#once again our fan theories got me too excited

[nitrowyverine]

I think I write dating sim/VNs/etc reviews now? Anyway,

LOST IN LIMBO REVIEW/THOUGHTS

This VN piqued my interest, so I gave the demo a shot! This review will follow the same general format as my Obscura/Touchstarved review, except there's 7 (!!!) romance options.

Since I totally loved this game, I'm going to put the conclusion promo up here too: if Lost in Limbo interests you, consider playing it Here, Here on steam, and/or backing it Here!

ALSO! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE DEMO!

My (long winded) thoughts are below:

(Banner image courtesy of the Ravenstar Games tumblr account pinned post. Individual character pics courtesy of tumblr posts from the studio. Individual posts are linked in character titles.)

Gameplay design thoughts:

the plot immediately sucked me in, I'm pretty invested in whatever the hell is going on with the protag, the realms, the lords, etc. I think the setup/land are deep enough to draw me in, but not so intimidating in it's depth that I'm afraid to explore more.

I always enjoy a little bit of nightmare fuel in my games, so the voidbound are perfect. They're so gross and horrible, but not just a stock zombie/nightmare creature design. Whenever the voidbound pop up, it makes the back of my neck itch, which is perfect.

I have no idea whose route I'll pick first. Usually I have one candidate that I can pick out as number 1. This game however? I go back and forth all the time, since I love all of them. I do think I have bias for Ara/Gael/Amon/Envy, maybe?

I really want to design an MC to doodle for this, but I feel like I don't know enough about other people in the realm. (Mostly, I'm assuming that standard humans don't have pointy ears? how close to our reality is the regular world?) I might say "screw it" and design an MC anyway (with some speculative clothing for once they get cleaned up)

The backgrounds have been great set pieces so far. Sometimes I catch myself just kinda staring into space at them. They've got a fantastic flavor.

Misc. Thoughts written during a replay

Fun touch to have Evie's rock image from the beginning fortune shop scene line up with the 7 LI's color schemes.

Each of the VA's does a lovely job with their voices. I've been turned off of certain dating sims because of bad voice acting, but the acting in this game is superb so far. It really helps set the richness of the story.

I have a theory that the LI's (and possibly people in Limbo in general) experience pain differently. The characters seem largely uninterested in the MC's stabbed, weakened state, beyond a "Oh that sucks....we'll clean you up later" mentality. I wonder if they have different pain tolerances, or are just less attached to such things. (Then again, Amon and Raeya have full missing limbs/eyes, so they probably have a decent perspective on pain altogether)

What does wielder/non-wielder mean? Xal says the MC "Can't wield, can't see." What do the LI's see that we don't? Ara mentions that the MC seems "Completely normal". Many mysteries.

I need those monster forms like crazy oh my goodness. Please devs PLEASE SHOW THE MONSTER FORMS

Now, to the lovely love interests!

Amon

WHO LET THIS MAN BE OVER 7 FEET TALL? PRIDE YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO

I only just noticed he also has a few freckles, *chefs kiss* (Waaaiit do all of them have little freckle skin textures??? Oh this is a glorious day.)

It's hard not to love a big friendly guy. I was honestly relieved when he first showed up, because I did Envy's route first, and I was thrilled to see a friendly face in the big dark scary woods.

This does not mean, however, that I'm not excited to see what this guy turns into when he's mad.

I like that he has pity for MC when they first show up, but I do worry it makes his resolve weaker. I'm not as confident that he could handle society/reality breaking down as well as the others. Can he put aside his affable nature for when shit hits the fan?

Question: What level of fight had to happen for Amon to lose his eye? He's already huge, and has some sort of telekinetic powers. My theory is that he was taken by surprise, maybe by someone close to him.....(Envy I'm looking at you)

RIP Amon you would have loved Hawaiian shirts

Conclusion: Most likely to be the camp counselor who hurts his back from always giving piggy back rides. Least likely to keep his composure during a badly timed pun/dad joke.

Raeya

I'm fighting for my life whenever shes on screen good LORD

Similarly to Amon, I GOTTA know the story behind her prosthetic arm. Its so rad looking, but how did she lose a whole arm? (I am also considering that she was also not born with one)

Playing the demo again, she makes a specific comment about the monsters having not "infected a limb" of the MC. My bet is that's how she lost her arm.

I wish I could have spent 1:1 time with her, but it wasn't offered in the demo. I'd love to have like, a sit down discussion with her about history. (Well I'd be fine getting lectured about history and drinking tea and hanging out)

Out of everyone's motivations, I think I understood Raeya's the most. Even if she was against MC, I think her concerns are completely valid. If an alien fell out of the sky from a different reality to earth I'd ALSO be taking every precaution

She and Amon have matching ear chains, that's adorable....

I hope I can take her on a nice date and spoil her and let her relax in the full game, pretty please. Nothing bad will happen right???

Conclusion: Most likely to gently remind the waiter that you said NO pickles with your order, thank you very much. Least likely to admit to being the one who farted in a crowded room.

Envy

every other line from him is "UGGGHHH" and i love that for them.

After playing, I think I've finally realized that I've got a soft spot for grumps. just grumpy lil friends with their pouty faces

I want (vivi's) Envy's nails SO BAD. I need him to do my nails because theirs are perfect. Envy, envy PLEASE

They pretend not to care, but are already getting attached to the MC by the end of the demo. I can't wait to see what they're like when they actually DO get attached

Elephant in the room, what could he have possibly done to get himself demoted so severely? Everyone seems to be fine with him being demoted except Amon, who sheepishly vouches for him when he can.

I just wanna wrap him in a blanket burrito like you do with a spicy kitten. and then give him little smooches

Conclusion: Most likely to be they guy who gets one drink at a party and sits in the corner with the dog/cat all night. Least likely to allow their partner to willingly boop their nose with any regularity.

Pride

Old man yells at cloud? No....old man IS cloud.

The dev's tumblr has mentioned that he's a pathetic old man, but for now at least, I am afraid of his authority and power. since hes like. yaknow. the big god of this world

The VA did some fabulous work for his voice. I definitely got actual chills in certain parts. 10/10

Okay, so WHAT is this guy's deal with mirrors? He looks great, why is he worried about it. I sincerely doubt he's just 52 though, if he's a god. (as a note for all these interests, I have a feeling that the ages are their physical ages, and not their actual ages. Or at least, age relative to ours. I think they're much older in our years than in their years.)

We also didn't get any 1:1 time with Pride in the demo, so I'm fascinated to see what alone time with Pride would be like. Is he quiet? a chatterbox? Just a guy??? does he only play piano and not talk to you. (power move)

Conclusion: Most likely to show up WAY over-prepared for Parent-Teacher conferences. Least likely to understand and survive the cinnamon challenge.

Ara

Certified CUTIE PIE

We got a pretty clear demonstration of everyone's powers in the demo, except for Ara. Unless it was too subtle for me to realize, I'm not actually sure what her cool powers are yet.

If she DOESN'T have plant powers I'd be very surprised.

I keep wanting to think things like "I have to protect her" or "keep her safe at all costs". But then I remember she's likely absolutely terrifying, and I honestly should be actually afraid for anyone who gets in her way.

I would like to remind/inform everyone that so far, she is the only member of the cast who is visibly armed at all times. (Raeya doesn't count even if her arm claws look really really sharp.)

If I have to pick anyone to party with, it's probably Ara. I know she'd throw an absolute rager, but would also make sure you stay hydrated. I wanna hold her hand too. Please?

I'll go butch for her, i'll do it if thats what she wants. I'm weak

Conclusion: Most likely to be able convince you to give her your kidney. Least likely to let you skip a bloodthirsty game of monopoly because you "Have a headache"

Gael

where did he find pants long enough for him.

Okay. So its HIS fault that Amon has the deepest V-cut since time immemorial. Do you think Amon and Gael had an extensive argument about the minimum amount of clothes Amon has to wear at any given time? Because I do.

His powers certainly did not. Awaken anything in me. Nope.

he has the shortest and most perfect arc from stranger -> friendly -> ???? -> BETRAYAL

I am MASSIVELY curious about his dissociation/spacing out during the demo. He was 8 million miles away in the tower for some reason, and I HAVE to find out why. I just KNOW this man is doing some questionable shit with good intentions and I can't wait to find out what it is.

So, he has SOME issue with touch. No idea what it is, but I can't wait to find out what it is. Also noting he's the only one with full-coverage gloves in the cast. Interesting...

Conclusion: Most likely to cry after being sent those sad FB/insta animal stories. Least likely to let you open your own car/carriage/etc door under any circumstances.

Xal

He looks so soft. I have to bully him, in a good way. (Like grim from Date with Death)

I am fascinated as to why he would lie for MC. That's such a great hook to his character. What does a guy who so desperately wants to be left alone have to see to stick his neck out for a stranger?

SOMEONE get this man a NINTENDO DS POST HASTE

THIS GAME HAS TO GET FUNDED BECAUSE XAL SAYS HE HAS A CAT AND I WANT TO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will do it, I will be the one to tuck him in when he is too eepy. I will carry him to bed and kiss his little head good night

Wait, if he can "Figure something out" by touching it, he could be like, the worlds greatest doctor. Xal please get off the couch and help me diagnose mystery ailments in a medical sitcom

Conclusion: Most likely to injure himself rigging up a Rue Goldberg machine to scratch his back. Least likely take it easy on you once he learns how to play super smash bros. (He's a fox/falco main)

Concerns:

What the Ravenstar team has already been able to accomplish is incredible. I'm worried that with 7 whole love interests (with a possible two more on the way if the kickstarter goes well), i'm worried the devs are taking on a whole lot of work. I think they're fully capable of taking this on, but I hope they don't burn themselves out in the process.

I'm pretty happy to see the kickstarter is moving along, but there's always the chance that something happens, and/or the kickstarter goal isn't met. BY THE TIME I FINISHED WRITING THIS IT GOT FUNDED LETS GOO!!! I still hope this project makes it all the way to completion beyond the kickstarter. Things can always happen, so Ive got my fingers crossed for the Ravenstar team!

OVERALL CONCLUSION:

I loved the demo, and I have now backed the project! The team is trying to hit stretch goals now, so share Lost in Limbo with your buddies! I crave content for this game like nothing else.

[bengiyo]

Only Boo! Ep 8 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Moo got too excited the night before his audition and was late. Potae was off his game due to nerves, and he and Moo got into a fight about their mistakes. Jang, an idol, took a shine to Payos. Only Payos passed the audition. Kang rejected Shone, and has confirmed boyfriends with Moo.

If this show must contrive intimacy delays, I like the hand kissing as an indication that Kang wants to.

Episode 8: My Boo

I love that the date montage takes place over just a few days. Moo has been waiting and needs to get it in.

Oh ho, negotiating forms of address.

Kabedon!

I love Moo wanting to cook for Kang, and also that he's so serious about the tone they're using with each other.

This pre-separation anxiety feels very high school in a way that is landing solidly for me. I do like Moo a lot.

Oof, getting some Theory of Love flashbacks on Khai making Third deal with the girlfriends.

Once again glad that a confession was a fantasy because it felt so off. Another reminder to the audience.

