#but the result is. someone asking me if they can have a lockscreen I will never see or feel becomes less like human respect in sharing

[legionofpotatoes]

Not the same anon as the matrix art ask, but there are plenty of artists I've seen who have a general "do not use my art for anything" rule simply to make their stance very clear on people not using/reposting their artwork without permission

Granted, thieves are gonna thieve anyway, but I guess it helps minimize people trying to take your words out of context. I've seen plenty of assholes take "personal use" to mean "oh, so I can sell your art for my own profit, cool" and then shit talk the artist when they get called out for being a scummy prick (uncommon, sure, but I've seen it enough times to know it's a real issue)

Obviously, there's no harm in using someone's art as your background/wallpaper if that's genuinely your intention, but I think anyone asking for permission to do so is probably aware of the art theft junk to some degree and is honestly just trying to be respectful

my caveats with "personal use" were private, individual, and non-commercial. I definitely don't go around touting those two words freely either, and I deal with enough art theft to force me to partition a separate work day every month to curate takedown requests. I'm as jaded as they come, I'd like to think.

and sure, those are all good and sound arguments for someone's internal moral compass and I respect that, and I fully appreciate them in almost every other case of "use"; be it reposting, roleplaying, using as icons or banners, tattooing them on, etc. since all of those uses, in some shape or form, imply public display of those images that will then invite the audience's eye and drastically improve artist discoverability if a credit is slapped on, but will create an invisible two-step barrier that most will not work to engage with if that credit isn't there. I get all that, and I aggressively champion authorship credits in my overall content sharing etiquette on the internet, for those exact reasons.

But I'm gonna be 100% honest with you here, when it comes to background pictures for my extremely private goober that I carry around in my own pocket and use with my own two eyes and no one else's, I tend to just save and set whatever wallpaper I want? 😬 it falls into a completely different category of "use" to me. again, I am not saying I don't appreciate the respectful place these asks are coming from, but they do truly baffle me on some level when I try to imagine that headspace: how would an artist be a) impacted monetarily; b) lose even granular awareness; c) or even find out to then exercise some other form of arbitrary reasoning? it's a bit strange!

but I'm not gonna like die on this hill cause everyone asking is a total sweetheart and again I love where it is coming from. But it is still strange with the lockscreens! is all I'm saying 😅

[httpknjoon]

(re)starting over again | kth; 1

plot | Your four-year relationship with Taehyung was going well and strong. Until he was involved in a car accident, resulting to him losing some memories. By some, it means everything that happened five years ago. Things he remember? His friends, his bakeshop, and his ex girlfriend from the past. With that, you tried to keep up, restarting over again.

words | 4.3k

genres | fluff, angst, amnesia au

pairing | taehyung x reader

warnings |  mentions of blood, leukemia, amnesia, dui, oc is a nurse

note | unedited. like, raw writing. i’ll edit whenever i can. a lot of marvel. author’s note is below.

main masterlist  | series masterlist  |  next

“I’ll be out at six in the evening.”

your eyes scanned the list, which contains the schedule and time duties of the nurses of the whole hospital. it’s currently your fifteen minute break and you are spending it on your phone, talking to your boyfriend.

“great. i’ll wait by the usual spot.”  taehyung said.

“okay.” you smiled and looked on your wristwatch. “the shop’s not open yet?”

“it’s already open since two hours ago. a little crowded actually. many students are coming since we got new pastries to serve.”

“well, maybe you should go back to work.” you quipped.

you heard taehyung chuckled, “nah, jimin can handle it. i am talking with someone important.”

you can feel your cheeks warming up with his words. although it’s been four years since your relationship began, taehyung never failed to make you fall for him just like the first time. he try his best to always put you first, above anything else.

“did you have your lunch?” he asked.

“if you consider tuna sandwich as lunch, then yes. i already had my lunch.” you replied with a sarcastic tone.

“take care of yourself. let’s eat something better later, okay? how about—”

“hey, y/n. it’s jimin. sorry for interrupting but i need your boyfriend outside. bunch of middle school kids are in the bakeshop right now. i can’t deal with them alone.”

you cannot help but to laugh when jimin cut taehyung off. you can hear your boyfriend in the background, shouting at his best friend. taehyung then got his phone back.

“sorry about that, love. i guess, i’ll go back to work now.” he mumbled, sounding annoyed. “boooooring.” 

“oh, come on.” you laughed again. “i’ll get back to work too. my break’s ending in two minutes. love you.”

“love you too. i’ll message you before i get there.”

“okay, okay.”

the call ended with you, smiling like a fool. you kept your phone back to your scrubs’ pocket. you continued the rest of the day going rounds to your young patients. you work in the pediatric unit in the hospital. almost everyday, you meet different kids with different health issues. they usually stay for a couple of days or weeks. you only have one patient who was there before you even worked in this hospital.

“you look happy today, nurse y/n.” your patient, naeun, said.

she is the patient you have ever since you got here. the little girl is suffering from a rare form of leukemia. but, you never see any loneliness from her as she was always greeting you with her sweet smile.

“i’m always happy, naeun.” you told her while checking her vitals.

“but you are smiling much wider today.” she replied.

“that’s because someone made me smile today.”

the kid’s eyes widened as her lips formed to a small circle, “oh! oh! is it your prince? the one who’s in your phone?”

the prince was of course, your boyfriend. there was a time when naeun saw you phone’s lockscreen, which is you and taehyung in a halloween party. you were wearing costumes as disney characters and taehyung chose to have the casual prince charming look. seeing this, naeun believed that you are a princess who works as a nurse who also have a prince. you don’t want to ruin the kid’s imagination. so, you just let her think that way. plus, you find it endearing.

“yes, naeun. it’s because my prince is treating me well.”

“how’s the wedding planning?”

you looked to your co-worker and best friend, jisoo, while cleaning up things in your locker. you noticed her letting out a small smile as her eyes shined with excitement. she sat on the bench, changing her work shoes to more comfortable one.

“it feels stressful but exciting at the same time. we went to a garden yesterday for the wedding venue and it was so magical! it’s like a fairy place.” she shared. “also, yours and the other bridesmaids’ gowns will be sent out tomorrow. also, taehyung’s and other groomsmen’s suits.”

“finally! i get to wear something other than my scrubs.” you quipped, making the two of you laugh.

as you sat beside her to change you footwear too, she asked, “how about you?”

“how about me?” you asked her back, pretending that you don’t know what she’s talking about. but when she gave you the you know what i am talking about look, you gave up on acting dumb. “we’re fine. me and taehyung already talk about our future plans for a long time. so, i am not really not that eager to get married. i’m just waiting for him to pop the question.”

you gave jisoo a reassuring smile. you are not in a hurry anyway. if taehyung won’t propose any time now, it’s fine. but if he pops that question, you are already sure what to answer. you don’t mind when or where he will do it. as long as you have each other, you’re fine.

“oh, i wish i have your patience.” jisoo chuckled. 

when her phone rang, she excused herself to answer it. you also noticed your phone beeped because of a notification. it was from taehyung.

love

sorry left the shop a little late. i’ll be on my way :)

you replied a simple ok with a smile. gathering up your bag, you see jisoo all prepared too.

“joon’s already waiting outside. how about tae?” she asked, since she don’t want to leave you alone.

“he’s on his way. it’s fine, i’ll wait by the shed.” you told her.

you two walked out of the hospital together, waving goodbye to your other colleagues who’s still in duty. both of you no longer wear your scrubs, just some everyday clothes. you saw namjoon’s car resting near the waiting shed, where you and taehyung will meet. jisoo hugged him while you just waved at him.

“are you sure i can leave you here? we can still wait here with you. right, babe?” jisoo turned on namjoon who nodded.

“it’s fine.” you repeated. “just go home already. get some rest!”

you smiled at her. namjoon gave you a small bye before letting jisoo inside the car. before leaving, she rolled down the window and waved at you.

“text me when you get home!” she yelled as they got away.

alone in the well-lit shed, you sat on one of its bench. you looked at your watch, it’s ten minutes past six. you thought that taehyung may be close now since the shop is just a twenty minute drive to the hospital. although it’s not that far, he does not want you walking alone. so, he still picks you up. sitting there, you just watched on whatever passed by you. people, cars, and the dark sky with the moon glowing. since you’re still in the hospital’s waiting shed, you can see two ambulance leaving. it lets out a loud siren with its swinging red lights. after a few minutes, you felt a cold blow of wind, making you hug yourself. reaching for your bag to get your cardigan, your phone rang. it’s your boyfriend.

you accepted the call, “hey, love. i’m here in the usual—”

“hey, y/n. it’s sungho from the paramedic team. taehyung just got in an accident.”

you immediately stood up, dropping your bag that was on your lap. your throat ran dry. you felt your heart beating much faster than you had seconds ago.

“we have him right now with us. we’re on our way to the hospital.” sungho ended the call.

you tried to stay calm since that is what you were trained to do. but failed after you saw two ambulance coming back to the hospital. you picked up your bag and ran back to the hospital. you see other nurses you know waiting by the emergency room. julia, one of your friends, looked at you, surprised and confused by your teary expression.

“why—”

“taehyung!” you cried when you saw your boyfriend on a spinal board from the ambulance, with no signs of awakeness.

you paused when you witnessed blood coming from his forehead. you tried to go near him, calling him, but as they moved him to a bed to the emergency room. everything happened quickly that you ended up standing there in shock while tears are rolling down your cheeks.

“here, eat something.”

jisoo handed you a paper bag but you just shook your head, rejecting the food. you’re calmer now but still in shock. it’s been two hours since you saw taehyung being pushed to the emergency room. it took minutes before you moved on the spot you were at a while ago. julie kept you company after she aided the other patient. she tried to calm you and messaged jisoo about what happened. next thing you know, your best friend is hugging you. now, you three are waiting by the emergency room. you and jisoo sat on the cold, metal row of chair while namjoon stood on the other side.

“maybe you should go home first, i’ll go with you. namjoon can wait here for taehyung.” jisoo assured you but you just shook your head again.

“i... i can wait. i’m not hungry. i don’t feel like sleeping too.” you answered, almost emotionless. but a single tear rolled down your cheek again. “there’s a lot of blood from his head, jisoo.”

your best friend felt sorry on how stressed you are. she hugged you and whispered it will be okay over and over. she pat your back gently to calm you again. 

“how are you, love?”

no one answered when you got in taehyung’s private room. it’s been four days and your boyfriend is still unconscious. there’s a bandage wrapped around his forehead. he also had small scratches and wounds on his face. fortunately, no bones were affected. only his head. the doctor said that he may possibly wake up any moment. the driver of the car crashed on taehyung’s car was drunk and speeding by a red light when it happened. the guy is currently in police custody.

since almost everyone in the hospital knows the of you, your other co-nurses are willing to take cover of your duties. you spent those four days taking care of taehyung, just in his room. jimin took over their bakeshop during daytime and drop by the hospital at night to let you take a rest. jisoo and namjoon would bring food time by time and stay for a bit after their works.

“hello, y/n.” jimin greeted you, just walking out the comfort room. he checked the time. “it’s still early. did you even sleep?”

you tried to smile, “i tried. i can’t. so i thought of just staying here.”

“oh, okay. i’ll go get some coffee. do you want some?” he asked.

“no, i’m fine. thanks.” you replied.

jimin left the room, wearing his cap. once again, you tried to talk with taehyung. you heard that talking can help to wake him up. you told him about your day. it’s not really eventful since you got nothing to do. but to go back home and hospital. 

“i miss you, love.” you tried not to cry, biting your inner cheek. “please wake up.”

you ended up napping, resting your head on taehyung’s bed. you slowly opened your eyes when you felt his hand moving from yours. you looked up from him, he’s awake.

“love?” you called him and he looked at you  blankly. 

you immediately clicked the button that was placed to call the nurse. taehyung just followed you with his blank stare.

“how do you feel?” you asked me as you wait for the nurse.

“who are you?”

your smile immediately dropped as you heard that. a doctor and nurse came in and checked his vital signs. you were left quiet on the side. you tried to process what taehyung said.

he got his head hurt, y/n. maybe it’s trauma. you tried to talk yourself about it. the door opened again and you looked up. jimin is visibly shocked as he held his coffee cup tighter, spilling a little.

“jimin.” you heard taehyung said.

the doctor asked for you to talk with her outside when they finished. before walking out, you see jimin approaching taehyung.

“how are you, tae?”

“what... what happened?” taehyung asked back.

jimin and you looked at each other before you follow the doctor.

“he doesn’t seem to remember everything.” you muttered. “i mean, he remembers his friend. but he don’t remember me nor the accident.”

“it can be because of the head injury he had. if that’s the case, we should run tests to know.”

“what.. what happened?” taehyung asked his best friend.

he barely remembers anything. his last memory is having a drink with jimin after the first opening of their bakeshop. his head hurts. when he opened his eyes minutes ago and saw a girl beside him, he tried to call her the name he remembers.

lily

but the girl did not move. he tried to move his hand and that’s when he saw you moved. you seemed surprised too when you see him awake. taehyung thought that maybe you were in the wrong room. but when you asked him, how is he. he can’t help but to ask who are you.

“you got to a car accident nights ago. you were asleep for four days.” jimin explained.

“car accident? did i drove drunk?”

“no, the guy who crashed on you was. you were just on your way to pick y/n.”

taehyung squinted his eyes as he tried to remember the name, “y/n?”

jimin looked at him, “your girlfriend.” 

“no, lily is my girlfriend.” taehyung answered with a smile. “me and lily have been going out for almost six months.”

  “that was five years ago, tae. you and y/n have been together for four years now. namjoon introduced you to each other in the shop.” jimin tried to talk calmly.

“but we just opened the shop.”

jimin can feel his heart breaking on what is happening now. it breaks for you and taehyung. he saw how stressed you were for the last four days and now he feel bad that his best friend seems to forget events in his life. jimin reached for his phone in his pocket to show it to taehyung.

“it’s september 1, 2021.” jimin pointed out.

it’s 2021 and the last thing he remembers was back in 2016.

“the doctor said that it’s dissociative or selective amnesia. because of the accident, he forgot certain memories of his life. based on what jimin told me, he forgot everything after their bakeshop’s opening. he... he basically forgot about me. us.”

you sighed before resting your head low. namjoon, jisoo, and jimin looked at you in pity and sadness. you wanted to cry again. you wanted to ask why does it have to happen this way. but you know you won’t get answers. you look at taehyung, who’s sleeping peacefully.

“will his memories return?” namjoon asked.

“no one knows. they said that there are cases that they come back fully or bits by bits. there are also cases that it stays like that.” you replied with a threatening sob.

you eyed on jisoo, who seems ready to hug you anytime now. but you tried to smile and just shook your head. minutes later, you spoke again.

“also, we can go home tomorrow. jimin will help me with taehyung and our stuff. i took a month long leave. so i can take care of him.”

you sighed again before looking at them, “thank you so much, guys. everything meant a lot.”

each one of them gave you a warm hug. in every hug, you felt like you’re giving in as your knees felt weaker. jisoo hugged you the longest.

“it felt like we’re starting over again.”

“welcome home!”

as soon as you opened the house’s door, taehyung spotted picture frames of him with you. he seems really happy with you on those images. he tried to identify each picture.

“don’t worry. you don’t have to force yourself to remember it.”

he looked at his side. it was you, staring at the pictures too with a small smile. jimin, on the other hand, dropped your bags straight to your bedroom.

“do you want to eat first or take a rest?” you asked taehyung.

“rest.” he replied.

you nodded and walked him to your shared bedroom. seeing a single, large bed, taehyung can’t help but to feel uncomfortable. he knows that you two used to sleeping together. but he remember nothing with you.

“i’ll go sleep in the guestroom for the meantime. sorry, i still haven’t move my stuffs. i’ll move them tomorrow.” you told him, like you’re reading his mind.

“thank... thank you.” taehyung said awkwardly.

“no problem, lo— taehyung.”

you walked out awkwardly, leaving him alone with jimin. taehyung sat on the bed and he can smell the mix of his perfume and a lavender scent. he was removing his shoes when jimin stood in front of him.

“y/n is nice, okay? don’t be shy to ask for help or talk to her if you want to know something. you guys will get along well.” jimin assured him. “if you want to talk to me, just give me a call anytime. here’s your phone.”

he handed him a model of phone that he just saw for the first time, “my phone?”

“yep, you bought that like a year ago. it’s almost the same as your old phone. but it’s bigger.” jimin explained and taehyung nodded. “i’ll have breakfast here with you tomorrow. so you won’t feel awkward, okay?”

taehyung nodded quietly. he feels like a kid. but he’s thankful to have jimin with him. also, you. even though he doesn’t really know who you are except that you are his girlfriend.

“so, why did lily left me?”

taehyung sat on one of the empty chairs in the bakeshop. it’s been two weeks since he went home from the hospital. so far, living with you is like living with a housemate except you cook him something to eat everyday and help him when his head hurts. he felt less awkward with you. it’s not like he consider you as his friend. but he finds you caring and nice, just like jimin said. now, he’s with his friend, who picked him up, since he feel bored staying at home with no one to talk to except you. he’s still shy on chatting with you. plus, he have questions he knows that he can’t ask you.

“she did not leave you, tae. you are the one who asked for a breakup.” jimin replied while wiping the counter.

“that’s not true.” taehyung said. “how can i breakup with her? i mean, you know how much i like her.”

“actually,” jimin looked up to him. “you did not tell me why. you literally just knocked on my door one evening, drunk, to tell me you broke up with her.”

“ugh, i hate myself! she was perfect!” taehyung grumbled like a kid.

jimin looks at him, who seemed offended, “it’s not nice to talk like that. you literally have a girlfriend.”

“that i barely know.” taehyung replied carelessly.

“did you even try to know her?” his friend snapped back. “you know, tae, i understand that you are in another timeline. but don’t you think that it’s a little mean to talk about y/n like she’s just a stranger. do you even want to know her?”

taehyung can feel that jimin was mad and the guy only got mad a few times. looking back on the last two weeks he had with you, he can see how nice you are to him. you always make sure to make him comfortable with you. you give him space without even him asking. he notices how you serve him his favorite meals every time. you did not force him to remember anything. maybe there’s a reason why you’re with him.

“yes.”

“how are you?”

“i can still do it.” you replied as you fall on your bed.

jisoo is on the other line. she just finished her shift while you just finished moving your stuff from your former bedroom to the guest room.

“how’s taehyung?”

you rolled on your side, “still quiet. although he asks when he needs something or thanks me when i helped him, he still didn’t asked about us. maybe he’s not interested.”

you heard your friend sighed, “maybe he’s shy.”

“i don’t know. i’ll just wait. it’s fine.” you told her. “let’s talk about your wedding! do you have the date already?”

“oh, yup. we’re thinking of the last week of next month. by the way, did your clothes came?”

“oh, i ha—”

you paused when you heard a knock from your front door. you stood up from your bed and walked to the door. you’re not expecting anyone. so, you thought maybe it’s the package. but as soon as you opened the door, you decided to end the call with jisoo.

