#i also know that there's a snowball's chance in hell of this series ever being filmed and even if it was he wouldn't be cast

[nycorix]

Season 2 of Shadow and Bone sold me 1000% more on my headcast for Freddy Carter as the Ghost/22. He's got the intensity, the depth, the tightly bottled Feelings, the unhinged bloodlust, the economy of motion/microexpression game, the cheekbones, the eyes, and the aroace vibes

[thegeminisage]

one of many reasons castiel spent the first year of knowing dean trying not to strangle him: dean's weird little winchester-only dialect

i’m fucking obsessed with this right now, so buckle in for a meta. a cool fun (horrible) thing about dean's dialogue is that a good 90% of what comes out of his mouth is:

a pop culture reference ("you're just gonna take some divine bong hit, and shazam, you're roma downey?")

references to real life phenomenon ("i don't wanna wake up missing a kidney in a bathtub full of ice" "try new mexico, i hear he’s on a tortilla")

these also often take the form of nicknames, and dean has a tendency to give people nicknames in general or call them something besides their given name, whether it’s affectionate or rude ("easy there, van damme" "so i’m girl interrupted" furthermore castiel = cas, ezekiel = zeke, etc, see also frequent use of "chucklehead" "asshat" and on the nicer/endearments end "buddy" "pal" "sunshine" etc)

an idiom ("a snowball's chance" "if it smells like a duck...")

slang ("drinking the koolaid" "jonesing for some hooch" not to mention the literal endless amount of words dean uses to refer to killing - gank, waste, juice, ice, etc)

a metaphor ("power up your batteries" "fly me back to my page on the calendar")

a euphemism ("cloud seeding" "i'd have given you an hour alone with her first")

sarcasm (his habit of replying "peachy" or "super" when asked how he is)

wordplay (see: the entire "vampirate" and "werepire" debacles)

completely nonsensical (guessing what happened to a magical artifact: "it was dug up by tomb raiders? it was seized by the king of the dead by warlords?")

said at lightning speed - if you pay attention, dean actually talks a LOT, usually a mile a minute (this makes me feel a way when you recall him being nonverbal for a year at age 4 but that’s another post)

slang IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE (casual usage of “guano,” etc)

a lie, a deflection, a joke, etc

or worse, something dean’s NOT saying, deliberately, because he’s one of the most repressed people on earth

the end result of all this being:

dean winchester is utterly infuckingcomprehensible. 

think about this. there's an ENTIRE SECTION on EVERY SINGLE EPISODE PAGE of the spn wiki devoted to JUST explaining dean's pop culture references, because the average viewer won't have seen everything he's talking about either. they have a whole page for this called “hunter’s lingo,” but honestly, it’s not all hunters, just sam and dean’s fucking batshit communication style. even i don't understand dean half the time. SAM gets it, sam speaks it back to dean a lot in the early seasons, but that's because sam and dean are 1. practically two halves of the same person 2. FREAKS. every time we get an episode that involves outsider POV is devoted to them going "what the fuck is WRONG with them?"

enter castiel. technically speaking, the show implies that angels are omnilingual. castiel should understand every language known to man, but knowing the meaning of words doesn't help him understand the following:

pop culture references

references to real life phenomenon

nicknames

idioms

slang

metaphors

euphemisms

sarcasm

wordplay

you get the idea.

listen to me. look me in the eyes. castiel cannot understand a single fucking word that comes out of dean's mouth. my guy laid a hand on dean winchester in hell and immediately fell in love with him and has no fucking idea what he's talking about ever. because not only is dean winchester's way of speaking CLINICALLY insane, and sometimes incomprehensible even to other human beings who are not sam, castiel is an angel, and someone prone to taking things even more literally than other angels do

go back and watch and watch seasons 4-5 especially. the reason cas does so much squinting and head tilting is because every time dean opens his mouth castiel has to open up his mental "dean winchester dictionary" and translate entire paragraphs on the fly, because again, dean never shuts up!

what makes this extra hilarious to me is this gem:

this line is from 5.13. at this point cas has known dean for AN ENTIRE YEAR AND A HALF. what you see here is my guy SNAPPING. cas made an EFFORT in this scene. he asked who glenn close was. he's telling dean that he can't understand him. he is doing his level best to have a normal conversation with this guy he has a crush on and for the life of him he cannot do it (equal but opposite energy to cas blowing up the gas station and motel room in 4.01, tbh)

yes, cas can understand dean's tone. he can use context clues, and he usually gets the general idea. and when cas DOES understand dean's jokes, he laughs at them. the first time we ever see him smile is during their 4.07 heart-to-heart when dean says "it was a witch, not the tet offensive." since cas has knowledge of human history, he knows what the tet offensive is; he got the joke, and he laughed.

but as far as actual dialogue goes, he consistently struggles to keep up. even after metatron gives castiel the pop culture knowledge in season 9, cas struggles to put it to put it to proper use (dean: "you wanna just walk right into the death star?" cas: "what does a fictional battle station have to do with this?"). whenever he asks dean to clarify it's always when he’s most annoyed, like most of the time he knows it would be futile but he's too annoyed to care. (dean: "i don't know who's on first, what's on second!" cas: "what IS second???") i’m pretty sure he spends seasons 4-6 wanting to shake dean by the shoulders and ask him why he is LIKE THIS. 

it takes cas - who, again, is omnilingual - YEARS to begin to acclimate to dean’s speech and start speaking that language back to him. it's season 8 before we start really hearing him use slang, season 9 before he begins to understand wordplay, season 10 before he starts using pop culture references (to other angels, who immediately fail to understand him, which disappoints him immensely), and season 11 before he really gets into metaphors. i don't remember what season he started using "yeah" instead of "yes" but i do know it took a really damn long time. 

and honestly, i don't think cas truly got the hang of it until at least season 11-12. that's something like 7 or 8 YEARS. it’s more than half the time they’ve known each other at the point of the series finale. 

so what's true romance, fellas? it's falling completely and totally in love with the most inexplicable person you will ever meet in your whole 4.5 billion year life, even though you have yet to understand a single thing he's ever said to you. thank you for coming to my ted talk

[spn masterpost]

[wildelydawn]

Hello!!!

So I came across some of your posts on the kimchay tag and I just wanted to share some thoughts and ask for your opinion, if that’s okay!

I was rewatching the heartbreaking kimchay scene and I was hit with something… “why does Kim want to push Porchay away??” On one hand, we as a fandom have been saying that it’s because he doesn’t want Porchay to be hurt because of the mafia lifestyle and all that. But on the other…. Kim also knows that Porchay is living at their house. He so casually asks him how he’s doing there. Porchay is already in too deep. So why does Kim want to push him away still?? I think at this point (the “breakup” scene), Kim already knows that it was his father who covered up the car accident.

When they first showed Kim in this ep, he was looking at the board and he was wearing the full denim outfit… he was also wearing that outfit at the end of the episode, when the inspector told him about his father. Keeping this mind… I assumed that the “breakup” scene happened after, instead of in the middle like they played it out for us. So again I can’t help but wonder… what exactly does Kim get from pushing Porchay away like this… maybe he’s scared of his reaction when he finds out the truth about his parents’ death?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!!!

Much love ^^

Hello!!! Thank you for thinking of me when asking these questions!

I’m going to start with your first question, which is “Why does Kim want to push Porchay away??” I think what you said about the fandom’s theory is correct: Reason #1 is protection. In my opinion, “protection” as a reason can be broken down to two branches. So, Reason #1A: Protect Porchay from Kim. Here, I’m going to cite @luckydragon10 's brilliant post on Kim and Isolation, which you should read in its entirety, as it does a great job in breaking down how Kim functions/thinks. Here, Nemi writes, “To Kim, Isolation feels a lot safer than the vulnerability of giving a shit and loving someone” (@luckydragon10, 2022). Kim has used isolation to protect himself. It would make sense that he believes isolation should, theoretically, help Porchay in the long run. That being said, Kim himself is not a safe person. He’s a mafia kid, whether he likes it or not. Yes, the main house’s problem caused the kidnapping, but let’s be honest: Kim didn’t exactly shield Porchay from the mafia until things came to a climax. So, pushing Porchay away means that Kim can protect Porchay from Kim. We should also consider Porchay’s age. As much as I love Porchay, he’s, what, 18 in the series? He has an idealistic view of love; he thinks there can be a happy ending; it’s why he asks if Kim ever loved him, because he thinks there can be a chance. On the other hand, the Theerpanyakul family is cautious of love because rarely does it bring something beneficial to the table. Look at the destruction Tawan caused for years. If we combine Kim’s reliance on isolation, the family’s bad luck with love, and the mafia as a whole, Kim and Porchay being together has a snowball’s chance in hell. What does Kim get from Reason #1A? Assurance that he himself will not physically hurt or indirectly cause physical pain to Porchay. (Now, whether the physical outweighs the emotional is a whole other argument.)

This brings me to Reason #1B: Protect Porchay from the (Mafia) House. I’m gonna use exactly what you said: “Kim also knows that Porchay is living at their house.” I don’t know if anyone’s done a setting analysis of the physical house yet, but the Theerpanyakul house is not safe y’all. Tawan infiltrated it within a day. Vegas comes in and out, and he’s basically unwelcome half the time. Tankhun could murder someone with a sheet pan and nail file. Korn himself is not a safe or reliable person, as the audience is beginning to find out (and probably has had an inkling of since the earlier episodes.) In my opinion, and probably Kim’s too, this house is not safe for Porchay because he’s right under Korn’s thumb; so he asks how Porchay's doing there. In my opinion, Porchay’s  now situated to be a chess piece. What better way to control your future son-in-law by having his younger brother in this house, under the guise of safety? I’m not saying we should shit on Korn; but I am saying we should be wary, because Kim is wary. What does Kim get from Reason #1B and asking if Porchay is settled into the new home? Some sort of sign that Porchay is relatively safe from mafia affairs even though the house itself is unsafe. 

With this in mind, I personally believe Kim thrives in isolation. And that brings me to Reason #2: Complete the Mission(s). Kim started all of this with a core mission in mind: find the mole and protect his family. And I’ve talked about this prior: how when Kim is with Chay, he’s distracted from actually pinning down the mole/threat to his family (for example, telling Porchay to write a love song, fixating on Porchay in other ways.) And even though Ken’s beheaded, the mole is gone, the Main family is still in a vulnerable spot because of Vegas’ involvement and disappearance. There’s still a threat, and quite frankly, and keeping Nemi’s thoughts in mind, Kim is making more progress with Porchay at arm’s distance. Again, no offense to Porsche and Kinn, who should enjoy themselves, but right now, it is Kim moving the plot forward by interrogating the former police officer and finding out Korn is behind this. So, why does Kim push Porchay away? To make progress. Love is blinding, and Kim can’t afford to be blind right now, especially since Big’s dead, Vegas is loose in the wild, and Porchay is involved. He needs to find the truth, so he needs to isolate and focus. (And I get that. Whether it's academic, personal, or creative writing, I isolate myself for days, just to write. So if I was investigating someone or something, I’d push people away too.) 

Reason #3: Kim needs to protect himself. I want to jokingly cite BBC’s Sherlock (since we love calling Kim “Kimlock Holmes.”) Very famously, Sherlock says to John Watson, “Alone is what I have. Alone protects me.” When Sherlock says this, he’s implying that friends, family, strangers, can betray him at any turn. Kim is someone that was raised to be suspicious: hence, he suspects this ray of sunshine at the start of the series. Kim knows no one can betray him if he’s alone, which I think is different from isolation. Isolation, for Kim, is self imposed for many reasons (artistic, familial, social), but being alone is self-sacrifice for Kim. While he’s no longer suspicious of Porchay, Porchay is his weakness. Sure, my man can take two tasers, but he got involved with the mafia again because he wants to protect Porchay. He knows he can be a better chess piece/investigator if he’s alone. So he destroys his relationship with Porchay.

Reason #4: That young adult teenage bullshit of “If yOU LoVe THeM leT tHEm GoO.” That’s it. I firmly believe Kim can be cliche. I mean come on. "Who do you like and can you write them a love song??" That’s top tier cliche. Hell, I did that in my early twenties. I could definitely see Kim pulling the “If it’s meant to be, it will be” crap. (This is purely my speculation, and there’s really no evidence for it at all. What can I say? I’m  hopeless romantic.)

I’m going to very gently push back on your observation that the break up was after he found out about Korn’s involvement. At the start of the episode, Kim’s first outfit is dark wash denim with the sleeves rolled down, a black t-shirt, double chain necklace with a loop, and only one ear accessorized with earrings. 

The second denim outfit is similar, but has some key changes: dark wash denim that looks lighter because of the sunlight, with the sleeves rolled up, a black t-shirt, and a chain link necklace with charms, with both ears adorned with earrings. I have a crazy theory that necklaces mean something, but, as my best friend tells me, an accessory can make or break an outfit. I think the absence of earrings, changes in the necklaces, and stylization of the denim means two different outfits, which would mean that 1) Yes, Kim Theerpanyakul is AN OUTFIT REPEATER but 2) He’s technically wearing two different outfits because of those key differences. 

That aside, to talk more about these outfits, I’d like to cite @hael987's theory on Dark/Light Kimchay. Here, they suggest that Porchay exists in brighter lightening/warmer and brighter tones, while Kim exists in the opposite. I think some of that is applicable here to differentiate the outfits. When Kim is wearing the first denim outfit, he’s back in the dark, alone, cold. As @hael987 says, “Kim lives in a darker world…  living alone and away from his family” (2022). Now, when he interrogates the police officer at the temple, Kim is basked in a lighter setting, making his clothes appear a bit lighter. (EDIT: hael987 talks more about this here, which you may want to read as well!) While the lighter tones symbolize family for Porchay, it unfortunately and literally signals Porchay’s family as Kim finds out his family is involved with Chay’s parents’ deaths. Does that make sense? It might not. I’m sorry.

If Kim does end up feeling scared of Porchay’s reaction to whatever he finds out about his parents’ deaths, then that’s a good thing. That means Kim has learned to weigh other people’s emotions against consequences (which he may have not done/underestimated in ep 11.) It means he’s becoming empathetic and more understanding about what it means to love someone unconditionally. 

The overarching question of what Kim gets from all of this? Who knows. To me, he gets peace of mind. He gets assurance of Porchay’s safety. He gets more time and focus on solving the murders and protecting his family. I don’t know if those are good enough reasons to push Porchay away. What I can say is that, besides murder, I am guilty of pushing people away for those same reasons, and more, so I understand Kim’s actions. 

This is very long and I am so sorry.

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL

Dec 2021 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Bad Buddy (YouTube) Ep 7 - Secret boyfriends subverted the seme/uke dynamic using BL tropes (YES!), we had a possible GL really take off and general good times. I’m live blogging it here.

Paint with Love (Gaga) Ep 3 - I liked this better than the previous two, both characters seemed less abrasive plus I always appreciate a good makeover montage. Got tropes like baby is a floppy drunk and the dreaded sponge bath but executed in a very grown up way, (because this is a very grown up BL, and I’m still not sure how I feel about that). 

Loveless Society Ep 3 - hadn’t dropped by midday Friday so I’ll check tomorrow. I’m not fussed. 

Baker Boys (YouTube) Ep 5-6 (not a BL) - I’ve basically given up on this one. I’ll probably keep watching it but with no effort to stay current or report on it here. 

Love With Benefits Ep 5 fin - and that’s apparently the end. Okay? Anyway, got unexpectedly higher heat than I thought it would, which was nice, but I was still left with a terrible case of second lead syndrome (damn you, Best). This is why I loathe love triangles. 5/10 RECOMMENDED only if you have nothing better to do and don’t mind love triangles. 

Between Us (YouTube) special 5 - I can’t even with these two, they are actually trying to kill us with cute. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Type (Taiwan indie - hard to find) Ep 7 - lost my lead on this one so now I’m falling behind. 

Kieta Hatsukoi AKA My Love Mix Up (Japan - Viki/Netflix) Ep 9 - as was foretold the ep 9 that dropped and is floating around grey sites is a mix of recap + BTS footage. No one knows if there will be two more episodes or if this really was an actually ep 9, and the next ep will be billed and label as ep 10 and therefore our last one. But the latter seems more likely. There’s 2 more. 

Utsukushii Kare AKA My Beautiful Man (Japan - Gaga) Ep 4 - the college years begin. And how much do I love this profoundly warped little show? SO MUCH. Starting us off with just one of those dinner theater things where you accidentally introduce your new boyfriend to his semi-abusive ex who promptly tries to establish dominance and steal him back... in front of your brother. Good stuff. (Honestly, how many subby boys who don't like nice guys have I meet over the years? SO MANY.  Practically and archetype of the kink scene.) I don’t even have 2nd lead syndrome with this one, because we know Koyama doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell, because the boy likes hell far too much to even think about the snowball. You know what I like best about this show? No one but Japan could have made this. It’s just so... THEM. 

Mr Cinderella (Vietnam - YouTube maybe restricted) Ep 2 - it’s really very good, I love that the Khoa, the doctor character, is openly gay and I love the sulky tsundere with reason bad boy. The doctor flirting him into complete confusion is kinda adorable. Definitely the best BL out of Vietnam so far. ALSO cutest most poetic miss caption ever...

“This feeling sounds familiar.” - Mr Cinderella 

In Case You Missed It

Japanese BL Kieta Hatsukoi has rebooted its run on Viki (for most international audiences), so you can now watch it legally there as My Love Mix-Up! It’s fully eng subbed through Episode 8.

Thai BL Secret Crush on You (previously known as Stalker the series) Teaser trailer here. Starts Feb 11on Ch3Thailand and IDOLFACTORY’s YouTube channel international.

Another KBL announced: Love in Spring from WATCHA (Light On Me) a web drama that’s already started filming. Adaptation is based on the webtoon Spring of Crush by Noh Myung Hee. 

New KBL coming SOON; Behind Cut (Emotion Studio and ATA) starts Dec 28, 8 episode run. Stars Park Bum Jun (also a model and drummer in Kpop band 2Z, under stage name Bumjun), Eom Se Ung (formerly of Kpop group The Man BLK), and Choo Seok Young. Described as "a fashionable love story of Gi Jin, a stylist who chases his dreams, Lee Bin, a top model, and Young Woo, a man with no big dream.

Gossip

Vietnamese BL production house, AB Studios released its 2022 line up. Letters = melodramatic and dark (teaser), Melody In Me = classic uni-style BL from a country that’s never done it before, music and baking club, 2 soft boi pairing, (teaser - July 2022), Rin = unknown (Winter 2022).

