actually am. which is so silly bc i am Hot Shit!!! I Am!!! i'm Tha Bomb! i don't need to convince ppl that i'm cool, i just am cool. and i am pretty and on some days i am actually gorgeous. but it's hard to take compliments bc when ppl give it to me i feel like they mean it as a permanent, ever-present state of me and, like, no i am not consistently good or smart or pretty or handsome or cool. i am too much aware of my flaws to take a damn compliment arghhhh and it's one of the reasons why i've never tried being in a relationship, but that's a post for another time.

in conclusion, i will learn to take compliments. ish. and it's fine if i don't "agree" w them, ppl are allowed to experience me thru their own eyes, even in a light that is too bright for mine

#ray says

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thegoosewiththemost · 2 years

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Beej with a breeding kink HCs (angst/nsft)

Request for anon, the first truly explicit thing on this blog. I’m not too familiar with this, so I’m not sure if this is what you mean but I feel like there’s so much potential for angst with this one because there’s a lot that can go wrong.

Hi there, feel free to ignore this if it’s outside your comfort zone but could I please ask for Beetlejuice with a breeding kink? Maybe with some angst or softness too? Thanks!

- you’re not sure if it’s a demon thing or if it’s more specifically a Beetlejuice thing. He’s always been really into his fantasies and he’s told you more than once how hot it would be if he got you in the family way. You both don’t think it’s even possible, but it’s the thought that counts.

- called you his mate once while nuzzling into you, slipping the word in during your normal pillow talk. Uses it to tease you too.

- loves the thought of fucking you so full of him that you can’t get rid of all of it from inside you.

- Drives him wild to see his spend leaking out from you. Loves it even more when he’s still dripping out of you days after.

- will try to screw you again if he sees his spend dripping out of you. Can’t have that happening on his watch.

- likes to come inside and collapse on top of you when he finishes, keeping himself connected to you in the most intimate way possible. Also serves as a way to keep his spend inside; he purrs in contentment as he feels your shiver at the constant contact to your sensitive flesh.

- the aftercare is amazing. Regardless of how rough you get. He makes sure his mate is well looked after and healthy for a time when you do have kids, not that it’s going to happen. Usually tries to keep you in bed as long as possible after spicy times to keep his spend in you for as long as possible, sometimes slips a pillow under your ass, keeping your hips raised and his sticky mess collecting against your cervix.

- it’s hot (and also an ego boost) to think about the fact that he loves you so much that he fantasises about starting a family with you. He’s good with kids, you think to yourself as you’re reminded of how happy and how well he connects with Lydia. Maybe one day he would make a good father too.

- can smell the change in your scent when you’re ovulating and gets particularly touchy and whiny during this time, practically trying to sweet talk you into bed with him whenever he gets the chance

- Knows that you’re pregnant before you do.

- catches a whiff of you one morning when you wake up. Something smells… different. Without even thinking he tightens his grip on you possessively. A single thought shoots through his mind as he curls into you protectively.

- Mine.

- it’s something that he thinks about often when you’re intimate, the distant fairytale of having a family of his own with you and all the hallmark moments that comes with having kids.

- Absentmindedly he rests his hand on your abdomen, contemplating. His heart does a flip as he considers the possibility, fantasising. It’s not possible… right?

- But something has definitely changed and the smell only grows stronger as the days pass until the reason why becomes undeniable to him.

- the smell of you drives him wild and whenever you’re there, he can’t help but be all over you at your beck and call. He’s been behaving unusually well lately and while you appreciate it, you know something is off.

- one day, when he is a absolutely sure, he decides to tell you. There is worry about him. How would you take this? Would you be angry at him? What if you wanted nothing to do with him after what he did? Did you even want this? What if his child hurt you? Did he want this? Sure it might be a fantasy, but he doesn’t know anything about parenting and had less than stellar examples of it in his own childhood. He didn’t want to mess up if you did end up keeping it.

- thank goodness abortion clinics are still legal in your area, because he knows that it’s ultimately up to you whether you keep it or not and he doesn’t want to see you mentally and physically stretched by a parasite that you don’t want. Seeing you upset makes him upset too and he can’t have that. He understands that you have your own dreams to fulfill too and you can’t just cut them short because of an unplanned baby. There’s still so much to do.

- you don’t miss the swirling yellows in his hair as you register the increasingly anxious demeanour he has taken on as he sits beside you on the couch. What’s wrong?

- you wrap your arms around his neck, pressing your warm body up to him as much as you can to let it permeate him and call him down.

- he considers backing out for a moment, to just say that he’s fine. But this needs to be told.

- I knocked you up, babes. He chokes out quickly before he loses the moment.

- come again? WHAT? You tried not to panic at the sudden news. He was joking right? Right?

- I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was possible I swear! Please don’t banish me. He whimpered.

- okay. Slow down there Beej. First of all, I’m not going to banish you. Second of all, how do you know and how long have you known?

- I can smell ya. Your scent is different. He doesn’t even need to smell you to know that you’re afraid, terrified. Of him? Of his spawn inside you? He cringes. It’s been two weeks since I noticed. I didn’t think it was anything until now, it shouldn’t have been possible.

- taking a deep breath to calm yourself, it’s still early days. It’s just a hunch right? It’s not real, not yet anyways. I’m going to go to the doctors. Get a blood pregnancy test. Then we’ll know for sure and we’ll figure out where to go from there.

- whatever you do, whatever you choose, I’ll be right there with you. He says, reassuring as he encloses you in a hug.

- you honestly weren’t sure how to take this news. The thought of having kids had never crossed your mind once since you and Beetlejuice had been together. It was never a possibility that either of you entertained and now the cold hard reality of it was hitting you hard. The financial and economic implications would hit you hard. But then you think about the potential for it and you let yourself imagine it for a moment, how nice it would be if you did have his kid.

- it was good to know that whatever decision you made, he would support you in it.

#beetlejuice #beetlejuice musical #beetlejuice x reader #musicaljuice x reader #musicaljuice #brightjuice #blumjuice #nsft

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graymoon2-archive · 3 years

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this post has been delayed by several days but

em graymoon’s guide to writing, formatting, and posting mcyt fanfiction

thank you to @dreamwvrld, @struggling-with-time, @anarchiststories, and @bunarise for their additions!

this covers everything from blog setup to the algorithm to making mutuals and more!

this will be in multiple steps and have as much info as i can think to include. feel free to rb or reply with any additional info! i’ve included reference posts by myself and some of my beloved mutuals <3

so you, dear reader. if you are interested in writing mcyt fanfiction, keep reading! its not hard, i promise.

a small disclaimer before i begin- none of this is for financial gain. you aren’t going to be paid. we all do this for fun. however, this doesn’t mean its okay for you to be harassed or have your writing stolen. writers are people, and we have lives.

step 1- make your blog

this is the simplest and most important step.

set up a theme however you want, fill out the bio, ect. if you already have a blog, you can use that! you’ll want to set up your pinned post with the following links (all of these are pretty optional except your masterlist)

references- x | x | x | x | x (dont steal peoples layouts)

a. masterlist- this contains all of your written works. mine are sorted by characters, but you can sort them other ways as well. you can find references here, here, and here from some of my mutuals

b. about me- self explanatory

c. requesting information (optional, only if your requests are open!) references: x | x | x | x

d. dni- self explanatory

you’ll want to set up all the links and such before you begin posting or writing.

(hot tip: requests are a great way to get ideas if you feel uninspired)

step two- actually write perhaps?

this is pretty easy if im honest so i’ll be including my best tips for writing here + what tends to be popular

1- do not feel pressured in any way to write or to meet a certain word count. this is supposed to be fun, don’t turn it into a task

2- pov, pov, pov. establish your pov from the start. you have three options; 1st [i, me, myself] (not very tumblr style, if you make x reader in 1st pov i’ll cry), 2nd [you, yours, yourself] (x reader is most commonly in this pov. its like 3rd but replace the pronouns with you), and 3rd [she/her, they/them, he/him, etc] (some x readers, mostly populated by character x character or other narrative style writing)

3- some characters do better on tumblr, some don’t. don’t look at the numbers too hard.