“tae? what are you doing here?” you asked him, confused. “i gave you the key, didn’t i?”

taehyung scratched the back of his neck timidly, “yeah. i... i just don’t want to barge in like an intruder.”

five years ago, he lived with jimin in an apartment. so, even though he have his own key to this house, he still thinks that it’s not his. it’s someone’s home. you and taehyung only bought this house months ago after saving for it.

“well, you’re not an intruder when you have your key.” you quipped. “come in.”

you opened the door wider to let him in. and for the first time since you went home from the hospital, you got to be closer to him. a simple brush of his arm to yours is enough to make you miss him more. even though it was just a split second, it was able to make you miss hugging and cuddling with him again.

“did you cook something for dinner?” taehyung asked as you locked the door.

you turned around and saw him in the living room, sitting on the couch while holding the remote.

“i thought you’re spending the night in jimin’s. so i did not prepare anything.” you replied truthfully.

taehyung eyed you, “how about you? what will you eat for dinner?”

your heart swells. it’s a simple and casual concern. but, it came from taehyung. it reminds you of the last time you talk to him through a phone call. he always points out to prioritize your health. you looked away from him as you felt your cheeks warming.

“maybe i’ll just order something? like, chinese food?” you answered.

“great. make whatever you’ll order two. let’s eat together.” he said, looking back on the television.

“how about jimin?”

“he forgot he got a date for tonight. so he drops me here before going to his date.”

you giggled with thought of jimin forgetting his date again. while you make a call to order food, taehyung watched whatever’s playing in front of him. the truth is, jimin don’t have a date tonight. taehyung asked his best friend to drive him, since he can’t drive for now, after closing the shop. after that talk with jimin, he went on the day, thinking if he should spend more time with you. maybe if he will know more about you, he’ll understand everything. he knows he have issues. so, he wonders how you stayed together, even bought a house.

“oh, you’re watching that.” you sat on the other single sofa, meters away from taehyung.

taehyung noticed what’s playing, it’s a marvel movie. he knows because of the characters. but the movie seems unfamiliar. some of the characters he knows looks a bit different.

“what movie is this?” he asked with pure confusion.

“avengers: infinity war. we watched it in the cinemas together.” you shared.

“i don’t remember.” he looks at you apologetically. but you just gave him a smile. “the last one i remember is civil war.”

“it’s fine. if you want to, we can binge watch those marvel movies. from doctor strange to black widow. then, shang-chi.” you offered.

hearing this, taehyung had a surprised expression. it seems like he missed a lot for five years. he felt like a steve rogers but with an amnesia. on the other hand, you find him adorable with his reaction. you two already watched every movie and mini-series in marvel except the recent ones because of the accident. but you don’t mind watching it all again. you love it. of course, you love him too.

“maybe we should watch three to four movies each day to catch up.” taehyung suggested as he munched on his food.

you just nodded as you placed the last piece of egg roll on his rice. you know he likes it too much that he ends up eating almost all of it. taehyung thanked you before continuing. you two are watching doctor strange.

“what do you think?” he waited for your answer.

“whatever you want, tae. i still have two weeks before getting back to work. i love marvel.” you told him, making him smile.

it’s the first time he have someone with him to watch these movies. jimin found it boring while namjoon is more of a dc fan. lily have other interests. so, taehyung feels great to have you with him.

you cleaned up after the post-credit scene. taehyung insisted on helping you even though you don’t want him moving around. you two ended up sitting on the couch.

“how’s your head? are you getting head aches?” you checked on him.

taehyung shook his head, “it’s good. just felt a little dizzy while in the bakeshop.”

you nodded silently. that’s when silence took over for a few minutes before taehyung cleared his throat.

“y/n, i think we should hang around more often.” he told you and he swore he saw your eyes shine brighter.

“really? you want that?” you asked him.

“yeah. like, we’re together for four years. i want to know why.”

he waited for you to say something but when he looks at you, you just gave him a smile.

a lot sweeter this time.

a/n: this one is a sudden idea. sorry. i know i haven’t posted anything for months but i can’t let this one out of my head. it was supposed to be a one shot but it’s too long to my liking. i had to cut it off. second part is on the way. your thoughts would mean a lot. thank you. take care, loves <3

ps. i can make a taglist if you want to. 

[shotorozu]

hellooo,, i saw another tiktok video(and since ur like the elite on writing this type of reqs im requesting to you aha) https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSJYsk4CY/ for shoto, kaminari and monoma (if u write for him) ty 💕

‘bae lol’

(the greenscreen heart, then kiss tiktok trend)

character(s) : todoroki shouto, kaminari denki, monoma neito (bnha)

legend : [Y/N = your name] for monoma reader’s a part of class 1-A, they/them pronouns used, quirk’s not specific

headcanon type : fluff (x reader)

note(s) : oh, i absolutely love AND hate this trend, it’s mostly bc im single though :,) not like i can get a partner in the pandemic. anyways! i love your thinking, anon <3 also no proofread bc its like,, 2am here </3 will edit later!

»»————-　♡　————-««

todoroki shouto

he’s very aware of your tiktok antics, but out of all of the ones you’ve pulled on him, and asked him to do

he loves this one the most.

because shouto doesn’t have to get the lights scared out of him, and it doesn’t have a chance in ending terribly.

you brisk towards your room, knowing that shouto rests inside— “shou!” you call out to him, and he tilts his head up

“Y/N, tell me it’s not—”

“no, i swear!” you drop next to him on the bed, and you play the video. “this would be fun to do, right?”

he doesn’t say anything at first, but he definitely wants to do it, judging by the fact that he’s replaying the tiktok over and over again.

abruptly standing up, he tugs at your wrist “let’s do it.” he says with determination hinted in his voice

you’d think that he’d get the hang of doing tiktoks because of you but LMAO NO— the greenscreen failed you both multiple times in a span of 40 minutes.

the first take, the heart was blurry, the second take, the kiss was captured seconds before the kiss, and the third take— your phone fell 💀

plus, his movements were a little stiff the first few times, but after the third try— he definitely got the hang of it.

and,, he doesn’t understand tiktok effects, not even the slightest.

on the brighter note, he has more excuses to kiss you so,, it’s a win for him! he won’t get sick of doing any retakes :))

you knew the moment he focused on making the perfect heart, as he firmly pulled you close to kiss you

that, would be the perfect shot there. he almost forgot that there was a camera recording

shouto is seen replaying the filmed tiktok over and over again— and it might’ve looked odd to anyone else

but not to you, definitely. for you, it’s the norm to see him like that.

“do more trends where i could kiss you more.” he pecks you on the lips, before he leaves you be temporarily only to edit the tiktok, ofc

the tiktok itself blows up by a ton, gathering 2M likes, and 5M views, in a surprising amount of time, and you didn’t even notice how he placed his hand on your hip

until the comments pointed it out to him. which shouto replies with “i always do that. you just didn’t seem to notice.” it’s fine bc you do now

the comments consisted of “where can i find a guy like this 💔” “haha that’s so cool *blocks*” “okay but we sEE THOSE HANDS 👀”

nonetheless— please do more trends like that with him. don’t be afraid!

shouto rates the entire ordeal a ♾/10. can and will do it again. oh— and he saves his home and lockscreen as the final outcome from the tiktok. he did a screenshot it, and decides to keep it like that for a very long time

kaminari denki

again— this man is ALWAYS on tiktok, so he’s aware of most of the trends there. but that doesn’t make them any less scarier

but oh wow, he loves this trend. denki was just praying that you’d see it— and ask him to do it with you.

he was grateful that luck was on his side, since he was ecstatic when you skipped over to him— asking him to do a tiktok trend

“oh, what tiktok trend? wait— please tell me it doesn’t involve me breaking up with you for a week so you could listen to drivers licenses—”

“what? no— let me show you” and when you showed him the tiktok, he showed you this cheeky little smirk

“let’s do it! the sooner the better!” he says, and he seems more excited that you 💀

denki’s so enthusiastic, to the point that the first few takes are a total fail— as he makes you fall over your feet, as the result of quickly pulling you onto him for a kiss.

“denki— one of these days, you’re going to shatter my face”

“sorry, sorry!” he grins sheepishly. and it’s a miracle that he didn’t accidentally short circuit!

you guys try again, still persistent in getting at least a decent video, and this time— when he yanked you, causing you almost slip

he tightened his hold on you, a hand pressed against the small of your back and another hand dangerously close to your bank

the kiss is eager, passionate— and he holds you like you’re on the verge of death

and this flusters you because MAMDKWDK what happened to the goofiness 💀 i suppose that’s what happens when you have an eager denki kaminari.

you upload the video, thinking it would only get 5 likes at the very most— but it exceeds your expectations

though most people couldn’t get a clear view of your relationship dynamic with him, denki’s enthusiasm did attract the attention of 2.8M people

and in a good way, because the video did get 800k likes

the comments consisted of “when he caught you when you almost fell :,)” “damn he was EXCITED” “hey, have you told us where you got your boyfriend? i need the link to find someone like him NOW‼️‼️”

the bakusquad fawned over the video weirdly, but it quickly gets overplayed by denki— since that’s all he watched for a week or so 💀

monoma neito

bruh </3 as much as he loves you, you’re going to kill him with pranks one of these days.

he’s totally in on it if HE’S not the one being targeted, but most of the time,, neito’s the subject of your pranks

so he thinks it’s another silly prank, where you make him pick a number between 1-5 and ghost him for that many hours.

but when you show him the video one day, when you guys were chilling in your room— as per usual, he declined :,)

“sorry dear Y/N! but no. that’s my answer”

“but whyyy?? it’s so harmless!”

“the class is going to tease me for being a part with a silly tiktok like that.” and besides,, he’d be a hypocrite for participating in that kind of tiktok with someone from class 1-A.

in reality, he did want to do it. he wasn’t so sure on why he said no— but he does want to show that something so easy isn’t really a bother to him.

“oh- don’t be so sad about it! you know what?” he gently pulls you up, “let’s do it. i don’t care what those silly class 1-A kids will say anymore.”

“what? i thought you said you didn’t want to.”

“have you ever heard of a lie?” he clicks his tongue, but he’s glad that you’re feeling much better than you did 10 seconds ago.

when it comes to it, he’s actually really shy about it. not like a ‘i don’t want to be seen with you!’ more like ‘gosh, how many takes is this going to take? will i be able to kiss them properly?’

“what if i end up accidentally copying their quirk? neito— focus, damnit.” he thinks to himself, brushing the anxious feeling away.

he’s determined enough to stay focused— but man struggled a bit with cooperating with the heart shape.

“neito— not that heart!” “well, you said to make a heart, so i did!”

it takes a few tries for the greenscreen to cooperate, and for you guys to get in sync

and when he finally has to kiss you, he grins at you— a very obvious blush adorning his cheeks, as he smashes his lips with yours

then he remembers that he actually has to break free from you— and forces you guys apart, still trying to play it cool

“wow! i look awesome. only i could kiss you like that, right? i don’t need an answer, because i know it’s true!” he says with that proud laugh of his, but it immediately dissipates after the second replay

neito leaves you be, not only for you to upload the tiktok— but also because he needs to THINK WHAT JUST HAPPENED he’s running laps in his mind rn

you upload the tiktok, not worrying too much about it— as you wanted to let it sit for a while, before checking up on it

however— when you open your phone again, you get bombarded with multiple text messages from kendou, and the other class 1-b students.

“you and monoma went viral!” is what you can sum up about most of the messages, and you have to see for youself— wanting to know if the tiktok really did get 800k likes and 1.9M views in a short amount of time.

spoilers ‼️ — it did

the comments were mostly like “why can i smell the dynamic from a mile away 💔 i want that.” “he’s definitely annoying to everyone but you” “sHEESH the way he smirked before he kissed you 😩✋‼️‼️😔”

monoma flexes on a daily that he did that to your class— but he HATES how class 1-b wrecks havoc on him, by teasing him

in short— he does prefer this more than being scared. and! he didn’t have to verbally ask you for kisses 💀

»»————-　♡　————-««

likes and reblogs are appreciated, thanks for reading!

i do not own bnha/mha and it’s characters. boku no hero academia/my hero academia belongs to horikoshi kohei, i only own the writing and i do not profit off of my hobby

do not plagiarize, reupload, translate, or use my works for audio readings without permission

[misha-moose-dean-burger-lover]

happy birthday, @irrlicht-ghostfront ❤️ i love you, and i'm judging you for this being your prompt, but i love you some more, so here <33 (warnings: car accident) [NO MCD]

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Blink and a miss — accident — wrecked car, and fleeting on the painful side of barely conscious in a pool of his own blood. There was too much of it anyway. Castiel felt dizzy more than he felt the pain as time, almost tangibly, passed on.

There's no way he was going to live.

(It was supposed to end old — fingers crossed for painless. Featuring inevitably beeping monitors, and time to come up with last words. A goodbye to his family.

Not that he had much of one right now — he isn't sure if he can call Dean's family his, yet; Dean seems to insist on it but then he's always been a pioneer in giving Castiel more than he could ever deserve, starting with his own heart, so Castiel can't tell — but he'd finally started to have intentions to, in the future.

A dog, for Dean.

Children.

Intentions to beg his brother to come back, and not give up until he'd gotten his forgiveness and his only remaining family back. But that — well, it was a different alley than Castiel's thoughts swarmed to right now. And swarm they did, his head throbbing, and life thudding at its gates.

Castiel had also intended to marry Dean, misty-eyed and denying it. Intended to figure out flower arrangements, and guest seating. Intended to kiss him at the end of the aisle, with his hands cupping Dean's face, and Dean's around his waist.

Then, move out from their shared apartment into a house.

Yellow wallpapered bedroom.

Treasure, and keep Dean happy forever.

Fuck.)

His breathing is still ragged, and his head feels too empty, but the heaving has lessened. Probably the blood loss. Less pain, more haze. And the resultant thoughtlessness is perhaps the only thing that sparks the courage in him to do what he does next.

Castiel picks up his phone.

(A struggle, but he's determined.)

If he's dying, and he'll never get to live the life he'd finally started to dream of — never have a life to share with Dean, never get to see Dean again, then he'll take what he can get.

He's allowed this, he tells himself. Allowed to be selfish, one last time.

He's on his deathbed after all.

It's outstandingly painful to bend his neck enough to see he's picked the right number — but the mere idea of accidentally calling an acquaintance at a time like this brings a tensed sliver of life into his muscles, and straining, he looks. Right enough, he's got 'Dean :)' on the screen.

Pressing dial, he lets his head fall back on the seat, wincing again. Maybe that'll relent the floatiness, if his body circulates some goddamn blood into his brain — because he needs this.

He's dying, but he needs this. One last time, he needs Dean.

A thumb swipes the familiarly placed 'on speaker' button — he can't bring the phone to his ear right now. He's going to have to risk Dean hearing the still crackling ruins of the poor engine, strewn across the wreck in smoldering pieces.

He must make quite a sight, he thinks, waiting for the call to go through. Man found in car wreckage, trapped by the door, dead within —

"Cas?"

Dean's voice cuts through Castiel's morbid mental news report, and almost reflexively, he closes his eyes. There's a tangible relief in his head when he does it, and god, Castiel must've been doing worse than he's convinced himself he is.

Dean sounds beautiful as always, and so familiar its like home.

It's the last time he ever gets to have this.

"Hello, Dean." Maybe he manages to not sound weird, or Dean's just not listening for clues. The loud racket behind him, at Bobby (and Dean's) automobile shop, helps as well.

"Hey." There's a smile in his voice now. Fuck. He's smiling. He's smiling, and he's smiling at Cas, and it's the last time Castiel ever gets to hear it.

He loses himself trying to remember the last time he saw Dean smile — earlier this morning, kissing him goodbye before he left — no, down from their balcony, accompanied by a gleeful wave because Dean's shift started a couple hours after Cas's day in the office did — no, when Castiel checked the time, and the Dean on his lockscreen grinned up at him — and he doesn't realize he's fallen silent until Dean's speaking again.

"Babe, you okay?"

There's a tinge of worry. Only a smidge, and it still hurts. The last time Castiel hears Dean can't be laced with anything bad. And it can't be Castiel's fault.

There's a pause. "Cas, what's up?"

Castiel doesn't know what to say so he tries to hold on to the phone tighter, his throat fluttering as a tear rolls down his face.

"Wait," The worry dissipates, apology slipping in. "Am I forgetting something? Did we make plans for lunch, 'cause Bobby and —"

"N-no." Cas struggles, and it's getting harder to not pant. He sounds too breathy anyway. "We don't. Didn't."

He forces a smile into his voice while saying it. As if it doesn't break him that he'll never get to see Dean again. But he needs to smile, doesn't he? One last time. Just for Dean.

"Well, do you want to?" Dean sounds cheerful. Normal.

Perfect.

Castiel doesn't want to die.

"Not, today." He half-heaves, and another tear rolls down his face.

Not today.

(If he'd known, he'd have stared to his heart's fill this morning. Kissed him an hour longer. Held him in his sleep. Oh, if he had had any foresight at all.)

"Dickface-atron keeping ya busy?"

Castiel lets the air stuck in his chest out, and it probably makes up for a small chuckle. He doesn't want to lie, he just won't agree.

"Figures."

"Sorry." Castiel tells him, meaning it entirely.

"Nah, s'good. I love you." Dean adds, clearly smiling wider, because they've only recently added that to their vernacular instead of the pedestal it'd been on for the first eight months of their friendship turning into a relationship. Somehow, it feels grander though — or, that might also be because it's the last time Castiel ever gets to hear Dean say it to him.

Oh, he loves him so much.

(He doesn't want to die.)

"And I have my packed lunch anyway." Dean continues, filling the gap thankfully. Machines blare in his background and he braves on like a man used to not being able to hear his own words due to the racket. Castiel is grateful for it. He hangs onto every word, drinks it in. Makes himself hold on. "Pretty sure you'd kick me to the curb if I let a PBJ go to waste."

"Jelly?" Cas smiles, when he wants to sob. He's certain he sounds fainter too, he feels fainter, and it's a miracle it doesn't show.

The tears well up in his chest, for possibly the rest of time. Dead men don't cry, and Castiel can't.

(Can't be long now, can it?)

"Jelly." Dean confirms. "It's the curse of paying attention when you rant about jam, you know." He snickers. "I used to be normal."

"Yes, I'm very lucky."

Dean chuckles, and Castiel sighs.

He's yearned for Dean to be happy, tried to make him smile, longed to see him laugh, for so, so long it feels like a part of him now. And now, it goes back to Dean, without him.

Somebody else'll make him smile, somebody else will wake him up with a kiss on his temple, and somebody else will love Dean for exactly who he is because it's Dean, and there was never someone who deserved it more — so of course somebody will.

But it will never be him again.)

An untethered broken sound escapes his throat, and Cas winces, faking a cough with it.

That makes the blood gush.

