#okay these two eps finally have locked me in

[jjangwonie]

DOUBLE LIFE

DOUBLE LIFE MASTERLIST

𓂃⊹ ִֶָ summary: With your anonymous Twitter account, you've acquired a pretty good following and popularity, throughout your school as well. Jake, your long-time crush, is one of them, head over heels. Yet when you once confessed to him, he had rejected your confession, saying that he already has his eye on someone else. What happens when he finds out that his online crush is the person that he rejected? And... How are you going to deal with this?

𓂃⊹ ִֶָ word count: ~2k

jjangwonie note: first written ep!! I was a little busy the last days, so I wasn't updating as I was initially, but here it is! I decided to split this written ep in two, since it will be too long imo, but then it will be more to look out for, no? ;). I'd love to hear your opinions or speculations about the smau so far, I am having so much fun with this ^^

Important notice! for written eps, I will put the "previous|next" button on the bottom, so it's easier for you to reach 😁

ELEVEN - you look guilty as hell [written]

“Finally, you're out.” Riki's voice reaches your ears as if you couldn't hear his nags and whines through his text messages. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” You roll your eyes, coming out of the girls bathroom.

You push through them and quickly empty your books into your locker, before swinging your bag over your shoulder and the four of you exit the main entrance of the building.

Sunoo huffs a breath out. "Imagine going in between the two buildings in one day." His eyes wander over the long pathway with many patches of nature between the two buildings. "I already am worn out from looking at it." His hands fly to his shaking head.

Jungwon chuckles. "It gets easier. And to be honest, it's a nice break from the cramped classes," he responds while putting his spectacles in its case.

"And an excuse for if you're late," you add with a hint of mischief. "Please. The amount of times I took my sweet ass time when I had Advanced Writing."

"Okay, nerd." Riki breathes out, earning a smack on the arm from you.

"Whatever." You stick your nose up.

"And while I was there, it gave me an excuse to search for my brother and ask for money. You know, the money that I used for your extra desserts?"

Your eyes land on Riki, who avoids your eyes purposefully. "What? Nah, don't know what you are talking about." Of course. Act all innocent all you want.

Sunoo locks your arms together. "Anyways. Excited for tonight? First time going out with the four of us like this, out and about and not getting tipsy in the park." He laughs. "The weather is pretty nice too."

And he is right. To be fair, the warmth of the descending sun touching your skin paired with the soft breeze is indeed nice and very calming.

Not for long, though.

That's when your brother calls out to you. You're met with Sunghoon waving you over, not very far from where you four are standing. But your eyes land on the figure beside him.

"No way," you mutter, eyes wide. And you're not the only one. Jake looks evenly surprised, lips seemingly still. Riki's eyes dart between you two sneakily while you approach. "Well, isn't this interesting?"

"Uhm. Excuse me... Jake?"

Though it is a quieter place, the music of the crowded school festival makes your voice barely heard. Jake turns around, before finding the source of the voice.

"Yeah? That's me."

His eyes looked so dreamy, and his pretty full lips were turned up in a friendly smile, making heat rise to your cheeks to the point of you wanting to run away right there and then.

"...Hi, I'm... well..." you fail to get out of your words.

"Yeah?"

No, you shouldn't leave now. Not when you already, finally, have his attention.

"Um, I have seen you during football practices, and around school."

That's a lie. It wasn't only those practices, and whenever you had to go over to the other building, at least, it didn't feel as casual to you as it might seem.

"I know this is really sudden, and you don't really know me, but... I think you're really cool and, I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime."

You can't even look in his eyes the moment those words fall out of your mouth.

It felt like an eternity before he said something. "Oh! I... Wow, I'm flattered. Really! But..."

Oh.

"I kinda have my eyes on somebody else right now... I hope you understand."

Oh... yeah, of course.

Although the heat in your cheeks doesn't falter, your heart feels like it fell all the way into the ground. As if this isn't the most embarrassing thing that could happen.

"Oh gosh, of course. I am so sorry for bothering you. This was a mistake." You let out an embarrassed chuckle.

"No, no, you didn't bother me at all. It was brave of you to-"

But you're already backing away. "I should go. Please forget that this happened. Sorry again!" you manage to squeeze out, before turning around and disappearing in the crowd.

"Wait, I didn't catch your...." But you're already gone. "...name."

Well, shit.

Sunghoon, oblivious to the tension, grinned.

"Jake, this is my little sister, y/n, and her friends..."

'Does he know? Does Hoon know? Does he even remember? That is stupid, why would he even remember?'

"...you know Riki already. This is Jungwon, right? And that is Sunoo- y/n? You there?"

Sunghoon snaps his fingers in your face, finally making you lift your head to face Jake. He looks as shocked, maybe even more than you.

'No, he does remember, doesn't he?'

"Hi, nice to meet you, Jake." Which comes out as barely a whisper.

Jake is not doing all well either, his eyes darting between you and Sunghoon.

'That's that girl from the other day who asked me out. So her name is y/n... Wait no, she's Sunghoon's sister...'

'She is Sunghoon's little sister.'

'I rejected Sunghoon's little sister.'

'Oh, yeah I'm fucked.'

"Uh hi!" he sounds out hurriedly. "Yeah, nice to finally meet you in person, y/n. And nice to meet you all." Jake plays with the back of his hair. Your brain is setting off alarms, telling you to go away, to cancel this, before something embarrassing happens again. But you can't.

'This is going to be a disaster. How am I going to hang with him in this setting while he is talking real flirty with me on Twitter? What if he decides to text her? What do I do?'

"Earth to y/n," Sunghoon's voice cut through your thoughts. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Riki snickers. "Maybe she's just starstruck meeting Jake," he teases, earning a sharp elbow from Jungwon.

You shake your head. "I am fine, Hoon. Let's go. Don't wanna be late." You take fast strides forward, dragging Sunoo along with you, the others falling into pace with you.

Even though the walk through the city was dead silent, it surprisingly, luckily, went by pretty fast.

As you step into the pub, the warm, lively atmosphere washes over you, a stark contrast to the tense silence of the walk. The air hummed with chatter and the clinking of glasses, while the scent of beer and pub food wafts around you.

You guys walk around and find Jay and Heeseung who were engrossed in their pre-performance rituals. Jay was hunched over his guitar, fingers dancing across the strings as he fine-tuned each note. Heeseung, meanwhile, was running through vocal exercises, his rich voice barely audible over the pub's ambient noise.

The moment Jay spotted you, his face lit up with a broad grin.

"y/n!" he exclaimed, enveloping you in a warm hug. "It's been too long!" As Jay releases you and moves to greet the others, Heeseung approaches, a charismatic smile on his face.

"Well, well," he says, his eyes twinkling as they meet yours. "If it isn't the lovely y/n. You're looking particularly pretty tonight. Did you dress up just for us?"

Before you could even process the compliment, let alone respond, Sunghoon is there, inserting himself between you with speed. "Hyung," Sunghoon warns. "What did I tell you about flirting with my sister?"

Heeseung raises his hands in mock surrender, but the mischievous glint never leaves his eyes. "Can't blame a guy for appreciating beauty when he sees it, can you?"

Sunghoon's eyes narrowed. "I can and I will. Keep it up, and you might find yourself singing soprano tonight." He takes a broad, but humouristic stance.

"Alright, alright," Jay intervenes, still chuckling. "How about we get you all a table? We've got about twenty minutes before we need to set up for real."

As you all settle at a table with a pretty good view of the stage, your murmuring with the three boys comes to a halt when you turn to your brother.

"No. I only said yes to boba," He says sternly. "Oh, come on!" you whine. "Please?" you ask sweetly. He knows he can't win, so he complies with a sigh. "Fine. Non-alcoholic drinks for the four of you," he states while he stands up. Simultaneously, Jake stands up as well. "I-I'll help to bring everything back with you."

When they reach the bar and order the drinks, Jake tries to sound casual, leaning his arms over the bar, mirroring Sunghoon. "So... That's your little sister, huh?"

"Yeah. Why?" Sunghoon's eyebrow raises while watching the bartender making the drinks. "Oh, nothing! Just never seen her around before." But he fails at sounding nonchalant. "You haven't?" Sunghoon asks.

Jake turns his head to face his good friend. "I mean, I've seen her, but I didn't know she was your sister," he downplays. Sunghoon narrows his eyes, but not facing him yet, his eyes stuck on the drinks getting mixed. "Uh-huh. And why are you so interested all of a sudden?"

"Interested? What, no! It's just... she seems nice. Haha..." Jake straightens his back. When the bartender puts the drinks on the bar, Sunghoon finally turns to face Jake. "You're acting weird. What's going on? Jake, have you been hitting on my sister?" he asks suspiciously.

Jake waves his hands frantically. "No! No way! I would never! I mean, not that she's not great, but—"

Sunghoon sighs. "Look, Jake, I know you. If you're thinking of pulling your usual flirty routine—"

"I'm not! Promise! Scout's honor!" He puts his hands up. Sunghoon throws a look at Jake. "You were never a scout."

No, but I did reject your sister once... "What was that?"

"Nothing! I said... uh... your sister seems really... nice!"

Sunghoon narrows his eyes again while handing half of the drinks to Jake. "Uh-huh. Well, keep it that way. Nice and distant. Got it?" Jake nods in response. "Oh, and Jake?" Sunghoon smirks. "Yeah?"

"Stop sweating. You look guilty as hell."

That went really smoothly. Not like it went any better on your end...

"I'm done for. What do I do?" you mutter from behind your hands.

"Quick! Fake your own death!" Sunoo lets out while scooting closer to your seat. Riki deadpans over. "Great idea. I'll start writing your eulogy."

"Can we please be serious for one second?" Jungwon sighs and pries your hands from your face, urging you to sit up. "Serious? How can I be serious when my crush slash real-life rejector is talking to my brother?!"

Sunoo gasps. "Ooh! I've got it! We'll create a distraction. Riki, how fast can you learn to juggle?"

"About as fast as y/n can grow a few inches." He leans back and rolls his eyes. A glare is quickly sent his way. "I will end you, Riki."

You take a big breath before sitting straight. "What if Jake tells Sunghoon he rejected me?" Riki sits up and leans over the table this time. "Didn't he get really concerned when you were moping around?"

That is true. You never told your brother, but it was easily noticeable you were out of it for some time.

