#it's pointing out that we all knew what this song was about beforehand

[agentoffangirling]

Um. Care to explain what you mean by "some people"? Because so far the only people I've seen have legitimate issues with Hold Them Down have been SA survivors. And ngl, you sound a little victim blamey.

I'm blaming that one person on TikTok who believes Jorge Rivera-Herrans is problematic bc he included a topic of SA in a song about a myth that has SA

My problems are not that the person is a victim, bc genuinely what they have gone through is awful and I would never wish that on ANYONE. My problem is that they don't seem to understand that the Odyssey has some very uncomfortable topics in it and it's not an invention of Jorge to include it in "Hold Them Down". My problem is that they believe that it was made up so we could feel bad about Penelope. My problem is that they believe such inclusion makes Jorge a bad writer and that he should never write music again

It's quite literally aimed at nobody else, just at that one person who does not understand it was in the og myth and Jorge did a best of a job he could at depicting such a thing respectfully

[erenjaegerwifee]

The Selection

Prologue

Paring: Neteyam x Fem!Tawakmi!Reader

Warnings: none, some flirting.

Word Count: 2.7k

Disclaimer: All my characters are aged-up! If that bothers you feel free to scroll and do not interact with my account or any of my post.

~ This is the first part to my new series! I hope you all like the idea and enjoy reading! Suggestion are welcome I'd love to hear your ideas. in this series I should make you aware I will be including some human things, there will be some pretending when it comes to those things. the technology for instance will be something that is heavily in the series. human songs is also something that will be mentioned throughout, which will include some songs and lyrics (but Y/n is gonna write them so it wouldn't be considered human in this series)

Series M.List | Main M.List

“Neteyam the war is over, it is high time you choose a wife” Neytiri, his mother said to him while they were all having dinner. “Yea son, I know that for a long time it is all we thought about but you should get out there, get to know some people” his father, Jake pipped up. 

“Being married is great I promise, I didn’t think I'd like it this much man seriously” his brother Lo’ak said as he hugged his wife Korra against his side making her giggle. Neteyam smiles at his brother and new sister, they had such a strong relationship ever since they were young, the type of friends you knew one day they would mate and be as one. Neteyam has never had anyone like that, he has had friends and girls he was interested in but this war changed people, took people. He just isn’t really attracted to anyone in his clan right now.  

“I hear you; I know a bond is important to form, but honestly this war has taken so much out of all of us, there isn’t much people left in the clan and no one I can say I really feel for.” Neteyam sighed as he told his family as he passes his hand over the scar, he now has on his chest from getting shot all those years ago. His parents look at him sympathetically, they know what it feels like to be in love, they only want their children to feel the same one day, to feel that happiness. 

“Ok, I attended a meeting with the clan leaders from across the forest, they too have suffered much lose from this war and one of them pitched an idea I thought was interesting, I did not agree beforehand because I wasn’t sure you would agree” Jake sighed and glanced at his wife before continuing, “In the Kekunun clan, they have this tradition where men try through a series of competitions and challenges to win over the woman of their choosing, they pitched that if you were open too it, you can hold one of your own here, and which ever woman you choose will be your mate for life and join their clan with ours, so don’t suffer such a lose alone. You will rule both clans side by side.”  

His family looked at him while he contemplated his options, it was not the worse idea, maybe someone from the other clans might catch his attention. Maybe he might fall in love with someone, “How will we choose which girls will enter?” Neteyam asked his father.  

“Well, you can let the clans decide which girl they think is best fit or you can send someone you know to survey the crowds and choose a girl they think you’ll like, the point of this is to find you a match you are happy with, making the clan bigger is just a bonus” his father said. “We only want you to be happy son” his mother spoke up.  

Neteyam sighed again, “Ok, we will do it, but I want someone to survey the clans” his family waited for him to say who they will send and Neteyam didn’t have to give it much thought, at the end of the day only his family stood with him in the hard times, only his family held his hand throughout all of the injuries and loses, “Lo’ak, I trust his judgement, he’ll find me the right girls.”  

Lo’ak smiled at his brother, over the years they had depended on each other a lot, they grew much closer than their teenage years, they are not only brothers but good friends, they have kept each other safe countless times now, there really is no one Neteyam has more trust in to think of his best interest.  

Lo’ak has been to three clans so far with his wife, all three times he had chosen a woman he thinks his brother might like. He has been to the Tanrangi Clan by the eastern sea, the Olangi Clan that reside in the forest plains of Pandora and the Kekunun Clan that live in the Mountains. Visiting them has been a real experience for Lo’ak he was able to spend time with the people and get to know their customs before he chose a woman.  

It was easier than expected the women he chose just stood out to him, and his wife was much help in decided as well because Lo’ak came to realize, all the other forest clans have heirs that are women. Not a man besides their father was in the family, someone them were only children but some had sisters, none so far had brothers.  

Lo’ak must make one more stop, the furthest clan in the forest, a good three days travel away from the omatikaya clan, it was the Tawkami clan. Rumor has it you reside in one of the forest clans but Lo’ak has yet to see you. He just knows you would be perfect for his brother, but he can’t help but feel a bit selfish about wanting to choose you, yes, he has a wife and he loves her more than anything, he would never do anything to hurt her. But ever since Lo’ak heard the sound of your voice in his teens he’s been crushing hard, almost like a fantasy he knows he has no shot, he knows he doesn’t want it, he just likes you. He had this idea in his head about what you might be like and he always wondered what it would be like to meet you. 

Now Lo’ak is no stalker, he knows what you look like simply from pictures, but what na’vi on Pandora doesn’t know you? You are famous on Pandora, your voice people say was a gift from the great mother herself, they say your body was hand shaped by Eywa from how incredibly beautiful you are. They way your waves fall so lovely down your back, the silky curls bounce with every movement you make.  

Lo’ak has only seen videos and heard recordings but he has never gotten the chance to meet you. Why were you so out of reach to the public, he wasn’t even sure what clan you are from. He definitely thinks you are perfect though, but maybe his opinion on your is biased. Korra understands Lo’ak’s feelings towards you, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t also admire you, the way you moved when you danced in the videos she saw, it was so graceful and full of meaning.  

They talked about it the entire trip, every clan they would look for you and every clan they would be disappointed they didn’t find you; this is their last chance. They fly over the entrance of the Tawkami clan attracting the people below. This clan was beautiful, big space, Lo’ak knows they fought besides them in battle but they didn’t not return in the numbers they gave out. They are highly skilled and in tune with their land. 

Lo’ak jumped off his ikran and walked over to Korra to help her off her ikran. The pair walked hand in hand up to the crowd and greeted all of them. Everyone knows they are omatikaya, they know Lo’ak and who his father way, they also are very much aware of his skills as a warrior and is well respected at the clan.  

The clan’s Olo’eyktan with his three sons came forward, Lo’ak and Korra respectfully greeted them and they returned the gesture. “Lo’ak, son of Toruk Makto, what brings you so far from your clan?” Olo’eyktan spoke up. Tsahìk has joined them shortly after greeting them respectfully. “This is my wife, Korra. We are here to inform the clan that the Omatikaya have decided to hold a competition for the hand of Toruk Makto’s eldest, my brother Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk’itan, the winner will join clans with ours and we will live as one. I was sent to choose the woman and request her presence to the clan to start the games in one weeks time”  

“Walk with me son” the Olo’eyktan invited Lo’ak, Korra walked alongside them as they spoke, “You are meant to choose clan leading children, right?” the man asked. Lo’ak nodded his head waiting for the man to continue speaking, “I am afraid I only have the one daughter; she is off age and if she is willing to participate in this competition you will have my blessing,”  

The Tsahik of the clan speed up her pace to stand in front of the three, “She has a beautiful connection to Eywa son, she must be taken care off if we allow her to come to your clan. How long will she be staying?” Korra spoke up before Lo’ak did, “the selection will take six months, between those six months some of the women who Neteyam is not interested in will be sent home.”  

Tsahik made eye contact with her husband speaking without words, almost as if Lo’ak read their mind, “Her place at the clan is welcome, she will be treated as one of our own, but we cannot guarantee she will be the one my brother chooses. If she is not, we will ensure her safe passage back. My brother is not only looking for a capable woman, he is looking for a loving wife, I am only here to see which one might be best suited, in the end it will be up to him.” Lo’ak’s eyes dart between them both before letting out a nervous sigh.  

It was never easy to explain to the clan leaders their children may not be Neteyam’s wife but they accepted anyways, many have respect for his brother, many women want to mate him, but not everyone has the same advantage in the games. “Let us introduce you and you can ask her yourself.” 

You sat on in a small clearing humming tunes of songs and sewing on some beads you gathered earlier in the day. You felt at peace in the forest, it was always something you loved to enjoy by yourself, the wind blew softly through your curls that fell over your eyes slights and down to the middle of your back. It was sort of uncommon for Na’vi women to have nags but you always thought they suited your face well, especially with your full curls, “Y/n!” you heard your mother shout. 

You heard turned to the voice before you stood up and ran in the direction of your mother. “Sa’nok? What is it?” you pull a big leaf down to walk in front of it being met with bother your parents, and a man and woman you did not recognize.  

The spark in their eyes when they saw you was something you would never get tired of, they are your fans, your mother brought fans to meet you? Thats a first. You brought your hand up to your forehead to greet them respectfully smiling sweetly, “I see you, y/n” they both said in sync copying your motion making you smile.  

You parents excused themselves mumbling to each other about how they hoped you said yes. You look at them confused before turning to the couple, “May I know your names?” you said sweetly. “I am Lo’ak, son of Toruk Makto, this is my mate, Korra” you smile at them both before silence took over as if they did not know what else to say. “It is nice to meet you both, may I ask why you journeyed so far from your clan?” your eyes dart between them.  

“We have come to choose women from the forest clans for my brother to mate, it is a competition to see who is best suited for him, in return the winning woman will join her clan with the Omatikayan and we will live as one. I know this is short notice but the games start in one week, we have chosen you if you will accept?” Lo’ak said, his grip on his wife’s hand was a bit hard but he was just so nervous on whether you would say yes. You are famous across the moon, everyone and their mother knows about your blessed voice, he just knew he would be doing right by his brother if you accepted. 

“Wow, this is quite a decision, how long will I be staying at your clan?” you bit your lip swinging from side to side as you contemplate, no one has ever asked you to compete for someone else’s hand, people compete for yours. “Six months, if it doesn’t work out between you two and he decides to go in a different direction, though I can’t imagine why, we will grant you safe passage home.” you giggle at him sly comment.  

And you nod your head, “the Omatikaya are 3 days travel away from here as you know, I will not be able to visit my family, it is a big decision to make. I do not want to shut you down but I have no idea what your brother looks like” you tilt your head to the side slightly. Lo’ak sighs assuming you are about to shut him down. “Tell you what, how about you stay for dinner and leave first thing in the morning, I shall give you my answer then” you smile at them.  

You try to ignore the way they both look at each other in a celebratory way and you lead them back to the clan while they ask you questions about how you write your songs and your music, if it is true, you are also a good dancer. Their excitement to talk to you makes you smile, you had secretly always loved the attention that came with being famous, the way people always treated you nicely and how they travel the moon looking for you just to hear you sing.  

After dinner you get tucked away thinking about the situation, your parents have been hounding you about getting a mate for the longest, it is a bit difficult though. You always loved the gifts Eywa blessed you will but men do not want you for a wife, they want you for a lay. You are one of the most beautiful women on the moon according to some, you are something people want to say they have had, like an object. Mates should not treat you like that so you never committed to being anyone’s wife. Maybe Lo’ak’s brother will be different, maybe he will love you for you and not what you have. You knew you had your iPad and you can call your mother whenever you needed but you’ve never really been away from your family before. What if this doesn’t work out, what if you fall in love with him and he doesn’t love you back. No relationship is formed without risk, right? 

The next morning breakfast was served to your guests they made themselves ready to take off to their home clan. They must be relieved to be going home now, they definitely didn’t forget you told them you would have an answer now.  

“So, what’s it gonna be princess? Have you decided whether or not my brother is worth your time?” Lo’ak asked. 

“Well, I’m not sure about that I don’t know him how can I know if he is worth my time?” you giggle at him. “But what is reward without risk? I will be there.” Lo’ak and Korra both smiled at your answer and gave you a hug goodbye. Bidding them safe travels, you watched them fly away.  

“Are you sure about this sis?” your brother Kian asked you, he was your first younger brother, second born in your family. “I am, what is the worst that can happen? I come back here?” you snort making him laugh. “No, I know, I just do not want you to get hurt by this.” you smile at him then glance down to your feet, “We cannot control the things that happen baby brother, we can only control how we react to them.” 

You yanked on his tail and ran away leaving him to chase you in circles around your parents, you will miss them dearly.  

~ I hope you all like it so far! I’m not sure how much chapters I’m writing but as I update I’ll put them here so look it or comment to be tagged!

~ Reblogs, Comments and Likes are always appreciated

Taglist

@rivatar @delusionalwh6re @strongheartneteyam @xylianasblog @nilahsstuff @inlovewithpandora @neteyamsoare @m1tsu-ki @xrollingmyeyesx @goofygremlin123 @quicktosimp @r11k4 @its-jennarose @anonymuslydumb @winterhi09 @teymars @kylimarz @jakesullyfatjuicypeen

[anashins]

hii, can I request a jealous jaehyun when his gf agrees to catching up w her guy friend who swiped up on her story & did not tell Jaehyun, causing him to find out when she posts something? Hehe :)

Pairing: Jaehyun x You

Genre: fluff, romance, a bit suggestive in the end

Word Count: 1.4k

Summary: Jaehyun tries to record a new song in the studio. But how is he supposed to sing a passionate love ballad while thinking about the girl he loves, when she is currently out there, enjoying herself with another guy?

A/N: Thank you for requesting! Are we all living the same life at the moment? This is real conversation I had just yesterday!

“That was shit.”

Jaehyun rolled his eyes as he heard Taeyong’s voice over the headphones. His leader was standing next to their voice coach at the other side of the studio’s glass front, observing him recording his part for a song on their new album. 

