Tumgik
#I saw that post joking about what each of the major ships said about you
dumbass-duo-showdown · 6 months
Text
DUMBASS DUO SHOWDOWN ROUND 2 BATTLE 3
Josuke Higashikata & Okuyasu Nijimura from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (ship name: josuyasu) vs Cole Brookstone & Jay Walker from lego ninjago (ship name: bruise)
Tumblr media
REMINDER TO CHECK OUT THE PROPAGANDA UNDER THE CUT!
JOSUYASU PROPAGANDA
Josuke is fairly decent, but okuyasu, you know how in math, if you multiply a negative number with a positive one it is always negative, that is josuyasu for you. Josuke has 6 braincells and Okuyasu has -6734. Their first meeting was okuyasu trying to kill josuke, then he shows up at his house a few days later and goes "hey lets go to school! btw your mom is hot!" Josuke punches a plate of spaghetti because he thinks the chef is evil, they both fight a middle schooler who stole their cash. Okuyasu got the third most op ability in his part but he is too stupid (and kind) to realize it. Somehow they survive their entire part. They are thus far the second jojo and jobro duo to not lose each other. the second one? THEM IN AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE! (okay but okuyasu is swapped for koichi in that one, but still).
Josuke normally is pretty smart, but somewhat silly, but Okuyasu. Isn’t incredibly bright but he’s the best jojo character idc. Okuyasu brings out josukes stupid and then they are just besties and totally bouncing off each other’s stupid ideas. Idk what Okuyasu does to josukes brain but I’m here for it
I saw the post title and without reading anything else immediately went to submit them, only to go back and read the full post and realize they were included by default. They are THE dumbass duo. Ever. The worst protagonists for a detective story, but they dumbassed around so hard they somehow caught a genius serial killer. No matter who wins, they’ll always be the number 1 dumbasses in my heart.
they are the best of friends, which of course means they met by trying to kill each other.
They’re both so stupid. Like josuke isn’t that stupid on his own but he’s kinda dumb and when you put him with dumbass incarnate okuyasu they multiply each others’ stupidness. Together they are a menace.
JOSUKE AND OKUYASU FOR THE WIN BECAUSE THEY SPEND AN ENTIRE DAY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER OR NOT A RANDOM ITALIAN WAS EVIL BECAUSE HIS PASTA WAS TOO GOOD
Okuyasu and Josuke share a braincell and they lose that braincell at least 5 times a day
The majority of Diamond is Unbreakable is those two getting themselves and their friends into absurd situations. There's no way the sportsboys can compete with discovering aliens are (maybe???) real and immediately trying to use the alien(??) to cheat at dice. Then they burned down someone's house
#josuyasu are DUmbass Incorporated and i love them#its literally canon that okuyasu has one of The Most Powerful Abilities In The Entire JJBA Universe#but is too dumb and good natured to put it to world ending use
this gif
Tumblr media
don't ask about the weird space
BRUISE PROPAGANDA
They both come up with the dumbest ideas on the team and make jokes all the time
They got into a love triangle/fight because they were just dumb and missed each other. Also they’re canonical besties who are so fucking stupid but also love each other so much
They’re both just so silly… anxiety dumbass and emotional support dumbass…
They ended up in jail once because they broke a dangerous criminal out with good intentions, had a fight over a girl but in the end said that they were more upset about losing each other
part of the bruise propaganda being "they fought over a girl but actually they just missed each other too much" is RIDICULOUSLY funny to me they also were paired off at the start of season 8, resulting in jay mimicking cole, cole getting INCREDIBLY annoyed because jay doesn't understand how vows of silence work, and then the two of them getting into an argument which leads to an entire monastery of monks breaking their vow of silence. they singlehandedly caused an entire monastery of monks to break their vows of silence because they're that stupidly annoying. jay also got really jealous that the princess they meet in season 13 was interested in cole. like bro literally said "the princess seems interested in cole. i mean, he's my best friend and all, but, cole??" vote bruise.
52 notes · View notes
pansear-doodles · 10 months
Note
What originally made you ship Hunter and Artificer? I know there's a few different ships out there. Also, I do want to say I do really appreciate you being the reason for me getting into the CherryBomb ship- It's brought me a lot of comfort over the last few months since I've started rainworld, and even brought plenty of others into the game as well!
As Ive said in the powerpoint presentation (thats up on youtube, a vid uploaded by my friend Daikon), a few dotted artists i saw made ship art of the two (this includes art from @kelocitta ) when I was new to the fandom and around the time i had an inside joke i really liked where the characters kiss each other in an exaggerated way. (I reblogged an old post recently of that)
And then it snowballed from curiosity to having like this... Mind explosion... Because ive always been a shipping person (as in i commonly find myself shipping characters for almost every fandom im in). Made that one comic that kind of explains the chemistry i have in mind for them and a lot of people have definitely seen it chdkhcdjxj
Before this whole thing went down, the fandom wasnt that big on shipping. There were some arts yes, but not to this degree, but thanks to the opening and a new safe space i created from my shenanigans, where people are comfortable about sharing their headcanons, it created a subcommunity. Ive seen people start from artihunter and then figure out a new ship that they enjoy more and spearhead (like my friends chillysaint and kiutb). And i think people are starting to be more open about shipping the iterators too later on. I could not accomplish this without encouragement from a lot of lovely individuals and the newer ship art that came forward. As much as I love artihunter and am a huge sucker for it, i also enjoy seeing other ships and how each artist makes a story for them.
Theres been some dramas here and there which makes me anxious at times and caused me some episodes but nothing too bad i think. I do believe shippers and nonshippers should coexist peacefully in this fandom. While yes we did have a somewhat change in the art community's consensus, i think the shipping scheme of things would inevitably happen with or without my output. The fandom is growing and theres bound to be new ideas and new people. We should welcome it all as long as its not harming anyone.
I am happy to see that my funny barbie dreamhouse stuff encourages others to share their art in general, and not just shipping, and play the game even (the game alone is fun to play if you have the patience). This is one of the major things in this fandom that pushes me forward. I often tend to forget the good things over the bad, so these kind asks and comments i get from people like you help remind me that what i hold dear and am has value and has done good for others.
32 notes · View notes
Note
Yeah, I've definitely noticed that the guests (at least the ones that aren't Robbie/Dorian) have been the ones consistently pushing for Imodna. From Dusk needling Imogen about Laudna and intentionally manipulating our fun-scary witch, to what we've seen from FRIDA and Deanna as well. That, and the fans have been thanking the guests for pushing for it to happen, which... doesn't feel right to me.
I feel like the one exception was Bor'dor as he was asking Laudna questions specifically about Imogen. At first it felt like every other instance... but after the reveal of his Ruby Vanguard affiliation, and that he was there when it all went down, I wonder if it was purely to gather intel, most likely to determine a weakness that he could have exploited had he lived.
A weakness that had been exploited once before by Otohan and could be again.
After all, he most likely realized who Imogen was because of her resemblance to Liliana.
Robbie was definitely fine, and I think that's largely due to the fact that while he is technically a guest, he started the campaign with the group and therefore, was there and gone before the true Imodna shipping began, at least to the degree that it is today.
Utkarsh, while he did definitely bring up Laudna/Imogen, I think his background made it more of a "I don't care what you two define yourselves as, I just know you're important to each other, how can I exploit this" and so it doesn't come across as him trying to push Laudna and Imogen together.
But the rest, definitely pushing an agenda, and it does very much come across as inorganic because like I said, in my opinion, outside of the guests, Imogen and Laudna as anything more than what they currently are isn't something that has been talked about at all among the main players at the table. This, and the fact that, as I've also mentioned, I also noticed some... looks during this last stream that were more "here we go" or "please no" from the actual players that make me think that Laura and Marisha don't want Imodna to happen, or don't want it to happen right now.
Personally, I think my perspective is driven home by the stark contrast of how Beauyasha was treated by the main cast versus how Imogen and Laudna are being treated.
Even in the VERY early days of Beauyasha, the main cast was jumping in and joking around and very much pushing that ship, most likely because they knew on some level, that if things went there with Beau and Yasha, Marisha and Ashley were more than okay with that. We don't see that at all with Imogen and Laudna, in my opinion. Yes, people will post clips of looks that others give when Imogen and Laudna are interacting, but looks are so ambiguous and can mean literally anything. Like from this last episode, when Laudna and Prism are saying goodbye, I saw people posting a brief moment of expression on Laura's face that they took to mean Imogen was jealous, but if you watch the rest of the scene, for the very large majority of that entire interaction, Imogen is laughing and finding their interaction amusing.
Long story short, I put more stock into the actual in-game conversations/actions of the characters rather than the microexpressions of the players because they can mean anything, and so far, in my opinion, there really hasn't been anything regarding anything more between these two from anyone besides guests.
9 notes · View notes
27emailsicantsend · 2 years
Text
Season 3 Episode 3 Thoughts
First of all… do I have any???? Its giving no thoughts, head empty
Before we get to Rina🥹, I’ll give some of my other thoughts
Ok I was sus about Ashlyn’s rose in the last episode and I made some thoughts about it in a post. I had a feeling this had something to do with her recognizing her “beauty from within” as the rose song said and I was right! I’m like really proud of this for some reason 😂
Kourtney and Carlos had me CACKLING. The whole scene about the thing in the woods being homophobic and Kourtney being like “I’m too hot for this”. Just comedy GOLD
I still feel like my “outside casting” is right where Jet and Ricky give off Kristoff and Sven energy and this episode proved it more. But it’s interesting because we also had the layers of Kristoff and Anna as Ricky and Gina with Ashlyn being Elsa going off to “find herself”. But Maddox and Jet were also showing a very Anna and Elsa dynamic. Just layers and layers and layers. I love looking for all the frozen hints/references in the character development SO MUCH
Also I know Ashlyn can care a lot but I really did not expect one comment about her rising sign to throw her into this whole self discovery/major upset storyline. It felt a ~little~ out of place, but I do like how they concluded it (that she was misplacing her anger)
I know Maddox got hurt but I did like seeing Jet come out of his shell and joke around. That was nice :)
EJ’s song… while different… was sang really well by him. But also like we got this and a million sorrys??? I would love ONE serious song by him because he’s got such a nice voice. This show does him and Carlos (Lumiere/Olaf comment) SO DIRTY 😂😂
Carlos and Kourtney’s tent is EVERYTHING to me. It was literally for one night and they put up decorations, hung lights, made it real cozy. Obsessed
And now… my faves 🥹🥹🥹 (there might be a lot of yelling over the next few bullet points you’ve been warned)
THIS WAS THE CUTEST DAMN EPISODE ARE YOU KIDDING ME
WE FEASTED. WE WERE FED. RINAS ATE WELL TONIGHT AFTER CRUMBS BEYOND CRUMBS
Not me STILL looking for crumbs around all of the amazing scenes tonight though 😂
The scene where they are talking to Ashlyn?? They share a “look”. And part of it is sus because of what she said about learning something new and they’re new. The other part is sweet because it was a very, VERY understanding look. They saw their friend sad and shared a look that she needed to talk some more. No words were needed. They just UNDERSTOOD?? That’s soul mateism. I’m just gonna say it: It literally felt like two parents comforting their child and that was REALLY tender to me
Also gina said “love is an open door” and who TF said that SAME LINE?? Oh I don’t know?? Ricky?? Episode one in the intro?? Are you kidding me with the parallels??
And like the stark difference between Gina trying to get through and talk to EJ and he barely listened. He just got in his head and pushed her away (Hans) to Ricky and Gina talking and just GETTING each other. Their sweet conversations, Ricky saying how proud he was of her, them taking their time to hear Ashlyn out… the way they ALWAYS communicate? (Kristoff and Anna) I’m just saying the differences are palpable.
Also, sorry not sorry, no other ship got this much screen time together. Any of them. Literally. Adding up all of the seasons and screen time. Ricky and Nini MIGHT be up there but I think Rina is getting them beat. It is so obvious who our endgame is!!
And like I DEFINITELY want Rina dating scenes and storylines AND I LOVE the build up of them. It reminds me so much of the office (which Tim definitely got inspo from in this show) and how we saw the entire build up of Jim and Pam AND their life after they got together. We got everything. I would love to see that with Rina.
And like the way they flirted?? The stolen glances???? The AMOUNT OF TIMES THEY TOUCHED LIKE THE HELL THEY WERE ALL OVER EACH OTHER
There is a scene right before they go into the barn with Ashlyn where Gina asks if they should see who is singing and Ricky says, “I mean we’ve come this far right?” And then he looks at her and she returns the look and they just stare at each other and you CANNOT TELL ME that line wasn’t symbolic of their relationship. They’ve come this far?? They’re scared but they should keep going?? It’s not as scary when they reach the end??? YEAH. YUP. YEAH.
Also I need to dissect the song Ashlyn is singing and how it parallels rina. There was a LOT of conversation and scene cuts back to them in between the song. To me that is purposeful. That is the writers saying, “hey look! This song symbolizes Ashlyn AND this other couples journey we keep flashing back to”. I’m just a wee bit tired to dissect it now but I think there is a lot of connection between rina and the song
Also jealous EJ when Carlos says they went missing?? EJ would not literally leave this thing that has been stressing him out all night, that he kept blowing off literally EVERYTHING including his girlfriend for, if he didn’t feel threatened by them being gone. You see it in his face! He KNOWS they’re friends. The tough part is that Ricky has been trying to create a closer relationship with EJ after all of the Nini stuff and I worry that this is gonna send EJ. I’m a little scared there might be a fight or revenge of some sort 😳😬 it makes for excellent show writing though lol I’m HOOKED
lastly, every time I thought we wouldn’t get a rina scene, we got another. And another. And another. They just KEPT COMING. This was by far one of my favorite episodes. I will absolutely be screaming about this over the next week so don’t mind me
Ok rinas I love you all and I hope you enjoy another one of my episode rambles! I’m off to bed now ❤️
Tumblr media
Gif credit: @rcsitastark
26 notes · View notes
gummygowon · 3 years
Text
cute relationship things with ateez!
genre: fluff (a lot)
warnings: none :)
established relationship!
a/n: i meant to post this like two weeks ago but i never finished it so consider this an early valentine’s day gift <3 ;) 
seonghwa:
Tumblr media
for some reason, i feel like seonghwa likes to read books
with that being said, on lazy days where you guys didn’t want to get up and do anything
you guys would read books !!!
before you guys would read some were recommendations from each other on your own
and then maybe rant to each other over little details about the book like how the main character went back to their toxic ex or how the ending of a book was so bad
“seonghwa, how did you even read this?!? the stupid ass main character keeps going back to that one jerk! like does she not realize she deserves more than his ugly ass???!!!?”
“y/n, just keep reading.” 
“but hwa-”
turns out the main character got with the other woman yayyyyy!!! fuck shitty men
i don’t know how it happened but you guys started your own little book club with each other
so you guys could finally talk rant together at the same time about the book
so since you guys started to read the same book and if you guys found down time together you would read together
like, imagine it’s a peaceful friday night
seonghwa is back from work and so are you
you guys already showered and ate dinner
you’re just reading and then seonghwa just scoops you up and then puts you in between his legs with your back against his chest
and you’re like “wtf bro?”
and he’s just like, “what? i wanna read too???”
“didn’t you like read ahead tho??”
“yeah, but i wanna read it again.”
that was a fatass lie
he just wanted to be close to you 
hongjoong:
Tumblr media
ok so, we all know that this man is hella busy all the time
mans is the leader, song writer, producer, dancer, rapper (which is why he is good at all positions)
but you were patient with him and whenever he goes days without seeing you due to his busy ass schedule he would make it up to you yk what i mean
but on the more chill days when you saw hongjoong or even the days where he was cooped in his studio (you would visit him there because sometimes you just had to see him)
you guys would just lay on the couch, just enjoying each other’s presence and not feel like you have to make up for lost time
you would be on the bottom on your phone or reading a magazine/book
then hongjoong would be at the top with his head on your stomach as he would be writing down lyrics that came to mind
killing two birds with one stone you feel me
sometimes you would show him a funny meme that you found or quote something that you just read to him 
“hongjoong, look at the way he fell!” you would be dying of laughter
and then he wouldn’t notice because he was really roped into making lyrics 
but you also didn’t see him focusing so much because you were of course laughing at the kid that accidentally got bitchslapped off the couch because of their sibling
“joongie look!!!”