"Okay, let's think. Would Jake hyung even remember that it was you he rejected?" Jungwon taps on the back of his hand. "But what if he does? Hoon will kill him." You say up front, before pointing at yourself. "And then me."

"Ooh, murder mystery. That's another great distraction, great idea." Sunoo lets out, stuck in his own thoughts. Riki pats Sunoo's head sarcastically. "Sure, because adding homicide to the mix will definitely improve the situation, hyung."

Jungwon sighs and faces you, trying to find your eyes.

"Look, y/n, even if he remembers, I doubt he'd bring it up to your brother. It would be awkward for him too. And he definitely doesn't know about your Twitter... situation."

You groan and you're back behind your hands. "I'm doomed."

"There, there. Look on the bright side." Jungwon chimes in again and pats your back. You peek from behind your fingers. "What bright side?"

"...I'll let you know when I think of one."

"They're coming back! Quick, assume casual positions!" Sunoo whispers loudly as he sees Sunghoon and Jake walking back with the drinks.

Riki leans back in his chair, acting all cool and nonchalant. "Oh yes, this is how I always sit when I'm not worried about potential fratricide."

"I hate you all so much right now." You hiss back. "Love you too, shorty," Riki grinned, ducking as you swat at him.

Jungwon pats your back again. "Now smile and try not to look like you're planning an escape route."

PREVIOUS | NEXT

©jjangwonie 2024

Taglist:

@jvngyoi @heexissa @i03jae @leaderwons @unhakki @istglevi-gotmesimping

@dreamiestay @poohoon @j33mn @nshmrarki @ckline35

@payformycoffeeandleave @miszes @onlyhyunjin @iatemycatfreckles @tannyr98

@conwunder @cheridiaries @simsungsims @heelovesmeknot @wayzatiny

@sanasour @violets-for-yj

[thoughtsonkm]

Hot spring buddies

It was a perfect balance of a fun episode but with a lot of domesticity and quirks and all around softness. Their day to day life when they finally found some free time is truly so peaceful and harmonious. They're just attuned to each other. Mischievousness and teasing is always present, they just can't get enough of having fun together.

Where?! Who?! You been where?! With who?!

JK was like: "Excuse me? You went with MY friends? Not ME? What am I chopped liver? 7 years ago you say? OK FINE

GODDAMMIT it's criminal to not do a original song together! It's criminal to not do an album together! Criminal offense! Judge lock em' up!

And Jimin lulling Jungkook to sleep..ah that angel voice 🥹

~

"This is our last moment of relaxation" - JK 😭 😭 (I know everything going on was looming on their minds obviously but their hunger to enjoy and live to the fullest until the last minute makes me emo)

~

NAH the damn haircut 😂 The way he has perfected the boba ball cut. The juxtaposition of his face/hair with his body is so funyyyy.

*Going to the hair stylist* JK: so.. I did a thing Stylist: fuck, okay let me think, I CAN FIX THIS

~

He brought his cards cause he wanted to play only with Jimin since CT. Why do they have to be so adorable about these little supposedly insignificant details 😭

~

Look at us. Look how far we've come. Who would've thought?

Okay testosterone calm down, OR DON'T (This was low-key hilarious af tho tbh)

I saw ppl hyperventilating because they were suddenly showing too much (Jimin I'm looking at you) but more than that I think it's nice that they were so relaxed and in their own world, so much so, that they didn't really think much about their every movement.

But also they need to stop with the moaning and grouting every 2 sec tho. Like I get it but? cmon

~

Sorry but I live for the little funny details like Jungkook drenching the sea urchin in soy sauce and then putting it in vegetable soup to salvage it.

~

As if you can deny this face anything??

Cause you know there's AYS stash but there's a personal stash too obviously.

Oh twin beds? Let us start our lights foreplay

Jungkook's semi romantic struggles continue. Feed yo man Jimin pls!

The whole ski part of the episode looked so fun. I'm sure they had a blast. This is officially the best activity they've tried during this series.

It was so adorable them continuously falling and getting up. Even the crew kept on falling. The snow must've been so thick.

Snow angel

~

What in the meta shit is happening next week? I'm not ready to see them react to themselves. In the last episode to the first two episodes? Oh they're out for blood. And I know they're not gonna show what we want to see (ASS SLAP) but still those 5 minutes should be fun.

I wish sapporo would last forever. Weeks passed by so quickly. Why is it only one episode left? And then we're never seeing them again until next year (at least we have hobis discharge and the bts eps)

[rocknrollflames]

Day Twenty-two: Your Favorite Picture of Your Favorite Band

30 Day Band Challenge

This was like pulling teeth. I am seriously behind on the 30 Day Band Challenge because I've been stuck on this one. I finally decided I would select one picture for every album they released. That was going to be ... six in total. One for AFD, LIES, UYI 1, UYI 2, SPA, CD. Then I decided that I would also allow another photo for Live Like a Suicide (I know and don't care that it was an EP and that those songs were later released on LIES - it's still their first release and that matters). Then I wondered if it was okay to add another photo for The Greatest Hits. But wait - Live Era is far more important than that! Hmm ... Live at the Marquee ... Does that mean I should add one for Locked and Loaded? The AFD Box Set? And the UYI Box Set too? There are tons of bootlegs ... lol.

(I finally just settled on these. I have included one photo for: Live Like a Suicide - their first release, Appetite for Destruction - their first LP, GNR Lies - second LP (Don't try and tell me that it isn't an LP because it is. Any album longer than five songs is long play - five songs or less is extended play.), Use Your Illusion I - third LP, Use Your Illusion II - fourth LP, Spaghetti Incident - fifth LP, GNR Live Era 87 - 93, The Greatest Hits, Chinese Democracy - sixth LP, Locked N' Loaded: The Appetite for Destruction Box Set, and The Use Your Illusion Box Set!)

But I of course have so many more faves, lol. My mouth ...

Your favorite picture of your favorite band ... yeah, right.

Edit: I had to. I added one more photo. I had to. So, let's just say it's in honor of the album, Live at the Marquee, lol.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Top 5 BL KISSES of 2023!

You’re so cool! Love you! 😘

💋

Love this question, but I tend to be really really in love with the like smaller kisses in shows some times cause of the #tenderness and #domesticity, but since there are so many good kisses and you think I'm cool, I'll give you 5 big and 5 small kisses 😘

5 Big Kisses

The Ultimate Winner- Yai and Jom, I Feel You Linger in the Air, Ep 7

What a phenomenal way to break the tension. Bright and Nonkul cycled through so many emotions in this entire scene fleeing the party, and I remember how well done this kiss was not only for the kiss itself but because everyone I knew was tense as hell seeing these boys kissing out in the open where anyone might see them.

Ray and Sand, Only Friends, Ep 2

Again, love or hate Only Friends does not matter to me, but I was absolutely obsessed with this kiss for quite awhile because I love the visual metaphor of things heating up between Sand and Ray by having smoke pour out of their mouths around the kiss. Like they were literally smoking hot, and I thought that was cool as fuck.

Yamato and Kakeru, I Can't Reach You, Ep 8

So many chances to lock lips, so many interruptions, and finally, fucking FINALLY that curtain came around both of them and the possible interruptions didn't matter any more. If you are going to save any kissing until the very last episode, this is how it should be done.

Lom and Nuea, Wedding Plan, Ep 6

I'm just going to leave this here. I really loved their sex scene in this episode. The Me Mind Y boys have some killer sex scene game.

King and Uea, Bed Friend, Ep. 9

gif by @gunsatthaphan

There are a near infinite number of KingUea kisses that I love with my entire being, but I think what takes the cake for me with this kiss in the bathroom in Episode 9 is the teasing, begging, and nuzzling. Like it just feels so familiar, domestic, and still full of desire and I appreciate that these boys getting together did not decrease their sex drive over time like a lot of BLs tend to do.

5 Small Kisses

King and Uea, Bed Friend, Ep. 4, 6, & 9

gif by @gunsatthaphan

I love boys that simp for their boyfriends, and though King and Uea are not officially boyfriends yet, these little moments, the little kisses and stuff really make King's interest in Uea feel real, and it's cute as fuck. I also love that Uea mirrors this kiss near the end of the show.

I also love the forehead kiss that Uea gives King during the pet play scene in Episode 6. I don't know why but it just feels almost sacred in a way, similarly to the Ep 4 kiss, the smaller quick kisses feel like something beyond just a casual hook up or friends with benefits situation. Now, we should know King has been interested in Uea for year, but he really starts leaning in to that around the time that I'm pretty sure Uea's feelings for King really start to solidify, and coming out of that pet play scene, these two are ready to be boyfriends. So I just love that little moment

And Ep 9 I love the forehead kiss that King plants on Uea after his stepfather is arrested. I just love Uea resting his head on King's shoulder, and King running his thumb across Uea's knee to comfort him, it feels domestic.

Han Baram and Im Han Tae, Sing My Crush, Ep.

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

IM HAN TAE DOES NOT EVEN REALIZE THAT HE HAS ROMANTIC FEELINGS FOR HAN BARAM HERE. IM HAN TAE IS FULLY JUST ACCIDENTALLY TORTURING THIS POOR, SAD GAY BOY! But I love this kiss so much, it's so sweet, it's so much fun, and you know what Han Baram deserves little kisses like this.

Phaya and Tharn, The Sign, Ep. 3

gif by @crispywizardtale

These two are so obsessed with each other it's disgusting. It's also the first real kiss they've had in 5 episodes and I found it very fun and sweet. Phaya said "oh you seem to be struggling to actually tell me you like me, let's kiss about it" and honestly, love that for him.

Tinn and Charn, Laws of Attraction, Ep 7

gif by @spicyvampire

Okay so this is technically not a kiss, but it is one of my favorite TinnCharn moments so I am counting it. Thank you for older gays, and also thank you for having fun and being playful with each other after sex. I love when people do stupid shit like this, and Tinn is just the biggest loser and he deserves to bite Charn as a little treat.

Shin Ki Tae and Lee Wan, Our Dating Sim, Ep 6

gif by @hanjiwoos

THE GIGGLES

THE GIGGLES HE GIGGLED

This scene was so sweet and I really really need to rewatch this show.

