#even until the mid season finale but BT

[chevelleneech]

Blocking every former and supposedly on the fence Buddie shipper who feels the need to tag Buddie on their posts where they claim to want Buddie to happen so badly or are in a dilemma about it going canon, because they’ve, “Seen the toxicity in the fandom and can’t take it anymore.”

Bullshit. They’re making up excuses to jump ship, when it’s really not necessary.

If you don’t want to ship Buddie, don’t ship them. It’s not against the law. It won’t get you excommunicated from the 911 fandom either, but it will make you look like a fool for acting like: 1) you didn’t know there were toxic fans in the fandom to begin with — as there are in all fandoms, or 2) there aren’t any toxic fans among the BuckTommy fandom.

You can’t claim to be tired of toxic Buddies for saying BT is bland or lack chemistry or LFJ is ugly or whatever else, when there are BT shippers saying the same exact things about Buddie and RG. Both sides have toxic fans, the only difference is that BT shippers currently have canon on their side, so those of you jumping ship are able to feel more validated in leaving.

Fans wanted Buck to be queer for nearly as long as the show has been out, and not once has anyone really shipped him with other people. Josh here and there, Connor occasionally, and that one prophet who wrote about him and Tommy. But majorly, it’s been Eddie. As such, toxic fans have been toxic when it came to any and every relationship either of them were in, so what makes Tommy any different? Did y’all really expect all the toxic fans to be happy with yet another love interest they weren’t looking forward to?

Not only that, but again, there are also toxic BT shippers, and fun fact! They didn’t pop up out of nowhere nor were they born out of defense of Buck and Tommy’s extremely new coupling.

I promise you, those same people were die hard Buddie shippers waiting with bated breath for Buck or Eddie to kiss each other or a man in general. They got it with Buck, so now they feel the need to belittle everything that came before in hopes that Tommy won’t be written out. They don’t care about character development or chemistry or Buck as an actual character either, proven by the many many posts across Tumblr, Twitter, and Tik Tok framing them as in love and smitten.

Claiming Eddie doesn’t mean anything to Buck. Claiming Tommy was a knight in shining armor. Claiming (and this is truly the fault of lazy writing and Tim and co trying to give themselves an out for under developing BT) Buck not talking about Tommy is a sign of happiness.

BT is sexual attraction first and foremost, and that’s all we know. Which is fine, I’ve said before, s8 will hopefully expand on them and their relationship if that’s the plan, but until then, there’s nothing there. Meaning there is nothing about the ship to defend the way some of their fans are doing, but somehow that’s more acceptable than Buddie fans defending Buddie? Sure.

Point is, if you’re jumping ship, go ahead. You don’t need to explain or more aptly worded, lie about why. Toxic fans exist on both sides. Most of you would just rather deal with the ones on the canon side of things, because it helps you feel better. Less embarrassed or anxious, maybe? I don’t know, because regardless of if Buddie ever goes canon, they’re not real, and there is no reason to feel anything if it turns out their shippers were wrong.

But I have to ask, what’s going to happen if BT does end? What will be the excuses for all the trash talking and belittlement of years worth of theories? What will y’all say to rectify putting one toxic group on a pedestal over the other? Because that’s what’s happening. BT shippers are being given full clearance to act like shit to people simply because their ship is canon, so what happens if that changes? What happens if Buddie does go canon? Where will all the high and mighty attitudes go?

[leothil]

it would totally be in tim's wheelhouse to have buddie call each brothers in the mid season finale and then the very next episode have them do very non-brother like things at the bachelor party/after the bachelor party and then have them spend the rest of the season trying to re-define what they are to each other.

When Tim said friendship is the core of the coupling, I predicted that he is going to kill the core of this coupling. Seems like they'll maintain the status quo all of 7A(up to episode 5) before shit hits the fan in 7B.

Also it just occurred to me they could parallel Eddie/Marisol with BT in 5B, aka Eddie cheats on Marisol with you know who and it's just a ticking time bomb and instead of break up with her he doubles down on her because he wants NO part in exploring what Buck truly means to him so basically Marisol truly becomes Eddie's beard. Until the bomb explodes and the truth is revealed and Eddie now cannot hide behind Marisol and he has no choice but to actually deep dive on his feelings for Buck.

The only way Buck and Eddie are going to escape this hamster wheel is if something happens between them that they cannot just simply dismiss as "brotherly" or "best friend" behavior.

First things first, yeah I'm never putting anything past Tim, that man is unhinged (derogatory) (affectionate).

I'm... not sure what you mean about "kill the core of this coupling" because like... friendship will always be the core of buddie? That's one of their greatest foundation stones and something that rings true whether their relationship is romantic or not.

Also uhhh not sure how to phrase this, but Eddie kissing Buck would be absolutely nothing similar to Buck kissing Lucy. Like there is absolutely nothing that would make the two situations directly comparable. Kissing your new coworker who flirts with you because you're both drunk on both alcohol and adrenaline, and you miss your best friend, and you're kinda unhappy in your relationship but can't really figure out why because it's good right?? Versus, kissing your best friend because..... why? Even with both of them drunk, I have a very hard time seeing that happen. It's once again something that can be fun to read about in fics, but that I don't think would work in canon.

And for the last paragraph, it's not necessarily a physical action that needs to jolt them (so many anons about them drunkenly hooking up, like I'm sorry but why is that y'all's first idea?), it's their mindset. And for that to shift it doesn't have to be a big action, it can be a straw that breaks the camel's back. A pebble that causes an avalanche. A flap of a butterfly's wings that causes a hurricane. Etc.

[shieldofiron]

BTS: for Vecna Vision 3D?

Oh Maan... So many scenes are my favorite but the Joyride chapter going into Steve's Vecnavision is so actually my fave.

This whole sequence was in Steve's perspective and he's not exactly the most observant of guys so there's several layers of dramatic irony in him agonizing over Billy and coming to a realization about his sexuality at the worst possible time, aka in the middle of the upside down trying to get out. Meanwhile Billy's clearly having his heart broken by how well Nancy and Steve work as a team, and do things without thinking for each other. Poor Billy thinks its a failure of communication that he has to voice his needs (it's actually good communication.)

This sequence's got everything I want: Steve realizing he's bisexual, sexy wound tending, Billy ripping out a demodog's heart or something, car chases, Robin with a makeshift flamethrower, tender homoeroticism, and Vecna being THE drama.

Eddie and Billy flirt so much in this scene my beta converted to a full on metalsandwich reader mid-fic. Not a joke, she ONLY ships them as a triad because Eddie's SUCH a flirt. He really is just like that.

I wrote it on a plane to Austin, TX and didn't have wifi access but I mostly accurately got the town layout.

The cyclone of demobats is my favorite part, it took me a while to figure out where I wanted the sequence to go, but I love the idea of swarms and swarms of them attacking, like in The Birds. Side note, is the Creel house meant to look like this or like Bates motel?

They do show that electricity kind of does exist in the upside down, and that objects there are from a particular time, so Billy figures out pretty quickly that hotwiring a car might be a possibility. One thing I wanted to play with is that from the moment Billy figures out that the lake gate is a no go, he is not stopping until he gets them home, he can't even stand still for one moment. While Nancy is gathering clues, he's scavenging as quickly as possible. That's part of what makes him a good team member- he takes risks and works fast, because he's used to obstacles making things harder.

And can we talk about Billy's healing factor? I'm dying to talk about his healing factor. This is the first time we actually get to see him really use it, he grabs things with his bare hands that would make the rest of them shrink back in fear, like crushing demobat skulls with his bare hands. I particularly love the part where Robin asks about upside down rabies, and Billy says he's pre-infected. I wanted him to have that sort of careless dark humor about his powers, like a certain someone who shares a lot with Billy.

And finally, Steve's VecnaVision. While I appreciate Nancy's in canon, it doesn't reveal a whole lot, actually it seems to step her back in character development all the way to season 1. I understand Barb dying is her thing but it seemed a little less evolved. So I had to imagine what Steve's biggest fear would be. First, Vecna plays heavily on his intelligence, which is an obvious pain point, but then goes further. Steve is a really protective person, which of course Vecna sees as a weakness. I really wanted to show that Vecna is most powerful here, and that he can cause physical sensation, completely warping a person's sense. Why show someone a vision limited by the powers of boring physics when you can do anything. Steve's Vision includes a lot of earthly references, he's thrown through the ground, digging into dirt. He's very solid and defined, ans his sense of self is the same way.

Later when Billy goes into his vision, everything is liquidy, scenes dripping and swirling and drifting, because I wanted to show that Vecna tailors his vision not only to the person but the way the person views the world. Billy's in a moment of transition, and he feels sort of insolid and unsure about so many things. He loves the ocean, but there's a fear there too, because the ocean can also be loss.

Maybe when I write the sequel we'll get to see what Vecna would do for everyone else.

Unusual asks

[lydiaas]

if you had to choose 3 specific scenes/plot lines/tropes/etc that would be guaranteed to happen in season 4 for Jiara, what would you say?

Oh god, I can't say I would guarantee anything at this point! I'm already pretty bad at predicting this show and without any bts to gauge where the story might be heading it's hard to even make an educated guess. We have such a clean slate after S3, it could really go in any direction. To just throw some stuff out there:

Knowing what we know about the cut scenes in the finale I'd say Luke is returning and will probably cause some level of drama for jiara because it will destabalize JJ. Whether that's in the form of JJ trying to help his dad and that driving a wedge between jiara or Luke just being the asshole he is and throwing verbal grenades into JJ's life so he doubts himself again I'm not sure (probably a bit of both).

I see them starting the season in a real adult relationship where they are both independent from their parents and have carved out a life for themselves. They are stable and happy. I'm not convinced they'll be living together but I'm manifesting it (and also it would make the most sense? Maybe JJ lives on his boat and Kie with jarah but I need more info on this charter boat ✍️).

One of them will be in danger at some point (this feels like a given), cue freak out from the other + emotional talk (nothing to lose call back PLEASE I'M BEGGING). I could see something like this being the thing that brings them back together after some mid-season turmoil.

I have 50/50 odds on them already having done the surf trip.

Not exclusive to jiara but I think they will be dealing with what it means to now be hometown heroes and suddenly having all this positive attention from people who couldn't care less about them before El Dorado. I think JJ will struggle with that the most.

I don't think they will introduce any other love interest for jiara, the drama will be isolated to their own baggage.

I think the show will follow the jarah blueprint again with all the romantic relationships which means we'll get a happy beginning, unstable middle, reunited by the end. Which I'm fine with as long as what happens in the middle feels true to the characters.

I know you said 3 but this is what my scattered brain spat out. Drop me your predictions though because I need something to chew on until filming starts.

[hmslusitania]

Okay here’s my prediction per season 1 Buck stylings and “ehhh somewhat official” (starts with a semi serious prediction; devolves into utter clown shoes at the end):

- things are not official with Taylor at the start of season 5 and nothing is resolved in the first few episodes because chaos

- Taylor has continued to toy with him in a cat and mouse sort of way and refuses to commit, which Buck is going along with because she had assured him she wanted him

- In a bid to win her affections etc he starts acting more like season 1 Buck with yet more reckless behaviour because it always brings Taylor over to reward him with sex and the only affection he’s getting from her

- she probably gets a good news story out of every reckless stunt he pulls, too, which is part of the reason she's rewarding him.

- around the mid season finale someone — either Bobby or Eddie — calls him on it

- the hanging plot line at the end of the mid season finale is Taylor telling him she wants to actually be his girlfriend but it comes on the heels of him doing something particularly reckless and stupid to get her attention and he’s left having to make that decision.

- we don’t find out the results of this until the 5B premier where it is (hopefully) revealed that he broke up with her

ALTERNATIVELY

The actual cliffhanger of the mid season is Taylor telling him she wants to make it official after he’s done something reckless and stupid and he doesn’t quite answer because Bobby’s yelled at him recently and then he has a scene with Eddie where Eddie is obviously pissed off at him and is like “I thought you might be a little less eager to throw your life away after I told you about Chris and the will.”

And Buck’s like “yeah I mean maybe but like. I want to have my own family and be a dad someday in the not super far future and everything with your will is just if you die Eddie”

and Eddie’s just “you think Taylor ‘i've been stringing you along for months to get news stories out of you’ Kelly is going to want a family with you?!”

And Buck just “I don’t exactly have a whole list of other offers lining up around the block—“

and Eddie just absolutely macks on him and the last shot before the two and a half month hiatus is Buck and Eddie staring at each other, wide eyed, breathing hard, and very much panicking

—

All of this is just clown shoes even the bt parts at the start don’t mind me I just have a brain full of gremlins and if I don’t write them down they will consume me alive

[cheoliehae]

121U! - jeon wonwoo // seventeen au

❖ soulmate: you are able to communicate with your soulmate via a special chat room but you are both unaware of who you are due to the username

❖ a/n: hi everyone, so if you been here since the beginning of my blog you know that i used to write bts text au and that I also have skz au writing account. well since im in my 3rd year of uni i started to write to relieve stress and it’s really fun. so enjoy this idea i had that was og for my skz blog. if you haven’t figured it out yet I took inspiration from Day6 song 121U (aka a bop) as well as A Cinderella Story (you know the one with Hillary Duff, a CLASSIC). It is unsure how much i will write on this blog since again i only write when i am relieving stress so until next time enjoy :)

❖ word count: 1.6k (legit one word away from 1.7k)

❖ paring: jeon wonwoo  x gn reader

❖: high school au, soulmate au

Ah, high school, a time where smarts and social status do not mix well together. You are either lucky enough to be a part of the popular crowd, being invited to all of the hottest parties, and dating the hottest people. Or get a normal student focusing on their studies and not giving a crap about any social status that one may obtain. Walking down the hallway with your earbuds in your ear you didn’t care about the people around you. You were just at school to study and graduate knowing that you were destined for greatness after high school.

