#anyways enjoy the clip besties. i really like it <3

[siilvan]

IT'S GIVING JEALOUS-IN DENIAL-GRUMPY-SIMP!MAKAROV I- im crying

oh god i've never seen that first pic, the way he's leaned back and sorta manspreading… good lord i need him in ways disastrous to feminism. till he forgets his tragic past. gonna make him forget he wants to take over the world, save humanity frfr

*ahem* this, uh… i'm not responsible for this drabble, loosely bloodsport-based but more or less just simping, enjoy bestie 🤭

(little bit of suggestiveness BTC, y'all have been hungry for him anyway <3)

ангел – angel (pronounced as written, with a hard 'g' lol)

мое небо/moye nebo – my heaven

he is not a man often annoyed by the "small things" but this, this sight has his blood boiling beneath his skin.

you're standing across the room, about fifteen paces away, chatting with one of his captains. a loyal soldier and a fine field commander, often successful when fulfilling his orders, and makarov's willing to admit: not an unattractive man by most standards. the captain is allowed to walk behind him for a reason, he's pleased with his work.

but, he is just a captain. he holds only a sliver of the power that makarov holds. of the people in the room, he is a mere ant, something that he could crush under his boot in a fit of rage and the only quarrel would be disposing of the body. why are you so interested in him? are you not drawn in to the strength, the pride, the influence that makarov has?

he shifts in his seat, leaning forward and letting his eyes narrow at the sight. your back is to him, but the captain— oh, the captain knows very well what the look makarov sends his way means.

you've encroached on my territory.

makarov doesn't hear the next words quickly stuttered out by the man, but it's shortly after that he nods in farewell and darts out of the room. like a child being scolded; the smile that pulls at the edge of his lips gives away his feeling of cruel satisfaction. no matter how esteemed any of his men may be, he stands alone at the top.

you blink at the door after the captain darts out before visibly shrugging and shaking your head. you turn around, eyes immediately finding his, and some unfamiliar sensation tugs at makarov's heart when he catches the glimmer of familiarity in your gaze.

he shifts again, leaning back into a more relaxed position. with your attention on him once more, he can allow his shoulders to drop, his rigid posture to soften. just keep your eyes on him.

"let me guess – that excuse of 'i need to clean my knives' was actually meant to mean, 'my commander is glaring daggers at me?'" you ask, crossing the space in a leisurely stroll, far more collected than when you first arrived several weeks ago.

he chuckles, lifting a hand to signal to his soldier standing nearby. "warden, give us some space."

the masked woman's gaze flits between you two, before she responds with a single nod and a clipped "yes, commander." she marches out of the room and the door clicks shut behind her, leaving you standing alone in front of him.

"if he has time to chat, he has time to work." makarov says, his hips briefly lifting as he adjusts his position, head lolling back just slightly to look up at you.

"that's a shitty way to boost morale," you comment, mouth briefly twitching up into a bemused smile nonetheless. "why did you really send him away?"

he dismisses your question, shaking his head. "i suppose i shouldn't be surprised that a woman of your position is observant, should i?"

you smile, again, wider and longer this time. "no, you shouldn't." you mutter.

for a moment, you two are left in that position, locked in a stalemate of neither person wanting to make the next move. observing the other, attempting to read their thoughts through nothing but minimal body language. you shift your weight from one leg to the other, hands clasping in front of yourself as you tilt your head to the side slightly, barely noticeable.

your next move.

makarov says nothing more as he pats his knee, silently giving a command. it's not a question, not a request— there is no uncertainty in the action.

he catches the flash of hesitation that crosses your face, and in reply, he offers his hand. the red light cascading over the room could almost be mistaken for an omen, a sign of what is to come in the distant future as soon as you place your hand in his.

he pulls you forward, gently, urging you to close the distance yourself. take the final leap.

carefully, you step forward and place your legs on either side of his, knees pressing into the plush cushions of the sofa as you let your weight rest on his thighs. your free hand, originally awkwardly sitting at your side, comes to rest on his bicep before lightly skating up to clutch his shoulder, the crisp fabric of his suit soft under your touch.

he draws you closer still, arm moving to circle around your middle, bringing you forward until your chests are flush, your rapidly-beating heart a contrast to his own, thumping steadily as he lifts your hand to his lips, pressing an uncharacteristically chaste kiss against your skin.

"he is not worth your time, ангел." he murmurs, lowering your hand.

"and, you are?" you ask, brows lifting curiously with the question.

"by birth right, i am," he replies quickly, voice low but confident. he isn't hiding the confession, he's reserving it for your ears alone. "no matter how many men may catch your eye for a fleeting moment, no matter how many think they stand in front of me in the queue for your hand, i will always be at the front, even if i must eliminate the competition to do so. i was born superior, i alone am worthy of your grace, мое небо."

a small part of you wants to argue, to tell him no, he has to earn that privilege, but a far larger part of you keens at his words, at his hands on you, gloved fingertips dancing along your spine and digging into the plush of your hip.

"you seem awfully confident for a man silently begging to be touched." you mutter, a sharp exhale escaping you when his hand leaves your hip to slowly slide up your side, thumb trailing along your front and stopping just below the curve of your breast.

he chuckles, dropping to a gravelly whisper as his lips hover mere inches from yours, dark eyes boring into yours and rendering you immobile.

"kiss me, then." he says, unabashed. "please, ангел." he adds after a beat, tongue darting out to wet his lips. the darkness in his gaze gives way to hunger, like a beast eyeing prey, waiting for it to run so he can give chase.

you draw in a breath, metaphorically and physically swallowing down the hesitation that bubbles up again. he has you right where he wants you, caught in his trap, but as his hands push you down, his hips raising again to press right into your clothed core, you find that you suddenly don't care.

you practically fall into his embrace, cupping his jaw and pressing your lips to his, matching the predator in hunger; like a rabbit leaping on a wolf instead. his firm grip becomes almost painful as he tugs you impossibly closer, his hand coming up to the nape of your neck, holding you in place against him.

you should have expected him to take over, to reclaim his spot in control. the most makarov will ever do is share, which alone is an honor, but he will never completely give his control away.

you're falling deeper, watching the light fade as you burrow farther into the earth, further into the pitch blackness that is him. it's hard to care, nigh impossible to think about anything else when you're so far down the rabbit hole.

worry about his touch, his lips, the satisfied rumble in his chest when he practically purrs your name against your lips. everything else can wait.

[fumifooms]

Marchil crumbs part 5

Part 1 - Part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 6 - part 7

The anime has come and since I have my shipping goggles on I am going to notice so much. This part will be less spoilery for anime onlys (tho if you want to see me talk about why I ship them and why they’re complementary this is not a good part to start with haha). Edit: After completing this part I can confirm it’s fully anime-onlys friendly and spoiler-free! For manga veterans though there are still some fun tidbits to be found, some recontextualisations and new extra content.

Holy shit guys they’re mirroring each other in the mural and reaching out to each other AND looking towards each other?!!!! Their pose is so striking and like perfectly align?! Which means it was so intentional and the staff wanted to highlight them (for an aesthetic and/or narrative purpose I’m sure but it happened)! I will never let this go we won so fucking hard let’s goooooo we are so back

Character foils!! Dynamic duo!!

Soulmates!!

In the opening at 1:16 he looks at her to see if she’s really going to it as the most critical of monster food & muster up courage to dig into it himself lmao… "Marcille doesn’t look too grossed out, she’s picky so this food must be fine then" Aka treating her as a poison taster/good cuisine judge lmao

Doodle from the animation director (source). I should translate it but I’m procrastinating on it so uh director’s brotp? Anyways they hanging out look at them :]

Laios is thinking to himself there (he’s the one saying the subs), and in the meantime Marcille and Chilchuck talk, likely figuring out the money situation. Strategizing duo back at it again not wasting a second

In the beginning of ep 1, when Marcille is rambling about where they could go to get food and what to grab, Chilchuck listens with a big smile & even closes his eyes as they walk. The implication is that he’s thinking about food, but man the scene hits different now that it’s voiced and I remember that indeed Chilchuck is closing his eyes to her voice and enjoying hearing her talk and ramble. I may be too far gone into the marchil pit

I feel like already they’ve come far from when Chilchuck dreaded being alone with Shuro and Marcille, waiting for the Toudens and Namari to arrive.

Ok this might actually be smth I’m gonna complain about but I feel like blushes have been drawn too vividly so far. Why does Chilchuck look like he’s confessing when he tells her she’s not a burden and he didn’t mean to make her feel that way. It almost comes across as "Woah she cares what I think?" 💀 The banter ensuing is of course also great

Ep 2 was an episode centered on them both that had the "Magic/Traps are my domain, don’t interfere!" parallel… And now with ep 3 we’re back to them being haters together. That’s her emotional support man

In ep 4, it doesn’t show well with a screenshot but when Senshi talks about his unmanned vegetable stand with a treasure chest, while in the manga Marcille and Chilchuck both think the same thing, "That’s why that treasure chest akways had money in it…", but in the anime instead they literally finish each other’s thought. Talk about being on the same wavelength.

Ep 5 is a marchil goldmine actually, it showcases perfectly how much of a package deal they are lol. Always sticking close to each other. Glancing at each other during meals… They literally nod at each other before they try a bite to steel themselves. They exchange a serious thoughtful glance when Laios talks about Falin truly being gone atm. They argue a bit but they go right back to sitting right next to each other after the meal <3 My god I can’t deal with them they are so…… "Hate this bitch, not my friend" 3 secs later "Heyy bestie!!" Also he’s worried he brought her mood down after mentioning Falin. Made a post about ep 5 collecting even more screenshots.

Episode 6 my hero my beloved… Again I made a post about the ep collecting all my screenshots here, and even a clip! But this IS the marchil crumbs masterpost thus I must collect the major ones here as well. First of all, fun staff drawings for the first screening!

I already posted a screenshot from the trailer of when Chil had his head on his knees sitting next to her, but after seeing episode 5 I think it’s a fun and interesting trend to notice that they sit next to each other way unnecessarily close wow. They continue to banter a ton, she continues to be very casual with touch, and they’re really cute! I love just how much Marcille blushed damn- It’s really cute too when you remember with the bicorn chapter that Chilchuck teases Marcille BECAUSE he enjoys getting a rise out of her, flustering her and seeing her reactions. I support the teasing -> laughing because her reaction is over the top all-Chilchuck economy. Also she apologizes for having let him go alone and be gone for so long by helping him with sewing his cowl… Cuties

She looked so happy when he opened up about his age!… And then seemed… Disappointed? When he "truly was just a kid". "So you really are a kid! How boring…" This implies that her intent was to tease him for funsies… Ok lads we reached 30 pics see you next post, I’m gonna cover the "wake up clumsy head" manga-anime differences and we’re gonna go back to our usual spoilers yummy schedule.

