#was expecting to see enough content of them considering this is a popular series that existed for more than a decade but no

[detnoto]

[btsydtrash]

Euphoric Endeavors [20]

vampire bts, poly ot7 x uni student yn

Through a series of curious happenstances, the Boys of Bangtan - your campus’ most popular and most handsome group of individuals - set their sights on you, a regular student with a stubborn streak and a wayward mouth.

Strangely enough, the mere sight of them sets your instincts off, red-lights flashing in your brain - danger, danger, danger, danger.

It’s too bad that they can’t seem to leave you alone, though. They like you too much.

(angst / smut / yandere / fluff / gore)

Masterlist / i dont have a tag list / find me on twitter  /  word count: 5.06k

(AN: Hi, all! This story is actually already posted on AO3. But, I decided to post it on here. I have almost 50 chapters of this story up over there, so I’ll slowly be adding them onto here too)

tw: mentions of physical abuse, abandonment issues, allusions to masturbation, anger issues

Waking up the next morning, the last thing you expect to see is a wall of honeyed skin bracketing you in place.

Hoseok’s sleep-slack face is above you. The older man is laying on his stomach, one arm bent so his cheek can rest on it, the other stiff by his side. You notice, idly, that he looks infinitely younger when he’s asleep. There’s no bravado here, just him, resting, relaxed – at peace – and you wish you could see the sight every day, considering how beautiful he is.

Unconsciously, you catalogue his features, burning the slightly pointed tip of his nose in your brain. His high cheekbones and sleep-swollen lips imprint themselves in your head, and you couldn’t forget this sight even if you tried. His lashes are dark and long, and his hair is a mess of curls atop his head, exposing his forehead. He had put a headband in, apparently to keep the strands from his eyes.

Entranced, you reach up, barely touching his skin, to trace from the corner of his eye to his jaw, reverence practically shining in your eyes. He sniffs in his sleep, burrowing deeper into the safety of his arms

“Are you awake now?” A rough voice asks from behind you, making you jump out of your skin. Yoongi is staring at you from where he had been laying, content to just watch you sleep. When you had woken up, you had twisted away from him, making him pout childishly. Now, though, your attention was back on him, his lips quirk up in a private smile as he remarks, playfully, “You look like you had a good night.”

“My head hurts,” you complain, pathetically, wanting to cover your eyes with your hands. You ask, frowning slightly in confusion, “How did I get here? Why am I in bed with you guys?”

You don’t feel even remotely unsafe, but the fact that the last thing you remember is jumping onto Jungkook’s back in the back yard is disconcerting.

“You’re awfully clingy when you get drunk,” Yoongi remarks, light-heartedly. He sits up, the sheets pooling at his waist, and you notice that his shirt is too big, showing off the pale expanse of his collarbone and shoulder. It makes your mouth feel drier than before. “You wouldn’t let Hobi go to sleep on the couch, so he spent the night in bed with you.”

With burning ears, you feel yourself frown. You really ought to stop drinking so much.

Still… something about the set up of the bed makes you snicker.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re in bed with us too,” you remark.

He shrugs, expression passive. “It looked comfortable.”

“And, was it?” You enquire, rolling onto your side to glance up at him. “Comfortable, I mean.”

He glances at you, meaning imbued heavily in his gaze, and he nods. “Very.”

Cheeks pinking quickly, you drop your eyes to his shirt and you finger the smooth material, to distract yourself. “Is this Joonie’s shirt?”

He looks down at it, pulling it away from his body, before sleepily nodding. His eyes are puffy, almost half-way closed, but he seems well-rested, still floating contentedly in the vestiges of slumber. He explains, “We always wear each other’s stuff. No big.”

Feeling somewhat envious, you simply nod and move to sit up too. Hoseok’s grip tightens on your waist and he makes a noise of dissent in his sleep, brow instantly furrowing.

“He’s just as clingy as you are,” Yoongi says, a rough chuckle tumbling from his lips. He slides out of bed, scratching his scalp, messing up his already chaotic blond nest and mumbles, “I’ll go get you something to eat.”

“You don’t have to, Yoon,” you reply, cosying up to Hobi. You feel like being lazy and being so close to the dancer’s warmth makes your stomach-ache feel more manageable. “I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”

The blond snorts, giving you an uninterested look that has you shutting up with an audible clack of your jaw. He rests his knee on the bed to press a finger to your nose, mischievously, before he comments, lightly, “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t want to, sweetheart.”

And then he’s gone, backing out of your space and disappearing to the kitchen to whip up a quick breakfast for you to eat in bed.

Hoseok makes a soft noise in his sleep, like a mix between a sigh and a groan, before he snuggles up closer to you, so your back is flush with his chest, arm tossed over your middle. You relax into his hold, letting the soft puffs of his breath against your ear lull you back under the fuzzy blanket of exhaustion. You feel yourself succumbing to the urge to fall into your own dreams once more…

That is, until you tense up all over when you feel something hard and hot poke in your lower back.

Jerking away from the throbbing heat, you feel your face flood, instantly, in embarrassment. You curse yourself for being so skittish, but you aren’t used to being in such an intimate setting with another body, used to a quick and mostly unsatisfying romp in the sheets, followed by a swift exit and an awkward Uber ride back to your dorm room. This, however, feels intimate.

You think, mind whirring, it’s just the morning, he can’t help it. It’s perfectly natural. You’re the one making it weird. Just get up normally and he’ll let you g-

“Don’t move so much,” Hoseok grumbles, voice thick and rough and so deep with sleep that you feel tingles break out all over your body. His grip only tightens fractionally around your middle and you feel him pull himself closer to you, if that’s even possible. “You’re so warm, sunshine.”

“Mphm, Hobi,” you grumble, struggling to worm your way out of his steel-like grip. For someone who’s half-asleep, he sure likes to hold on tight. You feel bad for the plushies that Joon says he steals off his bed. You say, quickly, trying to avoid rubbing against his arousal, “I need to pee!”

“Liar,” he whispers against the skin of your shoulder, dry lips pressing briefly against your skin, so light that it feels as if he’s kissing you. He still sounds out of it, disorientated even. “You just want to leave me.”

Huffing, you wiggle harder, actively pulling yourself away from him, but he only lets out a growl of disapproval. You say, “When you wake up properly, you’re going to be so embarrassed.”

“Nothin’ to be ‘barrassed about,” he sulks, nosing into your neck, as if burrowing for more warmth. “’s normal for me to hold you like this.”

That’s where you snap, nails gripping into the meat of his forearm and shake him.

“Pressing your hard dick into my back is the antithesis of normal, Hobi,” you snap.

At that, he lets you go as if your body had just spontaneously combusted, nearly throwing himself away from you, a wall of cold air replacing the blanket of warmth that you had just been swaddled in. You barely have time to miss the feeling before you see his face crack into something you could only liken to horror.

“’m sorry!” He stammers, sitting up but covering himself with a pillow, cheeks so ruddy that you are sure that if you touched them, they would be burning with warmth. He mutters, twisting his fingers in the deep green covers, “It’s morning and I- I wasn’t thinking.”

Feeling guilty over his embarrassed appearance, you say, “It’s fine. No harm, no foul.”

He slides out of bed, shivering a little at the cold of the bedroom, before jerking his thumb to the bathroom, awkwardly. He avoids your eyes as he mumbles, “I’ll go, uh, take care of this.”

If you didn’t think your cheeks could burn any hotter, you were wrong.

“Jerk!” You toss the plushie at his head, which he ducks out of and, giggling, disappears into the bathroom.

The shower flicks on in the distance and you drown out the potential sounds of the bathroom by getting out of bed and exploring the house. Your head aches, but there’s two tablets and a bottle of water on the bedside table that you neck down instantly.

“Thanks for the medication, Yoon,” you say, softly, as you walk into the kitchen. The blond had been standing at the sink, his slender back facing you, draped in a mass of material and his narrow waist hidden from your sight, as he chewed listlessly on some of Taehyung’s mango chips.

He offers you the bag with a small smile and the two of you giggle, remembering the time Tae almost killed you in the backseat because you ate them all without asking. Well, Yoongi took most of the blame, but you definitely enjoyed more than your fair share.

“Sit with me while I cook,” he declares, and even though it should sound like a question, you wouldn’t be able to deny him even if you tried.

You hop onto the sideboard and kick your feet as you watch him expertly flit around the kitchen, snapping off the yellow washing up gloves after he had finished hand-washing the mess from last night and moving to the oven. Open flames burst from the hob and within minutes, he has a mass of bubbling hobs on the go, without issue.

“There’s a reason why I’m not allowed in the kitchen by myself,” you joke. “I would have burned myself to high hell already.”

He glances your way, briefly. “You don’t cook at all?”

“I try,” you say, before tossing another mango chip into your mouth. “My Mom says I’m hopeless with anything domestic.”

“That’s okay,” he answers, unbothered. “I’ll teach you. And anything I can’t teach you, I’ll do for you. There – no problem.”

You don’t know why but his words make your stomach feel as if a medley of butterflies had just been released and you can barely hide your smile before you ask, “Can you sew?”

“For that, you’ll have to ask Jiminie,” he says, begrudgingly. “He’s always been the one to adjust our clothes since we were kids.”

You inquire, curiosity piqued – the idea of a mini-Jimin sewing up holes in the knees of Joon’s scruffy jeans, or the split seams of Jin’s shirts when he started growing too big for his clothes, making you coo internally. “Who taught him?”

“My Mom did,” a voice calls from the hallway. Jimin saunters into the room, already dressed, hair still damp and a towel draped around his shoulders. He looks at you, eyes bright with concern. “Are you feeling better? I heard our baby got too drunk last night.”

The nickname doesn’t even give you pause anymore, considering the medley of monikers they’ve given you against your will. Despite the fact that you’re actually older than Taehyung and Jungkook, and therefore the furthest from the baby of the group, you feel warmed by the pet name.

Pouting, you nod. “I feel much better. Yoon made sure I got tablets, and he cuddled me last night. Hobi, too. It was nice.”

“And I missed out on that?” He asks, quirking his brow as he approaches you. He nudges your knees apart in a surprisingly daring act, and wraps his arms around your middle, pressing his nose to your collar. “You smell like hyung.”

“I did sleep in his bed,” you mutter, shyly. Unable to stop yourself, you grab the tail end of the damp towel and sop up the trails of water that have dripped from his hair and lead down the neck of his shirt. You complain, “You’re going to catch a cold.”

“You’ll keep me warm,” he murmurs against your skin. “Sleep with me tonight, won’t you, YN?”

Yoongi snorts from where he’s frying some kimchi pancakes in the small pan. “Now that you’ve started this tradition, I hope you don’t plan on sleeping alone any time soon, YN.”

Jimin huffs at him. “Don’t start, hyung. You got to sleep with her, so did Hobi-hyung. And Joonie got to sleep in her room. I haven’t even been in her room. You guys are being so unfair.”

He’s practically stamping his bare feet on the linoleum before you let out a light giggle at his childish, bratty antics. “Fine, fine. I’ll sleep with you tonight. I hope you don’t mind that I talk in my sleep.”

He looks at you, skin glistening and smelling faintly of aloe and eucalyptus, directly into your eyes, holding your gaze for a beat. “As long as you’re with me, honey, I won’t mind if you do anything.”

////

After breakfast in bed with Jimin, Hoseok and Yoongi all piled around you like a pack of baby bears, watching one of Hoseok’s shows on Netflix (“Shut up, Jimin! If I miss any more of this because of your infernal mouth-breathing, I’m going to shave your eyebrows off. Again!”), you find yourself being whisked away by a well-dressed Jin.

“I’ve got a meeting with my father,” he says, once you make a face at his expensive suit and tie, even though it’s definitely Saturday and it isn’t even noon. “Do I meet your expectations, petal?”

You roll your eyes at his smug expression, but you nod, excitedly. “You really do look like an idol.”

“God didn’t give me this face for no reason,” he says, gesturing to his puffy lips with a wink. “Isn’t that Jungkook’s shirt?”

You look down at the button up that you had been handed by a sleepy Taehyung (really, he’d shoved it into your hands before he fell back asleep in your lap, dribbling into the crease of your thigh), and nod, vaguely. “Maybe?”

“It smells like him,” he comments, lips turning down. “I should have given you my shirt. Quick, YN. Get changed into mine.”

“Why?” You ask, laughing at his conspiratorial look. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“I just- I want you to smell like me, is all,” he replies, pouting. “You spend so much time with the others… I don’t get to be with you as much.”

