#so yeah for a few days its been mostly dreamcatcher time >:]

[wojtekaneko]

Hhhhhhhhhh

[dannyphantom-rewrite]

What's "how to get to cracker barrel" ?

What's "how to get to cracker barrel" ?

Oh now that, that one isn't Actually a wip. It's a short story I finished ages ago that later ended up being inspiration for one of the plotlines in an anthology style audio drama podcast I want to make some day. There's 4 main characters:

The Mckellen sisters Jamie and Lady who aren't Actually sisters but pass rather well for twins since one of them is actually a changeling, Natalie Anderson, photographer and lady's GF, and Gavin Walker, a mage still haunted by the death of his fiance, Caleb Adams, mostly due to the fact that his fucking ghost won't leave him alone.

Art by @unded-bun (click image for higher quality)

I'm leaving out a lot of details, but I'd be happy to fill in the gaps if anyone asks.

I'll Also throw the story itself under a read more here, bc I'm still super proud of it even though it's a few years old now.

A small hotel on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia. There is a Sonic Drive-in across the busy street. Bright neon lights in the window state, “Open 24/7!” A Greyhound bus is idling in the parking lot. A man, Gavin Walker, climbs off and crosses over to the hotel. He walks easily, but not confidently. Approaching the hotel’s entrance, he spots a cat eating from a plastic bowl in front of the door. The feline is small, and feral. He is black, with white paws. He does not pay Gavin any mind as he enters, only continuing to crunch on dry cat food.

There's a desk on the left side of the lobby. The receptionist smiles kindly as he checks in. Her eyes are tired. Gavin gives her a knowing nod, and travels deeper into the building. There is a sign marked, “Out Of Order.” on the elevator. This is a good thing. Gavin takes the stairs, of which there are three flights. This is also a good thing, because three is a good number. He enters the hallway, which is old, and worn. The walls bear chipped yellow paint, and the floor, faded red carpet. Gavin continues down the hall after checking the time on his phone. It is exactly 11:59PM. He turns the device off and begins to count the seconds. At sixty he has stopped in front of the elevator. The fluorescent light above him flickers. The elevator does not have an out of order sign on it. It is the same elevator as before. Gavin enters.

He presses the button for the first floor. In the lobby the check in desk is now on the opposite side of the room. The lights are off, the receptionist is gone. It is daytime outside now. The bus is gone and the Sonic is closed. The road is vacant. There is a cat outside. She is white, with black paws. She looks up at Gavin as he approaches. They lock eyes, and he kneels in front of her.

“Hello, cat.” He says.

“Hello, Mage.” Says the cat.

She flicks her tail, “What is it you seek?”

“Direction.”

She nods and stands, before making for the road. The Sonic across the street is closed, but it was never empty. A Sonic is not a sit down restaurant. Customers are expected to pull into a parking spot and order over an intercom, and then a waitress delivers their meal directly to their car. Gavin’s pretty sure places like Sonic were more common in the 1950’s, and he knows that drive in diners are a dying breed now a days. The thought gives him a strange sense of nostalgia for something he’d never actually experienced, and he shudders involuntarily.

The cat sits down in the parking spot furthest from the building. She watches as he presses the the button on the intercom, listens, ears swiveling, as they are greeted with static. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Gavin can see something moving within the darkened restaurant. An outline of a figure, only vaguely humanoid. The thing moves like a deranged ape, long, long arms dangling to the floor and dragging it forward. Its back is hunched, legs short and stumpy. Gavin can not see its face, and he does not wish to. The intercom crackles to life.

“WhAt can aH’ do fER ya’lL?” Drawls The Thing in the Sonic. It’s got a southern accent thicker than congeling visera, and the pitch of it’s voice fluctuates wildly. Gavin glances uncertainly at the cat, and she nods.

“I’m looking for Direction.”

“Ahhhhhh……” groans The Thing, “WEll, watch’ Yer goNna wanna dO is hEad doWn the road, bout maybeEEee…..foUr, five miLeS, an’ yer gOnna wanna look fer’ weEl, watch yer gonna wanna fiNd is soMeTHing’ idEaliZed, ya knOw? Like uh, somethin’ kinDa romanticized, an’ a liTtlE faKe in sOme senSe but reAlLy true in anOther, ya follow?”

“Yeah.” said Gavin, even though he did not follow at all.

“Yep,” Continued The Thing, “n’ yer gOnna wanna gEt yourself sOme rasPberRy lemONade when ya get theRe, It’s some gOod shit, lemme tell ya.”

“Alright, I’ll uh, I’ll do that.”

“Good, GoOd, That’s Good. Y'all have a niIiiccceee daaaaaay nooooow.” And then the intercom crackled once more, and returned to spewing static. Gavin released the button and looked around for the cat, hoping, maybe, for some more guidance, but she had long since abandoned him. He started walking down the road, away from the Sonic Drive-In, and The Thing inside, and hopefully towards where he needed to be.

Gavin started to think as he walked, which was not something he liked to do often. He much prefered to act in the moment without much consideration for the consequences of those actions until they themselves became the moment. Gavin did not like to think because he often thought much too deeply, and it sometimes scared him. Gavin thought about a lot of different things in quick succession, he thought about the missing greyhound bus, and The Thing in the Sonic, and wondered if the disappearance of one had to do anything with the appearance of the other. It probably did. He thought about what The Thing had told him to do, and why he was doing it. He thought about why he’d come here in the first place, to this inverted little section of Georgia. And he thought about Liminal Spaces, about busted elevators and darkened hotel hallways and empty stairwells. The air shifted suddenly as a pickup truck speed past him, it had a faded confederate flag on the back window.

Liminal Spaces, simply put, were the areas between one place and another. The small spots in the middle of point A and point B where reality seems to be altered in such a way that the change is almost imperceptible, and yet, it is still enough to leave you feeling so impossibly strange.

Liminal Spaces can also be doorways, if one knows how to properly open them.

Gavin isn’t sure how long he’s been walking down this empty stretch of road, but it’s been long enough that he can no longer see the Sonic Drive-in behind him. It’s not even a dot in the distance now, just gone, as though it were never there to begin with. He keeps going. He walks until his feet hurt, and his legs ache, and keeps going even after that. At some point he sticks his thumb out towards the road, tired enough to risk hitch-hiking, but no cars have gone by since the pickup truck. And at some point he takes a moment to rest. He sits down on the shoulder, and just breathes for a while. And then when he stands again, he sees the Cracker Barrel just down the road. Exhausted as he is, he knows it isn’t possible for him to not have seen it earlier. Gavin decides it’s best not to dwell on that, though, because this is exactly the kind of place where Cracker Barrels can just pop into existence. (Although, as he enters the restaurant, he remains somewhat annoyed that it couldn’t have decided to do it a little sooner.)

The front of the Cracker Barrel is a store selling all manner of things. There's a back corner full of vintage candy, a small section of organic make-ups, and another full of knick-knacks like salt and pepper shakers, and dreamcatchers, as well as the usual crap that tourists like to buy, T-shirts and mugs and what not. Gavin has never actually been in a “regular” Cracker Barrel, so he’s not sure if this is a completely normal thing, but he’s certain that a “regular” Cracker Barrel would not also be selling such wares as bottled crocodile tears and Unicorn meat slim jims. There aren’t a lot of people in the store, and yet Gavin finds it impossible to get a good look at any of them. The people look normal, but they move like extras in the background of a film. The only person in the room with any notable features is the waitress standing by the back. She’s short, and her hair and eyebrows have been dyed a vibrant blue. As Gavin follows her into the seating area he can't help but stare at her hair, and he finds himself thinking that it can’t possibly be dye, it’s too bright, somehow. She smiles at him as he sits, and her teeth are a just little too sharp.

Once he’s seated, she says, “Can I start you off with a drink?” Her voice has a pleasant, lilting tone to it.

