#SO WHILE IT WAS UNEXPECTED IT WASN'T TOTALLY RANDOM.

[lovverletters]

made with love . . !

yan baker x gn reader

tw/ soft to unhinged yan, huge misunderstanding, murders, implied stalking, implied bugging ur house, typical yan behaviour, implied food tampering 'special' ingredients : possibly human remains, bodily fluids, 100% love.

this was long. enjoy it my pearlings ❤

. . . 🍒

the first time you stumbled upon a quaint little bakery was on valentine's day. you were planning on picking up a few pastries to enjoy while you spend the day on your own again.

you were surprised to see that it had only a few patrons inside as you enter the bakery, the doorbell ringing as you walked through the door. behind the counter was whom you presume is the owner.

despite the back breaking labour combined with managing the establishment all by himself, he surprisingly looked quite. . . attractive. you shook your silly thoughts away.

are you really that lonely that you're starting to find someone attractive at most random times?

regardless you're here for a reason. to get some treats to indulge in while watching the tv show you have been putting on hold due to your hectic schedule. you'll just pretend that your pet counts as having a company for valentines.

"welcome! you're just in time, the goods are all fresh out of the oven" he enthusiasticly greets while carefully handling a huge tray of steaming hot bread.

now that he mentions it, you had been so distracted by your own thoughts to notice the strong aroma of fresh baked goods that's wafting in the air. your mouth almost salivates as you noticed him stocking up your favourite sweets, [f/s].

it looked appetizing enough to tempt you, if the taste is anything like the appearance. . . you're probably going to buy at least 15 of those.

once again lost in your own world, you didn't notice the curious look the baker had given you. it was endearing really, never had he met someone whom were so enthralled by a pastries in his life. plus, you were a first time customer of his too.

he's pretty sure you're a local, he had seen you walk passed his bakery countless time before but it's a different experience to see you in front of him.

"do you like [f/s]? that's my specialty actually" he lies for absolutely no reason. other than to impress you of course.

don't blame him for shooting his shot, you're a catch!

"uh yeah. i'll take 15 of those, please" you averted your eyes at the last part.

the baker only smiled, he was unfazed and bagged up your pastries. but he also bagged up 5 more of [f/s] in a separate bag and placed it at the counter where you're standing at, eager to get home and eat your sweets.

though you noticed the separate bag he placed next to the larger bag. before you could say anything about it he beat you to the punch.

"that's some extra ones free of charge!"

you were stunned. that was unexpected but not unwelcomed. though it did make you a little shy to accept.

"are you sure? you don't have to"

"yeah. take it as a freebie for your first visit to my humble bakery" he assures you.

oh hell yeah. what a great service.

"thanks, i'll be sure to swing by again soon" you took the receipt and waved at the baker as you walked back to your apartment.

you took a bite out of one of the [f/s], it was delicious as you expected. the baker wasn't kidding when he said it was his specialty.

guess you'll be visiting the bakery again soon.

. . . 🍒

it didn't take that long for you to become a regular customer of his.

first of all, the bakery is close to your apartment. second, his baked goods and pastries were absolutely delectable. third and most importantly,

the owner is hot and a total eye candy for you to oogle at.

you're pretty sure anyone would agree after taking one look at him. his body, hardened by the years of hardwork and labour were muscular in all the right places. despite spending a lot of time near a hot oven, he still mantains a youthful look.

if he was single, maybe you'd try to ask him out. maybe though.

cling!

the doorbell rings as you walked in to the bakery after a long day at work. it was quite late, you're surprised he's still open. regardless, you're here to snag some [f/s] and maybe other things that caught your eye.

"hey welcome! great to see you again"

he smiles and greets you as he saw you enters. it's a kind smile, you assumed he gives it to everyone but in your most non delusional opinion, you think he smiles a bit differently when it comes to you. it's wider and sweeter.

"yeah i'm here for the usual. oh, can i get that cheese bread too" nothing wrong with a little bit of cheese action.

"on it!" he breezes through, packing your goods diligently and carefully. once again, you noticed him sneaking in an extra [f/s] again but at this point you already gave up trying to stop him.

"you know you don't have to always give me extras right?"

he simply gave you a coy smile while he rings you up. his eyes widened a fraction and a tinge of blush appeared as your fingers brushed together when he handed the receipt to you.

"but i wanted to though. nothing wrong with being generous to a loyal customer" he lied. he's doing it because he's got a thing for you.

"well, thanks again. i'll try to drop by again tomorrow after workㅡ i think i'm working overtime" you told him. it slips out naturally now that the two of you were somewhat acquainted, at least you were on friendly terms.

"see you tomorrow! thanks for stopping by, [name]!"

he watches as you walks back to your apartment, his eyes not leaving your form until it completely disappears from his line of sights.

he sighed.

did he seriously fell in love with someone he saw regularly? he barely interacts with you outside of the few conversations he'd strike up in a desperate attempt to talk to you. he wanted to be closer to you.

when he got your name, he considers it a big progress in him asking you out. plus, you seems to be interested in him too. he just needs to man up and ask you out the next time you visits.

oh right. he needs to prepare the next batch of [f/s] for tomorrow.

maybe he'll even add something special just for you.

. . . 🍒

you were going to ask him out.

at least that's what you were going to initially until you saw an unexpected sight. you have always presumed he was single, both of you were mutually subtly flirting with each other.

then who is that woman clinging onto him? their proximity was close enough that you no friends and family would ever be. you couldn't see his face but there was a tilt to his lips and he wasn't pushing her away.

your heart stuttered in horror, you were flirting with a taken man?!

"im not about to be label a homewreckㅡ hell no" you shook your head in disbelief.

are you heartbroken? slightly but it pales to the horror of realising you almost made a move on someone's boyfriend or husband. either way a taken man. then embarassment sets in, maybe you've read the signs wrong? maybe he wasn't flirting with you, he was just being nice.

you were just delusional and now you're paying the price. damn that rhymes.

as you were about to walk away, you accidentally ran into someone. great . double the embarassment for today. you were about to apologize when the person stops you, you'd recognized that voice.

"mikael?" it's your best friend from high school.

"clumsy as ever, [n/n]~" he has shit eating grin on his face, something never changes for some people.

he's been a great friend of yours ever since high school up to your uni years. you both lost contact once he moved away, you were sad then but you knew you'll meet him again someday.

you just didn't expect that day to be when you found your crush is possibly married and you nearly became a homewrecker. guess there's always a rainbow after a storm.

"fuck off, you just caught me at a bad time" you scoffed. mikael still had his arms around you, you noted.

"yeah sureㅡ"

clank!

you both turned to the sound of a glass breaking from inside the bakery. then your eyes widened, the baker was looking at you. eye widened, pupils shaking and a bloodied hand. under his feet were shards of broken glasses that he had crushed within his grip.

uh. why is he giving you a look as if you've cheated on him?

the woman who was previously clinging to him, shouts in worry and tried to grab his hand to patch him up but he didn't move an inch. he was rooted at the spot and kept glaring at youㅡ no not at you.

he was glaring at mikael. if he could throw daggers with stares alone, mikael would've been dead by now.

you felt awkward and decided to drag your friend along with you to your apartment. guess you won't be visiting for a while to that bakery.

what's his deal? you wonder.

. . . 🍒

okay. it didn't take long for you to come back to the bakery.

you don't know what he put in his baked goods but goddamnit you're hooked for life. though, you're a bit nervous to face him after the incident. you wanted to ask him so much questions but you realised that you two weren't exactly the closest.

whatever. you're here for [f/s]. you repeated the mantra in your head.

huh. you swore it hadn't been that late but the bakery lights had dimmed. almost as if preparing to close for the day. when you walked in, the air felt stuffy unlike the usual homey feeling to it.

"god. . what's this smell?" the entire place smells rotten with a tangy stentch of metal. it doesn't smell anything like a fresh out of the oven smell of baked goods. it smelled likeㅡ

death.

the baker walks out from the back area, he still had a smile plastered on his face. in his hands were a tray of [f/s] but you couldn't help but feels something off about that particular batch.

"welcome back, [name]. you hadn't stopped by in a while, i was starting to miss you" he said. his was voice devoid of warmth contrary to the smile on his face.

you gulped. something's not right.

". . . yeah. work has been crazy umㅡ can i have the usual" you tried to keep your cool, your instinct screams for you to bolt.

he nods enthusiasticly, bagging up the [f/s] on the tray instead of the ones already in display. you couldn't help but cringe as one of the [f/s] looked soggyㅡ you wanted to ask him about it but your voice was stucked in your throat.

"i made these especially for you. i knew you were going to drop by today so i made a separate one with . . some new secret ingredients for you!" there was a manic glint in his eyes and it's freaking you out.

you snag one of the suspicious [f/s] before he could take it and tore it open with your handㅡ you're not brave enough to eat it. the inside content, instead of a sugary delight was a mush of red. it's too fleshy to be a berry filling and most noticably, it reeks of blood.

you dropped it immediately, disturb by what you had seen. you looked at the baker who was now standing behind you, his arms wrapped around you. he buried his face in the crook of your neck and breathes in your scent.

your body is shaking with paralyzing fear. if it hadn't been for him holding you up, you would've crumbled on the floor.

"mikael" was all he said. your eyes widened, he couldn't meanㅡ

"what did you do to him?!" you shouted at him, demanding explanation. if this was a prank, it's a cruel one.

"now, now. there's no need to raise your voice at me, sweetheart. i'll say this once and i need you to hear it" the baker only shushes you down with his gloved hands. a cruel smile stretched across his lips.

"that. is mikaelㅡ or was mikael. but i did mixed in that irritating bitch" he pointed at the lumpy fleshy mess that was spilling out of the [f/s].

"whaㅡ"

"tell me [name], you could've asked me to clear the misunderstanding. but you ran away with that bastard instead" he sneers as he recalled the day something shifted within him.

he grasps your face and his grip was gentle enough that it won't hurt you but strong enough to keep you in place.

"that bitch. you thought she was my girlfriend right? you could've been any more wrongㅡ she was someone i knew from back then. i had always ignored her but that day she crossed the line" he was shaking with anger, he was going to pop a vein from how enraged he was.

"it was because of her. you ran away to him because of her" his grip was tightening around you.

he inhales sharply, trying to calm himself down before he loses himself completely. the hands on your face fell to his side. you flinched as he buries his face in your shoulder, you couldn't see what his expression he's making but you had a feeling it's frightening.

"but why did you have toㅡ" you choked on your words.

you couldn't bring yourself to say it. the fact that mikael and that woman had been killed by this maniac. from the corner of your eyes, you saw his fists balled up. it was as if he was restraining his anger.

"they deserve it. if it hadn't been for them, we could've been so great. everything was falling into places until they messes it all up!"

huh?

"you wanted to ask me out, i heard you say it before you go to bed every night. that dayㅡ i could've have you but those bastards just have to ruin it for me"

how did heㅡ!

"were you stalking me?!" you were beyond scared by now. this man is an absolute creep and now a murderer.

finally he lifts his face, your heart dropped to your stomach. he had a lovesick look to his faceㅡas if he hadn't confessed to stalking you.

"i love you, [name]. will you be mine?"

what have you gotten yourself into.

[carlthecloaked]

Wrong Number, Right Person

tried writing something after a while :3| 1.3k words | no cw |

|chapter 2|

Steve was pissed.

This date was not working out. At all.

He thought he was going out with this sweet guy from California. At least, that’s what his Tinder profile had made it seem like. But clearly, he had been very wrong.

Where would he even start?

First of all, the guy wouldn’t shut up about his ex.

Like, she sounded great and all, but maybe don’t talk about her the entire time we’re on a date?

Secondly, he wasn’t even listening to what Steve was saying. Half the time, he was scrolling through Instagram, looking at his ex's profile. Laughing at whatever post he was looking at, or he was texting someone else.

Third—and perhaps the worst part—the guy had the personality of a wet sock. Zero energy. No conversation skills. Just dull. Clearly not the charming, funny guy he’d seemed to be over text.

Steve sighed internally. Guess that was his fault for believing his Tinder profile was real.

And then, as if the date wasn’t already bad enough—

“So, are we going to your place or mine? "

Steve barely stopped himself from gaping. He forced a polite smile instead, setting down his drink.

“Yeah, I don’t think this is working out,” he said smoothly, placing his half of the bill on the table. “I have to go.”

The guy blinked, as if he hadn’t just bombed the entire date.

“But wait—”

Steve walked fast out of the cafe, he had to get out of there quickly.

“Ugh, that was the worst. I have to go tell Robin.”

While walking to the subway, he winced as he opened his backup phone. It wasn't as good as his currently broken phone. He totally didn't drop it in the toilet. Nope, that never happened.

He sighed, scrolling through his messages. He still hadn’t updated his contacts, so every number looked unfamiliar. Normally, he’d recognize Robin’s name instantly, but now? It was just random numbers.

He just figured he would text the most recent number, It'll probably be fine.

Steve: WORST date ever. like worst ever. robs i swear to god i wish i could turn back time and never swiped right on him at all. if you ever see me texting him again, throw a microwave at me

Unknown Number: any personal preference or do i just chuck it at you

Steve: chuck it

Steve: robbie i swear it was SO bad

Unknown Number: oh i didn't realize you'd actually think i was your friend

Unknown Number: uh yeah so this is not robbie

Oh. Steve blinked at his phone.

Huh.

That was… unexpected. But not bad, necessarily. Just—Huh.

He stared at the message for a second longer before shaking his head, exhaling through his nose. This was fine. Totally fine.

Steve: oh god

Steve: i'm so sorry wrong number

Unknown Number: it's fine lol

Unknown Number: but how bad was it though, like on a scale of “awkward as hell” to “can the ground swallow me whole?”

Steve hesitated.

He shouldn’t keep talking. He should just apologize again and move on.

But… what else was he doing today?

Steve: definitely “can the ground swallow me whole?” territory

Unknown Number: okay now i'm definitely invested. spill the tea

Steve: dude. he kept on going on and on about his ex, i swear it went on for 30 minutes. THIRTY. MINUTES.

Unknown Number: 🚩🚩🚩 IMMEDIATE red flag, redder than the color red

Steve: RIGHT??? and when he finally stopped he just kept scrolling on his phone

Steve: he was stalking her insta too 😭

Unknown Number: are you fr???

Steve: i wish i was lying but nope

Steve: then when i tried talking about literally anything else other than his ex he’d just respond with “yeah” or “whatever”

Unknown Number: what does that even mean??????

Steve: i have literally no idea

Steve: he even had the NERVE to ask if we would go to his place or mine

Unknown Number: the AUDACITY. the sheer unhinged delusion. did he think he was charming?????

Steve: LMAO stop i can't💀

Unknown Number: i bet he thought you 'd swoon bat your eyelashes and say “oh my god, yes! let's go to another place where you can pretend i'm not there!”

Steve lips curled at the stranger’s response before replying back

Steve: honestly i wouldn't be surprised if he thought that i should be grateful for his presence

Unknown Number: i can't believe you suffered through that

Unknown Number: no wait, you didn't suffer. you endured and you survived. for that you deserve an award. a dramatic opera performance

Steve: i hate how funny you are

Steve grins at his phone.

Unknown Number: you can repay me by continued conversation ;)

Steve: okay but you have to say who you are though

Steve: please don't tell me this is my professor🙏

Unknown Number: lol no definitely not your professor

Unknown Number: but i kinda want to keep it secret now, adds to my mysterious aura

Steve: no hints? :(

Unknown Number: i have hair

Steve: wow that really narrows it down. i totally know who you are.

Unknown Number: good luck finding it out ;)

Steve tilted his head, amused.

There was a pause.

Steve stared at his phone for a second, drumming his fingers against the back of it. He wasn’t sure why, but something about this felt… different. Not bad, just—unexpected.

He should probably just let it go. It wasn’t like it mattered who this guy was, right?

Still.

Steve: so are you gonna give me a real hint or do i just have to suffer

Unknown Number: hmm. suffer sounds fun

Steve let out a small, incredulous laugh, shaking his head. Great. Just his luck to end up texting someone who enjoyed messing with him.

And, okay. Maybe he didn’t mind that much.

The subway car jolted slightly as it began to slow, Steve barely looked up from his phone, used to the way the train moved as it went into the station. The train came to a stop, the doors opening with a mechanical chime, letting in the sound of city noise and passengers.

He stood up getting out and walking to his and Robin’s apartment nearby, glancing at his phone occasionally to check if the stranger texted again.

Steve barely had the door open before Robin’s voice rang out from the couch.

“Finally! What took you so long? Did the date go well?”

Steve groaned, kicking off his shoes and collapsing onto the couch next to her.

“You have no idea. I swear to God, worst date ever.”

Robin gasped dramatically, “Worse than the girl who ordered an expensive meal and made you pay?”

“Way worse”

“Way worse than the one who left you at the bar for three hours?”

“Robin.”

“Okay, okay tell me everything.”

Steve launched into the whole story, how the guy wouldn’t stop talking about his ex, stalking his ex’s instagram, the dry-ass responses and the sheer audacity of asking if they were going to his place or their shared apartment.

“That’s tragic Steve, how are you so unlucky at this?”

“I have no idea man, I guess I just attract weird people.”

“Why didn’t you text me?”

Steve suddenly sat up, remembering. “Oh, speaking of.”

Robin narrowed her eyes.

“So, uh I may or may not have accidentally texted a stranger about it.”

Robin grinned in amusement. “What?”

“I thought it was you!” Steve said defensively. “I haven’t updated my contacts on this phone yet, and I just picked the most recent number in the list.”

Robin stared. “Wait. Hold on. You had a whole conversation with a stranger instead of asking who they were like a normal person?”

Steve shrugged. “They were funny.”

Robin gasped again, dramatically. “Oh my god. You like them.”

“What? No. I dont even know who they are!”

“But you want to”

Steve opened his mouth to reply, then closed it.

Robin grinned, throwing a pillow at him. “You absolute idiot. We’re figuring this out right now.

Steve caught the pillow. “Fine. But if this turns into some embarrassing rom-com nonsense I’m blaming you.”

“Oh it’s already a rom-com, Stevie. You just don’t know it yet.”

Steve sighed, but smiled anyway.

Maybe he did want to know.

[starglitterz]

♡ YOU KNOW YOU LOVE ME!

what was meant to be a simple heist goes awry when you're interrupted by a shockingly cute security guard & a couple of rival art thieves. did you mention that one of them is kind of your ex?

✧ feat ; ayato, childe, diluc, scaramouche x gn!reader (3.6k words)

✧ warnings ; highly suggestive, thief + cop au, robbery, weapons, reader is a tease, one (1) ginger insult, reader loves bullying men (as they should)

✧ a/n ; be gay do crime that's all i have to say! jk HJSDSJD this has been rotting in my drafts for almost THREE years. i reread it and the writing style was so unserious that i suddenly got motivated to continue it and then i finished it in a night. Yeah. anyways this is my #grandcomeback and also first post of 2025! i really hope you all enjoy this :> if it flops i will cry myself to sleep /j btw this was proofread by the loml @musings-of-miss-j who has a SUPERB harbingers series that u should totally check out 🙂‍↕️😋

please reblog with comments ! it helps a lot :)

"hey! you there!" a baritone voice behind you yells, shattering the midnight peace of the museum and jolting you out of your reverie. tightening your grip around the gleaming purple gnosis you came here for, you slip it into your pocket quickly before turning around with a smile that would assure anybody of your innocence. "who? little old me?" you bat your eyes, blinking slowly at the man. your eyes have long adjusted to the darkness, so even with his similarly coloured outfit you're able to pick out the faded gold badge at his chest reading 'diluc'. "what are you doing back here?" his tone doesn't change in the slightest as he flicks his flashlight over to you, the beam practically blinding against the dark surroundings. 

"it appears that i've gotten lost," you laugh awkwardly, doing your best to feign being a naive tourist, "i was told that there were late tours offered at the teyvat museum." diluc still looks exceedingly suspicious, and as his gaze travels behind you your mind snaps into overdrive so he doesn't notice the missing artifact. suddenly bursting into tears, you run forward and bury your face in his shirt, "i! was! so! scared!" you punctuate each word with an even louder wail and he freezes beneath you, the close contact entirely unexpected. "there, there…" he pats your back with the enthusiasm and warmth of a polar ice cap, and with your face hidden in the fabric you permit yourself a triumphant smile - you've managed to divert his attention for now, at least.

"i am so terribly sorry about this," you begin to apologise profusely before looking up at him with teary eyes, "but would you mind walking me to the exit? i'm afraid i'll get lost again." at his hesitant expression you sniffle loudly, exaggerating it as much as possible until he caves, "fine. but stay close, there's been rumours floating around about artifact thieves lately." when he starts marching away, you hurry to catch up and ask curiously as if you aren't one of them, "artifact thieves?!" "yes. the type to steal priceless elements of history and sell them on the black market," he spits with disgust in his eyes. "oh, how terrible! i can't understand why anyone would do that instead of leaving them here for the public to enjoy," you gush, "surely there are other ways to make money." 

yeah, you could become an art thief instead. not that you haven't tried that; you just found it too tedious to craft a believable enough fake and ensure the painting wasn't damaged while sneaking it out. diluc doesn't deign to reply besides a single nod of his head, and you try to start up another conversation, "i suppose you're not the type to befriend random visitors, huh?" the corner of his lips tug up into a barely perceptible smile, "only the ones who appear after closing hours." "can't you make an exception for me?" you wink, though you doubt he can even see it through the darkness blanketing the museum. "hmph," is the only answer you receive, and your chit-chat ends with a dramatic sigh from your end.

to be frank, you couldn't care less whether this ‘diluc’ likes you or not. it's just in your best interests for him to remember you as some flirty ditz who'd leave their head at home if it wasn't screwed on and not a calculating, manipulative burglar. this heist is one to remember for sure though, you don't think you've ever escaped with the goods in your pocket while talking to the security guard on duty. you've knocked them out beforehand and slept with them after, but never during the job, so tonight marks a first for you. 

through your eyelashes, you glance at diluc, absorbing every detail about him in a split second; it's a trick you've learned from years of living on the street where figuring out who's going to hurt you and who won't is crucial for survival. he's pretty enough that you wouldn't mind spending the night with him, with fiery red locks tied neatly into a high ponytail and crimson eyes which sparkle like rubies. perhaps you could make this a double heist and steal his heart too!

your train of thought is interrupted as diluc comes to a halt without warning and you bump into his back (which you note is surprisingly toned). "what-" you start to complain, but he holds a hand up which silences you immediately. "i heard something," he whispers, practically inaudible, and you instantly start to babble, "what?! are they artifact thieves?! are we going to die?!" diluc groans before grabbing you and hiding behind a wall, pulling you flush against his torso as one of his gloved hands covers your mouth, "shut up." 

now this is close contact; you can feel the quick rise and fall of his chest, his racing heartbeat, and his every muscle tensing in preparation for a fight. if you weren't so preoccupied with the fact that this is delaying your getaway, you'd probably make a stupid quip. actually scratch that, you're going to do it anyway, "at least take me on a date first," you mumble as you shrug away his hand, and he looks at you with the most disbelieving expression, "you can still make idiotic comments in a situation like this? you've either got nerves of steel or you're a total dumbass." "depends on your type," you smile, and he drags a palm down his face exasperatedly, "i- you know what, never mind."

