#its. very cliche but its still fun and nice

[skuntank]

I know it's an awfully cliche ship thing but idc, the idea of Diantha trying to teach Cynthia to dance is very very sweet

Both of them being a little tipsy and Diantha putting on a record and taking Cynthia's hands in hers and trying to teach her some simple steps but Cynthia is a little too drunk to be coordinated and theyre both giggling like a couple of schoolgirls

Cynthia impromptu tries to spin herself in Diantha's arms but Diantha didn't get the memo that Cynthia would be trying this little maneuver so Cynthia ends up on her ass and laughing too hard to pick herself up off the floor for several minutes and Diantha is laughing so hard she almost collapses on top of Cynthia (not that either of them would have minded)

[mimikittysblog]

♡18:53♡

Pairing: Poly! Ateez x Fem! Reader

Genre: Fluff, suggestive towards the end

Warnings: MxM, pet names, uh reader teases them at the end so ⚠️MNDI⚠️, this one I did not proofread. That’s it I think :/

A/N: Surpriiiseee! I really made this on a whim. The inspiration came out of nowhere and I just had to write it. This is much shorter than the previous one but I do hope you guys like this too hehe! Also this is VERY MUCH a self insert lol 😭 and lastly I know jackshit about league so if I get anything wrong sorry 🙏

Tagging: @faeprincess777 @starygw3n @bee-gremlin @pinkpearlstar @sweetinsaniiity (if you wanna be tagged in my next poly ateez story, texts or not then please let me know!)

.✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ✧.

Being the only girl in this big relationship had its downsides and its perks. One of the downsides is that sometimes there are just things that the boys like that unfortunately you’re just not interested in.

One of them being gaming.

Quite cliche but it’s true.

Now it’s not like you never play any video games with the boys. You’ve guys play some Among Us, Gmod, Dead by Daylight and countless Nintendo games like Smash Bros, Mario Party and Mario Kart just to name some.

Though you don’t play Mario Party that often as you and Wooyoung always end up strangling each other by the end of it, and not the good kind.

Besides that, the list of games you and your amazing boyfriends play doesn’t even end there.

However there will be some games you just don’t care for.

One of them being League of Legends.

Just couldn’t get into it, so you just let that be their thing.

Tonight after a long week of work. The boys thought it’d be fun to treat themselves by renting a room at a nice nearby PC Bang.

Now most times you’d sit this one out and just have some alone time at home. However to their surprise you decided to join.

“I just wanna be around you guys! Your presence is enough. Plus watching you guys play is still fun, even if I don’t join!” You reasoned.

“Hmmm alright.. though if you want our attention or wanna do something else just say so!” Seonghwa said.

“Or just sit in one of our laps princess.” Mingi said teasingly.

Now usually when they are having nights like this, after a while you would eventually take up on Mingi’s offer and sit in one of their laps.

However you decided to entertain yourself another way.

After seeing some girlfriends on TikTok do this with their boyfriends while they’re gaming or watching a sports game. You decided to follow in their footsteps.

So here you are sitting in one of the comfy gaming chairs near Yeosang and Mingi, ipad on your lap with the notes app opened with a grid filled with prompts and the words “BINGO” at the top.

Yes! You decided to play Boyfriend Bingo tonight!

Throughout the night you’ve been crossing off things whenever the boys did something you predicted.

Oh! Yunho’s team won! Thats a check.

“…Guys seriously do you even know how to play?! Come on get it together! San cover me! Oh what seriously??? Guys I’m dying here!…”

Wooyoung yapping for a straight minute. Check.

“…….Yes!”

Yeosang staying silent until the end of the round. Another check.

Huh I’m good at this.

“Sweetheart you sure you’re not bored??”

“I’m sure Hwa.” You say with a suspiciously big smile.

“..okay..”

Seonghwa checking up on me. And a check!

Though somethings you had to wait a bit longer for. But you were sure you’d get them eventually. Hopefully you’d get at least 3 bingos by the end of the night.

However looking at your grid and how you have 2 bingos already, you’re positive you can cross out this entire grid.

.✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ✧.

After a good hour you finally got Jongho becoming whiney.

Adorable. And also a check!

“Ah! …Woah!! ..Boom!!!! …Ugh!”

San only making noises for the first 5 minutes. Cheeeeck!

Oh and San suddenly grabbing someone else’s thigh? Jealous. But check!

Hmm I need to fill out this box. You thought to yourself.

“Joooongiieee? When is the food coming?” You suddenly asked.

“Huh?? Oh uh.. any minute now baby!” He replied.

“Oh darling you’re hungry?” Yeosang asked.

“Mhm! Its okay I can wait a bit- oh here it is!” You said about to get up and get the food from the worker.

“No no I got it!!” Hongjoong said as he quickly left his desk.

“WAIT NO HYUNG WE NEED YOU!” Jongho yelled.

“Just a sec!”

Subtly you checked the Hongjoong getting up in the middle of the round box. Before taking your food from him.

“Thank you my love!” You said as you kissed his cheek.

“Of course princess. You sure you’re not bored?” He asked.

“Noooope!”

“Okay the-“

“HYUNG HURRY UP WE’RE LOSING!!”

“The more you yell Jung Wooyoung the more I rather sit here with princess!” He said before going back to his seat.

Ah damn I should’ve put in ‘Wooyoung yelling when he’s losing.’ Oh wait I did! Checkity check check.

You happily continue playing as you eat your yummy food.

Also since you’re a good girlfriend, you go around giving the boys a taste of your food. Just cause you know they’re curious.

Still accepting my food while playing. Check!

.✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ✧.

Finally they decided to play one more round and you only need one more box!!

You’re confident you’re gonna get it though. Cause you know them that well.

And soon enough half of the room at the end of the match screams out in victory while the other half whines and groans in loss.

Aaaaannndd…

“Aaaww Mingles is all pouty cause he lost!” Yunho said in fake sympathy.

“Hmph.”

“Come here Mingi is okay! You’ll win next time! MMMMUAAHH!”

“BINGO!!”

Suddenly they all whip their heads to look at you.

“Bingo?” Jongho asked with a tilt of his head.

“You’ve just been playing Bingo this whole time???” San asked as well.

“Yup! Boyfriend bingo!” You said with a big smile and flipped your ipad around.

“Boyfriend bingo?” Seonghwa asked.

Yeosang then took the ipad.

“HAHA Wooyoung yapping for a straight minute!”

“WHAT?! I DID NOT?”

“I timed it.”

Wooyoung then snatched the ipad.

“Hongjoong constantly going ‘Huh?’! HAHA BABE OMG” Wooyoung then the other started laughing the more they read out your grid.

“DID I REALLY??”

“Yes love you did.” Seonghwa said with a laugh.

“Oh my, you know us scarily well love.” Yunho said.

“I’m your girlfriend!!! I’m supposed to!”

“You really are the cutest thing we could’ve ever asked for!” Yeosang said as he walked over and gave you a kiss.

“What was the last thing you crossed off baby?” Mingi asked.

“Oh! It was you getting a kiss after you lost!”

“YOU KNEW I’D LOSE??? Hmph!! Wooyoung you shouldn’t have kissed me! She would’ve lost!” He whined with a bigger pout.

“…well.. i mean.. statistically speaking you couldn’t ALWAYS win…”

Mingi then turned around in another huff.

“Princessaaaaa!!! I’m sorryyy!! Heheheh” you said as you got up, ran to him and hugged him from behind.

“Will a kiss make it better?” You asked.

“..maybe.”

“He just wants kisses!” Jongho yelled.

“EVERYONE GIVE MINGLES KISSESSS!” Wooyoung then yelled.

With that everyone quickly gathered around Mingi to give him a fat smooch. As he pretended to groan in protest.

And with that you guys all cleaned up and headed home.

.✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ✧.

“We should all play girlfriend Bingo next time!” San said as you guys made it back home.

“Ohohooo you think you can beat me? Think you know me so well Sannie??” You said teasingly.

“Oh princess we do know you so well.” Yunho chirped in.

“We’re your boyfriends! We’re supposed to!” Yeosang said mirroring your words.

“Hmmmm! Okay then! Go and each of you make your own grid! Whoever this week can get a full grid like me will get a prize!” you announced as you skipped to the bathroom to freshen up.

“A prize you say?” Hongjoong asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hmmm whoever wins gets to see me in my newest lingerie first~”

With that you took off your shirt and bra and threw it at them as you lock the bathroom door.

Groans, whines and banging at the bathroom door can be heard as you simply turned up your music.

Let’s see who knows me best!

.✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ✧.

© mimikittysblog 2024

[lurking-latinist]

How to Suck Less at Summaries

Probably almost anyone who's ever posted a fic to ao3 or a platform with a similar interface has been hit by that moment of panic, breaking in on the euphoria of having finished and polished a fic--"what do I put for the summary?!"

So much so, that "I suck at summaries" in the summary box has become something of a cliche. It's very understandable! You've already put all that work into writing the fic itself, and now you have to write ANOTHER thing with its own set of conventions and expectations? No way!

And I want to start by saying that that's absolutely fine. Fic writing is your hobby, your creative endeavor; you're not obligated to do anything in it that you don't want to. You can leave the summary box completely blank--ao3 will let you--and there's no reason you shouldn't, if that's what you want to do! If you're happy with your summaries, please don't change them. There's no wrong way to do summaries. This is your invitation to ignore the entire rest of this post!

However. My impression is that an awful lot of people aren't happy with their summaries. They would like to have summaries that catch a reader's attention, that fit common patterns, or that give a good representation of the fic; they're just not sure how to accomplish that, or what readers might be expecting. And the good news is that writing various styles of summaries, like other kinds of writing, is a skill you can improve--and that there are some tips and tricks that can help you write the kinds of summaries you may want to write more quickly.

How do I know? Well, on top of having read I don't know how many fics, I've published 200 of my own, with all different kinds of summaries. (In fact, writing this post is my treat to myself to celebrate publishing 200 fics!) So I have a lot of trial and error experience to draw on. I'll be using my own summaries as examples (plus some hypothetical examples), because I don't want to be nitpicking anyone else's!

I'm going to throw in a cut now because this is gonna get long.

What do you want to accomplish with your summary?

That's the first question you might want to ask yourself. And the answer really is up to you! The name "summary" suggests it's supposed to be a sort of short version of your story. That's one option. But summaries are often used to accomplish various other things, too: some of my favorite summaries don't really tell you anything about the plot of the fic, but instead give you a glimpse of the writer's style or lure you in with a question. It can also fill organizational purposes like commemorating the reason the fic was written (although author notes can also be effective for things like this).

Most fundamentally, I tend to think of the summary box as a place to manage your readers' expectations. I want them to have some sense of what the fic they're about to read might be like, and I want to present that in a way that highlights why it might be appealing to them. Of course, what I write won't be appealing to every reader--and an effective summary, plus accurate tags and ratings of course, allows a reader who won't enjoy what I have to offer to quickly keep scrolling and find something that fits their tastes better. But the way I think of them, summaries are really mainly for readers who will enjoy my fic if they decide to open it. A summary for a fic is like a pretty package for a gift: the gift is great in itself, and the nice gift-wrap makes it more eye-catching and more fun to open!

Sidebar: This "managing expectations" thing is, I think, the reason why authors sometimes add notes in the summary like "I'm sorry if this sucks" or "this is my first fic, it's probably terrible." I completely understand where this comes from--you don't want to make your readers expect some kind of genius literature and then only have something to give them that you yourself are still insecure about! But I really do think they're generally counterproductive. On the one hand, that kind of negative self-talk will tend to undermine your own confidence and make you more insecure about your writing, not less; on the other hand, they can subconsciously prime your readers to notice weaknesses and issues that they might otherwise not even have paid attention to! That doesn't mean you have to pretend you think your writing is perfect; very few of us do think what we post on fic archives is perfect. There's nothing wrong, even, with a note like "this is my first fic" or "this one is a bit experimental, I'm not sure how I feel about it" or "this wasn't written in my first language" or even "this is an old fic and I don't think it represents my best work anymore", although I tend to put that kind of commentary on craft in the author's notes rather than the summary, but that's just me; there's no rule. As an example, when I recently published my first fic in the Hornblower fandom, which has a historical setting I wasn't previously very familiar with, I thanked my beta for helping me avoid "historical howlers" and added "any remaining are my own responsibility." That made me feel better about potential mistakes in research by showing that I was aware I might have made some. I put this in an author's note at the end of the story. But, for the sake of you as a writer as well as me as a reader, I'm asking you--please don't start out our reader/writer relationship by telling me it's terrible! Give yourself a chance to shine. Even if there's a lot you're insecure about in your fic, there's something you love--maybe it's the premise, the ship, even one particular line--that makes you want to share it with the world. Use the summary to highlight that. As your reader, that's what I want to know about!

Anyway, now that you've decided what you want your summary to accomplish, there are a couple of very easy ways to fill the summary box that you might want to consider--if they make sense for your fic.

Just quote the prompt

When I write prompt-fic, often very short, I frequently just quote the prompt itself as the summary. An example would be my 3 Sentence Ficathon fic archived on ao3. Since the challenge in this event is to write a complete fic in only three sentences, a summary wouldn't be much shorter than the fic itself! So I just do summaries like

For reeby10's prompt: "Doctor Who, Clara/Twelve, unforgettable."

