#and so Netflix is paying tumblr to keep it off trending

[judenightfell]

Is there a reason tumblr is only showing me 4 trending topics?? Is my tumblr just breaking after not updating in a year and a half?

[hookedonapirate]

Summary: The Jones brothers are polar opposites. Liam's the safe and honorable one, straight-laced and straight as an arrow. The good son.

Killian's the dangerous one, the bad boy with tats, leather jackets, a motorcycle and a questionable past.

The only things they have in common are panty-melting sea-blue eyes, the flat they share in Storybrooke and a rare blood type.

Oh, and apparently their taste in women.

Or rather, one woman.

Feisty.

Blonde.

Gorgeous.

Green-eyed Goddess.

Killian saw her first, but she chose his brother—the nice guy over the playboy. And even though she’s dating his brother, it doesn't make him want her any less. If that's not bad enough, she moves in with them and he has to pretend he's not completely in love with her. His life could not get any worse…

Until Liam dies in a tragic motorcycle accident.

Leaving each of them with one half of a broken heart.

Now Killian and Emma are left helping each other pick up the pieces.

Just as they're beginning to learn how to live in their new reality, another riptide pulls them further into the deep end when she finds out she's pregnant with Liam's baby.

Notes: So I made this post on Tumblr the other day, and then this fic happened. If you haven't seen the tags, please read them before starting this story or becoming invested because it’s very angsty. First of all, this starts out as Swan Jewel? I don't know what their ship name is or if there is an official name, but yes, Liam and Emma are in a relationship in the beginning, and I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. If you're not comfortable with that, I highly encourage you to hit the back button.

Thank you @ultraluckycatnd​ for looking it over!

This story was inspired by Baby Mine by Kennedy Fox, and I loved the book so much and thought it was very much underrated. I’ve wanted to write a fic like this for a long time now because it’s one of my favorite tropes, but after I read that book, I just had to write my own take. Also, I made this post about a Baby Yodarita drink last year when it was trending and since the beginning of this story starts one year prior, 2019 and since Killian is a bartender, it was a perfect way to include the prompt.

The title comes from the lyrics of the song, Lay By Me by Ruben. The particular line goes like this:

"I hope you know through the rising tide That I'll be here and you can lay by my side"

If you've never heard it, I recommend giving it a listen. It's an amazing song and very fitting for this story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFJbLzEtoZw

P.S. In case you're unable to read the shoulder tattoo in the picture above and are wondering what it says—

"There is no happiness without tears

No life without death

And no true love without heartbreak"

Rated: Explicit for smut (including sexual fantasies, masturbation, implied and detailed sex, etc.) and language (lots of F-bombs).

Also available on: AO3 FF.N

Chapter 1

“Late again?” Liam chides when Ruby waltzes into work as if everything is completely normal. As if she’s not an hour late for her shift. 

  For the third time that week.

  She gives him an apologetic smile, but Killian knows she’s not actually sorry. 

  He’s just wondering who she was with this time.

  “Won't happen again, boss.”

  “Damn right it won’t. This is your third warning. Next time, there will be a write-up,” he admonishes.

  Frustration creases her forehead. “Geez, would you just chill? My car broke down.”

  Liam crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes at her. “So, you mean to tell me your car has broken down three times this week?” he asks, holding up three fingers. “And on either of these occasions, you couldn’t pick up the phone and give me a heads up? Did your phone break, too?”

  She flashes him a look as though the answer to his question is obvious. “I told you my car’s a piece of junk. And I tried to call, but no one answered.”

  Killian fights off a laugh, knowing for a fact Ruby is bluffing. At least about calling tonight, since the phone hadn’t rung in the past hour. But he could easily check to see if she’d called on the other two days on the bar phone’s caller i.d. to find out for sure if he really wanted to. 

   “So get a new car. Don’t you make enough from your tips and the hourly wage I pay you?”

  “I make enough from my tips,” she replies with a sarcastic smirk, “but I have more important things to buy.”

  Liam rolls his eyes. “Like what? More six-inch heels, low-cut tops and short skirts?”

  Ruby lets out an exasperated sigh. “How do you think I get good tips—by dressing like a Catholic schoolgirl?” She twists her lips and presses the back of her long, red-painted fingernail to her chin, pondering her own words for a second. “On second thought, that actually might bring in even more tips. Besides, you should be paying for my work clothes. Maybe then I could afford a new car.”

  Liam scoffs. “You want me to pay for your outfits?” He shakes his head. “I don’t think so.”

  Ruby's eyes widen, as though she’s shocked he declined her request. “Why not? Can’t you claim them as a work expense?”

  He nods. “Alright, fine. But if I’m paying for your work attire, then I’m choosing what you wear. Sound good to you?” he asks, knowing damn well she’ll never go for it.

  Unsurprisingly, she shakes her head. “Absolutely not. I ain’t wearing no damn polo shirt and black slacks. I like my low-cut tops and short skirts, thank you very much.”

  Liam sighs and cups his forehead in his hand to indicate she’s giving him a headache as he turns around and walks toward his office. “Just get to work, Ruby.”

  She wraps her apron around her waist and mimics his words in a mocking tone, “Just get to work, Ruby.”

  “I heard that!” Liam hollers.

  “I could be already serving customers if it weren’t for my pain in the ass boss riding me every two goddamn seconds!” she shouts, hoping he heard that too.

  Killian chuckles to himself as he rings up a customer for his drinks and hands him the change.

  “That dude seriously needs to get laid,” Ruby huffs. “Maybe then he’d back off a little.”

  “Ha! I doubt it,” Killian comments before taking another drink order.

  Ruby heads to the dining area to wait on customers. She knows Killian’s not wrong to doubt Liam’s ability to show a little mercy. He’s worked for his brother for two years, longer than anyone has ever been able to stand working for him, and he’s never once seen Liam be lenient, not even to his own brother. He runs a tight ship, and Killian doesn’t see that ever changing. Liam has owned this bar for five years and takes his job very seriously. 

  Killian’s just glad he only has to work here for another six months. Or at least that’s the plan. He’s about to graduate from Storybrooke University and get his degree in engineering. As much as he enjoys working for his brother, or rather listening to his coworkers complain about his brother behind Liam’s back, he doesn’t plan on spending his entire life making drinks.

  Liam emerges from his office an hour later and announces he has to take off for a while to run some errands. Killian’s confused because this is Liam’s night to manage the bar. He dedicates the majority of his other time performing administrative tasks during the week.

  “What errands do you have to run on a Friday night?” Killian asks, his words laced with suspicion.

  “Just some errands I promised someone I’d take care of. You’re in charge while I’m gone.” He pulls on his jacket and leaves Killian behind the bar with a confused expression on his face, wondering what his brother is up to. 

  Killian brushes off the thought, deciding to further question him later.

  Liam heads out the door, but not before scolding Ruby for sitting down at a table full of rowdy men, chatting (and not about the menu). She may be into women, but she flirts with customers regardless of their gender for the tips. 

  Ruby curses under her breath and gets up, moving to her next table to jot down orders.

  ~*~

  Emma sighs as Mary Margaret grabs her hand and pulls her into The Captain's Rum. Or more like, drags her in kicking and screaming. She doesn’t wish to be at this bar any more than she wanted to be at the last two. But her sister-in-law insists on the outlandish idea Emma’s going to find Mr. Perfect tonight. Or somehow get over her asshole of an ex-boyfriend after one night of drinking.

  And even though it's been two months since she left Neal and his thieving and cheating ass, and as much as she wants to get over him, Emma knows it’s not gonna happen for a while. At least not tonight.

  And yet, here she is.

  One night of drinking can’t hurt, she supposes. One night of forgetting everything. Of numbing her pain. Or so she keeps telling herself, but that could be the alcohol she’s already imbibed at the other two bars speaking.

  “So, how’s it going tonight, Rubes?” Mary Margaret asks the cocktail server once they’re seated at a booth. 

  Apparently, they know each other.

  “Well, no one's tried to manhandle me yet, so it's a start.” The tall brunette with red streaks in her hair leans over the table and murmurs, “Not a great start, but it's a start.”

  Mary Margaret rolls her eyes and laughs as she gestures at Emma. “Rubes, this is my sister-in-law, Emma. She just moved here from New York.”

  Looking at Emma, Ruby grins and sticks out her hand. “Hi! Nice to meet you!”

  Emma gives her a polite smile and shakes her hand. “Likewise.”

  When Ruby brings the chips and cheese Mary Margaret ordered, she places them on the table along with two empty plates. Before arriving here, Mary Margaret decided they would put some food in their bellies before they added more alcohol so they wouldn't get too drunk too fast and have to head home early. Well, that was Mary Margaret’s idea at least. Emma would much rather be home in the comfort of her bedroom watching Netflix. Or rather, her brother’s and sister-in-law's guestroom they so graciously let her sleep in until she gets her own place. 

  “Enjoy, ladies.”

  “Sure will,” Mary Margaret beams as Ruby leaves their table. She sips on some water as she scans the bar. Probably for potential suitors she can hook her sister-in-law up with, Emma surmises. “What about him? He's cute,” Mary Margaret remarks, her eyes trained on someone behind her. 

  Emma looks over her shoulder and arches a brow. “He’s cute if you’re sixteen. He looks way too young.”

  “Well, he’s drinking, so he must be at least twenty-one,” Mary Margaret points out.

  “He looks sixteen, and sorry, I don’t date children.”

  “Emma, he’s not a child, probably a college student. And you act like you’re so old just because you already graduated. You’re twenty-two,” Mary Margaret points out like she’s jealous and wishes to be so young again. But she's only a few years older—the same age as David.

  Emma groans. “No, thanks.” Her last boyfriend was immature enough as it was, and he was ten years her senior. “So, tell me, how are you and my brother getting along?” Emma asks, attempting to change the subject and get her sister-in-law to avert her attention from the college boys across the room. “Sick of each other yet?”

  Mary Margaret whips her head around and scowls. “Of course not. Why would you ask such a thing?”

  Emma laughs and raises her hands in defense. “Because I knew it was the only thing that would get your attention.”

  Guilt and apology flicker in Mary Margaret’s eyes. “Sorry, Emma.” She lays her palms on the table. “David and I are just worried about you, that’s all.”

  Emma sighs, frustration creasing her forehead. “I’m fine, I promise. Neal was an ass, and honestly, him cheating on me was a good thing. I needed the wake-up call, okay? I was blinded by love. But now that we're over, I can move on with my life. That’s why I let you talk me into bar hopping.”

  A slow, hopeful smile spreads across her lips. “I know, and I’m so happy you got out of that relationship, Emma. David and I both are.”

  Emma laughs. “I know. When I landed on your door stoop, we both had to stop him from driving all the way to New York to kick Neal's ass.”

  Mary Margaret nods. “True. He’s very protective of you.”

  Emma rolls her eyes. “I know. It’s both a blessing and a curse.” She takes a sip of water as she scans the bar. It’s the first time she’s been to The Captain's Rum, and everyone is so unfamiliar to her. New York is a huge place, especially compared to Storybrooke, but in this bar, it feels like she‘s back in New York. She swears everyone in Storybrooke is here.

  Ruby returns to their table to sit and chat. And steal some of their chips, double-dipping them in the cheese. Emma fights off the urge to laugh at this as her eyes wander past Ruby’s shoulder. 

  Huge mistake.

  The group at the bar counter disperses, revealing the most gorgeous sight she's ever seen.

  Holy. Fucking. Hell. 

  She loses a breath when she sees what she can only describe as a fine specimen. 

  Good Lord.

  Handsome features and such a delicious smile to accompany his perfect face as he chats with a male patron at the bar, she finds herself licking her lips.

  “What about him?” Emma manages when she’s able to find the words in her throat. 

  Mary Margaret’s eyes light up before she even looks to see who Emma is staring so unabashedly at. “Who?!” She and Ruby both turn their heads, their eyes following the path of Emma’s gaze until they land on the target.

  “You mean the bartender?” Mary Margaret asks, though, to Emma’s surprise, she doesn’t seem very excited; more like disappointed.

  Emma tears her gaze away from the bartender, as much as she doesn’t want to. But she couldn’t breathe when she looked at him and she needed to come up for air. “Yeah, why not?” 

  “Why not what?” Ruby asks as she looks at Emma, curiosity flashing in her big hazel eyes. “Because if you’re asking ‘why not jump his bones,’ then I can’t think of one good reason.”

  “Ruby, don’t encourage her,” Mary Margaret chides with a glare.

  Ruby frowns, confusion etched in her features. “Why not?”

  “Because… Killian is a player. Emma just broke up with her player of a boyfriend a couple of months ago. She doesn't need another one in her life.”

  “Um, excuse me, I’m right here,” Emma groans wryly. “And I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions.”

  “She’s not wrong though,” Ruby remarks. “He is a player. But a fucking hot player. Between the two of us, we’ve conquered all the women of Storybrooke.”