You move to deny his statement, but honestly, you can’t. You say, reaching for the sleeve of his blazer, “How about… After your meeting, how about we go for some food together? Just us?”

The way his eyes glitter at your words makes it all worth it. Despite the rolling of your stomach, the brilliance of his smile makes you feel as if you had somehow saved the nation.

“Let’s go, YN,” he says, grabbing your hand and leading you out of the apartment. He doesn’t let go of your hand the whole drive to his Dad’s building, holding it over the console, running his thumb along the seam of your index finger, only letting you go to change gears, before swiftly knitting your fingers back together, as if it had always belonged there.

Arriving at his father’s building, you feel significantly out of your depth.

“It’s huge, right?” The tall man says, staring up at the skyrise with barely concealed repugnance in his eyes. “Just being here brings my mood down. Knowing it exists makes me feel sick.”

You let out a soft sigh, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. He looks down at you, as if realising you’re still by his side. “I’ll be here for you, you do know that, right?”

He lets out a barely-there smile before setting his jaw. “I’ll be back out in an hour or so. You can sleep in the backseat, if you want.”

“I’m not coming in?”

He looks over at you, surprise raising his brows to nearly his hairline. “You want to meet my father?”

“I mean… I’m not opposed to it,” you mumble, feeling strangely put out. “You don’t want me to meet him?”

His smile dims slightly. “I want a lot of things, petal. I can’t get all of them.”

Then, he’s off, jaw hard and his expression so distant that it makes your heart clench in your chest.

You grab your phone and fire off a text to the only person you can think to ask.

Joonie… Jin and his dad have a bad relationship, right?

He replies within moments. Is he with him now?

He just left for the meeting.

Shit… Okay, after the meeting, he might be a little scary to you, or distant. But he doesn’t mean it, okay? His Dad brings out the worst in him.

Can I ask why?

Jin-hyung is the only one who can tell you that, baby girl.

Okay. Thank you for being honest.

Anything for you.

Deciding to sleep rather than stress out over the occurrences in the room hundreds of meters in the air, you slide off your shoes and curl up, using your coat as a blanket. You don’t think Jin will be back for a while, so with that thought in mind, you end up drifting off, the image of a happier, content Seokjin being the last thing you see.

/

The door slams open and closed with such force, the car shakes, waking you with a start. You look over, eyes still bleary with sleep, to see a murderous-looking Jin, eyes black with rage and his jaw wound so taut, you’re sure it hurts.

“Jin-”

“Not now,” he growls, tone clipped and ice-cold.

The sight and sound of him makes your jaw snap closed, shoulders stiffened with discomfort and, honestly, a small bit of fear. You care for Jin, a lot more than you feel is normal, but this side of him, you aren’t used to.

He glances at you, briefly, before letting out a soft sigh, wincing at the sight of you – withdrawing from him. He reaches across the console, and with a quick squeeze of your hand, he says, quieter, “Please, YN. I don’t want to take it out on you, so just… give me some time, okay?”

You nod. “Okay.”

His eyes plead with you to understand. “Petal…”

“I’m giving you space, Jin,” you say, removing your hand from his and curling it in your lap, the skin burning.

He sighs, returning his hand to the steering wheel and pulling away from the building. Although you are moving away from the cause of his stress, it feels as if the stiffness in the air only grows the longer you are both in the car. Rather than moving towards the dorm, you realise that Jin is driving you in a direction that you’ve never been before.

“What-” You catch yourself before you make another mistake by bothering him, crossing your arms over your chest and glaring, obstinately, out of the front window. You drive and drive and drive, until you start to feel sleepy again. And it’s only when you actually do drift off that he puts the car into park and you hear him shift his body to face you. You glance around – you’re in a fairly empty car park atop a hill, overlooking the Seoul mid-afternoon skyline. You can imagine that it would be awfully beautiful at night.

“Can you look at me, petal?”

You refuse, staring straight ahead.

He lets out a frustrated sigh. “Please, YN.”

A small part of your anger melts at the way he says your name.

He twists his hands in his lap, nervously, and shifts in his seat. “I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

“Then, you shouldn’t have spoken to me like that,” you reply, simply. “I didn’t realise me being here would have put you in such a bad mood. I wouldn’t have come if I knew.”

“Don’t say that,” he implores, weakly. “I always want you around.”

“Sure, you do,” you sass back.

He reaches, limply, for your wrist, and you against your better judgement and bruised ego, you let him take it.

“You’re so precious to me, to all of us. I just-” He lets out a disappointed noise in the back of his throat, holding onto you like a lifeline. “Sometimes, I wish I had never been born.”

This piques your interest, having never experienced this side of him. “What do you mean?”

He doesn’t meet your eyes, simply choosing to focus on the veins beneath your skin, tracking them obsessively with his eyes. Not in hunger, but as a reminder that you are here, that you are present and with him in the moment.

He continues, “I’ve always been the oldest of our cluster, meaning I had a lot of responsibilities from a young age, like most hyungs do. I did what I had to do, I loved my little brothers and cared for my cluster, following Namjoon’s orders and being the best I can be. But… Why is it never enough, YN?”

You turn to him now, brow puckering as his eyes lose focus and he becomes consumed with his thoughts.

“Why is it never enough for him? Nothing I do, nothing I say. It’s always nothing but shit to him. He looks at me like he wishes I were dead,” he says, and the honesty in his expression blows a hole in your chest. You feel as if he’s ripped your heart out with his bare hands. You knit your fingers with his, shuffling forward slightly so your knees are touching.

“I told you my brother is supposed to be CEO of the company in my father’s stead, right? Well, that’s unlikely to happen, considering he’s busy fucking through half of Europe, blowing our Dad’s money on hookers and expensive blood stimulant drugs. He won’t have to take that responsibility until he’s ready, just because he’s the oldest. But me? I’m forced to go to a university I hate, study a degree I despise for a man I would much rather never see again.”

“Jinnie…”

“He never sees my brother as in the wrong, no matter what he does,” he complains, grip tight on your hand. “But me, if I get anything less than a hundred on a test, or if I miss class because I have to work because I would rather starve than take his fucking money, I won’t hear the end of it for days.”

“He tears me down until there’s nothing left,” he growls. “He makes me so angry, and then I do the same thing that he always does. I get distant. I feel nothing inside, because that’s better than feeling everything and breaking down so pathetically like this.”

“You aren’t pathetic, Jin,” you tell him, pushing some of his dark hair out of his watery eyes. “You’re so strong and so important to me. To all of us.”

He lets out a shaky breath, hands trembling. “Just living in that apartment, knowing that he’ll willingly throw it back in my face, makes me so angry. But I do it. Because the boys need somewhere to live. And I wouldn’t forgive myself if I let them suffer because of my stupid pride.”

He cards a hand through his hair, forehead damp with sweat. He’s overwhelming himself into a panic.

“I hate him, YN. I hate how he never acknowledges anything that I do. I hate how he always takes my brother’s side,” he says, and when he finally looks at you again, his eyes are laced with pain and you practically feel his soul crying out for you. You grab his hand tighter when he chokes out a sob. “I hate that I keep wanting him to be proud of me.”

“It’s okay, Jin,” you soothe, crawling over and opening your arms for him to wrap himself around you. Patting his back, gently, you rub your hand in small, rhythmic circles, and whisper sweet nothings into his ear. “It’s okay to want his approval. He’s your father, this successful mogul, and the person who you have been looking up to for your whole life. You don’t have to feel stupid for wanting him to say he’s proud of you.”

He lets out a broken whine at your words, pulling your hand to his lips as he breathes against the skin. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

You pull him in close, pressing dry kisses to his temple and letting him rest his face in the crook of your neck. The angle is awkward because he’s so much bigger than you, but he seems to need it regardless.

“You’re okay.”

“You’re safe.”

“I’m proud of you.”

“You aren’t alone.”

“We care for you.”

“You’re so strong.”

You keep the one thing you can feel bursting from behind your lips to yourself, too scared to ruin the atmosphere of trust that he had given you. You feel his tears stain your shirt, but you pay it little mind. This is about Seokjin – the one person who you had always looked at as a pillar of strength and playfulness. Little did you know, there was a maelstrom of pain and anguish hidden behind his bright smile.

Once his breathing calms and the tears have dried on his cheeks, you take a good look at him, watery eyes, pink cheeks, red-raw lips from where he’d bitten them to keep the sobs at bay, and you feel your earlier displeasure dissolve into nothingness. How stupid must you have been to have held something so petty over his head when he had needed comforting so much.

“Honey…”

He scoffs, lightly, scrubbing at his face with his sleeve, staring down at his large hands. “You and Jimin are the same, only using that nickname when you feel sorry for me. Or, when you want something.”

“I’ll call you honey all the time from now on,” you promise, reaching for his hand. He looks at where your hands are joined, sniffing a little more, and your heart aches at how much of a pathetic figure he seems, all scrunched up in the corner of his car. “You can talk to me, honey.”

He groans, staring at the roof of the car. “My brother isn’t exactly business-friendly. He’d wreck my Dad’s company in a year, tops, but my father has a very traditional mindset. He thinks because hyung is older, he deserves to run the company, no matter how bad his personality is. Unfortunately, that means I’m the one who has to pick up the slack, as his younger brother.”

He turns your hands over, playing with the ring on his finger, idly. “I didn’t want to do business, you know.”

“I can tell,” you say, softly, stroking his fingers in a gesture of comfort. “What did you want to do?”

He lets out a humourless laugh. “I wanted to act.”

And, honestly. It makes sense. Jin’s personality favours the ostentatious, the bright and the loud, the melodramatics of theatre fit his persona perfectly.

You ask, “Wanted, as in past tense?”

He glances at you. “It’s not like there aren’t supernatural actors. Lee Minho is a selkie.” His eyes widen, slightly, and he murmurs, contritely, “Oh, I shouldn’t have told you that. Well, you won’t tell anyone. I trust you.”

It doesn’t even surprise you anymore, so you simply smile at his admission and continue to draw soft shapes on the back of his hand.

“The first time I saw my father laugh was the day I told him I wanted to act,” he says, resentfully. “He said that there was no way someone as uninteresting as me could entertain anyone. He said that I should only focus on what I was good at – studies – and that I should throw my stupid dreams of acting out of my mind before he beat some sense into me.”

You decide, instantly, that you hated his Dad more than you’ve hated anyone else in your life.

Cautiously, you ask, brow puckering, “He didn’t ever�� you know, hit you, did he?”

“Sometimes,” Jin replies. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. It wasn’t like I didn’t deserve it. I was a flighty kid, even more than I am now, so… Yeah.”

“Nobody deserves to get hit, Jin,” you tell him, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’m really… I’m just sorry this happened to you.”

He smiles, softly, and wipes his thumb across your cheek, catching a stray tear and flicking it away. “Don’t cry for me, YN. I’m made of tougher stuff.”

“I’m not,” you grumble, holding his hand a little tighter. “I’m upset for you.”

He chuckles, wetly, at your scowl, bringing your hand to his lips and pressing a quick kiss there. “You’re so cute.”

His smile slowly disappears as he stares out at the city in front of the two of you, hands intertwined over the console in the car, before he sits up a little straighter. “Once I graduate, I’m leaving.”

The bottom of your stomach falls out at his words, instantly, at his words.

Drawing away, slightly, you ask, “W-What do you mean ‘leaving’?”

“I don’t want to stay here anymore,” he admits, quietly. “I’ve already talked to Joonie about it, and he’s willing to let me go.”

“Seokjin.”

He looks over at you, surprised by the hard tone of your voice, and his eyes widen even more at the sight of the tears in your eyes. “What’s wrong, petal?”

“You can’t leave us,” you tell him, gripping his sleeve, as if he’s getting ready to go away now. “W-What are we supposed to do?”

“I’m not leaving forever, petal,” he says, softly, reaching to tuck some hair behind your ear. “Just a year or so. To find myself, you know? It’ll be good for me.”

You still can’t make sense of the agony rushing through your system. The idea of not seeing Jin, of not hearing his loud laugh or seeing the mop of dark hair poking out of the burrito of blankets in the living room at 3am when both of you can’t sleep. Or, holding his hand in the dark under those same sheets and feeling his slow heartbeat pulse against your ear, lulling you to sleep.

You can’t say anything, not wanting to guilt him for wanting to explore, but also being unable to force yourself to support him either.

You simply can’t imagine him being absent from your life, it just doesn’t make sense.