Now which screenwriter is working out something in this script with this lament about who gets the opportunity versus who works for it the hardest?

I get that we don't have time to introduce more parents, by how is a minor signing this contract?

Okay, I like Moo glaring at Potae to speak nicely to Payos.

We're a bit late in the show, but I'm okay with Jang showing up as a complication for the side romance.

Moo's confidence about his attraction to Kang is so special.

I like Moo's song, but the tuning on the voices is strong.

I doubt Payos will confess this episode.

Are we back to wondering if the realities of public life will force Moo into the closet? I feel like I don't trust this show about this anymore.

This episode is so optimistic about the romantic future for our leads that I'm instinctively expecting a major crash at the end of this episode.

Did they intend to give Moo a graduation haircut??

I remain a fan of the teachers in this show. Reminding students that they are the ones who did the work to get through these challenges is the last lesson.

Not this teacher making me cry because he wanted to get his student's autograph.

Well well well, Payos managed to express it this episode.

This kiss feels like they worked hard on calibrating it for where the characters are and the experience level of the actors.

Interesting! We're progressing to cohabitation in college next week. That doesn't happen often. The only example that rushes to mind is Utsukushii Kare.

This was a fun episode that didn't end on a downer like I feared. I am never sure where this show wants to go, but I'm glad we got to see our leads transition into their sweet boyfriends era. I still don't know why Shone was in this show, because his absence meant nothing this week. I grow to love Moo more every week, and I wanna talk to this writing team about how they conceived Dynamite and Moo someday.

[lemotmo]

Alright I admit I am a little worried now.

Don’t think BT is bones still? Yes. That episode was pretty much confirmation of that in various little ways.

But was it worth all the hype and press attention it was getting? And was it worth all the interviews Oliver was getting before and after it aired? No. Not at all.

And that has me worried for episode 6 and Eddie. Because they have been hyping 6 up the same way. And Ryan has been getting all this press attention and interviews and we keep saying oh it has to be this this this because nothing else would be worth the attention.

And as we just found out apparently what we think is and isn’t worth that attention is worlds apart from what Tim and the show do.

And with the track record he has of making every single Eddie arch being about Shannon I am now worried this one is going to be the exact same thing. Eddie dealing with Shannon. Again. For the 7th year in a row. With Tim thinking he’s so clever for it.

Well see... the things is that we don't know what's ahead for us.

Should we maybe dampen some of our expectations? Yes, definitely and I'm planning on doing that.

I do think, for episode 5, we got swept away with some of the excitement. Oliver talked about how fun the episode would be and he was right about that. It was Halloween fun. But a lot of us thought he was talking about BT as the 'fun' part because we all know he doesn't like that relationship all that much. He did mention a lot of things that were true as well, we shouldn't forget that.

The journalists have a job to do. Yes, they are also fans, but they are journalists in the first place. So yes, they'll try to engage the audience and the readers.

There were no outright lies told by anyone. We just let ourselves believe too much in the theories floating around. It didn't help that the episode title was 'Masks' either. 😂

At the same time I also don't want to dampen my expectations too much, you know?

I love that fandom experience of living towards an episode. And yes, sometimes an episode disappoints, but once in a while an episode surprises you with how fantastic it is.

I do think that some of the more outlandish theories for episode 6 on Twitter should be taken with a grain (or a bag) of salt. Eddie is not going to say the words 'I'm queer/gay' or anything like that. The best we might get is some clear hints and maybe Eddie talking about how he has repressed so many emotions/feelings in his life. I do feel that it might be something clear to the audience, but not outspoken by the character.

Once again, keep in mind that this is my opinion. These are my thoughts. But I have spoken about this with Ali and some other mutuals. We all have somewhat the same idea about this.

So let's just wait and see what episode 6 brings us. If you feel that all of the theory-talk and expectations start weighing on you, maybe you can filter a few tags or words that are triggering for you. That way you can enjoy the break more and you'll feel better by the time the episode airs. Just a thought.

I hope you have a lovely day Nonny!

[blogger360ncislarules]

Jim Parsons is opening up about how "beautiful" it was to reprise his Big Bang Theory role as adult Sheldon Cooper for the Young Sheldon series finale.

While speaking with ET's Rachel Smith about his Broadway project, Mother Play, Parsons shared that, yes, he has already taped his part for the Young Sheldon series finale. He's reprising his role alongside Mayim Bialik's Amy Farrah Fowler. Parsons said going back to a familiar role went so much better than he expected.

"It was beautiful. It was even more beautiful than I expected it to be. One of the reasons I was excited to do it is because what they wrote is so sweet and I think they worked Mayim and I into that show so beautifully," Parsons tells ET. "I hope everyone agrees. But also for us the way that they tape -- because they're a single-camera show and we're multi-camera -- the whole look of the show was a really special experience. To get to go with Mayim, in a world we're really guests and revisit these characters a little older, just a completely different circumstance."

When they reprise their roles on Young Sheldon on what will likely be a flash-forward scene, it'll be the first time Parsons and Bialik reprise their roles and appear on-screen together since The Big Bang Theory ended in May 2019. Parsons said that since leaving the show, everything's been like "one big wash of a memory, but to go back" it felt different.

"We're older and we haven't seen these people," he says. "It just felt different, but it felt really, really sweet."

"Well, yes and no. We finished our first read-through, we didn't tape it. We just went in and felt around the set, and Mayim nailed it when she walked back and said, 'Uh, I thought I'd feel a lot more confident than this.' I said, 'Me, too,'" Parsons admitted. "I really thought it'd be like putting on a pair of old shoes and then eventually it was, but not for about an hour or so. And I was like, 'Do I still know how to talk like this?' It was weird."

When Young Sheldon comes to a close with the season 7 finale in April, fans can expect the Big Bang Theory universe to expand once again, as it's been reported that CBS ordered a Young Sheldon spinoff series centered around George and Mandy raising their family in Texas. Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro and Steve Holland are the creators. The trio's also the brains behind The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon.

"I really think it goes back to the writers," said Parsons, explaining what makes the shows successful. "They have continuously created such characters that people connect to, that people enjoy watching. It was always the key to our show, that I thought it was a group of people that who each individually were such well-defined deep characters. And it's the same with Young Sheldon and now they've got two more to go with. It's crazy."

In the meantime, fans can catch Parsons star opposite Jessica Lange and Celia Keenan-Bolger in Mother Play, a Broadway feature from Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel. The 1-hour, 30-minute play (no intermission) is directed by Tina Landau, and the play centers around Parsons, Lange and Keenan-Bolger sharing the stage as a dysfunctional but moving family. 

Mother Play begins preview performances on Broadway on April 2.

[witheredoffherwitch]

What do you think about Alys’ magic abilities? Since she was follower of Old Gods, do you think she was greenseer or skinchanger?

I do think that Larys is indeed a skinchanger, who enters mind of rats, so he’s able to spy over Red Keep. And in leaked audition tape Alys was joking(or not) she is barn owl who was cursed to live in human body, can it be a hint she’s able to skin change into animals too?

It said that only one in thousand is born a skinchanger and only one skinchanger in a thousand is born a greenseer. And greenseers known for having greensight, so I don’t think Larys is one of them, but Alys is described to have visions in multiple sources, some kind of greensight.

And with Ewan hinting that Aemond will know day he dies, Alys potentially can be the one who predicts it:

"That was one of the first things [showrunners] Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik wanted to think about: the legend of The Cyclops in Greek mythology, and how he ultimately traded one of his eyes to Hades in order to see the day he would die,"

"What does that do to a person, to possess that extreme degree of self-certainty? To know the day you're going to go down, and feel bulletproof to a point. I'm not saying Aemond is a seer, but he's scary perceptive."

And it’s interesting if she’s indeed a greenseer, unlike Bran and Bloodraven, who both were men in power, she was just a serving bastard.

What’s your personal assumption about this?

Hello nonnie, I hope you're doing well.

I sound like a broken record now -- but once again, I apologize for the delayed response. I'm so glad you found the time to ask this question because it prompted me to go back and read all the articles I had previously overlooked.

NOW... Ewan and Ryan both hinting at Aemond being privy to his own impending death is HUGEEE! If Aemond is somehow made aware of it through Alys' visions, then that completely removes the likelihood of her orchestrating his death. If makers don't botch the narrative they've employed for his storyline till now, then Aemond's character is primed to be one of the most tragic characters in HoTD. There is very good possibility that by the end of his journey, he feels like an absolute failure who's doomed his own cause to a potential defeat. In that scenario, when all hope is lost, I can totally see his character gambling everything away for that one final triumph that will not only assure the removal of the biggest possible threat -- but also offer him the retribution for B&C. Incidentally, there is also a high likelihood that we are reading too much into these quotes which were intended as some casual, off-handed remarks on Aemond's character study... I don't know.

Moving right along, me and some of my fellow shippers have been knee-deep in some fascinating headcanons recently. We’ve all largely agreed that both Alys and Larys could be skinchangers. I am not sure if Alys will be explored beyond her role in the Dance, but the theory of her being a 'greenseer' is an interesting one. I have read so many theories on Alys - from those guessing at a connection with Asshai and Quaithe to those believing her magic is derived from necromancy or blood magic. These are all interesting theories for sure, and opens a wonderful opportunity to explore more AUs.

I am excited to see what the makers have in store for us. She's such an interesting character, with both teams vying for her fealty on these online spaces. Our girl's definitely got many intrigued -- and I have even seen some TG fans suggest that the relationship between Aemond and Alys could be strictly platonic in the show. If that is the case, her story will either conclude at the battle above God's Eye or - in rare one-off case - they might even kill her character in the middle of a war. The makers are certainly not hesitant to change character arcs in the show, so nothing's off the table.

Thanks once again for this lovely ask!

Love, Kalki 🤗

[foreverautumn89]

@miwiromantics I agree. I think Jonathan is so pretty and adorable. I was just watching something with a friend last night again its a video of him doing an interview and hes so cute and shy and adorable in it.

I find Eddie attractive. But the thing about Eddie I don't like that turns me away from him the most is the fans [how everyone who isn't eddie is garbage and eddie is the most important that has ever existed ext ext we all know the deal]. this isn't Eddie's fault once again to be clear its the fans fault. But like Eddie was Jonathan with a new coat of paint. He was the slightly fancier re-do of Jonathan [I only say fancier cause Eddie is more talkative and exciteable while Jonathan is shy and quiet and keeps to himself so ppl are naturally going to like Eddie better while I'm more drawn to Jonathan types]. And the fans love Eddie and see all the good in him but not Jonathan.

There was a character since S1 being an older brother to the boys that taught them to be yourself love yourself for who you are ext-same stuff Eddie would preech later on. But Jonathan is overlooked while Eddie was the best character of all time. That's another thing that Eddie is way too over rated. And I don't mean in a 'Eddie isn't good enough' sort of way, I mean wtf to the fanbase yet again because eddie became the best character on st because they said so, but don't give any credit to the characters that have been there all along, besides maybe steve who also wasn't a part of the og group in s1 not till the end.

