#y'all are all internalizing the same messages

[wonryllis]

ENHYPEN REVEALING THEIR NON!IDOL S/O.

────────𝖺𝗅𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗒, 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝖽𝖾𝖼𝗅𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗅𝖽.

CONTAINS. idol!enhypen showing you GENRE. fluff, fem!reader, requested WORDCOUNT. 727 LIB?

𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗻𝗴 everyone knows okay everyone just does. it's in his eyes, it's in the way he speaks, it's in his body language, it's in the way he dresses, it's in the little advice and messages he leaves on weverse, it's in the pictures he posts. just everything exudes that he's a taken man desperately in love. his reveal is normal, an official announcement from the company the day after their contractual dating ban is over. appearing on a talk show after all excited to tell everyone about you to be hit by the realization that people actually did have idea just not that you are non celeb.

𝗷𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗴 he does not give a fuck about anyone but you. would reveal it so nonchalantly like he's on a live and fans accidentally spot you moving around in the background and he's like,"oh yeah that's my girl, would y'all like to say hi?" he'd call you over and have you sit on his lap the entire time, though not showing your face he doesn't want your privacy getting taken away. you both would laugh and interact with the comments and answer fan questions like you've been public for years. talking about first impressions, who's more clingy, why you chose him yk.

𝗷𝗮𝗲𝘆𝘂𝗻 he's scared, not for himself but for you. baby doesn't want his baby getting those hates and threats. he takes a little safer side, writing a personal note addressing the love of his life and asking to be respected and given privacy. monitors the response and as soon as everyone seems accepting he's showing you off everywhere he can, from talking about you on lives and interviews and shows to posting little tmis on social media. fans even grow to tease him with your name challenging him to things he wouldn't otherwise do. cutesy and hot alike.

𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗻 he has no intentions of revealing it like until he has a baby with you or something. but poor guy is so bad at concealing his feelings like he's on a show to give advice on fans queries and there's this specific question about how do you know you love someone and hoon is just K.O. ed rambles on about how there's this internal feeling and you just know it when you look at them, they're the best in the entire world and everything. then later on panics when articles surface about it, "oh my god baby they know! they know!" and he ends up confirming the rumours.

𝘀𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗼𝗼 this guy can't wait to let the world know about you, his special person, his home. takes every chance he gets to reveal y'all but the manager jumps in every single time telling him it's not the 'right time' yet. he's so annoyed now, he's taking it the dispatch way. sneakily going places without cover, not necessarily to you and then when the articles are out jumping at the first opportunity to introduce his lovely partner through a message to his fans. talking about how long he's been waiting to let them know this important person and how much he loves you.

𝗷𝘂𝗻𝗴𝘄𝗼𝗻 my boy is soft launching it. he's posting these random ass pictures of succulents and cardigans and hairpins and lipgloss and everyone is so confused until he starts with pictures of hands that are too pretty to be his, skirts with thighs that couldn't be him and lastly a picture of him twirling around someone with the caption,"everyone meet my baby! :))" and after that he's making everyone sick with lovey dovey pictures of you everyday everywhere, twitter, instagram, weverse you name it, everywhere! fans be getting every little update of your love life.

𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗶 leaves little hints and tricks here and there to get the fans crazy with suspicions but at the same time not enough to expose y'all. plays at it for about a year before he gets impatient and unsatisfied with just little bits and pieces wants to upload full on vlogs about his days with you. wanting to post things like 'dance challenge with my beloved' literally has it on the tip of his mouth "i love my girlfriend," begs the company to let him reveal it and they're like we never stopped you?? so he does talking about it with fans- my girlfriend does that too! my girlfriend would love that!

taglist ( open. ) @kangseulgithegreat @s00buwu @luvyev @pockyyasii @nctislifue @ashtxrie @miniature-tragedy @jayujus @nanabbg @thoughtsmeander2tumblingblindly

[plasticfangtastic]

Dairy Girl

A Homelander X F! Reader fanfic

A/N: I am still working on my other projects but I just wanted to write something fun and light to get me back into writing. I hope y'all enjoy this short little piece, btw i aint got no kids so i have very little idea how milk banks work, this will be a 2 or 3 part story.

Synopsis: In order to provide a constant supply of fresh breastmilk for Vought’s number one hero, Vought has had to get quite nifty in order to prevent this secret desire out the press and the public– you have unfortunately discovered the truth.

Tags: Stockholm Syndrome, abusive dynamic, Homelander being Homelander, dub-con, dark, mild smut, breastfeeding kink, kidnapping, child-death mention tw, cheating tw, set in s4 but canon nothing, slow burn.

Word Count: 3K

Part 1– Heifer

Such a small box, smaller than a shoe box, just big enough to fit its contents with enough space for his ghost to move. You stared at the small box as its buried in the family plot… you never thought of visiting this place to ever bury the last shred of happiness you had left, his body was born weak, so small you wonder if you’d given birth to a child or a chick, 2 months ago you had come home to find your now ex in bed with his ex, he had turned this betrayal on its head and blamed you for it, something about your lack of desire lately, about how your pregnancy had given him amounts of pressures he'd never agreed with, talking endlessly about his needs and how much you’d ignored him.

Whoever this man was, you didn’t recognize him.

Time blurred into nothing but disconnected colors and shapes, all you know was that the stress and anguish lead to this.

A box under soil.

Days passed and in your empty apartment, surrounded by all the stuff you bought you stood in front of the sink, throwing a bottle of fresh milk down the drain feeling tremendous guilt, the doctor said you would dry out soon enough but your breast had swollen so much your bras no longer fit– even the spare ones you bought just in case they’ve grown a size too big from what you expected, you booked an appointment with your doctor hoping they could give you whatever cocktail of drugs to dry you out and save you from the pressure and pain in your chest, it had been nothing but a passing message from a worried neighbor who had stop by to give you some mail that had been sent to them by accident when she mentioned her daughter-in-law had donated her excess milk after her little one refused to latch, she gave you the name of the charity and after much thinking you gave in, you lost your baby but there was some woman out there who could end up experiencing your same grief if their baby starved to death, yours simply born too small and weak to hold your finger for very long.

It felt good, you met the women running the charity and even some of the faces of the women you helped, as you delivered your frozen packs to the women’s clinic where the charity operated, it helped you heal, it gave your pain purpose, but as the months faded behind you a part of you worried about how much you keep producing, less than before but still too much, yet you keep going knowing it would end soon enough. 

Perhaps somebody in the clinic or the charity had dropped your information to these people but you'd received some mail regarding some research trials Vought International was running and how they needed some donors to drop fresh samples, in their pamphlet they offered to pay a decent amount--your divorce had been costly plus having to move to a new place and breaking your previous lease had left your bank account quite dry, this was cheap money, you had given your milk for free, you looked at the few pouches you had collected for next week's drop you saw a wonderful opportunity to make some quick cash.

You went to the Vought Clinic and saw a few other women filling up forms, reading old magazines or dilly-dallying on their phones until some nurse called their numbers, you filled the medical form, waited less than half an hour before your number was called, brought into a small bleach scented room, the nurse read your form and told you she would take a blood sample, a doctor came in, reciting whatever script he’d been given about what this project was, giving you big words you had no interest in, this was about providing better milk formulas closer to natural milk than anything currently in the market apparently, thanking you for your donation, he looked at your form smiling as he saw your inked words.

“You're still producing 4 months after…” The doctor handed you a disinfecting wipe and a freshly steamed breast pump in a silver tray– we just need two samples, please press the alarm to let us know you’d finished, then follow Nurse Potts to the front counter to sort out your payment.”

It had been an awkward experience, but there you were 300 dollars richer, you probably should’ve read those papers a bit closer before signing but money was money and you were told to come back if you could.

You did it a couple times for 2 months, much like a man donating sperm for pocket money or plasma to pay the rent.

That was the first mistake, you headed home and woke up the morning after wishing you had stayed out for an extra hour or two, perhaps caved in to your friends pressures and tried going back to dating (after all your ex was whoring himself all across the lower east side without moral qualms) or hookups so you would had gone to a different address, maybe you should had taken a taxi instead of taking the train and walking home.

Regardless you woke in some strange empty room, the only thing beside your person was a pair of pale pink hospital gowns, grippy socks, clean underwear and a pair of thick large towels, you screamed and banged on the door for an ungodly amount of time but nobody ever came, you stayed alone in that room for what could have been 12 hours or more… maybe less… who knew it was all too much, suddenly a sharp sound cut into the silence a note had been slid under the door, you rushed to the note.

It was instructions, they wanted you wearing their clean clothes, you could not leave the room unless you did so, and as much as you hated the idea, you wanted to get out so badly, you knew if you wanted to escape your only chance came in knowing your surroundings, you begrudgingly and tearfully changed, waiting until anything changed– the doors hissed opened, a woman in a sharp cream coloured suit stood there with clipboard and an armed guard, at the sight of the heavy looking gun– you froze.

Then you took the first step towards hell.

