abandonedthoughtss

[jenscx]

HIT ME UP — uchinaga aeri

aeri’s never had much luck with love. countless blind dates, dating apps, mutual friends, nothing came out of those. but wait, who is that girl in her best friend’s instagram and why is she so pretty?

tags fluff, no angst, non-idol au, open your eyes to see jiminjeong, mutual pining (for literally a sec), cursing, aeri pov centric

wordcount 6.0k

🎙️ author’s note: happy aeri day! lots of love to our favourite hot girl gigi 🤍 can’t express how much i love aeri and her contribution to aespa as a member >< i hope that everyone enjoys reading this fic and for aeri to enjoy her birthday!

uchinaga aeri, half-japanese and half-korean, age twenty three, has never dated anyone before in her life. well, not officially. she doesn’t really count the situationships or talking stages she’s had. aeri would say that the lack of love in her life would be due to her bougie choices in character. her taste is just a little more refined, detailed, specialised, whatever you want to call it. jimin calls it picky while yizhuo applauds her for knowing what she wants in a partner.

something that definitely attracted her would be a strong personality, a little bold and courageous but also sweet and caring. isn’t that a nice criteria to have? aeri doesn’t think she’s asking for much here. yet, her simple standards seem a reach too far compared to the personalities she’s met lately. even jimin can’t help but wince at the blind dates aeri has gone on.

because aeri loves everyone, as long as they’re pretty, she’s been on dates with many, regardless of gender. and well, she can’t really say that one outweighs the other. this one guy she met at the gym had told her she needed more tips on weightlifting and had gone into a rant about protein shakes.

needless to say, as much as she loves the gym, aeri could not really stand an hour long conversation about protein shakes of all things.

and that girl who seemed way more interested in the oat milk in aeri’s latte than her. that was a strange date. aeri scrunches her nose in distaste at the reminder. another date she’d been on, helpfully supplied by yizhuo, the girl was gorgeous and incredibly sweet. but the moment aeri had said she was a scorpio, her date started acting like aeri killed her dog. which, by the way, she never would. she loves dogs and even has two cute ones herself! and then her date had the nerve to storm out of the restaurant too. what a shitshow.

(“oh… maybe i shouldn’t be friends with her either,” yizhuo comments after aeri recites the incident to her.

“do you think she’ll burst into flames if you tell her you’re a scorpio as well?” jimin asks, so genuinely that aeri almost chokes to death while laughing.)

anyway, so what if aeri’s luck with dating is trash? her life has been fine for twenty three years and it’s not like having a partner will drastically change her for the good. she’s been enjoying this single life. she never has to update anyone about her whereabouts, she doesn’t have to reply to texts immediately, everything she buys is for herself. what a wonderful life. some call it miserable, others call it unhealthy. she calls it being free.

okay, maybe it is a little sad coming home to an empty apartment with no one to greet her. aeri does feel envious when her friends meet up and they talk about their own significant others. but that envy isn’t enough for her to throw herself down into that torturous rabbit hole of dating again. if only she had a friend that she could fall in love with or something. like a cute friends to lovers situation. or if she tripped and fell over the love of her life. the stars aligned, ‘we’re soulmates’ type.

not to mention that ever since moving back to korea from the states, her parents have been pressuring her to find someone. while korea and japan aren’t aeons apart, aeri doesn’t really have the comfort of family. her friends do offer some semblance of home but it just doesn’t feel the same. after confiding in her mother, aeri was told that a partner would fill in the gap her parents left.

she’s getting a little delirious and the idea of falling in love has become more of a chore than blessing. aeri slumps against her bedframe, scowling at her phone blowing up. if she were still on a dating app, the notifications could be due to matches or dates that were too clingy. but she’s sworn off dating apps for good and that chain of messages could only be sent by yu jimin.

jimin [6.19pm]:

omg guys

i think i just met the loml

holy shit shes so cute

im in love

can sm1 find her @

yizhuo [6.20pm]:

who

jimin [6.20pm]:

uhmmmmm

minjeong?

her cup says that

yizhuo [6.20pm]:

are you serious 😐

jimin [6.21pm]:

STOP SHES LOOKING AT ME

AAAAAAA

aeri [6.22pm]:

girl shut up

she throws her phone aside as jimin’s cries for help go unanswered. jimin breaking down would be cute if aeri wasn’t going through an existential crisis right now. the thought of never finding someone truly for her looms over her head. her whole ‘i don’t need a man’ (or woman) persona crumbles instantly the moment she reaches her bedroom. the facade falls immediately, only leaving behind a lonely girl who just has bad luck.

jimin continues to flounder around and seemingly the pings stop (aeri lets out a sigh of relief), before they come back in full force in the form of a video call.

aeri reaches for her phone and waits a few seconds just to torture jimin before picking up.

“uhm, hello?”

“oh my goodness— what is wrong with you two? have you not read my messages!” jimin whispers harshly. a grainy, pixelated version of her friend appears on screen. the only recognisable feature of jimin is her pale, glowy skin shining in the moonlight as her dark hair wisps around behind her.

staring blankly, aeri repeats, “hello?”

“hi, yes! okay, so i just met this girl and—”

yizhuo’s voice cuts through, “does it really count as meeting her though?”

aeri sees jimin rolling her eyes before she reluctantly pouts, “no, but that’s not the point. the point is that she’s really cute, like marriage-worthy cute. and i need her instagram now.”

“you think we can find it?” yizhuo asks, unamused.

“well, she was wearing our old high school jacket and you guys know a lot of people!” jimin’s logic, sometimes flawed, did make sense to aeri this time. she and yizhuo were like social butterflies back in high school and jimin’s assumption would be right.

“what was her name again?” aeri asks, just to get jimin to shut up. for a girl that was so elegant and graceful, jimin really was a loser sometimes. it was difficult at first to adjust from the girl crush jimin to the loser jimin but after being friends for so long, aeri has learnt to accept both sides of her personality.

jimin perks up, her forehead gleaming on the screen, “minjeong! isn’t it such a cute name? cute name for a cute girl… heh. she looked like a puppy too, like a tint maltese. she has short blonde hair too. almost shoulder length?”

aeri isn’t too sure on how the description of her looking like a maltese helps in their investigation but whatever floats jimin’s boat, she guesses. she watches as yizhuo disappears from the frame and jimin walks home, humming to herself.

a few minutes later, while she and jimin are discussing new hair colours, yizhuo pops back into frame, exclaiming with glee, “i found her!”

and aeri can only watch as jimin trips over air, almost in slow motion, and face plants into the ground.

“c’mon, ningie! please!” aeri widens her eyes while jimin almost gets on her knees, her hands pleading. who knew jimin would get so desperate for some girl’s instagram? definitely not aeri.

yizhuo only huffs, “i want something in return.”

“anything! really!” the older girl is so close to downright begging that aeri considers stepping in for a second before yizhuo inevitably reads out loud, “mj underscore zero one zero one and i want free lunch for the rest of the week. aeri unnie included.”

aeri grins brightly as jimin scrambles to type the username into her search bar. she fist bumps yizhuo, smiling at the thought of free food.

“oh my gosh, thank you!” jimin squeals, planting a wet kiss on yizhuo’s cheek.

“how’d you find her instagram?” aeri asks curiously. yizhuo shrugs, wiping the lipstick mark left behind coolly, “my friend follows her. asked around for a bit and now people think she owes me money or something.”

aeri stifles a giggle at that and turns her attention back to jimin, who’s still staring at her phone in awe. her fingers are fervently scrolling and swiping, tapping away on the screen. jimin’s devotion to find this mystery girl’s instagram is insane and it brings out the slightest bit of curiosity in aeri.

hence, she peeks over jimin’s shoulder and for her lacklustre description of minjeong, it’s well-fitting, surprisingly.

“she does look like a maltese,” are aeri’s first words. jimin swerves her head back, smiling widely, “i know right!”

“oh, she’s really cute,” aeri notes. minjeong is pretty, like a doll. jimin sends her a withering glare but she just ignores it. the girl is pretty, but not her type. and she definitely isn’t planning on competing in some competition for minjeong’s love alongside her own best friend.

“she’s friends with a lot of unnies,” yizhuo says, listing them off her fingers, “nayeon unnie, jeongyeon unnie, momo unnie— well, that whole friend group. jennie unnie too. and you know mijoo unnie? she’s friends with her too.”

jimin visibly deflates while aeri tries to cheer her up, “but they’re all friends only though, right?”

yizhuo nods, “yup, i haven’t heard of minjeong ever dating anyone either.”

her comment resonates with aeri and a small part of her commends minjeong for not succumbing to the horrors of dating.

with aeri’s words of encouragement, jimin continues to scroll, albeit slower now and not as enthusiastic. she eventually reaches the end of all of minjeong’s posts and hastily scrolls back up.

“check her highlights too,” aeri demands, terribly invested. jimin follows suit, clicking on the first story highlight. it’s full of food that has aeri salivating and jimin swallowing her saliva. yizhuo only watches on, uninterested.

then, jimin clicks on one that’s named ‘solos’ and aeri hears her choke up. the highlight is filled with selfies and photos of minjeong. all very cute and adorable. she internally rolls her eyes and begs jimin to hurry through the stories instead of staring intently at each one. minjeong’s feed is nice, aeri thinks. it’s clean and simple but it still shows enough of her personality.

when jimin finally swipes to the last highlight, aeri’s jaw visibly drops.

“oh my god,” she gapes, snatching jimin’s phone away into her own hands, “who is that?”

“hey! give it back!”

“stop it!” aeri swats jimin’s hand away and with miraculous strength, evades all of her reaches and manages to zoom into the story. minjeong, her face propped up by her palm, and next to her, aeri believes is aphrodite reincarnated. bright doe eyes, pouty lips— oh, aeri might be in love.

she was about to discover if it was possible to lose her voice solely from screaming inside her head.

“oh shit, do you think that’s her girlfriend?” jimin gasps as soon as she sees the story as well and the fight for her phone goes forgotten. they both stare in bewilderment at the photo.

yizhuo eventually pries their fingers off jimin’s phone, sneering, “close your mouth, both of you. she’s y/n.”

aeri jumps into action at her words, “you know this girl? who is she? what’s her name?”

“calm down, damn.”

“sorry— this is the literal love of my life?”

jimin frowns, “that’s what i said about minjeong and you called me deluded.”

ignoring jimin.

