#okay but is the goo being blue THAT important

[sergle]

btw while I’m still being annoying, my favorite example to bring up in the “hygiene products that you can just pick up off the shelf at the store can have KNOWN carcinogens in them” conversation is coal tar. This one’s still crazy to me. It’s used in anti-dandruff products for its “anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties" but it’s also LIKE. a hazardous substance... but it can still go in your shampoo bc “aww but it’s only SOME poison, it’s not like, a LOT of poison, so we can still sell it and it’s ok”

[your-ne1ghbor]

It was 1 am-2 am when I decided: OOOO I should mess with Star's design again... so tell me... Why did it work???

also another long post from the sleep deprived fish lets goo

The cape is ugly af, but the rest of the deign is actually...GOOD??? I am in shock since this rarely happens when I actually like how the colors came out on any character-

UNFORTUNATLY, the cape is what ruins it due to how BLAND it is. Not only that, but it is VERY important to how I design his cape. Like basically:

Yes, that is how important his cape is! I wanna talk about what his cape means in another post where I talk about the Star Realm, but for now, I got this ugly ahh cape.

Not only that, the rims with the colors being gold is actually wrong with how I wanted to make his color pallet. The gold rims (ON HIS CAPE NOT THE REST OF THE OUTFIT) are supposed to be a light blue to signifiy a lake. HOWEVER, I tried to see what it would look like, especially here and in my other post here, where it just does not work with his design. Sure, the light blue is nice, but doesn't fit no matter how hard I try to make it look nice. The gold rims work way too well to where the only light blue where it would work, would only be seen on the back of his cape...WHICH IS UGLYYYYYYYYY

Perhaps I go with either a different cape? Change up the color pallet? Or try to make it work with the lore of the Star Realm? (Yeah I'm being serious, thats how important his cape is and how I represent it. If it doesn't look good or work, then idk... I really wanted to incorprate the star realm onto his cape. I might have to come up with a symbol of the star realm if this doesn't work)

The front however, is actually okay, which is basically the little circle with the ribbon draping over his cape. It is just as important as the rest of the design of his cape, ESPECIALY with those 2 pieces in particular. I dont have a problem with it, since it is what I wanted it to look like in the first place and works well with the design either way.

I don't want to continue empathizing on how important it is to how I represent his cape, but it is overall significant to his design. So I'll talk about the bottom of his design since it is actually where I had trouble with before.

To be specific, it is how I wanted his top to look like. Either I wanted a closed off semi-skirt like what the original or what @signed-sapphire and @chillwildwave did with their star boy's design, or go with a more open skirt like what @oh-shtars and @spectator-zee with theirs. It ofc ended up being more open, just it being shorter. I was unironically inspired by Eugene's outfit lmao but the rest came by easy. I knew I wanted his shoes to be almost up to his knees cause he needs to be FANCYYYYY. I also changed up his sleeves and made it more flowy cause I wanted more fun with his design and works with his character :D

Speaking of character, this somewhat works with his character. SOMEWHAT. He is pretty a optimistic kind of prankster, but I feel like his bright personality is toned down to how dark the outfit came out. I know it is to represent the stars since...you know..he is one, just that (quote from one of my bsfs (TY FOR YOUR INSIGHT BTW)) "the outside is more dark whilst the inside has lighter colors, it makes it look like a glowing star trying to hide, a bit".

I mean, makes sense to why he needs to hide: Maggy wants to make sure he is fucking dead- JOKES ASIDE, it works with context, but he doesn't nessicairly like hiding stuff, like he is pretty open about his feelings for example, but like I said, it also works since he has to hide from the people of Rosas and her parents or else he's seen as the monster (rawr rawr rawr) in their eyes 💀

That aside, you probably notice I changed up his hair. Why? Because I wanted to try something and make it have more depth. It works, so it stays for now.

Is this the final design for him? No. Its not. Until I get the cape right, I still have to get his design working. At least it is working with how I am envisioning it, minus the few little details that make me annoyed for no particular reason other than it needing to work with his character and world.

My next post is going to be an update to the Maggy silly lil backstory cause...it is REALLY important to the story 😭😭

Until then, GOOD DAY/AFTERNOON/NIGHT

[superblysubpar]

We'll Call It Love masterlist | It Had To Be You masterlist

the song: Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls // It Had To Be You playlist

warnings: this story is a part of the series We’ll Call It Love, and much of it would be spoiled if you read this first. It’s linked above, and I hope you love it! | series warnings pertain

2.7k words

A/N: A little nod to @palmtreesx3 series "Get Off" in the form of a little Smash or Pass 💛 Thanks for always being my cheerleader lady, I owe you my heart and life because of it, I'm afraid 🤷🏻‍♀️

He regrets how hard the door slams behind him almost immediately. 

His vision blurs, his fingers swipe down the sides of his nose, pressing harder than he ever has but it’s no use. 

Steve Harrington doesn’t cry. 

Except he is. 

It’s this awful choked sound that leaves his lips, it’s pathetic and angry and hurt all rolled into one horrible sob as tears rapidly fall down his cheeks. 

He tries, he really does, to get it to stop. He presses his palms into his eyes as he walks, and decides that’s a really fucking bad idea in Chicago. And so he just ducks his head and he clears his throat and he walks. 

But it just gets worse and worse.

Not the crying, but the feeling in his chest. Every time he blinks he sees your hurt face. He sees the shattered glass dish. He sees Robin’s blue eyes breaking just like the shards all over the floor. He sees Eddie put his hand on your back. He sees Nancy glaring at him. He sees every bad decision he’s made for the last few months and his stomach rolls with each reminder of his mistakes. 

He fucked up bad this time. There is no bonk to the head that can fix this. It doesn’t feel like any way he apologized would ever make it okay. 

All he wants to do is talk to any of the people who hate his guts right now, and more tears slip over his lash line when he realizes he may never get to talk to the most important person of the bunch ever again. 

The longer he walks, the clearer his head becomes. He can fix it. He can. One step at a time. 

But despite the cold air against his damp cheeks bringing clarity, it also quickly makes him realize he doesn’t have his coat, his keys, or his fucking car. He slows down as he rounds the corner, debating turning back, wondering where the hell he even ended up on this sad walk. 

He’s on Robin’s street. Because of course he is. 

Steve swipes at his nose, keeping more tears at bay successfully this time, and he sits on her stoop, waiting. 

Maybe it’s selfish, to seek Robin’s comfort when he lied to her, but if there’s anyone he can talk to about how much of an idiot he is, it’s her. 

So he waits. 

He sits there for what feels like an hour, and maybe it is, with his elbows on his knees and his hands running through his hair he’s refusing to cut because at least he can keep his hair long in some sort of pathetic excuse of a stand against selling his soul to his father. 

“Ryan Gosling?” 

The question startles Steve, his head whips up at the voice. 

“Oh, smash, definitely.” A girl giggles in a group walking past. 

“Yeah but which Ryan Gosling?”

Two girls chime in with “The Notebook” at the same time laughing and Steve loses it. 

There’s no way to ward off the tears this time, and he drags his fingers over his lips so his sob is muffled and his temple falls against the railing. 

Maybe it’s because he’s been so stubborn his whole life, but it sort of feels like every tear that’s ever wanted to be shed by his body is falling now. His entire vision is blurred and his arms encircle his stomach because it fucking hurts to feel this sad and broken. 

How could he do this to you? How could he lie to Robin? How could he just do exactly what you said and not stand up for himself? How could he not choose the life he wanted? Why didn’t he fucking fight harder for you? For what he wanted? 

He was pathetic. He was lazy. He was scared. 

“Holy shit, you actually love her, don’t you?” 

The sound of Robin’s voice and her question makes a loud sob leave Steve, the most horrible sound he thinks he’s ever heard save for Robin crying. It just keeps coming and he covers his face with his hands, sure he looks disgusting and miserable and as pathetic as he feels. Snot and tears and red cheeks like a fucking kid. 

There’s pressure against the side of his thigh, and then warm arms around his shoulders and it isn’t fair to her, but he turns into her body and wraps his own arms around her waist. 

Steve cries into his best friend's shoulder so hard, he feels a little dizzy from the pain that’s demanding to be felt and he stutters out a pathetic apology.

“Ro-Robin, I’m so, I’m so-”

“Dingus, shut up.”

Which only makes him cry harder and squeeze his arms tighter for her to squeeze him back. 

Then it starts to rain. 

And not like a few sprinkles, but just pouring, out of nowhere, like the earth is as sad as Steve feels. 

“Shit, come on,” Robin yelps, pulling at his shoulders and dragging him to her front door. 

Steve swipes at his eyes and finally gets a less blurry look at her, wearing his jacket, his car keys dangling from her finger, and his pan of mac and cheese in her arms. 

The guilt smacks him so hard, he actually takes a step back. 

“Rob-”

“Don’t. Come on, inside,” she sighs around the command, nodding her head to the now open door. 

Her blue eyes are glassy, or maybe it’s just the rain soaking both of them, but her chin does this sort of horrible quiver that he knows means she’s going to start crying too, and apparently that’s all he does now, because there’s a fresh wave falling from his eyes. 

“Robin,” he chokes on her name, like he doesn’t remember how to talk, “I am so sorry. I-”

“Steve, please,” she starts crying, clutching the pan with both hands now, “I don’t care about an apology right now okay? I care about getting you inside and wiping that snot off your face cause you look real fucking sad and you don’t cry okay? And I don’t know what to do and I’m really sorry because maybe it’s my fault you know? Maybe I made you lie to me because I’m shitty and told you not to date her, but obviously you really fucking care about her I mean on some sort of astronomical level because-”

“Robin,” Steve laughs around his crying, stepping towards her and hugging her, “Will you shut up for once in your life and let me apologize?”

She shifts so she can wrap an arm around him again, her face pressed to his chest before she starts laughing around her own crying too. 

“What’s this shutting up you speak of? Is there a switch? How does one simply not spew out every thought that passes through their brain to fill the silence?”

His cheek presses to the top of her head, voice muffled in her hair, “I love you.”

Robin’s arm squeezes around his waist, “I love you too, Dingus.”

Now, she sits across from him. Having changed almost immediately upon entering her apartment. She cranked the heat and pushed him down onto the couch and just said, “Explain.”

Which is how he finds himself on her couch, with a cup of hot cocoa spilling over the rim and marshmallows overflowing the mug as he finishes, “I don’t know what to do.”

Robin’s fingers fiddle with her rings as they wrap around her own mug. She stares at the drink for a long time, before she finally lifts her gaze to his.

Blue eyes that pierce directly into his soul as she shrugs and says, “I think you know exactly what to do, Steve.”

The intercom buzzes loudly and Robin moans, “Oh thank god, food.”

Except when she stands, the speaker crackles and your voice comes out of it. “Robin?”

Steve freezes, the mug of cocoa suspended to his lips as Robin stares at him with wide, blinking eyes. 

It buzzes again and your quiet voice fills the room, “Please Robin? I know you’re home…I just…”

“I’ll…I’ll tell her to go?” Robin looks worried, her fingers pulling on each other and Steve shakes his head. 

“No, I…I’ll climb down the fire escape. Won’t be the first time.” He makes his way to her window. 

“Excuse me, what?” Robin crosses her arms, frowning. 