You knew the following things: You lived in some basement area– there were no windows, only elevators. You weren’t alone, there were other women here and they made sure to keep your interactions at minimum no doubt to keep all of you submissive and not getting any ideas, sometimes familiar faces will fade and you could only speculate nightmares. Lastly… your purpose, the reason you were trapped here in the first place was… to lactate.

A plucky little thing that stayed optimistic despite your shared horror called herself a ‘Heifer’ she wasn’t wrong… you lived in a small cell where everything had sat on top of each other feed to keep fat and producing milk much like a cow, whoever developed this diet knew of all the ingredients known to help production, and you knew there were putting something else in the food for your breast begun to feel uncomfortable, for a little while you thought you could fight it by starving yourself, then two men with guns came into the room and told you to eat or else.

The time you spend outside this microflat hong-kong style cell was in the milking room and the shower room, you were ordered to stay clean and quiet, at least in the milking room you had some television and could spend time with the other women, but they keep you isolated, you could do very little, sometimes music would play and a book would be dropped with your food but your happiness wasn’t priority, you had to fill a quota.

After a couple weeks of this you simply accepted defeat, too many guns… not enough spaces to run, and nothing to come home to… a man that wanted to sue you for more feeling as if the judge had been unfair, a pestering family who acted as if they had been the only ones who experience loss, an empty cot you still hadn’t gotten rid off and piles and piles of bills, in this quiet cool room you had spend endless hours thinking, you didn’t love your job, you had been distant from most of your friends and you could only imagine that they assumed you had run away or killed yourself after what happened nobody could blame you.

Existing for the sake of existing until you could figure out what to do next.

“Good Evening… I’m glad you’re eating so well” The lady you met the first day said as the door hissed open, she watched you like a hawk as you process this sudden interruption, clutching at your paper thin blanket, you looked at the floral fabric in her arms and the clipboard under her arm– I need you to sign this before you’re allowed upstairs”

“Am I being let out?” You said anxiously, no way it could be that easy you thought.

The lady let her smile waiver, looking at the unseen guard then at her wrist watch as she handed you the clipboard.

“Your performance might determine how soon you'll be release…”

“You assume I won’t go to the police…”

“That wouldn’t be wise Miss L/N but we assure you that you’ll be sufficiently compensated for the inconvenience.”

You wanted to yell, but a voice in the back of your head thought of this but nothing but pageantry, you were dead either way, but perhaps this could be your opportunity to escape, whatever they wanted to do now meant being outside of these buried walls, you signed the sheet without thinking, briefly considered stabbing the bitch in the eye but is likely they would turn you into swiss cheese before you even took a step too close, she took the paperwork from your hands and in change handed you a long sleeved dressed straight out of the mormon section in target, she closed the door and you dressed up.

The halls looked so odd when you didn’t wear your prison clothes, the other few doors housed sleeping and bored girls, your plucky friend hidden behind one of them, the new girl hidden behind one of them and the girl you seen before in the milking room once hid behind one of them.

They took you to an elevator– it was old box, if you had to guess by the button’s design maybe built in the late or mid 70s, you never left their side until the elevator closed before them, the box moved slowly, a dingy silver box with low honey coloured lights, so dim… and you were alone, as the light chime as it went up you felt your entire being sink into your stomach, your heart beating so fast you were sure you were gonna have a heart attack before the doors opened once again, swallowing dry spit, your eyes opened so wide it hurt.

Quiet… it was so quiet when the doors opened, you expected something else, something menacing… something frightening– not an old house, an old house in the middle of some evergreen forest, everything screams old, untouched, museum like, like it's meant to present this idea that somebody lives here but not really, despite it being an elevator hidden behind a bookcase, you take a few cautious steps, your naked feet bury in the plush carpet, there’s bird singing outside and the sun is so bright and warm it hurts your eyes, the cool tones gone and this feels like a bad dream, pinching yourself but you’re awake, tragically awake, a weird wiry smile creeps on your lips, an almost laugh escapes your lips before you can feel tears burning your eyes.

“Hello…?” You ask and you don’t know why.

As you venture into the living room, hands firm against the tacky dark pink wallpaper, you found old floral couches that matched the drapes and despite how old school it was it had a charm to it.

Then you saw him.

Perusing the VHS collection filled the entire bookcase on the wall, just rows and rows of VHS boxes, some plastic and some cardboard, the TV boxy and just as antiquated but who cared— he was there.

You ran before you even realized you done it, crashing into him with desperation, tears staining your cheeks and you could barely breath as you tried so hard to speak.

“Homelander please help me!! I’ve been kidnapped!! Please!!” You cried, pulling on his suit– please!!”

Those endlessly blue eyes more poison dart hide than veronica flower bush the more they stared at you calmly, his lips into a thin smile and his hand thad taken your wrist inflicting just enough force to keep you firmly in his grip… to show you how he wasn’t an ordinary man, he looked at you as your tears changed meaning as if you were the most unfortunate creature he’d ever seen, his lips parted just enough to show those sharp canines that had looked so charming in sidewalk posters, now you could sense their presence squeezing at your jugular.

“You are so much prettier in person, Y/N.” His voice is disturbingly soft and calm, intimately quiet as he takes a whiff of your neck, moving you to make it easier, his free hand creeped towards your hip– I was so glad when I saw your picture and you weren’t hideous.”

Trembling against him, a nonexistent cold draft blew against you, your whole body shivering and covered in goosebumps.

His eyes fixated in your breast, mouth agape as his tongue dared to lick his lip, watching you like a starved man at a las vegas buffet, his hand slithering upwards, you know where this is leading, you can’t stop crying but you can’t scream either, you're just there as his hand avoids your breasts and creeps towards your back and presses your bodies together.

“I’m so glad you signed that sheet, I was getting sad endlessly waiting for one of you to agree to the deal” He says quietly, you stare at him and you realize you should’ve actually read that stupid sheet– why so scared? I ain’t gonna bite.” He bites the air as a joke and you could tell that that single bite could have torn your finger off cleanly.

His eyes shift to your clinging fingers that stayed so stiff against his padded suit, you stopped squeezing at him now they rested limp against him.

“Let’s watch a movie…” 

It’s an awkward dance concluding in sitting down on a couch, its surprisingly soft and you’re sinking on the cushion while your mind dissolved in the sky, the coffee table had a humbled spread of snacks, pizza and milkshakes, not once did you notice, you stared at him clutching at your dress as he picked something out of the shelve, watching as his hand worked the VHS player, the clicks and whirling all you could focus on. He sat beside you as the speakers began to play the included trailers, he took the drink urging you to do the same with a menacing look, filling you with incomplete thoughts as you obeyed.

Malt vanilla marinated in your tongue, you had a terrible thought.

‘Milk’ 

You were there to provide milk… to whom? Why just milk? You thought they would sell your body or your organs, experiment on you but… they wanted your milk, but who was buying it? Who was drinking it? Where did it go? You stared at the pretty blond whose arm kept your shoulders still, you saw the news– you’d known he had a child and who knows with whom but his kid was old enough to not need it… was it for him? You thought… thinking of it as ridiculous until you remember how 20 minutes ago  he was staring at your tits as if he was malnourished, you looked at his lips pursing as he took a long sip of his milkshake and wonder if that was milk… from a cow… not a heifer like you.

Homelander smiled at you.

“I don’t like ‘The mothman prophecy’ , never been a Richard Gere fan” he said casually.

“He was really good in ‘Pretty Woman’ . This one is okay…” You looked at the screen your voice so stiff– what’s going on…? Mr. Homelander… I…"

“Shhh… watch the movie” He leaned against you resting his head on your shoulder– you tasted the best… every batch perfection– such delicate custardy taste… So this is what we are gonna do… I’ll keep you in this floor so you’re not so bored ."

You swear he’s purring as he rubs himself against you marking you as much as he was making himself comfortable.

“There’s cameras everywhere… The glass is bulletproof, doors won’t open without a fob and code, and there’s no phones or internet, but if you do manage to get out of here just be aware I’ll know.” He said such terrible things as if it was nothing– if you tried to off yourself there will be 3 armed guards and nurses here in less than a minute but if you behave I promise you– you’ll be allowed out, but only if you gain my trust.” He looks up at you as you focus on those thin lips of his– there’s no kitchen but your meals will be delivered… if you want anything just tell the camera over there.”

He pointed at the corner tucked in between two VHS tapes was a small camera.

“I like you Y/N you're cute… you’ll behave for me, right?”

You nodded, too afraid to disagree.

“Now… let’s finish the movie… I actually like this part”

You stared at the pizza box, you could at least tell that the pizza was from an american restaurant, which made you feel safe ‘Select Pizza and Grill” said in the box and you knew you were somewhere in Pennsylvania, far from your apartment in Clinton Hill.

You looked at your boobs feeling his piercing gaze on them, you started drawing lines connecting weird things together, back when you were donating your milk, girls joked about people buying for medicinal and fetish purposes, this spelled itself out for you.

