#some thought provoking stuff in the notes! <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[cuddlytogas]

wow, this got a lot more attention than I expected, so it's time for a comments round-up!

First up, and this is a big one: genre.

cattailhighway added that one big difference is that, since Flag is a comedy, the audience isn't expected to take it seriously or as an authority on history, so it has "more liberty to do things that don't technically actually make any goddamn sense at all" - which rather misses the point I was trying to make!

It's important that this post - and the question of "What's the difference between Vane and Ed?" - started from the specific stance of, "Why do I personally, pedantic killjoy that I am, not mind the inaccuracies in Flag?" Certainly Flag does a lot more silly things with history, and your average audience probably is more forgiving of it, but if I had my way, both would be as accurate to the period as possible, regardless of genre.

The point is that Flag ISN'T doing "things that don't technically make any sense". It's not 'getting away with more', nor is it, as gayfanboyfred added in the tags, simply that Ed "looks sick as hell in [the full black leather ensemble]". Flag's inaccuracies not only make sense, but create meaning. They convey character, context, and intertextual references that complement and enhance the central themes of the show: primarily here Mad Max, but as bookshelfdreams added, cartoons, theme parks, and stage plays; and as thetardigrape added for s2, 70s gay culture, a pivotal moment of social change which highlights Flag's message of "rejecting the boxes society wants to put you into and living authentically as the person you are". Very different to Sails' equally silly, but entirely generic, "gritty faux-realism while being really really unreal", as allthinky described it.

froggierboy also noted that some of the examples I gave were more fantasy than history, which is helpful for some context! Especially Once Upon A Time, though really I just put that in because I wanted another pirate example (good observation that "his leather and eyeliner and gelled hair evoke something modern but his sillouette evokes Fantasy History"); and Pirates of the Caribbean, which I would argue, at least for the first couple of movies, leans more towards 'historical drama with supernatural elements' than pure fantasy, and they certainly put some effort into historical clothes, no matter how much we all cringe at Yet Another Ahistorical Tightlacing Scene.

finally, I'd like to highlight splitupatree's tags: "I know this is just about the leather, but the dresses are awfully inaccurate. but I think it works in OFMD for the same/similar reasons." Which is a great point! I'm certain there's a better meta about Mary's outfits that I've read, but her costumes, too, are deliberately wrong, homaging later styles of dress - similarly to her later styles of art - to highlight her progressivism, creativity, and independence. <3

So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.

See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.

But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...

What is the difference between this and this?

Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?

Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.

But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.

And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.

But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.

See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!

As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.

And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:

So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?

Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.

In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.

In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.

This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).

Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.

More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.

This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.

A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.

But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.

[bambisnc]

OK! [or, group projects w riize]

pairing : ot7 x reader! genre : fluff with crack delicately lined in cw/tw : food mention + use of caps wc : idk ,,

shotaro ,. ! - the mood maker!! - is the person who Socializes, helps to coordinate between the members, makes the gc, arranges meet-ups; just overall supportive and cheerful even if your team is doing literally nothing and is very likely about to get an F (D:) - shows up w like cut fruits for everyone, goes on coffee runs + writes encouraging lil messages on sticky notes and leaves them around/in notebooks etc etc - also x2 i see him as someone who like,... doodles on your people’s hands :( draws a smol star and writes something adorably cringe like “ur my star ^-^”

eunseok ,. ! - he’s the type of guy who’d take charge and delegate work to everyone; to put it simply : BOSSY AF. dare i say dictator coded even, but hey, he just wants this to get over with yk?? - bit scary to work w at first but when if he warms up to you he might would definitely indulge in a lot of partiality; assign you the easier tasks/the tasks that you prefer + if someone pisses him off he would, w the nicest sweetest smile ever, assign them the worst possible task.. - can be bribed if you offer to help w his work though sooo :) do w that what you will :) 

sungchan ,. ! - trust on me this, he’d be the one who’s always “busy” except in his case he probably fr is bc my guy is just into That Many extra curriculars - you call him up like hey where are you we’re supposed to meet at *insert name* coffee shop rn?? and he’d answer w all seriousness that his “rap music club members have a mandatory team exercise for which they’ve gone fishing and after he needs to prepare an ad for the video game club because he kinda insulted the ad making team and now they’re all on strike . oh and he has football coaching (as in he needs to coach like a bunch of tiny kindergarteners as a favor to some aunt) right in between!” - he’ll send all his work at like 4am tho dw ^^ sleep is for the weak.

wonbin ,. ! -perfectionist!!! he would be The aesthetic stationery + supplies guy with like pouches and pouches of pretty washi tapes, metallic coloured calligraphy pens, stickers and much more - would definitely call out people if their handwriting was bad.. - also he would totally use the project as an excuse to get to know whoever he’s interested in~ might offer to split the work into like duos and immediately choose you as his partner~ - prepare yourself for a lot of really obvious and goofy flirting..

seunghan ,. ! - ah yes the wise guy (genuine) (no why does he fr know everything about Everything) - puts out the most thought provoking, viewpoint shaking, world stopping arguments then half-slumps over the table and or rests his entire weight to lean on you and mumbles something about wanting to watch shin-chan >< he’s versatile (read : cute) like that - also would quite honestly go along w any idea no matter how bad it is <3 + seems super calm and composed but watch him be the most excited when taro suggests some team bonding at an arcade/festival :( <3

sohee ,. ! - he gives me manages stuff best under high pressure situations - if you’re freaking out about one of your teammates cough cough you can guess who it was having fumbled up and accidentally written down the wrong date and oh no your project is due tomorrow?! don’t worry! he’s got this :D - procrastinator at heart but for the right persuasion tactics done by ahem a certain someone (it’s you) he’d probably give it his all <;3 - also he’s an enabler at heart.. supports the ideas which he knows are going to be a trainwreck just for funsies

anton ,. ! - :(( he is Doing His Best okay - gets a bit overwhelmed due to the rising panic and chaos + leads to people being very partial to him but honestly yk he deserves it <3 - also a rich guy tm, would definitely ahem ahem pull some strings to get some extra fine quality materials~ - feel like he’d be good at research work + another 4am worker would definitely pester you to join zoom calls or ft you and be like hey!! look at this!! i did this!! is it good!! - as an excuse to show off to yuo splurges a lot for an end of the project celebration for sure

notes : inspired by very very real life events (wrote this in a zoom meet w my current group proj members ehe)! if you know me irl and feel like these are based off of you.. they're not!! you're simply hallucinating!!!! <333 + [m.list]

[noctlosis]

Some Aelle lore n stuff!!

ANATOMY

- no outer ear shell or eyebrows 😓 this is of course because squid and jellyfish don’t have these things (he got to keep his hair though!)

- 3 fingers not 4 or 5

- 2 hearts, a large one and a smaller one

- large lungs (gills on top of them)

- does not get the privilege of having a ribcage; instead there is a thick layer of “armor” (cartilage) there

- vestigial mantle at the “hip”; bioluminescent markings cluster here

- 2nd mouth/beak like squid

- no reproductive organs

- long feeding tentacles (oral arms) on sides

- bioluminescent stingers on the ends of tentacles that act as lures

other notes;

— other than his lungs most of his organs were rendered essentially useless and/or became very small (see: stomach, intestinal tract)

— front and inner arms (+tentacles) carry the same ‘skin’ color as his face (an oddly pale white/off white reminiscent of the underbelly of a shark or whale)

— can breathe and be on land for up to 2.5 hours before dehydrating

GAME MECHANICS (concepts basically)

- basically does nothing aside from follow the player. Fairly passive and will not attack or kill you unless provoked (flash beacon or flashlight to the eyes)

- if you turn in his general direction, he will skitter in the complete opposite side of your field of view

- shining your light at him (without flashing him or shining it in his eyes) will allow you a chance to talk to him. You can ask him things he might know (like lore or whatever. Might be able to point you in a survivable direction)

—— conversation lore:

*”Why are you here?”* — He tilts his head to the side and kinda frowns and then shrugs. (I don’t know.)

*”Who are you?”* — see above, but if he can he might write his name for you

*”Why are you following me?”* — Stares at you and… slithers? Walks? Away

*”Where is the keycard?*” — he shows you where the keycard is

there wld also be like a small chance that he gives you something you left behind for the road

thoughts on others (you can ask him about these)

— sebastian: does not like him/his personality. Sees him as a means to an end or a way to survive.

— p.ai.nter: feels bad for him. Kinda likes him+sympathizes with him

— eyefestation: likes her, but definitely sees her as a threat

[cerealandchoccymilk]

Trigun Bookclub: Trigun Vol.1, Chapters #00-01

all | next

lets fucking do this

I'm annotating every chapter of trigun, both the Japanese original print (reread) and Overhaul 1.0 (first read). Literally just writing down everything I notice about details, version differences, translation notes, etc. and also being gay about the characters. happy pride month

I had other stuff to do today yesterday so I only got through a little bit but pace will pick up tomorrow today (1 volume/week is faster than i thought...)

Here are the beloved non-analysis sillies...

And there are just so many annotation images so I just put the rest under the cut <3 read my notes boy

[edit: why aren't the images not being side by side like i want them to i hate this. here's the url for my blog page with correct formatting] [edit 2: i guess it's only on desktop, not on mobile. so that's good]

First thing I noticed was the difference in the number of volumes, or the number of chapters in each volume. In my JP copy, volume 1 ends at Chapter #07: Rem, while Overhaul (and I assume every version after the first JP print) ends at #12: River of Life.

Anyways onto the actual images

21st of July - !! didn't notice [that the July incident actually happened in July] during 1st read b/c months are only numbers in Japanese 11 hours after destruction - July incident was 2am

For some reason I thought he was standing this whole time. unneccesary details georg

Estimated age: 24 - Official age for his appearance? dang he's young Appearance - "Place of origin/birth," not "what he looks like" The worst kind of outlaw, and an unrivalled killer. - Added in a later version? (not in my JP copy but the phrase is familiar)

This blank space originally had the Japanese translation for the board.

We see his serious expression already! I don't remember '98 doing so this early on so it's pretty notable to me...

Just thinking about how Vash counted each individual gunshot being fired during all that chaos... dear god.... During my first read/watch I thought it was just silly Rule of Cool protagonist moment but not really. This guy actually has Insane perception, either from being a plant or sheer practice. Or both.

Also immediately after all that, I really love the way the aftermath is shown here. The only things you can hear are the creaks of the light and the crying boy. It really brings out the tension in the atmosphere.

Finally, something other than unneccesary bits! If you look at the flooring under the toy gun, the perspective lines are pointing SW-NE. This corresponds to the flooring on Vash's right, whose right arm is also suspiciously out-of-frame... This is definitely the moment he took the toy gun. I can't express the amount of Holy Shit I felt when I realized this. The detail!!!!! man!!!!!!!!!

There's a little translation error here - it should be something like "Even if he were still alive, he wouldn't be able to move an inch!"

One of my favorite Vash moves with one of my favorite Tumblr heritage posts.

This is not really based on any drawn details, but I think this is the moment that Vash readies the toy gun, puts it in his pocket, and picks up the ketchup. Do Not trust this man when his arm is not visible. Also finger still in gun <3 doing his part blocking one bullet at a time

And here we have Vash's first COOL cool moment!!!!!! cue my homo screaming. goddddddddd im so mentally unwell about him. agh I also absolutely love when Nightow does that thing where he screen-tones a character's skin just because. It pops!! It's unique!! I love it!! I eat it up every time!!!

Here's where I realize that Vash's hair antennae are pointing straight up. I should be on the lookout for when he makes the transition to the M-shaped antennae we know and love.

Also, a little untranslatable joke from the Japanese version. In Japanese, this guy calls out at Vash like "And you, don't provoke him!" except it's written with the kanji for "Hunter" (狩人 karyūdo), with a ruby pronunciation note saying "you" (おまえも omaemo). These kanji/ruby mismatch jokes are never not funny and it's so sad that there's no way to keep them in without doing...this lol

The "I counted!" reveal never fails to get me. holy shit. I love the little boy's expression when he gets his gun back :) You helped!!! and you don't have to have the real deal to be cool as balls!!!

Just lumping this with the previous two because it's a tall image, but another small translation error. Rather than being about doing harm, he's talking about recieving it (～～はゴメンだ is a hard-to-catch phrasing/idiom; it's already been discussed with the translator on a different instance). It should be more like "[...But] nobody likes getting hurt, right?"

THE GIRLIES YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not including the dialogue because. y'know. At least they get (accidentally) Bonked by Millie :) get their asses

Here, the order suggestion is made by somebody off-screen, but in the first edition, it was made by the cook himself. (left image annotation says "the storekeeper(cook) is so nice!")

That's it for chapters #00-01! I'm going to keep having Category 5 Autism Events every day aren't I.

It's literally 1:20am as of finishing this post because my computer won't stop crashing. Posting this first thing in the morning tomorrow <3

Also, the Japanese copy of the annotations will be in the reblogs for anyone who wants to see them. The emotions are Rawer and they're phrased way less awkwardly... if you can read them lol

[pha5ed]

You Play a Sport || LifeSteal Headcannons

type :: fluff

tw/cw :: none

members :: clown, mapicc, parrot

note :: never played basketball or tennis but i have a lot of friends who do so im relying on what they told me TT

Clown

Everyone has played basketball lightly growing up so when you said you play basketball he went “Oh cool”

But when you say you’re on your school’s varsity team and playing club he knows you’re deep in

Clown isn’t a huge sports guy but he knows clubs are expensive as fuck and far 99% of the time

He’s really curious and asks a lot of questions

When he hears you’re spending roughly $1,000 alone on the club he feels his wallet cry

Then you mention how expensive shoes, jerseys, and gas is and his wallet literally crumbles

He could never imagine spending that much on a sport

What’s even crazier was when you admitted you didn’t plan to play on a WBNA/NBA level

You said you just wanted to play during college and most likely go to open gyms every once in a while

Bro was so shocked and was about to doubt your spending habits

But when you mention how it’s not too different from buying skins, emotes, and games,,,, he gets really quiet

He’d love to try playing with you once or twice

He’ll probably make a gamble of some kind

“If I get 10 points you owe me $20”

And then you whoop his ass

“Double or nothing”

Now you doubt his spending habits…

He’s not really big into shoes and stuff but he likes looking at them with you

When you start sliding the shoes across the floor he’s so confused????