The buzzer rings three times, long and annoying and Steve’s lips twitch despite the thing inside his chest feeling like it’s going to somehow shrivel up and dry out and explode at the same time. 

“You should really talk to her, it…it says a lot she came here to talk to you.” Steve taps at the window frame, looking at the door like he can somehow see you downstairs through it. 

The intercom vibrates again, and your voice sounds pained as you shout through it, “Buckley I’ll keep buzzing, your egg rolls are getting cold!”

As if on cue, Robin’s stomach grumbles and she crosses her arms, frowning. “I’m not even hungry. Dingus, I can tell her to leave, I want…I need you in my life-”

It buzzes again, your choked words making both of them stare at the speaker with sad eyes. “Okay, Robin, I, listen. I am so sorry. And if you want to hate me and never see me again, that’s totally fine, I understand. Because honestly, I am…I am scum for lying to you. I am pond scum. I’m lower than pond scum. I am the fungus that feeds on the pond scum.”

Robin’s breath inhales sharply and Steve smiles. He squeezes her hand and whispers, “I’m not going anywhere, Buckley. Go hug it out with each other. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She squeezes his hand back, and heads towards the door as he disappears out the window. 

Robin was right, he knows exactly what he needs to do. 

“I don’t believe you,” tone matter of fact as you shrug off your coat in his hallway.

Steve laughs as he shuts the garage door, shaking his head. “I told you, she’s too wrapped around Robin. I could never.”

Your feet pad down the hallway, past the laundry room and half bath as you spin and walk backwards pointing at him, “Nah. No way. You’re so smashing Julia Roberts.”

The conversation started after your anniversary date to the movie theater. His yellow sweater sits wrapped around your shoulders, warm and comforting, and a slight cherry red slushie stain on the hem now. Steve’s green sweatshirt is absolutely not green anymore, the majority of said slushie landing on him when he tried to do a “move” at the theater. 

Steve catches up with you, a box of milk duds in his hand as he grabs for your waist with the other. “Baby, I promise you, I’m passing.”

You narrow your eyes, lips twitching, as you prod, “Steven. Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman? You’re passing?”

Steve squeezes his eyes shut, but his mouth fights a smile as he shakes his head. “Robin has been Vivian so many times for Halloween, there is no way I’m smashing Pretty Woman Julia Roberts.”

“Mm. Sure.” You nod, face full of faux believing features as you press your lips to his pout. 

When you spin and head into the kitchen, flipping the lights on as you do, Steve catches your waist and lifts, causing you to yelp out a laugh. 

“Put me down!”

“Not until you believe me!”

“You’re an idiot,” you laugh as your head tilts at the giant box on the counter, “Wait, what’s that?”

Steve slowly puts you down, his arm remaining around your waist. “That,” he whispers, “Is a very late present. Or early Christmas. Or right on time anniversary. ”

“For me?” You turn and bat your eyelashes at him, grinning. 

Steve looks very serious, the playful moment gone as he grabs for your chin gently, tilting your head for a slower, and longer kiss. It feels important, something swooping in your stomach, collecting the butterflies flying around there and surrounding your heart. 

“For you,” he whispers when he breaks away from the breath stealing kiss. 

Your eyelashes flutter as you come back to earth, his fingers cradle your jaw as you clear your throat. 

When you turn back towards the package, your heart drops into your stomach though. The brown shipping material is covered in European stamps, packaging labels showing it went a lot of different places before ending up here. And it’s a fairly large box. 

“How…how much did this cost?” 

Steve’s going to a drawer for a box cutter, opening two different ones before finding the right junk drawer, still getting used to his new stuff and space. 

He shrugs, eyes focused on cutting the tape. “Babe, don’t-”

“Steve, you can’t do this.” Your head shakes back and forth as you press your fingers to your temple. 

“I can’t what? Give my girlfriend gifts?” He sounds irritated, hurt. 

“You can’t keep giving me expensive gifts. Paying for everything. You paid for Inigo’s vet bill last month, you can’t-”

“You like the gifts, I have the means to pay and if it’s a date, of course I’m paying. And absolutely I paid for his vet bill, it was insane. And you were going to take out another credit card to pay for it like a crazy person.”

The words make something ignite under the surface of your skin, cheeks growing hot as he sets the box cutter on the counter and glares at you. 

“That’s not crazy! People do what they have to do! I would have paid it off, it’s not like I’m in a crazy amount of debt Steve. In case you’re forgetting, I’ve made it on my own for quite a long time.”

Your hand presses to your chest as you stare each other down. 

Steve’s jaw tenses and he shakes his head. “I know that. I’m not discrediting that. But it’s crazy to still do that when I can help.”

Your hands fly in the air, frustrated, “Okay, fine! Thank you for the vet bill, nevermind, but this,” you gesture to the box, “Has to stop.”

Steve laughs, dragging his palms down his face. “I’m not gonna stop getting you gifts.”

“How am I supposed to compete with the fancy shit Steve? How am I supposed to feel when you get me expensive things for holidays and I get you dumb trinkets or hand made shit like coupons?”

Steve takes a step toward you, “I like the coupons and trinkets that aren’t dumb. If you just-”

“I’m not opening that.” Your hands are in front of your chest in surrender, eyebrows raised as you walk backwards. “I do not want it. Return it, whatever it is.”

“Honey,” Steve’s eyes turn somber, hand running through his hair, pleading, “You have to open this, please.”

“Baby,” you glare at him, “I’m not going to.”

His fingers tug in his hair, an aggravated huff surrounding his words that get increasingly louder, “I swear, I won’t get you another present for…for a year. Six months. But you have to open this.”

“No.”

“Open it.”

“Nope.”

“Babe-”

“Steve-”

“Oh my god, fine!” 

He shouts the last line, flaps of the box flung open as he reaches inside through white packing peanuts that spill out onto the counter as you roll your eyes.

Until he’s holding the sapphire blue pie dish in front of you with glassy eyes and pink cheeks and red ears. 

“I know, okay, I…I can’t ever apologize for breaking your mom’s enough. And I know this can’t ever replace it, or be the same, but I just thought…I kept searching for it, because I just thought if I could fix it…” he trails off when you step in front of him. 

Your heartbeat thuds in your ears as you stare down at the dish, your fingers trail over the cool glass. A shiver runs down your spine because you’re fairly certain, somewhere, somehow, your mom and dad are here. Your mom is shouting at the TV screen of your life, telling you to kiss him, to tell him. Your dad is rolling his eyes, but they’re a little misty. 

Steve’s nose taps yours as he tilts his head, eyes looking into yours as he hesitates, waiting until he sees what he needs to. 

His lips press to yours softly then, the dish held in both of your pair of hands between you. 

Something inside of you crumbles, it breaks off into a billion pieces, each one belonging to him. 

You are undeniably, irrevocably, in love with Steve Harrington. 

And that’s fucking terrifying. 

[cookiesandbiscuits]

Can you write about a fanfic with the reader being Kalego's sister. She is sweet and kind, and I wanna know how you'd depict Kalego's life with his little sister in the school. Thx in advance

An Unexpected Connection

Featured Character: Kalego Naberius

A/N: AJAHJSHAHAKKJAHA that is a great idea. Imagine how chaotic Bablys would be the moment it's revealed that the precious cinnamon roll of the campus is actually related to the grumpy old man.

Also, protective older brother Kalego is *chef's kiss*

PS. I made the reader here a teacher if you wouldn't mind :D

I also suck at making up subject names so... *nervous sweats*

Fair warning though, this is a bit lengthy (I got too eager. This was really fun to write :D)

Enjoy!! <3

MASTERLIST

"Hey, did you hear? We have a new teacher for our Defensive Magic subject starting today."

 "Really?"

"Yeah! I heard other students talk about it earlier."

"Are you talking about the new Defensive Magic subject teacher?"

"I saw her just now. And let me tell you, she's quite the beauty."

"She is?!"

Afternoon class just started, and the Royal One classroom is filled with murmuring. The subject of their gossip today is the new subject teacher at Babyls.

"Silence!"

The gossiping voices stopped.

"As you may have heard now, you will be having a new teacher on your Defensive Magic subject starting today," Kalego looked at you and motioned to get in front. "Please introduce yourself."

"Hello! My name is Y/N, and I will be your teacher in Defensive Magic starting today." You introduced yourself, and you can't help grinning widely at the students.

You were excited. It has always been your dream to be a teacher here at Babyls, and now, that dream finally came true.

You were also a little nervous, now that you're actually standing in front of the students.

You just hope that everything goes well as you prepare yourself for your first lecture.

"Just relax and focus. The casting will be off if you're nervous," you gently advised as the blue-haired student beside you cast a barrier spell on the bird figurine you brought.

"D-did I do it?"

"Let's see..." You watch as a barrier forms around the figurine.

"Well, it seems that... Oh!" you blinked as the figurine melted into a black goo.

"Oh... I must've made a mistake." The blue-haired student lowered his head dejectedly.

Seeing his crestfallen expression, you gingerly patted his head and smiled. "Don't worry, you don't have to get it immediately. Casting a barrier spell can be very tricky, so you're bound to make blunders every once in a while."

A tall, pink-haired boy came beside him. "Sensei is right, Iruma-sama! And knowing you, I'm sure that you'll figure out that spell in no time!"

"Hehe... if Iruma-chi is having trouble, you can always count on Clara-sensei to teach you!" a green-haired girl chimed in while proudly presenting her barrier.

"This is impressive, considering that it's your first time! It's a little unstable, but it's no less a feat! And... Iruma, was it?" You turned back to the blue-haired boy. "If you're still having trouble casting the barrier, you should try imagining that you're putting the object in front of you inside a hamster ball. It always works out for me! After all, visualization is important when it comes to casting spells."

"Will that really work?" Iruma glanced at you curiously.

"Yup! But you can also think of something else if it suits you more."

RIIIINNNGGG!!!

"Okay, that concludes our first lesson! We will be having a quiz about the fundamentals of barrier spells next week, so please be prepared for that. And for those who are having a hard time with their barrier spells, you are free to consult me in the faculty room. Have a good day!"

.

.

.

"Wow, you sure are famous among the students, Y/N-chan~"

"Ahaha, what makes you say that?"

"Oh, you don't know? You've been the topic of the students' conversations for the past few weeks. They mostly mention how nice or how almost-impossibly angelic you are," Dali appraises.

You sheepishly scratched your cheek. "Well, as much as I appreciate their praises, I think they might've overexaggerated a bit."

"I wish my students were as enthusiastic in my class as they are in yours," Momonoki sighed. "It almost makes me a little jealous. Tell me, how do you do it? Do you have any special tricks?"

"Tricks?" you tilted your head in confusion.

"Hahaha! It's amazing how you captured their hearts in a small matter of time. But whenever you need help, just remember your senpai will always be there for you," Robin assured while proudly giving you a thumbs up.

You can only giggle at his actions.

"Thank you, senpai. I'll make sure to keep that in mind."

"Hnggg... I totally get why the students think you're angelic."

You slightly jumped when the male teacher suddenly hugged you.

"You're so adorable, I can't help but want to protect you!" He cried.

"O-oh... Haha..."

"What are you doing?"

"Kalego-sensei!"

You turned to the door. Kalego stood there with his brows furrowed.

"W-we were just, you know..."

