#and 99% of what i'm seeing from it is white people

[chaoswillcalmusdown]

thought to myself "the ted lasso team can't be tHAt white???" as i was watching sheffield vs man city and then i went to google the team.

the amount of black players on the team vs the screentime black players get............... they have a black coach ?! i'm not paying loads of attention but like ???

[neverendingford]

.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

Often when people talk about appearance of characters in media, especially that of women, some use an argument along the lines of "Why would I want to look at someone ugly in the games I play/shows I watch/etc.?"

From what I saw, and if I'm not wrong, you prefer to not engage with that kind of argument, but if you absolutely had to, what answer would you give that could have a chance to make those people see and maybe agree with your point?

I mean, the reason why I wouldn't engage with that argument is that it is always, universally, without exception, an argument made in bad faith, by people who are lying when they utter it. And it takes only the briefest examination of reality to determine this.

The argument they pretend to make is that "there is no reason to desire things that are not pleasurable in entertainment," in response to which I present The Concept Of Horror Media, or the success of Jackass, or South Park, or literally any subversive prank show, or sports as a concept, or the genre of tragedy, or the phenomenon of people rubbernecking. I present true crime podcasts and biographies of John Wayne Gacy and Mortal Kombat fatalities, I present unflinchingly earnest documentaries about war and disease, I present cringe comedy, I present the entire online media genre of pimple popper videos.

Human beings desire so much more than beauty, so much more than aesthetic pleasure (and indeed we can take aesthetic pleasure in so much more than beauty). We find entertainment in disgust, horror, fear, revulsion, sorrow, embarrassment, pain and, yes, "ugliness" all the time, and we have done for as long as we have had sentient minds to entertain.

So this argument "why would I want to look at someone ugly in a video game" is simply a lie. It is an argument made in bad faith by people whom I will guarantee you against a bet of real money constantly look at things which are "ugly" for entertainment.

It is a lie, it is a stupid lie, and while I'm sure that many or most of the people who peddle that lie don't realize they are lying when they do it, it remains a lie which isn't worth dignifying with a response.

And anyway, 99% of the time they don't mean "ugly" they mean "woman who I don't find fuckable" or they mean "fat" or they mean "trans" or they mean "queer" or "non-white," they mean someone or some thing which falls into a category which they feel entitled to hate, and they are trying to enforce the normality of that hate.

You cannot logic someone out of a position they didn't logic themselves in to, and there is very rarely anything you can say to these people to make them reconsider. They are reacting emotionally, they are reacting on the impulse towards disgust and hatred, and they will rationalize a lie to excuse it.

[beemovieerotica]

really awkward moment at our workplace diversity training because they did an audience participation portion where they asked "on average, what percentage of a white person's friends are also white?"

and people called out guesses etc etc. and the answer was 80%. nobody was really surprised.

the moderator then asked the same question but for black people - what percentage of their friends on average are also black?

and white people in the audience started calling out "90%" "99%!" and im like. hello?

the answer was 70%. black people are less self-segregating by race than white people, which, yeah duh. like even as an asian person growing up in america i'm going to know more white people by virtue of the demographics of this country. it's math.

like it astounds me because a similar thing happened at *another* diversity panel where a white guy on the microphone said it needed to be a "joint effort" of black people not segregating themselves (the example he gave was what tables people sat at during lunch) and it's like. sorry that you see people bonding over shared heritage and culture in oftentimes hostile environments during their rare off-time as "not trying" to solve the problem of racism. on their lunch break.

can we be fucking real. minorities put in 10x more effort to look past slights and ignorance and taking time to educate the people around them when that's literally not their job. and white americans still have this persistent perception of "the standoffish minority" and believe they're being excluded from friendship and social events. when the opposite is more likely to be true. lol.

[cock-holliday]

Liking fantasy creatures that have been around for centuries isn’t automatically antisemitism lmao. If you see happy merchant in those goblin books, that’s on you. Genuine spacelazarwolf brain rottage. I’m jewish, and I’m ashamed to see antisemitism discourse go down the same route of the “ogres & black people” debacle from a few years back.

reading comprehension: -1/10

i didn't say liking goblins means you're antisemitic, what I said is that lots of goblin shit leans on antisemitic stereotypes, goblincore overlaps a lot with cottagecore which is riddled with white supremacist issues and so this, combined with a paraphrase of a white supremacist trad phrase makes for a bad combo on the edge of some heavy shit

Personally I don't give a shit if you like goblincore, what I said is people on purpose or by accident hang around in this grey zone of white supremacist memery to the point that it's difficult to tell if people really understand what they are tetering towards

I don't think everyone or 99% of the people who uses the "change my mind" meme are conservative shitheads, but do they know they're putting a conservative shithead on everyone's dash every time? Do people know where pepes and wojaks and so many reddit/4chan memes come from? Where lizard people memes are from? Where the muscle/chad/swole guy representing the right opinion is actually the (not-so) secret view of nazi?

People outright quote "reject modernity embrace tradition" as a funny slogan to parody and don't seem to realize it's a literal fascist catchphrase?

I'm simply asking for people to be aware of the insidious creep of white supremacist references into daily life and that if it's an accident that it made it into your vocab and jokes and books then walk back from it because you leave open the door for people who MEAN it as a nazi phrase. Because white supremacists and nazis are USING MEMES to appeal to recruits, to cloak themselves in public life, and form comradery with people who would never consider themselves nazis.

I'M jewish and I'm ashamed to see "antisemitic caricatures are a you-problem actually" from people, especially someone pulling the Jew card in my inbox. Yeah, maybe it's just an accident, but think about why you keep making money-hungry little thieves with hook noses and curly dark hair as a combo? What is it about that combination that goes together for you? What could it accidentally be implying? What is the history behind this?

Think about what these are on the fence of, what it is making excuses for, what it is making a norm, and what kind of ground that can cede for something more explicitly fascist, you dildo.

Oh, and fuck you, spacelazarwolf was probably right about whatever specifically made you shit your pants. Gee I wonder what "space Lazar" could be a pun about, hm, guess we'll never know--must be some made up outrage...

[catboybiologist]

yo I'm actually kinda curious now I'm not a geneticist and I guess you aren't either to my knowledge but what the hell does the y chromosome do? specifically in trans people on hrt and stuff I mean. to my understanding you said that trans women have everything they really need from one x chromosome, so. what's the other one up to. and also for trans men who lack a y chromosome, are they like. missing anything? hormones do 99% of the heavy lifting, right?

much love and whatnot btw. sorry about the freak in your inbox

Bit tired right now, so I hope this doesn't come out too rambly.

The one function that the Y chromosome has on sex determination is the Sry gene. This gene is responsible for testes formation, and ultimately, testosterone production. That's pretty much it. All of the other genes required to make something male or female are present, but inactive, in everyone. Hormones tell cells which ones to switch on and off, and at what times.

