#i mean sure it adds to his brand i guess

[shijiujun]

Dramatic! Prison Girls Make-up Artist Yu Shisan

A JOURNEY TO LOVE 一念关山 (2023) | EP 02

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

something i noticed

A while back, I wrote this analysis reviewing how unfair the magic education system is in Twisted Wonderland. I would recommend reading that before this post, as it provides tons of context for what I’m about to talk about and add onto the discussion.

In 2-6 of the Tapis Rouge event, Vil has stylists from Luxe, a high end fashion brand, dress up Azul, Jamil, and Ace to be a part of his red carpet entourage. Once the boys come out in their new threads and makeup, Jamil and Azul, two individuals who are meticulous about details, provide some telling commentary.

According to those two, the team of stylists that helped them were mages. Azul further remarks that they were quite skilled mages and that having this kind of talent indicates a “first class brand store”. Their hair and makeup is also suggested to be done via magic, though this service is not normally performed for customers. Previously, we knew that skincare can be infused with magic (Vil does so with his own) and that magic can be used to style one’s hair (Jamil tells us in his Birthday Boy vignettes that he does his intricate hair with magic and used to take far longer with it when he lacked the precision). Idia states in book 6 that Jamil had no formal magic training before NRC, so that means Jamil was self-taught in his hair-handling magic.

… Okay but 😭 WHAT DOES THIS IMPLY ABOUT MAGIC AND CLASS??? Is it just a coincidence that the teams of stylists who staff a high class store are ALL mages? Surely not, given how uncommon mages are in the general population. The store (or maybe the brand itself?) must be going out of its way to hire them because I guess being dressed with magic is a more “luxurious” experience than the normal way. We can also guess from Azul and Jamil’s accounts that the degree of magic these staffers use requires significant skill and precision, which either means they need formal instruction or lots of practice on their own. Neither option is afforded to people with naturally low or no magic reserves at all 💀 meaning jobs like this are gated to mages only.

Now, this doesn’t inherently mean the rich and famous people who frequent these stores are also all mages (Kalim’s dad and Vil’s dad are two non-mages who are extremely wealthy and influential); the majority of them must still be regular people since humans seem to be the majority, and 90% of humans are non-mages. It also doesn’t guarantee that the Luxe stylists are paid more than a non-Luxe stylist (although I do think this is possible for a prestige brand, especially if we factor in commissions on sales).

What’s sticking out to me here is that there exists an association between magic and luxury. The reverse also appears to have some truth based on what little other lore we have; Ruggie states that there are not a lot of mages from his hometown, which could imply a history of non-mages being driven into poorer communities. It all fits together a little too well to seem coincidental… but obviously, Ruggie’s hometown is just one place and could be an outlier rather than the exemplar. We know that most non-mages must live an average lifestyle, not the extremes that Ruggie has experienced. Still, the claim that magic is typically associated with the upper class holds and it continues to be perpetuated in the lore.

Anyway, Fellow and Rollo were right—

[zipper-ghost]

Based on a fic I'm working on where Kim and Harry have to go undercover at a gay club

Read the fic on ao3

(lines in bold are Harry’s skills talking. I haven't specified but you can guess)

A chill wind whips their faces as they step onto the precinct roof. They huddle together, facing each other, Harry’s broad body blocking the wind which would snuff out the lighter flame. Kim lit his cigarette and then lit Harry’s. Harry recently switched from Menthols to Kim’s brand of chestnut-flavored cigarettes. Kim hasn’t asked about it even though he noticed.

As the smoke fills his lungs Kim’s whole body visibly relaxes. A softness falls across his expression, his gaze grows distant. You don’t know if it’s the ritual of smoking at the end of the day or the nicotine. The smoldering end of the cigarette is reflected in Kim’s glasses, as are you. They lean against the railing and watch the sunset over the horizon in silence. Harry waits for Kim to start. 

The jingling of Kim unzipping his jacket makes Harry stand a bit straighter and bite the filter for his cigarette. 

“Shall we start?” Kim says taking out his notebook and flipping it open. 

You nod, trying not to linger on Kim’s now exposed collarbone. 

“How do you think the investigation is going?”

“Bad.”

“Kmn, we seem to have hit a dead end. Even though we’ve made contact with the suspect the name he has been using in the club scene seems to be an alias. And his tattoo doesn’t seem to be related to any known gang or criminal organization. We are still waiting for the lab to get back to us about the particular strain of hallucinogen that was in the victim’s system.” 

“It’s worrying…”

“What is?”

“Well, the drug the victim overdosed on- it’s not something we’ve come across before. There is a chance that there will be more overdoses like this.”

“We can look into who the suspect’s supplier might be.”

“He might not have a supplier here.”

Kim glances at Harry. “Why do you say that?”

“The suspect is Seraise. They said he was bragging about being an aerostatic pilot on leave. Maybe he brought the drugs from the Safre empire, would that be possible to find out?”

“I can look into it.” 

For a moment it is silent except for the sound of Kim’s pen on paper. A motor carriage speeds across the street below. Sodium street lights are switched on as the sky grows darker and stars begin to appear one by one. 

“How long do you think we have until he returns to Safre?”

Kim taps the page with the back of his pen. “It’s hard to tell. He has been here awhile, might be any day now.” 

“He probably won’t come to that club anymore,” Harry adds.

Kim’s eyes crinkle. He is smiling though only you would notice. 

“No,” Kim says, “not after you scared him off.”

“I didn’t scare- I am perfectly capable of flirting.”

“Sure, you are,” Kim replies around his cigarette, his flat words dripping with sarcasm. 

“I am! I was just not his type is all. He must be into twinkles-”

“Twinks,” Kim corrects. “Like our victim.”

“Hm.” Harry exhales a plume of white smoke that dissolves into the night. 

“So Kim, what’s your type? Twinks, bears, otters, cubs, tigers, rabbits?”

Kim’s face remains unreadable but his shoulders tense, the pages of his notebook crinkle under his grip. 

He answers after a brief but notable pause. “I don’t have a type. And you made up the last few at the end.”

“Everyone has a type! Are you saying you have no preferences when it comes to who you find attractive?”

“I’m more interested in personalities.”

“You’re such a fucking liar. Come on Kim.”

“Enough detective. We are still in the middle of our briefing and this is irrelevant to-”

“This is relevant to the case,” Harry insists. 

“Fine,” Kim says begrudgingly. “If I had to describe it, it’s say my taste in men is … questionable.”

“Questionable? What does that mean?”

“It means I’m attracted to men who are bad for me or impossibly out of reach. Now if you are satisfied can we get back to the case?”

Harry smiles. If you are smart about it, you could get more information from Kim. “Well your answer was kind of a cop-out but I’ll let it go for now.”

Kim furrows his brow at Harry, a look that says ‘Don’t you dare.’

You feel your knees buckle under the force of Kim’s glare. You grab the railing with one hand. 

“Aren’t you going to ask me about my type?”

“I don’t have to. I already know.”

“What? How do you already know?”

Kim turns back to his notebook and pretends to read. “Because it is obvious. You like them young, waifish, and pretty. Someone mysterious and fragile, someone who you can save.��

Someone to be your redemption. 

“That- that's not true- not everyone that-” Harry stutters. Kim’s blatant description of Dora throws you off kilter. Talking about her is taboo. Even though Kim knows about her and what she did to you he had never brought it up. He knows you still have nightmares of her. 

“Well, just in Martinaise there was Klaasje, Lilienne, the smoker on the balcony, and-”

“Wait- the smoker on the balcony?”

Kim raises an eyebrow. “You were smitten. You went on and on about him, ‘he is such a good listener, I felt heard when I talked to him. He smelled so good, how can someone smell so good?” Kim covers his mouth to hide his condescending grin. 

A formless darkness claws inside you. It feels terrible to be judged, to be teased, but you can’t quite put into words what you are feeling, or why

“You sound jealous,” Harry snaps back. 

Kim sighs. “I’m not jealous. I’m a detective and I notice patterns of behaviour.”

“Well you're plain wrong in this case. You’re not like that-”

“I’m not like what?” 

“Like…” Harry’s breath stutters in his chest. Kim isn’t like Dora or Klaasje or Lilienne or the smoker on the balcony. He isn’t like them and still…

You look at Kim’s cigarette and feel a pang of jealousy. You wish to be that cigarette cradled between his lips. You want to burn into ash, you want to be the bitterness on Kim’s tongue. You want to be the smoke filling his lungs, the nicotine flooding his bloodstream. You want to be Kim’s addiction, you want to be part of him, deep and inextricable. 

“I…” A tidal wave of desire crashes through you but you can’t say the words.

Kim snaps his notebook close. “I guess we’ve reached the end of the briefing. Our conversation is no longer productive.” He tosses his half-smoked cigarette to the ground and crushes the lit ember beneath the heel of his boot. 

His face is unreadable as usual but Kim is upset. 

Damn it. You’ve fucked up Harry. 

Harry follows Kim down the stairs from the roof. 

“I’m sorry Kim, I didn’t mean to make you angry.”

“I’m not angry Officer. It’s late and we won’t any more progress today, you should go home early.”

He is lying, if he isn’t mad he wouldn’t call you ‘officer’

[silkythewriter]

Vox and wukong with a cat demon reader!

Warnings: might be a bit OOC! Haven’t written for Hazbin hotel in a while I apologize!

Fandom: Hazbin hotel and LMK

Author note:IM SO SORRY I DONT KNOW WHY TUMBLER GLITCHED OUT ON ME AND DELETED THE WHOLE THING(｡•́︿•̀｡) BUT TYSM FOR YOUR PATIENTS AND THANK YOU FOR THE HAZBIN HOTEL ASK!!!

Summary: Wukong and Vox with a cat demon reader! :D

❤️Written by silkythewriter Do not steal or repost on any other platform please! <3.❤️

🝮☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆🝮

🝮☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆🝮

Vox

In all honesty...he finds it adorable, now will he admit that is another question with a different answer..

I'm sure he's seen many upon many of cat demons in his years damned to hell, but you are different in a way he can't pin point. Maybe it's the way your tail flicks when you see him, or how your pupils grow big just at the sight of him. It's honestly a knock out for him

He finds himself curious on how your ears and tail feel. But he would never touch it unless you offer him first which he exeitedly bun-gurglingly agrees.

He's a man that's excellent at words and selling something to you. But when it comes time to actually show Affection it's...a bit rough to say the least.

He buys you special types of conditioner and shampoo for your fur, one of the finest brand might i add, which he hands to you. Simply stating "well if your gonna be seen around me of course you gotta look your best" not that he actually cares for you and wants you happy of course! He's an overlord he has a status to up hold!

Now when it comes to you actually doing cat like things he finds it very interesting and honestly adorable-

I mean look how can he not melt when your purring out words after landing on the soft couch in his office.

One time he petted the top of your head and you let out purr, when I tell you this man’s knees were weak I MEAN IT

he just has a special soft spot for you and the things you do. Like when you were over at his place about to crash on his bed but you just started kneading the soft blanket.

Look he’s a hater on the outside but a lover on the inside he has to keep a rough attitude in a place like hell. But when you guys are alone he’s doting on you more then an actual person with a cat. He just can’t help it

He loves cuddling with you at night, like the warmth you provide him is enough to make him short circuit . Hell is hot enough but your warmth is different kind of warmth, not just the overheating and overwhelming temperature of hell, but the homey feeling you get form a nice hug.

He especially loves when you wrap your tail around him or his like leg i don’t know something about it makes him lose his mind!

Although he dose have to admit finding you asleep in unexpected areas is something he doesn’t hate but doesn’t exactly like either. He quite literally has the best bed and sheets of hell just for you and you still decide to spreed out and take a nap on counter. Now that is something he will never understand

Overall though he loves you to the lower levels of he’ll and back <3

🝮☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆🝮

Wukong

Oh boy… time for our favorite monkey boy phew alright…

First of all get ready for his lil cheeky self to go around and start scaring you

You know that old trend where cat owners would throw cucumbers at their cat? Yea that’s what he dose, not only that but 60% of the time it lands smack dab on your head like it seems intentional from how many times he’s smacked you by accident.