“Excuse me,” you heard a voice coming from behind you. Pulling out your airpods you were faced with Mina and her group of followers. “Can I help you?” you questioned her as you had no idea what she wanted from you. You have never even said two words to her before this moment so you were highly confused about what was happening. “You are walking slowly and my locker is right there so can you please use your two legs and move faster please,” Mina motioned for her hands to move. Rolling your eyes you did just that and proceed to walk into class.

“Hey y/n you look, not good,” your best friend Joshua as he saw you sit down at your desk. Setting your head down a small sigh left your month “I hate Myoui Mina with a passion, I get it she is popular but does that give her a reason to freakin pick on everyone like come freakin on”. Joshua extended his arm and gently pat you on the back “there their y/n, rant to your best friend,”. Raising your head up you saw Mina walking into class with her boyfriend Wonwoo as his arm was around her. “Great this is going to be a long day,” you set your head back down and moped.

As time passed by you started to get bored in class as you finished all of your assignments. You opened a new tab on your laptop and entered into a chatroom. A smile grew on your face as you got excited seeing your friend mrbookworm was online. A bit of backstory mrbookworm is actually your soulmate but you felt really awkward calling him your soulmate since you had no idea who he was.

ouasunshine: hey i see that you are alive

mrbookworm: yeah i finished my classwork a bit early so i wanted to see if you were on or not

mrbookworm: and just like i expected here you are :)

ouasunshine: i am highly convinced that you are just on this chat room 24/7 waiting for me to come online

mrbookworm: you would be disappointed if that was false ;)

ouasunshine: dont get cheesy with me.

A chuckle left your mouth knowing how much mrbookworm made you feel. But it sucked that you did not know him in person cause you really did believe that if you did your whole world would be different. He seems like the type of person who really did not care about social status or what others think of him. 

mrbookworm: how are your classes today?

ouasunshine: the normally but I did have a lovely run-in with one of the ‘popular’ at my school

ouasunshine: let’s just say it was not really the highlight of my day

mrbookworm: :( im sorry you had a rough day I wish there to make you feel better

ouasunshine: i have to go, the bell just rang

Packing up your backpack and quickly walked out of the classroom trying your best to avoid any more interactions with that clique. Which for once was in your favor as you didn’t run into any of that crowd for the rest of the school day. Your absolute favorite time of the day was when the last bell rang and you were able to go to the library. It was quiet and wasn’t too crowded unless it was midterm or final season. The librarians were also very appreciative that you came during your free time and helped out. “Y/n, I just wanted to let you know that we are going to close up a bit early so don’t be alarmed okay,”. “I won’t Mrs. Park,” you said with a smile on your face and then returned to your book. 

As time passed you were getting lost in your book. “Excuse me,” looking up from your book you say Wonwoo standing in front of you “Um can I check out a laptop?”. “Sure but the library is closing early so you have at least 30 minutes before I have to ask for it back. ID please,” you held out your hand. He handed it to you and once you scanned everything you handed it back to him. You watched as he walked away and returned to your book. Looking over at the desk that was in front of you you saw your phone buzzing. You moved forwards to see if anyone was in your line of sight and if anyone could see you, let’s just say you were in the clear.

mrbookworm: if you were picking out a book for me, what book would you recommend?

ouasunshine: what makes you say that I am a reader?

mrbookworm: well for one thing your soulmate is a bookworm aka i am a bookworm 

mrbookworm: i kinda hope that my soulmate is one too

ouasunshine: Are We There Yet? by David Levithan. It is about two brothers who go to Italy and they end up falling for the same girl but neither of them knows. It is pretty good. I give it a solid ⅘ but it definitely breaks the love standards that we are used to.

mrbookworm: wow i can’t imagine a system without soulmates

ouasunshine: i feel like the system of soulmates will still exist but people won’t know see the signs unless they are truly in love

mrbookworm: do you think there will be a possibility that we would be soulmates without this whole soulmate system.

ouasunshine: that is really hard to say

The clock hit 15:30 and you had to leave. So you logged out and looked around for Wonwoo to get everything back. “Um hey so,” you said walking up to where he was sitting out. “Oh is it time already?,” he said looking at his watch and then back at you. “Yeah, sorry for kicking you out I guess? I mean I know we are open later than this but you know closing hours aren’t my rules to make,” you said looking at him. “No no I understand, do you think I can check out a book or will it be easier to get it tomorrow morning?”. “Probably come tomorrow morning then you have more time to actually look for your book if you have no idea where it is located,”. “Yeah I think that will be my best bet. Thanks for the help y/n,”.

You were taken aback by him saying your name was this was one of the first time that you have ever had a conversation with him. “No problem, Wonwoo,: smiling back at him as you walked him out before locking up.

As the night was drawing to an end you were laying in bed finishing up an homework assignment. It was a simple reading so it was nothing heavy but you did wish that time would pass faster. A ding from your computer and you saw the lovely notification from your soulmate.

mrbookworm: two truths and one lie?

ouasunshine: hello to you too,

ouasunshine: what are you doing lol

mrbookworm: i’m bored and I don't feel like bothering my friends

ouasunshine: so you wanted to bother me?

mrbookworm: you’re my soulmate ;)

mrbookworm: you are kinda stuck with me forever 

ouasunshine: i mean i guess i can spare a minute or two

ouasunshine: ummm

ouasunshine: my favorite cake is red velvet, i played soccer as a kid and i’m 75% certain i was a butterfly in my kindergarten school play.

mrbookworm: oh that is an easy one

mrbookworm: it's the butterfly one

ouasunshine: i wish you can hear me laugh

ouasunshine: it is actually the cake one

mrbookworm: you’re lying

ouasunshine: no i believe that i have a picture somewhere.

ouasunshine: i was either a butterfly or a flower but i have a picture somewhere

mrbookworm: well when i meet you in person you will have to show me

mrbookworm: but what is the lie?

ouasunshine: i really don't like red velvet cake

For the rest of the night, you were talking to your soulmate. And just like you wished for at the beginning of the night the hours did fly by when you were talking to him.

Arriving at school early you walked straight to the library. You unlocked the door and headed to the main deck and pulled out the book that you were reading last night. And to your surprise the first person who entered was Wonwoo.

“Good Morning,” he said, walking up to the desk with a smile on his face. The soft curls from his hair lightly hit the top of his glasses. And the grey sweatshirt that he wasn’t helping his case and we really did look nice. “Hey morning, are you here to look for that book from yesterday?”. “Yeah I am looking for Are We There Yet? by David Levithan,”. Your head lifted from the computer and stopped typing mid-sentence. “No there is no way,” you thought to yourself. “Is there something wrong? Is it checked out?”. “No it’s not that, it’s just I recommended that book to someone yesterday, it is one of my favorites,” you said looking away. “Oh same, well not me recommended but it was recommended to me,” Wonwoo said looking down at the ground.

“This is a very out of the blue question but are you mrbookworm? Again totally random questions and if you aren’t that this is highly embarrassing,”. Wonwoo just looked at you and smiled. “Hi ouasunshine, I’m expecting to see that picture of you as a butterfly one day, maybe over coffee?”. “I would really like that,”.

[rightsockjin]

Reaction: Autumn Dates

Bts boys take their bb out on a date in spooky fall season.

warnings: suggestive themes, Jungkook is an ass who also holds your ass. lots of kissing, Jimin is a gentleman, Taes reaction... is a bit long hehe. I believe that is all 

a/n: Yo this took way too long to write wow, I blame school sorry anon but I hope you enjoy the writing. 

Jin

“Jagiya~ look, Yoongi and his girlfriend brought apples and a pumpkin. Do you want to learn how to make pie?” He said, taking the produce from the countertop and walking it to the kitchen. Jin liked to teach you to cook and bake. You had never gotten the chance to learn how and you never really had an interest but it was something Jin really enjoyed doing so you had decided to give it a shot.

“Did you ask Yoongi if we could use these? You know how… touchy” you said, shooting a pained look in Jin's direction, “he gets when it comes with anything that has to do with his girlfriend.” 

He shrugged and dismissed your claim

“I don’t think they’ll mind.” 

He set the pumpkin in the sink and began to wash it, making sure to pay extra close attention to the lines going down the pumpkin. He did the same with the apples as you got some bowls and ingredients for the pies.  

“Jagi, I need you to add cinnamon, brown sugar and butter in a pot. I’ve just measured everything out, just turn the stove on and put it on medium heat and stir until there are really slow bubbles rising to the top.” 

You nod, semi-understanding his instructions as you walk to the stove, anxious but excited to start. You hear Jin chopping the fruit in the background as you stir the now sticky liquid. You watch carefully as the bubbles start to rise. You feel Jin's presence behind you, so you smile. He bumps your hip slightly as a slight plea for you to scooch. You do and he scoops in the apples he sliced into the goopy mixture and added just a little bit of water to make it a little runnier. You grabbed onto Jin's midsection and pressed a peck on his shoulder.

“This looks good baby; the syrup was perfect.” You watched as he swirled the spoon in the pot and turned down the heat. He fished out one of the slices and blew on it to cool it down a little, then he turned to you.

“Open.” You hesitated at Jin's gesture, though you comply and let your boyfriend feed you. You let the syrupy apple rest in your mouth for a second before you start to chew and the flavor explodes in your mouth. Your eyes widen at the flavor Jin nods while giving you a knowing look as if he was saying right.

He asked you to roll out the dough while he continues to prep for the pumpkin pie. You sit at the island after finishing the tasks admiring your handsome boyfriend. You loved to watch Jin cook. He looked so in his element, like he was meant to be doing this. Plus, it didn’t hurt that he looked great in an apron. Eomma Jin was your favorite Jin. The kitchen soon filled with the smell of the sweet apple pie. The two of you waited for the pies to finish cuddled up on the couch of the living room.

“Jagi?” Before you even got a chance to turn, he grabbed your chin and sealed your lips with his. You rested your hands on his broad chest. The kiss was sweet and passionate, and tasted faintly of the apples and the sugar Jin wanted to let you know how much he appreciated you spending time with him today. His hands landed softly on your jawline pulling back slightly. His eyes swept your features and he mumbled a soft ‘wow’ under his breath. You let out a breathy giggle as your eyes darted down to where your hands were joined. You felt your cheeks heat up as his nose grazed your own.

“Han bon man?”* he said into your ear. You looked back up at him with a shaky breath and latched your lips back onto his.

He wane off of the kiss slightly, causing you to peck at his plush lips when you hear footsteps coming from the hallway across the room.

“What happened to the pumpkin we brought home?” Instantly you and Jin froze, now in fear of the small man’s -Yoongi’s- temper. You guys knew you were in for a long night.

*one more?

Yoongi

“Yoongi, catch up! Why are you walking so slow?” You said, trudging towards the entrance of the Farmers Market. Autumn had finally arrived, and you were excited to do the activities that came along with it and first on your list was picking apples. You stopped mid trudge to wait for your lagging boyfriend. He looked cute today, not that he didn’t look cute every day. It was just today he was extra soft. This morning he asked you to match. Though if anybody asked him, he would say that it’s just a coincidence. You were wearing a slightly oversized tan sweater with a black corduroy overall, and for shoes you decided to wear your black iridescent Dr. martens and a cute dark brown tote bag. While Yoongi wore his signature black jeans with black high-top converse. Similar to you he was adorned with a tan oversized sweater and a fuzzy black beanie to finish off his fit.

“The view from back here is amazing,” he stated back. His strides grew a bit wider to reach you. Finally, after catching up he grabs your arm and links his pinky finger with yours. You tilt your head up at him noticing his gaze is directed down at his feet. His lips purse in an attempt to keep his gummy smile at bay. You giggle at his effort and continue walking past the sunflower field entrance and the pumpkin patch.

You both make it to the apple orchard part of the market and grab a wicker basket to put your harvest in. The both of you wander around for about an hour, wandering around the beautiful trees. 

Your legs had started to become tired from all the walking. You began to look around to find a nice place to sit when you noticed you had wandered close to the pumpkin patch. You stare longingly at the families walking around picking out bright orange pumpkins. The sight pulls lightly at your heart. Yoongi looks over at you and sees your hand clenched softly over your chest.

“Wanna jump over to the pumpkin patch, Kitten?” His hand rubs softly up and down your back. You nod and jump over the small fence separating the pumpkin patch from the apple trees. Together, you find a large grassy area around the patch where couples and families were lounging and the both of you decide that it feels like a suitable place to set your picnic blanket. The spot the two of you had chosen was relatively secluded from the rest of the visitors, located right under of the beautiful apple trees that you had surveyed earlier that afternoon. You reach into your bag to grab your drinks handing the blanket to your ever so graceful boyfriend. He begins to unfurl the blanket by violently shaking the folds out of the fabric. The thwack of the blanket sounded loudly behind Yoongi.  

“Ow!”

“Oh no baby.” Yoongi grabbed on your offended hip with one hand and cupped your check with the other. “Mianhaeyo.”

He littered your face with a plethora of tiny kisses running along your face and neck. Between the kisses small, hushed apologies were pressed into your skin. His eyes catch yours which stop him mid-peck. His hand makes its way up to the nape of your neck. He pauses for a second, his eyes lock on your lips.

