#who can simply change a username to disappear

[wifihunters]

mind boggling how sometimes time apart makes old wounds stop stinging and gives a chance at meeting old friends again but as a new person--and then sometimes time apart just gives you a chance to fucking breathe and realize you're far better off this way.

[animatedglittergraphics-n-more]

RIP, AIM: Remembering how we used to talk on the internet

A eulogy for AOL Instant Messenger, and how it changed the way we talk about games and everything else By Luke Winkie published December 15, 2017

Do you remember all the souls you've lost to the internet? Those incidental friendships, forged in IRC clients, Newgrounds forums, 40-man Ragnaros wipes, scattered across the globe when the web was young? They came into your life and played Fall Out Boy over Ventrilo. They came into your life and disappeared forever. Do you remember when snapping a selfie required a frustrating tangle of mechanical coercion, but it was worth it to show them your face? When real-life names were rarefied information shared exclusively through digital blood pacts? AIM shut down today, and the only thing I can think about is how all of those people still exist somewhere, perhaps exploring the same pit in their stomach that I am.

AIM belongs to all of us. As a pioneering force of internet communication, anyone born in the early '90s or late '80s has spent some time on the platform. As a 26-year old, I'm crucially aware that my appreciation for the prodigal instant messenger is colored by a nostalgia that has nothing to do with the service itself. It was simply the medium of choice to grouse about homework, The Decemberists, girls I liked, and the rest of my random bullshit. 

But I do believe that there's a special union between AIM and people who grew up playing games, or at least came of age on the internet with people who played games. The early millennium revolutions in online multiplayer pitted us together and asked us to collaborate, so of course we carried those early internet accords to their logical extremes—talking all night in lonely chat boxes about what's cool, what sucks, and how easy it is to relate. In 2017, the web feels less like something I approach for those connections, and more like an overwhelming ennui that I'm constantly trying to outrun. Boston's Kyle Seeley nailed that feeling perfectly with 2015's Emily is Away, and this year's sequel Emily is Away Too—both of which transport you back to the spongy leather office chairs of your parents' computer room.

"AIM was primarily for one-on-one conversations between teenagers. That's how I used AIM, to have a very intimate conversation with another person. Now we have texting and Facebook messenger, but you can use those wherever you are," he says. "You can use those at a concert or while driving. But when you were using AIM, you were sitting down at a computer to talk to people. You had their undivided attention." 

Emily is Away tributes AIM in the only way anyone can—spinning a yarn of disentranced high-school drama that eventually mounts into something deeply sad. The way Seeley presents an old Windows XP desktop, with the hilariously temperamental tastes of your idiot friends revealing themselves in their bios and away messages (until one day they stop logging on entirely) is immediately resonant. We've all had our Emilys. "When you have a conversation on the phone, you spend 10 minutes making small talk," says Seeley. "On AIM you talk to someone for hours. Like eight hours, 10 hours straight. You get all the small talk out of the way in the first hour, and then you're talking about these big teenager questions. Who am I? Who do I want to be? I think AIM was really good at that."

It was always difficult for me to articulate the intimacy I felt with my internet friends to my parents. There were the obvious, mechanical mistranslations; I begged my mother for early exits from countless family dinners that consistently managed to interfere with my guild's crucial Molten Core attempts. But beyond that, there was a certain shame in feeling loved and valued by people I only knew by username. A latent fear that those who did not understand might consider that affection to be false, or even sinister. That's different now, as social media has flattened out our offline/online dichotomy, but if you were on AIM, you probably remember how once upon a time those bonds felt illegal.

Years ago Nina Freeman, level designer at Fullbright and one of the foremost thinkers on love and technology, launched a flat-out covert campaign to get close with one of those friends. She spent months locked in the holy matrimony of Final Fantasy XI and nightly AIM treatises with a boy named Glenn from New York City. Eventually they met, but not before Freeman satisfied her aunt, (who she was staying with) with a fabricated narrative—Glenn was no longer a dude from the internet, now he was just an old family friend who happened to move east. "I was still in high school," says Freeman. "We made up that whole story."

That secrecy is immediately familiar to me. AIM was surreptitious, clandestine. A service that belonged to teenagers, sequestered from leering ears and concerned authority figures. As Freeman notes, a screen name was one of the few commodities a young person could fully own. A domain, an aesthetic, a communication channel you could control. It was rare to feel fully untethered from your parents, so you guarded that sliver of liberty with your life.

"I wouldn't hand out [my username] lightly," explains Freeman. "I'd only really do it with people I felt close enough with. It seems sort intimate. It was a 'thing' to add someone on AIM. The expectation would be that if we're adding each other, we're going to chat regularly.… It had a weight to it."

Cecilia D'Anastasio, senior reporter at Kotaku (and a friend of mine) went a step further. As an 11-year-old, she was already griefing in the multiplayer Flash games she shared with her friends over AIM. I don't think anything sums up the juvenile euphoria of instant messaging quite like using that power to cheat in stakes-free freeware.

"One of the Flash games I discovered was basically Pictionary, but online and with a chat room. One player would etch out an image in a Microsoft Paint-like interface while the chat would dutifully guess at what it could possibly be. It was very wholesome," says D'Anastasio. "That's why my friend June and I were passionate about cheating. We'd join a game on the same team. Over AIM, we'd tell each other what we were assigned to draw, instructing whoever was guessing to wait a solid ten seconds before revealing the answer. It was a riot. We always won."

Over the past decade or so AIM has slowly been replaced with services that de-emphasize traditional internet patois. Gchat and Twitter are all full of real names and faces instead of coded handles and custom-colored text, and logging in to most platforms scarcely takes more than a click on a Facebook icon. For the most part, this is a good thing. Anonymity is one of the scourges of online culture—a de facto institution that continues to cause a lot of people pain. Personally though, I can't help but feel like we've lost something along the way. There was a certain sublimity in typing from behind the guise of a username. It gave way to a feeling that your AIM conversations existed in some sort of permissive, alternative reality, the ideal spot to work up the nerve for swollen 3 am confessions. In 2017 there is no such thing as "IRL" anymore; your internet presence is permanently married to your day-to-day existence. Everyone on earth spends their waking hours waging wars and making peace with strangers they will never meet. It is overwhelming and insoluble, and there are moments where I wish I could get outside again.

I'm not the only person that feels this way, and there are some people working to restore the parts of the mid-aughts internet that worked. When I interviewed Jason Citron, CEO of Discord, earlier this year, he affirmed a deep appreciation for AIM, and believed that perhaps the online infrastructure might soon swing back in that direction. "When you zoom out and think about the internet and how communication is trending, there's definitely a trend to more live experiences," he said. "The internet has done so much to connect people asynchronously, so I think there's something more macro happening that Discord is taking part in. It's like we're bringing it back to how it used to be."

He's right. One of the things that's made Discord successful is how separated it feels from the rest of the internet. When you join an ultra-specific channel—for niche Hearthstone formats or fan-favorite Persona characters—it's like you're uncovering a league of obsessives that are ready to welcome you with open arms. The true solidarity of dorkiness. It's funny, but by holding back on cosmopolitan design choices (like Facebook integration or a required photo-reel), Cintron stumbled into a scheme that evokes the furtive splendor that made AIM special. This is something Nina Freeman found when she started up a Discord channel to support her growing Twitch following. "It quickly became a community, and now I have a bunch of newer online friends. I'm already cracking up at myself as I'm wondering what they look like, or what they do in real life," says Freeman. "It definitely has a similar appeal." 

If Discord doesn't quite meet your personal instant messaging standards, Citron tells me that, if enough people in the community request it, he'd consider implementing the low-res AIM chimes into the service. You know, door creak, door slam, those disruptive MIDI twinkles. "To this day, that sound still triggers my desire to hop online," he says.  

Kyle Seeley is doing something similar. Yesterday he released a piece of DLC for Emily is Away Too that reskins Steam Chat to look exactly like AIM circa 2006. He spared no expense; you can change your text color, drop in vintage, blocky emoticons, and create your own custom profile so you can tell the world that Warped Tour will never die. "It's a farewell to AIM," he says. As one gaming's foremost nostalgia artists, it'd be wrong if he didn't say goodbye.

Now the AIM generation is old enough to both intellectualize their wistfulness, and use the lessons they learned from the service to create for the today's teenagers. To facilitate affection and respect on the internet, to show them what it looks like. We were the first to taste love on the web, at a time when those feelings had no context or guidance, and I hope that AIM helped create a baseline for young people and the midnight communion with those across the screen. The liberation that comes with knowing that the internet friendships you cherish are just as valid and wonderful as you think they are—these stories matter, because they help light that path. Lord knows I needed it, and I'm sure you did too.

Luke Winkie

Contributing Writer

Luke Winkie is a freelance journalist and contributor to many publications, including PC Gamer, The New York Times, Gawker, Slate, and Mel Magazine. In between bouts of writing about Hearthstone, World of Warcraft and Twitch culture here on PC Gamer, Luke also publishes the newsletter On Posting. As a self-described "chronic poster," Luke has "spent hours deep-scrolling through surreptitious Likes tabs to uncover the root of intra-publication beef and broken down quote-tweet animosity like it’s Super Bowl tape." When he graduated from journalism school, he had no idea how bad it was going to get.

[vellichor-of-the-solivagant]

To where you are

PAIRING: John 'Soap' MacTavish X GN!Reader CONTENT WARNING: MW3 Spoilers! Angst, Implied Engagement, Death

You, being part of Task Force 141, know that anyone in the squad can die anytime, given the line of your career and the sacrifices to be made.

You thought you had it engraved in your mind, numb to watching people die all the time until you watched Makarov blast Johnny's head with a bullet.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion. The way the blood splattered to your face. The way his body fell limp on the ground. The way the echo of the gun filled the air. The way his eyes landed on you before the swirl of endless blue faded dull.

You simply stood, frozen, as Ghost and Gaz rushed to help and attempted to capture Makarov. You simply stared at the way his hand seemed to hold out toward you. His name rolled out Ghost's tongue, repeating like a broken record in your mind. Price and Gaz's shout for help fell deaf in your ears.

Finally, like a puppet snapped from strings, you went down on your knees beside him, a contradiction to the way he fell down to one in front of you before, a sparkling ring in hand, a magnificent gem the color of his eyes.

The very ring that pressed heat on your chest, when the one who gave it to you slowly loses heat.

Here, you put your hand on his chest and forehead on his. Other hand caressing his cheek just as you had always done when you kissed.

A tear escaped, glistening under the light as your lips planted over his, the ones that had always shown you a smile and whispered admiration to you.

Starting here, it would never be the same. The fuel of his life brought to an end.

Nevertheless, your fire would still burn for him, until it was only ember in the ashes.

"I'll see you later, Johnny."

Note: Made this before I sleep. Sorry not sorry. I suffer, you suffer. On another note, I'm thinking of changing my Username into a more distinguishing name, since my current one is kinda common (cringe) and something I can use in the long run. If I don't disappear like how Soap's ashes was gone with the wind LMAO

[possiblyi4657]

:o woah an intro!!!

For the longest time my pinned was a reblog that i really liked, but i may as well try to be More Social or something and actually say a bit about myself! introduce myself to the world outside my little void!

So heyo! The name's Icey, also known as Tora I4-Icey, aka the fellow who lurks in the shadows and only posts on socials every once in a blue moon, here to try and actually exist despite my awful social anxiety!! They/them, 19, and uhh everything else important is hidden under a wall of text so hopefully you like reading?

I have a variety of interests, and I'd like to consider myself an artist, through i mainly draw my ocs (I'd like to change that! I just need to get over my anxiety about messing up other people's character designs first lmao). I also really like editing videos, and of course there's my always present appreciation for the one and only Baymax. Though from the way this tumblr has been going, im preeettyy sure all youre getting here will be my minecraft builds or mcyt reblogs with a side of original content. I have no clue how i keep on returning to this little corner of the internet year after year, but I can't complain much 'cause minecraft is a pretty fun game!!!

oh also here's an unfinished drawing of my sona alongside two other pieces of art i drew of my little guy!

Aaannd now that all the important (?) stuff's finished, here's some questions i'm sure at least some people have (and one friend asked me that i thought were kind of interesting)!

- "So what's with the name?"

My online friends call me either Icey or I4, depending on where you met me. And the name I go by irl is Tora, so i threw all three names in a blender and Tora I4-Icey sounded the best! There's also another name i go by in ffxiv- Ira Icey, so the folks i met over there call me Ira, but I couldn't figure out a way to add Ira to my name.

