kalyanarendachelny-blog

[the-cat-at-the-theatre-door]

Girl help I’m getting emotional about how much Munkustrap admires Gus the Theatre Cat again. 

[mysteryampharos]

Tell us about your favorite character?

i really love dusknoir and ampharos from the pokemon mystery dungeon series, but after playing Rainworld, i can wholeheardtedly say that the base game + downpour made five pebbles into one of my all-time favorite characters! i was gonna avoid spoilers, but ill inevitably speak about it, so ill just do two spoiler-free paragraphs first! and then go insane

for half of the campaigns in the game, i was his BIGGEST hater. i think the order you play certain campaigns in probably affects how you feel about certain characters, and boy, my choice of sequence was NOT doing him any favors. he was like a catalyst to speed up the decay of the dying world, both when it came to the enviroment itself, and other characters. he had without fail harmed all but one character he interacted with by that point.

and then. . i played the last two campaigns. with a few pearl reading sessions prior to going through them, the closer i got to finishing the game, the more my thoughts on him changed. granted, the game DID give me enough clues, but it wasnt until getting to see what happened in these campaigns that his character clicked for me. five pebbles is a surprisingly tragic character, and the dlc makes an excellent use of him to weave a beautiful narrative together with Looks to the Moon. words cannot describe how incredible and life-changing playing this game felt. (spoilers below the cut! dont read if you haven't finished rivulet and saint's campaign)

five pebbles is a rat in a cage. he tried everything he thought of to try and find an escape to the eternal life the ancients condemned the iterators to, and he did succeed in killing an iterator.

it just wasn't him.

so moon dies and is left in a worser state than ever before after being 'revived' by hunter, and now he has a ticking time bomb in the form of The Rot spreading through his superstructure and the garbage wastes like a cancerous plague. he keeps himself cut off from all and any means of contact and with the exception of artificer, is somewhat hostile to the slugcats.

it takes rivulet's campaign, where the rot has almost entirely overtaken most of the can, that his attitude changes. he is still the same as before, but much more. . sorrowful, regretful. at this point in the game, he and moon switch places: he falls deeper and deeper to disrepair while moon starts restoring her functions and communications. he's forced to sit still during rivu's campaign, but otherwise, five pebbles is largely fine when it comes to his neurons or mind.

so when i told you i cried during saint's campaign.

it was already customary. every single campaign after monk, i'd beeline for five pebbles, seeing as he was always involved somehow. so, i climb up chimney canopy as i always do to get to him through the wall, and: there it is. the infamous room

the entire right section connecting to his superstructure is gone. not even damaged or anything: it's completely vanished. and the game makes sure you feel dread the moment you see this. already, not a good sing: but hey! maybe that just fell like the underhang did. theres still another path to go through.

i hate shaded citadel, but its the only other way i know how to get there. still, i took a detour to moon first before going there, since i knew shoreline had a gate! i visited her, and was on my merry way. . until i get to the gate. something is off right away.

the path is different. sure, that's normal in this campaign, but it wasnt like the overgrowth or other snowy areas: the entire structure of the area. . was very different. its like something crushed in. the deeper i go toward the gate, the more confused and conflicted i get. i cross the gate, and the name shows up on the screen..

Silent Construct.

its like things clicked for me a second time, and it was at that point i paused the game just to think about it for a few seconds. Five Pebbles' superstructure collapsed and crushed the ENTIRETY of Shaded Citadel. the only sign of life left was a weird combination of wildlife from the exterior and shaded citadel itself, with barely any rot left. this was both one of the highlights of the whole game to me, and one of the most emotional. theres 100% gonna be echoes here, so im gonna go ahead and look for that: but five pebbles is priority.

this is one of the most interesting regions in the game to me. maybe not the most fun (I HATE THIS GAME'S SPIDER ENEMIES SO MUCH) but thematically and symbolically? second best region. i dedicated half of the time i had that sunday just to find him, and sure enough..

he is in a state even worser than how moon was when she fell to disrepair. a supercomputer degraded to a barely sentient puppet who can't remember much of anything. the only thing that remains is the music pearl hes playing, and if the player wants to,

you can take that away from him too.

is downpour canon? i don't know nor remember! will i consider it canon regardless because this was one of the greatest gaming and life experiences ive ever had? you fucking BET. i love you five pebbles im sorry for calling you a littlebitch when we first met

[stars-and-the-min]

☆ the wrong way to hard launch (14) | OP81

summary : oscar's girlfriend is a walking pr problem for literally everyone (including herself) social media au

pairing : oscar piastri x zhou!fem!singer!oc

a/n wait wait let him cook (imola)

masterlist | last part | part 14 | next part

INSTAGRAM

oscar piastri just posted to their story

TIKTOK

comments

FOLLOW UP QUESTION, WHICH RACE ????

something about a formula 1 driver and a rockstar having like the most normal story of meeting is hilarious

"took me a while to actually start dating her" i'm deadddd, u pulled her in the end tho bro

best relationship on the grid, i would die for them

didn't win the race but won her number, u have ur priorities straight

y'all gas her up too much it's not like she's that big a deal 💀 ↳ she's at least ten times more famous let's be fr for a sec, most of the world doesn't know what f1 is but they've probably heard one of lina's songs on the radio

REDDIT

r/EmptyBottles · Posted by u/luckyluna9364 1 mo. ago Lina x Oscar Timeline [read new comments]

fantstic013 · 12 hr. ago reviving this post bc of oscar's tiktok; they met at a race, which race??? when did lina attend a race?? whatthekermitdid · 11 hr. ago her f1 race debut (her words, not mine) was literally suzuka last month so i'm just as confused niaphilia283 · 11 hr. ago she might have done it behind the public's back. i think we all know that lina is only seen when she wants to be seen; we basically only saw her at scheduled events for the entirety of 2020-2023 like where was she even? what was she doing?

luckyluna9364 OP · 3 hr. ago ppl out there scrambling wondering which race but it has to at least be from the 2023 season bc i bet my whole life savings that their talking period was like 3 months so the new proposed meeting is like... abu dhabi grand prix (at the very least) which was back in december 2023

TWITTER

emme @flowersforcami · 4h still not over last night's show... the shit was phenomenal, it the cherry on top ↳ amie <3 @mieflrs · 4h i don't think we acknowledge how masochistic t*mmy must be to follow lina around europe and enduring those 2 hour shows where almost every song is the biggest middle finger to your existance; personally, if a song like aconite was written about me, i'd just never show my face again

kayla @luna_apocolypse · 5h oscar's story??? sir are you talking about the actual view or the stunning woman on the balcony?? it's important that i know

president linami @ linaminami · 6h 24 days since lina's posted on any of her socials... i can't believe i miss her unserious ass so much 🥲

oscalina real ?! @emptyginbottles · 33m "oscar could do so much better" respectfully how do you get better than selina fucking bui? ↳ oscalina real ?! @emptyginbottles · 33m "he should be with someone like him" she's australian, she's born in 2001, she's got cat energy, she loves sleeping and chocolate, she's slightly unhinged, she's known as a prodigy in her field, she keeps down low and most importantly, she's hot as shit, what more do you want

piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 2h he called her his lucky charm 🥺 i love them so much 😭 ↳ lila💚 @kasdanrights · 2h wait lina?? where's this from?? i have terrible signal and no videos are loading ↳ piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 2h it's from a video of them entering the paddock, someone asked him what's its like to have her at a race again and he grinned and said she's his lucky charm ↳ lila💚 @kasdanrights · 2h WAIT NO THEY'RE SO CUTE I CAN'T

MESSAGES

from the phone of oscar piastri

TWITTER

oscalina real ?! @emptyginbottles · 4h WE'RE SO BACKKKKK

↳ piaa⁸¹ @papayaeightyone · 4h that lucky charm must be working 👀

pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 34m OSCAR PIASTRI P2 START YES YES YES

oscalina real ?! @emptyginbottles · 21m oh he was not kidding when he said she was his lucky charm ↳ oscalina real ?! @emptyginbottles · 20m i'll have whatever he's having bc he was like a cat on steroids

jess @OPIXSTRI · 28m we were so close to a maiden pole why is it always a fucking haas ruining everything

Jonny @EB_jonno · 32m @ OscarPiastri Mega quali mate, way to absolutely send it (don't give Lina too much credit)

INSTAGRAM

oscarpiastri Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola

liked by cameliazzz and 218,496 others

oscarpiastri Well, it was fun while it lasted 😂

opeightyone Time to have better fun tomorrow then

cameliazzz i bet she found it hilarious ↳ oscarpiastri @ cameliazzz She found the timing hilarious, she was pretty upset it happened

TWITTER

pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 3h oscar piastri is now incredibly familiar with the rear wing of that ferrari it's just a shame it's the hideous hp logo

oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 3h LANDO??? LANDO OML U ARE SCARING THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYONE

piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 2h i mourn the mclaren double podium we could've had... ↳ piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 2h what matters most is that oscar finished ahead of sainz, i'm a happy woman

ZG24 future WDC · @zhoupdates · 21m the most iconic cousins are having dinner together in imola after the race

tagged: 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 and lina !!! ↳ clara @ zgy24 · 5m oscar finally let lina out of his sight this weekend?

INSTAGRAM

oscarpiastri

liked by logansargeant and 264,586 others

oscarpiastri En route to Florence (got really sidetracked)

amelia_belrose who gave them the right to be so cute?

pi4str1 the anticipated road trip happened 🥺 ↳ linasgirl4 @pi4str1 from a mention in a rolling stones interview to reality, they did it guys 🫶

opeightyone Nice quick break before the double header

siera_mblanc he's never looked so boyfriend before this is insane, the girlfriend effect is slowly kicking in

TWITTER

pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 2h something real funny about oscar driving down to florence with lina to spend a day or two before having to helicopter over to monaco by wednesday for the mclaren senna tribute livery/monaco gp promotions like 😭 OSCAR, BREATHE A LITTLE ↳ pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 2h idk how u think this is lina hate, it's just me pointing out that oscar had found a gap in his schedule and immediately went: i'm spending as much time as physically possible with my girlfriend before they forcibly drag me to monaco

Oscar Piastri @ OscarPiastri · 4h Searching my family tree to find any trace of Monégasque roots ↳ Charles Leclerc @Charles_Leclerc · 1h I can adopt you if needed ↳ Jonny @EB_Jonny · 13m did we just become in-laws to the leclercs???

piaa⁸¹ @papayaeightyone · 1h oscar piastri-leclerc 😭

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

taglist @ririyulife @ashy-kit @fionaschicken @namgification @cherry-piee @urfavsgf @eiaaasamantha @sp1rl @destinyg237 @iloveyou3000morgan

[talkfantasytome]

Glasses

A teeny, tiny drabble so that I could participate and do something for @nestaarcheronweek despite my crazy, hectic life. I've always imagined that Nesta wears glasses for work or reading or something, and that it drives Cassian absolutely nuts. I wish I had more time to make this more, maybe some day, but for now, I give you Cassian appreciating Nesta in glasses. 💕

Am I still good to swing by to bring your key back?

Yep! Working from home and have no more meetings today. Come by whenever you want, no need to knock.

Cassian smiled at the words flashing across his screen as he reached the windowed door that revealed the doors to the two apartments in Nesta's converted townhouse. Nesta had already told him twice that he could come by any time after noon today, but he let his nerves get the better of him and he had to check just one last time. Even if he was already on her street.

"How are you already here?" the silky sharp voice of his girlfriend asked, carrying easily down the stairs as he opened the door to her apartment.

Cassian chuckled, closing the door and locking it behind him. "Couldn't get to you fast enough, sweetheart," he called up as he began to climb. It was a steep staircase. And dark. He hated it. Nesta could really hurt herself on it, and that was something he wouldn't be able to handle. Cassian dreaded the day he got a call telling him she'd fallen down these damn stairs.

Reaching the main floor, he set the keys down on the tall table in front of him just as a large, cream furball let out a loud hiss.

"Even after feeding you for a week, you still hate me?" he muttered, bending down to see if Ataraxia would sniff at his fingers. The furry little beast lifted his nose up and sauntered away from Cassian like a little prince. "Your cat is a spoiled brat," he said, walking down the small hall toward where he knew Nesta would be working in her large living room.