“i don’t know her, i know of her,” yizhuo rolls her eyes again. aeri purses her lips at the brattiness of the youngest. since when was their baby so sassy? maybe jimin was too irritating. aeri would understand if that were the case.

“just stalk her account. minjeong definitely tagged her somewhere or she’s in the comments,” jimin suggests.

aeri hollers, “you’re a genius!” it’s her first time saying that to jimin.

through sheer determination and will (yizhuo calls it stupidity), she manages to find minjeong replying to a certain commenter.

mj_0101 been away

view all comments

1eeyn i see how it is.. no creds at all

↳ mj_0101 photo creds to my bae

“bae?! jimin— oh my fucking god!” aeri screeches and thank god they’re in jimin’s room and not in public. yizhuo has the gall to cover her ears even though aeri’s been on the receiving end of her dolphin shrieks before.

equally distressed, jimin lets out a choked sob, “of course the pretty girls are dating!”

“guys, i just said they’re only friends.”

“and how do you know that?!”

yizhuo shoots a glare and jimin immediately cowers beside aeri.

“because i know them, duh. y’all are stupid. the moment you two see pretty girls it’s like your ability to think disappears.”

well that, aeri can’t disagree. her brain had no thoughts when she first saw minjeong’s story. just sunshine and rainbows. maybe the distant chiming of wedding bells. or a white, sparkly dress with a long train.

as she gets lost in her thoughts, jimin pries her fingers away from the phone, detaching them carefully. when aeri frowns at her action, the older one merely shrugs, “stalk her on your own phone.”

begrudgingly, she does so, searching up this mystery girl’s instagram. it’s pretty empty, mostly just pictures of nature and food. sometimes she throws in a selfie that makes aeri’s heart clench.

“fuck,” she groans, feeling her throat choke up, “she’s so my type.”

jimin nods in agreement even though aeri’s sure she didn’t hear a word she said. yizhuo rolls her eyes (how many times has she done that?).

“you think she’s into girls?” aeri asks, showing yizhuo a story highlight of some vinyls with clairo’s one right at the front.

“maybe. i don’t know her too well. i heard she’s kind of scary though, like cold and intimidating. she punched someone for picking on minjeong once.”

aeri lets out a huff, one of sheer amazement. lord knows she needs a woman who can fight.

“aeri-ah,” jimin suddenly calls out from her bed.

“yes?”

she gulps, swallowing harshly, “if you text her, i’ll text minjeong.”

yizhuo hums, “you two do that.”

she mulls it over. texting this pretty girl? who’s insanely her type? maybe. what if you were an asshole though? she’s not too sure about whether minjeong would be friends with you if you were mean but she thinks back to your face.

god, she needs you biblically.

“okay, let’s get girlfriends!”

she doesn’t text you at all. it’s a little embarrassing to admit but aeri’s scared! what if she just gets ignored? she couldn’t get her ego bruised like that. and jimin’s no help either! constantly texting her to dm you first even though aeri knows that jimin stares at the empty private chat with minjeong every night.

what she does do is first of all, create another account that’s completely blank, void of any recognition for aeri. then she watches your stories. on repeat. and on one uneventful tuesday, your profile lights up with a ring around it. aeri can’t help herself from viewing it immediately.

and maybe she shouldn’t have, since she’s seething by the time yizhuo texts her.

yizhuo [1.43pm]:

hey guys…

has any1 seen y/n’s story?

jimin [1.44pm]:

minjeong’s account is burned into my screen

but no ☺️

aeri [1.44pm]:

i’m gonna kill myself

jimin [1.46pm]:

😨⁉️

she almost actually throws her phone this time. aeri wants to die. she wants to puke.

what the actual fuck.

her phone rings— she picks up on the first ring.

“so…” yizhuo starts awkwardly.

“what’s going on?! aeri, don’t kill yourself?! you’re my best friend and i might also die without you! i love you, aeri—”

aeri cries out, “she has a girlfriend!”

the other side of the phone goes eerily quiet before jimin’s forehead pops up on screen and her eyebrows are nearly touching her hairline.

“WHAT?!”

“she just posted a photo of her kissing some girl’s cheek!” aeri screeches.

yizhuo winces before adding unhelpfully, “her girlfriend’s pretty though.”

“not the point— also yeah, agreed. but still! what am i gonna do now?!”

jimin frowns, “you can still be friends with her, right?”

“well… i was going to try to hit her up first,” aeri pouts, feeling devastated. she hadn’t even gotten a chance to woo you, and no way was she going to get in the way of a happy relationship! aeri was many things, but she wasn’t a homewrecker.

“maybe you can salvage a friendship out of this,” yizhuo suggests thoughtfully. aeri nods. maybe she should at least try to be friends rather than pursue a romantic relationship. she needed to expand her social circle anyway from just jimin and yizhuo.

“jimin, this means you have to text minjeong now.”

“what?! i’m not ready!”

“it’s just a text! like her story or something!”

jimin stares at her through the screen, affronted. aeri connects the dots quickly enough, “wait, don’t tell me you have been liking all her stories?”

“okay, maybe i have! that’s not a crime. and she liked one of my stories back! the one i posted when we went to eat hotpot! i’m way farther in this than you are—”

aeri hangs up. she can’t deal with a gloating jimin right now.

she needs a clear mind. she needs to think about her next course of action. all that was occupying her mind during the past few days was a wedding with you, but now aeri has a few adjustments to make.

swiping back to your story, aeri frowns. she clicks to the previous one. it’s a photo of you playing with a dog, an adorable samoyed. the background has a few other dogs, so you were probably at a dog cafe.

with your girlfriend, aeri sighs.

she types out, ‘omg where is this?’ it feels friendly and innocent enough. and aeri totally knows which dog cafe you’re at. it’s a rather popular one that she has visited herself.

before aeri can even think again, she sends the message.

god, she should really stop letting jimin get to her head.

within seconds, there’s a reply that makes aeri’s heart soar.

[aerichandesu] 1eeyn

it’s winters village in hongdae!

you’re really pretty btw

score! aeri’s got this in the bag!

she enters the chat and replies with a speed that makes the flash quiver.

aerichandesu [2.10pm]:

omg thankuu 💗

you’re super cute too

you don’t reply but aeri spots the tiny green circle next to your name. you’re online. but why aren’t you replying? was there nothing to reply to? aeri feels her heart sink a little lower. the chat doesn’t pop up with another message and aeri throws her phone aside.

she can’t let a girl plague her mind! aeri’s better than this! puffing her chest out, aeri gathers all the grit and willpower she has in herself and leaves the app.

aeri continues this pattern for the next few days; every time you posted a story, she would slide up. it only started to feel a bit one-sided when you started replying with short and curt responses. maybe you got weirded out by aeri, and she wouldn’t even blame you. sometimes she would send messages at midnight and wake up in the morning, cursing the vulnerability she had previously. she would read back at the chat, cringing at her overeager attitude. even jimin called her out on it! and if even jimin found it weird, aeri must have seemed absolutely psychotic.

“girl, i think you have to stop,” yizhuo says one day.

“stop with what?” aeri asks but she knows damn well what yizhuo’s talking about. jimin’s head perks up, her cheeks stuffed with ramen that aeri so graciously cooked for her when the older had complained about her hunger.

after swallowing, jimin giggles, “your little thing with your girl.”

“uhm, what?”

“i think you’re creeping her out,” yizhuo shakes her head, “if i had this stranger, no matter how cute they are, constantly texting me first, i would be a little scared.”

aeri pouts, feeling admonished, “i haven’t texted her in two days. she isn’t interested.”

“oh thank goodness,” the chinese girl sighs in relief, “i thought you went all joe goldberg on her.”

“i’m not joe! and i would never do that to someone!”

“well, i was worried anyway.”

jimin nudges her shoulder, “there’s a lot of fish in the ocean, right?”

rolling her eyes, aeri pinches at jimin’s side, “imagine if i said that about minjeong.”

“why would you ever say that about minjeong?” jimin furrows her brows, “and i actually texted her.”

aeri shoots up, the thought of her disastrous love life long forgotten as jimin reveals this new information.

“you did?! holy shit, congrats dude!”

jimin looks away, sheepish, “i replied to her story and she said that she remembers me from school. i don’t know how i missed seeing someone like her around. she said she really likes bowling, so i’m thinking of bringing her to bowl.”

genuinely happy for her friend, aeri pats her on the back while yizhuo gives a pleased nod. aeri kind of wishes her endeavour with you could go this smoothly. she certainly doesn’t remember you from school, nor does it seem you remember her. maybe you just weren’t in the same classes.

“guess it’s just me now, huh?” aeri laughs, despite the slight embarrassment she feels from being ignored.

jimin pouts, “you’ll find someone better.”

aeri thinks of the way her heart flutters when you reply or post something new, and she thinks that she’s never felt this strongly attracted to someone before without even knowing them.

yeah, she doesn’t think she will.

aeri’s totally fine. she’s gone two weeks without even glancing at your profile and she’s okay. there were some withdrawal symptoms at first, like the increasing urge to reply to your story or like it, but aeri’s determination outweighs her adoration. thus, she lives life without ever thinking about you again.

(that was a lie. she still wonders about it at night.)

yizhuo had applauded her ‘getting over’ you and so had jimin, who was barely online nowadays because she was hanging out with minjeong. aeri’s glad her best friend has found someone she likes. and she’s over the moon that jimin has found a new victim for her teasing. apparently, minjeong had better reactions, so yizhuo and aeri cheered knowing minjeong would suffer now.

jimin had been bugging them to finally meet minjeong and hang out as a group for the longest time. aeri doesn’t know if she actually brought her to that bowling date but the restaurant they picked out is expensive and jimin’s paying. so naturally, she agrees instantly.

what jimin doesn’t say is that minjeong would be bringing someone along.

coincidentally, you.

hence, aeri’s sitting right across from you, not daring to lift her head up in fear that she might make eye contact. after acting so desperate in your dms, aeri would rather die than face you directly.

you stare at her bizarrely as minjeong introduces you to jimin’s friends.

“this is yizhuo and aeri, we all went to the same high school together,” minjeong informs you, “but i don’t think we ever crossed paths before.”

“no, we haven’t,” you confirm. aeri glances at you meekly before darting her gaze to the menu.