  Emma lifts a brow. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

  “Yep. Probably even some of the same women,” she winks, her words bearing no shame or remorse.

  “Ruby, would you stop? Besides, neither of you have conquered me,” Mary Margaret points out with air quotes.

  Ruby rolls her eyes. “Of course not. Prince Charming had already parked his car in your garage long ago.” She reverts her eyes to Emma. “If you’re looking for a relationship, he’s definitely not for you…” she leans over toward Emma, speaking softly, “but if you’re looking for a hookup to get over that cheating ex of yours, then he’s absolutely perfect for that. He’ll give you an orgasm sooooo hard, you’ll forget all about that scumbag. Then he’ll do it over and over again until he knows you won’t be able to walk for weeks.” Ruby grins wide. “Hell, you’ll forget your own fucking name for weeks.”

  Emma gulps, having to recover from the images Ruby implanted in her mind of the man on the other side of the bar. Once she recovers, she furrows her brows at the conclusions she’s drawn from Ruby’s graphic depictions of what a night with the handsome, dark-haired bartender would be like. “How would you know? Have you two—”

  Ruby laughs as though Emma just said the funniest thing she’s ever heard in her life. “Oh Gaaaaawwwwd, no! I don’t swing that way, honey,” she says, rising and waving off Emma’s words with a flick of her hand. “But I’ve seen the number Killian’s done on his conquests. People talk, especially the drunk, horny females who enter the bar. Plus, as I said, he’s my competition, so I have to know what he's working with… if you know what I mean,” she says with a wink.

  “Yeah, I got it,” Emma groans as Ruby saunters away. Why do all the hot guys have to be players? 

  It’s just her luck.

  Emma turns to catch another look at him. 

  God, he’s gorgeous. 

  Dark, wild hair, stubble on his chin and cheeks, and a fantastic body based on what she can see from her vantage point.

  “Emma! Don’t even think about it! That man’s trouble and you know David would never approve,” Mary Margaret explains, pulling Emma from her trance.

  She turns her head, glaring at her sister-in-law. “David is not my father. And besides, I’m a grown-ass woman! He can’t tell me who I can or cannot date.”

  Mary Margaret gives her a motherly look. “I know, sweetie, but this man doesn’t date women, he fucks them and then sends them packing. David only wants to protect you from guys like him.”

  “I don’t need his protection, okay? Or yours. I’m perfectly capable of looking out for myself.” Emma stands from her seat, and she’s not sure if it’s because of the alcohol still brewing in her system, or because her sister-law has expressed disapproval from both her and David, making this man seem like a forbidden, sinful dessert she’s dying to get a taste of, even though she’ll pay for it later. But right now she doesn't give a fuck. 

  She sucks in a breath and strides across the bar, ignoring Mary Margaret’s pleas and warnings.

  Her eyes are fixed on him like a magnet. He’s wearing a black v-neck that fits him like a glove and shows off a provocative amount of chest hair, his tight, firm muscles bulging as he wipes down the bar counter. His muscles aren’t inhumanly large, just big enough for her to imagine him picking her up and easily carrying her to his bedroom like she weighs nothing. Emma can feel her panties grow wet just from watching him work. 

  But even though she doesn’t wish to be told who to be with, she knows she should heed her sister-in-law’s warnings.

  What would one night of fun hurt, though? She’s spent too much time holed up in her New York apartment, wallowing in self-pity and heartache after Neal hurt her. She hasn’t been with anyone since then. And maybe she’s not looking to dive into a serious relationship right now. Or ever. Maybe she just wants to blow off some steam. And this man looks like he can handle such a task. She’s more than willing to find out. 

  Emma approaches the bar and stands in front of him, placing her hands on the counter. 

  “What can I get you, lass?”

  Well, fuck me sideways.

  He has a British accent too?

  She knows she should run for her life, but before she can talk herself out of it, he looks up from his task, and she feels like her feet are glued to the floor. 

  Ho-ly hell.

  He’s even more gorgeous up close.

  His arms are inked with tattoos she so badly wants to trace with her fingers, and his striking blue eyes sparkle as he stares at her, his smile showing off a set of pearly white teeth.

  Well shit.

  She couldn’t run away if she wanted to.

  ~*~

  Killian had been running back and forth behind the bar for hours, ringing up bar patrons, making drinks and engaging in small talk. It’s a typical Friday night at The Captain’s Rum; the place is normally busy on the weekends, especially since the bar is only a stone’s throw away from the university, and tonight is no exception. It’s crowded and loud, couples are dancing, and the women are scantily clad in either tiny dresses or short tops and skirts. As he’s grabbing beers and making cocktails, the bar continues to fill and grow louder. 

  He hands off drinks to a couple before moving on to the next customer. 

  “Hey Jones, can I get two Blue Ribbons?” his good mate, Robin, calls over the blaring music. 

  Killian chuckles and grabs the desired beers, popping off the caps before handing them over. “Taking it easy tonight?” he asks, leaning against the counter and gripping the edge of it with both hands.

  “Aye. Regina doesn’t like the hard stuff. She’s more of a wine person.”

  “Ah, I see.” Killian nods; he can definitely see that about Regina. He doesn't want to say this to one of his best mates, but the lass can be a little stuck up and quite bossy at times. She makes Robin happy though, so he keeps his mouth shut.

  He chats with him for a few minutes, finally getting a few minutes of reprieve. As Robin heads back to his girlfriend, Killian takes the opportunity to wipe down the bar top. But before he’s finished, someone approaches the counter. His eyes are still trained on his task, but he can’t miss the long blonde hair, pink lace and fantastic cleavage, seeing as the view is directly in front of him. “What can I get you, lass?” he asks, throwing on his most charming grin as he lifts his head.

  His smile is cemented on his face the second he looks up.

  Killian’s accustomed to seeing pretty women entering his brother’s bar and parading around in clothes that barely cover their essential parts.

  Yet nothing in the world could’ve prepared him for the woman standing in front of him on the other side of the bar counter.

  No, not woman. 

  Goddess.

  Emerald green eyes, soft pink lips curved into a shy smile, smooth creamy skin, long golden hair cascading over her shoulders.

  Good. 

  God.

  She’s breathtaking.

  Stunning.

  “What would you recommend?” she asks in a teasing tone.

  Fuck.

  Her voice is that of an angel’s. Pure and sweet and innocent.

  She looks like everything he doesn’t deserve but wants every... fucking... part of.

  “Uh… I um…” he stutters, scratching nervously behind his ear. He can’t form a cohesive sentence as he looks into those hypnotizing eyes. He wants to get lost in them, drown in them. “What are you… what are you in the mood for, love?” he finally musters, adding another one of his signature grins. “I can make you anything your heart desires.” What he wants to say is, “I can give you anything your heart desires,” but even that may not be true. As gorgeous as she is, he’s afraid he wouldn’t be the man she deserves. He’s never been the guy women like to take home to their parents, anyway. He’s the guy chicks like to have around for a good time before they eventually settle into a serious relationship with Mr. Perfect. He’s definitely no Mr. Perfect, more like a Good Luck Chuck, but at the moment, he feels like he could be fucking Superman for this woman. And he's only exchanged a few words with her so far.

  She arches a brow and it’s literally the most adorable and sexiest thing he’s ever witnessed in his life. “Anything?” He senses a challenge in her tone. 

  “Try me,” he encourages.

  She bites her bottom lip in thought.

  He lied. Now that’s the most adorable and sexiest thing he’s ever witnessed.

  “What if I said I wanted a Baby Yodarita?”

  He arches a brow, very much intrigued. “A Baby Yodarita? Never heard of it.”

  She laughs and the sound is music to his ears. “That's because I made up the name. But I figure it would be a green drink that looks like baby Yoda.”

  “So, I take it you’re a Star Wars fan?”

  “Are you a bartender?” 

  Just as he answers like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, since he’s behind the bar serving drinks, he catches her drift and flashes a smirk.

  Could this woman be any hotter? And yes, as he’s asking this question in his head, he’s picturing Chandler Bing and the way he would say it, emphasizing the word be. Gods, he hates that he knows that about Friends. He hates that he actually likes that show.

  “You don't really have to be a Star Wars fan to be a baby Yoda fan though. He's so cute, he's trending on the internet, haven't you seen?”

  He chuckles. “Aye, who hasn't?” 

  She plants her hand on her hip, donning a sultry smirk. “So, are you up for the task, or not?”

  He licks his lips and leans over the bar counter, his eyes locked with hers. He wants to ask her if she fell from heaven. Or if he just died and went to heaven. But he has a feeling cheesy lines wouldn't work on a woman like her. “I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific as to what task you’re referring to, love.” But who the fuck is he kidding? There is nothing he could do for her he would consider a task. 

  Only a pleasure.

  Blush paints her cheeks and she leans over, meeting him halfway until her face is mere inches from his. “I have a few in mind… but how ‘bout that drink, first?” 

  Bloody. Fuck-ing. Hell.

  Her voice is a mixture of sweet and seductive. He doesn’t know how she manages to pull off a combination like that. His eyes drop to her lips and he’s seriously considering kissing the holy fuck out of her over the bar counter, audience be damned. He almost groans just thinking about her soft, luscious looking lips pressed against his, but he swallows the sound before it leaves his throat.

  He lifts his eyes to hers. “Sit tight, sweetheart.” 

  “Okay,” she says with a smile and takes a seat on a barstool. “Oh, and a Cosmo for my sister-in-law.”

  “Coming right up.” It takes every ounce of strength within him to pull away, but somehow he does. 

  He has to take slow, deep breaths to peel his mind from the fantasies he’s already having of him and the blonde temptress watching him intently as he prepares her drink. 

  ~*~

  Emma snorts. She honestly didn’t think he would actually take her seriously. She was only kidding around. But he took her very seriously and eagerly accepted her challenge. And he did an amazing job.

  She stares at the green drink in amusement, impressed, to say the least. He brought it to her in a margarita glass with two lime wedges sticking out like ears. The stem is wrapped in a napkin tied with twine and clearly made to look like Baby Yoda’s coat. And there's a cocktail stick tucked into the twine like a sword. 

  “Well? How did I do?” he asks, eagerly seeking her answer.

  “It's so cute,” she comments honestly. “It looks great, but does it taste as good as it looks?” As she asks that question, she’s looking up into his gorgeous eyes. And she can’t deny she’s wondering the same about him. 

  Does he taste as good as he looks? 

  Before she brings the glass to her lips, he puts up a finger to stop her. 

  “Hold on.” He grabs a toothpick and stabs two cherries, one on each end, before sticking it into the drink, giving the baby Yoda a pair of eyes. “For the finishing touch,” he smirks.

  After she stops laughing, she takes a hesitant drink. Once she takes the first sip, her face sours and she blinks a few times as she swallows. “Wow, that’s strong.” She arches her brow, pinning him with an accusatory stare. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

  He chuckles. “Aye, isn't that the intention?” 

  She nods and grins. “This will certainly do the trick.” She rises from the stool and reaches into her back pocket, pulling out her phone case wallet, which holds her phone and money. “How much?” she asks, pulling out some cash.

  He waves off her offer. “The drinks are on me,” he says with a wink.

  “Are you sure? I don't wanna get you in trouble.”

  “Trust me, I won't get in trouble.”

  Taking his word for it, she tucks the cash into her wallet. “Thanks for the drinks, Killian.”

  He arches a sultry brow, making her heart skip a beat. “So, you’ve heard of me, but I have yet to learn your name?”

  She laughs and points at the name embroidered into his shirt. “Yours is right there.”

  “Oh, that,” he chuckles, a light blush tinting his cheeks as he peers down and brushes his fingers over the letters. “My boss insists we have our names displayed on our shirts.”

  “Well, your boss sounds like a pain in the ass.”

  “He is, but I only have to work here for another six months. I’m graduating from SBU in the Spring.”

  She nods as a group of people approach the counter beside her. She glances over at them and shifts her gaze back to him, wishing he had more time to chat, but she knows he has to work. “It's Emma,” she makes sure to tell him before the counter becomes too overcrowded. “My name,” she clarifies, in case that wasn't obvious.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Emma,” he says sweetly, reaching over to shake her hand. When she slips her palm into his, she can feel the sparks from his touch, but instead of shaking her hand, he brings it to his lips and kisses the back of it.

  Oh, God.

  This man’s lips on her skin feel like heaven and sin. She has to clench her thighs to stop the throbbing she feels between her legs.

  Fuck.

  She feels the loss when she pulls her hand away and sees the loss written all over his face. “Well, I should um… I should get back to my sister-in-law,” she stammers after learning how to form words again.

  He scratches behind his ear and opens his mouth to speak before closing it again like he’s nervous about something. “Of course, love.”

  Emma swallows thickly and lingers a bit, patiently waiting for him to say what’s on his mind. 

  He must sense she's waiting for him because as she grabs the drinks and starts to back away from the counter, his voice stops her. “Emma?”

  Good Lord, she loves the way her name slides off his tongue.

