#i appreciate his concern but i think the amount of stress i'm putting him under is undue. like just relax i got this

[galene-gothic]

- PAID READING FEEDBACK -

Hi Galene, don’t trust when I say I'll send feedback in a few days🤣 that's like code for a few weeks ahahah. But it did give time for me to properly read the reading and take everything on board. You were so spot on when you said I feel apathetic ahh, for ages, like last week I went to do some shopping and I swear I wasn't even there mentally I just felt so withdrawn, I've sometimes even had people say that I'm daydreaming when I'm not paying attention to a conversation happening, I'm too tired to be concerned 😅💀. I just wish for time alone tbh cause I'm so fed up. think it's because I've got so many exams, coursework/responsibility I just feel so overwhelmed, especially with the amount of fallouts with friends it's just too much and I'm exhausted. When you said i would fall Ill to overworking I actually passed out in one of my clinicals and had the worst flu ever, my lecturers/ nurses had to take blood pressure it was chaotic, and anytime I went to my hospital clinicals I've had the worst nosebleeds. What the heck are you sure youre not the one spying on me, you were so accurate!! But I feel almost relieved that my hardwork won't go to waste one way or another. I can think of a few off the top of my head who would be bitter and try to pick dirt off me, they're the same who would spread gossip/rumours about god knows what. I trusted people too much for definite. I didn't think I was that interesting to spy on tbf🤣 although I unfriended the ones who were nasty to me and I think that pissed them off because they unadded me on insta soon after. The only way they'd know I unadded them was if they were watching my account everyday lmaoo. I haven't seen these girls in like 3 years. I'm trying to do better and get a better sleeping routine to help with the stress and my mental health over all. But I'd be tossing and turning thinking about everything. "Everything happened for a reason" is so reassuring and I feel it's helping me grow into a more discerning and smarter person. The bitchiness is too real haha, my life is literally the movie Mean Girls on steroids. I feel like I have to be so strategic and careful about what I say incase I give them ammo to talk about me. Peace is all I want atp but the big mouths follow me anyway, I will protect my peace by being deceptive ;). And the logical hard lad you described is basically my dad🤣 he's a tough guy and wouldn't be pushed about but he'd still care about others and has always been there for me. I sometimes feel like that's why I talk so sharply because he has a level of influence on me. It's also him who encouraged me to do my nursing. My warrior spirit would come from him, as he taught me never to give up! I thought though what you said about everyone being basically strangers was what I needed to hear exactly. Like I shouldn't let these girls put me under anymore pressure than what I already am under. I've learnt a lot of lessons after all of this and will carry this forward. I'm laughing at being told to save money, all my money goes to fuel to my car🤣 but power and status sounds so worth it. I'm so looking forward for this cycle to end and to be able to breath again lolll. And your insta quote is so true it's every man for himself. I really appreciate the amount of detail you put into the reading in such a short period of time. You've done so much research as well with the laws of power and giving me a specific quote for my situation. I will do as best as I can for myself and give myself a rest so I don't burnout.

Thank you so much, I hope to talk again soon!!

[anasticep]

Why Julie and the Phantoms is a masterpiece of a show. Part 2. Heroes and Villains or Let that foil shine

NOTE: Thanks again for your kind response to Part 1. I never expected that. It being my first tumblr post and a first meta in quite a long time I was blown away. I read all the tags, some were really hilarious. About having more than one brain cell xDDD I laughed so hard. It means a lot.

NOTE2: Please remember that the gifs are made by me, so don't crop, edit or give as yours.

Part 1.

Before diving into meta, I have to mention that the Villain of the story is actually one of the best in the decade. He’s cool, evil from the start, we understand his motives and we certainly are not supposed to love and make excuses for him. The writers made sure of that. So back to the main topic.

A foil is a character who contrasts with another character; typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist

Foils in literature are not necessarily antagonists. A friend can be a foil or sometimes even a thing, a song. Whatever can make a good and real contrast to the protagonist. But it’s not very simple to use this author’s device and not fall down a deep hole. Because you have to make sure you did just the right amount of work to make it understandable for a reader, the things you want to contrast are definitely there and still you don't waste a character. On TV it can be even harder given limited air time. And, well, I don’t come across this device being used in full very often nowadays. It’s usually good and evil fighting for the plot. That’s why I personally appreciate JaTP so much.

Caleb is clearly a foil to Luke. As much as I’d love to say that Julie also has one, that’s not entirely true, at least not this season. Carrie is not her foil though it may seem so, and I really think that’s cool as Julie’s journey is being presented through her own demons and I'm going to cover that next. That being said, of course Caleb doubles as an antagonist plotwise, but I personally consider him being written more as a contract to Luke so we could see and appreciate his character and journey better.

1. Origins

Caleb and Luke have extremely similar backgrounds. They are both natural performers. They know how to deliver, because c’mon, “Now or Never” is something and so is “The other side of Hollywood”. Stage is their natural habitat, their element, power. Although they channel this power from completely different places.

Let’s start with our little ball of energy. It’s emphasized TWICE that he doesn’t care about the money aka the physical side of art.

All Luke wants is to make music. Connect with people. He is so happy just to be heard despite him loving to perform. Making music is what makes him feel alive and basically that’s enough. I think if there was no “hologram” magic at all, Luke would have still been extremely happy to make music with and for Julie. Because that’s the way he is.

But Caleb doesn’t know that. He knows, and I’m standing by that, right away that Luke is the one to aim at. Because we always feel the similarity in people. If Luke said yes, Reggie and Alex would have followed. So Caleb recognizes the passion and shoots at them what he thinks is appealing. And, oh boy, he delivers.

“The Other Side of Hollywood” is a perfect song to emphasize Luke and Caleb being foils for each other. Follow me here:

But these lines come from very different places. For Caleb the only thing that matters is himself. He owns the show, he IS the show. It’s about being famous, drowning in applause, admiration. Look at how he performs. Confident, yes, but still very much in control. He must keep his perfect face. No flaws, no real emotions, no real connection (Did you miss ME? I did too // This band is back). Whereas Luke is simply living the best time of his life each time he performs. Is it just jamming? Bring it on. Doing fun riffs? He’s all for it. He doesn’t care how he looks (though who could deny gorgeous sweaty Luke), he owns the show just because he is a natural.

So back to the business. Caleb immediately puts the boys in his own shoes:

On the other side we live like kings // Your soulprint on the walk of fame on the boulevard of your wildest dreams // I got your glamour, got your gold, got all you’ll ever need

And, I mean, he is not that wrong. You can see the appeal on the boys’ faces. They are young, passionate, handsome, talented musicians. Of course they wouldn’t deny fame. Of course they would want all that to some extent. And Caleb is very sure he pulled the right strings.

Watch me make a move, I’m your number one choice

Also I have to mention, as we are talking about TOSOH (IKEA name again) and it being a foil for Luke, thy lyrics still don’t forget about what is important for Reggie and Alex (we’ll talk about that just a bit later):

Welcome to the brotherhood -> Reggie

Where you won’t be misunderstood -> Alex

Then again, lots of foreshadowing in the song, if you listen carefully the lyrics are stressing the true colors of the offer:

A tomb with a view

Man, what a metaphor. I would have run out of there the minute I heard this line. But our boys share one brain cell (I can’t get over how funny this is) and it’s currently taken by Julie, so I don’t blame them.

Disappointment is huge. Caleb read it all wrong. So we are moving to the next point in our Heroes and Villains essay.

2. Recruitment

It’s very cool that Caleb offers the boys to join his band right after Luke offers Julie to join Sunset Curve. They both are going out of their ways to get that (although have different budgets apparently. But look, they live in a garage). Luke made a hit with a bunch of Julie’s not very well structured lines (I love Flying Solo with all my heart as a song, but as a poem it just looks weird to me) to impress her, and we all saw the show Caleb had thrown to impress the boys. Plus food. And fancy dancing. But here is where contrast comes again.

Caleb offers to join the band, yes, but only as backup singers. It’s his show, remember? It’s only about him. He doesn’t care if they are even good. He wants their magic under control.

Share the spotlight with ME / How do you like MY new band?!