"W-we were just talking about how Y/N is famous among the students nowadays!"

...

...

...

"I see. Don't forget about your paperwork."

The teachers watched as Kalego took his class record and left the scene.

"Okay, what just happened?"

You raised your eyebrows at your co-teachers' reactions. "What do you mean?"

"Well... Kalego-sensei used to scold us whenever we were caught gossiping at work. So seeing him leave quietly is a little unnerving," Dali explains.

"I wonder why he didn't?"

"Maybe it's because Y/N-chan is here."

"It's possible."

"Wow, so even Kalego-sensei is not immune to Y/N's charms? You really are amazing, Y/N!"

"Uh... thank you?"

A few weeks had passed since you started teaching, and you were now the students' favorite subject teacher on campus.

You're still not used to their compliments, but you're trying to come to terms with it.

But as they say, fame comes with unwanted attention.

"Y/N, please come with me to the library. I need your help with the next lesson."

"Oh, okay."

You hurriedly put away the papers you were grading and followed Kalego to the library.

"Kalego-sensei sure likes to ask Y/N-chan for help nowadays, huh?" Dali said as your back left his sight.

"He sure does..."

Raim awkwardly laughed. "He doesn't hesitate to work the newbies to the bone, does he?"

The others nodded in agreement.

"Surprisingly though, he's quite lenient with her," Raim added.

"You call that lenient?" Orias looked at her as if she was joking.

"Well," Marbas hummed, "considering what it was like when we were new here, I'd say he is."

"So you're saying Kalego-sensei plays favorites with Y/N-chan?"

"No, I don't think that's it."

Everyone turned to Murmur.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know but... I feel like there's more than favoritism that's going on between them."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you see..." Murmur bashfully scratched his head. "I sorta asked Y/N out before."

"WHAT?!"

Several exclamations came from the teachers.

"Oho~ so you asked her out, huh?" Dali teased.

"Oh my~ that's very bold of you," Raim commented.

"How can you ask your coworker out?! Have you no sense of professionalism?!" Orias hissed. Marbas nodded in agreement.

Murmur scoffed at their reaction, "Oh please, stop acting as if you're not planning to ask her out too. It's irritating."

The two flinched at his words. Dali and Raim gave the flustered teachers a teasing look.

"Anyways, that's not why I'm telling you this," Murmur continues. "You see, before I could even finish my question, Kalego-sensei suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He was giving me the death glare, all while asking Y/N for some help. Ever since, whenever I talk to Y/N, I can feel him looking daggers at me. It still gives me shivers while thinking about it," he shuddered.

"So... you're implying that Kalego-sensei and Y/N-chan are in some sort of relationship, right?" Raim asked.

"Well... Kalego-sensei's reaction would be weird if they weren't," Murmur retorted.

The others hummed in contemplation.

That conversation ignited the rumors that you and Kalego were dating each other.

The two of you were oblivious to it, as the teachers never mentioned it whenever you or Kalego were around.

Unfortunately, the students caught wind of the rumor.

You started to notice that students were murmuring to each other whenever you walked in the hallways with Kalego.

It was starting to get to you, so you decided to confront it once and for all.

"Okay, that's all for today. Good job everyone!"

You smiled proudly at the students as class ended. However, you stopped them before they could leave the courtyard.

"Can anyone please tell me what's going on lately? I've been noticing that some students whisper to each other whenever I walk through the hallways these days. I suppose you guys know why that is."

You turned to the bushes in your right.

"You guys can also come out now. I know you're there."

"Haha... So you noticed us?" Dali asked nervously. He didn't expect you to notice them as they used magic to hide their presence.

"So, can someone please explain to me what's going on right now?" you eyed the teachers and students suspiciously.

"Y/N-san... Are you dating Kalego-sensei?!" Momonoki shouted.

"...What?"

"Momonoki-sensei!"

"I know, I'm sorry, but..." her eyes shone with passion and determination. "I have to know. So... Y/N-san, are you or are you not dating Kalego-sensei?"

"Okay, wait. First of all, no, I am not dating him." You heard Momonoki let out the breath she was holding.

Your brows furrowed in confusion. "What made you think that?"

The teachers exchanged glances with one another.

"We noticed that you and Kalego-sensei were getting close to one another, seeing that you're the one he always asks for favors," Raim answered.

"He was also making sure that the male teachers who were trying to get close to you did not even try."

Your eyes went wide with surprise. "Oh. I... see."

You let out a sigh.

"I guess I owe you guys an explanation. Kalego-sensei and I are not dating because we're..."

...

"EH?!?!?!"

.

.

.

"Where were you?" Kalego looked at you slightly miffed.

"Sorry, I had to clear some misunderstanding with the faculty."

"Misunderstanding?"

You nodded. "They thought you and I were dating."

He scoffed. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Well, if you hadn't hogged all of my free time, they wouldn't have made that assumption," you quipped.

"And let those guys lay out the charms on you? Not on my watch."

You sighed. "That's the reason why they thought that in the first place."

You look at your wristwatch. It was almost 6 in the evening.

"We should get going now. Shall we go home, my dearest big brother?"

[oscconfessions]

I am back again.

And I fucking hope OJ lets Balloon into the Hotel after Season 3, 'cuz if I don't, I'm drinking a whole jug of orange juice in protest.

Anyways-

Though the writing of the season may be bad...

I think the Season 3 debuters are great. Considering we may never see them again after III19 (if they don't get invited to the Hotel and, thus, are never in Season 2), I just want to say that all the III debutants are nice in their own way.

Blueberry was a nice two-off villain who hid himself under a downer, blue personality.

Lifering is a nice guy who only wants fun and to save others' lives.

Tea Kettle is a motherly figure who would protect her teammates from harm.

Cabby is both physically and mentally disabled, and I really liked her arc about trying to apologize to others when she didn't need to. (I will say, I hated how it was revealed that her files help with her Short Term Memory Loss)

Clover is comic relief with a side of ADHD and she's just so innocent, outside of the one episode where she thought "OH, MY LUCK IS A CURSE" yet she goes back to innocent bean.

Goo is the definition of awkwardness, and I love that.

Bot's arc was okay, though it may feel gross that Fan and Test Tube made a robotic replica of a dead person, Bot's arc about being separate from what they were made to be was really uplifting.

The Floor was comic relief and yet became one of the most important parts of the show, being MePhone4's assistant from Episode 12 onwards, and that to me is genius.

Candle is just... UUUUUUGH- where do I start, her arc in Episode 11 was cool, her Inner Flame is cool, she is just... girlboss, I hope she's saved.

Silver Spoon is my favorite in all the characters in II for one reason: he's written in such a way that he's both comic relief and a serious part of the plot at the same time, his character balances it really well, and I just love him for that, hope he apologizes to Candle in III19 and maybe confess his crush.

.

[brightlotusmoon]

Working on fics like "The Brightest Fire" without expectations is pretty freeing. I liked this scene where the brothers are being brothers.

-

Leo gave his sensei a long look, then narrowed his eyes. “Okay, we're leaving. Mikey needs to get some food, anyway.”

“I do?” Mikey asked.

“You've been traumatized,” Leo said lightly, “you need your vitamins.” He gently nudged the brother huddle toward the doorway.

Once they were on the other side and moving to the huge couch and huge screen, Mikey sighed. “You know I could just eavesdrop with my mind, right?”

Nobody said anything until they had deposited Mikey on the couch. The new one that April gave them, with sections and angles. The fabric was plush and dark green. There were several equally plush pillows in orange, purple, red, and blue. Mikey sighed as he sank.

“Yeah, we know,” came Raph's rumble. “But let's rest yer brain for a while. Ya been through a lot.”

“We've been through worse.” Mikey was pouting.

Someone caught his chin and he found himself staring into Leonardo’s worried eyes. “That depends on how you define worse.” Leo smiled very softly.

Mikey frowned at him. “The Shredder? All the Shredders? That's worse, I would say. And Bishop! And-”

The hand covered his mouth. “Okay,” Leo said, “those were extremely bad.”

Mikey raised an eyeridge.

“And nothing.” Leo shifted to pat his head. “This is also extremely bad. Let's not create a conspiracy board in our heads.”

“Hey!” Mikey huffed. “It's an easy visual, okay?”

“That's a good point,” Donnie said, leaning around Raphael. “Making connections is important.”

Leo sighed, settling back, stretching an arm around Mikey's shoulders. “Right now, Mikey, you need to rest your brain.”

Mikey stared at him, one eye squinting. “...dude, that's not really possible. My brain bounces everywhere.”

“I mean your psychic brain,” Leo said easily. “Your powers. You're exhausted.”

“Am not,” Mikey grunted. “I did all kinds of things when I was in that trance.”

“Which still bothers me on an ethical level,” Donnie sighed.

Mikey lifted an eyeridge and lifted his arms to make a sweeping gesture. “We are mutated turtles who came from alien goo, we have to keep ourselves hidden from creepy agents of doom, and you're trying to wax poetic about ethics.”

“Whoa,” Raph chuckled. “Cheeky.”

“Well, you're not wrong,” Donnie sighed. “But please keep in mind that we still haven't talked about your initial reaction to the video.”

Mikey licked his lips, eyes roaming. “Can we talk after three episodes of Star Trek Voyager? I promise none of them are Threshold.”

“It won an award,” Donnie said, automatically, an echo of a long word play game.

“We can watch it later,” Mikey said. “Right now I want angst.”

“What, like yours?” Raph huffed.

“No,” Mikey said quickly. “Fictional.”

“Bro, we might as well be.”

“Soo,” Mikey smirked, “does that mean we're not real and we don't have to have a talk?”

“And,” Donnie said, “that makes me more decisive. We're having a talk.”

“Nooo,” Mikey groaned, burying his face in Leo's shoulder. “Can't I just say I'm fine and you'll all believe me?”

“Noooo,” Leo grinned against his forehead.

“I told you, I'm cool with it,” Mikey grumbled. “It's not like I remember much.”

“That's the worst answer ever,” Leo sighed. He bumped their heads together. “It's a non-answer.”

Mikey gave a little growl, trying to think up more distractions.

“Okay,��� Donnie said, holding his hands up in a time out motion. “Mikey, stop. Sit up.”

Donnie got up to crouch right in front of Mikey. Mikey shifted more upright and reached for the remote. Donnie took it and quickly started up a Deep Space Nine episode.

“Oh, you're going right to Bashir being discovered?” Raph commented. “Bold.”

Donnie tilted his head like a bow. “Thank you, I was feeling audacious.”

Mikey stiffened. “Yeah, yeah, I get the connection. Didn't we already do this with our autisms?”

“And now we're doing it for your superpowers,” Donnie said firmly, putting his hands on Mikey's knees. “We've seen this particular episode so many times we can quote it in our sleep. You probably do. It will run in the background while we talk. That gives us around an hour. Is that acceptable?”

Mikey looked between Don and the screen. “Fine.”

“Okay,” Donnie said, squeezing Mikey's knees.

“Okay,” Mikey said.

“Okay?” Donnie leaned forward slightly. His eyes lit up a little.

Mikey smirked. “Okay!”

“Oookay, yeah,” and Leo gently shook Mikey, kicking out at Donnie. “Get to it, Brainiac.”

“Oy, that's my line,” Raph grunted.