ASK ME MY TOP 5 OF ANYTHING BL 2023

[sophswritingthings]

pairing: modern au!mizu x fem!nurses assistant!reader

warning(s): light swearing, your boyfriend is an absolute shitbag but it’s okay mizu’s here <3

a/n: mizu is better than your boyfriend

word count: 496 words / 2,685 characters 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“(y/n),” mizu glanced at you. you cocked your head between bites of your good, “why are you still dating him?”

your a bit stunned at her question. what a question it was.

“well, I—“ you couldn’t think of the words.

you actually didn’t have an answer. there was no probable reason for you his stay with him.

“I don’t know,” you finally managed to say, the words quiet.

“then.. why don’t you just—“ she couldn’t believe she even bringing this up to you, “leave him?”

you glanced at her for a minute, before sighing and gazing at the grass below you. 

“you’re probably right,” you murmur. “but staying with him is all I have.”

her body burned with anger at your words—all you had? when she was sitting right here.

she didn’t want to argue you—especially considering it would expose her in the process.

“.. right,” she muttered. “but you deserve to be happy.”

you leaned to rest your head on her shoulder, “I know.”

she twitched at the action, but she didn’t tell you to move. you stayed there, so comfortable you’d almost fall asleep.

until your boyfriend came to pick you up, that was.

you bid her goodbye with a smile, sliding into the passengers seat beside him. 

she sighed, getting to her feet and heading to her own car. she couldn’t bare to see you caring about some douchebag of a guy.

she watched with hawk like precision, as you talked with the guy she so hated.

she was sitting by herself, in the cafe—she usually did, seeing as ever since you got with that asshole you sat with and his shitty friends. she knew she could treat you much better than he could, by a long shot.

yet…

the conversation didn’t seem to be going very well.

your face scrunched up in frustration, your eyebrows furrowed.

“I can’t believe this shit! again?” you yelp above all of the noise, “you cheated on me. with her. again! you know what?” you scoffed, shaking your head and grabbing your things.

“I’m done,” you hissed, flipping him off as you walked toward her table. you sighed as you sat, “I’m not even surprised.”

“.. me either,” she whispered. she didn’t want to make it sound like you were stupid—you weren’t. when it came to choices of partners..

.. maybe a little.

she decided to just go for it. she didn’t mean to jump on you the minute you broke up with your boyfriend—but she did want to make you feel better.

“you deserve to be treated better,” she wraps an arm around your shoulders, tugging your body into hers.

“.. I do,” you whispered.

“I could do that for you,” she replied, trying to sound as confident as possible as she said the words.

“.. oh.” you adverted your eyes, “h-how so?” your eyes locked onto hers.

“come on,” she slowly got up from the table, swinging her keys around her fingers, “I’ll show you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a/n: two song rec’s for this one: first of all, boyfriend by dove cameron of course. and second, better than your boyfriend by lauren sanderson (actually that whole ep is so mizu, I’ll just link that)

@toobytub here ya go <3

[himebushou]

S4 of The Umbrella Academy was so garbage.

Geez. Why limit the season to 6 eps when every other season has had 10... even a runtime of 8 eps would have probably helped with the pacing issues, at least a bit.

It felt like nothing had any payoff. The CIA turning out to be Keepers? Shrug emoji. Nothing of consequence. The whole subway system came out of nowhere — it turns out that there were other ways to travel through time after all. The whole Gene and Jean thing was stretched out for so long and we got zero insight into why Sy knew so much — unless he was Abigail in disguise the whole time? But who cares?

There were some nice moments between the siblings: Allison and Klaus were mostly pretty sweet (except WHAT the heck were Allison's powers supposed to be? Also, Klaus didn't get to do anything except get locked up and buried alive) and I like that Luther and Diego got some time to bond (though, again, their skills were wasted).

Ben was. Odd. Poor kid just gets to die multiple times. And props to Viktor for actually trying to reason with Reginald and finally getting some validation from him.

The whole Lila and Five thing was so gross and completely unnecessary... I've always had issues with the way Lila was written (those 'kooky for the sake of kooky' characters can get pretty boring and I felt the same way about Klaus throughout a lot of the show). Five was my favourite from the start and just. Eurgh. #noonewantedthat

And the dialogue was so BAD. Some of the lines made me cringe so much. "To be honest I can't stop thinking about her" like. Okay Ben.

And even worse were these poignant moments happening in front of audiences and all the other characters on set just standing around completely wooden... like. What? Lila's family are in the background hearing that her marriage has fallen apart and they don't even act remotely shocked? What?

Claire was definitely one of the best parts of this season. She was a sweetheart.

Urgh. Overall, the whole thing just felt incredibly sloppy, poorly explained (WHY did Jennifer get the durango?) and as though the creative team had run out of ideas. There were so many moments where the Umbrellas acted with no urgency at all (like sitting around enjoying a Christmas party when they were supposed to be looking for Ben, or going to work as normal when they'd promised some random guy that they'd find his daughter within 24 hours). Powers morphed at the drop of a hat for plot convenience. Everyone got on board with the idea of being erased from existence without much fuss (apart from the whole thing about where the kids would end up). What was the significance of the giant squid? How were there so many Keepers? And what exactly were they keeping?

Also, I'm annoyed that they used 'Map of the Problematique' (a song I adore) to no effect; the lyrics didn't match the scenes of the Keepers arming themselves and it didn't fit the mood and just!

Anyway, two of the biggest issues I have:

If this version of Reginald is as callous as the others (after all, he did have Ben shot), then why did he waste all that time creating a fake world for Jennifer to live in?

Presumably, the only reason the Cleanse worked is because the creature eventually found the other kids that had marigold in them? Or, in this timeline, did only the Umbrellas have marigold? And in 150,000 timelines, are we supposed to believe that the Cleanse only happened once?

It's so stupid, oh man. The show's refusal to bring in the other marigold children outside of the Umbrellas was always so stinky — I thought we'd get something interesting when the Sparrows were introduced last season, but half of them died within a few episodes and geez, so much wasted potential.

Pretty glad the show is done now if that was the trajectory, lol.

[ghost-doodles]

Alastor's deal

okay so I had my initial thoughts about Alastor's deal way back with episode 5 but I didn't say much because I wanted to wait it out for the series finally and boy am I glad I did.

so here are my thoughts both past and present on Alastor's deal since we now have a shit ton of information

initially like most of the fandom I thought that Alastor had something to do with Lilith especially given husk's comment and the 7 year gap however I didn't quite think he made a deal for his soul. Given the fact it seemed like he had strength already and is a smart character I just figured maybe he didn't actually deal his soul away but was working for Lilith somewhat freely, I say somewhat because that woman is powerful

however, we now have episodes 7 and 8

first I want to nose dive into Alastor's deal with Charlie

Since the pilot Alastor has wanted a deal with Charlie and it's been very clear that he has had alternative reasons for being at the hotel. While I do think he has grown "fond" of the hotel and its participants it evident that isn't why he is there. Now that we actually have the contents of his deal with Charlie I think it really shows he is there for his own gain of freedom. While owning Charlies soul would be quite a feat I think Alastor knew that would be to much to ask for but he's also smart enough to get what he needs, which is a favor

A favor for what, that we don't quite know yet but a favor, that frankly has no limitations, with the princess of hell is one fuckin score. it also seem that he is locked within the bounds of another deal and what's interesting is his look during the making of his and Charlies deal

the main thought floating around is that this is his true self and what his deal has done to him. I've seen two theories popping around that either the string on his mouth is either meant to keep him quiet or is meant to keep him smiling. Honestly I think it's both. Given his lack of comment on his own deal and his cleverness with speaking it would make sense for whoever made the deal to try to keep him quiet. Also given how Alastor speaks about smiling I wouldn't be shocked if even before his deal smiling bastard with the same beliefs on smiling. The little shit has a tendency to piss people off so I also wouldn't be shocked if someone didn't purposefully make it so he couldn't stop smiling as a way to fuck with him.

anyway whatever deal he is locked in is seems quite restraining and strong. strong enough to make him fight for the hotel in order to get that favor from Charlie. While I love the idea of found family I don't think it was his fondness of his friends who made him fight

lets analyze his portion of the song shall we

the portion of the finally song "'Great Alastor Altruist died for his friends'" was put into quotes and followed by "sorry to disappoint but thats not where this ends" which wasn't in quotes. I think this part of the song is suggesting others may think Alastor died protecting his friends but is having Alastor correct that notion and reveal that isn't the case. or at least not fully (for those who like the fond familyness of the hotel I do think he cares for the others but ultimately its his freedom he cares more about)

the nexts lines are "I'm hungry for freedom like never before" obviously the first part is fairly straight forward as it means Alastor wants out of whatever deal he has made. But this part has me split on whether it's involved with the 7 years missing and how. On one hand I think this ties into those 7 years as he badly wants people to question what happened then, as seen in ep.3 with the over lords. I think this is his way of trying to get help or at least someone to understand. But given how he reacted to husk making a comment about his deal if it happened during the 7 years I doubt he would want people snooping as it seems he doesn't want to acknowledge his own leash.

the next part of the song is "the constraints of my deal surely have a back door". Whatever this deal he made he wants out of it so badly he's lookin for whatever loop hole he can. Frankly this line along with the final lines, "Once I figure out how to unclip my wings, Guess who will be pulling all the strings" makes be question what he got in return for whatever he gave.

Whatever he gave it is something thats got him controlled enough to feel like he has clipped wings. Sure it could be his soul, and just given the series so far it seems like the most plausible answer, but he doesn't quite have the same restraints others who signed their soul away do. While clearly trapped he is still practically doing as he pleases, as far as we know, so I dont quite have a clue as to what he could've given. My only other half thought is that he maybe gave up parts of his power but that still doesn't quite work.

But what really has me is what did he get in return. that final line suggest that once he's out of his deal he will be this all powerful being able to control the game. His arrival to hell also supports him by himself having mass power. So clearly he doesn't seem to be lacking in the power category as it seems like his overall goals are for total control. And if he didn't have power to start with then he wouldn't be tryin to get out of a deal that gives him power. Maybe someone healed him, but given my thoughts above who could've possibly wounded him that much. Sure Adam damn near killed him but adam's on a different power scale as he went toe to toe with lucifer for a bit, plus Alastor recovers from that. And sure Vox claims to have beat Alastor but both Alastor and Valentino counter claim this and tbh I just doubt Vox could destroy Alastor so well.

the last line clearly shows Alastor wants to be in control of everything so his deal just baffles me as it doesn't seem to be helping him at all

also with the current Lilith in heaven thing this might just be but I'm to sure its her he made his deal with anymore

this is quite the interesting little mystery that I am so excited to get to see more of when the next season comes out.