“It’s been going on for an hour already,” Taeyong commented sharply and wanted to lock eyes with Jaehyun, but the latter looked away, partially in anger, partially in shame. “You were so close to where we wanted to have you in the beginning, but ever since the break, you’re getting worse. Why can’t you concentrate?”

Perhaps because his girlfriend hadn’t replied to him since last night and then perhaps because during the break, he had found out through an instagram story of hers that she was meeting up with some guy he had never heard about before.

Jaehyun was fuming inwardly since his messages on their texting app still showed the little “1” next to them, indicating that his girlfriend hadn’t even read anything he had written yet. Instead, she was having a great time with a tall guy she hadn’t even linked in the story, so Jaehyun wasn’t able to stalk his profile. 

From what she had posted though, standing close to him at a popular street in their city, he had his hand on her shoulder and his hat pulled deep into his face. Without even knowing his looks, Jaehyun could sense that he was very good looking. Though, at this point, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact fact that made him so mad.

Was it because his girlfriend seemingly ignored him? The fact that she met up with a random guy without telling him beforehand? Because they seemed so close?

“I can’t’, I’m sorry.”

How could he sing a passionate love ballad when there was a storm going on inside of him? 

Jaehyun took off the headphones and stormed out of the recording room. By the time he had reached the outside, he could finally tell what was bothering him so much: 

He always told her what he was doing, where he was going, and asked her about her day despite having little to no time sometimes. And she couldn’t even clear ten seconds off her time schedule to do the same? On the commute? During a walk?

With shaky hands, Jaehyun pulled his phone out of his pocket and wanted to try something one last time. 

He called her.

After twenty seconds, his call declined and his stomach dropped simultaneously.

-

Jaehyun thought hard about whether he should pick up the phone when his girlfriend called later that evening. But he was only hurt, not an ass and wanted to hurt his girl back.

She had already answered to his texts, something along the lines of “Hey, sorry, I was busy, I randomly met my friend” and was quick to call an hour later when she saw that he hadn’t opened the messages yet, inviting herself over since she was close and he had finished recording earlier. 

“Hey,” he said when he let her in.

“Hey, how is it going? How was your day?”

She sounded so happy as she followed him into his room, and he gulped, a bit of regret over his feelings already starting to seep in. “My day was fine. And yours?”

Jaehyun was trying really hard to sound casual as usual, but his voice never betrayed him. His girlfriend already sensed that something was entirely wrong, she knew him so very well. “Are you okay?” 

“No,” he admitted. 

“Why? What’s wrong?”

There was no reason to conceal or downplay the truth. “You didn’t write to me the entire day and instead were out with some guy I never saw before. It didn’t sit right with me.”

She furrowed, but quickly understood. “Jaehyun, are you jealous? You know there is nothing to be jealous about. It was an old friend from my hometown who spent a few days here, and he hit me up randomly on Instagram when he realized that I live here too from a posting earlier. I wanted to tell you tonight, there was just not much time before. He asked if I can show him a good place to buy souvenirs today. It was very spontaneous as I saw his messages directly after waking up and he’s leaving again this evening, so I hurried. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to contact you earlier.”

“Jealous…? That’s not it.”

Jaehyun, too, had thought that he was jealous. But he, in fact, wasn’t. He had actually never been. It wasn’t about whether he was scared if she was cheating. He trusted her fully and didn’t have a bad feeling, not even once for the entire time they had been together. The unsettling feeling still lingered though.

So what was it that truly bothered him?

With a nod, he signed that she should seat herself on his bed, and he eventually did the same. 

“Sometimes, it feels like we’re living two different lives.”

His girlfriend tilted her head in confusion when he paused. “Can you elaborate that?”

“When we’re working, meeting with friends or doing other stuff, separately from each other, I always try to include you, send you pictures, tell you where I go and with whom. Not because I’m afraid you could be jealous or demand it from me, but because I want you to be there with me, even though you’re physically not.”

She nodded. “I understand that.”

“And most of the time, for you, I see what you’re up to only when you upload a story or someone else I also follow. I understand that you’re rather a person living in the moment and not focussing on the phone while with others. That’s a great quality. But at times like these… I always feel like I’m not included in your life. I don’t want to complain, I just want to convey my feelings. We already have so little time together due to my occupation, so that makes me feel even more… excluded, I think.“

Jaehyun could almost physically feel how a huge burden got lifted off his shoulders. It dawned on him how long he had been carrying this feeling around that his heart felt so much lighter after telling his girlfriend. 

“Do you think I’m not feeling the same?” she asked and took his hand into hers. “Because I do! Whenever we have a time like this in which we can see each other only seldomly, I try meeting friends often, because I feel lonely and sad without you. And trust me when I say that whatever I do and whomever I do it with, I always think it would be much more fun with you by my side. I try to only concentrate on that moment and activity to not feel as sad. I’m sorry.”

Jaehyun blinked in disbelief. “I… didn’t know. Don’t be sorry about that!”

“Did you think I don’t care? That you’re not on my mind all the time?” She arose and placed her palms on each side of his face. “Because you are. The amount of times I text and call you cannot compare to the times I think of you. Even though I might not be able to convey this feeling whenever you feel abandoned, trust me in that. I carry them all in my heart. Please believe me.”

Jaehyun’s features softened along with his heart. “I believe you.”

If it was like this, then it was fine for him. 

If the anxiety got the better of him again though, he would directly call her, and she promised to call him back immediately when she could. She couldn’t fully promise to always inform him about her plans beforehand, because sometimes, there was such a mess and so much hectic going on in her head. But she promised to do whenever she thought about it and asked him to please not take it to his heart too much. 

In addition, they promised to never miss leaving the other some loving words by the end of each day.

Jaehyun wrapped his arms around his girlfriend’s waist when she climbed into his lab. With a smirk, he asked, “How can you fully convince me how much you always miss and love me? I think I still have doubts…”

“How much time do you have?” she chuckled before letting herself fall on top of him and they both landed on the mattress.

“The entire night.”

“That’s enough, hopefully.”

[sleepanonymous]

Okay so. I have so many people to respond to and I promise I will, just not tonight. I wanted to give a quick update about the ritual below the cut (because I know some people like going in not knowing the setlist.) Again, typing this all on my phone so my apologies for heavy typos and any incoherence.

As a preface I just got back to my hotel, showered quickly, absolutely fucking sobbed in the shower for like two minutes, and I’m now eating uncle ben’s ready rice straight out of the bag because I don't have a fork or spoon. If that doesn’t scream hot mess idk what would.

First things first: the security/staff at Arizona Financial Theatre are all amazing. Literal fucking angels. Two of them hung out with us in line all day, letting us go inside to use the bathroom and refill water bottles and the guys at the barricade were so friendly and chatty and also handed out water. Literally everyone was so helpful and friendly and nice and they deserve all the good things in life.

Second: Empire State Bastard really wasn’t clicking with me until I saw them live. They’re an absolute vibe live plus the drummer and bassist are both babes. The band were constantly thanking us for showing up early and listening to them (tbh the venue was only half full until about 10 minutes before Sleep Token went on). Literally seemed like such humble and chill dudes.

Third!!! I almost don’t even know what to say about Sleep Token. There’s sooo much I could literally rant for hours but I also need to sleep so I can drive to Albuquerque in the morning. I recorded 5ish songs I think? Mostly the TPWBYT songs but I did get the summoning too. No idea if the footage is any good but we’ll see tomorrow. I made it a point not to have my phone out after finding out the setlist because there was no way in hell I was missing TNDNBTG live while on barricade. Maybe I should preface this next bit with I one hundred thousand present realize this sounds delusional of me, but everyone on the barricade had their phones out and Vessel fucking focused on me because of it. He was singing one of my favorite sleep token songs directly to me! There’s literally nowhere else he could have been looking! he was on the edge of the stage looking straight down at me and we were pointing at each other and I’m fucking dying reliving it because I was singing so horribly and cringy back at him. Like I’m so sorry vessel but my life was changing in that moment. I became a new woman the second you pointed at me.

I kept my phone away for the first several songs tbh and he kept coming back to stand in front of me but never made such heavy eye/mask contact (until Euclid). I actually almost feel like I disappointed him when I did pull my phone out to start recording because he practically avoided me after that. its actually why I decided not to record Euclid, though I knew it was coming and it was the song’s debut. AND IT FUCKING WORKED!! He came back around and was singing to me again, same stance, same obvious eye contact except this time I was literally Ugly Crying™️ at him. Tears were streaming, I had one hand holding onto the barricade for dear life, and the other clamped tightly around my mouth ugly crying. Even my buddies and the security were concerned that’s how bad it was.

In all honesty I can’t pretend that it wasn’t “scripted” like the band hadn’t planned every move on stage beforehand. They first and foremost are performers and Vessel literally sings to every girl on the barricade right in front of him. But it also felt so special and I feel so bad for breaking down like I did 😅🤣😭😫🫠

Okay I need to stop ranting, I’ve been up for 20 hours and this is most likely incoherent anyway. I love all of you and I hope everyone who’s able to get barricade this tour gets to experience the same thing I did🖤🖤🖤

[purpleshimmer]

Music Videos in Season Two vs Season One

@thenationofzaun made a post about this too so I won’t talk too much about what they already said, but I wanted to talk a bit about why I feel the music videos in this season aren’t working the way they did in season 1

Spoilers below!

I love love love the music videos/sequences in season two, I really do! I think all the artists did an incredible job and the soundtrack is full of bangers so far. I love that Fortiche is branching out with different animation styles like the comic book sequence in episode 3 and the watercolor pictures in the flashback with vander. However, because they’re trying to fit so many plot points in 9 episodes they’re using these 2 minute music videos to tell stories and explain events that should’ve been given at least 15-20 minutes of screentime. The music videos are a great way to experiment with new animation styles and set up plots/events, which they did perfectly in season 1. 

S1E5 - “Enemy”

Enemy is played as Vi walks through the bar on her way to confront Sevika. However, we got plenty of context beforehand! We know why Vi is angry with Sevika, how she knew where to even find her, and got a really great fight scene between the two after the music played. The song showed Vi being badass and cool and set the mood for the fight, but wasn’t used to replace the Vi vs Sevika conflict. 

Compare this to something like the "Hellfire" music video in S2E3, where we don’t even see the task force enter Zaun. We should have seen Vi’s internal struggle with joining the Enforcers like she did in episode 1, but instead we can only assume that the event at the memorial service moved her enough for her to abandon her beliefs about the enforcers that she’s held since she was a small child and join them. We don’t get to see how Steb, Loris, Vi, Maddie, and Caitlyn work together and what their dynamics are like. We don’t see what Vi’s reaction is to releasing toxic gas on her own people, or them raiding the Vyx, we only see the aftermath of that and the scene in the arcade. The music video should have been used to set up the events, and then at least a few minutes of the episode should have shown the first raid on Zaun by the task force.

S1E6 - “Guns for Hire”

This is one of my favorite parts of season 1. The entire episode led up to the huge moment at the end where Jinx lit the flare to try and find her sister and for Piltover to block Zaun citizens out of Piltover. The end scene didn’t need to have dialogue or be drawn out because it was already explained for the entire episode. The music served its purpose by making us feel emotional and setting the next episodes. The same goes for “What Could Have Been” at the end of episode 9. I feel the same way about Woodkid’s other song, “To Ashes and Blood” in S2E3. The whole episode led up to that moment, so I think it was fine to have a music sequence as the final battle played out. 

S1E7 - “Misfit Toys”

This is the most “official” music video in season 1; the others are more so sequences with music played overtop of them instead of dialogue. The music video sets us up with information that we should know about the firelights BEFORE officially meeting them. We learn from the lyrics and the video that they are a group of Zaunites that are working to stop Silco and provide people a safe place to get away from Silco’s shimmer-ravaged city. It’s also just a great song and an incredible music video with a unique style. However, this isn’t ALL that we see of the Firelights. It’s used as a supplement, not a replacement, to their story. At least 1/3rd of episode 7 is about the Firelights, Ekko, and their relationship with Silco’s Zaun and Piltover, allowing for the audience to sympathize and connect with them further. 

This episode also features “Dynasties and Dystopia,” another great music video sequence. I love that it switches between Jinx and Ekko currently and as friends. It expands on their history and draws attention that these two used to be close friends, but are now trying to fight to the death. It works, in my opinion, because we already knew that they were friends, as this was established in the first three episodes of the show. The music video added to our knowledge, but wasn’t the first time we learned that they were friends. 

S2E1 - “I Can’t Hear It Now”

This one was so beautiful and made me sob the first time I watched it. The end of episode nine and the first parts of this episode prepared us for Cassandra’s death, and the funeral serves to show us Caitlyn’s reaction to it. It’s absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful; I wouldn’t change a single thing about this scene. 

S2E2 - “Sucker” 

I LOVE this song and I really like the music video that goes along with it. HOWEVER, the music video should have played at the beginning of the episode to remind the audience of the turf wars between the chem barons, and then at least half of the episode should have expanded on those conflicts. Instead we just got the two scenes with Smeech, who died almost immediately after. We never get to see Margot or Chross again, despite the fact that they are almost certainly still fighting. What was the result of that? We see the displaced people coming to Zauna and later Viktor’s camp, but why didn’t we get to see any of the political struggles between them (or any of the chem barons before their deaths)? We don’t get to learn about their organizations, we don’t see more of their personalities, we don’t see them fight outside of the music video, nothing. Maybe I’m just biased because I’ve loved the chem barons since their brief appearance in season 1, but the only reason I wasn’t upset about their small amount of screen time in season 1 was because I was expecting them to play a huge role in season 2. 

I loved the “Renegade” sequence, that was really fun and I don’t have anything negative to say about it other than that I wish my best friend Smeech didn’t get killed. 

S2E6 -"Remember Me"

I actually like this one! Putting aside the flaws with this plotpoint bc that’s not what this post is about, I actually think this one was well incorporated. We already knew some background about Vander and Silco’s relationship from season one, so this wasn’t sprung upon us randomly, and we even got a decently long flashback scene between the two. The music video was used to show a bit more information that could accurately be portrayed through the watercolor animation and without any dialogue, which I think it did successfully. 

