#is it affecting me in any significant way? no? then who gives a shit

[hxnbi]

⸻ ❀°。❝ SHORT STACK ❞

requested by @kuppuru: furin boys + togame with short reader

pairings. hajime umemiya, hayato suo, haruka sakura, ren kaji, kyotaro sugishita, jo togame x gn. reader (separate)

note: tysm for your request! sorry if it took so long to write, i was suffering with exams but im finally free now. this goes to all my fellow short ppl out there 🫡 i also just wanted an excuse to find these goofy photos of my boys lmao

𝄞 ─ HAJIME UMEMIYA ♪♩ ₊⁺ 𐫱

What do you mean by that? You’re his significant other and that's all that matters! If anything, that only makes you even more adorable!

UMEMIYA's natural inclination to be clingy and protective intensifies tenfold when he's around you. As you often find yourself enveloped in his arms, whether it's at home, out for a walk, or even at a crowded event. He towers over you, using his height—and admittedly effective intimidation tactics, thanks to him being the leader of Furin—to shield you from the world’s troubles. 

"Up we go!" he jokes, effortlessly picking you up from out of nowhere and spinning you around like a merry-go-round carousel.

“Ume?!” you yelp in surprise.

Without realizing it, his face lights up like a neon sign, and he lets out a loud, joyful laugh. You’re so sweet! How could he not adore you?

Umemiya goes into press his lips against your cheek and buries his face in your neck. "You’re my perfect little charm." His laughter and love are almost infectious. 

Umemiya’s protectiveness doesn’t just stop at physical proximity, but extends to every aspect of your life. He’s always looking out for you, making sure no one dares to mess with you (not that anyone with a half-functioning nervous system would, anyway). Your height didn’t matter and will never matter to him, not when he sees you as his perfect partner and his other half, just the way you are.

𝄞 ─ HAYATO SUO ♪♩ ₊⁺ 𐫱

Without a doubt in my mind, SUO's a person who's all for teasing you. In fact, he revels in it. Even after calling the relationship official, Suo’s playfulness doesn’t stop. Rather, it only increases with time. Suo is all for teasing you about your height, flaunting his own height difference with that characteristic closed-eye smirk of his.

“Oh dear, do you perhaps need help?” he teases, pointing at something on a high shelf with one hand while the other resting at his back. “Would you like me to get you a ladder?” he asks 'kindly,' making you deadpan.

Suo finds your petite stature irresistibly cute, and he never misses a chance to remind you of it. But, to the surprise of nobody, like everything else in his life, he’s not as shamelessly open about it in public as opposed to in private. Rather, I see Suo bringing your height up when you least expect it, in hopes of getting a reaction from you recorded in his mind.

Though his teasing is always good-natured, Suo knows your boundaries well. He can tell when you're uncomfortable, especially around others. That alone is enough to make Suo's usual mischievous brows furrow, and he stares down whoever dares to cross the line, especially when he's around. His protective instincts kick in without hesitation. That, despite his constant banter, it’s clear that he adores you deeply, his eyes filled with warmth and affection so unlike his public persona that he discloses to the world.

𝄞 ─ HARUKA SAKURA ♪♩ ₊⁺ 𐫱

Okay, and? What about it? Who the fuck cares? He’ll just deal with anyone if they even dare to give you shit about it. SAKURA's nonchalant attitude towards your height is evident. He couldn't care less what others think, and he's ready to put anyone in their place if they dare to give you any trouble about it.

"If anyone has a problem with your height, they’ll have to deal with me," he barked, a protective arm around your shoulders. "And trust me, they won't like it.”

Nirei and Suo could only deadpan in unison seeing this. ‘He’s just a big softie…’ they both thought.

Regardless, his feelings for you don’t change. Sakura has also been through a lot. The people who berated and made fun of him due to things he didn’t have control over—his unconventional appearance—why do they care? Why should someone ever care? He understands how it feels to be judged for superficial reasons and is fiercely protective of you because of it. As for you? You felt warm, knowing he always has your back. 

Your height has nothing to do with who you are as a person, and he’s learning that, step by step. He’s always ready to defend you, ensuring you never have to go through the pain and ridicule he did, and not just because of your height, something you never had a peace or sovereignty over. Perhaps, he sees a bit of himself in you.

𝄞 ─ REN KAJI ♪♩ ₊⁺ 𐫱

Doesn't treat you any differently. And why should he? Is there some kind of top-secret reason that he's unaware of? Why should such a thing as height matter in his relationship? Dude grills his vice-captain Kusumi to get the full story, until he realizes that there is none. Tch, do you think he cares about bullcrap like that? Well suck it up, you shouldn't and never have to worry about such an outrageous thing.

KAJI continues to be his calm and composed self (when he isn’t blasting music until his ears bled), offering you the same level of respect and affection as always. Because, after all, "Why would your height change anything about how I feel?" he scoffed, putting back his headphones and closing the conversation right there, making you crack a smile at how matter-of-fact he was. 

Kaji’s grounded nature makes you feel secure. Height, weight, appearance, all those superficial aspects of a person doesn’t matter to him. It never did, because you never judged him for how he was. All he's doing is returning the favour to the one he one he loves, nothing more.

…So why are you looking at him with those sparkling eyes like he just found a cure for cancer?

𝄞 ─ KYOTARO SUGISHITA ♪♩ ₊⁺ 𐫱

SUGISHITA is in the same boat as Kaji, and, in actuality, it’s even more pronounced, as, while Sugishita doesn’t say a word, he’s quietly observant. Your height is just another characteristic to him that he loves in you, nothing that affects his feelings or how he treats you.

He is but a silent trooper that stands at your side.  Admittedly, it gets funny at times, seeing the difference in height between you and Sugishita, apparently especially when walking side by side. But he doesn’t mind. To him, your height is just another thing that makes you uniquely you. And all with a stoic grunt and a subtle smile that he tries to hide, but the hearts in his eyes don’t disappear with such that. 

“They’re so cute, aren’t they? You just have to show it!!” Umemiya says. And show it, he does.

The way Sugishita pats your head and cheeks, similar to how Umemiya would to the same to him, is his way of expressing affection—all in the most awkward way possible, as Sakura would scoff while the trio of Suo, Nirei, and him would from a distance. 

“...The hell is he doing? Does he treat them like a puppy or something?"

“S-Sakura-san!! Y-You might want to—”

All Sugishita would see was red, and it wasn't just from Suo's hair. "YOU—"

But don’t let that fool you. The end was anything but pleasant, as yet another chair became a victim of Sugishita’s wrath, and was broken that exact day, much to the dismay of Umemiya. 

𝄞 ─ JO TOGAME ♪♩ ₊⁺ 𐫱

TOGAME's initial reaction to your height is one of surprise, with the way he would stare and drill holes into your skull, genuinely amazed at how someone could be so short and yet so oblivious, like you didn’t have a care in the world. But his curious stare quickly transforms into admiration. At first, you really thought that he was judging you, from the way his eyes would stare down at you for seemingly uncomfortable amounts of time, but to Togame, it was nothing more than fascination. You were so petite (to him), to the point of being even adorable… 

Togame ran his fingers through his locks of hair. Shit, if you ever knew.

His best friend Choji is a bit on the shorter side, sure, but you? You were like some kind of tiny sprite. Unbeknownst to you, he finds your petite stature almost endearing in a way. And unintentionally or not, takes it as an opportunity to be even more attentive and caring over you. Togame’s affection is shown through his actions, whether it's reaching for items you can’t, or holding your hand protectively in crowded places. Whether it’s out of a sense of curiosity or if he truly loves you, one thing is clear, he can't help but show his affection in every little gesture.

©hxnbi. comments, reblogs, and likes are always appreciated ♡

[boltwrites]

NEED to know what happens when logan meets your parents for the first time - does he flirt w/ your mom? What do they think about the age gap? Does your dad like him or is he all "nobody's good enough for my princess😤" do they know you're mutants? Giving you full creative freedom to do as you please just give it to me 😭😭

A/N: ok, so since you've given me creative freedom, we have: 20s-ish mutant fem!reader who teaches at the mansion on 10005, old man worst wolverine!logan, the two of you met after the events of dp3 and the relationship progressed from there.

also. this shit has been giving me so many problems. i was really trying to write typical white-picket fence, suburban sitcom-style parents, but honestly? i don't know dick about those type of parents. so you get these assholes instead.

this may actually be one of the worst things i've ever written. i might add a part two at some point, but really i just think this is horrible and want it out of my sight lmao. so here you go.

Your palms were sweaty, your heart racing, as you reached for the doorknob to your childhood home, Logan standing to your side. The last time you'd brought a boy home (and he had been a boy) things hadn't ended well.

Your dad was a traditionalist, you see, and your mom - well, she wasn't one to judge your choices, but you could tell that sometimes when you told her about your love interests, she was holding in laughter. But your dad - he was very vocal about the expectations he had for your partners. He'd never treated you like some kind of princess or prize - oh no. he was a man who saw his children as students of his own knowledge. No matter what your gender, he had taught you how to trim a tree, change a tire, wire a light switch, cook a filling meal - the basics of owning a home and keeping it put together.

Because of that, your parents hadn't often approved of your previous boyfriends. In high school, you'd been too frightened to bring them home. You'd only attended a traditional public school for your freshman year, and the rest of your time spent at Xavier's you'd been far too worried about your dates accidentally exposing themselves as mutants to justify introducing them to your parents. They weren't anti-mutant, per-say... but they certainly weren't supportive, and you didn't want to put even your prom date through that.

As you grew older (graduated college, was hired on as a teacher at the mansion instead of a simple student), you came to understand the reasons why your parents were so discerning as to your choice in men. Your mother's stoic judgment wasn't meant to be mean - she just wanted you to choose a man for more than just superficial attraction, to think of the bigger picture. Which, you'd been blissfully unaware of, as a teen. Your father's traditionalism wasn't rooted in outdated gender norms - it was simply connected to the fact that he wanted your partner to be able to support both you and your household in a significant way. That's why he was always harping on picking a "real man" - not some newfound conservative bullshit, but the simple understanding that sometimes men tried to do the bare minimum, and that he knew you deserved so much more.

And Logan, well. He could certainly support you. He was unlike any man you'd ever dated. He didn't have any social media you had to worry about - no feed or "for you" page filled with scantily clad women and sexist messaging disguised as finance advice - only a stupid flip phone he refused to text you on. He was helpful, attentive, affectionate - even despite the trauma you'd both experienced as mutants. You understood that his struggled has affected him far more than your had, that he still needed to heal - and even though that strained your relationship at times, you knew he cared, knew he tried - so you fought for it. That was something you couldn't say about your previous boyfriends.

Plus, you knew he could handle your weirdass parents.

"Nervous?" He'd asked you, when you asked him if he wanted to meet your parents. You'd given him a side-eyed look as you posed the concept, like you were giving him an out to decline.

"I mean, kind of?" You responded, hesitant. All he did was chuckle, smirking at you.

"What, am I gonna pull up to your dad cleaning his shotgun in the garage?"

"Honestly? Maybe, but that's not what I'm worried about," you admitted, fidgeting. "It's... it's hard to explain. I guess the closest thing is that they're - funny? Like - they'll make fun of you. My dad - he makes all of these horrible inappropriate jokes, like, all the time, and my mom is just really sarcastic, and she seems super judgmental because of it, but really, she's just being funny."

Logan just looked at you, one eyebrow raised. "

What?" You asked. You'd expected more from him. But he just snorted.

"Babe, I've been stuck in the void with Wade-fucking-Wilson. I'm not scared of your parents."

So, you took a breath, offered Logan one last "brace yourself-" and pushed open the door. Immediately you were met with the smell of something cooking - you recognized it immediately as one of your dad's signature dishes, sizzling on the stove.

"Hey, we're here!" You called out, you tried to usher Logan in and up the stairs of your split-level, but he insisted on closing the door behind you - and the shitty screen door that had been around since before you were born made a horrible shaking, scraping metal sound as it bounced along the concrete of your porch. Ah, the sound of home.

"Hey, you!" Your dad called, poking his head out of the kitchen. "What're you- hey, ho! Who's this?" He gestured to Logan with the spatula in his hand, and your face immediately reddened.

"Dad, this is Logan."

"Hey," Logan nodded in greeting, and your dad made a little shocked noise.

"Logan? Who's Logan?"

"Jesus Christ-" you huffed it under your breath, and Logan tried to stifle a chuckle. "He's my boyfriend, remember?"

"Boyfriend?" Your dad's voice pitched higher. "That motherfucker looks older than me!"

Well. There was your dad getting right to the point, as per usual.

"I am," Logan replied, and you fucking elbowed him in the ribs.

"No mutant shit - they don't know," you hissed a reminder, and he rolled his eyes.