“what is it?”
you would then show him what happened and then he would look at with that “you really interrupted me for this??” type of look
“i just lost my train of thought for this song because you wanted to show me this kid falling off of a couch???” 
“yes?” 
he would just bring a hand to his face and think what tf? why tf? and then slowly start laughing because of what just happened
“see, wasn’t it funny?”
“a child getting hurt isn’t funny, y/n” he would laugh while scolding you
yunho:
Tumblr media
yunho powers im sorry for this one
alright so, it’s night time 
you guys are about to go to bed after a long day or work/school whatever
your eyes are fluttering closed because the day got you beat beat
but then yunho just kisses your face
and then you open your eyes slowly again to see yunho look like he just got caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to do
like imagine a kid that just got caught drawing on the walls
that’s what his face would look like
he’s just laying there like “i thought you were asleep...”
“i was just about to...”
yunho feels lowkey guilty now because you’re awake now and he knows you had a long day
he just couldn’t resist kissing you 
you just looked so pretty and peaceful sleeping 
mans was reminded by the universe themself about how lucky he was being able to date you
like, godamn what did he do in his past life to deserve you?
ok, back to this reaction idea thing-
yunho would apologize for waking you up with his cheeks a nice rosy color
you just look at him with tired eyes 
“i’ll forgive you, if you give me more kisses.”
and yunho’s smile just lights up the whole damn room and he’s like oh? say less
so he goes to kissing your face
like all over
your nose
your cheeks
forehead
basically anywhere ok?
and you end up laughing because it tickles 
but you just want him to kiss your lips which he does 
... eventually lmao
but when he does your still laughing which causes him to laugh
he tells you “i love you, did you know that?”
and you get all flustered and shit but you still keep that playful energy around 
“i love you too, but you aren’t forgiven just yet”
which leads to more kisses :))))
yeosang:
Tumblr media
ok so you’re now the busy one
yeosang has so much respect for you because holy shit how do you balance that busy ass schedule of yours
your homework loads were no jokes 
then to add to that you have a job which was even more stressful
it was amazing how you can manage all that and still keep a smile on your face
you also had major respect for yeosang as an idol
the industry was not a place to fuck around 
you couldn’t be happier that your boyfriend was lucky enough to have a group who actually cared and supported each other
speaking of ateez, yeosang isn’t the most touchy person in the world
you didn’t mind of course, you’re the same way
however, when he did give you cuddles and kisses you would be a blushing mess
a sort of rare sight that yeosang loved to see
anyways, one night you were busy writing those argumentative essays that you were sure that your fingers would fall off by the time you were finished
you were working on it ever since you got home from school (with the occasional food and bathroom breaks )to the time when yeosang came back from practice
you moved to your shared bed by the time the sweaty boy came home and he was surprised that you were working on one subject for so long
the stupid piece was almost finished by the time yeosang was out of the shower
however, you didn’t even notice
you were too immersed in your writing to notice
yeosang took this as an opportunity to sit behind you and wrap his arms around your waist and watch over your shoulder as you worked
and of course, he would kiss your cheek occasionally
this was super sweet gesture but yeosang but you didn’t the notice that he wrapped his arms around you
“ai yah! what the hell?” you yelled and turned around to see your boyfriend clutching his chest
“oh it’s just you.”
yeosang would give you a deadpanned look and be like, “yeah, who else tf???”
you would apologize and kissing his cheek before returning to back to work 
which yeosang would return to hugging your waist and keep his head on your shoulder
and give you occasional kisses on your cheek or neck
after that night, it became a weekly occurrence
which you loved of course, who wouldn’t love their bf cuddling them while they chased their bag
san:
Tumblr media
i am very excited for this one
ok so, san loves playing with your hair
it’s just so much fun 
running his fingers through it or just attempting to braid it or put it into a tiny ponytail
he loved it
he would probably always play with your while you were watching tv together, sitting together in the car, or even before you guys fall asleep
then one day after san came home early from work 
you guys were chilling on the bed watching the latest k-drama that came out since san made you wait so you guys could watch it together
san was in between your legs with his back leaning against your chest 
and that’s when you decided to run your fingers through his soft, fluffy hair
that’s also when san asked you to braid his hair
“sure, what type of braid though?”
“there’s different kinds????” 
“yes, san. now pick one.” you gave him your phone that was pulled up to different types braids.
“i want the french ones. they sound fancy.”
you roll your eyes and start sectioning his hair into two sections and start braiding his hair and lightly pull on the pink strands because you know san likes his hair pulled
so you doing his hair right 
and you begin rambling about your day/week
talking about whatever interesting happened to you because you know that san likes hearing you talk no matter what it’s about
however, you were knee deep into talking about the latest drama at work that you didn’t even realize that san stopped talking
“san?”
he didn’t answer and his head would be dipping down so low you were surprised you didn’t fall over
“baby?”
san still wouldn’t respond to you 
but this time he just flipped over so his head would be on your stomach as he wrapped your arms around your stomach
“mmmmmmm?”
“nevermind love, just sleep.” 
he would respond by burying his head further into your stomach and tightened his hold around you
you kissed his head and ran your fingers through his hair which lulled san to sleep even more
“goodnight sannie.”
mingi:
Tumblr media
you have been best friends with song mingi ever since you moved into the tiny neighborhood that you call home
it all started when your parents brought you over to your next door neighbor’s house for breakfast on a cold saturday morning 
you were extremely shy when you were little so the only thing you could remember about your first experience with mingi was hiding behind your mother’s leg for the first hour of being there and watching the young boy play with his toy cars and planes before he finally offered a pirate ship to you
ever since that unforgettable saturday, you pretty much spent the rest of your childhood with mingi
you guys were practically joined at the hip 
even when you were getting endlessly teased by your classmates for the first month of school for having an accent whenever you spoke 
which resulted in you running to the bathroom crying
not even a minute later, you heard someone burst through the girls’ bathrrom
“y/n?”
you peaked your head out of the stall to see your tall neighbor looking out of breath
“mingi, you aren’t supposed to be here!” you said in between sobs
“it’s okay, i don’t care.” he said as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around you. “are you okay?”
you shook your head no looking at him with tears running down your face
the poor boy was internally freaking out since he has no clue on how to comfort people (especially if they’re a girl)
he was like eight at the time give him a little break
so of course, his first reaction was to make you laugh somehow
and he did this by randomly recreating the “boots and cats, boots and cats” rhythm after seeing siri do it in a youtube video and started to bop his head 
surprised by his sudden movements, you laughed out of pure confusion
as soon as mingi saw the corner of your lips flip upwards he began rapping faster to the point where he was gasping for breath leading him into a coughing fit 
“mingi you can breathe, y’know!” you giggled in between words
after the young boy had caught his breath from hacking away at his lungs, he smiled at you 
until- the teacher had came into the bathroom, scolding mingi for going into the girls’ restroom
even though mingi didn’t care at all that he got in trouble, the only thing he cared about was that you were feeling better
ever since then whenever you were sad or having a bad day mingi would whip out his phone and ask siri to rap while he free-styled over the monotone voice 
he literally still does it
even two years into your relationship-
“siri, can you rap for me?” mingi would ask his phone as he pointed his free arm at you
“boots and cats-”
“mingi, please no.” you laughed in between tears, your mood rising with every beat
wooyoung:
Tumblr media
i wholeheartedly believe that wooyoung would kiss you face if you were sad
but the first time this happened, you guys were still fairly new into your relationship
which meant that you weren’t completely ready to be extremely vulnerable around wooyoung 
because in your mind, letting someone see you at your lowest lows of means that you really trust and love someone to let them see you like that
you always wanted to be known as the strong person in the friend group
you were that glue that held everyone together
always listening to others and taking care of others before yourself
which is why wooyoung fell in love with you in the first place
he had never been in a relationship where someone was so caring and thoughtful of others that he was scared that he wouldn’t be enough for you and that you deserved better
of course, he didn’t tell you that right away but he confessed to you about that wayyy later in your relationship which is another story to be told
but one day, life was coming at you so fucking fast
assignments were piling up left and right and deadlines were literally every other day
and then there seemed to be an increase in the amount of angry karens at your work
and your patience was thinning everyday with those people
then to top it all off, all the tests you’ve been studying for, you got mediocre grades, some even worse in other subjects
it just felt like no matter how much work you put into whatever you do, you got half ass results
it was just pushing your mental health further into the ground
you could handle a C every once in awhile but multiple? on back to back tests? no fucking way you just couldn’t
those stupid, dark thoughts would cloud your mind in an instant and on days like this, you would just let them consume you
you were too tired to pick yourself up again and fight back which led to you crying in wooyoung’s arms
usually, you would feel so embarrassed crying over things like this when you know other people have it worse but you couldn’t hold in it anymore 
you ranted about yourself in between your hiccups from crying which would hurt wooyoung’s heart a little bit
because he thought of you as such a strong and kind person- the complete opposite of what you were saying about yourself
so when you were done talking, wooyoung made you look at him and assured you that you were not any of those nasty things that you said about yourself
each insult turned into a thoughtful compliment accompanied by a kiss
“y/n, you are so intelligent-” 
kiss
“caring-”
kiss
“beautiful-”
kiss
“more than everything i ever wanted”
kiss
by the time wooyoung was done, you were a giggling mess
“and this is why i love you.”
he finally kissed you on your lips, smiling into it like the dork he is
it was the first ever time he told you that he loved you
jongho:
Tumblr media
i am also a firm believer that jongho would sing his s/o to sleep
like with that heavenly voice of his, he better put them to sleep 
so on the first night you ever slept with jongho, you were too nervous to go to bed even though your body was screaming at you to close your eyes 
you kept tossing and turning every few minutes or your eyes would shoot open with your heart racing
at this point, you gave up on trying to sleep and got up (carefully to not wake up your sleeping boyfriend) to get a drink
while you were in the kitchen, clutching your chest in an effort to get yourself to calm down, jongho had stirred awake to an empty bed
a flash of panic surged through his body as he momentarily forgot where he was since he wasn’t at his dorm his room never looked this clean 
yawning, the vocalist would wander into the light with his eyes squinted, “y/n?”
“oh my god!” you jumped, water almost spilling out your glass
jongho covered his ears, “what are you doing up?”
“oh,” you felt your cheeks turn red since you felt bad for waking your boyfriend up. “i can’t sleep.”
“why?” he asked, walking towards the couch.
“i don’t know.” you answered as you followed close behind. 
you curled up next to jongho, clutching his shirt “i’m sorry for waking you up.”
jongho smiled tiredly at you before kissing your head, “don’t be. it’s okay. i don’t have work tomorrow anyways.”
you smiled in response before the two of you guys fell into a silence
“do you want me to sing you to sleep?”
“yes, please.” you murmured into his side as jongho placed his other arm around you, successfully trapping you in between his arms
he began singing softly into your ear as he stroked your hair
his warm voice coaxing your eyes to close 
at last, your mind was at peace with itself
your heart beat slowing down
and by the time the song was finished you were fast asleep in arms
jongho kissed your forehead once more 
“i love you.”
586 notes · View notes
sitp-recs · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media
(Perfect artwork for Modern Love, by @cambiodipolvere)
Today is the day of one of my favorite people! And I totally resent @tackytigerfic and Starry for almost sharing the same birthday, god the STRESS 😂 Tacky is my first and closest fandom friend. We clicked together so fast and easy that sometimes it feels like I’ve known her all my life, like we’re two dog moms living in the same neighborhood who happen to read fic in their free time. Despite our conflicting time zones and crazy schedules we manage to chat every other day, tagging and sending each other all kinds of stuff, coming together to cry scream about a brilliant fic we’ve just read or shaking our heads in embarrassment at every other unnecessary bullshit post. Tacky’s bright and wise energy uplifts my spirit even on my moody days, and makes me grateful for her friendship and for this fandom life. Okay so this got long and I had to put the rest under the cut:
It’s such a lovely and precious thing, to have someone with whom you can share every single thought that crosses your mind, your scariest, most embarrassing, petty or disturbing idea, without fear of being shamed or judged by it. I trust Tacky with all my heart to hear me out, share a joke or a piece of advice, even on the (rare) occasions when we don’t get the same perspective - that doesn’t happen often when it comes to Drarry, as we are taste twins!
Tacky my darling, you’re such a good person, and such an incredible friend. Thank you for introducing me to this lovely community, for being my safe haven and your unique self, with so many qualities I admire and feel inspired by: kind, witty, earnest, wise, and so very human. I love your humour and empathy, and your chill yet no-nonsense personality; I love your talent and how articulated you are; I love your passion for Drarry, and how you let this emotion inform the way you navigate the fandom and create for it. And god, but you’ve been creating some of the most beautiful content I’ve seen in these recent years! I’m permanently in awe of your ability to write Drarry in any shape, format or length, transforming even the most ordinary moment into an extraordinary and meaningful piece of character or relationship development. You know how you mentioned yesterday that some authors change the way you feel about a ship in a deep, definitive way? Well, you are that author for me. Your works made me fall in love with M-rated contemplative romance, and also allowed me to fall in love with Harry in a way I never thought it was possible before.
Some people - myself included - got to know you through the fun and intriguing A Lick and a Promise, others through the atmospheric and sensitive Modern Love, others through your contemplative and heartbreaking short form. Each story has its merits and purpose, and all of them share a Tacky trademark: the heartkick factor! Your talent has no limits and goes across different genres and tropes, that you explore with a bold twist full of personality and heart. And even more impressive is your consistency at always raising the bar - every new fic of yours becomes an instant fave and makes me think “wow I thought Tacky couldn’t get better yet here we are”. Seeing how your writing evolves as you find your narrative voice is a beautiful and humbling experience, I feel so lucky!
I’m really grateful for being active in the fandom at this moment in time, because that allows me to read and engage with your brilliant work, and to have you as a dear friend. I can’t wait to see what comes out of your beautiful brain next. It was an impossible job choosing a single fic to rec today, so I decided to do a belated Tacky reclist! Naturally these are my personal and biased must-reads, and I urge everyone to go check these beauties right now. Feel free to include your own favorites too, and don’t forget to leave them some appreciation.
Happy happy birthday my darling Tacky! This fandom life wouldn’t be the same without you. I hope you have the amazing day you deserve!
Between the Power Lines (2020, M, 3.2k)
The road trip fic you didn’t know you needed. I got utterly immersed in the heartbreaking quietness of this, feeling like a witness to an ordinary yet poignant love story. Such tender intimacy, such character development, such lovely American aesthetics with barely any dialogue. This is, IMO, the fic that reveals Tacky’s triumph in storytelling.
Even the Night (2020, M, 3.4k)
This fic has a surreal atmosphere, those Midsummer vibes unbelievably sexy and intoxicating linked to the sensorial experience of fumbling together in the night. Masterclass in tension building, a silky and languid dream-like affair.
Aim for my Heart (2021, M, 3.4k) - Harry/Draco/Ron
One of the most sensitive and stunning portraits I’ve ever seen of a poly/triad relationship, this fic packs so much character and longing! It’s a privilege to watch Ron and Draco’s tentative dynamics through the smitten eyes of the one person that loves them like no one else: Harry.
The Long Fall (2021, M, 3.6k)
I can’t even write about this tender domesticity without getting a lump in my throat. Best opening scene I’ve read in years, and a refreshing way to approach both mpreg and parenthood, painfully honest and lovely. This became an immediate comfort read for me, and it’s probably one of the fics I revisit the most.
Mortal Frame (2021, M, 6.6k)
This thrilling, fast-paced spy story left me breathless since the first paragraph, gods what an immersive ride! I’m so here for Drarry on the run, sharp and urgent with danger but mellowed by the silent trust and tender intimacy only Tacky can master. Major bonus points for the brilliant take on the Horcrux hunt plot line!
Last Offices (2020, M, 6.7k)
Oh, this fic 💔 I tend to avoid MCD but there’s something so deeply fascinating about body washing rituals that I caught myself mesmerized by this. I just couldn’t put it down, so emotionally compromised I felt. There’s a sort of strange comfort in the heartbreak of doing one last act of service out of devotion to someone. This fic inspired so many difficult but lovely feelings in me, and one of them was hope. Only Tacky could possibly achieve that!
Our Little Life (2020, M, 7.2k)
Inventive and singular, this story hit me straight on the solar plexus and left me speechless as I saw the (clever, magical and bittersweet) plot unravel. Such a fabulous take on alternate universes and all the angst potential behind it. Come and bask in the yearning melancholia of a short yet intricate and perfectly executed plot.