New Chinese (supposedly) BL In Your Heart. Two boys kissing in the snow on the poster which means... THEY GONNA DIE! Eh, ya know how it goes. China does not allow out gays to end happily in a BL. Not anymore. Imma watch it, of course. But don’t you dare say you’ve not been warned. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Remember Not Me, Kieta Hatsukoi, and Mr. Cinderella all air on Sunday! It’s like global BL appreciation day. 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here. I keep a full record there of everything I announce.

This week’s best moments?

[ordinaryschmuck]

My Favorite Moments from It All Started with a Jacket (Chapters 1-10)

Now that I have written ten chapters of It All Started with a Jacket (how the hell are y’all still reading it), I thought I comemorate the occasion by sharing my favorite moments from each chapter. More specifically, every moment that was the most fun for me to write. This can range from moments that made me laugh at my own dumb jokes, or moments that I felt proud of for how well they turned out. Either way, this list is gonna be long. Like, rrrreeeaaallllllyyy lllooonnng. So you might want to strap in before clicking ‘Keep reading.’

Chapter 1

Amity and the car horn

"Oh no, you don't!" Luz sprinted over to Amity's car, to which her rival had already gotten in, and locked the doors. Just as Amity started the engine, Luz was already there, beating her hand against the window.

"If you think I'm too afraid to break a car window, you've got another thing--"

HOOONK!

"...You've got another--"

HOOOOOONK!

"You've got--"

Amity raised her hand above the car horn again with her eyebrow raised and her grin amused. She was essentially challenging Luz to finish that sentence.

"..."

"..."

"...You'vegotanotherthingcoming--"

HOOOOOOOOOONK!

"THAT TEARS IT!"

Amity sniffing Luz’s jacket (the main reason why I wrote this in the first place)

Amity set the hanger back where she found it and slowly lifted Luz's jacket up to her face. For a while, she did nothing, choosing instead to just stare at it. And then, she briefly took a small sniff.

'Well, that was a mistake,' was all she could think as intoxicating smells of pinecones and lemons started overtaking her senses. Almost immediately, Amity grabbed the jacket with both hands and shoved her face into it, inhaling more of the scent. After letting out a euphoric sigh, Amity looked at it again, shrugged, and put it back on.

Amity’s apology

"I said that I'm sorry." Amity continued, "Not just for the jacket, but for everything. The insults, the name-calling, and especially the fighting. I'm sorry for all of it."

"...Are you dying?"

"Wha--No!" now Amity turned to face Luz, "Why is that the first thing that came to your mind?"

"I don't know, man," Luz shrugged, "This just seems like some sort of final repentance type of shit. Like when Tom needed Jerry to sign him off to take the escalator to heaven."

"Who the hell is Tom and Jerry?"

"The greatest comic duo of all time, that's who!" Luz genuinely seemed insulted that Amity didn't know, to which she rolled her eyes in response.

Luz’s reaction

Luz opened the door and was about to leave. But then:

"I saw the bi flag."

After Amity spoke, Luz froze in her place. One foot was out the door, and her face was already turned away from Amity's, so she couldn't gauge an expression. So Amity took her chance to go on.

"It's hidden in a spot a person could barely notice, so there's no way that it came with the flag already sewn it," she explained, "Even if you bought the jacket from someone else, you could have easily torn it out. I've seen you done worse. But you kept it in, which makes me think that maybe...That maybe you're bisexual."

Luz didn't say anything.

She didn't do anything.

Instead, she stayed frozen in place, and Amity still couldn't tell what was going on in the human's mind at the moment. Not that she ever could. Eventually, Luz slowly and stiffly sat back in the passenger seat and slammed the car door shut. Her eyes were tight shut, and breathing was ragged, and Amity thought Luz was seething. But then Amity recognized what Luz was doing. She had done the same thing many times when forced to talk with her mother.

Luz was forcing herself not to cry.

Luz’s rant

"...Did you not tell anybody?" was all Amity could ask.

"...I told Willow," Luz confessed, "She has gay dads, so I thought: 'Hey, she gets it.' Other than that, nobody else knows. Except for you."

"Not even your mom?"

"Especially not her! She's super religious! If I came out to her, then I might as well pack a suitcase and get ready to live on the streets!"

"Why?"

"Because humans are not like witches," Luz looked back at Amity, clapping her hands for emphasis, "For humans, what matters in life is the color of your skin, the people you like, and the gender you're given at birth. Go against any of that, and you're screwed!"

"That's awful."

"That's life!" Luz stated, her eyes glistening, "And I had to put up with that bullshit for all of it! I had to deal with dumb gringas in the locker room who might think that I was a pervert just because I liked girls. I had to deal with pretending to be interested in one gender and hide a part of myself that people think I should be ashamed of! I had to deal with the fear that the one person I trust the most might throw me to the curb because of something that shouldn't even matter!"

Luz paused to wipe tears that had leaked out from her eyes.

"I had to deal with all of that," she went on, "Because that's just what humans are like. I wish we were like witches. I really do. But we're not, and the sad part is, we might never will."

Chapter 2

Luz is a prick

Luz kicked a discarded beer can down the sidewalk. Only to just as quickly picking it up and ditching it in a recycling bin that someone left out on the curb for trash day. Luz may be a rebel, but she isn't a lazy prick.

"And what the hell does me being bi have anything to do with it?"

"Bi what?"

Luz stopped both her walk and her ramblings after hearing that voice. Looking to her left, Luz saw a woman carrying her groceries to her house. That woman is Mrs. Kranstien, a white, middle-aged gossip who's part of Luz's mom's church group. Also known as the last person Luz wanted to find out that she's bisexual.

"Uh, bilingual," Luz brushed it off, seeming like she isn't panicking right now. Which she is. "Significa que hablo dos idiomas. What else could I mean?"

"Well, you don't have to be so rude about it," Mrs. Kranstien harrumphed, "It is not becoming of a young lady."

"Y no tienes que meter la nariz donde no pertenece," Luz shrugged, "Pero, ¿quién soy yo para juzgar?"

"...What does that mean?"

"It means you're absolutely right, and I am so sorry for being so rude," Luz turned on her heel and kept walking, "Adios, gringa!"

"Is 'gringa' a compliment!" Mrs. Kranstien called out as Luz walked away.

"Sure is! Make sure to say it to your friends when you have the chance!"

Ok, maybe she is a little bit of a prick.

Luz’s indecision

"Should I do this?"

Luz gently rubbed the blade of the knife.

"...Yeah. Yeah, I definitely should."

She lowered the blade over a thread sewn in but stopped a tenth of a millimeter away from it.

"But it's not even noticeable."

Luz raised the knife away.

"Although Blight did notice it."

And lowered it back down again.

"But that's because she was wearing it. It's not like mom could ever wear this."

"But what if it's laundry day and she takes the jacket without you knowing?"

"I mean, that could happen, but she would have to actively search for it."

"Is that really worth the risk, though?"

Luz started twirling the knife in her fingers at this point. The bi flag still remained intact, with not a single thread being taken out. Most days, Luz would barely notice it, and she's the one who always wears her jacket. Now, more than ever, the bright colors of the flag seemed incredibly noticeable.

"No," Luz shook her head, "It's not worth the risk."

She lowered the knife again and even got the blade under a thread. But before she could do anything remotely similar to removing the string, she hesitated. Again.

"...But it's also who I am," Luz sighed, pocketing her knife and putting the jacket back on.

"It's a part of me," Luz lightly beat the back of her head against the wall, "Taking it off isn't going to change anything, and it especially won't make me any less bi."

Chapter 3

Nerds being nerds

Amity nearly spat out her slushie.

"You read The Good Witch Azura?" Luz rolled her eyes at the question.

"Alright, listen," she started, "Before you make fun of me for it, you should know--"

"I love Azura."

"--It's not the cutesy kids' book that people think...it...is..." Luz looked shocked as she faced Amity's wide grin, "What did you just say?"

"It was my favorite book series growing up," Amity explained, "It still is, today."

"...No shit."

"Yeah! In fact, when I was nine, I wished I could have been just like Azura herself."

"Same!" Luz's smile became just as wide, "The grand adventures? The ability to just get along with everybody she meets? That was the shit for when I just a little tater tot."

"For me, it was how powerful her magic is," Amity confessed, "I could only dream of being as talented as she is."

Chapter 4

Snowball fight

And that's when something cold hit her in the back of the head.

Turning around to find the culprit, Amity saw none other than Luz hiding her laughter behind a hand.

"Did you just do what I think you did?!" Amity asked incredulously.

"Hey, we may be cool now...but I'm gonna take a shot when I see it. Alright?"

Amity glared at that, drawing a spell circle soon after. At the circle's completion, two dozen snowballs began to rise in the air around them, and Luz's face became pale to the sight.

"...On second thought," Luz nervously smiled as she raised her hands in surrender, "Parlay?"

"..."

Amity pointed her finger at Luz, and all of the snowballs immediately knocked the human onto her back.

"I don't think so," Amity quipped, walking over and offering a hand to her friend.

“Drug” deal

"Is that a bad thing?"

"...Eh, probably not," Luz shrugged, "I got the goods in my backpack, by the way. You want me to give it to you now, or wait until after school?"

"t sounds like you have drugs in your backpack with the way you said that."

"Who says that I don't?"

Amity let out a light laugh. Luz didn't even seem shocked anymore.

"I'll wait until after school," Amity said when they got to the double doors, "The last thing I need is the wrong person to find out that I like...you know what."

"Got it," Luz nodded only to then lean closer to whisper, "I'll see then for the transfer. And if you get caught, I was never there."

"Ok, now I got to ask: Are you actually planning to give me drugs after school."

"Of course not!"

Luz winked.

"Drugs are bad, especially for our age."

She winked again.

"I wouldn't ever dream of doing something so vile."

And again.

"...I hate you."

"What else is new?"

"Just give me the book after school, doofus!" Amity said between chuckles.

"Yes. Of course. 'The book.'"

Luz winked for the fourth time, and Amity just pulled the human's beanie over her face in response. The two then laughed as they went their separate ways.

Amity’s jealousy

"Hey, is it ok if I ask you a favor?"

"Depends," Luz blew into her hands for extra warmth, "What's the favor?"

"Well...Skara invited me to a party she's throwing next Friday. And I was wondering if you could come with me."

"Which one is Skara again," Luz asked, "I know she's one of Boscha's lackeys, but I can't remember. Is she the tall and skinny one, the small and cute one, or the hot yet nerdy looking one?"

If she wasn't wearing gloves right now, Amity would wager that her knuckles went white with how tightly her hands gripped the steering wheel.

"You think Cat is hot?"

"Eh. Objectively, yeah," Luz shrugged, "Also, I didn't know her name was Cat. Should probably make a note of that."

"She also has a boyfriend," Amity said a little too quick, "And she's straight as a board. So go ahead and...unnote that. Just take that note and...throw it in a river somewhere."

"...Ok? Weirdo."

"Anyways, Skara is the short and--" Amity steeled herself before saying, "Cute one."

Luz helping Skara

She eventually found herself in a hall that led to bedrooms, only to see Skara sprinting around and picking up discarded beer cans and red solo cups and tossing them into a trash bag. She then opened a random door, squeaked, and slammed it shut, leaning against it while pressing her palms into her eyes.

"Why do that in my parents' bedroom!?" she cried to no one in particular.

Usually, Luz wouldn't give a shit about any of Boscha's lackeys. And yet, something compelled her to walk over.

"Are they making out or doing something worse," she asked, which caused Skara to look up in surprise.

"...What...What are you doing here?"

"Don't question it," Luz nodded to the door, "In there. Are they just making out?"

"...Yes, but it's still--"

Luz pounded on the door, making Skara jump.

"Hey!" she shouted, "That's not your bed, assholes! If you want privacy, then go to the back of your car like decent human beings!"

"We're not humans!"

"Not the point!"

For a while, nothing happened. Then finally, two boys walked out of the room, hand in hand with their clothes ruffled, and started shuffling their way down the hall. Skara just stood where she was, not knowing what to say or do.

"Hey," Luz snapped her fingers to get Skara's attention, "If a person starts acting like a prick, be an even bigger prick. Someone's going to eventually back down, so don't let it be you. They'll get the point, then. Oh, and by the way..."

She pulled the photo out of her jacket's pocket and tossed it to Skara, who then fumbled with the thing before catching it.

"Someone tried to steal that," Luz told her, "I don't know where it belongs so, there you go."

Luz then began to head in the direction of the stairs.

"Thank you."

The broken tone of voice made Luz freeze for a second, turning over her shoulder to see Skara looking at the human, her eyes full of gratitude and amazement.

"...Don't mention it," was all Luz said before walking down the hall to find the stairs.

Literally, everything that Drunk Amity does. But here’s the top five:

#5-Snuggle time

"I hate my life," Luz muttered, shuffling over. She pulled the covers up and slowly got into the bed. But once she did, Amity didn't waste a second wrapping her entire body around Luz's. Like a koala bear, clinging to a tree.

"...Do you mind?" Luz's voice cracked.

"What? I'm sleeping on my side."

"Yeah, but I'd prefer it if you slept on a side that wouldn't result in me getting puked on."

"But how will we snuggle?"

"Oh my god," Luz sighed, "You're not gonna back down from this, are you?"

"Mm-mm."

"...tell you what. If you flip onto your other side, I'll--I can't believe I'm saying this--I'll...spoon...you."

Amity gasped, her eyes practically glittering with stars as she looked up at Luz.

"That's even better," she whispered, untangling herself from Luz's body so she can flip onto her other side, already getting into a position to receive comfort. Luz, slowly and reluctantly, turned over to wrap an arm around Amity, pressing their bodies together.

'This is probably punishment for...every shitty thing I've done in my life," she thought to herself.

#4-Drink it!

"Drink it!"

"No!"

"Drink it."

"No!"

"Drink it!"

"Noooo!" Amity flopped face down onto her pillow as if she was a five-year-old. The bunny-print pajamas that Luz changed her into didn't help, either (it was the minor victories). With one hand, Luz started messaging her temple out of annoyance, while the other hand gripped tight onto a glass of water.

"Amity, if you're gonna lay down like a baby, then lay on your side," she explained, "If you face down, or up, then you'll just drown in your own vomit. And is that how you wanna go out?"

Amity flipped onto her side with a harrumph.

"That's what I thought," Luz held the glass up to Amity again, "Now drink this water."

"I don't wanna," the witch wined, "It doesn't have flavor. It's boring. Give something less boring."

#3-Amity’s love for Emira

"Who are you talking to?"

"Your sister."

"Oh! Hey, Luz," Amity started tapping Luz on the shoulder, "Luz, Luz, Luz, Luz--"

"What?"

"Tell her--Listen--Tell...Emira that she is the worst...and that I don't like her. It's an--Look--It's an inside joke between us. She'll understand it when you tell her."

"...Will do."

"Oh! And Luz,"

"What?" This time, Luz was starting to get aggravated.

"Emira--Don't tell her this part--But Emira is, like, the most important person to me. And Ed too. Sometimes. Because they've both always been there for me when our parents are being bigger dicks than they are. I just don't--Hey--I don't tell them that because then they'll make fun of me for it. So don't-- Shh! Don't tell her."

"...You got all that, right?" Luz asked into the scroll.

"Sure did. What the hell did she drink?"

#2-Tossing cookies

Amity's face suddenly paled. Luz couldn't figure what was wrong at first, at least until she saw Amity lurch.

"Oh, shit," Luz then guided Amity over to the nearest potted plant, "Shit shit shit shit--"

Once at the plant, Amity bent over and...lost her lunch.

"...Are you o--"

And then her breakfast.

"...Are--"

And finally tossed one last cookie for good measure.

"...You good?"

"Yeah," Amity looked up at her victim, which was already starting to wilt, "...This my mom's favorite plant..."

She then slapped it.

"Fuck you, plant!"

And #1...

The good news is that Luz finally found her.

The bad news is that Amity was standing on top of a table as everyone stared at her.

"I am the lesbian queen of the universe!" she shouted, "Y'all can bow down and kiss my ass!"

"Get it, girl!"

"You bet I'll get it, whoever you are! Seriously, who said that?" she called back, turning in a circle to find the source of the voice. However, because of Amity's drunken state, she soon tripped on her own feet and fell off the table. Luckily, Luz was quick to realize that wearing heels and being drunk was a bad combination, so she had already run over to the table, ready to catch Amity.

The green-haired witch landed in Luz's arms, bridal princess style. Luz then set her down, but Amity still wrapped her arms around the human's neck.

"You're my hero," Amity said wistfully.

"Yeah, I'm a real knight in shining--" But Luz didn't get a chance to finish her snarky remark. Because Amity leaned in to plant a wet, sloppy kiss onto Luz's cheek. This caused the human to go still and red-faced, her brain ceasing to function as Amity pulled away with a Mwah!

And on the topic of kisses

Luz remained still for a minute or two, ultimately thinking 'screw it,' and kissed Amity's cheek. It was about a millisecond, maybe even half of that, but it did not stop Luz's face from heating up.

"There. Happy now?"

"Nope," Amity faced Luz with a drunken smile, "Because now it's my turn."

"Wait, no- Mmph!" But it was too late. Because the second after Amity spoke, she leaned in to kiss Luz's cheek, giving Luz no time to even turn her head. Which resulted in Amity giving Luz another wet and sloppy kiss, not on her cheek, but right on her lips.

And perhaps it was just as long as Luz's kiss. Probably even a second longer. But for her, it felt as though time had come to a standstill as Amity's lips were pressed against Luz's. But regardless, Luz didn't pull away. She didn't even shove Amity off, despite having every reason to. In fact, when Amity finally pulled away from the kiss, Luz had this strange desire buried deep within her brain, yet she was still aware of it.

Because despite how weird it would be and how Amity's breath will absolutely taste awful, Luz felt a strange desire to kiss her friend again.

Chapter 6

The morning after

Curious, Amity looked over her shoulder to see the culprit.

'Oh, it's just Luz," she thought, slowly turning back over.

...

Amity's eyes popped open.

She whipped her head back to look over her shoulder, which was a mistake because the sudden rush made her hangover say, 'screw you,' and leave Amity with a ton of pain. Once it slowly wore off (or, at least, became a bit more bearable), Amity got a good look at the person behind her. And what she saw both warmed her heart, as well as stopped it.

Luz. Sleeping in Amity's bed. Pressed up against the witch and peacefully smiling as she dreamed.

This left a myriad of thoughts in Amity's head.

'Luz is in my bed.'

'Luz is in my bed, and she's spooning me.'

'...I need to wake her.'

But just as she was about to wake her friend, Luz, in her sleep, then shuffled herself further against Amity. Her sleepy smile had grown wider.

'...And I am dead. I am dead, have ascended the stars, and this now my life for eternity.'

Huge misunderstanding

Luz remained still, glancing between Amity's eyes and her lips. Ultimately, she closed the distance between them and kissed her.

And kissed her again.

And again.