Maybe you could get out of here… but you had to do something weird… but as you heard the birds outside and the warm light peeked into the room, you realized maybe you could leave… no you’ll leave, you’ll go back home and you would find a way to ruin this man and those bastards beneath you, you’ll get them out too, so you took one courageous breath and forced a smile on your dried lips.

“You really liked it?”

“Huh?”

“My milk…” You mumbled– you know I never tasted it myself but am glad to get a review.”

“It’s really tasty” he bites his lip.

Your hand plays with one of the buttons on the dress.

“It hurts a bit… I usually get asked to pump around this time… dunno if you know this but it's a bit painful when they get this swollen.”

The look in his eyes told you everything you needed to know and as you leaned away from him pulling on buttons with slightly trembling fingers, you watched him follow your movements like a snake chasing prey.

“Would you help me out, mister superhero?” Is not flirty but is slightly playful and you’re surprised that you can lie that well, he’s so shameless as he shakes his head enthusiastically, mouth opening for you– please don’t bite.”

He gasps as you let him see all that he’d wanted from the get go, why he put you in that box, why you ended up in this place for.

His body was lighter than you thought as he sunk against you-- eyes closed, body limp against yours, he made the softest sounds it put you at ease somehow, for a moment you saw a very small being latched on your chest, you’d only experienced it once before, and it was seared into your mind as a painful yet tender memory, so you close your eyes dreaming of a fantasy far removed from this peculiar reality, half lid eyes found a man so blissed out your lips curved, this was unbelievable, the world most famous supe keeping you hostage just so you could indulged him.

But you knew now… that this was your way out.

[tending-the-hearth]

favorite "chalice of the gods" moments, in no particular order

spoilers below!!!

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percy and annabeth having the same setup for iris messaging, and having cute little sign-offs when they say goodbye to each other

grover going to percy's swim meets 😭😭😭

annabeth and sally's relationship, they adore each other so much

PAUL AND ANNABETH'S RELATIONSHIP LIKE YES GIVE THAT GIRL A SUPPORTIVE AND PRESENT FATHER FIGURE

just... annabeth being a jackson-blofis even before percy proposes

annabeth not making and blue desserts because it's percy and sally's thing and she sees that as something sacred!!!

percy being bitter about the recommendation letters!! let him be a bit of a bitch!!!

percy, annabeth, and grover having a regular smoothie place that they go to 😭 they're best friends your honor

i kind of wish we got more of the trio as eight-year-olds, like those are babies and i need to see more of grover trying to play-fight with percy

grover admitting that he's scared of percy and annabeth going to california!! he doesn't want to lose them!! y'all mind if i sob?????

50% of percy's internal monologue being about how cool and amazing annabeth is

the way the trio just trusts and supports one another???

annabeth hanging out with juniper, idk why, i like thinking about the two couples going on double date picnics <3

percy embracing old age 😭😭😭😭 and seeing himself growing old with his two best friends 😭😭😭 the way i was bawling my eyes out

annabeth being worried about percy's reaction to sally being pregnant because of her own bad experiences with her half-brothers and her dad and percy knowing exactly where her mind was going like YES PLEASE give me more percabeth reading each other's minds

percy talking about how he could never see himself with anyone other than annabeth because they've known each other for so long but also because they're bonded in a way no one else understands 😭

annabeth never saying luke's name after the Titan War and the trio still struggling to talk about him, my beloveds 😭 give them therapy please

the mention of jason talking about wanting to have kids with piper and grow old with her... how dare?????

the sheer amount of percy and grover moments... i missed them so much... they're platonic soulmates!!!!

idk i said it before but the way this book just felt like "the lightning thief"? the trio being all sarcastic with each other, joking and teasing one another, being comfortable with each other in a way no one else understands?

ALSO PERCY CANONICALLY CONFIRMED AS THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOKS IN-UNIVERSE THANK YOUUUUUU

in conclusion i love this book so very very much

[the-heliophile]

WHY'D YOU ONLY CALL ME WHEN YOU'RE HIGH ? - SEVIKA

FROM FOURMI 🐜 💌 The Sevika thirst is never ending, like what do you mean she's not real 😔 Y'all don't get it I've been obsessed for well over six months now I NEED HER!! Also this sucks so bad but I've been so busy with work I've been writing like a paragraph a week..

song. why'd you only call me when you're high, arctic monkeys

pairing. sevika x reader

content. angst, longing on both ends, she does have feelings for you though, somewhat modern AU since they have phones, no happy ending

summary. in which Sevika only calls you when she's drunk/high on shimmer. (2K words)

“the mirror’s image tells me it’s home time

but I’m not finished, ’cause you’re not by my side”

The clock had just struck 2AM, or was it 3 ? Sevika couldn't read the time properly, her vision blurred by the several shots she bought that night. She stumbled over to the Last Drop’s bathroom, needing a moment of calm away from the annoying men around her. Today was successful, she managed to bribe the enforcer into letting Silco’s shipment go through and yet the alcohol didn't taste of victory on her tongue. Everything felt bitter tonight, she slumped against the door once it closed and released a shuddering, exhausted breath. After a few tentative steps to the sink Sevika looked up at her reflection, she looked a mess and with a sigh she pulled her phone out of pocket. She turned it on briefly and saw no notifications, it was pissing her off, the way you were ignoring her after she called you twice tonight. She even left you a message in hopes of reaching you, yet your name still hasn't shown up on her phone. The strong woman looked defeated by now, she glanced up and into the mirror, internally cringing at how clingy she felt whenever she'd get drunk. It didn't deter her from calling you once more and she had to fight the urge to throw her phone into the wall when her call got sent to voicemail once more.

“and as I arrived I thought I saw you leaving,

carrying your shoes.

decided that once again I was just dreaming,

of bumping into you.”

Sevika left the bathroom with slumped shoulders and furrowed brows, her view obstructed by all the alcohol in her blood. She briefly looked around and her heart stopped for a second, she saw you, or what seemed like you at least. She squinted as hard as she could but she couldn't make out the features of whoever walked by. She considered running after you, demanding answers for you being here and not replying to her before realization struck her. It wasn't you, it looked like it with her blurry vision but she would have recognized you a lot faster if it were. She slumps unceremoniously into a chair, joining whatever it is the table occupants were playing. Sevika lost game after game, her mind too focused on you to pay attention to the cards in her hand. She could have sworn she was going crazy, it felt like you were everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She knew you weren't here, she would have recognized your perfume in a second if you had stepped a single foot into the Last Drop that night and yet it was as if her mind kept creating illusions of you. Close enough for her to see, but not quite close that she could reach you. Her gray eyes losing focus and darting wherever she thought she had seen you. She checked her phone once more, her heart speeding when she saw your name pop up. The tall woman didn't even excuse herself from the table, she stood up on shaky legs and walked over to a more secluded spot. Sevika may have been drunk but god was she lucid when it came to you, she clicked on the notification hastily, reading its contents before frowning.

“now it's 3 in the morning, and I'm tryna change your mind.”

You weren't in the mood for her games. That was what you told her, a single text, with proper grammar and punctuation. Sevika felt herself pale, her blood freezing as she stared at her screen, as if your message could turn into something a little more welcoming. Without thinking twice she clicks on the call button, waiting one, two, three rings until it lands on voicemail. With a defeated sigh she decided to leave you a voice message : “Hey babe..uh..I miss you..not like ‘I miss you’ you know but I'd be having more fun with you here, you sure you don't want to come ? Drinks are on me..it would mean a lot if you came, we could like..hang out or something, spend some time together or whatever..”. She hangs up right after that, cringing at herself for being so needy but she can't seem to help it, the alcohol in her system pushing her to be more honest with her feelings. Minutes pass without an answer and she resorts to texting you again : “Still awake ?” and again “I miss you” and again.. “Not like that though” “Are you sure you don't want to come ?”. She ended up walking home around 4AM, with shaky legs and a blurry vision, her thoughts solely focused on you.

“left you multiple missed calls and to my message you replied :

why'd you only call me when you're high?”

You loved her, you knew what she was like and yet you still fell for her. The drunken discussions late at night, the way she'd hold onto you when she was already far gone, the sweet, although hardly coherent, texts when she was coming down from a shimmer high. You couldn't help it, it was such a bad idea even talking to her in the first place, you regretted it so bitterly sometimes. And yet your heart still raced anytime she called, nothing but vain hope that maybe she would be sober this time, that you would get to talk to her while she was still mentally here. You gave up after a while, choosing to ignore her instead of uselessly getting your hopes up each time, you still couldn't bring yourself to block her despite everything so this had to do. You saw all of the texts and voice messages Sevika left you last night, but you didn't have the energy to answer. Too fed up with her bullshit to put up with it. Knowing she'd likely be awake by now, duty calls or whatever, you text her “Why'd you only call me when you're drunk ?”. Seen, she left you on seen. Your heart dropped at that, and you promised yourself you would never text her again.