S2E5 - “Cocktail Molotov” 

Again, I love this sequence, the song fits perfectly with the situation and it was exciting to watch. However, instead of playing at the beginning to set up Vi’s new living situation, it was the only part of her pitfighter life that we got to see. This was especially strange to me because of how much Riot hyped up pitfighter Vi before the season dropped; I really thought it would be a major part of the episode. We didn’t get to see a full fight between her and an opponent, we didn’t see any conversations between her and Loris, we didn’t even see how she ended up as a fighter in the first place. It was just “look at how cool she is! Also she’s drunk and sad” but we never got the chance to connect with her and feel what she was going through the way we did in season one when she was experiencing changes and struggles in her life.  

I didn’t cover all the songs bc this post is already really long, but that’s kind of how I’m feeling atm. I’d love to hear you guys’ opinions in the comments/tags!! Again I still love the music videos. I just think the ones in season 1 were better. I really hope I’m not sounding like I hate the show or something. I feel like a lot of my recent posts have been super negative 😭 I still love the show, I just have more criticisms with this season than I did for season 1, as I think a lot of people do.

[tenjikufag]

hi,, it ifs okay I’d like to be your 🍮 anon! im just wondering if you’d be interested in writing a gojo x male reader? Soft angst to fluff please!

Everything is Temporary.

Gojo Satoru x male reader

-angst (dunno what soft angst is or if this fits), end fluff, no cws

-a/n hello 🍮 anon thank you for the req.

Nothing lasts forever.

Temporary is all there is.

Sure, some things last longer, a class is longer, interactions can be super long, lines can be long, shows, songs, you get it. Things can last awhile

But sometimes lives are longer than others. Just as the others start, another one finishes. Except there’s no clock, no time stamp to see how long you’re here for, how long you have left.

You could only wish that you were fortunate enough to live what was deemed a long life.

But, here you found yourself enrolled in a Jujutsu Society run schooling.. and it’s been all but drilled into your head that things don’t last, not even people.

This occupation that you’d been forced into from birth wasn’t forgiving and was erratic on a good day.

Death announcements were just as common as saying hello to someone in a day.

That’s why it’s so hard to want relationships, to want friendships. But, you could atleast say you *had* friends.

Getou Suguru, although not the most friendly he cared for people.

Shoko Ieiri, blunt and honest. But again, she cared.

And finally

Gojo Satoru.. a loud, criminally annoying smart ass.

He knew he was stronger than everyone, he knew we could only keep up and never beat him. But through this obvious facade of his, you and your friends saw right through him. He wasn’t one to scare for himself, but he worried for you, his friends.

But especially you.

You’d think it would be flattering; but it only came off as condescending and making you feel lesser than the two others in your group..

“I’m just sayin! I’m there to protect ya!”

“I don’t need protecting Satoru! That’s the whole point! Let me go!”

His grip on your uniform was tight, it made your skin feel hot at the close proximity.

Satoru had been trying to stick himself to your hip for this next mission, it was an S Grade. The four of you had been warned immensely beforehand and were told when to retreat if it came to.

Your friend never wanted you to go on these.

He’d never admit that he was deathly afraid of losing you, afraid of watching you die.

“Ugh, I know I can’t stop ya but at-least let me take you out on a date beforehand! Who knows what’s gonna happen!”

There it was. The teasing. The teasing that Gojo had become infamous for.. you never believed a word he said, apparently he says it to everyone so why would it be different for you? Besides, he wasn’t into guys much less you.

“Stop saying shit you don’t mean! It’s rude and makes you look like a jackass!”

Stomping away from him, you didn’t even look back to see the pathetic pout he had..

-

“Yknow Y/n..”

Suguru sat beside you, slouched over his knees and watching the cars pass by

“Satoru doesn’t tease anyone like he does you.. not anymore at least..”

Furrowing your brows, crushed juice box in hand you whipped around to berate your friend

“So he’s got to you now? He doesn’t mean it, I know he doesn’t! Don’t you try-“

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Y/n. Especially not about this stuff..”

You felt deflated, even if it was true.. you couldn’t do it. You couldn’t be in a relationship, not with the life you lived currently.

It was a guarantee that one of you would die, hell you’d be one of the lucky ones to see 25! You’ve had classmates die since you’ve been here, both upper and lower class men!

Why would you entertain it?

Why would you subject yourself to such loss?

“Well, he’s shit outta luck. I don’t even know why I have friends.. my parents told me I shouldn’t have any, they made me promise that I wouldn’t get married aswell..”

“You won’t get married, not that quickly.”

Suguru chuckled, you smacked him upside the head.

“You know what I mean, Suguru.. I don’t think I.. I don’t think I should accept it..”

“So you like him too?”

Your heartbeat picked up, discomfort in the way it made your breathe unstable.. you liked him, didn’t you? A pang in your chest thrummed, guilt for this started festering in your stomach. Why? Why did this have to happen? It was the one rule!

“I’m gonna head back.. make sure to let him down easy..”

Suguru softly smiled at you, clicking his phone closed and stuffing it in his pocket..

—

“You got him admitting it?! Give it! Suguru! Hand it over!”

“Ah! Get off! You’re gonna break my damn phone!”

The two males wrestled to the floor, well more so Satoru tackling his friend down with no real need.. he was gonna get it, he was just impatient.

Phone in hand he sat on his friends back, keeping him down, and pressed play.

The conversation played out, his cheeks heating up at the sound of your voice.. he felt giddy, waiting for the confession.

You confessed you liked him, but then came your rant about friends and relationships.. it broke his heart admittedly but he’s a stubborn guy..

“Hey! Why’d you tell him to let me down easy?! Some friend you are!”

Suguru groaned under the male, shoving him off finally.

“I’m realistic, that’s why. I’m not gonna push him to do something he doesn’t believe in. And you shouldn’t either.”

Satoru chewed his lip, he knew Suguru was right but if the world ended today, he’d want to know that he was yours, and you were his..

“I’m asking him out again. Before the mission!”

Satoru ran out of his dorm, leaving his friend to roll his eyes.. he really hoped it worked out. It was a pain to be the in between because Shoko didn’t like entertaining the two of you.

—

Your mission was a day away. You sat under a tree enjoying the breeze that flowed over your skin and through your hair. This was peace you hadn’t had the opportunity to enjoy in awhile.

And yet again, it was temporary.

The call from your white haired friend cut through the peaceful aura of the area and suddenly the breeze felt like a nuisance- your hair getting in your face and suddenly becoming paranoid of bugs that laid in the dirt.

“Yo! Y/n! I needa talk to you!”

Glancing up, your friend stood above you with a gleaming smile. Sighing, you stood up to follow him to wherever he needed to take you.. but he didn’t take you anywhere but instead held your head between his hands..

“I like you, Y/n.”

It felt like drums were in to ears, your breathe was caught in your throat.. without thinking about it you raised your hand

You slapped him.

He yelped, going to catch your arms before you continued to hit him.

“Don’t say that! Don’t tell me that shit! You know how it makes me feel!”

Anger bubbled over, you screamed at him while thrashing to free your arms.

“Y/n! Calm down! I mean it! With everything I have I mean it!”

You paused, catching your breathe. The way he looked at you made everything hurt, guilt built up again.

“You.. you shouldn’t like me. I can’t.. I can’t be with you.”

“But you can! I promise-“

“You can’t promise anything Satoru! Even if I could be with you, one of us will die and leave the other all alone! It’s not fair, I can’t do that!”

He loosened his grip on you, replacing it with a soft hug. The white hair tickled your ear, feeling him bury his face into your shoulder.

“If you don’t take the chance, how can I say I loved you for my whole life? If I die, how could you say you loved me?”

The ball in your throat kept you from speaking, you felt stiff in his arms.

“I can’t promise forever, I know that.. but I can promise I’ll be there for as long as I can. Just let me try and make it to forever with you..”

He hugged you tighter, telling you of all the sweet, small things he could offer to you if you let him.

“You believe everything is temporary, but I swear I’ll love you for eternity.. please. Give me the chance to show you for as long as I can..”

The breathe you held finally let go, allowing the stiffness in your body melt away- melding your body to his in a tight embrace.

“Okay.. I’ll give it a chance..”

He perked up, moving his face right infront of yours.

“Really?! You’ll be my boyfriend?!”

Your eyebrow twitched.. his cheeky smile on full display

“Is that not just what that was..”

“Cmon!! Ask me! I want it to be official!”

Why is he like this…

“You’re so annoying..

Will you be my-“

His lips smashed onto yours, arms wrapped around your neck. He continued to leave pecks on them, saying ‘yes’ inbetween every single one.

“I’m your boyfriend, you gotta deal with me~ aren’t you so lucky~?”

He sing-songed, bouncing lightly on his toes.

You were taking a chance on this…?

Satoru didn’t wait for you to finish or start saying anything before starting to drag you towards your friends to share the good news.

If temporary took you to end of your life, it wouldn’t be so bad with him and your friends there.. you guessed.

[jeonscatalyst]

I keep thinking about the billboard eyes debate about who's eyes it could be & the theories, if it could be him really revealing his future partner like Taeyang did, who he seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from on Muse. The more I think about it, I'm leaning toward the eyes being someone "WE" the fans are familiar with, that he has some kind of public relationship with already, because putting some random girl or guys eyes he's dating behind the scenes, that we aren't familiar with, never seen him with, wouldn't make sense to reveal it this way, like I'm with this person you have never seen with me, here are their eyeballs, so you can stop shipping me with so and so, when all it does is add more confusion. You know what I mean. I don't think he would go through that trouble to publicly announce on a billboard in a video seen by millions to introduce his real "stranger" partner that way, UNLESS there was already some familiarity there already that he knew fans would pick up on and recognize. It would be basically introducing a complete stranger to the world as your partner in a very cryptic way since its just their eyeballs. You would probably just go the natural way first before doing something big like that, like start going out with them publicly or publicly linking yourself to them, to ease people in like the way Tae did and was dropping hints about him and jennie even before the hacker exposed him. Like testing waters Following jennie and then going out with her in public to Jeju and being spotted with her even before the leaks happened and then after the leaks both wearing the same clothes and couple jewelry from the picture, before eventually going public together in paris. This is why I think if jimin was trying to announce who his heart belongs too this way, then most likely it makes sense for it to be someone people are already familiar with. Someone he knows people are familiar with, someone he had been dropping hints with beforehand. And well I can name someone who fits that role right now, because we seen it for years, but esp this past year. Does this make sense to anyone else, cause I don't see Jimin waking up and saying "my GF or BF" no one has ever seen with me, I think I'm just gonna add their eyes on a billboard, they won't be confused at all. Probably not the best plan since the majority of people think its Jk's eyes, even non believers. And def not the brightest plan, esp going from billboard eyes dropping, straight into AYS cause that only convinced people more its Jk's eyes with all that flirting and tension we saw. And if those ain't JK's eyes. Well you gotta feel sorry for that person after AYS, cause that ain't your man. Sorry. Just saying.

Hey anon,

I think we are putting a lot of thought into those billboards eyes to be honest. Is it possible that those eyes meant something? Sure but it is also possible that they were just some random person’s eyes…..or maybe even someone we do know but that doesn’t necessarily mean there is more to it.

Just like you, I too had obsessed over those eyes especially when I found out that Taeyang had his wife’s face on a billboard in one of his songs and Jimin has always admired Taeyang and wanted to somewhat follow his footsteps so the math is mathing and it isn’t exactly delusional to think that he might do something like that since it’s not impossible but I also realized that sometimes, somethings really don’t mean anything more.

I would admit that sometimes those eyes look a lot like Jk’s that I get shook and start to think there is no way those aren’t Jk’s eyes but other times I tell myself that maybe they are not and we are just seeing what we want to see or what we wish is the truth lol. I am at a point where that is a Jikook maybe to me. I am completely 50/50 on the possibility that it is or not.

As for whether Jimin would choose to put a complet stranger, I don’t see why not. I mean before Taeyang put his wife on that billboard I don’t think people knew about her no? So it is possible that it might be someone who we don’t know and haven’t seen around Jimin……but as I said, the eyes on the billboard might just be for effect and not mean anything more.

For now, I keep my thoughts on it at 50/50 and if someday we get to confirm that it was indeed someone we know and suspect, then……..

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

Thoughts on the Ithaca Saga!

Spoilers under the cut, obviously

The Challenge

I'd listened to all the snippets beforehand and they did not come CLOSE to capturing the glory of the final song

Anna absolutely killed it, every note she sang was so stunning

And the instrumental? The way it built?? I'm still going nuts over it

10/10 very strong contender for my favorite song in the saga, which I was not expecting

Hold Them Down

Made me very uncomfortable

Which of course was the point so like it was effective

But I have no desire to talk about it more than I have to

(I will say though that I was not expecting Antinous's death to be in that song and so sudden, the gasp I let out was unreal)

Odysseus

Speaking of things that made me gasp: I audibly choked at the open arms bit. I thought I was used to Polites haunting the narrative but NOT LIKE THIS

I listened to this one before watching the stream so that I could be prepared in case the violence got really intense and boy am I glad I did

Like I knew SOMETHING bad was going to happen because of how intense the song got at the end but. I was. Not expecting that

Everyone who sang absolutely killed it though like Jorge's exhaustion and anger? So palpable. The suitors' performance? Incredible

And TELEMACHUS

THE INSTRUMENTAL WHEN HE SHOWED UP WAS SO COOL

And he sounded just like Ody when he sang "get off me, get off me"... my heart

I Can't Help But Wonder

I'll admit I was still too in shock from the end of Odysseus to really process this one at first

But the hug made me lose it

(Both Odysseus and Telemachus's and Jorge's and Mico's I was fully sobbing)

(Also the way Odysseus sang "Telemachus" in the familiar motif. I still can't listen to it without crying frankly)

I will say though literally the only thing in the saga I have any complaint about is Odysseus's reunion with Athena

We had a whole saga about how her friendship with him was still very much on her mind, and buildup to their reunion with Hermes's little hint at the end of Dangerous, and to have them talk about morality for a bit and then for Ody to skeddadle to go find Penelope was... realistic, I guess, but not very satisfying

It's not a huge issue or anything I just wish we could have gotten more of them

Would You Fall in Love With Me Again

Another moment that had me in tears: Drawing_Angie's animatic with all the other animatics in the background. Look how far we've come

I love that Penelope's test with the bed was to help Odysseus realize that he was the same person, that was such a cool twist

Also again, Anna killed it. The raw emotion in her voice at the "I guess that makes him you"? The two decades of anger and fear in the "waiting"s? Unmatched power

GIGI'S ANIMATIC. I WAS LOSING IT IT WAS SO GOOD

Also, the livestream in general was SO much fun. I genuinely can't remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did at the cast's antics. What a wonderful group of people

[phillietemple]

i’ve finally been able to collect some of my thoughts on the tour! under the cut if you want to read my yapping

- First of all we were really far away like almost all the way in the back of the balcony. We could still see the stage obviously but i couldn't really see their faces :( if i was doing it again i'd sit closer lol.