- "And why's your username a string of numbers?"

Funny story! Back when I was around 12 or so, i kept on forgetting the password to my library account, so my dad changed the password to "4657" and told me to never forget it, cause he's not changing the password a 10th time. It then became my favourite string of numbers, and 4 became my favourite number. I then changed my minecraft account name from "Iceyshadow46" to "I4657", as i hated typing in that username every single time i wanted to effect myself with a command, and somehow I liked that name enough to adopt it as my own! Alas, I am aware the username makes me look like a bot. I'm not changing it, ive stuck with it for this long, and if the bots want it so much, they can pry the name from my COLD DEAD HANDS-

- "Wait, where did the "possibly" part of your username come from? Why possibly?"

I may possibly simply be I4657, also known as Icey, I4, or Tora. Or i may be a cat. Or a squirrel playing a harmonica. You shall never know, and i shall neither confirm nor deny. (read: i4657 sounded too much like a username a bot would choose on here and id rather not get blocked by people assuming (wrongly) that i was a bot.)

- "Why's your sona a glitchy shadow eye creature?"

Fancy lore explanation: As ive been mostly lurking, rarely interacting with anyone on the internet, i kinda pictured myself as nothing more than just eyes, watching others juuust out of sight. But since one can't just look like a blob of eyes and shadows if they want to interact with humans, I stole borrowed the form of a human. Minus the fact that this form (usually) only has two eyes, leading to my lack of spacial awareness, its pretty comfortable. As for the glitches... I don't really have an explanation for that yet.

Actual answer: I had a vision and I thought it'd look super cool. AND I WAS RIGHT!

And I think that's it! I am really, and i mean REALLYYY bad at social media so chances are ill disappear from the face of the earth for days at a time. but ill always come back with something. or at least, ill try to. :D

[gregg-reuben]

Who owns your words?

Who owns your words? https://seths.blog/2024/12/who-owns-your-words/ There are many ways to ask and answer this question. Authorship used to be rare, but now, all of us write something. If you’re putting your words on a social media platform, you might be surprised to discover that they could disappear at any moment. Some platforms acknowledge that they own the relationship you think you have with your readers, not you. Others go so far as to insist that they can take your username and transfer it if they choose. The words (and images) you share could be harvested for the data they contain as well. At a more metaphorical level, in community discourse it’s easy to get in the habit of parroting talking (and arguing) points. Take a moment to think about whether you mean what you just said or perhaps are simply cheering for your team. If they’re not your words, you still might be responsible for uttering them. More mundane but important: If you’ve ever been asked to sign a release, take a moment to read it. It probably insists that your words (and even your likeness and reputation) now belong to the company that asked you to sign. I consistently refuse, and I’m surprised that they’re surprised that I take the legal document seriously. Words can change minds, build our culture and make an impact. They only work when we share them, but they still belong to us. PS Now you can find my words on Bluesky.

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

YOU WILL BE BLOCKED SO YALL FUCKERS BETTER LEARN TO READ

warnings: none just fluffy

AN: so this came out of a convo with @ghostlypie and here we are. The reader is gonna be short for this. At least shorter than Norman. Also this is pre-Goblin.

ANN: Those few people who know who they r can ignore this (aka those who follow my header aka the 18+ notice). alright fuckheads. Y’all better learn to read. Either add the year u were born, age or dm me about ur age. Put it in your bio. Not ur username. Bio. Usernames mean shit. They can have any number it don’t mean that’s ur age or birth year. But the amount of people blatantly disregarding my header and still sending requests or reblogging my shit that I have to report is just getting on my nerves now. So learn to read fuckers. And follow directions. I’m done being nice and simply blocking u. If you don’t do this, I’m reporting u. So fuck off. ______________________________________________

The doorbell ringing finally dragged me off my couch. It was my day off and work had been hell. It was a well deserved day lounging around in pajamas and watching tv. Opening the door, I smiled up at my boyfriend.

”I have to get you a key.” I teased as he leaned down to kiss my cheek before entering the apartment. Smiling, Norman put the take out bag on the counter before taking off his coat and hanging it next to the door I had just closed.

“You keep saying that and then you complain about how small this place is to the point you convince yourself you are going to move out.” He leaned against the counter as he watched me separate the take out. “Thus negating getting me a key for here in the first place.” I scrunched up my face as I gently shoved his shoulder.

“Jerk.” I muttered. Norman laughed as he took his portion and went to sit on my couch. I bit my lip as I joined him. Every time he sat on my couch, I laughed at how small it really was. It was barely large enough for me to comfortably lay on or even sit but when Norman was on it I truly understood just how small it was. “Anyway thanks for bringing lunch over. You going to change after we eat?” Norman looked down at himself.

“I thought this was casual.” I laughed as Norman ran a hand over his jeans.

“Norman honey jeans are not comfortable for lounging around on things.” His face fell as he looked back at me. “Going out to dinner? Yes. Laying on my tiny couch with me? No.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “But I appreciate the attempt. I have some sweatpants that’ll fit you in my room. You can change into those.”

“How do you have sweatpants for me in your room?” I laughed as his eyebrow went up.

“I bought them last time I went shopping. I figured you should have some comfortable clothes here. For times like this.” He nodded. “I got your size from the sleep pants in your drawer back at yours.” He smiled fondly at me and pulled me close for a kiss.

“I’ll bring some pajamas and a few shirts over next time. I spend enough time over here to do it so might as well.” He whispered against my lips. I giggled as he kissed me again. “Besides you have clothes at my place. About time I do it too.”

“Yeah but I have a key to your place.” I laughed as I pulled away. Norman took the empty takeout containers and put them in my garbage in my kitchen. He kissed my head before disappearing into my room to change into the sweatpants. I queued up another episode of the show I was watching while I was waiting. A low chuckle came out of my room and I smiled. “You like them?” I called out.

“Darling you know exactly what to get me.” Norman laughed as he came back into the room. His hands were stuffed in the pockets, pulling the fabric away from his legs. I laughed along with him as he allowed the green fabric to lay back properly. Sitting back down next to me, he gently pulled me in for a kiss. “Thank you. So much.” I hummed as I chased him after the kiss.

“Anytime babe.” I huffed as he leaned back against the arm of the couch. “What the heck are you doing?” Norman smiled at me as he gently pushed at my thigh with his foot.

“I’m trying to get comfortable. So get up.” I shook my head but got up anyway.

“You could have put your feet in my lap you know.” I grumbled. Norman shook his head. He laid down on the too small couch, shifting so his feet dangled over the opposite arm.

“Now come here.” I smiled at him as I slid onto the couch and curled up against him.

“Better Norman?” He laughed before shaking his head. “Not really.” I rolled my eyes as I shifted so I was laying on top of him. “Let me buy you a new couch. A more comfortable one. For both of us.” He kissed the side of my head.

“I’ll think about it.” I laughed as we settled in for the best day off I’d had in a while.

[ultralightpoe]

True Crime Junkie - Yelena Belova

Description: Yelena gets into true crime

Warnings: Talk about serial killers, (If I see ANY ROMANTIZIZING SERIAL KILLERS I WILL BLOCK YOU)

Authors Note: I hope you enjoy, let me know if you’d want a part 2, requests are always open and I love writing for y’all so feel free to send some in. Written as romance and or Aroace. ENJOY!!

Word Count:1,058

Part 2 can be found HERE

MAIN Master List - - Marvel Master List

Yelena Belova was an addict.

             Luckily she wasn’t addicted to drugs or alcohol (the ladder could be argued but honestly you didn’t judge), no Yelena was addicted to something far weirder. 

           It started when you put up your second room on some rental site, you lived in New York for your job and though he didn’t absolutely need the money you liked spending cash. So you began accepting tourists, they’d pay you to stay with you for a week or so and then would disappear. It worked well for a while. 

              Enter Yelena Belova. You had just gotten done cleaning up the room after your last guest and put the ad out once again, someone by the username ‘fannyromanogers’ replied within two minutes saying “I need somewhere to stay while I am in town on business. I won’t be there much, just need a bed. :) (:”

               Sounded easy enough, so you responded and it was all set up. Her name was Yelena, and though she didn’t know how long she would be staying she paid you for 4 weeks in advance. When she got there all she had with her was 3 duffel bags and a charming smile. 

             You gave her the tour and showed her to her room with ease, carrying one of her lighter bags. 

             “So I only have 3 rules. No drugs, no stealing and no murder. I have a camera set up in the living room so if you steal anything I’ll know. Not that I think you would but I tell everyone that just in case.”

             She nods and shrugs before raising an eyebrow at you. “No murder?”

               “If you have to, then do it outside.” You tease, shuffling a bit. “May I ask what brings you to town?”

                “I have to find someone.” She shrugs before winking at you. “I also really want to see the new musical.”

               “Oh that crap? It’s been dragging tourists in like crazy.”

               “You don’t like it?”

              “It’s cheap…..and cringy” You shrug, shuffling out of her room.

            True to her word, Yelena really stayed out of your way, in fact she was rarely there. The one time she was there you asked her what she did and all she said was “bird watching.”

           You left it at that. 

           Tonight you had ordered a crap ton of pizza while you watched true crime documentaries on your tv. You didn’t expect Yelena to come back anytime soon and you were officially on Christmas vacation from work so why not have a fun time?

           You had just started the second show when Yelena came in, looking irritated and mumbling under breath, something about ‘who only has one cutlery set’. You watched her carefully take off her docs so she didn’t track any snow in and take off her coat as well. 

            You never knew where you stood with Yelena, you thought she liked you but at times you were sure you annoyed her, tonight being no different as you hesitated to greet her. “Hey Yelena.”

        “Hi! It’s nice and теплый in here.” She smiles, shuffling to the heater. 

         “How was your day? Do anything exciting?”

           “Tried to commit murder on top of a building and then went and broke into someone’s house to make mac and cheese.” She responds simply, staring at the empty seat of the couch like she was contemplating sitting with you.

             “Sounds like a lot of fun. Tomorrow take me when you rob the bank.” You tease before nodding to the seat. “You should come sit. I have more pizza than I could eat.”

            You watch her hesitate for a moment before giving in, getting comfortable within seconds. “What are you watching?”

             “Oh! It’s a documentary about this jackass guy that killed a bunch of people.” You smile, moving to change it. 

              “You can leave it on. Is it true?”

              “Yeah, it’s a true crime documentary so it’s the events and investigation that took place.”

                And that was it. 

              From that moment on Yelena became truly obsessed. 

              Her business wrapped up by Christmas but she still had 3 weeks paid for so she would sit with you every day watching true crime. 3 weeks turned into her fully renting the room and bringing her dog in, spending every Monday binging true crime series with you. 

            She had begun reading about more cases and seemed to absolutely go crazy over the topics. You had once told her about some guy that ended up getting away with the murder because the police messed up, she obsessed over that case for a couple days before going on a work trip. 

            When she came back you told her that the assailant had been killed that week and she went all “Whaat? That man was killed while I was in OHIO and NOWHERE NEAR HIM? Oh insane.”

            You let your roommate live her best life, braiding her hair at night while she watched the shows and trying to scare her every chance you got. It really wasn’t an issue until the blonde had finally found out about Ted Bundy. *Authors Note- I do not tolerate anyone romanticizing serial killers, so if I see any comment as such I will block you. Get better idols*

             It had been through a makeup artist on youtube who talked about serial killers, and one of the episodes was about Bundy. Yelena was mad, through and through. 

            She talked about it for weeks on end. 

             “How did he escape in Colorado?! I’ve been there, they have very serious security.” She asks while waiting for you to finish showering, sittin in the sink. 

              “Maybe he is the reason they have good security. Yelena it was like the 70s.”

               “Why did he wait so long to fess up?”She snaps while helping you put on a necklace for a night out. “And why did they let him screw around for so long? I would have forced the дурак to talk.”

             “Laws Yelena. They couldn’t do anything to him but the death penalty at that point and he knew if he told them then there was nothing between him and death.”

             It got to the point where you had to start banning true crime in the apartment so she would shut up about it. To which the blonde began sneaking in episodes while you went to work.

Sure Yelena Belova was an addict, but it was technically your fault.

(Would anyone want a part 2 where reader finds out who Yelena is and how the second true crime junkie reacts?)

[belovedgamers]

?? Passerine?? Mishap??

Already solved and things are good again, but, well, a bit ago… Passerine disappeared. For a moment there, all readers who tried to read Passerine was the infamous “This work is part of an ongoing challenge and will be revealed soon.” Meaning, it was not available.