- end -

(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20)

[yardsards]

This is why I refuse to watch/read delicious in dungeon. The entire thing gives me fatphobic vibes.

see the premise as a whole is actually very body positive (i myself had similar worries that a story about eating "healthy" would rely on fatphobic ideas of "healthy", but was pleasantly surprised). like, its approach to "healthy" is "make sure you're eating enough of everything so that your body has enough fuel. make sure you're resting enough and not overworking." rather than "you must not eat The Bad Junk Food." (like, there's one part early on where they're like "oh, we've eaten too much vegetables and lean meat, we need to eat more fat" so they search for fatty meat and eggs. and then later they eat deep fried food and no one is ever like "oh no, this is too fattening" they're just like "wow this is great it's so crispy and tasty")

and the core message of it all is just like "your body is a part of you, and is the part of you that allows you to do things and reach your goals. don't treat it like a burden or an afterthought." and the series has had a positive impact on the way i view and treat my body

and overall, it's better than a lot of other popular anime series in terms of representing realistic and diverse body types. our two human (or "tallman" as they're called in-universe) main characters, laios and falin, are not super skinny, with no wasp waist or shrink-wrapped abs. i would not consider either of them fat in canon, but they're still fatter than your average popular anime character. certain races like dwarves and orcs are just naturally stout, and are never treated as being unhealthy or unattractive because of their weight. fatness is said to be a respected trait among adventurers, as a sign that you're good at survival and can safely recover from injuries.

however. the show has a few small things that make me raise my eyebrows. one or two iffy offhand comments (glaring at you, That One Conversation about laios's hunger near the end) that in most media i'd just be like "sighhh, normalized societal fatphobia strikes again, as expected." but for this series it's like "god damn it, i expected better from you."

and some things about how body types between fantasy races are handled leaves something to be desired for me. like yeah dwarves are all stocky, but also elves are all slender. it makes sense for the different fantasy races to have different *average* body types, but i wish we got to see more variation from those averages between individuals.

(also, i can fully understand praising laios and falin's canon body types! even medium body types are underrepresented in most media and it's good to see more of them! but calling them *fat* representation just feels inaccurate to me)

it's just like. dungeon meshi is GOOD in terms of body positivity and representation, but it's not PERFECT.

like, i love this show/manga (if you couldn't tell from the content of my blog)

mostly i voice my complaints bc like. i'm tired of tumblr getting it's hands on a piece of media that is good and generally progressive and acting like the media is *perfect*. and then proceeding to treat anyone who points out things the media could have done better as if they personally slayed your firstborn. (and then, months later, after the hype dies down, realize that some of that criticism was actually very valid, and then violently knock the piece of media down from its pedestal. and act like everyone involved in the media's creation are irredeemable scum and that anyone who still likes it should be ashamed)

so yeah, funny dungeon show good, and i strongly recommend it if you like fantasy stories and food and worldbuilding, just don't expect it to be a flawless paragon of representation and fat positivity

(also take everything i say here with a grain of salt bc i myself am thin, i just care a lot about representation in media and body acceptance and dismantling fatphobia)

[ashxketchum]

Some consolidated thoughts on the new Digimon announcement:

Since it's set to Brave Heart, which is originally 4:13 long, assuming that they add an intro scene and round it off to 5 mins, I think that it's best to not have high expectations of the amount of content they will cover.

Having every Digidestined (including 02 kids) get substantial screen time is the highest bar I will set. If this requirement is fulfilled I will personally consider the video a success.

I can't seem to land on one solid reason for why we are getting a PV instead of a third movie to truly tie off the series (giving space for the Reboot version to take off into their journey so we're all like 68 and still watching & arguing about Digimon lol). I've seen a few comments about 02TB not performing well enough to warrant a third part, which I don't feel is the case because that move was even released in India, a rare occurrence, so the global popularity was definitely felt considering Kizuna was hit by the pandemic in this department.

I'm leaning more towards creative differences, because Kakudo has made it quite obvious that his vision does not align fully with the narrative that Kizuna, then 02TB have built. It's entirely possible that Seki and Kakudo just couldn't sign off on the actual plot presented to make a third movie, and decided to do their own thing hence the shorter format.

One staff at NYCC was introduced as being responsible for heading the new Digimon team, which does give me the hope that another anime series (REBOOT SEASON 2!!!) is in the works and they were just waiting for the 25th Anniversary projects to tide over before announcing it.

Onto the actual content of the video, I think for the fans that enjoyed Kizuna, especially the open ending (I'm Fans) a half-assed explanation of how Taichi and Yamato get back together with Agumon and Gabumon will be disappointing. That said, I don't think we'll really get an explanation for it but I do think the video can start off with Taichi and Yamato reuniting with their partners.

However, the tone set by 02TB implies that these guys are also well settled in their lives even without their partner Digimon, so for them to rush back into battle something HUGE would need to disrupt that flow, but can they even explain & sustain a huge occurrence like that in 4-5 mins? I don't want to answer this question lol.

Personally, I wouldn't mind a more laidback take, which leaves a lot of space for fans to interpret what happened, rather than just shoving sequence after sequence of important moments in high speed. Showing Taichi and Yamato and other older kids just going about their lives as adults and then there is that moment when they're hit by a nostalgic memory of their partners which starts off their path to reunion. I understand the need for having a villain for Taichi and Yamato to join forces and battle, but I'm totally okay with a more nuanced, slice-of-life version which hits home for all older Digimon fans currently struggling with adulting.

And finally, the controversial (still traumatized by it) Epilogue. I would prefer it if the point of this video is to show the reunion of the Digidestined and their partners, with the implication that this will lead to the epilogue shown in 02. But I also fear that in order to fit in the societal standard of "adulting", and with Seki being a part of this team most likely, they'll definitely add the married couples with kids tropes.

Keeping shipping aside, I think that showing Sora, Mimi, Miyako and Hikari in their exploration phase during Kizuna/02TB did wonders for their characterisations. Rather than shoehorning all of them into wives/mothers/tradfem roles, we actually got a glimpse of how they will always continue to break barriers and moulds, which is at the core of how every Digigirl was written originally. Still, as life goes on people do change so even if we see Mimi with a typical cooking show or Miyako the Mom, I wouldn't be as upset because Kizuna/02TB already gave us a good glimpse of how the girls are capable of forging their own paths, regardless of any male presence in their lives.

But jk we all know this is going to be a TaiYama fest so Idk why I'm even worrying over my girls, I will be grateful if we get Mimi on screen for more than 10 seconds 😂

So that's my thoughts, open for discussion, not condescending arguments 🫶🏻

[arcane-vagabond]

Foul is Fair: Prologue

Foul is Fair: Prologue

Summary: Beacon Hills University has a reputation for being a stepping stone for the elite. Generations of families have walked the halls of the institution, going on to have successful careers upon graduation. Only in the last few decades has the school begun to allow omegas earn their degrees from these hallowed halls, and you consider yourself to be among the few lucky ones. You’re determined to prove that you’re more than your designation, but when the cocky alpha in your English class decides to put you in your place, will you fold? Or will you rise to the challenge?

Content Warnings: Elitism, Omegaverse, First day jitters. Nothing too extreme, but if I missed anything please let me know!

Word Count: 765

Masterlist || Series Masterlist

The hallway echoed with the dull chatter of your fellow students, fresh back from their time away during winter break. It had been nice to spend time with your family, a quiet holiday at home, snuggled under layers of blankets by the fire as you sipped tea and watched old Christmas movies.

You were happy to be back, though, despite the hecticness of the day. You thought you had a good understanding of where all the buildings on campus were, but had found it somewhat difficult to find the one where your Early Modern English literature class was being held. You huffed as you weaved your way through the crowd, weary of the alphas that towered over everyone, and you found yourself thankful for the fact that you had remembered to renew your subscription for suppressants before returning to campus.

Beacon Hills University was among the most elite schools in the country, nestled in the heart of New England. It was known for its vast array of notable alumni, promising bright futures to the country’s elites. Of course, back when it was first founded, elites solely meant the wealthy alphas whose families could afford to send them there and the odd beta who managed to wiggle their way in. An omega like yourself could only dream of attending such a place up until a few decades ago when the school made the decision to open its doors to all who were eligible.

It hadn’t been a popular decision at the time, of course. Many alumni asked how their children were expected to receive the best education money could buy when there were omegas roaming the campus and causing distractions. Omega rights activists had fired back that alphas should be expected to control themselves everywhere if they were expected to be functioning members of society one day. The outcry had died down soon after that.

Of course, people were still weary of sending their omega children to the school for fear of something happening. Your family had been no different, but you had managed to win a scholarship covering the full cost of attendance, and you would be a fool to not accept a spot that all but guaranteed you a career in your field.

“I’ll be okay,” you had assured your parents, an attempt at a comforting smile on your face as your mother gazed at you worriedly, her bottom lip between her teeth as she chewed on it nervously. Your father, a usually stoic alpha, had a crease between his brows as his only sign of worry.

“I’m sure you will be,” your mother had sighed, reaching to hold your hand in hers, “but we’ll still worry.”

And they still did all this time later. Your mother called you every chance she got, and your father asked you every chance he got to see if you still carried the taser he slipped into your duffel that first day on campus.

Beacon Hills’ campus was small enough that you recognized several people as you continued on down the hall. There was still some time before class, but you would feel better once you found the correct room before stopping to chat with anyone, though you did send the occasional wave and smile to former classmates whose eyes you caught.

You were comfortable here despite all the warnings and misgivings that had plagued you up until your first few weeks of classes your freshman year. Now, you were starting your second half of sophomore year, eager as ever to learn as much as you could and pick the minds of Beacon Hills’ brightest academics. Yes, you were born an omega, the bottom of the barrel in terms of designation and luck, but you were still determined to make something of yourself. You weren’t going to let your designation dictate the confines of your life.

Of course, you wanted to get married and have children someday, you couldn’t deny that, but you wanted more out of life than just all that. You wanted to see the world and figure out who you were before settling down. You wanted to establish a career and leave behind a legacy of your own.

You sighed in relief as you found the room you were looking for—all the way down a back hall and on the left. It was one of the newly renovated lecture halls, and you could already hear several people chatting away inside. You adjusted your backpack on your shoulder before taking a deep breath to calm your first-day jitters. Things were going to work out for you.

A/N: And here it is! I know Bucky won the poll, but it just felt so right to do it with Derek, you know? Maybe I'll tackle a College!Bucky AU one day if I get inspired with another story, but we'll see! I'm excited to share this story with you guys, and if you've been around long enough, you'll know that this was originally going to be a story for the Top Gun: Maverick fandom with Jake Seresin!

As always, reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated. I no longer do taglists, so if you would like to be notified on when I post, please follow my sideblog ( @arcanevagabond-library ) and turn on post notifications! You can find me and my works on AO3 under the username arcane_vagabond. Until next time!

[danandphilplay]

im going to put my answers below bc i know some of these vids are likely not returning to dnp and i do agree with that i just wanted to do a fun poll abt if you could have another of these vids then which would you choose. ofc like ive said before we have no control over dnp uploads and i fully know some of these won’t come back lol

ok first of all i don’t think pinof is coming back and i think that’s been clear for ages anyways like ten is a nice number to leave it. HOWEVER i do think an april fools dapc pinof would be hilarious. answering crafties questions and whatever they send to craft universe dnp.

same with amazingdan BUT maybe there’s a slight chance of reacting to amazingdan. maybe not since so much time has already passed since pinof reactions (four months …..) honestly out of the options i’m not that bothered about pinof or amazingdan i feel like they’re classic dnp content that’s fine left as it is

ok for the pizza mukbang thing i don’t care for it to be a mukbang video lol like the actual thing was the nice sit down talk vibes pyjama pizza w friends maybe this is exactly what dan means abt being parasocial 😭 but that video is nice so i don’t think the actual mukbang part of it is that important it’s more the sit down talk style vid

i think i would do anything for another day in the life but i feel like it is prob peak parasocial content. would it count as phouse tour probably. do i think there will be a phouse tour no bc it sounds like it is still having a lot of work done 😭 and i honestly don’t really care abt it… i think the sims renovation was fun and an insight into their interior design opinions lol and that is enough for me

i put it takes two bc a lot of people want to see the next bit i like the game but not rly enough. idk it’s been awhile since that first vid and in terms of other games and things from dnp i don’t rly mind about it takes two being ignored 😭

i know baking is not a discontinued thing anymore bc HALLOWEEN but BUT i really believed easter baking would be a thing 💔 dapc had so much put into it that i kind of forgot about wanting a baking vid but 💔 i can’t lie i think i got set on the expectation for it. like the baking vids have always been absolute classic staple dnp content but definitely the cinnamon roll one was like the baking vids to the extreme… the full potential AND THE BAKE WAS GOOD TOO. the vid was also pretty popular. so my expectations for easter were a bit high. ok so if this poll is like magically summon a dnp vid 🪄 maybe id consider baking because i just love it so much like irl as a hobby but also then dnp doing one of my fav things too and it being so fun idk it’s some of the best dnp content imo. i would love them to try a series of making food from videogames but no offence to them i don’t get the vibe that they cook a lot…… so i think it might not happen. but dil is turning TEN in september so maybe dnp special dil birthday cake baking vid 💔 pleaese pleasemaybe

i think tumblr tag is totally plausible although ik the april fools tumblr tag thing 💔 bc the twitter vid happened i think they’ll do a tumblr one at some point. there’s so much amazing art on here not just fanart but written stuff video and photo edits so i’d want them to see all of that as well as the funny stuff. this isn’t like top of my list of things i’d want to see but it’s definitely one of the more plausible things

dapc behind the scenes content its either happening or it will never be spoken of

honestly idk if they would do reactions to the super amazing project. bc like what vids would they choose. maybe i can see them referencing it or discussing it if someone asked or in a live but idk about reaction vids.

ok draw my life would be fun and i’d watch them. i’d watch an updated dil draw my life too. they put so much effort into that dil draw my life. maybe an updated one for dil’s 10th birthday will happen? that would be pretty fun.

i think if i had to choose it would be a ditl vid. top 3 would be ditl, mukbang or literally just any sit down talk vid, and another baking video. ditl may literally just be bc of nostalgia i don’t really see it happening again but who knows. again just a poll about which vid you’d want to see if you could magic up a dnp vid i definitely know some of these aren’t coming back or very unlikely to

[arirovi]

A reflection...