"Hey - you see this guy, Nikki?" Your dad called to the dining room.

Your mom sighed - unlike your dad, she had some kind of decorum, and had the decency to shoot him daggers before she met you and Logan at the top of the steps.

"It's nice to meet you, Logan," she greeted him - you could tell that she was fighting the all consuming urge to shoot you a look or make a joke about this whole thing. She was trying so hard. It was like that scene in Who Framed Roger Rabbit with the shave and a haircut song.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked. "Since you're clearly old enough-"

It was like some demon forced her to spit out that line. You snorted, had to shake your head. This was a mistake.

"What do you have?" Logan asked instead, wrapping an arm around your shoulders, smirking at the whole situation. It was like he lived to see you embarrassed.

"Water, coke, iced tea -" she listed off.

"My dad's shitty beer," you added, and Logan's brow raised.

"Hey! Busch is good beer!"

"No the fuck it is not," you replied, because he didn't even drink the light stuff.

"I don't care, I'll take the beer," Logan cut in, and your dad wagged a finger at him.

"Yeah! I'll get you one - it's good shit, man. Somebody watch the stove."

Oh good lord. There he goes. Logan shot you a look - lip quirked into a little smile, before your dad clapped him on the shoulder and hauled him towards the stairs.

That just left you. And your mom.

She looked at you. You looked at her.

"Well?" you asked, stepping up to take your dad's place at the stove to watch the food. Your mom shrugged in response.

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to ask me about him - make some weird comment about his age? I mean - now would be the time," you hedged. You just hated this weird aura surrounding you all. How it felt like she had so many questions to ask, but was holding them all back.

"Obviously I can tell he's old," your mom replied. "It's not really a discussion. Is there something we do need to talk about?"

You knew what she meant. Were you safe with him? Were you happy? Did you bring him here to meet them because you needed help, not because you wanted to share your happiness with them?

Some people might find that sort of implication unthinkable, or rude to address - but you knew your mom. She watched a lot of true crime. She just cared about you.

"No," you replied, with a sigh. "I-I really like him. He's a good man. He actually - he knows how to be a man, if you know what I mean. How to take care of himself. I don't know - I didn't realize how important that was until I met him."

You mom nodded. Her arms were crossed, and she wore her typical resting bitch face, but you could tell she understood what you meant.

"Well. Hopefully your father doesn't shoot him."

[cryptocism]

Since I think about clones like I’m getting paid for it, I've been rotating those alternate universe "what if Bart and Thad were actually raised together" scenarios in my brain, with Thad either post-redemption-arc or pre-villainy. Because adjusting Thad's character to fit an ally role while still keeping true to his core motives and personality is so so fascinating to me.

Like I think there's an immediate first instinct to slot Thad into a "bad" twin category: ie rebellious and prickly, doesn't get along with people, mean lil shit. And obviously it's not wrong bc we're outside the realm of canon, but the reading still feels a little left of center.

Because Thad is mean and prickly in canon. In the Impulse comics he belittles Bart and Bart’s friends/family constantly in his appearances. He loves to goad, and monologue about his own superiority and intelligence. He’s very Not Nice, and he causes many problems, and he even does it on purpose.

But, I think it’s important to consider the context. From the jump Thad knows very little about anything except which team he’s on and who he’s playing for. He gets his orders from an unseen authority and he carries out his tasks because success means his team wins.

For all his self-aggrandizing talk, everything he does is in service of an end goal that doesn't actually center him. He's trying to get revenge for grievances he's never personally suffered, retribution for actions never committed against him. Everything he does is on someone else's behalf.

Thad sees in black and white, us or them. Up until the final few issues of Mercury Falling, Bart and co. are Thad's enemies, of course he's not going to be nice.

So Thad's motivation seems pretty simple: Thawne Supremacy™.

But it’s in Mercury Falling where this starts to fall apart, and the real core of his motivation gets revealed. Thad pretends to be Bart and suddenly Helen is nice to him. Bart’s friends think he’s funny. Bart’s teachers are impressed with his grades. Max ruffles his hair and gives him hugs and tells him he’s done a good job.

If he was actually an inherently mean and standoffish character, if Thad actually had significant personal stake in the Thawne VS Allen conflict, the weight of such tiny acts of kindness wouldn’t completely break him the way that it does in canon.

Thad thinks his goal is superiority and revenge and Thawne Supremacy™, but he's chasing validation. Thad doesn’t have a personal stake in the Thawne VS Allen conflict. He wouldn't get much satisfaction if he actually destroyed Bart and his family. Thad's personal victory would be the recognition after the fact: the praise and attention from the other Thawnes (a group of people he has literally never met) for his success.

He wants validation. That's basically it. And the fact that he gets it so easily from Bart's family and friends doesn't align with how he's told himself things are supposed to work.

Actually tangentially, Bart and Thad’s respective relationships to authority is so diametrically opposed and tbh kind of subversive in a superhero narrative. Where the hero is the one carving his own path without regard to social or societal rules, no fucks to give what anybody thinks of it. And the villain is a chronic people-pleaser.

Just based on Thad’s reaction to simple praise and affection from Max I really think Thad’s motivation has more to do with the response he gets than whatever the details are of any given task. He has no actual personal convictions beyond getting positive attention, and whatever he did have crumbled as soon as Bart’s friends laughed at his joke one time. Which of course leads into the core of his whole conflict at the end of Mercury Falling. He cares too much about Bart’s friends and family now, he doesn’t want to kill them, but worse than that, he’s faced with the sudden realization that he’s on the wrong side.

The Allens gave Thad everything he actually wanted and needed, but his conception of himself is inexorably tied to the Thawnes: who gave him jack shit. These two facts are in opposition to each other, and he can’t reconcile the reality of it.

Anyway all this to say, in an AU where Bart and Thad are raised together or Thad gets an actual redemption arc etc etc, I think my personal take on Thad’s personality whether it be pre-or-post-villainy would be one that is extremely socially conscious. He is much more of a people-person than Bart. Whether he's actually accurate in assessing people's feelings and how to respond to them can be hit or miss, but he wants to behave in a way that gets people to like him.

Pretending to be Bart isn’t remarked upon as, like, a difficult task for Thad. In his internal monologue he’s literally bragging to himself about how easy it is. But what’s especially notable to me is where his act differs from Bart's typical MO. Everyone notices, and lots of people comment, and presumably if Thad didn’t have the excuse of Max’s illness to “motivate” Bart to do better he would’ve been found out immediately. And those things are, specifically: paying attention in class, doing his chores, staying on task, and being helpful around the house. The one thing about Bart he chooses not to emulate is Bart’s rebelliousness.

Thad wants to prove himself, constantly, to whatever authority he respects (probably Max in this scenario) and will do whatever it takes to make that happen. In contrast to Bart, who only listens to authority when the shit they're saying actually makes sense to him. It’s excessively difficult to convince him to go against his own interests. (And I think a key part of that is Bart’s security in knowing that no matter how much he fucks up or doesn’t listen, the people he loves will always love him back.)

Thad’s got the people-pleaser in him that has to deserve whatever he’s given. It’s why he’s happiest when he’s given a clear goal or objective to complete, because it gives him an opening to prove himself.

All this to say that if we are quantifying Bart and Thad as a "good" or "bad" twin, in the eyes of every authority: Bart is the bad twin. Bart is the bad twin, Bart is the bad twin. Bart is the one who doesn’t care about school and whose grades vary wildly depending on his personal interest. He’s the one who goes off to do dangerous shit for fun and gets in trouble constantly and doesn’t do his chores and is thoroughly unconvinced by any authority figure trying to sell him bullshit. 

Thad is the one who needs to know all the rules just so he can experience the joy of following them. Relentlessly obedient. He'll put all his effort into doing all the right things that’ll endear him to whoever he wants to impress - meaning he’s the asshole who reminds the teacher about the assigned homework. Bart might be the most popular boy in school, but Thad is a pleasure to have in class.

Like Thad can (and should) still be high-strung and short-tempered and sarcastic and edgy and mean, because he is. But he can’t be doing all that without rhyme or reason. Colouring every interaction has to be that one-zero binary of ally or enemy. He needs to have somebody he’s proving himself to: a team he’s on and a team he’s against. He’s not an inherently rebellious character. He can go up against The Enemy, whoever he deems as such, but it has to be in service of a hypothetical future in which somebody eventually tells him he did a great job.

And in the interest of continuing to beat a dead horse, it connects to their respective upbringings. Thad and Bart were both raised in VR, but Bart’s experience had the side effect of basically hard-wiring him against insecurity. His world was a playground tailor-made for him, and he was never made to feel bad or insufficient about any aspect of himself. His first interaction with a real human person was Iris moving heaven and earth to save him, without him knowing her, without her knowing him, with no reasoning for the act needed beyond Being Her Grandson. Which is probably a significant factor in why Bart moves through the world with frankly atomic levels of autistic swag.

Thad’s VR upbringing installed self-consciousness in his psyche before any other personality trait. As in: he is immediately made conscious of himself and his relationship with everyone he will ever encounter. He’s told two things: he’s a clone of someone else (inherently derivative, lesser) and that he was made to be superior (a status to achieve). Which is such an instant clarifier for Thad’s everything. Where superiority is a condition that everyone either has, or does not. It’s the one-zero binary again: are they better than me or am I better than them. Being above others is mandatory, and if his superiority is ever challenged by hard evidence or god forbid nuance Thad’s brain physically cannot take it. He needs to be better, to be worse is unthinkable, and there is no other way to be.

And this status of better or worse is, crucially, not up to Thad to decide. He needs The Authority to validate him. Bart never tries to prove himself because he has nothing to prove. Thad’s entire identity hinges on the self-worth he gets from doing a Good Job.

It is such an inherent part of his motives in the Impulse comics canon, which is why it always feels a little off when he’s interpreted as a jackass indiscriminately.

Like I don't think he needs everyone to like him. But I do think he has either one person or a set of very particular people that he needs to like him. Everyone else is either in that circle or outside of it.

(Which is why Bart is such a great foil for Thad tbh. There is no set of words or behaviors that’ll change Bart’s opinion of Thad, because Bart is unaffected by obedience or charm. So ironically Bart is probably one of few people that Thad doesn’t bother to put on even a little bit of an act for.)

While Bart goes with his instincts, his personal beliefs and convictions at all times, Thad is hyper-conscious of big-picture goals. They balance each other out that way. Thad's keeping track of whatever expectations he has placed on him, and how his actions reflect on him and the team beyond short-sighted solutions. He's a team player. AND he's an asshole.

[winters-rose-daughterofcain]

Fine I'll talk about Bridgerton

One thing this season made really clear to me is that Lady Whistledown is in a way a coping mechanism. It was stared by a lonely, neglected, unhappy seventeen year old girl who felt like she could scream until she collapsed to the ground and it would be into a void because no one would fucking listen to her.

Her mother constantly berates and criticises her, her father (while alive) barely speaks to her and is seen off to the side drinking when he's meant to be chaperoning her, her sisters are openly cruel to her and are still favoured by their mother. She has few friends, and the two relationships she holds closest both have significant blocks to them, with Colin it's her unrequited feelings and..... tbh her and Eloise's friendship is a whole different post and while they clearly mean the world to each other, there where fundamentally issues long before Lady Whistledown was so much as a drop of ink. I think they are both at fault for them and I love both of them, but Eloise's biggest issue comes from just not listening to her and in general as a person having a bad case of tunnel vision and hyper focusing on certain things while completely missing others.

Pen is outcast from society from the moment she steps foot in it, ridiculed and despised by those around her and bullied by girls her age for literally no fucking reason. She is seen as unattractive and undesirable, she believes the fundamentally human want to be loved a silly childish delusion because she is told from every angle that she is not worth it. She's not even worth listening to.

I think her resentment and hurt had been building for a while, she's never under any assumption that she will be treated or seen better. How could she be? When she is constantly reminded how much she fails to be what is wanted or respected or valued, primarily by her own damn family. Still, she's a kind girl. She's sweet and attentive and a good listener, she's patient and reliable and, before Whistledown started, probably extremely loyal, if how much guilt she felt whenever she genuinely betrayed someone says anything. She's someone who has never felt or had any power, who has so much hurt and resent and bitterness from years of this shit building and building.

But she's also smart and witty and funny and extremely intelligent. She has a talent for writing and words and clearly has the potential to be successful. I think being pushed into society a year earlier than she wanted (again, because her mother wouldn't listen) pushed her over the edge. She wrote her observations, the things she learnt from being pushed to the side for so long down, and published them. I don't think she ever intended for it to be as big as it was, and I think the bigger it got and still gets the more in over her head she is. Because for once people listened, for once people cared, for once what she thought and said and worked for mattered.

