#we'll be back to the main plot soon

[arthur-lesters-tummy]

day 81 of the dreamlands

wowza, caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror and it turns out our disguises courtesay of the deck of cards makes @arthur-lesters-ribcage and i look like humans!

hehe Tommy's gonna getcha!

and ribcage looks fabulous too, if i do say so.

we've spent the day walking to and have arrived at Barbara's house! there were no pavements, just desire trails. it's a scenic route with clear views of the coast for miles, some rivers, sheep, plenty of grassy hills and rocks.

we stopped at a beach called "singing sands" and true to its name, when you walk on the sand it makes a voice-like ethereal sound. when you run it sounds like it's laughing lol. we felt an unignorable urge to play volleyball... i won 5-4, a close match! saw rib collecting shells, those'll make nice souvenirs!

when Barbara answered the door, she simply took the package, thanked us, then shut the door... what an anticlimatic end to such a journey! i knocked again, miiight have ranted a bit about the troubles we've been through in the dreamlands -after all not long ago we were in the sewers- and she offered to let us stay in the guest room (we've been camping thus far... i am so in need of a shower!) Barbara's quite a reserved person but I'm sure my intimidation skills and ribby's innocent charms will get a conversation out of her!

our mission tomorrow: perhaps enjoy the island a bit more, and/or go to Mr Warson Lollice to convince him to let us borrow his helicopter for a bit so we can return to @arthur-lesters-tits @arthur-lesters-slutty-waist @arthur-lesters-whimpering and @arthur-lesters-trachea on the mainland!!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Granted, tumblr’s search function may broken but I can’t find a post on your blog centered on Alya’s writing. As a person constantly on the look out for critical examination of Alya’s role in the narrative and the compromises on her principles, relationships and competences made to artificially engineer the episode’s story, I’d be very interested to see your thoughts

I use Alya's writing as an example of a character done dirty all the time, but I don't think I've ever done a sugar post focused on her and I totally should. Before we get into it, I will openly admit that her bad writing bothers me more than Marinette's or Adrien's because she is best girl and we stan her. What can I say, I'm a writer whose best friend is an artist with a diagnosed anxiety disorder. I like characters who are writers and with artsy, anxiety-ridden best friends. They are my people and that gives us a great starting point for this post.

Marinette is the unambiguous main character of the show, so it makes sense to design both her hero partner and her best friend around balancing her out, giving them strengths to fill out the spots where she is weak. It's how you make a strong cast. When Alya is allowed the shine, she fills that balance role wonderfully and I love it! Some of my favorite moments are when Marinette goes on one of her rants and cool-headed Alya drags her back down to Earth:

Marinette: We're gonna stroll over there real cool as if we just happened to be passing by. Alya: Then what? Marinette: Then? I'll invite him out for a fruit smoothie at the end of the photo shoot! Then, we'll get married! Live happily ever after in a beautiful house and have two kids? No, three. And a dog! Maybe a cat? Nah, forget the cat. A hamster! I love hamsters! Alya: Let's just start with just happen to be passing by and see if we can get to that smoothie.

This banter from Stormy Weather is fantastic. It's exactly the type of thing I want to see from these two as it gives Alya a very different flavor of supporting role from Adrien. While Alya and Adrien are both card holding members of the Marinette hype squad, Alya is more of a voice of reason while Adrien is there to validate Marinette and follow her crazy schemes without question.

This brings us to the first issue with Alya's writing: when the plot demands it, they make her a gullible tabloid journalist even though it goes against everything her character should stand for. The reasons I'm comfortable saying this are many. The first one is that Alya is very clearly supposed to be seen as a serious journalist. That's why you get scenes like this one from Feast:

Alya: Now you know back in the day sculptures were painted, right? Most of the paint vanished over time, but tiny microscopic pigments still remain. Thanks to this special app, witness how it originally looked. But here's the big thing. All these works of art have something in common. It's the same symbol! Look, everywhere. It's like some kind of secret society emblem. As if a kind of Order of the Guardians has been watching over the superheroes since the beginning of time!

This scene would not exist if Alya was supposed to be the kind of person who only cared about getting blog hits because this type of content isn't where the money is. But money and clout aren't what Alya cares about. She's just a passionate reporter (or fan girl) who wants to know everything she can and who is having fun sharing her obsession with the world. This is an extremely important aspect of her character because it brings us to reason two that she clearly wasn't meant to be a clout chaser: if she was a tabloid journalist who only cared about hits, then she should have never been given a miraculous.

I could go on a rant her about how poorly Alya's blog is used after she becomes Rena Rouge, but I'll spare you the word count and just say that, as soon as she joined the team, she should have stopped sharing secrets on the blog. It makes sense that a blog would initially fill her need to share the fine details of her obsession, but once she's on the team, the blog should have been replaced by her teammates. She could still have the blog, but it shouldn't have things like the freaking guide to how the miraculous work that we see in the season four episode Gabriel Agreste:

Alya: The Miraculous are magical jewels that give powers to superheroes, like Ladybug's earrings and Cat Noir's ring. But supervillain Shadow Moth also has two Miraculousbrooches in his possession, and they will give him his powers. We can figure out from this that the Miraculous can either make a superhero or a supervillain. It's all riding on who wears it, which is why these jewels can't fall into just anybody's hands.

Alya, you are supposed to be Marinette's sole confidante at this point. Why are you giving the world this information? The writers are doing you dirty, my dear, and I'm so sorry. The best I can do is to promise to never treat you like this in my stuff.

Now, to be fair, there is some nuance to this. Alya is a human being. She's allowed to have flaws, so I can absolutely forgive her for getting caught up in the moment and posting scoops to her blog without thinking (see: Oblivio). That's honestly a great weakness for her character to have as it makes perfect sense for a fan girl to fan girl. At the same time, if you want to have a fan girl character who becomes part of the things she's a fan of, then you usually need to give that character something that will tone them down and make full fan girl mode something other than the standard setting.

Making your fan girl a serious reporter is a great way to do that! It allows you to have that initial bust of fan girl hype that quickly switches into serious get-the-details mode. Without that kind of complexity, Alya would just be another Wayhem and one Wayhem is already one too many.

While I will give Alya some grace on this topic and even call it a good thing for her character, the same cannot be said for her writing because the writers fail to embrace her hype as an in-the-moment weakness and it ruins her character. To put it another way, a lapse in judgement about posting a photo is excusable as a photo is quickly acquired and posted. A lapse in judgement about a full interview with a total rando who is claiming to be Ladybug's best friend is not excusable (see: Volpina). It's a completely different flavor of poor judgement as - at a minimum - it requires Alya to stand there talking to a person for several minutes and never once question what that person is saying. Those are not the behaviors of a good journalist.

Of course, this brings us to the most glaring example of Alya's character assassination: the Lila thing. Almost everything about this arc paints Alya as a terrible friend, which is a massive missed opportunity as Lila is the perfect antagonist for Alya! Who better to take down a liar than a truth seeker? It's such an easy way to give Alya her own mission to focus on, especially if you make Lila more subtle. You don't even need to have Alya believe Marinette without question. Just have her be an investigative journalist who is like, "You know what, this new girl clearly bothers Marinette and I know Marinette can get caught up in her own head, but it doesn't usually last this long. I think something is up, so I'm going to use my skills to see if Lila is telling the truth that way I know if I'm supporting the right person here." Don't have your character claim that she checks her sources and does research if you're going to turn around and have her believe whatever she hears without checking any of it!

Even outside of the Lila thing, I wish we saw more of Alya's research skills! They were such a good thing to give Marinette's best friend as Marinette is great at focusing on a clear task, but research is the kind of thing that would overwhelm her, so it makes perfect sense to make her best friend a researcher as that lets the team have someone to help track down whatever Gabriel is calling himself this week. The writers even understood this to some extent as we saw in Mr. Pigeon 72:

Alya: Marinette, how long have you been working on this? Ladybug: I dunno, six-seven days, maybe ten. Now that we're on spring break, I finally have time to put my whole heart into it! Alya: When was the last time you worked on one of your own designs? Ladybug: I do loads of designing! Look! (pointing to the contraption at her door) I designed a security system so that nobody can enter my room when I'm not in it. And if I put on this hat (puts on modified hat) I hear everything that's going on in here, even when I'm out of the room. Alya: I'm gonna have to break it to you because I'm the only one who can. THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE! Girl, trust your BFF. When I'm researching something obsessively and I can't think of anything else, that's when my mind can get really blocked. You know what you need most right now? A break! Ladybug: No way! No breaks until I find out how to keep Shadow Moth from reakumatizing people!

Remember who ultimately figures out how to keep Shadow Moth from reakumatizing people in this episode? Alya! Because her creative style is all about researching and looking at the evidence. You know, the classic skill set of a reporter?

I really do mean it when I say that the show has a fantastic setup for telling a good story. Alya's character should have been a perfect addition to Marinette's team. My favorite lineup is the line up from season two with Kagami and Luka in non-love-interest bonus roles that I won't get into here since it's a little too deviant from canon to make sense without explanation. Instead, I'll just give you the clear roles they perfectly set up and then squandered for the original miraculous five:

Ladybug: Battlefield commander

Rena Rouge: Big Picture Strategist (basically Marinette excels at reactive thinking/leading during a battle while Alya excels more at proactive thinking/long-term tactics)

Chat Noir: Peacekeeper/Heart/Hype Man

Carapace: Protector/Stop Button (much like Alya and Marinette, Nino and Adrien should have been two sides of the same coin with Adrien being focused on making everyone happy while Nino focuses on keeping everyone safe)

Queen Bee: Wild Card/Chaos Element (I love a good chaos element who is there to suggest the options that won't occur to people who have been raised to follow the rules.)

I'll also point out that this lineup would show that the characters weren't interchangeable and make the two main couples feel more unique and meant for each other. For example, Nino's tendency to encourage others to stay safe would pair terribly with Marinette's need to not get too caught up in her own thoughts. The second Nino second guesses one of her plans she'd fall apart, so she needs Adrien to be her Chat Noir. Similarly, Alya's impulsivity weakness would make her a terrible match for go, go, go Hype Noir! She needs a partner who makes her take two seconds to second guess herself. There was so much potential here you guys! So much potential! It could have been beautiful! Instead, we got canon...

There you go, my broad love letter to Alya. I could keep going, but you didn't request a specific topic, so I'm just going to end it there. Feel free to ask for more, but please do it in another ask as this is already super long and - out of kindness to my followers- I try to avoid essay after essay on the same post unless they really need to be connected.

[nocreativityfornames]

You know what's one very obvious/simple plot I'd like to see turned into an Obey Me! event? MC getting sick. Like, I know we've seen this exact trope many many times before since the fandom has written about it multiple times but hear me out:

What's the plot of a majority of Obey Me! events? The brothers messed something up/got into a troublesome situation and MC spends the entire event running around trying to help them.

And you know who's never been on the center of an event? MC. Sure, we're literally the main character and we're there 100% of the time, but like I said before, the focus is always on the other characters and us helping THEM with shit.

Also, I think we've just got done with the "x character focused" events with Lucifer being on the spotlights of the last one. So what's a better time for it to happen? Like, we NEED an event centered around MC and the brothers being the ones to reach out/help them through it.

And what exact trope has never been done in Obey Me? MC getting sick. Like, it's the perfect plot: MC comes down with a fever or something, and through the entire event, the brothers are taking care of them and nursing them back to health.

Like, I just wanna see boys taking care of us in canon. I wanna see Lucifer scolding us for being stubborn and not taking care of ourselves while feeding us some soup. I wanna see Mammon being the tsundere idiot he is and doing the tiniest things to help us while simultaneously grumbling about how he isn't worried about us or anything like that. I wanna see Levi bringing our favorite games to our room so we can play together since Lucifer ordered us to not get out of bed. I want Satan to read us a book to help us fall asleep, I want Asmo to come to do our nails, prepare us the best baths, and talk about whatever juicy scandals we've been missing recently by not going to RAD. I want the twins to be so soft and careful with us because they're worried sick and want us to get better as soon as possible. I want all the side characters to visit us and bring us little gifts and sweets to make us feel better.

Please, devs, give us a Sick!MC event! I promise we'll cherish with all our hearts and will go back to it every time we get sick just to feel comforted by our favorite boys. 😭

[clubdionysus]

[BAD DECISION #44] Skinny Dipping

warnings: fluffy goodness <33 a lil smut, creampie, fingers in said creampie, like it's not smut as such but its a thing?? idk lol, v important conversations!! a plot chapter!!

notes: look im sorry it's one chapter again waaa I had work today!! next week we'll get more bc the next 5 or so chapters all need to be uploaded together hehe <3

wc: 10.6K

bd total wc: 540k (ongoing)

AO3 | MASTERLIST | MINORS DNI

As you glance across the beach to where Jeongguk sits with Yoongi and Namjoon, you're pleased to find his eyes on you. Give him a small nod. It's reciprocated, a subtle dimple forming in his cheek.