I knew BnHA in 2016. The first season was finished and the second season was expected. I was in the University and still working for my degree. Mi personal life and the world in general was so much different...

There was no sign of a pandemic coming, Tumblr was still not undergoing a content purge, and the anime community was much less widespread than today. Then i walked trough the fandom path, to put it more simply, as an observer rather than an active participant.

And just by watching, one learns many things.

In particular, I want to refer to the expectations with which we all approach a series, a story. And also how these change over the years, how they are built on the emotions that certain parts of the plot provoke in us.

First off all, I want to cover expectations for the bnha plot in general.

I've seen various parts of the fandom enjoy BnHA from different points, because it's those parts that resonate with them the most. Some from Izuku's mentor-protege relationship with All Might, others from the focus of pure and simple Heroism, some from the tragedy that is the villains' past and others from the trauma and abuse represented by the Todoroki.

We have all done it from a valid point of view and, naturally, we all build expectations.

Some lucky ones are lucky enough that what they expected to happen happens in the end (and I am happy for you from my own experience), but when those expectations are not met by the original material, it hurts a lot. More than one of us may have seen it happen again and again, experienced it firsthand.

Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter which part of the story we are most engaged in, we all reach, in some way, a point where our expectations are either not met (if we are unlucky) or forgotten or not allowed (if we consider it a representative injustice). But in the end what counts is that as fans we all experience this phenomenon at the same time (to a lesser or greater extent) and in its own way it is a type of social bond that is not forgotten.

(And I'm not saying that it's something merely negative or positive, it can be both at the same time AND it's just a fact, something that is happening to all of us who follow BnHA no matter how long we have been in the fandom)

So, now that the end is approaching and I am faced with different opinions about it, it is like living in a loop of collective emotional repetitions and it is such an incredible phenomenon that in itself, it makes me want to share my thoughts when I didn't before.

Which brings me to the other point I wanted to talk about: shipping expectations and Bakudeku

At that time (2015 onwards) the concept of "queerbaiting" was quite popular, while at the same time, so was the idea that your queer ship could become canon. In fact, it was strong enough to cross the borders of fandom.

But even with this in the mainstream, we BakuDeku seemed to remain on our side of the fandom, always in defense mode. The most vocal on social media represented a group of followers who didn't care how toxic the mere idea of ​​this Ship was to others. The only thing that we cared about was that we liked their interactions, the intensity and the paradoxes between Kacchan and Deku.

In 2016 it was not popular to be a BakuDeku, much less accepted by the general public. And even among fans of the characters, being a specific DekuBaku was a rarity.

And so time went by.

As you can see and in hindsight, expectations for the Ship were very low from my perspective. What we expected from the story was so little that the minimal interactions between Izuku and Kacchan seemed to be assimilated quite carefully and mainly in spaces dedicated only to the ship.

Furthermore, the sparking discussion about whether "bakudekus were apologists for abusers" attracted so many antis and haters that the whole thing became horrible. At one point, blocking them was no longer enough to be safe from hate. And being part of the fandom required so much energy that even I, who was just a shadow who liked or reblogged content in the fandom, needed to control my exposure time to social media.

And what happened next, to reach the expectations that the fandom has now?

The pandemic of 2020 and Bakugo Katsuki: Rising.

That chapter, added to the new influx of fans brought by the pandemic and its quarantines, diverted the path that we believed was set for Kacchan and Izuku as a group. Suddenly, many things that we thought only belonged to the realm of fanfic became accessible through canon.

To begin with, no one imagined that kind of sacrifice on Kacchan's part in the manga. Nobody believed the hospital scene was possible, nor that it was possible for him to ask Izuku for forgiveness or to cry for the loss of his quirk (and what that meant for both of their lives).

How could expectations not rise in the collective because of this, both old and new fans? How to avoid it for those of us who live through its darkest times as fans? How to control the hope of those who feel vindicated by the narrative?

In the end, the nature of expectations is fluctuating over time, unpredictable if we do not pay attention to them, and I am not here to tell anyone, not even myself, that having high expectations about something is bad. Or that having hope about something that helps you be happy is dangerous in the long term. Even if my past in other fandoms resulted in a painful and impossible to forget ending, I can't do that.

No one has the right to comment on the emotions of others and how they live them, how they express them. However, after eight years here, I have learned to use caution as a weapon of battle.

And how I do it? Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture.

It's been a long road for all of us who were here from the beginning. We had ups and downs and we will continue to have them without a doubt.

Personally, I hold my expectations with a comfortable, soft and practical harness, to bring them closer, caress them from time to time and let them be. But at other times, I hold them tight so they don't get out of control.

The final idea of ​​this, and what I have learned over time, is that you should not assert yourself at any extreme. Mental, emotional and physical health is in balance, it has been proven many times.

I have hope, but I glimpse it in moderation and if we are lucky and our expectations are fulfilled, I will celebrate with joy. But if in the end these are not fulfilled, I will remember the good as well as the disappointment, although without pressure. After all, everything returns to a better place in its own time.

[feministsouthpark]

South Park Filler Guide - Season 7

Link for Season 1  Link for Season 2 Link for Season 3 Link for Season 4 Link for Season 5 Link for Season 6

The classifications are CANON (an episode with major storylines present), LORE (in which we get significant backstory or world building, but could be skippable)  and FILLER (completely skippable episodic storytelling, not connected to overarching story arcs)

PLS my analysis will have spoilers, if you’re a first time viewer, just scroll to the bottom and read the list and only read full text if you are familiar with the content of the show already! Some of you will be like: "Last time you cared so much for production order, what happened with that?" And to that I respond: "Trey and Matt realized that Cancelled would be a great season premiere, and by the time they got to I'm a Little Bit Country, they already had enough time to change it a bit to make that one the 100th episode special. But it won't matter anyway, since if you follow my list, you won't see either!" S7E1 Cancelled is LORE

The revelation that the main characters' home planet is just part of a simulation would be for sure a huge canon reveal, wouldn't it? But in South Park it's just another schoolday. And everything is forgotten by the end. S7E2 Krazy Kripples is CANON

Why, you may ask, and it's a simple fact really. Jimmy happened. He was supposed to be a one-shot in S5, but he was so good of a character, that he returned. And in S6 he returned again and again, having retconned as a South Park citizen and now we finally meet his family AND a major status quo shift happens, where he is now good friends with Timmy. Also, no way to explain around this... Saddam is somehow back from heaven. S7E3 Toilet Paper is CANON

Yes, you heard it here first, folks. After S6 ended, Kenny is back as the fourth friend, but the friend dynamics have changed quite a bit. And since Cancelled is pretty much an episode of lost memories, this is the one to fill the bill. Good boy Kyle and antagonist Eric are the two end point of the spectrum now, and expect Stan and Kenny to be either indifferent or torn between them. S7E4 I'm a Little Bit Country is FILLER

No 100th episode celebration in my guide! Well, maybe later, we see what our 100th canon episode will be. As for now, USA is being the USA and the kids did their homework. S7E5 Fat Butt and Pancake Head is CANON

One of the most interesting characters in the series is Mitch Conner. Not just in the series, he's an anti-hero like no other. And unlike many famous grifters and con-mans, he's disguised as a child's hand! S7E6 Lil' Crime Stoppers is FILLER

While Broflovski may be a good cop, he won't stay one for long... Imagine if Trey and Matt's original season 7 plan was in action (They wanted Kenny to stay dead and the boys would replace him with another character for every half season), if Tolkien was in this one with them it would be super canon, as it stands now... It's the fillest fillering to ever fill, the void between Barbrady and Yates. S7E7 Red Man's Greed is FILLER

For an episode the town faces an epidemic, in which they only have a 98 percent to live! I also really liked the scene with the four boys grouping with Butters, Tweek, Jimmy and Timmy, basically their closest friends as of now, and I bet Alex did like that too. S7E8 South Park is Gay is LORE

Kyle has trouble following fads and Herbert wants to stand out from the crowd. The fad helped Craig and Tweek to express themselves while the other boys were just trying to be popular. Crab people exist as an actual menace, however later they will be relegated to fantasy jokes. S7E9 Christian Rock Hard is FILLER

Harrison Yates appears as an FBI agent, but I'd honestly consider it of early bird cameo, not a significant story detail. S7E10 Grey Dawn is FILLER

Elderly drivers will still seldom show up. S7E11 Casa Bonita is FILLER

Doesn't seem to have much consequences. Although the Kyle-Eric-Butters dynamic is interesting to see! S7E12 All About Mormons is LORE

LORE by technicality! Joseph Smith is a member of the Super Best Friends, and this is his origin story. Gary and his family disappears as a filler family should, so this was a though one. S7E13 Butt Out is CANON

Look, Rob Reiner will be a huge part of a villain organization 7 seasons later, so while he is defeated this time, he will return! S7E14 Raisins is CANON

This is the episode that introduces the goth kids and Stan's friendship with them (something that will matter in the long run), Raisins and my favorite character ever, Harriet Biggle! Wendy also breaks up with Stan and starts dating Tolkien! S7E15 Christmas in Canada is CANON

We learn of Ike's biological parents and if that's not enough, the boys defeat Saddam Hussein for once and for all (who went through hell and heaven back to Earth). And there's the elephant in the room. Scott. Answer A: He's the antagonist of Terrance and Phillip, so their spin-off episode was extremely important canon material! Answer B: All the Canadians are friendly expect for one dude named Scott, who happens to be a stand-in for the Wicked Witch. If you ask me, the second answer is funnier, and I'll stand by it.

SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

Again, CANON means you should watch it, FILLER means you can skip it, LORE is somewhere in-between, any episode with the LORE label will have an explanation that helps you decide if you should include it or not. S7E1 Cancelled is LORE* S7E2 Krazy Kripples is CANON S7E3 Toilet Paper is CANON S7E4 I'm a Little Bit Country is FILLER S7E5 Fat Butt and Pancake Head is CANON S7E6 Lil' Crime Stoppers is FILLER S7E7 Red Man's Greed is FILLER S7E8 South Park is Gay is LORE** S7E9 Christian Rock Hard is FILLER S7E10 Grey Dawn is FILLER S7E11 Casa Bonita is FILLER S7E12 All About Mormons is LORE*** S7E13 Butt Out is CANON S7E14 Raisins is CANON S7E15 Christmas in Canada is CANON *If you wish to know why we are here on this planet **If you want to see Craig talk game before coming out officially ***For Joseph Smith backstory Is this the start of a mostly episodic era?

CANON counter:

S1: 9 out of 13  S2: 3 out of 18  S3: 6 out of 18  S4: 10 out of 17  S5: 8 out of 14  S6: 11 out of 17 S7: 6 out of 15

Overall: 53 out of 112

[sleepyorchidmonster]

What if TWST has a game franchise similar to LOZ, but it's Alice's adventures in Wonderland?