Here’s Marcille cosplaying as a succubus in the newest Daydream Hour… She may not be a half-foot or have deep-set eyes but let’s be real I think he’d explode

part 6 here!!

[hamsamwich23]

10 facts: unreality Mortimer and Scout :3

Hell yes bestie let's go! Two of my favorite little creatures

Random facts that are mostly not lore relevant! Who knows

Tw: mentioned/implied past animal death, mentions of death.

Proshits and k1nk/fetish blogs DNI you'll be blocked and reported

Unreality Mortimer

His voice is probably a little different from canon Mortimers. Less raspy. However when he gets upset his voice tends to sound distorted or even "glitchy"

Sometimes stray cats will follow him home, so now mortimer just occasionally sets food out for those cats and let's them live in the woods. (He had a cat once, but ... An accident happened)

He is very fixated on shows like Bojack Horseman and Moral Orel and will gladly go into rants about them

His favorite music artist is Jack Stauber

He also has a collection of pillows he sleeps with. He hoards them

He has set water on fire before (age 1, Nick dared him to do it)

He's stupidly ticklish

He sucks at fighting based video games (still plays them regardless), but he enjoys playing animal crossing or stuff like harvest moon. He can maybe play Deltarune

He's terrified of spiders

The reason he's one of the most feared beings in this au is because of his judgment powers, but more so what happens if you are judged guilty of a death-worthy crime or action. The punishment being equal karma to what they did. The punishments are not judged by religion, simply morality, karma, action and intention

Unreality Scout:

They're gender fluid and use he/she/they pronouns

They also use their hair for expressing themselves, they know how to make it appear shorter without cutting it (using hair ties and/or hair clips)

They're also really good with makeup and occasionally helps do others makeup for them

She's very good at art, she was taught by nick herself. She has notebooks full of old doodles and artwork

She's also really good with video games and even has a youtube channel where she streams herself playing them, majority of the time it's horror games(its doing good so far)

They have inherited the dark magic curse (from the book), they ended up repressing it for years though, so now they're learning how to actually use it. (I imagine that when they're using it it looks Something like.. THISSS. Parts of their body glow purple when using dark magic. One of those being the entire hands and arms

7: they love animals in general

8:she can cook however she adds extra of certain ingredients to food she makes for herself. She makes the weirdest food combinations

9:She's also really into fashion but stays on the more, SOMEWHAT simpler side. She's a fan of the grunge style

10: she can and will bite you, affectionately if you're a friend, family or Twenty. If not? Well. Sayonara to your arm then

Obviously I ran out of ideas/hj/lh

ANYWAYS HERE YA GO!!!

[boypussydilf]

BMT (bacon mettuce tomato) from that ask game forrrrrr..... persona AND sgt frog. double whammy

BACON METTUCE TOMATO

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

in persona … i would most likely never have thought of sumitaba in my life if not for the fandom. they r just neat. uhhhhhh. lets see surely theres some pair of sgt frog characters i never wouldve considered interacting or smth if not for some external influence. Most notably kurudoro i probably wouldnt habe really thought about them if not for the fandom either but its hard to remember, but let’s also give a shout out to some pairs ive seen interacting One Time- i THINK i saw one (1) piece of ship fanart of bariri and keroro? if im remembering correctly? And also hark ! to the fanart of dororo and putata interacting. iirc. rich kid swag

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

EVERY character I LOVE friendship 😌😊☺️🍃🌱💅❤️😌🤭🍀🌸⭐️🌈✨😚 ok im done now. Anyway for real though I would like to be friends with all of the phantom thieves we would be besties . but i wanna hang out w yusuke and futaba especially. but like, separately. the violence when they are combined is funny but would be too intense for me. Also, Eikichi Persona 2. And maybe Maya Persona 2 we wouldn’t necessarily be close friends but she’s nice.

if dororo n koyuki were real we would be best friends “u n dororo n koyuki or me n u” yes. i would enjoy hanging out with fuyuki as well.

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending?

Ok well first of all lists of immutable autistic & trans headcanons as long as my arm for both series, but we already know that very well. Other than that uh ….. really die hard thoughts …. akira & futaba are siblings its simply a fact. also that fanart where sumi runs into akechi post p5r and shes the only one who knows hes alive for a while and its kinda just Them is like 85% canon in my brain. Also there is no world post-p5 where akira doesn’t become like… protests georg. if you have an Adult Akira Kurusu concept and hes anything other than not only willing to punch dudes in the face to try and get things to change but actually Actively Doing the closest things to that he can manage: you are just wrong.

sgt frog headcanons that r Just Canon to me …….. Aside frm the list of whos autistic keroro Super Has ADHD but that really kind of is just canon. not on purpose but no one in the history of mankind has adhd coded a frog harder than this. There’s not much else I can think of this is the worst thing to ever happen to me 😔 I could reiterate my trans headcanons in great detail but we’d be here all night and the Sgt Frog 10 Years Later au in my brain is still only half-formed (its my job, my DUTY, with everything i like to imagine what the characters are like a while post-canon, especially if theres kids who can grow up or other clear room for further life development, but also there’s a lot of factors to consider to figure details out.) So I’m just gonna end by talking about Kururu’s older siblings because we as a people need to talk more about them. I think that personality wise they’re both like. somewhere in between kururu and saburo. They like to Cause Problems On Purpose more than saburo who mostly just Doesn’t Prevent problems but not as much as kururu whod probably blow up a galaxy if it was funny enough, but they’re also like, Outwardly Nice, less like kururu and more like saburo. Theyre sooo good at acting friendly and sweet and normal that you can miss how extremely petty and selfish they’re being and all the problems they are causing. This is just based on 1 clip in the anime where shipepe sends keroro a card for new years or something like that? and part of it goes kinda like “Just a funny thing…. you know what that happens to remind me of? That time I bought you ramen in elementary school…. I still remember exactly how much money you owe me <3” anyway tbats what they’re like to me.

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here bestie and still feeling bitchy if you feel like indulging. So I've had a couple of issues this week and the first i'll get to came as a bit of a combination of reading @canonicallyobserving911 latest post and seeing the LS promo with Owen and Andrea (incidentally we've had like 3 trailers and a whole ass preview scene from LS this week alone, WTF is OG's promo dept doing??). I thought the parents-taking-over-the-wedding clip was funny, but made me think when was the last time we

had fun stories/episodes in 911 OG?? And I don't mean one liners or ridiculous emergencies or people making a joke out of one characters actions that actually carry pretty serious implications (glares at jokes getting made about BOTH Buck's cheating and sperm donor arc). I mean episodes that were fun because we know the characters, we know that of course this is how they'd react, and it's ridiculous but real because we all have a side of us that's ridiculous at times. Where did all the fun episodes go?? I tried to think of the last example and I guess you could count the Eddie and Chim with the cursed bracelet thing (which was almost immediately undermined by the fact Chim knowingly bought a murder house 🙄). But I can't think of the last time the show was really and truly being fun. 

Second on my things-I'm-pissed-about list is the return of Ravi. Not because I'm upset Ravi is back, I'm thrilled actually, but seriously KR?? After completely sidelining his character in 5b in favor of trying to make L a thing, after literally cutting him out of the HenRen vow renewal photo, after not even mentioning once during 6a where he was but making sure we had a whole damn scene devoted to explain L's absence, suddenly we're supposed to be excited you’re promoting him in the BTS?? I just can't be grateful that it took 1.5 seasons of negative feedback for KR to give people something they want. I hope they have no budget for effects that episode because it all went to pay Anirudh to bother with this show again after his character got so disrespected. Anyway that's my bitchy thoughts for these last few days, enjoy!!

Hello my friend! You have definitely caught me in a salty mood because my family is occasionally infuriating 🙃 I am SO with you and everyone about how LS has gotten all kinds of promos, and official stills from set released by Tim, meanwhile, OG is continuing to languish with barely anything and who knows if what we DO get from the official releases is actually something we’ll get to see.

I also agree with the lack of truly fun episodes. Cursed was trying to be Jinx but where Jinx was all about the firefam and their dynamics, and a fun montage of them doing their jobs, Cursed wasted all it’s time showing us every aspect of some random starlet’s life with barely any firefam (and while Eddie talking to Bobby and Athena was great a) that story didn’t line up with literally anything we’ve ever seen or been told about Isobel and b) it didn’t have Eddie’s continual investigative partner Buck involved). Plus, it didn’t even have a good resolution like Jinx did which gave us a brilliant scene with Eddie talking someone down and into doing the right thing. Cursed spent the whole episode setting up a “the assistant colluded with that guy to cause accidents to her boss to make her believe she was cursed” and then just...didn’t do that and instead had the assistant just skimming money and the guy having some randomly flimsy reason to come after her. But like, who cares? In Jinx we care about the guy (Brian, right?) insofar as he is directly putting the firefam and people in danger by doing things wrong while trying to “help”, eventually making a good-faith call about something that wasn’t actually what he thought it was, and then ultimately stealing the truck from the firefam when they needed to get to a fire where their help was needed. We don’t care about Brian as much as we care about how his actions affect the 118 and their ability to do their jobs. Cursed has nothing to do with the firefam except that they keep getting the calls. We get a little bit from Eddie but it’s never focused on enough to be called the central story. The central story in Jinx is the firefam. The central story in Cursed, even up to the end which SHOULD have been focused on Eddie and Chris (and fucking BUCK because the tsunami came up), is Felisa who the audience doesn’t know or care about. Yes the episode had some laughs, but just like everything in s6, is lacking heart, depth, and focus on characters we actually know and love.