He honestly understands how sensitive ears and tails could be so he would never yank or pull on it as a joke. Trust me he gets and understands your pain very much.

His love language is grooming, so he’s happily sit for a good while just looking through your fur and picking out small particles or maybe small dirt specs. And he loves when you do the same! Honestly a very cute bonding moment he finds it relaxing!

I feel like cat demons are a bit rare to come by, (my guess don’t quote me on this) so he finds your quite cool to look at! Especially if you have some sort of pattern or rare fur color!. He asks you all sorts of questions please don’t mind him he’s honestly curious.

He purrs too so this man dos won’t discriminate when you do it, he honestly finds it adorable just like Vox!, but unlike Vox he doesn’t mind voicing it. Although he dose it too he loves teasing you for it, jokingly of course!

Please send this man your fur care cause lord knows he probably doesn’t own the right things to take care of his fur. He appreciates if you take a day off just to show him, also massaging some of the conditioner/shampoo in his scalp will make him purr and is greatly appreciated.

Honestly I feel like he’d get jealous of those who you also let touch your fur and other stuff. He won’t cop you on it! But he loves when it feels like something only he can do and you trust him with.

As kneading this man has A TONNN of blankets collected through the years of stealing or getting gifted it. So he has tons of blankets on his bed and if he sees you kneading them he’d probably let out a loud “Awe” before tackling you. He finds it adorable! What can he say?

He has good pulse control now then when he did in his younger years but still can you really expect him not to smoother you with affection from how absolutely adorable your being?!?? (≧◡≦) ♡

Please please PLEASE let this man intertwine tails with you or make like a heart shape out of your tail’s. He just finds it so comforting and adorable!

Overall have a cat demon S/O has to be the best for him, he just loves you! And he is very affectionate, it takes him a bit to show it but after a while he’s all over you! Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

🝮☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆🝮

AHHHH TYSM FOR THE REQUEST IT WAS SO FUN PLEASE REQUEST AGAIN❤️❤️❤️❤️💘💘💘💘

[violet-fluff]

💙 Levi x Injured! Reader

Stay Awake

You were originally part of Hanji’s squad, but with your excellent 3D maneuvering skills, Erwin had you switched over to Levi’s squad as they need only the best on the front lines.

You and Levi were already good friends as you both trained with each other during your youth time in the scouts. Now that you are with him twenty-four seven on his squad though, the both of you have become inseparable.

“You two might as well just hook up.” Oluo sneered as he drinks from his water pouch.

Petra squeezes the bottom of the pouch, causing water to rapidly spurt into Oluo’s mouth, making him choke. “Stop being stupid, and don’t talk dirty about your Captain and squad mates.”

You laugh but continue to pour hot water into two tea cups. Before bed, you and Levi liked to chat over tea. “Thanks, Petra. And for your information Oluo, Levi and I are just great friends. We’ve known each other since you were still a child most likely.”

“How romantic. The perfect beginning to a beautiful love story.” Gunther chimes in jokingly causing Eld to cover his grin.

You roll your eyes and finish fixing up your tea tray. “Well I’m headed out for the night. Goodnight everyone.”

“Don’t forget to add that love potion in his tea.” Gunther shouts, causing Petra to yell at him and the rest of your snickering squad.

“These guys are too much.” You whisper to yourself, half annoyed and half tender as you still love these bozos to death.

Making it to Levi’s office, you notice his door cracked open. A small quirk Levi does so you can easily open the door with your foot while holding the teas.

You swivel the door open with your foot and smile as Levi looks up at you from his desk. “It’s about time you got here.”

“Sorry,” You say and place the tray down on his desk, “I got caught up with Oluo and the other two being idiots again. Petra helped me cut it short.”

“Hm,” Levi grunts and starts to fix his tea, “What were they being stupid about?”

You blush and look down to fix your own. “Nothing. Just stupid guy talk I guess.”

Levi watches your face go red from embarrassment. “If they said anything stupid to you I’ll beat their asses.”

You laugh softly. “Don’t worry about it. Anyway, are you ready for tomorrow? You should get some sleep tonight.”

Levi huffs and looks down at his blue print. “We have the perfect formation down. Everything should go fine if everyone sticks to it.”

“And by everyone, you mean Erwin?” You ask while eyeing him from the rim of the tea cup as you take a sip.

“That bastard better not change anything last minute out on the field this time. He nearly got Hanji’s squad killed.” Levi grimaces on the memory.

“I’m sure with the earful he heard from both you and Hanji, he won’t do it again.”

Levi clicks his tongue. “I hope so. Is your 3D gear back from the shop yet? I can get you a new one.”

You wave him off as you lean back in the chair. “No it’s ok. Keep the new ones brand new. I’m sure mine will be done by tomorrow. I don’t think it needs that much fixing anyway.”

“It doesn’t need that much fixing?” Levi asks with a raised brow. “Your grapple wouldn’t shoot out a few times. It nearly caused you to fall.”

Levi was always protective over you. When you opted to get your gear fixed instead of replaced, he didn’t like the idea very much.

“The trigger is just faulty, not completely broken. It probably just needs to be rewired.”

He clicks his tongue. “You’re testing that shit out once you get it back. I don’t care if everyone has to wait.”

You smile but agree to ease his mind.

——

The next morning everyone is suiting up and gathering their horses when a cadet comes and brings you your gear.

“Y/N, right? The technician had to take another job, so he told me to bring you your fixed gear.” They say while handing you the bulking metal.

“Oh! Perfect!” You thank the cadet and strap the gear to your harness, but freeze when you hear someone clear their throat behind you.

You turn around to see Levi with his arms crossed and you roll your eyes. “Yes, I know the drill…”

The two of you walk towards a tree line and you position yourself to a tree farther away. Turning on the gas cans, you pull the trigger and your grapple shoots out to latch on the tree, pulling you to it. “It works!” You shout to Levi with a thumbs up.

He stares at you, still skeptical as his gut doesn’t have the best feeling, but if he saw with his own eyes your gear working correctly then there should be nothing to worry about.

—-

The mission starts to finally come to an end after a grueling six hours. You all need to clear the designated areas outside of the walls as the government wanted to expand the outer notch of Wall Maria.

In the distance, you see an abnormal titan.

“Ahh, the last titan of the day.” Oluo yawns.

You shoot a red flare in the air, signaling to Hanji’s squad a mile behind you that there is an abnormal ahead.

“Y/N and I will handle this one. The rest of you lay behind.” Levi orders as you two snap at your horses to run faster.

“I’ll get its attention as you cut the nape?”

Levi nods. “Sounds like a plan.”

You stand on your horse and shoot your 3D gear into a nearby tree and fly past the abnormal. It quickly swings its arm at you, but you wrap around the tree and dodge it’s first attempt.

“Wow it’s fast.” You say to yourself and you hover in the air for a second.

It swings at you a second time so you quickly push on your trigger to shoot out another grapple, but the trigger stalls.

You anxiously push on the trigger more as you start falling, and your eyes widen as you see a giant arm in your vision. You scream when you feel it impact with your body and you go flying into a tree before falling and hitting the ground.

You were conscious enough to feel one, maybe more, of your limbs twist and the pressure of yourself hitting the ground making your ears ring before seeing black.

“Oh my god! Y/N!!”

“Petra! Don’t touch her!”

You are able to faintly hear your friends next to you, causing you to muster up enough strength to barely open one eye and fuzzily watch as they loom over you.

Petra has tears coming out of her eyes as Oluo holds her back.

“Captain! Don’t!” You hear Eld yell.

Suddenly, you feel the upper half of your body being lifted and your arms falling back behind you as you don’t have the strength to move them. Someone grabs your face and turns your head towards them.

It’s Levi.

You can barely make out his face.

“God-dammit! Look at me!” He says through gritted teeth, shaking your face with his hand. “Say something!”

Hanji’s squad catches up and she jumps off her horse before it even stops. “Hey!? What happened?!”

Levi is still holding your body tightly against him and trying to shake you awake. “She won’t get up!”

Hanji notices Levi is in a great state of distress, and notices the back of your head wet with blood.

She slowly kneels down next to Levi and squeezes his shoulder. “Levi, let’s put her down for a second, ok? I’ll…I’ll help her.”

Levi looks down at your disheveled face but nods and slowly lowers you back to the ground.

All of your senses are blurry and fuzzy, but you feel someone open your eye more and then force the other one to open for a split second before letting it close again.

“Her pupils are different sizes. I’m sure she just has a concussion. A bad one, but something she can heal from.”

Hanji has Moblit wrap your head in a bandage while she examines the rest of your body. “She has a broken arm and a sprained ankle. I’m not sure if her ribs are fractured. That’s something I’ll have to check back at base.”

Levi was seething with rage. “That idiot technician was supposed to fix her gear. I want him fucking dead.”

“Let’s not get too hasty right now, Levi. Let’s make sure Y/N is taken care of first.” Hanji says as she tries to calm him down.

You senses start to come back a little more as you start waking up from your black out and you hear Levi yelling.

“L-Lev…” You try to mutter out his name.

Levi quickly hovers back over you. “Y/N? Can you look at me?”

You weakly open your other eye slowly and see Levi in double vision.

“That’s good. I need you to stay awake.” He orders you.

“Hurt…” You squeak out.

Levi sighs. “I know, but we’re taking you home, ok?”

While Hanji was checking you over earlier, Gunther shot a black flare signaling a formation was down. This causes an emergency team to come assess the situation and they bring along a wagon of supplies.

They would use this wagon to haul you back to base as a horse would be too bumpy of a ride.

Levi sits in the wagon, holding you across his lap and talks with you to try to keep you awake.

“Hanji said you’re not allowed to sleep with a concussion, brat, so stay awake for me.” He orders as he moves hair out of your face.

“What…happen?” You try to ask but the more you start waking up, the more dizzy your head feels.

“Don’t worry about that right now.”

All you wanted to do was take a long nap. You start to close your eyes and drift off when you were snapped back as Levi shook your cheek a bit.

“Hey, I said stay awake. Why don’t you tell me what you use for my tea. You never told me.” He asks to try to keep you busy.

“The tea…I put lavender…” You tell him.

He furrows his brows. “Just lavender? Is that a secret ingredient?”

You manage to give a tiny smile. “Yes.”

—-

A few days pass by and you are now fully awake but still admitted in the medical clinic on base.

“When can I leave?” You huff at Levi.

“When the doctor says you can.” He scolds.

The doctor said you had quite the concussion and wants to monitor you for a few days. Along with the concussion, you went through the pain of them trying to realign your broken leg and wrap your sprained ankle. Luckily your ribs weren’t fractured but you did develop deep bruising all over your body.

“Don’t make a fuss about leaving. You’ll be bed ridden in your room anyway.” Levi says.

You roll your eyes. “But I’d rather be bed ridden in the comfort of my room than in the medical clinic.” You grab his hand. “Levi…you don’t need to stress anymore. I’m fine.”

He scoffs. “How can I not stress when some idiot technician didn’t do his job. He almost got you killed. How can I even trust the others?”

The technician that was supposed to fix your gear forgot to, and instead of saying so, he lied and said the gear was fixed. In his head, corps members going outside the walls were as good as dead anyway.

He was promptly fired…after getting a major ass whooping from Levi.

You frown as well as scrunch your eyebrows in anger. “Kiss me.”

Levi’s eyes widened as he stared at you in silence. “What did you say?”

You grunt and hold your arm as you sit up more. “I almost died without telling my feelings for you. Since I’m still alive, I want to tell you them. But first, I want you to kiss me.”

