#but the last time I wore them was still in 2020

[maenimalist]

my cardigan & blazers eras are now over :<

[honeyvenommusic]

❗️NEWGLASSANIMALSGLASSANIMALSGLASSANIMALSGLASSANIMALSGLASSANIMALSGLASSAN-

[j-esbian]

i know it’s been said a thousand times but i’m real tired of fast fashion clothes made out of tissue paper

[grison-in-space]

Watching the new Alex Jones doc, which is heavy on the alt right response to Sandy Hook and the gun rhetoric that followed... so yeah I thought of when I was teaching during #GunFreeUT back in 2015 as a PhD student in Austin. I would have been about 25. When people came to my workplace and the state said that the students had been complaining* about how frightened they were to be away from their firearms for twenty minutes. When the entire campus was newly declared acceptable for open carry of ducking semiautomatic rifles. The undergrad who organized #CocksNotGlocks, who accurately pointed out that state obscenity laws banned sex toys in public to appeal to people's comfort and sensibilities, but would not consider such a thing for deadly weapons. As I recall, she drew massive waves of harassment from random people who were actual alt right adults with jobs and lives, not college students. I think she had to take a gap year.

*in fact the law was extremely unpopular among the UT Austin student body, most of who were horrified by having to confront the possibility of deadly weapons belonging to fuck only knows whom in not only their workplace but their homes.

I remember standing in a room for staff resistance through #GunFreeUT, the smell of the room, the texture of the cotton shirt I wore. The hastily organized attempts to carve out any freedom we could. The horrified stipulations about whether firearms could be kept out of classrooms themselves if not campuses (no), and the fretful whispers about what the state had declared about our offices, how we were going to be able to declare them gun free zones... If we agreed that students with concealed carry licenses could choose to meet with us somewhere where the gun was allowed to go. The group that announced it was going to celebrate its new open carry status by staging a school shooting on campus, the shooter of course to be played by a "good guy with a gun." The university announcing that they had interceded and made clear to the group that this re enactment could not take place, so they kicked the demonstration a couple of blocks away. Happened at a local gas station.

I was still seeing sad flyers from office staff and teachers saying things like PLEASE NO GUNS IN THIS SPACE when I graduated with my PhD in 2020, the first winter the pandemic was in full swing. I remember the texture of the paper the last time I saw it vividly. I catch myself starting to think about the campus school stabbing I would teach through in 2017 and any one of a hundred more rearguard final stands between the city and the state and—

Okay, that's where I got up and walked off to get a soda. You're getting me now after I've had a minute.

That's a classic PTSD flashback, in case you're wondering. At no time do my senses report anything to my mind about anything unusual happening in the room. At no time, while I remember these things, do I believe that I am currently in danger for my life. It's a strong, vivid memory, but only a memory.

But it's a memory that grabs you by the mind and shakes you. That's a flashback. It's a classic simple PTSD flashback as a consequence of fear and stress sustained over time. Other folks around me who think maybe PTSD or maybe cPTSD applies to you, if you're hung up on not thinking you get anything like flashbacks?

That's what a flashback is from the inside. Your brain is running over the memory of the thing that forever changed your estimation of safety. Just in case you might forget.

Just, you know. In case anyone is wondering.

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

I’m Still Here - A comment on media culture and perception 14 years later

I know I'm not the first person to make a connection between this 'Still Here' hat that Taylor wore last year and Joaquin Phoenix's 2010 mockumentary "I'm Still Here", but having now actually seen it, I can't not pick it up and comment on just how relevant this still is and how much it mirrors Taylor's experience and relationship with the media, especially as she herself described it during the reputation era. And seeing as this film is largely perceived as having flopped and fell on deaf ears, because the general public didn't get the commentary that was being made, I think it deserves a closer look and deep dive, even if it's 14 years later. I will be using the comments from a great article by Hanne Hermens, published in 2020 in diggit magazine (available here).

What is 'I'm Still Here'?

Back in 2008, actor Joaquin Phoenix announced his retirement from acting and proceeded to seemingly pursue a career as a rapper/ hip hop musician with limited levels of talent or success on that front. A lot of people thought it was a joke at first, but as the months went on and Phoenix descended into a scruffy, unstable version of himself, the majority of people seemed to buy into it and assumed that he'd just lost the plot. I was only 19 and living in Australia at the time, but I remember the media frenzy around this 'unhinged basket case' of a once famous actor when he'd apparently become something that was fair game for public mockery. Only a full 18 months after assuming this deranged public persona, did Phoenix reveal that it was in fact all performance art and his experience of the media and public engagement with his curated persona, a purposeful media scandal, was the subject of his non-fiction film. Somewhat not surprisingly, people didn't like being the butt of the joke and the film was perceived with a wave of outrage, people were calling him a liar, a con artist, and many other things. But just because the audience largely didn't like his way of holding a mirror up to celebrity and media culture, the question remains: Was this an elaborate hoax or was Joaquin Pheonix on to something with this portrayal?

It was certainly a big investment in a social experiment of how the media and public would react to a celebrity seemingly losing it and descending into chaos. And it did take a toll on Phoenix's mental health to be so publicly mocked, even though he'd curated this character and subsequent media storm intentionally. It does pose the question: Did he lie to everyone or did the media and public decide what his story was going to be because he dared to step out of his mold?

Hanne Hermens introduces the concept of narrativity in her article, a question of identity and authenticity when it comes to public figures and how they are portrayed in the media:

Personally, I think this film is a true masterpiece and just went completely over people's heads with the point it was trying to make. It was a very needed critique of celebrity media culture, and bear in mind this was 2010 when we barely had social media (!), it is so much more true and relevant today. And the bigger the celebrity, the more true it is. We create narratives and boxes for them that become truth, and don't you dare step out of it or you will be publicly humiliated... which brings me to our biggest current celebrity: Taylor Swift™

Taylor's relationship with the media goes as far back as her career is long, but has really taken a turn during her 1989 era, resulting in her her self-perceived cancellation in 2016 and her 'rise from the ashes' reputation era, which was very heavily styled around media narratives and it was the first time that she actually released music hitting back at the industry and media landscape. And, in particular, something that really reminded me of the points made above in the film and article, is the reputation prologue (the only words she ever said about this otherwise commentless album):

Like Hermens suggests, Taylor acknowledges the way the media narratives create truth for a celebrity in the eyes of the public. And she is making it very clear that she is the curator of her own narrative by 'what she choses to show us'. Something she also heavily emphasized in her 2023 TIME Person of the Year interview. So much so, that the article literally starts with "Taylor Swift is telling me a story..." and ends with the journalist wondering if everything he just heard and subsequently wrote about, was laid out for him to perceive in a certain favourable narrative. Maybe he felt tricked in a similar way to the public reacting to Phoenix's mockumentary, realising they were part of the game. But she does it in such a remarkable way that you can't help but play your part. Trust the greatest storyteller of our generation to beat the media at their own game. She has years of experience. But I think she's about done with this circus.

Reality or.... the manuscript?

If you are offended by the suggestion that Taylor Swift's public image is entirely curated and has very little to nothing to do with her real person, then please stop reading now. I think it is not too much of a reach to assume that at the very least, the majority of this larger than life persona she has become, is fake. If the songs on TTPD haven't given you that impression, you really aren't listening. In a way, her career so far has been an 18 year run of a show where she is the main character ("The years passed like scenes of a show"). And haven't the last 12 or so months given performance art vibes?? The Mayhem with Matty? The High School musical romance with Travis? The freakin Super Bowl?? Maybe I'm just too grossed out by it all, but it seems more fake and over the top than usual. And funny how most of the people she's hung out with during those months are all actors...

Relax, I'm not saying that she will pull the rug tomorrow and make all her little fans look like fools for believing in this show (although it would be funny...). But I think after all these years, it would be her prerogative to stop playing their game. Stop being a circus animal, or a toy in a box. The Tortured Poets songs are a warning (she said so herself in her summation poem) that, just like when Joaquin Phoenix pulled the curtain on his elaborate trick, many people aren't going to like what's coming. But I truly hope that this time, the message will not be so lost on people. Yes, we are all part of the problem. Our intrinsic nosiness and tendency to make celebrities into characters, remove their humanity and believe pictures in magazines more than their own words or art. We think we know someone, but the truth is, that we only know the version of them they have chosen to show us.

If we should be so lucky to meet the true Taylor some day soon, I for one, am excited to meet her.

[accio-victuuri]

(12) fake stories. 📝

I found this here and i haven’t seen this compilation or post before. I might have read some on it’s own but it’s only now that I knew where it came from.

The proxies are not written by me, they were discovered by archaeologists, everyone can just read them as fakes. I am a proxy shooter, although I know that I have the same status as an illegitimate student in the fan circle, but I also want to support a family.

In the four years of working in the industry, I have photographed many celebrities, and because of this, I accounted for the first pot of gold in my life. Received from last December, It is a job similar to illegitimate life. It is very labor-intensive to follow two boys in my city, so I accepted it. I did, but I didn't expect to fall into the pit of these two people, which made me feel so lucky to meet them. Tell you what I know.

******************************************

Big / Older = XZ ; Small / Younger = WYB.

Before you start reading, based on the stories below, this was 2018 when they were still filming CQL. Probably some early 2019, the gist is, their popularity did not “explode” yet because of the Drama. So this is why, they were not as careful yet. This will never happen after their change in status as celebrities. They are very much guarded all the time now. Even if there are slip-ups in the years ahead like 2020.

Take this as fake. Fan fiction. This is not me “confirming” things or anything. I primarily wanted to post and share for archive purposes.

Some might be confusing, I tried hard to make sense of what was being said by OP.

******************************************

1. At the beginning of February, the younger one met the older one at a tea house near a high-end residential area in Beijing. This is CK Tea House. In fact, there is a private chef, with relatively high concealment, there are three people at the same time, eating normally, and the big one after eating drove away by himself, and the small one went with another person.