“somewhere darker, talking the same shite.

I need a partner, well are you out tonight?”

Sevika just didn't know what to reply that day, she didn't know how to tell you how she felt, if you would feel the same at all. So she ignored you like a coward, something that shocked her as much as it hurt you. Once a few days had passed Sevika hoped it was all water under the bridge. Sitting on the floor of her cramped, decrepit bathroom she typed out her text to you, asking if you had any plans. She was hoping that you didn't, that you would go out with her like nothing happened. She cleaned herself up, even made her mechanic arm all shiny in hopes of impressing you. After a while she checked her phone again, ‘seen’. With a frown she immediately called you, refusing to let you ignore her like that.

“it's harder and harder to get you to listen, more I get through the gears.

incapable of making alright decisions, and having bad ideas.”

With shaky hands, you answer her call. “Did you just ignore me !?” Her gruff, tired voice greeted you.

“Yeah, like you ignored me a few days ago, remember!?” Sevika was speechless for a second, she didn't know how to go about it without potentially ruining what you had.

Her reply was one of the worst excuses you had ever heard. “I just forgot to reply okay ? It's not that big a deal.”

“Forgot my ass, I'm tired of existing only when you're on the brink of passing out.”

Sevika blurts a reply before you can even breathe : “That's not true ! I just want us to hang out and have fun ! Don't be a killjoy baby, come on..”

You sigh, “Sevika I don't have time for this right now, I'm not hanging out tonight, you have fun.”

You hung up after this, opting to relax in your bed instead of going out to that stuffy, smelly, stupid club. Sevika decided on solving the problem straight to its source, and she left her apartment in a hurry to get to yours. Not even a few minutes later you heard a loud knock at your door, a few decibels short of banging. You open the door hesitantly just to find Sevika standing there, a stern look on her face. “Let me in babe, we need to talk.”

“you said you ‘gotta be up in the morning, gonna have an early night. and you're starting to bore me baby, why'd you only call me when you're high ?’”

You opened the door wider for her ; “Yes, we do. You still haven't answered me, why'd you only call me when you're drunk ? Or high on shimmer ? I can't keep seeing you only when you're too shit faced to even remember it the next day. Can't we hang out when you're sober just once ? Am I too boring ?”

Sevika stiffened, for the first time ever since you met her the first time she seemed speechless. Eventually she looked away before speaking ; “No..I.. you know I don't have time for people outside of my job, it's the only time I can really unwind so that's when I call you. We're not together you know ? I don't owe you shit.” The tall woman paled a little at this, she didn't mean it, not like that. It came out totally wrong. “Wait that's not-” but you beat her to it : “So that's how you see it ? Fuck me then leave until the next time you want to get off !? Do I mean that little to you ?” You didn't want to cry, not in front of her, but the tears were already clouding your eyes, your heart hurting like it was shrinking on itself.

Sevika's shoulders slumped, her voice sounding almost defeated : “I didn't mean it like that okay ? It's just..what we have is nice, you know I don't have time for anything more, you were okay with it weren't you ? Why change what's working?”

If you weren't crying before, you definitely were now. “It's not working, I want more ! I'm getting..bored of this whole thing, bored of only seeing you drunk and half unconscious! I want to see you Sevika, the real you. Stop hiding behind your job for once ! I've had enough of your shit !”

Her gray eyes never looked quite as soft as they did right now, her voice came out as nothing more than a whisper. “Babe, come on, don't ruin it. Not now. I have too much to do, with Silco and everything. I just can't do a relationship! Can't you understand!?”

You didn't have it in you to keep fighting, you knew you couldn't change her mind and you had to make peace with the reality of it all. “Just leave, I need to wake up early tomorrow anyway. We'll settle this another time.” Once Sevika left, after more back and forth, you locked your door before breaking down. All of the emotions you tried to control through your argument all come down on you at once. You let it all out, cursing Sevika out in the process. When the tremors in your body slow and the tears stop flowing, you grab your phone with shaky hands. After taking a deep breath you blocked Sevika everywhere, choosing your peace over a woman you couldn't keep chasing forever. You knew she would come back, but that would be a problem for future you, for now you just wanted to revel in how strong you felt for finally taking that step. Meanwhile, Sevika ended up staying home, too depressed to go to the club. She slumped on her bed, wishing she hadn't been such a coward, that she had actually told you how she felt, how much she wanted you. Tomorrow, tomorrow she'll call you and explain it all, she vowed to herself.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Not asking for a vibe check on any of my own writing concepts for this one, but more asking a general discussion question because I want to hear a Black perspective on this- what do y'all think about folk who say that doing the darker = evil/aggressive trope is racist for nonhuman characters? I'm not talking humanoid either, I'm talking things like dragons, unicorns, fantasy quadrupeds, etc. This includes fantasy quadrupeds that have humanlike intelligence/societies as well as those that don't, and stories where humans are present.

Personally I consider comparing Black + POC people to literal animals insulting in any capacity (the example I first encountered it in was for a desert-dwelling species of dragon that had a shitload of orientalist sterotypes associated with it, so I'm not saying that the characters *can't* avoid being racist bc they're animals, more that the direct comparison feels offensive), but I'm a mixed white/Middle Eastern man, so my own perspective is heavily skewed by that perspective. Given the trend online fandoms have towards being racist af while pretending to be inclusive, I have my own doubts about the validity of these claims, and want to hear what actual Black people have to say about it.

(Love the blog btw! I'm loving all the different character designs + seeing which ones are good and which ones fall short or are outright offensive. It's very interesting, and a lot of the pictures you rb is giving me lots of inspiration for how to spruce up the designs of my own Black characters)

Trying to find a simple way to put this. The answer is they're right! But it's not like... The direction isn't the same, if that makes sense. One came first. The comparison of language, of using whiteness as synonymous to purity, righteousness and nobility, and blackness as synonymous to impurity, to uncleanliness, corruption, and potential evil, is not just racial, no. But when the concept of race was invented, it's not a coincidence that it was easier to then slip into that already existing mentality. Darker skin meaning less noble, dirty, filth, corruption. And again, even if they're inhuman creatures, the message is there, that White represents Good. Light versus dark elves, is another example.

So, to me, it's moreso racist not because we're comparing animals to humans, but because it's continuing to perpetuate a belief system with language that extends TO humans. For example, in China, white is also used as a color of death. I remember when I learned that for the first time; I realized that I'd spent my entire life internalizing a western idea that blackness equalled evil and death and mourning. That it didn't HAVE to mean that something was bad, that WHITE was allowed to represent something scary or ominous (Klan hoods, for example)!

(funny enough I saw this post before this message lmao)

[agentmarvel]

i've been thinking about this for days, so here y'all go.

part i |♡| part ii

sugar daddy!könig x fat!reader

mdni - 18+; minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

könig, whose bank account contains millions that he has neither the time nor desire to spend himself.

könig, who learns about the sugaring community from stiletto and roze, surprisingly, and educates himself, finding himself quite interested.

newly minted sugar daddy!könig, who joins a website, hoping to meet a sweet, plump little thing to keep him company in his off time, accompany him to events he really doesn't want to be at, and is willing to be patient with him and stay in touch, though spotty, through deployments in exchange for everything she could possibly want.

sugar daddy!könig, who matches with you after several less than ideal encounters, boring conversations, and dozens of left swipes over the course of a year. he finds himself immediately enamored with your photos; you’re stunning, exactly his type.

sugar daddy!könig, who has a hard time talking himself out of sending you a large sum immediately just for a moment of your undivided attention, but ultimately decides against it, lest you only be interested in those deposits off the bat.

sugar daddy!könig, who learns you're a full-time student with limited means of support, given you aren't exactly a local. he could be the support you need, he thinks.

sugar daddy!könig, who is so thoroughly pleased with how you conduct yourself through messages, neglecting the matter of his finances almost entirely while you try to connect with him personally. after nearly a month of exchanging messages, he makes his first offer - daily pictures for payments. nothing lewd, not yet, but he's interested in seeing more than the same six photos he looks at daily on your profile.

sugar daddy!könig, who sends €500 per photo per day. you catch on quick, doubling or tripling up on them after a week; one before you head to class, one before you go to bed. but after the third time he sends multiple payments, you send a message telling him it's not necessary.