Levi stared at you longer, contemplating what to do in his head, before he leans forward and puts his lips against yours. You sigh contently against his lips as you grab a hold of the front of his shirt, and he grabs the back of your neck to deepen the kiss.

After a few moments, you feel Levi’s lips quiver and a wetness on his cheek.

Levi pulls away and leans his forehead against yours. “I thought you were going to die.” He chokes out, tears falling down his cheeks.

You wipe away his tears and hold his face. “Well I didn’t. I’m here with you and I’ll always stay by you. I live for you.”

Levi smiles and kisses you again. “I live for you too.”

[accio-victuuri]

August CPNs round-up ❤️💛💚

it’s bobo’s birth month! let’s start with this chaotic behind the scenes video 🫶🏼

• the letters yb was flashed in xzs vlog

• two people spotted in xz’s mountain drawing

• a hongkong politician posts about xz and wyb being good celebrities that will help promote HK

• 8/5 yibo’s day clowning part one part two - this year was too loud! the bday photo alone is enough to szd. 😂😂😂😂 part 2.5 part 3

• yibo and xz related hot search for bobo’s bday

THEIR VCRs for Han Hong’s foundation, a charity organization they both are a part of. We love them generous Kings!

• in the xinxiangyin live, we see an activity that they filled with things xz likes and will have something to talk about. you will notice a couple are the same as yibo’s. hotpot ( which i must admit is more general ), photography, fitness, tennis and films.

you can say that these are not unique interests, but when you put them together and another person has the same one seem sus. this is something i always say, even if you don’t believe that they are in a romantic relationship — these clues show that they have maintained that connection. no matter how many people cry about the “copying” agenda, we can’t deny that the coincidences are too much. this is why they get along, they can adapt each other’s interest. they have the same values. they are out here ticking all the boxes for a fruitful relationship <3

• the similarity 👀👀👀 right is xz in ELLE’s feature video for XZ.

• QUATRE BLUE 💙💙💙

oooohhhh i love jewelry. tho i’m kinda on the fence about this cause boucheron is a brand that xz is promoting and it makes sense that it will be used for a magazine. he is endorsing this line of rings but has never used this blue which just happened to be something wyb before. i understand why people are going 👀 because the photos were released days after Bobo’s bday.

• XZ’s Elle September issue feature clowning

• 8/10 yibo-official bts video clue

• yibo’s montbell shirt

• bobo shows some bxg bias @ pechoin live

• in the LINSY product launch conference, they were talking about a sofa and it had a special feature thing where you can put stuff in it & wyb mentions you can put chips. lol. that was so fast. he is not someone who likes chips, but we know one who does! i’d like to think that it’s a subconscious answer. he just thought of an important person in his life. 🫶🏼

• matching high school students hair 😂😂😂

• ANTA 🤝 LI NING

• their airport fashion looking so identical 👀 we could argue all day about how this is not unique and just about anyone can do this combo.. but does anyone else do this? no. it’s always these two. it’s harder to tell them apart when they are like this, which we guess is helping them when they visit each other on set.

the two of them doing couple wear!

• bottled joy x tsingtao collab 🍻

• xz’s heurueh boyfriend t shirt

• mengniu fan benefit featuring the boys

• handprints next to each other in the Qixi Wall

• this gif is gold!!!! pleaseeee!!!!! 😂😂😂😂 and it even went on hot search!

• analysis and details of wyb’s new song = somebody else’s arms

• wyb’s post YH concert weibo update 🟡🟡🟡

• i talked briefly about the cpf support during the concert and i have nothing more to add. i’m sure i can make another post that “shows” how wyb appreciated the cpfs indirectly during the concert but i won’t. there is no need for proofs of any kind — we know the truth. 😌😌😌 tho i will never be pro violence or insulting and being very mean to people in person just to prove a point. there’s a whole nasty situation that happened post concert which i have no energy for and i do not condone btw.

• their weibo 15th bday post 🌙

• the final episodes of exploring the unknown is on oct 5-6 because tencent has released the watching schedule. yes, wyb probably had a lot more input in this project but he was probably not alone in deciding when this would premiere and how the episodes are gonna line up. but i’m still happy with this coincidence. ✌🏼

what we wanna know tho is what will be the episode on 10/5 cause if it’s him in the desert i will — 🤯! cause his photo there was the one he used for his bday, which is eerily similar to GG’s from last year. so yeah. we will see!

-END.

<<< previous posts

See you all next month!!!!! 💛💛💛

[tenjikyu]

𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯' 𝘺𝘰𝘶 - 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴

౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ bonten!mikey x male!rockstar!reader , reader plays guitar in a band , reader dresses more grunge as that’s the bands theme , think nana osaki from nana bc she’s the inspo for the fic , very lighthearted, tryna let poor bonten!mikey catch a break , slight sexual references but nothing actually happens , bonten is a lil ooc bc they all act like family but it’s okay bc it’s bonten.

౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ SLIGHT SPOILERS FOR BONTEN ARC, NOT REALLY BUT WARNING JUST IN CASE. (honestly it’s not spoilers at all bc it’s pretty fanon in comparison to the canon bonten timeline.)

“cmon mikey, get outta the apartment for once in your life that isn’t to go to headquarters!” rindou pouts at his boss.

manjiro really didn’t know what he expected when he decided all the executives should move into a massive penthouse together. sure it was good for his health to be around others and not coop himself up in agony, but he didn’t exactly like the idea of being dragged out whenever his lackeys felt like it.

“not intrested, leave me alone.” manjiro says, attempting to make his way to his bedroom. to go see a band he rarely listened to? who goes to a concert when you don’t give a shit about them to begin with?

sure he’s heard all about the gorgous female lead singer and the hot as fuck guitarist. (Y/N), right? manjiro couldn’t remember nor did he really care to.

“but i bought us all front row tickets to see Black Rose so we could witness how hot Hiroko Asato issss” ran attempted to persuade the stubborn bonten leader.

it wasn’t working.

“i’m looking forward to seeing her outfits up close. from what i’ve heard, she wears pure designer.” kokonoi adds onto the conversation.

“cmon mikey, it’s only one night. if you hate it that much i can drive you back to the penthouse.” kakucho, ever the resolver, bargains with the pouting leader.

“…” manjiro stays silent. ‘it’s just one night i guess, plus it means that i’d have them off my ass for at least a month’ he reasons with himself.

“alright, let’s get going then.” he says, the rest of the executives silently fist bumping the air rn.

the wait to get into the stadium was a bitch, however with a little bit of force, the bonten executives managed to get inside ahead of time.

koko ordered the drinks, kakucho and mochi reserved the spots and the haitani brothers were chatting up some vip ladies in scandalous dresses. meanwhile mikey is . . .

umm . . .

wait.

“oh, hey! are you lost..?”

you do your best to keep cool with the fact that the leader of the biggest mafia syndicate in japan was in your personal changing room.

“the show doesn’t start for another 2 hours, can i help you to your seat? i wouldn’t mind.” you offer, keeping careful of how you talk.

the hotshots of bonten’s identities had been long revealed to the public, however people were too afraid to really report their whereabouts to authorities. many stories of people who had revealed their location that day were swiftly eliminated, even before the news of their position were made public.

and so, knowing that the tatoo on this rather depressed looking man’s neck was a bad sign, you decided to just adhere to whatever he might need.

you were already dressed, the iconic vivienne westwood jewellery hanging from every inch of your body. each member of your band had a significant brand to them, so it wasn’t uncommon for you to be seen decked out in the iconic space themed jewellery. you had always loved the style, and it seemed the mafia boss was equally as intrigued in your designer pieces. you even had their logo imprinted onto your guitar.

“no, i’m okay.” manjiro only replied, his eyes not leaving the necklace that rested gently on your chest.

he didn’t really know why he snuck into the private quarters of the band. perhaps it was to escape his ever-so-annoying underlings?

or perhaps, a little part of him wanted to catch a glimpse of you.

apart from the obvious favourite of the band, the lead singer AS well as the only girl in the band, you were a favourite among listeners.

you had women and men alike screaming your name and begging for skin-on autographs. despite being a dude yourself, you had other guys begging you to sign their tailbone (which you had to politely decline).

manjiro understood why, as you were definitely easy on the eyes. your amazing sense of fashion and your toned body didn’t help.

“uhm.. are you feeling okay? you seem a bit dazed.” you question. in reality, the man was just dead on staring into your soul, scaring the living shit outta you.

“yes, i’m alright.” he finally responds.

.

. .

. . .

“here, take a seat.” you finally break the silence. why was he here? you didn’t think that a guy like him would have time to sit around some flashy concert. sure, you were a big band but let’s be real, shouldn’t he be at his headquarters shooting peoples heads in?

alas, you knew better then to question it.

and so, you order in some glasses of alcohol and begin chatting. you spoke about your career, how your band came to be and about dreams.

you aren’t entirely sure why you were discussing this sort of shit with a random mafia leader who could probably give less then a shit about you, however he seemed almost enamoured with your conversation.

you felt bad for talking his ear off, especially since you now only had about 45 minutes till showtime and you STILL hadn’t tuned your guitar, however he didn’t seem to care.

everytime you stopped talking, manjiro almost.. glared? at you? as if he was offended that you stopped talking.

unbeknownst to you, manjiro loved listening to you talk. the way you worded things and your voice overall was heavenly to his ears.

the piercings that decorated your skin were appealing to the man. the chain from your ear to you lips especially looked so… attractive to him.

“(Y/N) C’MON, WE’RE ON IN 10” you could hear toru, your drummer, scream out to you.

“SHIT! MY GUITAR” you freaked. HOW did you forget your guitar??

“i’ll come visit after the show.” manjiro says, exiting the room.

“oh, oka-“ before you had the chance to finish your sentence, he vanished.

well, now you couldn’t WAIT for the show to finish!

after the show had ended, you packed up the rest of your gear. your manager had popped in and taken your stage clothes back to the studio before bidding farewell.

as you sat around in a pair of baggy jeans and a t-shirt (inspo - don’t feel like you have to imagine this.) , you paitently waited for the white haired mafia boss to sneak back into your private room.

why were you even waiting? he was probably bullshitting you anyways. why would someone as busy as manjiro sano give a fuck about what you were doi-

“yo.” a cheeky grin graces his face, looking back at you.

note to self : doubt gets you nowhere!

“hey manjiro, enjoy the show?” you ask the man, automatically getting comfortable in his presence. you didn’t exactly know why you felt so relaxed around him, considering his rather infamous reputation, but you just did.

“yeah, you’re certainly the best in your band though. could go solo and still be famous if you wanted.” he replies, automatically heating your face up.

“cmon (Y/N), let’s get going already. i’m tired.” he winged to you in a childlike manner.

“okay.. WAIT—HUH?? where am i going?” you shriek, having no idea that he actually PLANNED to leave this place with you in tow.

“back to my place. duh. i don’t just talk to anybody for fun unless i plan to shoot them in the head an hour later.” he responds in a nonchalant voice.

this boy is gonna be the death of you, literally or figuratively? only time will tell.

regardless of how much you declined the offer, the man ends up dragging you out to the expensive limo that was owned by bonten. not only were you dragged into the car, you were squished in between the boss and 2nd in command of the syndicate, haruchiyo sanzu.

not that you were complaining, the pink haired dude was hot as fuck.

there were many things that occurred that night :

• at 1am, you arrived at their shared headquarters, completely baffled that they all lived together. you decided that you would NOT mention anything that might offend anyone in the room right now.

• at 2am, you were drinking alcohol more pricey then your stage guitar. you weren’t by any means on the poor side, but these men lived a new version of luxury.

• at 3am, you were playing pool with the haitani brothers and sanzu. you lost. miserably.

• at 4am, you were half naked and making out with manjiro sano on his own bed. you didn’t expect the high and mighty manjiro sano to be so submissive in the bedroom.

wait…

“HUH??” WHY WERE YOU IN MANJIRO SANO’S BEDROOM?? WHY WERE YOU IN NOTHING BUT BOXERS?? WHY DID MANJIRO SANO HAVE BITE MARKS ALONG HIS NECK??