Why are you ruining shoes in the store???? Aren’t you embarrassed???

But then you explain it’s to test the grip of the shoes he goes “ohhhh”

He’s so clueless about shoes it’s so funny

“What about these?” And he holds up a pair of Jordans 1…

If you let him try on a pair of basketball shoes he instantly gets the hype

He might even buy himself a pair

But he’ll never use them for actual basketball, just going out

When he wears his new basketball shoes outside you can see allll of the sports player cringe

Literally 3 people come up to him and go “bro you forgot to take your court shoes off”

Mapicc

When you said you play volleyball he always thought you were just joking

No way a loser who plays Minecraft all days and streams could be on the volleyball team

Especially since practices and games can last until 9pm sometimes

But when you send him clips of you playing, he’s shocked

He always thought volleyball kids were super cool, popular, outgoing, drinkers, smokers, etc

And Mapicc thinks you’re the exact opposite LOL

He actually admires the grind a lot

He likes going to gym and plays basketball every now and then

The football coaches at his school always asked him to join but he didn’t really like the sport that much

He def asks questions about your games and rules and stuff

Probs says cocky stuff like “I could do that”

If you ever meet in person and try to make him dive, spike, or even server he’ll definitely suck

Once he actually tries it, it appreciates the sport a lot more

If he goes to any of your games he’s definitely SCREAMINGGG

Shouting, whistling, clapping, stomping, everything

Probably provokes the opposing team

Definitely argues back with the ref even though he’s not a player and not from your school

He doesn’t understand the uniform difference between the girls and boys though

“If you dive in booty shorts wouldn’t it hurt your thighs???”

When you say it does hurt your thighs sometimes he’s even more confused

“Then don’t wear it????”

But he doesn’t understand that it’s just the culture of volleyball at this point

He lovesss looking at players volleyball shoes

He’s tempted to join volleyball just so he can get a new pair of shoes

But when he finds out most volleyball players don’t actually buy volleyball shoes but instead buy basketball shoes he’s a little confused

“Why not buy volleyball shoes???”

And then you have to explain how a majority of volleyball shoes kinda suck ass and how basketball shoes always have extreme grip

And he’s like “???Why don’t they make volleyball shoes with more grip???”

He helps you realize how dumb volleyball culture is sometimes…

Parrot

When he finds out you also play tennis he gets so competitive

He LOVES tennis with his whole heart man

Asks what your schools name is and what division you’re in and your rank and your average win rate and and and

You two bond over tennis constantly

He can finally send someone the tennis memes he gets on his feed

If you’re worse than him, he’s always giving you tips and and even offers to train you if ever meet irl

But if you’re better than him, oh boy, he’s gonna train so hard

He definitely sends you clips of him playing and asks you to rate it

He’ll ask for clips of you playing as well and he might or might not make fun of your form

Whenever he wins a match he’ll take a picture and send it to you ASAP

If he loses,,,, he pretends he never even went to the game

One time he broke his racket and he let you pick the color

You picked an ugly ahh puke color but he laughed it off and actually bought it

If you do meet irl, you guys are INSTANTLY playing tennis

No hugs no greeting, he comes to the airport with a tennis ball and racket in hand

If he wins, he will make fun of you every day and will constantly brag to you

But if he loses, he deflects and constantly blames random stuff

“The sun was in my eye” It was sunset and cloudy

“I’ve never been in this country so my racket’s not used to it” What?????

Definitely makes you redo your serve at least like 5 times just to make you angry

[mutant-distraction]

Please Read

Thanks to all of my followers and people who see and enjoy my postings. I have always tried to respond to personal messages sent to me and avoid public postings or replies like this.

Recently I got a very nice note from one of you that I was trying to reply to and was cut off by character limits. Somehow the message got lost and I cannot reply directly to you but I will address your questions and concerns and thank you so much.

Recently I have gotten several complaints/rants from anonymous about posting AI. They never give which posting they are concerned about and frankly it is starting to piss me off to the point of considering closing my inbox, through which I have developed good friendships over the 15 or so years I have been on tumblr.

AI is an interesting new form of expression and I agree completely that it should be indentified as what it is. I try and when I find out I have been faked I remove posts or amend them. So please send me any images that your are concerned about and I will respond privately.

The nice person who contacted me talked about the baby platypus which of course is a toy, I gave a similar one to my grand-daughter. I assumed it was obvious, same with technicolor birds. That said the majority of the concerns I have received to date were infact about verifiably real animals or clearly art.

Many things being called AI are digital art which of course is a different thing completely. What is art? Is a photo-montage art? Is painting art? Is leaving a small hand made structure in a gutter art. None are real life. For me art is a form of expression and interpretation of our inner and outer worlds. My own personal art consists of words, sounds, photos, hand made paints, clay, found objects, whatever. I think it is arrogant, ignorant and irrelevant to question someone's art unless they are trying to benefit from intentional misrepresentation.

Currently I am doing paintings that are my version of Australian indigenous people style dot paintings. I am constructing 3 dimensional pieces with ultaviolet light reflective materials including paints I make myself. Some hang from the ceiling. They are displayed in a room which is lined with blacklights. Unfortunately it is impossible to present them online in anything other than video format.

Since I joined tumblr I have had a completely separate blog for my personal artworks and writing, a few of which make it here. I never give out the name of that tumblr.

My first and primary tumblr is ymutate. Mutant Distractions was an early spinoff but entirely different than it is now. Other blogs under this moniker are Mutant Whatnots and RUKnowhere amongst others. In the past ymutate was primary and had other stuff that has since become the focus of other blogs. I have been redefining the focus of each tumblr to be more specific. As I have stated in a previous post my intention has always been to keep track of things that interest me and share content from other platforms that I do not find here. I make an effort to verify anything that is in my mind questionable but that is difficult. So few people identify sources and/or the specifics of their posts. I do not post anything which I dislike. I avoid violence though sometimes paintings or animal photos may contain it. I try to be thought provoking, educating and amusing. That's what art does for me.

Please personal message me with any questions you have. I am considering making my blogs private if I continued to get annymous and useless spam complaints. It is unlikely I will even read anons again but I will not exclude you from mail just yet.

ymutate has always tried to provide entertainment. Legitimately people complain of me over posting but I can do whatever I want, these are personal blogs for all of the wonderful people on tumblr. I follow 1500 people and have thousand of followers (I never cared about numbers) but if I do follow you it is because I like what you offer and do not assume that because do not reblog your postings it is because I don't like them.

Many of you have changed my life for the better and enriched the lives of countless others.

Thank you all so much. May your days be full of wonder and joy,

Sincerely, ymutate.....

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 54- Rekindle

Chapter Summary: Jungkook finds the perfect way to ask Jennie for forgiveness as each member of BTS help out. Jen starts getting jealous for a change. JenKook finally get the members back for taking photos of them while sleeping on the plane by a Nerf War with Jungkook dressed as Captain America.

Words: 11,000+

Genre: Absolute CHEESE AND FLUFF with all members with MAJOR Jungkook fluff! :)

Author's Note:  CHEESE. Absolute CHEESE. This is a straight-up CHEESE fluff fest with 3 gallons of randomness I added. I switched some things up and added some stuff for this one! I LOVE this chapter soooo much! We got wrestling, we got Jennie slowly showing feelings, we got TONS of cute fluff! This was so random but one of my favsss. I always thought of this one as one of my best chapters. It's so cute and I love rereading it. I hope you feel the same as you read. Enjoy and have a wonderful day! :)

---------

It took Jennie five minutes to walk to the destination. Walking to the court, she noticed Yoongi dribbling and practicing shooting hoops.

“Check!” She heard his deep voice and immediately caught the ball he threw at her. “First one to get 10 points wins. If you win, you get the next note. If you lose, well, we’ll just have to go a couple of rounds until you finally beat me.” 

Jennie stood there baffled. “What? Are you kidding me? I’m not even in my gear!”

“I don’t care, Smartie. Let’s go.” He got in position with an amused grin.

Looks like Yoongi wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Fine. You asked for it.” She checked the ball and he threw it back. 

As she began to travel while dribbling, she watched how he moved, going on a defensive route.

“I wonder what the kid has in store for you, today. Gotta beat me to find out.” He tried to grab the ball while she dribbled but she spun around and jumped to make a shot. 

The rapper watched, impressed as the ball made it through the basket.

A small smirk came across his face as he said, “Looks like you really want that note. Win for the kid. I know he’ll be happy to see you. And I know you’ll be happy to see him, too.”

“Thanks for the motivation.” She managed to defend her side and block his shot.

“You improved, smartie. But I wonder how the kid would react if he found out you kept losing to me and couldn’t beat me to go on to the next destination.” He taunted to rile her up more.

His taunting provoked her as she became more competitive, stealing the ball and jumping up high to shoot. They watched as the ball soared through the air and went through the basket.

Yoongi started to become genuinely astonished at how her skills had progressed. “All right, I let you get that point.”

“I dunno ‘bout that, Suga.” She teased.

As the game went on, the two tirelessly aimed to get shot after shot, determined to win. Yoongi had the ball, and turned around, making Jen trip on her feet and fall on her behind. She watched with disappointment as he made the shot.

“Gosh darn it!” She fussed.

“You’re getting slow on your footwork. Don’t be sloppy. You all right?” He helped her up. 

“Yeah, I just want to win.”

“You and the kid are the same.” He shook his head with a low chuckle.

“Where is Jungkook? Do you know?” She asked as she stayed on him while he dribbled.

“Now, why in the world would I tell you?”

“Because you love me and I’m one of your great friends?”

“I never said that.” He bluntly responded.

Taken aback, she stood there, deadpanning while he took advantage and easily got another shot. “Well, damn, Yoongi! That was foul!”

He began to laugh wholeheartedly. “I hope you know that I was just fuckin’ with you. I just wanted to get another shot. And you fell for it.” 

He began dancing around goofily which caused her to laugh out loud.

“Stop! This is supposed to be serious! I want to win!” She playfully pushed him away. 

She got a giggle in response as she got a glimpse of his gummy smile.

“Hey. Of course, I love you, smartie. You’re family,” He shrugged as he saw another smile come across her face. “Now less talking, more winning for me.” He tossed her the ball.

“You wish. Today, you’ll be the one taking the L for a change.”

“I love your persistence.”

As they continued to play, they were tied and were going for the last point. Both with nine points, they just needed to get one more shot. Yoongi felt confident that he could catch her with his strong offense and make an easy shot. Jennie, on the other hand, felt like if she could stay on her defense, she could win this match and catch him off guard. One thing is for sure, they both needed to keep an eye on the ball. 

Jennie made sure to never let the ball out of her sight as she hurriedly followed Yoongi who dribbled across the court. The Daegu rapper had tried to confuse her by jumping up to shoot but she noticed that the ball didn’t leave his hands and turned back around.

“Game over.” He finally shot the ball.

Defeat was evident in her eyes as Miss Bangtan watched the ball fly in the air. But thankfully for her, the ball hit the backboard instead and bounced down into her arms.

“Tough luck!” She called out, dribbling quickly to the other side of the court.

Yoongi muttered out a curse in surprise and ran after her, trying everything he could to stop her, but it was too late as she jumped as high as she could and shot the ball with all her strength. The ball went straight into the basket, giving Jennie the W for this basketball game.

She sighed out of relief and curtsied in front of him while he let out a laugh. 

“I believe you have something for me.” She happily requested. Her smile got so big as she watched him accept his defeat.

“Congratulations, smartie. Here.” He took Jungkook’s note out of his basketball shorts pocket and handed it to her.

“Thank you. Good game, Yoongi.” She bumped fists with him and took a seat on the bench with him to rest up.

Yoongi took out a bottle of water and a small towel for Jen from his gym bag before taking out his own. After wiping the sweat from her face, she took a big gulp of water, to quench her thirst after the workout she just dealt with. Yoongi always pushed her to her limit when it came to basketball.

Opening the note, she began to read

All right!! You did it! I had a feeling you’d finally beat Hyung! It must feel good to finally beat him. I know how hard you try when you two play against each other.

More reasons why I cherish you:

You keep me on my feet when it comes to pranking and gaming. (I still need to get you back!)

You always know what’s bothering me even if I say that I’m not bothered. Being the Golden Maknae and lead vocalist can be hard. But you always encourage me and hold me down.

You accept people at their worst. (You never judge anyone when they’re down)

Your thoughtfulness. (I watched you saving whatever money we receive from Big Hit to help your sisters’ college tuition. The smile on your face, when you kept putting money in the jar, made it clear to me that you enjoy doing things like that. You have a good heart.)

His words made her smile again. He really must’ve been watching her. She thought she kept herself hidden as she saved money for her sisters. She noticed two words that needed to be unscrambled.

Kbie raitl

“Bike Trail.” She confirmed as he texted her the address. “Let me guess, Taehyung is there?”

“You would think,” he said and opened the camera app. "Let's take a picture,"

The two happily smile for the camera while Yoongi tweets with the caption, ‘Wow. She FINALLY beat me one on one in basketball. Brings back Rookie King vibes. Good game, smartie. #SUGA’

“Thanks, Yoongi.” She kissed his cheek and stood up.

“Yeah, yeah.” He struggled to stop smiling at her affection.

Heading over to the bike trail, passing pedestrians who were jogging and riding their bikes, she saw Namjoon waiting for her, with two bikes against the railing he was leaning against.

Her eyes lit up as she approached him with a big smile. “Oh wow, I thought it’d be Tae.”

“Nah, he really wanted bubble tea,” Namjoon responded with a chuckle and embraced her.

“I’m happy to see you, Namjoon. So, what’s the task?” She pulled away.

“No task. I just want you to free your mind and unwind. Let’s just ride some bikes together. It’s a nice day.”

“Really? I like that. Okay.”

“We are so busy that we never take time to notice the scenery in front of us. How beautiful the day is. So, let’s enjoy the day and clear our minds from the idol life.”

“I love that idea.” She took one of the bikes.

