#this before with other packages which is more than i could say like 2 years ago yknow but also worst case scenario i order it to a friend’s

[dreamertrilogys]

a fun fact about me is that i need to start binding or i’m going kill myself

[teaboot]

Yo I haven't done it in forever so I forgot that working at a sex shop gives you superpowers

1. The We-Vibe Tango is a low frequency and fully waterproof rechargeable bullet vibrator that we used to sell for about $150. A new model came out about a year ago so it's on sale now online for $47. Can confirm that shipping is discreet and they have a really good warranty, just keep the packaging.

*(I'm not sponsored to say that and nobody is paying me rn, it's just a legit good deal.)

2. There are essentially three bases used for lube: Water, Oil, and Silicone. Oil breaks down any materials other than glass or metal, and Silicone breaks down Silicone toys and sometimes condoms. Water is safe for everything but tends to dry out, so people don't like it- but if you add water or spit, drying water-based lube will slick right back up.

3. If your water-based lube has given you any itching, tightening, or burning sensations, you probably have a chemical sensitivity. Obviously everyone has different preferences, but my number one recommendation is Water Slide- it's a super reasonable price compared to other lubes, it feels natural, it's incredibly gentle on the skin, and it doesn't stain sheets.

**(Again, I'm not being paid for this. By anyone. At all. I'm just sick of hearing people come in and tell me they don't use lube cause it hurts, or that they're using fucking coconut oil in their vagina. Please, God, don't put coconut oil in your vagina.)

4. A lot of massage oils use almond oil to suspend other ingredients, and warming products sometimes use cinnamon. Always, always, always check people's allergies.

5. You can buy toys off cheap sites if you want, just be wary of quality and ALWAYS read the product description. I personally wouldn't buy anything that isn't Silicone, stainless steel, or glass, because unlike jelly, plastic, "fantaflesh", and Silicon, (which is NOT Silicone!!!) They are non-porous, sterile, and don't melt in contact with each other. This means that as long as you clean them properly and don't use the wrong lubes, they will not hold bacteria or break down, which makes them safe for both you to reuse and your partner/s to share. (And to switch between front door/back door, so long as you wash before going back to front.)

6. Cotton and polyester bondage rope are cheap and great to practice with. Silk sounds fancy and is very strong but be advised that a lot of silk rope is "Silk(TM)", not actual silk. Read the product description. (I personally am reluctant to spend more than about $2 per foot for mass-produced synthetic rope, but could be persuaded to pay more for ACTUAL silk, nylon, handmade ropes, or especially attractive colors/patterns/textures.) You want your rope to be at least as thick as your thumb and layered to avoid lacerations, and taut (not stretchy) to be sure you're in control of how much pressure you're putting on.

7. Choking someone by pressing on the windpipe is painful and inefficient. If you want to, stay very, very light, as it's a very delicate area. If you want a head rush, press down on the sides of the windpipe, just below the corners of their lower jaw. You will feel a pulse there. That's the carotid artery. It carries oxygen to the brain. Pressing there will allow them to breathe, but will still "choke" the air going to their head. It's faster and painless. Only hold this for 3-4 seconds if you lack experience. It takes just under 15 seconds to make someone pass out from a blood choke, and after that you risk causing *permanent brain damage*. If your partner passes out, release pressure immediately and keep their airways clear. If you're the one being choked, know that your only warning will be spotty vision and a dizzy sensation. Communicate with your partner/s and for the love of God, do your research first. I'm not a doctor. Please God, please do your research.

8. Don't reduce blood flow to any part of the body for more than 20 minutes. This includes cock rings. Take a break for an hour between uses.

9. Most 'dick pills' are just a stimulant, a mild vasodilator, and a placebo. Usually mostly caffeine. They are not worth $20 apiece. Take a minute to meditate, have a hot shower, drink some black tea, have a coffee, go for a run, whatever- you'll get the same effect. And no, there is not a single ethical and legal sex shop in the country that can sell you viagra. You would have better luck on Facebook. Do not buy viagra on Facebook.

10. There are no "male toys" and "female toys". Your only limitations are safety and creativity. If youre sticking something into something else, just make sure everything is clean, not too big, not sharp or abrasive, and can be taken back out.

11. If something "goes missing" in your vagina and you panic, you muscles will tense up and it'll it'll harder to get back. Relax and stand up. Wait a minute. Chill. Calm down. Jump a couple times. There's nowhere for it to go and worst case scenario, I promise the emergency walk-in has seen something weirder or worse in the past hour or so.

12. You cannot return toys that you buy and don't like and I swear to God if you come into my store with an opened product and try to give it back I will lose my shit

13. Actually while I'm at it, people who work at sex shops are more often than not not sex workers and even if they were, it would still not be appropriate to flash or grope them or ask them "what they use", I will run you over in the fucking parking lot

[bestworstcase]

So, regarding your Tai post,

https://www.tumblr.com/bestworstcase/748954216598470656/the-perennial-tai-discourse-is-really-interesting?source=share

I had some thoughts: I technically cover it in a separate post

https://www.tumblr.com/tumblingxelian/749060919422861312/really-solid-addition-here-much-like-with-qrows

But I'm unsure if the links will work so here is a slightly edited & expanded version:

Now, the idea that Ruby & Yang had very different childhoods is not an idea I strictly disagree with. But, I also think it is a bit inaccurate to treat it as outlined in your post.

What I mean is that while Yang is definitely more overt in the fact she feels Tai and the other adults failed them and defaults to centering family moments on Ruby. (For instance she frames the Zwei package as something to cheer Ruby up, its not for her & Ruby's the one really excited, Yang's just kind of there about it)

Despite that, Ruby herself doesn't have a simple relationship with Tai, or in fact she just might but that's not a good thing.

See, Ruby does not think about Tai very often, he's largely an afterthought in her letters for one. But more to the point he is not someone Ruby goes to for advice or guidance or even comfort.

Post Beacon, she mostly gets an update from him and is not bothered to see him go. She is OK being a bit more vulnerable around Qrow.

But the person she actually seeks out and seems utterly shocked at not receiving comfort from is Yang. It was also Yang who she questions for what to do next and Yang whom she confided her plans in before leaving.

Again she is shocked when Yang cannot supply these things to her.

Tai is her dad, but its a superficial relationship, he's nice, he can be fun, she does love him. She does not however, seem to perceive him as a reliable or responsible adult from whom she seeks protection or guidance.

The person she always defaulted to for that was Yang until she could no longer fill the role post V3 which likely fed into her issues with showing vulnerability in V9.

I tend to think she might have been more open to it in V5 given the breakdown tears & hug, but then Yang demonstrated she was still very much not all right & Ruby had no clue what to do. So she just sort of locked into her head that Yang needed 'her' protection now, not the other way around.

I would also just straight up note that even Ruby said it was Yang who raised her. Like, that wasn't even subtle, she knows who the parent was in that house and it wasn't Tai or Qrow. I don't think she'd say that if their childhoods were 'so' different that Tai was a functional parent to her but not Yang.

She definitely has a less... frosty relationship with the two grown men who she grew up around, Largely because they project the saintly Summer onto her and the Wretched Raven onto Yang.

Again, let's not forget Qrow's entirely willing to accept Yang brutalized a kid for shits and giggles or is "crazy". Or that Tai outright sees a lot of Raven in Yang, despite most of the traits he described not meshing with Yang's demonstrated or self described persona.

But even with that more positive relationship being projected onto and still raised by a sister two years your senior isn't exactly ideal. Both sisters had a shitty childhood, both were deeply neglected and failed and suffered because of that fact.

all true! but the nature of parentification is that the children experience the neglect in very different ways; the elder child is forced into an adult role, parenting the younger child, who is harmed in more invisible ways because they do have a caretaker—their sibling. anecdotally nearly every account of a childhood i’ve read by an adult who was raised as a child by older siblings has either alluded to or outright described 1. a much better childhood than their caretaking sibling(s) got, 2. because their sibling(s) shielded them from the worst neglect or abuse.

with that in mind and taking into consideration things like the different reactions to the package from tai (this will cheer ruby up vs ooh, something from home!) and yang staying behind at beacon when tai takes ruby to visit the memorial stone, and now these clear differences in how the girls feel about the boba shop (yang: unsure, downplaying the surprise, maybe it’s dumb / ruby: boba!!!) which probably reflect their emotional experience of the outings with dad (yang: fun, happy that ruby is so excited, not that special otherwise / ruby: magical)…

well, let’s put it this way:

yang did not have a real caretaker starting from age five, when she became the de facto main parent to her three-year-old sister with at best sporadic breaks when qrow wasn’t too blackout drunk / tai was having a good day.

ruby had a primary caretaker who struggled but was always there (yang) and a dad who had to work a lot but made time to do special things like the boba trips so that he could spend quality time with his family (tai). plus an uncle she sometimes needed to help her sister deal with.

yang being parentified has the effect of insulating ruby from the severity of tai’s neglect; in a functional single-income household where one parent stays home and the other works to support the family and both parents are adults who chose this dynamic and enjoy their respective roles, the working parent is not bad or neglectful simply because they aren’t around during the day to take care of the kids, and they can foster close, loving relationships with their children by making the most of the time they have at home. the childhood ruby had was a dysfunctional imitation of that dynamic.

and then factoring in the summer-vs-raven projection, when tai was around he focused on bonding time with ruby moreso than yang.

the net result is that the harm to ruby is much more invisible (yang by virtue of being a child herself could not provide ruby with healthy parent-child boundaries or the emotional stability children need from their parents to feel secure and develop good emotional regulation; tai’s favoritism of ruby being intertwined with idealizing of summer fucked ruby’s sense of self really badly; in the first few volumes ruby feels hurt and bewildered every time yang acts like her sister instead of her parent).

ruby sees clearly and states in volume nine that yang raised her; i don’t think she would have been able to articulate that so plainly in volume one, and this is something she’s come to realize after leaving home / living independently. in v1 it’s “yang used to read to me when we were little” and i’d bet that’s how ruby would phrase everything yang did—as discrete habits, not the combined pattern of “yang raised me.”

whereas yang like. the first thing she does at beacon is try to step away from ruby: encouraging her to meet new people then ditching her to catch up with friends, not wanting to partner up with her for initiation… much as yang loves her sister and enthusiastically supports her, it’s also pretty obvious that yang saw beacon as an opportunity to focus on herself for once. which says to me that she’d already grasped that their home life was messed up and that she needed to break those patterns once she left.

[starseungs]

➳ cruel summer. lmh

• pairing: lee know x gn!reader

friendships can break. some even turn into enemies. that was a fact you unfortunately knew all too well.

• genre: angst with happy ending, childhood friends to enemies to lovers, college au, dancer!minho & y/n — 2.9k words

• warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption, minho and y/n insult each other bcs its e2l

• note: #2 on your love through the ages series | i swear not all fics in this series are mainly angst;; anw if you havent already noticed from the title, yes this is inspired by taylor swift's cruel summer^^ a small spin on the lyrics if i must say... cause summer isnt even the main setting in this-

ⓒ written by starseungs on tumblr. do not steal, repost, or edit.

Lee Minho was a menace in your life. You will never understand how he does it. Despite being a fairly normal (and by normal, you may or may not have meant that there was nothing going on for him) guy, he had a major talent for getting under your skin and igniting peeves you never even knew existed until he himself did it. At one point, you thought maybe your peeve was just Minho himself, instead of the actual action. After all, even the act of talking annoyed you greatly whenever it was his voice you heard echoing through the area. Fortunately, though, it wasn't like you were the only one being an absolute asshole—

—Minho disliked you with a passion as well.

If you were given a penny for every moment you both had some sort of argument, verbal or non-verbal, you'd surely be able to buy a house. And a penny isn't even that much to begin with. When asked, anyone who knows both you and Minho will probably give the same answer: put both of you in a room to do something, one says a single word, and hell breaks loose. The formula was pretty straightforward and simple, really. Everything was a fight between you two, and neither you nor Minho liked to lose. You'd think that being like-minded people would make you friends rather than enemies, and even you were surprised at first.

Because it wasn't always like this with Minho. 

You don't exactly remember where it all went wrong, but all you do know was that somewhere along the way, Minho went from being your whole life to a person you could hardly stand to be in the same room with for more than ten minutes—constantly getting on each other's nerves; waiting for someone to break first and admit defeat. Making the whole thing even more frustrating was that the two of you knew each other a bit too well; a result of the deep friendship you both once cherished above all else.

Childhood friends. That was the category you begrudgingly acknowledged both of you fell under. What were once two inseparable children who refused to stay away from each other for more than a day. The friends who were seen as a package deal, even despite never being in the same class in the entirety of your elementary school years. Your families were even really close at one point—close enough where you could guess your mothers made a bet about the two of you's relationship. But just like an unexpected plot twist, all of those happy memories were washed down the drain along with your friendship with Minho.

You still remember how it started—a seven-year-old boy defending you from a rude classmate of yours back in first grade. It was when said classmate made fun of you for having cat-designed supplies (which, mind you, were actually really cute) that he considered was "lame" and "childish". As if he wasn't also a literal child at that time. Minho slid into the scene to show them a piece of his mind just before you were about to start crying, feeling humiliated and offended by the other boy's words. He defended you, or well, your appreciation for cats, with such conviction that you almost fell for him right then and there. You were really into the idea of romance back then. The whole thing was too petty for you to think of now, but back then, Minho was your knight in shining armor.

Friendship with Minho sailed smoothly from there. He approached you immediately after your rude classmate decided to leave you both alone, not seeing the fight as worth it anymore (good for him, you guessed.) Both of your interests in cats were something that bonded you two at the speed of lightning, earning you your first friend outside of relatives around the same age. He was your best friend for so long that the separation seemingly came out of nowhere, just the week before middle school started.

At first you didn't think much about it; you knew it was normal for childhood friendships to fall out around one's teen years, since it was the time where one would be meeting new people—but the more you thought about your everyday life without Minho, the more you missed him. Even more so that there was no actual reason for you two to suddenly act as if the other never existed, you just somehow came to the conclusion that this was supposed to happen one day. Who knows, it could have been teenage issues.

But then the radio silence turned into a chaotic battlefield in the blink of an eye. You got into dance around your second year of middle school and decided that your next course of action was to join your school's dance club. At the time, you were well aware that Minho was already a member of that club since his first year and thought it would have been great to reconnect with him there. Don't get you wrong through, you swore you didn't get into dance because of him. It totally wasn't because you loved seeing him have fun during performances that you wanted to try it out for yourself. Still, you had high hopes of joining this club—except that hope was shattered not even a week in.

"Look, we all know you're new to all this, but would it be too much for you to keep up?" You remember his harsh words like it was just yesterday. Oh, how you wanted to punch him so badly that day. The same week you joined, the club had an upcoming performance for the school assembly, and the current captain figured it wouldn't be a harm to add you in at the last minute. After all, they were still just in the middle of learning the routine and had about two weeks left until showtime. The other members seemed to agree too, seeing as you were the only new member and it would be such a waste to leave you aside. All except one person.

