#best movie i've seen in years no lie

[swarm]

#riddle of fire #best movie i've seen in years no lie #miff

[tangibletechnomancy]

The reason I took interest in AI as an art medium is that I've always been interested in experimenting with novel and unconventional art media - I started incorporating power tools into a lot of my physical processes younger than most people were even allowed to breathe near them, and I took to digital art like a duck to water when it was the big, relatively new, controversial thing too, so really this just seems like the logical next step. More than that, it's exciting - it's not every day that we just invent an entirely new never-before-seen art medium! I have always been one to go fucking wild for that shit.

Which is, ironically, a huge part of why I almost reflexively recoil at how it's used in the corporate world: because the world of business, particularly the entertainment industry, has what often seems like less than zero interest in appreciating it as a novel medium.

And I often wonder how much less that would be the case - and, by extension, how much less vitriolic the discussion around it would be, and how many fewer well-meaning people would be falling for reactionary mythologies about where exactly the problems lie - if it hadn't reached the point of...at least an illusion of commercial viability, at exactly the moment it did.

See, the groundwork was laid in 2020, back during covid lockdowns, when we saw a massive spike in people relying on TV, games, books, movies, etc. to compensate for the lack of outdoor, physical, social entertainment. This was, seemingly, wonderful for the whole industry - but under late-stage capitalism, it was as much of a curse as it was a gift. When industries are run by people whose sole brain process is "line-go-up", tiny factors like "we're not going to be in lockdown forever" don't matter. CEOs got dollar signs in their eyes. Shareholders demanded not only perpetual growth, but perpetual growth at this rate or better. Even though everyone with an ounce of common sense was screaming "this is an aberration, this is not sustainable" - it didn't matter. The business bros refused to believe it. This was their new normal, they were determined to prove -

And they, predictably, failed to prove it.

So now the business bros are in a pickle. They're beholden to the shareholders to do everything within their power to maintain the infinite growth they promised, in a world with finite resources. In fact, by precedent, they're beholden to this by law. Fiduciary duty has been interpreted in court to mean that, given the choice between offering a better product and ensuring maximum returns for shareholders, the latter MUST be a higher priority; reinvesting too much in the business instead of trying to make the share value increase as much as possible, as fast as possible, can result in a lawsuit - that a board member or CEO can lose, and have lost before - because it's not acting in the best interest of shareholders. If that unsustainable explosive growth was promised forever, all the more so.

And now, 2-3-4 years on, that impossibility hangs like a sword of Damocles over the heads of these media company CEOs. The market is fully saturated; the number of new potential customers left to onboard is negligible. Some companies began trying to "solve" this "problem" by violating consumer privacy and charging per household member, which (also predictably) backfired because those of us who live in reality and not statsland were not exactly thrilled about the concept of being told we couldn't watch TV with our own families. Shareholders are getting antsy, because their (however predictably impossible) infinite lockdown-level profits...aren't coming, and someone's gotta make up for that, right? So they had already started enshittifying, making excuses for layoffs, for cutting employee pay, for duty creep, for increasing crunch, for lean-staffing, for tightening turnarounds-

And that was when we got the first iterations of AI image generation that were actually somewhat useful for things like rapid first drafts, moodboards, and conceptualizing.

Lo! A savior! It might as well have been the digital messiah to the business bros, and their eyes turned back into dollar signs. More than that, they were being promised that this...both was, and wasn't art at the same time. It was good enough for their final product, or if not it would be within a year or two, but it required no skill whatsoever to make! Soon, you could fire ALL your creatives and just have Susan from accounting write your scripts and make your concept art with all the effort that it takes to get lunch from a Star Trek replicator!

This is every bit as much bullshit as the promise of infinite lockdown-level growth, of course, but with shareholders clamoring for the money they were recklessly promised, executives are looking for anything, even the slightest glimmer of a new possibility, that just might work as a life raft from this sinking ship.

So where are we now? Well, we're exiting the "fucking around" phase and entering "finding out". According to anecdotes I've read, companies are, allegedly, already hiring prompt engineers (or "prompters" - can't give them a job title that implies there's skill or thought involved, now can we, that just might imply they deserve enough money to survive!)...and most of them not only lack the skill to manually post-process their works, but don't even know how (or perhaps aren't given access) to fully use the software they specialize in, being blissfully unaware of (or perhaps not able/allowed to use) features such as inpainting or img2img. It has been observed many times that LLMs are being used to flood once-reputable information outlets with hallucinated garbage. I can verify - as can nearly everyone who was online in the aftermath of the Glasgow Willy Wonka Dashcon Experience - that the results are often outright comically bad.

To anyone who was paying attention to anything other than please-line-go-up-faster-please-line-go-please (or buying so heavily into reactionary mythologies about why AI can be dangerous in industry that they bought the tech companies' false promises too and just thought it was a bad thing), this was entirely predictable. Unfortunately for everyone in the blast radius, common sense has never been an executive's strong suit when so much money is on the line.

Much like CGI before it, what we have here is a whole new medium that is seldom being treated as a new medium with its own unique strengths, but more often being used as a replacement for more expensive labor, no matter how bad the result may be - nor, for that matter, how unjust it may be that the labor is so much cheaper.

And it's all because of timing. It's all because it came about in the perfect moment to look like a life raft in a moment of late-stage capitalist panic. Any port in a storm, after all - even if that port is a non-Euclidean labyrinth of soggy, rotten botshit garbage.

Any port in a storm, right? ...right?

All images generated using Simple Stable, under the Code of Ethics of Are We Art Yet?

#ai art #generated art #generated artwork #essays #about ai #worth a whole 'nother essay is how the tech side exists in a state that is both thriving and floundering at the same time #because the money theyre operating with is in schrodinger's box #at the same time it exists and it doesnt #theyre highly valued but usually operating at a loss #that is another MASSIVE can of worms and deserves its own deep dive

[harunovella]

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ love language (verse iv); s.g.

synopsis: you and gojo go on your first double date... or is it really? content: canon divergence (teen!gojo era), fem!reader, hopeless romantic gojo, best bros satoru and suguru bickering as always, gojo may have had a 'help I've fallen on your boobs and I can't get up' moment, bestie shoko, not beta read (sorry for any errors!) note: another addition to my gojo anthology series! this one was sm fun to write, I love writing gojo and geto being nothing but idiots tbh... wanna be tagged? lmk in the replies!

