#So many times Bing could’ve gotten seriously hurt

[mage-ical-character-person]

Bing throws himself into potentially dangerous situations so often. The rest of 341b has to worry about him, right? I know they do, because they do react with some panic or concern when he does these things. But they also just let him wander off on his own in unfamiliar locations so that he can be comically trapped in a chocolate bar. .

I don’t know I’d just like to see a “You’ve got to stop worrying us like that!” Sort of moment, y’know?

[selenaquintanillaperez]

Selena: The Series

I binged the show in a day and these are my thoughts. Fair warning, this is long.

The Good: After originally being disappointed to hear that they weren’t going to be using Selena’s vocals, I’m glad that turned out not to be the case. It wouldn’t make any sense otherwise. I really liked that they showcased some of her earlier songs, the ones that aren’t very mainstream and would only really be known to those who have digged into Selena’s discography. Like Sukiyaki, Amame, Besitos and Ven Conmigo.

The wardrobe department. I guess the outfits had to be on point because the hair was not. We’ve seen many recreations of Selena’s iconic outfits, but not really any from her early years and I thought that was cool. I did like that they showcased Selena’s teen years and how she grew up in the industry, as well as how they showed her humorous side.

Hunter Reese Peña. Out of the entire cast, I feel like his casting as Ricky Vela was the best. I did also like the connection of Seidy Lopez playing Marcella and also being the friend with Selena at the mall in the 1997 movie - though I wouldn’t say she was perfectly casted.

The Bad: I feel like most longtime Selena fans unanimously agree that the casting is not the best. The actors are lighter and thinner than their real life counterparts and it’s super disappointing to see. While Christian Serratos is of Mexican heritage, she is very light skinned compared to Selena. I once watched an interview with Suzette where she said Selena resonated with the Mexican-American community because we could see ourselves in her and because she “wasn’t a guerita” or light skinned. And even as someone who is a guerita and lighter than Christian, that’s still a statement that rings true for me, and this casting choice does not reflect that. So I can only imagine the hurt and disappointment felt by our brown and darker skinned brothers and sisters in our community.

This ”Chris” and “Selena” was not believable as a couple imo. I’m really supposed to believe that these two people are secretly in love? Compare Christian Serratos and Jesse Posey portraying the relationship to Jennifer Lopez and Jon Seda’s and try to tell me there isn’t a stark difference. I completely believed the 1997 version of Chris and Selena were very much in love and would move heaven and earth to be with one another. 2020 Chris and Selena? It feels forced and more like an awkward high school relationship.

Okay. I did like that we got some family backstory and got to know Los Dinos a little more. And I understand that it’s a family band, but when “Selena” feels like a secondary character in a show called Selena: The Series, there’s a big problem. There was far too much focus on Abraham and AB. A lot of it could’ve been condensed or cut down and I think we still would’ve gotten the gist of it anyway.

No pizza. Like seriously, there was not one slice of pizza in the whole show. I would have loved to see a scene where Chris and Selena first said “I love you” in a Pizza Hut like he described in his book. However, this Chris and Selena ain’t it AND I’m also bitter that her family can apparently use his name and their love story for a profit but Chris got sued when he tried to do it himself.

The (Really) Ugly: Those wigs. Were. Terrible. The wig for Chris in particular. Literally WHO thought that looked good?? Why not have the actor grow his hair out or just cast someone who already has long hair? Burn it. Toss it in a fire.

Overall, this feels more like Selena: For Mainstream White America. For those who have maybe caught the movie on tv once in a while but that was it, or heard “Como La Flor” once or twice in passing. Casual fans. Then there are those of us who are old enough to remember hearing when she passed, who have watched her performances countless times over the years. The ones that Selena means so much to and who remember and see her as a person and performer and not as a character on a tv screen. Don’t get me wrong, I love spreading her music to a newer generation but it could’ve been done so much better.

[khanyienongogo]

Chapter 1 - “The Stranger”

It is now 10 pm and my shift at the restaurant just ended, so I'm walking home. The way I'm so tired you guys have no idea. I swear my feet are even breathing. My mother and I live in a two bedroom apartment, which is more or less a 20 minute walk distance from the restaurant. It is not far but if you're as tired as I am at the moment it seems very far. My friends always tell me how risky it is to walk by myself at night...they say I should get a taxi which is ridiculous because the restaurant is not that far from where I live for me to get a taxi and anyway taxis are scarce at this time of night. A cab is expensive especially at this time and unfortunately I don't have money to waste so walking will have to do. Yes, sometimes it does get a little scary to walk all by myself at night, especially when I see strange looking men wearing hoodies standing at the street corners, but on most nights the streets are vacant. My friends always tease me saying that with all the walking I do every night, I should've at least lost some weight. I also don't know why I haven't lost any weight. Back in high school I used to try everything that would make me lose weight so that I wouldn't get picked on. I would take diet pills and I would also do bingeing, but that is a story for another time. See? I told you I had issues. Anyway what I was trying to say is that all of those methods didn't help me lose weight...at all.

I picked up my pace, it was getting cold. I was already picturing myself taking a hot bath and going to sleep. I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow. The school work that needed to be done was just too much and having to waitress every single day after my classes didn't help either. The joy that is my life! I'm about to cross the street when I hear someone moaning. At first I don't mind it because at night you hear a lot of things. The moaning continues...it is more prominent now. I stop walking, firstly because I'm a little scared since you can never be too safe, and secondly because the person moaning is in pain. I look around trying to put a face to the moaning but I see no one...the streets are completely empty. The person moans louder and I edge closer to where I think the sound is coming from. When I get closer to the sound I see a body on the floor next to the big garbage bins. I pause and look around unsure. I'm contemplating if I should just turn around and pretend as if I didn't see anything or if I should find out what is wrong with the person who is obviously hurt on near the garbage bins. After what seems like a decade I edge closer to where the body is...I can't let someone die on my watch. I know some of you are probably calling me stupid for not turning around and walking home like I was doing before I heard the moans. But I couldn't do it people. I couldn't disregard this person who needed help.

Me: "Hey...are you fine?" I called out as I edged a little closer to the body. Even though I wanted to help the person, it didn't mean that I wasn't wary about the whole situation. I mean this person could be trouble. But nonetheless I was going to help. From what I could see, this was a man. The body was too big to be a woman. The man answered me with more moans and groans. I couldn't see properly because the lighting on this part was bad..."should I call the ambulance for you?" I got more moans and groans. I sighed. I walked closer until I reached him and I gasped loudly when I saw blood next to him on the concrete. It wasn't a lot of blood but it was still blood. Oh my gosh...oh my gosh...oh my gosh. I was freaking out! He is hurt! I mean I knew he was hurt when I heard the moaning but I didn't think blood was involved. Blood meant this was serious. I knelt down next to him not knowing what to do. The man had both his hands pressed against his stomach where he was hurt. His whole face, which I could see clearer since I was close to him, was contorted in pain..."I'm calling the ambulance" I announced with a panicked voice. The man shook his head. He was crazy if he thought I wasn't going to call the ambulance. I took out my phone out of my handbag with shaky hands.

Him: "Don't." He grunted forcefully in pain. I paused.

Me: "But you're hurt, the ambu-."

Him: "Don't." He said more forcefully than before. He tried to get up. Oh my gosh! This is a crazy person! I quickly pocketed my phone and tried to help him up. When I said tried, I meant every sense of the word, because the the man was so heavy and huge. He was a freaking giant! He finally got to his feet with his own might, because to tell you the truth getting him up was like pulling on concrete. He still had his hands pressing on his stomach...and blood was coating his hands. I wonder who did this to him? I mean the guy was a giant. I'm sure he had been ganged up or something because it would surely take a group of men to take on this guy.

Me: "I really think you should let me call an ambula-."

Him: "Shut up!" He barked harshly..."no hospitals." Oh my gosh! He's so rude! Did he just tell me to shut up when I'm trying to help him?! I should have left his ass and carried on home. He swayed on his feet and I tried to balance him out which led to us almost falling but he regained the balance for the both of us. Such a giant!