There's no explicit reason why Sry has to be linked to the Y chromosome. Most non-mammalian animals have different methods of sex determination, either from different sets of chromosomes, environmental triggers, or similar sex determining genes associating in appropriate ratios.

Why the Y, then?

All chromosomes, sex and somatic, are paired. Each member of the pair has the same genes on it. This is why you have two copies of most genes, and different "forms", or alleles, of a gene are possible. It's why mendelian genetics works. One of the cleanest examples is blood type. Blood types A, B, and O are all different forms of the same gene. You have two of these genes, and can therefore end up in combinations like AB, AO, etc (O in this case is no protein, A and B are slightly different forms of the same protein).

The Y chromosome is different. It's a shortened version of the X chromosome. So every gene on the Y chromosome has a pair on the X, but some genes on the X don't have a partner on the Y. And these genes have nothing to do with sex determination- the gene encoding for the red-sensitive protein in your eyes is an example of a gene in the part of the X chromosome that is "chopped off" to make the Y, and is therefore not carried by it. Every organism NEEDS at least one copy of these genes- from that point, you can upregulated that one copy and end up fairly normal.

Large chromosome deletions are fairly common, but oftentimes lethal to a developing embryo (not so fun fact, this is why the miscarriage rate is something like 70%, oftentimes so early and invisible that even the mother doesn't notice). While we can't know for certain without a time machine, the rationale is that one of these large chromosomal deletions happened to the X chromosome at some point in mammalian evolution. From that point, the only way that offspring can be passed down with that new Y chromosome in the gene pool is if you have a system that somehow forces every offspring to end up with at least one X chromosome.

Sry being linked to the Y chromosome accomplishes just that. It's an evolutionary band aid, a patch, a bodge, on a deleterious mutation. It forces the XX to XY pairing, ensuring that YY offspring don't happen.

In fact, we can see something similar happening in real time with a population of white throated sparrows: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7725849/#:~:text=Thus%2C%20not%20only%20do%20white,et%20al.%2C%202016).

A large chromosomal deletion is forcing new reproductive rules for pairing, to reduce the number of non viable offspring.

Hope this was somewhat digestible! It's a cool topic, but I'm very eepy atm

[sunlit-mess]

Hello, I hope it's not rude but I'm REALLY REALLY fond of your art!!!!! I was scrolling through your blog from new to old and found that you have Bpd,,,. I only heard about this condition, what is it like? If it's ok to know,,,!

hello, thank u! uhm it's something? HAHAHAHA idk how to explain it 😭🏳 lemme try to be as direct as possible

I'm high-functioning, but there are points I seriously just start showing symptoms.

Emotions: INTENSE as it can get while FEELING 99 PERCENT EMPTY. Something just- keeps you so.. hungry (not literally). Sensory is also another factor, and honestly I burn out a lot, tend to get overwhelmed n meltdown like shit

Identity: I either have BEEF WITH it, feel GODLY, or be so LOW, really low. I live with both passion and hate. I'm very confused. But I can say I'm just tired!

Attachments: Relationships are so hard to maintain bc of how much I fear abandonment, like bro I can't even leave my family as much as I want to. I'm more scared of getting disowned or losing my name. Love is a concept I long to grasp at the same time scared of it, I don't understand jackshit about " love ".

> I tend to self-Isolate with or without reason

> ...I used to test other people whether they can handle me or not, whether they'd leave or not. Not anymore though, but the thought lingers.

> Very- paranoid- about.. perception, neglect and invalidity HAHA.

Mindset: They call it Black and White, or generally just two categories to label my perception of things. However, I try to understand AS MUCH AS I CAN about a situation, etc. See what's in-between before I decide. that's really hard for me to do LOL.

> I always do my best to think and be nice

> I can be so fucking bad at the same time, only to regret it the next second or so

> My mind is scattered all over the place, It's exhausting

Trauma: I have memory problems and a lot to connect with that. Hate and fear is what I'm accustomed to. I live with a fuck ton of active predicaments like hell. Old wounds keeps reopening, and new ones never closes.

Impulse: shows in speech more than in action (THANK GOD LMAO I'D DIE IF I LET MY INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS WIN)

Habits: uhm. Ranging from sunshine and rainbows to SELF-DESTRUCTIVE. I get obsessive, like.. really obsessive.

Coping mechanisms: Usually I have mood stabilizers and anti-depressants n shit, but I don't rely on them anymore (bc I can't keep buying). I don't have good coping mechanisms even for physical needs. It's so bad bro. So I just end up drawing. that's the only good one I can list.

Living with it: Exhausting and an internal war 24/7. Does it affect me physically? Yes. Does it come with other mental factors and conditions? Also yes! But as one of God's most tired soldiers, nothing I can do but keep walking.

What I'm confused about: dawg last time, i kept searching about how conditions co exists like— Thats normal?? N the last diagnosis I was in confirms it does and nothing to worry about. BLUD I AM DEF WORRYING. Autism n bpd? u mean my behavior and shit isnt meant to be invalid as most people perceive — u mean these fckass experiences built that bpd? ☠️ WHAT AM I THEN—

(I'm having a hard time believing it bc as an adult, it's harder to process information like these)

[sainzfilm]

congrats on 700 (and to many more!) it's literally 2:14 am where I'm from but it just hit me...

carlos/danny ric + vegas wedding????

pairing: daniel ricciardo x reader

a/n: this is such a late one but thank you sm!!! man oh man…i just think a vegas wedding is so daniel coded hehehe

taglist: @svechyaho @squderia @idkiwantchocolatee @melonunicornbby @koufaxx @myescapefromthislife @slut-era @pachiibatt @nicolesainz @dan3avocado @sidcrosbyspuck @barzysreputation @verclercswiftie @mick2mercedes @mehrmonga @frenchgirlsblog @inlovewithcarsthatrunreallyfast

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

A few years ago, Daniel would’ve dismissed the idea of marriage. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact thought as to why he didn’t want to. But if you were to ask him a few years later, Daniel would immediately agree to the idea of it.

“Remind me to do a Brooklyn 99 rewatch soon,” You mumbled as you focused on the crossword puzzle in front of you, “I’ve been seeing so much edits of it on my feed lately.”

Daniel looked up from his phone, sitting from the couch opposite you and feeling his heart skip a beat from the way your eyebrows were furrowed together, “Won’t it be your third time this month?”

“For your information, Mr. Ricciardo,” You looked up to meet his eyes, flashing him a grin before turning your attention back to the puzzle, “One can simply never get enough of the 99.”

Anyone would see how Daniel was genuinely head over heels for you. If it were possible for his eyes to turn into hearts, it would’ve been that shape every time he looked at you.

