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miraculouscontent · 3 years

Video

dailymotion

It’s heeeeere! Another summasalt, this time with nearly twice the length of the first one!

(Turns out that not having caffeine doesn’t help me talk any slower.)

Script below:

Anonymous asked:

Thoughts on Rocketear?

Can you Rocketear the newest episode apart with your salt, my beloved Salt Queen?

Penny for your thoughts on Rocketear?

Aw, anon! You can have that for free! I'm a generous goddess.

"Rocketear" begins with Chat Noir and Carapace - just Carapace, really - holding back a pack of what I presume to be the physical manifestation of the writing staff's age, or at least a representation of how behind the times the writing seems.

Just as the dinosaurs break through Shellter. Ladybug shows up with the scientist who revived the dinosaurs in the first place and said scientist uses a whistle to calm the dinosaurs down. There's also a line from Bob Roth about putting the dinosaurs in a theme park to make money and I know what it's referencing but it's so incredibly random that it doesn't really come off as a proper joke.

Carapace was notably sad right after battle, but insisted that he was fine when Ladybug asked. Rena, sporting a... - I would like to say "new design" but it's a recolor in every sense of the word - is hiding behind part of a building and smiles after the heroes before walking off. Ladybug takes Nino's miraculous back but sees that he's still upset and asks him again what's wrong. Nino asks where Alya was and Ladybug claims that she only needed Carapace for the job, which cheers him up but only until Ladybug is already gone.

Mm, I guess Nino and Adrien relate in heroism not being enough for them unless they have their respective love interest to flirt with.

Also, I know this is an obvious set-up, but the show can't tell me that Ladybug just always brought Nino and Alya whenever she needed one of them. Season 3 required her to go to Master Fu to get the miraculouses, and unless she already knew that Nino and Alya would be in the same location - which, okay, the show does basically shove the two of them together whenever Nino is onscreen, fair, if two characters are in a relationship in this show then it's weird for them to NOT be with that person - but it just seems like a gamble, not to mention proof to Shadow Moth that the two are close if Ladybug constantly brings both of them.

Anyway, Ladybug goes into the sewer and asks Rena if she's seen any sign of Shadow Moth or his traps. Rena didn't see anything and they de-transform. Marinette is about to leave when she thinks of something, but Alya assumes it's about her new look, which was apparently not voluntary on her part and the suit automatically adapted to Alya's new role as Rena Furtive, which she has now named it as.

Marinette reminds her that this is supposed to be a secret and that they agreed that the fox has no owner. When Alya is evasive about whether she told Nino that she won't be Rena anymore, Marinette stresses that everyone needs to believe that Alya won't be using a miraculous anymore so that she can remain an undercover spy.

What's the point in changing the look if you're not going to show yourself anyway? I mean, insurance, I guess, but still.

Alya, exasperated, parrots what Marinette has apparently told her before: that she helps Ladybug with Mirage in case Shadow Moth tries to follow her so Rena can follow him instead. Marinette stresses the situation again and Alya tries to get Marinette to agree on her telling Nino that she's Rena Furtive, but Marinette refuses.

At Marinette's house, Alya talks further and explains that she doesn't know if she can lie to Nino since they don't keep any secrets--Alya, babe, you kept Rena Rouge from him and didn't tell him that you knew he was Carapace until Ladybug was forced to give you your miraculouses at the same time. I don't wanna hear it.

Marinette states that it's too late for that and also not technically a lie, but Alya gets upset and says that Nino will never trust her again if he finds out that she kept something from him. Marinette brings up how she had to keep secrets from Alya too, but they're interrupted by Tom appearing and wanting to play games with them. Marinette makes an excuse about homework that she's repeated many times, as Tom comments that the teachers give her too much. After Tom is kicked out - hang on, lemme just... - Marinette uses the moment to show Alya that she's lied to her family a lot and hasn't played games with her father in months. She states that there's no other option as they have to protect their identities, and Alya agrees to talk to Nino.

In Alya's room - I just presume at this point that Nino's house doesn't exist and Chris is an illusion - Alya tells Nino that they need to talk, but stammers and states that it's hard to talk about. Nino thinks that she wants to break up with him, but Alya assures that she loves him. She finally gets to the cover story that Rena herself made up in "Sentibubbler" and Nino understands, sad that she won't be around anymore but agreeing if it's what Ladybug thinks is best.

Is it weird that Nino respects Ladybug's wishes more than Alya does?

Nino hugs her and is confused by why Alya was nervous to tell him, as she can tell him anything and nothing will change their relationship. Alya feels guilty and hugs back, murmuring about how they don't have any secrets; that's not what Nino said, but sure, push this plot to its already predictable conclusion. I mean, I thought it was vaguely sweet that Nino switched to seriousness immediately when Alya said that she wanted to talk, but how am I supposed to be invested in this couple when their dynamic boils down to "STRONG, INDEPENDANT WOMAN who wears the pants in the relationship because her boyfriend is portrayed as a wimpy coward"? Like, the show constantly dragged Nino down to make Alya look "powerful" by comparison, and then when it comes to characters like Marinette, we get a girl who works very well outside of her relationship with her endgame love interest.

It's the fakest form of "girl power," dragging guys down to raise girls up or actually making a strong girl character but having her love interest be a weakness that creates flaws in her that weren't there originally and having that love interest be who she's "destined for."

I'm rambling, sorry.

In class, Marinette assures Alya that she did the right thing and Alya agrees. As they're leaving school, Marinette talks about how their "night walks" start soon, and Alya non-subtly talks about how Rena Furtive will be on the lookout while Ladybug and Chat Noir patrol. She stops, however, as gets excited about some pictures she took of herself as Rena Furtive, which has a lot of details that Marinette hasn't seen. I don't know whether to groan at what I just heard or remind everyone that Rena Furtive is literally just a recolor and therefore this is the writers patting themselves on the back for this design, so let's just move on.

Alya then shows Marinette her phone--AUGH, MY EYES--and suggests making a poll on her Ladyblog so people can vote for their favorite Rena design. Marinette has to stress again that Rena Furtive is supposed to be a spy and thus invisible, which Alya admits that she forgot about.

Okay, I've been holding off on talking about this, but now seems like the best time to bring it up. Alya has been a trash friend as well as a trash confidant, and her role as Rena Rouge boiled down to, "it was convenient for her to be the fox at the time it was needed." She's not particularly stealthy like one would expect of a fox, and she was easily one of the worst candidates to be told Marinette's big secret. I'll get more into this later, but I have to stress that Alya has treated Marinette no differently since learning of Marinette's identity and has already gone against Marinette's orders once before at the time of this episode airing. Episodes are constantly torn between validating their decision to have Marinette tell Alya, having Marinette be worried about the decision while the show considers her to be ridiculous for it, and then having Alya either consider or make choices that clearly don't gel well with what's good for her role. Much like Marinette, she lacks a sense of self-control and--wow, a female character who's impulsive, never seen that stereotype before.

Point being, "Sentibubbler" stressed over and over that Alya was the right choice and deserved to be both the permanent fox and the understudy for guardian, but then we have "Rocketear" here where Alya is making basic emotionally-driven errors that I'm not even remotely sympathetic to when Marinette has gone through so much worse over the course of three+ seasons.

*sigh*

Alya laments that it's hard to find new content for the Ladyblog - ah, yes, tell me more about your struggles, Alya - but figures that at least she can post stuff about Chat Noir instead of--I don't know--making fake Ladybug theories to lead people off Marinette's trail. Marinette says that it's a great idea, though Alya still doesn't look too happy. The scene then rewinds to a little bit to show a different point of view, this time with Adrien and Nino. Wait, this feels familiar, wasn't there another episode that did something like--ohhhh no, this is going to hurt.

After saying good-bye to Adrien - something I wish I could do every time he's mentioned or on-screen - Nino catches the bit of conversation where Alya talks about the Ladyblog. Nino talks as if Marinette isn't there and asks Alya out to the movies because Marinette is chopped liver and this is about Alya and how sad she is, guys.

Wow, she's turning into Adrien faster and faster.

Alya hesitates, but Marinette assures her that there's still time. Alya excitedly runs off with Nino and they watch what I presume are previews given the narrator, featuring recycled footage from the Ladybug PV. Nino is upset because Rena is mentioned but not Carapace, and the preview features Rena telling Chat Noir to forget Ladybug because it's Chat and Rena herself who are trulu made for each other.

I don't know what's funnier; the complete lack of self-awareness or the suggestion that a biracial couple would exist in this show outside of a special that gives them maybe a minute of screentime and acts more like suggestive canon anyway. I think I might've been too generous with that line about dinosaurs.

Nino is offended by the preview and Alya brushes off his comments, stating that it's just a cartoon and it's made to entertain people, though Nino himself is certainly not entertained. Can't say I entirely blame him considering that Alya doesn't really try to say anything substantial or even agree with him. No cuddling or reassuring kisses, she just gets slightly sad and turns to her phone for a bit.

After the movie, Nino is cheered back up again until he catches Alya on her phone once more. He offers to take her home, but she's distracted, and he comments that what she showed to Marinette looked pretty nice; I don't know because they didn't show it. Nino asks what it was and Alya evades the question, stating that her battery is running out. Nino is suspicious, but spots Andre's ice cream cart and the two head over there. Andre calls them his favorite couple and asks what they want, but Alya sees Ladybug gesturing for her and has to run off, giving Nino a cheek kiss as she goes which feels like too little too late at this point.

Nino catches some conveniently-placed kids arguing over who Chat Noir loves, but they settle on the fact that girls in general love Chat Noir. Nino is then seen at the Seine watching the Ladyblog's latest video, where Alya is talking up how amazing Chat Noir is. I hate to stop every five seconds to complain - okay, actually I don't - but I presume this video must've been made after the movie since Nino seems like the type who would actively follow his girlfriend's blog, yet not only is this video perfectly set up to echo the kids and the movie preview, but Alya - despite apparently caring about her boyfriend soooo much that she kept trying to convince Marinette to bend the rules - didn't even try to warn Nino or text him so he doesn't take it too seriously. It's like "Sentibubbler" with the conflicting messages about identity rules; Alya cares about her boyfriend but both isn't thinking about how he'll take the things she says and apparently doesn't know him well enough to realize that he wouldn't be mad over her keeping a secret that she was told to keep. I already talked about how they play up Nino to be the emotionally weaker one of the relationship, but then they don't have Alya try to cover or make up for that. She's been acting very much not like Alya - you know, the one who in "Sapotis" practically bragged about how great she'd be at covering for Ladybug - with her stutters and weak excuses, so I can't completely blame Nino for being upset after everything that's happened when he sees the writers projecting onto Alya as she talks about how Chat Noir is brave and funny and cute and showing all these images of him as well. I don't agree with all of his actions, but--oh yeah, speaking of which--

Nino calls Adrien and is talking to him about how Alya must be in love with someone else. Adrien dismisses the idea, as Alya and Nino are together basically all the time, and asks who she could possibly be in love with. When Nino suggests that it's Chat Noir, Adrien laughs and jokes about it being Fang instead. Nino points out the video but Adrien did see it but is overall unphased and convinced that it means nothing. Nino says that he'll find proof and hangs up, but Adrien is certain he'll find nothing. Plagg comments that Nino will find someone because Plagg's charisma has definitely contaminated Adrien.

Ugh.

Adrien expresses concern that he put on the cat's charm too much and accidentally made Alya fall for him, and decides to visit Alya as Chat Noir to be sure.

Meanwhile, we get a reference to film noirs as Nino narrates. That's the second blatant reference this episode and now I feel like they wrote this script while doing a movie marathon.

Chat Noir arrives at Alya's house and Trixx hides before Alya opens the curtains to reveal her surprise guest. Nino is nearby watching the scene with his phone as Alya wonders aloud if something's wrong. Chat assures that everything's fine, but brings up the video she posted. He insists that it made him happy, but points out that she's been following him and Ladybug since the beginning and that they know each other much better due to everything that's happened. He has some conveniently-worded dialog as he starts to say that he hopes something's just an illusion and Alya gets worried that he's about to bring up Rena. Chat continues and clarifies that he wonders if she started to feel something for him, though adds that he understands because just look at him.

UGGGGH.

Chat clarifies by making a heart with his hands, which Nino sees. Alya laughs at this gesture and states that she has a boyfriend, doing the same heart gesture and suggesting that her love for Nino is even more than that. Chat Noir apologizes - hm, I didn't know he had the capacity to do that - and hugs Alya, saying that he was just confused.

An absolutely unnecessary hug for two people who, at least in terms of their current selves, have had very little screentime together, but this is also the show where making eye contact basically means your friends and it's all just to push the plot along so Nino inteprets that Alya is in love with Chat Noir, so whatever I guess.

Alya states that Nino is far more irresistable than Chat, then adds that she doesn't even know his secret identity, and she'd never fall in love with someone she doesn't know. Nino then runs away upset and the scene cuts away to the next day where--

Wait, wait, wait, hang on a second. Two things right off the bat there.

First off, we're just gonna sidle past that "wouldn't fall in love with someone you don't know the identity of" while ignoring the existence of the love square? Not even Chat thinking about how he doesn't know Ladybug's identity and trying to excuse that he doesn't have to? This guy is that certain of their relationship?

Secondly, Nino is practically sobbing and Shadow Moth doesn't take this as his opportunity? Same guy who akumatized Mr. Pigeon 72 times and has akumatized Gigantitan more than once? What is this pacing???

