#knowing myself i'm probably getting off topic again for which i apologize

[chodzacaparodia]

Blue lock ask what would change if sae joined blue lock with rin

Thank you very much for your question!! <3 I didn't expect to ever get one haha I hope to answer your question the best I can!

What would change if Sae joined blue lock with Rin? I guess A LOT would change. I could write an essay about this because this situation has such potential and offers numerous opportunities, but I'll focus on a few things

My first thought was that Rin's attitude would change a bit. I think if Sae joined Blue Lock with him, Rin would be even more determined. I mean soccer is a matter of life and death for him before, but with Sae in Blue Lock he would be even worse.

When Sae had nothing to do with Blue Lock, he was like a kind of a distant goal. If both Itoshi brothers were in Blue Lock, Rin would have a constant reminder of his purpose and a constant opportunity to prove himself. He would like to prove to his brother that he is better without a break. His obsession would be even worse, the rivalry would be even more intense that Rin would probably be so focused on surpassing Sae that he wouldn't even think that anyone else could be his rival. Of course, for some time.

I can totally see Isagi desperately expressing his desire for Rin to stop looking at his brother and see HIM as a rival :') And so it would have happened, but only when Sae first sees Isagi as a rival.

Also, I think that, first of all, the atmosphere in Blue Lock would be even more tense and the level even higher, because the more dangerous the rival, the more the rest of the players have to try.

It's certain that Blue Lock's ranking would change, with Sae at the top. He would definitely go head to head with Rin. Which of course would make it even more competitive.

And since the ranking has changed, there will be one less person after the Second Selection. Probably some random guy who just showed up and didn't say a word.

(Or Igarashi)

I'm sure Sae's presence would provide plenty of new Blue Lock shenanigans. Imagine, for example, the awkward silence among the Itoshi brothers in the cafeteria. Shidou constantly appearing when Rin wants to have a word with his brother. Sae leaves without a word as Rin and Shidou get into another fight. Shidou's interest in Sae will never change, so having the two Itoshi brothers in the same space with this Demon would be fun. How many funny situations would come out of this.

(It sure would be if Sae was with Rin in Blue Lock)

What else would change? Season one's openings and endings, of course! I believe they would do more content with the Itoshi brothers' rivalry.

(I'm not writing this because I'd like to see it, not at all)

Seriously, I could go on and on about what would change. Teams, results, maybe even tasks... Only one more person would join Blue Lock, but what a person he is - one who will definitely mess up a lot.

I hope my answer will satisfy you at least a little!

Have a nice day! <3

[jammatown919]

Hello, My Old Heart

Julia had a hard time forcing herself to accept the fact that she was likely never going to speak with Carmen again.

For two years, she'd been in the same boat as Zack and Ivy, knowing only that Carmen needed time away to recover and should not be contacted until she was ready. But then she'd seen her, standing on that rooftop, looking down at the people who'd spent so long waiting, and thought for sure that her friend would be paying her a visit in the near future.

A month went by. That was fine; Carmen probably had other people to catch up with. Surely Julia was somewhere on the list, so what did it matter if she had to wait a bit?

Another month. No sightings, no visit, no anything. It was starting to bother her, if she was being perfectly honest. Two months was plenty of time to at least check in, if Julia was anything close to a priority.

Another month. Nothing. Julia didn't know whether to worry about her friend or simply feel abandoned. Some days, she settled for both.

One more month, and finally there was something. Not from Carmen herself, but from Zack, who let it slip, seemingly by accident, that Carmen was not, in fact, still missing in action as Julia had thought. Instead, she'd moved back in with her old crew at some undisclosed location. Four goddamn months ago.

Not only had Carmen decided not to visit, but apparently she'd asked two of Julia's closest work friends to keep her a secret, if Ivy's immediate change of topic was anything to go by. That hurt more than anything; the fact that Carmen appeared to be hiding from her, like she wanted to cut ties as quietly as possible.

Well, fine then. They wouldn't talk. They wouldn't get closure, or rebuild their relationship, because Carmen wanted none of it. Fine.

Julia would mourn the friendship, probably be angry a good long while, and then she would get over it. She would, because as much as she might want Carmen Sandiego, she didn't need her. The wound would close, even if it took its sweet time in doing so.

Which, apparently, it would be doing, because Carmen decided to rip it right back open three days later.

She showed up early in the evening, standing outside Julia's apartment with what had to be the most awkward demeanor she'd ever displayed. Even her knock had been weird; like she was only half-sure she wanted to do it and had just barely convinced herself.

"Hey, Jules," she said lamely, with a nearly nonexistent smile. It pissed Julia off astronomically.

"Oh, get inside," she hissed and, for the purpose of not making a scene in the doorway, grabbed Carmen's forearm and dragged her inside.

Carmen, though startled, didn't protest or seem to mind anything other Julia's tone, at which she visibly winced. Good.

"'Hey, Jules'?" Julia snapped the second they were in private. "You disappear for two years, hide from me for four months and have my friends lie to me about it, and then you show up out of nowhere and you give me 'Hey, Jules'?"

Carmen seemed to shrink in that moment; shoulders hunched, leaning slightly backward, chin tilted low. It was enough to distract Julia from her anger and introduce a bit of concern to the mix. She had never seen Carmen so small and nervous before. Frankly, she didn't care for it one bit.

"Guess I deserved that," Carmen murmured. She took a breath, as if to steel herself, and said, "I owe you an apology. And an explanation, if you want it."

"Neither would be unwelcome." As much as Julia wanted to continue being upset, she found it nearly impossible to look at that face, one that she'd been dying to see for years and that was so full of anxiety, and hold a grudge of any kind. She didn't think she could let Carmen off the hook quite yet, but she would give her a chance to explain herself.

"I'm sorry," Carmen began. "I'm sorry for the way I hurt you when I wasn't myself-"

"You think I'm upset about that?" Julia demanded. "I know that wasn't your fault. Like you just said, you weren't yourself."

"Please, let me finish," Carmen went on. "I'm sorry for ghosting you once I came back to my senses. I'm not sure how much the others told you, but I kind of ghosted just about everyone for a while. After everything that happened, I couldn't stand to be around anyone or anything that reminded me. I went to Argentina, met my mom, stayed with her for a while. I really needed that time away."

"I knew you were taking time to recover," Julia said. "I was alright with that. What I don't understand is why you didn't tell me when you were ready to come back. Why Zack and Ivy didn't tell me they knew you were alright these past few months."

"I'm sorry for that too." Carmen paused briefly, seeming to struggle for the right words. "I should have said something to you, but... it was different with Zack and Ivy. We talked before I left. I knew there were no hard feelings about what I did to them. With you and Devineaux, the last time I saw you, I was trying to kill you. I didn't know how you felt about that or if you wanted to see me again. But I should have left that up to you instead of just disappearing."

"So... you stayed away not because you wanted to, but because you thought I would want you to?" It felt like a remarkably Carmen Sandiego thing to do. Always acting in the best interest of others. Usually, though, she was a bit more correct in her deductions. "Well, you're right about one thing. You should have left it up to me, because if you had, you would have known I didn't hold anything against you. I wanted to see you again."

"And... now?"

Julia let out a sigh. "Now, I can't say I'm not frustrated with you, but I appreciate at least knowing what you were thinking.  And I still want to see you."

"Really?" The anxiety in Carmen's voice stirred up something uncomfortable within Julia. She'd always admired Carmen's confidence more than anything, and to see her without it was like only getting part of her back. 

"Of course," she said. "If you don't mind me saying, I've always thought you were amazing. Captivating at first, and then just a truly wonderful person. I now consider you a friend, but if you're going to be my friend, I need you to be forthcoming with me. And I need you to trust that I care about you enough to not be angry with you for things that aren't your fault."

A certain warmth entered Carmen's expression; one that reminded Julia that her description was really only the half of it. Of course she'd been captivated by The Scarlet Superthief and impressed by the quality of Carmen Sandiego's character, but it was more than that. From the very beginning, she'd seen a beauty in Carmen, both inside and out, that had allowed the woman to occupy a space in Julia's heart and mind for so long. She more than admired her. She absolutely adored her. 

"Thank you, Jules." Carmen's tone became a lot less anxious and a lot more sincere. "I promise not to pull any more disappearing acts on you."

"And not to ask my friends to hide things from me again?" Julia prompted. 

"That too," Carmen replied, a little sheepishly. "From now on, you're in the loop. Here."

She reached into the pocket of her hoodie and produced a small slip of paper, which she held out to Julia. Taking and unfolding it, Julia found that a sequence of numbers had been neatly written on the inside. 

"Could this be the elusive Carmen Sandiego's own phone number?" she asked, a grin slightly visible on her face and extremely audible in her voice. 

"No more waiting on me to contact you," Carmen said. "You have the freedom to call me whenever. I'll answer."

Julia couldn't help but feel a little giddy, knowing Carmen must have prepared this slip of paper in advance. She'd come in hoping things would go well and they'd be able to reconnect. 

"I'll also be staying in Poitiers for a few days, if you want to catch up," Carmen added. 

"Oh?" Julia raised her brow slightly. "Plotting a caper nearby? I'm sure ACME could be of some help, if you're willing to share your intel."

"No capers," Carmen replied with a small shake of her head. "For once, I'm traveling for pleasure instead of business."

"I couldn't possibly flatter myself by thinking you're staying just for me."

Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but Julia could have sworn for a second that Carmen's face took on a slight reddish tinge. "After two years, I think I owe you that much." 

It was almost funny, how Carmen could get Julia's heartrate up so easily. "Do you have a place to stay? My apartment is a bit small, but I'm sure I could-"

"I couldn't intrude like that," Carmen interrupted gently. "I have a hotel."

Julia tried not to dwell on whether she was disappointed to hear that. "Well, then, perhaps we could meet for breakfast tomorrow. I know a lovely café nearby."

"That sounds great, Jules." Carmen gave her one of those small yet captivating smiles. The ones that Julia could always tell were genuine. "I'll let you get some sleep. Text me the details?"

"Of course," Julia replied. "And I expect you'll be on time tomorrow?"

"No more keeping you waiting. I promise," Carmen said as she turned toward the door, glancing over her shoulder to speak. 

"Then, Ms. Sandiego, I expect to see you at precisely 9 o'clock tomorrow morning."

Carmen chuckled slightly at Julia's mildly bossy tone, which very nearly made Julia laugh as well. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Jules."

------ If you enjoy my work, please consider reblogging to share it with others!

[mobblespsycho100]

👍psychoanalyze ur kabru playlist now boy

yes I shall #1 boykisser... 🫡

ask game thing

anyway formatting the last post was kinda hell for me. which is why I'll do the same exact formatting for this one...

(rambling all over the place is commencing)

1. Valley of The Dolls by MARINA

baby. where do i freaking begin.

"In the valley of the dolls, we sleep" -> his adoptive mother, Milsiril, is a big fan of collecting dolls. Like, plushies of everything. She animates them to fight, but they're also there to soothe her. She also adopts a lot of children from short-lived races who don't have a family and she got allegations that she treats them all like her dolls lmao... I mean she kind of does in the sense that they're all precious to her. She does respect their autonomy but uhhh still living with such a doting and overbearing/overprotective mother makes u wanna break outta the dollhouse the cage . be free . hashtag transgenderism also gosh im getting off topic . anyway i bet Kabru slept with a lotta those dolls. in his comfy bed . that he left behind because hes not abt that life mama he wanna see the world and save it and get killed in dungeons. boy.

"Got a hole inside of me / Living with identities / That do not belong to me" -> Grouping these lyrics together because it makes sense for my twisted narrative i mean my very real and based takes. Anyway, he's got a hole inside of him the void in his heart (in his mind) and thats why. his autism and ptsd masking swag. thats as eloquent as i can put it. theres a lot more i can say though

"In my life, I got this far" -> He survived the tragedy of Utaya his hometown . the bloodbath because of the dungeon. It has to be for a purpose ™ . It's because he has to save the world from suffering the same fate and it's his burden to bear it's his purpose it was why he survived (the survivor's guilt... goodness man. trauma processing of all time. :[ )

"Now I'm ready for the last hoorah" -> boy . letting these panels speak for itself. putting it under the cut because spoilers for the peeps seeing this maintagged and they're not caught up with manga .

yeah boy hes falling. fallen. uhm. in the pit. Ready for the last hoorah in this case like. yeah 🤣 just leaving it up to laios (Liar . kabru and mithrun dungeon adventure speedrun)

"Dying like a shooting star" -> guy keeps dying. not even like a shooting star really. well. ig hes going out in style somewhat id getting crushed by Falin's chimera dragon claw counts as shooting star style

2. Lip Sinking by The Hoosiers

We all know Sash does not play about The Hoosiers which is why I have 26 damn The Hoosiers songs on there I should get awarded tbh .

Now Lip Sinking is really good because it's another one of those scammer / masking guy anthems i keep talking about. These lyrics in Verse 5 in particular is really easy to match to Kabru's character moment™ though, so let's break it down.

"I float above my body" -> Common depersonalization experience. For trauma reasons, Kabru probably feels like this a lot sometimes but specifically in this scene...

(apologies for no alt text peeps . but this is the friendship confession scene for those in the know if it hasnt loaded in yet)

anyway, back to the show (psychoanalyzing Kabru) . I think this disconnect with his words VS his thoughts and his heart is so real. Like. seeing urself out of ur body is again a depersonalization thing, and idk if hes feeling depersonalization in this moment specifically but he was really out of it and in a sort of , scrambled and intensely anxious state. His usually calm and cool persona slash facade is Crumbling and man he hates that .