The series is quite popular, you play as Alice, with the Cheshire Cat as your companion (who tends to cause more problems than help out), the Vorpal Sword is basically the Master Sword and you help the Queen of Hearts by exploring dungeons and solving riddles and puzzles. There is even an Ace Attorney spin-off (not very successful, since the nonsensical rules annoy most players).

However, it's a general consensus that no one understands the first game. The whole playthrough amounts to 2 hours at most, though dataminers found more content in the code. It that wasn't enough, there is a weird sign right next to the first dungeon, who clearly breaks the fourth wall:

*

WARNING! YOUR GAME WILL NEVER BE THE SAME IF YOU DON'T GET THIS MESSAGE!

"Up is down, left is right,

Count the letters, subtract the spaces,

1 2 3 know 9 8 7 are your friends, now and ever,

Mind the gaps, ignore the rabbit,

There is no fun that is not maddening!"

There is also a small note in the back, written in blood-red ink, signed with a paw-print:

"I watch everything with a disinterested smirk,

With lazy eyes that twinkle like faraway suns,

You'll never find me in the night sky while I lurk,

'Cause, "mime a ton, drum te hey!"

*

Now, the Cheshire cat was only introduced in a later game, so people kept trying to find glitches to the moon (they also didn't find the cat and kept talking to a mime NPC). A quick look at the Queen's Rules also didn't help, since the number you get when subtracting the letters and spaces while ignoring the numbers just doesn't add up (something about doing parkour whenever a tree is planted).

So it stayed that way, just like the "Mew under the truck" thing.

Until Cater decided to stream a playthrough alongside the dorm (it fits the Heartslabyul theme, also Riddle is interested in gaming, so why not start with a simpler game that is also a classic).

You see, firstly, if you consider the numbers as actual names and write them as words, you get additional letters that, when subtracted by the spaces...still get a rule that doesn't make sense (don't eat a tart after midnight) BUT, if you know about Queendom history, you'll know that this rule was added by the White Rabbit to fill a GAP in the book after the Queen banned a rule about the correct way to dance (up, down, left, right, two steps forward, one step back).

Long story short, Riddle solved the problem.

So, you can get that dance and replicate it in the game, swapping up with down and left with right (forward and backwards would also be up and down, in this case).

As for the extra note, they already knew it was the cat, but if you scramble "Mime a ton, drum te hey!", you get "I am on the tree, dummy!"

The cat introduced himself, saying he'll follow the player on the next journey, but not before giving a tip: "If you want to keep going, you have to be as mad as everyone here! Why kill when you can dance? They do say singing wards off evil..."

Riddle explained all of this in fifteen minutes. Just to humor him, Cater left the sign and made a beeline for the first tree in the area, expecting nothing of it.

The Cheshire Cat showed up, his smile overtaking the screen.

And with that, Cater wordlessly rushed to the first dungeon, doing the dance code instead of killing the first enemy.

The game crashed.

And then a cutscene started playing.

It was basically the Jabberwock appearing and destroying the dungeon's ceiling. Apparently he is "searching for that damn cat" and "hoping to battle his nemesis again". With that, he leaps to the sky, and we get the game's title drop.

Do note that the game was using a style similar to "A Link to the Past" at first, but everything changed and now it looks like Twilight Princess.

And that's how Cater's streams became famous. Also everyone is trying to memorize the Queen's rules.

The streams now happen in Ramshackle, with the entire cast present. Also Riddle is annoyed because people keep asking for his assistance with solving game puzzles.

Alternatively, this could also happen in Book 6.

Everyone speedrunnimg the Overblot fight just so they can keep playing.

[furinana]

Thoughts on Kaneko's departure, the current state of Megaten and etcetera

When scrolling through jpn Twitter, I got reminded of a certain Atlus survey from years ago. For those unfamiliar, Atlus surveys often wonder about how receptive people would be regarding derivative content (spinoffs, remakes etc) of several titles you could think of. Among those that would turn out real were Soul Hackers and obviously the Personas.

[Left: Nocturne, both SMTIV games and Digital Devil Saga as part of the selectable options for a "full remake title" in an Atlus survey from 2020. Right: Shigeo Komori's comment on the future of the franchise in 2022]

The good: the current staff (still) cares enough to attempt to shine a new spotlight on old entries even if some would be deemed less profitable for the current fanbase's standards. The hmm: with Kaneko gone and cementing that "the old days won't return", the shoes become large for newcomers to fit in. Even if one has soul behind the job, the current industry prioritizing long developments and less risky directions makes it tough for them to create even one third of what the original staff was able to do in the same amount of time. On top of it, seeing this huge list of "potential works to get rehashed" almost in a Disney remake vein isn't particularly exciting. SMTIVA was only 4 years old in that goddamn screenshot and you already are throwing the possibility of a remake? Hello?

Non-Persona stuff is so far in-between nowadays that it's hard to write a conclusive piece regarding how far the current staff can go without relying on already established works.

Well... we can comment on the mixed reaction on popular illustrator Shirow Miwa being hired for a "sequel" of Soul Hackers.

The main point of concern here: with one-time artists and non-centralized direction, it becomes harder to achieve a worldbuilding where the worlds of different games smoothly connect together like they did back in the golden era of Megaten.

Recurring characters like Lucifer or Tamaki felt appropriately part of the universe even across different games they were at due to Kaneko's design philosophy of sticking closely to real-life fashion aside having a character's personality and background closely define how they would look staying consistent in the entries he contributed to.

On the other hand, Shirow Miwa was specifically told he should just design on his own instead of working around Kaneko's style that molded the franchise to this day. The feeling that long-time Devil Summoner fans didn't like it due to aesthetic clash was on the air thus contributing on the motives for why the game couldn't grab a significant part of potential buyers.

Before going too deep on this, let's not get the wrong idea: non-staff illustrators being collaborators aren't at all new for Megaten titles. Yasuomi Umetsu for SMT Nine, Suzuhito Yasuda for the Devil Survivor duology, toi8 for Tokyo Mirage, Tatsuro Iwamoto for Dx2, the list goes on. But behind those entries, there's noticeably a lack of commitment prevalent in those decisions. Most are treated as self-contained worlds separated from the world of games Kaneko worked as the main designer, thus they're treated as their own thing instead of another part of the puzzle hence considered "safer to experiment".

Anyone can understand the amount of expectation that such a bold numbered title like Soul Hackers 2, in a subseries well-known for hit after hit like the Devil Summoner series carries above these, however.

Specially when one-time collabs have been shown to carry the risk of underperforming considerably.

[SMT Nine and Tokyo Mirage had the excuse of being in flopped consoles but how lenient can you be to Soul Hackers 2?]

Another recent example of mixed reactions (albeit to a minor degree) were the SMTIV-exclusive demons drawn by Tokusatsu media-related artists Keita Amemiya, Yoshihiro Nishimura and Kyouma Aki: most didn't reappear even for the SMTIV sequel and the few ones that leaped had to be redrawn by Doi, the actual staff artist that took over the role of main character & demon designer thus the face of the current mainline.

[Doi-designed demons such as Chironnupu or Mermaid are the sole examples of SMTIV reps carrying over to other games]

The thing is, SMTIV was the fastest-selling mainline game (even compared to big ones like Nocturne or SMTV) while Apocalypse sold enough to beat Strange Journey's sales. Did it sell well because of the collabs or despite them? Either way, they seem to have decided to stick with style consistency over quantity.

Doi worked under Kaneko for several years before being given the opportunity to produce original designs for the games thus the picture of a recurring staff artist that is deeply involved in how the franchise shaped itself and is well-acquainted with elements that both old and new fans want earns more trust and familiarity compared to one-time contributors.

[It's also important to acknowledge that Doi isn't the only artist retouching art for current Megaten around: Akira Odagaki was the one behind the remake of Strange Journey, with Doi only providing Alex and the exclusive demon additions]

While Kaneko's resigning was understandably a shock for many fans, one cannot argue against his desires towards a career path of more freedom, considering the unstable state that many creatives go through in the game industry, veterans and greenhorns alike:

Is Kaneko a misunderstood genius that Atlus was extremely foolish to let go? Or is he out of touch and will be another Keiji Inafune/Yuji Naka case? Only time will tell. But both things can be true

As a sidenote, Kaneko's interest in shady business practices feels similarly disconnected from reality as something Ishida said in the Soul Hackers 2 interview:

[Nevermind doxxing, bots taking over or drones killing innocent people, guys. Technology turned out to be completely harmless]

What else do we have left?

When talking of style consistency and thought-provoking worldbuilding ties to other titles, mainline SMT as of now stays as the one thing I have been interested on even when under a different team.

SMT5 went through the shortcoming of being another unfinished debut release requiring an inhanced version to truly shine its full potential (which is unfortunate for day1 fans but then again, Nocturne was fully guilty of this for three times).

Kaneko is irreplaceable. But I also enjoy Doi's contributions (alongside Yamai's and Kozuka's) and given the appropriate time and budget, I believe in the potential that the staff responsible for the latest SMTs has in building ground on their own, even regarding new ways of twisting expectations of long-time players and extending the world of SMT to bigger horizons instead of plain soft resets in the continuity.

And at the end of the day, other members of the original staff exist beyond Kaneko and are amazingly receptive to keeping on celebrating the franchise such as Tsukasa Masuko (that recently released a new soundtrack arrangement for Megami Tensei 1&2 funded by Kickstarter) or of course, original franchise creator Aya Nishitani himself that often deepdives into Megaten worldbuilding concepts and theories to the franchise on his Twitter account, even going as far as translating for free the last book of the Megami Tensei novel trilogy for the enjoyment of English-speaking fans.

[gunsatthaphan]

I know we are far away but I am so curious who gmm will give a show to next year BL wise like I can't imagine offgun doing anything after Cooking Crush but tbh I didn't expect anything after not me, will earthmix have a 4th BL series in a row, Forcebook and FK have two this year if we include Moonlight Chicken for FK would they get another so soon, I could see some of the secondary My School President ships getting a main show together because they have proved really popular already, Milklove might actually open some doors for more GL's if 23.5 is a hit.

if we're getting the 8th offgun show in 2024 I'm quitting forreal djhfkd please no. enough is enough.

A lot can happen in the remaining 7-8 months but at the moment the only thing I'm relatively sure of is that 1 if not 2 of the MSP side couples will get their own show. My #1 bet is on SatangWinny because they're a hit with the fans and gmm clearly knows that lmao. Possibly also MarkFord if they don't fix NeoMark after Only Friends. Prom was supposed to be paired with Mick in MSP so maybe they will pick that back up. Another one is JuniorMark who will be the side couple in Cherry Magic and were also a couple in Midnight Museum so if CM takes off then I can see them getting their own project as well. Also maybe FlukeThor(?) Who knows. Also JossLuke when.

I don't think any of the big OS2 couples will get another show tbh as I feel like a lot of them will take a break or even retire e.g. EarthMix, JimmySea and maybe ForceBook as well. OhmNanon are already retired lmao and FK I'm not sure yet. I bet they would want to but they're also actors who like to explore a lot so I feel like they might do some separate projects after OF.

GeminiFourth are just getting started so I'm pretty sure they will get another project too and if not together then separately. they're on the best way to becoming the new gmm goldstars lol. (lowkey already are)

If my retirement-theory is correct then they might introduce a lineup of newbies which didn't happen last year sadly but it definitely would be nice to see some new faces.

And for the GLs YES PLEASE omg. I'm hoping and praying that 23.5 will be good and that gmm will consider making more exclusive wlw content, maybe even with established actresses like Jan, Ciize, Fah, Aye etc. That would be amazing so I'm crossing my fingers.

xxx

[cutepresea]

Isn't it odd Symphogear didn't get any normal length OAV or movie made, or even on the merch side more nendo or nendo petit made considering how popular it was in Japan? I know the fear was real with prods and manus during the first two seasons because they thought it was a fail project and didn't want to invest but after five seasons and five concerts? I don't know I feel like I'm missing data on why we were given the short stick compared to other popular animes...

Ah, I never really felt like that when it comes to the series (except for figures, but I get to that later in the post. I went on a bit of a tangent and it ended up longer than intended. Oops)

Five whole seasons

Four series of shorts

Enough character songs to have a box of 9 CDs released (doesn't include XDU songs)

Concerts that get released on blu-ray since G's (this one just feels like a bigger deal to me because season 1's in 2012 never got recorded or released)

A mobile game that's been running for 6 years and gets its own albums separate from the aforementioned box (there was another mobile game a decade ago that died pretty fast but nobody remembers that one, shhh...)