“Wait. Safety first.” He placed a helmet over her head and secured it for her. “Is it secure enough?”

“Yep.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Ladies first," he smiled and got on his bike.

Getting on her bike, she rode along the trail while he followed from behind. As they rode around, following the trail, they felt the warm breeze around them as they admired the landscape. From the clear, blue skies, to the random pedestrians they would pass. It was a nice, humid, summer day.

Namjoon was right. They really don’t take the time to see the beauty around them and how peaceful things can be.

After biking, they sat on a bench to rest, taking off their helmets. “How are those rap lessons with Yoongi?” He asked as they relaxed and watched the sky.

“They’re getting better and better. I’m really happy with my progress,” she answered confidently.

“Good. Yoongi is truly happy about you getting better at rapping. He speaks highly of you when he’s with me and J-Hope.”

“Aw, really?”

“Don’t tell him I said that. He’ll kill me. You know how he is.”

“I’ll keep it to myself. I still can’t get over your mixtape. You worked so hard on it.”

Namjoon smiled at her praise. It made him feel good that she enjoyed it.

“Do You is my favorite. I listen to the song when I’m working out. It’s on my workout playlist. It gets me so hyped. I’m patiently waiting for the next mixtape you do.” She added.

“I'm glad you’re so supportive of me.”

“Of course, this was a big accomplishment for you! I love watching the members branch out and do their own thing while still being together in the group. I hope to see the other members do their own thing soon.”

“Anything that you have in mind? Solo stuff?”

“I would like to when my vocals get better. I do have a lot of stuff on my computer that I work on from time to time. It'll happen when it happens. Hey, can you rap for me? A little bit of Do You?”

Namjoon shyly laughed and covered his face. “Really? Now?”

She nodded and started patting her thighs to mimic the beat of Do You, waiting for him to rap a verse. “Haters gon’ hate and players gon’ play!”

“Mufuckas keep mufuckin’ all day!” He rapped with her. “Follow my shit, my friend and I’ll pay. Naega neo daesin chim baeteojulge twe. Do you, do you, do you, do you, do the fuck you want, do you, do you, do you, do you.”

The two shared a laugh as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Here.” He took Jungkook’s next note out of his pocket and handed it to her as she pulled away from his shoulder.

Taking the note, she looked at the folded paper before turning back to her leader. “Hey, Joon?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. You are always so kind and make me feel at peace.”

“Always.”

Opening the note, another smile came across her face as she read what Jungkook had written.

I hope you enjoyed your time riding bikes with Hyung! It's a wonderful day, isn't it? 

Reasons why I cherish you:

You tolerate my memes and actually send me memes back

Seeing you happy on succeeding in the smallest things makes me happy

I didn’t want to say anything but, remember you talking to that Shin guy, who disrespected you? I saw everything and had a talk with him, too.

“You did?” She murmured in surprise as she kept reading. She was curious about what he said to Shin since she thought she handled the situation quite well.

I still hope to this day that he isn’t bothering you and I hope you know that I’ll always protect you. All of Bangtan.

‘YMG’ was the scrambled word

“Gym.” She confirmed.

Namjoon stood up and stretched. “Let’s go together. I’ll take you there. I want to get a front row seat for this.”

“Whatchu mean?”

“You’ll see.”

His big smile was all that she needed to see, to figure out that something big was going to happen.

As soon as NamJen headed over to the gym, they noticed that no one else was in there. It seemed like someone rented the place for a little while so they wouldn’t be disturbed. As they kept walking, they saw a wrestling ring, while Jin, Jimin, Hobi, Taehyung and Yoongi were talking among themselves, sitting on chairs near the ring.

“Wait, why are all of you here?” Jennie’s question made the members turn to her.

“Finally!” Jimin rejoiced, clapping his hands together. 

He looked pleased the finally see her.

“We’ve been waiting for you!” Jin added.

“I wanted a front row seat for this. There was no way I wanted to miss this.” Yoongi remarked.

“And I’m recording!” Hobi grinned, gesturing to the video camera in his hands. “Bangtan Bomb~!”

“So...what do I have to do?” She crossed her arms.

“You, missy, are going to be wrestling today,” Namjoon revealed while Yoongi handed him a referee shirt. “And I’m going to be the ref.”

Jennie raised her eyebrows in surprise. “E-excuse me? Wrestling? This ain’t WWE!”

“It will be today!” Jimin giggled.

“Pretend that you’re Goldberg!” Taehyung called out.

“Nah. I’d rather be Jazz. She was badass in the WWE Ring and wasn’t called the baddest bitch for nothing.” She shrugged. “So...who am I going up against?”

“Gotta find out. Go change!” Jimin handed her a gym bag and gestured for her to change in the locker room. 

It looked like Diana had gathered some gym clothes for her to wrestle in.

After choosing her entrance theme, which was Sasha Banks’ Sky’s the Limit, to play along with this randomness occurring, she walked out through the curtain they put up by the door. Strutting out with swagger and sunglasses on her eyes, she decided to portray Sasha Banks, performing her trademark taunt as the members continued their loud cheers.

“This match is set for one fall! And it is for Jungkook’s next note and the K-Pop Championship! Introducing first! From America, she is our beloved, extraordinary Miss Bangtan, Jennie!" Jimin announced, holding a toy WWE Championship that was brought from a local Target. 

Jennie outstretched her arms and spun around, nodding confidently. “The BOSS is here!" she placed the sunglasses on top of her head and strutted down to the ring, flipping her hair.

“WOOOOO!” Yoongi cheered, clapping loudly, jumping up and down.

“Ahhhhhhh~, that’s my munchkin! I raised her!” Hobi shouted. 

“WE raised her!” Yoongi shouted back.

“Ennie! Ennie! Ennie!” Jimin and Taehyung chant.

They were so hyped up, it caused her to laugh as she got inside the ring. This was completely random but it was nice to do something goofy for a change. This was fun and the match didn't even begin yet.

Getting on top of the middle ropes, she outstretched her arms before patting her chest. 

“The next K-Pop champion, right here! The boss!” she shouted to the crowd.

Jumping off the ropes, she stood in a corner of the ring, patiently waiting to see who she would be wrestling.

“And introducing her opponent...!” Jimin announced.

Shawn Michaels’ theme song came on the portable speaker, which caused Jen’s interest to intensify instantly as she listened to the familiar lyrics.

I think I’m cute

I know I’m sexy

I’ve got the looks that drive the girls wild

I’ve got the moves that really move ‘em

As soon as she saw who walked out of the curtain, she dropped her jaw while the boys immediately started booing. Namjoon, standing in the middle of the ring, covered his face and shook his head, feeling second-hand embarrassment while everyone observed Jin strutting out, blowing kisses in a feather boa with a T-shirt and shorts on.

“Oh, my God...no he didn’t.” She covered her mouth.

Jin???

What the hell is going on???

“From South Korea, built with handsome shoulders and a handsome face, handsome Jin!” Jimin announced in giggles while the members continued to boo him.

“You can boo me all you want but I’m still flawless and handsome! No one can compare! I'm a sexy boy! I'm not your boy toy!” Jin blew a kiss right in front of the members before heading inside the ring and taking off the boa.

After his entrance theme song faded out, he faced off with Jennie in the middle of the ring.

“Sweetie, you are wrestling me, today! Gotta beat me to win the next note and the title.” Jin smiled.

Was this an early birthday gift?

“Oh my gosh, I get to beat up Jin!?” Jennie’s eyes widened with glee, turning to Namjoon who nodded in response. “Are you serious?! This is great! Let’s do this!”

In the background, she could hear the members cackle hysterically from her reaction. Jin was startled that she was so excited to fight him.

“H-hey!” Jin’s ears began to get red. “This isn’t supposed to be something you’re proud of! I raised you! I watched you bloom into a beautiful young woman and all you can say is how happy you are to beat me up!?”

“I mean...” She grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “I always wanted to.”

“I see how it is. Well, listen up little girl!” He poked her chest.

“Oooooohhhhhhhhhh!” The members looked on at the sudden gesture.

This was not going to end well.

“That is no way to treat the oldest member!” he went on. “But you are no match for Handsome Jin! I’m bigger than you and stronger than you! I will teach you some respect little girl! Do you know who I am!?”

“I’m sorry, what?” She brought her attention back to him which made him fume even more since she wasn’t listening to any of what he was saying.

“She just ignored me!” He sputtered. “How dare you!?”

“How dare you!?” Miss Bangtan mocked in a high voice.

“Don’t mock me!”

“Don’t mock me!” She mocked again.

“All right, all right. Enough. I want a clean fight. Either win by pinfall or submission.” Namjoon announced. “Ring the bell!”

DING DING DING

Jennie and Jin circle around each other in the ring.

“Well, well, well, short little Miss Bangtan,” Jin quipped, taunting her with their height difference. “How’s the weather down there? Don’t you wish you could be as flawless as me?”

Looks like Jin was playing the “Heel” aka the bad guy for this match and she was the “Face” aka the good guy. To add to the bad guy persona, Jin continued to trash talk while she rolled her eyes and put a hand in front of his face.

“Excuse me! I am talking to you! You dare place your hand in front of this handsome face!?” He pushed her hand away and shoved her lightly, making her take a few steps back.

“Hey!” Taehyung stood up and called him out. “How dare you touch Jennie like that? Don’t push her!”

“Yeah!” Hobi yelled as he continued to film. “Meanie!”

“Hush!” Jin turned his attention to the crowd, yelling at them for their commentary.

As soon as he turned around, she ran and jumped right on top of him, making him stumble backward. The assault knocked him over his back while she repeatedly gave him strikes to the face.

“Ahhhhhh! Watch the face! Watch the face! Get her off!” He yelled over the members’ cheering, desperately covering his face.

“All right, get off before you get disqualified,” Namjoon warned as she finally got off him.

“What was that for!?” Jin exclaimed, backing up to sit by the corner.

“Sorry.” She giggled. “We’re still friends after this, right?”

“Depends on how hard you hit me!” He stood back on his feet but was assaulted again when she attacked with a backhand chop to the chest. 

Yelling out in pain, he rubbed his chest, staring at her, baffled.

Provoked, he decided to give her a backhand chop to the chest in return, causing her to yell, “Ow!”

“You hurt me, too-ahhh!” He yelped when she slammed him back down to his back. "Why did I agree to this? I need a moment!" he groaned and rolled out of the ring, resuming his bad guy persona.

“Oh, come on!” Jennie complained.

“Boo! Get back in the ring!” Yoongi remarked with annoyance. “You suck! You suck! You suck!”

"You suck! You suck!" Jimin joined in.

“I said I need a minute! I’m going to win anyway-ahhh!” Jin yelled when Jennie grabbed a hold of his hair, pulling him back so he could crawl back into the ring. 

He tried to beg for mercy after she released him but then caught her by grabbing her leg to make her fall down. Getting behind her, the oldest member wrapped an arm around her neck, placing her in a headlock submission while the members chant for her to not tap out.

“Do you submit?!” Namjoon asked, watching closely.

“No!” She yelled as she placed her hands on the arm that was tightly squeezing her neck.

She couldn’t give up right here, there was someone special to her, waiting for her and she couldn’t let him down. She was eager to see him and refused to let Jin stand in her way.

The members start clapping to motivate her. It looks like the guys watched a few wrestling matches to understand how the crowd reacted as she slowly got to her feet with Jin. She dropped down on her rear, making her head hit his jaw as he released the hold and stumbled back.

Getting back on her feet, she tried to kick him in the stomach but he caught it and shoved her back, causing her to fall on her butt, again. The oldest member started laughing at her and turned to the members who were booing him.

“You are looking at your new champion!” He gloated, blowing kisses.

When he turned around, his eyes widened when he saw Jennie diving off the top rope, landing right on top of him as he fell on his back. Adding insult to injury, she got back on the top rope and dropped an elbow on his chest before pinning him.

Namjoon went down for the pin. “One! Two! Kick out at two!”

“AHHHHHHHHHH~! Why did I agree to this!?” Jin screamed over the guys’ laughter when he was placed in an armbar. 

She had a tight grip and he was not going anywhere as they were in the middle of the ring.

“Tap! Tap!” she yelled, using all her strength in the submission.

“Break his arm!” Yoongi yelled.

“We have a concert and a comeback soon! We need his arm!” Namjoon exclaimed.

Poor Jin was dying. If only he hadn’t lost that rock, paper, scissors game against the members, he wouldn’t be wrestling her, today. He thought this would be easy. But she really wanted that next note.

“Call the match! Call the match!” Jin yelled when he finally tapped out. “Call it! Call it!”

“Is he tapping?” Namjoon pretended not to notice.

“NAMJOON~!” he started kicking his legs, frequently tapping out. “CALL THE MATCH!”

Namjoon laughed and gestured to Jennie to release him. “All right, that’s enough. He tapped out. Winner!” He raised Jennie’s arm up in the air.

“Here is your winner! And the new K-Pop Champion! Jennie!” Jimin announced as the members cheered happily and jumped up and down, hugging each other in celebration. 

Namjoon handed her the title and she raised it up in the air, in victory.

“Ayeeeee! That is what I’m talking about! You knew how this was gonna go! The Boss always wins!” She celebrated. 

The members ran into the ring and Taehyung picked her up to sit on his shoulders while she raised the title up in the air.

“Handsome Jin! How do you feel about being defeated by Miss Bangtan?” Hobi asked behind his camera.

“Okay, I could have beaten her. I just went easy on her. She had luck on her side.” Jin tried to explain, getting back to his feet.

“Um, if I remember correctly, you don’t need luck when you’re the boss. So, no. You just couldn’t handle The Boss.” Jen quipped

“Jungkook owes me paid meals for a year after this.” He took out the note from his pocket and handed it to her. “Good job, sweetie.”

“Hahah, hope I didn’t hurt you, too much.” She got set down by Taehyung.

“Let’s...not...talk about that.” He rubbed his poor arm.

“And I got it all on film!” Hobi gleefully chimed in.

“You love seeing me like this, don’t you?” Jin tried to hit Hobi, who screamed in fear.

