#and I ain’t no gatekeeper

[barnowlbookworm]

HEY HEY HEY GUESS WHO FINALLY DID IT

My PB&J page is finished!

Also oh my muffins, I was trying to find scenes in the show where they were in the same shot and almost all of them were hugs. They hug a lot. It’s initiated by Mikey most of the time, but I thought it’s really cool to see how chill Donnie is with it. Mikey is one of Donnie’s safe people, and that’s just?? So dear to me??

[ovaryacted]

Y’all will literally never understand how much I love General Marcus Acacius and I’ll never forgive you people for just pushing him to the side and forgetting about him. But it’s okay. Me and the 5 people who still like him are gonna eat him tf up until we just can’t anymore.

And that’s why me and @gothcsz are tweaking out in the docs together because we’re fucking that old man NASTY! And y’all are gonna just have to wait and see what we got cooking. 🤭🤫

[k-tteny]

[warden-melli]

I’m going to share the best Dr Martens hack I’ve ever found to help break them in earlier.

A lot of shoe makers/repairers will suggest taking a flat hammer and gently tapping the boot (particularly the seam along the back) to soften the leather, and while this works it can take a long time, and you risk damaging the leather depending on the tool you choose

I suggest you follow their advice, but instead of a hammer use one of those deep tissue massagers with a flat attachment instead. It’s faster, gentler and works extremely well, plus you don’t have to wear your arm out hammering for an extended period

Just turn it on the lowest setting, and run it over the boot with slight pressure until the leather softens, and you’re satisfied with the results, then follow up with some of their wonder balsam.

I wouldn’t recommend this for patent, or vegan models, and you’ll still need to wear thick socks, but this should really help cut some time off of the breaking in phase (and it much gentler and less risky then some methods like showering in them, or freezing them)

[yourmaddestobsessi0n]

💕🎀 me after he slaps the shit out of me 🎀💕

(He doesn’t exist)

❀ Not mine creds to: odeneest on Pinterest!! ❀

[haysaprocky]

if nothing else, re-watching the crown has reminded me that the role of royalty is to give “average” people something to aspire to. i am no different from a Queen, i have been anointed with the divine purpose of inspiring people through being Me.

[broitsf-ckingfreezing]

Am… am I doin it right?

[strangerexee]

(4) ᴛᴏʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ɪ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ ɢɪᴀɴᴛꜱ | ᴇʟɪᴊᴀʜ "ꜱᴍᴏᴋᴇ" ᴍᴏᴏʀᴇ

𝙼𝙾𝙳𝙴𝚁𝙽!𝙶𝙰𝙽𝙶!𝙰𝚄

pairings: Elijah "smoke" Moore x black!fem!reader

𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢: 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 | 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 | 𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚐/𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚜 | 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎/𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛 | 𝚝𝚘𝚡𝚒𝚌 𝚍𝚢𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚌𝚜 | 𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 (𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚜), 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 | 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚝-𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚕 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚢 | 𝚃𝚆𝙸𝙽 𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙵𝚄𝚂𝙸𝙾𝙽 | 𝚜𝚎𝚡𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗.

It was a couple days later.

You still couldn’t get the damn smell of him off you.

You washed up twice, too.

Didn’t help that every time your phone buzzed, your stomach did that lil flip thing like he was texting you right now.

And he was texting.

Not blowin’ your phone up, not tryna run game, just… consistent.

“U eat today?”

“Let me know when you get home”

“What u doing Sunday”

“Send me a pic”

And every one of those little dry-ass texts made you bite your bottom lip and giggle like you was 16 again.

You didn’t even tell your friends everything yet.

You was tryna gatekeep a little. Keep it soft and sacred. But babyyyy…

You liked this man.

You really did.

So when he hit you like:

“yo my people throwin something Friday, u tryna slide?” you ain’t hesitate.

You threw on the real cute outfit too.

Crop top, jeans that made your lil shape do what it needed to do, hoops, lipgloss hittin’…and you threw on that same hoodie he gave you just to be annoying.

You told him, “I’m not dressin’ up.”

He texted back, “I already know u gon be fine, idc.”

Like it was that simple.

And of course it was.

The party was jumpin.

Like…somebody’s backyard turned into a whole scene.

Lights strung from the fence, music bumpin’ from a giant-ass speaker tower in the corner, girls dancin’, people posted up in little circles with red cups, full tables of bottles and plates of food and somebody uncle tryna get the aux.

You pulled up with your girls but instantly spotted him — Smoke.

Black tee, big chain, jeans hangin’ just right, and those same intense-ass eyes that always made your legs weak.

He came straight to you, didn’t say a word at first — just slid his hand around your waist, kissed your cheek like it was owed, and whispered, “Didn’t I tell you I wanted to see you again?”

You grinned like a fool.

“Thought you was playin’.”

“Do I look like I play wit you?”

Whewww.

Somebody come pick you up. You not gonna make it through the night.

Y’all walked around for a little—he introduced you to a couple cousins, some friends, his best friend, TRINAAAA — she hugged you and she smelled nice and she so pretty — then met some dude named “Man Man” who sold dirt bikes on the side — and everything felt…easy?

But of course, of course, somebody had to come ask him to handle something.

You ain’t hear the whole convo, but you caught enough:

“…bro trippin’ with the bottles…”

“…nah, I’ma fix it, stay right here.”

He kissed the side of your neck.

“Gimme like five minutes.”

You nodded.

No biggie.

Until ten minutes passed.

Then fifteen.

You wasn’t pressed, but like…this a lotta people you don’t know. And your friend…where outta sight.

Music was loud.

Your cup was gettin’ low.

Your girls had wandered off to find plates and take selfies.

You was kinda bored.

So you started minglin’. A little.

Couple girls waved you over like, “girl you too cute to be standin’ there by yaself, c’mere.”

You ended up talkin’ to a couple of them —nothing crazy.

They was funny.

Some girl named Nessa was tellin’ a story about her baby daddy tryin’ to sell her wig on Facebook Marketplace.

And just when you was laughin’ and about to ask for another drink —

You see him.

Smoke.

Or…wait.

You blink.

Nah. That’s not Smoke.

Same build.

Same lil mustache.

Same face damn near.

But something was off.

The walk? The energy?

Different.

He had on a red shirt, first off.

Gold watch, tattoo on his neck that Smoke ain’t have.

He was talkin’ to somebody but then his eyes landed on you.

And whewww…he looked you up and down like he was tryna figure out if you was edible.

You felt your throat get dry.

Then he started walking your way.

Confident. Slow.

Like he knew you was gonna stand there and take it.

“Damn,” he said, smirking as he got close. “You must be the one my brother been actin’ funny behind.”

You blinked.

“You stack…?”

He grinned.

“Yeah, that’s me. Nice to meet you.”

And lawddd.

The voice?? Just as deep.

Smile? Just as fine.

But the vibe? Whole different breed.

Smoke was smooth. Quiet. Watchful.

But Stack? Stack was a problem.

Loud. Flirty. Ghetto.

He leaned in way too close when he talked.

Looked at your mouth when you answered.

Licked his lips when you laughed.

“Yeah I been hearin’ about you,” he said, eyes glintin’. “He don’t ever bring girls around the family but now look — gotchu walkin’ round here in his hoodie, lookin’ all cute and shit.”

You laughed, shy.

“Stop.”

“Nah I ain’t even flirtin’ for real. Just sayin’. If I saw you first? You woulda been mine.”

EXCUSE ME???

Your heart damn near did a lil jump jump.

He winked.