And a monthly spinoff manga that has enough content for four volumes so far

...All feels like a miracle to me, especially for an anime not based on an existing manga, game, or light novel

Seriously, I love this series but I have no idea how G was greenlit

I'm still waiting to see what the new project is because there's still a possibility that it could be a movie or something. I just don't expect it anytime soon, whether it be a movie or an OVA, because Kaneko (co-creator and scenario writer for the series) is busy both designing and writing a RPG which he stated was something he wanted to do while not working on Symphogear since he was too busy to work on games while he was doing that (link is Japanese, but it's the interview where he said that)

Which, again, is probably why the new project is dated 20XX

Now if I were to talk about stuff I personally would want?

If it's a movie I'd like it to be completely new content but if they make some lengthier OVAs, I've been asking for an adaptation of 3.5 from XDU for a while since the Alexandria Incident gets mentioned in AXZ.

XDU's service isn't going to last forever and I'd hate to lose a canon side story like that when it does eventually end.

They could also do 4.5 but it isn't as high a priority for me because it serves more as an introduction to Noble Red than anything and outside of the short part between Fine and Enki, it felt weird coming out after XV ended

On a bit of a side note, I've said it before, but I wouldn't be too surprised if any new anime content is by Studio KAI instead of Satelight. A LOT of Symphogear's staff moved over there after XV ended which is why XDU's second OP was done by them.

Now merchandise, oh boy, yeah that subject has stung a bit over the years. The fact the only Nendos are from S1 really is sad

They want their friends to join them

Heck, Chris didn't even get a Figma back then like Hibiki and Tsubasa did

I can't believe it took as long as it did for Kirika, Shirabe, and Maria to get figures. Especially Maria, who didn't have one released until 2022.

And it is an actual crime that Miku still doesn't have one despite being around since season 1. That is Hibiki's Wife Sunshine y'all are ignoring. (Season 1 Miku with green hair when? 🤣)

Hobby Stock's set of scale figures they've been releasing and Good Smile's ACT MODEs are a step in the right direction though. There's also been more plushes in recent years which I personally really love.

One of my wishes is someone going back to G and making figures for that so we can get Black Gungnir Maria or Shenshoujing Gear Miku

The parallel world versions of everyone from XDU would be fun too but I'm not pushing my luck there. The other Hibiki technically already has one but it used an existing Hibiki figure as a base

And yes, I am begging for a game that isn't gacha. I'm a lover of action games and RPGs so I would love something along those lines. I'm not horribly picky about the specific type

[tokiro07]

I was admittedly worried recently that Cipher Academy was going to get canceled because we’re about to have four new series added to Jump, but I realized my worries are likely unfounded on the basis that I completely forgot that two manga ended without being replaced recently

PPPPPP and High School Family’s cancellations brought Jump’s roster down from 20 to 18 (not counting HxH or Ruri Dragon since both are on hiatus), and Tokyo Demon Bride’s this week brought it down to 17

I’ve seen Jump have as many as 22 series at one time before (albeit not for very long as I recall), so even if we assume nothing else gets cancelled, we’ll still only be at 21, which is only slightly above average

I’m decently sure that Ichigoki is Under Control is about to end considering that it keeps doing long timeskips and its resolving the plot points that were established as long-term goals in chapter 1, so we’re bound to be at 20, making other cancellations significantly less likely

That said, I also don’t have high hopes for Ginka and Gluna right now with how how it’s telling the story right now; both getting Ginka’s backstory and Gluna having sacrificed her memories of Ginka feel like end of series events, so I’d honestly be more surprised if it does continue until the next round of cancellations. This would put us at 19 series, and I just don’t see them letting it dip any further for the moment

It also helps that none of the other series right now feel like they’re rushing through their plots or anything; Cipher Academy and Fabricant 100 are the ones that seem to be having the most trouble right now, both occasionally dipping into the bottom 3 in the table of contents (the only slots in the ToC that actually seem to mean anything), but both only seem to be ramping up rather than winding down (Fabricant 100 only just officially introduced its power system and Cipher Academy had a breather chapter that was nice and appreciated but it definitely could have skipped if it had a deadline to rush towards)

Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins feels like it’s trying to reach a conclusion, with a sudden shift from slow and careful character analysis into rapid exposition with back-to-back plot twists that don’t feel like they have the opportunity to sink in, but not only is it consistently pretty early in the ToC, it also just got a color page, which I doubt would happen if it were about to get canceled. It’s definitely possible that this is just a prologue arc and everything past this point is going to be completely different once it concludes

Whether or not Cipher Academy will make it through the next round obviously remains to be seen, but I’m confident it will at least make it to the next round without issue. Also Mashle is clearly entering its final battle, so it could easily end in the next 12-20 issues and that would be one fewer series that would be up for cancellation in the next round

Honestly, I’m expecting Cipher Academy to be a lot like Medaka Box - not popular enough to ever get the cover more than once in a blue moon, but just popular enough to narrowly avoid cancellation until it reaches a natural if somewhat rushed conclusion

[acourtofthought]

Not everyone has to like feysand to be in the acotar fandom. I find the ship disgusting and I do think that what Rhys did was SA (hence why I don't ship it) but I'm invested enough in the story to continue reading and create content, especially knowing that the rest of the books will focus on the side characters I do like. Im not saying that you shouldn't ship it but you can't just say to people to leave if they don't like the things you do or are bothered by certain storylines. And someone might find SA triggering but not kidnapping (especially considering how much more common SA is, unfortunately). And if people want to point out the problematic elements in those books (racism, sexism, homophobia etc) they should. In fact, being aware of the problematic elements of the books you read is important in consuming them critically and understanding how they effect people irl in terms of representation. You write so many paragraphs on which ship will become canon next or whatever, but fail to see how raising awareness about how certain topics are presented in popular media is important, or how certain things are offensive to minorities or victims.

People use fantasy novels as an escape from reality, something to enjoy.

Are there issues within the book? Sure, if you're using them as a moral compass for your real life. But that's not what people should be doing and I am not here to point fingers at SJM and the readers who enjoy her books for their "failure" to acknowledge all the ways the books are problematic. You can't read a single fantasy fiction book or watch any movie these days that doesn't exhibit the same issues and people should be allowed to enjoy an authors / directors work without being accused of not being "woke" enough. That is something that should be done in the REAL world. Your day to day life and how you see real people treating others.

If your goal is to raise awareness on SA, there are very real organizations where you and others can and should focus their activism. I hate to say it but I don't think the SJM fandom is the place to push for real change.

And the fact that you're not bothered with the book "endorsing" kidnapping and torture or that others claim Tamlin deserves redemption after his domestic abuse of Feyre by finding a Mate but are bothered only by the SA (which I still don't agree with in terms of Feysand) is a very odd statement to me because that's you cherry picking.

"Oh this felony, we definitely should raise awareness on and I'm offended you don't agree but that felony doesn't bother me in the story!"

If you are really up on your high horse about the things that are wrong in this series than why are you stopping at just the one thing? And if you're truly concerned about what's in fictional literature, then I hope you're doing your due diligence to read all other fantasy authors to ensure they're not stepping into morally gray areas as well.

And you telling me I should change the focus on my blog to raising awareness on how this series has issues is basically you telling me that I should take a series that has provided me an escape from my real life and turn it into something else. Which then means I've lost my escape which honestly, is necessary for my own mental health at times.

I think the problem comes from people self inserting themselves into this fictional world and expecting it to follow the code they would expect in their real life. That's not the point of reading fantasy and I think it's important to separate real life from fiction. And I honestly think arguing for change in fantasy novels in a fan group is a waste of time that could better spent raising awareness through well formed organizations. We are not the publishers or writers so your activism is falling on the ears of people who aren't responsible or connected to the ones who can push for change.

[studiojeon]

use me | jjk

this is part of my troubled outsiders series. i think you can read this by itself though :)

| summary | -   Jungkook was not someone to establish relationships and bonds out of interest, you knew that. Or maybe not, truth be told, he was an authentic enigma, so open yet so closed and shielded from others to see through, and that didn’t exclude you.

warnings: language (?), mentions of hook ups and situationships. mentions of emotional trauma.

contents: a compilation of moments that contributed to the growth of their relationship, jungkook is hard to read, jungkook is hard to read, jungkook is hard to read and sus. oc is kinda whipped and scared af. chaeryeong knows who you are and where you live. jk and oc are scared to let each other in. friends to lovers, idol!jungkook x student!oc.

author’s note: i hate this, but i have to get it off my chest. (the narration is off af but if i keep it in my drafts for longer this will never see the light of the day). p.s. thank u so much for the support on the last drabble <3

playlist: rain by trey songz (feat. swae lee). 

words: 4.75k

“JK?” as his broad back faces you, you call out his name timidly, not missing the way he swiftly turns around as soon as he hears his name come from your lips. Hair wet and darker than usual, a very big sweat stain at the center of his hoodie. He had just gotten out of practice, you assumed. 

“___?” he replied with the initials of your name as well, one of his tired grins plastered on his face, he must have been exhausted. You had caught on to him just as he walked out of the practice room in front of the elevator on your way to your office, right when you needed him, but now you weren’t so sure if it was a good idea to pester him. Even so, you didn’t know anyone else you could ask for help, aside from Linh who was currently in her own office doing other tasks you had assigned to her.

“Are you busy right now?” your eyes stare at him shyly, in hopes that he was willing to help you out, because you wanted to be around him, so maybe he could share a bit of his positive energy with you, the past week had been hellish.  “Could use some help returning all those heavy stacks of paper in my office”.

“Of course! Why didn’t you give me a call earlier though? It’s pretty late” he walked by your side and you enter the elevator, beginning your adventure around the company.

Jungkook was fun. Always bubbly and reciprocative, constantly trying his best to make you laugh and make the absolute best of your situation, even if he could be a bit stubborn at times. You liked the spontaneity he provided though, the way he would switch from one topic to another and how he would make silly faces at you whenever you locked eyes. 

He didn’t know, but in pure ignorance, he had just made your day ten times better. 

In the past week, you had received a lot of counterarguments, one by one, on how useless your management tactics were. Granted, you hadn’t expected for your ideas to be welcomed with open arms, but at least you had hoped they would take them into consideration. You had also been assigned a team, in charge of social media management, who worked monotonously and with little to no insertion in the actual target audience… your logic was: how can you advertise products to an audience you don’t even have the mere interest to know? You had designed a strategy, presented it, and no one paid any mind to you. 

But for the most part, you felt lonely. Had no one to talk to, nor go to whenever you needed your spirits to be lifted up.

Chaeryeong was busy busy with group projects and work. To the extent where she would get up at seven in the morning and come back at 12 pm. It wasn’t always like that, so you didn’t worry too much, but the fear she would wear herself off like usual still crowded your mind.

You close your office door with a sigh. Tired from everything, but somehow, your heart a little fuller, knowing that maybe you could use Jungkook in the future to give you a lift. Both figuratively and literally because he had offered to drive you home, being the gentleman he was.

“Why do you look like a sad puppy?” he asked you once you were sitting by his side in his very expensive and luxurious mercedes. Tinted windows and jet black shiny paint covered the outside of his car, the smell of air refresher and pinecone filling the inside. Mans was getting hotter by the minute.

“It’s friday night after the longest week of work. How can I not?” you put on your seat belt and lean back against the leather cushions. He pouts in response to you, with a concerned look on his face. 

For a second you wonder if he did this with most coworkers… being nice to them and offering them drives after having met them just a few times before. Kinda risky behviour, considering his position and squeaky clean reputation. You figure this would only last a bit before he realized he had more important things to be focusing on.

“Do you ever get chased home?” you ask randomly. 

With one hand on the wheel and the other leaned against his door he meditated on his response. “It happened once… And then I moved out, got a new car and everything. Shit was wild” he chuckles and you think that was the first time you had heard him curse, like ever. Jungkook, friendly and everything, wasn’t too big of a talker, but with you he found himself spilling, without giving it much thought. It felt refreshing to hear his voice and listen to his stories and the way he expressed himself. He was more interesting than he seemed, apparently. “Aren’t you hungry, by the way? We can have something to eat before i drop you off”

Traffic was hellish in Seoul everyday at every hour, and choosing to drive through Itaewon on a friday night wasn’t the smartest decision on Jungkook’s behalf, but you didn’t have the heart to tell him that. Considering the demands of his job, he probably didn’t know his way around the city that well. You conclude taking a detour wouldn’t hurt. “I’m starving actually.”