“relax dummy, nothing went beyond tongue action.” a mop of platinum hair grumbles beneath the duvet covers.

thank fuck.

‘wait. what time is it?’ you ponder, taking a look at the clock next to the bed. 3:45pm. just how much did you drink to wake up this late?

before you had anymore time to think about it, you feel a thin but strong arm yank you back under the covers,

and come face to face with a pouty mafia leader.

as if on instinct, you pull his head gently into your chest, cradling his head like he’s a porcelain doll. his arms wrap around you as he nuzzled into your body closer, seeking your warmth and comfort.

it doesn’t quite dawn on you that your cuddling a man you literally met yesterday. not because you’re naive or dense, but because it just felt right to be in each others arms.

it’s not until mochi wakes the both of you up for dinner that you reopen your eyes, realising you hadn’t moved since you got dragged down.

it’s an all out war getting manjiro to leave his bed, but when you’re swiftly abducted by the haitani brothers, he’s up and ready, chasing the idiots around claiming they ‘stole his baby.”

well, that’s one way to get a boyfriend!

[yuurei20]

I've noticed Epel keeps adding 'kana' to the end of his sentences. What does it mean?

Hello hello! Thank you so, so much for this question, I have always wanted to mention this.

“Kana” can be a multitude of things in English, such as “probably,” “I guess,” “I think,” “I wonder,” etc. A basic explanation would be, “a word used to express uncertainty,” but like most things when it comes to language, that is not the only thing it does.

A quick review of Epel: from his first day at NRC he has been under order from Vil to “speak more politely,” as he tends to use informal speech with his senpai.

As you point out, Epel often adds “kana” to what he is saying, and that is because one of the things that it can do is ‘soften’ something that you’re saying in order to make it sound less direct, and thus more polite.

Examples: Epel telling Kalim that his assumption is wrong, telling Vil that he disagrees with him, saying that his Phantom Bride look is weird, etc., these are all sentences that he is awkwardly gentling via “kana,” often after several ellipses or a comma, as though it is not a part of his normal speech pattern.

This gets into cultural differences: When Ace assumes that Epel is dedicated to a certain brand of apple juice, for example, an English-speaking Epel could probably respond, “That’s not actually the case!,” without sounding rude. But that could be interpreted as a little brusque in Japanese.

In order to soften the expression Epel adds “kana” at the end, which sounds more like, “That might not be the case,” “I’m not sure that is exactly what is going on,” etc., in English.

Even though he knows for 100% certainty that he is not actually dedicated to a certain brand of juice, he is still using “kana” in order to not sound too straightforward.

(screenshot from maggiesensei.com)

(This can and does cause issues when moving in between languages: a Japanese learner who only knows that “kana” means “I think” might not add it onto sentences where they are certain about something, and thus risk annoying their Japanese-speaking colleagues, for example. In contrast, an English learner may say “I think” too often, leading their English-speaking colleagues to wonder why they don’t seem to actually know anything. It’s all part of the joy of language and culture!)

While there are several words in Japanese that can be used to soften your phrasing, Epel seems to have latched onto “kana” in particular, possibly because it is an easy word to add on to the last part of what might otherwise be a rude sentence in an attempt to avoid a reprimand from Vil. 

Other times Epel will belatedly add “desu” onto his sentences, also in a bid to sound more polite than he is used to speaking. 

If you are a language learner I would not recommend using Epel as an example of when to use “kana,” as he will sometimes shoehorn it into places in an unnatural way (as a part of his character).

EN is doing its best to recreate Epel’s “kana” by including things like “kind of,” “not sure” and “maybe” in his dialogue, but as sounding uncertain doesn’t necessarily mean you sound polite in English, this may not be having the same effect. And I have no idea how they would go about recreating this habit of Epel’s in a way that can properly portray what is happening in English—it might just be one of those things that gets lost in translation :<

Bonus: The Japanese language has four different alphabets (kanji, katakana, hiragana, romaji), and katakana is the alphabet used for foreign loanwords. 

Whereas other characters who use honorifics have “-kun” and “-san” written in hiragana in their dialogue, Epel’s dialogue uses katakana. This is possibly meant to symbolize how using honorifics in these situations is foreign to him, and he is not used to it.

(When he does shift into using honorifics in hiragana, it is only when he is talking to people from his own village: people he is used to!)

[ajalholland]

Young Sephiroth x reader

(Discovering feelings, long time friendship, fluff. (Y/n) and Sephiroth are the same age)

Sephiroth stood at the edge of the sand, the sun beating down on his back as he waited for (Y/n) to come out of the changing room. His fingers drummed against his thigh, clad in board shorts - an unfamiliar feeling. The fabric felt too light, too loose. He wasn't one for swimsuits, even in the heat of summer. But here they were, at the Costa del Sol, ready to... enjoy themselves? he wasn't sure he knew how to do that.

(Y/n) saunters towards Sephiroth, her feet sinking slightly into the warm sand with each step. She's traded her usual clothes for a brand new swimsuit . Her eyes, warm and inviting, meet his as she tilts her head, gesturing down at her new swimsuit. "So... what d'you think?" she asks softly, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Sephiroth's gaze flickers downwards, taking in her appearance, before quickly darting back up to her face. He shifts uncomfortably, his hands now clasped behind his back. "You look... nice," he manages to say, his voice gruff. He clears his throat, trying to rid himself of the sudden lump forming there. "I mean, you always look good, but... different. In a good way," he adds hastily, feeling his cheeks grow warm. He curses himself internally for his lack of eloquence, but he couldn't help it. His heart pounded in his chest, his thoughts racing faster than he could grasp them.

(Y/n) chuckles, her cheeks flushing slightly at Sephiroth's stammered compliment. She reaches into her bag, rummaging through their belongings until she pulls out a bottle of sunscreen. "Thanks... I guess," she teases lightly, her eyes sparkling with amusement. She holds up the bottle, shaking it gently. "Come on, let me sunscreen you. Don't want you turning into a lobster out here." She grins, already squirting some lotion onto her palm, ready to apply it to his skin.

Sephiroth tenses, taking a step back instinctively. He'd never been touched much, especially not like this. His breath hitches, his eyes widening slightly as he looks at the white liquid on her palm. "I-I can do it myself," he protests weakly, his voice barely above a whisper. But even as he said it, he found himself standing still, his body refusing to move away from her. "It's just... I'm not used to..." he trails off, unable to put his feelings into words.

"You can't reach your own back, silly. Here, turn around." (Y/n) scolds softly, her brows furrowing gently. She nudges Sephiroth playfully, guiding him to spin around with a gentle touch on his shoulder.

Sephiroth hesitates for a moment before slowly turning around, his back now facing (Y/n). He can feel her closeness, her warmth radiating against him. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. "Just... go ahead," he says, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside him. He closes his eyes, bracing himself for the unfamiliar sensation.

"Alright," (Y/n) smirked triumphantly, her fingers coated in sunscreen as she started to spread the lotion across Sephiroth's broad back. She worked meticulously, her touch gentle yet firm, her eyes tracing the lines of his muscles.

Sephiroth jolts slightly at the first touch, a shiver running down his spine. He bites his lower lip, trying to suppress a soft gasp. Her hands were surprisingly warm, her touch sending waves of... something through him. He felt giddy. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, trying to distract himself from the strange sensations. "Y-You're thorough," he remarks, his voice coming out more strangled than intended.

(Y/n) leans in closer, her voice soft and teasing as she moves to sunscreen his arms, the back of his neck, and his shoulders. "I don't want my angel boy to get burned," she murmurs, her fingers working diligently, her eyes crinkling at the corners with mirth.

Sephiroth's breath hitches at the nickname, a warmth spreading through him that had nothing to do with the sun. Angel boy. That was new. He swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his chest. "I'm not... I'm not fragile," he protests weakly, his voice barely above a whisper. But even as he said it, he found himself leaning into her touch, craving more of it.

(Y/n) hums her fingers pausing briefly on his skin. "I know you're not fragile, Sephiroth," she says softly, her voice barely audible over the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. "But you are pale, and you burn more easily than I do." she explains, her thumbs rubbing gentle circles on his back as she continues to apply the sunscreen.

Sephiroth looks down at his pale skin, realizing she was right. He'd never really thought about it. "Oh," he says, feeling stupid. He cleared his throat, trying to regain some semblance of composure. "Well, thank you then," he mumbles, his ears feeling hot.

(Y/n) leaned in closer, her voice soft and playful as she began to gently apply sunscreen to Sephiroth's face, her fingers tracing his jaw. "You're acting funny, angel boy," she chuckled softly, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

Sephiroth sucks in a sharp breath, his eyes dart to her lips. He freezes, panic surging through him. What the heck... why does he suddenly want to kiss her? "S-Sorry," he stammers, stepping back abruptly, putting distance between them. "I-I just... need a minute," he mutters, turning away from her, his face flushed with embarrassment and confusion.

(Y/n)'s brow furrowed with worry as she watched Sephiroth step back, her hands falling to her sides. She took a step towards him, her voice laced with concern. "Seph, you alright?" She reached out tentatively, her hand hovering near his arm, unsure if she should touch him.

Sephiroth tenses, his body rigid. He can't look at her, not like this. Not when he's... like this. "I'm fine," he lies, his voice tight. "Just... give me a moment, okay?" He takes another step back, creating more distance between them. "Please," he adds, his voice softer this time, a plea in his eyes as he finally glances at her.

(Y/n) held her hands up in mock surrender, her brow furrowed with concern yet understanding. "Alright, alright. Sorry," she said, taking a step back and giving him the space he needed, her eyes filled with worry but respecting his boundaries.

Sephiroth lets out a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping slightly. He turns away from her, walking towards the water's edge, needing a moment to collect his thoughts, to understand these new feelings coursing through him. "I'll... I'll be back," he calls out, his voice distant.

(Y/n) watches Sephiroth walk away, her heart aching at the distance he's putting between them. She wraps her arms around herself, hugging her middle, her expression a mix of concern and sadness. "Alright... I'll be here..." she calls out, her voice soft and uncertain, carrying a hint of vulnerability. But he is already gone.

Sephiroth walks into the water, the cool liquid washing over his feet, then his ankles, his calves. He goes deeper, until the water reaches his waist, the current tugging at him. He looks out at the horizon, the vast expanse of blue stretching out before him, mirroring the turmoil within him.

His mind races, a whirlwind of confusion and fear. He's never felt like this before. This... this longing, this ache in his chest. This... feeling. For (Y/n). His best friend. His angel. He's known her for years, but this feeling... this is different. This is intense, overwhelming. This is terrifying.

He runs a hand through his hair, gripping the strands tightly. He wants to kiss her. He wants her in ways he's never wanted anyone before. Ways he's never even considered wanting someone. But he's scared. Scared of ruining their friendship. Scared of rejection. Scared of not knowing what to do, how to act, how to... be.

He takes a deep breath, the salty air filling his lungs. He needs to figure this out. He needs to understand these feelings, control them. He needs to... talk to her. But how? How does he tell her, without scaring her off? Without ruining everything? By the time he came back from his thoughts, the sun was setting. And (Y/n) wasn't were Sephiroth last saw her.

Sephiroth's heart pounds in his chest as he scans the beach, his eyes widening as he realizes (Y/n) is nowhere to be seen. Panic surges through him, his breath hitching. "(Y/n)?" he calls out, his voice echoing across the empty beach. "(Y/n), where are you?" He starts to walk back towards their spot, his eyes frantically searching for any sign of her. "(Y/n), please answer me," he pleads, his voice laced with urgency and fear.