"Must be out of my mind / Cos I watch myself / Getting it wrong everytime" -> He's like. man what the hell am I saying

letting the page speak for itself again because It's like. its there i mean its in tha text what am I supposed to dissect hes dissecting himself already 🤭😭 okay. 'What am I saying' 'I can't find the words' so true man idk what the hell im saying either rn

"I can't tell you how I'm really feeling" -> because he doesn't know his own emotions. He thinks he does, he has been so good at controlling them and like being fake about what he's truly feeling in his heart, adjusting his personality for others' sake. So they trust him, believe in him, listen to him. But for Laios, how does he even say anything? Before this, the words just spilling out, he didn't even know how he felt about Laios. It sounds ridiculous even to himself and that's why he clamps his mouth afterwards but indeed it Is what he was truly feeling all along... (and then Laios thinks he's lying and hes like "NO BITCH!!!? what?!!!?! im being vulnerable and honest rn?!?" )

"Cuz I'm just lip-syncing" -> for so long that's what he's been doing. lip syncing, saying things he doesn't really mean to influence others' perception of him... but this time his mouth moved faster than his mind racing with thoughts. that he's able to convey what he truly wanted all along and finally admit to himself and his own consciousness. like. aaaahgh. man hes so special to meeee....

bonus: the outro's lyrics is rlly good aha. he can finally say what he actually feels... he can be #real.

3. Allies or Enemies by The Crane Wives

This one is . a lot of vibes I think.

"Are we allies or enemies? / This will be the death of me / This will be the death of me" -> He legit says this to Laios . like hes still wondering if they're allies or enemies . Technically he doesn't want them to be enemies. he's cautious but he knows Laios isn't really a bad guy but like, his mind just keeps fixating on Laios and the steps he takes to get the dungeon under control so. hes desperately trying to figure it out because goodness this guy is so. waugh

"All is fair in love and war, but I can't fight with you anymore / This will be the death of me" -> his mental conflict is sooo tasty to me. like . all is fair in love and war !!! any method is justifiable !!! means justifies the ends but also he understands that in the end he can't fully wrap his head around Laios' love of monsters but he knows that Laios will be the one to conquer the dungeon because he also loves his family. He can't fight with him anymore and he can't "kill" him anymore because somehow this man has wormed his way in. well, he never wanted him dead in the first place but I find that he often thinks about killing him to save humanity from his... well. freakishness (complimentary) (concerning sometimes) ;;; but in the end Kabru lets him go and is willing to trust and support Laios till the end ... also once again the repetitiveness of "this will be the death of me" because he's stressed as helll!!!!

"What happens now, do we have another go?" -> I think this is post-Marcille being talked down out of being dungeon lord . Kabru's probably like ok so now what. well. Laios goes its my turn with the dungeon lording 😭😭 (and shit goes down) (but its okay he got it covered)

"Do we bow out and take our seperate roads?" -> Now this is probably when they're (the whole gang) is like "WHERE'S LAIOS DID HE DIE?" no he lives guys its fine. and namari toshiro and kabru run at him in relief. wauh. and also ofc the whole people coming together to eat faligon meat and save Falin ... yippeee... so yeah they don't go seperate roads because Kabru is like yeah imma be Laios' pr manager . #royaladvisor . sticking with him fr fr

"I'll admit I had my doubts / But I want to be let in, not out / But I want to be let in, not out" -> again the repetition ... of him wanting to help. I've mostly been talking abt how this entire song is Kabru's conflicted thoughts @ Laios but this can also be Kabru lending a helping hand to Mithrun at the end of everything. Because he's the one to like help Mithrun realize that there is a purpose to living and like . new desires and ppl who care abt him... but also yeah Kabru "i want to be let in, not out" because he wants to help out Laios with running the new kingdom instead of being in the background again and being ignored ahhaa he wants to be friends for real (and maybe even . lovers. lets go gay people)

ANYWAYYY YEAH THATS THE END WOOOOO idk how to close this out. happy belated birthday kabru and ty juno for sending this in ajshjdhsb :33 ♡

[askbensolo]

When I came up to the apartment last night, I saw the light was on in the living room. That meant Fannie was on the other side of the door. I felt anxious—kind of sick to my stomach. I swallowed, held my key to the reader, waited for the beep, and let myself in.

I don't know how I expected to find her...but definitely not like this. She had headphones on, the big, clunky kind, and she was...dancing. Horrendously, I might add, but with joyful abandon: arms flailing, feet kicking. She had her back to me, and she must have had the music up pretty loud, because she didn't hear me come in.

I'd never seen her like that. A huge grin spread across my face, and anything else that I'd been feeling before melted away. I wondered how long it would take for her to notice me?

I spotted her datapad on the coffee table, which had her music on it (she was listening to Gaya, actually), so I tapped the screen to pause the song. She stopped mid-flail and poked her headphones, confused, then turned around to reach for the datapad—and practically had a heart attack when she saw me.

"Ben!" she cried, falling backwards onto the couch, her eyes huge. I was getting pretty used to seeing her eyes get all big like that by now. I dropped my bag on the ground and let my hands collapse onto my knees, laughing.

"Gee, I don't know why you're not a Twi'lek dancer," I teased.

"Ben, that is a disgusting joke to make," she snapped, flushed.

"Aw, come on, I spend all day being politically correct at work—"

She glared at me.

I put up my hands. "You're right. You're right. Sorry. Inappropriate."

She relaxed and smiled a little, seeming to accept the apology. "But you are right that I'm no good at dancing. Not like you."

It took me a moment to even understand what she was talking about. "What...that waltz I showed you? Oh, please. Decorative walking. I can't actually dance."

"Could've fooled me," she said, smiling sweetly, looking at me like I was someone special. The moment lingered, the chirping of nighttime insects filling the silence. My insides twisted.

I turned and cleared my throat, hanging up my keys and kicking off my shoes. "Hey, uh...listen, I wanted to apologize for something. I wasn't totally honest with you when I took off on Friday." I turned back to look at her and leaned against the wall. "I'm glad I ended up visiting my family—well, except for Rey being kind of a butt—though at least I had a decent conversation with my mom—okay, wait, I'm getting off-topic."

"Yes?" The unhinged dancer was gone, replaced by the girl sitting with polite attentiveness, ankles primly crossed, her hands clasped loosely in her lap.

"What I mean is..." I sighed. "I didn't already have plans to go home. I kind of...decided to go on the spot, to get out of talking with you on Friday. Yeah—I know—real mature. You're probably mad, and you should be, but—"

"Oh, I already knew," she said calmly. Her friendly smile had never left. "You're not exactly difficult to read."

My shoulders slumped and I stared at her, taken by surprise. "Well, uh. Okay then. Can you...forgive me?"

"Yes, I forgive you. But next time, you can just tell me you need a little bit of space." She smirked teasingly—if it could be called a smirk—then looked down and smoothed out her dress. "Actually...it was good for me too. I had a lovely, peaceful weekend, and a lot of time to think. Whenever you're ready, it would be really good for us to talk. But there's no rush, if you still need more time."

"Good," I said with an embarrassed laugh. "'Cause...yeah, I still need more time."

"Of course," she said gently. "Although...I'm thinking it may be best if we don't hang out as much, until we're able to have that conversation. We were already kind of doing that last week, but I just wanted to say it out loud.”

I felt a wave of relief. Then disappointment. Then anxiety. Then relief again. Then hunger. But that was just because it was 10pm and I hadn't eaten since 5.

"Yeah, uh...sure," I said, because it was something I could say. I made my way to the kitchen. "Yeah. Good idea."

"Oh, I made a snack for you," Fannie called. "It's on the counter. Though it might be a bit soggy by now—I didn't know when you were coming back."

I looked. There was a plate with a plum-tomato and sardine sandwich, and a glass of blue milk. Which was exactly what I had been about to make for myself. She must have seen me make my signature sandwich a dozen times, because it was just like how I made it—the plum-tomatoes sliced about a quarter-inch thick, the sandwich split diagonally from bottom-left to top-right. It was the same sandwich my mom had made for me as a kid, and that I'd made for myself on many midnights as a rapidly-growing teen (minus the sardines, which were a Ben Swolo's Pursuit of Protein addition).

I picked up one of the sandwich halves—and found a paper note underneath. “Welcome home!” it read in neat script, with a little smiley face that was only slightly dampened with watery-purple plum-tomato juice. My heart jumped a little.

I looked back at her (the back of her head, really) as she put her headphones back on and hummed quietly on the couch. And then at the sandwich. And then at the little note. And then back at her, her head bobbing side to side like a hologame character's idle animation, lekku swaying.

And then I felt things. Things that I don't have the words for.

Well...crap, I thought.

[scarfwrites]

Exams ft. Akaashi, Kuroo, Tsukishima

❅Genre : Fluff, Crack, Comfort

❅Pairings:  Akaashi x Reader

                      Kuroo x Reader

                      Tsukishima x Reader

❅Warnings: none

❅A/N : Haven't been posting a lot since real life has been very busy. I thought of this for comfort since exams can be pretty stressful

Akaashi

“Y/N-CHAN!!!!” You hear a familiar booming voice from across the hallway and as you turn to look you get tackled to the ground by no other than Bokuto

“Woah! Bo you seem pretty ecstatic as usual” you smiled as you got up

“Not for long!” He pouted

“Huh why?” You tilt your head in confusion

“Well there’s exams coming up and usually I’ll be able to do it myself but it’s math and Akaashi said i’ll get kicked out of volleyball if I fail” Bokuto replied as tears started welling up in his eyes

“Can you help me please? I don’t wanna get kicked out” Bokuto pleaded adorably

You giggled at his usual demeanor but this reminded you that you also had exams tomorrow which you were worried about since knowing the energetic owl you probably won’t have time to study. Though you couldn’t say no to his adorable face and ruin his chances at the nationals

“I could never say no to that face” you smiled sympathetically

“REALLY? THANK YOU” Bokuto pulled you into a very tight hug

“Bo I can’t breath” you said running out of breath

“OH SORRY!” He said putting you down as the bell rang

“Help me study later after practice! Thank you!” He said running towards his next class

As he left you wondered why he didn’t ask Akaashi for help like he usually does. Knowing him even with his sarcastic nature with the energetic boy he wouldn’t lose patience with him. You decided not to think much of it and head to quickly get the books from your locker for your next few classes and your study session with Bokuto.

As soon as you hear the bell ring you waltz outside of class and you see Bokuto already waiting for you outside of the door.

“Hey Hey Hey! You’re finally done, let's get to it!” Bokuto yelled enthusiastically 

“Someone’s really eager to study” you smiled softly

“I can't fail that math test!” Bokuto exclaimed

“Alright let's head off to the library then” you chuckled

“Yeah let's hurry up, the clock is ticking and we only have a day!” He yelled dashing the hallways pulling you with him

“AREN'T YOU GOING TOO FAST!” you yelled getting very disoriented though you knew he wouldn't hear you from how focused he was

“YEAH WE'RE HERE LET'S GET TO IT” Bokuto shouted with excitement only to get a harsh scolding from the librarian

“Don't you know that this is the library! There are others who are trying to study for the upcoming exams” the librarian harshly reprimanded making the owl very sad

“I'm really sorry I'm behalf of my friend we won't do it again I promise” you profusely apologized

“Please make sure of it the librarian sighed as she let you in

Sorry Y/N-chan” Bokuto said sadly

“It's ok Bo” you smiled sympathetically as you drag him down to sit

“Let's focus on helping you pass, alright?” You continued as he nodded going back to his bright self

You spent almost the whole day in the library trying to teach Bokuto as he was struggling with most of the topics. It was tiresome though teaching him also helped you study for your test. It took what felt like the whole day but you both were finally done

“THANK YOU SO MUCH Y/N-CHAN” he said joyfully as you quickly shush him 

“Oh sorry” he chuckled nervously

“Wait the librarians not here anymore” you said confusing both of you

“What time is it” Bokuto asked as you both look outside the window realizing it was night

“SHIT I STILL HAVE ANOTHER TEST TO STUDY” you slightly panicked 

“Sorry Y/n chan! I took all your time” Bokuto apologized profusely 

“Don't worry I'm fine with helping” you chuckled

you let me walk you home as a thank you Bokuto insisted

“Alright lead the way” you smiled

Bokuto walked you all the way back to your house though he did get distracted by a number of things like dogs. It was very adorable seeing the energetic fellow frolic and skip along the sidewalk. Once you arrived at your house you both said your goodbyes

“Bye Y/N-chan! Thanks for helping me again!” Bokuto smiled brightly Anytime you replied

“I'm sorry for taking your time” Bokuto bowed

“If you want I can help you” Bokuto suggested

“No need I’ll manage anyways” you smiled softly “Are you sure?” Bokuto said worriedly

“Yeah yeah you need to go home anyways it's late” you insisted

“Goodbye then!” He waved as he left

They're screwed he thought 

“But I think I know how to solve this problem” Bokuto murmured smugly

For the next few hours you were struggling greatly. The subject had a lot of topics for a single test. Considering how late it was at night you were sure you didn't have enough time even if you did stay up all night which made you panic internally. The subject was already hard enough and you've only finished a quarter of what you need to study. You didn't know what to do and you were starting to panic knowing that you will probably fail now or fall asleep during the test. Though as you were panicking you hear the doorbell ring so you quickly fix up yourself before rushing down the stairs and answering the door.

“HI SORRY I LOOK LIKE A MESS” you said very quickly that you didn't even notice who it was

“You look like you haven't slept in days” the person in front of you chuckled 

The voice seemed familiar and as you look up you see Akaashi

“Keiji? What are you doing here?” you asked confused

“Oh well Bokuto told me he took all your study time to help him study so he called me in to help you since he doesn't really know the subject well” Akaashi explained as you let him inside

“You really don't have to help me I'm fine on my own” you faked a smile which quickly faltered

“You clearly can't and considering the time we have left we better get started,” Akaashi said as grabbed his books and took you to your study area.