(Gaps)

This can work outside of prompt memes, too. If you're doing a monthly challenge, for instance, something like

Flufftember day 21, 'breakfast in bed'

might tell your readers all they need to know to be interested in your story and know what to expect.

Set the context

For some fic, the most important thing you want your readers to know going in is something about the fic's context. For instance, with drabbles I sometimes use the summary as a place to sneak in information about setting/what's supposed to be happening that I didn't have room for in the drabble itself. For Susan's Twist, a 100-word drabble, I set the scene in the summary:

Susan is grooving to the latest chart-topper of 1963. But for some reason, the song makes her grandfather uncomfortable.

which meant I didn't have to use any of my 100 words explaining "Susan was listening to the radio, when..." Since Susan's Twist was inspired by someone else's Tumblr post, I could also just have referenced that post in the summary. But in this case, I chose to phrase the premise in my own words in the summary, and cite the Tumblr post in the author's notes (I also tagged the OP when I shared the fic on Tumblr).

Flower Children is an example of a drabble with a not particularly effective summary where I could have used this strategy quite effectively. The summary is just

Neither of them wants to fight.

which is all right, but which doesn't do much to set up the (admittedly cracky) Eighth Doctor/Dalek Oswin pairing that motivates the fic. But then, I've always felt like I didn't have quite as much of an idea as I'd like about what the context for this fic is supposed to be. Maybe I'll write more about them sometime.

Setting the context can also be useful for summaries of AUs. Very often, what draws people into AUs is the AU concept itself.

For instance, the premise of my story te quaerens, Ariadna is that the events of the audio Zagreus go differently and the Doctor remains possessed by/transformed into Zagreus. So that's what I said in the summary:

The Doctor is still Zagreus, but he and Charley find ways to keep going.

In this case, the summary is accomplishing more than one thing; it explains the concept, but it also indicates a bit of the story's tone--it's fairly optimistic given its premise, and it's more about how their relationship evolves than any particular plotty event.

With setting change AUs--especially in familiar AU settings, like a coffeeshop, high school, or fantasy monarchy--often what readers will most want to know is what roles the characters are filling; in other words, how the translation from canon to AU has been made. For instance, my story Warmth is already tagged as a coffeeshop AU with the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, and Adric, so the summary indicates that it's told from the perspective of Tegan as a new employee:

Unexpectedly stranded in London and looking for work, Tegan finds a place where she just might fit in.

If she had been a longtime employee or a customer, that would have changed the story's dynamics, and I would have wanted the summary to reflect that instead. I could have also added that the Doctor is the shop's manager and Nyssa and Adric are the existing employees, but I decided to let the story itself reveal that in this case.

With someone's planted a bath bomb in the matrix, which is a retail AU inspired by an incorrect quotes tumblr post, I just stuck the whole tumblr post in the summary box:

Romana: When you work at lush and a customer comes in and bites the soap because they think it’s cheese… this happens way more frequently than you think. Leela: If you stopped literally presenting soap as deli food this wouldn't happen. Narvin: Who goes into a bath store and thinks something covered in glitter is cheese? Brax: Who goes to the store and just takes a bite from the cheese? ~incorrectgallifreyquotes.tumblr.com

I might do that a bit differently now--maybe more the way I handled Susan's Twist--maybe something like this in the summary:

An uptight employee and a too-suave customer are making Romana's job managing a bath store way too stressful. Thank goodness--probably--that her best friend works for mall security.

And then I'd have put the tumblr post that inspired it in author's notes.

Thing is, though, that reflects my taste and what I think is effective now, but it doesn't mean I did it wrong the first time. People read and enjoyed the story, and it was fine!

Also I just showed this post to Moki and she said she thinks the first one's more intriguing. So that just goes to show, it's really a matter of taste.

This strategy is also useful for missing scenes and things like that. Something as simple as

While waiting for Z to return from the rendezvous, X and Y have a conversation.

can draw in readers very effectively, especially if X and Y's conversation was kind of obviously a gap in the story that they might already be curious about.

Use a quote

A surprisingly effective and straightforward way to create a summary is just to use a quote from the fic. I've seen tons of great summaries like this that hook me in immediately. I struggle with using it myself, because I want the line I quote to be powerful/impactful/intriguing and give some sense of what the plot is like and make sense out of context, and I don't often seem to be able to find lines like that in my own work. But I did for The Moon by Night:

It could not have been more than a day that we clung to the hull of that station full of troopers.

Since this is a space AU for a historical fiction novel, this line gives some sense of how the events of the story have been translated into space, and also shows the voice I'm writing in (I tried to follow the style of the original, which is first-person, which is unusual for me). If you can find a line like that in your work, it can be a great summary. You can even just put the first couple of lines of the fic, especially if you've already worked to make them an effective hook!

You can also use a quote from another source. Was there a line or moment from canon that inspired the fic? A poem or song that fits its mood? You can use the summary as a sort of epigraph. (I often use author's notes for this as well.) If your readers vibe with the quote that inspired the story, they're likely to vibe with the story as well.

I did something like this with Absent thee from felicity awhile. The title is a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet, and all I put in the summary box was another quote from a couple of lines later:

…to tell my story.

This is so short and contextless, though, that I'm not sure how effective it was. It maybe only works if you recognize the specific Hamlet scene that it's taken from and have thought about that scene in the context of a specific episode of Hornblower. (I promise that, if you do, it's heartbreakingly ironic!) This could have been a good opportunity for me to do a double summary (see below), especially since the story is epistolary and I could've established its context. Although I did kind of like revealing who was reading the letter and when slowly over the course of the story.

Okay, but I do want to explain the plot

Right, so we've established that effective summaries don't have to be in that "back of the book blurb" format. But sometimes you want them to be. Sometimes the thing you're most excited about is the story's plot or events, and you want to communicate that to the reader. But you already wrote the story in order to communicate the plot to the reader; how do you condense it into a sentence or two? Here are some tips that may help.

Are you using familiar tropes? If so, just mentioning them will likely tell your reader not only what the plot is, but that (if they like that trope) they're likely to enjoy it. For instance:

A and B are trapped in a snow cave/ice planet/walk-in freezer and must huddle for warmth.

That particular one will also explain a bit about the setting, if you want.

Relationship status/development is also something that many readers want to know, whether it's a romantic or a gen relationship (e.g. characters becoming friends or realizing they see each other as family). For instance, if A and B admit their romantic feelings for the first time in that huddling for warmth story, you might add:

They get a lot closer than either of them expects...

I rather like ellipses at the end of a summary; I think they imply, sort of, "read the fic to find out the rest." I sometimes use them to soften a summary that feels a bit abrupt. I feel like this might be just me, though? So if you don't like ellipses, nothing wrong with ending that same summary with a period.

If you have a fic where the entire content is some emotional development between characters, the entire summary can easily be that too!

I don't really write smut so I don't have good advice for summarizing it, but I get the feeling this might be a relevant strategy for it?

What changes in the story? This could be a change in characters' attitudes towards each other, in the information they have, in their physical situation, or anything else. A story doesn't have to be about one single major change, but there's almost always at least one. (Or a change fails to happen, but in an interesting way: "five times Lois Lane didn't realize Clark was Superman" would be a perfectly intriguing summary!)

What demands are made of the characters? Many stories involve a character overcoming some kind of challenge or meeting some kind of test. A summary can indicate what that challenge is--and you don't have to indicate whether or how the characters meet it! This can contribute to a feeling of suspense, so that the reader feels they need to read the story to find out how the characters react. For instance, I summarized my story Journey as:

The Doctor and Ace need to stop a dimensional leakage to put a life-sucking entity back where it belongs. But to do so, they'll each need to protect the other in their own way.

What are their own ways? Do they succeed? The reader can probably guess that they do--but how? Their attention is caught, and they'll have to read to find out!

Some notes on format and style

Summary style is as personal as the rest of your writing style, so this is only intended as a mention of a couple of trends I've noticed.

Sometimes summaries are 'in-universe'--i.e. they describe the characters and what they do, without reference to the existence of the fic itself as a textual entity--and sometimes, like the "five times" example I gave above, they refer to the fic's format, characteristics, relationship to canon, etc. in direct terms. (For instance, the example I gave for a missing scene was 'in-universe,' but I could just as well have said "While waiting for Z to return during Episode 3..."). Either of these approaches are fine, although I personally tend to incline more towards the in-universe style unless I have a particular reason to use the other, such as in Differences of Opinion, which took a lot of metatextual explaining:

When I read enough easily-crossed-over stories, such as for instance the Age of Sail books that I have been reading lately and also spaceship stories inspired thereby, what inevitably happens is I end up with a nebulous meta crossover setting where they can all hang out outside of their respective canons. Here's one conversation from that setting.

I keep wondering if something more terse might have been more effective, and I could have put all that in the author's notes. But I really think that for anyone who would enjoy this fic, the metatextual complication is a big part of the appeal. So I put it in the summary.

It's pretty standard to write in-universe-style summaries in the present tense, even if the fic is in the past tense. "The characters do this and that," not "the characters did this and that." You don't have to, but it's what your reader is most likely to be expecting.

It seems to be quite common to have a double summary: one that maybe reflects the style and tone of the fic, and another, more matter-of-fact one that explains the plot. They're frequently joined by "or." I don't typically use it--maybe because I rarely have the problem of having too much summary--but if you do, this could be a great solution.

Spellcheck and proofread your summary extra. Whatever strategies you normally use to make sure the words in your story are the words you actually meant to write, it's a good idea to turn those strategies on the summary with special intensity. After all, this is your first impression on your reader, so you probably want to look as polished as possible!

These are just a few things I've noticed that I tend to think about when staring at that blinking cursor in the summary box. I hope they may help you, too, to feel like you have something to say in that moment!

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

Benlie: Why I love these two

A lot of people in the Ben 10 fandom don’t really like this ship these days. Even back when UAF was airing, most were gushing over Gwevin and there was very little Benlie content like AMVs, fanfics or fanart. Many view Julie as a bland character and while she could have been fleshed out more, I think that’s a bit unfair as well as the idea of her being controlling, toxic or abusive. On the flip side are those that view Ben as a misogynistic incel who only saved Jennifer, Elena and Eunice to get in their pants, when he did care a lot more about Julie than some say. I am aware that there are overzealous stans who treat Benlie like the greatest romance in history and usually do it to drag down Omniverse, but many of us who still ship or enjoy it do so because we wish it could have been done better.

I like these two as a couple, partially because they’re a nice contrast to Gwen and Kevin. Gwevin was the “bad boy and smart girl” opposites attract, angst filled romance people loved. Ben and Julie by contrast are people with similar interests and personalities like Sumo Slammers, horror movies, sports and can be pretty headstrong while having a more compassionate side. Both also used “you’re not a monster, you’re better than this” to get the Dragon/Ship to come to their senses, ironically both incidents involved the Forever Knights. Friends to lovers can be overused or cliche but it can also be wholesome.

One other thing I love about these two is how they bounce off each other. Julie is someone besides Gwen who can remind Ben that there’s more to life besides being a hero, something the original Ben 10,000 struggled with and who pushes him to reign in his jerkass tendencies. Sort of like Robin and Starfire in Teen Titans. She brings out the best in him and he is aware that he’s not a great boyfriend, but he does better than most give him credit for. No hate to Benkai fans but they really brought out the worst in each other while Julie got the short end of the stick from the writers.

I also really like how she’s the one that saved him from being corrupted by the power of Dagon, keeping him from letting the power go to his head which is a nice parallel to Azmuth and Zenith. She was kind of the fourth member of the team before Rook, having helped Ben during Big Chill’s pregnancy, and helping stop the Highbreed war, Ultimate Kevin’s rampage and Ben from abusing the power of Ascalon. She also saved him twice from Elena and as well as when he got his hand cut off and was trapped in the Null Void and reassured him when his identity was leaked.

As stated above, many of us Benlie fans ship it because of its missed potential. The show should have really fleshed out their parents more as we never see them interact and Julie’s dad was shown to hate Ben in his only appearance. Julie could have staged an intervention with Carl and Sandra after the Ultimate Kevin incident and over their concerns about Ben’s fame as that arc needed more consequences. I think Julie would also have been fun to see interacting with Rook as well as the other characters Omniverse introduced.

One other reason I really like Benlie is it has a similar vibe to some of my other favorite ships like Hodaka x Hina or Connverse and it feels very animesque, which makes since as the series is quite similar to a magical girl anime. They genuinely care about each other despite their ups and downs and have a very cute vibe. I headcanon both as bisexual or biromantic given Ben’s “crush” on Nemesis and his interactions with Rook, Rex and Kevin. Julie also seems a bit queer, coming from a strict family, keeping secrets like Ship and slowly breaking out of her shell, realizing what she wants out of life.

People use them arguing or Ben screwing up as a reason it was toxic but I like seeing characters work out their issues and succeeding. They got together in AF and were fairly stable. Then conflicts arose in UA when Ben became famous and Julie began her own career in tennis, but they appear to have reconciled by the finale. Then OV could have had them as partners with Rook, having worked out their issues. Regardless of whether you like them as a couple, fans can all agree that Julie deserved better from the writers and isn’t as bad as the fandom makes her out to be. I’m aware that they were not a perfect romance but they don’t need to be for people to like them.

[little-annie]

WIP WEDNESDAY | The Honeymooner's | Steddie | Eddie's chaotic unreliable POV

It's just supposed to be a fun week away for the two friends, but when Eddie's guilt gets a hold of him and he learns if he and Steve were on their honeymoon Steve would save 30% on the room, well things get a little carried away.