Gavin thinks back to The Thing in the Sonic, “A Raspberry Lemonade? If that’s something you have here?”

She nods, and goes off to get him one. Gavin leans back in his chair and takes in his surroundings, trying to relax. The decor in the Cracker Barrel has a sort of vintage, rustic feel to it, there’s things like black and white photos, and old advertisements on the walls. All the furniture looks antique. There are quite a few other customers present. Most of them look like the same nondescript folk from the front, but a few stand out. There’s a woman in the back corner, she’s dressed in black furs and her head is an ember eyed wolf skull. She’s sitting across from a man with the skull of a stag upon his shoulders, the antlers adorned with ivy. There’s something resembling a giant moth sitting two tables away, slowly crunching its way through a Caesar salad. Occasionally, there’s a figure leaning against the kitchen doors, they look as though they’re made up of television static. Gavin’s eyes start to hurt from trying to look at them, so he turns his attention to the menu instead. The waitress returns with his Raspberry Lemonade, and he orders the Country Fried Shrimp.

Gavin takes a sip of his drink and finds that he agrees with the Thing in the sonic. It’s definitely some good shit.

“Funny seeing you around here, Gav.”

Gavin looks up from his drink, almost spills it in surprise.

“Is this seat taken?”

Gavin manages to shake his head.

Caleb Adams pulls out the chair across from him and sits. Gavin stares at him. He’s wearing a T-shirt that reads, “NORMAL HOROSCOPES: Making your day a little more magic whether you like it or not.” Gavin’s not sure if it’s supposed to be advertising for a psychic’s shop or if it’s some strange indie band he’s never heard of. Knowing Caleb, it’s probably the latter.

He finally manages to speak, “You’re dead.”

“Yeah?” Caleb leans an elbow on the table, and props his head up in his hand, his smile never wavers, “And?”

“And- and I don’t know, Fuck, I don’t know.”

The waitress briefly interrupts his existential crisis by depositing his Country Fried Shrimp on the table. Gavin looks down at it and tries to focus on the smell of greasy seafood instead of the dead man sitting across from him.

“You seem confused.” Caleb’s voice sounds uncharacteristically sympathetic.

Gavin nods.

He sighs, frowning “Eat your lunch, and then we’ll talk.”

Gavin eats what he can, but it’s a large portion, and he’s somehow not that hungry. He takes a final bite, and pushes the plate across the table, silently offering Caleb the rest of the shrimp.

The barest hint of a smile returns to his face, “Thanks, but no.” And then he’s frowning again, “Why’re you here, Gav?”

“I just went where I was told to-”

He shakes his head, “No. I don’t mean the friggin’ Cracker Barrel, I mean Here.”

And Gavin doesn’t really know what to tell him. That he’s here because he felt lost and desperate? That he didn’t know what to do anymore? That it doesn’t matter anyway because he’s fine, everything's fine and he’s just tired?

But he doesn’t tell Caleb any of that, he just says, “I miss you.” And he can’t keep his voice from cracking.

“I know you do.” Caleb places a hand over his, “But this is damn near one of the dumbest things you’ve ever done. You knew this place wouldn’t be safe for you.”

He feels numb, “I didn’t really care.”

“Gavin,” Caleb grips his hand now, “Look at me, please. I mean, really look at me.”

So he does, he looks up at him, and finally, meets his eyes.

They have not changed. Death has not reduced the amount of compassion behind them, nor faded the sea blue color. Gavin stares. Eyes are supposed to be a window into someone's soul, a way to truly see into them, and Gavin just stares because Caleb’s eyes are still capable of conveying so much, and he can feel tears running down his face…..

“It’s time to go home, Gav, okay?” He gestures to the window, and the Greyhound bus has pulled up, “Your ride's here.”

And Gavin knows has to force himself to look away and loosen his grip, and he can’t bring himself to.

“It’s alright.” He says, “It’s going to be alright. I’ll take care of the bill, Please just let go.”

And Gavin finally, Finally manages to tear himself away.

He does not feel anything but relief as he leaves, as he boards the bus and settles into a seat. He leans back, and watches through the window as the world shifts and shimmers and is suddenly dark and starry once more. As the Greyhound pulls out of the Sonic parking lot, Gavin closes his eyes, and slowly falls into the comfort of a deep, dreamless sleep.

[mingishoe]

50 kpop questions

Just because I’ve been stuck inside for exactly 31, almost 32 days, which is terrible for my mental health sO i’m doing this to keep my mind off of things. Also I’m really sorry for not posting this week, I’ve been working on requests and I’ve just been taking my time and stuff so yeah. Thank you for being patient babes~~

1.)The first song that got you into kpop? So surprisingly it wasn’t a  BTS song even though Run was the first kpop song I heard... it was Sorry by The Rose  

2.) The first group you starting staning in kpop? So sorry was a song that really stuck with me for the longest time and almost immediately after I started staning The Rose. Usually when I tell people its a band and not necessarily a ‘normal’ kpop group that has choreo and stuff, they’re always really surprised because even now they’re not super super popular. 

3.) Your first bias? So even though The Rose isn’t a normal choreo kpop group my first bias was Dojoon but pretty soon after I got into BTS and before I learned their names I was really drawn to Namjoon, so I’d say either one of those.

4.) Your first bias wrecker? Okay so in The Rose I didn’t really have one but in BTS my bias wrecker was Yoongi and obviously he wrecked me because uhh yeah Yoongi is now my bias BUT it’s still Yoongi after years sooo...

5.) Your favorite boy group? My favourite boy group is Ateez (obviously lmao)

6.)Your favorite girl group? My favourite girl group currently is Itzy but I’m really stuck between BlackPink as well.

7.) Your ultimate bias If it’s not obvious enough, its Mingi... hence my username

8.) The main fandom your apart of? I’d say I’m mainly Atiny, but there’s a huge Army inside of me.

9.) Your ultimate group? My ult group is also Ateez

10.) Your favorite era of your ultimate group?

Dude all of Ateez’ eras are literally all perfect but I’d say either this past comeback, the Answer era or the Wave/Illusion era.

11.) Your opinion, black haired idols or dyed hair? I love me a good pretty hair colour *Cough* mingi’s red hair and Yoongi’s mint hair *cough* but also P L E A S E let their hair B R E A T H E BEFORE IT FALLS OUT!

12.) Aegyo master girls?

So the groups I watch honestly don’t really like/don’t have the best aegyo but Lisa is really cute so I’d say her

13.) Aegyo master boys?

We all know our boy Jooheon- as much as it makes me wanna invert on myself it’s also insanely cute

14.) Your favorite maknae

So you know... it’s between Jongho and Jungkook but I think I’d have to say Kook.

15.) Your ‘child’ group?

I don’t really know what that means so UHHH

16.) The group you could see yourself becoming best friends with?

Dude honestly as much as I love ateez I just wanna be best friends with BTS so FUCKING BAD like dawg they’re just so funny and yeah 

17.) Your favorite boy group kpop song ?

This is a really hard question because there’s like a million answers but I’d say Utopia. That song without a doubt makes me cry every time I listen to it because it’s just so beautiful and it just makes my heart so happy,

18.) Your favorite kpop song girls?

I don’t wanna be basic or anything but it’s either ddu-du-ddu-du by BlackPink or ooh-ahh by Twice

19.) Are you more into girl groups or boy groups?

I’m more of a boy group stan because I’m not a huge fan of the cutesy stuff most girl groups do, but I do enjoy girl groups as well it’s just more difficult for me to get into them.

20.) Favorite kpop girl dance?

Once again I don’t wanna be basic but I really like either Whistle or BOOMBAYAH by BlackPink or Cheer Up by Twice. 

21.) Favorite kpop boy dance?

I really like Love Shot and Ko Ko Bop by EXO or Serendipity by Jimin BTS 

22.) If you were stuck in a horror movie you’d want which group with you?