They brush against yours. You smile and kiss him back while your hands wander up his chest and his cards through your hair. You giggle into the kiss and allow him to take the lead. He guides you to sit on the semi extended blanket. Sitting down and making room for you to sit between his legs as his hands wrap around your waist. You both talked about everything under the sun, between soft kisses and walking around the pumpkin patch picking out the pumpkins that look like one another.  

Hoseok

Hoseok had planned out your entire day. The stress from work, as per usual, had been making him a little snappy. So, to calm his temper he decided to ask for the day off and treat you to a date. You were ecstatic when he told you this news, though you weren’t quite as excited when you learned that he planned on waking up at the butt-crack of dawn.

Hobi woke you up at around five in the morning. Even though both of you loved to sleep in, he insisted on starting today early. You began to get ready, deciding on some soft stretchy jeans and one of Hoseok’s oversized t-shirts knotted at your stomach and a cute pair of baby pink converse. Hope grabs your hand and leads you quickly out the door.

Hoseok had driven for about thirty minutes of which twenty-five of them you spent snoring softly leaning against the cold window. Hobi parked the car somewhere near the farmers market and turned the car off. He looks over at your sleeping form and spends a second admiring you. He sighs happily and reaches over to move a strand of your hair from your squished face.  

“Sunshine, baby wake up. We’re here.” He whispered into your ear. He reached down to unbuckle your seatbelt and pulled it up and over your head. You let out a soft groan as you begin to wake and rub at your tired eyes. You peek out of the car window and notice that the sun was still not out. You stretch your arms out in front of you and turn your body to face your man.

“Good morning,” you whisper while throwing a soft smile in his direction.

“So, what’s the plan?” You look around the car trying to take in your surroundings in your slightly groggy state. He grabbed your hand and gave you lips a quick peck.

“Waiting, and maybe a little walking…” You raised an eyebrow at him, anxious to know what he was planning for the day. “Trust me beautiful, can you please grab the bag in the back seat?” You nod and reach behind the armrest and grab the tote from behind you.

He turns off the car and walks around to your side and opens the door for you. You step out happily and grab his large hand. He looked down at where your hands joined. He loved the way your hand disappeared in his. He squeezed your hand and pulled you into his side so that he could his arm around your shoulders.

You in turn wrapped your arm around his torso and rested your head on his shoulder.

“Look baby, I wanted to come up here to see the sunrise with you. I think we still have about five minutes until the break of dawn. What on earth can we do in five minutes?” You stroked his chin in mock thought. You giggled and turned him to face you, your free hand wrapped around his torso and you pulled him closer towards you.

His hands reached  to hook around your neck. You tilted your head up, your lip barely grazing his. He cupped your cheek and pulled you into him. You smiled into the kiss after biting his bottom lip lightly. He groaned at your action and pressed his forehead on yours ,shrugging towards the rising sun. You scrunch your nose and pressed your lips to his, sealing the kiss with all the passion you could muster this early in the morning.

“I love you Y/N,” he said into your lips as the sun rose behind you to greet the day.

Namjoon

It had been a while since you and Namjoon had gone out on a date. Finally, both of you had a free day that matched both of your schedules. Recently you had found this app which let you look for little treasures around your area so you decided to devote your day to finding these trinkets. You sat in the dorm living room looking for a suitable route for the day. Luckily for you there were plenty of geocaches around for the two of you to choose from. You took into consideration the proximity of the locations of the drops finding the closest ones since Namjoon said he felt like walking today. Not that he really had a choice.

You finalized your day and headed out. Namjoon grabbed your bag and his while you put on your comfortable shoes.You grab at your bag in his hand, but he holds onto it tightly. You tug a little harder but his grasp on the bag stays firm. You look up at your tall boyfriend confused, his eyes meet yours and he pulls you close to him with the bag in hand. You crashed into his muscular chest with a loud thump. His hands quickly wrapped around your waist.  

“Kiss me?” His eyes glimmered, and his dimples became present, accompanying  the bright smile.

Your arms wrapped around his waist as you shifted your weight onto your toes. You placed a small kiss on the small, dark mole on his chin. He smiled down at you and laced his lips with yours, quickly pulling away.

“Kaja.” He breathed down at you and he slipped your tote up your arm placing a small kiss onto your jacketed shoulder.

Joon had an affinity with matching clothes with you. Today you even let him choose your outfit. It seemed like he was going for an earth toned color palette this morning. He chose a cool toned brown plaid skirt, a beige long sleeved top, with a beige jean jacket and a tan beanie and a matching bag. He wore light brown tweed pants and a white crewneck. Above that he sported tan cotton button up and a brown beanie that matched your skirt. He laced his fingers with yours and led you out of the house.

 You and your boyfriend walked hand in hand to a small coffee shop. The air was chilled and it seeped into your skin. The parts that were exposed were filled with goosebumps. Namjoon pulled you closer to him, his body heat satiating you.

 The hint on the applications for the geocaching was ‘corner’, so before you walked in you both checked the  eastern-most corner of the outside of the building. Both of you tapped the bricks that lined up to the edge of the small building. When you got to the eighth brick you noticed that it felt hollow. You grabbed onto it as tightly as you could and wiggled the “brick” and pulled it out from its resting place. You shook the box and inspected it to figure out how to open it.  Namjoon came up behind you and placed his chin on your shoulder. He began to wrap his thick arms around your waist. After a couple of seconds of aimlessly tapping the box you hear a click, you stopped shaking the small vessel. You grabbed at the now obvious lid of the box and tore it open.

“Namjoonie, look! There's a little velvet box.” You grabbed the box out of the container. Namjoon let go of your waist and took the box from your delicate hands. He grabs your right hand and lifted you hand to his mouth, placing a small kiss onto your knuckle. You look up at him confused.

“So, I hid this… yesterday. But this has been something I have been meaning to do for a while now.” He opens the box to show two white gold rings.

“This isn’t a proposal, this is a promise… that I want to make for us. I’m sure you know that I am a busy man, so this is a placeholder. So, when I can truly dedicate myself to you I can give you the ring for your left hand.”

Your eyes well up as he picks the ring out of the box and begins to slide the ring around your ring finger. You reach out to him and pull yourself to his chest and plant a soft passionate kiss on his plush lips.

He wipes the tear from your cheek and kisses your forehead. Then he brings up your hand to his plush mouth and kissed your finger. He slid the ring onto your shaking hand then did the same for his own.You smile up a him as your fingers entwined together, another matching accessory for your outfits intact.

Jimin

 “Jagiya~ are you excited Jagiya?” Jimin  swung your hand excitedly as you walked to the brewery. Tae had given Jimin his reservations for a small new brewery that was opening up near the dorms.

“I am very excited! I heard the place's aesthetic is really cute. We can take nice pictures.” As you walked you admired the pretty browning trees. Leaves fell around the two of you as the breeze picked up. You huddled up to Jimin, causing him to put your dainty hands in his pocket making sure to keep you warm. You plant a meaningful peck on his covered shoulder to cover up the fact that you just wanted to nuzzle into his soft jacket to warm up your cold nose. He smiles down at you as you’re finally getting to your destination. He opens the door for you like the gentleman he is and pushes you into the warm restaurant.

You walk into the building with Jimin in tow and you’re greeted with the smell of oak and pine. The interior of the brewery was really cozy, filled with warm toned browns, and comfortable booths. You and Jimin are escorted to a more secluded part of the floor by the manager. Finally, you’re able to sit comfortably without the fear of people crashing your date.  Even though the location was small, you felt safe next to your boyfriend. 

“You look so beautiful jagi.” He observed you as you stripped out of your fuzzy brown jacket. Jimin really loved to see you all dressed up. Not that he didn’t love how you looked in your natural state, it was just that he loved to see you dolled up for him. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. It was like the universe was playing tricks on him. You were glowing under the dim light hanging above you. He admired the way you had styled your hair away from your beautiful face. He loved that it exposed the silky skin of your neck. Suddenly he felt like he had to be near you.

“Do you think… it would be weird if I sat next to you?” His hand instinctively reached up to rub at the nape of his neck. Even in the dim lighting you could see a slight red tint reach all the way up to your new boyfriend’s ears. You giggled scooting over in the booth, patting the space next to you.  Quickly he climbed over to your side of the table and placed a small peck on your cheek. Jimin began to ask you more about yourself. Yes you had been friends with him before you began dating, but he wanted to make sure to know everything there was to know about you. He asked you about your job as a museum curator, about your family, your likes and dislikes and any other topic under the sun he could think of.  He told you about the coming album, and how he got into dancing amongst other more personal things. You hadn’t even noticed when the waitress brought you your drinks and food, too busy listening to Jimin talk about his time in foreign countries. This date made everything fall into place. The two of you had become increasingly cozy now that you had a full belly and a bit of liquid courage in your system. The conversation began to slowly cease, and the tension became more tangible around the two of you. He lolled his head back and let out a hearty sigh. He closed his eyes and made to look back into your glimmering eyes. He opened his deep brown eyes and leaned in close to you.  You felt his warm breath on your lips which made you let out a shaky breath. His hand grabbed at your hip rubbing gentle circles with his thumb as if to calm your rampaging nerves. He took another long inhale and rubbed his nose on yours.

“Can… can I k-kiss you?” he whispered.  You pressed your soft lips to his plush ones. You loved that even here, he was a gentleman. He squeezed your hip just to confirm that he wasn’t dreaming and that this was actually taking place real time. Once he felt your flesh in his palm he smiled into the kiss, hoping to never have to let you go which excited him leading him to think of the following dates and your future together.

Taehyung

Taehyung asked you to wear something blue. Why? No idea, but he seemed excited when he asked you so you did. Tae came home at around four in the afternoon with a new camera in tow.

“I can take more beautiful pictures of my baby.” He walked up to you giving you a tiny kiss on your forehead. He looked down at you, making sure that you were wearing what he asked you to. When he noticed that you listened to him, he grabbed your chin and tilted your face up to him. He lovingly placed another small kiss on the tip of your nose. He took the car keys out of his pocket and began to make his way back to his vehicle.

“So, on my way back from work the other day I noticed that the big farmers market opened.” You told him as he drove around aimlessly hoping to see a location that caught his attention.

“I was reading the signs that they were putting up around it and it said that they had a sunflower field,” you said while drawing little figures in the condensation you produced on your window.

“We should go visit one day.” Your boyfriend's hand snaked over to your side of the car. He felt around for it for a second until he found your warm palm, quickly lacing his fingers with yours.

“How does today sound?” He said as he checked his mirrors to switch lanes. You nodded with happiness and surprise taking your phone out to look for the directions. Tae was always so thoughtful.

It was about a twenty-minute drive to the farmers market. Tae quickly found a parking spot and rushed to gather his things. You hopped out of the car and ran over to his side to see if he needed any help with his equipment. You grabbed the backpack he was holding from his hands as he secured the camera around his neck. He checked to make sure there was storage and enough battery to last for the photo shoot, thankful everything was set. He took back the bag, insisting that he wouldn’t be able to get any pretty pictures of you as you walk to the field. You conceded and slipped the bag up his long arms making sure that it sat comfortably on his muscular shoulders.

The two of you began walking into the large yet quaint market. Tae took note of things he would want to buy as you walked past the produce and some interesting artisanal item tents. You hiked past the apple orchard and the pumpkin patch to get to the sunflower meadow. You stood in front of it in awe. Of course you thought it would be a pretty location, because of the flowers and what not. Though you had not expected to see the golden flowers just beaming beautifully. There were arches where they wrapped the longer flowers, and little alleyways that lead to small openings with big, beautiful trees. Every few trees would come accompanied with wooden swing and twinkling fairy lights. It looked like someone had pulled it from a fairytale. You looked back at your boyfriend. He seemed to be in awe of the field’s beauty.

“Wow.” You both whispered in near unison. You grabbed onto his hands and pulled him towards one of the trees with the wooden swing. He yanked his camera out of its case and began snapping pictures of you pulling him through the flowers. You got to the tiny clearing and began to explore.

He made sure to take pictures of anything and everything, not really caring if they came out perfect. The sun had begun to set as you guys made your way towards the front of the field.

“Let’s look at the sunset.” You suggested as you slowly slinked down to sit on the grass. He sat next to you as he put his camera into its case. You grabbed his hand, tugging on it softly to rush him to sit next to you.

He sat close to you and placed his head on your shoulder. You planted a peck on the top of head, your delicate fingers ran though his soft locks to help him relax further into your hold. Suddenly your eyes began to water, your breathing became choppy, and a soft smile graced your face. You looked down at your boyfriend, noticing that he was already looking up at you with a goofy smile on his handsome face.

“I love you y/n,” he stated before kissing the palm of the hand that was playing with his hair. You bent down slowly until you felt his lips press to yours. You giggled into his mouth and moved back to look straight into his eyes.

“I love you too.”

Jungkook

“Fuck! Jungkook.” You yelled out into the dark. Your wonderful, adrenaline junkie boyfriend decided it was a good idea to take you to a haunted corn maze on a date.

“Mmm, it’s been a while since I’ve heard your dirty mouth babe.” He took advantage of the fact that you brought him home to celebrate your Mom’s birthday. In Korea they didn’t really celebrate Halloween so he didn’t know when he would get the opportunity to take you on a spooky October date.