And One to Play (2019, E, 21k)
What a fun and delightful fic, I can’t have enough of pining Harry losing all sense of propriety when faced with a hot, competent and pragmatic Draco. This has fab dynamics, unhinged protectiveness, even more unhinged attraction between two idiots who can’t keep their hands off each other. A must-read for any Auror partners fan!
A Lick and a Promise (2019, E, 55k)
Hot, BAMF Professors carefully balancing a fuck buddies situation while solving a Hogwarts mystery, do we need anything else? I certainly do not. This fic is so fun and intriguing and immersive, with amazing supportive cast and a delicious get together feat secret shagging and oblivious pining. Love it!
Modern Love (2020, E, 61k)
My favorite read of 2020, this fic is a love letter to Drarry and will always hold a piece of my soul. Sensitive, wistful, tenderly aching and so very romantic, this is a Muggle Draco triumph with a superb Harry, exquisite slow burn and a side of suds comfort. I promise it will be impossible to listen to Bowie again without thinking of this love story.
Bonus: five stunning drabbles!
Something in the Way (2021, T, 119 words)
“Up,” he said, and Draco, sick with love, raised his arms above his head and allowed Potter to slide the jumper on him, big hands stroking it flat over Draco’s stomach until they both shivered.
Stir-Up Sunday (2020, M, 300 words)
“I want you always,” he said, tugging again on the fine curling length of it. “Is it okay to say that?”
Whalebone Arch (2021, M, 722 words)
“Are you still not talking to me?” Draco steered Harry towards the crisps. “Do I have to suck you off in the loo to cheer you up?”
Semiplume (2021, T, 923 words)
“Did you know,” Harry murmured, and he put his arms around Draco, fearless. “I’d be your mate. If you needed a mate, I mean.”
Relic Radiation (2021, M, 927 words)
“You’ll kill me,” Harry said, and Draco turned his face towards the darkened sky, lunar pale, his profile some stupid unearthly thing—a flaring blazar, a supernova—in the light from the kitchen window.
86 notes · View notes
stormblessed95 · 3 years
Text
Vminkook in Muster
For all the anons in my ask box about vminkook and/or taekook and/or jikook not making out, something is wrong.... this is all you get from me, I will not be posting anything about your jikook is dead, jikook just friends, taekook in love, vminkook love triangle, insecurities type asks.
Tumblr media
Sorry that friends interacting with friends makes you insecure. LET TAEKOOK BREATHE! They have been so playful together and its amazing. Its rekindling their bestie vibes type of stuff. No one was all over anyone. In fact if anyone had any "they were all over each other" moments, it was vmin and jinkook.
Tumblr media
Jimin did not force taekook away from each other, he popped up between them as a joke. Taekook were ENDEARED by it, all 3 of them full of giggles. BH is not forcing TK, nor are they keeping JKK apart. These are grown ass men who are fully capable of making their own decisions. If this was literally any trio, OR if we swapped Tae for Jin and Jimin popped up between them, no one would give 2 shits. If you are really JKKrs, stop and ask yourself if JK and JM did any of those basic skin ship moments with a different member, would you still be worried about if they are in love with said member? If its just because its with Tae, then your issue is with him and that's a major problem.
Taekook are allowed to touch each other, joke with each other, be friendly together, play together. I would even encourage it! Their interactions are some the cutest and most funny, especially when Jimin encourages it and joins in on their antics. Maybe we should all care less about what the sheep and the antis say and focus more on what we can see with our own eyes without the shipper influence. I saw no jealousy. I saw no one upset. I saw happiness, fun and lots of giggling between all 7 members. No one was avoiding anyone.
Jikook interacted plenty both days. They had their cute moments just like everyone else did. They searched for eye contact with other often between songs too. What do you want from them? This is a BTS concert, not a jikook kdrama. Are you wanting a rosebowl moment every damn stage? They are WORKING first and foremost. They are all having fun together. Every single interaction between them doesn't need to have a basis of sexual tension. Damn. Sometimes you can simply have friendly Interactions with the man you love. They don't need to make out on stage for their love to still be there. They seemed very happy together on stage, they were just happy to get to see ARMY anyway they could. And they have continued their pattern of posting one after the other on Twitter with their selcas. Its their thing.
LET THEM ALL BREATHE. Damn. Let them be friends, let them all touch each other however they want. Nothing that happened this weekend should be giving anyone insecurities. Enjoy muster for BTS, not just jikook. And celebrate the cute moments had together AND with all the other members too.
Plus, it's not like this was the first time a similar moment happened with vminkook, only with Tae in the middle. Let them have fun together, I BEG YOU PLEASE.
Tumblr media
Grow up and enjoy taekook being cute and enjoy jikook being cute and enjoy vmin being cute and enjoy vminkook being cute. Or just keep it to yourself, thanks.
135 notes · View notes
beevean · 3 years
Text
SEGA and its most recent Sonamy side – more canon than ever
Tumblr media
[Translator’s note: this article was originally written in Spanish by @latin-dr-robotnik​]
Hello again! Today we’d like to discuss about something that’s been happening recently, and probably taking Sonic fans by surprise: what is going on with SEGA and its stance about Sonamy?
At the beginning of this year, to celebrate the 200 articles on Seaside Hill Paradise, I finished what I call “the Sonamy trilogy” of articles that I started in 2018 and which cover different themes, such as:
SEGA and the eternal issue of the Sonic-Amy dynamic
“I love you” – Forbidden words in Sonic
SEGA and the eternal issue of “Sonic’s girlfriend”
The idea was to offer a more-or-less complete analysis about the many facets of their dynamic in the last 27 years; a dynamic that, you may have noticed, is not that easy to pin down, and that we’ve been updating almost regularly (although I also intended to investigate on other dynamics, like Knuckles and Rouge’s for example, and write about them). Generally speaking, in these articles I don’t draw objective conclusions about the status of the ship in canon (despite the fact that the available information tends to confirm it in various occasions). I also like to repeat myself and say that shipping is supposed to be for fun, not for tearing each other’s hair in that black hole of misery that is Twitter, but recent events left us slightly perplexed, and this is why we’re here once again.
We left the status of the Sonamy canonicity with these two peculiar instances back in August: Sonic mentioning his “girlfriend” in the Japanese version of Sonic Battle, and the Twitter account of SEGA of Europe saying Sonamy is their “favorite videogame romance”. Now, let’s recap a bit…
Tumblr media
Sonamy in Sonic IDW... Round 3
[SPOILERS ALERT FOR IDW SONIC #14-#35]
In 2018, when IDW just started, I decided to study a little how the Sonamy dynamic worked in this new universe. To our surprise, the comic didn’t waste time in dropping its biggest bomb, in one of the cutest scenes we had seen in ages. Since the very beginning, IDW proved that it didn’t intend to deceive those fans that looked for a bit of development of both characters.
I wrote an article about it in June 2019, and it coincided with the beginning of one of the most infamous arc I’ve seen in a Sonic comic for a long time: the Metal Virus Saga. The question is, what has happened since then?
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Well, in 2019, with the same accuracy of an aimbot, I said “We’ll probably see some new interactions between Sonic and Amy sometime around IDW #20”. And wouldn’t you know, as misery and tragedy settled in that arc, it was exactly around IDW #20 that we saw some Sonamy interactions: both exhausted, to their limit, with a Sonic that couldn’t even touch Amy to soothe her pain, due to him being infected with the virus.
The arc developed like this in what felt like an eternity, to finally conclude in one the most absurd ways in Sonic history. But it wasn’t a complete disappointment, as, after months and months of asking and discussing on the internet about how much Sonic and Amy deserved a hug at the end of the arc… it actually happened.
Tumblr media
Since that moment in IDW #32, we shippers thought that it was what both of them deserved after so much time spent separated and pushed to their limit to survive, but also that after the end of the arc everything would go back to normal. However, what we didn’t know was that the Sonamy train had no intention of stopping, not in IDW, nor anywhere else.
Tumblr media
A recurring detail in IDW Sonic is that Amy’s tail starts wagging every time she sees Sonic, as if she was a happy dog. I swear, it happens every time.
Come IDW #35, once again we have some hugs and bits of dialogue between our hedgehogs. For sure, the question here isn’t their relationship itself, as it was for IDW #2, but rather the issues this arc is slowly dealing with. But it’s really nice to see them again, sharing that closeness that they’ve had in the comic since the beginning– be it with some gestures of affection, a wink, a gesture, a private joke.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
My favorite image is the first one, Belle’s reaction to seeing Amy hugging Sonic. It’s like she’s thinking “oh, is she his girlfriend?”, and she wouldn’t even be wrong in thinking that.
It can’t be denied that IDW Sonic provided us the conversations and the emotions that the games seldom do. Certainly, the comic has its share of issues and it’s not really a story that I personally follow for its own merits (it’s more because it’s still Sonic, for my interest for things like this, and Belle’s existence… whom I already ship with Tails, sorry not sorry), but what it does well it does really well.
For now, we have to see how IDW Sonic will follow the development of the characters, especially in view of the closure of the current story and beyond. And we may be done with this part of the article, but there is still a lot left.
Tumblr media
Sonamy in merchandise
Taking us completely by surprise, recently SEGA launched, in collaboration with Hot Topic, a series of Sonamy-themed t-shirts. No, seriously.
So many people told me this as soon as the voice spread (you know who you are, thank you guys for thinking about me <3), and I can’t help being still surprised that this is actually a thing. T-shirts with lines like “You’re my favorite”, “Love in the fast lane”, and my personal favorite, “S&A Forever”, with drawings of Classic Sonic and Amy… in SEGA-approved products. I don’t know if you realize how much of a big deal this is, even more than “Celebrate the 25 years of Sonic’s girlfriend” from 2018.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
One of the things that surprised me the most (aside from how explicit they are in officializing the relationship, and the fact that there are still 2 months left before Valentine’s Day 2021), was the decision to use Classic Sonic and Classic Amy. I tried to understand this decision by analyzing the simplicity and easiness with which the Classic designs convey a message (let’s not forget that Classic Sonic was so iconic because it was specifically designed to convey his expressions without words), besides the fact that they’re inherently cuter than their modern designs. There’s also the controversial aspect of post-Adventure Sonamy, with all the dubbing and weird interpretations that the fandom made over the years… By comparison, the Classic design are a much simpler choice.
Tumblr media
What is actually going on?
Well, let’s take a step back and think about what we just saw. The way SEGA has been recently trying to push Sonic and Amy in front view (and for the entirety of 2020, based on the articles I mentioned in the beginning) tells us the harsh truth we all have to accept sooner or later: Sonamy sells, and it sells a lot.
From a strictly business point of view, the ship is so iconic and popular, with fans and detractors alike, that it would be absurd for SEGA to ignore the chance to print these two characters and get a load of money. As I said in my 2018 article, despite the fact that in Japan Sonic isn’t as big of an icon as it is elsewhere, they know pretty well that Sonic + Amy = love, and they have huge amounts of merchandise to back it up. It’s in the West that because of different cultural values, of which we’ve already talked about, along with some internal resistance, left this aspect of the franchise a little on the side. But they’ve been trying to fix it… and how…
Tumblr media
Let’s not forget that a decade and a half ago Sonic Team seriously favored Sonamy. They officially said it, Sonic X was their purest view of Sonic they had at the time.
Outside of the business perspective, I believe we’re facing the moment that we’ve been waiting for: it’s time they’ll establish once and for all the dynamic of these two characters, following more closely the original Japanese vision of Sonic. I said many times that, in trying to change canon, the West, especially SEGA of America, did nothing but confuse fans and generate more discussions than needed, by introducing different data and portrayals that contradict the canon established by Sonic Team.
We’ve talked about Unleashed and emotional support, about Sonic X, about the major moments that opened the door to interpreting this dynamic as something more. We don’t threaten at gunpoint those who would rather stay away, but we respond to those declarations that still try to violently discredit the simple fact that Sonic and Amy, who are most of all close friends, form in some measure a couple that, even with its imposed limitations, manages to captivate fans and not fans everywhere in the world. Even the Simpsons used it as a joke, and that says a lot.
Tumblr media
What the future has in store for us.
Unless something else happens in this last month of 2020, this is the most complete compilation I can offer at the moment about the status of Sonamy in the fandom and in the official canon. Yes, canon.
It’s impossible to ignore the signals. As you may have noticed, I’ve been considering Sonic and Amy as an official couple, with its clarifications (for example, that at the end it’s more of a friendship, that it’s not a romantic relationship in the most explicit way, that it’s more of a personal perspective to justify a more mature vision of the relationship in the future, not right now), but nowadays I think that SEGA has spoken loud and clear. I think canon is ready to negotiate the idea that Sonic and Amy, apart from being excellent friends who would risk their lives for each other in a heartbeat, have something else on their hands (probably the other’s hand). This won’t automatically translate into a kiss, or a complete love declaration (although Sonic X came close…), or a commitment to a formal relationship like we know them in real life. SEGA canon affirms that Amy is “Sonic’s girlfriend” and nothing more. Outside of that detail, they still pretty much function as friends interacting with a little flirting here, and a little Sonic running away there. It’s the basis of their dynamic, now enhanced by the fact that SEGA is giving us a clearer message.
I think that this all may culminate in a game or an animated series, but I wouldn’t completely count on that. It is good to recognize how far the official position goes on this issue, but at the same time I want to reaffirm that there are things that are better left in the hands of the fandom, and in the meantime that IDW or any other continuity gives us hugs, winks, gestures and words of encouragement, we as the fandom will take care of exploring other avenues and hypothetical scenarios.
This is all I have to say on the matter for now, and I hope you’re happy with this wonderful Sonamy experience we’re going through – I certainly am. See you next time!
Tumblr media
324 notes · View notes
nct-lian · 3 years
Text
relationships outside of sm
Tumblr media Tumblr media
JENNIE + LIAN: JENLI
so iconic omg like how they do it, i have no idea
they hang out all the time and lian is literally ALWAYS on jennie’s instagram
the two of them once had an instagram story conversation over pigtails
like,, jennie posted a picture of lian’s pigtails for that one bicycle performance on her story and captioned it “pigtail baby” and then lian reposted it on her own story with a picture of jennie’s pigtails, captioning it “pigtail eomma”
speaking of eomma, jennie is genuinely her mother
jennie takes her shopping all the time
and in return, lian buys her food
the interactions these two used to have at award shows were SO CUTE
everyone remembers when jennie pretty much yelled out lian’s name and she just came running over to the members of blackpink after taeyong let her leave :(
i’m crying just thinking about it help
jennie also posted a full on instagram post for lian on her birthday and had such a sweet caption with it
it was something like “my daughter is finally 21 today! i hope she has an amazing day and i can’t wait to see her later tonight to give her a gift :) haneullie, lots of love from jennie eomma”
SPEAKING OF THE GIFT,, jennie bought her a whole ass $9000 necklace from chanel because she knew that lian was looking for more
IM IN TEARS AND SO ARE YOU ADMIT IT RN
jenli kpop bestest duo
dispatch once thought jennie was on a date with a girl but it turned out to just be her walking lian home after going shopping with her so they never posted anything about it
they were embarrassed they got something wrong so i get it
omfg when news came out that lian and jinwoo broke up mama jennie was threatening to punch the shit out of him
Tumblr media
KEVIN + LIAN: LIMOON
what i’ve been waiting to write for so long okay here we go
so mf chaotic like there are compilations made of these two that scream “go crazy go stupid”
their time as guest mc’s for inkigayo was probably some of the best kpop content we’d gotten in a long ass time
KEVIN IS CAUTIOUS WHEN LETTING HER MEET HIS MEMBERS
cause she’s such a good friend to him and wtf why would he wanna share
“mine mine mine mine” constant dory vibes 24/7
lian thrives off of calling him by his korean name because she knows it annoys him
he’s constantly teasing her for having bagged milk in toronto so he deserves it
the one time lian and jacob talked to each other they seemed to be getting along too much for kevin’s liking so he really went:
“okay lian isn’t it time for you to go” because he WAS GETTING JEALOUSJCLSJX
their styles are pretty much complete opposites and everytime they take pictures together kevin never forgets to mention how off it all looks
“tf is that why are your clothes so boring”
“okay sNaKe pAnTs” because of that one eric moment on kpop daebak show where he said kevin had pants with snakes on them
ALSO BTW LIANS CLOTHES ARENT FUCKING BORING SHES JUST FANCY LIKE THAT
i’m getting heated let me calm down.
