#because I love the idea of those chaotic four dating

[luffyrose]

ok, so a prompt for you to possibly expand on if you happen to see this. dp x dc the ‘this is mah grave. wand me to make you one too?’ scene from the owl house.

Ooo! I actually really really like this prompt! Thank you for the idea (*｀ ▽ ´)_旦~~

I see this as Danny(obviously) trying to prevent himself from breaking down. Like, his trauma response has fully gone to "make jokes and don't show others anything". So somehow, his parents find out and are not very happy to learn their son is a ghost, even if only a half one. Except, he never told them, they FINALLY pieced it together after years, so Maddie started to form a plan.

With a seemingly impromptu vacation, which already has Danny suspicious because his usually carefree parents temporarily closed the portal for it, they end up in some nowhere location. Jazz is trying to be hopeful and everything, but on the third night of camping, everything hits the fan.

His parents waited until he was asleep to get him, and he barely managed to get away hours later once Jazz woke up and saw what they were doing. So he's injured, lost, and only just realizing that he has no way back to the Ghost Zone unless he goes to Vlad. And going to Vlad is a big no since he's barely able to fly right now.

Coincidentally, part of Tim's YJL team is on a mission in that area, and it has gone very poorly. Their communication within the past three days has completely bugged out as well (I wonder why *cough cough* ghost kid *cough*). Either way, his team is stranded and currently separated.

Tim and Kon, because I say he went with the team out of boredom and is kinda glad he did even if he's weakened due to some kryptonite the enemy had, are the ones to stumble upon Danny. He'd collapsed after running for a good while, then to keep his mind from thinking about everything that happened, had started to just dig, just do something with his hands.

Looking at the heavily injured, definitely meta, teen before them, Tim cautiously asks if he's alright and what he's doing. (Cue this is mah grave scene). Both other heroes are even more worried and take Danny with them after patching him up. Danny was gonna fight it since they'd been in danger but hey, they literally swept him off his feet and he was tired!

[realcube]

˖°.𓆩♡𓆪 .°˖ TROPEOLOGY for @laid-backcamp

𓆩♡𓆪 part of my lovers level — 3k follower event

𓆩♡𓆪 chosen character: daichi sawamura

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ YOUR TROPES ARE...

SOULMATE AU!

this would be especially cute in the setting of the coffee shop oml. obviously there are different types of soulmate aus but the ones i was thinking of was firstly, the type where anything you write on your body in ink appears on your soulmate's body too. this would be cute closer to the end of your coffee shop romance when he finally asks for your number, and when you give it to him, you write it on his hand then as you're both leaving, you suddenly realise that your number appeared on your hand as well, meaning that he is your soulmate 🥺 and then you could either tell him excitedly or wait for him to figure it out himself lol. another soulmate au that i think would work for the two of you is the one in which everyone sees in black and white until they first make eye-contact with their soulmate, then they can see in colour. bc for the first couple days, when both of you are checking each other out when the other one isn't looking, nothing actually happens (bc you're not making eye-contact) but after days go by, eventually the two of you coincidentally go to look at each other at the same time, then you lock eyes and the whole world brightens up and you know that you've found your person 😭

FIRST LOVE

first love as in you are both each other's first long-term relationship. but you probably didn't figure this out until like a while into the relationship, maybe 6 months. you knew he was your first love but you kinda assumed he had at least one long-term girlfriend before you, solely because of how chivalrous and patient he is. he is such a good communicator, he always says the right things to cheer you up, he's very respectful of boundries and treats your relationship as a priority. overall he is such a good boyfriend (and so attractive), you thought there was no way he hasn't had a girlfriend before. meanwhile, little did you know he was thinking the exact same about you 😭 and one day, you guys are just talking, maybe about a couple the two of you were friends with that broke up, and you off-handedly mention how lucky you are that daichi is your first ever boyfriend, opposed to some womanizing scumbag, and he's like 😱 "no way am i your first boyfriend" then he explains that you're his first too!! and once you realise that you're both each other's first, the dynamic becomes all the more sweet.

TEAM MUM AND DAD

idk if there is a proper name for this trope; it kinda relates to found family a bit but.. not quite. i think the idea of you bringing all of his friends with you to the fairs/carnivals on dates would be so cute and funny, so the trope i am referring to is how you and daichi take on almost parental roles at these events. as in you are always looking out for everyone esle and making sure they're having a good time and eating enough food/ drinking enough water so they don't pass out from heatstroke, but also not eating too much that they end up being sick on the rollercoatsers. this is especially prevalent with tanaka, nishinoya, hinata and kageyama. the rest of the team is pretty mild and would get on fine on their own, but those four.. oh no. in fact they are so chaotic they might even get other members of the team involved in their shenanigans. like nishinoya and tanaka would keep trying to peer pressure asahi into going on the scary rides, meanwhile asahi is utterly terrified, so you and daichi would have to stop them from dragging asahi into the line lol.

for @laid-backcamp: hehe i love the ideas you have for your self-ship! so creative and the two of you are just such cuties!

[welcome-to-green-hills]

Okay so I know that sometimes you get leaks right? Sometimes you have people give you leaks and stuff? Like how you were given the leak for frontiers dlc a few months before the game came out. And how you have movies leaks?

Have you ever received a leak that you knew was fake?

Hahaha! Oh, boy! I have!😅

There’s one that has always stuck with me. I use this one as an example every once in a while when teaching others to trust sources.

Back in 2022, my friends and I were met with this “tipper” that claimed that he had Sonic 3 leaks. The funny thing about this one was that any time he talked to my friends and myself, the information changed. The “tipper” didn’t know that my friends and I were sharing screenshots of the leak to confirm authenticity. That’s how we knew that this guy was a fraud. Any time the conservation came to an end, we’ve made it a point for the “tipper” to talk to each of us by ourselves.

By the time he came to talk to me, the supposed leak change four times. I was told the most chaotic and unbelievable things. Stuff like Knuckles’ age, Sonic’s sexuality, how many movies Paramount wanted, and creating a character to replace Tails entirely. All really weird things. The “tipper” even tried to make it a point in saying that he was Pat Casey’s best friend. That was his selling point—I had to believe this guy because he claimed to be Pat Casey’s best friend. Let me just say the first lie that he told my friends was that he was an inside reporter for a known Hollywood magazine.

If you know me, you know that I have an unhealthy obsession with SCU. Any time I asked a question, he would say to check the interviews that the writers made to prove his point. Which, mind you, were all wrong from this “tipper.” His information contradicted info from the SCU Crew. And then he made the final claim that a fandom ship would be canon to the films, but with drastic changes. These changes were supposed to be Amy would be in the fourth film, she was supposed to be relatively older with a slow burning romance that extended into five films and her dating a really young Sonic.

When I showed the “tipper” that his story changed four times via screenshots, questioned the VA for Shadow (he claimed it was Tom Cruise once, Matt Daemon the second time), showed information regarding ships from SEGA, and public interviews that the SCU Crew did for the films, the conversation quickly turned into how I wasn’t a true fan because I didn’t ship sonamy. Apparently, I had to accept that sonamy was canon and that it was the equivalent of a sin to not ship it. (He claimed it was practically canon because of their color schemes, as well as the plot point in SatBK). I also got a comment of how it was wrong to headcanon someone’s sexuality and that Sonic would be a hard straight male. It was both hysterical and awful.

Hysterical being that someone went out of the way to fabricate an entire lie. Awful being that someone was so uncomfortable with the idea of LGBTQAI+ headcanons—and not shipping specific characters together—that they had to make someone feel horrible.

And you know what’s worse than that? It creates a stereotype for those that like a particular ship. It really ruins it for those that love a ship and want to share their love for it, but are afraid to. I’m not a sonamy fan. I do, however, feel bad for those that ship it. Because there’s jackasses like what my friends and I have encountered that ruin it for those that enjoy it. That’s not fair. And I’m so sorry that this is still a problem. People like that ruin it for the good ones. Not everyone that you encounter in the fandom—or in any fandom—will act like this. Please know that I don’t care about what you do and don’t ship. What I care about is if you’re happy. As long as you’re happy, then I’m happy.

But yeah, when it comes to leaks, always question its authenticity. And know if you’re not sure about something you’re more than welcome to ask me. I don’t mind looking into leaks and asking the tough questions.

[naminethewriter]

Monstrously Simple Days at College

Chapter Four: An Unusual Trade

Masterpost | First | Previous | Next | Ao3

Story Summary: Humans and Monsters live together in harmony and that means they all get to go to college together. Roman, Remus, Janus, Virgil, Logan and Patton are big group of friends that may be a bit chaotic with all the different monster cultures they hail from. College itself is hard too, but with them all supporting each other, it can’t be that bad, can it?

Content Warnings: None

~~*~~

A loud and insistent knocking breaks through the calm classical piano music playing in Virgil and Logan’s dorm. Beethoven, Bach and Mozart are common composers the two listen to, since Logan found it the best background music for him to study to and Virgil associates them with their childhood as Beethoven and them share a birthyear. Their mother, who had already been a big fan of Bach, kept up with Mozart and Beethoven for their entire careers and often played their music on the piano. Virgil can always feel the tension in their body leave them when he hears one of their pieces played.

Now that tension was returning however as the knocking doesn’t stop.

“Would you mind getting it, V?” Logan asks, hunched over their desk. “I am almost finished with this text and would hate to lose my place.”

“Yeah, I got it, L. Might just punch whoever it is in the face.” They mutter that last part under their breath as they swing their legs off the bed and head towards the door. “Who the hell—”

“I’m here for a trade, guardian of night!” Remus interrupts them as soon as the door is open.

Virgil just stares at her, then at her brother who is just behind them.

“What?”

“A trade!” Remus proclaims again, louder this time. “The witch for this inferior dragon!”

“Inferior!” Roman sputters, wings flaring out behind him in offense. “How dare you besmirch my honor, you filthy—”

“Would you both shut up before you make this entire corridor hate us!” Virgil hisses, massaging their temples. “What you’re saying is that you want to spend time with Logan and to do that you’re kicking Roman out of your dorm and pushing him on to me?”