- The dolls were incredible. they really did all that

- Our conspiracies were toilet, clothes, tour bus and wedding which now that i've seen what the other ones are, i think was a pretty good combination. Tour bus was actually crazy like.. I mean i'm not too surprised that it was true but i AM shocked that they actually confirmed it! Like what!! I didn't even know about that conspiracy beforehand so yeah i was gagged

- They yapped for a minute about pizza. Phil hates cheese but loves pizza WHY it’s because pizza tastes like its own thing. One time dan PRANKED him by getting pizza with GOAT CHEESE on it and phil hated it. (phil’s wording lol, it wasn’t actually a prank) Also they said the best pizza they ever had was here in boston! And it had soy sauce on it apparently

- “Doesn't matter babe” did happen, i wasn’t sure if i heard it right but i was like “did he just say that?” i figured it was just part of the script but apparently not. I witnessed phistory

- They said “wang” so many times they LOVEDD the fact they were in the wang theater

- The fight was so funny i borrowed my friends binoculars for a minute so i got to zoom in on them slap fighting like 5 year olds and phil choking dan with a cable. why are they gay

- I SCREAMED when sister daniel came out like that was taylor swift levels of screaming from me. I knew that would happen but seeing her in the flesh was something else

- I appreciated how real they got. I think they balanced it with humor just the right amount but still went deep into stuff!

- the song was AMAZING it’s still stuck in my head and i’m gonna need that on spotify as soon as the tour is over. it was so clever to have it be from either perspective and the lyrics honestly made me cry!! but it was also such a banger!!!

This was kind of a schrodingers hard launch. They’re being open and honest about their relationship, but they also realize that a lot of the fun of the phandom IS the conspiracies and reading into things and the teasing. We have fun with it and they have fun with it, if they tell us everything then what’s left? It's like a sitcom that loses interest when the big will-they-won’t-they couple gets together. There’s a mutual understanding here, and the mysteries and intrigue are such a big part of the fun that we’re going to keep doing it. At least for now.

overall this show made me feel so happy to be part of the phandom. our parasocial relationship with them has been a rocky one, toxic at times, and at one point we thought it was so over but we are SO BACK. THEY LOVE US and WE LOVE THEM and we kinda need each other!! i’m so excited to see where they go from here.

[writersblockedx]

If I’m Not Mistaken

Pairing - College!Conrad x Fem!Reader Summary - When you mistake a boy for the local drug dealer, he ends up offering you some help anyway. Warnings - Drug and alcohol use Words  1.7K

Masterlist

You didn't know his name. You didn't know what course he was doing. You didn't even know if he was a student or not. But, considering he was always on campus, you came to the conclusion he was either a student or looking for customers. He sat on the brick wall right outside your lecture building, a joint between his lips. Sometimes he read. Sometimes he was on his phone. Sometimes he was doing nothing at all.

For a long time, you thought about asking him for some of his substances. But it wasn't until you were hosting a party, you finally pushed yourself to ask. That Friday, you came to the lecture 10 minutes early just so you could catch the mystery boy beforehand. As per usual, he was sat at the wall, lighting the joint in his fingertips. Before the flame could catch alight, you took a grip over his lighter.

That sparked his attention as he looked up at you. His eyes were blue and they seemed to be piercing into your soul. "What do you sell?" You questioned before he had the chance to ask what the fuck you were doing in front of him; he certainly didn't seem like the talkative type. "I've got a party and I could use quite a bit."

His brows furrowed and you almost doubted that he hadn't heard you correctly. "I'm sorry?"

You pointed to what he was about to smoke. To which, he was still acting oblivious too. "Look, if you don't want to sell to me, fine, I'll find someone else that does." Like that, your eyes rolled and you went to leave, cursing yourself for the man's rude behaviour.

"Hey, hey, wait." He stood from the wall, reaching his free hand out to grab yours. With no other choice, you faced him. "What? Did- Did you think I was a dealer?"

Now you were the one with narrowed brows, "You're not?"

He almost laughed but settled on just shaking his head at your assumption, "No." He took a breath and let his grip on your skin fall. "I'm Conrad," He put out a hand for you to shake.

You thought about it. Looked him up and down before accepting, "Y/n." He took a grip on your hand, shaking it and then letting you go. "Sorry, I thought you were a dealer." You spoke after an awkward moment of silence had passed. "You're just like, always here, always smoking so I just, I don't know, I assumed."

"No, I get it, it's alright." He offered a smile which you returned. "You said a party?"

You weren't sure where he was going with this, you weren't sure why either of you were still here, but you didn't plan on moving any time soon. For some reason, this boy already had you stuck. "Erm, yeah, just something before we all go away for Christmas break."

"On White Lane, right?"

How he knew where you lived was concerning, "Yeah, there." You confirmed.

"I've got some friends going is all. They go to every party pretty much. Most of them are on the college Football team so it's sort of their duty. Or they think it's their duty anyway." Oh, you knew them. Everyone knew that group. They played beer pong, preyed on girls and screamed the lyrics to songs.

But as you thought about it, you became curious, because the boy in front of you certainly didn't seem like that type. Now you thought on it, you had never seen Conrad at any party before. "You don't go with them?" You asked.

His head shook, "Oh, no. I like it when the dorms are quiet." Suppose that was a pro of being introverted.

"Well, you should definitely come to this one." A smile grew on your lips. "There will be drinks and hopefully, I'll find some weed from someone."

"I can give you the number of my dealer if you want." He offered.

You were already nodding, "That'd be great, thank you." You shuffled through your pockets before pulling out your phone, handing it over.

Conrad started typing then he paused and said, "I'll erm put mine in, just in case you need anything from me." He added, not daring to look up from the screen. "I know someone with a sound system and all that."

When he finally did look up, there was a flush of pink across his nose. You couldn't be sure whether that was his nerves or just the cold hitting his skin. "I've got that covered but, erm, I'll let you know if I need anything else." Your smile didn't fade.

Conrad shoved his hands into his pockets, "I'll see you around then."

"Definitely." Like that, you were walking to your lecture with a pretty boy's number saved in your phone - as well as a drug dealer's.

It hadn't taken long for your house to fill up. Fellow students swarmed your floor with kegs and bottles and a demand to not remember the night. And you had been right there with them; cup in hand, swaying to the music that blared in the background, mingling between the different people. But the whole time you had been waiting to run into a certain not-drug-dealer.

It had been a few hours, the party was in full swing and Conrad had yet to show up. By that point, you were beginning to think he wasn't going to at all. His 'friends' had been the first people here, swarming the kitchen counters with beer. With the drink swirling around in your system, you caved. You took your phone and messaged the boy before you had any time to regret it.

You Are you coming?

It wasn't long before your phone pinged in response.

Conrad Here.

A part of you was nervous, the other was reminded of the fact you had had one conversation with the guy. Sure, he was pretty and yes, you had seen him almost every single day before going in for your lecture. But you didn't know him. Up until today, you were under the belief he was a dealer.

When Conrad arrived, he paid no attention to what else was going on. He headed through the crowd, ready to find the very reason he had shown up tonight. "Conrad!" You yelled over the music. His eyes caught yours in the crowd, prompting a grin before you gestured for him to follow you into the kitchen where things were a little quieter.

"I can't believe you're cool with all these people in your house." He started.

You shrugged, gathering a bottle of beer for him. "It's not too bad when you're just as drunk." You offered the boy the drink.

To your surprise, he rejected it. "I'm driving." He excused.

"You're at a party!" You pointed out as a giggle fell from your lips. "Why are you even here if you're not gonna drink?"

Conrad shrugged, "You wanted me here." And like that, your giggles stopped and it felt as if your heart had too.

Maybe it was the drink or the spark of confidence but your hand reached out, holding onto his bare elbow where his shirt was rolled up. "Thanks for coming." His eyes traced your lips as you spoke. "And thanks for that number."

"More than happy to help. I'm guessing you were a very happy customer?"

"I don't know, you're better asking the pot-heads in the dining room."

He leaned in closer and suddenly goosebumps were growing on your skin - when did it get so cold? His hand sat firm on your shoulder as he whispered in your ear, "I've got a joint with me if you wanna go somewhere more private." When he leaned back, you nodded.

The party was nice, sure, but the idea of escaping it was even nicer. You laced your hand within the hand of someone who was a stranger not even 24 hours ago, weaving through the drunken college students as you headed for the stairs. The music became nothing but a lull background noise as you entered your own room, shutting the door.

Conrad headed straight to the bed, retrieving the joint that was in his pocket. Without asking, you sat next to him. "Are you sure you're okay mixing?" He had one brow raised at you as your shoulders brushed against one another.

You shrugged, "As long as I don't have too much."

From there, the shaggy-haired boy raised the joint, placing it between his lips and lighting it. You watched as the flame flickered and the smoke hit his throat. He inhaled in before pulling away and letting the smoke fill the air. By the time he turned to look at you, you were already fully staring his way. You almost doubted yourself; did you look like you were staring too much? What else were you meant to do?

All your worries evaporated when his hand offered the joint. You took it without a word, doing the same as he, letting the smoke fill your lungs like it was air. When you pulled it away from you, Conrad was already speaking, "Where did you come from?"

You didn't know what else to do so you smiled. "I could say the same thing about you."

His hand soon reached the side of your face, trapping you in his stare, "Well I'm glad I found you." Maybe it was the smoke, but your throat suddenly felt choked, unable to let any words come out. Before it could concern you, you found Conrad much closer. So close, in fact, he was able to press his lips into your own.

You tasted the smoke on his lips, making the kiss even more intoxicating. The need for air was desperate when you finally pulled away. For a moment, you could only stare. You weren't sure if it was the drink, or the drugs, or the kiss, but you had never felt this high. All you could think was that you didn't want to ever lose this feeling.

[mywilderdaze]

Senior Prom

By my senior year a few more boys had come and gone. I was just having fun. Without a steady relationship, I agreed to go to prom with my friend Sean. He was cute and if I'm being honest, I'd fucked worse. But I told him we were going as "just friends".

The gym was transformed into a sparkly wonderland, all glitz and no glamour. I arrived with Sean, wearing a red strapless dress that was tight, the fabric hugging my curves like it was made for me. Sean, in his tux, looked handsome, but my mind was already anticipating the after-party.

We danced, the slow songs making Sean hold me close, his hands respectful but firm on my lower back. The fast songs let me move, my dress shimmering with each twirl, catching the eyes of more than just my date.

Afterwards, we ended at Jake's place. His parents were never home. The music was loud, the lights low, and the air was thick with the scent of alcohol, anticipation, and the unspoken promise of sex.

Sean and i separated as I went looking for my friend Kathy. In the kitchen, I met Chris, a guy from another school. He had that bad-boy edge that made my stomach flip. We talked, flirted, and when he offered me a drink, I knew where this was leading, and I wanted it.

The moment we slipped upstairs, the party noise dulled. Jake's room had a large bed, and as soon as the door closed, Chris was on me. His kisses were demanding, his hands possessive. My dress slid to the floor, leaving me in my black thong and FMP.

Before anything else, I dropped to my knees. I've always loved giving head since the first time 3 years ago, the power it gave me, the control. Chris's cock was impressive, thick and veiny, a challenge I couldn't resist. I wanted to see if I could take him all the way. I started by licking the tip, my tongue circled around him, my hand working the base, feeling the weight of him. 

I looked up at him, locking eyes, and slowly, ever so slowly, I took him into my mouth. My lips stretched around his girth, my jaw accommodating his size. I went down as far as I could, gagging a little when he hit the back of my throat, but I was determined. The sounds he made, the way he gripped my hair, it all fueled me. I couldn't take him all the way, but I got close.

Chris pulled me up, kissing me fiercely, tasting himself on my lips. He turned me around, bending me over the bed, my ass high in the air. Pulling my thong to the side he entered me from behind, his cock slick with my saliva, making the entry smooth in a single stroke. His cock was definitely on the large size for what I had experienced at this stage. I'd guess 7-8 inches. The fullness wasn't quite overwhelming, but each thrust was a testament to how much I could take.

As we fucked, someone was knocking on the door, but we didn't stop. Chris's rhythm was relentless, his hands on my hips pulling me back onto him with every thrust. I felt my orgasm building, a pressure deep inside. He leaned over me, his breath hot in my ear, telling me how tight I was, how much he wanted to fill me. 

We hadn't talked about it beforehand, but I was on the pill and definitely lost in the moment. I may have nodded but he was past that point already.

When he came, he didn't pull out. He stayed buried inside me, his cock pulsing as he released. The sensation was like nothing else - warm, claiming. It was a new feeling for me and I loved it.

I cleaned up quickly, the warmth of Chris still inside me, and returned to the party, my step lighter, my mind buzzing with what had just transpired. Sean found me, his smile innocent, unaware of my escapade. 

After a few more drinks, we found a quiet spot outside. Maybe I felt like I owed him but l was also still horny, and Sean's kisses were soft, his touch gentle. For the second time that night, I slid out of my dress. When he discovered how wet I was, he didn't question it, he just got even more excited. No foreplay needed, I guided him, eager to feel him. His cock wasn't as long but he fucked in a way that was sweet and careful. Sean made love to me, his movements slow and deliberate. Ever the gentleman, he pulled out shooting a huge load all over my chest. He even went and found napkins to help me cleanup.

While I laid in the grass waiting, I decided I was ready for college.