they normally speak in english to each other but since lian seems to be stuttering over her words when she isn’t speaking korean, he mixes in a few korean phrases every now and then to help her out
kevin is arguably the most hype every single time lian performs, like he really thinks there isn’t anything better
LIAN MAKES SURE TO UPDATE HER INSTAGRAM STORY WHENEVER TBZ HAVE A COMEBACK SO NCTZENS GO SUPPORT THEM
Tumblr media
LIA + LIAN: LILIA
more lian x the canadian line WOOHOO
lia spent her trainee days really looking up to lian and she’s even mentioned before that she’d love for itzy to get the chance to collab with her for a song
she really has her fingers crossed for that btw
they actually met during an award show when ryujin, chaeryeong and yuna all had to leave because it was past curfew
lian decided to sit next to them and during all the intermissions between performances she, lia and yeji conversed to pass time
they ended up growing a friendship together but lian has a stronger bond with lia
she loves all the girls either way but yk
lia and lian love going to cafes together and taking adorable pictures :(
like whenever lia posts on itzy’s instagram midzeys don’t exactly know whether or not lian would be on it too :0
like lian normally posts all the scenery pictures she gets to keep her instagram pleasing whereas lia posts the pictures the two of them take together
my heart </3
lian treats lia like a whole daughter because it isn’t often she finds girls that are younger than her
*screams in the fact that majority of sm’s female artists are all from 2015 and under*
like when i say lian SPOILS her i’m not joking
she will randomly call lia up like:
“hey i’m gonna get you out of that dungeon, come get some chicken with me”
and then they’ll just hang out together
but only if lian is out of the dungeon herself because wbk she ain’t treated very well </3
Tumblr media
EUNWOO + LIAN: WOOLI
their chemistry is fucking insane holy shit
like their acting for past to present was seriously so praised, netizens found it hard to believe it was all just for the show
dating rumours follow these two everywhere,, like everywhere
it’s one of the most popular ships inside ncity when it comes to lian and other idols
i kid you not one tweet said “chanhyeok treated jihye so well in past to present, i’m only wondering how well eunwoo would treat lian 👀”
LIKE STOP PUTTING IDEAS INTO PEOPLES HEADS YOURE KILING ME HERE ISTG
but yeah they do look really good together
and they’re an amazing pair for acting
when eunwoo started working with inyeop for true beauty, he said:
“hyung’s dating my girlfriend” because of the fact that both of them have acted with lian and BOTH of them dated her in the dramas
what a coincidence though
we all cried when we saw chanhyeok and jihye kiss for the first time DONT LIE
EUNWOO FOLLOWS HER ON INSTAGRAM
and they wished each other happy birthday on their instagram stories
there’s actually people who like to think that they dated while filming for past to present andddd they radiate big delulu vibes
like you know liskook shippers? wooli shipped are kinda the same, but not as intense (thank god)
BUT CAN WE BLAME THEM LIKE THEIR CHEMISTRY? THE WAY THEY TALKED TO EACH OTHER? PLEASE
they took a lot of cute pictures together behind the scenes (ノ﹏ヽ)
Tumblr media
MOMO + LIAN: LIMO
DANCER DUO DANCER DUO
this ship isn’t actually as popular as we would like it to be, but nonetheless people love limo
a lot of interactions during award shows !!
like for example momo’s fancams always captured her dancing perfectly to lian’s choreo
and lian smiling in momo’s direction
i love them
when lian found out about heechul and momo’s relationship, she asked momo if she was her mom now because of how much of a father figure she considers heechul to be JDFJK
“i mean sure”
they’ve actually done a vlive together before (ᗒᗨᗕ)
it was when lian visited her at the twice dorms and they ended up getting bored so they decided to do a vlive in the living room
THEY PLAYED DARE OR DARE AND LIAN HAD TO DO THE TEARS CHALLENGE (so chan whee) ON MOMOS KARAOKE MACHINE
her throat was dry for the rest of the night
after seeing momo’s hair for the i can’t stop me era, lian actually wanted to cut it like that
but she decided against it because she loves her long hair too much
the two of them met on hit the stage where they competed against each other in a freestyle dance battle
after that they just started casually talking over the phone and became great friends
with the way momo talks about lian, you’d think they’re dating-
“oh, lian- she’s so pretty! i love her a lot!”
and the same goes for lian, she loves talking about momo’s dancing skills
Tumblr media
JACKSON + LIAN: JACKLIAN
her dad :/
adopted her with amber liu like a year ago so now she’s just his daughter
supports each other like crazy not even joking
jackson promotes her on instagram and twitter 24/7
THEY HAVE SO MANY INTERACTIONS THANK GOD
lian was once given a ridiculously short dress while attending an award show and jackson gave her his jacket to wear over her legs because she wasn’t provided a blanket :(
(keep in mind, she went there without the members!)
lian added all his music to her playlist :)
once got drunk together and spent like three hours doing karaoke but it’s okay cause it was fun
speaking of getting drunk, jackson’s the cool dad that lets her do whatever she wants
he has his protective moments where he’s like “ma’am where are you going on that short of a dress” but he’s also like “hey wanna go get chicken and soju”
they both appeared on a radio show together as guests and they ruined the whole broadcast because they were too loud
like they kept getting out of their seats to go wave at all the fans outside the window and they were just fighting back and forth about whether or not lian’s extensions look real
according to jackson, they’re “NOT AUTHENTIC ENOUGH- LOVE YOUR HAIR FOR WHAT IT IS, LIANNA HANEUL BAE.” lian’s hair lives matter :/
PLSSS WHEN HYOSEOP AND LIAN STARTED DATING- no
jackson was so proud that his good friend was smooching his other good friend but the protective dad instincts really kicked in
“break her heart and you die no cap”
was surprisingly chill when they broke up though, he was just glad lian didn’t cry
Tumblr media
SUNMI + LIAN: SUNLI
SUNMI IS HER MOM OHMYGOD
so many interactions
honestly took lian under wing once she debuted as a soloist
female kpop soloists gotta have each other’s backs in this industry man :(
sunmi calls lian her princess SOBS
lian always hugs sunmi at award shows, like if they’re sitting close together
or if they’re standing next to each other on stage
you bet your ass lian is gripping onto sunmi for dear life
did a photoshoot together for marie claire korea
they’re so hot bro
BUT THEY FIRST MET ON WEEKLY IDOL NOT LONG AFTER LIAN DEBUTED AS A SOLOIST
they were kinda awkward ngl uh
but by the end of it they were besties :DD
and they’ve been besties ever since
lian is the ceo of doing dance covers for sunmi’s songs
cmon lian we’re waiting for tail 👀
sunmi has actually met lian’s grandma </3
like her and lian were hanging out at the dorms while the boys were out on a schedule and her grandma just randomly showed up with homemade food so that was definitely a win
Tumblr media
BANG CHAN + LIAN: LICHAN
they’ve been friends for a LOOONGGG time
and chain’s known her since dating back to like, smrookies era when lian was still a red velvet member
like at that time she had no idea he existed, but he was keeping up with her daily :(
chan plays her music on vlives all the time and he always knows the dance moves
like he just dances along in his chair and mumbles the lyrics
we love to see it
a lot of fans ship them together
SURPRISE SURPRSIE AH
only because chan gives off big pining energy
lian only looks at him like “:D” whereas he looks at her like “♡•♡”
kinda sad but
lian promotes him on live so often HVKSVU
“my friend chan is coming back with his group soon, you should check it out! :)”
and the way she just says “my friend chan” LIKE ITS SO OBVIOUSLY A FRIENDZONE BUT HE THINKS ITS ADORABLE
he once got a comment on a vlive to react to lian moments, obviously complying because who wouldn’t
there was this one clip of her saying “my friend chan from stay kids!” and whoever edited the compilation added in squishy noises right after while zooming in on her face
AND CHAN BLUSHED SO HARD NOO
“oh- hahaha, uhh, she’s so cute aw hahahah”
Tumblr media
ASHLEY + LIAN: ASHLI
oh god not another lian x mom ship
ASHLEY LOVES LIAN WOAH
like she’s submitted lian’s resume to bm so many times so they could be part of the big tiddie committee together
ashley is constantly, and i mean constantly, reposting all of lian’s posts on her story with captions like “LOOK AT HER GO”
and lian has even discovered all the cool instagram filters because of ashley, and now we get the quality content from her that WE DESERVEEEEE
back when lian’s album came out, all ashley’s story really was was just screenshots of her streaming all the songs and calling them bops
when they first met in person after texting back in forth, ashley spammed her instagram story with pictures of lian that she took without her looking
these two radiate a lot of “YES GIRL WORKKK ITTT TURN THIS WAY OKAYYY POSE POSE POSE” energy
lian’s been featured in one of ashley’s youtube videos and it was when they met for the first time :)
they exchange a lot of gifts through the mail
like lian once found a mug when shopping with doyoung and she thought that it would fit ashley’s taste so she sent it to her apartment
and ever since then they just send random little gifts to each other’s houses
it’s so cute
MATCHING BUCKET HATS THEY HAVE MATCHING BUCKET HATS !!!!!!
ashley talks about lian all the time
she always says that for someone so young, she’s accomplished a lot and she’s really proud of her
they wanna do tiktoks with each other but they never have the time </3
lian spam comments on ashley’s instagram like “WOAH” “OKAYYYY” “YESYESYES”
115 notes · View notes
myrandom-fandomlife · 3 years
Note
Hello! I'm the anon from the 4 part ask that you answered earlier! I saw your post about the different "eras" of DNF and I would like to share some of my opinions since I've been in the fandom since March of last year, so maybe I can write my own analysis and briefly explain what happened during these times (and hopefully someone will find enjoyment in reading this)!
So the first era was probably the most "baity" period where every interaction between Dream and George with slight romantic undertones was pure bait. From Dream placing romantic music in the background, to the small texts on screen that would read "arguing like a married couple" and even proclaiming his love to George any second he could, it was obvious that it was a means to garner a reaction and moments that could be used in compilations, edits, videos, etc. Dream addressed George just the same as he currently does Sapnap or Bad: Dude, Bro, etc, and when they weren't attempting to bait, for example on streams, things were chill, no tension, just two bros hanging out in minecraft.
LOVE OR HOST ERA. The catalyst in DNF's relationship, in my humble opinion. Now, where do I begin? So, LOH was definitely a time that I believe Dream became aware of his feelings towards George (platonic or romantic, I can't be sure) and his fear of losing him. Before/During George's LOH, we got Dream saying some interesting things, the most notable one "George is the only man I can see myself dating". Now, I'm pretty sure this was meant as bait, but how he reacted prior to LOH, was very telling. Dream would avoid George like the plague in every situation that didn't require them to interact. Twitter? Only one mention (and that was literally him tagging George in Andrea's post in spite). Stream? That I can remember he didn't join much during this time, nor did he stream that often. During MCC, the DT was separated in different teams, Sapnap & George together and Dream alone. Now Sapnap DID pop off. He was doing amazing. And Dream complimented him and his team quite a lot. But what about George? I believe he mentioned him ONCE. This was the first time we see Dream jealous in regards to George, and the lack of content and interactions between these two made many believe DNF was dead and abandon the ship all together.
QUACKITY AND KARL. Now there is a lot that happened in between LOH Arc and the friendship between the DT with Karl and Quackity. Dream and George seemed to have solved whatever occured between them, and things were tranquil. We got a few baity moments here and there, but we also started to get the start of the infamous "name-truthing", the soft voices and other subtle moments. Now, during this time George, Dream and Sapnap started developing their friendship with Quackity and Karl, George in particular started getting closer with them and spending LOTS of time with them, so much so that we got more G/K/Q content than we did DT content. And we get Jealous Dream 2.0., only difference from the other occurence of jealously? He addressed it publicly, admitted that he was frustrated and physically affected by the lack of attention from the british man. He confronted George while he was streaming, with an audience of 50k+ viewers. He was desperate.
Things were pretty calm after that, the more intimate and subtle moments between the two became more and more apparent and began to outweight the baity moments. Quackity/George/Karl continued to blossom their friendship, and DNF was slowly becoming a topic to tease George and Dream (I can only compare their teasing to that of middle schoolers when their friends had a crush). We can compare this teasing to that of Skephalo, the difference, while one is leaning on the more explicit side and used to make others laugh or get an over the top reaction, the other was used as an inside joke of sorts, only brought up to embarass or shut up Dream/George when they got over-confident (most times it would effectively leave them quiet, important to note, is that they never denied the claims nor attempted to).
TRAINS PODCAST. Oh boy, was this a night to remember. A historical mark for DNF. The point in history that George decided to become BOLD and actively flirt with Dream whenever he wanted to, rendering or poor Leo speechless most of the time. That podcast changed these men, it unlocked something within them and things have never been the same since. This is where we see the dynamic take a major switch, and baity moments had become almost non-existent, and instead we got probably some of the most tension filled convos between these himbos. Name-truthing had become something natural between them, the unavoidable excitement whenever they hear one another in call, suddenly ever call became a matter of how long until they were third-wheeling everyone. It's also during this time that we clearly see a difference in between Dream & Sapnap's relationship and Dream & George's relationship (not that one outweighed the other, but the nature of these relationships were very much opposing)
And finally we are in our current stance. Where the sweet, obnoxious moments continue to pile; More and more of their friends are calling them out (you can literally see Quackity and Karl becoming more direct and, quite honestly, aggressive with their call-outs. I bet they are just as tired as we are); The whole hoodie fiasco and the secretive pictures; Syncing sleep schedules once again; Tension continue to grow and you can see them testing the waters, in a game of tug of war until one of them caves in and starts the conversation.
As I said before, they have nothing to gain from the bait they are currently doing. They excuse it as being a joke, and hide behind this lie, as a means to test the development and seriousness of whatever they have going on. The whole Valentine's thing proves that they (unfortunately) do not understand when the other is being sincere or baity...
Also here is some food for thought. George has been very clingy with Dream ever since he and Sapnap moved in together. Not being able to see each other is certainly another factor that is affecting them.
I'm anxious to figure out what in the hell is happening next between our oblivious idiots with communication issues. It sometimes seems surreal the things that occur between them, and straight out of a fanfic.
Anyway, sorry for the long rant and if this wasn't very interesting to read! Just wanted to get some thoughts out of my head!! Stay safe and hope you have a good day/afternoon/night! ❤
Hi love! Glad to have you back <3
Firstly, don’t ever be sorry for ranting in my inbox, especially ab dnf. I love to see it!
Thank you for this, especially the early parts when I wasn’t in the fandom yet. Ahh this is super helpful.
I agree that George has gotten more clingy since Sapnap and Dream moved in together which is so funny because Dream and George have a more similar sleep schedule than Sapnap and Dream do LMAO
But yes all of this ugh I’m deeming you my genius anon
83 notes · View notes
sizzlingpatrolfox · 2 years
Note
Isn't it that we just like to choose our favorite ship connection and imagine things that have never happened to us and we want to experience it in this way? Maybe things are not as we think, maybe we add a lot to ourselves?
For some it could be like that, yeah. For others it's not like that.
We definitely add a lot to what we see. It's not really something we can avoid tho, and it doesn't only happen with ships, it happens in everyday life with people that are in our lives too.
I could see a girl crying with an icecream on the floor next to her and I would inmediately think that she's crying because her icecream fell and I don't even have to try thinking about the why, the thought is just there as soon as you lay your eyes on something. Our minds make connections in a heartbeat. Most times you won't even realize you're thinking of something and when you notice, it's a full formed idea with even little baby ideas (majority of shippers say it happened to them like that, they didn't even know what shipping was but saw something in these two people, etc.) It happened like that with Jikook for me, too. I knew what shipping was, tho lol.
I can only talk about myself and then some other experiences I've read people talking about on twitter, so I'll say that I don't personally see myself neither in Jimin nor Jungkook. I'm the same MBTI type as Jimin and I see some similarities in the way he treats the people he loves and that he's unapologetically himself. But that's as far as my "I relate to JM" experience goes. And I love Harry Styles and I've related to him in this same way all of my life as a fan of his so it's definitely not exclusive to Jimin.
I've dated my best friend and we were closeted, so if we consider jikook are best friends who are dating while closeted, then I've already had what they have. And it was a beautiful relationship with lots of grand gestures too and being attached at the hip 24/7. I still have very intense relationships, even if they don't last long.