"A dinner? A fancy dinner?" Shoko asked as you nodded. "What's a bunch of sixteen year olds gonna do at a fancy dinner?" She raised a brow in confusion. Ever since being paired by Yaga with Shoko, the two of you have grown quite close. You were more than thankful, as much as you loved your own little trio (including Nanami and Haibara), it was nice to have a friend that wasn't... well, a male. 

Not that there was something wrong with that, you saw Nanami like a sort of twin—though you were a bit more on the social side—he got along with you the most. Then there was Haibara, who was an absolute sweetheart and a gem, the energy both you and your blond twin needed. However, seeing as Ieiri was your senior, there was quite a lot to learn from her—outside from the jujutsu world. 

There was also Geto and Gojo... Geto was an interesting person to be around. He had dark humor but also was nothing but kind to you. Gojo, on the other hand...

"A double date?!" Satoru exclaimed as he was alone with Suguru after you invited the two young men to the dinner you told Shoko about. 

Arching an eyebrow, Suguru crossed his arms. "Who said this is a double date? In your delusional world, you're dating our little junior when she only sees you as a friend—"

"That's a lie!" Gojo snapped, earning a snicker from his best friend. "I'll have you know we get along very well, we hangout a lot! And— and we have a lot of fun conversations!"

"Sounds fun," Geto said sarcastically. "We all know you're madly in love with her. However, we have no idea how she feels about you."

"Then explain the double date, huh?" Gojo was now the one to cross his arms, tapping his foot. "You and Shoko, me and my mochi?"

Sighing, Suguru pinched the bridge of his nose. "Again, not a double date. It's four friends going to a nice restaurant to support one of our friend's family members. Nothing more, nothing less," he explained, only for everything to go into one ear and out the other for the white haired boy before him. 

Satoru was in his own world, delusional as always, eyes sparkling at the thought of you in a cute dress. Heels or no heels, makeup or not, he just couldn't help but fantasize about how beautiful you were going to look tonight!

"Earth to Satoru?" Geto waved his hand in front of his best friend, only to laugh. "Thinking about how cute she'll look tonight, huh?"

"Yeah..." Gojo nodded, a face of pure ecstasy, as if he were about to drool. 

"Maybe I'll swap dates, you can have Shoko, I'll have our beautiful—"

"No!" Satoru shouted, instantly jumping Suguru. "She's my date for the night!"

"Good luck with that, if you look like an idiot right now thinking about her, just imagine you tonight!" Suguru laughed as he shoved Satoru off of him. "You're gonna look like a complete idiot!"

"You're not discreet..." Geto mumbled towards Gojo as the young man sat beside you, cheek pressed in the palm of his hand as he ever so casually gazed at you. You were in the middle of a conversation with Shoko, something about a movie you both recently had seen together. Too lost in your discussion, laughing and enjoying the evening as Suguru watched his best friend look like he was in a trance. "You are literally staring..." Furrowing his eyebrows as a look of slight disgust took over his face, Suguru kicked Satoru. 

"Shh," Gojo brushed off, kicking him back. 

"You're lucky she's in her own world with Shoko to even hear us," Geto kicked again, feeling his best friend constantly kick back. Gojo was too focused on you to even pay him any mind.

The restaurant, although fancy, was quite lively and practically filled to the brim. The reservations were endless and everyone that came and went looked like they came from money. Satoru and Suguru wore similar suits, solely because they bought them last minute and ended up with the same look (Satoru was NOT happy, but Suguru found it very funny). Shoko, after seeing them, called them tweedledee and tweedledum... You, on the other, found it cute. 

Cute... Gojo kept hearing your words echo in his head. You thought he, himself, was cute?! Forget Suguru, you said he was cute! He couldn't help but indulge in it as he gazed at you practically the whole dinner. For a split second, he did acknowledge the fact that you looked beyond gorgeous. In a white, fitted dress, hugging your curves with a sweetheart neckline... It was safe to say his mind was split in two. In particular, the two brain cells he had. Half of his mind was floating in the clouds of your compliment while the other half was focused on the top of your breasts (practically where his eyes kept falling to). He was... somewhat of a gentleman, he just couldn't help that dirty side of him. You were beautiful! He wanted you!

In his defense, he was used to seeing you in your uniform jacket, skirt, and tights... the times you weren't, you were always dressed cute and comfortable. Never had he seen you like this, curves and all. 

Reaching over the table and yanking on Gojo's hair, Geto stifled a laugh as his best friend snapped his head and growled. "Rude, I was busy!" He hissed, reaching over and tugging on the bangs that hung over the dark haired young man's forehead. 

Caught up with your conversation with Shoko (and not entirely hearing the commotion beside you with all the various voices around you in the restaurant) a sudden gasp left the brunette as she watched it all happen before her in slow motion. Gojo and Geto shoved one another, completely forgetting where they were as others nearby watched in confusion. 

From one second to the next, you were knocked off your chair, head thudding with the ground as a body collapsed against you. Various gasps and whispers were heard as you winced. Blinking a few times and trying to sit up, you felt a pressure against your chest. Both Shoko and Suguru (who was pulled to his feet by Shoko), stared at the disaster before them. Satoru, with his face planted against your chest, as you stared at him, wide eyed. 

"Satoru!" Shoko exclaimed, smacking his head as he lifted it, staring at you with a shared blush, before both of his friends yanked him up. 

"I— I am so sorry!" He exclaimed, reaching for your hand to help you up as you looked stunned. 

"God, you two are so immature. Before we get kicked out, take her home and I'll handle this," Shoko tsked as you blinked, only to snap out of your daze. 

"It's— It's okay! I'll handle this! I invited you all—"

"No, you hit your head hard, let me handle this. Dummie over here will take you," Shoko kicked Satoru's calf. "Go. Now."

Without second thinking his actions, Gojo took your hand and lead you out. Both of you ignored the displeased stares and gossip that spread over the four kids who "shouldn't have been allowed into a restaurant like this in the first place." 

Walking out, Satoru stopped in his tracks before turning to face you. "I'm so sorry about... my face being in your... Anyway, are you okay?" He asked, using his free hand to gently touch the back of your head. "There's no bump, but, are you alright?"

"I— It's okay, I'm not hurt," you swore as you nodded your head, looking up at him with your doe eyes. Gojo swore his heart grew two times its size. "I promise," you softly smiled. 