"Oh, also — wait. Just a second." He interrupts himself, and probably covers the speaker with his palm before yelling blurrily to someone near him.

(Or perhaps it's not supposed to be blurry. Castiel wouldn't know. He can hardly make out his own breathing. It's a feat that he can make out the conversation, even if most of it is instinct memory, and all he's doing is holding onto Dean for as long as he can.

Somehow, it feels like he's been doing so forever. But the time left, had never been so little.)

When Dean returns, he sounds apologetically busy.

"Dude, that dick who yelled at Ash, remember? He's back. Garth went this time, 'cause douchebag brought a Sedan."

Castiel swallows again, and vaguely registers that it tastes like metal. Almost like there's blood mixed with saliva.

There's another morbid thought. What, in this wreck, is finally going to kill him?

"I should probably check on him. Garth sorta wears on you."

"Of course." He croaks, and slips — fuck, he slips — but for once, thank god for oversensitive customers and boyfriends with likeable personalities, because Dean's conversing off the phone again, his hand on the speaker.

"I'll call you back, babe." Dean comes back to add in a rush, and Cas sucks in a painful breath, slowly beginning to feel like the only thing keeping him conscious any more is the sensation of air in his lungs, in his mouth, in the back of his throat. "Still have to ask what you even called about, you know. Or maybe if you just missed me." He beams, he obviously beams, and Cas stifles a groan.

"I do." He wheezes. "I —"

"Me too." Dean returns, flirty, and Cas goes to add to it — because he has to, because he's not going to make it, he's not going to be able to hold on until Dean returns, and he has to — but there's a click.

Castiel stares at the screen, devastated.

(Or tries to, anyway.)

"I love you," He cries out, aware that the line's cut, but needing to hear himself say it anyway. Plus, his head feels too numb to keep words inside anymore. It's less a prison of thoughts, and more a canyon of loss.

More tears fall.

His heart is beating faster than it ever has.

"I love —" His voice trembles, tries again, and fails. His throat refuses to comply with the thousands of things there remain to be said, and the words slowly fade, neglected.

In more ways than one, it's like being administered anaesthesia before a surgery — Castiel was operated on for tonsils at age eleven, and he remembers it still — and it finally sinking in, and knocking you out, as the doctor says to count to ten, and you hardly graze six.

His hands clutch the phone tighter, neck rendering him incapable of looking anymore, so he has no idea what his thumbs are trying to type — but it doesn't matter, not really, because this is it. Completely alone, young, and desperately in love with Dean Winchester, Castiel closes his eyes for the very last time.

And everything fades to black.

*

When they find him, it's been at least four hours.

It's night.

The uniformed official stuck with the responsibility of calling the next of kin, Victor Henriksen, fishes out the wallet as the paramedics carry him into the ambulance and attach him to IV immediately, and steps away to dial his emergency contact with a crinkled brow of sympathy.

And as he waits for the guy, a Dean Winchester, to pick up, he can't help but notice that his number is exactly the same as the one the last text almost sent from the victim's phone had been typed to — clutched in his hand, an unnerving, 'I love'.

And well, he isn't particularly into romcoms, but he hopes the poor guy gets a chance to finish his sentence.

He was in pretty bad condition, Henriksen recalls, and the bloodloss had knocked him out for several hours, but he looked twenty five at most, more importantly healthy, and — he looks at the wallet again, and the picture of two men (one of them, the victim) smiling at the camera with their hands around each other — most importantly, seemed to have reasons to fight for.

(Plus, he'd been the one to call the accident in himself — albeit four hours after it happened, but Henriksen figured he'd been passed out for that long — so he had to want to live, right?)

"Hello. Dean Winchester, who's this?"

"Hello, sir, I'm Officer Henriksen, and I have you listed as Mr Castiel Novak's emergency..."

*

"You dick."

Castiel coughs, and gives up on squinting against the bright light. It's a LED. Like in hospitals.

"Jesus, Cas. You complete asshole, you —"

Castiel opens his eyes a sliver again. The walls do resemble a hospital. Plain, white tiled. Way too many AC vents. Is that something on his hand?

"So you'll open your goddamn eyes, and not even fucking look at me."

There's IV's on both his hands. And something stiff around his neck. Almost like a collar, but thicker. And when he breathes, his ribs start like they might hurt — but the pain is numbed as it registers. He must be running really high on painkillers; they never really worked for him.

"Fine. You don't gotta look at me." A pause. Then, more shaky. "I was so scared, Cas. So fucking terrified. They said they weren't sure, said it may be too late, and you were dying. And then they tell me the crash happened at three, and I feel like I'm going to have a fucking stroke."

His vision slowly unblurs, feeling returning to his fingers. He tries to fold them, and winces at the strain.

Immediately, there's a hand on his arm.

"Stop moving, dumbass. I'm going to kill you for this, you know. I am, but I need you to be okay first."

The words don't register, but the voice does.

(He sounds beautiful as always, and so familiar it's like home.)

"Hell, I just need you, Cas. Period. I need your ridiculous, stupid ass — and I need you to look at me when I'm begging you to be okay, and I need you to stay, with me, forever, and not call me first when you need a goddamn ambulance, you dumbass —"

"Hello, Dean." Castiel interrupts, a hoarse whisper, and he thinks he hears a sob from the general direction of the love of his life.

(He really can't move his neck — he's got to tell Dean that at some point if he's not understood already. It's the cast.)

"Oh, thank god." Dean cries, the words muffled by either him burying his face in his sleeve, or the lifesaving medications Castiel is alive on account of, but it's okay, right? Dean's here — and he's okay. It's fine.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm still going to kill you for this."

"Well, I'd deserve that." Castiel tries to joke, and almost pulls it off, except for the part where he can't see Dean's reaction until the latter lets out another broken sob, and grabs his hand. Castiel freezes, trying to squeeze back, tears welling up again. "I'm really sorry, Dean." Then, after a beat. "I'm going to make this up to you."

It feels like a strange thing to say, but it's exactly what he means.

"Yeah, you are. Although it can't stop my revenge being not texting you when I have a heart attack in aisle three when I'm eighty and you're buying eggs, but okay."

If Castiel could, he would've shaken his head at that.

(But at least, and this is what really matters — they made it. He's alive. He — he gets this.)

"I love you, you son of a bitch."

Castiel smiles slowly, a tear landing on his pillow. "I love you too."

[imaginewithtearose]

Hi!! May I request a twisted wonderland matchup pls? She/her, virgo, I have wavy hair that reaches mid back(?) and is extremely frizzy and hard to tame :’) I’m quite tall (at least taller than the average woman) and I’m rather skinny (not in a good way. It’s almost unhealthy). I’m quite shy and tend to keep to myself when in public. I find it hard to socialize, even if it’s for some group project with classmates I don’t really know that well. Although with friends I might show a more chaotic side of me. Like when I’m with them I get excited easily over small things and actually enjoy myself for once. Im also touch deprived most of the time so i can be really clingy, but only to those I trust. I wouldn’t hesitate to comfort friends but (even though I’m a damned writer) I’m not too good with comforting through words and often struggle to express my feelings or explain things. Also im a bit of a perfectionist but a big procrastinator as well and let me tell you, that’s not a healthy combo (it usually results in me being angry with myself. All the time.) As I said before, I’m a writer! I love writing romance and Fantasy stories (and *cough* fluff headcanons for friends because I absolute live for fluff). I love to make up my own new world and let my imagination go wild, usually including things like magic, different creatures and other things that wouldn’t exist irl. Usually it’s just a “better” world or a world I’d love to live in. I figured it’s one of my biggest sources of comfort as I can take mind off any stressful matters and return to my own little worlds. I also really *really* like poetry a lot, though I’m not the best with writing poetry I love to read / hear it. I don’t know how to explain it but it never fails to amaze mez I don’t really have any other major hobbies but I do LOVE tiny and cute things like kittens!! And anything soft!!

(I hope it’s not too much or too little, this is my first time requesting T^T)

Owww its not too much!! You did it excellent! You are so cute. I wanna say in a respectful way that i will date you, such a cutie!! You are totally my type.

But im not your perfect partner, actually. Lets ask the mirror, he will know :D

Matchup loading. . .

Oh! The results are here, lets see...

The mirror matches you with...

Riddle Rosehearts!

This sounds crazy, right? But you are his perfect match actually! He likes his women tall and nice! ((even if he says the opposite))

He understands the hard to socialize thing, specially when you were isolated as a kid. When meeting, you two were just two akward teens trying to start a conversation. Trey has to interfere to help.

You are his special piece of tart. Your chaotic side makes him jump of his feet, but they are a refreshing flavor indeed. Meeting someone who is ready to break the rules sometimes and going crazy!

You bet he runs with you trough the library while laughing, hoping nobody will see both of you.

The library is your special place where most of your dates go by. Loots of book for you two to share. He can do crosswords and you can read or write in peace. The garden of roses is the second place tho, with tea parties and book parties :)

He will love to hear you ramble about your poems, fantasies, novels, and worlds, if you let him in of course.

He will put his head in your lap and just hear you for hours after he deal with dorm stuff. You two under a three, talking slowly, and enjoying yourselfs outside of large crowds.

So do you like cute stuff? Pretty sure he will let you take care of the hedgehogs! He will tell you all of their names and let you play with them! Take cute photos of him with the hedgehogs and put it like your lockscreen :)

He deals with perfectionism himself, sooo, he gets it. He will try to comfort you when you are angry about your procrastination, tho he is just as bad as you in comforting.

“ Y/n, my sweetie pie, c'mon, lets just go to get a fresh cup of tea in the rose gardens, lets forget about the reality in our wonderland”

He got super red after saying that lmaooo

He will totally dance with you under the rain, or in the gardens, to classic music, following your fantasies in silence, heels spinning on the grass. And only your laughs filling the silences.

Riddle loves you as much as the Queen of hearts loved his husband. He hopes that every white rose he gives you, in your mind, becomes passionate red, the color of his heart and the love he carries for you.

Hope this answer pleases you! Here are the other candidates that i think for you: Azul Ashengrotto, Idia Shroud, Sebek Zigvolt and Cater Diamond!

[hajimewhore]

Amusement Park Date🎢 (Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader) ➸sfw, gn!Reader, 1.3k+ words  ➷fluff, established relationship, lil kisses, really just a cute drabble that got too long, introspection into your relationship with Ushiwaka   ➷Ushiwaka mini playlist:  Airplane Mode♫  Daft Pretty Boys♫  Rings♫  I LOVE YOU 3000 II♫

You snort, trying to stifle your laugh with the back of a hand when your eyes catch the display screen showcasing images of the park’s guests. Some coasters have a hidden camera installed to catch you when you least expect it, at the steepest drop during the ride, the collection of photographs are then displayed at the rollercoaster’s exit for purchase (or in your case, a quick snap of your phone’s camera). 

The slideshow took it’s sweet time to shuffle through the images, but once it landed on your coaster’s photo, you couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up.

Ushijima is stone faced in the image, a severe juxtaposition to your animated features. Upon any normal person’s inspection, they’d see the image at face value, thinking ‘that man must be seriously unbothered!’ 

Though after dating Ushijima for a few years, you’ve learned to pick up on the most minute details. 

He’s got a death grip on the rails, hands tightened around the seat bars as if the 190 pound guy could fly out the top. His perfectly cut jaw is tightened, teeth probably gnashing as he bites back a scream. His eyebrows are raised ever so slightly, similar to his widened eyes. All nearly imperceptible signs that show just how wildly uncomfortable Ushijima felt during the ride, and you’re changing your lockscreen to it.

It seems he isn’t familiar with the jarring spins, jerks, and dips that amusement park rides entail—you start to recall he may have mentioned he’d never been on one before, and that he was looking forward to experiencing new things on your date.

A sentiment he is surely taking back at the moment, though it does please you with a chest-encompassing warmth that he still followed along, toughing out the rollercoasters on your checklist.

You’re surprised he lasted through all the rides you completed without making his discomfort apparent, the sun’s already started setting and you’ve explored a majority of the park. You mentally scold and punch yourself for failing to recognize Ushijima’s unease sooner, you probably should’ve stopped at the fourth or fifth ride.

When you notice his brows are furrowed tighter than usual, a pang of sympathy envelops you. Before you can ask if he wants to grab water, or rest somewhere, his deep voice fills your ears,

“Can we...” Ushijima pauses, deliberating for a second, “Grab something to eat?” he blinks, expression neutral as ever.

You sense he’s actually asking for a break from the rollercoasters rather than craving for something, but he’s asking in a roundabout and not so subtle way. You’d already eaten fairly recently, after all. 

The method surprises you, considering he’s usually straightforward to a fault.

“Of course Wakatoshi,” you have to lean up to his height to wrap your arms around his neck, coaxing him into a soft kiss. 

He presses his lips to yours without hesitation, accepting the gesture. You take it in stride with a bright smile, corners of your lips turning up into the kiss. You almost giggle when you feel his long lashes brush against your delicate skin.

You suspect Ushijima didn’t want to hold you back from having a good time, which is probably the same reason he suffered through 6 rollercoasters with you, and as a result suggested an alternative for you to enjoy instead. Spinning death traps are not for everyone, you suppose, and you aren’t opposed to trying one of the myriad of dessert places you spotted earlier.

“I’m craving something sweet, actually. You can pick where we go!”

“Doesn’t matter to me.”

Ushijima pulls back from your kiss, serious countenance making its comeback. 

From an outsider’s perspective, Ushijima probably seems like an aloof or indifferent boyfriend, but you knew better. It was his acts of service that enabled that sunny smile to cross your features, the way he wholeheartedly steps out of his comfort zone for you, how he’s learned to stray from his reserved habits in order to make things work. 

Ushijima links his hand with yours, and you feel as thrilled as the first time he did it. Initially, he never bothered with hand holding. It took a while for Ushijima to understand the domesticity of something simple, like holding hands, and how special it could be for you. When he figured it out, he made sure to interlock your hands more often, fingers laced together and held steadily at his side.

“Alright, this way then!”

You usher him along, tugging his palm gently to make way for the ice cream shop you had in mind. Ushijima accepts the change of direction as he walks in step with you (a difficult task for someone so tall, and you appreciate the sweet yet silent gesture). 

Walking along, weaving between couples and groups, Ushijima’s hand remains linked with yours. When you peek at him, your heart almost fully stops in your chest. 

He looks stunning. Every neon sign and coaster you pace by paints Ushijima’s features with the vivid shades of every color on the spectrum. 

The brilliant purples suit him best, but you think the crisp evergreens and hazy red glows are equally striking, illuminating his features so well. You didn’t think you could fall in love with him again and again so easily, but something as simple as the lighting in the area proves that theory wrong.

You whisk him away to your go-to dessert spot before he can catch you staring, eager to continue your amusement park date. On the other hand, Ushijima is just content to be close to you and away from the dizzying, literal head spinning rides.

 “Let’s share a sundae! This one has a lot of treats and candies that go on top... tons of whipped cream, edible sparkles, not to mention it’s huge too!” 

You gush, eyeballing the lurid stock photo picturing the absolute monstrosity of an ice cream sundae.

“Alright.”

Ushijima looks to be impartial to your request, relaying the order to your server. But his gaze is soft, at a complete loss for the harsh edges he naturally maintains. The subtle shift in his expression clues you in to his endearment for your ice cream enthusiasm, and you preen to yourself upon the realization.

 You know Ushijima is subject to being labeled as that indifferent, aloof, and stone faced boyfriend.

But to you, he doesn’t need a smile that’s a mile wide. You can clearly see the soft glow in his hazel eyes, the kind that usually accompanies a grin anyways.

He doesn’t have to be experienced at showing public displays of affection, when he practices the underrated gestures–always carrying your stuff, opening doors, walking closest to the road, matching your pace–which are equally as special. 

“I love you, Wakatoshi.”

And when you tell him you love him, you’re absolutely enamored as you’re caught up analyzing the little details his expression might give away. Your eyes flick across his features, as if you don’t already have every attribute and imperfection committed to memory and stamped onto your heart.

He doesn’t need to feel obligated to say it back immediately.

“I take it the sundae was good then?”

And he doesn’t, but you can see the beginnings of a smile tugging at his lips.

He doesn’t need to say I love you all the time, because you know he will when it counts. Late night haze, wrapped up in his arms in a safe space, smothered warmly by too many blankets. The moon’s glow dipping in passed the curtains and painting your cheeks with a lunar highlight, three words are whispered against the nape of your neck in spite of the comfortable silence.

 “I love you ‘toshi, and I love this sundae.”

But that won’t stop you from reminding him whenever you can, if only to see the faint cherry pink play at the apples of his cheeks, eyes pretending to find something of fake interest in the distance. And without fail, Ushijima Wakatoshi will smile handsomely at every declaration of love you make to him.

A/N: I wanted to play with more introspection and imagery, I hope it turned out alright! This is probably the first Ushijima fic I’ve written kadlg i hope you enjoyed iiiit

[masterlist] taglist: @thatoneoddgirl8​​

[chaeryybomb]

“8 hours and counting...” || l.dh

anon: “Can you do a best friends to lovers with nct haechan?”

a/n: here you go! thank you so much for requesting and I might’ve went a bit overboard with this,,,

pairing: lee haechan/lee donghyuck x gender neautral reader

genre: best friend to lovers!au, college!au, fluff, slight angst, haechan lowkey being a jerk, slow burnish?

featuring: mark lee, huang renjun, lee jeno, na jaemin and choi jongho

word count: 2.3k (oops)

summary: haechan misunderstood the situation thinking you had found a boyfriend and allows jealousy to take over and it is up to you, to slap— well, more like kiss him back into reality.

Haechan stared at the red iPhone in front of him. Well, more like he was glaring at the device. The reason was because he sent a text to his dear best friend, L/N Y/N, asking to meet up at the cafe because he was bored and he wanted to spend time with you.

He sent that text a few hours ago. 8 hours ago to be more precise, his brain taunted.

Sighing, he stood and paced around the room as endless scenarios ran through his head. Usually you would’ve answered his text within seconds after he sent it, the latest you ever took was 20 minutes! And that was because you were in a replacement class! Haechan knew your schedule like the back of his hand, of course he knew when you were free to text. And this was one of the moments, so where the hell was you?

Maybe you had a replacement class you forgot to mention. Haechan scratched their side of his head as he tried to remember if you had any classes cancelled in the past week. You didn’t. What if you were kidnapped?! His eyes widened at the thought. Oh no, should he make a police report? But you have to be missing for 24 hours before you’re “officially” a missing person and it’s only been 8 hours and 47 minutes... (Technically 8 hours felt like 8 years in Haechan’s book.)

Before he could think of even worse situations, Haechan’s phone rang out loud and the boy quickly dived to answer it. He groaned in disappointment once he read the contact name. It wasn’t you, just stupid Mark Lee. He swiped the accept button and raised the phone to his ear. “What?!” He asked annoyed.

“Woah, someone woke up on the wrong side of bed today,” Mark said on the other line.