Okay so no matter what group I’d pick I’d be dead bUT I think my best bet would be maybe Ateez because they got Jongho and that boy is strong and not scared of anything.

23.) Favorite fandom light stick?

By far my favourite is the BlackPink light stick because it’s literally the cutest thing ever aND IT SQUEAKS!!! like someone please buy it for me. Please and Thank You.

24.) Favorite fandom name?

I really like Ikon’s ikonic and Ateez’ Atiny

25.) Visual king?

Yeosang PERIODT, baby gets slept on way too much on his visuals and KQ was right to make him a visual.

26.) Visual queen?

Dude Jisoo from BlackPink. She’s so beautiful and shes in my top 3 of female idols I think are the most gorgeous thing in the world.

27.) Dance queen?

Lisa from BlackPink. If you’ve seen her mentoring on that chinese show- BITCH you can see how serious she takes it and it’s so satisfying to watch but also I’d cry if I’d ever have to dance in front of her.

28.) Dance king?

Hoseok from BTS. Like once again you can physically see how serious he takes it and its insanely hot but also very scary and like Lisa I’d cry if I’d ever have to dance in front of him.

29.) Rap king?

This is an opinion and I’ve met so many people who have actually fought with me on this one but Hoseok from BTS is literally such a good rapper. I understand he might not be the best but he is my favourite rapper in kpop. I just absolutely love his tone of voice and idk UGH i just love Hoseok overall.

30.)Rap queen?

I know a lot of people are probably gonna disagree with me on this one but uh I think Moonbyul, Hyuna, and Jessi are some of the best rappers because personally I just really like their tones and UGH they’re all just beautiful. 

31.) A group you’d really like to get into?

There are SO many groups I would love to get into but I’d say a girl group would be Dreamcatcher because I listen to their songs and they’re all great but I just haven’t found the time to sit down and learn their names or anything. A boy group would be MCND because I saw their debut like an hour after it released and it was really good and once again I really like their debut album but I just haven’t found the time to sit down and learn their names either.

32.)Your favorite ship?

I’m personally not really into ships so I’ll just use ships as friendships so I’d say either Yoonmin, sope, but probably Vmin would be my favourite, which are all BTS ships.

33.) Your favorite intergroup friendship?

I think I’m gonna say Jackson Wang from GOT7 and Namjoon from BTS. They’re both just really cute so yeah kjdfskd

34.)Ballads or upbeat songs?

Personally ballads because I prefer slower more cute or sad songs or the complete opposite and like trap with a loud ass bass.

35.) Have you ever met any of your idols?

No but I would love to. Rationally thinking I think I would completely shut down and not know what to do because some of these people I look up to so highly and literally thank them for the sole reason of me being happy and being able to get through such difficult times.

36.) Do you prefer cute themes or sexy themes?

Once again I don’t really like cutesy themes that much so I’m going to go on the sexy themes side. also i’m a hardstan so obviously.

37.) How long have you been a kpop fan?

So I’ve been around Kpop for a really long time because a few of my friends listened to BTS and Super Junior and stuff like that I always listened to it but I was forcefully trying not to get into it but eventually I gave up and secretely got into kpop around 2017 but then i “Came out of the kpop closet” as my friends like to say after the Burn The Stage movie came out because my friend took me to go see it with her when it came out in 2018. But yeah if I let myself I would’ve been a kpop stan a long ass time ago.

38.) Your favorite comeback song?

There were so many comebacks that I really loved so there’s a few but Got7 You Calling My Name and Ateez Wonderland are two of my favourites.

39.) Do you have any kpop company you tend to prefer?

Not really, but I’d say I listen to many artists from JYP.

40.) Barefaced idols or make up?

I WILL A L W A Y S SAY THIS! BAREFACED IDOLS ARE SUPERIOR! THEY’RE S O BEAUTIFUL NO MATTER HOW MANY “IMPERFECTIONS” THEY HAVE!

41.) Is you bias list as out of control as mine?

My bias list is pretty much all rappers except maybe 2 or 3 so I’d say I have a type sdfskfhskjd

42.) How many groups do you actually keep tabs on?

A lot more than I actually realize but mostly Ateez, BTS, Monsta x, and Itzy. But I heavily rely on twitter for the rest of my groups

43.) Your current favorite kpop song?

I really don’t even know... but I’d say Utopia by Ateez.

44.) First kpop dance you’ve attempted to learn?

So I attempted to learn a bunch of dances but I really just gave up bUT a dance I’ve actually solidly learned is Ddu-du-ddu-du by BlackPink.

45.) When I hear kpop songs in public I....?

Personally I’m not ashamed to like kpop in public or anything. Like I’ll wear merch and stuff in public sO I’d probably not even make a big deal out of it and just sing along quietly.

46.) If I knew someone irl who had the same bias as me I would...?

Honestly we could like thirst and bond over having the same bias> I don’t get the people who get actually offended if people have the same bias and then defensive and possessive whenever they do have the same bias.

47.) Kpop idol I would most like to meet?

I probably would like to meet Wooyoung or San from Ateez. They both just seem like the nicest, sweetest people ever and I’d just love to have that experience.

48.) Kpop idol who is like a role model to me?

Namjoon from BTS. Do I even have to explain that? Honestly that man should be a role model and an inspiration to everyone but...

49.) Favorite kpop lyrics?

Sunrise by Ateez. The lyrics have helped me through many difficult times and every time I listen to it it’s a reminder that everything is going to be okay.

Why is my life so dark? Why, always makes me hard? A lost heart The burden on my shoulders Let's wait a little longer, even if it's cold. It's gonna rise. Sooner or later. Let's wait and see, alright. What I want someone to say to me, even if it's a lie. "You don't have to worry." "You're doing great." "Just keep it up. Just like you do now."

50.) If I had a whole day with my bias I would....”

I would honestly just wanna do something chill. Like Imagine just chilling and watching movies while eating snacks with Mingi- idk about you but honestly that’s probably the best thing I could imagine.

[la-noche-cae]

Soñera part 1

Part 1 is 1,777 words.

Total with part 2 is 3,919 words.

No warnings needed. Mystic (OC) and Nightfall. Includes sleep paralysis, cuddling, sharing a bed, a few yawns (don’t read if you don’t want to get sleepy?), friendship growing :)