2. The two met in March and recorded a song. The older one arrived first and it was difficult to park. His driver was in Guangzhou. I wandered around the field for a long time. The big one waited until the small ones came and got off. It was normal to meet and say hello. ( OP might be talking about Wuji recording )

3. At the end of March, my colleagues told me not to go to the original community to squat anymore, saying that the older one moved out of the community, so it was I who came to the address of the new community he gave me, squatting for a whole day without seeing anyone, watching their fans. this time should be in Beijing. That's right, I think it might be that he really is a nerd. He is not out today.

Well, just getting ready to go. I found out, the little one after following up for a while, I found out that he is walking @ Qingliu in the village, without an assistant to accompany him, he entered the community with a lot of food in his hand. This community — If you are not a resident, you can't get in, unless you have to verify with a resident before you can go through the registration, which means that he has a verification on his body.

The door is locked, I guess he also lives here, sure enough, he has not been out all night, he lives in this community, Real hammer. I reported this matter to the girl who gave me money, because no photo of the same frame was taken. So the salary is very little.

4. The father of the gold master gave me three times the money and asked me to follow the itinerary. I didn't know that the drama they filmed was about to be broadcast. To follow, under the temptation of money, I still left my dear Beijing. mid june, the older one was in a white T-shirt and the small one appeared on the side of the parking lot of a certain gold square on a certain Jing Road, probably waiting for the car to come out, and it was him. The two of them, I did not see the assistant, both of them wore masks, I have to say that the big one is really tall, and the small one passed a bag of things to the big one, the big one takes it, shakes it, looks at the small one, and laughs under the mask.

5. It was still June, and I found that my Alipay in June was really contributed to them. The price of a certain place is really almost the same as Beijing. Let’s continue, the big one and the small one came out together after the publicity, and there is a certain tolerance in the same industry. A young boy, probably promoted together. I'm such a bad fan, I really haven't watched their drama, so I can't name the boy, but I do know, 4 people got into two cars, the big one and the small one didn't get into the same car, and the assistant followed them to a restaurant hall. A total of seven people went in, the big one went in last, the big one didn’t know what to say to the young one. Well, it's the kind of ear-whispering that the two assistants may be familiar with it, and didn't look up at them. They all held their mobile phones to look at their own, and when they finished talking, the older one touched the little one's head, and the little one looked at it.

You can’t tell if you’re smiling or not, and here’s the point, the point where I got into the pit! That’s the point,. I didn't give the photo to the donor's father, so now I can only take pictures of other small fresh meat to pay off the mortgage.

It was 11 o'clock after dinner, I was lying on the steering wheel like a dog, they came out, they went in. There were seven at the time, but for some reason, nine came out. Well, I don't know about the other two either,They seemed to be saying goodbye, they patted each other on the shoulders, the big and small saw off the others, and the big assistant handed over a black jacket, the big one placed it on the little one, and zip him up. The weather is really fine this time, there is no need to wear clothes, the little one stretched his big arms, the big one lowered his head. I don't know what they said, and we walked to the side together. I really can't see it from that angle, I can't see it

Yes, I don't make it up. The two assistants were still chatting about themselves without looking at them, and about five minutes passed.

When the milk tea in their hands was ready to drink, they came over and said something to the assistant, they gestured. Then the two took the same car and left, they took the other one, and the assistant gave the younger one a bag and a brown paper bag. I continued to follow them to the center of XX Wen Avenue, the gate of XX Community in Times

The small one and the big one got off the car, but the car didn't go into the basement, these two people really have big hearts, the big one took things from the bag. the small one holds the bag in one hand, and the other hand starts to walk on the back of the big one, and the big one takes out the things. He touched Xiao's head again and smiled. I'm sure both of them were smiling, although they were wearing masks, their eyes is curved, very sweet smile. I suddenly felt that maybe it wasn't really brotherhood, it was a beautiful danmei. The plot made me delete the picture of two beautiful people looking at each other. Two people showed things to the property manager to look in. I guess they belong to one of the houses, but they definitely don’t live there often. I’ve been in this business for four years, and I’ve met a lot. Many surface brothers stabbed in the back, this kind of pure feeling is very beautiful.

6. After sending a photo to Xiaoxianrou and expressing his satisfaction, will I rely on him for my future funding source?

After going in, I didn't go out all night, of course it was already a little bit faster when I went in. i didn't drink in the shop, just make do with one night in the car to save money. The little one came out at five o'clock, wearing a black mask. The hood and hat, the top of the clothes were changed, and a brown Buick went in, and the big one didn't come out. The older one came out by 7:00 with no change of clothes, carrying a paper bag, wearing a hat and a mask, his eyes were obviously tired, and got into a car

I was very hesitant about whom to separate from, I decided to go with the older one, but he got on the highway, I wondered if I had returned to Xiangshan, so I reported it to the benefactor, but I didn't dare to say that I saw it last night.

7. After returning to Beijing, I did the math and spent a total of more than 6,000 yuan. You may ask me why I spent so much? Let me tell you, the oil price is really high, I didn't fly because it's not easy to hide, but the Lord is very generous and reimbursed them all. When I got home, I seriously searched Baidu for the two boys I was following. The drama is a danmei drama, no wonder the gold master keeps asking me if I see any sparks, she is one their fans, I've seen a lot of girls like her, basically I don't have time, but I'm curious about what celebrities are doing

They will send us out, They asked me to go to Xiangshan with the big one, I said you don’t like small one? Why? Why do you have to talk to the big one? They told me that since he finished his class visit in Hengdian last June, he felt Of course I have accepted it now, but I still want to know if it is true, so I I went to Zhejiang with full expectations. The plane I took this time was too far away, and my friend over there was picking me up at the airport is also in this business. He told me that he is very familiar with the places where the big one were photographed, and even the place where he lived.

I also know that Xiangshan Film and Television City is very broken. When I saw the big one, I felt that he was with the young one.

It's different, it's very quiet, and when I'm not taking pictures, I hold my phone and make a voice call, and I don't know what to send.

8. In late June, it started to get hot on the Xiangshan side, and there were a lot of mosquitoes. The big filming was very serious, although it was far away, but from the lens, the expression is still in place. There is a shot of a girl, that's that the little girl of 101, she is very good-looking, in a dilapidated town, she gave him a hand.

The drama may be a fairy tale drama, why do you wear such clothes. The hostess handed him iced water, he took it and smiled. He might have said thank you but I can’t see the shape of the mouth clearly. The heroine left. The older one put down the water and picked up a cup on the ground. After drinking water, I took out my mobile phone and continued to make a voice call. The voice was very obvious, because I used my ears to hear it after I finished speaking.

Listen, I laughed sweetly throughout the whole process, I was wondering if he sent it to the little one, but there is no evidence, so let’s not talk about it.

9. The filming is over at 8:00 p.m., there is no big night filming today, and it takes 30 minutes to drive back to a certain hotel. The fast one, the big one signed autographs and took photos with three or four fans at the entrance of the hotel, very gentle, without losing his temper,

After he entered, the fans left. When I was considering whether to leave, the older one came out again. He was already driving.Wearing a black jacket with shorts underneath, a hat and a mask, the assistant drove a black car. The SUV went out, took the Yongguan Expressway (belonging to Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province), and finally got off in Shanghai, I followed. It took three hours. I have to say that the big car has very good driving skills. I was driving a friend's car and almost lost track.

Closer to home, the older one stopped and drove in the green city community of a certain village. Even though the star is not very popular, he is a public figure after all. If he is so laborious, how should he meet. About an hour later, that is, around 12:40, because my mobile phone is almost out of battery,I took a look, and a small car appeared, got off the car, but the car did not enter the community. With a Shoulder bag, carrying things, I can’t tell what I’m carrying, there’s a lot of them in the bag, I carried them in.

The next day at 6:00 a car came out and parked on the parking lot outside the community, a small car came, and a small car got off. In the car, the clothes were not changed. The older one got out of the car and said something to the younger assistant, and patted the younger one on the back.

After watching the video, the assistant got into the car and took breakfast for the older one. After the older one got on the bus, the younger one also got on.

10. The older one returned to the set at almost 11 o'clock, and the assistant waited for him while walking and talking, walking very quickly, at night. It was a big night filming, and the howling sound from the heavy rain was heard far away. After returning to the hotel, he didn't come out again. End of june, I have been in Xiangshan for almost half a month, and I only saw the two of them once. I wonder if I am overthinking it, but I think it's the best way to give money back to the sponsor. After six o'clock in the evening, the crew puts out the meal, and the older ones enter the house to eat. I couldn’t get a picture of the meal, so I asked my friend, and he said that it would be finished in half a month, and asked me to wait another two weeks

God, I said yes, that night a black business car came to the crew and parked at the south corner of the film and television city, near the big car, the big one. After a while, I quickly walked out of the crew and got into a black business car. I didn’t look like it. The small car followed, they drove to the beach of the fishing village, the big one got off, the headgear was not taken off, and the clothes were changed into Simple T-shirts and shorts, and small ones, long sleeves and black slacks, two people on the beach. Walking up is very weird, because the seaside is very cold at this time and there is no one there. The small car parked in my car about 15 minutes.

I was really worried that I would be discovered, so I drove the car calmly to the east side of the beach in the fishing village, getting closer to these two people, I can only see that the older one took off the smaller hat and put it on his own head, and the hair was covered

From my point of view, he really looks like a woman with a good figure, with his small hands wrapped around his waist. Two people are talking, I don't understand lip language, and I can't see clearly, so I see the big one leaning back, and the small one may be afraid that he might fall, the stairs should be tighter. After about five minutes, the little one sat on the beach with his hands loose, and the big one sat down.

Looking at him, the little one looked up, and the two looked at each other. The older one sat down and definitely held the younger one's hand. I can see that the big one took the small hand and put it on his lap, and then he kept his head down and talked,

Maybe the big one rubbed his arms when it was cold, and the small one rubbed his hands back and forth on the big arm, and then pointed to the car, after a while, two people got into the car, the big one went back to the set, the young one continued in the car, early morning. It was three o'clock when the filming was over, and after taking off my make-up, I got into the small car, and the two of them went to a villa in a certain town, but I couldn't get in,

I really couldn't bear it anymore, so I went to find a place to sleep. When I woke up, it was past ten o'clock. I don't know if I should go or not.