“Hahaha, very funny Minhyung. What do you want?” Haechan replied with a sarcastic laugh.

“Jesus, I was going to ask if you want to go to the arcade today. Renjun said he’s going to beat your high score at Super Mario,” Mark explained.

At mention Renjun, Haechan could hear his voice yelling, “Be there or be square!” in the background.

Haechan swiped out of the call app and into his texts, his message was still on delivered. At least it was better than being left on read, right? But there was also a 80% chance of you being missing.

“Hello? Dude, you there?” Mark’s voice drew Haechan out his thoughts. Haechan shook his head, maybe the arcade would be a good distraction.

“Yeah, I’m in.”

The arcade was not a good distraction.

“Bro, are you okay?” Mark asked as he slung his arm over the younger one. “Renjun beat you in Super Mario. I repeat, you—“ he jabbed his finger at Haechan’s shoulder “—lost to Renjun!”

Renjun, who was sitting across from Mark, kicked his shin under the table. The older hissed in pain as he grabbed his leg. Mark glared at the boy in front of him, who’s now indulging himself in a conversation with Jeno, pretending like he didn’t stab Mark on the shin with the back of his heel.

Haechan mindlessly stirred his soda with the plastic straw, the whole time his mind was occupied with you, you and you. He made a mental note to blame you the next time he sees you. It’s stupid Y/N’s fault that he lost to Renjun in Super Mario! Ugh, now he has to play the damn game again just to get back his rightful place at the top of the leaderboard.

He looked at his phone the nth time since he entered the arcade. His lockscreen was empty from any notifications. No new messages or any missed calls. His wallpaper was a picture of him and you, who was on his back. It was a candid picture (courtesy of Jaemin) and the two of you were caught in the middle of laughing. He loves the picture, but right now it’s becoming a reminder that you have yet to reply to his message. It’s officially been 12 hours since his text. 12 hours and still nothing.

Suddenly, his ears perked up at the sound of someone’s laughter. Not just anyone, he knew whose laugh was that. It was yours. There’s no doubt that it was your laugh, he’s heard it his entire life. (And it’s also his favorite sound but he’d rather die than admit that.) Haechan sat up straighter and craned his neck, his eyes scanning the area for a certain person.

And there you were, standing in all your glory. His eyes lit up once he found you, but they immediately darkened in the next second. You weren't alone, beside you was another boy. A boy that he did not recognize. He saw you open your mouth to say something which resulted in the boy to ruffle your hair and sling his arm around your neck. The two walk past their table from the mini cafeteria and into the arcade. You didn’t even notice him.

Haechan’s fist tightened around the head of the chair as he watched you and the boy laugh together. Who the fuck was he and why the fuck was he with you? Mark seemed to notice where Haechan was staring and spoke up.

“Oh hey, isn’t that Y/N? HEY Y—MMPH!” Haechan swiftly moved to slap his hand over Mark’s mouth. He waited till you and the mystery boy disappeared into the aisle of arcade machines and finally slumped back into his seat.

“What the fuck was that for?!” Mark demanded and glared at the boy beside him.

Haechan rolled his eyes at the older and slumped back deeper into his seat, a pout on his lips. Mark paid no mind to him and just ruled it as one of his moments. While the other boys were laughing at Jeno choking on a french fry, a thousand thoughts were running through Haechan’s mind. The main one was who was the guy with you?

You couldn’t possibly have a boyfriend, right? No, you wouldn’t. You would’ve told him. That’s what best friends do, right? But that’s what he’s always going to be to you.

The best friend. He hates it.

Something’s wrong with Haechan. You’re sure of it. You stared at your phone in your hand as you reread his reply over and over again.

Haechan [8:33am]: hey you wanna go to the cafe for breakfast??

Haechan [8:35am]: hello???

Haechan [8:35am]: y/nnnnn

Haechan [8:36am]: don’t ignore meee :((

You [9:42pm]: omg im so so sorry

You [9:42pm]: im sorry hyuck i was at a family reunion :(((

You [9:43pm]: we can go to the cafe tomorrow if you’re still up for it!

Haechan [9:45pm]: i have plans tomorrow. maybe next time.

You [9:46pm]: alright..

First of all, Haechan would’ve popped off at you for replying to his texts so late and for ignoring him the whole day unintentionally. And secondly, he would’ve sent multiple texts at once, all caps and fighting emojis. Not just “i have plans tomorrow. maybe next time.”

“Who are you and what did you do to my best friend,” you mumbled to yourself. You sighed to yourself and placed your phone back on your desk. Maybe he’s really mad at you for ignoring him the whole day. In your defense, you were showing your cousin around town! You hadn’t checked your phone the entire day.

‘I should probably get him coffee as an apology tomorrow,’ you thought to yourself as you got ready for bed. Yeah, coffee sounds like a good plan.

You were wrong. It was not a good plan. It all started the next morning when you sent a good morning text to Haechan. He didn’t reply to you. You found it weird but you brushed it off. Maybe he was rushing off to school. He had a habit of waking up late anyways.

But the moment you saw him at campus, he immediately took off without giving you a chance to call out for him. Even weirder. Every corner you turn, there he is laughing with someone else but the moment you take your eyes off him for a second, he’s gone. You furrowed your eyebrows as you watched Haechan trying to subtly walk away from you. He can’t really be that mad at you, right?

It has been 4 days since you last saw Haechan and it basically confirmed your suspicions. He was avoiding you. But the question was why?

You tried to remember if you did anything to piss him off the past week but your brain gave you nothing. You tried asking his friends but they shrugged as they didn’t know the reason as well. You finally decide that you had enough of it and go to confront him.

So that’s how you ended up in front of Haechan’s apartment door. You rang the doorbell and waited, rocking back and forth on your heels. You heard shuffling coming from behind the door and it opened to reveal a just-woken-up-from-a-nap Haechan.

You smiled at him once he opened the door but Haechan’s eyes widened and he slammed the door shut. You blinked. What just happened? Regaining from the shock of his actions, you wasted no time and bent down to get the spare key under the welcome mat.

You quickly opened the door to his apartment and stepped in, ready to give Haechan a piece of your mind for his stupid antics. Haechan shrieked when he saw you came in.

You glared at him and jut her finger at him accusingly. “You’ve been avoiding me,” you said.

Haechan gulped and played it off. “No, I have not,” he said through gritted teeth and walked past you to the kitchen.

“Yes, yes you have! I texted you and you didn’t even reply back for days, Haechan,” you said, following him into the kitchen.

“Taste of your own medicine, then,” he mumbled under his breath. But it was loud enough for you to pick it up.

You raised a brow and scoffed. “Is this because I didn’t answer your texts the other day?”

Haechan turned his head to the side, not wanting to make eye contact. His lack of response told you that it was a yes.

“Haechan, you can’t be serious. I told you I was at a family reunion!”

You stared at him with your doe eyes widened. “Boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend, what are you talking about?”

“Are you sure you weren’t out with your boyfriend,” he blurted out. Haechan slapped his hand over his mouth, that wasn’t supposed to be said out loud.

“I saw you with another guy at the arcade that day,” he blurted out once again. He winced once those words left his mouth. Dang it Haechan, couldn’t he keep his mouth shut just this once?

You blinked for a few seconds before realization finally settled in. You couldn’t help but laugh at his accusation, causing Haechan to glare at you. “You mean Jongho? He’s my cousin,” you told him after you stopped laughing.

Oh.

Your cousin. The word echoed in his head. The "boyfriend" was just your cousin.

“Besides,” you added, leaning against the counter, “why would you care if I got a boyfriend anyway? What, do you like me or something?”

Haechan visibly stiffened at the last sentence. Oh boy, he hopes you didn’t notice him freeze. But of course you noticed it, you noticed every detail of him.

“Wait, do you actually like me?” You asked. You were internally panicking. Holy shit, does he like you? It’s too good to be true, right?

“Yeah,” he said quietly after a few seconds of silence. He was looking down at his feet. “Is that a bad thing?” He whispered, finally lifting his head up to meet your gaze.

‘Of course it isn't, because I like you too,’ you wanted to tell him. You had liked him the moment he introduced himself as your neighbour when they were 6 years old. But the way he flirts around other girls always gave you the thought that he didn’t feel the same.

You stayed silent too long for Haechan’s liking. ‘Oh no, they’re going to reject me,’ he thought. Before you could even open his mouth, he quickly added on, “It’s okay if you don’t like me though! I totally get it.”

“Haechan—“

“No, no it’s okay, Y/N. I understand. You don’t like me, I mean of course you wouldn’t. You probably see me as a brother and nothing more. So let’s just forget this ever happened and—“

He was too busy rambling to notice that you were advancing towards him. You got on your tiptoes and gave him a peck on his lips. Haechan immediately shut up, and froze on the spot. It was merely a peck but it was more than enough to make him stop working. His cheeks were now red at the sudden contact. You had an amused smile in your lips.

“D-Does this mean you like me too?” He stuttered out.

Instead of saying anything, you nodded and wrapped your hands around his neck, bringing him down for another kiss, this time it was longer. Haechan smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around your waist.

When you pulled away, you whispered, “I like you too, idiot.”

[bonus]

“Wait, so Jongho is that cousin who could break apples with his hand? While singing?!” Haechan repeated what you told him. You were now sitting on his lap, your back against his chest, his arms around you.

“Uh huh, he even broke a watermelon with his finger once,” you added. “And he’s like an older brother to me, so if you ever break my heart...”

Haechan visibly shuddered at the thought of Jongho breaking his neck. He hugged you tighter and buried his head into your neck, causing you to let out a laugh.

thank you for reading and requests are open!

[iwillhaveamoonbase]

Secret Love Song

Rayla gets a call that her boyfriend, Callum, is engaged to his childhood friend.  Human AU.  For the Rayllum Birthday Prompt ‘Rain’ and inspired by Little Mix’s Secret Love Song

-----------------------------

Why can't you hold me in the street?

Why can't I kiss you on the dance floor?

I wish that it could be like that

Why can't we be like that? Cause I'm yours

Rayla sighed as Little Mix came on.  ‘Irony. Love it.’  The song rolled over her as the rain continued to pound against her window.  The song hit like a freaking sucker punch to her stomach after the phone call with Viren she had just had.  Her boyfriend, her secret boyfriend, was magically engaged to his childhood friend, Claudia.  ‘I thought Americans didn’t pull this shit.  “Planned since childhood” my ass.’

Rayla looked at her phone and opened it to view her lockscreen.  A pair of the most captivating green eyes she had ever seen was staring back at her.  A wide smile on his face as he held her close. A giant smile was on her own lips and she looked so relaxed it was almost difficult to remember this had been taken only a few days ago.  They had been together for two and a half years and she had genuinely believed they were headed to marriage.

Callum had done a study abroad program in her native Scotland three years ago.  They had become fast friends after a misunderstanding involving his art and someone choosing to deface it before the school art exhibition.  The six months between then and the exhibition had been one filled with late night movies, study sessions, and Rayla trying to convince him that Chinese was the best takeaway while he always complained it wasn’t authentic enough.  Rayla could still remember wearing a nice dress at that first art show as he presented something completely different than the defaced piece and losing her breath as he unveiled a traditional painting of her.  There had been such love and devotion in his brushstrokes it had emboldened her to kiss him when he brought her back to her apartment.  They had been together ever since, even with a giant ocean between them and being unable to go public.

‘Public.’  Rayla hated that word.  Callum’s step-father was, unfortunately, deeply involved in American politics and was currently running for senator.  While Harrow had been open to her, his campaign advisor and close friend, Viren, had discouraged the move.  Rayla didn’t have the refined manners Viren believed was necessary for someone of Callum’s family’s status.  She was a championship fencer at university and was working on starting a career in physical therapy after training to represent the UK in the next Olympics. Why wasn’t she good enough?  Viren’s phone call had to be joke.  

I don't wanna hide us away

Tell the world about the love we making

I'm living for that day, someday

Rayla looked through her newsfeed and saw it.  ‘Callum Evans is engaged to Claudia Nelson.  The couple, currently vacationing in the Scottish countryside, were seen exiting a hotel together this morning.’  No.  This was impossible.  Claudia was gay.  She had a girlfriend.  They had talked about her finally coming out to her dad.  Rayla dropped her phone, screaming into the storm that was crashing against her windows.  

Rayla stood up, almost throwing the blanket Callum had given her off the couch.  Her apartment was covered in his art and pictures of them. She refused to go into her bedroom.  The amount of times she and Callum had made love in there….  She started to pace, startled when the mirror by the door showing her face was covered in tear tracks.  She hadn’t cried this hard since her parents died in a car accident when she was eight and had been taken in by Runaan and Ethari.  

‘I don’t want to hide it anymore, Rayla.  I love you. I don’t want anyone else.’ Callum’s voice floated in her ear, reminding her of just yesterday when he had been over.

“SHUT UP!!!”  Rayla opened the window.  In a few minutes, she was drenched from the rain blowing in.  “YOU LIED!”  A few hiccupping sobs escaped her.  “You lied…”

---------------------------------

Why can't I say that I'm in love?

I wanna shout it from the rooftops

I wish that it could be like that (I wish)

Why can't we be like that? Cause I'm yours

Callum stared door at the carpet.  “Viren, no.  You can’t do this.”

Viren sighed, like Callum was a child and not a 22-year-old man.  “Callum, you and Claudia are a much better match than you and Ms. Burrows.”

“Claudia’s in a relationship, too, you know.”  Callum’s eyes widened a bit, playing it back in his head.  ‘OK, didn’t out her.’

“I’m aware.  I told her to break it off.  It’s unnecessary.”

“What is?  Us being happy?”  

“Happiness is overrated.”

“Says the man who let his wife walk away because he was incapable of taking more time out for her.”

Viren was silent for a moment.  Callum knew it was a low blow, but he didn’t care.  “That was uncalled for.”

“I’m not marrying Claudia. I was planning on proposing to Rayla. The whole reason I came to Scotland for this vacation was to do that.”  Claudia had tagged along to see her own girlfriend, but Callum had barely seen Claudia since they had landed at the airport.

“When are you going to realize there is no future there?”

“You’ve barely said two words to Rayla.  How do you know there is no future there?”

“Because when I called her to tell her the news, she didn’t seem all that upset.”

Callum’s chest constricted. “You called her?”

“Well, someone had to.”

“Before telling me what you’re planning?”

“It’s going to be in all the major newspapers very soon.  Ah. Speak of the devil.  It’s already up.”  Callum turned to his laptop and went to type his name in the search bar.  First result was an announcement that he and Claudia were engaged.  The picture was from this morning and from when he and Claudia had met by chance. She was off for another date and he was going to pick up Rayla’s ring from Ethari.  It made been made with love by one of her fathers who, miraculously, had been alright with the possibility that Rayla might be moving thousands of miles away to live with him.

“I can’t believe you,” Callum hissed.  “You had no right!”  Lightning flashed out of the corner of his eye.  “Tell them you lied.  Does Claudia even know?”

“Not yet.  She’ll be delighted, I’m sure.  You two have always been close.”

“You know what, Viren? You and Claudia need to have a long conversation about what exactly would make her happy.  But I can guarantee, it isn’t me.  If you won’t tell the networks you made a mistake, I will.”

“You will go through with this.  Your father’s campaign-”

“WHAT?!  How will me marrying a potential OLYMPIAN ruin my father’s reputation?  Explain that to me!  She’s smart, worldly, humble, and she’s great at handling people even though she’s not a people person.  What has she done that makes you so sure she would drag my family down?  Because, from where I’m standing, she’s been nothing short of amazing.  My art has only gotten better since she’s become my muse and she’s opened up my mind to so much more than I ever thought was possible.  Ezran has started making more friends since they started having weekly Skype calls.  Dad has started having stronger pro-immigrant and cultural exchange stances since we started dating.  WHAT HAS SHE DONE THAT’S SO WRONG?!”

“She’s not one of us. She’s lower class, her family has nothing-”

“FUCK YOU.  I have tried to respectful to you because you’ve done a lot for our family.  I don’t know what happened to you, Viren, but you are not who you used to be.  And I hope for your sake, and Soren and Claudia’s, you can find who you once were and be that person again.  I am not marrying Claudia.  Good-bye.”  Callum hung-up before Viren could get in another word edgewise.  “Shit.”  Callum sighed for a moment, sitting on the bed.  “I should have stayed with Rayla.  Maybe if I had, when she got that call…  FUCK.” Callum leapt off the bed, grabbing his rental keys and jacket as he ran out the door.  “I’m coming, Rayla.”

-----------------------------

Why can't we be like that?

Wish we could be like that

Rayla walked unsteadily down the street, silent sobs racking her body.  The rain was pelting her and had neither a coat on or was using an umbrella. The streets were empty except for the occasional car.  The rainstorm was keeping everyone inside.  She was probably going to get sick, but she couldn’t be in that apartment.  It was too full of happy, hopeful memories.  Rayla ran a hand down her naked ring finger on her left hand.  She had been so sure Callum was planning on proposing.  ‘Maybe Viren’s talking out his ass?’  

Rayla kept almost calling Callum, to beg him to tell her that this was all part of some sick plot by Viren.  But, her heart would probably give out if he told her it was true.  She wasn’t sure she would survive seeing wedding pictures of Callum with anyone else.  “I just want to hold you….why is that too much to ask?”

“It’s not.”  Rayla almost didn’t hear him over the rain. She turned her head to see Callum, drenched, next to a still running car.  “Ray…”

“Is it true?”

“No.  Viren went ahead and did what he wanted.”  Callum fumbled with his pocket.  “FUCK.  It’s back at the hotel.  I got Ethari to make a ring for you.”  Rayla’s heart stuttered for a beat before pounding in her chest.  “Rayla Burrows, I don’t want anyone else.  I’m so sorry about Viren, but he does not speak for me.” Callum stepped towards her, taking her had.  “I don’t have the ring on me, but would you marry me?  I’ll let you pick out the takeout every night, even awful Chinese, if you let me prove to you that this was just a blip.  I won’t let anyone come between us.”

Rayla looked into his eyes. “Promise?”

“Yes.  I never wanted to keep us a secret and I am so, so sorry I let anyone convince me that it was for the best.  I thought it would be better for you because my childhood was not always a happy one.  The press is cruel and demanding.  But you are the strongest, bravest, most wonderful, beautiful person I’ve ever met. I would be the biggest idiot on the planet if I let you go without begging you for a chance to make this up to you.”

“Yes.”  

“Yeah?”  Callum’s eyes went wide as hope filled them.

“Yeah,” Rayla nodded. She could feel the tears combining with the rain as Callum pulled her into a kiss.  When they finally pulled away, Rayla looked at the car.  “My place?”

“Hotel first.  I want to see that ring on your finger before anyone starts making absurd claims I’m cheating on Claudia.”

“Claudia.  What are we going to do about that?”

“We’ll just call it a misunderstanding.  I’m sure there’s enough video evidence throughout the city that proves we’ve barely interacted since landing.”