But--alright, so Adrien comes into school and sees Nino, still dressed up in his detective gear, which gets ignored completely as Adrien goes to tell him about Chat Noir and Alya. Because the show doesn't know how Adrien would convey this within reason, Nino interrupts him, taking him down into the lower part of the school where he has a desk and chairs set up. Adrien goes to ask when Nino had time to do this, but Nino slams his hand on the desk to cut him off. Nino presents the evidence he took and they go back and forth, likewise with Adrien turning off the background music while Nino turns it back on. Adrien insists that it's a misunderstanding, but pleads innocent when Nino asks how he knows. Adrien states that Alya is just a superhero fan and that she and Chat Noir have nothing in common.

Again, the complete lack of self-awareness is astonishing.

Adrien repeats what Alya said about secret identities and how she wouldn't fall for someone she doesn't know - they're really ignoring this, aren't they? - and continues hitting Nino's soft spots about how unlikely it is until Nino decides to tell Adrien something he's not supposed to.

He tells Adrien, not only that Alya is Rena Rouge, but that he's Carapace. Adrien goes through a range of emotions beyond sAD for once, shocked at the fact that they know each other's identities. Nino states that they don't keep secrets from each other, except now Alya is with Chat Noir. Adrien still doesn't understand and brings up how secret identities have to be protected, or else Nino wouldn't have told him because Ladybug wouldn't agree to it.

Oh, here we go. So that's why they waited.

Nino states that it was Ladybug herself who gave them their miraculouses at the same time; not giving the reason why, of course, nor pointing out that they're temporary heroes so there's understandably some leeway. Adrien is having a moment, but manages to bring the subject back to Alya and Chat Noir, who he still doesn't think are a thing. Nino argues that it's because Adrien doesn't know Chat Noir, but he does because he's Carapace and knows how Chat Noir acts. He says that it's all flowers and confessions when Ladybug appears, but he gets rejected because Ladybug thinks that he's annoying, and she's right. He adds that Chat flirts with Rena Rouge and that's all that needs to happen, with Chat stepping in on the first mission Carapace lost in. Nino laments the loss of the love of his life and wishes to shut Chat Noir up forever; we all do, Nino, we all do. Shadow Moth finally steps in with - oh, less than eight minutes left in the episode, yikes - and Nino is akumatized into Rocketear.

Rocketear rejects Adrien's pleas to stop, insisting that Chat Noir is who he's after, not Adrien, and Adrien transforms in sad fashion despite Plagg's reminder of who Rocketear is after. Alya, meanwhile, is in the art club with Marinette - wait, since when was Alya in the art club - telling Marinette about how Chat Noir thought she was into him due to the video, which Marinette groans at. There's an earthquake and they peek outside to see Rocketear firing his tears at Chat Noir, shouting that he stole Alya from him. Chat Noir tries to tell him otherwise, but Rocketear won't listen.

Alya groans at Nino doing this, then she and Marinette set off to find a place to transform. They conveniently go to the same place Adrien and Nino were, so they see the desk that Nino had set up.

Genuine question, how seriously does this episode want me to take itself, because now when I recount all the unnecessary love square drama in my head - because you know that's where this is going - I'm going to have to think, "Nino, dressed in a detective outfit, ripped off his fake mustache and told Adrien both his and Rena's identities, and also that Ladybug was totally cool with it and thinks that Chat Noir is annoying."

Gettin' two completely different vibes here. The episode clearly wants to be important but it doesn't take itself seriously either, which it totally could while including enough jokes to keep things light. Instead, I'm just left scratching my head and wondering what tone they're going for.

Marinette finds Nino's phone on the desk - I'm calling continuity error on that one because he at no point put it on the desk, at least not on-screen - and she questions Alya on the video she sees. Alya insists that nothing happened, apparently completely unphased by her boyfriend having spied on her, and says that he wouldn't have misunderstood if he'd heard the actual conversation.

The two transform and Ladybug immediately uses Lucky Charm, receiving a projector. Ladybug is clueless and Rena Furtive suggests creating an imaginary movie like Nino. Ladybug gets an idea, remembering Alya's earlier comments, and Rena confirms that she remembers every word of it.

Aaaaand, just like that, all of the tension has been completely sucked away. You know, "Backwarder" was a trash episode, but at least when Ladybug was showing every step of her plan, she didn't tell us what it was.

Meanwhile, Rocketear and Chat Noir are still arguing--I started zoning out at hearing the same thing over and over again at this point, so I just presume they were fighting over who does stuff behind their love interest's backs better; I don't think they came to an agreement but they're both losers anyway.

Chat Noir says that he'll prove his innocence, tossing his baton aside to show him giving up, but Rocketear points out that it proves nothing and strikes Chat Noir with his tears.

Our endgame love interest, everyone. Straight As yet about as smart as a sack of bricks, and that at least won't flirt with anyone non-consensually.

Chat Noir makes a point that he doesn't want to hurt Rocketear, and Shadow Moth tells Rocketear to take his miraculous before finishing him. Chat Noir can only weakly tell him not to before Ladybug snags Rocketear's wrist and diverts the shot. Ladybug explains to Rocketear about the projector and how it'll let him hear the audio of the recording he took. She adds that she doesn't know what Chat said, but she trusts him.

Marinette, I'm sorry, I feel so bad for you.

Ladybug turns on the projector and Rocketear relaxes at actually hearing what was going on. Rena then de-transforms and hurries out to meet with Rocketear, hugging him as Rocketear apologizes for doubting her. Alya also kinda sorta apologizes in a way I don't understand and Rocketear then breaks his akumatization, very casually, all on his own.

Yeah, just--casually, in a matter of seconds in fact. You know, it's really sad when people resisting akumatizations are more tense and emotionally compelling than them breaking them. This is twice in one season now and has zero impact considering that Nino's reason for being akumatized was already taken care of so he had no reason to stay akumatized anyway. Him breaking his own object to release the akuma would've at least been different, but instead it's just a repeat of what Alya went through with even less tension considering that Alya's wasn't even that good in the first place, relying on her relationship to Ladybug rather than who she knew to be her best friend.

Moving on, Ladybug captures the akuma and uses Miraculous Ladybug to bring everything back to normal. Shadow Moth monologues about how love and secrets don't go well together and he's sure that she has a lot and I'll talk about this later.

Ladybug hands over the magical charm, which Nino takes but insists that he won't need it, as he'll never let Shadow Moth use his love to manipulate him again. Plenty of other things to get akumatized over, but they gave the supposedly ace character a robot to help him stick out and also gave the supposedly aro character a miraculous back in season one to give her more importance. If characters aren't in love then they need something to ceompensate for it.

Nino apologizes to Chat Noir for being wrong and Chat Noir assures him that everyone has doubts, even him. He gets sad and Ladybug asks him what's wrong, but he insists that he's fine - officially throwing away his right to be upset at her later as far as I'm concerned - and they do their usual fist buuuuu--

...Really?

Everyone then splits up and Chat Noir sulks by himself instead of--you know, talking to Ladybug, or asking her anything, or making any sort of excuse for her because that would mean he actually has faith in her and understands that their partnership is different from temporary heroes, even if the excuse was as basic as her wanting to protect him more than the others because he would be that egotistical if they didn't want to stretch out this unnecessary drama.

Later on, Adrien is staring at a picture on the Ladyblog that might be a metaphor for the show considering how "in the foreground" Chat Noir and Rena are.

Adrien vents about Ladybug giving miraculouses to Alya and Nino, but Plagg states that she's the guardian. Adrien clarifies that he's referring to Alya and Nino knowing each other's identities, but Plagg doesn't see the issue. Adrien gets huffy and asks why the rule exists for LadyNoir but not Ninya, but Plagg again points out that she's the guardian, so she makes the rules, though obviously he uses cheese metaphors to convey it.

Okay, Plagg is only, like--half-right because he doesn't have all the information. If you don't mind me rambling for a bit, I'm on the fence here because, on one hand--yes, I agree that Marinette should be allowed to make her own rules, and I often do that in my writing because I think she should be permitted leeway in order to let herself be happy, but on the other hand, it's not technically her rule, as she had to let Alya and Nino in on their identities back in the Season 2 finale, so Fu was still around for a season. She wasn't even guardian yet!

Now, presumably so the fandom could blame Marinette if anything happened, Marinette never discussed this with Fu on-screen, so I can't say whether or not Fu knew, but I feel like he must've since Marinette had to have told him the heroes' identities off-screen, given "Party Crasher," and thus I imagine that Marinette would tell Fu everything that happened, which is consistent with what she does on-screen even if she'd keep things from him for a little while.

"Furious Fu" had also established that not even Master Fu followed rules completely, meaning that Marinette is in this awkward spot of mostly following what Fu taught her, which aren't all guardian rules anyway, and having to break the rules on occasion for various purposes. I can't say what Fu approved of and what he didn't, because episodes spend so much time on the love square that they forget about Marinette as a person and how she interacts with everyone else. From an emotional standpoint, I can't blame Marinette for not revoking the miraculouses of people whose identities get discovered because of her, as I imagine she feels guilty and it probably doesn't seem fair to force them into another miraculous or have them be entirely without one because of a mistake that she made, meaning that someone needs to be throwing a lot of red flags for Marinette to be through with them.

Though obviously, from the show's standpoint, it's just an excuse to not make new models, but I complained about that enough in "Sentibubbler" and this episode even went out of its way to design a detective model for Nino while spraypainting Alya's bodysuit in the same breath, so this is the world we live in.

Anyway, Marinette is essentially in this position where she still has Fu's rules hovering over her, but she's also trying to step out on her own and make her own decisions to varying degrees of success or failure depending on your point of view. Tikki--wait, no, bad idea--Su-Han then, could easily give input on these things, perhaps with Marinette discussing a modern day set of rules for someone her age and going back and forth with Su-Han on what the right choices to make are, finding something that's comfortable but within a realm of predictable control. Su-Han was okay with some rules being broken after seeing how Ladybug handled them and they could've easily made this episode about that instead, but instead, we get rules being set and then being broken on a writer's whim.

Which now brings us to the end of the episode, where Marinette is on the phone with Alya and apologizes for causing trouble between her and Nino. Alya tells her not to worry and she'll fix things - you know, those things that, to Marinette's knowledge, have already been fixed - and asks if Marinette trusts her. Marinette does, and Alya hangs up in order to face Nino.

Yeah, that feeling of dread in your stomach? That means you know how predictable the writing is and what's about to happen, good for you.

Alya explains that she has to tell Nino something and he's worried, this time trying to sheepishly break the tension. She explains that she's still Rena Rouge, much to Nino's shock, and adds that she's in hiding, which is why Ladybug didn't want her to tell anyone. Nino asks why she's telling him if she's not supposed to tell anyone - proving my point from a while back that he wouldn't have been upset had she kept it a secret - then asks if Ladybug agreed with it.

I want to give him a pat on the back for considering Ladybug, but he didn't even tell her when he had the chance that Adrien knows his identity now, so I'm just beaten down at this point.

Instead of answering the question directly, Alya says that she can't hide her identity from him because she loves him and they don't have secrets.

You know, like Nino telling Adrien about Rena's identity, or Alya saying specifically that she's a permanent holder, which I'm sure both of them will confess to since they said that they don't have--aaaaand the episode ends on happy triumphant music, okay.

I mean, I guess Alya at least didn't tell him that Marinette was Ladybug, but that is such a low bar and not even remotely worthy of congratulations when Alya told Nino the specific thing that Marinette told Alya not to tell; the thing that they had agreed on.

Nino wasn't upset anymore. He won't be getting akumatized either. Alya endured the supposed hardship of being a permanent fox holder for four episodes before breaking down and telling her boyfriend. Even her excuse doesn't hold any water because, again, they're both still technically keeping a secret, particularly Alya who knows Marinette's identity as Ladybug. The episode also apparently forgets that Alya and Marinette's friendship must not be as strong by her logic of telling Nino specifically everything, as Alya kept Rena Rouge a secret from Marinette for all of Season 3, but tells Nino about continuing to be Rena Rouge in Season 4. Boyfriends before BFFs without explicitly saying it, or to be more specific, whatever screws Marinette over the most, because that's what this comes down to, made worse by "Optigami" where Marinette told Alya that she'd tell her everything and I guess that doesn't go both ways.

"Sentibubbler" had Alya stress that no one would ever know. She promised Marinette and told Marinette to trust her, and the episode spent its entire running time talking her up and assuring Marinette that she was the right choice, even considering Marinette ridiculous for worrying when Alya had done something without Marinette's permission the episode right before it. Then, three episodes after "Sentibubbler," when Marinette is finally comfortable and trusts Alya completely, Alya betrays that trust. Nino betrayed that trust, knowing he wasn't supposed to do so but telling Adrien his and Rena's identity anyway, because he was losing an argument and needed to PROVE something.

Marinette gives them an inch and they take a mile. Marinette bent the rules so that they could continue to have the miraculous they'd started with and they disrespected her because it was hard for like a day.

And if this bites them back, it won't reflect poorly on them, it'll reflect poorly on Marinette.

It's not like Alya just overrode Marinette. She didn't go, "Hey, I'm telling Nino, I'm sorry," or tried her hardest to go back and forth with Marinette until they both agreed. No, she did what she told Marinette she wouldn't do without saying a word to her, because LOVE and SEEEECRETS.

And this only applies to her, of course, because don't think I didn't notice the parallels between this episode and "Truth," because WOW.

Episode begins with Marinette hoping for something and it blows up in her face? A date at the cinema that ends on a sour note? Plot-centric couple trying to get Andre's ice cream and the female with a secret needing to leave in a hurry? Boyfriend character getting akumatized over their girlfriend's secret? Boyfriend assumes/suggests that the girlfriend's secret involves Aaaaaadrien - or his alter-ego in "Rocketear"'s case - and the episode hints as much to him even though he's completely wrong? Akuma's colors are blue and black? THE BRIDGE?