It’s back now! I don’t know for how long it was gone but it shows up again. It probably only took a few minutes to solve.

Now… to this one:

Okay so disclaimer, I haven’t really talked in depth about collections in about a year so I may be a little rusty but I do have the gist of it still.

What happened? Well. Simply put: Passerine got added to a collection and the owner must have set that collection to unrevealed before fixing it.

Collections in ao3 are used in a variety of things, most notably gift exchanges or challenges. You can read more about them in the Collection FAQ. BUT as an author, the most important thing is this: when you let your work be added into a collection, it essentially becomes managed by the owner (and moderators, but they can’t change collection’s settings).

If the owner of a certain collection (who could just be one person collecting bookmarks or recs for themself or a specific group of friends) marks the collection as unrevealed… it may just about… stop allowing access to your work. And if they mark it as anonymous, your work will appear as though “by anonymous.”

Now… here is a list of all the collections Passerine is currently part of:

Which means… any of these owners could have accidentally hid Passerine for a bit there. It’s back so there’s no real harm but… Passerine is a big fic, people noticed pretty quickly. I have known authors whose works got put into unrevealed collections and they didn’t realize until quite a bit later which is detrimental to us because we don’t get readers in that time.

I don’t remember if by default ao3 has the setting for automatically accepting invites to collections on but here’s quickly how to find that:

Click on the “Hi, [username]!”. Go to “My preferences.” Find this:

Deselect the first one. Now, you’ll receive an email telling you that you’ve invited to a collection, and you can reject it when it happens. If your work is already in a collection and you want to take it out, you can also do that. The instructions should be in the FAQ I linked above.

I only make this reply as extensive as I have because I saw the author tweet about it and she didn’t know what had happened or how it got fixed. I think it’s very important we know this stuff as authors to avoid any mishaps or incidents like that! Keep your work safe, guys!

[monsutaapetsu]

‘Impossible’ Non-Shiny Shiny

[Original Text Below] (From ‘deleted’ reddit post, due to not obtaining 50 karma first)

Hello guys? I have a really crazy situation, which in at least one previous reddit the community told someone Shiny Starters are not possible in the game. Now, i had no idea originally about this. I started up a new account just for the fun of it. Knowing I was gonna be home that day, meant it was senseless to walk ten minutes and get pikachu first, so I went for a Charmander, and what did we have? YELLOW CHARMANDER, A SHINY BABY DRAGON. A quick catch later I register the pokémon, and then his Card Slot 8n my inventory is orange. Now, I’ve been confused about it these last couple days, so i tried to look into if this was a bug. Or something else.

Has anyone ever ran into this?

I have my journal entry vs the pokemon in question screenshot, minding that this guy is the first and only of the charmander family the new account has caught so far. Will Link screenshots in a post edit below, since I dont see an upload option here. Edit: https://monsutaapetsu.tumblr.com/post/679897790459052032 Screenshots are now live using a randomly made tumblr.

Update: I also reached out to Niantic Support in-game with the bot, who eventually enabled me to see screenshots. However the game shut down once I asked for Help again post screenshots? -- Reloaded the game, and support chat was retained, with no reply as of an hour and a half later. --  Support has sent their first two replies and I hope to correspond further on This matter. 

Logically, they pointed out a detail I hadn't noticed. The CP change from 11 to 12?! Naturally, the guy seemed to have assumed I either traded or transfered the shiny, which really-- really would not be the case and the added details can prove further proof of otherwise. Which further proves my hypothesis / theory that: because this was a starter pokemon, it auto replaced with a non-shiny. (However, the fact that support ‘Marcus’ says “Pokemon cannot disappear from Storage,” is a particular wording that could be taken either way. As in, the second it’s caught it should have been guaranteed into my storage, OR because the ‘storage’ loaded in an orange starter replacement, when it should have clearly loaded a Shiny according to my Journal.)  ! Adding more pictures to the gallery below to accommodate the details, as necessary. Also, re-upload of images is simply my removal sensitive information (username/nickname, email address, location) via blocking it out with quadrilaterals. 

In summary:

Occurred at the beginning of the game, just prior to username selection (which follows immediate after), so I would have been at most ‘level 1,′ since then I left it at level 4 that day, leveled some yesterday (6, at most), and retained at 8 as of the end of today. (intentionally trying to refrain from capturing too many, even though they are appearing around). This is my first and only charmander on the account (both for that day and as a whole, made on the 25th), because it was caught as a starter Pokemon. Now, I am level 6-8 as of today while writing and updating. Again, I am attempting NOT to level up, to preserve the authenticity. Pokedex will show only one Charmander seen & Caught. (No more have appeared around, all day today either of course). In total, I have caught *NOW* 13 Pokémon, - I shouldn't have any history of transferring either, since I have not bothered candy count @ 3 for Charmander (with no upgrades or transfers) doubly reassures the Pokedex and journal with only one charmander encounter which was captured, -- as, For most all of them is currently at 3 candies (first catch, no pinap berries (leveling 1-7, lacks these), excluding ekans + arbok (8 candies) *edit: & now two metapods (10 candies [weather promo; rain?]). Not yet selected a gym leader, thus nor have i appreciated them in order to decide whom to transfer (again, the candy count and non of them being upgraded should prove this combined with the pokedex). I see a lot of pokemon showing up which i am not currently catching on this account, both to limit my level and to keep the journal log short to preserve the log since high activity would eventually wipe the log or push these old logs out.  ---- 10hr 45 minutes later, I have had no word or reply after the two support messages to anything I replied with, as of yet. Also asked about 3-4 hrs ago if signing out would wipe the chat history, as I am hoping not so that I might sign into my 1st/main and collect some of the remnants to the pokemon I avoided all of today. This will probably be today’s last update. -Day Break- Got no reply for all of the day, and made sure to keep the screenshot logs to the replies I made. Since I signed out, to hop on my main, and saw the history stayed, I didn’t sweat the details too much.  -Day Break- Checked around 11:50 am, today and found out that just after midnight support responded to me (36 hours later). 

In their response they claimed it was a ‘visual’ glitch and are supposedly sending 2 incense in compensation to my account. They also suggested that if I am lucky, I will be able to find another shiny. Funny part is, since this is a new account which I hooked up with a referral code-- my starter inventory is full (365/350 Currently), so I can’t even ‘purchase’ the daily free box.  I didn’t really consider these things until I relaxed and let it settle on my mind.  However I also chose to bring up if it’s a ‘glitch’ why did it occur during the catch and log this way? Is is really just ‘visual,’ if all the details that go along with it existed (coloration, shiny marker, CP difference).  Also, finding it hard to believe that they could ever randomly insert 2 item to your full inventory, whilst also claiming that -pokemon don’t just disappear, -they have no way of modifying your pokemon. Granted, I don’t see this as ‘mod’ of pokemon, rather as a fluke that seemed to have a script set to ‘undo’ itself with an unmarked swap, and my journal is the last remaining shred of proof in an otherwise flawless anti-shiny starter system. 

I think most the community would of course never deny the hope for another shiny around the corner, yet there is no replacement for a SHINY STARTER. A Yellow Charmander baby would have been adorable. The way I play, I simply prefer to NOT evolve a shiny, unless I have a second of said Shiny. The baby form, like the other starters and honourable mentions, doesn’t appear willy-nilly. Whilst a black Charizard is somewhat anticipated in the future thanks to the high frequency of Y raids and encounter rewards.  Also, only now as of today have I reached Level 10, and screenshot when for reassurances.

-Day Break- Didn’t see any more replies lately (that day), and Today (April Fools), the chat history wiped much to my disappointment. Not sure if it’s worth it, to send another message asking if I ever got a reply. After-all, it seems that this situation won’t be going any further from here. However, I enjoyed the surplus of Dittos to go around (& hitting lvl 11). Thanks for baring peer witness to my impeccable circumstances! (edits to follow adding in the full screenshot log, and if I can figure out how to make spoiler code, I’ll place them in a reasonable order in accordance to the story’s sequence.) 

First 9 Pokémon, only added a Pikachu to them since, so far.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemongo/comments/tpo1hc/shiny_starter_rumored_to_be_impossible/

[lilshotgun]

So here's why i've been inactive for the past couple months on tumblr:

As many of you know, I've been a fairly avid content creator for the warrior nun fandom creating a ton of content for free. I joined a Warrior Nun discord server named Future Warrior Nuns (which is a ridiculous name considering in the show Ava says there will be no more warrior nuns but that's besides the point) and the treatment I received there was amazing. At the beginning. I spoke up about racism and injustices within the community because you cannot escape it anywhere unfortunately and I believed I'd found a community that would protect me and be there for me if i was ever faced with racism or hate.

For clarity, anyone in blue is a moderator. As you go on to read this their usernames and profile images might change so I’ll clarify who is who. I’ll only be using the names I’ve been presented with and only the ones that are most relevant to the situation. 

Fiesta  (white American cis woman) aka Doesn't Kelly, Witch Rhyme

Taz (white Australian cis woman) 

Milan (a very sheltered American transmasculine poc whos uncomfortable talking about racism because they've never had to deal with it) aka Who The Fuck Is Kelly

Rory (white Australian cis woman) aka Stronger Kelly

 But after a while, things slowly started to change. It was subtle and if you hadn't been there from the beginning, you wouldn't have noticed. It started with the moderators spending less time in the server because they had made many of their own servers and spent far more time over there. Which is understandable when you’re a group of friends that all have a common purpose. But the lack of leadership was palpable. I had to sometimes direct fellow server members to proper channels or do a few other things that were supposed to be things that the moderators were supposed to take care of and their lack of care for the server was becoming more relevant. If you were in their little group of friends or kissed their ass then they wouldn't target you unnecessarily. 

    Exactly three weeks later, (and only one week after my birthday in which everyone was super sweet and nice to me) the love and friendship they claimed to have for me vanished completely. For context, people in positions of power, especially in a server, should be people you can come to if you ever have an issue with anything or anyone. They should also be people that can come to terms with admitting their behavior was incorrect when being told so. So here is what happened:

I have always been open about being a transmasculine person of color on all my platforms, and if you know me on any platform you know that. The behavior shown here between me and the moderators was absolutely appalling to me. They pushed my voice aside and only acknowledged Narcissa, a cis white woman, who was agreeing and saying the same things i had because i had asked her in private to help me out because i felt it was unfair that two server moderators were coming at me so aggressively. 

As you can see from the screenshots, they claimed that I attacked Fiesta when i was simply pointing out that her behavior was hypocritical and unfair especially because she is in a position of power and that's something people of power should be aware of. 

I was the only one brave enough to say what everyone was thinking. And that's something I have always taken pride in. Speaking up for others when they are too scared to do so themselves. And that was shown through multiple people coming into my dms to tell me they either felt the same way I did or they felt the way I was treated in the conversation above was unfair. This next screenshot is from a private message from a former manager. 

Narcissa (white cis woman)  received a few apologies from the server managers privately, yet my dms stayed vacant. At this point, they made a “public apology” towards everyone in the server which I forgot to screenshot, and not a single server manager reached out to me in private. But they did share these in the server for everyone to see:

They then opened an anonymous feedback form for us to share if we had any issues privately, which of course, I did, and so I filled it out saying “wheres my fucking apology ~king” so they would know exactly who the response was coming from. I was angry and hurt that they treated me the way they did. I regretted wording it like that almost instantly after sending it. But the deed was done and it was unchangeable. And not too long after, this was posted publicly in the server feedback channel so that everyone in the server could see:

Whether I shared that it was from me or not, she violated the server moderators unanimous statement saying that everything posted in the feedback form would stay anonymous and made my response public using the excuse that me sharing my name made it okay for her to show it to everyone. I was also being informed by other people I’m friends with that the forms that were being submitted were not staying anonymous and that they were being shared from other moderators privately in other peoples' dms.

I stuck around in the server because the people that I had formed friendships with were there and they were special to me and I wanted to be able to talk to them still in spite of everything that had happened to me up until this point. I was much more subdued at this point, I was posting less art and as you noticed I practically disappeared from twitter as well. 

My love for Warrior Nun was decreasing rapidly because the environment had become so toxic and unwelcoming that I felt scared to say much in the server in fear of being banned after seeing one of my trans poc friends banned for saying hi to another member. They had been looking for a reason to ban him for being on my side instead of theirs and apparently found the “perfect” excuse. They deleted his messages and claimed in their private admin channel that he had harassed someone in the server without screenshotting the false evidence first. How do I know this? Because I had a person on the team that valued me as a person instead of as a content creator and what I could give to the server.

