#he’ll still out sing the industry

[midnightaugust]

I’m sorry but some of these takes about Jungkook’s album just aren’t it.

[starlostseungmin]

husband!seungmin

✰ notes: my brain is not working properly and idk if i could write any lengthy fics as of the moment but here’s husband seungmin because i’m bored and i love our puppy so much. not proofread. DO NOT FORGET TO REBLOG, COMMENT AND LEAVE TAGS! thank you <33

chan | lee know | changbin | hyunjin | han | felix（ seungmin ） jeongin

ꔛ

Husband Seungmin who cried when he saw you walking down the aisle with a big smile on his face thinking that he’s the luckiest man on earth to marry you. He couldn’t wait for the priest to finally announce you as husband and wife then kisses you in front of your friends and family. 

Husband Seungmin whose love language is act of service and words of affirmation with a little bit of gift-giving. 

Husband Seungmin who is still shy about engaging in physical touch. But when he does, he gets really clingy and refuses to let you go. You never complain. He also loves looking at you dreamingly while you sleepーwhispering how much he loves you and kisses your forehead before going to sleep, hugging you tightly. 

Husband Seungmin who cooks every morning before going to workーsometimes at nightーand holds your hand while brewing coffee as he steals kisses whenever you aren’t looking. 

Husband Seungmin who would take the day off from work just to stay home and take care of you when you’re sick. He won’t allow you to move and insist that he’ll do everything you ask for. 

Husband Seungmin who gets a bit possessive when someone who seems interested in you makes a conversation so he’d kiss your lips out of the blue and say, “We’re married.” then show off your wedding rings. 

Husband Seungmin who doesn’t pressure you to have kids with him since he respects whatever decision you make. It doesn’t matter anyway, as long as the two of you are together, that’s enough for him. 

Husband Seungmin who is still feeling nervous when he asks you out on a date. It would always feel like the first timeーhis heart racing, cheeks red as a tomato, the giddiness and sparks, everything goes in slow-motion. He would take you to your favorite places and have the best time. 

Husband Seungmin who loves tea time and is literally serving you hot gossip from workーlaughing at how everyone was so dumb and problematic in the industry. 

Husband Seungmin who used to prefer texts over calls but now he tends to call you often because he misses you. He would also wait for you to hang up first.

Husband Seungmin who would hug you tightly while kissing the crown of your head and whisper words that might comfort you when you’re breaking down and vulnerable in front of him. He would refuse to leave until you feel better. 

Husband Seungmin who makes weird noises and funny faces just to make you laugh. 

Husband Seungmin who acts like a puppy when he wants to be babied and asks for a kiss. 

Husband Seungmin who treats you like royalty. 

Husband Seungmin who gets over the moon when you surprise him with lots of (useful) Sanrio-related gifts. Mostly Pochacco and Pompompurin with a little bit of Cinnamon Roll. 

Husband Seungmin who loves to take A LOT of pictures of you with his phone or camera. You’d complain (playfully) about his storage getting full but he doesn’t mind because you are his muse. 

Husband Seungmin who brings you flowers on random days because they remind him of you. 

Husband Seungmin who kisses your lips intimately because he wants to. It could happen multiple times a day which could lead to something moreーmost of the time. 

Husband Seungmin who would walk away after an argument and come back hours later to apologize. 

Husband Seungmin who doesn’t want you to see him cry but gives in when you hug him. 

Husband Seungmin who gets brutally honest, cries over silly things, and does his little twerk when drunk but still cute as hell. 

Husband Seungmin who always scores 98-100 on coin karaoke and gets cocky. He knows you love listening to him when he sings and gladly does the favor when you ask him to—wherever, whenever. 

Husband Seungmin who is always good at everything. 

Husband Seungmin who doesn’t say “I love you,” most of the time but expresses it in different ways or says it with the things he feels about you. 

Husband Seungmin whose smile is the most precious in the world. You promised not to take it away and never make him cry. 

Husband Seungmin who loves you so much, makes you happy, never fails to make your heart beat, makes you feel loved and accepts you no matter what your flaws are. 

✰ taglist: @notastraykid , @ameliesaysshoo , @l3visbby , @reignessance , @lix-ables , @skzfelixlove , @rachabreathing , @hyunverse , @minluvly , @sleepyleeji , @starseungs , @midsoulz , @oddracha , @armystay89

©️ 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐒𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐌𝐈𝐍 , 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒.

[yaksha-lover]

may i request vil, idia, azul and malleus with a reader (reader is their s/o) that is yuu but decided to stay in twisted wonderland and in their second year at nrc they participated in the vdc singing bc, surprise, they have an amazing voice! (i have this thought that maybe they were also in the pop music club with kalim, cater and lillia)

after the vdc many companies contacted them and after graduating at nrc they became a really popular artist

basically the boys reaction to their s/o singing at the vdc and then becoming famous, how would they react and how would they support them

thanks for the request!! sorry i took some time with it! hope you enjoy :)

Vil

Vil probably knew you were a decent singer considering you were in the pop music club

But you’ve never really sang in front of him, so your performance at the VDC definitely takes him by surprise (in a good way)

He’s super happy for you when you start getting offers from recording labels and such

Although he would’ve helped you out with his own contacts in the industry if you’d wanted

He loves that you can relate to each other even more than before

Now you understand what it’s like to be a celebrity as well, both the good and bad, bringing you two closer together

He’s super proud of you and not afraid to show it, hyping you up on all his socials and surprising you with flowers after your concert performances

He’s also very protective of you, knowing how mean and judgemental people can be, and he’s not afraid to stand up for you whenever he can

You two are definitely the celebrity power couple that all the fans love and find super cute

Idia

As much as he didn’t want to go to a social event, Idia was willing to attend just to see you perform

He starts malfunctioning as soon as he hears you sing; he can’t believe he’s with someone so talented and amazing

He’s happy for your success and knows how much you deserve it, even though it can be hard for him considering his antisocial inclinations

He absolutely becomes your biggest fan, no exaggeration

He’s the first to buy all of your merch, wears it proudly and puts up posters of you in his bedroom

Idia is a bit insecure about dating someone so famous and talented and beautiful and kind and every other amazing things that you are

So you’ll need to reassure him sometimes that you still love him and that he’s good enough for you

He’s super shy when you talk about him in interviews, but secretly it makes him so happy for you to acknowledge him as your boyfriend

If you want it, he’ll even offer to help you out with things like editing for music videos or building a website for your brand

Will force himself to go to your concerts, as long as he can sit in the vip box alone with Ortho as the two of them cheer you on

Azul

The first time he hears you sing at the VDC, he’s of two minds about it

First and most obvious, he’s excited for this new opportunity for the both of you

Determined to help you get famous (not just so you can help promo his businesses)

Encourages you strongly when you start getting offers from companies

He’s also just very proud of you for how far you’ve made it just by yourself (you refused his resources, much to his dismay)

He does love how hard you work and truly feels you’re one of the only people who match his drive

At the same time

You’re his partner, and it’s hard for him to watch all these people thirst after you, once you become famous lmao

He loves you and it’s a bit difficult to feel like he has to share you with the rest of the world

Lowkey a bit scared that one day you’ll meet another cool celebrity and decide they’re a better match for you than an octopus

He’ll be okay once you reassure him that you’re not going anywhere

Azul supports you every step of the way, still taking time out of his busy schedule to come see you at your shows or making dinner reservations at his own restaurants

Malleus

Lilia would always speak of you being a great singer but Malleus had never actually heard you sing until the VDC

Immediately fell more in love (if that was even possible)

Your voice and demeanour were so captivating, you were truly lovely in that moment (not that you weren’t always in his mind)

He knows you’ll get offers from companies, he’s so sure of your talent and absolutely wants you to get all the recognition you deserve

He’s happy when your music starts to become more and more famous because people are finally seeing you as wonderfully he does

You deserve to be admired, as long as no one gets too close

No matter how famous you are, you’re still his after all - though few rarely test their luck with you, your boyfriend is Malleus Draconia after all

You’re quick to tell them off, anyway

Being busy with Briar Valley, Malleus doesn’t always have time to come see you in concert

But he does when he can, and he’s sure to make his visit extra special

You definitely become a beloved celebrity of Briar Valley, with all the people loving you as the royal consort, but also because of your talent and music

[itadores]

tōdō as a romantic partner headcanons

note: just some thoughts on the topic

pairing: tōdō aoi x gn!reader

word count: 1k

tags: gender neutral reader, tōdō aoi-centric, very fluffy and domestic

first thing’s first, tōdō is a good partner. a great one even. i know this in my bones.

one of his greatest attributes as a partner is that he loves you so loudly. he will never shy away from singing your praises or complimenting you. he’ll brag about you to anyone who will listen, whether they’re willing to lend an ear or not. (as much as his peers enjoy your company, they’ve grown sick of hearing tōdō ramble on and on about you. they normally phone or text you when this happens, begging for you to reach out to tōdō, so they’ll be granted a moment of reprieve.)

tōdō loves being yours as much as you’re his. when the opportunity presents itself, he loves being able to proudly boast to others, especially individuals who may take too much of an interest in you or him for that matter, that he’s your partner. he experiences a bit too much joy when he gets to witness in real time how their face crumbles and they scramble away in defeat. even if you admonish tōdō for this behavior, he can’t bring himself to ever feel too sorry. after all, they should have known better.

tōdō is so so so loyal to you. of course, loyalty in a relationship is the bare minimum, but tōdō’s loyalty to you borders on reverence. he worships you, loving you so wholly. so completely. other people could never compare to you, could never hold as much space in his mind as much as you do.

tōdō is not always aware of his own strength and size, but the longer you’re in a relationship, the more he tries to be conscious of it. if you want to rough house, he’ll hold back, never using his full-strength. if you’re lying down together and cuddling, he’s careful to not crush you beneath his weight. sometimes, he does forget how strong he is, often caught up in his excitement of seeing you or showing you something and will manhandle you, but never to the extent that he would hurt you. he would never.

he really appreciates when you express interest in the things he likes. he’s incredibly passionate about JPOP, especially takada-chan. he could go on for hours and hours about the industry and his favorite idol, and sometimes he will, too caught up in his passion. he’s used to one-sided conversations when it comes to his rambling, but his excitement always increases whenever you ask him questions about what he’s talking about. he’s especially touched when you present him with little gifts related to his interests or recall snippets of your conversations together. most people brush off what he says, and for the most part, it doesn’t bother him, but to be seen and heard by you fills him with a joy he never thought he would experience.

being with tōdō means you get scary dog privileges. tōdō’s physique combined with his personality means that others tend to give you both a wide berth. but if on the off chance, somebody happens to get too close or makes you uncomfortable with tōdō around, they’ll wish they didn’t. tōdō goes from zero to one hundred so quickly, transforming right before your eyes. the only reason he doesn’t greviously harm the person bothering you is because you rein him in, holding the leash to his collar in your hands.

he’s so gentle with you in a way that his peers thought him incapable of. tōdō’s whole demeanor just softens when you’re around or you’re mentioned that his peers couldn’t believe their eyes when they witnessed the change in his behavior the first time you were introduced to them. of course, tōdō is still tōdō, but he becomes more at ease when you’re beside him.

tōdō is a very tactile person. he always wants to be touching you in some way, whether it’s an arm slung around your waist, his hand in your back pocket, or his side pressed against yours. he’s a very big fan of pda, shameless in the way he loves you, so if you’re not as big as a fan, you’ll have to let him know to tone it down a bit. he abides by your wishes, but sometimes, he can’t restrain himself and is compelled to act out on his desires when he thinks you look much too attractive for your own good, which is more often than not.

tōdō definitely carries your picture around with him, so he can have a reminder of you wherever he goes. he bought one of those accordion plastic wallet insert that has multiple sleeves, so he can have multiple pictures of you in his wallet since just one would not suffice for him. he also buys a locket, nicer than the one that holds a picture of itadori and takada-chan, and puts his favorite picture of you inside of it.

he is so into buying matching things. he wants y’all to get matching slippers, matching mugs, matching outfits, etc etc. it’s cute to a certain degree, but some of his suggestions are questionable at best. you’ve had to divert his attention away from some atrocious matching shirts he suggested you both get before.

tōdō is a great person to consult when it comes to hygiene products. since he takes such good care of himself, he knows what works and what doesn’t. he’s more than eager to offer any assistance you may need! if you ask him what are some good skincare products, he’s already drafting a list of products that he thinks would work for your skin type. if you ask him what shampoo and conditioner combination seems better, he provides you with information on what each one does and lets you decide which one would work out better for you. once you’ve refined your skincare routine and shower routine, tōdō buys all of the products you like to keep at his place for when you come over (if y’all don’t live together at that point.)

at the end of the day, people think tōdō is just a meathead, and while that may be true to a certain extent, he is also a thoughtful and loving partner that treats you wonderfully and loves you with all of his being <3

[willesgaywrath]

Simon can’t believe, sometimes, that he gets to have this—university, an internship he actually likes in the music industry, friends close enough to visit between work and school. (Close enough to make it to Wille’s birthday dinner tonight and insist on singing to him in the restaurant, much to his lighthearted embarrassment.)

Simon can’t believe he gets moments like these, like snapshot flashes of clarity, that make him so fucking grateful that he held on to this, that they put up a fight, that they made it. Even though things have been tumultuous between Wille and his family since he’d abdicated, Wille’s just turned 20 in spite of it, has rebuilt a life he’s proud of.

(And Simon’s so proud of him.)

It’s quiet dawns under the covers where Simon looks at Wille sleeping and just keeps falling and falling and falling. It’s the way Wille makes coffee every morning because he claims he does it better, but really, Simon knows it’s because he likes to be helpful.

It’s now, walking down city streets back to their apartment after a nice evening with friends, when Wille’s a teeny bit buzzed like he sometimes gets. (He’ll have a few drinks and Simon won’t. Simon's only rule is that he’s not carrying him home—and Wille maybe leans a little more into him, arm slung affectionately around his shoulder, but Wille’s never broken that promise.)