The laughter of your friends is spliced with the crackle of firewood that burns at seven-hundred degrees Celsius in front of you.

Sitting by the beach, under a crescent moon, you're smitten by the simplicity of a good life.

There's a beauty to Jeongguk and the way he carries himself, and you consider yourself lucky to indulge in it. You hold his gaze until he sips on his beer, at which point Danbi asks you a question—something about whale sharks. Why the fuck she thinks you'll know anything about whale sharks you'll never know, but find yourself back engrossed in conversation regardless.

Jeongguk watches on for a little while longer. Likes how you're wearing your hair loose for a change instead of in a claw clip (of which he also loves). The glitter on your skin sparkles in the light of the fire, and Jeongguk thinks the stars are pale in comparison to you tonight.

If you were looking at him, he'd silently say 'pretty' . Instead, he just thinks about how pretty you are. Pretty, pretty baby.

Compiled by Namjoon and Yoongi, the campfire they've got going would be better referred to as a bonfire. Tall and imposing, it illuminates the darkness of the beach with a warm orange glow.

Tiny embers flutter up into the sky, like the butterflies that so often like to dance around in your stomach these days.

You're reminded of them with every stolen glance in the direction of your best friend.

Freshly showered —alone, because you'd scarpered as soon as you'd laid eyes on Hayun's danger-red lips— Jeongguk is full of boyish charm, hair still waving around his features even if it is a lot shorter than it used to be. His lip ring catches in the light of the flames, silver in a myriad of golden hues, much like his eyes. For once it's not the stars sparkling in his eyes.

It was a conscious yet undiscussed decision that had been made between you both to sit as far apart as you possibly could. Not for a lack of desire —you'd be on his lap right now, if you could be— but more so to keep up the facade you've grown so accustomed to wearing around him. Unbothered. Unaffected. Unswayed by the glow of his honey skin in the warm haze of the fire, and oblivious to the warmth that's also being cast over him by the rose-tinted glasses that you tend to wear in his presence.

It's not like you need to be close right now. You're both wrapped up in different conversations, and truth be told, you like it better this way. Enjoy the ache in your chest that comes with being apart. Perhaps you're a masochist, or perhaps you just forgot how lovely it is to pine without pain.

Sipping on make-shift cocktails of whatever was left in the fridge, there's no real motive to the evening, other than enjoy the company of your nearest and dearest.

Tomorrow morning you'll go on a coastal hike, and then it will be time to bid farewell to the weekend.

Despite the hiccups, you don't think you would have changed a thing - and when Jeongguk once again catches you staring and bites down on his lip, you're certain wouldn't change a thing.

He tilts his head back. Challenges you. Mouths, c'mere.

You shake your head, but lift your empty drink. Knock your head to the side, in the direction of the main house. Silently say, come with?

He's on his feet and heading towards the house before you even get a chance to blink. Is just eager to be with you. Loves his friends, but kinda wishes he could have you all to himself.

He doesn't wait for you. It's deliberate. Not because he doesn't want to, but because he has a tiny little scenario in his head that he wishes to play out.

As soon as you get to the house, you see why.

Standing behind the kitchen island, he's got a tea towel over his shoulder, an empty cup in his hand and a glint in his eyes. The main lights are off, fairy lights sparking just like your heart is.

"Welcome to Dionysus," he grins, all charming and goofy, trying not to giggle. A sight to behold. Beautiful boy. "What can I get for you?"

Half-empty bottles line the kitchen counter, and Jeongguk looks right at home. Right where he belongs.

When you come to stand opposite him, elbows resting on the counter, hands clasped beneath your chin, you're trying to fight a smile.

You're losing. Giggle, too. Bite down on your bottom lip, and close your eyes, 'cause even looking at him like this is enough to drive you wild.

"Something that will fuck me up, but—"

"Is also delicious?" Jeongguk finishes for you, with a smile so fond you think he could end world wars. He's kinda awestruck by the fact you remember anything from that first meeting. Plays it cool, though. "I know just the thing."

He wastes no time scrambling together one of his infamous purple shots. Makes four. Two for you, two for him. You watch on with kind eyes, so inexorably smitten.

He raises his glass to cheers your shot against his, glasses clinking like bells chiming at a church wedding.

Silly, trivial thoughts for a silly, trivial interaction.

"How much do I owe you, Mr barman? For the drinks?" You beam, unaware of the fact you're looking at him like he's responsible for stringing up stars in the night sky.

He shrugs. "Not much. Just a kiss."

"You're a terrible businessman," you tell him, eyes fixed on his smile as he walks around the counter to meet you.

He simply nods. Lets his body fall into a natural state of being as he reaches you, zero thought given to the way he cups your jaw. "A kiss for a shot. Pay up."

Perhaps you shouldn't be so reckless. Perhaps you shouldn't kiss him out in the open for any prying eyes to see. Perhaps you no longer care.

Jeongguk sure as hell doesn't.

Lips on yours, it's innocent. No intrusion of tongue, no pressing of his hips to your tummy. Just a kiss. Him and you. One star to another.

Pulling away, he peppers you with one, two, three more tiny pecks. "Would you like a receipt?"

You shake your head. Pull him back in for another kiss. Just one. "Sorry. Thought you deserved a tip."

Laughing as he hands you your second shot, Jeongguk is in good spirits. Swigs down his own shot, then gets to making the long version of the drink. Says, "Star Lover alright? There's a little coke left if you just want a vodka coke."

Shaking your head, you smile. "Star Lover is perfect."

There's a casual intimacy to the way Jeongguk makes your drink first, his second. Had been drinking beer all evening, but switches to Star Lovers, 'cause it's what you want.

He wants the taste on his tongue to match yours, just so he doesn't go insane thinking about it.

"Sit with me," he says gently as you meander back to the beachfront, a hand on the small of your back.

Sipping your drink, you shake your head. "Hayun'll just glare."

Jeongguk laughs. "She'll glare anyways."

He kind of feels guilty for Hayun's bad behaviour. It's the second time today you've mentioned her intrusive eyes, and it's becoming clear that it's bothering you.

"I can speak to her?" He offers. "I know she can a bit difficult—"

Shaking your head, you don't let him finish his train of thought. "I don't wanna make drama out of nothing —and anyways, it's not like we're... yanno... together."

Jeongguk knows you're right. Doesn't care. Speaks it into existence.

"Kind of are, though, aren't we?"

"No," you reply ever so pleasantly. There's a nonchalance to your tone. One that intrigues him. Makes him disregard any feelings of rejection he could tie to that statement. You glance across to him with a light smirk, then add, "Well, you haven't asked me to be with you, have you?"

Jeongguk stops. Purses his lips. Could ask you right now, if he wanted to, but he's got a plan. Is specific in how he wants to do things.

He also knows that once you get back home and back to reality, there are external factors that will interrupt the sanctuary of what it's like when you're together. It won't just be you and him anymore. It will be you, and him, and responsibilities, and jobs and whatever else the universe wants to throw your way.

He doesn't believe that life can be as easy as it feels like when he's with you. Has never known it to be easy this easy. Has also never known what it's like to be yours, but that's neither here nor there.

You've another exhibition on your plate, and he's got business affairs to sort with the bank. The timing really isn't doing him any favours, but he wants things to be perfect when he asks you to commit to him. Thinks you deserve at least that; security in all aspects. Wants to be the kind of man worthy of you.

Has seen your ex. Seen the guy you casually dated. Both were well-established. Financially sorted. Thinks that it must be your type. Thinks that he has to be like that, too, to be worthy of you.

Thing is, you've never wanted perfect.

These days, all you really want is him. And while yes, it could be argued that Jeon Jeongguk is perfect, he has his flaws too. Is human.

It's his humanity that you adore; the slight overlap of his top teeth when he smiles, and the cute little puffs that form beneath his eyes, too. The noises he makes when he's focusing and the noises that he makes when he's sleeping, entirely unfocused. The way he sinks into his duvet when he's sleepy, and the way he sinks into your body as if it's his most natural state of being. There's little about him you don't love. The freckles on his skin that you've kissed a hundred times over. The scar on his cheek. The way he twists his spine to click his back and the sigh of relief he always exhales afterwards.

Perfect has never been part of your criteria.

Partner has been.

And when you cook, Jeongguk will always wash up. Sometimes, he'll goof around with you at the same time, speaker on, your joint playlist playing while you dry the dishes. Other times, he'll insist you go and wait for him in bed.

He closes his curtains every single time you stay over, even though he's used to sleeping with them open. Turns off his alarm even if his body clock still wakes him at ass o'clock.

You detour your walks home from work to catch him as he's leaving the gym, a cup of coffee from his favourite cafe in your hand. Have his loyalty card linked to your phone so that he can collect your free stamps, even if you buy just as many coffees from there as he does, these days.

The sacrifices you make for each other are minimal. Meaningful.

So no, you're not together.

But you're partners, whether you want to admit to it or not.

"You're so impatient, Disco Ball," he teases as he catches up with you, hooking onto your belt loop to pull you back in line with him. "Good things come to those who wait."

"And great things pass those who wait by," you counter.

You're just teasing, and he knows this. It doesn't fill him with fear. Not really. None more so than normal.

"Patience," he simply states. "It's a virtue, B."

"Always been far more in tune with my vices."

"You're impossible."

"S'why you love me," you flirt, not giving him the chance to respond before you head back down to the shore. "C'mon, Jimin'll be spreading rumours about our sex life if we're any longer."

He hasn't —but he does mumble, "Hmm, quicker than usual. Embarrassing," to Jeongguk as he sits back down.

Jeongguk just lightly slaps the back of his friend's head, and resists ripping into him for the disastrous encounters he knows his housemate has had with you. Thinks it would be a little too mean.

Instead, he just glances back over to you, a pretty smile on his lips as you laugh with your friends. The way in which you've become so integrated with one another's lives proves to Jeongguk that this is right.

It's exactly how it's supposed to be.

Why else would you meld so perfectly into one if it was not aligned by the stars themselves? There's no 'star-crossed' about you two. Were always destined to crash into one another. Was mapped out. Plotted. Planned by Venus, executed by Mars. Solidified by the karmic constance of Saturn, and nurtured by the careful understanding of Mercury.

Written in the stars, were you and Jeongguk; lived out on earth for a finite time. Seems silly to waste it.

But is time together ever wasted?

Jeongguk doesn't think so, but he does miss being in conversation with you. Encourages the group into a series of little drinking games, just so that he maybe gets the chance to banter with you.

The flames of the bonfire lick at your heart every time he glances in your direction. Is charred within seconds. It's not the black hole you've convinced yourself you'll become if you finally give into your feelings; but it's one that you much prefer. A warm heart, in a chest that isn't your own. You'll keep his safe for as long as he keeps yours safe, too.

"Never have I ever," Jimin sucks in a little air between his teeth, the game playing on around you.

You've only half your Star Lover left.

Or should that be you've only half of your drink left. There's a star across the crackling fire who's very much full of love for you.

Never Have I Ever has become a staple across the weekend. With so many players, you're always learning something new about one another, but Jimin doesn't care to learn anything new right now. He just wants to get as many people drinking as he can—and that includes himself.

"Okay," Jimin continues. "Never have I ever slept with someone in the circle."

Little fucker.

Your eyes flicker to Jeongguk. The only people who aren't raising a glass to their lips are Namjoon and Hoseok. Even Nabi drinks, which causes a little bit of a stir from Seoyeon.

"Sorry?!"

"Oh, it was one time," she cringes, bunching up her face.

From across the circle, Jimin snorts.

"With Jimin?!"

"I was young!" Nabi cries. "Naive! He was just there!"

"Okay, one—rude," Jimin interrupts. "And two—many people have shagged me. I've shagged many people. Hardly a surprise, now, is it?"

The rest of the circle laughs and jokes about what a terrible pairing they'd make, but secretly you're relieved. It softens the weight of your encounters with him.

The commotion of it all allows for the sip you take to go largely unnoticed.

Or at least you think it does, until the game reaches Hayun.

"Never have I ever," she hums, stringing out the final word as if deep in thought or contemplation. Maybe you're a cynic, but you don't buy it. Think she knows exactly what she's going to say. She waits it just a moment longer, then finishes. "Hooked up with multiple people in this circle."