---

Okay, so yes, Eddie is very excited and very appreciative of this little boy's week-long getaway that he and Steve planned and yes he can't wait to finally spend a few days without the gremlins gnawing on his ankles or demanding for a ride to the arcade. But… but he feels guilty, very very guilty. And why, you may ask. Well, Steve's paying for the whole thing, that's why. The guy insisted upon it, saying something about how Eddie's been working so hard on getting his GED and working at Thatcher Tire and helping Steve take care of their somehow combined 7 children. That he deserved it. That, "Don't worry man, you can get me back sometime if you're so worried about it."

Steve's a good friend like that. Always has been.

Eddie's not really sure how they happened, really it seems like some weird anomaly that they can even coexist in the same space let alone willingly spend the majority of their free time together, but they do. He supposes though, one particular gremlin is to blame for the colliding of their souls. Dustin Henderson specifically. At first Eddie was jealous then when he met Steve, well, then he was kinda infatuated and it's all been downhill from there. Eddie's in love now. Hopelessly, irrevocably in love. With his straight best friend. How cliche.

How fucking cliche.

Eddie huffs to himself and tries to avoid checking out Steve's ass in his way too tight Levi's as they enter the lobby of some too nice hotel in the middle of what he thinks to be some Indiana State Park. Truthfully, he doesn't remember where they are, slept the majority of the way here since they left after work and he's exhausted, but the place is nice. Cosy almost if it weren't for its vastness. Really it resembles what he'd imagine to be a lodge. A giant log cabin if you will. Somewhere he supposes Harrington Sr. probably stays for some fancy men's hunting trip or something. Looks like the type of place that'd be a resort in the winter. Large fireplaces, overstuffed leather furniture, mounts from what he assumes to be the owners hunting trips.

In all honesty it isn't what he expected, but it's still nice and well, he's not paying for it so he's not complaining.

God he doesn't even want to think about what the room cost Steve for the week.

"Checking in under Harrington," Steve's voice pulls Eddie from the fog of his thoughts as he checks in, a young giggling couple to their left doing the same.

Trying to not grimace at the sight of the love birds, Eddie too approaches the front desk, leans against its edge and watches Steve as he signs a piece of paper and hands over his ID and credit card to the receptionist or whatever the front desk lady is called, Chrissy, he assumes if the strawberry blondes name tag is anything to go by.

Idle and waiting to get to their room and sleep in until noon tomorrow, Eddie zones out, all too focused on Steve's profile as he talks. The only thing filtering through his brain is the crushing guilt of this weekend, Steve's sharp jaw and the couple next to him talking a little too loudly to ignore as they boast about their recent wedding to their receptionist, the poor young man looking far too exhausted to give a shit. But it's then that Eddie hears that same receptionist say to the couple, "With your honeymoon package, you'll be saving 30% on your stay with us. Here are your keys … -"

It's then too, that something occurs to Eddie and his mouth runs away from him as he more or less blurts out, "Oh congratulations, we're honeymooning too."

The couple squeals and congratulates them as they scurry off to their room and Eddie has all but two seconds to process what he's just done (tried to save Steve money in the dumbest way possible) before Chrissy is doing the same, saying to he and Steve, "Congratulations! Oh my goodness that's so exciting! Well, let me do something special for your little week away then. I'll upgrade you two to the Honeymooner's Package and Mr. and Mr. Harrington," the gal winks, "you'll receive a room upgrade, 30% off of your stay and free access to so many of our great amenities."

Red in the cheeks at the idea of being married to Steve Harrington, Eddie, for the first time in a long time is speechless. What has he done? They're going to have to act like a couple now or they'll get found out and kicked out. Fuck. What the fuc-

An arm slips around Eddie's waist and squeezes, his whole body going up in flames as he goes rigid.

"Thank you," Steve says, Eddie assumes to Chrissy as he momentarily blacks out and is solely held up by the muscular arm that wraps tighter around him, fingers on his waist that have never been there before.

What the fuck?

Then there's a kiss on his cheek and Eddie has never snapped so suddenly back to reality.

Steve's eyes find Eddie's almost immediately, somehow communicating at the same time, 'Are you okay?' and 'Man, you got us into this mess, act the part.'

He really did, didn't he?

Well…

Eddie leans into Steve more intentionally, trying to ignore the desperate flutter in his chest when Steve smiles and pulls him closer, his thumb gently caressing the thin fabric at Eddie's side while they wait for Chrissy to make the changes in the system and hand them their keys.

It's all so foreign, but really it's not. They're touchy, maybe in each other's space a bit too much, sometimes to the point that one of the kids or Robin feels the need to shout at them to get a room. But it's never this. It's never long lasting lingering touches that kinda make Eddie want to cry. It's never this intimate. It's normally teasing or comforting. Sitting in each other's lap just to be a pain in the ass or squeezes to the arm when they can tell the other is stressed out. Things like that. Never coupley shit. Never this.

"Honey?" Steve's voice comes as a whisper close to Eddie's ear, sweet like honey and teasing, there's a smirk on his lips, "Wanna go check out the room?"

Chrissy giggles after handing Steve the keys and disappears behind a door leaving just the two twenty-somethings alone in the lobby. Steve's arm is still around Eddie's waist.

Eddie blinks, nods like a fucking idiot and lets out a horrible, barely there gasp when Steve's hand leaves his body only to ghost down his arm and intertwine their fingers together, pulling him along.

It's not until they're in the closed elevator that their hands separate and Eddie's able to manage words again. "What the fuck did I just do?"

Steve snorts a laugh before he shrugs, leans against the wall next to Eddie and says simply, "Made our week away a lot more interesting, that's for sure."

All Eddie can manage is a groan, knocking his head against the wall to which Steve responds, "Well that and saved me a couple hundred bucks."

—------

Things only get worse once they get to their room. Not only did they get upgraded to the Honeymooner's Package, it appears they too got upgraded to a honeymoon suite.

Jesus H Christ

Steve's cackling at the door of the room, gaudy red carpet beneath his feet as Eddie shoulders past him to get a better look. And Christ alive, it's awful. So, so awful.

For starters there's only one bed. Heart shaped in all its glory beneath a mirrored ceiling with a basket of what looks to be condoms, lube and lotions stationed artfully in its centre.

Awful.

Than, there's the bathroom that's more or less a fucking fish bowl. From where he's standing, only a few feet further into the room than Steve, Eddie can see that those glass walls provide no privacy. NONE. What the ever loving fuck!? There's a huge tub and shower and nothing more than a thick pane of glass separating them from the rest of the room.

Aw-ful.

What has he gotten himself into?

[thevampiremarie]

Heartless CHAPTER 8.5

🔞 Simon “Ghost” Riley x reader 🔞

Fake marriage/marriage of convenience

-

You and Ghost get into a fight when he refuses to go dancing with you

-

Hello. I know it’s been a while 😭😭😭 I’m so so so sorry. Thank you all again for your patience. This was supposed to be one big chapter, but I thought I’d post what I have now just to make everyone happier while I work on the rest. A lot of smut in the next chapter. Hope y’all enjoy. YES THIS IS THE SET UP FOR GETTING DICKED DOWN BY COWBOY HAT GHOST. PLEASE BEAR WITH ME.

If one were to go off your husband’s tone, they’d think you just walked out of the bathroom in a stained brown paper bag. “You’re not goin’ out,” Ghost says after re-locating his jaw to its natural position under his balaclava.

“Hm. Thank you for your input, Ghost, but I wasn’t aware that I’d asked.”

You spin around with a huff and march back into the bathroom to examine your appearance, flinging the door open with such force that it slams into the wall.

Before you can shut it behind you, maybe lock it just to piss him off, your husband braces a veiny forearm on the doorframe and leans in. “You’re not. Not like that.”

“Why? What’s wrong with the way I look?” You ask as you go in with more blue glitter on your eyelids.

“You know what I mean.” His voice rumbles gruff and low.

And you can see his eyes looking at your ass through your cutoff denim shorts in the mirror. “Am I ugly? You don’t like it?”

Said shorts make your legs look fifteen miles long and are cut almost indecently short, accentuating your full hips and flattering your tummy. To fit the night's theme, you have on a very nice push-up bra with a white crop top tied in a bow under your boobs. And black cowboy boots, of course.

You have a matching hat somewhere…

Ghost rolls his eyes. “Fuckin’…” He sighs.

“Gorgeous, doll. Don’t pout. C’mere.” Then he reaches out and snags you by the waistband of your shorts, pulling you into his tall frame. You go easily, unable to resist him even if you wanted to.

Ghost tugs his balaclava down to chastely kiss your cheek. “Prettiest bird I’ve ever seen.” Please, like you can’t feel him pawing your butt with a gloved hand.

You rock yourself back, barely grinding against him. “Then I’m going out. Like this,” You tell him. You bat his hands aside to face him, your nose inches away from his mask. “You can come with me if that would make you feel better.”

Did Ghost really expect you would be content to twiddle your thumbs at the barracks and not explore London? You were pleasantly surprised to find a thriving line dance scene in this part of the world, and doing silly little dances while sort of drunk to cheesy country music sounds like your idea of a good time.

So this lovely Saturday night, you decided, ‘Why the fuck not?’ You can handle your sore back tomorrow.  And now you’re trying to convince your stubborn mountain of a husband to tag along.

Ghost releases you so quickly that you stumble and have to catch yourself. “I don’t dance,” He says in a flat, deeply unenthusiastic voice.

“Please? It’ll be fun!” This might be a little cliche, but you’ve never gone on a date with him before. You’ve spent your time hanging around him and his team, wherever they may be, and yeah, you signed up for that…

But you want a date. You want overpriced drinks and holding his hand as you walk down the street. Something more. That doesn’t seem as unreasonable as he’s making it out to be.

“I don’t dance.” He turns away without looking twice and strides out into the bedroom. Ghost’s coldness hurts more than his rejection.

You don’t understand why you care so much about something so small. If he were anyone else, you’d take the L, move on, and go where you’re appreciated. “I wouldn’t even make you-“ You try, still staring at his back and wishing he’d meet your gaze.

But you don’t want someone else. You want him, just for the night. Have you asked him for anything else before? You haven’t.

“No.” Oh, is Ghost suddenly too good to be seen with you in public? Marrying you under false pretenses is fine, but God fucking forbid you go to a bar together?

“But-“

He snorts. “Fuck no.” He strips off his gloves before tossing them on the bedside table, clearly uninterested in discussing this further. “Christ, woman. Don’t look at me like that. Can’t you take no for an answer?”

You look at yourself again in the mirror. Blue eyeshadow, long, fluttery fake eyelashes. Pink lipgloss dabbed on your mouth. And glitter on your eyelids and cheekbones, like a goddamn fairy.

You’re too beautiful to be upset and too beautiful to sit around doing nothing with a man who couldn’t give less of a fuck.

Where is your cowboy hat?

You find it buried in a suitcase. “Ugh. Why are you being such an inconsiderate asshole? Go fuck yourself,” You snap as you set the hat neatly atop your hair. Then you grab your phone and send a couple of messages. Soap might be free, and you’d even settle for Sergeant Garrick or Alejandro.

You have your IDs stashed in your bra, along with some pounds. You do a once-over in the mirror and brush some imaginary lint off your cleavage.

“Where are you-“

You cut him off. “Out. If you won’t dance with me, I’ll find someone who will.” Someone who won’t make you want to cry, whose dismissal won’t feel so awful. You’re not interested in testing out the durability of your mascara.

“Love-“ You can hear his heavy footsteps heading your way.

Unfortunately for him, you’re already in the living room, making a beeline straight for your front door.

Your phone dings.

“Alejandro is free. I’ll see you later, baby. Don’t wait up,” You call over your shoulder, too upset to look back.

Your mouth presses into a flat, pinched line. You’ll get so drunk you won’t remember this fight and exhaust yourself dancing, and tomorrow, you can go back to pretending like you don’t care about Simon.

-

Music pounds in your ears. A man croons over guitars and banjos and a trilling piano in a thick Southern accent as Colonel Vargas turns you around the dance floor of this American-themed pub. The place is so over-the-top that you find it charming - everyone’s dressed like you, in cowboy hats and boots, and you hear more than a few lousy imitation American accents. Very quaint.

Blue and magenta lights drape all of the dancers in a riotous rainbow of color. There’s a mix of clumsy young folks your age, out for a cheeky pint with the lads, so to speak, and older regulars who came here for the same reason you did; to dance.

Alejandro has a very respectful hand on the small of your back as he effortlessly guides you side to side, forward and back.

You relax and let yourself sway with his pace, your feet moving perfectly in time, even once you stop consciously thinking about it. “You’re good at this!” You say loud enough so he can hear you over the music.

Alejandro flashes a white-toothed grin at you from under the brim of his black hat, the band trimmed in shining sterling silver.

“I’d hope so. Back home, in Las Almas, we go dancing a lot. Rudy and I.” He falls silent to guide you past a few people conducting themselves far less elegantly than the two of you.

You feel as though you’ve just stumbled on some great secret and found worthy by the keepers.

“Rudy?”