“But it’s cool. I’ma let him have you. For now.”

And just like that, he walked away.

Left you blinking and tryin’ to catch your breath like…

Who tf was that and why he got me feelin’ like I just cheated??

You turned around — and who you see walking back up like he just missed the whole interaction?

Smoke.

“Sorry bout that. Had to check a situation,” he said, looking calm and casual as ever. “You good?”

You nodded real fast. A smile creeping on your face.

“Yeah, I just…I met your brother.”

His jaw ticked.

“Yeah. I figured he’d find you.”

You raised a brow.

“He ‘lil flirttt.”

Smoke looked you dead in your eyes.

“He don’t mean nothin’ by it. He just talk too much.”

You smiled.

“He told me if he saw me first, I woulda been his.”

Smoke leaned in real close.

Tugged you by the waistband of your jeans till your chest was almost pressed to his.

“Good thing he didn’t, then.”

And just like that?

You forgot all about Stack.

Or tried to, anyway.

You kinda forgot there was two of them.

Like…deadass. For a minute?

You was lost in the sauce — Smoke’s sauce.

All wrapped up in that deep voice, that slow walk, that ‘you-mine-until-I-say-you-not type’ shit.

But then Stack came floatin’ through the function like a walking distraction.

Grinnin’ all bold. Chain glintin’. Mouth reckless. Lookin’ like he ain’t never heard of a moral in his life.

And it hit you all over again:

TWO OF THEM.

Two of him.

Same face. Different fonts.

One lookin’ at you like you a whole meal, the other treatin’ you like dessert he already claimed.

And you? You standin’ there like Future in 2012 talkin’ bout:

‘Fuckin’ two bad bitches at the same damn time.’

(Okay, maybe not fuckin. But like. Thinkin’?? Wonderin’??? Daydreamin’ a little???? Don’t judge.)

Anyway.

You try to get back to the vibe — smooth and chill and pretty — just bein’ held against your man’s side, watchin’ the party from the edge of his hoodie.

You still grinning about the twin thing when she comes up.

Yeah.

Her.

Some girl in a lil two-piece set, lashes long enough to fan Jesus, hips switchin’ on autopilot like they got Bluetooth.

She don’t even look at you at first.

Slides right up to Smoke, touches his arm like she forgot who he came with.

“Heyyyy Elijahhh,” she says, voice way too soft.

(And yeah — Elijah. Like government name.

You ain’t even know that shit yet and she droppin’ it like a social security number.)

You blink.

Oh okay.

She flippin’ her hair, playin’ in his bracelet like she bought it.

And Smoke…?

He steps half a step back.

Light. Polite. Barely noticeable.

But you see it.

“Wassup, Asia,” he says.

And he don’t smile.

Not even a lil.

She giggles.

Like he told a joke.

He didn’t.

“I been textin’ you,” she says, all fake poutin’. “You don’t fuck wit me no more?”

And that’s when she look at you.

Right at you.

Then back at him.

Then smirks.

“Ohhh. I see what this is. My bad. I ain’t mean to interrupt.”

You smile real sweet.

“And yet — you still did.”

She blink.

Smoke grinned at the corner of his mouth but said nothing.

So you took it there.

Polite, petty, poetic.

“Anyway. You good though? You tryna be around or you just tryna be seen?”

She scowled.

“Oh don’t get cute.”

You blinked.

“…Baby I woke up like this.”

Smoke’s whole body shook tryin’ not to laugh.

You felt his hand slide around your waist, real slow.

Possessive. Warm. Heavy.

“She straight,” he told Asia, finally.

A gentle version of ‘you can go now.’

And she did.

Slow. Swishin’. Still talkin’ bout ‘we’ll see.’

But you ain’t care.

’Cause his hand stayed put.

And he whispered, lips right by your ear:

“You been waitin’ to say that, huh?”

You grinned.

“Swear I didn’t. She brought the energy, I just matched it.”

He laughed, low.

“You funny as hell.”

You leaned back into him.

“You ain’t tell me people was gon’ try to test me.”

He kissed your cheek.

“You pass every time.”

Later, y’all end up posted up by the side gate — away from the crowd, tucked behind somebody’s car.

Music still bumpin’. Stack walkin’ around in a ski mask for no reason.

But you and Smoke?

Y’all quiet now. Real still.

He leaned back against the fence, pulled you between his legs, arms draped around your waist like he needed to feel you close.

“I don’t like loud parties like that,” he mumbled after a while, chin on your shoulder.

“So why you invite me?”

“Wanted you to meet my people.”

You turned a little to face him.

“…You like me or somethin’?”

He looked at you.

And the look??

That sht did something to your chest.

“Ion invite people to shit. Ion cook for people. I definitely don’t sleep next to ‘em.”

Your breath caught.

“But you do all that for me?”

“Yeah.”

You swallowed. Hard.

“…Damn.”

The party kept going — but you was already gone.

Floatin’.

Drunk off him.

Off this.

You’d almost forgot what it felt like to be wanted.

Not for a night, not for convenience—but for real.

This man was making it real hard to play it cool.

And lowkey… you didn’t wanna play at all.

You just wanted to keep bein’ wrapped up in his hoodie.

Kissed slow behind fences.

Claimed in front of petty girls.

You ain’t say none of that out loud, though.

Just smiled and pulled him closer, whisperin’ like you was tellin’ a secret:

“Next time your twin flirt with me, I’m tellin’ him I’m spoken for.”

Smoke smirked.

“You better.”

You wasn’t drunk drunk.

Not like…on the floor, crying-in-the-bathroom, slurring-your-secrets drunk.

But you was…

tipsy.

Real cute drunk.

That sweet lil zone where your mouth got no filter and your hands do what they wanna do.

So when y’all ducked off again — behind the shed this time, some dark corner where the porch light couldn’t see you — you got real bold.

Smoke pulled you in, all warm and low and heavy-handed with the touchin’, and you?

You just started kissin’ on that neck.

Real gentle-like at first.

Just lips.

Slow. Pressin’. Lingerin’.

Right under his ear where he smelled like cologne.

He went real still.

Didn’t stop you. Didn’t say nothin’.

Just exhaled real quiet — like he was tryin to keep calm.

You grinned.

Then did it again.

Right a little lower, where his hoodie hung loose at the collar, skin warm underneath. You nuzzled there, then kissed down to his collarbone just because you could.

“Aight…” he warned, voice tight like he was holdin’ back a smile. “That’s how you act off five lil cups?”

“Five and a half,” you mumbled into his neck. “Lemme live.”

He tilted his head back. Let you keep goin’.

Shiiiii.

You was in your own lil world.

High off vibes. Off his skin and the weight of his hands pressin’ down on your waist. His fingers flexed a lil every time your lips hit the right spot.

“You always this affectionate?” he asked, real low.

“Nah,” you murmured. “I just like you.”

He hummed.

“You tell all the niggas that?”

You grinned against his jaw.

“You the only one still around, ain’t you?”

Then you snatched his phone.

Playfully, of course.

He ain’t even fight you on it. Just watched you scroll through his camera like he was amused.

No wild shit in there — just lil selfies, some blurry gym pics, one video of Stack rappin’ in the backseat and soundin’ like he needed water.

You turned the camera to yourself.

“Smile.”

He blinked. “For what?”

“For me.” you said, like duh.

Then scooted up close, leaned into his side, and took it anyway — your face real cute, his real unimpressed but lowkey grinning in the corner of the frame.

You giggled, looked at it again.

“Wait wait wait — we fine as hell.”