It is a young girl gaining her first glimpse at power and being deeply unprepared for the consequences. When things go wrong and she doesn't know what to do and no one will listen to her as Penelope, this is the only way she can make them. No matter how disastrous the affects, using Whiseldown gets results, it just also hurts people, pushing her further and further down this cycle where Whistledown is one of the only thing that makes her feel better and allows her to process the things in her life, while hurting the people around her and making her more dependent on it.

She truly meant to give up Whistledown after the disaster with Eloise, but on that night she had her connection or trust from the two people who she cared about and who cared about her the most broken. With the fight with Eloise and then overhearing Colin she lost both of them in the span of an hour, what else dose she have aside from her writing?

And again at the ball in episode one. Even after a complete upheaval of her entire look she still fails to talk to those guys, she still isn't enough, it's proof it is not her youth or her mother influence something fundamental in her can't do this. Then Cressida rips her dress with Eloise standing right there, then Colin comes and (even tho she is incorrect) confirms to her that he too, is embarrassed by her. So what dose she do? When she's miserable and powerless? She writes. She takes it all out in Whistledown and says the (admittedly true which is why it hurt so much tbh) cruel things about Colin, which she regrets literally a day later after actually talking to him. Adding more guilt and keeping her stuck in this cycle.

It's a business definitely, and there are many parts of Whistledown she genuinely enjoys, but I don't think it's good for her. It hurts the people around her and it hurts herself, she's in over her head and definitely knows she should stop, but I don't think she knows how. She doesn't let herself rely on others enough to be okay without this one thing that has allowed her to cope and be heard and respected and valued. That's also why I think she couldn't have stopped before this season, now she's finally getting that, she's finally being listened to and respected and valued and being told she is worth something. Not by many people, and it is still too new to change the fundamental thought patters about it she has, but it's a start.

Now she just has to grapple with that fact that this thing that has given her a voice and found her comfort might just be the dealbreaker for the real people in her life who can actually offer her the love and care and respect she deserves and craves and has been denied for so so long. It sucks and it's a cycle she can't get out of now, she's made her own trap without knowing how she did it.

That's what happens when a 17 year olds coping mechanism continues and grows and expands for years, when people unknowing pay to see more of it, and when she doesn't really know what else to do. Whistledown is Pens choice and all her actions for better or worse, but it would not exist without the context of her life. It would not exist if Portia was a better mother, if she had better sisters or a better family. It would not exist of other girls her age were kinder to her, if they excluded her a little less. It would not exist if she were not seen as a lost cause for love before she had the chance to try. Lady Whistledown would not exist if someone just fucking listened to her.

[hornychristianprincess]

EUNSEOK NSFW A-Z

a/n: this is just my personal analysis based off my perception and observations of eunseoks personality. all of this is fiction/fantasy

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Aftercare is the way a cold Eunseok shows his affection. Given that he isn’t the best at articulating how he feels sometimes, it’s through his actions after sex that he shows his love and appreciation for his partner. He asks what you need and gives it to you. The better the sex is, the better the aftercare will be.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

On himself, he likes his dick. He has this confident smugness about him that just makes me think he takes pride in his ability to fuck. I’d also imagine that he gets a lot of eager or surprised reactions whenever a partner sees his dick for the first time, which would only add to his cockiness (no pun intended) about himself.

On his partner, he likes a nice chiseled back and shoulder blade area. He’s someone who loves coming up behind his significant other and leaving kisses on their neck and back area. He goes crazy when his partner wears a backless dress that stops just above their waist. There’s also something about a pretty silhouette that does it for him.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He’s not picky about where he comes. In fact, I think he’s a bit spontaneous and lets however he’s feeling in the moment dictate where he chooses to come. I can see him pulling out of you right when he’s about to come and releasing it on your chest or mouth.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

We know that Eunseok earns his nickname Rock because of his cold and sometimes emotionless persona, and I think it’s because of this persona that he’d be afraid to admit he has a total praise kink (receiving). There’s just something about the way he carries himself that makes me think he is a bit egotistic and likes to hear nice things about himself. Being told by his significant other as he’s fucking them that he’s doing so good, or that he’s filling them up so well, would make him come so fast. To that end, I think for the right person he may even find the courage to ask if he could sub for them on some nights.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

His confidence to me suggests experience, but I haven’t learned enough about his pre-debut life to make any strong conclusions.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

I think Eunseok shies away from any position that forces him to look into your eyes. It’s harder for him to say the filthy shit that he says when it’s to your face. I imagine him liking reverse cowgirl or doggy style the most. However, when he does get in those moods where all he wants is to fuck you slow and sensually, he’ll opt for either missionary or fucking you up against something, like a wall or over a table.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

He is very goofy during sex, always cracking jokes but not allowing it to break his focus or make the environment any less intense. He has that sort of dry sarcasm that no doubt bleeds into the bedroom. He likes to make deprecating jokes about how desperate you’re acting, how wet you are without him having to touch you, and how insatiable you appear.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Given that I believe Eunseok is partial to his own dick, I think he puts a lot of thought into how it looks. If he’s hairy, it’s a groomed sort of hairy where he controls the exact length. When it comes to his partner, I think Eunseok can be a little immature in that he looks at a hairy pussy as a sign of you letting go of yourself. He likes to know that his partner is putting in the effort to make themselves look good for him.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Intimacy does not come naturally to him. I think he generally likes to keep things light and fun. Sex is the one time where he feels like he shouldn’t have to bare his emotions. Still, he is fully capable of intimacy and has his moments where all he wants is to fuck you slow and deep, saying all kinds of romantic shit in your ear in the process. I see him doing this during jealous or post-argument sex. It’s his way of communicating his complex feelings to you in a way he can’t so easily do with just words. In a way, intimacy is something he doles out almost as a punishment or a warning to his partner, letting them know that his regular joking nature is a privilege to experience.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

I see him as someone who jacks off pretty often. He knows his own body well and has memorized exactly what to do to get himself off and be satisfied each time. I think he’s a little disgusted by most porn though, and prefers to masturbate to images or videos that he’s saved of his partner.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Degradation (giving): I’ve already alluded to him having a big ego, and there is no better ego trip than to see his partner lose all of their composure in their effort to fuck him. Just the thought that someone would want him so bad that they’d beg for him is a turn on. He’s very quick to point all of these things out verbally, teasing you for your desperation. And the fact that you’d be turned on by him saying mean things about you only adds to the pleasure for him.

Orgasm Denial/Edging: Eunseok has some exemplary self-control and would have no problem dragging out the sex for hours if it meant he could watch you squirm and writhe as you beg for him to let you come. The power of being able to wave your orgasm in your face like a piece of candy is alluring to him. He’ll wait to the point of pitying you before he gives you what you want.

Lingerie/Lace Kink: Eunseok likes the idea of a partner putting lots of effort into looking good for him. Coming home to his partner freshly showered, smelling good, and wearing the prettiest lingerie would be a dream come true. He’d want you keep your lingerie on as he fucks you, something about the juxtaposition of you wearing something so delicate while getting absolutely ruined. And the feeling of lace against his skin, or even better, his cock as he pushes your panties to the side and pushes in and out of you, is awesome. Could also see him masturbating with a pair of your lace panties while you’re away.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Eunseok has his daily life persona and his sexual persona, two entities which he likes to keep completely separate. With that said, I think he likes fucking in places that don’t remind him of the former. Trying to say the filthy shit he says while in his dorm or family home would be too awkward for him to combat. He’d hate to be reminded of just how dirty he got when having to return to these places later. He’s just not able to get into it if the environment has some other meaning to him.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Eunseok is turned on by his significant other wearing clothes that give peeks at their body but don’t reveal too much, like a dress with a slit or a draped dip at the front that shows just the tiniest hint of cleavage. He’s turned on at the thought of his partner getting ready for him to come home, preparing themselves by putting on the nicest perfume and clothes. He’s turned on by someone who is responsive to him and his teasing, someone whose pride isn’t too big to stop them from being teased. He’s attracted to someone who is comfortable letting him lead. He never wants to feel like he’s judged or as if he has to explain why he likes what he likes.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He’s turned off by someone who doesn’t view sex as a spectacle in the same way he does. He never wants to get to the point in a relationship where you become so complacent that sex just becomes rolling over in bed whenever you’re bored. He wants his partner to always view sex from him as a privilege and act according. He wants a partner to always have the same giddiness and excitement at the thought of seeing him. Apathy is a no no for him.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Loves loves loves loves messy, wet head. On nights where his first desire is to be inside of you, he’ll have to stop you from giving him head back he knows it will make him come embarrassingly quickly. His favorite way to receive head is in the morning, when he’s sleep and gets woken up by an orgasm.

I think Eunseok mostly sees giving head as a means to get you ready to take his dick. His preference is to finger you while using his mouth to say all kinds of filthy shit to you. He’s a major tease so expect your orgasm to be snatched away by him several times. He’s very dominant when giving head, giving you directions to look at him the whole time that if disobeyed will cause him to stop completely. He also likes pinning your wrists down on the bed, preventing you from trying to direct him. 

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Eunseok likes to fuck rough – deep, hard thrusts are what he likes the most. In terms of speed, he’ll alternate depending on how close you are to coming.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

I think Eunseok prefers having a bit of lead time before the sex to get himself in the right headspace. Spontaneous sex is fun, but as I alluded to in previous answers, the idea of sex being just something you do and not a memorable act is dismaying for him. He also doesn’t want to have to rush, either. Still, if you were to offer to give him a quick blowjob before going out somewhere, he’s not gonna say no.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

I think Eunseok has a hard time getting into the mood if he feels like there’s a chance of getting caught. In terms of experimenting though, I think Eunseok is always game to try out new kinks so long as he’s established a non-judgemental and safe environment with his partner.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Outside of situations in which you’re giving him head, Eunseok knows how to last for a loooong time. His self-control allows him to slow down or stop altogether when he feels like he’s about to come. Once he’s came though, he’s usually down for the count. 

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Eunseok is down to use toys on his partner but I don’t see it as being a regular thing in his sex life. I think he prefers to have you feeling good because of him and not because of an external object. He would only want toys used on himself in situations where he and his partner had a prior agreement about him subbing and he's had time to prepare himself mentally. Otherwise he wouldn’t want to relinquish control in that way.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

As I’ve already established, Eunseok is a major tease. Whether it’s through his words or his actions, he’s gonna make you have to beg for that orgasm. 

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

He is a straight up yapper during sex. At some points it will feel like he’s more so making observations to himself than even talking to you. All he does is growl about how wet you are for him, how you’re such a desperate slut for his cock, how your pussy is so greedy with the way it’s sucking him in. Outside of talking, he makes a lot of deep grunts and groans. All in all, this guy is pretty loud and not ashamed of it.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

I can imagine you and Eunseok coming back from some kind of formal event. Both of you were turned on by seeing the other dressed up, but Eunseok, being the composed person he is, didn’t let you know so easily. You, on the other hand, only needed a few complimentary drinks in you before you were all over him, begging him to take you home and fuck you. All he did was chuckle at your advances, scolding you yet deep down feeling just as turned on as you were as he watched you grow more and more restless. “You’re such a dirty, filthy little girl, aren’t you?” he tsks into your ear, his voice deep and chilling in a way that let you feel the impact his words ripple through your spine. “We’re in a room full of my colleagues and all you can think about is fucking me.”

When you finally got home, you were stumbling through the door of your shared apartment, hands all over each other as your lips connected in a passionate kiss. He would try to tease you, hand reaching between your legs to touch you through your panties, but you’d push at his wrist. “Can’t wait anymore, Eunseok. Need you to fuck me.”

He’d chuckle at your eagerness but nonetheless begin pulling at his belt. “That desperate for it, are you?” 

You’d nod your head shamelessly, already working on removing your dress from your body. “Don’t act like you’re not just as eager to fuck me as I am to feel you inside of me.”

He shrugs his shoulders at that, rubbing the silk material of his dress between your fingers as he moves to bend you over your kitchen table. “Can’t argue with that. You look so fucking sexy. Wanna fill you up with my cum.”

When he fucks you, it’s hard and rough, each thrust sending you up the table. He’d smack your ass and pull your hair and rub your clit until you were screaming for him, and then, right when you began to clench around him, he’d pull out of you and switch positions so that you were on your back.

“You’re so cute when you’re mad at me,” he’d joke as he observes the pained expression on your face at having your orgasm ripped away from you. Kissing you on the lips in apology, he’d push back into you and growl, “We’re not done until I have you crying over how good I’m fucking you.”

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

He just radiates big dick energy to me. I think he’s at the very least girthy.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Like I’ve already alluded to, his discipline is strong and therefore I think he could go a long time without fucking. He relies on his partner to initiate sex and goes along with whatever their sex drive is.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Once he’s done with aftercare, I think he still likes to stay awake and just talk or scroll on his phone for a few hours. Having sex almost gives him a boost in energy. He’ll fall asleep whenever it feels right.