But, ahhh, little difference, here and there, y'know, like how Marinette was forced to break up with her boyfriend while Alya got to keep hers, and Nino got to have long talks with Alya while Luka got little to nothing with Marinette.

Because do note that Alya, while trying to convince Marinette and talk to Nino about not keeping secrets, at no point suggests that Marinette deserves to be happy and deserves to have a boyfriend and that Marinette should be allowed to tell Luka her secret so they can get back together, so you have Alya here selfishly prioritizing her relationship with Nino while making no comment about Marinette's relationship, essentially asking Marinette to allow her what Marinette herself didn't have the luxury of, and Alya knows this because Marinette told her. It is both incredibly insensitive of Alya and incredibly insulting of the show to make so many parallels between this episode and "Truth" just to have everything crash down for Marinette because she's Marinette while everything goes well for Alya and Nino because they're not Marinette.

We've talked before about the formulas that are literally baked into the show, and one of those is how Marinette makes a mistake in every episode and has to learn from it. What that mistake is in this episode, I don't know, but considering that she apologizes for Alya and Nino's problems, I guess the show blames her for what they themselves had taught her.

Point being, there's a clear karma system in place, but it only applies to Marinette, and forcing her to mess up in every episode means that she is literally not allowed to be with Luka because had she been able to clear things up between them, he would've eagerly accepted her and they could've been happy. It'd be too difficult for her to mess up when Luka doesn't put mountains of pressure and expectations on her like everyone else. Factor that in with how she can be herself around him and it leads to situation that are too difficult for her to screw up in because her mistakes - more often than not - center around Adrien or her role as guardian.

And because another rule in the show is to bring up Adrien so they don't "lose him for too long," she can't avoid bringing him up either. If he's not in the plot, he has to be mentioned, leaving Marinette in a lose-lose situation that she'll never be free from.

So, let me just get this straight then:

The guy who spied on his girlfriend instead of talking to her about his assumptions gets to keep his girlfriend, not because he realized it was wrong regardless of whether he was correct or not, but because the situation had been cleared up for him, yet the guy who actively resisted his akumatization, saddened by his girlfriend's secrets but wanting her to share them when she was ready, gets broken up with and tossed to the wayside because he's not a rich blond boy who got a miraculous because he happened to be within the twenty meters of space where Fu was searching for new holders?

Meanwhile, the girlfriend who has gone against the wishes and insistence of her best friend - guardian of the miraculouses, by the way, so she calls the shots, something that Alya herself said in "Optigami" BEFORE GOING ON TO DO HER OWN THING IN THE SAME EPISODE AND BEING REWARDED FOR IT - is allowed to go against the wishes and insistence of her best friend again for the sake of "all love, no secrets" with her boyfriend and so she can have the happy ending she wants, yet the girl who was chosen for a miraculous without her consent, forced to screw up and talk about a random boy who doesn't even go out of his way to spend time with her, treated like absolute trash by writers who find humor in her misery, and is the only one to receive overly harsh and long-lasting consequences for her actions while also covering up and forgiving the actions of others within the episode where they do it...

doesn't get her happy ending, and won't ever get her happy ending. That thing Shadow Moth said about love and secrets not going well together? Yeah, only goes as far as the writers want it to, because both Nino and Alya still have secrets, and some of the ones they did tell each other were forced by someone else and kept until that very moment. This idea that people in love have to tell each other everything and that it makes a relationship stronger makes me immensely uncomfortable, and that lesson is also in "Guiltrip."

People should be allowed their secrets, and obviously there are exceptions for things that are being hidden with malicious intent, but being essentially forced to share everything or risk not having a "full and complete" relationship is stifling and sounds like it'd only cause stress.

This episode sucks. It furthers and confirms everything I've already thought about the show, Nino's screentime continues to be dependent on Adrien, Alya, or both, there are pointless references that completely take me out of the experience, and the utter betrayal from Alya and supposed message of the episode just reminds me that Marinette is inevitably going to be stuck with a guy who didn't even DO anything in this episode and is going to let himself stew instead of asking for any sort of clarifications from someone he apparently trusts so much.

So the takeaway is that Marinette's life is awful, she'll be forced to apologize for rules that she didn't even come up with herself, her best friend will walk all over her for the sake of her relationship with a guy - not even for the sake, really, they were going to be fine, it was more for HER personal comfort if anything - and the guy who actually makes Marinette happy and could've known her identity instead BECAUSE HE AT LEAST DIDN'T HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF SPILLING HER SECRETS gets treated in the exact same way that she does; like nothing, just something to abuse unfairly.

What a waste of an episode.

#MC's Videos #category: episode summaries #category: salt #salt: adrien agreste #salt: chat noir #salt: alya cesaire #salt: nino lahiffe #video: critique #MC's Renders #render: persona #episode: Rocketear #((I would usually apologize for rambling but you guys seem to like it lol.))#((I could still afford to trim down the summary probably and repeat myself/ramble a BIT less but yeah.))#((I'm also feeling a little more comfortable this time around))#((which might come off in my inflections.))

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inagetawaycarxo · 3 years

Text

Caught Out | Connor Rhodes FT Jay Halstead

Requested By Anon [I got a request, it is Connor x Reader x Jay. Reader is a pediatric trauma surgeon and very talented. She and Jay are dating when she finds Jay cheating on her with Hailey. The reader decides to leave Chicago and go to the city Connor is in. A few months later Jay shows up at Connor's door begging for the reader to take him back until he finds out she and Connor are dating and is happier with him.]

Pairings: Jay Halstead x Reader, Jay Halstead x Hailey Upton, Connor Rhodes x Reader

Featuring: Y/n, Jay Halstead, Hailey Upton, Connor Rhodes.

Summary: Y/n finds Jay cheating on her with Hailey and leaves Chicago to go see Connor

Warnings: angst, cheating, nudity, sex [kind of], betrayal, crying, jealousy, mentions of explicit sexual content, errors I missed.

w/c: 1513

Your eyes were heavy with sleep. All you wanted to do was go home and sleep. Especially you wanted to cuddle with Jay. But no, the universe had other plans for you.

A yawn escaped your mouth as you parked your car. Putting the handbrake up. Then turned the car off. You grabbed your work bag from the front seat. Slinging it across your shoulder. You took the keys out of the ignition, as you opened the door. Getting out of the car. Shutting the door and locking the car. You quickly rushed into the apartment complex. Rushing to the apartment you shared with Jay, all the while taking the apartment keys out of the bag.

Once you reached the door. You put the keys into the keyhole. Unlocking the lock.

Your hand grabbing the doorknob. Turning the doorknob. Opening the door, and walking in. you closed the door behind you. Your eyebrows furrow as you heard moaning and squeaking of the mattress coming from the bedroom. Dread filled your body as you slowly walked to the bedroom. Breathing hitching. You peaked at the half-open door. Your hands cupping your mouth. Muffling the gasp. Your heart felt like it was shattering into millions of pieces. As you looked away. Yet the image of Jay on top of Hailey, thrusting into her was burned into your mind.

You turned around. Rushing to the front door. Your gasp must have startled them because you heard the rustling of sheets, a few curse words slipping out of Jay’s mouth. It made you rush to the door faster.

Jay rushed to put his boxers on. Hailey quickly put her clothes on. Guilt washing over them.

“Y/n,” He shouted. As he exited the bedroom door. Hailey trailing after him. He saw you stop at the door. Hand hovering above the doorknob.

You turned around to face him with a look of heartbreak. Tears falling from your eyes like a waterfall. Lip quivering. Jay felt his heart clench. Guilt washing over him like a ton of bricks.

He was about to say something, but he heard footsteps behind him. Your gaze turned to Hailey, looking more crestfallen. You turned around quickly. Grabbing the doorknob and twisting it open. Opening the door and exiting the apartment as well as his life. Tears fell from his eyes, but he only had himself blame….

Tears blurred your vision as you drove out of Chicago. All you had on you was your work bag. Lucky had it had your wallet and phone in it.

You quickly wiped the tears away with the back of your hand. Hearing your phone vibrate constantly. You ignored it. Focusing on the road. Heartache engulfing you. You turned the radio on low hoping it would soothe your heartache, but it didn’t.

It seemed the universe didn’t want you to forget what you just saw. A sad song about cheating played on the radio. It made you burst into tears, as you drove. Doing your best to subside them. The only person who knew you well enough was Connor. So, that’s where you were going. Maybe if you would have picked him and left Chicago with him, instead of turning him down then none of this would have occurred and you wouldn’t have been heartbroken.

Self-doubt started to crawl inside of you. You should have seen the signs. The stolen glances, late nights at work, or what he claimed as work. How your works always put a strain on the relationship. But then anger sets in. he was the one that cheated on you. He was the one that wrecked the relationship. He used to accuse you of cheating on him with Connor before Connor left Chicago, but he was the one that was being unfaithful, he was the hypocrite.

It would have hurt less if it were a random girl, but no it was Hailey. His ex-girlfriend and his partner. You had a feeling this would happen. You just hoped it never did…

It was early morning when you reached Connor’s place. Parking your ear in his driveway. You put the car in park, putting the handbrake up. Turning the car off, taking keys out of the ignition. Then grabbed your bag. Opening the door. Slowly getting out of the car. Shutting the door then locking the car. Walking sheepishly to his door. Heart hammering against your ribcage. Hopefully, you aren’t intruding.

Connor must have heard a commotion outside and came to investigate. The door swinging open as you reached the top step.

Connor looked slightly shocked to see you outside of his door. His shock turned into a concerned look as he took in your appearance.

“Y/n, what happened?” He asked. As he rushed over to you. His hands cupping the side of your face. His touch made you melt. More tears fell from your eyes. Lips trembling.

“He cheated on me with Hailey,” You gasped out. Anger rises inside of Connor. Has Jay lost his mind? He thought to himself.

You fell into Connor. Connor wrapped his arms around you. As you bury your head into his chest. Crying till there were no tears left.

“He doesn’t deserve you,” Connor spoke softly as he rubbed soothing circles on your back.

Connor led you inside of his place. Sitting down with you on the couch. Hugging you close to his chest. Eventually, you told him what you saw. Connor’s jaw ticked as you told him. You eventually fell asleep on Connor’s lap. Not that Connor minded it. Connor starred at you as you slept on his lap. His fingers combing through your hair ever so softly. He loved you, and he was going to prove it to you now that you were no longer with Jay…

TWO MONTHS LATER

You felt two arms wrap around your waist from behind you. Connor pressed himself into your back. While you poured coffee.

“You look so sexy in my shirt,” Connor spoke into your ear. He pressed a soft kiss against the shell of your ear. His beard trickling your earlobe making you giggly.

“Mm... just in your shirt?” You teased. Quirking one eyebrow.

“You look sexy all the time, even sexier when you are naked, underneath me,” He spoke. Voice deepening with lust.

Connor spun you around to face him. You smiled as you saw his eyes darken with lust. Taking your lower lip in between your bottom lip.

“We have work soon,” You spoke. Arching an eyebrow as a warning.

“Then let’s make it a quickie,” He growled out. Before he could kiss you, the doorbell rang, as well as a knock interrupting Connor and you.

Connor let out a frustrated huff. As you made your way to the door.

“If it’s the next-door neighbor, tell then I’m out of sugar,” He spoke. You let out a laugh. Grabbing the doorknob and twisting it open.

You felt your heart leap into your throat. Your eyes were wide as you looked at the person in shock. The person happened to be Jay.

“Jay…” You brokenly gasped out.

“Y/n, I finally found you,” Jay gasped out. He looked like he hadn’t slept in months. Your heart was beating so fast you could barely hear your thoughts. Breathing quickening.

“W…what are you doing here?” You gasped out.

“I want you back, I’m sorry for cheating on you with Hailey,” Jay started to say. Taking a deep breath. When he said Hailey’s name your mind immediately flashed back to the night you saw him cheating on you with her. The words cheating and Hailey stung. It was like he was pouring salt on a wound.

“These past few months have been hell, I’ve been torturing myself these last few months, Hailey isn’t the one I want, it’s you,” Jay confessed. While you stared at him in shock.

You were about to say something when you felt Connor wrap a protective arm around you. Pulling you close to him. Jay looked slightly uncomfortable, confused, and jealous. Jealous of the fact you melted right into Connors touch. Like you felt safe.

Connor glared at Jay. His jaw clenching. He would have punched Jay, for what he put you through, but restrained himself.

“You have a lot of nerve coming here, in fact, you can keep torturing yourself because she doesn’t want you back,” Connor snapped. Speaking for you. You felt your heart flutter. Glad Connor spoke up for you. Because you couldn’t form the words to speak.

She can speak for herself,” Jay growled. Glaring at Connor.

“I am speaking for the both of us, and as her boyfriend, who loves her more than you ever did or could, LEAVE,” Connor growled out. Slamming the door shut, but not before Jay saw Connor give you a soft kiss on the cheek. Your face lighting up with happiness. Jay felt his heart shatter into pieces. He lost you for good. His insecurities and jealousy of Connor and your friendship pushing you towards Connor. Jay felt heartache flood through him, he only had himself to blame…

#jay halstead x reader #connor rhodes x reader #connor rhodes imagine #connor rhodes imagines #jay halstead imagine #chicago med x reader #chicago pd x reader #chicago med imagine #chicago pd imagine #angst #jay halstead angst

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autumnscribbles · 3 years

Text

believe me | b.s

requested by anon

summary: y/n starts getting strange DMs and seeing tweets that may ruin her relationship

pairing: brad simpson x reader

warnings: mentions of cheating, angst, sadness hehe

word count: 1.5k (finally a long one woo)

a/n: woohoo first brad imagine!! i love that most of my requests are for brad because UM i love him so much it’s not even funny anyway hope you enjoy this nice angsty fic

Your phone chimed continuously, annoying you because you thought you had remembered to put it on silent the night before like you usually did. You assumed it was fans talking about the new photo you posted with Brad the night before, but you were surprised when you opened your phone after rubbing the sleep out of yours eyes.