“Oh my Gosh stop~” you whined, making grabby hands at your boyfriend. You caught his shirt and pulled your face flush against it trying your hardest to completely block your vision. You feel his arm wrap wound your shaking shoulders which immediately calms your rampaging nerves.

He looked down at you and chuckled, tightening his arms around your uncharacteristically frail body. He walks you further down the maze, coming across a few more spooks which startle you.

“Jungkook!” You yelled as another figure jumped out of the lush greenery.

“Please walk faster.” But instead of listening to your polite plea he stops. He stops at the absolute worst place to stop. There was a large clearing at the halfway point of the maze, and in that clearing they always put the worst scares. You tapped his shoulder repeatedly, silently asking him to keep moving. Yet he stood his ground which began to worry you. What if he saw something that scared him enough to stunt him? You decided to take one for the love of your life and dislocated yourself from the safety of Jungkook’s armpit. You placed your hand over your eyes still afraid of what you’ll find in close proximity. You inch your hand slowly until one of your eyes is exposed, you pan up to see if you could find your boyfriend's face and you do, except his face isn’t in a scowl, or frozen in fear. No, on his face is a shit eating grin that reaches up to both of his decorated ears. As soon as he notices your eyes on him he lets out his iconic witch cackle.

“You’re the devil incarnate, you really do get off to my misery.” You plopped back into his chest before any other spooks came out from their hiding spots.

Jungkook slid his hands down your tense back stopping right at the spot where your legs met your butt. You didn’t even acknowledge this shift in position until you heard him ask you to jump. You did and he pulled your body up onto his.

Your legs hooked around his lower abs as his hands slotted themselves to rest on your ample bottom. Finally he set off into the maze trying his hardest not to drop you as ghosts and demons jumped out at him. He held you the rest of the way until the end of the maze where he could feel your heart being rapidly on his chest and he began to feel bad at what he put your through.

“Is it over?” you whispered into his shoulder. He nodded, which made you comfortable enough to look up at his handsome face.

“You’re a big ol’ baby y/n.” He giggled into your hair. His hands smoothed up and down your back, hoping to calm your racing heartbeat.

“I was in fear of my life, okay!” you expressed as your hands wrapped around his muscular neck.

“Im sorry baby.” He sent you his best puppy dog eyes and placed little kisses all over your sweaty face. You looked up at his big eyes and smoothed your lips over his. It felt like you could finally breathe. Your heart kept its quick pace, but instead of fear, happiness traversed through your heart.

[mulderscully]

let’s talk about chloe dying

i got a few messages about the theory going around twitter and reddit that chloe will die this season and how i feel about it and my answer is long and complex so it needs it’s own post.

i’m gonna put this under the cut because it might get long. trigger warning for talk about death, grief and christianity. also some bts spoilers for s5b and s6.

i have always assumed the show would end with lucifer and chloe in heaven together after she dies. honestly, i feel way ahead of the curve here. i have thought this since season two. my idea of how this will happen has shifted multiple times but i still do think that that is the ultimate endgame here. it makes the most sense for this show to me. our showrunners have been very, very clear that the message of this show is “if the devil can be redeemed and forgiven, anyone can.” therefore it is no secret that lucifer will make peace with his father toward the end of the show. lo and behold, here we are, with 18 episodes to go and we’re finally meeting dad.

at the beginning i thought lucifer would give up his immortality entirely and grow old with chloe on earth. then when she dies he would follow her to heaven voluntarily, having long ago made peace with dad and in heaven he would be restored as an archangel. i don’t think that is what’s going to happen anymore even if i still love the theory. but that’s okay. i am leaning more toward the theory that god is either near death or retirement and has come down to give lucifer the job. at first i thought this was a wild theory, but when you look back with it in mind it makes a lot of sense. i might make a separate post for this later because i find it so interesting and it’s not the point of this post. but for now, that’s where i’m at.

the conundrum for lucifer and chloe being endgame is that obv he is immortal and she isn’t. the vulnerability always seemed like an easy answer to that. if he can get hurt he can probably age. since that really doesn’t seem to be on the table anymore it brings us back to how are they endgame? we know they are, tom has legit said so. you could say chloe will somehow become immortal but i have stated my issue with this here. it’s the same issue i see a lot of people having with the theory going around that chloe will die this season and go to heaven with lucifer. that issue is trixie. chloe is not just an extension of lucifer, she has a daughter and a big part of this show is showcasing the importance of parents being there. 

on a personal note, my mom died when i was 16. a big thing religious people say is, “god needed another angel” or something along those lines. and that infuriated me. god didn’t need her more than i needed her. i’m sure it helps some people but people saying this to me made me angry with god and completely turned me OFF from religion. it wasn’t until i found this show that i found some semblance of faith again. 

as an orphan myself, i don’t see chloe dying as her “abandoning” trixie. but i do know that a parent dying can and does feel that way. i have to wonder why they even created trixie if they planned to kill chloe at the end while she was still a kid. that’s what gets me. i am, quite frankly, fine with chloe dying. on this show death is not an ending, it’s a new beginning. souls are immortal. i’m sure that all of our characters will be reunited in heaven eventually. but why leave trixie motherless after making that relationship so important in the first few seasons? from a writing pov, i don’t get it. i always assumed trixie would be an adult when chloe dies, at least mid 20s. it isn’t as sad then because death is a natural part of life and it happens to us all. trixie will also grow old and die and then see chloe again. that’s the cycle.

this brings me to who i think will die. 5x14 is a dan-centric episode then 5x15 is where we see lucifer and amenadiel at the graveyard. i really do think dan is gonna die. people say it’s obvious chloe will, but i don’t think so. i think there was wayyy more foreshadowing for dan dying than anyone else. let’s talk about how dan talked to amenadiel about his guilt over things he has done before he even knew who he was. then he finds out the truth and his biggest crisis is that he is CLEARLY terrified that he belongs in hell and since he feels that way that is where he will end up. his arc actually parallels charlotte’s almost perfectly. but whereas charlotte got a second chance to live, i think dan might help lucifer reform hell which i think NEEDS to happen. 

i have never liked that guilt is what lands you in hell. lots of people don’t feel guilt over the terrible things they do, like pete. and lots of people feel guilt but are good people… like all of our characters. in the end lucifer might realize hell needs to change and help dan leave hell. this was already planted in 5x01 when we see him help lee, a man he barely knows. imagine seeing a friend in hell? ALL his friends in hell. he wouldn’t be able to stand it. and maybe then he will finally realize he doesn’t belong in hell either. because i think he’s been the one keeping himself there.

this isn’t to say dan dying isn’t sad. it is. trixie will still be losing a parent. but it makes more sense from a writing point of view than killing chloe right now does. killing dan does not serve the purpose of deckerstar being endgame by taking him away from trixie which sends the message that deckerstar is more important than chloe and trixie. that goes against the core of the show.

also, i am fairly certain chloe will be alive and on earth for s6, esp since they have stated they plan on doing a blm arc. i can see the bittersweet aspect of the ending perhaps being that lucifer has to return to heaven without chloe for a while and wait for her to die until they are reunited. but like…. cristina perri-1000 years.mp3.

[gloster]

FAVORITE FANFICS OF 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE & HAPPY 2020 TO YOU ALL.

So this was a fun post I did last year, inspired by the dozens of Favorite Books of 2018 by the booktubers I followed and I thought to myself: why not do a little something something for the fanfics that stood out to me, stuck me with throughout the year. 

Last year I read insanely amazing reads, and if you’re interested to see what were my favorite fanfics of 2018, here’s the link: past favs

For this year, I read sooooooo many incredible fanfics that it was hard to narrow it down to just 10. And the funny thing is, a good portion were from the same author, so it was insanely hard picking the top one. 

I implore all of you reading and following me to try the tag-and please tag me. Always on the hunt for fanfic recs. I also am curious to hear the favorites from the following people: @kila09, @sebbies, @bookstakeyoutootherworlds, @scarlet47, @fleetofshippyships, @eyelashesandentropy, @tired-luxis, @dreamydrarry, @mothermalfoy, @profoundfelicity & @goldentruth813

Without any further ado, here are my top 10 favorite fanfics for 2019:

1). Soup-pocalypse and The Great Curry Cataclysm by SqaudOfCats/ @norelationtoatticus (drarry)

Summary: Eleven years after the war, Draco Malfoy leads a quiet, boring, and perfectly respectable life, thanks very much. Or, at least he does, until a sudden and very unexpected veela awakening causes him to throw soup all over Harry Potter in the middle of the Ministry cafeteria.

If the summary alone doesn’t get you to immediately click on the link and read, I don’t know what to say. But I can say this. SqaudofCats has become my new drarry favorite author period. I read all of her drarry stories, loved them all, and am hoping she does more. 

This story, in one word, was a GEM. A FUCKING GEM. It was so so so good.There were so many good elements: Veela Draco, Dad Harry raising Teddy, Draco learning how to cook, a strang but HILARIOUS courtship involving food that I didn’t realize how much I needed until this story. It was also a perfect blend of fluff with so many cute moments and angst, which thankfully didn’t involve the couple but had to do with Harry’s mental health and PTSD post-war. 

I read this story back in May and I still think about it. Have to stop myself from reading because I have so many fanfic tabs. But it is so good. It’s so addicting. Highly recommend. 

Honorable mentions from this writer:

*Gift for Draco

*Nearly Lost Things, Carefully Tended

2). Cinderfella by @goldentruth813 (sheith)

Summary: Takashi Shirogane is exactly the kind of man Keith likes; built like a brick house with a smile sweet enough to rot teeth and a heart of gold. Of course he’s also YouTube famous and worlds out of Keith’s league. The closest he can get to his pseudo-celebrity crush is when he watches Shiro’s videos from the safety of his bed. Or so he thinks.

This incredible bean of a human being, this incredible writer is the reason I was pulled into the sheith ship long before I finally got into the show-and then had me drag @kila09 into the incredible maddness that is Shiro and Keith and the crew....and the disappointing season 8 that I am still pissed about. But yes @goldentruth813 is the reason why I got pulled into this ship, and this fanfic is the story that sealed my love for sheith and made them my 3rd favorite ship of all time. 

This story is a fun, hilarious modern twist of Cinderella that obviously involves two guys, one is who a popular Youtuber and the other who is a hardcore super fan who meet in the most surprising circumstances and come back together in the most hilarious of ways. With our classic glass slipper being a beloved leather jacket. 

It’s so stinking cute. It’s so hilarious. And it’s so weird since, while I do appreciate the fairytale, Cinderella isn’t one of my favorites but I’m a sucker for a good retelling of it. And this was so good.

Honorable mention by this writer: 

*Safe Haven 

3). Burn the Witch by @lettersbyelise (drarry)

Summary:  When Harry Potter is sent in to investigate Draco Malfoy’s successful potions company, posing as Draco’s bodyguard, he doesn’t know the case will launch a series of events that will change his life — and Draco’s. A story about choices, scars, Chopin piano pieces, and finding all kinds of love in the most unexpected places.

Let’s be honest here. At this point, are we really surprise to see this story here , featured in a favorites/rec list? Are we honestly surprise? At this point, I feel every drarry-shipping reader has read it. Devoured it. And praised it. 

This story pretty much took over the drarry community the way Red, White & Royal Blue took over the book world. There wasn’t a day when I didn’t see Burn the Witch featured in a drarry fanfic recs post, saw posts praising it. Fanart of it, edits for it, and several mood-boards. It was THAT STORY. And I am proud to say it was worth THE HYPE. 

Because it’s so well-known, I’m not going into too much detail but I can say it involves Daddy Draco and Scorpius who is precious, Harry in an undercover mission, and has one of the BEST post-war, slow-burn to the point of excruciating drarry relationship I’ve read all year. READ IT. 

Honorable mention by this writer:

*Draco Malfoy’s Stupendous Seduction Seminar

*Love Me (Four Times)

4). Evitative by Vichan (drarry)

Summary: In the summer before his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is drawn to a room in Grimmauld Place. Like the Gryffindor he is, he enters the room without fear. The room is a library, and Harry is surprised to find that he’s eager to learn.Then he gets the bad news: he’s been accidentally expelled from Hogwarts, and he needs to be sorted again. Everyone is confident that he’ll go straight back to Gryffindor, but with what he's been learning, Harry’s not so sure.

Out of all the stories I have in my list, this is the only one that is currently a WIP. I know some are hesitant with WIPs but this one is so worth it. Another hidden jewel found by chance. This story has to be one of the best slytherin-Harry ever and that shows the Slytherin House and the Slytherins in a positive light while still remaining true to their cunning ways. 

5). Up We Go by Oh_Hey_Tae (BTS: Taehyung x Jimin x Yoongi)

Summary: “If you’re a witch that works with plants, then why are all of yours dead? That can’t be good for business.”

The room dims again, and Jimin lifts a hand to flip off the ceiling. Taehyung knows he’s sad and that’s why the shop darkens and he shouldn’t find it funny—but he can’t help it. Because this is ridiculous. The good kind of ridiculous. The amazing kind.

(Or: Taehyung has a green thumb, Jimin runs a magical store, and Yoongi can kind of see dead people.)

Oh my goodness, where on earth do I even begin with this one? I am loss for words. It’s been months since I read it and I am still lost for words on how incredible it is. This story reads like a fairytale. Who am I kidding? This is a fairytale. A beautiful fairytale that is of loss, grief, friendship, family, love, and magic. And a beautiful fairytale that features a poly relationship

I was broken at the last word of the last chapter. Broken. Broken and put back together again.This story was so heartbreaking and heartwarming and I couldn’t think of anything else the whole damn week after I finished it. It was that good. 