[neverchecking]

OMG!!!! Ok ok ok ok ok- hear me out. We all know Sage DESPISES Wild, right? Now… imagine, a reader who prefers Wild over Sage. Everyone knows about it. I wonder how our little angsty boy will take that knowledge… and Hylia forbid if reader prefers Cal over Sage… He hates him even more.

Discuss.

This is SO funny because my wonderful Significant other (@wayfayrr ) actually prefers Wild while I prefer Sage.

It's funny because...here's the thing. Sage has such an interesting ego in the sense that this will go one of two ways. One) He either won't care. Depending on his stance with Reader? He won't give a shit. He has his own things to do and he doesn't care if reader wants to waste their time on someone who looks like they picked a fight with the road and lost.

But if he does like reader? It eats away at him. It absolutely just picks and picks and picks and he's livid. He's doing everything he can to destroy that relationship. Little whispers in reader's ears, maybe he's taking something of their's and putting it wild's bag, maybe he's picking a fight only to act innocent once Reader appears. Hard to say, the point is, he's doing everything in his power to destroy that little relationship before it even has a chance to blossom.

Should Cal be the object of affection it might be a lil different. Because Cal, for all intents and purposes, is like...as close to lore accurate link as possible. Like in AOC he's an absolute BEAST. So he's a pretty even matchup for Sage in that way. However, he has the emotional capacity of the rock he ate for lunch so that might put a damper on things.

Or does it?

Because imagine, if you will, a reader who teaches Cal how to love and how to cherish and how to have emotions further than hungry indifference. Then Cal forms that bond. That bond that he's aching over, craving for. he thinks about it 25/8 and is following three steps behind reader at any given time. Because then? Then should he and Sage have to face off?

Then you have something far bigger and far more...intricate in my opinion. A fun concept! I'll toy around with it a bit more and see if i come up with anything <3

[lieutenantism]

i'm currently thinking about how jean loses himself completely to harry. just dissolves entirely. very little sense of identity left outside his partnership with him, which i find so intriguing. i mean, it's the definition of codependency, but that doesn't make it any less interesting (long post, again).

"i won't let my life unravel because of this." is just so insane and melodramatic to me because WHO is that man to you, jean? and why is his alcoholism the reason for your life unraveling? jean takes on harry's drinking problem as a problem of his own, a threat to his life before harry's, even though the drinking doesn't affect harry's ability to do his job, and jean acknowledges that as well as everyone else in the major crimes unit.

but why does he have such a big problem with harry's alcoholism? why's he the only one out of the task force who seems to care obsessively? because the one before him failed to save him, and he feels as though it's his responsibility now. to jean, harry's life is divided to three parts; before him, during him, and tragically, after him.

the fact jean puts himself in the same position as dora, harry's ex, tells you enough. almost as if he considers them to be the same, in terms of responsibility for harry's wellbeing. he's cleaning up her mess, he seems to think. she was way before my time, as though they hold the same significance to harry. of course, this isn't entirely jean's fault. both him and harry share the guilt of their twisted relationship; harry's guilty of getting too personal with anybody within arm's reach.

and jean's guilty for wanting to clean up a mess that he didn't make, and losing sight of himself and his true professional duties in the process. so it goes like this; they partner up, harry's bad at drawing the line between personal and professional relationships and jean's even worse, harry goes on benders every week and jean witnesses them and tries to pull him out of them relentlessly, which then leads to whatever fucked up partnership they had, right before martinaise. the question is why did jean feel the need to save him? because he projected onto him severely.

they're both broken men; mirrors of each other, though jean will never say it out loud. he sees himself in harry, and since he can't save himself and everyone's given up on him, even the professionals, he decides not to give up on harry. in a way, jean's trying to prove to himself that he's not a lost cause through sticking by harry's side through it all, because if even the most lost of causes manages to have at least one person who's there for them at all times, who says he can't have one too? why must he be labelled as the anomaly? if harry du bois could be saved, so can he. he maintains this "i have my shit together, i'm better than you." persona during the entire confrontation, when he isn't. like i said, harry is everything jean works hard in order not to become, yet he still manages to lose his sense of identity while "saving" him and only becomes "harry's partner". that's all he is. nothing but a safety net, there to catch him at all times.

that's why he becomes extremely defensive when you choose the "kim's cooler than you." option, because you're practically robbing him of his identity. throughout the entirety of the game, he keeps repeating: "i'm your partner", to reassure himself more so than anything else, and what the game does here is very clever. you first hear him say that on a call, so distant and away from you; he cannot convince you that he's your partner even if he tried. then, he says it when he's in an idiotic disguise that you didn't recognize, and quite frankly it's making you uncomfortable, it's hard to take him seriously when he looks so stupid so you don't believe him, again. then at last, when he confronts you, and he's himself. then you think it sticks.

but it doesn't, and you dismiss him again to ask about the others. i've always found it perplexing how there's no "how can you be my partner?" option during the confrontation. you can ask about mikael heidelstam for fuck's sake, but not your partner. simply because you don't believe he is, at least not anymore. he's just a very angry man who was in a stupid disguise, and that's all you can ask him about. isn't that so insanely tragic? when you think about how dismissive the "confrontation" is? and jean's lashing out that way because his whole identity is hanging in the balance? no matter what jean tells harry, there's no click, no lightbulb flickering moment, nothing. jean tries everything, it's painful to see, really. the "i didn't lie to you. no one lies to you." and his lines to judit and trant where he's like "i told you, it's typical harry behavior. it's our shitkid." and so on are all attempts to prove that he, jean, knows him, harry, better than anyone else, even himself. he KNOWS him, which is why harry has to need him. he has to keep him. as his partner or whatever the hell it was, because nobody else knows him or will ever get to know him that way.

jean's response to harry telling them "i don't wanna be in your unit." only further proves it. "i'm your partner, i answer for you when you're not there." considering the fact harry and jean had begun to blur ever since their partnership came into being makes the line funnier lol. jean had locked himself up in a prison of his own making, of course with harry giving him all the means necessary to build his own cage beforehand. it was a matter of time and conditioning, and severe loneliness. every crime of harry's feels like one jean is guilty of.

[yujeong]

So. I think as a fandom we haven't talked about this nearly enough. Actually, I haven't seen it mentioned at all and I want to change that.

It's just a throw away line. The screen writers were probably like, "Hm, we need to make Tankhun say something relevant to the situation as a reason for him wanting to give Pete to Kinn and take Porsche. Ah, yes, a bizarre thing from the past with Macau and Pete, cool, throw that in." What the screenwriters didn't expect, I suppose, is me seeing that line and losing my mind over it. I've been thinking about it for months, it's kind of a problem.

Alright. How is this line significant? Well, it gives us vital information about 1. Pete himself and 2. Pete and Macau's relationship, because it sure af affects it later on, even though we never saw it in the show (we needed more Macau GODDAMMIT.) Ok, so first things first. Pete. I would like everyone to know that this is the second time we get indication that Pete speaks his mind against things he believes are wrong to do. The first is during the mermaid scene in ep 2, the screenshot below showing what Pete said to Tankhun when he ordered him to feed Porsche bread:

Generally, throughout the show, we see glimpses of Pete's opinions being expressed at the Theerapanyakul sons, and while most if not all of those times he gulps them back down, the fact that he said them at all is significant to his character. He's not a pushover. He doesn't just blindly follow orders. He has *opinions* about what he sees and hears and he expresses them. And he's smart enough to not retort when those opinions are not taken seriously, being ignored or when he gets warned about them (a.k.a. the interaction he had with Vegas at the table in ep 4, this moment also lives rent free in my mind, thank you.) Back to Macau, what was even the situation with him that ended up making Tankhun asking Pete to tie him up? Was it just silly Tankhun being silly (that man is never silly, he knows exactly what he's doing)? Was it something serious that involved the whole family? Neither of those? Whatever it was, the most important thing is that Pete said no. And, in headcanon fashion, I believe Macau was present during that moment. Macau saw Pete refuse Tankhun's order, the order of someone from the main family, someone above Macau in status. He saw it and he remembers it to this day, because during the temple scene in ep 9, we get this:

Ok. I'm going a little feral over what my mind has come up with. What we're seeing here is Macau, a member of the minor family, the lesser family, making fun of Tankhun, the oldest son of the main family. The family Pete serves. And all of the people present know this. It's evident - to me at least - by the fact that Vegas says *nothing* about Tankhun. He just says Pete is alone as an answer to Macau's question. So, the conclusion of this is that Macau feels confident and comfortable with sharing his actual opinions about Tankhun to Pete, who's Tankhun's main bodyguard, which both brothers know about. Vegas is also comfortable and confident with allowing Macau to say those things and the reason I'm mentioning him as well is because we all know how protective Vegas is of Macau. If that endangered him in any way, he wouldn't allow it. A reason they're both comfortable, of course, is because Pete is below *everyone* in status. He's literally just a foot soldier, he has no power over them. But the moment he returns to the main family, he has protection against Vegas and his side. He's in his own turf, and Vegas cannot do shit to the main family bodyguards if the main family decides so, as evident by the whole Porsche&Macau situation in ep 2. Now, can we imagine for a hot second, if Pete reported that back to the main family, what would have happened? Probably nothing, I hear you say, and maybe you're correct. But the more suspicious (and angsty) part of me wants to believe that there would be repercussions for this. Tankhun can literally hit Vegas with a fucking tray if he wants to, because he dared eat at the same table as Kinn. He can order Pete to tie Macau up because...something something Macau is a brat I guess. He can do whatever the fuck he wants to them, even if they've done nothing wrong. Can you imagine what he would do if he had actual reasons to punish them? The thought makes me shiver but it's reality and it's evident from ep fucking 2, as mentioned above, when all Porsche gets for making Macau BLEED from the HEAD, is a little choking and a pat on the back. The same goes for Kinn of course. He threatened Vegas with a gun in his OWN FUCKING HOUSE because he kissed Porsche in ep 7. He says the line "Do you see my ring?" and everyone understands what that means. The main family can do whatever the fuck it wants to the minor family and you just have to shut up and accept it. In conclusion, where does that bring us to Macau&Pete post-canon? Well, there's the simple thing called "trust". Yes, Macau will not trust Pete immediately. Yes, I love seeing this in the multiple hospital era fics I've read. But, can I introduce the variable of that event shaping Macau's feelings about Pete to the table? Because holy shit, it's eating away at me and I love it so much to let it be ignored anymore.

[heavenlymorals]

Susan Grimshaw - A Small Deep dive Into A Complicated Woman

(Warning: This post contains mentions of period typical sexism and gender roles, as well as spoilers for RDR2)

Susan Grimshaw is one of the most interesting characters in the Van Der Linde gang and perhaps one of the most mischaracterized as well. She is either this beloved tough mother caricature or a deplorable hag more reminiscent of Cinderella's step mother than any true matriarch.

Today, though, I want to go into a little cultural deep dive regarding Miss Grimshaw. I want to explore the cultural significance of her character and how she's sadly a representation of the affects of misogyny and how it could affect a woman.

And for context, I come from a culture that still operates under many of the gender roles that 1899 America followed so all the stuff I'm gonna talk about are all things I've seen and/or experienced in my life time.

Grimshaw seems to me like a woman who is trying to compensate. What do I mean by this? Simple. What I mean is that in such a male dominated society that expected women to adhere to their standards, the fact that Susan Grimshaw wasn't able to is a source of insecurity for her, which then makes her lash out on the other girls of the camp.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, she heavily values male praise and authority. She is generally sweet and playful with Arthur, giving the vibe of that mother that we all seem to love so much, but with the girls, she's hell incarnate.

The second we get into Horseshoe Overlook, she talks to Arthur on how they got his tent ready and then tells Dutch and Hosea they would be ready shortly. The second we get into Horseshoe Overlook, she tells Tilly: "Miss Jackson, I've seen shit with more common sense than you, do it properly!". That one scene shows or gives an idea of how she is with the men vs how she is with the women.

She is awful to the girls. She reminds me a lot of mothers who are sweet and even servant-like to their sons and who view their daughters as competition, thus are harder and horrible to them (to my fellow Arab girlies, you know how it is. It sucks).

She never lets them rest and always gets on them for working the "wrong" way. That's pretty damn demoralizing. She berates them, calls them whores, and even physically assaults them. She even complains that she hates how Dutch won't allow her to whip them. And here's the thing, you can't even cite historical attitude with her behavior because even back then, abusive mistresses were criticised and seen in a bad light.

One of the most vile things she's ever done is try to pressure Abigail into prostitution again, even though she knows that Abigail is a mother and never wants to do that again, threatening her by telling her that she'd bring the matter up to Dutch even if Dutch himself never wanted her to do any of that.