Before she read the note, the members wanted her to take a couple of photos to post on Twitter. First, she posed alone with the title, then she posed over a defeated Jin who pretended to look knocked out on the wrestling mat, and then a group selfie with all the members.

After taking a shower in the women’s locker room and changing into a grey sports bra, snug white hoodie, dark blue jeans, and grey Nikes, she opened up Jungkook’s note while sitting on the locker room bench.

Looks like you had fun beating up Hyung. I can't wait to watch it on film.

Reasons why I cherish you:

You come before all the girls I know in my life. (Well, except my mom, kekeke)

That made her chuckle softly. “And you come before all the guys except my dad.” She said softly.

You look at me for who I am. Not as an idol. But as a human being. As Jeon Jungkook on stage. You make me want to become a better person.

Go right outside the gym. There’s a red envelope on the bench. It’ll have the rest of what I wrote.

After the members offered to bring her new title and bag of clothes back to the hotel, she made her way outside of the gym to see the red envelope that Jimin had placed a few moments ago. 

She took a seat and opened it, exhaling sharply as she took out the friendship ring. She examined the black ring and began to space out.

She remembered the time they were in class together in SOPA. He noticed that she was wearing the black friendship ring on her right index finger.

----

“You’re...you’re wearing it.” He whispered happily to himself.

“Huh?” Looking at what he was staring at, the realization hit her. “Oh, the ring! Yeah, of course. I wear it every day, actually...ever since you told me you cherished me and our friendship, it got me thinking. I couldn’t help but wear it every day. I guess...it’s because I’m really lucky to have a

friend like you in my life.” She blurted out. 

Widening her eyes, she covered her mouth.

“Sorry, sorry, too much? I can take it off if you want.” She took her hand back and was about to take it off her right index finger but his warm hands stopped her.

“No. Don’t.” He said softly, pushing the ring back on her finger. “It-it makes me...very happy to see you wearing it. I wear my ring every day, too. Let’s continue wearing our rings every day.” He showed her his ring on his right index finger.

----

Snapping back to reality, her eyes began to sting and her chest tightened.

Come to think of it, Jungkook still wore his friendship ring despite the fight. She never saw him without it these past few days. It was still on his finger. Her heart pounded as she braced herself for what he had written next.

‘You said give it to someone else but I can’t because this ring was specifically made for you and you are the only Golden Girl I see wearing this...not Hayoon or Eunha.

Nothing can ever replace you and no one can make me as happy as you. I made a promise to cherish you. Let me keep it. You are so precious to me, I’m scared to lose you. I’m pretty darn proud to announce you as my Golden Best Friend. And I hope you are too...I can write more but there are too many reasons why I cherish you.

This is my last note. I think you know where I’m waiting for you...I hope you come. If you don’t and if you’re still mad at me...I understand.’

On the bottom of the note, he wrote turn over, and once she turned it over, she recognized that he drew cute comics of him and her together.

The first comic had her approaching him in his room, asking him about Iron Man. When their friendship kicked off.

The second was when he had given her the friendship ring.

The third was singing War of Hormone together.

The fourth was the scene of them eating lamb skewers after school 

The last one was them holding hands with the caption Golden Duo.

It all began to be too much for her as the tears started to fall. She couldn’t handle this anymore and wanted to see him immediately. 

How could she not come to see him after all of this?

She missed him.

She quickly wiped her tears and reread the last part of the note.

‘I think you know where I’m waiting for you.’ 

“Yeah...” She sniffed. “I know exactly where you are, you big bunny.” 

She stood up and placed the ring back on her right index finger

----

Seated on a big towel, with his knees to his chest and arms crossed on top of his knees, the Golden Maknae watched the sky. It was almost time for the sun to set and the salty ocean air filled his nose.

He enjoyed checking the Twitter updates, smiling to himself as the warm breeze relaxed him. He giggled once he saw the wrestling pictures.

She looked so happy.

But he was still nervous.

Was she still mad at him?

Maybe his note was too vague and she didn’t know where he was.

He glanced at the strawberry pocky box on the towel, next to him and exhaled as he softly sang Nothing Like Us.

“Lately I’ve been thinking, thinking about what we had. I know it’s hard, it was all that we knew, yeah. Have you been drinking to take all the pain away? I wish that I could give you what you deserve. Cause nothing can ever, ever replace you. Nothing can make me feel like you do. Yeah, you know there’s no one, I can relate to. I know we won’t find a love that’s so true. There’s nothing like us, there’s nothing like you and me. Together through the storm.”

Abruptly, he felt a back lean up against him as he stopped singing. He lifted up his head once he heard a delicate voice behind him,

“There’s nothing like us, there’s nothing like you and me. Together.”

He began to smile softly, feeling his anxiousness go away. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” Jennie answered. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too...”

“Glad to hear.”

“I’ve been asking myself how I got so lucky to have a friend like you.”

“The feeling is mutual, Jungkook.”

“When I...think about you crying and hurting, it hurts me...a lot. And I can’t undo what I said to you.”

She shook her head. “It’s...it’s fine-“

“No. No, it’s not Jennie.” He turned around and sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her in a back hug. He began tearing up and his voice got shaky. “These past few days just haven’t been the same. I’m not happy because you’re not happy. All those things I said...that’s not cherishing. Forgive me. I know I hurt you-“

“Well, I hurt you, too.” She turned to sit in front of him. “I hurt you, too. I’m wrong about what I said, too. Not everything is your fault. You didn’t deserve all those things I said, either. I wish I could’ve handled the situation better, and spoken to you more calmly. I could’ve used my words differently, and calmly heard your point of view but, my emotions just got the best of me. It was petty.”

“I miss you,” she said softly. “A lot. I miss talking with you and hanging out with you. I miss how things used to be before we fought. It was selfish of me to say that hanging out with you isn’t a big deal. You’re a huge deal to me, Jungkook. Always. I’m sorry, too. When I’m in a rut, you’re there. No matter what, you always take time out of your day to help me with anything. Even if it’s something simple. Lamb skewers are very delicious, and I want to get some more with you after school when we go back. Just...thank you. For everything. What you did today, really boosted my mood and made me realize even more how lucky I am to have you in my life. All of Bangtan. You, seven guys, are a piece of work but you’re my family and welcomed me into your lives.”

He smiled as they sat beside each other, turning back to look at the ocean. Grabbing the box of pocky, he handed it to her with the package already opened and said, “I can’t eat these without you.”

She happily took a stick and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Let’s work on making sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“Right. Let’s make sure whenever we disagree, it won’t be as bad as this one.”

Leaning forward she pressed her lips against his cheek as Jungkook felt his face warm up. 

“This was really sweet. And here.” she took out a banana milk bottle and handed it to him. “I know how much you like banana milk...so I picked up a bottle before I came here.”

He happily accepted it and helped himself to the drink. “I was actually craving one of these.”

“Golden Best Friends know best.” She nudged him as they shared a laugh, eating pocky and watching the ocean. “Today has been a long ass day. You had me all over the place. But it was so fun and worth it.”

“What was your favorite part?”

“Come on, a chance to wrestle Jin in the ring? We need to do that, again. That was so fun.”

“How’d you defeat him?”

“Ronda Rousey Armbar.”

Jungkook laughed loudly. “I cannot wait for hyung to show the film. We should watch it on the big screen when we’re back home.”

“Good idea. So you really meant all those things you said in those notes?”

“That and more.”

“What are the other reasons?”

“I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”

“Well, don’t keep a girl waiting, too long.”

“I won’t. I promise. I just need some time to get all my thoughts together.”

After they finished snacking, she stood up. "Come on! The sun is setting and I want to take some photos!"

Jungkook laughed and began filming her run down near the water as she jumped around happily. His laugh made it to the video and once he posted it, ARMY began to ask questions.

‘I was wondering where Jungkook was! That was him, right?’

‘Omg was that Jungkook in the background? They’re talking again!?’

‘That was definitely Jungkook!’

‘Finally! No more fighting.’

When Jennie took out her phone and started filming the ocean, suddenly Jungkook ran in front of the camera and she turned to film him goofily running away like a ninja from Naruto.

“ARMY, what are we going to do with him?” She asked on camera

After posting the video, she approached him. “Gosh, Kookie, you’re a mess.” 

Once she realized what she had said, she felt her face warm up. "Ah, I forgot you don’t want me to call you that.”

His ears perked up from the nickname. He missed her calling him that.

“You can call me Kookie but on one condition.” He requested.

“What?”

He grinned playfully and raised his eyebrows. “You admit that Iron Man is better than Captain America.”

“Oh, there is no way in hell.” She walked past him as he started to laugh.

“I guess you won’t be calling me Kookie anymore, then.” He shrugged.

Turning around she exclaimed, “Jungkook, you know Steve Rogers is way better than your little Tony STANK.”

“Hey! You take that back!”

“Tony Stank Ass!”

He narrowed his eyes. ”It’s STARK! Tony’s suit is the best, too! Not that stupid CAPSICLE!”

“HEY! You wish! Steve Rogers is the best. And he’s not stupid!”

“Guess no more Kookie for you.” 

“Fine! Iron man...is...better than Captain America. Happy?” She grumbled, crossing her arms.

“I got that on film, too.” He giggled.

“Hey!” She tried to grab his phone while he held it to his chest, leaning back. “Give it! Delete that!” Jumping on his back, she tried to snatch it away but to no avail.

“No way! This is staying forever! Let go or I’ll post it on Twitter.”

Jen immediately jumped off. He wasn’t bluffing either. “I swear, one of these days...”

“One of these days what?” He teased.

“I might just kick your ass, that’s what.”

“I doubt that, baby girl.” He covered his mouth.

“Ah!” She called him out, pointing at him. “I didn’t give you permission to call me that, yet.”

“Fine. What do you want?”

“Hm...” She pretended to think.

“What? You want a video of me saying Captain America is better than Iron Man?”

“Nah, I have something better. I want you to agree to wear something for me.”

“I agree. Now, what is it?”

“Yes, you’ll fit it quite nicely. There’s a local costume shop around here. Let’s go there. I’ve been wanting you to wear this certain costume for a while.”

“Pssh, all I need to do is wear a costume? Fine. Let’s go.”

------

Walking around the streets of LA, Jennie periodically looked at her phone on the map app to make sure they were going the right way. “All right. It’s down this street. Follow me.” She mentioned as they crossed the street.

Once they walked into the huge costume shop, Jungkook wandered around to check out the various costumes. 

“Do they have any Iron Man costumes?” He asked which caused Jennie to snort.

While she went to look for the section of the specific costume, Jungkook continued to browse around, thinking of Halloween costume ideas. 

Noticing Jungkook wasn’t with her after a while, Jen decided to go find him and saw him looking awkward in front of two girls in their late teens. One with brown hair and another with raven hair. They immediately took a liking to his good looks and decided to boldly approach him. 

The two looked like tourists who had no idea who BTS was. Just browsing around, and having fun for the summer.

He looked uncomfortable with the girls. And the language barrier didn’t help. 

Jennie’s jaw clenched as she watched them. The raven-haired girl placed a hand on his shoulder, getting a feel of his muscles and the brunette had a flirty smile on her face, trying to subtly show how big her chest was.

They were trying too hard and it was cringeworthy.

And it lowkey started to piss Jennie off.

No.

It high key started to piss Jennie off.

And that fake ass giggle coming from the brunette made her even more irked.

“Ugh, really?” Jennie rolled her eyes.

The way they were up in his personal space as he shyly averted his eyes with a forced smile and tried to respond in any type of English he could, made Jen exhale sharply through her nose. The two girls were too forward.

But two can play at that game.

Time to act petty.

“So, you around here?” The raven-haired girl leaned in close.

“I think he’s a little shy.” The brunette mentioned.

“That’s so cute. Has anyone ever told you that you have such a cute smile?”

‘Keep it classy, Jennie. Don’t be rowdy. Don’t make a scene. You’re representing BTS. Keep it as classy as possible.’ She thought to herself as she walked up to them, standing behind Jungkook.

Clearing her throat, she grabbed Jungkook by the arm, forcefully pulling him away from the raven-haired girl, to make him stand next to her instead. 

“Babe! There you are! I was looking for you!” She spoke in English, wrapping her arms around his arm and turned to the girls with a smile, “I see you met my boyfriend.”

Jungkook snapped his head to her in shock, looking Jungshooked.

Boyfriend?

Babe?

The girls, on the other hand, looked displeased. One because Jennie had interfered in their mission to target Jungkook and two because he was apparently taken.

“Boyfriend?” The raven-haired girl asked with disappointment.

“Yes, ma’am. Long distance relationships are tough but we’re doing just fine. He’s visiting for a while.” Jen glanced at them up and down with an intense stare which caused the brunette to take a step back.

This was really petty of Jennie but she couldn’t help it. She lowkey enjoyed it.

The raven-haired girl sighed and turned to her friend, murmuring, “It’s always the ugly girls that get the hottest guys. I just don’t get it.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Jen raised a brow. “You want to say it to my face instead of mumbling under your breath?”

“She said ugly girls like you always get the hottest guys,” The brunette spoke up. “Look at him and look at you. There is just no way. You’re not even good enough for him. How much did you pay him?”

Jennie shook her head at her statement, releasing Jungkook. It was sad people were like this in the world. “You know, it’s a shame to see beautiful women like you have such bitter, ugly personalities. Ever think that everything isn’t about looks? That people look deep in the personality department? You say I’m not good enough but he thinks I am. And I know I am.”

She stared them down, standing in front of Jungkook as he continued to look at them back and forth, trying to understand what they were saying in English. 

“We’re happy. I’m not leaving, he’s not leaving. I am his and he is mine. So, do me a favor and back off my man.” Jennie demanded calmly.

Both girls were shocked at her explanation and chose the wrong guy to flirt with today. Their faces got red with embarrassment and they couldn’t even say anything back.

“I’m sorry that you don’t have someone that loves you like my boyfriend but don’t take it out on me.” Miss Bangtan frowned. “I’ll be praying for you. I hope that your life gets better and you find happiness within yourselves and then find yourselves a good man. But this man right here is taken and we’re both very lucky to have each other. So please, respect our relationship and back off.”

Jungkook only got bits and pieces of what Jennie was saying in her foreign language, but he got a clear idea of what she meant by the word “boyfriend.”