He smirked. “Say it louder.”

“WE FINE AS HELL!” you whispered-yelled, crackin’ up.

Then you took another one. This time he kissed your cheek right as you clicked.

That one? You saved to his favorites. Respectfully.

You kept takin’ em too.

Layin’ on him. Tongue peekin’. Lashes poppin’. Lookin’ like y’all was already three months deep in a soft launch.

He ain’t stop you once.

Just kept lettin’ you lean on him, arms heavy around your waist, head tilted like he was memorizin’ the way you smiled.

You bit his lip, thumb still flickin’ through the lil gallery.

“You gon’ delete these later?” you asked, tryna play.

He looked at you like you was dumb.

“Why the fuck would I do that?”

You blinked.

“Cause you’re weird.”

Next thing you know, he takin’ the phone back, scrollin’ a bit — and now he’s takin’ one. Of just you this time.

Candid as hell.

Neck kissin’ fresh. Lip gloss poppin’. Lookin’ real claimed.

“Lemme seeee,” you whined, tryna grab it back.

“Nah,” he said, tucking it in his pocket. “That one mine.”

You blinked.

“You keepin’ it?”

“Yup.”

“…So I’m your lockscreen now?”

He grinned slow.

“Not yet.”

You gasped, all fake-offended.

“Wow.”

Then he pulled you close and whispered:

“Don’t worry. You workin’ your way up.”

After that?

You damn near climbed him like a tree.

Tipsy and flirty and feelin’ way too comfortable.

Kissin’ on his neck again, tugging on the strings of his hoodie, actin’ like you ain’t just argue wit some girl two hours ago over this same man.

You didn’t even care about the party no more.

Didn’t care that Stack kept poppin’ in and out the side gate yellin’ ‘y’all nasty as hell!’

Didn’t care that your lipgloss was smudged or that your phone was probably dead.

All you cared about was the way he was lookin’ at you.

Like you was all warm light and soft touches.

Like he was seein’ a part of you nobody else even tried to notice.

“You gon’ spend the night?” he asked, fingers playin’ with the hem of his hoodie you wore.

You shrugged. “Maybe. You gon’ behave?”

“No.”

You smirked.

“Well then.”

Lil taglist — @sertonins - @crimsonxm00n @klssngss @juicypinksblog @mingisg00dgirl @stilestotherescue @imperfectlyperfect78 @hoouno06 @kirayuki22 @christinabae @pinkpantheris @kxllanxtdoor

[sillymommy6969]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ 𝕭REAKING HEARTS ᝰ! S.L.

˚⟡˖ ࣪౨ৎ summary: girlfriend material sophia strikes again, and this time round, she has no intention of keeping how much she cares about you a secret. best be known you don't mess with sophia laforteza when it came to you... she'll be breaking a lot more than hearts thats for sure

disclaimers: obvious!sophia, mostly fluff, protective!sophia, younger member!reader, everybody simping for ya’ll

prev, next (so many of yall are threatening to kill my family if i don’t do more sophia content so here she is 🫶)

Y/N AND SOPHIA PROVING L/NFIZ DEFINITELY DOES (NOT) EXIST PART. 2

17.2k likes | 330k views | 18th Dec, 24

*Loud technical difficulty transition* [ WEVERSE LIVE ] join a y/nfiz hangout <3 You and Sophia started a live while waiting for the girls to come home from a schedule

You sat beside the Filipina leader, your collared shirt unbuttoned and creased, your hair a slight mess and your day-old make up still on your face. The fans loved the domestic look you always seemed to serve when you were at home, and it was safe to say they noticed Sophia was too.

Whilst she ranted on about some silly story you had already heard her tell a million times, you checked yourself out in the camera, the crease in your white shirt collar gave you an itch you desperately needed scratched.

Your hands came up to pop open the collar to your shirt more, revealing your bare chest down the low V cut of the button-up. The fans had begun tuning Sophia’s story out too, because gradually, the chat flooded with comments on your peculiar choice in styling, which caught the attention of the rambling woman. She glanced between you and the comments on the screen, her hand instinctively shooting up to grab your shirt.

user01 raw. next question.

user02 Omg she’s actually tryna kill us w the fit

user03 don’t be shy pop it open a little more ^^

user04 y/n baby save it for the bedroom

“Yo, watch it,” Sophia warned, adjusting your collar so you would be covered up to the base of your neck.

Your hands grab hers gently as you chuckled at the tense expression on her face. “Fia, calm down, I’m like twenty-one, I can wear an open-collared shirt if I want to.” You nodded towards the thirsty comments, smirking. “Besides, it sounds more like the fans want me to.”

Sophia grimaced, her face twisting into something negative before adjusting her sitting position so she was in front of you. She was in an oversized hoodie, so it shielded your body from the camera perfectly.

“Absolutely not if I have something to say about it,” she shook her head, moving her body so she would be shielding you away from the camera. “What’re you all looking at, hm?”

user05 dang baby ain’t nobody tryna snatch her😭

user06 It’s okay cuz if y/n was mine I would gatekeep too

user07 ntm on my girl sophia yall know damn well you’d do the same thing if y/n was your girlfriend

user08 SOPHIA SHARING IS CARING

You sighed, lips quirked at the older woman’s antics. “Can I talk to my people, Laforteza? Or are you gonna hold my shirt like this for the rest of the live?”

“Are you gonna button this all the way up?”

Your eyes widened, “All the way up? What am I, somebody’s Christian mom? Absolutely not!”

“Then yes, the rest of the live.”

user09 sophia confirmed brat tamer

user10 This is too much for my brain man

user11 Idk what’s crazier y/n’s fit or Sophia going all overprotective girlfriend

Eventually, Sophia would shed the hoodie she was wearing and drape it over you, despite your apparent protesting. The friends made note of the way she still seemed adamant on keeping you in the background as your hands peeked through the long sleeves of her oversized sweatshirt.

[ are they looking for a third to their marriage? ]

*Loud technical difficulty transition* KATSEYE MANA Dance Practice; Sophia’s behind the scenes interview

All the members were asked to send you a message. You were out sick and couldn’t make it the day they filmed the dance practice (you did eat so hard at MAMA don’t worry), and as the girls were asked about their feelings, their experiences working towards an award show like MAMA and what they took from this opportunity. Sophia, as the leader, her interview was put last, and she got asked the most hard-hitting questions.

She knew you were getting some backlash from being sick that PR day, it made things much more exaggerated, as if you weren’t present for a lot of things.

[ y/n defender till i die. if i see one comment calling her lazy or untalented, i WILL be reporting you ]

The question: “How have you managed to keep yourself motivated and help support the girls through this journey towards achieving such a milestone?” Immediately, Sophia being Sophia begun ranting on about how every member did their jobs amazingly, how she could not be prouder, how she could not imagine herself fulfilling her dream with such a beautiful group of passionate artists. She then spun her rant away from Manon being a pillar behind the scenes to you, whom your manager had asked her to give a message to.

“It’s actually been really disheartening,” she sighed, her wide smile faltering just the slightest. It was obvious, the way you could see genuine emotion seep through the cracks of her pr training. “y/n’s been sick for about a week, she can barely get out of bed and she just—She’s been working especially hard for this, because this has always been a dream of hers. Most days, we have one of our phones on facetime with her at home. You can actually see her following along next to her bed, and she gets teased so hard for it.”