Nodding, a small smile grew on the young man's lips. He couldn't help but gaze at you, softness in his eyes as he kept his hand on the back of your head. Silence weaved its way between the two of you. Nothing uncomfortable. You stood there for what felt like hours, looking at one another and nearly forgetting what you were doing or where you were. 

The sound of honking snapped the two of you out of it as you realized you were out in the open, with people walking by and cars driving along. 

Clearing his throat, Satoru lowered his hand from your head and kept his other in yours. "Let's get you home, yeah?"

tag list: @bakananya @strangehuman101 @thirtykiwis @sillygoosegoose (some of u I sadly couldn't tag!)

#harunovella writes; #gojo and his mochi series #satoru gojo x reader #satoru gojo x you #satoru gojo x y/n #satoru gojo #gojo x reader #gojo x y/n #gojo x you #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru x y/n #gojo satoru x you #jjk x you #jjk x reader #jjk x y/n #gojo fluff #satoru x reader #satoru x you #satoru x y/n #gojo au

[stealingpotatoes]

I stumbled across your art and I love it but I'm afraid I have very little knowledge of Star Wars canon - I've seen all the movies but it's been a while, and I watched the Mandalorian with my parents but I haven't seen any of the other shows - so I think I am... a bit out of my element 😭 a little help?

dw bro i got u. so anakin is like space jesus and he gets taken in by the jedi, who legally can't marry, but he's kind of a slag so he marries the queen-now-senator he and his brother-father-bestie-master helped save 10 years ago, and she's also in love with him despite his numerous red flags. these red flags become a problem tho bc at the end of the war (theres a war btw. a star war if u will) anakin goes a bit delulu trying to save padme from dying in childbirth and goes evil, and padme dies of being sad anyway. BUT NOT BEFORE giving birth to twins who are given to anakin's step-brother and padme's best friend so anakin-now-vader doesn't find them

fast forward 19 years there's another star war between the evil empire vader helped found and the rebellion (good guys). leia (totally senator bail organa's daughter and not vader's) gets captured trying to deliver plans on how to blow up an evil empire planet-blower-upper. but she gives it to two gay droids who go find an even gayer farmer (luke) WHO'S ANAKIN'S SON who finds an old hermit man (gasp! it's anakin's brother-father-bestie-master) to save leia. then her planet gets blown up. but they still save her with the help of an ebay scammer and his carpet friend and then they blow up the blower-upper yayyy

luke then wants to get training but the old man died last movie so he has to get trained by a swamp guy but he runs away when his friends get captured by vader and then luke gets his ass beat and finds out vader's his dad. also the ebay scammer gets turned into a popsicle. and then hung up on a slug's wall, but it's okay cause luke's cool now and he and leia & co save the ebay scammer. then they have to stop a new planet blower-upper so they find some weird plushie bears, luke finds out leia's his sister & tells leia, luke goes to face the emperor and vader, once again gets his ass beat but vader saves him like the PTA mom he is and yayyyy empire down!!! new republic!! yayyyy

then the mandalorian's some years after that but season 3 isn't canon bc what really happens is din becomes mand'alor and marries luke. also some people will tell you there's a "sequel trilogy" but this is a lie, that was a mass hallucination

#thanks for the ask! #i'm so good at explaining star wars. perhaps better than george lucas himself #i can explain literally any piece of star wars media probably

[idwt-money]

Roomies

MDNI 18+

1.7k words

Noah Sebastian x Fem!Y/n

CW: unprotected sex, slight breeding kink, fingering, little eensy weensy bit of dirty talk

You and Noah had been roommates for a year on the dot. You both took the day and threw a small “celebration”. You had movies, snacks, your favorite fast food places and of course, alcoholic beverages.

Your movie options were wide ranged, from comedy to horror. Horror was your personal favorite but you didn't mind comedy at all.

You were watching The Shining, currently, such a classic movie. You could never get tired of it but Noah was so over it. You had forced him to watch it at least 25 times with you.

“Y/n, this is so boring!! I've seen this movie at least 30 times and you, even more!” He groaned.

“Whatever! It's my favorite!” You pushed off his annoyance and turned back to the movie. You had a bowl of pretzels, popcorn and chocolate chips. It was a good snack to just snack on while you mindlessly watched the movie.

Noah had his own bowl that he had now got up from his laid-back position on the couch, fully sitting up.

“Noah, move!! You're completely blocking the screen.” You rolled your eyes as Noah smirked and chuckled.

“Oh no! What a tragedy!” He sat facing you now, still covering the TV.

He leaned in close and you knew what would happen. You had no time to run away before Noah's hands were on your sides, tickling you.

“No! Noah oh my god!! Let me go!!” You tried to be mindful of your upstairs neighbors but your voice turned into more of a screech.

Noah completely ignored your pleas and continued his business. You wiggled and squirmed and you were now against his chest. You tried your best to get away from his grasp but it was no use.

Luckily, Noah had stopped, giving you a chance to breathe.

“We're going to get a fucking noise complaint because of you.” You mumbled.

“Yeah, whatever. The landlord is a douche anyways.”

Noah's arms were wrapped around you, keeping you safe and sound. This wasn't anything out of the ordinary. You were both single and sometimes just needed to feel loved.

You wouldn't lie, you found Noah attractive. His tattoos were appealing and his muscles had become more defined since he moved in and his hair had such a nice cut. You would joke about his scar from the lip piercing he had ages ago.

You and Noah had started off as strangers but now you were more inseparable as ever could be.

You were falling asleep as Noah was rocking you both back and forth on the couch, it was pretty late but luckily neither of you had work in the morning. It had worked out perfectly.

“Don't fall asleep on me, now.” His voice was low and rough but yet so comforting.

“Hm? I'm not!” You looked up at him and smiled.

“Seems like you might be.” He softly laughed.

“Nuh uh.” You shook your head.

He gave a soft kiss to your forehead. Usually, they would be friendly and would just be a soft peck, but this one was different.

It lasted longer, his arms tightened around you and he pulled you closer. For a split second, you thought something might have been wrong with him.

“Are you okay, Noah?” Your eyes gave concern when he pulled away.

“I'm perfectly fine, angel.” He smiled.

Angel was a nickname he used often with you when he was being cutesy. A blush rose to your cheeks, your face now being flushed pink.

“You look like one of those anime characters when they blush. You know, with the three blush lines?” His eyes were focused on yours, one hand now playing with their hair.

“Angel?” He sounded anxious.