He leaned back the couch, crossing his arms and looking at you with a soft smile, “Marry me.”

You stopped tapping your pencil on the arm of the couch to look up at your boyfriend with your mouth agape. It took you a few seconds before you replied, confusion lacing your voice, “What did you say?”

Daniel replied nonchalantly, pulling out his necklace that had two rings on it, “Marry me.”

“Earth to Daniel, have you lost your mind?” You laughed, setting down the newspaper and pencil on the table, “This is all sudden.”

“Maybe, I have lost my mind,” He grinned, taking the necklace off and handing it over to you, “Isn’t it even more exciting?”

“How long have you even…kept these,” You mumbled, admiring the gold bands with your initials engraved inside, “How sure are you that you want to be…tied to me for the rest of your life?”

“For starters, I’ve kept those rings after our first anniversary,” Daniel answered, a fond smile on his lips as he remembered the day he bought those rings, “A hundred percent sure.”

“Daniel, this is a big decision,” You frowned, standing up to walk over to him and sitting beside him, “I don’t want you to regret this.”

“Y/N, you know that you’re my other half,” Daniel smiled, grabbing your hand to intertwine his fingers with yours, “It would be an honor to be your husband.”

You paused for a few seconds before looking at him with a smile on your lips, holding the rings with the other hand, “Then let’s get married.”

When you accepted Daniel’s somewhat of a proposal, you didn’t know that you’d be standing outside a wedding chapel at Las Vegas, wearing your nicest white dress with Daniel in his best suit beside you.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” You exclaimed, “It’s literally 2 in the morning!”

“That’s what makes it even better,” Daniel grinned, holding your face in his hands as he kissed your forehead, “See you in a minute.”

You glared at him playfully, a smile on your lips, “If you don’t cry as I walk down the aisle, I’m turning around.”

Daniel laughed, “You already know I will.”

It wasn’t long until the staff opened the doors to the chapel, revealing you in your glory to Daniel, who was standing at the altar with tears already streaming down his face. He was certain that you were going to tease him for actually crying upon seeing you walk down the aisle.

When people in films talked about how everything seemed to be hazy except for the person you loved the most, you didn’t believe it – you thought it’d be some sort of film trick or literary thing, but it was happening right in front of you. With your Daniel.

“Whenever people talked about home, my mind would immediately come running to the idea of you. You’re my home,” Daniel smiled softly, holding both your hands as he said his vows, “Yesterday, today, and to all the days that are yet to come, I choose you. On good or bad days, rain or shine, I’ll be by your side now and forevermore.”

You shook your head with a fond smile, squeezing his hands tightly before looking up at the ceiling to prevent the tears from falling down your cheeks.

“Look how much she loves me,” Daniel joked, eliciting a laugh from the officiant before wiping the few tears that escaped down your cheek, “My girl’s emotional.”

Taking a deep breath, you let out a small chuckle, turning your attention back to him, “Daniel, I grew up to the idea of Disney princesses finding their own prince. I didn’t get a prince, but I got a ball of sunshine, who terribly laughs at children falling, acts like every car ride is carpool karaoke. I’m lucky to get to do life with you, my best friend, my soulmate — and I finally found the love of a lifetime.”

It didn’t take too long for the exchange of rings to come around, which only took a minute and led to the officiant smiling towards the both of you, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Daniel grinned, holding your face in his hands and leaning in to kiss you while you wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him closer.

As he pulled away to lean his forehead against yours, a small smile on his lips and whispered, “So…what now, Mrs. Ricciardo?”

Laughing softly, you scrunched your nose up and looked at him, “You decide, Mr. Ricciardo.”

Daniel smirked, an insinuating tone to his voice as he lightly teased, “Maybe it’s time for little Ricciardo’s to come aro- ow! Don’t hit me!”

bonus scene!

Liked by charles_leclerc, landonorris, and 891,738 others

danielricciardo i liked it so i put on a ring on it 💍

view all 626,738 comments

landonorris WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN

landonorris also congratulations to you both ❤️

charles_leclerc we need some explanations, mr. ricciardo

pierregasly congratulations, my man! ❤️

dannyric03 THE CAPTION 😭 but my favorite couple on the paddock….is MARRIED I CANT BELIEVE IT

ricciardolovebot im so happy for him 🥹 he’s gonna be the best dad

yourusername you stole my caption idea 😠

danielricciardo you stole my last name 😠

landonorris ah. the sight of sweet love (and idiotic things) between my two lovely friends ❤️

[thesirencult]

YOU NEED PEOPLE LIKE ME / DARK PSYCHOLOGY

You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your f*****’ fingers and say, “That’s the bad guy.” So what that make you? Good? You’re not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie.

(Tony Montana, Scarface)

Most people can not handle their darker side. They can not handle their ego and their deepest desires. Now, I'm not telling you to become like Tony Montana. He was consumed by his vices and they run the show for him. I'm telling you to do what you what to do and to stop lying to yourself and hiding from your true nature.

A couple of years ago, I met a girl who had an obsession with finding a wealthy man. She did not care about anything else other than the money. In her defense, she grew up in a poor family where, her dad beat her mom up and he even did that while her mom was pregnant with her.

That girl was studying finance. She took up Arabic and wanted to work for off shore companies where she could find a husband. She specifically told me she wanted her husband to drive a Porsche which has more prestige than a BMW and buy her a BMW cause the woman should be beneath her husband. Overall she was "micey" in character. If you didn't know her you would think she was shy and religious, but. you should know better guys, these people have more ego problems than the most outspoken, egomaniac extrovert.

So, she looked "weak" but had an agenda. She also was trying to give off the "trad wife" vibe but salivated as soon as a man breathed her direction and shamed any woman who showcased her seductiveness.

A few days ago, she messaged me. She wanted to grab a coffee with me as she would be in town. I was surprised when I saw her. In the "kindest" way I can put it, she looked like women who run on every single rally around and fight for justice (nothing wrong with taht, but if you're following me I bet you get what I'm trying to convey). A white girl with Bob Marley braids! Yup, there it is!

She told me she had given up Arabic and no longer wanted to work in a big shipping corporation because that supported big oil and their agenda. She then preached to me about equality and why the left is supreme. Now, I'm pretty straightforward so I asked her, how and why her views changed. She wanted to own 3 cars and be a stay at home mom! She looked outside the window of the coffee shop and saw my parked car.

"Do you see this car?"

I said "Yeah, I see it."

"Whoever drives this car is a right wing egomaniac who doesn't care about the environment and just wants to flaunt their money." (my car is a hybrid you guys!)

"Do you drive?"

"No, I can not afford a license and my family owns only one car. Also, I'm scared of driving. Also, did I tell you I'm running on the elections with the *left wing side*. Will you vote for me? If I make it I'll get 2k per month plus health care benefits."