>>> I like sending the pictures! Your reactions are always so kind, and it makes my day! 🥰

sugar daddy!könig, who turns bright red at that and insists that he keep up his end of the bargain, but gives extra attention to detail in his responses.

sugar daddy!könig, who grows anxious to meet you face-to-face; broaching the subject proves difficult when he struggles to find the right words. luckily for him, you're a bit bolder, inquiring about events he mentioned, hoping to find chemistry on an actual date of sorts.

sugar daddy!könig, who is all too quick to agree to meet up with you. he warns you that he's painfully awkward, apologizes in advance on a loop, and warns you of his behemoth stature - a factor of intimidation for many, and he doesn't want to scare you off.

sugar daddy!könig, who adores your acceptance of his self-perceived flaws and shuts down the insecurities that you voice on your own behalf. your photos are not deceptive; he can see that you're a bigger girl (exactly what he wanted), and no amount of lighting, angle, or editing that could hide the most beautiful things about you.

sugar daddy!könig, who spends the next several days in a spiral over the date, stressing every miniscule detail until he chews a hole in his lip. his hands shake as he buttons his shirt, leg bouncing with nervous energy during the drive, fidgeting while he awaits your arrival...

sugar daddy!könig, who almost leaves when you're a mere five minutes late, berating himself internally for being blinded by optimism. he has to set his glass down in fear of breaking it in his tense grip.

sugar daddy!könig, who has to pick his jaw up from the floor when he catches sight of the hostess bringing you to the table. you're wearing a shy smile and a gorgeous dress that hugs your curves perfectly, and for the briefest moment, he swears he's in love.

[polyamorousmood]

ok, so a couple days ago, my boyfriend told me he was poly. Let’s call him K. Now, I thought I had absolutely no problem with that, I myself have been questioning polyamory for a very long time.

so for context, me and K were on a date in a private server in a game (we’re long distance) and C joined us, not realizing we were on a date. We allowed him to third wheel and we all had a bunch of fun.

now, fast forward to the next day, K messages me about wanting to incorporate C into our relationship. We talk for a bit and I thought I was completely fine with starting a poly with him, but there was a little whisper at the back of my mind: “You weren’t a good enough girlfriend, so he needs someone else to fill in the space. Someone better.”

I want him to be happy more than anything, so I shrug it off and agree. We talk to C and wham bam we’re now in a poly. I tried so hard to convince myself I like him in the same way I like K, but.. I couldn’t. I tried to talk to C about it, but I feel like I ruined everything and hurt him. I’ve literally never been in a relationship this long (going on a month and a half, not that long to most people but to me this is crazy cuz my luck is nonexistent) and we haven’t had a single argument or fight or anything.

I’m scared. I know I should’ve said something the moment I had any doubt but I don’t want K to be mad at me for lying, or C to be sad.

now that little voice is screaming “This is your fault. You’re a terrible girlfriend. You should just leave them so C can make K happy. Because you can’t possibly make K happy.”

I have no idea what to do.

Okay, so I had a longer, prettier thing typed up but the Tumbls deleted it. You're getting the quick and dirty version, sorry.

Yeah, you could have been more forthright from the get-go, but 🤷‍♀️you're here now. I don't think everything is ruined necessarily, especially if you're still willing to be friends with C, you're willing to let K and C date without you (and chill with affection between K and C in front of you, etc). Just get on the same page with everyone, explain that you really wanted it to work with all three of you, but its just not working, and that you really want to figure it out because you like them both so much. That last sentence is true regardless of if you're chill with the things mentioned or not.

And then, even though I don't think you're to that point, and hopefully never will be. Heartbreak sucks eggs in hell, and then you're through it and you're fine. This is true for you, it is true of your exes, it is true of any future exes. You will be okay after any breakup, pending some recovery time, and so will everyone else. The more you internalize this belief, the healthier your relationships will be because you'll not be so damn scared of breaking something you can't be yourself. Its a tough thing to learn, but please try.

Additionally, internalize this belief: you will occasionally, accidentally, hurt the people you love. Everyone does. It doesn't mean they're better off without you. Do what you can to make it right and prevent the mistake from happening again, and let it go.

But in the meantime, see if you can't work something out. I don't see why y'all couldn't based on what you said. They're allowed to be bummed and it can still be workable. Best of luck 🍀🫂

[a-sweeter-solarsystem]

Guess who's finally getting around to posting these! Behold! A more expressive exo rig for all your fun animating needs!

Important note, all credit for the actual texturing and ripping of the exo head models goes to the wonderful folks from the d2 ripping community, specifically:

Monteven (Ripping)

TheSinkingSponge (Decals)

HydrateorDie (Shading and dyemaps)

Y'all out here doing the lord's work,,, finding these suckers in the game data must have been a journey (´⌒｀)

You can download the rigs for free on my ko-fi!

I wasn't a fan of the simple rig used originally for the exo heads, so I made my own!

These updated rigs include controllers for the eyelids (kept separate to make winking and other expressions easier), eye and mouth light controls, jaws with additional bones to make the internal components shift around, and a few heads also have additional bones for controlling the cheek plates (at least for the heads that I saw had moving cheeks from many hours of scouring game clips).

The only things not set up are the decals and accessories. There are 8 different decals for every. single. head. I...do not have the strength in me to set all of those up but they are organized in their respective folders for those who want them. Same goes for all the accessories. I'll happily give out pointers to those who ask but I don't have the strength to add that many repeated objects into this blender file :')

For any issues with the rigs or bugs to report, send me a message over on ko-fi (do not message me here, my asks are closed).

[aboringredmop]

k still don't know how im gonna post the videos (YouTube? unlisted?someone please help) but I can't sleep so I thought it'd write down whatever I remember happening!

(edit: here's the full recording! )

Becky and Joe walked on stage wearing sunglasses and red leather jackets and threw 3 of the trio plushies into the crowd. didn't get one unfortunately but it's really cool some people got free plushies :)

they made this robot child called the Inspiration Child, who's clearly meant to be a nod to ai (can learn from our show and generate it's own content!)

they explained how they met (and had some dodgy animated retelling), and how they started with small projects like commercials and music videos, until they came up with designs of the trio (and a mysterious fourth fella)

they made the designs first, then made the set, then the song and finally wrote the script for creativity. red guy was just a red mop head with legs at first ("alien squid thing") but Joe put the red guy head on for shits and giggles once and Becky thought it was hilarious so they kept it in the show

they were really not expecting it to blow up, and when Sundance called because they wanted to show creativity Becky thought it was a scam caller lol

they talked about the kickstarter and the credit card fraud kid. the mailed him saying "hey maybe dont do that" but the kid didnt know how to undo it cuz he just found a website full of credit card information and went ham, so Becky and Joe had to contact kickstarter because people were pulling out of the funding because they thought the project was overfunded (kickstarter was very difficult to contact)

they also made (lighthearted) fun of nsfw fluffybird art ((no padlock 😔) "using OUR characters to act out their SICK FANTASIES" - Becky) and theorists, especially because most if not all of the webseries is just them fucking around.

Inspiration Child also says something along the lines of "wow what a cool show with a great message of how corrupt the media is. I hate the media!"

Becky and Joe had these rules to make the show as vague as possible (no pop culture references, no names, no swearing and way too much detail put into small things)(the duck guy drag queen absolutely obliterates the no swearing rule lol)

they talk about the pilot, how they focused too much on the story because they felt like they had to due to it being on the big screen now, and how it ended up ruining the atmosphere and such of the pilot. they did show the entire thing sped up but my phone sucks ass so I could not get it to focus correctly. I'll see what I can salvage so you people can dissect frames of your blorbo you're Legally Not Allowed To See (which is also the official reason we don't get the pilot)

also pilot concept art showed that Mean Steve is in fact just called Key

they showed a whole post-it wall full of ideas for the tv show. don't know how much I got on footage, but what stood out most to me were 2 episodes called Money and Christmas. Joe mentioned "clock in a wheelchair" specifically

also really fun fact. Becky made the Lesley suit during covid, and pretty much threatened Baker into writing a human character into the show to wear it. concept art also shows Lesley with a mask made out of the same fabric, don't know if this was part of the original suit tho

they showed Warrens old models (?). he was gonna be a wayy more ugly looking silicone pug-worm thing y'all got lucky with the bald fuck

lily and todney were directly based off of some cancelled show about two porcelain doll children with panda parents. do not for the life of me remember what it was called but Becky and Joe were very enthousiastic about it (UPDATE: Candy and Andy!)

international release of the show soon!