"ow!" "shut the fuck up, idiot. it's bad enough that i had to get paired with you, but if you get us caught i'm going to kill you." "rude. you could just ask nicely." "i have no interest in talking to you." "yet here we are." "can you seriously keep quiet? i'm telling the tsaritsa never to put me in a team with you again." "aw, stop, you'll hurt my feelings." "do you even have any of those left?" "hey! i'll have you know i am a very emotional person." "that's like me saying i'm an upstanding member of society."

you freeze in diluc's arms, running through every curse word in every language you know in your mind. you'd recognise those two voices anywhere. out of all the nights the fatui could have been planning a robbery, it had to be tonight?! archons, your luck is awful. "okay, this has been fun and all, but i've got to go," you start wriggling out of his embrace, planning to smash a window and escape because you'd honestly risk getting caught by the cops instead of the fatui. "what?! are you insane?! there are obviously two robbers there," diluc whisper-shouts, brows furrowing in a peculiar mix of confusion and worry. "and i'd prefer not to die, so i'm going to leave before they come here!" you retort, continuing to slide out of his arms. however, he doesn't relax his grip and you roll your eyes before elbowing him in the stomach. the sudden attack surprises him and he lets go with a groan, which is more than enough time for you to make a break for it.

unfortunately, diluc delayed you long enough that you end up running right into the two fatui members' line of vision. "wait, who are you?!" one of them asks, and the other one continues, "turn around, or i'll shoot you right now." fuck, is all you can think as you slowly rotate to face them with a sheepish smile, perhaps they wouldn't recognise you. "hey, aren't you y/n?!" well, there goes that plan. "no…? who's that?" "nah, you definitely are," the ginger walks towards you slowly before tilting your chin up to face him with his index finger. the game's up, so you sigh, "hey, childe... it's been a while." 

"i knew it was you! i'd know that pretty face of yours anywhere," he beams gleefully, and you smirk, "you still find me pretty? never knew you had a thing for criminals." "i do, it's my fatal flaw," he frowns before continuing, "except when they steal my money, in which case they become my enemies instead." double fuck. he still remembers that. "it wasn't that much! just about ten million mora or so, i know you've got tons left where that came from," you hurry to defend yourself. "that's not the point! the point is that you stole my money after i oh-so-kindly let you stay in my house!" childe says, and you're not taking this one lying down, "liar! you invited me over after you saw me at the bar!"

"can you both shut up? i'm losing braincells just listening to this shit," scaramouche cuts in, rolling his eyes so far back you swear they're going to get stuck that way. "really? because when you opened your mouth i think my iq just dropped by 10 points," you retort. scaramouche gapes at you for a second, clearly not used to someone talking back to him. "take a picture, it'll last longer," you wink, feeling the situation slide itself back into your grasp once more; you aren't planning on going down without a fight. "i don't have a kamera, and anyway who wants photos of dead people?" he fumbles for a reply and childe snickers, "cat got your tongue, scara?" "more like y/n's got your wallet," the balladeer jabs back, a smug grin curving his lips at the witty reply. childe's eyes widen at the insult, "hey! i'll have you know that i gave it to them willingly-"

taking advantage of the argument between the two of them, you unhook a rope from your waist and toss it up to the skylight. you're in the common center area of the museum, which has a square gap up to the roof and offers you a perfect shot for your hook to sail upwards and catch at the ledge. the instant you press a button the cord retracts, pulling you up with it. "and now y/n's getting away! so long, suckers!" you cheer as you zip upwards. "isn't that my line?!" you hear scaramouche yell as they scramble to find a way after you. seconds before you slam into the window like an unfortunate bug, you pull out a gun and shoot the glass, watching with glee as a spiderweb of cracks forms across it. thanks to the momentum of you gliding through the air, your boots easily smash through it when you kick harshly as you reach it, and you land with a loud thud on the roof. "ouch," you groan, "that's going to leave a bruise tomorrow." glancing at your surroundings, you inhale the fresh night air stained with the smog from all the polluting factories and listen to the buzz of the highways, busy even past midnight, "nothing like the city."

just then, you hear a thump behind you, and then a deep voice that sounds strangely familiar, "you'll be admiring it from a prison window after this." you spin around sharply, and the sight nearly makes you fall off the edge of the building with surprise, "diluc?!" at this, he freezes, and it's evident that he thought his disguise would be more than enough to conceal his identity. with a cough, he says, "no, i'm the darknight hero." "no, you're clearly diluc. i just met you like fifteen minutes ago and even i can recognise your hair in that stupid suit, it practically glows," you fold your arms over your chest, making idle conversation while your mind races to come up with an idea to save yourself. "my suit isn't stupid," diluc can't stop himself from defending his outfit, just because he had barely any sewing skills did not give you the right to insult the piece of clothing. "it's literally a mask and a black coat." 

"back to the matter at hand," diluc- sorry, the darknight hero, clears his throat loudly, clearly eager to change the topic, "you're under arrest." "oh yeah? since when are you a cop?" "i'm not." "then you obviously don't have the power to arrest me, idiot." smarting from yet another insult, diluc tries his best to maintain his composure, "i meant that i'm going to take you in to the police station and then you'll be under arrest." "should have just said that," you shrug, and you can almost see diluc fighting to rein his temper in - this is too easy.

"okay, well, this actually hasn't been fun at all, so i'm leaving," you turn around again and stroll away, hoping that there'll be a ladder on the edge of the roof. you don't really see a diluc as a threat, because to be honest he seems more like a kid playing dress-up. what kind of self-respecting adult who cared as much for the law as he did would choose to be a vigilante? maybe if he got a better costume you could take him seriously. and that turned out to be a huge mistake on your part, because the next moment, a lasso whizzes through the air and loops around your ankles, quickly pulling into a deadknot that would take you ages to untie. 

you want to throw a tantrum, crying and stomping your feet at diluc, but what good would that do when this issue sprung from your own cockiness? "listen, how much do you want? i'll give it to you, any amount. i know how much security guards make, and trust me, it'll be nothing compared to what i could give you," the words spill out of your mouth in a jumble, and you seem to take on the role of a confident salesman selling a product you know is worthless. it's embarrassing how much this sounds like a plea. "i don't want money. i want the streets and artifacts of teyvat to be safe from people like you," diluc ignores your further attempts at bribing him, although he does give you a strange look when you offer up a kiss, as if he's genuinely considering it. does this man actually get no bitches?

“ah, a kiss, hm? is that what you want?” you lean forward almost desperately, grinning at him like a maniac, “c’mon, mr darknight hero! i promise i’m a really good kisser~” you lick your lips as if to prove your point, and your smirk deepens when his ruby gaze follows the motion. “just give me a second to touch up my lipstick, ‘kay?” while he’s still stunned from your offer, you fumble in your pocket and pull out a taser. diluc only snaps back into action when he sees the weapon clutched in your hands, and though he dodges, you manage to stumble forward without your bound ankles and ram the buzzing probes into his chest. 

a strange noise, a mixture of a whimper and a groan escapes his throat as he falls to his knees in front of you, body twitching like a dying bug. rummaging in his pockets, you find a knife and giggle as you slice through the ties on your legs, “see? this is why it’s always great to have men on their knees for you. i forgot my knife today, so i hope you’ll be okay with me borrowing this.” as he glares at you through blurry vision, a mockingly pitiful smile curves your lips and you pat his head like you’re petting an overzealous guard dog, “now be a good boy and stay here, okay, diluc? ah, sorry, i mean mr darknight hero!” dipping your head, you press a fleeting kiss to his cheek, relishing in his flustered gasp, “i’ll give you a proper kiss next time~” you burst into laughter and skip off, leaving him tied up and blushing with the same restraints he had used on you. 

“why is this stupid place so big?!” you mutter to yourself as you whiz across the rooftop. the museum is under renovation, so a lot of the walls of the rear wing are covered in scaffolding and tarp that only serve to slow you down as you try to escape. you’re seriously regretting being a cheapskate earlier and not parking at the official parking lot, instead you had hid your getaway car almost a kilometre away from the location just to avoid a parking fee. don’t judge! things like this are how rich people stay rich. but just as you’re skidding across the glass-roofed observatory, you hear a familiar voice behind you. 

“not so fast, thief.”

you groan as exaggeratedly as you can, making a big show of how troublesome it is for you to turn around, “hello again, childe. hat guy.” “my name is scaramouche!” he seethes, scowling at you with a glare furious enough to thaw antarctica. “listen, y/n,” childe steps forward, raising both hands in magnanimous surrender, “let’s make a deal.” “not interested.” you stick your tongue out, slowly backing away. childe continues as if he didn’t hear you, but the twitch in his brow is enough to give away his act, “you give us the gnosis, and i’ll forget all about the money you owe me.” “i don’t owe you, genius,” you scoff, “i stole it. i’m obviously not going to repay it.” “you really are an idiot,” scaramouche massages his temples, looking for all the world like he’d rather be anywhere else on earth than here at this moment.

“well!” childe puffs himself up, pretending that his ego isn’t hurt, “i thought you and i had chemistry, y’know? we could hang out again if you just give me the gnosis.” his voice drops an octave lower to emphasise his last few words, and you feel a familiar shiver up your spine. “childe, we slept together once, and sleeping with a ginger was not one of my proudest moments,” you retort, though you feel a twinge of guilt as childe fusses with his hair, “hey! uncalled for!” to be honest, he’s not wrong. the two of you did have chemistry, and the night you spent together was… well, let’s just say you could barely walk the next day. but dating isn’t your style, especially not when it’s someone who belongs to a rival group in the world of art theft. you  prefer one night stands – it’s easier to keep things simple with no strings attached. 

“just give us the gnosis, and we won’t kill you. is that a better deal?” scaramouche interrupts, evidently tired of childe beating around the bush. “scara! i was this close to getting them to crack!” childe pouts, and scaramouche rolls his eyes heavenward – if there was ever a time for him to believe in the gods, it would be now as he prays for mercy from his partner’s stupidity. “you’re cracked in the head if you think so,” scaramouche drags a palm down his face and sighs, “you only think with your dick.” “what?!” childe’s aghast at this accusation, “that’s not true!” “i think it is.” you helpfully supply, and that draws both men’s attention back to you.

“whatever! just hand us the gnosis, and things won’t get messy.” childe withdraws his blades, and you realise he’s finally getting serious. scaramouche steps closer as well, and you can’t move backwards anymore, you’re already teetering on the ledge. a fall from this height definitely wouldn’t leave you in the best condition. it’s too early for you to die, you haven’t even seen your favourite artist live yet! “fine. you want it?” you pull the gnosis out from your pocket and a wicked smirk graces your features, “then come and get it~!” you toss the item up in the air, letting the way it sparkles in the moonlight speak for itself as you lean backwards and salute, “see you on the other side, losers!” 

with that, you fall off the roof while scaramouche and childe fumble to catch the gnosis.

“hey! that dumbass!” childe rushes to the edge to check on you, only to realise that… you aren’t there?! contrary to what he expected, your bloody corpse isn’t lying there. you’re climbing down the scaffolding like a monkey, weaving in and out of the metal bars until you reach the ground. looking back up at him, childe thinks he can make out a final playful wink before you hop into a black car that’s just pulled up at the back. behind him, scaramouche yells, “childe!” “what is it now, balladeer- what?!” the gnosis is shattered on the stone roof, shards of purple and silver gleaming in a manner that almost seems taunting. “it was a fucking fake!” scaramouche yells, kicking the broken pieces furiously, and childe can’t stop the lovestruck expression that plays across his face, “y/n really is a master thief…” “snap out of it, idiot! what are we going to tell the boss?!”

meanwhile, you’re in the passenger seat of an inconspicuous black car, chuckling to yourself as you toy with the real gnosis. “you’re lucky i told you to bring more than one imitation,” a suave voice sounds from the driver’s seat, “and that i was there to save you.” “thank you, oh great master ayato,” you giggle, pretending to bow, “you’re a lifesaver. literally.” he smirks, gloved fingers tapping idly against the steering wheel, “you could have been in and out. you just like playing too much.” “hey!” you whine dramatically, “it’s not my fault the security guard was so cute!” “hmm…” he reaches out and tilts your chin to face his piercing blue eyes, “don’t say stuff like that or i’ll get jealous, you know?” “s-shut up.” you pout, folding your arms across your chest and turning away to look out the window, “just drive, you blue-haired weirdo.” “that’s no way to talk to your boss now, is it?” he laughs goodnaturedly as the two of you speed away, “i just wish i could be there to see the look on captain wriothesley’s face when he realises it was us again.” 

© starglitterz 2025. do not repost or modify in any way – reblog / follow if you enjoyed !

[starberry-cupcake]

it took me so long to be able to sit down and recap that I had to scroll a lot to find my draft

previously in nona del 9:

this happened (including a very unexpected thing I predicted)

this is the general tag (where you can find out how long I've started predicting that and how unaware I was of what I was doing)

CHAPTER 28 (cracked sixth skull!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! noooooo!!!!!!)

nona wakes up disoriented like jonas in dark

someone says "Chill" and I know immediately it's probably gideon

nona

(aka ice cube barbie, I guess, but we're gonna call her nona while she's behaving as such)

(I did guess that one right as well, that one I'm more proud of than the ice cube barbie nickname)

finds herself in a truck that's in a tunnel

and indeed gideon is there, staring at her

gideon asks nona "where is she?", which I think means where's harrow

wouldn't all of us like to know

she also asks "do you love her?" which kind of leaves nona totally confused

and pyrrha tells gideon to "take a walk"

but I'm on gideon's side tbh

because for all intents and purposes, from gideon's pov, she finds harrow's body (after having occupied it briefly) and has this random ice cube barbie in it and she's like

it isn't her fault that everyone got attached to nona while she wasn't there and that nobody has the same attachment to harrow that she does

like, I know allegedly some of them care about harrow (idk how much pyrrha does, but most of the surviving canaan gang might, minus judith) but nobody has the same link to her that gideon does

are you gonna tell me camilla would have behaved differently if this was about palmolive's body being used (and potentially killed) by an ice cube barbie? if she didn't know where actual palmolive was? or pyrrha with og!gideon? I don't think

am I being too defensive on gideon's behalf when nobody asked me to? maybe so

anyway, pyrrha back off, thank you

pyrrha looks like she's half past dead and very tired, but don't we all

pyrrha also tells gideon to "stop being a little shit" to which gideon replies with "it's genetic" and that got a chuckle out of me ngl

pyrrha is about to call nona "A—" (which might be AL, etc.) and nona freaks out and tells her that she doesn't want to remember

nona also has some necro stuff on her that's meant to keep her in harrow's body as long as possible

also, nona snaps at pyrrha and acts more like ice cube barbie would, with the things she tells her and how she says it

she's very upset

taunting pyrrha for acting like a family and saying "you should have given into your desires and eaten us"

she also asks pyrrha to let her die

btw, turns out they found the sixth thanks to the kiddie intel

most hard working characters in the whole series

especially kevin

pyrrha is also again with her pessimism saying "I'm not sure any of us are getting out of this one"

not with that attitude, pyrrha

nona then looks around at the sixth, helped by pyrrha, who carries her, and notices that most of them have been blinded

camilla is in a wheelchair with chad!palmolive behind her

palmolive is very nervous about how his mom is going around making friends with every BOE person she meets

we missed palmolive's mom, she's great

palmolive says yandere twin is getting lively and kicking, which makes it sound like him and chad are expecting

pyrrha says palmolive is too lively, which means he knows something she doesn't

as if that didn't happen all the time since we've met the man

he always knows something we don't

and he's not very good at giving a heads up about it

we suffer is also feeling like pyrrha so, not good

palmolive and camilla are again discussing plans nobody has any idea about, basically mentioning the escape and that gideon helped with some specifications

BOE is trying to do what they can with the heralds and whatnot but it's not looking great

so, palmolive says they need to put the sixth house back in the truck

palmolive's plan is to go through the river, take everyone to the nine houses and find the sixth they parked outside the star system

this is pyrrha after hearing the plan

palmolive and camilla have a plan to make this happen and he asks for camilla's family to be present, but she wants just her sister because her dads wouldn't "understand"

this is me rn

especially because camilla is looking very weak and that doesn't align with my fantasy

pyrrha catches up with what they're trying to do and gives a moving speech so that they don't do it ("you've been stand-ins for something I haven't had for longer than either of you can understand")

but we all know that if palmolive and camilla have decided something, it's done

camilla says "Just watch us", which proves my point

pyrrha kisses them on the mouth also

the invited party come in, with coronabeer also there, looking very tense

palmolive and camilla go sit on the floor together and camilla is feeling really tired

it's time to start the prayer circle, familia

nona tried to get closer but she almost falls flat on her face and gideon is still trying to act like she doesn't deeply care about her besties

then, the emotional speeches begin

"the perfect friendship, the perfect love. I cannot imagine reaching the end of this life and having any regrets, so long as I had been allowed to experience being your adept"

"will she know who we are, in the River?" "I truly think we see ourselves and each other as we really are"

"but say yes, and we will make this end, and this beginning, together"

"My whole life, yes. Yes, forever, yes. Life is too short and love is too long."

"Don't look back. Whatever you do, don't look back."

CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT FOR THIS AMAZING QPR???

CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT AND APPRECIATE THAT????

WE LOVE TO SEE IT

WE HATE TO SEE IT UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT ALSO WE LOVE TO SEE IT DEPICTED

so, after all that, camilla bursts into flames spontaneously

yes, ok, so

WHAT THE FUCK

she rolls around, stands up, rolls around some more, becomes featureless and, eventually, the flames die

they ROASTED my WIFE

I'm fine, I'M FINE, I'M TRUSTING THE PROCESS

then, the figure stands up, naked, and asks for clothes, as if nothing had just happened

we suffer gives them her coat and nona notices an emotionless expression on them

nona says they have camilla's figure and features, but new eyes and face

NEW EYES, YOU GUYS

but nona notices that the new person isn't quite camilla nor are they quite palmolive

they march towards the inert body of yandere chad and take the handkerchief from them

they give it to nona as a birthday gift because, as we guessed, the birthday party is cancelled

not for a lack of guests, because nona is back in the gang

but the whole imminent disaster for the planet is making it quite difficult to host a party there

yandere chad wakes up and says "So there was another way, Sextus, after all"

and the new person offers yandere chad to come with and says "We are the love that is perfected by death—but even death will be no more; death can also die. There's still time, Ianthe. Time for you, and for Naberius Tern."

yandere chad says "I bet you say that to all the boys" before dropping vacant again

YOU HEARD OF CAMILLA AND PALMOLIVE

YOU HEARD OF CAMOLIVE

NOW GET READY FOR

CAMOLYCTOR

CHAPTER 29 (first house skull, means I'm in danger)

the sixth goes back into the truck without any complaints, which means every single one of them are saints, because I'd probably rather die at that point

that takes away points from my sixth house test

camolyctor doesn't need a wheelchair or medication anymore in their new camolyctor state

they actually go around healing people with a touch or two

which is perfect because I'm writing this recap on easter

if there was a day to talk about the resurrection, amirite

but everything is fine, and not only because camilla somewhat survived and my potential sixth qpr polycule is packaged in one container

but because NOODLE IS HERE

angel teacher and yandere pash are also there, but it's not as important as noodle being there

and yandere pash says they're coming with, because angel teacher decided that they are

I'm gonna have to put up with yandere pash for longer

but I'd love to see how her and gideon get along

(I hope not well, for my personal entertainment)

(playing with two dolls and making them fight)

(I hope gideon throws hands with her cousin)

(here's where all the yandere pash fans come for me, I've been here before, I know how it is)

angel teacher says "we" exist and that makes them a "liability"

STILL DON'T KNOW HOW THIS VET IS SO IMPORTANT

I've had theories about things before, some I got right, others I got wrong, but I'm lost with this one

I don't even have a theory for this one

she says she's the messenger, that the message has two parts and nona is looking at one of those parts, which is "aim", passed to her from her predecessor "Emma Sen"

she says the message is too easy for humans to understand and asks if nona knows

but nona is as lost as I am

"aim high?" "aim true?" "aim to the emperor's head?" that one isn't two words

I wondered if "emma sen" was also some kind of a message, since they call this one "aim" and that's a message in itself, allegedly

but so far, I'm nowhere with this

I assume nona aka ice cube barbie is gonna get it when she has to and not before

meanwhile, nona is becoming more and more paralyzed

and pyrrha says "I think it's time we wake you up"

KNOCK KNOCK TOMB

she wasn't there when harrow got there but, at this point, what do I know

barbie facts, apparently, that's what I know

god I hate that jonman and I were on the same wavelength about some things

was his mom the one who stole my hollywood hair barbie?

where was jonbutt's mom in the 90s and was it a camping site in south america

gideon was already in the cockpit when they get there and pyrrha goes "Hey, kid"

pyrrha, which is it? are you nona's dadmom or gideon's dadmom, you can't pick both sides

gideon finding out her heritage in the worst time like jon snow and being like "thanks, I hate it"

camolyctor comes in with the commander, coronabeer and judith, who's looking a bit better but still needs to support herself on coronabeer

or maybe they don't need to do that but they want to cuddle

it's all good

we suffer says she's leaving them with the entire hope for BOE, which, no pressure

she gives them Protocol One which, for them, means "live"

camolyctor chooses a name that isn't camolyctor, which is what I'd like to keep calling them

they choose paul

because palmolive is probably a fan of dune

he read the books and likes the new movies more than the 84 one but likes kyle maclachlan more than timmy chammy as paul atreides

why do I keep using these recaps to post headcanons about palmolive's potential takes on media????????

anyway, we suffer says goodbye to the gang and to camolyctor paul atreides

and says she's gonna give a special goodbye to palmolive's mom who has learned a lot of the names of the BOE already

we love palmolive's mom

coronabeer is like "Paul...Hect?" and they're like

gideon also tries to get into the nickname game and suggests "u lap" and "aulp" but camolyctor it is

they're a better, improved and not dub con version of a lyctor, but the name fits for me

everyone looks worried except for camolyctor paul atreides, who is just chill

have no idea what that would feel like

they start driving but, at that moment, nona gets interrupted by a john chapter

which means she's unconscious???