Fuck.

It's a smart question, you'll give her that much. It'll force Jeongguk's hand. Make him admit to his history, as well as his present.

Thing is, it'll force yours too. You don't think she's aware of this. Nobody is.

From your peripherals, eyes too busy locked on Jeongguk, you see the subtle shake of Jimin's head. Can't hear him as he whispers to Jeongguk, "I'm not drinking."

The last thing Jimin wants is to give Hayun any ammunition. Doesn't think it should matter at all, not in the slightest, but knows how Hayun works. If she thinks she has one up against you, she'll use it, no doubt. You fucking Jimin and Jeongguk is exactly the kind of shit she'd use to weasel her way into Jeongguk's brain.

Jeongguk's eyes flicker over to you.

Realistically, he doesn't care if anyone knows.

If he drinks, he knows it means announcing your business to the group. Doesn't wanna be the one to take your privacy away from you, should it be something you wish to preserve.

You've never really feared judgement for your past endeavours, but you've also never been in a situation like this. Jimin is Jeongguk's best friend.

Both busy locked in internal battles, you don't realise that it's been a few seconds of vacant staring at one another. Are interrupted by Hayun again, saying, "Gguk?"

Before he even gets a chance to respond, your voice drowns her out.

"Never have I ever been skinny dipping!"

It's not your turn, and you're well aware the distraction will be noticeable, but you don't care.

Hayun had been attempting to turn a fun little game into something far more dramatic than it needs to be, and frankly, you don't have the energy for it. All you want is to have fun, and you can't for the life of you figure out why she insists on being such a miserable cow all of the time.

Thankfully, debate breaks out amongst your friends. Turns out, only Soeyeon and Yoongi have ever done it before, and so the rules are changed.

"Okay, either you take three shots, or you skinny dip now," Jimin declares - because of course he's the one making bad decisions for you all as a collective.

And yet everyone just seems to go along with it, enticed by the allure of released inhibitions under a crescent moon. The water sparkles as if there are a billions stars hidden beneath it. Even though you know it's impossible, part of you feels like you'll be right at home in the waves. They're tepid at this time of night. Settled by the moonlight that shines down upon them.

Pulling his shirt by the nap of his neck, Jeongguk chucks it to the ground and makes sure he's positioned right beside you.

"There's jellyfish in these waters," you mumble, knowing that it's absolutely a stupid idea —yet you shed yourself of your shirt (that really belongs to him), too.

He's loosening the buttons of his pants, as he says, "S'why I'm keeping my boxers on. Not risking my cock."

"They can probably sting through clothes."

They can't. Not the moon jellies, at least.

"Don't say that," he whines, pushing down his trousers while you also slip out yours. "Bra?"

"Do you mind?"

"Not my tits, are they?" Jeongguk just shrugs. Doesn't think he has any right to tell you how much skin you can show, and it's not like anyone is actually gonna be looking. Not like that at least.

You're on the peripherals. The rest of your friends are kind of coupled up; Danbi with Taehyung, Nabi with Hayun, Namjoon with Hoseok and Jimin... Well, Jimin is Jimin. He's kind of everywhere all at once.

Still, he's well acquainted with your tits, and it's not like seeing him stark bollock naked is gonna do anything for you. Been there, done that, got his housemates T-shirt, or however the saying goes.

"Hmm, they kinda are yours," you shrug, looking across to Jeongguk, sultry through your lashes.

"Don't say shit like that," he husks, a hunger in his pained expression. You don't think he realises that he's licking his lips, toying with his lip ring. "I'll get hard."

Smiling, you roll your eyes, as if it's not exactly the reaction you wanted. "You're so easy."

"Fuck off," he grins. "But no, do whatever you like. "

Secretly, Jeongguk likes the idea of other people knowing what you look like beneath your clothes. Likes that he's the one who gets to touch you. Likes that it's mouth that will no doubt be sucking on your nipples before the night is over.

Maybe he does have a thing for exhibitionism... fuck .

One thing is for sure, though: he's getting a semi now that he's thinking about it.

Thankfully, Soeyeon and Yoongi are counting everyone down. Sitting on the beach still, they're watching on. Have done it once before. Don't feel the need to do it again. Also kinda wanna just be alone for a second, just to indulge in one another.

"Three..."

Reaching up your back, you snap the clasp apart, and let your bra drop to the sand below you. Have completely forgotten about the fact that there's more than just you and Jeongguk around. He's all that you're looking at, and it's reciprocated.

"Two..."

"I'm so fucking obsessed with you," Jeongguk states. Plain and simple. No frills. What's the point in pretending like he isn't? Should have told you months ago. "Like... Holy shit."

"One!"

Yelping a little as Jeongguk grabs your hand, your other hand holding onto your poor unsupported tits as you hurtle into the freezing water, the adrenaline is enough to keep you going.

You're far too drunk to be doing something so reckless, but Jeongguk keeps himself close to you. Won't ever let you get into danger. Hooks an arm around your waist. Doesn't let you go.

"Can't just say shit like that," you laugh, water splashing around you.

Your friends are close by, basking in the moonlight, but all you focus on is him.

"Can."

"Can't."

"Why not?"

" 'Cause ," is all you say, and it gets Jeongguk beaming from ear to ear.

Though it's dark, there's enough light from the shoreline lights to clue you in on the dimples that are forming; his happiness hard to hide.

"I can stop, if you like?" he offers, that smile still ever-present.

"No, you can't," you smile right back. "You can't just stop being obsessed with someone. Can't just lose that."

"True," he accepts, and then just decides fuck it. Keeps an arm wrapped around your back, the gentle waves lapping against your shoulders, while his other hand rests at the base of your throat. Gets a little closer. Nudges his nose up against yours. Husks, "think losing you would destroy me, B."

"Mhmm?" You tease, reciprocating, nudging your nose deeper against his. "Better hold me tighter, then."

And so he does. Gets your chest pressed to his. Tightens his grip around your throat. You're at his disposal. Holds every single fucking card —and for once, you're happy to lose control. For Jeongguk, you'll fold.

"Tight enough?" He whispers, keeping both afloat as his lips brush yours—until the sound of Namjoon yelling from across the shallow water pulls you and Jeongguk away from the intimacy of your shared embrace.

"Out!" He bellows. "Jellyfish! Everyone out!"

You and Jeongguk somehow hold onto each other even tighter, yet both turn to face the commotion.

"I'm dying," Hoseok wails as Namjoon drags him from the shallow water, Seoyeon and Yoongi rushing over to see what's happened. Knowing Hoseok, it's a lot of fuss over nothing.

"You're fine," Namjoon mumbles, manhandling Hoseok's leg to get a better look once they're safely on the shore. "Yoongi—" he looks over to ask for his phone, of which Yoongi is already passing over, flash on. "—Ah, thanks."

Jeongguk tosses you his shirt as soon as you get to the sand, blocking you from the sight of anyone else but him. Once you're decent, he holds your hand to drag you a little faster to where Hoseok is on the brink of certain death.

"It's fine. Was just a moon jelly," Namjoon assesses, thumb rubbing over the reddening rash on Hoseok's calf. "There's not been any reports of Nomura's jellies out this far yet."

"Should I piss on it?" Jimin asks, and is subsequently shooed away by Danbi.

"I'll die before I let any of you piss on me," Hoseok hisses, then turns to Namjoon. Is ever so sweet as he says, "Unless you think I should?"

Both you and Jeongguk look on in mildly amused horror.

"Is this... flirting?" Jeongguk quietly asks you, nodding towards the treacle-filled eyes Hoseok is looking at Namjoon with.

"I think so?" you giggle so quietly only he can hear you, as your arms wrap around his bare waist. "Please don't ask me to piss on you, too."

"Might be hot," Jeongguk mumbles, draping his arm over your shoulders, pressing a kiss into your wet hair.

"Shut up."

Once it's been assessed that Hoseok really won't die (and Jimin has offered his piss on at least two more occasions) it's decided that bedtime is calling. Quick showers are had to wash off the remnants of the ocean, taken in tandem as some people busy themselves cleaning up the kitchen to make it easier for the morning.

"Hey," Jeongguk says quietly, catching your arm as you walk towards your door after your shower. A small yelp escapes your lips as he pulls you into your room, but there's no resistance from you.

Not when he shuts the door.

Not when he presses your back up against it.

Not when towers above you and traps you in place with his body.

And most definitely not as he presses a kiss into your lips.

Oh, it's so bloody predictable by now. It's like you lose all sense of authority when Jeongguk shows even the lightest dominance.

But there's an undeniable authority to the way in which he touches you, one hand flat to the door beside your head, while the other grips onto your waist. Lips safely right where they're supposed to be, Jeongguk's hip press against your tummy.

Oh, hello.

You softly moan into his lips, surprised by his sudden need to have you like this -but you're not complaining. Not in the slightest. In fact, the way your hands grip his waist and pull him tighter against you would suggest that this is exactly what you've been craving.

"Missed you," he mumbles against your lips.

"Been ten minutes," you hum into his.

"Too long." His hands roam. They're everywhere all at once. Can't decide which part of your body he wants the most. Knows he wants it all. Won't be satisfied until he has it all. "Fuckin' hate showers without you."

"Careful," you whisper, a pretty smile on your lips as he steals a hundred tiny kisses. "You really are starting to sound obsessed."

He just nods. "I am."

Jeongguk speaks in hyperbole. Embroiders his words with the silliest of sequins. Exaggerates just to make you giggle a little.

Now is no exception; except for the fact it's as honest as it is dramatic.

He's also as horny as he is smitten. Wastes no time getting you right where he wants you.

Hands pinned above your head, pressed into the soft feather down of your pillow, Jeongguk trails his lips up your neck.

Wet and wanting, the kisses he dapples your skin in are intentional. He wants your body squirming beneath his much like it is now; the breaths hitching in your throat reaching a point of instability that will no doubt turn into the moans he adores so much.

"Gguk," you rasp, and struggle a little against the grip he has on you —even though it's really just a ruse to get the friction between you both a little more heightened.

He knows what you're doing. Knows you well. Tightens his grip, and presses your wrists deeper into the cotton.

"Mhmm?" He encourages you to keep talking. Loves your voice. Loves hearing it when he's hard. His hips match the pressure of his hand that's pinning down your wrists as he grinds between your legs.

"The others," you reply, voice a little low in tone. "They're still—"

"Don't care," he tells you, lips pressing up your neck to your ear. His tongue flicks against your lobe. Nibbles down. Lips migrate to your cheek. One, two, three pretty kisses until he finds your lips. Steals just one, and says, "Only care about you."

The way your chest presses up to his as you laugh, face turning slightly away from him as a smile breaks on your pouty lips, has Jeongguk realising maybe you should be quiet. He doesn't want anyone else falling in love with you, too.

Wants to keep you his; your laughter all bottled up for him, and him alone.

He's insane at the mere thought of you with someone else. Insatiable every time he hears you laugh at a joke made by someone that isn't him. Interwoven into the fabric of his DNA is the way he feels about you; chemical. Chronic. Catastrophic.

But you're beneath the weight of his body, now, and you're giggling because of him .

"You do care," you tell him regardless. "Your ex is literally down—"

"Not my ex."

Jeongguk interrupts you in a way that sort of just stops you in your tracks. He loosens the grip he has on your wrists, and fills the space in his palm with your cheek, instead. It's not the first time he's downplayed the magnitude of Hayun's impact, but it's always felt like he was kidding himself. The sternness of his tone, this time, is different. Decisive. Final.

"Please don't be hung up on her," he adds. "I'm not."

"No?"

"No, B." Nose nudging up against yours, he's soft when he asks, "Do you trust me?"

With a tepid nod, you confirm that you do. Let your fingers intertwine with his. Say, "With my life."

And so you sink; into the sheets, into his kisses, into the way it feels to be fucked by a man who wouldn't call this fucking at all.

It's more than that. Leg bent at the knee over his elbow, his lips buried into the crook of your neck, Jeongguk isn't searching for relief. He's seeking refuge. Finding a home inside you - and when your walls begin to tighten around him, nails scratching down his back as his lips latch onto your chest, he knows he's found one. Has the keys. Can lock the door. Keep himself safe.

Safe, safe, safe.

You, you, you.

Doesn't take much for him to come undone. Not much at all. Would be embarrassing, if he didn't feel so secure with you.

"Shit," he husks against you in the comedown of it all. Swears, "You were fuckin' made for me, B. Made for me."

His kisses trail all over your body. There's not an inch of skin he doesn't want.