(I decided to start posting my completed fics… I also posted this on Archive of our Own, recently made an account there ^^ my username is Elafrum. Although part 2 is already available in AO3, I will post it tomorrow in here).

~~~

The dreadwalker found herself too uneasy to sleep, too energetic. She wandered and paced. However, Nightfall didn’t want to do anything either. Hoping that her body would ease back, so she could nap, she thought about why she didn’t want to do much else.

Strangely enough, she itched to have some company…

Did she feel lonely? Perhaps she spent too much time with Mystic, as they accompanied her for any little thing, and got used to them being around to talk with, or talk back to.

Nightfall stopped by a window, looking forward to see the moon. It was one of the things she otherwise couldn’t fully enjoy in her homeland, but the sky was cloudy. Perhaps it would rain then, she thought hopefully.

Why would Mystic follow her around anywhere despite causing them stress to go to new places? Nightfall had been wondering, since the kirin accompanied her home, knowing that Fogshadow Tower was full of poison gas and broken spirits. She didn’t complain though, the help was needed.

The dreadwalker leaned on the wall, facing the general direction of Mystic’s bed and continued to ponder… Though she didn’t like doing it much, she figured it was important in order to both clear her head and understand Mystic. Why wouldn’t she when they tried their best to understand her?

Nightfall felt somewhat embarrassed to be doing that instead of something useful, it made her look pathetic, didn’t it? Her face portrayed a slight grimace but it untensed as she kept thinking. It’s alright, this is good, even, that she knew what she was feeling and where it could be coming from.

Suddenly, she heard Mystic breath deeply, then jolt up awake with a light, but dragged moan.

They shifted on the sheets but then slowly sat up. They were still confused, their head felt heavy and their heart raced. “Uhg…” Mystic let out a low sigh and looked around the room desperately. They could move, at last.

A distinct pair of eyes glowed blue next to the window, “Hmm?” Nightfall. She lifted her head curiously but didn’t move from her position.

Mystic blinked and felt slightly relieved. Yeah, they were back to reality.

“Hey,” Nightfall gestured casually.

“Hey…” They replied, as if bothered- not by Nightfall, but generally.

The two stood quietly for a while. Mystic was thinking about what just happened while they slept…

“Did I sleep on my back?” They rubbed their eyelids, “I think I had sleep paralysis.”

“Couldn’t tell, you mostly sleep facing your right.” She replied nonchalantly, as she quickly realized that when they were sleeping facing the wall, they were sleeping on their right. The times she passed by the open space of their room, she’d take a glance to see if they were awake.

She tilted her head “You were paralyzed?”

Mystic already knew Nightfall wouldn’t really sleep consistently, but they didn’t know during the time she is awake, she noted how they slept. It was useful to know now. Nightfall slept as if she blacked out on top of her bed, facing down, plus wearing her uniform. Sometime during the night she changed clothes.

“It was just, you know, in sleep paralysis you can’t move, your eyes are heavy and you run out of breath. It’s scary for me… But I should be fine if I,” they sighed.

“Stop feeling stressed and eating well blah blah blah, what’s essentially impossible to do right now, thanks.” They grumbled and promptly let themself fall onto the bed.

“It is with that attitude.” She replied with a huff. Mystic sighed again.

“Come on. Do you want a glass of water?” She asked sympathetically.

It seemed she was in a better mood at times Mystic woke up in the middle of the night, but they remembered that dreadwalkers are nocturnal, so, perhaps naturally, Nightfall’s mood eased.

“It’s alright, I’ll get it. And sorry for interrupting… whatever you were doing.” Mystic removed the sheets off their body and sat up, then shook their head. Just think about something else… They breathed deeply and began to calm down.

“I was… getting a glass of water.” She pushed on, and only then stopped laying on the wall. She knew their tone implied distress, plus just like they pushed on for her to take better care of herself, she wanted them to do small things for their wellbeing.

Mystic chuckled lightly, “Well, let’s get a glass of water.”

They got up and Nightfall already had shot towards the kitchen. The kirin peeked through the hall and huffed with a smile, “Slow down there huh, some of us can’t teleport.” they said as they walked.

There was a light outside that provided enough exposure for them to see well, so they didn’t bother to flick the kitchen lights on. They didn’t want to make Nightfall uncomfortable either. 

“What about you though, can’t sleep?”

She thought of what to say, quickly. “I’m still worked up, I guess.”

Nightfall already bad her hands and hair strands in action, searching cups, opening the fridge and reaching the water pitcher inside it.

“I see, but let me help.” They said, though lightly scratching their back.

“Fine, slowpoke.”

“Hey, don’t rush me…”

Nightfall gave them the cups and poured the water. Though Mystic made a face, she doubted it was about the water.

“It’s cold, but alright.”

Proven wrong. What’s wrong with cold water? 

Right, Mystic said they get cold easily before…

“Sorry.”

Mystic shook their head, she didn’t have to apologize, they didn’t tell her before she served the glass anyways.

“It’s fine, bud.” They replied nonchalantly and took a sip.

“You uh… You need help?” They asked as she stared at her own glass for a moment.

“No.” Nightfall said, took a deep breath, pulled her mask off and gulped the entire glass of water down.

She made a noise of relief, feeling her body cool down, then put her mask back on. Mystic huffed humorously, but continued drinking.

Again, there was a minute of standing in silence as Mystic drank.

Nightfall noted they were still not all that relaxed, holding themself and blinking blankly “You are still spooked.”

“I’m just still thinking.” They replied.

“Hmm, what about?”

“I just… I think back on when it had happened before for a couple of days consecutively. Figured then that it’s a fear of mine to not have control of my body. Sometimes I was afraid to go to sleep, I feared being unconscious.”

They still have that fear, being unconscious as an extent of losing autonomy. The kirin bit their lip and sighed, thank goodness it was a bit dark, for they didn’t want Nightfall to see clearly that they were wobbly and about to tear up.

Mystic took a long sip of their water, though still halfway. They were able to control their feelings, and it helped they could drink up and gulp down that itchy sensation on their throat.  What a scaredy cat, they thought,  Nightfall would think so.

Nightfall leaned on the counter, “Was it Dreamcatcher?” She narrowed her eyes. A tangible enemy was easier to confront, and she could take more definitive action to help Mystic sleep well…

“I don’t think so, sleep paralysis is kind of natural, which is why I said I should take care of myself to avoid it. By the way, thanks for the glass of water.”

“You’re welcome.” She replied and made a finger gun at them.

Mystic laughed lowly, then yawned. As much as she wanted to spend time with them doing nothing important, they needed their sleep. She did, too, but didn’t really know if she’d fall asleep.

“When you’re done there, you’re going to feel better, and you’re going to lay to sleep on your side.” Nightfall told Mystic as a matter of fact, but she tried to make it assuring.

Mystic sighed in response, finishing up with their glass of water. “Yeah,” they said with a higher, more optimistic tone and immediately went ahead to wash the dishes in order to keep themself busy to calm down. How pathetic, to not feel safe in your own skin. 

Nightfall huffed, “Leave that for later.” She interrupted.

“I learned that when you put off small tasks they pile up and are harder to deal with later. You know?”

“I meant it… as to let me take care of it.” She made that up at the moment, as Mystic was the one who usually ended up cleaning her dishes.

“Well, I already done it.” Mystic replied and kept on washing.

“Move it. I won’t allow you.” The dreadwalker pushed them out the way with her body and they growled playfully, certainly not actually wanting to challenge her to some play-fight.

When Mystic moved to the other side she blocked them with her hair. She laughed lowly in a mean tone.

“But Nightfall, you always do other things.”

“I’m going to be nice to you and you can’t stop me.”

“Tch!” Mystic huffed finally. “Okay, fine… Thanks.”

They waited for her, though her hair still stood in the way. “Is it okay if I pet your hair?” As they’ve talked about it before, and Nightfall’s hair having nerves of their own, they wondered if they could help her ease down, too.

“Sure. Just like last time.” She looked away but blushed, it was rather personal to let them do that, plus she actually enjoyed it. Careful with the hooks.