“Yes, Noah?”

“Can I kiss you?”

A moment of silence was shared between you two before you nodded.

He took it slow and gave you a spiderman kiss. You smiled into the kiss and held onto his arm. When he pulled away, you pulled him back in.

You wanted this for a long time without even knowing.

This kiss was deeper, more meaningful. The first kiss was to seemingly test the waters. To see if either you or him had felt like it was right.

It felt more than right.

In no time, your tongues were dancing around each other and Noah's hand (with permission of course) was starting to explore your body.

His left hand groped your tits while his right hand was slowly dipping into your panties. He was taking too long for your liking, so you took it in your hands and moved his fingers under the waistband of your panties, letting him feel the pool of wetness he had caused you.

It caused him to break from the kiss, letting a soft moan escape from his lips. Instead of going back to your lips, he kissed along your neck. His middle and ring finger started to move along in small circles on your clit. Every so often gliding them up and down your cunt to collect the new wetness that had pooled up.

You leaned your head to the side and watched his hand move from your cunt to remove your pajama pants and underwear.

“Fuck I bet your pussy looks so damn pretty, angel.”

He took in your scent, the perfume you worse drove him up the wall. He could devour you in seconds if you'd allow him.

He had you open your legs, sliding his fingers through your cunt once more before plunging them into you. Your breath was caught in the back of your throat. God only knows how long it's been since you've been fucked, let alone fingered, by another person.

“Oh, god…Noah-” You started to grind against his hand, feeling his free hand grip you tight. You could feel his cock harden and twitch under your back. The way you're moving your body only made it worse. Your back rubbing against Noah's cock was making him go crazy.

His fingers curled up into your g-spot, causing you to shutter and snap your legs closed.

“Don't you dare. Keep them open, angel.”

You tried your best to do as he said. It was so hard. The pleasure was all too much and your body was on the verge of taking a mind of its own.

“Noah- oh god, Noah..” Your cunt tightened and clenched around his fingers, signaling how close you were to him. Noah didn't have to say anything to you to let you get yourself over the edge.

It crashed into you. After fucking yourself for so long, having someone else touch you was undescribable.

Your nails dug into his arm and you slowly came down.

When you had gained your energy back, you turned around, facing Noah, sitting on your knees.

“Take your shorts off.”

“Are you sure, angel? You don't have to-”

“Noah, shut up. Let me have you.”

With no further questions, Noah threw his clothes somewhere in the living room. His cock was utterly beautiful. It had a pretty pink tip, veins running up and down the shaft and god it made you drool.

You spit onto it, stroking it once or twice, so it wouldn't hurt as much when you sat on it.

You desperately wanted to wrap your lips around it and suck him dry, but he denied.

“I won't last long enough, please just let me feel you. Fuck, please, angel.” His words were more so pleas than directions.

You took your shirt off, along with his as you started to crawl into his lap. Once the rest of your clothes were discarded, you sat down on his cock.

Your mouth hung open as Noah's eyes rolled back. You steadied yourself by putting your hands on either side of Noah's shoulders. Noah took charge and placed his hands on your waist.

“Holy shit. You feel like heaven on fucking earth.” His voice was breathy and it made your pussy flutter around him.

You started off by grinding on his cock, letting yourself adjust to his size. He was bigger than you expected and definitely bigger than anyone else you had slept with before.

“You're so fucking big. Holy shit!”

He smirked and started to slightly bounce you up and down. Once you caught onto the pace Noah set, You took it into your own hands.

Noah made a ponytail in his hand and softly pulled your head backwards. He placed a fat hickey onto your neck. He knew you'd be pissed, he knew it would highschool behavior but fuck, he couldnt help it. It looked so perfect on you. Made by him.

Your eyes rolled back and you let your legs do the work for you. Noah was meeting you halfway, thrusting his hips to fuck even deeper into you.

You swore you could feel his cock hitting your cervix with every thrust.

You knew you'd be sore as fuck tomorrow but it'd all be worth it for the sex you were having with the man in front of you.

“Fuck, you have no idea…how long…I've wanted to do this..” He spoke between catching his breath.

You heard the wet noises from your pussy and your skin hitting together. Weirdly, it was such a hot sound, knowing the cause made you even wetter. You were dripping down your thigh and onto Noah's pelvis bone.

You both were an absolute mess but it felt so good. Neither of you could think straight and all you wanted was to feel was Noah's cock pump you full of his babies.

Noah knew all of your ins and outs. You had many conversations of your kinks and fantasies, solely as friends. Mostly when you were drinking or getting high, but nonetheless, he remembered them all.

“Wanna feel my babies, hm? Feel me stuff you full of my cum.” His words were harsh but his body language was so soft and gentle. Despite his cock completely abusing your cunt.

You nodded, tears building up in your waterline.

“God, yes please Noah. I wanna feel you.”

You felt your stomach tighten up, like a rubber band that was ready to explode.

“Pl-please!!” You cried out

“Cmon, angel. Do it with me. You got it, baby.”

Sweat was building up on his toned chest, making him look even more attractive, if that was at all possible.

Within the next three thrusts, Noah had painted your insides. It made you feel so warm and fucked out. It was utter bliss.

You collapsed on Noah's chest, heaving for air.

Noah's hand ran through your hair as he thanked you.

“Want me to run you a shower, angel?”

#bad omens #noah sebastian #bad omens cult #noahsebastian #badomens #bad omens band #badomenscult #noah bad omens #nicholas ruffilo #jolly karlsson #nick folio bad omens #nick folio #noah sebastian davis #noah sebastian smut #noah sebastian fanfic #bad omens fic #bad omens smut

[dre6ming]

Christmas tree shopping

The delicate beginning rush

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Austin Butler x singer/actress fem reader

Warnings: smut, sex, explicit content, mentions of blood, crying, bad family relationships, fluff

Word count: ~3000

Plot: Christmas tree shopping puts a small dent into your heart considering the past, so when Austin asks that you do it together, you have some holdbacks.

I love Christmas! And that's that. I've always loved it, ever since I could understand the concept of it. I adore the buzz of the crowd searching for gifts, the smell of Christmas foods, the decorations, the songs, the movies. I mean you'd have to have a big lump of coal for a heart to not like Christmas. But with all my love for this time of the year, this year I'm just not feeling it.