[ my poor baby, i’m glad she put health first ]

Sophia chuckled softly, “That girl—that girl is so stubborn. I’ve told her so many times to just stay in bed and get better soon so she can actually practice with us here, but I never win that argument.” The camera angle switches to a closer look at Sophia’s expression. Her eyes pan from her hands back up to main camera off screen, glossy and brushed with a tinge of melancholy. “It breaks my heart to see her cry. She loves doing what we do, and not being able to do it makes her feel like she’s disappointing everybody. And the girls do a really good job of making sure those thoughts eventually leave, but she’s just so hard on herself. That is… definitely part of what makes her such an amazing performer, but it’s also what we, as a group, as a family—as Katseye, stand for.”

She pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath. The words, “The members messages to their missing friend:” appear.

“y/n, if you’re watching at home, I love you. The dance room’s not the same without you here, we all miss you, and we really cannot hope any harder for you to feel better soon.” She blew the camera a kiss, “I’ll see you at home. Love you.”

[ she said i love you twice… SHE SAID IT TWICE ]

*Loud technical difficulty transition* Katseye Christmas Video; a segment of the video had the members paired off and decorating their ugly sweaters, naturally, to atone to popular demand, you and Sophia were coupled up

“Yours is not looking good right now,” you teased, snorting at the third glop of hot glue yanking the little fibres off the sweater. You, yourself, didn’t have the most impressive artistic ability, but you enjoyed watching the older pout and grow fussy whenever you would make a comment about her struggling to bring her vision to life. “What is that supposed to be, Rudolph’s distant cousin Rude elf?”

Sophia rolled her eyes, letting out a whiney grumble. “It’s not even that bad, it has a good personality. Stop judging it!”

[ y/nfiz fans getting fed everyone say THANK YOU HYBE ]

You rummaged through the box of decorations you were provided, feeling your attention momentarily divert from the heat exhuming from the show lights. You pulled out a couple streamers, Christmas balls before you found a particular piece of decor that caught your eye.

Apart from the sweaters, you had to make a hat, and you knew everybody was in competition for the most ridiculous design. Inspiration struck, and you had the best idea.

When the sweaters were done, you slipped it on. Yours was a pastel shade of red, with the words “Wish list: Eyekons” spelt out with stickers. You looped the streams along the sleeves, taking the balls all over the sweater. As you stood in front of the slow-mo camera for your glam shot, you could see Sophia smiling at you in your peripheral. You smiled into the camera, blowing them a kiss with a cheeky wink.

[ she’s so fine i need her i need her i need- *gunshots* ]

Back at your table, you added the last touch of glitter before fully giving the camera another close look at your creation. You turned to the Filipina, who adjusted her on.

“Wait, Fia, you gotta look at this.”

She glanced at the camera, a nervous grimace sprawled across her face as you bent behind the table to pick up your hat. “You and creative genius do not mix, like I have a seriously bad feeling about this—!”

You set the hat on your head, a fedora you wrapped in Justin Bieber Christmas wrapping paper. Around the base tied a long rope of frills, strung at the very front a tiny, dangling piece of mistletoe flailing just inches away from your eyes. You beamed, proud of the hat. You eyed the cameras, before puckering your lips in an exaggerated manner. Your hands clasped together, eyes closed. “I’m waiting.”

[ #thisisthemostiveeverrelatedtoanidol ]

Sophia slapped a hand over her forehead, scoffing. “You’ve got to be kidding me, there’s no way you did that.”

“You gotta respect the tradition, Laforteza, come on!” you ushered, leaning in closer as you pouted. “I want my kiss.”

[ sophia’s stronger than me i would’ve folded right there ]

Sophia eyed something off camera, getting a sleek look of approval from your manager.

“Fine, come here.” She sighed, an amused smile on her lips. She cradled your face carefully, tilting her own head before pressing a gentle kiss onto your cheek. When she pulled back, the camera zoomed in on the lipstick stain nearly touching the corner of your mouth. “Merry Christmas, l/n.”

You shot the camera the widest smile, “I must’ve been a good girl this year, cuz my Christmas wish just came true.”

[ no cuz the editors knew what they were doing keeping this bit in for the starving y/nfiz truthers ]

*Loud technical difficulty transition* [ KATSEYE VLOG ] Here are four separate occasions from the same video where Sophia just can’t keep her hands off you

Clip one: You stood up from your seat, second from the left and right in between Sophia and Daniela. You threw pumpkin guts at Lara, who wouldn’t stop making fun of the way you couldn’t balance on your heels earlier when you were filming winx club tiktok’s. Sophia’s hand cupped the back of your skirt, her own pumpkin long forgotten. She pressed the piece of clothing against your thighs, making sure you wouldn’t flash the entire world as you focused on dousing the Indian singer in your pumpkin’s insides.

Clip two: As the six of you waited for Megan to finish up in hair and makeup, Sophia’s arm wrapped around your neck. You, Yoonchae and Manon were deep in conversation about the last time the group was altogether for a schedule, with Sophia mindlessly watching you talk. Fans pointed out her apparent gaze switching back and forth from your eyes to your lips, a small smile perched on her own lips as she watched you joke around with your bandmates.

Clip three: The two of you were pulled aside, tasked to organize the girls into groups to set up a quick little jumpscare for Megan as a surprise to celebrate her official return to Katseye activities since her back injury. Though the video showed a wide are of the studio where you two stood, Sophia seemed adamant on staying just inches away from you, her attention solely fixed on the way your eyebrows furrowed at the ipad they had handed you. Fans noted this as one of the more subtle but iconic l/nfiz moments.

Clip four: As Daniela thanked the fans for tuning in to watch the special Halloween edition of Katseye vlogs, Sophia could be seen grabbing at your hip. Given, her other arm was around Yoonchae, but her hand merely dangled off her shoulder, unlike the sure grip you could see she had on your waist.

[ let’s play fanservice or just gay for the 193837th time ]

*Loud technical difficulty transiition* [ WEVERSE LIVE ] Manon and Daniela being big mouths ;)

“I’m pregnant with talent… I’m pregnant with star quality,” Manon announced confidently, earning a judgemental look from her roommate beside her.

“That’s one way to put it, that’s for sure.” Daniela mocked.

“Where are the others—Okay, hold up, I got this. Let me cook!” Manon set her brush down, raising a finger, the other hand pointing at that finger. “Lara’s out with her sister, Yoonchae’s sleeping next door right now, and… Megan’s still at home seeing her family.” Daniela hummed, “Yeah, her flight’s tomorrow.” Manon nodded, “Yeah, so Megan’s not back yet. And Laffy and n/n are out on their little date right now.”

Daniela squealed, slapped her in the arm, “Stop! People are gonna take that outta context!”

Manon faked a scared gasp, going back to fixing her hair. “Hybe, if you’re watching, I didn’t say that.”

user01 l/nfiz on a date… i can die happy now

user02 MANZ JUST CONFIRMED L/NFIZ LESGO

user03 never EVER pr train this woman

“Yeah, wait, I think Sophia posted it.” Daniela pulled up a Weverse post Sophia had put up not long ago of her in a movie theatre in front of a movie poster. “y/n’s been meaning to watch the movie for her favourite actress and Sophia, of course, agreed to go with her. They’re getting us dinner on the way home, so I’m praying y/n does the shopping. Sophia always tries to trick us into eating healthy.”