JOHN 5:4

"From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had."

ok then

happy easter

dr reverend emperor john cringe is now on a beach and writing initials in the sand

he writes a J and an E, then changes it for an A and then for an H

earth, annabelle lee and harrow????

I started my earth theory about 16 chapters in

not sure exactly how harrow fits into all this

if it's not a harrow thing precisely or if, because she's a baby blender, harrow has a connection to ice cube barbie and is why she could see her

like, when her parents did the thing they did, the mini resurrection and all that, and also she got some of gideon's battery power through it, maybe she also got something from the tomb because it was right there

alleged harrow asks about what it means to love god as a child of the ninth

which might be the first (?) direct time she references something harrow-related

dr reverend emperor john says that "after this" she'll resurrect "them"

"The ones I left, I'll bring back. I know I can. Even G—. In fact, G—'ll be the easiest–he won't remember the compound–none of them will have to remember anything."

I'm sure this will solve the fact that you're both a cringe man and unhinged

making everyone forget how cringe and unhinged you are

it's not as if we clocked it the moment you showed up

(it's been over a year of these recaps, it's taking me some sweet ass time, you guys are patient)

"I did need to do it"

his story also isn't aligning with some details, it seems he detonated everything before og!gideon's bomb went off, but he forgot to cover that for a second

he says there can be no forgiveness but doesn't specify for whom

he goes "do you remember what happens now?" and harrow stands up

she isn't "alleged harrow" anymore, now she's named harrow for real

and she goes "through her, I've seen it", which means she did somewhat connect to ice cube barbie, probably by the end of book 2 and all that

she says dr reverend emperor john always resets things on his terms and with whoever he sees fit

and that he needs ice cube barbie for it and she can't die if he doesn't

ice cube barbie is only scared of dying

"I saw the face of the Earth and the chocked life out of it and ate it whole"

I WAS ON THE RIGHT TRACK, BABY!!!

he knew the others turned into RBs, and that they would come for him

I assume ice cube barbie isn't one because he kept her in that form

so he brought back his gang to help him fight while he hid

he says something will satisfy them eventually but nothing will ever satisfy him

"that's all the end of the Earth was...making things clean. It gets dirty again, you clean it again."

isn't that a speech I've heard a million times and an ethical, moral, social and political red flag

but harrow is here for the receipts

"I want to understand the mathematics, now that I have seen them for myself. I want to know how many of the Resurrection are left, and how many you begun with, and what the discrepancies are. I want to know where you put them. They didn't go into the River. I want to know why she was angry...and why you were terrified."

"perhaps, the child of the Nine Houses will recognize a different divine"

harrow says she needs to find god even if she "lies, right now, within the Tomb"

so harrow goes into the river

and she sees a tower somewhere in the distance, appearing from the water

she steps into the river and decides to start there

and I'd love her to go to the tomb because our gang is going to the tomb so maybe we can sort out this body-soul freaky friday situation we've got going on here

AND THAT'S IT!!! It's very late but I wanted to finally finish this recap so I can keep reading later this week, fingers crossed ♥

[buryhny]

One Night Stand ; 19

➥ rundown ; as if the unexpected twist of a one-night stand turning out to be your CEO boss wasn't surreal enough, the situation takes a more challenging turn when both of you discover that you're expecting his child.

→ genre ; enemies to lovers | CEO au | pregnancy trope | slowburn

→ Jungkook x y/n → contains smut, fluff and angst → Chapter nineteen ; wc | 3.2 k

primarily on Wattpad

index ⇢ next chapter

Who's awake at 4 am? Jungkook. he'd not gotten any sleep. He was up the whole night but managed to doze off a few times before he woke up to do his yoga. he'd woken up earlier for another reason, and that was to prepare breakfast for you before he left for work.

he didn't plan on making a toast or some ham and egg. Instead, he decided to go with a light meal, something easy and healthy to start your day off with. 'Doenjang Guk,' a soya bean paste soup. It's easy to cook and has marvellous health benefits. Besides, he was in a mood for soup anyway.

Jungkook took his time with the vegetables and the meat, which he cooked well, taking no risk with undercooked meat for you. He was satisfied with it, anyone could tell by his face. the scrunched, angry face that he makes when he enjoys the taste of food. he packed it with heat warmers so it didn't lose its warmth by the time he took it to your place, and then he took a shower and dressed up for work.

he planned to send the food over to yours by his driver then realized that it wouldn't be safe and he wanted to see you anyway, just in case...

Jungkook decided to drive himself to work today. He's planning on doing this until you're back at his place, so he won't have to travel back and forth to get your meals. It's almost 7 a.m., and he's standing in front of your door, waiting for you to answer the doorbell. 'Oh, she's fast asleep, I'm disturbing her.' One ring....then comes another...

but he's not answered. In one mind, he feels terrible that he's disturbing your sleep, and the other mind says that he should be concerned. but when he hears the keys clang, he's relieved after he meets your puffy face and dishevelled hair. your eyes are barely left open, you stand in front of him with a long shirt that covers your knees and half the buttons undone, revealing the top of your growing bump.

"What?" You ask him almost instantly, like he's a random sanitation worker who's here to collect last week's garbage. He wants to laugh at how awfully you communicate in the mornings. That being said, you're way too grumpy.

"breakfast? remember?" You rubbed your eyes, and they opened slightly, and then you nodded. "You didn't have to, but thanks."

"You are very ungrateful." "I'm just sleepy." You instantly answer, even when you're half awake, you've still got that never-back-down attitude. he hands over the little bag to you, that's got your freshly handmade soup that he'd done just for you as well as some cooked rice and kimchi if you felt like having it as a side dish.

"There's some soup, so warm it before you have it." He advises you, and you quickly nod while letting out a yawn, leaning on the door frame and leaving out breathes. he watches you while your eyes are closed. It's funny how you're his total opposite.

His type is someone who would wake him up at 4 am for yoga, and then there's you. That's exactly why he can never think of you for anything more. "Hey, don't sleep here, panda. get inside." "mmhmm."

you hum and try to turn around but slowly lose balance. 'Oh my god, this woman.' he thinks. The truth is, you spent the whole damn night watching tv and having snacks. you waited until he left the building, you put on the movie 'Damsel'

and if that was not enough, you even watched a couple of the movies that were newly released while munching on your craving, pizza-flavoured Pringles. you fell asleep at 4:45, so you're bound to be feeling drowsy at 7 am. "careful-" he hissed when you lost balance.

"I'm alright." You put your hands higher to let him know that it was nothing. "I'll bring you lunch. Let me know if you want anything in particular. Drop a text or- call? anything." "Sure, sure. good night." you close the door and waddle back to your room after placing the warm soup on your marble kitchen counter.

Jungkook chuckled and took the elevator to drive back to the office. He's gonna have a hard time concentrating at work after seeing you looking absolutely hilarious this morning.

-

The heating pad had kept the soup warm enough for it to savour the taste. You sat down on the couch and turned on the television, choosing a Netflix show while you had your late breakfast. one mouthful of the soup allowed hums to leave out of your lips, so you closed your eyes and leaned back on the sofa.

"Can the day get any better than this soup?" you ask yourself and continue to gulp down the liquid, occasionally pairing some kimchi with it but you've totally forgotten about the damn show that's been played because all your focus is solely on the broth.

you cleaned the dishes and took down a mental note to yourself to thank Mr Jeon Jungkook for this heavenly food because yes, this is a zillion times better than the convenience store and has surely made your child active too, cause you can feel yourself being super hype right now. The baby has a month left until it starts

its own karate show with all that kicking and movements that you'll be able to feel. Right now, it's not very evident although you feel something. When you got back to the show, you received a text message from the one and only Jungkook.

[ From Jungkook ]

Are you awake?

Did you have the soup?

[ y/n ]

Good afternoon, Mr Jeon, I did have

it just now, so there's no need for lunch, please.

[ From Jungkook ]

You shouldn't have breakfast this late.

You missed your pills, too, i'm sure.

welps, you did forget to have it.

[ y/n ]

Ooops-

[ From Jungkook ]

i'll just get an early dinner for you then, What would you like to have? Anythng in particular?

you're completely full, and the food is at the brim of your body, so no, you can't even think about food.

[ y/n ]

anything you like is fine, thanks.

-

it's almost 6 pm, and Jungkook can't stop looking at the clock while he's at the meeting. the meeting held today is very important, in fact, it's gonna be brilliant for the reputation and sales of Jeon Industries but somehow the CEO himself has not quite paid attention to whatever that the investors and staff had been discussing, instead, he's busy counting the seconds to 6;10pm so when the clock strikes it, he can leave.

"What's your opinion on this, Mr. Jeon?" Jungkook abruptly turns and sighs, watching his fingers twitch it at the sudden question. "uh- I think it's perfect. we should get started on this." "Started on what?" Jungkook licked his lips, reconsidering what the damn question was again. 'Wasn't my opinion asked on starting this project?'

"uh- the project?" "Mr. Jeon, we were discussing the timing for our next meeting held this Friday. The project should be finalized there." fuck- "Ohh, right, absolutely, Mr. Won! The timing is perfect. What was it again?" "8pm?"Yes, 8 is great. all sorted? thanks for your time, Mr Won. I shall see you on Friday."

Jungkook rose from his seat and walked out of the room, leaving everyone in confusion. "shit- I need to leave." he told himself. "Mr. Jung, I've got somewhere to be. Check my files and email me the rest of it that has to be signed for tomorrow." "Sure, Mr Jeon.''

He grabbed his office bag and took the elevator to get to the ground floor. He knows exactly what he's gonna get for dinner, and you're gonna love it. He can't wait for it. "Hello? is my order ready?" "Yes, Mr Jeon." "I'm on my way." he drove to the restaurant, picked up his packaged food, paid for it, and was set to drive to yours.

it's been in Jungkook's mind throughout last night, so he's very much excited about this. He'd hoped you didn't have a specific food in mind so he could get this, and it worked. You actually didn't want to have anything in specific that was in his favour. There now he stands in front of the door, ringing the doorbell, waiting for you to answer the door.

"Who is it?" You ask and try to check from the little peephole, but it is black. so you opened the door and poked your head outside and then sighed in relief. "Why did you cover the hole?" "Can't i?" "You don't do that." You let him walk inside, and he did, placing the plastic bags of food on the coffee table in front of the blush pink couch that you own. "Well, what are all these?"

"Dinner." Your eyes sparkled as you looked at his back while he removed his loafers and placed them at the corner of the door and then turned to face you. "Wait, I texted you what i was craving, and i don't think my message was read." Jungkook's expression dropped.

He definitely didn't get what you wanted because he did not check his phone for the last hour, and he knows you're gonna be disappointed by his choice of food. his eyes look around in sadness, like a little puppy.

you sit on the couch and open up the food that he got because damn you're hungry like a pack of wolves. Pregnancy appetite is no joke! Jungkook grew closer to you as he bit on his lips and blinked fast. He felt disheartened. one, because he didn't get what you wanted so you won't be satisfied and two, he got what he liked so again you're not gonna like it, probably?

you've been craving for this one thing after you watched the damn tv series and you craved it so much that you tried to check for it on the food delivery app and they did have it but it was fucking expensive so you felt guilty and then you thought you could try making

it then you realized you didn't have all the ingredients to make it, and not gonna lie you even shed a few tears because you searched for easier 5 min recipes that were similar to that but there wasn't any but then your fyp was filled with food similar to that so you felt so sad that you cried for about 5 minutes and then out of no choice you texted him. pregnancy is bullshit, you thought to yourself while crying over a stupid plate of food. you opened the plastic box and- "oh my god??!!!! you got itttt?????"

you screamed and immediately got on your feet to hug him. It was Pesto alla Genovese that you were craving for. The one that Jungkook prepared for you when you first moved with him to his place. your hands were tied around his neck as you hugged him, Jungkook leans down to your height for the way you are holding his neck and pulling him down. he can feel something poking his stomach,

so he looks down only to notice your belly touching his stomach, the closeness between the two of you had his breathing getting higher and faster by each millisecond and you are unconsciously hugging him while yapping about how much you were craving for this the whole evening. he's unsure if he should hug you back or keep his hands to himself but he's stiff and by the time he does anything, it's too late. "you have no idea-"

you get a lack of response from him, so when you stop talking you realise that it's so quiet in the room and that you're really really close to him. you soon pulled out your arms from him, still standing in front of him, right there. you didn't want this to be awkward even though the man standing forward you are extremely stiff. "uh-" you blink multiple times, regretting your life decisions because what did you just do right now?

'shit- what should I say- say something Jungkook, don't just stand like that. she's never gonna hug you again if you continue to make this whole situation uncomfortable.'

"Wait, so this is what you craved for?!" he soon asked you with his eyes larger than it was, showing you that he was genuinely so happy that he got what you wanted. you nodded your head, leaving a distance between the two of you. "Yes, you did see my texts!!" "No, I did not, I promise." You looked at him, with squinting eyes. He put his hands up, showing you that he did not lie. "Oh man, this is girl's dinner!" Jungkook huffed. "Girls' dinner?"

"The ones who watch Tiktok would know, unlike you." "You think I don't have TikTok? I do." "Never seen you use it." "Well, you haven't seen anything about me, yet." "don't want to, anyway." "eat your food." He quits the little bickering between the two of you, while you open up the other packaging.

there's not just one pasta, there's pumpkin ravioli, and spinach gnocchi with extra cheese too??! you took deep breaths of all the food and tried hard not to pass out cause it all smelled so divine, it's making your pregnancy hormones go a merry-go-round.

"What is this? you gonna kill me with all this pasta. but I'm starving, even though I had your soup, had some bread with strawberry jam, then had some Cheetos with some spread an-" "Eat up already!" "i can't find a for-" "let me get one for you." he walked to the counter and pulled out the drawers finding the cutlery.

"it's the second drawer." he opened it and found a couple inside, grabbing one fork for you he washed it with some dishwasher and then handed it over to you. "it's warm, have it now."

you poked it into the spaghetti that was coated in the pesto sauce and slurped it up. "mm mmm mmm." you hummed and continued to push more and more pasta into your mouth, your mouth being full, you still managed to poke the gnocchi and swallowed the pasta so fast, Jungkook was damn worried that you would accidentally choke. "careful tiger, the food won't run away." he smiled with his eyes.

his eyes smiled before his lips did, watching you eat so happily, humming with each bite, giggling at the mess you've made on the table and your face. the sauce covering your chin and nose. Jungkook loves his sight, it's too beautiful to look away. watching you eat, is on his favourite list.

might be in his top 5. "this may be 5 stars but yours is 10. I said what I said!" you threw your hands up, looking at him with that smile, but all that green and white sauce around your mouth had only made you look much much more adorable. "Is it?" "Of course it is! A big ass ten!" he puts his hands inside his pockets and leans against the wall, to watch you longer.

His eyes show warmth and softness towards you, he's looking at you so gently like he found a part of himself in you. He feels satisfied, he feels full just by watching you eat like a little lion cub.

"don't just stand there like a creep, join me." "it's all for you-" "Come now." you pat the seat beside you and he walks over to you, sitting next to you. "eat with me." he nods and then continues to take off the coat of his suit, leaving him with his white shirt. "I'll grab a fork for myself." He gets one for himself,

and you pass the pasta to him. He still can't stop looking at you, you're such a messy eater, he's holding back his laugh. you look over at him and raise your eyebrow. "what?" "it's nothing-"

"What?" he takes a tissue out of the plastic bag and grows closer to you, pasting the tissue to your face. "clean your face." you rolled your eyes at him and wiped off all the cream that was around your mouth. "Here, try the ravioli." "not a fan of pumpkin, you have it-" "What? No, you have to try it!"

you pricked a few from your fork and brought it closer to his mouth. "I'm good y/n-" "Try it-" "No I'm-" The pasta slipped off the fork and fell on his white shirt. you gasped and soon picked it up, but the shirt was already stained.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry-" "Hey-" you grabbed the tissue, pulling him closer to wipe it off. 'the shirt is probably from an extremely expensive brand, and you just ruined it y/n.' you think to yourself and continue to get the yellowness off his cloth. Jungkook looks at you, he sees the worry in your eyes but he doesn't mind it. he's got a lot of shirts, this isn't his only white. "I'm so sorry-'' "Hey, it's alright y/n. let me do it-" "No, I made this mess, I'm gonna clean it." you got a glass of water and a wet towel, to get it off faster.

The water had wet his chest and allowed it to be seen through now, his skin showing off the wet material. the colour just doesn't seem to go away! "remove your shirt-" "What??!!" "Remove it, it needs soap, its colour is just getting worse." "but-" "Fast! now!" he stood up and unbuttoned it, removing the shirt off,

he handed it over to you. you soon ran to the washroom to get it clean. while Jungkook stands in the living room, feeling cold as goosebumps rise, due to the cold temperature of the air conditioner.

Since it's weird to just stand here, he walks to your bedroom, the only bedroom here anyway. you've created a little place for yourself, the number of plushies sitting on the bed with fairy lights surrounding the wall with fake leaves. Your bedside table had books and your pills on it and the little mirror was decorated with stickers and lipstick kisses which were probably yours.

He poked his head inside the washroom, and he saw you scrubbing the area that was stained. "it's gone, I'm just gonna let this dry now." He nods and waits till you walk out of the washroom, he feels uncomfortable to be shirtless here.

He stands by the window that faces the quiet streets and watches outside. you close the washroom door and notice him here, his back is bare, and so are his tattoos. you remember them vividly, how you traced them while looking into his eyes. god, those tattoos were a masterpiece decorating his arm. you didn't even realise him turning around to face you because all you were observing were his inked arm that looked more visible when it was facing you.

"Like what you see?"

next chapter ⇢

[okimargarvez]

Safe place

Below you can find me rambling about ep 7. The image is not random.

I really hope I will ever find time to write something reasonable, but I can't say if it will happen, because I still have almost 0 personal time.

But, here we are.

I was eating while watching the ep, with my family. My son fell asleep. I couldn't screaming, but I really wanted to. Because it was, at least for me, totally unexpected.

And, narratively, unnecessary.

We (not garvez fan, but people watching CME), really need to see Luke get to Pen, for comforting her/be comforted? Or the episode can flow without this micro scene?

You already know the answer. And (if you follow me since my old posts, you know that I studied this stuff, narrative language etc) all that is non-essential for the plot, holds more value, more meaning.

I read other opinions about this episode and I agreed with them. Luke was looking for her bot to give and receive consolation. They are their safe place.

And you know what this mean? Do you remember the way ep Luke (14x6) ended? Lisa hugging Luke, while he is crying. Just a moment after saying that Phil was his safe place. Like now she took the role.

Now, get back to Pen. Focus your mind on their first hug. Luke is leaning on her, she barely touching him. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating, but she is really so distant. Ok, now think about their other hugs. Penelope learned to accept and leaning on him, as he said at the moment of their last hug on screen (or I'm forgetting anything? It's possibile, because last year and last season was a mess, for me).

After all they trough together, Luke is finally her safe place. And the way she abandoned between his arms, the way she crying (oh, Luke watched her crying so many times, but this one?), she not even tried to censure herself (tell me she wasn't desperate in 16x10). In my opinion, crying in front of someone is deepest than have sex.

And all of this reminded me of episode 3x9 (Penelope), when she asks Morgan "why he wants to kill me?", their hug, her desperation... for sure, Morgan was her safe place.

Now, it's Luke.

And, please, can someone tell me what he is whispering her? I'd die for "I got you", maybe more than "I love you" (this doesn't mean that I think he is saying I love you, it's just my personal ranking of favorite future possible Luke statements to Pen).

Last but not least, I love my garvez family. So good to be here with you 💕

[notes-of-nari]

Stray Kids as the Friendly Ghost

Seungmin The apartment that was advertised apparently came with its own furniture and it was pretty cheap! what a great deal in this economy??

So you go to see the apartment and a mysterious person who claims to be the former owner shows you around. He asks you several questions and seems to be pleased with your answers as he hands you over the apartment keys and swiftly leaves. Strange...but anyways.. You move in

you wake up one day to find someone had sticked a note on your wall asking you to clean up after you have finished cooking and eating.

"What the hell" is your first rection. But your house is indeed a whole mess so you continue cleaning up. And only after it is done you sit down to ponder who on earth hanged the notice. you are sure that either there's a trespasser in your house or a ghost.

the ghost though shows himself only weeks later after you had drunkenly vomited on his "favourite" carpet.

he actually takes care of you though and even gives you a hangover soup the next morning.

lectures you a bit on how he expects you to take care of the house. Like keeping it clean,neat and tidy.

your time with him mostly consists of a comfortable silence as you continue with your homework or hobbies and he either flicks through the television channel or books, or just disappears for days, probably visiting his ghost friends.

Is extremely annoyed with the TV series couple's stupid decisions so he just changes the channel while muttering something.

Just loves to burst out with a random "seungmin in the building" at the most unexpected times.

Purposely scares you at times.

one day you find out that he too hates the landlord of the building. ending up with you two bonding over a spilling tea about the landlord and planning pranks on the landlord session.

You both end up being the land lord and the neighbors worst nightmare as you both play pranks on them. I mean what's the point of having a ghost friend if you cant use his ghost powers to be a total menace in the neighbourhood? MUHAHAHAHAHA

Finds out that you listen to day6 and is happy

You find out his baseball cards and pictures of him with his baseball uniform. You ask him about it but he gives you the cold shoulder for a while

Finds humor on the fact that you keep on struggling when trying to make a decision.

Sees you decide against doing something and doing it anyway. "Well well this house is blessed with only one brain cell, and even that belongs to a dude who is long dead" he comments while shaking his head in a disappointed manner.

Is intrigued with the true crime documentaries that you watch.

After the baseball card incident you try every way possible to apologize to him but he seems to avoid you. Until he randomly comments that the sky was pretty. When you ask him why he was avoiding you for so long he says that he wasn't angry with you and just avoided you because he * felt like it *

One day the two of you attempt to cook. but don't ask me how...you nearly burn the apartment down

He is pretty honest that It hurts at times. but again you feel like it's alright when he smiles at you and hands you over an ice cream he had brought from the convenience store closeby.Sometimes you wonder if it is right to approve his actions.Cause he is literally stealing stuff from the convenience store. But you decide to let it go when he reveals that he actually leaves money at the counter You have no idea where he gets money from. Like how can a ghost get money? But this dude is just mysterious and seems to have his own methods and ways.