But that behavior stems from her own insecurity of not hitting the milestones that women were expected to reach at that point.

She isn't married, nor was married, and a woman's identity of marriage was such a big thing back then that Grimshaw tries to cope with it by being decent with the men or accepting their flattery. She gets interested in Micah before he makes fun of her for being an older woman. She was willing to go out with Uncle before he asks her for money. She is fond of Dutch and still talks about when they were together sometimes and doesn't dare berate Molly because she's Dutch's girl. She even ignores the girls when they are doing something not work wise with the men- probably to please the man.

Tilly mentions this. "If I'm playing with you, she'll leave me alone."

But no one wants her and that then makes her lash out. She bullies Mary Beth on how she's too vain and that her beauty will go away, just like it "went away for her" and that what's left is awful. Like that such a sad mindset but in the time period she lived in, it makes sense. Women were usually married off by their early twenties due to their youth and vigor and beauty was perhaps the most important part of a woman because it's the only area where she is respected and that fucking sucks (note how many myth/historical women are praised almost only for their beauty). As women grew older, they'd become less desirable to the male dominant society, thus they would be shamed and humiliated. This even happens to Bonnie McFarlane in RDR1 in the newspapers when she's only in her late twenties, but because she isn't married, she gets shamed.

Grimshaw feels insecure about these aspects of her, of her looks, of her age, and that makes her lash out on the other women of the camp because they are young and beautiful. It makes her feel like she has a power that she lost by being a 50+ year old woman with nothing to her name.

So to compensate and to show her "value" as a woman, she works and works and works to dignify Dutch's camp because in that aspect of her life, she doesn't need to worry about her insecurities.

Yes. Grimshaw cares for the girls, and she'll scrap for all of them, but that doesn't mean she isn't a problematic and toxic person. It's sad that she feels like she needs to do all that for male approval in a male dominant society but good God, man. Again, she's literally that mother who feels threatened by her daughter and competes with her but treats her son like a prince, even if she still loves her daughter.

Yea, she helped save Tilly and pointed her gun at Micah in the end, but that doesn't mean she's just this "tough" mother figure. No. She's mean and toxic and awful and all of that is because of misogyny and how it feeds into her own insecurities as an older woman.

It's fucking sad.

[saintsenara]

I know you responded with a meme, but if you're able I'd love to hear your thoughts on harry/hermione 👀

fine. i'll scream into a pillow periodically and get through this...

obviously, i don't actually find the concept of harmony sincerely upsetting - people shipping things is never that deep, and because, as i've said before, i subscribe to the principle that any pairing is possible if you just have enough nerve. i've been recommended some harmony fics by people who are fonder of the ship, and while i've not found them immediately compelling, i do appreciate that there are plenty of people who disagree.

but my feelings are basically the same for harmony as they are for dramione: that it's never done interestingly.

harmony is - like all hermione pairings except [broadly] romione - a breeding ground for fanon!hermione, who is perfect and flawless and so clever she can solve millennia-old mysteries in afternoon. i hate this version of the character because i find her boring - it's just standard self-insert stuff, which is fine but not something i have any interest in reading. i similarly dislike the version of harry who appears in these stories, who ends up - like all men in hermione pairings except [broadly] ron - being either this impossibly sophisticated and suave intellectual with the body of a greek god or a doormat who's happy to shut the fuck up forever and do whatever she says.

[i also hate - obviously, since he's my king - the way harmony stories are often even more egregious than dramione ones in writing ron as a cruel and violent misogynist who is ontologically indistinct from your average death eater. and i think it somewhat proves my point that neither of these ships work particularly well that this character assassination has to take place in order to make them plausible...]

and i think the flattening of harry and hermione's personalities within most harmony is the main thing which keeps the ship from being interesting. because - while i certainly don't go in for the common anti-harmony argument that harry actively dislikes hermione - it's undeniable that there is a lot about the two of them which wouldn't be conducive to a harmonious [lol] relationship.

their communication styles - hermione works through problems by debating them, harry prefers not to be challenged - are the obvious one. their ways of expressing affection - hermione shows people she cares about them by nagging them and meddling in their lives, harry very much does not - are another. they have extremely different views about authority, they decompress in different ways [harry is someone who clearly needs to keep physically active to clear his head, hermione is much more of a homebody], and harry's impulsiveness is a poor match for hermione's fondness for planning.

they are also similar in ways which would cause them to butt heads. both have a tendency towards obsessiveness, which they rely in canon on ron pulling them out of. both have a significant capacity for cruelty and extremely black-and-white moral codes - harry has a tendency towards forming judgements on people and situations based on whether they are people he likes or things he benefits from [i.e. how he's appalled by dobby's treatment because his masters are the malfoys, but doesn't give a shit about kreacher's because his abusive master is sirius], while hermione tends to regard any rule-breaking she does as justified even if she'd regard it as outrageous from anyone else [i.e. her fury over harry appearing to use felix felicis to improve's ron's performance at quidditch when she herself confunded cormac mclaggen to get him onto the team...]. both have a tendency towards giving people the silent treatment when they're angry. both are incredibly stubborn...

and so on.

obviously, they also have positive qualities in common too - a shared loyalty, for one - but it always seems to me that the standard move in harmony is for authors to completely ignore these conflicting traits, either really over-egging what makes harry and hermione compatible platonically in the books or just inventing similarities [especially intellectual ones] to justify the pairing. whereas i would much prefer to see just how difficult it would be for harry and hermione to fall and sustain being in love with each other, and i've never seen that done compellingly.

but the conflict i'd love to see explored in harmony fics most of all, but which never seems to be acknowledged by fans of the pairing, is that [despite the fanon slander that ron is the person who behaves poorly towards her] harry is often horrible to hermione and hermione is often scared of harry.

this is at its most profound after ron leaves the horcrux hunt in deathly hallows, but we see several times throughout canon that - if ron isn't there to mediate between them - harry often treats hermione in a way which can be considered downright cruel. if she criticises him in a way he considers unjustifiable, he tends to side with other people against her [ron in prisoner of azkaban over the firebolt; ginny in half-blood prince over snape's textbook]. if she tries to reason with him he often beats her down with the force of his emotions [i.e. when she tries to get him to think about whether his vision of sirius in the department of mysteries might be a trick] or his convictions [i.e. when he lures her into near-death by being certain that nagini is really bathilda bagshot], and she often ends up having to soothe or appease him when he's the one who's screamed at her.

hermione is also scared more generally of harry's experiences - she's by far the least amenable of the trio to talking about voldemort [even though she says his name earlier than ron does] - and mission, which puts up a barrier between them which will be difficult to bring down post-war. i think there's something which could be really interesting there - the most interesting dynamic in hinny, after all, is when harry and ginny's tendency to not actually be honest with each other is explored - but unfortunately at the minute that sort of character work is drowning in a sea of "ron is so stupid and harry and i just love talking about classic literature, come darling, put on your leather trousers and let us solve world hunger; i look like emma watson" nonsense.

dull!

[bonefall]

post/734733274896809984/do-you-ever-worry-your-own-writing-might-come-off that makes sense. i was asking because i'm afraid of accidentally writing misogyny myself and i kind of admire what you do

Hmm... I wish I had better advice to give you on this front, but honestly, the only thing I can tell you is to consider the perspective of your female characters.

Women are people. They have thoughts and feelings of their own, so like... just let them have their own arcs. A lot of the worst misogyny in WC comes from the way that the writers just don't care about their girls (or, in the case of tall shadow, actually get undermined and forced to rewrite entire chapters), so they're not curious about their lives, or WHY they feel the way they do or what they want, or any direction for their character arcs.

Turtle Tail as an example. She'll often just end up feeling whatever Gray Wing's plot demands. She's gotta leave when Storm dumps him to make him feel lonely. She shows up again to love him in the next book. Lets her best friend Bumble get dragged back to Tom the Wifebeater, but is sad enough about her death to be "unreasonably angry" with Clear Sky, and then calms down and accept Gray Wing is right all along.

And then she dies, so he can have his very own fridge wife.

In this way, Turtle Tail's just being used to tell Gray Wing's story. They're not interested in why she would turn on Bumble, or god forbid any lingering negative feelings for how she didn't help her, or even resentment towards Clear Sky for killing her or Gray Wing for jumping to his defense. She isn't really going through her own character arc.

She does have personality traits of her own, don't misunderstand my criticism, but as a character she revolves around Gray Wing.

So, zoom out every now and then, and just ask yourself; "Whose story is being told by what I wrote? Do my female characters have goals, wants, and agency, or are they just supporting men? How do their choices impact the narrative?"

But that's already kinda assuming that you already have characters like Turtle Tail who DO have personalities and potential of their own. Here's some super simple and practical advice that helped me;

Tally the genders in your cast. How many are boys, how many are girls, how many are others?

And take stock of how many of those characters are just in the supporting cast, and compare that to the amount you have in the main cast.

If you have a significant imbalance, ESPECIALLY in the main cast, fire the Woman Beam.

It's a really simple trick to just write a male character, and then change its gender while keeping it the same. I promise women are really not fundamentally different from men lmao. You can consider how your in-universe gender roles affect them later, if you'd like, but when you're just starting to wean yourself off a "boy bias" this trick works like a charm.

Also you're not allowed to change the body type of any girl you Woman Beam because I said so. PLEASE allow your girls to have muscles, or be fat, or be old, or have lots of scars. Do NOT do what a cowardly Triple A studio does, where the women all have the same cute or sexy face and curvy body while they're standing next to dwarves, robots, and a gorilla.

Or this shit,

If you do this I will GET you. If you're ever possessed by the dark urge, you will see my face appear in the clouds like Mufasa himself to guide you away from the path of evil.

Anyway, you get better at just making characters girls to begin with as time goes on and you practice it. It's really not as big of a deal as your brain might think it is.

Take a legitimate interest in female characters and try not to disproportionately hit them with parental/romance plots as opposed to the male cast, and you'll be fine. Don't think of them as "SPECIAL WOMEN CHARACTERS" just make a character and then let her be a girl, occasionally checking your tally and doing some critical thinking about their use in the story.

(Also remember I'm not a professional or anything, I'm just trying to give advice)

[showmey0urfangs]

Now that the season is almost over, what is your opinion about the first 6 episodes?

Hi Anon! Well, if I'm being honest, the overall season was a massive letdown for me, though there were a lot of moments and scenes that I absolutely adored.

I know it's very frowned upon to express criticism and negative opinions on main, especially for a show like IWTV that so many people—myself included—are super passionate about. So I try to limit my scathing criticisms to my spaces and to priv discord servers. 😂

But to give you the short gist of it, I just felt that the writing this season was not as polished as it could have been. A lot of the characterization felt off, especially for Louis and Claudia (which I already detailed in another post). The characters' motivations don't make sense either, and it just felt like they were doing things because the plot needed it to happen. The twists and reveals fall flat because they are not properly set up and so they feel illogical and unearned.

A good example of that is Armand's "betrayal" at the end of ep 6. Because of the changes that were made to Louis and Claudia's relationship this season, it makes little to no sense why Armand would see her as a threat in any way. Other than her brief outburst in ep 4, Claudia never expresses any reticence to Louis and Armand's relationship, quite the opposite (i.e. the blood fat cocks convo in ep2). She simply dgaf and her issues with Louis have more to do with him being an asshole than with "choosing" Armand.

We also see Louis express many times (either directly or through Dreamstat) that he views Claudia as a burden. Their relationship had grown very strained and distant and as of ep 6, she no longer holds much of a place in his life, certainly not enough for Armand to see her as competition for Louis' affection. She was already out of Louis' life and getting ready to head out of town, presumably for good. So why would Armand want to "get rid of her" and why now?

Also, because they cut back a lot on the significance of Loumand's relationship, the dramatic reactions feel contrived and, again, unearned. They are not in love, they never shared any special or meaningful connection at any point. They were both simply using and manipulating each other for their own ends. So the "betrayal" is not so much a betrayal but rather Armand finally giving up on this dude who's kept him dangling for five years, giving him crumbs of affection and absolutely no love, respect or compassion. So of course, Armand would choose the coven he's known for 200+ years.

Overall it just felt like the writers couldn't figure out a good balance between making the story exciting and surprising to book readers, while also sticking to the same story beats as the book.

But to end on a positive note, every other aspect of the show was phenomenal; the acting, the set design, the costumes, the music. And I'd say it was still worth watching, if only for episode 5. It was my absolute favourite of the season. It felt like a return to form after the unevenness of the first half and you understand why once you know that it was the first thing they shot, before the strikes ground production to a halt. The writing in that ep was top tier and it gave me the same tingles that the S1 Pilot did, where I was like holy shit, how is this show real!? But unfortunately, things fall off again after that, which is really disappointing.