Luke offering Julie a spot in the band is a completely different story. He saw what she is capable of. He instantly knows she must be the key to a new sound, a new level. And he, a natural performer, frontman, lead guitarist, steps back and gives the spotlight to Julie. To think about it, he could have just got her magic under control by giving her simple lines, incorporating piano in the songs and that’s all. They would be visible, he would still be a center of attention, and Julie herself wouldn't mind that much. But that’s not who Luke is. Yes, there is a funny scene of “Hey, I’m your lead singer” and “you don’t have to be mean”, but it’s just messing around. Because right after that he finishes Flying Solo, writes several other songs with Julie, seeks her approval of Sunset Curve songs and basically follows her around like an adorable excited puppy.

Moving on and back to the rejection. Again the writers are mirroring them. Julie quits the band & the boys decline the offer. What does Luke do? Well, he tries the way he knows: books a gig, makes Reggie and Alex sing in perfect harmonies and does his puppy eyes thing. And it doesn’t work. And Luke goes to reflect and then probably try to come up with a plan. But something tells me he would not have haunted Julie until she joined them.

What does Caleb do after the initial rejection? Puts a cursed stamp that leaves them no choice but to join HGC. You don’t need to say more.

But in fact the more I think about it, the more I suspect Caleb also not possessing enough mental capacity for a human being. Like, if it wasn’t for Willie, how would they even know? Has Caleb planned to simply show up one day and casually explain? Look, foils in everything.

“You’re in a tough spot… So, you wanna join the band?” | “Looked like it hurt… you know where to find me”

But we sidestepped a bit.

3. Pulling the strings

After the song Caleb comes out to consolidate his success. What he does is clever and, btw, that’s the only time he becomes Julie’s foil. They are stating basically the same thing.

Again, Julie is concerned about the band and the boys, while Caleb is only concerned about having them under control. But they both are pulling basically the right strings.

What is interesting, Caleb actually impressed the wrong person (and that person is our sweet Reggie). Luke follows the string Julie pulled. Although the offer is tempting, he insists twice that they are in a band already directly to Caleb and then in Eats&Beats he says "It's like Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound». No matter what Caleb promised, Luke is not affected at all although Caleb’s offer is a very-very safe choice.

Speaking about using friends as foils, Alex and Reggie also serve as contrast characters for Luke at some points. Luke’s indifference to money is first stressed through Alex who is clearly the chief accountant for the band. His lines about not getting tips, living in a garage and «it’s a little bit about the money» are waved aside by Luke. Reggie is clearly the most affected by the whole Bobbie thing. His lines «I don’t care what Julie said, I’m glad we scared Bobbie», «So we’re gonna forget about getting back at Trevor?» are getting a clear contrast by Luke’s «It’s what Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound» and «He has to live with that guilt».

While editing the article I realised a very cool thing I haven't noticed before. How badly Luke wants to go on tour. And again that's another thing Caleb offers as if reading his mind. That's actually brilliant, to think about it.

Caleb is a VERY good reader. He tests the waters with a speech about disappearing from stage and going around the world and all dreams coming true. Still he doesn’t know the boys and especially Luke, so his phrase “no real connection” doesn’t register that much.

But he learns. Remember the lines I’ve marked before?

Reggie is afraid they will not be together after they cross over. He is in desperate need of a family. So wouldn’t it be nice to spend the rest of your afterlife with your brothers? (Reggie's main insecurity is loneliness, feel of a broken family. That's why he is the most concerned about crossing over. Will his family stay intact?)

Alex is insecure, and not being understood by the people closest to him will always hit hard. So welcome to a place where you won’t be misunderstood. And actually we know there is a guy you like and find comfort in. (Alex's insecurity is growing up in times when he could not truly be himself even with his family and for sure not believing he would ever be able to find someone meant just for him)

That mirrors the whole Luke’s beach speech perfectly. Only comparing them we can truly appreciate why Luke is the leader. He shuts down his own demons to make Alex and Reggie remember that they are not alone (“and I believe in you”. sorry. Olicity fan).

Caleb makes them suffer to get what he wants. But this time he is careful with the words aimed at Luke. Yes, he repeats his words about vanishing and applauses BUT he makes sure that his words about CONNECTION are the key words for Luke. Intense look, calming voice, touching - these are all elements of hypnosis. And Luke is in a daze. (Continuing the parents' thing, for Luke the main insecurity is not managing to connect with his mom. Maybe that's such a big thing for him: through all these people he wanted to find that connection with her)

4. The Hero’s journey

That’s the best part actually but I won’t be saying anything new or that you don’t know. Luke is made of lyrics and music. That’s his soul, heart, that’s the feeling running through his veins. He doesn’t need anything other than that in his life. Playing for eternity is “a gift no musician would ever turn down”. But he actually does turn it down. As well as his dream to go see the world with his band (is there covid in jatp universe?). He is the one who resists the hardest to the pull. Luke, who always has a guitar in his hands, doesn't want to play. Because it’s not only about the music now. He has this amazing girl in his afterlife who was willing to accept them for who they were, helped Luke battle his own demons, eased his pain and made him open up. And it doesn’t make sense any longer without her anymore. “And you’re a part of me now till eternity”.

Caleb, being Luke’s foil, completely misses the whole point of connection. It’s not in his nature. His house band are just recruits (Just so happens you’re in luck we’ve got a vacancy). For Luke his band is his family (We are the only family we ever gonna need). The Connection theme is one of the main in the show. And it’s so cool to show it focused through Luke whose best way of interaction is a touch. But not being able to touch Julie Luke has to find other ways, although it’s not that simple for him. And Julie backs that up: We connect in so many other ways. They literally touched each other's souls. Without knowing she put a stamp of her own on Luke, Alex and Reggie. They’ve never felt loved enough, appreciated enough, supported enough. They’ve only had each other. And Julie’s stamp is love. And for Luke (as well as Reggie and Alex) from now on this girl is worth dying for all over again.

_______

So yeah. I hope you enjoyed it, as I for sure enjoyed writing. There is gonna be a part 3 about Julie and a few honorable mentions of parallels of the Pilot and the Finale (I hope at least to do all that). I’ve also figured very very cool connections in the songs and I can’t wait to share.

Also as I was heavily speaking about The Other side of Hollywood, @catty-words has a wonderful meta on rain metaphors here (sorry for tagging, if you don't want to be tagged), check it out if you somehow missed it. It's super clever.

[maroonmorons]

Not sure if this is fluffy enough but: the team being on a call/hanging out together & buck (accidentally/on purpose) getting punched in the face. He gets a nose bleed/ busted lip & everyone is like super worried cuz blood thinners, especially eddie who coddles him a lot, & buck pretends to be a bit miffed at first, like guys i'm fine!!, but he's actually super happy & feeling loved cuz his family still loves him even after all that shit went down. HE'S A CINNAMON ROLL THAT DESERVES ALL THE LOVE

sorry if my heart a little slow [buck/eddie, T, 1.8k]

The thing is – once they’ve had decent calls for severalshifts in a row Buck forgets how quickly a call can go bad.

They didn’t even have to lose someone on the call for it togo bad.

No, instead the call just had to start moving too quicklyfor them to be able to keep up with it.

Tonight it’s a four car pile up thanks to a drunk driverswerving into oncoming traffic. Luckily no one is DOA on the scene. Theambulance has already left with the mother and son who were in the first carstruck.

That leaves their crew to deal with everyone else, includingthe drunk driver.

Buck thought the drunk driver was secure – well the trick tothat was that the drunk driver had been secure. Until the assholeregained consciousness.

He was belligerent immediately, shoving Madison off andtrying to climb to his feet.

Eddie and Buck look over in the same second but Eddie getsthe jump, roughly two feet closer than Buck is.

Trying to stuff his concern down somewhere below his gut,Buck turns back to the middle aged man he’s treating. He applies anotherbutterfly bandage to the man’s split brow.

Behind him he hears a solid blow and then a body falling tothe ground.

Madison screams and Buck can feel it happening.

Like a projector just getting warmed up - click, click,clickclickclick; the call starts moving too fast.

By the time he’s whipped his head around Eddie’s on theground, one hand on his jaw.

