#(gestures to my Twitter thread)

[foryoupeko]

Why is it that whenever ppl write Peko without Fuyuhiko it’s always Fuyuhiko being an apathetic asshole and Peko having an existential crisis for ten pages.

Fanon Peko: What do I do? The Young Master doesn’t need me, and I only know how to be a tool! If only a potential love interest could come and teach me how to be a stereotypical happy teenage girl!

Canon Peko: (Goes to parties, bakes with the girls, goes on walks on the beach, that bitch loves swimming) I hope the Young Master doesn’t stay in his room the whole day

Ppl don’t know how to write Peko without defining her by her trauma / doesn’t think Peko is worth writing unless it’s to fix her, and it really shows.

[flythesail]

The annoying thing is there's a good chance we never find out 'exactly' what happened with the acolyte because they're all under contract until the end of time

[pucksandpower]

Shameless

Charles Leclerc x Reader x Max Verstappen

Summary: you + Lestappen + a sex tape leak + one very unamused head of communications … need I say more?

Based on this request

The Red Bull Racing communications office smells like stale coffee and impending doom. Portia, the team’s head of communications, sits stiffly in the center of the storm, knuckles white around her phone. She stares at the video playing on her laptop, horrified but unable to look away.

The footage is intimate, explicit — grainy but undeniably clear. Three people, tangled up in sheets, moaning names, gasping into each other’s mouths. Max Verstappen. You. And, unmistakably, Charles Leclerc.

Her inbox is a dumpster fire of urgent PR memos, emails with subject lines in all caps, and press releases that have already been revised half a dozen times. She hasn’t even responded to half of them yet. No point.

This is beyond damage control.

The door swings open violently, smacking into the wall. Max strolls in first, looking every bit as casual as if he just finished a training session. You follow behind him, your hair in a messy bun, holding a half-eaten croissant. Charles is the last to enter, chewing gum like this is the most ordinary thing in the world.

Portia blinks at the three of you. “… What the hell?”

Max plops into the chair across from her, sprawling out like he’s just arrived at a friend’s house. “What’s up?”

“What’s up?” Portia repeats, incredulous. “You-” She gestures frantically toward her screen. “The video. The world just saw everything, Max! You, her, him-” She throws a desperate look at Charles, who only shrugs.

“Yeah. We saw,” Charles says casually, pulling out a chair and sitting down next to Max. “Kind of funny, no?”

Portia makes a strangled noise in her throat. “No! It is not funny, Charles. None of this is funny!” She can already feel the migraine creeping in, sharp and mean behind her left eye.

Max leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Listen, it’s not like we were hiding it. We’ve been-”

“Friends,” you interject, your voice calm as ever. “Very close friends.”

Charles grins. “Really close.”

Max winks. “Super close.”

Portia pinches the bridge of her nose. “Stop saying that.”

“You’re the one freaking out,” Max says, as if that makes any of this better. “It’s not a big deal.”

Portia throws up her hands. “Max, it’s not just a sex tape. It’s a scandal. Sponsors, shareholders, media outlets — everyone is calling. Red Bull is losing its mind, Ferrari is fuming, and the internet-” She gestures vaguely toward the air, as if the internet is some wild animal loose in the building. “-is losing its collective shit.”

Charles leans back, folding his arms behind his head. “The internet always loses its shit.”

“True,” Max agrees, glancing at you. “Remember when they thought we broke up because I didn’t post anything for two weeks?”

You hum thoughtfully, finishing the last bite of your croissant. “They were so mad.”

Portia stares at the three of you like she’s trapped in some bizarre fever dream. “Are none of you remotely concerned about this?”

Max shrugs. “Not really.”

“It’s out now,” you say, wiping your hands on a napkin. “What’s the point of stressing?”

Charles nods like you just delivered the most profound truth of the century. “Exactly. It’s not like we can put it back in the box.”

“Oh my god,” Portia mutters, pressing her palms to her temples. “You’re all insane.”

Max flashes her a charming smile — the kind that usually gets him out of trouble. “Come on, Portia. You handle worse than this all the time.”

“Not this, I don’t!” She groans. “I mean, sure, we’ve dealt with crashes, team infighting, broken engines, drunk interviews-” She shoots a pointed look at Max, who grins unapologetically. “But this? This is next level.”

Charles checks his phone, seemingly unbothered by her panic. “The fans seem to love it, though. Look-” He flips the screen toward Portia. It’s a Twitter thread full of memes and heart-eye emojis, captioned with things like Lestappen and Y/N living their best lives and Honestly, goals.

Portia glares at the phone like it just insulted her family. “This is not helping.”

Max raises an eyebrow. “Actually, it kind of is.” He points at the screen. “If the fans are cool with it, the sponsors will calm down eventually.”

“Sponsors are not fans.” Portia slams her laptop shut, as if doing so will somehow make the problem disappear. “Sponsors are very rich, very conservative people who do not want their logos anywhere near a video of you having a threesome!”

Charles clicks his tongue thoughtfully. “Technically, it’s not just a threesome.”

Portia shoots him a death glare. “I swear to God, Charles-”

You stifle a laugh, covering your mouth with your hand. Max notices, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he nudges you with his elbow. “See? Even Y/N thinks it’s funny.”

“It’s a little funny,” you admit, which only makes Charles beam with satisfaction.

Portia looks like she’s on the verge of a breakdown. “This is not funny. None of this is funny.”

“I think you need to relax,” Max says, as if that’s the simplest solution in the world. “It’s not like we committed a crime.”

“It might as well be,” Portia snaps. “Do you know what Ferrari is going to do with this? They’re probably drafting some moral code violation complaint as we speak.”

Charles waves a hand dismissively. “They can’t fire me. I bring too much to the table.”

Portia gives him a flat look. “Charles, you are the table.”

“Exactly.”

Max turns to you, his hand casually resting on the back of your chair. “Do you think we should put out a statement?”

You consider it for a moment, then shake your head. “Nah. Statements are boring.”

“Agreed,” Charles says, pulling his phone back out to scroll through more tweets. “No one likes statements.”

Portia exhales slowly, as if trying to summon every ounce of patience she has left. “Okay, so let me get this straight. Your solution to this PR nightmare is ... to do absolutely nothing?”

“Exactly,” Max says with a satisfied nod. “We just let it blow over.”

“Like Austria,” you add.

Portia stares at you, aghast. “Austria? You cannot compare this to a racing incident in Austria!”

Max looks thoughtful. “I don’t know. I think it’s kind of similar. People get mad for a while, then they forget.”

Charles grins mischievously. “By next week, someone else will do something stupid, and no one will care about this.”

Portia groans, dragging her hands down her face. “You are all ... impossible.”

Max reaches across the table to pat her shoulder. “You’ll see. Everything will be fine.”

“Max,” Portia says, her voice low and dangerous. “If this mess costs us a single sponsor — just one — I swear I will make your life a living hell.”

Max’s grin widens. “You already do.”

You burst out laughing at that, and even Portia can’t suppress a reluctant smile, though it’s clear she’s fighting it with every fiber of her being.

“This isn’t over,” she warns, but there’s no real bite in her voice.

“It never is,” Charles says breezily. “But that’s half the fun, no?”

You lean into Max’s side, content and completely unbothered, and he drapes an arm around your shoulders. Charles glances over at the two of you, a lazy grin spreading across his face. “See? We’re all good. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Portia shoots him a murderous glare. “Do not say that.”

Max laughs, the sound low and easy, and for a moment, it feels like the world outside the room doesn’t exist — no scandals, no cameras, no angry emails. Just the three of you, stuck in the strangest mess, but somehow, perfectly fine with it.

And, really, isn’t that all that matters?

***

A few weeks later, Portia is sitting at her desk, sipping her second coffee of the morning, when her inbox pings with a new email. She glances at the subject line, hoping it’s something routine — maybe a press update, or an invitation to a sponsor event.

Instead, her heart drops.

URGENT: New Video — Verstappen, Leclerc, and Y/L/N on Beach Vacation

She groans audibly, slamming her head down on the desk with a dramatic thud. They didn’t listen to her at all.

Opening the email, her stomach churns as she scrolls down to the attached link. The video loads instantly — there’s Max, Charles, and you, sun-kissed and carefree, lounging on beach chairs somewhere tropical. The sound of waves crashing in the background is almost soothing.

Almost.

And then, without warning, it escalates — hands everywhere, tangled limbs, kisses that start off playful but quickly turn into something else entirely. A bottle of rosé tips over in the sand as Max pulls you onto his lap, and Charles leans over, dragging his mouth along your shoulder with a grin.

Portia shakes her head in disbelief, muttering under her breath, “I’m going to kill them.”

Another ping. This time, a text from Max.

Saw the email. You’re gonna love the next one.

She screams into her coffee mug.

[pearwaldorf]

I hate that you can't see a tweet thread anymore if you're not logged into Twitter (as a gesture of disrespect I refuse to call it by its rebranded name). Here is a copypasta of a thread from Dan Olson, a Canadian documentary filmmaker, expanding upon camera quality, the guilt trips Somerton used to goose his Patreon subscriptions, and how the best tools will never make up for lack of dedication or patience. I have added clarifications in [[double brackets]] where I feel it is necessary.

START OF THREAD

Okay, so, back in April I snapped at James in reply to a tweet that was linking to this video (which James has since delisted but not deleted) and I want to talk about the full context of that but I don't want to make a video, put your beatdown memes away. [[The video has since been deleted. I can see the title of the video is "Maybe the end (not an April Fool's Day thing".]]

The first bit of context is that I initially got keyed into James to fact-check his claims about indie filmmaking in Canada. As a filmmaker the entire Telos venture was immediately obvious as a juvenile fantasy dreamed up by someone with no idea how to make a movie.

Just wild claims about their plans that weren't worth debunking because they bordered Not Even Wrong. But in watching one of these pitch videos I noticed that he had a $4000 current-gen camera in the background as a prop, and that seemed both pretentious and weird.

You don't use your best camera as a prop, you use your second best camera as a prop. So being an obsessive weirdo I needed to know, and I watched his BTS stuff until I spotted his main rig, a $6000 camera with about $1000 in accessories.

Now, these in isolation are unremarkable because his Patreon at the time was bringing in ~$8000 per month, his channel was a full on Business business, and so investing in some professional equipment of that level is maybe a bit indulgent but justifiable.

What was weird is that he doesn't shoot multi-cam, doesn't shoot outdoors, doesn't shoot on location, and in a studio the two cameras kinda really step on each others' toes. Basically if you already have one and don't need a B cam there's no reason to get the other.

Again, on its own, this says nothing, it's just indicative of poor financial decisions, maybe impulsive purchasing, Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Biblical sins, but not crimes.

Paired with the constantly inflating fantasy scope of the Telos films it was clearly an expression of a very, very common bad filmmaker habit of "if I just get the right gear then my movie will basically make itself" Buying stuff because it feels like progress.