Alejandro’s face is a sight to behold. You can see a red tinge on his tanned cheeks under the lights. “My, uh, how do you say it? Los Vaqueros. He is my… vaquero.” Cowboy. His dark eyes glimmer, and you understand. Alejandro and his Rudy are continents apart, and you can taste their chemistry from where you stand. You feel it thrumming under Alejandro’s skin, like the mere mention of Rudy is enough to bring him to life in a way you’ve never seen before.

“Back, back, there you go. Out and-“ He lets go of your other hand and pulls back, leaving you plenty of space.

Your hair fans out around you as you twirl towards him on the balls of your feet. “Spin. Very smooth, Colonel,” You compliment. One of his arms wraps around your waist, and the other folds gracefully over your chest.

You untangle your limbs from Alejandro as if you’ve been dance partners for years. “Sounds like you haven’t seen your cowboy in a while.”

“I haven’t. Our jobs keep us busy,” He says. His voice is quiet, a timid undercurrent of sound that you can barely hear over the speakers.

“He serves?”

Girls covered in dark orange tan and shimmering body lotion spill onto the dance floor in a mess of giggles. Alejandro deftly pulls you out of their chaotic path before you fall over them on your ass.

“We served together,” He says as he dips you with a solid arm supporting your back.

Rudy must make Alejandro so happy. “How romantic.” Ghost would never smile like the Colonel does. But what would Simon look like if he were so happy? Would his voice soften? Would he dance with you, even alone in your apartment?

“Sometimes.” Your dance partner catches your hat right before it slips off your head.

You squeeze his shoulder in gratitude. “He sounds like a wonderful man. I hope I get to meet him one day.” 

“Stick around long enough, and you might.”

“Well, then I’ll plan on it.”

The song ends, and something less suited to two-stepping plays next.

The two of you have drinks on a table next to the dance floor. You’re not worried about anyone tampering with them; Alejandro has already scared off any fellow who so much as looked your way. “He’d like you,” He murmurs to himself.

You have your Corona with lime, Alejandro has been working on a glass of expensive tequila all night, sipping it as delicately as if he were drinking tea.

He’s looking at you funny. The way you’re chugging this beer is probably not helping. You finish it and wince at the taste.

“You want to talk about what Lt. Riley said to make you so sad, hermanita?”

You didn’t even tell Ghost where you were going. That’s how fucking mad you were. You turned your phone off once you met with Alejandro, not wanting to see any calls or messages that would’ve broken your resolve. But there’s a worse possibility - that there aren’t any calls or messages at all.

“Not really.” You let the empty bottle thump as you drop it on the sticky, barely clean table.

His disinterest isn’t supposed to be a bad thing. Ghost could be cruel, or unkind, or abusive. You’re very lucky he isn’t any of that.

Kind, handsome, and affectionate in his own way is a hell of an improvement. For a moment, you feel ashamed that you want more. So what if he hates dancing enough to curse at you over it? So what if he doesn’t know who you are, the things you like and don’t like, your favorite movies, or why you avoid your mother’s calls?

You busy yourself with looking at everyone else so you don’t have to meet Alejandro’s knowing gaze. “Sí. Whatever you say,” He sighs into his tequila. Hopefully, that’s the end of the questioning.

Of course, it isn’t. “That one is… Rudy doesn’t like El Espectro.” Alejandro’s brow furrows as he thinks over his following words. “But I wouldn’t want anyone else on my side.” There’s more than a little respect in his voice and the kind of confidence in your husband that makes you want to be a bit more confident, too.

“Sometimes I think he wants me on his side. Then I remember that he’s a stranger, really, and I’m fucking projecting. Projecting that he’ll ever want me more than, you know, normal.” Maybe the beer is making you chattier than usual. You can feel shit you’d never say out loud just flow from your mouth.

Alejandro snorts. “He definitely wants you. We all know that. It’s very clear,” He quips, snapping you straight out of your vulnerability.

“Ugh, shut up,” You tell him as you blush a bright red under your makeup and knock your elbow into one of his buff arms.

He leers at you across the table, waggling his dark eyebrows and grinning once you start giggling. “Why do you think Soap has those new earplugs, eh?”

“Gross!” In revenge, you make a play for his drink. You don’t love anything harder than a glass of wine, but you’ll make an exception to spite Alejandro.

He laughs, holding his glass above his head where you can’t reach it. “I’m just playing!” Alejandro waits until you’re sulking in your seat before setting it down. “I won’t tell you you’re wrong, necessarily. But- but I think you’re underestimating him. Lots of people do. Ghost always gets the jump on ‘em. He might get the jump on you.” You gaze longingly at the remnants of his tequila. 

“Whatever. I don’t want to talk about him anymore. It’ll just ruin my night. I need another drink.” That will solve your problems, at least temporarily. You’re not supposed to drink on your meds, but technically you’ve already started. In for a penny, in for a pound. And those rules are just suggestions, not hard restrictions.

The very friendly bartender with a thick British accent you can barely understand and nice eyeliner hands you one lemon drop shot, then another after you down the first. It burns like lightning in your esophagus. But the burn eventually turns into a pleasant tingle, warming you from head to toe.

You’re working on your third shot when Alejandro catches up to you. “Careful,” He calls over your shoulder.

You wave away his concern, another drink already in hand. This one is a rum and Coke, way too heavy on the rum. Did the pretty bartender do that on purpose, one girl to another? You like her even more.

The next song comes on - something loud and awful, its catchy beat punctuated by dubstep rooster crows.

“Come on, I fucking love this song,” You say, just barely slurring your syllables. “I’m not gonna shake my ass alone.”

-

GHOST POV

Your phone is off.

Ghost is embarrassed to admit he’s checked every hour since you’ve been gone. At least three hours, now bordering on four. And he knows your phone is off because when he calls, it goes straight to your fuckin’ voicemail. Which you haven’t set up yet, so he’s stuck listening to some stupid robot telling him to “leave a message after the tone.”

It’s driving him almost as mad as you are. When you get back - not if, when, the second thing he’s going to make you do is change that goddamn voicemail message.

The first thing is something along the lines of “make you sorry.” Ghost hasn’t ironed out the details yet. No matter. There’ll be plenty of time for that later.

It’s dark out. It’s been dark out this whole time. You left with the sunset at your back.

While he knows Col. Vargas is with you, London is large. You’ve never been here before. Col. Vargas ain’t half bad with a map, but he’s not from around these parts either.

Maybe you never made it to… wherever you were going. How the fuck would Ghost know? How the fuck would anyone know?

He’s even angrier with himself that he was too much of a prick to listen when you mentioned it.

In the privacy of your quarters, Ghost pulls his mask off to run his hands through his shorn hair. The hair you cut.

It’s so quiet when he’s alone. This is the first time since- since you married him that he’s been alone.

You hum. A lot. Or you listen to music on your dinky wired earbuds, and he catches the sounds of your foot tapping along.

You snore, though not loudly. He’d never tell you, and he’s certainly slept under worse conditions. But it’s… nicer to kit up for the day, to brush his teeth and roll on his socks, knowing someone there will be waiting when he gets back.

Fuck.

Did you take the Tube? Buy a ticket? Oyster cards are cheaper, but you wouldn’t know that. Ghost should’ve told you. He should’ve been at your side.

He’s watched you struggle with the unfamiliar currency. You had all sorts of odd American notions about coins and exchange rates. Ghost had to correct you twice. After that, he secretly swapped out some of your dollar bills for pounds so that you’d be alright no matter what.

He left you with more than enough for a cab there and back. But what if the cabby overcharged you after hearing your accent? What if-

It’s a major metropolitan area. Criminals abound. Kidnappers driving ‘round cabs, stalkers, nonces. Statistically, at least one serial killer or two.

God-fucking-damn it.

You could be dead in a ditch, all because he didn’t want to go dancing. In hindsight, it doesn’t seem worth the quarrel.

This place is too quiet without you in it. He can’t stand to sit here in silence a second longer, staring at the lack of notifications on his phone and seeing shadows in the corners of the room. Closing his eyes won’t chase them away - he’s tried.

Simon only sees you covered in blood, a hole in your pretty head. Or duct tape over your mouth and your clothes ripped off, or you lost and alone in some alley, never to come home. Another name on the list of people he’s-

That’s enough of that.

He slips his gloves on, then pulls his daily wear mask over his head. Ghost has been choosing the balaclava more often. It’s something softer and a little civilian for you.

Not like you’re even here to appreciate it, he grumbles internally.

He runs the last moments he saw you over in his head a few times. You said Vargas was free, implying there may have been other options, but the Colonel was the first to respond. Ghost will eat his mask if Sgt. MacTavish wasn’t one of those other options.

The front door slams into the wall with more force than necessary. It makes a satisfyingly loud bang.

As Ghost picks his way through corridors he knows like the back of his hand, he thinks he should have told you again how beautiful you were. You would have left with a smile and kiss instead of a cold scowl.

He’s only being a good husband that watches out for you. That’s it. Ghost takes pride in being good at damn near everything, other than driving, so it’s natural for him to get worked up. Worked up is the wrong phrase. That implies that he’s agitated. He’s not agitated.

Is that a trace of your perfume he smells? Couldn’t be. Doesn’t make sense. Perfume doesn’t linger that long in the air. Ghost can smell gunpowder from a kilometer away and old blood three city blocks over.

And you. The scent is too faint for his comfort. If he can’t touch you soon, can’t gorge his eyes on your face and leave teeth marks in your skin, something’s gonna break.

Ghost leaves a boot print on the door to the communal bunks as he kicks it open. “Sgt,” He calls out curtly.

Surely, man-to-man, Soap can be reasoned with?

“Ah, so you’ve decided to show your face. Well, mask.”

Apparently not.

Irritation prickles down Ghost’s spine. “So that’s the way it’s gonna be.”

Soap finally condescends to get out of his bunk and stare Ghost down like he’s shit on the bottom of the sergeant’s shoe. “You’re a right eejit, Lt,” The other man snaps, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ghost doesn’t have time for this. “Where’d she go?”

“Fuck should I tell you for?”

His patience and self-control and restraint are hanging by a fucking thread, and Johnny’s disdain is like the edge of sharp scissors against it. Is Ghost the only person on this goddamn planet who cares about your well-being? Including yourself?

You’d be displeased if Ghost got your best friend’s blood under his nails. Very displeased. Simon holds onto that reminder for dear life.

“You out your fuckin’ mind? She could be-, “ At this rate, Ghost will never snap at you again. One go at this circus is more than enough for him.

“Ain’t my job tae find your wife,” Soap growls as he sticks a finger in Ghost’s face.

The sergeant is wasting precious fucking time treating Ghost like he’s the bad guy, and you could be gone by now. Ghost has bigger fucking priorities.

Simon misses America - which is something he never thought he’d think. England is full of his ghosts, moments away from breaking out of their graves. In your homeland, you were safe.

“You’re supposed to be her best mate. You don’t know where she is?”

Soap gnashes his teeth, his eyes glinting with fury. “Should fuckin’ kill you, you know that? Awa’ an’ bile yer heid.”

“I’ll come back and beat you black and blue after I find her.” Ghost’s brain teems with swarming, sticky thoughts, blacker than an oil slick. He needs- he’s not sure why he can’t breathe. His heart rate picks up, and he doesn’t know why and it needs to not do that.

He needs you.

“Worry about yourself, Ghost. I won’t need tae do a goddamn thing. She’ll have you on your knees like a dog.” Soap pauses. “You made her fucking cry.” His words hang in the air like a noose around Ghost’s neck.

“Wasn’t tryin’ to,” Simon retorts. Then he shuts his mouth and thanks God that the mask hides his face. He sounds like a whiny, immature brat and certainly feels like one. Not a man, not the kind of man he should be for you.

“I told you not tae hurt her.”

Ghost remembers. With vivid clarity. “…” On the tip of his tongue hangs the thought that Soap hadn’t needed to. Ghost took one good look at you in that dress, the simpering sweetness in your eyes replaced by razor-sharp steel in an instant, and he knew he could never hurt you.

But what Soap meant is that he’d trusted Ghost with someone precious, and today, that trust was shattered. “Aye, so ya can put a shot in some poor sucker’s head from 2,500 meters, but ya can’t spend time with the woman you married? And be fuckin’ polite to her?” The sergeant’s tone is so caustic he could use it to clean a Scorpion’s engine.

Simon is familiar with guilt. Guilt has been his companion his whole life. The kind of guilt that can never be cleaned because the people he wronged won’t come back.

This is a new kind of guilt. One with the hope of absolution. It makes him deeply uncomfortable, almost nauseous.

“…I can’t make it up to her if I’m not with her.”

That tiny concession still isn’t enough. “Useless. Absolutely fuckin’ useless,” Soap mutters.

“Johnny, you ‘bout done takin’ the piss out of me?”

“Right now, that’s Sgt. MacTavish to you, Lt.”

Dammit. “Sgt. MacTavish. Sir.” There’s blue glitter on the sink back home from where you were dusting it across your face. Pretty shade of blue. But Ghost had turned away when you stormed out, so he can’t remember how it looked on you.  “Please.” Did it run when you cried? He hopes not. You shouldn’t waste tears on a bastard like him.

Soap doesn’t speak for some time.

Simon feels some odd, heart-wrenching, panicky desperation build and build, his hands grow clammy under the gloves.

His phone buzzes, and for a second, Ghost hopes it’s you. But it’s not - Soap’s sent him an address. Some shitty little pub not more than a half-hour drive.

“There. Don’t come back until you’ve proper apologized. An’ if you make her cry again? I’ll dummy-cord ya head to ya hand since you’ve lost your goddamn mind.”