"That's my car. I was going to ask you, do you want to take the train home or will you ride with me?" I just wanted this meeting to bo over, to tell you the truth.

She came with me.

Wanna know why? Here is my hypothesis (and it ties in with Tony Montana's words):

99% of people give up on their dreams by age 23. In order to make it easier for them and help them soothe the guilt this breeds, they begin to drift to the opposite "side" of the court. Pornstars turn to trad wives. Playboys turn to "faithful" husbands who preach the word of the Lord. Money and power hungry individuals take up boring jobs and blame the rich and the goverment for everything. Men who can not pick up women turn to red pill guys and so on and so forth.

Most people can not handle their darker side. They can not handle their ego and their deepest desires. Now, I'm not telling you to become like Tony Montana, he was consumed by his vices and that's who runs the show. Either you run the show or someone else or something (an addiction) runs it for you.

We see all that often with sex. Body counts, "I can not find a good man/woman" etc. People who can not get what they want hate those that have the GUTS to get it.

If my acquaintance's beliefs are that strong why did she enjoy the drive in the luxury SUV? Why did she then ask me when are we going out again and if I can bring "that" guy friend who runs a tech start up?

Because they are not her beliefs. They are just a cover up. A mask.

We've all seen how happy some people get when a dreamer fails.

So, go one. Fail. You''ll succeed at some point. You're better than those who sit on the sidelines running their mouth.

They would want to be at your shoes. They would want to run free on the court.

Own that. Own yourself and run after your goals and desires. Fuck them.

[delopsia]

Hello and welcome to "Del wants to ramble about the Outer Range season 2 trailer." I hope you're ready for a whole lot of nothing...

The CGI continues to remind us that it is, in fact, CGI. What the hell is this?

Flash scene of Wayne burning his damn house down. I'd know that bald spot anywhere.

Y'all already heard me ramble about this, but there's something wrong with this dinner scene. Aside from us knowing that the family is not together, there's one major oddity in the background.

Rhett's truck is an entirely different color.

That's his lightbar with the iconic four lights. Still a single-cab GMC Sierra. But Rhett's truck is blue. Not tan.

Wilder, we see Rhett's truck a few scenes later! You can even see how the hood is bent from hitting the billboard.

We finally confirm that Amy is 8. Even though the writer said she was 9...😑Brian Watkins, I had faith in you being correct. If you squint, you'll notice that Rhett's right hand is wounded. I doubt this stems from the rodeo because he always uses his left hand to hang on to the bull. The only injury we saw was to his left shoulder.

I'm taking the guess that up until now, Rhett likely didn't know that Amy went missing during the rodeo. Which may cause him to realize that Cecelia never abandoned him; she was just looking for Amy.

In the official Season 2 press notes, the following is mentioned: "After Amy's disappearance, Rhett is torn between his dreams of starting over somewhere new with Maria and being a dutiful son to Royal and Cecelia." So, I can assume that this might be what sets that into motion?

Offhanded, but this is SUCH a good look on her

MY TOUCH THEORY IS DOING THINGS. Look at Autumn's hand. Royal's touching the back of it, and as soon as he pulls away, the cute cosmic lights stop.

I'm so happy to see this random side character make a return. I was so nervous that she was one of those characters that appear for two minutes and that's it.

...this is a wild way for Joy to get in touch with her roots. But unfortunately for her, talking about it will more than likely get her a one-way trip to a psychiatrist.

Clyde is alive and well; bless him.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. How the hell did Billy survive being shot through the neck??

and also

WAYNE? All it took was Billy feeding him a little bit of time powder and he's back to his old menacing ways. Meanwhile Luke looks like he lost part of his soul when that herd of buffalo ran him over.

Luke, what does this gesture mean. Strangle? Punch? My jaw hurts? And I assume this is Autumn we're seeing on the corner? Patricia maybe? I dunno.

Edit: I'm 99% sure that's Patricia.

PERRY YOU DAMN IDIOT. HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING FROM YOUR LAST BAR FIGHT?? I don't know who this other dude is but I hope he gets Perry square in the mouth <3 please I need to see Perry get his ass handed to him

This gives me so many thoughts. Rhett's shorter hair. He's a hand holder, your honor! Sentence him to a lifetime of snuggles and interlaced fingers!

So we know that for sure, Joy will somehow return to the present timeline. I don't know who could be driving this vehicle, but it looks a lot like the one that was sitting in the Tillerson's driveway in S1. We know Billy drives the older red vehicle, so this can either belong to Luke or Trevor.

Hear me out, hear me out. We can assume that the blonde woman is Autumn, considering the whole...cult thing. We've seen a handful of scenes of her with Luke in this trailer, so what if that's him holding her hand? That hat silhouette looks an awful lot like the one we saw in S1.

Alternatively, It can also be Rebecca and Perry, but I have no evidence to back this other than the blonde hair.

*in my best patrick star voice* WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?

I cannot be convinced that this is a real scene. It's gotta be some kind of dream that Royal is having, especially when you take note of the little white things floating around. It gives a sort of dreamy effect.

THIS IS SHERRIF JOY! Not only is the outfit the same in the following scene (not the one of her running lmao, that's just to show you what the gun looks like), but you can see the gun on her hip.

The hand on Rhett's throat is smaller than his is. Look how thick his fingers are compared to the mystery ones. I'm betting my left foot that this is a female character doing this to him. Autumn and Rebecca are on my list of suspects.

But also, what the hell is he looking at? Never once is he looking at the person doing this to him; he's looking at something behind the camera. Baby, what did they do to you this season?? 😭

I hit my picture limit, but Wayne (I think) diving into the hole made me giggle. He picked such an iconic pose.

Someone says quote "Time reveals all." But I don't think we've heard this voice before?? Who the hell is speaking?

This final shot is insane. Don't know who is coming out, presumably Perry or Wayne, but you could ABSOLUTELY spin Outer Range as a horror if you really wanted to. The elements are all there; they just need a little reworking!

[anothermarkedone]

I'm too old to get adopted, right?

Word count: 1.7k

A/N: This is inspired by this post by @aprill-99 Feedback is always appreciated!

Xaden had no idea where he was, but he certainly wasn't in Navarre. It stands on the edge of a beautiful town spread out over rolling, steep hills. A dark blue river meanders through the landscape into the sea.

Xaden feels through his bond with Sgaeyl, but it's as if she isn't there. Xaden sighs, he has no weapons and no Sgaeyl. He tries his powers, which luckily work.

Wary, Xaden walks into town, hoping he can get a better idea of where he is. Around him he sees buildings made of white marble, warm sandstone and red stone.

A large mansion catches Xaden's attention. It is large, made of white marble with accents of dark wood. It was safe to say that Xaden has never seen such architecture in Navarre, or in Poromiel.