Same with What’s Your Fantasy which was SO wildly all over the place in tone from cute sisters talking female empowerment-turned emergency situation, to murder fantasies, to sex fantasies overlaying a conversation about a child’s crush, to a huge, misogynistic, terrorist plan running throughout the episode. Again, a few cute surface level scenes, but mostly just filler with no consistent tone or through-line for any of the characters. Even back in season 5, FOMO had some funny moments, but again didn’t devote enough focus to main characters and instead spent too much time on some random emergency character having a whole arc, and the episode had a whole tragic ending. Honestly I can’t think if a single other “fun” episode in the whole of season 5, which people can say was the “point” but given that almost nothing got any (on screen) resolution (or any that wasn’t immediately undercut/forgotten) it doesn’t feel like there was a point. Previous seasons did so much better balancing tone throughout episodes, and being able to cut the heaver episodes by moving towards lighter arcs, and then back again. An ebb and flow across the whole season vs a whole oppressive season followed by episodes packed with wildly different stories that tonally do not fit together and leaves the viewers with whiplash. I’m still sooooo frustrated with how the sperm donor (and the cheating) storyline has been turned into a big joke. Especially because we KNOW the potential that was there for a meaty, and emotional storyline and Oliver has consistently delivered GOLD on that kind of stuff. And instead we got masturbation jokes, and jokes about being accosted at work and literally every other mishandled aspect of the arc. 😤😤😤😤

As for your second thing, I’m right there with you in regards to Ravi. Like, they couldn’t be bothered to let Bobby or Buck or literally anyone drop a single line about how their probie had grown and was lent out to the academy for a few months?! Especially after the audience was begging for more of him and irritated that he got sidelined and lost out on screentime and storylines so KR could force L into every little thing. The show KNEW going in to s6 how the fans and the general audience felt about L, and about Ravi, and it definitely feels vindictive and petty on KR’s part to allow no mention of him, even after every single episode had the audience asking where he was, BEGGING for any line about what happened to him, and saying how weird it was that he disappeared without anyone saying anything. For the only mention of him to come not even in the show itself but in an interview after the whole first half of the season was over is such a slap in the face. I hope Anirudh got every single thing he wanted out of coming back (I also hope someone had to grovel at least a little bit) and I hope that the very loud chorus of “FINALLY” from the audience when he’s back will stick in KR’s craw because of how universally beloved he is compared to every other random recurring and one-off episode character she’s tried to force into focus so she didn’t have to actually deal with the main characters of the show. My only worry is that she’ll try to do something to his character out of spite because I absolutely wouldn’t put it past her. For now I’m going to hold on to the joy at Ravi/Anirudh coming back, and excitement at seeing what he’s up to.

Thanks for giving me somewhere to focus my other frustrations today! And in a few days we’ll have some Yehaw wee-woos to flail about. And since we still have some time before our OG team comes back, I’m always here to dig into the salt mine! 

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

Oop Tommy 👀

Oh no D:

That is. not good xdd

OPE

They're in the room slfjshfklds XD

Ahh this guy

Okay but be professional Tommy you're not in a good position here xD

Oof yeah that is a good percent though xd

Nah they suck

Don't listen to himmmm

If there were emergencies to go around they wouldn't be stealing theirs lol

UGHHH

Nah y'all suck I don't trust you

"They're trying to kill us" XD like fair but still

Oof 😬

Try to beat them? Uh oh 😬

UH OH here comes the drama lol XD

SLFKGHDJKS THEY'RE ALL IMMEDIATELY ON IT

Like vultures XD or dogs or smth idk lol

This is the part of the clip I saw lol

Lol that's like the least defense he could offer you Owen but okay xD

YUPPP not he paid her she paid him lol

Ope o.o

Dang that is rich o.o xd

The fact that they're not even that surprised lol

OPE O.O

That is A LOT of money 😳

I do remember hearing that part but still XD

AND IT'S TO YOU?? S I R

XDD this is crazy lol

They're all impressed but they don't really seem surprised XDD ik I already said that but it's just hilarious lol

That's about where I stopped watching lol

OPE hey girl o.o

HAIRDRESSER SLFJFHDKS MARJAN

Naurrr xDD

Y'all I can't lol

Oh hi bus stop :)

Not like that's a continuous character or smth but- eh anyway xD

What's that on his leg?

What's up with you bestie

Girl nah you're not okay

Awww :'((( I'm sorry honey

That sucks <3

Ahh dialysis :'(( I'm sorry dude

This is a sweet little moment for them though :')

Just two strangers <3

This guy better survive 😭😭

I hope they're both okay :'((

NOOOO

UH OH UH OH UH OH

Oh NOOO this guy better be okay :'((

Aww wedding talk 🥰

I mean fair XD maybe not every family (found or otherwise) but definitely your guys' lol XD

DECEIVING it ain't that bad TK XDD

I mean I can understand not wanting to do it but for that reason lol??? XD

Why must be fiddling with his hand and not a ring 😤 /hj xD

OPE o.o

Alright go off I guess y'all, at least try xD

But make sure not to become them when beating them at their own game

OPE calling Grace o.o

XDDD SLFKGJKDHLS Y'ALL

But to be fair your jobs are kinda on the line xD

SLFKGJKDHS THEY'RE ENJOYING THIS SO MUCH XD

Like look at TK and Nancy's faces lol

YESS they beat them :DD

OPE you guys too??? Why are you guys here XD

Did the bus crash or smth bc of it??

UHH nahh

LOL yes Tommy >:DD

OPE o.o

Ope careful y'all xD

:OOO "Baby" AAHHHHH :DDDD Nanteo crumbs <333

Uhh oh o.o

That's not good xdd

Oof this poor guy xd

PHEW he's okay :DD

Ohhh noo xdd

Like objectively it's funny but XDD y'all do need to get out lol

Just realized this post is really long so I'll start another lol

[yououghtaknow]

NEW CLIP: “It’s My Life”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31213955/chapters/77161616

[stormblessed95]

Memories 2016: Disc 4

So I asked awhile ago when I said I was going back to watch every memories DVD they have released so far, if you would be interested in commentary from me as I did so. There were a lot of people who said yes, so here we are! I have officially watched BTS Memories of 2016. Here are my thoughts as I went. There were 4 DVDs in this one. The posts over first 3 discs is already up and on my masterlist. Reminder that these aren't going to be smoothly written out thoughts. You get these like I'm live reacting, texting my bestie or live tweeting. Lol it'll be in like bullet point format sort of, just... a commentary post as I go. Lol Hope you enjoy anyway! Let's go!

Disc 4:

On Stage Asia Tour:

They went to 10 cities (Seoul / Taipei / Macau / Nanjing / Osaka / Nagoya / Beijing / Manila / Bangkok / Tokyo) for this tour. It was an extension of their 2015 HYYH tour. The tour kicked off in Seoul on 160507.

Track List:

1. Run

2. Danger

3. Autumn Leaves

4. Tomorrow

5. Butterfly

6. Outro: Love is not Over

7. Outro: House of Cards

8. Intro: What Am I To You?

9. Boy In Luv

10. Save Me

11. Fire

12. WAB pt 2

13. Cypher pt 3: Killer

14. If I Ruled the World

15. Silver Spoon

16. Dope

17. Boyz with Fun

18. Attack on Bangtan

19. No More Dream

20. Epilogue: Young Forever

21. Whalien 52

22. Miss Right

23. I Need U

We start in June with the boys in Taipei. A minute into the video and we have jikook playing games already. Lol little wrestling robots game. Jimin bragging he won too much and JK saying it's only because I let you win (something he started doing with frequency in 2015) and then doing a rematch where he wins super quickly. Lmao poor Jimin.

This was also the same time as rehearsals for this concert that we see jikook practicing their COA performance. And JK mimicking Jimin on his 333 dance and immediately turning to check to see if he made Jimin laugh (he did 😊). Maknae line crazy dance times together in between stages 🥰

In Macau is where we get the iconic Sope skit with the recorder music that Hobi plays with his nose and Suga can't help but giggle over. And they thank their fans for the gift of such a luxurious recorder

I will never understand why they film them eating meals or snacks right up in their faces. I really don't need to see it and dang, let them eat without risk of accidentally inhaling the camera too with how close they get 🤣 the dance party from how good the snacks were though and excitement for the concert was adorable.

In Nanjing (July), Love seeing Jihope help the others perfect the choreo and picking out little things they can do to make the overall performance better. Main dancer things 🥰 and then vmin taking a break between rehearsals and the concert to play basketball together!

Jin dancing to ARMY singing songs before BTS even takes the stage 🥺 I love that they get to feel so much love. RMs inspiring little speeches before they go on to his members, do our best! And then we just got clips of total chaos and I want more please! Lol taekook piggy back ride, everyone hyping Suga up for his verse by patting him all over and jumping, Jimin swinging in between TaeJin, Tae on JKs shoulders, Tae's Boyz with Fun dance... I'm noticing a common factor in this craziness being Taehyung 😂 love him.

Tae2Seok proposing to ARMY during their ending mentions. Lmao dangerous idea to give out my guys. 😂 followed by their talks to the camera at the end with Jin continuously proposing to Jimin (somewhat aggressively lmao) before JinJiKook all ask ARMY to marry them too. What is this?! What was the joke? 😂

In Osaka now! They were all so excited during rehearsals and cutesy teasing Tae about how often he said "now" during his VCR recording. (He did say it a lot lol.) Man, rhey also are making Jimin dance on every show! Either showing parts of Fire and the 333 dance before, but now it's Butterfly 😂 and ahh the way JK looks at him while he sings so Jimin can dance everytime. So fond. Such a big smile. And this time Jin did it too!

Jimin jokingly holding Jin back from giving the camera kisses for the end of show mentions. And then Jikook have been doing so many of their camera talks together lately. Lol "the youngest teased me so much today everyone" lol okay Jimin. They are so cute. Followed by Jin and Jimin reacting to JKs celebrity bromance show, which I have already made a post over here too.

Nagoya concerts! Yoongi being so professional and working with the sound techs over what should be higher/lower for instruments and Members voices. Being so knowledgeable and so cool. And then JK following him around in tiny and mimicking everything he says giggling softly to himself and at the camera 🤣 "suga hyung won't scold me" indeed.

Lmao right before the concert. JK is trying to talk to the camera and Tae is just belting his lungs out across the room everytime he tries to talk 🤣 jin sharing how backstage is like a war zone as they have all 7 members trying to get changed and their hair/makeup freshened up in just 3 minutes but that he always finishes first.

Jikook playing together before rehearsals on day 2 with silly dances 🥺 Jin proposing to ARMY AGAIN and the editors being savage lmfao "Jin became cringeworthy" rude omg 🤣 everyone teasing Joonie for his Day 1 Day 1 chant the day before. Lol and at the very end, Jimin jumping onto JKs back when they are leaving the stage before giving his ending mentions to the camera. 🥺

Beijing concerts. I'm not sure what Jimin was dancing too in the middle of rehearsals but JK was loving it. Jimin was going hard too! Lol during their rehearsal break we saw Jimin cracking up laughing while filming a video of Hope, which he later posted to Twitter for us. And the way they have meetings together before every show to hash out exactly what minor things need to be changed depending on where they are performing and give reminders on how to give the best show. They work so hard it's crazy.

Beijing is where we had RM, Jin and Jimin all take turns dancing part of the Butterfly choreo to either JK or Tae singing acapella. Something they have been doing this whole tour, switching it up. But this was the iconic one where JK was watching Jimin dance with all the love in his eyes while singing

RM ended up suffering from over heating and having trouble breathing and couldn't finish the concert. It was heartbreaking but also very touching watching JK and army fill in for his rap verses and Suga take over for the speeches. They did a really good job though. And they were all so worried and concerned when talking to the camera afterwards, especially Jungkook, who couldn't even really think of anything to say, just kept looking off to the side, like he was wanting to be able to just go check on his hyung. They love each other so much. It's never the same if one isn't there.