I'm not still not sure why Eddie did that and couldnt move the game. But I think he does it on purpose to distract him from the basketball games. But thats just a theory. Like hes set in his ways that 'well if the rest of the town is going to make us feel left out and dote on theri basketball game, then fck it we'll create our own world and have what they have too-we'll enjoy a game and bond too while they got theirs. So it would make sense why he couldnt move the game. Thats a theory, but theres got to be an explaination of why he wouldn't move it and HAD to have it on the same night as the basketball game. I don't think he was deliberately trying to make Lucas feel like he din't belong but yes he should have realized that it would do that. But maybe he didn't realize how much of an impact it would have on Lucas maybe he thought Lucas just thought it was a stupid game and didn't really care about it if he'd rather be at his basketball game then with him.

I know I constnatly say about that one too mainly with Steve but yeah with Eddie too Again no evidence of Eddie being abused just like with Steve. I mean tbf, theres more evidence for it happening to Steve than to Eddie but thats not saying much because there is zero no evidence for it happening to Steve. You're right Eddie had one throw away line about his father that didn't tell us anywhere in there that he was being abused. Unles I'm forgetting something. I'm always hyper focused on Jonathan, so maybe I missed what Eddie said but all I remember is about Eddie saing that his old man taught him to hot wire a vehicle when they stole the rv. Am I missing something? Meanwhile, I know that Steve wasn't getting abused but they keep making it out ike he was and that excuses his bad behavior in the past, but Jonatha deserves to be abused even more by Lonnie and other ppl. They know about Jonathan's abuse they're not ignoring it-ts just funny how they use Steves non existant abuse to justify his bad behavior, but when Jonathan is abused, he deserves worse. I'm not saying you're justified in anything you do if you were abused before-to be clear-im just saying why is their defense for steve who wasnt really abused? but jonathan who they know was abused for a fact they have no sympathy or empathy for? The logic just isn't there yk

[iwanthermidnightz]

alskdj sometimes I smh at us as a fandom and also on the individual level how we lose our minds over her surprise songs on tour or each release of a rerecording we’ve already heard or seeing a paparazzi photo of her on a street in a new outfit.

it just feels like we fawn over her every move and I’m so done ngl

(also this isn’t directed at you specifically at all. I just know you’re reasonable and classy so I wanted to share my gripes lol)

I completely understand she deserves to own her work again and she’s doing that in a way that feels like it honors that, and I totally absolutely respect that. I just wish she would release them all at once and not drag it out… (respectfully).

also I’m just tired of the surprise-song-o’clock every night where we lose our minds over her performing a song we literally can listen anytime we want lol

I know it’s not serious but sometimes it feels like the fandom makes it so serious and I’m just like ✌️do your thing besties but I’ll sit this out, got better things to put my time toward

sorry for the random rant! no need to engage with it just idk 😮‍💨 had to tell someone

Hahaha I know. I think its just that its exciting for the possibility of her playing a song she’s never performed live before (for me on guitar), and songs she hasn’t played in a while or other maybe less appreciated songs stripped down. It really showcases how the most intricately produced songs are built from just her guitar or piano and sound just as great. There’s also the implications I guess of her saying she maybe picks songs that in her mind connect with each other? (I think thats what she said). I don’t put too much weight on it… but I can see how it keeps people engaged.

Also with the fawning, its because a lot of us are queer lmao 😭

With the rerecords, its the principle and I agree it honors herself and all the years she spent building what she did. For me, there’s something about hearing her record songs with her voice now that makes it so much better. I’ve played the originals over the years so many times that I memorize every part of it, and yet it’s somehow still special to experience it in this new way.

I think we knew she wouldn’t release them all at the same time. For many reasons I think. 1) it would be years before she finished recording them all 2) its fun for her and us to relive these eras and reminisce on what made them special 3) the marketing and margin for sales is too good to pass up 4) spacing the releases out feeds the constant frenzy of people always wanting content/music from her etc etc.

Overall I get what you mean. I feel this way too sometimes about easter eggs or elaborate theories that are most likely not probable which we are all guilty for. It may not seem like it but in a way I’m detached enough to be like “oh wow” and maybe get excited about something (some moments call for that) and then go about my day, this is a TS community after all. But many of us have been ‘chronically online’ since the debut days, its kind of engrained in us to at least care a little about whats going on even if from a distance. I get that its different for a casual fan. I also don’t think its helpful to make people feel bad for being excited. You never know what someone’s going through and this, whatever this is, could be the only thing keeping them afloat.

I guess what I mean is, theres nuance. At least for me. The value is connecting with people who share the same interests as you. Hope I’m making sense 🤍

[grimmjow-jaggerjacks]

I made this for my Instagram account. :)

I’m trying to make my posts on there all official Bleach content, edits, and my own art instead of editing fan art for my stories. In attempting to make my own content, it spurred this edit. As for the story I made for this edit, I’ll include it here too (under this image).

⠀

┆♕┆ Cafe Mundo┆♕┆⠀

⠀ ⠀To bridge peace between the different soul races, a conference was the initial plan. However, battling would be involved if Grimmjow—who was forced to go, showed up. To the formers sixth’s fortune, Nelliel advised against the conference idea and Grimmjow fabricated a new plan that would suffice—in theory.

⠀ ⠀ “Welcome to Cafe Mundo,” were the blank words that echoed from Grimmjow into the large room. His face, in contrast, appeared to be charmed— excited.

⠀ ⠀ Nelliel frowned. She wasn’t too pleased with the idea. Specifically not how it was brought to fruition. Nor was Grimmjow’s cold welcome anymore convincing than it was detrimental to their efforts.⠀

⠀ ⠀ “Halibel’s going to hate this idea,” she commented, looking up at him, while lightly tugging at the skirt of her maid ensemble.

⠀ ⠀ She wasn’t being pessimistic. It was true that with the progress they made, neither really held up their idea in a favorable manner.

⠀ ⠀ “You asked that I don’t kill, do anything stupid, and that the idea be one everyone can get behind,” he began before narrowing his eyes. “And you helped me steal everything to make this happen.”⠀

⠀ ⠀ It was true. Nelliel had gone to the world of the living at night with Grimmjow just to steal furniture, paintings, plants and more from some random restaurant. It was also her idea to steal the items after Grimmjow proposed turning one of the grand, large rooms of the palace into a cafe.

⠀ ⠀ She folded her arms over her chest before sheepishly looking off to the side. “Well y-you—! You said food will bring everyone together,” she exclaimed.⠀

⠀ ⠀ He let out a laugh. “I said a pretty maid will do the trick, but you run your mouth too much.”⠀

⠀ ⠀ Despite his seemingly harsh words, he was teasing her. It was their norm.⠀

⠀ ⠀ “Well, how will we disguise our masks. I know the Soul Reapers will judge,” she changed the subject, looking back at him once again.⠀

⠀ ⠀ Grimmjow furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment. “Hm.” He eyed her. “We don’t. We’re in our uniform, something most Soul Reapers don’t give a rat’s ass about— unless you’re talking about the ones in lower ranks or the kiss asses,” he shrugged.⠀

⠀ ⠀ “You’re forgetting some can be a stickler about it, regardless of rank,” she said.⠀

⠀ ⠀ “Nonsense! They’ll worry more about having poison in their food than what parts of ourselves we’re showin’ off to ‘em,” he reassured, his tone softer, but still with its natural harshness lingering about.⠀

⠀ ⠀ Grimmjow helped Nelliel with the finishing touches in the cafe, before helping study one of the cook books he had stolen. Neither of them had a clue what their menu was supposed to look like— let alone how to make the dishes. They had more ingredients than they’d really need, but it was a start, regardless. Yet, it didn’t change just how stumped they felt.

⠀ ⠀ Nelliel leaned over, looking at the book, but not without sensing Grimmjow’s growing frustration. She took it from his hands, having a more suitable plan in mind.⠀

⠀ ⠀ “Hey—“⠀

⠀ ⠀ “Go get some other arrancar. That’ll make it easier and we’ll be able to have this place open to all by the time Halibel returns,” she calmly ordered.⠀

⠀ ⠀ Without a fuss, Grimmjow nodded and left to do as he was told. In the meantime, Nelliel tried to prepare the dishes, or at least figure out how to.⠀

⠀ ⠀ A day later, and Halibel returned. There was all sorts of spiritual pressures swirling the palace. At first, a flurry of worry got to her, thinking that perhaps Grimmjow and Nelliel were ambushed in the time she was away. To her surprise, they had a whole cafe running—thanks to Urahara, whom they both reluctantly called upon since he had some expertise on running a business.

⠀ ⠀ “Welcome to Cafe Mundo!” Grimmjow enthusiastically greeted.⠀

⠀ ⠀ “What is this?!” Halibel inquired, looking around before firmly setting her emerald eyes on the blue haired nuisance.⠀

⠀ ⠀ “We’ll explain later, but first you need your uniform!” Nelliel exclaimed, coming up from behind.⠀

⠀ ⠀ Grimmjow nodded, and together, they made it through the crowded line of distinct souls, then past the tables before pulling the blonde to the back. In a single day, business was booming. Really, it was just the fact everyone heard “free food,” and rushed over without knowing how Nelliel and Grimmjow were getting everything. She also couldn’t help but notice everyone was eating together from a half-assed, concoction of a plan that neither of them sought her approval for.

——————————————————————

The story itself is short simply to fit into Instagram’s caption character limits— which I TOTALLY went over. But for Tumblr, this version is a bit better in word choice, added detail, grammar, etc.

I also am aware of how nonsensical this story is, but that is the point. To have fun, I mean. Regardless, I hope those who read it enjoy it!

Maybe one day I’ll make longer stories exclusive to tumblr. Also! If anyone can teach me how to RP here on Tumblr, that’d be lovely. 🥺🥺

[hangsabove]

i just started w a friend a (guilty) spn rewatch, like, 2 weeks ago (we are having the time of our LIVES) and BAM suddenly now you're back lmfaooo it's godsend. BUT of course we'll all enjoy original art !!!!! don't feel pressured to go back to post spn as often as you did, it's been years, we're just happy you're back and drawing whatever you enjoy atm ! :). hihi. 🌻

It is very easy to remember the whole universe that show gifted us. My step mom when I was much younger loved buffy and xfiles and talked about it very similar to how I feel like I felt for spn. Infinite possibilities. And all the added levels fans added to it with theories and film analysis. I just got to the supernatural musical eps in season 10 and it was a blast seeing it all over again and how they had fun with us and the fourth wall.

Full confession, I actually didn’t keep watching to the big finale so once I get to season …13? It’s all going to be fresh to me. I think I stopped watching when I stopped drawing (bad time obv) but it means that for a small amount of time I literally get to relive not knowing where the show is going. And I never looked up how it ended. It’s been around long enough now there are no spoilers on my feed. I’m so excited to get that one last run.

The things I draw now are more life study, I do occasionally draw people and I will always have the habit I think- of drawing Jensen as a model for the faces I use when I draw figures. I draw them for fun now, but since art is new to me again now that I’m coming out of my fog, I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself. I had to figure out how to love painting again.

I want to find a groove again and maybe when I move, open a shop when I can prove to myself I can handle it.

Are you the same little sunflower that sent anons forever ago??