Me: "Um okay. At least tell me where you stay so I can help you get home." He grunted..."or I could just call an ambu-." He grunted out his address unhappily to me. You would think that he would be happy that someone was trying to help him. Jerk! Luckily I knew the place where he stayed, but it was way off from the way leading me home. Sigh! I led him towards the direction that went to his place...actually it was more like he was leading me. Who was hurt here? Me or him? This guy! We walked slowly towards his place. Every now and then, he would stop...grit his teeth and grunt in pain...then we would continue walking. I was starting to second guess myself ,because firstly, I should've called the ambulance despite his refusal. Secondly, I was walking a total stranger to his place. Yes, he was injured so it was unlikely that he would do something to me but there was a fact that he was a giant so he could overpower me if he wanted to even in his injured state. Thirdly, how was I going to get home? I mean by the time we reached his place, it would be too late, which meant that I had to spend my savings on getting a cab ride home. Damn! I huffed out loudly. He grunted. Jerk! Please remind me why I was helping him again?

We got to his place. He lived in more or less the same neighborhood as me. We got into the building. When I saw the lift, I nearly sagged in relief because I wouldn't have been able to hold him up the stairs, because during the walk to his place he had been getting weaker and weaker...so he was leaning his weight more and more on me now. And as I've said before the guy was a giant so you could imagine that state I was in. I was huffing and puffing everywhere in like a pig. Argh! I asked him his floor number and he grunted out the answer. I was also getting really irritated by his grunting. We got to his floor and he grunted out his room number. I huffed frustrated. I led him to his door. If you guys could've seen us we would've been a sight I'm telling you. I was literally struggling and Mr "don't call the ambulance" was not helping at all. After so many tries, I finally was was able to open his door. He stumbled in and went straight for the bathroom and locked himself in. Um...okay! I heard coming from the bathroom a lot of banging and of him grunting. This was for me to leave right? But guess what? My conscience wouldn't allow me to leave. I groaned. I went towards the bathroom and knocked. He grunted. Seriously?! What's up with this man? .... "um...look it's late so I need to go so..." I trailed off.

Him: "No." He responded roughly. What? Did he just say no? What does he mean no?

Me: "What?" I asked confused.

Him: "Stay. Don't. Leave." He commanded. I was so confused and a little scared. Why would he want me to stay?

Me: "Do you need help with the...you know..." I cleared my throat.

Him: "No. I'm fine. Just stay." Right after he grunted and groaned in pain. I frowned.

Me: "Open the door." I demanded annoyed with this whole situation. Silence greeted me..."if you don't open this door, I'm going to leave." I threatened weakly. I heard a huff then a grunt. He was annoyed with me..."okay then I guess I'm lea-." I was cut off by the opening of the bathroom door. My mouth was hanging open. Firstly, because he was half naked, I could see a whole lot of chest...abs...yes abs people! Believe it or not but this was my first time seeing a half naked man. The second reason why my mouth was hanging open was because I could see the wound across his middle where I guess he had been stabbed but that is not the reason for my mouth hanging open. What had my mouth hanging open was because the wound had stitches and he was holding a big ass needle in his hand. So all this time he had been stitching himself up. Oh my gosh! What had I gotten myself into? Who was this man........

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Rinne no Lagrange, Episodes 10-12

In which everything falls apart, and the finale is crushed under the weight of its crippling flaws.

Crash and Burn

I really wish I didn’t have to be writing this post.

Rinne no Lagrange was never a perfect show. It was weird and flawed and confused pretty much from the first episode. For all its faults, though, I never wanted to dislike it. There were so many moments where it came so close to working, and I wanted to believe it could pull through. Heading into this final stretch of episodes, I was hoping this would be the moment when Rinne no Lagrange finally came into its own and delivered an ending that proved it could deliver the goods. I wanted so badly for it to work. But it doesn’t. In fact, this finale is kind of a disaster. All its good ideas are crushed under the weight of just a few absolutely devastating mistakes that drag the entire affair down. It’s confused and compromised and unfocused, stumbling where it needs to soar and shackling itself with unnecessary complications that rob it of all its inertia. It’s honestly feels like watching a tragedy play out; so many good ideas, so many potentially powerful moments, wasted on an irreparably broken foundation.

The first critical flaw is the simplest: Madoka’s emotional journey is fucking weak. The show tries to lean into her fear of losing the people she cares about, painting her as someone who takes the world on her shoulders to keep her loved ones safe. This fits with her previous characterization, but the way it’s dramatized hereis just... lame. Astelia literally just spells out her character arc to her with almost no prompting or knowledge of her as a person. It’s like the writer is literally talking to the audience and saying “Hey, we don’t trust you to figure out her motivation for yourself, so why don’t we just tell you?” Then there’s an unnecessary complication that Lan and Muginami are hiding the fact that they’re going to head out to the next battle alone, and it’s just... why? Why would they need to hide this? Madoka’s already shown that she was willing to let Vox Aura go and take a step back from combat, there’s literally no reason to hide this information from her. It doesn’t even affect her emotional arc! She could’ve known they were going to battle all along and her fear of losing them would still make sense. It’s an unnecessary and contrived complication that exists solely for its own sake, and it eats up precious time that would’ve been better served elsewhere. And for fuck’s sake, did we really have to use a goddamn groping gag to transition into serious discussion territory? They literally could not have set this up more inelegantly if they tried.

Hollow Lights

Not that the payoff is any stronger. I get the basic idea that Madoka freaks out when someone she cares about gets hurt during the course of the final battle with De Metrio, and that triggers the weird flower apocalypse storm. But Youko? This show has not developed Youko and Madoka’s relationship enough for that to work. We’re certainly told that Madoka cares about her cousin and why, but we so rarely actually see them interacting. The story’s kept them pretty much segregated since the first arc. So trying to wring drama out of Madoka thinking she’s lost Youko just doesn’t work. Their relationship just doesn’t feel important in the same way Madoka’s relationships with Lan and Muginami do. If either of them had gotten hurt, I might be able to buy it, but there’s not enough connection with Youko. Especially when it’s so obviously clear that Youko’s totally fine and she just got a nasty wound that she’ll be perfectly able to recover from. Seriously, it doesn’t even try to make us think that Youko might really be dead. So while Madoka’s freaking out and mumbling curses about “why can’t I just be everyone’s target so no one else has to get hurt?” I’m just here tapping my watch and impatiently waiting for Youko to wake up all over again.

But even that’s nothing compared to the absolutely baffling choice this show makes in its final episode. Episode 11 ends with Madoka freaking out the the quasi-apocalypse starting (side note, we still don’t know any of the mechanics about how this thing words, which is also lame), and the tension’s at its highest as we watch the flowers start to rain down, and we’re wondering how our heroes can possibly fix this situation... and then the final episode jumps a couple weeks ahead, instantly revealing that everyone’s totally fine and the crisis was averted. Fucking- WHAT?! Why would you do that? Why would you rob the climax of all its tension by showing us upfront that there was no lasting damage? It completely cripples the anticipation we were building up! By the time we flash back to reveal what actually happened during those final moments of the battle, it’s already too late because we know everyone made it out just fine! And all the beautiful imagery like Madoka’s conversation with Yurikano on a mystical shoreline and the gorgeous rainbow flower that stops the apocalypse is robbed of all its cathartic power. This may well be the single worst conceived timeskip I’ve ever seen. Why could you not just let things play out in chronological order? It would’ve been totally fine! You’d get half an episode of the final fight and half an episode of cooldown/season 2 setup! There was no fucking need to overcomplicate it and ruin the climax’s tension like this!

Stacking the Decks

Speaking of season 2 setup, that’s another frustrating aspect of this finale; it’s inconclusive. Obviously, since there’s another season cooking, it doesn’t make sense for them to wrap everything up here. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s kinda weird how we sort of assume most anime have to end on a conclusive note while America TV shows, even original ones, rarely plan for one-and-done seasons. So, okay, clearly there’s still a lot on the deck for season 2 that’s waiting to be explored. Muginami’s run off with the defeated Villa because she still isn’t ready to give up on him, and there’s no telling if or when they’ll be able to return. Lan’s older brother has touched down on Earth to save the day, and under his command, Le Garite as a whole is sort of serving as Earth’s liaison to the stars. We still don’t quite know what happened to Yurikano, though I suspect her death is highly relevant to the disaster that tore the two planets apart. Why did she die? Why is she on the astral shore that Madoka visits? What exactly is the story behind the “three demons” legend and the Vox’s power to destroy the world? There’s a lot of places this could go, especially with the three pilots now scattered to the winds.