The kirin continued, and then noticed what she meant about her being worked up,  her strands were moving and shaking quickly in its place. “Jeez, Nightfall…” They pressed down with their thumb on top of it and massaged it downwards, repeating this on the rest of the strands, yet avoiding the hooks at the end.

“That okay?”

“Yeah…” Nightfall exhaled, “Yeah, I needed that.” She slowed down on washing the dishes, though she was almost done.

“I might just fall asleep…” She said and moaned, then leaned on Mystic, knowing this was just a plan to get her to stop doing chores, so she prevented them again from interrupting her.

“Ah! I can’t pet your hair if it’s smothering me!” Mystic pushed her back.

“Too bad.”

Mystic backed off at least, Nightfall gave a triumphant smile, noticeable through her eyes, “This isn’t over.” They stated with a comical pout.

“I win.” Nightfall turned around and ruffled Mystic’s hair, avoiding the horn. They shook their head in response and finished with a yawn. Nightfall stood there, pleased, but had enough of playful comebacks. “Aight, okay, even though we are having fun, we should go to sleep.” Mystic said and Nightfall agreed.

[lukes-writing]

Chapter 13: Man Without Imagination

Project introduction | Previous chapter

Word count: 3200 Warnings: Profanity

September 29th, 10:22 AM, The Society headquarters, Trinity Gate

“Who… who could have done something like this?” Whisper’s voice rises to falsetto again. Her whole body is trembling, and it’s not only out of disgust since it’s already some time after the autopsy she witnessed. Her empathy allows her to feel what the murdered man felt seconds before his demise.

She can’t stop imagining how horrible it must have been. The paper flowing into his head through his mouth, nose, ears, eyes… Did it hurt, or was it finished quickly?

All the necessary business with the dead man has been done and Team Dreamcatcher can once again gather in the conference room to discuss the matter. However, instead of discussing, everyone is recovering from what they just witnessed. For all of them, it’s the closest encounter with death so far.

There’s no need to blame them for that, Wiccan thinks. They are yet to build resistance towards such sights. But I hope they’re gonna build it quickly. They will need it.

“What now?” Parker brings up a question. “Should we, like, find out who did this? I don’t particularly feel like a detective. I’m used to being on the opposite side of the law.”

“That’s pretty much our task,” Kirlian replies, vesseled into the Obi-Wan action figure once again. “Find the culprit and prevent them from doing this again.”

“I don’t know who did it, but I’m not sure if I want to encounter them,” Gary says.

Parker sneers. “But that’s a part of the job, man. If ya scared, you can get the fuck outta here.”

For this once, Wiccan has to agree with Parker. Whisper and Gary certainly need to harden. But not too much - Whisper’s sensitivity and empathy can be actually beneficial.

“No way, I’m staying,” Gary says. He finished moving into his new house sponsored by The Society just a few days ago and he can finally live like he always wanted. He has more than enough space both for himself and his little friends. If keeping such a house means meeting some deranged being which kills using paper, Gary is ready to take the risk.

Wiccan looks at Sienna. “I have a small test for you. Try to figure out what should we do next.”

The young woman thinks about it for a while, sipping from a cup of coffee. Everyone has already come to the conclusion her caffeine income would probably kill any other person. Then, she finally speaks: “Well, since we know close to nothing about the attacker, all we can do is to find out more about the victim. I would go and talk to his family to possibly find out something about the attacker’s motives.”

“I knew I made a good decision by appointing you as a leader,” Wiccan smiles at her. Sienna blushes, flattered by the compliment.

“Should I go with you again?” she offers. “I doubt it would be a good idea to come there all at once.”

Wiccan nods. “Sure, only two people will go. However. First, we will do it tomorrow, so his family can have some time to reconcile with their loss. Second, it will be Ophelia, not me. And third, I want Whisper to go with her. Sorry, Sienna.”

Whisper opens her eyes wide. “Me…?”

“Yes, you. Sienna is good at analytical thinking, but you are better with people and their emotions. You can read between the lines. Maybe you will be able to find out something the others can’t see.”

“I… I won’t disappoint! I think,” the girl squeals.

September 30th, 1:30 PM, Northeast District, Trinity Gate

Whisper had met Ophelia Salisbury a few times before, after she married her uncle. Whisper immediately decided she likes her, even if just for the fact Wiccan would not marry anyone who doesn’t meet his strict standards.

The woman’s upright stance radiates strength and experience, but her dark eyes are nothing but kindness. Whisper only hates the fact she has to tilt her neck back to look Ophelia in the face since their height difference is significant. Whisper is the only one in her family who measures less than 170 centimeters.

“Remember, be courteous and tactful, but keep in mind you came for the information,” Ophelia lectures her. Whisper came to a conclusion both her skin color and her voice can be compared to a delicious hot chocolate. She’s dressed in a long black dress and a short jacket of the same color. Her hair has been tied into an elegant top knot which exposes the woman’s swan neck.

Even Whisper chose a more conservative attire consisting of a black-and-white blouse and long, pleated skirt. She’s also wearing a pair of white moccasin shoes, which definitely isn’t common for her, and she also left a big part of her excessive jewelry at home.

They finally arrive at the neat family house standing on a wide boulevard close to the Trinity Gate’s university. The rays of sunshine glow through the tops of several trees which grow in its garden. An old fox terrier sleeps in front of a dog house.

Ophelia rings on the doorbell inserted in the gate which leads to the garden surrounded by a short hedge. A buzzing sound that soon follows tells them someone opened the gate. The two women enter and before they reach the end of the gravel walkway, the main door opens.

As they expected, they see an older, slightly chubby woman dressed in all black standing in the doorway. Her eyes are swollen, giving away all the tears the woman cried in the past hours.

“Are you Arthur’s students?” she asks. She’s probably already used to the man’s students coming over to offer their condolences. “Thank you for…”

Ophelia interrupts her. “Actually, we do want to express our condolences, but in the first place, we want to find out what exactly caused your husband’s death.”

“They didn't even let me know what happened to him!” the woman wails. “Can you…?”

The woman shakes her head. “Not until we close the case.”

“So he was… someone did it to him?”

“Yes, I’m afraid it was a murder,” Ophelia confirms and the woman bursts into tears. She gestures them to come in and both Ophelia and Whisper take a seat in a spacey living room. Its modern furniture heavily contrasts with a wooden bookshelf which takes up a whole wall.

Whisper takes a look at the books displayed. The murder victim’s collection mostly consists of essays by famous philosophers and heavy encyclopedias. Not a single piece of fiction. Definitely not Whisper’s style.

Then, Whisper notices another person in the room. He had just descended from the stairs leading upstairs. It’s an overweight teenage boy with short fair hair, round face and eyeglasses resting on his small nose. He has Captain America’s shield on his T-shirt and he’s holding a can of energy drink in his hand.

He seems surprised by the fact there’s a young female in their house. In fact, he stands there like petrified. Whisper wonders if it’s because of her presence or the guy is just not over his father’s death yet.

“Hi,” Whisper gives him a compassionate smile.

“H...hey,” the boy stutters and Whisper sees countless unsaid questions in his green eyes.

At that moment, his mother and Ophelia step into the room. Ophelia managed to console the woman to the point her uncontrollable wailing changed into sobbing. A while later, they’re sitting around a glass table with a cup of tea in front of them.

Ophelia starts to carefully interrogate the woman to find out as much about the victim as possible. All they find out is that he was a university professor of philosophy and he lived a normal life. The woman’s answers are vague and don’t get them anywhere close to the solution.

Whisper notices that the boy, Arthur junior, doesn’t say a word throughout the whole conversation. However, the girl has a feeling he would give much more interesting answers if he decided to speak.

“Arthur?” Whisper addresses the boy. “Would you mind if we went for a walk? Just you and me?”

Arthur Taylor junior apparently feels extremely insecure when Whisper is around and the girl tries hard to hide her amusement. If she started to giggle, she would ruin her already slim chances to pry something useful out of the young man.

