#reflecting while i rewatch

[astradyke]

warning this might be a nothing post i'm just a little emotional & rambling but like... i think a lot about hometown showdown and gay and not proud a lot. and i understand this was in the peak of YouTube's fuckery with Dan and disrupting his plans for DINOK so i understand there's like a tension behind a lot of what was ongoing. i also realize that YouTube-- more obviously with hometown showdown-- but generally had strong business rationale for wanting Phil to feature in these videos, with Dan & Phil being the duo of HS and Phil being there in gay and not proud (sorry the acronym for this looks ugly).

but man... i think a lot about how hometown showdown was just kind of a lot of dates. i've not seen the other ones but i hear a lot that they were way more competitive versus Dan and Phil were just casually exploring their hometowns together, showing pieces of themselves to the other. i think about all the dialogue that was cut (that I think was alluded to in WDAPTEO 2?)

and i think about like. the seismic Importance of Phil being in gay and not proud as like... Dan's safe space. the same way he's remote crisis manager, the same way he was part of WAD's pre & post show, the same way he filmed that haircut video basically to promo YWGTTN and Dan is leaving me to talk about WAD. the same way that Dan got a taxi to his place after his nightmare experience at the laundromat to do laundry because "for the first time since I was a tiny child, I actually felt safe."

and after the latest mukbang it's like... it's really insane to me how their personal relationship has continued despite the pressures they've faced as being a comedic influencer duo. the fact that they work as business partners but still have this relationship. the fact that even in these YouTube originals that Dan was resentful of at the time anyway you can still glowingly see how much they love each other. like Phil being in gay and not proud wasn't a cameo, it was a fucking love confession.

i dunno. this is something that's been talked about a Lot but i do think about it frequently. i don't tend to rewatch these specials a lot because Jesus Christ the editing really gets me, but like... idk. "you're next to me in my life," or whatever. 15 years have passed and Phil's still cheerleading for Dan, from his first YouTube video to his first solo tour. i dunno.

[transingthoseformers]

Sorry for screaming at you again but what are your opinions on barricade? The police car decepticon from the bayverse movies?

He hasn’t been given good cards in stuff since the movies, but I think with the right writer, he could grow to be a genuinely great character!

He was in the WFC (Netflix) trilogy, he didn’t look a lot like his movie self, just a decepticon prowl.

He was also voiced by Kieth David in the 2007 movie’s “Decepticons” ds game, look it up on YouTube, whoever was writing COOKED on that one for some fucking reason lol

But, yeah, what are your thoughts on him?

He's interesting!!!! Especially since he's one of the few reoccurring decepticons throughout bayverse, a continuity well known for killing off the decepticons like candy

I feel like he's underutilized and can be a really interesting decepticon character

[t-u-i-t-c]

balance & naga // episode 31

[creative-hanyou-girl]

I know people in the fandom have talked to death about this topic, but there really is something so poetic and cathartic about InuYasha being so obsessed with getting the shikon jewel for himself to become a full-fledged demon in the beginning of the story, to not giving a crap about it at all and even going as far as to fight the jewel itself in order protect the people he loves. Especially Kagome. And in the end, he got everything he ever wanted and needed because of that change. Everything he thought he could get by gaining more power and becoming full demon.

I know it sounds cliche as hell, but it's true. Just think how much better the world would be in real life if people led with their hearts instead of their need for power.

[dirtytransmasc]

Are yyou team green or black? And why?

team green, though I'm not in support of every green character (namely Otto though my opinion of him is complicated. I also have opinions on Aegon and his characterization that makes it even more complicated)

[I have only read bits and pieces of the book, so my opinion is based almost solely on the show. keep this in mind]

I'm team green for 3 big reasons. they're more complex, thought not perfect by any means, more morally "right", and are simply more my vibe when it comes to characters. now this is very simplified and not at all nuanced, so stick with me for a minute.

Firstly, they're more complex. the greens have very deep, detailed, and nuanced lives and stories that lead to them being very complex characters that can't be put into a box. Alicent was a child bride who had lost her mother young became a mother young and suffered at the hands of power and men all her life. her children were affected by this and the world they were forced to grow up in throughout their lives. even individually her kids are drastically different; aegon the child who was forced into a life he did not want and suffered due to his father neglect and mother pain. Helaena who was never understood and grew up treated like an oddity. Aemond who was never seen to his full potential, always ignored or looked over, angry throughout his life. each of them has strengths and weaknesses, flaws and benefits, they're imperfect but never completely horrid. they're also never simplified (not entirely, even when the plot and writers seek to simplify them) to the point that they put on a moral pedestal or made straight evil (i'd even argue that the attempts of the writer to oversimplify them as evil and in the wrong makes them 10x more fascinating). I find TB characters tended to miss the mark on that, always put in the moral light, not even allowed a moment to reflect on their actions, lives, or positions in any nuanced or meaningful way, so they always just feel dull. they're also out on a moral highground that they can never be budged from, which makes them harder to like and honestly, really boring. they get away with everything instead of being emotionally and morally nuanced.