(hot tip: cc!dteam and cc!wibur fluff does the best.)

4- long fics or series need a plot layout. take my advice on this one. just lay out base events. thats it. it can be sarcastic, stupid, full of keysmashes, doesn’t matter. just get your base events down, and your brain will do the rest.

heres an example for a series im doing soon

like i said, doesn’t need to be perfect. it just needs to be.

5- headcannons are easy to make and easy to read (*cough cough you can get easy clout cough*)

6- make sure people know your requests are open (if you must, submit asks to yourself with whatever inspo you have and pretend it was an actual request)

7- make sure it follows boundaries (check @/smp-boundaries )

step 3- formatting

so here we are. you wrote. now we format.

a. images- some people add an image to the top of their posts, some dont. some use line breaks, some dont. whatever floats your boat. here are two line break images i use pretty often

just save them off the post and use them! credit to @sushisoot for the black one

(hot tip: look for macbook background images theyre usually a good size)

b. top of post information (aka: the hook- how will you draw potential reader’s attention?)

this is the formatting setup i'm using currently.

title

ship

line break image

masterlist- add masterlist link here-leads people to check out more works

summary- short 1-2 sentence summary of your writing

warnings- add tws here

pronouns- if in 2nd person put none used, if 3rd add the used pronouns (tumblr prefers 2nd and 3rd to 1st)

song rec- pretty optional, but i like to include one for fun

(word count)

line break image

first paragraph

add the cut (:readmore: +enter on app, insert using the formatting tools on web)

heres an example

another thing you want to add is a readmore. if your work is longer than 0.3k words, its a necessity. add it after the first paragraph (so you can pull readers in)

with this formatting, your authors note/ additional notes (a/n) goes at the end (usually some random note like “i listened to coconut mall on repeat while writing this”)

blank version:

masterlist

summary

warnings

pronouns

song rec

another option is the formatting i used to use, which is slightly more self explanatory

masterlist

ship- cc/c/au!(ch) x gn/f/m/au reader (ex- hs!au karl x gn!reader)

word count-

category- fluff/angst/hurt comfort

pronouns-

warnings-

a/n-

example

pretty simplistic, i just think its a bit long

blank version

masterlist

ship-

word count-

category-

pronouns-

warnings-

a/n-

(if you’re wondering what changed, i’m gay now /lh)

c. add a readmore i beg you (mobile tutorial) desktop is with text formatting stuff

d. consistency. keep your formatting style the same from post to post

e. if you start a taglist, keep a post where you list all of the tags and paste it at the bottom of fics (typically you want a taglist for any series you start)

f. tagging. this is how you actually get your post where you want it

most people use a tagging system similar to this (x reader specific, its what i write. if any other writers want to tell me how they tag ill add it in!)

mcyt, mcyt fanfiction, mcyt x reader, mcyt x you, dream smp, dream smp fanfiction, dream smp x reader, dream smp x you, [character] x reader, [character] x you, [character] x gn/f/m!reader, cc/c/[au]!character x reader, cc/c/[au]!character x you, cc/c/[au]!character x gn/f/m!reader

and for headcannons, just use multiple character specific tags along with the base mcyt and dream smp x reader tags (keep in mind, only the first 20 tags work, the other 10 are just for organization)

if you cross tag (use unrelated tags to your writing) i will come break your kneecaps. don’t do it.

step 4- actually posting

you made it! time to share your story with the simps fandom!

if you want maximum exposure, 8pm - 1 am est is a good bet. you can take advantage of the scheduling feature to make sure posts go up when you want.

step 5- making mutuals

the social game is a strange one, but i have more mutuals than i can count, so allow me to give you some advice.

1- be nice! reach out in their ask box, say hello, introduce yourself, ect

2- check on them every day or so, be a good friend

3- ask questions, discuss mutual interests, basic relationship stuff

if you’re scared, go on anon! send asks and get to know someone under the guise of an emoji or word. i did!

step 6- bust the algorithm

now look. im not saying this is the most ethical. but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do

a. send yourself requests so people know you accept them

b. self reblogs. it boosts your fic to followers in other timezones

c. literally just. ask for reblogs. put a little message that says “reblogs appreciated” or “please consider reblogging” like the more polite youtubers do. (reblogs boost your work in tags and spread it to other people)

d. if you have a fic, dm it to me! i love to read other peoples work!

feel free to dm me with any other questions! im happy to help

also allow me to plug- im a mod on a prompt blog called @promptplanetblr, we make prompts (duh) and there are some inspo playlists as well! if you feel uninspired go check it out!

#mcyt #mcyt fanfiction #mcyt x reader #dream smp fanfiction #dream smp x reader #dream smp #im sorry folks i need to reach people! just scroll past sorry #em’s psa hours #writers #writers of tumblr #writing help

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plokoonsdisapprovingeyebrows · 2 years

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Yo I just want to say thank you for all the inspiration, I love deep sciencey world building and you've got me writing again. I'm actually working on a fic set on Junkion and I was wondering if I could solicit your expert opinion.

What would the geology be like on a pile of garbage in space that grew so massive it became a planet from its own gravity. I'm imagining crushed garbage into paper thin sheets, with endless variations in composition. Do you think the denser material would gravitate more towards the core? Or would that not matter?

I understand that it's a lot to ask so don't worry about it. I just wanted to bounce an idea around and say thank you for being your intergalactic planetary cool ass self.

Omg thank you so much, that's so great to hear!! <33333 I'm just glad someone other than myself is getting something out of it!! XDD

A quick note - most of this is not super hard science, because I'm just a geology student and my research had to be limited to stuff I could actually understand lmao. Mostly I've come up with some major worldbuilding questions to think about - you've got a lot of options, I think! Lots of potentially fun ideas to explore. :D

[cracks knuckles]

So. I think the development of Junkion is going to be more or less the same as the development of a regular rocky planet, except for a couple rather important factors:

Accretion process? How quickly did it happen, how's it being managed (or not managed), how big did it get? This could mean it has less primordial heat than Earth - or maybe more? 👀 I could see the accretion happening slowly, more or less accidentally, via rubbish dumped in the same general area ending up in some gravitational point for bullshit astrophysics reasons, like some cosmic Pacific Garbage Patch... or I could also see it happening relatively quickly, with entire planets' worth of garbage being taken to the same point and dumped all together, like a landfill.

What sort of junk is being dumped? Some forms of waste are probably not going to end up on Junkion, because it can probably be dealt with wherever it was produced for a much lower cost. (Organic waste, for example). Others are likely to be recycled as much as possible because they're uncommon or just a pain in the ass to acquire (thinking of rare-earth elements here lol). Junkion might end up being built primarily of like, radioactive waste, or extraterrestrial mine tailings - things there's no shortage of, that are either worth the cost of being jetted into space to get rid of, or that are volumetrically massive and need to be put somewhere that they won't be taking up valuable space.

Planetary differentiation depends on heat. There's a few possible sources of heat, but the big ones are primordial heat, which is produced during accretion, and radioactive decay. Once your planet reaches a high enough internal temperature, shit melts, and then the denser stuff (metals, mostly) sinks into a core, and the less dense stuff (silicates, mostly) starts to float to the surface. Whether Junkion does this or not would depend on how hot it got.

If it's small enough, or accreted very slowly, it may not differentiate at all. (This is probably where your layers-of-junk idea goes.) If it's bigger, it might experience fairly basic differentiation, forming a protoplanet. (This also depends on relative proportion of metals to silicates - is there enough iron to make a core out of?) You might end up with something quite like Earth, ultimately, or you might end up with something more like the Moon. (It could be even more iron-rich than Earth - maybe iron isn't a particularly sought-after resource anymore...)