I'm really curious to see what the overall fandom consensus will be once the entire season has aired and we've all had time to digest it and reflect on it. But for me, this season suffered from the same infamous sophomore slump most tv shows do; it just wasn't able to live up the the first one.

[emotionalcadaver]

I've written and rewritten this post so many times, and I've debated even posting it at all.

And before we begin: I am not trying to make anyone feel bad, or place blame on anyone. I understand that many of you were manipulated or worse. But this is part of how this jackass and his behavior affected me, so I want to talk about it.

The first time I looked at his blog, it was after the wonderful @shelbydelrey messaged me to warn me that there was a new person in the fandom actively attacking Grace fans. Because I write many Tommy x Grace x OC-centric fics, I was concerned, so I took a peak at his blog to see what was going on.

And I have to say, I have never felt so unwelcome in (at least a part) of a fandom in my life.

Something I haven't seen discussed a ton is just the blatant bullying and misogyny that this man publicly displayed. Post after post of him attacking Grace fans, picking fights, laughing at them, shaming them, hurling insults at them...He'd go out of his way to find content featuring Grace and comment hate on them, and then laugh about it with his followers. And this misogyny wasn't exclusive to Grace, but seemed to spread to other women as well, just based on some of the non-Grace related posts I also saw that he made.

Now, I actually don't give a shit whether people like Grace or not. I personally have a soft spot for her, but I don't expect other people to share in my feelings, and I respect their opinions. Most of the time, if I see a post hating on her, I just keep scrolling.

But this...this really got to me. It was so disheartening to see someone behave in what-- at least to me--was such a blatantly and obviously misogynistic way while being cheered and egged on by a significant part of the fandom. It made me feel so uncomfortable and unwelcome. And considering his popularity and how so many people seemed to see no problem with his behavior, it made me question if I was even welcome in this fandom at all, and several times I considered deleting my blog and my fics and leaving entirely.

I'm not going to lie; it broke my view of this fandom a little bit. I can't begin to describe how saddening it was to see that this behavior was not only accepted, but actively enabled and seemingly practiced by so many. Obviously now I know that there were far more complicated things going on behind the curtain, but at the time, that's what it appeared to me: that an extremely large part of the fandom saw nothing wrong with speaking about women--real or fictional--in horrifically offensive and demeaning ways, and openly bullying those who did not share their views on certain characters/parts of canon.

I became paranoid, even after blocking him, that he or one of his followers would find my blog, and I would be the next target of a barrage of hate and harassment. So I blocked most people I saw associating with him (I've unblocked most of you now). Because it felt like that only way to protect myself. Not only did I not want to ever be associated with the kind of behavior he displayed on his blog, but I also was terrified of getting dogpiled onto by his followers, even for the simple act of having blocked him. I was literally convinced that if my blog was noticed by him or anyone closely associated with him, I would get run out of the fandom. So I chose to remain in my own little bubble of mutuals who I trust, and did not make any significant efforts to reach out to or connect with new people.

Again, this is not me trying to call anyone out except for him. I know many of you--or at least, I hope many of you--did not intend to enable a misogynist monster or a bully. And ultimately he was the one who created this hostile environment, and it is very possible, knowing now that he has a habit of making alternative accounts, that many of his "followers" who showed support for his behavior may have just been him on other accounts, or sending himself asks via anon.

I don't really have a specific point to this post. I just wanted to share these feelings somewhere, I suppose. I hate this man for what he has done to so many of you and this entire community. And for how he made me feel so frightened and unwelcome by huge parts of this fandom.

[lu-is-not-ok]

Hey hey hello can I ask.

What is your specific theories when it comes to "Hong Lu is Lin Daiyu," "Hong Lu, Don Quixote, & Outis are using fake names," and "Our Yi Sang isn't the same Yi Sang?" I saw those on the bingo sheet and I'm super curious as to what they mean.

Ok so. I'm gonna go in order from the ones I'm most confident in to the ones that I think are the most crackhead. Ok? Ok.

Under a Read More cause I get wordy. Like, Really fucking wordy and rambly.

Our Yi Sang isn't the same Yi Sang.

So, here's what we know.

According to Leviathan, Yi Sang is the main researcher behind the technology that allows access to Mirror Worlds. Faust also remarks that he used to be more talkative before he joined Limbus Company.

According to promotional material, as well as just everything he says, Mirrors and Mirror Worlds are an important theme for his character. While I haven't touched Crow's Eye View or any of the real Yi Sang's works yet, I have seen notable quotes from it that seem to hold up those themes as well.

With the recently released info on Canto IV not only being about Yi Sang, but also being longer than the three previous Cantos combined, something tells me we're going to be properly delving into Mirror Worlds and how they tie back to both Yi Sang's backstory and the main plot as a whole.

Okay, so that's all nice and all, but that doesn't answer what the fuck I mean with the Bingo space, right? I'm getting there.

Let's go back to when we first learn about Mirror Worlds in regards to the main plot, the Tutorial. Faust explains that using Mirror World identities can cause one's memories to be replaced with those of their other identities, but explicitly says that there's no danger of one's true identity being actually affected. The Sinners aren't Ships of Theseus, according to her.

Now, you could say that that's just a way to explain away how the cutscenes are unchanged despite using different identities in combat, and to that I say, Have you played any other Project Moon game? The moment they decide to give lore to why game mechanics work the way they do is the moment that lore becomes a significant part of the plot. It happened every time they had to explain why the characters you're controlling go back to life, I doubt they wouldn't do that again for something as major as the effect of Mirror Worlds on a person's identity.

With all of that said. My theory is that Yi Sang is this Ship of Theseus. He was likely the first one to properly access Mirror Worlds, which also likely means the procedures that are now in place to ensure the Sinners' safety weren't there just yet. Who is to say that Yi Sang, who is now a Sinner working for Limbus Company, and Yi Sang, the researcher who worked with Mirror Worlds, could even be considered the same person?

I don't think the exact specifics of what happened matter for this theory. Whether it's an identity swap or identity fusion or some other shit. What matters is that something happened while Yi Sang was researching Mirror Worlds, which left him with his very self and identity changed, possibly irreparably.

After all, don't you think it's interesting that Yi Sang is the only Sinner whose talksprite doesn't have his ID Card or a nameplate anywhere on his uniform? Just food for thought.

...Holy shit that got long, I promise I won't have THAT much to say on the other two you asked about SDFGHJHGF

Hong Lu, Don Quixote, and Outis are using fake names

So this is less so a concrete theory, and more just an observation I made.

All the other Sinners are directly named after their inspirations' real names. The exceptions are Yi Sang, who is named after the author; Hong Lu, who is named after the book itself/the jade the novel's protagonist used to be; Don Quixote, who is named after an alias her inspiration used; and Outis, who is named after a false nickname her inspiration used.

We're going to focus on the latter three. The fact that they're not directly named after the characters they're meant to be inspired by while still alluding to them in different ways is suspicious, especially if you consider the kinds of people they're all shown to be.

Outis is probably the most obvious example here, she's constantly acting shady, boot-licking Dante while disrespecting her fellow Sinners, and generally being quiet about the details of her past outside of making remarks about being part of a military. Even her intro states that her past is classified and that she's extremely cunning.

Don Quixote doesn't seem to be malicious in her deceit like Outis is, but something is still up with her. Her intro compares her to an actor, and her particulars say she has "Delusions of Grandeur". Not only that, but we also see her completely drop her usual personality when called out on not being genuine by the Mariachis, as well as when Vergilius threatens her with a Deal they apparently Made.

Hong Lu is... interesting. I could make a whole seperate analysis about him, but to try to keep it shorter for once, I'll note that his suspicious behavior is much more subtle. While most of the time he acts clueless and overly honest (which, let's be real, he probably genuinely is most of the time), there are also a notable amount of situations where he lies, deflects, or otherwise dodges subjects or questions when they inconvenience him. Something is definitely up with him, he's just better at hiding it.

This all culminates in a shared design feature of these three on their talksprites, that none of the other Sinners seem to have. Instead of having their ID Cards attached to their uniform, like everyone else does, they have small metal nameplates on the lapels of their jackets.

This is notable as it's something shared Only between these three characters. The other Sinners all have an ID Card attached to a visible spot on their uniform, while Yi Sang, a character who fits neither of the naming schemes since he's named after an author, has neither an ID Card or a nameplate.

Again, not necessarily a concrete theory. Just some observations that could lead to a revelation later on in the plot.

Hong Lu is Lin Daiyu

Ok this one is probably the least supported out of any of these, and the one I believe in the least.

It's like, generally accepted that Hong Lu is supposed to be based on Jia Baoyu from Dream of the Red Chamber, right? Here's the thing, I think that is still the case, but, however.

There are a few things about Hong Lu that point less in his inspiration being Baoyu, and more of it being Lin Daiyu, Baoyu's fated love interest. Not all of it, mind you, but at least some.

One, Hong Lu's eyes. Daiyu's name means blue-black jade, which Hong Lu's eyes seem to subtly, but probably deliverately referencing.

Two, Hong Lu's personality. While none of the Sinners are exactly the same as their inspirations, you can still point where some of their traits come from.

Using Rodya as an example (as Crime and Punishment is the only of the relevant books I had Fully read), her overwhelming self-confidence is very likely a reference to how book Rodion believed himself to be above man. While there are some differences (Rodya's motives are a bit more selfless compared to Rodion's, for example), the base idea of their characters is the same.

Why is this important? Well, while I haven't finished reading Dream of the Red Chamber yet, I am slowly making my way through it. And while there are some ways in which Hong Lu resembles Baoyu, there are also quite a few that things that set them apart to the point it's hard to believe Hong Lu is based only on him.

Here's the thing about Baoyu: he's a trouble maker. He throws tantrums, is highly emotional, and gets borderline treated as a sort of black sheep of his family, especially by his Father (which I will come back to).

Compare that to Hong Lu, who seems to avoid causing trouble (most of the arguments he causes seem to be completely on accident), is stoically smiling all the time to the point it can be almost unnerving, and some of his dialogue seems to imply that his family was at least decently fond of him, if not more (his comment about being "a gem of a child" in his Liu uptie story comes to mind).

Then compare that to Daiyu, who seems to be unanimously loved by her current household, tends to keep her emotions to herself, and tries to stay out of trouble while still making remarks here and there when she notices something off. (An example that comes to my mind is when someone in the family decides to gift all the girls in the Jia household some flower decorations, and Daiyu remarks how she was the last one to be given one and thus was left with leftovers.)

I don't know about you, but that sounds closer to what Hong Lu seems to be like, at least to me.

Three, remember how I mentioned Baoyu's Father? Yeah. Let's talk about that.

Hong Lu mentions his Father in one of his main menu Chatter lines, expressing excitement over being able to introduce his new friends to him.

Why is this relevant? Becuase Baoyu is terrified of his Father, it's a pretty major point that his Father is the Main person in his family that considers Baoyu a disappointment and a disgrace. And it's not something that develops later on in the novel, I'm on Chapter 10 out of 120 and it has been a prevalent thing for a few chapters now.

There are two ways I can see this being resolved. Either Hong Lu is majorly lying to himself (which honestly might not be out of the question), or Hong Lu isn't based entirely on Baoyu, but is inspired by a mix of Baoyu and Daiyu.

That was. An extremely wordy and rambly way of saying that I think Hong Lu is based on two characters instead of one. Uh. Oops.