“Yeah, she thinks she’s slick too,” Manon snorted, “Let’s be so for real though, y/n opens her mouth and I ain’t ever heard Sophia respond with ‘no’, that’s all I’m saying.”

user04 Manon is so messy I love her

user05 so she’s a down bad girlfriend huh…

user06 manon is a mindset i want to embody

“Yeah, y/n just exists and Sophia’s smitten. Bro, last time they went out for a ‘quick grocery run’, they came back with bags on bags of shopping. I know this little gold digger did not pay with her own money,” Daniela chirped, “I was in the living room when Sophia’s dad called to ask why her card was maxed out.”

Manon sighed, “Chat, let me tell you, Sophia spoils y/n rotten. And I mean, rotten. This woman don’t need no sugar daddy, she done made a sugar momma outta Laffy.”

“Sophia plays favourites. I don’t appreciate it.” Daniela joked.

[ so basically sophia’s THAT type gf, ok, ok… taking notes for science rn ]

[britcision]

Modern AU Laios makes The Most painstakingly accurate fursuits but never charges enough to even cover the cost of materials so he still has to go into the dungeon

(This is intentional but he pretends to be sad about it when Marcille judges him)

dunmeshi is taking over my brain rn and i feel honor-bound to share my most out there take.

Laios is a furry and his fursona is the Really Cool Monster He Thought Up.

ok hear me out- he literally turns into it when he becomes the dungeon lord and that power is literally just desires made real. also when they encounterd the succubus mosquitoes, Laios wasn't affected at all when it turned into Marcille. it was only when 'Marcille' turned into a monster and said she could turn him into a monster too that Laios got charmed. guy who just wants to be a cool monster with all of his friends. (also this is a strong part of why i hc Laios as aroace but that's not the point)

also i think Laios could get really good at furry art if he wanted to, since he's already canonically good at drawing monsters.

anyways. i am a furry Laios truther and no i will not be taking criticism /lh

[joyswonderland1108]

Omg not a SIGHTING!!! call the FBI!!!

LMAO some of you ARMYs — and let me say it louder for the Jikook police in the back — are starting to give “emotionally unavailable 1950s toxic husband who forbids his wife from showing her ankles in public” energy. Like?? Please untighten your corsets. People saw Jikook in NYC. They tweeted about it. TEXT TWEETS. No pictures. No videos. Not a drone shot. Just good old “hey I just passed them!” excitement. AND SOME OF Y’ALL LOST IT.

“Delete this.” “Don’t share this.” “Protect their privacy.” Protect their—??? THEY WERE OUTSIDE. In New York City. Public streets. With other humans. Not on a military base, not in the Bermuda Triangle, not hiding in Yoongi’s underground studio eating shadow soup. Just… OUTSIDE.

And suddenly you act like you’re Joan of Arc being burned at the stake for BTS’s sins. Miss me with the fake morals, please. Why didn’t you cry “don’t share!” BEFORE you found out what exactly was going on? Hmm? Why wait till after you've gotten the tea, then hop on Twitter acting like the Virgin Mary of Privacy Laws? Y’all wanna consume but then pretend you’re too holy to participate. Hypocrisy in 4K.

Someone said “some of y’all Jikookers will out them for a hit tweet.” Girl be serious. Unless they’re caught in 4K making out inside the Vatican during Sunday mass, a SIGHTING on the sidewalk ain’t “outing” them. It’s not that deep. And what’s even funnier is: if Jikook did come out officially, some of y’all would STILL be on Twitter like “pls stop spreading it 🥺 respect their privacy 😔” WHEN THEY THEMSELVES TOLD YOU. It’s giving delulu gatekeeper with control issues.

And believe me — if we’re talking about “outing” (which we’re not, because this ain’t that), it’s not gonna be some random incel on Twitter with 3 followers and a Jungkook pfp who lives 10,000km away. Let’s be serious for one second. If anyone had the material to actually out them, it would’ve already happened. Dispatch, the nosiest gossip overlords in South Korea, literally built their brand on blowing up celeb couples and STILL haven’t touched Jikook. So here we are.

The only people who could ever truly “out” Jikook are:

Jikook themselves,

Jikook via their company,

or Jikook through a coordinated media scoop because the stars aligned and it was part of some galaxy-brained PR move.

A tweet that says “I think I saw them near Central Park” isn’t that. Be serious.

Oh but wait — WHERE were your moral compasses when the members showed up to J-Hope’s concert? That wasn’t officially announced either, but y’all had ZERO problems with pictures and videos of them in the crowd floating around Twitter before they were even showed on the big screen. I didn’t see y’all crying “privacy!!” then. Funny how suddenly public sightings are sacred and must be protected like state secrets… unless it’s convenient for your hype. The hypocrisy is glowing in the dark.

Let’s break it down for the people in the back with bad Wi-Fi:

Leaked schedules / private photos / sasaeng trash? Yes. Bad. Burn it.

“I saw BTS at a Starbucks in Manhattan”? Regular celebrity shit. Normal. Not a felony.

But go ahead. Keep acting like public sightings are national security threats and that anyone sharing them is personally violating the Geneva Convention. Meanwhile you were RT’ing videos of them at Hobi’s concert like CNN breaking news.

Y’all are not morally superior for turning fandom into a toxic power trip. You’re just exhausting. Let people have fun. Let people be excited. Let people BREATHE.

Please. Touch grass. Drink water. Unclench.

[calliesmemes]

EVEN MORE ABSOLUTELY UNHINGED COMEDIC RELIEF

ASSORTED SENTENCE STARTERS FROM AROUND THE INTERNET, including quotes from Tumblr, Pinterest, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter), for when a muse wants to lighten up the situation at hand.

CHANGE gendered words and in-universe phrases as needed.

SPECIFY muse for multimuses.

“   It’s sea shanty time once again my fellow bastards of the ocean! ”

“   Partner, I reckon that I ain’t been feeling very yeehaw lately. ”

“   I don’t study; I consult the lore. ”

“   Yeah, I understand women — they all want daggers and swords. It’s all quite simple, really. ”

“   Lord forgive me but I may have to make a nonessential purchase. ”

“   Those are bold words for someone in stabbing range. ”

“   Yes I’m a gatekeeper and a hater. I’m also God’s most favorite princess and the most interesting girl in the world. ”

“   My primary motivations are fear, spite, and aesthetic longing. ”

“   Man — if I had a sword, I wouldn’t be worried about shit. ”

“   It’s not blood that runs through these veins but glitter gel pen ink. ”

“   If I was in a Jane Austen novel, I would be the one sent to the seaside for my health. ”

“   Half of me is a hopeless romantic, and the other half of me is … well … an asshole. ”

“   I am the nicest, sweetest, most rage-filled person I know. ”

“   I hope I give off the vibe to all animals that I am their ally and their friend. ”

“   I see you’re paying attention to someone who is not me. Why is that? ”

“   Normalize letting me talk without making any sense. ”

“   Don’t care, didn’t ask, plus my psychic visions have predicted the outcome of this encounter. ”

“   I could be so much worse. For example, I could start acting like my father. ”

“   Sorry for acting so strange and irregular; It will happen again. ”

“   i love sitting in my room.....alone....a girl in her cave....scheming and plotting and drinking tea. ”

“   These man made horrors are beyond YOUR comprehension. I get it though. ”

“   I’m a goth girl on the inside. On the outside? A father figure. ”

“   I don’t need to face reality; I’m not just that type of girl. ”

“   DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A frickle-frackle? ”

“   I’m about to cha cha real smooth off a fucking cliff. ”

“   Sorry I told you about my trauma. Do you still think I’m hot? ”

“   My priorities aren’t straight and neither am I. ”

“   I have felt permanently guilty for no reason since I was like eight years old. ”