"Always take me so well, don't you?" He praises your spent body, as he nestles into the sheets beside you. Shuffles a little further down the bed so his lips can wrap around your nipples. Lets his hand dip to your soaked pussy. Says nothing as he begins to rub sensual circles against your clit.

"Gguk," you whine, writhing a little in the sheets. You're just as spent as he is.

"Mhmm?" he mumbles, sucking your nipple deeper into his mouth. The sensation of his tongue rubbing against your hardened bud is enough to drive you insane, but the way he toys with your pussy? Even when he's already made you cum? God, he's criminal . A sinner .

"I'll cum again," you whine, shoulders pressing back into the sheets —which only encourages him more.

He sinks a finger into your cunt, with little care for the fact it's just been stuffed with his cock, and that is currently full of his own cum.

"Fuck," you sigh into the sensation, a second finger joining the first.

"Let yourself," he says, pulling himself away from your chest, sinking further down the sheets, until he's between your legs. Does nothing for a moment. Just takes in the sight of you. "Fuckin' love his cunt." Begins to fuck his fingers into you with a little more precision. Gets you writhing . Smirks. "You like that, don't you, baby? Like me pushing my cum into you, huh?"

"Mhmm," is all you can manage to whimper as he begins to stroke up against your sweetest of spots—and when his lips hungrily lap around your clit, you know you're done for.

It doesn't take long for an orgasm to crash over you like the waves you were caught in with him earlier that night.

He teases you through your orgasm, not easing up his fingers nor the suction of his lips. Praises you in the afterglow. Tells you how pretty you are. Prowls back up the bed. Kisses you slowly, then presses his slick covered fingers to your lips. As you accept them into your mouth, he says, "That's it, baby. Clean them up for me. Good girl. Such a good girl for me."

And yet it's Jeongguk who cleans the sheets up when you go to the bathroom to sort yourself out. He's a good boy. A good boy for you .

Waiting for you by the door afterwards, he simply holds his hand out. Guides you downstairs. Decides you'll sleep in his room. Faces no resistance from you in the slightest.

Why would he? All you ever seem to wanna do these days is curl up beside him. Doesn't matter where, doesn't matter when—but if it did, in a bed at two in the morning would seem like a good place for it.

Come the morning, nobody is particularly pleased for the early wakeup, but the coastal hike itself is pretty painless. Despite your previous deliberations, you decide that Danbi is right. There's no need for you to try and get on Hayun's good side.

She sure as hell hasn't tried to get on yours, so what's the point? Will just bring you unnecessary stress that you could really do without.

That being said, you leave Jeongguk to his own devices for the morning. Spend the hike with Danbi and Tae. Hoseok is back by the house, nursing his 'wounds', and Namjoon—the only person who actually seemed excited about the coastal hike—is right there with him, tending him back to full health.

"They're so into each other," Danbi says. "So smitten . It's gross ."

You just look at her —then at the boy whose hand she's holding— and furrow your brows. "Pot, kettle, black?"

"Fuck off," she laughs. "Not like you've got a leg to stand on, little miss 'ohhh, we're just friends .'"

"Fuck off," you laugh right back, but don't argue against her. She has a point, after all.

It's proven when Jeongguk sheepishly comes to your room as you're packing your bags up.

"Hey," you smile as you glance over towards him for just a second. "Nearly finished. Can't find one of my bras."

"It's in with my stuff," Jeongguk says without missing a beat. Knows he packed a few things of yours up with his. A natural consequence of merging into one another's space in the way that you two so often do.

When you look over at him once again, you notice the way he's got one of his arms outstretched. Is waiting for you to fill the space beneath it.

So you do.

Chin resting on his chest, you're looking up at him, smiling as he looks down. There's a little glitter on his skin. Perfection .

"Gotta run the people who came by train back to the station. Wish I could put you in my pocket and just take you everywhere," he mumbles, as if that's a normal thing to say to the girl he's been trying to convince everyone is simply just a friend.

"That'd be really inconvenient."

"No." He simply says.

"Yes."

He mumbles an indication of his disagreement, as the hazy, love-drunk curve of his lips presses down into yours.

The kiss is quick. Fleeting. Just enough to reassure him that he's been making the right choices. Making good decisions.

Pulling away from him, there's a pleasant smile on your lips that just absolutely refuses to budge. There's one on Jeongguk's face too, as he watches on, still leaning against the door frame.

"That wasn't very friendly," you say softly of the teeny tiny kiss you shared.

"No," he agrees. "It wasn't."

A small pad of paper and pen had been left in every room by the host of the house. Just standard hotel-type stuff. Nothing fancy. Not branded. Barely used, 'cause people just tend to use their phones these days, but still a nice thing to have.

Jeongguk had left a few doodles in yours over the weekend. Nothing big, nor fancy—but notably, they're all ripped out when he goes to open it once more, for you've tucked them away in your purse. Keepsakes. Little mementoes. Line drawings of stars, and sketches of your unmade bed. Yours, forever.

You're not really watching him, too busy making sure you've got the last of your items back, as he begins to scribble down into it once more. This time, he's the one who rips it out. Rips it again, to re-shape the rectangle note into a square. Folds it with little precision. Doesn't care for perfection in the same way that he usually does.

His creation is tucked into his back pocket before you even really notice what he's doing.

"Who's going to the station? Hobes, Nam, and Hayun, right?"

Jeongguk nods. "Yeah."

You nod, too. Turn to look at him. Say, "She's not allowed to ride shotgun."

It's not like you mean it. You're just joking .

But you do also say, "That's my space."

And Jeongguk agrees (even if it will enrage Jimin later in the afternoon). It is your space.

So he makes her ride in the back. Says that the seatbelt isn't working properly. "Safety precautions."

In a way, it is a safety precaution—just one for your heart, instead of Hayun's health.

Once they reach the station, Jeongguk helps to ferry the luggage to the platform with them all, and agrees to watch it with Hayun as Namjoon and Hoseok run to grab coffee. It's just an excuse for them to flirt, and he knows this. Decides to let them indulge it. Knows he'd have been annoyed if anyone got in the way of his time spent with you in the early days.

Hell, he gets annoyed at it now. Wants you all to himself, all of the time.

Small talk is made with Hayun. Weather and whatnot. Events of the weekend. Perfectly pleasant, and entirely forced.

Until she says, "So what's the deal then, huh? What's going on with you two?"

Still, she refuses to address you as anything more than a pronoun. Doesn't want to give you the luxury of an authentic existence in her own mind.

"No deal," Jeongguk says.

"Oh come on," she nudges her shoulder against his arm, but is surprised when he dodges the touch.

The Jeongguk she once knew would have thought about the exchange for weeks. This Jeongguk seems to want it erased entirely.

"God, you're touchy," she says, stifling a laugh. "She's turned you into such a"-

"Don't," Jeongguk says, tone soft but stern. "This kind of conversation isn't fair, Hayun. Not on me, and not on yourself. Not on anyone ."

He doesn't name drop you specifically, but the implication is there. She understands. Wishes she didn't.

It's a strange reality for her to live in. One that feels uncomfortable, and new, and foreign.

Yes, she's with a man who once knew her body better than she knew her own mind, but he's entirely different.

The Jeongguk who had drunkenly sobbed into her voicemail for months on end is not the Jeongguk who came out of his room holding your hand yesterday afternoon.

The Jeongguk who had fucked Hayun with more tenderness, more care, more devotion than any other man ever has, is not the Jeongguk who holds you when you cry.

No, the Jeongguk she once knew no longer exists. His vessel is largely the same, yes, but he's got stardust in his veins, now. When he bleeds, he bleeds for you.

"I took you for granted," Hayun admits, arms folded tight over her chest, cherry-red lips pursed. "You're right. I'm sorry."

And it confuses Jeongguk.

Confuses him, 'cause he would have done anything to hear Hayun say it this time last year.

Confuses him, 'cause she seems sincere and yet he doesn't believe her to be, nor does he really care.

Confuses him, 'cause the only thing it really makes him feel is sick.

He remedies the unpleasantness with thoughts of you. God . He just wants to get back to you.

"Or maybe you were right," he offers instead, trying to ease the situation. "Maybe there really is no such thing as right person, wrong time."

She frowns. "How so?"

"If it was the right person, it'd be the right time," he shrugs.

Thinks he met you at the perfect time. Wishes he had met you sooner, but knows he wouldn't have been ready.

"And is she that person?" Hayun finally pouts, deflated. "Is it the right time for her ?"

Jeongguk presses his lips together. Never imagined a reality in which he'd ever be telling Hayun any of this about another girl. Nods. Says, "Yun, when we... Well, you know. Back then, I projected my feelings onto you a lot. Thought that maybe if you saw how much I cared, that you'd care, too—"

"I did."

"No," Jeongguk stops her. "Not in the same way I did. We both know that. Yun, it felt... Felt like I was always fighting a losing battle with you. Sorta got myself hooked on the pain. Sorta like an addiction, in a way."

"That's morbid."

"That's the truth," he shrugs. "But the only thing I've ever fought when it comes to B is my own bloody head."

For the first time in what feels like a lifetime, he glances down at Hayun. Sees her for exactly what she is: just a girl. Was special, 'cause he decided that she was—but she's never sparkled like you do.

He's never had any control over the way he sees you.

"I really care about her," Jeongguk admits. "I can't... I can't be an emotional crutch for you. Not someone to run back to, not someone to confide in in the way that you do. I'm not someone you can flirt with just because you're bored, or lonely."

Every sentence he speaks is like a sucker punch to her chest. She wishes the train would just hurry up.

"I really want to make things work with B."

Shaking her head, arms still tightly folded over her chest, Hayun can't believe the bullshit he's spewing. Thinks he never would have said this shit before you came around.

"So you're just throwing us away?" She almost spits. "Years of friendship, Jeongguk—"

"Years of you using me," he corrects.

"I never—"

"You did," he says firmly, not caring to let her manipulate the situation. "Might not have been your intention, but it is what it is."

Silence hums in between the roaring of train engines. The platform they're on remains empty. Stagnated.

"I didn't mean to," she grumbles. Looks away. Seems to be a shell of herself.

And Jeongguk really does think she means it. Wants to believe that no one would ever be that intentionally cruel.

"I know."

He's not after a fight. Isn't after anything really. Only wants to solidify the foundations you've been building together, and knows that he has to put in a little extra work on his end. Wants you to be secure. Knows you never will be if Hayun is still in the picture.

"Look," he sighs. "We're still gonna see each other around. Still gonna get on just fine —but there's no need for us to hang out one-on-one. No need to catch up. All my news for the foreseeable future is gonna be about B, anyways, and let's not pretend like it's something you'll actually care to hear about."

"What makes her different?" Hayun huffs, taking a seat on the empty bench in the middle of the platform. "What's so special about her?"

"You've met her," Jeongguk states, not joining her on the bench. Keeps his distance. "You know exactly why she's special, Hayun."

She scoffs. Shakes her head.

"So that's it? We're just not friends any more all because of some girl you've known for five minutes?"

"I'm not fighting with you about this. It doesn't have to be a fight."

"You're abandoning me and you expect me to be cool about it?" she scathes. "Throwing away everything we've ever shared all because of some fucking girl—"

"Hayun, I'm in love with her."

He doesn't mean to say it. Doesn't even really realise that he has until she falls silent.

But it's simple, and it's true, and it's acceptance; the way he feels about you has been spoken into existence. It's not big. Not scary. Just a fact of life.

"If she loved you—"

"You've no right to speak on how someone who loves me should treat me," Jeongguk laughs, cutting Hayun off. Really can't be fucked with her anymore. "She never asked me to have this conversation with you, if that's where you're going with this. She's my priority. I'm having this conversation because I know you have a tendency to overstep boundaries and I'll be damned if I let you fuck this up, Hayun."

Silence resumes.

"Look," he eventually sighs. "You were really important to me for a really long time. I'll always have time for you if you desperately need it... but I can't live in the past. Not when I have a future that I'm really excited about. Not when I have a present that makes me feel the way that it does."

But Hayun doesn't like this. Doesn't understand. Is annoyed. Pissed off that she isn't winning.

"Is she better than me?" She asks, deliberately getting a little vulgar, now. Wants him thinking about what it's like to fuck her. Think it's where she'll always reign supreme.

Jeongguk doesn't want to entertain it. "You're different."

Hayun doubles down. "Is she better?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to," Jeongguk simply shrugs.

"I'll take that as a no," Hayun smirks. Thinks she's won, 'cause why else would not just say 'no'?

But this really does piss Jeongguk off. Gets his jaw tense. Has him snapping.

"This little act of yours ain't cute, Hayun," he laughs—but it's not enough.