[alarmsofmyheart]

Jack and Joker : U Steal My Heart Ep 6

Is it deepavali in Thailand too.. jk, is it Chinese new year??

Ok we are having feast with children

OMG THESE GIRLS ARE THE BEST, Toi Ting my babygirl, spread the word yesss!!!!

The way everyone can see except them two idiots(affectionate)

AVGahahahshga Yin in Full Black and War in Red with Black+Red sleeves aAAAAAAAAAAA

OMG JOKE🤣 Yes boi, he accepted you as a friend but nobody is accepting that 🤣🤣🤣🤣

(This is gonna one hell of an episode, fluffy and improvements in relationship but I'm late and I'm still not ready)

Wow these girls..

Ayo Joke doesn't know how to cut fish?

O!! It's about belief.. okay

Aw.. let him finish the question

From having a home who probably don't want him back to getting to live in a home where both of them want you to stay.. Joke really found a family.

Oh no.. he is emo

Now I'm emo too, I'm not gonna stay on this thing, because eating with family sucks. I'm glad Joke found a new family.

OMG ROSE WENT TO THE BOSSDAD

These guys were swayed by JACK aosjsjsh

On no the reveal!! The cult lady is a mastermind

Mark looks so pretty

The bgm for Aran is so sad and lonely 😭

Boi is falling for Tattoo.. he left the group.. life is not that easy

That's what happens when richer people are stomping on less rich people, She wants to protect Jack and not even Dad can protect his woman's necklace or his son.. it's sad, let's see

He finally said 'im not leaving even if you kick me out' Yes sir, go cling on to him

Not Ama eavesdropping ajshsjsj

Joke your heart eyes

When your boyfriend is a legendary thief, you can't lock him out even from your bathroom 😌

That was so domestic (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤

Oh yes this was expected, Aran is going to get bet/slapped/scolded

Hope is getting it twice ig

Aran left.. o fuck the Joker ring!!!

Jack is still going to be in debt/hold because of Joker ring isn't he

Oh! The ♥️ RED ♥️ shirts were for Chinese New Year OKAY

Happy New Year Jack, Joke, Ama, Toi Ting.. it's gonna get so bad

All those superstition about eating techniques were actually a foreshadowing I see

That was beautiful. God War Wanarat is so beautiful. Him sitting on floor and talking to Toi Ting was so calming the fuck down.

Oh boi, didn't ama just say don't give loans?? Smh

Aran is going to move in with Tattoo??now that both his mom and Hoi left to the shrine?

Aran is in the same grey shirt..

Wow BossDad really did cut ties with him, it's going to become difficult

His car is seized, he is fired, blah blah, How will he pay for the food he is eating 👀

Aran is really going through the downward spiral arc, it's going to get bad

Save comes to save Hope (I had to type it sorry)

Guys, get a room 🤷🏽‍♀️ not infront of Hoi and Tattoo's salad drinks

He cried.. babygirl

This dynamic between Tattoo and Aran is so dumb and realistic

Hoi is caught in a different web

Aww here comes the dreamy light

OMYGOD THAT WAS SO WELL DONE WITH THE KIDS AND THE SMILEY ON THE TEAR SOAKED PAPER

YINWAR MYGOD JACK JOKE THAT WAS NOT THE LOVE CONFESSION I EXPECTED

And the promise!!!!!!

Yes we have a witness for the confession.

Joke contacted Coach??!!!

Coach got a redemption. Nice.

Jack is going through it..

Jack dear..

I just realised, shok means luck right?? In Thai and shok and Joke sound same.. and Jack has got Joke now..

Idk how long it's gonna last, but it is good

Save is not buying that..

Oh God the cult lady is going to ask for Jack as a pawn?? Or something?? The bgm is so scary wth

This is the worst last payment scene I've seen.. the eerie vibes, the happiness in Jack's face, the absolute cool boss acting of the Boss, and please Joke please be not waiting outside

Jack looks so pretty.. so pretty it's sad

Oh fuck Joke IS INDEED WAITING OUTSIDE

First episode, Joke was looking from far, now he is standing on the portico of Jack's place, it's nice but the queasy feels of this whole scene

I can't unhear the "shok di na" stuffs, because Jack has Joke already it's sooo stuffy choking mentally

Tf was that?? Save probably did something with the savings money? Or the land??

So.. Boss dad pawned Ama, money does run the world doesn't it??

Joke is going to have to wait..

Alright that's it.. I had to sit while the outro song plays to process this all

[juuuulez]

Okay but since that anon mentioned your Capulet series, I've re-read it and as I am also re-watching The Last Of Us, I can't help but Invision pre-apocalypse Negan and Reader as Joel and Sarah, esp when the outbreak happens at school, it gave me TLOU ep 1 vibes tbh! <333

ALSOOOO I can just SEE a younger reader pulling a "drugs. I sell hardcore drugs." at Negan if she ever gave him a gift for his birthday or something post-apocalypse!

UM UM UM WHY IS THIS IN MY DRAFTS!!!! WHY DIDNT I POST THIS!!!!!!!!!!! okay lock in for my walking dead infodump

oh wow this is so cute… my TLOU and walking dead obsession go hand in hand so knowing that it gave those vibes is the biggest compliment ever

but can i admit something naughty…….

there’s actually an alternate ending to capulet. like, a “canon” version that goes along with the rest of twd……and i never wrote it because, well, it’s a carl fic, and we’ve already mourned his death once.

i’ll put some stuff about it under the cut, because who knows, maybe one day i’ll write it:

basically, if carl had of died like canon, reader would’ve went a little bit crazy. not terribly so, just paranoid, and probably bitching out even more on the saviours.

when negan’s captured it’s like the nail in the coffin, and she’d basically beg anyone to stick around and help her break him out, but nobody wants anything to do with it: the sanctuary is completely abandoned. she spends days, maybe even weeks, incessantly plotting some stupid plan, but never gets around to committing because ultimately she knows it’s slim.

this is simultaneous to rick going a little off the rails, y’know, cus his son is dead. so, with rick paying less attention, and reader still a giant red question mark on the community? maggie takes things into her own hands.

because she’s not risking negan escaping. as far as she’s concerned, you’re a loose thread, someone who could fuck this whole thing up. but being pregnant she can’t exactly do much about it, so instead, she handballs the task to michonne.

the instructions are very clear: kill her. doesn’t matter how, or where, or with what, just make sure it happens.

michonne spends maybe a day hunting you down. the second you even spot her at the sanctuary, you run, letting her chase you anywhere you can get on two legs.

that doesn’t last forever, for michonne is smarter, and probably quicker. she corners you in this dusty area at the edge of town, finally getting you down to your knees. up until this point, you’ve been a rabid animal, fighting and yelling and spitting.

but she just needs you to listen to her.

because she’s not gonna kill you.

instead? you will go far, far away. anywhere but here. and if you ever showed your face again, if anyone even caught the tiniest whiff of you, you’d be killed on sight.

that’s not a bad deal, though. compared to execution, at least.

michonne takes your bat, deciding that would have to be ample proof that she got the job done. you also hand over that little notebook you always carry, the one with drawings of carl in it.

(years later judith would find this notebook and go down to interrogate negan: before eventually suggesting that he keeps it, for he has nothing that reminds him of you. he declines and says that you’d probably wanted judith to have it).

everyone in alexandria thinks you’re dead. michonne tells maggie, who subsequently spreads the news, taking some satisfaction in telling negan, who’s downright miserable.

because it’s depressing. you had been free, and now you were dead. it was almost animalistic, like you’d been put down, like your life wasn’t human enough.

it was unfair because his mistakes got him imprisoned, whilst yours got you killed. that’s fucked up. but, it’s meant to be fucked up, because it’s meant to be a lesson.

years pass like this.

it only serves as another point of tension between negan and maggie, but that isn’t uncommon at this point.

“you killed my husband.”

“you killed my daughter.”

to which maggie would always say, “she’s not your daughter.”

not entirely untrue, but it still stung.

and now it’s 2028: the unlikely pair has ventured into new york in order to rescue hershel, and have been tipped that there’s somebody who knows the area like the back of their hand.

someone who works for the croat, but never speaks with him directly, and can therefore fly under his radar. a scavenger who travels across cities searching for any supplies that could be of use, all in exchange for safety and protection within the bounds of new york.

aaannnndddd i think you can figure out the rest

[heeracha]

ep 45. / ep 46. — the one during y/n's sad hours. / ep 47.

end of the line. — p. jongseong

synopsis: thinking it was a hotline for people who just need someone to talk to, jay calls. but why did a clueless student answer? with jay’s phone call has a time limit, you, the clueless student, insists on staying with him until the end of the line.

pairing: jay x f!reader

content/genre: college au (wow shocking), slowburn, fluff, angst and crack, smau.

warning(s): friends teasing friends, yk affectionate teasing, swearing, tell me if i missed something !! being stood up oh nauur

note: here's the playlist <3 i'll see u later for the next two updates <3

four months, it has been. jay sent that letter for one reason, and one reason only: to make you stop crying about him. let you know that he’s completely fine with you two not being in a relationship as long as you’re happy. it hurt that he was already one step closer all along, but what can he do? he already fucked things up when he didn’t mean to.

he’s fine now. is he really? of course not. 

he was back on his lonely thoughts, not opening up and all the unhealthy habits he did before he talked to you. he was doing his tasks, wanting to be done already, but of course, his professor wanted to make his life miserable by giving five tasks to work on in two nights.

but still, on top of his mind is you. he never stopped thinking about you.

it was already 2:53 in the morning when his phone rang. it was so late who would still call at this ungodly hour? with a scowl on his lips, his hand with a pen reaches his phone and looks at his screen. his scowl falls.

bubs.

jay softly sighs, swiping his thumb across the screen and pressing his phone against his ear. he hears a sigh, he feels his heart clench. have you not stopped thinking about him? were you sick, did you catch a cold? were you crying? all he heard about you since you two stopped talking was you never stopped crying and it made him want to beat himself up.