Manila shows, end of July finally. Jikook walking to the stage with their arms around each other 🥺 and Jin is always acting the cutest on his way to their stages!

Lmao JK playing around with sunglasses and acting silly while the stylist Noona is trying to shove clothes at him and help him get dressed quickly for the encore stage. He is NOT making her job easy. Lmao these stylists all the patience of saints, I swear! The rapline hyping each other up on stage will never not get to me! And they were all so hype for the NMD dance break too!

Everyone was soooo excited by the crowds reactions. JK saying ARMY was his energizer. The hyungs all smiling super hard and being so thankful. Tae just shouting love you to the camera for army over and over. Jimin crashing his interview and jumping on Tae's back this time. Lol they were all so happy after this show!

Bangkok shows now! (160806 now). The amount of Thai food they had on a spread looked amazing and the short impromptu eat jin video we were gifted as well! Jungkookies smile hearing ARMY screaming before they go on stage 😭 Tae giving using his hand to give flying kisses from Jin and JK both. So cute

Yoongi walking off stage so tired he basically just skips saying anything to the camera. 😭 someone let him take a nap soon! We also see the staff taking JKs mic off and him holding his arm like it hurts. Then when Jimin comes up while he is talking to the camera to give him a back hug, he knocks his arm a bit and JK is obviously in pain. Jimin then practically forgets all about the camera, trying to figure out what happened and what hurts. While JK spends just as much effort trying to pretend he is fine and to distract Jimin from it, including teasing him and when Jimin says he is getting old going, but you are only 22? Lol before they walk off together. I'm sure Jimin did not forget about his arm and wanting to find out what happened either. It was cute the way JK wanted to not worry him over it though.

Toyko tour stop! Hoseok, our dance leader, scolding JK for not properly checking his in ears and sending him off to fetch them again. Lol I love that side of Hobi too. Jimin spent almost this entire video with black hair, and is now back to blond for Toyko! And Yoongi has darker auburn type of hair now!

Hobi dancing to JK singing Tomorrow this time! And TaeJin dancing to Fire! And Jin is letting the whole "Nikonikoni" thing GO. Lmao TaeJin are sitting back stage with their arms around each other and Jin is STILL going on with "Nikonikoni" into the camera and during when he danced Fire. Lmao is this where Tae picked it up from for his iconic line in the middle of Attack on Bangtan that sent Jimin into a laughing fit so hard he missed his lines to sing after that? 🤣🤣

Day 2 shows everyone preparing to get on stage, stretching all serious. Captions "everyone relieves stress in their own ways" cuts to Jin acting a fool and big smiles all silly. Lmfao Jimin walking up behind him watching him with the fondest smile, and trying not to laugh. And JK practicing the choreo the same exaggerated way with Namjoon walking up behind him with a smile and then a nod to the camera 😂

Taes voice during Boys with Fun will always be one of my favorite things! Plus his improvised dance moves that the rest of the group then copies afterwards! And Tae being RMs biggest fanboy during his Save Me verse!

Jin and Tae hanging out under the stage waiting for their cue to enter, Jin blowing kisses to Tae and Tae rapping along with the verses above.

The way that everyone encore stage included Miss Right where they passed out little merch balls from baskets, throwing them into the crowd was adorable. Even more so watching them skip around stage with the baskets and half the time someone ended up wearing said basket on their head when it was empty. Lmao surprisingly, it was usually the rapline who wore the basket hats so proudly!

The utter CHAOS that broke out right after Hobis ending mentions to ARMY and Otsukare started playing and everyone went crazy on stage dancing and jumping around to it. Lol just for RM to bring it back down after a bit with being the last to give his greetings and making everyone cry saying "we would have no most beautiful moment in life without you." And Jimim giving his backup dancer friend a big hug when they all came out before everyone joined hands for the final bow😭

Hobi ending the DVD off with a super sweet speech about the tour admist all the staff cheering like crazy for the members so sweetly.

And that wraps up Memories 2016! This was amazing and their hardwork, as always, is so highlighted and soooo admirable. One of my favorite things was seeing Namjoon greet ARMYs in their language everywhere they went. The dedication he has in making everyone geel welcomed and special is so beautiful. In conclusion, I love them. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts! 💜

(No Gifs/photos are mine)

[leejungchans]

juliet on kingdom (episode 10: finale).

juliet’s masterlist

from june 3’s live broadcast

note: read the tweets from the bottom up 💕

‼️ keep in mind that this contains massive spoilers since it’s the finale ‼️

— juliet’s outfit (ateez’s stage);

— juliet’s outfit (special dance stage);

disclaimer: the blurring of faces in my outfit collages is in no way meant as a form of disrespect, the sole purpose is to put the focus on the hairstyle and there is absolutely no ill intent. thank you for understanding!!

sorry, did you say the groups’ biggest supporter 😋😋

look juliet was already their personal cheerleader from the first episode, but that was before they all got closer and things were still slightly ✨awkward✨

but by now they’re all besties so her cheering was ramped up all the way 🥳

when they were listening to each other’s songs before the finale she was vibing to all of them like 🕺🏻🕺🏻

so ateez’s performance!!!!!

looking like that pokémon gym leader everyone had a crush on 😋😋

we have been getting so much rapper juliet lately and this performance was no exception 😋✨✨

since she had fewer lines in the song she got more centre parts in the choreography especially during the chorus!!

towards the end she, woo and joong went to the audience where btob and skz were 🥺🥺🥺

giving us our mayfly crumbs 🤧

jichanlix being her besties and we’re next to her like 🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻

she was so smiley during that part pls :’)))))

you could tell they all had so much fun performing that 🥺

she sat there after skz’s performance like 😦😦😦😦 trying to process everything

changmin asked her to say some of her thoughts in english after peniel!!

the boys pass juliet the mic, and she beams before saying, “as always, stray kids-sunbaenim gave us an incredible performance! like peniel-sunbaenim said, they literally tore up the stage and i have nothing but praise for their performance. stray kids, i love you! wolfgang! woof-woof!”

yes she barked on national television ✨

ateez at juliet barking: 😅🤣😬😦

the other groups and changmin: awww uwu 🥺🥺

they’re so whipped for her that they will find her barking cute smh get a grip people 🙄

after that she just sat back and enjoyed the show basically!!

juliet vibing with her front row seats to the other groups’ performances ✨

okay so i contemplated for the longest time on whether i should add this part or not but fuck it ✨

our baby got a special dance stage with minho (skz) :3 (they performed before the vocal stage!!)

they each got a solo part before rejoining at the centre stage for a duo dance

the inspiration for this stage in my mind is taemin and seulgi’s performance of drip drop from smtown live 🤩🤩 something powerful but also smooth

4th gen main dancer things ✨

skz and ateez the biggest cheerleaders obviously 🤧

she literally ran back to her seat after her special stage bc there was no way she’s missing the vocalists’ special stage

her phone banner makes a reappearance 🥺🥺

when the camera panned to her she went 👍📱🥰

she didn’t really want to cheer too loudly since the atmosphere was so soft and she didn’t want to disturb the other groups :3

so she settled for gently rocking side to side while being completely absorbed into the performance 🥺

but trust that she was internally screaming at how ethereal they all sounded 🤧🤧💕

okay but she got kinda emotional when they played all the clips during the ‘memories’ montage 🥺

even though filming and preparing for kingdom was tough, she met so many friends through the show and that was one of the best parts for her

she ran to aussie line right when it was announced skz won 🥺🥺🥺🥺

you could hear her in the background cheering loudly when skz went to get the trophy 🥺🥺

she was literally hugging everyone at the end of the show 🥺 everyone gets a hug especially for everything they all went through while filming for the show 🥺

and of course we’re wrapping this up with another lixliet hug bc these two have been with each other through thick and thin :’))))))) from childhood friends to both being in 4th gen leader groups 🤧💕

— fan reactions;

a/n: trust me i was this close to not adding the special dance stage but oh well it’s not like chan has a problem with it hehe 😈😈 icb kingdom finally ended?? these two months really flew by but anyways congratulations to ikon, btob, sf9, skz, ateez and tbz for being free from msnake 🥳 and ofc for also giving us incredible performances the entire show and i hope they get lots of well-deserved rest 💕 feedback is always highly appreciated!! take care and ily ❤️❤️

[kaepopsicle]

一𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓

〄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐃𝐊 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 *𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠* 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐘 <𝟑𝟑𝟑

𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐜 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝟓 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐙𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬/𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬....

i won’t make this all sappy,,, just kidding I will. so I know this year has been tough. for everyone. but I’m so proud of you for making it this long! it’s over! of course the pain doesn’t stop just bc the year is over,, but you know now that you can get through it !! I’m happy you’re still here :) — I feel like us as human beings have grown so much (I know me personally) have definitely grown and found myself more,, realized what I love, stand for, support. I hope you all have too!! I met some amazing people in this app, not even going to lie these lovelies have made me feel so much more complete. and I’m blessed to have met them...

一@sarahbkwl ♥︎

im 100% going to cry,, Sarah bear.. I can’t even describe how much you mean to me, right off the bat we just connected, the compliment battles, the random memes, the group chat name changes, you just understood me, which is rare bc I never felt understood in my life, I always felt like the awkward weird kid. I had friends I guess but I don’t think they were actually my friends, but you. you’re my true friend. someone I know I’m going to be friends with for a long time. I can’t wait to be able to see you!! You just make life a little bit easier to live, your adorable smile and your contagious laugh; I can’t help but giggle when you send your cute random pictures;; not to mention you’re absolutely gorgeous !! like literally you’re so hot okay. jfc. ten needs to come wife you up before I do ;) anyway I know the past couple weeks have been hard for you, but I’m so proud of you 🥺 you’re so strong. Now this is way too long so Gerald ... peace ✌️

一@rr0zu ☾

my moon !!! you are probably the most intelligent and strong woman i have ever met, you have been through so much stress this year but you made it, bc I knew you would; you’re practically glowing my love. you’re not only beautiful on the outside but on the inside, your need to obtain justice for the less fortunate is just amazing,, we need more people like you ,, you already know how I feel, I looked outside the other day ; and the moon was out, it was the only thing shining in the night sky. which is how you are in others lives, you just shine and light them up, making everyone’s day. 🥺 this will get way too long if I don’t stop but I just love you so much

一@babyyangx2-again ❦

*sobs* my paper clip, omg remember when we first met? I was your 🌻anon ?? and I kept flirting with you bc I’m literally Johnny, anyway your writing is literally the best, you’re literally the best, you’re my bestie 🥺 I’m so lucky to have met you, you just make me so happy and laugh so hard, we’re so chaotic but so perfect for each other; I know I’m a little forgetful and clingy but I love you ,, you know I do; you’re so kind, even though you think you’re not ; you are babe. you do little things for people , you care so much about making others happy, and that right there is an absolutely amazing trait. you’re that euphoric breeze, we you step outside, the beautiful trees blowing; the gorgeous smell of the flowers, just that happy feeling, that’s what you make me feel like.