Now, you don't know what got into Minho's breakfast that morning during practice, but he targeted you throughout the whole day. It hurt your pride, of course—especially seeing that even the first years made mistakes during practice—but you were the only one he scolded. Sure, you had less experience than he had at this club and dancing in general, but you two were literally the same age! There was absolutely no reason to be this pissed, even if you did join a month after the year one recruits were brought in. Your dancing didn't suck either, you knew that much. As new as you were to the world of dancing, you knew you had good potential and a decent natural talent for it. How would you get into this club in the first place if you didn't? They had a whole screening process and everything. So there was only one logical reason for Minho's attitude towards you:

Hate. Lee Minho hated you.

Why? How would you know? But if he was going to be like this, then you surely wouldn't go down without a fight. If he thinks you're still the timid seven-year-old who couldn't even stand up for themselves at a mere childish insult, then your six years of friendship with him was a joke, because you've clearly changed since then. It was then that you swore you'd make him acknowledge it, even through the hard way. And you certainly did slap him in the face the following year when you became vice captain alongside him, despite the fact that it was only your second year. That wasn't good news to Minho, though—so as one would expect, your infamous arguments continued. The rest is history.

"If you're going to be like this, I'm asking for a new partner," Minho scowled at you venomously from the dance studio's speakers, pausing the song to rewind it back to the start. "Even if I have to beg our professor, it would be so much better than screwing up the final project because of you."

Wow, that one hurt. You inwardly winced at his ice-cold comment, feeling a small stab at your chest. His insults may have become dull to you over time, but that didn't mean you were unaffected by them. Never did you think you'd end up here: doing your semester's final project with Minho. Actually, you never would have guessed you'd go to the same college—let alone in the same major! As if enduring his presence for five years in middle and high school wasn't enough, he just had to still be there just when you thought you'd be able to turn over a new leaf. But no; along with his mere existence at your university was your thick tension-filled rivalry with him, and everyone was quick to catch on.

Never put Y/N and Minho, although both dance majors, in the same room. 

Unfortunately, your professor seemed to have missed the memo—because he broke that unspoken rule when he announced the partners for the final project a week ago. Shameless gasps filled the lecture hall as all pairs of eyes snapped towards your and Minho's horrified ones. This was going to be a long two weeks, you remembered groaning in annoyance.

"Then do it," you spat strongly at him. "Tell him you can't accept it whenever shit doesn't go your way. Grow up, will you?" Minho only kept quiet and didn't say anything back to you for the rest of the day after that.

Thankfully, you two managed to complete the project with flying colours with the help of some heavenly deity (because there was just no way you two managed to achieve this much together on your own.) You stared cautiously as Minho handed you a bottle of your favourite drink. This was a new scene, his head hanging low in the glow of the vending machine underneath the dark sky. If you asked yesterday's you if there would ever be a time where you were caught in an intimate setting with Minho after all those quarrels, you would have said no. But here you were, facing him in the quiet of the night.

Vulnerable words were exchanged that night, minds finally understanding each other for the first time in years. Minho knew he was being a dick to you. He knew and yet did nothing to fix it. You were better off without him anyway. He wasn't a knight, and he would never be. Even if he saw himself through your eyes back then, his mind wouldn't change. Minho noticed early on that you were made to achieve heights he could only dream of—a fact he could never forget because everyone around him was saying the exact same thing. And as your best friend, that made him so proud. On the contrary, he was somewhat plain. At first he wanted to continue sticking by you because he thought he'd be influenced to do better; but the opposite happened and he was starting to influence you instead. That scared Minho, and the unknown pressure he personally put on himself made it seem ten times worse than it actually was—which, mind you, should not have been something he became anxious over. 

He also knew it was stupid to cut ties with you so suddenly, but this was a chance for the both of you to start over a new life and live in the bubbles you both rightfully belonged to. That was why he felt like his perfect world was shattered when you found your way back to him through the dance club. What were you doing here? When did you even start liking dance? Was that because of him too? He wanted you to turn around and leave immediately. Yet the more he pushed you away, the more the thought of you kept crashing into his mind, not showing signs of leaving even in the dead of night. Minho was growing feelings, and he despised himself for it. So he did what he apparently was best at—continuing to make you hate him. His wishes for your happiness were the same reasons why you ended up having the worst time of your life with having to deal with his attitude towards you, all the while Minho was too busy trying to push you away to notice you were hurt by his actions too. Strong emotions can make you do idiotic things. He finally came to his senses on the day you filmed your project together, after days of thinking through what you had said to him back in the dance studio. 

You didn't accept his apology. Even if he was sincerely sorry about it, there was no excuse for how he acted towards you. But that wasn't the reason why you refused to take his apology; it was because you had things to apologise for too. Minho wasn't the only one who had said and done less than kind things throughout this whole ordeal, so you agreed to be on civil terms. Your semester ended with a clean cut between the relationship between you and Minho.

Summer was boring, to say the least. You decided to go back and spend the break with your family in your childhood home. The neighborhood brought back fond memories; some of which were of little you and Minho hanging out after class. Speaking of him, you heard he came back home too—his house only a few down the road from yours. But it's not like you could just visit him anyway. You two were basically strangers now. Not even enemies or rivals. And maybe it hurt more than you thought it would because you found yourself missing his voice at random times of the day (even if his voice in your memories was mostly frustrated and annoyed.) In the living room, you often glanced at the door in hopes that maybe he would come and visit. It was driving you crazy. 

You never thought of liking Minho romantically, but this cliched progression of events was seemingly proving you otherwise. To be fair, there's a chance that what you were feeling was just seeking for what was normal, but either way, it didn't change the fact that it still bothered you. Luckily, your high school class' get-together was the next day, giving you the chance to drink and forget, even just for the night.

Yeah, that party did not go as planned.

What was up with everyone looking for Minho? You weren't even in the same class back then! He wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. Frustrated, you decided to take a shot every time someone mentioned his name in front of you and ended up fairly drunk out of your mind. That must explain why you found yourself sitting in front of Minho's family house in the middle of the night with blurry vision, either from the tears that were threatening to spill or the alcohol. A click from the front door took you out of your thoughts, only to see a shocked Minho staring at you with wide eyes.

"Why the fuck are you here?" He asked, rushing over to lift you up from the ground. "Are you drunk? You smell like alcohol! Let's get you home." Minho placed your arm behind his shoulders and moved to drag you back to the sidewalk. You kept your feet glued to the ground as firmly as you could.

He looks at you with expiration. "Come on, Y/N. Don't make this difficult for the both of us, yeah? Your parents must be looking for you too." You kept quiet, the words you wanted to say stuck in your throat, unable to spill out although you really wanted them to. "Y/N? Did something happen?"

Fuck it.

"I miss you, Minho," you said in a whisper, feeling too weak to go any louder. "I missed you back then, and I still miss you now." Your soft cry froze him in his tracks. His silence was deafening, and you were left assuming the worst. It wouldn't be wrong for him to reject you like this. After all, you had just decided on closing your friendship for good around a week and a half ago, and what you've been feeling for him was still relatively new. Bracing yourself for the words that would probably leave you moping in your room for the remainder of summer break, you opened your eyes to look back at him. 

And there he was, staring at you with so much emotion you couldn't take in.

"And so you do," he says back, just as softly. "If I say I missed you too, what would you want me to do?" 

You felt the sharp shards of ice that were stabbed in your heart from the years of fighting with Minho slowly melt away. There was only one answer to that question. 

"Kiss me." He sighs in content at your answer and pulls you closer, lips so close yet barely touching. 

This little shit. 

You grabbed his collar to close the gap, your lips crashing together as you felt sparks fly, illuminating the place in a light only you two could see. He pulls away slowly after a few seconds, grinning at you like a devil.

"Don't you dare regret this in the morning."

What a cruel summer.

taglist 🏷️ : @h0neydewmoon @starzzns @lhskokoro @bookishcalls @lilydaisyyy | let me know if you want to be added or removed^^

[simply-ivanka]

Trump’s Best Lies Weren’t Trump’s

By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

May 8, 2024

In an act of editorial cowardice, the Economist devotes a leading editorial plus an entire special section to the problem of disinformation yet never mentions the Steele dossier and Hunter Biden laptop lie.

Its package is timely for all the reasons I’ve written about: Disinformation is likely to flow in even greater abundance to influence the 2024 vote. But it also botches the most important insight. The anonymous AI-generated disinformation on the web that preoccupies the magazine’s editors is trivial in effect next to official disinformation from government sources circulated by mainstream media.

The Economist details a surreptitious Russian plot to blame America for dengue fever in Africa. It ignores a story of open disinformation of gobsmacking continuing influence, which has half of America watching as the other half (and most of our political class) lie about what happened after 2016. If the magazine thinks these voters aren’t drawing conclusions that will shape the 2024 outcome, it needs its medication adjusted.

Let’s step back: Political causes may be good or bad, but few or nonexistent are those campaigns or campaigners who have been unwilling to lie in their causes.

Eisenhower lied about the U-2 program in one of the best causes ever, keeping a check on Soviet ICBM development.

Sam Harris, the popular podcaster and neuroscientist, exhibited his essential adulthood when he recognized and approved the laptop lie because of the importance he attached to defeating Trump.

Knowing when you lied and why you lied is psychologically healthy. Do I think Leon Panetta, the longtime respected congressman and Obama CIA chief, is of healthy mind? Yes. He and colleagues saw that it would help Joe Biden to associate Hunter’s laptop with Russia and left unspoken between them that it was a lie.

The Economist, in contrast, gives us a blaring, billboard-like exhibition of the psychological disorder known as splitting. See if you recognize the pattern:

Splitting means claims and assertions hostile to Mr. Trump should be repeated and emphasized; any that aren’t should be suppressed.

The Steele dossier should be trumpeted until it stops being useful for discrediting Mr. Trump and starts to discredit his enemies—in which case it should never be mentioned again.

If a statement is true and favorable to Mr. Trump, the only motive for voicing it is pro-Trumpism. (This will create problems for weather reporters if Mr. Trump says it’s raining and it’s actually raining.)

Russian meddling can’t both have happened and have been trivial—because the first part sounds anti-Trump but the second doesn’t. This is unacceptable to the splitting mind.

I know it would be unthinkable at this late date for our media and political elites to come clean. It would amount to abdicating the election to Mr. Trump.

Telling the truth, unfortunately, needed to start long ago before it could change the moment we’ve reached today.

And yet the perverse consequences ought to be beating us over the head. As David Brooks of the New York Times tweeted after Mr. Trump won 11 million more votes in 2020 than he did in 2016: “Our job in the media is to capture reality so that when reality voices itself, like last night, people aren’t surprised. Pretty massive failure.”

In 2015 Donald Trump was a noisy celebrity ranting about illegal immigration. Nine years later, he and his legions have an epic narrative to tell themselves, true in many particulars, about the U.S. government and media thwarting them with lies and fabricated evidence.

Most of all, in bold letters, our current fix should recall the wisdom of the media’s former motto: “Without fear or favor.” Or as Walter Lippmann put it a century ago, “In his professional activity it is no business of [the reporter’s] to care whose ox is gored.”

We tell the truth and let the chips fall because we don’t know where the chips will finally land even if we think we do. Moreover, once we allow ourselves to start lying to the public for its own good, inevitably our reasons for doing so become more corrupt and self-seeking over time. Whatever his demerits, the press now paints Mr. Trump in impossibly lurid colors to justify its past behavior. Witness also the “Trump bump” in paid subscriptions and TV ratings. Lying about Mr. Trump works commercially for media owners even as it benefits Mr. Trump too. In fact, nothing has been more profitable, even salvational, for many mainstream media companies than MAGA.

But the ultimate exploiter is Joe Biden, cynically using Mr. Trump’s antichrist image as a lever to shove his unwanted self down his own party’s throat despite age and poor polls.

If Mr. Trump now wins—he would only have to draw a middling hand in November—the recriminations against Mr. Biden deservedly will be scalding and eviscerating. The blame game might wreck the Democratic Party for a generation.

[kerubimcrepin]

Episode 51 - High-Temperature Trap (part 2)

aka "failing the "try not to mention Dofus Donjons and Wakfu Raiders" challenge", the liveblog.

The thing about Atcham, is that he thinks Kerubim is fucking stupid. Fake glasses... Wig... The fuckingdf sfdgjsfh the fur comments...

And he is ABSOLUTELY right. He knows him well enough to know that this stupid ass disguise is all he needs.

"If I stalked you... I didn't stalked you because I did. No I didn't. <3"

Kerubim thinking Atcham is OLDER than him, and Atcham using his hairlessness to make others overestimate his age, will never get less funny to me.

Keke, this old, ancient gentleman, is anywhere from five minutes to a year younger than you. You were fed upon the same tit. Chances are, if you're twins like Eleley and Flopin, you were beating his ass in the womb war.

If he is old, then you should be in a fucking museum.

This is an aside, but them being twins, like Eleley and Flopin, is a very likely thing no matter how you look at it.

Above is lore from the discontinued game Wakfu Raiders, — implying that Ecaflip dumps the women who give birth to his demigods after the first kid.

This would fit with all the demigods, except for Atcham and Kerubim, having different surnames, — those would be their mothers', and it would mean that Mom Crepin had twins.

Wakfu Raders isn't the most reliable source for canon info and is no longer playable, so, to be completely fair, let's look at another source of info that might be useful:

The other, conflicting source of Ecaflip lore, — is the unreleased/scrapped game "Dofus Donjons", — and as far as I am aware, the lore it includes, is that 99% of demigods, including Ush, Atcham and Kerubim, were born to a single ecaflip priestess named Varvara, who was pretty much the CEO of giving birth to Ecaflip's 22 sons.

(God. If Atcham could have met her, Pangaea would reform. It makes me sad he never had a figure in his life who looked like him, and was proud of it, — it's depressing that he got bullied into thinking there's something wrong with him, that he spent his whole life hating himself! Can we take this moment to be fucking sad about Atcham? Jesus Christ.)

If we consider the Dofus Donjons more canon than Wakfu Raiders, — and as far as I know, that is the case at Ankama, it is more canon, (Even the line choice in the ova, "previous litter", points towards this) Kerubim and Atcham being twins and growing up together still makes the most sense.

Kerubim and Atcham still share a surname, still went to the same orphanage (because, as a child Bashi knew Atcham, according to The Wheel Of Destiny #8) and lost the same family, before having, like, a life-long very-personal beef over whatever the fuck happened between them.

Which means that they when got adopted into the Crepin family together, it was as a package deal, — probably due to being twins.

Which would be cute, had their life not been so depressing.

Also, here's an insane little thought:

...Yes, it's obvious why Kerubim was uncomfortable in the OVAs, during Eva's monologue: He knows what he put Joris through when he died, (he failed at protecting him, he robbed him of his childhood, and he ruined Joris's head. he failed miserably, and will never be able to fix it.) and he knows, that, personally, all he wants to do is just stay at home with Joris too.

But listeeen, what if that's not all, — what if thinking about a pair of twin demigods losing a parent, even without the context of being a father, also painful? What if this scenario is like a two-in-one combo of the worst things that had happened in his life? Wouldn't that be awesome?