I proceeded to curate the server for what fit me best, considering the ridiculous number of channels they created that had nothing to do with the show at this point. And there was an option for members to do that so I used the tools they had provided with and opted out of channels I no longer wanted to see. I consolidated it down to 35 out of 66 channels because some of them had no opt out option. And still, it was way more channels than I'd prefer to be in. I narrowed it down to only ships I actually cared about instead of having a bunch of channels I was never gonna read or say things in. And that's when the manager that cared about us provided me with these telling screenshots.

Why put me in “jail” over removing some roles? It may not have been explicit, but the internalized racism of putting a person of color in “jail” for curating what they wanted from a server is frankly off putting to say the least. "Implicit racism includes unconscious biases, expectations, or tendencies that exist within an individual, regardless of ill-will or any self-aware prejudices." 

And what does carl bot do exactly? It logs EVERYTHING. But only if that feature is enabled. And clearly, in Future Warrior Nuns, it is.

 They didn’t care about me and didn’t care that I was a consistent content creator. For lack of better words, I was one of the biggest reasons the actual part of the server that was dedicated to the show was constantly active and once I became quiet, along with a few other content creators I talked with, the activity decreased immensely. I said things here and there but that was about it. Until I was looking through their emotes. I noticed that they had trans, gay, demi, bi, aro, and ace heart emotes but the lesbian one wasnt there. Which was honestly surprising considering how much of the fandom identifies as lesbian. So I asked for it to be added and after it was, so many people were super happy because of it.

One day later i asked for more Mary emotes because they hadn’t completely brushed me off after requesting for the lesbian pride one. I noticed that Ava, the white character, had 72 animated and still emotes at the time while Mary, the black character, only had 18. And only 4 out of those were positive emotes. Here's that conversation:

I offered up my services to create Mary emotes for them considering I was an artist and content creator and it would be no issue for me at all to contribute but they declined, saying they were working on some themselves and that they would eventually add them to the server. The ones that they had created all looked terrible. They didn't know how to color correct her skin so that it wouldn't look ashy because of the filters used in the show and instead of asking for help from me, an artist of color, they simply did their own thing. And from 18 emotes, it went up to a dazzling 24. 

Needless to say, the racism they claimed not to have was pretty evident at this point. It was shockingly clear that they didn’t care as much about the characters of color than they did for the white and white passing ones. After this entire debacle I didn't even bother trying to ask for more emotes for Lilith considering how warmly I was welcomed with asking for more Mary emotes. 

A little less than two months after the initial incident, I still hadn’t been contacted by anyone on the admin team about absolutely anything in private. It wasn’t until people asked Fiesta if she had reached out to me or even bothered with an apology before she sent me this:

The “apology” was worthless. Too much time had passed since I was publicly humiliated and portrayed as the evil transmasculine person of color to them, and only a select few people interacted with me. I felt completely shut out because of how the admin team handled a difference of opinion. Instead of correcting themselves and admitting they were wrong, they doubled down on the intimidation and bullying  by changing their rules so that they could find excuses to ban or punish anyone they felt was not on their side. 

At this point, my grades were heavily declining. I was already struggling with keeping up with everything on my own due to covid and my mental disabilities. Being a victim of this racist behavior made everything worse. I couldn’t get out of bed, I was barely eating a meal a day because I had no motivation to work so I had little to no money to buy myself food. I was starving most days. And I didn’t ask my mom for help because I felt everything was my fault and that I really was in the wrong and shouldn't have said anything even though looking back at it I wasn't wrong for what I said. I had also been informed that my dad died because of covid and because of all of this stress and depression I had officially failed my classes. 

This is really difficult for me to say because I’m a very private person and I hate asking for help or sharing anything about my private life, but for you to understand everything that was happening to me at the time, this is stuff you unfortunately need to know. 

There’s many more things that I could say about this server but this thread is already long enough as it is and it was hard enough to write this all down. But behind closed doors, the admin team had some of the nastiest attitudes and behaviors you could’ve seen. Had they realized we had someone on their team that actually valued us and others as people, they probably would have kept their blatant ignorance and dislike towards server members hidden better. But white people like oppressing others when they know they can get away with it and this is just another sad unfortunate example that cost me and my fellow friends of color some heavy emotional and psychological damage.     They did wrong and refused to acknowledge it and instead tried to find a way to ban us for not having the hivemind that they so desperately want to control everyone with. If you want to see for yourself, feel free to find a link to a discord server named Future Warrior Nuns. If you look back through their channels, you’ll find most of these conversations either gone or have many messages missing. I hope my story will help understand why I’ve been gone from tumblr for so long and i hope something like this never happens to you.

[luvreyn]

My Manhwa List (2020) Part 2

2020 just started but a lot has been going on, please stay healthy in these trying times. Hopefully, these manhwas would keep you entertained (like they did to me) and kept you from being too anxious & lonely.

Flirting with the Villain's Dad

Description:

Ack! I'm trapped in this webnovel, "Brigitte Wants to be Happy!" No prob, I KNOW what's gonna happen so I'll just—wait. I'm not Brigitte? I'm her aunt, Princess Yerenika?! Uh-oh. I'm stuck 20 years before the main plot... and everyone in my generation ends up tragically dead! Her parents, dead. Me, dead. Villain's dad, King Euredian, dead. A-ha! That's the key. I just need to prevent the villain from being born... time to break out some seduction schemes and flirt like my life depends on it!

WHY YOU SHOULD READ:

- plot = 5/5 a new favorite!

- art style = 5/5 reminds me of rae x noah art and something else

- characters are all good looking, so aesthetic!

- seriously, this is a gem

- f u n n y

- isekai-sh?

- mc is so cute!!!! 

- ml is so so handsome 

- few chaps for now but so goodd

- i’m so excited for whats in store

- read this pls so we can fangirl togetherr!

- conclusion, a very good manhwa and highly recommended!

Invitation of Mystic Messenger

Description:

The official comic adaptation of the dating-sim game phenomenon has arrived! Hana is usually a glass-half-full sort of person, but lately, nothing seems to be going her way. After yet another fruitless day of job hunting, she finds herself pouring out all her frustrations to a stranger in the street. The kind stranger disappears before they get a chance to exchange names or numbers, however, leaving behind a phone with nothing but a single messenger app. “Can you read this message…?” As soon as Hana logs on, username “Unknown” tells her they know the person she is looking for. Although a little suspicious, she is intrigued. Who was the stranger that lent her a shoulder to cry on? Who is this “Unknown” she is chatting with? To find the answers to her questions, she must first accept a mysterious invitation. Time to get reacquainted with Jumin, 707, Zen, Yoosung, Jaehee and the rest of Mystic Messenger!

WHY YOU SHOULD READ:

- ohmyghad

- plot = ?/5 it only has the prologue but i have great expectations bcoz this is base on a game by the same name (if u dont know it then its ok cause i havent played it either lmao)

- artstyle = 5/5 they look so gooood!

- this has great potential & i’m looking forward to how they’ll incorporate it!

- conclusion, april 12th cant come fast enough! i wanna read it!

Lamia Orphe is Dead

Description:

Lamia Orphe is to become the future successor of the Orphe dukedom but at 22 years of age, she suddenly decides to give up her own title. On the other hand, the 2nd Prince, Aquila Theodore Benzer, has powers that transcend beyond that of a normal human. Notorious for being cruel and merciless as the son of the "desert witch," he competes against his brother, the 1st Prince Ethan Tayler Benzer, to succeed the throne. What lies in store for Aquila and Lamia? How are their fates intertwined with the legendary dragon?

WHY YOU SHOULD READ:

- i cri

- plot = 6/5 because its what it deserves

- artstyle = 4.5/5 

- ml is precious ok he is!

- mc is such a precious bean for wanting to protect her little brother

- this is a gem

- i just wanna cry why do ppl do them dirty huhuhu

- pls read they’re so precious together

- ml treats her like a queen which she deserves

- in this house we dont want toxic males!

- c u t e

- ml loves her so much that its so painful

- conclusion, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The Villainess Turns the Hourglass

Description:

After her lowly mother married a count, Aria enjoyed a life full of luxury while harassing her gentle stepsister Mielle. Several years later, Aria is about to be executed when Mielle reveals that she wickedly tricked Aria into building the bad reputation that ultimately brought her to the scaffold. Just as Aria desparately wishes she could change her fate, she sees a curious hourglass that takes her back into the past. Now, Aria can destroy Mielle by using her own tactics against her like a true villainess. The power of the hourglass is on her side... Can Aria take everything from Mielle, or will her actions change the past in ways she couldn't have imagined? Based on the hit novel.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ:

- plot = 5/5 

- artstyle = 3.5/5

- a villain that acts like a villain? check

- f u n n y

- i love manipulative mc (its aria btw)

- aria’s plot and schemes to get back at her backstabbing sister is entertaining

- promising &  full of potential

- cant say much bout ml cause he hasnt made much appearance yet

- interesting concept!!

- conclusion, a new fav!

This Witch of Mine

Description:

In these times, if you're too good or bad at something or simply too beautiful, you're called a witch. The truth is deeper than everyone realizes. Up against dark intentions, an outcast young boy and a mysterious witch will need more than just magic spells and incantations; they’ll need each other.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ:

- why u do this to me author sunbae!

- seriously i just wanna cry after i read this 

- plot = 10/5 because thats what it deserves

- artstyle = 4.5/5 kinda reminds me of lamia orphe’s art style

- a gem

- personal favorite

- i cri

- a rollercoaster ride!

- all characters are lovable & humane

- spoiler: “youre miserable because you love me more than you love them”

- OHMYGHAD

- i love all the male lead & mc ok

- male leads (bcoz they’re many) treats my girls so well i just wanna

- a touching story about love & friendship

- i think this often overlook but READ THIS

- conclusion, a super duper highly recommended series that touches you!

[lexpressobean]

Parent/Teacher Night: Ch 2, Remember When

In which Shino recalls some thens and compares them to the nows, and gets inspired to change some things with Kiba's encouragement.

*Modern AU, Swearing

**You can find this on AO3 now too, along with the first chapter. Let's gooooooooo!!!

•••

"He asked to trade numbers?" Kiba repeated, pausing all motion, chopsticks mid snatch for a gyoza.

"Yes. Is that... Weird?"

"Well, no."

Kiba reached over and chose his specimen, a plump piece just asking to be dipped. Shino continued eat his steamed rice. It was okay if Kiba wanted the last of the gyoza. Shino thought he might enjoy a serving of the restaurant's ice-cream after he finished his meat instead.

"But even I don't have Shikamaru's number. Least not his current one."

"You don't?"

"Nah," Kiba took in the gyoza whole and spoke as he chewed, "but ah neber bothered doo update it, I hab 'im on my socials anyway."

"Oh."

He swallowed, "But you didn't even have any kind of social media until later in college. You were late to the game!"

"I didn't see the point then..."

"And that's fine. He probably doesn't even know you have them now. But you know he's been pretty absent from social media too. Figures."

"According to Ino, he's been back in town since April."

"Well of course Ino would know, she's always been in everyone else's business. Especially Shikamaru's, and Choji's too!"

Shino silently made a face, distorting the corner of his mouth as if reluctant to agree, but Kiba barked out a laugh when he caught him.

"It's true though, isn't it!? You would know, Shino!"

Shino didn't plan to be seen, but oh well, "I think it's just her way of showing she cares. Those three are practically family, aren't they?"

Kiba sighed and rolled his eyes, "Listen, dude, just cause you 'dated' her for a couple of years back in college doesn't mean you have to be nice after the fact. It's okay! She has her manipulative bitchy side too. How else could she make it as a therapist."

"Psychiatrist."

"That."

Kiba emphasized the word "dated" in such a way that caused Shino to scowl. Geez, if Ino didn't insist on sharing pictures online...

"Don't invalidate my opinions just because you think they're biased, Kiba. Also, people grow from high school, don't be stuck in the past either."

"I'm not saying it's invalid, geez, but ever since you've always been soft on her..."

"Jealous?"

Kiba immediately threw a dirtied, crumpled up napkin at Shino's head as he blew raspberries in disbelief. Of course Shino dodged it.

"And that!" Kiba almost yelled, though he had a huge smile on his face, "You're sass meter has been off the charts since then!"

"I thought I was just asking a question," Shino simply replied, though he smiled too.

"Fucking jerk," he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, sighing dreamily, "Why would I be jealous when I'm with Tamaki now?"