I went back to the film and television city. My benefactor no longer needs me to follow, I have already witnessed this beautiful relationship. The love is young, but pure, don't destroy this relationship, so everyone just wait silently. Many people ask me if I am the king of the mountain, I don't know how can two people be so absolute when they are together, I believe it more —- Bo Jun Yi Xiao, that's all

11. When I arrived at the film and television city, my friend brought me fruit and told me that these two dramas were about to be broadcast, and they were not bad. It was the first time in my life that I became a member to watch a TV series, and it was because of their good drama. I don’t know when it was filmed.

At that time, whether the relationship between the two people was so good, but now I feel the contact like a family member, which is what I like.

I went back to the set, and it was like this again. I didn't go out after nine days, and everything was normal. At the beginning of July, the itinerary says to go to Changsha and recorded an entertainment program, and both of them went, so I bought a ticket, but I didn't get the program list. On-site tickets at production time. I left one day earlier than the older one, because I had to find a place to live and I had to pack a car. Bare feet can't keep up with the speed of the two of them. Two days ago, I squatted at the door of a certain electric station, the first time I recognized. Realizing that they are really popular, many fans are already outside, it is not the same as half a month ago, The small one who came first, the bodyguards and assistants were all there after getting off the car, and went in after getting off the car, and then the older one came. It's the second time I saw the big one with bodyguards. I followed it so many times, except for attending the endorsement, There are bodyguards, I have never seen his bodyguards, the big one also went in. I'm bored waiting, I'll just turn around at the door

Turn around, I heard a little girl say that Bo Jun and Yi Xiao must be real, that's when I knew they still have CP fans name the little girl is very cute, ask me brother, you also kowtow cp, I said my girlfriend likes them, so I will come and see

At a glance, the little girl gave me a popular science about the interaction between the two of them, saying that the brotherhood is very strong, I laughed.

The recording lasted around nine o'clock. I thought it was very fast to watch the show, but I didn't expect it to be recorded for so long. The older one and the other two men come out together, the big one wears a white t-shirt, the small one wears a black t-shirt, the other man wears a black hat and a green t-shirt, they come out. Then I drove to a fast food restaurant. There were not many people in the restaurant, so it was not easy to find an angle to take pictures. There was no shelter around, the big one sat with another man, and the small one sat opposite, one of the scenes was impressive, the small one

The one who didn’t know what he ate had a tangled expression on his face, the older one gave his own water to the younger one, and the younger one took it and went straight to drink it immediately, and the buddy next to me didn't say anything.

maybe it's not surprising, except for me, I really don't use other people's cups, even my parents. After dinner, the three of us went to the Rongguo Hotel, I feel that artists are really rich, the security is very good, I can't get in.

12. I went back to Xiangshan to continue filming at 6 o'clock on the second day. In fact, it was a reshoot. It’s green, the crew was too dark when it was finished, and the lights were yellow, which made the big one look very lonely, I don’t know — is it because I have seen him happy, I always feel that he is very distant from people and things in the crew, and the fireworks rise.

From now on, the trip to Xiangshan is over.

-END.

[drdemonprince]

Cathy was so afraid. She couldn’t have the surgery without a designated carer. My name is in her medical records, I was to drive her to the hospital, get educated by her physical therapists, get her home, and see to her basic needs. If I was too ill to help, the surgery would be postponed, and it had already taken a full year to schedule. She’s been in bed since the summer of 2020, so the thought of postponement was unbearable. I drove her over an hour to the hospital early Thursday morning. My fever was gone, and I wasn’t coughing. It had been 6 days since my first symptoms. I wore a mask. The surgery before Cathy’s went over by three hours. Her surgeon looked totally drained when he stepped in the room. He said her surgery would be “very challenging.” It went super long too. The family waiting room was empty by the time he finally came in and told me, “It was difficult, but I’m quite pleased.” I went to Cathy’s room to find her free of pain and silly chatty from the anesthesia. I stayed, because a person just out of surgery should have somebody with them. Shouldn’t they? Oh, but the drive home! Dark and in a blinding rain! I was so stressed and scared. The hour drive seemed to last three hours. Lightning and howling wind greeted me as I dashed into the house. I had to grab some sleep and be back at 8:30 for physical therapy. Cathy panicked trying to walk in her walker. She couldn’t figure out which foot to use going up and down practice stairs. She’d say the correct foot out loud, then lead with the wrong foot and cry in pain. “That went super well!” chirped the therapist. “Let’s get you prepped for discharge!” I told Cathy I was going for lunch, but I found the charge nurse. “I can’t do this,” I said. “I’ve got to somehow get her into a truck with a high running board. Then I have to get her out and up four steps into her house. She’s not ready, and I’m scared.” The nurse (bless her heart!) called the therapy team, and they put their heads together. “Don’t worry,” she told me. “We’ll find some way to justify another night. Go get some food and rest. Everything’s going to be okay.”

a harrowing story from my buddy James Finn about growing older, fighting with flu and with gout, and still choosing to show up for a fellow aging, neurodivergent neighbor in need. It breaks my heart to read. I wish I could have been in western Michigan to help them. Real-life stories like these remind me that I need to upend the entire structure of my life to show up for people more.

[daresplaining]

Mike Murdock's Sunglasses: On Character Design and Autonomy

I've written a little in the past about character design in regards to the translation of zany alter ego 1960s Mike Murdock into slightly-more-grounded, at least 85% more real 21st century Mike Murdock. Specifically, I talked with artist Phil Noto about Mike's outfits in Daredevil #606-612, and analyzed the clothing choices made by the creative team in the 2020 Annual. However, one specific detail that I find interesting in Mike's transformation from Matt's hyperactive id to his own autonomous person that I haven't really written about yet is his sunglasses-- when he wears them, when he stops, and how this shift may or may not align with his journey.

Matt: "Let's see now-- I'll just muss up the mop, to give myself that carefree tousled look! A fella like Mike wouldn't be caught dead with a simple Ivy-League hair comb! And, I'll have to give my specs a coffee break for a while, as I cover my sightless eyes in a more colorful way-- If the attorney-at-law business ever gets slow, I might just decide to open a school of method acting! Yessir! Stanislavsky had nothing on me! Now, all I've gotta do is change my personality! I figure a clown like Mike Murdock is sure to be on all the time!" Daredevil vol. 1 #26 by Stan Lee, Gene Colan, Frank Giacoia, and Artie Simek

Matt and his dark glasses were inseparable in the 60s-- literally, to the point that he even apparently wore them under his Daredevil mask (fortunately, he doesn't do that anymore). The clear hesitance of DD artists in this period to draw their blind protagonist's uncovered eyes is likely one of the reasons that when it came time for Matt to invent himself a fake sighted twin, the sunglasses stayed on. This has not always been the case. In the years since, Matt has taken on several sighted identities in which he does not wear glasses at all-- notably, con artist Jack Batlin in the 90s. Of the two approaches, the former makes slightly more in-universe sense. As someone with no vision at all, who was blinded in a physically damaging accident, logic suggests that Matt's eyes would look different from those of a sighted person-- most likely due to chemical burns/scarring, but at the very least from things like a lack of eye contact. Thus, the choice for Matt to simply switch up his style of shades for the Mike look, rather than taking the risk of foregoing them entirely, feels logical (even if it doesn't always match up with the way Matt's eyes are actually depicted, but that's a topic for another post).

As it turned out, the oversized, colorful shades ended up tying perfectly into the loudness of the rest of "Mike's" outfits, becoming a memorable staple of the look that Matt crafted for his fake twin-- a look that was as distant from the classic Matt Murdock suit and tie (and simple, dignified shades) as he could manage. These shades were iconically, undeniably Mike's. However, they were still born from the use of sunglasses as a visual shorthand for-- and Matt's in-character response to-- his blindness. A Daredevil reader in 1968 might have looked at ol' Loudmouth Mike and asked the question: If this guy were a real person, independent of Matt, with his own backstory and reasons for dressing the way he does-- would he still choose to wear dark glasses?

Mike: "Well, as I live and breathe! You're Daredevil, right? Friend of my brother, if I don't miss my guess. Real pleasure to meet you at last." Daredevil vol. 5 #606 by Charles Soule, Phil Noto, and Clayton Cowles ("As I live and breathe" is such a funny thing for him to say in this scene.)

Enter: Fragment-Boy Mike, and the beginnings of an answer.

When it came to transforming the concept of Mike Murdock into a fully realized character of his own -- not to mention pulling him out of the 1960s and into the 2010s-- some core Mike Murdock elements were dropped by the creative team, both for the sake of streamlining the narrative and in order to match the tone of the contemporary comic. Fragment Mike is no longer Daredevil's alter ego; in fact, he claims in his first appearance in Daredevil #606 that he has never even met DD before. Gone are the loud clothes, the primary colors, the waistcoats, the fedora with the feather in it. Curiously, all that remains of his original Look(TM)...is the sunglasses.

Foggy: "That is...correct. How did you...?" Mike: "Because I ain't him. I'm me. And now, Foggy...you need to call my brother." Daredevil vol. 5 #608 by Charles Soule, Phil Noto, and Clayton Cowles

Fragment Mike existed in a kind of limbo that neither he, nor Matt, nor even his "creator" Reader really understood-- a tortuous state of both being and non-being, in which he believed himself to be real and then had his worldview shattered by learning that no one else saw him that way. Mike claimed his autonomy and fought for his right to live throughout that story arc, but the simple truth was that he was born out of Matt-- specifically, out of Matt's case files, from which Reader accidentally spawned him-- and the memories he possessed of being anyone/anything else were false. He was nothing but a twisted, reanimated echo of an identity his brother had created, dark glasses included; Matt but not Matt, physically separate but still bound to his brother.

Mike: "I'm Matt Murdock's twin brother, but...but I'm not. I've got some fake memories. I'm like a shell of a thing...but inside...I can tell I didn't live through anything...and I think...I think it's driving me crazy." Daredevil vol. 6 Annual #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Manuel Garcia, Le Beau Underwood, Chris Mooneyham, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Clayton Cowles

But! Fragment Mike, just like Matt, maybe because of Matt, is a fighter. He does not take being fake lying down. Through some Norn Stone magic, our fragment became a Real Boy, with real memories of a real backstory. And if we take a look through that backstory, we finally receive an answer to that 1968 DD fan's hypothetical question, because...