“nice to meet you, y/n,” yizhuo smiles sweetly, making up for the silence that aeri provided. you’re still a little confused as to why aeri wasn’t talking right now.

maybe she thinks you don’t recognise her? but you do. she’s the pretty girl that randomly popped up one day and started replying to your stories.

“nice to meet you too,” you grin, “nice to see you in person as well, aeri-ssi.”

you watch, surprised, as aeri barely acknowledges your words, only nodding slightly. wasn’t she quite bold online? why was she acting like this now?

“shall we order?” jimin asks, snapping the menu shut. after calling over the waiter, you shift your eyes back to aeri, staring appreciatively at her outfit. one thing you noticed from her instagram feed was that she dressed well. you wanted to ask her where she shops but she seemed a second away from exploding.

you whip out your phone, earning a flinch from aeri.

y/n bae [7.24pm]:

is smth wrong w aeri?

mindoongie [7.24pm]:

uhmm idk 😓

idt she’s usually like this

jiminie said she’s quite sociable

awesome. so that meant you were the problem.

resting your head on your palm, you turn your attention to yizhuo, asking, “what are you currently studying?”

“oh, i’m doing fashion design,” she answers, twirling the knife.

“that’s interesting. could you ever design something for me one day?”

yizhuo chuckles, “i’ll cast you as my model if i get big. what about you?”

“i’ll definitely pursue something in modelling but i’m studying medicine right now.”

engrossed in your conversation, you barely notice aeri’s pout. the girl seemed a little too timid and shy as to what you’ve seen online. and minjeong and jimin seemed to be talking about something else.

“y/n, are you dating anyone right now?” yizhuo asks suddenly. you falter, recalling the girl you had just broken up with a few days ago, “ah, no. not currently.”

in your haste to recover, you miss the nudge yizhuo gives go aeri.

spurred on, aeri asks, “do you have time to date while studying?”

“hm, it was manageable,” you reply, “it got tiring when she needed a lot of my time though.”

aeri stares at you wistfully before coughing.

you wonder why she asked that.

[aerichandesu] 1eeyn

hi, can u help me say thanku to jimin?

for taking care of my best friend

aeri blinks at the message. it’s the first time you’ve texted her first.

aerichandesu [10.43pm]:

sure

she still feels awkward for acting so desperate previously. it doesn’t feel right to act like that anymore. and aeri does feel a little bad for how cold she was during dinner.

1eeyn [10.44pm]:

thank u aeri chan

aeri-chan? where did that come from? suddenly, she feels the stutter in her heart resurfacing after she had tried to bury it.

1eeyn [10.45pm]:

we didn’t get to talk much, huh?

aerichandesu [10.45pm]:

no sorry

i wasn’t feeling well

it feels like the safest lie she can tell.

1eeyn [10.46pm]:

that’s a shame

are you feeling better now?

aerichandesu [10.46pm]

yes, i am

1eeyn [10.46pm]:

that’s good

rest well aeri-chan 💗

oh my god, aeri needs to text the group chat!

over the next few days, you were relentless with your texts. it felt like you and aeri had swapped roles. she didn’t know to adapt to this new side of you without seeming like a bumbling fool. you would send selfies! selfies! asking aeri for her opinion. the first time you sent one, aeri’s nose started bleeding and she scared jimin half to death, thinking aeri was dying.

(“she sent me a selfie! of her face!” aeri wails, covering her nose with bloody tissues.

jimin grimaces at the blood, “well, yes. selfies are usually of someone’s face.”)

then, you would send your outfits, or whatever you ate that day. slowly, aeri started warming up to you too and would begin to send her own photos. normally she would send photos of her dogs or jimin and yizhuo being silly. then they evolved into selfies.

aeri likes what she has with you right now. you were building up a friendship that aeri appreciated. she liked your humour and personality as well, complementing her own rather nicely. minjeong and jimin begin dating as well, making your proximity even closer as the two would constantly drag everyone to hangouts. to be frank, aeri can’t believe that this all started because jimin saw a cute girl at a cafe, but somehow, it makes sense too.

how an insignificant moment such as minjeong deciding to buy coffee that day helped aeri gain two new best friends, she would never know. but she liked it. it felt like fate. leaning on your shoulder, aeri shoves a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

“no scary movies please,” jimin begs, tugging at minjeong’s shirt. yizhuo laughs and eggs minjeong on to pick a horror film while aeri stares at her best friends affectionately.

“you like scary movies?” you whisper to aeri.

she shakes her head, already feeling shivers run down her spine at the thought of being jumpscared countless times. jimin’s reaction would be funny as hell. but no way was she sacrificing her own sanity for something like that. if she wanted jimin to go insane, she had ten other ways to do that.

“nooo not the conjuring please!”

aeri cowers into herself, dreading the night already. this was a weekly occurrence, having a movie night at jimin’s apartment. it started with just the three of them and then minjeong and you got invited soon after. the honour of picking a movie was passed down every week and aeri detests it when it’s minjeong’s turn. that girl would pick scary films just to annoy jimin and aeri always gets caught in the crossfire somehow.

“don’t worry, minjeongie wants to watch despicable me tonight. she’s just playing with jimin,” you comfort. aeri nods as minjeong hovers exceptionally long on the nun before finally moving to despicable me. jimin cheers in exhilaration and yizhuo boos.

“oh my gosh, babe! i love the minions!”

“minions and despicable me are two different movies!” yizhuo sneers. just as the movie starts, jimin, minjeong and yizhuo begin bickering. aeri knows how the argument will end— with jimin apologising and minjeong and yizhuo emerging victorious.

a gush of hot air beside her ear makes her jump, “they’re cute, aren’t they?”

aeri follows your gaze to where jimin and minjeong’s fingers are interwoven even though they’re arguing.

“yeah, silly but cute.”

you chuckle, slipping your hand into aeri’s under the blanket, “we can’t lose to them, right?”

she gets caught off guard for just a second before bouncing back.

“no, i’ll never lose to jimin.”

your laugh makes aeri’s cheeks heat up slightly. as you ramble on about the movie, she listens to every word attentively, wanting to savour the smoothness and richness of your voice. her smaller hand stays tight in your bigger one, feeling the warmth emitting from your palm.

aeri’s heart feels content.

she’s happy here, being friends with you.

unfortunately (or fortunately), the friendship doesn’t last for long.

after that particular movie night, aeri has noticed a change in your behaviour. you’ve become touchier, for lack of a better term. more lingering touches around her shoulder, hands, waist, wrists, wherever her skin was. you would gaze into her eyes before smiling shyly and looking away. you would offer to bring her lunch even though she knows you’re busy with your internship. not to mention the influx of messages. if aeri thought your selfies were bad for her heart before, it resembled a tsunami drowning her heart now.

photos, of every kind, most of them in your scrubs and uniform, smiling at the camera gleefully, as if you weren’t working an all-nighter. and on your off-days, aeri finds you staying up to talk to her. she’s busy during the day, so she doesn’t really check her phone often. when she finally does, she’s welcomed by your chat. the once intimidating girl that she admired online had turned into the girl that camped in her dms.

she had asked before, why you would text her so much. your response had been equally confusing, asking her back if she wanted you to stop. of course not. the aeri a few months ago wished for days that you would reply with more than four words. now, it seemed like you constantly had paragraphs of stories to tell her. not that she was complaining.

then, one day, the messages stop. aeri’s a little bewildered when she checks her phone and nothing’s there but she goes to bed anyway. maybe you were working a really long shift? sometimes she would catch you at four in the morning, so perhaps you were catching up on some much needed sleep.

but when she wakes up the next day, there’s only a lone message asking for her to meet you.

aeri agrees, yet she can’t help but wonder about the spontaneous nature of the message. it was sent in the morning, so it seemed like you had been thinking about it all night.

after dressing herself, she left her apartment, nervous but excited at the prospect of seeing you again. the last time you met face to face was over a week ago and aeri’s suffering from y/n drought.

you had requested to meet at lunchtime and when aeri arrives at the restaurant, you’re already there, seated and deep in thought.

“hey,” she greets, “slept well?”

you didn’t, but you nod anyway.

“did you have a shift yesterday?” aeri asks as you order your regulars.

“uhm, no. sorry i didn’t text you, i was busy doing something else.”

“nah, it’s fine. i was helping ning with her designs anyway.”

you nod stiffly and aeri reaches out a hand to cover yours, “are you good? you seem a little off.”

“i’m fine!” your voice comes out squeakier than usual but aeri brushes it off.

“so, what’s up?” she finally asks.

you tap your fingernails on the table, gulping harshly, “i just wanted to talk.”

“mhm, sure.”

“i wanted to know… well… uhm, if you were still interested in me,” you ask, eyes flickering to aeri hesitantly. aeri gapes at you before stammering, “wh-why? what— what do you mean?”

you inhale sharply, “i know you were interested in me at the start, but are you still interested now?”

aeri withdraws her hand, “uh, why?”

furrowing your eyebrows, you grit your teeth, “please just tell me.”

“uhm. well… yes? but why—”

“because i’m interested. and i want to find out if the feeling’s the same,” you blurt out. aeri’s eyes widen considerably and if your heart wasn’t racing a mile, you would coo at her cuteness.

“if you were interested before… why didn’t you say anything?” aeri asks, her voice trailing off at the end. you sigh, pinching your nose bridge, “i was dating someone at the time. it wasn’t right for me to encourage someone who liked me that much.”

aeri nods, already feeling guilty for her desperation before.

“i’m sorry for my coldness but i could already tell you were interested in me and as someone who had a girlfriend then, i couldn’t message back with the same eagerness,” you explain.

“no, it’s fine. that was a stupid question but uhm, i thought you didn’t like me back.”

“we became friends first, then i started to have feelings for you. as i learnt more about you, i started to like you more.”

aeri feels a little silly with her immediate infatuation. huh. maybe she got her ‘friends to lovers’ trope after all.

“i hope that now, i can take you on a date?” you ask and how can aeri refuse that? your bright, gleaming, expectant eyes? aeri felt her heart crushed with adoration.

“yes, obviously. you’re my ideal type and everything. you know i had thoughts about our wedding when i first met you—”

“oh, is that why you were so quiet that night?”