There's venom on his tongue, and the only way for him to save himself is to spit it at her instead.

"You ever been fucked by someone who loves you?" He hisses. "Huh? You know how fucking good it is when the person you're with actually gives a shit about you?"

Hayun is silent. They both know the answer. Knows the reason she can't let go is 'cause there's no way she'll get anyone who ever cared as much as he did.

Did.

Past tense.

"Don't ask stupid fuckin' questions," he finally says, a little softer in his tone, but still incredibly stern. She's done damage that can't be undone. He can deal with her being shitty to him, but it's different when she's shitty towards you. "In fact, don't ask jack shit about my fuckin' sex life. That's what I mean by overstepping boundaries. Know your place."

"I didn't mean—"

"I don't care," he says with a shrug of his shoulders as he turns to leave. She doesn't need his help to watch the bags. Her burdens are no longer his. "Conversation's done, Hayun. Couldda been amicable but you just couldn't help yourself. I'm sure I'll see you at the wedding."

He swallows down a 'get home safe', knowing that she'll be fine. Doesn't need his well-wishes, even if he does feel like an asshole.

There's a slight curve to Hayun's lips as he walks away. Proof that she can get under his skin, she thinks. False confirmation that he secretly still cares. Complete delusion. Ignorance of the fact it's his feelings for you that have him riled up. Protective .

His blood is all hot. Those damn stars are burning too brightly in his veins. Feels like they're gonna burst. His chest too, heart beating faster than should really be possible. Matches the speed at which he tanks his car down the country lanes back to the house. Back to you.

And yet when he's parked up in the driveway, he can't help but sit for a little while. Ruminate. Ponder the state of his circumstances. Wonder how it all came to reach this point.

Hands still on his wheel, as he glances up towards the house, it all just kind of fades away. He really did mean it when he said you help him forget about all the bad shit. When he focuses in on you, all he sees is the good.

So he pulls himself together. Greets you with a squeeze of your waist as he walks past and sets to loading up the car. Doesn't check the side-house, 'cause he trusts you to have remembered everything. Relinquishes control to you in a way that's unusual of him—but nothing about the pair of you is entirely 'usual'.

Never has been.

Jeongguk thinks he'd like it if your unusual affection for one another became the usual for you. Strange to others, maybe, but just right for him.

"No, call it again. Reload!" Jimin whines when you call shotgun just before all leave.

Jeongguk doesn't reload. Says, "Don't hate the player, hate the game."

Jimin threatens to use Jeongguk's good towel when he gets home, but it doesn't work.

See, Jeongguk wants you close. Close, close, close. Wants to hold your hand when he drives, but knows that he can't, so settles on this instead.

It's about twenty minutes into the drive when Jimin starts whining again. You've fallen asleep, the lull of the heater and chilled playlist Jeongguk has chosen soothing you. It's been an exhausting weekend, and it's not like you've been sleeping enough. Had told yourself you wouldn't fuck Jeongguk, not even once, throughout the weekend. Failed.

Jeongguk hushes his friend. "Don't wake her. She's not been sleeping well."

Yeah, Jimin internally scoffs. Heard it for myself.

Thankfully, he does settle. Can sense Jeongguk isn't in the mood to bicker. Eventually, Jimin naps too, and so do Danbi and Taehyung. It's a quiet journey, but one that Jeongguk thinks he needed. Alone time was sparse for the past few days. He needs a moment to recharge.

Traffic is light for a Sunday, roads peaceful. Often, he's the only car for miles. Likes it better this way.

It's a solid half an hour before he speaks again.

"Rise and shine," Jeongguk says softly, pulling you from your tranquil state. Still in the passenger seat of his car, he gently squeezes your knee, helping to bring you back to the realm of the living.

"Hmm?" you chirp, a little confused as you begin to stretch out.

You're unfamiliar with your surroundings, but can tell you're at a service station. It's a carbon copy of all the other ones along the motorway, just with slightly different bedazzled tat on offer in the marque stall out the front of it. Trot music blares from the speakers, and the scent of fried snack foods waft in through the open windows of his car.

The parking lot has ample space for three hundred cars, but you're not sure there's even thirty here. Cracks in the cement floor are sprouting with fresh spring weeds, and the empty retail units out front are almost indistinguishable from the ones that are still in business. It's drab. Bleak. Void of life.

"Where are the others?" You question, glancing behind yourself to see that the backseats are all empty.

"Wanted food," he clarifies, hand now resting on your inner thigh. You don't mind. Not in the slightest. "Said I'd wait with you and see if you wanted anything."

It's sweet, the way his eyes are always deep and dark whenever they look at you. There's an innocence to Jeongguk—to his intentions—even if you know that he isn't innocent in the slightest.

It boils down to the fact he's a genuinely good person. Will never let someone be left out, even if they are sleepy and would have happily slept through the entire service stop. The light shining in through the windows illuminates his dewy skin, highlighting all the teeny tiny flecks of glitter on him. It makes you smile. Makes you part your legs a little wider.

It's not like you're actively looking to entice him—you're just sleepy, and cosy, and he's handsome, and lovely. It's a match made in heaven.

The way his half-zipped sweatshirt hangs off his frame, revealing the vest that's tight to his chest, just really does something to you. Paired with the chain you know looks oh so good when it's dangling in front of your face?

Well, who could blame you?

Jeongguk smirks. Narrows those big brown Bambi eyes of his. Says, "From the shop. I'm checking to see if you want anything from the shop. Not from me."

"I'm all good," you shake your head, then stretch into a comfier position. Jeongguk stays with you. Doesn't bother going to get himself a snack. Will eat when he's home. Just wants to revel in the last few moments alone before your friends rejoin you.

Once they do, the rest of the drive is plain sailing.

You're dropped off first, Danbi staying in the car to head straight to Taehyung's place.

In all honesty, you'd been expecting to enjoy the quiet after a weekend of chaos. A chance to recharge your batteries. Time alone is typically your favourite way to unwind.

And yet today it isn't. In fact, you feel lonely, which is a rarity.

There's an emptiness to your bedroom.

With Danbi at Taehyung's, and Jeongguk at his own place, you don't really know what to do with yourself. Your entire afternoon routine feels lethargic. Unexciting. You shower, put on your laundry, have a mild panic because a rogue hair slide makes the washing machine wail for a while, then hang it out to dry on the roof of your apartment building.

You've not got much of a cityscape view from the rooftop—not like Jeongguk's apartment does—but it's something better than nothing. In a block of low-rise apartment buildings, you've always been quietly fond of the area. The traffic is light, a few roads back from the busy main street, and there's only one yappy pomeranian in the next building over to disturb the peace. It's home.

Elbows resting on the rooftop wall, you can't help but frown as a sad reality begins to kick in. The lease is up in a few months. Given how much time Danbi spends at Taehyung's studio, it seems only natural for her to move in with him when the time comes.

Moving doesn't appeal to you right now. You're settled. Content. Sure, Hoseok could move in, but he's gotten used to the expensive end of town. You doubt he'd be willing to come back to the squalor of your district.

Equally, Jeongguk and Jimin already have a pretty stable arrangement - not that you'd even want to live with them. You and Jimin have conflicting interior design tastes, and Jeongguk is annoying enough as it is. Living with him would only serve to make you lose your mind.

You've many options, realistically. Roommates, finding somewhere smaller, keeping the place you currently have but doubling your monthly rent expenses. All viable choices.

Still, it's nothing that needs to be decided yet. Both time and circumstances will change. They always do. Decisions, the good and bad, still have time to be made.

Flopping down onto your bed when you get back into your apartment, there's a weight to your shoulders. A sigh in your lungs. An ache where your heart resides.

With every pulse of your heart you can feel it.

And so can Jeongguk.

On his back, staring up at his own ceiling, he's silent. The echo of the TV vibrates through the wall, Jimin on the other side, but Jeongguk just sort of blocks it all out. Arm draped over his own waist, forlorn eyes studying the slight movement of the washi-taped birds in his AC unit breeze, there's little else he can think of but you.

It's not like this is a new thing. It's been months of Jeongguk having a disco ball for a brain. A slow process, he thinks. Was just flecks of glitter at first, trapped in his limbic system. Somewhere between the amygdala and hypothalamus.

But they multiplied. Spiralled. Crystalised.

And now his brain is hundreds of tiny mirrored shards, all reflecting an image of you.

Part of him thinks it should drive insane; that it should feel claustrophobic to never have his brain to himself.

He simply doesn't feel that way, though. Can't explain it. Just is what it is.

Thoughts of you are interrupted by the presence of Jimin —although it's not like the thoughts actually cease to exist. It's sort of like music playing when you're reading a book, or the sound of crashing waves while you sunbathe on the beach. Just 'cause he's distracted, doesn't mean they aren't there.

Jeongguk says nothing, just grunts as Jimin crashes down onto his bed uninvited. Facedown, Jimin doesn't know nor care of the importance that Jeongguk's origami birds hold. They've been such a staple in his housemate's bedroom for years at this point. Existed well before you—though he did notice the increase in them after you.

"Speak to me," Jimin mumbles, voice muffled by Jeongguk's sheets.

There's no care for formalities. No specification of what Jeongguk should speak about. He already knows.

Still, he says, "About?"

"About Disco Ball, dumbass."

But what's there to say?

"Can't keep bottling shit up, man. It'll destroy your head," Jimin adds. Has seen it happen once before. Cares too much for his friend to let it happen again.

"Not much to say," Jeongguk dismisses, just like Jimin thought he would. It's so typical of him.

"We both know that's not entirely true, don't we?"

"Do we?"

"Gguk."

"Well, what?" Jeongguk sighs. Rubs across his face with the heel of his palm. Keeps his eyes closed as he shakes his head.

"The walls were far thinner than you thought they were, Gguk," is all Jimin says. It's all he needs to say, but also thinks that Jeongguk needs a little push. "Y'know there's this old proverb— Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."

"That's not a proverb," Jeongguk frowns. "It's a quote from the film B made us watch after the last Notebook screening."

"Shut up," Jimin says, realising that he has just in fact quoted a 'A Cinderella Story ' at Jeongguk. "Doesn't matter. Is still true. The longer you go on with 'just friends' bullshit, the more and more she'll start to believe that's how you really feel, and then you'll lose her."

"I won't"—

"Shut up," Jimin repeats. "You'll lose her, 'cause she'll find someone that's proud to show her off. Will find someone who doesn't hide her. At the moment it's like you're ashamed of her."

It's not like that in the slightest. Jimin doesn't think it comes across like that to anyone, but he needs Jeongguk to wise up. Needs him to do something.

And even though Jimin is unaware of the Seokjin history, and the way in which you were shunned by someone you loved, Jeongguk isn't. Is well too aware that you've been made to feel like that before. Hates the thought of ever doing it to you too. Echoes of 'you sound just like him' makes his hairs stand on end, goosebumps ghosting his skin. He'll be damned if he's ever compared to your scumbag of an ex again.

"What if it's not what she wants?" Jeongguk says quietly.

"But what if it is?"

Jeongguk stays silent for a moment. Glances over to his chessboard, where a dishevelled bird sits. It barely looks like a bird anymore, thanks to his stroppy fists that tossed it across the room a couple of months ago.

Wings crumpled, it's been through the wars.

And yet when Jeongguk shows up at your door unannounced, holding the bird in his palm, he tries to pretend like it's totally normal.

Looks at it, then looks at you.

Says, "It fell."

"Into what?" you laugh, dressed in nothing more than one of his shirts and a pair of tiny shorts that have no business riling him up in the way that they do. "A literal rock-paper-scissors battle?"

"Erm," Jeongguk stutters. "No. I, uh. Fuck."

Showered and changed, he's now wearing a baggy sweater you've seen a few times before. Have always been tempted to steal it, but never got the chance. If it ends up on your bedroom floor tonight, it's fair game. The silver of his chain peeks out from the neckline, his lip ring glistening as he toys with it.

He struggles to find the words—and then just thinks fuck it.

What's the worst that could happen?

Rejection?

"No," he corrects himself. "Fell into my fist. Well, no, onto my back, and then I balled it up in my fists. Couple of months ago, actually. Anyways, I, uh—" he pauses. Is so nervous he's pretty sure he'll be sweating through his sweater. Looks to the floor. Shakes his head. Get a grip, man. "It's one of mine. I want to do it."

"Okay?" You question, raising the pitch of your voice as you gesture for him to come inside. His demeanour is very unlike his usual self, but it kind of reminds you of the Jeongguk you first met. It's cute. Sweet. Timid. "Can I read it?"