(Also, yeah, Ecaflips keep their memories after death, or else he wouldn't be saying this 100+ years after dying in the movie. I just felt like mentioning that, lest I came off as fucking insane during the last paragraph.)

Anyway, huge discussion over, lets get back to the episode:

Atcham knows which buttons to press to make Kerubim and Indie go at each other's throats again. Both as his brother, and as someone who's spent decades stalking him.

Atcham knows Keke well enough to use his need to affirm his self-worth, for murderous purposes.

That, too, is tragic platonic toxic brotherly yuri.

[horizon-verizon]

Do you really think that the realm will support Jacaerys's claim eventually? After all the rumors about his bastardy are really strong and most TG stans claim that since Jace is a bastard he can't inherit anything, Jace needs to be legitimized first. I really like Jacaerys character and I'm new in this fandom, so this matter is so confuse to me.

Btw your post are amazing ❤️

Thanks, anon!

Answer to Question #1

1)

I have many, many posts about bastardry and the boys' illegitimacy vs legitimacy: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, & HERE. Basically, Jace is not really illegtimate bc illegtimacy must be "proven" and he was never proven to be. People have to argue/prove for it more than people having to argue whether or not one's hair is red or not. And

2)

Jace was actually respected outside of his family (A Son for a Son"):

3)

Several of those greens stans are not reading the damn text and refuse to see that Jacaerys was actually pretty admired by one of Rhaenyra's biggest supporters, Cregan Stark ("A Son for a Son"):

Also, Alicent had been, FOR YEARS, trying to get more people on her side and denounce or pressure either Viserys into removing Rhaenyra and her sons from the line of succession (both bk and show) or just get MOST of the lords at court and beyond to denounce Rhaenyra and her sons...and yet she had to resort to a usurpation, imprisoning courtiers and servants to withhold news of Viserys' death, pressured the council to crown Aegon after many lines of persuasion buttressed by Cole & Otto's input and wild accusations and assertions about Rhaenyra's sons, Daemon, and Rhaenyra not being actually the Queen...

I'd say that Alicent failed to convince anyone to really go against Rhaenyra by depending on the boys illegitimacy.

Answer to Question #2

Do you mean if Rhaenyra had ascended peacefully (no war at all, no usurpation) or had won the war with Jacaerys still alive when she did? Yes, he is her heir and the lords fought for her...they were a package deal. If you didn't want to have Jace as the next ruler, you would not fight for the person who names him as heir. Rhaenyra would have consolidated her reign and ensured her line's future better.

Now if we're talking about DURING THE WAR, Jace somehow survived but Rhaenyra did not/lost, I think there would have been a bit more difficulty without Cregan Stark, Jeyne Arryn, the Blackwoods, Vyprens, other lords who respected that their vows applying to Rhaenyra applied to her heir as well (bc again, they came as a package deal politically) and without as many dragons as the blacks had. Since most of the lords didn't swear to him but just to Rhaenyra, maybe some lords would use this as an excuse to defect or leave the war altogether because it stil costs them resources, some still will use this to justify how a male line goes before a woman's line, and/or they are just greedy AND cowardly and see this as they way to flagrantly ally themselves with the greens.

in the beginning. Bc the actual named heir/undoubtedly trueborn person is no longer there to enforce/support Jace's claim.

And once again, Cregan Stark made his Pact with Jace [2nd pictured quote above]...Cregan was a beast after the war and northerners are mad about their vow-taking, arguably more than "southern" folk. Cregan also liked Jacaerys very much from what's written about them--some fans theorize romantically, but whatever. He also had a higher emotional stake in it, which is an amplifying motive to the primary one about the Pact.

As for Jeyne Arryn, she was steadfastly loyal to Rhaenyra's cause because she was blood through Aemma, she would be helping to make sure her own position was securer from male relatives who already tried to oust her, and because Rhaenyra was a woman--like her. Women in a man's world an all that ("A Son for a Son"):

(Cregan also was interested bc he was having trouble with an uncle trying to oust him...succession things). Thus it could get easier for Jace to default back to him having been Rhaenyra's heir, he's never been "found out" to not be Laenor's , and he's a male dragonrider. again, this is if he loses most of Rhaenyra's supporters, bc it's still possible that he'd reatin the bigger and important ones.

Also, if Daemon somehow by some miracle managed to dispatch Aemond and come back...they'd likely fight with and for Jace anyway because Daemon is just loyal &--by reputation and action--brutal like that. Jace--less likely...key words--loses that many supporters of Rhaenyra's.

[galvanizedfriend]

Hi Yokan 👋

I have questions

First question - how’re you doing? Hope life hasn’t been too stressful for you!

Second question - have you been reading anything that has really resonated with you in the last couple of weeks/months.

Third (and most weird) question - if you could choose a superpower what would you choose? (Dumb question I know😂)

Fourth question - most proud moment in your writing career.

And final question - how’s writing going with the Wolf? Hope you’ve not struggled too much in starting it!

hope your doing okay! ❤️

Hi, friend! How's it going?

Can I just say, it's so lovely to get all these questions! ✨ I love this so much, thank you! 💝

First: I'm ok! Work is always stressful these days, I don't think it's going to give me a break until at least September. 😂 But it's not the worst right now. Tomorrow is my birthday and I just the best piece of chocolate cake humanity has to offer, so I'm cool right now. 😇 Just wish tomorrow wasn't Monday. 🥲

Second: I have read 7 books this year so far, but nothing that's stood out as being great, sadly. :( Still haven't had a 5 stars. I finished a thriller called None of This is True by Lisa Jewell which was pretty good, if you're into thrillers. 4 stars, maybe.

In terms of fanfiction, I've have been reading random pieces of non-Kc fic, as per usual 😂 But I have also read The Little Wolf by @morningstargirl666, which is absolutely fantastic, if you haven't read it yet. It's a retelling of the show's canon about the Original family and how they were turned into vampires, with special focus on Klaus' werewolf heritage, and it's so, so, so good! And so much better than canon! It actually gives depth to the siblings' relationships, and it has so many little nods to what we know of them in the future. Beautifully woven! I have also read Till I Tasted You by @kirythestitchwitch, which is a canon divergent AU where a spell goes wrong and Caroline ends up finding out Klaus is her soulmate. It's hot, it has absolutely nom-nom-able dialogues and A+++ interactions between KC, it features Damon getting his ass kicked! I don't know, it's just the whole package. 🤌

Third: This would be a very weird question if I hadn't spent an irrational amount of time thinking about that. 😂 I guess it really depends on what kind of universe you mean, because it varies. But I would very much like to have telekinesis like Prue in Charmed.

Fourth: That's a tough one. I'm an extremely critical person of my own writing, so it's hard for me to feel proud of stuff I've done tbh. 😂 But I think I was pretty proud when I finished The Wolf 2. It's not my personal favorite thing I've ever written, but I think it's probably my best written story. I really like the final part of that story, the way I managed to tie it back to TVD, I think it was very full circle and made the story a lot more unique. I also had a lot of fun writing the Mikaelsons and Caroline back in Mystic Falls after the time they spent in Nola. 😂 So maybe that.

Final: It's... going. 🥲 I took a pause after writing two chapters back to back, tried to work on some other stuff, and then I circled back to it. I've actually just started the next chapter, have a couple of scenes. I don't think this first chapter will be a long one, but I think it will take a lot of editing tbh. 😂 I haven't been at most inspired right now, so not sure how much of what I've written will stand the test of a re-read. I had plans to get a chapter out before the end of the month, but I'm not sure I'll manage it. 🥲 We'll see how this week goes. Pray for me.

Thanks for the questions, friend! I hope you have a wonderful week! ✨

[excelsi-or]

summoned (pt. 2)

pairing: woozi x fem!reader / fem!OC

part 1

w.c. 2.7k (it's long. felt weird to end it where i originally was going to split it)

Hansol walks her all the way to her building. When he suggests taking her up to her suite, she insists she’ll be fine. After a face off with a demon in the train station, having to explain to the guy at the ticket box at the destination why said demon didn’t have a ticket, combined with the constant glaring, she’s found Jihoon more of a nuisance than a threat.

Her best friend cedes to what she wants. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Send me your comic when you get home.” It’s a pointless attempt to keep the situation normal.

Jihoon refuses to follow her up the steps. 

She studies the demon but decides he can stay outside if he wants. With one last hug for Hansol, she heads up the stairs. 

Hansol eyes Jihoon who still hasn’t moved, even as he promises to send the comic to her if she sends along her linework.

With these extensive goodbyes, Jihoon finally climbs the steps and moves through the open door. The door closes on Hansol who waits until they get on the elevator.

She unlocks her apartment door. Before opening it, she turns to face him. “Just some ground rules if you plan to stay long. Do not touch me. No threats.” Her eyes go over him. “Politeness if you don’t mind.”

Seems like odd rules. But ones he can agree with. “Done.”

Jihoon stands in her doorway and watches her slip out of her shoes and drop her tote on her desk.

She looks over at him. “What? Are you actually a vampire? Do I need to invite you in?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a human’s home.” He leans his head in, peering at the kitchen and hallway. “I don’t typically feel welcome.”

She disappears into her bedroom, but her voice still carries. “Do demons care about that stuff?”

Jihoon takes one step inside. He can now see the small room behind the door, in which he recognizes a washing machine and dryer. Her home is cool in comparison to the heat outside. There’s the faint smell of clean laundry mingling with the smell of cookies.

Makes him sick.

“Well, I’m not about to ask you to stay if you don’t want to. You can hang out in the hall.” She re-emerges in a hoodie and shorts. She nearly rams into Jihoon as he continues to take baby steps into her home. “Do demons eat?”

“We don’t have to.” He notices the art on her walls behind her couch. “But some human food tastes good.” He peers closely at her art. She’s no Michelangelo or Da Vinci; and to be quite frank, her actual technique is awful. However, he assumes it fits right in with the art of the time.

“Well, I’m having ramen.” She pulls her hair up into a ponytail.

“Instant?”

“Yeah, with vegetables and meat.”

Jihoon ponders this combination. Could be passable. He agrees to let her cook for him.

She gets to work at making two packages of ramen, humming to herself as she goes. “Do you like cookies?”

“No.”

Besides that, Jihoon is quiet. She wonders what he thinks of her place, because she can hear him padding around her living room. She wonders what he thinks of her place, because she can hear him padding around her living room.

“Your friend didn’t like me,” he suddenly says.

Using chopsticks, she separates the noodle block in the boiling water. “He thinks you’re an abusive boyfriend I’ve suddenly acquired.”

“Do you have notoriously bad taste in men?”

“Yes. It makes Hansol, Jeonghan, and Cheol protective.”

“He wants to know what’s going on.”

The sound of dried noodles plopping into water precedes her question. “Can I tell him?”

“It’s a matter of if he’ll believe you.”

Jihoon picks up a frame and inspects the people in it. The three men he’d met are there, as well as multiple other people that appear in many of her photos. He sets the frame down and looks for images of her family. There’s a single old photo of them in her bookshelf.

“Why don’t you have pictures of your family?”

“We lost most of them in a fire a few years back. A lot of our stuff wasn’t salvageable.”

Internally, Jihoon sighs. There’s nothing in this woman’s life to trade for her soul. For all intents and purposes, she seems happy. The sound of her footsteps causes him to turn.

She sets two bowls down on the coffee table and places a small packet next to the bowl he presumes is his. Jihoon takes a seat across from her and sits on the floor.

“I figured since you’re a demon, you might like yours extra spicy.” She motions towards the silver package. “Go crazy.”

Jihoon sniffs the powder inside the package before dumping it all into the broth. Almost immediately, the broth turns a fiery red. Then he tries the noodles.

Not half bad.

Of course, Japanese ramen chefs are significantly better, but he’s sure she hasn’t been handed down recipes for generations.

“Are you always so quiet?” she asks between bites. She’s noticeably slouched over her bowl in an attempt to not spill any on the table.

Contrast to her, Jihoon is upright and proper. He doesn’t really worry about spills anymore. “I don’t tend to hang around other beings often.”

“What? Demons don’t talk to each other in Hell?”

His eyes narrow. “There isn’t much time for talking.”

“You told me that you haven’t collected as many souls as you usually do at the beginning of a millennium. That suggests it’s been slow. Ergo, you must have time to talk now.”

He huffs in annoyance. This human asks too many questions. “Hell isn’t a place for making friends.”

“Allies?”

“I wouldn’t trust any of the demons down there more than I would you.”

She frowns at him. “Well, that makes me more skeptical of you.”

Jihoon finishes the broth, leaving his bowl clean. “You have no reason to be.”

“So, I was right. You'll only take my soul if I give it to you.”

Jihoon’s eyes go over her again. With a scowl, he nods.

But as much as Jihoon’s been studying her, she’s been studying him. With a satisfied sigh, she leans back on her palms. “But am I the only thing that’s bothering you?”

His eyes flick from black to green. And she notices that not only are they green, they look like cat eyes. It’s unlikely this demon would like the comparison.

“No, you’re not.” His eyes go black again.

She lifts an eyebrow, reaching for a cookie on the plate near her leg. He’d said no, so she kept it out of his sight. Maybe demons don’t like sweet things. “What’s up?”

“That guard.”

“The one that caught you?”

“I’ve never been caught.” His voice is far away, clear he’s thinking. “Humans are not supposed to be able to see the ‘magic’,” he rolls his eyes, clearly hating his own word choice, “I can do.”

She tips her head, popping another cookie in her mouth. “So, how’d he see it?”

“That’s exactly what I want to know.”

“Weird.” With another cookie between her lips, she takes their bowls back to the kitchen.

It’s not just weird; it’s supposed to be impossible.

“Are you going out?” she asks as he suddenly gets up.

The clock had struck 3 AM and he was finally untethered from the human. At least until sunrise.

On his way to the door, her eyes catch his in the dark over the kitchen divider. “Can you please take the house key?” She juts her chin in the direction of the hall table. “It’s in the bowl. Just lock up when you go. There’s been some sexual assaults in the area.”

Then, her head ducks again and she returns to whatever she’s been working on all evening.

He glances at the key. “Do you not sleep?”

“I probably should.”

“Then why don’t you?” A key is inconvenient to take.

“A literal demon is concerned for my sleeping pattern.” The light suddenly shuts off. “I think that is the time to sleep.”

Jihoon pretends to adjust his shoes. When he hears the bedroom door close, he walks out of her apartment sans key. Instead, he passes a hand over her door and watches it disappear. The door is now disguised as a fire hose attachment. Though it looks a bit odd because another standpipe is only a metre or so away. 

He doubts other humans will notice.

Hurrying onto the elevator (and then speeding it down to get him to the lobby in record time), Jihoon tries to recall the way to the subway station. He changes back into his preferred black suit. Outside, a black sports car waits for him. Suddenly, he remembers why he sometimes enjoys coming up to Earth. He hops into the driver’s side and the GPS automatically sets itself to where he wants to go.

Technology really has come a long way.

