#just some more nonsense. they were really on one

[papayainsectorone]

us in another universe

summary: us in another universe until it´s us in every universe, some texts some stories

content: established relationship, soft domestic vibes, emotional drunk!lando, long-distance tenderness, mutual pining, silly metaphors, offscreen implied smut, soft angst & even softer comfort, voicemail-induced tears, lando is so in love it’s embarrassing, smau, pregnancy

word count: 2.1k + texts

pairing: lando norris x fem!reader

a´s masterlist

It’s a Thursday. A quiet one.

The sun is out but lazy, casting a soft glow that makes everything look a little sleepier than it is. You’re walking home from grabbing coffee, one hand wrapped around the paper cup.

That’s when you see them.

Two cows. Big, soft, impossibly round. They’re poking their heads over a hedge like they’ve just been caught mid-gossip, and you laugh out loud—just once, just quietly. It’s such a you and Lando thing. The way one looks half-asleep and the other looks like it knows all your secrets.

You snap the photo and open your messages.

You pause on his contact photo and smile. It’s stupid, and cozy, and weirdly poetic—just like the two of you. The silence between you never feels empty. It's always filled with this: warm, familiar nonsense. Love in its goofiest, truest form.

It’s late. Too late to be awake, too early to sleep.

You’re curled up on the couch in a hoodie that still smells a little like him—clean laundry and a trace of his cologne, worn into the fabric over time. The TV’s playing something you’re not really watching. Your thumb’s on autopilot, scrolling TikTok in a slow, mindless rhythm.

Most of your feed is the usual chaos: people dancing, chaotic memes, a girl crying over a pasta recipe. And then—

You stop.

It’s a video of two otters. One is floating on its back, arms slightly spread. The other drifts beside it, belly-down, bumping gently against its side every so often. The caption reads:

“us in another universe 🦦💤” Soft piano music plays in the background. No voiceover. No edits. Just… floating.

You watch it twice. Then three times. And then you save it and swipe into your messages.

The screen glows against your chest for a few minutes more, warmth bleeding through glass and hoodie fabric, until you drift off to sleep

You wake up to your phone buzzing violently against your nightstand.

6:12 a.m.

You groan, roll over, and grab it blindly. The screen lights up with six missed calls, all from Lando. One voicemail. And a stream of texts so long you can’t see the beginning without scrolling up.

You blink the sleep from your eyes and open them. Immediately, you can tell: he’s drunk. Not tragic drunk. Not messy. Just that loose-limbed, champagne-dizzy, race-win-high version of Lando who gets emotional at hotel room lamps and texts like his thumbs forgot grammar.

You scroll up.

The typing bubble appears.

Then disappears.

Then your phone lights up.

Incoming Call

You answer without thinking, still curled in bed, the sheets tangled around your legs.

His voice comes through sleepy and low, just this side of slurred. “Baaaaby…”

You smile instantly. “Hi, you emotional drunk baby.” “I miss you. Like, a lot. Like… my heart’s doing a little sad tappy dance in my chest.” “A sad tappy dance?” “Yeah. Like… it’s happy we won but it’s mad you’re not here. I hugged my engineer and almost cried. That’s where I’m at emotionally.” “Oh no. You are gone.” “I saw the bottles and they were leaning on each other and I just—” (his voice cracks a little, then laughs softly) “—I was like, oh my god, that’s us. That’s literally us.” “You’re so stupid.” “But like… in a romantic way?” “Yeah. In the ‘I love you more than anything on earth’ kind of way.”

There’s a pause. You can hear him exhale on the other end. “I want to be home. I want to wake up and make you tea and kiss your knee for no reason.” “That’s weirdly specific.” “I love all your parts. Your knees. Your elbows. Your everything.” “You’re not gonna remember saying that.” “I’m gonna remember feeling it.”

Another pause. This one quieter. His breathing slows a little. “Three more sleeps, yeah?” “Yeah. Three more.” “I’m counting. I keep doing it wrong though. I’m very bad at math when I miss you.” “You’ll be here before you know it.” “Will you tackle me at the door?” “Absolutely.” “Good. 'Cause I need you. Like… stupid much.” “I need you too, bottle boy.” “M’gonna dream of you now.” “Do it. I’ll meet you there.”

The call lingers for a second longer before it ends—softly, quietly. You press your phone to your chest, heart full, breath steady.

Even when he's miles away, he still feels like home.

The day is slow. Grey, with a hint of rain that never really falls — just hovers, clinging to the windows like it's waiting for permission.

You're halfway through folding laundry when your hands tug one of his hoodies from the tangle of sheets. It’s soft and worn, the kind he’s had for years — navy blue, with a stretched-out cuff and that faint, comforting scent of the fabric softener he swears by. “Elite tier,” he told you once, completely serious, holding the bottle like it was vintage wine in the middle of the store.

You hug the hoodie to your chest and breathe in.

It’s been a quiet week.

Not distant — just full. The kind of full where texts get shorter and calls get postponed, not out of neglect but because life has teeth sometimes. You’ve both been busy, the sort of busy that scratches at the edges of connection without really breaking it.

You don’t feel unloved. Just… in between.

And you miss him. Not the FaceTime Lando or the string of texts between meetings or even the trackside photos he sends you with a cheeky caption. You miss the quiet of him.

The brush of his hand across your back in the kitchen. His nose, cool and nuzzling behind your ear when you brush your teeth side by side. His feet, cold and shamelessly intertwined with yours under the blanket on early mornings.

You carry the folded laundry to the bedroom, moving in autopilot, until something soft catches your eye.

The bear and the bunny.

They’re sitting right where you left them on the bed — the stuffed animals he bought you one rainy afternoon while you were out running errands. He spotted them in a shop window and dragged you inside, grinning as he picked them up with zero shame.

“This is us,” he’d said. “Obviously. You’re the bunny — all sweet and cute — and I’m the bear. A bit stupid, but loyal.”

Now they sit slightly apart, the way they shifted when you last made the bed. Without thinking, you reach out and nudge them together — bunny leaning into bear, bear tilted like it’s been standing guard all night.

It tugs at something in your chest. That quiet ache of longing.

You grab your phone and snap a photo.

You’re mid-email, half-listening to a podcast, when your phone buzzes.

Then again.

Then three times more in a row.

You frown, check the notifications.

The picture comes in just as your gate is called.

The weekend is a blur of engine roars, sun glare, press pens, and half-bitten fingernails.

The qualifying session ends late. You’re still half-hyped from his lap time, lingering around the back of the paddock, the buzz in the air clinging to your skin.

He finds you by the garages, sweat-streaked and smiling, and without a word you both start walking—holding hands.

The paddock’s mostly empty now. Quiet. The hum of distant deconstruction. You cut through the far edge of the lot when you both spot them:

Two traffic cones.

Lando stops, smirks, and looks at you like he’s about to cause a problem.

“Don’t,” you warn, already grinning.

“Oh, I’m going full conehead,” he declares, picking one up and placing it proudly on his head like a crooked crown.

You double over laughing, then pick up the second one. “Fine. But if we get yelled at, you’re doing all the explaining.”

Now you’re both wearing cones like royal headgear, giggling like actual children, wobbling toward each other in your ridiculous plastic hats.

He bumps your cone gently with his own. “This is the peak of our relationship.”

You tip yours off, toss it aside, and grab the collar of his hoodie. “Wrong. This is.”

You kiss him. Or maybe he kisses you. Either way, it’s easy—hot breath, eager mouths, the kind of kiss that builds fast, hungry from all the time apart.

His hands slide under your jacket, over your waist, warm and firm. Your arms lock around his shoulders, pulling him in until you’re chest-to-chest, his leg sliding between yours, hips pressed close.

The cones are long forgotten.

He groans softly into your mouth when you grind down against him.

“Fuck,” he breathes, lips brushing your jaw, then your ear. “We should probably—go.”

You nod without even opening your eyes, already curling your fingers in the fabric at his back.

“Yes. Yes. Let’s go.”

He grabs your hand.

You leave the cones tipped over in the gravel, like they knew they were just the opening act.

The season rolls on, race by race, month by month. Sometimes you fly out to be with him. Other times, you stay home, wrapped in your own routines, your own quiet.

It’s been a few weeks since you last saw each other. You’ve been feeling off — sluggish, tired in a way that’s not just the jet lag or the stress. Some mornings have been harder than others, and you find yourself waking up with nausea, barely able to keep anything down. But you don’t say much.

One morning, when the sun is just up and setting in streaks of pink and gold, your phone buzzes.

You put your phone down, the simple blobs still glowing softly on the screen.

Holding hands. Even through distance. Even through the quiet.

Then, that’s when the nausea kicks in again.

You sprint to the bathroom, clutching the sink, and decide right there and then—it’s time to see a doctor.

The doctor’s words still echo in your mind, soft but undeniable. You’re in shock, still processing everything. It’s weeks until Lando comes home, and the thought of holding this secret any longer feels unbearable. Tears come easily now — just thinking about it has your chest tightening.

You grab your phone, heart pounding, and dial his number. It rings. Rings. Then goes to voicemail.

You sigh, remembering how his phone is probably tucked away somewhere in the garage during the weekend. You let it go.