Shino suppressed the urge to crinkle up his nose, "I remember back in high schoo-"

"THAT WAS HIGH SCHOOL!!" Kiba interrupted, not upset but voice almost breaking in both embarrassment and amusement simultaneously, "Now who's the one stuck in the past!"

"Well anyway, I was just curious if you had heard from him recently, because this was the first time I had seen him since he was an undergrad. That was a while ago."

"Same here, bud. But then here's a thought, if he's just working these days, and he's giving out his number to old friends, maybe we should all get together sometime! So why don't you also friend him on socials while you're at it?"

Shino paused and considered the suggestion.

Shino could do that. Actually, Shino could have done so a long time ago if he had wanted to. But for all the times he had seen Shikamaru's obvious username and cloud icon, he never sent friend request himself. He created his socials for the sole purpose of studygroup based messaging and had planned to delete his social media after school ended for good. But two months in and Kiba somehow found him, and then shortly after Hinata did too. Then Naruto also found Shino and from there he actually aquired a few more friend requests, including from Lee and Sai. Even Ino sent him a friend request, though Ino and Shino had actually attended the same University in the beginning. And then she called him out on it the next time she saw him in person, because how could Shino friend nearly all their mutuals and NOT Ino? He even friended Sakura before Ino! Though, Shino had a suspicion Sakura's request may had been a result of clumsy typing. Shino definately hadn't meant anything by it, but that started a series of... interesting talks between the two. But all and all, Shino suspected that's why he saw Shikamaru's icon so often, among others he didn't quite recognize himself.

Of course Shino knew he didn't have to accept the requests at all. He could've delete them even. But... it didn't seem right to ignore them either. And maybe it felt... kinda nice being reached out to...

"I mean, shit, maybe I should shoot him a message too..." Kiba mused.

"... I was under the impression it was for Mirai's sake."

Kiba perked up, "Huh?"

"That's because a cellphone number is a personal and direct line. If Mirai is currently under my care as a student, wouldn't it make sense to have multiple contacts in case of an emergency?"

Kiba sighed. Typical Shino, "Did Shikamaru say it was strictly for emergencies only?"

"... No."

"So, Dude, maybe... just maybe, Shikamaru simply isn't aware that you have socials? I know I know... social media is meant to be for socializing, but so are direct lines! Why does a direct line have to be so off limits? You're not a stranger to Shikamaru either, Shino. I mean, if anything, he probably trusts you a lot, knowing the kind of person you've ways been. It's a personal line after all, right?"

Not a stranger, but definitely not the person closest the Shikamaru either... It didn't quite make sense beyond Mirai's safety... but, maybe that was Shino's own opinion...

"... I'm over thinking it again."

"Yup."

"... Maybe I will. I'm already friends with Ino and Choji..."

"Yeah! Just complete the trio! Here let's see..." Kiba took out his phone and started to review something, "... I think the only people you're not friends with besides Shikamaru are... Sasuke, who simply deleted everything at one point, Neji, but he really only followed me because of Hinata," Kiba added wearily, "aaand a lot of... other people... but, like, you're better off that way. I have a lot of those assholes blocked or didn't bother. Even Sasuke had been more better of an option than them!"

"Like who?"

"Like I had to block Shikamaru's psycho ex-girlfriend Tayuya. Fucking nightmare that girl was..."

"Ah... the flute player," Shino wasn't all that to date back in the day either, but even he knew about Tayuya...

"Sure that was YEARS ago, and maybe she's different now? But she was... not okay then. To be fair, Shikamaru wasn't blameless, but cripes... After the break-up she was constantly stalking him online... I've just kept her blocked for good measure, I don't know if she's still even there."

Another reason Shino didn't want social media at the time... It made it too easy to let people in. In all honesty the idea had felt overwhelming, and sometimes still does...

"So you're good there."

"Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji..."

"... Anyone else?"

"... I think those are the last few people from back then I'd actually tolerate. Shikamaru had been your friend, and Sasuke... wasn't always so aloof before he disappeared... And then Neji is Hinata's cousin..."

"Ha! Perfect! So then why not friend Neji too, just for the hell of it? You two had some kind of bro pact, I do remember that."

"He just worried about Hinata, Kiba. Between you and Naruto, I could see why."

"Sue me Shino, it's not my fault the school was full of cute girls!" Kiba nearly whined, but with a ridiculously dopey smile on his face.

It made Shino think. Shikamaru was one of the only people he more regularly saw who didn't reach out to him. But of course Shikamaru had a problem with a stalker at one point. That would make anyone weary of social media. Kiba had even stated he wasn't on much. Shino couldn't fault him for that.

Sasuke apparently deleted his, but it wasn't like they were the closet to begin with, despite humble beginnings. Shino had his fair share of complaints when it came to Sasuke, but when he transferred to a different school before senior year started, even Shino felt his absence.

And recalling high school, Neji did once ask for Shino's socials before. But it was obviously for the same reason of wanting to keep extra tabs on his little cousin and her "new friends" in Environmental Club. Shino had already explained he didn't have any, and he wasn't sure Neji believed him, but had agreed to be very careful with Hinata, who had started to hang out with he and Kiba more after they returned her book she had left in the club classroom. Shino kept it as Kiba was terribly tempted to take a peek, but once it had been returned, and Kiba expressed his curiosity, Hinata shyly presented them with page after page of pressed flowers, all marked with name, date, and little tidbits of info. She became even more bashful at Kiba's amazement and Shino's praise. It was just very well organized and aesthetically pleasing, something she and Ino would bond over later into their friendships.

So then, it was very surprising to know that such a timid girl had an incredible amount of skill in Martial Arts, but had opted to join Environment Club instead of Martial Arts Club. It was less of a shock to find out she and the school's Number One MAC member were related, first cousins even. They had a strong resemblance to each other.

As for Shino and Neji, their mutual fondness for Hinata became a source of camaraderie at some point. Despite expectations and Neji's sterness, all he really wanted was for Hinata to simply have fun during school, and he very much appreciated Shino looking out for her. So Kiba wasn't wrong. And in current time, Hinata had ultimately decided she was gonna live out of town due to... many reasons, but mainly because of her job as a pastry chef in a very successful and family owned cafe and bakery. Of course cinnamon rolls were her specialty, but Shino's feed always had some of the most delightful pictures of various decorated confections, most made by her too. He wasn't the biggest fan of sweets in general, but he was very fond of her handy work. You could tell she loved her job with every detail.

"Crap! Hey Shino, did you wanna order anything to go?"

"Uh, no. I think that was enough."

"Alright cause it's about time I go meet Tamaki," Kiba grinned, "Here's my part!"

Kiba slammed a twenty dollar bill down onto the table and hurriedly put his jacket back on. When Shino looked at the time it was nearly half past six. Oh, the reservation was made for seven. Maybe he talked too much.

"We might've pushed it, Kiba."

"No way, it's fine! I mean I don't mind going if that's where she wants to go, but you know how fancy places are! I need food Shino, actual food!"

Shino was glad that his friend was putting in so much effort for this girl. It seemed like he really liked her, and she was pretty cute, and also... nice. But when it came to things like this, Shino wasn't sure how long this was really gonna last. But it probably wasn't his place to comment.

"Make sure Akamaru takes his medicine, he'll definitely down it if you give him the peanut butter too."

"Sure, no problem."

"Also, Shino."

"Yes?"

"Seriously, don't be so shy! Just friend them!"

"Stop dawdling, you're gonna be late."

Kiba laughed as he waved and nearly jogged out of the restaurant. After paying and boxing the rest of Kibas plate for later (Shino was sure his idiot friend was gonna be hungry again) Shino headed out to Kiba's apartment. He already had a key, ever since he had come back to town. They had always been close like that, though with these new developments Shino always made it a point to give Kiba space and a heads up.

Akamaru was getting old. This medicine was supposed to help him in his old age, and just as Kiba said, Akamaru took the medication with no problem. Shino also made sure that the bowls were full of water and food. Because there was now also Akemaru, a younger dog of the same breed that Kiba had come across one day at the shelter. After only a few weeks and no adoptions, Kiba couldn't resist and ended up adopting him, and he and Akamaru became very close. As a favor to their otherwise absent owner, Shino got the younger and more energetic dog ready for a walk. When Shino offered to take Akamaru, the old boy wagged his tail and came to lick Shino's hand, but then retreated back to his bed and laid down. Looks like that was gonna be a pass, but he was thankful for the offer.

...

Shit.

Okay. Okay, that was it. Actually, this was perfect. Before Shino really started the walk, he pulled out his phone. He scrolled through he recommended friends list of his most commonly used social and easily found the cloud icon that belonged to Shikamaru. It was the same app he even had people like Kurenai and his father on. Just being able to keep anyone of relevance to his social circles on the same app was fine. It kept them close, but not too close either. Available, but at a distance. The only other people who had Shino's personal line were Kiba, Hinata, Kurenai, his father Shibi, Torune and Neji.

Shino hadn't mentioned that to Kiba, but in reality, they hadn't kept much contact anyway. So Shino hoped Kiba didn't snoop his friends list later, but he decidedly sent Shikamaru a friend request and put his phone away into a pocket. Then after switching out his glasses, as to see better in the evening, he left the apartment and began his walk with Akemaru. This would definitely keep him from getting too anxious about it. Shino didn't really know why he was like this, but it was done and now it was up the Shikamaru if he really wanted to catch up. Not that there was a whole lot to catch up on. He was more Kiba's friend after all, always had been, but Shino was sure Kiba didn't really think about that kind if thing too deeply.

Thankfully there was a park a couple blocks down, which even in the evening looked easy to navigate. The air was fresh and chilly, but tolerable with his coat on. Akemaru was good on a leash, and so Shino was able to keep a steady but not rushed pace. He followed a predetermined path, one Shino was actually familiar with too and so he was able to relax as his body went into coast mode.

...

It was nice. Just focusing on the walk. But Shino couldn't help thinking back to his high school days too. Seeing Shikamaru hadn't really been a shock so much as a surprise. He definitely... grew. His voice was deeper. His hair seemed more or less the same length, but maybe looked longer as now he styled it differently. Instead of the low and rather disheveled ponytail he used to wear, he now kept it only half up it looked like. Shino didn't think it looked bad at all, but with some loose strands in his face and the more casual clothes he had been wearing, Shino really wondered if Shikamaru wasn't more or less dragged last minute to PTN. But maybe he was thinking of the Shikamaru from before. Because this Shikamaru was actually... really approachable. And very kind with his words. Maybe that's what growing up some did to people.

Because the one from before was always annoyed, and grumpy, and quiet unless spoken to, yet Naruto and his shenanigans always put a mischievous smirk on his face. Shino had found him a little intimidating. But it wasn't until Kiba and Naruto decided to drag Shino AND Hinata out to a lunchtime hangout and pretty much threw them into the mix of different friends they shared that Shino met Shikamaru, as well as most everyone else. Shino had recognized Ino, and Ino did too after he mentioned Torune, seeing as Torune and Foo both graduated the year before.

"Torune? Like, short black hair, really thick glasses?"

"He has green eyes too."

"Hey, yeah! You're my cousin's boyfriend's cousin! What a small world!"

It was pretty lame introduction.

"And... you're Ino, right?"

"Wow, Ino, he remembered you!" a pink haired girl chastised.

"Oh, shut up, Forehead, it's not like we ever really hung out before. I think we met, like, once at one of Foo's birthdays?"

"That's true," Shino agreed, "I just went for the drive to drop off his present since that day he couldn't stay. You're mom insisted on giving us goodie bags anyway before we left."

"Ugh, good, our parents always go over the top with the decorations and stuff, believe me!"

"Ino, you are over the top."

"Shikamaru, no one was talking to you!"

"Wait, wait wait, your cousin Foo has a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, what of it," Ino immediately scowled at Kiba.

It made Kiba shut up immediately, but then he turned to Shino and whispered, "Hey, is your cousin gay?"

Shino shrugged, "I didn't ask, but it's none of my business." He was. Shino had known but Torune never outright told him they were officially dating. So as far as he was concerned it was a mystery.

"What about you, Hinata, I don't think we've met before. I'm Sakura."

"Um, hello-"

"Actually! We're in Home Ec together!" another boy munching on chips said, "She made the best cinnamon rolls in class the other day!"

Hinata blushed, "Ah, thank-you, Choji..."

"Cinnoman rolls!? I saw that that roll! Hinata, that was yours!?" Naruto asked, super impressed.

She only blushed even harder, "It might've been...!?"

"It was!" Choji confirmed.