Both girls quickly apologized with their egos hurt and left the store to think about their lives after Jen’s statement.

Jennie huffed and rolled her eyes while walking deep into the costume shop and Jungkook followed her. She was still feeling some type of way watching them all up on him like that.

“I hate people.” She grumbled.

Jungkook on the other hand, couldn’t help but smile at the fact that she called him her boyfriend and her man. It sounded so genuine even if she was trying to get him out of that uncomfortable situation.

He kept staring at her as he followed her around. It felt nice to see her like this. So defensive and protective.

‘Is she jealous?’ He pondered.

It sounded too good to be true since he was always the one to get jealous of guys so close to her.

“What?” She asked with annoyance when she caught him staring.

'Yeah...she's jealous. Cute...' he thought, amused.

“You okay?” He asked calmly.

“Yep.” She answered briskly.

“You sure?”

“Yep.”

“Are you mad?”

“Just a little irritation.” She grumbled.

She shouldn’t be surprised. Jungkook is a handsome guy. Heck, all those posts she sees on Tumblr of fangirls swooning over how hot he is, she had to admit that they weren’t lying. She shouldn’t be thinking of her best friend in that type of way but as they were getting older, she was starting to realize just how handsome he was and it was a little overwhelming because they’d been friends for so long.

But what stood out to her most wasn’t his looks. It was who he was as a person. How sweet he could be. His angelic vocals, his respectfulness. Even his adorable smile. She enjoyed seeing him laugh and his funny faces are one of many icings on the cake.

Seeing all these girls swooning over him, it was bound to happen.

She should be happy he’s getting the attention from women but...for some unknown reason, she felt a sense of jealousy. She had no idea where it was coming from and she couldn’t control how felt a few moments ago.

Jen noticed that some other girls around the store were occasionally glancing at him, checking him out, too. But clearly, they were looking at him like a piece of meat. But he was worth more than just someone to fool around with.

Next, she began to wonder how she’d feel if he started dating someone. Maybe a female idol or something.

Would she be sad? Happy?

The main concerns she had were, would they spend less time together because his girlfriend is his top priority? 

Will there be no more movie nights and game nights because he wants to go on dates with his girlfriend and spend the night with her instead? 

Will there be no more sleeping on beds together when going to each others’ rooms?

She didn’t want to think about that. It was something she was so used to that it became a routine and she didn't want it to stop.

“Lots of girls staring at you.” She unintentionally mentioned in a blunt tone as she walked around to search for the costume, she had in mind. 

That came out harsher than she anticipated. She didn’t mean to say it like that. 

Jungkook didn’t pay the women any mind and kept his eyes on Jennie as he followed her. “Oh really? I didn't notice.”

She turned around and lightly punched him on his hard chest. "Really? Jungkook, almost every girl in this store is staring at you. You don’t see that? Mister International Playboy?” She turned back around to browse.

“I guess because I’m just looking at you.” He whispered to himself, looking at her back. When he saw her turn around, he spoke up, “Those girls make it too easy. I like the chase and I know the chase will be worth it in the end with the girl I want.”

She looked at him and something in her heart fluttered at his intense gaze. It was like he was talking directly to her. She shook her head and let out a chuckle, getting that ridiculous thought out of her head.

“Well, whoever that girl will be, I hope she’s prepared for you and your nonsense.” 

'You are,'  he thought.

“I’m pretty sure she will be.” He spoke up and grinned.

“Ah ha! Here it is.” Jen’s mood was boosted when she found the costume. She took it off the shelf and revealed it to be Captain America’s costume from The Winter Soldier movie. “This bad boy.” She showed it off with a smirk.

Jungkook widened his eyes. “No. Absolutely no way, I could never betray Iron Man like this. Just let me say that Steve Rogers is better.”

“Oh. I guess I’ll just let the others call me baby girl then. Maybe Jimin and Tae will like to call me that.” She teased.

“I-I’ll delete the video so we’re even.”

“Nope.”

“Please!” He pleaded.

“Nah.”

Jungkook groaned and snatched the costume. He looked at it and exhaled. “...only for you.”

“Yay! Try it on. There’s a dressing room in here.”

After waiting five minutes, Jennie started laughing as she recorded him walking out with a playfully annoyed look.

“Oh yes, this is very nice, ahahaha!” She giggled. “Give ARMY a full look at the costume. Turn around, show it off.”

“I am going to kill you,” Jungkook grumbled. “You’re not getting away with this.”

“Ahahaha, I think I already did!”

After buying the costume, she made him wear it while they made their way back to the hotel. Taking out her phone, she tried not to laugh while she secretly filmed him. When he looked down at her phone he tried to take it from her as she broke out in laughter.

‘Captain Jungkook reporting for duty!’ She posted on Twitter and her post got various comments from ARMY on how funny JenKook was together and caused shippers to ship them more for how cute their friendship is.

Back at the hotel, Jennie went on her Instagram and checked out the recent comments. Some asked if she was okay and was glad that she and Jungkook were talking again. 

She decided to respond with a quick selfie of her relaxing on her hotel bed with the caption, ‘Idol life is exhausting. So please remember that we are not machines and that we have feelings too. I try my best to eat when I can. I’m doing just fine, don’t worry. Your Bangtan Girl is A-OK. I’m happy and content.’   Which pleased many fans around the world.

------

After taking a trip to Target, Jennie made her way to Jungkook's room with a large bag of Nerf guns. He quickly let her in, still in the Captain America costume.

“Okay, I have an idea.” She grinned mischievously.

“I like that look. What’s that?” He pointed to the bag.

“I went out to buy Nerf guns. I'm ready to continue the prank war," she showed them off as his eyes sparkled in delight.

"This is awesome! Why'd you wait this long to do something so cool like this?"

She looked at him with a smile and lightly quoted the Captain America movie, "I guess I was just waiting for the right partner,"

His eyes softened as he let out a laugh. "I'm honored you chose me to do this with Agent Carter,"

"I'm sure you won't let me down, Rogers. So, do you remember the guys taking photos of us sleeping on the plane? You want to get them back?"

Jungkook smirked softly. "Definitely," 

“Great! Let’s do this.”

Putting a hand Nerf gun in her pocket, she held a big one while Jungkook placed two handguns in his pockets and held a big one. 

“Who is our first target?” He asked while putting the ammo in the big gun.

“Let’s start with Tae.”

“Fine by me.”

“One more thing, Rogers," she took out Captain America’s Shield from the bag.

“Are you kidding me?” He deadpanned, glancing at the shield and then back at her.

“Come on. You gotta look the part.” She giggled

"Only for you," he replied as she placed the shield on his back. “One of these days, I’m going to make you wear one of those Iron Man costumes.”

“Ha! That’ll be the day. Are we ready to proceed?"

Getting into character, Jungkook nodded. "Yes, ma'am,"

"Good. Come on. We got a mission.”

Walking out of the room, they headed over to the room Taehyung shared with Namjoon. Knocking on the door, Jennie and Jungkook pressed their backs against the wall, out of sight, waiting for the door to open. 

Once Namjoon opened up the door, he looked to the left and didn’t see anyone.

“Charge!” Jennie shouted and ran into the room with Jungkook, firing away, causing their leader to fall on the floor. “Take care of Tae, I got him!” She jumped on top of Namjoon, to keep him from escaping

“What the hell!? What is going on!? Get off!” He started laughing.

If it was a war they wanted, then they would get one. Because ever since that wrestling match at the gym, Namjoon had been in a playful mood. He tried to steal Jen’s gun as she tried to pull it away from him.

Meanwhile, Jungkook, ran into the bathroom to see Taehyung in a towel. The Golden Maknae attacked him with the Nerf darts, causing Tae to try to run away from the assault but ended up stumbling back into the shower. Taehyung’s laughter was heard loudly as Jungkook ran out of the bathroom, grabbing Jennie to escape the room.

Namjoon got back on his feet to see Tae quickly changing so he could get in all the action. “Prepare yourself, Taehyung. They’re going to get it. That was a preemptive strike. But it will not happen again on my watch.”

Back with JenKook, they dashed to Jin and Hobi’s room, stifling their laughter. Knocking on the door, Hobi answered it and started screaming when Jennie started shooting him.

“AHHHHH!” He ran back into the room with her running after him, jumping right on top of him

“Ahhhh! What is going on!?” Jin hid under the bed to try to avoid being shot at.

“Nerf war!” Jungkook announced, dragging him out of the bed.

Loud screams, laughter and shooting sounds were heard around the room. After the assault, the troublemakers ran out of the room to go after Suga and Jimin last.

"We need to buy some Nerf guns. Let's go! They can't get away with this," Jin said, getting ready with Hobi.

With Jennie and Jungkook, they walked towards Yoongi and Jimin's room.

“This may be a little hard because Yoongi may retaliate,” Jen warned.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” He reassured and knocked on the door. 

Jimin answered it and was delighted to see JenKook together. It looked like the plan worked.

“Hey, guys-ahh!” He yelped when he was shot, running away to try to find some cover. “What is this?!” He laughed in confusion.

Jennie turned to the bed to see Yoongi napping, unaware of what was happening. 

“Time to prepare my funeral.” She announced and began shooting at him.

He quickly woke up, bothered, and then got hit on the forehead with one of the Nerf darts.

“Son of a b-“ He dashed off the bed.

“Oh shit!” Jennie quickly opened the door and dashed away with Jungkook.

An angry Yoongi ran after them with Jimin trailing behind. 

“Get the fuck back here!” Yoongi yelled. The Daegu rapper was running faster than usual and it made Jennie start to panic.

“Fall back! Fall back!” Jungkook yelled.

Jen tripped and fell, rolling over the floor a couple of times before quickly getting back on her feet.

“Keep running! Keep running, I’m fine! I’m fine!” She shouted before Jungkook could stop and ask.

“Hyung! Wait! I have a plan!” Jimin managed to calm Yoongi down. “Come back to the room, I got something to get them back. Don’t worry. Let’s gather the other members. They may have Nerf guns but let's go buy some too! We need to get them back."

20 minutes later with JenKook, they hid around the floor and tried to remain alert if any members would try to find them.

“You think they’re coming for us?” She asked with anticipation.

“I think so. They’re probably going to be sly about it. Keep on your toes.” He warned as they walked around the hallway, cautiously.

Jennie stopped walking and placed an arm in front of Jungkook to stop him. “Kook...” She alerted as they saw Jimin and Yoongi with huge Nerf guns.

“Jungkookie! Ennie! Thanks for that sneak attack. But now we’d like our revenge now, hehehehe.” Jimin waved.

“You have a plan?” She whispered to him.

“Yes. I do have a plan.” He announced.

“What’s that?”

“Attack.” The Golden Maknae started shooting at them. 

He made use of the Captain America Shield, kneeling with Jennie, to block their shots. The battle was intense as both teams continued the assault. Jungkook moved forward while she watched his back.

Jennie yelped when she was suddenly grabbed by Taehyung from behind as he tried to yank the gun out of her hands.

Quickly, she escaped his hold and shot him right in the chest.

“I’ve been shot!” He dramatically fell to the ground. 

The Golden Maknae turned around to see the commotion behind him, impressed by Miss Bangtan’s offense.

Turning around, Jennie saw Namjoon aiming to shoot Jungkook from behind. 

“Kook, duck!” She yelled and quickly shot Namjoon, who dramatically fell down.

“All right, time to go!” Jungkook scooped her up in his arms, bridal style. 

He started running, aiming to head to the elevator while Jen wrapped her arms around his neck, continuing to shoot at the members who tried to run after them. Jimin went down when he was shot but she couldn’t manage to hit Yoongi at all. 

Running right into the elevator, Jungkook set her down and quickly pressed the top floor button while Jen mashed the close door button.

“Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!” She exclaimed as the door finally started closing.

Once it shut just in time before Yoongi could get inside, they sighed out of relief and relaxed. Jungkook took off the Captain America helmet and ruffled his hair.

“That was close.” he huffed as his chest rose and fell at a rapid rate. “You okay, Agent Carter?”

"All thanks to you. I'm fine,"

“Thanks for saving me out there.”

“Always. I got you,”

"I got you, first," he quoted Iron Man with a smile.

The elevator stopped and they noticed that it was not on the top floor yet as they saw Jin and Hobi once the doors opened. They all widened their eyes and yelled in shock. Jin and Hobi quickly tried to get inside while JenKook desperately tried to push them out the door.

Once they managed to get in, the door closed and continued its route to the top floor. Jennie jumped on Hobi’s back, putting him in a headlock as he screamed and tried to get her off. And Jungkook managed to playfully beat down Jin with no mercy.

“I raised you two! This is not how you treat the oldest member!” Jin exclaimed as he tried to block Jungkook’s hits.

When the elevator opened again, thanks to Hobi pressing one of the floors, Jin stumbled out of the elevator. Jennie, off of Hobi’s back while Jungkook went after him, got her leg grabbed by Jin as he tried to pull her out of the elevator.

Miss Bangtan started laughing and desperately tried to hold onto the elevator while Jin continued to drag her out. 

“Kook!” She yelled for help

“I got you!” Jungkook grabbed her hands and started to pull her back inside the elevator. 

Hobi started pushing the Golden Maknae out of the elevator next while Jin released Jennie as she went back in. The oldest member grabbed onto Jungkook instead. This time, Jennie tried to grab a hold of Jungkook, making sure he didn't stumble out of the elevator.

This was exhausting. They just won’t quit and leave the 97 Liners alone. All they wanted was a little revenge.

Jennie shoved Hobi out of the elevator and thankfully it closed so it could be a two on one assault against Jin. JenKook beat him down and he stayed on the floor, exhausted.

“You win! You win! I can’t do this anymore.” He gave up.

Once the elevator opened again, unfortunately, Namjoon happened to be on the floor and he quickly helped Jin while JenKook tried to wrestle him. Their guns were taken away by Hobi, so they were defenseless and had to use their hands instead.

“H-hey!” Jennie exclaimed when Jin managed to drag her out of the elevator to separate her from Jungkook. 

Namjoon continued to block Jungkook's way from going after her while Jin started dragging her away. 