The drunk absolutely looms over him, looking eight feet tallin Buck’s eyes.  

Buck might as well be in quicksand.

He remembers enough to look back to the man he’s treating.

           “I’m gonna-”

The man waves him off immediately. There’s a deep frown onhis face but Buck knows it’s not directed at him or any of their crew.

Buck shoves back to his feet, glad to see Eddie’s regainedhis feet as well.

Still, it’s one of those nightmares Buck has routinely. He’smoving but not fast enough. He can’t move nearly fast enough to keep up withthis call.

The drunk swings again and Eddie ducks, leaning down tothrow his arms around the guy’s middle and try to take him to the ground.

Sadly, the key word there is try.

Buck knows Eddie can handle himself. The man was street fightingin his free time for fuck’s sakes.

This dude however is tall and truly thick all the way downhis body. He’s got to be over six feet and at least three hundred pounds.

The alcohol his parietal lobe is currently soaking inprobably doesn’t hurt his chances in a fight either.

Buck finally gets over to them, bless his long legs, and launcheshimself at the guy too.

The drunk just grunts in response; he feels as movable as abrick wall.

           “Can one ofthe cops get over here,” Eddie grunts, the toes of his boots still digging intothe asphalt. “Maybe with a taser?”

           “I-I’m on it,”Madison manages.

Buck stands, rearranging himself. Maybe attacking the centerof gravity is the problem. He wraps his left arm over the drunk’s shoulder,bringing his forearms together behind the broad back to get a good grip. With agrunt of his own, Buck shoves his shoulder into the drunk and tries to topplehim.

After a moment the drunk wavers and Buck redoubles hisefforts, adrenaline pumping steadily through his heart.

But instead of falling back, the drunk just tilts over tothe side. He brings up the arm Buck isn’t wrapped around to shove at Buck.

It barely takes fifteen seconds for the guy to successfullydislodge Buck and send him stumbling off the edge of the road.

Buck’s not exactly angry, nor is he exactly embarrassed.

He catches himself in the dusty silt and turns on one heel.

Unfortunately, he’s in such a rush to get back to help Eddiehe doesn’t think about the fact that he had stumbled off the road.

The toe of his right boot catches on the edge of the asphalt.He’s got too much momentum built up already – or maybe it’s the fact that hisleft leg is just that much slower than the rest of him – but in any case hefalls face first onto the road.

It happens too quickly for him to even put out his arms. Ifhe’d been watching it happen Buck might have even laughed.

But his face catches most of his fall, first his nose andthen his chin.

           “Buck!”Bobby yells.

I’m fine, Buck wants to say. He tries to push himselfup, unsurprised to feel hands on his shoulders already helping him.

           “¡Dios mío!Are you alright, Buck?” Eddie demands.

           “I’m fine,”Buck does say then. “Where’s the drunk? Is he down?”

           “The copsare taking care of him,” Eddie says. He clicks his tongue in disapproval as heturns Buck’s face carefully from side to side.

Buck realizes his face is wet then.

           “Is itbroken?”

           “Might be,”Eddie says tightly. “Come on, let’s get you up.”

Bobby and Madison are already crowding close enough to brushagainst Buck’s shoulders on either side of Eddie.

           “Are youokay, Buck? I’m so sorry I didn’t have the guy.”

           “Madison,what? No one could have had that guy, it’s not your fault.”

           “It’s noone’s fault,” Bobby agrees. “We’re just lucky the cops were here with theirtasers. The 121 is arriving on scene. Madison, let’s go help them. Eddie, areyou good to get Buck cleaned up?”

           “I’ve gothim,” Eddie confirms.

           “I’m okay,”Buck protests. “Eddie’s the one that got punched in the face.”

           “Eddie’snot the one on blood thinners.”

Damn blood thinners.

…

Peculiarly, things only seem to get worse once they get backto the station.

Hen all but runs to Buck’s side.

           “Buckaroo!Are you okay?” She’s already reaching up gently to tilt his face into betterlight. “Are you sure you don’t need the hospital?”

           “Hen, I’mokay, I promise. My nose isn’t even broken. Everything stopped bleeding andEddie bandaged my jaw up. It’s not even going to scar. Probably.”

Chim’s joined them by then, squeezing Buck’s shoulder firmly.

           “Our residentdaredevil,” he says. There’s a certain amount of fondness in his tone and itmakes Buck feel like blushing. “Are you okay though?”

           “Guys, I’mfine.”

           “You’re notjust saying that?” Hen double checks. “You know you’re not gonna get benchedjust for a minor injury right?”

           “We justwant you to be okay,” Chim agrees immediately.

           “I promiseI’m okay,” Buck reaffirms.

He feels like one of those little baby dolls with a stringin its back – just repeating the same thing over and over again.

“Eddie’s the one that got punched in the face,” he adds. “AndCap cleared me. I’m all good.”

           “Eddie’sfine,” Hen dismisses, even rolling her eyes.

           “Dude wasstreet fighting for fun,” Chim reminds Buck.

           “C’monguys,” Buck whines, “I’m alright.”

           “Good,” Hensays with a decisive nod.

           “Is dinneralmost ready?” Chim questions as he starts toward the stairs. “I’m starving.”

Hen makes no move to join him.

           “I’ll meetyou guys up there,” Buck tells her gently. “Gotta finish up down here.”

But Hen just shakes her head.

           “I’ll doit. Go help set the table – or just sit down. You can’t hold the whole world onyour shoulders, Buck. Honestly.”

           “But I’m-”

           “I know youare.”

           “C’mon Hen.”Buck whines quietly. “I don’t want you guys thinking I’m weak.”

           “No one herethinks you’re weak, Evan. We just want to make sure you’re taken care of.”

Hen’s eyes are impossibly warm as she looks directly intohis and Buck feels about four feet tall under the weight of her words.

Seemingly unaware of his internal conflict, she continues.

“Because we love you.”

It’s not as if Buck doesn’t know that. He does.

Still, he feels shaken to hear Hen say it directly to him.

His stubbornness abandons him like the tide going out andBuck manages a tiny smile.

           “Okay,” heagrees on a whisper. “I love you too.”

Hen hugs him again before giving him a gentle push backtoward the stairs.

…

While Buck had been allowed to help set the table he’sforbidden from cooking or from helping clean up.

Instead, he’s settled (forcibly) on one of the sofas withEddie.

Eddie even slings both socked feet into Buck’s lap as if tokeep him from getting up any time soon.

His jaw is already starting to bruise but he doesn’t seemconcerned over it and neither does anyone else in the station.

           “How’s yourjaw?” Buck questions.

           “How’s yourjaw?”

           “I’m fine,”Buck stresses. “F, I, N, E – fine.”

           “Well, I’vebeen hit harder. I’m fine too.”

           “Don’tremind me,” Buck grumbles.

After a moment of tense silence, he forces himself to lookon the bright side.

“At least my nose isn’t broken. I don’t think my Owen Wilsonimpression is any good.”

Eddie arches a dark eyebrow.

           “Why wouldyou need to do an Owen Wilson impression?”

           “How elseam I gonna find someone to marry me with a fucked up face?”

Eddie huffs.

           “Shut up,Buck.”

Buck pouts.

           “What? Peopleare fine with hooking up with me but it’s not like anyone wants more. I can’tget any uglier Eddie, I’ll die with twenty four cats.”

           “Anyuglier?” Eddie demands, his voice growing much louder than the conversation warrants.“What are you talking about, Buck? You’re at least a ten. At least.”

           “Okay,first of all – you have to say that because you’re my best friend. Secondly, Idon’t know if the opinion of a straight man is worth that much to my ego; even thoughI appreciate it. Thirdly, once I’m old and retired you’re gonna have to call meevery two days to make sure the cats aren’t eating my eyeballs.”

Eddie’s mouth moves with no sound coming out for several seconds.

           “I probablyshouldn’t say that because you’re my best friend,” he finally settles on. “AndI’m not straight.”

He frowns then, as if deciding whether or not to tackle theeyeball statement.

Buck takes pity on him.