secondly, they're more morally "right". I will never say that any of the greens are perfect, they are far from it (with the exception of Helaena and her kids, who have done literally nothing to anyone, but I digress). what I will say, 9/10 times there is some level of reasoning that has some level of reasoning. Alicent always tries to do whats best for everyone, all throughout the series she tried to do best by the court, the king, her children, the realm, and Rhaenyra. did she always succeed? no, but she always tried and her mistakes were almost always honest. I will say she held resentment towards Rhaenya, but honestly, I can't blame her. Rhaenyra's lies and behavior hurt Alicent over and over again so for her to be angry is expected.when it came to succession, Alicent backed Rhaenyra until it was made clear she and Daemon would be a threat to her children's lives and even than she held mercy for Rhaenyra. Aegon's drinking can be blamed on the abuse and neglect he suffered at Viserys, Otto, and Alicent's (though the abuse and neglect from his mother is insanely different and nuanced. she perpetuated her pain onto him because she couldn't heal herself. so I hesitate to call it abuse, cause its so much more complicated than that) hands. though nothing will justify his rape of Dyana, I personally think it was a bad add in on the writers part, and leave it at that. Aemonds rage after years of being ignored doesn't entirely justify what he did to luke, but he had reason for his cruelty after years of Luke (and jace tbh) being cruel just because they could. TB characters tend to do terrible things in response to either A. nothing B. their own terrible things. Daemon kills who he wants when he feels like it, even for stating facts. Rhaneyra will lie and hurt those around her to protect her bastard children. both of them conspire to protect themselves and allow themselves to be wed, really just cause. while there are times they have their reasons, its a lot less of the time, and typically the backing to their actions, is they were trying to unbury themselves from within their own graves. (to preface, I don't care about rhaenyra sleeping around, it doesn't bother me, but its the fact that she will hurt everyone around her to protect her lies, allowing a child to be maimed and people to be murdered)

thirdly, they're my vibe. I like morally complex character, who are, to be frank, pathetic. I like characters with complex trauma's and issues, who aren't perfect people but its not entirely their fault. I would much rather watch a whole show about alicent, a child bride who tries so hard to be a good wife, queen, and mother while not prepared for any such role. Aegon who is a boy with severe mommy and daddy issues, a drinking problem, a flawed past, and constantly wet eyes. Helaena an ignored girl who has suffered for no better reason then her family. and Aemond, a boy who was tormented, bullied, maimed, and made stronger by it at the cost of his compassion and emotional stability - over a nepo baby who was coddled by her father, her murderous husband with a knack for unneeded violence, and her similarly coddled children (the show boiled them down to this, in my opinion). one is simply more up my alley than the other. I want character that need to be dissected, who have suffered, who hurt me to look at.

also, team black created almost all of their own problems. seeing as the main source of contention had to do with Rhaenyra's kids being bastards, which was Rhaenyra's problem, which she caused, and kept digging and digging that grave (faking Laenors death just so she could marry daemon, turning the blame on aemond when luke maimed him furthering the divide amongst the house, trying to wed Helaena to Jace putting her in danger, trying to take the driftmark throne and killing Vaemond for a claim her sons did not have, etc,) till viserys's death, earns her a lot less pity from me. at the end of the day, her being a woman was only a needle in a haystack worth of problems she caused herself that hurt her claim. if she had just strived to create to connection with ancient and her kids, and didn't make herself look like a threat to everyone who lessened her claim (which alicents kids would be the first people to be taken out) alicent would have backed like she had all season and there would have been no war, maybe conflict, but no war.

theres also the effect of the fans on my opinion. I have faced more cruelty, terrible media analysis, and outright ableism/misogny/(blood and sexual based) purist ideology/etc. from the TB fans then I have ever witness by TG fans. TB fans have ruined almost all of the TB characters for me in more ways than I can count, so I will say I am very biased.

thats why I'm team green. as a whole they are simply more appealing, their stories are more interesting, demand more attention to detail and emotional understanding, and from my point of view were the "right" side to be on in the war (the war was wrong on both sides, but my chips lie in the favour of the greens).

[somelonelywordmonger]

I never really cared for Glimmer and Clove. Or the guys like Cato and Marvel. They made me so mad. When I saw The Hunger Games in the theater, having just finished the book during the trailers that play before the movie, I disliked their characters immensely. I would have been 14/15 when I saw this. I was just a naive autistic kid with her best friend and their mother in the theater. The Games themselves didn't distress me deeply. And the kids, especially from Districts 1 and 2, reminded me of my bullies. The trauma they gave me, along with the adults and their unreliability and obtuseness, was fresh in my mind back in 2012 because I was only recently free from bullying. But watching The Hunger Games as a 25-year-old in 2024 America is a different experience. I still have much to learn. And Glimmer, Clove, Cato, and Marvel still piss me off. They are little bitches. But they are also products of the system and society. They were literally raised to be what they were. And being older and having come to terms with my bullying trauma, along with learning about the systemic and societal issues we have in the USA, has helped me to look past how enraging those kids are. I can recall how I was in my teens. How little I knew and how self-centered I could be. Now, I feel so sad for Glimmer and Clove. Cato and Marvel. They didn't have a chance to grow and become better people. They didn't have a chance to unlearn the hate and brutality that was forced upon them. They were there to make their districts proud. To win and slaughter the others because they were given no other choice since birth. And that is something that I think should be talked about more. Because the whole of The Hunger Games is sad and could easily become a reality. In some ways, it already is. But I don't think we talk about the reality that the kids from those first two districts (and sometimes 3 and 4) face and experience. It is more of a niche reality, with the outer districts being closer to what many of us experience. But it is one that helped to shape the story and brings a sad truth to the already solemn discussion table.