[marblemoonstones]

🩵 catharsis ~ chapter nine

main masterlist

series masterlist 

pairing: bts ot7 x reader

genre: collegestudentreader!au 

warnings: ❗️any characters in the story have nothing to do with their real life counterparts❗️f reader, reader with glasses, curse words, too many italicized words *lmk if i missed any*

word count: ~4.4k

a/n: i really love this chapter sm so i hope you do too :) also sorry for the time skip, i am planning out the rest of the series and need to reach a certain point!  ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A couple weeks pass since that night, and I find myself happier than normal. I gave up on moving to the dorms because the boys immediately shot that idea down when I brought it up to them. 

Sure, the rumors are still happening, but I am doing my best to ignore them and they’ve died down a bit for now. Although, whenever the boys see Haneul they are icier than normal.

It’s the delicious time of the year where autumn is in full swing. Hot chocolate is coming into season and so is cider. I bust out the sweaters and jeans as well as my thick fluffy socks. 

The second week in October is also arts week at uni. The university brings in alumni and also has all students who are involved in art in some way participate. While all the boys (minus Jungkook) don’t attend uni anymore, they’re all alumni and annually participate (minus Namjoon). He tells me that he still enjoys arts week thoroughly though.

I also take part during this beautifully hectic week. I’m in choir and also am doing a dance showcase. Jimin reveals his contemporary dance idea for us two (I omit that I already knew about it) so we’re practicing hard for that. 

The boys made me a schedule. Well, “the boys” really means that Yoongi added all our events to one big shared calendar that is really all of our schedules. I color coded my events so I can keep them all straight.

Monday: art gallery with joon 

Tuesday: visit tae gallery 

Wednesday: watch jk film starring jin @6pm

Thursday: visit yoongi showcase/gallery

Friday: concert @7, arrive @6pm!!

Saturday: final rehearsal @10am. dance showcase @6pm, arrive @4!!

It’s currently Sunday evening and the boys and I are watching a movie (Mulan) before the chaos of the week starts. This past week has been hell as well, but we made a promise to each other to be available Sunday evening for a rest. 

I look around and see that Hobi and Taehyung have already conked out. Jimin is carding his fingers through Tae’s hair and sends me a soft smile when I glance at him. 

The mood is so cozy and I find myself dozing on Jin’s shoulder. Once in a while he’ll ghost a soft kiss on the top of my head. I’m too tired to wonder why. The last thing I remember is an avalanche before I’m out.

~

I am a queencard, you wanna be the queencard? Imma a queencard, imma queencard…

The voices of G-idle wake me up and I groan, regretting my alarm choices. I thought I was so smart to use a powerful pop song to wake up to, hoping that it would motivate me for the killer week ahead. Instead, I want to chuck my phone into outer space.

“Alright alright. I get it. I’m a queencard,” I mumble under my breath. Stretching, I turn off the alarm and relish in the silence. 

…

“Y/n! Y/N! Y/N!” 

My door bursts open. Well. That lasted about two seconds. It’s Taehyung and Jungkook. What a surprise.

“What?” I ask, annoyed that they’re barging in at the early time of 8:23am (which, hypothetically isn’t that early but I need an excuse to complain about). 

“You ready for this week? It’s gonna be killer Y/n!” Jungkook cheers, bouncing on my bed like a child would on Christmas morning.

I shove him off as Tae cackles.

“Fuck off. It’s too early for this. Why are you in here?” I ask, trying to herd them out, but failing because they have the core strength of gods. 

“Because breakfast is gonna be ready soon! And Jin-hyung wanted to give you time to get ready and stuff beforehand!” Tae almost shouts. 

I cringe, my eardrums practically exploding. 

“Okay, thanks. Now get out.” I point to the door and can sense their hesitation so I use their moment of weakness to shove them again.

“Get. Out!” 

They leave and I sigh as I lean against the door. How much caffeine have they had? I wonder as I go to shower.

~

I wrap my towel around me and shove on my glasses. The steam in the bathroom just fogs them up so I open the door. 

“AAH!” I scream, shutting it instantly. 

Yoongi’s standing in the middle of my room, looking bored amongst the pink and green hues.

“What do you want?!” I shout, placing one hand on my beating heart in the bathroom.

“Sorry, Y/n. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he starts, “It’s just that I was sent to give you this dress from Namjoon.” 

What? A dress? Couldn’t he have given me that without giving me a heart attack?

“Okay,” I grind out, already annoyed at the energetic wake up call from the maknaes, “Why can’t he give it to me himself?” 

“Because he was too afraid that he’d rip or stain it or something,” is the response.

That makes sense, but I’m still kind of pissed off at Yoongi just coming in my room.

“Great. Thanks for the dress, Yoongi, now can you get out? I need to get dressed in this apparently special outfit and you’re kinda barring me from that.” I say, sarcasm dripping from my tone. 

“Yeah, sorry about that. And sorry about the maknaes coming in to wake you up too. I’ll go,” says the ever respectful Yoongi. 

“Thank you,” I say gratefully through the bathroom door.

I hear my bedroom door shut and crack the bathroom door open. Peering out, there’s no one in my room and I open the door all the way. There’s a package on the bed which I can only assume is the dress Yoongi was talking about.

I put on my undergarments and carefully open the dress. I pull it out and it’s one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever seen. 

The smooth fabric is a stunning shade of brown and has shimmers of gold sewn into it. The long sleeves add elegance and the tiered skirt makes it seem as if it’s a ball gown and not a normal day dress. I try it on and it magically fits perfectly. It reaches my ankles, but with shoes on I won’t step on it. I feel truly pretty, and wonder how the boys always know what looks best on me. 

I forego hair and makeup for after breakfast and make my way downstairs feeling way too overdressed, especially for a Monday.

I descend the stairs, holding up the dress like I’m Snow White or something. 

Just  my luck: they’re all gathered at the kitchen table.

Namjoon is the first to see me, eyes becoming bigger than saucers and I swear his mouth drops a little. 

The other boys soon follow suit. Jin chokes on his food and Hobi almost drops his mug. Yoongi is frozen like a statue and the maknaes full on “Woah.” 

“Um, good morning?” I say, stifling my laugh at their shell shocked expressions.

“You look so fucking good,” Jungkook blurts out.

Jin, having taken a sip of water, promptly spits it out.

I crack at that. This shatters the silence and soon everyone is laughing with me.

“H-hyung-” Jimin is in stitches and almost falls out of his chair. “-you spit water right on Yoongi-hyung!” 

I look, and sure enough, Yoongi’s sitting there like a wet cat. There’s not too much water, but it makes the situation much funnier. We all die, and Jimin actually does fall out of his chair.

“Oh boy, what a way to start the morning,” Hobi says, wiping his tears.

“Yeah. I guess the dress is pretty good,” I say, then thank Jungkook for his compliment. “Thanks Kook, by the way. I appreciate it.”

He just grins his bunny smile. 

“Jungkook is absolutely right, Y/n. You look stunning, sweetpea,” Namjoon says, casually throwing in that damn nickname again. 

I smooth out the skirt, avoiding his eyes. “Thanks, Joon. It means a lot.”

“Namjoon has such good taste!” Exclaims Hobi, then he pouts. “I wish I was taking you to a fancy schmany art gallery.” 

“It’s okay, Hobi,” I almost laugh at his exaggerated pouty face. “We have plenty of time to do things together after arts week!” 

“Why don’t you sit down Y/n, have some breakfast before you leave,” Jin says, gesturing to the table. 

“Wait, we don’t want you to spill anything on your dress,” says Taehyung. He quickly gets an apron and ties it around my waist. 

“Isn’t this Jin’s apron?��� I ask, looking at the familiar lilac hue with the stain in the corner. 

“Yes, but of course you can wear it honey,” says Jin. I’m going to have to start counting how many times they use nicknames.

“Okay, thanks.” I dig into the delicious spread. We chat about our plans for today. Hobi and Jimin have their individual dance rehearsals, Jungkook has to go to the first day of the film festival, Yoongi has to attend his music gallery, and Taehyung is putting the finishing touches on his designs. Jin doesn’t have much to do today, but I know he’ll accompany someone to their respective event today.

After finishing a semi-peaceful breakfast, it’s time for all of us to face the realities of the day. 

Everyone scatters and I turn to Namjoon, asking him what time we need to be at the exhibit.

“It starts at eleven, so we have about an hour until we need to leave,” he replies. 

I nod and then decide to go help wash the dishes since there’s nothing better for me to do. 

“Nuh uh. You’re not washing the dishes in that dress. Go sit,” Jin commands. 

“But Jin,” I whine, “I’m booored. We don’t leave for another hour! And I can’t help anyone else. What am I supposed to do until then?” 

He chuckles at my misery.

“I know, honey, but maybe just read or something. Enjoy this bored feeling while it lasts.” He shoos me out of the kitchen so I decide to go upstairs because I realize that I forgot to do my hair and makeup.

I’m walking up the stairs as Jungkook comes rushing down. We collide with a small “Oof!” I feel…damp, so I look down and see that my dress is wet. 

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry, Y/n,” Jungkook says, panic written on his face, “Your dress! I’m such an idiot. Oh my god. I can’t believe I did that.” 

He seems to have spilled his coffee on my dress.

“It’s okay!” I try to reassure Jungkook, but Jin is already at the scene. 

“Kook! Watch where you’re going!” He scolds, but doesn’t berate the poor boy much longer because Jungkook looks about close to tears. 

All over a dress, I think. 

“I’m so sorry Y/n! I’ll pay for dry cleaning, whatever it needs!” 

Jin grabs some napkins to dab at the growing stain but it’s no use. I know that I won’t be wearing this today.

“It’s fine, Kook.” I try to give him a reassuring smile, but he doesn’t seem to buy it. 

“No, it’s not Y/n! Why aren’t you upset?” He asks me desperately.

I’m confused. 

“Is that…how you want me to react?” I ask him, befuddled at his reaction.

“No, it’s just that the average person would be mad at Kook,” Jin explains, finishing dabbing at the excess of coffee, “But it looks like you’re not an average person.” 

I grab Jungkook’s hands and look him in the eye. “Jungkook, I promise, I don’t care. I will find something else to wear. Now go.” I give him a look and he grudgingly goes to leave. 

“Thank you, Y/n,” Jin murmers quietly to me, “He’s been so stressed over the film festival that even a small thing upsets him more than it should.” 

“It’s all good,” I reply, “I understand.” 

We part ways and I go upstairs to tell Namjoon that I can’t wear his dress that he chose. 

“It’s okay, Y/n, I heard what happened,” he says, and I try not to ogle him in his button up and tie. 

“Okay, great. Let me go change and touch myself up,” I say, turning away so I can’t see his muscles underneath his shirt. 

“Y/n!” I run into Taehyung on the short distance from Namjoon’s room to my own.

“Yeah?” I ask, mentally running through my closet to find another dress to wear.

“I have a dress you can wear!” This snaps me out of my thoughts.

“You do?” I ask, although I shouldn’t be surprised because Taehyung is a goddamn fashion designer.

“Yes! Come to my room and I can give it to you!” Before I can say anything more he gently pulls me to his room.

I internally gag at the amount of stuff in his room, much like Jungkook’s but with more artsy elements thrown in like crystals on the desk or colored pencils strewn everywhere. 

“Tae-“

“Aha! Here it is. I knew buying it was a good choice!” Taehyung pulls out a bag on a hanger and thrusts it into my arms. 

“Go! Now! This dress will make you and Namjoonie-hyung’s date perfect!” 

I gape like a fish before sputtering “It’s not a date!” 

“Sure it isn’t. Now hurry up! I want to see the full look before you leave!” Taehyung winks then shuts the door on me. 

I’m left standing outside his door like a mom who got kicked out by their teenage son.

“You heard the boy! Go!” Shouts an enthusiastic Hobi from across the hall.

I chuckle and make my way two doors down.

I shut the door (and lock it for good measure) then gingerly unzip the bag. A gasp leaves me. There’s the dress that I found when I went shopping with Taehyung and Jungkook a while ago. The crimson color and gold flowers are still gorgeous, and I can’t wait to slip it on.

I do my hair and makeup first then put on the dress. The sweetheart neckline fits perfectly and I grab my low shimmery heels. I double check that my purse is ready and open my door.

I head downstairs and hear Yoongi whistle and Hobi shout “Looking good Y/n!” 

I scoff but feel myself smile. 

“There we go! Looking fabulous, if I do say so myself,” Taehyung says, taking a photo of me on his phone.

“Tae! Stop!” I say, covering my face. 

“But I have to remember this day!” He pouts, but lowers his phone. 

“He’s right you know,” Jin chimes in from his spot at the table. 

“Ugh Jin not you too!” I groan, lowering myself to put on my shoes.

“Let me.” Taehyung puts them on and it feels like a damn Cinderella moment. 

“Thanks, Tae.” He salutes then goes upstairs to get Namjoon.

“You really do look gorgeous, honey,” Jin says, walking over and fixing my hair before giving me quick kiss on the head.

I flush. 

“Thanks, Jin.” 

“C’mon hyung! Y/n is patiently waiting for you, so the least you can do is hurry up.” Taehyung’s voice is heard from upstairs and is followed by an annoyed Namjoon’s voice.

“I’m coming, Taehyung. You’re the one who made me change my tie!”

Boisterous laughter filters downstairs and Jin and I look at each other, bemused.

They finally come downstairs with Taehyung leading a blindfolded Namjoon.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Namjoon asks after stumbling on a step.

“Yes. We have to do a big reveal!” Taehyung insists.

After reaching the bottom of the stairs (safely) Taehyung gestures for me to come stand in front of Namjoon.

“Three, two, one!” He pulls off the blindfold with a flourish and Namjoon blinks to adjust to the light. 

I stand there awkwardly as Namjoon takes in my outfit. His eyes rove over me and I do the same to him. He always is handsome, but today he looks…hot. Taehyung must have helped him. His button up is now rolled up to his elbows, showing off his arms and his tie matches my dress. His tighter pants accentuate his godly thighs and I can see his arm muscles strain when he moves.

Fuck fuck fuck.

(a/n: namjoon is the reason i got into bts, btw)

“Wow. You look amazing, Y/n,” Namjoon breathes out. 

“So do you. How did you have a tie to match me?” I ask him, noting how the red shade is the exact color of my dress.

“Tae just so happened to have one for me to borrow,” Namjoon says, side eyeing said man. 