Jihoon considers letting the car drive on autopilot, but it’s been ages since he’s driven a car. So, he drives the speed limit (mostly) and actually follows the rules. It’s a bit confusing since the last time he was in a car was in England. While he nearly hits a few people, he manages to avoid an accident. A parking spot in front of the station appears; and he parks, only bumping one car.

He waves a hand over the dent and listens to it repair itself. The station sign is lit, but nothing about it seems threatening. There are cameras everywhere, and he considers fiddling with them but chooses not to.

Something seems off. He feels it as he walks over the threshold.

God.

What were the odds that they would be here?

Jihoon stops at the turnstile that he was about to jump over, remembering the guard. On a whim, he wanders over to a security box. It’s empty for the night, but the little wing sticker by the handle is unmistakable. 

Resigned to his fate, Jihoon hops the turnstile. His feet barely touch the ground before he’s dropped onto his back. A human knee presses into his chest.

“Now, I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “Get off me, angel.”

The angel stands, not before pressing his knee into Jihoon’s chest slightly. He holds a hand out.

Jihoon sits up instead. “What are you going by now?”

“Still Seokmin. Don’t see the point in changing my name.” His smile brightens. “Someone warned me that a demon was walking around, so everyone’s been on high alert.”

“What? This a new angel that doesn’t recognize me?”

“You haven’t exactly been on the surface in a while.” Seokmin hoists him up by his underarms.

Jihoon flicks Seokmin in the forehead. “Don’t do that to me.”

Seokmin swipes a hand over his forehead, healing the burn. “You really do love this sweet little body of yours. I hope you don’t ruin this one.”

Jihoon adjusts his suit jacket.

He motions with his head for Jihoon to follow. “What are you going by these days, demon?”

“These days? I’ve been here for less than 24 hours.”

“Summoned? Or are the end days coming?”

“Summoned by accident.”

“Accident?”

Jihoon can’t help but think back to the shock on the human’s face when he’d appeared behind her at the café. “Human woman was ordering a drink and somehow managed to summon me at the same time.”

“Really knows how to butcher a language, does she?” Seokmin chuckles. He takes a seat on one of the benches by the tracks. It takes Jihoon a second to decide whether he wants to sit or not. When he does, Seokmin asks, “So, what did she trade you?”

“Nothing.” This bench is incredibly uncomfortable. “She doesn’t want anything.”

“Why are you here then? You aren’t typically one for sex.”

“Needed to get away and…” Now that he knows that he’s in angel territory, the incident from earlier seems less suspicious.

Still annoying, but less suspicious.

But there are certainly other things that have caught his attention.

“Have you also been getting a weird energy here?” When he meets Seokmin’s eye again, his expression deadpans. “Or has all your time spent on Earth jaded you to it?”

Seokmin shrugs. “Bad energy has felt as if it’s taking over the planet.”

“And it’s darkness that not even I like.”

“Well, you never really did play by anyone’s rules, did you?”

Jihoon rolls his eyes, deciding that sitting on the bench with his legs out in front of him is the most comfortable. A breeze whistles through the train tunnel, almost like a ghost train. It cools his constantly-warm skin. “Whoever the leader of neutrality is, I’d like to meet him.”

Seokmin continues to study him. The demon has gone by different names in the past, but Seokmin enjoys this demon’s company. He’s never been hell-bent on ruining human lives, and he’d rather stay off angel territory at all costs.

Which is why it surprises Seokmin that the demon’s here. “Have you discussed it with…?”

“Besides wanting to snatch a soul or two if I can while I’m up here so that He’ll leave me alone, I only noticed it when I hit the surface earlier. I haven’t exactly had time to go back down and mention it.”

“No soul snatching while I’m around, please,” Seokmin groans. “And you know who your leader of neutrality is, don’t you?”

Jihoon lifts an eyebrow. He didn’t know there was an answer.

“Humans. Humans are a complex balance of good and… not so good.”

Jihoon waves a dismissive hand. “Humans aren’t permanent.”

“Their souls can be.”

The demon bristles. That statement doesn’t sit right with him. “Back to what we were talking about. Have you figured out what the bad energy is?”

Seokmin genuinely looks surprised. “It’s not the demons? I thought you were just feigning ignorance.”

“You think I make conversation for conversation’s sake? The End Days would be coming if that’s the kind of darkness befalling Earth.”

Seokmin finally seems to understand Jihoon’s concern. “Oh. No. What could that mean?”

“Have you talked to God?”

“We assumed it was you guys cooking up something. We’ve already started assembling the masses in preparation.”

Jihoon huffs as he once again readjusts himself on the bench. “I don’t even know what it is. How are you intending to fight something you can’t see?”

It’s Seokmin’s turn to deadpan.

With a roll of his (because he forgot the angel is pedantic), Jihoon clarifies, “How are you supposed to fight something neither of us can see?”

The rephrasing of the question makes the angel pause. “What else could be causing the darkness?”

Jihoon tips his head back in annoyance. “You’ve been here longer than I have.”

“They’re always doing something crazy, but nothing to rival whatever you demons can do. I’ve only heard talk that the angels believe demons are tipping the Earth into chaos.”

This gives the demon pause. Slowly, his mind conjures up an idea that he doesn’t particularly like. It gives the demons more credit than they deserve. “Or maybe they’ve learned how.”

Seokmin notices Jihoon’s heavy stare. He can tolerate this demon, but the dead eyes really send a shiver down his spine. “Are you talking possession now? Not soul acquirement?”

“And apparently so good that you guys haven’t detected it,” Jihoon muses. He stands, brushing off non-existent dust on his suit. That uncomfortable pull in his abdomen suggests that dawn is coming.

“Any intention to do anything about it?” Seokmin asks, his tone neutral. If there’s even an inkling of hope in his voice, he knows the demon won’t try to solve this unexpected problem.

Jihoon hums. “Find out how to confirm it.”

“And then?” Seokmin slowly gets to his feet.

“Come here and get you guys to stop it.” 

Jihoon hops the turnstiles and heads for his car.

Suddenly, Earth has become significantly more interesting.

part 3

[nanamimizz]

𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙁𝙀𝙎𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉.

 sum: kageyama tobio and you have loved each other throughout your lives. unsaid things must be sad especially in the gray endless sea of adulthood.

tags: reader is a bit of a dramatic crybaby who’s desperately trying to be mature. fem reader. kageyama’s a bit of a snarky ass in this but its fine. food mention, very self indulgent. let know if i missed anything!!!! 2.3k words!

“Don’t go out with him.” He says, You sigh.

“It’s 2 hours before the date I can’t cancel it.’ You explain.  

You’ve had to explain yourself to him every hour until your date. A part of you is exasperated and the other is fond. You’ve known Kageyama Tobio all your life, maybe even longer. You’ve been by each other's sides through it all, even when he went to Karasuno instead of Aoba Johsai like he said he would. Maybe the reason he’s always at the throat of potential partners is due to the nature of your friendship you both have developed. You’ve been at every game, every airport departure and landing that you could be at. You’ve made him breakfast for his first game every season and dinner every evening of the last game of the season since middle school: pork cutlet with an egg for him, miso soup with as much tofu and nori as you can fit into the pot, with bowls of rice for you.

A part of you wonders what it is about Tobio that has earned your unwavering devotion in terms and conditions of your friendship but you have yet to find the answer. Or rather the answer you want to face. You already know that you have been in love with Tobio for as long as university, maybe even before that.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was that Kageyama has more balls than brains and has never once been moved, shaken, or touched by any aspect of love or flirtation and as such you have no idea what he looks like when he is interested. So even if there is a possibility, an iota, and inkling of the idea that Kageyama Tobio returns your feelings that are rooted, stemmed, and bloomed for the better part of your life - you’d have no way to know.

When you can't achieve greatness you settle for mediocrity. Which has led you through relationships of the same standards you’ve chased - dull and non-inspirational; just anything to rid deep navy eyes from your mind for even more than a minute. A simple-minded push and pull. 

Like ocean waves lapping at your ankles.

They were short-lived and pretty packaged distractions, all of which have led you back to the dark-haired blue eyed monster you were running from. You wonder if this is some sort of punishment for a previous life’s sins. Doomed to love never to be loved.

Tobio has had it with you, he swears as he watches you float around the corner to the corner of your apartment, starting to get ready for your accursed date. His dark brow and almost pouted mouth tell all one needs to know about how he feels the direction that your night will take and he's soured at how honest you make him. He always prided himself on his ability to keep it cool through all aspects of his life, when pushed into a corner during a game or squeezing the last bit of tutoring you gave him for an exam during finals but he hates, no loathes how you make him frown and scoff and roll his eyes so easily as if he’s like Atsumu who rarely hides his displeasure.

Tobio throughout all his life can name only a few things that made him truly and deeply happy - volleyball, grilled meat, milk, and most importantly you. He remembered the joy he felt on that winter morning in his chest when he saw your face, frosty and rosy from the cold in the stands cheering him each year at nationals no matter what. That joy has endured the scorching heat of your arguments and the freezing cold of your time apart. You are the cornerstone of his life, his own North Star in every sense of the word. That's why he thinks he drank your milk (which you still hate) at lunch when you were 6 so you could go play with him. And why he’s kept every note, letter, and shitty valentine card you’ve made him - you always gave him a card on Valentine's and he always got you matcha ice cream for White Day because you don’t like chocolate that much.

Tobio has known he’s loved you all his life, he has so many unimportant but unshareable moments with you he doesn’t think he could have this with someone else. He watches you tuck your hair behind your ear and he thinks about the time you stayed late at his place studying for finals. A cheap, canned matcha latte and a milk carton from a vending machine drip condescension onto the small table and you reach back, tucking a lock of hair from under your glasses behind your ear and Tobio stares and falls harder than he did before. He's patting his knee the day after your middle school graduation, cherry blossom petals stuck to your shoe and he still bows down to tie it for you. A week ago, he walked behind you on some stairs and tugged down your skirt, the back of his knuckles meeting the gap between your thighs and knees.

He would spend the rest of his night staring at the ridges of bone and skin that touched you so sweetly in awe - he didn’t think he was capable of handling something so carefully.

The clock in your kitchen tolls 7:30 and he glares at it like it’s his mortal enemy as if it’s to blame for the fact that the weird song and dance you two have spent your entire life performing is going off script, that he has to give you away, that someone who wants to cut your and his’s dance, It makes him feel vile and sick.

You appear in front of him, a vision and more dressed in black, carefully matching clothes that brings out the best of your features and he smells your perfume - something sweet but dark. Fiddling with your earring you spin and turn in front of him and all you are met with is a blank stare.

“You should cancel with him.” He repeats himself and your shoulders sag, you sigh and he can hear your own note to self; don’t ask Tobio for outfit opinions. Your berry-colored lips pout at him in the way they’ve always had since you were 7.

“I’m not canceling Tobio so tell me if I look good or not.” You almost whine out and a part of Tobio purrs at how he makes you act so honestly - it seems you both bring out that quality in each other. He shakes his head, he can feel his fringe tickling his forehead in the movement.

“You look beautiful - you always do. Why do you even bother? You’re gonna go and then come back, never text him back and talk about how he’s boring.” He rattles off the pattern that he’s seen you go through at least 3 times this month, and the pattern you’ve gone through before. You swallow and wet your lips, eyes meeting his before you look away.

‘You’ve never been able to look people in the eyes when you admit to something.’

“Does my unsuccessful love life annoy you? I know it’s not the most exciting one out of all your friends.” You deflect with a joke and you look up at him from the corner of your eyes and let your fingers tuck into the pockets of your coat. His face sours,

“It’s not that. It’s annoying how you settle for so little when you deserve better.” His tongue burns at his words, desperate to say what he’s wanted to say to you for so long. “Me. Choose me.”

“Yeah? What is it that I deserve? I’m lonely and I’m just trying to find someone to love - someone to love me. What is it to you? I don’t think you’ve ever liked anyone before.” You’re voice trembles at the end and his shoulders drop. His frown slackens and he sighs through his nose.

“You deserve someone who knows you and actually tries to. Not some random guy who’s planning on taking you to that Italian restaurant you hate.” You snort at the last bit - he’s right. The man who you were going out with tonight insisted on taking you to a restaurant you hated in the part of the city you hated - the food wasn’t good and traffic around there is horrible and it’s a long walk from the subway and -

“And you were wrong about something. I do like someone, I’ve liked them for a long time.” Your smile fades and you push his shoulder, the air shifts and you almost look angry at him,

“And you never told me? You asshole.” You practically hiss at him and his shoulder takes the brunt of your weak slap. He shrugs and cocks his head to the side.

“I could never tell her, life often got in the way and she’s always going on boring dates - she’s even going on one right now.” You pause as his words - sarcastic words sink into your brain and you have half a mind to slap Tsukishima for teaching him sarcasm.

“What, what do you mean by that.” You ask but you mean like a sentence and Tobio knows, he knows that because he’s loved you all the years in his life he didn’t have a soft, squishy head. His hands clench at his side as the words that burn on his tongue finally spark and ignite.

“You, I like you. To be honest I think I’ve loved you since we were toddlers.” He speaks and it feels true and you don’t know how to respond. Your brain is split down the middle both half angry and half glad. Tears sting your eyes and they burn because you line your waterline and you don’t want to smudge so you begin to shake him - well try to shake the 6 ft, professional volleyball player, before you.

“You are such a jerk! Why are you confessing to me right now when I’m going on a date?” You hiss at him and he snorts at your defensiveness before taking your hands in his and you come to a complete stop as you process how his hands fit around yours.

Perfectly.

“Because I am a jerk and I have more balls than brains, remember?” He teases you and you bite into your lip to stop from either laughing or crying.

“I don’t know why I never told you, our lives moved so fast it never felt like I could. You with your career and me with mine. We were always apart, always going our separate ways.” He tells you and you know he has a point but love makes you bratty and snot-nosed.

“So, I would have stayed if you told me sooner.” You whine and he shakes his head and this is the first you see Kageyama Tobio smile soft and gentle and you almost feel your brain melt out your ears at much of a man he looks now.

“Then you wouldn’t have done all the things you wanted to do abroad. It wouldn’t be fair.” Your tears are running now and your face feels hot and you’re sure you look like a crying 5-year-old and not like the put-together 20-something-year-old you were trying to look like not even 10 minutes ago. You feel his hand come up to your face and swipe at your cheek with his thumb and you whine at how your makeup is running.

“When did you become such a crybaby? I thought university would mellow you out. The last time you cried like this was when we watched that Pokemon movie together when we were 15.” His hand is pushed away from you and he hides the fondness on his face poorly - you look like a raccoon, with rings of black around your eyes.

“Shut up - you’re so stupid Tobio. I hate your guts.” You say and don’t mean it. He knows he’s stupid so he just smiles and huffs good-naturedly at your watery jeers. It’s hard to take you seriously when you’ve bawled like a baby in front of him.

“So? Do you like me too?” His voice is tender and you pause from rubbing your red-rimmed eyes and you look at him like he’s grown a second head. Your laugh is like this little sound that’s a mixture of a hiccup and an exasperated giggle. You rub your eyes and ignore the specks of mascara decorating your palms.