“Jungkook!” She yelled but the elevator door closed with him still inside with Namjoon.

Jungkook felt a sense of annoyance. Of course, they would want to separate them. And now he had to deal with Namjoon as he tried to wrestle him. When the door opened again on the next floor, he made a run for it while the leader ran after him.

The Golden Maknae bumped into Taehyung and Jimin and he thought that he was done for but they went on to gang up on Namjoon instead.

“Find Ennie! I got this, Jungkookie. Go with Tae.” Jimin giggled, wanting Jennie and Jungkook to spend more time together.

To Jennie, she was over Jin’s shoulder while she tried to kick and squirm her way out but to no avail. She was already exhausted from running away and wrestling the members. After five minutes, she saw Jungkook nearby and he signaled her to remain quiet.

She watches as he and Taehyung snuck up on Jin. Taehyung decided to distract Jin and convince him to give Jennie to him instead. Once he set her down, he got attacked by him and Jungkook as Jin yelled about how much of a traitor Taehyung was.

Taehyung gestured for Jennie and Jungkook to hurry up and leave as they ran to the elevator and watched the doors close.

“Okay...” Jennie huffed. “This isn’t going to work. Take off the costume.”

“What?”

“This is too noticeable. As much as I love you in that costume, if we’re going to be stealthy, you can’t wear it. It’s too much exposure.” She began taking off the brown leather suspender.

Unzipping the top for him, she let him take over as he took the entire costume off, leaving him in his street clothes.

“So glad this is a reversible hoodie.” She unzipped her white hoodie and took it off her, turning it inside out so it was black. Putting it back on, she leaves it unzipped while she places her hair in a ponytail. It looked like a new outfit, already.

Jungkook averted his eyes when he caught a glimpse of her chest and his face turned pink. 

As she zipped up the hoodie, she placed the hood over her head. She turned to him and placed his hood over his head since he was wearing a light hoodie under the costume.

Once the elevator stopped back on the floor they stayed on, they walked out. 

“All right. Move now. Move fast. Put your arm around me.” She said as they kept their heads down, walking hastily. 

Walking through the hallway, their mission was to be able to escape everyone by going back to Jennie’s room. However, it seemed like that wouldn’t be happening because she could hear Namjoon and Hobi nearby.

“Crap...” She grumbled. “Stay there. I have a plan. I hope this works and they can walk the other way.” 

With Jungkook staying behind, he watched as she walked down the hallway with her phone against her ear. Her back was turned away from where Namjoon was walking.

Changing her voice, she ended up letting out a sob in English, "What!? What do you mean you're breaking up with me!?"

This caused Namjoon to quickly turn and go the other way, not wanting to be near the commotion.

“How dare you break up with me over the phone!? Excuse me!?" she went on, dramatically crying, while Jungkook tried his best not to laugh at her antics.

Once Jen managed to see Namjoon going the other way with Hobi, she dropped her act and sighed out of relief. Turning to Jungkook, she grinned. "Mission accomplished. Come on, maybe we can find Diana’s hotel room and hide out in there for the rest of the night. The members aren’t going to stop until they find us.”

“Good idea.”

They soon heard more members around the area, most likely Yoongi and Jin near the end of the hall. Hearing their voices getting closer, Jen backed Jungkook up against the nearest wall.

“I have another idea. This can go either good or bad. And I’m hoping for the good. And only if you’re comfortable with it.” She explained.

“What’s the idea?”

“Okay. Wrap your arms around me.”

“What?”

“Like Natasha Romanoff said to Steve Rogers, public displays of affection always make people uncomfortable.” She reminded, thinking about the movie. “You need to get touchy with me. So...can you act like we’re dating?” 

He blinked at her. “Act like we’re dating?”

“Yeah and maybe look at me like you would look at someone you love? Like...IU. You’re always fanboying about her, which I always think is cute. Pretend I’m IU.”

After a moment, she began to rethink her plan. Looking down, she nodded to herself. "Is that too much to ask? Okay then let's-"

She was cut off when her chin was suddenly lifted up to meet his gaze. She couldn't take her eyes off his mesmerizing stare as her stomach flipped once again. 

Jungkook made them switch places so she was now against the wall, maintaining eye contact.

There was that feeling again. Her body felt warm and her heart was starting to feel weird. Feeling his strong arms around her waist, she averted her eyes as he pulled her closer. 

"This okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah. That’s good. Re-ally good.” she stuttered.

'She's nervous again...cute...' he thought.

“I don’t think couples are supposed to be nervous around each other.” He teased, making her stomach flip again.

How obvious was she?

“I’m not nervous,” she affirmed

“Then look at your boyfriend, honey.” He responded softly, playing the part with his confidence growing.

With those words, she couldn’t fight that broad smile on her face. Looking up, she held his stare and saw that adorable smile up close. A sense of joy came over her and she decided to wrap her arms around his neck. Standing on his toes, she leaned up close to him, pulling him down closer to her face as he pressed his forehead against hers.

“Your girlfriend is looking at you. Happy, Jungkook-ah?” She said his name affectionally, smiling sweetly.

Jungkook’s pupils dilated. “Don’t do that...” 

“Why not?” She teased. “Am I making you nervous, now?”

‘It’s because I can get used to you saying my name like that and it’s getting harder to resist kissing you.’ He thought to himself as he glanced at her lips.

Before he could say anything out loud, they heard Jin’s voice get louder. From the position they were in, it looked like they were about to kiss. They were playing the part of a couple showing affection in public well.

Jin walked around. “Let’s try this way-” He said but then began to back away once he saw them. “A-actually let’s go this way instead.” 

He turned away uncomfortably and left with Yoongi.

Even after the members left, Jennie and Jungkook stayed where they were, looking into each other's eyes. 

After a little while, she spoke up, "Kookie?"

"Yeah?"

"...I think they left,"

"...Sorry, I didn't notice," 

It seemed like they both reluctantly pulled away and Jungkook took a step back.

Suddenly, they noticed a maid near them with her cleaning equipment. And Jennie recognized the woman as Miss Joyce who she had seen before when she left Jungkook's room.

"Good evening," Miss Joyce greeted, glancing at the two. She gave Jennie a knowing look, smiling sweetly, pleased to see that they made up.

She definitely heard and saw all of that and Jen remembered the conversation she had with her about Jungkook not being her boyfriend and how they had a fight. And it looked like Miss Joyce's prediction of them making up came true.

The Golden Duo greeted her kindly in response.

'Not your boyfriend, huh? Adorable kids...' Miss Joyce chuckled to herself and walked down the hall.

Letting out a sigh, Jennie began to walk in the direction of Diana's room with him.

"Okay, to Diana's room we go," she announced. 

"Yes, ma'am," Jungkook replied with a grin.

"So, you still uncomfortable?” she asked, quoting Natasha.

He let out a chuckle, playing along, "Uncomfortable isn’t even the word to describe what I’m feeling.”

They shared a laugh and before they knew it they arrived at Diana's door. Jennie knocked a few times until she opened it, shaking her head.

"You two are going to be the death of me, do you hear? I know y'all got noise complaints from your Nerf battle. I heard a lot of yelling," Diana teased.

"Ah, we'll take the blame. It was worth it," Jennie chuckled as she walked in with Jungkook. "Can we hang here until the heat dies down?"

"By all means. I'm headed out anyway to go to the gym downstairs. Make yourselves comfortable," 

[oscurascout]

Y/N As A Doublegänger

From "That's Not My Neighbor" game

Note - Finally done! I feel like this chapter was a little fast (and it is) but oh well hope you guys enjoyed this series, I have something pretty cool prepare for September.

Part 11 End (Par 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10)

After that day, everything changed for the better. The doorman was captured and imprisoned. Not only had he been charged with allowing a doppelgänger in, but he was also held accountable for provoking and endangering the residents.

Now, a D.D.D. agent was the new doorman. Since my friends had to come out of hiding to stop me, they were also captured. Fortunately, thanks to the residents' petitions, they weren't killed and were instead released. As for me, I was placed under observation in a hospital, along with Angus and Franciss, since both had gotten hurt.

Fortunately, Angus and I were in the same room, mostly because he wouldn’t stop being a menace until he was placed with me. Steven visited often, trying to keep us updated, and to my surprise, even some of the other residents came by. Franciss, once he was able to move, would also come and stay in our room. I discovered that he was the first person I had attacked.

As the days went by, I made friends with the neighbors I had never interacted with before. Rafttellyn and Alf were kind enough to bring me some “get well soon” flowers and even did a mini tie party, while the Peachman brothers entertained us with stories about their shoe business, always filled with amusing anecdotes about their mini fights and arguments. Steven's dad, Mclooy, visited us as well; he is a very talkative man, always sharing tales of his youth and amazing adventures.

Time passed quickly, and soon I was fully healed, just like Angus and Franciss. Once the doctor gave me the release date, a D.D.D. agent entered the room, prompting the doctor to make a quick exit, leaving only the agent behind.

Agent - “Good to see that both of you are completely healed. Now, I will explain what is going to happen, and none of you can object or argue, alright?”

I nodded, but Angus nor Franciss did.

Angus - *smiling* “I’d like to hear what you have to say before I make a decision.”

Agent - *whispering* “A true businessman. *speaking normally* Alright, regarding the doppelgänger, not only did you hurt two residents and five D.D.D. agents, but you also caused some damage to the building. Because of that, you will be put in a program and continue pretending to be Y/N.”

“W-what!?” I exclaimed in surprise. I had expected them to lock me up, but the idea of going back was shocking.

Franciss - “What’s the catch?”

Agent - “Well, a D.D.D. member will have to stay in the building to ensure it's truly safe. But besides that, there are no real consequences; after all, it wasn’t entirely the doppelgänger's fault.”

“B-but why? I thought the D.D.D. agency would kill me or capture me,” I said, fidgeting with my fingers.

Agent - “Well normally we would, but there were a lot of petitions requesting your release, and thanks to the news, the story spread all around the world. It's the topic everyone is talking about, which worked in your favor. Additionally, you lasted two months without hurting anyone, which strengthens your case. The D.D.D. actually wants to experiment with you to see how a doppelgänger works and all that scientific stuff.”

Angus - “Experiment?”

Agent - “Well, sort of. It’s more like they want to conduct a few tests. You see, two months ago, the doppelgängers became much more aggressive, so they want Y/N's help to repel them or keep them at bay.”

“Well, either way, I don’t have a choice, so I might as well enjoy this outcome,” I said, a small smile forming on my face.

Angus - *worried* “Are you sure? I don't think those D.D.D. agents will hold back in their experiments.”

“Don't worry; I'm stronger than I seem,” I replied, showing my claws.

Franciss - “That's true. I experienced it firsthand.”

“I'm sorry!” I exclaimed, quickly covering my claws and feeling awful for what I had done to Franciss.

Agent - “Well, my job here is done. It was nice to see all of you looking better.”

Soon, the day came when we were finally released. We arrived at the apartment, and it didn’t look any different. I took a deep breath and entered.

As I stepped into my apartment, it was just as I had left it, but someone was there, a doublegänger. I quickly unsheathed my claws and was about to attack whoever it was when I was grabbed, even before I could do any real damage.

Hoon - *smiling* “Yup, this is how it was supposed to have been last time.”

“Hoon!” I exclaimed, quickly hugging him. I looked behind him and saw that everyone else was there too. “How are all of you here? Wait, how did you guys even get here?” I asked, surprised to see them.

Sticky - “The agent told us that we now live here. Well, not in this room, but like you, we were put under the same rules. Some others are in different buildings.”

Peach - *hugging me* “Peach!”

“It's nice to see you too! But wait, how did they find you? And what do you mean by living here?” I asked, still hugging Peach.

Hoon - “It's a bit of a long story, but in short, we were being followed, and we got discovered. Thanks to the news spreading everywhere, a lot of doppelgängers also gave up, hoping for the same outcome you had. So now the D.D.D. agency is creating a program to ‘rehabilitate’ doppelgängers. Though the other half of the doublegängers continue to fight and be against this change”

I was about to say something when Stitch covered my mouth, probably not wanting me to overthink things or ask any more questions. I smiled and looked behind Hoon, noticing half-eaten frozen dinners. “Time to show what I learned,” I thought smugly.

*Moving Stitch’s hand away* “Guys, that's not how you eat those dinners!” I said with a smile

Sticky - “What do you mean? You just need to open them, right?”

I smiled and began explaining how they should have eaten them. “You guys have a lot to learn, but don't worry; I'll help,” I said with a grin. They nodded, finally, we were truly safe.

[compassionatereminders]

hey kat. i’m having an extremely hard time processing my feelings about something so i hope you don’t mind the million letter essay im about to write. i appreciate your blog as a safe space, and you don’t have to respond to this if you don’t want to.

i have problems connecting with others- romantically, emotionally, physically. i’ve been struggling to let people into my life or affect me by getting close to me. but i decided to give this guy a shot.

we met at a local concert when i asked for his phone number- i was trying to get myself out there and desensitize myself to the idea of approaching romance. he had a boyfriend at the time so he politely declined and offered to remain friends, which i was more than happy with as i got to know him. we share a lot of common interests, feelings about the world and nature, interests in biology and sciences etc. it was nice to be friends but we fell in and out of touch, which i didn’t mind, since i got real busy.

then he and his boyfriend broke up. we started talking more, but not anywhere near romantically. we never discussed dates, romantic feelings or relationships etc. but we did, however, set up a day to hang out . we went on a hike + to the aquarium and had a really really nice time. i’ll admit it provoked romantic attraction in me but i bit that down because i knew it was too raw. it wasn’t appropriate to try and take advantage of the breakup like that. besides, it’s not the way i would’ve wanted it to happen. but then after we parted ways and i got home, he messaged me to let me know he interpreted our hangout as a date, and that while he was considering it, he didn’t wanna move into anything romantically super fast.