“OK.  Take me to this ring you just promised me.”

“My pleasure.”

-------------------------------

‘Yesterday, we announced Callum Evans was engaged to Claudia Nelson, the daughter of his father’s campaign advisor.  This has been proven to be false.  Apparently, Viren Nelson, Claudia’s father, accidentally gave his daughter’s name when delivering the news that Callum was engaged to Rayla Burrows.  Ms. Burrows is a Scottish fencer who is bound for the Olympics.  The two have been in a relationship for two and a half years.  Claudia Nelson is also engaged to her Australian-born, UK-based girlfriend, Zaras Smith.  Congratulations to both happy couples.’

[h3adcarsbending]

Be Mine(craft) - UNI!Van McCann x Reader

a/n - dedicated to my best pal lmao. i decided to write someone other than matty, but the 1975 fics will return soon. esp once NOACF comes out!

Y/N spent a lot of time observing her roommate’s behaviour. After all, she was somewhat in love with him, so why wouldn’t she? 

So naturally she noticed when Van - oh, her lovely mopheaded Van - started to spend an abnormal amount of time online. “Schoolwork kicking your ass, dude? I can help you out.” she’d asked once. He’d given a dismissive, slightly detached  “Nope.” She figured it was best to leave it at that. However, she found his response slightly off-putting. Something was up and Y/N was determined to find out what it was.

For a while she debated going through his phone or his laptop, but she figured that’d be a little too intrusive… or was it? Well, yes. But also no. He wouldn’t care - they told eachother everything. They were best friends (unfortunately) so it didn’t matter. It did, though… back and forth, back and forth, blah blah blah. Conveniently, though, her dilemma was solved for her when she was on the couch watching The Office with Van at about nine p.m. when he excused himself to the washroom - leaving his phone on the table. She studied it for a moment, not once averting her Y/E/C gaze from the object.

And it pinged, the screen beginning to glow with blue light showcasing his lockscreen, a picture of Mary. A notification popped up, an Instagram DM from a user called SnowflakeSmasher86. It read; Goodnight my love. <3 :3

What the fuck? Who the fuck? Why didn’t he say anything? Millions of thoughts raced through Y/N’s alarmed, panicked brain, and quickly she opened Instagram on her own phone. She frantically typed the mysterious love’s username into the search bar, and found one result.

SnowflakeSmasher86, real name Simone, was an almost too gorgeous fashion student from Iowa. She appeared to be a Republican farm girl with a penchant for art and Minecraft; she extended her work designing real clothes to designing Minecraft skins. Odd, but since Y/N found it somewhat funny and endearing, she figured Van found it very much so.

Simone looked a little too perfect. Seemed a little too perfect. She looked somewhat familiar; from where, though, was a fact Y/N could not put a finger on.

Soon, Van returned to the couch, unpausing the television. “Hey. You look mad.”

You sighed, glaring at him from over your screen. “Should I be?”

“I’on think so.”

“Okay.”

Hey, at least she found an answer.

The next Sunday, Y/N slept in, but once she finally did wake up she found herself in the kitchen making coffee alone. Odd, she thought, considering Van usually woke up with her; they liked cooking breakfast, hanging out, vibing. She decided to check on him. He was probably fine, stayed up late or something - but she worried about her best friend, and often her anxieties surrounding his wellbeing got the best of her.

So she hurriedly made her way to his room, knocking lightly before letting herself in. She wasn’t quite sure she liked what she saw.

Van was sitting on the side of his bed, hunched, an acoustic guitar in hand as he played a slightly awful rendition of Help! by Oasis. He sniffled, and as he looked up at her - clearly startled - she saw tears welling up in his admittedly gorgeous eyes.

A concerned look spreading across her face, Y/N hurried over to Van, sitting beside him and wrapping her limbs around his body in a warm embrace. “Van, love, what’s up?”

He sighed, putting his guitar on the bed. “I just got fuckin’ dumped. For some hillbilly wanker named fucking Matt. Matt! Whitest twat on the planet. Redneck piece of shit. A-and the girl, we were long distance, and she was perfect, and she left me for that bellend. I’m pissed, but I feel like shit, because I lost me girl,” he said, crying a little harder, burying his head into the crook of Y/N’s neck, which prompted her to rub his back in an attempt to soothe the obviously grief-stricken boy.

“Hey, hey, hey, it’ll be alright…” she whispered, furrowing her brow. “You’re better than them. You’re a lot cooler than some dickhead named Matt. I doubt Matt has any talents beyond herding cattle, y’know? Did your girlfriend know you’re in a great band, are super smart, anything like that?”

“I think so. I might’ve written a tune about her.”

“She’s missing out either way!”

“You’re just sayin’ that cause you’re me best mate. You don’t have to, y’know that? Can just cry and eat ice cream with me if you’d like.”

Y/N squeezed his hand. “You’re more than my best mate, Van… I want to help you.”

He smiled slightly, lifting his head to meet her eyes. “Why are you so good to me?”

“I don’t know. You’ve helped me through a lot… I owe it to you.”

“You… you’ve been a lot better than any of them. Shit. It’s you, innit? Always been you,” he said, laughing a little as he shook his head at himself (although not unkindly.)

“What?” Y/N was confused, yet relieved, yet happy, flustered… too many things at once for her liking.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he replied, a smile on his tear-dampened face. “Loveliest bird I’ve ever met, you are. You’re… there’s just something about you, love.”

“I-uh-same to you. I l-love you too,” she responded, her brain failing to process what the hell was going on.

He grinned his toothy grin. His pretty, pretty grin. “Then how ‘bout we finish The Office. But, like… together, d'ya know what I mean?”

“Yeah,” she said, a wide smile on her face. “I’d love to.” 

[laurenbanasik]

A wholesome meme, and I changed my lockscreen to a desert because my phone is DRYYYYY AS FUCKKKKING HELLLLLL. I rarely get contact from those I love because they’re far away and I’m p sure they have a secret group chat without me in it to make things easier without having to worry about inviting me since I live so far away and don’t want to burden me with not being able to spontaneously hang (which breaks my fucking heart but oh well 🙃) and if I’m wrong I suppose my extreme social paranoia has WON YET AGAIN OOOOPPPPSS. Well I’m emotionally overwhelmed and drunk so here’s another rant on how my life sucks and how I have such an issue telling other people about it because, due to years and years of emotional neglect, I have an INCREDIBLE INABILITY to confide in others healthily HAHAHHAHA. S/o to anyone who deems me a valid human being and god forbid chooses me for a friend.

Anywho, I’ve FINALLY realized why I fucking HATE to see my only friends hangout without me. MAYBE. JJJJUUSTT MAYBE, it has to do with the fact that the last time I saw my old high school friends (the 3 I held closest to my heart and confided everything in) hanging out without me on social media was also the same day they yote me out of their lives forever... More detail? I thought you’d never ask!! How kind of you to care about my innermost traumas and allow me to express myself, seeing as I’m an incredibly open book about my sorrows. Having anyone listen to them and make me feel like a person worthy of love and care despite my many faults is something that NEVER FUCKING HAPPENS to me anymore due to me not opening up, not having the emotional availability to, or I’m just SO SO SICK OF BURDENING MY LOVED ONES WITH THE SAME SAD SHIT OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT IVE JUST SWALLOWED MY INNERMOST DEMONS TO AVOID FURTHER CONTAMINATION OF MY LIFES ONLY LIGHT AKA MY FRINDS WHO THINK IM FIIIINNNEEE. FUN FACT IM FUCKING NOOOTTTT !!!!

Anyways, it was the tail end of my senior year in high school and my 3 closest and bestest friends in the whole wide world.... posted on Snapchat that they’d met up, without me, and were doing some bs cutsey bff forever Pinterest bullshit. I asked why I wasn’t there , and they proceeded to mock me via social media and kindly let me know I was no longer their friend by dancing to the hook of “I don’t Fuck With You”. Visciously @-ing meover snapchat. I cried. And cried. And fuck it had an AWFUL panic attack because I had ABSOLUTELY NO GODDAMN Clue what was happening. I was Confused. Hurt. Lost. AND I had no idea what I did wrong. (I later learned it was because someone said that someone said that I Apparently said something mean about them. It wasn’t true but, hey, it’s probably because I’m SUCH a horrible friend, and SUCH a cunt that it was apparently SOOOO believeable that IT completely negated anything I could’ve said in my defense. Adding to my extreme social paranoia I hold near and dear to me to this day, that’s often exploited in most social interactions I have which has made me an almost total recluse! THANKS ABBIE, KOURTNEY, AND BRIDGETTE! FUCK IT ADD JESSICA AND KASEY IN THERE TOO ECWN THOUGH THEYD NEVER CALL ME THEIR FRIEND IN ANY HEALTHY CIRCUMSTANCE HAHA ! YAYYYY TORMENTORS !!!) .....

And that was the last I ever really had contact with them. My only friends throughout some of the most pivotal years of my life. One I talked out of suicide and self harm, another I assisted with confidence and general love and support, and I tried to be there for the third as best I could, but she was a typical badass so I just enjoyed her company. My high school friends. I gutted them out of my heart as best I could. Forgot all of the AMAZING times we’ve had. A great portion of my memories in high school were tossed out along with their presence in my life to make the pain go away. A huge part of me died that day ... and nobody knew about it.

So, now, whenever I’m excluded I’m immediately put back into that void of confusion. What did I do wrong ? Did I hurt them? Why am I not there ? Do they think that little of me? Do they know how much I love them? Do I care for them more than they do for me? Is this a healthy friendship? Do they really think I’d rather be anywhere than with them? Should I just cut them out of my heart now to be ready for eventual betrayal ? Do I cut them out of my soul despite how much I’ll bleed? Haha , Yeah. I know.... it’s tucked up and Toxic as all hell. But, I can’t even begin to imagine a conversation with anyone about their attempt to help me with THAT problem. Or any other problems resulting from that. And, a couple days ago... id met up with a friend I’ve had since middle school. Someone who I loved my life side by side with until college. Someone Who saw that entire exchange, and who is still friends with those who (knowingly/unknowingly) tormented me to the point of breaking all through high school in the most demented,confusing, and underhanded ways you can imagine. I told that story to her, because she never knew how me and my 3 friends drifted so far away from each other. She had JUST heard about ALL of that for the FIRST time in nearly 4 years. And she believed me.... The whole situation of my downfall as a respected senior at Euclid High School. A girl who I’ve shared more than half my life with at the time ... and it was invisible to her. Wild.

I have broken apart an old piece of myself. Analyzed every detail, despite how much each part made me bleed. These old shard rip open old scars. It’s nothing new. I’ve been living in confused, isolated pain for YEARS. You really think this will break me? .... I mean I’m already very much broken. I mean, look at me, I’m venting on tumblr 🙃😒🙄. I just keep making shifty shelters out of the broken pieces of myself, just waiting for the next wolf to blow me down. I may be living in fear and paranoia, but I’m still standing....... aren’t I ?

[editsbyhestia]

ㅤㅤㅤ𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀’s guide.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤand also my rules.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ— ENGLISH.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤSOME CLARIFICATIONS !!

ㅤㅤthis is the main info for my account — mostly about requests and my type of edits. feel free to check it to solve any doubt, although my ask is always open.

i make edits of every type — from actresses/actors, to models, singers, cartoons… whatever you want as long as i can find resources to edit them.

you can check my previous edits by searching in my tags the content you want to request, but if you don’t like the previous ones i did, go ahead and request new ones. no problem.

the main language i use in this blog is english, although my mother tongue is spanish and i also speak german and portuguese. said so — you can make requests or asks in any language you want and feel more comfortable.

if any of the content i post edited belongs to you and want me to take it down, write me privately so i can know and do so.

don’t repost/use my edits without giving credits to editsbyHestia. credits are always mandatory if you use one of my edits.

i encourage you to reblog or like if you liked or will be using one of my edits. although i enjoy reblogs/likes they are not credits.

ㅤㅤwhich psds do i use ?

i don’t own any psd that i use. saying that in advance — my go-to psds usually are Psd1278 By L-agallerrie, Teal And Orange, and Dirty Peach ( By Allscallie ).

ㅤㅤhow do i make my edits ?

photoshop. basically. i may use photopea from time to time but i prefer photoshop.

ㅤㅤwhat about requests ?

the status of my requests can be checked in my bio, where it will say: requests are OPEN or CLOSED. if the status changes i will notify it.

ㅤㅤwhat about my edits ?

i only post my own edits, from icons to headers, including lockscreens and whatever. i don’t post anything without a psd.

 ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤREQUESTS ; status : open.

ㅤㅤ here is a quick guide on how to request.

as i said, you can request whatever your heart desires, but i reserve the right to decline certain requests, for example if you request a problematic person or a dead one.

if you have a special picture in mind that you want me to edit as icon or whatever, you can send it to me to my messages or through twitter.

if you don’t add anything in special, i will feel free to make the edits in they way i like. but you can specify if you want them in a particular way. for example, you can ask me to make icons of Ester Expósito in any episode of Élite, or Aitana in a specific videoclip.

you can also specify if you want your request done in a particular way. maybe you want a specific range of colours? maybe you want a particular song for me to use in the headers? whatever you want, feel free to state it in the request so i can take it into account.

don’t be rude to me. i hope it doesn’t happen, but one never knows. i work for free and try to do it the best i can, so i really appreciate a fair treatment.

my edits include icons, headers, layouts, lockscreens, gifs… i try to do anything and if i don’t know how, i will try to learn.

just two-three requests per person. i notice, even with anonymous, when someone sends a ton of requests. that puts their request to the bottom of my to-do list. i may even not do them at all.

don't send your request twice - i surely got it the first time, i simply didn't have the muse/time to do it. insisting in a request may result in your request not being done at all.

i can also make edits for roleplay purposes, such as templates with the character’s info. but since i need more information for that one, you’ll need to write me privately.

i try to make every request in a few hours, but sometimes i get overwhelmed and/or stressed so it may take me a bit longer. usually it doesn’t take me more than one day.

i won't make any request without a please or thank you. and the kinder you are, the sooner i will try to do your request and i will put more effort into it.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤEDITS !!

ㅤㅤ𑁍 icons

1-9 icons.

pictures of actresses/models/singers...

example

ㅤㅤ𑁍 layouts

2-4 icons with matching header.

example

ㅤㅤ𑁍 matching layouts

2-4 icons from a particular celebrity with matching headers of another celebrity.

specify which celebrity do you want in the icons and which one in the headers, please.

example

example

ㅤㅤ𑁍 songs layouts

2-4 icons with matching song header.

example

ㅤㅤ𑁍 lockscreens

1-4 lockscreens, can be in collage or more simple. specify.

example

ㅤㅤ𑁍 headers

1-6 headers from whatever you request.

collage, pictures, plain, songs… just specify.

example

ㅤㅤ𑁍 roleplay edits

a template filled with your muses information and pics of your faceclaim.

1-2 edits.

example

example

ㅤㅤ𑁍 moodboards

a mix of several individual pictures that depict the vibe that you want.

please state not only who you want ( bella hadid i.e. ) but also the theme for the moodboard ( vampiric / dark i.e )

example

  ㅤㅤdo you have any question that i haven’t answered in this guide ?? any doubt ?? just want to say hi ?? feel free to hit my ask !!

ㅤㅤthanks for reading and getting interested in my edits !!

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ— ESPAÑOL.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤALGUNAS ACLARACIONES !!

ㅤㅤesta es la información principal sobre mi cuenta: básicamente sobre los pedidos y el tipo de edits que hago. puedes consultar aquí si tienes una duda, aunque mis mensajes siempre están abiertos para resolver cualquier duda.

hago todo tipo de edits: actrices, modelos, cantantes, dibujos... lo que sea siempre y cuando encuentre material para editar.

en mis etiquetas puedes consultar mis anteriores edits por si ibas a hacer ese pedido, pero si no te gustan los ya hechos, pide más sin problemas. 

uso principalmente el inglés en este blog, pero mi lengua materna es el español. también hablo alemán y portugués, por lo que puedes hacer tu pedido o preguntar lo que sea en cualquier idioma que prefieras.

si subo alguna imagen editada que te pertenece y quieres que la borre, escríbeme por privado para saberlo y poder hacerlo.

no resubas/uses mis edits sin darme créditos a editsbyHestia. los créditos son obligatorios si usas cualquiera de mis edits. 

te animo a darme reblog o like si usas o te gusta algunos de mis edits. pero aunque lo aprecio, no cuentan como créditos. 

ㅤㅤ¿ qué psds uso ?

ninguno de los psds que uso me pertenecen. dicho eso, mis favoritos son Psd1278 By L-agallerrie, Teal And Orange, and Dirty Peach ( By Allscallie ).

ㅤㅤ ¿ cómo edito ?

photoshop. básicamente. de vez en cuando igual uso photopea pero prefiero photoshop.

ㅤㅤ ¿ cómo van los pedidos ?

puedes comprobar el estado de mis pedidos en mi bio, donde dice: requests are OPEN or CLOSED. si cambiase esto, lo avisaré.

ㅤㅤ ¿ cómo van los edits ?

sólo subo edits que hago yo, desde icons hasta encabezados, incluyendo fondos de pantalla y lo que sea. no subo nada sin psd.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤPEDIDOS ; estado : abiertos.

ㅤㅤ aquí va una guía rápida sobre cómo hacer un pedido. 

como ya dije, puedes pedir cualquier cosa que te apetezca, pero me reservo el derecho a rechazar ciertos pedidos. por ejemplo, si pides de alguien problemático o de una persona muerta.

si tienes alguna foto en mente que quieras editada como icon o lo que sea, puedes mandármela a mis mensajes o por twitter.

si no añades nada en especial, me tomaré la libertad de hacer los edits como me apetezca. pero puedes especificar si los quieres de una manera concreta. por ejemplo, puedes pedirme icons de Ester Expósito en un capítulo de Élite en especial, o de Aitana en un vídeo en concreto.

también puedes especificar si quieres que haga tu pedido de una forma en especial. ¿quizá querías una gama de colores específica? ¿o que use una canción señalada en los encabezados? cualquier cosa que quieras que tenga en cuenta, señálalo al hacer tu pedido.

no seas descortés conmigo. espero que no pase, pero quién sabe. hago esto por amor al arte e intento a hacerlo de la mejor manera posible, así que agradezco mucho que se me trate bien. 

mis edits incluyen icons, encabezados, layouts, fondos de pantalla, gifs... intento hacer de todo, y si no sé algo en concreto, no me importa aprender.

no pidas más de dos o tres edits. me doy cuenta de cuando alguien, incluso en anónimo, manda un montón de edits, y esos los pongo los últimos en mi cola. puede que incluso no los haga.

no mandes dos veces tu pedido. seguramente lo haya recibido la primera vez pero no haya tenido el tiempo o las ganas para hacerlo. insistir en un mismo pedido puede llevar a que no lo haga directamente.

también hago ediciones para rolear, como plantillas con la información de los personajes. pero como necesito más información para hacer este tipo de edits, tendrías que escribirme por mensaje. 

intento hacer los pedidos en un par de horas, pero a veces me saturo y/o me estreso y puede que tarde un poquito más. normalmente no tardo más de un día.

no haré ningún pedido que no lleve un por favor o gracias. cuanto más amable seas, antes intentaré hacer tu pedido y pondré más esfuerzo en él.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤEDITS !!