Daredevil vol. 6 Annual #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Manuel Garcia, Le Beau Underwood, Chris Mooneyham, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Clayton Cowles

The moment Mike Murdock becomes a real person, the sunglasses vanish.

Look back through Daredevil volume 6. Once he is officially, cosmically real, the only time we ever see Mike wearing dark glasses is when he is dressed up as Matt (ohhh, the poetry of it all!). He is wearing them, standing in Matt's apartment, when he dies in Matt's place-- fated, in the end, to never entirely escape his brother's gravitational pull-- but what matters is that the sunglasses tied Mike to his origins as his twin in a costume, and the loss of them indicates fully and utterly that Mike has broken away and become his own person. We even get this fascinating scene at the beginning of volume 7:

Matt: "...It was Matt. He came back from rehab, went to his apartment... I don't know what the #$@% Fisk was thinking, but I know they've got history and... Ah, Butch. He killed my brother." Daredevil vol. 7 #1 by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson, and Clayton Cowles

This is Matt Murdock, in the year 2022, once more pretending to be Mike...post-Norn Stone reality rewrite. And this time? No sunglasses. In fact, Matt claims that the key to a foolproof Mike Murdock disguise is in the eyes: "Not just making sure they faced the right direction...but that no matter what, he had kindness in them..."

Do I love Mike Murdock wearing smarmy shades? Of course I do. But I love a good piece-of-clothing-as-allegory just as much, and I love peeling back the layers of identity to discover who Mike really is when he is not his brother.

[justkennadi]

Armin if he was 🖤Goth🖤

Notes: Got this cool idea in my head abt a grown up version of asot armin 🤔 (it’s really cause i saw these pictures on pinterest tho) if u don’t know what asot is it stands for A slap on titan which is parody type series on youtube. 👍🏾👍🏾 but sorry if this isn’t quite accurate to what being goth is like i’m honestly still in my baby’s bat phase so i don’t know much 😭😭

Context: Modern Asot!Armin x Fem Goth!reader

Warnings: mention of ritual attempts but that’s it

- You first saw him in middle school on the first day of 8th grade. This new blond kid just transferred in and everyone was excited to meet him!

- Well that didn’t last long.

- While you weren’t present but apparently he started spewing crazy things and started talking to himself (or a cat, everyones stories was different) and while he did good in class teachers didn’t appreciate his out bursts.

- People were QUICKLY frightened and bothered by him. He had no friends.

- You were dipping your toes into the whole gothic subculture yourself at the time but you weren’t too interested. However it seemed this new kid was in love with the whole thing. He wore all black all the time, sometimes a bit of eyeliner. He had the whole vibe to him.

- So something about him interested you.

- However, before you got the chance to go up to him, he ended up getting expelled and put in a mental hospital for attempting to perform a ritual on a 6th grader? Yikes.

- He made the news and that’s when you learned his name. Armin…

- As the years went by you slowly forgot about him. But how could you fully? He was your craziest story to tell to friends. A funny and wacky memory to reflect on.

- Now you are in your 2nd year of college. You have decided while you aren’t fully goth(at least you thought) you liked the idea and did get into some of the music and fashion but you stuck to causal clothes most days. And you never got into the heavy makeup you see most goths wear. You learned it’s more about the music anyways which helped.

- You had a slight fascination with darker things and had to constantly tell people you aren’t depressed even if you looked the part.

- One day, while in the library looking for an Edgar Allen Poe book for your book report you accidentally bumped into a slightly taller boy.

- “Sorry! My bad-“

- You realized as you looked at his face…well, did you realize? Is this him?

- “It’s fine.” The boy quietly replied.

- Oh.

- He had blond hair…blue eyes… this could be any white boy honestly. Plus his hair was shorter? And he looked more….put together? He wore a plain brown suit get up with polished brown loafers.

- “Is something the matter?” He asked looking at you.

-“Sorry…i’m sorry you just look.. familiar?” You say squinting your eyes slightly but you realized you might be acting weird so you start to go around him after apologizing again.

- However, before you can…

- “Let me guess. You remembered the crazy, sadistic boy from your childhood and i look like him.” He says stopping you.

- You slowly nod.

- “Yeah, well, it was me.” He looked away for a second. Possibly embarrassed?

- “Armin? Well, you clean up..nice…” You say taking in his appearance once again.

- “Well, a few years of a mental hospital and therapy can do that….” He chuckled. “I see you’re looking for an Edgar allen book too?”

- “Yeah…we get to choose and author and analyze their writing style for my English 2020 class….” You say looking at the shelf.

- “Mhm…I did that last year.”

- “Can i ask what happened to you?” You say abruptly.

- “Y’know…I’d rather talk about that over some coffee.” Armin says laughing once again. “If you don’t mind?”

- This Armin was a now refined gentleman. He leads you to a small coffee shop on campus after helping you pick a book. He even holds the door open for you. From what you remember he used to spit at girls, asking them bizarre personal questions, now he’s holding open doors and pulling your chair out.

- After you two get coffee he tells you everything.

-“So after the therapy and being in a crazy house for years they finally broke me. I started talking about my feelings and whatever and how my when my parents died i lost it and my grandpa wasn’t paying attention to me and blah blah blah. And i guess it was just a phase…well not fully.”

- “How so?” You say sipping on the coffee you got.

- “Well, i may not look it, but i consider my self to be a bit…how do you say..gothic?” He smirks.

- “Yeah i never would’ve guessed. You look more dark academia like.”

- “I don’t dress in all black all the time, you know it’s more about- “

- “The music?” You interrupt.

- Armin smiles. “Yes. Exactly. How did you know? Unless…”

- You smile a bit while nodding your head. Well here’s finally someone you can be yourself around! Everyone else either thought you were weird or a poser. Most just ignored you.

- After that day you and Armin start hanging out. He shows you his room which had many gothic band posters on them like Sisters of mercy posters and Siouxsie and the banshees posters and other plain ones with just bats on them. His room was a bit dark also being mostly black and gray and brown.

- You two loves making goth like inside jokes or thrifting for new accessories or even weird things.

- Armin liked to collect really weird things like taxidermies bugs and mini skulls or halloween themed things.

- He was also a night owl but he had to be awake in the day too so he did end up having slight eyebags and a constant yawn.

- He was really serious about looking presentable though. So as a result he normally just drink a dark coffee everyday. You tried it once and immediately spit it out. “This is so BITTER!?” You say in disgust.

- “Like pure caffeine.” He says taking his cup back and smiling.

- Sometimes you’d two match outfits or at least tried to coordinate them.

- People started to think you two were dating at one point. You never thought of Armin like that but the idea didn’t hurt…

- Sometimes armin tells stories from his past. Explaining how he thought he was a “crimson king” for a while or how he’d sacrifice animals like squirrels. He seems horrified with his old self but not horrified to the point where he can’t laugh about it.

- He was your favorite gothic person now honestly🖤🖤

[bullseyelover]

there are a couple parallels already from dex in daredevil season three to what we’ve seen from the set of daredevil born again

in daredevil season three episode two dex is introduced at the end of the episode emerging from the smokey shadows with a gun as special agent benjamin “dex” poindexter, ready to kill the people who are in his way of doing his job and effortlessly dispatches of them displaying the level of his skill. this sets the stage for dex as a character, and while we saw him in a prior scene, this scene is the first impression dex gives to both the audience and wilson fisk, which later makes fisk want to have him on his side because of the brutal talent he just witnessed.

in from what we’ve seen in born again, dex emerges from the smokey shadows with his gun as bullseye, ready to kill the people who have, in his eyes, wronged him and anyone who is in his way. he once again easily kills them, and is only stopped from completing his one man mission because of daredevil’s intervention and karen page’s own level of resilience.

he is also wearing the same style of pants he wore in daredevil 3x02 in this scene of born again, but just in black! this is something i really like, as it makes dex feel like the same character just in a different time of his life. he knows what he likes, so when he was first starting off as bullseye, he used the same pants he knows are good. it’s also a great parallel as he was wearing the same style in his introduction as dex and he’s once again wearing them in his introduction as bullseye. this seems to be dex just starting off as bullseye, like how matt wore the black suit in season one, this is dex’s prototype bullseye suit. he used materials he knows are reliable to quickly build himself an efficient suit. he could’ve just stolen back the daredevil suit he used in season three but it was canonically damaged so it probably wouldn’t be as protective so i get it. we don’t know much about this scene but from what we have seen we can start to put the puzzle pieces together.

potential spoilers now (if i am right)

this scene seems to be a flashback to foggy nelson’s death at bullseye’s hands, and shows the reason to why karen page left new york and won’t be in the series regularly. nelson, murdock, and page seem to have started up their own office location and are no longer working out of nelson’s meats, so they would have been working together as a firm for probably a year or two. i do not think they could have set up this office location before the blip happened (which happened in may 2018, season three ended in early november 2017) as we know they all were struggling money wise in the last season and they all look to have drastically different looks in born again so they would’ve needed time to build a lawfirm and get money to do that. so this scene would take place in the year 2020(ish), which seemingly confirms that matt murdock, karen page, foggy nelson, wilson fisk, and benjamin poindexter were not blipped from thanos’ snap.

dex would’ve needed a year or two as well to fully heal physically from the damage fisk did to his spine and the surgery at the end of season three. but the mental damage has not healed, if anything his mental health is most definitely in the worst place it has been in his whole life and will just continue to get worse as he continues his decent into becoming bullseye. so he’s not fully bullseye in this scene yet, he clearly has aspects of the bullseye costume in this prototype suit but this is just dex trying to cause chaos and get revenge on the people he can since fisk is most likely still in prison.

matt defeats dex, i hope dex doesn’t get arrested again and just scurries away with a stronger hatred for matt and karen and hides away until he returns in later episodes. don’t know what they’ll do if foggy does die and karen leaves, because in all seriousness matt would probably just end himself LMAO. so however they approach this it’ll have to be done very well. anyway. i assume in the two last episodes of born again that both karen and dex will return in that dex will have a more orginal comic accurate bullseye costume, since born again takes place in 2026 after the events of echo he would’ve had time to become bullseye and get a better suit with the bullseye symbol commissioned.

anyway don’t know what this is just wanted to point out the parallel’s between dex’s first appearance and the set media we’ve seen from born again. and also theorize to what will happen in born again, i’d love to hear what anyone else thinks will happen as long as it is respectful.