I can say every ship has something different, and for every type of person out there.
Jinkook is basically only about skinship. Taekook is about laughing a lot together and growing up together and skinship and being "partners in crime". Namkook is about Jungkook admiring Namjoon as a hero and Namjoon being his "boy-crush" (as said by Jungkook). Minimoni is about long, thoughtful conversations under the moon and being soft about the universe. Yoonmin is about... whatever yoonmin have going on honestly. Vminners love that JM and Taehyung went to school together and were friends first, the friends-to-lovers trope.
So basically, there's something for everyone.
Maybe for some people, they're drawn to a ship because they see something they've never had and want to experience that; for some others it could be that they see a type of relationship they're used to having; for some others it could be a "oh, so this is the type of love I've read about" kind of thing. Some others are into it just for the conspiracy theories and to feel like they're solving a mistery. For others it's about ego too, "I'm right you're wrong".
I've seen taekookers say that Jikook is vulgar because they prentend to kiss and suck on each other's necks and make ramen jokes. It sounds like they just think gay relationships are disgusting. I've seen them say that Taehyung is doing the right kind of fanservice because he knows exactly where people's minds will go to when he said he will marry BTS members, and that fanservice it's okay, not like the ones doing fanservice by "sucking ears". 
(SIDENOTE: that I will marry BTS members commentary and the weverse post are the things I’m talking about when I say that Taehyung doesn’t mind being shipped, and he doesn’t mind being shipped with JK either and even encourages it. Also what I talked about when I said he does ((and says)) things just for the sake of it, like saying he raised him when he most likely didn’t.) 
So I guess for them taekook is okay because they're not actually gay men talking or implying actual gay sex. Of course they ignore that part. So all I take from that is that they want their (relation)ships to be about cisgay men who don't have sex or aren't interested in sex. Sounds fake but ok. They’re literally like my mother who says she doesn’t care about gay people as long as they’re not kissing in public or “rubbing it in her face”. 
Someone kept telling me last week or so that I was wrong about taekook being close and they're uncomfortable with each other and all their moments are fanservice, and just a while ago Taehyung posted a picture with JK's dog when he was smaller. People not only add things to the ships they like, but they also add things to the ships they don't like.
People will add things because it’s all they’ve known, or because they think their experiences are universal so a bts member MUST be feeling the same way I felt when something similar happened to me, or because they desperately want to be right, or ... or.. or... the list is endless. 
I hope I answered at least some part of you question. You can ask me again if there’s something you don’t understand!!
10 notes · View notes
graysmiles-world · 3 years
Text
Depths of Insanity
so i was feeling pretty angsty, but i’m too tired to come up with something new, so here’s a oneshot i wrote based on a previous tumblr post of mine.
find the ao3 link here, and the tumblr post here
TW: major char death, suicidal ideation, and blood
Summary: In a fit of strength, Percy was able to pull up Annabeth while she was dangling over the edge, her feet reaching down into Tarturas. However, Percy then slipped, falling alone into the darkness.
Answering the question: What if Percy fell into Tartuaras alone?
Your memory is a monster. It summons with will of its own. You think you have a memory, but it has you."- John IrvinsIt
It was so sudden, so quick, that Annabeth didn't even have time to call out before her chin hit the stone.
Her feet were dangling over the edge, the web that was wrapped around her foot pulling her into the abyss. It was if as if the darkness itself was creeping forward, slowly consuming Annabeth as she hung on.
Percy was holding her hand, keeping her tethered to the sunlight, to him. But he was grunting and his forehead was beaded with sweat.
“Percy," she breathed. "It's okay." Tears dotted her eyes. Her fingers were slipping, falling away from his.
Sacrifices, beautiful sacrifices. The voice from the pit mused. Annabeth knew that she was crying, tears now flowing down her cheeks.
She didn’t think she would die like this, she had been so happy when Percy had appeared above her. Was that only moments ago? It felt like hours.
Seconds felt like minutes as if her mind knew that her life was ending soon and was trying to make it last as long as possible.
”No!" Percy said, his voice raw. "No!"
Annabeth desperately wanted to assure him that it’s okay. That everything will be okay. But the words got caught in her throat, blocking her ability to breathe as well as speak.
With a cry and a final bout of strength, Percy swung her up and over the edge, the web on her ankle-breaking. But the momentum made him slip, the stone cracking under him.
Annabeth felt her body hit the ground and her throat cleared. She was alive and safe. But when a strangled cry came from behind her, she knew something was wrong.
Percy fell before Annabeth could even move. His figure disappeared in the darkness. It wasn’t like how the darkness pulled her, slow and painfully. His fall was quick, only with a flash of a tanned hand reaching up before he disappeared from her view. It was as if he was never there.
The sound that Annabeth made was inhumane, it came out of the deep crevices of her gut, bursting out of her chest.
"Percy!" She screamed, falling to her knees. Her hands grasped the edge that she was just dangling off of.
Kneeling in the same place that Percy just was. He wasn't even there long enough to warm the stone, it as cold and inhumane as it was when she was laying on the ground, thinking of how to trick Arachne. But now, Arachne was in the pit, with Percy.
She screamed so loud that her voice left her, so loud that Percy must have heard it, no matter how deep in the earth he was.
Annabeth was restrained before she could jump in herself. Every single one of the other demigods had to pull her, still kicking and scratching and trying to get back to where Percy had just fallen.
"He'll die!" She cried. "He'll die!"
She had to go back, she had to go and save him. She had to go and tell him that she was sorry and that she loved him.
-
We’re together. Percy had said. Oh, how Annabeth wished that to be true.
She stood at the railing of the ship. Was it only that morning when she and Percy went around Rome?
Her fingernails have been bitten to the buds, now digging into the wood so hard that blood smeared when she moved.
The Athena Parthenos was supposed to protect them.
What complete and utter bullshit.
Piper appeared a little while later, holding a mug of hot chocolate.
“Here,” she said. Her voice was soft, and she looked at Annabeth as if she was made of glass. Annabeth wanted to scream at her, to tell her to stop with the pitying looks and soft voices.
She wanted noise. She wanted someone to make a joke and everyone to laugh. She wanted to pretend that Percy was still there. That if she didn’t turn around, he would be there - laughing. That if she didn’t turn around, he’d be fighting a monster or smiling with that stupid crooked grin.
When Annabeth did nothing but stare at her with an ugly frown, Piper left the hot chocolate on the railing next to her. On top of the smeared blood.
The last time she drank hot chocolate, it had been in New Rome.
It felt like dust was rolling atop her tongue, so she spit it out, and for good measure, chucked the mug overboard too.
It splashed and fell under the waves. Another pang hit her as she was reminded of Charleston. Of when she threw her dagger into the harbor and Percy appeared as if he’d been summoned.
Annabeth stared at the rolling waves for another hour before she knew for certain that Percy wasn’t going to appear.
-
The days continued in silence. Whenever Annabeth left her room, she was met with empty smiles and pitied gazes. Nico told her regularly that he felt Percy's life force, but with it came the same unsaid warning.
Don't get your hopes up, they were all saying. He may not survive.
But she knew he was lying. She had overheard him whispering to Hazel about they needed to keep her  hopes up so she’d be more likely to help
The only thing he hasn’t lied about was Percy was one of the most powerful demigods, and if anyone could make it - it was him. He said it carefully, thinking that if said too fast - Annabeth would suddenly break down.
Annabeth did break down, she cried all that night from the comfort of her room. The next morning, everyone saw the eyebags that hung from her eyes, dragging them down.
The team slowly fell apart. Annabeth was the glue that had dried up. She just didn’t find the strength to care, let them take the mantle for once. She did her work quietly and efficiently, no one dared defy her.
-
When they finally did arrive at the House of Hades, Annabeth was forced to wait until Hazel could clear up the passage.
So she fought, and holy gods, she fought with everything she had. She clawed, she bit, she fought with every bit of anger that had been building up inside her since the pit grabbed a hold of Percy and pulled him down.
When the battle was done, she was tired and bleeding. Her arm was definitely broken and she had to limp to the others. But, when she caught sight of Percy - all her energy was repaired.
He was bleeding and bruised, dirt-covered him from head to toe. A groan escaped him every few moments, and she didn’t like the wheezing that accompanied it. But she just waited for him to wake, pushing his hair away from his face. When he opened his eyes, Annabeth felt her breath catch in her throat.
She was only able to see her own broken reflection in his gaze, his eyes darkening from seafoam to a hurricane. But when he whispered: "Annabeth?" in a scratchy voice and smiled, a weight lifted off her chest.
There he was, there was her Seaweed Brain.
She had sobbed and he had too. But that was okay because he was okay. Everything was okay.
They were together.
-
When they got back to the ship and things started returning back to how it was before, Annabeth noticed little things that began to pile up.
Whenever Percy struck down a monster, watching it crumble to dust, his eyes were a little too bright, smile a little too gleeful. His anger reigned unchecked. Sewage water ran through the hallways constantly. If he was alone, more often than not, his eyes would flash and the others would scramble to leave.
When Annabeth was with him, she would touch him slowly, like water lapping his skin. First a few fingers, then a palm, then after a moment - a hug. Percy would unravel slowly and carefully only when he knew that Annabeth was there to catch him.
Every friendship that he had formed slowly crumbled, his anger overtaking everything else. But sometimes, he would crack a joke and the broken pieces of her heart would start to be pieced back together.
Annabeth still prayed to the gods for him to be okay, to get better. Because her Percy was still there, in between the fits of madness, he was there. He made jokes and smiled in his lopsided smile and would wrap her up in his arms like he never wanted to let her go.
-
It wasn't until a few days later that Annabeth realized that Percy wasn't okay, and may never be again.
A flock of harpies had appeared on one of the nights that Percy was patrolling. (He had insisted that he was better and needed some normalcy back in his life, so Annabeth let him with a rueful smile and a nod. His grin at that had been worth it.)
When Annabeth had walked upon the deck that early morning, she was met with the convulsing bodies of a flock of harpies, slowly crumbling to dust. Percy was standing above them, just watching and listening to their anguished cries. It was like a broken piece of the wood railing came up and stabbed her in the gut. Her hands went to her stomach, where she was sure the wound was, where the cries of the monsters dug deep into her skin. Percy just stood there, the hurricanes in his eyes swirling with a vengeance, staring at the harpies as they cried for death.It wasn't until Annabeth looked at him with tears in her eyes and a broken " Percy," that he let them die. Annabeth cleared her throat and just stared at him, wondering if this was just imposter in his clothing.
They didn't tell the others about that morning.
-
Annabeth started sneaking into Percy's room at night. They'd sit his cot, heads resting against each other.
He'd tell her about what happened, how he fell into the Cocytus. How he thought of her, of their life together. He spoke about Achlys, how he poisoned her so badly she turned into a shadow of herself. How he convinced Bob and Damsaen to help him at the heart of Tarturas. How he didn't want to die.
Annabeth would be terrified and scared when he spoke. But the way that his head was nestled between her shoulder and neck, and how he clasped her hand as if he was afraid she would leave made the guilt curl around her heart and stay there.So she would sit and listen quietly, trying desperately to understand the boy next to her. To find pieces that she remembered and attach them to him. They would get through this, together.
Percy would slowly fall asleep, drool collected at the corner of his mouth. And Annabeth would just get an overwhelming feeling of love for the sleeping boy in front of her. She would press a kiss to his hair and then wet it with her own tears.
-
Annabeth fell, the wound on her leg bleeding red, it bubbling to gold as it hit the dirt. Before she rose to go back to her mother, to go back to help with the fight, she caught sight of Percy. He and Poseidon were fighting Thoon.
Percy turned towards her, she saw him - her Percy - for a moment in the madness. But it was gone in an instant, he raised his sword - pointing at something behind her. Annabeth turned and saw Periboia lumbering towards her. She stood and grabbed her dagger from where it laid a few feet away.She was able to dart around Periboia trunk legs even with her cut leg. She grabbed a stray piece of clothing and pulled herself up, grasping at anything and everything that could give her leverage. She climbed the giant like a spider, pulling herself onto Periboia's shoulder. Percy called out again and Annabeth was met with the giant's hand. She was swatted off like a nat.
Annabeth hit the ground with a thud. When her vision cleared, she was met with the sight of Thoon swinging his cleaver towards Percy. Percy rose Riptide to block it, but something happened and it flew from his grasp, hitting the dirt. Ares' curse. Annabeth knew immediately.
His weapon will fail when he needs it most.
Thoon sliced Percy's face. Thankfully, it wasn't deep enough to seriously hurt him, due to Percy's fast reflexes, but Annabeth was able to see his teeth through his cheek when he cried out in pain.
Annabeth let out a scream so close to the one on that cold stone floor, struggling to her feet.
Thoon hit away Percy like a fly, causing him to crash into the wall and fall with a pitiful thump. Her throat closed up when he didn’t move. But the ground began to shake and the sides of the stone walls to crumble. Dust rained down.
He rose, severely favoring his left, but no less powerful than he was moments before. Despite what the giants had claimed earlier, Percy was creating an extremely large earthquake right where Gaea was to be sacrificed to.
He glared at Thoon, his hurricane eyes becoming reality. The cut on his face missed his eye by a centimeter, sliding up his forehead before meeting his hairline. His teeth were gleaming, seen through the hole in his cheek. Blood dripped down his face and fell from his chin. The giant fell, the added weight of a falling giant only amplifying the already terrifying earthquake.
”The Earth goddess it awake!” Eurymedon cried out.
Percy gently touched his cut, the pain probably setting in. When he realized what had happened, his rage only grew.
Annabeth grabbed at the dirt, digging her hands into the mud underneath to stop herself from rolling around. Poetic really, clinging onto the very thing she was fighting against while trying to protect herself from the person she loved most.
All around, the giants were falling and failing about, but Percy was still focused on Thoon. With a yell of rage, he held up his hand as if grabbing something from the air, and then threw it down. Thoon let out a scream of agony, dust and ichor pouring from his ears, nose, mouth, eyes. The giant cried out in pain.The sight was too similar to the morning on the deck, so Annabeth turned away. When Periboia was finally only dust before her, she looked over.Poseidon was standing over where Thoon previously laid. He looked up to his son and even though Annabeth couldn’t hear what he was saying, his expression was one of heartbreak.
Annabeth knew that expression. She saw it every time she looked at her reflection.
When the battle was over and the gods and demigods were gathered, Percy was left alone. His gaze was on the wall behind them. Piper silently handed him some ambrosia that he chewed quietly. But Annabeth saw the way his jaw clenched, it didn't taste like his mother's cookies anymore.
His wound slowly healed, his skin melding together before their very eyes, but it still glimmered pink in the light. Dried blood surrounded it.
His aura had changed too, soured. Couch Hedge would look at Percy and then look away. His father just stared with a sad expression.
Zeus was the only one who met his gaze. His eyes holding flashing lightning. It was obvious he wanted Percy killed, but when Percy finally met Zeus’ gaze, Zeus looked away.
-
It didn't happen for a while. But one day, after Gaea's demise, Annabeth woke up and she knew.
Percy had left.
She didn’t blame him. But she knew, she knew deep in her heart that when he returned they will be on opposite sides. The moments between the madness have faded, becoming shorter and shorter with each day. The day they met again, the insane would have clawed into his skin and clung there. And he would accept it, let it burrow deep in his skin and mind.
An itch started at the back of her mind, whisperings of a situation that went this exact way - years earlier. She just didn't know if it would end the same way.She didn't know if he would show up with gold or hurricane eyes. She didn't know which one she would prefer.
-
She did not see him for a long time, but her memories of him never faded. Her gaze would wander suddenly and without warning when a memory from the deep abyss of her mind came forward. Those memories were terrible because whenever she thought of him, she thought of what he had become. She thought of the yell of rage and the earthquake. She thought of that morning on the deck.
Others started to leave her alone, seeing that she staring off into nothing more often than not. It was worst than when Hera stole him all those months ago because Annabeth knew that she could find him then. If Annabeth went off and searched for Percy, she would never find him. Not even if she scoured the earth for the rest of her life, he was gone. And that made her have to blink away the tears from her eyes.
But when she was alone at night, sitting on his bunk in the Poseidon cabin, she would call forward the sweet ones. The ones from before he was taken. Before each thought was lined with sadness. She would cradle the sweet memories in her hands, refusing to cry in case she tainted them.