“   Of course I have a lot of pent up rage, you fool! I’ve been the same height since I was twelve years old! ”

“   I was born for shock value. ”

“   Good morning! God has let me live another day and I’m about to make it everyone’s problem. ”

“   Oh, I slept miserably because I was tormented by terrible visions all night. I hope none of them were prophetic! ”

“   Be the surreal nonsense that you want to see in the world. ”

“   Being smart has never stopped me from being a complete fucking idiot. ”

“   My hobbies include knowing things and being right. ”

“   This is good advice, but don’t tell me what to do. ”

“   I hate the idea of authority. What the fuck is someone being superior to me? Bitch I’m gonna take your kneecaps. ”

“   Stop forgiving my crimes! I worked so hard on those! ”

“   My hobbies? Uhhhh, symbolism mostly. Metaphors and implications and the like. ”

“   I may not have any braincells, but I make up for it by having many heart cells. ”

“   I can’t mansplain manipulate manwhore my way out of this one guys! ”

“   Not all your life decisions have to be smart. Some can be purely for cinematic value. ”

“   Sometimes I wish I looked more fragile and feminine like a dainty flower, but I do enjoy looking like I hate everyone. ”

“   Any dream can be a prophetic dream if you’re willing to do some really weird shit. ”

“   girl help there is not enough enrichment in my enclosure. ”

“   BRO, you NEED to stop SUMMONING DEMONS in the FRAT HOUSE. ”

“   I just gave your address to some spiders! ”

“   I disappoint my father as a hobby now. ”

“   I think that the dark circles under my eyes add to my aesthetic actually. ”

“   Good news! I’ve successfully replaced all of my emotions with jokes! ”

“   I have half a braincell left and I’m very scared to use it! ”

“   Listen, son — in this world, it’s either yeet or be yeeted. ”

“   I appreciate the advice, but I think that I’m old enough to make my own bad decisions. ”

“   I’m disappointed in me too. Y’all aren’t special. ”

“   Running from your demons is the best exercise! ”

“   Sorry; I can’t commit any crimes with you. My mom says that I have to study. ”

“   Time flies when you don’t know what the fuck is going on. ”

“   If I run out of tacos, I can no longer maintain my human form. ”

“   Bestie, I don’t think that I can girlboss under these conditions. ”

“   Yeah I’ve had combat training; I can do anxiety attacks! ”

“   Swag is earned, not learned. ”

“   Contrary to popular belief, violence solves a lot. ”

“   I CANNOT STAND YOU ALL so I will SIT DOWN. ”

“   Please God no … I don’t need any more character development right now! ”

“   If you can’t beat ‘em, yeet ‘em. ”

“   Do not put me in a situation. I’m at my limit and I am very tired. ”

“   I may be depressed, but at least I’m not basic. ”

“   It’s MY LIFE and I’ll sabotage it myself, thank you. ”

“   Think twice? Bold of you to assume that I think once. ”

“   At the next inconvenience, I will start biting people. ”

“   Oops I think that I just experienced an emotion. ”

“   Did you know that rats spelled backwards is star? ”

“   One day, I’ll be reincarnated as a pigeon, and I’ll shit on your head. ”

“   On the outside, I’m a baddie — but on the inside, I’m a saddie. ”

“   My grandma bullies me through the Ouija board. ”

“   I’m a cool person if you can just look past my personality. ”

“   Beetles don’t have to do taxes, and I think that is a beautiful way to live. ”

“   I hope that you get your character development arc soon. ”

“   Those are some nice kneecaps … It’d be a shame if someone stole them … ”

“   I’ve wanted to be a trophy wife ever since I was a little boy. ”

“   I’m done being baby; I want POWER ”

“   Wait, “Just Standing There Ominously” doesn’t count as socializing? ”

“   Yes I am smart, and yes, I am stupid. It’s called being flexible. ”

“   I am NOT delusional!!!!! I am OPTIMISTIC! ”

“   I deserve compensation for not being the menace to society that i could be, like i'm skipping out on a lot of fun here. ”

“   Do not ask me if you should or shouldn't do something !!! Before I am a friend I am an enabler !!! ”

“   i am the WORLDS PRETTYIST PINK PRINCESS and im gonna KILL YOU WITH MY HUGE FUCKING HAMMER ”

[divana-aa]

Hoodoo Ain’t for Everybody — And That’s Okay

As someone who walks the path of Hoodoo—not because I found it online, but because it lives in my blood, my bones, my people—I feel it’s time to speak plainly.

Lately, I’ve been feeling a shift. I’m not the only one. More and more folks in the Hoodoo community, especially Black folks who’ve inherited this work through our families or come to it through ancestral callings, are speaking up about something that’s been sitting heavy on our hearts: Hoodoo is being treated like it’s open to everybody. And that’s a problem.

Let me be real clear: Hoodoo is Black American folk magic. It was born out of slavery, survival, resistance, and deep spiritual knowledge carried from Africa and blended with what our ancestors could find and use in a world built to crush them. It’s not a trend. It’s not “just magic.” It’s not interchangeable with witchcraft or Wicca or whatever new aesthetic is popular this week.

This is our tradition. It was built in the shadows of plantations and backwoods kitchens. It was whispered between grandmothers and aunties, handed down in prayers, in oils, in roots, in the way we survived when nothing was left to hold onto but God and grit.

And now, it’s all over the internet.

Non-Black folks are selling jar spell kits labeled “Hoodoo.”

People with no connection to the culture or history are making content, writing books, and calling themselves rootworkers.

Things that used to be sacred are now trending hashtags.

It don’t sit right. It shouldn’t sit right.

The truth is, more of us are starting to say: we want Hoodoo to be a closed practice again.

Not because we’re trying to gatekeep out of spite—but because we are tired. We are tired of seeing the sacred used carelessly. We are tired of seeing folks profit off our culture while ignoring our history. And we are tired of having to constantly explain that you don’t get to choose to practice Hoodoo the way you choose a new hobby.

This work comes with ancestors. It comes with accountability. It comes with pain and power that can’t be separated from Blackness.

And yes, we’re protective. We have every right to be.

So here’s what I’m asking, if you’re reading this and you’re not part of the Black community but you’re drawn to Hoodoo:

Sit with why.

Is it because you want power without responsibility?

Is it because it looks cool on social media?

Or is it because you’re longing for connection—and maybe you need to find it in your own roots, your own ancestors, your own folk traditions?

Because Hoodoo ain’t for everybody. And that’s not hate—it’s protection.

We protect this work because it protects us.

Because our grandmamas didn’t fight to keep it alive just to see it turned into a gimmick.

Because our spirits, our roots, our ancestors deserve better than exploitation.

If you care about Hoodoo, respect it enough to leave it to the people it belongs to.

If you’re a practitioner, speak up. Set boundaries. Keep the sacred sacred.

We don’t need permission to reclaim what’s ours. And we don’t owe anyone access to our medicine.

[deadghosy]

SLYTHERIN BOYS WITH A BLACK FEM!READER WHO IS TALL LIKE MEGAN THEE STALLION

A/N: tbh I randomly had the energy to write this late in night cause Megan is so gorgeous!! I appreciate reblogs, comments, and such as likes. Also I looked up the heights of the characters so I’m sorry this seems weird lol.

Honestly, all the Slytherin boys are tall asf..while you stand at 5’10. (Which is Megan’s irl height.) so you still are tall, just not a full taller height than the boys.

Tom is 5’11. Taller than you by an inch. He doesn’t care about your height or his. But he is impressed at how you do tower over some of the Slytherin girls and Hogwarts girls. He thinks you are definitely worth a chatting to.