"As he should be," she replied.

Cassian walked into the room and suddenly the world felt lighter as he laid his eyes on his girlfriend for the first time in a week. Staring intently at the computer screens in front of her, all he could really see was her delicate frame and the golden brown hair tied back in her typical coronet style.

He took a step toward her, going to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and then paused in his tracks as Nesta turned in her chair to look at him.

There, resting on top of her perfect nose, was a pair of rounded-square glasses in a dark frame. They weren't exactly hipster glasses - too small for that - but they were a similar shape that sat perfectly in Nesta's face.

Nesta was always the most beautiful woman in the room, always sharp and stunning and obviously intelligent. So Casssian wasn't sure exactly what it was about these glasses, but they took his breath away. Perhaps he was more attracted to librarians than he realized. Or maybe it was just Nesta, looking absolutely stunning in everything, and adding new fantasies about glasses Cassian never thought he'd desire.

"Wh…what are those?" he asked like an idiot, pointing to her face.

Nesta let out a small laugh. "My glasses? I wear them for work. They're just blue-light lenses, they keep me from getting a headache when staring at a screen for a long time."

"They're-"

"A necessary nuisance."

"-phenomenal." Nesta blushed at Cassian's last word, turning back to the computer screen.

Cassian wanted to riot, just as he always did when Nesta looked away from him. It should be illegal, for him not to be able to look upon her face. But especially now. Who knew wen he'd get to see her in glasses again? He needed to find a way to save himself from this withdrawal, and he knew just the thing. "Don't you get a lunch hour?" he asked softly, stepping closer to Nesta and leaning his chin on her shoulder.

"Yes…" she answered slowly, turning her face to look at him.

He grinned. "Great. So why don't you log off but keep those glasses on and join me in the bedroom?"

Before Nesta could answer, Cassian left a kiss on her neck and sauntered to the back of the apartment, smirking as her heard soft footsteps following him.

If you'd like to be added to my taglist, let me know!

@live-the-fangirl-life @generalnesta @secretlovelybeauty @julemmaes @boredserpent @autumnbabylon @moodymelanist @sv0430 @nesquik-arccheron @gwynrielsupremacy @katekatpattywack @moonstoneriver77 @swankii-art-teacher @lemonade-coolattas @emily-gsh @my-fan-side @champanheandluxxury @imsointobooks @sayosdreams @simpingfornestaarcheron @perseusannabeth @shinya-hiiragi @a-court-of-milkandhoney @pintas3107 @embersofwildfire @superspiritfestival @thewayshedreamed @lunabean @xstarlightsupremex @mis-lil-red @wannawriteyouabook @dealfea @bridgertononmymind @daydreamer-anst @chosenfamily-valkyriequeens @hiimheresworld @c-e-d-dreamer @kale-theteaqueen @charming-butt-insane @charliespringsleftconverse

[tinietaehyun]

Star Crossed Lovers Rivals ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥✧˚ · .

[Rival!Taehyun x Fem!Reader]

Pairing: Rival!Taehyun x fem!reader

Genre(s): Romance, enemies to lovers, fluff, hints of angst! (Also particularly academic rivals to lovers bc it is phenomenal to read), post-college au. 

Contains: Swearing/Profanity, mild mentions of explicit behaviour (more so tension lmao). (Wow! I’m not writing angst for once!) 

Summary: “Oh just a B? What happened? I thought you were on top of your game? Don’t tell me, you didn’t study?” Your world comes crashing down in shambles as you furiously glare daggers into the raven haired boy in front of you as he condescendingly smiles with his gleaming A+ paper in hand. He was so infuriating; you wanted to punch his handsome face so bad. 

Wait, handsome? God no, you’d rather be caught dead than ever think he was...wait what were you so pressed about again? 

Shit. 

His lips form an arrogant smile, “Cat got your tongue?” Your gaze darkens, “You’re so dead the moment the bell rings.” He brushes past you as he chuckles, “See you after class, sore loser.” 

Surely his heart must be racing just as much as yours does right? Right? 

How could you two ever fall for each other?

—————————••••••••••••••—————————

You miserably scan through your résumé. This had to be your third interview this week. A list of exquisite grades lines your sheet with your very accomplished credentials alongside the many efforts you put into extracurriculars when you attended college. 

Even the work experience you gathered during that time whilst balancing exams, holy fuck! What more could they possibly want from you? For what preposterous reason could you not get a job. You tried to craft the most perfect résumé and it still wasn’t enough. You knew the labour market was competitive but not this competitive. 

Frustration builds up inside you, like a shaken bottle of champagne you knew you were on the brink of exploding. Your crumbling student debt was one issue but the main issue was you had to pay rent very soon and your own savings were surely not going to hold up if you didn’t get a better paying job soon. At the moment you worked in retail (which in summary is terrifying dealing with a plethora of customers- mostly bad).

You let out a pitiful laugh peering back at your résumé. What was the point of working so hard back then? A year and a half ago, you were on the brink of exhaustion trying to reach number one all for a bunch of stupid grades. You competed so hard. Competed with...him. 

You wonder how he’s doing now? You’ve not spoken to him since you left college with a degree in business psychology. He’s probably doing way better than you were. That snobby little arrogant- 

You catch yourself smiling instinctually. Fuck. Your heart feels warm as though a woollen blanket encompasses it. You often realise how much of your college life you spent with him. Not that you’d ever admit it to anyone, you actually missed your senseless and petty bickering. You missed his cocky grin and you missed his glare when you beat him in an exam. 

You let out a sigh; well that time of your life is over. You maybe do regret not using college as an outlet to enjoy yourself and not constantly trying to compete and work hard. You wished you could have gotten to know your so called rival behind his vast array of A+ grades. 

Perhaps you wish he could have gotten to know you too behind your academic achievements.

“Miss Y/n. You may enter for the interview.”

You perk up in your seat shakily clasping at your file. “Ah, yes thank you.” Well, here goes. You tightly grip at your file. You were sure, if you didn’t make it through this interview. You’d keep trying again and again.

You were no quitter.

—-

Your hands tremble as your eyes scan the email. At first when the notification popped up your heart plummeted. You just knew that it was going to be bad news. You tried procrastinating in an attempt to not read it however curiosity got the better of you. Perhaps a tiny fraction of you had an ounce of hope that you’d maybe gotten the job.

You click the email open and begin scanning through the array of typed words:

[Congratulations! We are delighted to inform you of your acceptance at our company. We’ll be glad to see you on our amazing team!]

No way! You blink astounded. You got the job! You’ve finally got a decently paying job! Something you could work with and in a few years time maybe even think about getting promoted to a managerial position. You scan the rest of the email’s details feeling all sorts of jittery excitement.

You’d be starting next Monday. You couldn’t believe it, maybe you had a stroke of luck after all. You started preparing yourself for your new job filled to the brim with gratitude and thrill.

Soon enough the very Monday you had anticipated arrived. Though you weren’t quite as excited as before; now your mind more filled with anxiety and fear at how your first day would go instead. What could possibly go wrong? It’s the marketing department, there’s nothing to be afraid of right?

Your eyes glance up hearing footsteps coming down the sleek modern hallway. You wipe your clammy hands and attempt to look somewhat confident. You had been told one of the employees would be tasked with guiding you around and showing you the general gist of your duties as an employee here. You definitely had to make a strong first impression!

Your gaze meets the tall, ebony-haired figure only for your heart to almost come up to your throat. No fucking way? That surely isn’t who you think it is?

“Holy shit,” the figure comes to a pause a few metres in front of you.

You find yourself standing up; your knees almost buckle. Fate was indeed fucking around with you like a ball of yarn between a kitten’s paws.

The male’s lips curl into the same disgustingly attractive smirk you’d seen thousands of times. “Well, I heard the new employee was over qualified. I didn’t think I’d see you here though. I knew they exaggerated a bit.”

You grit your teeth in annoyance. There it was the ever so condescending tone of voice accompanied with that signature head tilt to the right. You smile overly sweetly, “When I heard someone was going to guide me, I thought it would be with someone more experience.”

He scoffs, “What happened? Didn’t you say you were gonna work for some big company? Become the executive manager.” He’s taunting you.

You lean forward, file in hand with a condescending smirk of your own, “What about you Kang Taehyun? Didn’t you say you were going to become a marketing executive at THE biggest company in the country? This company is big but not the biggest.”

Taehyun’s gaze darkens and his jaw tightens. “Piss off.” You hum delighted, “See not so funny when the tables turn is it?”

He rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Can’t believe I have to babysit you for two days.” You mutter, “Believe me I’m just as enthusiastic as you are.” A snort escapes his lips. “Yeah, yeah, follow me then.”

He begins the tour of the office. Numerous curious eyes are set on you both as the burden of ‘newest addition to the department’ now dwells on your shoulders.

Your eyes absorb what he’s wearing. A sleek white shirt with a loosened blue tie. His sleeves rolled up to his elbows showcasing his strong arms. It appears he still hasn’t stopped working out since college. How unfortunate for you.

Your cheeks begin to warm. You hated to admit it but since college he’d definitely changed. He’d unfortunately gotten more attractive than he already was. He must be fighting off dates left, right and center. Not that you’d relate. You’d only dated one guy in college (you shudder) you agreed to never think about that memory again. Big yikes.

His dark hair sleekly hung in strands over his forehead with his sharp eyes peering through. Taehyun always had somewhat of an intimidating expression; whether it was unintentional or not you didn’t know. You wondered if through your years together if you ever genuinely saw him smile…

“I’d like you to repeat what I just said.” He sharply shatters your internal conversation. You splutter awkwardly. Well fuck. “Uh…”

Taehyun deadpans at you, “Yeah, fuckin’ thought so. How did you graduate again?”

You sneer. “Oh? You’re asking me that? 2nd rank?”

By the end of your degree after endlessly fighting, when the finals rankings of grades came out he turned out to be second place in your batch whilst you were thrillingly first (by a four point difference but that’s not important).

He sneers, “Mind your tone, newbie.” You snort, “So cringe.” Taehyun mutters, “I was beginning to forget how fucking insufferable you were back then.” You cooe all doe-eyed, “Aw, what a shame. Glad I arrived just in time to refresh your memory.”

He grates his teeth and runs his fingers through his locks. His lips twitch slightly before he spins back around, “Anyway, I’ll teach you how to use the printer and scanner and then I’ll take you to your desk.”

You found yourself smiling. It was odd, all he was doing was insulting you and making sarcastic remarks (you doing the same back,) however it made you feel giddy. It reminded you of the same rivalry you had back then. That rivalry was what gave you motivation to work as hard as you did.

“So that’s about it. If you have any other doubts-“

You interrupt, “Yeah, ask you. Got it.” He scoffs, “No, I was gonna say don’t ask me. Annoy someone else. Or suffer.” You pout, “God, you’re even sweeter than I remember.”

He rolls his eyes and is about to walk back over before you murmur, “Wait.” He raises a brow, “Hm?”

“Uh, actually nothing.” You find yourself slouching into your seat. He gives you an exasperated stare before walking off. A heavy feeling sinks into your heart; he didn’t truly hate you right? What if your attitude was making it worse?

Maybe you should stop retaliating for a bit. You’re coworkers now, not in college. You had to remain professional. Yeah… that’s it.

Another day passes by uneventfully with you asking other people for help pitifully whenever the printer got jammed. It’s not your fault the printer is so shit. (It was an expensive one and it was clearly your fault.)

You groan, “Every fucking time.” Your newest dilemma was trying to adjust to the company software and trying to correctly input in the numbers and formulas in Excel. You were damn good in fact, except for today.

Your numbers didn’t seem to be creating the correct chart. You had gone wrong somewhere with the inputting but no matter how ever many times you tried editing and reading through it, you couldn’t see the problem.

You hear a snicker behind you and you spin your chair around to see the infamous man you wished to avoid. You groan. “Not happy to see me?,” He pouts.

You wave your hand nonchalantly, “Leave me alone. I don’t need your condescending tone behind me.”

Taehyun murmurs with a cocky smile, “Yeah but those charts look shit.” You glare at him, “Yeah, I’m aware.”