It felt so amazing, with each kiss sending a wave of euphoric energy through Luz's body. It was everything she didn't know she wanted.

"Luz?" Amity gasped.

"Hm?"

"Are you awake right now?"

"Mm-hm," Luz mumbled as she continued to kiss Amity's sweet, soft, hairy--

'Hairy?'

***

Luz peaked open her eyes, and instead of seeing Amity's face, all she saw was bright green. Remembering where she was, Luz's eyes became wide once she took in the fact of what she just did.

"mmBAAAAAAAH!" Luz shrieked, pushing herself to the other end of the bed. Unfortunately, she pushed a little too far and ended up falling off the bed entirely, face-planting onto the floor.

Luz’s hairball

It was Luz's turn to get up as she walked over to the pile of her clothes on the desk.

"Just let me change first and--" She coughed, "--And I--"

Suddenly Luz was coughing severely, her face going red from lack of air.

"Luz?"

"What's wrong?!"

While coughing, Luz pointed at her throat.

"She's choking!" Viney deduced, "Hang on, I got this!"

She ran over and went behind Luz. Placing the thumb side of her fist over the human's abdomen and placing a hand over said fist, Viney began performing the Heimlich maneuver. After a few thrusts, Luz finally coughed out what was obstructing her throat. Once she could breathe again, she got a look at what nearly killed her. Only to see a clump of wet, green hair on the floor.

"...Is that--"

"Anyways, I'm gonna go ahead and change!" Luz squeaked quickly, grabbing her clothes off the desk and dashing into the closet. Viney and Emira looked over at Amity, who, red as a tomato, pulled the covers over her head.

Amity explaining why she likes Luz...which goes on for a good chunk of the chapter and it would be ludicrous for me to paste it onto here. But trust me. It’s a great moment

Chapter 7

Pastor Benson’s sermon and Luz’s prayor

"I think I can speak for all of us when I say that the world is constantly changing," Pastor Benson began his sermon. "For every day, new lifestyles and ways of loving others are introduced and integrated into our society. Just the other day, I was given a chance to experience this first hand."

That caught Luz's interest for a moment.

"You see, my nephew gathered the whole family, everybody that he trusted, and did something none of us could have ever expected. He told us all that he was a homosexual."

Immediately everybody started murmuring with each other. And Luz had to admit, she was more than curious to see where Benson was going with this.

"I know, I know," he silenced the crowd, "I was surprised too. And as he continued, both he and his boyfriend, which was another shock to find out, started telling us all about what it means to be what they are. They explained what they considered the basics, answered questions, and soon enough, Micheal's parents stood up to give him a hug, and everyone else took turns letting him know that he is loved."

Now Luz was really interested.

"Later, I took Micheal aside so I can have a heart to heart with him," Pastor Benson pressed on, "I said to him that he is my nephew and that I will always love him. And no matter what, God will love him too, like all of his children."

For the first time in her life, Luz hung onto every word that a pastor said.

"But sin is still a sin, and I said that it's not too late to save his soul."

'There it is,' Luz thought, slumping into her seat and hoping that her mom didn't notice her reaction. Pastor Benson continued his sermon, but Luz mentally checked out, not caring about what he has to say next. It didn't matter if Benson told the secrets to the universe or the meaning of life. Because of what he said, Luz tuned him out for the next few minutes, stirring in a pissed-off mood she genuinely tried to keep out of church.

"--Now, I would ask you all to join me in prayer before we bring this congregation to a close," Luz heard Pastor Benson say fifteen minutes later. Everyone then simultaneously lowered their heads to pray, with Luz right along with them.

'Dear God,' she prayed, 'If you could be so kind, could you send down an angel or your son or something to tell all these homophobes that being gay isn't a sin. And the only reason why people think that's true is that some dickhead mistranslated a line somewhere. A translation, by the way, that was meant to tell people that pedophilia is awful. Something that some of your own pastors should learn from time to time.

'Because if you could send someone down to get the record straight, I, and many others, would really appreciate it...also sorry for swearing while during prayer. That wasn't cool of me. Bless my mom, and praise be to you.'

Camila and Claire

"If you ask me, that was crossing way over the line."

Camila looked over to her friend Claire, who stood with her as they waited in line at a makeshift buffet table to grab breakfast.

"Are you talking about Pastor Benson or his nephew?" Camila couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, absolutely, it's Benson," Claire whispered so as not to draw attention amongst the chatter, "I mean, here you have a kid who was in a safe space and just wanted to be accepted, only to have your uncle basically say you're going to hell. The man might as well have punched poor Micheal in the gut."

"Aye, I am so happy that you said that," Camila grabbed two plates for herself and Luz, who sat at a table for them. "I understand that he's a person of the lord, but that's taking belief a little too far. I believe in God, and I love him with my whole heart, but I would never say anything like that to Luz. If she was gay, that is."

"I'm right there with you," Claire nodded as she piled food onto her own two plates, "I have five kids. Two of them moved out with relationships of their own. But if my other three ever come to me and say that they're gay, then the last thing I'd do is make them feel ashamed of it."

"Right? I always make it clear to Luz that she can tell me anything. Especially if it's something like that."

Mrs. Kranstien calling Camila a gringa

"As I said, keep an eye on her. For both of your sakes," the gossiper said as she turned to walk in her own direction, "Adios, gringa."

Camila did a double-take.

'Did she just...No,' she shook her head, 'No. She couldn't have.'

Amity’s reaction

"...So we're just going to be spending some time waiting...alone...in a big house with nobody else around?"

"...Basically, yeah," Luz shrugged, "See you then. Oh! By the way, and I know it goes without saying, but try to do something that hides those ears. Because the last thing I need to do is explain why my new friend looks like an elf from  Lord of the Rings."

With that, Luz hung up, leaving Amity to sit still as a statue at her desk. Eventually, she slowly dragged her diary over, picked up a pencil, and began to calmly write.

So Luz, literally right now, just asked me to come over to hang out at her house, completely unsupervised, as we wait to have dinner with her mom. Current mood: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Chapter 8

Boscha’s rage

"You little jackass!"

Luz turned away from her locker to see Boscha stomping over. It was the end of the school day, and Luz was already beyond stressed about having Amity over to her house. The last thing that anyone needs, least of all her, is to deal with Boscha's bullshit.

"Little?" Luz said with an annoyed tilt to her head. "Bitch, I am absolutely taller than you!"

"Not the point!" Boscha yelled once she finally got up to Luz, "Because here's the thing: You draw on my face, I'll be annoyed. You rip my scroll in half, I'll be pissed off. But make people think I have a crush on FUCKING, Matt!? That is something I should kill you for!"

"...I didn't draw on your face."

"YOU--" But Boscha stopped herself to take a deep, calming breath before looking back at Luz with murder in her eyes, "That slimy, greasy, weasely little weasel has been hitting on me ALL DAY! And it's all because of you posting on social media that I like him. I mean, what the FUCK did I do to deserve that?!"

"...Do you really want me to answer that?"

Misunderstanding

"Hey."

Hesitantly, Amity glanced over at Luz again. Who had put her full attention into the girl in front of her.

"Do you wanna make out?"

"WHAT?!"

Luz jumped at Amity's screech.

"...I said, ‘do you want take out?’" she repeated, lifting up her phone, "My mom just said she's going to be a while and isn't in a cooking mood. So she wants to know if you're cool if she picks up some chimichurri sandwiches on the way home."

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, that's fine," Amity could feel her face grow hotter by the second.

"Ok?" Luz texted a reply to her mom, "...What did you think I said, anyway?"

"..."

"It must have been something bad to make you react as if I called you the c-word."

"...So this movie is interesting!" Suddenly, all Amity's attention went to the tee-vee, "My favorite character would have to be that, uh, that girl with the...dyed hair and...giant hammer--What did you say this movie is called again?"

Luz opened her mouth to say something, but a small ping! from her phone distracted her for a bit.

"My mom wants to know if you have any allergies," she said.

"I do not."

"Got it," Luz sent her reply, "Now, as for what you thought I said--"

"Table it for later."

'So I can have time to think of a proper excuse.'

"...Alright."

Luz went back to watching the movie for another minute, looked at her wrist for some reason, and then stared right back at Amity.

"It's now later."

"Luz--"

"Look, if it's something embarrassing, don't worry about it," Luz waved off her friend's concern, "Your brain just misinterpreted what I said. It's no big deal. I'm just wondering what you thought I asked that got you all hot and bothered."

'She called me hot--FOCUS!'

"You really won't judge?" Amity asked for clarification.

"Can't be any more embarrassing than what I did on Saturday."

'I guess that's true.'

"Well," Amity nervously fiddled with the hem of her dress, "I thought that...that you asked if...I wanted to...make...out..."

She glanced over, and, sure enough, a blush was beginning to form on Luz's cheeks.

"...Oh," the human said.

"But it's like you said!" Amity quickly exclaimed, "My brain just misinterpreted the words! It's not like you would ever ask me to do that, right?"

"...Of course not."

"...You hesitated?"

"Hm?"

"I said that you would never ask me to do that, and you hesitated when saying no. Why did you hesitate?"

"I didn't hesitate."

"Yes, you did."

"Pretty sure I didn't."

"Well, I'm definitely sure that you did."

"Well, if I did, then that's because, um..."

"...Because, um, what?"

"..."

"..."

"...So this movie, huh?" Luz looked back at the screen, "It's, uh, Scott Pilgrim, by the way. Just to answer your question...from earlier...about what movie this is..."

And thus came the thickest, most awkward silence between them. Understandably enough, Luz now had no problems with sitting as far away from Amity as possible.

"...How long until your mom gets home, again?"

"Should be another two hours."

"Damn it."

"Yeah."

Baby pictures

"Actually, I do have a photo of that day in an album somewhere," Camila added, "I could go find it and prove to you how innocent Luz was."

Now Luz's face went pale as Amity's brightened with glee.

"No, she doesn't!"

"Yes, I do!"

The poor human glared at the rich girl.

"No. You don't."

"Yes. I do."

"Right then," Camila finished her sandwich and got out of her seat, "You two sit tight. I'm going to go find that album."

Once her mother was out of the room, Luz scooched over to Amity with murder in her eyes.

"I would like to point out that you still owe me, like, five more favors from what happened last Friday," she whispered-growled, "So I would like to cash in one of them for you to not look at my baby pictures."

"And I would like to point out that you saw me at my lowest last Friday," Amity said with a smarmy smile, "Which means I'm at least owed some middle ground."

"...I hate you."

"Sure you do."

Gravity Falls reference

'There's that weird feeling again,' she thought as a tingling sensation formed throughout her gut. It wasn't the first time that day when Luz felt this.

She felt it when seeing Amity's human ears, when Amity admitted that she always wanted to be friendly, and especially when Amity thought Luz wanted to make out.

'...Wait...do I--'

Luz shook her head.

"No, no, no no no," she said to herself, "There's no way. There's just no way! I'm sure this is just some...indirect way of Boscha's words getting to your brain."

Luz turned around to go back inside.

"By tomorrow, you'll laugh about how ridiculous a thought like that is."

At Midnight.

Ever since turning in at nine, Luz could not for the life of her go to sleep.

Why?

Because her head was filled with nothing but thoughts of golden eyes, wild green hair, and a smirk that became all the more attractive, the more she thought about it.

"...Goddammit."

Chapter 9

Skara’s advice

"In that case, as her best friend, I have to tell that she will destroy you."

"Whatever."

"And as her best friend, I probably shouldn't tell you to go for any of her weak spots."

"..." Luz shared a curious look with Gus and Willow, who shrugged. "What weak spots?"

"Well, as her best friend, I shouldn't tell you that Boscha suffered a lot of injuries from playing grudgby," Skara explained, "Like the fact that her right arm hasn't healed right and she prefers punching with her left. Or the fact that she's still recovering from breaking her left leg and that if you kick the back of it hard enough, she'll crumble."

"...It's too bad that you didn't say any of that," Luz played along, "Because that would all be incredibly useful. And I would have to ask why you would tell me that in the first place."

"Hypothetically speaking, if I did tell you all of that--which I didn't--it would probably be because I'm still a little mad that she destroyed my house for the sake of getting Amity back. And that I'm just as sick as you are that Boscha wastes so much time trying to win back a girl that is clearly not interested."

"In that case, I really hate that you didn't tell me any of that stuff. Because then I would have thanked you for the advice."

"And I would have said, 'You're welcome,'" Skara looked left, right, and hugged Luz for a fraction of a second to then scamper off to who knows where.

The first hit

"Uh-huh...I don't know what that means, so here's a question: What happens when I break that oath?"

"Oh, trust me, you won't break it. Now, are you ready to eat dirt, human?"

"Born ready," Luz said, regaining her confidence, "In fact, you can have the first punch."

Boscha raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You sure you want that?"

"Of course. That is unless you're too scared of breaking a nail--"

SMACK!

The entire stadium went 'Ooooh,' due to Boscha sucker-punching Luz so hard that the human immediately went down and into the dirt. Needless to say, Luz was very much awake now.

"JESUS CHRIST!" She shouted as she slowly stood up, nursing the now bruising cheek that Boscha hit. "What the shit do they feed you rich girls?! Also, what happened to no hitting the face?! That was my face! You said no hitting the face!"

"Oh, no, I meant my face," Boscha reiterated, "My face is off-limits. Yours is free real estate."

Adrenaline rush

While Boscha was distracted by that, Luz looked over at her own friends.

Willow scowled with her fists clenched, looking like she was about ready to jump in to kick Boscha's ass for Luz.

Gus was cheering for Luz to get up. At least, she thinks that's what he was doing. A sudden ringing in Luz's ear currently made it hard to decipher what anybody was saying if they weren't close enough.

And then there was Amity, who held Luz's jacket tight to her heart, eyes wide and complexion pale.

That's when it hit Luz: If she loses, she'll be forced by some magic bullshit to never see Amity again. All these weeks of getting close and building...whatever the hell their relationship is building towards would have been for nothing. Worse yet, Amity will be left with Boscha, who would treat the green-haired witch with as much dignity and respect as Boscha treats her friends.

It was the mix of fear and anger from that thought that gave Luz just enough adrenaline she needed to turn towards Boscha and kicked her hard in the left leg.

Goodnight

"Cool. Hey, mom?"

"Yes, mija?"

"If a person asks you to have lunch with them, just the two of you, what would you think that means?"

"I assume that means a person wants to date you."

"Cool. Anyways, I'm gonna go to bed now. Goodnight."

"You’re what?"

THWUMP!

Startled by the noise, Camila turned around to see that Luz had fallen face-first onto the living room floor.

"...Luz?"

"Hm?" Luz mumbled.

"Are you ok?"

"Mm-hm."

Chapter 10

Earmuffs

"Hi, Luz! Question: Me being a male cheerleader. Yay or nay?"

"I think it's absolutely a 'yay,' but we can talk about that later," Luz said as she sat down, "For right now: Earmuffs."

"Aw, what?" Gus whined, "C'mon!"

"No complaining. Earmuffs."

"But I'm younger than you two by two years. I can totally handle grown-up talk."

"Earmuffs!"

Gus groaned, reluctantly covering his ears, closing his eyes, and humming to himself to further block out any noise.

Assumptions

"I don't give a shit that you're dating her." Willow said plainly.

"You see--Wha-wha-wha-wha-What? What? I'm sorry, what? Just...Fucking what?!" Luz exclaimed, completely caught off guard.

"Hey, don't get me wrong," Willow continued, "I would much rather see you date almost anybody else in this school. But if--for whatever reason--Amity is the person you really want to be with, I won't say anything about it. The heart wants what the heart wants. Who am I to judge?"

"...We're not dating."

Willow blinked.

"You're not?"

"No."

"...You're not?!"

Spray Bottle

Then suddenly, bits of water started spritzing onto her face. Looking over, Amity saw that it was because Viney was using a spray bottle on her.

"Bad," she said between spritzes, "Bad Blight."

"What the hell?!" Amity hissed, "Why do you even have that?!"

"I take Beast Keeping," Viney explained as she pocketed her spray bottle, "It comes in handy, so I just keep it on me at all times. Now, back to your dumbassery..."

"Hey, try to look at this from my point of view, alright?" the younger witch growled, "You never had to deal with Luz and her dumb smirk or her...cute round ears and those...those gorgeous brown eyes that are so warm and soft and make you feel all ooey-gooey like a warm chocolate cookie and--"

Viney started spritzing Amity again.

"GAH! Sorry," Amity said, snapping out of it.

And that’s about it. Thank you all so much for reading this story for this long, and a very special thank you to @drabbles-of-writing for letting me write this story in the first place. Now if you don’t excuse me, I’ve got school shit to work on.

[lollybliz]

bout to make a Monster of a fic rec post here we go

heyo @jinx108! We’ll start with the complete ones because sometimes you’re just not in the mood to wait for the last chapter, you know? I don't remember details of all of these so i’m just going to copy the author’s summary rather than write my own. I am literally just going through my bookmarks, I got 400 of these to sort through. if ive talked to or am familiar with the author im gonna mention them, but if I mention you and you don't want me to have Please tell me and i’ll remove it.

If you’re not into spoilers Please Tread Carefully, I don't watch out for that stuff so I wont know to label it

1>Crushing Truth by Bunzuku: Tododeku. “Romance is hard enough for a teenager to understand when they have a good relationship role model. For Shoto, it takes two excited meddlers for him to even realize what his feelings really are.“

2>Disowned by b00mgh: tododeku + others. Unrated, some traumatic elements. “Shouto freaks out under a bridge and I use the word "grass" a lot more than I really should. Izuku does his stupid martyr thing and everyone makes continuous references to his propensity to break his bones. Aizawa goes "oh FUCK my kids are dying again" and his students use him as emotional (and physical) support. A friend requests angst, I say what kind, she say idk make someone get disowned and i say oh this I can absolutely provide my good buddy.”