  She cocks a brow, hoping he's about to ask for her number. Praying he does. “Yes?”

  “I um… can you come back here before you leave? Say in an hour when it slows down a bit? I’d love to chat with you some more,” he says sincerely.

  Emma purses her lips like she has to mull over his question. The offer is extremely tempting. But she has something else in mind other than talking. Something involving his hands all over her body and her legs wrapped around his hips as he's plunging into her. 

  And you know what? Fuck it.

  She’s sure whatever he has in mind is exactly what she has in mind. Or at least, close to it. “Sure.”

  His eyes widen in excitement and surprise, as though he wasn't actually expecting her to say yes. “Really?”

  She flashes him her sexiest grin. “Yeah, why not? I’ll see you in an hour.”

  “See you then, love. Enjoy your drink. May the booze be with you.” 

  She snorts and backs away from the counter, holding up her glass in salute before taking a sip. Their eyes are still locked before she turns around.

  As she walks away, she cranes her neck to see him still watching her, even as he's serving other customers. She winks at him and has the pleasure of witnessing that adorable pink blush coloring his cheeks and the smirk on his lips before she faces forward and heads back to Mary Margaret. 

  She’s not looking forward to the lecture her sister-in-law is about to give her, but honestly, she doesn't care. She's looking forward to returning to the hot bartender, hoping to go back to his bedroom. Or the restroom. Either will do, really. As long as she gets to have him.

  After Mary Margaret is done chewing Emma out and reminding her of what a player Killian is, and after she finally realizes Emma is going to do what she wants, regardless of what anyone says, they are able to have some fun. 

  Ruby keeps the drinks coming, and soon they’re tipsy enough to get up and dance among the crowd of gyrating bodies already on the dance floor. Emma glances over at the counter every now and then, and every other time, she catches Killian staring at her, sending shivers down her spine. And every time he tosses her one of his cheeky smiles, her stomach flutters with butterflies. 

  Emma's thankful Mary Margaret is plastered enough to let loose and not give her any shit because she has no idea what Mary Margaret would do if Emma told her she's going back to talk to Killian. Though she has a feeling if Mary Margaret were sober, she'd do anything in her power to make sure Emma stayed away from him. 

  When the time finally comes, they order an Uber, which takes much longer than expected. She helps Mary Margaret into the backseat and tells her she's staying for a bit longer and will catch another Uber when she's ready to leave. She doesn't dare mention Killian's name, or that she plans on leaving with him, for fear Mary Margaret will blabber to her brother. Because then he'll come marching into the bar on his white horse to find his sister with the bartender and embarrass the hell out of her.

  Mary Margaret's too drunk and in no shape to talk her out of anything, so Emma’s able to escape, knowing her brother will take care of his wife when she gets home. 

  Emma quickly shoots David a text to let him know his wife had a few too many drinks and is on her way home in an Uber and that Emma decided to stay a little longer but will be home soon. Which is a lie. 

  She hopes. 

  Before the Uber drives away, Emma slips her phone into her pocket before heading back into the bar. She's fifteen minutes late, but it's not like Killian can go anywhere. He’s the bartender.

  Once inside, she takes a deep breath and tucks some hair behind her ears, a smile playing along her lips as she makes her way to the bar counter. She has no idea what exactly will happen once she reaches him, but with a face as gorgeous as his, she’s pretty sure she would let him do anything he wanted to.

  She’s also pretty sure he could help Emma get over her ex. As they say, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. And that’s exactly what she plans on doing.

  As Emma nears the counter and spots Killian, the beaming smile on her face immediately falls flat.

  And her heart sinks.

  A busty blonde is standing at the bar, her hand running up and down Killian’s arm, her fingers tracing his tattoos. The woman is sitting on a barstool at the opposite side of the counter in a low-cut top that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination, and a skirt so short and tight it looks like it's been painted on. Killian’s standing in front of her, so his back is to Emma as he gives his full attention to the other blonde. It's almost time for last call, so it's now much quieter in the bar, and she's close enough to be able to hear their conversation.

  “What can I get you, love?”

  “A Tequila.”

  “Tequilas are trouble,” he says matter-of-factly.

  She moves in closer, biting her smile. “So am I,” she taunts.

  “I’m fully aware,” he replies with a chuckle. He tries to move, probably to make her Tequila, but she grabs his arm, forcing him to stay. Though, forcing is a bit of an overstatement; Killian doesn't seem to be putting up much of a fight. “Would you like a snack, too?”

  Mischief dances in her eyes as she licks her lips, ogling him like he’s the snack. “I’m looking at it, honey.”

  Emma feels like she's going to be sick. 

  The woman leans in and bites his ear and then pulls away slightly. “Last weekend was incredible. Can’t stop thinking about having my legs wrapped around you,” she giggles.

  Jealousy stabs Emma’s gut and disappointment shoots through her like a lightning bolt, bringing her back to reality.

  Mary Margaret and Ruby were totally right. 

  He’s a player. 

  Unable to listen to them for another second, Emma spins on her heels and dashes out the door so fast, she almost tramples over some guys heading in at the last minute. 

  She should’ve listened to the warnings, but she was too blinded by the attraction she felt for Killian. 

  God, she’s a fucking idiot. 

  Why does she always fall for the dangerous guys? The ones who are bad for her? Why can’t she just find a nice guy for once? Someone safe. Someone who won’t stomp on her heart and discard it like trash without batting an eye.

  She pushes open the door, tears stinging her eyes as she runs outside into the bitter, chilly night, hoping the Uber driver hasn’t taken off yet. But it's wishful thinking because she can't think of a reason why he wouldn't have left by now.

  “Ooof.”

  The air rushes from her lungs as she slams into a tall, solid mass. 

  Hands are gripping her arms to keep her from falling as apologies leave her lips. “Sorry.” She looks up at the man towering over her, Emma's eyes connecting with soft blue ones, which are full of apology. 

  He flashes a warm smile, his lips framed by a light brown scruff.

  “I’m the one who should be sorry, lass. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” 

  Shit.

  He has an accent too? 

  What’s with all the accents in this town? She’s noticed a lot of the locals here weren’t actually born here. Or the States. She didn’t realize how much she liked men with foreign accents until tonight.

  This man continues to apologize, but he doesn’t sound very sorry. At least not for crashing into her. “I was distracted,” he says with a smirk, giving Emma the impression she was what he was distracted by.

  Emma tears herself from the trance she’s in and glances at the side of the road, where the Uber once was. “Shit,” she curses under her breath.

  “Are you okay?” he asks in genuine concern.

  “Yeah, it’s just… my ride has already left. And I’m too drunk to drive home,” she sighs.

  Before the man can respond, his phone chimes from his jacket. “Excuse me,” he says apologetically, pulling out the device. He studies whatever’s on the screen with a worried expression, then looks up at her, his mouth slightly agape.

  “Everything okay?” she asks with an arched brow, starting to shiver as a frigid wind sweeps around her.

  “Um, yeah.” He glances at his phone again before lifting his gaze. “You wouldn’t happen to be Emma, would you?”

  She freezes and just stares at him, not knowing how to answer that. Or rather, why she should answer that.

  What the hell? 

  She's never seen this man before in her life, so how does he know her name? 

  Her heart pounds and she wants to run, but she's afraid she’s not sober enough for that at the moment. “How do you know my name?”

  He appears to be hesitant as he holds up his phone, showing her his screen.

  Emma takes it in her hands so she can get a better look.

  Her eyes widen when she sees a text from a Nolan.

  Nolan, as in her brother? Who else with the last name, Nolan, lives with a Mary Margaret and an Emma?

  Nolan: I just received a text from Emma. She sent Mary Margaret home in an Uber and is at your bar. Can you make sure she gets home all right?

  Her blood sizzles as she rereads the message. Then she reads the texts before it, a couple in particular sticking out like sore thumbs.

  Nolan: So… I have a huge favor to ask.

  Me: Sure, what’s up, mate?

  Nolan: The wife and sister are going to the Rabbit Hole tonight. Emma just moved here from New York after a terrible break-up and Mary Margaret is determined to hook her up with someone.

  Nolan: Think you have time to get away from work and keep an eye on my sister, make sure she doesn’t find any trouble? 

  What the actual fuck?

  Why is her brother having this man spy on her?

  Emma turns around and pulls back the hand still holding the phone, about to toss the damn thing.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t shoot the messenger, love,” he pleads. “I need my phone.”

  The endearment makes her shiver. Killian had called her love, too.

  She spins around to glare at the stranger. “David’s using you to spy on me?” she demands firmly.

  He holds up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t want to, lass, I promise, but I would’ve felt terrible if I said no and then, later on, found out something bad happened to you. I promise, I was only helping a friend and looking out for you.”

  Emma sighs and hands his phone back, knowing he’s telling the truth. She saw his responses to David’s texts and gathered he didn’t wish to put his nose where it didn’t belong or to stir up any trouble. “David always has been good at persuading people,” she grumbles.

  “Aye, especially when it comes to protecting the ones he loves,” he winks. 

  “Even so, he has no business spying on me!” she states louder than intended.

  “I wholeheartedly agree,” he states adamantly, making sure to express how much he was against this whole idea, to begin with.

  Emma crosses her arms over her chest, wondering how she never saw him at the Rabbit Hole when she was there. “So, you spied on me at the Rabbit Hole?”

  He shakes his head. “No, I didn’t get the chance to. By the time I got there, you and Mary Margaret were already gone.”

  Emma shakes her head and rolls her eyes at the thought of her own brother asking someone to spy on her. But she’s not surprised. “Brothers are so annoying,” she grumbles.

  He chuckles, and the deep, hearty sound warms her heart a little, despite the chill in the air. “Agreed.”

  She arches her brow, as though to ask him to expand on why.

  “I have one of those, too. So I get it.”

  Emma’s features soften, a small smile pulling at her lips. “Older or younger?”

  “Younger. He can be quite the ponce sometimes, but at the end of the day, I’d lay down my life for him.”

  “I usually feel the same about David… and then he goes and pulls something like this,” Emma remarks bitterly.

  “I take it he does this a lot?”

  “He did when we were younger. But then I moved to New York and he came here, so we didn’t see each other very much.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  Another gust of wind makes her shiver and has him removing his jacket and offering it to her. Even though she’s already wearing one.

  “May I?”

  She cocks a brow. “Won’t you be cold?”

  He shrugs. “I rarely get cold.”

  She gives him a soft nod. He looks like he’d be the type of man who knows how to stay warm, and therefore knows how to keep a woman warm. He has those big, strong arms and broad shoulders, and he’s very tall. She could picture herself being buried in his warmth, but maybe because she's currently freezing her ass off. “Thanks,” she murmurs when he goes behind her and drapes the jacket over her shoulders. 

  “It’s my pleasure, love.” When he’s standing in front of her again, he sticks out his hand. “The name’s Liam.”

  Emma smiles and slips her palm in his. 

  She was right. He is warm. Very warm. “I think David’s mentioned your name a few times.”

  “Probably not as much as he talks about you. In fact, I feel like I already know you,” he chuckles as they break the handshake.

  “Hopefully, he had good things to say?” She almost groans at the idea of David spewing a bunch of embarrassing stories about her from when she was a kid.

  “Aye. Very good things… well, mostly,” he admits. “But who doesn’t have at least a complaint or two about their siblings?”

  She nods in agreement. “True. I complain about him all the time.”

  He grins big and wide. “I don’t doubt that.” When his smile fades a little, he scratches his head as he looks at her, hesitant to form the next words he wants to say. “Well, uh… seeing as it’s,” he checks his watch, “almost two o’clock and not getting any warmer out here, how about I give you a ride home?”

  Emma twists her lips in thought. Normally she wouldn’t even think twice about rejecting a ride from a stranger, but there’s something about this guy that tells her he’s not a serial killer or rapist. There’s something pure about him, a vast contrast to the bartender inside. That guy screamed danger and sin, but this man standing before her gives off completely different vibes. He has a warm personality, which is very refreshing, and he has honest eyes. Besides, she may not be able to stand her brother and his antics sometimes, but he's always had good taste in friends. And if David trusts Liam enough to keep tabs on his sister, then he must be trustworthy.

  So with a feeble smile, she finally answers. “Okay.”