At the end of February he tweets "I want to start shooting anamorphic" and then three weeks later in March he posts the worst, out of focus, under-exposed "I just got a new lens!" video I've ever seen, showing off his trash-covered bedroom.

Based on what's available for his cameras and the lead time, that's enough time to get a Laowa Nanomorph or Sirui Saturn from B&H but not enough time to get a Great Joy from the UK or a Vazen from China. And with the flaring blah blah blah, $1300 lens.

Again, [gear acquisition syndrome] is not a crime and these lenses are budget options. Bit of a pointless impulse purchase since he only used it for the Showgirls video. But this is what he was doing just a few weeks before that above video came out: effortlessly impulse purchasing lenses.

James has (had?) a habit of regularly, aggressively driving viewers to Patreon by claiming that videos were getting demonetized. While tacky, it is something a lot of queer YouTubers have dealt with, so there's precedent there. But people were noticing he did it a lot.

Mid-March he humble brags about needing to work so hard to make 6 videos in April because he has over-booked sponsorships.

Then March 29th James posts this whole incel screed on Twitter about how sex work should be "subsidized as a mental health service."

[two image descriptions.

1. "For the majority of people sex (and human contact) can be imperative to a healthy state of mind. A kind and talented sex worker can make someone feel wanted for the first time in their life. I know sex workers who have pulled people back from suicide just by being there for them." 2. "Not only should (sex work) be legal, but it should be subsidized as a mental health service."]

He spends several days getting absolutely *roasted* for this, just dragged across the pavement and read for filth, and doubles down in the replies the whole way.

So this is the context immediately surrounding James waking up on Friday, and posts the above video and the below tweet.

[image description: "We just got the lowest Patreon payout we've gotten in well over a year. Like, a "maybe we need to rethink things" kind of amount... NOT an April Fools Day thing btw. But I don't know if we'll be making videos much longer."]

Now, this unfolds in kinda two directions. The first is that I'm convinced he was just lying about this income shock in the first place.

There's a million theoretical edge cases about what maybe happened and if maybe he just misunderstood the data or saw a glitch and panicked, maybe one of those happened, I don't believe it, I think he just lied because he was salty about getting dragged and felt owed a win.

A big tell to me is that he doesn't blame Patreon. He says he doesn't know what happened, but let's be real, Patreon screws up all the time, they're the first people anyone blames if anything confusing happens, just as a reflex action, even if it's completely not their fault.

The only reason to not blame Patreon is if you already know that it's not their fault and that any investigation on their part might reveal embarrassing details.

Instead he indirectly blames his viewers for not watching enough, not sharing enough, and not turning on auto-renew.

So regardless of the unknowable truth, this segues into the second, far more offensive direction of the messaging itself. "I don't know if we'll be making videos much longer." "Maybe the end" He explicitly framed this as an immediate existential threat to his channel.

In the video he is vague about everything, leaves a ton of hazy room for plausible deniability on how long the channel can keep going, but the messaging is "I need more patrons right this minute or my YouTube channel is over."

He repeatedly evokes all the "fun stuff" they had planned that would never see the light of day if this didn't turn around right away.

And his audience received this message loud and clear. Tons of people making far, far, far less than him left very heartfelt messages about digging a little deeper to subscribe or up their pledge or unsubscribe from other channels to move their pledge to his.

1200 new patrons in one day.

Since I simply don't believe the income shock was real in the first place that would put his post-"Maybe the end" Patreon income at around $10,000 per month. US. Add YouTube income, he's spent the last seven months making around $18,000 per month.

I have seen creators scale back their capabilities to the bone purely to keep making videos for the love of just, like, making stuff even as their funding evaporated and they needed to go back to a desk job to cover their bills.

You'd have to be so outstandingly reckless with your finances as a channel that a one month spook leads immediately to "channel over, sorry about all the fun stuff we won't get to do with you, our patrons, specifically because you, our patrons, aren't giving us enough money"

And not a spook where you then spend a couple weeks crunching numbers. Oh no. A shock so violent where less than two hours later you're weeping on camera about the channel being over.

Three weeks later he brought a brand new Sony FX6v for $8000 CAD to add to his pile of cinema cameras despite the fact that he was, but scant moments earlier, in such a precarious position that a single bad month would kill his channel.

He stole your money, and for that I'm profoundly sad and angry. That's why I snapped at him in April. I'm sorry I couldn't give you the full context then, and I'm sorry if that anger upset you.

END OF THREAD

[nvxzaa]

── .✦ Half words

Pairing : ¡idol!Lee know x ¡idol!Reader

Word : 684

Genre : fluff

Warning : none

For nine months, Minho and YN had been living the perfect love story... in silence.

No public meetings, no inappropriate gestures behind the scenes, and even less visible interaction online. They were sworn to secrecy. Their agencies were strict, the contracts clear: zero rumors. So they loved each other through the gaps, the stolen glances backstage, the coded messages at 3 a.m., and the little objects they left each other by way of presence.

That evening, Minho was live on Instagram with his fans. He was talking about his day, the last rehearsal with his band, while nibbling snacks on his sofa. Nothing out of the ordinary, until his wrist spent a little too long in front of the camera.

A black, braided bracelet, decorated with small golden pearls. And on one of them... the initials Y.L.

The comments exploded:

"What kind of bracelet is that? YN as in... YN?"

"Has he ever worn it?"

"I swear she had one just like it..."

The next day, unsuspecting of the online uproar, YN logged on in turn for a live stream on Weverse. She was laughing, her hair tied back in a fuzzy bun, a black scrunchie holding back her rebellious locks. A fan zooms in. Her bracelet slips off her sleeve. Same model. Same pearls. M.L.

Within hours, the most attentive fans were diving into the archives.

An oversized gray sweater that Minho had worn to a vlog a few weeks earlier? YN had it on his shoulders backstage three days later.

A blurry story of Minho from behind, in a discreet café? Same chair, same cup, same green plant behind YN two days later.

A black velvet scrunchie Minho wore around his wrist during a concert... then around YN's ponytail during an interview.

A Twitter thread was born:

"Minho x YN: coincidences or confirmation?"

With dozens of pieces of evidence lined up like a puzzle that the two idols thought they were hiding.

And in the middle of it all, a comment that perfectly summed up the gist of the story:

"If they've managed to hide this from us for so long, it's because they really care about each other."

The rumors didn't die down. On the contrary, every public appearance by Minho or YN was scrutinized. Yet instead of frightening them... something changed between them.

They stopped hiding.

Not abruptly, not obviously either. But their messages became more direct. Less coded. And when they got together, even for a few hours between two crazy schedules, they didn't waste a minute.

One evening, in a private studio rented by their trusted staff, they found themselves sheltered from the world, their hearts pounding, their fingers entwined.

- Don't you regret it?" asked YN, his voice a little fragile. I mean... if it all blows up.

Minho took a step closer and pressed his forehead to hers.

- You know what I'd regret? Loving you in silence all my life.

She smiled softly, her eyes shining.

- It's so dramatic.

- It's me," he replied with a wink.

They knew it was no longer just a game of discretion. They were a team, an invisible but solid bond that withstood outside pressure. And even if the agencies were already whispering warnings, they would keep going. Together.

Their fans, meanwhile, seemed... divided. But a good number were beginning to sneak up on them.

One fan-account went viral after posting:

"Look at them. They've never been so bright. Frankly, I want them to be happy. Whether they're together or not. But if they are together... then so much the better."

Then, one evening, without warning, YN posted a story.

No picture of them. Just a photo of their two bracelets, lying side by side on a wooden table, in a golden light. In the background, a soft song. The lyrics read, "if the world finds out, at least we loved without lying."

She didn't tag anyone. Not a word. Not an explanation.

But this time, they stopped trying to calm the storm.

Minho re-shared the story. Just with an emoji: "..."

And that was enough.

Masterlist

[purplealmonds]

Hm. This takes some explaining. I shared this illustration of Kon-Kusu inheriting the role of Shingi on Twitter, and shirousagi_mono wrote a story inspired by that idea! And I in turn was inspired to translate that story and drew some supplemental visuals for it!

English transcript below the cut.

DISCLAIMER This started out as a self-indulgent project to clumsily translate this story for myself. However, I became so enamored with it that before I knew it, I drew not only cover art but also various illustrations for each part of this story. The scope of this project has expanded far beyond my initial expectations.

I am an artist, not a writer. Furthermore, I am not an expert at the Japanese language. As such, this translation is far from perfect. Although I used Google Translate and DeepL, there may be parts of the story which I may have completely misinterpreted. A lot of nuances of the Japanese prose were also surely lost in translation. I tried to replicate an approximation of it in English, but again, I am not an expert on such matters.

Despite that, I am incredibly happy that this overseas collaboration is happening at all, and that our shared passion for Mononoke was what facilitated this connection. I can only hope that through the supplemental illustrations, the original narrative intentions of the author comes through.

–––

“Forgive me.”

It hurts, it cries. It hurts, it hurts!

The demonic wailing rises to ear-splitting shrieks.

Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable!

The passion imbued in those wretched cries weigh down like great albatrosses in my heart.

The more I wield my blade, the more my soul becomes entangled in these heady emotions. But I grit my teeth and endure, swallowing all resentment and disappointment, envy and jealousy.

It is indescribable. My sword cuts through the tenuous threads of karma binding these hateful spirits helplessly raining curses upon this world.

I have long forgotten how to pray. Closing my eyes in helpless grief, I am unable to do anything but slash away with that jet black blade swaddled within the flickering blue flame.

***

The pale light of the full moon dances across the rippling waves. I have long become accustomed to the prickling cold against my clammy skin. The water laps at my existence, my senses rippling like fading echoes through its vast expanse.

A voice calls out to me. “Shingi-sama.”

Opening my eyes, I resurface to reality. The muted roar of the waterfall reverberates in my pointed ears. The cascading torrents sweep away my scarlet locks shimmering like a thin film across the water’s surface.

There is a figure stood on a distant shore. I wade towards them, wringing out the moisture in my hair.

“Are you well?” they ask.

“I am fine.”

They hands me my robes, which I accept with a shallow bow and slip onto my still dripping frame. The moisture soaks through the white fabric almost immediately. As the shining crimson fades from my hair, my minder watches on with unadulterated adoration etched upon their face.

Flustered, they avert their gaze. That gesture fills me with a strange sense nostalgia. I cannot help but stare back as they towel down my dripping hair and loosely gather the red-and-white strands into a braid.

“Somehow, this routine is soothing to me,” they confess with a sheepish smile. “Your hair is quite curly.”

Indeed, as they card through my locks, they twist and curl like crackling wildfire through their deft fingers. In the moonlight, the faintest shade of wisteria emerges from those silken locks. My unruly hair tamed into a tidy bun, they step back to admire their neat handiwork with their moon-pale gaze.