Wille shakes the hair out of his eyes—it’s started to get a little longer, curls up a bit at the edges—and laughs at his own joke.

It almost knocks Simon off-kilter, the way he kind of loves Wille like this, loves him all the time—but especially when those big, honey-brown doe-eyes are all unguarded and sincere. Wille’s a teddy bear when he drinks, content to sober up in Simon’s arms, to tuck tired kisses against his jaw. (He’ll definitely doze off tonight halfway through the movie he’d picked, but it’s been a long day.) Simon loves it like he loves the sweet, warm, early-evening breeze, and the freckles that come out in droves across Wille’s skin in the summer.

And of course Wille was born in the summer—he belongs in the sunshine. He’s sunshine, and he’s smiling with teeth, and he’s all golden every time a streetlight flickers to life, recounting a story that it definitely sounds like he’s misremembering. Simon looks up—because he still has to look up at him—with so much fondness, and he lets Wille talk, however impossible Wille’s stream of consciousness is to follow, because he’ll never get tired of listening.

Simon doesn’t actually say anything of substance until they’re back at their door. The key’s in the lock, and the weather’s going to be nice enough for the lake on Sunday, and, “oh, I need to return Linda’s call”—and Simon is so in love.

And yes, yes, okay Wille said no gifts, but—“Hey, um.” Simon flicks on the hallway light. “There’s actually one more thing.” It’s been hidden in the pocket of a winter coat for a month and a half. Now Simon’s hiding it nervously behind his back.

Wille blinks a bit unsteadily, midway through toeing his shoes off. His eyes fall on Simon’s posture; something soft flickers in them. “I thought we said no birthday presents.”

Simon snorts a laugh. “We did—and then you still got me concert tickets for mine, remember?”

“But that doesn’t count because—“ Wille cuts himself off because there’s a black, rectangular box cradled in Simon's hands. “Simon.” It’s like a warning, that tone, but he takes a step closer. Then two. And then his eyes are searching Simon’s face.

Simon bites his lip, bites back a grin. “It wasn’t that expensive, before you say anything.” Expensive is relative—but Simon’s been thinking about this for a long, long time. And now he actually has the means to do something about it, so. “Open it.”

Slowly, like the contents might break, Wille takes it from his hands and thumbs over the black velvet for a second before he pops it open. “Simon,” he says again, softer. Wille’s lips part like he wants to say something else, but he shuts his mouth and swallows, touching the metal with gentle fingertips.

It’s a plain silver chain—thick enough to be considered masculine but delicate enough to be him.

Simon rocks forward on the balls of his feet. He shouldn’t be nervous because he’d been, like, 99% sure Wille would like it. He’d asked both Rosh and Ayub for advice. He’d asked Felice whether it was too much. But now that Wille’s gone quiet he’s second guessing everything. Wille hasn’t worn a necklace regularly since he stopped wearing the cross. Maybe he doesn’t—

“I love it.” Wille swallows, brows furrowed. “Can you, um—will you—” His voice wavers a bit, but he doesn’t have to finish the sentence for Simon to take the necklace gingerly from his hands and fasten the clasp behind his neck. “You know you didn’t have to get me anything,” Wille says in the general direction of the wall.

“I know,” Simon says quietly, letting his hands linger on Wille’s shoulders and squeezing once before letting go. Neither of them are really the type to want gifts. It’s just—Wille still rubs his chest when he’s anxious, when he panics or wakes up from nightmares. (When, this morning, he’d been confronted with the fact that his mother might not call.)

Maybe it’s dumb, or maybe it isn’t, but Simon wants something there—a tangible reminder that Wille doesn’t have to deal with it alone. He won’t say any of that, though; what he says is, “It suits you.”

But maybe Simon doesn’t actually have to explain it at all for Wille to understand what it means. (I’m not going anywhere; I’m even more in love with you now than I was at 16.) Maybe Wille just knows, because he rests his palm flat against his chest before slipping arms around Simon’s waist. He brushes a kiss against the side of Simon’s head and murmurs, “thank you, älskling.”

(And he never takes the necklace off.)

Visit me on Ao3

[chrollohearttags]

I was just re reading the musician eren and model/influencer reader and wanted to know if you were still doing their story or a part 2?

omg idk how long ago this was sent to me but I’m def still working on the story. but since I’m obsessed with this hc all over again, I’m spinning the block on it.

musician Eren with his black influencer wife imagines pt. 1 (how they first met)

cw: fluff mostly, kissing and mentions of alcohol, weed and implied sexual themes

Eren was definitely considered a loner when it came to being in the music industry. Despite having been in it since he was a teen. He was no stranger to the fangirling or the sexualizing and when he was younger, he thought it was funny but now, it annoyed the hell out of him.

because of this, he’d leave his loyal fanbase waiting for months or a year on a new project.

his ass definitely doesn’t use social media like that and when he does, he’s either speaking in riddles or lying for fucking sport just to see people scramble.

regardless of that, he was not only one of the world’s most popular but well versed artists as well. gifted with the ability to sing, rap, play instruments, write and produce..a generational talent for sure.

to him, music was his only love for the longest. he wasn’t interested in dating another pop star or hooking up with random models so the blogs could go tell his business.

that was until he met you..the new age celebrity and the woman who’d change his life!

having being forced into unwillingly doing a club appearance by his agent Mikasa, who’s used to dealing with his annoying, shut-in attitude, tells him he has no other choice or the label will boot his ass out for certain. She also tells him he’ll be co-hosting with you so to be on his best behavior.

he’s a little on the fence because he doesn’t see why you need to be there and how you’d draw out a crowd.

of course, his perception changed when he laid eyes on you for the first time. Instagram photos didn’t do you justice. You were a special type of fine with the prettiest dark skin and a body that most of these girls paid for (but he was shocked to find yours was all natural.)

“….I can’t believe I’m getting to meet THE Eren Jaeger in the flesh. It’s an honor..I’m a huge fan.” Naturally, he thinks you’re just being nice and doesn’t really pay it much attention but as the night goes on, he realizes that you were right.

he performs a couple of songs, both recent and old; ones only his true fans would remember and he’s shocked to look over and see that you not only know every word but we’re shouting the lyrics to the top of your lungs like a fangirl. (and even throwing ass on him couple of his raps, which made him almost forget his own words for a second!)

he’s in disbelief that this beautiful woman, who he figured to be just another industry plant fucks with him this heavily. He didn’t even realize he was still so popular or that you’d even like his music.”

when you get on the mic and not only blow him a kiss but give him his flowers as well, he’s so happy and flattered. Especially when the crowd does the same.

that only becomes more so when the two of you spend the rest of your night, chopping it up in the rented section. you tell him how you’d been a dancer first and then transitioned into a model.

he realized that you both had a lot in common when it came to your stances on the music game. You too preferred to stay out the way and baby, was this man SMITTEN. from your sweet little voice to the way you looked at him, he hadn’t felt that way in a long time.

he’s laughing at your jokes and you’re doing the same. You both spot a fan in the crowd, taking pictures and ready to run to the internet with them so like the troll he is, he pretends to kiss you, running a hand up your thigh and plays up the moment. “Let’s give their asses something to tweet about…”

this man starts spitting game too and you can’t believe this is real. you don’t stop him either because this man was so fine and one of your few celebrity crushes.

when he realizes that you’ve done your performances and things are getting heavy between y’all, he’s ready to dip but hoping you’ll tag along so he shoots his shot. He was sick of all his friends clowning him for not being with a girl in nearly two years.

“..it’s getting kinda crowded so I’m ‘bout to head out. What you getting into once you leave? I’d love to keep this conversation going.” nervous as hell when he asks but you’d never know it. Because he’s damn near smooth talked you up outta your clothes (courtesy of. the liquid courage and the weed he smoked).

honestly, it’s not a question and when the two of you ducked off to the back corner of the club, away from prying eyes..you give him your answer.

“I’m with whatever..you just lead the way.” and best believe, the night is only beginning…

[mikashisus]

OLDER — y/n’s friends !

zhongli x fem!reader

GET TO KNOW Y/N AND FRIENDS !

y/n — 20. dropped out of college after being offered a role in a big time musical. has been struggling for another big role to keep herself on her feet. lucked out with the role of guizhong. lives in a studio apartment in liyue harbor and has the perfect view of guyun stone forest. struggles with self esteem and depression. #daddy issues. originally from mondstadt but moved to liyue to get away from her family.

xiao — 20. part time student at teyvat university. film major with a graphic design minor. wants to become a director. owns a small house in dihua marsh. likes gardening and cooks his own food with the vegetables he grows in his garden. planted a few fruit trees around his property. wants to befriend aether and lumine, two famous models from mondstadt that like to vacay in liyue, but is too shy to talk to them. has a love-hate relationship with his sister, hu tao.

keqing — 24. was in theatre for two years in high school before moving to production crew, where her career in fashion design started. graduated college with a degree in fashion design and a finance minor. owns a studio apartment in liyue harbor—same floor as y/n. became close friends with y/n through working on the movie (and being her neighbor). plans on proposing to ganyu soon.

ganyu — 27. originally pursued a career in fashion design, only to abandon that dream and become an actress instead. prefers to be cast in romance films, but only if the film has sapphic leads. she won’t do male/female romance. likes to bake and often brings cookies and brownies over to y/n’s apartment. likes to play chess with zhongli and ping. moved in with keqing when they were still in college. might start pursuing a career in production and/or directing.

kunikuzushi — 21. one of y/n’s best friends. the two became pen pals at a young age and eventually met in college (before y/n dropped out). majoring in art with an anthropology minor. watches every show, movie, and musical that y/n stars in. wants to see her in a few horror movies. recently moved in with kazuha. #mommy issues. wants to go back to inazuma one day and build a house somewhere desolate. beidou and ningguang spoil him (he’ll never admit it, but he’s very grateful to them for their love and support).

kazuha — 20. one of y/n’s best friends. the two have been close since they were children. was in band all throughout school. majoring in music industry (like mother like son). writes poetry on the side. in a long term relationship with kunikuzushi. has a beautiful singing voice and has been recommended for a few musicals, though he isn’t interested in an acting career. loves the dynamic that kuni has with his mothers (beidou and ningguang). hopes that kuni can reconcile with ei, though it’s incredibly unlikely.

hu tao — 22. was a theatre kid all throughout school. became close friends with y/n through xiao. yappatron 3000. owns a house in liyue harbor and often spends the weekends visiting xiao or zhongli. when she isn’t directing or producing, she is acting or dancing. full-time director, part-time actor. radiates big sister energy. usually gets cast in horror films. currently writing her own horror novel and plans on turning it into a movie afterwards.

yun jin — 21. one of y/n’s close friends. majoring in dance with a theatre minor. has been involved in the performing arts her whole life. wants to become an opera singer. famous at teyvat university for her incredible singing voice. covers a bunch of songs and uploads them on social media (mostly songs from musicals or operas). sings a few rock songs now and then not only because she likes rock, but also because her girlfriend, xinyan, does. her rock covers are all songs from xinyan’s band.

yelan — 32. a family friend of y/n’s and a big sister figure. graduated college with a degree in criminology, only to never use it and instead spend most of her time on cruises. perfectly happy being single for the rest of her life. doesn’t mind hookups now and then. the exact definition of that one rich asian aunt. likes to tease y/n about her crush on zhongli.

masterlist

summary: when your acting career booms, the stress of the spotlight and your every move being watched starts to drown you whole. the only escape from a complete all time low comes in the form of your attractive coworker, zhongli— a distinguished and slightly older man that you can’t seem to stop thinking about.

[strawbrygashez]

ZERO DAY/CALDRE HCS

•Andre fell for Cal pretty quickly. It was a mix of Cals ‘pretty blonde boy’ looks, Andre being a loner with no real friends beforehand, and Cal just getting him in a way no one ever really has before.

•Andre introduced Cal to more heavy music. Andre likes industrial metal while Cal had only really liked grunge before. Cal also shows Andre some grunge songs. They’ll make playlists for each other every now and then.

•Cals really good at making bracelets (real ones or just those kid friendship type bracelets). He’s made countless ones for Andre. (Andre mostly wears the first one Cal ever gave him)

Andre has tried making them too but once he even gets slightly frustrated, he gives up and just tosses it into Cals lap to finish for him.

•Kinda related to prev point, Cal likes doing DIY clothes/jewelry stuff in general. It gives him something to focus on other than wanting to die all the time 💀 One of his favorite things he’s made is a bracelet made out of the tabs off of Monster Energy cans. (Andre is honestly jealous he doesn’t have one.)

•Andre had a skateboarding phase. He kinda gave up on it halfway thru the ZD plans but he did try to teach Cal how to skateboard. (No it wasn’t a excuse to touch him while trying help him steady himself on the board.. okay fr it wasn’t. Cal just wanted to try it out since he saw Andre owned a few skateboards)

Cal is a bit of a giggler so he couldn’t take Andre too seriously when he was trying to give him actually helpful advice on how to skateboard.

•If Andre was in a particularly good mood while driving, he’d sing along loudly to whatever was playing on the radio. Cal would just shake his head with a smile.

•Cal tossed around the idea of working at hot topic for a while but for some reason or another, never applied. Andres secretly disappointed bc he would have liked if Cal had a employees discount.

•When Cals really bored & just feeling ‘off’, he’ll cut different shapes and stuff on himself. He’s done stuff like hearts & a butterfly. He’ll also do words or letters like ZD, A (for Andre :P), and because he’s a Manson fan.. I think he did Marilyn Mansons MM logo at least once. What a emo /j

•Both of them like thriller & horror movies but when it comes to TV shows they are a bit different. Andre likes stuff like Ghost Hunters & shows where they try to find Bigfoot (bc hes a very imaginative guy 💀) while Cal likes game shows where he can yell out answers & go on about how the contestants are stupid with Andre. He’s also kinda interested in cooking shows which Andre hates since they’re ‘too boring’.

•Neither of them are huge readers really but if they find a book or magazine that’s interesting, they’ll let the other borrow it.