           “They’d bestarving, Eddie. Everyone knows they eat the eyeballs first because they’reeasy to get to and squishy or whatever. It wouldn’t be their fault. But, I wantan open casket so you need to make sure they aren’t chowing down, alright?”

Eddie pinches the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes andmuttering under his breath in Spanish.

           “Why don’twe just get married in ten years if we’re both still single?” he asks after blowingout a large breath.

           “Well,sure, but there’s no way you’re still gonna be single in ten-” Buck cutsoff, blinking twice. “You’re not straight?”

Eddie pulls the throw pillow out from behind his back andpulls it over his face with both hands.

“Eddie, you’re not straight?!”

[ripspaghet]

bff | 05

↳ series m.list | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 |

→ pairing: yoongi x reader

→ word count: 4,702

Prologue Summary; Your best friend's boyfriend takes an unhealthy interest in you and just as he shows up something from your past starts to creep up on you again. Could this strange and mysterious man have something to do with it? And should you trust him, or your instincts to run far, far away from him?

→ warnings: angst, swearing, alcohol, mentions of smut, cheating

The very next day the weather finally starts to lighten up. The sun is out with not a cloud in sight, although the air is still chilled. You've become eager to get back to your classes. After having Jimin take care of you a full day, you feel you might murder him. He's been teasing you constantly, trying to feed you like you a helpless baby, and let's just say you didn't really appreciate it. Still, you thank him several times over, promising to make it up to him, which he's sure to take full advantage of.

"Party? This weekend?"

You sigh, kicking a rock as you walk along the corridor, leading to your next class, "Why does it always have to be a party with you? You never even hang out with me when we go. You ditch me for those two idiots of yours."

"As I recall when you first met one of those idiots you called him hot and said you'd-"

"Okay!" Your panicked tone reaches an all-time high, not wishing to recall your first impression of a particular frat boy.

Jimin laughs at you and stops walking just before reaching the lecture hall, "So, you'll go with me?"

"As if I have a choice."

"Great! Tae said he-"

"____? I heard you were really sick." Mina approaches the two of you, her boyfriend not too far behind her, his eyes already fixed on you. Great.

You watch as he comes up closer to Mina, placing his arm around her waist and pulling her into him as his gaze bleeds into yours, "Glad to know you're feeling better, ____." 

His cold voice makes you shift your eyes away immediately, your face turning a shade of red that's starting to become all too familiar.

"Yes, I made her all better. Didn't I, honey?" Jimin leaned down and pressed a kiss to your cheek, which you respond to by pushing him away and slapping him on the chest.

"Don't put your lips anywhere near me."

He frowns and whines as you turn away from him, "Why? That's not what you told me to do yesterday."

"Are you drunk? Stop making stuff up and get to class." You don't bother turning around this time, heading into the lecture hall.

"Yah," You hear Mina slap Jimin, "what did you do to her?"

"Ah! S-stop hitting me! She's been like that since yesterday, it has nothing to do with me!"

The rest of the week carries on relatively fast, as you do nothing but study and go to your classes. Anytime Mina, Jimin, or anybody offers to hang out you decline. You haven't been in the mood and your reasoning was that same indecipherable feeling that still burned in your chest. Your nearest guess was that it had something to do with that damn piano Yoongi made you sit at, last Sunday. Bad memories resurfacing is enough to put anyone in this kind of mood, right? You can't even be bothered with the dozens of missed calls on your phone. You hadn't spoken to him in a year and you weren't about to break that record when simply seeing his name light up your phone filled you with dread.

"You're still coming?" Jimin raised an eyebrow at you, utterly surprised.

"I'm standing in front of you fully dressed and ready for a party and you're asking me if I'm bailing on you or not?"

"It's just, you haven't been in the brightest of moods this week. I thought, maybe you were having second thoughts."

You roll your eyes and push him out of the doorway so you can shut the door behind you and lock it. "Since when do you care if I have second thoughts about a party?"

"Since you don't seem okay," He whispers this time, a genuinely concerned expression dulling his features.

You put your arm around his and try to pull him along only to have him stop you, "I'm fine. Let's go have fun."

"Did someone break your heart, ____?"

You swivel your head back around, "What?"

"I don't know?" He scratched his head, "You seem so different lately. I mean you just said, 'Let's go have fun.' Normally, you hate being dragged to parties. You complain the whole time and ask me to take you home every five seconds."

You laugh and raise an eyebrow at the ridiculous assumption, "So, you think someone has broken my heart, simply because I'm taking your advice to have fun?"

"You-" He's cut off when your phone goes off. You pull it from your purse and quickly reject it.

"Telemarketers." You lie.

Looking at you seriously Jimin sighs, "I'm just worried. I don't want to take you to this party and you get super drunk and do something stupid cause you're sad." 

With a sigh and nod, you speak with an understanding ton, "I appreciate that you worry about me Minie, but I'm fine. I've just been stressed lately because of exams. I want to blow off some steam."

He looks at you hesitantly before nodding, not sure if he should believe you or not.

Jimin really is such a good friend. He genuinely cares so much, even for the smallest of things. But, despite what he thinks, this isn't your first time indulging in a party like this. Back when you were a freshman all you did was go to parties. Which is, for the most part, what made you hate them so much. You always did dumb things and alcohol didn't make your decision-making skills any better. You'd even started a pretty bad reputation for yourself, that you erased through the years of becoming a shut-in.

After arriving at the party Jimin led you to the drinks and the two of you had at least two full cups together before you decided you wanted to dance. The logical part of your brain was screaming to go home before doing something you'd regret, but that stinging feeling in your chest demanded it be fed and you didn't want to feel it anymore. You sure as hell didn't want to hear your anxiety ramping up because of it, so you drank just enough to null the noise.

You pull Jimin towards the dance floor, taking him by surprise, and making his drink sloshing in his cup, "Wait, I-"

"Since when does ____ dance?" A husky voice interrupts the two of you, making you turn your head, "Or know how to have fun for that matter?"

Tall, tanned, and handsome to the point of being downright beautiful, stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching you with an unreadable expression is Taehyung. You have to force your mouth shut to keep from gasping at the sight of him. Any other day, you'd duck your head and run at the sight of him - although, unfortunately for you - you've already consumed a hefty amount of alcohol.

"Whole new ____, right?" Jimin smiled, composing himself before patting your head and, to your surprise, making you jump.

"I'll say," Taehyung looks you up and down, "she's even dressed for the occasion."

"____, how about you go dancing with Taehyung? I promised Kookie I'd be his bodyguard tonight and I can't leave him hanging forever."

You glance up at Jimin then back at Taehyung. Again, under normal circumstances, you never in a million years would agree to dance with Taehyung, knowing damn well where it'd take you. You'd also be curious and confused as to why Jungkook would need a bodyguard, but - for like the billionth time - these weren't normal circumstances and all you did was nod.

"Just don't stay gone all night. You promised you wouldn't ditch me this time." 

Jimin laughs and pats your head endearingly again, "Sure thing, honey."

You reach up and pat Jimin on the cheek, returning the gesture by smiling brightly up at him. His eyes widen, not expecting you to return the teasing gesture, "Have fun, honey," 

"W-who are you?" Jimin's cheeks flush pink, but you only laugh before leaving him. You take Taehyung's arm in yours and he looks down at you with the same stunned expression, "Show me your best moves, Tae."

Excitement quickly replaces his awe and bubbling up in his eyes at this whole new side of you, "Yes, ma'am."

You pull him to the dance floor with you and once there you let your body do the talking as you move rhythmically to the best that vibrates through the house.

Taehyung just froze, his lips parting at the sight of you.

You're unable to contain a giggle at the sight of his dumbfounded expression, "What are you doing? Dance with me." You grab his hands and pull him to you, swaying your hips from side to side. 

Taehyung follows your instructions and begins moving with you, his hand moving to your hip as he leans in closer, "Since when are you not being a buzzkill?"

You pout your bottom lip at his use of words, "I'm not a buzzkill, I just haven't been in the mood up until now."

Taehyung laughs at your whiny response, his eyes falling on your lips, "You know? I never understood it before, but now it all makes sense."

"What does?"