As I walk the crowed streets of New York all on my own, with my big fluffy scarf covering most of my face, I look around at the stores wondering where I could go next, dreading going home, where Austin waits for me so we can go Christmas tree shopping. When he proposed the idea that we go together, I just nodded and smiled, but in my heart a big hole was being uncovered. I used to go Christmas tree shopping with my dad, some of my favorite memories with him, are of us choosing a tree, setting it up in the living room and decorating it together. Those were some of the best hours in the whole year. But then the divorce happened right before Christmas, no one bought a Christmas tree, I didn't even bother decorating that year, I stayed over at Timmy's house, then the year after that, was mine and Austin's first Christmas together, but he was with his family and I went again to Timmy's house.

This year though, he wants us to have a Christmas together together. He suggested that we spend it over at his LA home, but Christmas is supposed to be cold and wet and snowy, not sunny and hot, so we are going to have a small party at my apartment on the 25th, until then he wants all the Christmas stuff to be done. Which I'm more than happy to do, but I was hoping we'd get a fake tree from Amazon or something.

I feel my phone vibrate in the pocket of my coat and I know I can't ignore him, or he will get worried, so I sigh, taking the phone out and answering the call. "Hi, Aus! I'm still looking at a few shops, they've got really nice things out here, I bought some stuff." I lie, having not bought even a single thing. "Don't worry darling, I was just checking in, what do you say, I come get you with the car and then we go to the Christmas tree market?" He asks so sweetly, it hurts my heart. "Um actually I don't know, I don't think I'm gonna be much longer, so just wait for me back at the apartment." I hate the anticipation of the disappointment in his voice. "That's fine Y/n, just be safe, I love you!" I close my eyes and rub my temple with my free hand, feeling a headache creep it's way to me. "Love you too!" I cut the call short and keep walking, smiling as I spot the rusty old sign from Frank's record store.

As I enter the smell of cinnamon and chocolate, hits me, soft jazz playing in the background. The store looks empty today, except for Frank, sitting behind the counter, reading a book. As the door bell rings he looks up from his book and smiles at me, getting up to come hug me. "Hey kid, haven't seen you in a hot minute. Though I've heard plenty of you. I never knew fruitcake makes you sick" he laughs, referencing my latest album, a Christmas ep called fruitcake. "Very funny!" I giggle, unwrapping the scarf from my neck and undoing some of the buttons on my coat.

"Well I've been busy, but I'm home for the holidays." I say, looking around, skimming through some of the new records he has in store. "Hm I bet you're busy, touring arenas and all. Hey kid look what I have here." Frank says as he goes to the back and brings out a mysterious vinyl. "It's a first edition. A mix done on vinyl in the 90's, all your favorites are on here." He explains, replacing the vinyl he had one with the new one he brought. "Last Christmas I have you my heart.." the song starts playing and I start singing along.

"Want some hot cocoa?" Frank asks, putting the closed sign on the door, as I take of my coat to be a bit more comfortable. "Of course I want some, extra-" "-Whipping cream, I know" he finishes my sentence, making both of us laugh. As Frank goes to make the hot cocoa, I take my phone out and text Austin.

Me

Hey, something came up, I'm over at Roxy's place. Can we reschedule?

Austin

Sure, hope everything is alright. Love you 💜🧶

Me

Ofc, love you too

I hate lying to him, but I just don't feel like having a therapy session right now. "Hmm perfect!" I smile taking the cup from Frank and drinking some of the delicious hot beverage. "So any big plans for Christmas this year?" He asks, and I start telling him all about the dinner me and Austin are hosting for friends and family.

Before I knew it I had spent a few good hours over at Frank's store and then I had to call Matt to come get me with the car and drive me back home, as it had gone dark outside. So now I'm in the elevator, watching the buttons of each floor light up, until we get to number 10. I walk in and the whole place is quiet, no sight of Austin or any cats, so I guess that he must be sleeping. Tiptoeing to my room I find Austin sleeping on the bed with Simba and William cuddled up to him. Walking into the closet I try to make as little sound as possible and I start to take off my clothes.

I feel a pair of arms wrap around me and I let out a small scream, startled for a moment. "Shh it's me" Austin whispers against my ear, kissing down my neck, I lean into him and reach my hand back, to comb through his thick hair. "It's ok.." I moan as he sucks the skin right above my collarbone. His hands travel down my abdomen and unbutton my jeans, his right hand sliding down between my legs, into my underwear. "Austin.." I sigh, putting all my weight on him. "Shh, don't talk." Austin says

He's skilled fingers work me like magic, his left arm tight around my waist holding me up, as he plugs a finger into me. I gasp, fisting his hair, as he moves slowly inside me. "Shh no talking." He repeats, after I try to moan his name again. This is something we've never done before, he usually likes me talking during sex, and he encourages me to be vocal, but this time he wants me to be quiet.

I'm lost in my train of thought and don't realize the moment he pulls his hand away and picks me up, taking me to the bed. "Aus?" I ask concerned as he removes my jeans but not my panties. He looks at me, but there's no tenderness like before, he looks mad? "No talking." Is all he says, as he takes off his clothes and puts on a condom, getting on top of me. "Aus baby, is something wrong?" I ask touching his face. A faint smile crosses his face and a glimmer of something sweet shows up in his eyes. My heart beats at a thousand miles per hour and I'm aroused as ever, but something is off.

"Nothings wrong, I just want to feel you." He says, kissing me, his hands going back to their ministrations. We move in sink and I reach behind me to unclasp my bra. Austin's hands go immediately to my breasts, kneading and pinching my nipples. "Fuck!" He grunts as I sneak my hand down and pump his cock, touching his tip to my covered pussy, wishing right now there was no thin layer of cotton between us.

"Please!" I beg as his head nudges at my wet pussy, brushing against my clit, sending electric shocks up my spine. "Fucking hell!" Austin curses, guiding his hand between us, to push my panties to the side, quickly sliding into me. I wince in pain, as he usually takes his time opening me up, but this time he seems to be in a hurry. His lips find mine and he swallows my whimpers. When he's all the way in, he stills and waits for me to give him the ok to move. After a few moments of sitting like this conjoined, with my legs around his waist, my hand in his hair and his around my waist, something changes, something in him, he starts feeling warm and soft, unlike the cold stiff feeling he was giving me before, it's like he melts into me.