But you can’t wait.

You find the picture you saved earlier: two ducks and a tiny duckling nestled between them.

You send it.

Your phone rings. It’s him.

You answer immediately, voice shaky.

On the other end, you can hear the background noise—voices calling his name, the distant rush of the paddock, the buzz of people moving. But Lando doesn’t care.

His voice breaks the second he hears you.

“I’m missing a meeting right now,” he says, “but I had to call. I couldn’t wait one second longer.”

You try to hold back tears but fail.

“You’re serious?” he asks, voice cracking. “I’m going to be a dad?”

“Yes,” you whisper.

“Fuck I’m crying so hard,” he laughs, “I’m so happy.”

You laugh softly too, the sound breaking through the tension like sunlight.

“I’m crying too,” you whisper.

There’s a pause, filled with unspoken words and the weight of everything.

“Are you okay? How do you feel?”

You sniffle, voice trembling, “Scared. But happy. So happy.”

He breathes deeply.

“I want to be there so badly. I want to hold you.”

“I want you here,” you say, voice small.

“Soon. Soon I’ll be home and I’ll never let you go.”

You laugh through the tears.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

You both just hold the call open, speaking softly about little things, the future, your hopes. His voice is a warm anchor in the storm of emotions.

“I love you,” he says.

“I love you too.”

The paddock calls him again, but this time he stays on the line a moment longer, just to hear you breathe.

Lando’s voice trembles as he speaks, barely able to contain the mix of emotions flooding him.

“Feels so unreal,” you admit.

“No,” he says firmly, “it’s real. It’s us. I can’t wait to hold you both.”

You rest your forehead against the cold wall, closing your eyes, picturing him there beside you.

“I’m nervous,” you confess quietly. “But happy.”

“Me too,” he says. “We’ll do this together. Every step.”

You squeeze your eyes shut, feeling him so close even though miles away.

“I love you.”

“I love you in every universe.”

[omniphilic]

WAIT MARK ACCIDENTALLY KNOCKING YOU UP???, (from the last bit of the other ask) I just got to know how that would play out because omg 😭😭😭

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀18+ content below / MDNI tw: pregnancy stuff, baby stuff, medical intervention (it's reader's choice), angst ig?? but also a little fluffy

You see, if you were the responsible, reasonable, rational individual you should have been, you wouldn’t have let this boy in your bed in the first damn place.

But you did. And at first, you had sense. As much as you can have granted, you are fucking around with your daughter’s boyfriend.

Rule number one: Condoms always. If he's not wrapping, he's not tapping.

Rule number two: He can't linger afterward for too long. He needs to be gone before Amber is even thinking about coming home, and if he's planning to spend time with her then he's not supposed to be thinking about you.

Rule number three: No kissing.

"What?" He said to you, the exasperation on him audacious. "What do you mean no kissing? That's like, the best part?" He's crawling atop you as if he's the kind of boy that breaks rules and you have to be firm, place your hand on his chest and give him the spray bottle.

"No Mark," you shake your head and the boy wilts. "It's too personal. I don't need you falling in love with me or some nonsense like that." It's already too late for that, but he doesn't correct you. "We're already," he gesticulates, finger-in-hole, "You know? That seems plenty personal to me already, so what's a little kiss?" He says with that lilt he does when he's trying to convince you, his finger tucked under your chin to lift. "C'mon," he goads, lips puckered as he leans into you. "Just humor me?" You're not laughing as you place a finger over his lips and push him back. "Aww... not even a little one?" You scoff.

"There are other lips you could be kissing right now." He shrugs in concession. "You right." And between your thighs he goes.

He always was great at wearing you down though, he got into your bed after all.

Mark Grayson breaks your rules because as it turns out he’s not a very good boy at all. He weakens your defenses—warming you up to the idea, he lies—undressing you, starting from the bottom and going up.

He hides orgasms behind paywalls, if you really want to cum as bad as you mewl, then you'll give him a kiss right? It's like a reward, he persuades, for all his hard work. If he’s making you feel sooo good, show him how good, as if your crossed eyes and his fucked up back don't speak for themselves. You want to rationalize it's just "whatever" when you two are tongue kissing on the bed; considering you've already fucked him, which now makes sense in a way it never had before. Your reservations turned to hoops and hurdles, mere obstacles in your race to completion. It doesn't help that Mark comes pre-equipped with justifications as well, ever eager to whittle your boundaries away with those soft brown puppy-dog eyes.

He starts being messy with his entrances and exits. He can start the day in Amber's arms but still somehow in your bed at night, holding you still as the post-orgasm exhaustion sets in, eyelids and limbs leadened, skin tacky with sweat and... other things.

So eventually, it makes sense that you stick your hand up when he pulls out the dreaded condom, waving it away.

"Just put it in, Mark."

And what kind of man would he be if he didn't oblige?

(Assuming you don't have your tubes tied.)

Arguably letting that boy into your bed was the dumbest decision you've ever made in your life. The second was letting him hit it raw. In most cases birth control would have all your bases covered. But this is not one such instance.

You don't know he's a Viltrumite. Which probably needn't be disclosed if you two maintained a more appropriate relationship with the other--but I digress.

You guys haven't seen each other since you've last had sex, and that was about... four weeks ago. Your birth control has been effective with other partners, so you didn't anticipate any issues. Couldn't have, in your stubborn mind, because it was easier to evade the guilt by not thinking about it; however, it is much harder to brush off when you feel that telltale rise of bile in your throat some early morning, a dizzying nausea gripping your stomach and pulling your heart down into it.

Clearblue, Pregnate and Nautilus all come out positive and by the end of it you're sitting on the toilet, wiping hysterical tears from the corners of your eyes as you're frantically flipping through contacts, trying to call Mark. You hesitate. Should you even? He's too young to be a father and he's still dating your daughter. Maybe it's better if he just doesn't know.

If You Tell Him, but you're not keeping it:

He's appalled, ecstatic and terrified all at once. He's fully prepared to commit to supporting you (in whatever ways he can) too, which is what concerned you the most. He doesn't have the time to spare to care for a kid, and you weren't exactly looking to give Amber a sibling at any point. So, you do the reasonable, actionable thing, and terminate the pregnancy.

Mark is devastated in a way he never expected to be. So are you, in a way. You wonder what could have been, almost, then dash the thought.

You're doing the smart, actionable thing. You tell yourself that whenever you feel your stomach turn, the hormones fogging up your reality, forcing tears to your eyes.

You probably stop seeing each other around that time. You realize sneaking around isn't worth the headache or heart attack. Mark is upset about it reflexively, but you drew your line in the sand, and he'd be one to respect that. If you don't tell him, you still break it off anyway.

You Get Pregnant and Keep It:

Maybe it's a bad case of baby fever that seduced you into your second bout with motherhood. Whatever the case may be, Amber is gonna have a baby sister soon! She's excited at first. Then grossed out. "...ewwwww, Mom..."

"Listen, you asked about my belly bump first. As far as I'm concerned, this TMI is all your fault."

Mark is just as frightened as he is aroused by the idea. He likes the way you look laid up and relaxed, how you're a little more helpless, crawling all over him for things. He thinks it's cute when you're needy.

You get really horny, too. It's really fun for you though, cause as bad of a boy that Mark Grayson is, he's at least a gentleman.

He'd visit more often, though his behavior/attitude towards the pregnancy changes depending on how he learns about it. Amber's attitude about little sibling changes depending on who the parent looks like.

What if you don't tell him, but the child looks like him completely? You had a hookup, and maybe it just sort of happened on accident. Or that's what you say, whether you're telling the truth or a lie is for you to know.

But you gave birth to a twin. From his cute brown eyes, to his nose, to the jet-black hair. They even have the same beauty marks. Amber keeps giving her odd looks in the crib. She seemed so familiar, but Amber could never quite place it.

But she's showing her off to whoever she can find, posts about it on her socials. Mark goes to see the baby in person as soon as he can and... he knows that's his kid.

It kind of makes him feel odd, like he's gone back in time and plopped himself in this crib. He feels like he should be panicking, sweating shaking, crying. But he just... holds her.

It's not going to be easy, but maybe not terrible? Of course, his relationship with Amber will end, your daughter is going up and it becomes an unignorable and uncanny resemblance.

Don't even mention when her powers start to come in.

She'd will put two and two together, eventually. Say goodbye to your daughter. Probably most of your friends?

But at least you have Mark, right? Whenever he's not saving the world, you guess.

But he really does love you <3 Though, I think it would be your mortality that saddens him. You're too soft, too sweet for his life. He'd just die if anyone got their hands on you.

Overprotective as shit as a partner, though. He's a sweet little golden retriever up until he sees someone eyeing you up and then he's just in go mode dude. Anybody who steps to him is getting thrown over the bar.

But,,, no Amber. Your daughter hates you. Forever. Would probably keep in contact with her sister, and eventually she's gonna know the truth of her birth. Who knows if she'll want to talk to you after?

But you made your bed, and Mark chose to lie in it.

[lotusapple-xia]

Complicated Connection

✰ synopsis: When attending a networking night held by your university, you surprisingly find Caleb working as a representative for DAA.