[nikomedes]

the last time i engaged hard with fandoms, like. i was baffled and appalled by how getting that many people fixated on one thing spawns dogshit takes, fanon, and trends at a rate that boiled u like a frog if u checked tags every day but was objectively insane from the outside. its so fast. the less of a media to obsess over, the worse it gets. two shippable white dudes? fucking calamity. and yeah, absolutely any challenging material is either sanded off, elided, or examined in the worst faith you could imagine. both experiences started euphoric as i got social engagement that lit up my dopamine-seeking brain like christmas, and then law of large numbers eventually made it so there was no amount of cool mutuals or number go up to outweigh the braindead posting.

all this to say there are maybe 3 people on earth i want to see bg posting from and everyone else i am holding at gunpoint. no trigger discipline. they say anything lacking basic critical thinking about a dnd character and whatever happens, happens

[murderandjambalaya]

GIGI. GIGI HOW??

"But if he's worth the risk of going under...

...Why not make it a game?"

[thatgirlwithasquid]

i engage with media in probably an objectively weird way cause any plot things that happen i give 110% suspension of disbelief, i fully put myself in the characters shoes and feel the stakes of the world, i will cry when characters i dont even like die. HOWEVER. this willingness to be the audience the writing is hoping for does not extend to shipping. about 80% of the time when i can see that a film or show or whatever is guiding me towards a certain pairing i just go ‘nope. no thanks. im gonna decide to like the most narratively improbable ship instead and spend all my time for my first watch imagining scenarios where they could work!’. and i love doing it.

[t-u-i-t-c]

Shinobi 4: It's Here! Paonmaru

[kazutteoks]

GO FOR IT! 𝜗𝜚 ; masterlist

the one were heeseung and you have been rivals since you started hogwarts, and only takes one event that will turn your world upside down to realize what heeseung's presence in your life truly means for you. you have to do something! you just have to go for it!

pairing: ravenclaw prefect!lee heeseung x ravenclaw prefect f!reader

content: harry potter au , social media au , written parts , rivals to friends to lovers , bickering , friendly rivalry , (something i consider)humor , a tiny bit of angst (school pressure, expectations, fear of failure, yk typical of ravenclaws) , drama lots of drama , peeves mentioned (a lot) , heeseung is a great emotional support , reader is called snow for funsies , reader last name is ashbourne , heeseung is down bad but he knows how to hide it very well , tbh it's just heeseung and reader babysitting the ravenclaws and their friends while preparing to be head boy and head girl of hogwarts , but actually there's a plot , eventually reader is so down bad (as she should) , he fell first but she fell painfully harder , and that's it, that's all.

featuring: the rest of enhypen, bts jungkook and taehyung, nct 127 doyoung, johnny and yuta, ateez seonghwa, yunho, yeosang and san, njz hyein, boynextdoor taesan, txt soobin and beomgyu, p1harmony keeho, zerobaseone gyuvin, hanbin and yujin, riize anton, ive wonyoung, aespa karina, illit yunah and wonhee.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⋆. 𐙚 ˚ - read more undercut! ˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ ₊

warnings: this is the beginning of a series i've decided to call enha-gwarts (so original i love myself sm /pat pat), timestamps and dates are not relevant so please ignore it, minecraft references cz ima freak, lots of harry potter world references, lots of swearing, mention of insecurities, anxiety, self-sabotaging thoughts, kms/kys jokes, threat jokes(?, daddy issues jokes idk, modern hogwarts, nothing has really sense i swear it's not that deep believe me (😔🙏🏻), english is NOT my first language, I'm still learning, please excuse any mistakes or nonsenses! lmk if i miss something!

updates: monday , thursday , saturday

start date: 2025/04/19

end date: tba!

༺ ⚝ ; taglist is open!

a/n: lately i've been reading a lot of enhypen hp!au, and after rewatching the harry potter saga last week i really needed to make my own, hope everyone likes my little baby.💗

PROFILES:

0A. purebloods and daddy issues

0B. hogwarts boyband

0C. ravenclaw coven

0D. sides

CHAPTERS:

1. yuta's favourite student

2. i am a supporter

3. you can laugh, but you will cry

4. you were what

4.1 the sleeping charm incident

5. first hw with....

6. oh...

7. you two need to talk

8. coven meeting

9. kicking my feet, twirling my hair

10. come get your brat kid

11. pookie is missing

12. and the drama begins

12.1 worry about it later

13. winter break is over

14. idk what's wrong with me

15. you just have to believe in yourself

16. calm before the storm

17. you think?

18. year is over and we're still the same (1.09k wc)

19. literally flabbergasted

20. the storm (0.5k wc)

21. i failed

22. life looks different from here

23. something weird

24. it's time

25. we're here to help

26. three times i really noticed you before i realized (3.9k wc)

27. first things first

28. take what belongs to u (5.32k wc)

29. muggle date

30. our tradition

31. fulltime professors, midtime cupids

32.

33.

34.

35.

mtba!

❗ this is a work of mere fiction, the characters attitudes do not reflect at all the artist's personality here mentioned

© kazutteoks 2025.

[apersonnamedel]

Something I would like to point out while rewatching HTTYD2 that I think is very interesting and also not at all talked about is this.

HTTYD2 brings lots and I mean LOTS of parallels whether they are visual or spoken but the one I hear spoken about the most is between Hiccup and Valka and them not killing a dragon. Even the movie tries to make this seem like a parallel. They bring it up even!

“Ehh it runs in the family.” Hiccup says after the flashback scene.

But something I noticed is that it is not a parallel. Mainly because of a few key things. It’s more almost perpendicular. They head in the same direction and they have the same realization, then go in complete opposite directions.

Valka runs away. A key part of her character I’ve noticed while I’ve been writing my analysis of her is that she oozes of cowardice and willful ignorance. Now that doesn’t mean she’s a bad person, it simply means that she ran away and chose to stay away. But that’s not the main reason I brought this up.

Remember the flashback where they draw attention to how similar Hiccup and Valka are? They talk about it in a very specific way.