He places a hand on the back of your chair as he steps closer. The scent of his cologne climbs up your nostrils overwhelmingly. Shit, he smelled good. Hints of warm wood, bergamot and mint maybe. Whatever concoction it was, it made you almost feel dizzy.

“What’s the issue? Chart formatting or inputting? Let’s check the formulas you’ve put in.”

You huff, “I don’t need your help.” He arches a brow, “Oh really? It’s not like you’ve been sitting for twenty minutes staring at the screen with a look of despair or anything.”

“You-!” You bark. He leans over placing his hand on the mouse almost scaring the shit out of you when his hand brushes against yours. You place your hands on your lap awkwardly. Taehyun was insanely close; leant over your right side using the back of your chair as a support.

You didn’t need help…right? His brows furrow intensely as his maroon irises scan and dart across the screen with incredible speed. He appears to murmur to himself. The intense look of concentration seemed to make your heart palpitate. His cologne enveloped you like a blanket.

“Mm, I think the problem is here. See this, we’ll replace it with another formula, I think it’s easier with this one. Can I shift some of this?” You find yourself nodding along with whatever he says paying attention to him working. He’s clearly gone through the exact same problem as you.

Soon enough the charts start looking much, much better. The way you wanted them to appear. You find yourself feeling defeated. He’s probably thinking of how stupid you are. You peer down at your lap at you mumble out, “Thank you.”

He doesn’t move from beside you and you hear him pleasantly hum, “Couldn’t hear you? Mind saying it again?” You scoff to yourself. What a nuisance! “Thanks, Tae…hyun…” You find yourself stuttering as your peer up to angrily say thanks. You forgot how close his face was to yours.

Taehyun stumbles back up to standing. The more seconds pass and you realise his cheeks are blossoming into hue of red. He clears his throat, “Anyway, good. Be grateful.” You roll your eyes, “Oh my saviour.”

He smirks, “Don’t beat yourself up over this by the way. I know what you’re like. I made the same mistake on my first week here. Obviously not ever again. But yeah, another coworker helped me.”

Was this his way of trying to cheer you up? He knew what you felt? Of course he did. He wanted academic validation and was just as much of a perfectionist as you were. He even saw you at your most vulnerable. It was as though you were two sides of the same sheet of paper.

You find yourself smiling a little too hard. He appears to be staring at you too.

There’s a silence between you two. You expected him to leave. He looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t let the words leave his lips.

So you do something that you’d never thought you’d do. “Hey Taehyun…do you wanna grab coffee together?”

His eyes that you usually saw as very sharp and murky, for the first time glistened in intrigue. His lips curl into a mischievous smile, “I suppose you do owe me. I can put the coffee on your tab.”

You groan as you stand up after saving your work. “I never said that.” He hums, “You implied it.”

“I didn’t imply shit.”

With that, you find yourself walking beside Taehyun to the company café. He orders a Caramel Macchiato accompanied with a freshly baked flaky croissant (all unfortunately on your tab).

“This reminds me of the time I bought you lunch after you were sobbing because you got your first C grade.” Taehyun grins taking a massive bite out of his croissant. You both sit down and you snap, “Fuck you. First and last C grade by the way. You know how hard I studied for that test! The teacher didn’t like me, I swear!”

He murmurs with a smirk, “Sounds like an excuse to me. I still remember you sniffling and your puffed up cheeks. I think that was the first time I saw you cry, actually.” You whine, “You’re so mean, you know that?” He snorts, “Oh? So you’re not?”

You knew passing was all your parents asked for. It was a hard exam, so getting a C was amazing. You were grateful but…you felt for your own personal standards, it wasn’t good enough. You know better now, of course. You put a lot of pressure on yourself back then. You knew Taehyun did too. How did he handle it?

“You know, it was stupid how hard we competed against each other back then. It was fun, but stupid. We both had huge sky high aspirations but here we are working at a regular company.” Taehyun murmurs swirling his coffee.

You softly murmur, “It’s okay.” He inhales deeply, “Yeah, it’s okay.” He hums putting back on his blunt facade, “Anyway, at least I wasn’t the only one brought down. Here you are.” Taehyun grins, “Think about it, that C grade you got made no difference?”

You glare, “Very funny.” Your mind flickers back to the memory.

“Here.”

You attempt to hurriedly wipe your tear-stained face. You didn’t want him of all people seeing you this pathetic.

“No use in trying to hide that you’re crying.” He sits beside you on the the grass under the tree. “If you’re here to rub it in, kindly piss off,” you sniffle out. “On a normal day, maybe. But…hey. Look at me.” You shake your head. “Oh come on, y/n.”

“You’re not a failure. This is not the end of the world, y/n. You did well okay. Even I didn’t get an A. Our lecturer didn’t teach shit. It’s not our fault.” He huffs out. “Everyone got hit hard.”

His voice cracks slightly, “I get it. I get what your feeling.” You peer up at him with glossy eyes. He holds a sadness in his eyes. At that moment you knew he was also experiencing the same pain as you. It maybe insignificant or stupid to others but to him, he knew.

“As I said, here.” He holds out a paper bag. The smell of food wafts from it making your stomach rumble. Oh yeah, you hadn’t eaten lunch. You peer inside, there was a burger, fries and an ice cream cup. He ordered you food.

“You didn’t have to-“ you splutter. “Too bad, I noticed you didn’t leave the campus to get lunch today like usual. A-Anyway, don’t get used to this treatment.” Taehyun mutters. He brings out his own bag with his own order. He gets himself comfortable beside you as he starts taking his food out of the takeaway bag. “Well what are you waiting for? Go on, eat.”

Your heart races. He was eating with you. Your academic rival, your so called enemy was eating lunch with you. lunch that he bought. Taehyun chews as he says, “Just you wait, I’ll beat your ass next week though. We have a seminar in Mrs Webbs’ class that we’re getting graded for.”

“Yeah keep talking out of your ass. My Powerpoints and presentation skills far supersede yours.” He snarks, “You talk big for someone who still types on Microsoft Word 2010 version.”

“Shut the fuck up, my dad will upgrade my laptop soon I swear.”

You’re brought out of your reverie with Taehyun accidentally slamming his knee against the metal table support. You murmur, “Deserved.”

He yelps, “For what!? I did fucking nothing!” You smirk to yourself, “Yeah I know. Still deserved.” “You act like you’re a twelve year old commenting on Tiktok.” He scoffs rubbing his knee.

“We should do this more often.” You find yourself murmuring. “What slandering each other? Wasn’t college enough for you?” He smirks playfully.

“I mean you can’t tell me you don’t enjoy our bickering?” You mumble sipping your own drink. He leans his head back exaggeratedly as if deep in thought. “Well…I suppose I happen to enjoy it ever so slightly.” You don’t know why but your heart happens to jump around in your chest at the admittance.

“See!” You call out. He rolls his eyes biting his croissant again. “Maybe you’re just a masochist,” he replies with a snark. You gawk at him, “Well you’re the one being mean ninety percent of the time, so maybe you’re a sadist.”

The table goes silent with other members of the nearby tables giving you both awkward stares.

“This out of context sounds really bad you know.” Taehyun clears his throat appearing to find the ground more interesting all of a sudden.

Your cheeks heat up and you scoff, “You and these people around us are just dirty minded.” His eyes narrow and be coyly smiles, “I wasn’t the one who insinuated that they liked being bickered at and insulted. You were. Like being degr-“

You sharply stand up with your half bitten pastry in hand, “Well, seeing that you are being immature, Taehyun. I’m going to have to cut this coffee break short.” He promptly follows behind you. You hear a sound that you’d thought you’d never hear.

It was odd. You’ve never imagined what it was like to hear him genuinely laugh. Yet here you were. You turn around; your arm clasping the strap of your bag. His eyes glimmer as they widen. The sound of laughter that escapes him is so…it’s definitely unique. You liked it. His wide smile as he rushes after you cackling at your embarrassment.

Taehyun’s dark hair bounces as he jogs to catch up to where you stand. “Oh come now, you didn’t have to leave me like that, I wasn’t serious.” You mutter, “Yeah, yeah.”

He looks beautiful when he genuinely smiles. You clear your throat flustered as he catches you staring at him and you start walking off again. “Ugh, wait!”

So it carried on like this, your occasional talks from across your desks became daily bickering. Even both your fellow colleagues were amused by the bickering and other witty comebacks that you both hit each other with. Your once in awhile coffee breaks became eating lunch together everyday.

Of course neither of you would admit that you in fact enjoyed each other’s company a little too much.

“You know he definitely likes you.” You roll your eyes at your colleague Momo. You didn’t want to build up unnecessary hope. He probably thought of you as a friend, a friendly rival that he liked to be witty with. So you shouldn’t raise your expectations either.

You two were rivals to the bittersweet end.

“How can you both be so fucking stupidly smart? Are all nerds like this?” You deadpan at her. “What I meant was, your feelings are very obvious towards each other.”

“Don’t you think it was fate to meet him again?” She was a hopeless romantic; something that you were not. She gushes, “I can see the way he peers at you over the top of his monitor. Whenever he passed by your desk the smile on his lips…ah!”

You freeze, “Be for real right now.” She smiles teasingly, “Why don’t you test out my findings yourself?” You glare, “Must be nice to spectate from the side huh?” She shrugs innocently, “What can I say? You’re the main character here, not me.” You release a drained sigh.

Feelings from the past were mixing into a worrying concoction of hope and romance. Did he truly see you that way? Or were you setting yourself up for failure?

So just like Momo said, you sat yourself at your desk and began to work, typing away. You feel your heart pound in your chest. Your eyes briefly move up across the desk divider and you almost feel the world slowing down to a halt. Just like she said, there he was peering over his computer monitor like a cat peeking over a kitchen counter with its paws.

His immediately peers down at his desk clearly embarrassed he got caught. You can’t help but breathlessly laugh. Your heart flutters uncontrollably. That was the cutest thing you’d seen from him. It wouldn’t hurt to tease him a little right?

Maybe he’d tell you his reason if you just gave him a little playful nudge.

You find him near the filing cabinets a bit later and decide to approach him with a mischievous smile lining your lips. “Hey.” He peers up folder in hand, “Oh hey.”

“Just here to grab some files, the manager asked for February’s reports,” Taehyun hums. He notes your teasing expression and he tilts his head, “What’s got you so high and mighty?”

“The fact I caught you staring at me two to three times over your monitor.” You dramatically sigh, “It’s truly a burden to be so stunning. Even you my mortal enemy, can’t resist.”

“Now what makes you think I’d look at my public enemy number one with heart eyes?” He scoffs closing the file. You hum, “Oh? So, I’m your number one?”

“You have very selective hearing. Might want to get that checked.” He snorts. “You have tunnel vision, because you only seem to be looking at me,” you huff.

His gaze shifts and he tosses the file to side on one of the emptier shelves. Taehyun begins to walk forward speedily catching you off guard. You find yourself stumbling back into another one of the metallic cabinets with an awful bang. Thank goodness it was just you two in here.

You let out a squeak as he suddenly leans over you blocking your attempt to escape. His gaze swirls in a mix of emotions but yet that cocky smile is triumphant on his face as always.

“You know since college, I have to give it to you. I never seen someone with such sharp wit. It’s actually very annoying.” He hums. You’re more preoccupied that he’s got you trapped between him and cabinet.

“Worried someone is gonna walk in? Oh, if they do. You’re gonna have to explain this one. Not me.” He hums. His eyes scan every crevice of your face making you shiver. “You’re the one who got us in this predicament. Now if you would just kindly move your arm-!”

He leans in even closer. You might faint you think. His cologne overwhelms your senses and you hate how attractive he is this close up. “You damn well could have just walked around me; I only have one arm up. Yet you’re choosing to stay.”

Shit, he got you good. You peer away, “Whatever Taehyun.”

“Just admit you like me.” He shamelessly hums into your ear. You scoff, “you first.”

“Oh come on, you were making heart eyes from the first day.” He cooes. You snap back, “No, I was not!”

(Yes, you in fact were.)

“We’re getting nowhere.” He huffs. You glare, “Just say it.” You peer down noticing how close his lips are. He does the same mannerism.