[therk900]

📷 May TC Challenge (Day 1 - 31) 📷

1. Have you ever said something embarrassing to/in front of your TC? Thankfully no. I’m careful what I say and do most of the time

2. When did your TC start teaching you? Does he/she still teach you? B started teaching in 2022 and left at the end of 2023, S started teaching at the start of 2021, M started in 2020, and N started in 2022

3. Do you know anything about your TC’s childhood/youth? B had a cat when he was younger and S used to live in the country. N used to be so shy during school which is a surprise, since he is the complete opposite now!  

4. Describe your TC’s eyes. Gentle

5. What’s your favourite outfit on him/her? B had this blue jumper that he wore most of the time over his formal clothes. S wears formal clothes with these boots and he has 3 jumpers that I love. N’s one is a green jumper and formal pants and a white button up shirt with this brown jacket he has! A had this nice jumper that I LOVE! It’s a navy blue jumper with some white writing on it. My favourite one for M would be a dark navy blue button up shirt, and dark formal pants! 

6. How do you try to impress your tc? I try anything and everything really

7. Describe what you think your wedding would look like. What are you both wearing? Who’s invited? What’s for dinner? Hopefully in some sort of lovely garden with a modern feel to it. I feel like we would invite our friends and family to the occasion. For dinner, salad with some fish maybe. 

8. Have you ever caught her staring at you? How did you react? Yes Yes YES! Multiple times with B! One time earlier last year, B was taking a class of mine, and when I looked up, I saw him completely staring at me. I looked down in an instant. When I looked up 30 secs later to see if he was still looking, and he was!!!! I was just doing some sketching and he was sitting at the table diagonal to me. I looked up a few more times since and he wasn’t looking for some but for most of them, he was!

9. would you run away from home and leave your entire life (friends, family etc.) behind just to be with your TC? Maybe

10. what does your tc teach? B: English S & M: Science G: Media

11. If you lived together, would you rather have kids or pets with him/her? KIDS! And maybe one pet

12. are you in love with your tc or is it just a crush? I think it’s just a crush. Not 100% sure

13. do you think your tc could you like you back? Well, for M and N, they both have a wife, so no. But who knows for the others.

14. have you ever dreamt about your tc? The amount of times I have dreamt about them is concerning

15. imagine that someone wanted to make a movie about your life with your tc - what actor/actress would play you and your tc? For A, maybe Alex Wolff With B, maybe Seth rogan I’m not sure about myself, S, M or G

16. have you ever had an argument with your tc? Nope

17. how did you find the tcc? I was just searching up “teacher crush” on tumblr and found it! I was a viewer of the Community and didn’t have the courage to post anything until the start of last year

18. can you remember the moment you fell for your tc? Kind of. It was an end of one of B’s classes, and I was listening to a song called "Get into it (yuh)" by Doja Cat, and all i could think about was B. With S, it was just a realisation when I was speaking to him one time. I found out with A via a dream. And with M, I was just in class. i forgot how with G and N

19. Think of a song that reminds you of your TC and tell us your favourite line from it.  B: Here with me - d4vd “As long as I'm with you I've got a smile on my face” A: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John "So goodbye yellow brick road Where the dogs of society howl" S: Enchanted - Taylor Swift “This night is sparkling, don't you let it go I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home I'll spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you” N: Just Like That - THAT BAND HONEY "Baby that's just why we can't commit, maybe And our back and forth makes me want it more" M: Guys My Age - Hey Violet "Guys my age don't know how to treat me... Guys my age don't know how to touch me Don't know how to love me good Guys my age don't know how to keep me" G: Love In The Dark - Adele "We're not the only ones, I don't regret a thing Every word I've said, you know I'll always mean It is the world to me that you are in my life But I want to live and not just survive"

20. does anyone else know about your TC? Only one of my friends know

21. Have you ever stalked your TC online? If yes, what did you find? If no: do it and tell us what you find, it’s fun! I haven’t stalked them online.  Edit: I just found S and B's accounts. They are both private. 

22. what outfit would you most like to see your TC in? A SUIT! I wonder how they look in a suit

23. what is the best outfit they’ve ever worn?  B used to wear these brown formal pants with a nice formal shirt and also a dark blue jumper that I loved For S, he had these nice jumpers, and when he wore that with his formal outfit, it looked so good on him For A, jeans and a navy blue jumper that he owns With N, and G, anything formal For M, he has this green jumper, and he wears it all the time, and it really suits him

24. your best friend tells you that they have a crush on your tc - how do you react? I wouldn’t be surprised!

25. has your tc ever helped you with something that’s not school related? Yes. B has helped me with my drawings since he knows how much I love drawing

26. do you want to get over your tc or are you happy with it for now? I am very happy with it for now! it has made me know them better 

27. If your life was a book series/tv series/movie and you had a fan base, would your fans realistically ship you and your tc?  Depends really

28. What’s something that always makes you think of them?  A: Have no idea yet!  S: Anything to do with science for some reason G: A movie called “Alien” N: Have no idea yet!  M: DILF (because he is one)

29. Let’s chat for a sec! What’s something you’ve been dying to talk about regarding your tc?  How nice they are

30. How often do you think about them?  I think about them here and there

31. What’s something you’re manifesting happening between you two? (If you don’t manifest, what’s something you hope happens?)  That I get to see them outside of school, like in a cafe or something.

[gyuslsr]

LEND ME SOME SUGAR?

pairing: neighbor! soobin x reader

summary: moving into a new apartment, you thought you remembered to bring everything from your old place but the missing bag of sugar you just bought says otherwise.

wc: 1k

a/n: hi hi! it's been quite awhile since i last posted something on tumblr since i left the skz fandom in about 2020. i've been a moa since txt's debut but just recently became really into txt and decided i'd start writing for them! this was inspired by my sister since she said soobin seemed like the type to lend you a cup of sugar if you asked and she's not wrong. should i write a part 2?

"are you sure you don't still have any of my things in your car?" it's currently 2:00 in the morning and you're on facetime with your best friend, yunjin, as you frantically search through the boxes that are lined up in the kitchen of your new apartment.

"y/n, go to bed." she says, groaning for the umpteenth time. "you're the, like, only person i know who would be up this late baking cookies. we can deal with it in the morning."

"no, yunjin, you don't understand. i had a whole bag of sugar for this specific moment." you explain, searching through the same box you had been looking through for the past ten minutes, hoping that somehow it would show up.

whenever you moved into a new place, it was a small tradition you had to stay up on the day you moved into your new place to bake cookies for your new neighbors. you would stay up baking, give your cookies to your neighbors in the morning, and then sleep until the next day. and you clearly remember two days ago when you had stopped by the grocery store to grab a new bag of sugar, food coloring, and sprinkles. and now, the boxes in your kitchen had food coloring and sprinkles but the sugar was no where to be found.

"sugar is one of the main ingredients in cookies! without sugar there's no cookies, and with no cookies how else am i supposed to meet my new neighbors?" you close up the box, sighing, and lean against the counter top, thinking of what grocery stores would be open at the time and hour.

you hear no response from yunjin and check your phone only to see her ceiling and you hear a quiet snoring noise from her end. you hang up the call, assuming she's fast asleep and wonder what to do. you scroll through a list of grocery stores in your area, only to see that the only open store was an hour and a half away. you look at the softening butter sitting in your kitchenaid, wondering if any of your neighbors would mind lending you some sugar.

"what am i thinking?" you mumble to yourself, looking at the clock. but it's either no cookies, or being called the annoying new neighbor. and no cookies seemed to be the worse option. with one last sigh, you walk to the front of your new apartment and slip on your crocs. you decide as you unlock your front door that you would only ask the neighbor to your left, if there was no answer then the cookies would be dealt with in the morning.

you gently close your door, not wanting to disturb your other neighbors and make your way over to the door on your left. you notice that there's an amazon package waiting at the front of their door, meaning that they probably chose the option to have it delivered at this time. that would mean they're awake, right?

you knock on the door, waiting to hear some shuffling or a voice but you hear nothing. "what was i thinking? who would be awake at this hour?" you turn back towards your door, shaking your head in embarrassment.

just as you start to type in the numbers to your apartment's doorlock, you hear the unlocking of the door you had just knocked on. "sorry, did you knock?" you hear a deep voice ask, and turning around you see a head of blonde.

you take in your neighbor's appearance, wondering if he had just woken up or if he was about to head to bed. the man was tall, taller than most guys you knew, and you noticed the deep dimples that peeked out when he gave you the slightest smile. he wore sweatpants and a hoodie, but his hair was disheveled and there were bags under his eyes.

"oh, yeah, sorry. i didn't wake you, did i?" you wince, starting to feel bad that you were about to ask for such a ridiculous favor.

"no, no. i was just about to head to bed." he explains, shaking his head, almost as if he was apologizing for not answering the door sooner, and you feel even worse.

"oh god, i'm so sorry. i just moved in yesterday and i was unpacking, but i realized i forgot to bring my sugar with me so i was gonna ask to borrow some of your sugar but now i feel really stupid." you ramble, avoiding his eyes. "but you know, i can just get some tomorrow. i'll let you head to bed now."

"are you sure? i've never had someone need sugar at this hour so i'm guessing it's important. and i barely cook so i have a bunch of ingredients i never use." you can tell he's trying to hold back a laugh to be polite, but he is right about it being important.

before you can get a word out, he heads back into his apartment and you take a peek into his place. it was really clean, something you wouldn't expect from his first impression, and you notice a cage for some kind of pet, either a guinea pig or a rabbit. you see him head back towards you and you look away quickly, staring at the jibbitz on your crocs.