They bring attention to two points. Both of them looked into a dragons eye and saw themself. Then they both didn’t kill a dragon. They show this as some kind of parallel. Maybe to show that Hiccup has someone who understands him, maybe to add a bit of layering to the first movie and how he’s just like her.

But it’s not a parallel.

What’s the difference in this scene?

One dragon is tied up.

One isn’t.

It’s a matter of choice.

“You and your father nearly died that night. All because I couldn’t kill a dragon.” Quote Valka.

“300 years and I’m the first Viking who wouldn’t kill a dragon.” Quote Hiccup.

Hiccups statement STILL rings true. Valka had no choice in if she wanted to kill Cloudjumper or not. That’s why I brought up Valka’s cowardice. Valka was in a trapped house with an injured newborn and an unbound dragon 5x her size. She was in the middle of a raid with people all around. Stoick was around the corner. She simply couldn’t kill the dragon. It wasn’t a matter of would or wouldn’t.

Hiccup on the other hand was alone in a forest with a tied up dragon. He made the decision to not kill Toothless. He wouldn’t. Because he absolutely could have killed Toothless.

“I was a coward. I was weak. I wouldn’t kill a dragon.”

“You said wouldn’t that time.”

This scene (in my own opinion) is meant to show that Hiccup was never the hiccup. He was never a coward. He wasn’t weak. It’s meant to be ironic.

Hiccup let go one of the most dangerous dragons in the world and it was brave. He went against his culture, his tribe because he thought it was the right thing to do.

That’s where Valka and Hiccups story become perpendicular. Hiccup was brave. Valka was a coward.

Hiccup chose not to run away. He chose to change their minds. He thought their minds could change.

Valka ran away. She didn’t listen and didn’t think change was possible. She held this belief until Hiccup comes along.

Valka’s path is where she believes that dragons are more than they seem. Then, “This wasn’t a viscous beast, but an intelligent gentle creature whose soul, reflected my own.” She has the revelation. Then she runs away and stays away. Now she had her own reasons and I am very much phrasing this in a biased way but it’s meant to show a point. She stays away and doesn’t change much. Because she couldn’t kill a dragon.

Hiccups path is where he does not see much to dragons. He wants to kill one to be accepted into the village. He shoots down Toothless and- “Everything we know about you guys, is wrong.” Or- “I looked at him and saw myself.” Hiccup and Valka’s paths cross here. But Hiccup doesn’t run away and he changes Berk’s mind. Because he wouldn’t kill a dragon.

Anyways I think that’s about it for that topic and I think it should be discussed more! Because if you really think about it, there are almost no parallels in Valka and Hiccup. And if there are, it isn’t well executed enough that it leaves a strong impact. I definitely will talk about this more but it’s late and I crave sleep.

[gossippool]

hi welcome back to leanne rewatches deadpool & wolverine and goes insane about every single detail in this movie. in this edition: how logan's clothes reflect the trajectory of his character

1. the suit—inside

so we start off with the scene in the bar where logan appears to be wearing what we're used to seeing him wear. flannels, leather jackets. his outfit and even the setting is not at all unfamiliar for him. but, as we later find out, he was wearing the suit underneath all those layers the whole time.

during his talk with laura, he reveals that he wears the suit to remember those he'd lost, and as a reminder of what he'd done. he's had the suit on permanently for god knows how long, hidden under his clothes. at this point he bears the suit like a cross, suffering in silence under the guise of normalcy, yet sacrificing what's left of his identity by reducing himself to what the suit represents; by taking all the jabs and nasty looks people throw at him that he thinks he's too deserving of to combat.

2. the suit—outside

after wade pulls him out, he has the suit on display for quite a while. on one hand, it shows the fight that's in him now as a contrast to his passivity in his own world. on the other hand, it's also a sort of vulnerability: what that suit stands for and by extension what he himself is is now laid bare to the world. out in the open for people to question. maybe that fight that's in him now stems precisely from this vulnerability.

this vulnerability is both good and bad for him: it causes him to lash out at the questions from wade that he's not ready to answer. it also leads him to open up to laura and finally speak about what happened—who knows if he's ever said any of it out loud before. fun! even with just the suit, we're already seeing some development.

and THIS is where it gets interesting.

3. the white shirt—his mind

the first time we truly see him without the suit is when cassandra nova looks into his mind. i've been going back and forth on whether this is logan's own manifestation of himself or if it's cassandra's, and i still don't know. i think the distinction does matter, but in the end what it conveys is the same.

firstly, another layer of vulnerability again. he's already on his knees for cassandra, submissive—now in his mind he's also stripped as bare as he can be (i think we all know white shirts can sometimes leave little to the imagination). cassandra looks at him and says "you're hiding ... from all the ones you let down." how interesting is that?? if we go all the way back to the first scene, he hides his suit under normal clothes. and he hides this version of him in his mind even further underneath all of that.

secondly and as an extension of that point, white symbolises purity. cleanliness. even a promise of new beginnings. let's tackle this from the two possible perspectives.

if this is logan's manifestation of himself, it would be so intriguing that this is how he appears. maybe it means that despite it all, there's some good in him. maybe it means that deep, deep down, past all the shame and the guilt and the grief, there's still a part of his mind where he can just be.

on the other hand, the white could also symbolise a second chance—like i said, a promise of new beginnings. i made a post about this scene here, but the basic point is that cassandra is offering him something that no one else may ever be able to offer him. a chance to fully be himself, to silence the voices. the white is such a stunning visual representation of what she is saying logan could be if he stays with her. which makes it even more poignant that he doesn't.