"Naruto stop crowding already!" Sakura scolded, poking him against the side of his forehead, "You can be so loud!"

"Augh, alright, Sakura stop!"

It had actually been a relatively friction free integration. Hinata and the girls got along faster than he would've guessed, and later Shino and Sasuke would meet again, with Naruto giving Shino a suspicious stink-eye.

"We've been in the same classes since elementary school," Shino commented, "You have to really go out of your way to ignore someone for that long..."

"Hn..." As friendly as always...

...

From then on, Kiba always insisted on Shino and Hinata joining them at lunch, which Shino did. But Shino couldn't quite fathom the idea of sacrificing his after school time to go to out and do... well, who even knew? Back then, he had a routine, he had things to tend to back home. His terrariums that his father put him in charge of, his guitar practice because he wasn't about to let those lessons go to waste, his study time, and planning for EC activities as he was a more involved member, he was already a busy guy. At least that's what he used to think. But he would be a sad ass liar if he didn't appreciate the invitations. Towards the end he broke a few time at his father's insistence. He was mentally drained each time, but he did have fun, and Kiba always seemed excited to recall the events with Shino after.

Once he had attended collage, Shino really wished he would have taken more time to simply enjoy a more decent social life with the people he called friends at school outside of school. Was he too shy? Was he too selective? Was he socially inept? It didn't matter now. It wasn't until Shino's very first job that he felt like he got to a level he wished he could've reached sooner. Being a cashier at a fast food chain really taught you how to handle and tolerate people, and definitely brought Shino out if his shell more than he would've ever thought. College in general did a lot for him in that respect.

... Kiba was right. If old friends were reaching out, why couldn't Shino do the same?

Well, apparently the universe was glad he agreed, because the second he did, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Shino stopped in place and Akemaru whined. When he checked his phone, he saw not only a "Request Accepted" message but also a simple text message as well, also from Shikamaru.

-----

Hey, can you talk? Call me if you can.

-----

Oh what the fuck.

Shino felt his nerves stand at attention with the prospect of a sudden conversation. What... What did Shikamaru even want right now? Did he really want to talk now?

... No. No, dammit, no! Not this time. Shino took a deep breath and continued to walk, much to Akemaru's delight. And as he got a steady rhythm, Shino highlighted Shikamaru's number and pressed "Call".

It was settled. If he was gonna start making up for lost time, it was now or never, awkward interactions be damned!

[radishaur]

Sorry I already submitted this but then i realized i could submitt it this way. But whar if y/n has a celebrity crush( still dont care who) and zuko gets jealous

Hi! Firstly, I love your username. Secondly, I would love to do this! I’m going to assume that this is still in the ATLA universe. I hope you like it!

•••

Someone Famous (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff

Part: 1/1

Summary: See Request

•••

“Isn’t he just the cutest? Ugh, it should be illegal to be that handsome,” you sighed, continuing to cook dinner with Katara.

Gossiping and having girl talk with Katara was something the two of you had done since the very first day you joined the Gaang. Toph was never one for that kind of thing and Suki wasn’t around for the majority of your travels, so you were a welcome addition.

“I know, right?!” Katara agreed, grinning widely, “And that was only the photo!”

Your conversation carried over into the other room where Zuko, Sokka, and Aang were all relaxing after training. Zuko felt a hint of jealousy hearing you swoon over some random guy but tried his best to hide it from the other boys. Aang seemed to miss it, but Sokka didn’t.

“Someone’s jealous,” he teased, elbowing the other teen in the side.

“No I’m not!” Zuko protested, shoving Sokka away and scowling at him.

“Jealous of what?” Aang asked innocently.

“Zuko’s eavesdropping on Katara and Y/N’s discussion in the kitchen. They’re swooning over some boy,” Sokka explaining, a cheeky grin on his face directed at Zuko.

“I’m not eavesdropping, Sokka. They’re just loud,” Zuko groaned, once again trying to defend himself.

Sokka rolled his eyes and laid back into the couch, ready to let the topic go and continue talking, but Aang seemed suddenly very interested in their conversation.

“I mean, it couldn’t hurt to listen. Maybe then you can get intel on what kind of boy’s Kata- I mean Y/N likes! ...Yea...,” Aang said, grinning sheepishly at his slip up.

Sokka sent an empty glare at Aang that still managed to make him cower, nevermind that he was the AVATAR, but conceded to eavesdrop with the other two.

All three boys sat silently, the sound of Katara and your’s talking filling the room easily. Zuko was right after all. You guys weren’t exactly quiet.

“And those eyes! Don’t get me started on those eyes,” Katara giggled.

“I know. It’s no wonder he’s famous,” you said, sending a sinking feeling in Zuko’s stomach.

This guy was famous? It was bad enough when he thought the person was some random nobody, but someone famous? How was he supposed to compete with that? He was just a banished prince with an ugly scar on his face.

Not even trying to hide his souring mood, Zuko dunk into the couch and crossed his arms. Aang and Sokka were still listening animatedly.

“Shuji has got to be one of my favorite celebrities. Not only is he a good performer, but I’ve heard he’s actually a good person,” you said.

Zuko remembered seeing a poster for a famous street dancer in the marketplace of Ember Island named Shuji. He was a performer from the colonies, using his fire bending and Earth Kingdom good looks to dance and to charm the hearts of his audience. To be honest, even Zuko had to admit he was handsome. He could never compete with him.

“He seems like such a genuine person. It’s hard to beat that combo. Handsome and kind. What a dream,” Katara swooned, a lovesick expression on her face.

Aang visibally deflated at her words, mirroring Zuko’s own crestfallen expression. Sokka seemed to notice the gloomy boys because he rolled his eyes and turned to face them.

“You guys, it’s just a celebrity crush. They don’t actually have feelings for him,” Sokka said concolingly.

Zuko just grunted and continued brooding. Aang seemed to be a little brighter at the encouragement but he still looked disappointed. Before either of the boys could respond, Katara’s question caught their attention.

“What’s your top 3 list of celebrity crushes?” she asked excitedly.

Zuko listened intently, trying to push down the feelings of jealousy he was experiencing about listening to you talk about other guys. Maybe if he listened he could figure out your type at least. Even if he never thought it would be him.

“Hmmm. Top three? That’s hard. I guess my #3 would be Shuji, my #2 would be Kichi, the actor from Omashu, and my number one would be...,” you paused, trying to think of who it could be.

Zuko was on the edge of his seat. So far, your type was Earth Kingdom boys which wasn’t anywhere close to him. He grabbed the cup of tea in front of him to hopefully calm him down and took a sip.

“Oh, I know! My #1 without a shadow of a doubt has to be the Blue Spirit!”

Zuko promptly choked on his drink, spitting it out as he began to cough out what got caught in his throat, his jealousy gone and replaced with shock. Aang was looking at him with wide eyed and a huge smile. Sokka began pounding on his back to help him clear his throat. Apparently the commotion caught your and Katara’s attention, because the two of you also ran into the room to see what was going on.

“Zuko, what happened?” you asked in concern.

Zuko was still too busy coughing to respond. Aang took that as his opportunity to answer for him.

“We were just listening to your guy’s conversation. Do you really like the Blue Spirit that much?” Aang asked, smiling innocently and ignoring the wild look of panic that crossed Zuko’s face.

You didn’t seem at all bothered by the question though, simply laughing and smiling back at him.

“I do, actually. I know that he’s had questionable ethics in the past, but he saved you from Zhao. That and I saw him once when we were in Ba Sing Se,” you admitted, the corner of your lip turning up slightly at the memory.

“You did?” Sokka asked in shock.

“I didn’t know that,” Katara said, feigning hurt at not being told the secret earlier.

“It didn’t seem that important to mention!” you argued, crossing your arms defensively.

“You’ve gotta tell us!” Aang said excitedly, bouncing in his seat.

“Well, I was just walking around the lower ring when I saw this lady getting robbed. It was getting kind of late, so it was kind of dark. I was going to jump in, but then he came out of the shadows and beat me to it. He gave the lady her belongings back before disappearing again,” you explained nonchalantly.

“He seems like a great guy,” Katara said with a small smile.

“I think so. I didn’t see him again after that, but I kept hearing stories of the Blue Spirit who would come out at night and save people from danger. Maybe they’re just rumors, but I know what I saw that night. Besides, I can respect a man who changes for the better like that. Like Zuko!” you exclaimed, turning to smile brightly at him.

It was then you noticed his face was a bright red and he was curling into himself on the couch. He averted his gaze as everyone turned to look at him, his embarrassment clear. You cocked your head to the side, not understanding what was going on at all.

“Zuko, buddy, what’s wrong with you?” Sokka asked, shaking Zuko slightly with a hand on his arm.

“I um...N-Nothing. I’m fine,” he forced out, still refusing to look at anyone but especially you.

Frowning, you made your way to the coffee table and sat down on it across from Zuko. It was pretty hard to ignore you from there, especially when your knees brushed his.

“You’re not fine. Spit it out. Why does the Blue Spirit make you so uncomfortable?” you insisted, leaning back against your arms.

Zuko flicked his gaze over to Aang who simply gave him a small thumbs up and a smile. He bit his lip before returning his gaze to you. You stared at him expectantly, but your gaze was free of judgement. He felt his heart flutter as he looked at you and decided to just admit it.

“It’s just that uh, well.... actually I’m the Blue Spirit.”

The room was silent for a moment as everyone processed the new information. You seemed the most shocked of them all and he felt his heart drop as he watched a million emotions flash across your face.

“It’s true,” Aang piped in, “I saw him when he rescued me. His mask fell off when he got hit in the face with an arrow.”

Silence once again filled the room and Zuko felt his heart sink. He was waiting silently for you to judge him and think differently of him for lying or pretending to be someone he wasn’t, but that never came. Instead, he felt you wrapping him in a warm embrace.

“That’s so cool!” you exclaimed, pulling back from your hug before asking eagerly, “Did you really save a a kid from falling out of a window or was that a rumor?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. Sokka snickered from beside him and began cracking some joke about how Zuko was broken now. None of it reached his ears though. He was too nosy looking at you in a mix of awe and apprehension. Maybe this was all a joke?

“You’re not mad?” he managed to ask quietly.

“Mad? Of course not! I just said you were my number one idol. Why would I be anything but excited?” you asked, clearly confused.

“Actually, you said he was your celebrity crush,” Aang corrected you, innocently oblivious to the embarrassment that caused you.

Your cheeks reddened as you turned to face Zuko with a sheepish smile.

“Right. I did say that.”

Zuko’s jealousy was long gone at that point. The two of you spent the rest of the night talking about his adventures as the Blue Spirit, from how he got the mask to how he ended up becoming a savior instead of a thief. Before the two of you noticed, it was the late hours of the night and both of you were getting tired.

“I should probably go to sleep. I have a long day of training with Aang tomorrow,” Zuko said, standing up awkwardly to leave.

“Yea, I should go too,” you said, standing up as well.

There was an awkward pause as the two of you simply looked at each other. It was like the world stopped and nothing else mattered but the other person. After a few more moment, it was you who broke the silence.

“Hey Zuko?” you asked quietly, your voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah?”

“Remember how I said you were my celebrity crush without really knowing it was you?”

“...Yes?”

“Well, I have something to confess.”

“What is it, Y/N?”

“You’re not just my celebrity crush. You’re also my actual crush.”

Zuko couldn’t stop a giddy smile from breaking out on his face. He began laughing which made you frown. You thought he was laughing at you, which made you want to take back everything you had just said and bury yourself in the ground.

“I like you too, Y/N. A lot,” Zuko admitted before you could say anything.

You smiled up at him, the full weight of his words lifting a weight off your shoulders. He actually liked you back. You actually liked him back. The two of you had the stupidest grins on your faces as you stood together.

Zuko let his hands curl around your waist and pulled you closer. You had no qualms about that, moving your arms to rest on his shoulders. Slowly, giving you time to back away if you wanted, he began to lean in to kiss you. You moved your head up to meet his and felt your lips melt into his.

If this was going to be the outcome everytime, perhaps you should talk about your celebrity crushes more often.

[kooala]

once you realize - chapter three

USERNAME CHANGE!! 

!!used to be kookie-off-his-kookie  but now it’s kooala!!

A/N: Hey guys! I’m glad you enjoyed my last chapter! Here is the third one and I really hope you enjoy reading as much as I loved writing it!

I also hope you guys will be happy to hear that it’ll turn out to be longer than expected so get ready for five, potentially six chapters! (: ✨

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader, Taehyung x his girlfriend Mina, Jaebeom!