Surprisingly with the help of Akaashi the studying went so much smoother. You felt like he had a magic power for teaching as he made everything so much easier to study, remember and understand. You were surprised as you finished everything in two hours.

“Thank you so much Keiji I owe you a lot” you said smiling gratefully

“It's no big deal Y/N” he smiled back

“Let me treat you sometime” you said

“Y/N it really isn't a problem” Akaashi tried refusing your offer

“I would've died from the exams without you I insist” you said pouting at his refusal to your offer

“You're not gonna stop unless I say no right?” Akaashi sighed, earning a yep! From you

“I've been wondering why you didn't help Bokuto with his math?” you asked pondering

“Oh well I was busy doing something” he replied looking away flustered

“Busy doing what?” You tilted your head

“I got you this” Akaashi said handing out a gift to you

“Oh thank you but what’s the occasion?” you questioned

“Open the gift and you’ll see” Akaashi smiled nervously

You unwrapped the present and opened the box revealing a locket and upon opening the locket it was a picture of you and Akaashi when

“Huh? I love the gift but I still don’t get it” you looked at him with extreme confusion

“Did you really forget it’s our anniversary” he chuckled as you 

“Oh it must’ve slip past my mind sorry” you chuckled scratching your head

“Thank you Keiji I’m glad at least you remembered even if i forgot” you smiled softly

“It’s fine if you forget after all you’ve been very busy this week” Akaashi smiled gently holding your face

“We haven’t eaten yet how about I get you a treat” you asked as you hear his stomach rumbling

“I guess that answers your question” Akaashi chuckled and you do the same

“Thank you for helping me again” you said softly as you pulled him in for a hug

“Anytime Y/N Akaashi” smiled as he softly pecked your forehead

Kuroo

“Aww you beat me again” you pouted playfully

“You did great though” Kenma said softly smiling

You still beat me you chuckled

“I’ve played this a lot so it would be pretty embarrassing for me to lose” Kenma chuckled along with you

“Well that’s to be expected from someone who only plays games and volleyball” you said getting up as he chuckled

“Have you studied for the chemistry exam tomorrow” Kenma asked as he shut down the console

“OH SHIT!” You screamed 

“Sorry playing with me must’ve distracted you” Kenma apologized

“No it’s alright I should’ve managed my time anyways” you smiled nervously

“I’ll get heading home” you said as you quickly grabbed your stuff

“Wait Y/N isn’t chemistry your weakest subject” Kenma asked pulling you

“Yeah why?” You questioned

“Won’t you need help since you kinda suck at chemistry” Kenma said straightforwardly

“Oh right” you said scratching your head

“I have a friend who’s great at chemistry who can help you” Kenma said

“You mean Kuroo? Please he’s just gonna make chemistry jokes or flirt with me” you said with an annoyed look to your face

“Well you kinda don’t have a choice” Kenma replied

“I guess you’re right” you sighed loudly

“I’ll call him for you” Kenma said getting his phone

Before you left, Kenma called his friend. You’ve met Kuroo as he’s in some of your classes and being friends with Kenma means you’d meet him eventually. You’ve noticed how incredibly flirty he can be to you which annoys you but of course you don’t hate him. Now arriving at your house you contemplated whether this was a good decision or not though your thoughts were interrupted immediately after you hear the doorbell ring

“I can’t believe I’m doing this” you groan as you opened the door

“Hey Y/N long time no see” Kuroo winked 

“We’re in the same class dumbass you saw me earlier” you glared

“Yeah but you’ve never called me to your house or had a proper conversation with me without Kenma” Kuroo smirked as you scoffed

“Anyways princess what was it you needed me for?” Kuroo continued

“I’ve got a chem exam tomorrow and I suck at chemistry” you explained

“And?” Kuroo said slyly

“I need your help” you rolled your eyes as his smile grew

“Hmm alright but I’ll need something in return” Kuroo said slyly

“What do you want” you spat in annoyance

“How about a date if I tutor you” Kuroo said smugly

“Excuse me? A date with you?” You scoffed

“Yeah I’m serious and I want nothing else so it’s either that or you’re probably gonna fail that chemistry test” Kuroo snickered

You thought for a while. A date already felt like too much and it was with Kuroo no less but you really couldn’t afford failing that chemistry test. Before you answered you sighed

“Fine, just ONE date alright?” You glared getting close to his face

“Yeah yeah and if you enjoy it maybe we’ll get another one” Kuroo smirked smugly

“Don’t push your luck” you said angrily

“Alright let’s get started then” Kuroo said getting inside

This was gonna be a long day you thought as you got inside

Surprisingly it was going pretty well. Aside from the occasional chemistry jokes he made and the flirting you clicked pretty well with Kuroo. He was also a great teacher as you were actually learning the topics and were genuinely interested in them.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself” Kuroo smiled 

“Even you think it’s weird” you chuckled

“Yeah! You barely pay attention in chemistry since you suck so much” Kuroo smirked playfully

“I guess you’re better than our chemistry teacher” you shrugged

“Maybe you’re just feeling chemistry with me” Kuroo replied playfully as you smack him

“Alright Alright I’ll stop with the chemistry jokes” Kuroo said pushing your hand away

“You better” you glared

“But you didn’t deny you feel something” Kuroo said smugly as you instantly became flustered

“Shut up and let’s finish this you scold” as he chuckled

“Alright whatever you say princess” Kuroo said grabbing the book

“I said don’t call me that!” You growl

The next day you did your exam and didn’t struggle at all. You were very thankful since you were sure your parents would’ve killed you if you failed. You were definitely gonna thank Kuroo for it as you can eat lunch stress free.

“Heya princess how was the test” Kuroo said sitting next to you

“It went well though I guess it's cause of your tutoring” you smiled as you ate

“Don’t need to flatter me I was just doing my job princess” Kuroo smiled playfully

“And now you have to do your end of the deal” Kuroo smirked looking at you

“A deals a deal” you sighed

“Didn’t think you’d agree that quickly princess maybe you do like me” Kuroo smiled with contentment

“Don’t flatter yourself and I told you a hundred times not to call me that” you glared

“You didn’t mind when the couple of times I’ve been saying it just now” he retorted as you instantly flush red

“Whatever just give me your number so we can go out you scoff as” you continued eating

“Sure thing princess just don’t enjoy it too much or you’ll want another one” he replied as you roll your eyes

“I wouldn’t mind another one” you mumbled

“Did you say something” he asked

“I said nothing and go eat your lunch” you spat back

“I’m already done and I think I’d rather do this” Kuroo said as he pulled you for a tight hug

“Whatever shuts you up” you said gently blushing as you hugged him back

Tsukishima

“Y/N!!!” You hear the familiar tangerine head call out to you and you hear his familiar blue haired friend yell at him “DON’T YELL TOO LOUD YOU’LL BOTHER THE OTHER STUDENTS.”

“Oh Hinata and Kageyama, what are you both doing here?” You asked as they pant from running

“DID YOU STUDY FOR THE TEST TOMORROW?” Hinata asked as he was running out of breath

“What do you mean? The test’s next week” you said in confusion

“No? It’s tomorrow” Hinata raised an eyebrow

“Huh wait show me the schedule” you said as Kageyama hands you the schedule

“It says it right here” Kageyma points to where the schedule clearly states that the exam is tomorrow

“I THOUGHT IT WAS NEXT WEEK!” you panic alerting the boys

“Aww we came here thinking you could help us but now the three of us need help” Hinata said sadly

“You could still tutor us right?” Kageyama asked

“Well maybe if I was informed earlier but this subject is not my strong suit” you scratch your head

“What are we gonna do now? We’ve got no one to help us” Hinata pouted

“Did you ask everyone I’m sure there are a ton of other people who could help us” you suggested

“Then let’s go!” Hinata said pulling you and Kageyama and dashing through the hallways

You all go through a list of people to ask to help tutor the three of you. Tanaka and Noya were a definite a nope. So you all opted to ask the third years.

“Hey guys! We need help!” Hinata called out to the third years

“Is it about the exams” Daichi asked

“Yup” Hinata replied instantly

“You’re not the only year with Math exams” Suga chuckled

“Does that mean you can’t help us” Hinata pouted

“What else does it mean stupid Kageyama” glared

“I’m just asking!” Hinata said angrily “Settle down both of you let’s just ask someone else” you scolded

Most of the people you asked were busy or unable to tutor three people. Some were pretty busy. Some also struggled with math. You all tried asking Yachi but unfortunately she was busy with other things. You all sat in the library bummed out.

“Have we asked everyone already” Kageyama asked

“Looking at our list seems like it” you sighed

“We’re doomed” Hinata said putting his face into the table 

“Have you guys asked Tsukishima?” You asked tilting your head

“He’d never say yes to us” Kageyama said in annoyance

“Did you still try asking him?” You asked

“No but again he’s definitely gonna say no” Hinata replied

“I’ll try asking him” you stood up “We won’t stop you but don't say we didn't want you if he says something sassy” Hinata warned as you sighed

“Do it after school he’s probably busy doing whatever” Kageyama said as he sat you back down

After classes finished you went straight to Tsukishima’s locker to find him grabbing his books, most probably for the math test.

“Hey Tsukishima!” you call out to him as he looks at you

“What do you want” he said straightforwardly

“Well you know about the math test coming up?” You asked 

“No” he replied

“Huh?” You said in confusion

“No” he said again

“What no?” You asked dumbfounded

“You’re gonna ask me to help those two peabrains right? I’m not doing that” Tsukishima said as he closed his locker

“Well you’re correct but I also need help” you explained

“Don’t you do well in the exams” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow

“I though exams were next week only to find out that exams were tomorrow” you scratched the back of your head

“To be frank I don’t care and no is final” Tsukishima said about to leave before you pulled him towards you

“Please I really don’t want them or me to fail” you pleaded

“D-Don’t pull me that close to you” Tsukishima glared

“Oh sorry” you blushed as you let him go

“Fine I’ll do it Tsukishima” sighed in annoyance

“Thank you!” You hugged him as he glared at you

“Sorry anyways after school” you smiled

“Yeah whatever” Tsukishima rolled his eyes

As you said your goodbye you rush to the library seeing the two boys trying their best to study though they seem like they’re struggling a lot which you couldn’t help but giggle.

“Hey I’m back” you said sitting down

“How’d it go” Hinata asked excitedly

“Did he say no” Kageyama asked

“Nope! He said the opposite” you smiled

“He said yes? That’s a surprise” Kageyama said in surprise

“Yeah! Now we’re saved! Thank you Y/N!” Hinata said as he pulled you in for a tight hug

You invited everyone for a study group in your house. You made sure it was the perfect environment for studying, cleaning everything up and even making some food for everyone. You hear the door ring and you walk over.

“Hey Y/N! We’re here!” Hinata said excitedly

“Do you never keep your voice down” Kageyama glared as you giggle

“It’s alright we’re in my house anyways” you smiled

“We just need to wait for one more person” you continued

“No need I’m right here” Tsukishima said 

“Let’s get started!” Hinata said as he barged in

“HEY! This isn’t your house!” Kageyama yelled

“You better pay me for their shenanigans” Tsukishima said in annoyance

“Sure how about five yen” you smiled playfully as he glared

“Your home is so comfy and pretty Y/N” Hinata complimented

“Thanks but we should get started so we can finish early” you suggested as they all nod in agreement

Besides being the mediator, Tsukishima's sarcastic and snarky remarks to Hinata and Kageyama’s stupidity, it went smoothly. Though you couldn't help but laugh at some of Tsukishima’s sarcastic comments.

“We’re done with this topic unless you slowpokes want me to repeat it again” Tsukishima said

“No that was easy we can proceed” Hinata said confidently

“Alright but you need to solve this first” Tsukishima said as he wrote out a problem

“Huh what is this” Hinata said looking carefully at the problem

“It’s what you called easy a minute ago” Tsukishima smirked

“You should’nt have said that stupid” Kageyama scolded

It’s this right? You said as you wrote the answer

“At least one person isn’t as slow as the both of you on an “easy”topic” Tsukishima said smugly

“HEY! Just shut up and repeat it again” Hinata crossed his arms

The shenanigans went on as Tsukishima kept poking fun on the other two boys. You had loads of fun on what felt like your least favorite topic. The three boys made it so entertaining. Eventually you all got it and the other boys were leaving to go home

“Bye Y/N! Thanks for getting Tsukishima to help us!” Hinata waved and Kageyama did the same

“Bye, have a safe trip!” you waved back 

“Oh and thank you Tsukishima for helping us” you smiled at him

“Yeah you’re welcome I have to go now to” Tsukishima said quickly getting his bag and getting outside

“Y’know you may be a salty french fry but you’re a good teacher” you smiled playfully as he flustered up

“Don’t flatter me… but thanks” Tsukishima said looking away

“Wait! One more thing before you leave” you said 

“What is it?” he looked at you as you pulled him in for a small peck on his cheeks

“Consider it a thank you” you giggled as his red was redder than a tomato

“Thanks I guess” he replied secretly smiling as he left

Masterlist

[minerwarfare-suzuya]

I'm not done.

Miles ownership drama timeline, part 6

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

After that whole altercation with Miles went down. Things went quiet since he blocked me on two of his accounts on here. The Moboxcritique and Kevonica would go on the topics of Blurry and Faces of Nothing for the time being while I was recovering my account after it got reported for pretending to be someone else and I was in the works of making my FNAF Affinity remake on my new blog.