•Andre steals knives & blades out of Cals room when he’s not looking but Cal never says anything. They both know Cal will just find a way to cut somehow but Andre still does it anyways (and since Andre will ultimately do whatever Cal wants at the end of the day, If cal asks for one of his knives back enough, Andre will give it back)

•Andre is sooooo the type to punch walls. He won’t do it at home really since he doesn’t want his parents worrying about him so it leads him to like.. punching brick walls outside which is much worse for his knuckles lol. But of course Cals there to bandage it up later.

•Cal is diagnosed with a few different things but won’t really bring it up unless it really needs to be. Andre knows all of his diagnoses tho and Cal will joke that Andre has the same things (depression, autism, adhd, etc) Andre will joke that he’s perfectly fine.

•Andre kept a good amount of his toy action figures from his childhood. They are in a box in his closet.

•Cals a bit of creep because sometimes at sleepovers, he just stares at Andre sleeping. He does it without even anything going on in his mind. He’s just enamored by him. Andre has caught him doing it a few times and just groans and rolls over or tosses a pillow at Cals face

[gimmethatagustd]

keep singing this lie (teaser) | kth + jjk

Black Swan, an up-and-coming alternative metal rock band, is going on their first official tour. Jungkook looks forward to proving himself in a cutthroat industry; Taehyung looks forward to the groupies. Neither of them expects to find the comfort their hearts truly desire in one another.

↳ pairing: drummer!taehyung x singer!jungkook

↳ rating/genre: BTS | 18+ | rock band au | bandmates to lovers | secret relationship | smut | angst | fluff

↳ wc/date: 944 for teaser | chapter 1 will be posted tomorrow?? maybe??

↳ teaser warnings: references to sex between tae and a female oc | they're so soft

↳ notes: this is my first mem x mem fic, so please be nice to me 🫣 i'm nervous and shy about it. special shout out to lati @jjkeverlast for fueling my taekook obsession and encouraging me to write whatever the fuck i want

↳ main masterlist

↳ what was jai listening to? the series playlist

✨ complete this form to be added to the taglist ✨

It’s guilt making him obsess over the situation, Taehyung decides as he rubs a towel over his hair. The guilt of locking Jungkook out of their hotel room just so he could fuck a groupie when he knows the band needs rest - especially Jungkook. Being the lead singer is exhausting, even if Jungkook acts like he's fine.

Clean (in body, not in conscience), Taehyung pulls his (Jungkook’s) warm, plaid pajama pants up to sit low on his hips. He brushes away the taste of alcohol and pussy from his mouth, only realizing after he’s done that he accidentally used Jungkook’s toothbrush. 

Another secret he’ll take to the grave. 

By the time he’s dragging himself to his side of the bed, Taehyung still feels hot, like the shower's heat burned so deeply into his skin that he soaked it in. 

Jungkook is curled on his side, facing away from Taehyung. Blue light glows across his face from his phone. Twitter. The kid has a bad habit of checking their hashtags or the tags of venues and other bands they’re performing with. It’s all a bunch of nonsense: blurry concert photos, thirst tweets, and the occasional dudebro claiming Seokjin doesn’t know shit about shredding just because he looks like a suburban dad. There’s no use trying to stop Jungkook from internalizing it all, but Taehyung isn’t the type to give up easily. 

“Hey,” he whispers because the room is pitch black, and the quiet feels intimate. Intimate? Why would he use that word? “Time for bed, yeah?” 

Scooting up to slot himself behind Jungkook, close but not enough for their bodies to touch, Taehyung reaches around his chest to grab his phone. 

“Twitter will be there in the morning.” His voice comes out low and thick with exhaustion. 

Jungkook shivers, probably from Taehyung’s breath dancing across the nape of his neck. He smells of vanilla and lavender from Jimin’s shampoo. It’s comforting, though Taehyung figures that’s why Jimin buys it. Still, the sweet, floral scent is odd coming from Jungkook, who typically wears cologne with woody notes, cinnamon, and sandalwood. They’re masculine scents that make Taehyung dizzy. 

Jungkook lets out a breathy “yeah” and snuggles deeper into the blankets, hands tucked under his pillow. 

“Good.” Taehyung runs his knuckles along the side of Jungkook’s face, stopping at the top of his cheekbone. His mullet is tied back in a ponytail, leaving just his wavy bangs to cascade over his brow. It’s an absentminded touch that Taehyung hardly notices. 

Jungkook murmurs something Taehyung doesn’t hear and tilts his head slightly to give Taehyung more room to continue his knuckles’ path. But he’s already plucking Jungkook’s phone out of his hand. 

With Jungkook’s phone secured, Taehyung rolls back to his side of the bed and plugs it in to charge for the next… three and a half hours they have to sleep. The screen lights up to reveal a selfie of the four of them - Taehyung, Jungkook, Jimin, and Seokjin - at the first gig they ever played as a band. Only three years ago, yet Taehyung smiles as though it’s a memory from a past life. 

“’m sorry I yelled at you.” 

Taehyung turns his head to look at Jungkook. He lets the apology bleed into the dark silence for a moment. Snippy behavior is almost always followed up by an apology from the youngest member. Taehyung never takes his outbursts personally. Too much is riding on the kid’s shoulders to ever be mad at him. 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

“It wasn’t nice.” 

The bed creaks when Jungkook rolls over to lie on his side, this time facing Taehyung. His eyes are half-closed and drooping. He’s adorable like this, like always. There’s a reason why girls swoon over Jungkook more than the other bandmates. 

“I was being a dick.” If he wasn’t lying down, Taehyung would shrug. “I deserved it.” 

Silence engulfs the room long enough that Taehyung assumes the younger man has fallen asleep. It isn’t until his eyes finally give in to the heaviness that Jungkook’s soft whispers glide through the quiet. 

“Never a dick. Deserve good things, always, Taehyungie,” he mumbles into his pillow. 

A sleepy chuckle lazes out of Taehyung’s chest. “You too, Koo.” 

“Mm, g’night, TaeTae.” 

Taehyung’s chest tightens when he feels fingers ghost the inside of his wrist beneath the bed sheets. He rarely initiates physical contact with anyone. It’s always Jimin enveloping Taehyung in hugs, lifting his bangs to plant sweet kisses on his forehead, squeezing his hand in reassurance during every pre-show pep talk. 

Jungkook, on the other hand, hangs off of Jimin and Jin the most. Taehyung’s not sure when he and Jungkook stopped being as close as they were when the band started. But little moments like this remind Taehyung that maybe he gets in his head too much, overthinking things that aren’t even real or true. 

So he spreads his fingers to allow Jungkook to lace theirs together. They’re tired, and their tour is barely a quarter of the way done. There’s still a month until Spine Breaker Fest and nearly three months of post-fest gigs. 

Sometimes it’s nice to be grounded when you spend so much time with your head in the clouds, dreaming of things you may never grow tall enough to reach. 

He hopes they’ll grow for Jungkook’s sake. He meant it when he said he deserves good things. 

Taehyung squeezes Jungkook’s hand. His grip is loose, and Taehyung knows this means his friend has fallen asleep, but he still whispers, “Night, Koo.”

If Taehyung falls asleep to a lip piercing and a bunny smile, that’s another confusing secret to take to his grave. 

SERIES MASTERLIST 🎸

all rights reserved © gimmethatagustd on tumblr & AO3

do not copy, repost, modify, or translate any of my work

[cielcius]

based on golden hour by jvke

idol!katsuki who started as a model for his parents fashion business, eventually growing into the music industry. they tried putting him in a group, they really tried but complications arose and katsuki made it just fine as a solo rapper.

he was used to an audience, being by himself on stage until he met his band as his music style gradually wavered back and forth. little did he know that they’d become his life-long friends because after going on multiple tours together, it was impossible to not get caught up in the fun.

as much as katsuki loves to play the drums, sero does a pretty damn good job. with kirishima on bass and kaminari on guitar, they were amazing. world tours, crowds of fans, and multiple forms of merch to the point where it was borderline embarrassing. katsuki couldn’t think of anything that’d make him happier.

a few years later, katsuki’s in his early twenties now, at the top of the world when he meets you. you know who he is, maybe you don’t listen to his music as often but you can acknowledge his talent. then eventually, his feelings for you.

growing into his mid-twenties, he’s having to hold himself back from announcing you as his spouse to the world, claiming your heart his and his yours. stupid pr team.

but he comes out with a single. he’s released singles before, no problem, but his fans can tell something’s changed. there’s no hard bass, whining of electric guitars, or insults vaguely directed at anyone and everyone.

it’s soft, gentle, sweet even, and everyone loves it. of course, katsuki has his personal elements—rap—that makes it his song, but never has he sung in a song.

and it’s beautiful.

fans go crazy hearing it in concerts, the chorus bringing chills down on the crowds and they can’t get enough of it. though despite the love for the single, there’s still the question of why. obviously, it’s a love song about someone, so it doesn’t take fans two and two to put together to realize that he’s in love.

there’s another tour, another one that you’re unable to travel along with due to work. though he does wish you could come along on one of his tours one day, he respects your personal life but be warned, he’ll call you multiple times through the day.

and when you don’t respond, you’re waking up to texts and voicemails of him talking about stuff that happened at his concert, stuff he did with his friends, and most of all, how much he misses and loves you. even in the voicemails he leaves, you can hear how much love he has for you and it’s falling in love with him all over again.

but one day on tour, he calls you after feeling like he just had the worst show of his life. his timing was off, his voice cracked way too many times, and his body felt stiff the entire time. when you pick up, he realizes that you’re probably still at work.

he tries to speak up, starting to ask how you were doing when you cut him off. he did call to hear your voice, but this time you left him feeling worse as you brushed him off. you were busy with work, he understood that, and he called at a bad time, but katsuki didn’t feel like picking up the next time you called. or the one after that, and after that.

it’s been two days since he called you. he looks at his phone as he’s getting his makeup done but he can’t bring himself to call you. he feels terrible, not only for ignoring you but for doing so without an explanation even though you had every right. he just wants to go home.

he gets on stage and goes through his sets, time passing slower than usual until it’s time for the last set. the song—his song—that he wrote for you.

he’s standing center stage, pianist and violinist hidden in the shadows as a single spotlight shines on him. his chest hurts. he can barely keep himself standing. he’s tired.

he missed you.

so he sings your song, voice so raw with emotion that it leaves the entire arena silent, in awe. he’s never felt this before. so vulnerable, hurt, heartbroken.

a tear rolls down his cheek before he knows it, eyes closed right as he sings the chorus from his chest, his heart. he puts all of his emotions, his frustrations, his love, until he’s being turned around in his spot.

his eyes are still closed, knowing that when he opens them, he’ll end up crying. he feels something warm on his cheek, eventually cradling his face, a thumb wiping the tracks of tears left behind.

he has to be dreaming.

you’re standing in front of him, center stage under the spotlight, in front of thousands of people. you smile, almost sadly, at him and lean your forehead against his. you close your eyes for a moment, taking him in before opening then again.

“are you okay?” you ask softly.

the dam breaks as he nods, his hands coming to cradle your face. “i am now.” he feels you under his touch, relishing in your presence. “i’m sorry,” he whispers, his forehead still pressed to yours. “i—“ you cut him off with a small kiss.

there’s a stream of tears lining his eyes as you smile and shake your head. “don’t worry about that right now. i missed you.” katsuki nods, letting a few more tears fall before asking to kiss you. you nod, and katsuki can barely hear the screams and shouts of fans in the background as his lips meet yours.

[sadnightforus]

RINGING YOUR LINE  (CTY)

ex-turned-bf!taeyang x gn!reader 

SYNOPSIS: The breakup was almost a year ago, but he still can’t forget you. It’s very much expressed through the song he produces and posted out of impulse, secretly hoping that you’ll listen to it. 

WORD COUNT: 3K.

WARNINGS: hinting that the reader is a cold person (even though they’re not), one cuss word. In the song, the artist uses the she/her pronouns but the reader’s gender is never specified. Not much tbh but it can be a bit emotionally draining. Mentioning Shota as the MVP friend (thx q 💪🏻). 

INSPIRED BY: LESSON (โค้ชลงเล่น) BY YUNGTARR.

A/N: well…. I’m not so proud of writing these short stories instead of working on the ones for my series but my brain is not working. Also I deeply apologize if the translated lyrics are not correct. I use google translate for it. 

reblogs, comments and likes are appreciated!

 In the dimming room of a small studio room, there sits Taeyang, whose headphone is glued to his ears while his eyes cannot tear itself away from a folder that has only one song in there. 

 He is hesitating, rather more anxious than anything combined as he clicks on google, then looks at the opening tab, displaying his YouTube channel with over 360K subscribers on the site of YouTube studio. 

 He knows it’ll be a bad idea, a terrible idea even. His mind screams at him to not do it, but the need of expressing his honest feelings is eating him up. 

 Normally, when his friends ask him how he has been doing, he’ll simply answer with the usual ‘I’m fine.’ but he knows he’s far from being okay. The breakup with you has been hard, even though it was a mutual agreement that you guys are better off not being partners and parted ways on neutral terms that is. Everyday since then, he feels like he doesn’t want to live anymore because he regrets that decision so much. 

 He should’ve stopped you. 

 Just like how he should’ve stopped himself from uploading the new song onto the YouTube channel where you can obviously see that. Heck, he thinks you’d think he’s weird for still being unable to get over you. 

 But too late for that as the new video ‘THEO - Ringin’ Ur Line (Official Audio)’ being posted and he just sighs in defeat, realizing that he makes such a fool of himself with the way he didn’t think of making the video unlisted or even private before it uploads onto the account. 

 And at the same time, you’re mindlessly scrolling through some apps when you see a notification from the channel called ‘THEO’ uploading a new song pops up on the screen. As much as you pretend not to care, you click onto it, ready to get your heartbroken, knowing that he most likely will never mention or even talk about you in his songs. 

 Who would get over someone who makes music and especially a catchy one anyway? 