[dipperdesperado]

Forspoken and False Progress Under Neoliberalism

Sorry for interrupting the regularly scheduled programming. Time to rant. Warning: this will be unstructured and contain a lotta conjecture. Hope you're not coming to this expecting some cracked academic theory or dialectical analysis; not gonna get it here.

So today, one of my most anticipated games, Forspoken came out.

I mean, look at this, looks cool, right? I was excited as hell since not only did the gameplay look insane, but it's literally a black-woman isekai storyline. I mean, if that doesn't sound awesome, I think you might need your ears checked. So, I was locked in from day one.

Then, I came down to earth and started to get worried. There was nary a black woman in sight for the actual development of the game. A japanese team, a Wonder Bread set of writers, and some very concerning statements in interviews. Stuff started to look a tiny bit bleak, but I mean, the game still looked how it always did, so I was like... you know what, I'll keep my head up.

Then, we get to The Discourse™. As someone who's been playing games my whole life and loves them dearly, I freaking hate "capital G" Gamers. Like, from gamergate to just general twitter behavior, the overlap between loud gamers and weird takes is insane. Once Forspoken got some more coverage, and we see the story a little more clearly, things just started to devolve. Like, the stuff that's going on today, the reason I'm writing this, is a perfect example of it. If you look on Twitter today, a lot of the stuff relating to the game will be the fact that the dialogue is "cringe" and "marvel-like". I like, don't necessarily disagree, but it seems kinda suspicious when just like a month ago, everyone was fawning over that High on Life game, which feeds heavily into an even more, painfully cringe comedic writing style.

Is it that it's cringe, or is it that people are more critical of this game because of its representation? If that seems like a stretch, don't worry. The game has been called woke too. Even if people don't say the quiet part out loud, implicit bias is still bias, ya dig?

It's so hard to talk about this specific game. Like, it seems like a woefully uneven game, that would be a really interesting subject for measured discourse since it does some really unique things with the movement, combat, and background of the MC, but also falls into pitfalls with how those pieces come together.

I think the thing that bothers me the most about this is the fact that there is some high-ass standard that this game seems to need to be achieving in the eyes of its fans that other games and media just don't. When people are overly critical of things that spotlight marginalized people, it can be hard to not want to torch their critiques. Like, everything gets muddied due to the fact that there's no consistency with what the supposed issues with the object are, and how those same issues go unnoticed in other objects. Again, people did not do this in masse with Deadpool, devil may cry, or any other thing that has this kind of dialogue.

I want to make it clear, if you dislike this stuff wholesale, then great. You're not who this is about.

Now, onto why I think this happens. One of the biggest issues we have with any conversation relating to social injustice is the conversation around responsibility and equity. Whether it's reparations, paying more taxes, DEI training, asking for accommodations, or the n-word, all of these issues revolve around equity and who's responsible. In our prevailing social arrangement (see the tin), people think that we've reached the peak. As in, racism has been solved, people are tolerant of others, etc etc. I think "I don't see color" perfectly encapsulates the issue with the discourse around identity. People think we live in a post-racial society, even though none of the work has been done to interrogate the root of the society such that the incentives for hierarchy and domination become fully untenable. Since everyone (for the most part, and in theory) have the same rights "on paper", why would we need to specifically spotlight voices that were marginalized "in the past"?

What then happens is that since we live in a time that is perceived to be better wholesale than other eras of destitution, it feels like an affront to freedom to try to disrupt "equal opportunity" by asking for "special treatment".

This is goofy. Like, the vapid nature of capital leads to a veneer of progress while under the surface, shit is the same as it was before. You can't get a haircut and become a new person. You just might feel brand new.

I think that in a funny way, this splits in both directions with Forspoken.

On one hand, the conversations around the game, implicitly or explicitly, highlight this faux-post-racial society, where everyone has the same opportunities in theory, but in practice, your results may vary. We'll let you have a game with a black woman as the lead, but we won't involve black women in the creation in a way that is meaningful and liberatory, since "it should be applauded that you're on the tin". But, since we have all of these racist biases and misogynoiristic machinations against black women, as gamers, we're going to look at it with a fine-tooth comb and draw out issues that interestingly enough apply to other games and shit we like but it wasn't an issue then for some reason. Hm. Strange.

As far as the devs go, I mean... a lot of the character stuff is what you get when the people represented aren't involved in the creation of the work in any meaningful way. I'm not going to get into the MC's background and stuff, but that shit is actually cringe and makes the "hip-hoppity walk" quote hit home forreal.

The point is, neoliberalism sucks and will probably be the death of civilization as we know it. Until we're able to truly create meaningful change instead of performative acknowledgment (I'm looking at you, thoughts and prayers), we're going to continue to get people that are less and less informed about the world, the closer they are to privilege.

I apologize if this is poorly structured or incoherent. I was just writing as I go because I was upset. Usually, I wouldn't write from this emotional state, nor would I let Twitter nonsense get to me, but I just wanted to lean into my emotions for once and vomit something out. Anyways, if you got anything out of this, great. If not, I'm sorry. I'll get you a cookie or snack or something.

[24-7-testing]

I posted 1,180 times in 2022

25 posts created (2%)

1,155 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@24-7-testing

@enrichment--center

@humanwheatleyslefttoenail

@the-dangerous-mute-lunatic

@ratt-core

I tagged 1,180 of my posts in 2022

#aperture science - 1,170 posts

#aperture laboratories - 1,170 posts

#portal 2 - 1,047 posts

#chell - 498 posts

#testing queue - 346 posts

#wheatley - 329 posts

#glados - 326 posts

#portal - 270 posts

#companion cube - 157 posts

#caroline - 67 posts

Longest Tag: 116 characters

#this unlocked a deeply repressed memory of me playing petz in my grandparent's basement on an old macintosh computer

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

"Welcome, gentlemen, to The Aperture's Fortune. Aristocrats, soldiers, bilge rats -- you're here because we want the best, and you are it. So: Who is ready to plunder some gold? [laugh] Now, you already met one another on the dinghy ride over, so let me introduce myself. I'm Captain Johnson. I own the ship. That eager voice you hear barking orders is the lovely Caroline, my First Mate. Rest assured, she's stashed your excess gold with the rest of our loot. Isn't that right, Caroline?"

"Yes, sir, Cap'n Johnson!"

"Hardest working deckhand, Caroline. She's the backbone of this ship! Pretty as a postcard too. Sorry scallywags, she's married; to the sea!"

I've been playing a lot of the game Sea of Thieves with a good friend lately (highly recommend it btw) and we got talking about what a Pirate Portal AU would look like. Surprisingly enough, there doesn't seem to be any fanart of Portal characters as pirates at least that I've found.

So, thanks to an art commission done by the amazing @sapient-nes , this new multiverse now has some content! Here's Captain Cave Johnson and his First Mate Caroline sailing the seas on their ship, The Aperture's Fortune, looking for adventure, plunder, and any crew members brave enough to accompany them on their voyages!

I'm very happy with how the artwork came out. The artist did a wonderful job and was great to work with too! Go commission them if you like what you see!

Also, if anybody out there has seen any other Portal-themed Pirate content, send it my way!

138 notes - Posted June 28, 2022

#4

I've been seeing a lot of people slightly confused by it, so I thought that I would point out that Aperture Desk Job is not part of the main timeline of Portal and Portal 2.

From the Steam page for the game:

It's a story in the expanded universe of those games, ie the Multiverse! That being said, it's extremely fun and should definitely be played!

Hopefully everyone can keep this in mind while developing fan theories about the content of the game. 😊

258 notes - Posted March 2, 2022

#3

The end of the year gets tough for a lot of people, especially the last few years. Because of this, I am once again excited to announce the return of…

The Portal Holiday Spirit Initiative!

To try and lift people’s spirits up this year, I will be making and sending out FREE Portal-Themed Holiday Cards to anyone who asks for one! The cards are customized to match any December Holiday of your choice and mailed to you physically or emailed digitally!

This will be the fourth consecutive year I have run PHSI, and features the return of the nifty Postcards from last year! But don't worry: All physical cards will be mailed in themed envelopes this year, so your postcards should arrive in much better condition! :)

These postcards are are also special and unique, because they feature new artwork made by eight different artists from the fandom, specifically for this event! The design of the postcard you receive will be based on what you select in your Card Request. I can’t express the amount of thanks these artists deserve for volunteering their time and talents to make PHSI 2022 special!

If you would like to receive a Portal-Themed Holiday Card:

Visit bit.ly/portal-holiday-spirit-initiative …

Answer the questions on the form…

Wait for your card to be made and sent!

It’s that simple! Card Requests are now open, and close on December 20th in order to give me enough time to make and send all the cards before the end of the year. Please submit sooner rather than later so I have time to finish them all!

Also, please don’t be afraid to request a physical card if you don’t live in the US! It might take a bit longer for you to receive your card depending on what country you live in, but they do get mailed to whatever address you provide, whether domestic or foreign. Last year I mailed/emailed a total of 141 cards to Italy, Australia, Canada, Colombia, The Czech Republic, Germany, England, Finland, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, The US, The United Kingdom, and Vietnam!

I’m glad to be a part of the Portal Fandom and hope to bring a smile to others in the Fandom this year! While not a requirement to receive a card, please visit ko-fi.com/247testing and click the Donate button if you’d like to give $2 to cover the cost/postage of your card and someone else’s too. Thanks!

Answers for common questions and concerns under the cut:

Worried about providing a mailing address, for whatever reason?

PHSI has an eCard option! All you need to provide is a name for me to call you by and an email address to receive your card!

Worried about requesting a card because you don’t live in the US?

PHSI mails to any address provided, whether domestic or foreign! However, please wait patiently for your card, due to the current global rate of shipping.

Worried that you can’t give $2 to cover the cost of your card and someone else’s?

Requesting a card from PHSI has been and will always be FREE! However, giving $2 to the initiative helps me buy card supplies and postage to mail physical cards (visit ko-fi.com/247testing if you’d like to contribute). I gratefully appreciate any contributions received, even if it’s just a comment saying thanks!

Worried because you don’t know how to support the artist of the card you received?

Each artist's social media are listed on the back of every card featuring their artwork. Look them up, commission them, reblog their art, and support them however you can!

Worried because you haven’t received your card yet?

Double check your email inbox and junk folders. I send everyone an email that either confirms your Holiday Card has shipped or includes your eCard! If your physical card fails to show up after the first of January, please reach out to me and I’ll send you a replacement eCard!

Worried because you received your card and don’t know what to do now?

Make a post about it! Include pictures, videos, or anything you’d like, and tag me in the post (@24-7-testing) so I can reblog it! If you don’t want to show your card off, that’s ok too!

274 notes - Posted November 20, 2022

#2

A Study Of Lies, by yours truly.

460 notes - Posted April 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

!!!

From the article:

"We've gotta start Portal 3, that's my message to you. Anything you can do, let's do it, let's just make it happen. Because yeah, I am also not getting any younger like we are reaching the point where it's crazy to think, literally gonna be too old to work on Portal 3 so we should just do it," said Wolpaw.