She’d only relive them in the confines of his cabin when she could look around and see things exactly how he left them. When she could look under his bunk and see old coke cans. When she could open his drawers and rock back t-shirts would be staring up at her. She could look over to fountain’s constant bubbling.
Sometimes she would fall asleep, her nose pressed against his pillow. Sea salt and lemon. Him and her.
-
She once passed the Hypnos cabin and thought about wandering inside. Of falling on a bed and never waking up, of reliving the sweet memories until her mind and body withered to nothing. But a breeze moved her hair and the moment had passed.
-
They heard whispers, of a new threat on the horizon. And once more - Annabeth knew.
Despite the ache in her gut telling her that it's not true, that the 12-year-old boy who smiled at her so hopefully before that first capture the flag wouldn't do that. That the boy who whispered comforts to her in the back of that old trunk that smelled of hay with Oreos in his teeth couldn't do that.
But just like before, Annabeth knew.
-
Months, maybe even a year later, time was up. She couldn't ignore the whispers any longer.
There was a battle approaching. Wide eyes and fearful words made up camp as they heard who was leading it. More looked at her with pity, like how the other seven had looked the days and weeks after he fell.
-
And then finally, the day came.
It was bloody and terrible and the entire time she was fighting, there was a phantom ache in her heart. There was an empty space next to her, the air still despite the incessant screams and cries because there was no witty comment to cover them up. No kiss at the beginning. No laughter with at her refute.
But in the end, she saw him.
-
Annabeth loved him. She never stopped loving him. And seeing him for the first time in what felt like forever, almost broke her.
Percy stood in front of her, close enough to touch. But she knew that she couldn't run up to him and threaten him. She knew he wouldn't bubble up with laughter when she did it. Those days were gone.
She stared into his broken eyes, praying for them to return to the original happiness. He still loved her, she knew for sure, because of the way he cried.
”Please, Annabeth," he pleaded. "Come with me."
Tears leaked from his eyes, the eyes that were still too dark. The eyes that were still shattered beyond repair.
His scar on his face was stark white, contrasting deeply with his tanned skin. Ares had given him that scar.
And at that moment, more than ever before, Annabeth loathed the gods.The gods had done this.
They had taken the loveable idiot who collapsed on the Big House porch all those years ago and turned him into this monster.They had done this to him. They ruined his life and hers.
And Annabeth wanted to say "yes." She wanted to take his hand and go away. To go with him and try to change the world for the better. Because she knew that that's what he thought he was doing. He honestly thought that the gods would destroy them, and he was trying to save them - to save her in his own twisted way. Because that is what the gods did, they took his mind and heart and twisted them into something so unidentifiable that she couldn't see the boy she fell in love with. She couldn't see the boy she would say yes to. When she blinked, she saw golden eyes and a scar so similar to Percy's.
-
Annabeth was 16 again. Luke was on the floor in front of Percy, begging for the dagger. But now it was Percy before her, staring at her with his sad, broken eyes, and white scar, begging for her to come with him.  She could kill him. He would let her. Because he still loved her.
-
And Annabeth did. She thrust the dagger that killed Luke all those years ago into Percy's chest. She killed him with snot and tears running down her face, but she killed him. She couldn’t help but think of the boy she met with the crooked smile and seafoam eyes. She thought of the boy with the bubbly laughter and fierce loyalty.
She had tried to help him so much, her own pride stopping her from seeing that she couldn't save him. She had lost that chance when he disappeared into nothingness all that time ago.
-
This was the second boy she loved, the second boy she killed. The second boy who laid dying in her arms.
And while Percy's eyes cleared for the first time in such a long time, Annabeth sobbed. For she had just seen the boy she fell in love with for the first and last time.
She cried and sniffled, wiping her stray tears away from his face. And as he laid dying in her lap, she ran her fingers through his hair. A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.
The blood pooled in her lap, staining her hands, her clothes. Her fingers smeared blood against his cheekbones, his eyelids. Along his scar.
She wished that he didn't bleed blood but rather sand. That he was just another monster that she killed and that the cracks in her palms were filling up with dust.
She wished that he bled rivers. That the Lethe or even the Styx was running through his veins. That the liquid that was pooling around them would take away her memories, would burn her into dust herself.
But the blood was blood, it was human. He was human. It dripped from her blade and Annabeth stared at her blood-stained, distorted reflection before she threw it as hard as she could.
He never wanted to die, she remembered. He had never wanted to die like a monster.
-
With the dead boy in her arms, Annabeth mourned. She mourned for the boy with the gleaming eyes and the warm hugs. She mourned for the boy she loved. For the little kid, she met when she was 12 with the crooked armor and smile.
And she thought of Luke. More specifically, his mother. Annabeth used to wonder if May Castellan still burnt the cookies and made the sandwiches even though they molded. Now she had her answer. Yes, May Castellan kept making the sandwiches and the cookies because she believed that one day, her little loveable boy would return home.
Because Annabeth would have never stopped waiting too, and she knew that.
-
Slowly, the others came. Bloody and bruised, cuts littering their body and limbs in casts, they came. All cried when seeing the boy in her arms.
Even those who have lost someone. Especially those who had lost someone.
They mourned the boy they all knew before he was forced into the darkness alone, and afraid.
Piper sat by Annabeth as they moved the body, not caring that the blood, Percy's blood would be stained to her just like it was to Annabeth.
Thalia wiped the tears from Annabeth's cheeks. She pressed her lips against Annabeth's skuall and didn't mention how they lost another piece of their family, she didn't have to.
Hazel sat on the other side of Annabeth, her cinnamon hair barely reaching Annabeth's ear. They didn't care that they didn't know him long, that the man who came to mind when they thought of Percy, was not Percy.
Because the boy with the broken eyes and crazy smile was not Percy. The boy who watched monsters wither in pain before killing them was not Percy.
She wanted to tell everyone that, that Percy wasn't the boy that he died as.
"I hate them," she cried. "I hate them, I hate them, I hate them."
She didn't care if Mr. D or Chiron heard. She didn't care if Zeus came down at that moment and smited her on the spot.
”I hate you!" She screamed to the sky. "You did this! You did this to him!" Tears streamed down her face.
No one else was talking, everyone just standing around with stained cheeks. Zeus didn't even dare turn the clear day stormy. The gods knew she was speaking the truth. Perhaps they even felt guilty. But guilt didn't Percy back. It didn't change the monster back to the boy with the seafoam eyes.
And Annabeth sat, surrounded by friends, crying over a dead boy for the second time in her life.
-
Every one of the seven that were left came up to her.
They left her stories, little moments when they first fell in love with Percy.
Annabeth didn't talk, but she listened. She sat and she listened and she cried.
But everyone left, one by one, leaving her alone once more.
103 notes · View notes
Text
FULL REVIEWS: “Covention”
I didn’t think I’d have a harder time doing these reviews on my days off than on a workday, but errands and all that. I had no expectations going into this episode at the time since “covention” is a fake made up word. But I heard Amity was going to be in it, so I got excited. The spice of life returns. It’s been a hot minute. Let’s see how the episode holds up.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The episode starts with one of my favorite cold openings. Super funny and gives a good shot at those books that have that pretentious flowery language. Seriously who says “thou” and “hast” anymore. Lame. Luz tossing King into the portal right when it closes was my favorite bit. Was Eda really going to go to the human world just for that? 
Tumblr media
Also I didn’t notice until someone pointed it out but I guess they’re using Azura and Hecate as some kinda parallel to Luz and Amity. Hope Amity doesn’t find out that she’s not the Azura character. Does that mean that Eda is that old ass lady and King is that little fox dog thing? That’s not cool, man. Be nice.
So much can be read into it, but that’s for another blog post for another time.
Tumblr media
And of course, dumb-dumb me had to wait until the word was said out loud to realize that it was a play on the words “coven” and “convention.” So basically it’s a con episode. Cov episode? Whatever. Big brain hurt.
Tumblr media
Relationships are a give and take and sometimes you gotta give in. Sorry, Eda.
Tumblr media
I don’t know about you guys, but I never really had a lot of fun going to cons. The only part I really liked was meeting my favorite voice actors and watching indie wrestling. All the food, merch, and art was always overpriced and from shows I don’t watch. I don’t join video game tournaments because those people take the games way too seriously. Plus the area that I live in isn’t known for being big on nerd culture so the cons are never that impressive. I met Steve Blum last time and went to one and you can only go down from there so I don’t think I’ll be going to another one any time soon.
Tumblr media
I caught this first time I saw it on TV. Luz and Willow arm in arm. Maybe in another life I would be shipping Luz & Willow. Maybe maybe. Also, Skara in the background. I think her design is really cute. Maybe she’ll get an episode in season two. Maybe maybe.
Tumblr media
More lore and more worldbuilding which people really seemed to want and we got it. Eda explains that while covens seem like cool groups to belong to, they also strip you of all the other kind of magic you can do. Why? My theory was (and is) that about fifty years ago a bunch of religious and political hustlers got together and tried to figure out a way to control people. Really keep them in line. They knew that people were basically stupid and would believe anything you told them, so they announced that this one guy could talk to the titan that the Isles were based of off. This one guys says that only he could talk to the titan and hear what the titan was saying and that only he could do all kinds of magic. Everyone else is doing it wrong and only he’s doing it right. With no proof or evidence, but trust him he’s on the level. The Boiling Isles was just doing fine before him, but now all of a sudden, we’re all doing it wrong. Let that be a lesson to you, kids. If anyone tells you anything like that, it’s bullshit.
Also the nine covens. Why nine? Why not group the bard and illusionary covens together into the music video coven? Why does potions get its own coven? How much school do you really have to take to learn to mix shit together and stir? Wouldn’t the plant magic coven know something about using plants to make potions? Why does the construction coven get it’s own coven? Couldn’t you use any kind of magic to build things? Is the construction coven the blue collar coven? Beast keeping gets it’s own coven? Like the bitch at the plant coven needs to switch covens to be told to feed her dog? My theory, the nine covens was really a marketing decision. Ten sounds too official. They knew that if it was too neat and tidy, they’d know something was up. Would they though? I don’t think so. 
Tumblr media
Any group that has their own stormtroopers is automatically evil. Even more proof that the coven system is bullshit.
Tumblr media
“Distraction spell!”
This moment made me laugh so damn hard. The crap that Eda pulls is one of the highlights of the show for me.
Tumblr media
Luz and Eda go check out The Emperor’s Coven panel in the main hall, and we’re introduced to another major character. Enter Lilith, Eda’s older sister. And I swear to you guys, I was so confused this entire time on who was the older and who was the younger sister until the season finale. Seriously, I kept getting mixed messages. I mean, I know now but give me a break here.
I think Lilith is a good character and a great foil to Eda. The fun part is that since they are sisters, Eda knows exactly how to push her buttons and drag Lilith down to her level. It’s always fun to see a stoic character break. 
Tumblr media
My finger points.
Amity shows up which automatically makes this episode better. Luz properly introduces herself and we get more back-and-forth. Amity being a real bitch here is more to mislead us for the last act of the episode, but when I first saw it I thought it was more confirmation that Amity was going to be the Draco Malfoy-clone of the series. Glad I was wrong.
We get more of Luz trying to make life play out like her favorite stories and challenges Amity to a witch’s duel. A thing she read in Azura that she has no clue whether or not is a thing in The Boiling Isles. There’s an equal chance that Amity could have just shaken her head and be like, “The fuck is a witch’s duel? That sounds like something you just made up.”
Also Amity should have caught that Azura reference from the start, but then that kinda would have spoiled Lost in Language, huh?
Tumblr media
Again, Luz needs to learn that life does not play out like it does in her favorite stories. Challenging your rival to a duel is cool on paper but a big “Yeah no” IRL. Especially since she knows no real offensive spells, no defensive spells, is a weak nerd who has probably never been in a real fight in her life and has no fighting spirit. Trust me guys I learned the hard way. Life is not a shonen anime. You can’t settle anything by fighting. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I love mentor/mentee stories especially when they have a rival mentor/mentee pair. Too bad Dana has already said that Amity and Lilith were not close at all. It was more a relationship of convenience. But then again that would help witch whole foil angle. Lilith and Amity just use each other to get ahead while Eda and Luz do actually build a familial bond. 
The duel goes...exactly the way I thought it would. Honestly. The cheating, the whole fight just breaking down, even Lilith and Eda doing an actual witch’s fight. Totally saw it coming. What I didn’t see coming was the bad ass animation they used for the Lilith/Eda fight and...
Tumblr media
The Amity scene. The big reveal that Amity is not a Draco Malfoy clone (I only saw the first four movies). She’s just a girl who thinks people should follow the rules, hates cheaters and is under a lot of pressure to succeed. Only someone as empathic as Luz and try to keep building that bridge and try to make things right with Amity, but that’s a whole other episode.
.
And the episode ends with another great lesson I really like. “Will I ever be a true witch?” “I don’t know. What’s a true witch?” There are always expectations and pressure put upon you to be a true something. Others will want you to conform into a label for one reason or another. But all those expectations and labels are just illusions. It reminds me of a Bruce Lee quote. When an interviewer asked Bruce if he considers himself Chinese or American, he answers that he considers himself, “a human being.”
Labels can be fun because it makes it easier for the brain to organize things, but when people put too much stock into these labels problems arise. Think of labels as a boat to get you across the river. Once you cross the river you leave the boat behind. You don’t carry the boat with you. That’s just dumb.
Tumblr media
“Witch please”
FINAL SCORE: 5 - Loved it.
Hot take, Amity makes every episode better. More funny jokes, more worldbuilding, more Amity and hints at the main villain of the show. Lilith was a great addition and the episode hints at the main plot. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a con. And speaking of more Amity...
85 notes · View notes
Text
Shipped (Colby Brock Imagine)
Summary: *REQUEST* Omg your requests are open!! Can you do something about colby and reader dating in secret and she’s always hyping him up on everything and fans just think it’s cause they are best friends. But she posts a post wearing the love for hire letterman on accident and the fans connected it because Kat and Tara have it to so they figure out they are dating and go crazy (in a good way) for them 🥺❤️
Written: 2020
Word Count: 1,967
Warnings: Major fluff, Swearing
Masterlist
I harassed Colby into letting me listen to their new music. Let’s just say, when you guys hear this, you’re going to be glad One Direction is on a break. Can’t help but stan L4H!! #numeber1fan
I press "send tweet" before plugging in my phone and taking a quick shower. When I get out of the shower I grab my phone and throw myself onto Colby’s bed. It’s our bed at this point. I spend more time at the trap house than I do my apartment, I might as well move in. I go and read the comments under my tweet. Most of them are good. Some fans want me to leak the boys' music, others are freaking out over mine and Colby’s friendship. Someone makes it a point to mention how cute Colby and I would be as a couple and linked an edit that they made. Someone commented that fans like them, the one that posted the edit, are the problem and the reason why Colby doesn’t have any friends who are girls. There is a whole fight going on under that comment.
I quickly try to defuse the situation between the fans before exiting twitter altogether. I take my towel off of my damp hair and walk back into Colby’s bathroom to detangle it. When I finish doing my hair I grab the first jacket of Colby’s that I see to get warm. Lucky for me, it’s his Love for Hire lettermen jacket. For whatever reason, this jacket is more comfortable than any hoodie I’ve stolen during our entire relationship, maybe it’s because it smells strongly like him. Or maybe it’s because I get to finally live out my high school dream of wearing my boyfriend’s lettermen. Either way, Colby knows that this is my jacket now and he’s going to have to fight me to the death for it back. I don’t know if it’s because I freshly showered and my hair is fluffy, or because my skin is thanking me for not putting makeup on it yet, but something is compelling me to take a selfie in Colby’s bathroom mirror.
I get up on to the counter and try to position myself comfortably. I take a few selfies, while carefully not exposing Colby’s messy counter. I do cute poses with peace signs and my tongue sticking out. I do serious “model” poses with hair looking like I’m in a photoshoot. I take a couple and post them on my Instagram story. I triple check each one before pressing send to make sure they end up on my close friends’ list and not my public story. That would be disastrous. I saw how people were acting in the comments of my tweet supporting Colby when a fan posted an edit wishing we were dating. I can’t imagine how his fan base would react if they knew we really are dating and have been for well over a year.