"You and Jimin, I thought the two of you were complete opposites before and it didn't make any sense to me why he follows you around like a lost puppy." You move your hands up to his biceps and rest them on his shoulders. Your eyes urging him to continue, "The two of you are a lot more alike than I thought. You just bury it deep, while Jimin wears it on his sleeve."

You tilt your head, "And what exactly is it that I'm burying?"

"That thing that could get anyone into bed with you any time you want." He leans in, his deep voice sultry.

"Are you saying that only me and Jimin have that? You don't have it?"

"Well, obviously not. Otherwise, I would've had you in bed with me the day we met."

You shake your head and smirk at him. Might as well play along with him. "How do you know that it just doesn't work on me?"

"Tell me," He leaned in closer, "if Jimin were to seriously try fucking you - you wouldn't you be inclined to say yes?"

Your cheeks flush his use of words and the mere idea of them, but you laugh it off as the effects of alcohol starting to kick in, "Even if I were it would never be anything more than that, so I'd turn him down."

Taehyung pulls back, surprised, "Why?"

"Jimin is my best friend and like I said, sleeping with him would never be anything more than sleeping with him. I know that's the case for me, but I don't know if that's the case for Jimin. Whether he says it is or not, I couldn't trust what he says. If he felt differently, he would say whatever I wanted to hear, not the truth."

"Are you implying that he might fall for you? Because I think it's a bit too late for that." He chuckles and this time you roll your eyes.

"Me and Jimin find each other sexually attractive, but there's no romance. It's just friendship. People can easily mistake a great friendship for romance. I mean, even great sex can be misleading."

"So, what's the deal-breaker, huh? What is it that you and Jimin don't have?"

You stare at him for a moment, wondering to yourself why he's so interested in your relationship with Jimin before answering him, "There's no fire. No passion or pull between us."

His eyes flicker at your words, "You're not secretly in love with him and just pulling my leg, right?"

"What?" You burst into laughter, "Why is this so important to you?"

Taehyung's face stays serious as it flickers with something akin to lust, "____, when did you get so alluring? I thought you were an innocent virgin."

You try to bite back your laughter at his ridiculous statement and serious face. Surprisingly, he isn't all that good at flirting. His looks more than made up for what he's lacking though as his eyes have you leaning in closer. You put your lips next to his ear, your excuse being, so you wouldn't have to yell over the music, "I'm only alluring when I wanna allure someone, that doesn't make me a virgin."

"Really?" He put his other hand on the small of your back, "Does that mean you're trying to allure me right now?"

You frown, pulling away from him, "Trying?" 

His eyes turn dark at the loss of contact and he reaches to bring you back to him, but you only move further out of his reach, a smirk pulling up your lips, "If you want me, come and get me, Tae." 

He moves instantly, a smirk playing on his own lips as he follows you through the crowd of sweaty bodies until you're out of it and heading up the stairs of the frat house. You know exactly where you're leading him, but you weren't one to proudly admit you'd done this before. And if you were in your right mind right now you wouldn't be caught dead doing this again, especially with someone like Taehyung. Although, the closer your body gets to him the further the burning in your chest gets. It's fading into the background, just like you want.

You let him catch you at the top of the stairs and he wraps his arms around your waist, "What are you up to? Don't you know where these stairs lead?"

"I'm not sure. You wanna show me around?" You play dumb, preferring Taehyung not have any clue of your past endeavors.

He pushes you against the wall, hands roaming on your sides, "How drunk are you?"

"I've only had two or three drinks." Your breath catches in your throat when he lowers his mouth to your neck. Your hand moves to his hair and you close your eyes, savoring the way his teeth feel as they softly nip at you.

"So, you won't be mad if you wake up naked next to me in the morning?" 

You gasp as his tongue runs up the length of your neck, "I won't."

He hums softly in your ear before picking you up by your thighs, making it so you have to wrap your legs around his waist. He carries you to a nearby room and shuts the door behind him with his foot with - what appears to be - practiced ease. It doesn't bother you all too much though, seeing as you were only doing this to distract yourself, to begin with. You want all emotional baggage to be left at the door, or thrown out a window at this moment. You don't wanna think.

Taehyung drops you down onto the bed in the center of the room and you can't help but giggle as the force of the fall makes you bounce.

"Fuck," He smiles at you infectiously before lunging forward, his hands and lips devouring you, "you could easily make any man fall in love, ____."

A sharp throb stabs through your chest at his words, your smile falling as a distinct pair of dark eyes cross your mind. His hands move down your thighs and squeeze, pulling them apart to settle between them. Too lost in the remembrance of lingering stares and innocent touches, you don't even realize where your imagination has taken you as he presses his thigh against your core, coaxing a desperate moan out of you. Your eyes flutter shut as you let your arousal take over, pale fingertips run along your sides, his dark hair tickling your skin as he marks your neck, and his usual calm and gravelly voice growls as you mewl with desire.

"You sound so pretty." Just then his lips press to yours, his tongue running along your lower lip. 

Yoongi.

"Stop!" You push Taehyung off of you, panicked and breathless.

"What? What's wrong?" Taehyung sits up at the end of the bed on his knees, confused by the sudden rejection.

"I-I'm really sorry about this, but I need to go." You scramble off of the bed, fixing your clothes and hair.

Taehyung's quick to get up and follow after you, "Did I do something?"

"No, I-" You squeeze your eye's shut and shake your head in disbelief. Sure, you've fantasized about people before but never against your own will, let alone about your best friend's fucking boyfriend. "I'm not in the right head-space right now. I-" You pause glancing back at Taehyung, "You didn't do anything wrong."

He places his hand on your waist, "____, don't go. We don't have to do anything. We can just cuddle?"

"I need to go."

"What happened to you last night?! Why are people telling me they saw you going upstairs with Taehyung?! I never saw you for the rest of the night!" You wince pulling your phone away from your ear.

"I know, I'm sorry, okay? Could you stop yelling at me and let me explain?"

"Since when do you wanna fuck Taehyung?! I thought you hated him!"

"Jimin,"

"Alright, fine, let me hear your excuse."

"Last night I just wanted to have fun. It was nothing serious and I don't hate Taehyung. I just don't particularly like him or how he normally treats the girls he messes around with."

"Wha- You just wanted to have fun? Nothing serious? Where is the real ____ and what have you done with her?!" 

You roll your eyes, "I didn't even sleep with him. I walked out before things got that far."

"You walked out?" Jimin pauses, "Wait, why? What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything. I just-" Your eyes shift around your room nervously, "I wasn't as up for it as I thought I was."

He clicks his tongue, "____, the player. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Are we done now? I need to go."

"Go? It's Saturday. Where are you going? Oh, don't tell me you're going to finish the job!?"

"Goodbye, Jimin."

"No! Wait-"

You stand up from your bed after ending the call than walk over to your closet to sift through your clothes. You spend about thirty minutes doing that before groaning in frustration. What are you even doing? Normally, you'd just throw on the first thing you saw and head out the door.

You know what?

That is what you're doing.

You close your eyes and reach into your closet, grabbing the first thing you touch. This is fine, you tell yourself before shrugging off your pajamas and putting on the baggy hoodie with a pair of sweats. You then make your way back to your bed and grab your phone, you're heading to your door when you stop. You pull your hoodie up to your nose, smell it, and sigh before turning back around. It doesn't stink, in fact, it smells good, like freshly done laundry - but something about it annoys you and you refuse to leave with the boring smell.

Once you're finally satisfied you hurry out of your dorm and start in the direction of Yoongi's penthouse. So many factors are yelling at you to turn around and go back home, but you refuse to listen. Your pace even picks up as the tall building comes into view. 

Message from Min Yoongi-8:59am: Why are you so late??

You-9:05am: I'm here

You step out of the elevator, your nerves getting the better of you as you hesitate to knock on the door. You really shouldn't be here. You should be anywhere but here. As you're contemplating just turning around and leaving, the door swings open to reveal a very irritated Yoongi.

His hair is neatly combed through and shorter than when you last saw him, although it still hangs just slightly above his eyes.

"Why the hell are you so late?" His words are blunt, as usual, but that's not what makes you avoid his gaze. It's the images that pop into your head from last night that make you stare at your own two feet in petrifying embarrassment, thinking, maybe he can read your mind if you look at him.