“yeah, you just looked really pretty under the lighting and i already started to imagine how you would look like dressed in all white and how our wedding would seem, maybe i would pick yizhuo as my maid of honour and minjeong could be yours but jimin would totally throw a fuss and—”

you smile widely as aeri babbles on, chiming in every once in a while to insert your own thoughts.

when she finally finishes, the expression on your face makes her whole being ascend.

maybe all those useless blind dates with shitty luck amounted to her finding the love of her life.

thank you! aeri would later exclaim to that horoscope-obsessed girl and the gym rat. who knew that those catastrophic dates would finally gift her you, her first girlfriend (and last!).

[try-set-me-on-fire]

They’ve got the little window over the sink open and Bobby keeps calling through it, asking for ingredients, utensils. Eddie clatters around the cabinet by the fridge.

“Third shelf,” Bobby says again, elbow on the sill. It doesn’t help any more than the first time he said it.

“I don’t even- Bobby, I don’t know what I’m looking for. Just- you can’t just use a normal spatula?”

“The flexibility and sharp edge of a fish spatula,” Bobby says, also for the second time, with a strained sort of patience, “Is perfect for sliding under-”

Buck’s arm reaches over Eddie’s shoulder and plucks a long slotted spatula from Bobby’s elaborate and baffling collection. “Got it.” He kisses the side of Eddie’s head as he keeps moving, lips catching the top of his ear. “It’s better for-”

“Pancakes, fritters, any sort of delicate patty, yeah, yeah, I heard.”

Bobby and Buck grin at him with identical raised eyebrows, it's kind of uncanny. “He’s not hopeless after all.”

“I do my best,” Buck says, smacking Eddie on the back and heading towards the door. “He’s come a long way.”

Eddie crosses his arms. “I don’t have to keep handing you shit. We’re not at work. I could make you walk inside every time.”

Bobby grins wider. “And I could give you all the burnt tater tots.”

Eddie pouts. “I’m reporting you to HR for unfair retaliation in response to labor concerns.”

“We’re not at work,” Bobby says, serenely. “Hand me the tenderizer.”

Eddie was sent in here, originally, like half an hour ago, to cut up the two giant watermelons Hen and Karen had brought direct from the farmers market, but he’d only got the knife halfway through the first one when the side quests started coming. He finally returns to the cutting board as Buck and Bobby’s voice drift further away, towards the grill. He cuts the thing in half and then stares at it so long he jumps a foot in the air when Maddie suddenly appears next to him.

“Woah,” she laughs. “What secrets of the universe does that watermelon hold?”

Eddie coughs out a chuckle. “I was just- debating the best shape to eat.”

She hums thoughtfully. “Big choice. Little cubes? Little cubes are nice. Or, like, slices?”

“I’ve always been a fan of a nice wedge.”

Maddie makes a triangle shape with her hands. “It is a classic.”

“Kind of makes your plate top heavy, though.”

“You’ve got two watermelons,” she points out.

“Wedges and cubes,” Eddie nods. “I like your way of thinking.”

She grabs a bowl from a different cupboard — why does everyone know this kitchen so well already? This is the new Grant-Nash residence house warming party, Eddie’s got lost on the way to the bathroom like three times since he got here — as he cubes the first melon. “How was the movie?”

“Hm?”

“Didn’t you and Buck go see Conclave earlier? The trailer looked interesting.”

“Oh, yeah.” Eddie scoops the cubes into the bowl and rinses his hands off before starting in on wedges.

Maddie laughs behind him. “… and how was it?”

“Oh! Uh- yeah, I mean- you know, horror movies, they’re fun.”

Maddie tilts her head. “Wait, wasn’t that one a drama?”

“Uh-”

“Wait.” She wrinkles her nose. “Were you just- were you making out with my brother literally the whole time?”

Eddie, hands up, gives her a bare teeth grimace of a smile as she cackles and whacks him with a towel. “Hey- I mean, I kind of looked up once, they were in some sort of- I don’t know, a theater or something? It was really dark in there? It looked kind of creepy.”

“Oh my god.”

“There’s a lot of Catholicism themed horror movies,” Eddie weakly tries to defend himself. “How was I supposed to know?”

“By watching it!” She laughs. “Why spend the $12?”

“My air conditioning is broken,” Eddie says sheepishly. “And it was 10 AM on a weekday, the only other person in there was 80 years old and snored through most of it.” He frowns. “Which also makes more sense if it wasn’t- I don’t know, I thought it was like The Conjuring?”

She laughs again, helpless giggles while she covers her face. Her daughter laughs the same way sometimes. “Don’t you have catholic guilt? Wasn’t that a thing?”

Eddie shrugs. “My abuela always says once I commit to something I never do it by half.”

“So, making out all through a movie about the pope?”

Eddie points at her. “Gay making out all through a movie about the pope.” He frowns again. “Damn, it was really about the pope? Okay I’m not- look, I’m not feeling guilty about that but, uh, if you ever talk to my grandmother or Pepa, uh-”

“I don’t think it would come up,” she says, patting his shoulder.

“They’re not- it’s- they wouldn’t like me making out with a girl during a pope movie, either, it’s not the gay thing.”

“I know, Eddie,” she says, more kind than teasing. “Everybody’s really happy for you,” kinder still.

“Oh.” His cheeks are probably bright red. “Uh. Thank you.” His ears burn as he busies himself with the watermelon again. “You know- I wouldn’t’ve got here, without Buck.”

Maddie comes close, presses their elbows together until he looks back up at her. “He deserves someone who doesn’t commit to things halfway.”

It makes Eddie laugh with soft edges, because: “I think… I’ve always been all the way, with him.”

She smiles so wide her nose crunches. “I know.”

There’s a tap at the window, and there he is, Buck himself. His nose is a little pink from the late October heat, he’s smiling real big. “Hi.”

“What do you want now?” Eddie’s tone is snappy but he’s sure his face is pure mush.

Buck sticks a thumb at Maddie. “Chim’s threatening to, and I quote, ‘eat five hundred tater tots,’” Buck pauses, presumably in service of Chim’s love of dramatic effect, then continues, “‘and then fall into a coma.’ So, like, if you wanna do something about that you might wanna get out there.”

“W-” Maddie starts to ask, and then shakes her head. She grabs the cube bowl. “At least he should have some fruit, too.” She flashes them a grin as she walks out the door, their laughter following.

When Eddie looks back at the window Buck has his chin in his hand, smiling at him. “What?” He laughs, ears hot again.

“Admiring the view,” Buck says, with the combination of flirtatious and earnest that Eddie has come to expect but is never prepared for. “Food’ll be up soon. Come and join us?”

Eddie leans forward over the sink. “Cap doesn’t need anything else?”

Buck shrugs, very close now. Eddie almost laughs wondering if he’s on his tiptoes in the dirt out there. “He can get his own shit. I’ll eat your burnt potatoes.”

Eddie closes the last half inch of distance and does laugh, right into Buck’s mouth. “We can share,” he says, magnanimous, because Buck’s always been all in, too. He can go halfsies, it’s only fair.

There’s shouting outside, Buck pulls back, drums on the windowsill. Smile, wink, turn. Eddie grabs the wedges, and hurries out the door.

(Ao3)

[hoe4hotchner]

heyy can you write about hotch being protective of oblivious reader when the officer of the local police they’re working at is hitting on her and being a little too stubborn and when she finally catch on one time when she had been left to work on the case at the station with whoever you want and the officer get them alone and she get uncomfortable and hotch show up 🙏🏽 you can make it gn thank you if you write it !!

Boundaries | [A.H]

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x fem!reader | WC: 0.7k | CW: harassment

A/N: This was so fun to write despite the stupid officer harassing r. I would like to kick his head in ;)

You were sitting at a desk, sifting through files when Officer Daniels approached you again. He’d been lingering around your workspace for days, offering to “help” and making casual comments you didn’t quite catch onto. You just assumed he was trying to be friendly.

“Need any help with that?” He leaned on the desk, his voice smooth as he looked down at you with a grin that made your stomach twist a little. You glanced up, offering him a polite smile.

“No, thank you. I’ve got it under control.” You refocused on the file in front of you, missing the way his eyes lingered on you.

Hotch had been observing from across the room narrowed his eyes. He had noticed Daniels’ behavior from the start, and it irked him. You were oblivious to it, brushing off the officer’s attempts, but Hotch saw it for what it was: an overstepping of boundaries - of your boundaries. His jaw tightened as he watched the officer lean in closer to you.

He approached then, clearing his throat. Daniels straightened, but the smug smile never left his face.

“Agent, I need you to come with Dr. Reid and me to the crime scene,” Hotch said, his voice calm but firm, his gaze never leaving officer Daniels. You nodded, gathering the files and following him out, completely unaware of the subtle tension between the two men.

Over the next couple of days, Daniels' advances didn’t slow down, but you remained too focused on the case to realize what was going on. Hotch, however, became more protective, sticking close by whenever Daniels was in the vicinity. You didn’t question it, but you noticed he seemed more on edge than usual.

One afternoon, Hotch left you at the station to work with Morgan while he followed a lead. Officer Daniels took the opportunity to corner you while you were alone in a small office near the back of the station.

“You’ve been working hard. How about I take you out for dinner later? You could use a break,” Daniels suggested, his tone made you uncomfortable. His body blocking the exit, and suddenly, you realized what had been happening all this time. The flirtatious comments, the lingering touches - it all clicked, and a knot of anxiety formed in your chest.

You swallowed hard, trying to remain polite. “Uh, no, thank you. I’m not really interested.”

“Oh, come on,” Daniels pressed, stepping closer, his smile widening. “You’ve been here for days. I’ve been nothing but nice. You owe me at least a drink.”

Your heart raced, and you backed up instinctively, your eyes darting to the door. “I don’t owe you anything,” you said, your voice shaky now. Panic was starting to creep in, but just as Daniels took another step closer, the door swung open with a force that made it slam against the wall.

Hotch stood in the doorway, his eyes locking onto Daniels. His expression was deadly calm, but the tension radiating from him was palpable.

“Step away from her,” Hotch ordered his voice low a low growl. Daniels immediately froze, the smugness draining from his face as Hotch advanced into the room.

Daniels hesitated, clearly debating whether to argue, but one look at Hotch’s cold, unwavering stare made him rethink it. He stepped back, hands raised in mock surrender. “I was just talking to her, no harm in that.”

“There is when it’s unwelcome,” Hotch snapped, his gaze never leaving Daniels. “You’re done here. Get out.”

Daniels shot you one last glance before leaving the room, muttering something under his breath as he passed Hotch. The door clicked shut, and the silence that followed was thick with the remnants of tension.