Well, I can imagine how they would react, I’ve been around Colby long enough to figure out how his fanbase functions. Most of his fans would be supportive. Of the majority, there would be roughly half who constantly would show their support over our relationship. The other half would keep quiet and try not to mention it directly so they don’t “jinx” it. No matter how open Colby is with his fans, there is still so much of his life that he has to keep private from the rest of his fans who wouldn’t be supportive of our relationship. The obsessive ones who think that Colby is a toy and belongs to only them. In all honesty, Colby and I probably would have been together longer if it wasn’t for them. We probably wouldn’t have been friends. There was a period in his life when he wouldn’t make any new female friends because of what his old friends had to go through. Because of that, Colby has always been protective of me.
Even though we’ve been friends since he moved to Los Angles, he only introduced me to his fandom two years ago. Even then, it wasn’t like, boom: “here’s a girl that I’m friends with, be nice!” Colby made sure I was properly acclimated to his side of internet stardom by having me appear in all of his other friends’ videos and photos first before a strand of my hair was placed in one of his videos. And then he said, “here’s a girl that I’m friends with, be nice!” Being a Youtuber myself, I have some experience with fandoms. But nothing could prepare me for his intense fans. For the first couple of months after Colby put me on his channel, I understood why Colby kept so many of girl friends in the dark or why some chose to stop being friends with Colby in general. It’s only a select few fans, but when there are so many comments of harassment and death threats it can get overwhelming.
Those comments died down after a while though. Mostly because I either mute certain words from my comments or I don’t read them. Colby and I try really hard to hide our relationship. If we’re in videos together, we don’t sit too close. We keep our hands to ourselves; even a simple hand on the shoulder can cause a frenzy. We only post our couple pictures on our actual secret Instagram accounts and close friends list. Our friends know not to post anything where we might look too much like a couple. We make it a point to bicker like siblings whenever we do work together. Hell, the reason I still have my apartment is to avoid people finding out we’re dating. If I have my own place, people just think I’m visiting the guys whenever I’m over. And it works, everyone just assumes that we’re really close friends.
“I’m back and I bring food!” Colby yells as he opens the door to the room. I plug my dying phone back into the charger before abandoning it in the bathroom to greet Colby.
“Oh thank God, I was beginning to think you were with your hoes. But then I ran into Sam, Jake, and Corey in the kitchen so I relaxed.” I give Colby a quick kiss and help him with the shopping bags in his hand. I set them on the bed and start going through them.
“I wish, but they were too busy for me. So I went and got us stuff for this weekend.” Colby sets the food down and helps me unload the bags.
“Oh that reminds me, we need to stop by my place after dinner so I can pack my things.” Te whole friend group is renting a log cabin in woods for Thursday to Monday morning for bonding and to get a few collars done. Colby went and got a few road trip snacks without me. Probably because I would get distracted at Target and we would never leave. It’s fine, he remembered to get my favorite snacks.
“Yeah, okay, I figured. We could have gone earlier but I had to let you sleep in after you spent all night watching tiktoks.” Colby walks over to the couch and starts to set up our lunch in front of the tv.
“To be fair, I’m not responsible for the time lost when I’m on the tok. Besides, I learned more dances to teach you!” I take off Colby’s jacket and set it at the foot of the bed before joining Colby on the couch.
“Of course you did. You know how much I love learning a new TikTok dance every day.” Colby jokes before kissing my forehead. He hands me my food and turns on Netflix.
A few minutes into our show, there’s a loud, rapid knock at the door. Annoyed, Colby paused the show and puts his food down.
“What?” Colby asks as he gets up to open the door. Sam stands on the other side, relieved. The last time Sam knocked on the door like that, Colby and I were busy… rearranging furniture.
“Oh Colby, you’re home. But I’m not here for you. Y/N, did you mean to post that on your story?” Colby moves aside to let Sam in.
“Haha, Sammy, I’m not falling for that one. Colby already tried that on me last week.” I go back to eating my food and ignore Sam.
“No, I’m being serious. Katrina said she kept trying to reach you but you’re not answering. Fans are freaking out on twitter.”
“Oh shit!” I quickly put down my food and grab my phone in the bathroom. There are miss calls and texts from Kat, Tara, and Devyn. I unlock my phone and open Instagram to check my story. Sure enough, I accidentally sent one of my selfies to my main story instead of my close friends. The selfie looks harmless enough, except I’m wearing Colby’s jacket and it’s very obvious that I’m in his bathroom. Jake moved in some of the cardboard Colby’s into Colby’s room and one of them faces the mirror, you can kind of see it in the selfie. Most people might think nothing of it, but earlier this week Kat and Tara posted pictures of them wearing Sam and Jake’s jackets. With that association alone, everyone is going to find out.
“I don’t get it, there’s only a selfie on here. Did you already delete it?” Colby yells from the bedroom. I slowly walk out of the bathroom with a confused look on his face.
“Please tell me you’re joking.” I open up my story and check how many people have seen it.
“What, I’m lost… Oh… Oh! Oh, fuck!” Colby finally gets it and does something on his phone.
“‘Oh fuck’ is right. So many people took screenshots that even if I deleted it now, it would be pointless.” I walk to the bed and throw myself facedown, like a teen in a movie after having a shitty day at school.
“And you guys are trending on Twitter,” Sam says. I almost forgot he was still here.
“Dude,” Colby warns.
“Not helpful, I get it. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” Sam leaves the room and I let out a scream as soon as I hear the door close. I feel the spot next to me sink as Colby sits down and starts rubbing my back.
“Hey, Y/N, these aren’t as bad as you think. I’m only seeing positive messaged. Look,” Colby gently pats my back to get my attention.
“Really? Let me see.” I sit up, sniffle, and peek at Colby’s phone as he reads.
“Are you crying?” Colby asks as he wipes my face.
“I immediately got overwhelmed. Let me read the tweets.” I take Colby’s phone scroll through the tweets. He’s right, they’re mostly positive. I haven’t seen a negative tweet yet. That’s the opposite of how I thought this would go. A few people are telling other fans to stop assuming, but even those are calm compared to the fight I saw earlier.
“See, I guess we were stressed all this time for no reason. We can do normal couple things like our friends and not go out of our way to hide everything.”
“That’ll be nice. It was getting exhausting. What do we do now? How do you want to approach this? Live stream? Youtube video?” I look at Colby and he has a big smile on his face.
“Right now, let’s just finish lunch. We can deal with this later. Now, I’m going to take this back. I don’t want you to start crying again.” Colby strokes my hair and kisses my forehead.
“I love you, Colbs,” I say softly.
“I love you too, Y/N.”
528 notes · View notes
Text
Wooow, first time writing a fic for this fandom. I’m stupidly nervous. Also I only just finished SDR2 so I’m just gonna make this a Non-Despair AU in case there’s any big events in the next canon games I don’t know about yet. Plus i want everybody to be alive and well (chapter four hurt). This is also the first time in years I’ve written any fanfiction, so forgive me if I’m rusty. I do love this pairing. Can be taken romantically or platonic in this one (as this isn’t my only ship for Hajime so I tried to keep it ambiguous). - Circle
Also posted to AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/33332596
Warning: sickfic, descriptions of vomiting (I don’t go into much detail), nightmares/general anxiety.
Kazuichi was the only person Hajime knew with a worse sleep schedule than his own. For months he hadn’t realised - everybody had their own space on the island and Hajime was occupied enough with his own fatigue - but as Fuyuhiko saw how much Kazuichi grew to trust and confide in Hajime, he reported the issue.
“He’s like a fucking baby,” Fuyuhiko muttered bitterly. “If he gets tinkering on something he’ll be at it for days without sleeping. You gotta make sure he doesn’t overdo it. I can’t babysit that dumbass by myself.”
Hajime nodded, letting the insults sail over his head. Fuyuhiko may swear and yell and tell everyone over and over that Kazuichi and Hajime and Akane were the bane of his existence, but he was really the closest thing their group had to a mum friend.
“I’ll keep an eye out,” Hajime promised. It was an easy enough job. At least it gave him something to do. Whenever Hajime found himself unable to sleep now, he’d go hunting for Kazuichi. More often than not he’d be at the airport, dismantling or building things as the mood struck him, and all Hajime had to do was hook his collar and ignore the whining as he dragged his friend away to bed.
But that night was different. Hajime could sense it the second he walked into the airport. Since the other students rarely went in there, Kazuichi had taken over the space, scattering bits of parts and machines in various stages of completion. But he wasn’t hunched over with a fiddly screwdriver or hidden underneath some big contraption with only his legs visible. He was sitting against a large machine, resting his head against the cool metal, his thumb rubbing at the motor oil embedded under his bitten fingernails.
That was concerning. Kazuichi was never still. He was forever biting his fingernails or twirling his wrench idly in his hands or messing with the pockets on his jumpsuit, dragging the zips up and down over and over. It used to drive Hajime mad, but after knowing Kazuichi for so long Hajime could recognise it as a nervous response and he knew not to complain about it.
Because kazuichi was fragile. Not physically - he could easily haul heavy engine parts around and didn’t buckle when Akane jumped on his back - but it was pretty easy to upset him. When Fuyuhiko had started mocking Kazuichi over his obsession with Sonia - “you gotta bully the shitty behaviours out of people, Hajime.” - it had led to Kazuichi knocking at Hajime’s cottage in the middle of the night, tearfully asking him why Fuyuhiko hated him.
Sometimes Hajime really wished they had an Ultimate Therapist on the island.
So now, looking across the abandoned airport to Kazuichi behaving in a very not-Kazuichi way, Hajime proceeded with caution. He made sure to step purposefully, his footsteps loud on the linoleum floor; he’d once surprised Kazuichi from behind and almost received a wrench to his temple… as well as a burst eardrum from the screaming.
Kazuichi looked up, hastily fumbling with his glasses and shoving them into his pocket. He hated anyone seeing him wear them, so Hajime knew not to comment.
Usually Kazuichi’s face brightened when he saw any of his friends, but now his smile was wary, reserved. “Hey, Hajime,” he said, his voice thick with fatigue.
“When was the last time you slept?” Hajime asked bluntly. “Or ate?”
Kazuichi turned back to face the hunk of metal beside him (unidentifiable to Hajime), though he still didn’t start tinkering. “Not hungry.”
“That doesn’t answer my question at all.”
“I slept yesterday. I think… It’s Monday, right?”
Hajime sighed heavily and hooked the collar of Kazuichi’s jumpsuit with his fingers. “Come on, get up. Bedtime. You’re not even doing anything.”
“Mmn. Can’t seem to focus tonight.”
“That’s because you’re exhausted. Go to bed.”
“Okay! Jeez, man, you’re acting like my mother,” Kazuichi whined, sounding more like himself.
The pair walked out into the cool night air together, Hajime taking hold of Kazuichi’s sleeve when he stumbled. Just how long had he been awake? He was acting like a zombie.
“Fuyuhiko said you weren’t sleeping,” Hajime grumbled. “You should take better care of yourself.”
“Fuyuhiko said it? So why did he make you come get me? Are you sure he doesn’t hate me?” Souda pressed.
“Yes, I’m sure. I told you, he was only harsh because he wanted you to leave poor Sonia alone.”
“Well. I have been, haven’t I?” he muttered.
Hajime assumed that was meant to be a rhetorical question, but it came out like Kazuichi was looking for reassurance. It hadn’t occurred to him how often Souda seemed to do that, as if he was worried anything he said would elicit a bad reaction.
“I’ve even been nice to Gundham,” Kazuichi said, much more irritably. “Though that’s a damn uphill battle, Hajime, I’m telling you. I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about half the time.”
Hajime snorted. Watching Souda trying to interact with Gundham was becoming a running joke between the other students now. There was always a five second pause when Gundham finished talking before Kazuichi could reply, his face contorted as he hastily tried to translate.
“You’ll get used to Gundham. I didn’t understand him much at first either.” Hajime frowned as Kazuichi wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. “Are you cold?”
“I’m freezing. Maybe I do need to sleep better. I’m not feeling so good…” He stumbled again as they went across the uneven boardwalk to the cabins, bumping Hajime’s shoulder.
Hajime caught hold of him instinctively - then paused for a second. He quickly cupped both hands over Kazuichi’s cheeks.
“H-Hajime?!” Souda reeled back so fast he almost toppled right off the platform. “What the hell are you doing?”
“You have a fever, Kazuichi,” Hajime groaned. “You’re burning up. That’s why you don’t feel good.”
“I do?” Souda cupped his own cheeks contemplatively. “Huh. That makes sense. I couldn’t focus properly all evening.”
Hajime sighed heavily. Souda could be so oblivious at times it was hard to believe he was so talented with his machines. He seemed so much more confident when he spoke about that stuff. When he’d started getting closer to Kazuichi, Hajime once asked about some little mechanical toy Souda was making - and Souda’s face had just lit up. He talked Hajime’s ear off for a good fifteen minutes about every little piece of the toy and how it worked. Hajime didn’t understand the majority of it, but he always made sure to ask Kazuichi about his various projects after that. Souda was delighted every time, his words tripping over each other with excitement and his eyes shining like beacons. For a second Hajime wondered if that was how it felt to be Sonia.
“Well, you’d better come with me for now,” Hajime said. “I know you don’t have any first aid supplies in your cabin, and we don’t need Mikan to tell us you have some standard virus. I’ve got painkillers and fever reducers.” Hajime held onto Kazuichi by the elbow, guiding him along to the correct cabin. He seemed beyond argument. He flopped onto Hajime’s bed as soon as they went inside, curling onto his side and closing his eyes.
Hajime hovered over him, feeling a pang of anxiety. He wasn’t used to caring for any sick people except Nagito, and caring for Nagito was a wholly bizarre experience all around. Hajime had never seen anybody swing so wildly between self-deprecating, passive aggressive and strangely clingy when he was forced to babysit a sick Nagito. Hajime figured Kazuichi might fall into the clingy category.
Hajime grabbed fever reducers from the bathroom cabinet and went to crouch beside his bed, shaking Kazuichi’s shoulder. Maybe it was the fever or the several days without sleep, but Kazuichi already seemed to be breathing deeper. There was a red flush across both his cheekbones, garishly bright against his pink hair. Hajime checked his forehead again; it was burning.
“Hey, dude, wake up. You’ve gotta take some medicine and go back to your own cabin,” Hajime said, shaking Kazuichi’s shoulder harder. Kazuichi whined irritably, reaching out a clumsy hand without opening his eyes. He managed to find Hajime’s face and tried to shove him away weakly.
“Kazuichi!” Hajime caught hold of his wrist, sighing. “You have motor oil on your hands. Look, I don’t care if you don’t want to take medicine, but go sleep in your own cabin. This happens to be my bed.”
Kazuichi didn’t move, breathing deeply. Hajime wasn’t sure if he was actually sleeping or just ignoring him.
“I kissed Sonia,” Hajime lied.
No response. Hm. Maybe Kazuichi really was asleep.
Well, what was Hajime meant to do now? He didn’t feel mean enough to boot his sick friend off the bed. He supposed he could go stay in Souda’s room, but he didn’t know where his key was, and he didn’t want to go rifling through Kazuichi’s pockets for it while he was sleeping - and maybe Souda needed somebody with him in case his fever got worse. Fevers could turn nasty, right? Not that Hajime would be any use, but he could go get Mikan.
Sighing resignedly, Hajime went to the unoccupied side of his bed, lying back to back with Kazuichi. Most of the bedsheets were trapped under his sick companion no matter now Hajime yanked them, but Souda was so hot Hajime was soon uncomfortably warm. The sleeping boy was taking up a lot of the bed too; he had Kazuichi’s hair in his face and elbows jabbing his ribs no matter what sleeping position Hajime tried. He sighed again. “You’re an utter pain to deal with, Kazuichi,” he mumbled into his pillow. “You need to take care of yourself before you get really sick.”
Hajime, though sure he’d never be able to even doze in this situation, must have slept at some point, because he woke with a start to find the bed shaking so violently he almost toppled off it. In his drowsy state Hajime wondered for a second if the island had any seismic activity, but the earthquake seemed confined to the bed alone. He sat up and fumbled to turn on the bedside lamp, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and turned to his sleeping friend.
Kazuichi was shaking violently, curled into a foetal position. His face had bleached several shades whiter and his fists were clenched tight, crumpling the bedsheets. His brow was furrowed and he made intermittent whines in the back of his throat, barely audible. Whatever dream was playing in his feverish head, it clearly wasn’t a pleasant one.
“Kazuichi,” Hajime called, shaking the sleeping man’s shoulder. Hajime could feel the heat radiating through Kazuichi’s clothes. “Come on, man, wake up.”