✰ pairing: Caleb x reader

✰ content: fluff, pre-relationship, reader/mc gets jealous

✰ w/c: 918

✰ notes: So Calebpilled that when I attended a networking night, every time I heard aerospace engineering I could only think of Caleb. i also love jealous reader 🤭. couldnt find a Caleb DAA gif :(

🪷Reblogs, comments and likes are always appreciated!

The chatter of university students and industry speakers filled the air. The intermingling anxious students and persuasive panellists conversing near company stalls and walking through the walkways were all you could see. With your tote bag filled with pamphlets and business cards, you carried on, to find the Deepspace Hunter stalls.

You were at a networking event hosted by Linkon University, anxious to get your name out there as a future Deepspace Hunter. Logically, you knew that graduates of the Hunter Program will get a job through integrated internships, but you wanted to start early and get into the higher-level factions. And that led you to here—the dreaded networking event. You knew how to talk to people… sort of. But talking to these people?! These industry people who are so persuasive and professional that they’re scary? Yeah, nah. You were terrified. But the idea of landing an early internship that will make your graduate program smooth sailing is the only motivation pulling you along.

With a deep breath, you walk up to the Hunter’s Association representative and introduce yourself with a firm handshake.

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ᯓ✈︎ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

After an eventful and knowledgeable discussion with the representatives for the Hunters’ Association and a few brochures later, you decide to walk through the hall and see if any stalls catch your interest.

As you trek through the hall, you see a stall that piques your interest. The “Deepspace Aviation Administration and Aerospace Academy”. Huh, I guess I could check out the stall. You walk towards the aerospace stall, curious to see what they’re offering. As you get closer, you see a familiar figure. His tall frame is wrapped in a black, orange and blue polo shirt and slacks, with his usually messy hair combed back formally, with his forehead showing. God, I love his eyebrows. Wait. You halt for a second, “What’s Caleb doing here? He didn’t mention being a rep for DAA,” you murmur under your breath.

His joyous laugh snaps you out of your reverie. Caleb is laughing at something a woman in front of him said. The stranger, now that you look at her, is standing awfully close to him, too close for professional standards. And the look in her eye. It’s the same look girls in high school would use to ogle at Caleb during his high school basketball practices. You huff in disbelief as you walk closer to the DAA stall.

“Thank you for the information, it was really helpful,” the woman coyly says.

“Oh no problem, I’m glad to have helped!” Caleb responds happily.

“How about we get some dinner after this is over?” She looks up at Caleb through her lashes. Caleb blanches. He was not expecting to be flirted with at a professional event. He looks up just in time to see your fuming form striding closer. He gulps. He knew you heard this lady spouting flirtatious nonsense and given your jealous streak, he knows you’re going to cause a fuss if he doesn’t defuse the situation quickly.

“Hi, I’d like some information on the DAA!” Your smile is too wide to be genuine, and annoyance tinged your expression, which Caleb saw straight through. The woman also turns to look at the newcomer to the conversation. “What would you like to know then?” Caleb puts on his boyish grin, the most genuine one of the day.

“I wanted to know more about the work culture at the DAA. Are people there really friendly? Do they spend one-on-one time with people who aren’t their colleagues?” You raise an eyebrow suspiciously but keep the seemingly nonchalant smile on your face. Caleb, sweat beading in his combed hairline, knows that if he doesn’t answer correctly, he can say goodbye to kissing his pipsqueak after the event is over.

“Well, the DAA staff are very loyal to their colleagues, and they make sure to communicate with their project partner whenever possible.” Caleb lets out a nervous chuckle.

The other woman watches the ordeal, visibly confused. “Soooo, about that dinner?”. When you turn to face her, face flat and eyes secretly seething, the lady takes the hint and walks away while she still has the chance. Meanwhile, you turn your eyes to Caleb, who opens his mouth to explain the situation.

“Pips, I’m filling in for a sick colleague, so it’s all last minute. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to tell you.”

You sigh, well, there’s no arguing with that even when you want to continue your pettiness. “I didn’t like how that lady had the hots for you. I mean, you’re in a polo shirt, what’s hot about that?” You roll your eyes and hope he doesn’t notice how flustered you are.

Caleb sees your fidgeting hands and huffy pout and is tempted to tease you about it, but decides not to, lest he ends up in your grudge ledger again. Instead, he offers a simple suggestion. “How about after this is over, we go to your favourite restaurant for dinner? My treat.”

You agree with a huff. Caleb doesn’t need other women, he only needs you. After all, you’ve known each other for your whole lives, who else could live up to that? Maybe if I pretend to stay mad at him, he’ll buy my favourite dessert!

You scheme silently, not seeing Caleb’s fond exasperation and the loving expression he reserves only for you. It’s you, and it will only ever be you.

[dangermousie]

First Half of 2025 Year In Review - cdrama edition...

I normally do these at the end of the year, but I have watched so many cdramas this year, I am going to have to split this in some way. This is only going to cover cdramas that aired in 2025 so far; if I watched it but it was made in a different year, it’s not on the list. As always, very subjective.

DRAMAS WATCHED

(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)

(46) Serendipity - if boils were a drama, this would be it.

(45) A Prime Minister’s Disguise - it's stupid, it's cheap, it's a waste of anyone's time.

(44) Everlasting Longing - more like evelasting boring with some truly terrible acting and nonsense writing (at least they did us a mercy and put two equally wooden actors opposite each other.)

(43) The Seized Destiny - at one point a man wears cat ears. That's it, that's the highlight.

(42) Love Beyond the Curse - dumb even for a vampire mini and that's a low standard indeed.

(41) Destiny and Saving - sounds like a bank branch, would probably be more fun if it was.

(40) I am nobody 2 - I loved the first season but this just didn't click for me.

(39) Filter - I love you, Tan Jianci but not even for you. At one point, FL is a llama.

(38) Destiny of Love: and snoring.

(37) Phoenix's Gambit: Love or Crown - just like its name, couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to be.

(36) Love and Sword - Gao Weiguang is hot. Unfortunately not hot enough to melt one's brain which is what you'd need to enjoy this dumb mess.

(35) Les Belles - More like La Bete. Because it's la bete of a drama.

(34) Eat Run Love - tried to go for Lighter and Princess, Walmart edition, failed at even that.

(33) Love Never Fails - until it does.

(32) Youthful Glory - cute and harmless. So is a bunny and that's at least nice to pet.

(31) Dominion and Devotion - a mini tried to be a proper palace drama which is I suppose praiseworthy but not what I watch minis for.

(30) Si Jin - A girlbossing story that made me decide I'd rather watch a drama with not a single woman than this type of female centric story and also that Jing Tian is a beautiful woman who doesn't click for me and Zhang Wanyi really needs to stop playing the same role over and over.

(29) The Best Thing - fluffy and plotless but oddly soothing.

(28) Blazing Elegance - this is like the trashiest 1980s romance novel imaginable but set in 1930s China. I had so much fun but did I respect myself in the morning? Hmmm.

(27) Guardians of the Dafeng - too goofy for my liking for most of its run but that ending!!!!!!

(26) Flourished Peony - solidly acted but alas the narrative did not grab me and ML really made no sense as a period character.

(25) Moonlight Mystique - main story pointless, the palette vomit inducing but oh the secondary OTP stole the show and my heart.

(24) Bound by Sin - softcore with submissive ML and domme FL. Wild for most of its run until it tries to acquire respectability late in its run.

(23) Such a Good Love - tried to be artsy ended up just boring.

(22) To Love or To Defy - FL is an assassin getting distracted by an honorable prince. The logic is utterly absent but the fun is fun.

(21) Once Upon a Dream - fakecest is the flavor of the day - why date out of the family when your adopted brother is right there, has great hair and dubious notions of consent? This one is very pretty.

(20) The Prisoner of Love - he tortures her, then she tortures him and on and on and on - the usual. Featuring a couple where FL rides off into wedded bliss with the man who murdered her parents.

(19) Stolen Love - someone watched Kunning and decided to write a Yan Lin AU, honest. I liked it but it did get repetitive and FL is kinda brain dead.

(18) Sadistic Love - despite the name, a surprisingly not psychotic love story with fakecest and a lot of gay vibes.

(17) The First Frost - a modern about broken up lovers reconnecting, this was a masterpiece for 3/4 of its run and then made a narrative decision so stupid it ruined the drama for me.

(16) Hidden Love - not the ZLS flufffest, this is full on fakecest delight. FL's two choices are ML who she thinks is her half brother (he turns out not to be) and her actual half brother. As it goes.

(15) A Love Never Lost - I think, if I were objective, this is the best drama this year. It is not my favorite for very subjective reasons but God, what a masterpiece about an epoch. Bleak ending, characters who ranged from complex and controversial to complex and unlikable (still in awe of Li Xian taking on THAT role - Liang Xiang was complex, larger than life, driven, smart and a monster who was a rapist and a betrayer) and the death of Yang Kaizhi (Wei Daxun) a rare moment that made me cry when I rarely get this moved by dramas.