 But what surprises you is the fact that he makes the song and sings with his own voice in this one, mainly because he’s a music producer. Although his appearance screams very ‘celebrity-like’ due to how good looking he is, he claims that he just wants to lead a normal life with no pressure that comes between his personal life and professional life. He chooses to work behind the spotlight and produces some of the greatest hits for well-known names in the industry. Never once does he put his own personal works out like this. 

 So what changes? 

 You sit up to hear the lyrics and observe the song more carefully. 

และสุดท้ายรักมันคืออะไร baby เธอตอบฉัน

And finally, what is love? Baby, you answer me.

 You scoff at the thought of him having someone new he might be possibly singing about. Clearly, he wouldn’t really sing about you, would he?

บทเรียนสุดท้ายและครั้งที่สองเธอไม่พลาดพลั้ง

The last and second lesson, she didn't fail.

 You wonder what he could possibly refer to. What does he mean with this exactly? Love lesson that gives him the kind of pain that is unforgettable? 

 It’s your cue to go because it’s not even about you. 

 You feel pathetic for ever assuming that it was about you, the person he sang about. You feel foolish and you’re mad at yourself for that. The cold wind doesn’t help much with warming your body either. 

 Somehow, you continue to listen because of the charming lyrics and melodies. 

เธอตั้งใจทำอย่างนั้น

She did that on purpose.

เธอตั้งใจให้ผมเจ็บ

She intended to hurt me.

 You wonder which girl really hurt him and how she managed to do so. Deep down, you wish to have the same effect that whoever did to him in this song. 

 You sigh as you continue listening. 

baby เธอเองก็รู้ว่าใจดวงนี้มันสามารถซ้ำ

baby, you know that this heart can repeat itself.

เธอหยุดได้มั้ย baby ถือว่าผมขอร้อง 

Can you stop, baby? Consider that I'm begging you.

 Taeyang looks at the time on his phone and realizes something, he’ll forever sit alone and let you slip away from his life for good if he didn’t do something tonight. 

 He needs you in his life. He needs your love. He doesn’t want to continue to imagine the way you could only say those ‘i love you's' that his brain could only replay of the way you said it so much in the past that it deeply engraved in his mind like a clockwork. 

 He doesn’t want his heart trembling at the way you look so beautiful in the well kept polaroid of you two in his wallet anymore. He is done with torturing and lying to himself. 

 Grabbing his car keys, he impatiently waits for the engine to start working and looks around for the blind spots to make sure that the parking spot is empty before driving away. 

pretend ว่าตัวผม strong

Pretend that I'm strong

ในสิ่งที่ทุกๆวันขณะในใจผมเจ็บขนาดนั้น 

For something that every day in my heart hurts that much

 He stops at a flower shop, owned by one of his good friends, Shota. Shota has a talent in rearranging flowers, although he wouldn’t need to utter a word for the customers to roll in because he’s adorable. Taeyang remembers that his first flower ever given to you was from Shota’s flower shop and now that he wants to reconcile you both, he figures that he should do that too. 

 He pants, upon the hurried travel to his friend’s store. Shota eyes him blankly, but continues to say nothing, waiting for the other person to speak first. 

“I need a flower that says forever love. Not roses, obviously.” 

“Was that for Y/N?” He questions, although he already knows the answer. 

“How do you know that?” 

“You can pretend that you’re fine and be strong for our sake, although you’re not really. You still think of them.” 

 Was the pain so obvious that even Shota, who normally just doesn’t comment and not caring about things most of the time can see? 

 He really realizes that you’re his better half. 

 And as for you, you find yourself relating to the lyrics he sings in this song. You truly dislike how reflective it is to your state of mind because you’ve been pretending you’re strong and you’re not hurting everyday. 

 Both of yours and his heart are aching for one another, wanting to belong as one again. 

แค่เห็นที่ต้องเจ็บซ้ำ

Just seeing it hurts again.

เป็นเธอไม่มีสายใยแม้ไม่มีเธอเองก็ไม่ต่างกัน

It's you, there's no connection, even without you, it's no different.

 There’s something you can never admit to your friend or anybody else. You’re ashamed to still confess out loud that you’re thinking of your ex boyfriend and that you read both of your text messages with each other.

 You can’t understand it. Why can’t you get him out of your mind if he’s not exactly the most ideal man there is? 

 You sigh, it’s truly unpleasant to be having these late night thoughts where it betrays what you stand for. 

 Similarly to Taeyang, who also does look at the text messages you both shared, but with a different thought. 

 He used to take you for granted, but with you gone, he realizes that he had a gem but he was too blind by his own insecurities. 

 And if there’s no you, then nothing will make sense to him anymore. 

“Hyung, your flower is ready.” Shota places the flower on the table, in front of where Taeyang keeps zoning out. The producer grabs the flower, amazed that the younger florist chooses pink asters, knowing that it represents eternal love, innocence and devotion for a person you deeply care about. He then stands up, slams the 10$ and 20$ on the table and screams out before exiting the shop. 

“I know you’re gonna charge me 25$ but just accept 30$. Keep the change.” 

 Shota just shakes his head, sighing before going back to work. 

I think about everyday, baby we used to talk.

Now you run away.

But baby I'm still walk.

 Driving as fast as he can, he makes it his mission to place his vehicle in a place he knows it all too well. Nighttime has never looked more unexpected and almost scary to him because he can’t predict what is going to happen next. He can only hope that the music he mistakenly and might be posted under the influence of his idiocy conveys what he truly feels about the seperation. 

 Just only a month and 19 more days until it’ll be marked since a year you both break up. But yet in those days before it approaches, you occupy his thoughts every day and night. 

 Frankly, you’re the first and last thing he thinks of every single day. 

 He’s thanking the universe that he didn’t just crash and die right here with the way he’s speeding to you. 

คิดถึงแต่โทรหาไม่ได้

I miss you but can't call.

อยากจะเรียกเธอมาช่วยเชียร์แต่ว่ามันทำไม่ได้

I want to call her to cheer me up but I can't.

 Whenever he’s having a hard time, he wants to call you. But he can’t. 

 Whenever he’s happy, he can’t also call you. 

 And whenever he thinks of you, he can’t do that because you guys are not together anymore. 

 He wants to hear your voice, soothing his worries or cracking some jokes and laughing out so delightfully. 

 This trip to your house might be the last time he’ll get to see you. Or his wants will finally be granted. 

Baby เธอตั้งใจ broke heart

Baby, you accidentally broke my heart.

 You’re supposed to hate him, with the way he sings in this song. This line, a particular line, just like he said, it accidentally breaks your heart into pieces too. 

 You’re gritting your teeth in anger, were you never that important to him? 

 Had he never loved you enough that his heart could possibly break at the thought of you, of this too? 

 Were you the only one feeling this way? 

 You feel really start to resent him. God, what a fucking scumbag. 

 The love has never been reciprocated, so why can’t you let the thought of him completely slip out of your mind? 

ย้ายความเจ็บปวดเข้าไปที่ broke heart 

Move the pain into a broken heart

 It’s only around 10 minutes, if without speeding up, until he’ll be at your door, making a fool of himself, without knowing if you still want him back. He doesn’t know if you’re seeing someone new. Because if you do, that flower in the passenger seat that he is meaning to give it to you will be left to rot, as a proof of his undying love. 

 He doesn’t think that he can ever move past the pain of not having you if the rejection comes through. 

I'm still ทิ้งลงถังมันไม่ได้ baby

I'm still can't throw it in the bin, baby. 

ทำลงไม่ได้ baby

Can't do it, baby. 

Standing in front of the trash bin, you’re facing the most difficult of your life; whether to throw or not to throw every polaroid of you both together. 

 The song keeps playing, you’re holding 6 polaroids of you and him, which are taken on his birthday. There was a whip cream on his nose that he didn’t bother to wipe before taking the photos because he wanted to look cute and have fun, which you let him. It’s one of the fondest memories, out of every celebration you both had done together and you’re about to throw it away. 

 But your hand freezes, gripping onto those small pieces of pictures a bit too tightly. 

 And what happens if you throw it away? Would it only exist in your memories now with no physical evidence? Is that what you’re looking for? 

 And would you be happy to only have events that exist in your heart now? 

 What good would it do if you do anyway? You’d still continue to see the ghost of him everywhere you turn. 

 You can’t throw it away, you really can’t. 

มันตัดใจไม่ได้ baby

I can't get over it, baby. 

 He can’t get over your smile, your voice, your personality, humor or you. 

 He almost feels sorry for himself that he acts like this, let alone letting you know how he feels. 

 It’s what he thinks as his car has come to a stop, safely parking itself in an open space era. He then opens the car door, holding the flower bouquet to his chest before closing it and locking the car door. 

 Something in your mind tells you to stop standing still and keep the polaroids hidden away if you’re not gonna throw it, burn it or even destroy it. 

 So you listen to your guts as you gently tuck your upper lips, anxious and confused on why did you back out on it last minute. 

 You know the answer way too well to that question. But you didn’t want to accept it. 

เพราะผมรักจะตาย baby

Because I love you to death, baby.

“Ding!” 

 Your doorbell rings, startles you out of your trance when you’re so busy putting the polaroids back into a hidden box. 

 You’re confused on who would come to your door this late at night. It’s almost midnight, just only roughly 19 minutes to be exact as you look at the time displayed on the digital clock. 

 A gut feeling tells you that you might need to open the door as it’ll reveal the answer to everything you’ve been hoping for. 

 You’ll regret it if you don’t. 

 Most importantly, you’re hoping it’s him who is behind that door, ringing your doorbell, asking you to be back in his life. But you shake your head at the ridiculousness before you stand up, taking slow steps to get to the door. Your palm grips tightly onto that doorknob, not knowing if you want to do so. 

และสุดท้ายรักมันคืออะไร baby เธอตอบฉัน

And finally, what is love? Baby, you answer me.

 Is the last phrase you hear before your phone dies. You sigh as you twist the doorknob and you’re met with the man you thought you’d never get to meet again. 

 Choi Taeyang standing in front of you. With a bouquet of pink asters in his hands. 

 He wears a white sweater for tonight, a casual look but it makes him look almost breathtaking because he is simply the most beautiful guy you’ve ever known. He looks anxious, not knowing what to say at first as he hands you the asters and you gladly accept it. 

“Did you hear my new song?” 

 The question catches you off guard. Because what game does he want to play now? 

“I do.” You nod, face lack of any expression, opposite to the male in front of you who looks unsure and almost on the verge of tears. You can sense the anxiousness radiating off him but you choose not to ask about it. 

“Well- what do you think about it?” He looks at you, hoping you’d respond to it differently than you do now, because it’ll kill him if you continue to be standoffish like that. 

“It’s nice.” 

“The song… it’s about you.” He confesses, observing the way your eyebrows quirk in confusion and the gleam in your eyes that plead him to almost repeat whatever he just said. 

“Ever since we broke up, it’s never been easy on me. I want to call you so bad but I know you wouldn’t pick up those calls. Every day that I live, the memories of us haunt me so bad, it’s like you intended to hurt me and to make sure that I’ll never get over you. It’s lame that I can’t move on and I’m still in love with you. And now, here, making a fool of myself, asking you to be mine again.” 

 You stare at him, a bit dumbfounded and losing yourself in the moment that all of this happens in real time and it’s not your imagination anymore. You let each of the phrases that escape his lips sink into your mind and process itself into your brain as you can only admire him, no words being exchanged. 

 Taeyang is scared, preparing for your rejection already as you go absolutely silent. He could die right now, if not for the fact that he hasn’t heard the final word that determines whether he’ll continue to live in misery or start a new chapter with absolute happiness. 

“Y/N, please say something. If you’re gonna reject me, please do it fast!” 

“Idiot, I never stopped loving you.” Your face breaks into the biggest grin he has ever seen and every tension and worry just completely escapes from his body. 

 He takes a step forward to hug you, losing himself in your embrace. He misses your love, your warmth. His home, his livelihood all just connects back to you as he feels like the happiest man in the world. 

“Thank god because I thought I’ll live with regret for my entire life.” He mumbles, feeling so content by the physical contact for the first time in months. You try to gently peel yourself off from him, he pouts at you sadly, pleading to be in your embrace for a little longer but before allowing that to continue happening, you scold him. 

“Get off of me! What kind of house owner would I be if I let my guest stand outside for this long.” 

 He smiles, showing off the adorable eye smile that you love so much. 

“Is that your way of inviting me inside?” 

He teases you back, taking off his shoes as he observes you and every corner of your living space, happy to have you back in his life again. 

“Oh shut up before I kick you out.” You give him a stern stare, with your now boyfriend trailing behind you to chill in the living room. He only grins at you teasingly before responding back. 

“Fine.” 

COPYRIGHTED BY SADNIGHTFORUS, 2023

[weightedblankettt]

INTRODUCING… SUPER DANGANRONPA DESPAIR TIME 2: (HEAD)CANONS!!

It took me WAY too long to get these done…

// drugs, murder, typical danganronpa cw’s, alcohol

Under the cut!

——————

ACE MARKEY (HIBIKI OTONOKOJI):

Ace sings in the shower. He likes to sing his own songs, but sometimes, he’ll sing the pieces of his favorite idols when Nico or his parents aren’t home.

It was Ace who originally bought his and Nico’s matching earrings. They were a birthday present for both of them because it was the second year since their parents had stopped bothering to celebrate.

Although he is insecure about his weight due to the idol industry, he still teases Nico for theirs. He’s well aware that it’s wrong, but he projects his insecurities onto them to avoid dealing with his own problems. Ace wishes he could take back everything he’s said to them, sometimes.

He was a rather popular athlete at his old school. He wasn’t very close with his friends outside of sports, but he took them very seriously. Even if they would bully him for having a girlish hobby on the side.

Secretly, he loves pop songs. He especially likes romantic songs, because he’s a bit of a hopeless romantic on the side. He will never admit to this, though, and will curse you out if you try to expose him for it.

AREI NAGEISHI (SHINJI KASAI):

Arei has a burn scar, vertically across her forehead. She’s a bit insecure about it and uses what’s left of her bangs to cover them up.