Tagging people who have shown interest. Let me know if you would like to be added. @itsfabianadocarmo​ @resident-of-storybrooke @onceuponaprincessworld @viajandosinalas @teamhook​ @captainswan-shipper88 @jamif @katielovesstarcrossedlovers @uhthreeyuh @lfh1226-linda @babyyouremyqueen @sthonour @julesep3026 @fairytalewhispersinmyheart @andiirivera @wefoundloveunderthelight @wickedsw4n @eleveneitherway @eherron14 @ouatpost @transparentclodsludgeweasel

[launenji]

Center of Your Universe - A KNJ Fanfic | Prologue

Pairing: idol!Kim Namjoon x idol!Reader Status: Ongoing Word Count: 3031 Genre: Rivals2Lovers. Fluff. Eventual implied smut and angst. Slow burn. idol!AU Summary: It’s 2019 and Kim Namjoon is conquering the globe with his Bangtan brothers by his side. However, BTS can’t seem to shake their top girl group rival from chasing their names across music charts and award nominations worldwide. Now, the boys have no problem with that in any way; in fact they’ve come to respect the girls of HELIOS and their never ending climb to fame that seemed to match their own success. The only real “problem” Namjoon sees is that HELIOS’ confident, fearless, and overall badass of a leader seems to absolutely hate him. And as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, it does keep him awake at night. A/N: Hello! After a year of diving into BTS and reading fanfics about the boys, I wanted to write my own with the beloved Rivals2Lovers trope, because who doesn’t love that good shit? So this is my first official fanfiction, this will be ongoing although I’m not sure how many parts I’ll be producing, but I have the entire story line written out! I also am fairly new to how kpop fanfics are generally published on tumblr, but I’ll do my best. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I have creating it! Prologue | Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3

Prologue: Definitely a (fan)Boy with Luv

March 2019 There was an unspoken rule that came about RM of BTS’ personal life, and that was to live as Kim Namjoon as soon as he steps foot in his hometown of Ilsan. RM existed while he was at work in Seoul; busy with performance schedules, writing lyrics, producing beats, recording content, and basically leading the biggest boy band of the generation to great heights of fame and success. That’s who Kim Namjoon is on a near daily basis. So when Namjoon can find the time to take a few days off and head back to his childhood home for some much needed rest, he’s only Namjoon; a regular twenty five year old guy who loves long walks among nature and grabbing drinks with old friends. And right now he was Namjoon; a regular twenty five year old guy at his parent’s home, dressed in a tank top and sweats, head bopping to his latest musical discovery on Spotify as he pours an entire bag of chips in a bowl for a mid afternoon snack in preparation for some much needed catching up on his netflix shows. Pausing the song on his phone and housing his earbuds in their case, he shimmies over to the couch with his bowl of chips in a small celebratory dance for these rare days where he can go home and actually relax. No pressing schedules to attend, no pulling out his hair to create the right lyrics for their next song, no band/roommates screaming and chasing each other around their shared Hannam apartment after yet another failed prank attempt; just him alone in the house ready to kick back and finally relax.

Armed with his snacks, drink, and the tv remote, he makes himself comfortable on the couch and finally finds that one show he’s been dying to catch up on. However, just as he’s about to press play, the front door swings open with a loud bang. “PUT. THE REMOTE. DOWN.” 

A shrill voice echoes through the family apartment as the newcomer rushes in, hastily chucking her bag and keys on the counter before skidding to a stop between Namjoon and his only source of rest and relaxation for the night. Kim Kyungmin, loving younger sister to BTS’ beloved leader, stands before him with arms folded and with an unyielding glare. “Just because you’re home for the weekend doesn’t mean you can hog the tv the whole time you’re here, hand it over.” She extends out her palm, fingers flexing for the remote. Namjoon groans. “Minnie, I was LITERALLY about to watch my show, can’t you just record what you want to watch and watch it later? Y’know, when I’m usually not here?” Namjoon scoots to the other end of the couch in an attempt to continue on with his planned afternoon of relaxation. However Kyungmin manages to lunge for the remote and swipe it away at the last second, holding it above her head much to her older brother’s annoyance. “Not when you’re watching something you can literally watch anywhere else.” She shifts her pointed glare at his phone then at him before plopping down in his original spot on the couch, quickly switching through the channels to find the show she’s desperately looking for. “That doesn’t solve my solution to you recording your show and watching it later.” Namjoon points out, shoving a chip in his mouth as he watches his sister reach her designated channel. It’s a Knowing Bros episode that seemed to have just started. “If I do that then I can’t react to the episode in real time with Miyoung.” Kyungmin states matter of factly, thumbs flying across her phone as she texts her friend in question. Feeling defeated, Namjoon gives up his quest for his solo Netflix and Chill night he originally planned and settles to watch along with his sister. At least it was a show he actually did enjoy, especially when he was able to be on it with his members at one point. He reminisces his time on the show as he watches as the cast banter over some new found popular trend, the guests of the episode haven’t seemed to arrive just yet. “So who’s on the show this time?” In an immediate response to Namjoon’s question, the classroom door on tv whips open revealing four of the most recognizable women in Kpop; Lee Yuna, Chung Sumi, Han Hyojin, and their leader, Y/N L/N “It’s HELIOS!” Kyungmin lets out a high pitched squeal that Namjoon cringes away from. HELIOS. Arguably the most famous idol girl group to come out of Kpop history to date and BTS’ current standing rivals in the game. Namjoon internally scoffs; okay, so maybe the term “rival” seemed a little too harsh for their relationship to the girls. Let it be clear that there was no beef between Kpop’s fastest rising boy and girl groups despite what the media may try to spin about them. Namjoon and the boys actually do respect the ladies of HELIOS to a high regard and honestly believe that they deserve every inch of recognition and success they’ve received over the years. If the boys of BTS can understand anything, it’s the struggle of trying to make it in such a competitive and demanding environment that is the world of Korean entertainment. Much like them, HELIOS came from humble beginnings; hailing from a small entertainment company established by one of the most respected music producers in the industry. Despite debuting a couple years after BTS, HELIOS grew to be a well known name among teens and young adults. Their unique take on the “girl crush” concept and their unconventional practices of flourishing naturally as an idol group captured the hearts of many, and soon became a trending topic alongside BTS. Namjoon saw many similarities between BTS and HELIOS in the way they’ve grown to their current point of success. Much like the boys, HELIOS liked to connect with their fans personally, most of their viewership grew from watching their growth as an idol group on social media. In fact, the girls each had their own social media accounts and were good at posting daily doses of their lives on and off stage whenever they could. Their fans felt like they could really relate to them on a personal level; recognizing that, at times, these four beloved idols were just girls following their dreams. Other times, their fans were often reduced to a squealing-to-near-tears mess, as currently exhibited by Kyungmin. Namjoon was surprised she hadn’t started frothing at the mouth at this point. “Ugh! I just love them sooooo much!” Kyungmin groaned, voicing out her text message before tossing her phone aside and giving her undivided attention to the tv. On screen, HELIOS stood at the doorway as the hosts of Knowing Bros gaped in awe at their presence. The three women stood strategically in formation with you front and center. Namjoon let out a quiet sigh through his nose. Now while BTS and HELIOS had no history of any animosity towards each other (actually the only interactions they’ve really had was congratulating each other on a job well done in between set switches), the only “problem” Namjoon could find was that you, HELIOS’ renowned leader, seem to hate his fucking guts. He has voiced his concerns plenty of times to his members, especially after passing you and the girls by during music shows. You had a tendency to give everyone but him the time of day, and Namjoon didn’t know why. “You’re probably looking too much into it, hyung,” He remembers Jungkook telling him after another failed attempt to talk to the fellow leader. “I mean, you never talk to her, so I don’t think she has a reason to hate you.” “He’s right,” Jimin pipes up from across the dressing room. “It could be the way she is, after all she always looks like she’s got a 1.5 meter pole stuck up her- Ow! What!? I was just kidding!” His remark was short lived with a swift smack to the back of the head and a warning glare from Hoseok. Though it was rude to say, Namjoon couldn’t deny that, to a certain extent, you did look a little uptight most of the time. 

Watching closely on screen, he studied your resting bitch face-like expression. Despite being dressed in a standard school uniform that admittedly made you look cute, you looked like you were ready to take names and kick some ass while poised in your signature power stance. One hand over a hip cocked to the side as your sharp gaze trailed over the Knowing Bros cast before walking in. Even your movements seemed powerful, as if they were carefully calculated with one foot strutting in front of the other in perfect sync with the sway of your hips, not that he was paying attention to that specific detail. His eyes quickly shifted over to your other members as they moved more naturally on to the set and waved their hi’s to the hosts. Everyone gave their applause as the girls took their place at the podium in front of the classroom. “Please introduce yourselves!” Clearing your throat, you throw on a smirk before making a creative introduction. “Hello, we are from the “Top Tier Global Rising Stars” High School.” The other girls share similar smiles as you before dropping into their standard greeting. “2, 3, Shine On! Hello, we are HELIOS!” The studio erupts in applause and awes of amazement welcoming the girls. Namjoon looked over to Kyungmin with her knees drawn to her chest and chin resting on top, staring intently at the tv. “What? No more weird orgasm sounds for your favorite girls?” That earned him a hard smack to the face. “Shh!” Well, this was his day off to relax. So as he slumped lower into the couch, Namjoon carried on watching the show alongside his sister. About 10 minutes into the show’s friendly banter, Namjoon realized that wasn’t much he knew about the ladies that made up HELIOS until now. For instance, he learned that Lee Yuna was actually the eldest of the group, being the same age as Yoongi. Their fans, appropriately named HALOS, dubbed her as one of the most beautiful women in Korea as she joked about her nickname “The Universal Beauty” to rival Seokjin’s title of “Worldwide Handsome.” 

He also learned that the second youngest, Chung Sumi, was actually a naturally talented rapper who freestyled over beats she found on Youtube and posted them on soundcloud during her highschool days, which prompted her to be the first signed trainee at their entertainment company. It reminded him slightly of his underground rapping days leading up to his own path to an idol.

He even learned that Han Hyojin, their own maknae, could basically do anything from singing to rapping to dancing, making her a deadly triple threat for her young age. She could definitely give Jimin, Taehyung, Hoseok, and Jungkook all a run for their money. But what intrigued him the most was your backstory, something that you never revealed until this point. “So Y/N, you’re not actually from Korea?” Kang Hodong inquires. You shake your head in affirmation. “But you speak Korean so well!” Seo Janghoon chimes in, “Where are you from?” “The States, California specifically.” You respond, prompting a stock sound of amazement over the broadcast. “Another idol from California!” “Speak English for us! Come on!” This causes you to scoff, shaking your head. “What would you want me to say?” “Introduce yourself in English!” Yuna urges you with a bright smile, a round of cheers in the room encourages the idea. Namjoon stared in awe as he watched you introduce yourself in your native tongue to the camera. You seemed more comfortable and natural talking in English and it captivated him in a weird sort of way. Both Kim siblings kept their attention on you as the cast prods on with questions about your personal life and Namjoon can’t help but feel much more admiration for you as an idol and leader who’s made it this far after hearing your story. You share to the cast that you were nothing short of ordinary growing up. You’ve lived a normal life with your hard working parents and siblings. You were an average student with no strong ambitions to pursue for the future. The only passion you did have growing up was dancing, and it brought you as far as signing with your company to become a trainee after graduating high school. Without anything else to lose, you eventually made your way to Korea in hopes to find a suitable career that included dancing, however being an idol was totally out of your range. “So you initially didn’t want to be an idol?” Kim Heechul asks earnestly, you give a small shrug. “I didn’t think I was really cut out for it.” You answer cooly, then turn to your members with a soft expression. “But training with my members made me realize that I could do it and make something out of it.” Your girls return the heartfelt smile, something only Namjoon could completely recognize as a genuine bond between members. It tugged at his heartstring seeing this; despite your cold demeanor, you actually do care immensely for the people around you, which he could heavily relate to. If Kim Namjoon wasn’t impressed by you before, he surely was now. However that still doesn’t change the fact you can’t seem to stand him whenever he’s around you. The show finally cuts to commercial, giving Kyungmin enough time to call her friend and squeal about the events of the show. “And she was a cheerleading captain during high school! Can she BE any cooler!?” Namjoon watched incredulously as his sister took her conversation to her room for a quick break. He remembered teasing her once, when his fame with BTS began to rise exponentially, to never ask him for autographs or connections to any idols she may find herself gushing over in the near future, because he swore he’d never do it. Kyungmin only scoffed at her older brother’s feigning arrogance. “Oh please, you’ll never catch me drooling over any idol group at your expense.” If only she could see herself in a few years giving into the HELIOS craze and buying every single piece of merch she could. The look on Namjoon’s face was unbelievable when he came home one day to find Kyungmin framing a huge poster of your face to put in her bedroom. Her piercing glare stopped her brother from prodding any further with her newest obsession. “Not one word.” And with that, she carried your framed face off to her bedroom where it hangs next to her doorway. Well at least she hasn’t asked for your autograph. Not that he could get it anyway, you would definitely reject him if he even so much as breathed in your general direction. Despite finding out his sister was a die hard HALO, he was proud that she at least had good role models to look up to. However, the idea of her number one bias being the very person that hated him wouldn’t stop bothering Namjoon. Would he ever figure out why you just flat out disliked him? Should he even care at all? Why should he? It’s not like you two were friends. Did he want to be friends with you? Namjoon is pulled out of his inner monologue by his sister walking back into the living room with her hand over her mouth and eyes wide at something currently on her phone. She honestly looked like she was ready to cry. He rolled his eyes at her, now that’s just being a little too dramatic. “Alright, what is it now?” 