Hotch turned to you, his expression softening as he stepped closer. “Are you okay?” His voice was gentle now, his hand reaching out to rest on your arm.

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, nodding. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just… I didn’t realize until just now what he was doing.” You shook your head, feeling foolish for not catching on sooner.

“It’s not your fault,” Hotch said, his voice firm but reassuring. “Some people take advantage of kindness. I should’ve intervened sooner.”

You met his gaze, feeling a warmth spread through you at the concern in his eyes. “Thank you,” you whispered, grateful for his presence. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t shown up.”

Hotch gave you a small, reassuring smile. “You never have to worry about that. I’ll always be here.”

With that, he led you out of the small office, his hand resting protectively on the small of your back as you walked down the hall, a sense of safety settling over you that you hadn’t felt before.

[crazylittlejester]

Just yapping but: I’m having thoughts about my crack body swap au in which Time and Wars get to learn how horrendous the captain’s vision is ONLY because they’re literally seeing from the other person’s eyeballs and realize “oh- this isn’t normal…” and Time is fighting for his life because he recognizes his body is stronger than Warriors’s is, but then ends up UNDERESTIMATING how strong Warriors ACTUALLY is and ends up hitting open doors really really hard

and during all this they’re fucking STRUGGLING to keep this from the others and thats very hard to do because they are like. Polar opposites. Time is very flat and dry Warriors is an over dramatic little shit and now they have to try to act like each other, and ofc everyone just thinks theyve done fucking drugs or something (except twi and legend who figure it out immediately)

and the thing i keep thinkin about how Warriors is for sure a MUCH more convincing Time than Time is a convincing Warriors. He puts on a fake personality for like, a living. He wakes up and does a fake Castle Town accent every day, he can for sure mimic whatever mess Time has going on because he spends so much time around him (plus Time isnt a chronic yapper), but Time is going to have to be INCREDIBLY social and borderline annoying to be a convincing Wars and I don’t think he has the mental energy to do all that 😭

tho i think itd be funny if what really revealed it to the others was something as ridiculous as Time being unable to do Wars’s eyeliner on himself. Because he in his own body has done it on Wars before when Wars’s hand was too shaky, but doing it on himself is too complicated for him to figure out

anyways thanks for listening to my yap i have so many thoughts about this stupid fic, here’s the first chapter of it if this interested you at all alskdkkd

[anonymousewrites]

A Not-So-Disastrous Romance (Book 2) Chapter Ten

Saiki Kusuo x Reader

Chapter Ten: Fortune-Telling Transfer

Summary: Saiki and (Y/N) meet a new transfer.

            “We’ve got another transfer student! And it’s a girl!”

            (Y/N) looked around as people began to whisper excitedly at the prospect of a new student.

            “I wonder what she’ll be like,” said (Y/N), smiling.

            “If we’re getting a new character, we should get rid of one of the old ones,” said Saiki, considering Toritsuka, Kuboyasu, and Saiko. “I vote Toritsuka.” (Y/N) nodded.

            “Please be seated,” said their teacher, entering the room. “I’m going to introduce our new transfer student.”

            All the boys waited expectantly, hopeful for another pretty girl.

            “Come in,” said their teacher.

            Pull it together, thought Saiki.

            “What’s up?” A girl with green hair, dramatic makeup, and barrettes stepped into the room.

            Gyaru, thought the entire room. The boys looked disappointed.

            Pretty, thought (Y/N). Not prettier than Saiki, but pretty.

            “I’m Mikoto Aiura,” said Mikoto, writing on the board. “Just call me Miko. My hobbies are fortune-telling and decorating nails.”

            “Fortune-telling? I’m into that, too,” said Yumehara, smiling.

            “Really?” Miko smiled widely. “Fortune-telling is awesome, right? What’s your name?”

            “I’m Chiyo Yumehara,” said Yumehara. “I can show you this fortune-teller who’s really good.”

            “Thanks, but you’ve got it wrong, Chiyopipi.” Miko reached into her bag and pulled out a glittery crystal ball. “I’m a fortune-teller myself.”

            “Wow,” said (Y/N), tilting their head. If she was telling the truth, that was the third psychic in the school.

            “What?”

            “Amazing!” exclaimed various people.

            In an instant, Miko became a topic of interest, and as soon as people had the chance, they crowded around her and her crystal ball to see if she was the real deal.

            “She’s really popular,” said Nendou. “Maybe I’ll have her read my fortune, too.”

            “Well, I have zero interest in this,” said Kaidou.

            “Your past actions say otherwise,” said Saiki.

            “She seems cool,” said (Y/N), interested.

            “Better to not get involved,” said Saiki. “The future is a…weird thing.”

            “I don’t care about that,” said (Y/N) cheerfully. “She just seems cool. Friendly, nice, we could use a few more people like that.”

            They’re going to make a new friend, thought Saiki. And he couldn’t stop it—not that he would. (Y/N) was allowed to do whatever they wanted in his book.

            “Chiyopipi, do you want me to check your future?” offered Miko.

            “Well…” Yumehara blushed. “What about my career?”

            “Oh, come on.” Miko laughed. “You want to know about boys, right?”

            “How did you…?” Yumehara eyes widened.

            “Go on, Chiyo, have fun,” said (Y/N) teasingly.

            “Okay,” said Yumehara nervously.

            “Let’s give this a shot!” said Miko, pulling out ink, an eraser, and a bucket of water.

            “A bucket and ink? And an eraser?” said Yumehara. “What are you going to-?”

            Miko poured some ink into the water and spun the bucket around wildly. Then, she rubbed off bits of the eraser and let them float in the water. Everyone deadpanned, and then Miko grinned and looked up.

            “Your compatibility is two percent,” said Miko.

            Yumehara’s jaw dropped open in shock and disappointment. “How could you tell that?”

            “You should give up your current crush,” said Miko, straightforward.

            “What? I don’t believe you for a second!” declared Yumehara.

            “Chiyopipi, you’ve had bad luck with boys, haven’t you?” said Miko. “Weren’t the guys you dated before trash? Broke guys or just general losers?”

            Yumehara began to sweat at the blatant truth. “I don’t believe you!” She cried and ran out of the room.

            “That was impressive,” remarked (Y/N). They whispered to Saiki, “Is she for real?” 

            “Yes,” said Saiki. “She’s no fraud. She’s a real psychic.” And that meant she could figure him out.

            “Cool,” said (Y/N).

            Saiki sighed.

            “Who’s next?” chirped Miko.

            “Do you have a minute? I have a request.” Toritsuka stepped into the classroom. He had heard about the pretty psychic girl from the ghosts around him (and he had focused on the “pretty” part). “I want to know my compatibility with you.” He held up a rose. “I’m Toritsuka from the next class.”

            “A compatibility of zero percent,” said Miko, staring him down with a deadpan look. “Who are you, anyway?”

            “Yes. My apologies.” Toritsuka deflated.

            “He should retire from the show,” said Saiki.

            “Excuse me! I have some thing to ask.” Mera stepped up to Miko.

            “What is it now?” said Miko.

            “Can you find my missing father?” asked Mera.

            “Heavy,” said Saiki.

            “Poor Mera,” said (Y/N).

            “What’s your name?” said Miko.

            “I’m Chisato Mera,” said Mera.

            “Okay, Chisapoyo,” said Miko. “I’ll find your dad.” She entwined her arms, closed her eyes, and focused. Then, she took a pencil, shaved the lead, patted it between her hands, and hit it against Toritsuka’s shirt. While he pouted, she examined the shape of the lead. “He’s in Puerto Rico. I’m off my game today. That’s all I got.”

            “That’s more than enough! I’ll check it out!” said Mera excitedly, waving and running out of the room.

            “Wow, that’s impressive!” said (Y/N). “And she helps people like you.”

            “I don’t—” Saiki sighed as (Y/N) raised a brow. He gave up.

            “What were those things you did? With the lead and the bucket?” asked a student.

            “Oh, that?” Miko shrugged. “I’m just winging it. I’m just doing things that seem like they would inspire me. All I really need is my crystal ball, but it’s hard to see through with all the accessories.”

            I have to be careful not to let her do a ritual with me, thought Saiki. And if she looks at (Y/N) at all, she may see we’re dating and expose it before we’re ready.

            “But I’m off my game today,” sighed Miko, slouching into her seat.

            “Are you sick?” asked a girl.

            “I’m pretty good at seeing people’s auras, but…”

            “Auras?” said a girl.

            “Yes, like their spiritual energy,” said Miko. “With a single glance, I can see someone’s fate or potential. But I can’t see them very well today.”

            Saiki’s jaw dropped open. (Y/N) glanced at him.

            “Kusuo?” said (Y/N).

            “She has that power?” he said. “I can’t let her look at me.”

            “Why did you transfer here, anyway?” asked a student.

            “You want to know?” Miko turned red.

            “Yes.”

            Miko laughed and twirled her hair round her finger. “I read my own fortune, and, apparently, they’re here.” She blushed happily.

            “Who?” asked another student.

            “Isn’t it obvious?” Miko grinned. “The people I’m meant to love!”

            Instantly, all the boy blushed excitedly, and the girls gasped in excitement.

            “Wow, you can find that out, too?!”

            “Amazing!”

            “Yeah, I was in great form that day.” Miko twirled her hair. “My fortune told me I was going to find people who were going to make me happier in life.”

            “Are they in our class?” said the girls.

            “Cool,” said (Y/N). They smiled. “She’s here for love.”

            “None of my business. I’m staying away,” said Saiki.

            “I don’t know much about them, but I know one has a sweet tooth and the other has pink hair and crazy abilities. Their initials are (Your Initials) and S.K,” said Miko.

            (Y/N) and Saiki froze. What?

            “Who could they be?”

            “I can figure it out through their auras,” said Miko proudly.

            “I have to do something,” said Saiki.

            “Not what I thought she’d say,” said (Y/N). “And I think she’s pretty, but she’s not my type.”

            “That’s your issue?”

            (Y/N) chuckled and shrugged.

            “I’m skipping school tomorrow,” said Saiki decisively.

            “So she can’t see your aura?” said (Y/N). Saiki nodded. “Good idea. Should I skip?”

            Saiki shrugged. “It’s your decision.”

            “We can’t avoid her forever, so I’ll go,” said (Y/N), smiling. “You shouldn’t worry so much. It’ll work itself out, I’m sure.”