“I have an idea, if that’s okay with you.” He whispers leaning in. You close your eyes, “Yeah. That’s okay.” No more words were exchanged except for a sweet kiss, a passionate wordless exchange of how you and him felt.

After all, you two were too stubborn to be the first to admit it. So what better way then to showcase it than this?

You both walk out of the cabinet files in hand flushed. “So.” You mumble.

“So…” He responds back. “Are we like…? You know? Or was it just an in the moment kind of thing? Because that’s not what I’m looking for.” You spill out all at once.

Taehyun stops walking and starts laughing making you whine, “Oh don’t be like that. Answer the question! It’s vital information!”

“Well my precious rival, it was not an in the moment thing. I was hoping you could in fact be my one and only rival.”

You smile at him, “Rival? Only yours?” He nods, “Only mine.“

“You do know I’m asking you out hypothetically, yes?” He raises a brow. You smack his arm, “Yeah, I’m hypothetically saying yes. Yes. We got that. Are we both clear?”

Taehyun hums pleased, “Then. Then yeah, be prepared. You’re gonna get a date so phenomenal you’ll never find a better man.”

You roll your eyes, “How romantic of you. You sound like a loser.” He scoffs, “That’s not how you should be talking to someone who’s gonna take you out on a date.”

You groan trying to contain your smile, walking beside him, “You’re insufferable.”

He hums with a pretty smile, “I know. You are too.”

———————••••••••••—————

[completeoveranalysis]

[2]

NEW FAVOURITE COVER?

NEW FAVOURITE COVER!

Chapitre 201 - The Truth from within the Ruins

Oh this is just beyond gorgeous. Who can stand against the pure concentrated adorable that is Tsubasa Babies Family Photo? Now with all four of them!

I’m in love with all the tiny details that they clearly spent so long on - all the lovely folds of Sakura’s dress, the intricate detailing on Fai’s robe and staff. Lava Lamp is in his ceremonial garb, and tiny Kurogane IN HIS FANCY LITTLE OUTFIT. (AND HIS POSTURE? GET OUT. Incredible)

 Kurogane doesn’t have Ginryuu yet (since this is Happy Childhood AU, so his father will still have it. Still has the moon though!) but Lava Lamp has the Syaoran Family Sword all ready to go. His outfit would be incomplete without it - they’re all wearing clothing from their home worlds, or maybe their families? I’m technically not sure which world Lava Lamp comes from, but his outfit is Family Legacy all the way down. I’m dying to know if Fai’s outfit is in the style of Seresu or Valeria - I don’t think they’re all that different, but I think I would put my money on Valeria based on the position of the fur and the curl motif. In which case it’s fun for me that his Happy Family AU is in Valeria instead of with Ashura. (sorry not sorry Ashura get fucked)

I suppose in this version he never had reason to leave Valeria in the first place, so it’s a very nice touch that the outfit doesn’t immediately resemble the clothing he wore in his backstory, since that’s all so closely linked to the death of his twin, who would be alive here. Very nice visual choices all around, especially with each of them in their own unique colour pallette. Oh, and even with the colour differences they all have bits of yellow somewhere on them, showing their connection.

The left/right split between them is really fun too - sword wielders on one side, phenomenally powerful magic users on the other, cats vs dogs, unique child/parent pairings, etc. It’s very funny to me that they found a super fancy chair for Sakura and a cushion for Kurogane, but nothing for the other two. But Fai draping himself over the chair is such an incredible piece of character flair, which I am in love with, but also, the TOUCH? The little touch of tiny hands? Sakura reaching back to put her hand on the back of Fai’s? Tiny Lava Lamp’s little grip on Kurogane’s arm? OH it’s so touching. 

And behind them all? THAT WINDOW. Such a clear symbol positioned directly in the centre frame. At first I thought it might be an eye, but this is Happy Family AU so there should be no Evil Wolverine to spy on them. What I’m voting on instead is CLAMP playing with Tarot symbols again and this being the Wheel of Fortune, or a similar idea of a wheel of destiny. They use the latter idea a lot in their earlier works (RG Veda and X/1999 say hi), but I think the tarot symbol in particular really shines through with the ideas they’re playing with in Tsubasa/xxxHolic, and has a very strong parallel to the idea of hitsuzen. 

After some much safer googling it looks like the “Wheel of Fortune” in Tarot can mean change or cycles or inevitable fate, but on the flipside could also be lacking control. I think the reversed meaning of the card really speaks to me the most about their situation in general, as it describes bad luck and misfortunes thrust upon you from external forces, that you are fighting to take control back from an unwinnable situation. That fighting it is impossible, that continuing to fight it can only bring more suffering, and that the only option is to let it go. To stop blaming yourself for the thing you did wrong, or the thing that you think was your fault. To forgive yourself, to accept it all, to let yourself move on, to accept that change is inevitable, and to finally be able to move forward and just let everything happen. 

Because if that’s not exactly the whole situation we are in I don’t know what is. It’s a mirror for the things that Fai and Kurogane have already been through, and for what Lava Lamp Guy is still currently fighting, and CLAMP love to do drop these symbols all the time. 

And this is a bit of a tangent but who’s gonna stop me? Clamp LOVE their tragic destiny pairs, especially in their early works - the couples deeply love but also cursed by fate, like Kendappa and Souma, Ashura and Yasha (flavoured differently in RG Veda, but still fitting this cycle again in Tsubasa), Subaru and Seishirou, Sorata and Arashi (unfinished), Kamui and Fuuma, etc. The characters who are so different from each other, so diametrically opposed, but in love still, and it burns so strong that they either have to kill each other or let the world burn around them - or both! They’re always fighting destiny, just like the reversed wheel of fortune, and they fight it to the point of obliteration. 

AND THEN we have Tsubasa, and I think it’s so endlessly interesting that they took the same pattern and turned it around. Syaoran and Sakura definitely fit the theme (and wild that they took the Cardcaptor Sakura happy couple deliberately to make the most universe shattering tragedy out of it, but I still haven’t seen how their story ends, whether one will have to tragically die to save everything or whether they’ll get out somehow). But what I mostly want to talk about (surprise surprise) Kurogane and Fai, who fit the pattern exactly. Complete opposites, diametrically opposed, set up as antagonists and destined to kill each other but fall in love instead. That they both fight against the tragic pasts that defined them and eventually change their mind. Eventually, slowly, they accept love again and realise that they can actually live with themselves and each other if they let it all go. 

And I think what really gets me is that if this was an earlier Clamp work they absolutely would have tragically died - they would have killed each other in the climax of Seresu and it would have been beautiful and terrible and no-one ever would have ever emotionally recovered from the complete and utter devastation. 

BUT THEY DIDN’T. 

CLAMP spend all of Tsubasa revisiting all their old works, taking us through a parade of the various tragedies they’ve sung across the years, all leading up to them ultimately breaking their own pattern and letting Fai and Kurogane save each other from the same Clamp fate that claimed every tragic pair before them. They choose each other and get out alive. They stop blaming themselves for the unchangeable parts of destiny and finally forgive themselves. And it’s just very emotional to me that it’s these two that make it, these two that get to recover and choose each other and live their lives inseparable from this point on. The two that had arguably the most tragic backstories also get to face their trauma, survive, and live. 

And it’s just so beautiful to see how the CLAMP storytelling method has changed over the years, and to find out that after all these years, the big destiny story they really wanted to tell in their longest and most detailed work was about the two men who fell in love, against all odds and saved each other. Despite absolutely everything saying that it should be impossible, it’s Kurogane and Fai that finally flip the tarot card back around and live. 

And I’m extremely interested in what this means for Lava Lamp and Not!Sakura.

[six-eyed-samurai]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This relationship should not be condoned and was only written for entertainment purposes. Dark content like kidnapping and stalking is in here, so don't read if it makes you uncomfortable. Also the song is All I Want Is You by Rebzyyx in case you're wondering

I know what you want, girl

The ping on your phone had you clicking the Instagram notification in surprise, not expecting any activity due to you not posting your latest video yet. Did you text anyone recently? Not that you remembered. It was probably just a new follower; a smalltime cover artist like you didn’t expect much so you took what you could get.

It was not just a new follower.

Your eyes widened to the size of saucers. He of all people had followed you back?

Swooning internally, you double checked to be sure. You had discovered a new singer not too long ago that suited your tastes perfectly, from the genre to music he produced to his voice, quickly becoming a fan of his. Your last video had even been a cover of one of his hits.

Speaking of that video, he had left a comment and a like: Flattered you chose my song, looking forward to see more of these phenomenal covers.

Let me be the one to

At first you were convinced it was his publicity team at work, or that was something generic he’d say on every cover of his music. You weren’t that good of a singer or that famous of a star to be noticed by him.

Then he privately texted you on Instagram.

It was the usual topics at first. You fangirled, he accepted, you asked about his life, he answered vaguely, you wanted spoilers for his next project, he dropped hints, you joked about getting tips on how to improve your covers and he responded with beyond that. With compliments, even.

Somehow this spawned whatever weird friendship you both shared.

Hold your hand forever

Time went on and while you never actually met physically your relationship improved with each meme that you’d message and every song recommendation he’d send. He followed all your socials and gave you a little shoutout on his posts occasionally, leaving you kicking your feet in glee.

(How’d he find your other accounts, you weren’t too sure, but it was probably because you used the same profile picture for all of them, heh.)

Texts progressed to calls and calls progressed to the day you both released a cover of a duet together. His fans went crazy; some were upset their favorite artist was supposedly no longer single, but most were wild with speculation of who his “girl” was.

Your friends needless to say went berserk. You laughed them off, citing with a blush you both were just friends. Friends with a literal celebrity who decided to make nice with some nameless nobody.

Okay, it’d be lies to say the thought of him and you as a couple didn’t get your heart hammering and your body basically reacting as if you had swallowed an entire kaleidoscope of butterflies.

That’s just silly! You guys haven’t even met in real life!

We’d be good together

About a few months into your strange relationship with him you’d have to retract that statement when he casually texted you one day out of the blue: hey, coming to your part of the world soon, wanna meet up?

By then you both were already in the calling stage (and by calling that meant hitting that dial button at the most random of times just to tell him about that cute cat you saw or him to complain about his manager hounding him as usual), so without thinking about where you were or where he might be you slammed your finger so hard onto the screen you heard a crack, although whether it came from the phone or your finger you couldn’t tell.

“Are you serious? Don’t shit with me about this!”

“Hey, why would I joke about this?”

Your friends were practically slack-jawed and green tinged with envy the next day when you delightedly announce the meet up at the cafe he wanted to try out after hearing you blabber about it so many times a couple of day after his tour would start.

I'll make you feel special

He was just as nice as he was online, nothing like you had feared at all; he pulled out the chair for you, offered a bite of his food and a sip of his drink, even paying for the meal with an insouciant shrug and “Hey, you chose the place.”

Damn, why couldn’t all guys be like him?

He had pulled enough strings to score you both a more private, secluded booth at the back where he would be less likely to be noticed by bothersome fans, and the way he was staring at you right now that was making you blush so made it clear he only wanted his attention on you and yours him. To think he wanted to hang out like this again! With you of all people, some nobody fan!

“Are you hearing yourself right now?” His smooth voice rang out in laughter. “If any of my fans or paparazzi heard that you’d be so attacked right now. Not to sound arrogant, but I don’t just start chatting to anybody, y’know?”

Help you feel less stressful

“Yeah, well, but, I’m not that special.” You ducked your head shyly, but suddenly it was tilted up by his index finger so you’d look at him (oh god, did he just do that?!).

“Hey, plenty of things to like about you. I like your taste in music, your covers, your voice, your restraint not to fangirl too hard, your - let’s just say I like the way you make me feel like I’m some normal person out on a date with an amazing person and not a harassed celebrity.”

Harassed celebrity and a convict soon, because you were probably going to die from how fast your heart was beating. Or embarrassment as you spluttered and he laughed. Laughed.

“Plenty of other things too I won’t tell for now.” He winked and his lips split into a sincere smile.

You peek through your hands covering your red face. Sincere, yeah, but something prickled at the back of your neck. The smile was a little too wide and close to your face, triumphant in a predatory way that seemed nothing like a guy who managed to get his date flustered would wear.