"Sorry, I don't really have an excuse." Your voice comes out small, making it so Yoongi has to lean in to understand you.

He furrows his brow and sniffs the air as he does, then raises an eyebrow at you, "Is that perfume?"

Your eyes dart up to his face and you blink at him several times, "What?"

A smirk pulls up his lips, "Are you wearing perfume?"

"No! Why would I be wearing perfume?" You panic, confused as to how to respond to this.

"I don't know, you tell me?" He leans against his door frame and crosses his arms over his chest smugly. You can't help but let your gaze linger, finding everything he does far too attractive for someone who's supposed to be his girlfriend's best friend. 

You shift your eyes away from him shamefully with a frown and push past him, feeling your cheeks warm-up, "Can we just work on the song now that I'm here?"

Yoongi hums and turns around to face you, shutting the door as he does, "It smells nice. What is it? Vanilla?"

"J-just shut up." You walk away from him towards his couch to sit down before pulling out your laptop. 

"You know?" Yoongi startles you as he leans onto the back of the couch behind you, "You still haven't listened to that part on the piano I've been slaving away on." He speaks in that same condescending tone he used over the phone when you were sick, only this time it doesn't make your blood boil, it makes your stomach turn.

"I never said I wanted you to do that."

"You also never said you didn't, so I did." You feel Yoongi tapping his finger against the couch impatiently, a clear sign he's starting to get annoyed with you.

"Well, go play it." You bark back in a whiny manner, wanting the subject to just go away, "I'll hear it from here."

No, you wouldn't, you planned on covering your ears.

"____," Yoongi says your name firmly and your whole body goes rigid. Your imagination is running off with you again. Of all times, seriously? "stop acting childish. I need you to sing the part while I play, to get a good feel of how it will sound."

You shake your head, actual panic setting in as you finally stand back up, turning to face him, "No, I don't want the piano in the song."

"Why are you just now saying this? I've been working on this all week."

"I-I-" You frantically scour your brain for an alibi, "I just don't wanna!" You cringe at the stupid excuse and watch nervously as Yoongi narrows his eyes at you.

"Are you six years old? Come on," He starts to walk towards the hallway.

"I don't like the piano! Okay?! Can't you just leave it be!" You scream, the sheer terror you felt finally emerging in your voice and shocking Yoongi to a halt. Tears began streaming down your face rapidly. You probably looked ridiculous, crying over a damn piano, an object that couldn't even physically harm you, but you're unable to control your tears.

"____,"

You drop your laptop onto the couch and without saying a word you rush back around the couch and past Yoongi, heading for the door. Hoping he won't follow, you slam the door behind you just to hear it open again a second later. 

"____, stop!" You push the elevator button several times, urgently praying that it gets there soon while you try your best to quell your inner trauma, "We don't have to include the piano. I can find something else."  You stare blankly at the elevator doors, "Hey," He reaches for you, his hand landing on your shoulder. 

You jerk your arm away and when you speak it's barely above a whisper, "Just leave me alone."

He watches you for a moment before hesitantly bringing his hand up to your face, turning you to look at him. You let him wipe your tears before pushing his hand away, "Fine, I'll take the stairs."

He stops you, grabbing your wrist, "Are you seriously angry over a fucking piano? What's next? A harmonica?"

You let out a dry laugh, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Alright," You yank your wrist away from him, "I'm done with this. Don't expect me to show up here anymore." You head ticks to the side before you turn on your heels to take the stairs, "I'd rather fail."

"Yah, ____!" You ignore him, but you can hear him following you just before his hand grabs yours, stopping you in your tracks again, "You-"

Your phone cuts him off, ringing loudly, and filling the thick air around the two of you. You pull your hand out of his, ignoring the way it makes your skin tingle. You reach into your pocket for your phone and reject the call, knowing exactly who it is without looking at the caller ID.

"Who was that?" Yoongi leans toward you, trying to get a peek at your phone, but you push him away by his chest.

"It's none of your business." 

He doesn't respond, his hard eyes just glancing down at the hand that's now against his chest. When Yoongi gets close to you - you can't think properly, so the further the better, but when he lifts his eyes back to yours, you realize that the physical contact is much worse than the lack of space. 

Your face blossoms with color and you quickly try to yank your hand away, recalling where your mind took you last night. Yoongi is quicker though as his fingers wrap around your wrist. You hold your breath, praying that he can't hear how loudly your heart is beating as his eyes bore into yours. All you can do is stare back, unable to move, say, or do anything. It's like he's a magnet and you're metal.

He moves in closer until you can feel his minty breath against your lips and you inhale sharply when his long fingers gently graze against your forearm. Unconsciously, your hand fist his shirt, your eye's still refusing to leave his intense ones as he begins to close the space between you, "Do you want me to stop?"

Your other hand moves up to his shoulder, gripping tightly as if willing yourself to push him away, but it's as if all your strength has left your body and you can't. His hand moves up to your jaw, his thump caressing your flushed skin, and your eyes flutter shut at the feeling. It's nothing like you'd imagined, completely different. He's way more intoxicating.

"If you want me to stop, all you have to do it say so." When his lips move you can almost feel them brush against yours from the close proximity - the space between you disappearing as his lips meet yours and any ounce of logical thought leaves you. You helplessly lean into his warmth and he hums in response. Heat pools in your stomach at the sound and your fingers move through his hair, nails softly grazing against his scalp. It's like the part of you that knows how wrong this is has evaporated. It isn't until his tongue swipes against your bottom lip that you feel yourself fall back to reality.

You pull away from him like you've been burned, noticing the tears brimming in your eyes only after the fact. The longer you look up at Yoongi the more hysterical you become. 

"I-" He stops, his eyes falling on your neck, "Where did those come from?"

"I-I need to leave." You push past him just as the elevator doors open, ignoring the simmering rage you caught in his voice as it made you feel like someone had just tugged on your heart.

"____-"

"You have a girlfriend, Yoongi!" Your second outburst of the day causes him to flinch and pull his hand away from your arm, "I'm leaving."

You want to throw up, bang your head against a wall, and reprimand yourself on how utterly stupid you are all at once. All you really do wis click the button for the first floor though, while avoiding looking back up at Yoongi.

"I'm sorry."

That's the last thing you hear before the doors close and the elevator begins carrying you down.

.

.

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a/n: plz go easy on me this is my first time attempting any form of smut and i had to rewrite it several times cause it made me a lil nervous 😖👉👈

@team-work-made-the-dream-work @seokchella @crackhead1-800 @chogiyeol-utopia @thatchampagnebitch  @jeonchan26

[favvnsongs]

ok i'm interested on Aden and Clarke's relationship in faithverse. how does it change? is there any relationship to start with?

lmaoo I Love the dynamic that Clarke and Aden have in faithverse. bc holy shit they are not fans of one another lmaooo.

like I think that of course Clarke had heard of Aden while she was with lexa and co. traipsing across the country?? but it was in a vague sort of way? she just kinda got this image of him in her head of a slightly younger lexa who was still sort of... green? less intense than lexa maybe? not burdened down and stressed out and haunted by loss and all the things she's had to do since she became heda? not that he was Eventirely idealistic and foolishly optimistic when compared to lexa, but that he was that way at least a little bit??

and like... she doesnt meet him at all until like twoish months after the end of Pt. 1 of faith verse? a delegation from arkadia in the Capitol to hold talks with the new commander? and you know that Clarke had prolly been under the initial impression that she could just, ask lexa for favors and have her sorta like, influence aden into fulfilling them?

and then when Clarke actually meets him in her head she's just like "wtf this is a child -"

but when lexa is like "lmao no, you gotta ask him yourself" because that's how things work?? I just imagine the general political world of faithverse (at least where trikru is concerned) is rather bureaucratic?? just like, I at least mean semi-bureaucratic.