Inspiration Child talks about what he's learned and sings a little song, then generates his own dhmis inspired content of a cult meeting in a forest at night. the dhmis Discord server called this "potential new content" but I doubt it

3 cultists walk on stage, face the screen backs to the crowd, drop their cloaks and boom! drag queens!!!

they were not mentioned on the site or during earlier parts of the show at all so they were a complete surprise. I asked Becky about it later during the night and she said she really wanted them there, so she asked and they were excited to! hope this means more official content with them soon I love them

they dance to There's Three Of Us, then Duck lipsings the shredder song which turns into a techno remix while Red and Yellow dance during the background

then Duck and Yellow make out while Red tries to undress to the instrumentals of the Fucked Up Part of Creativity but can't get out of his suit on time before the song ends

the drag queens, Becky and Joe and the Inspiration Child walk around during the meet and greet later and I got signatures from all of them! except inspiration child he didn't have thumbs

the drag queens were so fucking funny. Duck adopted inspiration child and loudly yelled at everyone to "GET AWAY FROM MY FUCKING CHILD" (their duck voice is sooo good). yellow stood in a corner staring at a wall for like 10 minutes and red was constantly awkwardly hovering just outside the frames of pictures (and also could not see shit lmao)

Becky liked my shirt! (the one with the melting trio heads) said she handdrew it

I'll post the signatures and some more stuff tomorrow because it is. 5 am

edit Heres the signatures! yellow guys is Italian I think? and means hi I love you :)

(the liyskaen is duck trying to spell my name. they got pretty close)

[panda-writes-kpop]

international love ~ huh yunjin (requested!)

a/n: Merry Christmas, everyone!! my Christmas present to y'all is the promise that I'm working on request, albeit slowly, but I'm getting there. loved writing this fic (yunjin my beloved), and I hope everyone else enjoys it just as much. And to the person that requested this, I hope this is what you were looking for. 🫶

tw: a bit of angst at the beginning that turns into fluff, long distance relationship, a bit suggestive at the end

word count ~ 1.7k

summary: you've been missing your girlfriend, huh yunjin, since she went to Korea to chase her dreams of becoming an idol. now that your career as an actor has taken off, the two of you have a chance to reunite in the city of dreams: NYC.

♡ Masterlist ♡

"Babe."

You snap out of your thoughts at the sound of Yunjin's voice coming from your phone speaker.

"I'm listening, Yunjin, there's just some loud noises going on outside of my apartment." You bluff, hoping she'll buy it.

In truth, you hadn't been listening to her, but you had been thinking about her. She's been away in Korea for a year and a half, and you've been missing her presence as of late. Long distance worked for the two of you, when she wasn't busy with schedules and you weren't busy with your work.

As a rising American star, you had your own filming schedule to deal with. Movie production had just wrapped up for the night, and you know that Yunjin would be starting her day with interviews, dance practice, or whatever else kept her busy throughout the morning.

Whatever it was, she would often have a bit of downtime when the cameras turned off, and she'd pull out her phone and start messaging you. Messages turned into phone calls, and soon you'd find yourself talking to her face-to-face until she was interrupted by her manager, or your agent was calling you to confirm a booking of sorts.

The distance had been rough on you two, at first, but you looked forward to your nightly - and her daily - calls. Still, you couldn't help but miss hearing her laugh in person, the way her lips met your cheek every time you woke up together, or the feeling of her resting in your arms after a long day.

"Are your neighbors still practicing their drums at this hour?" Yunjin throws her head back and laughs, and every bit of you wishes that you could reach through the phone and kiss her at this moment.

There was no drumming to be heard but the beat of your heart in your eardrums, but you played along with her idea - it's better than any lie you could've come up with.

"Yeah, they're still at it. I wish they'd get picked up by a touring 80s band so I can have a night of peace." You draw out your sigh, which gets a stifled giggle from Yunjin.

"I wish I was there with you. I bet you'd forget about all that noise if you were with me." She teases as you widely smile.

"Me too, Yunjin, me too."

An all-consuming silence washes all over the both of you as thousands of words threaten to roll off your tongue.

I wish you'd come back to America. I wish I could come and visit you. I adore everything about you.

I miss you.

"Yunjin-ah, stop talking with them before the manager scolds you again!" 

You hear Eunchae softly scold her older member as Yunjin shouts a reply that the microphone doesn't pick up. 

"Sorry, babe, I've got to go. Same time tomorrow?" She tilts her head, and you nearly lose all composure at the gesture.

"Sounds good, darling. I love you, and I'm so proud of you." You softly say as Yunjin waves goodbye.

"I love you too-"

"YUNJIN-"

The call cuts off before you hear Eunchae lay into Yunjin, and you let yourself smile for a moment before laying your phone on the nightstand. 

Your head hits the pillow as you close your eyes and imagine a world where there isn't thousands of miles between you and your lover.

~

"I have good news." Your lips almost betray you as Yunjin leans in towards you. "I'm headed to New York to do some promotion for the movie!"

Yunjin lets out a scream that would've been ear-shattering if you had been in the same room as her. She happily claps for you as you take a pretend bow.

"That's great! When are you going to New York?"

"Sometime in late October. My agent is working out the details now." You think back to your last conversation with your agent, where they happily told you that you will only have a couple of scheduled events over those two weeks. That means that you'd finally have a break, which was exactly what you needed at this moment.

You just found yourself wishing that Yunjin could be by your side for those two weeks.

Yunjin scrunches her eyebrows for a moment, deep in thought, before responding.

"Can't wait to hear about all of your amazing adventures. You'll take pictures, won't you?" 

"Honey, you know that you're much better at photography than I will ever be," You hold back a laugh as Yunjin attempts to sway you by slightly pouting, "but I'll do my best for you."

The smile on her face reappears as she happily tells you all about her day, and the misadventures of her and the other members over the week.

"You girls sound like you have so much fun together." You comment after her last story, but she notices the way your lips turn downwards before recovering into a soft smile. 

"Is everything alright?"

"I mean, I'm good, but I've been really missing you as of late."

"Aww, I've missed you too." Yunjin glances away from her phone for a moment before looking back at you. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course." You nod as Yunjin sticks her pinky up towards her phone. "What are you doing?"

"You have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Yunjin, this is ridiculous-"

"Promise me." Her voice switches to a serious tone, which sends you backpedaling immediately.

"I promise." You stick up your pinky, and it takes everything in you not to laugh as you both shake your phones in agreement.

"Now that that's settled, I can tell you the good news: we're headed to America for some of our promotions."

"Yunjin, that's so exciting for you and the girls!" You proudly say. "You all deserve it, you've been busting your asses for a long time."

"I also may or may not have heard that we have a scheduled performance in New York..."

Your eyes light up the moment she mentions New York.

"Tell me when and where, as soon as you know. I'll be there, I promise you." Your heart quickens at the thought of Yunjin being near you again, but you know she probably wouldn't have time with all of her schedules.

You gently let yourself down as Yunjin glances away again.

"Oh shit, I'm gonna be late for dance practice. See you tomorrow!" She blows you a kiss before ending the call.

Tonight, you fall asleep with thoughts of Yunjin by your side.

New York, here I come.

~

NYC was the city of dreams. It was the place where you were first scouted, the first set for your first movie, and the first late night show that you were ever featured on was in NYC. You had a love for the bustling city and its endless streams of people, even as some of them pushed you to the side as you walked down the street.

After finishing your first interview with another cast member earlier in the week, you were done with promotions until the weekend. That left you with enough time to see LE SSERAFIM perform a few songs and do a close-up interview with fans. You didn't want to draw any attention to yourself, so you donned a face mask with a pair of sunglasses in order to draw attention away from yourself. Besides a few odd glances here and there, it tended to do the job.

You slipped into the back of the venue, with your agent by your side. They wanted to see the girl they'd been hearing about for months, and you wanted to get the girls a new fan. It was a win-win scenario for all.

The girls came out to loud screams from the crowd, and you absorbed yourself in their energy as you cheered along with them. You spot Yunjin from a mile away, but she won't recognize you. 

You told her you'd be there, but you'd keep yourself hidden. You didn't want to start any rumors between yourself and the girls, considering how badly that could go for either of you. 

Besides, with the help of a begrudging manager, you had something special planned for later in the night.

~

You anxiously await Yunjin in the hotel room while you're dressed in your finest clothes. She was supposed to be back a few minutes ago, the manager assured you, so everything was ready in time. 

You had a spread of her favorite foods prepared by one of your favorite chefs in NYC. You'd also taken the luxury of getting a window-side room that opened up to the busy streets of NYC. The view was breathtaking, but you couldn't imagine anything looking better than Huh Yunjin walking through that door.

You immediately jump to attention when you hear someone fiddling with the doorknob. A few voices come from the outside, and you realize it's her members. They wish her a lovely evening, and you hear the confusion in Yunjin's voice until she opens the door and sees you.

Her eyes widen as she sets aside her luggage in time to receive your hug. She squeezes tighter than you do, and once you're both satisfied, you pull away enough to give her the kiss you've been waiting for.

Yunjin is sweet like cherries and refreshing like the ocean, so you're nearly knocked to the ground when her lips leave yours.

"I missed that," She breathlessly says before letting out a small laugh, "but I missed you more."

She pulls you in to kiss your cheek before grabbing her luggage and heading inside. You quickly close the door behind her before taking her hand and leading her around the room.

"You did all of this... for me?" The surprise in her voice is evident, as is the genuineness in yours. 

"I knew that this might be the last time we see each other for a while, so I wanted to make it special, just for you."

"Just for me?" She's astounded, as if you wouldn't climb a thousand mountains to please her every whim.

"Love, I'd do anything to keep that smile on your face."

Her smile reappears as she drops her luggage off at the bedroom door. Yunjin turns back to you with a mischievous look on her face.

"Since we've got the place to ourselves, why not make up for lost time?"

You don't have to state your agreement before she pulls you in for another kiss. Thousands of kisses are shared that night, the night you won't forget until you and Yunjin are reunited once more.