You looked at the username - @/bradsgirl2020

Most of the time, the DMs you received were from fans you knew, or at least recognized from lurking on twitter often enough out of boredom. You opened the DM anyway, assuming it was a fan, so you were curious.

To your surprise, it was not that at all. Whoever it was began telling you she had slept with Brad, seen him at many parties in LA the past few months and they have been seeing each other secretly. She continued to tell you she thought Brad was too good for you, you were ugly, deserved nothing.

You were used to occasional hate, and used to people trying to say stupid stuff to “sabotage” your relationship. You couldn’t help but let out a slight laugh, putting your phone down while you went to make breakfast. Brad was out doing a radio show, so you sat alone at the table while you ate your cereal, too lazy to put any more effort in than pouring milk in a bowl.

When you went back upstairs, your phone was blowing up again, making you roll your eyes.

This mystery “fan” was now spreading rumours on Twitter, all the fans freaking out, wondering if it could be true. Most of them defended your relationship, others were actually falling for it. I guess whoever it was made a convincing argument. You read through the hateful tweets about you, and the photos of Brad she posted, captioning it with obsessive words, making you cringe slightly.

“So weird,” you whispered to yourself.

She had no photos of herself, which meant you were unable to see if you could recognize her from any of the parties you had also attended with Brad. This is how she claimed their “relationship started”.

“He’s gonna leave her for me” the tweet read, making your eyebrows furrow. Why would someone be spreading this, so eager to get a reaction.

You heard the door open, Brad entering your house, kicking his shoes off and hanging his coat beside him.

“Hey baby,” he smiled at you, pecking your lips before going to grab a glass of water.

“Hey, so, something really weird’s been happening today,” you mentioned, not knowing how to bring it up.

“Yeah? What is it?” he asked curiously, his eyes widening as he took a sip from the glass.

“So there’s this...fan I guess? A twitter account who’s DMing me and tweeting about how she’s had sex with you at parties and that you’re in love with her,” you told him.

“That’s ridiculous,” he laughed. “People try really hard, huh?”

“Yeah,” you smiled. “She keeps sending me hate though, not that it matters I guess, it just sucks to be told I’m no good for you.”

“Block her, babe, it’s not worth it,” he told you sweetly, pressing his lips to your temple. “If anything, you’re too good for me.”

You were sitting on the couch, waiting for Brad to come home with the takeaway he had promised you. You remembered what he had said and decided to go to block the account and all the ones that were backing her up.

As you pulled the account up, you saw new DMs and tweets that made you recoil in your seat.

In front of you were photos of Brad at parties like she said, a girl on his lap, kissing his beck. Another of his hands on someone’s butt, seemingly pulling them closer. They kept coming, picture after picture of compromising photos of Brad and whoever this girl was.

I told you he finds me hotter than you.

You didn’t know what to believe anymore. On the one hand, you wanted to believe Brad could never do this to you, no matter how drunk, no matter what party, what girl. The other half of you, though, stared at these pictures, taking them in, making you wonder if maybe Brad was capable of doing this, of hurting you.

Tears sprang to your eyes, your throat burning as you tried to hold them back. You scrolled through Twitter, seeing everyone talking about the photos, which had been posted. Magazine websites were already talking about it, the word “Cheating” in the title making you feel sick to your stomach.

The door opened, Brad walking in with a smile on his face, Chinese food in his hands. You turned to him, tears down your face, making his smile drop immediately.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

He put the food down, approaching you quickly. When you pulled back when he tried to cup your cheek in his hand, his face dropped.

“Did I do something?” he questioned, hurt filling his voice and on his face.

“Are these real?” you asked, showing the photos to him, his eyes widening instantly.

“What? No, of course not,” he defended. “These are fake, y/n.”

Silence filled the room, your eyes gazing at the floor, unable to meet Brad’s eyes.

“You don’t believe me?” he asked. “You believe them?”

“I don’t know what I believe,” you muttered, a tear falling onto the couch from your eye, leaving a darkened spot in its wake.

“Babe, please,” he said. “I would never do this to you, you’re everything to me.”

“Then where are these pictures from?” you asked.

“They have to be fake, y/n, I didn’t do it, I swear,” he pleaded, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

Brad didn’t cry often, and you wanted to believe him, but the pictures clouded your thoughts, unable to get the image away. Tears streamed down his face, his head shaking in disbelief.

“Please. baby,” he whispered. “You know I would never do this.”

“I think you should stay with one of the boys tonight,” you said, barely audible. “I need time to think.”

“No,” he pleaded. “Please, let’s just forget this, eat our food, watch a movie.”

“I can’t stop thinking about it,” you told him. “I need time alone, to think it through.”

Brad’s tears increasingly fell down his cheeks, but he listened to you. He always wanted to do what was best for you, and this was it. He stood up, making his way back to the front door, leaving the Chinese food on the table.

“I love you, y/n, remember that,” he told you. “Please believe me.”

With that he was gone, the door clicking gently in his wake, your tears turning into full blown sobs as you put your head in yours hands. It had to be fake, how could this be happening? You tried eating something, feeling a gape in your chest without Brad beside you struggling to use chopsticks. You set it down, going upstairs, and crying yourself to sleep.

You woke up to a text from Tristan, a link to a tweet attached to the message. You assumed it was about the Brad situation, it only made sense that Brad would have confided in Tris.

You looked at the tweet, a fan account had posted a photo that looked almost identical to the one the hate account had sent you. This time, however, it wasn’t Brad touching and kissing the girl, it was someone else. Someone with similar features, curly hair, but it definitely wasn’t Brad.

The photos posted were edited to make it look like Brad!! It wasn’t him!!

You let out a sharp breath, relief washing over you, tears running down your face.

Tell him to come home, you texted Tristan before hopping out of bed and rushing downstairs to wait for him.

You kept looking at the picture, as if it would change if you looked away. It wasn’t Brad, he was right, it was fake the whole time. You felt stupid, knowing deep down that he wouldn’t cheat on you with a random girl at a party.

There was a knock on the door, Brad too nervous to use his key, in case you were still angry.

You rushed to the door, throwing it open and wrapping him in your arms, tears stinging your eyes again.

“I’m so sorry,” you said into his chest, pulling away to look him in the eyes. “I was stupid, I know I should have believed you over some stupid obsessive twitter account.”

“It’s okay,” he smiled sweetly. “I don’t blame you, they looked pretty real.”

“I should have believed you,” you muttered, guilt flooding your conscience.

“Don’t feel bad,” he reassured you. “We’re okay, and that’s all that matters.”

He put his hands on either side of your face, leaning in and pressing his lips to you. The familiar warmth and feeling made goosebumps appear on your arms, wishing you could stay like this forever.

“Now,” he said. “Did you keep any of that Chinese food?”

You couldn’t help but laugh. That was the thing about Brad, no matter what happened, any disagreement, fight, breakdown, he always knew how to make you smile despite all of it.

#brad simpson #bradley simpson #bradley will simpson #bws #brad simpson imagine #brad simpson fic #brad simpson x reader #bradley simpson imagine #bradley simpson x reader #the vamps #the vamps imagine #the vamps fanfic #tristan evans #connor ball #james mcvey #imagine #fanfic #writing #requested

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inqilabi · 3 years

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The anon talking about Islamic terrorism was rather clearly implying groups such as Hamas. You then respond “what terrorism?” and bring up Nelson Mandela. Please understand some of us agree with you about Israeli war crimes, about wanting freedom for Palestinian civilians, etc. But we feel we can’t engage with you because you are coy about what you mean — do you think groups such as Hamas, who have called just a few weeks ago for the beheading of Jewish civilians, will be remembered years from now as freedom fighters, and that for you would be the morally correct position to take? I have seen you call their rockets ‘resistance rockets’, those same rockets whose intent, if not impact, is specifically to target and kill Jewish civilians — you think those are the ‘resistance’? It’s not that many of us disagree with you on the Israeli gov, or Israel as a state. We are concerned you’re not consistent in your views when you seem to excuse groups like Hamas’s terrorism or else play coy about any terrorist or antisemitic intent in the first place (“what terrorism? Nelson Mandela was classed as a terrorist”, etc). Which way is it? Can’t all bad things, all targeting of innocent civilians based on hatred, be bad?

So you do think Hamas are the resistance. But do you think that makes what they advocate for correct? You are lying if you think their only goal (or even their main one tbf) is the freedom of Palestinians and not the killing of Jews. Genuinely, I think there is a whole aspect of this that you are either deliberately trying not to comment on or else actively pretending is not there. You can’t be so blind to what Hamas leaders have said or encouraged.

I have to say that this was a disappointing ask, because even before the recent heightened ethnic cleansing effort by Israel, I was talking about propaganda. I posted a video where a ruling class agent openly talks about how they literally create stories, feed to the AP etc, get books written on the topic, the authors of which go on to become influential academics & poets and other cultural features so even if we don't absorb this information from political media, we will absorb it from the random fiction book or poetry we read. As well as I mentioned several instances of ridiculously sensational claims we repeat like robots without realizing that the oppressor class is producing them. And everything you've stated in this ask about Hamas is a product of all that, Israel specifically calls it hasbara. So hopefully you're a new follower, read selectively or are young- because otherwise, it's disappointing.

I also just want to inform you that I use to have the 'Hamas is a terrorist' position for a longtime, I had to struggle against my common notions to arrive at my current position. So I am not blind to Hamas, I believe that I am now more informed.

Yes Hamas is resistance. Because it formed in response to oppression. Hamas is armed civilian resistance. I don't how to make that any clearer. It formed in first intifada in 87'. Yes it is resistance rockets in the face of Israeli slaughter. And Hamas targets Israeli military targets, not civilians. Unlike Israel and IOF which only & exclusively targets civilians with their precision rocket technology under the lie of 'Hamas had a base there' because their goal is literally ethnic cleansing. Israel conducts census for this purpose. They know exactly the population of Palestinians: age, how many children in each family, who lives where, their phone numbers! Israel literally can kill no one even if they choose to bomb because they have technology that advanced & the census. And yet, they choose not to. Because the aim is ethnic cleansing. Hamas makes kitchen rocket from Israel's ethnic cleansing wreckage. The contrast between civilian causalities on both side speak to this fact. This will continue to happen regardless of whether Hamas exists or not. Hamas does not exist in the west bank, and yet Israel continues. Hamas did not exist before 87' and yet, Israel continued. Arabs have always been considered terrorist, as I stated already this was beginning to be the perception when the Arab revolts happened to the Zionist terrorism of the 1920s (might I add, terrorism as we associate with middle east was brought to the region by Zionist bombers but I digress).

Abu Obeida is the official spokesperson of Hamas, so I wouldn't believe nypost first of all, nor Fathi Hammad to represent Hamas' position re your 'behead jews' claim or whomever else made that claim. Hamas original charter was antisemitic, written in 87' during a horrible continued onslaught by Israel- nonetheless not justifiable. The original founders were all assassinated by Israel. And Hamas current character is not that of its foundation given the 30 years that have passed & that the leadership is now completely different, plus many other things that happened between other factions of resistance that have driven a new position. The new charter can be found here.

Point in mentioning Mandela was this: one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Mandela, ANC and the armed resistance uMkhonto we Sizwe was considered terrorist in consciousness of most people at that time. They were considered to be hell bent on destroying the white people, the Afrikaners, targeting civilians. All of this rhetoric was used to uphold the apartheid.

Today, all liberals come to correctly believe that they were not terrorist, and targeted state apparatus- because this became clear after apartheid ended even though this info was availble before too for anyone who cared to understand. But these same people would have believed at the time that they were killing civilians, as the propaganda said so at the time. These same people today believe Hamas targets civilians. How can you have this hindsight and not understand that its the same thing happening today. Make it make sense!!!!

Anyway to summarize, I have my own opinions about Hamas, but I don't mention them as they're irrelevant since a) national liberation is to be supported no matter who is engaging in it b) I am not the Gazan people with my life being a sentence of death by apartheid Israel.

I think position you have comes from a far too narrow of an analysis, focusing only on the IOF and Hamas. Focusing only on right or wrong, focusing on both players as if they are equal and comes from a lack of understanding of the sheer brutality of colonialism. I would suggest you read this: On Violence.

#asks #palestine #Hamas #propaganda #communism 101

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kidney9-9 · 4 years

Note

Can i request one with Bucky where the reader was sent by hydra to get intel on the Avengers, she decided not to bc she loves Bucky, he finds out and stops talking to the reader so he can think about it, reader thinks he hates her so she hides in her room and stops talking, he gets worried. If you do choose to write this pls don't rush, you've been answering so many. 💗

Hi sweet anon! hope you enjoy this! and thank you for sending it in! 💗

Masterlist

Bucky Barnes x Reader (Angst with happy ending) No warnings :) Word Count: 1.6k

A year ago, you were sent on your first solo mission by HYDRA. You had been working with them for years now, as almost as a freelancer. You always managed to get along with different agencies but chose to always work with the highest pay offers. This was your lonest mission to date, infiltrating and gaining intel on the Avengers. For the first two months, you did the job perfectly. You would slip into rooms disguised or hidden, taking any information you could find off computers. You would also listen into conversations, recording them and uploading them into the protected communication service between you and a few agents of HYDRA.