Hesitant, Jeongguk passes the bird to you. Kicks off his shoes. Walks away from you. Settles on the sofa. Wants to scream into a pillow, but is trying to look cool about things, even if his blood is burning red hot in his veins.

The way it feels like your heart is in your throat as you go to read the words out loud is a shared experience. Jeongguk's all of a tither, too. Hides it far better. When you glance over at him, you almost can't see his nerves. The soft purple mood lighting helps.

It's his eyes that give him away. So big. So sparky. Full of stars. All for you.

Just like the fear scribbled into his bird is all for you, too.

Admit your feelings.

You look over to him, then back down to the paper. Take a moment.

He says nothing. Nibbles down on his bottom lip. Is beautiful in the breakdown of his bastions. Walls need not be kept up any more. There's no point.

"Okay..." You say slowly. Assumptions would be disastrous right now, you think. "To who?"

Jeongguk swallows back his nerves. Looks you dead in the eye as he confirms the conclusions you're so desperately trying not to jump to.

"You."

It's not enough. You're still second-guessing.

"Admit your feelings to me... about who?"

Jeongguk would laugh if he didn't feel like the world is caving in around him. His head is spinning.

Or maybe it's just him. 

Orbiting. Crashing. Colliding.

"You."

[screamingatmyfandom]

I don't know which person manifested main character energy in my area but I'm literally living through a Hallmark movie plot as a background character.

For context, I live in Washington state, specifically behind one the main headwaters for many lakes, rivers, creeks, and watersheds in the area. It is also a major marshland that prevents major flooding when it rains, which is always, bc it's Washington.

This place is just forest and marsh, and our small neighborhood that's accessible by travelling down a one lane road through a swamp. (We have one singular lamp that lights that road like Narnia, especially in the fog XD).

Recently a big company came out and went door to door going "Hey, just letting you know that we're gonna be building a facility 10 ft from your houses. We chose this cute little neighborhood because there would have been pushback from bigger ones! So guess we'll be neighbors soon!"

To which we collectively went "No? N-no, you're not allowed to build back there. We almost weren't allowed to build back here when the neighborhood was first established. There are native plants and animals that live here, along with about 60% of pierce county's usable water. Also that "cute little neighborhood" remark sounded really condescending?"

So now here we are, about 2 months later, protesting with actual signs and a website because they still tried to build there, then stopped and nearly got in trouble for doing illegal things.

So. To whichever person is living out their main character Hallmark fantasy in Washington state, could you please hurry up and kiss the love interest and realize that you hate your corporate job so the black bears in my neighborhood can go back to the forest and stop curbstomping my trash can? Thank you.

[icy-watch]

Ok, and that was the end of s2p2 of Ninjago: Dragons Rising.

Lots going on at the end there.

There are Emotions here.

So predictions for next season.

The Fab 5 are going to be the main antagonists. That's pretty much a given at this point. It's going to be a tough fight, but there's going to be only 1 person or being who'll be able to defeat them:

Ras's master.

I still have no idea who or what that could be, but they're this giant looming threat over everything. They are, ultimately, going to be the final threat.

I feel like they've been pulling some strings and really want Arin, not Ras, by their side. And as soon as Arin masters Shatterspin, they're going to ditch Ras.

That's just what I'm feeling rn.

And then there's Jay. Nya and Kai are going to find Jay. I"m not sure if they're going to ever restore his memories. I would love to believe that they'll be able to, but I think there's something lost about Jay's memories that are with Wu.

As in, Wu is somehow keeping Jay's memories from him for his own protection or something.

Oh, wait if Jay knows where Wu is and what's going on with him? Hmmmm. That's an interesting plot thread to go down. I might play with this idea later.

And, finally, the reason Wu caused the Merge. The idea I proposed while watching the episode feels... tangible. Wu caused the Merge bc if he didn't so something the Fab 5 would be unbeatable. They needed Elemental Powers in order to stop them.

This completely contradicts my prediction about about Ras's master being the only thing to defeat them, I know, but my brain is thinking many things and I can't control it.

And we have left now is to wait until the next season is released.

Correct and incorrect predictions below the cut.

Correct

The Forbidden Five caused some problems in the past and were sealed away or something. "Problems" is putting it lightly. Very lightly. It's implied they committed genocide. Multiple times.

The Forbidden Five were the last students Egalt and Rontu had. I had this marked as confirmed, but it's been so long since I last watch that episode to actually say yay or nay.

There is a portal gate at Mysterium. It wasn't confirmed in any of the episodes t appeared, but as it was in the City of Temples Monastery, it's safe to assume it has 1 as well.

Either Kai or Lloyd will be able to do the Rising Dragon technique first. Kai was first, and Lloyd was third. 😊

Something's up with Egalt, and Wyldfyre knows what it is. Sadly, she knows exactly what is is, bc she lost family members to the same disease.

2 members of the Fab 5 escaped and the second 1 is possessing Jordana. I think this was rather obvious to me.

We'll see some old friends at the Tournament of the Sources. We got Tox and Neuro and Mr. Pale and Chamille and maybe some others I forgot about.

Jay is either going to be a random competitor in the Tournament or 1 of the members of the Wolf Army. Por qué no los dos?

Bleckt can't be trusted. The fact I switched from Bleckt to Roby.

Zeatrix will make it decently far into the Tournament. She actually did. Before she lost and tried to kill Lloyd.

By the end of the season, Arin will join Ras. Technically, yes, he did.

Nokt and whoever's possessing Jordana killed the Matriarch. This became obvious. It was less obvious whether or not Ras was in on it or no.

There's a lot of manipulation in the Tournament to either help Ras or the Fab 5. Help in the form of an old man with buttons.

The City of Temples Monastery won't be how they get Kai and Bonzle back. It'll be something with the dragon horns. I'm genuinely surprised that this was the actual solution. Holy canoli.

Nokt and his sister are using Ras. He really is very easy to play with. They were holding a string in front of him and he was batting away at it, believing he was in control of everything this whole time.

Bleckt and Ras have been conspiring, but it has nothing to to with the missing horns. Yeah, their whole plot together was the subplot for the season. Nokt and Rox's plot ended up being the main 1.

Something will interrupt Sora and Nokt's fight. I'm counting Bleckt shifting the platform as an interruption. It wasn't what I assumed would happen, but it did keep Sora from actually winning the round like she should have.

There is going to be a fight between everyone and the Wolf Army. I feel like this was a given.

The rest of the Fab 5 (+ Kai and Bonzle) will be freed at the end of the season. This was another 1 of those things that felt like it was a given.

Jordie is going to get free from Rox. This 1 also felt like it was a given.

Incorrect

Sora is going to struggle with learning the Rising Dragon technique. She didn't even learn it.

Arin is going to do the best out of everyone learning the Rising Dragon technique. *sad laughter into a pillow*

Ras is sacrificing the Writers to keep control of the Wolf Army. Well, he was sacrificing them, just not to keep control of the Wolf Army. Actually, that resulted in him losing control of the army.

Bonzle was the reason none of the Finders could leave the Land of the Lost. She wasn't directly responsible for keeping them there, although she failed to mention that the spell holding them there was gone.

Bonzle was captured by the Administration. Not really... Jay tried, I'll give him that.

Zane, Cole, and Gandalaria won't realize Bonzle's been taken until after the fight. She managed to get away from Jay. Although, it would have been fun to see the 2 of them bonding a little bit.

Bonzle will be rescued. More like, she's going to save Kai from spiraling in the Nether-Realm.

Kai, Sora, and Wyldfyre will free Zane, Cole, and Gandalaria from the library. They were able to come up with a small solution all on their own.

Arin will join Ras at the end of the first half of the season. He made it much longer than that!

Lloyd will have another vision before he and Nya find Arin and reach the temple. He did not.

Beatrix will make a comeback this season. lol

Arin will find a clue as to where his parents are in the City of Temples. Ras saying he knows where Arin's parents are is not a clue. That is straight up manipulation and lies.

Frak is being used to get to the ninja bc of his history with Arin. Honestly, this would have been a good path to explore. But that would have meant that Ras would have to actually talk to his students rather than talk at them.

Zeatrix is the villain of the season. She never even stood a chance.

Wylfyre is either going to be completely oblivious to Roby's flirting and have it pointed out by Sora, OR she's going to notice and flirt back, turning him into a puddle of simp. Or the secret third thing where she's bad at flirting and so is Roby. They're both beans.

The Administrator called for the Matriarch to be killed. Nokt and Rox did that all on their own.

Roby is the 1 manipulating the Tournament. He was a bit too eager to have the ninja participate, and very into having the Most with the Tournament. But he's just a bean.

Nya left to find Jay. She and Riyu got kidnapped by Nokt and Rox.

The Fab 5 did something to sever the connection Nya and Riyu had with Kai and Bonzle. They did, indeed.

Arin will join the Fab 5 at the end of the season, instead of Ras. He ran after them, but he didn't actually join them. He was going after Ras.

Partial

Lloyd's vision is def going to happen. My predictions about exactly what are mostly accurate, but I thought it was Beatrix (like everyone else) and not Zeatrix. So, it sits in partial for being mostly accurate.

Riyu knows something's up with Arin. Sort of? But not really? Not in the way that Arin needed someone to notice that something was up with him.

Something bad will happen to Bonzle and Euphrasia. Euphrasia came out of the Blood Moon Ceremony with only being scarred mentally.

Nya's going to leave the group to go out and find Jay. Well, she did leave the group. And originally it was to go find Jay, but she got a little sidetracked.

Frak and Jordie will join the ninja at the end of the season. Frak did. Jordie is MIA.

Unconfirmed

The Monastery will be destroyed by Ras at some point, officially marking the end of Wu's time as master and the permanent start of Lloyd's. I'm genuinely still waiting for this to happen. It seems very possible.

The 3 Wu Theories: He's the Energy Dragon under Imperium. Or, he's running a tea shop somewhere. Or, he's the Administrator. I have a lot of ideas as to where Wu is at, tbh.

The Administration is playing a part in Ras freeing the Forbidden Five somehow.This all depends on who the Administrator is.

1 of Arin's parents is the Administrator. This would be terrible. I kinda want it to happen.

Wu caused the Merge for a good reason. Something had to happen to either merge the Realms or let them be destroyed. Waiting to see whether this 1 will be right or if Wu truly is evil.

Nokt was expecting someone other than Nya to participate in the Tournament. Someone who's not Kai. This is most likely Kai, but I still kinda feel like he was expecting a relative we don't know about yet.

[i-heart-hxh]

Hey there! I just found these preview pages from volume 38, though I'm not sure what they say and if they're legit. Wondering if you've seen them as well?

These first pages usually show the characters that are going to be in the volume. What stood out to me is that Gon is there as well! Now, from a quick translation from the internet, it basically says that he's unable to see aura and he's on a homecoming (?) trip. Then on the bottom there is a synopsis on what has happened so far in the manga. Does this mean we'll see Gon in the upcoming chapters? I'm trying to not get my hopes up but...

What do you think?

Hi!

So, you may already know this, but I want to make it clear first that Volume 38 will only contain chapters that have already been released (391-400)--so Gon definitely won't be appearing in the chapters collected in Volume 38. These are the chapters we got back in the end of 2022, before Togashi went on the hiatus that will be ending in October. Typically the previous 10 chapters are only collected into a volume and released around the same time more chapters are about to come out, so that's why this volume is only being released now.

Also, Gon has been listed in the character summary page throughout the Succession War arc as far as I recall, so, it's nice that he's still included but it unfortunately isn't a change from previous volumes, where he also never appeared.

While Gon being on the cover was a welcome surprise that I'm very happy about, I don't think either it or the character introduction page are strong signs of his impending return. However, Togashi clearly doesn't want us to forget about him, and is reminding us that he's still one of the main characters of the series, so I think it's a great sign for the series going back to him over the longer term!!

HxH is very unpredictable, so Gon could technically return at any time, whenever Togashi deems the story has come to that point. However, with how many characters and plot points are being juggled in Succession War, I personally am not anticipating his return particularly soon. We could get a cameo or small scene or something, but I don't think there's a lot of space to go back into his character arc quite yet. I think we may still need to wait a while before he's part of the story again, but I do think it's coming at some point--perhaps at the end of this arc, or when the story does a major shift.

Gon does have ties to the Dark Continent, with Ging and his presumed ancester Don Freecss being both being connected to it, and Killua does as well, via Nanika, so I think when the Dark Continent itself becomes more prominent in the series, it's possible we'll see them return to the story. But as usual, it's hard to predict what Togashi has up his sleeve. I am confident we'll see them again, though, and all the focus Togashi has put on especially Gon this year (with all his tweets of art of him, this cover, etc.), I'm sure Gon will be back when the time is right!