Whisper isn’t a paragon of beauty, but it’s enough to completely disconcert a boy who apparently never came this close to a woman before. A bit of confidence would help him a lot.

“You and your dad - were you close?” the girl asks as the duo walks through the university campus. A black flag flies above the main entrance to honor the deceased professor.

“Uhm… not really,” Art replies, avoiding eye contact with Whisper. “We were… different. Almost every talk we had ended in an argument, so we rarely talked to each other. Almost every day, he stayed at school until the evening and then, when he came home, he locked himself in his workroom and worked on the computer until the late night hours.”

“What was he doing?”

Art shrugs. “Writing articles for an association of skeptics he was a member of. He loved debunking apparently paranormal occurrences just to prove there’s nothing supernatural in this world. He was so annoying with this,” he rolls his eyes. “I know it’s probably bad to say this now, but he was the dullest guy I know.”

If he only knew what I know, Whisper thinks.

“So that was the reason why didn’t you two get along well?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Art inserts his hands into his pockets, looking at the pavement under his feet. “It was one of the reasons. Y’know, I’m that kind of geek who’s into fantasy and sci-fi, which dad loathed. He was strictly against all forms of imagination and as far as I know, he crammed this philosophy even into his students’ heads. There’s a story that one student once brought one of The Witcher books into his lesson and dad tore it apart page by page. That’s why I had to hide my books from him.”

Whisper hears a slight trace of relief in his voice, as if the sentence should have ended with I’m glad I don’t have to do it anymore.

“Do you think it can have a connection to his… murder?”

“Probably not, but I don't know,” Art shrugs again. “Yeah, we used to make fun of him, but I doubt anyone would actually go as far as killing him. Maybe he had some enemies among his colleagues, he never spoke about his work much. Actually, I know almost nothing about his life.”

Whisper raises her eyebrows. “Make fun of him?”

“Yeah. Me and some other geeks I know created a webpage called ‘The Man Without Imagination’. There we shared memes about him and such, one guy even made remixes of his lectures… y’know, dad was really passionate about things he preached. He knew about the page and he was furious about it, but he could do nothing against it. If he knew I’m the main contributor… damn, it would have consequences.”

“Are you going to take the page down?”

“Probably. I guess it would be disrespectful if we kept it running.”

“In that case,” Whisper says, “could you keep the page up at least until we solve the case? It may actually help us. I don’t know how, but just in case.”

“Sure, I’ll tell the guys,” Art looks her in the eyes for the first time. “By the way, who is we?”

Whisper smiles. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Art smirks back. “I’m open-minded. So who are you working for? FBI? Men in Black? Or some secret organization I have no idea about?”

“You’re close,” Whisper gives him a mysterious smile.

“Did you find out something interesting?” Whisper asks Ophelia on their way back to the headquarters.

The woman shakes her head. “That woman is hopeless. She was either crying or telling me stuff she already told me three times. I know it sounds insensitive, but if we continue like this, we won’t find the killer. What about you, Wisp? How was your date with Art?”

Whisper ignores Ophelia’s mocking and tells her about everything Art told her. Ophelia gives her an appreciative nod. Bringing Whisper with her was a good idea after all - Ophelia doubts the boy would be so open if she asked him instead of Whisper. A person is usually more talkative when around peers.

“Good job,” Ophelia says. “Sienna should take a look at that webpage. Honestly, it’s not much, but we have to start somewhere. Maybe someone with special powers visited the page and decided to show that man everything he believed in is a lie.”

“Kinda improbable, but I’m not the one to judge,” Whisper says. When both women left the house of Taylors, Whisper took off her shoes and decided to continue the walk barefoot. It’s no surprise for Ophelia - she already knows how peculiar is the niece of her husband.

Back at the headquarters, both women explain the situation to the rest of the team. Sienna immediately turns on the computer in the corner of the room and finds the webpage Art was talking about. It’s just like the boy described it - full of jokes about the late professor and his hatred toward anything fantastical.

The latest post involves a picture of an old man with a long white beard - a stereotypical depiction of God - with a caption: Professor Arthur Taylor died yesterday and he already managed to prove I don’t exist after I took him here.  Parker lets out a short laugh. No other member of the team finds it funny.

“The archive is pretty extensive,” Sienna states. “At least twenty people actively contributed to this page - I suppose his students. It has also many passive visitors and subscribers who just come to laugh at the memes.” She finds a video in the Most popular section.

“Professor Taylor about fantastical literature - Remix by BigBeast420,” Gary reads the name.

Sienna clicks the Play button. The video is recorded secretly and depicts professor Taylor speaking in front of his class. This time, it’s harder not to laugh since a repetitive musical background is playing over the video and Taylor’s voice is autotuned so it appears he’s rapping.

The group listens to what he says.

“You achieve nothing in life if you cling to nonsensical, unreal fantasies!” Taylor preaches, marching around the classroom and making theatrical hand gestures. “What’s the point of wasting time with something that’s not even real? I appeal to you, dear students, live for here and now, not for anything nonexistent! Only then you can lie on your deathbed in peace, knowing you spent your life in reality. Fiction is a drug and its authors are but dealers! And just like drugs, nonexistent… nonexistent can ruin your life!”

“Wow, that guy is really a lunatic,” Whisper comments. “Who else can say something like this about reading books? Now I understand why was he so ridiculed.”

Another video is titled Professor Taylor - These Two Eyes (BigBeast420 Remix). Out of curiosity, Sienna clicks on it. Taylor once again speaks in front of the students, this time apparently about skepticism. “Every sane person should only believe what they see with these two eyes!” Taylor points his index and middle finger at his eyes. Finally, electronic music starts playing and Taylor saying These two eyes is played in a loop, creating an impressive musical piece.

“One thing is to admit, that guy who did the remix had some talent,” Parker comments.

The video continues: “There is nothing supernatural or paranormal. That’s a domain of gullible people! Nobody with a working brain would believe in such things. Everything must have an explanation!” The word Explanation is once again looped and remixed.

“Is it bad that I’m starting to side with the killer?” Whisper asks.

Wiccan chuckles. “True, that guy is nuts, but we still have to find out who killed him and stop them. At least now we know he had controversial opinions which could have set certain people against him, especially those who are living proof his words aren’t true.”

“Or a bookworm who just went berserk,” Whisper adds. “If someone started to speak about books like this in front of me, I’d have no problem to cram all that paper into his skull.”

The team lets Sienna work her magic with the computer. Someone has to constantly refill the cup on Sienna’s table with something rich in caffeine.

“That seems to be useless,” Sienna says after about an hour. “I was able to retrieve the IP addresses of the people who are logged on this page, but there are too many entries and that renders it useless. Some even use anonymizers such as VPN networks or the TOR browser. It could be any of them, or neither.”

A moment later, Ophelia enters the room with a phone on her ear. She finishes the call she was having and inserts the device back into her pocket.

“I just finished talking with ELIPSA headquarters,” she announces. When she sees the confused faces of the four new recruits, she explains: “Entries and Locations of Individuals Possessing Special Abilities. That’s an agency serving under The Society. Their task is to keep an eye on all people who display special powers or talents that could be useful for us.”

“In short, the fuckers who followed me everywhere I went and whose files you used to blackmail me?” Parker looks at Wiccan.

The man doesn’t let himself get disconcerted. “Precisely,” he replies with a straight face. Then he turns to his wife. “What did they say?”

Ophelia answers the question with a telling shrug. “The only registered PSPs in the Trinity Gate area are Parker, Whisper and Gary,” she says. “They have no information about any other person of such kind.”