一@starrdustville ♡︎

my flower !!!!!!!!!! Ishdjskdk my gorgeous flower, the one flower that I would pick in the field bc it was the prettiest, I would keep it as a dry flower and leave it in my favorite poetry book. so that when i read it, I’ll always think of you, you make me so happy with your smile, and your giggle is the cutest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. you just know the right things to say,, you make the stormy nights part ways for the stars

一@himitsu-luna ❤︎

my sister!! you know I always wanted an older sister.. I always wanted someone to look up to and talk to about anything; someone I can fan girl with and talk about anything with, and you my love are that person. 🥺 you’re so sweet and soft, you have the most gentle of soul and artistic of eye, makes me feel so proud and happy to have the privilege of calling you my friend

一@tinystupidwitch ❣︎

YES MY HENDERY STAN FRIEND!!! you’re so strong bubs... you know that? I know your work is hard, you get little sleep, but the fact you have the ability to text me and make me laugh and feel all happy 🥺 I appreciate you more than words can describe,,

一@bbyyangiex2 シ

my little sister :( we may be the most absolute different human beings ,, but some how we make it work, you’re so adorably cute,, and I know you’re like “nO iM nOt ,,, NO YOU” SHUSH LET ME SAY THIS!! you’re so cute and so pretty! and you’re so smart and amazing and such a beautiful young cutie... you make me feel so proud watching you grow up 😭😭 I just love you so much okay

一@hangsxng ☺︎︎

MEIN DEUTSCH LIEBE !!! Huiieifhekdk I love you so much omg, like; your accent, your laugh, your eyes, you’re so beautiful and so unique and so just absolutely erstaunlich!!! I know we haven’t talked a ton recently buttttt you’re still always on my mind! ich habe mein Deutsch dafür geübt,,,, ich liebe dich so sehr, meine liebe <3 vergiss nie, wie erstaunlich du bist 😭

一@liudejuns ♔

ugh, mimi; you know you have the ability to make someone’s day the brightest? even after a horrible day seeing you text me and post I just get so happy, you’re so beautiful inside and out and I hope you know how Important you and how much you really deserve

一@johns-marshmallow ఌ

ANNIKAN SKYWALKER!!! Aka Johnika ,,, tehehehe I love you so much ,, that’s it.

haha just kidding ! you’re such a joy in people’s lives, you’re so funny, and you radiate main character energy!! Ksjsksk i know you have been feeling down and stressed but just know you’re so strong, you’re so brave, and you’re so intelligent! anything you do will be amazing, anything you choose will be terrific why? Bc you’re Annika! you’re just the star in the sky, and anyone would be lucky to call you their friend

to my beautiful moots — thank you guys for being there for me, I would love to get to know you all so much better ,, you guys are literally the sweetest and deserve the whole world! thank you thank you thank you! I hope your 2020 will be filled with so much happiness and love !!

@hanadolphieron @sush-iii @danishmiilk @henderyprince @yutaaaaaa @joh--pping @gowonhatesyou @calypsohan @dyongvr @kpopsnowball @peachyhan @btsastro @coffeevddict @xeniya @neochan @junguwuta @heartyyjeno @strwberryneo @imjustuhhvibing @fairvtale @doyounged @du0tine @mignonmark @cyecandy @neoangsthours @orange-nimon-cross @rueyins @jaeminsb1tch @thatkpopmeme @kuniverse11 @svchengss

to my followers !! Thank you so much for supporting me! You guys mean a lot more to me than words can describe ! Im so graceful that you guys like my writing and for enjoying my blog! it makes me so happy 😭

〄

to myself —

hi kaela nichole :)

stop worrying so much about what others think! you’re a good person! stop letting things your birth family said change your opinion of yourself! stop making scenarios in your head of men that will not ! like ! you ! you are cute af you can find plenty of guys (like the four you’re thinking of in your head rn that like you... I know you don’t like any of them bUT LIKE put yourself out thereeeeee) anyway you’re amazing! also stop freaking out about vet school and your future! life will take you to wherever it does, leave faith up to the universe my love.. please.. stop being so hard on yourself, you’re trying your hardest. and that’s all you can do kae :) <3

— from yourself (love you bitch)

一may your New Years be filled with positive vibes! smiles, laughter, and good health!! <33

[thequibblah]

directors cut for WTRF? 🥺👉👈 not biased at all obviously just objective third party asking for a directors cut hmmm hmmmmm

literally how could u do this every other word in that fic is an easter egg i can't shut up about..... bestie u are about to have regrets

one thing u should know is that 90% of things in this fic have real-world equivalents and its not even like....... hidden equivalents. serie primo = serie a, for instance. this trend is going to continue and i won't apologise <3

fun fact i named the bar the Bar and the drinks after shapes because i was too lazy to come up with something actually clever

this bit

I’m grinning to myself by the time she approaches my table.

was a very intentional fakeout and if you read this and thought "she" would be lily, feel free to sue me for emotional damages

the biggest conundrum of this AU was, how are jily not going to have met in school when magic exists? the solution was, of course, having multiple magic schools. but i couldn't let one of them have hogwarts, that didn't seem fair. i know i did sort of let lily have it..... but i felt more comfortable making hogwarts a university so there was a legit reason why james wasn't there and in gryffindor (if he'd gone he absolutely would have been)

once solved, i did the fun thing of naming them! ottaline gambol's was easy, i just scrolled through the list of ministers for magic and picked a progressive one. peverell hall was a whim, made all the funnier when lily's reaction is:

Much was made at Otty’s — one of the more progressive magical schools, named for one of the more progressive Ministers of Magic — of schools like Peverell Hall and St. George’s. The latter, I know, is chock-full of pureblooded elite. Peverell Hall is supposed to be slightly better, but still.

dang, it's gonna be funny if she ever finds out james is a descendant of the guy it's named after

fun fact, i included this because peter's question was a real thought i had when reading bond and free, your inspiring writing knows no limits:

The first thing you conjure in Walking Wombat is a yellow quill... “Why yellow?” Peter asked. Eddie gave him a strange look. “Why not?”

i realised i'd put jily in the same conundrum they had in tis the fucking season here:

It’s only then that I remember she’s just bought us drinks. I turn back to my triangle. “Oh, shit.” I suppose I can pawn it off on one of the others.

...but of course the resolution is rather different, and i do so enjoy a james with no filter (aka default james)

I briefly lose control of my brain and my tongue. “Is it too soon to say I’m in love with you?”

by the way, no-filter james will be a theme. wild things sure do run fast but not as fast as this boy runs his mouth!

also, another interesting challenge here was making sure james has a reason to be the way he is in AU. i love playing around with james's childhood/background and seeing how that affects his character while (hopefully!) staying true to who he is. i did that in ttfs by having him move around a lot and not meet the marauders until after the flashback timeline, which is why he's less of a git — he doesn't have the level of comfort in a social setting that canon james has with hogwarts, which is basically his playground from day 2 of first year lol

here, james was probably a fkn nightmare all through school, but of course he gets a big ego check when his quidditch career is derailed. i imagine his years in italy as a continuation of that humility lesson.

I will fully admit I used to be a cocky prick. This is what comes of being a kid who grew up with everything. But one useful thing that the whole fiasco four years ago taught me is humility. I’ve learned how to ask nicely for another chance.

and so much of writing him in wtrf is juggling that typical confidence with the insecurity/fear of losing something he's invested so much in (and has seen slip away before). it's really new to me, because typically i give lily uncertain life circumstances, but i suppose it's both of them in this AU.

the car thing was... i swear didn't start out as smutty, it was purely because i wanted a way to establish lily as muggleborn in a world where the connotations of not having magical parents is very different. more to come on that!

also, come to think of it, by this metric...

I’m now in dangerous territory, since that adds another impressive action to her running tally.

...i think james is already in love with her LOL

this bit:

The street is considered indecent and the downstairs hallway would have our landlady come running at once, so if it pleases Your Honour, we would recommend the sitting room sofa.

...was actually because in draft one lily was a lawyer, but then it was funny enough that i didn't want to take it out, but NOW i realise it makes it sound a little like she's addressing james as your honour, which.... hm. but anyway, we move on

Marc Bolan begs us to get it on through the stereo, vocalising my thoughts exactly.

the song here was initially "you shook me" (h/t @keepingupwithpotters) but i chickened out because zeppelin is SO horny dfjkhgkjs

also, it gave me so much joy to read everyone reacting to lily thinking about her ex (the general vibe was "who the fuck is this guy!!! ew!!!!") — rest assured (or, unassured??) that he has a part to play in all this. anyway, this is one of my fave lines:

He’s just a person, and there’s such a relief in sleeping with James and not the myth of a guy.

because as any come together reader knows....

Just James. Just James. It was never just James.

wtrf lily will learn!

literally the whole world knows i'm obsessed with needle drops that have no subtlety at all, but this one...

We just laugh, tangled together in a sweaty heap, as “Heaven Is in the Back Seat of My Cadillac” plays through the car’s speakers. “On the nose, isn’t it?” James says, sitting up.

...was pure luck, because i was looking up the top hits on the uk singles chart for the week(ish) this scene takes place in so that i could find a song that would realistically play on the radio, saw this, and was like omg the stars really do align

i feel like the thing i enjoy most about writing romance is the importance i get to place in noticing/looking/observing (and sometimes, not noticing!). it's just such a powerful but simple writerly tool, and god knows i am obsessed with pithy descriptions anyway, so this bit i am especially happy with:

James is already waiting, leaning against the car with his hands in his pockets. I feel as though I’m seeing him for the first time, the faint light of the flickering streetlamp catching him in profile: the strong slope of his nose, the hard line of his jaw, the curve of his smile. He studies the facade of our building with open curiosity, and I wonder what he’s looking for.

(one can only imagine james's train of thought in this moment. perhaps "ah. here lives the future love of my life"?)