Honorable mention by this writer:

* Tell Me Again

6). Silence by the Night by @parkkate (drarry)

Summary: After a spell goes horribly wrong, Harry has to deal with the loss of his eyesight. It’s such terrible timing, too, because how is he supposed to find out what Malfoy has been up to in the Room of Requirement? It’s not like he can ask the git, not only because it’s Malfoy, but also because the Slytherin has suddenly lost his voice. While they’re both trapped in the hospital wing, however, Harry discovers there’s so much he didn’t know about Malfoy, and it’s highly intriguing, but also a bit alarming. Where did all these confusing feelings come from all of a sudden? And what is Harry going to do about them?

See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil. That is the best way to sum up this story. The themes of it certainly tie with the story. This story....there is a certain chapter and @parkkate knows what I mean if she remembers my reviews that shattered me. That made me sit down with a gasp because the angst just cut through me in a way that no other drarry fanfic had do to me. @parkkate I hope you know what I mean. 

Funny thing is about this fanfic is that it took my lazy butt forever to read it, like months after it was done. And mind you, I’ve seen so much praise and incredible fanart for this fanfic as well. So yeah, I was cursing myself for not getting to it sooner. And it was so so so so damn good that I literally said to @parkkate THIS IS CANON. This is canon. This happened 6th year after the bathroom scene and no one can tell otherwise. 

7). You only Live Once by @dreaming-fireflies (viktuuri/victuuri)

Summary: It's when the man is soaring in mid-air under the full moon that Victor gets a good look at him: he's Japanese, with black hair slicked back in a styled look, and a lithe body covered in tight, tight, leather under a navy blue coat.

And when the man lands on the ground again, Victor sees the final piece that captures his heart absolutely and thoroughly – a pair of brilliant, golden eyes.

Victuuri supernatural AU in which Victor is a Western demon hunter and Yuuri is a Japanese half-youkai exterminator.A cross-cultural romantic comedy/drama, with Japanese mythology, shounen action, and slice of life elements.

Literally the summary itself said everything you needed to know, everything that should AND MUST intrigue you enough into reading, that I don’t know if I really have anything to add. But I’ll try to add some of my own input. 

Like the summary said, this is a Supernatural-au YOI story, infused with Japanese mythology. Two different shows that shouldn’t work together but somehow did, creating such a fantastic read. I loved it. From beginning to end. I even knew first chapter it was going to be an ultimate favorite of mine. This fanfic just reminded me of my great love for Vikor and Yuuri-and my need for a fucking season two. As well as reminded of the glorious prime days of Supernatural, which in my opinion were seasons 4 & 5. There was action, there was angst, there was mutual and insane pining from both sides, and so many incredible moments to put into words. Seriously, what more could you want?

@dreaming-fireflies, you seriously did the damn thing with this story. 

Honorable mentions by this writer: 

*Entwining Fates 

*Zanka

8). your sharp and glorious thorn by @arahir (sheith) 

Summary: To end the war they inherited, Keith marries the King he lead an army against.

“You know, we met once,” the king continues, voice closer, and Keith almost turns. They met many times on the field—but then the king clarifies with a single word. “Before.”

Before he was a king. Maybe before he was a general. Keith has traced his rise like the growth of a seed he planted in clay and never expected to see again for how poorly he sowed it. None of this would have been possible without Keith—not the war, not a line soldier's battlefield promotion, not the end of it all, tied up so neatly by all Keith’s best mistakes. Not the killing, either. The king is right about that much, at least.

This is an arranged-marriage AU story, a trope I don’t love too much unless it’s really well done, and had very strong Game of Thrones vibes. And please note when I said Game of Thrones, I mean Game of Thrones back in its incredible prime, not the shitty season 8 we all agree was a nightmare never to be thought of again. But yes, this story was so good. Arranged marriage, enemies-to-lovers, slowburn. Please read. 

9). Your Constellation Prize by rosegardenlake aka @whoalookingcooljoker (sheith)

Summary: Akira is Hollywood's biggest celebrity. He sings, he acts, he models, he does it all and he does it perfectly. That's what Shiro thinks at least, but what would he know? He's just a tired office worker whose dreams fell through years ago. ...But when he sees Akira, oh god, when he sees him - Shiro's world fills with light again.

When Shiro lands an interview to be an assistant at Akira's company, he has a hard time believing it's reality. Though Akira's rarely around, meeting everyone is like a dream. Especially meeting Keith, Akira's shy sweet dorky cousin (OR IS HE?!)

I didn’t realize how much I would liked-love in fact-or needed a celebrity-AU until I read this story.  And that’s about all I will say since I feel anything else will probably make things spoilery. But I will this say: these two can be such idiots, but they’re our lovable idiots and they’re so sweet, so soft. Also that this story definitely well-portrayed the dark side of fame.

10). That Old Black Magic by @bixgirl1 (drarry)

Summary: Centuries ago, marriage contracts were the norm — ready-made alliances between families, expected and complied with, without complaint. But norms have a way of changing, and when a long-dormant contract flares to life, Harry has to navigate an unexpected splintering of the path he'd thought would be easy after the war... with Draco Malfoy.

Least but certainly not least: an incredible, incredible drarry story done by the impeccable @bixgirl1. 

I know I said that I’m not the biggest fan of the arranged marriage trope since I’ve been let down by so stories that started out promising but disappointed in the end. However, there are a few authors who I can always count on to make this trope into a great story. Such as @beatitudinembty, and also @bixgirl1. 

This being is pretty much....I wanna say Sarah J Maas, one of my fav authors, in the drarry community. Everyone knows her. Everyone loves her. Everything she writes always turns into gold, and this latest story by hers was no except. Arranged marriage brings Harry and Draco together in the most infuriating, excruciating, incredibly-done slowburn. 

Honorable mentions that I seriously wanted to add to the list but this post is already lengthy. All amazing, all greats reads by various writers y’all should check out:

*Moon-Eyed by @l0vegl0wsinthedark (Veela Draco, werewolf Harry, done by another star in the drarry community 

*Expectant by @l0vegl0wsinthedark (drarry mpreg with Veela-Draco & werewolf-Harry)

*Where There is Tea by @bafflinghaze (drarry + bookstore+ tea=goodness)

*The Rules of Matchbreaking @nerdherderette ( drarry: match-maker Draco, oblivious Harry, what more could you want?)

* Come For Me by Frayach (drarry; STEAMY STEAMY smut and disabled rep)

*I Want Your Touch (And I Want Your Love) by @awjiminie (yoonmin with bad boy Jimin, good boy yoongi. What more could you want?)

*Seasons of Love by mucha (BTS; Jimin x Tae x Yoongi; incredibly well-done poly relationship)

Lovely people, that concludes my favorites of 2019. So many fantastic fanfics that I could spend hours gushing over them. To the writers who created these incredible stories. I applaud you. I thank you for creating and sharing these wonderful stories. Anyone interested in doing the tag, please do. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS. 

[bangtan-madi]

All Of Our Lifetimes — Three: Samothrace

Pairing — Taehyung x Reader

Tags — boyfriend!Taehyung, husband!Taehyung reincarnation au, lovers to strangers and to lovers again, established relationship, implied soulmate au

Genre — fluff, angst, crime (ish)

Word Count — 2.5k

Summary — Does love ever truly end, or does it simply take another form in a new life? The cycle is like clockwork: your lives end and you’re reborn again. You’ve lived it over and over. Each cycle, one of you loses your memories and is tragically unaware until the other finds and awakens their lover. After all these eons, all these lifetimes, is it possible to find each other again—even when neither of you awakens with your memories? 

Part — 3 / 15

Warnings — language, mentions of murder (no description)

Previous — Next

On your way to breakfast the next morning, you get the call from Director Hyeon. What she tells you in the next few seconds nearly causes you to drop your phone and shout for joy, right in the middle of the sidewalk.

"We're offering you the job, [Y/n]. You're the most qualified and capable, by far. Everyone in the leadership has agreed that we can trust our boys to you. If you're interested...the position is yours."

Without giving your lungs a second to catch up with your erratic, excited breathing, you're exclaiming a vibrant, "Yes! Yes, I am very interested."

The details are finalized over the following week, which gives you just enough time to fly back home and pack up your belongings to ship overseas. Milo is a huge help, despite the fact that she's so jealous. While she has several interviews scheduled via telephone or Skype over the next few weeks, it will be a month or possibly more before she will join you in Seoul.

"I'm so jealous!" she tells you over and over. "So happy for you...but damn! I'm the one in the BTS army over here!"

"I'll see if I can snag you an autograph or something," you reply, half-joking.

Milo looks at you like you hold the world in your hands. "I would fucking marry you if you did."

"You'd marry me anyway."

At that, Milo merely flashes a wink and giggles to herself.

After your clothes and transportable belongings are packed and shipped overseas to your new apartment, the two of you drive to the airport in unusual silence, only a few items in your overhead luggage. It's not uncomfortable, but along the way, you both realize that this will be the last time you'll see each other for at least a month. 

Milo has been your best friend since middle school, and you've lived together since college. To be without her for that long, after all you've been through together, it's hitting you hard as the airport draws near. You reach for her hand over the armrest, lacing your fingers through hers.

"You're not gonna go run off and find some boy that keeps you in America, right?" you ask in a semi-joking tone.

Milo tilts her head as she stares at you from the passenger's side. "Only if you don't find a cute K-pop boy to fall in love with and forget all about me."

You make a faux gagging sound, drawing a smirk from your best friend. "Not a chance."

"Then don't test me, [Y/n]. I'll get a job and be with you in Seoul before we know it. A month isn't too long, and then we can be roomies again!"

Your hand tightens as you flash a genuine smile. "Wouldn't change it for the world."

You remain attached to each other until you get to the security check-in. Turning to Milo, you pull her into a tight embrace, one that she whole-heartedly returns. 

"Don't make me wait too long, okay?"

"'Course not," she chimes back, trying to keep her voice it's usual happy-go-lucky. "We're Siamese twins, you and me. Not gonna separate us!"

You say your temporary goodbyes—the only reason you don't break down being that you constantly remind yourself that it is only temporary—and depart for the security line. Passport in one hand, the other waving back to Milo, you hold tight to the shred of the past while running headfirst into your future.

One thing is for certain: things are going to change.

The first few days as a permanent resident of Seoul are spent settling into your new job and new apartment. And, as per usual in a major life change, there are things that go wrong that you couldn't have anticipated. You get lost on your way to work on your first day and end up being a few minutes late, one of your packages of clothing has not shown up yet despite everything else has arrived, and the office space at Big Hit evidently used to be occupied by someone who never cleared out their shitstorm of a file cabinet.

Needless to say, by the time the weekend arrives, you want to do nothing more than relax and recuperate and do something other than stare between two monitors. If you have to translate another word from Hangul into the English alphabet, you're going to chuck something out the window.

But, understandably, your apartment isn't in the best shape. Boxes are half-way unpacked, and plenty of furniture still needs to be bought. What has been unpacked is haphazardly tosses on any clean surface you can find. It's not exactly a den of peace and serenity, and probably not the ideal place to relax.

So, after doing some online shopping for said furniture and organizing as best you can, you decide to take the rest of the Saturday afternoon and do something you genuinely want to do. An idea pops into your head, and you grab your coat from the counter as you head for the door.

You never finished your tour of the Seoul Museum of Art, knowing for a fact that you haven't gotten to the architecture wing or portrait gallery. You feel your heart longing to go back and explore the remaining spots of the building, knowing in your soul that you need to be there.

What better time than the present?

You find your way easily, enjoying the brisk air that catches your skin and under your coat. The seasons are changing, shades of winter like white and grey settling into post-New Year's hues of mocha and beige. The city smells like green tea and feels like an ever-changing living organism.

Something tells you that more than just the seasons will be changing this year. 

Enter the museum, you find your way back towards the gallery where you left off. After the conversation with the stranger from yesterday, you were a bit too weirded out to really enjoy any of the other exhibits. Wandering for another hour, you hardly remember any of it. The story he told, the bloody fingerprint at the corner of "Vase with Honesty," it was all a bit too eerie for your liking.

But something in the back of your mind keeps prodding at you, and you desperately wish who that man was so that you could ask him more questions. How did he know about the murder? Why was he as drawn to the painting as you were? Why did he leave so abruptly?

All these questions circulate your mind as you round the corner, passing by the Van Gogh exhibit to your right. Just as you pass out of the entrance, you stop mid-step and turn on your heel, peaking back into the open space. 

Standing in front of "Vase with Honesty," the stranger from yesterday wears the beige hoodie and a white facemask. You might've missed him if it weren't for the way his eyes followed you from the entrance to the exit of the temporary exhibit, dark eyes dusted by curly hair. You think it unusual to recognize a stranger just from a few minutes of interaction, but your life has been anything but usual the past two weeks.

Instead, you offer a tiny smile and wave, stepping out of the arched entrance and towards the man. "Hi...again."

His eyes avert yours, shifting to the wall behind you, the paintings, the ceiling. Anywhere but at you. "Hi."

"Seems like we keep running into each other, hm?" you offer in a friendly tone. "Come back to see 'Vase with Honesty'?"

The stranger nods. "I'm a...big fan. Van Gogh's art is comforting. I've never known why."

His confession causes a genuine smile to spread across your face. "That's what art's for, silly. Van Gogh was a tortured soul, but I think he'd be happy to know that his life's work gives comfort to people, even..." You glance at the description card in front of the piece, searching for the date. "Even 136 years later."