(14) Kill My Sins - a thoroughly adult story of loss and vengeance, with Liu Shi Shi and Shawn Dou sparking with each other as equally ruthless and equally damaged souls who find kinship (this is a drama where they never even kiss or confess but when they call each other "soulmate" you FELT it.) So good!

(13) Always My General - like some of my favorite web novels made into a drama. FL is a woman pretending to be a man and becoming a legendary general, ML is a prince who loves her either way - so delicious. My fave mini of the year.

(12) The Glory - a Gothic and female-centric tale of vengeance and dysfunctional families, this is a story with characters shockingly manipulative and dark. It made Chen Duling a bigger star and well-deservedly so - her abused, violent and brittle protagonist is the person who the show rests on. It did drag a little in the middle but then came back swinging in the end.

(11) A Moment But Forever - in a year that gave me a lot of awesome xianxias, this one does not disappoint. A depressed and abused philosophy major meets a literal and cheerful engineering major - xianxia style. Liu Xueyi is gorgeous and Tang Yan a delight but what really hits is a surprisingly solid story about divinity, life and forgiveness.

(10) Perfect Match - Jane Austen but frothier, this tale of a widow moving with her four marriageable daughters to the capital where the fifth married daughter lives, this is a souffle with a love story for every taste and delightful bit of sisterly love on top. Pick your favorite romance! (Mine is fourth sister and her judge husband.)

(9) Love of the Divine Tree - it's like someone watched TTEOTM and went "this is how it should go instead." Our heroine is a master who finds feral, hot, abuser demon child and cat hero and decides to give him therapy via a petting zoo and chores.

(8) The Demon Hunter's Romance - just a solid lovely tale that includes some genuinely adult, common sense interactions and characters and a wildly creative take on demons and their stories.

(7) The Prisoner of Beauty - finally released out of the dungeon, this story of arranged marriage between members of feuding clans turned to love is a delight, held mainly by sane interactions and insane chemistry between Liu Yuning and Song Zuer.

(6) Love in Pavilion - do you like gorgeous pain? Come right in. Do you like doomed love in many varieties and incredible visuals and a totally gonzo set up? This is everything Red Moon Pact should have been but was not.

(5) The Blossoming Love - the best xianxia of them all in a very solid xianxia year, this story of a demoness and the perfect saint of the cultivating world goes hard on an incredible OTP and some glorious destroy the pantheon energy. Our Male Lead is not an atheist who does not believe in gods. No, he knows they are real and he WILL end them.

(4) Under the Moonlight - came out of nowhere to own my heart. This tale of a former courtesan assisting in cases in the yamen, a sheltered noble son who gets involved and the upright commissioner is everything - smart and moving and with so many points about class and gender (that is not preachy in the least.) It's realistic in a way most dramas are not and deals with portions of society dramas often don't, but it makes you both think and feel.

(3) Eternal Brotherhood 2: second year in a row a season of this drama misses top spot by the skin of its teeth. This grim, smart feudal-world-at-war and the three sworn brothers who deal with it drama comes back with more hard choices, brotherhood, love kept and lost and some insane cinematography and acting

(1 tie) Legend of Zang Hai - sometimes a huge hit starring a big star IS actually all that and a bag of chips, and this is that rare example. Ostensibly a story about vengeance, this is actually a smart, emotionally riveting character study about selfishness and selflessness, damage, kindness and evil. The script is tight, the direction impeccable and the performances out of this world. Xiao Zhan as the containedly insane focus and maelstrom of all the madness gives a performance I will long remember.

(1) The White Olive Tree - a modern is my n1 drama of the year? The world is coming to an end. The story of a journalist and bomb disposal expert who meet, fall in love in, and are destroyed by trauma in a war zone is a masterpiece. It's delicate, it's hopeful, it's heartbreaking. It also is a vanishingly rare portrayal of trauma that does not have pat solutions or easy outs. It's a romance and a tragedy in the classic Greek sense of the word, especially for the ML whose very idealism and goodness are what make him both perfect and unsuitable for helping and that ultimately take him down.

FAVORITE DRAMA

It's a tie:

The White Olive Tree - for the first time in ever, since I first started watching cdramas in 2007 - my favorite cdrama is a modern. Yeah, I know. Flawless from beginning to end, with literally nothing I'd change, this love story and character story is unflinching in its portrayal of love and trauma. Everyone gives a great performance but it's anchored by a genuinely jaw dropping performance from CZY as shattered idealist Li Zan.

Legend of Zang Hai - that rare beast - both smart and emotional, with gorgeous cinematography and impeccable acting, this really shows the cost and burden of revenge and makes you hope against hope for happiness and healing.

WORST DRAMA

Serendipity - this is what eating a plastic bag must feel like. Dumb plot, terrible look, horrible acting, hideous ML etc etc. Where do I start.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

Li Zan (Chen Zheyuan), The White Olive Tree - one of the three male performances and characters of the year for me. Li Zan starts the story as a shining light and ends a broken wreck and it's an epic performance throughout - it shows how uncomfortable it is to love a saint but it also shows this saint as human in all his complexity and drive; it makes idealism human - it's intense and haunting and you can't look away whether you are swooning or crying.

Zang Hai (Xiao Zhan), Legend of Zang Hai - I so rarely find actors with such huge and intense fanbases worth the hype, but XZ really is worth it. This performance of traumatized, vengeance-driven but unable to get rid of his soft heart Zang Hai was incredible - so many scenes that just had me jaw-droppingly in awe.

Liang Xiang (Li Xian), A Love Never Lost - Li Xian owns the role of a magnetic larger than life monstrous mover and shaker of the end of Qing. The man is a rapist and a murderer; he's also a filial son, a supremely competent leader and a terrifying kind of an idealist. This is not a role any idol-adjacent actor normally takes but Li Xian is incredible in the role.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Luo Shu (Hu Bingqing), Under the Moonlight - she is so complex, so strong, so haunted. Very much a gender swapped "haunted, tough man with a cause falls for a sheltered kind woman" set up for her and her OTP but what I love even more is she's not defined by romance.

Xiao Qiao (Song Zuer), The Prisoner of Beauty - she made a soft spoken, largely internalized character irresistible. I loved her from beginning to end.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

99% of the people in A Moment But Forever - I am Team Apocalypse for that one. Truly awful horrors, whether the torturing selfish immortal sect, the useless deities, the evil war demons who created the worst society possible or the gross humans. Kill them all!

Beast Kingdom people in Love in Pavilion - we would not have the tragedy without them.

And, as last year, City Lord from Eternal Brotherhood 2.

BEST BAD GUY

When Deng Wei's character in Tree, Zhang Bin Bin's in TBL or Liu Xueyi's in Moment go evil, they automatically become 10x hotter and seeing they were already hot to start with...but my favorite is Lord Jiuhuo (Charles Lin) in Love in Pavilion - that man was willing to wreck the world for love and he was epic doing it. My favorite part of LiP.

“HAROLD, THEY ARE LESBIANS” AWARD

And Chen Duling is in this one for the second year in a row - Zhuang Hanyan (CDL) x Chai Jing (Jinna Fu) in The Glory are 100% a couple, with frankly as many couple scenes and set ups as the ostensibly canon het OTP.

“HOW DID CENSORS NAP THROUGH THIS” AWARD

Honestly, any mini would be on this list (have you SEEN the sex scenes in Blazing Elegance?) but if we are talking "proper" dramas, let's go with The Glory, which let all sorts of awful, murdery characters get a happy ending.

MALE LEAD MOST LIKELY TO BE BROUGHT HOME TO MOTHER

No, thank you! The few modern ones she’d not approve of (Li Zan is likely to leave you a young widow and Sang Yan from TFF would never decouple from his girl anyway) and the period ones are no go since few moms would be keen on wild-eyed, bloodied sons in law however hot and long haired they may be.

FAVORITE SHIP

The White Olive Tree - idealists who love each other more than life but that love is not enough to fix them.

Kill My Sins - they don't kiss, they don't confess, they barely touch. And yet the soulmate compatibility and the chemistry just pour off the screen. I was feral whenever they were within two feet of each other.

Legend of Zang Hai - not a ship centric show and sometimes these make the best ships. I would lose it when they even touched palms. They are both damaged and wary (and he's borderline nuts from trauma) and watching them dance around and get their hearts broken and healed was...

The Blossoming Love - taking on Gods in any life and form and so ride or die and sexy and AAAAAAAA

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Many excellent choices this year (the cursed cultivators in The Blossoming Loves, all the secondary OTPs in Love in Pavilion, First and Fourth couples in Perfect Match) but the winner is the haunted, dysfunctional, intense, doomed secondary OTP of Moonlight Mystique. I finished that drama solely for them.

NOTP

Serendipity - I really don't want to waste more time on this toxic dump of a drama so all I am gonna say is they made fakecest, my fave trope, boring!

HOTTEST SCENE

Blazing Elegance - all their sex scenes are insane but also the aphrodisiac scenes in Love in Pavilion take the cake for sheer intensity and the baby making in ep 32 of The Prisoner of Beauty because phew boy!

FAVORITE SCENE

Li Zan's breakdown in the hospital and the aftermath when he tells FL the truth in The White Olive Tree. That scene? Shivers.