4. the time ripper

after this scene, he's in the suit again, necessarily. but then! BUT THEN!!!!! the time ripper!!! y'all need to understand the significance of this scene in all its nuances FR! here you can look at his abs again:

but the thing is we know by now what the suit represents. all his failures, all his guilt, his inability to let go of his past. it represents him. isn't it just so fitting that it's at this point where he saves the fucking world that the suit breaks away. it breaks away from him. he's free. this not the same as him just taking it off, because with it breaking into pieces he literally cannot wear it anymore. this is not just a hugh jackman body appreciation, this is logan finally moving on. this is him realising that he is not a failure, that he is not his failures, that he has something else to live for.

5. him

and oh my god, we finally make it to the extremely satisfying ending. after all of that, we finally come full circle. he's in his normal clothes again, the wife beater and the flannel, except this time without anything underneath. he's no longer defined by that one incident, defined by his mistakes and the people he let down. he is just him.

[lovemni]

꒰ 승민 ꒱ ── “i love you, but if you move another inch..” ✧

KIM SEUNGMIN! ⓘ painting your boyfriend's nails.. (·•᷄‎ࡇ•᷅ )

۫ 𖨂 𓈒 𝑏f!ksm ₊ ‎ ‎ 𝑓em!reader ˙ . ꒷ g. fluff ! I3OOw. ⎯⎯⎯ Yᗩᑎi's ᒪIᗷᖇᗩᖇY ⟢ cw. j/threats , nicknames? ┆ 🪷 ⋮ an original drabble .ᐟ ֹ ₊

yani's note! 𐔌❤︎ ͡꒱ was rewatching the skzsauna ep. and you know i had to make it into a fic. >< didn't like this toooo much though, it didn't turn out as i wished it would TT.

the air cooler hummed softly in the corner, filling the room with a gentle chill that contrasted with the warmth of their bodies as they sat cross-legged on the couch.

y/n was perched on a cushion, knees drawn up, fully immersed in her masterpiece. seungmin, on the other hand, had resigned himself to his fate, his long fingers resting limply in her lap as she bent over them with utter determination.

the scent of vanilla and lingering traces of her shampoo filled the space between them, a sweet contrast to the sharp, chemical smell of nail polish.

she was wearing a tee—one that probably belonged to him—and a pair of cotton shorts, her legs tucked under her comfortably.

seungmin, in his usual loose sweatpants and a faded hoodie, sat in a lazy sprawl, one arm thrown over the back of the couch, the other trapped in her artistic clutches. his gaze flickered from her furrowed brows to the way her lips pursed in concentration, eyes dark and focused like she was performing life-saving surgery instead of slathering his nails in layers of glitter.

he didn’t have the heart to tell her it looked like a unicorn had combusted in her hands.

“y/n.”

“shut up.”

seungmin sighed dramatically, shifting ever so slightly, and immediately, her grip on his wrist tightened. her fingers were small but firm, skin cool against his own. she had the habit of holding him with just enough force to make him stay put—not demanding, but unyielding.

he loved it. (...kinky ksm????? im sorry this is a joke)

seungmin huffed. “i just said your name.”

“and that’s where you went wrong.”

he rolled his eyes, but she caught the movement, finally glancing up at him. a knowing smirk tugged at her lips, and his heart did something weird in his chest. she had that effect on him—could make him feel exasperated and ridiculously in love at the same time.

“stay. still!”

“i am still.”

“then why is your hand shaking?”

seungmin squinted at her. “oh i don't know, probably because my insanely-artistic girlfriend is threatening me while holding a tiny, very untrustworthy brush?”

y/n barely acknowledged his suffering, her head tilting slightly as she carefully dabbed a broken star-shaped glitter speck onto his pinky.

the brush was small but looked dangerously close to stabbing him every time she got impatient. she tapped it against her lower lip as she gave him a pointed look, before returning to her masterpiece. the glitter paint reflected against the dim lighting, tiny specks clinging to her fingers as she worked. seungmin could feel the slight coolness of the polish drying on his nails, the contrast to her warm fingertips as she pressed down lightly to steady his hand.

he stared at her profile—the gentle curve of her cheek, the way her lashes fanned against her skin, the tiny crease between her brows. she looked beautiful like this, completely lost in whatever chaotic, weird idea had taken root in her pretty mind.

“you take that back.”

seungmin just raised an eyebrow. “not when my hand looks like it got attacked by a five-year-old with a paint obsession.”

she went back to her task, her fingers absently tracing his wrist as she worked. “you wish you looked this good.”

“babe, there is pink glitter everywhere.”

“it’s called style.”

“it’s called a mess.”

she lifted his hand, examining it thoughtfully. “actually, that’s kind of true—”

“i hate this.”

she smirked, leaning in slightly. “no, you don’t.”

she scooted even closer, their knees brushing now. her warmth seeped through the fabric of his hoodie, and seungmin found himself distracted by the scent of her shampoo. the citrus-vanilla mix was comforting—familiar in a way that had nothing to do with the room they were in, and everything to do with her.

seungmin sighed dramatically, tilting his head back against the couch. his dark hair was slightly tousled from how many times he had run his fingers through it in frustration. “i love my girlfriend, i love my girlfriend, i love my g—”

his girlfriend in question, beamed. “aww, you do?”

he deadpanned. “i have to remind myself because of my girlfriend.”

she rolled her eyes and flicked a little more glitter onto his hand, giggling when he groaned in defeat.

just as seungmin opened his mouth to protest, the front door swung open.