And then there's the eternal question of does this planet have water/an atmosphere? An atmosphere probably depends on a magnetic core, which depends on Earth-like differentiation. Liquid water depends on warmth - what's its heat source? Does it have a star to orbit? Presence of either, but especially both, is going to do some funky shit with whatever your outer crust ends up being made of. Oxides, sulfides, sulfates, maybe carbonates, etc. A lot of minerals come out of aqueous solutions, and hydrous alteration. On Earth, oxygen is the single most common element bound up in the crust. There's also a shit ton of water in there, literally individual molecules incorporated into mineral structures - this is probably why we have plate tectonics, which further drives mineral differentiation of the crust into mafic and felsic types. If Junkion ends up with liquid water, it may develop some form of plate tectonics.

And finally... a planet-sized junkyard may have some real funky bacteria going on. XD That might also have an effect on Junkion's mineral diversity.

#worldbuilding #transformers worldbuilding #the tf geology tag #good luck with ur story!! :D

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five-rivers · 3 years

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Danger First

Chapter 9

@pocketramblr

Banjo took Hikage to the side while the other ghosts were still wading through their existential crisis.

"Man," he said, "Hikage, bro. You know I love you."

"You do?"

"Like... at least eighty-five percent of the time."

"Ah, continue."

"But next time you think one of us has a secret relative out there, you've got to say something so we don't get blindsided."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright, then. I couldn't help but notice that both Ninth's mother and 'Tomura' share a strong resemblance to Nana."

"... I've changed my mind."

Although Midoriya Inko had abandoned the tech conference as soon as she heard about the attack on the USJ, she, unlike the mist villain, could not teleport. Therefore, Izuku was stuck in the nurse's office even after he had woken up and paramedics had confirmed that his injuries began and ended at bruises and quirk exhaustion. (And a potentially fractured bone in his foot, but that wasn't worth mentioning.)

Sitting next to the police officer with nothing to do was... awkward. Very awkward. His hands itched for his notebooks, but everything they brought to the USJ was evidence, and he hadn't been allowed to go back to the classroom. He wanted to know what happened to his classmates and Mr. Aizawa, who he hadn't seen since he ran away from the plaza and left him with the hand villain, and Mr. Yagi, who had really taken a beating from Nomu. Danger Sense was quiet, relatively speaking, but Float was just waiting to be used and tested.

Plus, he really, really had to talk to Mr. Yagi about that. Loads of his classmates had seen him use Float. How was he supposed to explain having Float right after telling them he probably had a sensory quirk?

Plus, if he got Float, it stood to reason that he'd get all the other One for All users' quirks as well. So he had to figure out how to make Danger Sense, Float, Smokescreen, Blackwhip, and a strength enhancement all look like the same quirk. Which, maybe they were, technically, considering that Monoma had sensed One for All as a single quirk but whatever was going on with the mist villain as multiple quirks...

Point was, One for All definitely functioned as multiple quirks.

Would his friends think he was lying? No, he'd definitely proven Danger Sense existed by predicting, however loosely, the attack.

"Hey, Tamakawa."

Izuku and the officer looked up at one of the detectives who had come to take initial statements. His name was... Tsukauchi, Izuku thought. Mr. Yagi (as Mr. Yagi) was standing behind him.

"I can take it from here. I have a few more questions for Midoriya."

"Yes, sir. Midoriya." He nodded at them as he left the room.

"How are you feeling, Young Midoriya?" asked Mr. Yagi, taking the officer's spot with a slight groan.

"Uh, better than this morning, actually," he said. "But, um, but what about you? That Nomu guy kept, um..." His eyes trailed towards the detective.

"Ah, this is Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. He's an old friend of mine. He knows... well, just about everything about me."

Izuku nodded slowly. "So, he knows about, um..."

"I know about One for All," said Tsukauchi.

"Oh," said Izuku. He rapidly gathered together his thoughts, trying to decide what the most important piece of information he had to impart was. "Do you know what happened to Mr. Aizawa? And Ingenium?"

That was most definitely not a piece of information. Stupid brain.

"The portal villain, Kurogiri, teleported Aizawa off UA grounds, but he was able to get help quickly after that. Ingenium had some injuries that need a specialist, so he went home. They'll be alright, but they'll probably have to take a few days off."

"Yes," said Tsukauchi, giving Mr. Yagi one of the driest looks Izuku had ever seen. "Because you heroes are so good about that."

"Teaching isn't exactly strenuous, Naomasa."

"Remind me again how you got injured this time."

Mr. Yagi made a face Izuku would have found hilarious under other circumstances. "That's different," he said, plaintively.

"Is it though?"

Mr. Yagi coughed. "Now, Midoriya, my boy... I'm sure you have things you want to talk about... I think I glimpsed you soaring through the air, earlier. Did you unlock the enhancement aspect of One for All?"

"No," said Izuku. "Not exactly."

"Well," said Mr. Yagi. "That's, hm. Certainly something."

"Sorry," said Izuku.

"You have nothing to apologize for, my boy," said Mr. Yagi, patting his knee. "In fact, it's a good thing that you got Float this time. I'd be at a loss about what to do with Smokescreen or Blackwhip. But I'm fairly familiar with my master's quirk, and, well, there's someone else who I should... get back into contact with..." Mr. Yagi force the words out as if they had physically pained him to say.

Which they might have. He did have the whole... coughing... thing. Maybe he was just trying to hold one back?

"Mr. Yagi? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Okay, are you sure?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to bring the next part up if Mr. Yagi wasn't feeling well.

"Yes," said Mr. Yagi. "I just, hm. It's just... history."

Izuku nodded. "So, um. Did you hear Monoma say that the mist guy - Kurogiri? - had multiple quirks, too? Like Nomu?"

The mood plummeted.

"Yes," said Tsukauchi. "He told me, and I told Toshinori. It appears that Kurogiri's warp quirk is actually several different quirks working as one. Merged together, almost."

Izuku nodded. "I was just wondering... One for All can be passed on, so... are there other quirks like that? Like, if the first person with One for All had family members or something? Or..." Izuku trailed off. Mr. Yagi now looked actively ill. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Toshinori," said Tsukauchi, "you mean you didn't tell him already?"

"In my defense, I thought he was extremely dead."

"What- Who are you talking about?"

"My boy... I think it's time to tell you a story of two brothers..."

"So, One for All comes with a built in nemesis? Who may be immortal?"

"That- He's not... It would appear so."

"I am somehow both surprised and not."

"There's one more thing I wanted to ask you about before your mother arrives," said Mr. Yagi.

"Please tell me it's not something worse, like me being a descendant of the guy," requested Izuku, picking the worst, most ridiculous thing he could think of.

Tsukauchi snorted, then covered the noise up with a cough.

"I seriously doubt that All for One could maintain a romantic relationship of any kind," said Mr. Yagi, "and even if you were, it wouldn't really matter. I mean, his own brother hated his guts."

"That's a bit extreme..." murmured Yoichi.

"Considering some of the rants we've gotten you to go on," said En, "it really isn't."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But the rest of it-" Yoichi promptly left to harass Second and Third.

"How can you two be so close and yet so far?" mourned Nana. "How are you so smart and so dumb at the same time?"

"In Ninth's defense," said En, "he doesn't know what All for One looks like."

"Surely he knows what his father looks like. He sees his picture almost every day," said Hikage.

"Admittedly, I could have phrased that better, but are you rubbing that in, or are you serious? I've known you for, like, half a century and I still can't tell."

Despite the example being a joke, Izuku felt much better after hearing that.

"But, no, this subject is relatively neutral and nothing so dramatic. I was hoping to get your permission to tell young Aizawa about One for All."

Izuku opened and closed his mouth several times. "H-huh? Why? And why do you want my permission? You don't need my permission."