One of the older ladies in your neighbourhood once decides to have a little chat with you. And when she learns which apartment you are in she gasps in horror before saying that the apartment is known to house a notorious ghost and even asks you to leave as soon as possible. While the women begins spewing various stories of the ghosts supposed evil paranormal activities, seungmin sits right next to her while chuckling.

I.N ver Hyunjin ver BangChan ver Lee Know version Jisung version Changbin version Felix version

[moonchild701]

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Sacrifice The World (Never You)

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Summary: "A hero would sacrifice you to save the world. But I'm not a hero."

Pairing: Dabi/Hero!Reader, Hawks & Reader are friends

Reader can be read as gen

Content Warning: Angst, Betrayal, Hawks is an ass off screen, SFW, Mild use of Y/N, H/N means Your Hero Name

Word Count: 2.8k

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi

A/N: This is for a Weekly Challenge in one of the Communities I'm in here on Tumblr, based on the summary. Tweaked the quote a bit, hope you enjoy! 💖

My Masterlist

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Being the same age as Hawks, and new to the hero scene, you navigated being new heroes together.

Your childhood best friend should be here with you, by your side, being heroes together because it's what you promised, but he'd died years ago in a fire, so now you carry out both your dreams for him too.

You've been friends with Hawks for years, getting to know him only a few months after his debut.

And though you say friends, you will admit that there were some...feelings...at the start, because really, who could blame you? Of course, that crush was quickly snuffed out with him clearly solely focused on the job, with occasional random hookups, and as time went on, it disgusts you to even consider him as anything more.

He's a walking red flag, literally, with those wings, but he's your friend, your first best friend in a long time, and you know he feels the same.

You know he works directly for the Commission, even with his own agency, after they helped him so much, but you've always been wary of them. As a freelance hero, who doesn't take their orders as much as those directly aligned with them or other Hero Agencies would, they don't exactly like you either, especially with how close you are with their golden boy.

And while that isn't really much to be totally wary of them, seeing Hawks' real smile and morals dwindling over the years, is; because it's almost always after he comes back from a sketchy secret mission assigned to him from them.

So of course, you start digging where you shouldn't, because you're worried for your friend, worried for what he's becoming.

You find out that he's been ordered to kill someone, not even a villain, no.

A politician.

They apparently got on the HPSC's bad side, and now Hawks is being ordered to get them out of the picture.

That's the tipping point for you, when you stop trusting them, when you start questioning them more, their ways, their morals, their orders.

And unbeknownst to you, when they start questioning your loyalty.

*****

Recently, Hawks has been....distant. Cagey, in ways he usually wasn't, even when he had the most top secret missions.

Normally, one wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but after knowing him for so long, it's easy to spot.

You find out the reason from an unexpected source.

*****

Dabi knew the bird was a spy from the moment they met.

It was pathetically obvious.

But, well, he thought he could be useful.

Not without doing some background checks of course. Name, birthday, parents, affiliations.

Friends.

It's how he finds out about you, beautiful and achingly familiar, and one of Hawks' closest friends.

He stomps down on the flare of jealousy at that, reminding himself that that boy died years ago on that hill, reminding himself that you probably don't even remember him.

Getting someone to hack into the HPSC files, he further looks into Hawks and his movements, what missions he has, your missions, what they have on you and oh.

He thought he was at the peak of his anger towards Heroes, towards the Commission, towards Society.

He thought that the person he hates most in the world would always be his father.

He finds out that the HPSC president, and perhaps Hawks himself, are competing for that position.

Hawks is absolutely a spy, his mission to infiltrate and eliminate the League clear as day in his files, along with something else that makes his seams smoke with the heat of his anger.

The HPSC president deems you a threat, and has ordered your elimination, with Hawks being the one to carry it out.

Seething, he combs through their files, finding and collecting more and more information on the HPSC, and even then, he honestly doesn't know which one of their crimes you know about, which one has you suspected, has them wanting to silence you.

There's so many, it could be anything.

And then, he finds your file.

There are notes about your 'drifting loyalties', notes about what information they suspect you know, your schedule, and then...

The order for your assassination, along with the date and location they expect it to happen.

The very system and people that you've devoted your life to are the ones that would dare betray you, betray your trust; would try to abandon you, throwing you away like trash.

He refuses to sit back and let the best thing that's ever happened to him get snuffed out and tossed away like trash.

And hey, maybe you'd like the idea of becoming villains together instead.

*****

When you get home from a long patrol, all you want to do is shower, eat and sleep like the dead.

Those plans go out the window the moment you step foot into your apartment and feel someone is there.

You scan the dark room silently, not seeing anything at first. Then, a flicker of light; a small flame shines in the darkness, lighting up the features of a man on your couch.

Yes, a flame.

A blue flame.

Blue flames that are hauntingly familiar for multiple reasons, but one of those reasons is literally dead, so the remaining ones are terrifying.

The villain Dabi is sitting on your couch, so very casually, as he plays with the licks of fire between his fingers, the light of it illuminating his features eerily, casting shadows and making his eyes seem to glow as they stare at you.

A bead of sweat trickles down the side of your head.

Yes, you are a hero, a damn good one, at that.

That doesn't mean you're prepared to fight the A-rank villain, tired and alone, in an enclosed area, within a populated apartment building.

You swallow thickly, reminding yourself that you need to be calm.

Seeing as he already knows you're there, you flick on the lights.

"Dabi. What do you want?" You try to keep your voice steady and the tremor out of it as you speak, and you don't know if you succeed, as you slowly walk forward.

"Well hello to you too, H/N." He says sarcastically, his voice smoky and deep,

"Come sit, yeah? We need to have a lil chat."

Before you can think about it, you scoff, glaring at him warily. "And what could we, possibly have to talk about?"

Huffing a dry laugh, he raises his hand, waving a folder. "Sit and you'll find out."

This is such a bad idea, but honestly, what choice do you have?

Taking a deep breath, you steel yourself, sitting on the opposite side.

For a moment, he doesn't say anything, just staring at you, making you start to get more and more nervous and impatient.

Just as you were about to snap, you hear him murmur softly, almost sadly, "You really don't recognize me, huh?"

Taken aback, you stutter, "W-What?"

Running his fingers through his midnight hair, he mutters, "Well, I was hoping that you of all people would recognize your best friend, Y/N."

Azure eyes lock onto your wide ones as you freeze in place.

You've only had two best friends all your life, and one is dead.

Though, you never truly accepted that, did you?

Your hands shake, tears blurring your vision as you look at the man in front of you. Really look at him.

At the scars in some specific places, some from burns, some not.

At the way he taps his foot nervously.

At those blue eyes, the same color as Endeavor's, yet so different, so pretty, so achingly familiar.

When you take a closer look at his dark hair, and you can see white roots peaking out, that's what bursts the dam.

"Touya?" Your voice is fragile as you ask tentatively, hopefully; a small tremor in your voice as you gaze at him with teary eyes, and Dabi feels his heart crack.

"Yeah, Doll, it's me." He breathes, opening arms because he knows what's coming. And he's right, as you lunge forward, tackling him in a hug as you sob into his shoulder. He grips you just as tight, burying his face in your hair, hugging you tightly. And oh, how you missed his hugs, completely engulfing you in that comforting warmth.

You sob and scream at him, words muffled by his shoulder, but he just holds you through it.

And when you're done, minutes or hours later, you pull back, sitting next to him.

You need answers.

"What the fuck, Touya?" Your voice is croaky and broken from all the crying, and he chuckles lightly as he wipes away the lingering tears.

"I go by Dabi now." There's a shit eating grin threatening to be released but he manages to hold it in to spare himself of your wrath.

You glare at him through glossy eyes, biting out, "Yeah, no shit. Explain."

He sighs, thumb caressing your cheekbone as he avoids your eyes. "I'll explain everything another day. Right now, I need you to read this." He pulls back, reaching for the folder you completely forgot about, and hands it to you.

You look at him with furrowed brows as you open it, before looking down to read.

You fall silent as you read, breathing picking up as the papers crinkle in your tight grip.

"Touya, where'd you find this?" You whisper shakily, eyes flicking back up to him.

"....You know where." His voice is gentle, and somehow that makes it worse.

You swallow around the lump in your throat as you stare back down at the orders written for your winged best friend to kill you.

He wouldn't.

Would he?

You know him to be loyal to the Commission, to the president, but you also know him to be a loyal friend.

Taking a deep breath, you let it out slowly.

You'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

When you say this, of course, Dabi isn't pleased.

"And what if he actually tries to kill you? You know how much of a lap dog he is." He says through gritted teeth, trying to control his anger at the thought of you even being near Hawks.

"I....he's my friend, Tou....has been for years....I have to believe I mean more to him than an order." You try to convince yourself that you absolutely trust that he wouldn't go through with this, would warn you at the very least.

Touya scoffs in disbelief, looking at your like you're stupid, before sighing in resignation. "Okay...if that's what you want. But if he tries, or if you just change your mind, call me." He slips you a piece of paper, presumably with his number on it. "I missed ya, so if you want, you can join me in the League. They'd love you."

You sputter in surprise, looking at him with wide, incredulous eyes. "I'm a hero, Dabi."

He looks at you flatly. "Yeah, but for how long until they either kill you or revoke your license? They want to get rid of you, Y/N. Because you know they're corrupt. So, we'll just take them down."

You're on the verge of crying again, and  he could see it.

"We couldn't be heroes together, so how 'bout villains?" His smile is cheeky but genuine as he tries to lighten the mood, softening when it works, as you choke out a wet laugh.

"Just, think about, yeah?" Leaning in, he presses a soft kiss to your forehead and you feel yourself flush with warmth.

With that, he leaves the way he apparently entered. Through the window, down the fire escape.

Left alone with your thoughts, you doubt you'd get any sleep tonight.

*****

Every day since then, you've been withdrawing as much money from your account as you can without seeming suspicious, transferring the rest to another account; and with a go bag packed and ready for the worst case scenario, you stew in your anxiety as the days go by.

The date of your scheduled assassination is tomorrow, and you've yet to speak to Hawks.

You tell yourself that it's normal, because it is; you've had longer periods of time than this of not speaking to each other with the cluttered messes that are your schedules.

What isn't normal, is that if he was going to say anything, he would've by now.

You can't exactly just ask Hawks about it, as you have no way of explaining how you know, and no way of truly knowing that he wouldn't just kill you on the spot.

Because as much as you like and trust him as a friend, you've never felt that the feeling is as mutual. Like, sure he likes you enough as a friend, but would he go against orders from the HPSC for you?

You don't know, and that scares you.

So you do all you can at the moment, without outright running.

You wait.

If he tries to contact you, trying to get you to go to that specified spot tomorrow, you'll know, and you'll already have a way out with Dabi and the League; because otherwise, the truth is, there's no future for you.

Because even if you survive this, you'd have to go into hiding anyway, or they'll just try again, or ruin your life, revoking your license, everything, or just straight up frame you and toss you into Tartarus, throwing away the key.

So many bad outcomes.

Yet, naively, you hope.

*****

Then, you get a text from Hawks, asking you to hang out tomorrow, at the location.

And your heart cracks, because someone you care about, someone you trusted, has decided that your life is worth less than their job or morals.

And then you get angry.

*****

You quickly gather your things, all of your necessities packed and ready to go in a duffel bag and backpack, and contact Dabi for pickup on a burner phone.

And as the swirling portal opens up in your living room, you send off one last text to Hawks, replying with a short "Fuck you :)", on your personal phone of course, before dropping it into the prepared glass of acid, so they can't get anything off of it or track you, right next to the files Dabi gave you, and stepping through the mist.

Straight into Dabi's waiting arms.

*****

After meeting the League, you decide that you already like them, though wish you met under better circumstances.

Such as one of your best friends decidedly not trying to kill you.

For the corrupt government, no less!

And through all of the blazing anger and newfound hatred, when it's just you and Dabi left, you cry.

He softly cups your face in his scarred hands, gently tilting your head up to hold your gaze as he wipes away your tears. "The heroes would dare make a martyr of you, sacrifice you and throw you away like trash for this fucked up world." He says lowly, voice trembling with the anger that burns like small suns in his azure eyes. He leans in closer, warm breath hitting your lips, murmuring, "But I'm no hero, doll. I'd raze the world if it meant you'd be warm." His words drip with reverence, eyes blazing with the truth of his words, and you tremble where you stand.

Because as a hero, the threat and promise of such violence should horrify you.

But as just a person, who's never known true loyalty shown to you in so long, who's been betrayed and abandoned by all those you've loved and trusted, in the past and recently, being shown such devotion, no matter how tainted, how violent, by the one person you've always loved most, it is irristibly bewitching.

And before you know it, you're pulling him down into a bruising kiss, breathing out all of your doubts and worries, and he swallows them all down with a sigh of contentment, sliding one hand from your cheek, down to your waist, pulling you in closer.

To anyone else, you'd seem foolish to put any amount of trust in a villain of all people, after being burned by betrayal so many times by people they'd deem 'better'.

But they've all let you down, and Touya, Dabi, is not them, so why not try the other side?

It's a sacrifice you're actually willing to make this time.

Pulling back, you whisper against his mismatched lips.

"Let's raze everything."

His answering grin is feral and bright, and worth the sacrifice that is the world.

The very world that made the mistake of throwing you both away.

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

[btnclmrttn]

Imagine:

Nsfw alphabet with saitama

I know is a lot but is up to you, hope you are alright these days!

NSFW ALPHABET(+18) - Saitama

[Kicking ass, hon! Thank you for your patience with this. I hope it satisfies your request!]

A = Aftercare

His go-to is taking a bath with you. Cleaning up the mess he made of you (and on you) and cuddling until the water isn’t so warm anymore. He doesn’t notice how clingy he is, as he doesn’t want anything less than his arms wrapped around you for the most part. 

B = Body part

On him, his hands. Shit, he's strong, and his hands have something to show for it. They’re so gentle with you and adore having your waist fill them. He loves your waist area. Holding it and letting his thumbs run along your back or drawing circles around your stomach.

C = Cum

Loves fucking you until cum starts trailing down your thighs or slopping against him. A visual reassurance he’s making you feel good. Also likes pulling out and cumming on your hole, smearing it on you with his tip before sliding himself back in and going for a second round right there. He likes doing that almost as much as just cumming inside you.

D = Dirty Secret

Would so love to walk in on you masturbating one day. He’s thought about it so many times. He wants it entirely unexpected, so he doesn’t ever bring it up, but he has his hopes.

E = Experience

Well, he's got the gist of it. He never had the best luck with dating and didn't like it casually, but he's read and watched about plenty enough not to be ignorant about how the general of it goes.

His attitude is that he would rather have a connection with someone and learn about them thoroughly versus quick satisfaction, so whatever needs to be hands-on to learn, he's ready and willing.

F = Favorite Position

Being able to see your face is what he wants most. So ASIDE from somn basic, he likes holding you up either against a wall or with your legs wrapped around him. He isn’t so bummed about being so strong anymore since he can do that to you.

G = Goofy

So fucking goofy. He was so shy and nervous the first time you two did it he had to be a bit goofy to relax. Now, it's just his thing. He loves hearing you laugh, too, while you're having your fun. It makes it more intimate for him

It's also pretty hot to him how your laughter blends with your moans.

H = Hair

Well...uh...

I = Intimacy

Aside from being goofy he is a total cornball, too. Absolute goober. Holding you close and whispering all the sweet things, taking his time, looking you in the eye, and occasional random kisses on your forehead. Lots of non-verbal cornball shit

J = Jack Off

He doesn’t do it as much now that he’s in a relationship. Did it a lot when living alone and being so bored all the time. These days, it only happens when he’s been away from you for too long.

K = Kink

OVERSTIMULATION

I will die on this hill. He started liking it more and more when he figured out it wasn't hard for him to do it by accident—being overstimulated himself, though? Loves it. He wants to see how much he can push himself and take it. He'll whine and grip the sheets so hard he could tear them, fumbling over his words

"I can take it. I can take it."

L = Location

Perfectly content with keeping it in just the bedroom. He wouldn't feel that comfortable doing it outside unless there was certainty no one would be able to stumble on it (i.e., on the roof of a tall building or a middle of nowhere ass location). That and also some of the annoying inconveniences of what you could run into kill the mood for him

M = Motivation

It isn’t difficult at all to get him going. Oh, and especially if you make him something really good. Seriously, if you ever make him something that he likes a whole lot, it’s damn near some foreplay. Quickest route to getting fucked good.

N = NO

Not into any pain play of any kind. No biting or manhandling. He's too strong and would hurt you, which is the last thing he wants to do. Also doesn't want to be mean. Degrading is a no-no. 

O = Oral

Loves recieving for sure he ain’t quiet about that. When giving, he enjoys you thoroughly. He eats you up like he’s savoring his last meal and is in no rush at all. Not stopping just because you came either. 

P = Pace

Overall prefers to be slow and sensual. Making love like he's just stupid drunk off you. It's the intimacy of it that he favors. You might get surprised sometimes though; when you're getting closer and closer that's when he starts being rough and just has a massive grin on his face as he messes with you that way. You know he's plotting overkill when he's cheesing more than usual.

Q = Quickie

Absolutely! He could make it quick if need be. It’s not something he would do often intentionally, its more of a last option to you both being busy and a little sexually frustrated. He’d still prefer to “make it up to you” whether a quickie was resorted to or not.

R = Risk

For sure would try about anything at least once within your guys boundaries. Why not? It’s not often he has a suggustion, but when he does you gotta wonder what’s running through his head when he’s quiet. He don’t even know some shit he says can be considered kinda freaky and is so nonchalant about it. 

S = Stamina

Strongest guy in the known universe. No need to guess! It's great that he doesn't tire out until he doesn't and you are whipped. You're in control of when you two stop. He could go all day, and would. He'd be so down for just a day of nothing but nasty.

T = Toys

They are so damn expensive and that irks him. However! Dude will use anything you already have. Once he realized how much of a friend these devices were, it became a weapon. Straight-up murder. His overstimulation kink would go berserk. That being said, any toys that use batteries are his enemy. Batteries get expensive with a kink like that.

U = Unfair

Quite a bit but he's still a bit goofy. "You sure? Absolutely sure? Positive?"He does it mostly for laughs, or because you thought you could do the same and he's giving it back. As much as he likes to just take his time touching you it messes with you eventually. Oh but if he's in the middle of just tearing you up and he's got you all a noisy mess, he's looking to push your buttons.

V = Volume

Mostly it's his heavy, trembling breathing that makes the most noise. He's more vocal when he's getting closer Cursing under his breath and moaning your name. If you want a crybaby, though, you can get one if you play into that overstimulation kink. Just don’t get another noise complaint on you guys 

W = Wild Card

Mutual masterbation would be so enjoyable for him. You get a whole full view of how he looks at you and how hard you make him, and watch how he tries so badly to let you finish by yourself instead of swoop in and make you come himself. It drives him NUTS.

X = X-Ray

Considering how average he presents himself, it would fit that he's also average in the pants. Not huge, not small, not super girthed up or anything. 5 and some odd inches is the average.  Throwing in though he has the most excellent Adonis belt you could feast your eyes on because of all that training he did.

Y = Yearning

Higher than you’d assume. As chill as he seems it’s just a bit surprising. He’ll jump from his chill state to horny. Being as quiet as he is though it’s just hard to catch on to when naughty thoughts start cycling until they finally get to him. 

Z = ZZZ

It makes him relaxed enough to fall asleep not to long after, but he can hold out until he knows you’re properly taken care of. That sleep is about to be deep as hell, though

[toadifylackoffantasy]

IDK what this originally was it's eons old storysomething tag

I just copied the questions from @justanothersimsblog who had it in her drafts for 7 years and tagged me.

1) How did you come up with such unique & fascinating characters?

Are they? nspiration from real life people, characters, what I want to play with, with a big flair of game randomness - I like to at least randomize a couple of their traits so they have some unexpected interests & hobbies (i.e. Flo being into Martial Arts; disciplined was randomized), and then a lot starts to form from my own imagination, due to random things a sim may do or vibe as that may not be explicitly trait-related, but just kinda...Happen. E.g. Finn being clumsy sometimes and generally liking cooking and so on, even tho he's neither clumsy nor a natural cook.

2) When you started writing your story, what did you take into consideration?

I wasn't playing sims much. I sort of quit posting engaging in online sims culture in early 2019, and occasionally played a couple times a month totally offline, which a mods folder I hadn't touched since 2019, then not playing for two months, then starting yet another new household that I hoped I'd fell in love with. So I started the Pistaches in january/february 2024, with Jaeda who is Flo's grandma. Jaeda was a child of an old legacy I kept in my simbin for years throughout laptops because she was pretty, and this time I choose her. Just another legacyattempt with the classic rules, that's how it started; Jaeda in a tiny shed on a big lot in Moonlight Falls. She met someone, married, got a kid, and it was getting stale again.

I was starting to look a bit more into online sims stuff, coming across new funny let's plays, downloaded some new mods etc, and she risky woohoo'd with her husband late into adulthood and Bianca was born, who I found incredibly pretty. I also got the idea to make a child evil through a let's play and I got the idea to do some sort of good witch bad witch thing between Bianca and her sister Alice. It went totally different in the end, but, yeah - legacy attempt #5412156, pretty unexpected baby, vague ideas, and then it got out of hand.

I still sort of follow some rules - every heir needs to reach their LTW, I randomize several traits, and I like to follow the alphabet for potential heirs (= children descended of Jaeda born to an active sim), but that's all.

3) How did you shape each character’s background/family?

Jaeda was an orphan by virtue of her having literally no parents, and it fit with the old legacy she was a child of. All other decendants, well - their family and background are literally made by the game or I've already played with them!

Married-into newly made sims (Bree, Charlotte, Finn) start from their character, and then I go "what should their family be to make their character make sense". For reasons I needed Bree to have no living parents and a bad childhood in poverty, explaining her whole awkwardness/hesitating/hardworking cus the money her mom saved up to put her through school has to be used well. Charlotte was made very impromptu and a single mother fit, I also didn't feel like making a dad, but her becoming craycray later on fit better with a broken homelife (her parents are divorced). Finn, well, his parents obviously had to be conservative, homophobic and rich.

4) Do you plan everything before starting, or are you more spontaneous?

Right now, I have the most planned out bits I've had in a while, with quite specific events for the next in-game year, and my florian's summer 14 years ago also has specific events I need to get too. But there are always details and filler that just happen in-game, and unexpected things that may happen that either help or chance up a storyline (such as Florian's show not starting in chapter 40.1).

Specifically, something random happened while finn & flo were on honeymoon, after some thinking about it totally threw my plan out of the window and made me craft a very complicated & hopefully well-received and heartwrenching storyline.