Wolpaw went on to say that Portal fans should make their appeals known to Gabe Newell, though the writer was quick to point out that he doesn't think these appeals will help the game materialize. However, if Newell and Valve see an interest, it certainly couldn't hurt! 

632 notes - Posted April 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[noandneuron]

What do you think the current state of Liam and noels' relationship is?

This is a big question. I might not be the person to ask if you're seeking answers since I've not been long enough in this fandom to give reliable comments. I can try to tell you about my opinions but pls don't take them too seriously. And remember, whatever we're thinking, we're never gonna know what the truth is (even regarding what happened in the past). So what people are saying can be seen as different theories.

If you're on the reunion conspiracy side (I am), every piece of evidence seems to explain itself. There were indeed a lot of things going on in 2023 - the divorce, Liam's tweets, the kids. The divorce announcement surely could be a good sign. We know all about the confrontation between Liam and Sara. so if Liam and Noel do want to really get back together, Sara wouldn't stay in the marriage as long as there aren't firm reasons like she's so devoted to Noel or something about their kids. From that we could make the deduction that, since they're divorced, there should be a reunion already, or at least the chance for them to get back together. It still seems curious to me that in one of the articles Sara mentioned Liam as 'one of the reasons' for the divorce (which is strange as it's the only reason she ever suggested). This is only what I remembered and I don't have the article rn so could be wrong.

Liam's tweets could be another thing to delve into. The Liam we know is very real and somehow not a good secret keeper. Even nowadays he can stop himself from revealing something really important, he can't stop showing his excitement about it - as we can see when he's about to announce the DM tour and the album with John Squire (he even said he was 'told off', which was funny). So there were two notable periods during which he was quite hyper on twitter - once in January (when the divorce was announced) and once in June (judging from the tweets themselves we know it's about Noel). You can go check the tweets they're hilarious. Again we might never know what was going on behind the scenes, but at least we know something did happen. And if you're a conspiracy believer and an optimist, this could be the evidence for an unrevealed reunion.

So is the reunion of the kids. You can refer to the discussions everywhere around the fandom since it's one of the biggest turns in recent years. To me this was quite promising - I believe the kids have an idea of what influence they might bring to the anxious Oasis fans if they appear together in a public event. This is especially true for Anais. I don't think she's the kind of person who would ignore her dad's warnings and publicly hang out with someone Noel doesn't want to get involved with at all. So the kids' reunion could be seen as a result of the brothers' (attempts for) reunion.

There is much other minor 'evidence' lying here and there, but we don't want to get too deep into some sort of confirmatory bias or delusion so I guess it's better not to focus our discussions on them. After all, it's just one side of the story.

However, I do want to share an interesting story on this, not in a reasonable way but more into the mystical side. So back in October, I asked a friend who understands I Ching and certain oriental divination practices to make me some predictions for the current state and future development of their relationship. The results said they are on good terms with each other now (in October) but there will be some conflicts two months later, after which they will put it aside to avoid unnecessary troubles. Funny enough, the predictions were made on 14 Oct, exactly two months later I went to Noel's gig in London on 14 Dec, where he seemed to be not in a very good mood only around those two days in London and Birmingham as he didn't talk to or joke around the crowd nicely as he used to do. After this, another friend of mine who went to all of Noel's winter gigs shared what she got from tarot readings asking how she's seen by Noel. One of the lines said Noel was having a quarrel with his family members at that time when he didn't feel like interacting with the crowd that much. I mean usually the probability of the prediction being true rises when different predictions align with each other. In that case, we might want to conclude that they have already been talking to each other and even having quarrels. However, pls pls pls keep in mind that this is superstition and is only one possible explanation.

On the other hand, if someone's not a conspiracy believer or, for some reason, doesn't care about a reunion that much, this could be a different story. For example, someone I know who favours Noel over Liam and NGHFB over Oasis (uhh, the old boring fights) believes that they have been talking to each other since a long time ago, but their relationship stays shallow (only having Christmas dinner together, etc.). At that time I argued that, as long as Liam is involved in this, he wouldn't let their relationship be simply on a surface level. But again, I'm an Oasis fan and a gcest shipper and I don't know what the real Liam is like. I can only speak for myself.

That's all I can tell you so far. Sorry for saying this much, but your question is a good opportunity for me to reflect on my thoughts in the past year haha. After all, I think a lot of people like me do think we're witnessing something that we don't know what we're witnessing, and we want to be optimistic. But we're also tired of being baited again and again so we're suppressing and denying our thoughts at the same time. At the end of the day, all we need is love and all we have to do is to wait.

[astrangerthingsblog]

i dont mean to be a negative nelly but i’m not too amazed by the fourth season yet. i really liked episode 7 but i think it’s sucks how much mike and will were sidetracked this season bc they’re my fav characters. i’ll hold my hope up for vol 2 but yea:(

positives: i think jamie campbell bower did amazing as 001. i’ve always loved him so i’m happy he did so great. also loved getting so much max content and sadie was wonderful of course. it was also cool getting some backstory of both el’s time at the lab and how the upside down happened (hoping we’ll get more of that later)

[owletwriter]

Welcome to Hawkins

CHAPTER 1

Summary: Stranger Things and The Upside Down, they're both fictional, right? But what if it wasn't? What if somehow, someone comes across a gate and ends up in not only the 80s...but in Hawkins?

Slow-burn Eddie x Reader / Eddie x OC, Robin x Friendship!Reader

Disclaimer: Don't own the rights to any characters except the ones I created for this story.

Hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 | CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 5 | CHAPTER 6 | CHAPTER 7 | CHAPTER 8 | CHAPTER 9

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

This is a spontaneous trip, but at the same time it's not because I've been wanting to do it for a while now. Currently, I'm in a car with my best friend, Sarah, who's driving us to our destination, the location of where they film the popular show, Stranger Things. I've always been a fan, binge-watching the new seasons that get released instantly and then waiting patiently for the next to arrive. However, once season 4 volume 1 came out and I watched it, I felt so much more passionate about the show. I assume it's because the wait for it was so long, the hype for the show increased, and it has such an awesome horror element to it this season. I'm excited, but nervous about watching volume 2.

Anyway, Sarah noticed the increase of my interest with all the theories I was discussing with her. So, as a very early 21st birthday gift, she one day offered to drive me to visit the film location. At first, I was stunned and thought she was joking, but as she grabbed one of my bags and started to pack for me, my excitement was very apparent when I tackled her in a hug. However, she's only available around the time volume 2 is out, which means I'll have to watch it when I come back. I don't mind though because I can avoid spoilers. So, here we are in a car, after quite a long road trip from New York and we're almost at our destination.

"Hey, Kate." Sarah says while nudging my arm to get my attention. "What street was our Airbnb on again?"

"Oh damn, right. Hold on." I say forgetting to look at the address and quickly fumble for the phone from my backpack. "It should be 2 more blocks and then make a left. It'll be on the left side of the street." I reply back.

Sarah chuckles at my moment of being flustered and says, "Man, you just love to daydream don't you?"

"No! I was just really into the music." I defensively tell her. The song that just finished playing was, "The Hell Song" by Sum41, one of my favorite artists among many.

Sarah luckily finds a parking spot near our Airbnb and as we get out of the car, she smirks at me saying, "Yes, I'm sure that you were fully immersed in the song and not at all fantasizing about a certain fictional character worrying about what will happen to him in volume 2."

"Shush! No I wasn't." I tell her and quickly move on to a new topic. "This actually looks a little smaller than I expected." I state while walking up to the door.

"Well it's a good thing you're small yourself." She jokes while patting my head entering.

I walk in as well looking around, "Okay one, I am fun-sized and two, I definitely think I grew an inch taller."

"So…5'1"?" Sarah teases as she takes a seat on the couch.

With genuine excitement I say, "Yep! I will take all that I can get and have the small victories." I plop down next to her and we both stay silent for a moment, happy to finally be at our destination.

After another minute, Sarah stands back up stretching her arms wide while suggesting, "So should we go check it out?"

"Right now?" I ask stunned by her suggestion and then say standing as well, "We just got here. Are you sure you don't want to relax after the drive or grab a bite?"

"Nah, I'm good. We came all this way, why not go there right away? Plus, even though you're trying to not show it, I can tell you're buzzing with excitement." She tells me with a pat to my shoulder. I blush a little embarrassed that my enthusiasm is showing, but she continues, "I'm actually really interested in seeing the place too. So, let's grab our backpacks and head out."

With a nod, we both leave the Airbnb, get back in Sarah's car and head straight there. We found a great location for where we're staying because it's only a ten minute drive until we start seeing familiar landmarks from the show. Sarah makes one more turn and then I see it, Hawkins High. My mouth is a agape as I stare at the sight that has been seen on the show. We stop and get out of the car. Sarah walks ahead as I slowly take it in. It's looks exactly the same. I think to myself.

"Wow, this is actually really awesome!" Sarah shouts impressed with the structure in front of her and adds, "But, it sucks that there's a fence around it." I snap out of my trance now noticing the barrier around the school.

"Maybe there's an entrance?" I suggest to her.

She points to a sign on the far right of us that reads "No Trespassing" and states, "I don't think so." My mood deflates a bit when reading it and Sarah chimes in again, "Ugh, seriously? The whole point of us coming here was to go in and check it out."

"I mean, it is used for filming so it make sense." I say with a hint of disappointment in my voice and add, "We probably should have researched ahead of time." I take one last look sighing before turning to head back to the car and call to Sarah, "Come one, let's grab a bite to eat."

We enter the car once again, but Sarah doesn't start it. I look over to see her staring at the school in thought before facing me with a smirk saying, "We'll come back at night and sneak in."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!" I shout with my hands waving in front of me and state the obvious, "We can't break in!"

With a pleading look, she begs, "Come on! We came all this way to actually go in and not just see it from a distance behind a fence. My gift to you is supposed to be the "Hawkins High Experience" and not just staring at it from a distance like it's a zoo."

"I know, but-" I try to argue back, but Sarah holds her hand up.

She peers straight into my eyes and asks, "Would you really be okay if we just drive away knowing you had a chance to walk through those halls, but didn't?"

I sigh before answering quietly, "No."

"Hey, I don't want to force you to do it, but I know how much you were looking forward to seeing this place and I want you to be able to do it." She tells me sincerely and then says, "I promise that we'll be in and out of there quickly."

I shut my eyes pinching the bridge of my nose and give in saying, "Alright, we'll do it." Sarah bounces in excitement, but I add, "However, if we can't find a way in safely, we walk away."

She starts the car almost singing, "That's totally fine."

I fidget playing with my long dark brown hair and I say more to myself, but she overhears, "You're slowly corrupting me."

"Yeah, but you're turning 21, Kate! Let's make it your year of adventures!" She shouts while driving off as I roll my eyes at her.

We have time to kill, so we go to a local diner to eat and then head to a store to buy flashlights with whatever else we need. Sarah jokingly suggests buying ski masks as well, but I feel like that will definitely draw more attention than less. After about 4 hours, the sun is setting and we're putting the necessary supplies in our backpacks at the Airbnb. The cool night air hits our faces as we now head for the school once again. I have a bundle of nerves in my stomach that just won't go away no matter how many deep breaths I take. At the school, we walk up to the fence and we decided earlier that it's probably best to climb it. Sarah almost makes it look effortless, but she's pretty fit ever since she started taking kickboxing lessons. I on the other hand, have been exercising lately, but I'm still on the chubbier side, so I take a little longer to get over. We hope that's the only difficult obstacle and now we search for an entrance crossing our fingers that a door will be open. Thankfully, luck is on our side and a back door is unlocked.