"One for All is your quirk, now," said Yagi, "and your secret. It's up to you who knows about it. Outside of an emergency, I suppose. As for why in general..." Mr. Yagi sighed. "There are things young Aizawa needs to know about the villains with multiple quirks and All for One. I can't tell you the details right now, but with how One for All is manifesting in you, if he only knows about All for One, it would be very easy for him to make incorrect assumptions."

"Oh," said Izuku. He could certainly see how that could be dangerous. He didn't want his teacher to associate him with a villain like that.

"Also, if he knows what's happening, it will be easier for him to help you," finished Mr. Yagi hopefully.

Izuku thought about it. "I guess that would be alright. But... He's not the only person who'll know about my quirk being weird and All for One, right? I mean, the Hero Commission, at least..."

"To be entirely honest with you, I tell the HPSC as little as possible about All for One and One for All."

"What? Why?" asked Izuku.

"Well-"

"Izuku!"

"Mom!"

"I'll explain later," said All Might quickly.

Kurogiri passed a damp washcloth over the burns on his neck. The metal of his collar was a conductor, and the charge the young man with the electricity quirk had sent through it had been significant. It was only natural for it to get hot, for it to burn.

He should go to the Doctor... Some of the collar's functionality seemed to be damaged. He brushed his mist covered fingers over the cool metal.

Tomura wouldn't tell the Doctor. Kurogiri cared deeply for Tomura, but the young man was certainly shallow and unlikely to realize the extent of Kurogiri's injuries. He was more likely to focus on his own, not insignificant, wounds.

In contrast to those, Kurogiri's paled. He wasn't nearly as important as Tomura, after all.

It should be fine to let his wounds and the collar be. It would do what it was supposed to and protect the vulnerable areas of his body, internal damage or no. He just had to be careful of the burns becoming infected, especially since he couldn't see them.

Sometimes, he wished his body was like it was before...

Kurogiri frowned at the thought even as it faded from his consciousness. He had been created by All for One fully formed. His body had always been like this.

Hadn't it?

Shouta had been in and out of consciousness the past few hours. Apparently he'd never been in serious danger of dying, except from shock, which was just his body being dramatic and didn't count. All his major organs were free of serious damage. He just had to regain his stamina so that Recovery Girl could heal him up, and then he'd be fine.

Unlike Tensei, apparently, who had cracked one of his engines, which needed specialist help and surgery to realign the pieces. Or All Might, who had taken hits to his old injury, and needed to take time off or lose more time from his hero form. Or his students, who hadn't been seriously injured but who were probably traumatized.

The last time he had woken up, though, Hizashi had been there. Now, All Might, Nezu, and Detective Tsukauchi were there.

"Thought I already gave my statement," said Shouta.

"You did," said Tsukauchi.

"We're here to give you more information about the attack, I'm afraid," said Nezu.

"Information I won't like?"

"It can wait until you feel better, of course."

"That's illogical," said Shouta. "The sooner I get the information, the more time I have to process it."

All Might, Yagi, sighed. "Nomu and the portal-using villain both had multiple quirks."

Shouta frowned. "You mean, they had quirks with multiple aspects?"

"No," said Nezu. "As Yagi said, they had multiple quirks. This was confirmed by both the villains' comments and by Monoma, who made contact with the portal villain and was able to copy multiple quirks."

"Kurogiri," said Shouta. "That's what the other one called him. Shigaraki."

Nezu nodded. "Indeed. We weren't sure you had heard that." He tapped his paws together. "What we are about to tell you is classified. We are only sharing it with you because of your unique position and history."

"In the wrong hands, it could cause a lot of damage," said Yagi.

Only two things kept Shouta from leaping out the window and escaping: the fact that he was basically immobilized in plaster casts and the fact that his students were already involved in whatever this was.

"Great. What is it?"

"To begin," said Tsukauchi, "Monoma said he was able to copy three quirks from Kurogiri."

"That's up from what he could do before," observed Shouta. Stress did push quirks to improve, sometimes, although Shouta hated for the improvement to be associated with trauma.

Tsukauchi nodded. "He made note of that as well. He said he picked up a quirk that allowed him to turn his body parts into portals that led to other body parts, a quirk allowed him to temporarily teleport his body parts, and..." he trailed off.

"And a quirk that at the very least bears a strong resemblance to Shirakumo Oboro's Cloud."

"What are you saying?" asked Shouta, ignoring the way his heart had almost stopped.

"At the moment? Only that it is very strange that Kurogiri had a quirk like that, and sent you to the place where Shirakumo Oboro died."

"Oboro would never-"

"We're not saying that," interrupted Yagi. He coughed into his hand. "There's more context. Have you ever heard of the quirk bogeyman?"

"I can't wait to never sleep again I'm my entire life," said Shouta.

"Wait," said Tsukauchi, "it gets worse."

"How could it get worse?"

"Naomasa, you're supposed to be on my side," complained Yagi.

"I am. That's why I'll stop Eraserhead here from trying to kill you after you finish explaining."

"Well, it has to do with young Midoriya's quirk..."

"Let me get this straight, you gave the quirk with an immortal supervillain archenemy attached to a child... and didn't tell him that the supervillain existed."

"When you say it like that, it sounds really bad-"

"It is really bad-!"

"If I'd known he was still alive-"

"What part of immortal do you not understand?"

"Shouta, I, too, believed that All for One-"

"Shut up, Nezu! I don't have the energy to be mad at both of you right now!"

Yagi, Tsukauchi, and Nezu were all shown out by an irate nurse while a different but equally irate nurse replaced the plaster cast on Shouta's arm.

It had definitely been worth it.

Just because school was canceled, that didn't mean training was canceled.

... except it did, both because Inko was too stressed to let Izuku out of the house, and because Mr. Yagi had a meeting to go to about the attack.

But the second day after the attack was a different story!

That morning, Mr. Yagi pulled up in front of Izuku's apartment in Hercules (still so cool!) and picked him up.

Izuku bounced enthusiastically into the car and then froze. "Oh my gosh, what happened to your eye? Was it a villain? How hard did they hit you?" his hands fluttered. "I have some cream-"

"Oh," said Mr. Yagi, "no need, young Midoriya! I, er, sort of deserved it. It's a sort of reminder to take it easy, too. People would be disturbed to see All Might with a black eye, after all!" He smiled, then winced.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, very. You should buckle up, my boy."

"Oh, right," said Izuku. "So, where are we going? You said there was someone you wanted to introduce me to."

"Yes," said Mr. Yagi. "My old teacher. It's been a while since I've seen him. Hopefully he won't make up for lost time with a kick to the face..."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it."

When Mr. Yagi spent most of the way over muttering about kicks to the face and head, Izuku decided that he should, in fact, worry about it.

The broken-down building was not what Izuku had been expecting.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Izuku.

"Absolutely," said Mr. Yagi, who was shaking somewhat. "This Pavlovian response only confirms it."

"Um." The building looked condemned. "Maybe he moved."

"One can only hope," said Mr. Yagi. "Maybe you sh- No. I have to see this through." He steeled himself visibly, squaring shoulders. "Please not a kick to the face," he said, under his breath.

"Is he really that bad?" asked Izuku.

"My boy, I guarantee you that he's worse."

"Poor kid has no idea what's coming," said Banjo. "Although we wouldn't have believed it either if we weren't riding along and watching."

"Nana," said En, "I just want to reiterate that I'm very glad you never thought about giving One for All to Gran Torino."

"Come on. Sorahiko isn't that bad," protested Nana.

"We know," said everyone else, "he's worse."

They walked up to the apartment building door. Mr. Yagi sighed heavily on seeing the door was hanging open, which was a radically different reaction than what Izuku would have expected.

"Is Danger Sense doing anything?"

"I don't think so?"

"Let me know if that changes."

"R-right," said Izuku. Mr. Yagi pushed the door in, and Izuku followed cautiously after him.