Mattheo being 6’1 like Theodore, (I’ve always imagined him to be at least a little shorter than Theo) he likes to think you two can be a good couple. You rejected him of course but hey. At least he respects it. He does find it hot how tall you are against some girls.

Draco is only 5’9, so you’re taller than him by an inch. Personally you still make it seem like he’s shorter than you by a lot which makes him mad. But he can’t stay mad at you since it is kinda funny when you do it. And only you. If someone is else did it, he’s complaining to you completely.

Blaise, he’s 6’3. He’s a practically towering over you a bit. But still, you two are giants to others from afar. Every time you two walk together, there’s gossip about how you two look so cool together.

Theodore, being the tall bastard of 6’1. You two are very close in height. So of course you two are kinda like the tall duo.

And Lorenzo for final finds you very beautiful for a tall woman despite the others. He’s 6’0 (had to look at the fancasted actor height. Don’t judge me 🙁) He’s like a puppy in love with you, following you around and helping you carry your book bags and book. Literally smitten with you. Loves when you call him “baby” and cup his face. It makes him melt so fast.

Personally the Slytherin boys love how cool you are, and how you are a very intelligent person. They are like overprotective brothers and friends to you. Lorenzo is full snake mode when it comes to you. Immediately he wants to poison the people who mess with you like a poisonous snake

Definitely Lorenzo is the one. He’s immediately devoted to defend you from people who dare to make fun of you. They are not going to get at you, or towards you. They have to answer to him. Literally.

God when you do a slick back move line Draco but better….you better pray Lorenzo doesn’t go crazy asf. Cause he actually does. He wants to gatekeep how beautiful you are…but he hates it when other men try to holler at you.

And when they fail, Lorenzo is just smiling like a cheeky bastard.

Mattheo always teases the Berkshire male about how whipped he is for you. And Enzo but admit he is. See you’re an unbothered queen. You let haters lol dumb while karma gets to them.

“Hey big foot!” A girl yelled at you from across the great hall. You were just relaxing with your boys when she yelled. You turned around unbothered and looked ahead of yourself. Not giving a fuck if she thinks she can get under your skin. The riddles narrowed their eyes at the girl meanwhile Draco mumble how his “father will hear about this. Lorenzo is immediately sat up which lead you to put your hand on his arm. Calling him down a bit as he looks at you. “Boys calm down. It ain’t worth a second to get all mad about a bitch who can’t do shit but hate.” You say, smirking. You knew karma was gonna get her way. And it did when she ended up in the hospital wing. The thing was you didn’t do a single thing. Someone did.

Honestly Blaise is the person you allow to put your hair in a protective style. And he loves it. He sometimes brag to the other which made mattheo. Being the cocky one, to go up and not demand. Heavens no, if he had demand you to let him do your hair. You would’ve depulso him across the room and out your dorm. So you taught him how to do your hair.

Blaise and you just relaxing, listening to music as you give him a silk bonnet is definitely something that will happen time to time

Draco and you have self care days which bring you two together a lot.

Honestly with you being nicknamed “titan”, Theo would definitely pick you up. Making you two combined as a ladder. The same goes for Blaise as well.

It’s relaxing all day, evening, and night.

They love you dearly and you love them back.

[starqualityreadings]

What’s holding YOU back? PAC reading

choose the pic(s) you feel called to

thanks for reading ! let me know what resonates and what you want to see next

1st pic

…In with the new

the energy in this group is earthy, naturally content and maybe a bit reserved or introverted. It’s easy for you to enjoy staying in your comfort zone and that’s exactly what’s holding you back. You need to let go of doing things the same way you’ve always done them.

It’s time for new routines, habits, and patterns that align with the person you’ve grown into. I need you to work on your self expression. This includes but isn’t limited to updating your playlists, wearing different pieces and colors, trying or cooking new foods, learning a new skill or hobby, etc.

Add some creativity to the parts of your life where you only been focused on practicality. Hobbies and creative pursuits are directly aligned to your life’s purpose so you may find out more about yourself than you ever thought.

I want you to take up more space in your own life with things you like. Make the time to get the rest you need and do the things that fulfill you before burning yourself out. Rebuild that connection with yourself and your support systems so you can pour from a full cup.

2nd pic

Everybody ain’t your friend

What’s holding you back is the relationships that you have in your life that are no longer serving you. The idea that you can bring everyone to the top with you is directly harming you at this point.

You need to pay attention to the way certain people are treating you and how they react when things are going well for you and otherwise. There are jealous people in your circle not only saying negative things about you but actively working towards your “downfall”.

Moving forward, I need you to start gatekeeping yourself. Stop supplying people with information about your personal life to later use against you. If you’re working on a project or getting a position, don’t talk about it until it’s already complete.

There are people who want the best for you and you need to be spending your time and energy with them. The grass is always greener where you water it, so nurture those relationships with your day 1s and support system.

I whole heartedly suggest getting in contact with your spirit guides to boost your discernment .

3rd pic

The Original Thief of Joy

Whats holding you back is comparison. The idea of what you could have had or where you should be right now is actually less than what you deserve. You need to see how everything that is meant for you will find you in its own time. Misdirection is a protection and whenever one door closes another one opens.

You are on divine timing, so being at a certain level by a certain time is not realistic for YOU. Don’t be afraid to show yourself and others that it’s never too late to go after what you truly want in life.

Some are being called to take a leap of faith right now by switching career fields or starting your own business. If this is you, your efforts will be blessed more than what you can imagine. The choices you are making right now are leading you to exactly where you need to be.

Believing in yourself and your abilities is key. This group has done a lot of inner work and has a lot to contribute to the world. I’m sensing healers, readers and artists but not limited there and in your cases, this is your birthright. To fully rise into your power, i need you to work on your self worth. The only thing stopping you is that you are telling yourself you’re not ready or you don’t deserve it. Show the universe you know you deserve it.

[centrally-unplanned]

In news from a different world, last December J-pop idol Miho Nakayama passed away, quite shockingly so at the age of 54. I have no connection to her music or acting, but of course I do appreciate her role in the very early history of video game development and dating sims via the 1987 Famicom game Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School, which I have discussed before. I decided to play the game "in memoriam", as it were - it does in fact have an English patch, and you can see a playthrough of said patch on YouTube here. It was time to experience my very own 80's high school idol love story <3.

To the surprise of no one, this game sucks. It essentially had to, no real fault on the developers, but that doesn't change the facts. It is working with incredibly limited graphical capabilities of course, with the average scene looking like this:

Which just isn’t enough for “ambiance” immersion to work, every setting is generic by definition. That can of course be saved by a good plot or gameplay, but neither shows up here; there is barely any story to speak of. Main Guy goes to new school, meets “Mizuho”, realizes she is secretly pop idol Miho trying to live a normal life, they start dating, and paparazzi-types and the pressures of her career get in the way such that eventually (based on your route progression) she breaks up with you or you stay a couple and ride off into the sunset together. Literally by the way, a friend loans you a motorcycle so you can escape the press:

You might be saying “surely you are skipping some things” but I assure you it is nothing important. Neither Miho nor the main character have any personality to speak of, and your time is filled generally by comedic hijinks or just the mechanics of progressing the relationship. There is a fat-faced friend who gossips about school, you have a family that ~exists, there is a stuck-up rich girl you speak to about twice before she kidnaps you in order to serve you drugged food so you will date her (as was typical for 1980’s courtship norms) which happens solely to make you late for a date with Miho to create drama, and so on - it is all as tiresome as it is irrelevant. You can even poke your head into the girl’s locker room at some point, the crown jewel of filler content:

This isn’t even arcade-cabinet-strip-mahjong levels of hot, I know video games of the era could do better than this! Though for all the extraneous plot beats and side characters, I did like “The Trio”, a group of cackling girls who follow you around like a Greek chorus taunting you for your desires:

In another game these fey spirits would devour your organs at the right moment, mad respect. 