Zang Hai emerging out of the tomb in Legend of Zang Hai - the breakdown, the manipulation are epic. The epic Greek tragedy of the Marquis' death.

In Eternal Brotherhood 2, Di Lin arriving to rescue his brothers at Payu; or his kneeling to Xiujia's pregnant stomach, his hands gentle on it, promising to come back.

Liu Xueyi's madness in the hole in A Moment but Forever - LXY is an actor who's often too good for his dramas and this scene shows how good he can be as he's going mad and confronting his inner demons.

The First Frost ultimately fell apart for me, but the scene of teen Sang Yan watching Wen Yifan dance on the rooftop he equipped for her is what swooning over poetry feels like.

BIGGEST CRUSH

We are gonna go in the most opposite way possible: the law abiding, incredibly decent, rather rigid Fourth Husband, Perfect Match and Di Lin in Eternal Brotherhood 2 - the man is ideal husband, a terrifying beast in battle and just all around sex on legs.

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Zhuang Zhixing (Zhou Qi), Legend of Zang Hai - the sole decent person in that family of monsters, he stole my heart and his arc OMG!

BEST COSTUMES AND WIGS

Costumes: Legend of Zang Hai - real embroidery, and costumes that look real.

Wigs: I am gonna be weird here and say Kill My Sins.

MOST EXTRA OUTFIT

Honestly, most have been fairly sane but Feud should fix it.

FAVORITE SECONDARY ML

General Yun in Eternal Brotherhood 2 - Si Yilin x Ka Dan were my n1 OTP in s1 and yet the man's honor and willingless to risk his life to protect Ka Dan without expecting anything has got me almost switching ships.

MOST BLATANT INNUENDO MOMENT

It hasn't aired yet but we all saw that poster for Feud, with Bai Lu fondling Zeng Shunxi's enormous...sword:

FAVORITE 2025 CDRAMA SONG

Chen Xueran's Moonlight Dance from The White Olive Tree. You have no idea how much I listened to it.

MVP OF THE YEAR

Song Zuer, who beat her tax allegations (already a miracle) and came back with two awesome dramas.

ACTING SURPRISE

So many great performances, but I am gonna go with Chen Zheyuan in The White Olive Tree. He's been solid in so many awful dramas but I never knew he could be such a revelation

NEEDS A SEQUEL

The Demon Hunter's Romance - not really but would be fun. And EB2 likely since I cannot see how they will wrap the novel's story in the remaining number of eps.

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Serendipity - in addition to all its other sins, this simply cannot support 40 eps.

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Surprisingly none, I think dramas have adjusted to the 40 ep limit.

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

Same as last year - the emperor cannot be irredeemable. WTF, China, you are a communist country! Though they are nibbling at the edges this year. Also fake feminism - I am all for girl power but not when it’s ridiculously anachronistic for the period with no explanation at all. And finally NO MORE TRADE DRAMAS PLS PLS PLS

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

Men (and women) knowingly fighting for a doomed cause because otherwise they’d cease to be who they are. Or if we are being shallow all the beautiful men in chains.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

The First Frost: it was so exquisite for about 2/3 and then the Hong Kong arc happened (and was not in the book; the adaptation was faithful so far so nothing heralded it) and ruined the whole drama. It negated the development, the themes, the characters - it made me dislike both leads and the way the narrative never addressed it made the whole story utterly fall apart.

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

The White Olive Tree, Under the Moonlight, A Moment but Forever, The Demon Hunter's Romance - this has been a year of surprises, so many of my top dramas weren't on my radar at all.

2025 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH

I have honestly watched everything I wanted so far.

BEST NON-2025 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2025

Do you think I have the time? Ahahahaha

MOST ANTICIPATED

Love in the Clouds, Legend of the Female General, Moonlit Reunion, A Dream within a Dream, Hidden Shadow, Shadow Love, You Sheng You Ya, The Princess' Gambit, Feud, Fated Hearts, Love and Crown

[asgardianautisticbullshit]

Movie Night - "I love you."

TFAWS Bucky Barnes / GN Reader

"You felt safe, and he did too. No threats, no monsters under the furniture. No nightmares. Just you, and he felt a warm, fluttering in his chest, as warm as the orange glow spilling from the lamp beside you. Wave after wave of affection washing over him, each and every one hitting him like a truck."

I love him so much in TFAWS, you have no idea. Must smooch. 💔.

forcing myself to write my anxiety away LMAO

Just cozy movie night <33

───────────── ⋆ ꩜ ⋆ ─────────────

Warmth. Comforting, sleep-inducing warmth was all you felt next to Bucky as his arm slinked around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer to his side on the couch. Your shoulder tucked right against his chest, eyes glued to the screen in front of you. Eating popcorn almost without even thinking, that was until his hand gently flicked yours away. Glancing down at your confused face with an exasperated and amused glint in his eye. His voice a murmur ranging between softly spoken and roughly voiced.

"You're gonna eat it all."

You felt a warm flush flood up your neck, pulling your hand away and looking back at the screen sheepishly. Some sort of fight scene going on, obvious with how the music blared loud enough you could barely discern a single piece of dialogue. Thank the lord for subtitles. Bucky watched the scene with a scrutiny in his gaze, probably picking apart how unrealistic most of the fighting is. Even you could see it, it seemed more like exaggerated dance rehearsal than a brutal, blood pumping, heart racing, thriller fight.

He chuckled softly and gave you a soft squeeze after hearing you start to giggle. It really was not an appropriate scene to laugh at, story-wise, but it was definitely hilarious. The screen reflected in the orbs of your eyes, and he only watched the screen through those. Too busy staring, without a care in the world about whatever the movie was doing now. Your grin was enough to take his attention away from anything, drawing a quirk from his own lips.

His thumb softly rubbed over your stomach, leaning his head down to place a kiss to the side of your head, unable to resist the soft affection. Leaning his head against your shoulder and getting comfortable once more, his free hand finding yours and intertwining your fingers together. You felt safe, and he did too. No threats, no monsters under the furniture. No nightmares. Just you, and he felt a warm, fluttering in his chest, as warm as the orange glow spilling from the lamp beside you. Wave after wave of affection washing over him, each and every one hitting him like a truck.

From the first moment you dropped everything to help him with Steve, to running towards him without hesitation during the blip even as you yourself started to crumble, to the small talks and encouraging gestures with his therapy. It was hitting him all at once, and suddenly the domesticity of the moment had him wrapping his arms around you, popcorn bowl placed gently on the floor as you gasped in surprise. He held you close on his lap, wrapping the blanket around you both like a cocoon. Getting warmer, feeling drowsy. The TV a mindless background noise.

Your lips pressed softly against his jaw, and he softly buried his nose into your neck. Murmuring something you couldn't quite catch. Silence fell, and it was the most comfortable, mutual silence you've ever had in your life. Interrupted only by your breathing, and his, and by the TV in the background. Still playing some nonsense, jokey movie. All that mattered was his arms around you, keeping you close like you'd slip away if he let go.

He kept his eyes open, staring down at your face smooshed against his shoulder, already snoring lightly and maybe drooling a little. You were lovely, and he looked at you like you were his fondest treasure. His lips came in contact with your forehead, pulling back just enough to whisper a sweet,

"I love you."

☆

[vigilskept]

idk if you know but i thought you should be aware that you're being blamed for bullying the person who's poll you criticised out of the fandom and getting called a bigot by the veilguard stans

appreciate the notice anon! i don’t really know the full extent of it, but i’ve been sent a few screenshots of these posts.

i decided not to engage with them after i saw one where they’re just blatantly making shit up about me and cooking some truly S tier nonsense (allegedly i’m the op of the poll again!!) (and i apparently think there was no bigotry or racism in dragon age before datv!! which makes me an islamophobe) (<- guess what religion i was raised in 😁) all this because i commented that dragon age the veilguard is islamophobic, by the way.

it takes about 10 seconds of scrolling on my blog to see that these things are blatantly untrue. and they clearly were scrolling because the same post tries to call me an antisemite because i like anders and dragon age 2 (presumably because… i reblogged fanart of handers making out?)

it’s so blatantly in bad faith, and at this point i think i’ve clarified my position on the survey, the poll and my own responses more than enough. if i’m misunderstood by others because of this hate campaign then so be it!

what i will say though is that i find it really funny how 2 reblogs commenting on how the framing of a survey question was biased and a joke about that question have been taken as bullying… whereas:

the op of the survey’s friend slid into my notes trying to antagonise me (because they thought i was responsible for ria’s poll, i guess)

op of the poll wrote an entire essay conflating myself & ria’s actions with whatever harassment they have received from the datv crit mob(?) and blamed us for driving them off the site instead of having a single conversation with us about how they felt about all this

op & their friends accused us (for no discernible reason???) of doxxing them

and now op’s friends continue to try to stir up hatred towards our “faction” (we are literally 2 blogs without particularly wide reach) and accusing us of a campaign of bullying and harassment

and none of this is questionable behaviour?