            “You are way too optimistic.” It was endearing, though.

l

            Miko’s head hit the desk in exhaustion. She had tried all morning to find her soulmates, but she had found nothing so far. She had found an SK with the aura of a chihuahua and another with the aura of a rich old man, but neither were her type. And she had struggled to find people with (Your Initials). She sighed. This was growing pointless.

            “(L/N), where’s Saiki?” said Kuboyasu.

            “He wasn’t feeling well today,” said (Y/N), smiling. “Under the weather. I’m going to bring him his homework later.”

            Miko looked up. Oh yeah. Saiki Kusuo. The last SK name on my li— Her eyes widened. This aura! It’s so warm! A pink light was radiating from (Y/N), warm and comforting, drawing Miko in like the smell of fresh pastries. Sweetness radiated from them. Miko’s eyes lit up, and she grabbed her list of classmates. (L/N) (Y/N)! The initials! It has to be them!

            Instantly, she stood up to go over to them. A few blocks away, Saiki—using his clairvoyance—cursed the entire world and decided he had to go to school. If some girl was going to go and get convinced (Y/N) was her soulmate, Saiki was stepping in that. That was his partner.

            He teleported into the school hallway.

            “What happened?” exclaimed Miko, looking around herself.  “I can’t see auras again!”

            What? Saiki blinked.

            “But I haven’t confirmed anything yet! This sucks!” said Miko. “I can’t seem them at all!”

            Really? What’s with this timing? I was about to make my grand entrance, thought Saiki. His eyes widened. Wait. He teleported out and onto a nearby building.

            “What? It’s back,” said Miko, confused. “What the heck is going on?”

            So that’s what’s going on. Saiki smiled in satisfaction. I’ve figured it out. The solution is to do nothing. (Y/N) is right, it’s working itself out. She thinks she lost her ability to see auras, but that’s not really the case. My aura is too big. It has a radius of roughly two hundred meters, like my telepathy. My aura outshone everyone else’s, so she was unable to see them. So long as she can’t see me alone, from a distance, she can never— He teleported back into the school as Miko turned. Know it’s me.

            He stepped towards the classroom and looked in. (Y/N) sat at their desk, and Saiki smiled slightly. And she won’t try to flirt with (Y/N).

            “Kusuo,” said (Y/N), smiling. “I thought you were staying home today.”

            “I’m feeling better,” said Saiki. “Everything worked itself out.”

            “I told you,” said (Y/N). They paused. “So you don’t have another girl interested in you?” They grinned teasingly.

            Saiki sighed. “She saw your aura, so she thinks you’re her soulmate.”

            “Huh.” (Y/N) tilted their head. “I’m kind of flattered.” They laughed as Saiki scowled more than usual. “You get all the girls, so it’s my turn.”

            Saiki remained unamused until (Y/N) laughed. Then his gaze softened. Unfortunately, he knew Miko had a point—(Y/N) was sweet. It was unsurprising that she’d like them.

            “Don’t worry, Kusuo, I think she read her fortune wrong anyways,” said (Y/N). “People making her happier could mean anything—friendship, family, relationships.” They grinned. “I’m betting on friendship. Don’t worry, Kusuo, I’m not looking to date her.”

            Too bad for her. Saiki looked at (Y/N) fondly, lovingly. They’re mine.

Taglist:

@elaemae

@painstakingly-juno

@characterreaderwriter

@melovepurple

@sleep-7372

@w0mank1sser

@geminigengar

@noodleryworld

@leonardo-dabitchy

@janezee12751275

@xenop0p

@ex160-blog1

@boogiemansbitch

@dmitrytherat

@yuriisclumsy

@sixxze

@constellationguy

@k03ume

@sweatyinternettrash

@paastaboi

@unorthodox-gob

@girlswhopanic

@h-i-g-h-w-a-y-t-o-h-e-l-l-l

@drowningfishy

@rinwho

@izzieg3987

@candylp

@jmclouds

@ittomain1

@justamina-blog

@newtscreatures347269

@digital-dumbass

@chronovala

@yappydoo

@mymomsdisappointment

@lvvcian

@kyliexreads

@b3bybunny

@sle3pyh3ad2

@snowy-violet

@jaguarthecat

@isaacdaknight

@newttheglue250

@thelameone101

@peqch-pie

@rai-xxx

@loverzxi

[honeyjars-sims]

3.33 Maybe There's a Reason

Today Lucy asked me to have lunch with her, but first she wants to stop by the new employee daycare on the second floor and see how her kids’ first day is going.

“It’s their first time being away from family,” she tells me as we walk towards the classroom. “Christopher and I want them to get used to being around other kids, so they’ll be coming here for a few hours a couple of days a week.”

“I’m sure it’s easier for you being close by,” I say. 

“Yeah, it’s nice being able to pop in and see them. I’m trying not to be too overbearing, though.”

Lucy opens the door to the classroom and two brown-haired toddlers make a beeline for her. They have the same face with bright blue eyes and round cheeks and Lucy has them dressed in coordinating outfits–one in blue with his hair slicked back and the other in brown with hair grazing his forehead.

She crouches down and pulls them both in for hugs. “How are my boys?”

“Mama, we missed you!” The one in brown, whose name I learn is Seth, exclaims.

“You Mama friend?” The other twin, Reese, asks me.

“No way, she has cooties!” 

Reese starts giggling. “Mama cooties, mama cooties!” he chants. Lucy picks him up. 

“This is Johnny,” she tells Reese. “He’s actually the cootie monster.” Reese giggles some more. 

“Well, if Sunny Side ever goes under at least we know we can make toddlers laugh,” I quip.

“That’s not exactly hard to do. Reese laughs every time he passes gas.”

“Same, dude, same.”

Lucy says her goodbyes to the boys and we start heading out to the food stall. 

“It seems like things are going well with the students,” Lucy tells me on the way. “Everyone seems to be fitting in well.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty cool people,” I reply.

“They’re all really nice,” Lucy affirms. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“I might be reading into things too much, but things seem a little tense with you and Lexie.”

“First of all, that’s not a question,” I reply as Lucy cuts her eyes at me. “Secondly, you’re right, there has been some tension, but we’re working through it.”

“Well, whatever is going on, it doesn’t seem to have affected either of your work. I just want to check in with you and make sure everything is okay.”

I think back to my previous conversation with Lucy when she said I can talk to her if I need to. “The truth is, Lexie and I were in a relationship but we broke up last Spring,” I say.

“Wait, I thought she was a lesbian?”

“Well, that’s why we broke up.”

“Oh. Ohhh.”

“Yeah. I took it pretty hard…I dropped out of school because I couldn’t face her,” I admit. “But she’s a really great person. It’s been nice getting to know her again as a friend.”

“That’s good! Maybe there’s a reason she showed up here. Maybe it’s a sign that it’s time to move past all the hurt feelings.”

“Maybe so.”

“Oh, hey, Paul and I are planning a little camping trip in a couple of weeks and I was going to invite you and some of our coworkers along. If you’re interested, maybe you can invite Lexie. It might be a good opportunity for you two to interact outside of work without things being too awkward.”

“Yeah, sure, why not,” I tell her.

While Lucy orders her lunch, I reflect on my last camping trip with Lexie. It didn’t exactly go well, but maybe it will be different now. 

Previous | Beginning of story | Beginning of chapter | Next

[bloogers-boogers]

“So your name is?

“Michael Morningstar.”

“Hmm. You share the same last name as our king.”

“Indeed.”

“You also look very alike.”

“Mhm.”

“You even have six wings.”

“Yes. I do in fact have six wings.”

“You’re also a fallen angel.”

“I am.”

“Huh. How interesting.” *examines closer* “you’re also very short.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Circles on cheeks.”

“Yes. They’re very round.”

Slides finger on the side of his face making him wince slightly uncomfortable, “very pale skin too.”

“Being made of light does that to you.”

“No nose.”

“Slits to be in fact.”

The doctor breathes heavily while placing his hands on hips, “I’ve gotten to the conclusion that you’re a perfect doppelgänger of his majesty!”

Michael blinks unfazed by this conclusion.

Lucifer burst through the door, “so how’s my brother, doc?”

“I was just making my analysis, I was about to receipt him a beach tan, oh, and I was also pointing out how many similarities he shares with you that I could almost say you two are family.”

Lucifer and Michael blink twice.

“Nooo, really? My brother the archangel Michael the bitch that casted me to hell be related to me?? Who would’ve thought that?” Lucifer annoyingly rolled his eyes with sarcasm, “soo? Is he sick or not.”

“Well. It doesn’t seem he has any injuries or carrying any illnesses, mostly signs of exhaustion due to the impact of the fall. Aside from that, he’s fine. Just requires some rest and a serious amount of tan sprayer.”

Lucifer scratches his scalp anxious and mostly frustrated, “that doesn’t explain why he fell!” Lucifer then turns to look at Michael, “are you sure you don’t remember shit about what happened before you fell?? Like anything bad, anything sinful??”

Michael denies with his head.

[the-arson-author-gamer]

WHITEPINE RAHHHHHHH

The subtle detail of the clock shifting times in Pyro’s bedroom is nice!

“Knife to the heart” PYRO???

So another guest is coming to stay? Another town name has been revealed too: Redhill

The extended scene on the compost is making me go feral

CLOWN AND IVORY SHOPPING TRIP LETS GOOO I CALLED FOR A CONVERSATION BETWEEN THEM

“What else can you do?” CLOWN?!?!??

I legit don’t think that Clown wants to be there? I don’t know why I feel this exactly but I feel like Clown is trapped in a sense

OMG they’re casket shopping!

The trees in Emberton imply the season is autumn

Music is as beautiful as ever! The cut off was cool!

Ivory is on her own detective arc?

Clown’s reaction didn’t feel defensive in the sense that he did it, rather that he didn’t want to think of it? Is anyone else getting that vibe?

Reddoons!

WAR MENTION?! Clown and Reddoons were in a war together?!?! OH?!

“Don’t forget to eat dinner” ok Clown you softy

I love Minecraft body language, Ivory crouching and turning the player signifying putting her ear up to the door it’s just so cool!

LMAO poor Izzy

Oh? Zam offering to take Ivory is interesting, Pyro intervening is even more interesting

Autistic!Ivory continues to be confirmed!

Meeting in Emberton????

Reddoons is a friend of the family?? Interesting! Possibly used to work at Whitepine too!

The slow zoom in on Ivory and Serapter is really cool?