The sight of that innocent look constricts my chest with an aching familiarity.

I vehemently shake my head at this resurgence of long-buried memories. Once rekindled, those embers flare up into uncontrollable flames searing painful recollections into my heart. I know these emotions all too well.

My throat constricts in defiance. No. These are tulmultuous emotions are not my own. Not anymore.

“I’m here,” I say, steely voice concealing my heart’s turmoil. “I’m sorry.”

Plucking the mirror hanging from the sash of my other half, I toss it upwards with a practiced motion. It defies gravity, hanging eye level mid air. As it rotates lazily, my face comes into view. But it is not a familiar visage.

The reflection that gazes back at me is missing the black sclera of the my eyes and the crimson markings adorning my skin.

The warped reflection, wracked with grief and pain, stares back at me with pleading eyes.

I call out its name, long lost to time. Its eyes widen.

“You do not belong here,” I say to my past self. “Not yet.”

I reach out to the mirror.

“Go home.”

I crush the it in my fist. The shards melt harmlessly and trickle like ephemeral moonlight between my fingers.

***

I wake with a start. Gasping for breath, I take stock of sensations to ground me. Sticky sweat runs in rivulets down my skin. My chest barely cages the frantic pounding of my heart. I sweep away the stringy mop of pale lavender hair obscuring my vision.

A comfortingly familiar hand reaches out to me. He must have been roused by my unexpected awakening. I return the touch, and he squeezes my palm reassuringly. At last, my gaze shifts to my lover, moonlit eyes framed by a curtain of pitch black hair.

Yes, one day this will be my fate. It feels strange to think of myself in the future tense with such grim certainty. These stolen moments of the present – how foolish was to take them for granted until now? Gazing past my eyes into the depths of my heart, the god of the Kun exorcism sword interrogates my loud thoughts.

“What did you see?” he presses. “What did you mean by ‘my fate’?”

I wince at the graveness of his voice, but comply. Turning my thoughts inwards, I attempt to recall my nightmare. But the moment I touch upon it, it dissipates like mist. I gape helplessly as the dream loses shape.

“I–” I stammer. “I don’t remember. But–“

My racing heart still echoes feverishly in my head. My eyes dart back to my god and soulmate. As he leans over me, his dark hair falls around me like a protective cage. My throat tightens with an inexplicable grief. Despite my fading memories, there is one thing I know for certain.

“I’m scared of losing you.”

As that confession spills from my lips, my eyes grow hot. A stifling fear threatens to tear out of my trembling frame. It is such a childish cliche. Once said aloud, those words will surely become a prophetic truth. I cling to my other half’s pale sleeve as if in desperate prayer. My inability to push him away in my moment of vulnerability fills my eyes to the brim with unshed tears.

Those moon-pale eyes widen. I am stunned by the emotion flickering past his usual stone-faced expression. Before I can think more of it, his large hand obscures my vision like the moon eclipsing the sun.

“Go back to sleep. Forget this ever happened.”

At that soft spoken benediction, the fear wracking my body is snatched away along with my fretful consciousness. His sad voice follows me into a dreamless abyss.

“You should not look into the future.”

If this was truly my future, is it worth continuing down this path? As my eyes drift shut, the desire to give voice to that fading question forms silent tears trickling down my cheek.

[zeroseuniverse]

Just Another Tuesday

Word Count: 861 Summary: Soul hums in agreement, tilting his head to admire their work. “No one suspects a thing.” Across the room, Keeho chokes on his drink. Pairing: Soul X Reader

Taglist:@torkorpse @agaha127 @lcvejjoong @zaycie @sh0dor1 @tinyelfperson @lezleeferguson-120

Navigation

Soul leans back in his chair, stretching lazily as he watches the stock market crash in real-time on the giant monitor in front of them. The numbers plummet, red flashing across the screen in warning signs that should be sending major investors into full-blown panic mode.

You? You’re perched on the arm of his chair, sipping boba like this is just another Tuesday night.

“We are actual masterminds,” you muse, stabbing your straw through a tapioca pearl.

Soul hums in agreement, tilting his head to admire their work. “No one suspects a thing.”

Across the room, Keeho chokes on his drink.

Because, see, the thing is—everyone suspects a thing.

Or, more accurately, P1Harmony knows exactly what’s going on.

Keeho gives Theo a slow, pained look, but Theo is too busy scrolling through Twitter, watching a thread unravel in real-time about mysterious cybercriminals who keep taking down corrupt corporations. Every tweet is full of speculation, wild theories, and ominous warnings from so-called financial experts.

What none of them realize is that the 'criminal masterminds' are sitting on their couch, loudly debating whether or not to DoorDash milkshakes.

Jiung, who’s been quietly suffering for weeks, finally speaks up. “You guys do realize you’re the worst criminals ever, right?”

You blink. “Excuse me?”

Jiung gestures vaguely at Soul’s laptop, where a Google Doc literally titled ‘Chaos Plans 101’ is open. Not even password protected.

Keeho groans, rubbing his temples. “I mean, honestly, the hacking? Impressive. The execution? Messy. The subtlety? Negative ten.”

“But no one’s caught us,” Soul says with an infuriatingly confident smirk.

Intak snorts. “That’s because we keep covering for you.”

“…What?”

Theo, still scrolling Twitter, waves a hand. “Yeah, like, remember last week when you accidentally left your real name in that leaked email thread?”

Your stomach drops. “Wait, what?”

Jongseob sighs, so, so tired. “I had to backdoor into their servers and delete it before it went public.”

You blink. “Oh.”

“Oh?” Jongseob repeats, voice slightly higher-pitched. “That’s all you have to say? Oh?”

Soul nudges you, muttering under his breath, “See? Told you we should’ve used code names.”

“Oh my God.” Keeho looks physically pained. “That is not the issue here!”

-

Things come to a head when the two of you—because you are agents of chaos—decide to take down a tech giant while sitting at a very public café during brunch.

A brunch, by the way, that all of P1Harmony is also attending.

“I bet you I can tank their stock by 20% before the check arrives,” you whisper, grinning as you tap away at your tablet.

Soul smirks, leaning over. “Make it 25%, and I’ll pay for your meal.”

Intak, sipping his coffee across from you, does not like the way this conversation is going.

Jiung looks at the waiter and, with deep exhaustion, says, “Can I get this to go?”

Keeho just pinches the bridge of his nose and mutters, “I am going to die at 35 because of you two.”

Ten minutes later, the café television flashes with breaking news about said tech giant losing billions in market value. People start gasping, whispering, checking their phones.

And you? You just take a smug sip of your mimosa.

The entire table stares at you.

Jongseob, voice hollow, asks, “Did you seriously just commit financial terrorism over eggs benedict?”

Soul shrugs. “They overcharge for their streaming services.”

Keeho physically has to restrain himself.

-

Enough is enough.

Keeho, the ever-suffering leader, calls a meeting.

You and Soul are sat down in the living room like two misbehaving children. Jiung, Intak, and Theo are perched on the couch, arms crossed. Jongseob has a PowerPoint presentation ready.

Keeho clears his throat. “We are deeply concerned for a number of reasons.”

Jongseob clicks the first slide. It’s a screenshot of your hacked document, labeled 'Secret Plans - DO NOT OPEN (Unless You're Cool)'.

Theo coughs to hide his laughter. Jiung does not.

The next slide shows a list of your crimes with the header: ‘Ways in Which You Two Are Horrible at Hiding Your Villain Era.’

Some highlights include:

Using your own emails to register fake offshore accounts.

Nearly blowing your cover by laughing too hard at Twitter conspiracies.

Loudly whispering things like “Hey, what if we framed a CEO for fraud” in very public places.

Soul frowns. “That last one was a joke.”

Intak raises an eyebrow. “Was it?”

“…No.”

Keeho takes a deep breath. “Look. We’re not asking you to stop.”

You and Soul glance at each other. “Wait, really?”

Keeho sighs. “I mean, at this point, whatever. Just… try not to get arrested? Maybe? For our sake?”

Jongseob flips to his last slide, where bold red text reads: USE A VPN, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

Soul tilts his head. “We could do that.”

You nod thoughtfully. “Yeah. Seems reasonable.”

Keeho visibly relaxes.

Then you grin. “Or we could—”

“NO.” Everyone shouts at the same time.

You and Soul laugh. Because, let’s be real—you’re definitely not stopping.

And P1Harmony? Well, they’re just going to have to keep cleaning up after you.

[strangersteddierthings]

Based on a twitter thread the lovely @nburkhardt shared in the Discord chat and I just took the idea that Gareth is both Chrissy AND Steve's cousin and ran with it.

"Harrington, think fast!" Gareth is already lobbing the cream soda at Steve's head before he's even fully looked up but the asshole snatches it out of the air no problem. It barely even fizzes when he cracks the can open. The bastard.

"And for you, Chrysanthemum," Gareth hands off her cream soda gently, because she's his favorite cousin. She laughs at him but takes the soda. She doesn't open it right away, instead opting to set it beside her in the shade of the shed they've taken residency of. Out of sight of the rest of their family and their thousand and one questions.

"You know nicknames are supposed to be shorter than the original name, right?" Steve says, then burps because he chugged half the soda in one swallow.

"Gross," Chrissy says at the same time as Gareth's, "noice."

Steve grins, pleased with himself.

"Hey, so. I wanted to talk to you guys about something," Gareth says after a moment of quiet has fallen over them. He's plopped down in the front of them instead of resuming his spot beside Chrissy, leaning against the shed in the shade. It puts him in the sun but he wants to look at them both as they talk.

"Anything, Garebearringham," Chrissy says to annoy Steve with a lengthened nickanme.

"So, I'll be a freshman this year. And, I love you guys, you know I do, but, uh, I don't want to be seen associating with you. Publically."

There's a beat of silence where Steve and Chrissy just stare back, Chrissy looking hurt and Steve looking offended.

"What I mean is that you're both already, like, known. You know? And I don't want to just be… the cool kids' younger cousin. I want to be uncool on my own."

Chrissy says, "Oh. Yeah, I get that."

Steve says, "You want to be uncool?"

Gareth gestures to all of himself. "I am not aiming to win the popularity contest. I want to join the Hellfire club." He points an accusing finger at Steve. "You told me yourself that the club leader climbs on tables and rants about jocks-"

"Yeah, as a warning to not join Hellfire. How did you read that wrong?"

"-so I can't be seen associating with a cheerleader and the king of jocks. That'll ruin my, like, cred or whatever!"

Chrissy is nodding along solemnly. She's always been understand and sympathetic to Gareth, especially when it comes to being himself. In quiet alone times, she's confessed to being jealous of how easily being himself came to him and she wished she was as brave. Steve, however, was a conformist through and through and while Gareth could understand the why (his uncle and aunt are not the best of people) he's never going to try and fit in just because it makes like easier.