Roman pouts at them and Virgil just slyly smiles back which earns them an eyeroll from their partner.

“Got it in one, Scaramore! Now where’s my witch?”

Remus pushes past Virgil, and only then do they notice that it is literally dragging Roman along by gripping his wrist, though Roman doesn’t seem to give him much resistance. At least until they’re in the room and Remus bounds over to Logan. That’s when Roman shakes his arm free and Remus lets him go without even looking at him, instead standing behind Logan’s chair and gently resting its head on theirs, silently waiting for them to stop reading.

“Sorry for just barging in,” Roman sighs after Virgil closed the door and comes to stand next to him. “Remus was just getting super antsy because Logan wasn’t answering her texts, so I told them to just go and check on him in person and then it came up with this whole trading idea. And I would love to just hang out with you, no fancy dates, just chilling but if you’d rather be alone, I can suffer third wheeling them.”

He nods over to the desk where Logan has allowed Remus to place her hand over theirs while they finish up.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Virgil shrugs. “I wasn’t really doing anything anyway. And I wouldn’t leave you to suffer those two being their weird interpretation of sappy.” Roman snorts, lightly bumping against their shoulder before sitting down on their bed, sighing contently and shaking out his wings. Virgil lets themselves plop down next to him, pulling their phone over to close Tumblr. They’ve already been scrolling through their dash for at least an hour. It was good to have a distraction.

Their phone screen just went black when a thump from the desk announces that Logan is done reading. He and Remus talk quietly between themselves for a moment and while Virgil has good enough hearing that he could’ve listened in if they wanted to, they don’t. Then Logan stands, smiling over to them and Roman.

“I will be over with Remus in her room then,” they nod to Virgil. “If you need anything, you can text me.”

“Nothing’s gonna come up, L,” Virgil shrugs and Logan adjusts his glasses.

“You never know. Anyway, since I have classes early tomorrow, I will return before 10pm.” They give a sharp look to Remus, who pouts at them but doesn’t protest. “Have a nice evening, you two.”

“You, too, Pocket Protector!” Roman salutes as his brother impatiently pulls Logan out of the room. The door clicks shut behind them and Roman lets himself collapse on the bed with a sigh. “I love it, they’re my brother, but she can be so much sometimes.”

“Maybe look at a mirror,” Virgil laughs. “You’re both so similar and so different, it’s insane.”

“Shut up,” Roman whines, weakly throwing his arm in Virgil’s direction. “I know that already. I just wanna chill and watch a movie or something. I’m beat.”

“Fine, fine,” Virgil huffs fondly. They all had a long week behind them. They still needed to survive tomorrow but afterwards was finally the weekend. “Any ideas on what to watch?”

“Disney.”

“Yeah, I figured, but that hardly narrows it down.”

Before Roman can say any more, a knock again sounds through the room.

“You think Logan forgot something?” Roman wonders, sitting up.

“Nah, he would knock once and then come in. Maybe he sent Remus to get something? Though I doubt it.”

Virgil gets up to open the door again, at least this visitor was a more polite knocker than Remus.

As the door swings open, it reveals a very displeased looking Janus, who immediately groans.

“Hello to you too,” Virgil says amused, though they step aside to let his second partner in, who immediately makes a beeline to the bed and let’s himself fall down on it, placing his head in Roman’s lap.

“I am so done with this week,” Janus whines, not even hiding his annoyed-ness behind his usual snark. That immediately clues both Roman and Virgil in that something is seriously bothering him.

“What happened?” Roman asks, stroking Janus’ hair, pulling a soft purr out of him. Virgil joins them on the bed, moving Janus’ legs so he can sit down beneath him, gently massaging his shins.

“Ugh, Patton’s been driving me up a wall. I love the guy, you know I do, but he’s been just insufferable the last few days.”

“How so?”

“He has some coursework due and been struggling with it. I offered him my help, but he insists that he can get it done by himself. Which would be fine if he wasn’t constantly whining and yelping unhappily while he does so! Plus, his tail goes haywire, too, hitting against his chair. He’s not even aware of it most of the time so even if I ask him to stop it only helps for like a minute at most. Which is also why he can’t do it in the library! I just wanted to read a book in peace, but he just wouldn’t shut up! So, I decided to get out of there before I force him to let me help.”

“A good decision,” Roman agrees. “I’m sure Pat will make it up to you with cookies.”

“He better.” Janus takes a deep breath, the tension in his shoulders slipping away. “I’m not really mad at him.”

“We know,” Virgil reassures.

“It’s understandable that it can get frustrating though. But you’re here now and we can just have a relaxing evening.”

“Yes please,” Janus sighs, pushing his head more into Roman’s hand.

“We were trying to find out what to watch before you came in.”

Janus sits up abruptly, staring at them both accusatory.

“How come I wasn’t invited to this little hangout in the first place?” he pouts. “How often do you do this, leaving me all alone to the coldness of my bed?”

“Oh, stop being dramatic. That’s Roman’s schtick.”

“Hey!”

“And we didn’t plan this. Remus decided he wanted its boyfriend to themselves, so she dragged Roman over here to get their room to himself. We probably would have texted you after we picked something to do.”

“Probably? You wound me, Virgil!”

“We literally just sat down,” Roman adds, again patting Janus’ hair which gets him to relax a bit. “You seem more on edge than usual, are you not sleeping well again?”

Janus sighs, rubbing his temples.

“With the whole Patton thing, I had a hard time concentrating on my own work. And maybe I had a nightmare a few days ago.” He says that last bit quietly and Roman simply hugs him from behind, gently wrapping his wings around him.

“We’re here for you if you want to talk about it.”

“I know.”

“That sounds like someone who doesn’t want to talk about it,” Virgil guesses, eyebrows raised. Janus nods.

“Maybe tomorrow.”

Roman squeezes him one more time before letting go and moving further onto the bed to get comfortable.

“Then let us rest the topic and find something to watch. My vote is for the Emperor’s New Groove!”

“Yeah, I’m cool with that,” Virgil shrugs, pulling out their box full of Disney DVDs. What can they say? They were there for the invention of VHS and DVD and they 100% prefer them over streaming services. Logan and them have a nice set-up of a tv connected with a DVD player, a switch and a PS4.

They pop the DVD in and move back to the bed where Roman is waiting for them with open arms. They’re leaning back against the headrest, wings spread wide and invitingly. Janus has already squished himself between the wall and Roman, his head resting against their thigh. His eyes already seem to grow heaving and Virgil hopes that he can find the rest he clearly needs.

“Want any snacks?” they ask, keeping their voice low. Janus just hums noncommittally, probably in no mood to move while Roman looks thoughtful.

“If you have something not messy or sticky?”

“I’ve got some gummy bears?”

“Sounds good.”

Virgil opens the snack cabinet they share with Logan and pulls out a bag of candy and a bowl, transferring the gummy over so that the rustling of the bag won’t disturb them during the movie. Then they get back to the bed, plop the bowl onto Roman’s lap before taking their seat at his side.

“Thank you, my darling knight,” Roman smiles, pressing a kiss to their cheek before fishing out a gummy from the bowl.

“Shut up and watch the film,” Virgil laughs, leaning into his side. This wasn’t what they had planned for the night, but this works just fine for them.

[best-titan-7274]

I'd love to read some combat action if that's something you want to write! Maybe a small team doing spec ops, maybe a full combined arms assault, either way you know BT and Cooper are gonna do some fastball shenanigans when the opportunity presents itself.

I love that the fandom has apparently collectively agreed that Jack Loves Getting Yeeted (absolutely correct)

When the alarms go off, Jack’s halfway out of bed before he even realises he’s awake. His helmet is on the table by the door and he grabs it in passing. No time to get dressed with a base-wide alert like that deafening him.

The other Pilots are scrambling around him, bouncing off each other like the bumper cars Jack always liked when he was a kid. It’s more jarring now, but the flow evens out as they near the hangar. They know what they’re doing, it just takes a minute, sometimes, for them to get there.

All their Titans are already on the move, spreading out through the hangar, waiting for their Pilots to embark. Someone even uses their jump kit to get to their Titan first, eager to be out the door.

Jack takes it a little easier, because everyone remembers that time Wilson tripped and broke his nose before he ever saw battle.

Everyone gets in their Titans with no problems, and Jack is relieved that BT starts dampening the noise the second the cockpit closes around him. This is familiar to him, at least, even if the alarm isn’t the kind that any of them hear very often.

“Cooper, Alexander, Aoki, Castañeda, head west.”

“Yes, sir,” they say in almost-unison, three other Titans turning to follow BT out of the hangar.

He’s worked with Alexander before. The other two are strangers, but he knows Aoki is desperate to prove herself since she’s the newest Pilot and one of the youngest. He trusts her, though, because she wouldn’t be here if SRS command thought she wasn’t capable.

“There are enemies inbound. Approximately three minutes and seventeen seconds to contact. Six moving objects.”

Well, those odds aren’t great. All six of them can’t be enemy Titans, right?

“Anyone else got a better idea of what’s out there?” Jack asks.

There’s a private communication network between them, proximity-based and code-locked. They can say whatever they want without being overheard.

“Got it,” Alexander says a minute later. “Three Titans, three vehicles. Could be some ground troops but we’re not picking it up. We got a plan?”

“I have an idea, but BT’s not going to like it.”

“I do not like many of your so-called plans,” BT confirms.

Harsh, but Jack is well aware that BT thinks he’s a bit of an idiot sometimes. Maybe if he stopped throwing himself into danger, or eating snack cakes past their best-by date, but life is about the danger! And mild food poisoning.

“I need you guys to give cover fire with BT and then hold on my signal.”

“Would you like to provide more information?” BT asks.

“Nope, we’re good.”

And he got shot a little bit, the last time he said that, but shit happens. And it barely even scarred, so he feels like it wasn’t actually that bad.

The Titans spread evenly, BT second from the left. It’s barely light enough to see out, and as they race along, he’s pretty sure he gets another great idea. One that BT doesn’t disagree with him on, so that’s a great start!