They went down a few hallways, peeking in rooms. Then they got to the kitchen, and Izuku covered his mouth with both hands with a gasp at the grisly, bloody scene. Gran Torino laid on the floor in a pool of red liquid. "Oh my gosh, he's-"

At the same time, Mr. Yagi said, "At least it's not a kic-"

The supposedly dead hero was suddenly airborne, and flying towards Mr. Yagi, foot first. Specifically, at his face. "You thou-"

Danger Sense spiked. It was a tiny spike, but still.

Izuku reacted. Specifically, with nerves shot by the USJ attack, he reacted violently, lashing out with a fist, swatting Gran Torino out of the air and back into the puddle of what was, in retrospect, probably diluted ketchup.

For a moment, everything was silent.

"Oh my gosh," wailed Izuku. "I assaulted a senior citizen!"

Gran Torino bounced back to his feet. "I like this kid, Toshinori!"

"I'm... glad?"

"Now show me what you've g-"

"Gran, please, we're only here for quirk help, not battle training."

"What's the difference? You're going to want to use it in battle eventually, right?"

"I mean," said Izuku, hesitantly, feeling like he had whiplash several times over, "yes?"

"See?"

"Just help with controlling Float. Please." Mr. Yagi pressed his hands together. "Please do not pick a quirk fight with a civilian teenager. Please."

"We are on private property."

"Assault is still illegal on private property."

"He's the one who hit me!"

"I know! I'm so sorry," said Izuku, doing his best to bow in the cramped space. "It was a reflex."

"After you attacked me!"

"Yeah, but you knew I was going to do that!"

"That doesn't make it better!"

Gran Torino turned to Izuku. "Kid, I don't know how you did it, but it looks like you made this big softy grow a backbone. Next step is to see if you can get him to do this with Mirai, too."

"Um," said Izuku. "I think he already had a backbone? He's All Might, after all."

"Nah, he's just a giant spindly amoeba who needs to take better care of himself."

Mr. Yagi slumped.

"But back on topic," said Gran Torino, eyes much sharper than before. "Do you really have Nana's quirk, kid?"

"Y-yeah. I think so. It was only a little bit, during the attack, but... yeah."

"Let's see what you can do with it, then."

"Um," said Izuku.

"Gran, maybe you should get cleaned up first? Young Midoriya and I can take care of the kitchen..."

"You don't know how to turn it on, do you?"

"Not really, no," said Izuku.

"We've got our work for today cut out for us, then, don't we, you zygotes?"

Wow. Gran Torino really did call people zygotes.

Wild.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #danger first #danger first au #fic #fanfic

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bbangsoonie · 4 years

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creker academy

member: eric genre: fluff (ft some angst), fantasy au word count: 6,182 synopsis: after finally triggering your hidden powers, fate lands you at creker academy, a special boarding school meant for shapeshifters. there, you learn how to control your abilities and that opposites do indeed attract.

The day you found out that you were adopted was the day your life fell apart. The secret was hidden from you until your uncle coldly drew the line at your parents’ funeral. He told you that he had no intention of taking responsibility for his brother’s actions and that you were no longer a part of the family.

That was how you ended up living alone in a tiny half-basement studio. You barely managed to afford the deposit and rent with the consolation money you received from the funeral.

Every day, Hyunjoon would come knocking at your door and every day, you would turn him away. It had only been a month since you became independent and the scar of losing your parents was still fresh. You were also too ashamed to face your friends. You didn’t want their pity and so you hid away in isolation.

On the night of your birthday, the pain became too unbearable. Although you aged another year, you were still only a teenager. Granted, you were in your last year of high school but you were still a minor. Having to fend for yourself in this harsh world was too much for you to handle.

As you cried yourself to sleep, you could feel a cold coming. The heat from your headache spread to the rest of your body and you felt yourself burning up.

After you bought some medicine from the pharmacy, you slipped into a deep slumber. Your dreams were wildly vivid. You dreamt of an enchanted forest that enticed you to take refuge in its comfort. There, animals of all species ran free and in harmony. It promised you acceptance and a home.

“It’s time you learn of your identity,” a soft voice spoke.

As soon as the whisper tickled your ears, the entire forest was up in flames. Strangely, you weren’t struck with fear. Rather, you felt empowered.

“Y/n, you need to learn how to control yourself,” the voice warned.

It was only then that you started to panic. The flames were engulfing everything in sight and all the animals were running for their lives.

“Y/n, you have to wake up. Now,” the voice commanded.

With that, your eyes shot open. To your horror, the scene in your dreams reflected the view in front of you. Your house was on fire and you were slowly getting cornered by the heat. Frightened, you look to the door only to see it consumed by the blaze.

“Trust your instincts, Y/n,” the voice in your head cooed. “Let your body take control.”

Bewildered, you had no idea what that meant. All you knew was that you had to get out of there. You squeezed your eyes shut, hoping to think of a solution. When you reopened them, the room seemed to be a lot bigger than normal. At that moment, you saw the window cracked open. It was your only hope.

Your body felt different when you stood up.

“Why am I so short all of a sudden?” you wondered.

You looked down and almost screamed when you saw paws instead of your feet. Except a meow came out of your throat instead.

You didn’t have time to freak out about it. Feeling something hot graze your tail, you jumped up and landed on the window sill. Your innate desire for survival kicked in and you squeezed through the opening to escape.

Once you felt fresh air in your lungs again, you ran. And ran. And ran. You didn’t know why or where you were going, but something in you told you to run. Your legs kept sprinting until they reached the forest that appeared in your dream. They came to a slow stop when you realized where you were.

“What is this place?” you pondered.

“This is the border between our world and the human world,” a woman in white suddenly emerged from the trees. “You are now about to cross into our territory.”

It was the same voice from your dream. Trying to grasp the situation, you opened your mouth to ask a million questions. But again, a meow replaced your voice.

“It’ll be easier for you to transition back once you're on our grounds,” she assured. She bent down and gestured for you to jump into her arms.

Not seeing any other option, you hesitantly took her offer. With you safely in her embrace, she passed through a translucent wall that revealed what looked like a huge campus. Your jaw dropped as you observed your surroundings. There were students walking around the magical place. You saw a girl tending the garden and gasped when her hands hovered above the flowers to revive them.

The woman brought you to an office you presumed to be hers and placed you in front of a mirror. Your shriek came out as a cute yelp and she chuckled.

“I-I’m a cat!” you thought.

“There’s an outfit you can change into once you return to your human form,” she pointed at the black dress neatly prepared on the table.

The second she finished her sentence, you felt a bare sensation. Looking down, you screeched at your naked body. Embarrassed and horrified, you quickly clothed yourself with the dress.

“W-What’s going on?” you asked, relieved to finally hear your own voice again.

“I’m sure you felt different from others your whole life?” she asked. It sounded more like a statement rather than a question.

She wasn’t wrong. All your life, you never felt like you fitted in anywhere. Maybe your body knew you were adopted before your mind did and ostracized itself. Or maybe you truly were different. You had weird talents that other kids thought were freaky, making you hide them and become introverted. For instance, you were suspiciously good at starting fires from scratch at summer camp and didn’t feel any pain when your shirt accidentally caught on fire.

“I know this must be shocking to you but you’re special, Y/n. We’ve been waiting for you. Waiting for you to trigger your powers to bring you here,” she smiled.

“My what?” you gaped.

“Your powers. What you just did back at your old house and right now. You’re a shapeshifter, Y/n. A shapeshifter with the element of fire,” she explained.

“I’m a what now?” you scoffed in disbelief.

“Creker Academy is a school and home for students just like you. It’s a place meant to train you how to control your powers. Without our guidance, you’ll lead down a path of self-destruction.”

Baffled by her words, you stared in silence. There was no way any of this was true. Surely this had to be a dream.

“This isn’t a prank or a dream, Y/n. You’ve finally found where you belong,” she clarified.

Belong. You had never felt like you really belonged anywhere. But now, someone was telling you that you belonged with them. That they wanted you there. That they had been waiting for you.