When he received no response, he shook harder, momentarily panicked. It was a mistake. Kazuichi jolted awake with a scream, the momentum sending him tumbling right off the bed onto the floor. He banged his head hard on the skirting board.
“Shit! Fuck, Souda, are you okay?” Hajime cried, hurrying over to Kazuichi. Souda scrambled backwards in a panic, clonking his head all over again when he hit the wall. His eyes hadn’t focused yet and he was breathing far too quickly. Hajime was starting to think he really should fetch Mikan.
“Kazuichi, it’s just me. Hajime. You know, your…” He paused, cringing. Only Kazuichi ever called them by that dumb name. “Your soul friend.”
Kazuichi looked up, locking eyes with Hajime. He didn’t stop shaking, but his breathing calmed slightly. For what felt like several minutes, both boys stared helplessly at each, unsure what to do or say. Souda swallowed thickly and finally whispered in a hoarse, rasping voice, “I’m gonna puke.”
“What?” That certainly broke Hajime out of the awkward staring contest. He grabbed hold of Souda by the wrist and yanked him across the bedroom to the bathroom, shoving him firmly towards the toilet. He turned to leave - he didn’t want to witness any of that - when something snagged onto the back of his shirt.
“Are you serious?” Hajime groaned. Souda felt too nauseated to dare opening his mouth, but he tugged insistently at Hajime’s shirt.
Hajime paused. Part of him - maybe even most of him - really wanted to brush Kazuichi’s hand away and flee the room before anything gross started happening. But Souda looked so… pathetic, sitting there trying not to vomit, still shaky and tearful from the nightmare, his hair tangled across his sweaty face.
Damn it. Hajime shouldn’t have looked at him.
“Fine, fine,” he sighed, kneeling beside Souda on the bathroom floor. He hastily gathered Kazuichi’s messy hair away from his face as the sick boy leaned further over the toilet. “You owe me big time for this. Especially when I end up catching this from you.”
Grumbling aside, Hajime stayed, managing not to complain or pull too many faces when Kazuichi was vomiting. He focused on holding Souda’s hair out of the way, glad he had one job he could manage. This comforting thing was way out of his depth. Souda kept one hand reaching backwards to clasp Hajime’s shirt, as if he didn’t quite trust him not to run away.
When the retching finally tapered off, Hajime released Souda’s hair and reached up to flush the toilet, grimacing. “Better?”
Kazuichi made a noise between a whine and a sob, head resting on the toilet seat.
“Well, at least it’s over. I’m gonna go grab you some water, okay?”
He stood up, but Kazuichi hastily lifted his head, looking outraged. “You’re leaving me? I could be dying here!”
“You’re not dying, Souda. Honestly, sometimes I think you should’ve been Ultimate Drama Queen.”
“Stay with me.” Kazuichi shuffled away from the toilet and latched onto Hajime leg.
“Souda, it will take me literally thirty seconds to grab a bottle of water. Now get off.” Hajime tried to yank his leg free, but Souda had a strong grip, even when ill.
“Nope. Don’t leave.”
Hajime sighed heavily. “Then get up and come back to the bed.”
Souda slumped down onto the cool linoleum floor, making sure to keep his arms around Hajime’s ankle. “Don’t wanna move. Everything hurts.”
“Oh, for fuck sake!” Hajime tried to pull Souda up himself, but Souda let his body go limp, sprawling across the bathroom floor, and Hajime couldn’t lift him up when he was dead weight like that.
“You know that’s exactly what toddlers do when they don’t want you picking them up,” Hajime snapped. Honestly, this was almost as bad as Nagito. Why did everybody mess with him when they were sick?
“I can see why. It’s very effective,” Kazuichi muttered.
“I could just leave, you know. Just say fuck it and let you lie there on your own.”
“Don’t.” The jesting tone had disappeared from Souda’s voice. He looked close to tears again, flat on his back and staring up at Hajime pleadingly.
Hajime tried to hold onto his frustration, but he couldn’t. Not with Kazuichi looking at him like that. He sighed and sat on the floor beside Souda, putting a hand on his forehead. “You’re burning up.”
“Keep your hand there,” Kazuichi mumbled. “It’s cold.”
“Fine. But if you let me leave I could get you a cold cloth for your head.”
“Noooo…”
“Okay, okay.” Hajime paused. Souda’s eyelids were drooping again. If he wanted to ask, Hajime had to do it quickly. “Hey, Kazuichi..?”
“Mn?”
“What happened? Earlier, I mean.”
“I puked.”
“No, you dope. Earlier than that. When you woke up. You seemed really terrified. Were you dreaming?” Hajime was already regretting asking. Kazuichi was sick and over-emotional. They were sitting on the bathroom floor, for God’s sake. Nothing good could come of emotional conversations on a bathroom floor.
There was another silence, so long Hajime checked to see if Kazuichi had dozed off. His eyes were wide open now, staring at the ceiling. “It was just a dream. That’s all.”
“Do you remember what it was about?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kazuichi mumbled.
Hajime sighed. “Look, it’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. But it clearly freaked you out really bad. If there’s something you’re worried about or something that’s scaring you, I can-“ Hajime stopped as Kazuichi sat up abruptly. He kept his face turned to the wall, but Hajime heard the sniffles, saw his shoulders start shaking.
“Fuck,” Hajime muttered helplessly. “Kazuichi, I’m sorry. I’ll just be quiet. You don’t have to tell me anything. I’m messing this all up, I’m such a fucking idiot sometimes.”
“I’m a fucking idiot,” Kazuichi sobbed. “So stupid I still dream about him! Why can’t he just go away!” He went on talking, but he was howling too hard for Hajime to understand. He’d seen Souda cry countless times before, but this was different somehow. This wasn’t just wailing because some girl he liked had turned him down. This was raw, painful terror.
“Hey hey, calm down! You’re gonna make yourself sick again,” Hajime said, trying hard to keep the panic out of his own voice. He took hold of Kazuichi’s wrists, pulling him gently away from the wall. He’d meant to lay Souda down in the same position as before, but Souda instantly fell against Hajime’s chest, practically knocking him over.
“Right. Um. You’re okay. You’re safe here,” Hajime mumbled, patting his sobbing friend awkwardly. He wasn’t used to embracing people. It felt strange and unnatural but not unpleasant - and Souda clearly needed a hug more than anything else right now. “Souda, breathe. It’s okay. You’re safe. The fever is probably making it worse. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked about the nightmare.”
“Home,” Kazuichi gasped.
“Huh?”
“I was dreaming about being back at home.”
Oh God. Where was that Ultimate Therapist again? Hajime didn’t know how to handle this. He couldn’t sort his own problems, let alone anyone else’s. “Oooh. Okay. Shit. Your dad..? You mentioned him once before.”
“Don’t. Don’t talk about it.”
“Okay. Sorry. So your dream was a memory? When he… hurt you?” Hajime guessed.
The sobbing, which had been gradually calming, quickly returned to near-hyperventilating.
“Sorry, sorry. Breathe, okay?” Hajime’s own heart was thumping hard. This was way more than he could handle. “Look… You’re away from there. He’s literally across an ocean. It’s just me and you here. Because you usurped my bed tonight.”
Kazuichi gave a snort that could’ve been a laugh. “It’s not… not usually this bad,” he said, his voice still jerky with sobs. “I-I can handle it on my own. The nightmares.”
“Fevers make nightmares worse. I think. I’d have to check with Mikan,” Hajime said. “But at least you were here this time.” He was surprised to find he really meant that. He couldn’t bear to think of Souda dealing with all that on his own.
They sat in silence for a long time, until Souda’s sobs died down to sniffles, his head still resting on Hajime’s chest. The front of Hajime’s shirt was now damp with tears and snot, and Souda’s feverish body was like a furnace, but he didn’t suggest they move. After a long time he found he’d wound his arms around Kazuichi’s shoulders.
“Are you still awake?” Hajime whispered eventually.
“Mn. Barely…”
“Listen, this is important. If you have dreams like that any other night, you can come over here. If you want. Just knock hard so I wake up.”
Kazuichi shifted in his arms to look at Hajime’s face. “You don’t have to do that. Don’t feel like you’re stuck with me.”
“Maybe I don’t mind being stuck with you,” Hajime retorted.
A ghost of a smile flickered across Kazuichi’s face, though he was still red and tear-stained. “Then you’re fucking crazy.”
“It’s not crazy to want to be your friend, Souda. So will you ask me for help next time you dream something like that? Please?”
Kazuichi wound his arms around Hajime’s middle and squeezed so hard it made Hajime gasp. “Okay. I’ll come get you.” He paused. “Thanks, Hajime.”
Kazuichi fell asleep soon after, still pinning Hajime to the bathroom floor with his weight. And though Hajime would moan about how sore and stiff he was the next morning, he was still glad Souda came to him for help. Just about.
16 notes · View notes
hello-nichya-here · 3 years
Text
Zucest - Is It Really Flirting?
(Originally posted on AO3 as chapter 43 of Defending and Analysing Zucest)
@azdaema-does-art asked: So I think a big stumbling block for me with this ship is that I very much adhere to the reading of the show that holds:
Quasi-Seducer!Azula (as seen virtually anytime) and Quasi-Seducer!Zuko (as seen in "The Waterbending Scroll") are not actually expressions of desire from them. Rather, this is Zuko and Azula trying to be intimidating by modeling their behavior off their father (circling, personal-space-invading, low seductive tones, etc)
When actually trying to flirt neither Zuko nor Azula acts anything like that. When Zuko goes on that date with a girl in the Earth Kingdom, or Azula flirting with that guy on Ember Island, they're both awkward disasters.
I'd be curious to hear you address this. (Or point me to some awkward disaster!zucest fanfic.)
***
That is a really good point and I'm glad you brought it up. While I understand that reading of the show, I disagree with it slightly for a few reasons (beyond my own bias).
Need to be in control: No one can argue against the fact that neither Zuko nor Azula know how to have "normal", healthy relationships with others, mainly due to how unequal 99% of the relationships in the Fire Nation are since imposing your own will over someone else's has become part of their culture. Both Zuko and Azula accepted being treated like mere tools/punching bags by their father, Zuko was constantly insulting Iroh over the smallest things and Azula full on threatened Ty Lee's life to make her join her on her chase after her brother and the Avatar - both were scenarios where desire wasn't a factor at all (thought I know many fans that would like to think otherwise XD)
However, during The Beach, we saw how both of them try (and fail) to deal with romance. Zuko was extremelly paranoid that Mai was interested in another guy, for no real reason, and was constantly trying to intimidate her into either admiting to it or into saying she disliked the guy, even though she had clearly said she was completely indifferent to him. And Azula, after her kiss with Chan, decided, on her own and not giving a damn about his feelings on the matter, that not only would they be officially a couple, but that they'd dominate the earth together. Control is, more often than not, a major factor in all of their actions and relationships, so Azula wanting to intimidate Zuko in the bedroom scene (which she very much tried to do and succeeded at) doesn't automatically rule out the possibility of atraction.
Mixed feelings: While "I wanna fight/kill my sibling" is sort of these two default state, there are moments that show that they do have at least some positive feelings for each other. Zuko doesn't give a shit that Aang is going to kill Ozai, but seeing Azula falling "to her death" and then chained up and defeated after their Agni Kai quite clearly made him emotional, even if he tried to control himself. Azula's positive feelings for Zuko are so obvious I had to do an in length discussion of it in chapter 12 "Is Zucest just about sex?" Combine all of the conflicting emotions they have for each other with their need to control the other, and some scenes end up getting some connotations the writers weren't planning them to have... supposedly (I'll get into that in a bit)
Awareness and familiarity: Don't get me wrong, Zuko and Azula are two extremelly traumatized, socially awkward teenagers who have no idea how to flirt (or how to fit in with people their age) but we also need to take context into consideration, especiall when it comes to Zuko's date with Jin and Azula's interactions with Chan.
In Ba Sing Se, Zuko was outside of his comfort zone, away from home, in enemy territory, and so paranoid that he assumed Jin came into the tea shop so often because she knew they were Fire Nation, not because she had a crush on him or simply enjoyed their tea. And while he liked her and the date was nice, Zuko was very "stiff" and even looked a bit uncomfortable (not to say very uncomfortable) at some points - which is oddly simmilar to how he was acting during the bedroom scene (hell, Azula was quite clearly looking at him just like Jin did, as I pointed out in "The most important parallel in Avatar"). Finally, we cannot forget that, even though he was awkward as fuck during 90% of the night, Zuko did manage to do something kinda romantic by lighting up the place, meaning he isn't completely oblivious to the concept of flirting (which is proved by his relationship with Mai).
Now, when it comes to Azula, the poor girl has almost no idea how to flirt. Almost. Talking about Chan's sharp outfit shows she's got some of the basis down, like "say something nice" - the problem is that her concept of "nice" is very different than that of most people. She did sort of know what to do once Ty Lee gave her some tips... but she quickly reversed back to her regular ways - which once again shows that flirting/seduction has an element of control and intimidation for her. She probably doesn't always mean to act in ways that could be considered flirty, but that doesn't mean she is completely oblivious to the implications of, let's say, invading her brother's personal space and talking to him in a low tone while wearing nothing but a robe.
And since I mentioned Azula going back to what she knows, that leads us to another thing to take into account: the fact that Zuko and Azula quite literally knew each other their whole lives - meaning if they were to ever flirt with each other, it would probably look at least somewhat different than when they were out of their element. Azula was the one in control, so she was far more comfortable and confident than she had been with Chan, and Zuko was the one being intimidated, which explains why he kept his guard up. Once again, that "theory" is sort of confirmed if we compare how Zuko acted while flirting with Mai on The Headband versus how he tried to interact with her in The Beach - when he used a non-traditional, but very Mai-esque "You're so beautiful when you hate the world" he got her equivalent of an "I love you" when she told him she didn't hate him, but he tried to do more "normal" things like getting her a pretty shell it blew up on his face. He knows Mai since they were both kids, meaning he usually knows how to deal with her, just like Azula usually knows how to deal with him.  
Intensity: While a lot of Azula's behavior can be explained by her copying Ozai, we need to remember that there's only so much he could affect, especially since her way of "intimidating" Zuko was far more touchy and incestuous than his, and lasted a lot longer. Azula gets close to people when she's intimidating them (see how she toyed with Aang in The Drill), but not as close as she did with her brother. The sole exception to that being Sokka on The Day Of Black Sun - but that is on somewhat shaky ground despite the accidental sexual tension since the first time she got close to him she was being launched by the Dai Li and he just happened to be standing a little bellow the direction she was launched at, and the second time had him pinning her to the wall (which is in character since Sokka usually goes straight at his foes to intimidate them while fighting), and as soon as she had her firebending back she pushed him away. On top of that, she was trying to distract him, Aang and Toph, meaning he wasn't her focus at all, and she ignored him on all the other times their groups were facing each other.
With Zuko on the other hand, she was going full force, like I said on my analysis of the bedroom scene. She played coy, stared at him in a very intense, weird way, circled the pillar on her bed, stretched in front of him, got on his personal space touching his shoulder and chest, and bit her lip while talking basically purring her words. That is all a bit too much for me to believe it was just about intimidation. And the touching gets even more suspicious when you notice Azula does enjoy and is willing to give physical affection - she hugged both Mai and Ty Lee after seeing them again, pulled Ty Lee close while conforting her and apologizing for her harsh words at The Beach... and put her hand on Zuko's shoulder while saying he restored his own honor to reassure him after he was feeling bad for betraying his uncle.
Intention of the actors/writers/animators: Avatar is no stranger to parallels. It also isn't a stranger to adult themes/jokes, fanservice, and ship teasing. For instance, even thought they didn't end up together and were never canonically interested in each other, there was A LOT of hints/teases of Zutara - dude fucking took lightining to the heart for her.
Just like the writers and producers were aware of Zutara, Tokka and many, many other ships, they were also aware of Zucest and even jokingly shipped Azula and The Blue Spirit at a panel. The animators habit of sexualizing the characters speaks for itself, so I won't even go into that. Finally, Grey Delisle, Azula's voice actress is a Zucest shiper, has brought it up many times, asked people to send her fanart and fanfic of it, created the phrase "Zucest is best cest", and has full on said she voiced the scene as if Azula was trying to seduce Zuko,  - which regardless of whether or not the writers intended for the character to be doing, means that there is a very strong incest subtext to the scene and that, in a weird way, "Azula" herself confirmed her motives to act the way she did.
20 notes · View notes