“i don’t know why i called.” you mumble after minutes of silence.

“i didn’t ask.” jay softly says.

because he didn’t care. you could call him when he’s asleep and he would wake up and talk to you until you fall asleep.

“how have you been?” you ask.

jay hums. “not okay,” he admits and you hum, gulping as it was followed by a sniffle. “how about you?”

“far from okay.” you confess, chuckling.

he wasn’t surprised. of course, you’d tell sunoo you’re okay. you always tell him you’re okay.

“are you busy?” you ask.

jay chews on his lower lip, looking at his desk that was full of opened books and his laptop in the middle. his free hand reaches his laptop’s lid, closing it.

“no.” he lies.

“you’re lying again.” you softly say.

jay chuckles. “you know i’d do anything for you.” he says. “you want to talk?”

“no,” you say.

jay’s heart falls. 

“i want to see you.”

his heart starts to beat fast.

“okay,” jay agrees. “where?”

you smile widely. you were going to see him after months. you truly missed your cute boy. your jongseong.

“first street?” you say.

“okay.” jay says. “see you, y/n. be careful, okay?”

“see you, jongseong.” you say. i love you. “take care.”

you hang up and jay immediately stands up, putting his phone and pen on the desk as he changes his clothes. he grabs his wallet, putting it in his pocket and grabs his phone and keys, going out of his dorm, locking it.

he’s going to see his girl again.

jay took five minutes to get there, but why did it feel like he walked for an hour? he was too excited to see you, yes. after months, finally. he couldn’t help, but feel like it’s a bittersweet feeling to be able to see you again. would you cry? hopefully, not anymore. would you hug him? hopefully. will the two of you finally properly talk? he wants to.

he sits on the bench, waiting for you. he looks around, hoping you’re finally there, but no. 

time passes by, no sign of you.

he checks his phone, none.

3:30 am, none.

he waits a little more.

4:00 am, still none.

did you change your mind?

were you still mad?

probably.

because the sun have finally risen, yet no sign of you still.

jay stands up from the bench, deciding to go back to his dorm. it was silly of him to think that you weren’t mad at him anymore. of course you still do. he goes inside his dorm, feeling humiliated. was this how you felt when he rejected you? did you do this to get revenge?

jay closes the door, locking it as he throws his key on the desk, removing his jacket and hanging it as he changes to more comfortable clothes. he plops down on his bed, closing his eyes.

almost everyday, you cried.

this time, tears decided to come out of jay’s eyes.

[sathellio]

it's the genloss ep 2 anniversary! which means I'm gonna share my thoughts as I rewatch it for the first time in, uh, a few months. enjoy!

1. the Dread I felt at the beginning of this episode watching it live Oh Boy

2. already jamming to the soundtrack

3. "every single bicycle"

4. I love Jerma's speaking cadence as the Puzzler it's so good, especially in the first room

5. it's really interesting to me how the majority of people instinctually pick the middle key

6. the rats <3

7. THE FLIP BETWEEN THE FILTER AND REALITY IS SO GOOD RAHH

8. "another hot wheel?" "vroom"

9. I love the Puzzler's theatrics with the TV and having Rae throw a tape in before he would show himself. he's so dramatic lmao

10. "oh shit a rat!"

11. I think it's cool how each episode becomes more real. like, ep 1 was treated like a sitcom (the characters didn't know they were on a show at all, cameras were treated as if they weren't there), ep 2 they know the cameras are there, but it doesn't really click until the very end, ep 3 they're all Aware. just a neat progression

12. I've been wondering why Sneeg's hat breaks the filter in this ep when he always wears it in the first, but it finally clicked (maybe I'm just a little silly, oops). it's a break of character. this Sneeg "isn't really a hat guy" bc he's a Different Character. the hat crosses wires in a way, and that discrepancy causes the filter to break. I think anyway

13. the please hold is wild /pos

14. oo the hat goes back on in Evil Sneeg mode aka brainwash mode

15. god the long pause when Sneeg gets "reset" and the camera's focus goes in and out is SO GOOD

16. "I see the light" is out, "I'm going upstream" is in. thank you carousel fish talk

17. human sized mousetrap would go so hard (not really related but still)

18. the "it's a push" with the candy room door lmao

19. when Vinny was joining them I didn't notice Sneeg say "they gotta go through a bullet too?" lmao

20. the entire laser room is so goofy

21. the fact that Showfall can canonically teleport people is wild

22. there's at least two solutions for the long pipe puzzle we didn't actually get to do (I know because I found another one while it was on screen), and now I wanna know how many solutions there are just for funsies

23. Jerma breaking the door >>>

24. OOO in the wardrobe room Ranboo says "where should I look?" in the Same Tone they used in ep 1 when we actually helped them search. when they got "reset" (aka scruffed by an employee while walking through the door), they definitely got some memories messed up/some heavy controlling considering they're not nearly as worried about things as they were before. maybe that's why he reverts to ep 1 mannerisms. fresh reset = fresh mannerisms and speaking patterns (I definitely noticed this before but I'm appreciating it again shh)

25. also Sneeg trying to spell something = ep 1 reference

26. the wardrobe room gives DND party that took the puzzle in the completely wrong direction but it's funny so the DM doesn't wanna say anything

27. the Puzzler says he's been doing this for 30 years. implications

28. Rubik's cube moment

29. imagine Showfall casual Fridays. that'd be so silly. cosplayers please

30. the moment Ranboo locks eyes with the camera I still feel so much dread. what a cinematic moment. dare I say life changing

31. THE MALLLLLL

okay! see y'all in two days for ep 3 <3

[bengiyo]

Moonlight Chicken Ep 6 Stray Thoughts

Yesterday we focused on broken love from one person changing and the other staying the same. Wen and Alan built a romance out of college that Wen eventually grew beyond. Heart lost his hearing and learned a new way to speak, but his parents didn't go through the difficulty of learning to speak. As a result, everyone suffered, but the performances were spectacular.

Jim and Wen are going to make me revive the #they are literally always flirting tag. Still, I'm glad Wen clarified again that Jim didn't cause him to fall out of love with Alan.

Chapter 6: The Walk to Forget and Forgive

I had hoped that Wen's presence would enable Jim and Li Ming to speak to each other properly, but it's going to take time.

Sui Pornnapa is a good actress, y'all. Don't get too caught up in looking for villains to miss a good performance. The way she carries her unease about Li Ming before sitting down with him to realize that he really cares about her son. Because Fourth has such a joyous face, you can't help but feel her own pain and embarrassment that this boy knows things about her son she's never realized.

Okay, the note under the door was cute. You knew Heart was going to recognize the handwriting even if he didn't catch the tone of the message. Gemini, y'all. He's got great instincts about physically embodying his characters.

Saleng seems like he's on the side of whoever melts the ice prison Jim has locked himself within.

Earth and Mix have phenomenal chemistry. You can feel the easy desire between them, and the restraint never feels like internalized homophobia. Instead, it always feels exactly like an age gap tinged with a sense of responsibility.

You know, I had a feeling Beam had died. Something about the way Jim's grief felt like it was in stasis said that Beam died before they could reconcile or get closure.

In my feelings about older queers. We don't deal with this in BL often, but if you have older queer friends you'll be able to ask them about what it's like when one of us dies. Sometimes you have to rush to the apartment and remove all the gay content so their families don't know. Sometimes the families will refuse to tell us anything. It's a special kind of loneliness to not be able to mourn with people because they refuse to love everything about someone you care about and shun you.

Curious why Jim is determined to get the loan from this bank.

Holy shit, Khaotung. I have replayed his facial expressions as Jim finally crushes his hopes five times. You can see his wide eyed hope as he musters all of his bravery to ask directly, and then has to suppress his deep disappointment even as he can't withhold the tears. He even has to try to set his own feelings aside over the title deed.

I like cutting immediately to Saleng. I'm glad Gaipa still has that connection.

Love that Wen is determined to put a door in Jim's wall.

In my feelongs about how our Facebook pages become memorials.

This entire scene with Beam's girlfriend was so captivating. This is the kind of mess I expected from Aof. Two people loved a man and it made them both feel lesser. Then he died suddenly. No one can ever get closure with him, and instead must choose to live. I like seeing people near 40, because they have had time and realize the other isn't an enemy.

"People only go to the beach to get hot or get healed." I see you, Aof.

Oh, I think Heart is the first person to call Li Ming smart in this show.

Heart and Li Ming really are just so adorable.

I think I will accept the camera angle for their kiss because it's their first, and much of their dynamic feels private. Also, not sure I like Jim's dismay at witnessing it.

Alan wearing both of their rings as he goes on a bender says a lot about what his intentions were.

Lookwa gets to play Fourth's mom twice! Also wtf, Jim. I'm choosing not to read too much into a GMMTV preview.

[kellywithawhy]

THEORY: ADRIEN + MARINETTE BOTH KNOW! Psychoanalytic reading here!

Season 5 spoilers below with some vague nods to the finale.

Okay so I literally returned to Tumblr after 9 years just to make this post because I can’t stop psychoanalysing Miraculous and I bet that Astruc and Zag or the writers or somebody is a psychoanalysis buff too.

So I am convinced that Adrien/Chat Noir and Marinette/Ladybug KNOW—albeit unconsciously—about their alter egos! And this is why they keep blocking themselves from being together: BECAUSE they know! Also, they might literally be one soul in two bodies. Or something like that.

Let me explain. So, the conscious mind is your everyday internal monologue; the subconscious is like the sorting/mail room that carries on processing more quietly and which processes info constantly, either sending it to the conscious mind to deal with or sending unimportant, terrifying, and/or reality-destroying info the unconscious to repress or deal with in its own way. FYI the unconscious comes through our DREAMS and our BODIES. So the body might process the unconscious through a nightmare, for example, or it might create a disease, a desire, “chemistry”, etc. The body remembers. And the unconscious talks though symbols and the abstract etc.

Therefore, if you’re in love with someone, and you know them physically, even if they’re in the best disguise in the world, your subconscious is going to pick up that scent. That body language. That laugh. That energetic footprint. Your body is going to either lean into them or recoil from them (depending on who it is to you). This is maybe another factor for why Gabriel pushed Adrien away or why Adrien keeps leaning into Marinette and touching her even though he isn’t consciously aware of his feelings. He’s literally programmed unconsciously to seek her out because his unconscious knows that she’s Ladybug.