[espressheauxs]

we came close from far || samira mohan

summary : serendipity and samira go hand in hand

words : 1.3k of whatever nonsense this is lol

pairing : samira mohan x fem!reader

warnings : nothing explicit, lots of queer yearning, it's all very fluffy, really.

notes : wrote a little something for our resident cutie patootie for Pride ever since finding out her actor is part of the alphabet mafia IRL lol not beta read but fuck it we ball

a/n : if I see you reposting, stealing, feeding my FICS into AI or some other fuck shit, don’t. 👀🫵🏽

---

Unlike most people, Samira didn’t hate Mondays. 

Ever the positive person, she saw them as a way to refresh and restart. A new start to a new week with a clean house and a newly stocked fridge. 

Hopefully she could get to actually eating the food before it went bad. 

There was a small coffee shop on the way to work that she liked going to on Mondays. The baristas there knew her order ( “iced London Fog with regular milk, please!”) , and she even got a sweet treat today - a scone studded with candied oranges and a raspberry glaze, warmed up just right. 

It’s as good as her Monday seemed to go, until she grabs her order and turns to leave. But the scone and the coffee clatter to the ground as she bumps into someone. 

Phones clatter to the ground, and there’s a blur of rushed apologies and “oh god I’m so sorry that was so fucking stupi–” 

“Samira”? is chorused from your lips at the same time she calls your name - like an unsure, delicate thing. 

Like she couldn’t believe her eyes. 

The shock melts from her warm, brown eyes as she quickly scans over your body before they land on your face. It happens so quickly, so minutely, really, and then it’s like the sun beams on her face before she realizes it really is you. 

Of all places. 

“Wow, h-how have you–oh sorry,” The both of you move to the side to let the poor barista clean up the mess. She looks back to you, happy surprise painted all over her face, “how are you? It’s been years.” 

“It really has, geez.” You motion for a hug and she eagerly accepts. You didn’t realize how much you missed them, missed her until that moment. Samira was known for giving the best, and the right kind of hugs. 

“What are you doing here?” She asks, “Just visiting?” 

Samira doesn’t really want to think about when you left. It was all a huge fit of tears, hugs that were hard to let go and words that were hard to say in case they weren’t real. 

“Just moved back, actually.” Her eyebrows practically are up to her forehead, and her warm, brown eyes sparkle with shock. It makes you laugh bashfully, hands itching to wipe at the sheen of sweat on your nose , “Few weeks ago, haven’t really had a chance to get settled yet. It’s hard to keep track of time when you’re so busy.” 

“I feel that, honestly.” She laughs, forgetting about her caffeine conundrum, but you did not. “Ugh, I really am sorry about that mess, ‘mira. Can I get you another?” You offer hopefully, not really waiting for her answer as you step back into line with her. 

Coffees and sweet treats back in hand, Samira somehow finds herself magicked into one of the booths near the large window, sat across from you. It’s then she finally gets to take in all the details of your face, how it’s not really changed at all except for the slight signs of sleeplessness around your eyes. 

Samira catches you up on her life, her job at the hospital. You tell her about yours, and how it’s brought you back to the place you can now call home again. It’s like time between you two hadn’t passed at all, and yet there is a frail, fragile bubble of promise of tomorrow, hopefully of something more floating between you two again. 

“I gotta go,” You mention, your voice wistful as you glance at the time on her watch, “Maybe we can exchange numbers? Catch up some time?” 

Samira’s eyes light up, “of course, yeah. I’d love that!” 

You pat your pockets to find your phones, and the both of you laugh, realizing that you’ve got her phone and she has yours. The exchange is quick, and the both of you walk out of the coffee shop together. 

There’s a small pick up in the conversation as you walk down the block together to the corner light, and then the disappointment bubbles up again. 

She can see it all over your face, and it reminds her how you truly couldn’t hide anything you felt. It always showed. 

“I’m going this way.” You practically mumble under your breath, motioning with your head. 

“I’m that way.” She adds, also feeling strangely disappointed despite the connection hanging between you two again. 

Why was it always so hard to say goodbye to you? 

“I’ll um…call you later? Or text?” She adds, “I have a double today, but um..yeah, I’ll let you know when I’m done, if that’s okay?” 

“Of course, yeah.” You laugh a little, wondering if the anxious perspiration is on your nose again. “I’ll be around.” 

Of course you are, she thinks. You always are. Somehow. 

Half way down the block, you can’t help but look back to just watch, and appreciate her a little before she’s gone for most of the day, and night. 

The texts that follow that day into the following morning are not frequent, but they’re thoughtful. Even when Samira only had a small window for a break, she’d send a laughing reaction to a meme you’d send, or a heart emoji to help you decide on what kind of plates to get for your kitchen. 

Samira practically yelps when Dana scares the ever living shit out of her at the station, stuffing her phone away guiltily into her pocket. 

Dana raises a knowing eyebrow and laughs, as if she knew Samira was going to pretend she wasn’t smiling at her phone, “Yeah, yeah.” 

— 

Once Samira finally gets a break and isn’t on doubles, the texts and calls are replaced with video calls when she gets home. 

On more than one occasion, either one or both of you would fall asleep while still on the call. It was the same now, with Samira getting ready for her night shift at the hospital, and you’re all but dead on your feet as you drag yourself over to bed. 

You’re dozing off when she calls your name, and you only manage to look at her long enough to watch her gather up her beautiful, soft curly hair into the claw clip she always uses. 

“..mira, I’m so sleepy.” You mumble, struggling to keep your eyes open as you look at your phone, propped up against the lamp on your bedside table. “but I wanna keep talking.” Samira would really rather not think about the way her heart squeezes a little as she watches you curl into the blankets, half of your face hidden by the fluffy duvet.

“Let’s keep talking this weekend,” She says without really thinking , “I can come over, or you can come over mine.”

“Are you really asking me to netflix and chill?” You wheedle, and the both of you burst into a small fit of giggles. 

It was always easy to joke around with her like this. Had you been anyone else, it would’ve flown over her head. But she knew you far too long to not understand your sense of humor. 

“I have a golden weekend coming up, let me know?” 

“Yeah, I’ll let you know.” You yawn again, “Goodnight, ‘mira.” 

It’s a little easier saying goodbye this time, but not so much when Samira tries to shake the feeling that’s creeping up in her chest. Or the way you seem to come up in her thoughts as she’s charting during a rare lull in the night shift. 

She feels a little silly, or even presumptuous to think you’d want to spend time hanging out with her after work. But having her friend (yes, a friend) back in her life after all that time apart sparks a little thrill in her heart she didn’t know was there. 

She feels Dana’s eyes on her again. Only this time, it seems like Perlah and Princess know without knowing too. 

Samira rolls her eyes, continuing her charting as her proverbial middle finger to them. 

Yes, a friend is what you are. 

And catching up, she hopes in whatever way that means, is the only thing that’s happening. 

Wait, what the fuck? 

--

© espressheauxs, 2025

[panpanghost]

Part 2 of this one:

Macaque took a look around the place, it felt very cosy and nice, and best of all, Wukong wasn't there.

_"Mr. Macaque would you like to take a shower first?" Sandy asked watching the way his guest's body jumped even though he is standing right next to him.

_"I-if it isn't much trouble. Th-that would be nice. Also, please call me Macaque."

_"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I'll see if I have anything that might fit you, Macaque."

_"If-if you have any cloth, I can sew my own clothes."

_"That won't be necessary. We can order some clothes online, on the phone. We'll do that tomorrow."

_"Uhhh... That phone is a very handy tool."

_"It is. I'll teach you how to use it tomorrow. I can get you one as well."

_"That- that is very generous of you but I don't have money to pay for such a device."

_"No problem at all. I want to help. But if it bothers you so much, you can always repay me later. After we find you a job. Maybe I can ask my friend to give you a job at his restaurant."

_"... You are very kind." Macaque looked at Sandy softly. He would've loved to be friends with a demon like him in the past.

_"Don't mention it. A friend in need is a friend indeed."

_"A friend..." That word did make Macaque feel a bit safer...

_"The shower is that way, please fallow me."

Sandy walked Macaque to he bathroom and showed him the bathtub.

_"Ummm.... Where's the water?" Macaque asked after a moment of silence. The tub is empty.

_"Oh! I forgot to tell you. See this handle? If you pull it like this, water will come out of the pipe. This one for hot water and this one for cold water."

_"Waw..." Macaque exclaimed, playing with the handles. Though it took him seconds to figure out the physics behind it.

_"This is some soap and hair products. Feel free to use them. I'll get you a brush and some towels. Call me if you have any questions or need some help."

_"No-no this is more than enough help! Thank you!.. A-actually... do- do you happen to have some scissors?.." Macaque asked, a hint of shame in his question.

LBD didn't bother to clean his corpse. She just used glamour to make him look presentable. He was cleaned up a bit, but still... Some movements hurt, and he can still smell blood all over him. His furr is all dirty and matted. There's no saving it.

_"I do! I cut my own hair so I have the entire set for haircut scissors! I'll be right back!" Sandy answered enthusiastically and went on his way.

It took Macaque a few hours to be done bathing. He was in much worse case than he thought, and he had to cut a lot of it. But in the end he was happy to know the smell is gone and his furr is much, much better. These champoos really helped a lot.

_"Ummm.... Macaque? I found some clothes for you but... I don't think they'll be exactly your size."