(Y/n)'s bag lay abandoned on the beach, its contents spilled out haphazardly as if she'd left in a hurry. Her towel was crumpled nearby, her sunglasses discarded beside it. A half-finished novel lay open, facedown in the sand, its pages rustling softly in the breeze.

Sephiroth's breath catches in his throat as he takes in the scene, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He drops to his knees, picking up the book, his fingers brushing against the delicate pages. "No," he whispers, his voice barely audible, his mind racing with worst-case scenarios. "No, no, no," he repeats, his voice growing louder, more desperate. "(Y/n)! Where are you?" He looks around, his eyes wild, his body trembling with fear and adrenaline.

(Y/n) wanders down the beach, her bare feet sinking into the cool sand, the setting sun casting a warm glow on her skin. She licks at the melting ice cream in her hand, a content smile playing on her lips, her hair dancing gently in the sea breeze. In her other hand another ice cream, she headed towards a familiar figure standing alone at their spot, her heart fluttering with anticipation. "Seph, what's going on?!" she called.

Sephiroth spins around, his eyes wide with relief as he sees (Y/n) approaching. He rushes towards her, closing the distance between them in a few strides. Before he can stop himself, he pulls her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair. "Don't scare me like that," he whispers, his voice hoarse with unshed tears. "I thought... I thought something happened to you."

(Y/n)'s eyes widen, clutching the ice creams tightly to prevent them from getting tossed. "I-I just went to grab us some ice cream..." she mumbles, looking up at Sephiroth sheepishly. "Thought it might make you less mad at me..."

Sephiroth pulls back slightly, his eyes meeting hers. He blinks, taken aback. "Mad at you?" he echoes, his brow furrowed in confusion. "I wasn't... I wasn't mad at you, (Y/n)," he says softly, his voice gentle. "I was just... thinking.."

(Y/n) held up the melting ice cream cone, her nose wrinkling slightly. "Here, I brought you this. You looked like you could use something sweet after... whatever that was," she murmured, her eyes filled with concern and curiosity. "you've been acting all weird, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth takes the ice cream from her, his hands trembling slightly as he holds it. He looks down at the treat, his mind still reeling from the day's events. He takes a tentative lick, the sweetness momentarily calming him. "I'm sorry," he says, his voice low. "I'm... I'm dealing with a lot right now. Things I don't understand."

He looks back at (Y/n), his eyes searching her face. "I... I didn't mean to leave like that. I didn't mean to scare you." He takes another lick of the ice cream, buying himself a moment to gather his thoughts. "Can we... can we talk? I need to... explain."

(Y/n) leans in, her voice soft and reassuring as she tilts her head towards Sephiroth. "Let's finish our ice cream first, okay?" she suggests, her eyes filled with warmth and understanding. "We don't want it to melt all over the place. Then, we can find a quiet spot and talk, yeah?" She nudges him gently with her elbow, a small smile playing on her lips.

Sephiroth nods, his heart swelling at her understanding, her unwavering support. He takes her hand, intertwining their fingers as they walk back to their spot. They enjoy the ice cream, the cool sweetness a welcome contrast to the heat of the day, their laughter and easy banter lifting the heaviness in his chest.

Once they finished, he leads her away from the crowded beach to a secluded spot, the sand soft beneath their feet, the waves a comforting backdrop to their conversation. "Thank you," he says, his voice soft, his gaze locked on hers. "For being patient with me, for understanding, for being my friend."

He swallows, taking a deep breath, his cheeks flushing. "(Y/n)... I... I have feelings for you. I thought it was just... friendship. But it's more. I... I love you. I've loved you for a long time." He looks down at his hands, his voice shaking. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do. I just... I need you to know."

As (Y/n) locked her gaze with Sephiroth's, she could see the raw honesty and vulnerability in his eyes. His confession left her speechless momentarily. With a gentle smile, she cups his face in her hands. Her heart thundered in her chest, and without a second thought, she leans in and presses her lips against his.

Sephiroth's eyes widen as (Y/n) cups his face, her touch sending shivers down his spine. His heart races as she leans in, their lips meeting in a soft, tender kiss. He freezes at first, unsure, before relaxing into it, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her close.

He pulls back, his breathing heavy, his eyes filled with longing. "(Y/n)," he whispers, his voice thick with emotion. "Please, don't ever leave me."

(Y/n) meets his gaze, her eyes shining with love. She cups his face again, her thumb brushing over his lips, before she leans in for another kiss, this time more confident, more assured. As their lips part, she speaks softly, her voice a sweet whisper. "Never, angel boy."

end

[johnwickb1tsch]

Vino Veritas

A Destination Wedding Frank x Fem!Reader Fic

Attending the wedding of your ex-fiancé gets slightly better when you meet someone having just as miserable a time as you... Warnings: Nothing too serious holy shit. Cursing. Broken engagement. Nihilism, existential bullshit, copious amounts of sarcasm. Eventual nsfw, not this chapter. Angst. Grump/sunshine trope. Loosely based on the movie but I'm not that smart. Or bitter. chapter map.

The Gate to Hell

You’re not sure what it is about airports, that somehow makes them feel like a special little extension of the circles of Hell. Or maybe purgatory, is more the like. All you do there is wait, and wait and wait, praying that soon it will be time to move on.

It probably doesn’t help that you’re absolutely fucking dreading your destination ahead.

Frankly, it will be a miracle if you survive this weekend with your sanity intact.

And then, there’s this dude behind you. You keep seeing him out of the corner of your eye. He just keeps pacing back and forth, rolling his stupid bag with him, and you just want to whirl and tell him to be still or sit the fuck down.

Instead, he comes to stand next to you.

You give him a glance. And then, you’ll admit, a double take, because he is stupidly handsome, even while frowning, staring churlishly at the flight monitor as though it had personally insulted him. And, to add insult to injury, he is tall. And well dressed in jeans and a button down and a nice sports jacket. And you inwardly sigh for some indefinable reason that has to do with longing and your acceptance that the universe does not bestow such gifts upon you for free.

“Nice dress.”

You blink, not having expected him to speak to you.

“Thanks.” It’s a 50’s style robin’s egg blue halter swing dress, your favorite color. You needed some bright color therapy, to face the hell you’re about to be stepping into.

“Is there a sock hop in San Luis Obispo I’m missing?”

You guess with your cat-eye Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses, you do look rather on brand.

From his sardonic tone you’re not sure if he’s making fun of you. “All the cool kids are going.”

You kind of deliver it like a dig, and you see the corners of his mouth twitch. “Ah. That explains everything.”

You look him over. He…really is ridiculously handsome, if you’re being honest. High cheekbones. Trimmed beard. Piercing eyes. Casually well dressed. A bit older than you, not that that’s ever stopped you.

“I hope our flight’s on time.”

You check your phone app for the airline. “Supposed to be.”

“Let me guess. You’ve got an app for that?” The way he says it, just this side of snide, like you fucking millennials—it kind of pisses you off. And maybe you’re overly sensitive to patronizing comments from older men, but with your history you have a right to be.

“Do you have a problem with me?”

He stands up a little straighter. “What?”

“Like what’s your deal? I was just standing here minding my own business, while you’re creeping around behind me—”

“I was not creeping. I was trying to see the board.” He gestures at the display screen by the gate.

You look him up and down. That’s a tall drink of water, if you’re being honest. “Because Mr. six foot six over here can’t see over my head—”

“I’m only 6’1”—”

“Okay, 6’2” in your shoes, and then you come up here, give me a backhanded compliment, and make fun of me for having the means to keep track of what’s going on with our plane?” You glare at him. “Holy shit, are you trying to neg me?”

“I don’t…even know what that means.”

“Ok, boomer.”

“I am not a boomer.”

“Whatever.”

Then he has the gall to step away—in front of you.

“Seriously?”

“What?”

“You’re going to butt ahead in line too?”

“On a flight that holds eight people?”

“Wow. Ok, be my guest.” You wave him on, and he rolls his eyes. Then you have to stand there, and look at his stupidly broad shoulders in that nice sports jacket, and his dark softy waving hair that just brushes his collar…you’re not going to look at his butt.

You’re not.

Your eyes slide down.

Fuck, but that’s a nice caboose.

The Fight Or Flight Response

As you sit in your backseat of the plane, there is one seat left beside you, and when you see who boards last you want to throw yourself down the stairs before they close the door.

“Anyone want to trade seats?” he asks, bent over practically in half, he’s so tall and the plane is so small.

Crickets.

With a resigned grumble he settles into the seat next to you, as though the world might end if he has to spend a handful of minutes in your general proximity.

Then, of course, the universe further conspires to embarrass you by sending you a defective peanuts bag, which you cannot for love or money get to tear open.

“Dear god, tear it at the notch,” grouses the rude man beside you, driven insane by you fighting with it.

“There is no notch.”

He’s there with his big hand extended, making an annoyed give it here gesture. It’s distracting, truly, how long and elegant his fingers are.

“Give it here.”

“I’m fine.”

“Give. It. Here.”

You’re so disgusted with this whole day, you hand it over. Then watch with smug delight as he can’t get it open either. Finally, he uses his teeth in his frustration, undoubtedly spitting all over it. When he tries to hand it back to you, you raise an eyebrow at him. “Really?”

With a sigh, he offers you his less molested bag.

You take it like accepting his sword on the battlefield.

You both make faces as you quickly find that the seasoning on the nuts tastes like hot trash, and you reckon it’s probably a metaphor for how the next few days are going to go.

This is going to be the weekend from hell.

“So what brings you to San Luis Obispo?” the man asks resignedly, almost like he can’t quite stop himself from talking to you. There is an exhaustion in his tone that would have pulled at your heartstrings, if you weren’t so generally pissed off.

“You don’t have to try to talk to me.”

He shrugs, throwing up those big, beautiful hands in a gesture of annoyance. You can’t help but stare at them—they really are a menace.

“Just trying to be pleasant.”

You can’t stop the bark of laughter that escapes you at hearing that. He frowns over at you, and you cover your mouth, hiding your smile. You know you must look like a crazy person—but it’s just too ridiculous.

“Was it that funny?”

You sigh, and for some reason you feel better after the involuntary outburst. Okay. Maybe you can make an effort. No one is ever in a good mood at the airport, after all. “I’m actually going to Paso Robles.”

“Row-bulls.”

“It’s pronounces ro-blays.”

“Everyone says Row-bulls.” 

“Well, not the fucking Spanish who named it.”

He looks away again with that thunderhead of a frown. Why does he have to look extra handsome, when he’s pissed off?

You sigh again. “Look, I’m sorry. I swear, I’m not always such a bitch. It’s just…this fucking wedding I’m going to.”

This catches his attention; he turns to look at you like a hawk zeroing in on a mouse. “Not…Keith and Anne’s wedding?”

“How do you fucking know Keith and Anne?”

“Keith and I share a mother.”

“Holy shit, you’re Frank?”

“Who are you?”

“I was engaged to Keith, years ago.”

“Oh my god, you’re y/n.”

You can sense by the way he says it that you’re infamous in the family’s lore. It’s been a long time, but still, it fills your heart with a familiar leaden despair.

You close your eyes, and look away.

“You’re just as horrible as Keith always said,” you say to the window.

“I find you equally disagreeable, I assure you.”

waiting for death the car

“There was supposed to be a car,” Frank grouses the second you exit the airport. Patience is clearly not his strong suit.

“The flight was early.”

“But it seemed so long.”

It’s a good dig, truth be told, and the corners of your mouth twitch despite yourself. You sit down on a bench, and to your surprise he sits on the other, though on the side closest to you. “So what the hell are you doing here?” he asks. “Didn’t Keith break your heart?”

“Shattered it into bits.”

“Well?”

“I was invited.”

“And…you’re a masochist?”

“Look, I’m not…whatever Keith must have said I am. I was practically a fucking child when he started dating me. It was not…” It was perfectly legal, of course, but the imbalance of worldly experience, looking back, had not been kosher.