[thedoubteriswise]

I respect your opinions a lot and I don't mean to argue feel free to ignore this but threatening to withhold your vote to influence government policy is THE basis of democracy. take that away and what leverage do the people have? your vote is between you and yourself. most people making noises about not voting Biden will probably end up voting for him anyway but it's important to at least be able to express dissent and say. here's my line I will not cross. there's an implication in that post that anyone who's threatening to withdraw their vote is privileged and won't suffer any negative consequences from a trump administration that is simply untrue, as many Arab Americans are people of color. loudly shushing and calling out voices on the left who express their disgust with current gvt policy by pointing out that the alternative is worse ultimately in the long run gives a pass to the left to also get worse as long as they don't get on trumps level

Idk. I probably will vote for him. but guilt tripping people who are uncomfortable with genocide ain't it

much like everyone who's not an absolute ghoul, I'm also pretty damn uncomfortable with genocide, so I'm not "guilt tripping" anyone for feeling the same way. I get that I'm being flippant in the tags this ask is about, but that's a very weird and uncharitable interpretation of what I said.

my actual point is that if donald trump becomes president again, it will not improve what's happening in palestine, and in fact will almost certainly worsen it to a significant degree. I say this with full awareness of the despicable misery palestinians are already being subjected to. there's no benefit whatsoever to letting this guy win. even just the idea that allowing republicans to win elections will somehow force democrats to the left in the future is based on like... nothing? it's not what happens; I don't know why people keep imagining that's a thing that regularly occurs in real life.

beyond that, I take issue with the point that this doesn't matter because most of the people saying this stuff will end up voting for biden anyway. I remember how this kind of conversation affected the outcome of the 2016 election. maybe a lot of them will vote for biden, but the thought process expressed in that tweet being constantly put forward in public discourse has a considerable effect on the behavior of the electorate as a whole, and we have very recent evidence of that. it's impossible for me to pretend that this type of shit is harmless. I'm not "shushing" people for saying that US foreign policy on this is disgusting (it is disgusting, it always has been, and saying so is right, which is why I'm doing it too). I'm telling them to stop encouraging people not to vote, because doing so has observable negative impacts.

and to be clear, it's truly not that I don't understand why people feel the way they do about voting for a candidate who's doing bad things - I do get it, I don't think the feelings themselves are wrong or unjustified, and I sympathize. but republicans won't care that they only won because the left was too demoralized to show up, or because the left thought they were taking a principled stance by withholding their votes. they'll fuck things up either way. the negative feelings you have about being stuck voting for shitty democrats are valid, but those feelings, whether motivated by simple empathy or by deeply painful personal experience, don't alter what republicans actually do when they hold public office.

you are an autonomous human being, I'm just some admittedly fallible guy with a tumblr account, and I can't force you to do what I think you should do. but I couldn't possibly disagree more that "threatening to withhold your vote to influence government policy is THE basis of democracy." I think actually weighing in on the available options whenever you have an opportunity is the basis of democracy, and withholding your vote isn't doing that. I think disapproving silence and apathetic silence look exactly the same to an outside observer. I think whoever told you that walking away from the table and letting your opponents make all the decisions is some kind of power move was either malicious or not very bright.

and, respectfully, I am completely certain that you are wrong when you say your vote is between you and yourself. the worldwide material consequences of letting republicans be in charge are worse than the material consequences of letting democrats be in charge, and we have oodles of evidence of this reality available to us. knowingly making a decision that increases the chance of the more dangerous candidate gaining power when it's pretty easy to do the opposite is not a rational or morally defensible choice, even if the less dangerous candidate is still a bastard. even if the intentions that lead someone to that choice are understandable and decent. people are entitled to form their own opinions and act accordingly, but they're not entitled to me praising or ignoring actions that are materially damaging.

which is a very long way of saying that after months of putting up with seeing this nonsense, mostly in polite silence, I think I'm allowed a single, tiny, factually justified wobbly in the tags of a tumblr post containing a screenshot of a dogshit stupid tweet.

[starseungs]

➳ romeo and juliet is so overrated. lf

• pairing: lee felix x gn!reader (ft. kim seungmin)

blind dates are shit. and yet you're still roped into one by your wonderful mother who can't wait for you to experience "true romance." but what happens if you end up getting a second date? except its not with who your mom set you up with.

• genre: fluff, humor (romcom?), blind date au, strangers to lovers — 5.2k words

• warnings: mentions of food, blind date gone wrong, first date awkwardness, minor cursing, story is not actually inspired by romeo and juliet (incase the title gives off otherwise)

• note: this is in the same universe as this seungmin fic i also wrote! you can go read that after if you'd like, but this was mainly written as a stand alone, so its not going to affect too much if you decide not to^^ also this was a pain to proofread cz my laptop kept freezing- if theres any mistakes im sorry 💀

2022 ⓒ starseungs on tumblr. do not steal, repost, or edit.

Blind dates are shit. 

That was a motto you lived and breathed by—a belief you were very sure you'd end up taking to the grave. That's how much you detested the concept.

But like any sane person, you had a reason as to why attending a blind date was the last thing you'd ever want to do on a particularly good night—a time you could have used to relax from working the entire week. First of all, you'd much rather go on a date with someone you already knew. It saves the time normally spent trying to converse about the basics using small talk (you'd rather get to the more important topics, please.) And second of all—

—It never worked out for you.

Okay, maybe the second reason accounted for the bigger percentage of why you hated the process of blind dates so much, but who could blame you? Every blind date you've had so far has been either an "I'd-rather-not-experience-romance-in-my-life-anymore" bad, or good but with a catch that immediately turns you off. The only time the match you got vibed well with your standards, it turned out that they were already interested in someone else and were just forced on the date by their pushy mother.

Talk about relatable.

See, as much as you hated blind dates, your mother loved them to oblivion. The woman who birthed you was very determined to snatch you a person that would finally turn your "monochrome-painted single life" into one that had a significant other in it and give you a chance to finally experience bursts of color (her words, not yours.) The whole deal sounded like it came straight out of a fantasy book, one that had the concept of soulmates in it. Sometimes you wondered if she was doing all this so that she could finally leave you in the responsibility of someone else. Granted, you also did know the actual reason she desperately yearns to get you married soon was because apparently their children's lives were her friend group's only source of entertainment.

So when your mother called you out of the blue one night, telling you she'd gone ahead and set up a blind date with you and this other lady that she met in the market's son, you weren't anywhere near surprised. At that point, this was merely another normal day for you. Which was why, like an obedient child, you agreed ever so soullessly, just wanting to get the situation over with as soon as possible. If you had your way, you would have wished for nothing more than to laze on the couch with your roommate Seungmin, trying to watch whatever Netflix had to offer for this bleak afternoon.

But you couldn't—which resulted in you glaring heavily at the guy comfortably melted on your shared couch. He looked like he had not one care in the world, something you could probably trade your precious trinket collection for. "I hate you so much," you whined in defeat, pacing near the kitchen. "Why can't you go instead of me?"

Seungmin scoffed lightly in the background. "Yeah, right. Not interested," he shifted his position to make eye contact with your distressed form, "Just don't go? The world seems to give you bad dates anyway, so why not take fate's obvious advice and stop attending them?"

"But my mom would be so mad! It's also rude for me to stand the guy up after I said I would go…" Your roommate muttered something under his breath, but you had other things to worry about than what you would have guessed were his complaints about your indecisiveness. The date was set for two hours from now, and you haven't even stepped out of the apartment because of nerves.

Sure, you considered blind dates a waste of time for you, but that doesn't mean you don't get nervous when you're literally meeting new people who are expected to hit it off with you. At the end of the day, these were still strangers, and wanting to make a good first impression was a normal thing to feel. At least that's what you keep telling yourself as you tap your foot impatiently against the hardwood floor. You were very well aware of Seungmin's nasty side-eye directed towards your fidgeting, but he can take that complaint up with himself.

Deciding to suck it up and finally go, you called out to your roommate, who had already diverted his eyes to be glued to the TV screen. "Min, I have to go now," you informed him through your light pants, absolutely feeling the rush already even though you were still only trying to get your shoes on at the front.

"Sure. Enjoy," he waved you off quickly, not even bothering to spare you a glance. The show he's been waiting to watch was playing on the screen, letting you know Seungmin was already immersed in the story. You fondly rolled your eyes at his actions before heading out the door.

The outside world was a lot more welcoming today than you would have liked. With the temperature being perfect and the sun having mere hours until it says its goodbyes, casting a dim shade over the streets almost like a filter—it felt too perfect for a day you were expecting to go home and feel sorry for yourself once again. You clicked your tongue at the pitiful reminder and started picking up your pace. The sooner you got this over, the sooner you could return and mope around in the comforts of your warm bed. 

Who needs a significant other? Your bedroom was filled enough on its own.

It almost pained you to walk past the beautiful park, its landscaping coaxing you to stay and live your evening enjoying the gentle breeze. But you were already at your first destination, a whole building apart from the land of temptations, and you bitterly thought that whoever planned to build the two next to each other was a shameless sadist who wanted to ruin what was left of the positivity in people like you.

For someone wearing such an expensive-looking (emphasis on looking) semi-formal attire, one would think that you were heading to your plans via private transport. Clearly, that was what others seemed to think too, each one attempting to peel their eyes off you because of the way you stood out in the busy area. Well, boo hoo to them (and you; especially you), because no. You weren't. Not even a small vehicle called a motorcycle was available for your personal use. In fact, the area being mentioned is actually the train station, which is a few blocks away from your apartment complex. It was expected for the place to be cramped around this time—a rush hour filled with people wanting to go back home after a tiring day.

Oh, how you wanted to be one of them.

Yet instead, you were doing the exact opposite, boarding the public transportation because you had an appointment at dinner time. It's fine; you pat yourself on the back. Free dinner is still free dinner; you were not heading back home a complete loser tonight. That was, of course, if the gentleman you would be meeting in about an hour would be willing to pay the entire bill. The thought alone of the thin roll of paper left a sour taste in your mouth. Or maybe that was just the lemon-flavored toothpaste you used earlier.

The train ride was surprisingly the most bearable part of your day so far. Silence was always appreciated when it was needed, and you definitely needed it now. The white noise provided by the engines and the sound it made when the rails of the track came into contact with the train had you feeling drowsy. It was almost perfect; the ambience was relaxing enough for you to forget about today's agenda. Perhaps if this continued a bit more, you would walk out of this train and change plans to have an exciting "me time." However, that wish was shattered in seconds as you gripped your mobile phone tightly, reading the new message over and over again.

He's looking forward to meeting with you.

You didn't know if the dude was genuinely that deprived of a love life to look forward to meeting with a random person his mother set him up with in the grocery store—or that your own mother was twisting his words just to send you something, anything, that'll make you unable to turn around and ride another train back home. Either way, it looks like it's her lucky day because whatever the deal was, it actually worked on you. 

In a blink of an eye, you were already staring up at the fancy restaurant where it was agreed the two of you would meet. The building itself was already quite intimidating: tall, pristine white pillars you could barely name the material of (you weren't bougie enough for that), high ceilings with multiple intricate chandeliers—each adorned with crystal-like glass—and hints of gold plating along the walls. The people around you were on a different level as well, all dressed up in expensive brands you don't even know how to pronounce. It's safe to say that the place was a whole different world than the one you just came from.

So, what the heck are you even doing here?

How did your mother even arrange this for you? Was the guy a conglomerate's son or something? And if so, you really had to get this over with, stat. As much as you would love the experience, this was too much pressure. The rich life was not for you—money is great, but this much is quite nauseating. It's an acquired taste, you guess. 

"Excuse me, are you looking for your table?" An employee approaches you, most likely having seen your absolute distress over the situation. You quickly accepted the help and told her your name. "Your table with Mr. Seo is the second one to the right, along the windows."

Oh, so his last name was Seo? You knew it was already suspicious when your mother refused to tell you anything about his identity; which, now that you think about it, why did you even agree to? This man could be a serial killer, and you would be walking right into his trap. Still, you thanked the employee and beelined towards the direction she pointed. You saw the table easily, but the scene that accompanied it was not what you had expected.

Confusion hits you like a pile of bricks. That was him, wasn't it? Or were you mistaken? Checking your mother's message to confirm your suspicions (she had sent you another text saying that the guy was already there waiting), you were able to conclude that it was, in fact, the person who was supposed to be your date.

So if that's him, then who's the other one he's with?

"Psst," you heard someone call out. You knew better than to assume it was for you, though. This restaurant is a public space and may very well be getting the attention of another person. Plus, you don't even know anyone else at this place. "I know you heard me. Just look back; I'm talking to you," the voice followed up. But, you won't fall for it—you weren't born yesterday, and that could not have been for you. It's only common sense, right?

"Are you serious?" They sounded exasperated. "Person standing there like an idiot looking at the table by the window where a couple is sitting, please turn to me."

Oh. It's you.

Your head snapped towards the source of the voice, only to find a handsome face of a male around your age staring at you with eyes filled with amusement, his arms crossed and leaning against the tabletop. He looked to be seated alone, without a companion. You only tilted your head slightly as a way of asking what he wants from you.

Motioning over to your blind date's table, he asked, "You've been staring at them for a while. Is that your lover or something?" Your face contorted in offense, baffled at his words.

"What? No?"

"Good," he chuckles briefly, "I thought I'd have to console someone who got cheated on. By the way, do you want to take a seat first? You standing up right now is quite awkward…"

Realizing the scene you must've been making, you took his offer in embarrassment. "Yeah, thanks. But, no—I don't have a lover," you sighed, feeling your energy drain from the situation. "That guy was supposed to be my blind date, though. I have no idea what's happening." The man in front of you laughed. If you didn't agree with him that the turn of events was hilariously comical, then you would've been very annoyed at the action. Though admittedly, his adorable laugh was also a big factor. This man was attractive, no doubt. Why isn't he your date instead?

"That's a funny coincidence, I'm here on a blind date too," he glances over at the same table, "your date is with mine." 

You gaped at the revelation. What is this? A rom-com? There's no way these things actually happen! Or maybe they do—and you experiencing it firsthand right now would be enough proof. Looking at him with concern, you decided to speak. "Should we tell them?" He simply shook his head in response.