_"Hm?" Macaque walked out the shower in a towel big enough to cover him entirely.

_"Do you think this would work for you?" Sandy said giving Macaque a T-shirt and shorts.

Macaque put the clothes on but the shorts were still too big and kept falling, and the shirt just went over him and flopped to the floor.

_"I'm so sorry."

_"Pffft- Hahahahaha. It's ok. Thank you. If you have a sewing kit, I can make this work."

_"Of course. One sec."

Macaque made the clothes a few sizes smaller and they fit almost perfectly, still a bit big for him but he is grateful to have clothes.

_"Oh! You did a wonderful job! I prepared dinner. I'll show you the room you'll be staying in after dinner." Sandy said placing the thing-that-you-eat-from (I forgot what it's called) on the table.

_"You didn't have to do all that. Thank you." Macaque took a seat.

_"Nonsense. I haven't had guests in a long time, I'm very happy to have you around. I hope you enjoy your stay."

_"Umm..." Macaque had a bit of trouble finding the words, he doesn't know how the water demon will react, "You see... I know of a place that holds a great treasure."

_"Really? Are you planning on going there?" Sandy asked before putting a bite in his mouth.

_"N-no. I mean, there's this cave that has a lot of diamonds and gold and jewellery... I can show you where it is." Macaque doesn't know how thw world works anymore, but he has his own treasure that he hid, maybe it'll be to the demon's liking.

_"I'm sorry, but I'm not a cave person. I can't go with you. I'm more of a sea or nature person."

_"Oh-ok.." So he doesn't want the money, Macaque thought, then tried again:"umm.. I-I know I feel powerful but I can't control most of that power."

_"Well, you can count on me until you learn how to control all of it."

Macaque didn't know what to say next, it's natural to want something in return, but he can't figure out what this guy wants. He offered him money and made it clear he has no powers, yet he is still so kind and generous. It's confusing but also... new.

_"I'm sorry..." Macaque said, curling his tail around his leg.

_"Hmm? What's wrong?" Sandy asked, a bit concerned.

_"I- I don't know what you want."

_"Well I was planning on getting a new set of tea cups and a new scratching poll for the kitties."

_"N-no, I meant what you want from me..."

_"That's not something to apologise for. I simply want you to consider me a friend. And have some tea with me. I'd really love that."

_"... Uhh... I don't know how..."

_"Well, basically I make it using a tea pot and some herbs, then we drink it-"

_"N-no not that, I meant I don't know how to be a friend."

_"Then take your time to learn. I don't mind waiting. Until then, let's have tea together."

_"... That sounds nice."

It was a lovely evening, Macaque, and for the first time in centuries, didn't feel his shadows scratching his body, eager to come out. They were actually very calm and almost nonexistent.

He was very relaxed, something about Sandy made him feel at ease, he is very grateful to him. He can finally have some sleep. The cats invited themselves to sleep with him and purr like an engine.

Or at least that's what he thought. It wasn't minutes after tucking himself in bed with the cats that he heard Wukong's heartbeat.

_"So this is where you've been staying." Wukong said, stepping in from the window closer to the bed.

_"What-what are you doing here? Y-you're not supposed to be here." Macaque could feel his body tense with his shadows clawing at his skin.

_"Really? After all these years, not even a hello? Or a hug?" Wukong walked slowly closer.

_"S-stay away!" Macaque curled himself into the corner feeling his heart in his ears.

_"Come on, moonpie. If someone saw you they'd think I'm here to eat you." Wukong sat on the bed.

_"I-I don't care. Just leave me alone."

_"I'll leave you alone once we're back home." He extended his hand to grab Macaque but then he stopped. A certain scent got on his nerves.

_"No! It's not home! I'm not going back!"

_"Heh. Look at you. A few hours away and you're already reeking of someone else's scent!" Wukong grabbed Macaque's arm and yanked him out of the bed, he immediately regretted what he had done, but that smell felt like fuel to his anger.

_"That someone is my friend! And I'm staying with him!" Macaque, shaking, tried to pull away from Wukong's grasp, but he was way too weak against that death hold.

_"So what? You're walking out on me? Huh? Is that what this is?" Hearing his beloved wishes to stay with another, made his blood run like lava.

_"Me?! You walked out on me first! Well not anymore! I'm not waiting for you to come back! I've waited long enough! So yes! This time, I'm walking away first! And I'm not going back!" Macaque's head was spiralling, he is too scared to stay and too weak to leave, but he wants that simian gone before he loses control. He can't go through that again.

_"Really? Not coming back? So what's your plan exactly? Wait until you get too angry and kill everyone? Is that it?" Wukong felt his heart being stabbed but he doesn't have time for these kinds of emotions, he must get his husband back home before he hurts himself and those around him.

_"I'm not going to kill anyone." Macaque said, feeling the tears on the corner of his eye.

_"Sure you won't. Our little Macaque can control the shadows. They never tried to hurt him or those around him." Wukong said sarcasticaly, he knew his words would cut Macaque deep, and that's exactly what he wanted, once Macaque realises that he will hurt others, he'll get back to his senses.

_"I'm fine! Sandy said I didn't need to control them!" Macaque kept trying to pull away feeling his shadows getting up like a pack of piranhas.

_"Until they get him killed!" Wukong yelled and grabbed Macaque's wrists, trying to look him in the eyes. Why can't he see that he's doing this for him?

_"No!" Macaque cried, shaking under the Sage's piercing eyes.

_"Why won't you listen!?"

_"Because the last time I listened to you, I was the one who got killed!"

_"..." Wukong couldn't do anything but watch, Macaque was right...

_"You're a liar! You said you'd protect me! You said you'd keep me safe! You're a fucking liar! I don't want anything to do with anymore!"

Wukong could take on any enemy, still, Macaque's tears were always so most painful hits, but his ego would not let him show it.

_"Nothing to do with me? Well hate to break it to you bud! I'm your husband whether you like it or not!"

_"No you're not! The mark's gone! It disappeared the second I died and you know that!"

_"...." Wukong was taken by surprise with the way Macaque glared at him. His eyes held so much hate and contempt.

_"I'm not yours anymore." He finaly said it. Macaque stopped shaking, he just glared at Wukong and snapped his fangs at him. He has a second chance at life now, and he is not wasting one more second on his past mate.

_"Heh... Is that what this is about? A stupid mark?" Wukong said, anger written all over his face.

_"...." The coldness in Wukong's voice made Macaque's heart shake. Wukong is mad....

_"If you're so worried about that. I can give you another one right now!"

_"NO!" Macaque immediately covered his ears as Wukong yanked him closer by his hair, his other hand grabbed Macaque's chin to hold his face steady. If Macaque won't listen because of that mark, then he'll make him listen. Wukong's tail curled around Macaque's wrist and pulled the hand that was covering his ear down.

Wukong could feel it under his skin, Macaque just lost control over his shadows, he doesn't need to mark him, he had already made him emotional enough.

_"Monkey King!" Sandy barged into the room, and with one punch got the Great Sage away from his new friend.

_"Stay out of it big guy." Wukong warned, he truly doesn't want to fight Sandy, he's been trying to save him this whole time.

_"I'm afraid I can't do that." Sandy took a look back at his friend, he was shaking and crying on the floor, but there was something wrong, his eyes and tears were as black as ink, he'll fight Monkey King if he has to, but right now, he must comfort his friend.

_"It's ok, Macaque, You're doing great. Just breath through you nose and out your mouth. You'll be fine. I'm right here." Sandy didn't need to do much, Momo was already pumbing into Macaque and licking his face.

_"You don't know what you're dealing with." Wukong said, trying to warn the blue guy.

_"Maybe not. But I know that my friend is sad and I must comfort him."

_"Please leave." Macaque said, petting Momo, he had no more will to fight in him, he was basically begging Wukong to just leave him be.

_"Macaque is my guest. I have to see that all his needs are met. So I must politely ask you to leave my home." Sandy said, standing between Wukong and his love.

_"This isn't over Macaque." Wukong said and flew out, leaving Sandy to take care of the rest.

Macaque was so grateful Sandy stepped in. He knew Wukong would get mad if he left, but not that much.

How could he do this to me? Hasn't he hurt me enough? Haven't I given him enough? Haven't I sacrificed enough? What more does he want from me? How many more broken bones would it take for him to leave me alone? I'm so tired of surviving. I just want to live for once. Just once. Is that too much to ask for?

(There you go, @szaman-polny bc you asked nicely and I felt slightly bad. And bc I'm not writing anymore parts, here's the story:

Wukong was never going to mark Macaque, he just did that to scare him. The reason why Macaque can't control his shadows is bc back in the day, a part of the scroll broke and it almost destroyed the world so Macaque trapped it in his shadows, the problem is that the thing that was trapped in the scroll is now trapped in him too, and his shadows keep fighting the scroll and the thing inside it and after so long the shadows couldn't tell reality from the scroll part. Wukong is usually that beacon of reality.

Wukong would fight Macaque's shadows if they went out of control and even though he never ment it, his fights with the shadows always hurt Macaque, sometimes leaving him with a broken bone or two, he could always feel how sorry Wukong is after, and Wukong wasn't in that much better condition, if it weren't for his abnormal healing ability he would've lost an arm by now.