Suddenly there is a tall man standing in front of him with dark hair, golden-brown skin and- are those wings? Out of the corner of his eye, Xaden sees another man, this one pale with striking violet eyes, and before Xaden can react, he is unconscious.

-

Xaden wakes up with a start and sits up abruptly. He lies on a red lounger in a dark room, lit by the fireplace on his right.

Alert, Xaden scans the room and his eyes fall on a man behind a large desk. Xaden tries to move as softly as possible so that he can surprise the man and escape. But the man turns out to have really fucking good hearing, because he looks up from his papers, straight into Xaden's eyes.

“So let me see if I have it right,” the man says. "You have immense shadow power, incredible combat skills, height, tattoos, secrets, dead parents, a thirst for revenge, the weight of the world on your shoulders, a rebellion to lead, and..." he looks at his papers and tilts his head, “a dragon?”

'He probably has the same signet as Aetos,’ Xaden thinks to himself as he takes a defensive stance.

The man waves his hand dismissively, "I'm not going to hurt you." He adds with a grin, “see it for yourself.”

Xaden directs his second signet to the man and reads his true intentions in his head. The man truly has no intention of harming him. Slightly put at ease, Xaden decides to listen to the man.

"Well could I know your name first before I tell you my life story?" demands Xaden. The man smiles showing his white teeth. "Rhysand, high lord of the Night Court." Xaden has never heard of such a place, but mentally shrugs.

"Yes? I mean, there's also my girlfriend and 107 people under my protection, but-" Before Xaden can finish his sentence, Rhysand, ‘the high lord of the Night Court’, frantically flips through the pile of papers on his desk.

"This is the hyper-intelligent girlfriend with unprecedented lightning powers? The one you speak to telepathically and permanently nickname?" he looks expectantly.

Xaden decides to humor the man, "I only have one girlfriend. A bit offended that you would think otherwise."

Rhysand nods enthusiastically before scribbling something on a piece of paper. "Adopted. The rebellion thing is taken care of. Me and your aunts and uncles have this. Your new mother will need some time to add you and your mate to the family portrait in the gallery."

Xaden abruptly interrupts, "I'm sorry, my new mother?" Rhysand nods enthusiastically. "That's right, your bedroom is upstairs, the knives are in the training ring, the family dinner is every Thursday, you don't get any pocket money, but you have unlimited access to my finances and the curfew is...." Rhysand puts a finger thoughtfully on his chin, “…never.”

Rhysand stands up, "any questions?" Xaden mentally nods, ‘yeah, what the fuck?!’ Rhysand chuckles as if he heard it.

"Okay, crash course. So my name is Rhysand, I am 538 years old and the high lord of the Night Court and your new father." Xaden sputters in shock "538 years?!" "My wife and mate is Feyre, she is 21 years old and she is the high lady, we have a son Nyx, your brother." Rhysand opens his mouth, but Xaden cuts him off before he can say anything. “I'm….older than your wife?” Rhysand nods, "she'll be happy to have another son, Fae pregnancies are very difficult you know. But she'll be super excited to hear that we adopted you."

Xaden interrupts him again, "I'm still older than her." “Did I fucking stutter?” Rhysand asks with a raised eyebrow. Xaden gapes at him, "no sir." Rhysand nods happily, before paling, "don't tell your mother I swore or she'll refuse to give me soup." He ignores the disbelieving look Xaden gives him and continues introducing Xaden's ‘new family’.

Suddenly another winged man walks around the corner. “Ah, Rhys, we found them,” he says in a deep voice. Rhysand nods and gestures for Xaden to follow along. "Son, this is your Uncle Cassian, he is the general of my army, the two of you will work closely together to ensure that this rebellion of yours succeeds." 'Uncle' Cassian gives Xaden a big grin, "finally another nephew!"

“We found your friends, including my daughter-in-law,” Rhysand explains after seeing Xadens questioning look, waggling his eyebrows suggestively as he says “daughter-in-law.”

When the three walk into the foyer, Xaden sees his self-made family. Garrick, Bodhi, Liam, Imogen, and Quinn. Behind his family is Violet, along with her squad, Rhiannon, Ridoc and Sawyer and her brother, Brennan.

Garrick, Liam and Bodhi immediately walk up to Xaden and after a quick hug they start asking hundreds of questions. Xaden calls the other riders over and explains what happened.

"You're adopted?" Bodhi asks incredulously. “Seriously man, he just says we can finally win the rebellion and that's what you get out of it?”

Bodhi shrugs, "It's not every day that you hear that your cousin has been adopted by a 538 year old man and a 21 year old woman who is 2 years younger than the literal man she’s adopting."

"Okay kids," Rhysand claps his hands together and looks at everyone enthusiastically, "let's make sure you win the rebellion."

-

After Rhysand introduces the rest of Xaden's new family, including his new mother, who doesn't even seem shocked when Rhysand tells them that Xaden is their new son, and that he is two years older than her.

He then gives everyone an explanation of his army, what species they are and what their signets, or powers, are, the riders took the Fae to the hidden cave where Bodhi said they left their dragons.

The moment the group walks into the cave, Cassian gives a loud scream. Xaden looks over and sees that Cassian is hanging on to a very irritated Azriel like a koala with a scared look.

“What the fuck is that,” he points. Xaden looks over and sees that he is pointing at Sgaeyl. "That's Sgaeyl."

Cassian looks at him in disbelief, "I thought Sgaeyl was your cat!" he exclaims. Sgaeyl lets out an indignant huff and Cassian lets out another yelp.

Xaden ignores his so-called fearless uncle and focuses on Sgaeyl, prodding along their bond, but he comes up with nothing.

“My bond with her is muted,” he states. The other riders nod, theirs too.

"Violet and I can see if we can make a medicine," Brennan suggests. Violet nods in agreement. After the riders make their dragons promise to stay hidden in the cave and behave, they especially had trouble with Aotrom, who is apparently a dragon version of his rider and Andarna, the group walks back to the mansion in town. Cassian continues to look behind him uneasily, checking to see if the dragons are coming to attack him.

Violet walks up next to Xaden and hooks her arm through his, "so, adopted huh, I never expected my future mother-in-law and I to be the same age." Xaden grins, "mother-in-law?" Violet rolls her eyes and punches him in the arm.

“Shut up, you're the one in a ridiculously hilarious situation.”

-

The mansion turns out to have a lab slash medical bay. Violet and Brennan immediately start working on a medicine, Brennan mumbling all kinds of things under his breath, especially confusing curses.

Violet continues to throw grinning looks his way and she and the other riders burst into unashamed laughter as Rhysand deposits a winged baby in his arms and states that the baby is his new brother and that they should get acquainted.

-

Once Brennan and Violet perfect the medicine, they hand it out in cups.

“Well, bottoms up,” Garrick says, before putting the cup to his mouth.