You feel the tide of all the pain and insecurity that man caused you raise up in your heart. Usually you’re pretty good at shoving that shit down down in the deepest dungeon you can, like a healthy person, but the wound is feeling a little fucking raw at the moment, considering.

“Keith is an asshole who only cares about himself. I am aware.”

You sigh, and the tide miraculously recedes. Goddamn. It almost feels like he’s on your side.  “Okay, yeah. There you go.”

“Why do this to yourself?”

“You know, before he broke it off, we had a fight the night before because I told him I would never get breast implants, of all fucking things, and Keith told me I would never amount to anything without him.”

“Sounds like something asinine he would say.”

“I wanted to go back to school, and he didn’t like it. He wanted a Stepford wife, and I was becoming alarmingly aware of the world outside his own making of it, the way children do when they grow up. If you’re wondering why he dumped me.”

“That tracks perfectly.”

“He invited me to be a shit and rub my nose in it, so…I’m here as a fuck you. I wanted to show him I’m doing fine.”

“Are you?”

“Yes, actually.”

“You do seem rather well adjusted.”

“Yeah, fuck you too.”

This, surprisingly, makes him smile a little.

A few moments of slightly less awkward silence pass before he asks, “So what did Keith tell you about me?”

“Oh, he told me plenty.”

“Such as?”

“What does it matter?”

“Don’t do that,” he snipes. “Don’t dangle the tidbit then refuse to deliver it.”

“Fine. He said you’re a grouch who hates everyone.”

“Oh. I was afraid he might have said something untrue.”

You glance over at his ridiculously well-sculpted profile. He glares ahead, his brows furrowed, and you strangely get the sense that maybe…he’s a little sad for it.

At fucking last, the shuttle car from the hotel arrives.

Tbc...

[gintrinsic-writing]

There and Gone Again

“That presence,” Time murmured, eyes searching the old, gnarled branches above their heads. Realization came to him with a smile. “The Skull Kid. He’s here?”

Moonlight doused the Sacred Grove in glittering beams of silver, and a familiar song trickled through the boughs and tall grasses. “I’ve only ever seen one,” Twilight answered. “I doubt it’s the same skull kid from your era, though, right? That would make him…” He paused, trying to add the years, but Time shook his head.

“It’s him. I recognize his magic.”

“I didn’t realize they lived so long,” Twilight said, glancing around curiously. He half-expected to find orange eyes watching him. 

“I suspect he may be an exception. His brand of trouble… Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if it affected his lifespan.” Time’s frown did little to mask the fondness in his voice. “Maybe his spirit is tied to this place now.”

Twilight shrugged. “Maybe. He sure was a…”

“Brat?”

“I was gonna say asshole,” Twilight admittedly with a quiet laugh. “But he did help me, in the end.”

Time nodded like that was no surprise. “Tell me about him. How was he?”

Twilight leaned back on his hands as he considered the question. “He seemed well enough, I s’pose. He laughed a lot.” Usually at Twilight’s expense, but he didn’t need to say as much. 

“That's good. What mask is he sporting these days?”

“Mask?”

“He always preferred to wear a mask. It… became a bit of an issue, actually.”

Twilight blinked. “There was no mask. I reckon he might’ve been a little less creepy if he’d had one.”

“Creepy?” Time gave him an odd look. 

“Y’know, the whole—” Twilight gestured to his own face, “—glowing orange eyes, and that cavernous grin. There were too many teeth.”

Time didn’t say anything for a long moment. The silence was broken only occasionally by the low, mournful trill of a flute from within the woods. “I see,” he said at last. “I guess the magic affected more than just his lifespan.”

“What do you mean?”

Time shook his head. “Nothing. What about Tat’l and Tael?”

“Who?”

“His fairy friends.”

“I never saw any fairies around him.”

"Oh." Time looked disappointed. "But you didn’t see any other skull kids either?”

“No, just him.”

“He was completely alone?”

Unease weighed on Twilight’s shoulders. “He had his puppets.” At Time’s stare, he added, “He used magic to control these large, wooden puppets. They looked, well…” He didn’t want to say creepy again. “They had spindly limbs and low heads, and they wore cloaks up high on their backs.”

The silence, this time, was absolute while it lasted. Time finally let out a quiet breath. “The moon as his mask, the giants as his puppets, and… alone. Completely alone.” He turned suddenly, staring where the shadows nestled thickest. “Is this a joke or a memorial? Has your grief trapped you?”

Twilight shifted uncomfortably. The little hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. “Time?” he whispered.

Something stirred within the shadows, there and gone again. The music trickled back to life, endless once more.

[queenofallimagines]

Meet cute~

Isagi x fem Reader

A/N: Morning to all the baddies✌🏿Nothing gets you in the mood to write than starting something brand new and not working on WIPs😘 based off a rly cute TikTok I saw I think isagi would be one of the ones to meet his S/O in a super cute way

CW: black reader but not rly focused on, bad grammar it’s like 4:45 am sorry,foreigner reader, was gunna sneak in like artist reader or something but the way it’s so ambiguous is cute, Bachira the pot stirrer, he also knows Spanish a little,U-20 captain isagi?? polyglot reader, She’s afro latino, Isagi falling in love at first sight. Let me know if I missed anything!

TAGLIST: @priv-rose

"Did you see the way shidou kicked rin?” Bachira could barely breathe as memories of today’s practice filled his mind— he looked over at isagi, who was shaking his head in faux disappointment, trying to hide a smile.

“Course i did, poor rin.” Isagi chuckled, running a hand through his hair. the striker was about to add onto his sentence but the feeling of someone bumping into him distracted him. he peered over his shoulder, a small smile on his face when he saw who it was. “mm… you good?”

Looking up at him with apologetic eyes she anxiously rushes out her words.

“Ah, im Sorry!”

“It's fine, it was an accident, it happens." Isagi smiled softly, and that smile would remain on his face even as he noticed her hair. his eyes lingered on it for a moment too long, taking in the way it was pushed out of her face, the colour of it.

“Nice hair."

“Huh?” He watches as she brings a hand up to her hair reflexively fidgeting with it. “oh uh thanks. I like yours too….”

“You do? thank you, it's nothing special." He smiled still staring down at her hair. he realized he was staring and cleared his throat. After a brief moment, he spoke. Trying to clear the awkwardness.

“Hey, just out of curiosity, where are you from?" He fumbles out awkwardly internally wincing at how nervous he sounded. But he was curious as to the way she spoke. her accent sounded familiar to him, almost foreign.

“I guess but it really suits you! Shapes your face really well. And, I mean… if you’re asking where I was before Japan I’m from America.”

“Oh you think so?" Isagi's cheeks had begun to turn red, he could feel the blood rushing to his face as he smiled sheepishly Rubbing the back of his neck.

‘America? He was right, he thought. She spoke differently.’

“Ahh, you're an American, yeah? Is that why you speak funny?" He teased playfully, smiling down at her. Watching her wince a little at his words and he immediately felt embarrassment wash over him. Saying she talked weird wasn’t really polite was it? He watches as she chuckles nervously at him.

“ah, kinda? America has a lot of different accents depending on region so I’m not sure which one takes precedence when I speak Japanese. Nodding his head in relief she didn't deny it, so isagi decided to continue with his questioning.

“Okay, but what region are you from? Are you from the South?" Tilting his head slightly, his eyebrow cocked, curiousity sparking in his eyes.He tries to hide his smile as he watches her face morph into shock. Her eyes were really pretty from where he was standing…

“That easy to tell huh?”

“Yeah." Isagi snickers, he continued. "The way you speak….it's different— a lot more laidback, but not like the Tokyo-y, or Osaka accents. The American accent isn't quite heavy, but not super light either. There's no way it’s something like Texas, Florida, or California, but I'd guess somewhere in the South, closer to the South-east. Am I right?" Looking at her expectantly he can’t help but get lost in her eyes.

“….. Spot on again. I moved from Texas but I was born and raised in the east coast so sometimes I’m New York sometimes I sound more like Houston or New Orleans. Depends on the words I’m saying and how fast I’m talking.” He was actually surprised that he'd managed to guess correctly not one, but twice! With the way the corners of his lips crept upwards, he didn't realize how much he liked talking to her. As the conversation continued, he found himself smiling.

“Wow, so you're just all over the place huh, like a rainbow?" His heart fluttered hearing her giggle reach his ears. It sounded so melodious.

“yep!” Humming in thought he shoots her a smirk. “It'd be interesting to hear how you speak, like if you were super angry or something." The black haired boy teased, not realizing the flirtatious implication it could have.

“I’ve been told I talk faster and with more force so probably New York. And then I speak Spanish too so definitely that.” At the mention of her being able to speak a third language, Isagi's eyes widened. He leaned closer his curiosity growing.

“You can speak Spanish?"

“Mhm. My family is Latin American so Spanish fluency runs through my family.”

Isagi's eyes twinkled with an undeniable sparkle of curiosity. he was definitely intrigued. He’s only heard some of the players on opposing teams he’d play curse at him in Spanish but never actual full on sentences. his lips curved upwards slightly. "Can you speak it right now? If you don't mind." He watches as her eyes far around for a second before letting his again. He felt a little bad for putting her on the spot like that but not bad enough to take it back.

“Oh uh sure. Uhh” She hums for a second before clearing her throat.

“Hola, isagi y bachira. Encantado de conoceros. Los dos sois muy guapos.”

(Hi, isagi and bachira. Nice to meet you both. You are both very handsome)

Isagi's eyes widened with amazement, a look of pure joy on his face. he clapped his hands together. “That's amazing! You speak it so well!" His face flushed at the compliment.

“You know what, I have a question for you." His grin grew into a bigger, brighter smile. Her way of speaking had a certain musical quality to it. He watched her closely all the while, his eyes taking her in, and listening to the way she spoke. She'd said something about them being handsome he thinks? He looked at Bachira who'd been witnessing the conversation the entire while, he noticed his friend's eyebrows raise slightly, and a small smile come onto his lips.

‘Did she just call us handsome?’ Bachira mouthed to him. He knows Bachira definitely isn’t fluent playing in Spain and spending time around Lavinho he must’ve picked up on some. He understands it better than he does English anyway. Feeling his heart racing he looks at her without missing a beat.

"Can I try something?" His gaze didn't waver from the way her lips curved at the sides, her smile being a mere testament of her good features.Quirking an eyebrow at him she looks at him confused for a second before cautiously replying.

“Okay?”

“Say my name." Isagi said, his words laced with a soft breath. Taking half a step closer he watched her lips closely, taking in how each syllable looked as it left her lips. He heard her breath hitch as those beautiful eyes widen looking up at him.

“Yo- I mean Isagi Yoichi.”

He couldn’t help but smirk at the way she said his name. he'd told her to do so, he'd expected it, but the way she'd said his name had his heart beating out of his chest..

"Say Bachira." She chuckles smiling at him confused but obliging him anyway.

“Bachira.” Isagi's gaze remained fixated as he watched her lips form each syllable. He was enjoying this and his brain hadn't quite caught up with the fact that he was enjoying this.

“Say your own name." She smiles at him before speaking her own name. He can’t help the shiver that runs up his spine. The way the words flowed out of her mouth like honey, her tongue curling around every vowel. He would do anything to hear her talk forever if he could. The way her accent was almost hypnotic to his ears. It seemed even her name had no special effect on him.

“I have to tell you, your accent is so cute." He tilted his head slightly as he continued.

"One more thing." The stunned look on her face had him biting back a smile. That deer in headlights look was absolutely precious. It wasn’t until then did he notice the difference between them. The way she looked up at him made something inside him go absolutely wild.

“Oh. Uh thanks.”

“How about you say... isagi yoichi is an absolute cutie?" He teased playfully. He knew when saw her flustered face he had to tease her just a bit more. Like if he’s gunna try and shoot his shot he’s going to put himself at an advantage. Grinning, he was having so much fun, he forgot Bachira was watching the two of them carefully now. His eyes darting back and fourth between the two.