His brown eyes flicker to yours again for a brief moment, and it's long enough for you to nod your head towards the expansive hallway. "Wanna walk with me? I got a few rooms in the museum yesterday, but not much more than that. Always nice to explore with others, don't you think?"

The shy man nods once and joins your side as you turn towards the interior, keeping a couple of feet between you. 

As you make your way to other wings, you and the stranger make small talk to pass the time. Well, you do most of the talking. You're not sure if this person doesn't trust you or if he's just catatonically shy, but he's refused to lower his hood or raise his head enough for you to get a good look at his face. His features are still obscured by his clothing and hair, but his voice is soothing the few times he does reply. His presence is calming. Something about the man puts you instantly at ease, and you find yourself being more friendly than you might be to any other stranger.

"Is Korean your first language?" he inquires, as you step into the empty room full of 20th-century modern art.

You shake your head, a slightly embarrassed heat rising in your cheeks. "That obvious, huh? I mean, I know I don't look Korean, but I was hoping I was passing all right."

He stops in front of a work by Georgia O'Keefe. "Not that obvious. I just heard a bit of an American lilt in a few of your words just now. You're very good."

"Oh...then, thanks."

"Why are you in Seoul, then? Visiting?"

"Working," you respond, moving to the other side of the room to view the other works of modern art. "I got a job in Yongsan. I just started this week."

The stranger's head perks up at your response, turning his face slightly towards yours. "How's that going?"

You shrug, making a non-committal noise. "I mean, it's a great job, don't get me wrong. It's just a lot. I moved away from America, from my long-time best friend and roommate, from everything I'd ever known for this job. And it's been a long first week full of things I didn't realize I was going to have to handle."

You shove your hands into your jacket pockets as the two of you turn to leave the room, enter back into the stark white hallway, and turn towards the next expansive opening.

"I shouldn't be complaining," you laugh. "The job is so much more than I could ask for, and I haven't even met a few of the people I'm supposed to work with. One of which I know I have a ton of questions for..." You shake your head. "I've have had this...let's call it a gut feeling, for a long time now. Go to Seoul. Go to South Korea. I knew my fate would bring me here one day, just didn't realize life would be so..."

"Hard?"

You turn towards your companion with an understanding sigh. "Yeah, hard."

A few moments of silence pass, and just as you're about to ask him about the bloody fingerprint and how he knew about the artist being murdered, you feel a chill run down your spine at the sight of the object in the room to your left. Not a chill from the cold or from nerves, this is a chill of familiarity. You turn your head slowly towards the object of your subconscious horror. 

"Winged Victory of Samothrace," or a copy of the one in the Louve, stands high and mighty, the lone object in the fluorescent-lit room.

"What is it?" the stranger asks, voice low and muffled by his mask.

You stare at the statue, unmoving for a full thirty seconds. "I—Does that statue look familiar to you at all?"

There's hesitation in his response, though you can't see his face. "I—I've seen it in Paris. That must be it."

You shake your head, clenching your trembling fists at your sides. "I've never been to Paris. I've never seen it before, not in person."

The stranger reaches out towards you, asking, "Are you okay? You're trembling."

In an attempt to clear your head, you drag your gaze away from Winged Victory and turn back towards the hallway. Visions from your nightmare force their way into your mind, but you shove them out, trying your hardest to keep them at bay as you walk ahead of your confused companion.

"Just a coincidence," you whisper to yourself. "Just a coin—"

Your sentence falls flat as you raise your gaze from the marble floors to the open space ahead. The chill returns, and your knees feel even weaker than before.

Pillars stretch up, cradling a spectacular glass ceiling, surrounding a spherical water fountain.

Your heartbeat races, and your throat closes up. The door you'd tried to lock in your brain crashes open, releasing all the terrible things your brain keeps replaying over and over and over. Doesn't matter if it's day or night, these visions never end.

An artist murdered. Two lovers on the run. A mad-man with a thirst for blood. 

And the death of you both in that very water fountain.

You stumble back, bumping into the stranger as you do. His eyes are wide and locked on the fountain, but you're too panicked to stop and investigate further. Every fiber of your being is telling you to run. To run as fast and as far as you can. 

Without explanation and without fail, you let your fear take you the mile's distance from that spherical fountain to the nearest metro station.

If you could physically go any faster or longer, you're sure in your heart that you would still be running.

[bangtanblurbs]

abyss

song: abyss by jin

first experience: as a relatively new song, i remember clearly abyss’ drop. 12/2/2020 - several months into whatever quarantine had come to mean by that point, thanksgiving had just past and christmas was coming up in a matter of weeks. those few weeks between the holidays often pass by in a blur for me. holidays are hard. they’re not the romantic times they always were when i was a child. once again i’d been sitting at home in my tiny studio apartment, freezing, trying to crank through work and school obligations. i can assure you my headspace was less than great, between the cold, the holiday season, the deadlines that had piled up... abyss dropping was the perfect medicine for how i was feeling. 

feelings: when i listen to abyss i can’t help but feel emotional. of course. naturally the accompanying note that came with abyss was heartbreaking enough. but at the same time, the song feels like home. it feels like walking into my apartment after a long day and slipping into my favorite hoodie that desperately needs to be thrown into the wash. the familiar feeling brings about warmth despite the sobering reality that i’m still here, by myself, slipping into my ratty clothing and climbing into bed to disassociate from the self-hatred, stress, obligation, and grief i carry daily. the reality is, listening to abyss is like listening to my inner voice. i’m not saying i understand jin, or any of the shit he’s obviously gone through and dealt with in his very colorful life, but i feel close to him whenever i put the song on. i feel like as i grow older - i grow into myself - i grow into the pain i’ve harbored for years now. while i sometimes feel like i’m drowning in the abyss, at least i have the comfort that my feelings aren’t as alien as they seem. especially for someone who has been fortunate in life in many ways - this song shows me that i’m still *allowed* to hurt. i’m still allowed to carry my pain and feel it flow through me. 

i must also say, that my heart broke many times know that jin feels the emotions that abyss conveys. the self-doubt, the anxiety... how we all must wish we could wash it away. i only hope with all of my heart that he’s been given time, space, and resources to process his emotions fully. i can’t imagine carrying what he’s carrying and having the schedule he has. bless. 

personal connection: as alluded to, i’m not the most stable person. i can post happy photos online, i can breathe my idealism into others, i can love with the full capacity of my heart - but i have plenty of demons. i’m not sure where they came from, i noticed them around the time i became a teenager - that sinking feeling that all aspects of my existence are ugly, undesirable, annoying. these demons have never gone away. no matter how much i strive for my dreams, no matter what i accomplish, the amount of solitude that exists in my life allows for the cracks in my heart to rip open forcefully. 

it’s this very thinking that limits me. i don’t believe in myself. i don’t really believe in anything if i’m being honest. everything feels dark. there’s ups and downs. much how jin describes in the song - i desperately want to be a part of a more vibrant existence. i deeply want to connect with others, but the anxiety, the self doubt, the hatred i harbor, they’re paralyzing. simple tasks - texting a friend to make plans, following through with plans, speaking in a group setting, advocating for myself, they’re all things i’d rather shut the door on. vulnerability? i can’t open myself up for any more pain. in my mind, i’d rather retreat to the darkness, convincing myself i’m not worthy of taking another’s time, space, efforts. and i get overwhelmed, the feelings that jin is describing perfectly - having someone take an interest in me - having someone show me love... it feels false, it takes my breath away, only makes me question more. it makes me wonder how long i’ll indulge them before i push them away and move to my own abyss. 

in abyss jin isn’t even talking about another person. he’s speaking to himself. there’s not a romantic or even friendship he’s speaking of in the song. it’s more about like - is it okay for me to feel happy or hopeful? am i someone who should be allowed to meet happiness? this is something i relate to even more profoundly than the previously mentioned worries over letting new people into my life. ever since i went off to university from my kinda shitty hometown i wondered... is this life something i’m allowed to have for myself? am i worthy of it? did i do anything to deserve the place i’m at? i feel often like my work, my thoughts, my actions -- they’re not enough to place me in some of the places i’ve been lucky enough to have a seat. these doubts can cripple me with inaction and keep me chained to the present, or at the very least held back from progress and moving forward. these feelings were exactly what i was going through in december. do i deserve to be pursuing my phd? am i worthy? i haven’t accomplished near what my peers have, and i probably never will... i’m not as passionate as the others i pass by in the hallways, those i share a floor with at meetings... i’m a shell compared to them. should i retreat to my abyss rather than continue to occupy space where i don’t feel i’m allowed to be? am i allowed to celebrate and feel happiness when i’m not really doing as well as i could be?

obviously this sounds like whining, it sounds pathetic. and perhaps to someone it is, but it’s the reality of my mind. it’s something i bear and it’s something i’m finally okay sharing with others. i don’t know how to overcome these emotions i harbor - but that feeling of feeling most comfortable in my abyss, in the dark, in the little world i’ve created in my lonely haven... that’s my reality. that’s the feeling that i’ve connected to when i listen to abyss. it’s those moments when you look our your window, at your phone, and you see the outside world moving rapidly in the sunlight, and you can’t help but feel you don’t deserve to be a part of it... you can’t help but know that your true place is in the abyss. the pleasure i receive from escaping reality is unexplainable. and sometimes, it’s pleasure in the fact that i’m punishing myself, putting myself in the dark and ugly place i think i truly belong. that abyss - it’s my haven. it’s my sanctuary. 

song breakdown:

musically: abyss is beautifully understated musically, but not in a way that makes it a stripped vocal song... but instead in a way that highlights the emotion laden in jin’s voice. the piano backing picks up with the song and brings in some effects along the way to highlight the emotional pauses between the heavy lyrics. its the perfect ballad. truly. the incorporation of a steady beat track at the second verse also ads to the emotions of feeling like something is dragging, the monotony of these emotions as one carries through each day. 

the dramatic pauses that lead into the verses and highlight the pure emotion carried in jin’s tone also bring emphasis to the powerful refrain in the chorus - it’s almost reminiscent of personal realizations, personal *epiphanies* one might say. that moment where you draw in a big breath and gulp it down before confronting your demons. while the track keeps it’s steady pace, it does what it should for this piece - highlights the beauty of jin’s voice, and carries the weight of the emotions in the lyrics. 

vocally: honestly, just wow. jin’s voice, is absolutely stunning in this song. completely breathtaking in the best kind of way. i say this with nothing but complete respect - jin’s vocals have done nothing but improve and grow in strength over time to the complete crisp perfection they are today. the amount of emotion he carries in his tone is also perfect to deliver such a profound ballad as abyss. i hope he knows that we can feel every ounce of truth and healing he put into the song. 

we all know jin is the high note king, but he honestly ops for more of a storytelling vibe in this song, keeping within his lower register throughout the verses. it really isn’t until we are mid-chorus that we get the breathtaking high note during the line “ 잠기고 싶어 가���고 싶어.” this is perhaps the most profound lyric of the chorus as well, since it’s the moment in which jin expresses a desire. most of the lyrics up to that point explain a state of being, his emotions, but at this point - he is almost calling out his desire. his painful desire. to stay lost within in his abyss. it’s painful and stunningly beautiful at the same time.

the genius of the entire song was jin delivering abyss in a way that we don’t always hear him sing in BTS songs. the buttery smoothness of his voice is on full display, with no need to stay in his high register for long we can really hear the weight in his tone, the pleading in his voice, the sincerity. it’s sobering, and it’s powerful. and i must say, i can’t wait to get more songs like this from jin in the future. i hope he continues to share his heart, his voice, and his talent with us. 

lyrically: oh man. this one is a deep cut. you can really feel jin’s voice throughout the lyrics of abyss. the accompanying note that he released with the song brings a lot of context and understanding to the lyrics. in the note jin explains feeling inadequate and insecure in light of the amazing accomplishments that BTS had made over the years, specifically highlighting the #1 on Billboard Hot 100. he explains that he felt like his passion and talents were lacking compared to others in music, and felt undeserving of the love, joy, and recognition he received. his emotions seem to be similar to those of imposter syndrome, feeling like he doesn’t belong in a space he inhabits and actually receives accolades for existing within. what’s more telling is in this note jin expresses his apprehension to share these sadder emotions he harbors. this song is so incredibly raw for being a place in which jin finally found a space in which to express his feelings, let them run freely and beautifully without the concern that he needed to stay strong for ARMY.

to jump right into a closer analysis of the lyrics - the song begins with a story like vibe. the first lyric “i hold my breath as i walk into my sea” brings about the image of the speaker (i apologize in advance if i alternate between speaker and jin) beginning their descent into deeper waters of the ocean. the speaker is bracing for this though, as they are the one propelling it forward with enough pacing to prepare and hold their breath. to me, this is alluding to jin knowing that he’s falling into a darker space in his mind, consciously allowing himself to slip into that space. he then moves into describing his state “i face myself who is crying beautifully and sorrowfully.” jin is describing that he’s taking account of his state, speaking to himself and seeing the distraught state that exists within his mind -- seeping into his outer appearance. 

the pre-chorus moves into a different vibe, jin addresses the duality in himself. he recognizes both the parts of himself that are strong - that can shoulder and carry the parts of him that are deeply broken and sad. “myself in that darkness / i’d like to go find him and tell him” this is jin speaking with clarity to his broken self, his rationality coming through to speak to the parts of him that are insecure and hurting. “that i’d like to know more about you today, yeah” perhaps this is jin’s way of saying that he wishes he understood himself better, that he wishes he could more confidently identify the emotions he was feeling and process them fully. the pre-chorus in my mind is jin using some clarity to check in with himself and take inventory of his state when he’s in his darkest moments.