Serapter feels both more and less suspicious to me. I still think it’s something to do with the woods.

OH HIT ME WITH SERAPTER’S DEAD SISTER NOW TO MAKE ME FEEL BAD FOR EVEN VAGUELY THINKING IT COULD POSSIBLY BE HIM HUH?

“Everybody else is hiding behind 12 layers of cope” LMAO

WHY IS CLOWN AT THE ROOF HUH

OH NO OMG

[httpvomitello]

Call of Distraction *⁠.⁠✧

Donnie / Raph / Mikey

It was another routine evening in the lair. Leo was running through some katas, trying to work off some pent-up energy after a long day, when April’s phone started buzzing. She checked it and saw your name pop up.

"Hey, it's (Y/N)," she said, grinning as she glanced at Leo. "Mind if I put it on speaker?"

Leo looked up, a spark of interest flashing across his face. “Oh, go ahead.”

April pressed the button, and your familiar voice filled the lair. “April! Please tell me you’re free for a sanity break—I’ve been staring at a screen for hours, and I’m losing it over here.”

“Let me guess: project deadline coming up?” April replied, smiling.

“Deadlines, plural,” you sighed dramatically. “And all I want is some conversation to remind me what having a life feels like.”

Before April could answer, Leo’s voice cut in, playful yet slightly mocking. “Sounds like someone doesn’t know how to manage their time.”

You paused, then replied, with equal sarcasm, “Oh, hey there, fearless leader! Didn’t know you were eavesdropping. Nice of you to assume I’m the problem here.”

Leo smirked, crossing his arms as the other turtles perked up, sensing a good exchange on the way. “Well, you are calling April in the middle of our prep time. Can’t be that hard to handle a couple of deadlines, can it?”

“Oh, yeah, because I’m sure your big, intense prep is life-shatteringly important,” you shot back. “Remind me again, what’s the pressing emergency? Practicing brooding?”

Raph and Mikey burst out laughing, while Donnie raised an eyebrow, glancing at Leo with an amused smile.

Leo chuckled, barely fazed. “Brooding, huh? I seem to remember someone saying they admired my focus. Guess that was just talk.”

“Who, me? I don’t think so,” you teased. “I admire focus, sure. But that whole ‘super-serious, all-business’ attitude? Total snooze-fest. Don’t you ever take it easy?”

He raised an eyebrow, amused but a little taken aback. “You think I don’t know how to relax?”

“Oh, please. You’re about as chill as a brick wall, Leo,” you quipped. “Maybe if you spent a little less time being Captain Serious, you’d know how to actually have fun.”

“Yeah, and maybe if you learned some time management, you wouldn’t need to call for a ‘sanity break,’” he countered, though his grin showed he was enjoying every second of this.

“Touché,” you replied, clearly entertained. “Maybe you’re onto something. Guess I could use someone to keep me on track… if they can keep up.”

Leo gave a slight smile, “Keep up? I’d give it about ten minutes before you were begging for a break.”

“Oh, is that a challenge?” you replied, leaning fully into the teasing. “Pretty bold, Mr. Leader. Hope you can live up to it.”

Mikey, who’d been watching with an ever-widening grin, turned to Raph with an excited whisper. “They’re totally gonna end up dating, right?”

April just rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, clearly enjoying how flustered Leo was getting despite his best efforts. Raph nudged Donnie, stifling a laugh.

Leo, sensing the teasing eyes on him, shot a glare at his brothers but stayed focused. “Tell you what,” he replied to you, recovering his confidence. “Next time you’re ‘losing it,’ I’ll personally make sure you remember how to relax.”

“Oh really? That’s a big promise,” you replied, feigning a skeptical tone. “Think you’re up for it?”

“I know I am,” he said smoothly, a little more serious than before.

April, realizing this could go on forever, finally intervened. “Alright, alright, I think you two could go at this all night,” she laughed. “I’m hanging up now before Leo gets any more ideas.”

She smirked, giving Leo an exaggerated wink as she took you off speaker, wrapping up the call. The moment the line went dead, Leo’s brothers immediately burst out laughing, and Leo fought hard to keep a neutral expression.

“Looks like someone’s got a little crush, huh?” Raph teased, nudging Leo.

Leo rolled his eyes, but a faint blush betrayed him. “Whatever,” he muttered, half-smiling as he went back to his training. But inside, he was already looking forward to that next call.

[prettyoddfever]

I just wanted to say, I love your blog. You post so much information that’s not only interesting, but also validating, as someone who sees 24/7 misinterpretations of the band’s history on TikTok (I have an account where I post edits there). I first became active in the Panic fandom literally as the band was splitting up, which was just /amazing/ lol, but I took a huge step back from fandoms/online communities related to my interests when I started college. I recently came back around a year or so ago, because I enjoy making edits and wanted to indulge in my interests again, only to find out that 90% of Panic-related content online has just been overrun with misinformation/Brendon-haters etc. It was honestly jarring for me because so many of the things people claim as evidence of Brendon being horrible (That he assaulted and abused Ryan, that the band split up because Brendon forced Ryan out, that Ryan was basically forced out of the frontman role, etc…), are just so crazy to someone who knows that’s just not accurate! Your blog has reassured me that I am not crazy and the way I remember things is not a figment of my imagination lol. Even though I was very young when some of these things were happening, my older sister was OBSESSED with Panic and I was into whatever she was into, haha, we still reminisce to this day. I have been literally harassed on TikTok for commenting “in defense” of Brendon Urie underneath a post where someone insisted that every time he got near Ryan on stage, it was without Ryan’s consent. I knew that Brendon had “got cancelled” but I had no idea that people were that serious about it… When half of the things they claim aren’t even real. I know it’s not their fault that they’ve consumed misinformation, but there is no changing people’s minds, even with evidence, which is sad to me. It really sucks that newer fans of the band have such a bitter, twisted narrative around the band’s early eras and the split. But so many of the things they reference happened before they were probably born, yet they swear they’re more knowledgeable than someone who was kinda there…

Anyway, I’m sorry for the wall of text, I just needed to get that out and I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your blog! Not only is it just fun to read, but it really takes me back to my growing-up years, and it’s refreshing to see a take on PATD that’s more “normal” in my eyes.

You put this so well oh my goodness. 100% yes to everything you said. I've heard similar things from some other returning fans over the past couple years and I just relate to all of it so much. I mentioned at the bottom of this post how I drifted away from the Panic fandom for about a decade and coming back was so confusing at first. But trying to wrap my mind around everything also helped me understand modern politics in a way, though? Like now I can see how it's totally possible that a large crowd of people can literally invent their own reality, readily believe whatever they hear in their echo chamber, and then willfully ignore facts, evidence, and firsthand accounts if those contradict the narrative they'd prefer to believe.

Sometimes I'm sad for some newer P!ATD fans who could easily spare themselves a lot of stress & perceived injustice by simply learning about the real band & members. But they're free to focus on whatever they want, I suppose. I'd rather spend my time focusing on fun memories and organizing my little Special Interest mess lol. I’m also happy to clarify stuff or try to answer questions if people are genuinely curious... it’s fun to see others who are interested. Anyways, I'm so glad you're still a fan of the band! Sorry it took me months to reply. And I love your wall of text because it means you care. 🧡

[inkspiredwriting]

Halloween Shenanigans with the Hargreeves Family

Five Hargreeves x reader

A/N: The idea of ​​five and his children on Halloween is just too cute

Warnings: none

It was a crisp, autumn evening, and the Hargreeves household was abuzz with excitement. Halloween was upon them, and Y/n Hargreeves was in the living room putting the finishing touches on her children’s costumes. Maddie, their six-year-old daughter, twirled around in her sparkly princess dress, while Milo, their two-year-old son, waddled around adorably in his pumpkin costume.

Y/n, dressed in a sleek black cat costume complete with ears and a tail, looked up as Five walked into the room. He wore his usual stern expression, but Y/n could see the glint of amusement in his eyes as he took in the scene.

“Five, we’re almost ready! Are you sure you don’t want to join us for trick-or-treating?” Y/n asked, giving him a playful pout.

Five crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Do I really need to dress up to walk around the neighborhood?”

Y/n sidled up to him, a mischievous smile on her face. “Oh, come on, Five. It’ll be fun! Besides, the kids would love it.”

Maddie ran over, her eyes wide with excitement. “Daddy, please come with us! It’s going to be so much fun!”

Milo toddled after her, looking up at Five with big, pleading eyes. “Pwease, Daddy!”

Five sighed, feeling his resolve crumble under the combined assault of his wife’s charm and his children’s adorableness. “Alright, alright. But I’m not dressing up.”

Y/n leaned in close, whispering in his ear, “Maybe we should keep your costume for later.”

Five felt a blush creep up his neck and quickly cleared his throat. “Let’s get going before I change my mind.”

The family set out into the neighborhood, the air filled with the sounds of laughter and the rustle of leaves. Maddie led the way, her princess dress sparkling under the streetlights, while Milo toddled along, occasionally stopping to investigate a particularly interesting leaf or stick.

Y/n held Milo’s hand, keeping a watchful eye on him as he waddled from house to house. Five walked beside Maddie, who excitedly approached each door and shouted, “Trick or treat!” with all the enthusiasm of a six-year-old on Halloween.

At one house, an elderly woman handed Maddie a large candy bar and patted Milo on the head. “What a beautiful princess and such an adorable little pumpkin!”

Y/n smiled and thanked the woman, while Five tried to hide his amusement. “This is quite the haul,” he remarked as Maddie’s candy bag grew heavier with each stop.

As they continued down the street, they came across a group of teenagers dressed as zombies. They groaned and staggered toward the Hargreeves family, but Maddie wasn’t fazed. “I’m a princess! You can’t scare me!” she declared, holding up her candy bag like a shield.

The teenagers laughed and moved on, leaving Five and Y/n shaking their heads. “She’s fearless,” Five said, a note of pride in his voice.

Y/n nodded, her eyes twinkling. “Just like her dad.”

They made their way to the final house on the block, which was decorated with an impressive array of spooky decorations. Skeletons, ghosts, and cobwebs adorned the front yard, and eerie music played from hidden speakers. Maddie approached the door with her usual enthusiasm, but Milo hung back, clutching Y/n’s leg.

Y/n bent down to his level. “It’s okay, Milo. They’re just decorations. Nothing to be scared of.”