[tinkertoysdamn]

WiP Chapter 6 of that Thorquill fic I will totally not be able to work on again until after Easter. Uh, spoilers if you haven't read Chapter 5 yet.

It was as they scrambled down the embankment and were far enough from the parking lot edge that Natasha felt it was safe to talk again.  “What’s with you and Goldilocks?”

“Oh, Thor?”  Explaining this was always fun for Peter.  “Yeah, Dad planned this whole arranged marriage thing to infiltrate Asgard.  He planted one of those Celestial Seed things right outside of the palace.”  

Loki had multiple theories about why Ego had placed it in that exact spot but Peter had always thought it was because it was out of plain sight.  The more important thing, in Peter’s opinion, was the timing, which he shared with Natasha.  “I think he was going to set it off during the ceremony.”

Natasha made a non-committal grunting noise.  She’d heard worse.  

“And once the one in Asgard had been set off, all of them would activate.  The one on Xandar, the one here, the one on Hala—”  Peter paused, a dark thought washed over him.  “I just realized something,” he said.  “The one here at the Dairy Queen isn’t the only one that went off.”

“Wait.”  Natasha held up a hand.  She was trying to keep up with what Peter was saying.  “You’re saying when this one turned to goo, all of them across the universe did too?”

“Yeah,” Peter said.  “If I had followed Dad’s plan, the Earth would have been destroyed months ago.”

As a member of the Black Widow program, Natasha was used to compartmentalizing.  The existential horror of what Peter said went right into a neat little box for her to examine later and scream about when everything was safe.  

Instead, she moved on.  “So, why is Thor insisting on this ‘intended’ thing if the engagement was fake?”

“I—,” god why did she have to put it that way?  Peter felt bad enough about the whole “Thor being in love with him” thing.  “I escaped my Dad to tell the Asgardians what was going on and I kind of, sort of—”  There was no good way to say it.  “Gave their Prince a handy in a truck stop bathroom.”

Natasha looked like she was about to die laughing.  “Oh my god.”

“I didn’t know it was Thor at the time, okay.”  

She kept snickering.  

“He was hot, I was hot—”

Natasha cut him off.  “I don’t need to know the mechanics.”

“And I wasn’t gonna tell you about it,” Peter said in a huff.  Thank god the base of the goo was directly in front of them, it was a perfect distraction.  With a flourish, Peter drew his quad-blaster and shot a nice neat hole right in the blue goop.  It did not regenerate.  

“Look at that,” he said, completely deadpan, “made a hole just like I thought.”  With two blasters and Natasha’s cutting tool, Peter didn’t think this was going to take long at all.  

Which was a good thing, because Ego had already spotted the jet.  

[rainbowangel110]

Episode 26 of Pokemon Horizons! New arc let's go!!!

Now for the record, I absolutely love the Dokimeki Diary Opening, the new one can't be that goo-

(;O_o) Oh shit it is that good.

They fr put half the budget into this omg I LOVE THE VISUALS HERE HOLY CRAP- (the song is alright, 8/10) but my god does the song fit the theme

Hmmm. Gay?

Listen they're on Orio's Metagross flying through the skies behind the rest of the crew, Mollie's Chancy right there too- Like come on you see it right??

*inhales* OH HE'S SO HAVING AN ARC TRUST ME HERE OMG AMITHIO COME ON DUDE. THE FUCKING LYRIC TOO- "Now run forth! Towards my future!" like if that's not a hint I dunno what is. I should have screenshot his face after this part, cuz like hello?? It's so happening sooner or later. I am not delusional okay you guys have to trust me-

Okay Grandma, you got it! I love her character she's so nice!

The whimsy. The plodding along. Smile on it's face. Not a damn braincell behind those eyes. I am already attached.

Uh oh, is someone jealous Sprigattito? Well yeah, I saw this coming, Liko is obviously concerned for Terrapagos and Sprig here is gonna take it hard, being her first mon and all.

Plus. It's a cat. They like their attention.

JUMPSCARE

Also Hattenna flying out of the hoodie omg. Tiny little thing.

Anyways I didn't screenshot the next scene but Liko and Dot talked about how Terrapagos has finally woken up after decades of sleep inside the pendant. Of course it's curious. Baby didn't even eat the food the other mons were eating, it went for some berries below decks. Something that pokemon long ago ate. Something familiar to it.

Same, can't tell you how many times I've done some late night reading and had this happen to me (minus the books as a pillow) (no reason I thought this was funny)

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME LITTLE GUY WHAT ARE YOU DOING OMG

Not shown here but it climbed all the way to the top and started calling out. To Lucius probably. Again, this little guy just woke up after a REALLY long time and probably doesn't know that Lucius is most likely... dead.

And considering the mystery behind what happened to Lucius, plus the recent revelation that the Explorers were his friends, we could assume he met a depressing end. Oh buddy wait till it finds out

Anyways Liko decided to just. CLIMB UP THERE TO SAVE THE LITTLE GUY. I mean yeah sure it was gonna slip and fall off and she didn't have time to call anyone BUT STILL

Also nice catch Grandma. Quick shoutout to Sprigattito for headbutting the door leading to the balcony which alerted Diana.

Alright, the picture seals it. They are related. The fucking intro also alludes to it too, with Liko, her mom, and Diana getting surrounded by energy from the pendant, and a very quick flyby of Lucius. With their startling blue eyes clear as starlight.

The same shade that all three of them share.

You get the point.

ALSO NEW DRIP!!!.... for a couple minutes before she realizes that Sprigattito feels neglected after a full day of her chaseing after the little turtle boi. Which is actually very important, we've seen just how much she cares about her mons, and it's the reason why Olivia and G-Moltress trusted her (well okay Moltress went with her after seeing Terrapagos.) We also got a potential reason behind seeing the memories of Lucius due to the pendant, Liko caring about them had a reaction in Terrapagos. Good to know.

Some things never change.

Very reminesent of the first episode and how they bonded. Liko finding Sprigattito. Her talking to it and explaining how she still cares for Sprig, even after everything they've been through. And the little cuddle and bap.

HISUI NAME DROP!!!!! FUCK YEAH!!!!

Anyways, they were discussing how'd they even find the mons, Lapras, Enti, Kleevor, and of course, Shiny Rayquazza. Enti being a roaming legendary, Kleevor being an ancient mon in of itself, though it's possibly in Sinnoh, scaring the locals based on the picture of it. And Lapras... it's in the ocean. Who knows where it could be in the first place (someone said Alolah is possible which I agree with)

We do know that Rayquazza is still here, in Galar, thanks to Dot. We're still getting him, and after that... who knows! (I just hope Roy gets his dream come true with catching it and all)

Oooooooohhhh is Amitheio still upset after that battle from last episode??? Damn that must have hit hard, losing a battle like that, and then Friede outright telling him that he's been holding back which what the fuck my man you don't just say that-

Pretty neat episode! Nothing too hard to digest, I loved it! Lets see where this new arc takes us!

[drybranmuffin]

tagged by @cosmicrhetoric to share my top ten films... i am possibly the worst person to share my taste in cinema. but you asked for it babe i’m sorry i warned you. in no meaningful order, here we go:

1. WEIRD: the al yankovic story (2022): saw this movie the night it came out (11/4) and am STILL thinking about it. it’s (guess what) a really uh, strange film and not at all what i expected--or actually kind of wanted??? bc i do really like Actual “Boring” Al--but i thought it was a lot of fun!! and the re-records are fantastic. the entire rocky road scene makes me so happy.

2. baby driver (2017): hey look i know i know half this cast is absolutely terrible and they should’ve gotten run over with a car in real life but the first time i saw this movie i was in kansas visiting my freshman college roommate for her wedding and it was only like. the third time i’d ever been stoned and it was incredible. literally was the most incredible and life changing experience. made me want to become a stunt driver. i cannot legally operate a motor vehicle at 24 so that isn’t happening but it was a nice feeling while it lasted.

3. dead poets society (1989): i rented this movie the first weekend at college--literally got a library card just to check out the physical DVD copy of this movie because i did not have netflix yet. i was so dramatic and 18 about majoring in something i didn’t want to do, at a college i didn’t want to be at in the first place, that watching dps immediately made me cry. also mr. keating’s little speech of “Mr. Anderson thinks that everything inside of him is worthless and embarrassing” haunts me every day.

4. how to survive a plague (2012): idk if this counts but this is my favorite documentary. it always makes me cry but i think it is such an important and informative documentary. but also it tells the whole story of all the people involved so well. like the way people’s voices stop appearing as voiceovers as the years go on. like you MISS THEM you FEEL the loss of all those people from the queer community in the 80s and 90s. it’s just so fantastic.

5. rocketman (2019): i don’t think i can accurately describe how much i love this movie. elton john is such a cornerstone of my childhood and feeling at home. and the performances in it are so incredible. i watch the crocodile rock scene whenever i’m close to losing my mind. it contains curing and healing properties.

6. glass onion (2022): not to be like i finally watched a modern, relevant movie and fuck people were right it IS GOOD but. guess what i watched a modern, relevant movie and fuck people were right it was very good and i had a lot of fun watching it. also blanc’s outfits made me feel so goddamn envious. the linen pants COME ON!!!

7. ghostbusters II (1989): not to say i don’t also love gb1 but the the “higher and higher” sequence, baby oscar, sigourney weaver being a cellist, “boys, you’re scaring the straights.”, “no, i believe it's one of the fettucinis...”, like c’mon. this movie is amazing. okay i’m realizing that i really need to make you watch ghostbusters II with me. even if you haven’t seen the first one i don’t care we’re watching the guys imply that egon has fucked the goo.

8. groundhog day (1993): okay so maybe i’m just a guy that really likes a certain era of bill murray movies??? ironically this is a movie that, i’ve found, i can really watch again and again and again. like: credits roll, start it again. andie macdowell’s blue coat has been on my mind since i was eleven and saw this movie for the first time. i love the town it looks so delightful--and actually was reminded a lot of it when i was in vermont recently--but it has destroyed me to know that the set was not in punxsutawney but actually somewhere in illinois... boo.

9. beetlejuice (1988): i’m saying beetlejuice as a stand in for like all tim burton movies from 1982-1993 (& like, two in 2005). but i remember watching this movie as a kid and literally not being able to regurgitate the plot at all. like, jump in the line is playing and i’m like “i have no idea what anyone’s name is and don’t know what’s going on. but that lady’s dress [barbara] was nice!!” haven’t changed much but now i at least know what’s happening. also: know that me listing this movie is also me saying that anything danny elfman touches is amazing and i love the soundtrack to this movie so much i wrote a paper on it in undergrad [music in film class] and made my professor read ten pages about the genius of danny elfman making the film’s main melody motif be three. notes.

10. barbie as rapunzel (2002): best for last. i don’t need to explain myself here. the movie is like: 20 minutes of experiencing the horrors of both servitude and otto, 5 minutes of the best dress montage of your life, 10 minutes of being like “oh my god is the prince really that stupid?”, 10 minutes of “yes, he is...”, 15 minutes being confused by the romantic pasts of the kings and gothel, 15 minutes of family therapy between two talking dragons, and 3 minutes of crying over “I know Rapunzel's secret. She painted what she dreamed.” “When you do that you’ll never be wrong.” and it deserved an oscar.