And then you and James Barnes got extremely close. He trusted you with telling his story with HYDRA, and you instantly felt disgusted with yourself, ashamed and guilty. You couldn’t admit it to him then, choosing instead to stop sending in data to the agents. Instead you started sending fake information, or started claiming people were onto your true job, which they weren’t.

HYDRA still paid you handsomely, which was easily tracked right to one of the headquarters; but the money trail didn’t lead to you exactly, but random shell companies, in a fake identity you used back when you worked for other agencies. No paper trails led to you, and you made sure. With the money fed by HYDRA, you used to donate to the Avengers and other movements you supported, in secret. You still felt guilty though and haunted by Bucky’s stories.

The first kiss shared between you and Bucky, ended with you slipping a few tears. He was hurt, thinking you really didn’t like him, because of your tears. You quickly denied that, claiming you really did like him and wanted a relationship with him; blaming the tears on an injury from working out. His smile to you made your heart speed up to an impossible point, and you officially started falling in love with him.

Now, the agents connected to you through HYDRA have warned you of an impending attack on the Compound, after they found a way to destroy the Avengers and their purpose. HYDRA’s plan had been in the works for years. Building allies in the Compound with several workers that held janitorial jobs, meaning they had access to every room. Their highest known ally was you, being a member in the Avenger team. Their plan was a shock to you, they explained you would be the “face” of the new “Avengers” of the world, after the current ones died.

You could never accept that. You tried so hard for days, searching for the allies on the inside, but you never found anyone. They all seemed suspicious to you. Two weeks before the planned fall of the Avengers, you started your board, quickly printing out pages and pages of suspected workers of HYDRA, even posting ones you knew that worked outside of the Compound, with HYDRA. You didn’t think anything of it when posting information that even the Avengers didn’t know, since you were extremely stressed out.

The moment Bucky saw your board, he saw through your persona. Betrayal swiped through him as he stalked towards you in one of the mission rooms. You were alone, researching even more on the people you suspected. You heard Bucky walk into the room, and you turned around with a smile, “Hi honey!” You greeted your boyfriend and he clenched his fists.

“Bucky?” You questioned seeing his stance. He opened his mouth with a shaky breath, “You…you work for them. Don’t you? For HYDRA.” He whispered feeling the disloyalty and hurt by everything that’s happened between the two of you. The look on your face told him the truth.

“I- I don’t work for them anymore- Buck please listen-” He cut you off with a yell, punching the wall to the side of you. You screamed, flinching back in fear from his reaction, but you knew you deserved it. You deserved all the hurt and pain he would throw at you. But you still wanted to explain, “They’re planning an attack! You have to stop it!” You exclaimed back, trembling and slightly backing away.

He stopped and stared as you began to tremble even more but accepting the consequences. He couldn’t do it. He loved you, still even know after hearing you worked for the people who brought him pain and tortured him for so long. He needed to think, the betrayal and anger made him feel horrible, and he didn’t even notice himself walk away from you.

You felt like you couldn’t breathe. It finally hit you, the consequences of your horrifying actions as you watched as your boyfriend walk off. You sank to the floor, feeling almost gone, knowing how hard you hit Bucky with that, and knowing you still have to find a way to stop HYDRA’s attack on the Avengers, with or without the rest of their help.

You pulled yourself up after an unknown amount of time and drifted to your room, falling onto your bed with tears drifted down your face silently. You rolled into the blankets, laying awake for hours, just thinking of every wrong you’ve ever committed. You weren’t sure when you woke up from your daze, but you instantly went to work, going over the list you made of suspects, and completely shutting out your feelings. Your throat was dry as sand, from working hard for hours, finally finding one person you knew definitely was part of the plan. You didn’t want to leave your room though, knowing there was still work to do, and knowing you would have to face Bucky.

It took another day of research to find three more participants of HYDRA, in the Compound. You didn’t want to go outside at all, and you convinced yourself not to talk about it. You moved Bucky’s and yours photo away from you that was sitting on the desk, feeling heartbroken and guilty. He didn’t deserve that from anyone. You really didn’t want to hurt him.

Bucky spent hours thinking about the revelation. He didn’t dare tell anyone, because he still had a hard time wrapping it around his head. You were such a kind and loving person, and he would never expect you to be working for the enemy. And now, he feels guilty that he still loves you. Hurt and betrayal came first, but his love for you didn’t fade away like expected. It hurt him so much, when he finally fell asleep and the first dream he had that night, was about you. He knew he needed to talk to you. When he went out to grab breakfast, chatter was normal between the Avengers that lived there but Bucky instantly noticed your disappearance. “Where’s-” Bucky got cut off by Natasha as she tossed an apple in the air, catching it again. “She hasn’t come out of her room. Did you two fight?” She questioned, curious.

Bucky frowned at Natasha, and she instantly could tell something happened between the two of you. He shook his head, stopping anyone from questioning him even further.

The rest of the day was kind of a blur to Bucky as he quietly thought about you, HYDRA, and the plan you spoke about. He spent hours in the gym, punching out his stress and almost meditating, trying to understand what to do. He knew he had to stop whatever HYDRA was planning, with or without you. But he preferred your help, and support.

When he realized you hadn’t come out of your room in over a day, he grew worried again. He quickly walked to your room, trying to think of things to say, what to do, when you answered the door. He hesitantly knocked on the door, listening to you shuffle around in your room.

You opened the door slowly, frowning slightly seeing your boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend (you weren’t entirely sure now) now standing there. You breathed in slightly, opening the door even more for him, to come in. “Hey,” Bucky paused, gazing at your features. He noticed how tired you looked, and how chapped your lips were, and frowned when he saw your shaky hands.

“Are you alright?” He whispered to you, stepping into the room, and looking at all the evidence you gathered, pining it to the walls. You bit your lip, “Yeah, Bucky I’m really sorry, I should hav-” He cut you off by taking a hold of your hands. You tried to fight the oncoming tears, believing you were going to be dumped and arrested.

“Doll, listen… I’m beyond angry, but we need to work this out, the attack.” Bucky spoke up, squeezing your hands lightly. You furrowed your eyebrows back to him in surprise and confusion, “Doll? Wait Bucky aren’t you…” You trailed off not knowing what to say.

He shook his head at your words, “We need to stop the attack. I love you still, and we’ll talk about it all after we stop HYDRA from continuing. Is this everything you know so far?”

You breathed out shakily at him, finding it unbelievable, “You still love me? And uh, yeah, their attack is going to be on the Thursday after the annual meeting. But I wanted to stop it before.” Bucky nodded along to your words, feeling his heart skip a few beats at your unsteady voice. He felt the pain in your voice as well, making him feel your remorse.

“Of course, I still love you. Let’s work this out together.” Bucky whispered back, pulling you into a hug and making you sob out suddenly from his forgiving nature.

- tagging: @lozzypoz321 taglist is open!

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thekidultlife · 4 years

Text

I Want Your Midnights | Lee Jihoon

Pairing: Jihoon x fem!reader

⍟ AU: Idol AU (?)

⍟ Genre: Fluff, a bit of angst on the side

⍟ Warnings: -

⍟ Word Count: 4.3k

⍟ A/N: Alright I know you guys are already sick of me just posting Jihoon fics, but it’s my birthday today, so just...humor me pls. This is almost a self-indulgent fic;;; I’ll be tagging @nrhfzh and all those jihoon stans who sent anons last time!!

(this should be posted on Friday which is Leanne’s schedule, but we decided she won’t post anything this week and I won’t post next Moday;;;)

btw, the song featured here is New Year’s Day by Taylor Swift. I recommend you listen to that song while reading this skkssk

-Hyeri

It was like an ordinary night. Like any night that you have spent before and will spend more in the future. Nothing extraordinary could be noted in particular between you and Lee Jihoon as you both sat eating in the quiet and privacy of his studio, between out of place candles and almost empty chicken buckets. It was as normal as a night can be.

Yet at the same time, in your own little way, it was also special.

Not being overly expressive with your love for each other, subtle gestures and acts of love screamed more than a thousand words could ever do. It never felt lacking or boring or empty like people thought it would be. In fact, your relationship was an adventure, even barely starting, it had been an uphill battle, and you both knew that.

As you came back from the comfort room washing your hands, you made a small scheming grin at your boyfriend who was still gobbling up the last remains of his chicken wing. Taking notice of that, he glanced at you with a smirk of his own.

"I know that look. What are you planning?" He asked as you sat across him, your arms folded confidently.

"Are you done eating?" You replied, watching him with a childish cheekiness in you.

"Well yeah," he dusted off the crumbs on his shirt with an innocent look. "What are you thinking though?"

With a coquettish smile, you stood up from your seat and went to his side. "Nothing really. Though I do want you to close your eyes and trust me."

Jihoon glanced at you with a bewildered look at first, wondering what you were scheming again this time, but when he saw that mischievous glint in your eyes, he knew it was something he shouldn't really worry about and simply chuckled at you.

"Fine, but don't do any funny business!" He finally agreed as he closed his eyes and waited for you.

He could hear you walking away and some wheels rolling. "I've never done any funny business." You denied teasingly.

He scoffed, even with his eyes closed. "Yeah right. Except that time when you drew on my face when I was drunk!"

He knew you were making an incredulous expression right now.

"C'mon! I was just trying to see what you would look like with a mustache," you laughed, walking towards him and reaching for his hands. "Don't open your eyes yet. I promise I won't draw a third eye on your forehead this time."

"Please don't. And please stop sharing meme faces of me to the other members. My reputation as vocal boss is on the line," he retorted back with a toothy grin as you chuckled, guiding him somewhere in the room.

"Can't promise that, Ji. I like my status as the official Lee Jihoon meme distributor," you replied, making him laugh out loud at how ridiculous that title was, before the both of you stopped walking. "You can sit now. I promise there's a chair to catch your butt."

For a while he feared that there really wasn't any chair for him to sit on, yet when he felt the soft foam of his swivel chair, he relaxed for a bit and sat down. Turning the chair around before you backed away, you allowed him to finally open his eyes. As soon as his sight came back, he was greeted by the image of you sitting in front of the electric keyboard with a soft smile on your lips.

"I can't promise you my voice or my playing would be up to your standards, but just…it's the thought that counts right?" You suddenly rambled, giggling.

Blinking, Jihoon was still processing what you were planning until it dawned on him the next second. "Are….are you going to sing me a song?"

You smiled at him bashfully. "Yeah, though I wish it was a song that I made myself, but I guess I'll put my feelings into somebody else's words for now. So you better listen."

Gazing into your eyes, he could sense the sincerity deep in you. You were someone who wouldn't make an effort just for the sake of being romantic. Everything you do for him meant something and was done with great consideration, he understood that, that's why right now, he could feel his heart swell with emotion.

A gentle smile on his lips, Jihoon leaned back. "I'll listen. Don't worry, I won't judge."

“You promised that, okay?” With a sheepish grin, you turned your attention back to the piano and placed your fingers on the correct chords.

With a small nervous breath, you began playing.

"There's glitter on the floor after the party

Girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby…"

Soft chords accentuate your raw and amateur voice. It didn't need to be technically perfect, the genuine emotions which surfaced on your voice reflected beauty in Jihoon's ears. It didn't need to be perfect, but it was real. He always loved that about you. Your brutal honesty, the unapologetic optimism you had. It gives him strength to look forward to another day.

He remembered as he watched your fingers dance on the keys, the first time you met. It wasn't that special. He just saw you on the internet as he monitored his own social media presence, posting stuff about Seventeen and what not. He found your comments funny, your reactions interesting, that he found himself going through your posts every day. He knew he'd love to be your friend if he could.

Yet being an idol wasn't easy. You were so close yet so far away. It wasn’t as easy as typing the words ‘hey i wanna be your friend’ to just another person. His name held weight and Jihoon knew that. With his workload and all the responsibilities he had in his hands, he just couldn’t tell you what he felt. As he listened to your voice reverberating with the acoustics of his studio, he remembered how it took him years to finally stir up the courage and to finally see the opportunity to talk to you.

He was glad he did. If he hadn’t, his heart wouldn’t feel as full as it has been since he met you.

“If you’re really Woozi of Seventeen, then post a picture of yourself in Weverse and in the captions write what’s the last anime you’ve watched.” Jihoon remembered you telling him over chat, it was nerve-wracking back then but it felt silly now. Of course, you can’t just trust a random person claiming himself to be an idol. There were a lot of those these days.

“Let’s be friends first,” you wrote to him with a heart and a smiley face emoji back then. “I want to get to know you.”

“Don't read the last page, but I stay when you're lost and I'm scared and you're turning away…”

Jihoon gazed at you, even then and until now, you were still beautiful in his eyes. No matter how many songs he’d composed about you, the emotions that reside in his chest would never run dry. The way you laugh, the way you talk, the way you’d do just about anything—he only had you in his eyes. Yet things weren’t always roses and butterflies.

You were so frustrated at him at that time when he had gotten scared of his own emotions. Jihoon knew, deep inside, that he had grown to love you over chats on SNS; your witty sarcasm and wonderful conversations were like water and sunlight to the love growing, rooting deeper and deeper into his heart.

He wasn’t unfamiliar to this feeling, yet he had been betrayed by this same emotion in the past and he wished he’d never had to be again this time. He was frightened that you could easily leave him, broken and empty, like the others did. Admittingly, he had lost hope for a love that was unconditional. He didn’t believe that there would be anyone out there who could love him wholeheartedly as much as he did, even through his flaws and his mistakes.