Until I received a message from Cagney about the current situation with Mobox87 making statements that she has an irl stalker because of the Moboxcritique blog's publicity gaining the attention from her stalker which she requested that the blog should be taken down. More on that topic some other time. . .

So, word has it that Mobox87 is supporting a groomer.

Now you're probably thinking to yourself.

Yeah we know that, the Moboxcritique blog spoke up about how she downplayed Mandopony's grooming behavior.

Well this time it's different. When I was told about this info from Cagney I took the time to get some details out of them.

Apparently, Miles has openly spoken to Kevonica about having a crush on a 16 year old which may I remind you that he is 21 years old. Then he goes off to say that where he lives has the age of consent as 16.

Here are the screenshots I was given from Kev when I asked her about it a week after Cagney told me.

Like I understand that the age of consent is different in many countries and I'm aware that the US has some states where being 16 years old is consensual for sexual activity but there is a boundary between this person he's interested in and him.

Like my brother in Christ you are literally an adult trying to get with a teenager that's in school.

So!

Going back to the situation where Miles called me a "pedo" for drawing an ahegao face on Vinsnake before he changed his age as a comeback against me.

I was thinking to myself with my friends.

Like why did he call me a pedo for? He never announced the character was 16 til I made that drawing of Vinsnake.

Yet he wants to support Mobox87 who's made actual child porn in her art. So call her a pedo!

But your ass is a fucken hypocrite since you admit wanting to engage with a 16 year old.

One more thing to mention is that he goes to say he's an "ace" and I'm thinking to myself.

Like what does that even matter? You're still trying get with a 16 year old! They have a different maturity level compared to you!

Then you go off still calling me a pedo over the drawing of Vinsnake still while excusing yourself for wanting to be with a 16 year old because you say you're a "little space".

Mother fucker you is a pedophile! Quit acting like you dating someone in highschool isn't pedophilia.

You literally made it clear that you're self aware that people in other states would consider it pedophilia but you contradict yourself to thinking that it's okay because you consider yourself as a child.

Make it make sense!

Again, Mobox87 knows about this and she defends him which is no surprise since Miles is Mobox87's top buyer that gives her enough money for her hustle.

I'm so done with Miles Bullshit! He's a man child and an entitled asshole!

I apologize for doing this but someone's gotta stand up to this jerk and not tolerate his toxic behavior.

Kevonica and Cagney didn't want me to share this publicly because they both don't wanna deal with Miles.

I don't expect forgiveness with over sharing this information but just know that-

I had to do it to em.

Aftermath

[stargazer-sims]

The whole Ultimate Relationship Tag for Felix and Davien please and thank you!

@dandylion240 hahaha... how did I know you'd ask for the whole list? But it's awesome, because I'm more than happy to do it. I may even take it upon myself to do the complete list for some of my other OC couples eventually.

Meanwhile, here's everything anyone ever wanted to know about Félix and Davian (and some things people probably didn't want to know lol).

I'm putting it under a cut, because as you might well imagine, it's enormous.

Davian St-Jean & Félix Blanchet

Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? Davian, although he doesn't do it as much as he used to. He's mindful of the fact that Félix shuts down when people yell at him. Who threatens to leave but never actually does? Neither of them ever threatens to leave the relationship. They typically don't threaten to just leave the house (or the general area) without actually intending to do it, either. Who actually keeps their word and leaves? Again, neither leaves the relationship. Davian is usually the one to leave the house after an argument, though. He always comes back after he blows off some steam, and Félix gets a chance to calm down in the meantime. Who trashes the house? Neither of them Do either of them get physical? No. Félix is emphatically non-violent, and although Davian takes a less strict view on physical confrontation, he'd rather lose a hand than use it on Félix in anger. Félix is a survivor of domestic partner violence from a previous relationship, but even if he wasn't or if Davian wasn't aware of it, Davian would still be mindful and would never even think of hurting him. How often do they argue/disagree? They disagree a lot, but they don't argue nearly as much as they used to. They've learned more constructive ways to settle their differences, or to "agree to disagree". Who is the first to apologize? These days, they're pretty good at taking responsibility for their own mistakes, so the one who's first to apologize is typically the one who realizes he was in the wrong. At the beginning of their relationship, however, Félix spent a lot of time apologizing for things that weren't his fault, and Davian struggled to apologize for anything whether it was his fault or not.

Sex: (Dav & Félix's favourite topic!)

Who is on top? Davian most often, but they like to switch sometimes. Who is on the bottom? Félix most often (he's kind of a power bottom tbh) but he enjoys taking his turn giving instead of receiving sometimes Who has the strangest desires? Oh definitely Félix, but that's not to say Davian is a plain vanilla kind of guy. He's got an imagination too, and he'll try anything once. Any kinks? Yes. They like lingerie (a.k.a. Félix likes wearing lingerie and Davian likes seeing him in it), roleplay & costumes, and food play Who’s dominant in bed? Félix Is head ever in the equation? Yes If so, who is better at performing it? Félix is exceptional at it according to Davian. He isn't particularly vocal, but when Félix is working his magic on him, he is. Ever had sex in public? Yes, on more than one occasion, and if having sex on the roof of their building also counts as public, then they've lost count of how many times. Who moans the most? Félix. He's very vocal, and he also knows it's a huge turn-on for Davian so that just encourages him to be louder. Who leaves the most marks? They're about equal here. It's rare for either of them to leave lasting marks on each other, and if they do it's almost always by accident Who screams the loudest? Félix. his screaming is legendary (ask the neighbours) Who is the more experienced of the two? They're both experienced, but Félix has a slight edge in the number of partners he's had. Dav has been his only partner since they met, though. Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? They "play" but if they had to pick between those two choices, they'd choose "make love". Félix would find "fucking" far too crass a term (which might be ironic, considering his tastes), and Dav would be like, "You fuck a one-night stand. You make love to the person you can't imagine living your life without." Rough or soft? It varies. Neither of them likes it really rough, but they're both energetic and it'd be a stretch to call their typical playtime soft or gentle. They are capable of slowing it down and being gentle, though. Sometimes they prefer that, but it depends on their moods. How long do they usually last? Let's just say they both have good stamina. Is protection used? Not usually. They used to use it in the beginning, but they haven't since they became exclusive partners. Does it ever get boring? With these two and their wild imaginations? It'll probably never get boring for them. Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? Does the rainforest count? These two have done sexual acts in some pretty unusual places, such as in the back of a limo, in a janitor's closet at the university, in a rowboat, on the hood of Félix's car, and in an elevator (Félix didn't know the elevator in his building didn't work, and they got bored while they were trapped in there waiting for help).

Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? Yes If so, how many children do your muses want/have? They have one child. Her name is Belle. Who is the favorite parent? Belle would say she doesn't have a favourite. She loves both her parents and has things in common with each of them. They both like to think they're the favourite, but neither of them truly is. Who is the authoritative parent? Neither, honestly. Félix and Davian don't really have rules for Belle, and neither one of them would consider themselves to be an authoritarian. Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? Belle doesn't go to school. She's what her parents like to call a free-range child. Davian teaches her math, science and computer/media studies, and Félix teaches her literature, writing, history and civics. That's in addition to everything else she learns incidentally by being with her parents while they do their work. The family travels so often for both Davian's and Félix's jobs that they decided it wasn't practical for her to be in traditional school. She's evaluated by their local school district each year to make sure she's meeting all her academic milestones (she exceeds them), but otherwise she is "un-schooled" as Félix likes to call it. Félix's parents didn't put him and his sister and brother in school either, and he thinks he had an excellent education. As for days off from lessons, both Davian and Félix are flexible when it comes to letting Belle have breaks. They think learning should be holistic, natural and fun, not regimented and forced. Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? Neither. Belle eats what she wants, just like her parents do. They're of the opinion that if they don't restrict treats and junk food or limit them to certain times of day, their child won't go crazy and want to binge when one parent or the other isn't looking. If Belle wants a cookie with her scrambled eggs at breakfast, they let her have one. The strategy works, and Belle has learned to eat a reasonably balanced diet on her own just by following her parents' example. They don't worry too much about her eating habits. Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children? They both do. They take turns bringing Belle to her dance and art lessons, but they'll both show up for dance performances and art exhibits. The only time they wouldn't is if one of them was away for work. Who goes to parent teacher interviews? Neither of them, as Belle doesn't go to school. They both go to her annual academic evaluation with the school district, though. Who changes the diapers? Félix changed more diapers than Davian did when Belle was a baby Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? Davian did more nighttime feedings, to make up for not changing as many diapers. Who spends the most time with the children? Probably Félix, but they both spend a lot of time with her Who packs their lunch boxes? Davian packs Belle's (and Félix's) lunches. No one wants Félix to pack a lunch box. It'd just be a granola bar, a bag of vegetables and a juice box, or something equally random. Who gives their children ‘the talk’? In this family, "the talk" isn't so much a formal sit-down event as it is holistically gained knowledge. Davian and Félix are both very open about sex and biology, and Belle has no problem talking to them whenever she has a question. They've also encouraged her to talk to her grandma Charmian (Davian's mother, who is a nurse) about specifically female things. Who cleans up after the kids? Félix does. He's obsessed with housecleaning. Who worries the most? They're both highly-skilled worriers when it comes to Belle, but Félix probably has a slight edge in the worry department Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? Davian, because Félix rarely swears.

Affection:

Who likes to cuddle? They both like to cuddle Who is the little spoon? Félix Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? Félix Who struggles to keep their hands to themselves?  Both of them How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? Quite a long time. They're capable of watching an entire film while cuddling on the sofa or on their floor pillows Who gives the most kisses? Davian What is their favourite non-sexual activity? Their favourite non-sexual activity to do together is dancing Where is their favourite place to cuddle? On the sofa or on their floor pillows Who is more likely to playfully grope the other?  They're equally likely to do this. They have a problem keeping their hands off each other. How often do they get time to themselves? Fairly often, as they've built it into the routine of their lives. The best advice Félix received from his parents was to put his marriage above every other relationship. Félix's father told him that protecting the marriage relationship is like putting on your oxygen mask on the plane before helping other people put on theirs; "take care of yourselves and each other, and then taking care of everyone else will be much easier for you." So far, this has worked amazingly well for them.

Sleeping:

Who snores? Neither of them snores regularly, but sometimes Davian does when his allergies are acting up. If both do, who snores the loudest? Only Davian snores, so he's the loudest by default. Do they share a bed or sleep separately? When they're together, they always share a bed. The only time they don't is when they're travelling separately and physically can't share. If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? This can vary, depending on the temperature and on their moods. They usually like to curl up together, but if it's really hot and humid, they tend not to. Who talks in their sleep? Félix does. Davian can have entire nonsensical conversations with him while he's asleep. What do they wear to bed? Félix likes to sleep naked. Davian sometimes sleeps naked too, particularly in summer, but mostly he'll wear just a comfy pair of boxers. Are either of your muses insomniacs? No Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside? No Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? These two are definitely the limb-wrapping type, but once they fall asleep they'll drift apart as they each prefer different sleeping positions Who wakes up with bed hair? Félix. Davian usually wears his sleep bonnet to protect his hair. Who wakes up first? Félix Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other? Davian What is their favourite sleeping position? Félix prefers to sleep on his stomach, and Davian likes to sleep on his back. Who hogs the sheets? Davian Do they set an alarm each night? Yes, but Félix usually wakes up ahead of it Can a television be found in their bedroom? No Who has nightmares? Félix occasionally does. Who has ridiculous dreams? Félix Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? Davian Who makes the bed? Félix What time is bed time?  Bedtime is whenever they're tired. They don't really have a set bedtime, and they don't always go to bed together at the same time. Any routines/rituals before bed? Not really. They'll just do normal hygiene things like brushing their teeth and washing their faces. Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? Davian

Work:

Who is the busiest? Davian, mostly because he's his own boss and has employees to manage and a lot of individual contracts to juggle. Who rakes in the highest income? Davian does. Félix's income certainly isn't shabby, but Davian earns far more. Are any of your muses unemployed? No Who takes the most sick days? Overall, Félix has taken the most in his career because he was the one who carried their science baby. They're both really healthy in general though, and neither of them takes sick days very often. Who is more likely to turn up late to work? Neither. They're both very punctual. Who sucks up to their boss? Neither. Davian is his own boss, and Félix has an excellent professional relationship with the head of his department so he doesn't feel the need to suck up. What are their jobs? Davian is a media producer and has his own production company. Félix is a university professor (archaeology) and a working archaeologist. Who stresses the most? Davian, because the nature of his work is less stable than Félix's. Do your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? They both absolutely love their jobs Are your muses financially stable? Yes

Home:

Who does the washing? Félix Who takes out the trash? They take turns, and now that Belle is old enough, sometimes she does it as well. Who does the ironing? Félix Who does the cooking? Davian Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying? Neither of them. Félix isn't a great cook, but he knows how to use all the appliances safely. Who is messier?  Davian Who leaves the toilet roll empty? Neither of them usually, but if anyone does, it's likely to be Davian Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? Davian Who forgets to flush the toilet? Neither Who is the prankster around the house? Both! Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? Neither Who mows the lawn? This used to be exclusively Félix's job, but now they take turns. Who answers the telephone? They each have their own phone Who does the vacuuming? Félix Who does the groceries? Davian Who takes the longest to shower? They typically shower together, but when they shower seperately, Davian takes longer Who spends the most time in the bathroom? Davian

Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem? No. They both have good incomes How many cars do they own? Two Do they own their home or do they rent? They currently own the building they live in. It's a flower shop with a flat above it and another small bachelor flat in the basement. When Félix first moved in, he was renting the upstairs flat from the shop owner, Mrs. Picard, but when she retired and was thinking about selling her business and the building itself, she asked Félix and Davian if they'd like to purchase it. By that point, they were in a financial position to do that, so now they own the building. They still live upstairs, and they rent the retail space to the flower shop's new owner. They also have a tenant in the little flat downstairs. Do they live near the coast or deep in the countryside? Neither, really. They live in Willow Creek, and my headcanon for Willow Creek is that it's a large town/small city built along a river (the "creek" in Willow Creek) Do they live in the city or in the country?  They live in a small city Do they enjoy their surroundings? Yes What’s their song? Can You Feel The Love Tonight? - Matteo Bocelli What do they do when they’re away from each other? They absolutely hate being away from each other, but it's often necessary because of their jobs. When they're apart, they call and text each other every day, and they sometimes like to send naughty emails (with photos). Where did they first meet? They first met at Félix's front door How did they first meet? They met when Davian delivered a pizza to Félix's flat. Back then, Davian's major source of income was as a "pizza courier" as he liked to call it. Félix was in a very bad place psychologically when Davian came into his life. He was still trying to process all his emotions following the suicide of his abusive ex-partner the previous summer, and he was extra stressed because he was about a month away from presenting his doctoral dissertation. When he came to the door to get his pizza, he looked like he'd been crying, and after one look at him, Davian kind of forgot he was only supposed to be there to drop off food. They talked for a few minutes, and then Davian asked Félix if he'd like to come and drive around with him while he made deliveries for the rest of his shift. On impulse, Félix agreed. When Davian's shift was over, they went back to Félix's place and had cold pizza and beer. One thing led to another, and they ended up making love on the roof (even though it was March and not exactly warm out). Later, they watched infomercials into the wee hours until Félix fell asleep in Davian's arms, curled up with him on the sofa. It was the most restful sleep Félix had experienced in months, and he was shocked at how much better he felt in the morning. He and Davian continued to see each other after that, both convinced it was fate for them to be together. Who spends the most money when out shopping? Félix Who’s more likely to flash their assets? Félix Who finds it amusing when the other trips over? Neither. They both hate it when the other one is even slightly hurt, and will fuss over each other to a degree that can give others major secondhand embarrassment. Any mental issues? No Who’s terrified of bugs? Davian Who kills the spiders around the house? They don't kill them. Félix tries to catch them and take them outside. Their favourite place? The beach Who pays the bills? Félix Do they have any fears for their future? Their common fear is that something will happen to one of them while they're travelling and that the other will be left alone. Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? Davian Who uses up all of the hot water?  Probably Davian Who’s the tallest? Davian. He's 180cm and Félix is 172cm Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? Neither of them, because they almost always shower together anyway. If they're showering individually, it means they're not physically together in the same place.

Who wanders around in their underwear? Both of them. Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? Félix What do they tease each other about? Whenever Davian makes pizza or they decide to order pizza, Félix likes to tease him about "going back to his roots". Davian teases Félix about his impressive number of hats and pairs of shoes. Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? Neither of them, really. They both think fashion is subjective and tend to wear what they want without worrying about being judged by the other one. Do they have mutual friends? Yes. They're friends with Artie and Emma Greene, Sunny and Tae Lee, Zahir Omar and his new spouse Zainah Hassan and his ex-spouse Dylan Middleton. They all met in their first-time parents peer support group (with the exception of Zainah). They're also both friends with Victor & Yuri Okamoto-Nelson. Victor and Davian grew up together and they reconnected after Victor came home from Japan with Yuri. Félix really likes Victor, but he's not as close with Yuri, mostly because Félix isn't very good at understanding introverts. Who crushed first?  Neither, really. These two more or less fell head-first into a relationship without the "crush" phase. Any alcohol or substance related problems? No. Félix was drinking more than usual around the time he and Davian met, but it was never a substance abuse problem. Who is more likely to stumble home drunk at 3am? Both of them. If they're drunk and it's 3:00 a.m., it's highly likely they're together. Who swears the most? Neither of them swears a lot, but Davian swears more than Félix does.

_____

OKAY! This thing was a MARATHON! But I really loved doing it, and I'm looking forward to tackling the next one (Nikolai & Mishka). I love that answering everything was so easy, mostly because I sometimes forget how well I know my favourite OCs. I kind of want to do more of these, honestly.

[lythea-creation]

Brighten My World - Tasneem x fem reader (Chapter 5)

Chapter 1

Previous Chapter

warnings: none, i think

word count: 937

----------------------

“Are you coming to Omar's birthday party tomorrow night? I'd really love you to be there”, Tasneem proposed.

Once again we were cuddling on her bed after school.

“Sorry, but I can't. I already have plans”, I enlightened her.

“What plans?”, Tasneem wondered, looking down at me.

I had not wanted to tell her at all, maybe after it was all over. After all she had been looking forward to Omar's birthday party for quite some time now as they were pretty good friends. Honestly it surprised me that she had waited so long to ask me to come along. Although she had probably just assumed that I would agree to tag along anyway.

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's okay”, she reassured me. “It's not like you're obliged to tell me where you are just because I'm your girlfriend.”

“That's not it. I just … I'm going to a memorial for Layan. And I didn't want to tell you because I was scared that you'd feel weird about it or wouldn't be able to enjoy the party”, I admitted.

“Do you want me to come?”, she offered.

“You don't have to.”

She interrupted me: “I know. That's why I asked if you wanted me to come.”

“I don't want you to miss out and feel out of place”, I noted.

“Still not what I asked”, she reminded me.

“Okay”, I snapped. “I want you to come! Happy now?”

She gently stroke through my hair, calming me down again. “I'll come”, she promised.

I wanted to resist again. It felt like I did not deserve her kindness, her support. But at the same time I desperately tried to resonate with myself. After all it was probably my grief that was talking, the urge to isolate myself. The guilt of not being able to save Layan that was gnawing at me. The guilt that was trapping me, telling me that I deserved to suffer.

But it was all in the past. It still hurt of course and rationally thinking it should. Layan had been incredibly precious to me after all.

Yet Tasneem was with me now and I did not want to miss out on my life with her over the one I had lost with Layan. There simply was no going back in time. And considering it was making me feel torn.

Because even if I could change the past, it would mean to lose Tasneem. So the what if scenario was not soothing in the slightest.

“I'm sorry for yelling at you”, I apologized.

“It's nothing really. Hiba's way worse, you know”, she claimed.

“I still don't like it. I don't wanna hurt you”, I noted.

“Like I did when you visited me for the first time?”, she wondered.

“Is it still bothering you?”, I inquired.

I took her hand that was caressing me and turned around a bit to be able to look up at her properly.

“Kinda”, she admitted. “You didn't deserve that.”

“But you needed to vent”, I pointed out. “You were just not used to talking about your feelings. That's why you talked me down. Of course, it wasn't the right way to handle it, but you did all you could. Apologize and not repeat it. There's no need to beat yourself up over it.”

She softly smiled down at me and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

“But about Hiba”, I changed the topic, sadly making her smile falter. “I really think you should talk to her.”

“Did you forget how she treated you? She literally threatened you”, she recalled.

I had told her about the bathroom incident. Not to screw Hiba, but to get it off my chest.

“Just view it from her perspective. You two have been best friends and all of a sudden you started hanging out with Sarah, placing her over everything and everyone else, including her. I bet she feels like you replaced her and that's why she's acting out so much. She misses and needs you. Now you're spending pretty much all your time with me, which I'm not complaining about by the way. But I think it's understandable for her to be jealous and feel left out”, I considered.

There was a small moment of silence as she was taking my words in.

“Shit”, she cursed quietly. “Why do you always have to be right?”

“Naturally gifted”, I joked, earning a laugh from her. “You could ask her to spend the weekend with you.”

“But we already have plans”, she reminded me.

“Which won't disappear until the next weekend”, I remarked. “I don't want to force you to do anything, but that way you can find out how to handle the situation. You know what your therapist advised you.”

“Be blunt with the people I care about instead of holding up a facade. Yeah, I know”, she declared.

“So what do you think?”, I questioned.

“Okay, I'll try. I do miss her”, she confessed. “Although I really don't wanna leave you alone after tomorrow.”

“Maybe I can hang out with Rania”, I suggested. “I haven't seen her in a long time.”

“Who's Rania?”, Tasneem wondered.

“Layan's best friend. We also came along well, but we kinda lost each other after Layan's death. Were too busy grieving, I guess”, I enlightened her.

“I'll text Hiba then”, she proposed.

I only hoped that it would all work out.

--------------------------

Next Chapter

So what do you think?

Tag List: @sunwoniie

[farshootergotme]

I know it wasn’t your intention but be careful with claiming Bruce having a personality disorder or having narcissistic personality disorder because people with trauma can get easily mixed up with disorders like that. Also, if you’re going to purpose the idea of Bruce potentially having it do handle it with care. It’s already a disorder that is heavily demonised by media and has many misconceptions about it.

Hell, as an autistic person, we also get mixed up with disorders like that, due how it is a spectrum and some of us come off as quite cold and unfeeling at times. Like I have a lot of empathy for people but I struggle to show emotion with my face. Now, I am no expert so feel free to correct me on things, if I have gotten something wrong or have misunderstood something.

Honestly, I feel Bruce is at the mercy of the writers but also time period as well really and how media tends to not write mental health very well in general like Bruce most likely has childhood trauma and ptsd due to his parents dying in front of him and seeing their corpses. It’s the same with some of Batman villains as well, they’re meant to reflection of mental health at least in modern interpretations it depends but it’s rare to see there mental health problems handled with care or how Gotham made them this way.

Now, I am not saying all of Batman villains need to be reformed but Arkham itself is about trying to rehabilitate them. Because at Batman core he believes in compassion and genuinely wants to help people. Does he always do it well no but god damn he tries.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying Bruce is a saint and cannot do bad things or make mistakes like seriously this man puts me through the wringer on if I want to strangle him or not. God, being both a fan of Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne as character is me fighting a never ending battle with myself in my brain. Oh god and then you have all the eras of the characters as well ahh. So many soft reboots and retcons, gosh don’t you just love superhero comics.

Golden age, sliver age did a soft reboot,Bronze Age pre crisis did some soft reboot while also doing full reboots to other characters, post crisis probably a soft reboot again, new 52 a full blown reboot, rebirth a soft reboot while also back tracking and now 2020 anti reboot which basically killed rebirth and 52 and brought most of 85 continuity I don’t know. That’s comic logic baby.

Sorry, If I am accidentally coming off as rude, but I get a little concern when people talk about mental health and mental health disorder in general due to how much misinformation there is about it. With comics it really also depends on the writer and they view Batman in general. To me, I feel Bruce core much like Richard is empathy and compassion but he struggles to show it, he is more actions speaks louder then words guy. Seriously, his terrible communication skills drives me insane sometimes. Free feel to disagree with me, after all this just my opinion at the end of the day. Still love your posts though mate even if I don’t always agree with everything , it is still nice to see your perspective and takes on things with both characters. ☺️

Hey, no need to apologize! Is good to call people out on this type of thing with all the spread misinformation and demonization there is about disorders and mental health.

It wasn't my intention to use the term so carelessly or imply Bruce must be mentally ill or an evil person, but I'm sorry if I made it sound like that.

I assume you're talking about the part in my post about golden child/scapegoat Dick Grayson in which I mentioned I had a thoughts about Bruce possibly having BPD? I promise you I didn't do it with bad intent.

BPD is not inherently a disorder that makes someone evil or a worse person than others. People with this disorder struggle with maintaining stable relationships and many self-destructive habits. It's not a topic I take lightly, but it is still true that I consider possible that Bruce deals with many of the symptoms included in this disorder.

If I ever make a post about it I will make sure to mention not to use it to self-diagnose or demonize it when the character with said possible diagnose has acted in negative ways towards others.

And I'll say that I've read multiple articles about the disorder and searched talks about personal experiences of people diagnosed with the disorder before all this, so even though I'm not an expert I'm not just throwing the term around.

Again, sorry for mentioning it so casually.

Thank you for telling!

[itsoneofthemuses]

tagged by the one and only, the inimitable @rememberthismomentx

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

62

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

225 819

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Generally only one at a time, but I've technically published fic in five fandoms: The Rookie, Community, Supernatural, Archer, and Thor.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

if you smile at me again i may do something stupid (The Rookie)

don't wanna stop just because people walking by are watching us (The Rookie)

let me go under your skin, let me find the demons that drive those heavenly limbs (The Rookie)

you be screamin' now they banging on our door (The Rookie)

i've got time, i've got love (The Rookie)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do! As much as I can! You could probably rope me into a whole ass conversation because I don't know how to end the call and response.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

The as of yet publicly unpublished "random angst prompt" which will breach containment eventually, after I clean it up.

As for published fics, angst is not my forte, so I don't do it often, and it's rarely actually that angsty... But maybe a tie between we drank a toast to innocence (The Rookie) or between the drinks and subtle things, the holes in my apologies (The Rookie)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Uh... Hmm. 95% of my fics have happy endings so it's hard for me to judge. Maybe my recent one, she's just a girl and she's on fire (The Rookie)?

I also took a few steps past sappy in you're one of the few things that i'm sure of (The Rookie) and Life Lessons in Absurdist Storytelling (Community)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

All my good luck must get used up here, because I really don't.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do write smut! And I guess it's mostly the cishet kind because those have mostly been my ships (special place in my heart for Troy/Abed).