Maybe someone would wear that sly, possessive smile when they-

“Anyways, where to now?”

Fix the holes in your heart

Your friends were a little more understanding when you both were meeting physically, now that you think of it. They didn’t kick up such a fuss when you cancelled several outings or didn’t pick up your phone during the outings with him, respecting that he would be leaving soon and you both wanted to spend as much time with each other as much as possible. They bore through you dragging them off to every single of his concerts with the overused promise of free tickets and best seats pretty well too.

But when his tour ended and admittedly you started spending a hell lot of time on your phone texting and calling and updating him on every single damn thing that went on in your life, according to your exasperated friends. It was practically spamming at this point, they insisted.

Naturally you got defensive and it ended in one big fight you were really regretting now, hiding under your mound of blankets and talking it over with him.

It's what I wanted from the start

>>I think I need to cut down on my time talking to you tbh

>>I needa think about my other friends too

>>also i’ve been really distracted lately so yeah

>>I hope that’s okay with you? pls don’t get offended

what’s wrong with focusing all your attention on me?<<

let’s not forget who was there for you when that date stood you up<<

or who sent you cash when you couldn’t pay back the apartment repairs<<

or who helped you boost your earnings making covers<<

are you really dumping me for them?<<

I thought we were friends<<

more than friends.<<

I got mental issues

You bit your lip. This wasn’t how you had expected it to go at all. Now every single one of your friends were mad at you. God, you had really screwed up, hadn’t you?

And he was still typing.

you’re the only one who makes me feel like a normal person, not some chased idol with unrealistic expectations everywhere<<

is it so bad that i can’t let you go?<<

>>no, no, it’s not like that

>>I just need some space

>>I’m still your friend, I just need to figure out a way to split my time evenly between you guys

>>please understand

Please understand, you pleaded in your head. You didn’t like the weird feeling (chills down your spine? goosebumps?) that came with every cold, fuming text of his.

Always fxxkin’ miss you

…fine<<

but I can still talk to you right??<<

gonna miss you a lot ngl<<

>>ofc!

>>ty for being so understanding

Happy that it was so easily blown over, you grinned and began to work on texting an apology to your friends and an invite to get together tomorrow. They weren’t the type to hold grudges and soon enough all of you were teasing each other about being punctual and not end up in the wrong bar the next day.

Weren’t the type to hold grudges, yes, but even your best friend of many years began to side eye you when your phone began to ping nonstop. Nonstop as in endlessly for about five minutes straight with absolutely no break in between. It frankly freaked all of you out and now you were very, very alarmed at whatever was happening to it.

“Shit, maybe it’s one of those spam callers! Go block them!”

At your friend’s words you panicked further and quickly opened up your phone.

Hah, you weren’t that naive to think that he’d accept your words just like that, were you?

Never mind, apparently you were.

Tons of bloody tissues

You were being spammed. Everywhere, anywhere. And it was all comments or things you couldn’t find fault with, but this had to be some form of harassment, right? Right?!

Even posts you didn’t remember from five years back on your Instagram received about a dozen likes and comments. Everything on your forgotten Tumblr account got reblogged. Your Facebook was bleating with notification after notification both there and your email. YouTube was probably in danger of crashing at how many subscriptions and compliments that were rolling in.

All from the same account. Well, variations of the same account. Public, personal, fanmade-

God, WHAT WAS HE TRYING TO DO?!

You had to deal with it later. Anytime but now, not when you friends were looking at you so peculiarly. They wouldn’t believe it, you realized. Who was gonna believe a celebrity like him was spamming some nobody artist’s socials so obsessively? You’d be the crazy one, in fact.

What the hell had you done? What the hell was going on?

Later, later, later. You mustered your best neutral smile and set your phone in silent mode.

“Heh, you’re right, it’s just them telemarketers, huh?”

All of over my room

>>WTF DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING

what?<<

>>DONT PLAY INNOCENT

>>IT WAS YOU WHO KEPT SPAMMING ALL MY ACCS THESE PAST FEW DAYS

>>explain

i didn’t do shit whatever it was??<<

You were about to explode. Hours of going back and forth on this subject and he continued to flat out deny all charges. Never mind your friendship. No actual friend of you who cared about you would do this. Whatever guilt you had originally felt vanished the longer he went on defending himself.

Hell if you were gonna be friends with such a fanatical creep who couldn’t take it if all your attention wasn’t on him and acted like a child throwing a tantrum (with petty revenge) if he didn’t get his way.

>>ykw

>>we’re done

>>I’m not putting up with this anymore

>>bye

hey wait<<

You blocked him.

I need to clean them up

You often wondered how you never saw it as you aimlessly scrolled through your past conversations with him. It was so obvious, all the red flags - the way he’d make sure you always paid him attention or guilt tripped you back into talking to him no matter how busy you were.

He had a way with words, you supposed. What a singer like him was supposed to have.

It’s over anyway. Nearly a month had passed since you blocked him and so far the spams had stopped. Nothing else had happened.

Humming, you plugged in your earbuds and began to wash the dishes and clear up the remains of the dinner you had shared with your friend. It had been a pleasant time, and it had only now dawned on you how freer you feel compared to when even grabbing a coffee with your pals you’d worry about his messages.

Your Spotify was on whatever mixes they created just for you, so it wasn’t unusual for you to hear some new music blasting, but tonight they seemed rather…familiar.

“Love the way she makes me feel, like I’m just another lovesick guy, not whatever they painted me to be, can’t ever, ever, let her go-”

Hold up.

Baby, I'm fxxked up

Your trembling finger scrolled further down the article. He had recently released a new album, “Digital Love”, and that apparently had been what you were unwittingly previously listening to. But there was something seriously off about the lyrics.

One song’s verse was describing a bedroom that was certainly vague enough, yes, but when you compared it to yours it was uncannily similar. He’s never been in your house though.

Another was about a cafe date, which certainly was generic enough. If the cafe didn’t sound like an exact copy of the one the both of you went to.

Another’s “text conversation at 3am”’s wordings were awfully alike to your chats. If it weren’t about a couple already dating you’d have thought-

The songs got weirder the more you scrolled, from the general cliche romance to something borderline psychopath-level infatuation with whoever he was singing about. Or the harsh life of a celebrity…except in the song’s point of view the singer was the one stalking the celebrity.

It summed up your brief relationship perfectly.

It wasn’t probably about that but it certainly made you extremely relieved you had broken things off.

Baby, will you help me?

Damn were you excited! And nervous, don’t forget nervous.

You spent quite a long time in front of the mirror, fretting over what to wear, what to wear? Was your makeup too much? Would those shoes hurt your feet if you wore them too long, so should you stick to your first choice of footwear?

Eventually you calmed down enough to pull off a look that even you would have to admit you rocked. Your best friend certainly thought so, delightedly commenting loud enough for everyone to hear when you climbed into the car with an embarrassed flush that left your blush useless.

You both had somehow managed to score invites to a prestigious music awards event, how lucky was that?!

Of course it wasn’t as interesting as you had originally thought it’d be, you found out when you got there. Once the novelty of meeting all those renowned musicians from around the world wore off it was all drinks and sore hands from clapping as guests gave speeches and singer after singer received awards. At least that was what your more-than-drunk bestie confessed as you both declined another glass.

“And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Best Album of the Year goes to…”

Oh god. You balked. The contents of your dinner threatened to tsunami out of your throat. You hadn’t realized, hadn’t remembered he’d be here too. Shit, shit, shit.

You calmed down with a few breaths. He hadn’t even seemed to notice you at all tonight. Neither had he made any other attempt to contact you after that. What could possibly happen? You were just being paranoid. Blame the alcohol, you decided.

He leaned into the microphone, flashing that trillion watt smile seen everywhere on the media. “Thank you, thank you all. I’m a songwriter and I can’t even express how happy I am to have won this award thanks to all of you.”

This brought out a round of laughter. He waited and went on. “There’s so many things, places and people that inspired the album, actually, but I’d like to thank one person in particular, actually. We haven’t made anything official yet, but after all those late night talks, dates…I think I really want to call them mine.”

Woah, he moved on pretty fast. You wondered who whoever he was talking about was. Or who they were - his plus one -

The color drained from your face. He called your name

Because I'm gonna help you

He chuckled to himself as everyone pushed you towards him. Alcohol weakened your strength and no one would notice your obvious fear and reluctance. That, he reflected, was how it was in the life of someone famous. Nobody noticed anything negative and when they did it blew up.

It was because of this, honestly, that made him chase after you so badly. You let him be vulnerable, be soft, be lonely and not have to worry that it’ll appear in the headlines the very next day.

He’d told you before. I like you because you make me feel normal.

Some nagging conscience feebly berated him at the back of his head at what he was doing but he brushed it off. He had given you a choice but you had turned him down. Turned him down in favor of…others. You couldn’t say he hadn’t been fair now.

Did you really think he’d let go of the one heavenly thing in his life? He’d drag you down to hell if he’d have to, if you wouldn’t go down willingly. You had to or he’d lose his mind. You didn’t have a choice. Not now, being yanked up to the stage, your rejections unheard. Not later, when he’d have you stay in his mansion forever. How else did you think your friend got those tickets?

You were a little too naive for your own good.

YANDERE ALPHABET MASTERLIST

[flightfoot]

ML Fanfic Recs for 2023: 125K+ Words

So I’ve been going through and adding particularly good fics I’ve read throughout the year. Only Complete fics, of course. Enjoy!

---

Dreams of You by @chocoluckchipz

Dreams had long been his only escape. Dreams of Ladybug, the girl who had always been there for him.

If only in his dreams. And only while she was also sleeping.

Because with the first rays of sunshine gliding over her skin, with the first fluttering of her eyelashes, from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, memories of Adrien would vanish from her mind.

She would go on living her life.

He would always be the only one who remembered.

At least until they meet in the real world and fall in love all over again, something that would’ve been easier to do if Adrien wasn't a prisoner in his own home.

Chocoluckchipz has some of the most beautifully executed lovesquare fics I’ve read, and this is no exception. Most of the fic is dedicated to Adrien wooing Marinette, spending time with her, with her own dream self acting as his wingman, giving her tips on how to get her to fall for him, all the while frustrated that she can’t share memories with her waking self, and that she and Adrien can’t share as much information as they’d like while asleep, due to limitations of the “curse” that allows Adrien to share dreams with his soulmate. 

It’s not all cute Adrienette fluff though. There’s a threat in the background waiting to erupt, as the weirdness of Gabriel’s ultimatum to Adrien about finding Ladybug or else being forced to marry Lila keeps on gnawing at him - and with good reason. This is a world with magic and kwamis still, and that fact makes itself very relevant in the last third of the story. 

It’s a well-written tale and very much worth a read!

---

one does not love breathing by @wackus-bonkus-maximus

All of Paris watched as Hawkmoth murdered Chat Noir, taking the Black Cat Miraculous for himself. Ladybug swears revenge, but her enemy—and every miraculous in his possession—disappear without a trace.

Six years later, a new team of villains launches an attack for the last remaining Miraculous: Volpina, armed with new powers; Queen Bee, with questionable loyalty; Argos, the new holder of the Peacock Miraculous; and Cat Walker, who Ladybug hates the most.

Takes place after S4 - Strike Back.

This is a simply phenomenal fic. You get to explore a lot of different perspectives, like Felix, Kagami, Marinette, and Adrien’s, just to name a few, and see their different thought processes and plans and priorities, and how it can cause their plans to collide with each other, even when they all ultimately are aiming for a good outcome for everyone. The characters are pretty complex and can mess up at times, even when they’re doing things (or not doing things, looking at you Luka) with the best of intentions. It was a joy to read and a real nail-biter the whole time, I actually wrote a fic for it halfway through just to resolve some of the tension for myself, One Does Not Love Shadows.

It also features the version of Luka I’ve connected best with to date, as he feels like Luka, but also is a lot more fleshed out, and can make some major errors while simply trying to avoid missteps. It’s helped me get a better handle on a character who I’ve generally had a lot of problems with really understanding.

It is an M-rated fic, though I think Wackus is being overly cautious on that front. There’s no sexual content and I wouldn’t put the violence or gore above a T-rating, so I wouldn’t let the rating scare you off.