One of the enemy Titans opens fire, and the four of them target their fire on the unfortunate idiot that made a spectacle of themself. The Titan starts sparking and stuttering almost immediately, and by the time the other Titan brings its guns to play, it’s too late.

At least until a tank round blows an arm off Alexander’s Titan, and some very creative swearing crashes through BT’s speakers.

“Cover fire stops now!” Jack barks, and steps forward.

There’s something about disembarking at speed that feels like getting flung off a moving vehicle and down a cliff, or something like that, but it’s very chaotic and a part of Jack is always very relieved when BT catches him.

BT launches him forward, and he uses the jump kit to get higher as he gets closer, out of the line of fire of the small guns mounted on the front of the vehicles. He can’t tell what they are, exactly, in the predawn light. But he saw that they’re stuck in one place and move side to side, not up and down.

If he gets above the bullets, he has nothing to worry about.

Theoretically.

BT had a lot of opinions about that part.

He drops straight down on top of one of the cars, grabbing one of the bars bolted along the top and swinging feet-first through the driver’s side window. He pushes off something inside – the driver’s chest, he thinks – and tosses a grenade as a goodbye ‘fuck you’. The jump kit gets him away from the explosion, but the driver next to him is aware of what just happened, because they pull a pistol on him.

He jumps, and trusts BT to be there to catch him.

He is, and so are the other two uninjured Titans on either side of him. Alexander’s hanging back, supporting them with cover fire, but careful not to pick too many battles. Even though Alexander’s built like a brick wall, he’s brain over brawns, and he’ll make sure not to shoot them in the back.

BT cups his hand around Jack, protecting him from a burst of incoming fire, and then he’s back in the pilot’s seat and ready to kick some ass.

His Titan is ahead of him, already shooting at one of the remaining Titans that’s closing at a run, trying to capitalise on the vulnerability of a Pilot not yet embarked. They’re a little too late or that, but there’s nowhere for them to run, so they keep charging.

Brave, Jack has to admit, before their bots crash together. The other Titan is bigger and heavier than them, but that just means that BT has the advantage of being faster on the ground.

And, unlike anyone else in this fight, he has Jack.

“Relinquishing control to Titan,” Jack says, and sits back with his hands off the controls. BT can process these kinds of things way faster than he can, and in a fight against an objectively better opponent, Jack might be a liability.

Besides, BT’s new and improved form comes with seatbelts. He doesn’t use them often, because disembarking at a moment’s notice can turn the tide of a fight, but he’ll need them now if BT wants to do some kind of crazy move.

BT does, and Jack is really going to have to talk to him about whatever kind of flippy gymnast yoga shit just went down, but in the meantime–

“Aoki, get those other two cars out of play,” Jack barks as BT gives him controls back, and he and Castañeda turn as one to face the last remaining Titan.

Jack tries to say he’s not a glory hound or anything, but he does kind of like that he’s going to add one more to his body count on this mission. They’re a crack team, him and BT, and he likes proving that over and over again, even if there’s no dispute about it.

Still, slamming your way through battle to indiscriminately kill everything is a great way to injure allies and get people pissed off at you. So he lets his teammate take the shot, and Castañeda rocks it, just like Jack expects of him.

“Hey, Command!” Aoki says cheerfully. “We smoked ‘em! Want us to bring you back a present? Bet we could pull something off these Titans’ data cores.”

Command’s reply comes quickly.

“Retrieve enemy data cores and helmets. Do not engage survivors if avoidable.”

“Toss me,” Jack says eagerly, already half out of his seat.

He can hear the disapproval in BT’s silence, but the cockpit opens up, and BT’s hand is resting just underneath.

BT flings him forward again, a little more gently this time. Jack lands on top of one of the downed Titans, and crouches to try to pull the door open. Success! And the Pilot was killed alongside their Titan, so there’s nobody to shoot at him. He hates when people shoot at him.

“Core and helmet secured from Titan one,” he reports. He takes a running jump back to BT, who catches him easily and deposits him back in the cockpit. He can let the others get the rest of what they’re after.

The other Titans’ cockpits are open, Pilots chit-chatting and occasionally waving away wisps of smoke from the trashed vehicles. The other teams have reported back their own successes already, so it’s not like Jack’s team is slacking.

“Anyone feel like pizza when we get back home?” Castañeda asks, slouched comfortably, the ubiquitous cowboy hat pulled down over his eyes. Until he spoke up, Jack kind of thought he was napping, but apparently that’s not the case.

“I’m always ready to eat,” Alexander agrees, and Aoki looks like she’s thinking about agreeing.

The best they can do now, in the field, is reheated and prepackaged food, but they’re all used to that, so he doesn’t think they’ll complain too much.

“BT, we ready to go back to base?” he asks.

“All clear.”

“Let’s go, team,” Jack calls, and they start making their way back to the closest thing to home that they have.

[biscuityskies]

Today, I looked through my food collection on TikTok for dinner ideas and I came across a video from late March of 2020 of a guy in a pretty typical at-home kitchen, and I had to stop and smile because March of 2020 was when I started getting into food TikTok because that was the only thing keeping me sane. I would wake up, pull my computer into my lap, do my classes, and go to sleep, leaving my bed only to use the restroom and maybe to eat.

(This will be a titch long so I’m putting in a break)

March of 2020, my uni was about to put on a play that I had a significant role in, and it was the first time I had felt good about a role. I certainly felt more suited to the wild, chaotic tendencies of Caliban than I did the motherly instincts of Golde or the Fairy Godmother. It was also the first time we were ever going to actually enhance one of my features, rather than hide me away behind a large, snug dress that served only to suffocate me and make it night on impossible to sing; needless to say, I was beyond excited.

Fast forward two weeks. I was back in my childhood bedroom, my brain as cluttered as the floor, my thoughts as loud as the fan on my computer. We were still running weekly rehearsals for a play that I think we all knew we would never put on, but we were holding on so tightly to this dream. Yet, week to week, none of us improved. I don’t think we actually spent time with the script outside of those rehearsals, where we were supposed to be off book but it’s ever so easy to cheat when you’re on a computer.

I scrolled endlessly through TikTok. I ended up on anime TikTok, hairstyling TikTok, and chemistry TikTok, just to name a few, all while mountains of homework grew and I became more and more apathetic towards pretty much everything.

But the reigning champion was food TikTok. Because some of these were people like me - young adults who had gone back to their parents’ homes, too young to be able to do it on their own but too old not to understand what was going on. And still they created, they did what they loved. They had ingredients in their kitchen, and they made something out of it. That truly felt to me like making the most of a less than ideal situation, and I felt as though I could learn something from it. This honestly played a not insignificant role in pulling me through the summer and into the beginning of the next semester.

I just stumbled across this same video in anno domini 2024, March, almost four years to the date after it was created. He ends his videos with the phrase “this cooking shit is easy,” which I found that I had adopted into my vernacular (case in point: I said it literally just last week) and can now place a source - from four years ago, when I binged all of his videos in a desperate bid to feel something.

Out of curiosity, I clicked on his profile. He has an apartment with a skyline view, in a city that I can only imagine. And the both of us have come so far in four years, letting go of the things to which we could not feasibly hold while stepping into new experiences and new situations.

What, you may be thinking, is the meaning of all this? Was there a point? In short, not particularly. There are a couple of different conclusions to draw here: first, superficially, it could reasonably be concluded that social media is not the great evil that republicans and democrats alike seem to think it is; second, it is my belief that it’s possible to watch yourself grow without actually seeing yourself grow - in much the same way that you can’t see the forest for the trees; finally, how will you know if you never try?

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Let me incoherently share my favourite Huma headcanon:

Rise timeline doesn't exist, btw, because I don't like it ✨

So, Ben is the King of Auradon at sixteen, right? That means it is also the age of majority in Auradon and on the Isle, not that anyone on the Isle really cares, but anyway. Adult stuff legal. You know, drinking, marriage...

Essentials for a king basically.

Coincidentally, when Core 4 leave for Auradon, the majority of them are sixteen: as are Sea Three.

And when the Core 4 publically declares Good, dooming the other Isle children, in they eyes of the Isle kids at least, well, it is perfectly legal for the pirates get drunk. (They'd get drunk even if it was illegal, but hey. Not the point.)

They get blackout drunk.

You know, hysterical laughter, shouting obscenities towards Auradon and Core Four, picking fights just because. The port is the epicenter of the Isle-wide ruckus, as it has clear wiev of Auradon.

Now, somewhere during that time... Harry Hook and Uma decide that they should get married. Like, right now.

They have not ever told eachother that they care of the other (not out loud), let even admit that there might be something like love between them: Villains can't love, please!

But, you know, it sounded like a good idea at that time.

And since their crew and Harry's sisters and basically all Isle kids have been shipping them since forever, they go along with it.

Gil officiates, of course: he gets the papers and gets Harriet to double check them. (Harriet then forwards the papers to Dr. F. And Yen Sid, making it as official as can be.)

Harry and Uma sign, their signatures clear for the amount of alcohol in their blood.

The hateful and resentful atmosphere turns into a careless celebration, all betrails forgotten for the night.

And when the Harry and Uma wake up next morning, well, they carry on as if nothing changed.

They don't remember a thing.

No one bothers talking to them about the wedding: Everyone assumes they know and just refuse to acknowledge it.

Harriet got just as much of a window as the two of them, and CJ is waiting for the chaotic fall out when they find out.

That doesn't happen for very long, though.

It's years after that when a wedding is mentioned on the Lost Revenge again. It's after the Royal Wedding, too.

„We should get married,“ mentions Uma offhandedly.

Harry, of course, is fully onboard with the idea. They start planning, only to be interrupted by confused Gil:

„Guys?“ he says, „You do know that you are already married, right?“

„WHAT?!“

„Well, yeah. I've got the papers in my cabin, do you want to see them?“

„YES.“

Gil fetches the certificate and the couple inspects them: They look real enough, and those are undoubtedly their signatures. And the date?

„We have been married this whole time?“ wonders Harry.

„Why didn't you tell us?!“ demands Uma, much less amused than Harry.