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I've dabbled, on occasion, but it's not really my go-to. I have an unfinished Supernatural/Community crossover and that's about it.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Don't think so!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 

Not that I'm aware of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've riffed back and forth in comments and on discord or email, but no, never a properly co-authored fic.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh gosh, well, I'm still here with chenford but Jeff/Annie will always have my heart even if I'm not involved in the fandom anymore.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The only WIP is the aforementioned Supernatural/Community crossover and, like, sorry... It's probably never happening. I do have a jucy lay-turned-chenford fic that has been under construction since 2021-ish.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I'm funnyish and can get some decent banter going. Not totally sure what my writing strengths are... Entertaining myself, most probably.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Ha, well, this I could write an essay on. Occasionally my worst impulses run away with me and I try to be really poetic and it just comes off cloying, I think? Or incoherent, maybe.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I can passably write some French and I might occasionally, if the situation calls for it, use google translate (Community was initially centred around a study group for Spanish, for instance) but I typically stick to English as it's the language I know best and the one, usually, that my characters know best too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ha, I don't know if I want to admit this... But X-Men (the comics, not the movie, my fics predated the movies 😅)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Ooh, I'm terrible at picking favourites, but I enjoyed both of my vampire slayer AUs: 'cause i know you and you know me (The Rookie) and Special Topics in Demonology (A): Vampire Basics (Community).

And, fine, fine, not popular in a shipping community obviously, but as the founding member of the Let Lucy Get Laid Brigade, I wrote a few fics featuring Lucy with other partners for #30daysoflovingforlucy and cast various Canadians, and it was just fun. All five fics are part of my series but baby it's okay if i am still the best you had

Obviously, anyone who would like to participate should (would love to see gif makers like @detectivechen or @relentlessescapism answer these kinds of questions...), but for the purposes of spreading the joy far and wide (no pressure), @dollsome-does-tumblr, @write-or-wrong88, @doomedship, @jakelovesamy, @universallongings, @farfarawaygirl

[reggie-writes]

Wrench’s Birthday- Wrencus Oneshots

If you like it there’s more on Wattpad.

*Drug and suicide topic Warning*

It's been a few days and Wrench hasn't been looking too good. He surprisingly showed up yesterday after not coming in for 4 days and he was miserable. That's not all, he barely even talked to us. I've asked him multiple times if everything was ok, and he just replied with "I'm fine" with that fake tone that he gives to stangers.

I'm hoping he comes in today because it's his birthday and I got him something. Usually, it's just me and Wrench that exchange gifts on each other's birthdays.

This year I got him a particular gun, which I can't get out of our 3-D printed machine. Not saying our 3-D printed ones aren't good, it's just that Wrench has been talking about this "Daredevil" shotgun. It's an expensive gun and highly rare because there are only about 50 of them worldwide. And guess who got their hands on it? I grin to myself knowing how ecstatic Wrench is going to be. He's been talking about this ever since I met him, the way he glows when he explained what he's wanted for years.

The day was slow at the hackerspace, just watched the clock go from 8 to 9, to 10, to 11 and it felt like it could never end. I couldn't get up and leave because we all working on something important. Finally, it reached 6:30 I immediately got up and left. I forgot to say goodbye to the rest of them. Since Wrench didn't come in, I decided to stop by his house. It wasn't that far of a walk, it was only fifteen minutes away.

The rain pattered on the blacktop beside me. It was calm, especially when a car doesn't pass by. The birds were chirping and the frogs were croaking. The fog began to roam in. When I turned the corner, I saw Wrench outside taking a drag of his cigarette, also talking to some lady dressed in white fishnets and knee-high boots. They exchanged goodbyes and she disappeared around the other corner. I continued walking staring at the ground. I couldn't help but think he got a hooker for his birthday, I didn't understand why I felt a certain way like I was upset. He thinks he could call up a hooker but can't even chill with his friends?

I was pissed off about that and was going to tell him off but as I walk closer to him, his eyes were shallow and you can tell he was sleep deprived. He was in a trance like he was thinking hard about something. I was concerned about him now.

"Hey Wrench," I say clearing my throat.

He looks up at me with sorrowful eyes. "Hey man." He takes one last hit of his cigarette, throws it on the ground, and crushes it.

There was a moment of awkward silence before I spoke again.

"Well, I stopped by to give you something."

He raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. His eyes glance over to the suitcase, being held by my sweaty hands.

"Okay." He mumbled and opened the door and turned on his living room light. Then the smell takes me back to when I was younger. The stench of cigarettes. How many packs did he smoke a day? I didn't wanna ask because I didn't want to be rude. There have to be like 30 empty cartons laying around. The last time I was here, this place only smelt a tad bit like pot and was a tad bit messy. Now it's worse, probably because he's not okay.

We sat down and Wrench snapped back to reality. He took in his apartment's scenery as I unlock the suitcase.

"Shit man, sorry for the mess." He apologized. "I really got to get myself on track." He rubbed his eyes.

"Hey don't worry man, shit happens in life. You know?" I stared into his eyes and glanced back to the case.

I slide it over to him, and he carefully opened the lid. He looked astonished with his jaw hanging wide open.

"Ma- mar-." He couldn't speak.

"I know, I kno-." I got cut off by Wrench's tight squeeze.

"Marcus I love it!" He sobbed.

"Are you crying?" I gently whispered.

He loosened his grip, then let go shortly after.

"Thank you so much." He grabs the gun carefully out of the case. "How-? How did you-."

"I found it in a dumpster behind Arby's." I grinned.

"Aw fuck off." He nudged me and examined the gun like it was an artwork.

"I gotta try this thing tomorrow. Oh! I got something too!" Wrench got up and ran to his room. Immediately he comes back out holding 2 perfectly wrapped blunts and his bong.

I chuckled. "Man, you're the best!"

******

We leaned back onto the couch and gazed into each other's eyes. We weren't super close though, but I could still tell his eyes were red. We were silent for a few minutes until Wrench smirked and we began laughing our asses off. I don't know why I found it funny but I just did. It felt like we were laughing for hours, but it was probably only for 10 minutes.

"You wanna go somewhere to eat?" I was getting bored and hungry.

"Yeah man sure, we can go to Milos bar around the corner." He stood up. "I'll go grab some..."

I grabbed his wrist. "It's on me, I'll pay."

"Look what you got me, Marcus!!!" He points to the gun. "Just let me at least pay half please?"

I got up and let go of his wrist "No, Wrench. It's your birthday."

"Fine." He exhaled and put his mask back on. "You'll let me pay next time."( ~ ^)

"Alright deal." We head out and began walking.

*****

We arrived and sat down at the bar. Wrench and I ordered water, I'm not sure if we're going to drink tonight, but I have extra money on me.

The bartender served us our water and some chips. Wrench took his mask off and we began snacking on them immediately.

"Damn, these are the bomb," I said with my mouth full.

"I know." He continue to eat the freshly baked chips.

Time went by fast and we realized we were out of them so the waiter comes by and takes our order. We both got appetizers so it was quicker to make.

"So- How've you been? Are you okay?" I started to fill the void of silence that Wrench was purposely creating.

"Ugh-." He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine." He shoves a whole bunch of taco dip in his mouth for only half of it to fall out. I hand him a napkin and laugh.

"No but seriously, how's your head? What's going on with it?" I asked concerningly.

Wrench looked like a deer in headlights.

"I'm just depressed. As always? What do you want me to say? Aww Kittens, Rainbows, Fairies, blah blah blah." he rolled his eyes.

"What's making you upset." I didn't want to go too far if he didn't want to talk.

"Meh, a lot." He mumbled.

I noticed he was getting upset so he decided to back off. " We don't have to talk about it now, just let me know later if you want."

"Alright, tell me what's up with you?" he pushed the chips to me since he was done.

"I've been worrying about you, but there's nothing new really. We got some work done at the hackerspace." I continued on about the work the crew has done.

"I hope they don't think I bailed on them." he frowned.

"No, no. They're worried about you more than anything." I reassured.

"Really?" he looked shocked. "I'm sorry, I just didn't realize people thought about me."

"Dedsec is family Wrench, including Ray. We're always here." I was concerned that he thought that.

The bartender gave us our food and smelled delicious.

Wrench murmured. "Can I try a piece." then placed a mozzarella stick on my plate.

"Yeah of course." so I gave him a wing.

The bartender asked if we wanted anything to drink, and we ordered a drink each. Wrench got some fancy rum thing and I took a beer.

*******

Time passed and Wrench was on his 8th rum thing and I was on 6 beers. Wrench was more fucked up cause he was slurring his words a tad. I was slightly drunk, I didn't wanna drink too much so we can walk home.

"Heyy M?" He looked up from his drink after staring at it for a while.

"Yes?" I turned over to him.

He got quiet and thought for a moment while tapping the glass. "I don't wanna make you feel bad. But Ima say it anyway if you don't mind."

"Wrench you're not going to hurt my feelings. What's up?" I wasn't expecting much.

He struggled to pull his phone out of his pocket. "I was born at 9:42, it's 9:41."

"Happy birthday!!" I started shaking his shoulder and he softly smiled. I grabbed my beer and gestured to drink. So he grabbed his cup and I put my arm around his shoulders. We cheered and chugged.

"So your 25 now?" I joked.

He chuckled to himself then his smile dropped. He barely managed to say. "You know, yo- you saved m- me today M."

My heart slightly sunk since I was confused.

He looked down at his feet resting on the footrest. "I was gonna end it at 9:42." he gulped.

I was dismayed and my immediate response was to hug him. If I didn't see him today, he would've bit the dust. Fuck man. Losing him would make my life miserable, I just wish he knew that he means so much to me. I wrapped my arms around him tight and he moved closer to me. I can tell he was softly crying on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry Wrench. I should've come by sooner, I was so caught up with-" I stopped cause he let go of the hug with tears still forming in his eyes. He placed a finger on my lips. "Shh.." then slowly dragged it down and started at my lips for a second then back up at my eyes. "Don't feel bad, don't apologize. It was my fault. I was so lost in my head man I get into these weird depressive states and it almost won this time again."

"Again?" I raised my brow.

"Yeah, when I was a teen." he picked up his drink and took huge gulps.

"Oh wow." I felt very sorry for him. I had an idea that something was going on but didn't know it was this severe.

"I'm sorry that you're friends with an unstable person. I wish all the time that it would fade away, but it always comes back." His hands were cupped around his drink looking at his feet.

I sighed. "It's not your fault Wrench that's just how you are. Yes, I know it gets scary sometimes, you might have to be more positive in those times You know I care about you, my life would turn upside down."

"I try M, I really do. I have so much ballsly confidence and when it's time to end it. I don't second guess myself. It's my mind M and I can't fix it myself. I think I need meds but I don't wanna take them. I tried overdosing back when I was 16 so it's kinda traumatic taking medicine regularly. Then I think it's just better off..." he stopped for a second "Being fucking dead." He looked up at me with sorrowful eyes.

I was silent processing his feelings. I felt a pain in my chest, I cared so much for him. I hated to see him like this.

"I just realized today, that when I'm with you, they all disappear. I'm able to think again."

That made me smile and I rubbed his arm.

"Not cigarettes, not pot, not beer. Yeah, they help me to confront things with ease but..." He thought for a few seconds. "Since the day I fucking met you they just began to silence. Every time we hung out when I had a low day you always bring me up."

His eyes were moving slowly almost like they weren't keeping up so where he was looking at. 

I felt a warm feeling inside me, usually, this happens a lot with Wrench. I just didn't think about it too much before. It was there briefly in the past, this time it was lingering. I didn't know if this was a crush feeling because I thought I was straight.

"That means a lot Wrench, thank you. You always cheer me up all the time.  I'll be here through every step of the way" It felt like I was blushing.

"I wanted to say that I'm not saying I depend on you for happiness 'cause I have days that I do it myself. You just mean so much M, you are closer to me than any other friend or even other family I had. You know?"

"I believe you, I believe you." I nodded. "I'm getting tired, and you're slurring a lot, we can continue this convo walking home right?"

He nodded. "Sure thing, imma go piss." he hopped off the and I practically caught him.

"I'm ok, I'm ok." He tried to maintain his balance.

"Are you going to make it to the bathroom?" I placed down the cash with the bill.

"I don't know, maybe not. How are we gunna make it home?"

"We'll find out." I patted his back.

So I guided Wrench to the bathroom he was able to follow he was slow. I also went too and next thing he was holding the wall for balance. So took him back out, grabbed the change, and left the tip on the table.

"Where are we going again?" he couldn't keep his eyes open.

"Your house." I opened the door for him.

"Home? It's pitch black out."

I grabbed his hand and he opened his eyes wide. "M, are you making a move?"

"No, you keep closing your eyes I'm going to make sure you don't end up somewhere else."

"Oh. Well Marky Mark I feel something when you hold my hand."

"My hand?" I wasn't too sure what he meant cause he was plastered.

"Oh right! Duhh." He laughed then tripped over his feet. "Shit."

We walked for about a minute till he blurted out. "Wait no, mentally. I feel it inside." he pointed to his chest.

I squeezed his hand and he looked down at the ground grinning.

I hear this one song play in my head by U2. The beginning of where the streets have no name.

The sidewalk was uneven in some places so we were stumbling and laughing hard. We were intoxicated.

At one point Wrench fell into the grass which made me fall onto the cement. He stumbled to get back up then screamed, "I'M NOT LETTING YOU TAKE ME THIS TIME!" then smiled. "FUCK YOU!!" He raised his middle fingers at the trees. It echoed back strangely and it sent a shiver down my spine. I was still on the ground admiring him and the moment that he was having. I didn't understand why and I didn't need to.

He turned around and his smile was bright and he managed to walk over to me. "You need help there buddy? Why are you on the ground? Didn't I fall?"

"You took me with you." I got back up and held his hand again.

The rest of the way we walked home still holding hands with the beginning of that song still playing over and over again.

We walk into the door he threw his vest on the couch as he dragged me into his room. He ran over to his radio and turned it on.

He tackled me into his bed. "Ahh woah!" I wasn't expecting that.