Kyungmin wordlessly turned her phone towards her brother, revealing your personal twitter profile and your newest post. It was a new concept photo of you with the silhouettes of the rest of HELIOS behind you. Dressed in shades of burgundy and maroon, you held a finger to your red painted lips. The caption that goes with it is simple and vague, but gets its point across. “HALOS, you ready? One more time~ D-10”

Namjoon counts down the days quickly in his head, leading up to what seems to be your comeback date. Coincidentally, it’s the day after BTS’ planned announcement for their own comeback; Map Of The Soul: Persona. 

He sits back and bites the inside of his cheek, deep in thought. If HELIOS was releasing their new album the same time BTS is, then you will most likely be promoting on music shows within the next coming months too. That meant more chances to pass you by in the studios and more time to figure out what the hell was your problem with him. Was it weird that the thought alone made him a little excited for your comeback more than his? His eyes caught sight of the show that just returned on air, now with you on screen teaching the hosts the moves of your latest single. He felt his cheeks heat up just a bit as he witnessed you sway your hips to the beat of your song before forcibly ripping his gaze away to look out the window instead. Yeah, it was pretty weird, and he really needed to stop dwelling on you so much. But that night, he laid in his bed, unable to get you out of his mind. 

Even though he told himself to not get hung up over you, here he was under his covers at 3 AM scrolling through your Instagram, looking at every single selfie, candid shot, and freestyle dance video you’ve posted since your debut; still thinking about the fact that even though you intrigued him, you still didn’t like him. Eventually he scrolled back to your teaser photo he saw earlier that day, brows furrowing at your post before locking his phone out of frustration. Okay, he had to stop. At this rate he was going to turn into his sister, another  HALO sucked into the HELIOS craze. But was that really a bad thing?

[lumikinetic]

*flops down on sofa*

*exhales*

Tumblr gives me a lot of wild shit every now and again. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's hilarious, sometimes it's disheartening. And then yesterday came along and gave me the one-two punch of:

Captain Marvel being dolled up by the Russos instead of a jacket, S.H.I.E.L.D baseball cap and a Nine Inch Nails shirt, which is how she should be (not gonna talk about this, just want it out there that I'm pissed about it)

One Day At A Time being cancelled

ODAAT I'm gonna kind of touch on because it's not really what I want to talk about, but it did help me finalize the words for what I do, and that's capitalism in entertainment.

The most annoying goddamn trend in filmmaking (and of course in TV and Netflix/Prime originals) is companies caring more about their bottom line and less about making good content, and yeah I know this dead horse isn't just beaten, it's thrown into an active supervolcano but it really pisses me off and it's why I hate the new Star Wars stuff (well OK hate is a bit strong but they're uh Not Good) but I'll get to that. What corpos can't seem to get into their bloated skulls is that one cannot exist without the other. You need to put out good, quality content with value so that fans like it so they give you money so they increase your profits so you can make more content and so on. But somewhere down the line some fuckhead went "what if we just pushed out what we have?" and just kinda expected us to not take notice.

Now before the comments section gets all hot and bothered because I know some people on this site don't have the gift of reading comprehension, I know profits are important, I'm saying when companies shun good filmmaking for more money, they get lazy and all they can think about is profit and not how they make that profit, they don't care at all about using that money to make more good, valuable content.

One Day At A Time

I've never watched One Day At A Time but the fact Netflix just outright cancelled it knowing damn well what it meant to the people the characters are representing is just disgusting. And they have the fucking audacity to blame it on the viewership? I've seen hundreds of artworks, gifs and a video clip here and there of this show. I've seen precisely one (1) meme of 13 Reasons Why and that is literally it. I'm not following the tags for either. Plus, #saveODAAT has, last I checked, 350k tweets on trending or thereabouts?

So obviously the viewership isn't the problem, it's the racism and homophobia of cancelling a Spanish (? - again, never seen it), LGBT+ focused show that a lot of people quite happily and positively connect with when a crap show about suicide and Friends gets to stay on. It's just ugh. Cancelling a show like this then paying something like $100mil to keep Friends. I was going to expand on the shitty capitalism here but tbh that's it, Netflix are making bad decisions and like I say, I'm only going to touch on it because it's not the main part.

Star Wars

Go watch the original trilogy and it's clear George Lucas was trying to create and do. He was trying to make art. The key difference between that and modern SW to me is BB8. Look at C3PO and R2D2 and already you can see they belong. C3PO is a translator droid and I'm not sure what exactly R2's job description is but it's obvious he does some kind of pilot assistance for X-Wing fighters. I never understood people who said R2 never did anything, because they obviously haven't seen Star Wars. You get that this is an R2 unit, right? Like, there's more than one out there and they have a job they were specifically built to do, it's just this one particular R2 unit who had to carry the message? Anyway, I'm derailing. R2 and C3PO have functions and they're clearly not new, they've been used for a long time. Then you look at BB8 and instantly it's like "this is a toy. This so called character was designed to sell toys". And then he was. He's a toy, he's on bags, notebooks, pens, clothes, everywhere. Disney is less concerned about making a Star Wars movie and more about making money off of the Star Wars name.

Into The Spider-Verse VS YA Movies

YA movies tend to suck because they were adapted from books and we all know how that pans out but the reason I'm using YA books specifically is because my mind jumped to The Hunger Games. I couldn't tell you a single fucking thing that happens in those movies. They're so dull and dead and forgettable and the characters are borderline unlikeable but you know which one I do like? Catching Fire, for one reason and one reason only: Jena Malone as Joanna Mason. Save for Haymitch, she's the only character I liked because those two are the only characters with any kind of charisma or life to them. They made an at most halfway decent attempt overall at recreating some otherwise really great books and they made a big show out of it, hiring some pretty well known names. And I'm not disparaging their performances, it was just what I call, ever since Suicide Squad came out, the Harley Quinn effect, in which good actors get given a good character and perform them really well and, through no fault of their own, fuck it up because the character was written poorly and no matter how well they act, if the script doesn't change, the performance will always be shit. The same for Divergent. And Percy Jackson. And Fault In Our Stars.

Then outside all of that you have Perks Of Being A Wallflower which is just a great, heartwarming movie because the characters feel like people and the brightness isn't turned way the fuck down in post and you actually want to be invested, and they're not afraid to have a colour palette beyond a splash of pink here and blue there and red there. Plus, Ant-Man as an English teacher. THEN you go watch Spider-Verse and oh hey. I can actually see the movie now. And I mean see it. They do not slack off when it comes to visuals. Even by animation's standards, everyone is so expressive and alive and... animated. Sorry, I couldn't get a better word but they are! When you look at Miles in comparison to Katniss in terms of writing and performance, the difference is just startling. The only times I can think of where Katniss shows any kind of emotion in the first movie is when she slams the knife in the table and Rue's funeral and I had to think about that. Without thinking for Miles, already I've got "who's Morales?", the scene where Uncle Aaron teaches him the shoulder touch, the scene where Miles spray paints in the subway, that scene in the alley, the moment in Olivia's office when he just freezes after she says she can't wait to watch Peter in immense pain Like That and made all the wlws melt in their seats. You get the idea. So what's the point for this section? Well, as simply as I can put it, Hunger Games was made with money, for money. Spiderverse was made with love, for love. Spiderverse cared about people who read comic books and paid more than enough tribute to the art forms people think of as lesser for no goddamn reason other than elitism and proved for the thousandth time that it is something that can be used in filmmaking. They were trying to make art. Hunger Games and most other YA novel movie adaptations saw a preestablished fan base they could exploit for money. They were trying to make money.

Rambo

This was a weird one, yeah. Don't worry I was confused too when it popped into my head. I saw the original Rambo a while back and what I liked about it (and Apocalypse Now) is it wasn't a war film where the USA charge in and hooray everything's all right, this movie grabs your shirt and says "hey. Vietnam did something to these guys and they're not OK. Probably they'll never be OK". Then I watched the Rambo reboot that came out in like 2011 or something and I remember thinking "OK so now he's just this dude? Who lives in Thailand... And what, that's it?" There was no scene to show his psychological state today. Nothing to acknowledge his PTSD. They just thought "hey! Let's make Rambo but this time, just give him guns and and yelling and spray some blood!" The reason I kind of ended this train of thought quickly is because I realised that, let's be real, the main body of Rambo's audience just want to see Sly Stallone kill some fools. But yeah, the fact that they just ignored John's mental state in place of mega violence is such a glaringly obvious move to just appeal to violent teenage boys.

The Auteur

My favourite director is Wes Anderson and my favourite movie is The Grand Budapest Hotel (though Panos Cosmatos seems to be eyeing these titles with Beyond The Black Rainbow and Mandy, I haven't watched them yet). Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, auteurs always stand out even though their movies are all the same, and I think the reason they're so successful is because that specific style is so much better than most other mainstream cinema. I'm not saying that those other movies are bad, I love them and will watch them again and again but I'm saying Wes Anderson could make a short movie and it would be better than most Marvel movies put together (don't talk to me about Captain Marvel, I haven't seen it yet. Gonna see it this Sunday). No matter what you think of these directors, you can instantly tell the difference between these movies that they care about and the passion and hard work they put in and Disney pumping out their 400th reboot.

It Keeps Working

You guys wanna know the thought that keeps me up at night? Someday they're going to make a Fortnite movie. You guys wanna know why it keeps me up at night? Because it's going to be popular. Yeah, obviously not at the box office, because it'll be a videogame movie and those are worse than book movies, but it will be popular for no apparent reason. And what pisses me off is that Fortnite's popularity is only because of the battle royale mode, which has now essentially become synonymous with dying franchises and it just adds another layer to the lack of creative effort and the movie will just be Hunger Games with guns. Exactly the same as what I said at the start of this rant, there's a really noticeable shift from making content to jumping on whatever bandwagon is passing by because you know it'll make you money. Yeah, you have to spend money to make money but that doesn't mean you get complacent in what you spend your money on or if you spend money at all because when you cut corners, consumers can see that shit.

Anyway I'm done complaining thanks for having the willpower to pay attention to my dumb opinions.

[singingwordwright]

The #ShadowhuntersLegacy Theory--aka our Hail Mary throw #SaveShadowhunters

UPDATED as of 8/24/18 (see bottom of post)

I wasn’t sure if I had shared this theory on Tumblr or not, because sometimes I speculate on Twitter and then don’t remember to make a post over here. It turns out, I sort of did, a really long time ago, but the theory has evolved in light of a number of events in the past couple weeks, and most of the tinfoil-hat elements have been stripped out. Now it’s just sort of a Theory, as opposed to a Wacky Conspiracy Theory.

Before I begin, let me just say outright that this is not to give anyone false hope. Let’s be quite honest and admit that our chances don’t really look that great. But as I said in my post last night, there are reasons why I can’t bring myself to call a Time of Death on this whole thing yet. And this theory is a big part of it.

Let me also add a disclaimer that none of us knows what is happening behind the scenes. We don’t know the legal ins and outs that make up the Freeform/Constantin/Netflix Ménage à Torture so this is all just guesswork based on the pieces we have and a metric fuckton lot of supposition.

This could all totally be self-serving delusion. I’m not going to lie about that. But it’s already been put out there, so I’m going to stand by it until we see how this all shakes down in the end, if for no other reason than, on the off chance that some variation of this does end up happening, I have documented proof that I predicted it might.

Everyone okay with that? Then let’s go!

Where We Stand

Okay, look, we’ve been told, straight-up with no equivocation, that “it's not possible for this version of SHADOWHUNTERS to continue.” (Source: Constantin Press Release August 10) We have to accept that at face value. There is almost certainly not going to be a season 4. Something is in the way of that happening.

I don’t believe it’s lack of interest from potential buyers. I think it’s an unwillingness to reach a compromise on the part of the parties already involved so that someone else can pick up the show.

Chances are good that the obstacle is @freeform/Disney. The show was developed specifically for Freeform as part of ABC Family Channel rebranding itself. Netflix got involved later to snag the international distribution deal, yes, but it’s possible that the show goes nowhere unless Freeform/Disney is willing to relinquish their distribution deal on it, which they may not be willing to do.

Why? Well, there’s always my DisFlix theory, which is a little out of date in light of recent developments but not yet dead in the water.

But @netflix could also be to blame. I’ve heard rumblings, and I have no idea where they originated or if they’re true or not, that Netflix’s international distribution deal gives them rights to the show for seven years. They may not be willing to give that up, and picking the show up for season 4 without being able to stream/rerun seasons 1-3 is really not going to appeal to any potential takers.

It’s also possible that @constantinfilm isn’t willing to lower the license fee on the show enough to make someone else willing to pick it up, but I honestly don’t believe that’s the case. 100% of nothing is nothing, so keeping the price jacked up beyond what anyone is willing to pay makes Constantin no profit. I see no motive for them to prove intractable in that regard, especially if they thought they could bundle a pickup of Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments with development of a series based on The Infernal Devices and make even more money.