"Nah, I'd rather not. Why do you think I hadn't already? Look at them; they seem to be having a great time."

Seeing your two dates interact, there was no doubt they were hitting it off. Which was bad news to you, since now you just ended up wasting your time by coming here. You knew you should've just stayed home and flaked on the guy. Lesson learned: trust your gut instinct. It could save you a whole lot of time (and money, because when are train stations going to be free?) You mean, good for him for finding a date he liked, but this whole thing just turned out to be a huge mistake for you. But even with that, you didn't want to disturb them—you weren't some antagonist who ruins hope for others because they can't get a happy ending. 

Your silence must have been uncomfortable for the male across from you since he decided to break the silence. "So, random offer—do you still want a date? Maybe we could just be each other's," he says, pointing to you and him.

That... wasn't a bad offer.

In fact, it was a good offer. You didn't know much about this man, but something told your gut to see wherever this took you, and from what you experienced today, always trust your gut. Now, if you had to be honest, his face also played a big part in your spontaneous consideration. You weren't one to judge solely on one person's physical appearance alone, but the guy before you screamed a green flag, and you just couldn't ignore it. As a skeptic might say, you'll believe it when you see it—or, in this situation, you'll regret it once you're given a reason to.

"Sure."

The man before you looked shocked, almost like he couldn't believe that you had agreed to his offer. Was it a joke? Did you read the situation wrong? Maybe he was just trying to lift the mood but actually wanted to go home—you knew you did before this happened. However, all your doubts melted away instantly after seeing his wide smile, eyes sparkling with excitement and newfound interest. You swear you stopped functioning after seeing the sight.

Oh my, he's cute.

You felt your face heat up at the thought that invaded your mind. Get a grip, Y/N! This is a first date—you can't simp right away. At least make yourself seem appealing to the guy! You bit your lip, swallowing heavily at the sudden pressure put on you by your oh-so-fantastic mind. It's fine—you can do this. Icebreakers it is!

"So, what's your name?" You asked curiously, remembering that you've been referring to him as "the man" for the past few minutes that you've known each other. 

He perked up at your question. "It's Felix. Lee Felix," he replied politely while waving his hand for a waiter to bring the menus. After gaining the attention of one, he turned back to you. "What about you?"

"It's Y/N," you responded back. "You have an English name; are you half-foreign?" He hummed at your observation, the low tone catching you off guard. You had already noticed that his voice was deeper than what you had expected from looking at his face, but there was just something extra attractive about that hum. Catching your mind wandering again, you cleared your throat quietly.

"Good catch. I'm actually from Australia," he told you, the grin on his face growing a bit more at the mention of the place. He must really love Australia, huh? "My parents are both Korean, but I grew up there. Came here just a few years ago for work."

Does that mean he's here all alone? That must've been tough for him as well, to live in a whole new country and basically start his life over. You had major respect for people like that; they were what you saw as hardworking and goal-oriented. Sometimes, you even envied them. They could do so much with their lives with that mindset alone. You wish you could be like that someday too. It would be nice to rise above your current state right now—your job was paying enough to get you through the months, but there were still times where you had to worry about finances. Luckily, having a roommate helped with the rent portion of your bills.

Speaking of Seungmin, didn't he say he had an Australian co-worker?

"That's interesting! Australia, huh? I think my roommate mentioned something about having an Australian co-worker. I can't remember his name right now," you shared, "but imagine if you turned out to know each other. If you want, I can ask my roommate to introduce you two! I just thought it'd be nice for you to have another person from Australia with you. Deal with homesickness and all that, you know?"

You didn't think Felix's eyes could shine even brighter, but somehow they managed to do so. "That would be great! Expanding my social circle would be nice too. Making friends is a lot harder now that you're an adult," he sighs.

"You can say that again," you chuckled at his slightly dampened mood. Felix was quite expressive, you noted to yourself. Reading him wasn't hard, but it wasn't as if he put his whole heart on his sleeve either. If he was the type of person to show himself when he found you trustworthy, then you might have to thank him for being comfortable around you. Yes, blind dates didn't normally work for you, but that doesn't mean you didn't try. Of all the dates you've been on, you could only remember one where your efforts were practically zero, and that was just because the guy was a douche from the beginning. Felix was a lot different than the other people you've gone on dates with before—he was relaxed, treated you a lot more casually, yet still emitted that interest. You had a good feeling about where this was going. 

When the menus pulled up, you and Felix had already exchanged some basic interests with each other. This match must've been blessed by the gods because there was a lot you had in common, something you didn't even expect. You and him met under random circumstances, yet you had more chemistry with Felix than you had with any other of your past flings. Which, now that you say it like that, maybe that was why they only stayed as flings.

"Do you see anything you like?" Felix asked from across the table. You quickly scrambled to flip through the menu pages, trying to find something that interested you—too distracted earlier to even do so. Yet, just when you thought you could resume talking to him, you realized a big issue. 

What even were these dishes?

You might have never eaten in a place this fancy before, but—nevermind. That was exactly it. You've never eaten in a place this fancy before and therefore had no idea what all the dishes would taste like. You didn't consider yourself to be such a picky eater, but at that moment, you felt like your appetite was slowly leaving at each description of the meal you read under a dish name—wait, caviar?

Felix seemed to have caught on to your discomfort, because he spoke up once again. "Hey, do they not interest you? It's fine if you don't find something you want to eat," he says in a reassuring tone, letting you know that you don't have to feel bad. "Do you want to perhaps ditch this place? I know a good pizza place down the road." 

Your jaw immediately dropped at his nonchalant suggestion. Is this just something he does often? Make completely random (and baffling) offers? Well, to be fair, both of his offers to you have been good so far. Some pizza would be nice after everything that had happened today. However, this place is super expensive! That was the whole reason you felt uncomfortable ordering from the menu presented to you at the moment. He went through all the trouble of booking this place just for his first date to hit it off with someone else, so you sure weren't about to let his second date, which was you, let the whole reservation go to waste. Rich or not, you still had the decency to respect the effort that was put into getting a table at this place. 

"Felix, you can't be serious," you spluttered out, feeling a bit disoriented due to the situation. "I'm well aware of how much it costs to even be here, so we can't just leave!"

He only chuckles at your worry, making you widen your eyes even more. "Oh, yeah. I know that too. But to be honest, my date was the one who booked this place, it looks like their money was well spent though," he says, glancing back over at the table where your original date and his were, the two conversing naturally while dining. You purse your lips at the information. Okay, maybe that was a valid point. Plus, you really are craving pizza. 

Facing him, you divert your eyes in embarrassment. "I-I would also like pizza." 

Felix wouldn't say it out loud, but he found you really cute. Even more so right now, with you having that shy look on your face. He felt a strong urge to tease you and see more of that adorable expression, but he held himself back. One wrong move, and he'd end up being an asshole. Was it not normal to feel that way? You two have only met after all. But he felt it earlier—you were quite different than the other dates he's had. 

Despite being a very loving person, he wasn't one to believe in love at first sight. Yet, the moment he saw you standing all confused and flustered earlier, it immediately caught his full attention. It was as if fate wanted to bring you two together—and even though it sounds so cheesy, like something out of a romantic comedy, he found himself thinking that he could get on board with it. It wasn't even an hour since you met, and you were already creeping into his heart. It wasn't too fast, but just the right pace to know that something clicked. The feeling felt weird—who knew a stranger could have this much impact on you? He surely didn't. But maybe that was why he felt it a lot stronger than you did—not that he even knew what you thought of him.

Felix himself knows well that he was not a let-the-date-into-his-car kind of person on the first few dates (and most especially on the first date), but somehow he found himself breaking his own rule for the first time ever since getting a vehicle of his own. Not that he would leave his dates to get home on their own, of course—he would always politely offer to pay for their cab home. The idea of taking a (for the most part) random stranger somewhere in his car when it was just the two of them alone didn't sit right with him. Felix is well aware that he could've been seen as uninterested by some of the dates, but it wasn't like they were entirely wrong. He only went on blind dates anyway, so the chance of meeting someone who actually interested him enough to imagine a dating life was not that high in the first place.

Yet here you were, sitting awkwardly beside him on the passenger's seat. It wasn't like you weren't comfortable—okay, maybe you were a bit uncomfortable; but that was only because getting into the car of a person you just met about an hour or more ago was not something you planned for yourself tonight. Heck, none of this was on your list of expected events tonight. Firstly, you didn't even get to say a single word to the date your mom set you up on, and secondly, you scored yourself a completely different person! All you wanted was to stay in your bed the whole evening and mope like the hermit you are. 

Oh, if only Seungmin could see you right now. 

The rumbling sound of the car made itself present to your ears, effectively taking you out of your thoughts. "Let's go?" Felix asks you—the thoughtful gesture awakening butterflies in your stomach. What in the world is going on with you? This man was literally just doing the simplest things, and yet he already seemed to glow in your eyes. You're not falling, are you? You don't fall easily.

At least that's what you believed.

"Y/N?" He questioned, his voice mixed with a hint of concern. "I hope you're alright with all of this. Are you uncomfortable? Maybe I should've asked before we decided to take my car; I'm sorry—do you want to just walk there?" He panicked, which made you panic at his distress too.

"N-no! It's fine; I'm fine—are you fine?" Great, now you were both bundles of nerves. Felix wanted to kick himself for starting the situation. Where did all his earlier confidence go? That, he didn't know. Either way, he wished for it to come back and help him earn some points from you. You, on the other hand, were almost on the verge of collapsing from stress. "Let's just head there," you squeaked, to which Felix only nodded (a bit too quickly.)

"Sorry," Felix sighs, unable to look at you due to his focus on the road. "This is the first time I'm doing this, so I don't know what to do."

You tilted your head at him in confusion. "You mean a date?" He shook his head.

"Driving a date, I mean."

"Really now?" You exclaimed with interest. "I would've never guessed that! You look like the type of guy a lot of people are interested in. You're quite popular, aren't you?"

He chuckles in amusement at your words. "I don't think I'd use that word to describe me. I only do blind dates anyway. Unfortunately I haven't found my person from those ones," he says, glancing at you for a split second, "but maybe the wait was all worth it."

You couldn't help but huff at his act of flirting, rolling your eyes playfully. He got you there. You didn't think Felix would be this smooth, but seeing as he boldly set up a date with you earlier, maybe this was to be expected. "That was a good one, Mr. Lee." At your response, Felix's eyes shone with excitement. He did that a lot when he was happy, you thought mentally. You had to bite back a laugh at how fast he changed up—though you had to admit that was part of his charm.

It was safe to say that the rest of the date went very well. For such a spontaneous plan, you enjoyed it a lot more than you had thought you would. Plus, you found a new pizza place! You'd have to eat there again soon; everything on the menu seemed really good. Unfortunately, you didn't get to eat at the venue because it was full—something Felix panicked over once again. After a while of negotiating (because he wouldn't let it go), you two ended up having an impromptu picnic at a nearby park, enjoying the quiet surroundings that were dimly lit by the street lights. You had never experienced going on a picnic at night before, so this was going to be on the list of firsts you experienced today with Lee Felix—a guy that you didn't even know until a couple hours ago. 

It's crazy how fast someone can come into your life and already make unforgettable memories. In the short period of your date, the two of you learned a lot about each other. Whether both of you would be able to keep this up and progress or not, this was going to be a night you would remember for years to come. Who knows—maybe it would make an exciting old people tale to tell in the future?

"So hey," Felix starts nervously, stopping the car in front of your apartment complex. He pauses for a short second before exhaling and facing you with a determined gaze. "I'm not quite sure about how you feel, but I really enjoyed this date. Do you think we can go on more?" 

"Sure," you were unable to stop the wide smile from appearing on your face, very satisfied with the chance of a second date. "I'd like that."

"Oh, damn. I'm glad," he quickly relaxes before getting alarmed by something and snapping his head towards you again. "Wait, your parents are fine with you not meeting with that other guy right?"

You chuckled at his apprehensive form, entertained by his precaution. "I'm pretty sure my mom just wants me to find someone nice and go marry them."

"Marry? Hold on, that's for a later date," you felt your cheeks warm at the implication of his words, yet Felix keeps going. "But that's good. I thought there was a chance this was going to end up like some Romeo and Juliet thing where your parents get mad because you're supposed to marry the other guy."

"Felix, relax," you managed to comfort him through stifled laughter. "I'm not some high-status rich person, you know?"

After your short conversation to end the night, you enter the apartment complex with a huge smile pasted on your face. Lee Felix was an amazing guy, that's for sure; you still can't believe he wants a second date. You let out a quiet squeal of happiness, speed-walking towards your apartment to brag to your roommate. 

"Yeah, Romeo and Juliet is so overrated anyway."

mastertag 🏷️ : @h0neydewmoon @starzzns @lhskokoro @bookishcalls | let me know if you want to be added or removed^^