“Yes, yes I like you. Why else would I beg your mom to teach me exactly how you like your pork cutlet? “

“I just thought you are a kind person.” He shrugs.

You shake your head, “I’m not a kind person, you just bring that out of me.” 

“You make me kind too. I know I’m stupid and brash and I don’t know much about anything other than volleyball but I promise to know you. To love you like I have for all my life and for more.”  Tobio confessed and he looks into your eyes and you find yourself with a new set of tears in your eyes and you nod, shaky and timid but so incredibly happy.

“I promise to love you too. I’ll make you pork cutlet til I’m 80 and wrinkly and I’ll make sure our pet cat likes you.” You say and you’re serious Tobio fights back to snark about how you just had to bring up the way animals are averse to him. A silence envelopes you both as the realization that the song has ended, and you now hold hands for the first time. His callouses ground you to reality and Tobio can’t believe how soft your hands are on his rough skin.

“So…are you going to cancel your date, now?” He asks, voice still as serious as ever, and you sort, tuck your chin to your chest and fail to keep your shoulders from shaking as you laugh.

“Yes. Yes, I will cancel now.”

You’re laughter rings through the apartment as he raises his hand like a fist in the year and he cheers. The music cuts and you look at him fondly.

 You have found greatness after all.

[pernillemagda]

Finally managed to translate the full thing😅

1:30 - In 1971 when Denmark won the unofficial WWC the Danish commentator asked "Is there still anyone who dares to say something downgrading about women's football. Pernille "Yes, unfortunately. But luckily less and less in the past years, and when she hears it, she often just ignores them as she won't use her time on negativity.

4:30 - A typical day in camp is breakfast, training, sometimes media, treatment, some social activities and then early in bed (at least most of them she says)

5:00 - She "fears" most playing against England, and don't know what to expect from China and Haiti

6:00 - He believes Denmark can get out of the group but will meet a hard opponent. He thinks Pernille will be a key player. Pernille herself says the team will be disappointed if they don't get out of the group

8:00 - She thinks she's fit enough to play a full 90 minutes, and if she's tired after 80, she will still play the last ten (said with a smile)

9:00 - Talks about her injury and how she dealt with it mentally, ex. meditation but nothing knew

11:40 - Already when she laid in the dressing room, she knew it was a long injury

14:30 - Fun fact, she both played with Barbies and was a "tomboy"

14:50 - Talks about her short hair

15:00 - She knew very early that she was better than the others and talked about her essay. When she started to get on region teams and U-National teams she started to believe she really could go far.

16:50 - She's asked if it's only talented or also hard work. She thinks it's a mix of both and doesn't think anyone can be the best in the world if it's only talent.

17:15 - Henrik Lindinger talks about Pernille and how she's a "complete player" and how opponents have wanted pictures with her and everyone know who she is no matter where in the world she have played

19:30 - When she was 15-16 years, her big goal was to come to Germany to play which she would achieve through Sweden

20:30 - Talks about how it's nice to see different cultures and how to adapt to different team cultures

21:10 - The Bayern coach days he sees Pernille as a 9/10 which she agreed with

21:20 - Plays a clip from when she wins Danish player of the year 2015 and she says she won't be satisfied before she have won best in the world 5 times in a row. It wasn't a real goal but a meteor for achieving her full potential and be the best she can be.

23:30 - Talks about all the sacrifices she have to make when moving out from Denmark and generally be a football player.

23:50 - Her family is good to support her and visit her often, so she sees them a lot.

24:20 - Talks about a "package-deal". They never officially said they only would go together but i ly had said to their agents they would like to sign for the same club but it wasn't a demand. But she's really happy that a club like Bayern can use both of them

25:40 - We apparently got 2 times unofficial world cup Champions. The first time wasn't with a national team and Denmark didn't have any, instead a club called "FC femina" and the year after, we had a real national team who also won the WWC

26:00 - Plays a clip from the match and interviews with the former captain

27:00 - She think it's interesting to listen to the old sound files with the national team in the seventies and that they, when she was born, 20 years later, still wasn't public known.

NEW PART ADDED

28:50 - One of Pernille's goals was to make women's football more visible, she thinks she has achieved it partly, and Henrik Lindinger.

30:00 - Pernille's debutant match wasn't sent live, it got broadcaster later instead. It wasn't. until the semifinal 2013 it was broadcasted

31:00 - How was it to score a hattrick in your debutant match? Pernille: I was really nervous before the game, so after the game with a hattrick i was okay satisfied.

32:00 - Talks about the new fan club which she's very grateful for

33:50 - She's asked if she's an ambassador for women's football, and as humble as she is, she answers she is in Denmark, the host then adds she's also out of Denmark. Pernille says she's very grateful for her fans and she tries after a match to give back some of her time in the form of pictures and photographs for all the hours the fans use.

35:00 - A small feature from Helle Thorning Schmidt (Former prime Minister in Denmark) on Pernille's bravery to be herself and say her opinions

36:40 - The women got 1 million less than the men for reaching the final in 2017 compared to the men's euro in Russia. The women got 82.000 DKK. And Pernille's answer is clear NO it's not fair.

37:30 - She thinks it's hard to demand the same salary as the men, but at least the training facilities could be the same she thinks.

39:00 - Last season the average salary in the best women's League in England was 417.000 DKK and in the premiere League its 73 million DKK (174xthe women's yearly salary)

40:00 - Talk about the missed world cup in 2019 and the cancelled match against Sweden. She hadn't thought it would go that far so DBU would cancel a match for "as little as they asked for"

43:00 - Henrik Lindinger talks again about how Pernille had used her voice and how she after "the famous kiss" realized she had a platform. Pernille don't add something new about it

44:30 - It was after the kiss they both realized the platform they had as many people wrote to them how much it meant to them. She also adds about the Hangout

47:00 - Talks about how it's "normal" to come out as a women but not as a man

50:00 - she's asked what she wants to do after her football career, she has started to think about it as she's getting "older" and it should definitely still include football but she doesn't exactly know what it should be yet

50:45 - Clip with Junge. She says Pernille is a very down-to-earth person and not someone who has to be centre of attention

52:00 - After her career, she will not only think back on her football career but also her friendships around the world and how people see her as a person. She gets touched by Junge's words but as she's from Jutland (known for not showing emotions) she says she's not while smiling)

54:00 - She choose the ending song - Lykkeli with "I follow rivers"

[slythereen]

Hi! Sorry I wasn’t more clear.

Being a Charles fan I actually have nothing nice to say about the clown team. I just meant it more like Newey is not going to Ferrari because of Hamilton?

Speculation has always been since he’s joining then maybe there would be new talent in engineering or something, which I don’t think it’s happening. Two of the reasons why Ferrari has trouble in attracting new talent (from my very superficial point of view) is they are based in Italy, compared to a lot of teams based in the UK, and is really more of a state-owned institute than a race team in terms of change and efficiency. And even though there’s Fernando, but this move with the huge salary and financial backing promised for his over projects looks much more like it’s not going to be longer than 3(2+1) years. Why would engineers move all the way just to work with him for 2-3 years. And I remember reading about anti-poaching in his current contract too, so when people were excited for Mercedes talent, it’s probably not happening.

But did Newey once say he wants to work with Hamilton? Right now google only has how they are going to be at Ferrari next year(maybe). If there was then I shall concede Newey is amongst those that have always dreamed to work for Ferrari and Hamilton.

Sorry I ranted way too long. <333333

these are good points! and frankly you probably know the situation better than me, as i’m still catching up on the historical stuff and some of the… intra-team dynamics? historical dynamics?

i totally agree that ferrari is lewis’s retirement plan btw. i mean, that contract really is perfectly packaged to set him up to fulfill a dream (driving for ferrari) and then to swan off into ambassadorship with class and a good bow out. which is actually a VERY GOOD POINT regarding newey, as i hadn’t considered that! my best guess would be that newey is looking to retire soon (or now) too (and all of his recent interviews lean that way, so one last short term project with LH helping get ferrari back to excellence would be a nice send off for newey.

that being said, i frequently forget how delayed f1 development is. like, some of the poached talent ferrari is bringing in is garden leaved until 2026. newey would be working on the 2026 car — not even 2025! LH himself is out of reach until next season. it’s kind of wild to me how one bad year (cough, 2022) can set you back SO badly, because these problems can’t be fixed in a season or with any speed whatsoever (and then you get 2023…). so. it’s very possible the short term project couldn’t be very short term at all to be meaningful, which means not much of a quick little ferrari chapter before retiring peacefully.

also: yes, regarding the quote! newey said something along the lines of how he has three main regrets looking at his career, one being to work with lewis hamilton and the other to work for ferrari. (i forget what the third was because frankly it wasn’t as relevant to me 💀) it is somewhat recent i think? two months? it was circulating around during the LH to ferrari rumors because ppl were saying he could get 2/3. or maybe right after the LH to ferrari confirmation.

let me look (i think it’s around here somewhere) & will toss into the replies if i find it b/c mobile is evil and will eat this draft if i tab out to find it

[theobsessiveloser18]

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Y/n's Headcanons...

•You don't know if the slightest possibility of being pregnant crossed your mind, all your life you had been a little irregular for more than 20 years of life.

•You wouldn't have thought about getting tested until you Uninhibited friend found out about your long delay and practically threw you at the pharmacy counter

•You had the solution but you had not implemented it,First, you were too busy to bother remembering, second, you were too good at procrastinating to bother doing it, and third, but not most important, you were always Accompanied by your family, friends, neighbors and mostly your boyfriend (the possible person responsible for your 2-month delay).Because of so much neglect, the test ended up being lost, and there was no case, you had no idea where it could be, so you took the easy path of life, you bought another one (If someone came across Clumsily with the thing, you hoped it wouldn't be traumatized)You came back with some things from the market and of course the reason why you left but oh!! Surprise,surprise you hubby, He was collapsed on the couch with his faithful and according to your suspicions True love: banquet coors

“Hey”

“Why so surprised to see me hot baby?It's not like i just a repressed sexual pervert who spends his time spying on engaged women and found your window open.”You laughed internally.

“I just didn't expect that breakfast Where larusso with Amanda cutting through his 'true repressed sexual tension' would last so short. It didn't end in a fight, did it?”

“Not only did they forget that they had a commitment at some of their crappy clubs, Rich shit” You smiled at the irony

“Sure act like you've never been one of them”

“Hey! I went to those shit out of obligation... And I already told you that it's not fun to relate to Daniela that way.”

“I'm sorry, I'm just saying what all of us who don't have vision problems notice” he throwing a empty fast food package at you outside the Pellet “Fine, fine, I'm really sorry, I forgot that my Texan cowboy grandpa doesn't like that kind of jokes,Inappropriate especially in the sight of God”It was his turn to laugh “...but I thank you for not throwing me away this time A bowl”

“It was plastic...and now that I remember, I had been drunk for 3 days!!!” He said quite seriously, which surprised you, but you had already started playing and you never knew exactly when it was time to stop.

“It's not an excuse, I try to convince my family that I'm not in a toxic relationship, but these little parts don't help”

“ Man, you know I could never hurt you and still be alive” He sounded quite distressed, and you felt really bad about your inability to think before speaking, wondering if you had touched on some painful point in his past, you quickly apologized, hugging him,Assuring that it was just one of your bad jokes, he seemed to relax “we're fine?”

“You know the answer significant other”

You kiss him, and they smiled before you entered the ultimate mission without your man having any idea.

“Do you disappear so quickly? A nervous smile appeared on your face, you tried to act calm but you were really not good at this.

“You know, there is a lot to do”

“Shap I help you?”

“No!" You responded too quickly and aggressively, managing to scare him. “No, you would miss the game.”

He simply nodded, took a sip of his beer and returned. As you leaned back on the couch, you sighed in relief, hoping that he wouldn't listen to you, and being grateful that he would respect your decisions, especially when he knew that you weren't being entirely sincere or trustworthy.You would say it was trust, but maybe he was just afraid of being too annoying and losing you, he still had his insecurities, and you just hoped that your intentions to show how much you loved him would work.

After a few seconds you went up to the bathroom with your heart about to stop, wondering if they would still fine after you got answers.

Half an hour had already passed, and Johnny was watching the end of the game, when your curses, too loud, made him jump out of his chair.“what fucking demons, y/n you're okay?”At your silence, he ran towards the hallway, but before he could go up the stairs, you got off them, looking like you were going to kill someone.

You head to the refrigerator ignoring his presence“Do you have a knife hidden in the refrigerator to kill me?” If a murder was what he wanted to see, surely your look would have been enough for him.

“I'm sorry, Miss Sensitivity, I was just making one of your bad-inappropriate jokes, and as usually happens to you, they don't work...so you want to talk?” You threw the test at him while taking out a large bottle of orange juice.

“what the hell is that”

“don't touch it so much,it has a little pee”He looked at you a little strange but he kept looking at it trying to understand how it was supposed to work, he even shook it.”

“How will you explain to a very young child How people are born ?”You asked, lunging at an abandoned package of cookies you found in your fridge.

“Well, would I would tell them that...wait a damn second, is there a damn relationship between this and that?” I asked alarmed, pointing at you.

“Of course there are bees and flowers.” You responded with a naturalness unrelated to the situation.

“what the heck is wrong with you dude?”

“Okay, 2 months ago my body is forgetting a very important and constant part of its routine, so maybe in another 2 months I will be a little fatter than usual, and maybe you have something to do with that,I made it lighter chicken pie?”

He remained almost paralyzed, barely blinking and finding the strength to breathe, your insensitive state prevented you from worrying, due to the lack of his banquet coors, you offered him your new bottle of Red wine, which he hated

“Believe me buddy, it will help you” He took half of it in one sip,You sat on the couch, and found yourself with a barely bitten hamburger. “Do you mind if I finish it?”He quickly denied, “Thank you…drunker, but generous, I have always told my family.” You commented carelessly, he still didn't recover, he gave you a few minutes to eat.

“So... What are we going to do... I mean... what's going to happen to...?”

“the baby, I'm having it”

“rigth”It was the only thing he could say.

“Even so, sometimes the tests come out bad, I may not be pregnant, I will do another one later and it makes you feel better, I could go for a blood test, those never fail.” he walked from one side to the other, he stayed still, he didn't know where to look, he didn't touch the wine bottle again, he looked at the test from time to time

“Look, Johnny, you shouldn't worry, I can handle this” you commented, rubbing your belly

“I have no doubt about that, I know who my women is” You smiled a little at him but he wasn’t done yet “I don't worry about you, I know that even if you claimed you could handle it, you would have company...it's just that

...

“I would like to be part of that company, I would like to be the biggest supporter, I want to be the most involved, maybe... even of the two”

This time you were left speechless and breathless, You couldn't blush naturally, but if you could you would be a mutant tomato right now, you had fallen a little more in love.

“There are many things that I have done wrong and others that I simply have not solved, and the baby should not be an excuse to forget everything I have done and what I have not done, but I want it to be a kick to this Fuckin’ curse I’ve established my whole life, I want to stop ruining things,For Robby, for Miguel, for Sharon, and especially for you, I want to be there and do this right.”The shine in your eyes almost managed to distract him, but this time he was determined to say what he really felt "unless of course it makes you uncomfortable?"