"Your cred," Steve says monotone, his bitch face out in full force.

"Yeah! My street cred!"

Chrissy and Steve share a look. Steve raises and eyebrow and Chrissy shrugs before they look back to Gareth.

"Alright. You're secret is safe with us, Garrington," Chrissy teases.

"Do not!"

"You think people aren't going to put together that you and Chrissy have the same last name?" Steve says, because he's a shithead.

"So? There like 4 Smiths, and none of them are related. It'll be fine."

"True. No one will believe the amazing Chrissy Cunningham is related to the absolute loser Gareth Cunningham."

"Absolute loser! You're a dick, Steve Harrington."

"Yeah, but you know I got your back even if you're a loser."

Gareth doesn't answer. He opens his own soda then, chugging enough to let out his own gross burp for Chrissy to scold him about and Steve to laugh.

It's the summer of 1983 and things can only go up for them all now that they're all in high school together.

[adamcoled]

jealousy | rhea ripley

rhea ripley x fem!reader

summary: you and rhea aren’t anything official, but you’re still jealous upon seeing her flirt with others. 

word count: 3,838

warnings: just slight sexual implications i think?

a/n: WOW um okay hi, i haven’t posted writing on this blog in YEARS but i recently got fully back into wrestling and have developed such a love for rhea ripley. so i decided to start writing again, but it’s been so long this definitely isn’t my best work. here’s to getting back into the swing of things i hope! (also i know samantha is engaged to ricochet and ofc all of it is just character work, but it made for a good plot soo)

Rhea was a flirt. That much was true long before you, and it was certainly not a secret to most. She had the charm, and of course the looks, so people were naturally drawn to her, and she loved that. Flirting, to her, was fun – harmless fun, for the most part – and typically it never went beyond cheeky comments or tantalizing gestures.

So when Rhea began flirting with you, initially you didn’t think much of it and really had no reason to. She was attractive – incredibly attractive – and her voice could melt you instantly if you let it; but this was just her thing. At first, you would catch her staring at you backstage or at other company events. Then, she started making it a point to tell you how beautiful you looked each time she saw you. From there, you were texting a lot more and hanging out outside of schedule. But still, it was never anything official and they were never labeled as “dates,” which you internally hated yourself for forgetting.

Because now, you were jealous. A fiery red jealousy that had you feeling betrayed without the entitlement to do so. For some reason, you thought things seemed different between you and Rhea. She seemed more serious and attentive, even remembering small details you’d told her about things you enjoyed. You couldn’t imagine she did that for just anyone she happened to flirt with.

Yet there you were last night, scrolling through Twitter and seeing endless posts about Rhea and Samantha. Rhea was being her usual flirty self, smiling, blowing kisses, and surely winking beneath those glasses, and it was obvious Samantha was enjoying it. Even worse, there were also comment threads with Cathy, and you knew it was all lighthearted, but it still made you feel some type of way.

You liked Rhea. A lot actually. Maybe that’s why you wanted to believe she liked you too and treated you differently from the rest. Clearly, you were wrong. And you weren’t going to be strung along in a game or play along with silly flirting when you genuinely hoped for more with her. That’s why now that she was here in front of you, you were going to be as indifferent as possible.

“Hey pretty girl,” Rhea greeted, smile beaming as always. She had finally found you backstage after you’d made it a point to not respond to some of her texts. It didn’t seem like she was too upset or phased by that judging by the greeting she’d given you.

“Hey,” you responded with only a half-smile of your own. That was something she definitely picked up on, because you swore you’d never seen her face fall faster.

“Are you alright?”

“Hm?” you hummed, dropping your attention back to your phone. Usually, she would have your full focus, but you were making every attempt to emphasize your feigned disinterest. “I’m fine, what’s up?” 

Rhea used her thumb and forefinger to grip your chin and tilt it upwards, forcing your gaze towards her rather than your phone screen. Hastily, she studied your face as if she would be able to read your thoughts merely by doing so; with her eyes looking you over so intently, you felt your face heating up quickly. 

“You seem off,” she finally commented, her finger tracing along your jawline from your chin before finally dropping back down to her side. You immediately missed the feeling of her touch against your skin, but that was something you would have to subdue. One thing you noticed was that Rhea seemed genuinely concerned, her eyebrows downturned and the smile she always wore - around you at least - nowhere in sight. 

“No, Rhea, I’m really okay,” you shrugged. 

“Then why are you acting like you can’t wait to get away from me?” 

Her bluntness shouldn’t have come as a shock to you, but you were still taken aback when she asked so outright. While she usually oozed confidence, that seemed to be lost now. And it almost made you think you had been right about the two of you all along. But then you remembered how content she looked in those videos with Samantha, and how easily she could flirt with someone else when you had secretly been turning down advances in hopes there would be a real chance at a relationship between you and Rhea. 

“I’m not acting like that. I really don’t care if you’re around or not,” you lied, and it was meant to sound nonchalant and unbothered but you silently cursed yourself for making it come out more aggressively. 

“You don’t care?” she repeated incredulously, almost in disbelief of how drastically you changed. Just a few days ago, you were telling her how much you adored her smile with her head in your lap. Now, she couldn’t figure out why you wanted nothing to do with her - and it was crushing her. 

“Listen, can we please talk about this later? The show’s about to start and the Judgment Day is up first, I don’t want you thinking about this out there.” 

“Are we really gonna talk later?” Rhea questioned. “Or is that your cop out to avoid it altogether?”

And you hated her for knowing you so well, because it was partially your dread of the conversation. Still, you didn’t think it was a good idea to have it right before she was slated to go speak in front of thousands of people. At this point, she was frowning, yet still staring right through you. 

“We’ll talk,” you promised.

“I have your word? Whatever’s going on is important to me. It really is, Y/N.” 

The resolve of indifference you had was all but faded upon hearing how sincerely Rhea cared. You didn’t want to be just another game for her, but it was proving far too difficult for you to ignore your internal feelings. And she looked too pretty standing there, worried about you and looking at you in a way that made you feel naked beneath her eyes. Not in a sexually demanding way - not in the way too many people do - but in a way where you felt like she saw your very soul. 

“Find me after the show?” you asked. “I’ll let you take me back to the hotel. Can’t exactly hide from my ride.” 

You finally smiled wholeheartedly after making that joke, and Rhea had never been so happy to see a smile before. For a moment, she felt like everything was fine. 

“Yeah, I’ll find you, angel.”

-

From backstage, you watched as Rhea walked out with the Judgment Day and cut a promo just as good as any other, if not better. It was impossible to tell the kind of conversation you two had shortly beforehand, and for that you were grateful. You weren’t sure you could remain as unphased as her, and seeing as you had a match tonight as well, you made it a point to avoid any further interactions with her during show hours. Busying yourself with your phone, Rhea still found a way to affect you when you saw her name flash across the top of your screen, indicating a text. 

From: rhea :) 

Good luck tonight ❤️

Half inclined to simply leave her on delivered, you hesitantly opened it and sent back a “thanks.” Following the Judgment Day’s segment, the rest of the show seemed to go by quickly, your own match fast approaching. While you were waiting in gorilla to make your entrance, you saw flashes of jet black hair out of the corner of your eye. A subtle glance over revealed it to be Rhea, naturally, standing there talking with Damian. Call it coincidence, or - the more likely case - call it Rhea’s tendency to be methodical with her actions. And like clockwork, her eyes met your own, leaving you no time to look away before she was grinning at you slyly. You thought perhaps her getting into character in front of the WWE Universe took away much of the previous unease and disappointment she felt during your earlier conversation. Because before, she seemed well and truly worried about the state of you, and you were sure she still was to some extent, but now her confidence had returned. 

You had hardly any time to process it before you had to walk out, your theme hitting just as Rhea set her focus back on the man in front of her. That stupid, beautiful smile you thought to yourself. Right now, though, you needed to worry about your match against Zoey Stark, especially since you knew Rhea would be watching attentively. 

Once the match began, you fell right back into your element. Zoey was a fierce opponent, but you had a fire beneath you and after a well-fought match on both sides, you came out victorious. You were feeling extremely proud of both yours and Zoey’s performance and partially hoped Rhea had watched the whole thing.

(She absolutely did). 

Returning backstage, you noticed Rhea was now nowhere in sight. Your match was towards the last hour of Raw, however, which meant you wouldn’t have much time to kill before you’d have to meet up with her anyways. Thankfully, you found Liv, one of your closest friends on the roster, and knew you could spend the remaining time talking with her about anything and everything - the primary topic of discussion being you and Rhea.

“It’s just like, I think things are different with me and her,” you began, to which Liv nodded in agreement. “But then I see how she acts with other people, and I’m not so sure. Am I being delusional for thinking that way?” 

“You’d be delusional if you thought otherwise! The girl is a flirt, sure, but she practically fawns over you at any given moment and is always asking about you,” Liv countered. All too often, she’d be the one Rhea would come to when she wanted to find out your whereabouts, as if Liv had a constant read on you at all times. You knew that to be true, but it still wasn’t total reassurance.

“You’re right, I guess. And I kinda told her I’d ride with her to the hotel so we could talk, sooo,” you revealed.

“I thought we were riding together?” Liv questioned, only slightly upset to be losing her driving buddy. If she had to make that sacrifice to advance things between you and Rhea, she’d accept it wholeheartedly. Just as you opened your mouth to apologize, someone else’s voice interrupted. A certain Australian accent. 

“I’m sorry, did I steal Y/N away for the night?” Rhea quipped, placing her hand on the small of your back where Liv wouldn’t see. 

“Actually, I’m willingly handing her over so that you two can figure your mess out.” 

“Well, thank you so very much for that,” Rhea smiled, seeming genuinely appreciative. She redirected her attention from Liv to you. “Told you I’d find ya. You ready to go?” 

You glanced down at your phone, not even realizing how much time had passed with you and Liv chatting. The show was nearing the end, and Rhea already had her bag by her side, meanwhile you hadn’t even gotten your stuff together yet.

“I gotta go get my stuff real quick. You wanna wait here for me? I’ll be quick.”

“I can wait,” Rhea nodded, to which you took off with a promise to be no more than ten minutes. Once you were out of earshot, Liv had a few comments for the taller, raven-haired woman.

“I hope you do right by her.”

“Didn’t realize I’d done wrong,” Rhea retorted, confusedly. “...Have I done wrong?” 

Liv only shrugged, though she really did believe Rhea was unaware of how she’d unintentionally hurt you. “Nothing that can’t be fixed, I think.” 

“Liv,” Rhea started, her face becoming more serious. “I really like her.” 

“Then make sure she knows that.” 