„Um, we,“ Gil struggles with the answer a bit, „We kidna assumed you knew.“

„What the fuck.“

(That was Uma.)

„Well, I still want a wedding,“ she says moments later, „Since I don't remember the first one.“

She glares at Harry as if it was his fault, and he just cackles: „Second wedding it is, love. Gotta up the purple dragon and the boy king, anyway.“

[crimsonwing62]

Bruh, okay I just had this idea so bear with me...

I'm re-watching heartstopper. now i hyper fixated on this show last year and I'm currently hyper fixated on Stranger Things especially the Fanon of Steddie and The Fruity Four (Six?).

I had a thought - the parallels. The similarities...

Nick Nelson and Steve Harrington - Golden retriever sports king, chaotic bisexual, Heart of Gold, and expected by social structure to be a certain way, date a certain type of person. Meets someone and *learns some things*. Fixated on his hair. A smooth mf whose also a dork.

Charlie Spring and Eddie Munson - The outcast at school but comes out of his shell with his friends. uncertain when it comes to love because of previous experiences. Nerdy, Curly Hair, Smart, Musically inclined. ? Potential MH issues - depending who you ask

Darcy Olsen and Robin Buckley - Awkward, Chaotic Lesbian, Confident in herself, Rejects society by dressing however they want, also musically inclined, Possibly knows Charlie/Eddie via band. The scene on the rugby field where Darcy asks Charlie if him and nick are friends or *friends*, I think Robin would do the same.

Tara Jones and Nancy Wheeler - Confident badass, Observing everything. Less confident in her sexuality than Robin as she hasn't consciously known for long.

Also, The kiss when we were 13 and Stancy dating parallel.

Tao Xu and Jonathan Byers - Film/photography obsessed, not academically inclined but copes well at school and smart in other ways. protective of friends/family

Elle Argent and Argyle - okay there's hardly any parallels between these but I also don't know much about Jargyle.

Isaac Henderson and Will Byers - Quiet, out the way, creative, when they speak they mean what they say and when they relax they come out of their shells. doesn't quiet work with the Byler ship and AroAce Isaac but they're parallels not 100% match up.

Harry Greene and Tommy H - homophobic prick who may or may not be in love with their best friend. (not that Harry and Nick are friends but some friend group)

Ben Hope and Billy Hargrove? - abusive arseholes that hide behind macho bravado. Tries to date women to hide their fruity tendencies (The girl at the gate and Karen Wheeler)

Imogen Heaney and Carol Perkins? - only girl in an all male friend group. Or Tammy Thompson - Tries to woo Steve but fails bc he is in love with someone else (I know in canon timeline

Tori Spring and Max Mayfield - ignoring the age difference, Sarcastic, Observant, teasing, sibling like relationship

Oliver Spring and Dustin Henderson - okay personalities don't quiet match up buuut hyperactive, annoying younger sibling energy, that absolutely adores both Charlie/Eddie and Nick/Steve.

Mr Ajayi and Mr Hagan - kind, amazing teacher who actually cares about their students well being. offers a safe space in their classrooms.

Julio Spring and Wayne Munson - protective quiet presence in their children's lives. not seen much but we know they'll be ready to bat for their kid in a heartbeat if they asked.

Yan Xu and Jim Hopper - no reason other than they "leave the bedroom door open a tad" comment...

Idk that's all I got there's sooo many more characters I've missed but those are the ones my brains found so far.

[writercole]

Back Alley Shenanigans

Beyond the Edge

Spur of the Moment

Under the Sand

I absolutely adore the way you send me so many at a time. Even though the editor is a dick.

"Shhhh," Jake hissed at the group of pilots as they crept down the alley.

"Why are we doing this again?" Phoenix sighed.

A bang echoed off of the walls, causing the group of pilots to gasp and jump backwards.

"What the hell are you doing?"

They relaxed when they recognized the voice of the woman who had become a mom away from home.

"Oh, Penny, uh, it's...it's nothing. Don't worry," Jake assured her, stumbling over her words.

"I'm looking at the four most chaotic pilots since Pete Mitchell in 1986 and I'm not supposed to worry? What are you doing?"

"Well, you see," Jake started, rubbing the back of his neck, "you mentioned that she lived next door but you won't let me get close enough to talk to her and -"

"And he convinced us that creeping through the alley was a great idea and guilted us into coming along because we wingman for Rooster all the time on, and I quote, that stupid, out of tune piano," Fanboy explained.

"I did not -"

"You did too!" yelled Phoenix and Payback.

"Go home," Penny sighed. "She isn't home anyway. She and her friend went to the theater for the evening."

"But -"

"Go home, Seresin. You can talk to her tomorrow. But so help you if you fuck her and leave her." Penny shut the window and left the pilots in the dark once again, Phoenix, Payback, and Fanboy grumbling as they left Jake in the alley alone.

Rhett stood at the edge of the giant hole in the pasture. His dad had vanished. The girl he let camp on the grounds disappeared. Amy and Perry both gone.

He stared at the inky black murk that lay beyond the rim and digested all of the things that had transpired over the last two days. Perry was gone after using the ranch as collateral. So now, their home was gone.

Rhett turned away from the gaping maw and walked away. His life in Wabang was over. It was time to start again.

His breath caught in his throat when Hangman pointed out Phoenix crossing the floor of the hard deck.

His heart skipped a beat when she bantered with Hangman.

"Who're your friends?"

Please tell me you're not dating those idiots.

"Hey, Coyote."

He'd give her anything she wanted.

"Heey."

Yeah, he'd known Phoenix - Natasha - for years. But something shifted. He was aware of her beauty, her warmth, the way she ignited something in him.

"Who's he?"

Who's who? No one else exists when you're in the room.

It may have been a spur of the moment realization, but it was no less than pure love.

Sleep wasn't a very reliable thing after the mission.

It's how Rooster and Hangman ended up on the same beach staring at the same moon, just inches apart.

The two of them burying everything they felt deep inside, just like they buried their hands under the sand, fingers interlocked, longing for that touch, that comfort. The acknowledgement of the feelings they'd never tell.

[mickmundy]

PLEASE go on about your bushmed spoovy double date ideas!! (x)

OMFG i wrote one FOREVER AGO (that i literally only just posted on here) that was them watching antique roadshow and making bets about what is real or what isn't etc. i think that's my favorite one to think about. or like an auction show that they place bets based on bid amounts ("IT IS NOT WORTH MORE THAN THREE THOUSAND--!!" etc)... LMAOOO. i think i default to this kind of thing because i think all four of them appreciate art and culture, albeit all have a Vastly different relationship with + understanding of it. which i really like!

if you know me then you know i cannot stand the idea of heavy or sniper being labeled as "Stupid" when i don't think either of them are in any capacity. heavy has a lot more booksmarts given that he has a phd and sniper has a lot of valuable practical knowledge, which i think medic and spy sit Neatly in the middle as having a good balance of both (this isn't to say heavy isn't resourceful. he absolutely is. i just prefer to put Emphasis on his love for Scholarly Subjects given that i think it's something sorely overlooked and is an interesting and fun contrast/compliment to some of his coworkers + spy)! i could make a whole post on this but i digress. let's move on!

i think they have dinner together where two of them cook and two of them brings drinks + desserts. the four of them are big on food (though medic and sniper are far from the "foodies" that heavy and spy are!)! heavy and sniper get along very well (Gentle Giants) and medic and spy like Bantering off of each other (Old Queens With Big Egos) so they click together more naturally than one might think hehe! 

i don't think they'd have "book club meetings" (though i do hc that some of the mercs have those) together because i don't think it would be medic and sniper's jams (even though they both enjoy reading. i just don't think either of them would enjoy 'Social Reading' if you will), but i think sniper would idly ask for a book recommendation from heavy (who would be over the moon at the idea and would take LOTS of time thinking about it. Very Serious Business) and Would read it if heavy picked it out for him since that kind of thing goes a long way with sniper!

spy loves to start shit that riles medic and sniper up. heavy does not. -_- spy is an agent of chaos after all...! and it's not HIS fault medic and sniper just get sooo wound up SO easily! >:) it's like they're BEGGING to be antagonized! *snort* LOL... but spy CAN be persuaded to have some mercy on their friends... heavy gives him A Look (Spy.... No More Causing Trouble.) and spy knows better than to go against the wishes of his beautiful Misha... u3u of course he wasn't causing any trouble! don't be ridiculous! but Yes Misha My Love I Will Cease Immediately At Your Request.. <3

i think sniper and medic are both VERY sore losers/get REALLY into competition when they Get Into It (if that makes sense) and spy doesn't care he just likes riling them up and heavy is competitive but still very lax... KSDFDSF. i think both couples can have nice dinner dates together or chaotic fun! there's lots of variety in all of their personalities, so you can do pretty much anything with them!!

[slightly-smarter-nat]

Ooh have you played the 2k games i've only played 23 and while i like it it's missing a LOT of people. there's a supercharger pack that unlocks all of them but there's still a lot of people missing like chris(tian, jericho, and benoit) sting, stunning steve, CM Punk, THE HARDY BOYZ, The dudley boyz, older versions of randy orton batista triple h and others.

there's a community creations mode where some people make those missing characters but it's not the same without the intro. move set and looks are pretty good but sometimes the names and music aren't.

there's a fuck ton if john cenas ranging from 02-now since we had to do showcase matches and unlock him and other characters. i heard 2k19 had the best roster. this game here just feels like it's made for the newer fans nothing wrong with that entirely it just feels lost.

Cody And Seth vs The rock and Roman would be interesting. The rock just went back heel and i saw him getting booed by the crowd in Vegas so him turning on roman wouldn't be shocking since bayley just got betrayed(bless her heart). or cody gets screwed over AGAIN that would just be horrible when you look at all this buildup OR RANDY ORTON tries to some Randy Orton shit(i love Randy's antics) now that would be insane but not out of character for Randy 😂I believe it's triple H and the fans on twitter think lol.