3>cotton candy hands by @chonideno: Kiribaku. I will take Any excuse to rec this fic, its the most fluffy pile of feels Good Lord. also the first fic I ever bound into a physical book. “Studying to become a hero requires knowing how to take care of yourself. Sometimes you might need help on the way so if your crush offers to do your hair for you or to give you a well-deserved back rub, it'd be stupid to say no. A series of soft vignettes in which a love-struck Kirishima and a touch-starved Bakugou care for each other and it's definitely not making their hearts jump through hoops, they’re never this close to kissing, no, they're totally best friends bro“

4>Catching Sight of the Storm by neo7v: Kiribaku, tododeku. A considerable amount of Whump and related angst, and kinda sad tbh. “Blind. Quirkless. Useless.The first two things were stated clearly by the doctor that sat about five feet in front of Izuku. The third was a word that Kacchan called him everytime he failed to make the jump on whatever forest excursion they were on or when he ran into a tree because he hadn’t seen it. “I’m so, so sorry, Izuku.” Was his mom giving up on him already? But he could still be a hero if he tried hard enough, right? Quirkless or not. Blind or not. Just because Izuku was useless now didn’t mean he would stay that way forever, right? *** A Blind!Izuku AU”

5>Yell Heah by fakecharliebrown: Chatfic. M a n y pairings. technically complete, but part of an ongoing series. “Iida creates a group-chat for Class 1-A. It doesn't go as planned.“

6>Sunshine by Rosey_Note: BIG SAD. tw- failed suicide attempt. KiriKamiBaku. “They didn't deserve to put up with his crappy mood. Because Denki Kaminari did not feel like Sunshine right now. And they deserved sunshine. In fact, Denki didn't feel much of anything right now.“

7>Electric Connection by  Onlymostydead: ShinKami. “Kaminari's quirk has always had... Weird side affects. Like his ADHD. And his constant energy. And his insomnia, which wouldn't leave him be right now, when he really needed to just get some sleep. But, thankfully, he has good friends.“

8>The Best (The Worst) by Onlymostydead: no romantic pairing. tw- rampant transphobia, both outside and internalized. “Bakugou Katsuki has known who he was since he was four years old. He was a boy, it was as simple as that. Around his friends, at school... But things couldn't just be that simple, could they?“

9>Lichtenberg Figures by Q_loves_you: no definite romantic pairing. “Kaminari Denki has a very powerful force of nature running through his body. Kaminari Denki doesn't want to hurt anybody. He doesn't always get what he wants, and "anybody" does generally include himself.“

10>Eventuality by KikaTouka: ill be honest I don't remember this one at all, I maaaay not have read it yet :/. anyway. ShinKami. “Shinsou learns more than just hero lessons after being transferred to 1-A.“

11>Pickup Lines for the Soul by MustardSoup: ShinKami. “Denki is twelve when he is flicking through the TV channels and lands on an old RomCom movie about soulmate marks – specifically the same type that he has. “I can’t believe I’ve had to walk around with a cheap pickup line written on my ankle my entire life because of you!” The leading lady yells at the leading man as he stares at her in awe. Denki laughs. “Oh no.” His mother says, watching him. “Oh no, indeed.” His sister repeats quietly.“

12>caught in my own web by @anxioussailorsoldier: ShinKami. “Shinsou needs some help after getting caught up in his capture weapon. Kaminari enters from stage left.“

13>not so summer love by nataliya: ShinKami. “Class 2-B’s common room, although typically quiet, was currently filled with five students—three slowly giving up on homework, one bitching about noise and another that rushes through the front door. “We’ve been waiting for you—” Mina starts, but Kaminari’s vaulting over the back of the couch, eyes wide as he practically buzzes out of his skin, emitting light like crazy as currents dazzle across strands of hair. “I have a big ugly crush,” He steps off the couch and onto the coffee table, much to Bakugou’s chagrin, “On big ugly Shinsou.””

14>Blamed by coldandhotsoba: ShinKami. Tw- they fuckin kill a guy and its a lil nasty. “This was not how the day was supposed to end. They were supposed to end the day like they do most nights.  Kaminari clutching onto him like a koala as he slept, wrapped in the millions of tacky blankets Kaminari had bought. Warm and safe in their bed. It was not supposed to end with both of them tied up in some cold metal room.“

15>Lightning Scars by Present-Mics-Scream (write_your_way_out): Shinkami. “It's hard to be confident in your abilities when you're surrounded by people with incredible quirks. Shinsou Hitoshi would know better than anyone. Sure, he was admitted to the hero course in his second year, but being admitted to the hero course, and keeping up with the rest of the class are two different things. Lucky for him, Kaminari is there to prove that the flashiest quirks come with the largest drawbacks.“

16>See No Evil, Hear No Evil by randomfan188: no romantic pairing. “Kaminari Denki is legally blind. When he forgets to wear his contacts and breaks down during math class, comfort appears in the strangest of ways.“

17>how not to enjoy the weather, an article by kaminari denki by dreamtowns: no defined romantic pairing. “If there was one thing Kaminari hated the most in a world wth villains, it would have to be thunderstorms.“

18>”Studying” by emmyrox22: ShinKami, EraserMic. “Shinsou and Kaminari have been “studying” together for a while (but not for school). Shinsou gets stopped by his dads on the way to another “study” session and mistakes are made“

19>Weaknesses by sunflowerstorm: ShinKami. “Kaminari's quirk and storms compliment each other in the worst way, but he's convinced he can deal with it on his own... until he really can't any longer. When Shinsou accidentally overhears Aizawa confronting Kaminari about recent changes in behaviour and hears about the hell his quirks been putting him through, he can't just pretend he never heard. He wants to help.“

20>it’s hurt denki hours by memeingfultrash: ShinKami + others. ““Certain members of our class are...under the impression that...you’re the traitor.” Denki’s body went cold and felt like he was going to short circuit. ~some of class 1a believes that denki is the traitor and avoid him”

21>Petition to replace Mineta with Shinsou- (signed by Kaminari Denki) by CharaTheQuartz: ShinKami + others. This is one of my favorites, I go back to reread it from time to time. It SAYS 41/42, but that's just a glitch cus chapter 36 doesn't exist for some reason, I talked to the author about it and its fine. “Mineta brings shame to the color purple. You know who does not bring shame to the rich color, but pride and sexual tension to one infatuated Kaminari Denki instead? Shinsou Hitoshi, aka sexy zombie man, aka the most perfect hunk of a man to walk planet earth, aka future husband. Shinsou has finally gotten his chance to prove himself to the hero course, and he did more than prove himself. The only question left unanswered is whether he will start in A or B, and how Kaminari can manipulate the end result.“

22>How to Get a Boyfriend (in Four Easy Steps!) by e1ana: ShinKami, EraserMic, + others. “Step 1: Get kicked out of the house by your homophobic parents. Step 2: Run headfirst into your brooding, mysterious crush. Step 3: Sleep in his dad’s (see: your homeroom teacher) house Step 4: Watch everything you thought you knew go to shit. This isn’t exactly the sweet, romantic plan that Kaminari Denki longed for. Will everything be ok, or will step 5 be to crash and burn?“

23>Bakugou and Todoroki’s Foolproof 5-Step Plan to Fuck with Mineta Minoru by Anubis_2701: Kiribaku, TodoDeku, + others. This is another one of my favorites, and the one I am currently folding and sewing into a physical book. you learn how to do funny things when bored and quarantined ig. “It was a simple enough idea; screw around with the resident bastard of Class 1-A to let him know that his medieval ways and perverted behaviour weren't going to be tolerated by even the most career-focused of UA's students. To say that things had snowballed was an understatement. Todoroki had no idea how he had ended up sitting on Bakugou's floor at 1 am, holding a dossier of incriminating material that would make the FBI slobber, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know. The long and short of it was, fuck Mineta.”

24>Colour Theory by chancellorxofxtrash: TodoBakuDeku. this one’s a series. “Midoriya/Bakugo/Todoroki slow burn soulmate AU. All three of them are nerds with their own emotional issues, trying to navigate their way through becoming heroes, and their own relationship with each other.“

25>Summer Sunshine by Mara97: TodoDeku. Ever want a Barbie in a mermaid tale/Bnha crossover? No? well here you go anyway! “Instead of worrying about college, Izuku spends his summer vacation finding out his father is, supposedly, a dead merman king and going on a quest to dethrone the current king, Endeavor. Along the way, Izuku becomes close to the three journeying with him, makes friends with strangers, starts crushing on an unattainable prince, and, in the end, learns to love himself. Oh, and he saves a kingdom, too.“

26>The snowflakes on our skin and the flames in our soul are one (and the same), my love by missunderstuffyou: TodoDeku, Kiribaku. this is one of the ones I keep a running reread comment going on. its at,,, 6, atm.  “Before your quirk begins to present itself, the soulmate link comes through, and suddenly whatever you write upon your own skin appears on the body of your soulmate. As your soulmate writes to you, the emotions they feel follow through the ink.Izuku Midoriya is four years and a few months old when he first feels the slight ebbing in his arms. It doesn’t hurt… he can just feel something, and it’s enough to make him sprint into his mother’s arms screaming that his quirk is coming. She had been washing in the kitchen, and the sudden screech as her son rockets into her side is enough to make her jump with panic, immediately grabbing at him and looking for cuts and bumps before she understands his words and the stupidly bright, alight smile on his face with large, watery, hopeful eyes. Shoto Todoroki doesn’t feel his soulmate connection open up. It is drowned in the aches of a small body worked far too hard.“

27>It was dark inside the closet by Chad_Champion69420: Pre-ShinDeku? maybe? its tagged shindeku but like. it’ll make sense if you read it. “Midoriya is invited to a party. He and Shinsou decide to play a little trick on the rest of the party during Seven Minutes in Heaven.”

28>how to woo your local trash gremlin: a comprehensive guide by Todoroki shouto by wonhaebunny: TodoBaku. this is the fic that dragged me into todobaku, fun fact. “five times shouto tries to confess to bakugou, and one time he doesn't bother tryingaka: wikihow is a scam and bakugou is a terrible, terrible boy“

29>top ten photos taken right before disaster by Shookspeare: ShinDeku. “Izuku participates in a harmless prank, only to end up ruining it and running for dear life.“

30>Secrets to Share by pechebaie: no definite romantic pairing. “Kirishima comes out first, and nothing changes. Kirishima and Kaminari still hang out to complain about class and talk about boys - and sometimes girls, too, in Kaminari’s case; he still plans stupid pranks with Sero that get them sent to the principal’s or nurse’s office every time; Ashido still kicks his ass at Mario Kart without hesitation; and Bakugou doesn’t get angry at him any more than he usually does.“

31>What One Hides by Pinalinet: TodoDeku. “All Might gives class 1-A an unusual assignment that results in Midoriya Izuku and Todoroki Shouto attending a weekly acting class. But with a mysterious villain targeting individuals without Quirks, and a developing issue of Todoroki's own, an after-school assignment is the least of their worries.“

32>whether or not we’re fated, we’re meant to be by juurensha: KINDA SPOILERY. TodoDeku + others. “Todoroki didn’t have a soulmark for most of his life.His siblings all did, but up until the day of the U.A. entrance exam, he had shoved the idea aside. It’s not like they could help him anyway. And then a 9 appears on his chest, and a green-haired boy barrels into his life with a fire and ice soulmark on his arms, and suddenly Todoroki cares very much about all this could mean.”

33>The Midnight Shift by meiishu @meiishu @totallytodoroki (idk which you’d rather I attach so I went with both): ShinKami. ““Hey Toshi,” Denki says, and he laughs, clearly embarrassed. He’s got on a jean jacket that did him absolutely no help and a white tee shirt that is currently stuck to his torso. It’s got a pikachu design in the center. “By any chance, do you sell umbrellas?” “You really went out in this weather.” Hitoshi deadpans, instead of dignifying that with an answer. or hitoshi works the midnight shift at the gas station, which also doubles as a pokestop for pokemon go. of course, denki is a regular.”

34>Rock the House by AkabaneKayo: ShinKami. “It wasn’t just his bed. It was his entire fucking room shaking. Only one thought crossed his mind at that moment: “Holy shit. My room is haunted.”“

35>Technically, they’re morning kisses by CharaTheQuartz: ShinKami. “Most nights, Shinsou cannot fall sleep. Neither can Kaminari. It seems counterproductive to have a sleepover then, but they try to make it work. And they fail, but that is okay.“

36>someone to call mine by nearly_theyre: ShinKami, EraserMic “From: Me wish you were here, denks From: kitten 💛💘💛 what if i was tho? OR Four times Denki snuck into Hitoshi's room and one time he walked through the front door.“

37>Pretty by Onlymostydead (noticing some repeat authors? me too): no definite romantic pairing. “(Or, Kaminari still can't figure out bra clasps.) Kaminari has never really felt good about himself. Herself? Whichever way, not knowing doesn't make anything easier. Especially when he (she?) and Mina have their bodies swapped during training, and everything seems too right.“

38>If I offer you my hand, will you take it? by bleukitsune: Kiribaku. SPOILERY. ““Why?” Kirishima leaned back on his hands, trying to create some space between them. Too close. The ash-blond looked really nervous, his usually arrogant and cunning demeanor gone. “What do you see when you look at me? Kirishima is worried. Bakugou is hurting. After his confrontation with Midoriya, he finally reaches out to him. “

Theres way more but I haven't tagged them properly yet so that m a y come later if I can ever finish going through and adding my sorting tags.

and then a last few that Are Not Complete but im really very fond of them. not as many as id like to add, but my hands are getting tired tbh.

39>State of Mind by GuardianOfTheLoaf: no relationship YET but its looking like it’ll be either tododeku or shindeku, probably the former. EraserMic. tw- childhood neglect and severe depression. Izuku’s not a happy kid. “Izuku was a late bloomer, his quirk lying dormant until his tenth birthday when in a fit of emotion he grabs his mother and she disappears. With All Might slowly restoring his confidence Izuku begins the difficult journey into becoming a hero.“ 18/? chapters.

40>Izuku Eats His Problems by CosmicAce: ShinDeku. Izuku’s a flerkin, what more could you want? “His whole life, Izuku Midoriya was taught to keep his powers, his Quirk, hidden from the world. His kind were feared, hunted to near extinction because of it. He just wants to show people he’s different. That he can be a HERO. And nothing is going to stop him. Even if his Quirk IS like an eldritch abomination.“ 43/? chapters

and then probably my current favorite bnha fic- although it fights with Apertum Mortem for that spot but that ones d a r k and not here-

41>family of the year by periiwren: EraserMic. “Hitoshi is done. Done with moving around every few months to a couple that will scrutinize him and eventually dump him right back where he started. Good thing he’s well past his strike limit now- at least he can stay in one place, be content to age out of the system and finish out his training with Aizawa. Maybe transfer into the hero course, maybe be a hero- but none of that was guaranteed. The only thing for sure was that he was going to stay in that center for the rest of his childhood. Or so he thought- because Aizawa Shouta and Yamada Hizashi have other plans.“ 24/? chapters. we’ve been informed that this one’s gonne be l o n g and im Very Grateful.

42>Here There Be Dragons by here_and_there: pre-ShinDeku. “Izuku looked at the small circle Aizawa had motioned to in front of them. "I won't fit," he whispered, thinking. He raised his hand, tentatively. Sighing, Aizawa grumbled, "What?" "I-I have a question. Actually, two." His teacher just stared at him, unimpressed. Izuku continued. "Can we activate our quirks before we step into the ring?" Aizawa looked up into the sky, muttering something Izuku didn't hear. "If you must." "O-Okay. Uh, second question. You said we have to stay inside the circle, right?" "Yes." The man looked disappointed, not only in Izuku but in himself for letting the kid speak. "Great. Uh... does that include tails?"“ 6/? chapters.

43>Another Option by sandersonsister: TodoBakuDeku, Touya/Hawks, Dabi/Hawks. Potentially Spoilery, depends on whether horikoshi has the guts to confirm Touya. this one is waiting around the corner with a baseball bat, its really cute, and then r e a l l y painful. it might be getting better though. maybe. it might be getting worse. “When Touya stops his mother from hurting Shouto, he decides enough is enough. He needs to get out of this house and he's taking his baby brother with him.“ 33/? chapters.

That's it i’m done for now, oof. maybe ill edit more onto this post later, maybe i’ll just make another one. hope some of these work!

[ateezmakemeweep]

Well then may I please request a reaction to their s/o enjoying harsh weather? Like walking through thunderstorms, watching the lightning and listening to the rain, or playing in snow and the like. Thank you! Storms don't get enough love on this site 💜

❥ kim hongjoong

hongjoong had always been indifferent to the rain. he saw the appeal of it, the peaceful patter against the window being able to lull him to sleep on a stormy night; but he also found it somewhat inconvenient, being forced to carry an umbrella around all day and coming home with wet, squeaky shoes. 

but once he met you, that all changed. he’d rush home and run through puddles unbothered because he knew he’d be met with a sight he never got tired of. your body curled up in a blanket and looking out the window in the living room, watching the rain as you lean your head against the wall. a cup of hot chocolate was almost always behind you and warm fuzzy socks covered your feet.

it’s a weird habit you’d had since you were a child, any time it rains taking a few moments to just watch. it calmed you if you were in the midst of doing an essay or preparing a presentation for work, hongjoong kissing the top of your hair making you feel even more at ease.

“i thought you’d be here.”

❥ park seonghwa

the first time there was a storm, seonghwa had expected for you to be scared. or maybe he just wanted you to be scared, getting a chance to have you under his arm and protect you from the storm outside. 

but instead you let out an small, excited gasp, running over to the window of his bedroom and looking out. “let’s go outside!” you squealed to him, his eyebrow raising because why on earth would you guys do that? your lips pursed when you saw his face, shrugging your shoulders and mumbling that you’ll go by yourself. 

but that certainly wouldn’t do either, seonghwa sighing quietly before following behind you and slipping on his coat and shoes. you gave him a knowing smile and he only pushed into you gently, zipping up your coat as if you were child. 

but you let him do it because he held up the umbrella for you as you walked, every time a crack of thunder rumbled through the sky causing you to look up and smile at him. he didn’t exactly understand why you liked it so much or why you felt the need to be outside and so close to it.

every night of a thunder storm, though, you both could be seen holding hands, walking around your block as he held up an umbrella and smiled watching you look up at the dark, rainy sky. 

❥ jeong yunho

some people liked watching horror movies or romance series but you liked watched lightning. 

yunho hadn’t known what you meant when you told him that, his face pulled into a cute expression as he cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy. you only smiled at him and told him to wait for a stormy night, finally almost a month after that conversation the two of you huddled in front of the window.

a bolt cracks through the sky and yunho watches you stare out in fascination. he thinks it’s cute, how your eyes light up and you gasp dramatically like it’s some sort of action movie. 

“isn’t it nice!” you say when you turn to look at him with a smile. 

but you see his eyes are on you and you narrow yours at him, bumping into playfully as you ask if he’s only been watching you. he shrugs innocently, bringing his attention back to the window and admitting that while the lightning is nice, he likes watching your reactions more. 

❥ kang yeosang

even the smallest of storms woke yeosang, ever since he was little and would wake up crying into his pillow at a crack of thunder or lightning. 

but now when he wakes up, he almost always finds you sitting at the window. you pull up the chair from the desk in the corner and curl yourself up, legs tucked under you as you watch the rain roll down the glass. 

it reminds him of when he was a child and would watch the drips as if it were some kind of race, tracing his finger down the car window and letting out a quiet “yay,” when his rain drop won. 