5) Does reality inspire you, or do you rely more on your imagination?

Both? See above? I mean not everything is based on reality since it has fantasy elements, but even for those I try to make realistic-sounding lore.

6) When did you KNOW you were going to make this story? 

Bianca's Birth.

7) What has shaped your story into being the way it is?

My own ambition, my brain getting an idea and running with it. Stuff from the game I want to use cus there is a lot of danger and drama in the gameplay itself. For Flo's and Finn's initial storyline - personal experience and hope (It's a bit of a self-insert...), and of course the random unexpectedness always keeping simlit writers in particular on their toes.

taggin @danjaley @greenplumbboblover... I have a blank mind sorry. If you're a writer, see this, and were not tagged by Lynn, feel free.

[byeuijoo]

fake a kiss and heal a heart 𐀔 han dongmin

⠀⠀⠀chapter one. : a broken heart and an unexpected gesture.

warnings : alcohol consumption, kissing, angst if you squint, a kind of panic attack ⋆ word count : 4,034

serie masterlist ✩ boynextdoor masterlist

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ୨ ✩ ୧

MAYBE DONGMIN SHOULDN'T HAVE LISTENED TO JAEHYUN THIS TIME, perhaps he should have taken it upon himself to endure all the sadness in the world without taking action. what a clever idea it had been to hire someone totally unknown to him to play the role of his fake girlfriend and accompany him to an unimportant student party.

on your side, the end of the month was pretty hard on the money, so an extra income wouldn't go amiss. donghyun suggested this idea after stumbling across this unreliable site : a complete directory of people willing to be paid just to look pretty and stand next to random people for one occasion or another. at first, you didn't give it much thought. but since you knew your favorite artist was coming to your town, you had to save every penny you could to pay for your concert ticket. that's why you decided to take the plunge and create your profile, hoping that at least one person would find you attractive enough to hire you.

and that's what led you to your current situation, walking briskly through the crowded city streets, under the light of the streetlamps, to reach the person who had contacted you earlier in the day. it was probably a bit hasty, and you probably wouldn't have time to learn much about why you ended up accompanying him, but it shouldn't have been too complicated. looking again at the photo of himself that he had kindly sent you earlier, a small smile spread across your face as you realized that, at least, he didn't seem to be an old pervert dude interested in young female students. after a few last minutes of walking, you found yourself at the rendezvous point, looking around for any sign of his presence. furrowing your eyebrows to get a better look at the faces of the people around you, you finally spot him, leaning against a stone wall, headphones on.

trotting over to him, you finally tapped his shoulder, which caught his attention and created a look of surprise on his face. « hey, you're han dongmin, am i right? » you asked softly, tilting your head to the side with a smile as he dropped his headphones around his neck. the black-haired boy nodded, and you could see the tips of his ears redden slightly — cute, you think. « i'm y/l/n y/n, nice to meet you. » you added, leaning forward slightly to greet him, before he did the same.

he seemed shy and unsure of himself, and you could easily guess that the idea of hiring you didn't come from him. his honeyed eyes seemed lost and unsure of themselves — as if they were trying to figure out what to say or what emotion to use. « what time do we have to be at this student party? » you say, changing the subject so as not to make him uncomfortable, while looking at the time on your watch. a small, almost inaudible oh escaped his lips before he looked down at his phone, holding out his hand as if to guide your path, « you follow me? »

his voice was soft, like the lullabies sung by mothers when you're little. it was as if he was afraid to speak too loudly. nodding as you began to walk, dongmin followed your movements, staying close to you. « so.. your name is dongmin and you're 19, right? » you asked, tucking your hands into your jacket pockets to keep the cold from attacking your skin. « uh? oh, yea. » he replied, staring at the road ahead. « we're the same age, » you suddenly felt his gaze settle on your side, which prompted you to continue, « i'm glad you're not a weirdo.. i was a little afraid i'd run into an old pervert. »

dongmin nodded positively, raising his hands and shaking them as if to claim his innocence, « i promise i'm not weird, » he said, insisting that he really wasn't weird at all, « i'm just a little unsettled, i'm not used to doing thing like this. »

you understood how he felt. so you nodded in turn, turning your benevolent gaze on his face, offering him the sincerest of smiles. « i could feel it, » you admit, shrugging your shoulders, « but that's normal since we don't know each other and i'm literally here to play your fake girlfriend. »

his cheekbones flushed, a light red-pinkish shade on it, in contrast to his eyes, which were painted with a glint of sadness. so the subject must have been a sensitive one — but you needed to know a little more. « can you tell me why i'm here, dongmin? » he wasn't surprised by your question, but a sigh left his pretty heart-shaped lips right after it.

« my girlfriend broke up with me a month ago, and i don't want her to see that i'm still moping about our breakup, » he let slip this explanation from his lips, as he carelessly tucked his headphones into the backpack he was carrying, « well, my now ex girlfriend. » you hummed in reply, nibbling your bottom lip as you look away from his face. he seemed really devastated by the situation, you could tell by the way his demeanor had suddenly changed. he seemed to close in on himself, looking all around him as if he were panicking, and the way his thumb played frantically with his rings. you had to do something to divert his attention and help him relax, otherwise his plan would fall through completely.

then you suddenly stopped walking, hooking your fingers into his sleeve to prevent him from advancing any further. and when his questioning gaze landed on your face, you offered him a gentle smile. « everything will be fine, » you started, letting his arm fall back along his chest, « i'll be there to help and support you, okay? »

dongmin took the time to observe you properly, for the first time since you two met a few minutes ago. you were smaller than he was, you sounded fragile, yet your voice exuded boldness and unparalleled assurance. he was slightly jealous — you wore so much confidence on your face, when he could barely look you in the eye. he wasn't usually so shy, so reserved, but the reason for your meeting made him nervous without knowing why. it was probably the fact that he'd spent all his savings on a fake girlfriend, with the sole aim of making his ex-girlfriend jealous. it's ridiculous, he thought, finally looking away from your gentle, kind face. however, he had really chosen the prettiest girl on the website to accompany him.

« yea, thank you. » he finally says, gesturing you to walk again with a simple nod of the head. sliding in beside him with a smile, you didn't dare ask any more questions, as you didn't want to accentuate the sadness that was currently occupying the whole of his heart.

after many long minutes and a dark sky, dongmin stopped moving forward, staring at a point in front of him. following his gaze, your eyes landed on a house that seemed crowded with people — loud music blared from the open windows and people chatted on the porch just in front. finally raising your eyes to the boy beside you, you watched his gaze suddenly devoid of all confidence.

he was on the verge of running away and turning back, but your hand on his shoulder drew his attention to you. « eh, you can do it, » you announced softly, like a whisper that only he could hear, « i'll be by your side from beginning to end. »

he couldn't explain why he found a certain reassurance in your low voice, or how the way you spoke didn't make him doubt your sincerity. you had to play a role, sure, but why were you such a good actress? he didn't know what to answer : he was caught between the desire to show everyone that he was not the sad and depressed boy they all thought, and the desire to run away from all this charade which only accentuated the pain in his chest. and anyway, what was he going to do if he suddenly found himself face to face with her? sure, you were there, but what was really your role in this situation? stay silent by his side and smile at his ex? he couldn't put you through this when you had been so nice to him from the beginning. biting his lower lip while juggling his gaze between your reassuring face and this big house, a shiver ran down his arm when suddenly your cold fingers intertwined with his. and for the first time, his eyes looked into yours.

« eh, han dongmin, » you started to say, taking a step forward towards him, « i'm here to help you, okay? » then, your thumb mechanically caressing his skin caused a comforting warmth to rise along his spine, « we're going to show her together what she lost. »

the boy observed you for a few seconds, before sighing, closing his eyes while applying pressure around your hand clinging to his — then he nodded, gently pulling on your arm to pull you in with him. he didn't notice the little victorious smile on your lips after that, way too busy not to chicken out until he get through the front door. he didn't bother to ring the bell or even knock, immediately going inside and dragging you with him. a few glances landed on both of you, and where dongmin completely ignored them, you responded with a charming smile of which only you held the secret. his hand didn't let go of yours until you reached what you assumed was the kitchen — where he hastened to serve you two glasses of alcohol. which he swallowed in one gulp.

you quickly grabbed his hand, removing the now empty red plastic cup from it, sad eyes settling on your face. « eh there, slow down a bit okay? » a scoff left your lips, placing his glass on the counter next to you, as he lowered his head in a defeatist gesture, « hiding yourself in alcohol won't help you anything. » you explained to him, patting the top of his head with your free hand.

« did you see her? » you asked, taking a sip of your drink as you watched him settle into one of the high stools around the counter. dongmin nodded negatively, rubbing the bridge of his nose without bothering to respond to you verbally. « do you want to play a game? » you said suddenly, pushing your arms up to sit comfortably on the counter, next to his stool. the black-haired boy looked up, his eyes meeting yours as you shook your shoulders, « to pass time. it could be funny. »

he didn't hate the idea of ​​playing a game with you — but he didn't have the faith to make the slightest effort to move. so after a few ideas, you suggested the game of twenty questions with the simple aim of getting to know each other. after all, even as a fake girlfriend, it would be safer to know some details of his personality. « alright.. i'll let you start. » he declared, turning around to pour himself a second cup of alcohol, without you stopping him this time. pretending to think, you stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before returning your gaze to him, « what are your hobbies? »

swallowing a few sips of his drink before answering you, dongmin gave you the opportunity to look at him silently. you had to admit that he was very handsome — and a boy as handsome as him would not be common in the streets. when he finally spoke, you leaned forward slightly to hear him more clearly, not wanting to let the music disturb your conversation. « i like to make music. i like writing songs and composing melodies, » he explained, and you saw the little flame of excitement in his eyes disappear as quickly as it had appeared, « it's the only thing i'm good at anyway.. »

wrinkling your nose as you jostle his shoulder, dongmin ignored you as he continued downing his glass of alcohol. « okay, my turn, » he said, staring at the ground, « why are you doing this? »

rolling your eyes at his question, not finding it interesting in your opinion, you placed your hands against the surface behind you. « i give you three reasons, you choose the one that suit you best, » you replied, and before he could protest, you cut him off by continuing, « one, because you're pretty hot. two, i need some money. and three, because i was bored. which of the three do you prefer? » — tilting your head to look at his face, he rolled his eyes before finishing his second drink, « the second is the most plausible. »

what a shame, you would have preferred that he chose the first one. you weren't going to complain — especially since he seemed to have relaxed since you arrived at the party. a smile took place on your lips as you thought about your next question : part of you wanted to ask him what happened to make him so sad, but on the other, you feel like it was an intrusion into his private life that concerned you in no way. so you simply changed your mind, not wanting to appear intrusive. « why did you choose me? » you asked, as he leaned back so that his back was against the counter. you watched him shrug as he played with the rim of his cup, « you didn't look like a psycho. and it was my friend who chose you, all i did was contact you. »

a sulky pout played on your lips as you looked away from his silhouette — you couldn't say why, but the fact that the idea of choosing you didn't come from him made your heart sink. sniffing before finishing your drink and leaving the cup on the side, dongmin raised his chin towards you and stared at the profile of your face without saying a word. trying to avoid meeting his gaze, you puffed up your cheeks and chattered on the marble with your fingernails — until his delicate fingers encircle your wrist, suddenly attracting your attention. « what? » you say, pulling slightly on your arm to loosen his grip, but your eyes met the pretty smirk on his lips, making you stop moving.

« are you disappointed? » he said suddenly, a scoff leaving his tongue right after. turning away and looking up at the ceiling, you decided to ignore his remark and continue sulking in your corner. a crystalline laugh escaped from his mouth, which somehow filled you with happiness — it was the first sincere laugh you'd ever heard from him. dongmin swiveled around again to pour himself a third glass, but you didn't understand how he could do it without letting go of your wrist. you could still feel the warmth of his fingers around your skin as he took a sip of his beverage. he seemed reassured and in a better mood than earlier in the evening — which was a good thing.

not wanting to disturb him further, you raised your eyes to look around you, until your gaze falls on a face so pretty you could have fallen backwards. « do you know this girl? » you asked innocently, not thinking for a single second that it could be the girl who haunted the young boy's thoughts. dongmin raised his head slowly, his eyes filled with apprehension — and suddenly, his hand around your wrist tightening slightly. he felt like he was running out of air, like he was suffocating, as if all the oxygen in the room had disappeared. the pressure on your muscle caught your attention, and you hastened to place your alcohol on the counter to help him. « eh, eh, what is going on? » you asked, placing your hands on his cheeks in panic, lifting his face tenderly so his eyes locked on yours, « han dongmin, look at me. »

he was trying not to panic, to breathe properly and not to juggle so quickly between your two eyes — but his heart in his chest hurt so much that he felt like someone was tearing it away. his jerky breathing was of great concern to you, so you stepped down from the counter to find yourself closer to him, placing one of your hands on his distraught heart. « eh, listen to me, » you started, looking him directly in the eye, « do as i do. breathe in... breathe out... breathe in, breathe out... that's it, that's good. »

after a long minute of controlled breathing, you felt his heartbeat return to a steady speed under your fingers. he seemed to have come back to his senses. « how do you feel? » you asked softly, tucking the strands of his hair back correctly on his forehead. dongmin nodded, patting your shoulder in thanks, « awful. but.. thank you, y/n. »

just as you were ready to answer him, a smile tugging at your lips, a voice suddenly came from behind you. you could see his face turn as white as a sheet, and his eyes slowly move up to stare at a point — a person, behind you. turning to face the voice, you came face to face with the pretty smile of the girl you understood to be the ex-girlfriend of the boy beside you. « hey, taesan. it's been a long time. » she said suddenly, making you frown. taesan? is this a nickname they used between each other?

dongmin rose from his stool, now standing beside you and scratching the back of his neck. « hey jieum, how have you been? » his voice was much more confident than you'd expected, and the look she gives him doesn't seem to frighten him. so.. her name is jieum, that's pretty, you think. there was nothing about her that seemed ugly : her face was flawless, her smile was to die for, she was tall and slender, she had lovely pianist's hands, and her voice sounded like those used in children's night show, the kind of soft voice that grazes your heart with a gentle kiss. you could almost be jealous of the soft, gentle aura emanating from her, but you remembered that she had to have one little flaw that led her to lose possession of dongmin's heart.

you hadn't followed the conversation in front of you, far too busy analyzing the girl as if she were an object of experience, until you hear your name roll off your new friend's tongue, « this is y/n. y/n this is jieum. »

arming yourself with your best smile, you leaned forward slightly to greet her, looking her straight in the eye, « nice to meet you, jieum. dongmin told me a lot about you. » — a sparkle suddenly appeared in her eyes, and her warm hand came into contact with your shoulder, as she gave you this look full of innuendo, « for the better, i hope ! »

you didn't have time to reply when a fourth person joined the conversation : another boy. glancing at him, then at dongmin, you can see something break in his eyes, as if someone had just thrust a dagger deeper into his heart. diverting your eyes from his face, you subtly slipped your hand into his, squeezing his fingers between yours in a reassuring and comforting gesture.

« ah, guys, meet my boyfriend, his name is sungho ! sungho, this is taesan, and his friend y/n. » she explained, smiling broadly as if the sun had just come into the room. you understood why dongmin had trouble getting over the breakup : jieum was mesmerizing. but what worried you most right now was how he must have felt after learning that this guy was the one to replace him. your hand gripped his more firmly, as you made small talk with the two new people so he doesn't have to worry about it. then after long minutes that seemed like years to the young boy, jieum and sungho waved goodbye and wandered further into the room, leaving you alone with a dongmin even more broken than before.

you tore your gaze away from jieum to meet the boy's devastated face, emotionless eyes staring into space as if nothing mattered anymore. then, when he felt your hand tug on his, his tear-filled gaze locked with yours, « don't cry.. » you whispered, your thumb tenderly caressing his pale skin.

but a hiccup escaped his lips, as he tried at all costs to hold back his tears. « she looks at you. don't cry now, she doesn't deserve your tears. » you explained, bringing your free hand up to his cheek to brush away the pearl of salt water that had just escaped from the corner of his eye. then, biting your lower lip, you looked him straight in the eye, « do you trust me? »

dongmin didn't know what to say : how could he trust a girl he'd only just met? but part of him felt that you were good for his heart's well-being. those last few hours with you proved to him that you wanted nothing more than his well-being. so he nodded, briskly, up and down, looking into the whites of your eyes. and in the madness of the moment, it took him a few seconds to realize that something warm was suddenly against his lips.

your hand against his cheek held his face in place, as you dared to kiss an almost stranger for the sole purpose of making his ex-girlfriend jealous. dongmin's lips tasted like alcohol — which you sensed even more when the pressure of his lips against your mouth grew stronger. his previously empty hand was now placed behind your neck, holding your face close, as he closed his eyes to appreciate the exchange more fully. it was pleasant to kiss han dongmin — but what wasn't, however, was feeling all the sadness of his heart against your lips. he seemed to want to get rid of everything that was eating him up inside, as if all his emotions were too hard to feel on his own.

then, after a few seconds, he finally pulled away from you, his pupils juggling back and forth in the depths of your eyes. « you don't cry anymore.. » you whispered, your index finger tenderly caressing his cheekbone. dongmin nodded slightly, not willing to move one millimetre away from you, before speaking in a broken, weak voice, « we're getting out of here, um? »

nodding positively in turn, you took a step back to retrieve your jacket, putting it on in a hurry, before pulling dongmin by the hand to the front door. passing by jieum, you unintentionally gave her a provocative look, knowing full well that she had witnessed your entire kiss scene. you didn't want to get angry with her, you just wanted to know and understand what she could have done to break this poor boy's heart into a million little pieces. for the little you knew, it was she who had decided to end this relationship, and it was also she who already had a fresh new little boyfriend. perhaps she'd lost her love for him, in which that case, she'd done nothing wrong? but it seemed far too easy, bearing in mind that dongmin was really devastated. nodding politely to her, you end up continuing your walk to the door, before leaving this place and taking a disturbed han dongmin with you.

[guessimate]

The Random Occurrence Scenario gods agreed with me I should have added more sims to my world! But I rolled again because I did that before I even rolled the dice, so the actual scenario for the Orange/Wolfen household was for a child to run away...

It might not be making the most sense, but Primula is becoming a Vestal Virgin, just because I think it makes more sense than Volesus going to the monastery in the Asian part of town...

Primula just turned into a child at the end of the last round. When she's around '36' (not sure how I'll determine it yet) she'll be able to start her own household, and maybe settle down with someone. I use just the regular Maxis aging and while it's not perfect, it works for me, especially that the teenage life stage is so long. But I might someday make my own, I will see.

~*~

Thanks to this ROS I will have an incentive to actually play the Vestals' lot because Primula has got a twin brother, so they need to age at around the same time.

On topic of how I play the Vestal lot:

I have one of these altars there just for the looks so the fire is everlasting, but also it's an easy way to either max out your sim's energy bar, or to make them pass out.

For the actual functional aspect of the lot I use Sun&Moon's All Fired Up. My sims need to light up the fire and collect the ashes every ~8 hours. But I give them an hour to do it, so I'm not very strict about it.

One Vestal Virgin has to be awake when another one is asleep so that there is always someone to collect the ashes and light the fire again as soon as possible, at all times. They also pray at the main altar, so that I can decide who is on the watch duty. I also allow them to go to the bathhouse once a day when I'm sure the fire won't stop burning.

~*~

Back to the main household...

Marius Wolfen met a newcomer to town, Polla, at the temple. She must have been mourning the unfortunate disappearance of their relative.

On the following day, her cousin Caesulla was walking by the Orange/Wolfen lot. Marius didn't have great chemistry with her, but she liked him quite a lot! Her relative, Polla, already made friends with Marius by that point, and to their knowledge she's her only relative, so this betrothal was fully approved.

The young couple went on two dates before they tied the knot. Their first date wasn't very good because Marius had to go to work, and I imagine he might have mentioned something about preparing for the upcoming war... But Caesulla warmed up to him the second time they met.

They didn't have a huge crowd at the wedding, but I decided to invite Primula and Rana, so everyone knows the whereabouts of the missing child. I'm sure it's reassuring to them to know she is fine and well, even if she's far away from home.

~*~

Marius and Caesulla had a baby girl named Maria together. She is a blue-eyed brunette. Maria Wolfen is totally fine and she will live a long, healthy life, unless something unexpected happens to her. Unfortunately, her mom felt bad after giving birth and she didn't survive... That also means the Wolfen family name will end with this generation.

Maria is a Pisces and she has a very similar personality to her mom's, the only difference is that she's 9 Nice (other than that she's the exact copy in terms of personality: 6 Neat, 3 Shy, 9 Active, 2 Serious). I think she has got her dad's nose, but she might have inherited her mom's eyes and mouth. She is darker skinned than her parents, I think it's because my alien skin is on the scale (or maybe she just inherited it from her grandpa, I'm not sure).

Caesulla's death was tragic and there was nothing funny about it, but I couldn't help but notice her husband was in the middle of something (likely sponge bathing) while she was 'expiring'... So he was captured mourning, clad in nothing but his tears, I suppose.

I am very sorry her life was so short, especially that we didn't really get to know her very well... I hope her cousin's fate will be better.

~*~

It was high time to find a mate for Fitela this round, before he would become an elderly dog. Fitela and Alia (a newly-adopted stray wolf) had one female puppy together. I called her Lykaia.

Luna (Fitela's mother, and enemy) crossed the rainbow bridge on the same day when the household witnessed the birth of two little goat kids. It is a slow process, but someday they will have a big goat farm.

~*~

The Orange/Wolfen home business earned ~800$, and together with Marius's military career paychecks they earned 1285$ this round.

500$ - rent

514$ - tax

129$ - tithe

They paid 1150$.

Before Marius and Ninildu went off to war, Volesus aged up into a teen and was rolled to become a Romance sim. He will stay home and take care of Aulus, to pay off his 'debt'. After all, he was well looked after in this household after he had been orphaned.

I also had Ninildu close the home business to avoid any issues. Volesus will need to open it on his own... after which I will probably have Aulus take over.

[nothingeverchangeswoy]

I also have a question about the Hater/Ripov pairing in the fic. Why? And I'm not saying that it's a bad idea, I'm just curious because it's so... unusual? (well it wasn't popular is what I'm saying, back in the day)

(from the fanfiction titled "Nothing Ever Changes" - a Wander x Reader story, post canon.)