She’s a lesbian, which is apparent with her inability to talk to girls. Arei never ends up being able to finish a sentence whenever she addresses a woman, and she always goes into a nervous shutdown after a while.

She and her sisters lived with her mother, while she wanted to live with her father. She was allowed visitation, but she was the only one that ever visited him. Her family is a toxic hellscape, and it has been since she was a child.

Her speaking voice is absurdly loud. Despite the high pitch of her voice itself, she consistently speaks in a loud and boisterous manner. It’s ear-grating to everyone else.

In terms of her academics, Arei is a complete failure. She’s even managed to get a D+ in Lunch, which nobody in her class knew was even remotely possible.

ARTURO GILES (YURI KAGARIN):

Arturo is a heavy alcoholic. He’s an experienced wine connoisseur and has a lot of prior background with drinking in general. He’s even half-Russian, which he consistently flexes.

He’s only been to space once. It was the best day of his life, in his opinion. And it was all thanks to the beautiful women around him! And some men, but he digresses.

His view of women and men is similar to Yuri’s. He sees women as beautiful and praises their very existence. Meanwhile, any men in his vicinity are disregarded as utterly disgusting, and he sees them as ugly.

The halo around his head is just a hat. He bought it as a souvenir from an academy and wears it around all the time as a result. The planets are able to be spun on their wire. He does it a lot, it’s rather fun.

One of his pastimes is watching Veronika’s horror movies. He is a big, big fan of her work, and he consistently bothers her about it. Speaking of, he’s also a fan of J’s hostess work, but not as much as he is of Veronika’s acting.

CHARLES CUEVAS (SYOBAI HASHIMOTO):

Charles is vastly multilingual. He can speak the more common languages, like Spanish, French, Japanese, and Russian. But he can also speak Dutch, Kawishana, Mandarin, and even more than you can count on both hands.

He always carries around a hunting knife. Despite his phobia of blood, he consistently manages to threaten others. While the extent of his phobia is greatly lessened due to his career, it still affects him.

He still practices chemistry, although for illegal uses. He even had a meth lab in his old place of residence, before he was forced to flee.

Because of his frequent homelessness, he is incapable of basic chores: He can’t do his own laundry, he can’t cook, clean, or even make his own bed. He’s used to living a rather practical lifestyle and putting minimal effort into anything except his career.

Smoking is one of his worst habits, but he still continues to do it. Charles always carries a pack of cigarettes and a lighter for whenever he gets stressed out and takes a smoke when he needs to.

DAVID CHIEM (YUKI MAEDA):

David’s favorite food is easy-make oatmeal. However, on days when he’s feeling particularly energized, he’ll make himself a bowl of meat-flavored ramen, and curl up on his couch to eat it.

He has a positive front, but his supply of optimism is limited. Pessimism is his true nature, but he forces himself to stay happy in spite of the tragedy surrounding him. Despite his luck, he feels as if he’s powerless, surrounded by people infinitely more talented than he is.

He will always choose to be a fire type in role-playing games. David really likes having fire abilities, for some unknown reason, and will always pick fire without fail. Pokémon, Dungeons and Dragons, anything you can think of.

Bad luck is common for David, to the point where his misfortune is expected of him. Similar to Teruko in the original DRDT, his luck differs from Yuki’s, in that his luck is more of a curse than a blessing. This is subverted with Utsuro, or in this case, The Angel of Death, who takes on the bad misfortune of others and blesses them with heavenly luck.

With his spare time, David usually hangs around Teruko and the twins. They’ve become a small group of friends, considering Ace’s open nature, combined with Nico’s timid one and Teruko’s reliability. He views them as his closest friends and wants them all to be happy.

EDEN TOBISA (IROHA NIJIUE):

Eden is an avid reader of manga, especially shōnen, despite being a girl. She’s always found the action more invigorating than in other mangas, but she’ll indulge herself in shojo manga as well. All of it is good in her eyes.

Her family is her main source of pressure. From their disappointment in her self-expression to their obsession with keeping up the family name, she’s not one to be open with herself.

Art is her passion, but she wants to make different art than the pieces she’s expected to. While her family is focused on hyper-realistic artwork, Eden wants to draw more in cartoony styles. Her dream is to release a manga of her own one day, so she can make her parents proud of her.

Without even thinking about it, Eden can spend hours upon hours drawing in her sketchbook. It’s a wonder how she gets enough sleep with the way she can spend up to fifteen hours or more straight, moving her pen with a smile on her face.

Even though Eden has contact lenses, she refuses to wear them. She believes that her glasses make her look more cute, and she wants to keep that image of herself.

HU JING (HAJIME MAKUNOUCHI):

Hu cannot operate machinery for the life of her. No matter what kind and no matter how she does it, she always ends up accidentally breaking something due to her inability to use it correctly.

She has a daily exercise schedule, neatly planned out to keep her strength. She usually ends up training with Arei because of their similar lifestyles, but she tends to upkeep herself by going on morning jogs, before excusing herself to the gym.

Despite being a boxer, she still enjoys classical Chinese music. She still has an affinity for the zither, although she cannot play it. She’s very in tune with her culture, despite not dressing in traditional clothing because of the nature of her occupation.

She hates the look of hospitals and will avoid them at all costs. She’s had terrible experiences with illnesses in her childhood, and she’ll avoid them at all costs, even if she needs to. She takes very good care of her health as a result.

The hat on her head is used to cover her eyes from the sun. She has protective sunglasses tucked under the sleeves of her jacket, but her eyes are sensitive to strong light because of her past illnesses.

J MORENO-ROSALES (YORUKO KABUYA):

J’s cooking skills are unmatched by anyone else in the cast. Because of her hostess work, she’s used to having to act as a waitress at parties, especially for impatient customers.

Mariabella Rosales, her own mother, is her most frequent customer. It annoys her to no end, but ever since she was a child, she was used to having to attend her mother’s parties, working day in and day out to ensure the happiness of her clientele.

She enjoys singing, but doesn’t practice often. Her voice isn’t exactly as perfect as Ace’s, but she still has fun whenever she joins in on karaoke or other activities similar to it.

Due to the nature of her job, J is able to tell if someone’s drunk or not. It’s a sixth sense for her, almost, and she gets really pissed off if someone lies about being drunk. She will not hesitate to scold you for it.

She prefers masculine-style clothing. It’s more satisfying to do her work in a suit and tie, rather than a dress for her. It might catch some people by surprise, but she really couldn’t care less about it. Her fur coat is her favorite accessory.

LEVI FONTANA (SETSUKA CHIEBUKURO):

Levi’s Devil’s Eye allows him to record his past memories. This is basically the same as Setsuka’s. He’s more hesitant to use it than she is, though, considering he has a higher moral standpoint than she does.

His past is darker than he lets on, but he covers it up with a joke or two. Despite his morbid sense of humor, he truly wants to leave the past as it is. He doesn’t want to dig himself a hole far too deep, and so he’s unwilling to use his Devil’s Eye much.

Party planning is one of his biggest hobbies. He finds joy in organizing events for his friends to enjoy, especially regarding the twins, J, or Veronika. He finds that performing puts them right in their element, and always encourages the three of them to shine brighter than before.

Fatherly behavior has always been part of his personality. Levi gravitates towards taking on a supportive role to the rest of his class, especially in relation to some of the students who need it the most, like Ace, Eden, or Rose. He stays away from the more mature students, like Charles and Whit.

Birthdays are a foreign concept for Levi. He’s never had his actual birthday celebrated by other people, and he’s almost forgotten what day his birthday is on. He doesn’t really mind, though, he prefers celebrating his friends’ birthdays, anyway.

MAI AKASAKI (REI MEKARU):

Mai’s hair is cut short. She found no use for her long braid after the events of her first game, so she discarded her hair with a pair of scissors. She’s not the Ultimate Professor for nothing.

She tends to antagonize her students in order to get them to succeed. Although it hurts her to act cruelly, she instills a desire for her students to prove her wrong whenever she criticizes them in order to allow them to flourish. Not one student has ever failed her classes.

Her and Xander are adoptive siblings. Her family adopted Xander after he was orphaned, and they’ve been inseparable ever since, especially after surviving a killing game together.

The floral tattoo on her arm is technically against her school’s dress code, so she always dresses around it. Her favorite part of preparing for the day is finding a different accessory to cover up her tattoo, so she always feels that it helps complete her style.

Although she needs glasses to see, she refuses to wear them. In contrast to Eden, Mai doesn’t want to wear her glasses, as she can do her job somewhat fine without them. That, and she finds her own pair unappealing.

MIN JEUNG (NIKEI YOMIURI):

Min’s handwriting is mainly sleek, yet rushed, cursive. She learned how to write like that because of the fast-paced dialect of some of her interviewees, She needed to write fast, and so she learned.

Her dedication to her work was spurred on by her parents. Growing up, she was always obsessed with learning the truth about other people. Her reasons for this are unknown, but her devotion is seemingly serious.

The facade that she puts on is meant to attract the people that she’s interviewing. She has an excitable, eager persona, but she’s more cynical and distrustful under that. She simply wants to appear happier to goad her clients into talking more.

Her memorization skills extend to even the thickest books possible. She can commit all the research she does on the people she interviews to her memory, just so she has accurate questions to ask. And in turn, she can memorize their answers for future reference.

Black is her favorite color of pen, but she has many multicolor pens that she uses. Chartreuse, vermillion, navy, indigo, basically any color, she’ll have it. She even takes joy in pushing down all the buttons of the ten-colors-in-one pens she has.

NICO HAKOBYAN (KANADE OTONOKOJI):

Nico really likes heavy metal and rock songs. They love them to such a degree, that they prefer them over the happier tunes that they and Ace make together. However, they’d never trade their songs for the world.

Despite how close they are, Nico has not told Ace about their struggles with their identity. Although they prefer the terms they/them, they still gladly accept the term brother. Ace still doesn’t know that Nico wants to use a different set of pronouns.

Their body count is 74, but they can’t recall that exactly. Because of their desire to keep Ace just as how they were when they were kids, they’ve lost count of just how many people have fallen to get to this point. They know that number will go up with their parent’s death, as it’s the finale of their amazing plan.

Perfectionism is natural to them. They master anything they set their mind to, purely because anything subpar, to them, is a failure. Mostly, they attempt to support Ace’s endeavors by picking up a supportive role in his dreams, so they’ve picked up a few talents.

With their affinity for animals, Nico’s one talent outside of Ace is pet therapy. Of course, this means that Nico didn’t murder Ace’s pet dog, as said in the original SDRA2. They actually shared a passion for horses at one point, but quickly dropped it when Ace dubbed them creepy.

ROSE LACROIX (KOKORO MITSUME):

Rose always has her tablet on her, no matter what. She has a rainbow-colored case on it, despite her dull personality. There are even a few games on there to keep annoying people occupied.

Being treated like a kid is bothersome for Rose. Despite being one of the shorter members amongst the cast, she expresses annoyance at being babied by other people. She prefers to be left to herself, but occasionally joins in on large gatherings.

Reading is one of her prime hobbies, but she doesn’t find time for it much. Between her manifestos and extensive research papers on human emotions, she doesn’t have much time to actually invest herself in a book.

Veronika and her hang out often. While Rose is unsure of her feelings towards the actress, she often can be spotted around her and Arturo. She often takes note of their relationship, using it as a study on extreme emotions.

With her vast training in psychology, she can effectively read the emotions and thoughts of other people. She does it so often that it usually pushes other people away from her, so she’s very bad at social interaction.

TERUKO TAWAKI (SORA):

Teruko is an avid fan of caffeine, especially when it comes to chocolate, or coffee. She will never pass up a free coffee, even if it’s coming from a shady place, or from someone like Whit or Charles.

Her hair graying is something not even she’s aware of the reason for. She feels as though it’s right on her, but the reason as to why this is doesn’t seem to exist in her mind. A lot of things don’t make sense to her due to her amnesia, but she can only assure everyone that she’s not a bad person.

She has conflicted relationships with the rest of the students. Similarly to David, she feels out of place and unwelcome in her class, although she can’t even remember her Ultimate Talent. Even her own last name is foreign to her. Even though she considers them all her friends, she’s unsure if that feeling is reciprocated.

Occasionally, she’d like to try out some girlier clothing, but she hasn’t had the time to experiment. With the ongoing mystery of where her lost memories have gone, and the dangerous situation she’s found herself in, it hasn’t been her top priority as of right now. She often gushes about this with Nico.

Although she has no talent, she makes an effort to indulge in her classmates’. She’ll take inventory with Xander, watch J begin to mix a drink or two, or talk about Charles’ business deals.

VERONIKA GREBENSHCHIKOVA (EMMA MAGOROBI):

Veronika’s specialty is in horror movies. Although she acts in other genres, her main focus is in thrillers, psychological horrors, and slasher films. She loves the art of horror in general, and will make any excuse to partake in it.

Ace and Arturo tend to become her main victims of her amateur psychology. Being inspired from her time spent with Rose, she likes to pick their brains apart. Ace is freaked out by her antics, while Arturo’s status as a fan makes him easier to talk to. Not in an exploitative way.

Voice acting is something she’s recently been getting into. She has a natural talent for mimicking other people’s voices, and she’s landed one or two roles in animated films. Of course, both of them are horror films.

Most of her on-stage appearances are done by herself. She does her own hair, her own makeup, her own personality adjustments, pretty much anything she can think of. She can even do full faces of makeup in half an hour.

Puns are her favorite activity, even if everyone else hates them. She can never stop herself from making a bad joke whenever she can, to the horror of Hu. It annoys everyone else to no end.

WHIT YOUNG (MIKADO SANNOJI):

Whit mainly deals in thunder and lightning magic. He prefers it over anything else, but occasionally dabbles in other kinds, including stage magic. He doesn’t like to use his magic for mundane reasons, however, so he doesn’t perform basic tricks.

Because of his status as the mastermind, he often converses with MonoTV. They talk about whatever comes to mind, although Whit finds the catdog creature to be rather boring.