“we’re home!— what in the..?”

the cool air from the hallway rushed in, momentarily breaking the warmth of their little space. the sudden noise made seungmin instinctively flinch, his freshly painted nails catching the light as he lifted his hand slightly. y/n, still holding onto him, turned her head slowly—like a criminal caught red-handed.

the blonde mop was the first to enter, pausing mid-step as he took in the scene before him. the soft hum of the air cooler did little to silence the growing laughter that followed.

a kiwi head, right behind him, audibly gasped, eyes darting from her mischievous grin to seungmin’s thoroughly violated nails.

jisung cackled, nearly doubling over, as the guy beside him raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms in amusement.

meanwhile, the others exchanged looks before bursting into laughter, their bags slipping off their shoulders as they stumbled into the living room.

the paint was still slightly wet, and she could feel the tacky texture of it against her skin as she held his hand. seungmin gave her a blank look, letting her press his fingers to her chest in her dramatic display of defense.

the laughter of their friends filled the room, echoing against the walls, mixing with the lingering scent of paint and the faintest trace of dinner being cooked in a nearby unit.

seungmin simply sighed, lifting his hand slightly. the glitter caught the light, sparkling mockingly. “before any of you say anything—”

jisung pointed. “what did she do to you?”

felix wheezed. “oh my god—”

y/n gasped, hugging seungmin’s hand to her chest. the scent of vanilla lotion and nail polish swirled in the air. “he looks beautiful. like the diva he is.”

hyunjin covered his mouth. “is that.. is that glitter?”

jisung squinted. “are those tiny stars?”

“they are!” she nodded like a kid, “got these babies off of the tiny shop next to the museum, they're having a sale too!”

minho smirked, leaning against the doorframe. “kim seungmin. blink twice if you need help.”

seungmin closed his eyes. “i hate all of you.”

felix collapsed onto the couch beside them, still dying.

minho moved closer, examining seungmin’s hand. “wow. this is… so bad.”

she gasped, scandalized. “excuse me?”

minho looked at her again. “y/n. it looks like a unicorn got sick on his hands.”

she huffed. “you guys are just uncultured.”

“or maybe you just suck at art.”

seungmin nodded aggressively. “thank you.”

she smacked his arm. “you traitor.”

felix wiped a tear from his eye. “no, but really, seungmin, how do you feel?”

seungmin leaned back against the couch, lifting his glitter-covered hand with a sigh. “i feel like my manly dignity has been obliterated.”

“please, like you had any with that twink-energy in the first pl-” jisung began, only to be shoved to his side by seungmin, obviously.

“rest in peace.”

“on the bright side, at least you have sparkly hands for the funeral.”

“that’s so tragic.”

“you guys are just mad that you don’t have style.”

felix grinned. “i think i’m just glad i still have eyes after looking at that.”

she dramatically turned to seungmin. “baby, defend me.”

seungmin sighed. “i would, but i’m too busy planning my revenge.”

she narrowed her eyes. “that’s terrifying.”

felix clapped his hands together. “okay, but like, dinner?”

hyunjin grinned. “seungmin, you better not touch anything with those hands.”

seungmin groaned. “i hate this friend group.”

jisung smirked. “liar, you enjoy this on a daily basis.”

she kissed his cheek. “i love you too!”

“wait, can you give my nails a makeover too? they're looking super crusty..” jisung cringed, immediately sitting beside her and picking out the colors of the glitter and paints.

“wait me too, please,”

mastertag @cosmicalily @hyunjiiza @modesttiger @woozarts @katsukis1wife @bddaramjis @reignessance @peskybirdysya @honeyybbuubblleess @ellemir2404 @4ng3l-ch1ld @urlocalmultigroupfan @ashtxrie @minlixyaoi @shuuporanglinos — send in an ask, message or reply, to be added !!

comments, likes, asks and reblogs are always appreciated !! req. are officially closed till the month of june. thank you for reading love, hope you liked it <3

[cheeseatlantic]

KNOTS AND GRACE

It started the same way most things did for Simon: silently.

No declarations. No dramatic moment of revelation. Just a lingering glance in the low hum of early morning, the way your shoulders curled in on yourself like tired wings, the deep sigh you exhaled as you stared at your own reflection with dread.

You didn’t say it out loud, but Simon could feel it. How the strands of your hair—once lively and part of your expression—now hung like a weight. Too much to manage. Too much everything.

He watched you tie it back with a trembling hand, loose and lopsided, then abandon the brush entirely when your fingers snagged in a tangle near the nape. The irritation in your eyes made his chest ache. Not because you were angry—but because he could tell you’d been doing it for weeks. Too tired, too overstimulated, too worn down to untangle one more thing.

You didn’t ask for help.

You never did.

But that didn’t stop him.

⸻

He bought the wig online.

A perfect match—length, texture, density. The same subtle wave, the same specific sheen of your real hair. It had taken hours of scrolling and three different sample orders, but eventually, Simon found it.

He didn’t tell you. Not when he signed for the box and quietly slipped it into his office, not when he pulled it out that first night and stared at it like it might grow fangs.

It felt ridiculous at first.

He’d cleaned weapons with his eyes closed. Assembled rifles blindfolded. But this?

A wig. A brush. A comb with teeth so fine it made him squint.

This was intimate. And fragile. Terrifying in ways combat never touched.

But you were worth it.

⸻

He watched YouTube videos in the dark.

Hours of tutorials whispered through his headphones while you slept beside him, limbs heavy with exhaustion. Women and men and animated hands showing how to detangle without ripping strands, how to deep-condition and twist hair for sleeping, how to style with care.

He paused. Rewatched. Practiced with gloves first—then without.