His hands moves up my body, wrapping tightly around me. "I'm sorry!" He says in a broken voice. "It's ok, doesn't hurt anymore, please move." I say caressing his cheek, encouraging him to pull his hips back. When his pelvis meets mine again, fireworks sparkle behind my closed eyelids. Austin starts a slow pace, each time going deeper and deeper if that were possible. The room is filled my muffled moans and skin slapping noises, as both of us feel closer and closer to the sweet release. "Shit Austin, I need more, please!" I beg arching my back to give him a new angle.

Austin groans in my ear and picks up the pace, placing one hand behind my head on the pillow and the other on my clit, rubbing slow circles. "I love you! I love you so much!" I say, feeling closer to my orgasm, my walls spasm around hid twitching cock. "Fuck!" His voice sound strangled and he moves faster, sloppier. "I love you I love you Iloveyou!" I say over and over again and over again. He keeps his moves fast and rhythmic, I curl my toes and pull on his hair, my orgasm wrecking through my body, tingling head to toe. Austin keeps moving until I feel him tens and he cums moaning into my shoulder.

We sit a few minutes tangled together, breathing in sink, his heart thudding against my chest. The  without a word, Austin pulls out, leaving me empty, getting up and going to the bathroom. I'm left staring at the ceiling, wondering what this whole experience was just weird. I sit up in bed and wrap myself in my fluffy robe, getting up, going to the kitchen to drink some water.

I keep thinking what just happened, I can't imagine what must have happened to make Austin act like this. It's not that the sex didn't feel good, it did, but it felt like he was somewhere else, or at lest trying to be somewhere else. "Are you hungry ?" I jump at Austin's voice, dropping the glass of water on the floor. Without thinking I try to reach for the broom, to clean this up, but I step on a shard of glass. "Aw, fuck fuck!" I let out, holding onto the counter, lifting my leg up to see if the cut is bad. It's only a small shard, so the cut is barely a graze, but blood is already coming out of it. "Don't move!" Austin warns, walking around the broken glass and water, coming next to me. He puts both hands on my waist and lifts me up on the counter, the going to clean the mess I made.

We sit in silence, as he cleans and I feel the blood dripping down my foot. When he's done, he goes away and I start thinking if he just left me here, which I know is stupid, but my brain can't stop making weird scenarios up. "Show me your leg!" Austin says, kneeling down in front of me, cleaning my wound and putting a bandage over it. "All done!"

"Are you mad at me?" I ask at the same time as he speaks and he blushes, looking the other way, avoiding my eyes. "Where were you today?" He asks and as I open my mouth to answer he interrupts me. "Don't lie, Roxy came over, thinking you were here." I sigh and jump off from the counter, ignoring the pain in my leg. I wobble a little bit, despite my best effort, so Austin puts his hands up around me, ready to catch me if anything were to happen. I look him up and down, thinking about what I could say, I could just tell him the truth, but I haven't really told him much about mine and my dad's relationship. He waits patiently for me to answer and the way his arms are still around me, like waiting for a hug, makes me want to melt right into him, but I choose the childish part of me, pushing him away and walking past him.

"Did something happen?" His voice sounds like an echo and for a moment I feel like he didn't even speak and it was all my imagination. I turn around slowly, looking at his face, his eyes are read, teary. "Aus-"

"I know you weren't at Roxy's place, you didn't answer your phone, you were out shopping all day and yet, came back with no bags or nothing." Austin's hands are shaking, so I walk up to him slowly, taking his hands in mine, but he takes a step back, pulling away, which breaks my heart. "Can we sit down? I can explain everything." He shakes his head and I close my eyes taking a deep breath, preparing for the things I'm about to say.

"I was at Franks store, I did go out to buy somethings, but my head was somewhere else so I didn't get anything, just walked around." I start saying and he fiddles around with his hands. "Why?"

"I wanted to go Christmas tree shopping, but it just it hurt to much. I haven't gone shopping with anyone other than my dad, it was our thing, but I'm no longer a part of his life and it's, it's like slowly learning how to breathe again." His face saddens more, but this time, the sadness is pointed my way, and I appreciate his empathy, but I'd like if he'd stop. "I'm sorry I really am, it's just been hard on me to.." my voice breaks down and I lick my lips, tasting the salt of my tears.

Austin closes the distance between and hugs me tight. "You should have told me, I'm sorry, we don't have to go if you don't feel like it, baby" he says rubbing my back, holding me close to him. "I think if you go with me , I could do it. " he chuckles, kissing the top of my head and we stand hugging for a moment.

"Aus?" I ask softly something still on my mind. "Yeah?" "Is something wrong, you felt a little cold, you know, earlier." I feel him stiffen a bit, so I wiggle out of his arms to look up at him. "Well I was worried about you and my sister told me that she and the kids are down with some virus and can’t make it to Christmas, so I was just filled to the brim with worry." I smile at him, touching his hair lightly, placing some flyaway hairs back. "Oh my baby, want some hot cocoa? And how about we bake something?" I say, walking back to the kitchen counter and getting things ready for a feel better night. "Your butter cookies? With orange?" He asks puppy eyed, making me giggle. "Well I did just buy some oranges yesterday, so why even ask?" I say putting milk on the stove to warm up and already measuring the right amount of flour and sugar.

Between finishing the hot cocoa and adding the flour to the dough, someone decided to start a fight with flour, so we're now laughing, picking flour from our hair, as the cookies rise. "You're such a child." I chuckle, wiping his nose. "I just couldn't help myself" he shrugs, smirking at me.

The next morning we wake up as late as we can and now we're enjoying a shower together. His hands wash my skin tenderly, massaging all the stiff spots. "I don't think I'll ever get bored of washing your hair!" He admits, bubbling the shampoo between his hands, then applying it to my hair. "Well I'll never get bored of you washing my hair, so lucky for you!"

After what must have been the slowest start of day in months, we finally enter the Christmas tree market, hand in hand. Being here does feel weird without my dad, but not as bad as I thought. Austin squeezes my hand three times and that calms me a bit, so I take a deep breath, looking at all the trees. "Can we get a huge one?" I ask already having my eye on one. "I was thinking smaller, but whatever you want." He says, looking the opposite way the trees that are way too small for my liking. "How about two trees?" I suggest, smiling at him.

"Honey I don't think we'll fit in the elevator with this." Austin says, as he pull down the tree that's almost twice his height, from the roof of my heel. Driving around New York with this on top of the car was of course something out of a comedy. "So up the stairs?" I ask hoping he'd say "no"

"I think so." He sighs, looking with dread at the staircase door. "Ok then.." I say defeated, locking the car and getting ready to help him.