“I understand you must feel overwhelmed. But there are procedures to follow so I’m afraid you will have to begin your tour first. A fellow student will be arriving soon to show you around.”

As if on cue, a boy around your age knocked on the door and came in after receiving the woman’s permission to enter.

“Hello, Headmaster,” he bowed.

“Eric, this is Y/n. Y/n, this is Eric. He will be helping you adjust here,” she introduced.

Eric was bright eyed and eager to meet a new friend. You, on the other hand, were quite reserved and uncomfortable in your new environment.

He was excitedly pointing out the purpose of each room you passed by and rambled on about the social norms of the boarding school. You learned that on top of academics, there were classes on virtues and physical training. And of course, classes that taught you how to properly use and contain your powers.

The use of magic was strictly prohibited inside any and all buildings. Students could practice their skills outside but were forbidden from any acts that could potentially put someone or something at risk. That was the one rule that was rigidly enforced and obeyed.

“So what animal and element are you?” he curiously pried. “I’m a dog with the element of water.”

“I’m… apparently a cat,” you felt ridiculous saying it aloud. “And control fire.”

“Ah, you’re a member of the fire element,” he nodded. “What that means is that your element rivals with mine. Some people see fire elements as hotheaded, impulsive, and extreme. Water elements are sometimes emotional, sensitive, and antisocial. But those are all just stereotypes, of course. Not everyone fits into the standard. I, for one, am very outgoing. And your animal obviously plays a role in your personality. I guess the dog in me overpowers the water.”

You had moved on from the indoor portion of the tour to the outside part. He was showing you the garden you had passed by earlier. It was full of flowers that wouldn’t be in bloom this season in the normal world.

“I’m a strong believer in that there are good traits about each element. For example, fire elements are passionate, inspirational, and expressive. They’re arguably the most fun people you’ll ever meet. Water elements are empathetic, imaginative, and loving. But again, all this is relative and doesn’t accurately describe each person,” he reminded. “The only reason there’s still a stupid feud is because some people love sticking to the status quo and labeling others.”

“What are the other elements? Air and earth?”

“Yup! Air elements are independent, talkative, fickle, and nonconformists. Most likely social butterflies. Earth elements are disciplined, loyal, organized, and judgemental. Oftentimes the leader.”

Eric greeted a male student who was passing by with two other boys. He exchanged smiles with the three of them who offered you a kind nod of acknowledgement.

“That was Sangyeon. He’s a bear. On his left is Jacob, a rabbit. The one on the right is Younghoon, who’s also a dog like me. They’re all earth elements,” he disclosed. “Sangyeon is the class representative of our grade. Definitely fits the leader stereotype.”

You couldn’t get over how thrilled he was to be your tour guide. He was filling you in on even the little details of the social life at the academy. He told you about how transfer students were rare and that it was his first time seeing a new student.

His vibrancy contrasted your somber aura. If he noticed, he didn’t comment on it. He was having too much fun getting to know you.

“Oh! That’s Hyunjae and Juyeon,” Eric suddenly pointed at a pair of boys on a morning run. He waved at the two who waved back before speeding up.

“The one with brown hair is Hyunjae, a wolf and fire element. His real name is Jaehyun but he changed it to Hyunjae once he got to Creker Academy. Juyeon’s the one with black hair and is a cat like you. Except he’s a water element like me,” he grinned. “They’re my best friends. Oh, and this guy named Sunwoo who’s a raccoon with the element of fire. As you can see, water and fire elements can get along fine and well. So don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise.”

By the time he was done showing you around, a bell rang and students began to convene inside. Eric explained that the bell was signaling the beginning of classes and brought you to his homeroom.

“Breakfast is buffet style and self served. It’s up to you to wake up and come down to eat. The cafeteria remains open for an hour until that bell rings and we have to get to class,” he said you entered.

Looking around for an empty seat, his face lit up when he spotted one. He sat at his desk and tapped on the one behind him to let you know that it was yours to take.

You still hadn’t processed all that’s happened since dawn. Everything felt like a haze. Nevertheless, you found yourself paying attention when the teacher walked in. He scanned the room to find a new face and smiled when he made eye contact with you.

“Alright, guys. I’m happy to announce that we have a new student that will be joining us starting today,” he beckoned for you to come up to the front of the classroom.

You wanted to shrivel up and crawl into a hole. Feeling your classmates gazes on you, you gulped and began to sweat. You were never a fan of attention. You quickly introduced yourself before rushing back to your seat, eliciting giggles from a few students. Your cheeks heated up and you felt that burning tingle again.

The awkwardness made you transform back into a cat, making your classmates gasp. Their intensified stares made the tips of your fur ignite, alarming the teacher who tried to calm you down.

“Well I guess she’s a fire cat,” a girl snickered.

Eric shot her a glare before leaning in to ask if you wanted him to put the fire out with his water. Not knowing what else to do, you nodded and the next thing you knew, you were drenched.

So much for your first day.

You ran out of the room before you could change back into a human. You fled but didn’t know where to go. You grew anxious, desperately hoping you wouldn’t end up flashing anyone.

“Hey!” someone called out. You turned around to see a male approaching you. Panicking, you dove into a bush.

“You’re the newbie, right?” he asked, taking something out of his bag. He dug out a large t-shirt and a pair of shorts and placed them in front of you. “I usually carry around a spare outfit in case of emergencies. I hope you don’t mind the fit.”

You were still in your animal form so you peaked your head out to look at him.

“My name’s Chanhee. Air element penguin,” he squatted down to meet your eyes. “Everyone’s first day is rough. You’re not the only one who’s had incidents like this so try not to feel so bad about it.”

He stood to go back to class, leaving you to change in privacy once you returned to your normal body. Your hair was still wet as you dragged yourself back to the headmaster’s office.

The headmaster looked at you with pity when you walked in looking worn out. You didn’t have to tell her for her to know what happened.

“How about I show you to your dorm?” she warmly suggested. Anything was better than returning to the classroom.

Due to your late enrollment, you were assigned a single room as opposed to the traditional double rooms. You were glad you didn’t have to go through the process of meeting and getting used to a roommate. It was a small but cozy space and the closet was filled with clothes.

You realized all of your belongings were probably burned down in your old home. Now you really didn’t have anything to go back to.

Before the headmaster left to allow you to settle in, she insisted that you join your classmates for lunch later. You wanted to say that you just wanted to stay in your room but her stern look had you close your mouth.

So you begrudgingly made your way to the cafeteria and gawked at the amount of students packed inside. Feeling them stare at you, you tried to ignore their whispers as you grabbed a tray of food. To your relief, you saw Eric motioning you over and went to go sit down next to him.

His group of friends was fairly large. You saw the boys he had named earlier that day and were surprised to see Chanhee again.

“Hi! I’m Changmin,” one enthusiastically waved. “I’m an air squirrel.”

“Haknyeon, air pig,” another raised his hand.

“My animal is a hamster and my element is water. You can call me Kevin,” the last one smiled.

After shyly exchanging greetings with everyone, you poked at the rice on your plate. The food was undeniably better than the food served at your old school. However, thinking about your old school made your stomach drop as you thought of the friends you left behind. You were sure Hyunjoon was worried sick about you.

“Do you hate water? And have you always hated water? I would assume you don’t like it very much as a cat and fire element,” Changmin looked at you with sparkling eyes that displayed his curiosity.

“Yeah I actually never learned how to swim. I guess that explains why. I never had a reason when my friends asked me about it,” you mused. In hindsight, your unreasonable hatred and fear of water made sense.

“Interesting, interesting,” he nodded.

Like that, the next couple of months flew by. You were put on an intensive program to catch up with your peers and received one-on-one tutoring to help you learn how to shapeshift at will. You could now easily turn into a cat but still had trouble returning to your human form.