But honestly, I’m not sure how much hope I have in season 2′s ability to turn this show around. The flaws here are just so fundamental and core to its makeup, and that’s not gonna be fixed just from throwing more plot elements at us. Especially when that plot threatens to become an absolutely incomprehensive clusterfuck in the last moments: what the absolute fuck is up with Astelia? How is she “the witch that pulled this universe into an eternal loop of peace and calamity”? What does that even mean? We don’t even have the current lore details sorted out and you’re throwing something this batshit at us? Just the prospect of finding out what that’s all about has me feeling more exhausted than anything else. And if that wasn’t enough to dull my interest, the shameless queerbaiting certainly would be. Unless Madoka and Lan actually get together when all is said and done, the “Sike! They were just shooting a film” cop-out deserves to burn in hell for all eternity. Symphogear, this is not.

Odds and Ends

-”Where jersey is master, skirt is servant.” ...beg pardon?

-”I WANT TO GO HOME BIG BROTHER!” dkfjhdfjdh played yourself

-Lan smashing Muginami’s cotton candy in her face was cute.

-It’s honestly shocking how much better chemistry our antagonists have than our protagonists. The difference between Madoka and pals hanging out this episode and De Metrio’s expeditions last episode is stunning.

-”Why is is that the unhealthier the food looks, the better it tastes?” Mood.

-Robots! In! SPAAAAAACE!

-”If we die here, we die together.” “Not on my watch, buddy.” This show should’ve been about the bad guys, honestly.

-”Three is a sacred number in many cultures.” I can’t believe a Schoolhouse Rock song is going to save the day.

Bah, that was disappointing. Expect my season 1 reflection later tonight!

[kihyunswrath]

An essay on why I fight for Wonho

I think there has been too much of this “why do you even care that much?” bullshit lately and I’d like to make things clear, at least for my part. And I am assuming many other Monbebes can relate.

Indeed, why do I care? Wonho was never my bias, I have always liked other groups too, I have seen hundreds of groups come and go, it’s just one member in that group and although I want him to return, I actually want this entire industry to burn down to ashes even more and yes, that would mean death sentence to all idol groups. 

But first of all, let me ask this question in return: Why does it bother you that we care? Who gets to define what’s a useless endeavor? What makes you think I can’t simultaneously care for “more important” issues? Why the hell are you judging us for wasting time on this, when we all already know you wasted days watching that useless Youtube vine compilation, binge-watched that one Netflix series you didn’t seriously even care about, played that one stupid mobile phone game when you should have been sleeping, ate those two boxes of cookies that could’ve lasted you two whole weeks? Who are you to say things are useless just because it’s not your favorite idol group or whoever the fuck you care about, who’s under attack? Why do you think we have explaining to do, when literally none of this has anything to do with you personally and it’s literally you who fail to see the implications this incident had?

I don’t need to explain why I found a person inspiring as an idol and human being, why I found his background story motivating and moving and why I found his presence in Monsta X very important for the entire group’s mental health, group dynamics, success and happiness. I don’t need to explain why I find it upsetting that the people I cared about are torn apart because of no fucking reason, and that I can see that pain from their faces as they’re forced to pretend Wonho does no longer fucking exist?

I don’t fucking think I need to explain why I have empathy for a person who is under a police investigation just because. I don’t think I need to explain why I don’t find it fair that someone is under an attack for doing something that is not deemed as illegal in the most civilized, democratic countries. I don’t need to explain why I want to defend someone who’s kicked out of his group because of conservative internet trolls and a couple whose own background is about ten times more shady than Wonho’s. I don’t think I need to justify myself protesting for him, when he is fired from a job that has absolutely nothing to do with the things he’s being accused of. I don’t think I need to explain that unlike many others, I am indeed capable of reflecting this incident against the bigger context and see how flawed the entire Korean legislative system is. 

But let me do your homework for you asshats and explain what this bigger context is. It’s the context where simply having an allegation of whatever kind placed against you is enough to ruin your entire career. The context where people are literally lying about a person’s background and have been caught doing that, but can still continue with the investigation. The context where people can be punished again and again for things they did ages ago, apologized for, moved on and learned from. The context where literal rich drug dealers, convicted criminals sitting in prison, their minions and ENTIRE companies (cough pdx101 cough) might be able to escape from justice, but this one unfortunate person whose existence is only justified by the Korean population if he is superhumanly perfect and flawless, is brought down for allegedly committing a crime that was not harming anybody and was committed six fucking years ago. The context where you can be punished for something so meaningless that it feels like there is indeed space for a conspiracy theory or two. The context that paints idols as literal gods and goddesses who are not allowed to have pasts, backgrounds, redemption arcs or flaws to their character. The context that is taking idols from their hard-earned positions just because someone influential enough had a personal grudge against them. This context where Koreans are not protected by their own companies or labor unions but can be treated like non-human playthings, chess pieces and pawns just for having human traits.  

I don’t think I need to explain why I have empathy. I don’t think I need to explain why this bigger picture I see doesn’t only clash with my morals, but also potentially hurts hundreds of thousands of other people, because something like this could easily happen to them, too, especially if we now use this incident as an example of how things should be handled in similar situations. And if you as a person fail to connect the dots, if you personally fail to see why this is giving an ugly view into a ruthless society many of my friends and loved ones have no other options but to live in, I think that’s on you. That’s literally your personal problem, not mine.

Wonho was not inspiring because he was flawless, he was inspiring because he demonstrated character growth. He was not inspiring because he never did any mistakes, he was inspiring because he kept improving and kept sharing his love and gratitude toward his fans. He was not inspiring because he had wealth, connections and endless virtuosity, he was inspiring because he built his career from nothing and still remembered to explicitly thank his family, his friends, his loved ones and his fans every single day. That alone is something we can’t say from many other people.  

And if you think my argument is flawed because I was biased? Yes. I am biased. It’s not suspicious that people care about stuff more when it turns out to be personally relatable. Stop fucking pretending you are so virtuous, wise and pure that you already fought against bigotry, oppression, discrimination and bullshit in its all forms, way before you were even fucking born. That does not give you more social justice woke points, it just makes you annoying. Just because some Monbebes woke up to notice how flawed, ugly, embarrassing and pathetic the kpop industry can be now that their own favorite idol is attacked, is not a bad thing if it leads to them protesting against similar incidents in the future. Just because people cannot fully grasp issues before it has something to do with themselves doesn’t mean they can’t now use that realization as a boost to change the entire society. 

Yes, we intend to not bring only Wonho back, but also bring down the entire industry that made it possible for things like these to happen. Yes, we as human beings are capable of empathizing with people who we don’t have much to do with, but it’s not wrong if we fight even more fiercely when we try to protect our own. When was the last time you have done something similar? 

If our movement brings light to the fact how little protections workers have in Korea, if our movement makes people see how devastating consequences bullying and baseless accusations can have on people, if our movement continues talking about the same problem that caused a person to commit literal suicide a month earlier? If our movement makes it transparent to everybody how much power all these companies have over their idols and how they can not only treat them like shit after trusting and rooting for them for several years, but also silence all the remaining members and force them to continue even if they’re at a breaking point? If our movement brings light to the fact that maybe, just maybe it’s not fair to punish people for things that they might not only NOT have done, but also are literally meaningless even if he did them ALL, especially because they happened before he ever even was an idol? 

Well, I’ll call it a movement that exists for a good fucking reason.

One of my Korean friends, after being told about this, said that well, the only thing I now need to do is to change my favorite group and move on with my life, because I am literally just a customer and I can’t change things. And you know what? That is exactly the problem here. Without knowing it, she summarized the entire problem up perfectly with that one sentence. 