“Hey, leave me out of this. You two should get going on your date,” Taehyung says, arms up in fake surrender and backs out of the room, dragging Jin with him.

“It’s not a date!” I hiss at him as he leaves me with yet another wink. 

“I guess that’s our clue to leave?” Namjoon asks, pulling on his shoes, “Seriously, though, Y/n, you look stunning.”

“Aw, thanks Joon,” I say sincerely as we hop into his car. 

(a/n: in this au he can drive, please don’t kill me!!)

We arrive at the venue - a nice building on campus that’s already bustling with people. 

Stepping out, I feel overdressed as most people have on nicer casual clothing like a sundress. 

Namjoon must notice my distress because he says, “You look stunning, Y/n. These poorly dressed people won’t know what hit them.”

I laugh at that and we make our way in. 

They have a small finger food and drinks table to the side so we head over to get some things to munch on. 

“These mini sandwiches are heaven.” I almost moan, sad that there aren’t any left since we took the last ones.

“Here, have mine.” Namjoon offers me his plate and I shake my head. I can’t take his food. 

“No, really. I don’t think I’ll like them and I’d rather have cookies.” He insists so I take them but give him my cookies on my plate. 

“It’s a fair trade,” I say. 

We grab some punch and meander our way through the exhibit. There’s a great variety of paintings ranging from watercolor flowers to abstract Pollock-style art. The artists are all standing by their respective paintings and many are chatting with people. 

Some students also chose to want to sell their art. I can tell who they are because of the star sticker on their description. Their prices are expensive, so I stick to admiring it from afar. 

Namjoon and I are mostly quiet, looking at the different paintings and reading the descriptions. Occasionally we’ll chat with the artist before making our way to the next painting.

“Oh my gosh! I feel like Jin would really like this one,” I say, looking at the painting. It’s a gorgeous garden, and the smooth strokes still manage to have a slight texture to them. 

“Yeah you’re right…I think I’ll buy it for him,” Namjoon says, and I feel a sense of pride at being able to help.

Namjoon talks to the seller and organizes a price. After writing a check, he comes back to admire it with you. 

“Did I ever tell you how we came to all date each other?” Namjoon randomly says.

I turn to him.

“No, but you don’t have to tell me,” I say, wondering where this came from.

“It’s alright. I want to.” 

I look at him as he begins.

“I first met Jimin when I was a sophomore and he was a freshman here. Did you know Jimin’s first major was education?” Namjoon shakes his head, a fond smile on his face. “Yeah. He loved kids, but realized that he loved dance more. We grew close during that year though, and began dating that summer.” 

I’ve always suspected that Namjoon and Jimin have a special bond, and I can totally see Jimin being an amazing teacher. 

(a/n: sorry for another note but teacher!jimin is inspired by sgmb!jimin. i don’t make the rules 🤷🏻‍♀️)

“The next year Jimin began his dance major program and met Hobi-hyung. They bonded over their love of dance and somewhere along the way we became a trio. Jimin was the one who expressed interest in Hobi-hyung first, but I soon followed. We decided to give it a try, and it ended up working out.” 

I take a sip of punch as Namjoon continues.

“Hobi-hyung became interested in Jin-hyung next, and with Jin-hyung came Yoongi-hyung. I don’t remember the exact day, but we all were drunk one night and confused each others’ feelings. You know the saying: drunk words come to mean sober thoughts. We all realized that we liked each other as more than just friends.” 

We continue to stroll slowly down the exhibit.

“There were five of us now in our relationship. It was hard to manage at the beginning, but we fell into a comfortable groove.” 

Namjoon pauses, glancing at me and taking a drink. 

“So only Tae and Jungkook were left, right?” I ask, making sure I got the facts straight.

“Yep. They’re our babies, but it was actually Jimin who found them as well. I guess we should be thanking him for bringing a lot of us together.” Namjoon laughs at that.

“Anyways, Jimin was friends with Taehyung because of a class together and then they got paired up in a project. Jimin fell for Tae and then also Jungkook. The five of us were skeptical about adding more people to our already big relationship, but Jimin was adamant. We trusted him enough to give it a shot, and the rest is history.”

Namjoon finishes and looks at me, smiling as he thinks about his boyfriends.

“That’s such a cute story!” I say, thinking about how they all found each other.

“Thank you, Y/n. You know, at this point, I even think the boys wouldn’t mind if we brought another person into our relationship,” says Namjoon.

I furrow my brows. 

“Really? That would be a lot of people.” I wonder how one could manage that big of a relationship.

“Yeah but if they all like each other then it works, right?” Asks Namjoon.

“I guess so. I don’t really know but I don’t have much experience with a big relationship,” I say, darting my eyes to another painting, “Look at that one! It’s gorgeous, let’s go take a look.” 

I steer Namjoon over and also steer the conversation away from relationships. Why do I feel hot all over?

~

Near the end of the exhibit I see a familiar face.

“Seungmin!” I walk quickly over, Namjoon following me.

“Oh, hey Y/n!” He says, grinning as I come over to where he and a couple others are standing. 

Namjoon quietly clears his throat.

“Oh! Seungmin, this is Namjoon. Namjoon, this is Seungmin. He’s in my Foundations of Education class,” I explain. 

They nod at each other and I swear I see Namjoon’s jaw tick. But it’s just my imagination, right?

Seungmin smiles.

“So, Y/n, if you’re interested in art come take a look at my boyfriend Hyunjin-hyung’s!” 

I look at the painting in front of me and am in awe. It’s gorgeous, the strokes precise yet delicate and it’s walking a nice line between abstract and realistic. 

“Wow. He’s really talented,” I say, Namjoon humming in agreement. 

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” says a voice behind me. 

I turn and there’s who I assume to be Hyunjin. 

“Of course! I love this style,” I compliment. 

“Hyunjin-hyung is going to be famous someday,” Seungmin boasts, giving the latter a quick peck on the cheek.

“Oh, stop, Seungminnie,” Hyunjin says, but still accepts the kiss.

“No, no, it’s true,” another familiar voice chimes in. Sure enough, there’s Bangchan. 

“Hey Channie-hyung. This is Y/n and Namjoon, her boyfriend!” Seungmin pipes up.

I widen my eyes and go to tell them the truth but Namjoon just sticks his hand out and says, “Pleased to meet you.” 

Well. I guess we’re a couple now.

The five of us talk for a couple minutes and then Namjoon surprises me.

“Hey, Hyunjin, I’m interested in buying this piece of art. What’s your price?” He asks. 

They negotiate and eventually settle on one. Namjoon writes another check and I bid goodbye to Seungmin and his boyfriends.

“Bye Seungmin! See you in class later.” I wave as we walk away. He waves back then turns to his boyfriends.

“He’s seems nice,” Namjoon says, although there’s an underlying tone of something I can’t quite place. Boredom? Anger? Jealousy? 

No. That can’t be right.

“He is. I’m glad he has his boyfriends,” I say, snatching a cheese cube and promptly shoving it in my mouth. Ugh. So good.

“Me too. C’mon, Y/n, I know you’re craving food.” 

Namjoon laughs at my face and I glare at him, but he’s right. Those mini sandwiches can only fill a person up to a certain point.

“Alright fine.” 

I give in and we go to Sonic. Call me crazy but I really wanted a grilled cheese from there.

“What do you want Y/n?” Namjoon asks after he ordered himself.

“A grilled cheese with a large fries and a medium-“

“-cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper,” Namjoon finishes, popping his dimple out at me, “You got it!”

I wonder how he knows my order but guess it’s because I go here so often.

“Hey, let me pay!” I protest, trying to hand Namjoon my credit card.

“No, it’s okay! I took you out to the art exhibit so I need to pay for the whole thing.” He’s already sliding in his card so I sigh. 

“Fine, fine. One of these day you guys have to let me do something to pay you back,” I grumble. 

“Just you is a payment enough.” Namjoon smiles and I roll my eyes. Sure, they always say that but I still want to find someway to pay back their kindness. 

Our food arrives soon after and we munch in the car.

“Ohhhh I love Sonic so much,” I say, stuffed after Namjoon let me have some of his chili cheese fries. 

He laughs while he pulls out. I smack his arm (damn his bicep is huge).

“Okay, okay! Sorry.” 

We laugh together and I close my eyes on the drive back. 

Contentment fills my body and I fall asleep listening to Namjoon softly humming.

a/n: namtiddies for life, am i right? i wanted namjoon to have more time with the mc so i basically dedicated this entire chapter to him haha. hope you enjoyed reading 🫶🏼🫶🏼

[lucyonmars]

find the river - matt s.

summary: you’re on vacation in new hampshire with your boyfriend, and life couldn’t be better.

pairings: bf!matt x gf!reader

warnings: suggestive content at one point

word count: 1.1k

author’s note: this is kinda bad too bye.. ANYWAYS! definitely did not base this off of my own life! (me and my family do the exact thing described) (i projected HARD)

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

North Conway, New Hampshire, 2024.

You and your family had always had a special and unique tradition.

Every August, you’d all go spend a few days in the rural town of North Conway and surrounding areas, making way for a quite serene couple of days to yourself. No worrying about school, work, or practically anything other than the classic vacation stuff; weather that could ruin your outdoor plans, if you’d forgotten anything at home, and if your pets were in good hands back home.

It was always your favorite week of the year, filled with tons of memories to keep tucked away in the most precious crevices in your mind, beautiful scenery, and life so romanticized it could be a book, or a painting, or something.

You & Matt, your boyfriend, had been dating for around a year and 3 months, and as soon as he heard of this ongoing tradition, he wanted to join in. Obviously, it was a family thing; he couldn’t butt into that just yet. In a couple years when he’d not only built a bond with you but also your parents and siblings, it could be a talking subject; but for now, it was a no-go.

But there wasn’t a rule against going whatsoever.

“Baby,” he would murmur on a sunny July afternoon, “I know we aren’t doin’ the New Hampshire thing with y’mom and dad and sisters.. but what if we did it on our own?” A smile graced his face, making his features shine. His eyes glimmer, his dimples poke out. “Wanna give it a shot?”

You were, in fact, open to give said plan a shot, and before you knew it, you were sitting in the passenger seat of his van as his right hand rests on your thigh, his thumb gently and lightly stroking against it, as you listen to some of your favorite songs that you’d compiled into a Spotify playlist particularly made for the road trip.

“Look at the mountains!” You murmur giddily, pointing out the window to the hills that were growing higher and higher with each mile we traveled higher north.

“I love it here. And with you? You kiddin’? Am I fuckin’ dreaming, or what?” He chuckles, one hand steering the car to the very right lane, preparing to get off on the exit and go over the White Mountains to finally, after 3 long hours, get to your hotel, a small and subtle little inn nestled right in the center of all the mountains and surrounded by forests, with necessities such as grocery stores and restaurants still nearby. He’d demanded to plan this trip with the goal of making it absolutely perfect for the both of you, and so far, you were pretty confident he’d fully succeeded.

“YES!”

Matt dramatically calls out, unlocking the door to your hotel room, the air conditioner hitting your faces and the typical vacation vibe washing over you both, as you watch him pretty much launch himself onto the one provided queen-sized bed, and you couldn’t help but do the same as you both relished in the peaceful feeling of the soft sheets.

“Y/N, I feel like we’re about to have a shit ton of fun in here.”

“Matt!” You chuckle, nudging his shoulder, even though you both knew for sure that you’d never take this oppurtunity of both of you being left completely alone in a bedroom for granted.

And you didn’t. That night was filled with heavy breaths echoing off of the walls, clashing of lips, and countless waves of pleasure; but most of all, pure love and adoration.

By the time the next morning came, you were both exhausted from the combination of last night’s acts and the road trip the afternoon beforehand, leading to a slow morning filled with, you guessed it, more damn love.

“G’morning.” Matt uttered groggily, his voice muffled from his face being practically buried in a soft pillow, but soon enough, he’d lifted it up and rested it on your chest instead. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good.” You murmur, turning your head to face him. “This place is just so… I feel so carefree, y’know? Going to sleep and waking up as you look at mountains outside your window does wonders, I guess.”

“Funny, s’nothin’ new to me. That’s just how I feel every night I’m with you.”

“Matt, that is the cheesiest, most cliche thing I’ve ever heard.”

“But it’s true.”

Your four days in New Hampshire had almost come to a close. You were both back in the van, all of your stuff packed up, when you saw a small sign indicating a trail of some sort leading to a river.

“Y/n.. how ‘bout one last destination, hm?” He murmurs, pointing to it, already steering before you could even answer the question.

It turned out he’d made the right decision, because as soon as you two started walking the trail and heard the rushing water in the distance, you knew this would be the highlight of the whole trip. That only solidified once you came up to the river itself, water cascading over the rocks, countless differently colored stones, and bird calls coming from every direction.

Snapping a picture of Matt in front of it as he adjusted his hat, you smile. “C’mon, let’s go explore.”

And that you did. You spent hours by the river chatting about anything and everything; music, TV shows, movies, current world events, pretty much every single thought that came to either of your minds. You both found stones that matched the other’s eye color, watched as small chipmunks and fluttering robins lived their simple lives, until the day’s end was near, orange-ish light washing over the body of water.

“Shit, what time is it?”

“Uhhh.. 7:00, my phone says.”

“Jesus, how long have we been here, 3 hours?” You snort, shaking your head. You both never wanted the day to end, enough that you stayed even longer until nature practically forced you out, bugs starting to come out and the sun setting altogether.

As Matt drove home under the dusky sky, you could hardly stay awake. So tired from the 4 days of pure sunshine, yet so content with how your life was going at this very moment.

“Hey.” Matt tapped gently on your shoulder, unintentionally interrupting your trance.

“Mmm?”

“I really enjoyed that. I love you, you know that, right?” He smiled, the last of the daylight shining in his eyes.

“..I love you too.” You smiled, not expecting the sudden sentiment, but you sure as hell were not complaining whatsoever.

From then on, every year in addition to and eventually in place of your family vacations, you’d go to the exact same spots you went that day, even eventually going with your own children, and spreading the love through generations, feeling the same peace and joy every year without fail.

[yogurts-bullshit]

CW: HAZBIN HOTEL SPOILERS AHEAD

Alright so here's my take on the new Hazbin Hotel season.