Sarah looks over to me and asks quietly, "Are you ready?" I nod in response and we enter. The first place we walk into was the cafeteria. We shine our flashlights around the large room taking it in. "Wow, this is so cool. I mean…it's kind of creepy at night, but still really cool. Right, Kate?" Sarah asks me, but I don't respond so she points her light at me to grab my attention.

"Sorry, yeah, this feels…unreal." I tell her while I walk around. All the tables and chairs have been left out like they used this place yesterday. I subconsciously head over to a specific table remembering the introduction of a certain metalhead who stood on it. That was some entrance you had. I muse to myself smiling. Suddenly, I get spooked by the sudden music filling the room. Turning, it's Sarah playing the song "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush on her phone.

I give her a look and she shrugs saying, "What? This is the perfect time to play this song!"

"Well don't blame me if your phone dies since you forgot to charge it…and not so loud." I reprimand her in a whisper.

"Who else would be here besides us?" She asks and then says, "Also, I can always rely on you for your charger since you always carry it."

I respond while exiting the cafeteria to a hallway, "We don't know if there's someone else here like a security guard and yes I do have it because you never know."

"Alright, alright. I'm turning it off." Sarah says walking behind me, but that quickly changes when we come across a door and she walks past me. "Oh look! This is the room for the Hawkins High newspaper." She states pointing her flashlight at the door.

With her head, she gestures for us to check it out. Entering, we notice right away that it's not the same as the show. It's empty with no chairs and has white cloths over the tables. Since we planned on not touching anything, we take one more glance and head out. As we walk through the hallways, I imagine the different scenes that took place in the show. There wasn't too much that took place in the school for season 4, but the parts that were, are memorable. It honestly still feels like I'm dreaming. I think to myself still in awe while looking around. We pass by a restroom and Sarah stops prompting me to as well.

"Mind if I take a quick bathroom break?" She asks with a sheepish grin.

"Do the toilets even work here?" I question doubting their functionality.

"Well, I'm about to find out." Sarah says entering, but pauses to turn and ask, "You coming?"

I shake my head and say, "Nah, I'll just wait here until you're done."

Without the added sound of Sarah talking, it's eerily quiet. That is, until I hear a clanking sound a little ways down the hall. It spooks me and I reflexively prepare to hide, but don't when I hear that the sound is in a repetitious pattern. Curiosity winning, I go a little ways down the hall and as soon as I make a left, a red light from under a closet door catches my eye. My body doesn't listen to my mind and it goes towards the door opening it. There's a sigh of relief when I see that it's one of the gates from the show with nothing else in the closet.

"This is actually a really cool set piece. It looks so authentic." I admire it going closer and then ponder, "I wonder if they actually connected it to the next room."

With little hesitation, I go through the slimy gate only to witness that the room I entered was just another closet with the door shut and more dust in it making me cough a bit. I'm tempted to venture off even further out, but decide to head back into the prop gate once more to show Sarah, so we can check it out together. However, as I go through the gate again, I notice the closet that was opened, is now closed and there's now a light seeping through from the outside. What freaks me out more is not only are there janitorial supplies now, but I hear commotion on the opposite side of the door. What is that? I ask myself trying to step over things on the floor to press my ear to the door.

That fails once I trip on something causing me to grab the handle for support. Accidentally, I turn the knob and fall out of the closet onto the floor. What I didn't plan on hearing after my clumsy fall…was laughter. It's bright and I squint waiting for my eyes to adjust to what is now daylight. Once they do, I let my mouth fall open in shock as I see a multitude of people, teens, walking by in both directions passing me in the halls, a few chuckling at me. I grab my backpack while I stand up and look around at my surroundings. Starting to panic, I turn towards the closet to see if I can walk back through the gate prop, but it's no longer there. I close the door and lean my back against it. My mind goes blank trying to process all the new information in front of me, but then I snap out of it and jump at the sound, of what I assume is a school bell. The halls start to clear as teens enter rooms and then I remember, Sarah! I remind myself.

I run back to the bathroom she was in and enter calling for her, "Sarah? Sarah!" All the bathroom stalls are empty and so I charge out of it back into the hallway. I bump into a girl and reflexively apologize. Once I get a better look at her, I'm again in state of shock. I didn't really pay attention to the other people before, but now I do with the girl in front of me. Her outfit, hair and makeup, all of it screams 80s fashion. Before she leaves I grab her attention again, "Excuse me? Um, do you…mind telling me what the date is, please?"

The girl says, "It's September 7th."

"And…the year?" I ask her awkwardly.

She gives me a strange look before replying, "1985."

As she quickly hurries herself down the hall, I'm left standing there dumbfounded. What the hell is going on!?

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Likes, Comments, and Reblogs are appreciated!

Also I have an Etsy Store with my artwork!

[mybiasisexo]

Entangled - Part 5

Pairing: Chanyeol x f.Reader

Chapter Warning: Language | Alcohol Consumption

Word Count: 5.3k

Author’s Note: Just a heads up... shits hitting the fan yall and its going e v e r y w h e r e 🔥! i feel like the story is going so fast haha. The wildest part is we are still only on day 2 in the story!!! so much happening in 2 days, could you imagine irl🥵? oh girl needs a long rest after this vacation is2g 😴!

Autumn is slowly approaching and I am so glad! I got my pumpkin candles LIT and my sweaters OUT lol 🍁. And who is excited for Minseok's solo??!??? lets goooo 🏃‍♀️!!!! ill enjoy whatever he does, but i am begging! Kim Minseok!! Give us cunt! Give us whips and chains! body rolls!!! I want to be devoured 😩

Enough with the babbling, I am sooo excited and nervous for this chapter. Its one of my favorites, so I hope you enjoy it! As always, reblogs and replies are always appreciated! I LOVE feedback and your thoughts and theories on the plot! Also lmk if youd like to be tagged!! Cheers to seeing our soldier boy soon 🥂! Much love! Have fuuUUUUuUuuuuun~~!

Twenty minutes later, you rush into your suite with three bags full of soju of various flavors.

Yerim sits at the island, head in her hands. You catch her shoulders bouncing slightly, but can only hear the occasional sniff. Seulgi sits beside her, rubbing her back consolingly. Her head turns towards you once she hears you enter, relief evident in her whole body.

Without saying a word, you tear open a bottle and lay out three shot glasses, filling them up to the brim. The sound of the tiny cups hitting the counter catches Yerim’s attention, and she reaches over for a glass with a slightly shaky hand. She gulps the contents down and you pour her another one, which she empties as soon as it’s full again. You take this one with her, but Seulgi only takes a sip of hers before placing it gently back on the table, her focus solely on her sister.

You’re throwing back another shot when Yerim finally speaks.

“I don’t even know why I’m crying like this.” Her voice is nasally, eyes bloodshot, face blotchy. “He had been practically ignoring me since we touched down and it’s not like we were official or anything. I just… I just really liked him.” 

Chanyeol did have that effect on people, you knew all too well.

Yerim sounds so broken, you can’t help but sympathize with her. You find yourself tearing up as well.

“What did he say exactly?” Seulgi asks slowly, as if she’s afraid she’ll trigger her.

Yerim sighs and cradles a bottle to her chest, letting the coldness calm her. “He told me that being here was putting a lot of things into perspective for him, and that he wasn’t ready to be in a relationship with me. I told him that it was okay, that we could go slow, pick this up again once we were back in Seoul, but he told me no. He said…. He said he didn’t want to continue this at all. That he didn’t want to be with me at all and that–that bringing me here with him was a mistake!”

She starts sobbing, and her wails make your shoulders drop. You feel helpless, standing there watching your friend’s heart break. That helplessness makes you restless, makes you overthink. You want to do something, want to protect her. You want to storm right over to the guy who did this and make him suffer for hurting her. But, being that the man at fault is Park Chanyeol–-the same man you can’t seem to be alone with for two minutes without wanting to suck his face off, disrespectfully–you remain still, contemplating your options.

He did mention that he was taking her out to ‘make things right’. Now that you’re thinking about it, you should have seen this coming. He practically told you what he was planning on doing. You can’t help but to think that yeah, Yerim is suffering right now, but it is for the best. Could Chanyeol have gone about it in a better way? Absolutely. But Chanyeol has never really been one with great hindsight. He goes with how he feels, worries about the consequences later. Clearly. 

There is one thing though, that you believe he still has failed to tell Yerim. The true reasoning behind his rash decision. 

You.

“I can’t do this anymore,” you mutter. It’s time Yerim knew the truth. You take another shot of soju for courage, knowing there are a few ways Yerim will take the news, and some of the options are not pleasant. You sit the glass down with slightly more force than intended, startling the sisters, and cutting of Yerim’s cries.

“Yerim.” Your voice is the most serious it has ever been. You lock eyes and hold it, making sure you have her full attention. She holds your stare, albeit with confusion. “I have something to tell you, something I should’ve told you sooner.”

“What is it?” She asks hesitantly. 

“It’s about Loey,” you reveal. “The truth is, well, him and I–”

“Knew each other in college.” Seulgi loudly interrupts.

Her outburst startles you and you blink at her in surprise. She shrugs, curling her palms up and widening her eyes, helplessly. You know her well enough to gather what she’s trying to say. Now is, in fact, not the time.

“You…did?” Yerim asks, pulling your focus back to her.

“Yeah,” you let out in a huff. All the urgency leaves your body and you slump over the counter in defeat. “All of us did. He’s Baekhhyun’s best friend.”

“Why would he lie about that?” She asks, voice small.

“Because he’s an asshole,” Seulgi says. You nod in agreement.

“So, you were all friends in college?”

“Yes.” You supply. “That’s why he’s a groomsman with the rest of them. Chanyeol was pretty close to all of us but… was closer to some more than others.”

Both you and Seulgi squint your eyes and lean closer to the clueless girl, watching to see if she catches your drift.

“Oh.” She simply says. You both lean back with large sighs.

Her eyelids flutter rapidly before she’s going back for more soju. Once she’s got her fill, she’s gazing up at you. “His name is Chanyeol?”

You nod carefully, still trying to gauge her reaction.

She does her iconic deadly scoff and it’s enough reassurance for you. Your Yerim is coming back. “He didn’t even respect me enough to tell me his real name. He didn’t respect me at all. Was anything he told me even true? Is he even a producer?”

“No, he actually does do that,” Seulgi admits with a wince.

“I need another shot,” Yerim says. You don’t hesitate to fulfill her request.  

“The boys should be back soon,” you say, laying your slightly spinning head against the back of the couch. Sehun texted you about fifteen minutes ago, letting you know that they were heading back. The plan is for the boys to come to your suite and drink a bit more before heading to their respective rooms to get some sleep for the big day tomorrow. Luckily, the wedding is going to be around 2pm so that you all can get some rest.