ㅤㅤ𑁍 icons

1-9 icons.

fotos de actrices/modelos/cantantes... 

ejemplo

ㅤㅤ𑁍 layouts

2-4 icons con un encabezado que combine.

ejemplo

ㅤㅤ𑁍 layouts combinados

2-4 icons de un famoso x con un encabezado de un famoso y. 

especifica de qué famoso quieres los icons y de cuál los headers, por favor. 

ejemplo

ejemplo

ㅤㅤ𑁍 layouts de canciones

2-4 icons a juego con encabezados de canciones.

example

ㅤㅤ𑁍 fondos de pantalla

1-4 fondos de pantalla; collage, simples, dos fotos, lo que sea. especifica.

ejemplo

ㅤㅤ𑁍 encabezados

1-6 encabezados de lo que pidas..

collage, fotos, simples, con canciones… especifica.

ejemplo

ㅤㅤ𑁍 edits para rol

una plantilla rellena con la información de tu personaje y fotos de su faceclaim.

1-2 edits.

ejemplo

ejemplo

ㅤㅤ𑁍 moodboards

una mezcla de varias foto individuales con el estilo que quieras representado.

por favor indica no sólo de quién quieres el moodboard ( bella hadid p.ej. ) sino también el tema ( vampírico / oscuro p.ej. )

ejemplo

 ㅤㅤ¿¿ tienes alguna pregunta que no haya contestado en esta guía ?? ¿¿ alguna duda ?? ¿¿ te apetece saludarme ?? ¡¡ mándame un mensaje !!

ㅤㅤ ¡¡ gracias por leerme e interesarte en mis edits !!

[the-demi-jedi]

Hello there! I want to share a story I’ve written for a local short story contest. The topic was “The Last Day on Earth”. I’d love to have some feedback from y’all, so if you could spare twenty minutes, it would be great!

Title: The Last Day Word count: 4200 (appx. six pages) Genre: Thriller, romance, mystery Trigger warning: None that I know of. If you notice something, please let me know! Summary: Dan’s life seems to be perfect with his loving wife, well-paid job and a peaceful home. However, his ideal world has been upset by a message from an unknown sender. Who is the person who seems to be threatening him? And is Dan himself the person he believes he is?

The story is a translation from Czech to English, some errors are possible probable :)

Continue reading below!

I know that not many people say this, but I really love my life.

It's already getting dark outside and I finally see my home in the distance. With a smile on my lips, I start to stride towards it faster than I already do. Today was one of the days where I had to visit my workplace personally, as I usually work from home. The genetic lottery rewarded me with a talent for learning languages, including those used for programming, so I make my living as a translator and a programmer. Since I work in two fields, I always have a commission to work on and I can't complain about money - it's enough for me to live comfortably and to the fullest.

I open the wicket in our fence and walk through the garden, beautiful and manicured thanks to my wife's almost motherly care. I approach the main door. As always, I'm greeted by a wooden plate with Dan & Anna engraved on it - it is also a result of my spouse's creative outburst. I know she feels the happiest when she has an opportunity to create something.

I unlock the door and walk in. As soon as I hang my coat on the hanger, Anna is already rushing towards me, standing on the tips of her toes and greeting me with a gentle kiss.

At first glance, Anna is a slight, a bit plain girl. Her dark hair, contrasting with her fair skin, reach her waist. Her big, gray eyes are further magnified by the eyeglasses she's wearing. Yes, we are both adults. But every time she smiles at me with her trademark shy smile, I have butterflies in my stomach like an infatuated teenager.

"I missed you," she says, grabs my hand and leads me towards the kitchen, now filled with some exotic smell. Anna's creativity is undeniable even when she's cooking - and she's always overjoyed like a child when I find her meals tasty.

Even now, her face hardly contains excitement when I wolf down her creation. We talk through the rest of the evening. I usually talk about my work, she enthusiastically introduces me to her new project - a new painting in progress, a short story she started writing yesterday... all while wearing a sweater she knitted herself.

Her bright mind just never stops - and that's one of the many reasons I love her so much. I've dated two girls before her, but with Anna, I feel a true connection for the first time. A hopeless romantic would talk about soulmates. And they would be right. Our personalities complete each other, but we have common hobbies and hopes for the future.

Anna is twenty-four. I met her when she was nineteen and I've spent the most beautiful years of my life with her. We traveled around the world before we finally settled in a nice town in Canada. We are planning to get a dog and then, when the time is right, a child.

We watch a movie after dinner. We don't have the usual disputes of a married couple, like "I want an action splatter while she insists on a rom-com" - we always agree on some nice sci-fi or fantastical movie. After the opening music, Anna grabs my hand and moves it on her head. I smile - it's our own little game. I hold her close to me and start to stroke her hair. Soon, she starts to purr like a content kitten.

As I walk towards the bedroom after the movie ends, I check the calendar on my phone. By presenting and submitting it to the client, I have finished a project I've been working on for a long time - good thing the client paid me accordingly. Satisfied with a job well done, I cross the project off my schedule.

The deadline for my next project, a dull translation of legal documents in Korean, is in three months, so I can feel free to forget about it for a few days. Maybe I could take Anna somewhere tomorrow, perhaps for a dinner out.

Or maybe I could forget about the work for a week and take her for a trip to the mountains. A few days in a cozy, romantic cabin? Why not. I could always catch up with the commission later.

"You're up to something, right?" Anna, dressed in a nightgown, smiles at me with her eyebrows raised. "I know that thoughtful face very well!"

"Maybe I am, maybe I am not," I reply.

"Tell me!" she squeals and attacks me with the full force of her one hundred and fifty-five centimeters. She knocks me down on the bed and we both burst into laughter. Despite the torture techniques she uses on me (tickling, for example), I don't break. It will be a surprise.

An hour and half later, I fall asleep; Anna's quiet breath creates a pleasant ambiance. I'm looking forward to the upcoming days. No work; no Korean symbols and no Cyrillic to translate. Just me and my beloved.

I really do love my life.

 ...

When I wake up the next day, Anna is already in the kitchen, conjuring up the breakfast. She has always been an early bird. I hear her soft, high-pitched voice singing as she cooks. She's far from a perfect singer, but to me, she sounds like a perfect symphony.

When walking into the bathroom, I can't avoid looking in the mirror. I always wonder how did I manage to charm her so much she was willing to marry me even though I look like a typical computer nerd: skinny, not too tall, with a goatee and a hipster-style haircut. The people mostly guess I'm that kind of bachelor who dwells in his man-cave situated in my mother's basement.

Well, it's not that Anna and I don't have a gaming cave. When she's gaming and going through a tough part, she can be really noisy and only pieces of chocolate placed into her mouth can stop the foul words she sometimes uses. I am that type of calm, level-headed gamer.

Before I set the course towards the kitchen and my wife, I check my phone. My lockscreen wallpaper is, of course, my photo with Anna. The picture was taken at the ComicCon - I'm wearing a costume of Lord Revan and she's my Bastila Shan. I didn't have to push her into that. In fact, the costumes were her idea.

A notification is covering a part of the photo: 1 new message.

I roll my eyes. If it is a new client, I can forget about the trip to the mountains right away.

My annoyed face changes to surprised once I notice the sender's ID is set as Private number. And then, after reading the message, I feel only fear and confusion.

This is your last day. Prepare for the departure.

What the hell is this supposed to mean?

The timestamp tells me the message came at three in the morning.

Is this a threat? Am I the next victim of a serial killer with a wicked sense of humor? I stop and think. I have no enemies, if I don't count Anna's parents - it's no surprise they imagined their daughter's future spouse as a banker or a successful entrepreneur. However, after they found out I can take good care of their girl, they warmed up a little.

I hyperventilate. I read those two damned sentences over and over again.

"Dan! The pancakes la Francé are done!" I hear Anna chirping in the kitchen.

"Just a minute!" I reply with muffled nervosity in my voice.

Should I tell her about the message? I don't know. We promised each other we won't hide any secrets. But she would go crazy if I told her. She's an alarmist prone to panicking. I can vividly imagine her screaming into the phone while calling the police, hugging me and hysterically wailing about not wanting to lose me.

Maybe I should involve the police. It's not a direct threat, but how else can I interpret it? Wait. Maybe I've just forgotten a commission and the client is reminding me. However, it wouldn't explain the "departure". Moreover, I meticulously note every new commission I receive. Anna, who is a chaotic, often mocks me for being too organized to the point my schedule is crafted minute-by-minute.

Well, I can't solve it here and now. I sigh and go to Anna.

Naturally, I have lost my appetite, so I have to endure the pain in Anna's eyes when I just nibble at the food.

"You don't like it?" she peeps. "I tried so hard..."

Yeah, do it. Make my situation even harder. "It's delicious," I assure her. I try to come up with something that could excuse me acting strange for the next twenty-four hours. "It's just... one of my clients who often employs me has problems with his business and it's likely he'll go bankrupt. I'd lose a part of the money I make and we'd have to tighten our belts until I find someone else."

She examines me with her eyes. She can tell when I'm making things up. Then she decides to just smile at me. Perhaps she decided to trust me - or decided she doesn't want to know the truth for now.

"Come on, Dan, you know it's not about money," she says. "We have some savings and after all... the best things are free," she winks at me.

I return her the smile and swallow the rest of the pancakes.

 ...

I spend the rest of the afternoon thinking. It's not as easy as usual. Anna just flutters around me like a hummingbird and constantly asks me to do something with her. I'm just a step away from snapping at her, but I've never raised my voice at her before and I'm determined not to start now.

In the end, I decide it would be the best to stick to the plan I came up with yesterday.

I lock myself in my workroom and scour the internet for two hours or so, looking for cabins in the mountains I could rent. I smile. Someone's going after me? I'll simply run away. And if I can turn the escape into a vacation with Anna, the better.

The offers repeatedly let me know that I should have booked something sooner. As I start to get frustrated, an offer peeks at me - it's a cozy, well-furnished cabin about a hundred kilometers away from here. The couple who had it booked canceled at the last minute.

I immediately book the cabin and make the payment. Then I leave the workroom. I find Anna in the living room, with a drawing tablet in her hand. I put on a big smile and tell her the news.

As I have expected, joyful squealing and hugging follows. "Adventure!" Anna cheers as she sprints up the stairs into the bedroom where she packs her things. She's clapping her hands like a little girl.

I also pack my stuff; unlike Anna, I only take what I find necessary. It's fascinating how different, yet the same we are. I'm so happy to have her. I have to survive the night so I can be here for her throughout the upcoming days, months, years.

As soon as we finish packing, I cram our luggage (as I've expected, Anna has packed about three times as much as I did) into the trunk of our Mercedes and then we hit the road.

The car radio is playing and Anna joyfully sings along every song she knows. Despite her questionable qualities as a singer, she cheers me up and I allow myself to get carried away. As Anna, Jon and I scream the lyrics of an evergreen Bon Jovi song at the top of our lungs, I even forget about the anonymous message.

I guess it's some kind of mistake after all. The message was intended for someone else. I amuse myself by imagining some low-ranking gangster having trouble with his Don, trying to blame his failure on a message that wasn't delivered. Finally, I feel like myself again.

 ...

Snow comes with rising altitude. When we finally reach the place where the cabin is supposed to be, all the trees around us are snow-covered. I see the excitement in Anna's bright eyes. And seeing this is worth all the trouble. I guess I was sent to Earth just to make this girl happy.

We park the car right next to the cabin, grab our luggage and step inside. I have to admit it really is cozy. The furniture smells of wood. There is a huge fireplace; Anna immediately lights it up. The warm light and the heat from the fire soon fill the room. For a solid while, we just sit in front of the fireplace, close to each other.

The stress is slowly fading away. I guess I really only needed to unwind a little.

As we settle in the cabin, Anna insists on building snowmen outside. Without hesitation, I join the childish fun. We do funny things with our snowmen, both proper and improper things, and we laugh so hard we can't breathe. We go back inside once Anna's cheeks are red due to freezing temperatures.

When I look at the grandfather clock standing in the corner, the smile freezes on my lips. Five in the afternoon. I have ten hours left.

Oh come on, Dan... you told yourself to let it go. It was a mistake.

Anna prepares a kettle of hot chocolate. Neither of us drinks alcohol and this is a perfect alternative for mulled wine. With Anna around, I don't have to restrain my inner child. Neither does she. We don't have to pretend to be something we're not around each other.

We enjoy the rest of the evening and then hit the bed. A huge window allows us to see outside, where the moonlight glimmers on the snow both on the trees and on the ground.

Anna is huddled close to me, but I'm more and more nervous as the night goes on.

"What's wrong with you?" she asks me suddenly.

"Nothing," I reply.

"Stop lying to me!" I hear traces of anger in her voice, possibly for the first time. "I know how you are when you're okay - and also when you're not okay. And right now, you're nowhere close to the laid-back Dan!"

I look at the clock. Midnight. Three hours left.

With an exasperated sigh, I show her the message.

Anna gasps in shock. "Why... why didn't you tell me sooner?" her voice immediately rises into a panicked falsetto. You should have called the police! Do something! Oh God, Dan... who could have sent this to you?"

"And this is exactly why I decided not to tell you. You'd be a bundle of nerves for the entire day. It's most probably just a mistake or a prank, you know, sending threats to a random number. I'm sure nothing will happen." I kiss her forehead and Anna calms down a little, even though I still hear her muffled sobs.

"I'll stay awake," she whispers. "If someone comes for you... I'll protect you."

I pull the girl closer to me and start to stroke her hair. "I won't allow anyone to hurt you. And in case anything happened to me, I want you to know I love you more than my own life. You know that, right?"

She nods.

 ...

The minutes pass. Two in the morning. Every sound I hear startles me.

Is my last day about to end?

At 2:46, I see a movement behind the window. I shush Anna and listen carefully. It seems someone is lurking around our cabin.

Strangely, I don't feel fear, just an urge to square up with the bastard who ruined my precious moments with Anna. I slip out of the bed, dress into my jacket and boots I left next to the bed, just in case, and grab a fire poker I found by the fireplace.

It won't be much useful if the intruder has a firearm. But it gives both me and Anna at least some sense of security. "Stay close to me," I whisper and hand the girl her coat.

I keep an eye on the part of the forest visible behind the window. Nothing. I have the poker in one hand, the other hand is squeezed by Anna. Then I see it - a flash of blue light, similar to a flashlight. So they are illuminating their way. Fine.

"We have to get to the car," I tell Anna. "Someone has followed us here."

The girl nods and tightens her grip on my hand.

As quiet as possible, I open the door and step outside. The pajama pants don't protect me from the cold much. I look around, trying to spot the intruder's flashlight again. I actually catch one more blue flash, but I'm not sure where did it come from.

"Quickly, quickly!” I mutter through clenched teeth, dragging mortified Anna towards the car. I keep expecting a gunshot that would end my last day on Earth.

The blue light appears again. I press the "unlock" button on my car keys. The red headlights of the Mercedes beam into the night, as if they wanted to battle the blue glow. The gunshots will come now. The author of the message will either try to damage our tires or simply gun me down before I reach the car.

I don't care. As long as Anna is safe.

I open the driver's door and literally throw Anna into the car. I did it. Even if I died now, Anna would make it - she doesn't have a driving license, but she has some knowledge about how to operate a car. She would be able to get away.

"GET IN!" she shrieks as she scrambles to the passenger's seat. Illuminated by the blue light, I try to cram myself into the car. I expect pain. The blood throbs in my ears to the rhythm of Anna's sobs.

I thrust the key into the ignition. The car comes alive. The clock on the dashboard tell me it's 2:58. Two more minutes and I'll survive my last day.

The blue light now engulfs the whole vehicle. I look around, trying to figure out where is it coming from. To my shock, I realize the light source has to be above the car. The position of shadows clearly points to that.

"Dan... what is it? What is it?!” Anna screams. “For God's sake, GO!”

I try. However... I feel something strange is happening to me. As if the connection between my body and my mind was fading away. I am trying to rev up the car, but at the same time, I feel like someone else is doing it. Thoughts fill my head - thoughts that are seemingly not mine. Bizarre images and memories.

Only one thing still binds me to this reality. Anna's tear-drenched face. She calls my name, but I can't hear it right. She shakes me. Tries to start the car herself.

2:59:56

"I love you," I manage to whisper.

2:59:58

The blue light is separating my body and soul.

3:00:00

"DAN!" Anna's shriek is the last thing I hear before my mind gets sucked into the void.

 ...

I wake up. However, I have no idea where I am. Or who I am.

The memories of Anna mix up with brand new perceptions. A room full of computer screens and holographic projections that seem so alien and unreal, but eerily familiar at the same time.

"Inhale, exhale, my friend," I hear a voice behind me. They're speaking a language I shouldn't be even able to pronounce - yet I still understand it perfectly. "You've done a good job."

"I've done a job...?" I mutter in that strange language.

My vision is becoming clearer. I'm sitting on some weird chair. Then, the speaker shows himself. I flinch. He's not human. But wait... neither am I. I'm the same as him. I know him. We're friends.

Slowly, the memories of what I've done start coming back to me.

The friend removes a faintly glowing, crystalline helmet from my head and offers me his hand. I accept it, leave the chair and make a few steps. The computer lab now makes more sense to me. I know how to operate it. However, a part of my mind is still with Anna.

"Take your time," the friend smiles after he notices my confused expression. "Living as a human for thirty-two years, from birth to adulthood... that must be pretty demanding, right?"

"You have no idea," I say. Thirty-two years. A few minutes ago, it would seem like a long time to me. Now I perceive it as a moment, an insignificant stretch of time. I remember how it's like to measure time in millennia and eons.

Despite that, those insignificant thirty-two years changed something in me.

I shuffle towards a window. I am high above the ground. It's dark, it must be the nighttime. I see a city below me - strange, surreal buildings illuminated by sterile, bluish light. When I look up at the sky, I see glowing, shattered pieces of space objects and iridescent clouds of a nearby nebula.

Finally, I see my enclave again. Even though I was gone just for a spell, it seems like an eternity to me.

I catch myself still thinking in the human language. I try to find a word describing what am I, but it's not as easy, considering the humans' limited vocabulary.

An alien? No, that's not it. I guess the term interdimensional being is the closest to the truth. We have almost nothing in common with humans, and yet, we're almost the same.

The friend approaches one of the computers. "You have done well. So much data in just thirty-two years. Now we know enough about their world to finally commence the harvest."

The last missing pieces of my memory hit the right spots.

The harvest.

Anna.