Yeah, I’ve played a few!! I agree, it’s missing a lot of the current roster too, but I think the majority of them have been added to 2k24 luckily- I can’t wait for the official Judgement Day entrances to be used now. I think the ones that you’ve named are missing due to past controversies (Chris Benoit) and other companies having open contracts with them-especially with the Hardy boyz and CM punk. The lack of older versions for Triple H, etc. is a shame as it would be cool to have the option to pick a favoured generation with maybe a newer wrestler. Also the cut off time for the game development seems to be very early in the year for the included gameplay I think.

I agree, it’s cool to see but definitely not as cool as having the nostalgia of hearing the intro music and seeing iconic entrances as they once were.

It’s a shame it doesn’t reflect how good the earlier games were where they were pretty up to date and still had the ability to give a good range of earlier generations of the WWE, etc. At least with 2k24 they seemed to have taken feedback on board and actually include more variety in matches, players, ring gear and options.

Especially with everyone pointing out when he was referring to the loser of Wrestlemania he was pointing towards Roman and when acknowledging the Tribal chief he had the loser sign up 😅 plus in his eyes, no one is above the rock, especially Roman reigns so it would make sense. I KNOW POOR BAYLEY 😭 I’m so glad they didn’t make out she had no idea what the others were all up to and actually had her turn on them before they turned on her fully because then what would she have learned from the four horsewomen? Randy Orton is just so chaotic you can’t even hate him for it at times. He’ll just be trash talking someone then RKO them and be like ‘so that’s settled then’ whilst they’re still processing being slammed onto the canvas 💀

[merrock]

CHARACTER INFORMATION

face claim: Jessica Alba

full name: Shiloh Rian Rivera

nickname(s) / goes by: Rian

pronouns & gender: She/Her. Cis-Woman 

sexuality: Bisexual

birth date: April 28th, 1981 - 42 

birth place: Merrock

arrival to merrock: Born and raised but returned about five months ago from her most recent fishing escapade. 

housing: A houseboat at the marina

occupation: Traveling Fisherman and a boat mechanic

work place: The Marina

family: N/A (Will probably send an update to this once I get her full bio figured out. 

relationship status: Single 

PERSONALITY

Rian is known as someone with a harder exterior, but an outgoing personality to those that are close to her. Her love for the water has always extended farther than her summer days spent at the beach, or on the boat with her grandfather, father, and uncle that even now she spends any waking moment she can on the beach, typically at the swimming beach. Friends and family often describe her as reserved and hard working, which is often stemmed from her career as a traveling fisherman in the colder months of the year. This makes it harder for her to form and build relationships like one would like, and while it’s often also mention that Rian could make friends with a brick wall because she’s outgoing, traveling keeps her from being able to keep contact with those she is friends with as much as she’d like. Most of her time is spent at work at the marina where she can be found working on boats for all the town folk and tourists alike, but if she’s not there maybe check out the fish market where she can often be seen upon her return home selling any of the fish she caught at sea. It may not always be the cheapest, but one thing is for certain, she takes care of the fish that she does catch, and it’s obvious that she put a lot of love into what she brought back home to her people. She’s recently gotten into DIY projects and thrift shopping, and despite the fact she lives on a house boat, she can often times be seen at Bella’s Boutique, treasure chest, or polished brass market searching for her next project to redo.

WRITTEN BY: Katelyn (she/her), est.

BACKGROUND / BIO

triggering / sensitive content: stroke tw, death tw.

“She is kind and very beautiful.” Were the words muttered from her father’s lips on the night just as Shiloh ‘Rian’ Rivera was born. It was just half past nine when she made her arrival - the moon a waning crescent - and Alonso and Daniella’s life changed forever. From the moment she was born, Rian added the spunk into her family that they’d always been looking for; now a family of four, the Rivera family was complete. 

While things were chaotic for Rian’s family at the time of her birth - her father was just beginning to take over the mechanic business that her grandfather had started, all while the Rivera family fishing business was booming - Rian’s mother managed to work diligently at the herbal tea store her family had created in Merrock, working alongside her sister who had inspired the entire idea. So, while adding another baby had been joyful for the Rivera’s, it had been hard; Rian was a colic baby and while Daniella had tried her best to work with Rian attached to her in a baby carrier, it became too much, causing Daniella to take some time off from the herbal tea shop and spend some time at home with her two children. Though, this didn’t last for long; the day after Rian’s first birthday, Daniella rejoined her sister at the herbal tea store, where she - along with Rian - spent many of their days. 

At age five when Rian started school is when things really began to change for the Rivera family. Phone calls were made on a frequent basis announcing that their daughter was struggling to focus, and that she preferred to be outside more than anything, proving to both Alonso and Daniella that Rian had adventure in her soul. So, while afternoons would be spent at the back table of the herbal tea shop doing homework, it wouldn’t be long after that that Rian would be found throwing her shoes back on and running outside. 

Adventure was something she appreciated, and it radiated through her even at a young age. She’d often times be found running around outside the Hideaway Market, playing with her cousins, her friends from school, and just really living her best life as a child. She’d be found often times running around barefoot - her feet black from the dirt - or playing in the mud serving mudpies in broken glasses. Or flying kites with her friends at the park before they ran up and down the shoreline of the beach, the waves crashing into them. But on the off chance that you could find her doing something a little less chaotic, she could be found sitting at the docks, watching the sunset as the stars began to shine. The calm after the storm as her parents often quoted, but even into adulthood it was one of the many things people still said about Rian Rivera. She always made good grades, making her way through school with a focus on just passing; her heart had been set on taking over the family business since she’d been five and she knew that in order to do that nothing else was truly required. She was an average B student; just enough to make her parents proud, even though they all knew that if she’d truly applied herself, Rian could’ve accomplished anything. But, with the bare minimum being her technique she graduated; agreeing for the sake of her parents to attend community college were she got an associate’s in business management, and then immediately after graduation traveled to Spain for three months, where she really began to explore the spanish heritage. 

After a six month escapade, Rian returned, getting resettled in town and began learning the ropes of taking over the fishing business while her parents - and grandfather - worked diligently to provide for their family. However, on Rian’s twenty fifth birthday, her grandfather suffered a stroke, leaving him paralyzed and wheel chair bond. It put a strain on their family, and Daniella agreed to give up her job at the herbal tea shop and take care of her father in law so Alonso could continue working, but sadly without Daniella’s help the shop closed; and Rian really began working with her father to help provide for her family. 

Three years later, her grandfather passed, and Rian took it upon herself to work even harder; not only to make him proud and to help her father, but also because working harder made it easier to grieve. She preferred to do it alone, to be by herself and reminisce on the good times, which was exactly what she did. With each passing day, missing him became easier and she became more involved in her work; doing anything she could in his honor. So, when her parents offered her her father’s house boat Rian took it, making it her permanent residence. 

Rian now lives in the houseboat in the marina and has spent the last twelve years growing more involved in work, now taking over both the fishing business and the mechanic business as her father is retired. Never being able to fully settle, Rian enjoys traveling, but she knows that Merrock is and will always be her home; and man what I beautiful place it is to come back to. 

[lessapander]

Things to organise still ...

I've been thinking a lot about the sewing room as I work and I'm getting more and more done now, but it really does feel like there's just more and more I want to do as well. It's a never-ending feedback loop of "oh, wouldn't it be cool/nice/easier if ..." every time I go in there to get back to work.

So here's a list of stuff I've been pondering how to improve:

Thread I want to get a peg board for the back of the sewing desk, and mount tools there for use while sewing (thread snips, pin cushion, etc.), including a nice spool holder for my thread. I have a little tiered one that I use for my most common colours of thread, but it'd be nice to have all of them out at once and not have to go digging through weird little boxes for the rest. Also would like a bobbin holder box or something because my current method for storing bobbins is chaotic (a four-deep stack on a single spool holder lol).

Acrylic Stands/Displays I want to show off some of my old vintage stuff in the cabinets and they're littlebitty so having some acrylic risers or display stands would probably help them stand out a bit. I have a bunch already in the Detolfs downstairs, but getting some for the upstairs cabinets is on my list of priorities. Daiso has the best/cheapest options for these, so a trip to the store might be warranted when I'm nearer to being done. I think also want some little cradle stands for my old handhelds and Tamagotchis, but those would have to be bought online somewhere.

Shadowbox Displays for Artsy Jewellery Pieces I have a bunch of fancy jewellery I'd like to show off when it's not being worn and had the idea to put them in shadow boxes with latched fronts, like pinned insect specimens or similar. I think they'd look really lovely as decoration interspersed with lolita prints I've collected over the years.

More organisers for hair accessories I bought a three-drawer desk organiser to test out storing hair accessories. The drawers themselves are a great size for my Morun x Muuna Stoik canotiers, and all of the rectangle headdresses I have, but I have a lot of hair accessories for lolita, so another two would probably go a long way. Still not sure how to deal with the alice bands and other headband style pieces I have, though. They're a bit too "tall" to fit neatly in these drawers.

Organisers for my art books and similar I have a lot of artbooks and doujin from Sailor Moon and Fate artists, and also Sakizo's catalogue of works. They currently live in a banker's style cardboard box, which isn't ideal. The organisers I found for the hair accessories would work OK I think, but I'd really like something a little more readily accessible for displaying them.

Shoe Storage? My shoes currently live on the shelves in the closet, but that isn't awesome for humidity and I know my PU shoes are suffering for it in the summer in particular. I think I need to a) do a shoe purge and b) find a better method to store them so that the non-leather shoes manage to live a longer and more fulfilling existence. lol How to handle this, though. I'm at a loss.

Frivolous doorknobs for the cabinets This is super low priority, but I really want to get some cuter doorknobs for the cabinets at some point. I found some lovely floral ones in an antique silver online that would be great, so I've bookmarked those for a future date when I have the brainspace and budget to go for it.

[kenttheatreblog]

A REVIEW: The 39 Steps at The Hazlitt Theatre

My very first review and what a way to start with this clever comedy.