Oh, you want the real reason behind Hater/Ripov? Grab your seat, because we’re diving deep into the madness that is my chaotic brain. 😎

Alright, so full disclosure, I don’t really ship in this fandom—like, at all. Honestly, I don’t have the energy for shipping wars or piecing together random pairings just to see if it “works” in the fandom’s eyes. My approach? Throw in some madness and see where it lands. But here’s the thing: I love chaos. I thrive on it. So when I was looking for background pairings to toss into the mix, I thought, "Why not make things a little… weird?"

Hater/Ripov was basically the result of me looking at the characters and going, Hmm, how can I ruin their lives even further? Kidding. But also, not really.

First off, let’s talk about Hater. The guy’s had nothing but heartbreak, failure, and his personal journey of trying to prove he’s the greatest villain in the galaxy, all while everyone around him keeps roasting him. The man has massive self-esteem issues—he’s been shot down by Dominator (who has no chill, by the way), humiliated, and now he’s surrounded by absolute chaos, some of which he can’t control. So, of course, I’m gonna throw in some more chaos in the form of Ripov, a woman who's basically the physical embodiment of anger management problems. Who wouldn’t want to watch that disaster unfold, right? Honestly, Hater needs to find some form of happiness in this dumpster fire of a galaxy, and if that happens to be with someone who makes him question his entire existence and possibly leave him in a constant state of confusion, then so be it. He’s earned it. Maybe. Probably not.

And Ripov? Oh, Ripov. She’s a mess in the best way possible. She’s angry and very confused about her emotions (because who isn't?). But you know what she’s not confused about? She knows what she wants, and it's chaos. She's an angry warrior who was so consumed by her rage after losing her crew to the Arachnomorphs that she was basically walking around like a pressure cooker ready to explode. Enter Hater—a man who’s also clearly emotionally wrecked, but is doing it in the most “I’m-the-greatest” way possible. The real twist is that they’re both emotionally screwed, and they might just accidentally end up being weirdly perfect for each other in this totally unhinged way.

But don’t get it twisted: This isn’t some lovey-dovey, hearts-and-flowers kind of ship. No. It’s chaos with extra steps. It won’t be cute. It won’t be comfortable. If you’re waiting for the heartwarming “awww” moments, you might want to adjust your expectations. I mean, it’s literally Hater, who once wanted Dominator to notice him, and Ripov, who will probably end up dragging him through emotional growth (read: trauma and awkward moments) like it’s an Olympic event.

These characters were barely given room to develop on the show. We never got a third season, and that means we never got to see how they would’ve evolved. So, why not take that chance? I want Hater to have some happiness—maybe just a bit of emotional satisfaction, even if it’s from an unexpected source. And Ripov? Well, she’s a total wildcard. Maybe her aggressive nature will soften a little, or maybe it’ll get even worse. And honestly? I’m all for the unpredictability of it. Plus, chaos is what Hater thrives on. He’s miserable, but he’s also so good at making everyone else just as miserable as he is. Let’s see if he can be slightly less miserable with Ripov, who knows how to push his buttons.

But here’s the kicker—Wander/Reader is still the main event, and I promise, all of this will stay in the background. I’m not letting any side ship overshadow the glorious mess that is Wander and the reader. Wander's still the heart of this chaotic universe. If anything, this little experiment with Hater and Ripov will serve as some fun distractions as we work our way through the real heart of the story.

To sum it up: I’m not doing this for the sake of a random, cute ship. I’m doing it because it adds depth, complexity, and—let’s be honest—a whole lotta chaos to Hater’s arc. He’s not the perfect, invincible villain. He’s got baggage, trauma, and a history of making really bad choices (hello, Dominator). If I’m going to continue the story myself and give these characters the ending they deserve (especially since the show didn’t), then I’m throwing in some random ships, a few unexpected growth moments, and more dramatic chaos than anyone can handle.

Because, honestly, it’s a post-apocalypse, and at this point, what else is there to do? 😜

More random ships to come (just passing through), more awkwardness, and—oh yeah—Wander/Reader for life. You’re welcome for the chaos.

[dreaming-marchling]

⭐  Because I couldn't choose which fic I most wanted a director's cut from. :D

I'll go with Across the Lonely Decades :)

Some BTS Tidbits:

"In the center of the mess was his newly re-made warlock. Magnus’ magic had been restored to him eight weeks ago and seeing him with his old confidence back had been a relief to Alec. Worth the trip to Edom and the literal hell he and Jace had gone through to make it right."

Imagine my deep shock when the show went in a totally different direction with this, lol. I was so sure that Jace was going to be a big driver in helping Alec get Magnus back, like nearly as intense about it as he was in getting Clary back. After Magnus and Alec sacrificed for him and with Alec's pain which Jace knew so well having just lost Clary I really thought we were going to see battle parabatai in Edom doing their damnedest because they BOTH were determined to get Magnus back. Super let down that they didn't go that route although obviously there are great aspects to what they picked. I left this bit in even after that aired just as an ode to what I wanted that arc to be.

---

This is one of the main ambience videos I used to help myself get into the Victorian mood.

---

“I don’t know much about parabatai I’ll be honest.” Ragnor said

Ragnor is not being honest. He's trying to get Alec to talk about it.

---

In answer, the warlock hurriedly handed him a… scimitar? Not his favorite and kind of a random choice but he’d take it.

I was getting into The Old Guard and Joe uses a scimitar so I threw this in for the unexpected blade Alec is given. I also picked Ragnor using Yusuf as the first Joseph iteration when he was sharing his revelation about Jozef's identity for the same reason.

---

The whole thongs conversation got added after I started posting the story because I felt like we needed another nice Bane scene of him trying after readers were even more upset about his behavior than I had anticipated.

---

“Shh,” Jozef shushed him gently. “I’m Joseph and Lottie is getting Magnus. That’s what matters, all right? I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise. Dymphna won’t come back.”

“Alec!”

Magnus’ frantic voice called for him.

Alec blinked slowly.

“Stay awake, Alec.” Jozef urged him. When had he learned Alec’s name? He hadn’t known it before when he had been sending Alec through time. He hadn’t been kind then either.

I wasn't super clear in the story and it confused some readers so I'll say it clearly here - Joseph only uses Alec's name here after Magnus calls it. He doesn't know it before that, he was using it after to try to keep Alec awake. I also initially had Joseph call Alec "child" before I decided that was too much and switched it to boy. I wanted Joseph to be really kind and tender to Alec to highlight the person he used to be. Also, I forever live for the idea that Alec is very obviously not centuries old to actual centuries old beings lol

---

Alec felt like he was floating.

I added this whole section to further break hearts right before the chapter was posted.

I pre-write all my stories before I start posting and while I'm editing as the story is posting I have added little bits to stories but I have never added so many scenes as I did to Across the Lonely Decades. I was having so much fun with this one and had so many feels and this was one of my favorite experiences with readers, I just wanted to give more and more.

---

A reader was sad that I didn't include Magnus' POV of Alec getting glamoured for their morning bread date so I wrote them this in a reply comment, in case anyone here has never seen it:

Magnus didn't go into this with plans for how he would change Alec. If he was going to take his 21st century boy out for as many different 19th century experiences as he could, he would likely be magically disguising him enough times that a great deal of fun could be had through the month. Right now, he had plans that needed them out the door quickly so he was just going to play a game of opposites top to bottom.

First, hair. Lengthen it and lighten it. He sent a pulse of magic at Alec and his hair grew rapidly, going from his usual short style into...

Oh.

Oh that was...

Alec leaned into the mirror to inspect his new hair, “What are you doing?”

Every moment of every day Alec was beautiful, Magnus was agonizingly aware of all the ways, but this...

It was like a Greek statue had come to life. Lush and lovely, made for worship. Tousled curls framed Alec's face, somehow highlighting his hazel eyes and making them glow. He looked like a Romantic poet, like he was about to whisper sonnets into Magnus' ear, like they were...

“Magnus?” Alec asked sort of cautiously.

Alec's voice broke the spell abruptly. “Apologies, darling, that hit me harder than I anticipated.”

---

To Alec’s surprised, Cat gave him a brisk rub of her hands over his arms, “I’m joining Eula and Kaira at the pantomime. Send me a fire message if he keels over but otherwise, have a lovely time and I’ll rejoin you tonight.”

Eula and Kaira are from Hybrid. Kaira more prominently as one of the warlocks who comes to help Magnus get the collar off and Eula is one of the warlocks who were killed to give Alec magic, Valentine calls her a bore when she argues with him.

---

But her eyes were the same. The pleased smile was the same. Martha stood in front of him.

“Hello, pretty boy.”

I didn't end up getting into their reunion conversation but Martha had been keeping an eye on Magnus for decades waiting for Alec to start appearing at his side. Technically she could have gone to Magnus while they were freaking out trying to find Alec and explaining but that would possibly ruin getting Alec home so she didn't. She was pretty pleased to get the call inviting her over knowing now was the time. Now that she doesn't have to stay away she and Alec become buddies :)

Thank you for asking!

[murkystarlight]

Dreamzzz season2 spoilers pt. 4

(And my personal comments)

Episode 8

Now. I wanted to end it all here. But I thought I'd separate the final episode from the others and so that we would have 5 parts :) (I just like the numbers like that. Okay?)

The name of the episode has so much meaning- oh god...

The deer- 😭 how did it even end up there?? And Zoey saving it- the tightrope (how did it even end up in the cyber realm??)

"Stop! Stop! Shoo!"

You're supposed to be saving it- but I guess you have to be alive to do so (also, the sounds it makes when it nibbles on the rope- lol)

"It's easy to get scared when you're all alone" (awh-)

[Bird sounds]

"There you are! You know, I could've used your help with this"

Zian is just trying to give you a cool moment on screen. Be nice

Zian is ADORABLE-

"Jeez. Always thinking with your stomach"

That's why Zian is so adorable

Mrs. Castillo is such a nice woman. Wise and kind and... and... smart?

"Izzie, if I tell you a secret, promise not to freak out?"

"[Sqealing] Tell me what it is!"

She is already freaking out-...

"The anticipation is already killing me"

I lover her eyes. When they go all big and sparkly. So pretty. And cute

Zoey taking about her problems to Izzie is so- aughhhh sshe trusts her well enough And- and stuff! She's sharing stuff like this to her because she now is able to open up to them

"What happened? Did he apologize? Did he explain where he's been? Did he reveal a dark secret that he's been leading a double life this whole time and he couldn't tell you in order to keep you safe?"

Izzie our trustworthy ally of an anime watcher. She saw enough shows to know this. And she is... very right about it. I didn't notice this before... wow. She- she guessed his entire life

"I'm curious what lava feels like, but I'm not gonna go stick my hand in it"

Why not Zoey? Why not?

Izzie looks so happy for her-..

And Zoey's frown-

"What class is this for?

"It's not for class. It gives me an edge when I face Astrid in the trials. Without being able to Dream Craft, I don't stand a chance against her"

"But! I got to thinking about how you're dealing with your missing memories, so I figured I'd try something totally different too. Totally unexpected."

"Like-... studying?"

"Exactly! [Doing a small jump] She'll never see it coming!"

Logan studying! So he can look good in front of Astrid(or to beat her. Or-... feel better about himself?)!

"He knows you actually have to read those, right?"

[Nodding]

"Logan, nobody wants to beat Royce's protégé more than I do,but I'll be honest, in this next round, you're going to be facing the most diabolical, most menacing, most insidious things you've ever seen"

"An alarm clock" with- a very serious voice

oh... wow. Okay

"Oh~! Squeal! It's so cute!" (Did she really say "sqeal"? Mood) "Look at those big, dreamy eyes!"

The clock is cute? No, you're cute! (...am I flirting with a lego? Y'know what forget it)

And Mateo and Cooper in the background- just staring at her blankly lol (the background is really interesting to look at in this season) and when they get told to stop Logan while he tried to catch the clock, Izzie's pose- it's so cute😍 and again, Mateo and Cooper just like- blank

The alarm clock went to 19 to 12 seconds a bit too fast...? I think

"Wah, wait. Why are you guys backing up? Is it my breath? Oh, nuts!"

The alarm wasn't a loud one. I guess it's just dream magic?

"If you and Mr. Oz are sort of the same, why do you stay here in the Dream World when he wakes up?" I was thinking the same thing! So many questions about Albert! Unsolved!!

We. Need. Answers!

"Isn't there a part of you that's always dreaming?" (But this doesn't satisfy all the questions I have)

So.... they're just training with all these random people being there with them?

Well unicorns! And Mateo's actually doing something! And Cooper- ...I thought you moved on from the vehicles (his face literally reads "yeah. I thought I did too. Why did I do that?")

Astrid has great neck movement(?). You think she can do the arm thing? Like the noodle arms or.. whatever you call it

"One may be able to conquer without being able to do it"

He read the books!! Hallelujah!

Zoey was here the whole time? I was honestly kinda surprised when I was the episode for the first time. What do you mean she was just standing there this whole time?

"This better not be BFF talk" what's bff talk? That thing exists?

Also, what does Izzie mean by "I won't ask about you dad again" again?? You mean- she just constantly kept asking about him? Trying to help Zoey? Ooh so nice

"We get to throw things at Logan"

"Oh man, there goes Cooper! This things gnarly"

The throwing-... and Cooper again. Why is he always the punching bag in the back? Poor guy... (also, if you wake up in a dream as an aware dreamer unexpectedly, or was forced, what's wrong with that? Can't you just... fall asleep again? Or... does some weird magic in the dream world stop you from doing that?)

Izzie, I thought you said you won't ask about her dad-

And do these kids really not know that they divorced or something? Or.. maybe something else happened? Idk

And-- Cooper's back? What- how does this work? Did he never wake up? Was it just a close call? If you can just fall back asleep, what about Mr. Oz??!

And Logan was literally under a couch. A darn couch

Logan being determined- and Astrid turning the alarm back on- she likes them. Shes not exactly a bully. More like a.... "it's TRUE I'm better than you. You have to be better than this" .....okay. that still sounds bad-

Zoey's aunt is- so kind

"Bro-ther.... you know those are poisonous for cats. Right?" And it's already going horribly

The pictures-

Is that red vines?

"Watching Astrid train seemed like a good idea, but man. I'm getting concerned"

"Yeah, I just feel worse now"

We've got these fella's

"Ohhhh~ pretty"

And her.

"Take it down!" *his eyes- look at his eyes in this scene

"What's your problem~ why you gotta ruin our target practice"

"Because that's my daughter!"

Woah- omg~ no wayyyy *shocked*

"What?!"

"I mean, I... I don't see a resemblance" -well of course not, you think he actually looks like a shadow??

"I had no choice. If the Nightmare king knew he would've use it against me!" Still has the same morals.... *sigh*

"Why do you think I kept letting her go?"

"To be honest, I just thought you were a lousy henchman" -I love you Susan, you beautiful nightmare thing

He admits it

"There~ he goes again"

"Ughhhh"

Look at Zoey smiling! She was happy her dad was there in the dream

And the fact that he remembered that she likes licorice as a kid- it's so cute and sweet

Afraid of getting hurt-

Beau probably already has a lot of experience flying. But he was acting(?) like he was so excited and this was his first time-... and Zoey hugging him- awwww father-daughter moment

"Hey, dad. I got some like.. a contest.. or test.. or something come watch it!"

Definitely sounds legit(the only trap. It is legit)

Beau being like- oh... um.... castle what? Uh-... mr Oz? Uh... um....

Eating hotdogs- I swear to god Cooper, food doesn't have to become your whole new personality!

Snot-bug heh cute

Logan being the only one running- like Oh....kay

The flying pizza-

I like how Mateo fell and hit the clock, rolling down the stairs... just like how you wake up. Not me. I don't have an alarm

Izzie and Zian is friends for a reason

Yay! Go Takashi~ also, the way they said his name?

Also, the dreamling costume is like- adorable! But how did he pull that off? You mean no one thought it would be weird that a dreamling is that big?

But Beau trying to be there and support Zoey is nice. Like he does care

But Mr. Oz, really? You don't have to eat off of the floor! (And I just realized. In the 18 years ago episode, Albert said something like "keeping the kids dreaming" or.. whatnot. So... Beau and Hannaha are pretty young back then. At least younger than mr. Oz. So.... does that mean beau talking to mr. Oz this whole time was... on purpose? "I'm going to be rude to him now! Hehe" and... how did mr Oz know that the night hunter was one of his past teammates? And how did he not connect the dots of Beau being the night hunter? And-)

I love how Zoey gets her confidence after seeing her dad. Because she still thinks that he couldn't come. Which in her case would make her feel even better that he did come. That he's really trying to make a difference. Because Zoey still thinks that her dad has to do other stuff that night. But despite that he came to see her! That's what Zoey has on her mind. That's how Zoey is seeing this. Which makes it even more of a... important thing to her

Which is... pretty cute

So they know it's just a costume?

Astrid and Logan bonding- ahhhhh

You can only use dream crafting (but- but-)

"Why, you stuck up little- so and so!" I'm telling you. The only reason mr. Oz doesn't swear, is because he's around kids all the time

"I don't need the win. I already got everything I wanted today"

So- ah! My hearttt the blurry picture-

Beau nearly cleaning up the cardboard cut out

And the never witch! She was gone for a while! Good to see you again you very cool designed evil witch villain that will probably cause a lot of pain to the characters. Welcome!

Also- does the night hunter voice and the Beau voice just.... switch on and off? Is Beau just capable of doing that?

The never witches staff is beautiful

Beau really want the secret identity thing a secret

"What I want. Is the one thing called... Mateo"

Ewww pedo what's wrong with you?? (I'm sorry that was the only reaction I could think of- but it is similar to my first reaction... I think)

Don't worry people who haven't watched this thing yet! She is not pedo!(or... hopefully she isn't) she's just a normal witch that want the boy for dinner! She's going to be making soup or potion out of him

Episode 9

Susan and Snivel fighting again

They're literally siblings

"I've missed this" yeah. Me too

And Nova! You're back! (Maybe she was in the hospital for lack of sleep again)

And Sneak too! Your family misses you Sneak. Please go back to them! Or... bring your two families together?

"What's taking so long!" 😡 he angy. He pissed

So I guess he's only out in the waking world now since he... *cough* isn't much help in the dream world at the moment-

"A few corrupted gummy bears are no match for my daughter" he says it with so much pride.... is this... okay? He caused them. And he... uh... okay??

Sudan and Snivel getting the front row seats to watch the show- with popcorn (really, how is this the candy realm? Just call it 'random food people like realm' ...no. that's a horrible name. Don't use that)

They could get sawed?? By the lollipop trees? Limbs go *poof*??

Oh- nope. Never mind. Sorry guys. The witch is pedo. (Mateo is going on a date👍"you got a date with the never witch")

The nightmare horse/alicorn thing!!

Mateo grunting- 😂

Mateo worrying about z-blob more than himself who is tied up and alone with a witch. Also what spell is the never witch even using?

*dramatic entrance*

"Late to the party my dudes"

Awww.... too bad. I mean.. I guess it's good?

"You handled things just fine without us!"

"Don't sound so surprised"

Why does everyone keep saying stuff like "you said teamwork. But this doesn't look like teamwork to me" as if we're going to have a similar situation from the last season, in this seasons finale too(and the way everyone automatically thinks Mateo left to see Z-blob. Just imagine how many times he did that for them to think this way)

"Mateo left again? Ugh, for the love of-!"

"Maybe- seeing Z-blob will help him feel ready for the next trial"

He's a good friend. A good friend

"Wouldn't it be dope if all of you made the final three?"

He's gotten jolly. Look at him, so friggin adorable-

"I have an... um... errand to run"

"Wha- where is she-?! Does everyone just do what they want around here?"

"Yep, it's part of our charm"

She's so chill

Zian knows-

"Arrogance, selfishness, anger. I will harness your worst tendencies to fuel my spell"

And folks. Here we have it.

Arrogance, selfishness and anger

Mateo's little flaws

I really like the coloring in this show

Did he really break that wood thing prison that he couldn't break with slime? I guess it's pretty hard-

Falling-

Oh, and falling again

Look! Zian's kind!

"What is this place?"

Creepy vine thing. But actually nothing big-

Here it is! The one... no. Not exactly one. The second! And... first clone? Madeo! He... really... ugh.. I don't know

Do the clones look like that only to us watching through the screen or do they actually look like that but the others don't care/think he changed his look by dream crafting?

"I'm the new top dog around here" he sounds like... Mateo. But with a lot of autotune(I don't know with the colors)

But did he really snarl? Like- dude... why??

"Greetings witch! Loved that soup. Spicy!" He ate the- his own- um... flesh and memory stew?

This part is great. I love it. It's so funny

Ticklish Mateo laughing. I wonder if he's ticklish or if the vine just has good skills

"Wait, how did you know I was here? And who's the weird dude?"

The night hunter making dad jokes

"I got nabbed by the night hunter-"

"What?! I will end him"

The night hunter: 😔

Also the night hunter:

"Whatever I can do to help, I will"

Then secretly when no one's watching 😒

Oh- so this is where the giant raven set comes from! That set looks amazing btw

Takahashi making flowers- why is he so cute? Why does he keep popping up? Why is he still here? Is he playing a part?

*super cool landing. Sling the giant pencil on shoulder. Grin. And make it evil*

"Um, are they like friends now?"

Yes. Yes they are. And they seem to be bonding very well. Good for them!

And my favorite(? I think so. Its definitely the funniest) part

"Dude, was your brother always so dreamy?" (Its always this line. Always. Ugh...... I like it though)

"Mateo?!"

"Dreamy?"

Cooper's just surprised. Like. Dude. What?!

And Logan's more like... 'she called him dreamy?' It seems like he's in love. But I'm no expert. It seems like a potential love line the creators are trying to make.... (and if it is... how does it work? Astrid is from Berlin. Right?)

[Intense music playing] lol

[All swooning] okay. What?

The hairflip- ahhhggahg

He's good at football now. Wow.... that is real improvement the never witch made on him 😌

The flowers again-

"Smooth!" No! Cooper! Not the time to be a supportive friend! Is he jealous? Or supportive? Or what?

"Ew, that's my brother. Gross!"

See? What did I say about those sibling bonds? It's great. (And what do you mean gross? Just grossing out that "Mateo" acting is like that. Or the fact that Cooper said "smooth")

"Dude, who are you?"

Izzie really-

"Your brother, sister"

Yeah- no. I'm pretty sure no one calls they're siblings "brother" and "sister" without a reason

"No, and I'm loving this new you!"

Wait- what? Iz? I thought you- wait. So... she was calling out Cooper for saying Mateo was being "smooth" with the flirting? And stuff??

"How'd you get over your Z-blob flunk?"

Yup. And we got Cooper. Either being the logical one as always, or just... continuing to be a supportive friend

"Oh~ this and that. No biggie"

Yeah- okay. Gotta agree tho. These clones are fun. Look at that personality! Whoo!