---

Boomer!Luka: FeLuka Ending series by @19thsentry-blog

In the Shadows (the first fic in the series) summary:

On one side is Luka, 140-year-old Snake Miraculous holder and keeper of the Guardian's secrets, on the other is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a relatively newly minted hero of Paris and Guardian of the Miracle Box. Each is looking to fulfill their promises to their now gone mentors to reunite the Kwamis and keep them safe. Sounds simple--until you throw in a rocky start, the Atlantic Ocean, Félix Graham de Vanily, and a whole host of secrets…and suddenly simple becomes complicated (story of Marinette's life, right?).

So this is obviously way outside my normal wheelhouse. I don’t typically read Lukanette fics, even ones that turn into FeLuka later on in the series (though boy it becomes apparent quickly that the author’s fascinated with FeLuka’s dynamic.) But this one is really good, with the best Luka-centric fics I’ve ever read, and some of the best Felix-centric content as well. I love how Luka has his own baggage here, with all the pressure of wandering around for over a century, looking after the few Miraculous he found, trying to keep what’s left of the Order alive, unaware of Fu’s survival or of the Miraculous user’s re-emergence in Paris. There’s a lot of focus on Luka’s own feelings and thoughts and problems, not just on helping other people with them. 

The plot works even without the romantic aspect, so even if Lukanette isn’t a pairing that draws you in, I still recommend this fic, so long as you don’t actively dislike the pairing itself. And even though it’s a Lukanette fic, Adrien and Alya are treated fairly and with respect. Adrien may not end up with Marinette and is bummed about it, but the narrative is still kind to him overall, there’s clearly no ill well towards him, or Alya for that matter. (There are later fics in the series that focus more on Adrien just healing and coping and living after finding out that his father’s a villain and his mom’s been in the basement this whole time, and in the multiversal travel fic, Alya gets some standout appearances as Scarabella which are fun).

And FELIX - it’s clear that 19thsentry has this whole conception about Felix’s psychology. He’s wrapped in a ton of self-loathing until it started to consume him, made him lash out. Him being a sentimonster, wanting to get the Peacock Miraculous, actually gave him some direction for that at least. And he’s just in this pit of his own making, until he meets Luka, who can see through him when no one else can, who cares for him even though he doesn’t understand why, who’d been through so much over the years and yet kept himself kind. He’s attracted like a moth to a flame, infuriated that he cares, yet not able to stop himself from caring about this mysterious, infuriating musician. 

Yeah if you can’t tell this is the series that really sold me on FeLuka as a couple.

Oh yeah, one of the fics in here is M-rated, and it does earn the M rating for sexual content, though it’s nothing too major.

---

Accidents Are Also Miracles by @liiinerle

After a few turbulent days where four new people discover her secret identity, Marinette loses faith in her ability to keep the secret hidden. Wracked with doubts and insecurities, she pleads with Alya to take over as Scarabella, but she still can't let those worries go. Especially not once Monarch starts taking a particular, and personal, interest in her.

Along the way, she also starts to date Kagami, and has to deal with changing feelings about herself, Adrien, Alya, Kagami, and the idea of being Ladybug. At the same time, Alya works to uncover Monarch's secret identity, while Kagami struggles against a controlling parent, and a girlfriend who seems bent on destroying herself - with or without Monarch's involvement.

Fantastic Marigami fic here! You’ve got three major POVs in this fic: Marinette, Kagami, and to my delight, Alya. I loved getting to see Alya cope with taking over as Scarabella especially.

But of course, this fic centers more around Marinette and Kagami, with Marinette struggling with Monarch targeting her, and Kagami struggling against her abusive parent, as well as both of them trying to navigate their relationship together when they know that not everyone will approve. 

There’s also some other plots going on in here, like Sabrina breaking away from Chloe and becoming more independent (and closer to Adrien in fact), as well as a Lila takedown plot, though thankfully not one that involves demonizing other characters. While there are conversations about people believing Lila and siding with her, no one’s actually attacked for it except for Lila herself.

Oh yeah, and while this fic may not have much focus on Adrien, he’s still treated fairly and with respect, even when he messes up. He can make mistakes, but people understand where he’s coming from, and are still kind to him and want things to be okay, and to help him escape his abusive circumstances.

---

Awaken by InkyIbis

The previously white butterfly, now oozing black and purple as a conduit of the butterfly miraculous powers, flutters softly within the silvered-gloved hand.

It sits there for a long time.

"Go, my akuma," The soft sigh pushes the butterfly, the akuma, out towards the despair of a love not returned. The same ache within his chest. On a level so great that he's willing to sacrifice the city to mend it.

It's okay if he's the villain for now. He'll force the miraculous of creation and destruction to be revealed, and once he gets his hands on them, none of this pain, none of his loss, will ever happen.

This is essentially a canon rewrite for Miraculous (specifically seasons 1 and 2, with a bunch of the events mixed around) that focuses primarily on Adrien, with his relationship with Nino being the main driving relationship of the fic. (Don’t worry, Marinette’s still treated fine, she’s just not the focus). This is the best “rewrite Miraculous with more of a focus on Adrien” type fic I’ve seen, with it reworking the plots of the episodes so that they’re different enough to be their own distinct thing - it’s not trying to just rewrite the canon episodes but from Adrien’s POV, there’s a lot of lore changes going on as well, and things occur in different orders.

Like lorewise, Chat’s given a more important role in cleaning up the mess the akumas leave, with his power helping to cleanse akuma victims and he and Ladybug needing to use their powers in tandem in order to cast Miraculous Ladybug. There’s also no Miracle Box holding the kwamis. Instead, Chat sometimes surpasses his limits and ends up summoning kwamis, which is dangerous to him, but very useful.

What really makes this fic great though, is its focus on Adrien’s emotions. You really get a feel for Adrien’s insecurities, especially when it comes to not feeling like he’s good enough for Nino, with not wanting to bother him when he absolutely should, with feeling like he’s not a good enough friend to him, and then there’s dealing with all of Gabriel’s usual abuse on top of that.

Speaking of Nino, this is an Adrino fic (though several characters get crushes on Adrien, Nino’s the one who matters most for this), though a slowburn one. Nino’s clearly head-over-heels for Adrien, but Adrien has like, no context for what a romantic crush feels like and is basically viewing Nino the way he viewed Marinette in canon prior to season 5. He clearly cares for him a lot, including romantically, he just... doesn’t get it.

Anyway, if you want an interesting canon rewrite fic from Adrien’s perspective with Adrino as the main pairing, this is a good story to pick up!

---

Kintsugi - The Beauty Of Broken Things by @xaran-alamas

When freed from Mayura's control, and given a chance at a normal life, the Sentimonster clone of Ladybug must learn what it is to be not only a hero, but also a human being, and part of a family.

Meanwhile Marinette needs to figure out what to do with a hyper-energetic Kwami with a broken Miraculous.

Sentibug-centric fic here! The longest one in existence, in fact. Xaran does a great job of developing Centi, having her figure out what she wants and how to belong, and also deal with her feelings towards her creator - which are pretty negative since, you know, Mayura tried to kill her. The way she’s developed is excellent, and I adore her fitting into the Couffaine family after they take her in, with Juleka, Luka, and Anarka taking a shine to her quickly, and her to them. We spend a lot of time with the Couffaines as a result, so it’s also worth reading if you want to see more of that family, especially Juleka.

---

you made me a hero - reverse crush short stories series by @non-fantasy

This series is just plain fun! Like the title says, it’s a reverse crush AU, so Adrien’s head-over-heels for Marinette, while Ladybug’s smitten with Chat Noir. Which means that Adrien’s constantly trying to woo Marinette while Ladybug’s attempting to have normal conversations with Chat Noir (and failing), and both of them are oblivious to each other’s feelings. 

I love the way non-fantasy executes it, with Alya literally carrying around a spray bottle because of how eager Adrien is, and Ladybug being VERY SCARY if you ever lay a finger on Chat Noir (seriously akumas will literally beg for their akumatized object to be broken just to escape her wrath). 

Oh, also, Ladybug regularly stops by Adrien’s room so they can both lament how difficult of a time they’re having wooing their crushes, and just have fun together.

There’s a lot of entries in this series - 29 of them in fact - but most of them are pretty short, making it great if you want to devour some quick, cute, hilarious romcom action! 

Some stuff does actually change over the course of the series, it’s not just slice-of-life. Like identity reveals, dating, and even Hawkmoth’s defeat, so there’s clear progression and changes in circumstances as well.

---

Not a Monster at All by @book-sandwich

Adrien Agreste overhears a conversation he shouldn't, and a revelation sends him falling onto the terrace of the only person he can trust: his good friend (?) Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Takes place sometime after the first two episodes of season 5!

As you can probably guess from the title, this is a Sentimonster Adrien, Monarch takedown fic. Adrien’s going through a tough time, and Marinette’s just trying to be there for him as his whole world’s collapsing around him. Unfrotunately, they still don’t know what the object is, or how likely Gabriel would be to control Adrien if he hinted that he knew the truth, which leaves Adrien in a precarious position - still not having done an identity reveal doesn’t help matters.

It’s a really solid fic for the genre, though since it started up before the later parts of season 5, there are a few things that don’t match up with the canon information we obtained later on. 

---

Under Oath by @eoscenes

In the aftermath of Hawk Moth's defeat, Ladybug finds her heart torn between her schoolgirl crush and her superhero partner ― who returns, after an unexplained hiatus, more irresistible than ever.

⋆☆⋆

Gabriel Agreste is unmasked, and Paris rises up in the aftermath.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng must weather Paris' anxious protesters, ravenous reporters, a scattered team of judiciary investigators, and her conflicting feelings for two different boys. In the eye of this storm is the elusive Adrien Agreste, the primary witness in his own father's trial, who might just hold the secret to finding the Peacock Miraculous.

(If only she wasn't in love with him.)

Meanwhile, locked away in Le Grand Paris hotel, Adrien grapples with his responsibilities to a city that can't decide if it hates or loves him. Keeping his daytime persona and Chat Noir separate entities becomes even harder when Ladybug, whom he has finally decided to get over, starts visiting him at night, determined to figure his secrets out.

(If only he wasn't in love with her.)

When an unknown figure returns with the Peacock Miraculous, Ladybug and Chat Noir will have to save their city once more — or lose each other trying.

I love how this fic shows Adrien just breaking down over the reveal of Hawk Moth’s identity, he’s in a Very Bad Place for a substantial portion of the fic, and being a suspect and witness in the case does NOT help. It’s got the most detailed “Adrien suffering the consequences of the backlash to his father’s prosecution” plot that I’ve seen.

Still, things get better with time, slowly, gradually. It’s not all at once, or a completely linear road, but he’s got his friends, even after everything.

[noveratus]

Finished DBD, here are my thoughts:

•I quite enjoyed this show. It is not my favorite Neil Gaiman show (that's still good omens), but I do like it a lot

•I do with the characters were in their college years or instead of teenagers, but this isn't that much of an issue I suppose

•The best episode by far is episode 7. Like, holy crap, from the world building to the character development to the emotional moments, that episode is phenomenal

•I expected Edwin to be my favorite because I normally vibe with that type of character, but actually Charles ended up being my favorite. I can really relate with the idea of feeling so angry and questioning if that makes you a bad person. Charles was surprisingly a deep character

•I liked Charles a lot too, though he isn't my favorite version of this character archetype. Sometimes I did feel like they made him a bit too nice, I kinda wish he would have been a bit more antagonistic towards people, but all and all he was good.

•Loved Niko. I loved her contrast compared to everyone else. She is just a very normal girl surrounded by very abnormal circumstances and I love how that didn't make her any lesser in the team. She was the emotional intelligence there and I loved that for her. If there is a season 2, I wonder what they will do with her

•I liked Crystal and I really enjoyed how it paralleled actual toxic relationships irl but I am unsure if I like the direction the show took with making her a rich kid of sorts. I loved the fact she got her powers from her ancestors though. I think that was really cool

•Actually, I don't vibe with episode 8 for the most part. Episode 7 was so good that I think that the season could have ended there. The pacing and story of episode 8 felt a bit off in my opinion

•Other than those two, the other episodes were pretty good. I won't give them a proper individual rating because I think they were all consistently good abd achieve the emotional arcs they were going for fairly well

•I was one of the people who thought that Crystal was in love with Niko the first time they met lmao.