She and so many other Koreans (and non-Koreans) consider idols mere products. They think idols are here to sell us a certain image of a perfect, successful person who does not really exist as a human being. Idols just represent something the Korean society aspires to be, but if enough people get fed up with them for whatever reason, just to bolster their own feelings of revenge and jealousy like in this case, idols can be dumped and forgotten in a matter of minutes. That hurting one idol does not really matter, because there are people lining up behind him to do his job even better. That being an idol is an endless cycle of improving oneself, requiring less and less time for resting, recovery, privacy and human rights and asking less and less forgiveness from the audience. That if you get an important position in the society, it’s on you if you cannot handle the negative publicity that might follow. That if you have done one mistake once, it prevents you from ever moving on in your life, because it can come and bite you in the ass whenever, arbitrarily, just because, even if technically you had already been forgiven long time ago. That people who have gotten money and fame do not earn those positions because of hard work, but because they are supposed to be superhuman. And because there is no such thing as a superhuman, every and any idol can be brought down whenever they show the smallest sign of humanity. Even if that sign of humanity is just them showing open solidarity and empathy for a friend and colleague that was wrenched from them for no reason.

She and so many other Koreans think the only thing they can do as normal citizens is to pretend this one “flawed, miserable” individual never existed, because they are powerless against the decisions of the companies, press and rich conservative trolls?

And for some reason, somehow, these same Koreans fail to see how that reflects the state of their entire society and how it affects their own rights as workers, as human beings. They fail to see this very, very crucial factor: that idols are more similar to everyday Koreans than they are to the entertainment companies, wealthy chaebol CEOs and a couple of filthy rich drug dealers who escape their own punishment because of their even richer dad.

Idols are NOT extremely wealthy celebrities who have a freedom to choose their own paths, influential politicians who can escape from scandals after scandals or sons and daughters of the company leaders and estate owners of Korea. 

They are workers who have inhumane working conditions. They are faces to faceless, cruel companies who are intentionally hiding behind them to cover their own tracks. 

Idols have no real rights, freedom or future, and thus, they represent us normal people. What you do to one of these idols, you essentially do to every single one of his/her fans. You take our dreams away, you punish us unfairly for things we tried to learn from, you take away our voices that we used to express our own oppression and challenge the status quo.

Idols are not us, but they represent us more than any of these companies, leaders, rich heirs and heiresses and CEO’s could ever do. 

And that’s why I’m fighting for Wonho.

__

And please miss me with that cultural relativism bullshit. I know injustice when I see it. I can distinguish suffering and pain even in cultural contexts I am not born into. Also? Maybe if Koreans don’t want us to meddle with how they handle their own problems, maybe they should have really been thinking twice before trying to buy the entire world with the help of their idol industry. We can hold companies accountable. We can demand change. Companies and wealthy shitheads are not representatives of a culture. We know there are Koreans with us in this fight. 

And if this doesn’t change with us, right now, today... it will sit down with us until something like this happens again, and then the change will come in the shape of a fucking tsunami. 

And what are you going to do at that point, stand in the fucking way, or pretend your past mistakes can no longer hold you accountable?  

[iamrheaspeaks]

omitted truths 3

Erik x OC! (Briana)

Word Count: ~2.5k

Warnings: Smut

A/N: As always this was lightly proofread/ edited 💋

Catch up: Part 1 Part 2

Briana’s life was starting to fall back into a nice, albeit new, rhythm of hellos and goodbyes. There was Alisha who worked at the local Veterinary Office, but she actually met her in a bar bathroom. Alisha always looked out of place because of her bright blue hair and giant butterfly neck tattoo but it made Briana swell with pride at how she never let anyone shame her for her decisions. Liss, short for Melissa, a connect she met at a novelty shop called PlayRoom. Girl could up sell her ass off too. And Jordan, a pint sized ball of sass that she witnessed give her mom Victoria hell every morning as she loaded up the car before taking her to daycare. Whenever Briana had a moment to spare she’d help Victoria out. She was happy with the change of pace that came from being closer to her best friend it was safe to say that Briana didn’t really have any quips about being back in Connecticut. ––

“Briana Lynn Clark! Ohmygod!” Denver was in hysterics standing in the entryway of Briana’s new place. “I was expecting to be wowed by the décor but oh my god bitch your hair!” Denver shouted before covering her mouth finally stepping through the door. Circling around Briana to take in the full view. Following Denver’s motions with her eyes Briana wore the biggest grin at her friend’s antics and her own need to be extra. Big hoop earrings hitting her round cheeks as her head moved side to side, stopping when Denver came to a halt in front of her and cupped Briana’s face in her hands. “You cut your hair!”, she whisper shouted.

“What? You don’t like it?” Briana coyly questioned running hand over her low fade smiling so hard her cheeks hurt.

Denver hastily pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and began tapping at the screen frantically shaking her head, “You guys see this shit? The woman that’s supposed to be my best fucking friend went and cut her damn hair off and I knew NOTHING ABOUT IT!!!” Briana just waved to the camera before sticking her tongue out at Denver. As her friend continued to rant about how much she loved the haircut but was not happy about being left in the dark Briana went into the kitchen to grab snacks to tide her over while she made something for them to eat. Briana had invited Denver over for a girl’s night in to celebrate her new place instead of doing a house warming. It was also Briana’s way of thanking Denver for opening her space up to her while she looked for her own.

Briana was cooking the two of them fettuccini pasta with pesto sauce. This left Denver to venture the apartment by herself, but that didn’t keep her from shouting things at Briana as she did so. She was sure her entire place was up on Denver’s social media for everyone to see. “Ooh! Bri! What’s in this fancy purple box in your closet?”

“Bitch! Touch that shit if you want to”

“Oh my! Bri! What the hell? Don’t you think you should hide this shit?”

“Why? I live here!”

“I’m just saying, I keep my treasure chest in the bottom drawer of my dresser but, you right.” Denver said walking into the kitchen helping herself to the wine on the counter. “Hurry up though so we can get this marathon started before your stalker pops up.”

Briana just rolled her eyes at Denver’s comment. She hadn’t talked to Erik in months and no one else knew about the move. “Anyways, I figured we’d watch from the most recent to the oldest. You know since War Paint is my favorite.”

“No arguments here.”

The girls found themselves curled up on the floor backs against the couch wrapped in blankets by time they were reaching the end of their Iliza Shlesinger binge watching session. Everything about tonight made Briana happy. It was nothing but continuous laughter and reminiscing. Feeling like she had stability again and that she could finally relax and stop hiding. They even shouted in unison with the television as Iliza said her famous line, “This isn’t a bra, it’s body armor. And this isn’t make up, it’s war paint.” Denver had work in the morning, per the norm, so she got up to relieve herself while Briana began to pick up in the living room. As she finished folding the last blanket and setting it into the end table that doubled as storage Denver came back into the room to start gathering her things. “I put some aside for you to take home” Briana said holding out a container of pesto for Denver to take.

“I got something for you too” she responded not looking up from the black hole she calls a bag on her shoulder. She was digging through it blindly like a typical bag lady, just to sit down to start shoveling threw it with both hands. Denver really wanted to find whatever she was looking for. Briana took this time to continue moving about the room and making sure things were back where she wanted them.

“Found it!” Denver proclaimed gleefully as she stood back up and went to meet Briana by the door to bid her goodbye. They hugged really tight, swaying side to side a little before breaking the embrace. As Briana opened the door she dropped her head shaking it as Denver just stood there laughing. Of course Erik was standing there.

“You can’t keep popping up on me like this Erik. I’m sick of moving and I like my new apartment” Briana spewed out like vomit at the sight of him. That was until her eyes got drawn to the glint of shiny wrapping paper. It reflected in the hallway light as his shoulders shook because of how hard he was laughing.

“Damn. I’m not always the bearer of bad news princess.”

“Could’ve fooled me!” Denver snide as she handed Briana the small pink envelope she was searching for earlier before making her leave.

The gift was a framed Dia de los Muertos elephant painting. Briana knew exactly where she would put it in her spare bedroom that she planned on doing something creative with but had no idea what yet. The painting was the perfect combination of her favorite things though so she’d probably build the room around it.

It was safe to say Erik was just as thrown by Briana’s haircut as Denver was. He just kept touching her head commenting how he never thought she’d cut it. And laughed as she whined for him to cut it out while swiping his hand away. Seeing Erik settle into her couch and not springing dire news on her allowed Briana to relax. Still in the mood to watch something on the funny side Briana put on Kevin Hart’s Let Me Explain. Noticing pretty early on that Erik wasn’t being his usual confrontational self, Briana paused the special and looked at him. “What’s going on up there?” she inquired while jabbing her finger at his temple.