"Well whatever you did, it's good to have you back buddy"

Alright. Supportive friend it is. And- no. No he is... the opposite of back. He's not even the same guy-

(Also, can we wave a little flag for the dude? I feel like he having the identity crisis right now🏳️‍🌈)

Malicious smile.... ehhehe

Meanwhile. The real Mateo:

"So... Beau. Mind if I call you Beau?" (Another cliche one)

Beau: 😑🤨 (long speech)

"He would never hurt me"

He... already has....;;

Izzie was sad when her balloons were taken then her face brightens up once she sees that he gave it to Astrid. I think Izzie just doesn't mind what the hell happens to Mateo's relationship as long as he has one-

Also, new word learned!

Enchanté

No idea what that is

"Dude, Mateo's pencil spear's back to normal!"

Cooper. Again. Not the time to be a supportive friend! Logan is clearly pissed rn

"Wouldn't it be great if he wins the last trial?"

Coop- oh god. He is so stupidly in love- .....I think? It's a possibility

"Wasteful, but impressive"

Well. At least she saying the truth

He can play the electric guitar?? The rock music? Omggggg that's... just a complete new feature. How did no one know he's not real? Even if he looks the same to them. By now they should've noticed?

The dream crafted speaker has a cute sticker attached to it too.

"Loud! But I love it"

Oh no.... Astrid is into bad boys- no wonder she gets along with Logan-

Izzie~ love your confidence

Only three? Really? And fight for the leader? Why??!

"I still don't get why, we can't just take on the Never Witch together"

Me too Cooper. Me too.... at least you guys are smart enough to notice

"Royce is obsessed with this "return to the good ol' days" nonsense"

And Cooper nodding- ahh so friggin cute

"Always has been-"

An attack is a good thing? Apperantly.... wow....

"Oh. That's not a hill..."

Wait- Beau just used a dart?! Ooohhhh why has no one drawn this yet??

Again with the background characters that look the same (the blonde one will be.... Alicia)

"Get out of my way! Runt!"

"Wow. Mateo had become a real-"

I'm telling you. These are not coincidences. They have sweated but it's a kids show so they sensored it

"Hi, Astrid..."

So stupidly in love no.2

Izzie has the hammer thing! And it looks amazing-

Seriously, the way they say Takashi...

Oooh~ the nightmare king again~ and he really is a little-....icon now

"You were right to be suspicious of me"

"Ooh~ this is good"

It is Voldemort's little brother. Or sister. It really is getting good

I love that pose when Beau changes into his costume again- that pose- it... its hilarious-

"So you'll lock us up instead?"

"At least you'll be safe" him and his morals again-

And then Zoey throws the clock. At this moment I knew. This was going to come back as a bad thing. She's going to need that clock. That's what the season kept hinting at us too-

And look at how Mateo is comfort(?)ing her-

"Re~presenting Brooklyn, baby!" "Ha ha ha!"

It's not just me- he did get more hyped up (and did he just pick him up on his shoulders? He can do that?? Does logic work differently here or can he actually do that? I mean- he did it with such confidence and comfort like he's done that hundreds of times)

"Logan, my brother is acting super weird!"

"Yeah, he's just found his groove"

"No Logan! You don't get it. He sabotaged me to make the task force!"

😨omg no way-(but seriously. No way)

"Finally! I'm aching for some malice!"

Also, just noticed. While watching this now

His hair streak (Madeo) is yellow and red. And here, the red is definitely red. Like.. a more brighter and more standing out red

Philllllll nooooo!!!

What. A way. To end this. 👏👏👏

Previous part

[falloutbradreviews]

End Of The Year Media Extravaganza (with @jakeh2987)

Now I know what you’re thinking: based on the title alone, the end of the year has come and gone, so what gives? I’ll admit that this was supposed to come out way sooner, but this thing called “life” gets in the way. Christmas, as well as an unexpected family emergency (and a random snowstorm on top of that) pushed this back. Hell, there are still some lists trickling out, so it’s not totally late. Nonetheless, list season is the epitome of the year as a music fan. Throughout the year, my buddy Jake and I come together to talk about our favorite pieces of media throughout the last handful of months, including music, movies, video games, TV shows, and even extending it to podcasts and other pieces of media. We’ve been doing this every three or four months, so it’s time for the zenith of it all — the end of the year list. This time, however, we’re going to be something different… An awards show!

Well, sort of, anyway. Introducing the End Of The Year Media Extravaganza Awards Show, where we’ll be nominating a total of five bands / artists for certain categories, both good and bad, ultimately picking a “winner,” and talking about many other albums and artists in the process. We’ll still be talking about a bunch of albums, bands, and artists, but we figured we’d try something a little different this time around, while keeping it fun, lighthearted, and conversational. It’s something we’re trying out, and I don’t know about Jake, but I’m all for it.

Speaking of which, how ya doin’, man? It’s been awhile since we’ve done one of these, but this is the one that I’m most excited for. I know it’s a little late, but I’ve been excited to work on this, nonetheless. I guess the first question I have to start this off is what you thought about this year as a whole, especially for music. What did you think about music as a whole this year, and how do you think it compared to years past?

Hey man! As always, I'm super stoked to get together to do this, but I'm especially excited to do it this year because of this awards show idea we came up with. It's gonna be a chance to do what we always do, but in a new and creative way!

Anyway, I'm doing okay! I think the rush of the holidays and general end-of-year stuff took a lot more out of me than I realized, because I've been spending a lot of time just resting and taking it easy, but besides that, it's been a nice reset of sorts! When I do think back on 2024, though, I think it was a really strong year for music, but almost sneakily so. Last year had some really heavy hitters, like new albums from Fall Out Boy and Metallica, so in comparison, you could look at this year and say it wasn't quite as big, but I think a lot of really great stuff came out throughout the year, and then we did eventually get some heavier hitters as the year went on. I'm curious about what you think, though, what stands out to you as you look back on 2024?

I love the idea you came up with for the awards show, because it really is a unique spin on what we already do, so we’ll still be able to talk about music, just in a fun and more engaging way. Anyway, I can say the same thing about what how 2024 stood out; we had some heavy hitters last year, especially bands and artists that hadn’t put out albums in a long time, such as the aforementioned ones, but this year shouldn’t be disregarded, either. We still had a lot of great stuff, even if we only really had a few albums that truly transcended the scene they’re apart. It’s also truly been a diverse year in music, and my personal list has a lot of different stuff, definitely more than usual. I will also say that my lists have been pretty different the last few years, and not a lot of heavier music has appeared on my lists from the last couple years. I listened to a lot of heavy music back in the day, and while I still do, not a whole lot really stuck out enough to throw it on my list. While this year wasn’t as big, what came out and what we ended up loving was truly special.

I did want to ask you one thing before we get started: what made you come up with this idea of an awards show? I love the unique spin on our classic formula of just shooting the shit, and having some fun, but what was the inspiration behind it?

In our last check-in piece, I talked about the gaming YouTube channel/podcast MinnMax and how they have some unique spins on some very tried and true formats and shows, and another thing they do in a unique way is their end-of-year list content. They have what's called The Two Tens, where they compile all the hosts' favorite game releases and build out a top 20 list, and The MinnMax Awards, where they hand out various accolades for stuff like favorite boss fight in a game, best performance, and so on. I thought this idea might be fun to translate to a music discussion, and after planning it out over the last while, I'd say we came up with a really cool format!

Oh, that’s such a cool idea! That’s a cool way to spruce up yearend accolades, especially more than just saying what was good or bad. Even bad stuff can have good stuff in it, and a lot of people fail to realize that, and instead they just see things as black or white without any room for gray. Translating this to a music discussion is awesome, what do you say we get this ball rolling, huh? Would you like to do the honor of introducing the first category?

So, before we get into these, I'll offer a brief disclaimer; when it comes to the more genre-specific categories, whatever wins might not necessarily be our favorite release in that category, but it's still something we both very much enjoyed and that we both feel best represents the category.

Speaking of, our first category is Best Pop/R&B/Hip-Hop Album! I'm gonna let you mostly take the lead on this one, because you're way more versed in these genres than I am, but I do have a few nominations for it all the same:

Kendrick Lamar- GNX

Lupe Fiasco- Samurai

Childish Gambino- Atavista/Bando Stone and the New World

Just because I’m more familiar with these genres doesn’t mean your nominations are any less valid, because I was going to pick those as well! I had those on my list, too, and I’d like to nominate two more:

Justin Timberlake - Everything I Thought It Was

Lil Dicky - Penith

And the winner is…

I feel like with the year he's had, it's gotta be Kendrick Lamar's GNX, and it's really not even close. The beef with Drake (who may or may not appear later) was the talk of the spring and summer, and "Not Like Us" in particular really was a massive hit, so Kendrick really had nothing to prove this year, but he decided to surprise-drop an album to cap off the year, and it's some of his most accessible and fun material to date, but without losing anything that makes him one of the best in the game. GNX shows a man on top of the world, and I for one think it's really well-deserved.

Oh, yeah, no complaints here! My pick would easily be GNX by Kendrick Lamar, and it’s truly one of my favorites of the year, although I wish it would have come out earlier in the year, because I would have loved to have spent a lot of time with this one throughout the year. Nonetheless, this record is a lot of fun, engaging, and celebratory. It really is a man on top of the world, and you can’t help but get sucked into it, too.

Onto the next category, the best pop-punk album of this year! I’m gonna let you take this one, since you enjoy the genre more than I do, but I got a couple things I’d like to nominate, because the genre truly was something special this year:

State Champs - S/T

Neck Deep - S/T

The Story So Far - I Want To Disappear

Pop-punk really did have a great year, but one thing in particular that I think stood out this year was the variety of releases within the genre. You had your more straightforward bands, like State Champs and Neck Deep, both of whom I'll also nominate, but you had others who play in different subsets release banger albums, including:

Boston Manor- Sundiver

Trash Boat- Heaven Can Wait

I feel like this one might be another pretty clear-cut winner, but it doesn't make any of the others any less awesome. And that winner is...

I don’t know if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, but it has to go to State Champs by a mile. I haven’t heard your picks, but I may check those out throughout this year, because I know you were hyping those up, although the self-titled State Champs album blew me away. It was even better than Kings Of The New Age, and even that record was already great. They really doubled down on what makes them stick out, but they added some new stuff to keep their sound fresh, at least fresh enough to keep themselves interesting.

Yep, State Champs absolutely takes this one, and you nailed why; they're a band who does what they do so well, is led by one of the best vocalists in the genre, if not the best, and for this album in particular, they doubled down on what made Kings of the New Age so great and added a few new flairs to their sound, including a song that wouldn't feel too out of place on modern country radio. They just know how to make effortlessly catchy and fun pop-punk, and if they keep up this current hot streak, we'll have a lot of great music from them for many years to come.

Our next category is going to be one of many that we have that isn’t about a specific genre, but we wanted to go back to years’ past: the best album not from 2024. This is as broad of a category as you can get; you don’t have to only listen to newly released music in any calendar year, as you can listen to music that’s new to you from any year, so what are some albums from years’ past, which you discovered last year, that you want to nominate?

So, I could have really gone anywhere with this, but when I think about albums I really gravitated towards in the last year aside from the new releases that I hadn't heard before, I have a few that came to mind. These are all pretty different releases, but they all stuck with me one way or another:

Mike Shinoda- Post Traumatic

Wage War- Manic

Tonight Alive- The Other Side

I'm very curious to see what your picks for this are, because again, it could be absolutely anything.

This is something I had to sit and think about, because I discovered a good amount of music this past last year, but I went back to a lot of stuff, too, so I have to remind myself that I found an album a couple of years ago, versus this past year. Mike Shinoda’s debut solo album is a good one, and I’d put that here, too, because I listened to that when I got more into Linkin Park. Here are a few I got, though:

Teddy Swims - I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy, Pt. 1

Frank Sinatra - L.A. Is My Lady

And the winner is…

I think for this one, because the category is so broad and we both have very different picks, I say we make this one a co-winner, with each of us choosing an album! I'll go with Mike Shinoda's Post Traumatic for my winner; in the midst of Linkin Park's comeback this past fall, I did a deep dive into their discography for the first time in many years, but I also finally gave this album a proper listen, and it's a very raw and honest look into Shinoda's grief in the immediate aftermath of Chester Bennington's passing, and it was also a look at some of what Linkin Park was gonna end up doing sonically on their comeback album. This album hit me pretty hard and stuck with me as the year came to a close and Linkin Park's From Zero was in full swing.

So, which would be your winner here?

Ooh, okay, I like that, actually. Both of my nominations both mean something different, but if I had to go with one, I’d pick Frank Sinatra’s L.A. Is My Lady. I’ve been a Sinatra fan for many years, but I only really took a deep dive into his music a couple of years back, and this album is his last solo studio album. It was re-released and remastered last year for its 40th anniversary, but I ended up finding an original copy right before Christmas on vinyl. It’s an underrated album in his body of work, because you can tell he’s aged, but he’s having so much fun with it. It’s also an album done with the late Quincy Jones, who passed away just a couple months ago. As much as I loved Teddy Swims, I’ve done even more of a deep dive into Sinatra this year, and it’s been such a blast getting a lot of his albums on vinyl.

Four our next category, we're gonna take a look at Comeback of the Year, and there are really two main criteria for this one; either a band/artist put out a great new release after coming back from hiatus or just not putting anything out after a few years, or they came back after a bit of a career slump and released an album that got people back on board. My nominees for this category are:

Linkin Park- From Zero

Green Day- Saviors

Those are good pieces of criteria for Comeback of the Year, especially the latter, since there are a handful of bands that put out albums that got people back on board. Now I would also certainly nominate Linkin Park with From Zero, but here are my couple of nominees that I got:

Usher - Coming Home

Lil Dicky - Penith

Childish Gambino - Atavista / Bando Stone

And the winner is…

So, I think the easy winner here would be Linkin Park with From Zero, but I am open to hearing you out if you have a different idea! But, this was easily music's biggest comeback story, both in terms of just the story itself and for how well-received From Zero turned out to be. It's the band's first album in seven years with a new vocalist who was doing the impossible in replacing Chester Bennington, and I don't think it could have gone any better. What do you think, though?

It’s no context — From Zero wins this. That record was the epitome of a comeback. They came back almost out of nowhere, and people rallied right alongside them. They did the impossible, like you said, so I totally agree.

With that said, our next category is the biggest surprise of the year! This can be a mixture of an album that really blew us away, and we didn’t expect it to be as good as it was, or an album that came out that we had no idea about, but it was great. My nominations lean into both of those, but here’s what I got (and a couple of these may overlap with the last one, actually):

Linkin Park - From Zero

Kendrick Lamar - GNX

Bilmuri - American Motor Sports

I wonder if some of these will be the same for you, but I’m curious as to what really surprised you this year.

I'm definitely with you on both From Zero and American Motor Sports, and I can give you GNX for this nomination as well, because all three of those were great albums that came out of nowhere, for one reason or another. To round out the nominations, I'll throw these into the ring:

Windwaker- Hyperviolence

Cory Wells- Harboring the Hurt I've Caused

And the winner is...

I’m torn between From Zero and GNX, so unless you have another pick, I’m happy with either of those, because those are the two albums that surprised me the most, although Bilmuri surprised me a lot, too, because I had never listened to his music proper. My gut is leaning towards From Zero, though, because that album really surprised me, where I was never a fan of Linkin Park beforehand, but what do you think?

Funnily enough, I was torn between Linkin Park and Bilmuri, and since we talked about Linkin Park a good bit already, I'll get into a little bit of why I think Bilmuri is one of the picks deserving of this spot. Like you, I had never listened to this band's music before, but when I started hearing the singles for this album, I was really blown away by just how good they were, and that goes for the album as a whole. It almost has no business being as good as it is, because at first glance, country songwriting with djenty metalcore riffs really shouldn't work, and yet it does so well.

That said, I'm happy to give it to From Zero, because like we both mentioned before, no one saw this coming, and even more so, it turned out better than anyone could have hoped for.

That’s why Bilmuri surprised me, because I hadn’t heard his music before, but the country instrumentation with djenty riffs and breakdowns really caught me by surprise. GNX caught me by surprise for being a great album that literally had no hype or anticipation, it just showed up, and it was awesome. From Zero, however, takes the cake for me for being an album I didn’t expect, but also being an album I ended up really loving. It really made me a fan of theirs, and that’s genuinely the biggest surprise I had for the whole year.

Our next category is another kind of surprise — biggest disappointment. These are albums that we were excited to hear, but they fell short a bit. I combed through all my reviews and I found a few that I wanted to nominate:

Cane Hill - A Piece Of Me I Never Let You Find

Many Eyes - The Light Age

Belmont - Liminal

Let me stress that this doesn’t mean these albums are bad, and these are far from it, but these are albums that let me down a bit, so what do you have for your nominations?

Like you, I'd say that the albums I chose for this bit aren't at all bad, but for the most part, I was underwhelmed because I expected to at least enjoy them a solid amount and listen to them more than just a couple times.

10 Years- Inner Darkness

Seether- The Surface Seems So Far

I think for our winner, I'll get behind Many Eyes out of our nominations. I still thought that album was pretty solid, all things considered, but considering the other member of Every Time I Die put out an absolutely banger of an album with Better Lovers, Keith Buckley's first album back post-ETID breakup just falls a little flat. What say you?

The debut Many Eyes album is my pick, too, especially out of these, but the new Cane Hill is a close second, just because of how long it’s been since their last album. I liked both of these, but yeah, I only listened to Many Eyes a few times and got tired of it, because it was just like everything he did with Every Time I Die. Many Eyes gets it, for better or worse, but hopefully their next album is more interesting.

Our next category is best unpopular album, and these are albums that weren’t very liked by a lot of people, but we found enjoyment with them, anyway. I only have two, but I’m curious to see what you have, too:

Lil Dicky - Penith

Justin Timberlake - Everything

So, I only really have one nomination for this myself, but I think it's one you'll definitely agree with, at least based on our previous discussions, and that's Wage War's Stigma.

This is an album that a lot of the metal community didn't like, and while I can understand why, it's only to a certain extent. I think I personally prefer Manic, but Stigma is an album that further expands on what they've been doing for the last couple reasons, and they take some really cool left turns along the way. The unfortunate thing is, it's not the same crushing metalcore a lot of their fanbase wants, so I think it gets a lot of undeserved hate.

Honestly, I would say that's my winner for this one, but I'm curious about what you think. I could see a case being made for JT, but at least with him, I kinda get why people's view of him as a person might cause them to just dismiss the album, regardless of quality.

Yeah, I’d say that Stigma wins for this category; I liked Manic a lot more, too, but Stigma is still a solid album. I could make cases for my picks, but I can at least get why people don’t like my picks, even if they were unnecessarily hated. Stigma is an album that really fans didn’t like because it just wasn’t as heavy, so Stigma gets it. With that said, what’s our next category?

For our next category, we have Best Underground/Unknown Album, and this is basically just an album from a band or artist who isn't on any label or has any real name recognition yet, but we feel like they should, because they put out an awesome release in 2024. What are some of your nominees for this one?

For this one, I went with exactly what you said: albums from bands that aren’t either on a label, or have any real name recognition, and I got three, at least out of stuff on my list, anyway:

Brigette Calls Me Baby - The Future Is Our Way Out

Out Of/Into - Motion I

Fluorescents - Scream It At Me

What have you got?

Ooh, yeah, that Fluorescents album was great, and would definitely be one of my picks as well! Here are my two others:

Midfield- self-titled

Lily Kershaw- Pain & More

I'm honestly happy to give the win to any of these, so I'll turn it over to you! I'll give the edge to Fluorescents, though; I think that album shows a ton of promise, especially for a debut album.

Yeah, Fluorescents totally works, because I really love that album, especially as a debut album from a band that’s from my neck of the woods (well, home turf, anyway). Fluorescents gets the win, in that case, and a well-deserved one, at that.

Our next category is most underrated album! This category is slightly different, as these are albums that were relatively popular, but they just didn’t get the love they deserved, or the very least, got overshadowed by other stuff that came out. Here’s what I’m going to nominate:

Bayside - There Are Worse Things Than Being

Lupe Fiasco - Samurai

Rain City Drive - Things Are Different Now

I’m curious to see what you have, because they could very well be the same!

Well, you would be absolutely correct, both Bayside and Rain City Drive made my nominations as well! Both were very loved by their respective fanbases, but didn't quite as the broader love and support they deserved. My other picks for this category would be:

Makari- Wave Machine

The Early November- self-titled

I'm tempted to give the win to Bayside, but I almost think the reason it's underrated is because a lot of people almost take Bayside for granted in how consistent and solid they've been for the better part of a decade+, and this album really was them at some of their creative peaks. But, I can also see a case for Rain City Drive; it's pretty much an unspoken rule in life that any band Jonny Craig is kicked out of automatically gets better, but I feel like Rain City Drive got left behind after their first album with current vocalist Matt McAndrew, and they didn't deserve that, because this album rules.

I gave one of mine to Lupe Fiasco, because as much love as the album got in the hip-hop scene, it didn’t get much love elsewhere. Even after a bit, people kind of forgot about it, unfortunately. I thought the same for Bayside and Rain City Drive, too, because Bayside is one of those bands that’s been around for a long time, yet Rain City Drive were dealt with a bad hand after they kicked Jonny Craig to the curb. I’ll give it to one of them, so I’ll leave it up to you.

You know what, I think I'll give the win to Rain City Drive here, because I think given the chance and exposure, they could really take that next step, and I think that's worth celebrating.

Next up, we're gonna flip this one on its head and talk about Most Overrated Album. These are albums that are good, maybe even great, but we felt like they got more attention then they maybe deserved, at least in place of more exciting releases. My nominees are:

Alpha Wolf- Half Living Things

Real Friends- Blue Hour

Cane Hill- a piece of me i never let you find

Honestly, Rain City Drive getting the win seems right, because they’re a band that’s underrated in their own right. Anyway, I’m definitely surprised at your picks here, although I certainly agree with all three. I went towards more mainstream music for mine, and these might even be contentious and controversial, but hear me out:

Jack White - No Name

Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter

I picked these, because as good as they were, they weren’t defining releases of the year, especially in Jack White’s case. I respect Cowboy Carter more than I really like it, but it was a messy album that didn’t know what it was trying to do, especially throwing a lot of ideas at you. I’m surprised you put the new Real Friends album, too; I liked that album, but I never reviews it, because I found it kind of boring, at least in the sense that it may have been their best album, but it felt like it came out ten years too late. Really, any of these have a shot at winning, but what do you think?