“Maybe they just did a good job at avoiding their attention,” Gary suggests.

Wiccan shakes his head. “It’s hella hard to avoid ELIPSA’s attention. Once you display any form of supernatural abilities, you have a target on your back and you can’t get rid of it. A PSP not registered within ELIPSA’s archives would have to live in complete seclusion, hidden from everyone and everything.”

“But then, this sounds like a description of someone who would commit a murder,” Parker notes.

“So, to sum it up,” Sienna says, “we’re looking for a person with supernatural powers who lives in complete loneliness, yet must have some kind of internet connection or another link to the outside world since they seem to have taken revenge on Professor Taylor.”

“Seems about right,” Wiccan nods. “Unfortunately, that also probably rules out the possibility that the murderer is one of Taylor’s students. A university student who would display any trace of a supernatural ability would be immediately tracked by ELIPSA.”

“That means we’re back at the beginning,” Parker sums it up.

“That’s right,” Wiccan sighs. “We have clues, but nothing that could help us piece them together. And we should work pretty damn fast before the killer claims another victim.”

At that time, they have no idea this resolution can’t be fulfilled.

 Author’s Note

I wholeheartedly thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you did, please leave a comment, send me a message or share and let more people know about this story! You can also consider a small donation at www.paypal.me/lukassladky. Have a great day and stay tuned for the next chapter!

[tramsstudyblr]

Korean (& Korean-related) Favorites

To boost my own motivation to continue studying Korean. Here’s a couple of lists of some of my favorite things. (under a cut because otherwise this will be too long!)

Favorite youtube channels (language resource related):

All things Korean (Only been making videos for about a year, but has a lot of really informative videos both in regards to language but also culture)

Talk To Me In Korean (They have so many videos + a whole website, of language resources. Everything from grammar to pronounciation, and miscellaneous other topics. Also they have been producing a ridiculous amount of content these past 6 months on their youtube channel, so it can be a bit overwhelming/daunting, but I really recommend this channel)

Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean (a lot of grammar lessons, as well as general advice and reccomendations for studying, videos about culture. Has a livestream every sunday where he does an indepth lesson on a grammar subject. Splits everything into beginner, intermediate and advanced learners. Has a new series of videos for beginners. Also practice videos for intermediate and advanced learners)

K-waterbottle (not really a language resource as such, but he explains korean memes)

There are a lot more channels out there, Billy Go has two videos recommending other youtube channels. But I haven’t gotten around to checking them out.

Favorite youtube channels (other):

영국남자 Korean Englishman/Jolly (In theory they could I guess be used as a language resource since they have subtitles that are both in English and Korean. But mostly, they are entertainment. English guys introducing Korean food and culture, also Ollie is trying to learn Korean, and that is frequently hilarious. They are super funny and I adore their channels.

Some South Korean vloggers I follow to:

planD플랜디

Mejoo and Cats

냥숲nyangsoop

댕은Daengeun

수린 suzlnne

이욜 eyol

하루한끼 one meal a day

Favorite variety shows:

The Great Escape (Three seasons of a group of Korean celebrities taking on the most ambitious elaborate escape “rooms” you’ll ever see. The budget for this show must be astronomical. Its one of my comfort shows actually, I love this show. Its funny and delightful)

New Journey to the West (My most favorite variety show. I love and adore it! Group of Korean celebrities, dress up, travel to places [though for the most recent seasons been confined to Korea for various reasons] and play games. Its a heartwarming as well as funny show, and the castmembers feel like they are family. Some of them have actually worked together for almost 20 years, including the producer, so they really do have a familiarity with each other, but even the newer kids are welcomed in the family). It also has spin-offs!

Kang’s Kitchen (The cast get to run a restaurant, with all the ups and down. It’s a bit more serious as they really do focus more on doing their best instead of being funny, but they still do manage to be funny, no the least because of the ways they mess up. Its actually even more heartwarming and a comfort show for me)

Various shorter spin-offs, featuring different pairings of the cast on their youtube channel 

(one of the writers on NJTTW is also a writer on the drama Hospital Playlist, so there are also videos related to that show on this youtube channel, but I haven’t watched that drama so idk much about them) 

I Can See Your Voice (Okay, so the synopsis of this is a bit... iffy I know. But the actual show actually manages to be geniunely uplifting at times, despite it. The general idea is that, celebrity guest, along with an expert panel have to guess who in a line-up of complete strangers, are the tone deaf and the talented singers. And everyone in the line-up then gets to perform. And I know it sounds like its just a set-up to laugh at the people who can’t sing. But all of the tone deaf performers just seem so game for it and getting to perform on stage on TV must be a powerful incentive. I started out just watching it for specific guests, but then the last two-three seasons I watched all episodes regardless of guests, because of the interviews with the people participating, its very refreshing after mainly idol/celebrity focused things I’ve watched, to listen to ordinary people and their stories)

Favorite K-drama:

(disclaimer: I have a bad habit of starting to watch a drama and then quitting before I’ve watched all episodes. But I do have a few I finished!)

Memorist (I finished this one recently. Crime drama with a lot of twists [some more expected than others] I appreciated it for its focus on plot and not really having a explicit romance angle since I wanted to watch something for the mystery. Anyway it was really quite good and entertaining)

Because This Is My First Life (I love love love loved this drama! A romance I could really get invested in)

It’s Okay That’s Love (You ever watch a kdrama that deals with mental ilness in a way that isn’t wildly offensive? This one is actually pretty good)

Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (I love this drama. Or do I love the way this drama played out in my head more? Tricky question. It’s a great drama either way [though the one in my head is slightly better].)

Favorite Korean Movies:

Masquerade (2012)

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008)

Jeon Woochi The Taoist Wizard (2009)

Parasite (2019)

Spellbound (2011)

The Handmaiden (2016)

The Man From Nowhere (2010)

The War of Arrows (2011)

The Grand Heist (2012)

The Merciless (2017)

Train To Busan (2016)

#Alive (2020)

Assassination (2015)

Secretly Greatly (2013)

The King and The Clown (2005)

Favorite Korean Music:

(I will not link to youtube music videos because then we’ll be here for an eternity and this will never get done. But I will list some songs) I got into kpop/kvariety all of this two years ago, but I was for some reason mostly drawn to groups that had been around for some time.

Groups

Block B (Don’t Leave, Yesterday, One Way, A Few Years Later, Toy, Her, Jackpot, Very Good, Movie’s Over, Be the Light, Romantically, Mental Breaker, Walkin’ In The Rain, Like This)

Winner (Millions, Ah Yeah, Remember, Well, Raining, Movie Star, We Were, For, Air, Fool, Love me Love me, Island, Really Really, Immature, Baby Baby, Don’t Flirt, Color Ring)

Sechskies (Road Fighter, pom saeng pom sa, Come to Me Baby, Couple, Yegam, Heartbreak [original and remastered versions], Reckless Love, Round & Round, Something Special, Smile, Backhug, Drinking Problem, Be Well, Vertigo, It's Been A While, Sad Song, Three Words)

Super Junior (Make You Smile, Ahora Te Puedes Marchar [okay so neither of those two is in Korean, but I love them!], Animals, One More Time, I Do, This is Love, Stars Appear, Islands, Evanesce, Bonamana, One More Chance,)

Buzz (Thorn, Tree, Coward, My Love, Don’t know Men, The Love, The First Summer in 8 years, Just One, Travel to Me)

Dreamcatcher (Chase Me, Good Night, Fly High, You and I, What, Deja Vu, Scream, R.o.S.E BLUE, Boca)

Speed [Sadly disbanded before I even found them, but I spent like a week obsessively watching every youtube video of them performing Don’t Tease Me. And after listening to some more of their songs I found I liked them] (Don’t Tease Me, Pain the love of heart, One Day, It's Over, That's My Fault, Luv Ya, Never Say Goodbye, Why I'm Not)

Miss A [sadly also disbanded before I found out about them] (Hush, Bad Girl Good Girl, Only You, Good-bye Baby, I Don't Need a Man, Breathe)