“Thanks,” she tacks on at the end. I tip my head to one side in confusion. “For what?” “For, I don’t know. Being nice.” She laughs awkwardly. “I don’t do this very much.”

it wouldn't be a quibblah original tee em without some discourse to come about the nature of romantic/sexual relationships, would it? one thing i enjoy about this AU ("one thing" i say as if this isn't the billionth thing in a list) is that i get to write a romantic lily who's squaring that romanticism with what she perceives as the culture of the times. (this is a bit of a staple in all my characterisations of lily, but it is not often paired with casual sex, the complication of all complications!)

oh this bit literally wrote itself like i didn't even pause to think just vomited it out:

In the morning — and it must be early still — the sun streams through Lily’s sorry excuses for curtains with aggression that cannot be ignored. I crack open an eye to find myself sprawled out across her bed, quite literally spread-eagled. She’s attached to my side like a barnacle. Or a very pretty barnacle, anyway.

i'm especially proud of james's voice in this story. i don't often write first-person fic and i was worried how it'd turn out, but i think james as a character/narrator typically colours his own 3rd-person narration so strongly that it ended up a smoother transition than i'd feared!

also i just. i can't resist throwing in comic relief and i hope that this whole segment was a gentle enough preparation for the awkwardness that followed LOL

All of a sudden, the balcony door bursts open. I nearly drop the mug. “What the—” Mary pokes her head around the corner, sporting a righteous smile. “Morning, handsome.” Over her shoulder she shouts, “He’s on the balcony!” I blink. There’s a sound from inside the flat, as if something very large has just been dropped. Then a swear. “Oh, shit,” I say, realisation dawning, “you weren’t looking for me, were you? It’s so loud out here—” Mary cups a hand around her mouth and stage-whispers, “Lily was frantic.” She’s quite violently yanked back, and Lily herself appears in the doorway, slightly out of breath. “Should’ve checked the balcony first,” she says, and closes the door before Mary can insert herself into the space again. “Hi,” I say, which is agreed-upon best practice for greeting a woman you’ve just had fantastic sex with and ideally would like to have sex with again.

to this day i don't know what lily dropped. let's hope it wasn't expensive!

Captained the under-17 English squad at the World Cup some years back, Serie Primo’s lead goal-scorer of last year… Only an injury in what should’ve been his first season at Puddlemere mars his record. I wince reading about it and comparing it to a heap of press clippings. James Potter was hurt, and Puddlemere didn’t fancy paying for him not to play, so they shipped him off to Milan.

(you cannot imagine how much pointed interrogation of my brother it took to gather this intel.) i constantly worry that i've got dates or timelines wrong somehow — you might notice i tweaked under-17, which used to be under-19 until i realised that made no sense (even though in terms of its career importance i would much preferred it to have been u-19.... anyway). i also found out that u-17 football squads don't actually have captains but i said fuck it on that count.

but obviously i started writing this AU for the sports possibilities, only to discover i'm going to have to interfere a great deal with the Timeline (you shall see in future instalments).

god i really went through the whole fic. like i reread the whole thing to do this. here u go clare jfbghjfd

[benoitblanc]

tagged by @castelllans (ily caroline!!!) to answer some questions!

do you prefer writing with black pen or a blue pen? black 100%

would you prefer to live in the country or in the city? city, but not in a super crowded hectic bit. like near the natural history museum in london. in one of those super expensive row houses. as you can see, i haven’t thought about this at all XD

if you could learn a new skill, what would it be? i’d love to become proficient in italian. or tap dancing

do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar? i actually don’t drink coffee at all and not much tea, but on the extremely rare occasions i have english breakfast tea, i take sugar

what was your favorite book as a child? besides harry potter? my love of crime fiction started really early with the a to z mysteries by ron roy. i loved ruth rose so much

do you prefer baths or showers? showers- i never have time for a bath

if you could be a mythical creature, which one would you be? a phoenix or a dragon!

paper or electronic books? absolutely paper

what are your favorite items of clothing? i have a t-shirt with the entirety of les miserables written on it in tiny text, and another with the entirety of the secret garden. i also love my stage management outfits, which are literally just whatever black clothing i can find the day of, but they always make me feel so badass

do you like your name? would you like to change it? i do, actually! my first name is extremely common and anglican but i think it fits me anyway. my middle name, what i go by on tumblr, is after fucking arwen undomiel- no, i’m not joking, i was legitimately named by my parents after arwen undomiel- so what’s not to like lol

who is a mentor to you? all the more experienced members of my production team are always so helpful and supportive and lovely. i miss them a lot

would you like to be famous? if so, what for? honestly? probably not. i’d like to be well-respected in my field but i don’t think that’s the same thing

are you a restless sleeper? yes, which sucks

do you consider yourself to be a romantic person? i’m a weird mixture of “absolute cynic” and “hopeless romantic” so... i suppose?

which element best describes you? air or fire

who do you want to be closer to? i forgot to answer this question last night- the answer here was copy-pasted from caroline with the rest of the game, sorry caroline- but there are several people i see on a semi-regular basis (during normal times) who i’m sort of friendly with but i’d love to be friends with

do you miss anyone at the moment? i miss all of my friends a ridiculous amount, but especially my idiot actors. (you all have probably heard at least one idiot actor story if you’ve been following me for any length of time.) they all mean the world to me, and i can’t wait until we’re all back in the theatre

tell us about an early childhood memory. when i was really little, like 3-5ish, i would always go to a family friend’s house while my mum worked. the family friend had three kids, one a year above me, one my age, and one two years younger. i have a handful of weirdly specific memories from their house, but my favorite is when the kid my age and i were playing on their swingset and when the mom called us in for lunch, she joked “oh, where are arwen and ben? i think they’ve swung into space! maybe to the moon!” i was maybe like four and i can still remember that she made us macaroni and cheese. it was a good day

what is the strangest thing you’ve eaten? i’m completely blanking on this one. i’ve eaten some weird shit in england but nothing too bizarre. elizabeth sponge, which is basically lavender-flavored victoria sponge, was pretty horrendous though. victoria sponge is such a perfect dessert and then you go and make it taste like perfume??? why???

do you like spicy foods? usually! as long as they aren’t too spicy

have you ever met someone famous? i went to elementary school with one of stephen king’s grandkids, aka joe hill’s son, so i’ve met joe hill. he and my dad would always talk about doctor who while they waited to pick us up. he actually wasn’t as weird as you would expect. my classmate, on the other hand, was exactly as weird as you would think a king would be

do you keep a diary or journal? i have made several attempts to do so and inevitably fail every time

do you prefer to use pen or pencil? depends on the situation

what is your star sign? pisces

do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy? in between!

what would you want your legacy to be? that i did something good for the world. i touched someone’s life in some way

do you like reading? what was the last book you read? i adore reading. i would die if i couldn’t read. i’m currently reading my dear hamilton by stephanie dray and laura kamoie, but the last book i finished was a reread of the raven king by maggie stiefvater

how do you show someone you love them? just by being a shoulder to lean or cry on more than anything. also, lots and lots of teasing in a fun, mutual, bestie banter (or straight-up flirting depending on the person) way

do you like ice in your drinks? in water or lemonade, but nothing else

what are you afraid of? wasps and gas masks and failure

what is your favorite scent? the specific mix of evergreen, cold air, woodsmoke, peppermint, stale popcorn, something baking, and snow that you only get at christmastime

do you address older people by their name or surname? depends on how well i know them

if money was not a factor, how would you live your life? in london in one of the aforementioned row houses, doing the things i love and travelling as much as i could

do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? neither. lake supremacy. (i do enjoy pools and the sea, but lakes are best)

what would you do if you found $50 on the ground? attempt to figure out who it belonged to, most likely

have you ever seen a shooting star? did you make a wish? i think i’ve seen a couple, but i don’t remember making a wish

what is one thing you would want to teach your children? the boldest thing you can do is just be kind

if you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? ...i don’t want tattoos, so nothing

what can you hear now? the hum of my air purifier

where do you feel the safest? my theatre is simultaneously where i feel the safest and where i have the most anxiety attacks. no clue why, although maybe it’s because i feel safe enough there to let myself freak out a little 

what is one thing you want to overcome/conquer? i’m making it my goal this summer to overcome my phobia of thunderstorms. i’ve progressed to the point where a calm, rumbly storm actually makes me really happy now, which is great! i’d also love to just... stop having the aforementioned anxiety attacks but not sure how much i can do about that lol

if you could travel back to an era, what would it be? assuming none of the bigoted shit that was inevitably going down in literally any era is applicable, either the 1920s or 1940s

what is your most used emoji? 😂

describe yourself using one word? tenacious

what do you regret the most? i honestly don’t have many regrets, which is wonderful. the one i do have i flipflop between not giving a flying fuck about and going “oh god i really fucked up there!”, so it’s complicated XD

last film you saw? a rewatch of the avengers

last tv show you watched? technically both marvel agent(s) shows because i’m getting clips for giffing purposes- and side note the carter lighting designer owes me money at this point for making me go through this coloring bullshit over and over- but the last show i saw a full ep from was leverage

invent a word and it’s meaning. praecipience (n.)- the feeling of sickening anticipation you get right before something that you know is coming, like a cast list or an episode or opening an acceptance/rejection letter or an execution

tagging anyone who wants to do it :)

[heavenzfiend]

Hello my dear! Thought I'd drop by your lovely blog and ask you a few burning questions myself! 🤣💕1. What inspired you to start writing fanfiction? 2. Which work of yours are you particularly proud of? 3. What is your favourite K-drama of all time? Hope you're having a lovely day!! - XOXO

Hi dear!!! Thank you for your "burning" questions 🤣❤. Did you know that in my many, many years of being active on Tumblr, this was one of the first Asks I've ever gotten?! 🤣 I don't know if I'm intimidating or aloof but this whole Ask thing is still unfamiliar to me as the day I started this blog since I've never had many Asks during my Tumblr career so hope I'm... using this thing correctly! 😨😅 Super long answers incoming:

1. What inspired me to write fanfics?! Hmm... So I actually wrote kpop fanfics long time ago, in my middle/high school days with my bestie and we would be the MCs and the hot boys of Dong Bang Shin Ki were our love interests 🤣. This was before the rest of the world even knew of kpop, really. We wrote multi-chaptered, epic stories on scraps of paper, exchange diaries, and on FLOPPY DISKS. I still have the physical copies of few, rare chapters but the floppy disk ones are gone when my disks just stopped working one day 😭😭😭 sad, sad loss... These were never published online and also completely written in Korean haha.

(TVXQ/DBSK will forever have a special place in my heart as my forever oppas, despite... scandals and fallouts in recent times. They were legends of their time, almost the founding fathers of modern kpop I'd say.)

There was a period when I wrote and published a jpop fic for a group called LEAD... wow, that sure takes me back. I don't even remember where I posted that (some jpop forum), what the title was, or if it is still floating around somewhere but yea, it happened.