… which, i mean, i figured. but it hurt that i could’ve had a shot to actually try for him but i didn’t realize and therefore limited myself to the purely platonic behavior. we discussed that and got over it just fine, but remained buddies and mostly just talked online from then on, until another local concert came up.

we both went separately, but the whole night it was tense. that type of tight energy you feel where you can’t stand more than 3 feet away from that person without feeling the emptiness from their presence. we sat next to each other and talked over my phone by typing on the same note to communicate . i then noticed his shoulder was practically glued to mine, then later observed in the evening that our legs had grown glued at the knee as well. we walked each other out from the show and hugged but didn’t acknowledge any of the tension that night. then we hung out another time, again awkward and tense, but then he admitted later to having some feelings for me and wanting to engage in casual stuff. nothing sexual, seeing as both of us exchanged almost identical feelings about the idea of casual sex (it isn’t right / healthy for either of us rn) so it was just casual romance.

we kissed a few times but i can’t get over the one day we spent hiking the railroad tracks and talking. holding hands and me holding his jacket and just being close to him. it felt good. safe. we laid on the gravel and looked up at the clouds for almost an hour. but then we went back into my car to cuddle and listen to music. i then made a joke about the few times that we kissed, stating that i thought i wasn’t a great kisser. he decided to test that fact, so we just started kissing slow and easy, making out a little bit before we decided to take the vape he had and shotgun it into each other’s mouths. i’ve never felt anything like that before, my brain was so dizzy and heart was going fucking crazy. it felt so good and safe and happy.

but like all casual things end, he took a break from me after that. a few days of me not speaking to him had him deciding he didn’t want to continue kissing or touching me in that way. i 110% respect his needs and comfort levels but im just. hurt. i let people in and they hurt me. i know love isn’t easy and all that stupid shit but every time i find someone who makes me want to try they hurt me. i feel defeated and lonely and find myself hoping we both give in to the cycle of “i don’t see you for a long time, then see you out of nowhere and then BOOM feelings” bullshit. i don’t know why i can’t just get over it and let it go.

on the bright side, i’m quitting nicotine. i never fully started until i kissed him, and i began to associate it with him and the way he made me feel. so, gotta cut that shit out. i just don’t know how to cope with feeling unable to experience vulnerability without it smacking me in the face in return. i don’t really know what i want or need either - i just appreciate the space to get this shit out of my system.

i hope it’s just because i’m young and stupid . i hope i grow out of this one day and can just get over it and be able to be normal about letting people in .

You didn't do anything particularly young or stupid in my opinion. You let someone in and they ended up hurting you, but that happens to literally all of us, and I actually think it was really brave of you to try to act on your feelings and give it a shot. That's the only way we can hope to find the one(s) that will stay

[gendervoid-tokoyami]

MHA REWRITE ARC 1 / Childhood Inspirations / Part 3

The last part in this arc.

This time, the skip is to when Izuku is 13.

Over the years, Izuku’s dream of being a hero dwendles and becomes nothing more than a distant daydream. Of course, he keeps up with his analysis.

It’s early in the morning; Izuku, Inko, and the Bakugos are at the entrence for a hero convention.

Hisashi felt bad about not being able to come home from USA in awhile, so he gave Inko an extra boost of money to take Izuku to a hero convention in Tokyo. Inko decided to also bring along the Bakugos because it’s been a while since Inko had time to hang out with Mitsuki and Masaru. And unaware of Katsuki’s bullying of her son, thinks Izuku’d be excited to explore the con with him.

While both of excited to go the con, neither of them are excited to be near each other.

Inko, Mitsuki, and Masaru drop their children off at the convention. Inko being Inko tells Izuku and Katsuki to stick close to each other & if anything happens to call them instantly. Then the parents leave to go do adult stuff.

Once the parents are out of sight & hearing rang. Katsuki yells at Izuku to stay away from him and leaves Izuku on him lonesome. After a second, Izuku goes into the the con building.

Forgetting about Katsuki, Izuku gets into a groove. Stop at every booth he can see; ask questions to any pro-hero that’s in attendance (and hope they answer his questions). This goes on for a few hours.

Currently, Izuku is asking questions to a pro-hero - Ms. Joke. Each question he asks, the more complex and thought provoking. Of course, Izuku is writing this down. Izuku just so happen to ask some questions about Outburst that she hasn’t thought of before.

Suddenly, a different pro-hero gets thrown from the wall of the convention center. And around five villains come bursting through the hole in the hall as well.

Ms. Joke tells him to hide while she runs off to go see what’s happening.

Civilians are screaming and panicking, tripping over each other. The villains are making a mess of the convention. *Jevil’s voice* Chaos, chaos, chaos

Surprising, Izuku does attempt to go hide when a table goes flying and in his direction. When he is shoved out of the way. He and the girl that shoved him goes toppling down, the table goes slaying over them. Luckily, neither of them are hadly hurt beyond some bruising and Izuku hitting his head on the floor on his way down. The girl is quick to get off of Izuku. The girl begins to speak and, quickly regaining focus, Izuku looks at the person in question, realizing he’s looking at floating clothes and listening to a “disembodied voice”

Despite the circumstances, Izuku instantly goes on a muttering session about the girl’s quirk. And introduces himself to her.

The girl introduces herself as Toru Hagakure.

She’s flattered that Izuku thinks her quirk is cool but a piece of the ceiling falling near them caused the two teens to refocus on the villain attack. Izuku muttering turn from about Toru’s quirk to the villains at hand.

Sometime during this Izuku introduces himself.

Toru wants to listen but interrupts him saying they need to get out of the building. Izuku then remembers Katsuki and his mother’s words, saying he needs to find someone first, telling her to leave. While Izuku can’t see it, Toru shakes her head no and then says no out loud. Saying that sticking together is better than separating. Toru tells him that she’ll help him find who over he’s looking for.

He nods and begins walking around the convention. By the time Izuku and Toru met, around around 30+ more villains had shown up to the convention. Albeit all of the villains are F and E ranked. Izuku and Toru talk back & forth, questioning whether or not this was a planned attack. During this, Izuku is taking notes in his notebooks.

Another table goes flying in the direction of Toru and Izuku. Izuku pushes Toru out of the way & Izuku narrowly dodges the table.

A heroic spark that was thought to be lost gets reignited.

They have became temporarily become separated.

Almost instantly, Izuku gets cornered by one of the villains. The villain attacks him and Izuku struggles to get the villain off of him. When Toru sneaks up behind and hits the villain on the head with a metal rod. Knocking him out.

Izuku thanks Toru with tears in his eyes.

As they go around the convention, more heroes show up. Eventually, a hero spots the pair and rushes to them. Urgently telling them to tell them leave. Toru goes to protest when the hero interrupts her by pointing them in the direction of the safest exit.

With no other option, Toru & Izuku are forced to leave the convention. Adrenaline leaves his body and an ache from in his wrist begins. He realizes he must've sprained it somehow while

Then he & Toru are dragged towards the paramedics. He spots Katsuki standing with his parents and Inko in the distance.

Relief rushes through him.

While he is getting checked out by the paramedics and getting his wrist wrapped up. He and Toru have a chat about what happened.

In one way or another, they get into the topic of the future. Toru mentions about wanting to be a pro-hero but finding it hard to thinking of scenarios where her quirk could be useful. Instantly, Izuku goes onto a rant about all the ways she could use her invisibility for heroism and even brings up how she saved him from that villain with nothing but a metal rod.

Toru's close to crying but manages through that with asking him if he's planning on being a hero with a brain like that.

Izuku instantly becomes hesitant by the question and also flustered from the compliment. He shyly mention about wanting to become a hero too and wanting to go UA.

Toru mentions that she also wants to go to UA as well. Toru then asks what Izuku's quirk is.

However, before Izuku could answer Inko interrupts the pair and pulls Izuku into a hug.

The paramedics give Izuku and Toru one last look over. Telling Inko that Izuku has a sprained wrist and a mild concussion.

Before Izuku leaves. Toru makes him promise that the next time they see each other is in the hero course at UA. Which Izuku agrees to.

…

The arc ends with Izuku on the train on the way home. He reflects back on his promise towards Toru. Izuku realizing that if he wants to keep, then he'll need to start working out.

Canon characters introduced at this point: Mitsuki Bakugo. Masaru Bakugo. Emi Fukukadu. Toru Hagakure.

Summary of this Arc.

This arc is meant to showcase Izuku’s heroic heart. As well as his ability to inspire others and to become inspired by others.

Establishes a history of Izuku of going off on his own to help others.

Shows how Izuku got into analysis.

Get a sneak peak at All for One, Dragon’s Breath, and Sparks.

Divider credit | [Childhood Inspirations: Part 2] : [Preparation: Part 1] | [Rewrite Masterpost]

[katyspersonal]

Headcanons on.... being justified? sorta

I threw a couple of headcanons in a salad so I could rate the Soulsborne men that messed with the things not meant for humans and got ridiculously big body count, from most justified to least

#5 Laurence - He genuinely cared for betterment of humankind, even if that meant great sacrifices and risks, although he took things to such a far point that these actions on themselves destroyed his humanity and defeated the purpose. He is a tragic villain! Good intentions road to hell all that.

(I will note though, I feel like BB was a bit TOO subtle on how things sucked so Laurence would have the need to change them - there are multiple evidences that are yet so scattered that on superficial level it can look as though everything was awesome and perfect and Laurence simply ruined everything! I really don't see it, especially considering how many things could've been wrong in Victorian era... Eileen, for one, arrives from plague-ridden place if her mask is of any indication.)

#4 Aldrich - He lives in the world that is rotting and doomed no matter what you do, he saw the only thing that offered at least some hope for escape and better era and seized it, no matter what it took. He is like.. in a position where moral principles are losing their effect, so everything goes. Similar insight to Rykard's, actually. (I can honestly give him a pass on enjoying his methods a bit too much like sadistic shit that he is, because how you he is feeling besides the point in this context)

#3 Micolash - His world likewise got fucked but what Micolash did was not simply going 'fuck this shit I'm out' and giving up on human values, but also provoking the process that accelerates the humanity's ruin and it can not even escape beasthood WHILE his ritual is ongoing, all so he (and anyone who """understands""") could evolve past human mind. Micolash has more choice and more hope than DS cast, he decided human values (and lives) were not really worth it!

#2 Allant - Not only he gave up on humanity and this world in his despair, but also ensured that everyone else feels this way too deep down and no one's lives matter, so he had to "open their eyes" lol. He is just willing to destroy everything through the same logic in which I used to agree with Frenzied Flame ending - that existence is fundamentally broken, as a concept.. And like, if other people still want to exist regardless of suffering, decay and existential loneliness? Well they're just "dumb" or something.... Very selfish stuff.

#1 Shabriri - The fucker thought the world had it too good and just could not live in peace knowing there was all-destroying power sealed, he saw "No tresspassing" sign and was not able to stop, so now even without Lord of Frenzy, the world still got inflicted with irreversible sickness that someone could get just by fucking being too sad or something. Basically I think he did not face crushing depression and dread that simply 'resonated' with the power of universal despair, but just, like they say, "did a little trolling". Partially I think that because of how his yearning for chaos sounds like manic wish to just see everything burn and not like despair. Partially because I feel like at least one time everything could be ruined by simple curiosity and not sympathetic motivation? But yes, Shabriri is THE worst.

_________________

Also there are complications of 'they unleashed it' vs 'the force beyond humanity called them and of course a human would not be able to resist' with some, which I tend to just write off with the "the call means nothing without the receiver" (so, even if you like saw a dream or found frenzied fingerprints, you could still just say no... so yeah, I did not use this factor in rating)

[tonberry-yoda]

it is midnight and that means its saturday so i am here for my matchup 🤭 in all honesty i have been wanting to request one from u for so long bc i love the way u write your matchups loll, but ANYWAYS! could i pls get a haikyuu matchup? i go by she/her, im straight nd i’d like a romantic matchup 🫡 so im like 5’2 i think, dyed black hair (goes a bit past my shoulders and my natural color is brown), brown eyes, and i have a lot of freckles on my face. i have my septum and both sides of my nose pierced along with a few ear piercings.im an ambivert so how i act definitely depends on the environment im in but with the right people im very outgoing (very chatty lol). but my social battery also gets drained v fast so after big social gatherings i need some time to recover (usually recovering = taking a long nap). i get really snappy if i my social battery is drained so the whole recovery thing is v important lmao. i am also a very sleepy person, my friends like to joke that im chronically tired lmfao, i take naps almost every day and if im in a car, sitting down in class or doing something like that i probably will fall asleep. i cannot control it T_T i also trip, run into things, drop things, etc. all the time. my house could be dead silent and then out of nowhere u just hear a crash and “what the fuck” yea thats me sorry 🤫🤫 i also like to tease ppl a lot, not in a flirty way more like in a provoking way (i cant flirt i have 0 rizz). moving on!! some things i look for in a relationship r someone who can be patient with me and dont mind reassuring (if they do it without me asking its 100x better). i love when show theyre thinking abt me through little things like “oh i was at the store and i saw your fav candy so i picked it up” or “i saw your favorite flowers on my walk home and thought of you” id cry. also someone who isnt afraid to show they care (not in a sense of like pda but moreso they arent too prideful to do dumb stuff like dance with u at 2 am in the kitchen). anyways my type! they dont have to be like 7ft tall but maybe 5’9 or 5’10 +. i like funny guys but not funny at the expense of others. i also really like guys that are able to actually respect me as a person. i pride myself on being really smart and mature (when i need to be lol) and i genuinely would not be able to stand someone that saw me as any less than that. OK MOVING ON! hobbies/ interests! i love music. so much. music is my creative outlet and how i express myself. i annotate song lyrics. i connect with music through personal experience its just so so important to me. i am learning how to play the electric guitar so i can connect with it even more. my favorite artists rn are the 1975, mitski, ptv and sleeping with sirens:p although im always open to expanding my music taste!! i also like to play some video games(obsessed with animal crossing lately lol). aand my love language is words of affirmation. sorry if this is really long T_T and if you dont get to this no biggy but if you do tsym!<3

WHEN I TELL YOU THIS MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD THIS MORNING LMFAOOOOO. and that little note at the beginning is so sweet! i am so glad i am able to do a matchup for you anon!! okay, so i have a perfect little dude for you, but it may be random so bear with me. i love this man, so i hope you do too!

the character I chose for you is...

KEISHIN UKAI!!!