So here we are all making jokes wondering how after X many seasons, how can our characters be so blind?? WELL maybe they’re not. Maybe they all see and know but then the subconscious goes AHHH this is bad! Because REASONS. And then sends it to the unconscious. (More on that in a sec.)

As a result, we have the crazy both ways love square where they all love each other but keep finding ways to keep each other at a distance. They know their love for each other and that it’s reciprocated but have to play both parts of chaser and refuser because it’s like a battle with their internal selves over what they want and can’t have, and they’re playing it with each other too.

So why can’t they have each other? Why is the unconscious keeping it all locked up and still saying no? Well, if we look at the language of the unconscious, we see Chat Blanc in Mari’s nightmares, so that is an obvious reason why she would reject not only Chat but also Adrien. On Adrien’s side, i think he’s probably afraid of being rejected by both Ladybug and Marinette, which is why he is so hurt when he thinks that Marinette doesn’t like him or is rejecting him (even though he claims to be in love with a different person! E.G. Puppeteer 2–which has another example of the unconscious taking over: the body/unconscious definitely knows that Adrien isn’t a statue!!)

And when/if you’ve seen the last few eps of Season 5: this whole unconscious theory neatly explains that whacky creepy video from Feligami. But they can’t just tell Marinette this other reveal. Or else she’ll just go BAM it was a dream: into the unconscious with you!! Instead they have to speak the language of the unconscious (symbolism, abstract, unreal) so that it’s safely « a weird movie » and then give space for the conscious mind to sort it out for itself. Which is probably why Marinette falls asleep! And is why people faint at crazy news. Their conscious, subconscious, and unconscious minds need to sit down and have a meeting!!

So therefore I reckon that Adrien could literally transform in front of her and she wouldn’t believe it. In fact, she wipes or resolves those timelines, which is her metaphoric forgetting too—her choice not to see it or go down that timeline.

But I have a more whacky theory too that might also lend to the reality-bending aspect that gets info sorted to the unconscious. Remember how in The Kwami’s Choice Plagg reminds Tikki that they’re « really ONE »? And who’s seen the last ep?

Meanwhile, Tikki says that Marinette and Adrien were « made for each other ». And they are the miraculous holders, continually magnetised back to the job and each other. What if one some higher cosmic level Adrien and Marinette are one Soul?

Okay THANK YOU I CAN SLEEP NOW

[acidmatze]

I’ll be there for you (Yes, like the Friends theme) Chapter 3

Summary: After being in a coma for two years Vash wakes up, not being able to remember Anything that has happened since he was “a teenager”. How is he gonna adapt to living in a world so strange and unfamilliar? By getting a haircut! (Stampede timeline and set After ep 12 btw)

Pairings: None

Warnings: Hospital setting, panic attacks and existential crises

Wordcount: 3k

Chapter 1 is here

Chapter 2 is here Chapter 4 is here

Vash had an odd dream that night. He was riding a Thomas through an area of the planet he definitely had never seen before. Towards July, whatever that was. He was also followed by someone but had no idea who that was. Except that he was friendly and not an enemy.

So the first question he asked the doctor that morning was:

„What's July?“

„A month. But most importantly, the capital city of No Man's Land. Most of it got destroyed a few years ago but we rebuild it.“

And then followed a barrage of tests.

Blood tests, before breakfast.

A complete physical exam, after breakfast.

In that exam the doctor shone a light into Vash's eye and the staff in the room with him realised they were dealing with a Plant, which the doctor already knew.

For a moment Vash was very afraid and froze up.

The last time someone realised he was a Plant he got locked up.

The doctor already knew but what if the others would panic?

But nothing happened.

The exam continued as if everything was completely normal and Vash relaxed again.

„You are remarkably average for a Plant. I don't mean that in an insulting way. I mean that if I wouldn't have looked at your eyes the others would never have noticed. Your body seems to work just like a human's, only if a bit more efficient. Your blood is also really regular. Nothing odd to find there. Don't worry. We are not going to experiment on you. We just want to make sure you're healthy.“

Then Vash had to lie down in a weird white tiny tube that was loud and uncomfortable and he had to be very very still.

After lunch, which was finally some proper food (steak with overcooked broccoli and mushy fries but better than the glorified broth from yesterday), the doctor performed some tests to check Vash's brain.

He was hooked up to some weird machine and had some weird nubs stuck to his head and had to do various tasks that were pretty boring in a dark room only illuminated by the computer screen and a tiny night light.

And then he was basically free to go.

The doctor shook Vash's hand and smiled at him.

„Everything is looking good so far. I'll go over the details later and tell you more about it if you want. If not then that's fine also. According to the results we have you are in great shape for someone who just woke up from a coma.“

„Okay but what will happen with me after this?“

Vash had no place to stay. Or maybe he had but he can't remember.

The thought of being just thrown out onto the streets into a world he had no idea how to navigate made him so nauseaus he worried he might puke.

„Well, first of all you will stay here for about a week or so. We won't kick you out like that. We will try to figure out where you were living before you came here but more importantly we will organise a place in a rehabilitation group for you. You have a lot of stuff to relearn and they can teach you.“

And now Vash is sitting on a chair in his hospital room with nurse Karina („No Nurse today, just call me Karina. I'm not working today“) walking around him and fiddling with his hair.

„Any idea how you want it cut?“

„No, not really.“

„Hmmm....“ Karina walks around Vash some more.

It's really making Vash nervous, as if he is put on the spot. He wiggles around a bit.

„I got an idea! It's gonna look great, believe me.“

„Wait! What are you planning to do?“ Vash is ready to jump off the chair.

He's not gonna let his hair get messed up more than it already is!

„I'm not gonna give you a mullet! I want to shave the sides and back and leave the hair on top a bit longer. I think it would suit you and you definitely are gonna look much younger.“

Vash is sceptical but okay. He's gonna pout the whole time though. „But if it looks stupid I will eat you.“

„Ooooh~ I'm so afraid~“ Karina says in a sing-song voice.

She starts by combing his hair thoughroughly.

„Maybe I should give you a mullet after all...“ „Don't you dare!“

The combing feels really nice though.

Vash relaxes a little. The hand that had previously gripped the chair like it's going to launch into space dangles to the side now.

„You look like you're going to purr any moment.“ Karina teases.

„I don't purr. I'm not a cat.“

Karina continued combing for a while.

Before she started Vash's hair had felt kinda rough and gritty even though it was washed and clean. It had also been full of knots.

But after a while now it starts to become much softer.

Karina stops. There is a noise. A low rumble.

„You are purring!“ Karina exclaims and almost drops her comb in excitement.

Vash's eyes that somehow fell shut are now Wide Open and he stops all movement. He kinda wants to jump off the chair and hide under his bed in horror and embarrassment.

His hand is back to gripping the chair.

„Oh come on! This is so cute! I didn't know Plants can do that. I swear I won't tell anyone. Pinky promise.“

Karina holds her pinky out and Vash reluctantly links his with hers.

„I'm gonna get the scissors now and cut it shorter overall before I use the clippers. Also, I saw you're taking hormones?“

Vash freezes up a little.

„You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I was just curious.“

„Yeah I... uh... when I was younger... my mom.. thought my brother and me were girls. But uhm.. I realised I'm not. So when I got a bit older I was given hormones. I guess I've been taking them my whole life until now.“

„Oh you have a brother?“

„I don't know what happened to him though. We got seperated as kids...“

Karina is happily snipping away. Vash can't see what exactly she is doing but a whole lot of hair is falling down.

„So you're a transplant.“ „Huh..?“

„A trans Plant. I was trying to make a pun.“

„Oh. Uh.. I guess? Do you know what happens in a Rehabilitation Group? The doctor said I will be put in one.“

„Depends on why someone is in rehab. In your case you will probably do a whole lot of physical therapy. And occupational therapy. Which means that you will be taught how to do tasks independently so you can eventually live alone at some point. You know, cooking and cleaning and washing yourself and such. For two reasons in your case. One reason is that you need to relearn things you knew how to do with both hands that you now have to do with one. Or maybe you get a prosthetic later on and then you will train to do tasks with that. And the second reason is that you have to learn tasks that maybe you knew how to do before you lost your memory but now you can't do anymore cuz to the current you it feels like you never learned them in the first place. And maybe they will also try and see if you can recover a few memories. And you will probably get a therapist so you have someone to talk to. I can imagine that your situation is really A Lot to take in.“

Vash nods.

Karina puts the scissors aside and grabs the clippers.

„I will now trim the hair on the sides and your back really short. But I will cut off less than I usually do and then show you so you can guide me, okay?“

„Okay.“

The clipper starts buzzing and Vash thinks it feels super funny on his skin. Like a massage but much faster.

Both the doctor and Christine said that Vash apparently used to have a prosthetic, a really advanced one.

But no matter how hard he tries he just can't remember anything.

Maybe he will get a new one but that would probably be more simple.

Not that he had any metric to compare it to in the first place.

Karina chimes up again.

„Oki-doki let's have a look. Tell me what you think!“ She walks around Vash with a small mirror in her hand so he can see what she did so far.

„Can you go a bit shorter?“ „Sure can!“

After half an hour Vash has his first real haircut in two years and he feels so much better. Like an actual person.

He feels even better after washing his hair.

„So, how do you feel? What do you think?“ Karina asks after cleaning up the mess she left behind.

„Like a brand new Me.“

Karina giggles.

„That's great. You know what would be even better now? If you had some new clothes. Wanna look at some clothes? We don't have to leave the hospital for that we can do that online. I could get them delivered to my place in two days and then bring them to you.“ Vash is confused about this Online thing but he sits down next to Karina on the bed and watches as she takes the tablet-like thingie off his nightstand and turns it on.

It's not see-through like the ones he knew but otherwise seems to work really similar to the one Luida used. It looks less technical though and more intuitive. It's definitely not used for ship maintenance and other such things.

„This is yours by the way. But I see you haven't used it yet.“

„I don't know what it is used for. We had similar things on the ship but they were for maintenance only.“

„We really need to teach you more things so you can fit in better with everyone else at the rehab. Nothing sticks out more than a young guy who has no idea what a tablet and a phone is and gets spooked by the TV. You also need to get into music or video games or something.“

„Can I not tell them the truth? That I lost all my memories?“

Karina rubs her chin.