With tongue in cheek, Patrick Barlow has created a very up to date hilarious modern play extremely loosely based on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock classic movie. Bored bachelor, Richard Hannay’s life becomes rather more eventful when he meets stunning Annabella Schmidt, a counter espionage agent. After taking her home to his flat, she is murdered in front of his very eyes. Accused of her demise, he flees to Scotland in an attempt to expose the spy ring, closely tailed by a mysterious organisation in a nationwide man hunt with twists and turns that climaxes in a death defying finale.

In the programme, the Director (Ian Craddock) tells of his struggle to choose a cast of only four as it was originally intended and I can fully understand his dilemma because the talent on that stage was immense.

As the hero, Hannay, Michael Kurtay, with his suave manner and his tweed suit, not to forget his pencil moustached stiff upper lip, created the perfect pivot point for the mayhem and disorder that circled him and I loved his opening monologue and of course his spontaneous political speech later in the play. Very ably partnered by Clare Corrigan as Annabella Schmidt whose comic timing was impeccable and who played the temptress femme fatale very convincingly. I applaud Clare for lying still for so long across the armchair with a knife in her back whilst Hannay hilariously made his escape.

At Hannay’s side, the prim and proper Pamela, played by Emma Edwards, a very accomplished actress who injected humour and seduction as Hannay’s love interest. Emma never falls out of character and she has such stage presence.

Margaret (Charlie Hilton) played her cameo beautifully with sincerity towards Hannay and Sheila Veitch added a bit of a Hilda Ogden moment whilst waving her feather dusteraround, which made the audience smile.

All the clowns deserve a massive mention (Matt Dallas, Russell Hambelton, David Ruler, Richard Pilborough, and Scott Raffle) with their array of costume changes,characterisations, hats, accents, comedic facial hair and wigs. They were witty and high on energy, nailing the characters at a pace and showcasing their versatility.

What a brilliantly assembled company which includes the crew, lights, sound, scenery, costumes and those holding up prickly bush and muddy puddle signs, not to forget the sheep. The scenery appeared to be simple but incredibly effective. I am a huge fan of less is more when it comes to stage sets and being able to change a car into a train into a bed meets with my approval. Also what a genius idea to dress the scene shifters in coats and flat caps.

Memorable moments for me are of course the biplane scene, which was ingenious and I am still chuckling at the Radio Presenter‘s very funny delivery of his lines.

Mix Hitchcock and a spy story with a pinch of Monty Python and you have an incredible unmissable chaotic comedy which will have you laughing out loud.

I consider myself to be an active theatre goer and I wanted to give a fair and honest opinion, so tonight, without a doubt, I was hugely entertained. I have absolutely no negative comments at all. Well done The Willington Players – A remarkable terrific triumph of theatre.

Julie Argent

The 39 Steps as presented by The Willington Players runs at The Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone from 25th-29th April 2023. Get your tickets at parkwoodtheatres.co.uk

[hanjisungs-bigtittyg0thgf]

Hatefuck

Is everything okay?

wooyoung x fem reader

Trigger warnings: depressive episode, blackmail

Content warnings: reader has a really shitty ex deadass idk what to put here cause there’s no smut but you’ll see what’s up soon

Summary: you’re finally a normal couple.....right??

Word count: 5118

A/N: so this one is a bit shorter butttttttt i didn’t want to just resolve everything in one go lmao anyways i kinda cried over this and my beta reader was shook so yeah. feel free to screech at me lmao as always consider following me here or on my main (and don’t forget those notifications so you know when i post!). hard thoughts are welcome!!! and maybe check out my ko-fi? i take commissions!

Tags: @starlight-night0 @teezers99 @alecanal93 @youre-a-wallflower-charlie @brit97 @seokwoosmole​ @hyuckilstan​

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Story below the cut

One year. That’s how long you’d had feelings for him. It had been eight months since that day at the condo and things had been amazing. You’d had your share of arguments like any other couple and somehow it only made you love him more. You were thrilled that after everything, you could still be a normal couple. And in normal couple fashion, he’d just asked for you to live together.

 “Wait, like…here? Or at my place?” You asked as you pushed your laptop aside and reclined on his bed. It was Monday and you were visiting for a study date yet again. You’d spent almost every afternoon this semester studying together since you once again shared every class aside from the ones you had added when you picked up your minor in world religions studies. Funny how a minor interest had turned into part of your life plan.

 “I think me moving in with you would be a better idea, all things considered.” He hummed as he pushed his laptop aside as well and raised his arms over his head, stretching out his spine. “Obviously I refuse to mooch and I’d be more than willing to pay my own part. We‘d split housework too.”

 “I sure hope so.” You rolled your eyes as you let out a snort of laughter. “Yeah, I don’t think me coming here would be good for anyone involved. The others would never get proper sleep.” You teased. You’d made it a habit not to get too intimate while you were visiting him because he’d learned pretty quickly how to make you scream.

 “That’s true.” He chuckled, leaning over you as he shifted so he was on all fours. “I don’t think I’d want anybody else hearing your pretty sounds anyways. Except maybe the neighbors.” He wiggled his eyebrows and you laughed again despite the soft blush that crept over your cheeks at his comment about your sounds. “I think by now they all know my name and probably hate seeing my car out front.”

 “Mm well that sounds like a them problem. We haven’t gotten any noise complaints and I don’t think I’ll be changing anything until that happens.” You hummed, slipping your arms around his neck and pulling him down for a quick kiss before getting serious again. “Let’s do it. I won’t have much time during the semester to help so we should either fast-track it over spring break or wait until classes end. But then I’m starting that internship and-.”

 “I don’t wanna wait. I wanna wake up to you every morning.” His words made your heart flutter and you let out a soft whine as your cheeks heated up. He only chuckled as he watched you pout, leaning down to kiss your nose. “I love you so much, y/n.”

 “I love you even more, Wooyoungie.” You whispered, your eyes slipping shut when he kissed your nose. Then you felt his lips on yours and you released a pleased hum. It was a sweet kiss. Despite his chaotic nature, he was usually so gentle with you and it made your heart squeeze almost painfully in your chest whenever he treated you like fine china.

 Just as you parted for air, Hongjoong opened the door with a knock. He wrinkled his nose in playful disgust at the sight of Wooyoung hovering over you, both of you breathing a little heavy. “Haven’t we been subjected to that enough?” You couldn’t hope to stifle the obnoxious laugh you let out at his words as he shook his head. “Look, dinner’s ready. Stop sucking face and come eat.”

 He left the door open as he walked away, much like a parent would do after interrupting their daughter making out with a boy. You rolled your eyes as both of you got up from the bed, trying not to burst into laughter again as you made your way to the dining room. “Joongie, you’re always so dramatic.” You taunted as you sat between him and Wooyoung.

 “I wouldn’t have to be dramatic if you two weren’t a couple of horny teenagers.” He scolded with a soft laugh as everyone got settled at the table.

 “Yeah, you two are always so loud.” San snorted, tucking himself behind Yunho when Wooyoung made out like he was gonna dive over the table.

 “We weren’t even doing anything, dumbass.” Wooyoung defended as he tried not to dissolve into laughter. You were going to jump into the conversation again when your phone buzzed in your pocket. You pulled it out only to find something that soured your mood entirely.

 Your ex had sent you a message. You didn’t look at it, you needed to be able to stomach your food, but just seeing his name appear on your screen was enough to bother you. You already hated his guts and never wanted to hear from him again but you were even more pissed that he had created another Instagram account just to send you a message after you’d blocked him on everything four years ago. Wooyoung - and everyone else - seemed to notice your sudden shift in mood and you felt a hand on your thigh. “Everything okay, babe?”

 His words brought you back to reality and you glanced around the table only to find everyone staring at you with concern. You turned back to face your boyfriend and flashed a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine, just something stupid an old friend sent me.” He clearly didn’t buy it but nodded slowly as you turned to face the others. “Let’s eat, I’m starving.”

 You’d grown extremely close with the others over the course of the last year and all of them saw you as their sister. Well, except Seonghwa, but he was getting over that. You’d forever appreciate and admire his grace when you rejected him. It went much smoother than how things had gone with Wooyoung. You still teased Wooyoung about that. Whenever he brought up Seonghwa’s confession just to get on his nerves, you’d jump in with that reminder, which always kept him from actually getting into a fight - which, to be honest, he’d probably deserve any beatings he got from Seonghwa since he could never shut his damn mouth.

 Oddly enough, one of the things you used to hate the most about him suddenly became your favorite thing about him. The man never shut up. But now you appreciated his incessant chatter, even when you were busy or upset. It was soothing somehow and it started to feel like home. They started to feel like home.

 So once again, you allowed yourself to find solace in the noise, your irritation dissipating. You joined in on the jokes and storytelling as everyone tucked in. If you’d spared a glance in your boyfriend’s direction, you would’ve seen him looking at you like you hung all the stars in the universe. Everyone else noticed his lovesick expression but no one said anything. They were happy he’d straightened himself out and made things better with you so they stayed silent, watching in amusement as he hung on your every word.

 He wasn’t solely focused on you in the present moment though. He wondered what could’ve gotten you so upset when you were having a good time teasing Hongjoong - which you’d started doing after getting cozy with Wooyoung over spring break because you wanted to be annoying like your boyfriend - and his mind replayed the way your face fell the moment you looked at your phone. He wanted to know what was bothering you. He’d become extremely protective after getting together and he wanted to be the one to solve all your problems.

 Dinner passed almost too quickly and within what felt like minutes, you were standing at the sink, shoulder to shoulder with Wooyoung as you washed the dishes. Things were quiet at first as he passed you the first plate to dry and a fond smile settled on your lips as you remembered the first time you’d helped him with the dishes. That night had been what sent your heart hurtling towards him. But he broke the silence, and thus your trance, as he handed you another plate.

 “What really happened earlier?” He asked, glancing at you as your fingers brushed and his heart jumped. He had a way of looking at you that always made you flush a soft shade of rose and you knew you couldn’t hide anything. It was disarming. You shook your head and looked back down at the dishes, your smile fading.