To your dismay, you were denied communication with the outside world. The headmaster was very much against risking having the academy and everyone’s identities exposed. Which meant that you weren’t allowed to contact anyone from your previous life.

One good thing was that you were no longer the hot topic of the school. People’s interest in you died down when you didn’t reciprocate theirs.

You grew close to Eric and his group of friends. They were an interesting bunch. Each of them were uniquely chaotic.

Eric was the exact opposite of you. Literally. As a water element dog, his personality contrasted your fiery cat. Everything from your food tastes to fashion style were different. Yet, you felt the most comfortable with him. He brought light into your life and made adjusting to your new school easier.

You were also always at odds with Juyeon. Although you were both cats, he was everything you weren’t. He was sweet but you just didn’t match on so many things. This meant for a very awkward but pleasant friendship.

You got along best with Chanhee. His air side complemented your fire and he quickly became your closest friend. He was both sassy and caring and you appreciated his endless concern and support for you.

Changmin was a wild card. He and Sunwoo wrecked havoc everywhere they went as Younghoon and Haknyeon incited them while Kevin and Jacob were trying their best to prevent them from destroying the campus. Sangyeon and Hyunjae, who were usually busy with student council matters, were the only ones who could calm everyone down but sometimes chose to enjoy the mayhem.

“Did you guys hear the rumors?” Sunwoo bursted through the classroom door panting. “The headmaster is considering an overnight field trip for the seniors!”

Jaws dropped and gasps spread throughout the students. The room was immediately in a buzz as everyone was shocked and excited at the possibility of leaving the sealed territory. It had been 5 years since students were allowed a trip in the outside world.

The homeroom teacher came in and hushed everyone to quiet down. He couldn’t hide the smile that forced its way onto his face after seeing how happy his students looked.

“Is it true we might get a senior trip?” Haknyeon impatiently asked.

“I cannot comment on that. An official announcement will be made later today,” the teacher said.

“That’s not a no!” Younghoon squealed.

True to his words, the headmaster’s voice was heard over the PA system before the dismissal bell. She congratulated the seniors on their hard work and announced that they would be given the opportunity to sign up to spend 3 days and 2 nights on a cruise.

The entire floor of students erupted into cheers and you heard footsteps run across as they barged into classrooms to find their friends and rejoice together. Changmin came into your classroom dragging Kevin and Juyeon behind him.

“Guys, I can’t believe it! It’s been forever since I last saw humans,” Changmin gushed.

“The whole point of us going on a private boat is to ensure that we don’t have any run-ins with humans,” Kevin reminded.

“Yeah but I’m sure we’d pass by them on our way there,” Changmin rolled his eyes.

Sangyeon, Hyunjae, and Jacob strolled in, greeting your group of friends with a nod of acknowledgment. They waited as the rest of you gathered your stuff to leave together.

“Everyone’s going, right? Y/n, you too?” Eric asked.

“Umm,” you hesitated as you looked at their expectant eyes. “I honestly don’t know if it’d be a good idea… I’m still not in complete control over my powers.”

“Aw but Y/n! You can’t miss out on this once in a lifetime trip with all of us!” Sunwoo whined.

“Yeah, it’ll be your last time leaving campus before graduating! Plus, it’ll be your first and last major bonding experience with our class,” Younghoon pouted.

“I know how hard fire can be to control. If you want, I can stay with you and try to help you detect signs of distress before it manifests itself,” Hyunjae offered.

“And I‘ll be next to you to put out any accidents!” Eric beamed.

“You know I always have extra clothes in my bag,” Chanhee added.

You couldn’t say no to the 11 pairs of pleading eyes. They all so desperately wanted you to go with them that it warmed your heart. It hadn’t even been long since you first met them but they always treated you like you were with them from the start.

So you added your name to the list of students and that was how you ended up dragging your suitcase to the giant cruise ship. Haknyeon was bouncing in excitement next to you as the throng of high schoolers slowly made their way inside.

Room assignments were the same as back at the academy, which meant that you were in a single by yourself again. Changmin expressed his envy as Chanhee happily pulled him into their shared room.

Once you were unpacked, you headed to the deck and admired the seascape. The ship was already sailing into the vast ocean and the endless horizon felt so freeing. Leaning on the handrails, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath. The salty smell brought back memories of visiting the beach with your parents.

You felt someone join you but didn’t open your eyes. You could tell by their footsteps that it was Eric.

“Enjoying the change in environment?” he asked.

“Makes me a bit nostalgic,” you said as you opened your eyes.

The wind was strong and the waves were violently crashing into the sides of the boat. With the sun glistening in the water’s reflection, you squinted a bit to appreciate the scenery in front of you.

“Isn’t the view so pretty?” you sighed in content. You didn’t notice that he wasn’t looking at the sea. Instead, he was staring at you.

“Yeah. Extremely pretty,” he found himself saying with a soft smile.

To Eric’s slight annoyance, Sunwoo came and tactlessly interrupted the moment to tell you two to meet everyone else at the pool. He was raving about the jacuzzi next to it and eagerly tugged at Eric’s sleeve to hurry him up.

Younghoon was already shoving Hyunjae’s head underwater when you arrived. Jacob waved at you from the chaise lounge and you sat down next to him. Giggling, you watched Sangyeon climb on top of both of them as Juyeon egged him on. Changmin and Chanhee were relaxing in the jacuzzi while Kevin and Haknyeon were piling food on their plates at the snack bar.

Eric was thrown into the pool thanks to Sunwoo’s push and he emerged to the surface screaming and laughing. Using his powers to add more pressure, he splashed Sunwoo with water, who ran off shrieking.

“Do you not like the water as well?” you turned around to face Jacob.

“I don’t necessarily dislike it but I don’t really like it either,” he shrugged. “I don’t mind jumping in if the guys tell me to join.”

“Do you hate the water or are you afraid of it?” Haknyeon asked as he and Kevin took a seat next to you.

“I guess both?” you answered.

“You know, contrary to popular belief, I’m actually not that fond of large bodies of water either,” Kevin said as he offered Jacob a bite of his pizza. “Pretty weird for a water element, huh?”

“Hey, hey, we don’t stick to stereotypes. We are all individuals with personalities and preferences unique to our own character,” Jacob chided.

“Oh how I love confirmation biases,” Haknyeon joked.

You had to admit it was pretty interesting to see how each person matched and defied their element and animal characteristics. It was like taking a personality test and fervently agreeing with the parts that were true and blatantly ignoring the parts that weren’t.

The rest of the day was spent fooling around and playing games. There was never a dull moment with the boys. They were always in high spirits and full of energy.

Even at dinner, your table was the loudest one. Juyeon had been sneakily stealing a few bites of fish off of Haknyeon’s plate, who took great offense when he finally noticed. Meanwhile, Eric was bargaining with Younghoon for his chicken. At the mention of chicken, Hyunjae joined in on the negotiation of the last piece of meat.

So far, you haven't had a risky moment with either your element or animal. You were in complete control and didn’t need guidance—although Chanhee remained by your side just in case. When you made it back to your room to call it a night, you were relieved and proud that the trip was going smoothly without any hiccups.

Perhaps you spoke too early.

In one of the rooms down the hall, a girls’ night had turned awry. One of the girls, a water element, began crying and started a waterflow that got out of hand. The more she panicked and tried to stop it, the higher the water rose. It quickly seeped into the hallway and into other rooms.

With her friends screaming at her to make it stop, it only escalated with a loud whoosh as the door broke open from the pressure. Now in full panic mode, the girls shrieked and realized that the place was flooding from the inside out.

They trudged through the rising water to flee, banging on doors on their way out. Doors swung open as students woke up from the commotion.

By the time Juyeon finally managed to wake Eric up from his deep sleep, the water was nearly up to the bed. The roommates freaked out, wondering what the heck was going on. Juyeon quickly grabbed his bag and hurried Eric to leave.

On their way out, however, they saw that your door was still closed.