„Well... that would probably be the easiest way to deal with this. I bet they have seen weirder stuff there.“

Two hours later and now Vash knows at least the basics of how to use a phone and a tablet.

He also ordered a bunch of clothes.

Karina said he could treat himself and as long as he stayed below 120$$ it would be fine.

And man, Vash really needed everything.

There really were barely any clothes in the backpack he had on him. Just a few pairs of socks, two boxers and a shirt.

Seems like he used to travel light. Really really light. No idea if he never bought any clothes or if they got stolen or thrown away or whatever.

But the new clothes would take about two days to be delivered. So until then Vash has to be careful to not get the clothes he does have dirty.

Sadly Karina had to leave a little earlier, to babysit one of her friend's dogs but she would be back tomorrow anyway.

So Vash is sitting in the armchair in his room and watching videos online about taking phones apart and explaining how they work. It is honestly really interesting. The guy making these videos has a bunch of others about other electrical devices and Vash is itching to watch them all. And then to the side of the video player are even more videos about taking things apart or comparing them to each other.

An hour ago Vash didnt even know there were more than one type of phone and now he wants to watch a video comparing them.

He gets so excited his plant marks are starting to glow faintly which gives the entire room a soft blue hue in the light of the setting sun.

The staff here knows what he is so there shouldn't be an issue with this, right?

„Wow look at this battery capacity! Youre Not going to run out of power during the long bus rides across the Great Desert, that's for sure!“ the guy in the video praises.

Vash stops the video and switches over to his internet browser, opens a new tab (the other one is a history of long-distance communication) and types „bus“ in the search bar.

Every time he encounters a Thing in a video that he has no idea what it is he immediately starts looking it up. He really doesn't want to seem like a weirdo in rehab.

After looking at a whole lot of busses and reading a short description of what they are he deletes his search and does a new one.

„Great Desert.“

He continues this for almost an entire hour and gets completely lost in an article about computer parts (even though he only has a vague idea of what a Computer is) when someone knocks on his door.

It is Christine.

„Hey good evening!“ she greets him.

„Oh! Hi.“

Vash fumbles to pause the video and force himself to come back to the real world.

His plant marks also disappear instantly.

„I have some great news for you. Dr. Nichols and me just had a really nice phone call with the head of the local rehabilitation organisation. He's gonna send someone over tomorrow to talk to you about it. Don't worry we won't kick you out after that. You will stay here until next Monday. It is a pretty big organisation and you will stay there for a long while. So even if we cannot find out where you had lived previously you will have plenty of time to find a new home. They also have an open-ended dorm, should you decide that you like it there a lot. They specialise in mentally ill clients normally but also take on physically disabled people. And since you're a combination of both I think it will suit you fine. They do fun things there as well, it's not just therapy. Every patient that we recommended them to gave us great feedback so I think you will like it there.“

„Oh. Uh... Is it like a hospital too?“

Christine waves her hand around.

„No, no. It's way less formal. No nurses either. Or doctors. The person coming tomorrow will be able to tell you much more but what I can tell you is that in the first phase of your rehabilitation you will stay with others as a group in a dormitory of sorts. It's all small groups, I think around 5-8 people. You get your own room, don't worry.“

Small groups, huh. Vash wonders what he will do there all day. Hopefully there were some people in his age. Though, that makes him wonder what he actually means with that.

What do 28 year old's normally behave like?

Damn, he doesn't even have a job he can talk about!

They will think he's a big weirdo and then he won't have anyone to talk to and will be all alone again and-

„Vash? Hey Vash, please look at me.“

Christine puts a hand on his left shoulder.

His head turns around way too abruptly and he stares at her, pupils blown wide open.

If that startled her then she's not showing it.

„Take a few deep breaths please. And then tell me what made you so anxious.“

Vash tries to slow his breath down but isn't very succesful.

He didn't even realise he started hyperventilating.

„Is this going too quickly for you? Would you prefer to stay here for a bit longer?“

Vash shakes his head rapidly.

„No, that's not..“

Another way too deep breath. His head is starting to feel woozy and foggy.

„Are you worried about meeting other people your age?“ Bingo! He nods quickly.

Christine is rubbing slow circles into his shoulder.

„I understand your worry but... Everyone at those places is not where they are expected to be in life. You know, having a job and a family and living alone. Most people there don't have a job or a lot of friends. That's why they are there. To catch back up with life. Some people are very quick at that and some need more extra time but nobody will judge you for that. I'm sure they will be very happy to have you there.“

Vash's breath is slowing down and the fog that threatened to overtake his brain is starting to lift.

„Maybe I had all these things but I can't remember.“

Vash reaches for a tissue and blows his nose.

„I hope nobody is waiting for me to come back. To... somewhere.“

The soothing circles continue.

„Maybe one day you will remember. But maybe not. Who knows if you are even still the same person as you were before.“

„Huh... I don't know... Should I really think about stuff like this in the evening when I have to sleep soon?“

Christine bursts into laughter.

„Probably not. I'm sorry for putting that thought in your head. I hope you can push it away until tomorrow. I hope you can at least remember your family name until you're starting your rehab. Would be awkward without one.“

A family name, huh? They never mentioned them on the ship. Everyone was on first name only basis.

He was just Vash.

Nothing else, just Vash.

He couldn't even „borrow“ Luida's since he also doesnt know hers. But maybe...

„Oh I see you're using your tablet now. What are you watching? Show me.“

[rose-of-gabriel]

The Last of Us WIP

set immediately after ep. 5 (spoliers) 

The noise is paralyzing. The gunshot. Henry’s body hitting the ground hard, lifeless. Ellie’s scream. Every sound is a knife through Joel’s heart, piercing his chest and rooting his feet to the floor.

The silence that follows is even worse – heavier, somehow. Joel feels like he’s underwater, the pressure on his lungs making it almost impossible to breathe.

Then there’s a ripple, Ellie’s shuddering exhale, and he can finally move.

His joints throb as he falls to his knees. Ellie’s expression is fractured and distant. He doesn’t realize he’s repeating her name until too many moments pass without her response. He feels dizzy and sick with worry, but he swallows it down and says again, “Ellie, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

Please, please say something, kid.

Her eyelids fluttered like she might have heard him, but her gaze can’t be shaken. Joel doesn’t need to look to know.

“Ellie, hey, don’t look, okay? Look at me.” He says with a ghost of familiarity in his words.

You keep your eyes on me. Don’t look anywhere else.

Joel expels the phantoms of the past from his mind and takes hold of Ellie’s shoulders. Her eyes are still fixed on the body, even as he pulls her to face him. “Kid, look at me.” His desperation would be embarrassing if she wasn’t scaring the absolute shit out of him.

She doesn’t move or speak; Joel’s not even sure she’s really breathing. He hauls her out, locks his arms around her ribs and barrels toward the door like the room is on fire. His back twinges and his joints grate against one another but he doesn’t stop until they’re outside. He all but dumps her against the walkway railing and falls more than drops into a crouch.

“Ellie, please.” He begs, and she finally meets his eyes, though can’t seem to manage a response beyond another shuddering breath. Joel will take it. “Ellie, did he hurt you?” He enunciates every word, trying to get through. “You get scratched or bit?”

Ellie blinks as if she’s seeing him for the first time. She drops her chin, confused, like she’s forgotten her body exists from the neck down. Joel decides to multitask, jabs two fingers at her pulse point while his eyes and other hand skate over every inch of her, checking for damage.He feels more than hears her murmur his name, nearly missing it under the thundering of her pulse. When his hand skirts over her right arm, she jumps like he’s shocked her.

“What is it?” He demands the same moment he spots the blood smeared across her fingers.

He grabs her wrist with both hands and pulls it toward him, rougher than he meant to, and immediately wants to be sick. Her palm is cut from wrist to knuckle; long, deep, and still weeping. There is a horrible moment where Joel thinks Sam bit her, thinks he’ll have to sit through another long night wondering if this one would take, if he’ll have to put a bullet between those big brown eyes. But the last rational cell in his brain recognizes that the cut’s too straight, too precise.

A million questions come to mind, only to be forgotten when she finally says, “It didn’t work.”

“What?” Joel doesn’t understand, but he can see her already falling back into the abyss. “Ellie, talk to me.” He says, desperate to keep her here. “What didn’t work? What the hell are you talking about?” He doesn’t mean to sound angry, doesn’t mean to make her jump in her skin. He’s just so damn scared.

Whether sensing his fear or giving into her own, Ellie tries with a strangled voice. “I thought… maybe….m-...my blood…I thought…” Her breaths come out shorter and shorter, tears spilling down her face. “thought I could s-stop it… stop him f-from…”

Joel’s brain is so wired that it takes him a long moment to put the pieces together.

I thought I could stop him… my blood

“Oh, baby girl.” He sighs, bone weary, and pulls her into his arms. She stiffens, pushes against him reflexively, but he just tucks her under his chin and holds her against his chest.  

He feels every tremor, every fraught inhale as she chokes out, “I–... it didn’t work.” Then the flood gates come crashing open and she weeps. “I thought he’d be safe! I thought it would work!”

“I know.” Joel tries to settle more comfortably on the concrete as Ellie goes limp with grief in his lap. “I know, baby.”

He rubs her back as she gives a splintering cry, first on Sam's name, then Henry’s, then a formless wail. He rocks back and forth, at a total fucking loss for what to say other than that he’s sorry, so fucking sorry for what she’s just witnessed. He shouldn’t have shut the door between them. Fuck, he should have checked the boys when they got to the goddamn motel. Sam – Christ, poor baby – there was nothing that could be done, but Henry, maybe they could have… maybe. God in Heaven, Ellie watched him blow his fucking brains out.

Get it together, Miller. 

Joel swallows his regret and holds Ellie tighter as she continues to cry. For a ridiculous moment, Joel wishes he could carry her around like this forever, tucked under his arm and barricaded from the world.

more coming soon! thanks for reading! 

[inspiredwriterstory]

TopDragon ep 1, part 2

*Fade to a filled cave with Wibli, Turtle, Winter, and hundreds of other dragons*

Qibli: Hello and welcome back to TopDragon!

Turtle: I have to admit I'm really enjoying this show.

Qibli: And your gonna enjoy it even more in a second because I have a surprise for you Turtle. Now before that lets just recap what's happened so far.