Anyway, all of this plot filler is used to stretch out the non-story but in that task it gets a helping hand from the game mechanics, which are a classic example of arbitrary progression gatekeeping. Half the dialogue options are just variants of the same core emotion, and the right answer is inscrutable. You get moments like this one, where Miho is apologizing to you for a misunderstanding:

And all of these answers are pretty dismissive? But the right answer is A, the meanest of them! Guess she has a type, but since you as a player haven’t negotiated her safe words yet you don’t know that and are just gonna facecheck your way through these.

As the cherry on top the advertised “facial expression” system is actually a letdown - it is very rarely used, most dialogue options don’t ask for it, and when they do you have six options:

But you actually never use half of these, and 90% of the time the correct answer is “normal”. At least this was bad in a “too easy” way, so it doesn’t waste your time, but you could just remove it as a mechanic and miss nothing. All of the “interactive” elements could be replaced by linear narrative, actually, and nothing would be lost.

Besides the competitive media mix aspects of the game, obviously. Which is what it is all about, right? This ain’t some random 8-bit idol, this is Miho Nakayama! And even in-game she is pretty cute, I do like the design for the close-up convos:

The glasses-for-disguise are nice with her moe eyes, the details of the shading really pop in an 8-bit context, and really the whole framework of the UI as this sort of flip picture book is adding value here (as opposed to being irrelevant in the location shots). They even give her a bunch of different outfits on your dates because as the heroine she deserves it:

“Ash, those first two are literally just palette swaps” “No man, look, the red one is using dithering to create a fade effect on the colors, implying a more complicated pattern like plaid thatching, while the blue one uses bold lines to imply a striped coat”. It was impressive in 1987, alright! This girl has no textual personality but there is life in this design that stands out from its peers.

But of course it isn’t the in-game graphics doing the heavy lifting here. As mentioned before, this was a “Telephone Game”, where players would be prompted at times to call phone numbers Nintendo had rented out to hear voicemails Nakayama had recorded. These voicemails are, to the best I can tell, lost to us - I have not found an existing recording online. They were only up briefly actually, for a few months after the game was released - this was not an era where longevity for games was considered important. We do have transcripts of them though, and I can imagine that picking up your house phone, calling a phone number, and getting the actual voice of the “character” in the game talking to you - making your heart go doki doki if you will - must have been pretty cool.

(Miho even travels throughout the game, and the phone numbers - according to this blogger - actually use location-appropriate area codes so it feels like you are really calling Osaka or Hokkaido! Very cool…unless - according to another blogger - you got hit with long distance calling charges for your pursuit of troubled love, as was reported in the media at the time. Now that’s authenticity?)

This mechanic is essentially a ludomantic experience that is impossible to capture today, because voice acting in video games is incredibly common; so much so that it would come off as gimmicky to make someone go through such a multi-device process. But since the Famicom couldn’t make vocal sounds, it had to make you use your phone, which created the simulacrum of actually calling a real human outside of the game to talk to. That is pretty neat!

As mentioned, the media mix came bundled with a competition - the winners were the first 16,000 players to submit a “Best Ending” record via the barely-used Famicom Disk Fax system. As helpfully explained in the instruction manual alongside photos of the IRL Nakayama:

And the big prize of a VHS tape of behind-the-scenes Nakayama stuff has been preserved, and is easily available if you want to watch it. Don’t though, it isn’t worth it; it is primarily b-roll footage of her doing typical day-to-day tasks and softball interview questions about “what is her type” with generic answers, stuff like that. Solid C- for the genre. But still, you didn’t know that when competing, right? The pressure to get your game file in was fierce.

I mentioned how the game essentially “had to be bad” at the start, and I want to dig into why that is. In my initial post I linked, I actually made a false statement - I said the development time for the game was “2 weeks”. I said that because the game’s Wikipedia page in English says it and so it is common trivia on the net, but I don’t think that it is true. Even when I typed it in that original post, the back of my mind was going “wait, that can’t be literally true, it is very hard to make a game that fast in that era - these guys are coding in Assembly!”, but I sort of hand-waived it away as, oh something like they were harvesting an existing game prototype or somesuch. But I believe this fact comes from a mistranslation of interviews like this one:

岩田: 坂口さんは『ファイナルファンタジー』の開発を終えて、『トキメキハイスクール』に合流されたんですか？ 坂口: ええ。チームの何名かが合流して、３カ月間くらいでしょうか。で、最後は１０名くらいのメンバーといっしょに京都にやって来て、２週間くらいカンヅメになって、なんとか開発を終えることができたんです。

Or:

Iwata: Sakaguchi, did you join the "Tokimeki High School" project after finishing development on "Final Fantasy"? Sakaguchi: Yes, that’s right. Several team members joined the project for about 3 months, I think. And then near the end of development, about 10 of us came down to Kyoto and we holed up for around 2 weeks until we somehow managed to finish the game.

So what is going on here is the game’s development was a joint production between Nintendo - in Kyoto at this time - and up-and-coming game company Square in Tokyo. And yes, they were literally working on Final Fantasy right before this game, and switched gears to tackle this new project. Or at least some of them did, for 3 months, and then famed-director-of-Final-Fantasy Sakaguchi came down to Kyoto and lived out of a hotel for two weeks doing crunch to finish it off. That fact, probably because Sakaguchi is the famous person reporters would care about, got transformed into the idea that the whole game took 2 weeks to make. 

In this same interview they talk about how, at the end of that crunch, they all went out for drinks to celebrate…until they got a phone call about how the motorcycle in the ending credits is glitching out and flying off the screen, which they thought was a hilarious, beautifully fitting bug for their time together. And that is hilarious, the primary reason I am recounting it, but I also think it goes to show that this was a hot mess of a game dev process. 2 weeks or ~3 months, both of those are not enough time. And with two companies in different cities, doing crunch out of a hotel, wrangling with a record label for a pop idol’s permission, setting up phone line recordings and VHS tapes and a bonus competition using experimental fax machines, all aligned with a media blitz? All for a game genre that honestly hadn’t been done before? I have checked, and you can authentically argue this is the first ever dating sim, at least on a console. People overstate what it is inventing - it is pulling tropes from romance anime and manga, of course - but even that process of transference is tough. This wasn’t a genre yet, and in a way they weren’t even trying to make a dating sim. They were trying to make an event.

One that today you just can’t experience. Very few people care about Nakayama Miho “like that” anymore, we aren’t seeing the commercials or the magazine ads or buying the discount unofficial strategy guide that invented a fake protagonist and never used Miho’s name because they didn’t have the rights. Today you play the game just because it is a game, and when you hit the phone numbers you tab over to a transcript of the voicemails…or maybe don’t even bother. The game was just a vessel for the hype. That doesn’t make the game good, by the way, I don’t want to go that far. The game was a not-very-good vessel for the hype, and an anachronistically better team could have made a better game. It isn’t really worth playing, in the end. But it is worth researching! As an event, it is really cool. As a piece of history, it is probably unique. And I respect the team behind it for that.