“who’s winning tonight?” you hear yeosang mumble from the bed, turning around to see him perched up on his pillow. you pout at him and reach your arm out, smiling contently when he makes his way over and wraps his arms around your shoulders. 

his hand comes out to find a drop and you both trace the window, a quiet giggle leaving your mouth when he lets out a disappointed sigh after ‘losing.’

❥ choi san

“wake up, baby,” you hear, letting out a tiny groan as you bury your face further into your pillow. 

you usually love waking up to the sound of him but you still feel the exhaustion in your body. limbs limp and mind fuzzy with the need to fall back asleep and-

“it snowed, my love.”

those words make your eyes pop open, a gasp leaving your mouth that makes san’s chuckle ring through the room. he watches as you jump up and rush toward the window, the yard a blanket full of snow that immediately has you reaching up to kiss him on the cheek and rushing around the room to get dressed. 

your boyfriend knew how much you loved the snow, your favorite seasonal activites consisting of making snowman and having snowball fights and going sledding just so you could go back in and make hot chocolate. 

you take his glove covered hand in yours ten minutes later, rushing out with him and he can’t even find it in himself to get angry when a cold snowball pelts him in the face. because your giggle and smile are so happy and cute and he can only laugh, both hands picking up the cold snow before he launches it in your direction.

❥ song mingi

you were coming home from your weekly date night when the rain started, the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance bringing a smile to your face. 

mingi looked over and let out a sigh, knowing all too well your affinity for the weather he’s detested since he was a child. it was so loud and booming, remembering how he’d hide under his blanket and cuddle up to whatever stuffed animal he could find.

but now he clings on to you those nights, his arms around your waist and his head buried in your neck even as you giggle and smile at him and the thunder. you arrive back at the house when it starts to really roll in, jumping out of the car before he can get it in park as you run around to the drivers side.

“let’s just stay out here and watch,” you whine, tugging him out of the car before he quickly starts shaking his head. 

“absolutely not and i’ll put you over my shoulder if i have t-“ 

the thunder booming reduces your giant boyfriend to a bumbling child, a squeal in the form of his usual deep voice as he runs toward the door and you smile after him; you suppose you can listen to the thunder from bed as well, with mingi’s arms wrapped around your waist tightly as he questions what the hell you like about thunder so much anyway. 

❥ jung wooyoung

the first time you got caught in the rain with wooyoung, you thought he was gonna scream; because after months of knowing him, that seemed to be his reaction to 90% of predicaments. 

but you were pleasantly surprised when he threw his head back in laughter and tugged you into the street, the two of jumping in the dirty puddles and twirling each other like some sort of movie for no other reason than that you could. 

hongjoong watched from the window in bewilderment, smiling at the two of you but also thinking what were the odds that you two both found each other and had the same intense love for rain. 

❥ choi jongho

you were the only person in the cafe that night, hunched over the table after hours of classwork that was quickly leaving you completely drained. your head was pounding and your eyes hurt but you were thoroughly impressed you’d been able to pay attention for this long. 

you’d been hearing cracks of thunder for the past few minutes, stretching your arms out in front of you before you look up at the sound of the door opening; no other than jongho walks in, a smile on your face as he plops down in the seat next to you.

“sorry, practice ran late. you must be tired.”

“i’m good, i was doing my work.” 

he looks over the table covered in your books and loose papers, helping you clean up when a bolt of lighting outside catches your attention. you gasp and look over at your boyfriend with excitement in your eyes, a smirk on his face as he slowly begins to help you pack. 

he knows nothing’s gonna drag your attention away from the window now, though, looking over at the barista and asking for a small cup of coffee. 

[80hdean]

Oh my god I just read a fic that I think actually fully explains Dean’s character choices (particularly regarding Jack, though also Cas) in seasons 14-15?? In an actually satisfying way? I never expected to have that make sense to me and I’m still kind of reeling.

The thing is that The Only Way it makes sense relies 100% on three things being true:

Dean is heinously full of self loathing, despair, and maladaptive coping strategies that he refuses to improve upon or seek help for; namely his belief that he is worthless and undeserving and should have been left to rot in hell, and that because of this worthlessness no one he cares about will ever really care about him in the same way, will never stay with him, so he must push them away before they get the chance to blindside him with that betrayal (which he knows from prior experience that he doesn’t deal with well) AND

Cas is the one being that’s even partially exempt from this rule because he’s an angel that earned his faith early on (profound bond style), and while he’s never been one to stick around physically, his devotion has never wavered enough that Dean seriously doubts that Cas cares deeply for him. This means that Cas somehow becomes integral to Dean’s conception of hope in general and becomes necessary to Dean envisioning a future of any kind for himself BECAUSE

Dean is romantically in love with Cas from at least season 12 onward (his feelings could potentially be repressed to a degree for some of it but they do need to be present explicitly for his motivations to make any kind of emotionally resonant sense)

All three of these things must be true for this series of interpretations to hold up. It all slots together so well that it almost seems *possible* that this was all somewhat intentional/planned on the writers’ part, but that the eventual execution was so piss poor that I wasn’t able to connect the dots (mostly bc of the extreme gaslighting regarding #3). It’s confusing as fuck to constantly try to figure out why the fuck a character is doing something if the logical CONTEXTUAL reasoning is frequently said to be nonexistent.

Basically this fic didn’t posit anything radically new, but it was a specific combination of minor takes and at a couple of key (and unexpected) time stamps that finally made it all coalesce for me.

Like, for example, Dean feels like he “had never had Cas, and now he never will” when Cas leaves him to protect Kelly before Jack was born, not afterwards, priming him to be not only angry at Jack but to see him as the interloper standing between him and Cas. This would then ratchet Dean’s rage and homicidal anger towards Jack up to eleven when Cas gets killed doing this.

But then getting Cas back restores Dean’s hope, hope for a future, so he chills out and even comes to care for Jack, especially since Cas does. And Cas is noticeably more affectionate and fond, and Dean’s hopes grow a little stronger until Jack dies and Cas goes and makes the deal with the Empty, after which Dean notices Cas being less obviously affectionate with him, which he can only conclude has something to do with Jack and his soul, which leads to increased suspicion yet again.

This was crucial for me bc without seeing it from this “Cas is my only hope at having a future” and “if you get between me and Cas I will treat you like I am a jilted and jealous lover” like without these layers of context, his reactions to Jack (and to Cas, especially during the divorce arc) are out of proportion to the situation and out of character for Dean given the whole trajectory of the show and character development and whatever.

I could write another 3k words about this, which is so silly, but yeah this one fic has fixed for me the one giant pulsating un-ignorable fault that caused me to fly off the handle about the last couple seasons of the show at any given moment. I’m aware that’s super irrational but what can you do. The show wrote one of my favorite characters being an abusive homicidal rageaholic towards my top two favorite characters (one of whom is a child!!) without anything resembling a good enough reason.

I personally found Dean’s character arc pretty hard to follow after the Mark of Cain was removed and even the back half of season 10 was kind of convoluted to me ACTUALLY you know what he really just went off the rails when he tricked Sam into accepting Gadreel. That’s when shit started to go sideways for Dean’s basic characterization, and things just snowballed after s11-12 I think.

Anyways I got this far and forgot to say it but the fic is Hell Was The Journey That Brought Me Heaven by thursdaysfallenangel (https://archiveofourown.org/works/26376697)

[inikavulpixelreviews]

Let’s Talk About Pokemon - Toxel and Toxtricity

848: Toxel

Mmmmmm. I don't remember if I've ever said it in this review series, but I have a really bad repulsion to babies. Toxel isn't exactly being an exception here. Combination of the baby fat in the cheeks and lips and dumb little oversized head and its tongue and its bald-looking lightly misshapen head and AUGH. No sirree, Toxel had a snowball's chance in hell for falling into my good graces just from being so heavily baby-based alone.

It doesn't help that it has a diaper and... oh no... is that why it's Poison type? Please don't tell me that's why it's Poison type. Oh god I dreaded what this thing might turn into when it evolved, and I probably only would've evolved it because my own sister was insistent I keep this horrible little slime goblin around to see what it turns into.

Maybe, just MAYBE I'm being a little too harsh on Toxel, maybe not any of its features are inherently bad but that's just too bad for me I guess. I just had to be a kid in the 90s when a cartoon that was big at the time just happened to air an episode that highlighted all the gross things about babies all at once in a nightmarish context that gave me a goddang phobia of the friggin things as a child. While I don’t really have a crippling fear of them anymore I sure as hell don’t wanna go near one if I can help it. Maybe I'd be writing a very different review right now if a show like that didn't ruin babies forever for me but I guess we'll just never know. And I can’t say I’d ever be very affectionate to a Pokemon that instantly made me think of a scene that scared the ever-loving shit out of me as a kid thank you very much.

...Other than... ALL that... Toxel doesn't have anything going for it anyways. Poison/Electric is a neat typing that was feeling like it was going to waste because it's just some purple thing with a spark of electricity glued to its forehead I guess because they didn't think it looked “Electric” enough. I don't even like the grumpy face cause it's still very babyish. At least in this context... plant these grumpy eyes on literally anything else and I'd probably be all for it but euch. EUCH. The only advantage it really has going is that it’s fairly non-descript as an animal so it looks fairly solidly just-a-monster in a Gen 1 sorta way. But other than that...

Personal Score: 2/10

849: Toxtricity

...How the hell did one of my new least favorite Pokemon of all time suddenly become my top favorite in all of Galar???? Well, whatever. Be careful who you call ugly in preschool, I guess.

Gamefreak must've known they had a hit on their hands with this one, I'm surprised it was a Pokemon they kept secret until the game came out given how much it's skyrocketed into popularity (Striking number 2 in Gen 8 in the Pokemon of the Year polls, only just behind Galar's pseudo legendary). It's definitely at least pushed like one of the flagship Pokemon of Galar, with statues dedicated to it and its own G-Max form that they felt the need to keep further under wraps until very recently, only teasing its appearance as a hill figure. You're even handed a free Toxel at the Daycare. Frankly I'm alarmed no major character even has one on their team!

But this design in general totally is one of the stars of the show in Gen 8. While it definitely lifts aspects of salamanders and other amphibians into its design, it feels a lot like the classic “just a monster” type design from Pokemon's early days. The way they anthropomorphize it is neat too. It has an overall comical body structure with a long neck, lanky long arms and amusingly tiny legs.

Its face is also great. The tired, dreary eyes are cool and it thankfully turned that badly implemented bolt feature from Toxel into a full on electric mohawk! The head spikes are also neat, especially at the angle it holds its head back in its default pose ingame, it sorta evokes the look of the head of an electric guitar.

And that right there's the whole aesthetic of Toxtricity, of course! They're punk rockers! All covered in spikes and everything, even right down to having spiked belt. The little wart-like bulges on its chest are also doubling as guitar strings! There's plenty animations where it strums them to rock out, mohawk lighting up and everything. It strums these warts to generate electricity and make a ton of noise while it does so. That's such a cool way to incorporate an object into a naturalistic element on an animal. I like my objectmon and monsters with on the nose object motifs quite a bit myself, but it's cool that Toxtricity managed to fit an element as specific as an electric guitar's strings into an animal that would normally have no business having such an element but it just works.

And I can understand not everybody digs that color scheme; fairly bright purple and yellow is brave, to say the least, but I'd say it works! Even if I'm oddly enough, kind of a fan of color schemes other people might consider garish, you could say it just works because Toxtricity as a punk rocker is all about tearing down the norms, man. It also helps to make it look far more lively than its more mellowed out cousin.

Which, by the way, Toxtricity has a form gimmick too. A pretty unique one at that, and now that they've had it happen I'm surprised it's only happened just now, but what form your Toxel becomes depends on what Nature it is. The more excitable, energetic sounding natures will become the Amped form above, while the more chill or relaxed sounding natures will become the “Low Key” form.

At first, you'd wonder what that has to do with punk rock and why Toxtricity out of all the band-themed Pokemon we've already had up to this point, but a closer inspection highlights that Low Key is more of a bass as opposed to Amped as a guitar. They even have bumps mirroring their respective instruments! Amped has six just like an electric guitar has six strings, while Low Key has four, just like an electric bass has four strings! Low Key even seems to have a slightly longer neck than Amped form does, again, just like how basses have longer necks compared to guitars! It really is so much fun how much mileage they're getting out of the visual theming here. It’s really cool how we got a Pokemon that imitates an inanimate object in a way that’s totally organic and natural-looking way.

To tie all the theming up in a nice bow, they have a unique ability called Punk Rock, which increases the damage their sound-based moves do while halving the damage they take from the same kind of moves. Given that there's some Pokemon that are outright deaf with the ability Soundproof, it's easy to assume that Toxtricity unfortunately suffers from hearing loss. They can still hear, just not as well. Indeed, right under natural aging, the number 2 cause of hearing loss is listening to music too loudly. Much like punks are one to do. Turn down your music, kids!

That said, if I had to pick just one, I'd easily pick Amped just because it generally looks cooler and has a bolder color scheme. The only thing I'm less than sure on for these two is their “tails”... which rather than being tails are now just stiff extra-large spikes jutting out of their butt. And since I used a Toxtricity on my team, thus was looking at the backside of one for most of the game, yeah, hard to not notice. I would've much preferred a more normal tail that could've also had some spikes around the tip of it if you must carry the punk theming that far.

Also I'm not a fan of their name. “Toxtricity” is just toxic and electricity clumsily mashed together and it doesn't really roll off the tongue. Like, was that really the best localization could come up with?? If I had to take a crack at naming it, I would've called it Punkture or something similar.

Personal Score: 10/10

G-Max Toxtricity:

The two Toxtricities share a G-Max form that incorporates elements from them both. And hmm... I'm not as much of a fan of this G-Max, sadly. It's still cool, don't get me wrong, but the tesla coil look to the tail feels out of place and a bit more “generic electric type” imagery to me compared to all the electric guitar/bass theming the previous two had.

It's also huddled down on all fours. I'm sure some are happy about that much, and it helps differentiate it from its normal-sized self, but I felt like being anthro was a little vital to the line's theming, given it needed some free hands to strum its bumps. The spark eyes are also neat but the tired look just looks more amusing to me. Eh. Just every feature here feels “It's neat and all but the basic forms did it better.”

Oh, wait, there is ONE thing!

Its attack animations sees it pulling a literal electric guitar out and smashing its opponents with it. Now THAT is wicked cool!!

Personal Score: 9.5/10

[Archive]

[scifimagpie]

Marx’s Loophole

 So, I mentioned in a previous article that I've been agonizing over leftist infighting issues for - well - a few years now. Despite the sharp tone of my previous posts and some others, it should be noted that I don't hate modern communists - in fact, I generally agree with a lot of their aims (with the exception of the small number of dictator apologists). I am, however, significantly more comfortable around people who talk about democratic socialism and who generally aren't demanding a one-party state, because of my previously stated vehement opposition to totalitarianism. 

But today, I want to take a stab at a greatly revered dead old white male theorist's basic ideas. This is another article I've been considering for some time, but I'm going to endeavour to make it less lengthy and meandering than my last release. (Especially because I'm not entirely sure most of my readers are here for extended musings on political theory from an admitted non-expert.) 

In a nutshell, then, Marxism doesn't work and is incomplete, and we on the left need to stop making everything try to fit its exact circumscriptions. 

There are two relatively simple reasons why I would put this relatively obvious theory forward, and they both come down to the scientific fact that we are social animals. 

Money represents attention; both represent power

In other social species, such as chickens, chimpanzees, bonobos, or dolphins, hierarchies naturally develop. Before I learned about more of the basic concepts of anarchism, I thought it was devoted to resisting hierarchies under all circumstances, which struck me as innately ridiculous. How could one organize and get anything done without some kind of chain of command? Then I found out that the point was destroying unjust and entrenched hierarchies, which made more sense - but is still a tricky proposition.

The thing is, as anyone who's spent five minutes on the leftist internet will tell you, those hierarchies will recapitulate themselves, even without monetary incentives. Memes and art are shared freely, as is fanfiction, and that certainly supports the idea that resources are being artificially restricted from the public by the actions of the wealthy and their corporations - but the people who produce these things and the algorithms that promote and share them are not created equal. Unjust hierarchies are not only bone-deep, but are inevitably recycled, even when they're reversed. Attention is a form of currency and exchange because it represents power; money also represents power. But trying to remove power from human society and interactions is like trying to run a battery without electricity. 

The most we can do is try to redistribute power as equitably as possible, while working intentionally to compensate for historical and present-day injustices. I don't believe there will ever be an end point, because new injustices will happen as the world progresses - but trying to compensate for them brings improvements, and a better world. The alternative is to just try and embrace the inequality, which is pretty much the thesis of fascism - and if you haven't gotten the idea from my other articles, fascism is bad. Not only that, it's fundamentally unsustainable and precarious. Even if it didn't lead to suffering and injustice, it wouldn't work. But communism as depicted in Marx's writings doesn't exactly work either, because of this whole power and imbalance thing I keep talking about.

The fight for justice will never end

It is vitally important, even required, resist and break down unjust hierarchies, even the most entrenched. As stated previously, I don't support attempting this with violence, but resisting and protesting fascists is also a form of societal self-defense. Being present at white supremacist rallies discourages them, because fascism is fundamentally a belief requiring cowardice. 

Unfortunately, despite their many flaws, democracies are the best system we've come up with for self-determination thus far. It seems like fascism is, rather than a one-time event, cyclical. One thing that Star Wars (I know, shut up, hear me out) represents well is that democracies are always going to be susceptible to fascism and predatory conservatism. But the alternative is totalitarianism, and that, we must fight. As Benjamin Franklin put it, "A republic, gentlemen - if you can keep it."  There is no "one last person to take resources from and then we can yeet into the beautiful future" stage. There is no socialist paradise. It's like the stuff in the New Testament about building the Kingdom of God on earth, and which leftist christians understand as being "hey not being a dick is a continuous process." There will be no messianic Revolution where All the Bad People Die and the Rest of Us get to live in Egalitarian Heaven.  (I'm not Christian, but I do really like ex-Christian and leftist Christian media; it's been good for my spiritual health.) Can we have a beautiful future? I don't know, but we can certainly try to make now better. The healthier our democracies and systems become, the more resilient they'll be to the next wave of fascist or conservative backlashes. 

Humanity will never be able to stop trying to balance altruism and self-interest. Even if we damage the planet to the point that we struggle to inhabit it, I very much doubt that we'll actually go extinct. However, if we refuse the temptation to discard the tools at hand, and use our cracked, damaged systems to their fullest extent, we stand more than a snowball's chance in hell of conquering our worst instincts and remedying historical and present atrocities. 

Source.

And yes, I know she's called "Tank Girl," and that modern-day dictator apologists are known as "tankies," but the point still stands.