“Shit, Y/n can’t swim,” Eric gasped.

“The water’s not that deep yet. Let’s get her out while it’s still walkable,” Juyeon said as he threw his bag down and started walking towards your room.

Meanwhile, you were still sound asleep. You were startled awake by the pounding. When you registered the situation, the fear made you shift into a cat before you could get up and unlock the door. You anxiously glanced at the closed door as the water began to climb up your body.

Outside, Eric felt a pit form in his stomach. Getting worried, he decided to break your door open. With the help of Juyeon, he barely slammed the heavy wood down by mustering up all the strength he had.

“Y/n!” he yelled when he finally saw you.

You were struggling to keep your head above the water and it was getting harder by the second to not breathe in the liquid. He rushed to pick you up and kept you afloat even when he stumbled. The waves were now reaching his chest.

Juyeon transformed into his cat form to swim as Eric trekked through the hall. You were clinging onto him and Eric was holding onto you tightly as well. You could feel him pant and his heart beat fast. Tucked under his arm, you looked up to see beads of sweat falling from his forehead.

Your own heart skipped a beat at the sight. You could tell how much he cared for you. He made you feel wanted. Needed. Important.

You two were polar opposites but still complemented each other so well. He was the optimism you lacked and you were his rock. You kept him grounded and he made you laugh.

When you finally escaped to the deck, Juyeon stepped away to change back into a human and put on clothes. Your friends crowded around you, Younghoon drying you off with a towel and Chanhee placing a clean outfit next to you.

“Alright, everyone, settle down,” the headmaster called out, turning heads. “I’m glad you’re all safely out but it’ll take some time to drain the water. Please calmly stay in groups until we sort everything out.”

Thanks to your months of training, you were now able to sense when your transformation was about to occur. You grabbed the clothes with your mouth and ran off before you could flash anyone. You sheepishly returned wearing one of Chanhee’s pajama shirts and with water still dripping from your hair.

“Y/n!” Sunwoo dramatically whined, jumping you for a hug. Displeased, Eric peeled him off of you and handed you another towel.

“Thanks, Eric,” you smiled. “For… everything.”

“No problem,” he grinned as he ruffled your head.

“Thank God these two got you out safe and sound,” Sangyeon sighed in relief. You apologized for worrying everyone, to which Hyunjae insisted that you had no reason to feel sorry.

Luckily, the next day was not as eventful. A dinner party was prepared for the last night on the cruise and you got to dress up and have fun. You enjoyed a relaxing time in the ballroom with music playing from the speakers and the boys embarrassing themselves on the dance floor.

You giggled as you watched Changmin ask his crush for a dance after Chanhee quite literally pushed his friend to approach her. It was sweet to see both of them all shy in each other’s arms.

Juyeon nudged Eric and nodded in your direction to ask if he was going to ask you to dance as well. When Eric pretended not to know what he was talking about, Sunwoo joined in to tease him.

“Come on, bro. We all know you like her. Just hurry up and make a move already,” Sunwoo snickered.

“Ooh are we talking about Y/n?” Hyunjae came after eavesdropping.

“I hate you guys,” Eric rolled his eyes as he tried to hide his blush.

Learning from Chanhee, Sunwoo shoved his best friend towards you and fled after he bumped into you. Shooting him a glare, Eric silently swore at him with his eyes. He cringed before turning around to face you.

He felt his breath being stolen away when his eyes met yours. You were absolutely stunning. The glimmer of the chandelier shining on your enhanced your features and he found himself lost in your orbs.

From a few tables away, Kevin and Jacob had joined the other three guys to fanboy over the interaction. Juyeon whispered “he’s totally whipped” to Sunwoo who failed to hold back his laughter. Eric, however, didn’t even notice. He was too busy gaping at you.

“Uhh is there something on my face?” you asked, bringing your palm to your cheek. You were slightly self conscious at his intense staring.

“Beauty,” he blurted. Trying to play it cool, he acted confident and ignored the burst of laughter from his friends. You felt your face heat up at his comment and awkwardly coughed as you looked away.

“Y-You look great too,” you stuttered.

On his way to pour himself some more punch, Chanhee loudly told you to just dance with Eric. He passed by and continued to walk towards the drinks without a care as to how flustered he left you two. Your friends were practically doubling over in laughter at this point.

So Eric boldly held your hand and gently guided you to the dance floor. Feeling your body heat up, he applied his cooling powers on you to prevent you from igniting flames.

“I guess we could say there’s a spark between us,” he joked.

The rest of the night flew by in a blur. You hadn’t felt so carefree in so long. For the first time in a while, you weren’t hung up on the past or worried about the future. You simply appreciated the moment as you were living it.

You never expected things to turn out the way it did. With the death of your parents, you lost a lot of things. But your new friends made you feel complete again. They healed you in ways you couldn’t have imagined.

The revelation of your true identity also brought you peace. You no longer felt like the odd one out. Your own powers didn’t scare you and you felt safe learning about them at the boarding school.

However, you began to doubt all of that the second you docked back on land. You were chatting with Eric about his favorite ramen brand when an all-too-familiar voice made you freeze.

“Y/n..?” he carefully called out. He slowly came up to see if it really was you and gasped when he saw that it was.

Eric didn’t know why he suddenly felt uneasy. Maybe it was because an unknown male had made a reappearance in your life or maybe it was because he recognized the way he was looking at you. It was the same way he looked at you as well.

Chanhee, now protective and defensive, slightly pushed you to the back to ask who he was.

“It’s okay, Chanhee. He’s my friend,” you assured, stepping forward.

Juyeon scowled, not liking that you were interacting with people from the human world. It was borderline going against the rules.

“Hey, Hyunjoon. Long time no see,” you timidly greeted.

“Are you kidding me? You disappeared after a fire burned down your house and that’s all you have to say to me?” Hyunjoon fumed.

You winced at the pain evident in his voice. It had hurt you to ignore your best friend and there hadn’t been a day where you didn’t miss him. Guilt-ridden, you were unable to meet his eyes. He took you by surprise by pulling you in for a hug.

“We thought of the worst, Y/n,” he murmured. “I forgive you for going M.I.A. on me. It’s okay. Everything’s fine as long as you’re here.”

You choked back tears but couldn’t stop one from falling down your cheek. You heard the headmaster gathering the students to get on the bus back home and knew that you didn’t have much time before you had to leave him again. Sangyeon patted you on the shoulder and ran ahead to ask the headmaster for leniency.

“I-I have to go soon,” you stammered as you broke away from his embrace.

“Go where? You’re not coming back home?” Hyunjoon asked.

“I… have a new home now,” you gulped. “I can’t tell you where and I can’t promise that I’ll be able to see you again. But I’ve missed you. I still do.”

“Are you safe?” he whispered after staying silent for a bit. “Are you happy?”

You took a glimpse of your group of friends that was unconvincingly pretending to not listen to the conversation. It almost made you chuckle despite the situation.

“Yeah,” you trailed off. “I’m doing well, Hyunjoon. And I hope the same for you. I’m sorry.”

“Then that’s all that matters,” he forced a smile as he hugged you one last time. “Bye, Y/n.”

“Bye, Hyunjoon.”

It pained you to see him watch you walk away. Your heart broke with each step you took. On the ride back to the forest, you stared out the window. Eric, sitting next to you, softly squeezed your hand to offer you some comfort.

“I made the right choice, right?” you asked, leaning on his shoulder.

“Do you regret it?” he cautiously asked.

You thought about it. You definitely missed Hyunjoon and all of your other old friends. You also definitely felt bad that you left them behind without a word and still couldn’t provide an explanation. But at the same time, you’ve grown to love your new school and new friends. You no longer had to be on edge without even knowing the reason why. Creker Academy made you feel confident. The boys made you feel accepted. Eric made you feel loved.

“No,” you answered with certainty. “Not at all.”

a/n: for the eric to my sunwoo, @sohnhorizon

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