"here you go." the blonde says, handing you a barely used bag of sugar. "don't worry about bringing it back, as you can tell it's only been used once or twice. think of it as my welcoming gift." he smiles a genuine smile this time, and you all the sudden wish you hadn't been standing there in your old naruto pjs from high school.

"thank you, really." you say, mentally reminding yourself to make him a few extra cookies than you originally planned to. you start to make your way back to your place, but he stops you. "oh, i don't think i ever asked you for your name. i'm soobin."

"y/n. nice to meet you, soobin."

[scarlettlillies]

Hetalia- Selfoss

What's this? Lilly posting a new fic so soon after the last one? It's more likely than you think.

This was an old Nordipalooza submission from 2020 that I ended up discarding during the event. The prompt from this was 'Sweden, Iceland - Folklore'. Back when I was researching for this prompt, I ended up on a tourism website that talked about how a town called Selfoss was supposedly haunted by ghosts so I knew immediately that's where I wanted to set the story. I was having a hard time getting started though and after two incomplete drafts, I tossed them and picked a different prompt. This weekend I finally decided to finish them off.

Sweden and Iceland sadly don't have a lot of interaction but I get the feeling that Ice is most comfortable with Sweden just on the sole fact that he doesn't treat him like a child. Therefore he gets to be a bit more relaxed and not always cool and reserved like he is with the rest of the Nordics. I hope Hima expands on their relationship in a future strip.

Also, I hope I'm not the only person who headcanons both Ice and Nor as photographers! They've got some of the best places for a hobby like that. :D

If you'd prefer to read this fic on Ao3 instead, you can check it out here.

Hope you all enjoy it! Summary: During a trip to see the northern lights near the Icelandic town of Selfoss, Sweden couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was being watched.

----

No matter how much he tried, Sweden couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was being watched.

He questioned if it was all in his head. Hundreds of people, mainly avid photographers, were gathered here by the river near the town of Selfoss to catch a glimpse of the northern lights. Iceland stood across from him and didn’t seem to have a care in the world. He was too focused on setting up his equipment and running a few test shots with his camera pointed toward the skies. The boy had a good head on his shoulders. If anyone could sense if something was off, it would be him.

Yes, it was definitely all in his head. The ghost museum they had visited in Stokkseyri must have let his imagination get ahead of itself.

The show of lights slowly began and Sweden tried to keep his mind occupied by splitting his attention between the skies and his fellow Nordic. Sitting on a reddish-brown fleece blanket, Sweden felt over-dressed with his heavy navy blue peacoat and black leather gloves. After leaving the museum earlier in the day, he was struck with a chill that he couldn’t shake off. Meanwhile, Iceland was dressed lightly in a brown spring jacket with no gloves at all. Almost everyone else wore similar clothing.

“Aren’t ya cold?”

“Not at all. I’m surprised you are though. Don’t tell me you can’t handle a little cold in your old age Sví!”

Sweden rolled his eyes but the comment got the both of them chuckling. With just the two of them together, Iceland seemed more laid-back and less hesitant to hide his playful side. He’s sure Iceland doesn’t mean to, but Sweden noticed over the years that Iceland would quickly become uncomfortable and reclusive whenever Denmark and Norway (and to some degree Finland too) became overbearing with their ‘big brother’ personalities. He just wanted to be treated like an adult alongside the rest of them.

He understands that well. After all, Denmark did it to him when they were small children—despite the three of them frequently arguing over who was the oldest. Those arguments died the moment Iceland entered their lives.

So Sweden does just that. He still dotes on him—albeit more subtly than the others do. But in return, he is rewarded to hear more in-depth things about Iceland’s life. Just on this trip alone, he has heard of the late-night calls with Indonesia, the camping trip in Hiiumaa with the Baltics, and the coffee dates with Liechtenstein in Vaduz. He felt grateful that Iceland could trust him like that.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

The colours quickly grew more intense. Shades of green, blue, and purple danced across the sky and their colours reflected against the river below. Loud gasps of delight erupted from the crowd on the ground. Iceland was mesmerized by the sight. Even though he had seen this millions of times, it never failed to put his mind at ease. Any worries he had about his life would immediately wash away. With a hand placed on his left shoulder, Sweden surprised Iceland by coming up close at his side. The average person would never be able to tell, but he could see that tiny grin form on Sweden’s face. He was just as ecstatic to see the lights as he was.

“Gettin’ some good shots?”

“Yeah,” he nodded before he returned his focus to the camera. “The multicoloured lights always make the best shots.”

Sweden tucked his hands into his coat pockets. He watched him work and noted how meticulous Iceland was with each shot. Seeing him like this reminded him so much of Norway, right down to the focused but elated expressions. Norway was also a photographer who loved to shoot landscapes just like him. But Sweden would never dare say that out loud. Iceland would quickly get annoyed whenever comparisons arose between him and his brother, even as a joke.

We’re nothing alike. Don’t say dumb things like that.

He kept his comments to himself and continued staring up at the skies. He didn’t need to ruin the perfect day they’d had together.

The lights had lasted for around twenty minutes when dark clouds began rolling through. Everyone in the crowd knew it was their sign to call it a night. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The camera Iceland had been using throughout their trip had begun flashing a warning that the battery was running low. Sweden helped him pack his equipment and get the bags into Iceland’s trunk. The blanket Sweden used earlier remained unfolded and got tossed into the backseat. With everything packed, they were ready for the hour’s drive back to Reykjavík.

But there it was again. That feeling that someone was watching. Sweden was so certain about it.

“What’s wrong?” Iceland asked. Sweden was leaning against the open passenger door as he searched around the pitch-black landscape. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, just that it was something.

“We’re bein’ watched…”

“Huh? From what?”

“Dunno but—”

Laughter.

A child’s laughter.

It was such a high-pitched noise that rang inside his ears. He hated that he couldn’t see where it was coming from. There were no streetlights in this part of the country. The only light visible came from the inside of Iceland’s car and the headlights of others as many began driving away from the scene and onto the main road.

Sweden’s frustrations hit a boiling point. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a black flashlight. He slowly made his way toward the river. Iceland tried to call him back however Sweden ignored his pleas. A frustrated sigh fell from his lips, “I'm never taking you to that ghost museum ever again,” He had no choice but to follow behind him.

Sweden hadn’t noticed earlier that the water was much lower than he had anticipated. Boulders of various shapes and sizes poked through the water, especially along the shoreline. He swung his flashlight around and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The mysterious sounds of laughter from before had also disappeared. Was it his mind playing tricks on him again?

“Did ya happen to hear a child laughin’ earlier?”

“A child?” Iceland pondered, “The crowd was mostly full of photographers but I’m sure I saw a few families with small kids there. Maybe it was that you were hearing?”

Sweden made a disgruntled grunt as he appeared furious with himself. He hated how out of character this was for him. He could never recall a moment in time when he acted this paranoid before.

But on the furthest rock to his left, his flashlight picked up something stuck against one of the boulders. The two men investigated and discovered it was a small grey blanket. They had wondered if it was forgotten by one of the families from earlier. Upon closer inspection though, they noticed it was covered in mud, the material looked faded, and the bottom tip of the blanket had been submerged into the water. It was clear it had been here for some time.

“Sví, we should go. There’s no one here,” Iceland said as he tugged on Sweden’s arm. “We have a long drive ahead of us.”

It looked as if Sweden had finally come to his senses and the two men walked back to the car. But Iceland took one more look over his shoulder. Near the river, a small child stood there in a white gown. A short blond boy, possibly no older than three, hugged the dirty grey blanket that Sweden discovered earlier. Iceland put a finger to his lips and shook his head. The little boy’s smile turned to an angry frown and disappeared towards the water.

Iceland was open to sharing many things about his life with Sweden. But the stories of the spirits that inhabited this part of his home were not one of them. No one needed to know he could see things that mortals could not. He was determined to keep it that way.

[bcofl0ve]

I'm new here so sorry if you've talked about it before, but what's the tea between Austin and Olivia deJonge? a while ago I heard someone say that they had something during the filming of Elvis but that they are no longer close and don't follow each other on Instagram. they also said that Austin was unfaithful to Vanessa with her, but tbh I don't give these rumors about celebrities cheating much credibility unless they are 100% confirmed 😅 thanks!!

oh, my sweet summer child…*pats your head*. this has become a veryyy contentious topic on my blog so i don’t talk about it much anymore but since you’re a new fan looking for info, as was i once, i will do one Final brain dump about it.

he still follows her and her finstas that i don’t think she uses anymore lol, but yes olivia unfollowed him in september. something that is funny (at least to me) within the context that said unfollow was when she went out with sophie turner and taylor swift. like…what did blondie say that pushed you ever the edge girl LOL. then little miss instagram anxiety unfollowed 100 random accounts the next day trying to pretend it wasn’t selective.

this is also a little contentious because there isn’t proof proof in the form of like kissing photos or something (just beach pap photos from nov 2020 where they aren’t touching each other haha). but in my humble opinion they were involved during filming.

timeline gets a little messy at the start, but i do think re: some late december early january gossip about him being seen with olivia that austin and v were broken up a hot minute before it came out publicly on jan 14th 2020 so 🤷🏼‍♀️. don’t think it was some big affair. they were def broken up before jan 2nd, a day that will leave in infamy lmfao. olivia posted a photo in austin’s shirt, which v fans clocked immediately bc he’d wore in it on vacation with v. and this was jan 2nd, two weeks before the breakup went public. i wasn’t in the fandom for this, but as ive been told it was a real mess. olivia went private briefly, deleted the pics, asked the society fans to take the photos down and it was the beginning of instagram becoming the seemingly anxiety inducing thing for that that it is now.