I watch a lot of music YouTubers who happen to listen to primarily metal, and almost all of them were really hyping up the new Alpha Wolf to be one of the year's best releases, so I was excited to check it out, but while I thought it was good, I didn't really see what everyone else was seeing in it that made it *that* good. Like, sure, the Ice-T collab was awesome, but I wish the rest of the album had more of that swagger and fun. And as for Real Friends, I think it's one of those cases where the pop-punk community wants to hype this band up still because they were one of the OGs of the 2010s scene, but unlike State Champs and Neck Deep, among others, I feel like this album didn't really do anything to make them take that next step, even if they improved a good amount since they switched vocalists. They feel like a band stuck in time, and I don't quite get why they still get the love they do in the scene.

I haven't listened to either the Beyonce or Jack White albums, but I will say, from everything I hear about it, the new Jack White seems like it's just a "tr00 rawk" fan's fever dream, and I don't know if anyone outside of them have really cared since after the White Stripes days, so I'm leaning towards that one for our winner.

Yeah, the new Alpha Wolf album was good, but it was boring beyond belief, like it was just breakdowns and harsh vocals. I also sorta feel like the nu-metalcore trend is starting to get overplayed, like we’ve heard it a million times before, and they just didn’t do anything with that sound. I feel the same way about Real Friends, too; their new album is good, but it still feels like they’re stuck in 2014.

As for Jack White, honestly, I’d go with that one, too. I liked it when it came out, but I honestly kinda forgot about it. I’ll go with that one, too, because it is a good album, but it’s a generic blues-rock album that admittedly does have some cool riffs and ideas, but that’s it.

Our next category is, well, best country MAGA heel turn from a butt-rock singer, and all I’ve gotten written here are:

Aaron Lewis - The Hill

Aaron Lewis - The Hill

Aaron Lewis - The Hill

Do you have anyone different? This is just odd that it’s all the same name and album!

Huh, that is odd, let me check to see if I have anything different:

Aaron Lewis- The Hill

Aaron Lewis- The Hill

That's so weird, I have the same album, too! I wonder how this happened!

Well, I guess the winner is Aaron Lewis with The Hill, don’t you think? I believe this is what they call “foreshadowing,” wink wink, because this album will most likely be spoken about again. I will say, however, that this album blew me away for how blatantly MAGA-coded it was.

Aaron Lewis had been going down this path for the last several years now, but this was the album where the mask fully slipped, and it's honestly baffling just how awful and pandering to MAGA it really is. It honestly feels like Lewis fired up ChatGPT, fed a bunch of Fox News transcripts through it, and then told it to generate the most generic and bland country album you can think of. I mention Fox News specifically because nearly every lyric is pulled right out of the MAGA grievance playbook, and he genuinely believes he's speaking truth to power or whatever nonsense.

The first track of this album is literally about how people should get along, regardless of political affiliation, and instead go fishing, but he slips a “let’s go Brandon” remark in there, like he can’t help himself. Not only does that make it so dated already, it just plain sucks. This album really does feel like Fox News and ChatGPT got together, but it’s truly bafflingly awful.

Speaking of awful, the next category is a band who should just stop. These are bands that either put out music this year, or they’re just so bad, they need to stop. Here’s who I got, and I put a few more here, because I figured ours might be the same:

Falling In Reverse

Eminem

Staind

Skillet

Nothing More

I have no objections to any of these nominations, and I would have picked most of the same ones, so I think we're set here! Now, let's break these down a bit.

I think I'll eliminate Nothing More first, because while I very much think they're a band who are very far up their own asses and they can never get out of their own way to reach what potential they might have, I at least think they *could* turn it around one day if they wanted to. I don't think they ever will, but I can at least sort of see the vision there. Next, Staind honestly isn't even worth mentioning, because it's so obviously just something Aaron Lewis pulls out every so often when he needs an influx of cash, and if there's one thing the red-state radio rock crowd loves, it's nostalgia for bands way past their prime, or who arguably never had a prime in the first place. So, I think this leaves us with three main possibilities with this one, so I'll throw it back to you for your thoughts on those artists!

I’m fine with taking off both Nothing More and Staind, especially with the former having some potential, and the latter just not even being worth mentioning, because Aaron Lewis is a solo artist now, basically, and only dusts them off when he needs the cash. I say take off Skillet, too, because as bad as they are, they’re more or less harmless in that their brand of hard rock is so tame and milquetoast, they don’t even have any impact to speak of.

Both FIR and Eminem have a case against them; Ronnie Radke is just one of the worst musicians of all time, and with the MAGA pills he’s swallowed, he’s only gonna get worse, but Eminem is a case of where he’s just too old. His new album was basically him trying to relive the glory days, and it’s really bad, so he should just give it up at this point, so I don’t know which one is worse. You could say Ronnie Radke is, but Eminem is just as harmful, because he uses a lot of transphobic language and slurs on his new album, basically because he can, not because he has anything to say. What do you think, though?

I'll also agree about Skillet, because while vocalist John Cooper is a MAGA, Fox News-pilled asshole now, Skillet's music as a whole is the kind of bland and generic radio rock that you can just ignore, because it's mostly harmless, even if it does have its particularly bad moments.

When it comes to Eminem, I think it's interesting, because while there's no denying the impact and influence he had in the 90s, and I think that gets him at least some points, he hasn't been able to take that and use it to evolve his career beyond that, or when he has tried to, his fans didn't like it as much, so he had to revert back to his same tired tricks. His latest album is a perfect case of this, and at this point, it's just tired. It's okay to admit that you don't have it anymore, that your only move is resorting to being edgy and barely hiding bigotry, and I really wish Em would.

On the other hand, Ronnie Radke is someone who never had it to begin with. I know people have some form of nostalgia for that first Escape The Fate album that put him on the map all those years ago, but even that hasn't aged very well at all, and Radke's a massive reason why. I've never been able to tolerate him as a vocalist, and even back then, he had this air of douchey, wannabe tough guy energy, but the thing is, that's all he has, and this new album is just so played out. The man really just needs to drop the pretense and start a show on Rumble or something, because all he does now is go on TikTok and air out his grievances with people who dare to criticize him. And the music does not at all justify any of it, it's the most generic yet try-hard Octanecore you could imagine, only further "bolstered" by Radke's supreme asshole and bigoted behavior.

This is all a rather long-winded way to say that I think our boy Ronald takes the cake here. Falling In Reverse just needs to stop, because nothing justifies giving a man like Radke a platform under any circumstances.

That’s a good assessment, for sure, so Ronnie does get it, especially where Em had talent and a career to begin with. Falling In Reverse just never did, and somehow they have a bunch of fans, which constantly baffles me, because I don’t get it.

Anyhow, our next category is best metalcore and post-hardcore album. I wanted to put these genres in their own category, because these are huge genres that span a lot of sub-genres and styles, and the world of metalcore and post-hardcore throve in 2024. You may have a couple of the same ones I do, but I wanted to nominate a couple more, just in case you do (and the list of great albums were a lot):

Knocked Loose - You Won’t Go

Better Lovers - Highly Irresponsible

The Ghost Inside - Searching For Solace

SeeYouSpaceCowboy - Coup De Grace

Looking back on this year, I think it was particularly strong for the heavier scenes. There were so many great releases across the various subsets of metal and post-hardcore that you can't really go wrong. I would agree that Knocked Loose and Better Lovers are deserving of nominations, but I have a few of my own I'd like to throw into the ring:

Too Close to Touch- For Keeps

Void of Vision- What I'll Leave Behind

Windwaker- Hyperviolence

Bring Me The Horizon- Post Human Nex Gen

It's gotta be Knocked Loose, right? It may not totally be my thing personally, but there's no denying how great that album is and the impact it had this year.

Oh, yeah, that new BMTH album was pretty solid, I forgot about that one! That was a good album, and those others were solid, too, but Knocked Loose would get the win from me, personally, because of how good it is, and how it made them utterly massive. Hell, they played Jimmy Kimmel this year, and that’s crazy on its own, so if you’re cool with that, I say we give it to Knocked Loose.

For our next award, let's talk about Most Listened To Album! This is pretty self-explanatory; it's simply the album we played the most throughout the year, the one we just couldn't get enough of. Since this is another pretty broad one, I think we can both choose a winner for this, so here are my nominees:

Bilmuri- American Motor Sports

State Champs- self-titled

Bayside- There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive

Linkin Park- From Zero

Bring Me The Horizon- Post Human Nex Gen

All of these albums are great, but they're also ones I kept playing as the year went on, or that I just couldn't get enough of after they came out. What are some of yours?

Ooh, yeah, I like the sound of that! I wasn’t sure how you wanted to do that, but I love the sound of each of us having an individual winner. In that case, here are the few albums I kept playing all throughout this year. I played more than five quite a lot, but these are the five that I played the most, or went back to the most:

Linkin Park - From Zero

Lil Dicky - Penith

Lupe Fiasco - Samurai

Childish Gambino - Atavista

Denzel Curry - King Of The Mischievous South, Volume 2

So what’s your winner gonna be?

Without hesitation, it's gotta be Bilmuri's American Motor Sports. It came out at the tail end of June, and it was basically my album of the summer. At 28 minutes (although he's since released a deluxe edition, which is also great), it's an album you can replay over and over again and not get tired of it, and we talked about it a little bit earlier, but the mix of country and metalcore combined with Johnny Franck's ability to write some of the catchiest hooks you'll hear all made for an album that's one of those lightning-in-a-bottle releases.

What's your winner?

Bilmuri’s American Motor Sports was one of my most played albums, but it wasn’t quite in my top five. I think if I did a top ten, it would have made the bottom half, but it was a great album, nonetheless. I do agree that it’s one of those albums you can play at any time, because it’s so short and sweet (the original version, anyway). Mine is a similar one, and I have to give it to Linkin Park again with From Zero. It would have been Lil Dicky’s Penith, because that album was my most played for most of the year, but I kept playing From Zero, and I couldn’t stop. That album is great, too, because it’s a crisp 32 minutes, so it’s something you can keep going back to. It’s got the right amount of hooks, heaviness, and replayability that I kept playing it.

Our next category is Going Out On A High Note, and these are bands or artists that released their final album this past year, or what could be their final album (especially because I only got two, although technically three, because one artist dropped two albums this year). So here’s what I went with:

Judas Priest - Invincible Shield

Childish Gambino - Atavista / Bando Stone

Judas Priest didn’t release their final album this year, but it very well could be, and if it is, this thing is quite good. What about you, though?

My two nominations are bittersweet, but for very different reasons:

Too Close to Touch- For Keeps

Sum 41- Heaven x Hell

Sum 41 decided to call it quits after nearly 30 years as a band, and are just wrapping up their final round of touring as we write this, and this double album is really a celebration of their entire career, and while I wouldn't quite put it in the best of their discography, I think it's a very admirable final release from a band with a very storied career.

Too Close to Touch, on the other hand, got dealt a really tragic hand with the passing of vocalist Keaton Pierce a couple years ago. No one really knew what was gonna happen, but they had an album's worth of songs they had been working on prior, so they decided to call in the help of some friends in the scene to complete it and put it out as their final release. This is is admittedly not gonna have as big of an impact if you're not a fan already, but for myself, it was a very effective, if bittersweet, album to go out on.

I think out of all of these nominations between the two of us, I can make a pretty good case for Childish Gambino; it goes without saying that Donald Glover's had a very prolific career, so him deciding to retire the Gambino name is a huge deal, and then on top of that, we got two albums as a final swan song, both of which are very good, even great. What do you think, though?

Honestly, the new Sum 41 album is quite good; I’ve never been a huge fan of theirs, but I thought it was solid for what it was. Same goes for Too Close To Touch, especially where they’re from my neck of the woods, so that’s a bittersweet ending, too. I’d absolutely give it to Donald Glover, however, just because of him releasing two albums (one of which being a remaster, so to speak, of an album he dropped in 2020 that had little to no fanfare), and with him being a prolific Renaissance Man by making music, acting, directing, writing, producing, and many other stuff, he can do almost anything. Hell, he also got nominated for a Golden Globe this year for the show Mr. & Mrs. Smith, so that has to tell you something.

No arguments from me there, so our winner is Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino! I am very curious to see what he does next if he decides to make music again, I imagine it'll be very different and that's exciting.

Next up is Best Record Label! These are the labels who kept putting out consistent bangers throughout the year and led the music community buzz. I have a couple of nominees for this one, including:

Pure Noise Records

Sharptone Records

Hopeless Records

The best record label is a fun one, because there are a handful of labels that keep the music community buzzing. Your nominees are great, because I had a couple of those, too, including Pure Noise and Hopeless, but I’ll add a couple for the sake of it, too:

Blue Note Records

Epitaph Records

Although, if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, Pure Noise wins by a mile. They put out the new Knocked Loose, State Champs, and SeeYouSpaceCowboy albums, as well as many more, but what say you?

Yep, I was definitely leaning towards Pure Noise as well! They had a really great year across a few different genres, but in particular, the Knocked Loose album alone hitting as much as it did puts them on top for me.

For our next award, we wanted to switch things up slightly and present a specific artist with a highly esteemed award that not many artists get: the lifetime of awfulness achievement award. This award is for artists so bad that they’ll go down in history for how bad their material is. The recipient for this year’s award put out a song so awful that it puts anything else to shame. That artist is Tom MacDonald, and he wins this award for the song he released with Ben Shapiro of all people. This song is one of the worst things to ever be created in the name of art, and I’m more than honored to award MacDonald with a lifetime of awfulness achievement award. What are your thoughts on this amazingly terrible artist and song?

I'll be honest, before this song, I had never heard of this guy before, but sometimes, something comes along that's so utterly baffling and awful that you can't help but pay attention. And this collab with Ben Shapiro is exactly that; if you wanted to hear what you get when you mix your dime-a-dozen SoundCloud rappers with neo-Nazi, white supremacist talking points, and add in a "verse" from Ben Shapiro, you'll get that when you listen to "Facts." That pretty much says everything you need to say right there without any further explanation, because it's just an awful combination all around.

I’ve known about Tom MacDonald for years, and he’s been the epitome of bad rap music that conservatives like, because he speaks against the status quo and doesn’t talk about the same things other rappers do (which basically just means they like him for being white). These are the same fans that say they “don’t like rap, but…” then mention him, Eminem, J. Cole, or a rapper that’s cool to like. Having Ben Shapiro is just icing on the cake, because why include that clown? This song deserves an award all its own, hence why we gave it to Tom (who’s also Canadian, by the way; he isn’t from the United States).

The next category is something better, thankfully, and that’s best rock / alternative album. This one is a little broad, and I made it that way on purpose, so any album that falls into the rock and alternative spectrum works here. Here’s what I decided to nominate, so let me know what you picked:

Bayside - There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive

Rain City Drive - Things Are Different Now

Brigitte Calls Me Baby - The Future Is Our Way Out

Ah, we're lining up pretty nicely here, too, because I would totally nominate Bayside and Rain City Drive as well! I do have some others, though, and those are:

The Early November- self-titled

Stand Atlantic- Was Here

Anberlin- Vega

This one is a real toss-up, I'd be happy to give it to any of these as they are all really deserving. That said, I think I'll throw my hat in for Bayside! In terms of just straight-up rock/alternative albums, I probably loved Bayside the most. What say you?

Bayside it is, because I was going to give it to them, too! You could technically call Bayside a pop-punk band, but they also call into alternative, rock, and even hard-rock with some of their heavier moments. There Are Worse Things Than Being Alive is definitely my favorite rock album of this year, because it took everything that I first loved them for, but updated it for 2024. I first listened to them back in 2007, and that record reminds me a lot of The Walking Wounded from that year.

With that said, let’s move onto the best hard-rock and metal album! Again, this one is pretty broad, so I recycled a few picks from other categories, but if it falls into hard rock or heavy metal of any kind, it works:

Judas Priest - Invincible Shield

Linkin Park - From Zero

Knocked Loose - You Won’t Go

What do you have for this one?

From Zero absolutely makes my list of nominees for this one, but there were plenty of other great releases, including:

Fever 333- Darker White

Bilmuri- American Motor Sports

Now, here's where we can have a bit of a debate, because I think it's pretty much between Linkin Park and Knocked Loose. Knocked Loose shot themselves to the top of the metal and hardcore game with this new album, and Linkin Park came back under the most impossible of circumstances and released one of their best albums in years. It could really come down to a coin flip, so I'll let you take the lead on this one.

Those are the main two that I’ve been thinking about myself, but personally, it all comes back to what I revisited more this past year. Knocked Loose’s newest album was a behemoth record, but if we are talking what the more accessible album is, and what album falls into a broader definition of metal and hard-rock, I say Linkin Park gets it. It really is down to a coin flip, because they both really could, honestly, but From Zero just inches past the edge for me, personally.

I can definitely see your thinking there, so Linkin Park and From Zero takes another one!

Next up, we have another bit of a fun one, the Biggest Embarrassment Award. This one goes out to the band or artist who just, for one reason or another, just couldn't get out of their own ways and really just kept falling flat on their faces. I have a feeling we're gonna have the same nominees, so I'll let you reveal yours before we discuss!

Now this is a fun one, but these are all artists or bands that just embarrassed the hell out of themselves this past year, like you said. I guarantee we will have the same picks, so here’s what I got:

Drake

Ronnie Radke / Falling In Reverse

Tom MacDonald

Aaron Lewis

Hardy

Yep, these are all my picks as well, minus Hardy, but only because I honestly forgot about him and that he dropped an album this year. He totally fits, though, but anyway, let's talk this out. I think it would be easy to just mail this right in to Drake, because man, he had about the worst year anyone could have on the losing side of a beef. None of his tracks against Kendrick Lamar hit at all, and the way he went about making some of them rubbed people the wrong way, like for example when he used an AI-generated Tupac vocal in one of them. And even worse, he dragged down all the artists who were still willing to work with him. No one in that orbit made it out unscathed, really. All that said, I to think there's a case to be made for a couple others on here, namely Ronnie Radke and Tom MacDonald. We talked about both of these guys above, so there's not too much else to say, but I think what makes Ronnie embarrassing is that he genuinely seems to think he's some badass edgelord rebelling against his haters by making bank and topping the Octane charts, when in reality his reputation outside of the FIR diehards and the Octane crowd is so laughably low that no one even really pays him any mind anymore. And in Tom MacDonald's case, the most noteworthy thing he's done is make one of the worst rap songs anyone's ever heard by putting Ben Shaprio on it, and that's all you really need to say. So, where do you think this all ultimately shakes out, and who takes the win in your mind?

I put Hardy here for one big reason: his new album is bad, but at the same time, his whole schtick now is that he isn’t going to quit despite what the haters say. His latest album is titled “Quit!!” because of that, and it’s so embarrassing to me. I know he won’t get it, but I wanted to round our lineup. As for who gets it, you can make strong cases for each of them, especially Ronnie Radke and Tom MacDonald. Radke not only put out a bad album, but consistently puts his foot in his mouth by saying and doing stupid stuff, whereas Tom MacDonald just lets his bad music speak for itself. If I had to give it to someone, though, it’d be Drake, hands down. Imagine being on the losing end of the biggest rap beef in the last couple of decades, maybe more, especially losing that badly. He had the most public embarrassment of the entire year, and then Kendrick released one of the best albums of the year on top of it, whereas does anyone remember the album that Drake put out in 2023? That album was awful, so he’s been on the downswing for a long time.

Congrats, Drake, this might be the only W you take this year!

Next, while we love talking about music ourselves, something we introduced last time we did a check-in was shouting out other creators we enjoyed! So, this next award is Favorite Music YouTuber. These channels provided us with plenty of entertainment this year, showed us some new music, and helped make the online music community a brighter, less toxic place. My nominees are:

Emo Social Club

The Breakdown with Nath and Johnny

Roguenjosh

Emo Social Club is one I mentioned in our last update, but they're a channel I discovered through TikTok over the last year, and they talk a lot about nostalgic music in our emo/pop-punk/alt scene, and the two hosts are a lot of fun and seem pretty chill when it comes to their tastes and how they present their opinions without being gatekeepy or close-minded, which this community needs. The latter two are both reaction channels that primarily focus on metal, but I really like Nath and Johnny because their dynamic reminds me a lot of ours when it comes to how we talk and think about music, and Josh used to be the bassist for a post-hardcore band called Capulet, and I enjoy hearing his perspectives as a musician in that genre.

What were some of your favorite music creators this year?

When we first met back in 2012 / 2013, I was heavily involved in the music reviewing scene, but I got very disillusioned with that whole scene as I got older. I felt like that a lot of the bigger creators were more about the clout than the music, and I still feel that way about a bunch, but I’ve gotten sort of into that scene again. The ones I do follow certainly bring positivity into the scene, and they’re about the music, versus about how cool they are for listening to. With that said, I got a few that I wanted to nominate:

The Metal Meltdown

BangerTV

Cereal At Midnight

Channel 33 RPM

For some context, The Metal Meltdown is a metal channel that mainly talks about metal and hard-rock, but the guy behind it, Robert, talks about how he does like other kinds of music, and he’s been a champion against elitists and metalheads that think all kinds of music suck except for metal. BangerTV isn’t just one person, but a whole collective of creators that specialize in one or two sub-genres, such as death metal, black metal, folk metal, stoner metal, or even nu-metal. Cereal At Midnight is a channel that deals with physical media, but he loves all kinds of music and movies. Channel 33 RPM is similar, too, but he talks about vinyl, yet their content is both the art forms first, not just having stuff and being cool for it.

I say we each pick a winner, because we both had creators this past year that we loved. For my pick, it’ll be The Metal Meltdown. I don’t have a lot of heavier releases on my list, but I always tuned in to his videos. What about you?

For my pick, I'd have to go with Emo Social Club. They're the channel that probably had the most impact on me this year as far as what I listened to when I did that big When We Were Young fest album deep dive, and I just really appreciate having a show based around a lot of nostalgia for our scene but also not being afraid to say when something hasn't aged well or when something is just straight-up problematic (apparently, they pissed off Ronnie Radke a while back, which is hilarious that he even saw it, since they're really not a big channel in the large scheme of things). It's also really nice to not have that cynicism I feel a lot of internet music communities fell into, it's just all love, and honestly, the world could use more of that right now as we go into another few years of, shall we say, interesting times.

That’s a channel I need to watch more of, because I love they don’t sugarcoat when something hasn’t aged well. I can’t stand a lot of the “elder emo” scene these days, because all they do is jerk off these bands, even though a bunch of them haven’t aged well. Hilarious that they pissed off Ronnie Radke, though, because he seems to watch everything that he hates. We could also do without the cynicism, too, especially when we have too much of that in other scenes.

To be continued in part 2!