Under Ghost’s mask, there’s the tiniest smile.

Soap claps him on the shoulder. “Now get out of here.”

-

if you want off the tag list, please just shoot me a message/ask! thank you <3

Tagging: @abbiesxox@thedevillovesflowers@averyyreads@lialacleaf@backupgal @kitty-satan1 @androgynoushellscape @strvqtt@pinkwigonmytv@almightywdm@discowizard88@castielsangelsx@jaymicrosoft@rengokulover96@copiasratscheese @fluffysmiko @d3athtr4psworld@idesofarch@teenagegever2k22 @badame0224 @toilet-paper-headbands @itsrosebabe @bangirl134 @silverianni @nezukos-number1fan@deadpoetsandhoney@crowsjourney@vanevafu@xxghostyx@rafaelacallinybbay@akaotv@chibijusstuff@wasteland-babe@anubiseqq@lilpothoscuttings@soapyghost@maliceex59@valdemarismynonbinarylove@confuseddipshit@sanfransolomitatm

[froggydoodles]

My thoughts about the Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken movie and the Chelsea controversy

I have to remind you all before i start that my writing skills are very limited due to my weak English so in advance i apologize for any grammar errors in my sentence. I tried to explain things as much as i can while keeping my sentences simple. Also i had to use some major spoilers to make a clear explanation of some parts so if you haven't seen the movie yet don't read it.

Okay, first i start with the movie in general. The voice acting was perfect, everyone did their job flawlessly and bring these characters to life along with the beautiful animation. Its music choices were really good and fit the scenes, i liked them a lot. I really liked how simple yet cute the character designs in most of the characters, especially Ruby's design was so adorable. I liked the character interactions too, especially Ruby and Chelsea's parts were so fun to watch. I liked both the disguised and full Kraken looks of the characters. Chelsea's design was so beautiful, Dreamworks really made one of the best looking villains ever. The colors and animation were so beautiful, i'm honestly surprised how they pull something like this with such a small budget compared to other animated movies. I like how they left things open at the end to imply there are still more stories to tell such as facing other threats and expanding Ruby and Chelsea's complicated relationship. I can sincerely say that crew who worked on this film did their best. The movie story was quite simple but still fun to watch. Now for the things i'm gonna critique.

The writing of the film can get a bit generic and cliche at some times but it still makes up with its likable characters, animation, and voice acting. The movie felt a bit too fast at the beginning like things were happening too fast back to back without giving enough space to process but it eventually back to a normal speed and became more enjoyable. I wish we could get a bit more lore about past enemies of Krakens but i understand that it was an introduction for any possible sequel or series. I'd like to see at least more than one mermaid and how Chelsea would interact with them as their queen but it's okay. I can't really find anything else to critique, overall it was a pretty nice movie. Not over the top, simple yet fun.

My heart gives this movie 10/10

My logic gives this movie 8/10

Now it's time to talk about the Ruby and Chelsea situation to clear things up cause i already see people talking and spreading misinformation about it. So, after watching the movie people thought there is a huge age gap between Ruby and Chelsea and the answer to that is technically yes but actually no, let me explain. First of all some people who watch the movie say Chelsea is at least old as Ruby's mom which is a piece of wrong information, they never revealed Chelsea's actual age in the movie. The second piece of wrong information is some people think Chelsea is a full shapeshifter like she could choose to look as young or old as she likes which is not true. During the movie we saw only two forms of her ( i say two forms because her small mermaid and human forms are almost the same except mermaid tail part), one small mermaid/human and one giant mermaid. Even after defeat, she went back to her old small mermaid form instead of a different one. After defeat everyone already knew who she is so there was no need to look like a teenager anymore but she still went back to her teenager look which shows that she can't change her looks randomly. She takes the look she originally has inside. The last piece of wrong information is thinking of Chelsea as an adult because she fought in a war with Ruby's mom. This is the tricky part that almost everyone misinterprets and i totally understand you all for it. I couldn't get it in my first watch and i was as confused as most of you all but after watching it two more times i gathered all the little details and understood everything. The biggest reason people mistake Chelsea for an adult is they think her age is like a human. She said herself that mermaid does not age well. She is almost like Mavis from Hotel Transylvania. Mavis was 118 years old canonically in first movie but her mental and physical age was 18. Same case here for Chelsea. No matter how old she is in numbers during the movie she was still mentally and physically a teenager. That also explains why Agatha and Grandmama couldn't defeat her now cause Agata and Grandmama got older in years while Chelsea remained to have her youth. Even after defeat and revealing who she really is and there was no need of acting anymore, Chelsea was still acting like a teenager further proving that it wasn't just an act and she is in fact a teenager in her mermaid years. Oh there is one more thing want to point out but this one is about Krakens. They do seem age similar to humans at some point but they most likely live a lot longer than humans does as Grandmama seem to be in all the past wars for ruling the ocean but still doesn't look extremely old. Also during the movie Uncle Brill once asked for permission to stay with Gillmans for 100 years which proves that Krakens does live a lot longer than humans since 100 years doesn't seem so much for them. Also in that logic, Ruby inevitably gonna outlive Connor so eventually, he'll look a lot older than Ruby. 

That's all i wanted to say, if you are still not convinced and still feel uncomfortable about seeing Ruby and Chelsea ship content i totally respect your decision but i need to ask you to block me so you don't have to see my future posts about them cause i'll be still drawing ship doodles of them. Thank you for taking the time to read my post, if you liked what you read please spread the word so more people can see it.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #65 – Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Due to a mixture of getting hit with one plague after another and also a new Dragon Age game, I basically did not open a book for the first two weeks of November. I can’t recall why this first ended up on my TBR, but an easy read mystery seemed like a good way to get back into the habit. Which it was! A very chatty, very self-aware reading that spent most of its page count just barely on the right side of fun instead of grating, but an excellent potato chip of a book. Not sure whether it would be more enjoyable or entirely insufferable to someone with a more-than-surface-level grounding in the genre.

The genre here being mysteries, of the ‘family reunion in a ski lodge, where everyone has some kind of secret and the bodies start dropping just as a blizzard picks up’ variety. The title gives away the majority (though not all) of those secrets – the protagonist (Ernie) is seeing most of his family for the first time in three years after he testified against his brother in court on a murder charge, as said brother gets out on early release and the family all gathers to welcome him back – including Ernie’s ex-wife, who left him for said brother while he was in prison. Then a body is found lying in the snow, having being killed via suffocating in ash and lelt there overnight, and the only police officer able to make it to th ehill before the storm starts gets nosy. Ernie’s brother definitely-not-legally appoints him as his lawyer, and he ends up desperately trying to figure out what’s happening as secrets come out and more people start dying.

The central gimmick of the story is that it’s diegetically a mystery novel – Ernie makes his living selling ‘how-to’ guides on the genre to aspiring authors on Amazon, and after surviving the events of the books gets a nice fat advance to write a tell-all true crime book about it. A conceit which doesn’t really hold up when you apply too much thought, but does justify the extremely self- and genre-aware narration running through the book. This is the sort of story which gives you the page numbers of every death in the first chapter, and has extended digressions when a cliche of the genre is or is not being lived up to. This, being honest, stops it from ever actually feeling really tense or compelling, but then I don’t get the sense it’s really ever supposed to be. Very Whedon-esque, in both the good and bad ways. The narrator has a lot of quips for the reader.

It also left the book so concerned with being a commentary on the Mystery Novel that it never really became much of a intriguing mystery either – the artifice was just too obvious, ,at least for me. Not that I still didn’t quite enjoy the drawing-room reveal scene, but then I’m just a huge sucker for those in general. In general though, eh, not really my genre I suppose?

A large part of which is the villain being such a – well, demon, basically? There’s a severe mismatch in tone and mood when everyone else feels like sit com characters and then someone goes around horribly torturing people to death as a stress response. Again, not really my genre, but ‘serial killer whose just fundamentally broken by their childhood and a menace to the world’ isn’t an archtype I find particularly interesting in anything, let alone works otherwise going for something like psychological realism.

Not to say it was a bad book overall. Fun light read – just not anything more than that.

[marine-indie-gal]

Did you know that Space Goofs would've had its own Movie Adaptation titled after its own Video Game Adaptation made by the Same Company behind their Adaptation of "The Magic Roundabout" that Xilam would've partner up with but unfortunately thanks to The Weinstein Company that butchered their Very First Film (which bombed), the Company went bankrupt which caused the Death of Xilam's Very First Film Adaptation based on one of their Cartoons?

No? Well, I've wanted to Adapt The Cancelled Movie into my AU of Space Goofs (presumably of what would've been by its own plot which was the Huge Inspiration to My Character, Star) but I've also added in the Girl Character from the Trailer of what could've add been the Main Human Friend whose not an Enemy to the Aliens that would help protect them from the Human World in order for them to get Back Home (Animated Equivalent to "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" I suppose?🤷‍♀️

dunno, but maybe I think it would've been a lot more equal to "Lilo and Stitch" due its Comedy but I could at least imagine Xilam trying out their own "Emotional" scenes if their Would-Be-Partner Company didn't go bankrupt, which happens a lot in every other movie that you usually see in terms of Story Complex).

Anyway, back on the Track.

I've wanted to bring the Cancelled Movie back from the Dead seeing on how that everyone else is used into bringing Scrapped Concepts back to Life with some Fanon Ideas and oh boy, do I sure love to bring Fanon Ideas into My AUs!

So here we have is The Girl (who is named "Ambre Lou" in my AU, that's the Name that Me and @djinarocks up calling) and her own Group of Friends who serve as the Earth Kid Counterparts to The Main Protagonists Themselves. Yes, I'm pulling out the Whole "Counterpart of Opposites" trope (which I know can be cliche but it's really fun, especially when it comes to Children vs. Adults).

Ambre Lou's personality (despite that I changed her design just a little from the Movie) is pretty much the same as the Cancelled Movie's Concept, a Girl who loves Sci-Fi, Very Snarky but Friendly Attitude. As for the Kids, they have their own personalities in terms of their own contrast towards their own Alien Counterparts.

Lukas "Kai" Caddell is Very Laid-Back, Cool, and Lazy but can be Sarcastic and Mischievous when he wants to be but still acts like a Nice Kid. Very highly into a Lot of Boy Stuff (especially Superheroes).

Tyson B. Adakai is Very Tidy who works hard but acts as if he's the Very Compassionate and Fun-Loving one out of the Group, but despite his Antics, he can sometimes be the one who perhaps learns on how to Balance Anyone out of the Group as he's Well Empathic. When he is not called "Tyson", he can either be called by his own Two Nicknames; "Tyler" or "Ty".

Jayda "Jade" Nicholson is a Smooth Talking and Calm Girl whose into Fashion Stuff. Very Sophisticated and Moral with some Smart Suggestions through a Confident Personality, Jade is always there willing to be by their Friend's side as she is always Helpful of Others (through both Strength and Words), but be careful of her Anger, especially when her Little Brother is around annoying her all the time.

Matthew "Mathias" Gardner is the Most Highly Intelligent Kid and the Brains of the Group. Very Smart but can be a Little Bit Shy towards Others, he's the Very Nerdy Kid of the Group but can act scared (especially if it's Germs) whenever something horrifying gets on his Nerves but can act Very Peaceful as the Voice of Reason in the Group whenever he needs to be.

The Girl ("Ambre Lou") from The Cancelled Movie, "Stupid Invaders" (c) Action Synthese

Space Goofs (c) Xilam

OCs (c) Me

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP, am really really interested to read your thoughts on Seven!

*

Ask 2: Hey bpp, can i be honest?? Ive been checked out of the fandom but still keep track of any music releases. So i didnt know abt any rumors abt 7. Imagine me being kind of disappointed that it’s another english song from jk when i watched the mv😅 it feels like his most promoted songs since last year has been all eng song… idk i wanted & expted something diff… i didnt like l&r, dreamers and now 7… it’s back to back lol. Tbf i didnt like My You too and thats in korean. At least not enough to listen!again after the first listen.

Im happy that still with you is finally on spotify tho. I’ll still be waiting excited for his album whenever it comes out. Hopefully ill find something i like in it!!

**

[BPP Note: Both asks above were sent before my "I don't like it..." post. The asks posted below were sent afterwards.]

**

Ask 3:

Same here

All the hype didn't matched with the song

1. rest members songs had so much depth and substance to it while this was the cliche boy chasing a girl song. Like we always dont need deep songs but the quality could be so much better. This was like just another pop song.

I think I'll put this on same level as BAD DECISIONS. But for bad decisions, atleast the chorus was staying on my mind while for this nothing was catchy enough for us to humm. Just because it's JK it will get hype but otherwise it's so generic. I think I liked LEFT and RIGHT way better than Seven. Even the rap portion felt so unnecessary and boring.

2. MV was kinda nice because of the production but concept was too shallow, the stalking and chasing was so outdated. In my country we have like 9293928843837 MVs in this same concept that not many make the same theme songs again.

3. The choreography. We haven't seen the full version. But for tiktok they do the highlight portions if that's so mediocre idk how rest will be. It was again giving the same mediocre showing off choreography and for me backdancers ruined it with their awkward moves.

4. they wanted this song to be played everywhere around the world. But there was nothing catchy enough to attract gp or go viral on tiktok, even if we sped it up. The only way to make everyone listen is to shove it down their throat but doing payola. But idk if investing in payola is worthy for the song. I also doubt the longietivity, as for me it was boring after 2 listens. I'll rather listen Like Crazy or wildflower or closer 20 times than listening this once.