"No, you can't do that!" I shove the friend away from the computer. "Stop the harvest! Please! Anna is there... I can't just leave her there! Stop it!”

The friend laughs and lays his hand on my shoulder. "And here we go - the post-extraction hysteria. Sooner or later, it affects all the Pathfinders. Just keep calm. You'll be alright. However, you had to be pretty hard-wired in that world since the message we transmit a day before extraction didn't make you remember who you are."

A Pathfinder. Yes, this is what I am. An individual whose mind is implanted into a being from a different world to live a life of the said being, gathering as much information about their world as possible throughout a single lifetime. The data are then analyzed to prepare an optimal strategy of the harvest. At the same time, the mind of the Pathfinder is returned into their original body through a dimensional rift.

Blue light...

"You can't do that," I feebly try one more time. "Stop it."

"The humans are low on the stairs of evolution," the friend tries to calm me down. "They live for seventy, eighty years. Just a blink of an eye. And if we commence the harvest, our world will be able to sustain for several more centuries." He shrugs. "I know that we're the ones responsible for this and now we have to sacrifice other worlds to save ours. But it is how it is. The strong prey on the weak."

I stare out of the window, watching the harvesting machines getting prepared on a vast plain nearby. Giant, nightmarish machines. Ozone layer siphons. Water pumps. Solar panels. Oxygen extractors. And more. There seems to be an infinite number of them.

I know what happens when they fulfill their purpose. The world that witnesses their rampage is fated to die. It becomes a lifeless wasteland just for the sake of making our world survive for a few more centuries.

I clench my fists. Even though the human life is already fading away from my memory, one thing still lingers there - Anna. What is she doing now. I can do nothing to save her. In a moment, the machines will enter her world through a dimensional rift and steal everything life-giving.

Anna knows nothing. Maybe it's better that way. Right now, she's probably mourning Dan's apparent death. She will soon realize how petty this problem is.

Yes, humans are primitive. They only live for seventy years, they only have five basic senses and they didn't advance much as a species. But I still can't stop thinking about the hidden gems of the humankind. I've spent just a few years with her, but still, I won't forget her.

Maybe in a few eons.

The blue light of a dimensional rift starts to glow above the harvest machines. It will take roughly a day until it's stable enough to allow transport.

One day.

I think about how is Anna, and the rest of the humankind, going to spend the last day on Earth.

...

The end!

If you liked the story, you can comment, share or >donate< if you have some spare change ^^ If you didn’t, feel free to come to my ask box and ask me to never write again... too bad, because I will anyway :)

[qvestchen]

Lockscreen // Yuwin NCT : Chapter Seven

Summary: There’s a thin line between reality and playacting, and Dong Sicheng tripped hard over it when he fell head over heels in love with Nakamoto Yuta.

Author: qvestchen

Status: Ongoing

Chapters: Home, Previous, Next.

Lockscreen // Yuwin NCT

Chapter 7: A small snowball

Recap:

Winwin closed his eyes, steadying his breath as the door closed behind Hansol leaving just Yuta and Winwin in the room now.

"Why did you tell him to leave?" he said with gritted teeth, staring straight at Yuta, anger evident in his expression.

So, tonight was going to be it, a small voice whispered in his head. Everything had been building up to this. The night where they finally fought it out, the night that would destroy the fine balance they had both achieved by leaving everything unsaid, the night where they stopped pretending. He knew they would never be the same after this because this was where it ended, without ever having really begun. He wanted to take all of the hurt inside his heart and turn it into fuel for this night.

Chapter 7

Winwin closed his eyes, steading his breath as the door closed leaving just Yuta and him in the room now.

"Why did you tell him leave?" he said with gritted teeth, anger evident in his expression.

"It's your room too. You're tired from practice and would want to rest obviously. Besides, he had to leave anyway," Yuta said, with a small shrug. "Don't worry about it."

"Oh, you expect me to believe that," Winwin scoffed. "There's no one else here. You needn't pretend in front of me. There are no fans here, no managers, no reason for any fanservice."

"What do you mean?" Yuta stared at him in shock.

"What do I mean?" Winwin scoffed. "I mean," he stressed, angrily, every word punctuated by a step in Yuta's direction. "I don't want your YuWin bullshit. I don't want to be a cute little cog in your fanservice. I don't want you pretence. I don't want your acting. So, stop. Just stop it."

Yuta had never seen Winwin like this. He didn't know how to react to every word that was hurled his way, every word that fell onto him like burning coals. He blinked, faltering back, his back against the wall. "Sicheng-ah," he began.

"I don't want to hear it. Whatever it is."

Yuta let out a breath. "So, you get to say all that and I don't even get to say a word?"

"With you, I can't differentiate between fiction and reality. Every word out of your mouth sounds like a lie to me."

"H-How can you say that?" Yuta looked as if he had been slapped. "You of all people...Wow, Winwin, you really...You could have just said no or even ignored. I wasn't ever going to say a word, not after what happened last time. You really didn't need to be this hurtful."

Winwin looked at him, eyes dull with an ebbing rage. "Every day of your charade, you have hurt me. I don't think you have the right to pin me as hurtful."

They stood so close to each other that Yuta could feel Winwin's breath on his face but he had never felt so far away from him. With a few words, Yuta's world had turned upside down and all he could grasp at was a deafening silence. He tried to hide his shaking hands and broke Winwin's gaze, looking down with a rueful smile. "Wow, you really hate me. I didn't—" He sidestepped him, walking out of the room. It was with a broken heart that he said at the door, "It wasn't a charade for me."

He walked on auto-pilot to Taeyong's room. His tongue felt like lead as he tried to keep his voice calm. "Can I sleep in your room tonight?"

Taeyong and Johnny had been playing ludo by the looks of it but they immediately put it aside.

"Don't ask," Yuta managed to mumble before lying down on the closest bed and turning towards the wall. There was a sob and then, more to himself than to them, "He thinks of me and him as a fanservice. A lie. A sham. I was so wrong to think he could like m—"

"Yuta," Taeyong began.

"You can't make it right today, Taeyong. Nothing can. Just...let me be. I want to sleep."

There was silence and then, someone pulling a blanket over him. He screwed his eyes shut but Johnny's voice was comforting. "It's okay, I'll exchange with you." He kissed his head and suddenly Yuta missed his home more than ever. "We all love you. Good night for now."

He heard the door close and he was grateful for that. He couldn't explain anything right now, not when things didn't make sense to him either. All he knew was that it hurt and he wanted to just lie under the covers until it didn't.

He felt the bed dip behind him and someone was stroking his hair softly. It reminded him of home and being small and his mother and he began to cry.

"I'm here, I'm here," Taeyong said, patting him softly. It hurt to see his friend suffer like this and he wished he could have done something more but all he could do at the moment was sit on the edge of the bed and comfort him as he cried.

When Johnny had walked out of his room, he had decided that it was time that he finally interfered in Yuta and Winwin's relationship. He couldn't see his friend hurt himself over and over, and especially this time, when it looked horribly serious. He had a good mind to find Winwin and ask him what was happening and maybe even offer some good advice.

But Winwin was already gone by the time Johnny reached his room.

Taeil walked into the room shortly after Johnny, with a huge smile plastered over his face as he was talking on the phone. "Yes, Azhar, I promise, I will give your little fanboy gift to Doyoung. Yes, I didn't forget. He was with the Dreamies yesterday or I would have given then only. They're in the fridge for now. Yes, I'm home now. I reached in one piece safely and you were totally stupid to worry so much. I used to make these grocery runs a lot before you got the job, okay? Are you going home too? Good. Sleep well so that you aren't late for your classes tomorrow. Study well. Fine, meanie, good night. Bye."

He was still smiling when he sat on his bed. "Oh, Johnny?" he exclaimed, on finally catching sight of Johnny. "Everything alright?"

Johnny looked at Taeil's bright smile and nearly didn't say it. Just like all the other times, everyone else never said anything because it was a mountain of a mess and whoever pulled at a thread would bring everything crashing down. "Taeil hyung, I..." Johnny didn't know what to do. He took a deep breath. "I'm sleeping here tonight."

"Oh? Winwin already moved in with WayV?" Taeil said, taking off his jacket.

"Wait, you knew?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, he told me a few days ago."

"And you're okay with it?"

Taeil gave him a strange look. "I mean, I'll miss him terribly, of course, but he is needed with WayV right now. Why would I not be okay with that?"

Johnny nodded slowly. Would Yuta respond the same way too? Should they have told him instead of waiting for Winwin to say it? Why hadn't Winwin told Yuta?

Taeil continued. "By the way, that's Yuta's bed. If you're planning on sleeping here, you should take the one by the window. Yuta hates changing beds. Also, did you and Taeyong have a fight or something? Not that I don't want you here. I'm just curious."

"Yuta and Winwin had a fight."

Taeil stopped. "What?"

"Yuta is with Taeyong in our room. He's really hurt and I have no idea where Winwin is."

"What?" Taeil sat down. "I don't understand. They were okay when I saw them in the morning."

"Taeil hyung, they haven't been really okay in a while. They hardly talk these days and I really thought you noticed it. You're their roommate after all."

Taeil opened and his closed his mouth. He had no idea. A small voice whispered in his head, really? Sure, Yuta was feeling a bit homesick—they had talked about that, right? And Winwin was stressed because of WayV's debut. Of course, things were tense, right?

But was that all?

He thought hard on his roommates, not as separate people, but in relation to each other for the first time in a while. Like always that mere prospect had the ability to make his heart fall but he thought hard and the realization knocked the breath out of his lungs.

He thought of how Yuta looked at Winwin differently these days. As if, scared of breaking the silence, always a smile verging on sadness. He thought of how Winwin always seemed on edge around Yuta these days, as if caged in by a hopeless frustration. He thought of how he had bickered with Yuta when making breakfast for Winwin and quiet, soft-spoken Winwin had lost his temper. He thought of Yuta and Winwin standing outside their front door looking as if they would tear each other down and remembered making a joke to ease the tension. He remembered Winwin's questioning glances directed at Yuta's avoiding eyes. He remembered things he had seen but not thought through and he wondered how he hadn't realized all this sooner. His shoulders sagged a bit.

"I wish Winwin hadn't said it was all for fanservice for him. There are kinder ways to reject someone. Where did he even get that idea from?"

Taeil was about to shrug when he remembered something.

"Ah, Winwin-ah, you should really show me some affection too. The fans didn't even vote for me on the ship poll! I feel like a failed lover," Taeil mock-cried, showing him his phone.

Winwin looked at the results of the poll Doyoung had posted on twitter. He read, 48% for Yuta as Czennies's choice for Winwin.

"They really chose Yuta for you, huh? I feel betrayed," Taeil continued. "Oi, Yuta, did you see the results of the poll?"

Yuta looked up from across the room with a small smile. "Of course. It's nothing really. Don't feel bad about it."

Winwin muttered something beside him and Taeil had to ask him to repeat it.

Instead Winwin asked him, "Why is it nothing for him? Hyung, why does he do all this?"

Taeil frowned. "What do you mean?"

Winwin's frankness caught him off guard. "Tell me, do you think Yuta hyung has ever liked me? Or is it all just fanservice?"

Taeil felt like someone had torn out his heart and stamped all over it. He wanted to say, how can you ask from me? Don't you know that I like you? How? His face heated up and he felt light-headed as he answered, his words hardly steady. "The fans are proof enough, don't you think?"

"I want his opinion!"

His voice was harsh when he replied, "Why don't you ask him then?"

He got up before Winwin could see his eyes reddening. He was nearly out of earshot when Winwin mumbled, or maybe he imagined it, "I'm scared of what the answer will be."

Taeil looked at Johnny's worried face and Winwin's empty bed and nearly forgot how to breathe.

In primary school, the boy he used to sit with had told him a story about how a small snowball thrown on the slope of a mountain, falls gaining momentum and adds more and more snow to itself regardless of the thrower's intention and becomes huge and huge until it swallows the world. This memory flashed across his mind for no reason. He couldn't remember the boy's name.

Was he, in some way, even a little bit, responsible for this? He couldn't have known. How could he have known then? He swallowed and reached for his jacket again. "I'm sorry, Johnny. I uh...I remembered something. Don't wait up for me."

"Taeil?"

He heard Johnny call after him but he didn't turn back. By the time he was out, he was already on his phone. "Azhar, I need your help. I've messed up."

Somewhere in the city, a groggy Azhar replied, "Taeil? Are you okay? Why are you crying? Tell me where you are. I'll come get you."

hey everyone! it's been a long time since the last update but hope you all are still here with yuwin and lockscreen :'(

oh my god when you told yuwin to communicate i bet you didn't mean this lmao yuwin are basically a huge chaotic mess right now but don't give up!!

also how did you like the chapter? i sneaked in the whole winwin-yuta-taeil-haechan-nctzen poll of doyoung too ;) (good memories good memories)

do you have a guess what is up with taeil? (believe me there's lots to him too!) do tell us what you think of this update.

thank you if you're still here and reading! you're the best <3

love, positive vibes and supportive best-friends like johnyong~~

[nitewrighter]

Gency Week Day 6

Forget-Me-Not

A little late but here’s some Genji and Mercy reminiscing with photos!!!

----

Genji stood in the doorway of the apartment--their apartment--well, it was about to be their apartment, before, it had just been her apartment, but now with Genji staying over practically every night, they figured they might as well make things official. 

“...You have to have more than that,” said Mercy, putting her hands on her hips.

“I... lived with monks and was raised by ninjas,” said Genji with a shrug as he adjusted the duffel on his shoulder. There was a single box in his arms with some of his things as well. A handful of the things in the box were just things he had picked up since answering the recall and coming to the Watchpoint. There were some wooden frames of his disassembled sword stand sticking out of the box, but not much else.

“I mean, I knew you were always a bit of a minimalist, but...” Mercy trailed off.

“You’re minimalist too,” said Genji.

“I... I decorate! I have my relief tchotchkes!” said Mercy.

“I love that you travel and save lives all over the world and people pour their heart outs to you and give you heartfelt gifts for your relief work and you just call them ‘Relief Tchotchkes.’” He craned his neck to look into her office, “Most of them are in one place though, anyway.”

“...I just... this is going to sound weird and obsessive, but if we’re both living here, I.... I want this place to feel... lived-in, you know?”

“Your office is definitely lived in,” said Genji, smugly.

“Har-har,” said Mercy, rolling her eyes.

“We could do the college dorm thing--hang up christmas lights, get some tacky movie posters...” Genji walked past her with a smile in his voice, “You like ‘They Came From Beyond the Moon,’ right?”

Mercy huffed and snickered. “...Pictures,” she said after a few beats.

“Mm?” said Genji.

“We should put up pictures--like, in frames.”

“Like an old couple?” said Genji. 

“Athena can make some high-quality prints--we have pictures of ourselves, right?”

Genji paused and put his box down on the table. “Do we?” he tilted his head.

----

“Agents--It’s been a while since you’ve made your way back to my primary terminal,” said Athena.

“Well you are everywhere, technically,” said Mercy.

“I do like having you take the time to come here, though,” said Athena.

“We like the big screen,” said Genji.

Athena giggled. “What can I help you with?”

“This is going to sound odd but, do you have pictures of us?” asked Mercy.

“Many Overwatch agents dump their photos into my data stores when they run out of storage on their own comms but won’t delete them. I can run a cursory facial scan?” Athena suggested.

“That would be wonderful, Athena, thank you,” said Mercy.

“Scanning,” said Athena, the screen blipped for a few seconds, “Excluding official and bodycam footage, I have 249 image results for Agents Shimada and Ziegler. I can filter it by photos containing both of you where you are among the center subjects?”

“That works.”

“Right. I have 45 photos from the ‘general’ folder of other agents, and 11 photos from a file recently dumped by Agent McCree titled, ‘Watchpoint Cryptids.’”

“...’Watchpoint Cryptids?’” repeated Mercy.

“I believe it’s a joke on how difficult it is to get a photo of either of you,” said Athena.

“Well.. scroll through what we have?” said Genji.

“Understood,” said Athena.

There were very few photos from Genji’s Blackwatch days--both for the obvious reason that Genji was in Blackwatch, and the fact that back then Genji didn’t like having his photo taken. Mercy looked frazzled and overworked in nearly every photo of the old days. There was the old lineup of Winston passing the physical for active agent duty with Tracer cheering next to him, but both Mercy and Genji were practically on opposite ends of the photo there. From there photos of both of them seemed to be taken more frequently, no doubt thanks to being put on a strike team with Tracer, who tended to take a lot of photos to deal with gaps in her memory from Chronal disassociation. 

There were a handful of group photos. There was a photo of the first time their strike team was all suited up---Genji seemed more confident in this photo than almost all the other previous photos combined with his new prosthetics. They agreed to frame that one. There was one photo of Mercy and Genji sleeping on each other’s shoulders on the orca with Tracer in the foreground holding a marker. Then there was a blurry bluish selfie of Tracer, still holding the marker, with Genji chasing her in the background with a crudely drawn mustache on his faceplate and Mercy chasing after him. There was a photo of Winston and Tracer victoriously holding up empanadas after the Havana mission (it would have been a nice photo to frame if it hadn’t caught Mercy mid-chew.) Then there was another selfie--apparently taken by Genji given the angle of his arm, taken within Mercy’s lab. Mercy had dark circles under her eyes and was dramatically posing at a petri dish.

“...I don’t remember that one,” said Mercy.

“You don’t remember that one? You were half-crazed from caffeine overdose and what must have been 30 hours without sleep. You had just cracked a new compound that would reduce the number of individual nanobots in the biotic tether without sacrificing healing output and you had me take this photo for posterity.”

“You remember that?” said Mercy.

“You passed out two minutes after this was taken,” said Genji, “I had to carry you back to your on-site apartment.”

Mercy reddened a little. “Oh...” she said quietly, “Sorry about that.”

“I didn’t mind. You’re carrying the team half the time, someone ought to return the favor now and again.”

Mercy smiled, then looked up at Athena’s screen. They scrolled through a few more---Reinhardt grinning with his arms wrapped around them both, easily dwarfing them.

“I like this one,” said Mercy, “I could see it framed.”

“I think he cracked a rib of mine when we took that,” said Genji.

“I healed you,” said Mercy, “Let’s frame it.” Genji just chuckled.

“What was the first one we ever took together?” said Mercy, scrolling back through the archives.

“This one’s from you, Agent Ziegler,” said Athena bringing up a photo of Mercy looking sweaty and frazzled in a sweatsuit with Genji’s arm strung over her shoulders. Genji had his very first prosthetics, rudimentary leg blades and a somewhat omnic-looking prosthetic arm. Genji’s face was covered by a surgical mask and several bandages. Both were giving a thumb’s up. It was clearly a clumsy selfie being taken by Mercy.

“...Your physical therapy,” said Mercy.

“I can’t believe I didn’t make you delete that,” said Genji.

“It was your first steps since the--since we met,” said Mercy.

“I was on so many painkillers...” muttered Genji.