(ex: after the oscars last year she posted some elvis filming throwbacks on her story as a nice little end of the era thing. one of her and austin she wrote ‘so proud 🥀 @austinbutler’ on. she then deleted that story, reposted it, deleted it again, and reposted it without the text.)

and i mean yeah- big (probably intentional) goof on her part with the shirt thing. but idk. she was 21 at the time, and i’m willing to give 21 year olds a little girl what are you doing grace.

whatever happened between her and austin, the most she’s done re ‘shade’ is liking a comment someone left on her page saying she deserved better when he was seen with lily rose and something got sent to deuxmoi that said he’d cheated on her (imo he didn’t. she was just hurt bc seeing him move on stung, or maybe the door that should have been fully shut wasn’t. lily was august 2021, he left australia march 2021)- and hanging out with v a handful of times mid 2022 (though she herself never posted about it, it was either other people or paps).

a lot of people on here reallyyyy don’t like her, but i’m a fan so that’s my girl. i have a real big soft spot for her, and a while ago when a friend of mine in the fandom at the time told me ‘oh the internet wasn’t nice to her at all’ in the months after the shirt debacle it really hurt my heart.

even with a little smidgeee of shade as explained above ^ i think she’s handled whatever maybe not so positive feelings she has towards him reasonably. they seemed to get a long just fine and happy during elvis press- esp so in toronto which my fav interviews of the two of them are from bc that press tour stop was just them and baz. she’s never said a negative world about him publicly, and i doubt she ever will. the most candid she’s ever been about elvis filming was an interview earlier this year where she said she did ‘a lot of growing up on that job’ and that she sees her life as before and after elvis. i think that’s the most “deep” she’ll ever go down that road, at least for a long while.

between her unfollowing him in sept, turning off her tagged photos in feburary. and recently deleting a comment v left on a post of hers within 30 seconds (i presume bc she knew just like we did that v was doing that for drama/attention, it was right after austin’s esquire interview where he briefly, respectfully talked about her), i think she’s genuinely trying to move on with her life. which can be hard! i never get over anyone! and if my personal read is right that she was a mix between a rebound and the priscilla to his elvis when he was really living in that man’s head that’s even more of an idk…niche heartbreak to have to wrestle with? whether the other party actually did anything wrong or not. i don’t think austin did anything to her or broke her heart with any malicious intent at all. none of the olivia/austin stuff changes how i see him as a fan. he’s a complex human, olivia is a complex human. that’s the gist.

[cinnagall]

☆Welcome To My Gyaru Blog☆

♡ Intro ♡

Hiiiiiiii! My name is Jax, I’m 23 years old and from NYC! I’ve been gal for almost 2 years now. I don’t consider myself a vet gal by any means (obviously) but I’d like to believe that I have a good basis in the style and makeup! I don’t think my blog posts will be very formal at first but I want a space to share my opinions and document my journey.

I found gyaru and J-fashion through early Tumblr (around 2013/2014), and then rediscovered it in 2020 and fell in love with it all over again. I love gal because of how much tan skin is appreciated! Japanese gals created a space in a colorist society where you could say “I LOVE your tan skin!” I think that’s pretty amazing!!! I also love how gyaru as a style is very hyperfeminine but with a twist. Since becoming a gal, I have learned to care much less what people think. I’m not afraid to express myself or dress in a way that other people might not like. I am unapologetically myself and I partially have gal to thank for that! At first I was really inspired by Ganguro/Old School, I loved how early gals pulled inspiration from Western fashion trends, especially African American Y2K fashion. Though, I should acknowledge that there is a conversation to be had about appreciation vs appropriation, which I might talk about in a later post.

🌺FAQ🌺

I’ll answer some FAQ that gals get so you guys can understand a bit more about my personal philosophies on the style:

💄 Do you need makeup to be gal?

Yes, there are many, MANY different styles of gyaru makeup and all of them are valid, but the only thing that has stayed consistent across gyaru “substyles” is the makeup (and hairstyling/nails), but the defining feature of gal is the makeup. This is a sentiment that has been echoed in both the Gaijin and Japanese gal communities. You don’t need to wear heavy yamanba makeup every single day, it’s understandable that some days you might not have time or energy to do your hair, money to do your nails, ect. The important part is that you do these things as much as possible as well as incorporating gal into your life in other ways!

🌺Can you be gal if you’re white or not asian?

Yes, anybody can be gal!

👛Do you need brand to be gal?

NO. Even the most well known gaijin gals own Western fast fashion brands. A lot of similar items to the ones Japanese gals wore can be found second hand or in your local mall. Obviously, finding a dupe for an item can be difficult if that item has a specific print like the Alba Rosa coat and some MA*RS sets (though Shein did have a MA*RS dupe dress last year), but other than that a lot of gal outfits are easily replicable. Magazine scans are going to be your best friend if you wanna get the style right, it is much easier to get the gal look you want when you have a clear basis/inspiration for the coords and makeup you wanna wear. Also, simply owning brand is not enough to put together a good outfit, a lot of people who wear a lot of brand lack inspiration and originality. I am not anti-brand by any means. I have a huge list of brand items I want, and I even ordered my first brand piece recently (a MA*RS handbag). But it’s just not necessary, and some brands are essentially the equivalent of Japanese Charlotte Russe or Forever 21. The brands are still fast fashion and a lot of second hand brand items are falling apart, smell, have stains, ect. Don’t stress about brand unless you really want it! It took me almost two years to buy my first piece, you’ll be okay without it! Learning HOW to style, is a lot more important than WHAT you style. A good gal can make almost anything gal, but “bad” gal can end up making anything, even brand, look cheap and tacky.

(hint, hint: a lot of it honestly is and that’s why styling really matters)

Substyles I’m currently into and why!:

🦋Agejo🦋:

So, when you think of agejo, it probably looks something like this:

This specific type of agejo is what tends to be most represented on Google and Pinterest. Newbies to the style might think that pink, black, cheetah print, lace stockings, and big hair is all there is to the style. But boy would you be wrong!!!

Look at some of these scans from Ageha, most of these are from 2008-2012. Look at how many different types of agejo are represented! Of course the iconic pink and black MA*RS sets can be found in some spreads, but they’re much less common than most gals think!

See how different the above images are? Agejo literally translates to “butterfly lady”, so in a lot of Ageha editions, especially in the spreads for more formal dresses, you will see a lot of butterfly motifs! Isn’t it crazy that the style that has butterfly in the name, yet it isn’t commonly associated with butterflies at all? I also learned from my friend Haruka (@otknoharuka on Instagram) that in Japan, Agejo is considered a style under the Hime umbrella. It actually makes a lot of sense if you’ve seen a lot of ageha scans.

I know, technically you can argue that some of the outfits in these scans could be considered another substyle. But let’s just remember that substyles aren’t real and they’re something Western gals came up with to make sense of the scans/information that was available to them at the time!

I really started understanding this style more when I started to religiously scour Ageha scans. At first I was an Egg girl all the way but I’m glad I actually took the time to read other magazines. Egg is iconic but it’s far from all there is in terms of gyaru magazine inspiration. I totally fell in love with this substyle when I finally tried out the softer, more dolly makeup look that’s common in Ageha magazine (example below). It suits my features so much better than the harsher gal make I used to do.

An early attempt of mine at Agejo/Ageha inspired makeup:

A more recent attempt:

🐆Banba🐆:

Personally I’ve never been into more “out there” styles like ya/manba. I don’t think they really suit me, and it’s just generally not the gyaru vibe I’m looking for. But Banba has recently been resonating with me recently. If you don’t know, the term banba comes from combining “barbie” and “manba.” It’s a more toned down and hyper feminine version of manba. I also find that it’s more beginner-friendly than some other substyles (in terms of coords).

A lot of the outfits are composed of muted colors, tans/browns, black, white, and animal prints. These are all items that are very easy to find, it’s just a matter of learning how to style them! I also love how glittery the makeup is, and the nails are to die for. I’ve actually been teaching myself how to make nails and a big part of it is because I don’t feel complete without them, especially when doing styles like this!!

Some banba inspo I’ve pulled from recently:

Some recent attempts of mine:

I’m going to end this blog post here!! I had a lot of fun making it and I’m excited to do more posts in the future!! I think my next post will be a unpopular gyaru opinions post, might rial some people up but in classic gal fashion I simply do not give a fuck.

I hope you’re having an amazing day wherever you are!!

TT & IG - @cinnagal

☆じゃあね☆,

ジャックス

[kingwu]

sharing a little thing that @worldly-diversity​​ (writing as Mako) and i (writing as wu) did back in 2020 through tumblr IMs so it’s pretty short and rough, but it ends up really cute.

it started off as like us jokingly talking about wu just being dumb and not knowing boundaries like of course wu would just straddle mako's lap because he's a dumbass and then we started to rp it out lol

"Would you stop it already?" Mako huffs softly. 

 "Stop what exactly?" Wu hummed. 

 "Just-" He groans annoyedly, trying to put at least some distance between them but failing. It's making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and he doesn't know what to do about it.

Wu huffed back and shook his head as he climbed off of Mako's lap and plopped next to him instead, crossing his arms. "You gotta learn how to use your words, Mako." He wasn't going to admit that he enjoyed the tension there, but he didn't really want to push it if the firebender was actually uncomfortable about it.

"Yeah? Well you use too many of them." He retorted mullishly, arms crossed. It's a weak blow, really, but there's this itch he doesn't know what to do with, and Wu wasn't helping, it's making him frustrated. It's not that he really minded though, the warmth of the young king on his lap surprising but not negative. But it did make him uncomfortable in his inability to understand what the hell was going on.

"Because I know how to use them!" he waved a matter-of-factly finger in the air. "How else am I supposed to hold the position of the Earth Throne if I didn't, hm?" But to Mako's point, he was still talking too much. After another huff, Wu glanced sideways at his companion, noticing he was still red in his cheeks. The royal peered up at his face as he placed a concerned hand on Mako's knee. "Sorry. You okay?" he asked, his tone softer this time.

The sudden touch jolted Mako from his internalized thoughts, to the point of loosening the arms that had until then been tightly crossed in front of his chest. "I- Yeah, I'm fine... Thanks." He felt a little bad for snapping at the prince now, the urge to make it better manifesting, though he has no idea how to go through with it.