- 

When you gathered everything and found your way back to Rhea, Liv was long gone and Rhea was leaned against the wall, her eyes shifted down and transfixed on her phone as she absentmindedly scrolled through Twitter. She looked too good even just standing there in her own world. But before you could admire her for much longer, she heard you approaching and glanced up from her phone, shoving it into her pocket immediately upon realizing it was you.

“Ready now, princess?”

The nickname rolled off her tongue so easily, yet it had your cheeks heating up within seconds. You nodded, following behind as she led the way to her car. Outside, she popped the trunk for each of you to toss your bags inside, and then she made sure to open the passenger door for you as well; it was the little gestures like that that made your heart flutter and your feelings for her to grow even stronger. 

“Well, I just wanna start by saying you were amazing tonight,” Rhea complimented once she had settled into the driver’s seat. 

“Thank you,” you giggled. “You watched it?” 

“From start to finish, like always.”

She diverted her attention from the road towards you for a moment, taking notice of how much your face lit up after hearing that. And it wasn’t like she was lying just to make you feel good, either, because she did genuinely watch you each time you stepped into the ring, and she admired you heavily. 

“I don’t believe you,” you laughed, although you only slightly meant that. 

“I’m serious! Ask Damian or Dom, they’ll vouch,” Rhea exclaimed, pushing her hair back as she did. You weren’t quite sure what to say now, because one, you were feeling quite flustered knowing this, and two, you could only ignore the real reason you were sat in her car for so long. She took note of your silence and decided to tackle the subject head-on, a brazen move from her as always. “You don’t seem like you hate my guts now, at least.” 

You rolled your eyes and chuckled at this. 

“You’re being dramatic. I never acted like I hated you.” 

“Slightly detested my presence?” she tried again, clearly joking at this point. While things seemed so perfect in this moment, you couldn’t help but think back to everything you’d seen flooding your Twitter timeline and how silly you’d felt for being so upset by it. As much as you liked Rhea, as much as it appeared she liked you, the harmless flirting had really gotten to you and forced you to reconsider much of what you thought. You weren’t even quite sure how to ask everything you wanted to ask, and you were admittedly fearful of rejection. But the only thing worse than rejection is never knowing. 

“What do you think about me, Rhea?” 

She was taken aback by this, you could tell, because she opened her mouth to speak several times but didn’t let any words out. To her, it was because she didn’t really know how to put it into words; there were so many things she thought about you, so many ways you made her feel, but it had been a confusing thing for her to navigate, unsure of your own feelings.

“I think you’re incredible, amazing in the ring, beautiful and kind but still assertive and badass,” she answered, hoping she’d said all the right things. Truthfully, that was only a small fraction of what she thought regarding you, but she was still holding back. Liv’s words repeated in her head, and she knew if she didn’t make it clear tonight, she may never get that chance again. 

“And what do you think about someone like Samantha, or Cathy?” 

You had caught her off guard again, the randomness of your question completely perplexing her. She hadn’t a clue why either of those two would be relevant, because - in her eyes - she had already basically forgotten the silly interactions they’d had. It still hadn’t pieced together in her mind that you were even the slightest bit jealous. 

“They’re great,” she stated plainly. “Why?”

It was really now or never, you felt like. You had fed her pieces of the story, now she definitely wouldn’t stop until you told her everything, which undoubtedly included your own feelings. Rhea was focused primarily on the road, but she made sure to spare glances your way every so often, and each time you arrived at a red light, that focus was solely on you. She wanted to both try to read your expression and show you she was really, truly listening and wanting to hear what you had to say.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous,” you confessed.

“Jealous?” she repeated, even more confused now than before. But she noticed the way you retreated into yourself, suddenly finding more interest in your fingers. You could no longer look her in the eye, feeling nervous about the information you’d now divulged. This certainly didn’t deter Rhea, though, as she placed her right hand on your thigh and traced light circles with her thumb. “Why were you jealous?”

“I don’t know…it was dumb, I guess. I just saw the videos of you and Samantha, and then Cathy’s Tweets, and it made me feel like everything is just a game to you.” 

Her thumb movement stopped, and instead she squeezed your thigh lightly, causing you to lift your head back up to look at her. She was already looking right back, admiring how beautiful you looked with the moonlight creeping into the car and a shyness about you she wasn’t used to. 

“You’re right, that is dumb,” she affirmed. “Because do you think I know Samantha or Cathy’s top three favorite movies? Or their specific Starbucks order? The way they like their pizza? Do you think I’ve memorized all those things for anyone other than you?” 

Before you could answer, Rhea moved her fingers to your wrist and asked you to push up your sleeve, which you did. She tapped directly on a birthmark of yours without even looking. 

“Do you think I know each of their freckles and birthmarks?” 

You were dumbfounded, at a loss for words with how much she really noticed about you. And that was only scratching the surface. While your flirtation had only started within the last few months, she had known you for years and had plenty of time to take notice of all these little things no one else would. Because she always had a soft spot for you, but you were in a long-term relationship for most of the time you’d known her, and she would never be one to overstep any boundaries. 

“I just felt hurt thinking I may be falling for someone who only sees me as another person to mess around with,” you told her, taking note of how gentle her eyes were in this moment. She felt awful that she had hurt you, even unintentionally, and cursed herself for not being more aware and mindful. You weren’t committed to each other, but she still felt like she had made a mistake engaging in any kind of behavior that would make her feelings for you seem misguided. 

“Y/N, I promise you how I interact with just about anyone else is entirely me in character,” she comforted. “I’m sorry for making you second guess that, but I’ve never felt realer emotions than I do with you. It’s like I can be me, just me. And I love that you make me feel that way.”

“I love when you’re just you, Rhea.” 

“Then I’ll keep being just me, if I can start calling you just mine.” 

Rhea was undoubtedly nervous asking you so boldly, but she was so damn happy to do so. She was staring at you hopefully, looking happier than you’d seen her since her WrestleMania win. And you were just as happy, not even realizing you had gotten to the hotel and had been parked for a minute or two now. Your entire focus was on her, eyes filled with adoration while she waited for your answer.

“I’ve basically been yours, I just needed you to be mine,” you beamed. 

“I’m yours, love,” Rhea affirmed. “You are so damn beautiful.” 

You wanted to instinctively look away, still feeling flustered even after the months of flirting and now technically being in a defined relationship. But Rhea knew you too well and gripped your chin before you could do so, keeping your face towards hers. Neither of you could get rid of the smiles you wore, too overwhelmed with happiness and adoration and love. 

“Can I kiss you?” Rhea asked, eyes darting from your own to your lips. You nodded, and that was all it took for her to be all over you. Her lips melted into your own, and everything felt so right. Each time you pulled away, you were reconnected within seconds, physically unable to keep apart, both of you awaiting this moment for too long. You felt her smiling into the kiss, which in turn made you smile, and then you were two smiling, giggly messes. Finally, she pulled away for good (but not without one final peck) and laughed when she saw you pouting. She opened her door and made her way to yours hastily, scooping you out of your seat before you could even react. Then, you were pinned against the car with your legs around her waist. 

“I’ll take you to your room?” she offered, placing feathery kisses along your jaw. 

“My room?” 

She laughed at how offended you sounded. “Our room?”

“Mhmm,” you confirmed. “You’re not getting away from me now, Ripley.”

You unhooked your legs from her waist and she carefully released her hold, allowing you to plant your feet back onto the solid ground. She followed you to the back of the car, popping open the trunk; you leaned forward to reach your bag, and Rhea - sly as ever - took this opportunity to smack your ass, only light enough to be a tease. Once you’d grabbed your bag and stood straight up, she was smirking, all too aware of her actions. 

“Now why would I want to get away from you, baby?” 

From then on, you both knew you’d be stuck with each other, practically inseparable and surely obnoxiously in love around all your friends - which they didn’t really mind, because seeing you so happy together was more than worth it. Rhea made sure to tone down her persona a bit out of respect for you, even though you reassured her you didn’t mind too much now knowing she was yours at the end of the day. Still, you couldn’t deny that you were more elated to scroll through your socials and see videos of interactions between you and Rhea rather than her and anyone else; and it definitely helped that she loved letting the cameras know you were hers.

[eyneyke]

Videos of Sam being a Happy Face of RBR™

Pairing: Max Verstappen x PewDiePie!sibling Summary: What if Felix had a genius brother who works as a RedBull's engineer and is also secretly dating Max part 19 of A Calm to my Storm Masterlist

1. Video of Sam reacting to Max winning a race

A clip taken during a race watch party with some Red Bull crew in the factory, shared by a fan on Twitter:

In the video, Sam is wearing a Red Bull cap, surrounded by engineers and other team members, all watching the screen intently. The moment Max crosses the finish line to win the race, the entire room erupts in cheers. Sam jumps up from his chair, arms raised, shouting, "Yes, Max, yes! Knew he’d nail it!" He’s high-fiving everyone around him, smiling wide, eyes lit up with excitement. Someone from the back jokingly shouts, "Sam, you need to tell Max it's because of your car magic!" Sam laughs, nodding, "Obviously, it’s all in the setup." Someone adds, “Noo! It's because of hands, guys!!”

Comments:

User 256: "Sam’s energy is EVERYTHING. He’s so proud of Max 🥺"

User 257: "Bro just casually cheering like he didn’t help make that car a rocket."

User 258: "Max’s secret weapon right here."

User 259: "Sam is so wholesome in this. No wonder Max is winning every weekend!"

2. Video of Sam reacting to Max's DNF

A video posted by a fan who works at Red Bull, capturing Sam's reaction during a race when Max had to DNF after a collision:

In the clip, the camera pans to Sam sitting in front of the monitor, brows furrowed, as he watches the crash unfold. His hands cover his face for a moment before he shakes his head, letting out a quiet, "No, no, no." He leans back in his chair, clearly disappointed but calm. "Not Max’s fault at all. Racing incident." Someone asks if Max is okay, and Sam responds with a small smile, "Yeah, he got out just now on his own, it just sucks. Max was on it today. Next one, we go again."

Comments:

User 260: "Sam being all calm but clearly upset for Max 😭"

User 261: "The way he’s so invested in Max doing well is so sweet"

User 262: "Sam: the calm in the storm. He knows Max will come back stronger."

User 263: "Protect Sam at all costs. His disappointment hit me too!"

3. A fan thread of “Sam and Max being besties”

A Twitter thread by a fan compiling several instances of Sam and Max’s friendship moments, titled: “Brothers? More like besties! NO, NO! SOULMATES! Sam and Max moments to live for 🏎️💙”

Pic 1: A candid shot of Sam and Max sitting side by side at a restaurant table, both laughing hard. Max has his head thrown back, and Sam’s wiping a tear from his eye from laughing so hard. Caption: "These two seriously look like they’re having the best time." - Pic 2: A ''behind-the-scenes'' image of Sam and Max at a race track. Sam is crouched next to Max’s car, gesturing to something, while Max listens intently. Caption: "Look at how focused Max is while Sam explains something. Like, he is actually listening to someone." - Pic 3: A selfie Max posted of him and Sam after a race, both of them sweaty but grinning, holding Red Bull can each. Caption: "Sweaty kings! They’re always hanging out after races, love it." - Pic 4: A fan snap of Max handing Sam a bottle of water in the paddock, captioned, “Hydrate your bestie.” Sam is sitting on the floor in the garage, Max's car right behind him, and he has oil smudges on his face and shirt. Sam is looking up at Max, rolling his eyes but with a smile on his face. Caption: "Bestie behaviour. Sam looks so done, but Max always taking care of him!"