“Oh you can tell,” said Mercy. She looked at Genji and smiled.

“What?” said Genji.

Mercy nodded her head at the photo on the screen.

“That one?” said Genji.

“It’s our first photo together!” said Mercy.

“I look like a disaster,” said Genji.

“We both look like disasters!” said Mercy and then she said, with deep ache in her voice, “It’s our first photo together!”

“’Greasy topknot and sweats’ is a very different disaster from ‘freshly tenderized pork loin wrapped in metal and bandages.’” 

“Genji...” Mercy squeezed his arm slightly. 

“...we’ll make one print, but that doesn’t mean we’re framing it,” said Genji, folding his arms. He gave a glance to Athena, “What about something more recent?” asked Genji.

“This one was... 5 months ago. In Nepal,” said Athena, bringing up a photo of Genji with Mercy next to him, Zenyatta on the other side, and several Shambali monks behind them. Genji’s mask was off and his scars were crinkling with his smile.

“Oh that one’s much nicer,” said Mercy, “We can frame that one.”

“It will be nice to have a piece of Nepal in our home,” said Genji with a slight smirk in his voice. 

“Our home,” Mercy repeated the words and looked at him. She couldn’t really place last time she called a place ‘home’ let alone said the word ‘our’ in front of it.

“And this one,” said Athena, bringing up a photo of just Mercy and Genji, also a selfie, being taken in front of one of many of Nepal’s mountainous vistas.

“That one’s beautiful...” said Mercy.

“That one’s my comm lockscreen,” said Genji.

Mercy snorted. “So we’re framing that one,” she said with a smile.

“I can live with framing that one,” said Genji. He started counting on his fingers, “So there’s the group photo with our strike team, the photo with Reinhardt, the physical therapy photo---which, we are not putting that one up in the living room---and the two pictures in Nepal. I’d say that’s plenty!”

“That’s only five,” said Mercy, folding her arms.

“Well... we’re going to take a lot more, and so many of these are just work-related. We should take pictures of us on dates, on vacations, pictures at parties, holidays, wedding photos--”

“Wedding photos?!” Mercy sputtered.

“...hypothetical wedding photos,” said Genji.

“You’re just moving in and now you’re talking about wedding photos,” said Mercy with a smirk. 

“Hypothetical wedding photos,” Genji said a bit more insistently, “What if we get married and I say, ‘Oh Angela, I want to put this picture of us at our wedding up, but then where will we put this photo of our Strike team eating empanadas?’”

Mercy snickered. “You’re thinking very far ahead.”

“I’m a ninja. We pride ourselves on being prepared,” said Genji.

Mercy just smiled and looked back at the screen. “I suppose home is a thing you build, then--we shouldn’t just push everything out there all at once...”

“Well, yes,” agreed Genji, “At the same time, looking at these photos... you’ve been home for me for a long time, Angela.”

Mercy blushed and tucked her hair back. “You’re home for me too,” she said quietly. There was a beat and then she elbowed him. “We are not putting the empanada picture up.”

“No we are not,” said Genji with a chuckle in his voice.

[donghyuwus]

boyfriend!jaemin

here he is my lovely people, the softest bf we have all been waiting for. this one was requested by someone but i like legit don't know who it was anymore and i have to scroll back so far and you guessed it, josie is too lazy. anyways i hope you enjoy and please request who should be next for the nct!bf series, right now there is no follow-up

sigh,, i already know i’m gonna spill all my uwus and love writing this

bcs it's na jaemin

and i am lowkey so unloyal but only for him

anyways my personal problems is not what we're here for today or you must be my therapist but i don't think you are so let's get started

first up be ready to be spoiled in so much and so much love

there won't be a day where you aren't getting love

unless you both get into an huge argument and shit but that's something for later

anyways as we all know jae is a huge flirt and if say huge, i mean HUGE

like he’ll win you over with his flirting and angel-like personality

but nah bitch, it won't stop there

even if you are in a relationship with him this asshead will still flirt so much with you and you're just like ??

nana: ‘is it just me or do you look extra stunning today?’

you: ‘nah, i-’

nana: ‘you know, we should date.’

you: ‘bitch we’ve been in a relationship for 2 years wdym we should date!?’

yea that

buys you unnecessary shit

like he’ll come home with 12 new plushies and you’re just like ??

brags about you towards everyone

legit EVERYONE

like jaemin being the angel he is he is helping and old lady cross the street and he’ll just suddenly start gushing about you towards this lady who just wants to reach the other side of the street

some of the members tease him about it

but it’s jaemin and they give up rather quickly bcs he just doesn’t give a fuck

compliments you 24/7

you could wear a trash bag and he would still think you are gorgeous 

has such big heart eyes for you

could just stare at you and you’ll be like whassup

and he just gives you one of those cheeky pick up lines

which results in u blushing

and him being proud bcs he did and bcs he loves seeing you being shy and blushy

he’ll bring you on those cute ass dates to the park/arcade/theme park/bowling centre

takes so many photos of you and has you as his home and lockscreen

is a fan of pda

likes to hold your hand a lot and if not has his arm around your waist or shoulder

you only have to breathe and he is already squealing and pinching your cheeks telling you to stop being cute

and you’re like ?? again

anyways i don't think there will be a lot of arguments 

and if there are some i don't think they’ll last long bcs he's a soft boy and he doesn't really like to fite

gives u his hoodies

u don't even have to ask, he already knows u want them

and he's lowkey a big fan of seeing you in his clothes

personally i think he's a big spoon with cuddles

but he could also very well be a switch, like i can see him being a little spoon as well

idk bitch, idk

what i do know is that cuddles with jaemin would be 1939192

like don't get me started

takes you out at very random hours just to talk or spend time with you

honestly it could be 4 am and he would call you telling you to come outside

he loves you so fucking much

its insane

please love him back just as much

and spoil him just as much

like this boi deserves the whole world and even more

he is so precious wow

josie not being soft for jaemin mission: failed

[5secondsofrant]

Ashton speaks to Luke + GQ interview

I was going to do this in different posts but after seeing both videos, I think there’s some points that they share, so I’m just doing one.

DISCLAIMER:

This post contains personal opinions and theories. Don’t take any of this as a confirmation of anything.

This post’s purpose is not to hate on anyone mentioned here but to share what I think.

I’m always up for discussion, while it’s done with respect to me but also about the people we’re talking about.

I’ll do a breakdown here about the main points I’ll be talking about so you can skip to whatever you prefer if you don’t want to read this whole post because it’s going to be long:

1. Ashton speaks to Luke EPISODE 1

2. 10 things 5 Seconds of summer can’t live without

3. Luke and his girlfriend and his dog

1. Ashton speaks to Luke EPISODE 1

> Summary: Luke and Ashton sit in what it seems to be an hotel room, Ashton asks Luke some questions and directs him through it. The video is in black and white and, by the gestures at the end of it, seems like Ashton recorded it on his Macbook.

> Highlights of it:

“The mission here is to [...] also spread the word through Europe where the band it’s at now. It’s important that we came here in person so people know we’re not sixteen anymore.” 

Luke talks about missing his house, where he feels like he can start every morning letting his creativeness flow, since he can sit on the piano or play guitar, but before that he casually mentions missing his girl and dog.

How travelling affects their (or at least Luke’s) creativity and workflow.

Ashton asks “all the sacrifices, that you know, being away all the time, is it worth it?” and Luke responds, after thinking and playing a beat with his fingers “mmm, yeah, I think so” and Ashton says “that’s the big question” and Luke laughs and says “yeah, I don’t know”.

> Why I can see this is a genuine thing:

If any of them wanted to pretend like he has a talk show, I would totally see Ashton as the one to point at.

The description is “Ashton and Luke talk about sacrifice, happiness, and Homelife”. Let me say that I adore Ashton, but he’s extra and I can see him trying to convey the topics in these words. It’s appealing and it makes you feel like they touch in depth topics that they... didn’t get to touch so deeply. We just scraped the surface of their true feelings about these topics. 

The fact that the video is in black and white (and goes with the mood of the video description) is something Ashton would do.

I can totally see Ashton being like “why don’t we do something special with this album?” and coming up with this idea. The fact that it says Episode 1 makes me think that he’ll interview the rest of the band and/or make more than one episode about each one of them. 

Maybe they want to show a “mature image” and thought this was a way of doing it so we can see a clear difference between cocktail chats and this.

> Why I think it’s a little bit weird or fishy:

I don’t know much about this, and I think I would prefer not to search in depth (because I don’t want to figure out how controlled they are), but I’m pretty sure their management (or social media managers) have a lot to say on the content they post on social media. With this being posted in such a big outlet for the band as youtube is (because people that aren’t fans are going to see that too if they look up the channel to search the song they heard on the radio, for example), I feel like this is probably one of the places where they are most controlling at. I truly believe this had approval from someone to be posted.

The fact that it’s so casual is weird. And yeah, you might be like: “wouldn’t that make it more genuine?” and yes, it could, but for me it’s just weird to think that Ashton just turned on his laptop and was like “hey Luke, here, I’m posting a video, let me interview you”, while that can happen, I feel like the way this truly happened was: Ashton had the idea ---> asked management if he could do that ---> they agreed but probably directed some of the topics and/or they had to approve the final result. It’s casual he uses his mac and he tries to clean up a little bit the background at the beginning, but apart from that, I feel like they both knew this was happening at some point.

> What I appreciated it about it: 

It was interesting to know Luke’s process to songwrite and how invested he is in music even when he’s not on tour. 

The fact that they were honest about their feelings and commented the ‘sacrifice’ their work means. 

> What called my attention:

I felt like Ashton was trying to direct Luke’s questions by bringing his own feelings into the whole thing, or at least at the end that was the case (when they talk about sacrifice). I don’t know if Ashton was talking about his own experience or was trying to get more out of that “mmm, yeah, I think so” because he might not feel that way, or he might know Luke doesn’t feel that way.

The mention of Luke’s girlfriend. But I’ll talk about it after talking about the GQ interview.

The fact that they keep bringing up the fact that they want to establish they aren’t teenagers anymore. They keep on doing that and I don’t know if they notice it, and also, I’m pretty sure Europe knows they aren’t teenagers anymore, it’s not like they haven’t been there since the self-titled album. They did a pretty important tour there last year showing their new image. 

Calling their job a sacrifice. And showing doubt to it being worth it. I don’t know if they’re trying to hint anything (whether is how they’re feeling, if there’s something up behind the scenes we don’t know about, etc.). I feel like this group has struggled a lot while on the music industry. They might be in a better place now, but being on a better place doesn’t erase what made you be on a bad place.

The fact that you can’t like or dislike de video. Maybe this is a sign that they are really trying to put themselves out there and don’t want this to be affected by that or that they don’t care about if people like it or not.

Ashton actually asked “What do you miss about home?” and Luke says “LA?” and I felt like (this is my take though) Ashton’s aim was getting him to talk about Australia and his family so it could get more personal. You can see him shrugging when he’s like “yeah, LA” (and his voice was a little high pitched so I don’t know much about this whole paraverbal/body language whole thing but I feel that those are some signs). Also, he said “home” and when Luke talks about LA he only refers to it as “I miss my house because blah, blah”.

2. 10 Things 5 Seconds of Summer can’t live without.

> Summary: It’s basically the title says.

> Hightlights/interesting parts from it:

Ashton: Finally we have an explanation to the polka dots shirts, suits and the gel. That’s it. I’m glad I finally understand the why behind all that. I’m not a really big fan of the gel or suits, but I can totally understand and respect his reasons on why to use it.

Calum: It was funny how he tried to avoid talking about girls (especially after the CK cologne explanation), and when he talked about the shirt and he was like ‘they’re like 10 dollars at target go and get one!!!’ sort of message. And then he showed the polaroid with his mom, and shared some insight about his life(even if it was a sneak peak). I thought it was sweet.

Luke: The playstation portable with his old games made me chuckle and the fact that he was so interested and kind of smiling fondly at it while talking about the games he has for it (and Michael saying that ridge racer sucks). Maybe it’s the vibe I got but I felt like he was remembering good things. Like sometimes I stumble upon things that were dear to me a few years back and it’s impossible to not remember things or where you were while you were using it, or buying it, etc. I also think that this time around the topic was a better choice from GQ since the last time he didn’t get to speak that much since he doesn’t have a tattoo. His phone part, I’ll talk about it in the next topic.

Michael: My favorite nerd. I feel like there’s an inside joke with Nicol Bolas, and I think I know why he tries not to laugh about it when he talks about the card (it’s such an “old” michael kind of joke if I’m right). I feel like the name is the reason on why it’s his fave, to be honest. Also loved that they other boys were like ‘well here’s my perfume and my clothes’ and he was like ‘look at my fucking thumb stick that is the coolest thing in the world’ and ‘Calum, I’ve got the first halo here’. He looks so invested on it it’s actually really nice.

While I thought it was nice to know this random stuff about them, maybe this was me, but I felt like they are struggling or they were sharing their struggles. I can’t point at the parts now (because I’ve been writing for a while and I don’t feel like going back) but I felt like this interview and the one on their channel really had this bits of them being a little tired/hesitant about their music direction/career. Maybe it’s my perception and if you’re interested I can go back and watch the whole thing closely to explain why, but I just got that feeling. 

3. Luke and his girlfriend and his dog.

(You know I had to name this point that way because I can’t stop myself from making dumb jokes that are too niche so problably a 0,01% of you will laugh at it).

Okay, so let me sum up all the times he has mentioned Sierra in past interviews in less than a month:

“Hate mail” on Elvis Duran (Jun, 4th)

I have a picture of my dog, and my girlfriend on Ryan Seacrest (May 23rd)

My background is a picture of me and my dog, and my girl on GQ (Jun, 18th)

"I miss my girl, I miss my dog” (Jun, 18th) 

I already gave an opinion on them, and why I’m neutral about if I think they’re real or not (you can check my post here), but after this, I’d also like to add this few points:

> Why I can see they’re real and if they’re real:

I mean, she’s on his lockscreen.

Luke is really private, or at least he was. So I’m guessing he’s trying to show that he has a partner to not fall into his “old ways” and that’s the reason on why he’s open about talking about her and showing pictures of her (this is a guess or my take on this topic).

He has mentioned the “hate mail” she gets, and in my opinion (but this is my take on it), if my partner got hate, I wouldn’t put them out there any more than they need to be. If this is his way to make the “haters go away” or “haters gonna hate” kind of thing, I don’t think it’s the right direction. Let me put it this way: I have a crowd of people that doesn’t like eggs. I stand in front of them showing them eggs in an attempt to make them stop hating it. I’ll probably get my ass handed to myself, but also, they will probably hate eggs even more. If this is the way to “desensitize” (like when therapists/psychologists make someone who’s, let’s say, it’s scared of heights be exposed to them, he’s or/and management are not performing it properly because this is done in a really slow way so the individual can take it, and so it actually works and doesn’t end up backfiring) the people who hate her, this isn’t the way. One thing is to try to normalize them as a couple and the other thing is to keep bringing her up in an attempt to make people stop bashing her. To be honest, if she’s as scared and anxious as she tells us she is, please don’t expose her like this and actually help her out (this is not in a mean spirited way. I just talk about everything in that way because we’re not really sure about a lot of stuff but if someone’s struggling mentally, it’s actually worrying and I hope she’s getting help by a person that knows what’s up and can show/teach her techniques so she can be in a better place).

(Also, please don’t think I’m comparing her to an egg. I literally couldn’t think about anything else but you can replace the eggs for your favorite food or item. Also, please don’t think eggs are my favorite food. I feel like I don’t even know what’s my favorite food anymore. If you’re curious about this, ask me like in seven days because I’ve just realized this and might have an answer by that day).

(This was my attempt to make some jokes because I felt like this whole situation it’s too heavy for some people so) (but it’s true I don’t know what my  favorite food is).

Why I can see they’re PR:

I want to start this by addressing that I have seen more hate or mean tweets directed at the band members than Sierra. Go and watch the interview they uploaded. Top comments are about how goals they are!!1!! because he misses her. With this I’m not saying hate towards her doesn’t exist or that is right, but I feel like the boys are more targeted than her. 

Ashton seems to be saying something shady every time after Luke comments about her. I wouldn’t be really happy with a friend of mine calling my significant other a “burnt potato” (even as a joke because ??? that’s so out of place in my opinion), I would be really awkward if my friend called me out for letting my partner touch my phone like it was the worst thing in the world (it’s debatable and for another time), and the faces he makes, especially in the video uploaded on the band’s account (but again, I have no clue on body language so if anyone knows, let me know what you think!). Also it caught my eye that on the Ryan Seacrest Michael took the attention out of the matter (his gf on his lockscreen) and was like okay man, let me joke for you and everyone was distracted from the topic for a moment. Calum seemed to try to do that on Elvis Duran, when he mutters “yeah, I should try to stop doing that”. 

Okay, now, y’all tell me if I’m reaching too much because I don’t want to sprain myself but, I don’t know about you, but just having the photo of you and your partner (and dog) and your lockscreen is kind of weird to me? Like why wouldn’t you have it as your background too?

It’s literally a picture that probably comes with the phone (I’m really bad at telling which Iphone is which but I know their backgrounds have space related stuff in the X one maybe? Not sure but I remember seeing the publicity lol).

And don’t tell me he doesn’t use the phone. I know they have like three phones but my dude has song lyrics and recordings in this one, so it’s probably the one he uses the most.

As I said, maybe it’s a reach, but, I usually have people I care about as my background (sometimes background and lockscreen it’s the same because lazy) because even if you have apps there, you get to see the photo and you smile a little. Maybe it’s just me, but I felt like pointing it out.

The amount of times he brings her up (and his dog). I don’t know if they’re real and he’s like “here’s my girlfriend!! uwu but also my dog please don’t hate me” or if Petunia is his self-defense mechanism at this point to try to show some emotion. Also, Petunia could be brought up to show familiarity if they aren’t real. The fandom knows Petunia is really important in Luke’s life, so if he has Petunia AND Sierra, it must be a REALLY big deal, right?

My last point, that will go with my final rant: go and read where they commented about her. Did you read? Yeah. Elvis Duran, Ryan Seacrest, their band account, GQ. Really important places and I feel like all of these media places have a big amount of credibility and they reach a diverse public (age and gender wise) so I feel like it’s worth pointing it out.

To be honest, whether they are real or fake (or a mix, that’s an option too), no one can’t convince me they’re not trying to sell Luke as the boyfriend of the band. And the good, perfect boyfriend. The Luke who was with Arzaylea is trying to be buried underneath this one and while I understand the reason why (image-wise), it’s still fucked that they have to sell the boys as “perfect human beings”. It’s on us and the industry, to be honest, and this is for a rant where I have a big cup of tea and it’s past midnight and I reflect on media and how it fucks up people but also can help and you’re sitting in the couch in front of me wondering when the fuck I’ll shut up because you wanna go to sleep but you don’t want to interrupt me.

So I’m leaving it there, thanks for coming to my TED Talk.