He started simple: washing the wig in the sink with the recommended shampoo. Rinsing gently. Letting it drip dry like something sacred. The first time he brushed it wet, he almost cried when a clump came out.

“Too rough,” he muttered to himself, adjusting his grip.

The next time, he took it slower.

Eventually, it became a ritual.

⸻

Some nights, you’d find him staying up late with a notebook in his lap, scribbling what looked like tactical planning—except the scribbles were sketches of braid patterns and product names underlined twice.

“Work stuff,” he grunted if you asked.

But you knew something was different.

He smelled faintly like argan oil. There were towels missing from the bathroom. And once, you found a tiny butterfly clip in his shirt pocket.

Still, you didn’t push.

Simon would tell you when he was ready.

⸻

The first time he touched your hair with intention, it was gentle.

You’d had a hard day—he could tell before you even walked through the door. Your jaw was tight, your voice low, your hands twitching as you peeled off your coat and sank onto the couch like a puppet with its strings cut.

He didn’t ask what was wrong. He just moved behind you quietly, sat on the arm of the couch, and murmured, “C’mere, love.”

You blinked up at him, eyes already glassy.

He nodded once, opening his hand.

It held a wide-tooth comb.

“I practiced,” he said, voice rough.

And you melted.

⸻

He started slow. One section at a time. Hands firm but careful, tugging gently to detangle, using the exact oil you always ran out of.

You didn’t speak—not because you didn’t want to, but because your throat tightened up the moment his fingers slid through your hair.

He knew how to part it. How to twist without pulling. How to ease out knots with a patience that made your chest ache.

“How long’ve you been doing this?” you whispered.

Simon didn’t answer right away. His breath was steady, his focus deep.

“Long enough,” he said at last. “Just didn’t want to do it wrong.”

Your lip trembled.

He pressed a kiss to your temple without pausing his work.

“I wanted to make it easy for you.”

⸻

After that, it became part of your rhythm.

He washed your hair in the kitchen sink, draped you in towels, and massaged your scalp like he was unraveling tension with his bare hands. He air-dried it with care, fanned it out across your shoulders while he braided or twisted it with methodical grace.

Sometimes, you’d fall asleep like that, half-draped over his legs while he worked in silence. His fingers always steady. His attention never straying.

He never said much when he did it.

Didn’t need to.

Because this was the language Simon Riley spoke best: quiet hands, careful preparation, devotion stitched into the smallest of routines.

⸻

One night, you caught him mid-process.

Not with your hair—but with the wig.

He was hunched at his desk in his office, shirtless, the back of his neck damp with sweat as he twisted section after section under the dim light. His hands were slick with leave-in conditioner, his brow furrowed in quiet concentration.

You didn’t mean to interrupt.

But when you stepped in, he didn’t startle.

He just looked up.

Held your gaze.

And said, “Didn’t want to forget how to do it right.”

The wig sat on a stand. Nearly identical to your own head of hair—except this one wore a loose, intricate braid.

Your throat closed up.

“Simon…”

He set the comb down gently, stood, and stepped close.

“I wanted to be good at it,” he said, voice hoarse. “You shouldn’t have to do it yourself when you’re too tired to hold your arms up.”

You blinked hard. The wig. The research. The oils he’d restocked without asking.

“You learned all this for me?”

He tilted his head. “Of course I did.”

And that was it.

No big speech. No theatrics.

Just Simon, standing in the soft light, love slick on his palms and patience carved into every callus.

⸻

He became your stylist after that.

Not professionally. Not loudly.

But intimately.

He brushed your hair before bed. Wrapped it in silk. Untangled it after long days without complaint. You started to leave your products out on purpose, just to see if he’d notice when something ran low.

He always did.

He even kept a tiny drawer organized by your hair type in the bathroom now—deep conditioners, scalp oils, leave-ins, brushes marked for wet or dry.

Simon Riley: war machine, tactician, lieutenant… and the only man you’d ever trust with your scalp.

And god—he was good at it.

Better than you’d ever dared to be with your own hair.

Because where you rushed, he lingered. Where you winced, he soothed. Where you’d given up?

He learned.

⸻

One morning, you woke up tangled in his arms, hair still wrapped tight and perfect in a protective scarf.

You hadn’t put it on.

He had.

Your heart cracked open a little wider in your chest.

You turned, pressed your face into his throat, and whispered, “You take care of me.”

Simon didn’t open his eyes. Just pulled you closer.

“Always, love.”

⸻

In public, no one knew.

But your hair always looked effortlessly done. Styled. Clean. Braided neatly, edges touched with care.

People complimented you.

You just smiled and said thank you.

You never told them your husband spent nights studying curl patterns or secretly whispered affirmations under his breath as he twisted sections to perfection.

You never told them he kept a small folder labeled “hair refs” on his encrypted hard drive—right next to blueprints for field operations.

You didn’t have to.

Because every brushstroke, every soft rinse, every quiet hand pulling through your curls spoke for him.

A silent language.

Of devotion.

Of protection.

Of love that never asked for recognition.

[subtextdecoder]

TBHX: What do the doves represent? Or any of it, really?

I was rewatching TBHX and omg I saw things I hadn't seen or considered before. There are just so many details that it's hard not to miss things.

The click came to me while I was watching the scene where Nice kills himself. Notice the white doves flying around and then X's image on the screen facing them right at the moment Nice jumps. It made me think: 'So does X really have power over the other heroes, or is he just observing them... or neither?'

But then I remembered both the OP and ED being heavy on the dove metaphor.

Let's start with the OP:

First, we see X throwing each of the heroes' cards.