 “It’s fine. An ex messaged me. I haven’t bothered looking at what he said but just seeing his name irritated me.” You put the plate down on top of the first one and waited for another, looking at him expectantly. But he didn’t hand it over. He wanted to know if everything was really okay. You should’ve known that he wouldn’t let this go so easily. “Babe, it’s fine, really. You already know I’ll tell you if something is wrong.” You looked back down at your hands as you took the plate he was holding. “We wasted too much time not communicating. I’m not gonna start hiding shit.” Your voice was surprisingly soft considering the violent urges your ex brought out.

 He was quiet for a moment as he washed another dish before his voice filled the (limited) space between you. “I just worry about you. I know you don’t like to show when you're upset, look at how you hid everything aside from anger when I was being an ass. But if there’s anything wrong, I want to help you.”

 “I know.” Your hands stilled and you looked up from the plate you were drying, offering a genuine smile to reassure him. “I know, Woo. But I promise, right now I’m okay.” You leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek and he relaxed. With him pacified for now, you settled back in and smiled softly to yourself. “Remember the first time I helped you with the dishes?”

 “Oh, when I did this?” He asked as he wiped his wet hands on your face. You let out a soft squeal and smacked him square in the chest as you dissolved into a fit of giggles. Just like that night, he continued to wipe his wet hands on your cheeks as soon as you finally had them dry again. Just like that night, you were breathless when he stopped and you had stars in your eyes as you stood toe to toe with him. “You’re so pretty.” He whispered as he brought a hand up to your neck.

 A soft blush dusted your cheeks at his words as he caught your lips in a kiss. You wrapped your arms around his middle, pulling him in as close as possible. The kiss was brief and sickeningly sweet. When you pulled back to look up at him, he had the dumbest grin on his face and it was clear he was smitten. “I really fucking won.”

 You giggled softly and leaned up to kiss his nose. “So did I.” You murmured as you came down off your tiptoes. Everything was quiet for a moment as you admired each other, the chatter from the living room fading away as you focused solely on him. “I’m so proud of you, Youngie.” You whispered, bringing a hand up to rest on his cheek, your fingers splaying out while your thumb gently caressed his cheekbone.

 Just like that night, he looked close to tears. You’d learned words of affirmation never failed to make him emotional, partly due to his family rarely verbally expressing love in favor of demonstrating it. Your words, simple as they were, made his heart soar. He didn’t know if you meant in general or if you meant you were proud of the way he’d changed. Maybe you meant his academic success. He had no clue, he just knew he loved hearing your voice saying the words he’d craved his whole life. “You’re gonna make me all emotional if you keep saying that.” He whispered back, his voice hoarse as he clearly tried to fight back his feelings.

 “It’s not a bad thing if you do get emotional though. You being vulnerable means a lot to me and-”

 “Yeah but if it’s something special to you then I want only you to see it.” He flashed a smile as he forced back the lump in his throat. It was a copout. He always felt weak when he showed any sort of negative emotion and this was him blatantly refusing to let anyone but you see him while he was weak. You knew this.

 So you nodded and gave him a small smile. “I must be pretty special then.” You teased as you untangled yourself from him. “Come on, let’s get this finished. We’ve still got work to do and I’ve got to get home before midnight.” You sighed. You hated having to leave him and you couldn’t wait for him to move in.

  ————————————

  No. No no no no no. This could not be happening. The clip was dated sometime during fall break only a few months ago but you hadn’t been with him in almost five years. So who was this? Because you sure as hell hadn’t fucked your ex last semester.

 The message you’d received from your ex was a video of him fucking someone who looked exactly like you. You didn’t open it until you were back home and the second you did, you felt sick. You knew logically that you hadn’t done anything but fuck she looked so much like you that even you were doubting it. What if Wooyoung saw?

 The message from your ex also contained a blatant threat.

 @th-rlst-mf: It’d be a shame if that summer internship you have lined up fell through because there’s evidence of you having sex on the property

 You couldn’t make it to your bathroom fast enough, your dinner forcing its way up your throat as it quickly evacuated your stomach. He was going to ruin your life. You retched for what felt like ages before you finally flushed the toilet and slumped back against the wall. You grabbed your phone from where you’d dropped it when you fell to your knees and opened the message again, taking a shaky breath as you watched the video a second time.

 Trembling fingers tapped out a response just as he sent another message.

 You: What the hell do you want from me

 @th-rlst-mf: Oops, my finger slipped while waiting for you to answer

 With that message, you saw a screenshot. He’d sent it. He’d fucking sent the video to the manager overseeing your summer internship. You dissolved into tears the second you read the recipient name. This couldn’t be happening. It didn’t feel real.

 Your phone buzzed again but you didn’t look at it. You couldn’t look at it. You slowly dragged yourself from the bathroom floor and shuffled to your bed, still sobbing. You couldn’t breathe. Before you flopped down on your bed, you went and threw your window open, needing the fresh air. You then threw yourself down on the bed, not bothering to change into your pajamas. You cried for what felt like hours until finally you fell asleep.

 When you woke up the next morning, it was freezing in your room. The window was still open. You turned off your alarm and rolled over, rubbing your eyes. They felt grainy from crying yourself to sleep. You were almost asleep again when you heard your phone buzz by your head. You didn’t want to look at it. You really didn’t want to look at it. But curiosity got the better of you.

 It was Wooyoung. There was a backlog of messages too.

 11:53pm My love: Goodnight, baby girl. I love you.

 12:19am My love: I guess you’re already asleep. Sweet dreams, sweetheart.

 6:47am My love: Good morning, angel. Did you sleep well?

 7:34am My love: Baby? Is everything okay? Are you sick?

 8:16am My love: Am I still picking you up today?

 8:43am My love: I’m here. I’m coming up.

 You let out a soft sigh and began to type a response as you heard keys in the front door.

 You: I’m sorry, I left my phone on vibrate and didn’t hear your texts come in. I’m not feeling the greatest today, I think I’m just gonna skip. Bad mental health day.

 He didn’t respond. Instead, the door swung open and you heard him kick off his shoes before making his way to your room. You turned so you weren’t facing the door and pulled the sheets up over your head. You heard your bedroom door open and Wooyoung let out a gasp. “Christ, y/n it’s fucking freezing in here…” he mumbled as he hurried to close the window.

 You were grateful, even if you didn’t express it. You’d been so cold but you didn’t dare move from the warm cocoon of your bed lest you turn to ice. He turned to face you and made a quiet sound as he walked towards you. He already sounded worried. “Hey…” his voice was quiet as he perched on the edge of your bed, placing a hand on your waist. “I saw your text. Is everything okay? Anything I can do for you?”

 “I’m fine. The day is just off to a rough start.” You lied, your voice scratchy from last night’s wailing. You couldn’t tell him what was wrong, couldn’t let him see that video.

 “Well can I get you anything? Some water?” You nodded and he got up from the bed, making his way to your kitchen. You slowly sat up and looked at the clock. He was gonna be late. He came back with your favorite water bottle, ice clinking against the metal. The sound was oddly comforting as you grabbed your medicine bag. “Did you take your nighttime meds last night before you clocked out?”

 You sheepishly shook your head and he let out a soft sigh as he sat by your legs again. He waited for you to get your medicine before handing you the water. Before he could ask anything else, you spoke up. “You should go. You’re already gonna be late. I don’t want you to use up a free absence on me.” Then you popped your pills in your mouth and gulped some water, washing them down.

 “I still have all of my absences. I can afford to use one of the allotted five. I need to know you’re okay first.” He rested his hand on your knee, giving a gentle squeeze. Finally, you met his gaze and you almost burst into tears all over again. He’d come to mean so much to you and you couldn’t bear the thought of losing him because of your ex. He noticed your bottom lip wobble and his brow furrowed in concern. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked, scooting up the bed so he could stroke your hair.

 His words were enough to finish breaking the dam and your face crumpled as you lunged forwards, hugging him tightly as you cried into his shoulder. His arms wrapped around you instantly and his warm hands began rubbing soothing circles on your back. This only made you cry harder. Everything about him was so endearing. He was missing class to make sure you were okay and he was being so gentle with you, as if you were a precious piece of art that he was terrified to break.

 After a few minutes, he gently pulled back and began to wipe your cheeks. You’d finally stopped crying but you almost started all over again when his thumb swept over your cheek. “Can you stay with me today?” You asked quietly, your hand wrapping around his wrist as you leaned into his touch.

 “Of course, sweetheart.” He leaned forwards and kissed your forehead. “Why don’t you get comfy and I’ll go make something for you to eat?” You nodded and he got up from the bed, leaving you there so he could cook for you. You didn’t want to be alone but you knew he’d shoo you back to bed if you tried to help him. He loved babying you like that.

 So you settled back down and picked up your phone, ice filling your veins as your body went numb with anxiety. You hesitantly opened the email app and bit your lip, checking your personal email to calm yourself before opening your professional email. You felt nauseous when you saw an email from your internship coordinator. You felt bile rising when you read the subject line.

 Cause for concern

 You opened the email with trembling hands and read it as tears filled your eyes. It was over. If you couldn’t defend yourself, you would be losing the internship. The manager had said this in much nicer terms and had CC’d HR, but you understood it. Just as you closed the email and went to message your ex, Wooyoung stormed into the room. He hadn’t even been gone five minutes.

 “What the fuck is this?” He snarled and you sat up again, scooting up the bed. He didn’t even have to show you his phone for you to know he’d received the video. You could hear the moans from where he stood in the doorway.

 “Woo, it’s not what it looks like-”

 “Really? Because it sure looks like my girlfriend fucking another man.” He stalked towards the bed and grabbed his water bottle, which he’d left beside you when he came to check on you. “You really had me fucking convinced, y/n. I bet you just agreed to have me move in so rent would go down.” With each word, your heart cracked even further and tears began to fall freely now. “Don’t even fucking go there. Stop with the guilt trip. I’m not falling for that shit. You’ve strung me along for over a year now. We’re done.”

 Your heart stopped beating for a moment as everything went silent. Then you scrambled to get out of bed and chase after him as he turned on his heel. “Woo, please- please let me explain what’s going on. It’s not like you think.” You begged, your heart squeezing painfully in your chest as he gathered his things by the door. “It’s not me, Wooyoung, please just listen to-” He opened the door and cut you off.