Xaden follows suit and immediately feels the bond with Sgaeyl opening. "That was interesting," Sgaeyl says disinterestedly, a complete contrast to what she just said. Xaden rolls his eyes.

"The screaming human dragon from before is back," she says. Xaden raises his eyebrow. "He brought food, he's afraid we'll eat him."

Xaden wonders why that was worth sharing as Sgaeyl adds, "he completely freaked out when suddenly some kind of black mist with eyes and sharp teeth and claws appeared."

“He screamed like a little baby!” adds Andarna enthusiastically, "the mist's name is Byraxis, he's super funny!"

“He was indeed amusing,” Sgaeyl states, “in just a few minutes he humored me more than you have done in three years.”

Violet has clearly been listening as Xaden hears her laughter in his head. She stops abruptly when she hears Tairn's angry, jealous growl.

Andarna either doesn't realize what her adoptive parents are doing, or she just ignores it as she gleefully tells Xaden and Violet that Byraxis told her the story of when Cassian came to the bottom level of the library and how he literally wet his pants when he saw Byraxis.

Xaden sighs, he would do anything for a nap before fighting the rebellion with the help of a few extremely powerful centuries old Fae, three not so old Fae and an army of winged warriors.

“You know you don’t have to do this, right?” he asks Violet. She snorts in response, “as if I’d let you do this on your own. Besides, this is way too hilarious, I haven’t laughed this much in years.” Suddenly Liam appears next to Xaden, watching them interact. “Will you fight with me?” Xaden asks his brother. 

“It would be my honor,” he answers without hesitation.

[blueberrymuffinmassacre]

So The Amazing Digital Circus has latched onto my brain like a particularly stubborn tick so now I gotta share a theory of mine from the Pilot.

Considering it's all, indeed, digital and the mental health of its occupants ties to their stability, I bet their avatars are near direct reflections of themselves and their issues/flaws, albeit with a filter to fit the Fun, Child Friendly Aesthetic of the Circus.

Pomni is a classic rendition of a Jester. A Court Fool. Her eyes are incredibly expressive and even change to scribbles, hollow circles, or pure black depending on her mental state.

She likely views her life as a joke, or views herself as the punchline of a joke. She's a Fool. Whether this is due to perceived incompetence, an inability to "grow up", or simply considers herself to be lesser than her peers.

I do however use the above picture on purpose. She's an absolute nervous wreck 99% of the time, but stops while being chased by a monster and is stunned by her own reflection. That isn't a look of fear or confusion, it's awe. Something about her avatar struck a cord with her and seemed right. I personally subscribe to the theory of her being transgender and experiencing a small bout of gender euphoria amidst the horrors thanks to a post made by one demilypyro.

Jax is a Cartoon Rabbit. Not really terribly much to say about the design itself other than it being very rubber-hose animation in its proportions and the seeming default smug expression.

Jax is an asshole. He plays pranks in bad faith, is incredibly snarky and dry even to someone in distress, and doesn't seem to overly care about the others well being.

"I'm fine with doing whatever, as long as I get to see funny things happen to people." It makes sense his avatar would take a similar look to another wise-cracking cartoon rabbit we all know. He also seems the most content to actually be in the Circus itself. Considering it can let him do all manner of things to others, from the lethal to the physically impossible, he might consider it better than reality.

Ragatha is literally just raggedy ann. A patchwork doll.

She seems to be the most outwardly kind of the individuals in the circus, showing patience and understanding with Pomni even when in distress, though she clearly has a limit to said patience.

I think it's safe to assume Ragatha has been through a lot of shit for her avatar to make her seem patchwork. Which is to say, damaged multiple times and repaired each time, leaving clear marks of the repairs like scars.

Zooble is a mess of individual parts slammed together in an approximation of a humanoid shape. Like someone took dozens of pieces from all sorts of toys and put them together into an amalgam.

Gooseworx has stated they have no idea what they're even suppose to be. This can and likely does include gender, but probably includes their entire identity as a whole. Or rather, their lack of one.

For whatever reason, be it alienation, isolation, or any number of potential causes; Zooble doesn't know who they are or what they want to be. No ambitions, no dreams, no real self identity. This makes their avatar manifest as a mess that also doesn't know what it wants to be, so is a little bit of everything.

Gangle is most insubstantial, their body almost entirely a ribbon. The key part of their avatar is the mask: Comedy and Tragedy. And it seems in the few instances it's not broken, they always try to wear the comedy mask over top the tragedy mask.

Gangle's behavior makes me think she's the youngest of the individuals, at least mentally. As for the masks, something about her circumstances in life made her feel the need to put on a facade of joy. Maybe to live up to expectations, or to hide her true feelings to avoid worrying others. As an avatar, this seems to have become literal: She seems to only be happy with the mask on and discontent at best with it off/broken.

Kinger is a White King Chess Piece.

He's a forgetful paranoiac who, according to the characters, has been present in the Circus for the longest amount of time. He seems to forget where people are and what he's doing quite a bit.

In a moment of lucidity near the end, he goes in depth about how the food they eat is just simulated, and how they provide the sensation of eating despite not being real. It's also worth mentioning the ground floor of the circus is a Chess Board.

I believe Kinger is/was at least partially in charge of creating the Circus. His avatar is a walking symbol of authority, a reflection on his standing within the digital space rather than his current mental state. Perhaps the avatar was more fitting when he first entered the Circus, aware of its intricacies and rules, but has long since forgotten such things.

We don't see Kaufmo while he's uh. Normal. But we do see pictures of what he did look like: A Clown.

From the dialogue of other characters like Ragatha and Gangle, he seemed to actually try and play the role of clown during his time in the Circus, even if he wasn't terribly funny.

Kaufmo likely found himself to be a clown in reality. Maybe he was a clown in the literal sense. Or maybe he just saw himself as a funny, quirky guy to be around even if he was none of those things.

Finally, we have what happens when someone goes completely plum insane.

The Avatars are based on mental scans of the individual made to fit the aesthetic of the circus. an Abstraction is what happens when said software tries to read a mind that has no logic or reasoning left. There's nothing to find, no basis of personality, no base to work with. So in confusion the avatar becomes a glitched mess, trying and failing to find a shape within the madness to settle into.

Kinger seems to be insane, yet they're stable, because there is still an individual underneath the neurosis. There's nothing left of Kaufmo at this point: Just a cyclone of emotions inside a broken human mind.

That's the theory, anyway. It's a fucking pilot I could be entirely wrong.