“I would never throw you out of this Johnny, I only made the way for you if You would like to leave”

“Well, I don't want to leave."

"So we're in this together." You stood up and extended your arms and he came up to hug you.

"I don't have the slightest experience, so let's learn together."

"You're going to have to Be patient with me” you laughed

“and you with me” when he separated, he took the test again

“So there are 2 babies huh”

“Why would they be!?”

“Two lines”

“Johnny that means positive, that is, there is a baby, the amount is discovered in an examination with a doctor, and a device” he seemed to understand, but you were confused and you took your phone

"What are you doing?"

“I don't remember if 2 lines is positive or negative” he laughed until he cried

“Yes we will definitely have a lot of fun”

[golden-flute]

Dragon Prince continues to amaze me

Why hello there! I’ve been AWOL on Tumblr for a hot minute, but I finished season 4 of Dragon Prince at like 4:30 a.m. and now have to break down my thoughts or I’ll explode. Sorry if it ends up kind of long and disjointed. Buckle up, buttercup! Spoilers, obvs.

First, Soren and Claudia’s Confrontation Deep Dive

So this is what has taken up most of my brain’s bandwidth since I watched episode 7. Soren is one of my top favorite characters (others include Amaya, Gren, Runaan, and Bait), so I’m totally invested in his growth. Claudia is also very high up on my favorites list and her negative character arc is so amazing to watch. I’m a sucker for complex character stories where not everything ends up tied into a perfect package. This sounds a little sadistic, but I love watching characters struggle and fight for every morsel of happiness they can get their hands on, especially when their desires conflict with each other’s. Just like Soren and Claudia!

I suspect that this is not going to be the only confrontation these two have with each other throughout the remaining seasons. By the end of their conversation in episode 7 of season 4, nothing had really changed, and I think a part of that is due to how Soren approached Claudia. He painted everything in broad strokes, saying that understood how she felt because he had been on “the wrong side,” implying that Claudia was still on the wrong side and, by proxy, a bad person. But he also wanted to make it clear that change was possible. She could still be saved, in a way.

Soren was being aboslutely genuine and heartfelt. He clearly loves Claudia or he wouldn’t have tried to talk to her at all. And from our perspective, he’s absolutely right in his convictions! He’s basically telling Claudia what we, the audience, have been saying for the last three years. But, as we know, Soren is not exactly a “words guy,” and his desperate attempts to make her see things the way he does fall short. Claudia isn’t in the headspace yet where she’s ready for the sort of self-reflection that Soren had already undergone.

Claudia is an incredibly complex person with different motives and world views than her brother, even before they grew apart. Soren, I think, is more comfortable with seeing the world in black and white, and that’s how he explained himself and his thoughts to Claudia. But if/when he speaks with her again, he will have to get on her level and take all of her thoughts, feelings, and motivations into account without talking down to her from a pedestal of righteousness (which is how I think how Claudia would have perceived the episode 7 conversation to be). Only then will Claudia be able to listen and not feel as though he’s trying to take advantage of her, or making her choose sides--something she clearly has an aversion to.

Which brings me to my other thought: I think Soren is going to have another crisis of conscience before the end of the final season. Maybe not as big as the one he had in season 3, because I think that moment fundamentally swayed his morals. But we still have three seasons to go, and I don’t think all of it will be filled with an unchanging, flower-child Soren, beautiful as he is. That wouldn’t necessarily be interesting, and I don’t think Aaron Ehasz would let such a fantastic character off the hook that easily, lol. I’d honestly be fine if Soren stayed in his pure boy form, because he’s so fun to watch.

Buuuut where he’s at right now reminds me a lot of Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2, after he recovered from his illness. At that point, Zuko believed himself cured of any and all bad feelings ever, but it only took seeing Azula again to bring all the trauma back. I don’t think we’ll see as big of a change for Soren (after all, he’s already seen Viren--the primary source of his trauma--again), but there are still a lot of unresolved aspects of his life that need to be ironed out before he truly earns his peace. A big part of his future character changes will revolve around his relationships with Claudia and Viren.

All I really have to say at this point is that I’m so amazed and delighted by Soren as a character. At first, I sort of wrote him off as guy who filled the stereotypical, comical “dumb jock” role, but he’s so much more complex than that, and I really can’t wait to see how his story progresses, whether I’m right or wrong in my guesses.

Next, Soren and Viren

One of my main disappointments from season 4 was the lack of any sort of progression with Soren and Viren’s relationship. And I don’t mean that I expected them to resolve all their differences and decide to be bffs or anything. But... I didn’t expect to get... nothing. If the creators had kept the two separate for the entirety of the season, I would have honestly been fine with that. But they had them meet again, face-to-face, only to have no confrontation at all.

It felt really unsatisfying to go from the end of episode 7, where Soren had such a visceral reaction to learning about Viren’s resurrection, to the start of episode 9, where they’re just quietly walking side-by-side with no context for what happened in between those two moments. Did they talk? Did Soren shut down? Did Viren give him the silent treatment? Did Claudia keep them apart until they entered the Rex Igneous’s lair? We don’t know, all bets are off! And then afterward, Soren acted like it hadn’t happened. I just hope that they don’t just put any conversations in a comic or something, because I think it’s such an important part of Soren’s character. It would feel almost disrespectful to banish their relationship development to a different media format that not everyone may read/see.

I’m hoping this means the writers plan to have a little fun with the whole scenario in future seasons. Soren, Rayla, Callum, and possibly Ezran all have seen Viren alive now, which puts a huge target on Team Aaravos’ backs. Buuuuuut, if Viren kept mum during his and Soren’s reunion, there’s a chance Soren may think that Claudia was conjuring an illusory version, the way she did in season 3. Perhaps they may try to manipulate Soren into thinking it was an illusion to both put Team Ezran off their scent and diminish Soren’s reputation, just like when Viren threw Soren under the bus before about their murder-the-princes “misunderstanding.” At the very least, this sort of scenario would make for an interesting AU fanfic, lol.

I’m trying to keep myself open-minded about this particular issue. I think I feel a bit more rushed about it because I’m imagining the wait between seasons 3 and 4 and thinking of how long we’d have to wait to see anything more from father and son. But the creators have said in recent interviews that the three-year wait was an anomaly caused by the pandemic, and that they’ll be resuming a more regular schedule again. When I think about only having to wait 5-9 months for the next installment, my frustration about the lack of progress in this particular vein subsides a bit.

But still, it would have been nice to get a little more from those precious few Soren/Viren moments if they were going to bring them up at all this season.

Ezran’s Speech

I’m actually really surprised I haven’t seen more people talking about Ez’s speech in episode 3! But then again, after binging the entire season, so much had happened that I’d forgotten about it myself until I went back to watch a bit more carefully. But it was a really powerful moment.

Once again, I saw some ATLA parallels, but I figure if they’re deliberately putting them in anyway, I might as well call them out, lol. I got major Zuko vs. Azula Agni Kai vibes when watching Claudia and Ibis get into an absolutely gnarly fight while Corvus played the fantasy-cello. Something about string instruments playing over really bitter encounters really transforms the moment. It becomes sad rather than epic. Paired with Ezran’s speech about holding love and anger at the same time adds another layer to it as well.

The thing I found most interesting about Claudia and Ibis facing off is that these are two characters known for holding the prejudices that Ezran speaks about. In season 3, Ibis initially brushed Callum off for wanting to learn magic as a human. And even when Callum proved he knew the Sky Arcanum, Ibis told him to run. I think, given, time, he may have changed his tune, and perhaps he did. But from what we saw, he did carry some bias against humans. And then there’s Claudia, who hates so thoroughly that humans are looked down upon by elves and dragons. At first, I thought that might have been Aaravos’ influence on her, but as I re-watched a few key moments in previous seasons, I found a moment that she and Callum talk at the start of season 2, where she also voices similar opinions--that humans were born with nothing but that’s why Dark magic levels the playing field. I think Aaravos just fed that belief in her, but it already existed. Also the fact that Claudia is currently dating an elf! So, in a way, she is also holding her love and anger at the same time. I can imagine it gives her complicated feelings. Brings me back to Rayla calling Callum out for saying that she may be an elf, “but a good elf.”

To have these two particular characters who feel so strongly in their convictions fight while Ezran talks about old wounds just hit the mark. It was a really poignant, if not slightly heavy-handed moment. I don’t feel totally equipped or at rights to find the parallels in today’s world, but I felt them pretty hard during this scene. “Sobering” is a good word to describe it.

Other, less composed, out of order thoughts

Season 4 was very much a transitory season. It was setting up the final three seasons, so it’s understandable that we got more questions than answers this time around. I’m just glad we (hopefully) won’t have to wait another three years for the next season!

The animation was SUPER clean and beautiful this season! There were a few moments that really stood out to me, particularly in the way that Callum gesticulates. Tiny, subtle movements that they could easily leave out but don’t, such as him accidentally knocking his hand into the Tome of Translation when he asks Bait “now what?” Or rubs his face in frustration. Callum is just a jittery, hyper guy, and it’s especially noticeable when those quirks are suppressed by Aaravos’ possession of him. Callum is all about short, quick movements, but as Aaravos, he was slow, fluid, and confident. It was just the perfect amount of unsettling to watch and I loved it.

I love Zubeia so much. We’ve seen badass human moms, and a badass elf mom before, and now we can add badass dragon mom to the list. Honorable mention to the badass aunt!

Corvus is a musician, and I love it so much!

Terry has been adopted by the fandom and I am HERE. FOR. IT. Before the season came out, I saw exactly one (1) comment speculating that he was trans, and I’m so glad they confirmed it in the show! Especially since the comment pointed out that there’s very little representation for trans people who are actively in the transition process. I can’t speak for the trans community, but I feel like Terry could be much-welcomed representation in that regard.

I really love how pure Terry is. I feel like he sort of filled Soren’s vacant role in Claudia’s life as “her doof.” I’m willing to bet we’ll see a comic of Claudia’s travels in those two years, and their subsequent meeting. I’m curious how they found each other and discovered their attraction for one another.

Terry’s megane-shine picture in the credits gave me evil scientist vibes and I love it so much. His curiosity about creating mystery flubber out of Sir Sparklepuff’s chrysalis goo (a string of words as weird and random as the situation which prompted them) was really fun as well.

Viren is a lot of things, but he’s not transphobic. Yet another example of complex, layered characters. Even the “bad guys” can have decent qualities.

Trees to meet you is a thing, lol.

I’d never really shipped Soren with anyone before, but after watching his and Corvus’ interactions in episode 1, I would not be mad at their ship sailing if they felt so inclined. TBD.

More Gren and Amaya friendship! I love seeing those two together, they add years to my life.

Janai’s proposal actually made me cry, it was so cute. And their “two cakes” conversation was so tender and sweet.

The whole conflict between the Sunfire elves and humans in the camp could be an entirely other essay, but again, I don’t really feel equipped to write about it (also it’s like 1am now and my brain isn’t braining well enough to go in-depth about it). But I did notice the parallels with our own current societal problems, and appreciated that, in the end, the answer wasn’t to decide between right and wrong, but to find a way to learn and grow together. (But also that the offender had to show up for her actions and resolved to make things right--though it would have been nice to also see her apologize directly to the elf that she wronged and not just his leader).

Sir Sparklepuff is half creepy, half adorable, and half bizarre. And yes, I know that’s three halves. He gave me major Gollum vibes when he first crawled out of his chrysalis.

LIZARD IN A HAT.

I appreciated that Rex Igneous apologized to Zym when he realized he’d been talking shit about his late papa.

I also appreciated the dragon saber-rattling contest at the end. Again, Zubeia is awesome.

Soren spending half the season in floral pajamas was something I didn’t know I needed.

Also, Soren with the butterfly was pure and delightful. And also a great contrast to Viren and Claudia, who would have seen the butterfly as a means to gain magic. Soren saw the magic of its life, throwing him into sharp contrast with his family.

People have already spotted the parallels between How to Train Your Dragon and Soren befriending Squeaky, but I also KNOW in my heart that we’ll see fanart of Soren in the Chris Pratt Jurassic World pose, like he’s "taming” a bunch of widdle dragons/velociraptors, lol.

RIP Ibis. I talked shit about him a bit, but he really was a cool character.

I swing between being amused by the fart jokes and tired of them. Claudia’s season 1 “It wasn’t the hooooorse” still cracks me up to this day, but I may have to draw the line at “It smells SO good when he farts!”

Again, no Runaan, but RAYLA HAS THE COINS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

I really like that they kind of nerfed Viren in this season. He’s obviously recovering from actually being dead, and he’s also dealing with trauma over how he died. So few adults admit to having similar troubles, so it was neat to see an adult in a show display some vulnerability, even if he’s objectively an evil adult, haha.

I’ve seen some speculation about whether Rayla is actually fully Rayla or not. I’m kind of inclined to agree. Something about her is off. The best argument I saw for this hypothesis was someone pointing out that she argued NOT to defend Squeaky from the Earthblood elf guy, even when Soren was raring to jump in. Season 2 Rayla would have absolutely slapped the bejeezus out of season 4 Rayla for walking away from a dragon in need. Miss “It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s the right thing for ME to do” did not show up that night, and it’s... suspicious. Also the fact that she didn’t remember Ibis’s name? What changed? Signs point to Stella, with her... giant, unblinking eyes that give me Furby vibes, lol. Did she affect Rayla somehow? What happened to Rayla in those two years? She just showed up with no explanation. I think she is actually Rayla, at least physically, based on the fact that she also gave up chasing Viren and Claudia to save her parents and Runaan and also made a very heartfelt speech about how Runaan and Ethari were like fathers to her. That felt super genuine, so... I don’t know where the cutoff is for where the Rayla we know is and who we hung out with for most of season 4.

Soren recognizing the mirror and trying to offer Callum advice on his obsession with magic to avoid seeing him go the same way as Viren.

Also Soren suggesting to Claudia that the world might be better off without magic. I wonder if that’ll be foreshadowing for something?

I can’t believe this is so far down on my list, but Aaravos possessing Callum was SO intense! I actually gasped when Callum turned his head to show his blackened eyes. Aaravos knew exactly how to get to each of them, and I loved it. But then after Aaravos released Callum, it was KIND OF discussed a couple times, but it was just like they were talking about the weather or something. I don’t know... between this and dropping the ball on Soren’s reaction to Viren, this season kind of went wild when it came to following through on some of the most interesting talking points of the entire plot.

I’m surprised how little Aaravos showed up this season, especially since they rebranded it “Mystery of Aaravos.” At least we got a little of his sexy, sexy voice. Erik Dellums, you’ve done it again.