Turtle: Honestly I'd rather not because I felt like a red lobster in that car.

Qibli: You looked like it too.

Winter: So last time Kinkajou dive bombed Qibli, we got on the road, and the sand snorter broke his car.

Turtle: In a nutshell yes.

Qibli: Wow.

Turtle: Well before we get back to our cross continent road trip, it's time for our first car review.

Qibli: We have brought a very special guest on to drive a car around a track and report their experience.

Winter: Today's guest is classy, Very well known, and the daughter of queen Coral.

Turtle: Wait what-

Qibli: Please welcome, Prince Anemone!

*Anemone walks out onto the cave stage as the crowd cheers*

Anemone: Hello everyone! Hi Turtle.

Turtle: That's what you guys were being so sneaky about behind the scenes?

Qibli: We thought we'd surprise you.

Winter: Lets all sit down.

*Everyone sits down with Qibli, Turtle, and Winter on one while Anemone is on a couch opposite*

Turtle: Watch your tail please.

Winter: Keep that dirt away from me.

Qibli: Alright Anemone, we had you drive around the TopDragon test track and we're just gonna ask you some questions.

Winter: Is she old enough to drive?

Qibli: On private property yes.

Anemone: I have to admit, it was exciting and scary since I've never driven before.

Qibli: Alright so we sat you down in a automatic Mazda MX5 Miata. Now our track is A very flat track with a mix of wide and tight turns so how would you describe your experience?

Anemone: Well it was definitely different to swimming.

Winter: How about we watch her in action.

*Fade to black and then fade into a shot of the track which is nestled perfectly into a valley in the sky kingdom.*

*Cut to Anemone buckling up in a convertible 2024 Mazda MX5.*

Anemone: Alright, here we go.

*Another dragon soon walks out and waves a green flag.*

*Anemone makes a surprisingly slow start*

Qibli over footage: Where's the fire?

Anemone over footage: Very funny.

Turtle: There around the first turn.

*Anemone goes around a sweeping left before quickly transitioning into a hair pin turn and under steering to the outside of the track*

Winter over footage: Missed your braking point.

*Cut to Anemone inside the car*

Anemone: Come on turn!

*Anemone gets out of the turn and accelerates down the long straightaway*

Turtle over footage: Okay decently fast down the straight.

*Anemone suddenly locks her tires as she tries to break and nearly flies off the course*

Qibli over footage: Oh careful, don't wreck the car.

*Anemone makes a hard right before accelerating through a slight gradient with A zig zag in the road*

Anemone dodging a guard rail: Woah! Oh moons.

Qibli over footage: Not out of the woods yet she still has the final turn.

*Anemone glides forward and holds a right around the turn while running a bit wide.*

Qibli as she finish: And across the line!

*Fade to black and then fade back to the cave.*

Winter: I will say, not bad.

Turtle: Especially for a first time driver.

Anemone: Why thanks.

Qibli: Now here we have A leader board and since you are the first guest to ever be on it you automatically get first with A time of... Two minutes, fifty two... Point three seconds!

Anemone: You know I'm happy with that.

Turtle: Alright well, now that that's been settled, I'm sure you are all wondering what happened to Qibli's Charger. Well we're about to find out.

Qibli: I'm going to be honest, I was shocked when I found out what it was.

*Fade to black then cut to a drone shot of all three cars driving down the road with Turtle behind Winter towing Qibli's Charge.*

Winter over radio: Hate to say I told ya so-

Qibli: No you would marry I told you so and buy a burial plot right next to it for when you die.

Turtle over footage: Qibli had clearly experienced a major failure, he couldn't even get his car started. So I stepped up to the task of taking him to the Oasis.

*Cut to inside of Winter's car*

Winter over radio: You have got to be kidding me.

*Cut to Turtle pulling Qibli off the main road and onto a sandy pathway*

Winter over footage: The oasis was off the main road, and my car was not happy about it at all.

*Cut to footage of Winter's GTR struggling to climb a sand dune.*

Winter: Queen Glacier give me strength.

*Cut to the sun setting over a oasis with A lake and palm trees as the cars make their way over there before cutting to a dusty abandoned shed with tools as a scorpion races by the camera.*

Turtle: We're here!

Qibli as he gets out: Perfect! I can figure out what happened now.

Winter: My word this heat is unbearable.

Turtle: At least you have air conditioning.

Qibli: Hold on, what's this?

*Qibli begins walking away and Turtle and Winter soon follow.*

Qibli: No way!

*Camera begins showing dynamic drone shots of a drag strip made out of sandstone*

Qibli: Ha! This is the original sandwing drag strip! This is where they raced the first muscle cars!

Winter: Oh great, there's a challenge on that post.

Qibli: I got it. *Grabs challenge*

Qibli reading it out loud: You have now arrived and will spend tonight sleeping in your cars before tomorrow's race to test their comfortablity.

Turtle: I am going to be a filled seafood meal by tomorrow.

Winter over footage of the sun setting in the distance: And with that we made our way back to our cars.

Winter as Qibli pushes his car into the shed in the background: With ease I can lay the seats back and turn on the air conditioning. I am sleeping like a royal should.

*Cut to Turtle*

Turtle: In an attempt to get a good nights sleep I have parked my Lancia partly in the lake and I will sleep with my tail in the window so I can say I slept "In my car".

*Cut the the three moons rising as the sound of Qibli working on his car is heard in the background before fading to black*

*Fade to show a eagle flying high over the sand as the sun rises*

Winter: Well I slept decent, you have to say Nissan makes comfortable cars.

*Winter walks over Turtle who is tossing and turning in the water*

Winter: Okay that's cheating, you have to actually be in the car.

Turtle half asleep: I am... *snore*

*Winter picks him up and dumps him fully in the water and Turtle comes back up spitting water out of his mouth*

Turtle: Okay I'm up!

Turtle over footage of Winter and Turtle looking for Qibli: After a rude awakening we both realized we couldn't find Qibli's car. So we looked for clues.

*Both turn there heads to the shed about ten feet away.*

Turtle: Found him.

*Cut to a messy shed with tools and car parts everywhere*

Winter: My goodness, Qibli what on Phyria?

Qibli from under the car as he slides out: Winter? Oh no the sun is up.

Turtle: Did you not sleep last night?

Qibli: I had a broken crankshaft I had to replace.

Winter: Well your gonna feel it the rest of the road trip.

Qibli: I still gotta finish it up so you guys head over to the drag strip and I'll meet you there as soon as I can.

*Time lapse the sun rising over the desert until it's mid day before cutting to Turtle and Winter watching Qibli driving over.*

Qibli as he gets out: Why do you guys look so concerned?

Turtle: Look.

*Camera cuts to see a figure in a white racing suit next to a muscle car.*

Qibli: Crap, it's The Stig.

Turtle over the footage as The Stig drives all the way over rolling to a stop: The Stig is without a doubt one of the best drivers in Phyria. And now we'd have to try and beat his Pro stock drag racing division Ford Thunderbird with our cars.

Qibli: Hello Stig.

The Stig: .....

Qibli: Chatty as ever I see.

Winter: Lets stop wasting time and get to racing.

*Camera cuts to all four lined up side by side.*

*Cut to inside of Turtles car*

Turtle in the car: The only way I can win this is if they all have some sort of issue or make a mistake.

*Cut to winter into car*

Winter in car: Just gotta time my shifts perfectly, hope launch control does it's job.

*Cut to Qibli in car*

Qibli in car: Being fully honest I'm worried that my repairs won't hold. I haven't had a chance to run it in.

*Cut to The Stig in the car*

The Stig: ....

*A produce waves a flag and the roar of engines fills the air. The Stig launches forward while Qibli suddenly pulls a wheelie with his front tires high in the air.*

Qibli: WOOOOOO!

Turtle: Three moons!

*Qibli's front wheels slam to the ground as he pulls forward and matches Winter's speed as The Stig flies down the drag strip widening the gap by the second.*

Qibli: The Sitg is gone! It's just a race between us three now!

*Turtle is falling behind as Qibli and Winter battle to pass each other*

Turtle: Their really going!

*The Stig blasts past the finish line. The camera begins cutting back and forth between Qibli moving the shifter and Winter hitting the shifter paddles*

Winter: Come on sand snorter!

*Both thunder past the finish line side by side with Turtle coming a second later.*

*Cut to Turtle in Car*

Turtle over radio: Who won?

Qibli over radio: I have no idea.

*Camera cuts to the three rolling to a stop side by side as The Stig drives off and a producer hands Qibli a piece or paper.*

Qibli as he gets out with a piece of paper: Well I think we all know The Stig won, but the real battle was between me and Winter, which, you did very good.

Winter: You didn't do bad yourself.

Qibli: So they snapped a picture as we crossed the line and it was close.

*Qibli slowly turns the picture so they can see it. Qibli just edged out the GTR*

Qibli: Muscle wins on it's home ground!

Winter: Dang it.

Turtle: Hey good job.

*A producer walks up and hands Qibli another paper*

Qibli Reading out loud: Now that you have raced in the home of the Muscle car, you will now make your way to Jade Mountain Academy for your next challenge.

Turtle: They're sending us directly there?

Qibli: Did anyone there even approve that?

Winter: I don't know.

*Fade to black and fade back to the cave*

Qibli: Wow. That was a close race.

Turtle: I'm still surprised you could make that repair in time.

Winter: That only looks like he did he made us wait two hours in the back sun.

Turtle: I don't know what your complaining about you have air conditioning, my Lancia is like a oven!

Qibli: Well one thing we can all agree on, is The Stig had the advantage.

Turtle: Did they really think that we had any chance of beating him?

Winter: Obviously not or they're idiots.

Qibli: Now can we talk about my wheelie for a second?

Turtle: How did you even pull that off?

Qibli half laughing: I'm not even sure myself!

Turtle: If someone would do us a favor and put the footage on screen that be great.

*Footage comes onto a TV*

Turtle: Pause right there.

Qibli: Look at how high my front tires are!

Turtle: That has to be like four, maybe five feet!

Winter: I will never get why people go crazy over wheelies, it seems so impractical.

Qibli: It's nearly impossible without the proper equipment!

Turtle: Well I'm afraid that's all we have time for but next time, we'll be making the difficult journey through the mountains.

*Fade to black*