We were face to face as he held himself up by his hands. He had a big grin that made me blush stupidly hard.

He kissed my cheek and snuggled right up next to me. I put my arm around him and cuddling with him felt so natural and so right. I was focused on the lyrics of this song but I didn't know it. I began running my fingers through his hair.

"What song is this?" I mumbled.

"Explosions, three days grace," he mumbled back.

"I like it."

*******

I woke up and realized I was at Wrench's house. There was something warm wrapping around me and grabbed the hand to look at it. I saw his incognito tattoo and my eyes widened.

"Wrench?" I whisper to myself. Did I sleep with him? Or was this platonic? I was confused so I laid there for about 30 minutes trying to put the pieces together.

I eventually remembered what Wrench told me and then his scream in the woods. But had no memory of us flirting. It felt like a dream trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.

So I turned over to him, he was sleeping peacefully and his arm slightly rested on my waist still. I smiled as the butterflies swarm my chest again I remembered the feeling last night. I just couldn't recall what was exchanged between us.

I can't be in love with him, am I? I get up just to clear my head still trying to figure out what happened last night.

I stretch and take in Wrench's scenery, empty bottles, empty cigarette boxes, and dirty laundry everywhere. I check the time it was 9:30 so I figured I would just clean a bit so he can have a fresh start. Living in his apartment would give me much anxiety as it is. I put the blanket back on him and he just looked so adorable. Maybe I am into him.

I silently clean up his room did a load of laundry, threw out the garbage and wiped down his dresser, emptied his ashtrays. Swept the floor and then moved onto his living room. Picked up all his stuff off the ground and then switched the laundry. Sweep and cleaned off the counter and tables. I placed his shotgun back onto the coffee table for later.

I was going to make breakfast, but I had to clean out his fridge and wipe it all down. Then I started, at 1:00 making food for us. While I was at the stove cooking, I heard footsteps from behind.

"Good morning M, why is my apartment cleaned up?" he questioned,

"'Cause I did, after we eat you got to change the sheets. Also, most of your laundry is in the dresser."

He stayed silent so I turned around. His mouth was slightly ajar.

"I just figured you needed a little help for a fresh start." I shrugged and continued cooking.

He sat down on his barstool which was behind me. "What happened last night? What did I tell you?"

I thought for a second. Did he not remember? I barely did but I knew something happened.

"You told me what was going to happen last night." I frowned remembering that part. I placed his plate in front of him and sat down across from him.

"Why are you doing this M? I appreciate your help, I do. I'm just confused."

I knew I would've helped him either way even if I wasn't interested in him. "Well, 'cause I care for you. I was worried about you, so I hope it'll be a bit easier for you."

Then that song started to play again in my head. Then I remember that Wrench pointed at his heart and said inside. He feels something inside in his chest but we were hammered so that was the best way to say it.

"Thank you, M." he was shoving the food in his mouth.

"You told me last night that you liked me, Wrench."

His eyes shot wide open, stopped chewing then swallowed. "I- I what?"

"I had to hold your hand walking home and- you told me that you felt something. I woke up to you on my back."

He looked off to the side trying to remember. "I've always felt something when I'm with you. I just don't remember anything last night."

That gave me so much relief because I was starting to fall hard for him.

"Do you Marcus?" He asked.

I nodded quickly. "Look, I would've given you a fresh start ethier way. But I wanna take this slow Wrench."

"Oh yeah, I agree." He nodded. "I have to recover from it. Marcus I would love to start a relationship with you, but I just can't right now." he started to tear up.

I grabbed his hands and held them. "I know it's hard, I'll be here. You take as much time as you need. If you are having a bad day, call me and we'll hang out."

"Ok, thank you M." he got up and grabbed out empty plates, and threw them in the dishwasher. He noticed his fridge on the outside clean, then opened it. "Oh my god! Marcus! You didn't have to, it looks so much better."

He ran over to me and kissed me on the cheek and hugged me. I wasn't expecting that but shrugged it off.

"You've done so much for me."

We both got up and put the clean sheets on then made the bed. He dove into the bed after it was made. I laughed then it reminded me of last night.

"Hey, do you wanna try out your new gun today?"

"OH MY GOD YES YES YES!!" he bolted into the living room.

I smiled as I walked out of the room and closed the door.

[shh-daddys-sleeping]

The Burying (Barnroe) Linda called it an unfortunate incident. Becky claimed a direct attack on one of her teammates as a revenge for a lesbian love triangle. Nonetheless, they are now forced to share detention for two months. How long can it take until somebody ends up dead? Metaphorically speaking, of course. Prompts: Gay Awakening, Near Death Experience, Opposites. (And High School AU) TW for topics that deal with homophobia and domestic abuse later on, so take care of yourselves.

I was supposed to upload this on AO3 and during the proper day, but I'm kind of going crazy with work and don't wanna forget. I'll probably do it properly later, but I wanted to share something at least!

Chapter 1: These violent delights

Becky 

“Now, you two, split up!” 

Linda and I were both covered in blood as the teacher gave this shout and interfered between us. She jolted while trying to avoid our attempts to still reach one another to do something like rip our hair off, but even then an elbow -she couldn’t determine of which one of us and of course we didn’t want to assume responsibility on it neither- hit her nose, inadvertently throwing her to the floor as well. 

“What the hell is wrong with you two?” Ten minutes later, miss Guiterrez, the gym teacher, was placing an ice pack on her face. Her expression was way too calmed for it to be nothing but severely contained anger. I’ve seen it on way too many people in my lifetime by now to know that.  

My face was mildly stiff because of the dry blood, and by one quick glance at Linda I was able to tell that hers was too. We were both silently looking down to the floor and the teacher was not having it.  

We got startled by the sound of the ice pack being thrown to the table of her office.  

“I want someone to start answering me now.” 

“Professor, we’re sorry.” 

I practically didn’t notice the way my jaw dropped as I turned my head to my right to look at her. Was Linda Murray actually apologizing?  

“It’s never going to happen again.” She continued, “We promise.”  

The teacher seemed to balance the outcomes in her head to know how much trouble this was going to cost her in the future, but there was a final sigh of resignation as she placed the ice on her nose again.  

“What about you, Barnes?”  

I blinked. “Oh, of course, professor. We… promise.”  

The teacher rolled her eyes. “Get out of here and go wash your faces, for God’s sake.”  

I couldn’t believe that we got out of that situation that easily, and I wondered if these would be the benefits of associating myself with Linda Murray, even if it just was in this particularly strange and circumstantial period in time.  

Linda Murray. There is a certain rhythm in the pronunciation and calligraphy of that name that I cannot believe I’m allowing myself to notice. A certain aura, if you will. Being around her is like being surrounded by some holy smoke you can’t describe and least catch in a bottle. Then you wake up and you realize you were but in a fever dream.  

Except this isn’t a fever dream, but I am actually and purposely feeding these thoughts about Linda.  

Did I just call her Linda and not Linda Murray? 

Fuck.  

But I tried to remind myself, at times like these, that we were spending way too much time together against our will. Was it really that surprising we ended up having a physical fight in the detention room? Can’t blame a cat for walking on fours and meowing.  

Still, I tried to reach for Linda while we were getting out of the teacher’s office. But she was fast and determined to avoid me. 

“Hey, I—” I stepped backwards while sensing the door of the bathroom being shut on my face.  

The sound of the drain reached my ears while I waited, resting my shoulder on the wall.  

Linda stared at me when she opened the door to get out of the toilet. That look seemed eternal, and I couldn’t determine one single thing behind her dead rock expression.  Then she started to wash the blood out of her face and hands in the lavatory.  

I walked to her, “So you’re not speaking to me?”   

She looked at me and shrugged with a gesture that said, what does it seem? 

The anger settled for a while in my chest before gathering the courage to let it out, and she was already by the door, on her way out, when I did it: 

“Fuck you!”  

She turned around almost in slow motion after hearing it. For a moment I feared that — oh God this girl could actually fucking kill me, but when she talked her voice sounded even gentle:  

“You know what, Becks? This is the best for both you and me and you know it. Let’s stop trying to pretend this Breakfast Club meets Grease or whatever the fuck we were doing, and just ignore each other until this nightmare is over.”  

“What if I don’t want to?” I asked. I was unsure if I had decided to give that step towards her or if it was some strange gravitational phenomenon suddenly affecting us.  

She breathed deeply once before saying something. Her eyes were dancing around before laying on mine.  

“We can’t always get what we want.” It upset me that she sounded so upset — redundancy needed. But before I could reply, she looked down for a sec and added, “You got some of my blood on your shirt, I think.” 

I clang to the look of her long after she was gone of the room. And I couldn’t really process her words and start to wash myself until minutes later. Did I just really say that? What if I don’t want to? 

What did I precisely not want? 

And what did I want?  

Of course, this was only the beginning of a realization I wasn’t even remotely close to admit yet, and it was that I was falling in love with Linda Murray. And that she was falling in love with me.  

But Linda was smarter than me and she realized this before I could find the words to express it, and as anyone can imagine out of such a situation, violent delights can only have violent ends. But there is something beautiful in not being able to look away from a car crash, isn’t it?  

And who am I to defy love?  

[miss0atae]

This episode of Dangerous Romance was once again very good ! I always look for Friday now. This series is so refreshing in a way I wasn't expecting. It won't change the world of BLs but there are so many series at the moment which have a very heavy tone or are quite sad. Dangerous Romance is able to deal with serious topics but also fluffy and cute moments as well. It's a nice combo.

The romance between Sailom and Kanghan is taking a new step each episode. I like how they balance each other. Sailom is seriously the best boyfriend Kang could ask for. He is really mature, knows how to apologize when he makes mistakes and he is there to support his boyfriend when he wants to be on the football team and get in university at the same time. Kang, on the other hand, is showering Sailom with love at any chance he can get. It's really precious. He is never shy of showing his affection and being loud about his love for him. Their romance is one of the best parts of this series.

I'm also rooting for their friends to have their romance starting because the chemistry is right here and I thought they would kiss in the restroom when they both went there to have their so-called fight. I guess it's not for now yet, but I have my fingers crossed. Something is happening between them. I feel it.

Grandma was again the MVP when she trusted Saifah despite her son's accusations. She is the best grandma and I'm glad she trusted her judgement first. I think Saifah was also relieved. I understand why people could get the wrong ideas about him but I also believe he is a good person. He loves his brother deeply and it's giving him my trust.

However, Kang's dad was again off the mark. I still don't know if he is really acting this way because he thinks he knows better or because he is really insensitive. His interactions with Saifah are weird. The vibe is awkward. I thought for 5 seconds that he was even flirting with him but the heavy music made me doubt myself. Kang's dad can't understand his son and what he is doing to him is kinda shitty. It's probably a misunderstanding but we never know. I feel bad for Kang because his dad is rather dismissive.

I can't wait to see the next episode with Kang and Sailom's love escapade.

[mp3minded]

I really didn't want to make this post, but I just couldn't sit with my thoughts here.

@loveislandthegame I apologize for the awkward context I'm tagging you for, but I want this to be an actual open dialogue where anyone can feel free to share their perspective (and that invite extends to anon too), because that's what I want this to be, and it was this post that made me want to have my say too;

Before I get to anything else, I want to list off everything I agree with you and anon on;

I'm a firm believer in the player having a breadth of choices for LIs to endgame, so I wish Sienna and Hazel were in-game options for anon too, especially considering..

I also agree that there only being 2 sapphic options for this season tops is a serious lack of options for wlw players.

Whether or not the player is strictly sapphic, or fiercely loyal to who they coupled up with last before the reunion, I do agree that being forced to kiss another man for the "kessing" game was horribly handled, because it takes an important choice away from the player.

There was a definite lack of well-written women this season, that lose facets of themselves that lie outside their interests in men.

Considering the layoffs Fusebox had awhile ago, I think there being at-least one incel writer on the Fusebox team is a very likely case.

I'm not sure if we got the same anon, but my first and second points are stances I've elaborated on before here;

Now, I can confirm that Liam's three-way after the show was with Sienna and Hazel, not Bea.

Liam also apologized to Bea after the show, and probably didn't even know if he was forgiven or not until this moment, because realistically she probably didn't want to text him back, understandably so;

Now, the bit from anon's ask that, as a black stan of Liam, did bother me;

"It'd have made just as much sense as Bea and Hazel fulfilling all of Liam's white boy fantasies. Because women of color are once again written to be toys for the sexist white man to entertain himself with before he confesses his feelings for the main character."

Even though I've confirmed Bea was nowhere in his three-way, and it was Sienna instead, there's still more I want to respond to here.

I don't like talking about race on this sort of topic because there's no pathway that would "win" here.

There's canon, where he doesn't limit his grafting pool to white women, which lends way for him to then be insinuated as a race fetisher. It's also insulting to Liam stans of color such as myself, and Hazel (though I wouldn't call her a literal Liam stan, she's just involved here too), because it implies that we lack the capabilities to make our own judgement calls on whether or not someone is only interested in us, as black women, because of our race.

And if it was only white women he pursued outside of MC instead, he could then be given side-eye for a coincidental trend like that.

Hazel has expressed that it went beyond physical attraction for her and Liam, for at-least some point in time, and it appeared that the sentiment was mutual from his end as well;

If it was just a laugh for Liam the whole time, he wouldn't of done any of that.

And again, I don't like talking about race here. But anon has expressed interest in Sienna (besides Hazel), and;

Both Liam and Sienna are blonde, green-eyed white people, whom would've had interesting enemies-to-lovers arcs, if Fusebox had let it be an option with Sienna too.

I guess the other main thing I was upset about, besides the race stuff, was that the last thing I want is for the fandom to be any more divided on this stuff than needed, in my opinion.