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

Rhys Darby: Have fun, it keeps you young

I bought this fine piece of dandy in a Vegas thrift store. It's perfect for hosting a Ponsonby quiz night.

Don't be ridiculous, there's no cut-off age to letting loose.

Last week, I hosted a quiz night. I know ... remember when I used to be in movies?

Oh well, it was for my kids' school, so I felt good about it. Besides, I got to wear my sparkling Vegas suit. It's a fine piece of dandy I bought in a thrift store in LA. It's baby blue in colour and bedazzled with diamond-like gems. Perfect for hosting a Ponsonby quiz night.

The school seems to be in pretty good shape. Unfortunately the same can't be said for my kids. I took them away from the country for three months touring the UK and they didn't get ill once, but after being deposited back in their local institutions, they were both as sick as dogs within a week.

Schools and daycares certainly are breeding grounds for viruses. Both my boys were hit with chesty coughs and conjunctivitis.

It's near impossible to deposit eye drops into a two-year-old's eyes. We just held him back and used the surprise technique. That works only once. After that, we simply dropped the the liquid as close to the facial region as possible and then tipped him about until it rolled into the sockets. The poor little guy came into our bedroom at 3AM with one of his eyes glued shut with goo.

"Look, Mummy and Daddy, I'm a pirate!"

Children are amazing. It doesn't matter how they're feeling, their glass is always half full. Half full of chocolate milk with sprinkles on top. I hope I never lose my child-like sensibilities.

Being an adult weighs you down, man. I think it's important for us all to let loose once in a while and do something youthful. That's why I still skateboard to work. It's invigorating to have the wind in your hair as you whizz past the suits holding onto their coffees. Sure, now and then I get pointed at, even laughed at. But hey, I'm used to that.

I often wonder, what is the cut-off age for youthful fun? I see lots of men in their 30s skating on longboards. My right-hand man "Buttons" even bought a special pushing pole so he could grace his way along the paths like a punter in Venice. Was he ridiculed? Of course, but that has nothing to do with his pole.

Source: Rosie Carnahan Darby's IG

I think it comes down to "coolness levels". It's okay for a man in his late 50s to surf the ocean waves because it's rad. But when you see a man in his 40s riding a razor scooter along Ponsonby Rd it just seems a little sad.

I say, "to hell with it".

Ride, skate and surf to your heart's content. If you're still breathing then you should still be having fun. Just choose your activity wisely. On a ridicule scale of 1 to 10, cycling is a 1 but unicycling is a solid 8.5 unless you're wearing a sparkling Vegas suit, in which case it's a 10.

Source: NZ Herald

[literaryspinster]

1000 word preview: Something in the Water Ch. 14

This chapter is taking so long for a number of reasons, but the main one (besides the few fires I’ve had to put out in my personal life this month) is the sheer amount of plot to work out in my head before I can finish it. This is the most difficult chapter to write for reasons that I’m sure will become clear once the whole thing is up. Thankfully, I’m past the worst of the writer’s block and steadily trucking along. Here are the first 1000 words to tide you guys over! I hope it gets you excited for what’s to come! One doesn’t do what Sebastian does, for as long as he has done it, without acquiring a knack for tracking people down. Keeping tabs on every big, important person who sailed away with a newly purchased sea nymph is part of the job, one of the biggest parts in fact. But this time might propose a challenge. His source doesn’t have an address, a license plate number, or anything else that can be searched with relative ease. And Dick Grayson has no social media presence, no friends in the vicinity loose-lipped enough to offer up a phone number, nothing of the sort. 

There are many reasons that trying to approach him at the precinct would be entirely the wrong move. Finding another angle that will lead straight to the man’s home is the only way forward. What makes it all the more frustrating – and perhaps it’s nothing more than his grasping imagination– is the fact that something about the name Detective Dick Grayson sets something off in his recognition the moment he hears it. But it’s like knowing a two second sample of a melody with no lyrics. 

“Where have I heard that name before?” He asks himself once he exhausts the usefulness of the inebriated beachcomber.

In the middle of the night, he sits in the corner of the room, his sallow, tired face flooded with blue light. It’s dead end after dead end, until he finds himself two years deep into the DeGranger Gazette archives. It’s at the top of the society page, a color photo from two years ago accompanied by a headline “DeGranger Heiress to wed detective.” Dick Grayson was once engaged to the woman he just put into a coma.

He swallows hard. There they are, two paper dolls stapled to each other’s sides, tight smiles painted onto their vacant faces. He reads the article carefully.

“I truly couldn’t be happier,” says Granger “I’ve finally found my forever.”

Sebastian doesn't have to know them well to know that it was a complete load of bollocks, but the objective isn’t to psychoanalyze the doomed couple on his computer screen, it’s to find the mermaid, and if he isn’t being taken for a ride, this man is the key.

****

She should have asked for a third box of dye, she realizes as she works the deep maroon color up toward her temples, the ammonia smelling goo squelching under her gloved fingertips. Even she underestimated just how much hair she’d be dealing with, and the fact that the grocery store only carries dusty boxes of Feria serves to make the job that much more challenging. 

She prays for a color resembling black cherries in the sunshine, but fears the result will be something closer to the faux leather cover of an old Bible.

“Hey, are you okay in there?” Gar says from the other side of the bathroom door. Kory’s been shut away in this bathroom struggling for over an hour, it was only a matter of time before they started to grow concerned.

“It’s open,” she says, and the teen lets himself in.

“Wow, is this another crime scene?” He says, spotting the dark red splotches and splatters all over the sink and counter, the gory looking fingerprints on the mirror and hand soap bottle. She doesn’t even know how they got there, this entire process has been a chaotic blur. 

“Don’t give me a hard time, I’ve never had to do this before,”

He lets out a small chuckle at her expense, and she rolls her eyes in return, even if she can’t help the corners of her mouth pulling up slightly. Gar is quite a kid, sweet, welcoming, patient. And just like the others, he isn’t at all hesitant to treat her as one of their own, which means the occasional teasing remark. But with the way she’s made a slasher movie out of the bathroom, she can’t really blame him.

“Sit down,” he instructs her. “I’ve been dying my own hair since I was ten, I can help.”

She obliges, lowering herself down onto the toilet seat lid. He puts on the spare pair of gloves, takes a comb from the counter and pinches his chin in contemplation as he inspects the heavy, unevenly wet mess that her curls have become.

“It’s harder when you can’t see the back of your own head,” he says like he’s attempting to spare her feelings. “But to be fair we probably should have gotten a third box.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” she says.

“Don’t worry, I can stretch it,” he says, and begins gently scraping some of the excess off of her ends with the comb.

“I don’t know what I would have done without you,” she says, “Any of you.”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t seen Rachel this happy in a long time. So making sure you don’t end up looking like Chucky’s hot sister is truly the least I can do.”

“Who’s Chucky?”

“Nevermind, I forget your horror movie knowledge still needs some fleshing out. Pun intended.”

She relaxes as he continues his work. When she gets to New York, there will be no shortage of hair salons at her beck and call, but for now, anything is better than her own untrained hands, and he’s mercifully gentle with the comb, enough that she can close her eyes and let her thoughts carry her away for a moment.

****

She comes into his room with her newly dark hair right before lunch, just as Dick  prepares to go see Conner at the station. It’s still red, but it’s hard to tell until the second she passes under the skylight, the color suddenly catching fire. And the first thing that comes to mind is, this is never going to work. There isn’t a haircolor in the world that will stop her from looking completely ethereal. Still, at least it’s a difference, something to help protect her when they make their way.

“What do you think?” she says, touching it coyly. He walks up to her to inspect. Gar did a fantastic job, if vet school doesn’t work out he has a solid backup plan in hair coloring.

“I think trying to keep everyone’s eyes off of you is totally pointless,” he says, not even in a flirtatious way, more like it’s simply a fact.

“Stooop,” she says. 

“You stop,” he replies softly, crowding her, his arms sliding around her waist. It’s hard to keep his distance. He just wants to be holding her all of the time because at least that way he’ll know she wont get hurt. 

[writertitan]

Wildflowers

pairing: levi x f!reader

word count: 2347

themes: reader pov + levi pov, day of wedding shenanigans, literally nothing but fluff, levi being a sentimental puddle of goo and not admitting it

requested by anon

As the sunlight tickles your face and wakes you, one hand reaches out like it normally does to find Levi. When you find emptiness, you frown for a moment, opening one eye to confirm he’s really not on his side of the bed like usual. It’s not until you see the small piece of paper on his pillow that it fully registers in your brain why he’s not there, and your heart swells suddenly as you sit up, a grin stretching across your face. 

You carefully pick up the piece of paper and look down at it, Levi’s neat handwriting scrawled in one simple sentence that sends your heart racing. 

See you at the altar. Don’t be late. 

Your engagement ring glints in the morning sun as you place the little note on your nightstand and get up to prepare for the most important day of your life. 

--

Why couldn’t he get it right? 

Levi huffs in frustration as he adjusts his tie for what feels like the hundredth time. He’s watching his reflection in the mirror, fingers fumbling with the fabric until he stills his movements at the sight of Erwin coming up behind him. 

“You look fine,” his friend chuckles, raising a thick brow. It’s silent for a moment, and then he speaks to Levi again. “Nervous?” 

“No,” Levi says, a little too quickly. 

He is nervous. 

Not because he’s having second thoughts, or because he’s unsure. In fact, he’s never felt so sure of a decision in his life, and that’s saying something for someone who already lives with no regrets. 

He’s nervous because he wants today to be perfect. Not just for his sake, but for you, too. 

This isn’t just the happiest day of his life, it’s the happiest day of yours, too. And Levi will be damned if he doesn’t make sure he doesn’t give that to you. 

There can’t be a hair out of place, there can’t be one mistake. But it’s already starting. He can’t get his tie right. It looks just a little crooked each time he adjusts it. 

Erwin chuckles again and moves to help Levi, adjusting his tie just so until he sees Levi glance in the mirror and visibly relax. He barely did anything, but he knows Levi’s just in his head.

“You look great,” he assures Levi, a large hand on the smaller man’s shoulder. “The picture perfect groom, actually.” 

Levi rolls his eyes and hopes that his heart stops fluttering soon. 

Once Erwin’s gone to check on a few things, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the picture he swiped before leaving your shared home. It’s a photo of the two of you, your right cheek squished against his left one to get as close as possible for the photo that you took yourself. Unnecessary, really, but you did it to be cute. There’s a huge smile on your face and you’ve never looked so happy. Levi even has a hint of a smile quirking up his lips, but his real smile is in his eyes, bright and warm and looking straight into the camera. 

He stares at it for the longest time. It helps calm his nerves. He wants to see you that happy today, if not happier. 

When he puts the photo back in his pocket, he glances at his reflection in the mirror and groans in irritation. 

His tie’s fucked up again. 

--

Your mom and your best friend are running around you, finishing up the last few tasks before you have to get going. You’re pulling and tugging gently at your hair while you stare at yourself in the mirror, frowning to yourself. 

“What is it?” your best friend asks, coming up behind you. 

You glance at her through the mirror and sigh, then look back at yourself. 

“Do I look okay? Do you think my hair will stay in place?” 

Your friend laughs, and gives you a warm, knowing smile. 

“Nervous?” 