He ends up taking you to a restaurant near your neighborhood you had mentioned being good and not crowded at all, the latter catching his attention immediately. It was a modest but nice place owned by a very funny and loud ahjussi. The man had lost count of how many times you had come down from your apartment at 11 pm and asked him to make you vegetarian tteokguk, but they were enough so that he could memorize your five orders by heart and the amount of saewoo mandu you could down by yourself in five minutes. You were making him rich at that point so the least he could do was comply when you gently asked him to shut the place down for you. Jungkook hadn’t asked you, but you knew how things could get awkward and dangerous quickly if too many people found out about him being there. “Ahjussi, you don’t have to” the boy protested as he noticed that the man had shut the blinds for him.

“It’s okay, boy. _____ has been single handedly paying the remnants of my mortgage for over a year now, I don't mind doing this for her.” he joked in his usual nature. already writing down your order and patiently waiting for Jungkook in front of you to voice out what he wanted for a meal. “And well, you and your friends are making our country proud, it’s the least i can do to thank you”

“Ah, thank you.” Jungkook bows to the older man. Your heart softened in your chest, seeing how considerate he was towards other people. He must be great with parents, you think. “Do you really not get that many people around here?” he asked worriedly once he sat back down on the wooden chair.

“We do! But she’s the one who comes the most often” he nods toward you and Jungkook smiles once he found your gaze, a glint of playfulness in his eyes. 

“Can you recommend me anything, miss?”

“Of course, sir. Yeol-ah, double up my order. Drinks are on me today.” You yell at the man’s son in the kitchen, who was still a bit older than you, but also close to enough to let you order him around shamelessly. You knew him quite well, actually. He was Chaeryeong’s boyfriend after all.

The tall boy pokes his head out of the kitchen door with a very confused expression plastered on his face. “Aren’t we supposed to close in like, an hour?” Chanyeol asks his dad in front of you.

“Just go cook, I'll explain later”.

The two men go back into the kitchen and Jungkook looks at you with an amused expression on his face. “What was that?” he laughs.

“I’m very popular, you know?” it probably wasn’t a good idea to go there, but you felt a little drunk on his voice that night, and you also knew your friend didn’t mind. “In fact, Chaereyong from ITZY is my best friend, who would have guessed?”

“Yeah and my son is her boyfriend, who cares?” Byung-ho yells back at you from the cashier, pulling a hiss from your lips. 

Jungkook still continued to stare at the both of you with confusion and intrigue, you guess he thought you were both joking.

“Wait, really?” he utters after a few seconds with big doe eyes and a pout on his lips, a combination that appeared when he was either confused or lying, which wasn’t the case then.

“Yes, my guy.” you laugh. “That juicy legged shortie is indeed my wife”

Jungkook loved the food, to say the least. It was all vegetarian and korean as fuck, a combination he never throught was possible, but downed like thristy camel. He was a loud eater, which was fitting of him and his politeness, something else you had noticed that night. You were the opposite, and actually despised the sounds of other people eating, yet, looking at him enjoying his meal so much made you feel full yourself. He made you feel like a kid in some ways too, brought back the times when being around others wasn’t so hard, and you still could have a sense of security around you. Talking to him was rather easy, maybe because of his welcoming nature, or because in fact he actually was interested in whatever stupid shit you were saying, something most people around you didn’t do. He also, amongst other things, seemed very interested in your job and the likes, always asking questions and absorbing information like a five year old. You had explained to him the five key steps of process design and the psychological effects on marketing in society to which he always responded with wide gentle eyes and attentive nods, not once looking bored or… annoyed in any way. 

Was he like that, with every girl? Because you weren’t anything special, there were many other girls who worked with him everyday and even if you hadn’t seen him in his work space, you could guess by the way most women in your company look at him whenever he passes by that either they were just as captivated as you by his beauty or that he had fucked them. You wouldn’t be surprised if he was just trying to get into your pants either, it wouldn’t be the first time it happened to you nonetheless.

“I can walk from here, JK” you mention once you found yourselves walking towards the parking lot. A bit sad about the expense you had just made on food, it was your fault for trying to seem cool and rich, neither of which you were. 

“Oh no, I’m not letting you do that, girlie” he unlocks the door and gets in, not even letting you finish or allowing you to fight back.

“My apartment is literally a block away” you protest in the car anyways. You fear you had been too much of a bother, and deep down, didn’t want him to feel like you were seeking his presence unnecessarily.

“Well, good for you. But, you paid for the food, which was a lot, and i don’t want my sugar mommy walking by herself at 12 pm on a friday night” you first freeze, and then burst a very loud giggle.

“Whatever” you slap his bicep and roll your eyes. “ Next time you can pay if it bothers you so much.”

“So there will be a next time?” wide eyes stare back at you. “Count me in. I´ll pick where we will be going, just lemme know when so i can plan ahead” he rambles, a little too excited about your suggestion. 

He drops you off with a smile on his face and hopefulness in his eyes, promising to see you around the company. You, on the other hand, feel a tad confused as you enter your apartment building. What was going on? 

You had overthought things so much your entire life that it suddenly became too tiring to do. During the past few years you had to learn how to detach yourself and just ride the wave sometimes. Once you had turned eighteen, everything started moving at a very fast pace, the pressure of adulthood fell upon you like a brick and everything was so overwhelming that you started to simply let the course of your existence take you wherever it needed to.

That’s how you ended up going out with Jungkook at least once a week for dinner or a drive around the city for more than two months. Without even noticing, he became so engraved in your everyday life that whenever he’d cancel plans because of work, you’d find yourself with a void in your heart and a rush of boredom filling your senses. Even if you found yourself in your living room with the company of your best friend whom you had seen at most four times in the past two months, you were still wishing you could share that intimate space with him instead, willing to let him a bit more into your life, in hopes that maybe he would do the same. Sue you, you were curious over the most intricate details about his personality, how his personal sanctuary looked and if the smell of his room is just as good as his car’s. You could bet a thousand dollars (maybe a little less, considering the unconventionalism that characterizes him) that he also had a few plants that only remembered to water three out of seven days of the week. 

Hopefully life would draw you closer to more people like him.

"How's your boyfriend doing?" Chaeryeong asks you from the kitchen counter, sweet popcorn cooking in you popcorn-maker. 

You sigh. "What boyfriend?"

She was a lot of things but oblivious, and you weren't either, just when you chose to be. "Cut the bullshit, you know who i'm talking about". The fake red head waits for your response as she pours the snack into a big bowl, and you on the other hand take this as an advange to search around the room for answers.

"He's just a friend" you say. "And he's fine, i guess… He doesn't really talk much about himself" you mention, matter of factly.

Chaeryeong nods beside you, understanding what you meant. Then, proceeds to tell a tale about her experience meeting the dark haired boy. "He's literally so quiet, but like, so incredibly kind. Once he tripped over and fucked up some of the decoration at an award show" she grabs a popcorn and continues her story. "He looked so panicked I thought his eyes were about to jump out their sockets — His eyes are huge, by the way." 

"I know" you smile.

"My point is, he started to help the staff put everything back in order again. I think he's the only idol I've ever seen do something like that… i decided i liked him then" her beautiful features light up with mischief. "I bet he fucks great too."

You slap her leg. Hard.

"I'm only telling you this now so you don't get caught of guard when he actually manages to fuck you," her soft hands run through your messy hair, motherly touches easing the fluster in your body. "You know he's a big whore, right?" She adds after a while. 

You didn't. According to Chaeryeong, who seemed to keep tabs on every single colleague of hers, Jungkook had quite the body count, not that you didn't have your suspicions before. Frankly, she only knew of two girls inside her company who had had some sort of situationship with him, but for the same reason, she also knew he had some history with other girls from different groups. "Yikes" you laugh nervously, in admiration of their ability to remain calm and collected without giving anything away to the public.

Thanks to your friend, you had heard lots of tea about other singers in the korean industry before, most of which were not as sweet or kind as they portrayed themselves to be, some even using their social status to get their way with girls. But for some reason, Jungkook had never made his way to your gossipping sessions, nor any other of his band mates (except for Jimin, who, if you remember correctly, used to have some sort of beef with one of Chaeryeong's company members). You guess it was because of his unproblematic nature that people chose to give him a pass for his sexual endeavors, not that they were of anyone's concern either. 

A knock is heard against your office door. "Miss _____?" A girl with a brown bob cut pokes her head through it, the dim lights of your office shining upon her incredibly healthy locks. "Jungkook asked me to deliver this to you" sliding completely into the room, she places a box with a note on it on your desk.

"Thank you so much" you wave her off as she walks right out. 

The package had a strawberry flavored canned tea and a bento box inside. 

"I remember you telling me you'd never tried tofu pancakes before, so I made some for you last night. Hope you enjoy! - JK

P.S. Text me when you're done, maybe we can hang out tonight."

You felt like crying, in all honesty. The pancakes were heavenly, and he even added some slices of avocado and a few scoops of rice for you, despite not being the biggest fan of the fruit himself. With a warm heart and relief washing over your body because you wouldn't have to waste money on lunch that day, you had had half of your meal before said boy gave you a call.

"Did you like them?" He said almost immediately. "My assistant told me she already delivered them to you" he adds in a rush.

"Jesus boy, calm down." You giggle at his excitement. "Let me eat in peace".

"No, tell me right now." he demands with a fake angry voice. Cutie.

"They're alright".

"Figured… you have no sense of taste anyways" the hangs up. A giggle escapes your lips. Boy was something else.

Later that day, the weekend started it's course. Jungkook had offered to drive you to the Han River, careful to mention the fact he prepared a bunch of snacks for you two just about five times during your call. The place was almost empty, given that the rest of the city was doing something else more fun than staring at the night sky while sitting on itchy grass. Yet, you wouldn't change the setting for anything else. Usually, when you and Jungkook were out, he'd be in silent wary of your surroundings and the people who could be watching you. It broke your heart, knowing that most of the time he couldn't frequent places most regular people had the pleasure of enjoying, like the movies, for example, or a food stand in the middle of the street. Still, in that moment, the handsome man in front of you seemed as relaxed as ever, munching on grapes and strawberries as he sat in silence beside you. 

"This blanket is so soft, isn't it?" he commented all of a sudden, caressing the fabric with his hand. The thing was made out of polar fleece, no shit. You just nodded and grabbed a piece of fruit from his container. "One of my friends gifted it to me on my birthday" he adds.

"I know. It was me".

"Well, maybe you do have a sense of taste after all" he complies as he lays down on the surface, eyes facing the night sky above you.

"Says the one who uses toe socks" you say back, poking his weak spot.

Instead of going back and forth with you as he usually would, he just winks and closes his eyes. He looked so peaceful and serene beneath you, features carefully carved on his face and slightly blushed cheeks from the cold wind. Jungkook was like that, randomly over confident and flirty with you, but just as quickly would refrain from even disagreeing with you in the first place, scared that you would snap at him. He hadn't told you this, but the way you saw thoughts hidden in his eyes whenever you made a statement let you know his true intentions, leaving you to wonder where that came from.

"Are you tired?" You ask after a few minutes. Still with his eyes closed, Jungkook denies.

"I just don't want to look at you right now," he turns to the side, back facing you as an offended expression finds its way to your face.

"Yah" you slap his back playfully, not letting him finish.

"Because you look too pretty." he mumbles the remnants of  his statement.

Your breath catches in your throat as a shiver climbs its way down your spine. Why was he like that? He had no right tugging on your heart strings like that (if he was being serious in the first place because you never knew with him). You sigh, the blush his words provoked stinging your cheeks.

"You're supposed to say I'm pretty too" he turns around with a playful smile, expectant.

"You just go around giving compliments so you can get them back?" you hiss. "Why so insecure?"

"I'm not insecure, at all." He sits up again, ready to fight you and anyone who dares question the grandiosity of the confidence he had worked so hard for. "You can ask Linh about that".

To say you looked horrified was an understatement, hopeful that what you thought he meant was not it. "You fucked Linh?"

"Well, that's not for you to know". 

What a gentleman, you think. And at the same time, ouch. He had just slammed a door on your face.

"That would explain the way she looks at you whenever you come by the office" you realize. Frankly, the girl looked a bit too panicked whenever Jungkook decided to barge into your space, usually bored out of his mind during his english lessons, laptop and notebook in hand, or struggling to get the questions right. 

"Well good afternoon to you too" you ironically greeted once he sat in front of you, frustration written on his face. Linh, who stood by your side, suddenly fidgeting with the papers in her hand.

"Not the time, _____" he slammed both hands on your desk, startling you and your friend beside you. "Why the fuck did you make me enroll into this in the first place?" 