Solo

Park Kyung (of Block B. He has like 10 solo songs, I love them all and are by far my most played songs. So I could list all of them, or just leave it at this)

Kassy/케이시 (Listen to This Song[seriously, do listen to it, its so comforting], True Song, Tock Tock, The Day Was Beautiful, Story of Nightfall, When Love Comes By, Let it Rain)

Eun Jiwon (of Sechskies [and many variety shows]) (I'm On Fire, Hooligan, Same, Hate, Worthless, Trauma, 8t Truck, Never Ever, Adios, While Buzzed/Fuddled)

Bonus (random songs I like)

Park Hyoshin - Wild Flower

Park Hyoshin - Snow Flower

Sejeong - Flower Way

Twice - What Is Love?

Crayon Pop - Bing Bing

Vixx - Error

Zico - Human

Zico - The Language of Flowers

Zico - Being Left

Zico - Balloon

Wonder Girls - Why So Lonely

Wonder Girls - Nobody

Seventeen - Clap

BTOB - Way Back Home

g.o.d - The Story of Our Lives

g.o.d - A Funny But Sad Day

Gaho - Start

Lee Hi - Breathe

Urban Zakapa - I don't Love You

IU - Love Poem

Crush - Beautiful

Ailee - I Will Go To You Like The First Snow

J-Walk - Frappuccino

Melomance - Gift

I could probably spend another week or two adding songs to this list, so lets cut it short now.

[cha-inyeon]

tagged by @i-liu-you (like honestly such a cute human??? layla ilysm thank u for always crying with me about anything and everything)

Nickname: Cheltz, Chelshire 

Zodiac sign: Aries

Height: 5′7″

Orientation: Demisexual

Nationality: American

Favorite Fruit: Uhhh? I like all fruits i honestly can’t choose one uh... watermelon? strawberries? grapes? THEY’RE ALL WONDERFUL

Favorite Season: Spring and summer

Favorite Flower: Sunflowers

Favorite Scent: Clean laundry, books, the smell after it rains

Favorite Animal: Cats, sloths, giraffes, manatees (HOLY FRICK WHEN I WENT TO KOREA A FEW WEEKS AGO I SAW MANATEES AT THE AQUARIUM FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE OMFG I ACTUALLY TEARED UP LIKE I HONESTLY NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET TO SEE ONE????)

Favorite Colors: Pinks, purples, light blues  

Coffee, Tea, or Hot Cocoa?: Hot cocoa 

Average Sleep Hours: Usually around 6 or 7 these days 

Cat or Dog: Cat cat cat cat cat cat 

# of Blankets: Usually just one but if the temperature drops i can easily pile on like 5 or 6 until i’m basically crushed lmao 

Dream Trip: I’ve already been to Korea a few times so i would have to say a tour around Europe and Asia?? like to just go all over and see all the historic sites and try all these new foods and experience so many different cultures i think it would be amazing tbqh

Blog Created: oh god i don’t even remember, like sometime in 2013 maybe???? or maybe it was before then jfc i don’t even know 

Favorite song at the moment: ARCHANGELS OF THE SEPHIROTH BY STELLAR, IF YOU HAVEN’T LISTENED TO IT YET DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND GO WATCH THE MV 10 TIMES AND SHOWER MY QUEENS IN THE LOVE AND APPRECIATION THEY DESERVE THEY’RE SO TALENTED IM SHOOK AF

Number of followers: 1,208 (idk what u guys are doing here but thank u and welcome and let me love u pls and thanks) 

Favourite bands: VIXX, Apink, BTOB, Stellar, Dreamcatcher, Infinite, Astro, SF9, Monsta X, SHINee, Block B, Pentagon, BTS, Cross Gene, Day6, Epik High, Mamamoo, KNK and honestly like 239439 more 

Favourite solo artists: I LOVE IU SO MUCH LIKE I WOULD FREAKING SACRIFICE MY LIFE FOR HER SHE’S SO PRECIOUS I’M CRI and i also really like Lee Hi, K.Will, Zion T, Roy Kim, Jung Joonyoung..........

Song stuck in my head: Stellar’s archangels of the sephiroth has been in my head since yesterday tbqh 

Last movie I watched: uhhhh omf i dont even remember. when i was on the plane home from korea they were playing some movie called “the founder” about the people who created Mcdonald’s?? i only watched like the last half tho 

Last tv show I watched: “Circle: Two Worlds Connected” aka my fave kdrama right now and i highly recommend it and its amazing and the last episode just came out and IM NOT READY TO SEE HOW IT ENDS JFC 

What stuff do you post: like 95% vixx (mostly me crying over hakyeon) with a dash of the million other bands i stan and a healthy dose of girl group love??

When did your blog reach its peak: maybe when i made that one gifset of hakyeon being fcking adorable and it got like over 2,100 notes (x) ?? oh and also that cross gene gifset of them saying “i love you” to each other and being really hella fcking gay about it (x)  

Do you have any other blogs: uhhhhhhhhh i do have a vixx fanfic blog but that’s highly classified information 

Do you get asks regularly: hahaha...ha...ha...h...a.... no 

Why did you choose your url: the “cha” is for hakyeon’s family name, and then “inyeon” is one of the korean words meaning ‘fate/destiny’ and hakyeon said it was fate that he met his fans so.... yeah 

Following: 300

Posts: 27,392

Hogwarts house: a very proud Ravenclaw

Pokemon team: i don’t know???? i have honestly never played pokemon in my life and i don’t really know very much about it?? 

Lucky numbers: 7

What are you wearing right now: just comfy loose pajama pants and a tanktop bc i recently got the worst sunburn of my life on my legs and shoulders so if any tight-fitting clothing touches it i actually want to die :)))) 

tagging: @jimintoxication , @reila-ravkong , @chkyeon , @hongboob-yeah , @inmyownfiction , @williamteaspears , @lattaekwoonie , @we-pray-for-our-sorrows-to-end , @hakyeonforpresident , @kpop-fangirl-epicness , @novio-dae , @brekineee

[witty-diagnosis]

Witty diagnosis #71: it feels like sunburn with a needle...

So, I know it's been a while since I last did any form of posting, probably about a week, but there's good reason for that. I had a tattoo done didn't I, yes I did and I just went for something small, shoulder to elbow with mostly shading but some colour, and yeah it was alright, took 2 and a half hours with no breaks. So since I've now felt how it feels let's have a chat about it. So now knowing that it feels like sunburn, I'm not quite understanding how on TV shows that show people having tattoos, like tattoo fixers and tattoos after dark, why some people have to fucking scream. Yeah it hurts its a fucking needle in your arm but you don't see fucking Ewan McGregor crying in trainspotting when he sticks one in, and he does it to himself. Now I know there's a difference between heroine needles and tattoo needles, for one heroine makes you look bad but you can find both cheap in maliga, usually down some alley. What I don't understand is how people think they can grab your fucking arm, look at you and go "this is permanent you know" because it's been 3 days and it's already fucking happened. What right does some fucking miserable old bastard have grabbing onto my t-shirt and pulling my sleeve up, I wouldn't kick the fuckers crutch from underneath him, well not until now since I'm tempted. I honestly don't see why people take the stance of "oh if god wanted you to have them you'd be born with them" well some people are born with black skin it only took you 200 years to accept them, maybe get off your high horse and take a look at the fact a week ago you weren't even fucking religious, what now I'm going to hell oh fuck off. Then there's those who go "well I'd like one but" and then whatever reason, I understand some, I mean mine was £200 as was my brothers so they're very expensive, I could only afford it since it was my 18th beforehand, but some are just ridiculous. I've heard someone say because it was "too big" without realising there's this thing called scale, or they can't find the time or it'd get in the way of work, well only some take more than a few hours and you can always wear a long sleeved shirt. I mean a lot of its just excuses. Now I may sound douchey in this one with it being my first tattoo or whatever but if I can handle it I'm sure loads of other people can, you just gotta deal with the pain and focus on the end result, and drink a shit load of sugar you end up just sitting there with a niggling pain in your arm and a heavily tatted guy sticking a needle in your arm. Just don't pay £50 for like 4 lines in the shape of arrow because it will fade and that'll look shit, and yes an arrow needs to be pulled to fire forward, you just need to be pulled for a sense of self worth. fuck moderation and just get a good start for a sleeve I did and now I can have blossom petals down my arm, as long as the background is black and white, a theme I very much wanted. And avoid; tribals, barbed wire, anything basic so arrows, dreamcatchers, infinity signs and anchors and if you get it done maybe let the artist get on with their job, and tip. A few final thoughts, long lines hurt towards the end, fuck highlights because that came out of nowhere and hurt like shit, and colour stays swollen longer than shading. Well anyway hope you've enjoyed this frankly I'm not sure what it is, make sure to keep kicking crutches and randomly grabbing my sleeve and pulling it up before violently judging me like you're my fucking mother. Anyway see you guys probably tomorrow since I should really be putting more stuff out.