“I wanna try again Bri.” Erik said squeezing and releasing her uncovered thigh lightly but not making eye contact. Erik knew how heavy those words were. He’d been carrying them around since the beginning. “Please say something.” he continued. Briana removed her legs from over Erik’s lap and got up to cross the room. Shaking her head the whole way fighting with her thoughts. After everything that’s happened, besides Denver, Erik’s been the only constant through it all. Never judging her but always trying to help, most times to a fault.

“I can’t count how many times we’ve said goodbye.”

Erik’s head dropped because he knew, and it haunted him the larger the number got. But at the same time he couldn’t deny that everything about Briana truly was different now. Everything he put her threw, everything she had to cut herself off from in order to stay in Witness Protection all those years. Erik fully understood why Briana couldn’t say it. Why she couldn’t admit she loved him that night. Denying her love for him was the only way she could maintain the lie. That’s how she was able to reinvent herself as Mila and leave Briana behind.

“Loving you is chaos Erik.”

“I know that we can make it work. Give me a chance to make this work.”

“Tell me. Tell me you’ll never leave.” Briana whispered through sniffles as she tried to keep her emotions from bubbling over, making her cry. “And mean it.” she added. Erik lifts off the couch striding over to Briana and enveloped her in a hug. His arms holding her to his chest, his right hand gripping her left shoulder as the left squeezed her right hip. Feeling her melt into his touch did something to him and Erik reveled in this moment, having finally gotten Bri back into his arms.

“I’m not leaving.” Briana tightened her grip on the back of Erik’s hoodie in response. Her whole being had radiated with warmth from her chest at his simple admission.Eventually Erik loosened his hold causing Briana to do the same. They took a moment just looking at each other while time stood still before Erik cupped her face hungrily crashing his lips into hers.

“Fuck!” Briana shouted as she stumbled back out of the kiss, colliding with her kitchen table.

“D–Did you just shock me?” Erik asked in disbelief.

“No! You shocked me!” Briana quipped. Standing there in silence for a moment before laughing uncontrollably.

“That shit ain’t funny Bri. My lip is tingling yo.”

After calming herself down from her laughing fit Briana looked up at Erik who was also laughing. His bout of laughter had his shoulders jumping and his dreads bounced around playfully. The soft expression on his face a welcomed contrast to the serious demeanor he normally sported. Everything about him in this moment pulled at Briana’s heart. Then when their eyes met a pulse boomed through her. Suddenly all the pain, all the tears she cried, all the lies, none of it mattered because Briana missed the fire that they had. She loved Erik and never stopped. It was undeniable. “Seriously Bri, say something. I’m beggin’ here.” The base he added to his voice for emphasis along with the fact Erik was begging made her walls flutter.

“Take me on the table.” Briana uttered sitting back on the rim of the table hands gripping the edge. The hushed desperation in her voice coupled with her position made Erik’s manhood jump. Moving to close the gap he now stood in between Briana’s legs hands gripping at her hips.

“One more time. I don’t think I caught that.” Not actually giving Briana a chance to respond Erik began kissing and nipping at her neck. Left arm extended out so his hand could rest on the table while the right hand traveled up her spine stopping at the base of her head.

“Take me there I’ll take you back.”

“Is that all princess?” He breathed still attacking her neck getting lost in the feeling of her skin against his lips and tongue. Slightly annoyed when he had to stop because Briana didn’t answer, Erik took her chin pulling her head down and waited for her to open her eyes. Hazily she lifted her lids, pupils blown wide with lust, Briana licked her lips and smiled before grabbing the back of Erik’s neck pulling him closer to her and kissing him passionately. Biting his bottom lip and leaning back again while simultaneously spreading her legs further apart thankful for the easy access her dress would provide.

“It’s a start.”

“Is that right?” Erik’s index finger was tracing its way up the inside of Briana’s thigh before wedging it inside the lace barrier. Briana’s mouth fell open as she squeaked out a moan from his knuckle brushing against her untouched bundle of nerves. Erik let out an approving moan of his own because of how wet she was. “All this for me?”

“Wet enough for you daddy?” Briana giggled.

“Almost.” Erik snapped back before quickly dropping to his knees and pulling her panties to the side. He wasted no time tasting her nectar as he slowly licked her slit from her entrance stopping at her clit. Briana audibly gasped and laid back against the table while he sucked the whole thing into his mouth. The more Erik hummed his praises into her love cave the wetter Briana got, and the wetter she got the hardest his dick grew. Just as he went to add a finger she came.

Erik stood up and leaned over Briana kissing her, letting her taste herself before teasing through pecks, “Now that you’re wet enough, turn over.” Briana did as she was told, the junction of her hips now hugging the edge of the table with her hands down on the surface. She could hear Erik remove his hoodie and toss it somewhere along with the weight of the things in Erik’s pockets weighing his pants down to the floor as he removed them. Stroking his length in one hand and flipping up the back of her dress with the other instructing her to remove her underwear.

Before the tiny fabric could hit the floor Erik was behind her still stroking with one hand while the other pushed down against the small of her back until her toes barely touched the floor deepening her arch before sliding in. They groaned in unison as Briana threw her head back in bliss. After that it didn’t take long for them to fall into a rhythm. The sound of their skin slapping together being the drummer whose beat they danced to.

Briana could tell that Erik was holding back by the way he periodically leaned down and drug his teeth over her skin. So when he did it again through labored breaths she prodded, “Just do it.” Not having to be told twice Erik bit into Briana’s shoulder. As she yelled her praises her walls clamped down on his manhood making him groan with her flesh still between his teeth. Just then something snapped and Erik strong gripped the both sides of the table for leverage and begin drilling into Briana sans mercy. The creaking of the table legs being the only sound you could hear besides the praises they shared for each other. It wasn’t until she heard a bang and the sound of glass clanking together that the fog pulled back from her mind as Briana realized that the table was banging into counter. Never realizing that they fucked her table across the kitchen floor.

“Fuck! I missed you so much.”  

“Erik!”

“I’m sorry for everything.”

“P–Please Erik. I–I can’t.”

“I fuckin’ love you”

Between the pounding he was delivering and his admissions Briana knew she wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. As if on cue with those last four words, the knot that had been tightening in the pit of Briana’s stomach snapped. Making her body convulse underneath him. She screamed, “I love you too” as she squirted almost painfully taking him with her. Erik slipped out of her and leaned down on the table catching his breathe as Briana slid down to the floor in a squatted position. Unable to stand anymore thanks to her legs feeling like jello. “I need to smoke.” Briana whispered when she finally caught her breath.

Briana fell asleep with her arms still propped up on the table totally spent before Erik could even pull his pants back up. He picked her up and made his way back to the couch with Briana cradled in his arms. Once seated Erik kisses her forehead and smiled before his head dropped to the back of the seat as slumber took him.

Tags: @savagesensitivity @cancerianprincess @another-imaginesblog @loosewindmill @bidibidibombaclaat @muse-of-mbaku @chaneajoyyy @itsangeludaku @eriknutinthispoosy @im5ftbutmythroat66 @theunsweetenedtruth @blackpinup22 @fonville-designs @wawakanda-btch @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @nickidub718

[magicalthoughtsendinterriblefics]

Double Trouble - Request

Requested by @alexandriajanae4:  a deanxreader where they have been together since john went missing, with kids (TWIN TEENAGE BOYS) and live in the bunker and it's little moments they have as an actual family and he asks her to marry her? (he still hunts and y/n was a hunter but he made her get out now she's a doctor)

Summary: Everything from above.(?

Pairing: Dean x reader.

Word count: 1,522

Warnings: Un-edited.

A/N: Two Dean posts in a day! Must be your lucky day! 

Enjoy!

The family life was never easy for hunters, and Dean knew that from the perspective of the son until he got to be a father and experience what his father experienced, which gave him a bigger understanding of his actions – yet, he couldn’t forgive most of the things he did.

Having two teenage twin boys wasn’t an easy job. Dean and (Y/N) thought the hard part was when they were babies and cried at the same time, but they never expected to have a pair of naughty, destruction master minds at home.

“It’s like living with Fred and George Weasley!” Charlie had said, and Dean and (Y/N) couldn’t agree more.

They were excellent hunters, and they strategies were always successful – mostly because two head think better than one – so every hunt they went in resulted in victory.