As quick as a switch flip, Wu's mood changed and the smug expression he wore most of the time was back on his face. "Good. Like I said, worry and all that gives you premature wrinkles," he remarked, lightly papping Mako's face again. He totally missed Mako's flinch as the oblivious king he was. "But like I said, you really need to say what you mean. How else is someone going to know?"

The sudden change brought an annoyed twitch to his brow, the strange urge now easily squashed. He refrained from retorting though, only giving half a shrug. "I'm just not very good at expressing myself, I guess, but I haven't really needed to either."

The king let out another huff -- the firebender brought out a lot of them --, a little exasperated at how much in common Mako had with a brick wall emotionally. "Then how do you know what you want, huh? You gotta treat yourself sometimes!" He accentuated the last few words by lightly slapping Mako's knee along with them. "Don't you just ever want to reach out and grab whatever you want in the moment?"

Mako jolted slightly with the touches, though Wu's little speech went in one ear and out the other. He was the one with restraint, the most of it next to Asami when it came to the new team avatar, so no... He never did things like that. In fact, following such desires sounded like a monumentally bad idea... "Well... Don't you ever know how to hold back?" Not knowing how to answer, he returns with a question of his own, despite silently admitting to himself that Wu's open behaviour is part of the other's charm. Ah, not that he's actually charming or anything--!

"Of COURSE I do!" he admitted with a scoff probably a little too quickly. "Do you know how large my wardrobe would be if I didn't?" To add to his dramatics, he rolled his eyes. "But youuuu," Wu jabbed a finger at Mako this time, "didn't answer my question. When was the last time you did something for yourself, hm??"

He couldn't help the mildly amused snort that escaped him at the other's comment, the superfluity of it so very typical of Wu. Still, he tsk's softly under his breath at being called out. " I guess... not since I dated Asami and Korra..." His job didn't leave much time for personal frivolity and neither did he have the means for such things. And ever since he'd been contracted to work for Wu, well... Time to himself or privacy were concepts he'd had to say goodbye to... Still, not being left to wallow in his thoughts was good for him, he figured. "I'm not really the type of guy to just do whatever anyway though... I've got responsibilities."

In the moment Wu was exercising his ability to hold back as he tried his hardest not to sigh again. Sometimes he just felt like shaking Mako as if it would jostle some sort of wake up call that would let him know it's okay to not always be on-the-job. "Look, I know that being my bodyguard is, like, a round-the-clock sort of thing, but since you've started, nothing wrong has happened while we were here," he motioned with a hand at the Presidential Suite that they were in, Wu's place of living for the past couple of years, "so you can just relax, you know? Take it easy. You deserve it."

"Yeah, but..." He lightly gnawed at his lip, arms uncomfortably at his sides, not liking being idle unless they’re crossed. He sighed, finally glancing over to the other, though whatever emotion is in his eyes is difficult to make out. "I feel like whenever I take my eyes off of you, something bad happens. I mean, remember the incident at the restaurant where Kuvira's goons captured you?" That was supposedly safe, and yet... He can't help but worry.

While Mako's concern was very touching, the king rolled his royal eyes instead. "Yeah, that's because you weren't with me. I'm right here right now, clearly in your sights." This time he didn't hold back a frustrated groan as he slumped down in his seat. "Look, what I'm saying is that when we're here, alone, you can loosen up! Take it easy! It's a Presidential Suite, for spirits' sake, Mako! Unbutton and unwind!"

Wu did have a point... In an attempt to appease the other, mako uncomfortably slumped in his seat before raising a brow at the other. He wasn't about to unbutton anything- "Happy now?"

Of course 'unbutton' was just a saying and he wasn't expecting any buttons to move, but in any case Wu also wasn't expecting Mako to slump down with him, so immediately he burst into laughter, clutching his stomach as he did.

Naturally, the laughter immediately caused the firebender to bristle, posture growing tense again as he glared at the other. "What's so funny?!" He certainly didn't appreciate being laughed at... Especially not when he was trying to humor the other and making an effort.

It took him a bit to come down from his laughing fit, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye as he finally did. "Nothing, nothing! You just caught me off guard is all," Wu said, still trying to stifle some giggles. "I'm just so used to seeing you all straight-laced and everything that seeing you sink into the couch like that was, uh," he paused for a moment not knowing what word he wanted exactly. "Kinda cute, I guess?"

He was frowning at the other with mild annoyance right up to the moment Wu coined the term he'd been looking for, catching Mako entirely off guard and even making the usually stoic male blush slightly, although he'd brush it off as surprise. "Cute. Seriously?" He rolled his eyes, brushing it off as a joke, or trying to at least.

"Yeah! Cute! Like, you know when a ferocious polar bear dog basically turns into a little puppy when it's not being on guard? Like that." Once again, Wu was rambling too much to notice the soft pinking in Mako's cheek at his words.

Mako can't help but snort at basically being compared to Naga. Still, clearly Wu has a high opinion of him, to liken him to a ferocious animal... "Uhh, thanks, I guess? I'm no puppy though..." The petulant comment slips out unbidden despite himself, not having meant to give Wu any extra ammo.

Imagining Mako as an actual puppy almost made Wu dissolve back into giggles, but, again, he exercised his restraint. "What are you then?" the king leaned an elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand with a mischievous smile gracing his face as he awaited Mako's answer. If anything he was glad to see him loosening up at least a little.

"Uhh..." Well fuck. He's no good at this whole analogy thing, but 'puppy' itches at his pride. Wu staring him down like this, all expectantly is making him feel nervous somehow, and he doesn't have an answer to offer...

"I'm jooooking-- you don't have to answer that," he snorted and waved the hand his chin was on as if dismissing it. "You're Mako and that's all that matters."

Somehow... That easy certitude into who Mako was to him brought another small blush to tanned cheeks, not having expected the honesty of the comment or his own reaction to it. "Thanks Wu... You're a good guy, y'know.." He's not usually one to dole out praise, but the strange feeling demands some sort of recompense it seems

Through this oh-so-casual conversation focusing on Mako's need to loosen up, the last thing Wu was expecting was to be thanked and then complimented, which made him pause a moment from surprise. Immediately he grinned back at the firebender. "I know. You're not so bad yourself," he joked as he lightly elbowed Mako in the side.

He chuckles softly, letting Wu jab at him before reasoning over to ruffle his hair, kind of like he'd done to Bolin like a million times. It's the most relaxed Wu had probably ever seen him.

Normally, the king would've batted away anyone's hand from touching his carefully styled hair, but Wu let it slide as he was too distracted by Mako's soft laughter, barely even noticing the warmth in his cheeks as it was his turn to blush. "S-See?" he stuttered a bit. "You do know how to relax!"

He had expected a small playful tirade about messing up the royal hair, but he instead spots the blush, wondering why Wu is having such a reaction. He lets it slide with a small grin though. "Well of course, I wasn't born in work mode." He teases with a small smirk. "Hell, I used to be in the triads way before we joined pro-bending"

Wu gasped dramatically, holding his face with both of his hands as he did. If him being silly was an invitation for Mako relax a little more, he was going to play up the theatrics. "You? A gangster?? And they let you be on the Police Force?"

Mako couldn't help but be amused at the other's antics, raising a brow at him playfully. "What, you think I don't look tough enough to be a gangster?" He shook his head with slight amusement. "To be fair we only did minor jobs for Shady Shin and his ilk, we were never really members. It was a long time ago, either way. I don't think Chief Beifong really gave a damn unless I was actually fucking up on the job." He grinned fondly. For all that she was tough as nails, Mako did respect her greatly.

The king furrowed his brows a little, trying to figure out what he meant by a long time ago -- the two of them were in their early 20s and it didn't occur to him that the Triple Threats would hire teenagers; he wasn't deeply interested in the underbelly of the city. "I mean, granted, you're the best on the beat, which is why I hired you after all."

Mako rolled his eyes slightly at that comment, the atmosphere seeming to change a little again. Maybe this whole opening up thing wouldn't work out very well... They've certainly gotten closer over time, but being hired because he was the best on the force? It makes him a little uncomfortable... Maybe it's the thought that Wu wouldn't have given a shit if someone had been 'better' than him on paper, he'd have picked someone else for the job and Mako would just be doing same old... He's been looking after Wu long enough now that not doing it was weird to him. "I guess so..." He muttered, realising he was supposed to answer.

Quickly sensing the mood change, Wu's royal brow wrinkled under his still-tousled bangs, confused to how his accolades about Mr. I-Have-Responsilbities' work ethic made it seem like they had taken two steps back. "You 'guess so'?" he echoed. "That was compliment, Mako! A pat on the back for a job well done!" He accentuated it by literally patting him on the back of his shoulder -- since the rest of his back was still against the couch. "Back then I didn't know that I'd gain a treasured companion as well," he said a little softer.

"Oh..." He honestly doesn't know what to say, realising his mistake. Wu sometimes said thoughtless things, but that didn't mean there was thoughtlessness in everything he did, and he sometimes still managed to forget that. Never mind Mako's not exactly good at any of this stuff, talking about his feelings, whatever. It's just not his game, and way out of his comfort zone besides. He looks much calmer now, but he doesn't know what to say either.

The king let the silence between them hang in the air a bit. He then gently nudged Mako's side and whispered, "Psst. This is the part where you go: Yeah Wu you're awesome too wow." As he said the second part, he stuck his fingers through his curls, pulling them up a bit to mimic Mako's hair, furrowed his brows, and made his voice a little more gravely in a poor attempt to sound like him. Once it was done, he let go of his hair, which just flopped in front of his face as he laughed at his own impression.

Mako chuckled softly and playfully poked him in the side, a small grin on his face. "A dork is what you are." He teased, not feeling the need to bloat Wu's ego any further than he already did today. Still, this is nice, and he does appreciate Wu making an effort to not be annoying, if that makes sense. He knows Wu can be mature and sensible if he wants to be, it's just that he doesn't usually want to be that.

He couldn't help but laugh along, folding a little as Mako poked him. Wu retaliated by bumping his shoulder against his. "That's 'Your Royal Dork-ness,' to you, good sir," he said, putting on a faux pompous air that didn't last very long as he grinned again, just knowing the fact that he made Mako laugh again.