•Actually, something I wish that the show had addressed was how Crystal would act like humans were beneath her for not having powers. It would be interesting to see some conflict between the two in that aspect.

•Speaking of conflict, let's talk relationships shall we? Starting with the strictly platonic, I loved the friendship between Niko and Edwin. It was a bit out of left field, but man, do I wish we got to see more friendships like this in media so I will not complain

•That being said, I wish Niko and Charles had more screentime. I think they would vibe pretty well

•I also wish we had seen Edwin and Crystal together more often without Charles around. Love my boy, but those two need to have a heart to heart seeing as they are essentially crushing on the same man.

•Crystal and Charles is one of the wlm relationships I actually don't mind too much. I'm glad they didn't get together, and I would prefer if they didn't get together, but I wouldn't be upset if they did. Their friendship is great though

•Edwin and Charles are the core of the show. The fact that Charles just accepts Edwin's feelings even if he doesn't reciprocate is everything to me. And they did leave it open for it possibly developing into more in the future. I'm personally a very big fan of this ship, but if they don't get together I won't be upset

•I ship Jenny X me. Haha jk unless? I wish we had a bigger focus on her since she was the only positive adult in the kid's life (besides the walrus) but alas. I hope that, if there is a season 2, she gets a girlfriend

•I liked Cat King, though I must say, he gave me the creeps considering that Edwin does appear to be a teenage boy. Still, hopefully, he can find his own twink someday, preferably one of proper age

•Esther was that bitch and I loved her for it. If there is a season 2, I hope we get to see another witch, but this time one that uses her magic to protect people, maybe with Lilith's blessing

•Actually, can we have more of Lillith in general? Thanks

•No strong feelings about Monty. I didn't really like him at the start of the show and felt bad when his ghost died. He was cooler as a crow and if he does come back, give him the power to change between forms please

•No strong feelings on the Night Nurse either. Kinda ship her with fish guy though. They just vibe well.

•Oh, one more thing about Niko, this time a headcanon: I actually headcanon she is aroace but obsessed with romance so she wants her friends to be in love, but she doesn't want that for herself

•If there is a season two, I'd like to see more creatures like vampires or werewolves. Maybe even a mermaid.

•I also hope for more Death and Despair. Let the girls serve please

Overall, I would say this show was a solid 8/10 for me. Not as high as Sandman which was a 9/10 but I think it was pretty good still. I recommend. I might make a post writing about what would happen in my version of a season 2 of this show later

[clobertina]

I think we can all agree that HTTYD 3 is the most divisive movie in the franchise.

So I'm curious to know your personal opinions on it!

I personally have a love hate relationship with it. There's a lot of things I love while there's a LOT of things I hate.

I love a lot of it. But I'll go ahead and state the problems I had because they are easier to describe compared to the things I loved about it.

-Some aspects involving The Light Fury. She was a plot device more than she was a character and the "behind the scenes" creaton of her was problematic imo. Although it's slightly grown on me, her design is weird and I really want to redesign her lol.

-Some things involving Toothless. I LOVE Toothless, but I have a lot of problems with how he was handled in this movie. For one, he's TOO OVERPOWERED! like really? Not only can he control all dragons, but you gave the ONE ability that made the Light Fury unique and gave it to Toothless 🤦‍♀️. Although it's a result of the ending of movie 2, I don't like the idea of Toothless being able to control dragons, but this is a personal gripe that I explained in detail before and isn't a fault of the writing in movie 3. This is a nitpick but I don't like how they got rid of Toothless' subtle patterns that have appeared in all instalments (including series) except this movie. This is also a nitpick but I also found it weird that they made Toothless act so much like a dog in this movie when he almost always acted more like a cat in every instalment. Also, his want to leave Hiccup was way to sudden and is not in his character... I could explain a lot more but idc exactly how to put it to words and this post would go on forever lol.

-Kinda a nitpick but I don't like how Astrid was reduced to just moral support. I wish we had more moments of her being badass. Because one thing I always LOVED about Astrid was that she's independent and strong but also allowed to act feminine. As a woman myself, all women are different- Women can act feminine, women can act masculine, and seeing a strong independent woman character that can act masculine but also act feminine is something you rarely really see in mainstream media imo.

-The side characters where done SO DANG DIRTY in this movie... ESPECIALLY if you watched Riders/Defenders of Berk + Race to the Edge. The characters I feel got ruined the most though, where Snotlout and Ruffnut. WHAT HAPPENED TO SNOTLOUT BEING COCKY BUT ALSO HAVING A HEART OF GOLD!? WHAT HAPPENED TO RUFFNUT BEING PURPOSELY STUPID TO CONFUSE HER ENEMIES? WHAT DID THEY DO HHH???

-Grimmel was just a half baked Viggo from Race to the Edge. Nobody can change my mind.

-BIGGEST COMPLAINT. Like EVERY installment, both movie, short film, comic, and series, where built on exploration and discovery. In every part of the franchise, we saw new species and worlds. So when the marketing for HTTYD 3 came out... Naturally I assumed we where going to spend a lot of time IN THE HIDDEN WORLD (in my mind as just Toothless and the Light Fury as they bonded). But no. IT HAS SO LITTLE SCREENTIME spent ACTUALLY IN there! Even VANAHEIM was eventually explored in-depth... HHH Just kinda felt like a let-down to me, you know?

Things I personally loved.

-Toothless has his own motivations and goals completely separate from Hiccup in this movie. I really love this as it separates them as individuals more than it has been done before. Only problem is that I feel they didn't handle it as good as I wish they did.

-The very end of this movie was so beautifully bitter sweet with Hiccup and Astrid and their kids!

-Goes without saying that the animation was phenomenal! And although the soundtrack is not as memorable as the first 2, it's still EXTREMELY good!

-Adored the fact we got to see Fireworm Dragons for a few shots! Always love when a movie sneaks in series content.

-Hiccup and Astrid's relationship is still so wholesome to watch and amazing to see!

-The Stoick flashbacks where great!

-I will not lie, I am blinded by my love of HTTYD to completely disown this movie LOL.

[demelzathemer]

Tuggofelees The Greatest Showman AU

I'm just gonna dump my thoughts because I'm currently having a spout of insanity about these cats. And YOU KNOW A Million Dreams is a kitten Misto song. He's had this deep inner world since he was tiny, discovering his magical powers and all that he can do. He didn't have anyone who could understand what he was going through so he'd spent his nights alone in the world of his own, wondering and dreaming about the day he could help everyone with his abilities.

Other cats notice he's different so he's becoming ostracized after growing up. There are magical cats beside him and they have formed a circus of their own, still Jellicle cats but different. Misto joins them to hone his skills but can't find anyone to relate to even amongst them.

Then there's Mr. Popular "I do what I want" Rum Tum Tugger who has a high social standing to maintain but does so more out of vanity than necessity. (Maybe they were friends as kittens, A Million Dreams is a duet after all. Maybe he wonders where's that little tuxedo had disappeared into and goes to look for him.) He discovers Misto's powers by accident after sneaking in while he was practising and is instantly captivated by the sight. Misto is so fine after all!! Beautiful from the top of his ears to the tip of his tail!!

Misto doesn't like that the arrogant celebrity is stalking him, he's used to his own space by now but there's no stopping the curious cat once he's gotten something in his head. They circle around each other for a while, where we end up in Rewrite the Stars. It sounds romantic but the lyrics are actually pretty brazen which is so much like Tugger!! "I know you want me" damn that's direct.

"So who can stop me if I decide you're my destiny?"

No one, that is. Tugger goes into a monologue in his Rum Tum Tugger manner about hell, I like you and you like me so what's the problem?? ("Say you were made to be mine"..)

"You're the one I was meant to find," because Rum Tum Tugger only likes what he finds for himself.

But Misto is reluctant and scared about dragging Tugger down with him. He admits it works when they're alone but it's different in front of the others. What if Tugger becomes ostracized as well because of him? Misto doesn't want that.

He's also understandably worried about the loyalty of the known womanizer. His heart would break if Tugger changed his mind again like he does, and loses interest in him.

"How can you say you'll be mine?"

In the end Misto rejects him and goes back to his solitary life.

Then Old Deuteronomy is gone and Tugger goes back to find Mistoffelees. He's the one who believes in Misto more than anyone. He convinces him to try one of his most ambitious conjurings to save Old Deuteronomy and earn the approval of the other cats.

Rum Tum Tugger has no doubt that Mistoffelees can do it. He will even support him through it and make sure that everyone knows just how amazing and phenomenal Mistoffelees is!! So there goes the song and of course Misto is breathtaking in the spotlight and loving every second of it. The plan is perfect because when Misto believes in himself, his magic can't fail. With the power of Tugger's unshaking love backing him up he can easily conjure the beloved leader back to them.

After the spectacle Mistoffelees is a celebrated member of the Jellicle cats and there's no one who doesn't adore him. Rum Tum Tugger sweeps him off his feet to show off his love and there's nothing stopping them from being togerher anymore.

I might add more thoughts later but that's all for now I just made myself happy thinking about them

[brujitaadinbo]

I've had a lot of work and I took a little time to watch more children's material, because I like it. Then I came across this beautiful movie "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" I can say that it is a true gem that goes unnoticed with a very motivating message, impeccable animation, the dubbing work and Antonio Banderas was phenomenal but above all material that I love very much; parallelisms. It wasn't hard to see them, they were there the whole time. I found a lot of parallels between Din, Bo katan and Grogu, of course.

And there are many scenes in this movie that have strong parallels to The Mandalorian 3

Furthermore, the story has a very strong emphasis on family, bonds and relationships, as in The Mandalorian. I'm surprised that there are people who hate this season 3, when it is the healthiest and most well-done thing that Star Wars has shown us in terms of family ties, son-father, partner and partner, or desired and responsible fatherhood and motherhood.

The story of "Dog" moves me a lot, because like Grogu, he is a little loner, orphan, wandering the world, alone, waiting for someone's love and company. The protection that a bond can provide, whether it is familiar even if it is another species (cats)

These reckless and lonely felines arrive, with their own burdens and problems, with their desires in mind but they also bond with Puppy and that's where the magic is born; the redemption of both felines.

OHHH wait, aren't you talking about Din djarin and Bo katan???

clear; because it is exactly the same thing that happened with them this season and they managed to get closer, just as Kitty manages to forgive Puss in Boots and give him a chance, trust him.

So Din decides to give Bo Katan a chance, they forgive each other and decide to start again, with trust…

(And there are still people who say that these two have no feelings for each other, LOL… GARBAGE)

And at least in this season 3 The Mandalorian continues to preserve the essence of Star Wars in all its splendor. It is a fable with a moral, the armorer said it well. They are stories for children but adults can also be welcome because this, this has a positive message for our hearts. Because our characters deserve to be happy, to be well, to be with their people, to be a family and if that family grows, great!!!

and if only the clan of two remains, well, at least we had hope. But the signs and everything we have seen have led us to this family of 3, where Bo does not lose his essence, on the contrary, he gains experiences, skills and learning.

I love a bit of Puss in Boots' dialogue when he confronts his past lives; where he realizes that for a long time he was very alone, despite having surrounded himself with many people and the only thing that kept him with that exaggerated ego was the fame of being a "Legend" but he realizes that the only one he truly loves , without being famous or important, is Kitty And that Little Dog has somehow become an important part of this bond. "Could it be that, if the legend is so great, there is no room for anyone else?"

Obviously, to grow and be better people, live better and change for the better, you need to start with yourself and for yourself. We are our own agent of change.

But sometimes a little help, from people who appreciate and love us, is necessary to avoid getting lost along the way.

this is the way.....