But you suddenly popped into his life, unaware of how much power you hold over him.

“You annoy me so much!” you told him over one fateful video call. “Jihoon, I feel so confused, you know? What am I really to you? Do you want to be just friends or do you want something more? If you want to stay as friends, then fine! I won’t force you. But that doesn’t mean I’d wait for you forever when you’re ready to take this to another step.”

He didn’t enjoy fighting with you. Not at all. Yet he was scared and stuck and didn’t know what to do. Being more meant more risks of hurting you unintentionally.

“But I can’t decide, Y/N! Dating means people will talk, and I don’t want them to talk about you! But I can’t just make everything I feel about you disappear!” he replied, and you were taken aback. “But if letting you go is the price I have to pay for your peace, then I don’t mind hurting.”

Tears were already threatening to slide down your cheeks, and if only you knew how much it pained him to see you like that back then. To hear you trip on your words, to hold back small sobs as you tried to find coherent words to keep the conversation going, it felt like a thousand knives piercing through him.

“Stop that…please. Do you think I won’t feel anything when you say that?” you replied. “Jihoon, I can understand where you’re coming from but don’t ever think that you’re the only one carrying this relationship, or whatever this is. For this to work, you have to share your burdens with me, you have to trust me, to depend on me.”

“I know that all your life, you’re used to doing everything by yourself, and I’m no different. We’ve achieved so many things just by ourselves. But we can’t be like this forever. A relationship isn’t just you or just me. It’s us both. So lean on me, let me carry those heavy feelings and I’d do the same with you. I want this to work, Jihoon. I don’t want to give up.”

Even if it was only through some shitty PC screen that he could see you, it didn’t diminish the weight of those words. He could feel it back then, he could still feel it right now as you played on the piano, singing a simple song—you were the one he wanted, tomorrow and forevermore.

“You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi, I can tell that it's going to be a long road…”

Jihoon would forever be thankful for you. Everything that you did for him, even if unintentionally on your part. He couldn’t admit how much he appreciates you in his life—through early morning calls when you were still far apart, and now through your warm presence in his studio as he worked.

“I’m considering moving there in the next year or so,” you suddenly told him over a phone call as you did your work. “Now that I’m breaking through the Korean webcomic scene, I think it’s better to stay close to my audience. And I think it’s better that we can finally be together, geographically at least.”

He could still remember it as fresh as that day. His heart began beating so fast, a wide grin broke out on his lips. He was worried that it’ll be too much for you to handle, but he had learned as your relationship progressed, that you’re someone who doesn’t get pushed back by hurdles so easily. Besides, you had him.

Jihoon was glad that he can now keep you closer more than ever.

It wasn’t easy, like everything else in life. But there was nothing the both of you couldn’t handle. It took so much silence and deception to hide your relationship from the public—a decision the both of you agreed upon long before. Jihoon knew that the both of you were private people, and more than anything, you didn’t want anyone to become privy to your intimate relationships.

For the first time, in such a long time, Jihoon was able to hold you close. Gazing at you, at your real eyes, at that time, felt surreal. Jihoon always thought he knew almost everything about you, yet he had never anticipated that there were still a lot of things about you which he hadn’t discovered yet.

He never had thought how warm your touch was, how bright your grin was when you were scheming some prank, how loud your voice got when you were so passionate about something, how soft your lips were when you finally kissed for the first time. No matter how much technology brought you two together, nothing compared to actual, real life affection shared between lovers.

“I'll be there if you're the toast of the town babe or if you strike out and you're crawling home...”

Jihoon remembers, as you sang, how you silently embraced him on nights when he felt the world was too heavy on his shoulders. You wouldn’t say anything to him until he would open up; patiently waiting as you tapped an irregular beat on his back. As easily as that, you’d erase all the stress that he had accumulated over time.

You didn’t need to say anything grand or moving, or make all of his problems disappear. Your simple gestures were already enough. You were already enough for him.

“I don’t deserve you, Y/N,” he whispered to you one night as he buried his face on your shoulder. “You’re everything that I want, but I’m not sure if I’m giving you everything that you want.”

You giggled, sighing as you brushed your fingers through his newly dyed hair.

“You don’t have to worry, Jihoon. You’ve given me so much that you never even realized it.”

He pouted, not liking how vague you were. “Like what?”

“Aren’t you just conveniently forgetting how many songs you’ve written for me?” you replied, a smirk on your lips as you twirled a lock of his around your finger.

“But…those are just songs! It’s not as special as the things you’ve done for me…”

“Don’t underestimate them, Ji,” you told him as you pulled back, cupping his cheeks and looking into his eyes. “I know how important music is to you, how it’s an extension of your feelings, and to be a part of it is something I’d consider meaningful.”

For a moment, Jihoon gazed at you; his eyes holding so much emotion. There it was that he knew—he was truly, deeply, madly in love with you.

“Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you…”

Feeling a strong urge, he leaned into you, capturing your lips into a deep and passionate kiss. Everything, everything that he felt for you at that time, he poured into that kiss, making you gasp for air. You cling to him for support, wholly surprised at his sudden intensity, yet not unwelcome at all.

As the both of you pulled away, Jihoon once again returned to your arms, allowing himself to be vulnerable before you.

“I truly don’t deserve you,” he whispered on your shoulder..

“After that incredible kiss?” you teased, “Statement denied.”

Jihoon groaned and you chuckled.

“I know you’re overthinking again, so I’ll say it clearly. You’re more than I ever wanted, Lee Jihoon.”

You paused, patting his head, tightening your arms around him.

“Whenever you call just to check up on me despite your busy schedule, whenever you share funny stories about the members, whenever you act cute and pouty when I ask you to do aegyo for me…what else…?”

He grunted disapprovingly at your comment and you giggled. “I don’t act cute.”

“You do, you know? You’re naturally and inherently cute,” you replied. “You’re cute when you make ramyeon for me even when I just eat the noodles, you’re cute when you offer to hold my bag or open the door for me, or when you insist on paying for dinner, and you’re so cute when you hold me close whenever I feel down and insecure about myself and my work.”

Jihoon was silent, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. He thought you didn’t really catch on those little things he did, but he had underestimated your memory and your powers of observation.

“There’s a lot more I can say, you know? I should make a list for you and maybe stick it on your desk whenever you begin to question yourself again.”

He snorted. “No, thank you. The members would see it and I don’t want them to.”

“I’ll do it when you annoy me,” you joked, despite your words. “Now, I hope I’ve reassured your worries for tonight.”

Snuggling against your shoulder, Jihoon smiled. “Yeah, thank you.”

“Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere…”

As your words fell like chants into his ears, Jihoon was mesmerized by the image of you singing, his eyes wandering. A bitter memory relapsed into his mind, and a reminder that not everything was golden in your paradise.

It was a cold January night, snow had finally ceased falling at one in the morning. The both of you were inside his studio just like normal; a habit the two of you took comfort in. He was holding your hand tight, keeping it warm with his hands in his pocket, as you scrolled on your phone.

For a while, it felt normal. The sounds of the clock ticking, the gentle thrumming of your heartbeat, the soft breaths you both shared. Yet, just like that, everything gradually became colder. It wasn’t the actual temperature, but your mood as he watched your expression turn from amused to a deadpan frown.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, kissing your temple. For some reason, he had developed a rather intuitive connection with you over time, where he can easily sense your change of moods despite your lack of expression.

You sighed as you looked up, leaning against him. He wondered if you were pondering on telling him the truth, or just keep your thoughts hidden. Before he could actually express to you his own thoughts, you sighed and nestled yourself on his shoulder, closing your eyes.

“Jihoon, is this all a mistake?” you asked, your voice small.

He blinked, furrowing his brow at the complex question. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve read a few things online.”

It was a simple thing to say, yet Jihoon immediately knew what you were talking about. With a sigh, he adjusted his position where he could wrap his arms around you tightly.

“People always talk, Y/N. We can’t do anything about it but continue living our own lives and ignore them.”

“But what if they reveal our relationship as a scandal and you’re forced to leave Seventeen? They could do that so easily, you know!” You asked with a weak voice, clinging to him tightly. “I don’t want that to happen. I’ll never let that happen, Jihoon!”

“Then we’ll announce before they do,” he easily replied, brushing his fingers through your hair. “Have you forgotten how strong the relationship between Carats and Seventeen is? Of course, some will react negatively, but I know that they would be accepting.”

Once more, Jihoon heard you sigh. “Sometimes I feel like I’m just being selfish by being with you. A lot of people look up to you, Ji, and they all want a piece of your world. I don’t want to be possessive of you but sometimes I just question myself, like what if this is wrong? What if this was a mistake?”

Gazing into your eyes, Jihoon felt all of your concerns. It was already given that dating an idol would be hard, and moments of weakness like these could make your anxieties grow into deeper, darker shadows.

“It’s gonna be weird for me to say this but it’s ok to be selfish,” he told you, his words firm and certain. “Oh god, how do I say this…but look, Y/N, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be with me. We’re a couple, and that’s normal. There’s nothing wrong with being a couple.”

“But you’re an idol! If they knew, people would say a lot of bad things about you, and I don’t want that!”

“No matter how many times they say I’m an idol, I’m a human being, first and foremost, and just like everybody else, I have my own personal life which doesn’t revolve around my job. People will always say a lot of bad things about me no matter what I do, but what’s important to me is that I have you by my side, I have everyone by my side. So don’t ever think that this is wrong. You and I are never wrong. Who are they to judge what is wrong or right for me when they don’t know who I am?”

Jihoon realized that after his speech, you turned silent, and instead buried yourself deeper against his chest.

“You’re important to me, Y/N. What other people say doesn’t matter to me anymore. As long as you’re here with me, I’m able to do anything.”

In a quiet voice, Jihoon caught your words. “Thank you for this, Ji…”

“But I stay when it's hard or it's wrong or we’re making mistakes…”

There was always a strange quality to time whenever he was with you. Sometimes time would slow down, sometimes it would pass by in just a blink of an eye. As he began to reminisce instead of actually listening, he realized just how much time had passed between the both of you.

“I want your midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day…”

On that certain night, when the both of you were wrapped between sheets, when the bright lights of Seoul reflected on the stark white ceiling, when you were tangled in each others arms, listening to your own fast paced heartbeats after a long night, he remembers you pulling him close, brushing stray locks from his face.

“Jihoon...” you whispered under your breath, your fingers tracing circles on his cheekbones then down his jaw and to his lips. “You’re very handsome, did you know that?”

He smirked at you, placing a chaste kiss on your lips. “What? You still haven’t gotten enough?”

In an instant your face heated up as you hit his toned chest playfully, making Jihoon laugh. “Ehh...! Don’t mention that now!”

As his devious eyes turned soft, he smiled at you, wrapping his arms around your waist. “What is it then?”

You sighed, gazing at the ceiling. “I just thought that someday, I know, things wouldn’t be this way anymore.The spark wouldn’t be as strong as before, the butterflies will eventually disappear. Things would become mundane between us...”

There was a melancholic tone in your words; a detail which hadn’t escape his attention. Yet Jihoon knew that what you were talking about was reality. As the both of you would eventually be consumed by work, by responsibilities, by day to day obligations, it wasn’t a far off thought that the way you felt for each other would turn dim. He knew that, and he feared it.

“But, you know...” you continued, breaking him away from his own thoughts. “Even if that happens, I’m not scared. Even if love do fail us someday, I’m confident that we would still be together, that we can still fix it. Rather than lovers who’re friends, we’re friends who became lovers. Even if you and I will eventually drift off, we still have a strong friendship. And we can rebuild everything from there.”

Jihoon oftentimes wondered how you’re able to get these epiphanies. Your mind was deep and thoughtful, and that was one of the things he loved about you. Conversations with you were never dull as you bounced off ideas at one another. You would always say well-said ideas, often describing how he feels better than he ever will.

“I want to share exciting things with you, Jihoon. I want to be helplessly all over you. I want to feel aroused, flustered, or dying of laughter. But when things get boring or nothing is really happening, or when we have to face bills, chores, or responsibilities, I’ll stay with you.”

A hundredfold, you were better at making him feel loved. He admits that.

“You know, sometimes, I wonder what I’ve done in my past life for you to choose me,” he replied, a wide grin plastered on his face. “You’re everything that I could ever ask for, Y/N. Even if you don’t have to, you still take care of me so much. I swear I’ll make you happy even if I have to walk through fire or sleep on nails.”

“I don’t think that’ll make me very happy,” you replied, grinning. “But...wanna know what else that could make me happy?”

Jihoon arched an elegant brow at you, his lips curving into a smirk. Ah yes, he definitely knows. “I was absolutely right when I said you still haven’t had enough.”

“Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you…”

Thinking of how much time has passed, how much the two of you had been through, almost left him in tears. The memories the both of you shared over the years was incredible that it was hard to let them go.

As he watched you finally sing the last few seconds of the song, Jihoon was sure that this moment would become another beautiful memory he would reminisce about one day in the future. It filled his heart, thinking about a pleasant future with you. A long time ago he had sang a song—doubting what kind of future was in store for him, yet now he already knows that it was something bigger, more beautiful that he had ever expected.

“Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you…”

As the final chord resounded across the room, both your eyes met in soft glances. You smiled at him, the sweetest, most loving smile you could ever muster, and then finally sang:

“...And I will hold on to you.”

Allowing the note to dissipate and disappear, you then turned to Jihoon with a bashful smile on your lips. “Well? Did you like your surprise?”