the chorus picks up and delivers a few devastatingly beautiful and sobering lines. “still, i remain with myself / with my voice unable to come out, i just circle around him.” this is where we see the ultimate conclusion of the engagement in the pre-chorus... jin’s insecurity and pain keeps his strength from winning out. the duality in his being still exists, but in this moment it’s the pain, the insecurity, the feelings of inadequacy that have won out. “that dark place, / i’d like to be submerged in it, i’d like to go to it / i’ll be there” jin then places us back into the story he started in the beginning of the song - he’s submerged in the abyss, the darkest and deepest point of the ocean. he speaks to taking the time to really feel the emotions that he is harboring, causing him pain. while this could be a conscious decision he is making to better understand and process his emotions it’s also likely that this desire is rooted in self-loathing, a desire to self-punish for his perceived shortcomings. the pleasure that sometimes one can gain from fully feeling pain that they believe they deserve. the line about being submerged also brings about the image of an anchor in my mind - like these emotions are weighing jin down. while anchors may sink slowly (like slowly taking a breath and walking into the sea) they’re hard to pull back up -- they want to stay seated to the ground, where they belong to do their job. perhaps jin is in some ways alluding to this. either way, the chorus is about a desire to remain in the dark place, where it feels safe, where he feels he deserves to be. the final line is “today as well, i circle around you again.” which brings us back to the pre-chorus dialogue between jin’s duality - the part of him that may rationally understand that he deserves love, that he works hard, that he is worthy... but yet this part can’t seem to gain control over the darker feelings within him... so there’s this idling, this perpetual circle of inaction. 

moving into the second verse this interaction occurring within jin’s inner being continues. “the closer i get to you, the more breathless i become and the father away you feel” while this line is a bit more difficult for me to completely understand what i think he is speaking to is that as he begins to think he understands his emotions, when he thinks he might be regaining his confidence he realizes he is only scratching the surface. he realizes that there’s more to his darker emotions than he’d initially thought. perhaps he thought he was just having a bad day or feeling in funk, but then he realizes that there’s a piece of him that he doesn’t quite understand and perhaps isn’t ready to understand as the word “breathless” invokes a feeling of overwhelm. the second and closing line of the verse is “wouldn’t it be that you went deeper into the sea, yeah” invoking that these darker emotions only continue to grow, evolve, and perhaps overwhelm. he feels like he can’t quite pull himself out of the place he’s in, no matter what he tries. 

the pre-chrous as analyzed above then repeats, although the meaning is somewhat different when following the second verse. this is because the nature of the second verse is more hopeless in nature, therefore while jin would like to be able to regain some control over these darker feelings -- he’s just expressed that as he tries he finds it more overwhelming and difficult. finds himself moving further into the dark emotions. 

the final chorus is different that the previous - the lyrics change and while they continue a deeply sorrowful theme, they also bring about some hope. the first line, “still, i remain with you” is telling. jin is reminding himself that even if he feels consumed by these emotions, the other components of him still exist. he isn’t just the darker feelings that have taken precedence. he can have his confidence when he’s ready, he can maintain his duality. all aspects of jin, even if he’s feeling broken. “with my voice unable to come out, i just circle around him.” even if he feels he can’t gain control of these emotions, he can be patient with himself, he can know that there’s the potential that he can overcome, but also he knows that it’s okay in this moment to just feel. “that dark place / i’d like to be submerged in it, i’d like to go to it” this line is re-emphasizing jin’s desire to stay in the place where he feels comfortable, where he can feel his darker emotions, where he things he truly deserves to be. “today as well, like this, i close my eyes to get to you.” this is the final line of the song and it delivers a sense of comfort. no matter what, jin knows that he can be at peace - he may have these darker emotions, but he can close his eyes, he can rest and carry all aspects of his emotional state. the dark, the light, the highs and the lows. he can take his time in the abyss when he needs to. 

tl;dr? abyss is one of those songs that anyone who has struggled with self-doubt, dabbled or dipped fully into self-hatred can identify with. many people i’m sure have their own abyss. their own place in their mind where they’d like to lock themselves in - a prison of their own design that in one way might be one’s punishment for their perceived shortcomings, but also can be a paradise when a beautiful being seemingly undeserved reality feels like too much to bear. jin’s artistry both in terms of lyrics and vocals are on full display in the song - showing his amazing range and delivering a piece full of emotional tones. abyss is a stunning piece of the man’s mind and heart that i am extremely grateful to be able to experience. 

[guylty]

Hello hello hello! A week has passed and I am back from my mini break. I am going to indulge in a little travel report here, so those of you who have no interest in sitting through someone else’s holiday pictures – no offense taken, I totally understand! – please just scroll down to where you see the header for the round-up. All your tumblr Armitage needs will be satisfied down there 😉.

Tbh, it was lovely to leave the confines of my home town and finally venture out a little bit farther afield. In fact, it only occurred to me as we were on the road, that I hadn’t left Dublin at all since mid-January 😱. Ireland is not really that big – it reaches about 500 km (300m) from top to bottom – but the terrain here is characterised by rocks and hills, which makes for small, windy roads, especially as the infrastructure does not need to be as car-friendly as in other, more populated countries in the world. So don’t be surprised if you see the estimated travel time in the map below.

Yes, it takes more than 4 hours to travel 287km (178m) in Ireland. 😁 If you look really closely at the map you will actually notice a black jagged line running through the land. That is the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Our route this time took us the Northern Irish way, crossing into NI near Belturbet and then exiting again via Pettigo. The border is still “green”, i.e. there is no visible sign that you have actually moved from one jurisdiction to another. (I can usually only tell by the difference in road surface 😂 and the fact that the speed signs are suddenly in miles/h and not in kilometer/h any more. It’ll be interesting to see the Brexit regulation work out the issue of the United Kingdom’s *only* land border while keeping both EU customs rules as well as inner-Irish peace…) This is the shortest way of getting up from Dublin in the centre of the East coast, into the Northwestern corner of Ireland, which is part of the Republic and called County Donegal.

Our journey took us even longer than the estimated 4 hours, but then we also had to switch drivers in order to relieve my mother-in-law (77) and take a lunch break. We eventually arrived in Dunfanaghy in the late afternoon where my father-in-law had specifically booked rooms with a view in the plush Arnold’s Hotel. At first I was a bit taken aback at the layer of dust in our otherwise lovely room but then I realised that it meant the room had not been used in months and we were the first occupants since reopening the day prior, i.e. no lingering viruses there… From our luxurious king-size bed we had views out to the beach. (Click all images to enlarge!)

View from the bed

Village idyll

Busy despite the Covid crisis

Dunfanaghy beach at low tide

I have to say I was a bit skeptical as regards the attitude of the holiday makers towards keeping safe from the virus, though. Dunfanaghy was packed to the gills with tourists, particularly from Northern Ireland. (The weekend actually coincided with the traditional, Protestant celebrations of the Battle of the Boyne on the 12th of July every year. This is a significant date in NI, marking the victory of Protestant king William III over Catholic king James II, celebrated with drums, huge bonfires and marches by the Orange Order. It continues to be a controversial tradition within NI, with (some) Catholics offended by the celebration of this victory, while (some) Protestants insist on their right to express their traditions.) As part of the UK, NI has had a different approach to the Covid crisis than the Republic, and tbh I was not really that impressed with the general lack of social distancing displayed last week. (It goes without saying that it was *not only* NI people who were far too close for my comfort; there obviously were also plenty of Irish holiday makers there, too.) Within the hotel, there were hand-sanitisers at all exits and corridors, so it was easy to keep hands clean. In the restaurant, the staff wore PPE masks and the guests were seated well apart as fewer tables than normal were set up. So I felt relatively safe in there. But I hardly saw any face masks worn in the village, people were congregating in big groups outside pubs and shops, and it felt as if there were no covid restrictions at all. All that made me very angry. On our walks, particularly in the very busy Glenveagh National Park, people would not keep distance even though the paths were more than 2 meters wide, and on the parking lot, cars parked directly side-by-side. But then again, at least we were outside, and Glenveagh is an absolutely stunning place.

Glenveagh

Glenveagh Castle

In the kitchen garden of Glenveagh

Bag End?

Entrance to the kitchen garden

Wild life very close by

I have been to Glenveagh a good few times before. It’s a stunning valley with a 19th century hunting lodge castle at the centre. There is a formal garden through which you enter the castle grounds, but what I had not see until now was the amazing kitchen garden. The little gardener’s cottage under the large tree somehow reminded me of Bag End.

The best thing, of course, is the beaches and dunes and the mighty North Atlantic.

Tramore Strand

Horn Head

View of Tramore from the dunes

Horn Head from Dunfanaghy

I was thinking of Squirrel/Radagast who had commented about wild flowers before I left for the North, and I took a good few photos of flowers.

Native Irish orchid

Calla lily – associated with the Irish struggle for freedom

The weather was – Irish. We had two days that were predominantly dry, with only a little bit of drizzle here and there. Only on our last day the weather really turned against us, which was annoying as we had planned to go walking with my in-laws a bit. But well, a bit of wet doesn’t deter my hardy in-laws. There is no bad weather – only inappropriate clothing. So we trudged off on a two-hour walk in the Ards Forest. I think I was the only who got drenched to the skin. Yep, even after 20 years I still haven’t learnt… or bought the right equipment.

Typical family picnic. In the rain. Sharing 1 bottle of Guinness, 2 apples and 2 sandwiches. No lie.

However, we did also get a bit of sunset in, and so the trip’s best memory is this – a sundowner from Horn Head with the ragged shape of Tory Island in the background.

So, that was my summer holiday 2020. Four nights away with family. It was actually really lovely, especially as my f-i-l is now getting really old. This may have been his last trip up to Donegal. It was lovely to spend time with him and my m-i-l who are still very active and who are interesting to chat to. I was especially delighted that Little Miss Guylty came along, too – not just for myself but also for the grandparents for whom her presence is particularly special. And I had four nights of sound sleep that really recharged my batteries. So much so that I can now jump energetically into this week’s tumblr round-up:

  Badtennantwolf has put together a set of icons. I am including the set here for the first four pictures of RA at SDCC in 2015 as we recently had a chat about that occasion (and the famous dragon beanie throw) elsewhere

Richardarmitagefanpage reminds us of a Hobbit Extended Editions rewatch organised by One Ring Net for 21 July

Some dramatic Guy of Gisborne gifs, season 3, by riepu10

LOL. Including this mainly for the spot-on caption by thewarriorandtheking

*sniggers* Mezzmerizedbyrichard has come to the aid of many hot and bothered Mr Thornton admirers…

I have always been somewhat intrigued by that pock mark on Richard’s arm. Maybe he had it removed or something, because I also remember pictures from around the same time where he sported a blue plaster on his bicep. Picture posted by hobbitoferebor

Goodness me. 13 years ago. Yes, he looks a good bit younger. And full-on Gisborne-sideburns. Gifs by riepu10

Eyelash porn courtesy by mezzmerizedbyrichard

Ignore the wig and enjoy the nose! Richard as Claude Monet, giffed by mezzmerizedbyrichard

Lehnsharks’ Thorin drawings

BTS footage of Richard as Thorin was few and far between, so here are a few precious scenes, giffed by riepu10

Daniel Miller/Trevor Price looking ominous… Gifs by riepu10

One of nfcomics’ What A Guy Wants… interesting metaphor…

There we go. Sorry for the whole long holiday crap. I can faithfully promise that that is it for this year *sardonic laugh*.

However, before I go and more importantly, just a quick reminder:

It’ll be August soon and that means… RA birthday auction time!!! Donations of items have been coming in and it is high time for me to start organising and promoting, soon. Watch this space for more info!

Have a lovely weekend,

Sonja ❤️

  2020 Armitage Weekly Round-up #28 Hello hello hello! A week has passed and I am back from my mini break. I am going to indulge in a little travel report here, so those of you who have no interest in sitting through someone else's holiday pictures - no offense taken, I totally understand!

[sagehaleyofficial]

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (12.18-12.24.19):

NEW MUSIC:

·         Machine Gun Kelly delivered on his promise and dropped a new track before the end of the year called “Why Are You Here”. The track definitely continues into a more rock and roll sound, which he’s shown off in the past between hip-hop and alternative influences.

·         Jeffree Star recently stated that all the things are in place for 2020 to be a musical year. In a recent interview with Trisha Paytas’ on her The Dish with Trish podcast, Star revealed his plans for new music.

·         Simple Plan, State Champs and We the Kings dropped a new music video for their collaboration of “Where I Belong.” The track for the video was originally released before the trio went on tour together earlier this year.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

·         Falling in Reverse’s debut record The Drug in Me is You recently became certified Gold. In celebration, the band announced they are taking Escape the Fate and The Word Alive on “The Drug in Me Is Gold Tour,” kicking off February 8th in San Antonio.

·         All Time Low performed “Hello, Brooklyn” and “Walls” for the very first time ever live at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles last Monday. The band is currently in the midst of their sold-out Nothing Personal anniversary shows.

·         Post Malone will be closing out the decade and year by headlining Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020 in Times Square. Malone will be performing alongside Sam Hunt, Alanis Morissette and K-pop sensations, BTS.