5. I HOPE he'll bring something fresh to the table for his album and don't involve this mediocre producers who uses the same formula and same superstar persona to make a song successful. He is so much talented to sing a song which is so rich in melody and lyrics. And he can produce way better songs by himself.

Prolly a 4/10 for me

*

Ask 4: troye sivan's rush (which also came out last night) is exactly what I wish Seven was. I don't mean that in a 'I expect the things JK to make to be gay' way just in the way it's a fun, very danceable, sexy summer song that doesn't pull its punches. Something about seven feels too run through a commercial sanitizer a few times, even with the explicit lyrics.

***

Hi Anon(s),

Jungkook likes to fuck.

Rather, Andrew Watt likes to fuck and thinks Jungkook can relate.

JK has been talking about wanting to show more mature and explicit sides of himself for a good long while now. So I’m glad he’s finally gotten to do that, confirming for us why he keeps getting noise complaints from his neighbours since the mattresses all over his apartment don't help.

BTS has made songs explicitly referring to sex before (though it's been mostly the rapline doing so). So it's nothing new but I guess it's cool JK gets to share with us that he too has sex.

The question I posed to my friends immediately after watching the MV is, “Do you know who's been doing A&R for BigHit since 2020? I really need to know who is doing A&R for BigHit in America because they’ve been doing an appalling job lately. I'm starting to wonder if it's an inside job cause this song is kinda ass.”

That was me ~11 hours ago.

I didn’t like the song.

I’ve streamed Seven about 20 times since then I think, took a break from the song for a few hours, watched his GMA performance, caught a few minutes of the Wlive, then listened to it again just before writing this post and…

I still don’t like it.

Jungkook did a good job on the song, Latto's verse wasn't terrible, and while the song itself isn’t bad… the song isn’t good either.

It’s painfully, and at this point it’s a pattern so I have to add, predictably, mediocre.

Reserving judgement for the album, but Anons, I agree with you for the most part. The suits at BigHit are trying but they are woefully out of touch with the reasons BTS blew up in the West in the first place. I don't even feel like spending any energy doing a review or even trying to explain what I mean. So I'll just ramble on for a bit but try to keep it brief.

---

I have to give BigHit some credit because I can see what they're going for here. Andrew Watt is a very celebrated producer in the US, he won the Grammy award for Producer of the Year in 2021, he's got A listers in his portfolio. So, he's not a cheap name to book and I can see why the suits at BigHit thought he's the genius to gift them a song clinically designed for American radio.

But that pandejo phoned it in. There isn't a lick of creativity to be found anywhere in all 3 minutes and five seconds.

It reminds me of VIBE by Jimin and Taeyang, as the closest analog to the vague dissatisfaction morphing into annoyance and then pragmatic rationalization I experienced in that same sequence when listening to it the first few times.

The song is disappointing because we've all heard it before. Too many times, and we're bored of it. We've heard JK sing this sort of song for years, as covers mostly. So on one hand, while I guess it's nice JK gets to have an American summer JB-reject pop tune of his own, it's not good enough to be the track that introduces him to the world as a solo artist.

It's fine for any white, blonde, blue-eyed heartthrob that can ride on a pretty face and implicit bias to rack up accolades, it's not good enough for Jungkook.

And BigHit needs to start using whatever leverage a US$10.6 billion market capitalization buys you in Hollywood, to insist for songs that are at least as good as the songs made by BTS members and produced by their in-house team. It's a waste of money and everybody's time to fly a battalion to LA just to record 2014's summer hit in 2023.

In my opinion.

Still With You > Stay Alive > My Time > Stay > Left & Right > My You > Dreamers > Seven

*

All that said, I can't ignore JK has a taste for songs like this, and it's not his fault the song is shit (he didn't write, compose or produce it), so technically he shouldn't be punished for it. And the song is made for radio, while it's not my personal taste a lot of people really like the song (one of my friends likes Seven the most out of all the BTS releases so far), and it will catch on with some support. So, ARMY will support it including me, just to a lesser degree than I've done so far. Fingers crossed JJK1 has something solid on it.

[fanfic-inator795]

Why I love the Jeoffs in "The Ghost and Molly McGee"

(Warning, VERY long essay ahead)

There’s a lot to love about “The Ghost and Molly McGee” - from its lovable characters and fantastic animation, to its hilarious jokes and incredibly catchy songs, to its morals on kindness and spreading positivity. But while I admire all of these elements, one of my personal favorite things from TGAMM is the relationship between Geoff and Jeff.

To me, Geoff and Jeff seem to stand above a lot of the rest in terms of mlm rep. They aren’t just used for comedy relief, nor do they rely on cliches, and they aren’t just the dads of a side character that we hardly see - though they're still a middle-aged queer couple, which is pretty rare and just nice to see. They’re recurring characters who help out with plots and who actually FEEL like actual characters. To fully explain this, let’s take a deeper dive into these two and what makes them so great both as individuals and as a pair.

Meet Geoff

While he only appears in a handful of episodes throughout the series, I can appreciate that - much like characters such as Libby and Andrea - Geoff was introduced and established early on in the show. Voiced by Eric Edelstein, who some may recognize as Grizz from We Bare Bears, Geoff is the happy-go-lucky and somewhat ditzy ghost-best friend of Scratch. While Scratch may not always appreciate him (ESPECIALLY in the early half of the 1st Season), Geoff is always there to lend a hand or a hug, often letting whatever insults or cold-shoulders that Scratch throws at him just slide off his back.

It would have been INCREDIBLY easy to just make Geoff the brainless comedy relief character ala Patrick Star, but much like with Grizz, there’s a lot of genuine heart put into this character, even if he isn’t always the sharpest crayon in the box. Given that his first appearance shows him altering his calendar so he can hang out with Scratch and then playing dumb about it when Scratch tries to call him out, we’re able to get the feeling pretty early on that there’s more to this ghost than it seems. 

Something similar happens in the Sart Duan Sib episode when Geoff takes advantage of Scratch’s poor grammar to invite a bunch of other ghosts to the dinner. We then see him help save Scratch’s butt by talking up Scratch’s ‘unique scaring technique’ in the episode “Scare Tactics” - so we know that even if he doesn’t know stuff like basic history facts about Lincoln, Geoff is still just a bit more clever than he looks.

It should also be noted that Geoff knew Scratch before the McGees moved into his house - in other words, he likely noticed that for as grumpy and anti-social as Scratch was, he was also probably very lonely. So, much like Molly, Geoff was willing to do what he could to help pull Scratch out of his shell, seeing the good in him and - as such - being able to ignore the fact that Scratch was a pretty crappy friend in the early stages of their relationship. The show makes it clear that Geoff isn’t oblivious to Scratch’s obvious flaws, even acknowledging them in some instances (see him nodding along to Scratch’s points about how he can be lazy and selfish at the end of “Jinx VS the Human World”), he just chooses to easily forgive them in favor of seeing and believing in the best in his buddy.

So yeah, while there are small instances of Scratch manipulating him, it never outright feels like Geoff is a full-on doormat for Scratch - and, once Scratch is able to let down some of his walls, they’re even able to have fun together! Geoff also gets to show off his loyalty in episodes like “The Turnip Twist” and the season 1 finale, with these instances also showing how much of a power-house he’s able to be when he’s determined or when one of his loved ones is in danger through him destroying the festival or fighting off the SobGoblins.

By the end of season 1, we pretty much have a full grasp on Geoff’s character. He’s a bit dopey and is often seen spacing out, but he can also be observant and clever when he wants to be. He’s friendly, genuine, loyal and incredibly supportive towards others - and in that sense, he's less Patrick Star and more Olaf the Snowman in terms of goofy side characters. All in all, he’s a simple but still fully realized character - and, while he may not get as much overall screen time as his after-life partner, the same could be said for Jeff.

Meet Jeff

Funnily enough, while Jeff doesn’t get a proper introduction until s2, the show actually hints at him pretty early on. In “Not So Honest Abe” when Scratch and Geoff are at their favorite coffee house, the barista calls out an order, and Geoff immediately knows that it’s his partner’s order, not his. 

On the surface, it just seems like Geoff just supernaturally knows whenever someone is saying J-E-F-F instead of G-E-O-F-F - which, knowing him, he probably does have that ability… somehow. But, interestingly, the order that the barista calls out is a Misery Mocha with extra whip. While it’s not the cookie frightaccino that we see Jeff drinking in s2, he does take both drinks with extra whipped cream (or rather, whipped screams, because ghosts). So yeah, that’s a nice little easter egg there.

Then, in the Sart Duan Sib episode, we get to fully see Jeff for the first time. The two Jeoffs sit together at the table, and there’s actually a quick shot of the two of them in the background where Geoff is feeding something to Jeff, all while just giving him this absolutely adoring look (love it).

Finally, during the s2 premiere, we see Jeff standing next to Geoff during Scratch’s big Chairman ceremony. So yeah, while it’s unclear WHEN exactly the creators decided on this relationship, it was at the very least established by mid-s1.

Voiced by Vincent Rodriguez III, who previously voiced Ansel Beauregard in Netflix’s “Arlo the Alligator Boy” - though others may know him for his work in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Jeff finally gets his proper introduction in “The (After)Life of the Party”, and actually gets to appear in several episodes afterwards. Again, it’s just nice to see this character - and his relationship with Geoff - actually get to stick around instead of being shunted to the background/void. What’s more, while Jeff obviously loves Geoff a ton and would most likely kill for his man, him being happily in love is not his only character trait.

Both Jeoffs are sociable extroverts and are incredibly friendly guys, but while Geoff tends to be friendly almost to a fault at some points, Jeff is willing to be just a bit mean when he needs to be. This, of course, is shown when he point-blank tells Scratch that if he ever does something to seriously hurt his partner, he’s gonna have to answer to him. Thankfully, Jeff doesn’t hold TOO much of a grudge once he lays down the law. Still, that connects to another similarity between the Jeoffs, as they can both be supportive and incredibly protective of the ones they love.

As for differences, Jeff is shown to subtly be just a bit of a humble bragger - like when he talks about how the guest list at his and Geoff’s anniversary party is going to include “the best of the best” or when he points out how he’s “classically trained” when he shows off his tap dancing skills during the “This House is Haunted” song. 

Speaking of that episode, I really love the bit during the scare-off between Geoff and Howlin' Harriet where Jeff just blatantly chooses Geoff as the winner, all while claiming that he’s a 'non-bias judge'. Honestly, it’s both hilarious and adorable, if also just a bit petty.

Moving on, we see that while both Jeoffs are pretty openly honest guys, Geoff will often try to sugarcoat things while Jeff can be incredibly blunt and more than a little snarky, as seen when he got annoyed with Jinx during their fake Wheel of Fortune game in the episode “Jinx!” or with his “soft rock personality” comment towards Scratch in “Davenport’s in Demise”. Although, with the latter, I have to wonder if that was just Jeff being petty again, given that Scratch very clearly interrupted their coffee date just to get some shallow validation - and, yeah, I’d be just a bit annoyed too.

We should also acknowledge his “terrible chairman” comments in “Jinx VS the Human World” - as, while these comments definitely aren’t quite accurate, given that Scratch did quite a few good things as chairman, namely getting rid of the Flow of Failed Phantoms permanently - they do speak to Jeff having just a bit of a temper leading to him occasionally being harsher than necessary, showing that BOTH Jeoffs can be pretty emotional, just on different sides of the spectrum.

It really is an amazing feat just how much character the TGAMM crew was able to put into Jeff despite him only really being prominently featured in the last third or so of the series. Again, they could have taken the lazy route and made him JUST Geoff’s love interest, likely making Jeff a near-carbon copy of his partner instead of the two of them having a good amount of similarities and differences. But because BOTH characters are decently fleshed out, we’re able to get a really good grasp on their incredibly sweet and enjoyable relationship.

Time to gush about Jeoff

There really is just sooooooo much to praise about this pairing - right down to their character designs having a sort of yin-yang aspect to them, with Geoff’s bottom-heavy design and Jeff’s top-heavy design allowing them to fit together perfectly! Their colors also go together incredibly well. 

Honestly, you could mute their dialogue and still be able to tell how much they love each other, just because they’re constantly giving each other loving looks and being physically affectionate with each other - hugging, holding hands, holding each other, Geoff hanging off Jeff’s arm, giving each other looks that just SCREAM “I love you” all that great stuff. We only get one actual kiss on the lips between them - and a quick one at that - but it’s one of those cases where I don’t mind too much, given that they really aren’t subtle or lacking when it comes to other examples of physical affection so it never feels like the TGAMM crew is trying to hide their romance like other shows might. Heck, just the fact that they’ve canonically been together for a full 100 years speaks to the strength of their relationship.

Episodes like “(After)Life of the Party”, “Frightmares on Main Street” and “Dance Dad Revolution” show how much they enjoy dancing with each other - which, seeing this, now I kinda want to see a 2-V-2 dance off between the Jeoffs, Pete and Sonia AKA the Ice Princess. I feel like that’d be both super fun and incredibly entertaining.