“No,” you say, a little too quickly. 

You are nervous. 

With another sigh, you turn to face her instead of gazing at her through the mirror, letting a shy smile peak out. 

“Okay, you got me,” you admit. “I just want everything about today to be perfect. Me included.” 

“Let me ask you this. If Levi came down wearing a burlap sack, would it bother you?” 

In all honesty, it wouldn’t. So you say so. 

“No. I just wanna marry him,” you whisper. 

“Exactly. And from what I gather, I don’t think Levi cares if you come walking down the aisle in a burlap sack with twigs in your hair. No matter what, it’ll be perfect, because it’s your wedding day,” your best friend reminds you. 

“Thanks,” you sigh, but this time it’s a pleased and relaxed sigh. 

She’s right. Today is already perfect, because today is your wedding day. And you’re marrying the love of your life. 

Your mother pops her head in, her eyes lit up with excitement. 

“Time to go!” 

--

Neither you or Levi wanted anything extravagant. Everything about your relationship was about enjoying the simple things in life and your engagement and wedding was no exception. 

Since the very first time you’d seriously begun discussing marriage, you’d dreamed of your wedding with Levi. Now, seeing it come to fruition exactly how you’d hoped, it took your breath away. 

The garden you were getting married in was blooming with flowers and vines and plants of all sorts, and the warm spring sun shone down on the little wooden altar on the other side of the garden, where you could make out Erwin’s hulking form and a familiar slender form before being whisked away to gather a few last things, including your bouquet. 

When Hange shoves a bouquet into your hands,  they give you a knowing grin and a little wink. 

“Don’t tell him I told you, but Levi picked those out himself,” they say, and your heart skips a beat as you stare down at the little bundle of flowers. 

You immediately know that most of them aren’t from the garden itself, but are a collection of small wildflowers in the surrounding area. Levi’s not exactly fond of flowers, but he once said he prefers wildflowers. You had agreed with him.

When Hange’s hand lifts to your hair, you look up at them again, puzzled. Hange shows you the little blue wildflower in their hand, smiling again. 

“Levi also picked out your something blue,” they explain. 

Your cheeks heat up as Hange nimbly secures the flower into your hair. 

And then you’re being guided back towards the little ceremony spot you’d picked out weeks ago with Levi. 

Instantly, your eyes meet the soft grey ones you fell in love with so long ago. It’s only been less than a day since you’d last been able to stare into that familiar gaze, but all day you’d craved the sight of him. As soon as Levi registers your face, his eyes soften the way they do when nobody else is around. It’s a look only reserved for you, and the fact that he feels safe and in love enough to show the small group of people how he looks at you in private, makes you nearly tear up. 

Everything else fades away and, although you know that you’ll be right next to him just moments from now, it feels like forever that you’re walking towards him. You have to silently remind yourself to keep a slow pace. 

But when Levi’s hand extends, reaching for you, you can’t help hurrying the last few steps so your hand can clasp in his and you can link your fingers together as you take your rightful place beside him. 

You’re still looking into his eyes. You’ve barely registered that there’s someone speaking, trying to marry you two together. 

The words are just aching to leave your mouth, though. 

I do. 

--

The ceremony is small and beautiful. It’s exactly the way Levi had wanted it, and he knows it’s exactly the way you wanted it, too. Just him, you, and the people closest to the two of you in the whole world. 

It’s such a small ceremony that it immediately blends into the little reception you’ve planned with him. 

Levi’s too busy kissing you to realize that there’s already a celebration taking place. The moment he’d been granted permission to kiss his bride (what an outdated speech), he seized the opportunity. 

He’s kissing his wife. His wife. His wife. 

He’s kissed you probably millions of times over the course of your relationship. There’s always magic in each kiss, but this one is powerful. Maybe the speech isn’t so outdated after all. Maybe there really is power in words. Because when Levi’s told to kiss his wife, there’s a shock of electricity that shoots from his head to his toes. 

When he pulls you away from you, it’s half his choice, half everyone else’s choice, because suddenly the small crowd you’ve invited to witness your marriage is collectively around the two of you to share hugs and congratulations. 

Levi pretends to be irritated, but his hand remains locked around yours and he squeezes it tenderly to let you know he’s happy, even though you know he’s happy. He shares a few soft smiles with his loved ones, but he never takes his eyes off you for more than two seconds. 

Beautiful. 

You’re absolutely beautiful. 

You’re always beautiful, but today, you’ve never looked more beautiful. Levi eyes the blue wildflower tucked away into your hair, the sight of making his heart go crazy in his chest, and then he eyes the bouquet of wildflowers he’d collected for you after making Hange swear not to reveal his secret. 

As everyone collectively starts moving towards the little cottage in the garden to have a small and quick reception dinner, Levi takes a moment to fall behind just enough to have a moment to himself. He takes out the identical blue wildflower in his pocket to inspect it. 

The two flowers - the one in your hair and the one in his pocket - had been growing together when he’d spotted them earlier. The prettiest ones in the field, if you asked him. 

Even though Levi was adamant that most wedding traditions were silly, he had remained steadfast in two of them, apparently. One being that he wanted to spend the day apart, to make the moment of joining together forever that much sweeter. And two...something blue. 

He knew that it was more of a tradition for the bride to uphold but he had seen those pretty blue flowers and instantly decided to twist the tradition a little to fit your love together. You had your something blue and he shared it with you. 

Levi tucks the flower back into his pocket gently before moving to be next to you again, his hand finding yours naturally. 

You look to him with a gaze full of love, and he offers you a smile.

“We’re married,” you whisper into his ear, making him shiver in the most delightful way. 

“Glad you understood what all that was about,” he teases back, but you just smile even wider, always knowing what he really means when he makes a sarcastic little quip like that. 

“I love you too,” you tell him. 

He loves you so much that it makes his heart swell almost painfully in his chest. But he’ll keep that to himself. 

--

The sunset is painting the sky purple and magenta and orange, and you’re tugging Levi along to go and watch the sunset together, away from the others. Not that they’d even notice; everyone’s had a little too much to drink, you included, and are just having a good time. 

“Just sit down,” you urge Levi, tugging him down underneath the little wooden altar you’d gotten married under just hours ago. The flowers and vines winding around the wood are still vibrant and not yet wilting, surprisingly, and sitting under it offers a fantastic view of the fuschia horizon, with hanging vines and flowers from the altar framing it to offer the most gorgeous sight. 

Even sitting there, watching the sky darken, hand reaching up so you can gently finger and tug at the flowers that frame your eyesight and give you such a spectacular view, such a spectacular memory to sear into your mind, there’s still something - someone - even more stunning. 

You turn to look at your husband, who is already looking at you. 

“You’re supposed to be watching the sunset,” you chide him, but the smile on your face erases any sort of playful irritation in your tone. 

“I’d rather look at my wife,” Levi says simply, so casually, and yet you can see the tips of his ears tinging pink. 

“Oh really?” you ask with a shy smile, gazing at him from under your lashes. 

“She’s the better view.” 

Now his voice is a whisper and he’s leaning in. 

You’re leaning in, too. 

It’s not the second, or third, or fourth kiss as husband and wife; you’ve been kissing Levi all day. You’ve already shared countless kisses as spouses. But this one marks the finality of your first day as two married souls. 

Once you pull away from the kiss, you move to sit between Levi’s legs. Your back rests comfortably against his sturdy chest. His arms wind around your middle. You smile to yourself and close your eyes when you feel his lips at your neck. 

You stay like that until the sun fully sinks beneath the horizon, and when the first stars start to twinkle their hellos is when your loved ones start calling out for you. 

“What are you two doing?! Nothing nasty, I hope!” Hange’s voice is the loudest of all, unfortunately. 

You laugh quietly as you slowly stand with Levi, his hand finding yours like always, and you lean in to kiss his cheek. 

“Let’s go back and start herding everyone home, husband.��� 

At that, he actually chuckles. Levi’s soft grey eyes are a little brighter when he answers. 

“Okay, wife.” 

[ghosttrolls]

Writing prompt:

"please, I don't want to fight!"

From the DP Phantom reverse evil trio AU, if you've heard of it?

(if not, I recommend searching for it in @13thdoodle 's tags, I think you might enjoy the aesthetic!)

Thanks, anon! I took some time to research the AU before writing, so it took a hot minute, but here it is! Enjoy!

Edit: I read the message back and it seems I entirely forgot the prompt. I did start with it but the whole thing just changed so much... sorry. I can make a part 2 later that actually has the "please, I don't want to fight!" I just got so carried away!

Corruption never felt so good. Danny sometimes admitted to himself that he’d never felt like there was a pivotal moment where he felt himself change - aside from when he got his powers, of course. But he felt like, the way that things had turned out, there was only ever one way he could be. The boy who tried to do good, and failed so many times - it just was never really him, after all. It was better this way. He was meant to be.

It was morning. Danny stood in his room, the sun shining through his window, and stretched: arms out high, then to the side. “I think I’ll skip school again today!” he said out loud to himself, so very cheery. He put on his clothes - a white button up shirt, a vest he embroidered himself, black slacks - and nearly skipped out of his room. Another fantastic start to an amazing day.

He hopped down the stairs, pulling up his phone to call Sam. When she picked up, he said “Hey! What do you want to do today?” He pinned the phone between his shoulder and his ear as he stooped to put his shoes on.

“I’m not sure,” said Sam on the other side of the line. “Let’s get breakfast and think about it. Tucker’s pretty impatient, but he won’t say what for. Maybe he has an idea.” Tucker loved tech, and he used to be a pretty decent hacker - but his powers, when he got them, made it difficult if not impossible to get a cell phone to work. So Sam and Danny would meet up with him to talk.

“Okay!” said Danny. “Gotta check downstairs, first. I’ll meet you soon.”

“Of course,” said Sam, a sombre tone in her voice. He knew she didn’t really like what he’d done. But they’d chosen this path, and she understood the danger his parents offered them as well as he did. Danny hung up.

Danny straightened upright from wrestling with his left shoe. He walked through his kitchen, which led to the front door. But instead of heading outside, he went into the family lab, down in the basement, through a closet door. His parents had always had this obsession with ghosts. For so long, he didn’t believe they were real. Until his parents made a working portal to the ghost zone.

Danny stepped downstairs, carefully, listening around the creak of the wooden steps. If there was any movement, a single sound, he’d have to use his powers, which he didn’t really like doing so early in the morning. Especially when he wasn’t showing off. He fit a hand in his vest’s pocket, which had the pattern of a blood blossom on it. The anti-ghost flower. He gripped the seed inside for security.

His foot hit the flat concrete floor, and he checked on his flowers. Still good, still healthy. They needed a bit of water, though. He turned to get the watering can from the other side of the lab. “You know,” he said as he did his work, “it didn’t have to be this way for you. We could have stayed a happy family. But of course, being the idiots you are… always fighting for good. You left me no choice.”

He said this to a silent room, but not an empty one. Deep down, he had a need to justify himself, his actions. He knew this was necessary. Right? That’s why he had to grow these flowers, the ones that always put humans to sleep. His parents and sister could not resist it. And so they lay, in their beds, in their basement, in their coffin. He intended to keep them there as long as he could. And he knew that he could keep this up forever.