***

Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

Find her all over the internet: * OG Blog * Mailing list * Magpie Editing * Amazon * Medium * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Tumblr * Paypal.me * Ko-fi

[felestina-stilton]

Cartoon Analysis: "Pinky Malinky" Explained

DISCLAIMER! Yes, I do watched all 60 episodes of this show and cheked everything I possibly could about it (the show itself, two pilots, wikipedia and "nick animation podcast #48") before diving into this. So yeah, I know what I'm talking about, and yeah, this post got some heavy spoilers, so go away if you don't wanna see them.

First of all, I must say that this show is 50/50 thing. Some people like it and some people don't, it's fine and I totally get it. I just don't wanna hear any hate under this post. Let's all be respectful and kind 🐱

So, yesterday somebody asked me if "Pinky Malinky" has any plot. And I told that yes, yes it is. But of course "yes" isn't good enough if you here for the information, so let's discuss the whole thing in this long post. This series plot divided into three main arcs (there are some other arcs but they're not really important for the plot tho), which of course, lead into the bigger plotline. Today, I'm gonna fold all pieces of this plot puzzle and tell what this show basically is about

The beginning: Sackenhack and Mayor Happ arc

For those of you who don't know - Sackenhack is a town, where most of this show characters live. This is basically the most important thing to know, so let's start off with it. I found all this information in episodes "Hater" and "Pinky". The old Mayor of the town, Mayor Happ wanted to make this town as precious as possible. He started "Snow Games" (kinda on Olympic-game-thing in this universe) and also began a plan of building a lot of different constructions. Everything was good, until everyone realised that Sackenhack is a desert town. There NEVER was any snow or what so ever. The "Snow Games" were cancelled, many buildings and other structures were left unfinished, and the town fell into decay. Understanding his fault in all this mess, Mayor Happ vanished. Living nowadays in forest as a hermit, he once had a chance to meet Pinky in the episode "Hater". At first, he was pretending to be a Sackenhack hater called Mr. Sackenwack, which seemed very mean for Pinky, since he really likes his own town. Later, with the help of JJ's "creep app" they found his location. After a big reveal, Pinky finally realised that Mayor Happ and Mr. Sackenwack is the same person, and that he's beloved hero is also his hater. Some events after, the group was sitting in silence, until Happ said only one thing to Pinky: "I used to have such big dreams for this town. Now everything about it just reminds me of my failure...That's why I wanted you to delete your account. Everytime you posted something happy about Sackenhack it just made me... Sacken-Sad. So, what it's like to find out that your hero...is just some lame internet hater?" with a reply "Well, you're not what I expected, but, you're still really inspiring to me. I've got a lot of big ideas and not a lot of people understand them...I think I might run out of this town someday too)" Pinky goes home with his friends, and that's the end of Sackenhack/Mayor Happ ark.

Moving on to: Malinky's family arc

So, I guess, the first question you ask yourself when it comes to this particular show - why is Pinky a hotdog while both of his parents are just regular humans? Well, diving into this theme, let's discuss Malinky's family arc in general. We got most information about it in episodes "Pinky" and "Dreams", but there are also many cute facts about them in other episodes (which I'm not gonna discuss here because that's leads pretty much nowhere). So, before becoming a couple, Eric and Valerie were singers. They've done some singles and merchandise and were dreaming about a starry career. However, after some time they decided to become a family and raise a kid. The awful truth was then revealed - one of the members of Malinky's family, called Sasagio was an antro sausage, and Eric'c and Valerie's child probably gonna have the same mutation. This was a clearly hard thing to accept, but Valerie and Eric still wanted to have a kid and this didn't stopped them. Well, now they do have a son, but it's definitely not a regular kid. Raising the child in one, but raising a mutant-shapeshifter wiener is completely another. That's why they had to abandon their singers career. After founding all this information out on the old cassets left in the attic of Malinky's house in the episode "Dreams" Pinky realises - he literally crashed his parents dreams. Feeling guilty, he tries to bring them back to business, but only makes a bigger mess. Feeling even more sad and guilty, Pinky says to his parents that it's all his fault and no matter how, he'll do everything to fix the mess he made and make them singers, just as they dreamed. Eric and Valerie then just tell him that the real dream the've ever had - is to become a family, and raise the most sweet, cute and precious child, and that they love him no matter what. This brings an end to the Malinky's arc.

Finally, about main character: Pinky Malinky's arc

So, as you now know - Pinky was born an antropomorphic wiener. However - it doesn't bother him though. He thinks that being different is cool, and allways sees a better side in everything, literally spreading positivity and happiness. With the help of his two human friends, Babs and JJ, he tries to climb up to the career ladder. Anyways, something that weird and interesting still brings other people's attention, and one day Pinky being asked by some group of people (who allways being called just "camera guys") if they can make a documentary about him. Pinky agrees, and that's technically is a beginning of the series (which however was showed only in the last episode of season two, "Pinky"). In this episode also reveals how he became the new mascout and raised new "Snow Games". So, basically Pinky want's to organise "Snow Games" again, just like in old good times. But for this, also needs a mascout - The Snowball. That's why he starts a some kind of "vote for me as a mascout thing"...which fails. Sad Pinky goes to his schools principal to ask why everything failed. She tells him that that's because there never snowed in Sackenhack. Pinky says that he'll make it snow tonight, to become a mascout. Which of corse, wasn't for serious, but by accident, everyone in school heard that. Now Pinky really HAS to make it snow but the thing is he don't know how. With the help of JJ, Babs and Bob he tries to do this...and fails again. But then the truck with popcorn (JJ got him for sponsoring some company) blows up and...yeah, popcorn kinda looks like snow so technically Pinky becomes a new mascout. At the end of season three, in the episode "Wiener" goes a big reveal - the camera crew filmed him just to know enough information about him because he was going to participate in UMC (Ultimate. Mascout. Championship). However, Helga Hilltop from UMC says that he CAN'T participate. Competitions are only for human boys and girls, and Pinky clearly isn't one of them. He's a twisting, bending, shapeshifter sausage. Pinky says that if he can't participate because of his powers, he'll just try not to use them. At first, everything goes under the controll, but then Pinky fails miserably. After calling him a "filthy wiener" Helga disqualifys him. Sad and humilated, Pinky starts crying and thinking that he really doesn't belong anywhere and probably everything would be better off without someone not normal like him. But then some students along with JJ, Babs and Principal Phan are telling him that it's a complete nonsence, and who the hell decides who is and not normal. Besides, it's what on the inside that counts. After this, Pinky came up with the idea - that's really in the rules of the UMC that's what in the inside that counts. He comes back to the stage and perform as good as he can, not holding himself back anymore. After this, he lies that he was just the costume, and Babs and JJ are the ones who were the real mascouts. Helga says that it doesn't counts and no matter what other jujes think, he didn't won anything. But then everyone just disqualifys Helga because hell yeah, everything she said today sounded like a clear rasism, what the actual hell. Then Principal Phan says that now Pinky is an official mascout. Not the Snowball, just him themself, since he's the most inspiring person in the whole Sackenhack. This leads an end to the Pinky's arc and the series themself.

So this what it all is about. I hope I made everything in this post clear enough)

[floatingpetals]

Boys in Blue || Pt. 1

Pairings: cop!Stucky x F!Reader

Warnings: language, frustrated reader(she’s a little ridiculous tbh), road rage(kind of)

Word Count: 2300+

Summary: (Cop AU) There was just one crappy thing after enough that happened to her. It possibly couldn’t get any worse, or so she thought until she saw the dreaded flashes of red and blue behind her. Could things get any worse?

A/N: This idea came to me after such a bad day. I can say this didn’t happen to me, but it would have been ironic if it had. It also might not help that I’ve been watching a lot of Live PD and America’s Dumbest Criminal’s compilations. However, the frustration is and was real. This might only be three parts to this in total for this story as well. I haven’t quite decided yet. Let me know what ya’ll think!! Enjoy!! Also, don’t do what the reader did if you do get pulled over. It might not work out like this lol

The gifs are not mine, credit to the owner.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Series Masterlist

Today sucked. This had to be the worse day Y/N ever had to date. First, it started off with her waking up late, almost half an hour later than she should have. It created a snowball effect where she had to rush to get dressed, put on a quick face of makeup, make sure her hair didn’t look crazy and be out the door in less than ten minutes to not get stuck in traffic. Fortunately, she made it with five minutes to spare. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to eat breakfast and she left her lunch bag sitting on the counter beside her cup of coffee she had thrown in the travel mug. Of course, she hadn’t realized she left it behind until she was already on the freeway and couldn’t possibly turn back to get it.

Second, it wasn’t until she sat down that she realized she grabbed two different pairs of black shoes, on with a pointed toe and the other a rounded toe with a cute bow on the top. not something she could exactly hide. She stared blankly at the articles of clothing for a good ten minutes before she let out a heavy sigh. That wasn’t enough to really drag her day down yet. However, once she opened her emails from clients, she knew she was in for a hell of a day. Throw in the constant badgering by her boss and her coworkers poking fun at her flustered and mismatched appearance, Y/N was overwhelmed and nearly in tears by the end of the day.

Now after nearly eight hours of the most grueling day to date at her job, Y/N was trying to get home. There was an accident on the highway, so she hoped to avoid traffic by taking side streets. She was just ready to get out of her mismatched shoes, drink a glass of wine and take a relaxing bubble bath. Apparently, the rest of the world didn’t get that memo.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” She slammed her fist on the steering wheel, screaming out for the tenth time in five minutes. “The speed limits 40! Not 30! Let’s go!”

She had been stuck behind the same jackasses for the past twenty minutes in the middle lane, locked in on both sides by equally frustrate drivers beside her. In all three lanes, there was a trio of cars matching speeds with each other, clearly keeping the traffic back considering there wasn’t a soul in front of them. All while going ten under the posted speed limit. Y/N tried to be patient; she really was. It wasn’t like she was asking them to speed, she really just wanted them to go the damn speed limit. But her nerves were already frayed and if these jerk wads didn’t go, she was seconds from slamming into one of them. Not to mention people kept honking at her for some reason, which only added to her already high level of stress.

“Oh, my sweet fucking lord!” She snarled for the nth time. Finally, the car in the right lane slowed down to turn, giving Y/N a chance to flip on her blinker a few seconds before she switched lanes and went around the 80-year-old woman in her unnecessarily giant Dodge pickup. Putting her foot to the floor, Y/N shot off ahead, finally hitting the speed limit. She switched her blinker back on the to signal her passing back into the middle lane, all while muttering oaths under her breath and keep her speed constant.

She thought she was finally clear; she was right down the street from her left turn to get to her apartment when a black and white Dodge Charger pulled up behind her. She shot a glance down to her speedometer, the little red line one ticks above forty. Surely, he wasn’t going to pull her over for going 42 in 40. Her stomach dropped when she saw the red and blue lights flash on. Of course.

“God damn it!” She cried. Tears started to form in her eyes as she slowly signaled to the right and turned into a parking lot. The cop followed right behind her, stopping two car lengths away. She kept her hands on the steering wheel, willing herself not to burst into tears. This was just icing to the cake.

There was knock on her window, startling her. She took in a deep breath to hope calm herself before she rolled the window down. Any ordinary day she would have swooned over the sight of the man standing beside her car. But today, she wasn’t in the swooning mood.

Standing beside her was a giant officer, his uniform seemingly a size too small stretched over his massive muscles of his arms and chest. The officer's dark hair was shaved close to the sides of his head, the top left longer and slicked back, one stray hair curling on his forehead. His dark glasses hid his eyes, but she couldn’t get over that jawline and cheekbones, strong and unworldly sharp. Alright, maybe she was in the mood for swooning.

“License and registration, ma’am.” His smooth voice sent a shiver down her spine, momentarily short-circuiting her brain. He raised a thick eyebrow, tilting his head to the side when she took too long to answer. “Ma’am?”

Reality crashed around her, and the fury she felt before came rushing back to the surface. The officer instantly noticed her shift, his face hardening as he waited.

“And why exactly am I being pulled over?” She bit, narrowing her gaze at the officer. He didn’t seem slightly deterred, tucking his thumbs into his belt loops.

“Ma’am. License and registration first. Then I’ll tell you why I’ve pulled you over.”

Gritting her teeth, she grabbed her purse from beside her seat and plopped in her lap to dig out her wallet. The officer waited patiently with a hint of amusement as she grabbed her registration from the glove compartment with a huff. Just as she went to hand them to him, she jerked it back.

“Look, I don’t know what possible reason why you decided to pull me of all people over for, but you clearly weren’t paying attention to the two people behind me that were going ten under the speed limit causing the backup, which might I add is illegal and more dangerous than someone switching lanes to get around them. As much as I wanted to make a show of going around those jackasses, I didn’t. I had my blinker on for the two seconds I needed before I safely got into my lane, made sure I was in it before I turned it off. Then when I got back over, I did the same exact damn thing.” She couldn’t stop herself if she wanted to. The officer seemed almost impressed, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline as she continued her tirade.

“I have dash cam footage that can back me up; I did nothing wrong. It also has my speed limit on the video, and I can guarantee you I wasn’t doing anything illegal. None of my lights are out, my license plates are valid, registration is up to date and I have no record. So, I’ll ask you again. What the hell could you possibly be pulling me over for?”

The officer seemed at a loss for words. He shot a look over his shoulder to his partner that appeared behind him, a tall blonde that seemed to be made from the same tree. Where the hell did this precinct get their officers? A modeling agency? He was possibly the next best looking eye candy, that wore a size too small for his build, she’d seen right beside the gorgeous brunette in front of her. The blonde office had pushed his sunglasses up, his bright blue eyes growing wide the longer she went on.

She figured steam was billowing out of her ears at this point. Logically she knew this was the stupidest thing she could have ever done, arguing with a police officer. But this day was out to get her, and she wasn’t going to put up with it anymore. Drop dead gorgeous officers be damned.

“Listen, ma’am-.” The officer started again, laughing softly as he rested his palm on the roof of her car. Y/N wasn’t having none of his honeyed voice.

“Don’t give me any of your bullshit. Why did you decide to pull me over?”

He was quiet, looking over to the second officer who had to step away to laugh in private once again. He let out his own snicker, shaking his head as he pushed his glasses up off his nose. Y/N’s heart stopped when she locked eyes with his eyes, the grey-blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Ordinarily, I would sit here and demand for your license and registration again, but I can tell you’re a handful, aren’t you?”

Y/N glared at him not liking his tone. She gritted her teeth, clenching the steering wheel with one hand and balling up her license and registration in her other. It’s illegal to hit a cop, it’s illegal to hit a cop, she chanted silently to herself.

“Don’t fucking flatter yourself, Barney. I was already in a shit mood, you’re just the lucky one who gets to deal with the brunt of my frustration.”

There was a bark of laughter coming from the blonde officer on the other side of her car, any sort of control slipping away at her quip. Good, at least the blonde had good taste in television shows. The brunette glared at the blonde over the top of the car before returning back to Y/N, a lopsided grin sliding smoothing on his face.

“Alright. We clearly got off on the wrong foot.” Y/N snorted, rolling her eyes. He ignored her and continued. “I’m Officer Barnes, this is my partner Officer Rogers. The reason I pulled you over today isn’t because of you’re driving but because you have a couple bags sticking out of your back passenger door.”

Y/N blinked.

“What?”

He bit his lip and motioned to where Officer Roger was at the other side at the back door. Y/N twisted around to look at the back seat, noticing her reusable grocery bags weren’t sitting on the seat like they should have been. She vaguely remembers opening the door earlier that morning to grab her lunch bag if had been there, and apparently, she missed grabbing them and putting them back before shutting the door on the handles.

Office Rogers tapped the window, pointing at the lock. When Y/N could only stare, her face growing hot from embarrassment, Officer Barnes reached in and hit her unlock button. Officer Rogers opened the back door and gently placed the surprisingly still intact bags on the floor before shutting the door, grinning widely at Y/N as he did.

Y/N slowly faced front, shame and embarrassment washing over her. It took her a second to recover, she mindlessly passed the paper and license through the window to Officer Barnes, who only glanced at her name before returning his attention back on her. Y/N let out a long groaned and buried her face in her hands.

“Oh my god. That’s why people were honking at me.” She whined. it all clicked. Now it was Officer Barnes turn to lose control of his laughter. If she wasn’t so mortified, she’d have melted at the sound of his amusement.  “It’s not funny! I just chewed you out for fucking grocery bags! Oh my god! I’m such an idiot!”

“Not an idiot, just a little tightly wound.” Officer Rogers chuckled, now back beside his partner on the driver side. He had a dazzling smile spread on his face, his head tilted to the side as he observed Y/N having yet again another meltdown.

The tears won out, Y/N realizing that she really was a moron and should have just shut up. instead, she put her giant foot in her mouth. The two men’s behavior shifted right along with her, neither liking the tears that fell down her cheeks.

“Hey, okay.” Office Barnes began uncertainly, looking at Office Rogers with wide eyes. He could handle giant drunken men with guns and knives, hell he could handle screaming, hysterical angry women. But a genuinely overwhelmed not mention pretty woman balling her eyes out was a whole different story. “It’s okay. We’re not gonna give you a ticket. It’s just procedure to ask for a license and all that. You’re okay. I should have just said it was ‘cause of the bags first.”

“Try not to take it too hard. My partner doesn’t have the best of tact.” Officer Rogers tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but Y/N didn’t hear him. Risking a move he knew he probably shouldn’t, he reached in the car an placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Take a deep breath and once you’ve calmed down, you’re free to go.”

Y/N sniffed loudly, wiping her runny mascara and tears with the palm of her hands. Great, she thought bitterly, I already made them think I was crazy and now I look the part too. Nodding through her tears, she took in a deep shuddering breath.

“I’m still an idiot.”

“No,” Officer Barnes repeated firmly. “You’re not. You’d have been an idiot if you smacked me like you wanted to though.”

Y/N let out a watery laugh, a smile growing on her face. The two men grinned, their shoulders relaxing at the sight of her wobbly grin.

“I wouldn’t say I wasn’t impressed with how eloquently you put your argument early, but maybe next time let the office say his reasoning before you start an argument.” Office Barnes said gently, passing the papers back into the car. She frowned, wondering when she gave him the papers but took them quietly.

Officer Rogers clapped a hand on his partner’s shoulder, nodding to Y/N.

“If you can, take a bubble bath tonight. Have a good night, Y/N.” He winked, flashing her another one of his dazzling smiles before he turned to head back to his car. Y/N face burned, his wink doing things to her insides. Officer Barnes stepped back in her line of sight, grinning widely.

“Drive safely. And double check your doors next time before you get in your car.” He chuckled, his crooked grin and insufferable cheekbones causing the butterflies to explode again. She nodded numbly, melting into the seat as the officer turned and headed back to his cruiser. She couldn’t help but stare at his backside as he moved. Sweet lord, he must live at the gym when he’s not at work.