Tags: best friend! Jungkook, idol verse, friends to lovers!

Genre:  angst, fluff, mutual pining, basically the cutest falling in love story

Wordcount: 3k

Warnings: language! flirting!

Parts: chapter one / chapter two / chapter three / chapter four / chapter five / chapter six / chapter seven

Summary: After the nightly confessions seemed to have put Jungkook into a much better mood, he felt like there was no harm in being a little more bold. 

masterlist

It had taken you a solid hour of laying in bed without moving an inch before you felt confident enough to leave your bed to get some water from the kitchen, maybe some toast if you felt brave.

“Don’t you look like a fresh spring morning.”, Mina laughed as she walked around the corner and spotted you sitting on a barstool, your head resting heavy on the cooling kitchen counter. The toast next to you, still untouched as the thought of food alone made you feel nauseous.

“I feel fucking splendid.”, you mumbled and only as you saw Taehyung cut the corner a few seconds after her, you sat up, looking at him confused. He waved to you, only dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, messy hair, maneuvering the pans and fridge as if he had done it a hundred times before. She could’ve at least mentioned he was here.

“So why did you drink that much? And how did things turn out with Jaebeom?”, she asked nosy, leaning her elbows on the counter and watched you. You shot a quick look to Tae who was making scrambled eggs in a pan and although the smell coming from the pan was tempting, you declined his offer to make you breakfast. It felt too risky.

Erm...,” you started the conversation, feeling a little uncomfortable with the new extra in the house “I actually don’t.. know.”, you mumbled. 

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”, Tae chuckled as he turned around with a plate of food, placing it down in front of Mina as he kissed her head softly and for a second you stared at them with an ugly jealousy raging inside of you. You didn’t want to be that jealous friend, but they seemed genuinely happy. 

“I just can’t remember. I had too much to drink – I don’t even know how I got home...”, you mumbled sheepishly and watched Mina grab your toast you hadn’t touched.

“Jungkook took you home.” The shocked expression you must’ve had on your face, made her suspicious and she rose an eyebrow.

“Oh please no.”, you mumbled and covered your face with your hand embarrassed. Out of all the people to see you in this state, you really didn’t want Jungkook to be the one taking care of you.

Taehyung showed up with a second plate, offering it to you one more time and as you declined again, the both of them disappeared down the hallway together into Mina’s room.

Looking at the empty hallway for a moment, hanging after your thoughts, you eventually gathered yourself up and headed to your room as well, grabbing your phone anxiously.

You: 정국아~! Jungkook: 네? You: Did you take me back to the dorm yesterday? I’m so sorry for causing inconveniences... Jungkook: Don’t worry about it ㅋㅋㅋ Jungkook: How are you feeling? Hungover? You: I feel awful. Jungkook: ㅋㅋ I can imagine! Want to grab some lunch? Jungkook: I said I’d bring you breakfast but I think it’s good you slept in ... You: I don’t know if it would be a waste. I can barely even smell food... Jungkook: I’ll make sure to eat the rest of it! I’ll eat all of it ㅋㅋ You: Okay I’ll do my best and get ready. Lunch is on me though!!! Jungkook: Perfect - let’s meet at the one from last time in an hour! See you soon ((:

It took a deep breath and a lot of will power to peel off of your bed to head into the shower. Although seeing Jungkook made you feel all giddy and excited, nothing could overlook how awful you still felt. 

Hoping for it to get better after the shower, you took your time to pamper yourself, taking your time to pick out some clothes, even if they were comfy and put on some make up just to make you feel somewhat human again.

The thing you were most thankful for at the moment wasn’t only the close friendship with everyone, it was also the fact that most of the promo was done. You finally had a little bit more lean way and although it wasn’t much, a day off like today was a day you could spend with your friends, especially Jungkook. It was rare that both of you were available at the same time and you wanted to take advantage of every second of it. He had always been a good friend and although it was never ‘easy’ to have a guy friend, Jungkook was very sensitive and caring and listened to you if you needed to talk about problems within your group of girl friends. He didn’t mind listening and giving advise which was one of his many  amazing qualities you appreciated so much about him. This made the fact that he took you home while you had been knock out drunk yesterday, even more terrifying. Especially in combination with your confusing feelings you’ve been dealing with lately.

“Oh look at her, there she is! Party-queen, our Soju princess, give it up for the number one beer drinker in Korea!” You could hear him yelling from down the street while clapping his hands, cheering a couple of times. 

Feeling the heat kick in, you put your hands on your cheeks and simply looked down to the floor, feeling absolutely embarrassed and terrified. All you could do now was pray that he would be decent enough to not exploit you right to your face today. 

You looked back up, watching him make his way down the street, doing a little dance and you couldn’t tell if your cheeks felt hot from the embarrassment, or the way he looked today.

Jungkook looked like he hopped right out of a cover shooting in his ripped jeans with a tucked in t-shirt and a loose, open button up on top of it, looking even more put together than usual. 

His fluffy hair was bouncing as he walked towards you and you couldn’t help but feel like you had to raise both of your hands and just slide them through his hair. “You know, there’s no need to be insecure about how cool I am. We can’t all be alike.”, you smirked as he walked up to you and you could see his bright smile, looking down at you. “Someone’s in a good mood. No headache?”, you asked and he shook his head, smiling brightly. “Not even a little. I am really good.” His dimples came out even more and he couldn’t stop the wide grin on his face as he opened the door for you to enter the restaurant first. “Thank you.”, you smiled and walked ahead, letting him go ahead though once you were inside since you quite enjoyed it when Jungkook was leading.

Both of you followed the lady guiding you to your seat and after taking off your coat and getting comfortable you saw him smiling at you suspiciously.

“Is there anything you want to tell me? Because I don’t know what happened last night, as embarrassed as I am to admit this.”, you mumbled after ordering your drinks and food and he rose his eyebrows, almost worried.

“Nothing? No memories at all?”, he asked, taking the drinks as they brought to the table and poured the small coke bottle into the glass for you. 

“I can’t remember how I got home, first off. I also have no idea what happened after we played that shot game. I think the last thing I remember is having a very deep Soju fueled conversation with Jimin. Who I believe is the reason the night ended the way it did, by the way.”, you mumbled, thanking him for pouring your drink and taking a sip then.

Jungkook watched you in amusement and chuckled a bit at your innocent behavior, considering yesterday wasn’t one of your innocent nights at all. He got to putting the beef on the grill immediately while listening to you and you simply watched him work his magic. 

“You had a conversation with Jimin, right. And then you had one with Jaebeom.”, he said and shot you a quick look to see if that sparked any memories and as you watched the meat sizzle on the grill, you remembered a couple of scenes of the night before.

“Oh god, I did sit next to Jaebeom...”, you mumbled quietly and put your hand over your mouth embarrassed since you remembered his hand around your hip. The worst part didn’t seem to be the hugging, it was the fact that absolutely everyone was there to witness it. 

“Yea...”, Jungkook simply stated, not interested in getting into that topic too much because he didn’t feel like dimming his happy mood after the conversation yesterday. 

He folded some meat and sides into a perilla leaf and held it over to you, offering. Bending in you took the bite and nodded thankful, covering your mouth while chewing.

“Why didn’t you say anything though? You’re my friend you’re supposed to protect me from dumb decisions, you know?”, you mumbled after chewing and chuckled. Jungkook didn’t seem too interested in the conversation and scooting a little bit on his chair, you could tell he was almost uncomfortable. He didn’t really reply to that comment and you just took a sip of your drink.

“What was I thinking though. Now I have to text him and tell him I’m not interested... Man this is so embarrassing.”, you mumbled quietly, dipping your pork into one of the sauces. 

“Oh you told him alright...”, Jungkook laughed low, looking over to you to watch your expression carefully. Dropping the meat from your chopsticks onto the table you looked at him shocked.

“What?”, you asked in shock. “What did I do?”, you mumbled, your voice lower as you picked the piece of meat back up to eat it. Jungkook took a big bite and you  could see that he seemed to thoroughly enjoy this conversation. “Well, do you want the long version? Or the short one.”, he smirked and took a sip of his coke.

You only stared at him and seemed to sink into your chair more and more, dreading the story that was about to come. With a worried expression, you nodded hesitantly.

“So, it started off with you sitting next to Jaebeom, right? And I mean it wasn’t bad but you seemed cozy. And then you walked off and so did I so I don’t know what happened in between, but when I returned with Yugyeom you were crying in the hallway with Jimin. I offered to take you home and as we were leaving JB walked after you and wanted to talk to you on the street – so I let you.”, he smirked and grabbed some of the radish. You listened to the crunchy sound it made while he was eating for a moment. 

“You let me? Oh goooood.” Closing your eyes you covered your face with your hand again. You couldn’t even get yourself to look at Jungkook because you felt so embarrassed for everything he had already mentioned.

“Yea and he did the whole ‘hey, let’s meet up sometime’ and you did the dramatic ‘I’m drunk and I like someone else, we can’t’ and then I walked you home.”, he laughed and you couldn‘t help but reach over to smack his arm once for the smug smile on his face. 

“I said I like someone else? God no...”, you mumbled, pushing your hair back nervous. 

“I can’t believe I did that. And I can’t believe I don’t even remember it! God this is so awkward I’m sorry you had to witness all of it.”, you mumbled with bright red cheeks and Jungkook only smiled at you with an understanding look on his face. 

Although he enjoyed the fact that you regretted all of it and from the conversation that had followed after he had taken you home, he knew that you weren’t going to end up dating Jaebeom, but seeing you like this made him feel guilty. He didn’t enjoy it when you suffered, no matter if it was a fun situation or not. 

“Don’t worry about it, noona. It sounds worse than it actually is, it was no big deal. He was okay with it and it’s not like you were so black out you couldn’t walk or talk. It’s all good.”, he smiled and you crossed your arms on the table, resting your head on it embarrassed. If there was a super power you’d like to take advantage of, it would be disappearing into thin air. Right now. 

Resting your chin on your palm for a moment you let your eyes trace over Jungkook’s face for a second, stopping at the little freckle on his lip and as you realized what you were doing, you turned your eyes back to the food on the table and started eating some radish quietly.

As you felt Jungkook ruffle through your hair for a second, you felt a warm tingle run down your back, followed by goosebumps. He ran his fingers through your hair again to tame the mess he had created and you had to take a couple of seconds longer to hide those red cheeks of yours. 

“Please tell me you’re just trying to mock me.”, you mumbled then as you sat back up to look at him. He seemed to have trouble keeping that smirk off his face.

“Oh I wish. And when I took you home you tried to take my hand and asked me to take off your pants because you couldn’t do it yourself.” He blurted out the last bit without even noticing and although he felt a little guilty for exposing you that way, he really was looking forward to your reaction when you heard. 

“How is that not bad?!”, you yelled way too loud and Jungkook turned his head to look around embarrassed, nodding excusing to the elderly couple next to you. 

“Because it’s no big deal, Y/N. It was only you and me, no one saw. You had a moment, I helped you take off your make up and... pants and then you got into bed and it’s all history. I’m not going to tell anyone and I’m the only one who saw. Don’t worry.” He smiled over and you still couldn’t help but feel the embarrassment linger between the two of you. 

“But you did say ‘I’m not asking you to grind on me, just take off my pants for god’s sake.’, or something along those lines. I may just dream of that.”, he joked and closed his eyes dreamy, forcing you to smack his arm one more time. With a bright laugh he rubbed his arm and shook his head.

“Won’t tell anyone, don’t worry.”

“You better not if I was only in underwear!”, you said and Jungkook couldn’t hold back his laughter now. He didn’t know why he enjoyed you being embarrassed about it so much but maybe it took away from the fact that he had in fact seen you only in your underwear and now he felt less bad about it once you knew. 

“I mean you did ask me to take off your pants so if anything, we’re only closer now.”, he smirked and you couldn’t help but start laughing as well, playing with the glass in your hand.

“What are you doing tonight?”, Jungkook asked after finishing absolutely everything that was left on the table within a matter of minutes. 

“Tonight? Nothing really. Probably listening to Tae and Mina making out.”, you chuckled and finished your drink while watching him pull out his wallet.

“How about you come over? A few people are coming over and we wanted to watch the new Avengers movie if you’re interested? Mina and Tae will be making out there for sure.”, he joked.

“But seriously, it will be fun. Also my schedule is going to be packed again so it would be nice to spend some more time together before I’m unable to.”, he smiled and looked over at you. 