[whumprecs]

I've been telling friends about one of my favorite shows, Magnificent Seven, from late 90's, which was also probably my first foray into fandom. I don't even know why I or even how I found fanfic back in 1998 - but I did, and I have loved them ever since. But it's not just the show that I love, it is the fandom. Maybe because it was almost all older women, or maybe people were just nicer back then - there were no ship wars. None. Not even a thing. 99% of the fandom is genfic A++++ Found Family, but the ones who did ship characters together Shipped and Let Ship. Nobody bothered anybody. And there were like 7 or 8 widespread AU's that everyone agreed on - there was the OG Old West where the show was set, but then there was the WILDLY popular (to the point I thought THAT was the actual premise for the show, and 10 year old me was very shocked to find it was a western) ATF AU where the characters were federal agents. There was Lil Britches, which had several of the characters are children and the rest are adults, there's Star Trek and Star Wars, and them as private detectives, WWII soldiers, etc. The lists are endless. And none of them are bad.

And almost every single one of them is whumpy as fuck.

So I'm going to recommend my favorites:

The South Wind Series by Beth aka Midge

Replaced by Heather F

Pied Piper by Kelly A

Rough Beginnings by Shawna

The Devil's Bargain by Sue Necessary

Aftermath by BMP

Black and White by Violette

Abandoned by Jean

Ezra, In Between by MAC

Tuesday's Child: Lessons of Grace by Joy K

Run Like Hell by Beth aka Midge

Don't Know From Adam by Jordan Mckenzie

Bearing the Pain by Angela B (crossover with Big Valley)

All Things Considered by Nilah H

I could list pretty much every one I've ever read - I don't actually know that I read an M7 fic I didn't care for. However, almost all of these listed authors have more than one fic (some have a LOT more). So if you like them, more are easier to find. I haven't actually looked to see what's available on Ao3 or even ffn.net - because neither site existed when the fandom was in its heyday and everyone had their own web page for posting.

[desceros]

rotating your fics in my head again, as i often do (they will haunt me for the rest of my life... in a good way), and i just wanted to thank you for not specifying the reader's race - or, i guess a better way to put it would be not making them... white-coded, like 99% of other people do

it's less something that i'm mad about and more just kind of... tired of seeing. i'm so used to it at this point that i just kinda ignore it and tweak the writing in my brain, and it's nice to not have to do that for once! no more of a guy running his fingers through my hair. no... no you will not, sir. not easily, anyway. have fun getting stuck in my curls

i'm absolutely delighted to hear that!! :D

in the past, i'd read that a lot of specifically black readers have trouble inserting themselves into fics because of (unintentional, i'm sure) white-coding. and that made me really sad, especially when there are such small things you can do that not only make your writing better, but also make it more inclusive! so i chose to eliminate those things from my writing years ago, as much as possible.

like... okay, when you get embarrassed. you don't feel yourself blush, specifically. you feel your face get hot. this happens regardless of race. it's a more tangible description for a reader to have to a pov character, AND it has the bonus of not coding light-colored skin. sure, you now have to write around the fact that there's not an obvious red blush for other characters to react to... but not only do i not mind, i find that more compelling! maybe the pov character shifts their weight from foot to foot and tangles their fingers together. deviates their gaze, clears their throat, rubs the back of their neck, gives an embarrassed little laugh. see how much more vivid that is? and it has the bonus point of not making a dark-skinned reader feel alienated.

hair, too, as you mention is an excellent example. i try not to mention hair specifically because of that very conundrum. for example, 4c hair acts very differently to someone's fingers than 2a and to straight hair. short hair is different from long hair. there are some exceptions (for example, i have a particular hair style in mind for viola-chan), but even then i try to keep it as vague as i can within those choices. viola-chan puts her hair up into a bun when she plays... but what that bun looks like, how it acts outside of that is up for your imagination. i don't say how it's styled, how it's washed, in the same way that i don't specify what scent your perfume is.

now, i'm not going to say that every author Should be so specifically inclusive. it's not my place to say what people Should be creating with their art. if someone wants to write a story about a character blushing a bright pink with another character threading fingers seamlessly through their silky smooth hair, that's their prerogative. i've just chosen to try and have fics that are more inclusive, because i want black readers to feel welcome. i want asian readers to feel welcome. i want someone who wears a hijab to feel welcome. etc. i'm never going to be perfect; i'm going to make mistakes, i'm going to code for whiteness simply because i'm white and it's my worldview. i'm never going to write a fic that perfectly represents every reader. but i will go out of my way to reduce it as much as possible, because i see that pain in non-white readers and i really dislike it.

[fillinforlater]

i kinda agrer w the anon like ig the older members r fine but if u plan on writing for new jeans rhe maknae is 14/15…

A measured Response

While I think the other anon who send the initially accusation is still the one sending asks to my inbox, I also think that you are another person. I will strengthen and steel-man your concerns/argument, though it will always baffle me that y'all have these ridiculous spelling errors. Seriously, guys, at least try to type coherent messages/a literal paragraph with no mistakes.

(To those of you who do, thank you <3)

For some fucking reason I feel like I have to make this a thing. I should not, really. These accusations are baseless, I'm not the thing he wants to frame me as, so on and so on, but because I think you are genuinely kinda worried what I meant, I'll explain it to you.

(I'm not sorry if I sound condescending or anything, because I am)

It started with this ask, which basically asked me:

"Do you plan on writing NewJeans in the future?"

Now, being human and (probably) understanding English as well as context, this is what I (and probably 99% of other people with the right context) assumed this person meant:

"Do you plan on writing a fic about any of the 18+ NewJeans members in the future?"

bUt tHaT iSnT wHaT tHeY aSkEd!?

You cannot possibly reach that conclusion. Seriously, go look at literally every fic I ever wrote. Age of the idols? Ranging from 30 something down to 18, the absolute hard legal and (I guess) moral minimum, the line I don't cross.

If you go to my page or just open this weird ass tab from Tumblr (fuck Tumblr), you see stuff like "18+ Girl Group fic writer" or "No minors" or (from my Biaslists & Writelist & Requests tab) "Remember that I said most and 18+. This automatically excluded all 18- idols... I won't write those." This is easily understandable, obvious context to the message from above.

Or did you think I would just write about literal new jeans, like an review or something? No, of course not.

Oh, you can also look at my response, like... I specifically mention Hanni and Danielle, two 18+ idols, very popular, probably the two (including I guess Minji) the asker probably meant.

Now the point where I might look like an idiot if I take you seriously:

I responded to the baseless accusation with a GIF of Hanni, the focus on an easily identifiable part (her ass). The response of the accuser (still in my inbox):

"You just admitted you're a pedo"

Wrong and cringe.

Granted, you did not know this message (if you are a different person), yet you still, after seeing the Hanni GIF decided to say this. Either you are fucking stupid or this is maliciously framing me. Pick your poison.

(BTW: You are stupid because Hanni is 18. International age. Whatever the fuck Koreans use/used to use does not count, but she is also "19"/an adult there)

If you now need it black on white (or white on black), here it goes:

I'm not a pedo. I'm even against idols debuting under the age of 18.