I’m SO excited to see what the creators have got planned for Callum. He was talking to Rayla about his concerns on whether he’s on a path to darkness. One thing I love about this series is that they also explore the concept of “too much of a good thing.” Like I said before, Soren is just too happy and pure for it to last three more seasons--I bet his beliefs will be challenged at some point and he’ll have to defend them. And I think Callum will face a similar challenge when it comes to his obsession with magic. I TOTALLY understand feeling like you can never do anything right and finding that one thing you’re good at and latching onto it. But then when it becomes your entire personality, you run the risk of narrowing your life path to just one, inevitable end. His greatest strength has also become his greatest weakness. I have a feeling that Callum will have to explore that concept a bit in later seasons, with the help of Aaravos, of course. I don’t think he’ll go Claudia-level darkness--he’s pretty self-aware of this potential danger--but I wonder if he’ll become a bit more morally gray as the series progresses. I’m here for it, if that’s the case! I love me some dark character development, after all.

God, how long is this list? I didn’t realize I had this much floating around in my head.

I adored the rock golems! Their designs were GORGEOUS! Did anyone else catch the Over the Garden Wall Easter Egg in the credits? My friends and I adore OtGW and try to watch it every year, and I got way too excited by that find, lol.

Zubeia and Soren’s friendship is so wholesome.

I wonder if we’ll ever see Soren and Claudia’s mom? IS SHE THE NEW URSA? ;P

I’m kind of glad that they backtracked on Callum and Rayla’s relationship. Watching two fifteen-year-olds admit their undying love for each other at the end of season 3 left me with kind of a bad taste in my mouth. That probably sounds a bit unfair, since I know there are plenty of high school sweethearts out there who become each other’s endgames, but... I guess it felt rushed. Season 1-3 covered the span of... what? A few weeks, maybe? A month, at most? In that time, Callum and Rayla went from mortal enemies, to strangers, to friends, to romantic interests. My guess is the writers did that so there would be some sort of closure in case they didn’t get renewed for more seasons, which is fine. But it always just felt off. So I’m glad that a) they backed off a bit this season and are working through a bump in their relationship, b) said relationship is still being worked on at the end of the season, and c) Rayla and Callum communicated their concerns with each other and respected each other’s boundaries. It makes it feel much more realistic and less cookie-cutter. And I’m glad they were renewed for all seven seasons so they don’t feel pressured to rush the relationship development again.

The Earthblood elf designs are so cool! I really love all the elf designs, but the Earthblood elves are really fun and different! Also Terry in activated Earthblood elf mode was so badass! More, more, more! ;P

YIP YIP!

Sad that we didn’t see a glowed-up Queen Anya!

Or Ellis and Ava. Or Lujanne. Didn’t she meet a human while she was on her prank war tangent?

I wonder how our favorite blind, narcoleptic ship captain, Villads-with-a-silent-D, is doing.

Congrats to the Associate Crow Lord on his promotion and his... um... excitement over rare Xadian birds, lol.

At the end of the day, Dragon Prince is a kids show, but I really appreciate that they don’t shy away from real-world issues. They offer a chance for us to view our world through the (more comfortable) lens of a fantasy world. We can see ourselves reflected in these characters, who are incredibly complex and three-dimensional. No one is fully good or fully evil, not Claudia or Viren, or Soren, Ez, or Zym. Maaaaybe Aaravos, lol. I love it when content geared towards kids recognizes that kids are a hell of a lot smarter than they’re given credit for and they don’t talk down to them or avoid covering more difficult subjects. It’s shows like this that will shape today’s kiddos in the same way that shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender shaped my generation.

Okay, I think I might actually be done.

If you’re still reading, you rock! What were some of your favorite part of Dragon Prince?

[babuis]

— feelings are for shitheads : Suna x Reader - [1]

Synopsis: Of course you would be the one unfortunate enough to end up falling for someone you already friend zoned.

Word count: 3.2k

Genre: fluff, college au, slowburn

Pairings: College!auSuna x Reader

Another fic based off of my own life :) Barely any Suna in this part tbh. Side note, Suna actually isn’t from Hyogo- he’s from Aichi! He was scouted by Inarazaki which is in Hyogo. I mention this in here so just a disclaimer.

Perhaps if you had broken up with your long distance boyfriend earlier you wouldn’t be this distracted the day before your last final of the semester. Your math textbook sat on the floor among the storm of scratch paper and worksheets, mocking you as your scrolled through your camera roll.

It shouldn’t be this hard to find good photos of you, you think to yourself. However, each photo you see of yourself alone is too old, too bright, too risqué. 

And on the other side, all the ones you actually like of yourself is with your ex boyfriend.

You sighed as you scrolled back to the beginning of your camera roll- what constituted for a good Tinder profile picture anyway?

It had been almost a year since you had been single. Turning 18 during your relationship meant that you had never even thought about making a Tinder account- much less touch the damn app.

Yet here you were, sitting on the floor of your dorm bedroom, making an account to prove to your friends (and yourself) that you were totally over your ex boyfriend from back home.

Deciding to stop nitpicking, you chose your photos and included a video of your cat. Afterall, you and your cat were a package deal, even if you couldn’t bring him to university with you.

This wouldn’t lead to anything serious anyway, you decided. Since you were leaving Kobe University which was all the way in Hyogo to go back to Tokyo for the break anyway.

Within minutes of setting your profile up, you noticed at the bottom of the screen it said that 56 people had swiped right on you already. And despite not looking for anything serious, you felt your ego boosted immediately. 

Your gaze shifted from your phone screen to the copious amount of work littering your floor. Since your exam was tomorrow, you knew that it was a good idea to resume studying.

However...

With such a shiny new toy in your hands, you couldn’t resist swiping.

‘Just 5 minutes,’ you promised yourself. 5 more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

However, 10 minutes and 20 matches later, your worksheets were forgotten as you were too busy texting back the random guys on the app.

Cramming for an exam wasn’t good for you anyway.

You smiled victoriously to yourself- this would prove to your friends that you were over your ex for good now.

You were better than being hung up over a guy in the year below you. It was silly for you to think long distance would work out. Sillier to think that your boyfriend would wait for you- that he was okay with only seeing you on breaks.

You were the one who left to go to school all the way in Hyogo, after all, leaving him in Tokyo.

However, nearing the end of your first semester of your first year, you couldn’t say you regretted the decision. 

Your friends had nothing to worry about. The lingering texts between the two of you meant nothing- the huge question mark on your ended relationship meant nothing. They didn’t have to worry about you going to see him over this break.

You were over him. The flame app on your phone was enough proof of that. The 20 guys in your dms was proof of that.

As the clock hit 2:18 AM you felt your eyelids grow heavy. Your grip on your phone slackened, but not before you could swipe right on the last match of the night: Suna Rintaro.

Across campus in his own dorm, Suna’s fingers twitched as he stared at his latest tinder match, debating on whether to make the first move or not. He had been swiping on Tinder that night because he was unbearably horny.

It wasn’t like he couldn’t hit up any of his matches he already had. However, after talking to all of them, it was apparent that they all wanted something from him that he couldn’t give.

After a few conversations with them, he would get bored. And if he did make plans to meet up with them, he would conveniently forget and not show up anyway.

Ami had demanded for an apology after he pulled that stunt just a few weeks ago, and he couldn’t even bother to reply.

He knew it was a dick move, but he was currently thinking with his dick.

However, if he put “just casual sex” in his bio, he would get no matches. So he opted for putting “Clever bio” out of laziness.

The interesting ones would hit him up anyway.

His eyes flickered up to the little clock in the corner of his phone screen reading 2:20 AM.

He yawned, deciding not to hit anyone up for the night. It was too late now, and he was tired anyway. Not to mention, he would be leaving Hyogo to go home to Aichi soon for break anyway.

Y/n L/n he read your name, ‘she’s fucking hot.’

~~~~~~~

You slightly regretted your decision to procrastinate the next day as you practically chained yourself to a desk in the library before your math exam. You were studying with a classmate in the same major.

“Ya’ got this question wrong,” Osamu pointed out to you, underlining the problem in red.

You sighed, feeling slightly embarrassed at how terribly you were doing in front of a classmate you barely even knew.

You erased your answer and scanned over the problem again, reworking it on a separate sheet of paper.

“Why don’t you become a math major instead of a business administration major?” you quipped at him jokingly.

The black haired man snorted, “Nah, I’m gonna open ma’ own business. Why the hell would I want ta’ write random numbers all day?”

“I hate math,” you mumbled, showing him your reworked answer, “This right?”

“Mmm,” he hummed, “Alright, that was the last question. We’re good ta’ go.”

You groaned, rubbing your temples, “Man, I’m so fucked.” Your anxiety faded as quickly as it came, “Whatever. I only need a 60 to get a B in the class.”

“Nice,” Osamu nodded, “ya’ got this.”

You flashed him a wry smile, knocking on the wooden desks lightly, “Don’t jinx it- but thanks. We should have studied together earlier.”

“We can if we have ta’ retake the class,” Osamu snorted, “but I would rather not. No offense ta’ you.”

You waved your hand lazily, “None taken. Good luck.”

You packed up your things, bidding good bye to the man. Sending a quick text to your friend to confirm your lunch plans, you almost walked straight into the door if not for someone opening it to enter right as you left.

However, you were clueless to the action and continued to make your way to the cafeteria.

As you trekked across campus, you opened Tinder. However, you were unprepared for the huge flux of dms and number of matches you had gotten while your phone was off.

You scrolled through the matches, internally cringing as you see some of the people you had swiped right on in your sleepy haze.

Note to self: don’t use tinder late at night.

However, your thumbs stopped moving as your eyes caught onto a certain guy you couldn’t quite remember matching with. However, you couldn’t say you regretted the match either.

Suna Rintaro, You read his name to yourself.

And while you admitted the man was attractive with his foxy eyes and perfected, barely there smile- he gave you almost nothing to work with. A picture of a white dog didn’t tell you much and his bio consisted of only “clever bio.”

Biting your lip, you swiped up to message him. 

After 5 minutes of thinking, you could only think of “clever introduction,” before hitting send.

It wasn’t your best, but if it didn’t work out, you would pin the blame on the male’s boring profile instead. 

You grabbed some lunch before finding a vacant table to wait for your friend. You felt slightly nostalgic as you looked around. It was here that your friend and you had first met- with her accidentally spilling some water on you.

Bzzt Bzzt

Your eyes found their way back to your screen, a single notification telling you that Suna Rintaro had messaged you back.

Clever, the text read, Want me to put that through plagiarism checker?

You laughed a bit to yourself, quickly typing out a response, what else is a girl supposed to work with?

In mere moments, another text popped up from the male. How about you start with introducing yourself for real?

You can read my profile you quipped back jkjk. Y/n L/n, first year. You?

Suna Rintaro. First year. Where u from?

“Sorry I’m late Y/n!”

The sound of your friends voice caused you to close out of the app, deciding to focus on her instead of the pixels behind the screen. The girl was huffing as if she had run across campus.

“You look like you ran a marathon, Heiran,” you mused, scooting your things on the table over so the girl could put her food down.

“Running across campus might’as well be one,” said girl muttered, plopping down in the seat across from you. “Who were ya texting that’s gotcha smilin’ like that?”

You rolled your eyes, chewing on some beef, “Not who you think, that’s for sure.”

“Good, and I don’t want ta’ hear that ya’ met up with him over the break either,” she stared you down seriously as she stabbed a piece of broccoli on her plate.

You rolled your eyes. holding up 3 fingers together, “Scouts honor. Besides, I’m over him.”

“Suuuure,” Heiran eyes you warily, “This is the first break you’ll be home since ya’ broke up with him.”

“And? Heiran, it’s all good, I swear. I even downloaded Tinder yesterday and have chatted up at least 24 different guys,” You showered her the app on your home screen as proof.

Seeing the little flame, your friend’s eyes lit up, “Oooooh! Lemme see yer’ profile!”

You tapped on the app, letting her looking at your profile but snatching it back before she could snoop through your messages.

“Yer’ hot,” Yuki said, wiggling her eyebrows, “Anyone notable?”

You shrugged, powering your phone off, “Not really. I’m not really looking for anything serious- it’s just fun to flirt around. I’m leaving for home tomorrow morning anyway.”

At the mention of going home, Heiran’s eyes shined again and the conversation steered in a different direction.

Having too much fun catching up with your friend, Suna’s message remained forgotten in your pocket, leaving him wondering if you had already gotten bored (or warned) as he hung out with the Miya’s on the other side of campus.

~~~~~~~

It wasn’t until your second day back at home that you had remembered that you had the dating app downloaded.

“Y/n, you dog you downloaded Tinder???”

Kuroo had been looking through your phone as you played Smash Bros against Kenma on the couch. How the tall male knew your password was unknown to you but you barely had time to dwell on the thought before you lunged towards Kuroo to get your phone back.

“Y/n!” Kenma yelled at you, “get back here!”

You gritted your teeth, snatching your phone back, “He’s snooping through my phone!”

“Ok? What dirty e-sex are you having that you’re so embarrassed about?” Kuroo teased you, picking up the controller you had abandoned.

You rolled your eyes, shoving the male’s shoulder, “I’m not having e-sex!” you quipped back, “Besides, I forgot I had even downloaded it. My math final kicked my ass.”

You checked your phone for any signs of tampering, but when you found nothing, you opened Tinder. Seeing the opened but unanswered message from Suna made you blanch.

You had accidentally left this man on read for 3 days.

Tokyo, how about you?

Sorry for the late text, my math final kicked my ass.

You doubted you would get a response. After all, you were on break and nobody in their right mind would start something would start something with someone currently in a different prefecture.

However, just one game of smash later, you had gotten a response.

And here I thought you had gotten bored after 3 minutes.

Who uses a dating app during vacation?

In all honesty, Suna had debated on whether he would respond or not. After all, he wasn't really looking for an emotional connection.

But, at the same time, he wouldn't mind waiting until getting back to campus to fuck. You were just that fine.

He wouldn't mind indulging you a little, he supposed.

Me, apparently.

What are you up to?

Suna's dog, Moose, whined from next to him as he took a break from petting the dog.

Playing with Moose

His hand found its way back to Moose's head, scratching right below the ears where he knew his pet loved. The heat from the kotatsu made him blink drowsily.

You have a moose?

Oh wait no.

That's the name of the dog in ur profile right?

You wanted to smack yourself at your first message- who just had a moose?

And why did tinder not have a unsend option?

Suna chuckled as he read your messages.

Yea my dog's name is moose.

Sorry I don't have a real one laying around.

I see you got a cat.

At the mention of your baby, your face brightened, eager to gush about him to a random- albeit handsome- stranger.

Yea! Her name is Mayo.

Suna's eyebrows rose at the name. He thought Moose had a strange name, but Mayo was up there within the list of interesting pet names.

Moose and Mayo.

What are you up to?

Your fingers flew across your screen as you responded.

Waiting for my turn for Smash.

Unbeknownst to you, Kuroo and Kenma's match had ended a little while ago, and they were choosing to watch you instead of the screen.

The two friends shared knowing looks at the little grin on your face.

Despite his earlier teasing, Kuroo was glad you had downloaded Tinder and seemed happier. Despite you claiming you had been over your ex, he knew better.

This ex was your first ex and you had been madly in love. He knew the two of you still texted, dancing along the lines of friendship and dating.

With you living on the other side of him, Kuroo could see you late at night playing video games with your ex online since you always forgot to close your curtains.