But, really, that is all sort of outside the scope of this post. Ultimately all we know is that something is standing in the way of the show being picked up by anyone who may be interested for season 4.

Which isn’t the same thing as saying all hope is lost. It’s just lost for “this version of SHADOWHUNTERS.”

Yeah, uh, What Other Version Is There?

We’re presently campaigning for Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments. But The Mortal Instruments is ending. And by that, I mean the six-book well of source material the plot has been borrowing its vague overall direction from is coming to an end. The 2-hour movie (which originally should have been the entire fourth season, but oh well, we can’t really dwell on that) is supposed to cover the final book, and after that it would be entirely original plots.

In other words, after season 4, we wouldn’t have had Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments ANYWAY. It would have effectively been a spin-off featuring the same characters, even if the title of the show had remained the same.

And I think most of us were perfectly okay with that, or would have been had we stopped to think about What Comes Next after the book-based material ended. @janoda has been talking for months about wanting a spin-off centered around the Downworld. I’ve thought all along that the tense relations that the Downworld and the New York Institute have with the Clave in Alicante would provide a wealth of plot material once book-based material ran out. @janoda and I have been calling this hypothetical spin-off “Downworld: Revolution” but whatever you call it, it’s not “this version of SHADOWHUNTERS.” It’s a new version, featuring many/most of the same characters.

But That Was Just Talk Right?

Well, yes. Sort of. At first I thought (in my original Conspiracy Theory post) that what we might be seeing with this cancellation is a slightly more contentious scenario originating with Freeform’s recent strategy of ending shows after 3-4 seasons or so, and then spinning them off before they lose their audience through attrition, to keep them fresh and shiny. (see also: PLL and The Fosters.)

Then, once it seemed like it might be Freeform’s claim to Shadowhunters distribution rights that was preventing anyone else from picking the show up, I started side-eyeing the notion of a spin-off as a way of working AROUND Freeform. Because Constantin still owns the adaptation rights. Even if Constantin can’t continue making Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, they CAN make a new show, even one featuring the Shadowhunters characters and even with those characters played by the same actors. They just can’t continue making THIS VERSION of the show.

Which, again, is okay, because effectively this version of the show was going to come to an end anyway, and a new show was going to begin.

But I sort of pushed this notion of a spin-off to the back of my mind once all the talk about Constantin developing The Infernal Devices began. Because honestly I didn’t want to muddy the waters with the words “spin off” when we were trying to send such a definite, iron-clad message that The Infernal Devices was not an acceptable substitute for Shadowhunters. I did start trying to word my emails with terms like “our characters” and “our actors” while leaving those concepts open to the possibility of those characters and actors being in a new show.

(Now, however, in light of Constantin’s statement that hope is lost for “this version” of Shadowhunters, we have nothing to lose.)

And then, two weeks ago, something happened.

Starting the night before the Last Day on Set (August 2nd), the cast introduced a new hashtag--#ShadowhuntersLegacy. It never really caught on or trended, but Kat and Emeraude in particular were pretty aggressive about using it. Most of the main cast, with the exception of Isaiah, Matt, and I think Alisha, used it at least once, and I know Jade, Nicola, and some of the other supporting cast members did as well.

It struck me as a little strange. And, yes, it may very well be just a nice way to thank the fans by reassuring us that the ways in which we’ve touched their lives won’t be forgotten. But what was pinging me about it was the way it was adopted among the cast had clearly been coordinated. This wasn’t just happenstance that they all began using it at once.

And the word “legacy” implies continuation. A legacy is sort of the opposite of something ending. It’s something that carries on.

I bit my tongue about this for a few hours, and then when I was talking about it in DMs on Twitter to avoid tweeting publicly about it, @saadiestuff pointed out something I had known in the back of my head but hadn’t actually connected.

The Originals is getting a spin-off called Legacies.

(A spin-off that--I believe--will be bringing back a lot of the original characters even going back to The Vampire Diaries.)

So those messages and a bunch of tweets using the hashtag were trickling in from Thursday night onward. Then, on Saturday morning, Kat posted this:

I mean...look at those last few lines? “The story doesn’t end here” and that parting shot, complete with a picture of her with her hand on a door?

But the cast doesn’t know anything about negotiations, right? Usually that’s true. However...

IF a hypothetical spin-off were being discussed, obviously the cast wouldn’t be part of the negotiations. But one of the first things those discussions would entail is inquiring (probably through their agents) about the casts’ interest and availability to return for the new series.

So the usual wisdom about the cast not knowing anything until shortly before we do doesn’t apply here. They would almost certainly know this was at least being discussed as a possibility, even if they didn’t know whether or not it would end up being a done deal.

There is also the live that Jade did a day or two before filming wrapped. I didn’t get to watch the whole thing because I lost my place when I was about 20 minutes in, so all I knew was that people got upset by some of the things he said which they felt indicated he didn’t feel there was any hope. @TheJessy34 on Twitter found it for me, and starting about 29:45, Jade talks about how the show in “this form” is over and how things can happen, yes, but he didn’t think if it continued it would continue in the way it has. (BEWARE OF POTENTIAL BOOK-BASED SPOILERS AT AROUND 33:00)

I’m tempted to include this tweet of Harry’s (the Monday after filming wrapped) for consideration as evidence of this possibility. Because Harry is the guy who likes to dole out clues for us to piece together (see also, 2x12 and the season 3 renewal livechat.)

However it would be dishonest of me to do so without also including the fact that he denied this tweet had anything to do with anything:

That said, boy, Kat sure was all over it, both on Instagram and Twitter:

And it should be noted that Kat is STILL occasionally using the #ShadowhuntersLegacy hashtag. As is Jade, I believe.

I’m also tempted to offer into evidence this article from TVLine earlier this week:

However, I think the evidence supporting that is sketchy at best. All the medical puns point to a medical drama, and the cast is obviously not reassembling yet (though that verbiage could be figurative, as in “they’re signing the contracts” rather than literal, as in “they’re gathering to begin filming.) Public opinion seems to hold that the show in question is likely CBS’s Code Black and I have no concrete reason to assert otherwise.

I will say that in the event of a hypothetical spin-off, there would be some new cast involved (which could explain the “returning and new cast” line.) The book the 2-hour movie is based on, City of Heavenly Fire, has a fairly high body count. Chances are good that at least some of our fave supporting characters won’t be returning.

So. The TVLine article could be about us, but I’m not holding my breath.

UPDATED 8/24/18: 

So it looks like the TVLine blind item may not be about Code Black after all.

Others, not me, did some sleuthing.

This tweet from Seitzman is dated 8/22/18. The TVLine blind item was posted 8/13/18. I would say (and others have said) this could mean that whatever deal TVLine was referring was Code Black but then it fell through, except that tonight, TVLine assured us that once the show in question is revealed, the initial article would be marked as UPDATED.

That has not happened with the TVLine article. If it had been about Code Black and the deal fell through, TVLine would have updated. Therefore, it’s looking fairly sure that TVLine isn’t referring to Code Black. 

Which still doesn’t mean it’s referring to us. Let’s be very clear about that. There have been a lot of shows cancelled in the last six months. One other show that has been rumored to be on the verge of rescue is Designated Survivor, I believe (back in May or so, there was talk that Netflix might pick it up.)

All this means is that we’re a little more solidly in the running with regards to our chances that TVLine was, in fact, referring to us. That’s it. It’s not much, but it’s something.

I have reached out to TVLine to request that if it ISN’T us, they let us know. Because I really want us to be as realistic about our chances here as possible. As I said at the beginning of this post, this is a Hail Mary throw. Our chances are microscopically slim. But they do still exist.

(End UPDATED portion)

Which brings me to Isaiah’s post on Instagram yesterday:

Again, right now we are looking at the one situation where the cast probably really would have an early clue of what is going on. Before any deal is inked, someone would have to go around and ask the cast (again, probably through their agents) “this is a possibility, if we can make it happen, are you in?” And if it was a done deal, the cast would DEFINITELY know, even if they weren’t at liberty to say anything yet. They would have already signed their contracts.

Isaiah doesn’t believe hope is lost. I have to believe he has a reason for thinking that. But we know “this version” of the show isn’t coming back. Where does that leave us?

A new version of the show, featuring most or all of our characters and cast.

So What Now?

Now, we wait. We maintain our presence. We hope. I meant what I said last night, at this stage there is nothing we can do to influence the outcome that we haven’t already done. We keep the hashtag alive. We keep emailing and sending postcards and letters and maybe the occasional gift, just to remind them we’re here.

But mostly we wait. And we find our joy in the show again. Because in the words of a certain warlock we all know and love, “if you don’t take time for the things you care about, you’ll forget why you’re even fighting at all.”

But Do We Know Who Will Be Carrying This Hypothetical Spin-Off So We Can Let Them Know We’re Interested?

Nope. Not a clue. Sorry. Unfortunately this means we should probably treat everyone as though we’re courting them. Even *gack* Freeform.

When Do You Think They’ll Announce It, If It’s Happening?

Well, *if* the TVLine blind article is about us (and again, I cannot emphasize strongly enough that I really have no reason to believe it is) it says filming could begin as early as this fall. Which means we’d have to have an announcement by then because no way is our cast--with so many social media junkies in their ranks--is going to keep that under wraps for long. So we’d know by then.

And maybe I’m being whimsical, but let’s look at Isaiah’s post from yesterday again:

See where they are?

That’s the Jade Wolf mock-up that was featured at New York ComicCon last year.

Why would Isaiah use that picture, of any of the cast that he could have used, to send us the message “don’t give up”?

I think if this thing is going to happen, we may hear it announced at NYCC.

EDIT: 8/24/18

There has been some interesting activity that has sort of slipped under the radar this week, but I’ve been watching and noting. I haven’t been making a big deal about it, because I don’t want to give people false hope, but I’ve already shared this theory so it really can’t hurt to keep it up to date. Just remember that all of this is really the stretchiest reaching of all stretchy reaching. It’s flimsy and probably entirely in my imagination. 

On August 13, after the Teen Choice Awards victory, Bryan Q. Miller tweeted this:

I didn’t notice it until about a week later, when I noticed that Todd Slavkin had liked it. When queried, Bryan confirmed that the reference was exactly what I thought it was:

So...something about the TCA victory triggered thoughts of the lyric, “I can feel it coming in the air tonight.” It had him feeling either anticipation (or possibly foreboding, and possibly of someone who had done something wrong getting a come-uppance.)

Then there’s this: 

On Monday, August 20, Matt Hastings used the tag #ShadowhuntersLives.

On Thursday the 23rd, he was unusually active and pretty much ALL about the show, except for one tweet: 

Why spend the morning making Shadowhunters tweets, drop in a single mention of The Originals, then go back to making more SH tweets?

Obviously Paul Wesley has a Shadowhunters connection (didn’t he direct an episode ;-P ?) but if he was just wanting to share memories of Paul Wesley and Shadowhunters, there was plenty of material to choose from.

Again, I have to reiterate that this is flimsy, because Matt doesn’t really need a reason to delve into nostalgia for ALL the shows he’s been involved with. It may not go any deeper than that.

But he wasn’t being nostalgic about ALL his shows. He was being nostalgic about THIS one.

So it immediately made me think of the connection @saadiestuff made when I was talking about the #ShadowhuntersLegacy tag, which is that it could be that Shadowhunters is getting a spin-off featuring the same characters, the way The Originals is getting the Legacies spin-off.

Because, as @malecficlibrary just said to me, #ShadowhuntersLives is a REALLY strange hashtag to use for for a cancelled show that has no hope. Like...?

Maybe Matt Hastings didn’t know about the #ShadowhuntersLegacy hashtag on Monday, so he used #ShadowhuntersLives. Then someone clued him in, so he dropped a The Originals/Legacies hint. 

Like I said, flimsy, but I’m putting it out there anyway. Because why not?

[kindabraveandlittlestupid]

Gamer Girls are kind of amazing. I mean am not saying all girl NEED to be gamers and it's far from a deal breaker for a relationship but having a Player 2 in the household is kind of amazing. I want to come home from work and find a pizza on the table and cutie with a booty sitting on the sofa in PJ’s waiting for me to join her in a game for a bit. Of course, the option of making it Netflix Night or something else is also welcome but I have been (for my whole life) a gamer since the original Sega system up to my custom built PC I use now. And I want to share that with her.

So for all you Game Girls and Wonderful Girlfriends who are willing to try new things to make your lover happy (or reverse relationships where your a Gamer Girl trying to get your Boyfriend or Girlfriend into games). I present you my Co-Op Date Night Video Game List.

Enjoy.