 “No. I’m done listening. I have been in love with you for years, been nothing but good to you since we started working on things, and this is what I get in return? I’m not doing this anymore. I can’t.” And just like that, he was gone and you were gasping for air between sobs.

  —---------------------

  It had been a few days since everything had happened and you had barely left your bed. You were skipping classes and only eating once, maybe twice a day. The only productive thing you’d done was defend yourself in order to keep your internship. You’d found evidence that there was no way the woman in the video was you and you’d presented that information to your boss and HR. They’d still let you go but they’d agreed not to make a fuss about it. So you’d been left alone to think about everything that happened on Tuesday and you found yourself in tears every couple of hours. You’d never taken a breakup this hard but Wooyoung…he was different. You could see a future with him. Except all your hopes had been dashed only four days prior.

 It was finally Saturday. You hadn’t been taking any calls or responding to any messages since Wooyoung left you sobbing on the floor in your living room so you were startled by the sudden knock at your door. Part of you feared it was your ex but another part of you hoped it was so you could beat his ass. You cautiously made your way to the door and peered out the peephole only to find Hongjoong with his arms crossed.

 You opened the door and stepped back without a word, letting him into your apartment. He kicked his shoes off and made himself comfortable as you locked the door and dragged yourself to the kitchen to get drinks for the both of you. “Is water okay?” He nodded and you joined him a moment later. “Here.” You whispered, holding out a glass as you sat beside him.

 He took it and both of you sat in silence before he finally spoke. “Are you okay?” His words and his tone were softer than the expression on his face. You simply shook your head and looked at your lap. “Why did you do it?”

 “I didn’t!” Your head snapped up so fast you thought your neck would break. You didn’t sound defensive, you sounded desperate. “He wouldn’t listen but I swear on my life I didn’t cheat. I’ve been cheated on before and it makes me physically ill. But he wouldn’t hear me out, he just yelled and left…”

 “Look, he showed me the video. You can’t deny it. There’s proof.” His tone was accusatory and you felt like a thousand needles were pricking your skin. Your eyes began to fill with tears for what felt like the millionth time that week and you shook your head. You looked down as you pulled your phone from your pocket, pulling up the instagram messages.

 “I wouldn’t lie to you. Especially about this.” You held your phone out and he carefully took it from your hand, his gaze meeting yours briefly. There weren’t many messages but he took a while to read everything multiple times before looking up at you. “That’s not me. Look at the date.” He looked back down, tapping on the video. He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth as he stared at the screen, his eyes widening when he saw the date in the bottom corner.

 “You were out of town that weekend. You took Wooyoung to meet your family.”

 “Exactly. I didn’t see it at first so I didn’t know how to defend myself but once I was able to look at it without feeling violently ill, I realized I had an alibi. I even got receipts from a couple shops we visited that weekend to show to my boss to prove it wasn’t me.” You gently took the phone back as he held it out to you and looked down again, pocketing the device once more. “I tried to tell Woo but he won’t take my calls or read my messages. I don’t think they’ve even delivered. I think he blocked me.”

 “He did.” Your heart stung but you didn’t jump in. “He’s not doing well at all. We didn’t know why he skipped classes Tuesday, we just knew he wasn’t there. The guys were asking around but they realized you weren’t there either so they left it alone. Then San got home and he heard sobbing and Wooyoung told him what happened.”

 You wanted to go to him and make things better but you knew he wouldn’t see you. He was stubborn like that. You also knew it was up to him to fix the problem since it was his reaction that made things complicated. So you nodded silently and tried to process the information given to you. You stood abruptly and went to the kitchenette, placing your empty glass in the sink. “Thank you for listening.” You sighed as you propped against the counter. “He knows where to find me if he wants to see me. I’m not gonna ask you to try and fix things between us. You already did that once.”

 “Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry?” He snorted as he stood from the couch and headed to the sink with his glass. You’d always been a bit jealous of his grace and this time was no exception as you watched him seemingly glide around the room. “I’m not leaving until you’re in the shower and have ordered dinner.” He looked at you from where he stood at the sink, propping there on his hip. “Just because I’ve known him longer and I’m inclined to watch out for him doesn’t mean I’m gonna let you fall to the wayside. I still care about you.”

 “I know.” You sighed softly and looked down. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. Unless maybe you were out for blood on his behalf.”

 “I was, initially. But the second I saw your face, I decided vengeance could wait.” He teased, his elbow nudging your ribs. “Seriously though, go get ready for a bath. I’ll order dinner. If you’ve taken it the way he has, you’ve barely left your bed.”

 You didn’t speak, just simply nodded as you stood straight and headed for your room. You appreciated that he was trying to take care of you but your mood had soured significantly as he told you how Wooyoung was faring. You wanted to be left alone for a while but the only way to get him to leave was to do what he wanted you to. So you gathered your clothes and headed to the bathroom with a sigh, filling the tub with water instead of starting a shower. You didn’t have the energy to stand for that long. You didn’t bother locking the door, you knew Hongjoong wasn’t interested and you weren’t in any danger with him around.

 You ran the bath and stripped bare, dropping your clothes in the hamper. You’d had the sense to at least change out of what you’d worn to bed Monday night when you got the video and you were glad because if you hadn’t, Hongjoong would’ve automatically known something was terribly wrong. You decided to put some bubbles in too since you felt like shit and wanted to treat yourself. As if bubbles will dull this. You let out a snort as you sank down in the tub. “I just ordered dinner!” You heard Hongjoong call from the kitchen as you settled in, bubbles tickling your chin.

 You’d been in the tub for about twenty minutes when you heard the door. You didn’t hear any conversation so you thought maybe Hongjoong had asked the delivery driver to leave the order at the door. But then the bathroom door swung open. You scrambled to cover yourself with your hands even though the bubbles were already doing a fantastic job of obscuring your naked body. But then you saw who it was and you froze. “Wooyoung-”

[chaoticcultist]

AU idea for a different Miraculous Ladybug show. Centers around creative, chaotic Eurasian cousins that get magical jewelry by accident and sort of just roll with it because the city needs them.

(Marc still wears a hoodie, I just wanted to draw him in a tank top for some reason)

Marinette is Lady Red, the superhero of creation who has dominion over the other ownerless Miraculous of the mother box, because being a guardian comes with the job of most powerful Miraculous holder.

Marc is Phoenix, the superhero of healing. Marinette gives him a Miraculous because he is super scared she'll get hurt if she goes and fights bad guys by herself. The magic ladybug yo-yo automatically gives him the Miraculous with the power of healing because of that.

Adrien finds the black cat Miraculous on his desk after Nooroo secretly puts it there so Gabriel can't use it if he gets the ladybug Miraculous. He's basically exactly the same and immediately teams up with the two other superheroes when he finds them.

Lady Red and Chat Noir are the main fighters and heavy hitters of each battle, and Phoenix makes sure to heal and reenergize them when they get hurt or tired (some of those battles last a long time).

Marinette has a huge crush on Adrien at school, but she can talk perfectly fine to him and doesn't stalk him or anything, she just gushes to Marc constantly about how great and nice he is. Marc doesn't mind so much because he gushes right back about how cute and talented his crush Nathaniel is.

Both pairings get equal amounts of cute screen time!

Adrien is amazed by Lady Red and does try to pursue her at first, but respects her boundaries when she rejects him on the basis that they don't really know each other. They become the best of friends though, and eventually reveal their identities to each other. Obviously Marinette realizes her crush was in love with her hero-sonna, but she puts that aside so they can continue their strong friendship and not jeopardize their effectiveness as a crime fighting team.

Marc thinks their insistence on making everything difficult is the funniest thing ever.

The three often meet at Marinette’s house in their civilian forms to try and sus out the origins of the Miraculous, why they have them, how to fully use them to defeat Hawk Moth, that sort of stuff.

Marinette and Adrien still like each other and there is a bit of a will-they-won't-they thing going, but it's due to emotions clashing with their sense of personal responsibilities, not confusion in identity that somehow stretches 4+ seasons.

With encouragement from his cousin and his kwami, Marc does end up working with Nathaniel without being turned into Reverser. He spends as much time as possible with his best friend and crush, but is often called away for superhero stuff. He tries to confess a handful of times, but he either chickens out, bumbles over his words so badly that the confession goes right over Nate's head, or is interrupted by an Akuma.

Eventually Nathaniel just askes Marc out himself since he likes him back. Marc tells Nathaniel straight up that there are things he will have to keep from him, but Marc trusts him fully. Nathaniel is cool with it as long as Marc promises that secret isn't him cheating and breaking his heart, which Marc guarantees its not. They're both total romantics and go on very cute dates when they can, double dating with Rose and Juleka often since the four are friends in art club.

Adrien and Marinette eventually decide that their responsibilities to the city don't invalidate the needs of their hearts, and if they want to date and be in love in their free time, no one has any right to stop them. It's a beautiful moment when both of them have just finished fighting a villain and Chat Noir holds Lady Red's hand and tells her softly that he cares for her more than anyone else, and he wants to be able to love her as both their hero and civilian selves. Other teens can date, even Marc can date, why shouldn't they when they're just trying to be normal teenagers.

Marinette basically responds with "You know what, you're absolutely right." and they start dating in their civilian forms.

Eventually they uncover that Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste and Adrien runs away from home, hiding at the Dupen-Chang's place until the heroes eventually take Gabriel down.

Adrien is put into the custody of his bodyguard Gorilla, and the three teens are able to live their lives happily, patrolling as superheroes in their free time to keep Paris safe while also keeping time to spend with their significant others.

End of the series has a flash forward ten years where Marinette is helping Marc prepare for his wedding while wrangling a blond toddler. He tells her that this is scarier than any akuma they faced as kids, but he couldn't be more happy. Marinette smiles back and leaves to take her seat in the pews next to her husband Adrien. They happily watch on as their greatest backup and healer from their superhero missions gets married to Nathaniel, the love of his life.

Everyone gets a happy ending except for Worlds-Worst-Dad Gabriel Agreste.