(Akira Kagimoto, on the left, is whom I had wrote a story for?! It was super angsty too, I rememeber 🤣🤣🤣 My young ass was so wild. I don't even remember why I wrote it since my favorite was absolutely Keita Furuya [middle]... 🤔)

Erm, other than this, I didn't consider myself a writer nor wanted to create anything until I played Samurai Love Ballad Party and that game got me so, so hooked that I started devouring fics (cough, smut) religiously and then opening up and actually befriending writer friends made me more confident in trying out writing myself. I think I just really wanted to write a threesome/foursome for Hideyoshi, Kiyomasa, and Masanori 🤣. My thirst was REAL. I tested out my abilities by writing the Inuchiyo T-rated fic and then I just went for the threesome, when I was like hmm maybe I’m not too shabs 🤣. 

2. Which works am I particularly proud of?! *Checks myself on AO3* Apparently I wrote 21 stories so far! Woohoo! 

Helping Hands  is definitely a special one for me, which started me off on smut-writing in general! As mentioned above, I just really wanted to bang all 3 guys (at the same time?!) and I made it happen and I’m super proud of myself for what I created! 🥰

Alone Again is just... words can’t describe how special that one is to me! Even now, whenever I think of Ieyasu and that MC, my heart just... :’) It makes me smile a very, very bitter smile. Why do I like to HURT so badly?! 😅

3. My favorite Kdrama of all time?!?!?! OMG girl, I have seen SO many Kdramas in my lifetime haha. I would say, in terms of more recent ones, I have to give it up to:

Because This Is My First Life. This drama, I cannot say enough good things about! It’s on Netflix now so I want everyone to check it out, please!!! It’s just so, so good! Ever since I watched this drama, I went on a 2 year+ hiatus on Kdramas because... I don’t know. I felt like nothing could ever top this for me, haha. And I’m STILL in that kdrama slump! I just can never forget this masterpiece! 

It’s about two strangers getting married (fake) for differing reasons relating to housing, like familial pressure/societal pressure/wanting to live with a roommate whom they will never fall for (HA!). 

Lee Minki is just amazing as the male lead and Jung So Min is ADORABLE here. I can’t recommend it enough, seriously! 

Another drama I wanna throw out here is called Wedding, featuring Jang Nara and Ryu Siwon! This one is one of my ABSOLUTE favorites that I come back to time and time again! It’s crazy because I feel like it’s not that popular and no one ever talks about it (in Korea or International!) but I really like it! My mom thinks it was rather boring (?!) which I don’t really get but I guess I’m just special then. It’s about a stoic but genuine/smart guy who meets a cheerful, sweet-yet-ditzy girl through marriage set-up and they get married! It’s about their relationship progressing. Things develop rather slowly but seeing them holding hands, becoming husband/wife, then angsttttt central... I just really love this drama! There is no “villain/villainess” in this drama, which I think makes people think it’s on the boring side. I don’t mind it at all because we use all 20 episodes seeing their love develop! 

It’s a bit on the older side, 2005, but I watch clips of this drama all the time to this day XD. It’s a classic for me, at least! 

Anyways, wow, this turned out SUPER LONG!!! I enjoyed answering your Qs! Thank you so much lovely! Have a wonderful day! 😘😘😘

[yououghtaknow]

NEW CLIP: “Look The Part”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30869300/chapters/76326035#workskin

[itsclydebitches]

Summary:

“He likes this song.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

In which Cisco is given seven months to fall in love with Barry Allen. It’s admittedly a little weird - what with Barry being unconscious and all - but since when was anything normal nowadays?

Fandom: The Flash (TV show)

Words: Through Chapter Three: 8,213 (will be around 12k total)