Obviously, with Dean as a father, the boys didn’t have the same traumas he and Sam shared. On the contrary, hunting was their life and they couldn’t picture themselves doing anything else.

Dean, Sam and the boys would hunt while (Y/N) worked as a doctor at the nearest hospital. She had to leave the hunting life when she got pregnant, and even when she missed the adrenaline she always felt like it was the right choice. Especially because she would get some real money rather than needing to hustle or use fake credit cards.

Dean never felt intimidated by the success his girlfriend had.

Yes, girlfriend. She and Dean started dating a day before John disappeared and they had stuck together ever since. Dean couldn’t ask her to marry him due to her getting pregnant – children are too expensive – but it was something he kept in mind every day.

Of course, in spite of the kind of life they lived in, they had moments of normalcy. Some of which included binge watching on Adam Sandler movies, That 70’s Show, pulling UNO all-nighters and hating on the winner, etc.

“I know you needed to get rid of the witch, but did you honestly have to make the bathroom explode?” (Y/N) exclaimed. The boys discovered one of their teachers was a witch and, after proving she was a real witch and not the teacher kind of witch, Dean gave them a green light to go after her on their own.

“The end justify the means?” Bobby, the oldest for ten minutes, suggested. His nose was scrunched and his teeth were showing in a childish grin. They looked a lot like Dean but they also had many traits of (Y/N).

“No it doesn’t.” Dean stated.

“But… What about that time you and uncle Sam set a fire in…”

“We were twelve.” Dean interrupted, “You guys are about to turn eighteen and are still acting like children.”

“Uncle Castiel says there’s nothing better than a human who can keep the children spirit in spite of the age.” Sam added and Bobby nodded.

“Uncle Castiel has no idea what he is talking about!” (Y/N) fumed.

“Look boys,” Dean took control, “we know you mean well and that job was excellent… Record timing!” The twins shared a proud smirk, “But you got to keep a low profile… Hunters can’t be that… Noisy, you know?”

“And you could’ve gotten hurt!” (Y/N) hissed.

“That too.” Dean nodded, “Although hunting is already dangerous so…”

“Dean.” She warned. Dean shut his mouth instantly. “I’m so… Upset with you two! Go to your rooms, no shooting practice for you in a week!”

“But moooooom!” The both argue.

“(Y/N/N) they can’t just… not practice, it’s important to…” Dean tried to argue as well, but he knew that, when his girl made a statement, there was no turning back.

“Your room. Now!” She ordered and the boys had no other choice but to leave. Dragging their feet to express their sadness.

“(Y/N/N)…”

“Nothing, Dean.” She blurted out, “They are supposed to be studying… You know how many people we received in the hospital after the explosion? How many of them are seriously injured? They don’t know how to handle things, they don’t care about other people.”

“I know but…”

“We’re supposed to save them, not kill them.” (Y/N) finished.

“I know… I’ll talk to them.”

And many incidents like so followed for many months until Sam found a way to show the boys how to do things safely.

However, no hunt messed in the Winchester’s mind for a while. They whole attention was focus on one and one thing only: Dean had finally saved enough money to buy (Y/N) a ring and give her a proper wedding.

“Maybe you should take her to that place where she likes stargazing…” Said Bobby.

“Yes! And… And… We make fireworks explode over your heads.” Sam added.

“No fireworks over their heads boys.” Sam, the uncle Sam, warned.

“Okay, uncle Sam.” Both boys replied in unison.

“I was thinking of something simpler.” Dean suggested, “The less money we spend on the proposal the more we can spend on the wedding, right?��

They all agreed.

“Uncle Castiel could help.” Bobby suggested.

“Oh yeah, he’s watched tons of chick-flicks.” Sam agreed.

“Uncle Castiel also suggested the fireworks.” Dean groaned.

“BECAUSE IT’S A KICK-ASS IDEA!” The twins insisted.

“No fireworks, end of story.” Old Sam snapped, “Dude, just make her a nice dinner… The boys and I will be gone for the night and you’ll have the chance to make it right.”

-

A monster attack at the hospital (Y/N) worked at made the whole Winchester family get to work in the same day Dean was planning to propose to her.

Some shape shifter had transformed himself into a doctor and had been murdering the patients. Of course, (Y/N) had recognized the monster and called for her boyfriend, brother-in-law and sons to fix the problem.

Sam and (Y/N) had managed to evacuate the hospital without letting the monster out. Meanwhile, Dean and the other Sam chased the monster all the way through the vast hospital hallways until it vanished.

“Bobby, where did it go?” Sam asked his twin brother.

“Who?”

“The shifter!” Dean started frantically looking at every corner of the room while his sons talked.

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen it.” Bobby explained, “I thought you and dad had it.”

“Yes, because mom and Uncle Sam evacuated the hospital.” Sam furrowed, “What were you doing?”

“Shutting the windows, doors and every other entrance so the monster couldn’t escape.” Bobby answered quickly.

“Right… So uh… High five!” Bobby lifted his hand to crash it against his brother’s, who instantly hooked him the elbow and punched his face.

“What the Hell are you doing?” (Y/N) shouted as she and Sam entered the room. Dean turned to see his two boys fighting.

“This isn’t Bobby!” Sammy explained, “Bobby hates high fives.”

Another punch in the throat and the shifter started falling apart. It’s skin was wobbly, and gross. Sammy, however, didn’t care – the asshole had taken his brother and he wasn’t going anywhere before the younger hunter kicked his ass.

With the help of team work, the shifter got killed after ten minutes. Then, they all started looking for Bobby until they found him hiding at a closet, bleeding and nearly unconscious.

“I knew you would find me.” Bobby smiled to his twin brother.

“Yeah, that monster smelled better than you.” Sammy joked.

“Asshole.” Bobby chuckled.

“Dick.”

Sam and Dean stared lovingly as the boys shared that bond every brother knew. It was like seeing themselves into a mirror. (Y/N), on the other hand, was started to get everything she needed to heal her boy.

-

Bobby was laying at the hospital bed. Bobby was right beside him, telling him dirty jokes and showing some memes on his phone.

“Hey, Dean.” (Y/N) called him out of the room.

“Yeah?” (Y/N) lifted a velvet box, that was now covered in blood, for him to see.

“This fell of your pocket when we separated to get the shifter.” She mumbled.

“I can explain.” Dean hurried to say.

“I have everything I need with you and the boys, Dean… You really don’t have to make the question.” She whispered softly.

“I know.” Dean blushed, “But it’s something I’ve always wanted… To see you in white, walking down the aisle…”

“Then…” (Y/N) opened the velvet box to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring inside.

“Do it! Do it! Do it!” The boys cheered. The door was still open and their attention was focused in their parents.

Dean sighed, took the box and got on his knee.

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), would you make me the honour of finally becoming my wife?” Dean asked in the most gentlemanly voice he could.

“It would be a real pleasure, Dean.” She spoke, “Of course I do.”

Dean got up, put the ring on her finger and kissed her softly. (Y/N) wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

“Ew! Get a room you two!” The twins joked, receiving a mocking glare from their Uncle Sam.

“I can’t believe we still have to deal with those two.” Dean muttered over her lips.

“You love them.” She replied funnily.

“Them... And you.”

*Requests are always open.*

Tags: @deanwssister

[breeeliss]

[Miraculous Ladybug]: We All Have Our Things

It’s not Christmas anymore, but, screw it! Merry Christmas @fajitasvanitas . I was your Secret Santa for @mlsecretsanta ! Hope you don’t mind me whipping up some platonic OT4 fluff for you (first time writing them to be honest, so I hope I did alright!) Hope you enjoyed your holidays :)

--

Link to Archive of Our Own: [AO3]

--

Title: We All Have Our Things

Summary: Nino walked around the table, pulled Adrien’s hand, and sat him down at the table. “Don’t even mention it, bro. Now come on, Adrien, eat up. Full day today. Lots to do.”

Adrien frowned. “Oh wait, we’re still doing all that?”

“If by all that you mean glamming the hell out for your birthday party tonight, then yes, we’re still doing that.” 