Bad. ):

The only good parts were vox/alastors song and the first half of Lucifer's episode. THE WHOLE SHOW IS SO FUCKING LAZY. They stripped everything that made it good. It's not funny anymore, it seems like there was no thought put into it, the placement of the music doesn't make sense a LOT. Sometimes they throw in little throwback jokes to be like "hey remember the pilot? Remember when this show was good?"

And it's so FAST, like the whole thing with the extermination timeframe being cut in half felt like such a lazy cop out. To me in read like they don't think they are gonna get another season and so they knew they only had 6 episodes to shove in all those plot points. Or they just wanted instant gratification for everything and felt like because this show has such a big fan base already they just assumed they didn't NEED to introduce you to these characters, like you should already know they are and have a connection with them. Like Hazbin Hotel thinks because it has a popular pilot it's a legacy show like the Simpsons and doesn't need to introduce anything, you should know it all by now.

And goes by so quick but despite how much time we are supposed to see go by, these characters NEVER FUCKING GROW. They're supposed to! They have groundbreaking realizations about who they are and stuff, and then a second later they are THE SAME PERSON AS BEFORE. And then there is that whole scene in the final episode where Charlie is like "look! Angel Dust has redeemed so much!" But I really feel like he hasn't, and we haven't seen any redemption from him at all. Plus there was this whole song about the similarities between Husk and Angel (Loser, Baby), which don't get me wrong, I loved, but it just really revealed how much of fucking clones they are, which is SO FUCKING LAZY.

Plus all of the "big reveals to keep you hooked and shock you!!!" We're just things that people have theorized about for 8 fucking years since the first concept art was released. Like the whole "vaggie is an exterminator!" or "Husk was a Overlord!" The whole time I got the impression that this was supposed to be a big thing but I was just like... Yeah.... I know.

Oh and Zestiel was also dope as fuck in his 2 minutes for screen time, but I feel like I only liked him because he was acting like what Alastor was SUPPOSED to be, but they made him really nice I feel like. And I understand that Alastor is canonically supposed to be a nice, gentlemanly Mama's boy, but I feel like this show felt like since all of the leaks and lore and stuff released about these characters, it had to show that IMMEDIATELY so instead of that being a slow build up and reveal it dumped it on you instead of showing you who Alastor depicts himself as and it felt like a mockery to the depths of his character. The show didn't earn being able to show how kind Alastor is.

And I feel like that's the reason that I think the show is so lazy because, yes, it has all these big cool reveals and moments, but the show doesn't earn any of those moments. Like there are so many big reveals, like Charlie's big song about her daddy issues, that I feel like could have hit so hard! If we had mentioned her daddy issues more than 2 times beforehand. Or with the whole Carmilla (I might be spelling that wrong) thing with the angel. The angels death could have been such a big story and plot hook and even if they didn't wanna carry it into the next season, they could have made the reveal and big season finale thing. It just felt so weird that instead of it being something big, it was just this lady who we don't even really know, who walked into screen, sang about how she did it, and then we never see her again. Cause I mean like, say what you will about shows with lost of filler early on, but at least they build on everything. You get to know these characters and this setting so that when there are big reveals and songs and moments with them you really feel it. Instead in hazbin all of the moments just feel so unearned and underbaked.

Plus instead of just embracing the fact that there are new voices, they had all the new voices basically do impressions of the old voices, like Blake Roman was basically doing a poor impression of Micheal Kovach the whole time and it brought him down so much. Like, I like Blake Roman, he's a good voice actor, we didn't have to pretend he's Micheal Kovach. 

Really, honestly, I was thinking about it today, and Hazbin Hotel is a show about a bunch of dead people realizing that the heaven and hell system is messed up and trying to fix it and redeem themselves in the process. Y'know what else is a show with the same concept? THE GOOD PLACE. One of my favorite shows, very beautifully written, and every single point and moment Hazbin Hotel makes, The Good Place does 30x better.

so yeah, there's my Hazbin Hotel rant. Did not like the show, really pissed off about it, I'm gonna go rewatch the pilot, and then probably rewatch The Good Place.

[sepublic]

Anyhow, I want people to understand the significance of me crying over TOH ending because. I generally do not cry. It’s hard for me to cry, I feel sadness and grief sure! But tears themselves are difficult. And as much as I love media, it’s very rare and hard for it to make me genuinely cry. Other cartoons and shows I’ve gotten into haven’t done it, but...

The Owl House genuinely made me cry. After the grief of Agony of a Witch, the lonely despair of King’s Tide, and so many other painful moments. The Owl House finally made me sob, genuinely, wails I had to cover up, hot tears, sore eyes and a dripping nose. I heaved and made myself cry even more, because goddamn is there such a relief in the catharsis of feeling this pain, and knowing it means you’ve felt something, you’ve felt happiness to begin with.

So yeah. The Owl House has always been pretty special to me. But I think this expression of how I felt was low key what I was waiting for, working towards, after the finale. The absence hurts, but it makes me appreciate all the more the presence it entails for TOH in my life. For the community, for the experiences, the analyses, the genuine fun and laughter and speculation! The hype and friends I’ve made along the way, me building up my own skills as a reader thanks to this show!

I remember being enamored by The Owl House’s first announcement in February 2018, the first ever, possible public reveal of that show; You could’ve only known it beforehand if you worked at Disney and/or were one of Dana’s friends. Something about Luz, about Eda, about King... The very premise itself, the magic. Something about this show felt special to me, I had a really good feeling about it I couldn’t explain.

I ended up checking Dana’s Twitter obsessively for updates, was excited when she posted this one art of Luz and King having an ice cream run, while Eda was displeased with a little demon trying to get her dessert. I expected mostly casual things, but something about the vibes, the magic and wonder experienced through the lens of Luz... It got to me in a legitimately depressive state of my life.

Because I was depressed. Suicidal, even. It was perhaps the worst phase of my life ever, and I hope it’ll stay that way. The beginning of 2018 felt like me finally getting over the big hurdle, that enormous halfway point at the top, and how it was all relatively smooth, downhill sailing from here. So it feels fitting that it was the beginning of the easier part that TOH was announced for me. All I knew were Luz, Eda, and King; I eventually gave up checking Dana’s accounts for art, because I was SO excited and impatient for this show, inexplicably.

That’s probably why I missed Dana’s little sneak peek of Amity Blight, haha... But anyhow, TOH gave me something to look forward to. Something to live for. And when I finally got a shot of Eda throwing treats to Luz and King, the former taken aback by the eyeball, the latter having it bounce off his skull. It didn’t make it to the final cut obviously, but it was my first glimpse of how the show itself would look.

I was in despair when The Owl House was delayed to 2020; I had to wait another whole year for it! And going from 2018 to 2019 was painful enough as is! But man... Was it worth it. The first teaser, the mystery and wonder it promised. My Bionicle brain freaking out over the reveal of the Boiling Isles as a giant corpse. 

And then the theme song. Me learning Luz’s VA, scouring very obscure media to get an idea of how she might sound like. And finally I heard it, we got other announcements; Eda by Wendie Malick, who made perfect sense, and King by Alex Hirsch, cue those obnoxious Bill Cipher theories I still hate to this day! 

Some crew members announced cupcakes they made, complete with banners like “Drinkers Coven” and I got hyped for this little content. I wanted to try cashew meringues because of it, and later recognized the repurposed frames of Luz, Eda, and King in actual episodes. I saw some concept art and expressions removed from the show, and was glad to recognize them later, as I did a frame-in-process of Luz wondering about her magical destiny.

I checked Tumblr but it seemed like I was the only person actively anticipating, and not just including TOH as part of a larger collection of media posts. I wanted TOH for itself, someone was curious if it had owls, I scoured the first teaser for a screenshot to satisfy them! I wanted more people in on it! I saw some clips, figured out Luz’s ethnicity from her squealing “Ay que lindo!” in response to King.

I made a few ancient posts, my first TOH post was me admitting I was excited and wondering if anyone else was. It got NO traction, at least not until much, much later... But that didn’t stop me! I had a dream where Luz was revealed to be disabled, her legs were prosthetics and Eda ended up giving her new magic prosthetics styled after owl feet. This would prove weirdly prophetic... Less so, my dream about Luz being the Anti-Christ (this was framed as a good thing), hence why she found the isles.

I speculated Luz was an orphan who had nobody, hence why she found the isles; But then an article mentioned her mother Camila. I went with that spelling until some end credits confused me with a typo that gave us Camilia, which led to a big fandom debate later until Dana clarified.

I analyzed the trailers, trying to figure out the plot and trajectory, wasn’t quite right there. I was happy to see TOH would have full 22-minute episodes, allowing them to get nitty gritty and elaborated, instead of truncated into 11-minute segments. Boy did that pay off, and looking back I can appreciate what a rarity that was, an achievement. People pointed out the anagram for me... 

I speculated on the titles, confused bits from Covention with scenes from the first episode, wondered if Escape of the Palisman referred to the tower. And in the end, the first episode finally came out, after I was enjoying Infinity Train Book 2, and I was enamored. It was wonderful, it utterly blew me away and was all I wanted and more. I had to get more! The moment Luz spoke of liking editing anime clips into AMVs and all that other stuff, I felt seen, and that was just the beginning.

I spoke my praises, but alas there was no fandom. The next week, I was surprised to find posts for the next episodes so early, and learned the episode was released ahead of time on DisneyNOW, so I immediately subscribed. I was excited to meet Amity Blight, Willow and Gus; And I was caught by surprise by how openly mean Amity was when she debuted! But I analyzed the sub-text of her actions and dialogue, and was vindicated. 

Amity was such a fun and interesting character because she really felt like a puzzle that we unlocked more and more pieces of, to better understand her. And I really got the sense of TOH’s re-contextualization and surprising character continuity, such as when King’s B-plot in one episode actually became the focus of the very next! You could tell the writers really cared about making a deeper story for kids and teenagers. 

One nice memory was when I wrote a post appreciating Willow and Luz’s friendship, the idea of Willuz as a ship; I took a shower and went back to check afterwards, and got notes! I analyzed the mechanics of glyphs deeply when they were first revealed, getting nitty-gritty; I remember the events of a few nights and what happened around me writing a post, comparing glyph magic to artificial replication of dragon breath!

I looked for crew art, which alerted me ahead of time to the existence of Emira and Edric, thought I didn’t know their names, and was delighted to learn Amity had older siblings!!! They were hers! Shoutout to @anistarrose who was one of the few people in the tag at this time. I really appreciate that post where you called out people constantly trying to make King into Bill Cipher in a serious manner, and the annoying implications of it. And how you realized a tweet poem by Dana foreshadowed Warden Wrath and the Emperor’s Coven... AND THE CODES TOO!!!

I distinctly remember this one meme video in the tags, a song singing “This girl is a lesbian” as Amity showed up as the punchline. I thought it was cute and loved the idea, I had no clue...! I even tried to analyze the dates on her diary entries because I was so obsessed with the show and wanted more, trying to see if I could figure out a calendar...

Spoiler alert, I didn’t. but it was FUN trying! Putting in all of this unnecessary effort for a detail nobody cared much for, because you could tell the crew were people who did the same, Dana even confirmed it later for herself! I remember being shocked about Eda having a curse, that one theory it was a Blight who did it. I suggested King being the Boiling Isles Titan, some Youtube channel even asked permission to use my post in discussing that theory! I was skeptical but checked and it was legit, and was pleased.

I went through that godforsaken Witch’s Apprentice game, realized too late the artifacts represented each episode and gave hints to the rest of 1A. I watched Look Hoo’s Talking, with Owlyvia and Horus, shout out to those who remember! I was amazed by Eda’s self-awareness in deciding things for Luz, especially after Luz briefly called it out in Covention. I found myself so ATTACHED to the characters, which makes sense since I hyped myself from the start!

I remember being surprised to see King wasn’t an overlord... Or was he? The original 2018 announcement suggested as such, but the way the show played around even after the premiere seemingly disproved it was fun. I speculated on what Luz’s magic track would be, enjoyed fanart of her in Potions as Eda was. Seeing Young Eda was a blast, and I remember being so distraught at the idea of her being cursed! I made a post wailing about it and Cat-Harman Mitchell commented LOL as I ranted about taking vengeance on the curser. Little did I know...!

I was afraid of a cliffhanger with Season 1A, but nope! Eda made it out despite the demon hunters! With a hiatus, I was left impatient and needing more. I scoured crew art, speculated on what Emperor Bellows would be like; Covention’s subtitles mispelled him as such, and Dana had to clarify in a tweet when 1B’s trailer released! I got into deep discussion with @fermented-writers-block about the show, about the mysterious owl mural.

I guess TOH was my first start at really analyzing a show from the start, especially since nobody else was around to do it for me. And coming fresh from reading the meta of those who did inspire me, I went HARD, reasoning that even if it was disproven, the process was fun! I analyzed snake motifs, the mysterious green hand that stole King’s crown. I made a whole diagram about parallels between Luz, between King and the Gildersnake, between ‘human counterparts’ to Amity and Willow and Gus. This definitely fed the revelation of Creepy Luz later on...

But yeah. To think the snakes did pay off with Luz’s palisman Stringbean; Back then people speculated as such with the title’s design, and I’m so happy to see it came through! I speculated on lore, wrote my first TOH fics, The Bile Coven and Amity’s Diary Entries, the latter of which I feel particular pride for since it was a character study of her that proved rather on the spot!

I was obsessed with the worldbuilding, came up with my own ideas. Imagined what Bellows and Kikimora were like. I waited IMPATIENTLY, and even had a dream where Eda was captured by Lilith, Kikimora, and Wrath, as well as some covenscouts... But then it was revealed her curse was a result of possession by the creature depicted on the mural; And it progressed to the next stage of converting her body to its own as she got more feral and escaped on her own!

The airship used by the Emperor’s Coven proved prophetic. And after 1B seemingly disproved this idea, 2A brought it back after all and I was delighted! TOH was and is a show that keeps giving for me, makes me feel rewarded for engaging with it, and is grateful even when I’m wrong, as Any Sport in a Storm’s B-plot attests. I made jokes about King being Mata Nui because I was a Bionicle fan. Someone saw a Grom poster in the background of a shot and suggested Lumity, but I didn’t get my hopes up... Hah.