Thread comments:

User 264: "Bro, their bond is so pure. I need a friendship like this."

User 265: "The fact Sam is in almost every post-race pic with Max now is so cute???"

User 266: "Max literally brings him everything. It’s adorable."

User 267: "Besties, more like platonic soulmates."

4. Re-post of Sam on a race weekend

A candid clip someone caught of Sam walking through the paddock, wearing his Red Bull team gear, phone in hand, sunglasses on. Someone calls out to him, and he flashes a quick grin and waves before continuing on his way. Shared on Twitter with the caption: “Sam Kjellberg is the chillest guy in the paddock.”

Comments:

User 268: "He’s like a celebrity at this point lmao"

User 269: "I’m sorry, but Sam walking through the paddock like he owns the place is a whole vibe."

User 270: "Red Bull’s secret weapon and Max’s bestie. Love seeing him out there."

User 271: "Man’s too cool for school. He knows everyone loves him."

User 272: "Sam giving off ‘I’m just here for the race, don’t bother me’ energy and I’m here for it."

5. Screenshot from Max’s Twitch stream featuring Sam

A screenshot posted by a fan from one of Max’s recent gaming streams where Sam was on his team. The image shows Sam on the webcam, laughing, while Max is focused on the game. The caption: “Max bringing Sam into his Twitch streams now? The bromance is real.”

Comments:

User 273: "Max and Sam teaming up is everything I never knew I needed."

User 274: "Imagine being Sam, just casually gaming with a two-time world champion like it’s nothing."

User 275: "Their energy on stream is so good. You can tell they’re close."

User 276: "Max talking about how good Sam is at games and I’m like, okay, so he’s not just good with cars??"

User 277: "They need to do more streams together! I’m obsessed."

---

These shared moments of Sam in the F1 world have fans loving his dynamic with Max, not only as colleagues but as close friends, driving the narrative of the "Sam and Max" friendship even further into the spotlight.

[kiophen]

Re: tags on that ask about callout posts (not the same anon), can I ask about the 4lung situation? I haven't looked into what happened too deeply but from what I have seen nothing is super well documented or explained

If its too much and you don't feel like getting into it don't worry about it, feel free to disregard. I'm mostly just curious since I've heard things and it was mentioned

I was prompted to do my own digging into the whole situation surrounding her a few years ago. She was excluded from an online music event due to someone bringing up concerns with the organizers privately. I found that basically every public accusation about her is not true, and/or redacted by the accusers. The only true accusations are the ones that really don't matter; she retweeted porn on main and was a babyfur. These things were used to bludgeon her with pedo accusations and back up all the fake shit thrown on top to make it more convincing.

"Did you know she attempted to KIDNAP a KID?? Oh, the kid said it wasn't a kidnapping and the accuser said they jumped to conclusions and apologized? Well did you know she TWEETED a SLUR? Oh that was actually photoshopped by kiwifarmers? Well did you know she SEXUALLY HARASSED a MINOR? Oh, that was actually her shitty ex-gf trying to make her look bad in retaliation to a bad breakup? Well did you know x and y and z misinterpreted or fabricated things? Well at least you can agree that being a BABYFUR is something worth ritualistically harassing a trans woman, over right?"

One reason why stuff isn't well documented is because the main person who was pushing the accusations so hard ended up apologizing and retracting and deleting a lot of posts (and also I think they're suspended, which deletes all their tweets, and most of this shit happened in twitter threads). They did get bullied into removing their apology too.

Another reason is that a lot of the situation was people seeing the original callout posts years ago, internalizing the message "This Person Bad Pedo Bad Bad Person Bad" from it, and then later being like "Ummmmm isn't that person a pedophile? Yikes?" to their friend who brought her up who then says "Oh My Fuck I am Sorry I Did not Know that!" and then it just gets spread around like that through uncurious people who don't care enough to check

I have my own collection of archived tweets from when I was trying to find the root of these claims and might make a full writeup about the situation someday, but also I have complicated feelings about whether I would be just be immortalizing this shitty behavior, if it would just lead to more people trying to harm her, or if anyone would even learn anything from it. Also I don't want the person who started the accusations to get dragged back into this since I can tell they were being manipulated and gaslit as fuck by other bullies into making this such a big part of their life for so long.

Specifically about the kidnapping thing: After one of her shows, she and a friend drove a teenager to an Arbys to get picked up by their parent as a nice gesture due to some trouble the teen was having. The situation was catastrophized by either this teen or the accuser into a "kidnapping" (there is conflicting information, they both blame each other) and then the accuser tweeted it out. The teen has since said they didn't really think they were being kidnapped, and the accuser said the kidnapping aspect was made up.

[airenyah]

joongdunk vampire bl when??

maybe you've already seen my post "reasons why i need a sexy joongdunk bl". and if you have, then maybe you remember the bonus vampire section at the end

well, i've decided to start collecting vampire mentions here in this own separate post. here i will collect instances where either joong or dunk actually utters the word "vampire" but i will also include things somewhat adjacent to vampires (looking at you, lol fanfast 2023 dum dum neck biting action 👀)

i'll keep updating this post with every future vampire mention that i happen to come across. if you happen to find a vampire mention that is not yet in this post but you think it should be on the list, then do feel free to send me a link to it and i might just add it!! some of them, esp the vampire-adjacent things will be added based on vibes (my vibes, that is. it's my post so i get to put in it whatever the fuck i want)

like this one for example:

[hidden agenda ep12 pt4 (3:25); (24.09.2023)]

like yeah i know this one doesn't really count bc those are just some lines in a series from one fictional character to another fictional character that just happens to be played by dunk but like!! is it not true!! being a vampire (on tv) is dunk's dream job, is it not!!!

1. they WANNA play vampires

no but seriously tho, dunk wants to play a vampire, he explicitly said so:

[dunk x tops; (30.09.2023)]

Which role do you want to try playing the most? Up until now I've only gotten roles that speak a lot. Sometimes the lines are 3-4 pages long. If I get the opportunity, I want to try switching to a role that speaks little, that is calm and serious and where the emphasis is on using eyes and gestures to convey emotions. A fantasy or sci-fi role like a vampire might be worth a try.

[dunk for elle men; (13.11.2024)]

and so did joong, for that matter:

[l'officiel hommes thailand: "the act of being myself" | translation; (08.12.23)]

[joong's 23rd birthday event; (17.03.2024)] (extended gifset here)

2. dum dum

now, the dum dum performance deserves it's own little section lbr. bc seriously wtf was all that:

[LOL fanfest D1; (24.06.2023) | LOL fanfest D2; (25.06.2023)]

[arm share ep131; (02.08.2023)]

oh and make no mistake, it's not me who's making the dum dum performance about vampires, no, dunk is:

[let's talk bl s4 ep07; (16.08.2023)]

no seriously, let 👏 them 👏 play 👏 vampires!! they've already got experience in biting each other's necks!!!!

3. collection

ok from here on out i think i'll stop with the babbling and just have a collection of gifs with random vampire mentions that i'll just continue to add to this post whenever i come across more bc why the fuck not

[joong's tweet; (30.06.2023)]

[instagram live; (09.10.2023)]

[hidden hangout ep2; (14.11.2023)]

[original twitter thread | translation 1 | translation 2; (18.12.2023)]

context: joong asked what kind of plots fans would like to see him and dunk play

Translation/Summary:

Fan🗣️: In their past lives, Joong and Dunk were enemies who hated each other deeply. One day, a situation arose where one of them had to kill the other. However, the one who was killed (Joong) didn’t die permanently—it was more like his soul was temporarily sealed. He's been there ever since, even up to the present time. Joong☀️: Oh~ Is he still resentful? Fan🗣️: Yes, he is. He’s been sealed in the same spot for a very long time. Joong☀️: So, it’s like the vibe of an old Thai drama, right? starts singing an old Thai series opening theme Fan🗣️: Right, that kind of vibe. But this one is a fantasy genre. His soul is sealed, and we can say he became a vampire. He’s still alive but trapped—he can’t go anywhere, so he keeps living until he can earn a wealthy life. Joong☀️: How does a vampire live his life in Thailand? Fan🗣️: He has to stay in the same place. He can’t leave the restricted zone, and he can’t be exposed to sunlight. Joong☀️: If he lives in Thailand, where would he stay? Thonglor? (a road in Bangkok known for nightlife) Fan🗣️: More like Sukhumvit. (known for luxury malls) Joong☀️: Sukhumvit Vampire? Fan🗣️: Yes~ Joong☀️: Alright, we’ve got the name of the story, everyone. Sukhumvit Vampire 😆 Fan🗣️: So, one day in the present, Dunk comes into the zone controlled by Joong, the same place where Joong’s soul has been sealed. Joong☀️: You mean Sukhumvit? Fan🗣️: Yes. And when Joong sees Dunk, he thinks, "Isn’t this the person who killed me?" Joong☀️: Oh~ So Dunk has been reborn, and Joong’s like, "The person who killed me gets to be reborn, but I’m stuck here." Fan🗣️: Exactly! It’s like, "I’ve been stuck here for so long, while the country has advanced so much, and I’m still trapped." Joong☀️: So I’m the vampire, right? Fan🗣️: Yes, and Dunk killed you. But you can switch roles if you want, I’m not strict about it. I just want this kind of plot. Joong☀️: So, the story is that when they meet, Joong wants to kill Dunk for revenge. But then suddenly, he realizes, after Dunk's rebirth, that Dunk is actually pretty handsome! HAHAHAHA 🤣🤣 Fan🗣️: He believes that killing the person who killed him will break the curse and free him from the place where he’s sealed. Joong☀️: Will monks come at the end and tell us not to seek revenge anymore? 😆 Fan🗣️: No, at the end, they just stab each other to death. Joong☀️: Huh? Really? Do they actually kill each other, or do they hesitate because they’ve fallen in love? Fan🗣️: Actually, I was planning for them to kill each other, but then they realize there was a reason why they have to kill each other in the first place (since their past life). So, the reason is… Joong☀️: Fighting over bubble tea. Fan🗣️: Okay, Joong. Delicious 😂

[joong twitter space (back-up link); (22.09.2024) | translation 1 | translation 2]

[joong's tweet; (20.10.2024) | translation pt1 | translation pt2]

[joong's broadcast channel on instagram; (20.10.2024)]

[joong's tweet; (19.02.2025)]

[joong's tweet; (18.03.2025)

[sol-consort]

Do you think in reverse, any of the alien races also tried those tips on befriending humans? Aliens bragging online how they totally rizzedd up a human with ridiculous advice, humans are just like "lol silly little guys" and humor it happily.