(just look at how happy they are. It's so cute, I can't- My heart-! *also I still find it hilarious that these two just foiled Scratch's whole scheme in Dance Dad completely on accident, haha*)

We also learn that they make each other homemade gifts - like Jeff apparently making Geoff a sweater for his Death Day, and Geoff talking about how all his holiday gifts for Jeff are always homemade so that they always come from the heart.

But beyond the cute visuals, what really sells these two for me is their dynamic. When you think about Geoff and all we saw of him during s1, he is very much the type of guy who not only supports those he loves, but is willing to sacrifice them as well. After all, Geoff literally got himself thrown into the Flow of Failed Phantoms for the sake of trying to protect Molly and Scratch in the s1 finale. Again, much like Molly, he just naturally cares a ton and he’ll fight for those he cares about, even when it’s at detriment to himself - and what’s more, people like Scratch sometimes take advantage of that.

In that sense, it’s incredibly sweet that for as supportive and loyal as Geoff is towards others, Jeff is able to be that sort of person for him. While Geoff can sometimes disregard his own needs or concerns in favor of helping others, Jeff is the only one consistently looking out for Geoff and protecting him, such as when he outright refuses to leave Geoff behind in the Halloween episode - even after Geoff worries about slowing him down - or when he makes it clear to Scratch that he isn’t going to stand by and let him be a bad friend to his partner. Heck, even more joke-y moments like Jeff giving Geoff the win in the scare-off shows that he always has his partner’s back.

And of course, Geoff is just as supportive and affectionate in return, referring to Jeff as “amazing” and “awesome” and declaring how he’s happy to spend the rest of his after-life with him at their anniversary party. When he thinks he’s about to die from poisoned candy in the Halloween ep, his so-called last words are “tell Jeff I love him!” When Jeff is playing the host of their fake Wheel of Fortune show, Geoff is right there supporting him as his ‘lovely assistant’, even using his explanation of one of the show’s prizes (the foam finger) as an excuse to flirt with him.

(One of my fave moments between them ngl)

Additionally - and this is getting a bit into headcanon territory but - when you look at Jeff, he has a very traditionally strong and masculine look to him, which likely caused other people to likely have certain expectations of him back when he was alive. As such, I sort of get the vibe that, when it came to Geoff and Jeff falling in love with him, the main thing that Jeff appreciated about him was Geoff’s unconditional love - and, from that, the ability to just feel comfortable and ‘soft’ around him. To dance and be snarky and sappy and lovey-dovey without ever being judged for it.

You truly feel like these two are ride-or-die for each other, even when they might not always be on the same page… which brings us to the Dana Synder-voiced blue blob in the room.

While these two aren’t really shown bickering or arguing at all, any time there IS any sort of tension, it usually involves Scratch - which makes sense, given that he and Jeff didn’t exactly start off on the right foot. Sometimes they’re able to work together fine and be friendly enough with each other, and other times Jeff is understandably annoyed or frustrated by Scratch’s antics.

As for Geoff, it’s made very clear that he’s the type of guy who holds friendly and platonic relationships with just as much importance as romantic ones - which, as an ace/aro person, I can definitely appreciate. This does cause him to be more than a little forgiving towards Scratch’s follies - but while he won’t go so far as to let Jeff call Scratch the “worst chairman ever”, he also won’t force Jeff to hide his feelings/not call Scratch out or take back his other less-than-nice comments regarding Scratch and seems to understand and accept that his partner doesn’t necessarily hold Scratch in as high regard as he does.

In that sense, it almost feels like a typical sitcom dynamic where one character is constantly getting into little squabbles with their spouse’s friend or family member - but in this case, Geoff thankfully never tries to force the two of them to constantly get along, being fine with their dynamic as is while, naturally, still being thrilled when Jeff and Scratch DO improve their relationship.

Really, the only time where Geoff maaaaaybe went a bit too far regarding Scratch was when, after he and Jeff were captured by the Chens in the halloween episode, he told Molly that they were fine and to go save “his precious Scratch” instead, with this leading to Jeff saying how they needed to have a talk about Geoff’s obsession with him.

In Geoff’s defense, Scratch was all alone and the Jeoffs at least had each other, plus the Chens were distracted at the time, meaning that they weren’t in immediate danger while Scratch potentially was. I should also mention that while the line itself is more of a quick joke than anything else, I do appreciate it sort of hinting at the Jeoffs being good communicators who are willing to actually talk things out whenever they have a disagreement or concern with one another.

It’s a small thing, but given how many fictional long-term couples we’ve seen bottle things up, miscommunicate constantly and argue nearly half the time they’re on screen to the point of their relationship consistently being on the rocks, it’s nice to see a more healthy and realistic dynamic between an older couple - because hey, you don’t make it to your 100th year anniversary without knowing how to properly communicate with your partner.

I’m also glad that while Jeff and Scratch had their own sort of tensions between them, Jeff was never shown being jealous, possessive or insecure about Geoff being friends with or being affectionate with Scratch. Sure, he called his partner out for putting Scratch’s safety above his/their own - which I’d say is fairly reasonable, even if I can also understand Geoff’s side - and I’m sure he didn’t fully get WHY exactly Geoff cared about Scratch so much given how much of a jerk and nuisance Scratch could be, but he never went so far as to tell Geoff he couldn’t be friends with Scratch, leading to Jeff himself eventually warm up to the little guy by the end of “Jinx VS the Human World” after Scratch made up for his big mistake, which was admittedly really nice to see.

All in all, the relationship between the Jeoffs is cute, wholesome, healthy and just really enjoyable to watch whenever it comes up. Both characters are not only great as a pair but also great on their own. Even if we don’t know every little detail about their relationship and history together, it’s made clear over and over again following Jeff’s introduction that these two are still incredibly in love with each other and there are plenty of reasons why this is both clearly-shown and implied.

In terms of LGBTQ+ rep and especially mlm rep, I’d say they’re a really great example! The Jeoffs aren’t just tokens nor do they rely on cliches. They’re fully fleshed out characters that work just as well together as they do apart, assuring that they aren’t defined by just their relationship, and they’re actually shown helping out or participating in the plot in certain episodes instead of just being stuck in the background. They have their jokes, sure, but the relationship is never only used for comedy relief, and while it’s a shame that we never got more than one kiss between them, it’s still great seeing just how physically, emotionally and verbally affectionate they are with each other, proudly making their love for one another clear as day. They’re literally shown being each other’s joy during the “Give Them Joy” song - you can’t get much more blatant than that!

In a show full of just amazing relationships - whether they be based on friendship, familial ties, found family, or romance - I’m just so satisfied that one of the main pairs regarding the latter category got to be Geoff and Jeff. So kudos to the TGAMM crew for doing just an absolutely fantastic job with these two.

[sieglinde-freud]

Can I get you started on the derailment of Duncan and Courtney?

what is this, a total drama vent blog now? but yeah you can :) under cut

i think the derailment of courtney is like five thousand times more annoying than duncan but that might j be bc i dont really like duncan (hes fine in island, kinda boring in action (didnt deserve his win idgaf that shouldve been harold there. yes im still mad lindsay went home instead of him in rock n rule), and the entirety of that mid section of world tour just revolving around him and the stupid love triangle drama is SO annoying. and then he makes final five FOR WHAT??? FOR WHAT???? im sick of his ass. what was i talking about. right) but either way theyre both two very major characters so its just really sad to see them both fall victim to horrible characterization? cuz you start in island right and in general island is a lot more grounded than the other seasons and leans more into the fact that theyre all 2000’s teenage stereotypes so in island theyre just the good ol cliche good girl/bad boy couple its iconic, its cute, WAY more entertaining than gwent (but they get a pass cuz gwen was basically the main character of that season. u go girl. go get that bag AND that boring wet dog man) and its just nice. courtney shows signs of being controlling but for the most part duncan’s attitude gets courtney to loosen up a bit and have fun and courtney made duncan a better person.

and then action happens and then courtney is like. rightfully mad she got screwed out of the season after harold gets her kicked off and no one gaf but its like. you can see where this could go and it doesnt look great. not much happens for duncan except he gets more insufferable bc they didnt give him any friends this season? unlike when he geoff and dj to bounce off of now he just picks fights with harold and the other gaffers which IS funny but. basically action is where the red flags start being put up. their relationship is. fine. like i liked it at the time but knowing where it heads is upsetting. anyways

then u get to world tour and theyre close to their island dynamic again (with the exception of gwen being there…) but then duncan quits first episode which i think was actually a great choice bc of how courtney finally gets to stand on her own as a character without him (i actually really like duncney. but her character was always tied to him in some way yk?) and make her own friends and it was looking great! until i see london and everything goes to shit. dude comes back, cheats on courtney, and then everyone on that god forsaken plane gets involved. first of all, ISLAND DUNCAN WOULD NEVER??? no fucking way. not even action duncan. dude was HOOKED on her crazy ass. AND FOR GWEN?!?! who has never been the same since island but thats a different thing. but they had literally zero romantic chemistry. all they have in common is that theyre both alt kids. NOT EVEN THE SAME KIND OF ALTERNATIVE! just alt. ugh. and then courtney gets sent into a spiral which, is a valid reaction to getting cheated on i do not blame her. and w/ someone you thought was ur friend like i GET IT. and i am on her side. but then her character goes back to ONLY EVER BEING ABOUT DUNCAN except this time its how much she hates him and her character just. pauses! she doesnt go anywhere else from i see london until shes eliminated inn… what was it. chinese fakeout? like shes just a hater who makes zero meaningful relationships aside from getting played by alejandro and shes just. like its just. its not good. and to know that any of this only happened bc the producers forced a duncney break up. girl sit DOWNNN

and then all stars just tramples them even more. since when has duncan ever gave a shit what people think of him? jojo siwa acting ass with this “im a bad boy!1!!!!” act island duncan would never. and then courtney. ohh courtney. she got flushed down a toilet force feeding herself ice cream with bird shit on it. all i gotta say (but also. nerfed bc she literally has an iron stomach in chinese fake out. whatever)

i still love them though. well, i love courtney. duncans alright but still neither of them deserved any of that

[capricorncorvette]

Inconsistently revieuwing the entire Cars franchise: Cars (2006)

Time to revisit some gold.

First off: what are my feelings for Cars in general?

I'm actually quite familiar with Cars. I first got introduced to it when i was 6 or 7, mostly growing up on Cars 2, a movie i'm not afraid to admit i love and will defend with all my might even if reddit comes after me. But Cars, i barely watched. I remember watching it rarely, sometimes at my grandma's house, but i was a little kid, i knew who Lightning was, i knew who Mater was, that was all i needed. I also knew who Doc Hudson was and i understood that he had died. Rewatching Cars as a teen was incredibly fun and it completely destroyed my expectations.

You have to understand me when i say i didnt expect much from a kids movie about talking cars.

But i'm sure you understand me when i say that i ended up being blown away by the incredible emotion of this movie. I did NOT expect a movie about talking cars to be this GOOD.

Lightning, Strip and Chick (Cars 2006)

I love Lightnings development

The nice guy trope is so overused. Mean guy learns to be respectful and turns into a nice guy is a very much used trope and its a very good one, but over the years its gotten bad and hated because the development of the 'mean' characters is rushed. Either that, or they aren't really mean. They are not that bad as characters. They don't end up learning kuch and shift their whole character in one go. What i like about Cars is how is how it took time for Lightnings development as a person and how serious he was taken. Because in the beginning of the movie, they weren't shy with him. He was an actual dick. He was very arrogant, very selfish and very overconfident, believing he can handle everything by himself because he's famous and a skilled racer. He doesnt have any respect for anyone, but he seems to slightly be aware of what he's doing is wrong. In Radiator Springs he still hates it for a while, because this is his first time facing consequences for something he did and his first time where someone doesnt seem to respect him (Doc). But later Lightning learned to adjust himself, because for him Radiator Springs and Route 66 is an entire new world, he has never had real friends that actually care about him. Lightning finds himself in an entire new place with new people. The others, especially Sally, begin to trust him more. In the beginning the Sheriff takes Lightnings fuel so he can't get away, at one point Sally decides to give Lightning gas at Flo's cafe to take him on a drive. Lightning is now fueled, he isnt tied to anything and completely free to escape without anyone able to stop him, but when Sally calls him, he decides to follow her. He knows she likes him for who he is, not because hes a famous racer. Lightning can understand others and thats a massive step. Later he is willing to help them all out.

The other characters are fun too. I especially liked Sarge and Fillmore, and Flo and Ramone.

They all end up liking Lightning at their own time too. I absolutely love how the movie took the time to develop Lightning and give him time to adjust. The movie genuinly gave Lightning the time to change into a truly good person and a good friend. The fact that Lightning actually gets time to develop and how the movie doesnt rush anything makes me able to take Lightning more serious and understand him better. And liking him a lot in the end.

Quick word for Doc Hudson

This movie uses 2 cliches at once and does an incredible job at depicting them like how they should be depicted: 🤌SLOW. DEVELOPMENT.🤌The scene where doc races again is amazing to watch and its still one of my favourite scenes from the movie. The music, the animation, is a great scene. I liked how Doc and Lightning ended up finding similarities in one another and becoming friend in the end. And as sad as i am that Doc never appeared in the movies as he was confirmed dead in Cars 2, i still think its really noble they let him die along with Paul Newman. Paul did a great job on Cars and i hope he enjoyed working on it. He was a great actor. 2025, still remembering Paul.

Our roads all end somewhere, i hope you had an amazing ride Paul 🕊️🤍

The animation

I feel like this movie, despite being the oldest of the three, has the best animation. The cars were much shinier and the background seemed livlier and more colorful.