Thanks for asking!

[pain-in-the-butler]

do you think, though it’s the climax, we’re gonna see the end of the kuro story soon? i feel like with the amount of unanswered questions and, well our main objective, we’ve still got a long way to go, but i don’t know now. regardless of pacing and chapter lengths, do you think we’re finishing up? or do you think we’re kicking off with a bang?

If you asked me before the hiatus news dropped, I would've said we probably have about four or five more years of Kuro left. However, after Yana's announcement that we're basically looking at the finale... we might have three years or even fewer after the hiatus is over. Which is shocking considering how many loose ends there still are.

It's impossible to say how long this hiatus is going to be, but it seems the plan is for Yana to come back and give us her best shot. I hope she'll use this time off to recuperate and come up with a strategy to tackle everything that still needs to be said so that her ending can be as solid as possible.

What I am beginning to anticipate and fear, because I can be a bit of a negative Nancy, is that she's using this time to see how to condense the plot as much as possible and get it all over with while still making it coherent and covering most of her bases. Before today, I thought we were looking at two more arcs, each about two to two and a half years in length, but now I think Yana's really looking to wrap it up in one big go. That's...... interesting!

Yana has always been a bit of a shaky writer to me, with some actual good storytelling and ideas baking slowly over a long period of time; then at other times she relies on exposition and new characters who aren't even that interesting to carry her plot before sending them off to the Shadow Realm (Blavat who?). So to me, it's really hard to say what a hiatus is going to lend her. She deserves a break (she should have been forcibly given one long before now), but as for what the behind-the-scenes discussions about the story sound like, I can only wonder endlessly for the rest of my life.

tl;dr: Black Butler is definitely being prepared to end. We just have no idea when we'll actually see it.

[friend-crow]

When I was a kid, I lived down the street from a cemetery. My family went to the same church as the caretakers, and I had relatives buried there, so it was familiar territory. The town is old for the US, with burials back to Revolutionary War veterans, and I liked to ride my bike in the older parts of the cemetery where the mausoleums and old sculptural gravestones were.

One summer evening, I was there with family and got separated from the group, but this being pre-cellphone, we had a plan for that: everyone find their way back to the gate closest to home, and we'll meet up there. So I turned my bike and started working my way back around towards the meetup point.

The cemetery had a few paved main thoroughfares, with side paths being just gravel or dirt paths. The route I picked went up a gravel side path along one edge of the cemetery which was a mix of flat, flush stones and a few short older style headstones. The edge of the cemetery was fenced, with the six foot chain link all overgrown with ivy.

As the sun went down, I was pedaling up the hilly stretch of the side path, watching out across the (largely) open field for any other members of my group.

As I turned my head to look up the path, a figure shot past me down the hill.

It was quick, but I got the distinct impression of a adult or large teenager, standing upright like a rollerblader, moving extremely quickly, and all in vague white. And they passed by me within about two feet.

I immediately dropped a foot and whipped my head around to see what kind of lunatic would go down that hilly gravel path that fast and nearly hit me in the process, and there was absolutely nobody in view.

Nobody! No one on the path. No one in the field of low headstones. No noise. No movement. Nothing.

And as I stood there, looking around baffled, foot crunching in the gravel underfoot as I turned, I realized something.

Whatever that was didn't make any noise on the gravel path.

I changed path slightly to go stand near the family plots while I waited for the others - if something spectral was wandering the cemetery, I'd prefer to have backup from my relatives than be a sitting duck by the side gate.

We ended up moving out of state soon afterwards, and I never got the chance to be on that path at sundown again, but I do wonder sometimes: what did I see? And if I went back on a summer evening, would I see it again?

.

[fortheloveofarchons]

Been playing Love and Deepspace for the past few days and here's my take on this.....

Content warning though, it's gonna be a long post! And this is just coming from someone who only played the game a few days ago so this is just my first impression!

Let me just say this, algorithm...

It's your fault for making me download the game.

You knew I like hot attractive fictional men. You knew I like bratty boyfailures. You knew I like older, stoic yet kind men. You knew I like mysterious softboys.

YOU KNEW.

So you bombarded me with L&DS content on my socials, my home, my walls, and even my grass!!! I won't forgive you for dragging me into another gacha hole, especially when you knew that I promise myself to never spend a dime on any of these games!!! (I'm an f2p player)

Anyways-- Here's my take on this game as a newbie.

The VAs and character designs?

Amazing. I love the boys (including Caleb) and the MC customisation is really detailed. Though, I wish we could have short hair MC permanently but I'm glad we get to experience it on photoshoots. I do wish we get to explore more of the boys on the main plot cause it feels a bit underwhelming. Then again I just finished chapter 3 so we'll see!

I love the dates and the playtime mode since it gives us time to get closer to the boys and understand more about their past and their characteristics. (I'm convinced the claw machine gacha is so random cause one day Xavier won a lot and the next it was Zayne)

I will say tho for now I feel like Rafayel is more developed and interesting compared to the other two. I like Zayne in terms of how much he really cares about his patients and how he was closer to MC back then, but I wish we get more of him soon. For Xavier he's such a mystique as well and I really like him too! Overall, I wish we get more events dedicated to Zayne and Xavier.

The fluidity of the animation and graphics?

Really good considering that I'm playing it on mobile, I set it to medium and its runs pretty smoothly without any low pixelated quality. I love how detailed the backgrounds and designs are, and I really love some of the cinematic shots the developers added during the date scenes. I can't wait to pull for more dates for the characters!

Combat wise?

It's fine for now ,and I really appreciate the proceed 10x button when farming for materuals considering that I'm more of a casual player rather than a combat one.

Though I'm still frustrated that one of the requirements of getting 3 stars for extra diamonds would be to win the combat within 90 secs and I'm like-- boy if that dragon didn't have that short animation I would've gotten it faster!!! If it had been 120 secs I would have gotten it easier... I know that the whole combat system will get a bit complicated the more you ascend your hunter level so I'll just farm for materials just to prepare the inevitable.

Also I wish there were more ways to gain more exps for your hunter level instead of doing the daily tasks. Imagine you are about to head to the next chapter get some main content and yet you can't bc your hunter level is just two level away so you have to wait for the next day...

The plot?

I would say its okay for now since I'm about to head to chapter 4 and even though I finished chapter 3 it still feels like the beginning. The worldbuilding is really interesting but I'm still a bit confused on some aspects of the story. Overall, I can't wait to finally see Caleb on screen (I already saw him on Youtube and I wish he's playable he's so pretty sksksksks)

Edit: I just finished chapter 4.... what in the sweet metaflux world... CALEEEBBBBBB!!!!!

So yeah this is my impression on the game as someone who only joined after a few days! I hope to see more contents for the boys and I can't wait for more chapters (I spoiled myself at chapter 4 and my god... I want Caleb to be playable plzzzzz)

I'm aware that as a newbie my opinions are probably flawed considering that it's barely even a week since I joined, I would love to hear some advices from you guys just so I can prepare myself in terms of combat and to understand more about the characters if I missed anything about them!

[haven-of-dusk]

Thoughts/theories/predictions/ideas/possible plotlines/etc. for S8

I thought I would compile these so I don't create seven or eight posts in a flurry.

Bobby/Athena: Some type of tandem storyline as part of Bobby reclaiming the 118 from Gerrard's grip where he and Athena uncover a corruption scandal in the LAFD tying to Councilwoman Ortiz, Gerrard (obviously) and others. If more plotline is needed for them after that (if it wraps up by the midseason finale for example) then I would like seeing Bobby's health issues worsen bit by bit and him struggle to be honest with the rest of the team about that. Related to that plot, perhaps have Athena learn from Harry that Michael's cancer resurfaced with a vengeance and claimed his life (it's not like we're getting Michael back on the show anytime soon considering the actor's behavior), which compiles with learning about Bobby's health and starting to worry she'll lose him too. Plus both of them spending more time with Harry.

Hen: In addition to participating in Bobby and Athena's plotline of uncovering corruption and taking down Ortiz, I'd love to see Hen become more comfortable with leadership around the 118, especially in response to Gerrard. Perhaps have something happen in the field where Hen contradicts Gerrard's orders and the rest of the team (beyond even just our main cast, the whole rest of the team) follows her orders instead of his. And subsequently when he tries to punish her, say, by trying to make her scrub the rigs by herself, he finds the entire group cleaning together, chatting, and having fun (Hen didn't ask them to help, they just did so of their own volition) Despite being enraged, Gerrard struggles to find a way to punish them since it's not like he can fire the whole house, and any punishment he tries they find a way to circumvent, with Hen leading the charge. Basically she gets to be the ringleader of the 118's internal war with Gerrard. And along the way we get more Henren home stuff and building on the connection with Mara.

Chimney: WHERE THE HELL WAS ALBERT?! I would not at all mind Chimney having an arc where he realizes he hasn't heard from Albert in a while and ends up decrypting where Albert ended up (could be as malicious or innocent as they want, anything from Albert deciding to join an Amish community temporarily while traveling the country and not having a phone while there to straight up human trafficking. Take your pic, writers). Outside of that, I want more of Chimney getting to be the Dad he never had. More of him and Jee-Yun in general. Along the way, maybe have Gerrard's treatment trigger Chimney? Situations Gerrard puts him in drag up Chimney's trauma about Kevin, something like that.

Maddie: I don't really know what I want for Maddie per se, outside of I wouldn't mind this season being her turn to not have trauma or pain. Kind of the way her brother got off easy this season. See more of her interactions with everyone, give her the occasional intense dispatch call to show off her skills, show her being happy and domestic with Chimney and Jee-Yun, all that good stuff. If we need to give her a full plotline, perhaps she could get involved if something were to happen between Buck and their parents (we'll talk about that in a sec in his section), or be a rallying point for the other plotlines whenever they need her help, or, if we wanted to go far afield from her usual stuff, perhaps have her express interest in returning to the medical field to some degree, maybe even thinking about trying to be a paramedic? Idk, I love Maddie, but I'm not certain what to do with her character at the moment outside of just letting her be happy, since she probably got the least amount of setup from S7.

Buck: What I most want from Buck, at least in the first half of the season, is to focus on how his bisexuality affects him and his mental health and let him continue to explore those emotions, perhaps with conversations with Hen, Josh, Karen, etc. As the season continues, he realizes his relationship with Tommy has...stagnated, they go on dates, they hang out occasionally, but there's just not much energy to the proceedings, so Buck thinks maybe that means it's time to propose. (This may not be going where you think it's going). So he has an episode where he goes around to Henren, Bathena, Madney, asking all of his married friends basically how they knew they wanted to get married, and while they give different, unique answers, the general takeaway is that you shouldn't feel you have to marry someone, but that you want to. That they are your forever person. And the episode ends with Buck going to look at rings...and deciding not to buy one, leaving the store looking a bit conflicted. Within a couple episodes of that, he and Tommy break up. (I would probably want it to be amicable in this scenario, to demonstrate Buck making the mature decision that he didn't have anything against Tommy, he just wasn't his forever person, but if there had to be some drama there, Tommy making a nasty comment after Buck says he wants to break up to reassure Buck's decision and leave him with no regrets. Then after that...give Buck time to realize that Tommy was, in a lot of ways, store-brand Eddie. But Buck doesn't like Eddie, right? I mean he likes him, but he doesn't like him, right? (Spoiler alert, he does)

Eddie/Chris: The first half of the season needs to be Eddie in therapy leading to Chris' return, though I would love for Chris' choice to be...borderline untethered from Eddie's plotline. Not in the way that it his absence then subsequent return has no effect on Eddie, but I think it would be good for Chris' character to have him converse with Eddie's parents, family, etc, and have him realize on his own what his father has been through and the extent to which Eddie loves him, and then the talk with Eddie is the final piece of the puzzle, not the only piece of the puzzle, if that makes sense. And I also think it's crucial that Eddie not be "cured" when Chris returns. He's still working on himself, he's still healing, but Chris is ready to be back with him and stay with him. Building on that, I think it'd be powerful for Chris to be the one to force Eddie to confront the idealized version of Shannon he's built up in his head. Even if it happens indirectly through something Chris says, it'd be powerful for them to start healing that wound together. Then once Chris is back in LA (by the second half of the season at the latest), part of Eddie's therapy arc involves him realizing piece by piece how much he's pushed the past few seasons' girlfriends away, and why, and perhaps even he runs into Ana again and finds out she has a fiancé, and they chat about finding love like that. Along the way have Eddie talk to Athena for sure, since for some reason they haven't really interacted despite her being a pretty perfect person to talk about lost loves (Bobby too, but he and Eddie have talked more than once). But all this forces Eddie to confront who he is, who he's always been, what he's been pushing down and pushing away for years, and when that arc collides with Buck realizing his feelings, the season ends with the big Buddie canonization.