Aged-up AU where the ot4 all platonically live together

We All Have Our Things

Adrien was actually a terribly deep sleeper. When he was younger, his father actually had to get him a special alarm clock that would blare loud enough to wake him in the mornings for school. He’d kept it all these years until Alya told him to throw it out because she said, word for word, “it sounds like a baby dolphin dying inside of a damn blast furnace!” Which basically meant that Adrien had to schedule all of his college classes after noon so that he’d be able to get up in time for them.

However, Marinette recently managed to find an almost universally effective way of getting him up: her baking.

The going theory, started by Nino, was that it was his body overcompensating for all the sugar he wasn’t allowed to have back when he was a model. Either way, the first thing he realized when he woke up that morning was the smell of fresh croissants with cinnamon and raspberry filling. He blinked his eyes groggily and was met with the sight of Marinette sitting on the edge of his bed, wafting the steam of fresh croissants towards his face.

“You know,” Marinette said, deciding to pluck a croissant up and take a bite. “I have to test this with other baked goods. Would you be willing to subject yourself to experiments involving palmiers?”

Adrien snorted and rubbed his eyes. “Haha, very funny. Ugh, what time is it?”

“Ten in the morning. Nino and I have been up since like eight, and Alya only got up ten minutes before you did. So come on!” She slapped his thigh a few times. “Up, up, up, I have something to show you in the kitchen.”

Adrien groaned and kicked his feet petulantly. “It’s Saturday, Mari, come on!”

“Get. Up.”

It took her shoving all of his blankets into the hallway and threatening to eat the entire plate of croissants by herself for Adrien to pull himself out of bed and head over to the bathroom, pouting the entire way. Marinette smiled sweetly, handed him his toothbrush, and told him she’d be waiting for him in the kitchen. He could hear her turning the radio on and singing from down the hall while he brushed his teeth and fiddled around with his bedhead.

Adrien’s father bought him his own apartment once he got into university and expressed an interest in living on his own. It was a ridiculously ostentatious gift that Adrien didn’t really need, but he knew it would be cruel to refuse something so generous. The only problem was that the place was simply too big — too much space, too many extra rooms, and not enough company. So he asked Nino, Marinette, and Alya to move in with him. Having your friends under the same roof with you was way more appealing than living on your own.

He supposed he really underestimated how desensitized he was to opulence because it took a while to convince them that yes this was happening — “No, there’s no rent it’s paid off,” “Yeah father just...bought it for me,” “No you don’t have to pay me back, seriously, just tell me when you can move in” — but after a year and a half it was by far the best decision the four of them could’ve ever made. Always nice to know that your major support system was waiting at home for you at the end of the day, ready to let you cuddle and vent. He was currently trying to recommend it to everyone he knew.

When he had finished freshening up, he stopped short in the doorway of the kitchen and blinked at the sight of full plates of croissants, muffins, eggs, and fruits covering every inch of the table. The coffee machine was brewing in the background while Nino and Marinette stood behind the table, hunched together with huge smiles on their faces. “Happy Birthday!!”

Adrien gaped at the food, shook his head, and rubbed his eyes again. “Is this real?”

“Very real. Nino even cooked the eggs himself.”

“Turns out,” he smiled victoriously. “I’m not as hopeless as Alya, so point for me.”

Alya shouted from the living room. “Shut up, you jerk, I heard that!”

Adrien struggled for a few more seconds to find the words he wanted to say. “I….guys, you….wow, thanks I mean….this is too sweet, I don’t — ”

Nino walked around the table, pulled Adrien’s hand, and sat him down at the table. “Don’t even mention it, bro. Now come on, Adrien, eat up. Full day today. Lots to do.”

Adrien frowned. “Oh wait, we’re still doing all that?”

“If by all that you mean glamming the hell out for your birthday party tonight, then yes, we’re still doing that.”

Marinette kissed him on the cheek while Nino leaned over to kiss the top of his head. “Come on, stuff your face,” Marinette urged. “Once you eat we’re gonna go.”

Adrien peeked his head around to the living room and saw Alya arched over one of the arms of the couch, her head hanging a few inches off the ground and her chest pushed towards the ceiling. “Um, Al? You want anything?”

“In a sec, just….let me lay here.”

He snorted and accepted the coffee that Nino poured for him. “I told you your back was going to hurt in the morning.”

“What happened?” Marinette asked.

“I fell asleep in Adrien’s bed last night because we were binge watching this anime he wanted me to see. I was all curled up against the headrest and I woke up sore.”

“Oh my God,” Nino groaned. “Is this the ice skating one?”

“Shut up, dude!” Adrien exclaimed. “It was beautiful and it made me cry. Don’t get me started on the animation”

Alya laughed. “It….was actually really good, I’m not going to lie. The opening song is stuck in my effing head though.”

Marinette snorted as she flipped through the arts section of the newspaper. “Nerds.”

“This coming from the girl who has the DVR clogged with reruns of Project Runway Season 2,” Adrien teased.

“I haven’t gotten around to watching it yet!”

“You’ve seen that season five times .”

“Oh, fight me!”

“Okay, but can you guys not actually fight this time?” Nino warned. “Your little wrestling match yesterday had the landlord calling us to make sure the ceiling didn’t cave in.”

Marinette pointed at Adrien. “He called my skills into question!”

“I said you were short ,” Adrien sighed. “That was a statement of fact, not a criticism of your talent. You are wonderful, we’ve been through this.”

“You’re just mad because you bet on Adrien and he lost, Nino!” Alya laughed.

“Shut up,” he grumbled. “Alright, seriously dudes! 24th Birthday Bash! Who’s got the itinerary?”

Marinette gestured to the living room. “That would be Alya.”

“Babe, get your butt over here.”

“My back still hurts!”

Adrien got up from his seat. “I got her.”

He walked over to the couch, easily picked her up bridal style, and carried her over to the kitchen, laughing at her crossed arms and annoyed expression. Adrien planted her down on the chair right next to him and pushed a plate of eggs in front of her. “Eat. And read the schedule.”

She grabbed a fork, stuffed her mouthful with eggs, and pulled out her phone. “Alright, Adrien Agreste 24th Birthday Extravaganza. Mani Pedis at eleven. Haircuts at one. Lunch at three. Alcohol run at five. Back here to get ready at five thirty. Leave by eight. Go crazy at the nightclub until like four, and stumble our way home. Easy.”

“We’re still doing mani pedis?” Nino asked.

“Um, hell yeah we are,” Adrien piped up.

“Agreed, that is non negotiable. Beatrice and Michele are already expecting us,” Marinette said.

Alya shrugged. “I offered to do everyone’s nails, but okay.”

Adrien lifted a finger. “This isn’t just getting your nails done, Alya, it’s an experience .”

Nino raised his hands. “Okay fine, we can have our collective experience . My hair is looking like shit so we have to do haircuts. Birthday boy picks lunch spot and alcohol for the evening?”

“Sounds good to me,” Marinette said. “We’re definitely going to need the two and a half hours to get ready. We were late to my own birthday party because Nino couldn’t pick a freaking tie.”

“I was the DJ , babe,” Nino insisted with a hand on his forehead. “Everyone was gonna be looking at me, I needed to look amazing for your big day, and I did, so all was well.”

Alya chortled through a mouthful of food. “Oh man, thank god we’re going to a club this time. Imagine him getting his equipment together last minute? We’d never get there.”

“Low-key offended and high-key ignoring you. Anyway! You two hurry up and get ready. We’re leaving in half an hour.”

Adrien reached over the table and tapped Alya on the arm. “You wanna watch the last episode again over breakfast?”

Alya jumped up and ran back to Adrien’s room. “I’ll get the laptop.”

It took Marinette locking Adrien’s laptop in her room to get them to stop staring at the screen long enough to actually get them out of the house in time. Much to Alya and Nino’s surprise, Marinette and Adrien were apparently regulars, and the four of them being fifteen minutes late to their appointment didn’t seem to have caused any problems. If anything, two nice young women — the Beatrice and Michele that Marinette had mentioned earlier — already had four chairs empty four them with two other beauticians ready to take care of them all at once.

Nino had one foot soaking and one foot currently in the grip of the beautician who was gently kneading her fingers into the sole of his foot. He gaped at the sight, and turned to the rest of the group. “Dude, what the hell, they give you foot massages?”