Are we bringing the "loser high elf with a human obsession" trend in here from my other blog? Because I am fully down to making a loser friendgroup of aliens who are creeps towards humans as much as they are endlessly curious.

And yes, oh definitely yes they are bragging online about tottally rizzing up this new shiny species who stumbled their way into the stars.

A turian posting on his twitter about how he's been assigned with a human in C-SEC, how he has been studying a lot of human rituals by watching Hollywood movies and reading mammal herd behaviours, not realising humans are categorised as predetors.

It's a long thread of him describing his "successful" attempts and encounters with the human.

He followed the human to lunch and made sure to eat next to them since the extranet articles talked about the importance of eating together in human culture.

Except the human was a messy eater and the turian's food ended up getting contaminated, resulting in the turian having a coughing fit, throwing up, passing out and waking up in the emergency care.

-

A salarian saw this thread and left a very long comment mansplaining human behaviour and how the turian was absolutely wrong and an idiot. The two of them argued back and forth in the comments during the turian's stay in the hospital.

Resulting in the salarian claiming he could befriend a human much faster and easier than the turian's pathetic attempt. Leading the turian to daring him to post it.

So he read any books he could find about human evolution and history. Confident that he could apply them on the next human tour group coming to Sur'kesh.

Human primitives loved climbing trees, correct? And Sur'kesh has lots of trees! Their closest relatives are in apes huh? The salarian knows just what to do with this information.

Imagine with me, you're a human tourist in an alien planet, following the polite salarian guide in the front and taking pictures of the lovely view. You're having a wonderful time.

Then out of nowhere, comes another salarian who stops in front of the whole tour group. The tour guide seems confused and you wonder if this was preplanned or not.

This random salarian begins speaking to the entire group very slowly as he states the fact that there are a lot of trees around here. Asking if anyone would like to join him in climbing one as a mutual show of trust and friendship.

You raise your camera as you watch this salarian who's worked in a bio lab all his life, struggling to climb one tree and very slowly making progress. When he reaches the top, he is reminded of the fact oh, heights and gravity exist, this is so much more terrifying than he thought it would be.

Now he's stuck on the tree, and the salarian tour guide is dialing up security to both come and get him down but also kick him out before he causes a human diplomatic incident.

The salarian's terrified at the top like a scared kitten. You climbed a lot of trees as a kid, and this one isn't even that tall, so you climb up there and offer to carry the salarian down, which he enthusiastically accepts.

Everyone is taking pictures and smiling, the tour guide is relieved that an incident was avoided.

Then the salarian in your arms, reaches into his pocket says he has just the thing to thank you with, kind human.

He takes out. A banana. Offering it to you.

The pictures and videos of him doing that end up on the galactic news the next day, you get word that the human ambassador Udina wants use this incident to demand compensation and sanctions on the salarians offensive gesture to a human tourist. The salarian government is very apologetic and panicking, ready to throw credits at the problem to solve it.

But you post a video on your social media laughing it off and saying it's fine. Putting an end to the incident before it escalates.

-

An asari sits in her office as she looks over the latest galactic news, the salarian's pathetic attempt at befriending a human that resulted in a diplomatic incident.

She sips on her coffee, a human delicacy, as she finally decides where she wants to spend her once-a-year break.

Booking the nearest ticket to Earth, she thinks, befriending humans cannot be that hard, right?

She has seen many humans in Thessia. She even talked to one once when they asked her for directions! Sure, she never really befriended any before, but they can't be that different from all the other species. After all, an asari can get anyone wrapped around their finger if she tries hard enough.

Landing on Earth, she realises just why it was called the blue planet. The sky is very blue, almost aggressively so and the sun here hurts to look at, unlike the gentle one in Thessia.

There are so many humans around, not a sign of a single alien in sight. All of them walking with a purpose, some taking their animals to a stroll and oh wow that dog is bigger than any varren she has ever seen, how did that human tame it?

Some give her a pacing glance, and others are indifferent to her. She keeps trying to strike up a conversation but everyone just declines and say they're busy or in a hurry.

Strange, the humans on the citadel are much more friendly. An asari could walk up to a group and demand their attention just like that, why are the ones here so different?

Eventually she spots an older woman, ah yes a human Matriarch! Just perfect. She goes to the elder woman sitting on a bench while feeding the pigeons.

The woman smiles, wrinkles in her face from a life full of happiness, greeting the blue lady. The two of them sit together and have a talk, the old woman is very patient and understanding with the asari as she explains that this is just how humans are, how the ones on the citadel are a very select view who are enthusiastic about aliens.

The asair is stunned to learn that this woman is merely 78 years old, yet she holds so much wisdom and charm. They spend the entire day talking and watch the sunset together.

By the end, the old woman apologises for having to leave, saying her grandkids are visiting tonight and she must go back home. But she will be here tomorrow if the asair wants to continue the chat.

Day after day, week after week. The asair keeps meeting up with her snd talking, about nothing and everything, life and its meaning, the sky and its colours, love and its sisters.

The asari asks if the old woman has her spouse in her life still, the old woman smiles, full of melancholy as she shakes her head no.

Reading on human mating rituals, the asari starts bringing the old woman flowers, red in colour and varied in shapes. A box of sweets that the old woman kindly declines because of her blood sugar, yet the asari doesn't give up and comes the next day with a box of dark chocolate.

By the end of the month, the asari brings her final gift to the old woman. A small red box that fits perfectly into her balm. The old woman has to put her glasses back on as the asari opens the box to be able to see what's inside.

Getting on one knee, the asari opens the box to present a shiny ring inside, she asks cautiously if she'd like to come back with her to Thessia to live the rest of their lives together.

The old woman smiles, the asari grew found of her smiles, so gentle and warm. Reaching with her shakey hands, she takes the box and admires the beautiful ring inside. She chuckles with delight at the flattering implication as she puts the ring back in the box and hands it to the asari.

Patting her head, the 78 human woman tells the 600 asari woman to go find a young girl her age to marry. How she basically sees her as a granddaughter.

The asari comes back home with a newfound hatred for Earth, attempting to cope with having her heartbroken by a single human who hasn't passed their first century yet.

[rouge-fauna]

Right? Thank you exactly! His perspective seems warped, theres a few reasons why I don't think Tommy is lying but he still is wrong in how he perceives Dream. That tl pastebin that anon sent, I went through it very analytically since there is a lot to look at. There were jokes back in the day where Dream would boast about his viewers and make jokes to Tommy about how without him, his channel would be bad, then theres the twitter thread when Dream had done the same there pointing out that before Tommy knew him, his channel analytics were low. Even though Dream is joking, without the clarification it is hard to tell as Tommy has established, he did not understand Dreams tone, tried asking Dream and Dream didn't reply to him. Theres the current video Dream made where as Tubbo pointed out, bringing up old clips of Tommy praising him can be interpreted as holding something over his head which Jack said Dream doesn't knowingly do this. I'm autistic too and I remember coming off as insensitive and controlling to my friends because they got my tone wrong, but I didn't wanna come off that way so I'm not saying its Dreams fault, but a lot of brighton group has interpreted his jokes and behavior as negative and egotistical.

The gestures Tommy has in the podcast and facial expressions, as well as dissociating, blinking a lot, twitching, shaking, and tripping up on words lead me to believe that there is genuine hurt there as someone said before, connect that to his the internet getting worse video and you can see a pattern where Tommy feels like all these people that he looked up to ended up being horrible people. He and Jack believe that Dream has an ego problem and held his help over their head. There's so many instances of Dream praising Tommy and calling him talented and people will call lies and call it fake or assume Dream used Tommy because he has "a big ego" and needed to fuel it, the same as how you can refer to Tommy praising Dream as a lie and fake and a way for him to garner fame, both discduo also made jabs at each other and made jokes about each others fanbase hating the other, Tommys was a lot more severe and career damaging. When Dream fans hated Tommy, Dream had followed a lot of those fans and interacted with them, Tommy had followed a lot of fans that hated Dream as well. Though, Tommy lost his fanbase at one point because he was defending Dream during Dreams allegations and he was one of the last people outside of Dreams main circle to turn on him. Also the therapy comment was something he encouraged his friends to get as he perceives therapy as a good thing. Dreams old reddit post about Tommy says that he is sick of people scrutinizing his dynamic with Tommy and sick of fanbases pinning them against each other when they are good friends. The youtubers are honest video is horrible but I have no idea if tommy even knew dream was being doxxed or if he was only focused on that quackity v dream argument in a vacuum, would be nice if Tommy apologized for that and clarified that he didn't know about Dreams doxxing situation, or didn't try to get him in danger, since he sees his video as just a joke, a way to prove to his friends that Dream can 'handle a joke' even though its not a joke, its fucked up and by this point he had dreams name banned in his chat so he clearly did not see Dream as a friend at this point.

Jack being autistic and having adhd himself is interesting that he knows Dream is autistic and struggles with tone yet he still attacks him despite that but then again neurodivergency isn't a one size fit all, I don't think he has the same processing as Dream. It does baffle me that he sees Dream as this bad person while also saying he doesn't do malicious things with intent. Jack was never Dreams friend, I don't know about Quackity or Karl but I've seen many speculate that they were just content friends with Dream and seen people claim Karl only liked Dream for clout I mean when I saw certain ccs in a negative light, I would always assume the worst but I took a step back and saw it from an outside perspective and now things have changed but you're right, we can never really tell who was faking friendships, even with examples, actions, or what they say, its impossible to tell. I've had relationships that seemed genuine for several years only to get revealed that it was all a lie, it happens.

And I'm sorry about what happened to you. People are horrible to neurodivergent people.

Hmm quite the essay… I’m not entirely sure if all the things you said are true, not that I distrust, but I don’t remember seeing anything about Tommy not understanding Dream’s joke, needing clarification and then Dream didn’t respond. I stand by my previous post that there are just as many moments of Dream complimenting creators as jokes and the fact people take the jokes as serious has less to do with tone and more to do with their inherent belief that it is true. [post]

If it is a struggling with tone issue, then surely they should take the time and consideration that they are misunderstanding Dream’s tone because of his autism, or hey not that he has come out and said otherwise, people should accept his freaking serious answer and stop being weird about it.