[itsbrucey]

Just wanted to say I SEE the bigtop burger pfp and I NEED to talk about it because I love this show so much it's so funny the lore is so compelling and the CHARACTERS ARE SO GOOD OH MY GOD I tried to force my friends and family to watch it but none of them GOT IT (except my twin he's a real one)

YOU HAVE. NO FUCKING IDEA THE BEAST YOU JUST UNLEASHED /POS

here. Excuse me I'm gonna do a quick cut bc I'm gonna ramble

I'VE BEEN. OBSESSED. WITH BIGTOP BURGER FOR 3 STRAIGHT YEARS. SINCE JUNE 2020. my outward interest dips between releases bc public content takes a while to come out ofc but I AM ALWAYS. DOWN TO TALK BIGTOP BURGER

I was really ( and still am) into the theory crafting side of BTB and most of it is safely locked in friends discord servers but I fucking. Adore all of the characters and the world Worthi puts into to make the narrative SO INTERESTING AND JUST. OUT THERE.

Down + Friends in Low Places being such outward character lore songs for Cesare and then Up COMING IN WITH THE STEEL CHAIR FOR STEVE IN THE LASTEST S2 EPISODE. GOD IT'S GENIUS. What a fucking whimsical show. It's also my current running theory that the Underground/Jail Steve is in is going to be Beetlejuice themed based on the black and white pinstripe suit of the unnamed character we saw in the pan-down, as well as the running theme of musicals and Cats with Steve! The monsters/demons/undead/"Upper Management" having a Beetlejuice theme would make sense or at the very least.....be very fun. Not really a theory but a hope but I really want to see the other "no-ones" Cesare references... Or at least their fate

My fav characters are Penny, Steve, and Conrad bc. If you know me You Know I Have Specific Tastes. Also fun fact but Penny and Conrad's VAs? Lindsay and Alex Small-Butera?? MARRIED. AND THE PEOPLE BEHIND SMALLBÜ ANIMATION AND I FOUND THAT OUT AND WENT INSANE. RECENTLY DID WORK FOR FIONNA AND CAKE BUT ALSO DID LATER ALLIGATOR AND WORKED ON THE OWL HOUSE AND AMPHIBIA AND ADVENTURE TIME??????? I'm absolutely in love with them it's. Wow. Powerhouses, actually.

+ I'm a big fan of Wire and I can't remember if Worthi confirmed if it was related to BTB or not ( I've seen sources say that it isn't connected but I think tweets got deleted?) And I'm the only Big J and Penny shipper to exist.

+ I have 4 tattoo ideas I want to do in the future and one of them is a bigtop burger tattoo. I was meaning to do more sketches but one concept was a forearm tattoo of Captain J, Big J, and Little J sliding down a wire!

I've managed to get my girlfriend + friends to watch it and that's honestly all I can ask of people. Like if you're reading this and haven't seen bigtop burger or wire......well for one Sorry About Spoilers and two!!! Please watch them! Worthikids is a phenomenal artists and musician and the entire runtime of Bigtop Burger and Wire is less than an hour. I think it's all less than 30 minutes actually?????? And while you're there, please watch his Captain Yajima episode + all his other work bc Worthi deserves every single view and like and comment. One of my favorite artists of all time.

FOUR. DAYS AGO......... NEW CHARACTER ART. THIS REPRISE...... MY HEAD HURTS OH MY GOD /POS

ALSO GET YOUR ASS FUCKING UP OH MY GOD????? I WAS CHECKING FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES FOR LYRICS AND JUST FOUND THIS?????

[cryptidkoretmblr]

Wednesday Addams

Anyways here’s my takes and opinions about some of the most talked about aspects of the show that no one asked for!

1) Wednesday vs love interests, let’s break it down! 

Tyler: I think I’m in a minority when I say I was rooting for them and still are? It is the most ADDAMS family thing ever to be dating a Hyde. Like you’re telling me they wouldn’t revel in that? I’m also a big enemies to lovers or lovers to enemies to lovers again fan so that explains it. I know his friendzone comments were out of left field, like many have pointed out as feeling odd to them, but Hunter Doohan said in an interview (https://collider.com/wednesday-tyler-relationship-hunter-doohan-comments/) that Tyler was always manipulating her. So if he NEEDED to be close for his and Laurel’s plan, then it just makes sense. On the topic, Hunter’s acting in the station when he drops the facade sent chills down my spine. Their relationship just tickles so many of my favorite tropes. 

Enid: I also was rooting so hard for Enid!!! Also the show writers literally had to be coding her. Like I actually don’t know how the topic of wolfing out and c0nversion therapy came up and was greenlit otherwise like ,,,,, but yes, Enid transforming to save Wednesday, to hugging her, to actually being the one to crack her walls... *chefs kiss* I ALSO love the golden retriever and black cat vibe (I am in fact the black cat to my partners golden retriever). But yes, of course friendships can be just as rewarding and meaningful as romantic relationships which takes us to 

No one (Aro/Ace): I also would be so happy if she is Aro/Ace, or anywhere on the spectrum. I have some friends who are, and romantic relationships aren’t everything!!! And the aro/ace community is long due for mainstream media representation. 

Xavier: Look. I wanted to like him so bad. He had so much potential. I hope they up his character development because I was so lost by the time the Rave’N came around like what even was that with Bianca. Also why did he think she was using her siren song on her? 

3) Gomez. Luis Guzman is literally the best casting of the comics you could have asked for. The younger version of him was phenomenal. I do wish he had some more energy, I really liked how eccentric and outgoing Raul Julia’s Gomez had been. 

4) The biggest plot point that made exactly zero sense to me was the murders. In what world would either Addams be ashamed or try to hide it? It just seemed so out of place and is the biggest characterization flaw in the entire show tbh. 

5) Arnisen as Fester. That’s it. That’s my take. Literally I could watch him all day. 

Anyways that’s all I have for now. I’m obsessing over this show and need to scream into the void about my special interests :) 

[casualevan]

New To Superman?

*Swivels around in villain chair petting a cat

So, you just caught up with My Adventures with Superman and you want to know what to read or watch while you wait for new episodes? SAY NO MORE! Here’s a list of personal faves of mine!  Now some notes, different writers have different takes in different decades and the publishers can play it fast and lose with continuity. So going from one story to another, you might notice some changes. Like weather or not Clark’s parents are alive or if Lois dating Clark etcetera etcetera. Don’t worry about it, just roll with it.

Now lets get started with THE SUPER LIST! 

Superman: Birthright 

A solid starting point graphic novel. It’s got everything ya need for his origin story and is a fantastic character study of Clark and his arch enemy Lex Luthor. The art is pretty good as well and does a great job of showing both sides of Clark’s character and power. If you love the show and want to see how the books handle the Man of Steel’s first run in Metropolis then you got yourself a fun book.

Next we’ll get into some movies! Now, you can watch most of these on hbomax so let’s all vote with our wallets and support the official release! That way studios don’t make us wait ANOTHER 20 years for a Superman cartoon. 

Superman: Unbound 

Superman faces a cosmic alien super computer named Brainiac! Braniac’s deal is he wants to put cities in small bottles and then blow up the rest of the planet he collects them from. It’s a cool conflict cuz it’s a villain Superman can’t just PUNCH into submission. As Braniac can just download into another body if he did. So Superman is gonna have to get super smart to out smart a super computer..... listen the movie’s writing is better than mine, trust me.

Superman Vs The Elite

Oh, here we GO! Okay so this full movie is based on ONE issues of the comics. ONE. Not a 6 part mini series arc collected into one trade paperback. ONE COMIC! It was THAT GOOD! Superman meets some new heroes on the block, THE ELITE. They’re GRITTY and DARK and SERIOUS ANTI HEROES who aren’t afraid to KILL the bad guys! They’re also here to try and force Superman to retire his wholesome way of saving the day. This movie has amazing action animation and phenomenal writing that shows why the core character of Clark being kind still resonates with audiences when given the chance. (You’ve probably seen the big speech from this movie passed around youtube a lot and rightly so. This is a good one, go watch it!) Now, Superman has one of the all time iconic origin stories, but how does his story end? Well lots of writers have tried their hands at it. A few of them are good but my personal fave is probably ALL STAR SUPERMAN

Lex Luthor finally finds a way to beat Superman, but Clark isn’t going down without a fight and without saving as many lives as he can. It’s a grand all star parade of all the wild and wacky pulp adventure camp that has built up around the legacy of the Last Son of Krypton. If you want a satisfying conclusion to Superman’s story then it’s hard to top this one. Heck the book is also pretty damn good too! 

There is... a LOT of Superman content. 80 years worth to be exact. This list is far from complete and is only meant to serve as a starting point for diving into all this Super Lore. I for one am glad My Adventures With Superman seems to have lit a fire under the fanbase and I’m happy to welcome all you new readers and watchers to one of my all time favorite Superheroes.  HONERABLE MENTIONS! 

SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN! It’s exactly what the title says. Go read it! It’s inspired by the old school radio show (podcasts for your grandparents) that had REAL WORLD IMPACTS in the USA. 

Finally, the 40′s Cartoons

These are a BIT dated and light on actual plot and character but there’s a retro charm to some of these.  Okay, That’s enough from me. What are YOUR top recommendations for new fans? Let me know in the reblogs! 

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: How To Train Your Dragon

Fucking FINALLY I can gush about this goddamn MASTERPIECE of a fucking movie, and the source of my newest obsession cause oh my god, ya'll oh my god this FRANCHISE is RUINING ME and it may not be why I decided to understake this entire Dreamworks watch to begin with (for better or worse, but worth it to get to watch through this trilogy again).

We focus on Hiccup, a young viking who's out of place among the other dragon-killing vikings on Berk, especially his stern father, Stoick. During a dragon raid one night, Hiccup accidentally shoots down a Night Fury, said to be one of the most dangerous dragons of all. Slowly but surely, however, Hiccup secretly befriends this dragon, which he names Toothless, while in the midst of dragon hunting training alongside Berk's other young vikings, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut.

So this story is so damn good, so fucking good, its so simple, so rooted in the emotions of it all, of Hiccup being torn between wanting to live up to his father's expectations while also growing closer with Toothless and coming to sympathize with dragons in general. As a result, we get some of the strongest emotional highs and lows in really any Dreamworks movie, and it all works so well and flows so beautifully. In fact, this story doesn't even need an antagonist like its two sequels do (i mean it kind of has one in the Red Death, but its more an obstacle to be taken out above all else), it's source of conflict really is what I just described above and it's so well-crafted on every level.

Hell, everything about this movie is. The characters are all phenomenal, it's not wonder this spawned two sequels and several shows (you should watch Riders/Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge btw, they're great). Hiccup is one of Dreamworks' best leads by far, a genuis little ball of sass who is just as loyal as he is stubborn. The other teens don't get a ton of focus here, but Astrid does, and she's great, starting out as our usual Dreamworks tough gal before eventually softening up to Hiccup heading into the third act. Also, can I just talk about Stoick for a sec? They could have done this man so dirty, could have made him the usual angry father who doesn't understand or care about his son, but he isn't. He cares so damn much about Hiccup, and it shows, even if he claims to be embarassed by him, even if he seems like he wants him to change, he still loves his son to hell and back (which makes what happens in the second movie so much more tragic, but we'll get to that). And then of course, there's Toothless, who is just... absolute Baby. I love how catlike he is, and how, much like Hiccup, he's also kind of a sassy little shit in his own special way.

The animation, golly, its so pretty, The flying scenes are this franchise's bread and butter and they are just a delight to watch. The character designs are some of Dreamworks' best, especially on the Dragons. They all look so unque and have their own little quirks that make them all special. Toothless especially is animated so well. They give him these cat-like mannerisms that bring so much charm to a character that doesn't speak a single word. It's fantastic.

You know what else is fantastic about this movie? THE MUSIC OH MY GOD. This may just be the single greatest score in ANY Dreamworks movie. It's GOD TIER GOOD. The entire franchise has amazing music, but most of the themes that repeat throughout the next two movies started here and they're all so beautiful. Seriously, give this score a listen if you haven't, its just... amazing.

The whole movie is amazing! I honest to god love everything about it so much. It's such a strong start to what I think is Dreamworks' greatest franchise, to a world and characters that I am literally obsessed with now send help, and to a series that I'm so very excited to be revisiting for this watch through. Please, if you've never seen How to Train Your Dragon, do yourself a favor and watch it now. You will not be sorry.

Overall Rating: 10/10

Verdict: (gestures vaguely at Hiccup) LOOK AT MY SON

Previous Review (Monsters Vs. Aliens)

Next Review (Shrek Forever After)