Around the 2nd floor it feels like I'm dying, we decided that best way was for me to go up pulling and him pushing form down. "I think we're going somewhere." I encourage, already cursing myself for not going to the gym enough. Austin laughs, form somewhere behind the tree branches. "Yeah the North Pole!" He jokes

On the 10th floor we  stop at the door of the apartment, him in better shape than me, but still just as tired. "You have no idea how lucky you are I love you!" Austin says, kissing my cheek. "I love you too!"

"Is it straight?" Austin asks from under the tree, trying to place it in the tree stand. "A little to the left!" I instruct. "My left? Or your left?" He asks, out of breath. "Mine, ugh no, yours. I don't know, can you get out of from there?" I ask and he comes to sit next to me. The tree is still very much crooked, but I think I like it this way. "I think I like it this way!" Austin says, rubbing my back. I snuggle into his side and stand on my tippy toes to kiss him. "I think I agree!"

"I think I love you!" He says, picking me up and spinning me around. "Did you notice that you kinda picked a tree looking like me and I picked one looking like you?" Austin jokes again, but as I look at the two Christmas trees, now realizing that the very obvious height difference does resemble the one me and Austin have between us. "I think we just did the funniest thing." I admit, going to the boxes on the floor and taking an ornament out, placing it in the smaller tree Austin chose. "Merry Christmas, y/n! I love you!" Austin says, placing and ornament in the tree I picked. "Merry Christmas Austin, I love you too!"

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[canirove]

My neighbour Rúben | Chapter 1

Summary: Have you ever watched this movie Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans did before Marvel called “The Nanny Diaries”? It's about a girl, Scarlett's character, who finds herself working as a nanny for a very rich family, and Chris happens to be her hot and very cute neighbour. And something very similar is what has happened to me, neighbour included. Though in my case, mine is very cute and very hot. And handsome. The most handsome man I have ever seen. And his name is Rúben.

Author's note: This story has been finished and waiting in my drafts since 2022. I wrote it as a new and different version of "The Nanny Diaries" (my story with Ben Chilwell) because I didn't like it, and then I ended not liking this one either 🙈 But time passed, I read it again recently, thought it was cute… And here we are, having now both of them posted when they weren't supposed to 😅 I hope you like it, and as always, thank you for reading! 💜

Next chapter

Masterlist

Have you ever watched this movie Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans did before Marvel called “The Nanny Diaries”? It's about a girl, Scarlett's character, who finds herself working as a nanny for a very rich family with a spoiled kid and Chris is her hot and very cute neighbour. And something very similar is what has happened to me, but let's start from the beginning.

My entire life was designed to achieve one goal: become the best piano player in the country. Or in the continent if my father got too excited. And since I can remember, I've been glued to one.

While my friends were going out to the park, I was going to my teacher's house to practice. While my friends were meeting to go shopping or watch a movie at the cinema, I was practicing. While my friends were going out clubbing and meeting boys and girls, I was going early to bed because I had practice in the morning. And while my friends were choosing a career path they liked and enjoyed and moving to different cities all around the country, I only had one option: playing the piano and moving to Manchester, where the best teacher lived. 

The weather sucks, yes. But it isn't such an ugly city as they say, and all the people I met were lovely and very welcoming. Unless you are fighting with them for a spot on the next recital or to get the next scholarship. That's when things get nasty, and that's how you end up with broken fingers and the dreams your parents had for you shattered. Because becoming the best piano player of my generation wasn't my dream, it was theirs. Or my father’s to be precise.

So when Anastasia Hamilton pushed me down the stairs and I found myself with two broken fingers on my left hand, a sprained ankle and my body covered in bruises, I didn't complain. Well, that's a lie. I complained and cried because it hurt like hell. But I didn't complain when they told me I wouldn't be able to play the piano like I used to due to one of my fingers not healing properly despite being treated by the best doctors. I didn't complain because I was finally free. If I wanted to play, I would be doing it because I wanted to, not because it was my job, because I had to, because my future depended on it. Now I was free to finally follow my dreams and not my parents’. Or that's what I thought.

I told them I wanted to take a gap year to figure out what to do with my life, but they said no. They had decided that I should study to become a music teacher, to help others achieve what I hadn't been able to. We argued, they said that if I wanted to do anything different it would not be with their money, I said ok, and I found myself alone in Manchester with barely any money or a place to live.

And that's when I crossed paths with Julia. 

I had gone to the shopping centre to see if anyone was looking for a waitress or someone to fold t-shirts in a shop, when I saw her crying in the middle of one of the corridors, most people walking past her and ignoring her. 

"Hey, are you ok?" I said, kneeling in front of her. "Where are your parents?"

"Quiero a mi mamá" she sobbed. That was why people were ignoring her. She only spoke Spanish and they didn't understand her. But, lucky me, I used to go to the north of Spain for music summer camp and I can speak it fluently. 

"¿Dónde está tu mamá?" Where is your mum? 

"No lo sé. Estaba comprando una taza fea y..." Her mum was buying an ugly mug. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Ok, let’s go find her.” Where we were most shops only sold clothes, but I remembered I had just walked past a Zara Home. Maybe she was there? "Come" I said, grabbing her hand. She didn't say a word and just followed me, her sobs turning into hiccups. 

"Julia!" a woman screamed the moment we turned the corner. "Oh, Julia, I thought I had lost you!" 

"Mami!" the kid said, letting go of my hand and throwing herself at the woman. "Me perdí y esta chica me ayudó."

"Did you help her?" the woman asked me.

"I saw her crying and that people were ignoring her, and I decided to check on her. She was speaking Spanish and I think that's why most people were walking past her, because they weren't able to understand her."

"Oh, she always does that when she gets upset. Do you speak Spanish?"

"Yup."

"Oh, you are an angel" the woman said, hugging her daughter a bit tighter. "I don't know how I'm gonna be able to thank you."

"Knowing that she's alright is enough, don’t worry."

"No, no, no. You must allow me to do something for you. What do you say, Julia. Should we invite this wonderful angel to have lunch with us?"

"Yes!" Julia said, her English coming back. "We'll bake you a chocolate cake! Do you like chocolate cake?"

"I actually do, yes" I smiled.

"Then it's settled. Let me give you my card, it has my office phone number on it" Julia's mum said, opening her bag. "Call tomorrow morning and we'll schedule that lunch together."