You asked Yerim if she was okay with the boys hanging out at your suite, and she said that as long as Loey–’oh yeah, that’s right, it’s Chanyeol’–wasn’t going to be here, she had no qualms. Plus she likes Sehun.

You don’t think she’s going to make it. She polished off three bottles of soju and is absolutely wrecked at the moment, making you from last night seem sober in comparison.

She’s sprawled out on the couch, head resting on Seulgi’s lap. Seulgi runs her fingers through her hair dotingly. Yerim’s eyes are already closed, breath evening out. You’re about to suggest hauling her off to bed when you hear a bunch of voices outside your room.

“Looks like they’re here!” You cheer, excited to be reunited with your favorite people.

There’s a loud bang and a bunch of people exclaiming. You share a confused look with Seulgi before you’re rushing to the door to further investigate. Seulgi lags behind, having to slip from underneath a snoring Yerim.

What greets you is the furthest thing you expect.

Jongdae and Baekhyun are a door down, struggling to carry a deadweight Chanyeol. His arms slung over their shoulders, feet barely touch the ground as he stumbles towards his room. He’s very obviously drunk, if his loud deep voice echoing through the halls is any indicator.

Jongin and Sehun lean against the wall across from you, quietly watching the shit show in amusement. 

Curious, you venture out into the hall, leaving Seulgi to hold the door. She takes in the scene wearily.

“What’s going on?” You ask in a hushed tone as you greet Sehun. He looks agitated, but as soon as he sees you, he’s standing up straight, fear in his bright eyes.

He hisses your name. “Get back in your room. Hurry before he sees you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t question, just go. Go!” He starts pushing you back to your room, but you’re too confused and defiant to oblige to his request. Instead, you fight back, making it difficult for him to shove you away.

Unfortunately, this draws the attention of the others, and as soon as Chanyeol notices you, you realize what Sehun was trying to prevent.

He wails your name, louder than he had been a second ago.

“Fuck,” Sehun mutters.

“Too late.” Jongin whistles lowley. 

“Mel!” Chanyeol cries. Baekhyun and Jongdae struggle under his shifting weight, scrambling to keep him above them. “I fucked everything up. I should’ve never brought her. Now you hate me for good.”

Now is a good time to take Sehun’s advice and run for the hills, but you can’t feel your legs to make an escape. Your breath hitches at his words and your heart starts beating so hard you can hear it in your ears, nearly drowning out his next words.

“It’s my fault,” he continues. His legs buckle beneath him, giving out and dropping him to his knees. Your heart shatters at how broken he sounds, how defeated he appears with his head bowed in shame. “I didn’t fight for you. I thought that’s what you wanted, so I didn’t. I’m sorry, Mel. You have to believe me, I’m so sorry.”

Each word that leaves his mouth chips at your heart, creating cracks on the wall you have built to hold in the dam of your emotions. Slowly they leak through, causing you to shake, your throat to itch, your eyes to burn–all a telltale sign of tears. You have to clench your teeth together to keep the sob in your throat from spilling out.

“I wish you didn’t hate me,” he continues in a broken whisper. “I wish you never left. That’s why I brought her. Because you left, and I couldn’t…. I couldn’t do it, Mel.”

He looks so small, like a lost child. It makes you want to walk over and drape yourself over him. Makes you want to pull him into you, feel the soothing softness of his hair between your fingers, his hot breath at your neck, and tell him that it’s okay. You can forgive him. You will forgive him.

Taking a shaky breath, you go to do just that. You shift your weight so that you can take that step–

“Who’s yelling?” You stiffen at the voice and catch in your peripheral Yerim squinting beside Seulgi, yawning as she scratches her head, very obviously just waking up. “Who’s Mel?”

That’s enough to shatter the illusion, bring you back to your senses. Fear quickly takes over as you realize the situation you’re now in. You want to tell her to go back inside like Sehun did to you earlier. You want to tell her to not worry, to ignore everything and go back to sleep, but before you can say anything, Chanyeol gets a bout of energy and tears away from the guys holding him.

It’s almost in slow motion, the way Chanyeol comes barreling towards you, hands outstretched for you. You can hear the others’ rejection, but their voices sound muffled, as though you’re underwater. Jongdae and Baekhyun rush to try to catch up to him, but his legs are too long for the shorter men.

Chanyeol’s massive hands cradle your head, tilting it back enough to give him the leverage he needs to press his lips harshly against yours.

He’s kissing you.

The shared contact speeds up time, making everything happen so quickly, you can hardly process anything going on. All you are aware of is a blur of warmth and nostalgia and hurt and regret and pain and love–so much fucking love.

You don’t even have time to close your eyes or succumb to the kiss you’ve been secretly craving all this time. No time to react before Chanyeol is being torn away from you with a loud wet pop.

Jongin has jumped in this time to drag Chanyeol back to his room. He’s fighting the whole way, trying to slip out of their grip, begging them to let him go because he wants to be with you. When he realizes his pleas are falling on deaf ears, he turns his attention back to you, reaching out as he gives you the saddest puppy eyes you think you’ve ever seen.

“Come with me,” he pleads urgently. “I want you to stay with me. Mel, please. Please! Give me another chance. You have to give me another chance!”

You can only watch as Baekhyun opens his door, throwing you an apologetic glance as they all tumble inside.

The silence that follows has your ears ringing, but the sound–or lack thereof–has you remembering yourself. Quickly, you spin around to your door, immediately locking eyes with Yerim. She doesn’t look an ounce as drunk or tired as she had before.

“Why did he just kiss you?” She asks, voice dangerously calm.

“Yerim,” you start, but find you’re at a complete loss for words. Your brain is still trying to possess the last few minutes.

“Why did he just fucking kiss you?!” She finally explodes, face red and shaking from the power of her vocals.

You all wince at her volume and guilt swallows you whole, smarting your eyes. You’re just so overwhelmed, everything’s happening so fast and you have no idea what is going on.

“I–I don’t know–”

“You don’t know?” She asks mockingly. “You don’t know why the man I brought here as my date, who just fucking dumped me, ran up and kissed you as if he wanted to be with you the whole time?”

Her words seem to connect some dots, you can practically see the light bulb spark to life over her head as she straightens up, eyes far away as realization dawns on her.

“Holy shit,” she mutters to herself. “It’s you.”

Her wide knowing eyes take you in. It’s almost cruel, the disgust now coating her face as she acknowledges you. “You’re the one he was talking about. The ex-fiancee. Aren’t you?”

“Yerim, please, just let me explain,” you plead.

That’s enough confirmation for her. She takes a step back, away from you. “So, all of you have been lying to me, not just him? You’ve all been in on it. How hilarious it must have been, watching me fall for a man you all knew loved someone else. You probably got together after dinner last night and shared a laugh over how much of an idiot I am.”

Her voice thickens as she speaks, lips quivering and eyes sparkling in the most devastating way. “I know I’m just Seulgi’s little sister to you all but this…. Isn’t this a bit too far?”

“It’s not like that at all.” Seulgi finally speaks. Yerim turns to her and she flinches at the anger aimed her way.

“And you,” Yerim vilely spits. “You are my sister! You’re supposed to protect me! Why didn’t you say anything?”

Seulgi attempts to answer her question, but is also left speechless, unable to conjure an answer that would appease her sister.

Yerim scans all of you. Jongin and Baekhyun have returned, leaving Jongdae to babysit Chanyeol, and silently watch the fight, trying to catch up on what has transpired so far in their absence. “What is wrong with you people?”

“We didn’t say anything because Chanyeol and I are over,” you reveal in a rush, pushing through the tears coating your esophagus. “Yerim, please, he’s just drunk. The wedding is messing with his head, making him nostalgic. I doubt he’ll even remember any of this. We were wrong to not tell you about our connection sooner, and I’m sorry about that. It just took us all by surprise and we didn’t know how to bring it up.”

She glares at you, but it doesn’t hold as much fire as it had prior, so you continue.

“And your sister wanted to tell you. She was pressuring me the whole time to do it, but it never felt like the right time. God, Yerim, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this trip to become such a mess.”

Your body is shaking again, and your voice wobbles as you push through that damned lump. God you hate this. Hate that Chanyeol had to go around and kiss you, hate that your connection to him is causing someone you care deeply for to hurt. Hate that despite everything, a part of you is wanting to answer his call and run to his room, to apologize for everything and wrap yourself into his familiar embrace. 

As if one of your friends could tell you need comfort, hands are pulling at you, spinning you around to crush you against a firm chest. The action calms you, allows you to focus on your breathing.

“You should have told me,” Yerim continues coldly. “You’re the reason why he kicked me out of our room, the reason he broke off whatever this was we had. If you had told me I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t have….”

She finally breaks. A sob leaves her body involuntarily, and she covers her mouth in an attempt to hold them in. Seulgi takes a step towards her to comfort her, but she holds up a hand, warding her back as she tries to calm down. 

The urge to cry has passed and you think you can stand on your own. Lifting your head, you see Baekhyun gazing down at you sympathetically, one of his hands rubbing your back soothingly. You give him a small smile as thanks, and he matches it in reply.

“I want to go home.”

The statement makes everyone’s head turn to the little girl breaking down in the doorway.

“What?” Seulgi is the one to ask.

“I said I want to go home. Now.”

“But the wedding….” Sehun starts.

“Who gives a fuck about the wedding!” Yerim shouts. “These are your friends, not mine! You’ve made that perfectly clear! I don’t want to be here anymore! I don’t want to see any of you again!”

“Let’s go inside,” Seulgi offers, voice gentle and calming. “Let’s just sit down and think through everything, okay?”

“Fine,” Yerim huffs before stomping back into the suite, having everyone share a glance before tiptoeing in after her, piling around the living area.

Yerim slouches on the couch, arms crossed defiantly, eyes on the floor, refusing to acknowledge any of you.

Understandable. Hell, you can’t seem to meet anyone’s eyes either as you slide onto the floor, leaning against one of the large windows, far away from the girl, guilt gnawing at you.

“Seulgi,” Yerim starts, everything about her exhausted. “Will you please search flights for tonight?”

“It’s too late,” Seulgi argues. “And you brought such a beautiful dress for the ceremony. How about I find something for later? You can leave after the wedding, before the reception.”

Yerim lets out a long resigned sigh. “Whatever.”

Taking a deep breath, you draw up your legs, resting your chin on your knees. The silence is overwhelming, and you need to fill it. 

“Chanyeol and I met in our first year of college.” Everyone’s head whips over to you, but you don’t notice, eyeing your knees as though you just discovered them. This is not what you thought you were going to say, but now you have to continue. “We met through Baekhyun. That’s how I met pretty much all of them, actually. How I met Seulgi. Sehun was the only one I knew before. Anyways, I’ve dated before but Chanyeol was different. He always was. I knew. From the moment we were introduced, I knew that he was the one. We both did, I think. It didn’t take long for us to start dating, and it was easy to be with him.”

You take a deep breath and try not to get lost in the past. “We were together all four years of college, and it was at the end of our senior year that Chanyeol proposed, right before our graduation.