Already a blushing mess, Jihoon simply burst out giggling as you looked at him in confusion.

“Ya! Why are you laughing?” you exclaimed as you sulked, pulling on the sleeve of his shirt.

Still chuckling, he stood up, pulling you towards his arms as he captured you in a tight embrace. He felt at peace with you more than anywhere.

As it was apparent to you that he was in a rather good mood, you made a bemused smile as you wrapped your arms around him, also laughing on your own.

“What’s gotten into you now?” You asked as he pulled away, now able to gaze into your eyes.

“Nothing. I just thought you’re absolutely cute,” he replied as he cupped your cheeks, squishing them much to your chagrin.

“Seriously, Jihoon! Why’re you so happy?”

“Am I not allowed to be happy now?” he replied, his eyes turning into crescents.

You raised your brows at him with a grin. “You like my song, didn’t you?”

“And what if I did? It was a really nice song, you know.”

This time, it was your turn to burst out into giggles. It was hilarious how Jihoon was being so roundabout with admitting that he liked it; it was incredibly adorable.

“You’re so cute, Hoonie~”

It was no secret that he doesn’t appreciate being cooed at, as he made a small frown upon hearing your nickname for him.

“Now I don’t think I’m so happy anymore.”

“Oh c’mon!” You hit his chest lightly with a chuckle. “Tell me what you really think about it!”

His eyes filled to the brim with endearment for you, Jihoon stared into your eyes, trying to communicate how much he was so thankful that you entered his life.

“I like it. I love it, Y/N,” he replied, caressing your cheek. “It made me remember everything we’ve been through, and how much we’ve grown together.”

“And we’ll continue to the next year and in the future. Thank you for giving me your midnights, Jihoon.”

“My midnights would always be yours, as you will always be my mornings,” he gave you another embrace, embedding the feel of your skin against his, the way your hair brushes through his hands, the sound of your voice and the your scent—he will burn them all into his head so he won’t ever forget how much he loves you.

There were so many words that he could say so he could just express how he was thankful that you became a part of his life, yet none of them seemed fitting to say at that moment. Instead, as Jihoon finally decided upon, that it was best to leave them for future songs and say the words that he really wanted to say for such a long time now.

“I love you.”

-Hyeri

#seventeen #svtcreations #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #seventeen woozi #lee jihoon

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probably-writing-x · 4 years

Text

Innocence never looked so good

Valerio x Reader

Request by anon : I love your writings🧡🧡they’re what keeps me busy during this sucky time. If you’re still taking asks, I was wondering if you could write about Valerio and him meeting a new transfer scholarship student. At first he’s not really interested bc she’s pretty innocent but then he ends up falling for her. Kind of like Guzman and Nadia I guess. I mean you could honestly write it anyway you want and if love it 🥺 this was just ask. If not it’s understandable :))

Gif is not my own

Requests are open🤍

“So is this how it works here?” It was a boy from the back of the class that spoke up, “You just dish out scholarships left right and centre?”

He was a tall, slim boy with wild dark curls being his typically distinctive feature. You were more drawn to the sharp structure of his face and how he seemed so nonchalant about his extroverted personality. He was leaning back in the chair with his legs on top of the desk and his arms stretched out like he was opening himself to the world.

“Valerio, not now,” The teacher rolls his eyes, “(Y/n) is just as deserving of her place here as any of you are. I expect you to make her welcome as you would do with any paying student, understood?”

You swallow the lump in your throat and blink a couple of times at the intimidating crowd in front of you. You weren’t the most confident at the best of times so starting a new school was already an experience you feared - let alone when that school was filled to the brim with rich kids that you’d never fit in with.

The only spare seat in the class happened to be beside this Valerio so you walk your way over and stand awkwardly beside his desk.

“Can I sit here?” You ask quietly, forcing yourself to remain calm, “Please?”

He lets a smirk dance across his lips as he trails his eyes up and down your form, tapping his pen on the table with one hand, “Okay, (Y/n).”

Valerio swings his legs down and shuffles in his chair to make room for you beside him. You set your bag down beside you and pull out the books that you needed for the lesson, along with your pencil case.

“Fuck,” Valerio says a little too loudly, “She really is a nerd.”

You blush furiously at his comment but keep your head down nonetheless, scribbling down the date and the title of the lesson.

“Valerio!” The teacher warns, “Do I need to tell you again that your father’s money can easily be replaced?”

He rolls his eyes as a stunning girl from a few rows in front turns around and glares at him - an evident warning behind her perfected eyes.

Valerio ignores you for the rest of the lesson, spending half of his time staring out of the window and the other half trying to see how far he could rock back on his chair.

- - - - - -

You’re sat next to Valerio in that class every single day and every day is the same. You wait for him to move his feet from the table, you sit down and get on with the work and he finds any way possible of avoiding the work. It continues like that again and again every single day.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair down,” He comments as you sit down on one random Monday morning.

You’d managed to make a few friends at Las Encinas - the other scholarship students really. But you tried your best to remain under the radar.

“I don’t ever really think about it,” You shrug, tucking a stray lock behind your ear as you scribble down the date.

“It’s nice.”

It’s weird to hear Valerio say anything remotely close to a compliment, even if it was something minor. But you find yourself looking at him with a little frown.

“You don’t think I have it in me to be polite?” He cocks a brow, “I’ll have you know I’m a gentleman, (Y/n).”

“If you say so,” You shrug and it’s like the tiniest spark of fire he’s ever seen from you. It takes him aback a little even if it shouldn’t. You were always so passive, and yet you’d had that tiniest fraction of sass in your words then that threw him just a little off balance.

He watches you a little bit more that day, wanting to know the person behind who you were when you sat beside him.

- - - - - -

The next morning, Valerio is still in his normal position in the chair as you come in but there’s a rose left on your side of the table.

“What’s this?” You question, picking it up to make space for your books.

He shrugs and shifts his legs, as usual, “I have no idea.”

“Well, you must’ve seen who put it down,” You comment, turning it over in your hands, “Who was it?”

“Can’t have been me,” He pushes himself off from the table using his firmly planted hands so that he rocks back on his chair, “I’m not romantic enough.”

- - - - - -

There continue to be little moments like that. A week later, he left a book on the table that he claimed was a brilliant read under his own recommendation. Next, it was a new notepad from when he saw you were coming to the end of yours. Sometimes, it would just be a note where he’d scribbled a poem quote that he liked. And, oddly, you found yourself looking forward to each day where you may or may not find a little gesture given from the extroverted boy that sat beside you. He didn’t show any interest in you outside of those moments, ignoring you in every other class, never acknowledging you in the hallways - but that one class every morning was his slight moment with you where he did show that side.

It’s a number of weeks later and things had started to deteriorate for you yet again at home. Your parents were what you’d call ‘missing in action’ - where they reprised their regular roles of being shitty parents by abandoning you with no knowledge of when they’d return. Normally, it would be for a cheap holiday they’d booked and not told you about, or because their drug-fuelled minds had considered it a brilliant idea to head off to somewhere unknown. Whatever it was, it always circled back eventually. And you’d be left alone yet again.

This time, it had meant that you’d barely been sleeping. So you’d decided to show up to school early and you found yourself sitting in the class before anybody else had even arrived.

When Valerio walks in, he stops in his tracks.

“The introvert, the woman of routine, breaking the cycle?” He gasps, sauntering over to you with all levels of confidence as he always managed to hold.

You must’ve looked an absolute state. Your hair was pulled into a bun, your eyes darkened by the purple circles that carried their weight, your clothes weren’t as neat as you tried to keep them and every part of you felt a little detached from your normal self.

Valerio strolls around your chair and flops down into the one next to you, “What caused the change, (Y/n)?”

When you don’t respond to him with a polite or sassy response, and he’s instead met with silence, he frowns and leans toward you in his chair.

“Is everything okay?” He asks, quiet and cautious like he was saying it with genuine care.

You run your hands over your hair to smooth it somewhat and look at him with the most forced smile you had the energy to give, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

With that, you go about all the parts of your normal routine. Pen out, books open, date in the top right hand corner. But there’s something about the shaky breath that you release and the way that your eyes seem just on the verge of pouring that makes Valerio struggle to ever take his eyes off of you. He’d never felt so serious in one of these classes. And it wasn’t an important topic or a test he should be trying to pass. It was because this girl beside him had a lot more than her passive exterior showed - and he couldn’t imagine just how much she’d had bottled up inside this whole time.

- - - - - -

The next morning, and the next and the next, you’re sat in that class before him again. There was something about being at school that made you not feel so alone so you’d been making the most of the hours you could spend here. Valerio expresses concern every morning by asking if you were okay and you even start to notice him steal glances in your direction every time you were in his class or you passed him at school.

This one morning, he comes in to find you practically half-asleep at the desk. You don’t pay attention to when he sits down and your books are already open but they’re empty and lifeless on the desk.

“No date this morning?” He nudges you, noticing how your appearance had changed day by day. Deteriorating little by little.

He’d even noticed how your lips seemed a little bit more chapped and your hands seemed drier and less youthful.

You flinch from your daze and try to shake it off, “Yeah, right. Um, what are we doing today?”

And it’s odd how much his heart drops at the question. This wasn’t you. This wasn’t the girl he’d grown so used to seeing every single morning in the same light. That light had dimmed. And he felt it within him that he couldn’t possibly let that light dim any more without at least an attempt at reigniting it again.

- - - - - -

When you come into school early the next morning, it startles you to turn on the light and not be alone in the class. Valerio sat at the desk with his feet up on the table and a proud smirk on his face.

“I beat you,” He comments, “Eventually.”

You wish you had the energy to respond with something witty, but it had been near enough ten days without your parents now - ten days of being alone in the flat without heating in the middle of winter, with the broken fridge and the oven that never heated up properly.

“Hey, we have a test coming up next week,” Valerio comments, “Do you mind helping me study?”

“A test?” You frown, having no recollection of anything being mentioned, “Yeah, yeah, I guess that’s okay.”

It pains him. You were clearly going through something that went beyond the realm of school drama. And yet you’d still agreed to help him with no real reason to accept his request. You could’ve easily said no. You had no obligation to help the boy who was yet to put in an ounce of effort to any day at this place. But he knew that no part of your good heart would have it in you to say no when he’d asked for help.

“Great,” He grins, “Shall we say your place tonight?”

“I-“ You stop yourself, “Could we not go somewhere else?”

“Lu will be at mine, school will be closed, and it’s too cold to go anywhere outside,” He explains, “I’ll meet you there for six.”

“How do you know where I live?”

“I have my ways.”

Those ways consisted of his actions this morning whilst he was waiting for you to make your early entrance to school. He’d broken into the filing cabinet of the school office until he found the file that belonged to you, not looking any further than at the address in the top right hand corner - he’d hope that your meeting with him tonight would tell him the rest of the information that the file couldn’t.

- - - -

At just past six, there’s a repeated buzzing to try to get into your flat and you let Valerio up cautiously. This all seemed very weird. Why had he bothered? He was Lu’s brother - if he needed help with studying why wouldn’t he go to her.

He comes into your flat, still dressed in his school uniform as he smiles widely at you, “So this is your humble abode.”

You roll your eyes, “I’m guessing you didn’t expect much from the scholarship student.”

“It’s nice,” He pokes his head around every corner, “It’s quaint. Are your parents out?”

You scoff before you can stop yourself, “You could say that.”

He looks at you like he had a million more questions to ask but you interject before he can continue. He sits down at one of the seats on your dining table.

“So, I haven’t really prepared much for studying, I figured we could just go through the content and then see which bits you struggle with the most-“

“(Y/n), are you okay?” He cuts in, showing more compassion in that one question than you’d heard from anyone for a long time.

You swallow the lump in your throat, “I told you I’m fine. Can we please just get on with studying?”

“It’s me, of course I didn’t come here to study,” He rolls his eyes, “You can talk to me, you know?”

“Why would I do that? So you can go and tell the rest of them that the new scholarship kid actually has a kind of shitty life at the minute?” Your anger bubbles and you’re not really sure what causes it, “I’m not one of you guys and I know that.”

“Is that really what you think of me? You think I’ve come here to humiliate you,” The look of realisation on his face makes you instantly beyond guilty.

“How could I not expect that?” You sigh, “You said it yourself on my first day.”

“Things have changed since then, (Y/n).”

“Have they? Because you’re nice to me every single morning for an hour, and then the rest of the day consists of you acting like I don’t exist - I see it Valerio, I’m not an idiot,” You shake your head, “Why would I assume that much has changed?”

“Because I care about you (Y/n),” He sits upright and you can tell he cares about what he’s about to say, “I see you every morning and it’s like I’ve seen you go through this whole change since the start of the year. You became more confident and you came out of your shell, and then it all seemed to drop recently. I made up the fact that we had a test and I went into school when it was still dark so I could find your address, and then I walked myself here just so I could come and see you outside of that stupid desk at the back of the class.”

You stay silent. That was true. You couldn’t take for granted the fact that Valerio had been nice to you recently, and conscious of how much you seemed to deteriorate. You watch as he lights up a cigarette and takes a long drag.

“What’s this then? Valerio’s got feelings for the scholarship kid? I don’t think Lu will be impressed.”

You watch his lips curl into a smile and how his teeth flash bright against his dark curls, “I think she’d be surprised about me having feelings for anyone.”

And just like that, it’s probably the most genuine smile youve had in weeks.

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sketchguk · 3 years

Note

hey! do you think butter have good streaming stats? i saw some people coming for butter streaming stats calling it unpopular in the states/lowest in the top 10 on bb and basically it doesn’t have good streams. i’ve always had the impression that butter is popular/doing well in the states in general lmao i feel like i’m being gaslit or something..or am i just too much in the bubble to realize..?