Marinette looked up from her phone and stared at Nino. “...duh? That’s half the point. You get a foot soak, they cut your cuticles, shave your calluses, foot and leg massage, exfoliating wrap, buff and file, and color of your choice. And that’s just the pedicure.”

Nino gaped at her and turned to his left towards Adrien. “We barely paid anything for this!”

“Uh, yeah, because Marinette and I aren’t stupid,” Adrien explained. “Saturdays are Couples Discount Days. We do this like every other week.”

“Why didn’t we know this?” Alya asked.

“I asked you to come get a pedicure with me and you didn’t want to,” Marinette accused. “So I took Adrien instead. Besides, you guys always make fun of us for ranting about video games at home, so this is the perfect time to do it.”

Adrien nudged Nino. “And after Marinette took me, I asked you if you wanted to come with me, and you always came up with an excuse. So congratulations. You played yourself.”

“This is ridiculous!” Nino exclaimed. “You guys were keeping this huge secret, and I wasn’t informed of it. Massages! You guys hid massages from me.”

“Nino, you’re the only one who didn’t know they massage you during pedicures,” Alya said.

“You said you didn’t want to come!”

“Because I just do them at home by myself! Didn’t see the point of coming over here and paying for it, but apparently this was bonding time that I didn’t know about.”

One of the workers tapped Adrien’s ankle. “Color, sir?”

Adrien hummed and held his hand up. “A slate color would be nice. Match the blazer I’m wearing.”

“I’ll take a wine color,” Marinette told the beautician working on her. “Some black decals maybe? Whatever you think will look nice.”

Alya blinked. “Um….I guess purple then. Plum.”

“Wait, does that mean I have to pick a color too?” Nino asked.

“Of course” Adrien said. “I would match the bow tie you’re gonna wear.”

“Um...alright, uh….dark blue I guess?”

Nino’s beautician smiled at him. “Very nice choice.”

“Wait a minute!” Alya said suddenly. “Is this why the two of you have ridiculously smooth feet? We were all cuddling on the couch the other day and I was freaking out over how soft they were.”

“I’m telling you, Alya,” Marinette teased. “Come to spa day. Adrien and I leave it on the calendar.”

“God no wonder you guys are gone for hours at a time on Saturdays,” Nino snorted. “Can’t believe you guys have your own thing. Why weren’t we included in the thing?”

“We. Invited. You.”

“Yeah, but had you said it was going to be a thing , I would’ve come.”

“That makes no sense,” Adrien said. “What’s the difference between hanging out and having a thing ?”

“ Things are habitual and important to the week,” Alya pointed out. “We have to be more communicative about these things.”

Marinette and Adrien groaned. “You were both invited!!” they both insisted. Adrien pulled out his phone. “I’m sending a reminder to the group chat. And I’m circling it on the calendar.”

“Okay, wait, what other things do we not know about?” Nino asked. “This is important to the group dynamic.”

“I’m still not even sure what you mean by thing ,” Marinette grumbled.

Alya snapped her fingers. “Oh wait, Mari, we do have a thing. Make-Up Run Mondays.”

“Oh yeah,” Marinette remembered. “Remind me, I need to pick up a palette on the upcoming one.”

Adrien paused. “Wait a minute….Alya and Marinette have a thing?”

Nino clapped his hands to emphasize each word. “Why. Were. We. Not. Invited?”

Marinette furrowed her brows. “We….didn’t think you’d want to come?”

“We’re practically family!” Nino said, arms wide open, nearly smacking Adrien in the face. “We have to do these things as a group.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Fine. You’re invited to Make-Up Run Mondays. But! You guys have to actually buy something.”

Nino scoffed. “Non issue. Adrien introduced me to the wonders of concealer.”

Adrien nodded wisely. “Good for breakouts.”

Nino sat up straight in his chair, his eyes widening. “Holy shit, I just got an idea.”

“Oh no,” Alya muttered.

He turned to the girls and asked, “Are you guys good at contouring?”

Marinette looked at Alya and they both shrugged. “Decently so. Why?”

Nino tapped Adrien on the arm. “Dude. Just had the best idea. Brace yourself.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe we had to go out and buy makeup for the two of you.”

Nino had his eyes shut, and blindly reached over to pinch Alya in the arm. “You said it yourself. Our skin tones don’t match.”

Marinette poked Nino in the nose and passed a brush over his cheekbones. “Stop moving or it’s going to look messed up. Look at Adrien. Staying perfectly still while Alya works.”

Adrien gave a thumbs up. “Ex-model.”

“Show off.” Nino wrinkled his nose when Marinette ran a different brush down the bridge of his nose. “Wait, what are you doing now?”

Marinette pulled Nino’s chair closer to her. “I did concealer, light powder foundation, and contoured a bit. Now I’m highlighting.”

“This sounds like it’s gonna make me look sexy.”

Alya snorted. “I thought you said your haircut was gonna make you look sexy.”

Nino reached up and slid a hand along the side of his head. “You are correct, mademoiselle.”

Marinette laughed. “Is this going to become a regular thing now? I can’t be doing your makeup every morning, you know.”

“I mean,” Adrien began. “I could give it a shot. I’m no makeup artist, but I picked up a few things from photo shoots.”

“Bro, you’re telling me you can do my makeup?”

“Not as good as Mari or Alya, but I think so.”

“See this is why I love you, man. I think we just made a thing for ourselves.”

Alya tapped Adrien’s cheek with the end of her brush when he started laughing. “No. We’re not starting this again. We killed this at lunch. It’s dead.”

Marinette chuckled, closed her palette, and turned Nino’s head from side to side. “Unfortunately we don’t have the time to honor your eyeshadow requests, but otherwise you’re all done.”

“Yup,” Alya said, slipping all of her brushes back into her makeup bag. “All good here too.”

Nino stood up from the kitchen chair he was sitting in and reached out blindly for Adrien. “Wait, dude, are your eyes closed?”

Adrien nodded. “Yeah, they are.”

“Okay. We’re gonna look at each other on three alright. I wanna be blown away.”

Adrien reached out so that both his hands were resting on Nino’s shoulders and they were standing face to face. “Alright,” he chuckled. “Three. Two. One.”

Marinette and Alya leaned against the kitchen counter and looked on in amusement as Adrien and Nino both opened their eyes at the same time and started laughing uncontrollably at the sight. They both turned their jaws side to side and were beaming more than the two girls had ever remembered seeing them. Adrien squeezed Nino’s upper arms. “Nino….you look hot.”

“No lie?” Nino grinned.

“Yeah man, that contour is working for you.”

Nino stepped back excitedly and struck a pose. “Oh wait, catch me from the side.” He stroked his jaw. “Hot?”

“Definitely hot.”

“I mean, look at you, you have a jawline for days.”

Adrien looked in the reflection of the steel fridge. “Oh man Alya, I look totally different.”

“Oh my god, we are going to look so good rolling into your birthday party. This was such a good idea.”

“Waitwaitwait, I want a selfie. This is going on Instagram.”

“We have to do that model pout you always used to do in shoots!”

Marinette shook her head and grabbed her coat from the back of the chair it was hanging on. “Well. I guess they’re having a moment.”

“I’d leave them be,” Alya said. “Give them their ten minutes and then we can go. They’re excited.”

“Make-Up Run Mondays are going to be a journey from here on out.”

“I dunno. Nino really liked how his manicure came out. Quadruple Spa Day is gonna be a journey.”

Marinette put her hands on her waist. “I need to start sending invites for these things…”

“Hey,” Alya shrugged. “Our Sunshine Prince is happy, so that’s all that matters.”

“That’s true,” Marinette smiled.

Nino and Adrien came over and planted kisses on both girls’ cheeks. “You ladies are miracle workers,” Adrien grinned. “Thank you.”

“We’re well aware,” Alya smirked. “Alright, loves, let’s get moving. We’re behind schedule.”

Nino pulled on his jacket and started swiping around on his phone. “Oh crap, gotta pull out the Get Pumped playlist.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “God, that’s so dorky.”

“This has been scientifically tested to get you up and excited, my darling boy,” Alya said. “Nino and I constructed it precisely for this reason.”

Marinette raised her hand. “I was the test subject. It’s not too bad, you’ll like it.”

Adrien grabbed his keys and gently shoved his friends out the front door as he locked the apartment behind him. “Fine, but I’m not driving.”