Warnings: None

Pairings: Barry/Cisco

Where to Read it: Below the cut or on AO3 (AO3 recommended for formatting) 

~~~

Worth the Wait: Chapter Three

Could you know someone you’d never spoken to? Really get them based purely on their presence and a public profile? Cisco was starting to wonder.

It was freaking him out just a bit. Because the longer Barry just lay there the longer Cisco searched for him online, and the more he searched the more he felt like they’d known each other for years. Barry posted update statuses filled with enough science jargon that all his friends sent exasperated emojis and his former teachers liked the posts with pride. There were silly Vine attempts and one memorable home video, basically laying out for the world that Barry Allen would never be an actor. Barry posted more selfies than the stereotypical teenage girl (all of them stunning), wept about his food, glorified his job (which he didn’t need, he was a goddamn hero in Cisco’s eyes), comforted anyone about anything, sent heartfelt messages on everyone’s birthday, and accompanied those tear-jerkers with presents—despite his slightly iffy bank account.

He was like a ray of sunlight personified.

Cisco knew, intellectually, that a digital footprint was just one small part of a person’s whole. That they were never truly what they posted online. That, really, Barry couldn’t be this sunny, smart, gracious, and heroic in real life. Constructs like this just didn’t exist.

Except then he’d look over at the guy’s still form and think, maybe.

What cinched it for him was another real life person suddenly appearing in, what had become, his otherwise digitalized world. Cisco came into the Lab Thursday morning with bedhead and a packet of chocolate donuts, thinking about how he wanted to test the Suit’s resistance to acid and read more about whether coma patients experienced smell as well as sound. Cisco was lost enough in his thoughts that he nearly ran into Caitlin as she rounded the corner out of the Cortex. They exchanged a silent, rapid-fire conversation—Donut? No, already ate. You okay? Yeah. Sure? There’s a Thing. A Thing??—and Cisco was still trying to decipher what kind of a Thing that hand gesture meant when he spotted the woman sitting at Barry’s bedside.

Oh. That kind of a Thing.

Cisco recognized her. He’d seen her name on the Labs’ entrance logs a few times before and he had vague memories of her standing on the periphery of the action the day they’d moved Barry here. Mostly Cisco knew her from Barry’s pictures though. She was in nearly all of them.

“Hi, Iris,” he said and she turned to smile at him, the both of them totally ignoring the fact that they’d never technically met before. That was refreshing.

“Hey, Cisco.”

“Donut?”

“God yes. Chai latte?”

“Not worried about my cooties?”

“Nah. Go for it.”

She passed over her drink and he set the box on Barry’s blankets, kind of liking how some of the sprinkles spilled over. It gave him a less sterile look. Like a dude who’d actually been munching rather than just...lying there.

The chai was spicy on Cisco’s tongue. He could see the smears of Iris’ lipstick around the cup’s edge.

It was kind of amazing how put together she looked in the face of this ongoing tragedy, and Cisco had to give her points for style. He had his own sort of look going on, sure, but he also know that if his bestie/brother got struck by freaking lightning and refused to wake up he’d be sporting nothing but comfort PJs and tear stains. Cisco tried uselessly to untangle his hair.

“He loves these, you know,” Iris said, holding up one of the donuts. She tilted it so Barry could see. “He always eats the icing first though, scooping it off like—” she demonstrated, scattering more crumbs across the bed.

Cisco pulled a face. “Okay. That’s wrong.”

“Right? You need to see him eat a cupcake. He pulls it apart and like, makes a sandwich out of it. Or nachos! Jesus, he’s always complaining about not getting all the toppings in one bite. I told him to just lift, but he claims the weight is too much for a single chip, and... ”

Iris trailed off, shaking her head. Maybe she was thinking about the implications: that hopefully someday Cisco would get to see Barry and his ridiculous eating habits.

“Food is priority #1,” Cisco said. “He’s a guy after my own heart.”

As soon as he said it Cisco ducked his head, realizing the implications of that, but Iris didn’t even bat an eye.

She just took another donut.Cisco let her.

“You know I’ve started talking to him,” he shared after a few moments of silence. Iris’ smile begged him to continue. “Uh huh. I must look like a real nut on all the security footage. But I read that coma patients can, you know, hear and stuff. Sometimes. So I figured why not? Might as well give Barry something to focus on other than this insistent beeping.” It actually wasn’t even that bad--Caitlin had removed most of the equipment on the third day, growling that it wasn’t doing enough for Barry anyway—but the point remained the same.

Iris snatched her drink back. “What do you talk about?”

“Oh, you know... stuff. Gossip mostly. I complain a lot. Just... things.”

Iris was still smiling. “He likes movies,” she said. “Put Star Wars on sometime.”

“...right.” Cisco very much didn’t voice that the Star Wars franchise was his be-all and end-all fave.

Iris stood then, reaching over to smooth the hair out of Barry’s face. “You gotta wake up,” she whispered and Cisco had to turn away, recognizing the private moment. He didn’t comment on how long it took her to speak again, or the thick quality of Iris’ voice when she did.

Cisco did clasp her arm though as she took up her purse. “Work,” she explained. “I’ll come back tonight?”

“I’m sure not stopping you.” Cisco spread his arms in a welcoming gesture.

Iris seemed to consider him then. One of those cataloguing looks that made Cisco wish he’d actually used a comb this morning. Or worn something other than his Homestuck t-shirt. Whatever Iris found though didn’t seem to be too bad.

“He’ll like you,” she said and it felt like a promise.

Cisco nodded, slowly. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. He definitely will.”

They both appreciated the future tense.

Iris left him then with too many thoughts and just the right amount of donuts. Cisco sighed, taking the place she’d vacated (no, it wasn’t his spot, no matter what Caitlin was starting to say) and booted up his laptop, enjoying this new routine.

Cisco pulled up Chrome in one window and a stream of A New Hope in the other. He wafted a donut under Barry’s nose as the story’s scroll began.

“Smell that, dude? Glazed glory, right here. Gonna wake up for it?”

Barry breathed even and deep. His eyes moved briefly beneath his lids. That was all.

“Your loss.”

Cisco was nothing if not gracious though. He patted Barry’s knee while taking a massive bite.

“I’ll buy you more when you do get your lazy ass out of bed,” he garbled. “Promise.”

***

Taking care of a coma patient was, sadly, not all movies and one-sided conversations. Cisco was endlessly glad that Barry gave them all something to focus on (Caitlin in particular, gushing daily now about the ever growing changes in Barry’s DNA. “It’s fascinating, Cisco!” “Uh huh. Sure, Spock.”) but there were some things that just shouldn’t have been a part of the job. Or at least, not part of Cisco’s job.

He so didn’t sign up for this when he applied to STAR Labs.

“You want me to what now?”

Dr. Wells gave him a Look. It was the particular one that was a combination of “I expected more of you” and “please leave your immaturity outside of my facility.” The last time Cisco had gotten the Look he’d accidentally set Level 8’s workroom on fire trying to create goggles that replicated heat vision.

Emphasis on ‘accidentally.’

“I have a meeting with Larson—yes, yes, of rheology fame.” Dr. Wells shook his head. “Please wipe that look off your face, Dr. Snow. She’s not nearly as impressive in person as her autobiography suggests.”

“You read her autobiography?” Caitlin teased, but she did school her features. Dr. Wells waved her off like an errant fly.

“Look, I would honestly like nothing better than to skip this lunch and remain here, but Larson is insistent that we discuss the work our two labs were conducting prior to the explosion. I have… admittedly been putting it off.” Dr. Wells took of his glasses to rub at his eyes. Cisco felt a pang. “I fear you’re the only one available for this shift.”

Cisco looked imploringly at Caitlin.

“Grandpa’s birthday,” she said, apologetic. “It’s literally the one family gathering I can’t miss.”

“Joe?” Cisco suggested, remembering the strong, fatherly man who had accompanied Iris on numerous visits.

“Working.”

“Iris?”

“Also working.”

“And look who else is in his place of employment, on the clock no less,” Dr. Wells gave him another pointed look.

Cisco felt something like panic inching its way up his throat. “And this can’t wait?”

“Don’t be cruel. You’ll be fine,” and with that utterly useless bit of confidence they just abandoned him, like two totally awful, abandoning people.

“I will have my revenge,” Cisco whispered, because really, he was not cut out for this.

Clipping toe and fingernails was one thing. Swapping out full catheter bags was ew, gross, but doable. Turning the guy to avoid bed soars was a piece of cake. But sponge baths?

Cisco looked at Barry. Barry (he imagined) was looking back, with his eyes closed. Judging. Cisco thought about how he’d feel if he was stuck in bed for months without access to a shower.

He shivered. Fine.

Getting the supplies took longer than he’d anticipated, though it gave Cisco time to calm down a bit and, as Caitlin might say, stop being such a big baby about it. He got two tubs of water ready—one for washing, one for rinsing—and made sure that the bath water was nice and hot. It wasn’t like the Cortex was freezing, but who the hell wanted a lukewarm bath?

Easy to wash away soap. Baby shampoo that smelled liked lavenders. Lots of washcloths; even more towels. It took Cisco ten goddamn minutes to find the special basin for washing hair because who the hell had put it with the old microscopes?

By the time he was ready the bath water was no longer scalding and Cisco’s heart wasn’t a freaking jackrabbit anymore. Progress.

“I hope you know,” he intoned, “that this completely solidifies our friendship. I expect best man-level status when you wake up, dude. Got it?”

Barry breathed.

“Damn straight. C’mon now...”

He’d moved Barry before, and despite the muscle developing he was still surprisingly light. Cisco got him on his side pretty easily and slid a couple of towels underneath, really not wanting to change the sheets yet if he could help it. Barry had been going shirtless most of the time anyway, so all he really had to do clothes-wise was tug the pajama pants carefully off his legs.

Cisco definitely did not look at the toned thighs as he did.

“Don’t be a perv about this,” he muttered. “Do not be a perv...”

And for the most part he wasn’t, because he was an adult, and a decent person, okay? Cisco had always viewed his nerd status as at least preferable to the Nice Guy douches, and he was perfectly capable of separating romantic situations from professional ones.

This was definitely the latter.

Even if Barry did have the most fantastic abs. Ever.

Cisco clucked, soaping up a washcloth to run over Barry’s arms and chest. “I should really hate you, you know? I should be jealous here, Mr. Lays in Bed All Day and Somehow Gets Buff. But I am the bigger man here. Even if you’re a freaking giraffe. I’m still bigger. Metaphorically. Okay?”

Talking to Barry had gotten easy over the last few weeks. It was sort of worrying Cisco a bit. He didn’t know if the guy was that good a conversationalist even while comatose, or if he was just that lonely (ha). But sometime between not startling every time he caught sight of the new edition and donuts with Iris, Cisco had let his talking get a little more... personal. Less Jitters gossip and more family drama. Then less family drama and more, ‘Hey, could we actually be buds when you finally decide to wake up?’

Part of Cisco was terrified that Barry would remember all this someday. Another part worried that he wouldn’t be nearly as cool in real life as he was on paper.

The realistic part said he would, but would also 100% not give a shit about Cisco.

“And why should you, man?” he said, carefully going over Barry’s stomach, then his back. “I mean, we just sort of got landed with you. Not that I’m complaining. But it means you got landed with us too. You didn’t ask to get struck by lightning, or delve into an extended nap, or become Dr. Wells’ charity case. You’ve got every right to ditch our asses once you’re up and about.” Cisco regarded the soapy washcloth. “Not gonna hang with your nurse, right? How lame is that.”

He was nearly done with Barry’s upper body now. “But... if you did want to hang...well. I’d be cool with that. Just so you know.”

Cisco stopped. Shook his head. He spent another ten minutes changing the water.

He paused again before removing the blankets around Barry’s legs. “Don’t make this weird,” he admonished.

In the list of things Cisco had planned and expected to do with his life, cleaning another man’s genitals wasn’t anywhere on the list. Outside of sexy-shower fantasies at least. He really shouldn’t have worried though. Barry might have been gorgeous, but there wasn’t anything sexy about a non-consenting partner that made you think more about necrophilia than second dates.

It didn’t stop Cisco from taking his time though. He didn’t like what he was doing—it wasn’t what he was starting to want it to be—but he’d sure as hell do it right.

“There,” he announced, patting Barry dry and pulling the blankets back up. “I’ve saved the best for last. Can’t promise not to get soap in your eyes though.”

It was sort of soothing, washing someone else’s hair. Cisco liked the texture of it beneath his fingers and he tried to get all fancy, like the women did in salons with their massages. He wondered if Barry was in there somewhere, appreciating it. He hoped so.

Cisco found himself smiling as he made little tufts of his hair stick up. “Aww. Look at you. Take note: you would make an excellent penguin. Feels good, huh?”

Barry drew in a slightly longer breath—

—and promptly began seizing.

“Holy—!”

Cisco stumbled back, knocking the basin as he went and sending water everywhere. The motion knocked Barry’s head as well, causing it to loll as the rest of his body jerked horrendously. The blanket he’d so carefully tucked in slipped off to the side. Bits of soap began decorating Cisco’s shirt.

He just stood there, useless.

It was Barry’s right arm flying off the bed (limp, pale like a dead fish) that finally sent him into motion. Cisco’s first instinct was to throw himself atop Barry and stop that godawful movement, but a vague, oddly calm voice in the back of his mind reminded him that you didn’t do that. No. That was bad. But what did you do instead?

“Dr. Wells!”

That’s what he did. He got help; got his mentor. Cisco scrambled over to the Lab’s sound system and slammed his hand over the button with enough force to leave an outline on his palm. “Dr. Wells get up here!” He must have shouted it more than he’d thought, because by the time Cisco remembered that Dr. Wells had left his voice was feeling terribly raw.

Dr. Wells was gone. He was out, for the first time in ages. Because of course this happens. Cisco pulled at his hair, trying to get his useless brain to function for two goddamn seconds. He couldn’t call Dr. Wells. He didn’t know his number. The three of them had practically been living together for four months and he didn’t know the man’s goddamn cell number.

“Oh my god, oh fuck—fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck—”

Cisco whirled on the monitors, trying to get all his training in engineering to somehow translate into medical knowledge. He was halfway through a muddled translation of the meds Caitlin had been feeding into Barry this week when one piece of equipment finally made sense.

The steady beat of Barry’s heart—a sound that had become a necessary part of Cisco’s world—suddenly stopped. Rapid beeps became a long whine that sounded like a scream.

“No,” Cisco whispered.

In the same moment he thought, Call Caitlin.

Because he did have her number. They’d swapped months ago. He was her emergency contact, now that Ronnie was gone.

Barry’s not Ronnie, Cisco insisted and dove for his cell. He had it ringing while he grabbed for his Macbook too, screaming as Siri to find him tutorials on CPR.

“Why the fuck didn’t I take that summer class?” Cisco shrieked, trying to get the bed to go flat.

“Why didn’t you what?”

And there it was, Caitlin’s voice, a godsend that cut straight through Cisco’s panic. Even so, he couldn’t recall exactly what he said to her then, only that his breathy ramblings seemed to make some sort of sense, because he was able to toss Siri aside (useless) and follow Caitlin’s instructions instead. He had the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder, Barry’s heart directly beneath his hands.

Cisco spotted a drop of water. It might have been from the bath. It was probably because he was crying.

“It’s not—he’s not—” he kept gulping, feeling like he was about to pass out. There were actual spots in Cisco’s vision when he was suddenly wrenched off the bed, hard enough that he fell straight onto his ass.

Caitlin was here, impossibly. She looked calm and doctor-y and Cisco sucked in a massive breath.

“How?” he managed and she said something about her and her mother getting into a fight. She’d come back here and, oh Jesus, Cisco was so glad she had.

The relief was sort lived though. Barry was still coding.

Which made Caitlin’s next action all the more shocking. She just...stopped. She even stepped back, regarding Barry while every machine attached to him screamed that he was dying.

“What are you doing?” Cisco hissed.

Caitlin looked up. Her expression was awe. It was the first and only time Cisco had seen the true definition of the word: reverence mixed with fear.

“He heart hasn’t stopped,” she whispered. “It’s... tachycardia. It’s beating so fast the machine can’t pick it up.”

Barry stopped.

Instantly. Like the conclusion of a puzzle when you’d finally found the answer, he just stopped. From 60 back to 0 they had their sleepy, peaceful looking guy again.

The monitor began a steady rhythm. Beep, beep, beep.

“God,” Cisco said. Still on the floor he crawled the last few inches to the bed, heedless of how soaked his jeans were getting. He reached up and took Barry’s hand in his. Unbidden, Caitlin did the same.

That’s how Dr. Wells found them twenty minutes later—still wet, still holding onto Barry. Caitlin told him in a shell-shocked voice about the impossible heart rate; how the ‘seizing’ Cisco had seen was actually vibration, Barry’s body moving at a frequency she just couldn’t explain. When Dr. Wells reached them Cisco expected a thorough questioning on this phenomenon. He expected the scientist.

Instead Dr. Wells raised a hand of his own. He hesitated only a moment before laying it on Barry’s arm.

“But he’s okay?” he asked. Dr. Wells raised his gaze, taking in the three of them at once. “You’re okay?”

“Mmm hmm,” Caitlin agreed, a little watery. Cisco nodded.

“Good... good. Let’s get this place cleaned up.”

It was while Dr. Wells was bundling Barry’s soaked sheets that Cisco stopped him, daring to lay his on hand on his mentor’s shoulder. When Dr. Wells didn't brush him off—didn’t even flinch—Cisco mustered up a smile.

“Hey. So I really need your number.”