After the plants were watered, he made sure they were placed properly among his family. “I miss you,” he said, so quietly he could convince himself he didn’t. And he turned, walking back up the basement stairs to meet his friends. He was in control, Danny reminded himself. We are in control. No one crosses the trio. He shut the door in the kitchen, closing that part of his mind. On to better things. Destructive things! The thought made Danny giggle as he walked out the front door.

In the dark of the basement, in the silence of it all, Jazz sneezed. The darn plants, she must be allergic or something. She decided that Danny was gone, and she opened her eyes, irises glowing green. His morning ritual was so routine, you could know where Danny was just by looking at the time. His grip on the town was stifling - his and his friends, Jazz reminded herself. She crawled out of her bed, standing and stretching. “Okay,” she said to herself, “I’m ready.”

In a flash, she changed - her orange hair now white, her clothes becoming the stealth suit she’d put together from what she could get her hands on. She was a ghost. Half ghost, really, because she could still “turn back human,” but ghost enough to be immune to her brother’s plants. She was still new to it all, and she knew she would never be able to stop the trio’s reign by herself. That’s why she called on a friend.

She walked over to the Ghost Portal, pressing a few buttons on the keypad, and the door to the Ghost Zone opened. She peered through - the ghost zone looked flat and 3D at the same time, like it was made of paper, or maybe some type of goo, or possibly a universe of stars. Whatever it was made of wasn’t important. The people who came out of it were.

After not too long, she saw a form approach the surface of the portal. She backed up, giving them space to come through. As the form stepped forward, Jazz recognized the ghost instantly. Blue-green skin, red eyes, and long hair - it was Vlad Masters.

“Vlad,” said Jazz, “he’s gone again. We should hold another meeting, if we can. The humans of this city can’t protect themselves… I can’t bear to see my parents asleep like that” - she pointed behind her into the darkness, wherever her they were - “for another second!” She was on the brink of tears, falling apart with each breath. How can you stop someone who can engulf you with vines in seconds? Or someone who can send massive plagues to decimate the entire town with a snap of her fingers? Or someone who can touch anything, and turn it into nothing? An endless void, an Egyptian goddess, and a corrupted gardener… As silly as it sounded, Danny’s powers scared Jazz the most. She fell to her knees, lost in despair.

Vlad knelt, resting a hand on Jazz’s shoulder. His eyes, full of concern, watched hers. “Jasmine,” he said, “don’t blame yourself for what has happened. You’re only 18 years old. Even I couldn’t have seen this coming.”

“We’re doomed,” breathed Jazz.

“Perhaps,” agreed Vlad. “But it doesn’t hurt to try. Good versus evil… such a black and white concept. Everyone is ‘morally grey’ one way or another.” He gently pulled Jazz to her feet. “And no one,” he said, “is irredeemable.”

Jazz sniffed. “You really think so?” She knew he worried about her attachment to her brother, so it was comforting to hear. Even if it wasn’t really true.

“I know so,” said Vlad. He held her hand and stepped back towards the portal. “Come,” he said. “Let’s work on saving your brother.”

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

I just remembered part of my dream last night involved Halloween and being sad that I didn’t go to any haunted houses this year, or doing any celebrating. So I planned on dressing up in costume, but the only costumes I had on hand were my IRL Raven cosplays, and perhaps the “bones” /cough of a shitty Harrowhark cosplay because I already wear draping black outfits.

I thought I had the COOLEST idea when I decided I would “try something new”, and my big idea for this “new” outfit was the blue 80′s Raven dress with my animated White Raven cloak. I was Distressed because I couldn’t find the gloves to go with it. (Too real, dream. I don’t have any idea where they are. ;;; )

I don’t know why I thought it was so big-brained but I expected people to be like “That’s so cool!”

Then the dream completely derailed when it turned to being about the next-door neighbors outside my room, which was my childhood room (from when I was like 5-7 years old-- this is a recurring theme in my dreams to be living in Really Old Childhood Homes, but as an adult???).

The children were playing outside and saying things like “Did you know there can be two gods?” and “our dad is one of them!” “Will you come worship him with us?”

And I was like “I’m not even Christian and tonight’s the most important night in my Neo-Pagan calendar!”

But they kept saying “That’s okay, you should come anyways!” So I didn’t go because I was getting Creepy Vibes, and it turns out they were in a really cult-y cult? And the dad got rich off it?? Because for some reason the next-door house was suddenly a business building advertising the guy????

I don’t even think the people living next to us in that house HAD kids, but... dream weirdness, man.

And then I went to meet my mother at this community gathering thing and she was disappointed in the Chinese food she bought, which I thought at first was in-shell mussels with a sweet-and-sour sauce (sounds heavenly, tbh), but turned out to be hot dog pieces, which was unfortunate because that meant I couldn’t eat them for her, and I woke up MADLY craving those strawberry-goo-covered bananas? That was unfortunate because I have bananas but I already ate all my strawberries. Dang.

[dreamii-yume]

New Episode Update Let’s GOO!!!

Warning : This is just Yume having a mental breakdown, seriously. This episode update was WHACK.

~ MAJOR SPOILERS FOR 68-75 ~

I know we ain’t participating and all but the game reminding you that there’s 10 minutes left to prepare is seriously bad for my heart.

Aah, shiet. Vil is still hurt.

He still has small wounds and scratches that he hid make up. Daddy, I’m worried.

Apparently, yeah, I’m not the only one cause my homeboy, Epel just asked to switch the center role with Vil. THE CONFIDENCE.

Aw, he’s worried about him falling over during stage (And make the performance look bad) Come on, Epel just be honest-

...He finally became the ideal poisoned apple that Vil wanted, huh?

Vil being proud a mom.

But the queen inside him is STRONG.

He’ll embrace the villain in him, OUR QUEEN CAN STILL GO. INJURED, WHO?

...AAND he proceeds to roast Epel again lol Typical Vil.

I love how Epel just accepted a nickname like “Doku Ringo-chan” lol It’s so cute, senior-junior relationship goals right there.

HERE WE GO.

Everyone is actually really confident hahaha

I really wish Deuce’s mom, Ace’s brother, Jamil’s sister, and Vil’s dad were here in person to watch.

HECK I WANT KALIM’S WHOLE FAMILY HERE WHY NOT

T-THEY’RE REALLY LETTING US HEAR THE FULL SONG. 

IS THAT JAMIL RAPPING.

Look at Jamil’s solo SD dancing. LOOK AT IT.

I really fucking love Vil’s singing voice aaa

HIS VOICE IS SO GOOD.

Album when disney.

Is Vil okay.

...aight im hearing some high quality panting here

...dont mind me listening to it a bit too much...

...they’re going to be great reference for some spicy- leave me alone

Vil panting is making me feel SOMETHING.

ANYWAY. THE CROWD IS A MOOD.

IS VIL OKAY.

Unmei no megami is giving me idia ptsd here.

Heartslabyul Senpais are watching their kids, looking all proud *sniff

Oh god, after playing Obey Me, it just occurred to me how similar Cater and Asmodeus’ voices are...

Watch these Senpai dorks act like Ace and Deuce’s second family. Trey being the dad, Riddle being the mom, and Cater being the supportive big bro. It’s so beautiful.

Riddle’s voice is a lot more softer now, I just realized...It’s so soothing...

God i miss u too octavinelle never change

Yeah, why tf did Floyd not audition for this

Bro, can you imagine Nobuhiko Okamoto in the squad as well??? IMAGINE-

Of course, he wasn’t in the mood back then. Of course. Why did i even ask.

IMAGINE FLOYD BEING IN VDC NEXT YEAR.

Omg i miss u too octavinelle never change

Azul’s gonna overblot again with Floyd’s marketing skills lol

Jade coming in like welp i guess thats that. Too bad, huh Azul?

GOD i miss u too octavinelle never change

SAVANA BITCHES HI

I wonder if these mfs knew that Vil just overblotted and malmal was the one who fixed the stage lol

oooh Leona’s sus about something he a sharp boi

Speak up my guy—

still so weird leona taking his job seriously

Malleus looking happier seeing this performance rather than Lilia’s lol

I miss the simpery in Sebek

Silver’s not in the verge of falling into a coma for once wow

Chenya’s so cute.

AND WE’RE BACK TO CUTE HEIGH HO TEAM

fcking shotacons man...im not one to talk

Aw, they didn’t show Neige performance...

The simping in the crowd is a MASSIVE mood.

WHO WINS TELL ME

These night raven fuckers better vote for us and not pull a “oh shie my hand slipped lololol” i swear to god- im gonna throw hands

*me holding my phone and pretending to vote as well

Suspense music intensifies be like-

HAAA

BOIS, ITS ONE VOTE DIFFERENCE WHO IS IT AAAA

WHAT.

HOW DARE- HOW!? HOW DID WE LOSE!?

WE LOST BY ONE VOTE!?

EVERYONE’S SO SHOCKED LOL

vil pls dont overblot again-

Noooo grim’s tuna cans-

WE REALLY LOST TO A LEGIT KIDS SONG.

These children do not have the right to be this cute. I wanna take Timmy, Toby, and Shelpie home.

I swear to god one of these dwarves sounds like Cheka lol Is it Toby?

EPEEELLLL DONT CRRYYYY

KALIMMMM DONT CRRYYYY

KALIM HAVING THE AUDACITY TO SOUNDING LIKE A BIG BROTHER AND THEN CRYING HIS OWN RIGHT AFTER LOLOLOL

I HATE THIS EPISODE YALL MADE MY TWO BOIS CRY IM FIGHTING THIS EPISODE. BURN THIS.

This background music too though im deeeeddd

KALIM IM SO SORRY FOR MAKING A SINFIC ABOUT YOU PLS DONT CRY-

Jamil impressed about Vil being “calm” and Vil just going “h e h. you dont even know.”

....ha...

Monsieur Rook. WHAT did you say.

ROOK VOTED FOR ROYAL SWORD. Are you kidding me. You snek how could you- i loved you

WHAT DID I SAY- Ya’ll night raven fuckers shall not slip by their fingers when voting rook.

Vil is in the brink of passing out aaaaa

I have never heard Ace this pissed before whoa- lol he sounds like Deuce in his delinquent mode

Aw...Rook felt that Neige’s performance carries a stronger bond than theirs :’( it’s hard to put the blame on him when he’s saying all these stuff

It’s just like what they said in the past episodes that it’s really hard voting for your own team when you know the opposing team is better.

Aww...He just wanted Vil to believe in himself more...Rook is such a best man. Im crying-

Oh noooo is Vil gonna cry too nooo- daddy turned to baby really quick SOMEONE GIVE HIM AN EMERGENCY HUG

Well- at least...at least the 100 year record of not being able to win is still going, yeah? Um...bad joke? Sorry, i’ll see myself out-

NEIGE NOT NOW AND YOUR VII-KUN BULLSHIT- we’re having a moment here

Neige is such sweetheart but aaaahh— This makes it worse, we can’t even hate him aaa—

OMG JUST WHEN I THOUGHT THINGS COULDN’T- AAAAA

MONSIEUR ROOK. YOU’RE A FAN OF NEIGE!?