Joking around is still a big part of his personality, even if he does it in a more regal way. He has a teasing relationship with people like Charles and Hu, although his more sinister side shows itself when he toys with the members of Void. Levi, Veronika, Min, and Eden, often become the target of his antics.

Love is still dear to his heart, and he sometimes ships his classmates. Whit doesn’t push the boundaries, but he often makes a nudge in others’ directions if he thinks they’d make a suitable couple, making teasing remarks to ease the tension. Or, that’s what he thinks it does.

The big bad mastermind’s favorite sleepwear has… heart-print pajamas. They’re his favorite kind of print to wear, and he always wants to incorporate hearts into his outfits, no matter what. MonoTV doesn’t let him, though. It shatters his heart!

XANDER MATTHEWS (TERUYA OTORI):

Xander’s favorite pastime other than his job is tailoring. He’s always caught up on the latest fashion trends, so he can make clothing from scratch with only a basic idea. Despite his physical strength being rather high, having a “delicate” hobby like tailoring tends to come as a shock to other people.

Busy schedule or not, Xander hasn’t ever missed a day of school. His attendance is perfect, and he always shows up right on time. No matter if his sister is late, no matter if his business is undergoing stress, he’s always right on time.

Rainbows are his favorite aesthetic. He shares this with Rose, and the two end up talking about them a lot. He even has one on his shirt, which he greatly enjoys looking at. He’ll even ask Rose to play games on her tablet because he likes the case.

David’s mere presence is something that Xander doesn’t know how to feel about. Something about him makes Xander bittersweet, although he can’t place his finger on why. It’s almost as if he should be remembering something, but his mind runs blank…

An accident involving his right eye back in his old days of being a merchant has caused it to stop functioning. Although the exact details are lost to him, he can recall that he suffered a serious injury and it had to be removed. He wears an eyepatch over it now, and it’s always been there.

???:

They don’t know it yet, but he will be brought back, one way or another. I’ll make sure of it.

Mark my words. Whether it be Utsuro or the Angel of Death.

Tsurugi Kinjo. Remember this name…

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

weird question but do you know any place i can find a summary of chapter 5? or if you have one? i dont like vil so i cant really make myself sit and read the whole chapter but i wanna move forward and read chapter 6 but ALSO feel like i should know the important plot points so im not like "wtf is going on"

I mean 🥲 I don’t like Vil either, but I’d still highly encourage you to read episode 5! Getting a summary isn’t really the same as experiencing the story for yourself; the visuals, songs, and voice acting really helps to sell the emotions and the stakes. Who knows, maybe you’ll leave episode 5 with a little more appreciation for Vil (or the other characters; they all have various cute or heroic moments)? He’ll come back to play a major role in episode 6 anyway, and his character moments won’t hit as hard if you didn’t read 5. For example, there’s a particular line of Rook’s in 5 that Vil repeats in 6 which really hammers home his character development since 5.

… Although I won’t lie, episode 5 has veeery slow pacing because it’s basically one long, dragged out training arc 😂 so I’ll summarize what happens anyway; just know that I’d still recommend actually playing through the story yourself, especially if any of these plot points seem too cool or too interesting to not witness yourself. I’ll be glossing over things that aren’t relevant to the main conflict, so 💦 please keep that in mind!

Sooo Yuu starts off Book 5: A Beautiful Tyrant by finally starting to put the pieces together; they visit the Great Seven statues and confirm their own suspicions that the figures in their dreams are the same as the people depicted in the G7 statues (though their actions are framed as more “evil” in the dreams).

Yuu tells Adeuce and Grim about Mickey! They suggest that Yuu takes a picture of Mickey with the Ghost Camera so they can use it to investigate who or what he is.

There’s a dorm leader meeting to give exposition about an upcoming event. NRC will be having a two-day cultural festival in about two months! They will put on a bunch of activities, as well as showcase their clubs and give presentations on the art and research their students have produced.

One of the biggest events is the Vocal and Dance Championship (VDC). In EN, this has been changed to Song and Dance Championship (SDC), so I will refer to it by the English name to avoid confusion. It’s basically the music industry equivalent to what the Magical Shift/Spelldrive tournament was in episode 2; it’s a golden opportunity to launch many people’s singing careers in the entertainment industry. (A lot of talent agencies will apparently clamor to sign you on for a professional debut if you’re a SDC finalist!) The favorites to win this year are Vil and Neige Leblanche (twisted from Snow White).

I won’t mention every single time this happens, but throughout the chapter Vil has these segments where he asks his phone assistant Mira (TWST Alexa or Siri, basically) who the fairest of them all is. Mira always replies with “Neige Leblanche”, which seems to greatly frustrate Vil.

Anyway, Adeuce and Grim are interested in entering SDC because if the team representing their school makes it to the finals, they’ll get a cash prize of 50,000 thaumarks (5 million madol in JP).

Ace and Grim are pumped about trying out for NRC’s team, but Deuce is hesitant and bails.

The group eats lunch and then chills in the courtyard; it’s here that they hear singing and follow the song. It was Epel who was singing down a well (a Snow White reference), because he thought the well would help project his voice more clearly.

Deuce recognizes Epel as the crying boy he ran into at the end of episode 4! Epel says he recognizes Yuu and co. from the Magical Shift/Spelldrive tournament; he also heard about them from his classmate Jack.

Epel tells them about how his dorm leader Vil wants him to practice singing and that he’ll be a part of the SDC auditions. However, it seems that Epel isn’t eager to do this (which Deuce notices).

Vil comes to check on Epel and catches him talking to Yuu and co,; he is disappointed in Epel for “slacking off” and tries to drag him off. When Epel resists, Vil reminds him of a promise they made, which makes Epel fall into line.

Ace, ever the nosy one, picks a fight with Vil (because he doesn’t think he should be bossing Epel around). Epel begs everyone to not do it, but they fight anyway and Vil is, of course, victorious.

This reinvigorates Deuce’s motivation to be in SDC; he wants to help Epel, who seemed to be so hesitant about taking part.

Adeuce and Grim practice dancing on the basketball court. Here they run into Kalim and Jamil, who are also planning on auditioning since they already enjoy singing and dancing. The Scarabia boys give some pointers on dancing to Adeuce and Grim.

Azul shows up; he needed to find Jamil (they’re classmates) because Professor Trein needed his help with handing papers out. The boys banter a bit and Azul reveals that he was bluffing in episode 4 about live streaming Jamil’s breakdown and OB to the world. Only the Scarabia dorm members are aware of the incident.

Tying up loose ends from the ending of 4!! Kalim was able to convince everyone to let Jamil stay on as vice and to give him a second chance. Jamil claims that he is behaving for now to atone what he did, though he also says he will work hard to prove his worth.

The Scarabia boys tell Adeuce to sign up for SDC auditions via a “Rook Hunt”, who is in class 3-A. They go and do this and uh (well, Leona cameo but that’s not important) 🤡 well, Rook does what he does best and spooks them.

Cut to the VDC auditions! We see other competitors, one of which is Lilia (who delivered a holiday card from “M.D.” to Yuu) and Cater! They share some tea about the mysterious Shroud brothers, who enrolled at the same time and seem to do everything together.

Cater wants to show Grim a video, but he’s forced to sit through an ad first. It’s an advertisement for an apple soda featuring Neige (who, if you’ll recall, is one of the favorites to win SDC).

We get to hear various characters (Cater, Ruggie, Kalim, Jamil, Epel, Ortho, and Lilia) sing part of TWST’s opening song, Piece of My World!

Auditions wrap up and at first Vil wants to pick only the best performers, a she believes this will give him the greatest chance of beating Neige. However, Rook stops him and suggests that he instead pick people who are rough around the edges so Vil can polish them to perfection. Rook points out that he sees a lot of potential in Adeuce in particular.

Rook shoots an arrow at Adeuce with a letter attached to it letting them know they passed auditions, so they should report to Pomefiore dorm. Yuu is also told to come along.

The gang pulls up to Pomefiore and meet Kalim and Jamil there. Turns out the Scarabia duo have also passed!

A bunch of Pomefiore students start attacking them, but they manage to battle their way to Pomefiore’s ballroom where Vil is waiting. This was all a test he arranged so they could prove their worth to him.

So the SDC team is: Vil, Rook, Epel, Jamil, Kalim, Ace, and Deuce.

There’s only a month left until SDC. Crowley wants Yuu to let the NRC team hold their training camp at Ramshackle, since he is convinced that living together will help them build teamwork. He originally thought of holding the camp at Pomefiore, but he didn’t want some students to feel out of their element. They get bribed with a cut of the prize money and the promise of Ramshackle renovations 😂 so Yuu’s like “Okay, sure. C’mon in.”

Everyone moves in, and Vil starts imposing new rules on the SDC team members. For example, he takes away their snacks (including an apple pie and chocolate cake that Trey sent with Adeuce) and says he has designed low calorie yet nutritional meals for them. (I want to be clear here: some people misinterpret this part as “Vil is starving them like Mama Rosehearts starved Riddle!” which is NOT true. Rook says that this is not a diet in that sense, but to help them be in shape. Vil wants them to eat healthily so they can perform at their best.)

Vil gets a phone call from his manager who says he has been offered a role in a biiig movie production… as the villain. The hero for this movie will be played by Neige. Upon learning this, Vil becomes irritated and insists his manager reject the offer. He doesn’t care how much money he could earn from this, he says that all he wants to do is “stand the stage until the very end”. Vil then tells his manager to not contact him again until SDC is over.

It is revealed that the voting for SDC is done via audience poll, not by professional judges. This is an important detail to keep in mind for later.

Vil shows the group an original song (Absolutely Beautiful). In EN, he says he commissioned it but in JP he is more vague with his wording, which has led some fans to conclude that Vil personally worked on producing this song. (Uhhh, they also sing Piece of My World at some point.)

He tries to show them a video to help everyone get a feel for the dance choreography, and another ad featuring Neige plays. The boys talk about how Neige is such a popular celeb these days, and how he’s a student of Royal Sword Academy so that makes him their rival. Vil says something cryptic about how he’ll finally defeat Neige this time.

Vil picks himself, Epel, and Jamil as the main vocalists. Jamil is surprised and starts to say that Kalim should be picked instead of him, but Jamil stops himself and accepts the role.

Epel says he isn’t sure about being picked, but Vil again brings up their promise which makes him comply.

They keep practicing and Epel pisses Vil off when he says the dance is too girly. Vil chews Epel out for having outdated views on gender and then places him on a solo ballet regimen. Deuce asks to join Epel for his ballet lessons!

A ghost delivers 10 crates of apple juice to Epel. This is unsold stock from his family’s business, which is struggling at the moment. They all chill and sip on the apple juice!

Vil interrupts to lecture them on skincare. Ace asks isn’t there magic to make them instantly beautiful? This seems to annoy Vil, who says that he’s not interested in “beauty that only lasts until the strike of midnight”.

Yuu wakes up in the middle of the night to find Kalim singing outside Ramshackle. He confesses that he’s frustrated about not being chosen as a main vocalist. Kalim’s so used to having everything handed to him that the experience of being overlooked surprised him. He says that he wants to try hard so that he will genuinely be picked for something because he’s actually the best choice for it.

It’s revealed that Jamil was listening in on Kalim!

Adeuce sneak bites of Trey’s apple pie and chocolate cake. Vil catches them in the act 🤡 Adeuce suddenly fall over and can’t move!! Vil tells them he put a curse on the baked goods using his unique magic/signature spell. Fairest One of All allows Vil to lay a curse for anything he touches. The conditions he sets must be fulfilled, for even the original caster cannot lift it. (Vil cursed the pie and cake so that if anyone eats it, they cannot move until morning comes.)

Yuu sees Mickey in the mirror again but fails to take a picture of him. They begin to wonder how their original world and Mickey’s may be connected.

This isn’t relevant in the story of 5, but it may be important overall lore-wise. Apparently it is possible to transfer into NRC; Kalim originally did not go to NRC but the dark carriage came for him one month after Jamil enrolled.

Epel becomes frustrated with practice and wants to quit the team. He fights with Vil and loses, prompting Epel to run off.

Deuce suggests maybe Vil be nicer, but Vil snaps that Deuce has no room to be worrying about others or taking back when he’s falling behind the rest of the team. Vil compares Deuce to Ace, saying that the difference between them is too obvious. Ace tells Deuce to focus on himself more, and Deuce gets mad because someone naturally gifted like Ace wouldn’t understand him.

The team is really fractured at this point, so Jamil suggests taking a break. During this break, Rook advises Vil that he show Epel “the power of beauty”, to which Vil agrees.

Rook and Kalim give Deuce a pep talk! It leads Deuce to nabbing a magical wheel (blastcycle?) from Ignihyde and driving himself and Epel to a local beach. (They also see RSA on the way!)

The two shout their frustrations at the sea, and Epel’s dialect comes out full force which shocks Deuce. Epel then explains how he doesn’t want people to underestimate him because of his looks. On his first day (before he was sorted into a dorm), Vil tells him to button up his shirt and comments on his cute face, which causes Epel to instigate a fight.

Vil wins and tells Epel that “the weak obey the strong”, so until Epel is able to beat him, he has to listen to everything Vil says. This explains why Epel usually hides his dialect; Vil says that he doesn’t have a problem with Epel’s love for his hometown, but that there is a time and place for the dialect and his rude attitude. In this case, he must address his superiors properly.

The two first years have a heart-to-heart! Epel talks about wanting to become stronger, and Deuce talks about how how his own strength is how amazingly stupid and stubborn he is.

Epel gets a phone call from his mom!! Their business was suddenly flooded with orders from all over the world, and she says a customer told her it was because of “Vil”, whom Mrs. Felmier recognized as Epel’s dorm leader. She asks him to thank Vil for her.

Vil made a Magicam post featuring the Felmier family apple juice! All of his fans want to try the same juice, so they’re buying it en masse. This is the “power of beauty” Vil wanted to show him, that being beautiful and being strong can be powerful in their own rights, and that until Epel understands that, he can never defeat Vil.