A Way Out

I admit I have not yet played this game but it looks damn good and reminds me a fair amount of Splinter Cell which appeals to me. From what I have seen the voice acting and graphics are on par with Grand Theft Auto and the gameplay seems very clean. Nothing like working together to break out of prison to bring us closer.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ? ? ? ? ? (No idea how hard this will be)

Diablo 1, 2, & 3

The Diablo series has always been a pretty basic point and click approach with spells on the hotkeys and some minor inventory management. As the games went on more playable characters unlocked with each new game. This game would be a fun side by side experience with two PC’s playing as a male and female character out to kill the Devil himself. 

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★★★☆☆ (Gotta teach the hotkey basics)

Don’t Starve Together

The second game on the list I have yet to play. The animation reminds me of something from Tim Burton meeting Invader Zim. Despite the strangely clever art style, I like the concept of the game of running around resourcing to stay alive. This kind of co-op experience is about carrying your weight and working together.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ? ? ? ? ? (I won't ever let you go hungry before me)

Fortnite

I was playing Save the World setting of the game long before most players were hearing about the soon to be released PUBG. I don't know if that makes me cool or incredibly nerdy but probably both. This game is full of action and I prefer the build mode of the other Save the World Game mode which is where I would want to take you. Gathing supplies building a base, fighting a horde of zombies and winning.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★★★☆☆ (I’m not always ahead of the trends but when I do it was Fortnite)

Guitar Hero and Rock Band

An oldy but a goody! Guitar Hero and Rock Band both brought the concert into the family room. I loved those first games but really lost interest fast once the microtransactions pretty much dominated the last couple of games. Nothing like ruining a game by demanding another dollar for a song you like. Regardless of those failings, I would love to find another guitar and mic for us to play together. Don’t worry if you can't sing I can play bass and you can take lead. Slapping the bass man!

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★★★☆☆ (P.S. Don’t let me drum)

Heroes of the Storm

Heroes of the Storm is kind of a Blizzard grab bag exploring the DOTA setting. I can't imagine us playing this long term unless we REALLY get into the game and spend some pay to play cash to unlock some characters for her early on. I met a few girls in my life who played games like this and all of them have been amazing people, I hope to do this with my S.O. in the future.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (A bit more skill based but still very much friendly to new players)

Keep Talking Nobody Explodes

The only VR game on the list but a fun one that requires for two people to work together to defuse a bomb. The first person gets a binder full of paper to read off of and the other has the VR goggles on with the remotes waiting to defuse the bomb. I imagine if you’re really shit communicator this might be a hard game to play but then again it can help you work on that, can’t it?

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (I hope we have good communication skills)

Left 4 Dead 1 & 2

Simple enough to learn and control, the hard part is knowing when to save my ass from a smoker drag or engaging the zombies in an effective way that we don't get punched to death. There is always one female character to play as so you won’t ever be without a lady to play as unless you’re one of those weird girls who likes Ellis. I don’t get it.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Get to the Chopper!)

Lego Games

Far from challenging collection, Lego Games are known to be kid-friendly. Kid-friendly also means new gamer girlfriend friendly. I don’t mind getting silly with lego games to get you into gaming in general. Thus it sits on this list!

NOTE: Got tons of options like Jurassic Park, Batman, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel, Pirates of Caribbean, and more...

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Silly rabbit Legos are for kids!)

Life is Strange

Apparently, this game is amazing and it operates like Telltale Games where choices matter. From my understanding, if you like Riverdale then this sort of plot is right up your alley, which is great for young women who love that show. I am more of a Sabrina fan myself but you do you.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ? ? ? ? ? (As seen on Tumblr!)

Mariokart

Mariokart is a game that can ruin relationships. I imagine I might sleep on the sofa if you blue turtle shell me at the end of the tace and your butt is something far lower then second place. I personally prefer the arena battles with the balloons but I am simply old school like that when I still had a third arm from my chest for the N64 console. 

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (I hope we have good communication skills)

Minecraft

Minecraft and the Sims are the only two games you can play without the other person being there and that being perfectly ok. I mean Sims you have to with it being single player but if you had an afternoon on Minecraft without me I wouldn't be angry with the progress you made. It really is a relaxing game unless you’re out at night and hear a sudden his sound that blows out the wall of your house.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Thop Thop Thop Thop Pop)

Overcooked 1 & 2

Overcooked is an insanely fun game about cooking. It requires people to follow instructions and get into a flow of handling jobs in the kitchen. If done right it can be a really rewarding experience. If done wrong... well people start getting loud with one another.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Why didn’t anyone wash the dishes?!)

Overwatch

This would be interesting, I know the female gamer community is growing and certain games have a draw. I pleasantly surprised that there seems to be a large number of gamer girls who enjoy Overwatch or maybe I am projecting the cosplay community. Either way, I want to be your Solider 76 and have you be my healer keeping me upright and fighting. Maybe I will dress up as your favorite male character later. *wink*

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Tracer has a nice butt, there I said it)

Payday 1 & 2

Payday is a pretty forgiving game in the sense that the bank robbers are pretty much bullet sponges who are kind of hard to kill. The real fun is taking a bank without anyone knowing that we are doing it. With some fun female characters to play as I think we can have a good old time taking hostages and emptying vaults out together.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Gonna steal you some diamonds)

Portal 2

Portal is 1 part first-person shooter, 1 part logic puzzles and 1 part rewiring your brain to think in Portals. The game isn't very high stress but does require some skill for the later levels and some experience with first-person controls. I would save this game last for this list to make sure we are on par for our skillset to handle the struggle that is Portal 2.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (Teamwork makes the dream work)

Resident Evil 5 and Later

This game isn't really hard as it is the controls are kind of crap. The stand and shoot principal of Resident Evil really brought down the quality of the early games like the camera angles. That said it was an early co-op with the kinda cute interracial duo that makes you think (they be a hot couple). I kinda want to revisit this game along with some of the other later games and play with my lover once she is comfy enough playing video games with me.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (I got your back honey)

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a really simple looking game that is surprisingly good by keeping you busy with well... busy work. One improvement to the game was the Multiplayer Update/Beta that allowed 2 people to work on a farm together. I really love the idea of building a home with my SO and playing side by side for an hour or so every day making our lives a little better, well in a digital sense.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Lets farm together boo)

State of Decay 2

We need to be ready for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. This game allows us to build our own survivor and explore a town, house by house raiding for supplies like ammunition, medicine, food, and so on. I think a little teamwork goes a long way in making us grow closer don’t you think?

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (All about survival)

Super Smash Bros.

Anyone who knows me I have issues with Mario despite the fact he made this list twice. Super Smash Bros. gets a seat on this list mostly because of how user-friendly the game is and how fun 4 player co-op can be. I mean... if we were swingers on Date Night that fills the other two spots but since it's you and me we can smash all night long just the two of us.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ★ ☆ ☆☆ (Great ‘Party Game’ and fun for ‘Button Smashers’)

Telltale Games

Pretty much story time for couples where we sit down with some popcorn and take turns doing some minor walk around with characters and making quick story-altering choices together. Imagine the excited screams as we aren't sure which option to pick while playing the Walking Dead! There are so many Telltale Titles to consider playing from Game of Thrones, TWD, Batman, Guardians of The Galaxy, Fables, and Back to the Future so we wont be bored anytime soon.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ☆ ☆ ☆☆ (Stress might spike for tough story choices)

The Sims

The Sims have been around since the late 90′s and captured the imagination of boys and girls across the country alike. While the game is not a ‘co-op’ per say managing a family together on one PC is doable and can be kind of rewarding. I just hope she doesn't remove the ladder by the pool and down my virtual avatar.

Learning Curb for Significant Other ★ ☆ ☆ ☆☆ (Real Simple Stuff Here)

Honorable Mentions

Far Cry 5 - Not the best game but still gives us an open world to discover. Advanced players only.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands - Another open world game to fight the drug cartels. You can create a pretty cute female on this game too.

The Division - Do I have something against open world games? No just Ubisoft games that may be too hard for a new gamer to play.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist - Fuck I miss these games. Splinter Cell was the perfect Co-op Stealth game. We will revisit this one if we burn through the list.

Fable 3 - Chicken Chaser? Do you chase chickens? Fable was a memorable game but way to limited for the years it was being produced. I want to revisit this series soon.

Fallout 76 - Still pretty fresh but still Co-Op able. I have mixed feelings on the game but the character customization might be good for making ourselves in game.

Starcraft 2 - This game has a co-op hero mod perfect for building bases and completing missions. The learning curve is higher for strategy games but it makes the list for fun co-op.

Wrap Up

I scribbled most of these games down myself but when I decided to see what other games couples played, I was pleasantly surprised to find most of the games I wrote were also on their lists. I did cannibalize a few other online lists (such as Resident Evil 5, A Way Out and Don’t Starve Together) but most of my content was original thoughts on my end that other people also saw the potential in (honest to god it was the Overcooked game that inspired me to write this). I like to keep this post as a reminder to myself of what I want to do with my girlfriend or maybe one day my kids (assuming they want to be my player 2 and kill some zombies with their old man). Either way I can't wait to do either and I missed anything that you think should be on this list let me know.

As always thanks for reading.

Regards, Michael California

[captainwondyful]

Love, Simon at the Box Office

Hello, Tumblr.  One of my idiosyncratic fandoms is box office tracking and results.  If you’d indulge me for a hot minute, I would like to make a plea for you to go see this in theaters.

The following is a long post about box office numbers, life hacks for cheap tickets, and overall gay crying.

I have seen this film twice in the past 24 Hours, and I’m still struggling to find the exact words to properly describe how it profoundly affected me.

I’m somewhere between:

Love, Simon is a paint-by-numbers rom-com released by a major Hollywood Studio (Fox 2000).  Only the lead protagonist is a gay teen.  As Peter Travers of Rolling Stone states in his review:

A seemingly ordinary coming-of-age tale that looms large because of its inclusive romantic embrace, Love, Simon wins you over by capturing your heart without pushing too hard for the prize. ...  Yes, the plot mechanics tend to lean toward the disappointingly slick and sitcom-ish. But what redeems the film and makes it such an exuberant gift is the sincere joy Berlanti and the actors take in celebrating its protagonist's growing self awareness…. Love, Simon is a John Hughes movie for audiences who just got woke. And for all its attempts not to offend, it's a genuine groundbreaker.

I love this critique.  In Love, Simon no one dies, contracts HIV/AIDS, or is the victim of a violent hate crime.  The characters face complications and angst -- coming out in 2017 still is a huge undertaking with monumental stakes.  Yet in the context of this film, we understand that everything will be okay.  The genre makes it safe.  The audience knows that the homophobic bullies will get their comeuppance. The friends will make up.  The main protagonist will find love.

Love, Simon might not be perfect.  It might not be everything to everyone.  But it deserves its praise, and we (the LGBTQIA community) deserve to have more films like it, because everyone deserves to escape into indulgent, cotton-candy media where they can see themselves proud and happy.  Love, Simon is important; just as films like Black Panther, Girls Trip, Wonder Woman, and A Wrinkle In Time are important.

And we need to financially support it:

Money Makes The World Go Run

The film business is a business first.  Movies that don’t make money, don’t get sequels or start trends.  So I know, I know, I’m asking for a lot, but we need to embrace capitalism for just a second.

Love, Simon opened to a $11.5M Opening Weekend (OW) from 2,402 theaters.  

According to Deadline.com

Love, Simon drew 58% females, 42% males with 59% under 25. The movie over-indexed in the west, Northeast, and Midwest; slightly under-indexed in the Rockies; and under-indexed in the south and southeast. Top 20 markets that over-indexed include LA, NY, SF, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Minneapolis. Top grossing theaters came from LA, NY, SF, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and San Antonio. Canada repped 5.6% of the weekend’s take.

Tumblr, you are driving this movie.  You are going to make it a success.  You have the power.  We need to get this film to bring in a total domestic box office (DOM) of 50M+

Love, Simon’s budget is between 10M - 17M, plus P&A (Print & Advertising) Marketing Budget.  I don’t have the P&A numbers.

There is a general rule of thumb in Hollywood called the 3X Rule.  It states that a film is a box office success if it makes 3X its production budget.  If a movie costs 50M to make, a 150M box office is a success.  This rule is NOT exact, because it does not factor in the Print & Advertising (P&A) budget of the film, or that a movie can do terrible at the box office but still be considered a financial success because of X-factors like merch sales (I’m looking at YOU Pixar’s Cars)

Love, Simon will need 51M to pass the 3X Rule.

It’s not impossible looking at the comps:

Everything, Everything 34.1M OW / 64.6M DOM (1.89X Multiplier)

Paper Towns 32M OW / 85.5M DOM (2.67 Multiplier)

The Fault Is In Our Stars 48M OW / 124M DOM (2.58 Multiplier)

But it won’t happen if we don’t get that multiplier up to a 4X+

Multiplier = The total DOM divided by the OW.  So for example:

Justice League (2017) 93.8M OW / 229M DOM = 2.44 Multiplier

The Greatest Showman (2017) 8.8M OW / 169.7M DOM = 19.04 Multiplier

We need to pull another run of legs like The Greatest Showman and keep it keep it theaters until Avengers: Infinity War (April 27, 2018).  Once IW shows up, the summer box office season kicks off, and, realistically, the jammed packed release schedule will push Love, Simon out of theaters.