There was a trailer that alluded to an episode of Luz and Eda in a snowy place; I knew of an article on TOH that mentioned a ‘Witch’s Arena’ at the Knee and guessed this was it. I liked the song that played because I associated it with TOH, found out for myself.

Rebecca Rose, shout out to one of the OGs talking about the show on Youtube! She made a wonderful video discussing Amity’s development and potential, speculating on her, and I felt SOOOO vindicated and followed her for it! As you know, she became THE fan channel for TOH, and was eventually ascended to a full-on crew member for it. We’d all watch her reactions and discussions afterwards.

Adventures in the Elements leaked, I correctly guessed it wasn’t the next episode but the one after it. I was delighted to see the twins be good siblings, and Amity’s casual outfit... Before that, I read a fic during the hiatus of Lilith adopting Amity from abuse (Remember when we thought she was that functional?), and it understandably depicted the twins as mean-spirited and basically apathetic. It was a good fic.

I remember joke-speculating that Bellows would be short, because I was projecting analyses of the Pale King from Hollow Knight onto him! I considered making an animatic of Farquaad’s reveal from Shrek but with Bellows, but alas I’d never actually done an animatic and had zero clue lol. I had another dream about Bellows coming in with the Emperor’s Coven to apprehend Eda, who became an even larger version of her Owl Beast form in response.

Then Summer 2020 came around. What a wonderful time of my life... New fans came in when they saw the possibility of canon sapphics with Lumity, and I was exhilarated! So careful not to get my hopes up, but look now... I was hyped to see Belos’ appearance. I analyzed the 1B trailer, took screenshots and organized them to guess which episodes they were. Rebecca Rose found foreign titles of 1B and translated them, and I did note how translations could skew the intended anagram. I remember “Mini-Problems” being an episode title...

You can probably guess the rest from here, since this was about when the fandom really kicked off. And boy did people stick around for it all. I felt delight in knowing Grom was sooner, due to Understanding Willow being paired with Really Small Problems on the same day! Two episodes at once, instead of the original plan for the last two episodes of the season together! I ended up regretting that low-key with the angst and pain of Agony of a Witch, which made me realize how much I cared for Luz, Eda, and King, and made me the closest to crying from the show.

I felt vindicated to see a popular artist like MoringMark begin making fan comics, I had no idea that’d be THE thing he’d be known for, after I knew him as the Gravity Falls guy. I followed Matthieu Cousin on Tumblr, got excited for that trend of dressing up TOH characters for Grom and sending in your designs, with a winner announced! I don’t think that ever happened. Anamanaguchi’s Prom Night became a thing thanks to a crew member, and who can forget Little Miss Perfect? Kwame rolled with the success and I was glad for him. Eda’s gray eye appearing after the season finale in the end credits shocked me.

There was the Reddit AMA, where I prepared lore questions afterwards and had none of mine answered, but we learned a good deal! Especially the telling “Clawthornes are a bird motif” from Dana, her being put into a headlock by a nun. Amity and Lilith weren’t close but as I mentioned a while back, Dana expressed that she also made connections with cartoons as a kid. Odalia liking her kids color-coded, hence Amity’s hair, and Alador being interesting. Which led to a bunch of fanart that proved off the mark but also not? Alador wasn’t THAT well-put but otherwise...

And that stream! That wonderful stream! I contemplated spending so much money via donation to get something. Eda drinking Apple Blood, Spencer Wan almost spoiling Lilith having a Raven form. Our first sneak peek at Hunter’s face, not counting his appearance as the Golden Guard in S1; We all guessed he and the Golden Guard, or “Owl Mask” were the same. I was stumped and baffled how he fit into Belos’ dynamic... Hoo boy. And we all thought Hunter was an adult, even Alador at first, because of those eye bags!

I wanted to see the coven heads, based on their banners we saw; I liked the Potion Head especially and even when his design proved different than I expected, it was still my favorite! I thought Darius might be a Blight grandfather and he DID have a connection... I had a dream of the twins working for Osran at a library and messing with him, recognized Mason from Covention, and dreamed Terra was named Botanica.

Christmas art of the cast came out, I was happy to see Emira and Edric happy there, after being saddened by Dana’s Grom art of them and even writing a whole fic about it, which I’m chuffed about! She also drew Mattholomule... I recall in the wait for Season 1B, she did some art of the characters. Gus playing games, Mattholomule losing to him; King despairing over stubby thumbs.

Fanart of the kids in quarantine, Amity declaring it’d be easy to stay away from Luz, to Luz’s sadness; Boscha being mad because she couldn’t talk to her friends. Remember when Boschlow was a big thing, until Understanding Willow killed off some of the hype? And confirmation that Willow worked out, which we saw come to fruition in Season 2; People were surprised but I wasn’t! And of course, Frewin being his own entity from Bump, and not Bump himself.

But back to chronology, I guess this is where I should end off. Sorry, this ended up being MUCH longer than I intended, and really you could write a book about my experience with TOH and the journey on a meta level. But those were interesting times, those beginning eras. Back when I didn’t feel the need to always add screenshots to posts unless necessary. And it’s making me nostalgic. It’s making me appreciate everything we’ve been through, the roots of my hyperfixation. And how it all led to me finally crying, because I really did build up THAT much of a love for the show.

I found my first fandom I really felt a part of, found so many people who enjoyed my meta and validated me for it! I feel I’ve grown so much as a person because of TOH. And as I nostalgically reminisce on how different the show was then, I appreciate all the more how far we’ve come, and what it is now. Snapping back to the present does make me sad over how much has passed and changed, but I also appreciate it while remembering the ideas I once had.

I’ll miss that era, and TOH as a whole. And boy do I associate that classic ending theme, how I loved the melancholy of those end credits, speculated on them paying off in the finale. And they did...! It feels good to hear it one last time after a year without it, due to the end credits being removed or redone. There was something so idyllic and dreamlike about that original sequence, capturing the feeling of coming home, and I’m glad TOH did that once more with it.

[nctangelz]

STARSTRUCK — SOOYOUNG & ????????

sooyoung’s masterlist

sneak peek — in which sooyoung goes to compliment an artist from MAMA 2019…to a possiblity of something more.

tags — @yjjnfied (send an ask to be included!)

“What an amazing night!” Sooyoung cheered, running to Renjun to wrap her arms around his waist, awkwardly walking behind him as they went to their backstage area. “All of the performances were amazing!”

“Hm, but were they all better than Ateez’s performance?” Jeno asked, laughing when Sooyoung only blushed. “That’s all we heard about, how amazing their performance was, how crazy their dancing was….you even talked about them more than BTS!” Jeno pointed out, the rest of the boys chuckling when Sooyoung just shook her head.

“I was just complimenting them! You all agreed with me too! You couldn’t keep your eyes off when Twice was performing, I don’t want to hear it!” Sooyoung argued back, removing herself from Renjun to flick Jeno on the head. “Can’t a girl just observe and compliment?”

“You can, Sooyoungie, but it’s sounding like you’re a bit obsessed,” Mark chuckled, “Why don’t you go say hi to them and congratulate them so we can stop hearing about?” Mark said, yelling “I’m joking!” when Sooyoung threatened to punch him.

“No, because then I would have to hear about it on the way home, about how polite and pretty they were…she probably would get someone’s number and freak out about it too.” Chenle said, pretending to be annoyed by his friends behavior.

“You know what, I will go talk to them! And I will get their numbers! And I will rub it all in your faces, because I know how jealous you all are that I have more friends than you!” Sooyoung said, wholeheartedly joking.

“If you want to so bad they’re behind us,” Jisung said, turning Sooyoung by her shoulders to show her Ateez, all huddled up about ten steps back.

“Wanna come with me?” Sooyoung asked, chuckling when Jisung sheepishly nodded.

“You’re a bold person, Sooyoungie.” Jisung chuckled, grabbing ahold of her hand to follow her lead. “Now don’t harass me infront of them, please.”

“When would I ever do such a thing?” Sooyoung asked, laughing when Jisung looked at her knowingly. Before he knew it, Ateez was right in front of them, all suprised by seeing two NCT members in front of them. They quickly did their greeting, respectfully bowing to both Sooyoung and Jisung.

Jisung and Sooyoung awkwardly looked at eachother, before doing their greeting just with the two of them. The boys of Ateez just chuckled at the sight of seeing only two members doing the greeting.

“It must weird doing that by yourselves, especially when you have so many members!” One of the boys said, later introducing themself, “I’m Seonghwa!”

The rest of the boys introduced themselves, one by one. Sooyoung started bouncing on the balls of her feet, itching to compliment them like she was beforehand.

“My name’s Sooyoung, and I just wanted to come over here to tell you all what an amazing job you guys did performing tonight! Your songs are just so cool, and your dancing? Phenomenal! And Wooyoung, you absolutely rocked the performance. It was so cool! I love all of your dancing!” Sooyoung said quickly, rubbing her cheeks when she felt them get hot, “I hope you all don’t take this as being weird, but I seriously couldn’t stop thinking about your performance, I loved it so much! My members were teasing me earlier because I just kept talking about it!”

Sooyoung only continued to get red as she started at Ateez longer, especially with them all looking starstuck.

“Thank you so much, we loved watching you perform too! Ridin’ is one of my top songs!” Wooyoung said, clapping his hands together and bowing. “Were you really thinking of our performance for that long?” Wooyoung asked, looking in between Sooyoung and Jisung, smiling widely when Jisung confirmed.

“Could we take a Selca, do you think?” San asked, quickly adding in, “It’s okay if you don’t want to! We are just fans of NCT as well…I’d never imagine we’d get the chance to meet!” San said, cheering when Sooyoung nodded, all ten of them came together, posing for the selfie.

“Do you think I could get your numbers? I would love to get to know you all more, but Jisung and I have to leave soon.” Sooyoung said, holding in her giggle when Wooyoung practically ripped his bag open to grab his phone out.

“You can type your number in here, if you’d like. I can send the rest of the members numbers later!” Wooyoung said, “Make your contact name anything you’d like!” Sooyoung giggled at the suggestion, wiggling her eyebrows at Jisung.

“What should I do, Sungie?” Sooyoung whispered, gasping when Jisung only took the phone out of her hand and started typing.

“Smile, Soosoo!” Jisung called out, taking a cute picture of the girl to add to her contact. Sooyoung immediately grabbed the phone out of Jisung’s hand, shaking her head when she saw the contact name.

[ Ateez’s #1 Fan, SOOBUNNY 🐰🎤 ]

Sooyoung shyly handed the phone back to Wooyoung, cringing when he giggled. “You can change it, my maknae over here just has some interesting thoughts.” Sooyoung said, sighing slightly when Wooyoung only shook his head and kept giggling.

“No, I love it! And this picture is so cute!” Wooyoung said, showing the rest of the members. “This is great! Thank you, Sooyoung-ah!”

Sooyoung couldn’t help but feel a blush creeping up her cheeks again, and she quickly thanked the boys and waved goodbye, turning around before anyone could notice.

“Is that a blush I see, who does Sooyoung have a crush on I wonder?” Jisung whispered, laughing when Sooyoung muttered a curse underneath her breath. “Don’t worry, your secert is safe with me.”

The rest of the Dream members were too pre-occupied with taking their makeup off to notice Sooyoung and Jisung’s return, allowing the girl to quickly sneak off to cool her cheeks off while she changed. She could feel her phone buzz in her pocket, and she had a gut-feeling it was Wooyoung.

[ unknown ] Hello, this is Wooyoung! Thank you so much for loving our performance, it really does mean a lot to us! I was wondering if you were free soon? I know it’s a busy time for many idols, so don’t feel pressured! I would love to hang out with you sometime :)

Sooyoung regretted reading the text message, because she was so easily swooned by Wooyoung’s charms. He was so cute and sweet, how could she not blush? The longer Sooyoung stared at the message, the harder her heart pounded.

Was this his way of asking her out? Did she want to go on a date with Wooyoung? She had to admit, he was really adorable, and she was so immersed by him when Ateez was on stage, her eyes felt glued to him the entire time. She could feel a rush of butterflies in her stomach, which she took as a good sign, but this would be Sooyoung’s first “real” date! The only other date she had was when her crush in middle school took her to the movies, but they had to watch it with his mom. He was very rude to her, too, so Sooyoung doesn’t like to include it in her history of romantic relationships.

Before Sooyoung could think of a response, Jaemin was knocking on the changing room, yelling at her to hurry up. So, Sooyoung dropped her phone, and hasitly changed out of her dress into her sweats and sweatshirt, which was most likely taken from Mark’s closet.

“What were you doing, taking a nap in there?” Jaemin asks, handing Sooyoung her purse and the rest of her belongings. Sooyoung only rolled her eyes and walked towards the door with him, looping arms with him.

“I’m so sleepy, I don’t think I can make it to my bunk, Nana, you might have to carry me up my ladder!” Sooyoung joked, smiling when Jaemin tagged along. The rest of the walk to the car was filled with just her and Jaemin talking, talking about what they were doing tomorrow, what they wanted to eat when they got home, and Sooyoung was about to tell Jaemin about Wooyoung texting her, when something in her told her not to.

She didn’t want to tell the boys that Wooyoung may have asked her out just yet, and it wasn’t because she didn’t trust them, she never had an issue telling them secrets before hand…but this felt almost too personal to share. So, she didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until Sooyoung made it home, all freshly showered and snuggled in her bed that Sooyoung responded to Wooyoung’s offer. After spending a lot of time typing and deleting her message, she finally sent something to the boy.

[ Ateez’s #1 Fan, SOOBUNNY 🐰🎤 ] I’m sorry for such a late reply, I didn’t want my members to try and snoop on me. But I would love to spend time with you soon! I’m not free until next Friday, if that works for you?

Also, you can change my contact name…it’s really long 😭

[ wooyoung 🙈 ] That’s perfect! And maybe i’ll change it…maybe I won’t, hehe. I’ll text you tomorrow some plans, sleep well!

Sooyoung smiled, and shut her phone off. She was excited to see Wooyoung again, but she just hoped that Jisung couldn’t hear her heart thumping in the bunk underneath her.

With that, Sooyoung drifted off to sleep, dreaming about Wooyoung and her unofficial “first date”.