They’re interrupted by some random NPCs that want to ride on Deuce’s (borrowed) ride. The NPCs get aggressive, but Epel is able to catch them off-guard with his cutesy looks. This lets Epel get some hits in!

The NPCs are beating them 😔 but suddenly…?! Deuce’s magical power overflows…!!

We cut to a later point that day when Epel and Deuce return, apologize to Vil, and rejoin the SDC group. Deuce confronts Ace and swears to him that he doesn’t plan on losing to him!

Crowley gives everyone in the team tickets for them to invite people to see the show. Yuu gives their ticket to Malleus.

The cultural festival has arrived at last! Yuu spends some time looking around at the attractions with Grim. We get a bunch of cameos from other characters.

While looking through some of the exhibitions, they see some NRC mob students bullying some short RSA students. The NRC boys intervene, and then Chenya comes to pick up the short kids (which are twisted versions of the Seven Dwarves).

Yuu and co. go to the SDC location (the Purple Stage) for rehearsals. Surprise?! Neige appears!! Vil is curt but professional with him.

NRC does their practice run and, for a brief moment, Vil is considered “most beautiful” (he checks with Mira). Buuut then Neige and the dwarves do their practice run (EN removed the song Minna de Yahoo), and Neige is on top again 😭 (Their performance isn’t even that well-executed, they’re very clumsy and everything. The song also isn’t very unique; it’s an arrangement of a popular children’s song from the Shaftlands. However, it still makes the filming staff feel nostalgic and they gush about how cute Neige is and how pure he makes them feel.)

Vil gets a scary look on his face and leaves; Rook, Kalim, and Jamil notice the look he made 👁️ 👄 👁️ Errr, Vil shatters his phone (“mirror”) in a fit of rage.

Yuu follows Vil backstage because they have a bad feeling. They see Vil offering apple juice from Epel’s family to Neige.

Neige is about to drink it until Rook intervenes and tells him (his “Snow White”) to hurry away because the staff need him. Rook takes the juice for himself and tries to drink it, but then Kalim cuts in and knocks the glass out of his hand.

It starts bubbling on the ground 💀 Vil cursed the apple juice! Kalim says he recognized the face Vil was making; it’s just like Jamil before he went mad over winter break.

Rook says he wanted to drink the juice even knowing it would harm him because he wants to believe that Vil wouldn’t tarnish his beauty and hard work by stooping so low.

The spilled juice vaporizes into a toxic mist, and Vil begins to Overblot 😔 He is different than the previous Overblots in that he is somewhat self-aware of what is happening to him (he shouts at everyone to not look at him, at his “ugliness”; the ugliness here is not literal, Vil is most likely referring to his “ugly” actions (ie the attempt to poison Neige, perhaps even kill him).

Jamil comes on the magic carpet to whisk everyone somewhere safe! He lets them know he used Snake Whisper to get Neige to put on a performance. This performance lured people away to watch him (plus, the first years went around getting rid of loiterers), so the SDC stadium is empty except for OB Vil, Grim, Yuu, and the NRC SDC group.

Deuce saves the day by directing the damage he has taken so far back at Vil…! This is the unique magic/signature spell he unlocked on the beach, Bet the Limit (Double Down in EN).

In the post-OB flashback sequence, we learn that Vil’s dad was a famous actor as well! It seems that Vil has consistently been casted as the villain ever since he started his own acting career. He resents this, because according to him, “a villain never stands on the stage until the very end, they can only watch the happy ending from the sidelines”.

Vil was also bullied in the past, although it is a different kind of bullying than Azul suffered. Other kids assumed he was as cold and cruel as the villains he portrayed in films, dramas, and musicals. (We see young Jack defending Vil!) He worked very hard in hopes of landing a hero role—but he was still never chosen.

Vil wakes up and finds himself upon a ruined Purple Stage. SDC can’t happen like this…

Malleus shows up with his ticket and uses his magic to repair the stage—he came to see their performance, after all. (It is also here when Yuu finally learns who “Tsunotaro/Hornton” truly is.)

SDC happens!! More cameos from characters in the audience as they vote.

RSA wins by one vote. That deciding vote was… Rook! Now, he gets a lot of hate for this move, but 🥲 he explains that he couldn’t lie to himself; he was genuinely moved more by Neige than his own group’s performance. Additionally, he says that even if they technically didn��t win a competition or get the most votes, so long as Vil has the strength to believe in himself… then no matter how old or disheveled Vil is, he will always be fairest of them all.

Vil collapses and cries…

Neige comes over and??? Turns out that Rook is a HUGE Neige fan 😂 (When first moving into Ramshackle, Vil remarks on a thick book Rook brought with him. They never looked at what was inside, but it was a bunch of Neige bromides.) Neige says he recognized Rook as his fan (“R”) because Rook called him “Snow White”.

Aaand Neige says everyone should sing together :)) (Again, this was removed from EN.) Vil suffers a lot :)))

Crowley is mulling over another loss to RSA and encounters its headmaster, Ambrose the 63rd (twisted from… Merlin???). Ambrose remarks that he senses strong magic in the area (probably residual from either Malleus or OB Vil) and that he’ll have to keep an eye on Crowley’s students.

Yuu finally grabs a picture of Mickey, but then notices Grim is missing so they leave to find him.

They see Grim on the Purple Stage eating Vil’s OB stone. When Grim notices Yuu there, he attacks them.

We finish off on a preview to Ignihyde. Idia gave a presentation at the cultural festival that made a lot of people interested in having him as an intern. Ortho offers to read the email opportunities to him, but in a resigned tone, Idia says to delete them all because he thinks he “doesn’t belong anywhere” so it’s not worth trying to.

[translatemunson]

track one — the ex tapes

warnings: not proofread, don't expect some fluff because there's none this time (sorry).

series masterlist

Eddie Munson is a rock star now. He still doesn’t believe it, but he is. Sold out shows, number one records, fans screaming his name when he goes out to grab a coffee—black with two sugars. When was the last time he visited Hawkins, his hometown? He has no clue, always in and out of hotels and tour buses, he can’t even think about paying his uncle a visit, always opting for sending him plane tickets to Los Angeles.

Oh, Los Angeles is everything that Eddie dreamed of, and so much more. The views, the houses, the parties, half a decade living in the city of angels and he always finds something new about it. However he feels tired. It’s like he’s been writing the same stories that turn up into songs. Still sounds like Corroded Coffin, but it’s the same feeling over and over again.

He tried to change the scenario. A new house, new friends, damn he even listens to the pop radio so he can find new artists. But it’s just the same chords, same singers, same stories over and over again.

Eddie has been struggling a lot with writing new songs. He took like three weeks to gather five songs. This new album is taking longer than normal to be done. And now with the record label asking for a song with more sentimental lyrics, perhaps a ballad, he’s losing his mind.

In one of his drives around the city in his fancy black car — oh God, he misses his van so much, but never finds the time to fix it —, he had listened to this artist. It wasn’t the beat, the synths, the electric guitar in the background or the singer’s voice that got his attention, it was the lyrics. He had written down the name of the song to look up for the songwriter’s name.

And once again, the name Charlie Rogers was written in the credits. This name has been showing up in a lot of songs lately and Eddie wonders where the hell did Charlie come from. Everyone from the pop field worked with her, everyone talks a lot about how she can turn any feeling or story into a masterpiece. Nevertheless, she’s nowhere to be found in magazines or award ceremonies.

Ok, he got it, sometimes songwriters don’t wanna stay in the spotlight and rather focus on writing. But she works with some of the best people in the industry and still no one can get her to show up. Yeah, this kinda bothers Eddie because he would love to add a face to the name of the lady that got him into some pop songs.

After finding her name for the tenth time, he had asked for his manager to book a session with the almighty Charlie Rogers. Both schedules were a pain in the ass to find a good time, but Eddie wanted so badly to work with her he said he could be at the studio at six in the morning. Six in the morning is really early for Eddie Munson.

So there he is, three in the afternoon in the studio, waiting for Charlie to show up for the session. He’s playing the mixtape he made with his favourite songs of hers to get in the mood. And to also study how she writes. He sees a pattern, but she always adds twists and turns on well known feelings and endings.

There’s this song in particular that he really likes. It’s a pop song with darker tones, where she sings about her life experiences and makes California sound like it’s the new state of mind. And he gets the vibes that her ex lover left for California to seek that.

Maybe he’s reading too much in between the lines. Who never left something behind to live the dream? Eddie did. Sometimes he regrets it, but he can’t complain about his life.

But what he can complain about is how late Charlie is. He checks the time and he wasted half an hour in a studio alone, waiting for someone busier than the fucking president to show up. Maybe she’s not coming and he’s doomed to accept any song the label chooses for the album. 

Eddie lights up a cigarette and promises he’ll leave if she doesn’t come through that door before he finishes it.

Maybe she doesn’t want to work with a band like Corroded Coffin and decided to cancel at the last minute. He can’t put a finger on Charlie, can’t understand why she keeps herself in the shadows when he bets she could have a career of her own.

The cigarette slowly fades away. The door creaks and he sees the tip of a guitar case.

“I’m sorry, the traffic here was terrible. And my last session was already late and,” you step in the room, “sorry, really. Let’s get started?”

“Y/N?”

Before Eddie can talk, you already turned away and left.

[l-eternity-l]

-Loving You

summary. - when a young lady has a little bit too much to drink, a certain singer comes to her rescue.

pairing. - Elvis x Black OC

warnings. - age gap, alcohol, creepy dude

word count. - 3k

author's note. - ahhh okay guys this is my first fic. I'm honestly thinking about turning this into a long series because I already have an idea for a few more chapters. The only thing is I don't know what name to give the character so I literally just named her after me, but I really want to change it. I hope you guys enjoy!!! (also feel free to send request!!)

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MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 1957 The Country Club

    MERCEDES clapped her hands together as her brothers finished rehearsing their new hit song.

  "You guys sound great," she tells her brothers as people walk onto the little stage at the front of the building, fixing the boy's microphones and retuning instruments.

  "We did just as expected" Luther breathed out "everyone was off-key, not to mention Raymond forgot the damn words" he takes a quick sip of his water before handing it to Mercedes.

"Oh, can it Luther!" Raymond speaks up "why don't you focus on whatever the hell you need to do and stay the hell outta my business" Luther sends him a harsh glare.

  "This is my business Raymond, fuck it's all of our business. These people pay us to put on a good show".

"Okay, so what!" Raymond becomes more frustrated by the second "all you ever wanna do is please some white man by dancing and singing like a damn fool, you ever realize I don't put effort into this shit because I don't care!" he throws his water onto the ground before storming off the stage. Mercedes sighs.

  "Why do you guys always have to do this" before her brother can respond she keeps going "always doin' something right before you have to perform. you know he may not be coming back" Luther shrugs.

  As far as everyone was concerned, Luther cared more about the music industry than anyone in the world-- blasting music and putting his all into everything the band did.

  He played the instruments, mixed the records, and wrote most of the lyrics. people may say that he takes some things too seriously but Luther never cared--he was going to be a star and no one would hold him back from that. not even his own family.

  "As if we need him, if push comes to shove we pull you up here and make Jerome a back up".

  "Hey" Jerome yells out "don't punish me for what ray did" Luther just shrugs him off, walking over to his brother Ronnie "Raymond just needs a second to calm down, he’ll come back after he's had a smoke" The boy tries his best to reason with his angry brother.

  Jerome and Mercedes were less than a year apart, their parents not being able to wait another second to try for a girl.

  Even though he's one of the lead singers, people still tend to forget about him, especially his mother.

  Jerome has no interest in being famous--by the time he was born his brother had already started their carer singing outside of their father's barbershop to bring attention to it. Jerome's real dream is to become a pilot --singing is just a small hobby to him.

  "I don't know why you ain't performing now Sadie" Ronnie speaks up causing the young girl to roll her eyes and lean up against the stage with her arms crossed.

  "Because the women specifically asked for a male quartet. those poor girls have a hard enough time keeping their men from cheating under their own roof, much less outside of it" she picks at the skin around her nails in boredom.

  Mercedes has always been the most outspoken of the siblings, the exact opposite of what her mother wants from her. The only one their mother actually likes is Ronnie.

  Ronnie is the quiet sibling, he does whatever his mother says--doesn't matter if it's something small as bringing her the TV remote that's right next to her, or big as donating a kidney, Ronnie would do it in a heartbeat.

  Even though he does all of this for his mother, it doesn't save him from being called ungrateful and useless--but that's just how things went in the Estelle household.

  "If it were up to me you'd replace Raymond right now, he's sloppy and he doesn't care about anything or anyone," Ronnie says fixing his bow tie in the reflection of a mirror.

  In the boys' defense, Raymond has been causing issues lately. if he's not showing up to rehearse late then he's off with some girl, it drives their mom crazy, which only causes her to snap at the rest of them.

  Raymond wasn't always like this. As a child, he was charming and loved to sing and dance when company came over. it wasn't until his mom and dad started fighting, he came a little devil.

  Raymond has gone through more than the other siblings--having to be the one who dealt with their mom and her outburst when dad had got done beating on her. When their dad had just died and their mom left, Raymond was the one to take care of everyone.

  After all these years, Raymond's care for anyone but himself faded, and so did his relationship with his family.

  "You know mama wouldn't let that happen. He has a great voice, he just doesn't like to perform. Thinks it's silly" Mercedes reminds her brother "besides, he's just angry because it's gettin' late and he ain't had dinner yet".

  "Well, he needs to get over it because people are gonna start showin' up soon. We've only got a few minutes of rehearsal time left" the girl pushes off of the stage.

  "I'll go try and find him, you guys just keep practicing".

...

  Mercedes wanders around the expensive country club in an attempt to find her oldest brother.

  After what felt like hours but was only a couple of minutes, she found him leaning against their car with a freshly lit cigarette between his lips.

  "I ain't goin' back in there" Raymond starts before his sister even gets the chance to speak "I ain't gonna make a fool of myself for all of those people. singin' bout love and rainbows and girls all while swayin' back and forth and dancin'".