I realize I went into more detail with Buck and Eddie than the others, but part of that is down to mixing their personal arcs with the 'relationship' arc which could honestly be its own section. And possibly should have been.

Every section here is compressed anyway, but part of this post's purpose is to be an organizer for my thoughts that I can add to and expand upon as more come during this hiatus (as relatively brief as it is, it will probably continue to get more and more brutal)

I can also obviously expound on something if someone wants me to...though I know that's unlikely.

[meanderingpenguin]

It feels like in Campaign 3 they've done Guests very differently than the other two? In the other campaigns they did tight smaller personal arcs for the guest that could be finished in 1-3 episodes and then the guest quickly left. If they were called back later it was specifically to help the Main Party's storyline in some way with a quick life update of what's been going on off screen.

Every guest this season has had a minimum of five episodes, longer than Bertrand Bell himself. They've built a real or at least complex connection with most of the party, and then left with their plotline pretty much demanding they return to get closure at some point. With the exception of the dead one of course.

Dorian is a full member of Bells Hells and the Crown Keepers. He still has multiple plot crumbs with his Parents, his Title and responsibilities, his Brother, and of course reuniting with Orym and Fearne (and the rest of the party) at some point.

Yu made a time limited contract with the party. Then the Hells failed their part of the agreement when Ira stole the Crown from them and for extra oomph they snuck into Yu's court, blew shit up there, and were explicitly seen by Yu's boss as they escaped. Yu has the plotline crumbs of still being aligned with the people the Hells are fighting, still maybe having a contract to hunt down Fearne's parents and Fearne, and also the potential that they are being punished for failing in the first place.

Deni$e is going to catch up with the Crown Keepers at some point and give Dariax a piece of her mind. Whether we get more Crown Keeper's specials with her or we just get the updates some other way, her storyline isn't finished yet.

F.R.I.D.A. is basically a member of the Bells Hells now. They're going on a sidequest for the party's needs and have promised to help them in their fight. They still have connections to the looming Devexian plotline as well. Very important person to F.C.G. and the idea they'd never see each other again is unacceptable.

Deanna is also like Dorian and F.R.I.D.A. in that she's basically a member of the party now. She has a strong emotional bond with the four she traveled with. (And her potential conversations with the other three would be very interesting if she had the time to dig deeper.) She's doing what she can to help the Hells stop Ludinus. Out of all the clerics this campaign her relationship with her deity seems the most complicated and interesting? She still has the plotlines of however her sidequest turns out, whether or not she and the Dawnfather will come to an understanding or if she'll be punished further, and of course her connection with Chetney and Fearne will always be fun to explore more of.

Pri$m. Bonded with Orym, Laudna, and Ashton. Orym is her bestie now. Ashton seems to have set her on a new rebellious path in life. She also wants to take Laudna to the Shadowfel soon. Alongside Deanna and F.R.I.D.A she is now doing quests to help the Hells. Biggest of all, with Keyleth and Planerider Ryn both out of commission, Prism is the person closest to the party who knows teleport if the staff breaks or isn't powered up. The table always calls on their teleportation buddies when possible.

It's a different approach to guest party members? I feel like we're either at or nearing the second half of the campaign soon. So I'm curious how, when, and in what order we'll start to see these plotlines and connections tied up.

[obikinbb]

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[dynared]

The Voltron movie is finally moving forward with filming dates confirmed, sets being built, and a cast being rounded out, with a mostly unknown newcomer and Henry Cavill, fresh off of bashing his head into a glass ceiling trying to get a Warhammer 40k series going at Amazon. (I would not be surprised if that project stalled out and he was offered a lead role in Voltron as a compensation prize so he can earn some money).

And for reasons I'll never fully comprehend, I'm back on the Hopium that this will be a standout example of a Western-made mecha property, combining Japanese-style super robots with Hollywood budgets to create a billion-dollar hit at the box office.

This is after the West's near endless stream of failures at the genre, usually doomed by writers up their own asses who view anything with robots more complicated than a refrigerator with two legs and some guns as a glorified toy commercial and therefore immoral and needing to be changed. Take for instance Legendary Defender's writers admitting in interviews they fought to use Voltron less, hence the show bombing and WEP happy to erase it from the collective internet (as it deserves). Or gen:Lock writing in the first page of its artbook and inscribing in a plaque above the head writer's office "This show is about the characters". Its production company, Rooster Teeth, ceased operations in May, and while its sister show RWBY was sold to Viz Media for future use, gen:Lock is still for sale from Warner Bros, although I don't see anyone coming out to buy it.

So far, Amazon MGM and WEP, Inc are doing all the right things for this movie, whether purposefully or coincidentally. They're letting the rights to Legendary Defender on Netflix expire two years before the movie's targeted release date of 2026 so the show vanishes from the internet and none of the actors, directors, or crew have to hear the phrases "Klance", "Sheith", "fiction affects reality", or "Gays In Space." They're hiring Henry Cavill, a guy who still has a fair amount of sympathy from the general public for his ill-fated roles as Superman (being caught square in the Snyder drama) and Geralt of Rivera (where the longtime fan of The Witcher books and games objected to the considerable liberties taken by the show's writers and was shown the door), which as a bonus for Bob Koplar, will probably attract the Snyderbros to the super robot movie and provide a very different tenor to the fandom than VLD had, chasing that rapidly dwindling fandom out the door. Bob Koplar has spoken repeatedly at VoltCon conventions about wanting to capture the spirit of the original 80s series while repeatedly expressing distaste for Legendary Defender.

The main issues at this point are "What is the plot?" and "How big is the budget?" The rumor as per those same VoltCon panels where Koplar flat out said Dreamworks "did not get Voltron" is that we will be getting five new characters, rather than the usual crew of Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Allura, and Sven/Shiro. I'm all in favor of this because it means one less connection to Legendary Defender, but it also probably means the movie will be about an alien invasion of Earth with our super robot the only thing able to repel the invaders. As for the budget, we don't know that either, but given that the rights started a bidding war between Amazon MGM as well as other big companies like Warner Bros, Paramount, and Universal (Netflix was reportedly uninterested because of how badly VLD went) as well as reports from Australia citing shortages of set builders because of the high demand for them at the Voltron set, we could potentially be looking at a blockbuster with a blockbuster budget.

I'll guess we'll know soon. Filming is scheduled, as per Production List to begin at the end of December, which means over the next two months we'll probably see the rest of the cast rounded out and get a hard number for the budget. But there might be a reason to hope that the series is a super robot movie that the West deserves, and not another VLD or gen:Lock styled trainwreck from writers who don't get it.

[tobiasdrake]

Well, I was supposed to wake up in a field but instead.....

Some sorta void beyond time and space. Neat. It would seem I have gained the ability to determine for myself how far back to loop.

I credit this new ability to my brilliant decision to touch the timedrop. Clearly, I have absorbed its power and added it to my own through temporal osmosis. I have based this observation on nothing whatsoever but I will hear no argument otherwise.

In any case... I still need to find out who keeps breaking that bread so--

Oh my god you read my Pocket Notes and listen in on my conversations and now you're just being controlling I NEED SOME SPACE LEMONFRIEND

>_< I am in a toxic relationship. With time.

A revelation that wasn't the main goal of dipshitting myself into oblivion but is a welcome discovery nonetheless. At least we know that everyone who's frozen is a) somewhat conscious but b) not in a state where they would be suffering.

10/10 Great service, satisfying experience. I look forward to killing myself again in the future.

Alright. Well. Guess we'll get back to it. Grab the tonics from the side room and my ding ding and then--

No. Fuck you.

I was thinking about my ding ding it could not be helped

Ugh, this place is so rude! I want to file a complaint.

Moving right along. Nothing to see here.

Like those two buildings back in Dormont that are inexplicably locked. Must be some kind of regional locking mechanism popular in this area but I have no idea what.

Oh, there we go. That was easy. So we just need to figure out the pass phrase for any of these doors we find.

I see where this is going. It would behoove me to throw myself on that Tear over yonder and die so I can go get the password.

...but I have the utmost confidence that I'll get myself stupidly killed anyway soon, so I don't need to bother.

In a suspicious place, yes. That sure is a pillar.

I do not trust this pillar, okay?

This pillar is watching us.

Plotting.

It knows I'm on to it.

You say that like we should feel bad for it, Isa. Unfortunately, feeling bad for things is a form of Sadness so I'm afraid all of my sympathy's getting chopped up with scissors.

Along with this boss fight.

Alright, cool. Some kind of key thing that can be used to something something with the tears, so let's keep going and--

...okay so maybe it's actually dangerous to hussle the group past all of the deathtraps I already know about. I may be trapfinding so well at this point that it's putting everyone in danger.

Who would do something so monstrous

Okay now I'm super onboard. King needs to die.

Go on, Bonnie. Take a wok on the wild side. *wok-a wok-a*

Am I... am I supposed to scramble it? Wait, is this a metaphor? Does this key have gender dysphoria that it hasn't quite realized yet?

...so that's a yes. Yes, the key has undiagnosed gender dysphoria.

Cool. I'm happy I caught that. I feel proud of myself for my ability to pick up LGBT subtext.

This philosophy is pretty deep. I took the religion of Change for a silly joke at first but no, this is some serious shit.

Is this whole religion a metaphor for the experience of being LGBT? There is clearly some strong coding going on here with Vaugardian society. In fact, the entire concept of worshipping change is itself so tightly connected to gender and the trans/non-binary experience that--

BONNIE

NO

You take that gender out of your mouth this instant! The experience of self-discovery is NOT breakfast!

*sigh* Kids.

[kimberlyannharts]

LAST TIME ON RANGER ACADEMY - Dark Specter has taken over the school! And we can't use this as an excuse for free vacation time because if he gets out he'll take over the universe or whatever. Have we seen this before?

Hope comes in the form of Zilan's anti-Dark Specter machine, but a corrupted Mathis has sabotaged it in a fun little prank. That's probably not as funny as they thought it was.

It's Ranger Academy #12!

= Another instance in how Ranger Academy handled the whole Dark Specter corruption plot than Darkest Hour - dear god I wish Aisha had gotten even a tenth of this much emotion when she saw Rocky and Adam were corrupted

= Well sounds a lot easier than going to a Zeo Crystal Planet in another dimension

= Nika's kind of hilarious btw he's only just gotten back in contact with his old friend and they're trying to save the universe from a Dark Specter takeover and he won't stop flirting with that friend who's still grieving his dead boyfriend. He's been waiting to shoot his shot for over ten years

= Rhianth legitimately looks like he got barbecued here but it's fine. He's too hot to die

= Don't get me wrong Lindy/Sage is superior but Sage/Kartyr is also good if I had to pick a het ship. Pink/Green always gets me, man

= My friends and I saw you across the bar and we're coming to kick your ass (we're all underage)

= I still can't believe THIS book gave us Dark Specter's classic design for his final stand rather than the 2016 series. With very passing day I hate the Evil Radiant Red design more and more

= Also him saying "it's allowed me to become more concentrated" kind of supports my theory that Dark Specter existing here is due to him reforming in some kind of regenerative cycle, and he's still in his "early stage"

= Sage: you think you're so evil? We all have MENTAL ILLNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

= That staff becoming a bow is a good twist

= also yeah yeah Dark Specter got taken out too easily whatever, it's still better than the main series

= Headmaster you truly did nothing for me ever. Nothing for anyone, really

= so as I said in my notes, I think this is supposed to answer that the face we saw in the Green tube were most likely Zilan and Tashi's spirits, but not fully-formed. I guess it was just a little confusing due to them appearing as a big head, and Sage saying "is that me??" - I feel that would have made more sense if Sage and Zilan were legitimately brother and sister and you could connect the dots that they looked alike because of that relation (they already look super similar, so why not just take that extra leap. It would also explain why Sage's parents were there and why Zilan was THAT protective of her)

= also live Sage reaction

= Unfortunately now you're gonna have to listen to Green Ranger teachers, and do you KNOW how crazy those guys are???? Ziggy one day and Riley the next. Major whiplash

= GAY PEOPLE ARE SO ANNOYINGGGGGG

= also "maybe it's time I retired!" Nika, you're like.....thirty. Actually wait, I totally understand him

= I'm kind of mourning the fact that we'll never see Nugget Zord come to pass

= But anyway, the end!!!! Goodbye, Ranger Academy. Video review to come....soon