Kenma was also intrigued at your reaction. It had been very long since he saw you smiling down at your phone in such a way.

Before the break up, more often than not, there was a slight frown on your face while you were on your phone when you visited home. Your ex leaving yet another message of yours unread or open.

It was always 'do you think he wants to break up?' 'why won't he answer?' 'who's this girl?'

And while he would never think your worries were annoying, he was glad to see you slowly moving on.

"Alright little Miss Y/n," Kuroo startled you out of your little world, "I lost. You gonna avenge me or what?"

"Give me a sec," you told the boy, not wanting to leave Suna on read out of nowhere again.

Alright, it's my turn to get wiped in Smash Bros

I'll ttyl

Not even a few seconds later came Suna's reply.

Later

Have fun

You pocketed your phone, giving Kuroo the stink eye as you did so.

The rooster head laughed in surrender, handing you the controller.

"Don't be embarassed," he jabbed, "what type of e-sex are you having?"

"Fuck off!" You chucked a pillow at his head, which he caught easily.

Ding Dong

"The universe really doesn't want you to win a round," Kenma snorted as he stood up to get the door.

You rolled your eyes, wiggling on the cushion, "Sorry I don't play video games all day. You expecting more company?"

"Nah, it's probably my mom," Kenma replied, turning the knob.

"SENPAI!"

At the loud chorus of yells, you turned around to look at the door. Your eyes met beady green ones and in a split second, you had shot up from your seat on the couch to go and hug the boy.

“Lev!” you exclaimed, squeezing the tall boy as tight as possible, “I missed you!”

Despite being surprised to find you there, he hugged you back, just as excited, “Ah! Senpai, you’re at Kenma’s house! I missed you too!”

The Russian lifted you off the ground for a few moments before setting you back down and freeing you from the hug.

Kuroo had also walked over, choosing to give the younger boy a hug, strongly clasping his shoulders.

“I heard you became captain,” he greeted Lev.

Hearing his title, Lev sheepishly smiled, “Was I that annoying as a first year too?”

“Hey!” Indignant cried came from behind Lev’s back, making you lean over to see past him.

Kenma sighed as he saw the entirety of Nekoma High’s new volleyball team outside his door, “Lev...” he said warningly.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Lev clasped his hands together, looking guilty, “We let it slip that the Kuroo and Kenma were in town for their winter vacations and the volleyball team wanted to meet you.”

“We?” you questioned the male.

“Ack! Sorry for falling behind- the fried chicken smelled really good so I had to buy some!”

From the familiar voice, your body froze, completely missing the apologetic glance that Lev had sent you. He hadn’t known you would be hanging out with Kuroo and Kenma. If he had, he wouldn’t have brought the volleyball team with him, and in turn, his co captain-

“Inuoka?” you breathed out, barely audible.

Your ex, not expecting to see you, also froze, smile dropping from his face for a split second. The two of you stood their, staring at each other for the longest time. 

Your heart beat loudly in your chest as you cursed out your younger friend for practically dragging you into the lion’s den. Despite all your insisting that Inuoka had no effect on you, seeing your ex in person again after months had your entire body reacting.

Curse his stupid, cute smile.

“Hey,” he grinned sheepishly at you, “It’s been a while.”

Not wanting to cause a scene in front of Nekoma’s new first and second years, you mustered up a smile yourself.

“Hey.”

As if reading your mind, Inuoka clasped a hand around your elbow, “Let’s catch up,” he said, pulling you towards your house, “privately,” he added under his breath for only you to hear.

You could only mutely nod, trying to give Kuroo, Kenma, and Lev your best it’s okay smile despite feeling like you were on fire. The place where Inuoka touched you felt like it was burning and you prepared yourself for what was coming next.

Whatever that was.

[tameodesza]

Dead Ends (BretShawn) ch.3

<<ch.2 | masterlist | AO3 link | ch.4>>

Summary: The men explore the camp, and Bret takes a trip down memory lane.

Date: May 7, 1996 Time: 2:03 pm Location: Abandoned summer camp

The men spent most of the afternoon exploring and checking the perimeters of the camp to ensure that there was no immediate threat in the area.

Bret first led them through each of the five small cabins that surrounded the main building. They searched the cabins meticulously of not only Walkers, but other survivors as well. Fortunately, they’d only been met with dusty bunk beds, cobwebs, and tiny rodents.

They then headed to the main building which consisted of the dining hall, kitchen, office, recreation room, supply room, and medical center.

The medical center was Shawn’s holy grail as he’d stocked up on various supplies – pain medicine, gauze, bandages, ointment, and whatever else he could stuff in the front compartment of his backpack. He’d had one too many close walls with Walkers, and the last thing he wanted was Walker juices getting into an open wound.

“Here,” said Shawn as he tossed Bret a few bandages and alcohol pads.

Bret barely caught them, unprepared for the sudden throw. “What do you want me to do with these?”

“Cover your wounds. We both got scratched up back at my cabin.” The scrapes that Shawn and Bret had collected on their hands from escaping through the broken window were light cuts that were probably already healing, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Bret did as he was told, hissing a bit at the sting of the alcohol before covering the back of his hand with a large bandage.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t been as lucky while exploring the kitchen.

“Dammit,” Shawn grimaced as he opened yet another empty cabinet. “What type of summer camp doesn’t keep snacks around?”

“Well seeing as the virus began to spread early in the year, I’m pretty sure the camp was closed.”

“Still,” Shawn said as he moved to a lower cabinet, “There’s gotta be something in here.”

And that’s when he found it. Not snacks, but two full cases of bottled water that seemed to have been accidentally left behind.

Like a kid opening presents on Christmas Day, Shawn wasted no time ripping open the plastic packaging. He tossed Bret a bottle before cracking open one of his own.

The water was warm and tasted a bit stale, but both men greedily downed their bottles, not caring about rationing for once since there was plenty of water available.

Bret had just finished his second bottle, saying satisfactorily, “God, I really needed that.” Bret hadn’t drank clean water since leaving the bunker, so he was extremely grateful of what they’d come across. “Who knew water could taste so good?”

Shawn was busy making more room at the bottom of his bag so he could house as many water bottles as could fit. “Enjoy it while you can. Who knows how long we’ll be staying here.”

“Wait,” Bret questioned, pausing from opening a third bottle . “I thought we were just staying for the night. I still need to head home, remember? I mean, that was the whole point of this trek.”

Shawn stood from his backpack, facing Bret as he said plainly. “Look, I’m tired. Exhausted. Drained. And whatever other synonym fits the bill. I just need a break to clear my head. We’ll discuss it in the morning,” he said as he turned back to crouch by his bag on the ground.

“Shawn-”

“In the morning,” Shawn repeated emphatically. He wasn’t just physically drained, but he was mentally exhausted as well. He didn’t have it in him to think of a plan.

Seeing that Shawn was still busying himself with his bag, Bret relented, “Fine. The morning.” Morning couldn’t come quick enough.

They searched the kitchen a little while longer but determined that there was nothing else of value.

Shawn picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder saying, “I checked the taps earlier. Seems like the place doesn’t have any running water. I’m gonna go wash up at the lake before it gets dark. Cover for me, will ya?” It was more of a command than a question, a common theme in the way the blond spoke to Bret.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal. Shawn wasn’t asking Bret for much – just to keep a lookout for any threats while he’s in the lake. He could do that. No problem.

But Bret soon became uncomfortable upon reaching the lake, his ears reddening when Shawn began undoing his belt before carelessly shedding his clothes and plopping them on a nearby picnic table.

Out of respect for Shawn, and himself, Bret turned away to put Shawn in his peripheral vision, but out of clear view of his naked body. It wasn’t until Bret heard Shawn entering the lake that he turned around, just catching a glimpse of a tattoo on Shawn’s ass cheek before it was submerged out of view.

An ass tattoo. That was something Bret didn’t expect to see, especially from the seemingly uptight man.

“I’ll be quick,” Shawn called Bret’s way as he treaded his hands through the water.

The blond fully submerged himself underwater for a few seconds before coming up for air, his blond hair now darkened by the water that trickled down his strands. He rubbed his eyes clear before moving his hands along his body in an effort to clean himself. Although he didn’t have any soap for a thorough wash, just being in the water helped him feel somewhat clean.

Shawn let out a content sigh, this being the first time he felt truly relaxed in a long time. Things had been so tense ever since the outbreak, especially with him being forced to survive on his own. He’d never been given an opportunity to let go, even just for a moment.

But with Bret around to watch his back, Shawn was going to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Shawn closed his eyes, allowing himself to become weightless as he floated in the lake, taking in the sun that beamed on his skin.

As Shawn soaked in his tranquil state, he was unaware of Bret’s lingering gaze. Despite his apprehension, the older man hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of Shawn ever since the blond stepped into the water.

Bret was privy to the fact that he thought Shawn was attractive. Very attractive. But between the blond’s angry tirades and the frequent insults he hurled Bret’s way, it was pretty easy for Bret to ignore those thoughts.

But seeing Shawn so…exposed, vulnerable, and calm was having an effect on him.

Bret eventually forced himself to look away – not just out of fear of Shawn catching him looking, but also out of fear of the way his body would react.

So he focused on surveying the area – the unkempt grass surrounding the cabins, the trees beyond the lake, the faint chirping of birds that managed to survive in the area. Anything to keep him from focusing on the man inside of the lake.

As he took in the current state of the summer camp, Bret couldn’t help but reminisce on the times he spent there as a kid. For multiple summers throughout his childhood, he’d come to this very camp making new friends, painting in the recreation room, roasting smores in the fire pit, swimming, and canoeing in the lake.

Those were happy times for Bret. The camp had been his safe haven. It allowed him to escape from his hellhole of a home despite some of his siblings being at the camp as well.

He liked it so much that he even became a camp counselor in his later teenage years – and boy were those summers to remember.

It was during those years that he shared his first kiss on the dock of the lake with a girl he had a crush on all summer. And that next year, he had his first summer fling with a pretty boy who’d caught his eye. That summer was one he’d never forget, one full of self-discovery, first loves, teen angst, and experiences that helped shape who we was at present day.

Those were simple times that Bret wished he’d appreciated more as he reflected on the current state of society.

Bret was pulled from his nostalgia by the sound of Shawn rising out of the water. As promised, the blond’s swim was quick, the man only being in the lake for about five minutes.

Bret chose to look elsewhere as the blond approached, but briefly caught a glimpse of the man as he handed him a towel he’d found in the supply room. He instantly looked away, fighting his curiosity.

As Shawn dried himself, he asked, “Are you getting in? I can cover for you.”

Bret said all too quickly, “No, I’m good.”

Shawn curled a skeptical brow at Bret before shrugging it off, sliding on his boxers as he said, “Suit yourself.”

After dressing and roughly towel-drying his hair, Shawn led them both back towards the main building. “So about our sleeping arrangements. I think we should stay in the medical center. It’s cleaner and there are enough cots in there for us to have our own space.”

Bret glanced at Shawn, noting how his hair dried into a nice wavy pattern. He shook off the thought, asking, “What about the cabins?”

“You saw the state of those. I’d rather not sleep with critters if I don’t have to.”

Amused, Bret teased, “You’re scared of a little spiders?”

Shawn deadpanned, “It’s not the spiders I’m worried about, jackass. It’s the snakes you told me roam around here at night. Those cabin doors are not secure, and I’m not trying to wake up to a snakebite.”

That was something Bret could agree with.

After claiming a cot in the medical center, the men barricaded themselves inside with a desk and a bookshelf they’d found in the room.

“You think this will hold,” Bret asked skeptically, his voice slightly winded from moving the large bookshelf.

“It’s all we have, so it’ll have to do,” said the blond before walking back to his cot.

‘Dinner’ that night was pretty sad, the two opting to share half of a granola bar and a stick of jerky as Shawn was running low on snacks. They drank a few bottles of water hoping it’d help suppress their appetite until the morning.

Both men rested on opposite sides of the room trying to find comfort on the stiff cots. Bret tried to busy his mind by counting the cracks in the ceiling to pass the time.

As the night approached, Bret’s attention was caught by the sound of Shawn raucously digging through his backpack as if looking for something important. Bret squinted his eyes in the darkening room to see that the blond had come to a stop, staring into the bag lost in thought.

Bret thought the behavior was odd, but remained quiet not wanting Shawn to know he was observing him.

After a short moment, Shawn seemed to snap from his haze and closed his bag before setting it aside on the ground. Although Bret didn’t have a good view, there was no mistaking the gloomy look that made its way onto Shawn’s features, and Bret wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Maybe Shawn was just tired. It had been a long day, and Bret was pretty sure the blond was still upset over losing his cabin.

So Bret stood up from his cot as he announced, “I can do the first watch. You should get some rest.”

That seemed to pull Shawn from whatever state he was in, the blond asking, “You sure?”

Bret confirmed, “Yeah, I’m not that tired anyway.” Which was a lie. “I don’t mind.”

Shawn didn’t look as if he believed him, but with the thoughts that were looming in his head, he could use the rest.

“Ok,” Shawn said before lying flat on his cot, curling onto his side and shutting his eyes in hopes of quickly shutting off his mind.

Bret found a chair in the room and placed it next to the window before taking a seat. He looked out onto the dark horizon, the starless night only illuminated by the full moon in the sky.

Bret gazed at the moon inquisitively, a silly thought coming to mind as he wondered if the virus had made its way up to space. It was a thought he knew his brother would be fond of, the man always open to what-ifs. If only Owen were around for Bret to share the thought with.

Bret took his eyes off the moon, not wanting to upset himself of his brother’s absence, and focused on the sound of Shawn’s evening breaths. As Shawn’s breathing seemed to deepen, Bret glanced over to check if the man was asleep.

“Shawn,” he softly called, but didn’t receive a reply.

Bret sank back into his chair as he let out a deep sigh. Everything seemed to hit him all at once in that moment, his thoughts running wild over what had taken place in such a short period of time.

It seemed almost unreal that he’d just been in the safety and comfort of his family. And just like that, it was gone in an instant. Just like that, he was catapulted into a world he hadn’t grown accustomed to, or rather hadn’t been forced to grow accustomed to until now.

It was even harder for him to wrap his head around his new partner.

Shawn was a wild card. And although Bret was grateful for the blond’s expertise, he was unsure if he could trust the man. Yes, they seemed to be warming up to each other. But Shawn’s warning to Bret still stuck with him:

“The moment you fuck up, I’m out”

That along with how flippantly Shawn had pointed a gun at him during their first encounter put Bret a little on edge.

If he said the wrong thing to the blond, how was he to know that the man wouldn’t slit his throat in his sleep, or leave him in the middle of the night?

He didn’t know him well enough to brush away those thoughts. And with Shawn refusing to open up about himself, Bret could only speculate.

But as unsure as he was about the man, Shawn was valuable. Shawn taught Bret so much in their short time together than Bret could have ever learned on his own.

Bret knew he needed to keep Shawn around at least until he made it to his parents’ home. That was his ultimate goal. What would happen of their partnership after that, Bret had no idea.

He’d just have to wait and see.