   He takes a long drag of smoke before continuing "I'm gonna quit and tell momma to go get somebody else to do it. I ain't doin' this shit no more!".

  "Are you done," Mercedes ask, unamused by his outburst "because you have a show to do and all of your brothers are waiting on you to stop throwing yourself a pity party" he shakes his head.

  "You're just as bad as the rest of them Sadie. if you think doing dumb shit like this is what's gonna help us be famous then you go and do it. I know father wouldn't have wanted this for us, he wanted us to be stars, not clowns" he take another long drag "and I ain't gonna be a clown no more".

  "I don't care what you wanna do or what you don't wanna do, it's about what you gotta do. Fathers gone and Mommas crazy, we gotta make ends meet somehow" the boy tosses his cigarette on the ground and crushes it with his heel.

  "I can't keep on doin' this stuff Sadie. I wanna be able to do what I want with my life, not what momma wants." Much as Mercedes wanted to tell her brother he could do that, she also didn't want to lie to him.

  "Look I don't like the way momma does stuff around here either, but as long as we live under her roof, we have to do what she says." he runs his hand through his thick hair "We need you ray" she places his hand on his arm "Only for a few more years, then we can stop doing shows and just make music" he lets out a long sigh.

  "Let's just head back," he slides his hands in his pockets and starts to walk away from the car, Mercedes next to him "Mamas gonna be here in a few minutes and if I'm not there she'll just take it out on y'all".

"See now you're using your brain" his large hand forcefully shoves her away from him "Oww, what the hell-".

"Go find somethin' to do while we rehearse, you look like you wanna put a pistol in your mouth just sitting there".

If Mercedes was being completely honest, her brother wasn't wrong. they've all performed together since childhood, her and Jerome switching who'd lead, often doing duets. Any time Mercedes didn't get the chance to perform she felt an extreme sense of jealousy. Her mother only ever took her out saying it looked better with the boys singing, the boys are too tall and she doesn't fit in, and that four people on stage looked better than five. All this did was make Mercedes want to perform more.

  Mercedes and her mother didn't have the most loving relationship. After Luther was born, all Her dad ever talked about was having a girl-- after begging for years she agreed but they had another boy. This only fueled his want for a little girl more and they immediately had another child, even though Grace never wanted more than 3 kids. Soon after Mercedes was born, her father passed away from an unknown illness-- leaving her mother alone with 5 kids. Because of this Grace had resented her youngest child for years. Mercedes being unruly and never taking no for answer, only made this situation worse.  

She walked around the country club for a few minutes, trying to find something to cure her growing boredom. She feels an arm brush against her and quickly moves over to give the person more room, only they don't walk away. Mercedes glances up at the culprit. The man was older, maybe 25-35, with jet-black hair that was combed over and slicked down. you could see the gel glistening from the lights. He held a cigarette in his hand and sported a kind yet devious smirk.

"I'm sorry sir" Mercedes voices, quick to apologize in an attempt to avoid conflict. he waves his hand as if to dismiss her apology.

"Don't worry honey, it was my fault. What are you doin' here anyways" his gentle voice surprised Mercedes. Though the girl has never had a bad interaction with a white person before, she had heard many war stories of what her people go through on a daily basis-- this lead her to avoid them as much as humanly possible. "don't seem like the kind of place you'd find a nice young lady such as yourself," thought every cell in Mercedes's body told her to run away from the man, something else was begging her to stay--to figure out what it was this man wanted.

"I'm here with my brothers, they're performing tonight" he slowly nods his head.

"And they left you all alone out here, all by yourself" he sets his hand on her arm, a gesture that would normally make her pull away with fear, but the kind smile on his face seemed to soothe the thoughts that ran through her head.

"What? don't think I can take of myself" she says dripping with fake innocence. his smile grows.

"Oh the exact opposite," he moves his arm around to the small of her back, leading her away from where they stood "Why don't you come sit with me and my friends while you wait for your brothers, they're right over here," thought the situation feels off, Mercedes doesn't really have anything else to do at this party-- Not to mention, she loves the thrill of a little danger.

...

  Surprisingly, she ends up having a good time, talking to the men along with some of their girlfriends. They talk about music and performing while they sip on their expensive drinks. the night was going well and her brothers were putting on a good show, even though Raymond looked like he wanted to die the entire time. She sat beside the man she had met earlier, James. He had his arm resting on the back of her chair as he bragged about his yacht club and how much his soap company makes in a month. Even though Mercedes couldn't give a shit about his boat and his money, she did enjoy the drinks that the man kept handing her, Loving the burn of her stomach as she sipped on the fruity cocktails. One of the boy's songs comes to an end as Mercedes laughs at another one James' corny jokes. normally she wouldn't have, but her intoxication could make her laugh at a blank wall.

  "So," he pulls the drink away from her lips "why don't we get out of here" he runs his course hand up and down her knee, going a bit further each time "we should head someplace a bit more private". though Mercedes was so out of it she could barely form a sentence, she knew when something sounded sketchy. and in that very moment, she realized just how close he was to her. she clears her throat, sliding her chair a bit further away.

  "Yeah," she pushes his hand off of her leg, "I think I'm gonna have to pass on that" She lets out a nervous giggle as she takes another sip of her drink.

  "Don't be like that, I bought you all of these drinks and you're not gonna give me something in return" he leans to place a kiss on her cheek before whispering in her ear "Come on baby, I'll take you to my boat."

  "Sorry Captian, guess I'm not the girl you took me for" the man plasters on a fake smile, sliding his hand back onto her knee.

  "Why don't you have another drink, maybe then you'll change your mind" she pushes him off again, the chair letting out a loud cry as she stands with haste.

  "I've gotta go check on my brothers, I'll be back later" Mercedes says in an attempt to remove herself from the situation. She shoots the others at the table a quick smile before she quickly maneuvers her way through the crowd with unsteady feet, using the wall as a crutch. A sea of various people occupied the dance floor as she tries her best to make it to a less crowded area. The girl spots some public restrooms not too far away and makes her way toward them, stumbling with every step. Once she's there she lies against the side of the building before sinking to the plush grass, resting her head against the smooth concrete wall, a nauseating feeling overcoming her. Mercedes knew that people got drunk, hell she had to carry Raymond back into the house several times, but what she didn't know was how it felt. Her vision was clouded and her head was pounding. it felt as though her world was spinning. For a second, she even wondered if the man had slipped something inside her drink. The distant sounds of toilets flushing could be heard as she tried her best to regain her composure.

  "You okay there?" a southern voice draws her out of her dazed state. Mercedes looks up to yet another white man with slicked-back hair, only this time it was a bit longer and more in his face. though she felt like she really shouldn't be talking to him, the alcohol had clouded her judgment.

  "Umm... no. I don't know" Mercedes drops her head into her hands "I drank," she tells him.

  He lets out a slight chuckle "Well I can see that" he sits down next to her, lighting the cigarette between his lips. "What's a pretty girl like you doin' out here all alone?" he asks. Mercedes knows this trick all too well--in fact, she had experienced this trick less than two hours ago.

"I ain't gonna leave with you" her words slurred together, getting to the point as soon as possible.

"I ain't tryna take you anywhere honey, just wanted to make sure you aren't here alone. My name is Elvis, what's yours?".

"Sadie, and I'm not alone, 'm here with my mom and my brothers. There performing tonight." he hums.

"Your brothers are the Estelle's" the girl nods "I used to play basketball with them. I remember when you were just a baby. Your momma let you drink at this age?" he asked tilting his head. she shakes no.

  "No, she doesn't. But what she doesn't know won't hurt her" he raises his brows, amused at the girl's response.

  "Guess no one can tell you anything huh?" Elvis's voice was laced with sarcasm. Mercedes- not finding his little joke too funny, rolls her eyes.

  "What do you want" you'd swear you could see the annoyance radiating from the girl's body.

  "As I said before, I just wanna make sure you're okay" The girl scoffs as she tries to push herself back to her feet, failing miserably. Luckily Elvis helped her before she slid back down the wall.

  "Well, you can go find some other dame to save because I'm fine" The amusing thing is that Mercedes is definitely not fine, seeing as the only thing holding her up is Elvis.

  "I'll believe that when hell freezes over." he moves her arm around his shoulder for support before he leads begins to lead her away from the restrooms "Don't worry little girl, I'm gonna take you to your momma" she immediately starts to resist against his attempts to move.

  "No!" she says franticly "Are you crazy? If she finds out she'll beat me 'till I'm black and blue" Elvis stops for a moment, trying to think of a better option.

  "Okay, then I'll go get your brothers. How 'bout that?" Elvis offers.

  "No they'll kill me too " she argues "If they find out I was talking to a man they'd...they'd...oh, I don't know what they'd do but I know it wouldn't be pretty."

  "Look I gotta tell somebody, I can't just leave you sitting here drunk outta your mind!" Mercedes lets out a frustrated sigh "I don't care how mad it makes you you've gotta chose somebody. So who will it be? Your brothers or your mom?" Though both options sounded like a death wish, she knew that her brothers wouldn't lay a hand on her-- the most they would do is yell at her for a few hours and act distant for a day or two.

  "My brothers have an intermission in a few minutes, they usually smoke by the car." Mercedes reluctantly tells him, slightly pissed at the fact he's so hell-bent on getting her in trouble today.

PART TWO IS POSTED!!

[kukuandkookie]

Man I should’ve gone to sleep ages ago or at least enjoyed myself by reading more danmei or manhua before I do so but…

I ran across a tweet asking if there’s any Chinese actors who can compare visually to a specific Korean actor and it did kind of strike a nerve with me.

But that wasn’t even that big of a deal. Some people like Korean actors and some people like Chinese actors. You can share some pretty Chinese actors and see what others say, whatever.

Ignoring the political tensions OP may have been stoking—as in, I’m of Chinese descent and I always hate seeing any Korea vs China posts crop up; besides being more popular than China anyway, I just have bad experiences in the past with nationalists spiralling this kind of thing out of control and making me sad to realize that quite a number of Korean people actually really hate/look down on China. So ignoring all that, who cares, right?

Except I found some care being piqued when I saw a qrt pretty rudely claiming Chinese actors are so weak they can’t lift their female partners and that they also can’t sing or act—and if OP could have, I’m sure they’d claim they can’t dance either.

Like hello??? We’re really pretending a country of 1.7 billion people isn’t going to have some skilled or strong people in acting??? Hell, some of these so-called “can’t sing/act” Chinese actors have actually found success in Korea for doing the thing that person thinks they can’t (eg Wang Yibo, literally). So is this apparent Korean entertainment fan just going to ignore that fact about the Korean entertainment industry???

Even all of that is technically whatever, but what rubbed me the wrong way was that they sounded so petty and weird about it too???? It’s one thing to say, “I don’t think Chinese actors are that impressive because they’re not very strong or skilled at their craft”—that’s still a bizarre claim to make even as an opinion (because it’s written as a broad, generalizing, sweeping statement instead), but it nevertheless sounds a lot less asshole-ish than whatever the hell their actual tweet is:

So this time I was petty and ended up responding ffjhskdjs.

Idk if they’re going to start arguing with me but hey at least it led me to find some cute clips of actors carrying actresses:

I also found some fun facts about actors; some of which I knew, and some of which I didn’t: Song Weilong knows martial arts, Luo Yunxi knows ballet, Li Xian dives, Wallace Chung plays sports (volleyball, tennis, baseball), Huang Jingyu does Brazilian jiu jitsu…

Like those are all skills that just so happen to require strength.

And even skinny people can be strong (Luo Yunxi can be easily labelled thin, but he’s not without muscle. Like ballet isn’t an easy sport at all).

Then we have the opposite side of the spectrum with the fact that China has a whole martial arts movie industry. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen… Whether you think their strength is practical or not, martial arts still takes a form of strength.

Plus you know how Asia is about “men needing to be manly.” Even with the flower boy trend in both China and Korea, there’s still an emphasis on some traditional gender roles, and quite a number of Chinese men do work out.

There’s just so many different forms of strength.

My younger brother works out and he can physically pick me up (he actually did it today to force me to get out of bed lol), but he’s often lamented being skinny, so the muscle doesn’t show—or take form—as easily. In fact, both my brothers are their own forms of gym bros so I know a bit about physical strength, and there’s obviously the fact there are many different kinds of strength.

A man who works out regularly and has visible muscles can likely pick up a woman, but that doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily be great in a fight or at a certain sport (eg my brother is good at working out, can lift heavy things to be fixed or carried, is technically alright at basketball, but cannot really do long-distance running).

My older brother then looks bigger than my younger brother but he can’t easily beat him in an arm wrestling match. My dad isn’t that muscular but he can also hold his own in an arm wrestling match against my brothers.

It’s almost as if different bodies and different types of strength exist! The exact same way that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!

Back to the flower boys thing—with there being a trend in China where people prefer more “delicate” men (remember when Simu Liu got cast as Shang-Chi and a number of articles came out about some Chinese netizens not finding him all that attractive?), then of course Chinese actors may not be as bulked out as some western ones. But that’s also whatever—it’s a cultural difference.

As I already described, there are Chinese actors with muscles, or who work out, or who are strong in other/not immediately obvious ways, or who can carry actresses…

But whether they can or can’t, including whether they’re muscular or thin, I don’t think it matters. In fact, if anything, I’m glad that despite the government’s efforts to “ban” flower men, the blur between masculine and feminine—at least when we follow the western standards—still exists in China.

And I emphasize that even more since China and Korea can buy into beliefs about gender that imo are too traditional. So I am glad that even if Chinese men are “smaller” than Korean men—or at least the actors are (in that person’s eyes), they’re defying gender expectations somewhat. Especially what with Korea fervently continuously getting the spotlight for misogyny in the workplace or by fans/incels (eg recently with Arknights’ more independent Korean division despite Arknights coming across as rather feminist, the whole ordeal with Furina’s designer, the whole 🤏 controversy, actual sexual scandal cases…).

And well oops that went into another tangent.

Technically it’s not that serious, but it is also a slippery slope. And anyway, the tweet in general was just baffling enough it made me want to respond lol.