“Yoichi Isagi es precioso.”

The athlete felt his heart stop. He wasn't actually expecting her to do it! And so quickly without any hesitation. He was stunned into silence. His jaw had dropped and his cheeks were blazing bright. Bachira hadn't missed or misread what had just happened. He laughed quietly, a smile tugging at his lips.

‘Damn.. Did that really just happen? Talk about matching energy.’

She laughing seeing his flushed face. He looked like he was trying to find words but forgot how to speak at all.

“Uh,you ok?” Isagi who was was still blushing, lifted the corners of his mouth tilted upwards in embarrassment and joy. Bachira was just barely holding back a laugh. When he found his voice he finally managed to speak after a moment.

“Y-yes. I'm very okay." Isagi's voice was still laced with embarrassment, but he continued anyway. “Can I ask you something though?”

“Hm?”

“Do you have a boyfriend?" His voice still laced with embarrassment, but there was genuine curiosity behind it now. He tries to steady his heart as he looks at her expectantly. He watches as she looks at him surprised stuttering out her words.

“W- I- no?? Like I don’t. I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Isagi nodded, his mind reeling. This day was wild already, she was flirting with him, he was flirting with her– it was really something else. He couldn't deny that the idea of her not being taken was something that gave him the confidence to continue.

"You don't?" He asked again, this time a little slower just to hear her say it. His eyebrows rose, his cheeks were hot with embarrassment, his mind began to race. Deep blue eyes remained on her, he couldn't help staring. He didn't need any other confirmation other than this. he smiled softly, trying to hide just how happy her answer made him.

“Oh, So that means there's no one who'd come and beat me up if I asked you out?" He asked her jokingly, but his voice still remained soft.

“o-oh uh no that wouldn’t happen….” Smiling wider as he caught onto the fact that she'd blushed. She was too adorable, the way her eyes were looking at everything but him. Her hands nervously pulling at her shirt. That, and her soft, smooth voice was sending him into a state of bliss.. And he was starting to get carried away. His grin grew.

“Wellll... Can I ask you something then?"

“Y-yeah?” Shyly looking up at him he noticed the tips of her ears looking red.

“Would you like to go out with me?" He had put all his cards out on the table now and was waiting in anticipation as he asked her. He could hardly believe that he'd gotten to the point of asking her this. His heart was beating out of his chest and there was something happening in his stomach. It wasn't pleasant... The nerves were eating away at him.

“Mhm….i would.” Isagi felt his breath catch in his throat as she agreed. His cheeks were heated, his palms were sweaty, his fingers were trembling. He couldn't breathe. Everything about this felt surreal, there had to be a catch. But, no. It was really happening, he really just asked her out on a date and she agreed.

“Really?" He watches intently as she rocks on the heels of her feet looking away from him. “Mhm.”

His heart was still beating out of his chest. His whole body felt tingly as his cheeks grew hotter. Her answer had taken him by surprise, it'd been a lot easier than he thought it'd be to ask her. His eyes were drawn towards her lips, they were so cute and looked so soft…

Just before he could say anything though, Bachira coughed.

"Isagi?"

Jolting she glances over at him flushing in embarrassment forgetting he was there. She’d completely put all her focus on the boy flirting with her. Bachira looked more like an amused observer, his lips curled up into a small smile. Isagi was flustered to have been caught staring, he snapped out of his thoughts to glance over at him. He felt his face grow even more hot.

“W-what?"

He felt a wave of embarrassment slack him in the face as his friend’s laughter rang out. he'd been enjoying watching what was going on behind the scenes. Bachira's teasing was usually directed towards Isagi, who was easy to tease. So, seeing him be the one getting teased for once and being affected this much by was entertaining.

"You're all red, man.." Bachira teased, the corners of his lips remained curled upwards.He whips his head around to hear the girl snickering at him, hand over her mouth.

“Shut up." Isagi tried his best to sound annoyed, but his voice came out sounding flustered. He was very flustered, he was still red like a tomato. His mind couldn't seem to come up with anything else.. The only thing his body was focused on was her. Her pretty face, her soft voice, her sweet smile, her laugh…. Flinching he felt her grab his hand and he froze.

“Here.”

His heart skipped a beat as she grabbed his hand and held it firmly. He couldn't help, his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. Was she really holding his hand? Her touch was so soft... her grip was gentle, yet firm.. He found himself trying not to close his eyes in that brief moment. She steps closer to him turning to hold her hand in front of him. He was hoping she couldn’t feel his heart beating out of his chest as her back pressed up against his chest. He feels frozen where he stands as she writes her name and number across his wrist.

“How about you can decide after you win your next game yeah? I’ll be watching so don’t disappoint me.”

His eyes remained on her as she wrote her number down on his wrist, their thumbs grazing together and sliding together for a brief moment. The feel of her grip on his wrist had Isagi's body tingling and his mind racing. He was taken aback by her gesture, but his mind was only focused on one thing right now. She wanted to watch him? She'd be there... watching him? Isagi couldn't help, he grinned, his pulse was rising. Once she finished she moved away from him letting his wrist fall. Capping the pen she held she tapped the end on his nose smiling at him.

“Don’t disappoint me now pretty.” Isagi was startled by her words. For the first time in his life, he was called pretty. His cheeks went red and that one word alone caused his entire world to stop moving around him, he felt so warm.

“I don't plan on it. You'll see, I'll be impressive." He said, his tone was much more confident than he'd meant to sound. She rolled her eyes at him letting a huff leave her lips.

“I’ll definitely hold you to that Mr egoist.”

“Oh?" Smirking he was aware that she was teasing him.He chuckled as it was his turn. “You have no idea..I'm gonna do my damn best to go all out in the game and win." He was already confident. His ego was growing, but he didn't mind that. He had every right to be confident with the skills that he had. His cocky smile remained on his lips.

“I expect to see you there?" He watches as she swallows hard looking up at him. She felt her face heat up at the look of determination in his eyes.

“y-yeah definitely. I’ll keep my eyes on you the whole time….”

Now isagi could feel the adrenaline running through veins. This was all so new to him, the way she was acting so flirty, the way her eyes were on him and her cheeks were flushed just by his look.. The way she was talking right now was making his whole world spin again. Smiling he was enjoying the feel of all those butterflies. He let go of her hand finally and he looked away for a second.

“Okay, then. I guess I'll see you there." He finally said as he turned to leave. Clutching his jacket in hopes to stop his heard from beating so loudly in his ears. He was on cloud 9 and he couldn’t even process this moment being real.

“Yeah… bye yoichi. See you there.” Isagi waved at her, turning to exit. He felt her eyes still lingering on him as he went. His mind was filled with so many thoughts right now. He couldn't believe that he'd done that, he couldn't believe that it had happened... But, it did happen. He had got a date. He had a date with the prettiest girl he'd ever met. That didn't seem real, and he couldn't be happier about it. As he left the gym, Bachira was waiting for him with a smug look on his face.

“You got a date?" Bachira asked, watching him as he approached. Isagi's cheeks were glowing bright red, his grin was infectious. "Shut-up." Isagi snapped back, clearly feeling flustered still. His hands were trembling ever so slightly and he was aware that it was all over his facial expressiosn. He attempted to hide his emotions but to no avail, he was just too excited for his own good.

“Awwwww Come on, you can't lie! I can see it all over you, your face is bright red and your lips got this dumb grin on em. You're down bad when you're flustered, and the way she was looking at you? Yeah, you got a date." Bachira said excitedly as he watched his friend trying his best to hide his emotions.

“Shut. up." He said, a hint of frustration in his voice. Isagi didn't want to acknowledge that his friend was right, but he had a point. He was right. Isagi could still feel her hand on his wrist. He felt like he could still feel her breath on his skin. His cheeks were red, his hands were shaking. All because this damn date.

[thetarttfuldickhead]

Like Phil, I’d like to think that Jamie and Keeley still go to Brazil, in spite of the boys’ recent fuck-up, but I’d also like to think that Roy comes with them. Not because Jamie and Keeley can’t be friend on their own or wouldn’t have the best time doing Brazil together – they would! – but because I think Jamie might be conscious, given everything that’s gone down recently, of potentially upsetting what he currently perceives as a rather delicate balance.   

Maybe he brings it up a few days later before they head over to Keeley’s for a joint apology, or maybe it happens already at the holy kebab place, once they’ve had a few bites and a chance to settle back into their normal; a little worse for wear, but with no lasting harm done.

And Jamie fiddles with his sleeves and makes little faces as he tries to decide what to say (and Roy notices and waits with some trepidation) and in the end he just comes right out and says it, because that’s what Jamie does, isn’t it?

“I asked Keeley to go to Brazil with me, for that Nike thing I’m doing.”

Roy blinks. He hadn’t known Jamie was doing a Nike thing. Jamie might have told him, but Roy usually stops listening whenever he starts blathering on about brands and clothes and shit, so yeah, if told he hadn’t heard.

“What did she say?” he asks after a slightly too long and awkward moment of Jamie looking up at him, almost through his fucking eyelashes, trying to gauge his reaction.

“She said yes.” And hastily, as if worried what Roy might say or do if given a moment to, he adds: “I didn’t do it to try to get back together or anything. I mean, I do wanna get back together and she’s my friend and I love her and I thought we’d have a great time, yeah, but also, she’s great at PR and all that stuff, so. Yeah. That’s why I asked her to come. Make sure I don’t fuck it up.”

And because you want her to be your girlfriend. Roy doesn’t say it, though. Neither of them want a repeat of what went down at the bar. This isn’t Jamie trying to goad him or hurt him, he’s pretty fucking sure of that, so he’ll listen carefully to everything Jamie has to say, and then he’ll react like a fucking grown-up.

Probably. Possibly.

“Anyway, I think you should, like, come with us.”

Fucking what now? “What?”

“You should come with me and Keeley to Brazil.” Jamie is nodding his head decisively, as if repeating the statement has fully convinced him of its veracity.

“You want me to come with you and Keeley to fucking Brazil?” Roy is aware of sounding like a demented parrot, but he doesn’t give a fuck, does he, because he doesn’t want there to be any fucking room for misinterpretation here.

Jamie doesn’t seem particularly concerned about Roy’s tone. Too used to it, probably. “Um, yeah. Yeah. I mean, probably can’t get Nike to pay for it, right, but you’re rich, so you can just get your own ticket and you can stay with me and Keeley in this villa they’ll set us up in. Can’t mind that.”

Which all sounds very reasonable, of course, but still doesn’t answer the most pressing question:  “Why?”

Jamie makes a face. “What do you mean, why? Because I don’t want shit to be weird between us, mate. And I think it’d be weird if Keeley and I went away and you stayed here after what happened, you know. Besides,” he adds, and suddenly he looks slightly shy; younger than he actually is, and vulnerable, “It’d probably be fun, yeah? All three of us going, together. Because we’re friends and all.”

And there’s something sharp and jagged turning in Roy’s gut at that, because underneath Jamie’s claim there’s a note of uncertainty that Roy had no trouble whatsoever guessing the origin of, and he adds it to the long list of things he hates himself for.

He doesn’t know how to express any of that, so what he says is, “Yeah. I guess. I’ll think about it.”

Jamie’s grin is immediate and wide; relieved and triumphant in equal measure, like he’s already won – like he already knows for a fact that Roy’s going to say yes.

Roy can’t even find it in him to mind that the little prick is right.

And then they all go to Brazil and I’m currently thinking that nothing further really happened between them there, because apparently they all need to do a little more thinking and feeling and figuring themselves out, but I’m sure they still had a grand, grand time of it.

[bambi-kinos]

I wonder what you think of if think they ever saw themselves together as (secret) gay couple, like marrige,boyfriends or was it more like "we are friends and song writing partners" that happend to do more "drunk things together" and that's what messed it up in the end, or do you think it was a pulling-pushing type of relationship? like did they break it up more than one time, all the time and the final drop was India?