“bringing up old clips of Tommy praising him can be interpreted as holding something over his head” still does not make sense. ‘Holding something over someone’s head’ implies a threat and some kinda of cash in. It’s a similar phrase to blackmail except it is to remind someone of a defeat or mistake they did. What mistake is Dream highlighting? Tommy complimenting him? And for what reward? What does he gain? I think it’s less holding over someone’s head and more holding someone accountable for something they have previously said. Which isn’t unfair for Dream to do. Why should Dream be scrutinized for allegedly calling someone a whore a while ago and Tommy’s past words mean nothing? Why should Dream’s past joke about taking credit for career hold more weight than his recent statement. Which is it? Does the past hold more weight over the present or does the present old more weight than the words of the past?

Clearly, the Brighton crew have misinterpreted him, which I find to be weird from a group making incessant insensitive and inappropiate jokes. Then again, I don’t get how people misconstrued Dream silly villain speech as him “crashing out” like an insane people. Especially as he gets call a “movie villain” in the next video literally proving Dream’s whole point… anyways…

Could be acting, I don’t know. I didn’t watch it. I have previous said though which I’ll reiterate, that I do think perhaps Tommy is hurt by things Dream did, but while his feelings are valid it doesn’t not mean they are based in truth or that they prove Dream is a bad person. But technically even if Tommy is the manipulator in this situation (which I’m not saying he is) then he can still feel things… or he can act a certain way. He’s been two faced for years why should I believe him now… but whatever. If you are trying to get me to sympathize or believe Tommy don’t bother. He can feel whatever way he pleases but that don’t make the shit he’s done okay.

It doesn’t matter how they view therapy, it’s the context that it is used. That is imply that Dream is some bad guy and needs to go to therapy to fix himself. It’s an insult and it comes from a cast down upon angle. And just to be clear, therapy isn’t some magical cure and doesn’t get rid of your neurodivergent traits nor should it be used a a derogatory of - you’re screwed up you need therapy. Everyone should go see a therapist because it can be helpful to help you process things and heal from your trauma, even the things you didn’t realize were trauma you were carrying around. And it can help you navigate the world better and handle situations better and I think it can be a really good thing to have someone objective and an outside view on a situation vs your support group who will probably just take your side and not tell you what you need to here and give you good advice to handle things… as an autistic person, therapy doesn’t cure me or make me a better person, but it does help me be aware of what’s happening so I can do things to avoid conflict and such. And it can help you learn how to handle panic attacks or when you’re getting overstimulated and strategies to take. Please don’t use therapy as a slight on someone it’s harmful and hurtful and is certainly not going to encourage them to seek help. And just because you think you’re mentally sound and don’t need therapy, doesn’t make that truth, we can all grow and learn and gain more understanding and tools to go through life…

I believe Dream said that Tommy knew about the doxxing and his mental health behind the scenes in his stream the other day, but I don’t care enough to go find a clip…

yeah... the whole Jack dynamic is weird not gonna lie... not sure what his deal is but, man. And yea who knows about Quackity and Karl, that is a whole different conversation I don’t really care to have. But it’s true you never really know. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such fake friends :\ that doesn’t feel very good.

Yeah well…. Such is life I suppose… that’s what therapy is for, so I can heal and move on and form new relationships :)

[natalisdragon]

Cooking, love and home(1.5)

I shared an updated version of this analysis in a Twitter thread. I had my doubts about doing it here too, but I want to avoid misunderstandings, and I also notice that new people are slowly joining in, so maybe it's not such a bad idea. Also, I feel indebted to this community

This new version is focused on Arajin and Matakara, to adding a couple of extra things(It's not exactly the same as the previous one), after all, Bucchigiri had not yet finished when I shared the first analysis. If you prefer the previous version, don't worry, it's still there

Many surely know that cooking and everything that it implies along with food and sharing the table is a whole language that lends itself to multiple interpretations, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Bucchigiri knows how to speak it unexpectedly well.

One of the things that cooking is usually associated with is maturity and independence, since we are talking about a skill that is considered important for adult life.

Curiously, this is something that we can notice a little in Arajin, who, although he's still someone with questionable behavior, also has the responsibility of helping his mother with the restaurant, which he fulfills diligently, being one of the few occasions in which we can see the character in a more positive light, showing us in a subtle way that there are redeemable things in him

It's also important to mention that his ability to cook is something that his mother has taught him, showing her love through her guidance, it may not seem like a big deal, but we will see that it says more than it seems.

This is a complete contrast to Matakara, who despite living with his relatives, seems to have had no such support, It could be argued that he had his brother, but let's remember that the age gap between the two is not too much, so it's normal that despite his efforts, Mitsukini didn't have enough tools to properly guide his younger brother.

Knowing this, we can talk about the scene in which both friends cook together, since it is where we can really appreciate this contrast more, represented by the gyoza, seeing how Arajin makes them with ease and skill, while Matakara fails every attempt, showing us how there is a gap between the two, not only in their friendship, but also in the availability of tools to be able to move forward with their lives, as well as the support received from their family environment and an important clue about Matakara's background.

It's from this that we can address the next point. Cooking and eating are also associated with a deep and sincere gesture of affection, few examples are as evident as Arajin's lunches, it is simply impossible to deny his mother's love in each dish, again contrasting with Matakara who simply buys his lunch, and in both cases, it's something the show goes to great lengths to highlight.

However, in the particular case of Matakara, there is much more to say in this area, because if we pay some attention, for him, cooking is deeply linked to the people he loves most, Arajin and his brother, even having a scene with each one of them.

Which doesn't happen with his friends in Minato kai, with whom although he shares lunch in his room, again, they are purchased lunches. It could mean that although he appreciates them, it's a friendship that is not yet strong enough, something we will see later.

This love is also reflected in the party he wants to prepare to welcome Mitsukuni, where he wants to make sure he eats something he made, which is why it makes him so happy that Arajin suggests that he be the one to teach his brother how to make gyoza.

All this opens the door to another topic, cooking and the warmth of a home. I think it's obvious what I want to point out with this. I already said it before, Arajin's lunches are a clear sign of his mother's love, or to be more precise, that Arajin comes from a home where he is loved.

Matakara on the other hand, we know how to cook is intimately linked to those he loves, and we NEVER see him have that kind of interaction with his relatives, neither cooking, nor even eating together, nor any other significant appearance, basically telling us that Matakara doesn't share any real bond with them, or even worse, that he doesn't feel loved in that house.

And I put emphasis on the word "house" because that is for him, it's just the place where he sleeps, it's not his home, and that's extremely important, because that feeling of home translates into safety, and we see that when he looks for Arajin after what happened with his brother. He goes with him because he feels safe at his side.

Much of this were clues that the anime left through how both protagonists relate to cooking, and it's no coincidence, because just like fighting, cooking is also a way of relating.

In fact, it's not for nothing that the last scene that both friends share after the final battle is cooking together, and although everything happens too quickly, there are things that we can notice if we look carefully.

Arajin and Matakara are cooking to welcome the two gangs and their leaders. They are preparing gyoza again, but we can notice that Matakara has finally managed to make one, and not only that, unlike the last time, they are close to each other

and they both look happy, clearly showing that the gap between them has fallen. Furthermore, it is evident that Arajin has been teaching his friend, representing how from now on he will be there for him.

Another extremely important element is that Matakara is cooking for others for the first time, showing how he is finally willing to open his heart.

[mikajihiko]

Catching up with AKIHIKO KAJI's changes in Given Bangaihen --- (10th Mix_2)

DISCLAIMER: A forewarning that this blog contains SPOILERS, including but not limited to story plot and some panels of the latest chapter of Given Bangaihen ( Given 10th Mix_2). Proceed with caution!

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On a thread on Twix (Twitter+X) Ive yapped about changes in main 4 Given after the span of 10 years. On this blog however I want to concentrate on Akihiko, which, as a synopsis I simply said:

Akihiko continuously allows Haruki to have his way with him. He's very soft, wanting to always please Haruki in any way possible, but not in a way where Haruki is allowed to step on him. The vibe is similar as pre-dating Akiharu, but added the anxiety of post-dating Akiharu.

However, I cant help but feel like I simply grazed over the topic considering Akihiko is a character who goes through constant change, in fact thats his entire thing- from changing to be a man deserving of Haru's love to having a dedicated emergence chapter. Err, My point is that that spiel isn't the only thing thats changed about him. Hence this blog and so I shall continue to yap~

Starting with his direct appearance. Our first impression of Akihiko is that he's someone who looks depressive and ragged who has a tough exterior, cool, and seemingly stone-cold which throughout the series we learn that these ragged looks are physical manifestations of actual depressive episodes stemming from the numerous abuse he receives from a past, yet continuously haunting, ex-relationship

As the story progresses we see him gradually get back into his nature of being a constantly smiling and giddy guy with a child-like demeanor; And, that continues to be the case in this sequel! Having energy to dawn fake circle glasses and a hat to go match it (as a "disguise" / intimidation tactic for the "bugs™")

With regards to personality, his inherent nature of being giddy and child-like never ceases, however, so does the pre-existing anxiety. Albeit not so obvious, Akihiko's past relationship has traumatized him in ways that he or a lot would not expect.

From someone who never really cared about his past partners shenanigans, when it comes to Haruki, he ultimately tries his best to continue to make up for things even after 10 years by wooing him, ergo continuously following through as per Popov-san's words; not that genuine sweet gestures seem to be a problem for him or Haruki.

From someone who had to be coerced into doing things, when it comes to Haruki, he doesnt have a problem with anything and gives in to all of Haruki's qualms; Always aiming to please! Of course, being in a healthy relationship makes it easier to do. Besides, what's there to wear a disguised marriage ring for aesthetics just to keep the bugs™ off Akihiko 😗

Compared to the past as well he has become more protective! In other words, became expressive in showing jealousy and possessiveness, only wanting Haruki for himself; which in itself is a drastic change as finally, he understands what it means to want someone all for himself. Considering high school Akihiko never cared for trivial things, into after-dating-HarukiAkihiko who admits to hating seeing his boyfriend play with an ex, into 7-years-later Akihiko who becomes overly defensive of Haruki's nape, into finally 10-years-later Akihiko who's against Haruki wearing the 'wedding ring for aesthetics' because he "doesnt want Haruki to look like a lonely wife". Its quite the evolution, emergence if you may, which admittedly is very cute

But yes, as I circle back, this stemming from the trauma of being in a relationship with someone who was completely commitment-phobic. The fear of doing just one wrong thing ultimately leading to Haruki leaving (even though Haru wont) is a chance he will not take. But also then again, its not like Akihiko hates it, completely indulging with his lover like this answers the calling of his romantic side! But, something to look forward to with how things will waver when the boat gets rocked in chapters to come; I'll leave that for the future as I digress!

Ig so far thats all I have important to say~! Im looking forward to the next chapters! Im excited to see how these changes in each character would affect interactions! Similarly to how Ritsuka has let go of his SUPER idolization of Akihiko hehe I look forward to seeing other changes~!

Happy Akiharu Foreverr!!!🍁🌸