(I think of clarkes habit of barging into rooms and shit like she owns the place and demanding a favor or policy change and expecting full well for lexa to grant it?)

and aden is like "lmao no. take a number and wait in line, and then you can make your request and it has to be valid enough for me to send it down to the appropriate committees who will then decide whether or not it would be in our best interests to grant it, and to what extent and with what limitations and what we want in return. you can expect an answer within one to two weeks"

and clarke and co are just kinda "wut" bc clarke was used to the "lemme talk to lexa" route when it came to getting shit done and stuff. and while lexa eventually replaces Titus as flamekeeper, she absolutely refuses to put her finger on the scales? she'll advise aden when it comes to things, obviously, since she has more personal experience governing? but she wont say outright "do/dont do this or that" bc she wants him to like, be able to make his own choices? and have his own like, voice and shit?

and Clarke does NOT like him, because he seems to take such petty enjoyment in making her and the rest of the council in arkadia jump through hoops and deal with red tape in order to get anything done?

aden just constantly >:3 about shit? bc he doesnt like clarke (and tbh the sky people in general) at aaaaaall. but he especially doesnt like clarke. and that's for a whole ass list of reasons tbh. like for one he doesnt like that clarke thinks she has any right in trying to influence lexa into getting him to do things? he doesnt like that clarke used lexa's fondness and attraction to her to her political advantage? he reaaaally doesnt like her "you owe me for mount weather" bullshit.

but also hes just sorta >:T over like. clarke constantly trying to hog lexa to herself? aden such a jelly resentful disdainful little bby? that's his lexa, thank you very much. and his dislike of the sky people in general def feeds his dislike of clarke specifically. bc how d a r e.

and clarke, beyond her bewilderment that aden is v much a CHILD, doesnt appreciate his constant 🙃🗡🗡 attitude towards her? how he seems determined to give her a headache from pure frustration? but also clarke jealous in her own right?? bc of how close lexa and aden are? their shared history? how things between them arent tainted by the blood in the water like they are with lexa and herself? how they seem to almost always be on the same page??? how she never really gets lexa to herself anymore?? bc mentoring and comforting aden through his whole "I feel unworthy and invalid in my position as heda and because of that the Spirit and I are incompatible and it's slowly killing me" drama is massively limiting the amount of time or private moments that she gets to spend with lexa? she's resentful that aden takes priority???

and like, while eventually they learn to be civil towards each other and come to a begrudging acceptance - they're never really like. friends.

[violetganache42]

Man. I can't believe it's been one year since the release of Sonic Mania Plus. It still feels surreal that Mighty and Ray were essentially "forgotten" characters, having appeared in two games and only one respectively coupled with their appearances in the Archie comics. As far as I can tell, Mighty is also the only one of the duo to appear in the Fleetway comics. Now look at where they are; so many more people are appreciating what makes them such great characters and it honestly makes me feel happy.

To celebrate this occasion, I decided to share a few headcanons I've been coming up with. I might come up with a bit more, but these are the ones I've managed to fully develop or have a grasp on. I'm excited to share what I got and I hope you enjoy what I have to present. :)

* * *

Mighty the Armadillo

With all the traveling he has done, Mighty enjoys the four seasons for their own reasons although he does have a preference for summer.

That said, he also likes what winter has in store… as long as the conditions aren't dangerous. Whether it's building a snowman or having a snowball fight, he's the kind of person to have some fun out in the snow. As for indoors, he tends to sit in front of the fireplace while drinking hot chocolate and catching a glimpse of the snow falling outside.

Speaking of which, Press Garden is easily the most beautiful wintry Zone Mighty has ever been to. The combination of the cherry blossom petals floating down from the trees and landing gently on the snow along with the ancient architecture is so captivating and always pleasing to see. Icy Isle? …Yeah, no. Nothing but bad times while escaping from Eggman Island. Where else did he get his dislike of the dangerous wintry conditions?

Mighty likes the compliments and nice comments he receives from his friends, but there are a few that will make him rather… bashful and even flustered. (ex: Archie Sonic #266)

As established in Sonic Mania Adventures Part 4, Mighty doesn't do well under pressure as he can get irritated; as he got older, the amount of pressure from whatever conflict he ends up in would occasionally leave him impatient. (Me using that word is a small reference to his Fleetway counterpart.) Thanks to Moss' lessons, he has been getting better at handling pressured situations. (Remember: he was given these lessons because he was frustrated with not being able to do more, especially during the Shattered World Crisis. Think of it as applying it to good use.)

Ray the Flying Squirrel

Ray is a hugger. He loves giving out hugs to his friends, whether they're heading off somewhere for adventure/saving the world reasons, in need of some comfort, or whatever.

When he was younger, Ray had a little habit of holding onto his tail, usually whenever he was in a cheerful mood. He still does it sometimes, even during some moments when he's feeling concerned. (ex: Archie Sonic #265; however, we do get a better shot of it in the recap page of #266)

Even though he is enthusiastic and optimistic, there are rare cases where Ray does indeed get upset. When that happens, he'll put his goggles over his eyes. (Yes, this was influenced by something a certain tomato-haired Dueling protagonist does.)

According to Sonic Mania Plus' Japanese manual, Ray harbors a high degree of tension. It may seem odd at first, but considering everything he went through, from getting imprisoned on Eggman Island to dealing with the beginning of the Shattered World Crisis, it's pretty understandable. On that note, Ray feels the most tension from his head when under a deal of stress, leaving him on the verge of getting headaches; fortunately, on top of Moss' lessons to help him be more proactive, he has been getting a hang of managing his stress thanks to Mighty and what he learned about control.

Ray also likes winter for the similar reasons Mighty enjoys it. He is always ready to have fun out in the snow and do any activites that are in store. When he's indoors, he's typically the one who watches the snowflakes through the window; there are also times when he would snuggle next to Mighty in front of the fireplace… and sometimes doze off to sleep.

[rxbelling-hxrald]

(@ray-cherry-blossoms) 1,4,5,6,7,8, 13,18,19,21,22,23,25 (such a long list omg sorry but I'm jus too curious )

Describe Your OC

Warning! Very long post! so under read more to avoid filling up the majority of your dashboards xD. This took so long to do but I’m pretty happy with all of this, so I welcome all to read it.

1: their voice

My current voice claim to Dan’s voice - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0OKZS5cBMU (Talion from ME: Shadow of ‘Series’ voiced by Troy Baker)

Despite being of demon origin, his more humane side must be evident at all times, an oddly somewhat gruff but gentle shade evident that can turn cold and serious within an instant. Its not much of a singing voice.

But while his voice is rather firm, it holds a clear vulnerability that displays when he is clueless or is filled with sorrow/concern.

I believe Talion’s voice/mannerisms are a good representative of how Dan speaks, minus the Middle Earth terms.

4: their insecurities

In general Dan is an insecure wreck, he’s just a decent act at covering his true thoughts up for the most part, though even they can be seen with minor mannerisms that will be displayed,

With people, he always feels like everyone is judging him for better or worse, even the strangers he passes by in the street with no interaction given in the slightest, this is in fact why crowds make him quite paranoid over extended time amongst them. It makes Dan feel worse that due to his specific lack of interaction during his younger years it makes him crave it yet wish to avoid people and lessen the risks of doing something to upset them, by completely minimizing the chance to 0 by no interactions at all.

In other respects, Dan’s inward confidence is quite lacking, always doubting himself, why he even exists and is there any true point to his resistance? to any whom asked or saw him in action, most may think he’s a cocky shit, but to Dan, the few victories he gains is nothing when a war against countless odds is always his opposition…..why bother fighting when he has nothing else? Dan would say its his will or his strength that keeps him going, but the truth is he’s scared, relying solely on his survival instincts.

These worries and insecurities ease up greatly when he’s with a friend or someone he trusts, but this in turn leads to a brand new one surfacing in the back of his mind. Dan doesnt wish to be an annoyance to his new found friend and risk ruining it, enjoying the experience and wishing to stick with them for as long as possible, If given the chance Dan may never actually leave someone’s side, but both wishing to respect their space and his own paranoia, Dan deliberately feels its best to avoid his friends until its a given they want to see him. his heart says stay but his mind says go due to the risks he may bring upon them should he stay with one for too long.

5: their shortcomings

An obvious one though is improving with time is his mindset, or in more general terms. ‘Common Sense’. Dan usually goes by simply what he deems right or what is needed, it doesnt matter what others think or if there is a rule/law against it, if he thinks it, that’s what is happening. This can lead to a variety of outcomes be they either hilarious or dangerous.