We have Five Weeks - to go see this film, to tell everyone we know to go see this film, and support the cast and crew as much as we can.

The best way to do that is a positive Word of Mouth and Legs.

Word of Mouth: TALK ABOUT THIS FILM.  RAVE ABOUT THIS FILM.  Post on Twitter, on Facebook, on Tumblr.  Get a Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB.com account and post reviews.  You can NOT underestimate a good grassroots effort to get the word out.

Legs = Tied to the multiplier.  It’s how much a movie makes AFTER the opening weekend.  Movies like Justice League are front-loaded; meaning most ticket sales are opening weekend and in the first week. Other movies, like The Greatest Showman, have much stronger legs, where they earn a decent amount every weekend for a large total.

Weekend Drops: The percentage that a movie drops from week to week.  For example, Black Panther has had amazing holds with its (as of writing this) 5 Week Run: Weekend 1 242.1M Weekend 2 111.6M (-44.7%) Weekend 3 66.3M (-40.6%) Weekend 4 40.8M (-38.4%) Weekend 5 (26.6M (-34.7%) Even though it’s making less money every week, we can see that Black Panther’s domination over the marketplace is consistent.  Solid audience retention is why Black Panther is not dropping many theater screens, despite being out for over a month. This is the same reason why The Greatest Showman (which came out before Christmas) is STILL playing in 700+ theaters.  TGS actually had FOUR weekends out of its seventeen where it went UP from previous weekends, and had an average of a -20% week to week drop.

It is CRITICAL to Love, Simon’s success that this weekend only drops between 20% and 30%.  Some on the Box Office Forum I’m apart of are speculating that the next week will be CRITICAL to the success and failure of Love, Simon’s domestic box office run.

So, let’s go to the movies!

Cheap Ways to See Films

Going to the movies is expensive.  Here are some life hacks for discount tickets

MoviePass

Like Netflix or Spotify, you can sign up with MoviePass, and for $9.99 a month, you can see a movie a day.  Yup.  A movie a day.  It is a steal of a deal and pays for itself after the first month.   The only drawback is it takes a couple weeks for the company to send you your MoviePass card.  I think it took three weeks to get mine.  Still!  This is A VALUE.  And you can go see Love, Simon once a day for a month for only $9.99

Discount Tuesdays

Most movie theaters offer discount tickets on Tuesdays.  You will have to check with your individual theaters, but Tuesdays are the most common day across the US and Canada.  Our theater is $5 on Tuesdays.

AT&T Ticket Tuesdays

Do you have AT&T as a mobile carrier?  They offer Discount Tuesday Tickets.  Buy 1, Get 1 Free.  You can read the fine print here

Dealflix.Com

Check Out this site for discount tickets.

Groupon Has A Banner for Discount Tickets

in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta, Denver, and Washington D.C.  In the past, Groupon has also offered discounts on Fandango, MovieTickets.com, and DealFlix gift cards or vouchers.

Student, Seniors (65+), and Military Tickets

Many theaters offer current discounts to these three groups.  So check your local theater’s website, grab your grandma, friend in the military, and/or student ID, and head out to Love, Simon.

Group Rates

Often times buying tickets in bulk results in getting a discount.  So get 10 or 20 of your friends, and call the theater to see if they offer group rates.

Go To a Matinee!

Remember!  The early shows before 4 PM (6 PM at some theaters) are always less!

Wait! I Don’t Live in the US or Canada

You’re going to have a wait a little bit, but PLEASE go see this once it's released.  Foreign Box Office is a HUGE part of a film’s success, sometimes it even saves it!

So, Save the Date:

March 22, 2018 - Brazil

March 29, 2018 - Australia

April 6, 2018 - UK, Ireland

May 3, 2018 - Argentina, Singapore,

May 4, 2018 - Finland, Taiwan,

May 9, 2018 - Philippines

May 10, 2018 - Hong Kong

June 14, 2018 - Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovakia,

June 15, 2018 - Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden

June 21, 2018 - Hungary, Portugal,

June 27, 2018 - France

June 28, 2018 - Germany

June 29, 2018 - South Africa, Spain

August 30, 2018 - Italy

Even if you watch (or have already watched) a CAM online, please still consider seeing this in the theater when it comes out it in your country!

The more we can show Fox/Disney that we are willing to put our money where our mouth is, and go support this movie, the more likely it is that similar films will be made. Hollywood is constantly searching for the next big thing, so if they see a hit or potential trend, they going to try and figure out how to copy it.

I Just Don’t Have the Funds or Means to Get to the Theater

The goal of this post is drive box office success.  I get that sometimes you just can’t get to the theater; or, because of the nature of the film, it might not be safe for you to attend.  You can STILL help out with Word of Mouth

Fox is checking Social Media.  Keep tweeting and posting about how much you love this movie, and how much it means to you.  Make sure to use the Hashtag #LoveSimon.  Reblog this post so others can get the information.  Tell your friends to go, and RAVE about it.  Post positive/rave reviews on Amazon, Rotten Tomatoes, and IMDB.  All of those things help Love, Simon.

If you’re still here, I know that was a lot, THANK YOU, and I hope you get a chance to enjoy and love this movie.

[justwinginoverthings]

STOOOOOP blaming people on tumblr for the decisions NETWORKS DO. This trend is so damn common and it pisses me off SO MUCH.

Networks decide which show to promote to get more viewers. Networks decide the budget for those show’s marketing team. Networks decide when will they air their shows (yes, timeslot and moth of the year matter). Networks decide who they sell distribution rights internationally. Networks decide what they promote by organizing interviews with journalist, paying for reviews, submitting for awards, etc. Networks are run by old white men who are the responsable for the white, sexist, racist, LGBT-erasing media we have been fed our entire lives.

Stop saying stuff like “you all watched THIS instead of THIS, you let this show die” Like, dude, LEARN something about how tv works, please. Stop thinking that if ALL the tumblr users in tumblr had watched the show, and blogged about it, we could’ve saved tv shows that networks never had any interest in keeping alive.

A popular tv show post probably has a billion notes when compared to this cancelled shows and you are all ready to demonize tumblr for not giving it attention when there are SO MANY FUCKING FACTORS in the popularity of a show. I live abroad, I can tell you that the only ads in Latin Spanish that Netflix has ever shown me in youtube are: HoC, OITNB, Stranger Things and 13RW. Fine, I am a person who spends enough time watching tv shows to give love to gems like Sense8 and TGD, but I am no majority? THE WHOLE POINT of advertising is “waste your time and money on me instead of others”. I hate 13RW, but honestly? Netflix hit the jackpot by having Selena around in every interview telling people of the importance of the show. They chose to ensure the popularity of that show rather than ever giving Sense8 and TGD a chance.

As for blaming people on tumblr for not giving love to shows like The Get Down or Underground or Pitch, like, mate YES, this shows totally deserved more love but also.. you all do realise that NOT ALL OF TUMBLR IS FROM USA? So first of all, viewership outside of USA does not tend to matter because that’s not how advertisement works. So even if all of the users in tumblr had reblogged the gifset posts it would’ve never guaranteed that the shows wouldn’t get cancelled. Again, as someone from outside US, I believe absolutely no network where I live ever showed Pitch O Underground. Downloading it illegally also doesn’t help with viewership. Furthermore, these shows were oddly especific: baseball and hip hop are very VERY much interesting for American viewers. Everyone else?? not so much (there’s a reason Empire is a huge hit in USA... and not everywhere else. I’d like to say slavery is of everyone’s interest but let’s face it, it’s not). (Also, I’m not saying these shows were only limited to this: I watched both, I know there’s more depth going on, but again, this can get lost in marketing).

Just, please STOP blaming ALL THE TUMLBR PEOPLE in HERE for the cancellation of a show. It is NETWORKS which decide which shows they WANT to become popular (in the US, internationally, among journalist and reviewers and awards associations), and there’s only so much fandoms can do about it. Every once in a while there’s enough fandom to gather signatures and all that, but these are very specific cases, not the rule.

[baekwin]

Hello! Oh, I totally missed the reply but that was the one so whew! And yes! My secret Santa had messaged me that way and I was like WHAT IS THIS SORCERY? I’m glad mobile works for it! But I’m typing this on my laptop then going to send to myself to send on mobile haha

Oh! So this Monday is going to be your first day! I hope you have a fantastic one! First days can be so nerve-wracking so I hope it goes well for you. I still remember my first day at my current job even though it was more than 5 years go haha What an impact it had on me lol

That’s such a nice story about your roommate! And yes, take them down to EXO too hehehe Since I’m back with my mom, she’s found the kdrama realm and so far everything she watches or listens to can be connected to EXO so it’s somewhat sticking since we’re going to watch 100 Days My Prince since it’s on Netflix but I asked if she can wait until I’m on break from work so we can marathon (she’ll watch all day and be done before I can even watch one episode while working)

But yeah, so far I’ve been watching things on Netflix like Selena and I just watched The Crown with my dad and caught up with the Mandalorian from Disney+ And then since I bought all of Friends, I watch that in the bg a lot and How I met Your Mother otherwise, I just rewatch a lot of things and baking shows (Nailed it). Oh and the Masked Singer! I think one of them is Howie D from BSB so we’ll see Wednesday if I’m right hahaha What types of shows do you like watching?

That’s a great way to look at it! You might not have needed them during college because for that exact reason! I’m glad I was already done (but I was doing my grad school/credential program) otherwise, I don’t know how I would juggle it. It’s better now that I’m older in juggling so I’m glad about that. And I didn’t find fandom as toxic as I do now but I wasn’t on Twitter as much back then. I think I started using it more just a few years ago and I want to try to get off but it’s hard now ;_; But I’m going to try maybe just weekend when the new year starts… new years resolution since all my other ones always fail hahaha I can be delayed too and just see things on Tumblr like before. I think that would help with removing negative things

Yes! Kai is such a great performer! Like art! AMAZING! and YES! I was laughing at Baek’s reaction hehe especially about the spacebar haha And then when Kai surprised Xiumin at his v live I seriously screamed hehe And then Baekhyun tweeted too, I love them all ;_;

I’m so excited that Yeol is on Law of the Jungle. It’s something after such a long time without him. I hope he’s healing and doing well

And yes, they’re so chaotic! I think I had that in mind but I wanted to make sure and thank you for that moment! I’ll see if I can incorporate it hehe

About 2 more weeks until the reveal! I’m excited!

Have a great weekend again and a fantastic first day on Monday!!! - ss anon 🤶🏻

hello!!! i’ve been so caught up getting ready for work, and then being at work, that i haven’t had a minute to breathe yet until today aaahhh but in a good way! my first day was so cool, i’m really glad to be in an office where everyone is so nice and the work is so interesting 🥰

omg i haven’t watched that either, maybe that should be next! i haven’t gotten far in start up because of the craziness of this week but i think i’ll get one or two episodes in today. omg lol yeah its so hard to coordinate watching things with people unless you have exactly the same schedule, hopefully it works out to watch it with her! 

my roommate and i just started selena too!! i think we’re 4 or 5 episodes in, really liking it so far, it’s a nice show and easy to watch. i tried watching the crown a few years ago and never really got into it....but everyone seems to love it now so maybe i’ll give it another shot at some point. what do you like about it? hehe my best friend loves friends and bought all of it as soon as it went off netflix too! i am also one of those people who plays shows in the bg too so i really miss it for that :( i don’t watch masked singer, but i hope you’re right just for the satisfaction of it!! i used to keep up with all the cw dcverse shows like arrow and flash and supergirl but i’ve been really bad about it recently. i still love them though! i know a lot of people say they’ve gotten worse but tbh i dont really care i keep watching them lmao. but yeah that, and i also tend to stick with shows i’m comfortable with! like at least once a year i watch gilmore girls lol mostly when fall/winter starts bc it’s such a cozy show to me. and i usually watch parks and rec every other year or so but now it’s gone off any of the streaming services i pay for so i’m sad about that huuuu 

i’m glad you didn’t find fandom that toxic! bc it really can be, but definitely surrounding yourself with the right people helps so much. and yeah i know it can def be annoying to get news a little bit late but it’s a trade off i guess. i think if i saw everything that the fanwars got trending all the time i’d just be like...at a baseline of always mildly pissed off lmao

hehe exo loving exo is my favoritest favorite thing 💕 i know i’m so happy kai came!!!! and xiumin was so much more comfortable with him there it was sosososo cute ;; LOL xiumin’s reaction to the tweet was so funny “BAEKHYUN COME HELP ME” 😂😂😂 poor bby

omg yay!!! yes you definitely had it right LMAO the chaos is IT!!! i’m so excited too, can’t wait to find out who you are!! and i’m glad i signed up for this bc i got to make a new friend 🥰

sending you love, and happy holidays!!