[starryredpandawrites]

“Born From the Same Ink” Ch. 17 Sneak Peek

Hairbrush? Check. Birth Certificate? Check. Social Security Card? Check. Nimble hands packed the items into a well-used backpack as their owner checked each of them off a well-rehearsed mental checklist. It wasn’t ideal but at least this way she would have all her essentials secured; there was no chance something would ‘suddenly’ disappear like the last time she mentioned moving out. Audrey picked up an old sketchbook, one of many lying in stacks at the foot of her bed. 

With the straps of her backpack slung securely over her shoulders, she retrieved her shoes and crept to her bedroom door, switching off the lights as she went. The tarnished metal doorknob stole heat from her hands as she slowly twisted it as far as it would go. Then, she nudged the door open, lifting it slightly so it wouldn’t catch on the doorframe. The hinges she oiled the day before gave no resistance as she peeked across the dark hallway to the other bedroom door, which was blessedly shut with no light leaking out from underneath it. A silent sigh of relief escaped her lips as she snuck out of her room for the last time. 

Breathing softly through her mouth, she traversed the hallway in near silence. Years of similar expeditions had taught her which floorboards were safe and vice versa. Each sock-muffled step was calculated, and she was grateful when she reached the living room and could place her feet near the furniture, where the settled floor was less likely to creak. 

She passed the spare room holding the poorly covered Ink Machine without a second glance. She’d lost interest in the dirty thing ages ago. 

Finally, she reached the kitchen, her freedom only a few feet away. She would have smiled if the lights didn’t suddenly flicker on, revealing the man waiting for her beside the counter. 

Rather than stand, he sat in his wheelchair, an increasingly common sight in the Drew household. A folder of miscellaneous documents lay open in his lap. The papers rustled as he meticulously examined them one by one. 

Internally kicking herself, Audrey hid her shoes behind her back and schooled her expression. She should have just used her window. Ruined clothes and a few scrapes from the brambles below would be much less painful than this conversation.

Masking her guilt with concern, the young woman greeted her creator father a little too casually. “Hey, Dad. What are you still doing up?”

Joey didn’t answer, opting instead to pick up another sheet of paper and hold it up to the dim light. Audrey knew the charade for what it was: she had his full attention. 

“Do you want help getting to bed?” she asked helpfully, as though she hadn’t already tucked him in hours ago. 

“I was looking for your Birth Certificate.” he replied nonchalantly as he thumbed through the folder of documents, ignoring her second question. After a moment of awkward silence, he raised a harsh eyebrow at Audrey. “Any idea where it scampered off to?”

Gonna start the next chapter off strong with a flashback, y'all. Hope you like trauma ;)

Fam, it's been 2 whole years since BATDR came out and I started writing this fic. I wanted to post this/the chapter on the anniversary but better late than never, right?

I'm gonna try to post the full update on Friday (November 29th) but it might get pushed Saturday (November 30th) due to the holiday.

Thanks for reading 😘 and an extra big thanks to the people who kept messaging me even though I haven't updated since July. I still haven't responded to every ask I've gotten (and I'm starting to doubt I will, a very good problem to have and one I never thought would happen to me lol) but I love reading every word. You guys (gender-neutral) are the best.

[cyle]

Hi! I'm wondering if you can offer any insight into something that's been bugging me with all of the changes. This is genuinely not a hostile ask - I know first-hand how hard (necessary) change management is. I don't envy the position y'all are in.

That being said - I'm having a hard time making sense of the strategy around the roll out for the last few big changes/"experiments"). It seems like the folks doing the messaging vs the actual feature management are not on the same page.

It has been stated several times that:

"We’ll be testing [our new] ideas in an opt-in basis with people who’ve been using Tumblr for years, and more especially with people who’ve never even heard of Tumblr (a difficult group to find)."

We've also seen, repeatedly, that

"Tumblr is a place where you can tailor and customize your experience to individual preferences."

With those statements in mind, the choice to roll these new features out to folks who *didn't* volunteer - and not offer any way to "customize our experience" seems like a strange one.

An expectation (which was positive) was established only to be directly violated within a few weeks. It makes it challenging to get a read on what y'all actually mean -- and to extend good faith or trust when communications do come out.

If you say you're going to do something, then do it, it builds trust. If you don't, it erodes trust. And that just makes your already difficult jobs harder - and the userbase even more reactive and knee-jerk resistant.

Can you give us a sense of what's going on here? Or can you at least pass this feedback on to whoever is handling the messaging around this stuff? We can see that y'all are striving for transparency, but that's only effective if it's honest/consistent.

[TL;DR: Tumblr's messaging emphasizes testing changes with volunteers, and offering the ability to customize - but that doesn't seem to be what's actually happening. What's up?]

this is a really great question, thank you for asking it. you've accurately pointed out some glaring holes in our communication strategy -- some of that is even my fault, to be honest, as someone who tries to help shape our public communications.

the easiest answer is that there's a lot of work happening on the internal tumblr side, and not all of it is the same kind of work, and therefore not all of it is being communicated consistently. that's a huge problem if you're not inside of it, as you point out; the contradictions seem weird for anyone paying attention.

i'm currently a part of the @labs group and we're trying to come up with radical ideas for reshaping tumblr, prototype them quickly, show them to people, and iterate on them, and reject them quickly if they don't make sense. the Tumblr Mini thing recently is an unfortunate example of that -- something leaked way too early, before we even got a chance to really understand how the thing we prototyped would be received. that may never go beyond the thing people saw, for good reason: it doesn't make sense. we're learning from it, but it's unfinished.

in that Labs group, we do want volunteer-based feedback, and we're actually starting that very soon with targeted user research. you may see some surveys soliciting that feedback soon, or invites to be a part of the testing. i'm extremely excited by that, because some other ideas we have feel like they should've been a part of tumblr since the beginning.

but.......

there's a whole different group at tumblr that are making "core product" improvements, and a lot of their work is reflected in the recent staff post about product strategy. their aim is to alleviate a lot of common points of confusion and frustration, some of which will seem counter-intuitive to people who have been on tumblr for many years and learned (what i call) "the hard way".

a lot of that core improvement work will be rolled out, experimented with, and iterated on, the traditional way: involuntary A/B tests, rather than volunteers. that is standard industry practice, because when you're trying to understand the behavior of millions of people, just asking for volunteers introduces too much selection bias.

however, it's important to note that even today's rollout of the new desktop navigation was released to some XKit devs beforehand, so we could get early feedback. so sometimes we do roll these core things out for feedback first, before "regular users", before we A/B test it. usually those small initial experiments are hyper-targeted though... in this case, because we do actually care about XKit and third party developers. you don't see that though!

so full transparency: not everything we do is going to be volunteer-based, not everything we do can be communicated adequately before we test it, not everything during testing will be customizable, because how much we want to customize is dependent on the outcome of these tests. it's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem.

and furthermore, this is kind of how it's always been, for better or worse, since around 2016 when tumblr started believing in A/B tests and experiments, rather than just "ship it and we'll see"... the common denominator, though, is that we want your feedback. we don't do a good enough job soliciting that feedback, but we do want it. (i kinda wish we had an easy feedback button for the new layout.) we do make decisions based on feedback, but we augment that decision-making process with hard data from experiments.

i hope that makes sense? there's too much to cover to provide you with the full context. i could write a book about it. all i can confidently say is that we're trying as best as we can to balance the ideas of keeping tumblr special and unique, while trying weird/bad/good/uncomfortable new directions to help the platform grow and thrive. status quo and complacency aren't acceptable; tumblr needs to change to survive. i am just as uncomfortable and upset by that fact as anyone, and i worry every day and night about it, whether the price of survival is worth it.

we'll see, hopefully together.

[ladytemeraire]

One of my older coworkers is basically the Weird But Cool Uncle of our department. He'll collect the entire group of co-ops/interns and take them down to the cafeteria for ice cream, he'll take you out and teach you how to shoot or change a tire or whatever you need and want to learn, he'll randomly show up whenever you need help (as long as you ask) with a trailer to help you move or power tools to fix whatever needs fixing, and all he asks in return is some gratitude and maybe that you buy him a pizza or donuts at some point. He helped me move from my apartment to my house two years ago. When my furnace went out after Thanksgiving last year, he showed up with a bunch of tools to see if he could quickly fix it before the repair company showed up and/or I needed it to be replaced.

Anyway, I mentioned to him today that I was considering a small sawzall and/or chainsaw to deal with saplings growing by my garage and back fence and the resultant lumber on my property (since I have a fire pit in the backyard, might as well make use of it) and he immediately messaged me with "cool, here's the brands you want to consider, let me know what size you get so I can make sure I have the same size chain/blade to match in case yours breaks so I can give you one of mine" and y'all, I damn near cried in the middle of the work day at such a casual expression of community and solidarity and connection. It's so rare that someone who isn't family (and even if they are family in some cases) will casually set you up for success like that and I am so, so grateful to have him in my life.