"I did not make you do anything, dude. I just gave you an idea" you excused yourself, eyes back on your computer. You didn't miss the way Jungkook's eyes briefly followed Linh out the room, though. 

His eyes looked back at you, leg bouncing impatiently on the floor as he leaned back with a pissed off expression on his face. You'd never seen him this way, so you took that as a cue to enter under paid therapist mode. "What's wrong?" You questioned gently.

"I feel incredibly incompetent right now." His hands roamed across his face with frustration. A sigh escaped his lips as he held tears back. "School's always been this way for me, always trying my best and constantly underachieving" he explained.

He was obsessed with winning, you’d even go as far to say more than he was with his job (which was a lot). It didn’t root from narcissistic behaviour though, but rather out of external pressure to constantly overachieve and exceed expectations. He was mostly good at doing that, but everyone had an achilles heel, yours was reading for example, his was studying and school.

"Jungkook, you passed most of your classes with more than 90%, what are you talking about?" a fact he had brought up to you randomly when you mentioned absolutely nearly failing most of your literature classes.

"Yeah, except for English." he shook his head in the way he would when he'd feel conflicted or insecure. "I don't know what i'm doing wrong".

"Did you fail something?" you tried to get some more insight into the situation, still unsure of where all his worries came from.

"No, there's just this sentence I can't properly put together" he turned his notebook towards you. "Ah, just look"

There were some words he had to conjugate and properly place in order to form a grammatically correct sentence, more than five attempts written in neat penmanship on the page evidenced the boy's battle with the assignment. He missed one very important aspect of it, though. "There's a fucking word that's missing, dude" you explain, grabbing the pen from his hand and showing him where the mistake was. "It's not your fault, it's the teacher's".

Jungkook's serious expression didn't go away though. "Well, damn".

You had some sort of emotional trauma with having people ask you for help, it made you think that they didn’t actually care for you as a person but rather just your skills. That was the way you’d grown up and what your position in society seemed to be as well, the one you could butter up and taste when you got bored. Heart had been broken many times too, whenever you’d realize what you thought to be a genuine connection was merely pure interest. Those thoughts clouded your head when Jungkook would randomly enter your office with a frustrated expression on his face, yet, that occurred less often than it didn’t. 

Jungkook was not someone to establish relationships and bonds out of interest, you knew that. Or maybe not, truth be told, he was an authentic enigma, so open yet so closed and shielded from others to see through, and that didn’t exclude you most of the time, hence your wish for him to let you in a bit more before you could allow yourself to free fall into whatever was going on between you both.

You reach for the fabric of his hoodie, tugging his sleeve with your fingers just because you really liked the color of it, and maybe because you wanted to feel closer to him. He doesn’t react to your touch, just looks at your hands briefly as they play with the edges of his clothing. “Where did you get this from?”

“An online store, I think.” he replies softly, reaching for your hand on his arm, caressing the surface of your nails. “It’s a unisex brand, i can send you their link afterwards.”

“Is it too expensive?” you inquire, not only to keep the moment afloat, but because you genuinely liked most of his pieces of clothing, especially his hoodies and shoes. Jungkook laughs at your question and looks at you with a smile.

“I don’t think i would know, ____. I’m rich.” he says, playfully. And he was right, what was expensive for you might just be cheap as fuck for him, you wonder if when a lot of money is in your hands you start to become very tuned out from what’s affordable or not anymore.

“True.”

“I can buy you one, though. I don’t mind.” he adds. Soft look in his eyes, a pure and genuine offer that you had to deny.

“I didn’t say i wanted one” you lie, only partially, because although you’d not mentioned it, you did actually want it. “I just think it’s pretty” you finally let go of him.

“Or do you think I look pretty in it?” he pushes, a sucker for compliments.

“Yeah, that might be it.” you admit, because there was no point in denying your irrefutable attraction to the man, as much as you hated to be vulnerable, especially in front of him.

“I think it would look prettier on you”.

Don´t copy or repost please. by studiojeon on tumblr.

[neon-moon-beam]

More About Burnout, Setting Boundaries, And Taking Care Of Yourself

My roommate has just posted about being burnt out with Submas because of the angst and I’ve mentioned burnout several times regarding myself.

I shouldn’t have to say this but this post isn’t saying “don’t make angst”. Do not put words in my mouth, attempt to argue with me about things I haven’t said, and definitely do not send me hostile messages. I won’t respond and I will just block you.

If anything I say here touches a nerve with you, you probably want to examine why you think people are not allowed to set boundaries with the content they want to see and the people they want to interact with and how.

bl*nkshippers dni--I will block you

First Of All, Angst Burnout

More and more people are now burnt out on Submas and PLA because of the angst content. Recently people have been discussing using further tags to make it easier for people to block things they don’t want to see. This is possibly a solution, however it can’t be expected that everyone will use the tags, or all the same tags. People also have varying opinions on what would require a tag, so one person may not tag content thinking it’s OK while someone else may come across it and not wish to see it.

The fact is, not everyone is a fan of something in the same way. Some people here don’t even consider themselves part of the Submas fandom or wish to engage the way fandoms tend to engage on tumblr (myself included). Some people love angst just because, while others love it and use it to cope with things. That’s fine.

Other people use things they like as an escape from stresses and struggles, and are drawn to things that are just fluff, slice of life, shitposting, or even angst that resolves happily in the end.

Some people like all of these things.

Ultimately, all types of fans can coexist on a site. It shouldn’t be a problem.

I feel like the issue here is the entire tone of Submas content was changed overnight, and people who had been here prior to PLA found themselves suddenly surrounded by new content that often disregarded what Submas had been and meant to people before then. Prior to PLA when browsing the tags, there wasn’t very much at all. There was a brief uptick in content when they were added to PokeMas. But then PLA came out and the whole tone changed from “Here’s two train guys doing their thing” to “How sad can we make the train guys?”, “What if Ingo dies in Hisui?”, “Can we make Emmet angsty and unhinged?”

Not to mention there are also new Submas fans since PLA, who have come to enjoy Ingo and Emmet outside of the context of PLA, and are burned out by the angst content because they want a happy ending.

It’s bad enough when Gamefreak has been silent about how and why Ingo got to Hisui, and if he goes back. The game itself hasn’t even properly concluded as of the time I’m typing this; even the main storyline is left hanging. This was enough to upset fans as it is, and is part of why I make so many reassurance posts.

So imagine a game series you enjoy does this to a previously fairly obscure character you like, and you want reassurance that they’ll be fine in the end and maybe some wholesome content to balance out the uncertainty and just...sad feeling the game itself is giving you. But now because of the game, the characters’ popularity has exploded, primarily with people who want to make angst content. You go to your usual places seeking reassuring, light-hearted, and wholesome content, and instead you find people who want your favorite characters to be miserable, permanently separated, or even draw or write content where one of them dies. And it’s not just a handful of posts; it’s nearly all of the content, all of the time.

That’s going to make you feel worse, really. And it’s easy to start feeling hopeless that the game developers will write a happy ending when a majority of what you see from other fans seems to expect, or even demand the worst possible outcome.

And it especially feels bad if you also like the characters because they were helping you cope with other things, or had become “comfort characters” (not terribly sure what this means, sorry), or if you saw yourself in them (as so many autistic people have seen themselves in Ingo and Emmet).

You can block tags and people, but because there’s just so much, it’s safer to just not go in the tags. But this isn’t a perfect solution either. Some sites will force posts from people you aren’t following into your feed as advertising who to follow, which means coming across the content anyway with no way to opt out of forced posts (without extensions anyway). At most you can just block the person who posted it so they won’t be recommended again. Which, all of this in turn means all but dropping an interest that once brought you joy.

Other Reasons For Burnout

Burnout isn’t limited only to people who don’t wish to see or engage with angst content. Personally I’ve found myself not only burnt out by the angst, but by people panicking and by my own choice of making reassurance posts.

There’s been a lot of panic among Submas fans. First it was Ingo’s inclusion in PLA in late January. Then the PLA Guide Book came out in mid-April with concept art for Ingo that caused people to panic. As of the time of this post. Gamefreak has yet to say whether or not the concept art made the final cut, that is, it may not be canon! Yet...so many people have taken it as canon, whether it was ideas they liked or not, fit into their fan works or not...Then throw in the panic over whether or not Ingo still has a full head of hair or is “bald” which...isn’t the correct word for it. His hairline has receded in the concept art--he still has hair so he’s not actually “bald”. He can be described as “balding” in this case.

This panic can wear people out when it’s all they’re seeing in the tags, or their own feeds, and especially in this case, where new information seemed to suggest the canon situation was worse than first thought. I only found out about it myself because I had a post about it from someone I don’t follow pushed into my feed. I decided to look into it further and create some reassurance posts since everyone was panicking and deciding something not confirmed was canon and that Ingo was not going back...but that got exhausting. I had to keep up with things I usually avoid. I ended up feeling burnt out and anxious.

Other times reassurance posts burn me out because of the amount of time and effort they make--I can’t sit and play PLA all day looking for info, nor spend all day throwing together evidence suggesting Ingo will go home, hasn’t been in Hisui for over a decade, etc. The writing takes time too. I want to make sure I’m clear, have researched anything I might not know about the games, doubled checked what I do know, covered everything making sure there’s no obvious errors or glaring evidence to the contrary...and, well, sometimes it gets to be a lot, and I end up having to step back from what I’m doing for a while. I haven’t played PLA in over a month because of how much it was burning me out to comb through a game that made me feel empty at the end for potential evidence, besides the fact that I’d finished everything except for the rematches.

Some people too, are burned out by the amount of interaction or messages they receive. Whether the person is being asked about reassurance, or Submas facts, headcanons, or even just someone being messaged about their fan works (yes, including angst!), it can get tiring for people to constantly have something to answer. Even people who are more extroverted will eventually reach a point where it’s too much.

There are also other reasons not mentioned here. I have only covered what I have personally seen or experienced.

What Happens Now?

As I stated before, people are talking more and more about having more tags for angst content so people can block what they don’t want to see, filter what kind of angst they would like to see, etc. Personally, I think this is a good start. It’s not perfect, but it can help.

What is not a solution, is for people to stop making angst. Just as people are allowed to not like it and create other content, people who like angst are allowed to like and create it. I hope that nobody’s takeaway from people posting about burnout from the angst is that they need to stop making content they enjoy.

As for other things causing burnout, I think it’s important to set boundaries as self-care. You can curate your experiences on this site to see content you want to see (I know people who have not been here long and/or have come from other sites often don’t understand there isn’t a true algorithm here and you have to actively seek content you want vs expecting constant recommendations). You can block tags and even people and it will work relatively well. You can add extensions to further hide things you don’t wish to see, including ads. (Bye bye to those shaving ads! You know the ones.) The high amount of angst content means filtering will not be perfect, but you’re allowed to filter and shouldn’t feel bad for doing so.

I still use the tumblr savior extension. This allows you to blacklist certain words you don’t want to see posts containing and whitelist words you always want to see. It’s really useful if people DON’T tag as well, but only works if they have text in the post, not the image, containing the blacklisted word. For example, let’s say you don’t want to see an AU where Ingo died and is a ghost, but it’s all over your feed and you don’t want to block other people you follow, but some of them aren’t tagging for whatever reason. You can block any words specific to that AU so chances of seeing it are much lower. But let’s say you blocked “Ingo” and “Ghost”, but you’re following someone who frequently posts art you’re OK with of Ingo and his Chandelure and now you’re not seeing it because their posts usually contain those words? Thats’s where whitelisting comes in. You whitelist their URL and their posts will be back, while still filtering the ones you don’t want. Tumblr savior is also good if you just want a warning before seeing things. Posts show up with the content blocked and telling you what words you had blacklisted, with an option to show the post. So if you need to prepare before seeing something, your willingness to see it varies and you want to be able to choose when you see it, etc, tumblr savior gives you the option of doing that.

You can turn off asks if you’re getting too many, or set a limit of how many you will answer a day. You can even choose not to answer something. And you can absolutely not answer and block someone who sends you something nasty, or unwanted content. You DO have the option of blocking anons so they can’t send you more, and turning off anon is usually a good way to get people to stop.

If you notice yourself feeling burned out, it’s OK to take a step back and set boundaries. You don’t have to constantly create content or engage with people. It’s also OK if you have to take a break from Submas as a whole, or even start filtering content when previously you did not.

You get to choose how you experience being a fan of something. The fandom’s interpretation or tone does not decide for you, whether you consider yourself in the fandom or not.

Take care of yourself.

~Moonbeam