“That’s when everything started falling apart,” you reveal in a small voice. “There was just so much we were juggling. Finals, graduation, careers, and now planning a wedding. We were fighting a lot, and I started to doubt the strength of our relationship. I also started to doubt myself. A part of me always felt like I was never good enough to be with Chanyeol. That he would grow tired of me, or find someone more beautiful, someone who understood his interests more, who didn’t call him stupid whenever he made a joke. And because of that fear, I just became Chanyeol’s Girlfriend. For four years, I was constantly by his side, trying to be perfect for him, and I lost myself along the way. Once I realized I was planning on doing that forever, I started panicking. The ring around my finger started feeling like a trap, like it was constricting me. I needed to discover myself, find out the things I, as an adult, as a woman,as me, enjoyed. I needed freedom. So… I called off the engagement.”

You hear numerous gasps throughout the room and remember everyone else. Well, it’s about time the others knew anyway. Neither you nor Chanyeol ever revealed the true reason behind your separation. You did it out of selfishness, afraid you’d be labeled a villain and lose everyone over your decision. When it comes to Chanyeol’s silence, well, you don’t know for sure. But, knowing him, he probably did it for the same reason you did. He was always protecting you.

“That was three years ago,” you press on, lifting your gaze to Yerim so that she knows you’re now addressing her. “Yesterday was the first time we’ve spoken or seen each other since. I’ve had zero contact with him. I had no idea he was bringing a date, let alone that it was you, and I doubt he even knew your connection to us. This wasn’t some elaborate plan to hurt you, Yerim. None of us would ever do that to you, especially Chanyeol.”

“He may be an asshole,” Baekhyun speaks for the first time tonight. “But he’s not cruel. If he ended things with you, it was because he didn’t want to lead you on. Knowing him, it was probably an attempt to protect you from himself.”

It’s eerie how Baekhyun’s statement mirrors your thoughts, but it’s truly just a testament of Chanyeol’s character.

He’s not a bad guy. Just a big idiot.

Now that your story has been told, all eyes are on Yerim as she absorbs all this new information. 

“Okay,” she says so quietly you nearly miss it. “Okay. Thank you for telling me.”

You can only nod.

She goes to stand. “I’m going to bed.” She points at you. “I don’t want you here.”

Your shoulders slump for the nth time today, but you understand. Just because you finally confessed your past affair with her ex whatever-he-is doesn’t mean you automatically gain her forgiveness.

“She can stay with me,” Sehun says.

“And you.” She turns her attention to her sister. “You can stay in her room.”

Seulgi deeply frowns, but nods nonetheless, aware of the role she played in all of this.

“Night. See you all at the wedding, I guess.” Yerim shuffles out of sight, softly closing the door behind her.

“We should get going also,” you say. “Big day tomorrow.”

You head over to your room, changing into some pajamas and grabbing your purse and phone charger, the essentials. 

When you’re back in the living area, the boys are all hovering by the door, waiting for you, while Seulgi slumps on the couch. Her legs spread wide, arms limp at her side, and head tilted over the back of the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling.

You call her name and she turns her head down to gaze blankly at you. “I’m sorry. I know, I should’ve done this yesterday.”

She waves off your apology. “You were going to tell her earlier and I stopped you. It’s my fault just as much as yours. See you tomorrow.”

You all give your farewells and exit the stuffy room. You take the few steps to Sehun’s, he opens the door and you’re slightly surprised when the other boys trail in after you.

You crowd around Sehun’s island.

“So….” Baekhyun purses his lips as he fixes you with a knowing look. “The mystery is finally solved.”

“Do you hate me now?” You ask quietly. You trace random patterns into the cool marble face of the counter. 

“Why would we hate you?” 

“For not telling you. For being the one to break Chanyeol’s heart. He was your friend before I was, I understand if you want to be on his side now.”

“Hey now,” Jongin starts gently, rubbing your arm. “We have always respected your relationship. It’s none of our business why you ended, which is why none of us asked. I mean, of course we were all devastated, and have told both of you as much, but at the end of the day, we aren’t the ones dating. I’m just glad cheating wasn’t involved. That’s what I have always thought happened.”

“Yeah, and about tonight.” Baekhyun shakes his head. “That’s all Chanyeol. We told him to stop drinking the whole time we were out, even going so far as to hide the bottles from him, but he kept finding them! Tonight isn’t your fault, this trip isn’t your fault, so don’t beat yourself up over it, alright?”

“Why was he so drunk anyways?” You ask, leaning more heavily onto the counter.

The boys all share a look.

“He ‘broke up’ with Yerim,” Sehun explains. “And everything started hitting him. That Myeon is getting married and that, well, he didn’t.”

“I think a lot of things he had been shoving down just came out all at once and he didn’t really know how to handle it.” Baekhyun shrugs.

That doesn’t make you feel any better. Another ball of sorrow grows in your throat and you clear it, not wanting to cry, especially for other people. Licking your lips, you swear you can still taste him there, the bittersweetness of nostalgia and your own neglected feelings. 

“Are you going to be okay tomorrow?” Jongin asks, knowing you’re also going through the same thing as Chanyeol.

You nod. “Of course. I’m happy for Junmyeon, I’d never miss this.” Speaking of Junmyeon…. “Is…is Myeon okay?”

They all nod in affirmation. “He understood. Kept telling us to just let Chanyeol drink. He had a fun time, besides all that.” 

“Good. I’m glad. If Chanyeol had ruined his bachelor’s party, I’d have no choice but to kick his ass.”

“We’d have to jump him, for sure,” Sehun agrees.

You chat for a little bit longer. There’s a soft knock and Jongdae slips in with a rather large bottle of soju. You all drain it as you catch him up on all that he’s missed. The shock on his face from your revelation is enough to bring out a chuckle from you, which only grows when he holds a hand out to Baekhyun, demanding him to pay up. Apparently, Junmyeon will be getting some winning money as well. Assholes. 

Once the bottle of soju is empty and the boys are satisfied with the smile on your face, they take their leave.

The couch is large and comfortable enough to use as a bed, and after some back and forth with Sehun about your sleeping arrangements, you climb into your makeshift bed with the intention to finally give into the urge and cry yourself to sleep.

Sehun has other plans.

He crawls in after you, slipping soundlessly under the blanket he had room service bring up, and faces you wordlessly.

“Sehun,” you whine with a yawn. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure you don’t beat yourself up over what just happened.”

“What would make you think that?”

He rolls his eyes. “You can fool the others, but you can never fool me.”

“True,” you relent. “You know you were the only one that knew the truth, right? Not even Seulgi knew I was the one who called off the engagement.”

“Of course, I was. You can’t hide anything from me. I’ll admit, I did get a kick watching the others scramble and try to solve the mystery. Though, I’m shocked Chanyeol never told Baekhyun, even after all this time. It makes sense though. He’ll always put you first, even if that means ending things with his wedding date the day before said wedding.”

You bury your head into your pillow. Drunk Chanyeol consumed your mind. His desperate need for your forgiveness, the way his voice broke and his eyes searching for you as though your presence alone was enough for him, and that kiss…. 

“I can’t believe he kissed me.”

You wish he hadn’t. Not just because it exposed your shared secret to Yerim, but because of the implications of it. With that kiss you are forced to admit that Seulgi was right, that Chanyeol still has deep feelings for you, and that you—

“It was bound to happen.” Sehun breaks your train of thought. “He was fucked up. Like, he would not shut up about you. As soon as he got a little tipsy, it was you this, you that. How much he missed you, how proud he was of you. ‘How is it possible that she’s gotten even more beautiful since college? Baekhyun, didn’t you tell me she got fat?’ Junmyeon was like ‘she’d still be just as beautiful if she had gained weight’ and this fool goes, ‘god, I know’ and takes two shots back to back. It would’ve been funny if it wasn’t so damn pathetic.”

You let out a breathless laugh at Sehun’s terrible impersonation of Chanyeol, but peek up at the man. “He really said that?”

“Yeah.” Sehun says your name. “I know we had this conversation earlier, but you have to talk to him. All the things that were holding you back then don’t apply now. You both have grown a lot and are in better places. It’s never too late to start again. Chanyeol wants it, and I know you do too. You’re just latching onto a grudge you created against him to keep you away. It’s baseless, you know? And it’s a lie. You’re very obviously still in love with him. Soulmates work that way.”

“Soulmates,” you repeat skeptically, before sighing. “You’re right though, as you always are—”

“Finally, some gotdamn recognition around here,” he interrupts.

“Anyways, I should have talked to Chanyeol earlier. Really talked to him, not this back and forth dance we’ve been doing. But, there was no way I was going to talk about us when he had a girlfriend, who just so happened to be my friend. The best option was to just ignore him.”

“That was smart of you, but he doesn’t have a date anymore. We’re going to be here for three more days, the two of you still have plenty of time to talk. Get your closure and figure out what you want with him. If there is one thing the past couple days have shown, it’s that both of you have a lot to get off your chests.”

“You’re right.”

He smirks. “I know~”

“Ugh.” You finally settle into the blankets and close your eyes, expecting Sehun to head back to his bed, but he makes no point to move. “Are you going to stay here all night?”

“Are you going to cry soon?” He counter asks.

You check. To be honest, you feel a lot better after talking to Sehun. Your mind is a lot clearer. “No.”

“Either way, I’ll just stay here until you sleep. That way I know for sure.”

You groan. “How the hell am I supposed to sleep with you watching me?”

“Easily.”

And he is right. Once you’re comfortable, you’re out like a light.

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taglist @byunparklimchoi, @defloey, @trashlord-007

[olivyh]

Slight spoilers for twst true villans

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I gave you your warning, let's go

With the idea of yuu being dires child in mind, I was able to come up with the possibility that, pardon my language, yuu was an accident and dire never wanted them in the first place, so he sent them to their new homeworld(once again, possibly our world), despite being raised in a different world, twisted wonderland is technically their actual homeworld which is why they ended up in twisted wonderlands afterlife, but there's one thing that bugs me, see, yuken is canonically born and raised from another universe, so for him to end up in twisted wonderlands afterlife he too has to be a child conceived and born in twisted wonderland, I'm not a fan of the idea of doing the same thing with yuken since the dark mirror is supposedly the only artifact that can reach different worlds, so let's say that if you unalive in twisted wonderland then your technically a resident (this ties to back to the representation that twisted wonderland is one big cage), so you may be asking "then why not apply the same logic to yuu? Why not just scrap the crowley is Yuu's dad idea?" The answer is simple. Character depth, that's literally it

I got excited you answered my ask, panicked and ran head first into this theory, so uh, sorry if it's a bit jumbled and rambly(?)

Might refine it a bit more later, but for now, this is all I got

Feel free to disagree or add anything, it's just my speculation after all!

-ot anon

I love these theories sm ;;;;; they're so much fun to read through!! Especially when it comes to the question that goes back to normal twst (like where did yuu/mc come from in game? why are they there?). The afterlife theories are also very fun to read! To be honest, when I was writing the story, I didn't really think too much about the afterlives being their own separate places or the implications of which one yuu and their friend/s ended up in,,,,

but reading these theories really has me thinking! If i make a second part to this story (next october most likely, and not as long as this one), i will definitely try to incorporate these afterlife theories!!

thank you so much ot anon <333333333