OKAY

HEAR ME OUT!

ukai is flippin hot

i would love to be in your shoes

(he's my fav haikyuu character besides tanaka, so you're lucky frrr)

he would love your piercings

he's a piercing fella himself (he's what made me want to get my second ear piercings lmfaoooo)

like he thinks it's high key hot

he's also an ambrivert, so both of your personalities match up really well

he is totally understanding of your drained social battery (plus, he gets the same way) so he'll just let you nap while he works or leave you alone if needed

WILL 100% TAKE NAPS WITH YOU

like will hold you in his arms and nap a whole day away when he gets the day off

you will always knock over things in his shop and he'll just laugh or wait for you to pick it up while dead staring at you lmfaoooo

he'll definitely know if you walk in when he hears a whole ass display get knocked over

he thinks it's cute when you tease him even if you say it isnt about flirting, his dumbass thinks it is which is fine by you so you can tease him more often

the real reason i picked this guy is because of what you said about him bringing you things that made him think of you

like this man will roll up with a chocolate bar and shove it in your hand with a pile of chips shoved in his mouth and say "I thought of you today at the store and grabbed this"

he doesnt see it as much, but you are over the moon about it

when he finds out about how much you love it, he will keep doing it

he is very patient and caring for you and literally only has eyes for you

he also always gets you to laugh, which always makes his day

please play music for him

he will have heart shaped eyes if you do

he will 100% play videogames with you, but you have to teach him how to play half of the time lmfaoooo

he will always tell you how much he loves you and how pretty and amazing you are frfr

if you go to any of his practices or games when he is coaching, he will brag about you

(i am so sorry this took so long i forgot it was in my drafts. i hope you love it nonetheless though!!!)

~~~~~

matchup rules --- pinned post

@tonberry-yoda

[alliluyevas]

3

What were your top five books of the year?

Oh, this is hard! I read a lot of really good books this year and also frankly the stuff I read in the last few months of 2021 versus the first months of 2022 run together so I had to look up and see what I actually read for the first time in 2022. This isn't in any particular order:

Joseph Smith and the Mormons: Noah van Sciver

This is a graphic novel that focuses on Joseph Smith's life and death and early Mormonism and I thought it was really successful! It was powerful and sympathetic but also historically accurate (with an extensive bibliography, lmfao). I thought it was really compelling in terms of both the art and inspiring feelings. This is a very cinematic story so the visual method worked very well.

A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms: George RR Martin

I've been an ASOIAF fan for ten years and I never read these! For some reason I just didn't find the sound of them appealing. I kind of wish I'd read them earlier because they're great but it was also really nice to have entirely new (to me) content in this universe!

I Who Have Never Known Men: Jacqueline Harpman

Post-apocalyptic novella about a group of women who are as far as they know the last people left alive in the world narrated by the youngest among them, who starts the story as a child and ends it as the last surviving member of the group. Incredibly beautiful writing, lovely and heartrending meditation on what it means to be human and what it means to be alive.

Women Talking: Miriam Toews

This is about sexual violence in an isolated Mennonite community, focusing on the debate between women from two interconnected families over whether to leave the community or not, narrated by the childhood friend of one of the women who is selected to take notes because none of the women can read or write and he's also the only person they know with experience in the outside world. It's actually really interesting putting it after I Who Have Never Known Men because there's some thematic overlap even though the circumstances are wholly different. Incredibly powerful, really thought provoking, and very unique narrative voice. I'm excited for the upcoming film adaptation :)

The Lonely Polygamist: Brady Udall

This was written in the early 2000s but is set in the 1970s, so it's a really interesting overlap between the historical and the contemporary. Primarily narrated by the rather hapless and pathetic Mormon fundamentalist titular character, with some cross-narration from the youngest of his four wives and his preteen son. I was surprised both by how funny this book was and how poignant it is. It's this really chaotic, sometimes uncomfortable portrayal of a large polygamist family where everyone is rubbing up against each other and somehow still feels alone. Also I think at heart this is a story about grief and loss and mourning (the death of a young daughter years prior to the start of the story but still very much affecting her family, the wife's history of miscarriage and stillbirth, and other death later in the book that I don't want to give away) and it was portrayed very effectively.

[crusherthedoctor]

Top 5 vocal Sonic songs? :>

I bet you I'll write this list, and then after uploading it I'll think "Shit, I forgot about that one..."

Also note that, being a neanderthal, the way it sounds is a priority for me. You can have the most amazing and thought-provoking lyrics ever, but if I think the composition is so-so, I can only shrug. So anyway, about With Me...

5. Sonic Boom - I prefer the JP CD soundtrack over the US one overall, but I prefer this over You Can Do Anything. It might be cheesy, but it's Sonic we're talking about, so I don't consider that an immediate point against it. :P

4. Believe in Myself (SA2) - Your mileage may vary on the singing, and it might be unconventional to place this one above the original SA1... one, but there's always been this coziness to it that I can vibe with. And it's about Tails, so y'know.

3. Live Life - Black Knight's soundtrack as a whole is obviously not terrible, but I do find a lot of it to be either mid or Too Much Rock Syndrome compared to others in the series. But this is one of the stand outs; it fits the story and all that good stuff, but I just love how uplifting it is, and I'd argue it sums up Sonic even more than some of his more famous character songs.

2. What I'm Made Of - As much as I love Open Your Heart, and have warmed up to Live & Learn due to it not being as overused in the fandom nowadays, establishing the main theme as the final boss track is a trend I've always been ehhh on, because I like to speculate and be surprised by what the final boss theme will sound like. What I'm Made Of only appears in the finale of its respective game however, so that technically doesn't apply here. This one always gets me 100% pumped, nothing more to say.

1. Unknown From M.E. (SA1) - Because what else was it going to be.

[eternal-echoes]

Hi; is it alright if you can give any advice on how to properly convey one’s feelings without bottling them inside that will eventually lead into outbursting uncontrollably?

You see, I’m struggling terribly in this area because I cannot at this present moment process and express these feelings in a Christian-like manner without offending God. Instead, I conceal them in fear that I’m too sensitive and exaggerating the scale of things. But then, there comes a moment that just provokes me and all things set loose that make me go full rage.

I think the best illustration I can share is that whenever I’m insulted. I try to think that, since God was insulted many times, I should endure this as well for His sake and who am I, a sinner, to complain, right? That’s what I’ve read from the saints. But at times, it just really hurts as a person when I’m giving my all like in helping my family. And when I’m not “spiritually in good standing”, just one more small crack is enough to break me.

So, now I feel like I always have to be in good standing (e.g. state of grace) so that the spiritual warfare going on in my family won’t get too bad and if I mess up in not praying regularly or well, it’s my fault for any mishap that goes on in the family. And this thought haunts and just makes me very sad.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m just really lost at this point.

Hello Anon, I saw this last night and prayed for you. I’m posting it now in case anyone wants to add more advice.

I struggle with the similar case as you so it’s something I haven’t fully overcome. But here are some of my suggestions:

- Write down what you’re feeling. Be sincerely honest about what you’re feeling and write it down on a diary. Speculate why you feel that (you felt offended, disrespected, it recalled past trauma, etc.). This is a good way to release the anger. Idk what you prefer but I find that writing it on paper than on a Notes app really lets the anger flow out of me. Or if you can’t bring your diary with you everywhere write it down on your Notes app first then when you get home write it down in your diary. Something about actively writing it down and seeing it written in ink makes that much difference to me. And that way, when you’re diary is full, you can just rip it apart and throw it away so no one will ever know.

- Pray the Jesus prayer whenever you’re angry. Under your breath say: “Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Focus on the rhythm of that when you say that prayer over and over again. It helps get rid of the evil anger inside you.

- Say 3 Hail Mary’s whenever an evil thought (towards someone) crosses your mind. Unless it’s deliberate it’s not intrinsically sinful but demons always like to tempt us to sin by putting sinful stuff in our minds (i.e. lustful thoughts) which includes anger hoping we would indulge in it. But with the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, praying the Hail Mary can help make it go away.

- Pray for the people that have hurt you. You don’t have to be around them, but pray for their repentance. Don’t hold a grudge against them because that will also hurt you in the long run. Don’t seek revenge and stay away from them. Forgiveness does not have to include reconciliation especially if there’s a chance that they’ll do it again. You need to protect yourself, too.

Lastly, it’s important to remember that other people’s insults and how they treat you isn’t the true reflection of your worth. God loves you, even if other people don’t respect you. People’s opinion are marred by their own flaws and errors so they can never give an accurate account of you, only God knows you for who you really are and being loved by the Greatest Absolute Being is the best thing there is. I know that this is easier said than done but try not to focus on the injustice people have done towards you but focus more on how you can serve God (whether it’s adding a little bit more in your prayer routine and/or reading more spiritual books).

I hope that helps. If anyone would like to add anything please add them.

[kley-blog]

Did ChatGPT write this . . . ??

Just for fun . . .

And good luck . . . !!??

It’s good to be aware of the following stuff, the words in particular, as they tend to be mechanical and vague. If you are using too many of them, your text may sound like it was AI-generated.

Transitional words overused by ChatGPT

Accordingly

Additionally

Arguably

Certainly

Consequently

Hence

However

Indeed

Moreover

Nevertheless

Nonetheless

Notwithstanding

Thus

Undoubtedly

Adjectives overused by ChatGPT

Adept

Commendable

Dynamic

Efficient

Ever-evolving

Exciting

Exemplary

Innovative

Invaluable

Robust

Seamless

Synergistic

Thought-provoking

Transformative

Utmost

Vibrant

Vital

Nouns overused by ChatGPT

Efficiency

Innovation

Institution

Integration

Implementation

Landscape

Optimization

Realm

Tapestry

Transformation

Verbs overused by ChatGPT

Aligns

Augment

Delve

Embark

Facilitate

Maximize

Underscores

Utilize

Phrases overused by ChatGPT

A testament to…

In conclusion…

In summary…

It’s important to note/consider…

It’s worth noting that…

On the contrary…

This is not an exhaustive list.

Examples of data analysis phrases overused by ChatGPT:

“Deliver actionable insights through in-depth data analysis”

“Drive insightful data-driven decisions”

“Leveraging data-driven insights”

“Leveraging complex datasets to extract meaningful insights”

Other signs that text may have been written by ChatGPT:

Overly complex sentence structures

An unusually formal tone in text that’s supposed to be conversational or casual — or, an overly casual tone for a text that’s supposed to be formal or business casual

Unnecessarily long and wordy

Vague statements

Example 1: Ask ChatGPT to write a recommendation letter.

What are some signs that this text was generated by ChatGPT?

It is vague and wordy, without concrete examples: There aren’t any specific ways that my coworker helped with events.

There are too many adverbs, making it sound inauthentic and not human: “enthusiastically,” “closely,” “consistently,” “flawlessly,” “efficiently”

Some words and phrases aren’t used often in human-written text, such as: “professionalism,” “furthermore,” “meticulous attention to detail”

Example 2: Ask ChatGPT to write a data analyst cover letter.

What are some signs that this text was generated by ChatGPT?

Vague, meaningless phrases: “I am confident in my ability to contribute effectively to your team and drive insightful data-driven decisions”, “leveraging complex datasets to extract meaningful insights”, “delivering actionable insights through in-depth data analysis,” “demonstrating strong problem-solving skills”, “leveraging data to drive business outcomes”

No specific examples of data projects, just vague references to “dynamic visualizations and dashboards.”

Overuse of adverbs that don’t add any meaning to the text: “effectively,” “efficiently,” “successfully,” “cross-functionally”

Ends with “Warm regards”

Example 3: Ask ChatGPT to write a LinkedIn outreach note.

What are some signs that this text was generated by ChatGPT?

The subject line is weirdly formal: “Inquiry about Data Analyst Position at UVA”

Words that aren’t frequently used in human-written text: “keen,” “dynamic,” “inquiry”, “deriving”

Vague, meaningless phrases: “exciting work being done at your institution,” “passion for deriving insights from data”, “dynamic team like yours”

No specifics about the current job or projects, and only a vague reference to a “background in data analysis.”

The University of Virginia is a big place, but this text doesn’t specify a particular unit on campus.

Example 4: Ask ChatGPT to write an email about data analysis findings.

What are some signs that this text is generated by ChatGPT?

Meaningless adverbs that are over-used by ChatGPT: “additionally,” “consistently,” “effectively”, “strategically”

Uses the word “delve”

Unnatural greeting and sign-off: the email starts with “Dear Stakeholders” and ends with “Best regards.” If written by a human, the names of the people would be listed at the beginning.

Long, vague sentences such as “highlights the importance of concise and focused messaging,” “present valuable opportunities for optimizing…”, “I look forward to collaborating with you to leverage these learnings effectively in our future marketing endeavors”, “delve deeper into the implications of this analysis”

Example 5: Ask ChatGPT to write your resume summary.

What are some signs that this text was generated by ChatGPT?

Vague, meaningless words and phrases: “results-driven,” “solid foundation,” “actionable insights,” “innovative solutions,” “strong collaborator,” “drive efficiency,” “complex challenges,” “track record”

No specific examples of certifications or data projects.

Strange phrasing: “University of Virginia ecosystem,” “leveraging 4 years experience”

Final Thoughts

Why does ChatGPT text sound bad? It’s as though you asked a million people to respond to your prompt, and ChatGPT gives you the “average” of all their responses. Its output will be generic and vague. ChatGPT won’t give you the best word for each scenario, it will just give you the most commonly used one.

There’s no foolproof way to detect AI-written text, even if you use tools available today (like GPTZero.) AI software could always create text with the specific intent of evading these kinds of detectors. Also, AI tools are always improving, so there is an arms race between ChatGPT text detectors and detector-evaders.

As ChatGPT evolves, it can’t hurt to avoid the words and phrases listed in this article. To make your text sound more human, use specific, meaningful words, and specific examples. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to generate draft text, then interact with ChatGPT to edit the text and make it sound more authentic.

Further Reading:

How to Detect OpenAI’s ChatGPT Output

Financial Review: Is this one word the shortcut to detecting AI-written work?

How to Tell if Something Was Written by ChatGPT

Mozilla: Did ChatGPT Write This? Here’s How To Tell.

(H/T Margaret Efron)