MOTHERFUCKER just got exposed by Neige himself lol

Going to Neige’s shake hand events, sending him letters, buying all his merch and shie- HE’S A FULL BLOWN NEIGE STAN

WTF YOU SNEK GET OUT OF THIS SCHOOL-

OOOOHHH THAT FUCKING ALBUM- HIS “LIFE’S WORK” or whatever bullshit IS FULL OF NEIGE

...actually- my japanese is lacking- im not sure lol what is a ブロマイド??? Lol I feel like a clown.

Rook is sweating profusely LOL

...what do you have to say for yourself, monsieur rook.

Wait- huh is that-

IS HE GONNA CRY-

WHY IS EVERYONE CRYING!??!?!?!

HE’S SILENTLY CRYING AS HE INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO NEIGE WHAT. THE. FUCK IS THIS EPISODE.

Neige fanclub??? Eternal Snow??? What kind of creepy-ass- OH, HE EVEN HAS A MEMBERSHIP NUMBER TOO-

Props to Neige with his :) expression unfaltering.

I’m- I’m speechless.

Vil is just looking down at Rook in disappointment like- “you’re more pathetic than I am”

Queen just went “I think you need this handkerchief more than I do now” THAT’S RIGHT. REPENT MOTHERFUCKER.

Rook crying is cursed.

But damn, I’m kinda liking this new relationship this bitchy relationship they have

Neige just dragged everyone’s ass back on stage and his snow white energy just said “LETS ALL BE FRIENDS AND SING”

NEIGE IS FUCKING GREAT- HE REALLY DID GOT THESE BITCHES TO SING HEIGH HO LOL

ACE’S RELUCTANT SINGING AND DEUCE LOOKING LIKE HE’S HAVING FUN

KALIM IS SUCH A MOOD, SINGING EVEN WITHOUT KNOWING THE LYRICS AND JAMIL JUST HAVING THAT “i want to die” ENERGY

AIGHT. ROOK IS HAVING WAY TOO MUCH FUN AND EPEL IS TRYING HIS BEST. HE’S SO CUTE-

OMG NEIGE AND VIL HAVING SUCH GOOD HARMONY—

YAHOO Y A H O O TANOSHIINDA~~ 

YA’LL SURE ABOUT GIVING ME THIS BLESSED MOMENT??

What a somewhat happy ending, even though Rook just backstabbed us I’m crying Beauté 100 points!!!

LOL Vil realizing he’s having fun singing with Neige- “SOMEONE JUST END ME RIGHT NOW-“ The desperation in his voice-

I love how Neige’s yahoo yahoo is messing with everyone’s head, even Vil wants to pass out lol

haha Crowley is so depressed lol

WHA- WHO-

HEADMASTER OF ROYAL SWORD!?

He looks like your typical grandpa- and his outfit looks like that one mickey mouse wizard outfit but blue—

Old man just went “we won lol” just to piss Crowley off I like this guy’s energy already-

Crowley being most likely as old as this guy—

ooohh this man just sensed something in this stage- Leona did too, didn’t he???

* Damn. Crowley talking so fast sounds like he’s making a load of bullshit lol

Anyway, I’m just glad that it’s not mickey mouse who’s the headmaster— I would’ve lost my shit.

We’re back in our dorms and I forgot that the squad doesn’t live with us anymore. It’s suddenly so lonely now...

Grim is getting the yahoo yahoo ptsd too lol it’s too goddamn catchy

oooohh shiet- mickey is calling us again

YES we finally got a good picture of this motherfucker

It seems like nothing is disrupting our communication this time, so MC thought to call Grim but—

Grim is not here.

Uuhhh...Grim? Where you’ve gone??? We’re getting flashbacks of the first parts of the game.

We went out to find Grim and HE’S CHOMPING ON ANOTHER BLACK STONE ON THE STAGE-

GRIM SPIT THAT OUT YOU LOOK TERRIFYING

AAAAAHH GRIM HAS GONE FERAL— He’s attacking US

Is this because we didn’t win his tuna canss nooo

NoOO SWEET BABY COME BACK.

Legit I’m sad, please baby don’t overblot like this...

He learned a new move though- SCRATCH

Ooh— We’re seeing some Ignihyde scenes here~

P U H I H I

Idia getting a lot of emails from bigshot companies whoa—

THAT OLYMPUS—?! EXCUSE ME??? Ortho what- Are we finally getting that Hercules episode—

Damn getting a hot chance in olympus only to put them down the recycling bin oof— Idia why edit : Yume was informed that olympus is kind of a company that sponsored VDC sorry she was mind-fucked at this moment and the ability to understand proper Japanese just went whoosh lol Thanks to @starshiningsirius for pointing it out for Yume~ ♥︎ HONESTLY YUME’S JUST GONNA WAIT FOR ACTUAL PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATORS AT THIS POINT LOL Don’t trust me for important situation too much lol

Aaaahh...We’re getting this shut-in out of his room in the next episode, are we?

And that concludes the whole Pomefiore Episode! JESUS CHRIST 75 CHAPTERS ALL IN ALL!? How long is the Ignihyde chapter going to be, huh!?

This was a really, really fun episode lol I’d consider this a fan service episode actually cause of all the things we get to experience— The singing, dancing, and the new songs, THE DRAMA. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

But then, the plot thickens, no? What’s going to happen to Grim? In the Ignihyde episode? And those reoccurring memories of us? And our relationship with Tsunotarou lol ALSO WE NEVER REALLY DID FIND OUT WHAT ROOK’S UNIQUE MAGIC IS. DISNEY EXPLAIN—

Thanks for reading this shitpost of Yume losing her shiet lol See you all in the Ignihyde Episode~ ❤

[nettlestonenell]

(above, an unpopular opinion?--if so, the first of many)

The King: Eternal Monarch Catches Plenty of Hate Online Why That Is, And Why You Should Ignore It Part I

(to be posted in several parts, spoilers possible, but will be limited)

Subjects of the Kingdom, Citizens of the Republic, and (as always) Gentle Readers:

If you’ve spent any amount of time searching The King: Eternal Monarch, Lee Min Ho, Kim Go Eun, or various other adjacent topics online since 2020, the fact that Kdrama The King: Eternal Monarch is more likely to be associated with negative coverage rather than positive, is far from news to you.

Just the other day, @dumbassdictionarysds popped into my DMs and asked if I might have a post in me to explain what I thought the roots of this heated rejection of the show might be.

“I was thinking of making a video on TKEM and its criticisms and why people didn't like it and why I liked it,” they wrote, “I would really appreciate if you could give some insight into what common criticisms you saw and what you thought of them.” 

It should come as no surprise at this point that, as someone showed up wanting to talk about--and hear about--TKEM that my responding was an absolute no-brainer, and a welcome moment of elation.

As we dive in, let me give two (sorta three) shout-outs to places I’ve read meta for TKEM, whose thoughts on the matter and the show have no doubt helped shaped my own opinions and understanding of it: bitchesoverdramas.com and thefangirlverdict.com, with a nod to TKEM’s Wikipedia page as well. For the record (because it seems it might prove germane here) I am neither Korean nor have I/do I live in Korea (nor the Kingdom of Corea, for that matter).

Okay. Many people (perhaps most people?—at least online fan people) really, really have issues with TKEM. Writer Kim Eun Sook’s shows, while generally well received by fandom and critics, are no strangers to occasional controversy-- particularly of her two most recent dramas available through Netflix, Mr. Sunshine and The King: Eternal Monarch. 

Research seems to show that KES tends toward being something of a polarizing figure in fandom. Those that love her don’t just love her a little, but will die on this hill, and those who dislike what she does can really, really, REALLY, not stand it (and are also ready to die on that hill). 

That’s a lot of people camped out, ready to die on their respective hills. For every person that thinks Goblin is the greatest kdrama ever filmed, there is a person ready and waiting to dismember Heirs’ Kim Tan.

No one should be surprised that KES’ new show would prove polarizing.

So let’s get down to business. Why all the hate?

Expectations Deliberately and Consistently Subverted

Was this Lee Min Ho’s Regarding Henry-moment?

WRT TKEM, let’s start with the elephant/top star in the room: stratospheric Hallyu star Lee Min Ho’s return to viewers’ screens following his two year absence due to mandatory military service (and removal from public life). 

There is a weight added, then, to fans’ expectations for the show. It’s not just LMH’s next project, it becomes his MOST IMPORTANT project, his ONLY new project. (Since 2016′s The Legend of the Blue Sea, I believe).

Don’t ask me to react to this photo. I’ve been processing its existence for months now, no conclusions to share yet in sight.

These are fans of Boys Over Flowers’ Goo Joon Pyo, of Heirs’ (also by KES) Kim Tan. These are die-hard viewers who know how they like to consume their LMH on-screen. But KES (and LMH, b/c he’s actually spoken directly to this) aren’t interested in handing out on-brand LMH anymore. Therefore, his Corean King/Emperor Lee Gon is much more in line with the mature, controlled, focused and kind Joseon magistrate Dam Ryeong (from The Legend of the Blue Sea) than the out-of-touch disaster boy chaebols like GJP and KT that rocketed him to global stardom and notoriety.

For instance, TKEM has its hero Lee Gon (LMH) experiencing an epiphany moment of actually understanding and feeling deep empathy for what the female lead is going through—an understanding and an emotion that that utterly evades both GJP and KT (and let’s face it, the majority of kdrama male leads) throughout their entire series.

Do people perhaps hate on LMH in TKEM just as they hated Harrison Ford’s attempt in Regarding Henry to choose projects that artistically interested and challenged him but were found NOT to interest movie goers that rather wanted to see (what they expected from) “a Harrison Ford film”? Is it that viewers wanted to watch (what they expected from) a LMH kdrama?

Had the character of Lee Gon been written and performed as more of a GJP-role would the show’s reception have been more robust and less controversial?

Thankfully, for this viewer, we’ll never have to know.

You cannot truly address LMH’s return to screens without bringing up TKEM episode one, and the way the writing chose to handle what surely had been incredibly hyped in Korean media (LMH’s return). 

Does LMH storm the screen in the first moments, triumphant? Is his face the first thing we see? Not even close. The show begins in a muddle for viewers, not sure where we are or what’s going on. And then it…doesn’t do much to clear that up. [more on that in a later section] 

Essentially, the show begins in a police interrogation room, during a scene that actually takes place in the penultimate episode of the show. It then proceeds to a seminal event that happened 25 years BEFORE the main timeframe the show operates in. 

Neither of these things involve a visible LMH. IN FACT, it is more than 37 minutes into the first episode before he’s acting on-screen. [Yes, I know he’s shown in a 10 second lightning flash right before the show’s 4 minute mark—but that’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, and barely even counts as an amuse-bouche.]

When we do see LMH as the grown Lee Gon (a child actor having portrayed him for the prior 37 minutes), if a viewer is holding entitled golden boys GJP and KT in their mind, it changes their potential reading of Lee Gon’s entire introduction to us as king. The humorous sniping between him and Court Lady Noh over getting married and producing an heir might take on a (misinterpreted) nasty edge, if one is predisposed to expect LMH to portray an temper-tantrum-throwing male character of great wealth whose character arc is to redeem him from his bratty nature through finding the love of an average good woman [Hint: that’s not at all what’s going on here.]--if that’s what a viewer showed up for, they’re going to have those expectations disappointed. And if they can’t shed them, they are going to hate this show.

...to be continued in Part II  “Subtitles? More like Sub-par-titles“