Five knelt beside him, gently ruffling his hair. “Come on, buddy. I’ll go with you.”

With Five by his side, Milo summoned his courage and toddled up to the door. Maddie rang the doorbell, and the door creaked open to reveal a man in a vampire costume. “Well, what do we have here? A princess and a pumpkin! Happy Halloween!”

Maddie and Milo both received generous handfuls of candy, and they thanked the man before heading back to the sidewalk. As they walked home, Maddie skipped along, recounting her favorite moments of the night, while Milo clung to Y/n, looking sleepy.

When they finally arrived home, Y/n set about sorting through the candy with the kids, while Five made them all hot chocolate. Maddie and Milo soon drifted off to sleep, exhausted from their Halloween adventure.

Y/n and Five sat on the couch, enjoying their hot chocolate and the peace and quiet. “Thanks for coming with us, Five,” Y/n said, leaning her head on his shoulder. “It meant a lot to the kids. And to me.”

Five wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Y/n smiled, looking up at him with a twinkle in her eye. “So, about that costume…”

Five chuckled, leaning in to kiss her. “Happy Halloween, Y/n.”

“Happy Halloween, Five.”

[bluetrekker12]

If you want to read a lot of waffle about season 4 of FAM written by a Margo x Sergei obsessive you’re in luck, because I have an evening to myself and lots of thoughts. (I know all of this is obvious, I think I just needed to write it down.)

Here we go - Irina is a great character. I mean, she’s a master manipulator and I loathe her, but a great foil for Margo this year. It’s really interesting that she’s coming back in S5, because it seems like at the end of the season she’s on the outs. I wonder if they had a rethink because of the way she worked out?

ALEIDA and BILL: I love the way the time jumps give extra weight to the relationships on this show (and more space for headcanon). It’s always thrilling to see characters again to see where they’ve ended up. Anyway, I love this whole scene and it’s really interesting that Aleida is still inclined to somewhat stick up for Margo at this point (though not when they come face to face). Also, it’s telling that Bill thinks Aleida should be NASA director and wonder if he’s kind of a proxy for the audience or something, because it feels like that’s maybe the natural conclusion for Aleida??

When Irina and Margo arrive at Star City, and Irina says “I’ve known you for a long time, Margo” it’s a bit sinister, but with hindsight it’s creepy AF. You have to assume she’s listened to all of the phone calls between Margo and Sergei over the years. And most likely she was listening in (if not watching) when Margo asked Sergei to kiss her. And of course she knows exactly how vital work is to Margo, and how it’s the ultimate lever to manipulate her with.

The poem 😭 well done FAM on finding the most Margo x Sergei coded art this year. The poem and “ That’s all it Took” could have been written for them. Is this all Irina playing the long game to get to Sergei? I wonder if, after London, when he stopped cooperating Irina took it as a personal affront?

Leningrad is gold. Margo looking for Aleida on the cameras, my heart. God love the fact Margo must have snacks to operate fully at all times. I love the call back to “work the problem”, that whole scene with Eli, Aleida, Irina and Margo is so great.

“I know what I did in the past and why I did it”. This is a great line and then the following scene with Aleida is just wonderful. The hug! Margo’s face - I’m sure she never imagined the reunion starting this way. Margo talks about regrets, but earlier in the scene she seems comfortable with the choices she’s made, despite the outcome. I don’t think she ever regretted saving Sergei, just that there wasn’t a way to also save herself. Hands down this is one of the best scenes in the whole 4 seasons.

(Aside - killing Emma was really brutal)

Sergei 😍 what a fucking sequence that is. It’s just brilliant, the perfect choice of song, the morning routine and his face when he sees Margo on the tv. You can tell he’s been safe and content, but that’s not the same as happy and the joy when he turns right and heads to Margo is palpable. (Poor Muriel though, wonder what happened to her.)

The Sergei and Aleida discussion, oh the tears in his eyes and such an absolutely crucial scene. The Margo x Sergei reunion is such a mirror of their goodbye scene in 3x07 where she stops him from getting any closer when he steps forward. However the first thing she says is “This can’t happen, Sergei” like she knows even 8 years later that he’s not here just to say hello 😂

Aleida as the go between is interesting cos I guess that means she’s been meeting with Sergei to pass notes, or at least speaking regularly. I love the idea of them getting to know each other.

The CD, he’s so cute. I actually can’t find the words for the rest of the scene. It’s priceless. No character has ever loved more than Sergei loves Margo.

And now pain 😭 she’s listening to the cd, they’re eating the same meal, she’s looking at Brazil. I watched this with my husband and I knew what was coming but he didn’t. Just before the shot I remember he quietly said ‘bang’. You just fucking knew and I hate it.

Episode 10 - more pain yay! I love when Margo tells Aleida that she needs to tell Sergei to leave Houston and Aleida just looks at her and says “He’s not going to listen”. Like she knows what this relationship is now, she knows he would never go.

The rest is just a Wrenn masterclass, like the whole season is. “Don’t fucking handle me” I hate Irina so much in this scene omg her smug face. (Also the implication that if you’ve met Sergei you could never wish him harm *true*)

If the first hug between Aleida and Margo in Leningrad is instinct, the second is deliberate and brings tears to my eyes. Sergei built that bridge.

[zabala0z]

I am nearing the end of TMA S4 and I am terrified. Hello there! Welcome back to “rando screams over TMA S4” I’m your host and we have uh 7 episodes to talk about!

MAG 150: Cul-de-sac

Nothing I hate more than the suburbs. I remember I theorized before listening that this was The Lonely but throughout it, I was thinking The Spiral was also involved. Then that gave me a thought I should’ve had way earlier: can statements have multiple entities involved?? Like would there really be a downside (for the entities)? I mean you get your fear. It’s just a team effort y’know?

Also yay Melanie! Fight against the power (please don’t die I’m begging you). Although I am still suspicious about her therapist

MAG 151: Big Picture

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD ITS SIMON FAIRCHILD. I was reeling during this guys. I don’t know why all The Vast avatars are so…nice??? Well that’s not the right word. Carefree I suppose? (Also what bet was Simon talking about. Dude.) Im also still very curious about the dynamics between the patrons/avatars. The way they all sabotage each others rituals. The different rivalries. It’s so fun.

MAG 152: A Gravediggers Envy

Man this dude loves dirt. Interesting how he refers to the entity by the actual title without ever being told. Intuition I guess. It was interesting to hear Helen again whose laugh is sounding more and more like Michael’s. Anyways the tunnels are going to be very important later on, aren’t they?

MAG 153: Love Bombing

God I hate cults. Also that clear residue has appeared many other times in The Corruption related statements (MAG 36, MAG 55). Potential connection.

TREVOR AND JULIA 🫶🫶🫶 you guys eat but also like stfu. The way they bounce off each other reminds of Breekon and Hope. Love Daisy but I am worried now. She also growled like an animal. Not figuratively like it actually sounded like a wolf or something

MAG 154: Bloody Mary

God damn it Eric. God. First, no one can ever have a nice life here hug? Second, little Michael mention by Eric (and Emma. Who is Emma? Will she be important?) third, you have to GOUGE out your eyes to quit? What the hell?

Martin and Jon’s talk. God that was basically a declaration of love. I’m going insane. Martin low key psychoanalyzed Jon and it was heart wrenching

MAG 155: Cost of Living

Basira, like I disagree with her on a lot, but man she is so interesting. Also screaming about how she won’t leave because of Daisy oh my god please. Onto the statement; yeah this was a pretty cool avatar. Like, the absolute delusion was the funniest thing ever like god damn.

But MELANIE. Oh my god. I’m like hella impressed by her will power, I guess I wasn’t the one who is trapped in a job and traumatized, but still. I’m worried. Please don’t die girlie, I’ve already lost multiple of my favorite characters

MAG 156: Reflection

I need to know more on Adelard Dekker like I need to know his full backstory. I love how Martin talks to the tape recorders like they’re a pet or something? Does The Eye notice? Or care? Anyways, with every statement, The Extinction rises on my ranking on “how scared would I be if I encountered this TMA entity”

I’m scared for Martin. I don’t know what device it is, maybe a book? I don’t know but

“How does that make you feel?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all”

What if I just *rips out hair and rolls around on the ground* I CANT. MARTIN PLEASE. YOURE MY FAVORITE GUY :(

Okay. Okay. That’s all the episodes.

I have 4 episodes left in season four. I am very worried. I’m going to pray for Martins safety. My next post will be the season four finale so watch out for that!! I really hope everyone will be okay but I know deep down that they won’t. That’s not how this works

[confusedspaceotter]

Not me having to explain to some stranger I just met that I wrote daily avatrice analysis for fun💀

[lemonlimestar]

thinking about wasted potential of post-yj98 greta today. like could u imagine if they delved into how she adjusted to being alive again? if they showed the peeling back of some of the naïveté she had as secret, how jarring it is for her to suddenly be mortal again? that sound is too loud, she gets irritable. that texture was unexpected, she bursts into tears. she only takes showers, never baths. her friends have to constantly remind her to consider other people’s emotions because she’s so overwhelmed by her own. what about the first time she cuts herself on a piece of paper? or when she realizes her clothes don’t fit as well, that she’s getting older? how does her first birthday after being dead make her feel? we could’ve had it all

[aroanthy]

i love how fraught and complicated discourse around various utena characters ‘dying’ is when anthy is literally stabbed to death eternally by a million swords imbued with human hatred. and then utena gets stabbed to death by them also. like. ‘death’ is incredibly interesting in rgu because most of the time it’s this ambiguous figurative thing that has interesting implications re: ohtori as a closed-off world one can escape. we are all trapped in our coffins. mamiya is the only named character with a grave. nemuro memorial hall functions as one all the same. ruka is implied to have died in the hospital— was he dead all along? who was the boy we saw for these two episodes? is this dead boy the same boy, or is this just another coincidence from the shadow girls, cutting like a knife? it’s heavily implied that akio and anthy murder kanae by poisoning her, adding to the previous implication that they were poisoning mr ohtori too, but there are no perceptible consequences of this. kanae’s absence is not felt. she’s fed an apple slice. what happens to the bodies? we know what happened to the 100 boys, but what about everyone else? and so on and so forth. ‘death’ is a tricky thing in utena, i think it’s constantly functioning on figurative and literal levels in very different ways for very different purposes. dios died. dios was dying. dios didn’t die. he grew up. etc etc