Sorry for bad English!

John and Paul have a few things going for them and against them with regards to their perception of their relationship:

Pretty much any sexual activity between men was permitted without it being "gay" or "queer" or anything like that so long as the men involved didn't admit that they were gay. I guess kissing and penetration is what makes sex acts gay or queer to the early 20th century guy who was jerking off with his mate in the back of a car or whatever. Since this was just "getting off" and it was kept far away from their wives and families, it didn't count as gay. This means John and Paul grew up at a time where it wasn't considered particularly bad to get off with your mate, do frotting and handjobs/blowjobs, whatever. It definitely wasn't something that you talked about openly (that's indecent) but it didn't make you a gay guy either. Even now in TYOOL 2024 men are weird about this and insist that getting aroused and climaxing with other men is not sexual at all and definitely not gay. That means that John and Paul had a large, large gamut to run without ever having to call themselves gay. My opinion is that they did not call themselves gay or queer, or acknowledge that side of themselves for the beginning stages of their friendship. I think Paul has always had some inkling or self knowledge but honestly, from 15-18 years old that doesn't mean much lmao. I don't think John figured himself out for a longer period of time because he already had so much stress heaped on his plate, there was no need for him to add concerns about his sexuality onto them. If John and Paul were doing anything "extra" in addition to the group wanks at this early stage then they just tossed it all under the "boys will be boys" column. And if everything stayed that way then nothing else would have happened.

Then they go to Hamburg. It's a brand new continent and a brand new world. This is where they see crazy ass sex stuff and more importantly, they encounter men and women who don't wrap delusions around their sexual activity. This is where they met gay men, lesbians, transgender people, cross dressers, etc. We can't know what it was really like but the point is that Hamburg was a huge turning point for them and it turned John and Paul from simple provincials into much more sophisticated sex havers. John got off with crossdressers and kissed other men on the mouth; Paul found a boytoy and comforted himself with his presence when John-and-Stu became too difficult to bear. I doubt they considered themselves gay at this stage but their minds were broadened in a big way. They were exposed to different lifestyles and mindsets. And they had to learn fast and get used to it because their livelihoods depended on that.

After this, things become more slippery slidey. They could very well have gone on this way forever, doing gay sex stuff and refusing to call themselves gay. Except then Paris happened and neither of them forgot it. It never left their heads. Something happened there that we don't know about that, memories that they cherish. Who did John give a pearl necklace to considering there's no mention of him and Paul hooking up with ladies on this trip? Why did John hold on to the memory of couples tenderly kissing each other for so long? Why did John and Paul come back exploding with life and energy? It's almost as if something happened where they convinced each other that they were a sure thing, that they could depend on the other one no matter what. That there was something else for them that wasn't just being mates or being part of a band. And the rest, as they say, is history.

They didn't understand what they were to each other for a long time but that's because they were teenagers. It was a genuine friendship that they built in the beginning which honestly? I'm really glad that they had that. I also think that it's exactly this which lead to their relationship lasting for so long.

Like, John's problem was that he jumped into relationships and intimacy too quickly and it inevitably blew up in his face somehow. Paul's problem is that he's too cautious and he holds everyone at arms length. But by having a concrete friendship to build off of that they grew over time and through ups and downs, they ended up becoming each other's steady. It gave them stability and a deeper relationship that they never really managed with other people. That means that, for a long time, John and Paul would call themselves "mates" and it would be completely accurate. It wasn't until much later that the sex stuff started and then when it did, they still had the strength of that initial friendship to rely on.

When it comes to the "push/pull" dynamic you mentioned, they did have their ups and downs where they got used to "crisis moments" to pull them back together after being emotionally distant from each other (and I do have thoughts about that). But I don't think they went through a series of break ups and "we're back together" moments. I think that their relationship simply strained and strained and strained until it finally snapped under the weight of everything they couldn't bring themselves to say. I don't think they suffered any serious moments of breaking up once they put 1960 Hamburg behind them.

There are lots of people who think that John and Paul never figured out their mutual attraction due to their upbringing and while this is a possibility I do not think this is true at all. John Lennon and Paul McCartney are the most revolutionary minds of the 20th century, I don't believe for a second that they were just sitting there and didn't understand what was happening to them. I absolutely think that they figured out that they were queer and in love with each other. Maybe it was in 1961, maybe it was in 1967, but they did eventually figure it out.

The problem for John and Paul is that this revelation did not make their lives better and freer. It arguably made their lives much worse. I don't know if they could even consider the possibility of being together in some capacity because of the sheer virulence against homosexuality in the 1960s and that they were both raised to think that it was moral depravity. We can see that this provided roadblocks for both of them: John and Paul had to get wasted in Key West to simply say the words "I love you."

On the third hand, they did have examples of homosexual men like Victor Spinetti, who was apparently in a committed relationship with another man, to look at. Once they got to know Brian, they were introduced to the world of gay men, not all of whom were married to women. This once again broadened their minds and they had the revelation that you could just go off with another man and be his steady.

John and Paul would probably have liked it very much if they could be a couple together with their version of fidelity in the works. I doubt they would have made a legal commitment to each other in the form of marriage (their business relationship was certainly much closer than trivial marriage documents) but they would have liked being romantic partners. The roadblocks to this were 1) John's son Julian 2) their status as public figures 3) their upbringing telling them that this was wrong.

I have no doubt that John revealed something to Paul in India, more than his 🎤. As one of those revolutionary minds of the 20th century, John may have offered something similar to the above paragraph to Paul, hoping that if he presented it all of a piece then Paul would have to answer sincerely, from the heart. After all, John could be sure that Paul loved him, right?

Well. We know what happened after that.

[duhragonball]

Requiem for a Bio-Broly

So I looked at the new Sparking Zero lineup, and it's currently at 184 characters, if you count the three DLC guys. And once again, Bio-Broly did not make the cut.

I'm not really surprised, but it is kind of interesting that this guy has never made it into any of these fighting games. He's in Dragon Ball Heroes and Dokkan stuff, and I'm pretty sure that's because those card-based style of games need as much variety as possible, which is why they do all those what-if characters and scenarios.

It only really surprised me when Budokai Tenkaichi 3 skipped him, because that game had a ginormous roster, to the point where it was tough to even guess how they'd fill all the slots. And unsurprisingly, often-overlooked movie villains like Garlic Junior and Dr. Wheelo were on the roster. But not Bio-Broly. I think that's when I first got intrigued about his exclusion from these games, because BT3 was the first game to get all of the other Z movie villains in it, and that made Bio-Broly conspicuous by his absence.

The later games had smaller rosters, but they also seemed eager to add some special attraction, usually a character who hadn't been used before. Raging Blast 2 had Hatchiyack, but also Androids 13 and 14. Battle of Z really touted Beerus and Whis, since I'm pretty sure that was their video game debut. And Xenoverse 2 has been adding DLC characters for the better part of a decade now. You'd think one of them might toss in Bio-Broly, if only for the novelty of it, but no.

I don't want to sound like some kind of Bio-Broly fan. The character sucks, and so does his movie. But he was still a movie villain. Like, that's kind of a special status in these games. They get used as bonus stage bosses or special unlockable guys, or whatever. GT is pretty awful too, but it's still fun to see Omega Shenron and Baby in these games. I would argue the games are the only time GT characters are really handled properly. I'm sure someone could come up with a cool story mode segment involving Bio-Broly. The quality of his movie is irrelevant.

So with this game, Sparking Zero, I figured he was probably going to finally get his spot, if only because there were so many spots to fill, and why not toss him in there, if only to get a complete set of movie baddies? But it looks like he got shafted again. I mean, they could still put him in as DLC, and I would think they'd just about have to. I mean, they probably want to do lots of DLC characters like with Xenoverse 2, but they already put so many characters in the base game, so who's left? They could do Cell Max, and some Daima characters, toss in some OG Dragon Ball and more Tournament of Power guys, but it's weird that we're even talking about this when there's a Z-Movie guy they've never used.

Like, imagine if Metal Cooler never got to be in any of these games. Everybody else, but for some reason Metal Cooler just never shows up. Movie 5 Cooler's there, and so is his final form, but no Metal Cooler, no explanation given. That'd be weird, right? After a while you'd wonder why that is. I mean, Cooler's henchmen have made it into some of the games. There's room for Metal Cooler, so why wouldn't they use it?

I think it's widely understood that Movie 11 is one of the worst, if not the worst of the DBZ movies. But I've never really seen anyone actively hating on it. It's more forgettable than offensive, and yet, Bio-Broly's exclusion from the games makes me wonder if that movie did more damage to the brand than I've ever known. Like, maybe it performed very poorly, or there's a lot of hard feelings over that production, so everyone at Toei just keeps the character as obscure as possible. I mean, they put him in the Dokkan and DBH games, but you never see like ads for that. Maybe they're worried that putting Bio-Broly in one of these roster reveal trailers would be so offensive to fans that it would hurt the sales? That seems pretty far-fetched, but that's where my mind goes on this.

Most likely, they just don't put him in because there's so little interest in the character, and there's always someone else they can stick in the game instead. I think there's a very real case to be made for adding in more Tournament of Power characters. If they put the whole Universe 10 team in a DLC pack before Bio-Broly, I'd be like "Yeah, that makes sense."

I just wonder where the bottom is. How big does the roster have to get before Bio-Broly becomes the next best choice for a new addition? 184 isn't the answer, but what about 200? 250? 300? When does it just get down to Bio-Broly and like... Shu wearing his fake Goku disguise?

I mean, obviously Fake Goku should be added before Bio-Broly. Look at this guy. He's great.

[marvins-linguinie]

after the kids graduate, they leave hawkins, trying to leave everything they've been through, in their past. they all made a promise to reunite on every holiday, no matter where they may be, they always come back to hawkins to spend the holidays together.

steve, eddie, robin, and nancy are the only ones who stay in hawkins. steve works at the middle school, eddie's still in corroded coffin, and is doing really good for himself. he even bought wayne a multi-story house, and a brand new car. robin works with steve, and is an art teacher. nancy writes for the hawkins post, and worked her way to the top. new york times even wrote a piece on her, about her bestselling book: searching.

steve and eddie bought a house, and it has 2 spare rooms, just in case one of the kids want to stay at their home when they come to visit.

fast-forward to christmas eve. nancy and robin come over to steve and eddie's house. no one else had shown up yet. nancy cooked dinner, and robin and eddie helped steve decorate. it was a tradition. the kids would get there, eat dinner, and tell crazy stories from their jobs, then everyone would exchange gifts. steve, robin, eddie, and nancy waited patiently for hours in the living room.

waiting for a phone call, or a knock. anything. after a while, nancy started to call the kids, and steve walked outside. eddie followed. steve sat down on the porch, and lit a cigarette. "i thought you didn't smoke." eddie said, and sat down next to him.

"yeah, i did too. guess i don't know a lot of things. they have lives," steve's head dropped "i can't hold them back. can't protect them. it was stupid. did i really think that they would come back here every few months for the rest of their lives? i mean, the only thing this place has done for them is traumatize them. and, i still ask them to come back."

eddie laid his head on steve's shoulder, staring down the empty driveway. "maybe their cars broke down?" Steve shakes his head. "all of their cars?" eddie's mind raced, trying to find some excuse, some reason to explain why they couldn't come. he looked back up, to see a gray car, racing towards their house.

the car stopped in the driveway. dustin, mike, lucas, max, el, and will pile out of the car, rushing toward steve and eddie. "our car broke down. im pretty sure lucas broke it even more. i told you to stop touching things." max explained. "we got a flat tire. mike didn't know how to change it." will adds. "i forgot to stop and get gas." el said. "and, somehow they all were stranded around the same place. i gave them a ride." dustin announces, proudly.

"what'd i tell you?" steve's smile grows. "shut it, munson."