He also showed up after work today to help me deal with said saplings and helped me hack off a bunch of wild grapevine while we were at it, so I'm definitely gonna buy him lunch this week.

[savelockwoodandco]

It's been a year of campaigning and I can't help but feel despondent about the chances of the show even though I know these things take time. I know I'm not the only one as well. I think it's the fact we don't have any sort of sign from anyone official that any of what we're doing is helping. Any real sign of major progress. Just hints and after a while you begin to wonder if it's just our own confirmation bias. There's no clue if any progress is being made at all. A part of me wonders that they're too afraid to tell us any bad news. Another part of me is still hopeful that no news is good news. Idk. I just wish we had anything concrete, some sort of acknowledgement, that we're not screaming into the void and it's not hopeless still and that we're somewhat closer to getting the show saved now than we were last year. Right now its a struggle to hope and I fear its all the more frustrating that situations like last year's strikes probably ended up causing a lot of internal industry changes we may not even be able to account for or that may be affecting how long this process takes. It feels like we know less now than we did last year. Do you have anything to shed some light on this from a different perspective? And if you're feeling sad yourself, all the hugs from me to you and Twitter Mod 🫂. If you don't have any optimism you don't need to give hope to us too since that's an unfair responsibility to drop on you.

Hi Anon! Thanks for the message and for the hugs for both of us!

It's amazing to think it's been a year of campaigning -- us mods have had so many things happen to us since we started this blog, and we're sure it's the same for many of you.

We were pretty sure we'd start to see a sort of 'settling' effect on the enthusiasm for this campaign as the year mark came, and sure enough here it is! That's not a problem or unexpected -- it's hard to keep up efforts and enthusiasm over a longer stretch of time! Having been in many, many campaigns before (successful and otherwise), we're prepared for the long haul, but we totally understand the sort of despondent feelings that come from time to time, especially as the campaign goes on.

A year, in the scheme of things, is really not that long for a campaign all things considered. It feels incredibly long sometimes, sure, but with all the legalities, scheduling issues, rights issues, and everything else that comes with modern TV, it's a pretty short time frame. The hints, good things, and continued momentum from the fanbase and from those directly involved from the show are always heartening, and happen with regularity -- but can feel like very little sometimes. We always recommend taking breaks when burnout starts, and that holds even more true the longer the campaign stretches.

Ultimately, us mods are still as optimistic as we were when we started this blog almost exactly a year ago. There's no 'set' timeframe for renewal/saving efforts -- it can be two months, it can be two years, it can be even longer. Just look at Julie and the Phantoms, whose rights were just barely released by Netflix -- a long time coming (out of Netflix's own pettiness, to be sure), but that's 3 years after its cancellation. The wheels of TV grind slowly, but they do grind on.

As we stand, with having had multiple events with the cast/crew of Lockwood and Co, with Jonathan Stroud, and with more to come -- as well as the outward support of both Agents Stroud and the love CF has for the show, we see no reason to give up the fight. No news is definitely good news -- if there was no chance, they'd tell us flat-out -- and for the time being we're continuing on with the same fighting spirit and enthusiasm that we've had for a year.

Take breaks, take heart, and keep noticing the little things. We're here for encouragement and support whenever y'all need us!

[jewishbarbies]

So I debated for a long time whether to send this or not bc I explicitly do not want to equate what's happening in I/P to fiction or in any way trivialize the very real people who have died

But I find it incredibly ironic (in a bad way) how the leftist circles screaming about Zionism are the same circles that are STILL openly proudly fans of tv shows/books/movies that depict war in genuinely nuanced ways. Ways that EXPLICITLY contradict the black and white narratives exploding in leftist spaces.

So like. Did y'all miss the point or do you think nuance is for fiction only? There are innocent civilians on every side in war and civilians shouldn't be blamed for the actions of their governments --but only in fiction? In the real world it's fine to celebrate civilian casualties as long as they're Israeli? Guilt by association in fiction is bad but every Jewish person should be held accountable for the Israeli military???

Like I'm intentionally not naming any fandoms bc this SHOULDN'T be about fandoms, but the hypocrisy is killing me. They claim to be fans of the "killing civilians is bad even when they're from the Bad Culture™" shows but they're out in the real world denying (or worse celebrating) Oct 7th? They love the fictional characters who say "killing civilians is bad" but can't stand Jewish people mourning the civilians in israel? What???

(again, I'm really not trying to make this extremely real problem about fiction. I just mean the complete lack of self awareness I see every day has me ready to explode. )

no, i get what you mean. i definitely think there's a link between the massive drop in critical thinking and media literacy and the fandomization of real world issues. there's some statistic that gen z is the most politically active of most previous generations and while that's inherently a good thing, they're not engaging with politics and conflicts in responsible ways. they'll do a lot of organizing for a cause here in america and get something done, and then think they can do the same thing for international plights and just end up stepping on everyone's toes, inadvertently perpetuating that america-centric attitude they claim to be against, bc they don't listen.

a lot of people these days refuse to engage with media in the way it's intended and therefore ignore or flat out miss its entire message. you'll have a movie/show/book/whatever about the nuances of war, like the hunger games (which gen z is so completely misinterpreting), and how easy it is to become the person you're fighting against if you let yourself do the things they do eye for an eye style, and they'll come away from that comparing hamas to katniss. it makes no sense within the context of the book's narrative, yet that's the conclusion they draw because they refuse to properly engage. it contradicts their second-hand anger. they're mad about their own shitty life in the states and the powerlessness we all feel here as our rights are being threatened every single day, and they'll look for somewhere else to put it all. so they butt in to situations they don't belong in and make it worse like bulls in a china closet.

bottom line is that they see what they want to see because of their lack of self reflection and self awareness, thus allowing their lack of media literacy, critical thinking, and confirmation bias run the way they think and believe. they've taken "it's fiction" to the point where none of them would pass a basic english class and now palestinians and hamas are all blorbos in The Real World Show.

[kiddypools-blog11]

I was listening to Tidal Rush English cover from 5x1000 (Kilo and Penta!) and I was like "wait...this would seem extremely cool for a good ending with Thomas and Kamryn!" So here's what I'm thinking how it would go down. Hear me out pls. Btw this contains pretty terrible writing. So they might not make any sense.

Btw this isn't my og idea, this is inspired from somebody else. I just wanted to get this off my chest. Also some lines of the song may be left out because I haven't thought of a meaning for them. Blue is Kamryn, and orange is Thomas.

Can you hear my voice? I'm calling out to you. Please open your eyes!/though the tide rushes high, I know if you try, you'll outrun the waves...- Kamryn trying to snap Thomas out of his control from the Entity and break free from it's control.

Your fire burns bright and turns night into day! - representing Thomas's actual happy, good side. The Thomas that would laugh and smile before/during the whole marital issues thing.

Let the floodlights shine and perforate the fog that clouds up your mind - Trying to snap Thomas from his grudge against Kamryn as well as the entity's control fogging his mind and good memories and keeping the bad ones.

Raise your voice and sing a happy tune to leave your troubles behind! - Kamryn trying to help Thomas through his self loathing and international conflict involving the CSMPC as well as his past actions.

Though your hues never fade, not under the shade or obscured by a screen - a message that even through Thomas's workaholic and alcoholic choices, he's still that same sweet, fatherly Thomas deep down.

I can't see, I can't feel a thing. But my heart hammers to the rhythm when I hear you sing! - Thomas singing that even though the entity's control is so strong, he can still hear Kamryn and feel the leftover love that they used to have.

Please let this flurry of paint guide me back to the light! - Thomas trying to look for the light and hope that Kamryn is trying to give him.

Violet sparks fly around my brain, but in the corner of my bleary-eyes, you're hear all the same/could it be? You're with me? Can I stand back up and fight!? - symbolizing that through the entity's puppetry, Thomas can still see her fighting for him and he can't believe that Kamryn is cheering for him. Which would be understandable cause one, he was an alcoholic and workaholic before dying. and two, Kamryn cheated on him with Arthur. And Thomas questions if he can actually fight the entity and be free from the curse.

Petty and proud, we broke apart. And I fear I'm to blame/I'm sorry all the same...- Thomas and Kamryn's separation and Kamryn's choice to kick him out of the house. And Kamryn is not putting herself at fault for that choice, she's putting herself at fault for cheating on him with Arthur when they were alive.

Had to take a stand, but I said so many things I didn't mean! - Thomas regretting putting the fault on Isabella when Lewis drowned. This can be seen in the Christmas special DLC as well.

Now all I want is a fresh start to undo our bitter rivalry! - Kamryn wishing for at least a new start. Trying to become at least friends to, as mentioned, undo their rivalry against each other.

The pain that I'm feeling hasn't gone away, but I want to end this fight! Hand in hand, let's go and make it right! - Thomas trying to forget the grudges and bad memories of him with Kamryn and now wanting to make it right.

Idk I think that this is decent enough. What do y'all think?