“Naw, look at you being a cutie.”, you teased a little bit and Jungkook jolted his head a little to the side, noticeably embarrassed about the comment and with a crinkled nose, he tried to hide his pinks ears by going through his wallet.

“Think about it. I’d like to have you there.”, he smiled honest and got up, walking over to the cashier to pay for the meal. The gesture absolutely surprised you because usually the both of you pay for your own meals. There was a tingly feeling that started spreading out in your stomach while you were watching him pay for lunch and you couldn’t hide your smile as he returned.

“What?”, he smiled, handing you your coat as the two of you walked out. “Nothing. Thank you for paying, Jungkook.”, you smiled over and he shyly waved it off, following you outside onto the street.

“Right then, I’ll see you tonight?”, he asked, pushing his hands deep into his jeans-pockets and giving you a breathtaking, dimply smile. Trying to collect your thoughts while looking at him you nodded, pushing your hands in your coat pockets to somehow cope with your nerves.

“Okay I’ll... come with Mina then she’ll know all the details.”, you smiled and Jungkook seemed to beam once you agreed to join.

“It’ll be fun, there’ll be loads of people and we can even share a seat if you want to.”, he smirked, walking backwards a few steps without taking his eyes off of yours.

“Get your head out of the gutter, Jeon Jungkook!”, you yelled after him and as he looked around worried to see if someone had heard you, you only chuckled.

“See you later.”, you waved at him. “Get home safe. See you later, noona.”, he replied with a smirk and you watched him walk down the street a little further before getting into a Mercedes.

If you’ve managed to read this far, I’d be more than happy if you could like and share my chapter if you enjoyed it! If you have any suggestions for improvement or any drabble requests - make sure to shoot me a message!

thank you so much for reading and I hope you’ll stay around for the fourth chapter! 💖

 © kooala (stealing, translating or reuploading to other sites is prohibited.)

[husbandohunter]

Augh! I know who they're talking about and I can't find them either!! Adept-us made smut and other headcanons, but one day they just went poof and I couldn't find them since!

Omgg I hate when that happens >.< when really good content creators just suddenly disappears or they simply change their user name and you had no clue when they exactly did it ._. Did you perhaps like/heart some of their works? Or even reblogged them? If you did then maybe you can find them and also their username along the way.

[theoniprince]

If you had to pick one name/alias/moniker to go by, fandom-wide, what would it be?

Where, besides Tumblr, can people find you doing fannish things? (Obviously only mention sites and usernames you actually want to be found at. Don’t expose your secret identities on my account.)

What other names have you gone by on these platforms, including Tumblr, if any?

When did you join the IT fandom? And what got you into fandom, to begin with?

What are your favorite ships, or characters, if any, and why? What do they mean to you?

In what ways do you participate in fandom? (ex. Posting memes, reblogging/commenting on content, writing fanfic, making fanart, creating fanmixes, etc.)

Do you have any in-fandom inspirations? Other members of the community that drive you? (And if you have the time/energy, in what ways do they inspire you?)

Name and link some of your favorite works, please!

Do you have any works of your own that you feel particularly proud of, or wish more people would’ve consumed? Please provide links if possible.

Have you ever participated in a fannish event (ie. IT Week, a fic Big Bang) or applied to be a part of a fanzine? If so, which ones, and can you please link them?

Without any form of bashing or lashing out, what is something you feel this fandom is missing?

First of all thank you so much for asking me!!! 8D It was a pleasure to answer all these questions. During this I got quite emotional (haha Stanpat, Eddie). It showed me again how much I love this 8DDD

( I apologize in advance for all misspellings and my sloppy English =_=)

If you had to pick one name/alias/moniker to go by, fandom-wide, what would it be?

Oh, what a start XD I'm not that into nicknames. Generally people using my first name to address me or my username which is mostly onyprince (in reference to a character from Hakuouki) ID Sometimes they say Oni or J(ay) (Nickname for my first name). Do as you wish (though I like ‘J’ the th most) 😉

Where, besides Tumblr, can people find you doing fannish things? (Obviously only mention sites and usernames you actually want to be found at. Don’t expose your secret identities on my account.)

Twitter. But everything I post there is also here. Feel free to follow my account, but you don’t have to. https://twitter.com/oniprince_

What other names have you gone by on these platforms, including Tumblr, if any?

Oniprince_ (Twitter) yeah… you see, I am pretty boring XDDD

When did you join the IT fandom? And what got you into fandom, to begin with?

Actually 23 years ago (haha I am old XD) When I was eleven I saw the miniseries with my cousins for the first time. The horror factor wasn't that important to me or maybe I didn't see it that way. It was more like an adventure story with an unfunny and nasty clown. A group of friends who had to endure an adventure. In any case, it entertained me well, even if I was not aware of some elements like that it’s a story about growing up, friendship, love and all these issues around becoming an adult XDD Then with 13 I read the book. It was a  new experience, and I loved every single word. Over the years I talked with friends and Kingsianer (XD) about it and read it for a second and a third time. At this point I could start a list with things I don’t like about the movies, but I’d rather mention on thing I really appreciate about them: they are a good opportunity for a new generation to explore this universe. Every adaption like the book itself is a reflection of a specific decade and what is more yeah… immortal, universal and diverse than a story about growing up. It was a discussion with a dear friend about book to movie adaptions some weeks ago that probably brought me back to this fandom

Nevertheless there are things from the book I would have loved to see in the movies. Let’s be honest at this point if you want to adapt such a brick of a book you simply have to cut some elements. You can’t please everyone

What are your favorite ships, or characters, if any, and why? What do they mean to you?

Ships:

Stanpat - orz q__q they are such a sweet couple and it is so heartbreaking, they never ever had a real chance to become parents. They would have been excellent parents. Imagine them on a beautiful summer day. They have a picnic with their children and Stan would watch birds with them. He would tell them all about the birds and keeps a journal about their observations with his kids

Reddie - Despite the constant teasing their realtionship seems like a natural, casual und easy thing from the start. And Eddie likes the nicknames. These secret names are like another identity. He can be someone else. They take care of each other. Their relationship is a deeper friendship that runs mostly on an emotional level and is sometimes expressed through small, physical gestures. The chemistry between them is indescribable. It is cute when 90s Eddie immediately starts to giggle as soon as Richie makes a dumb joke at their reunion. And thing about the little moments when Richie pokes Eddie and calls him cute. I am won’t quoting this one passage in the book that leaves much room for speculations, but there is no doubt their special bond is official. In any case, the decision to make Richie gay in the movies gave the ship another push. I don’t complain. I love it. Though I still think Eddie would have been a better option. There are already some scenes in the book which are like an invitation to speculate about his sexualityTheir chemistry is very obvious and believe me, there is nothing I would more appreciate than a happy end for them Q__Q

Benverly  „Your hair is winter fire

                   January embers

                  My heart burns there, too

This is one of sweetest things I have ever read in a book and that is all I need to explain why I love this ship.

Fav, Characters:  Hmm when I read „IT“ for the first time I had a crush on Bill. He ist the born leader and in my childish, pre-teen way found his stuttering cute. There is something about him that cast a spell on you. It is perfectly understandable that he was a role model and an inspiration for his friends – especially for Eddie. In my personal opinion book!Bill ist the best Bill.

Richie - I love this chaotic megane dude. He is this silly type who use jokes, pranks to protect himself. His voices are like safe heaven (the same goes for Bill, whose stuttering almost disappears, when he pretends tob e someone else). He hides himself and his insecurities behind them. It is a shame that he doesn’t know what an impact he had on his friends. Richie seems to never ever shut up and sometimes his trashmouth is still talking, when he better should be quite. And I am famous to fall for funny characters. He can lights up the mood immediately ( and OMG…. I love Harry Anderson in the miniseries. A real entertainer, BUT BILL HADER…. Bill Hader…just to make it clear BILL HADER  did such an amazing job. He rocked the movie and I still think, not just because I love this dude since over a decade, without him… the movie wouldn’t  have been so entertaining)

Eddie - He is in these abusive relationships. First with his mother, who keeps him small and makes him believe that he is weak. At the end her own fears of beeing left behind prevented her son from becoming a self-confident adult. Eddie always thought he is weak and fragile. Although he knows that he doesn’t need all this medication, his childhood experience were the reason for his coping-behavior as an adult – he still uses his inhaler. He married a woman who is like his mother. Mike's call was something of a turning point. Until this call Eddie could not overcome his fears and had to face them again as an adult. I can remember. While reading the book there were several moments of silence and I stopped reading and thought: poor Eddie.

Ultimately, his story is about a hero who surpasses himself, overcomes his fears and by sacrifice himself he protects what is most important to him - his friends. It just touched me. Eddie gave his life for his friends and I think you can say he's my favorite character. His death may be a tragedy, but it was necessary for his character arc. My theory is that Eddie represents someone who has lost track in his life and prefer to stick on old but unhealthy patterns.It is almost like Eddie stands for missed opportunities, but at the same time it is never to late to change something. He is a hero. There are so many things I would like to talk about, therefore I should start an own thread XDDD

Oh and Bev - I could always identify with her (not bc of abuse or domestic violence. My childhood was amazing). She is the only girl around the losers and I was the only girl in my  favourite clique too. We spent most of our time outside  - it was great. Of course I had other friends (female) as well, but with my boys… it was always special).. As you know as an adult she falls back in old patterns. Her husband is tyrannical man like her father. Again Mike’s call is a turning point.  Maybe the Benverly arc is the most satisfying. I was… I am very happy that Bev got her happy end.

Last but no least - I like Ben, Mike and Stan too. They have all there unique character treats and you sympathize with all of them. The Loser’s club is bunch of adorable idiots who just doing their best to become adults. I think it is normal that their friendship feels more intimate in the book – I highly recommand the book.

In what ways do you participate in fandom? (ex. Posting memes, reblogging/commenting on content, writing fanfic, making fanart, creating fanmixes, etc.)

Mostly fanarts, but recently I thought about posting my own theories and sharing my hcs and random stuff about the characters and the different relations.  

Do you have any in-fandom inspirations? Other members of the community that drive you? (And if you have the time/energy, in what ways do they inspire you?)

The fandom is full of amazing artists and writersand actually it would be a, but i want to name those who inspired me the most (mainly artists – hopefully I copied the links correcty):

https://tonyofthetrees.tumblr.com

https://meowsteryyy.tumblr.com

https://slashpalooza.tumblr.com/ ( you have to check out ‚Loose Ends‘)

https://coldcigarettes.tumblr.com

https://vvanini.tumblr.com/

https://eggocrumbs.tumblr.com

https://twitter.com/10_sgan

https://twitter.com/kasphacked

https://twitter.com/tac_nor

(oh.. the list got longer than expected IDDD)

Do you know this?

https://ragnarozzys.tumblr.com/post/189890790551/those-early-hours-after-a-sleepover-when-you-wake

Have you ever seen something as cozy and cute before I///D? – me neither XD

Trust me they are all worth a visit and I am sure most of us already know them 8D

Do you have any works of your own that you feel particularly proud of, or wish more people would’ve consumed? Please provide links if possible.

My art I provide on tumblr can be found here:

https://theoniprince.tumblr.com/tagged/myart

Honestly I like these the most:

https://theoniprince.tumblr.com/post/649446311120273408/my-first-reddie-sketch-now-scanned-the-quality

https://theoniprince.tumblr.com/post/649548606679007232/close-to-you-now-scanned-with-coloured

https://theoniprince.tumblr.com/post/650697175346593792/hammock-iconic-richie-is-reading-a-monthly

Have you ever participated in a fannish event (ie. IT Week, a fic Big Bang) or applied to be a part of a fanzine? If so, which ones, and can you please link them?

Oh… unfortunately I am not feelin‘ very confident about my own artworks. Sometims I have the feeling I am not creative enough and that my ideas are more or less boring. Nothing special ID Totally dumb – I know. As I mentioned before I came back lately to the fandom… I guess I missed many amazing IT weeks. I participated in some weeks/mainly shipweeks in other fandoms (Yakuza/Ryu ga Gotoku, FFXV) If I find an interesting annoucement I can imagine to participate in the future ; )

Without any form of bashing or lashing out, what is something you feel this fandom is missing?

In general… the fandom is really friendly – I hope so. Lately I have seen some salty comments on different stuff, topics… and well.. I have just an advice: life can be exhausting enough and time is always running. Don’t spend time on things you don’t like. Discussions can esclate quickly and worde can hurt too. So, just thing about before you jump in.

Thanks again! <3

(Special lil sketchy piece of art I did for this ask)