Shaking her head, she put her stuff back in its place before putting the car in drive. As she drove away, she eyed the two Chargers that contained the most attractive set of officers she’d ever seen. And damn it all if she didn’t kick herself for not asking for their numbers, stupidity be damned.

Perma Tag: (CLOSED)

@dolphinpink310 / @breezy1415 / @hymnofthevalkyrie / @sebbyismyking / @vivideley / @cherrynat / @heelsandfaces / @lovely-geek / @libbymouse / @the-crime-fighting-spider / @dkpink123 / @moderapoppins / @chuckennuggets1213 / @jack4xx / @witchymarvelspacecase / @xxxunluvablexxx / @mannatgalhotra / @kingslaxerpark / @xxashy999xx / @silver-starburst / @cartersbarnes / @thinkwritexpress-official / @feelmyroarrrr/  @m-a-t-91 /  @pizzarollpatrol /  @sea040561 /  @thefridgeismybestie /  @sergeantjbuckybarnes /  @jasura /  @palaiasaurus64 /  @teller258316 /  @disagreetoagree /  @lazinessisalliknow / @palaiasaurus64 / @bfuckjames / @sxdapxpcutis / @doraola / @kkaos15 / @tylerrose931617 / @mummy-woves-you / @claraoswinns / @buckybarneshairpullingkink / @delicatelyherdreams / @thisismysecrethappyplace / @dsakita / @look-to-the-stars-and-wish / @tomhollandtrashtm / @delicatelyherdreams / @cuddle-me-muke / @joyfulzipperpersoneclipse / @lisadickenson / @revenqers  / @dannydelay / @musicgirl234 / @iamwarrenspeace / @breathlesspeter / @thebunkerofatlas / @geeksareunique / @ravennightingaleandavatempus / @mcdesij / @unlikelygalaxygiver / @tranquility-or-chaos / @bandbooktvaddict / @mywinterwolf / @piensa-bonito / @nevernotfangirling / @cutie1365 / @harryngtonewithyourshit / @slytherinqueenie / @famouslastlove / @riseandshibe / @blizzbx / @electra-hxart / @lianadelphius / @steebrogurz / @foundthezucchini / @bi-bi-bi-bisexualz /  @whileinparis / @for-the-love-of-the-fandom / @delva-stardust / @awkwardfangirl2014 /

(Let me know if I missed you, the strike means I can’t tag you for some reason.)

[vivacia-18]

May the 4th be with you recs!

Because fanfic is the reason I’m finally getting into Star Wars after all these years XDD

I’m gonna include the fic summaries and my takes, so plopping these under a cut for length. If you haven’t already read these, please go give them some love. And if you have, go give them some more! XD

I’m a fix-it, (at least mostly) everybody lives and (hopefully) nobody dies kinda gal, so while I certainly like something that hits in the feels, I don’t care for angst with no payoff at the end. Many of these are ongoing, but I’m confident enough in the overall feel of them to rec with that in mind. I also like long fics, so most of my recs will reflect that. 

Hunting Towards Heartstill by blackkat

Pairing: Mace Windu/ CC-2224 Cody

Status: Complete, 45 chapters

Summary: Plo has an idea. Mace agrees, and everything snowballs right into hell from there.

(Or: Mace and Cody get married in order to give the clones citizen status. Before they can focus on that, though, they're going to have to deal with ancient Sith artifacts, evil prophets, plots to overthrow the Supreme Chancellor, lost planets, monsters warped by Sith alchemy, inconvenient feelings, and Darth Sidious turning his eye on a potential new apprentice. Just...not in that order.)

Notes: Kat’s going to have her whole section recc’d in a minute, but this one is near and dear to my heart, so it get’s a special spot. This is the one that got me into the Star Wars fandom at all. And by “into the fandom” I mean I have never seen/read a single piece of Star Wars media outside of gifsets and funky graphic t-shirts in my entire life. And now here we are XDD

In short, as with anything kat writes, the characterization is top-notch, the wit even more so, and the feels will leave you broken to pieces only to bring you back together better than when you started at the end of it all. Enjoy <3

All of blackkat’s Star Wars fics, by she who never expected to be a part of this fandom so everyone thank sol for being a bastard and cher for having terrible, amazing, tempting, too-good prompts XD

Notes: As promised, I did indeed just link all of blackkats Star Wars fics XD Most are one shots, with several longer ongoing, and one very special one complete. Pairings and settings will vary, but I can promise you one thing: you can absolutely trust kat with your heart, no matter how angsty it seems (tho take those cliffie warnings seriously!). Enjoy, and may the Force be with you! <3

The Hero With a Thousand Faces by beamirang 

Pairing: Jango/Obi-Wan 

Status: Part 1 is a one-shot prologue, part 2 ongoing

Summary: “We’re going to kidnap a Jedi?” Boba sounds far more excited by the prospect than most twelve-year-olds probably should. And, because he’s Jango’s boy, because he’s too kriffing smart for his own good, he catches on way too quickly. “Wait. Are we kidnapping your Jedi?”

Notes: Fantastic characterization and writing - very witty (as one would expect with Obi and Fett XD) but also excellent on the heavier emotional aspects as well. 

The Desert Storm by Blue_Sunshine

Pairing: None

Status: 17 parts complete, part 18 ongoing

Summary: In Tatooine legend, the sandstorm is Lukka, the Fury, both cleansing and damning. Lukka, the slaves believed, was Justice, was he who remade the world, and remade the soul.The storm screams at him, and Obi-Wan Kenobi screams back.

Notes: It’s a time travel fic! It’s one of my favourite tropes when done correctly, and this one certainly does :) Love the characters, they have so much depth and growth over the series. And while this far it is 100% a “everybody lives nobody dies” kinda story, there is no sacrifice in plot or narrative tension. Wonderful proof that there can be other narrative stakes in a story than just character death. 

Under One Flag by NeurotropicAgentX

Pairing: Padme Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Maul

Status: Two single chapter parts. Marked as incomplete with no further updates since 2017, but the chapters stand alone, no cliffhangers. 

Summary: The story of how Padmé Amidala becomes the reluctant Empress of the galaxy and acquires a pair of Force-sensitive bodyguards. Deals with the light and dark side conflict, the politics of an Empire, and Dathomirian Culture.

Notes: A fun little read! The dynamics between the three were interesting, and who doesn’t love the idea of Empress Padme? :D

By A Barista by Tomatosoupful

Pairing: Obi-Wan/Anakin

Status: Complete, 7 chapters

Summary: Obi-Wan/Anakin, Modern Coffee Shop AU unapologetically set in Australia. Some Star Wars story lines and character arcs adapted into modern coffee versions.Anakin doesn't really know why Qui-Gon hired him despite having no experience in coffee making or table service, and he knows this bothers the barista, Obi-Wan, but hey, at least he gets to look at the handsome guy while he complains.

Notes: Another fun little read! I love social disaster Ani in modern settings, ngl XD 

The Snowball Effect by Ghost_Owl

Pairing: Obi-Wan/Anakin

Status: Complete, 2 chapters

Summary: Anakin had not meant to nail the cute guy from his building in the face with a snowball.Obi Wan had absolutely meant to hit him back.

Notes: Another cute read! Once again Ani is a disaster, and Obi-Wan only less so by direct comparison XD I particularly remember this story for the author coining the phrase I now recognize as my favourite paring trope - two halves of a whole idiot XDD

Reprise by Elfpen

Pairing: None

Status: 7 parts, current part ongoing

Summary: Ben Kenobi dies aboard the Death Star in the year 0 BBY. He wakes up shortly thereafter in the Jedi temple in the year 41 BBY. Haunted by memories and regret, Ben must forge a new path for himself in the Jedi Order of his youth while navigating the murky waters of time travel. Crafting a better future from bitter experience is hard, but learning to heal is even harder. Major AU.

Notes: This one I found on the heels of Desert Storm, and while they are initially cut from the same cloth, you’ll find they immediately develop their own unique flavours. If you like time-travel fix-its (which I do ;D) then this is a great read, and has some lovely art to go with it! 

Life and What Comes After by Ibelin

Pairing: None

Status: First part one-shot complete, second part ongoing

Summary: Obi-Wan dies on Jabiim. Anakin blames himself, doesn't know how to go on and yet - he does. Maybe the Force rewards that kind of thing, or maybe he just gets lucky, but when a mission lands Anakin on a vaguely familiar planet, he gets a second chance to do what he knows he should have done in the first place: save his master.(And maybe a chance to save the galaxy, too.)

Notes: *Don’t worry, Obi-Wan does not in fact die!*

Ngl, what attracted me to this fic in the first place was the tag “Unrealistically Well-Adjusted Anakin Skywalker” X’D For all they say that though, his growth as a person is actually written very believably - he’s still Ani, but you see the work he put in. And damn do I love me some real communication between Obi and Ani, and damn do we ever get that here. Obi kinda backtracks that a bit with his own self-esteem issues in part two, but I have no doubt the boys will get through it! 

Definitely recommend, it’s got some really wonderful family feels <3

Witness Me by SLWalker

Pairing: Obi-Wan/Maul

Status: 7 parts, final story part(s) ongoing (part 5 is the main series that’s ongoing, part 6 scattered one-shots, part 7 art for the series)

Summary: Instead of escaping to Lotho Minor, Maul's captured by the Order. Obviously, that changes everything.

Notes: I’m currently reading this one! The first several parts focus on building the relationship between Obi and Maul. Then in part 5 we start to focus more on Maul growing as his own person, though he is absolutely still Obi-Wans other half. Get ready for some clone feels, because I guarantee you will fall hard and fast for the Blackbirds once you meet them <3 <3 <3 I also appreciate that while there is definite censure for the Jedi council as a whole for certain decisions, and Anakin is his canon disaster self, there is no character bashing or throwing under buses, and conversely no hero worship either. Thus far everyone is treated fairly - I really enjoy that we tend to see not only several outside views of characters and situations, but also a lot of introspection as well. 

If you’re in it for the people, this story is very much for you <3

[belphegor1982]

Thought I’d make a the Mummy/Returns fic recs posts for @counterwiddershins (EDIT: whom I can tag now!) because they asked for recs. So here are my favourite (complete) Mummy stories under the cut in alphabetical order, title-summary-why it’s on my list style. A few are Old, because I discovered this fandom in 2003 and there’s some great oldies. Hope you - and anyone else looking for great fics - enjoy them!

As Sweet as This / Coming Clean, by robot-iconography

Summary:  Evelyn reflects on the changes Ahm Shere has wrought upon her brother, husband, and son. /  Rick takes his life in his hands as he faces his greatest challenge ever: fatherhood.

Comments: I put these two in the same bag because they’re basically a diptych. They’re like two sides of the same coin. On one hand, you have a lovely story in Evy’s voice, on the other, a hilarious one in Rick’s. Both stories are sweet and more touching than they sound.

Circumstantial Evidence, by robot-iconography

Summary: “She could be damnably silly at times; she dressed like a spinster and carried herself like bloody royalty; but she was my baby sister, the only one I’d ever have. I’d been through hell to get her back, and now I was going to lose her anyway.”

Comments: Probably my favourite Mummy story ever. I love it so much I translated it into French in 2004, and even more so now I’ve read PG Wodehouse. Basically, there is canoodling, funny misunderstandings, and the closing scene is adorable (and made me discover Ella Fitzgerald’s “Always”, which is perfect as Ella Fitzgerald always is). Peak Carnahan siblings shenanigans and a great Rick.

Deeper Within Darkness, by Laurie M

Summary: It is a truth universally acknowledged that wherever Rick O'Connell and Evelyn Carnahan are, trouble is not far away. What begins as an innocent night out soon leads to danger that threatens all of Egypt.

Comments: a great follow-up on the 1st film, with still-developing relationships, a mysterious medallion, and ghostly (sort of) crocodiles. The main four are very well written. 3rd person limited POVs alternate with 1st person POVs in a very natural way, allowing us glimpses into the characters’ heads. Sometimes a little bit sombre, but a lovely story.

A Favour for a Friend, by queueingtrilobite [orphan account]

Summary: Roped into doing a favour for a friend, Jonathan finds himself in charge of an antiques shop in Cairo. This is honestly the very last favour he's going to do for anyone. Ever.

If you ship Ardeth and Jonathan, there’s plenty of fun and/or feelsy stories for you! Like this fun little romp, which features a hilarious style, a Jonathan who is equally good at thinking on his toes as he is as making disasters happen (being a bit of a disaster himself).

Finding Ma’at, by exchequered [orphan account]

Summary: “Hamunaptra Cruises.” Ardeth’s tone was thoughtful. “Do you not fear a curse upon your enterprise, for naming it thus?”

Another Ardeth/Jonathan fic - and boy, this one is *chef’s kiss* I mean, the only three tags are Tourism, Pining, and denial is a river in Egypt :D

Hereafter, by Marxbros

Summary: After TMR. Imhotep has raised Ancksunamun and conquered the earth. Rick, Evy, Ardeth, Jonathan, and some new characters must find each other to defeat Imhotep once more.

Comments: ooh, this one’s a monster to tackle (134k words), and it gets pretty epic - and is worth every second of reading. The OCs are great, necessary, and everyone gets their chance to shine.

Never Spellbound by a Starry Sky, by robot-iconography

Summary: Strange goings-on mar Rick and Evelyn's wedding preparations. Can they and Jonathan solve the mystery?

Comments: another follow-up on TM, as Evy and Rick navigate their relationship and how much they should wait before any sort of hanky-panky. Life interferes in the form of a mysterious object (though NOT the obvious one) and the three are thrust into adventure again. There are battles with the mosquito netting, someone getting a few stitches on their arse (again, not the obvious choice), and all the chapter titles come from dialogue from Elizabeth Peters’ Crocodile on the Sandbank. It’s often hilarious and the dialogue is to die for.

The Mummy: Curse of the Seven Scorpions, by Jac Danvers

Summary: Libby O’Connell hasn’t heard from her brother in years. The word ‘mummy’ meant nothing to her. But when a tiny gold scorpion is revealed to have much greater value, she is thrust back into her family’s life, and the life of a man she once hated.

Comments: back in the day, the “Rick’s sister tags along and falls in love with [usually Ardeth]” trope was a staple of Mummy fanfic, and one I didn’t have much interest in. This little story, mostly set after TMR, is a fun romp; Libby is a good character, well handled, and the little developing romance with Jonathan is fun to watch.

Sidekick, by madsthenerdy girl (on FFnet here)

Summary: Jonathan honestly tries to be a big brother. No, really.

Comments: Fantastic portrait of Jonathan through the years, warts and all, and his relationship with Evy (and later Alex). It’s heartfelt, often funny, and honest (sometimes painfully).

Take That, Bembridge Scholars!, by seren-ccd

Summary: The world has been saved and there's really only one thing left to do. Evy writes a strongly worded letter to the Bembridge Scholars. Oh, she gets married, too. 

It’s a great look at Evelyn, Rick and Jonathan in a few scenes, from the night after Hamunaptra to the start of Rick’s and Evy’s life as a married couple, interspersed by extracts from the aforementioned strongly-worded letter (and it’s great).

The Tenth Plague, by Khedi (on FFnet here)

Summary: Did anyone while watching The Mummy wonder about what would have happened if the tenth of the Biblical plagues had come to pass?

Not a death fic (well, not quite) but a great little look at (again, I’m nothing if not predictable) the Carnahan siblings just after they get back to Cairo after The Mummy. It’s a punch in the feels and a hug. I love it.

Travelers by Night, by 20thcenturyvole

Summary: Very quickly, Jonathan weighed the odds. On one hand, potential death, whether by armed bandits, a mummy’s curse, or people who looked like bandits and who were very angry about someone unleashing a mummy’s curse. On the other hand, potential riches, home ground, and topics of conversation other than what happened at school fifteen years ago and who got it in the neck where.

A great look at Jonathan post-first film and a great take on Ardeth, too. Can be shippy if you tilt your head and squint, or not. Your call.

We Three Together series, by Tinydooms

Basically a series that can act as a novelisation for The Mummy, mostly “missing scenes” and character studies. A joy to read if you like Evy, Rick, and Jonathan.

The Witches’ Library, by jones2000 (on FFnet here)

Summary: He would like to state emphatically for the record that none of this was his fault, thank you very much. It was all entirely coincidental. He should know by now that these things have a tendency to snowball. Or, Jonathan doesn't need the O’Connells to find trouble.

Comments: I read this last year and it immediately made my shortlist of favourites, on top of hitting me in the heart and over the head with the subtlety of a freight train. I even made a rec post about it. The writing is so sharp it might as well be written with a bloody scalpel, the OCs are fascinating, and Jonathan is somewhat jaded but still wonderfully entertaining. It’s the only post-WW2 Mummy story I’ve ever loved (read?), and certainly the only one that incorporates Tomb of the Dragon Emperor elements I’ve ever loved. Give it plenty of reviews, it deserves them.

Edited to add a few and make it more dash-friendly :o)

Also, I wrote a few things if you’re interested:

After the Sunset: What’s left to do, after saving the world and riding triumphantly into the setting sun? A lot, as it turns out. Our Heroes ride camels, negotiate the shift from acquaintances and allies to something like a family, and encounter a couple of surprises good and bad on the way back from Hamunaptra. (Or, the one where Evelyn and Rick discover the contents of their saddlebag, Jonathan finds out that whiskey doesn’t quite cut it when a scarab has burrowed its way into your hand and arm and out your shoulder, and Ardeth gives his name and saves the day. Well, night.)

Long one-shot set just after “the end” of The Mummy.

Fairy Tales and Hokum: 1937: Two years after the events of Ahm Shere, the O’Connells are “required” by the British Government to bring the Diamond taken there from Egypt to England. In Cairo, while Evelyn deals with the negotiations and Rick waits for doom to strike again, Jonathan bumps into an old friend of his from university, Tom Ferguson. Things start to go awry when the Diamond is stolen from the Museum and old loyalties are tested...

This one is looong. It’s 160k+ words. (also took me 16 years to finish but shhh)

Carnahan-O’Connells musings and snapshots: Headcanons and one-shots about the disaster family.

Like it says on the tin - mostly headcanons with a few actual stories with dialogue.

I know, there’s not a lot of them, but they’re my very favourites. If you have other recs, feel free to add them!