2. Then, they all turn into pigeons and fly toward him.

3. Finally, we see X in a breach, looking like he's above and below everything at the same time. Then red strings appear, with him at the center.

There are 9 red strings in the scene, with him in the middle, making 10. Of course, that's not a coincidence. It made me think: maybe the strings represent all the heroes' fates being intertwined and tied to X. The strings being red could symbolize not just the 'red string of fate,' but also blood ties—or maybe that they can only be broken by death.

There’s a lot more going on in the OP, but let’s go back to the doves.

They appear again, and even more, in the ED:

First, there’s a black-and-white scene with all the heroes sitting on the throne. The last one shown is X, who gets up and walks toward us—maybe tired of watching all this?

2. As X gets closer to the camera, a dove takes flight. More doves join it, flying above the city.

3. We see them looking at the heroes from above—9 doves total.

4. When X takes his hands out of his pockets, the doves seem startled, like a breach in the system happens. They take flight, X snaps his fingers, and they all start falling through (maybe the breach from the OP?), surrounded by feathers. The sequence switches to color.

Note that here we have an aspect ratio change, the colorful scenes are closer.

5. We see the same places as before, but now: no posters of Loli, her name is gone from the wall, the city looks empty, screens are off, no ads. An ocean of feathers keeps falling.

6. A feather lands on the palm of a hand that looks dead or unconscious. The trust count on the wrist starts twitching and eventually disappears. The hand moves and grabs the feather. So, did they regain consciousness after being freed from the trust's shackles?

7. It ends with a feather landing on the empty throne—now in color—and the light goes out.

We can’t be sure what it all means just yet, but I think the OP, the episodes, and the ED are beautifully connected. Everything feels intentional. For example, in the ED, the aspect ratio changes when the transition from black and white to color happens. It's a clever cinematic device that makes us feel drawn into the new 'world' they've just entered.

I think the meaning of the doves changes throughout. Sometimes they represent those controlling everything, other times the heroes, and sometimes (through the feathers) maybe even every person in the world.

X could be so many things—maybe the first person to awaken as a hero, or the one chosen to lead... or maybe not even a real person at all, but an entity. Though we do see him working in an office and doing daily things. Is he observing them all the time? If so, why?

There are also lots of gambling references—cards, coins, roulette—which I think inspired the black-and-red color scheme in the logo. Is X the one gambling with reality? Or against it? Or against whoever’s really in control?

X’s ability, the breach, and the red strings make me think of a ton of scenarios: death as the only way back to reality... which would imply multiple realities. Maybe he can access parallel universes? The three main art styles might reflect three different timelines. And when X snaps his fingers, can he choose who goes where? If not, and if the feathers represent people, maybe everyone was teleported—along with the heroes. This metaphor makes perfect sense considering how the feathers fall and one reaches a hand, bringing it 'back to life.' Interpreting it as a phoenix metaphor, people are reawakened by the feather — which represents themselves — meaning they didn’t die, but were teleported and are now waking up in a new timeline. It’s as if the feather symbolizes their consciousness traveling through the breach that connects different timelines. The fact that the hand originally seemed to belong to an unresponsive body, combined with the colored scenes showing an empty city while feathers fall from the sky, could suggest that everyone is put 'to sleep' — their bodies remain, but their minds shift to a parallel reality. Or perhaps, the parallel reality isn’t a physical world at all, but their dreams while dormant. While writing this, I also started thinking it's kind of interesting that there are three distinct main art styles. If each one does represent a different 'universe,' then the name Treeman, aside from the logo being an actual tree, could be a wordplay—Three Man—with each version belonging to one of those universes. That leads to yet more questions: is their consciousness compartmentalized into three separate blocks, making it impossible for the person to realize they’re switching realities? or is it not split at all and that's why it appears to happen seamlessly? Some red strings in the OP intersect, others don’t. That might reflect which heroes influence each other—like E-Soul being a fan of Lucky Cyan, or X saving Ahu. But none of the strings connect to X directly; he stands alone in the center. Maybe that’s because all of them are tied to him whether they know it or not. It's also a nice way to show us that X could be the one pulling the strings, in a literal sense. The cards he throws in the OP remind me a lot of Tarot Cards, which could also imply handling with fate somehow.

There are also a lot of references to a stage. So maybe when the light goes out at the end of the ED, it means the play is over. They’re no longer heroes—they’re just ordinary people again.

Maybe everything was in their heads. Maybe they were never heroes—just ordinary people daydreaming about being more. The story videos only show a few characters in the 3D style. Maybe some don’t have a 3D version. If 3D represents reality, were they never real? Or maybe the 3D characters were never supposed to become heroes—but did anyway—starting a revolution that will break the system?

It could be that X’s power — or X himself — is a manifestation of people’s desire for change, to become something more, even to the point of altering reality entirely. You know that theory that says, 'for every choice we make, a new timeline is created'? X might be the means through which people can travel across these alternate realities they’ve shaped.

Thank you @steelenspots for opening my eyes to yet another meaning for the doves: "I'm also thinking about how X strongly has a magician aesthetic, and how doves tie into that — magicians 'free' doves in their performances. Nice gains freedom through death, and so far we've seen Lin Ling gain the freedom to be himself. We know X is the only one who can’t be controlled by the Commission, so maybe he’s observing and helping the heroes find their own freedom. If not freedom, then perhaps the doves symbolize peace in a more traditional sense — each character finding their own inner peace."

Well, it's al too crazy and I’ve got so much on my mind, I’m sure I forgot something here and there. But this is just me writing as I think, sharing my questions with y’all. I’ll post more when it comes to me. Edit: Part 2, but no longer about doves! It's really just me writing what comes to mind.