I don't expect most people to understand my interest in Liam, because I know that he's farrrrrr from perfect. But, the same can be said for Sienna, and really, it just comes down to not yucking other people's yum.

[horsechestnut]

I would love details on the Reverse Robin AU idea, I always adore those. (Though I often feel they miss an opportunity by not having Duke be first. Then again I sort of have a "Either its the first four Robins being reversed, or its all of them and thus Duke is first" system. A lot depends on what swerves the story best.) Sorry for the off topic ramble and no pressure to share, but yeah it'd be cool.

One thing I am notably curious about is how you'd handle the pre death relationship between Bruce & Stephanie. Cos so much of their canon one is filtered through his grief over Jason and projection onto her which led to his awful treatment of her, which led to her desperation to please him. Without that death things would probably be a lot more chill.

Still, I could see a similar death happening if Bruce got to up his own ass with trying to play master mind and it all blowing up in his face (Which I insist would have happened with his crime control plan regardless of Stephanie.)

No apology necessary! I love off topic rambles and am prone to doing them myself (see how long this explanation ended up for reference lol).

Here's a link to a sort of fan-fic/sort of explanation I wrote earlier (Though I think you already found it). I would love to flesh it out into a full fic, but I'm not sure that will ever actually happen.

As for Steph and Bruce specifically though, I think there's still tension between them, but it comes from a different place. Spoiler is a rouge agent, a teenager with no training, no oversight, and a personal score to settle, and Bruce isn't really prepared to handle that. Damian came to him pre-trained and if Tim comes second (which I think he should since he's both before and after Steph in canon) he was doing it because he believed it was the right thing to do. Without Jason Bruce has never had to deal with anyone who's completely untrained before, and without Dick he's never had to deal with a personal grudge as motivation (except his own, and he's really not prepared to get into that), so the combination of them in Steph seems far to dangerous to have in the field. Besides, it sets a bad precedent, he can't just let any teenager start running around fighting crime or he'll have a We Are Robin situation on his hands, and he already has a Robin. I don't think it's really personal for him, it just makes logical sense for everyone if she would stop, but for some reason she won't, even after Cluemaster is dead. (She also reminds him a little to much of himself at that age, but he's not going to think about that).

On Steph's end I think things are a little more complicated. I think the indifference would both drive her insane and give her this sort of false hope. No matter what she does it never seems to be enough, but the parts of her Bruce seems to dislike are all related to Spoiler, not Stephanie, which means she can change them! But there are parts of Steph that are baked into Spoiler, which carry over to Robin in turn that she can't get rid of no matter how hard she tries. Plus there are just enough similarities between the way Batman talks to her and the way Arthur did that sometimes it activates her fight instinct when logically she knows she should just listen to him. And unfortunately Bruce doesn't respond well to being snapped at, but he also never seems to hold it against her for more than a day. So Steph just keeps running in this circle and never knows where she stands with Bruce, and in some ways it's better and in some ways it's worse, because at least with her dad she knew where she stood and could stop trying.

I don't like that answer, trust me I wish I could say things between them would be better, but personally I don't think so. Bruce might be nicer about the way he says it, but I think he'd still want Steph to stop and Steph would still think if she tries hard enough he'll realize he was wrong.

Sorry, that got away from me, but anyway, I think the concept of including Duke is interesting! I just don't really know enough about him to know how it would play out or have thoughts on how We Are Robin could happen without Robin.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

On BTS's Success Being Inorganic (Repost)

Anonymous: Hi BPP, Apologies in advance for a controversial topic but hopefully we can buckle in and have a civilized discussion.

What are your thoughts on 'organic' success? As a Dope Old Person, I am finding myself a bit nostalgic for a time when high charting singles appeared to represent current popular music. I say 'appeared' because we know payola has always been there. In the real world, though, you actually heard the song a lot, probably knew people who liked or owned it, etc. A Billboard Top 10 hit was part of the US zeitgeist and essentially 'organic'. With the advent of technology over the past 20 years, people now have the opportunity to flood the streaming and purchasing channels with numbers to support their favorites. If you can amass a decent online following, you can essentially guarantee a hit, regardless of how many people actually like the music. (Aside: What is the point of a chart? To gauge popularity and trends as of old? Or to see how fanatic a fan base is? Just count $?). BTS have made incredible music and ARMY's desire to get them noticed is warranted. It speaks volumes that they have managed #1 hits in both English and Korean (only the 23rd most spoken language). And while the music is great and the messages behind it inspiring, we should consider that some portion of that success is actually excess. People streaming 24/7 and buying multiple physical copies drive up numbers and takes away from the 'organic' growth. (Aside again: ugh the environmental wastefulness of physical sales and the shipping of the multiple copies.) As the excess has finally started to pay off over the last few years with #1s, real media coverage, and rapidly expanding fandom, I think we should start to think about easing up to let the organic growth return. I love the exposure of the #1 or another record getting smashed but if it doesn't have staying power because it is due to this excess, it doesn't feel as good. I'm not saying this retreat needs to happen immediately given the likelihood of a mainly Korean album will once again need some targeted support. But someday, I'd like to know they've grown enough to enable us to get back to casual enjoyment and watch the locals everywhere bop along to their new favorite BTS tune that they discovered organically.

***

Hi Anon,

I found your ask very interesting, because you start by acknowledging “…...'appeared' because we know payola has always been there…” but then you end your ask like this, “I think we should start to think about easing up to let the organic growth return”. You start your ask by questioning the ‘organic’ distinction even back then, but then you end your ask longing for an 'organic’ success you weren’t sure even existed to begin with.

I’ve actually written about this tangentially before in a reblog on the recent change to BB’s rules, linked here - it’s a bit longwinded but I also link in some articles that offer more insight with facts and figures if that’s something you’re interested in. But I’ll summarize my views here again and directly refer to a few statements you make in your ask.

I’m generally uneasy when people try to apply the 'organic’ or 'inorganic’ labels to minority artists. Generally speaking. Because we all know the barriers to entry are just not the same for them compared to their White/Western counterparts, in a system that has never been organic.

The way I see it, the charts and the system that creates those charts has never been ‘organic’, at least not in the last two decades (which you admit to), but what was different is that the people who determined what was popular were the ‘middle men’ i.e. record labels, radio DJs, streaming platform playlisters, etc, through their own version of ‘excess’ i.e. payola, ‘auxiliary promotions’ on radio, and opaque playlisting criteria for playlists that artists have said they sometimes need to pay money to be added on (at least in the case of Spotify). You mention how “In the real world, though, you actually heard the song a lot,” but the reason you heard the song a lot is because it was always played on radio, an industry notoriously plagued by payola, which would then boost the song or artist’s reach, and lead to people you know liking it and buying that music.

What has changed in the last two decades is that it is no longer the Middle Men who have total control over what is determined to be popular. It is now fans, the people who actually listen to the music, who have found ways to make their streams and purchases (or demand) show, to become too big to ignore, to give artists they view as having ‘organic’ demand, a real chance to actually show up on charts that are supposed to measure sales equivalent units.

Because that’s what those charts are actually supposed to measure: sales as a proxy for popularity, and as I’ve said before, outside of concert ticket sales, direct music sales are the most transparent way to actually support an artist and to determine demand or popularity of an artist. Streaming and radio are too opaque as mechanisms to weigh the most in that equation, but they’ve been given more weight by the industry because otherwise those mechanisms will be less profitable to the Middle Men. Al that's changed recently is that the demand from fans now partly determines what shows up in charts. And doesn’t it follow that it is whoever has more fans for a piece of music, not whoever has a bigger/stronger music label, that should show up on a chart that’s supposed to measure sales?

Let’s look at two different artists and I’ll speak very generally about them here: Bad Bunny and Olivia Rodrigo. One artist is American, the other is Puerto Rican and has mostly a Latam fanbase. Both artists have ‘amassed a decent online following’, and both artists have had their songs dominate on the charts. Do you know what happened when Olivia was first announced to have a concert (with several other ‘big’ artists) for iheartsradio last year? After several weeks of near constant promoting (I was seeing ads at least twice a day), there was so little demand that iheartsradio started offering free tickets to people who wanted to bring a plus one. Think about that. They were essentially paying for people to come see an artist whose songs were consistently in the Top 5 songs on the Hot 100 for roughly a year. Bad Bunny on the other hand, doesn’t struggle to sell out concerts (though of venues smaller than for BTS). He has a somewhat grassroots fanbase and in the last year I’ve become good friends with some people in his fb, to know they’re totally grassroots, but organized (and able to get away with some illegal methods that ARMYs are under too much scrutiny to try, and most ARMYs aren’t interested in those methods anyway tbh). Perhaps contrary to Olivia’s case, for Bad Bunny it’s not a record label that’s inflating his demand, it’s actual fans who will show up to see him live, to hear that music, that are maybe multiplying their purchasing power by 2 or 4 times to beat the ‘excess’ from the other artist’s record label. Because excess is something you’ll see on the charts in any case.

Why is it more tolerable for middle-men (record labels) to control the way music is consumed and ultimately valued, rather than consumers (fans and supporters)? As I’ve said before, fans buying music is really not the end of the world though BB and other industry gate-keepers act like it is. Every artist hopes an ever increasing number of people buy their music, and BTS happens to have an ever expanding fanbase.

Personally, I use concert showings as a good rule of thumb to determine how ‘organic’ an artist’s demand or popularity is, and it’s a fact that no artist on the planet right now is doing as well as BTS in that area. Literally the only person in recent history who has done better than BTS’s recent concerts has been Bruce Springsteen, and even then he’s only above BTS because he had a longer tour period than BTS’s four-night shows. And you can recall how back then, you’d hear Springsteen‘s music all over. Heck he’s now hailed as belonging to the canon of classic American pop/rock. BTS should technically have as much if not more recognition today, and in a sense they do (I sometimes hear BTS's songs in the gym, cafe, random spots all over my small Western city), but BTS sing primarily in Korean, not English and not Spanish (that American radio tolerates more), but in Korean, and the charts ding them significantly for it.

As I said, I use concert showings as a sort of rule of thumb or litmus test, so the day I see BTS concerts lose demand, is the day I’ll start to think maybe ARMYs should ‘retreat’ a little, as you say. Because I suspect the reason you’re sending me this ask in the first place is because you’re concerned people buying/streaming the way you think they do, is unsustainable, and that people will burn out in some way. And if this is true, it would necessitate a “retreat”, as you’ve put it. You’re not wrong. If people were indeed putting in labour to levels you seem to imply, it would be extremely unsustainable and tiresome. My issue with this point is that people have been saying this about BTS and ARMY since 2017… and the fandom has only grown, the boys’ reach only further expanded… the complete opposite of any signs of burn out or unsustainable consumption of music and art. And maybe it’s only coincidence that BTS’s concert showings have only increased as well, more than tripled in fact, all the things that would happen if their popularity, demand, and success was actually… wait for it…

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Organic.

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Even with all this said, many of the the things you mentioned as indicative of 'organic’ success (“you actually heard the song a lot, probably knew people who liked or owned it, etc. A Billboard Top 10 hit was part of the US zeitgeist and essentially “organic.””), actually apply more to BTS than to many Western artists and certainly more than to any k-pop group, period. Whatever we think about the Pandemic English Trilogy, what it certainly accomplished for BTS was that it did exactly that - I heard Butter in my gym yesterday almost a year after its release, My Universe still gets ridiculous airplay in Germany, France, and Japan according to the radio charts, and I’ve seen more than one reactor mention how they’ve heard Dynamite before without knowing it was a k-pop song. BTS is now at least as mainstream (or part of the US zeitgeist) as Bad Bunny is, if not more. BTS is now more of a household name in more countries in the world than any k-pop group ever, and in some cases are even more known (and loved) than some Western artists even in the US. BTS is now the reason most people have even heard of something called k-pop.

Payola in all its forms, is excess. But the only excess being obsessively hunted down and punished by the industry, is the excess generated by fans or the people actually consuming the music. And the reality is that though ARMYs aren’t doing anything other fandoms aren’t, there’s disproportionate scrutiny on ARMYs because a lot of people (k-pop fans, Western music fans, k-pop record labels and agencies, Western music producers and labels, etc) are sick and tired of seeing BTS on the charts even though concerts and sales show there is at least as much demand for BTS as there is for Bruce Springsteen and Drake. And these other parties think it is in their best interest for BTS and ARMYs to be rendered obsolete. That’s not meant to sound alarmist, it’s just what it is. So even if ARMYs continue playing by the rules, people will continue to characterize ARMYs and BTS’s efforts and success using the most uncharitable language, selectively applying the rules, and basically the industry will give ARMYs a hard time this particular comeback, and probably many more comebacks in the future. It doesn’t matter that the ‘mass’ applied to ARMYs is more a consequence of huge absolute numbers of fans sharing, listening to, and buying music, than relative effort per fan in streaming/buying a shit tonne of music, as it is for most k-pop fans. And it’s not like BigHit is paying a huge amount for payola either when compared to agencies that boost MV views with paid ads/playlisting and mediaplay, which continues to place BTS at a disadvantage compared to labels that have been under investigation for payola in an industry notorious for its practice.

The core of the fanbase will probably always support BTS, regardless of the medium. They have adapted to changing rules over the last six years and will try to keep adapting, despite a changing music landscape for BTS and a new influx of fans who might not really understand why ARMYs support BTS nor see the need to. I don’t know how successful the fandom will continue to be in this regard, but I think for most fans, the placement on the charts hasn’t ever been the primary goal. The main goal for ARMYs has always been to make the artists they love feel seen and supported by the people they make music for.

Originally posted: May 8th, 2022 7:33am