Heyy ! I don't think I'm the best person to ask tbh 🤣 I don't know a ton about streaming :-( I can speak very generally about the matter, and here's what I've gathered from my little corner of the world (take this with a grain of salt lol, it's just one small observation from lil ole me. I don't have tons of stats or evidence to talk about this ;n;):

K-pop is a pretty niche genre. So generally, the people who consume K-pop are already stans. If I pulled a random person off the street, I don't think it's really likely that they know Butter or PTD unless they already have a foot in the k-pop scene. I wish I had evidence like surveys LOL. I don't wanna make baseless claims 💔 But take for instance, I work with 100 and some 6th-8th grade campers, and as much as I try to talk to them about their interests, especially in music, I've only come across 4 people who are familiar with bts. Granted, I can't say for sure that my kids are the targeted demographic :’) I'm 21, but these kids are like 11-13 lol. Even among my 14 coworkers (all teenagers), 3 of them are familiar with bts, and only one of them is an ARMY

As for streaming, I'm personally a Spotify user, as are most of my other irls. Their playlist algorithm works in a way that they play music you might enjoy based on your likes and your listening history. So if you haven't listened to bts, they probably won't show up in your "daily mixes." That's the feature I use the most, especially if I'm searching for new songs. They might also throw Butter into those "new release" playlists, so it could catch around that way ! It's just a matter of how many users actually click on the new releases and stream it. Though I think people on Spotify know what music they enjoy and stick to their own likes, playlists, and daily mixes

I imagine other people would listen to the radio as another platform! But the radio is definitely dominated by western artists :/ I even heard drama during the Dynamite era in which radio hosts would refuse to play the song because of xenophobia lol (frick that !)

Butter and other English songs get western promotion from tv shows like Jimmy Fallon, James Corden, etc. But watching those videos/performances divide the views from the official MV, ya feel? Even then, of the people I know, in my bubble at least, they honestly don't watch tv ! We stream from YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, etc as our main source of entertainment. I don't even have cable TV LOL. I imagine the elders are the ones who watch late night shows, and they don't seem to be big on streaming

Ultimately, I feel like Butter garners a lot of views and streams from ARMYs or other k-pop stans who are already interested in bts/checking out the new song. But the general public isn't familiar with the boys and Butter unless they're checking out the hype or beginning to stan. I guess it gets a little complicated when you want to determine how “popular” a song is based on streams. They don’t reveal too much about the demographic of the users themselves, ya feel? But if you’ve seen the overall numbers and charts for Butter, the song is doing incredibly well ! Congratulations to bts and army !!!!

I hope this wasn't just gibberish lol and at least it provides a little insight. Remember, take this with a grain of salt aha this is just something I've seen in my small pool of a community

If anyone else has stats or observations, lmk !

Update: a lovely anon has some particular stats about the streaming numbers here if you’re interested !

#ask #anon

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princeasimdiya12 · 4 years

Note

So in my DR1 Taleshift AU, the talents go as followed: Swimmer!Makoto, LuckyStudent!Chihiro, Programmer!Toko, Novelist!Celestia, Gambler!Leon, BaseballPro!Mondo, GangLeader!Mukuro, Soldier!Sakura, MartialArtist!Kiyotaka, MoralCompass!Byakuya, AffluentProgeny!Junko, Fashionista!Kyoko, Detective!Hifumi, FanficAuthor!Yasuhiro, Clairvoyant!Sayaka and Idol!Aoi. These headcanons mean a lot to me!

Hey anon! Thank you for your patience! I’m sorry it took so long but I had alot of real life affairs to take care of. Even to this day. With that in mind, i would like to bring up that I won’t be accepting any new talentswap asks like this for some good time.

With that, I hope you enjoy these new headcanons for this AU.

Makoto Naegi as the SHSL Swimmer

He could spend hours in a pool of water just letting his mind wander as his body feels the cool pool sensations.

One day, when he was out on the beach with his family, he spotted what looked like a dolphin in distress and far out into the open waters.

Without thinking, he immediately swam towards the creature and brought her to the beach to have her wounds fixed.

He earned quite a bit of noteriety for that.

He’s the shortest member of his swim team and has been playfully teased for it.

During the summer, he often serves as a lifeguard assistant.

Chihiro Fujisaki as the SHSL Lucky Student

Their luck made it difficult for them to interact with others in social situations.

When their luck causes bad things to happen, it usually results in Chihiro being involved in a given accident making them come off as a bad omen.

When their luck causes good things to happen, they find themselves getting attention from the media and eager crowds.

Chihiro’s constantly changing luck is a prime factor for their timid and frailness.

They put alot of time in researching different forms of luck and rituals in an attempt to change their luck to their preferences.

They’ve picked up a variety of good luck charms and have a tendency of performing superstitious rituals whenever they’re about to do something.

Chihiro is also willing to give those charms to their friends (like Mondo when it comes to big games).

Touko Fukawa as the SHSL Programmer

Not wanting to be involved with her abusive family, Touko spent her whole time on the computer.

She familiarized herself with the complex workings of the computer and how to make her own programs.

Her specialty is being able to create anti-virus software that can detect and report potential hackers while maintaining a clean software system that can last for decades.

She hates it when people ask her if she can make video games as she believes them to be stupid and not worth her effort.

She enjoys venting her frustrations on message and forum boards by provoking others with her comments.

Syo still exists in this AU because of the abuse and managed to pick up on her original self’s programming skills.

Whenever Syo takes over, she manages to hack security programs and bank accounts as a means of taking revenge against unlucky kids who hurt her or her gloomy self.

She managed to frame them for crimes they didn’t commit, summoned gang members to tear down their homes, and have illegal commodities shipped to them.

Her username is Geno-Zdr50 and after her crimes were revealed, she was given the title of SHSL Hacker.

Celestia Ludenberg as the SHSL Author

She earned recognition for bringing back the gothic-romanticism genre.

Alot of her stories feature tales of romance and tragedy between elegant ladies and their supernatural/undead suitors.

Her wardrobe is similar to her original outfit only with a longer dress and she wears a black veil with red roses.

She claims to have been involved in multiple relationships with different men who provided her with an interesting romantic experience.

Celestia has a strong dislike for tropes and cliches and tries desperately to ensure that her stories avoid them.

The last thing she wants to be considered is a run of the mill author by some half-witted review articles.

Leon Kuwata as the SHSL Gambler

His main attire consists of a red collared shirt, black jeans and shades.

He doesn’t win every game because of his lazy attitude and his tendency to panic whenever things don’t go right for him.

Leon got the title by winning a few big competition games involving blackjack.

He prefers to use slot machines since they make it less hard for him to showcase his skills.

One of his tricks is by flirting with the waitresses or servers and convincing them to give them tips on what the dealers are like.

He often ropes Yasuhiro and Hifumi into joining him whenever he goes gambling believing that their eccentric personalities will boost his chances.

Mondo Oowada as the SHSL Baseball Player

He got into baseball because of his brother who was already a professional player.

Mondo’s has multiple baseball uniforms because of how often he tears or smears them.

He managed to convince some of his friends, who were close to becoming involved in gangs, to join him.

When he started playing, Mondo had a fierce temper and would pick fights against other unruly baseball players which would leave the two of them with bruises and black eyes.

Daiya decided to step in and offer his personalized training sessions to help Mondo before he ruined his career.

By channeling his frustrations into body improvement training and hitting the ball, Mondo was able to get a better control of his temper.

Although there have been cases where the baseballs he swings out of the stadiums end up causing massive damage in random streets.

Mukuro Ikusaba as the SHSL Gang Leader

Just like in canon, she ended up leaving her family to visit a country that was torn apart by war.

But rather than joining Fenrir, Mukuro ended up in the presence of orphans and street rats who lost their families to war.

She managed to convince them to join her in fighting back against the invading soldiers.

Using effective planning and improvised training, she was able to create her own army of resistance fighters who could take on any adult soldier.

They would be known as the Walking Corpses.

She instilled an anti-empathy principle onto her fighters so that they would feel no sorrow or despair for the loss of an ally.

Sakura Oogami as the SHSL Soldier

At an early age, she was recruited by the Japanese government to partake in a program designed to train soldiers.

She was scouted because of her family’s reputation as powerful fighters.

For years, she endured brutal training against a variety of fighters who were three times her age and with no heart in them.

She performed multiple reconnaissance missions which involved rescuing fellow soldiers from enemy territories while also taking down guerilla fighters.

While she won’t say it out loud, Sakura does have sympathy for the guerilla fighters and soldiers who are trying to protect their homeland.

Sakura prefers to use her body to fight, but she knows how to use different guns and weapons.

She actually faced Mukuro and her Corpses once. While her subordinates were easy to apprehend, the Lead Corpse was much more resilient and they ended up in a draw.

To this day, she has yet to take the life of an innocent.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru as the SHSL Fighter

Wanting to uphold the proud name of the Ishimaru Family, Kiyotaka devoted himself to learning martial arts.

While he has studied multiple forms of martial arts, his preferred combat forms are karate, judo and taekwondo.

He has a fanbase of girls who found him to be quite attractive thanks to his handsome physique and his cool profession.

He’s actually very flustered by their attention and tries desperately not to fraternize with dates as they would interfere with his training.

Kiyotaka is always shown wearing a white gi for a uniform and is often barefooted. He claims this is to build endurance.

Byakuya Togami as the SHSL Public Morals Officer

He runs a tight shift in ensuring that his academy’s rules and regulations are followed by every student.

Byakuya also made a secret group of student officers who would keep an eye on any rule breakers and would report their findings to him.

His punishments range from extra homework to having to clean the entire school during weekends or fun holidays.

He decided to expand his power by influencing different academies using his moral code and conduct.

He’s also openly criticized multiple schools that were lackluster when it came to discipline and how they organized their education system.

With his influence as a Togami, a majority of elite academies in Japan incorporate his strict moral code.

Junko Enoshima as the SHSL Heir

She was born to a wealthy family that specialized in marketing.

At an early age, Junko learned the basics of managing businesses and how to treat employees under her thumb

Her upbringing upheld morals that encouraged her to be as ruthless and tactile when dealing with enemy companies or unruly subjects

She enjoys manipulating stocks and employees as a means of brutally taking down business rivals

Junko also has connections to underground agents that can bring her dirt about her competitors while also assigning them to sabotage their own enterprises.

Kyoko Kirigiri as the SHSL Fashion Model

She undergoes extensive workouts and health routines to maintain a physically fit and beautiful appearance.

Her main styles are based on classic punk while incorporating different concepts of violet.

Sometimes she gives pointers and tips to her model colleagues before a big event but she’ll still be cold and serious when it’s time to perform or showcase her works.

She’s always wearing gloves and there are tons of rumors as to what she’s hiding under her hands.

Kyoko knows how to speak French and English since she often travels to France and the US for modeling events.

Her father is a fashion designer but she stopped modeling his works due to creative differences.

In her free time, she likes to sketch different designs. Yasuhiro has even asked her for help with creating new characters.

Hifumi Yamada as the SHSL Detective

He wears a classic trench coat and a fiddler hat

He cites Detective Conan as his main inspiration for his career and how to approach his cases

When interrogating potential suspects, he often uses bizarre or outlandish questions in order to make them lose their defenses.

Alot of his cases involve finding lost children or recovering stolen money and valuables

Despite taking on many cases, he has yet to be involved with anything murder related.

He secretly wishes for a detective rival so the cases can be more exciting and that he can be pushed to be a greater detective.

Yasuhiro Hagakure as the SHSL Doujinshi Author

He grew up loving shonen anime with fantasy settings like Inuyasha or YuYu Hakusho.

His mom helped him in perfecting his writing and drawing skills and later with helping distribute his works.

Yasuhiro didn’t flunk like in canon, but his grades were pretty low since most of his time was spent daydreaming about potential storylines followed by him drawing them out.

The kids at his school were very impressed with his drawings, especially since they were based on their favorite shows.

He became very popular throughout his middle and high school years.

Despite his fandom, there were very few people whom he could call friends since most of them didn’t love the different layers and symbolism of the anime shows the same way he did.

Sometimes when inspired, he’ll pull out drawing supplies and paper from his dreadlocks.

Yasuhiro dreams of making his own anime/manga featuring a (totally not a self insert) protagonist who goes on ghost hunting adventures alongside his magic pet chicken.

Sayaka Maizono as the SHSL Fortune Teller

She dresses up as a carnival themed fortune teller.

Her stage name is the “Fairy of the Moon”.

She prefers to predict happy and positive things in order to build a good reputation among the public.

When something bad is about to happen, like a fight or an accident, she notices things in extra detail that hint towards the upcoming event. (Like in the Final Destination series)

Sayaka has made several TV appearances where she would make open predictions about a fellow celebrity.

Having been acquainted with Aoi during her appearances, Sayaka often gives warnings to the idol about potential attackers.

Aoi Asahina as the SHSL Idol

While she’s a great singer, she has a hard time with writing her own songs. So she lets her group write them.

Her preferred songs contain messages of friendship and how bonds are important between people.

Aoi pulls off incredible dance movements throughout her performances that many idols have a hard time pulling off.

She has a close friendship with her idol group and considers them as her second family.

Aoi has also sparked controversy for openly supporting idols who defy the harmful expectations of their managers/corporate groups with their choices.

Her opinions on the matter have earned her an equal amount of fans and enemies.

She has a harder time eating her precious donuts since her manager frequently discourages her from eating unnecessary sweets.

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