[tangyss]

so im super new to the voltron fandom and i have so many questions??? whos jeremy and why does everyone in the klance fandom love him? why are some people losing hope over klance while some people say theres been a confirmed endgame? why would people ship keith and shiro if theyre siblings? and are there any iconic klance fics/youtube vids i need to read/watch because theyre a 'staple' in the fandom? thank you💞💕💜💞💘

oh hey welcome to this hell!!!!

jeremy shada is lance’s voice actor!!! he’s a lovely guy who loves lance (probably more than us) and we all love him because every single chance he gets he alludes to klance being canon ajisejgsidjsi he’s the most chaotic person ever

ahh so im not sure how far u’ve gotten in the series (spoilers for s6) but there’s an episode where keith spends two years on the back of whale bc time passes weirdly, while for everyone else it’s like. a month for something. a lot of people were worried about this being used as a way to “age keith up” so that lance ends up being a lot younger than keith, but we discovered that the oldest keith could be is 20 and lance 18. so it’s chill. also, there was a lot of a//urance moments in this season, which made a lot of people believe that they’re the endgame.

here’s the klible, the bible of klance (i recommend reading this on laptop bc it’s REALLY big and will lag ur phone)

because they’re fucking nasty and ignore the fact that the show basially said that sh adopted k ://

OH BOY THERE’S SO MUCH!! i put the most iconic ones undercut for u to get u started, but send me another ask if u want more lmao

fics:

what a healing pod cant repair by remember_me

The compromised wormhole was ripping apart at the seams, sending everyone spiraling away in completely different directions. Lance could feel himself being pulled and bent in ways he was definitely not supposed to be.

Stitching the team back together after everyone is separated is difficult, and for one Paladin rescue wouldn't be coming for a very long time.

just static by jessadilla

--Static-----iro, Hunk, Kei---, nybody? I’m-----static----I’m sorry guys. This is all my----static--cc-----I found my coordinates. They’re---stttcc--guys. I hear something-----scccc--end transmission-

Alone on a hostile planet, transmissions aren't getting through. How did it come to this?

26 kisses by insominiacarrest

Lance lets slip a habit from his past and home or-A silly fluff drabble that turned into a space opera about boys falling in love; space plague, alien planets, and being stranded, Keith and Lance try to make it home

crossroads by manamune

When Keith crashed his Lion into a Galra warship in order to stop it from destroying a solar system, and more importantly, his friends, he was fully prepared to die for it.

What he didn’t prepare for was to wake up in an alternate universe where he and Lance were dating.

call me, beep me by orphan_account

(00:31) Do you think she gave me the wrong number on purpose?(00:31) Or was it a genuine mistake?(00:32) Like maybe she writes funny and I misread it?(00:32) Some of the numbers do look a little dodgy...(00:33) Cause, you know, her threes could very easily be poorly formed eights? And maybe she writes her sevens like her ones?(00:45) What(00:46) The(00:46) Fuck???(00:47) Oh good, you are awake!

where lance messages the wrong number and things kind of snowball from there

nightmares by trashness

Lance's nightmares are getting out of control. It's effecting his and the team's performance, but he's at a loss for how to fix this.

Apparently sleeping next to a warm body helps.

(there’s a lot more but there’s are some of the most well known ones!)

youtube: (quick fyi, i dont usually go on youtube cause there’s a lot of Bad Stuff on there but here are some cool ones!)

be my sidekick? (animatic)

bobs burgers in voltron

a documentary following the modern gay space teen

deny the bi (a documentary of a bi in denial)

also i recommend watching fictionalcrystals - she does lots of theory videos and they’re really interesting

[taeddybearkim]

The Hidden World // Part Five

cr.

Genre: Hogwarts!AU, occasional angst & comedy, some fluff kinda idk but it’s fluff

Pairing: Jongdae x Female Reader, ft. EXO

A/N: This chapter is really meh so I’m sorry in advance for being so boring lol

Series Masterlist

***

Jongdae’s Point of View

Here I was again, watching her sleep.

I could have just sat there and watched her for the rest of break, but I guess the nostalgia got the better of me.

Without hesitation, I reached out to grab her hand as it had been calling for me to touch it since the moment I sat down next to her. It wasn’t long before I felt the urge to just spill everything that I had been bottling up inside of me, and the Hospital Wing was empty anyway, so it would just be a conversation between me and Y/N. She wasn’t replying, but that was okay.

“I just wish you could remember me, Y/N,” I sighed, receiving no reaction from the other end. From then on, I just kept talking. I was next to her, her hand was warm against mine, and we were all by ourselves -- that seemed like perfection in my eyes.

I sighed once more, suddenly hit once again with the fact that Y/N didn’t remember any of our memories, but I had held onto every single one of them. Carrying them around with me as I bared the painful reality in my heart. I began stroking her soft hands, and it might have been one of the most beautiful feelings in the world. “If you could just remember everything that we had done together, if you could just remember me.” 

I was silent for a while. I thought back to the first time I had met her. In the forest, afraid to even make the slightest sound when she was clearly in pain. Her first ever words to me were “Don’t hurt me.” How could I hurt her? The thought made my stomach drop and my face formed into a pained frown. My first words to her were in response to hers. “No, I won’t hurt you.” I had spoken the truth in its full form. There was no way I could imagine myself hurting Y/N.

She had told me her name when I asked what it was, using that book’s title. Ever since I could remember, I loved it when my mother or Minseok hyung read that story to me. I was fascinated by the character Y/N in the book, and how she was able to get through anything with her partner, Chen. Speaking of the book, a particular chapter flashed into my mind, and I spoke again, without thinking, this time to the real Y/N sleeping peacefully in front of me. “The Y/N in the book hadn’t forgotten about Chen when she lost her memory during that fight with the goblin… So why did you, Y/N? Why did you forget me? Why did you forget about your Chen?”

I had no idea why I had concluded myself to be the equivalent of Chen to her. A second later, it started to make sense. Perhaps me and my brothers were the first nice people she knew, along with my mother of course. That’s why her closeness to us was more than anything. 

I guessed it only made sense that I was indeed like Chen to her, since the bond that had formed between us was stronger. She talked to me the most among everyone else in the house, and we had even shared some moments that could be described as somewhat intimate, I guess. She hadn’t lived through anything like that with any of my other brothers.

Before I knew it, I was sobbing, and I could not stop myself. The memory alone was too painful to remember, and I kept referring to everything in the past tense, which urged it even more. What really became a breaking point was when I remembered that Y/N had found me crying to myself in my room one day, when she still remembered me. I don’t know what I was crying over, only that I had sat down next to my bed, hugging my knees closer to myself as my tears stained the fabric of my clothes. She came running to sit next to me, placing her hand on my back, asking me what was wrong. When I gave her no answer, she had told me that she hated it when I cried, and that she wished that I wouldn’t cry anymore. “I want you to smile, always,” she had looked at me with so much sincerity in her eyes and a smile brighter than the sun.

That was the moment I knew.

Although it seemed too early, and I was too young for it, I was in love with Y/N.

Yet, I had never had the chance to tell her that.

“You know what I regret the most?” I blurted out between sobs, “Not telling you these words when I had the chance, and when you could still remember them if I told you.” It was indeed a huge regret I had. I had these uncontrollable feelings towards her that kept on growing like a snowball with her every step, every word, and every gesture. Of course, life had decided to throw a joke on my way during this process. A sick joke that destroyed my chances of telling her when she was still right beside me, in my house, eating on the same table as me, living with me. 

My whole demeanor changed when suddenly, my brain decided on a course of action. It was too late to turn back now, and it was the only chance that I had got in the three years that I had known Y/N.

That, and also, I wouldn’t forgive myself for not confessing to her when we were finally united once again.

Because above all the nostalgia, loss of memory, and pain; she was my first and only love.

“I don’t know why I’m going to tell them now, since you won’t remember it anyway, but I’m afraid that I might not get a chance afterwards. I’m afraid that this will be the only opportunity for me to say them.”

I leaned down toward her figure, the close proximity causing my heart to perform somersaults in its place, but I pushed it aside with the next three words I had to say. I came as close as I could to her ear, and then...

I finally said it.

“I love you.”

I slowly began to move away, and then I noticed that she was shifting in her sleep. 

Nostalgia sucked.

A lot.

Her eyes were still closed when she whispered something that caught me off guard.

“Jongdae...”

My very own name.

I was confused beyond words. I had so many questions. What was I supposed to make out of this? Did it mean anything at all?

Right as I was going to wake her up by calling her name, she woke up herself.

***

Y/N’s Point of View

After the world in the dream shattered, I was surrounded by an endless white. Something was flooding into my very being, my soul, and my mind. I wasn’t doing anything to stop it, because it was what I was looking for.

Memories of the boy who was still standing next to me, the only thing visible in the sea of bright light.

I could finally turn to face him now, and I could say his name without having to confirm it by looking at his face. Because these memories could belong to one person, and one person only.

I remembered everything. The first time I had met him was at least two weeks before the original date I remembered. I recalled the first day I met him and his family, the nightmare I had, how he had comforted me. The days after that were filled with happiness. And then one day, a man had come by, he was the boys’ father... And then...

What happened after that?

I said his name as the flooding of memories finally came to an end. He looked like he was about to say my name back to me, but before that could happen, I left the realm of dreams behind, and slowly fluttered my eyes open into the world of reality.

I was still lying in one of the beds, the sun still seeped in through the windows. It must be sometime around lunch. That meant I had slept through Divination and Herbology.

Of course, none of these were as breathtaking and exciting as the boy in front of me.

When I saw him, I thought I must still be dreaming, because his already handsome features, combined with our old memories, made him irresistibly ethereal. But I was indeed awake. He was with me. Just like the first day I met him.

I wondered if I had done anything to cause an expression of shock on his face. Speaking of the first day I met him, I said something that I had wanted to get off my chest that day.

“You didn’t leave this time.” My voice was pretty quiet, but I was sure he had heard it.

“Y-You... you--” he stuttered, and I answered his question for him, as a single tear of joy made its way across my face. “I remember.”

He was too shocked to even speak. He still held onto my hand, looking at me with his mouth agape, and his mind probably swarming with questions. Both of us needed the reality to settle in, so I spoke. “Your name is Kim Jongdae, you live with your brothers Minseok, Junmyeon, and Jongin, along with your mother, Miss Eunhwa. I met you on July 15, three years ago.” It also doubled as a check-up on myself, to see if I was properly remembering everything. “All the days in between were beautiful, but then that night when your father--”

“He ruined everything,” Jongdae finally spoke, his voice was barely noticeable. That was funny, I never thought a loud boy like him had the potential to speak this quietly. 

“What happened that night?” I asked him. “I remember everything else, but I don’t remember what happened when he came. What caused me to forget?”

“You and the other boys were affected by a charm,” his eyes looked down on our hands, and he began stroking them again. “A memory charm that causes people to forget other people they have recently met. That’s why you didn’t remember any of us, and the boys don’t remember you either.”

“What about you and Miss Eunhwa? Judging by how you still remembered me, then you mustn’t have been affected.”

“Yeah, me and Mother weren’t there when it happened,” he nodded, before his eyes started flickering in anger. “That bastard put us through literal hell.”

“I’m so sorry, Dae,” his eyes shot back at me at the mention of his nickname. “I’m so sorry you and Miss Eunhwa had to live through that. I’m so sorry that I treated you like a stranger--” Before I knew it, I was crying. The sorrow I felt was inexplicable. He, of all people, and his sweet mother had to go through so much emotional pain because I didn’t recognize them anymore.

I was too lost in my thoughts and tears that I only noticed that Jongdae had moved closer to me again as I felt his body against mine. He hesitated for a bit, giving me a partial hug, since he must have still felt unsure about the situation. I closed the distance between us, and my tears slowly came to a stop as I felt his heartbeat against my chest. His hands moved to stroke my hair, while mine tightly wrapped around his back.

“So you really remember,” his voice sounded, and I nodded into his shoulder as I hugged him tighter, if that was even possible. “You were wrong on what you said,” my words surprised him, and I continued as I pulled away from him. “See, I didn’t forget about my Chen after all,” I smiled at him.

“H-How did you hear that?” he stuttered, clearly not expecting that. “Well, it could have only been you, right? You were the one with me this whole time. Just like the first day we met,” I blushed as I looked away. I was especially fond of that memory, and I was extremely glad it was back.

I hadn’t realized that he was still holding my hand when he brought it up to his face, only to drop it afterwards in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was still holding--”

“Dae,” I interrupted with a smile, “I’m not a stranger anymore. I remember everything we shared, so we can just pick up from where we left off, right?” I surprised even myself as I brought up my hands to cup his cheeks and squeeze his face, which made his already nice lips look even nicer.

...What the hell am I thinking?

Before I had a chance to pull away, his hands closed down on mine, and I was forced to keep holding onto his face. He spoke between his now pouted lips. “Well, if you insist,” he smirked. “I would like that, actually.”

I had a feeling that he would. It must have been the hardest for him, having to abandon everything he knew of me and approach me as a completely different person.

“I’m sorry--” I began again, and he shook his head. “Don’t apologize anymore, Y/N. It’s not your fault.” He finally smiled as we both loosened our hands. “I’m so glad to have you back.”

“So am I,” I smiled, before furrowing my brows. “Wait, since you were indeed the one that was speaking all along, that means that you told me that you lo-”

I am stopped as Jongdae placed a hand on my mouth. I don’t understand why he’s embarrassed because he--

Oh.

He just confessed to me.

He just confessed to me!

“Jongdae,” I tried to speak, struggling under his hand. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed of...”

“I hoped you hadn’t heard that,” he pouted, slowly removing his hand. “It’s too embarrassing to confront it now,” he said, ruffling his hair shyly.

“How could I not hear that?” I tried to get his attention by moving my face where he could see it, since he was looking away from me. “How could I not hear it when it’s what made me wake up?”

He looked at me with wide eyes, and I continued. “I only remembered everything after you said that. Before, I was struggling to come up with your name and I couldn’t even move in the dream. You were there, talking to me, just like you were doing so in real life. And then I broke free from everything when you said that. Your memories and your name came back soon after.”

Was that a blush? “My confession... saved you?”

I was nodding when suddenly three boys ran into the Hospital Wing, not giving me enough time to think about what I would make out of Jongdae’s confession.

Namely, the rest of the Kim brothers.

“Y/N noona!” Jongin jumped at me, most unexpectedly. I tried to act calm as he proceeded to hug me. “I remember you now!”

Wait, what?

“You what?” Jongdae voiced my thoughts as he looked at Junmyeon and Minseok for explanation. The eldest spoke. “We all had this weird flash of a vision, and then we remembered stuff about Y/N.”

“We’re so sorry we forgot about you, Y/N,” Junmyeon smiled at me. “Why did we forget her though?” he looked around the rest of his brothers.

“We were affected by a memory charm, apparently,” I spoke, between choking squeezes from Jongin. I laughed, “Jongin, I’m glad you remember me, but I’m kind of choking over here,” Jongin slowly moved away with a huge smile on his face, under the glare of a seemingly pissed Jongdae. 

“What was the vision like? Why did you suddenly remember her?” Jongdae looked at them again. “I think it might have something to do with Y/N,” Minseok answered. “We only remembered after she remembered us, right?” I nodded, and he continued. “We were all in a forest, it seemed similar to the one we have near home, and there were two people sitting in front of us. One was Dae, the other was a girl. That must be you. Dae was talking to you, and then he whispered something before everything disappeared. That’s when we remembered and ran in here when we heard that Dae had run off here from the boys.”

“That sounds similar to what I saw,” I nodded, and smiled back at them. “So, we all remember each other now, right?” All four of them nodded at me as they smiled. “Do you guys think... we can pick things up where we left off? But catch up with each other too, of course,” I grew quiet on my last sentence, slightly hesitant. I really wanted my old friends back, now that I actually remembered their existence once again. The boys did a good job at making my worries go away.  “Of course,” Junmyeon smiled, “They say real childhood friends never disappear,” Minseok also appeared to be smiling. “Yes, Y/N noona, please! I have so much to tell you from my other school last year!”

I looked at Jongin, suddenly remembering. “That’s right, you guys were supposed to go to another school. What happened?”

All of them visibly shifted, before Jongdae placed a hand on my back. “I’ll tell you later. How about we all get out of here now that we’re all reunited?”

Jongin laughed as he picked me up from my hand, Jongdae following the two of us with his hand still on my back. Smiles decorated all of our faces as I checked out of the Hospital Wing and we made our way outside, towards the benches near the exterior hallway. The rest of the boys went ahead to join their friends who were already sitting on the bench, while Jongdae stood back with me.

“Not ready yet?” he looked at me, and he was almost pouting, which was cuter than I could admit. I nodded slightly, “I just woke up from a long sleep, I don’t think I look my best to be with a group of att-- I mean, a group of boys,” I stopped myself before I was about to blurt out the fact that I found them to be attractive. “What do you mean? You look beautiful,” Jongdae, on the other hand, was too late to stop himself. He placed a hand over his mouth in shock, only to chuckle awkwardly later. “Well, I’m glad you think so, but I think it would be best if I just go to freshen up in my dorm and get ready for my next class,” I smiled to hide the blush on my cheeks. “I’ll see you in dinner anyway. Oh, and could you tell Sehun to bring his Herbology notes from today? I need to take them down. I’ll do something about Divination too,” I looked over to the group again, and saw them all conversing happily. For some reason, it made me happy as well.

“Sure thing,” Jongdae smiled, and waved before we both walked away. “See you at dinner, Y/N.”

Jongdae’s Point of View

I made my way toward the boys once Y/N was out of my vision. All the while, I was smiling to myself like an idiot, and feeling happier than a child. I was so happy that I even ignored Baekhyun’s comment. Minseok hyung interrupted him before I could, anyway. “Well, look who’s back? What happened to bros before h-”

“Shut up, Baekhyun,” hyung almost glared at him. Baekhyun shot his hands up in surrender and muttered something to Chanyeol, which made the giant laugh.

“Dae was just worried about Y/N for a second, that’s why he ran off,” Myeon explained instead of me. He usually did that. Most of the time, my behavior seemed inexplicable to many people, so Myeon was always there to explain things to them.

“I see,” Baekhyun spoke with a smirk, “The question is, why?”

I broke out of my happy trance and looked at Minseok hyung, inaudibly asking him if we should tell the boys about how we knew Y/N. “I’ll tell them,” hyung nodded at me, and turned to the others. “Well, turns out Y/N is actually a childhood friend of ours. We didn’t recognize her because she had changed so much,” Baekhyun spoke again, with a big smile this time. “A childhood friend? That’s so cool!” he turned to Chanyeol and the boy shared a similar expression to his. “Life can be so strange,” Kyungsoo spoke, which was really rare, “The four of you were destined to meet her again, after all that time. It’s almost like fate.” His words were enough to spur some “oooh” sounds from the boys, to which me and Myeon rolled our eyes. “Cut the dramatic act, they met a childhood friend, that’s all,” Yixing hyung spoke from behind them, as he was walking towards Minseok hyung. “Now all of you get ready for your classes, we’ll see you guys at dinner,” him and hyung walked off to their class.

Dinner. I didn’t know that this word, out of many words, would be making my stomach flip in excitement. I couldn’t wait for dinner tonight.

***

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