So Macaque's shadows know that Wukong is a safe place and they don't need to fear him bc he'll keep their master alive.

After ffm burned, Erlang didn't leave on his own, he actually had to flee bc Macaque just lost it, some of his soldiers are still in the scroll inside Macaque. Some of the shadows managed to drag Macaque to Wukong hoping he would save him but Wukong killed him instead. And now the shadows hate him.

He didn't kill him on purpose, he thought he was fighting the thing but it waited for the last second before it returned back to the shadows leaving Macaque completely defenceless, Wukong didn't know what happened until it was too late.

Then part one and two.

Now Macaque starts working at Pigz's noodles. The problem is that the restaurant is getting more and more customers who just come to see Macaque, some are very rude and keep hitting on him. Pigzy would immediately kick them out and threaten to cut their hands and cook them then make them eat it. No one messes with his employees.

Wukong also keeps an eye on Macaque all the time and would beat up anyone who hits on him which is why in the end no one bothers Macaque anymore but they still come to admire him.

One day, a demon from the theatre stops him and gives him a flyer for auditions for their next play. He doesn't know what that is but Sandy and the others encourage him to try.

He gets the lead part and he does love the theatre so he stops working at Pigz's and makes acting his full time job. Wukong discovers this and pays a very generous donation to the theatre for all their future projects. Which makes the staff so happy therefore Macaque is also happy.

Wukong didn't miss a single show of Macaque's not even the rehearsal, he was there every step of the way. Seeing Macaque happy was all he ever wanted, so he'll bite his tongue and stay away.

Macaque knew Wukong was watching him, he also connected the dots and knew Wukong was the one who made the donations. And even though Sandy told him that he bought him all the new things, he knew it was all from Wukong. He must've convinced or threatened Sandy into giving it to him. But he didn't say anything, he didn't want to fight with Sandy or Wukong. He was too emotionally drained. He just accepted them and moved on. He knows Wukong way too well to say no to his gifts.

After a few years, they find a new way to fix the scroll and trap what's inside it, and Macaque is healed. Wukong was the one who healed him. After that, Macaque's emotions went back to normal and his relationship with Wukong started getting better. The ending is open to either shadowpeach or lunartides)

[stillness-in-green]

It's nice art, and there are things I like in it (Spinaraki Nation winning again; Monoma my beloved), but my god is it disingenuous.

Alongside what Nal already mentioned, I'd also point to the presence of Midnight and Sir Nighteye, equally happy, equally unchanging and unaging, as the League. Like, is this a Happy End Future Picture or isn't it? I think you absolutely could argue that the reason Spinner and Mr. are in their old League outfits here is because they were executed by the state sometime during the timeskip, so they get to stay on the same page as the rest of their team.

I'm not surprised or even really disappointed at the lack of non-League Villains - that's been deeply standard for these celebratory end-of-series group spreads for at least the last few years now - though it is certainly annoying that the art is full of the most incidental fucking jobbers you could possibly imagine (Starhead guy! Dr. Yoshi! Movie OCs! The fucking poodle heroine!) but can't be bothered to scrape up a single non-League Villain who didn't end the series allied with Heroes.

But the one that really sticks in my craw is Overhaul. Literally the only non-redeemed Villain who ended the series alive and with something resembling a Hope Spot in his reunion with Pops, and even they can't manage to make it to this art? Really?? No MLA, none of the rest of the Hassaikai, none of the Tartarus escapees or USJ/training camp attackers or street Villains, I expected all that. But not even Overhaul and Pops? A duo who you could absolutely get away with illustrating as not having attained perfect bliss (quite a few characters in the spread have neutral, ambiguous, or fraught expressions!), but nonetheless still alive and a part of the world, still with people who care about them.

That screaming absence really is how you can tell that Nal is 100% correct that the existence of Villains is inconvenient to BNHA's oh-so-happy ending. And so we get fallacious nonsense like this: the Villains the story wanted readers to care about get to be included, happy and together but definitely not interacting with any of the Heroes who were invested in their well-being, and definitely not depicted from the same eight-years-later perspective as the surviving happy Heroes! But happy, at least, so their fans can look at them and get some vicarious happiness and ideally not stop to think too hard about the implications of e.g. Spinner in his League outfit walking together with Shigaraki and his long-dead dog.

And the Villains the story doesn't want readers to care about? Even though those Villains were far, far more likely to end the story safe and alive, even if not happy? Well, they just get erased from the narrative entirely, forgotten and abandoned by the author just as surely as they were by the noble Heroes.

Honestly, if Horikoshi is going to keep doing these big mega-spreads to commemorate the series, I wish he'd do one of just the Villains. Then maybe we could actually get to see characters like Magne, Mustard, the Eight Bullets, and the MLA again, to say nothing of the Sludge Villain, Muscular and Moonfish, the Tartarus escapees, Cider House and other such street Villains, and even the movie Villains if we're going to get to be consistent with the big Hero spreads!

Might segregating Villains and Heroes into different spreads undermine the themes of reaching out across the Hero and Villain divide to try and save Villains? Sure, but it can't possibly do that any worse than the series itself did, to say nothing of these art spreads and data books and the like that, over and over again, hype up how very many characters will be included, only to prove, over and over again, that only the people the Heroes cared about get to be included.

Time to be a killjoy!

Apparently it's a smosgaboard of characters in their '8 years later' design.

Except for the Villains. (Well, the ones who did not grovel for the light and redeemed themselves by fighting in the war for the Heroes.)

The League is there, on the left side, all unaged. Makes sense for the ones who are dead. But Spinner or Compress, who lived, they are not considered part of this future that everyone else is. No 8-years-later design for them. Why would you? That would be so depressing.

My first thought was actually that Spinner and Compress were dead too - execution? health? taking their own life? - so they get to be unaging.

The villains are just SO inconvenient for the ending the story wants. Because this is a world, 8 years later, that needs no villains, wants no reminder of them, and wishes they stay in the past.

(…despite the themes of saving. Get saved, dies. Don't get saved, you live… but I guess you never get a chance to be saved again. And so you're in tartarus 2.0 never to come out)

I like Mon-chan, but something was bugging me about the dog when this image first came out. And I realized, oh! Because it means it's okay! Shigaraki gets Mon-chan back. The rest of it don't matter. Easy shortcut to make readers think 'happy end'/'what if!' and add some levity to the Villains' end—8 years later when they're either all dead for years, or not worth considering alive and changed and aged in this new, better society.

[mlobsters]

jared padalecki, jensen ackles, rob benedict, richard speight jr jib con 2025 panel (amberdreams)

slaphappy and punchdrunk (no wonder it ended up in a piggyback ride)

+bonus

[theghostofashton]

.

[selfinflictedgunshotwound]

the problem of coming from the high octane shipwar hell of ff7twt to being a ride or die for two white, straight people that i insist are in a metaphorically gayer relationship than a mixed-race married straight couple is that i'm so shipwarbrained that the only basis i consume media through is how much emotional torment can i go through by choosing the less-liked romantic pairing and talking about how stupid it is that they're less liked because the story clearly likes them more and it's just the dipshit fans who have a problem with it. also no one cares about what i'm saying so it makes me feel very stupid for saying it but i can't help that the only media i like is either about people whose lives suck so much they end up killing themselves or about two people loving each other through the worst experiences of their lives collectively. like what's even the point of life if i can't romanticize it.

[dayurno]

[muchmossymess]

If I could do one thing in life, it would be to be a streamer, real masc with the occasional bit of mild misogyny and homophobia, and maybe a slur or two, only to be called out, change my ways and slowly be educated on women and queer people, then slowly start embracing gender non conformity and over the next few years becoming more and more comfortable dressing femininly (all while amassing an evergrowing following), before dropping off the face of the planet for a few months, then once everyone has slowly started to think im not coming back I drop a tweet "Hey guys, I've been doing a bit of soul searching, and recently had a surgery, and I think I'm ready to tell my story now, streaming soon." I start the stream, baggy hoodie and androgynous haircut. Everyone is wondering what's going to happen. I recount my life, emphasising on the past few years and how I've grown and changed and come into my own, and now im ready to share, that I am trans. Cheers flood the chat, money exchanges hands presumably, love and support flow everywhere. Wait, I say, that's not the only surprise. I turn the camera off, rustling can be heard and when the camera turns back on there I am, shirtless, top surgery scars on display for all. Not only am I trans, I say, but I have been all along!

[the-trails-we-blaze]

I finally finished the latest patch, and WOWIE!!! (thoughts will go into tags)

[dravidious]

I rest my case.

-

Fuckin BULLSHIT the one on the right is way better you only need 1 stroke to draw it!

Speaking of some things being objectively better than others for very important reasons, I booted up my brother’s old copy of Hyrule Warriors yesterday and tried to get A-ranks in the adventure mode, only to gradually realize just how important the level-up system is, meaning that no matter how good you are, the only way to have a chance of getting A-ranks on the later stages is to grind until the enemies don’t take 5 whole minutes each to kill.

Then I ranted to myself in my room about how Ultrakill’s P-ranks are way better