(Why did I even bother? I dunno man, now it's out of the system)

With that said, I got some ideas for a Hanni fic (still very basic, but god, she is gorgeous and hot) and for a Danielle fic (funnily, it's not even a smut).

Everyone, have a nice day and some pretty Minji <3

[thebangtancloud]

Hi. Can i request a fluff with Changbin? With: 92. 99. and 77. With schoolmate readerxchangbin but a funny love story?

Thanks a lot. :))

Alive ~ Seo Changbin

"Your jokes suck." + "Don't talk to me, someone might thing we're dating." + "I don't feel well."

pairing: senior!changbin x schoolmate!reader

genre: fluff, humour, romance, friends to lovers

Summary: There's something going on between you and him. Schoolmates, yes. Friends? Maybe. Something more than friends? Absolutely. You're both aware of it and he's determined to make sure you know that he's serious about you.

^o^

"Oh look, it's the rebel."

You didn't even need to look to the side to know who was talking to you, a swift roll of your eyes that pulled an enamoured chuckle from the guy who had jogged a good minute to catch up to you.

"What do you want?"

"Geez, you gotta show some respect to your senior, (Y/n)," Changbin playfully glared at you, slowing down to a walk once he was right beside you, his footsteps in line with yours.

"Why are you disturbing me?"

"Why are you wearing this dress?"

You followed his hand that was gesturing to the olive green dress that you had on, the material appearing soft and cascaded down with little frills until it reached just below your knees.

"You're supposed to be wearing your school uniform, (Y/n), See?" He pointed to the white shirt and the red tie that he was wearing. "Follow in the footsteps of your seniors. It will do you good."

"Yeah? Then why did you follow me here?"

Changbin whistled in response, not really knowing why.

"But still..." he trailed off awkwardly, shoving his hands into his trousers, "Why are you wearing a colored dress? Did no one catch you yet?"

"It's my birthday," you nodded, keeping your eyes ahead of you.

"Oh," he said lamely, coming to an abrupt stop. The sun was blazing over your head, the distant sound of students rushing around the cafeteria filling the awkward silence between the two of you.

"Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," you nodded again, not stopping once which made Changbin click his tongue in annoyance, jogging once more to catch up to you.

"Do you hate me?"

"No."

"Then why don't you talk to me?"

"Cuz..." you shrugged, turning briefly to take a look at the frown on his face.

"I don't feel well, that's all."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," you shook your head and stuck your tongue out at him. "I just want to live."

"Woah," Changbin couldn't help but laugh in surprise at your response.

"Life sucks sometimes, doesn't it?"

"Mhm," you agreed with him, reaching into the little pocket that was attached to the side of your dress to pull out a toffy for him.

"Here."

"Oh, thanks," he took the sweet from your hand with a shy grin. "What plans for your birthday?"

You remained silent until he finished opening the wrapper, watching as he threw it a few feet away from him with a swift flick of his wrist and then popped the toffy into his mouth.

"No plans," you stated with another shrug. "Family is working. Friends are out of town. I think today will be a boring day."

"Hey," he frowned defensively. "I'm right here."

"You're not my friend."

"Why not?" he looked rather offended.

"Because we never speak."

"I always try to speak to you! It's you who doesn't speak to me!"

"Yeah, exactly. We're not in a school with open-minded people. So don't. Don't talk to me, someone might think we're dating."

Changbin turned to look at the students who couldn't seem to care about the two of you walking on the football turf.

"Let them."

"What?"

"Let them think we're dating. It's not like they're wrong."

"We're not dating, Changbin," you gave him a look.

"But," he suddenly smirked, "It's not like there's nothing going on between us."

"Right," you snorted, shaking your head and continuing to walk until you reached the mini-play area that was made for the little kids.

"You're not denying it," his smirk only seemed to deepen.

"Well," you shrugged with an awkward cough. "We did kiss once. But that doesn't mean we're dating."

"Then let's date," he suggested without a moment of hesitation. Changbin continued to watch you as you approached the swings, sitting down carefully and tucking your dress in neatly so that it wouldn't fly with the wind.

"Hmm..." you appeared to give it a thought. "Why?"

"Cuz you're cute," he pointed out. "And I like you."

"You do?"

"I do," he confirmed, walking closer until he was stood right in front of you, his head bent slightly so that he can look at your face. Within a moment, his muscular arms reached up to hold onto the metal swing handles on either side of you, bringing you to a stop so that you could only focus on him.

"You like me too, right?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On where you're taking me out on a date."

Changbin's lips pursed in an attempt to hold back the smile that was tearing at his mouth.

"I'll take you anywhere you want to go but you've never had the chance to."

"Really?" Your eyebrows raised in surprise. "Anywhere?"

"Yes," he nodded, bending slightly so that his head could be at the same level as yours. "Just say the name, I'll take you there."

"Take me to heaven, then," you snorted.

"Tch," Changbin gave you an unimpressed look. "Your jokes suck."

"I know," you chuckled softly, taking a moment to look away from his face.

"I want to go somewhere," you began, catching his head nod from the corner of your eye.

"Where?"

"It's not somewhere that I haven't been before," you pointed out, kicking at the ground before looking back up into his eyes.

"I want to go to that basement again."

Changbin looked surprised, his expression clearly showing you that your words took him back to the night he kissed you for the first time.

"Really?"

"Mhm," you nodded, a ghost of a smile playing at your lips. "I've been thinking about going back there ever since you kissed me."

"Why, may I ask?"

"I dunno," you shrugged, pushing at his arms and standing up so that you were almost at eye level with him. "I felt alive, back then."

"Was it just the place? Or was it me that made you feel alive?"

You took a moment to let your eyes run over his features, watching how the sun hid away behind a cloud and made a softer shade of grey soften the look on his face.

"Why don't we find out?"

"And how would we do that?" he inquired, his curious eyes stealing a quick look at your lips before they flickered back up to meet your gaze.

"Kiss me here and we'll find out if it was the place that made me feel alive, or you."

For a moment, he look over your shoulder towards the group of students playing around, before he smirked and shook his head.

"Trust me babe," he took the smallest step in your direction. "I don't want to risk us being suspended, but I'm also determined to prove to you that it was me."

"Do as you please," you commented, laughing lightly and brushing past him towards the slides.

"I will," he promised, walking behind you and nodding to himself. "Finish your last class, I'll prepare something for you until then."

"And why would you do that?"

"Because," Changbin slipped his hands into his back pockets, blessing you with a brilliant smile. "You make me feel alive too."

.

.

.

.

.

Request 10/30 || Stray Kids Masterlist.

Note: Most people on my skz taglist have changed their usernames and I don't know their updated ones. If you were a part of my taglist and you see this, you can text me if you want to be added once again.