On a similar note is his general awareness, this can be related to the likes of the immediate area around him, a world’s history, people’s names or actions, even basic tasks. Unless he’s had experience in a regard before. Dan’s most likely going to be terrible or clueless on the subject at hand. Due to the majority of his life being only revolving around fighting and on the run…it can count towards a vast majority of topics.

These things are also what causes his great deal of passive actions when accompanying others, normally doing nothing of his own accord unless instructed or advised unless its a dangerous situation, preferring otherwise to stay back and wait to see what others want him to do to avoid risks to their more likely ‘logical’ plans.

6: how they deal with grief

Initially, he does nothing, letting it build up in his mental psyche more and more.

As time passes he’ll come back to it when doing nothing and brood over all the negative thoughts, usually getting himself in a rotten mood or even more paranoid about something.

But depending on the degree of the problems, Dan’s method to dealing with grief or any sort of mental downfall is to let it out via his aggression, he’ll find something to let out all his rage and sorrow, destroying an object or objects utterly in the process on most occasions.

This stands too for someone who may try to fight him in this state, he’d likely spend hours beating them senseless to the extent they’d need to be hospitalized…..or worse.

Luckily, He’ll do this in his free time and far away from population heavy areas.

7: how they like to dress

While having no true fashion sense due to lack of any kind of ‘clothing’ back in the demon realm. Dan is pretty open towards all clothing designs and shapes.

If Dan had a variety of clothes at his disposal he’d be the sort to wear the first thing he saw in his wardrobe, regardless if the colors matched or not with the rest of what he had on.

However as some may have noticed he has particular love towards his black overcoat and has adopted a ‘gothic’ mindset towards clothes, usually featuring all black as he feels its just cool and goes well with his need to stay out of sight, though this only really plays a good part at night, in day he’ll stand out pretty openly unless hidden somewhere.

In terms of styles, Dan also has an appreciation towards fancier/refined outfits, such as tuxedos or an officer’s uniform. most likely because its the complete opposite as to what he is in Dan’s eyes, a nobody. That and they look ‘Cool’

8: what they like to eat

There is no true answer to this question as Dan will and has eaten just about anything put in front of him and found it edible in comparison to the filth he had in the demon realm.

But in his time visiting and exploring other realms, Dan has been proven to have a sweet tooth, loving almost any kind of assortment and sweets. if it has sugar, he’ll love it. He’s also big on meat, having a clear favoritism towards Beef, Chicken, Lamb.

He’s not overly picky though so he’ll eat practically everything and anything put in front of him.

13: their embarrassing memory from years ago

During his younger years he doesn’t really have an ‘embarrassing’ memory per se, since most of his life back then wasnt even ‘his’ life, being strictly made to follow training and survival as if he were possessed. He saw and remembers it all but it wasnt his own control until he was a teen, by then he knew nothing but the dark life in front of him.

18: how they sleep

Regardless of his form he always sleeps in the same respect.

He’ll curl up to himself as close as he can, usually his hands and knees tightly closed together, wrap whatever he has available around himself, be it a cover, his coat and etc, only his head will be sticking out of it in which he’ll eventually fall asleep.

During his sleep his position changes depending on how well or badly his dreams/nightmares go. If he’s getting a good rest his body will slowly loosen up and resemble to him laying on his back with his arms and legs outstretched, usually his feet sticking out from the covers since they’ll still be pulled so close.

But if its bad, he’ll toss and turn, constantly mumble to himself and tighten himself up further, usually resulting in him getting sore joints and muscles. The worse case scenario is he’ll wake up screaming or gasping for air, from there he wont bother sleeping anymore and will stay awake until his body practically forces him to sleep.

19: their reaction to betrayal

This depends on the level of betrayal and the reasoning, there is no clear cut answer so here is the best and worst case scenarios.

Best? He’ll remember it, while he will forgive, he’ll never quite trust again and will openly curse the betrayer’s name both to them and to others, it would take a long time to repair the damage.

Worst? He’ll label them as nothing more than a future target, spending his free time trying to hunt the betrayer down and chase them via whatever means possible, potentially with those whom also share a hatred or have reasons to be rid of that person. Should he catch them….they’ll be beaten to a bloody pulp, he wouldn’t kill them, but he’d openly state that once they recovered, he’d do it again so they suffered more.

21: how they react to pain

One of two ways, usually depending on the level and cause of it.

One, he’ll gasp in shock from the pain, try to do something to deal with it, fail, ignore or shrug it off and then continue with what he was doing.

Two, Immediately give into anger and start lashing out at whatever he can find that he could use to relieve himself, he’d never target a person unless they were generally bad or the person that caused the pain in the first place.

22: what they’re like on two hours of sleep

Dan would still be very alert and active with such a small amount of sleep, his time of being paranoid and keeping watch from potential dangers around him back in the demon realm made him adopt this natural trait of being resistant to lack of sleep and make the most of minimal amounts of it.

The main difference would come when he eventually did fall asleep again, most likely no one would be able to wake him up regardless of methods if he was truly exhausted. A truly deep sleep.

23: how they act when they’re sick

Very moody and irritable, he’ll frequently shoo away everyone that approaches him, even those he knows well, occasionally even brief temperament problems as he’ll suddenly hit something near him as if to try and relieve his stress.

However his own arrogance would make him believe he could deal with whatever sickness he had and go about his business as usual, so even if he had a serious illness, you’d need to literally lock him up somewhere, otherwise he’d just keep wandering out.

Dan recovers from sickness quickly, but not because he’s resistant to it, his body accelerates the ‘cleansing/healing’ process.This usually means that even the common cold will feel 10x worse to Dan than to someone else as he goes through all the worst symptoms and effects all at once. Imagine the more severe or even dangerous illnesses, Dan would pass through their effects within hours.

He has a reason for being very moody while sick, now you know.

25: why you enjoy them

This is actually very hard for me to answer, i have a few reasons while also trying to avoid the generic ‘well he’s my OC’ answer.

I truly enjoy a simple concept, the main concept of what Dan is, a concept that I’m is done better with many other characters and OCs, be it by their depths, the values/descriptions held by their muns.

Dan is a stranger, a stranger in another world, another plain of thought and understanding. logic, morals, everything you can possibly conceive…Dan’s a foreigner to it. Its like how we look at cultures and mindsets in the world today, Dan to me is kinda a representative to the idea of it happening in other settings.

At first you think, oh, so its just about seeing perspectives? or what if scenarios? kinda yes and no at the same time, because there’s one final thing to note I love about Dan.

He’s utterly stupid!

I like to imagine Dan is a child in an adult’s body. he’s trying to look strong, he’s trying to look like he knows what he’s doing, to others that see him, they may look at him as someone not to mess with, or someone that knows his goal. But the truth of it is they couldn’t be more wrong!

Dan doesnt know what he wants, he thinks he does, but he doesnt! he doesnt understand the concepts of living! Again, he thinks he does, he looks at himself as some poor soul who needs to stop a terrible evil from happening and that is all that matters. The thought of other possibilities just don’t come across his limited concepts.

But as he interacts, as he meets people, he explores their worlds, sees what there is, understands their thoughts, their lives….he slowly gets closer to understanding, that life is ever changing and there is more to it than just what he thinks there is.

And when he has these little revolutions in his thoughts, no matter how slight, no matter how common they may actually be to everyone else. I cant help but smile that as he develops himself, I’m developing with him as a writer, allowing me to be even more free with what I do with him.

Throw in the whole ordeal of him being this supposedly really powerful being that has little understanding of his own capabilities, his limited mindset, it creates a fascinating dynamic or at least to me, that the world he’s in will form what he will become in the long run…..

Its why every interaction Dan has with someone else, feels all so important to me, I’m not the best with descriptions, I’m not the best at conveying things or even using much variety in my wordplay. But those he meets with are all critical pillar stones in his development, no matter how minor or major our interactions are. Dan will remember, he will adapt and when the time comes…..what your muse did with him or against him…it’ll effect what he does in the end of things.