And so this movie kind of sort of almost made me cry

I never expected Cars out of all movies to be such an emotional, touching, well written and warm movie. It brings so much comfort, it leaves you with a good feeling after watching it. If i learned one thing its to not underestimate movies like this anymore.

I love Cars and i always will love Cars. I hate my younger self for not watching it more them 3 times. Cars is one of my favourite animated movies. Definitley recommend this one 💯🌟

10/10

[daychiie]

For the manga ask: 1, 11 and 17

HIIII HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

AND ALSO THANKS FOR NOT ONLY SENDING ME A ASK BUT SENDING ME THIS TWICE SINCE I ACCIDENTALLY BLOWED UP THE FIRST TIME TEEHEE <3 <3 <3 odeio escrever coisa pelo celular augghh

Anyway I'm answering those questions here!!!

1. Your top 5 reads of 2023

Meme for symmetry lol

No Home - NO HOME MY BELOVED MY BESTIE NO HOME,HOW IT CAN BE SO WELL WRITTEN IT MAKES ME INSANE BRO... COMICS OF ALL TIME. I have no words to explain... I do want one day stop being a coward and write out some analysis on it, buuut--oh well~~

Dungeon Meshi - I got into the party almost "too late". Well, I don't really believe that starting something after if finished is getting into it too late,but I do get that you lose some experiences if you get into something late than other... And in my case I got into it some weeks before it officially ended lmao. Always heard about it and finally gave a try, it's extremely funny and charming, can't wait for the anime this week :]

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - I saw the anime back when it was releasing, enjoyed it and...that was it. Hoped for season two (kinda still wish for it),but yeah... Then finally said fuck it and OHH IT GETS SO MUCH BETTER. LIKE ITS NOT THAT THE ANIME IS BAD BY ANY MEANS BUT WELL...it only covered one part of it and it always keep getting funnier and funnier! Wakamatsu is so much more insane and dumb... The characters we never got to met there. I do have some issue here and there but in general I have a pretty fun time :]

Ikoku Nikki - yeah maybe sometimes see that something gonna end next week really pushes me to read it lol. Anyway I do want to re read again sometime soon,but it was a very emotional read!! Makio women of all time, a aro icon <3 she everything!!!!

After School Lessons for Unripe Apples - another fun read!!! Don't think I have too much thoughts but I really enjoy Mi-ae and Cheol dynamic <3

Just making clear that in this top 5 I put stuff I started reading in 2023,so like ... No Skip to Loafer here lol even thought I enjoyed the new chapters that were released in 2023,in the rules my head made it didn't count lmao.

11. Your favorite covers

Suddenly I actually never read anything in 2023 :) GJJSAJFN ok guess Hirayasumi covers are very neat!!! I love the painting of it.

But yeah I noticied I remember chapter covers much more than I remember volume covers, so originally I was going to show some of my favorite chapter covers...but then 10 photos limit. Even thought I was sure nowdays is 30 idk if its because I'm stuck in mobile but whatever,I spend two hours looking covers on my phone I gonna show it on a rb or something lmao

17. A manga you didn’t expect to like

Hmnm ... I don't remember lmao. Like at least not anything that I felt that extremely "omg what pleasant surprise!!!!!" ? The best I could think of is kisses x kiss x kisses that ...well does have a cringe name that kinda put you expectations at low I guess lol

It's nothing amazing, it's a finished romance comic, that is very sweet. I liked the contrast of the protagonist and his love interest being like, boy with big family all living together and boy that lives alone with parents in another country lol. It is a cliche and not gonna pretend they do anything groundbreaking with it, but it's still a nice storyline. Lowkey big spoilers ahead I guess but: I liked that while the protagonist dream of living completely alone changed a little (cause come on its a fluffy romance lol), he still got separates room cause he does want be able to experience and enjoy not sharing a room,having more privacy and stuff. It's kinda small overall, but it's nice that his dream and his goals didn't do a complete change because of love.

[wondero28]

Hey wonder, I hope you’re doing well :> Idk if you still continue the 4town Fboy series but my friends and I are still wild over it. It’s truly An amazing series!!

I was wondering what’s something the person the boys are interested in could do to make them fold or show genuine interest in them?

I’ve risen from the dead I suppose!

Im still around. Still invested in 4town. Still think about them daily lol

But truthfully i’ve moved on from the fboy 4town thing, it was originally just a bad joke that i kept writing for cause it kept getting traction & i liked the attention. i was having fun with it at the time, but now its just kinda goofy & feels a little awkward. I made them too sympathetic originally lol, but this is the first writing request ive had in such a long time. I really don’t mind doing it.

Just know this is the last time ill probably ever write for fboy town, it’ll be kept short too^^ Maybe ill go back & revisit those designs i made for them & repurpose it, maybe not!

Oh also, the genuine answer for this is that most of them WOULDNT get genuinely invested. Because they’re all emotionally fucked over guys who need therapy lol. But these headcanons humor the idea that they’d genuinely change

+

You’re free to write your own fboy shenanigans based off what I originally did too. I dont mind. You don’t need to credit either, i think id just like to leave these guys behind after this /lh

Either way, its nice to see someone here again 💜

——

What the fboys are attracted to + what might make them fall

—

Robaire

- genuinely? he’s attracted to independence

- Like its a little silly & a little cliche but Robaire is kind of only genuinely invested in people who give 0 shits about him. He’s not used to someone not caring about his status, money, or power. But when a person is independent & confident in themself, when they mind their own business and simply dont fucking perceive him as some sort of idol- he thinks its hot

- It drives him crazy though. He likes the worship and praise. Even if his friends are faux and he knows it, he likes feeling wanted and desired. And when someone doesn’t inherently just want him, he wants them even more

- So even if you DO want him, the best way to genuinely win him over is to treat him like a normal person. He doesn’t realize he wants to be treated like a peer or be seen as just a person & not an asset- but he does. He’ll be unbearable & act cocky while he interacts with you, but the more you treat him like just a normal person? The more of a person he actually starts to become 💀

- Any specific actions that would affect him are probably just like… engaging with him on your own terms or showing interest in what he ACTUALLY likes to do.

- A lot of people dont actually know what Robaires interests are so he’s really unengaged socially in that regard. He’s a closet geek though, get him talking about his interests or show investment in his interests like a genuine friend & youll start to win him over in a genuine way

————

Jesse

- Jesse doesn’t show much tenderness, but he’s very attracted to it

- He’s got a habit of breaking hearts & having multiple people wrapped around his finger at once. Because Jesse’s kind of genuinely incapable of being tender in a way thats meaningful with someone (aside from his kids & the guys), he’s really lacking in any true emotional intimacy

- He’s very VERY alone in that sense.

- His heart’s been broken in a very honest and true way so he’s kind of given up on finding that intimacy too. Its sad & sucks lol. But because of that struggle he has a much more genuine attraction to tenderness

- To win him over with tenderness, showing politeness or interest without expecting romance or sex wins him over, denying either from him makes him go wild. Jesse’s generally wanted because he’s attractive & suave, but if someone sees him as a person outside of that then he’s really into it. Honest to the gods he just wants a friend. He’ll never admit that though

- But for another genuine romance? He needs you to be a friend. A tender & patient one.

- Specific actions to win him over are small and easy, show interest in his day. Show interest in what his classes have been like or offer him a space to speak. He’ll try so hard to flip it around into a flirting game but eventually he’ll break & just start to like,, interact with you in more meaningful ways

————

Tae Young

- Tae Young both likes & needs someone with a dominant personality & passion for themself/their interests

- Short and simply put: Tae Young gets bored of people easy 💀. He needs someone who 1. Can keep him on his toes and 2. Challenge his personal sense of authority. A dominant & passionate person is PERFECT for that. Having someone who can spontaneously do something on their own & then proudly show it off is just what Tae needs in his life

- He thinks spontaneity is attractive and he loves a dominant personality to try and stand up against. A friendly sense of competition with someone, someone he can perceive as a peer or “on his level” is someone he’s wildly attracted to. And trust me, he WILL try to challenge your dominance and authority if you’re that kind of person. So dont step down, snap back at him! He loves it, it keeps him excited

- The harsh truth is that Tae simply isn’t genuinely engaged with most interactions he has because he has such a hard time connecting with people in a meaningful way. He likes being popular cause it keeps things constantly moving in his life & gives him opportunities to find brief engagement

- So just,, he needs someone who can do that. He’ll become genuinely attached to them, and then eventually find everything they do interesting

- Specific actions can be simply engaging with Tae & telling HIM about YOUR activities. If you get excited and energetic enough about it, he’ll match that energy & find interest in it. He’ll likely tell you about his own misadventures and if you can engage with him on that then you’ll have him hooked on you

————

Aaron T

- Aaron T needs someone to calm him the fuck down. He doesnt want it per say, but he NEEDS it

- Aaron T is, for lack of better words, a bit too much. He’s got all the friends, all the ego, and all the charisma to combine and make the dumbest but most charming motherfucker you’ll ever meet. He’s not stupid, just dumb. And he does dumb shit for the sake of fun & enjoyment. He needs someone who can keep up with him & either catch him when he falls or stop him from doing the dumb thing to begin with

- Being that kind of person isn’t easy, keeping up with T & being close enough to him to read him is hard. But when you’re close enough to do that? Well gosh, you probably already have him hooked

- T wont ever admit it, but he so so badly wants someone to care about him enough to tell him no. Its weird, because he hates it and Will usually just do what he wants, but theres a certain comfort he finds in knowing someone wants him safe and sound

- And the longer someone can keep up with him the more T will start to wind down & relax. He’s still dumb & stubborn as all hell, but he’ll listen to whoever cares enough to try and watch out for him where most others dont.

- Specific actions that may really win him over are being there to patch him up after a stupid stunt or literally blocking his way to keep him from going somewhere. He’ll be pissy in the moment, but hours later he’ll be so much more tender in private if given the opportunity

————

Aaron Z

- honest to god this man is easy & the least problematic. But Z both wants & needs someone who’s patient & understanding

- He’s simply not someone who believes in settling down anymore + he’s in a part of his life where a lot is changing and evolving. He wants someone to rely on, but he NEEDS room to grow and have spontaneity. He cant do commitment right now and when things start to feel too tense he flees from the relationship (romantic or not, he’s even flighty with his friends sometimes)

- So Z really flourishes with someone who can be there for him without “tying him down”. He wants freedom and he’s very attracted to people who offer the attention he wants from relationships while also being patient enough to let him explore. He needs someone who wont nag him about expressing his genuine feelings because honestly they aren’t always pretty but he’s not going to move forward without getting to express them.

- So to really win him over, someone needs to be able to listen to him even when he’s not verbally speaking. He needs his freedom but he needs a stable person to return to at the end of the day (starting as friends or not, its not easy to fill this role)

- Specific actions to win him over arent easy. But quality time based on things HE may want to do (but be too shy to always directly request) is good. Or just offering him quality time to unwind & relax with may help

- He starts to open up more and more as time goes on. He’ll become more emotionally available the safer he feels with someone who offers him room to grow without judgement

[steddieas-shegoes]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

I got tagged by @estrellami-1 and @zerokrox-blog and I love them ❤

1. Are you named after anyone? I guess technically my dad because my parents were told I was a boy in the womb so they said no to originality and were just gonna name me Michael and then I wasn't a boy and my aunt was like "why not Mickala" which is not even the spelling that they could have gone with.

2. When was the last time you cried? This morning from the nice messages I got 😍

3. Do you have kids? Just the one little gremlin, Liam.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? It is my main form of communication and has been my whole life. Sarcasm is my family's native tongue.

5. What sports do you play/have you played? *cracks knuckles* When I was little and still lived in Massachusetts I did gymnastics. When we moved to Florida, my mom put me in soccer to "make friends." That lasted one whole season. Then I did a year of basketball. I did a year of ballet and a year of jazz. I loved dancing, but my sister got sick and money was incredibly tight so no extracurriculars for moi until high school when I did another year of dance.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Not to be cliche, but their smile.

7. What’s your eye color? Blue

8. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings always. I don't do scary movies ever.

9. Any special talents? I am incredibly organized? I don't think that's really a talent, but it's like my brain constantly runs on its own very scheduled calendar, and I have everything in folders, both literally and figuratively.

10. Where were you born? Haverhill, Massachusetts.

11. What are your hobbies? Reading and writing mostly. I don't have time or money for any others 😂

12. Do you have pets? I don't, but my parents have two dogs that are basically the family dogs. Darla (English bulldog) and Hazel (basset hound)

13. How tall are you? 5'2"

14. Favorite subject in school? English or history was always my favorite. But here I am getting a communications degree so I can "use it anywhere" *biggest eyeroll in the history of ever*

15. Dream job? For a VERY long time (up until maybe 4 years ago), it was working as PR in the entertainment industry. I love cleaning up messes and that sounded so fun. And it still does, but I also realized, I'm not built for that kind of work/life balance (which is almost 0). So now I'm leaning more into something with the NHL or going into publishing as an editor or for marketing.

I'm gonna tag @flowercrowngods @steves-strapcollection @izzy2210 @simplebtromance @legitcookie @softasawhisper @madigoround @inklessletter @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @serenefreakgeek @yourebuckingkiddingme @gregre369 @rose-crown3d @matchingbatbites @spectrum-spectre