·         Limp Bizkit, Weezer and Blink-182 will headline the third annual Inkcarceration Music and Tattoo Festival. The festival celebrating decibels and body art returns to the grounds of the famous Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, from July 10th to 12th, 2020.

·         Sleep On It announced a new tour for 2020, “The Pride and Disastour,” which will begin at the end of February and run through March. The run is in support of their most recent album, Pride and Disaster, which dropped in September.

·         Have Mercy announced their final tour, kicking off in early February and running through mid-March. Selfish Things, Fredo Disco and Young Culture were revealed to be tagging along in support.

·         Talinda Bennington, the wife of late Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington, revealed the 320 Festival, which was created to bring awareness to mental health. The festival will include a mental health summit, community festival and benefit concert.

·         Reel Big Fish announced they are kicking off 2020 with their first tour announcement, “Life Sucks…Let’s Dance.” They’ll be joined by Big D and the Kids Table and Keep Flying, and will be heading out beginning February 26th in Savannah, GA.

·         Saosin were set to take the stage last Thursday for the first of two sold out shows at Garden Grove Amphitheatre in Garden Grove, CA. However, with hours until the show, the band took to social media to reveal they’d have to reschedule due to illness.

·         At the historic My Chemical Romance return show in Los Angeles last Friday, openers Thursday pulled Saves the Day frontman Chris Conley onstage for MCR bassist Mikey Way’s favorite song. The band performed a cover of the Buzzcocks track “Ever Fallen in Love.”

·         As fans donned their black eyeliner and My Chemical Romance attire at their reunion show, the band performed track after track of classic and timeless songs from throughout their discography. The setlist contained several deep cuts as well.

·         Halsey was announced to return to Saturday Night Live for the third time on January 25th. She is the musical guest and will attend alongside host Adam Driver, who recently starred in the film Marriage Story.

OTHER NEWS:

·         Pokémon and Adidas are teaming up and even though the collaboration has no release date yet, the first images of the Pikachu Adidas Advantage are here. Earlier in the year, leaked images showed more elaborate Pikachu and Squirtle shoes, but there has since been no additional information.

·         Yellowcard reportedly resumed their lawsuit against late emo rapper Juice WRLD for alleged copyright infringement. The band pushed back the response date for the rapper’s co-defendants Taz Taylor, Nick Mira and the two labels he is signed to.

·         Jackass announced it is coming back, as Paramount Pictures revealed on December 18th that it is expected to hit the big screens again in March 2021. This will be the fourth film in the series, in addition to three seasons of the television show.

·         Late Linkin Park musician Chester Bennington‘s ex-wife was decided to receive 50% of his Linkin Park royalties. Samantha Olit filed a claim in 2017, and was married to Bennington from 1995 until 2006.

·         Fender ended their recent Instagram story with some shots of the instruments from My Chemical Romance’s return show, saying “Look out for these on the @mychemicalromance tour starting tomorrow in Los Angeles.” Guitarist Frank Iero later shared on his own story.

·         Sleeping With Sirens’ Kellin Quinn hopped on one of the latest viral trends by utilizing TikTok to spotlight a classic track. Filmed from inside either his or someone else’s home, Quinn shared some filtered jump cuts set to the SWS track “Low.”

·         Horror metalcore icons Ice Nine Kills dropped their festive track “Merry Axe-Mas” last holiday season. Now, the band are giving fans a new Christmas present in 2019 with a video game inspired by the song.

·         Billie Eilish finally filmed an episode of the hit show Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, starting off with “Bad Guy.” Throughout the episode, she discusses meeting Justin Bieber and when she began writing music, among other things.

·         New Found Glory guitarist/vocalist Chad Gilbert took to social media Saturday to announce his engagement with musician Lisa Cimorelli. Gilbert reflected on the whirlwind of 2019 before ending saying he’s “standing on top of a fricken mountain.”

·         After a Denny’s show with a raucous mosh pit for the hardcore band WACKO occurred last week and took the internet by storm, Green Day just covered all the costs. They even left a heartfelt message to Bryson Del Valle, who organized the event, on GoFundMe.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

[mrandmrskarev]

I'm very upset with the direction this season took. It had everything to be great and up until episode 8 it was, but the mid season finale was a mess and since it came back i haven't been able to watch one whole episode without skipping scenes. They ruined Jolex (not really their fault if justin wanted to leave, but they could've done this better), they're regressing amelia's character development and the rest is so boring i can't even bring myself to care about. Sorry for the rant.

Don't apolgize just because you shared your honest opinion about Greys now. And, for the record, I agree with you. I had so much faith in this season, this season was supposed to be great, but things change really fast, I didn't expect Justin to leave Greys, I thought he would never do something like that, but he did and I'm not mad at him, absolutely, I respect his decision and I wish him all the best but like you said, they could've done this better, SO MUCH BETTER. They ignored Alex for years, same with Jolex and Jo... I think they could've had a family seasons ago... The storylines they're telling now are sooo boring, they keep doing these crossover events with Station19 because they think this is the right way to give S19 popularity and to get more audience for greys. But the truth is that this isn't working and people are pretty tired of it. Grey's Anatomy is getting low ratings compared to other seasons and episodes. I don't know if this is because Justin left or it was the same in the past years too but I noticed it now because Justin left lol. Amelia is like "back to season13, bitchess" ...wtf??!! RIDICOLOUS. That storyline is very ridicolous. I'm still sad but I'm very curious to find out what writers did with Alex's story. I'm prepared for the worst but I think this was unexpected and hard for them too, I think it wasn't in their plans the fact that Justin wanted to leave, we don't know what happened BTS and with Justin, and I think they're not stupid, they know Alex is loved by everyone, let's see what they came up with this time, since this season is ridicolous, I think they will give him a shitty or ridicolous ending...

[sanoiro]

Lucifer Moves to a New Stage

Since Lucifer returned to Los Angels after its Pilot and some of the scenes for some episodes in S1 and S2 it was occupying Stage 16 and a small part of Stage 11. The VIP parking spots actually are still outside Stage 11. 

Now the production was moved to a different location some time before Season 4 dropped on Netflix which had me wondering as to why and what that meant. It soon became apparent what that meant as we would get a fifth and final season. 

Stage 16 was hosting everything aside from Linda’s office and although it is a VERY big stage in total SF and height it still struggled to keep it up with the series needs. That became apparent last year when Chloe’s house had to be taken down for the stage to have a breathing space from the addition of Linda’s house right behind Lt Marcus Pierce office. 

That also brings us to one more issue. Certain sets were created but either was scrapped quickly or simply remained taking valuable space from the stages. Such sets were the Lt office, the precincts facilities where Charlotte had her breakdown or even LUX’s facilities that were used for a fight in S3 but the scene was deleted and added in the home media later on. The same also applies for the Penthouse’s dressing room and sets like the hospital in S4, or the hospital room, the karaoke bar etc in S3. 

So as you can see Lucifer always needed more space than it was available and yet it managed to deliver beautifully. However, the question remains where has it been moved now and perhaps even why? 

Stage 16 is a movie stage and one of the most expensive ones. Cost-wise it was not a viable option to spend so much in a stage for your last season. Then again the new stages might cost just as much but something happened in mid 2019 that made the moving as the obvious choice for S5. A show that was also produced in WB lot was axed, I’m of course talking about Lethal Weapon. 

Lethal Weapon was occupying 2 stages Stages 28 & 28A (One stage divided in half) and Stage 29. For trivia’s sake, CHuck was shot at Stages 28 & 28A while some of the Tara set from Gone With The Wind was discovered there hinting that a part of that classic had also used that stage.

Now let’s see the logistics here and speculate a few things that concern Lucifer and why this move might be beneficial to the show. 

Stage 16 stood at 65 feet while all the other stages are at around 35. Its dimension is 238 x 135 and in total it has 32,130 s.f.

Stage 11 is 14,715 s.f.

In total Stage 16 and Stage 11 (which was never used as a whole as far as I know at least) 46,845 s.f. Again Stage 11 was not occupied solely by Lucifer so I would say at best count in the total just the 1/4 of that stage. 

That means that Lucifer totally was occupying at the WB lot around 35-36K square feet of stage space from 2017-2019. 

Stages 28 & 28A are in total 21,310s.f. and so far host the penthouse and LUX. I do expect the precinct to also be built there right behind LUX and perhaps Chloe’s house close to the penthouse but that remains to be seen. 

So far we do not know if the production has decided to also occupy Stage 29 but it would make sense as it is free and building a set is cheaper than using CGI or renting properties for shooting around Los Angeles. That is also important when you have action scenes like the one in 4x04 where the bar was actually a set built from scratch. 

If they do get Stage 29 that means that the new total of available space for everything the production wants to built for S5 will be a grand total of 38,880 s.f.

So what can we expect from this moving?

1) More sets for sure like Hell perhaps 2) Keeping a good balance between Lot and L.A. scenes which will not hurt the budget. 

3) Quality CGI when we actually need it. 

4) Not many bts as the stages are at the edge of the stage lot. 

All in all, I believe that the new stages will benefit S5 :) 

EDIT: It appears that the second stage we occupy is stage 26. 

The new space total is 42,930sf. Up until last year, we had S11 (14,715sf) & all of S16 (32,130sf) = 46,845sf yet S11 was only partly used. 

[fairyroses]

Gotta be honest, I don't actually think the writers have decided on whether to make brainy and nia cannon or not. I am sure they are see waiting to see how fans react to it and if people want the comic book pairing of karadox more (because remember one of the showrunners, Robert Rovner said that they did tease karadox a little in s3 ep10). So only time will tell I guess,or next season for sure.

I definitely do find it odd/suspicious that we’re 12 episode into the season, and there’s still been so little forward movement and development for Brainy and Nia. Especially because it’s significantly different from the timelines of the other major canon relationships on the show thus far. 

Some examples of past canon relationship timelines below the cut (plus some more Thoughts):

- James and Lena. Sure, they technically knew each other before season 3, but the show didn’t start pushing them together romantically until 3.01. Then they kissed for the first time in the mid-season finale (3.09), and were basically together after that. 

- Alex and Maggie. They met in 2.03, kissed for the first time in 2.06, and officially got together in the mid-season finale (2.08). (It still shocks me that more people don’t think of this relationship as rushed, because it is super rushed even by CW standards, tbh…)

- Kara and Mon-El. They met in 2.01, kissed for the first time in the mid-season finale (2.08), and then officially got together in 2.13. 

The point is, I’m sensing a definite pattern here. Basically, new couples are introduced early in the season, then they usually kiss/get together by the mid-season finale, and spend the rest of the season navigating their new relationship. Kara and Mon-El, as the “main couple,” were slightly more narratively stretched out, but even they had already had their first kiss by the mid-season finale, just like all the others. 

(- Kara and James are an obvious exception to this, as they didn’t kiss for the first time until 1.18. I think this is an obvious case of “CBS vs the CW” though, because CBS shows tend to take way more time with their relationships than CW shows do. So, as a result, I’m not putting too much stock in Kara/James as an example of a typical CW couple.)

So, what about Brainy and Nia? Well, they met in 4.02, which is par on course with all the other relationships, but they noticeably haven’t taken any of the other major steps since then. We’re past episode 4.12 at this point, and they haven’t even come close to kissing yet. It hasn’t even been fully established if they’re both actually interested in each other! 

Of course, Brainy/Nia shippers would probably say that the slowness of it just makes the relationship “more realistic” or w/e, but like… this is the CW we’re talking about here. They don’t do realistic romance, especially for side character ships. And they’re not going to randomly break their typical relationship formula for no reason.

Up until this most recent episode, I thought the lack of forward momentum meant that the writers were playing a long game that ultimately had to do with something other than romance (such as, y’know, some kind of reveal about Nia’s future/Nura). But now, after the whole “I want her to be my Valentine” 180, I have no idea what they’re doing, and I’m much more inclined to agree with your take on things, anon.

The back-and-forth-ness of Brainy/Nia, coupled with all the small hints of Karadox (which, rumor has it, are in fact being included intentionally…), really makes it seem like the writers are tip-toeing around, afraid of committing to any one relationship. Which is incredibly annoying, because IMO, professional writers should have this kinda shit planned out WAY beforehand. But given all the messy BTS stuff that’s happened on this show before, I guess the lack of decisiveness really shouldn’t surprise me at all.

On one hand, stretching the “will they/won’t they” out for this long could leave us with a situation like Kara and James, where Brainy and Nia kiss once late in the season, but ultimately don’t become a couple for whatever reason, leaving them both single for season 5. (This is obviously my preferred scenario, and tbh I think the writers could do it pretty easily. It’s the one benefit to them not committing to anything yet - they could just as easily opt out as opt in.)

On the other hand, if the writers ultimately decide that they do want to push forward with Brainy/Nia, we’re so late in the game now that the relationship is almost guaranteed to carry over into season 5. And that feels so, SO wrong when it’s coupled with the knowledge that we’re going to be speeding headlong into Crisis next year. 

I just cannot imagine a Crisis storyline that has Brainy romantically involved with someone other than Kara. Frankly, I’m lowkey horrified by that thought. But thanks to how long it’s taken the writers to commit to anything, that’s a potential reality that we’re seriously looking at now. 

Anyway, back to what you were saying - if they ARE indeed waiting to see fan reactions, then here’s a nice tidbit from twitter today:

The official CW Supergirl account posted a Brainy/Nia gif to promo the new ep on Sunday, which isn’t particularly surprising. However, the most-liked comment on that post?

YUP. 

Hopefully that tells them something, at least.