"Ok. Thank you."

"Thank you" the woman said, giving me a hug. "My name us Lucía, by the way. But you can call me Lucy like everyone in this country does."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy."

Lucía, Lucy. A Spanish lawyer specialized in divorces, and the divorces of very wealthy people. Which meant that when I arrived at her house for that lunch date, I found myself before one of the most expensive apartment buildings in the city. 

"Are you coming in, miss?" the doorman asked.

"Yes, hi, sorry. Do I have to tell you where I'm going or..."

"You don't look like a thief" the man chuckled.

"I'm not, I promise. I'm meeting with Lucy and Julia."

"Oh, yes. Miss Julia said a friend was coming for lunch today. An angel."

"That must be me" I said, blushing a bit.

"Then welcome, miss" the man said, opening the building's door. "Do you know their floor number?"

"Yes, the 7th. Letter B."

"That’s the one. Call for the lift and push the number, their house will be the one to your right."

"Thank you very much, sir."

"My pleasure, miss" the man said with a smile. Roger. The loveliest man you'll ever meet.

"So glad you could make it" Lucy said after opening the door, giving me a hug. 

"Angel!" Julia screamed, coming to also hug me. "You came!"

"Of course I did."

"She’s decided to start calling you angel because of what I said at the shopping centre. I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry" I smiled.

“Come, let me show you my room" Julia said, grabbing my hand and forcing me to follow her.

After a tour around the house and its many rooms, we were back in the living room, one where the small flat I was renting thanks to some money my grandparents had been sending me without my parents knowing, could perfectly fit.

"Is that a real piano?" I asked Julia.

"It's daddy's" she said. "We used to play together."

"That's lovely." My dad never played with me just for fun. It always was about practice, practice... And oh, yes, more practice.

"Do you play?" Lucy asked me.

"Since I was Julia's age."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Why don't you play something for us while we wait for our food?"

"Sure" I said, sitting in front of the huge black piano. It was a very expensive one like everything else on that building.

"Daddy used to play that!" Julia said when she recognized the song. "Hey Jude, don't make it bad... Mami, why are you crying?" she asked her when we finished.

"Because it was beautiful, sweetheart. And you play so well" Lucy told me. "Have you ever thought about giving lessons?"

"Not really..."

"Julia started to take them a few months ago, but her teacher... Had other things to do, so now she doesn't have one. Would you like to take her place?"

"Me?" 

"Yes, angel! Be my teacher!" Julia said, clapping her hands and jumping.

That was what my parents had wanted me to do. To become a teacher. I wasn't going to be doing it at the music school, but this still was teaching, right? And I liked Lucy and Julia a lot despite only knowing them for just a few hours. 

"I'll do it" I said. "I'll be Julia's teacher."

"Oh, perfect!" Lucy smiled. "When can you start?"

"Whenever you want. I have nothing else to do" I shrugged.

"Then tomorrow. I have to work, so maybe you could pick up Julia from school, bring her here and start your lessons? I'll pay you for that extra time."

"Ok" I nodded.

I had found a job, one that I liked, and one that was going to pay me handsomely judging by the numbers Lucy had mentioned while doing a draft of my contract. 

I was so busy thinking about all that, checking the details she had given me about Julia's school, that I hadn’t noticed the lift had made it to the lobby and the doors were open. 

“Are you going up again?” a male voice said.

“Uh?” I replied, lifting my eyes from my phone. And what did they see? The most handsome man you could ever imagine.

“Are you going up again?” he repeated.

“I…” I had forgotten how to speak. I may have not been wearing an ugly costume like Scarlett in one of the scenes where she met Chris Evans, but I had my jaw on the floor and definitely was making a fool of myself. “No” I finally managed to say.

“So… are you leaving, then?” he asked, trying to hide a smile.

“Yes” I said, still looking at him. Was he real? He was real. When he stopped the lift’s door from closing again, taking a step forward towards me, I saw that he was very real. “Thank you. Sorry. I’m leaving” I blurted out, my brain finally remembering how speaking worked. Kind of.

“It’s ok” he replied with a smile. No, not a smile. A smirk. One that made everything inside me turn upside down. “Bye” he said, walking inside the lift and letting go of the doors, disappearing behind them while I just stared. He must have thought I was stupid. A creep. Or both. But what else are you supposed to do when you find yourself face to face with the hottest man in planet earth?

“Miss, are you alright?” I heard Roger say from the door.

“Yes, yes. Just… Processing what just happened. That I got a job, I mean” I quickly added, noticing how he was arching an eyebrow, his eyes moving to the lift. 

“Oh, those are great news, miss. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I guess you’ll be seeing more of me from now on.”

And hopefully, I would be seeing more of him too. Of the hot neighbour, my own Chris Evans. Though later on I would find out that his name wasn’t Chris, that would have been too much of a coincidence.

His name was Rúben. 

#ruben dias #ruben dias fanfic #ruben dias imagine #football fanfic #football imagine

[linaliteracy]

Just not now... (Bangchan)

Pairing: Banchan x y/n (she/her)

Summary: you were sad and Chan did the best he could to show you he was still there.

English is not my first language so, if it has any mistakes, I apologize.

You knew you had been down but you couldn't understand why, it was all very new, specially because you didn't have Chan with you. Getting to your house and being alone was not something you liked, you recently started college again, it was your last year so you had to keep going until you got the paper saying you could work.

Not being able to call Chan was something killed you, but it has been easier since you started dating, not even a year ago. You didn't want to seem clingy but you needed someone, but at the same time you wanted no one.

You sat on the bed and didn't know what to do so you just showered, if you had a bad day a shower could cheer you up, so you tried but it just left you feeling helpless. You ordered a burger and some fries and sat in silence while watching a movie on TV.

Your phone rang, it was Bangchan, and your eyes filled with tears, you missed him so so much. You fought the urge to pick up, you were so sad you didn't want to see anyone.

"Hello?" You said slowly.

"Hi!" He said so enthusiastic that made your heart clench. You just wanted to hug him, but he was in Corea and you were in your couch. "I miss you"

You nodded and breathed.

"I miss you too, chan"

"Good" he said and hung up. You started at the phone.

What the fuck was that?

Someone nocked on your door and your hopes went up. Maybe it was him making a surprise, you didn't want to look through the peephole but you had to ask who was on the other side.

"Why don't you find out?"

You unlocked the door so fast and hugged him. The luggage made a sound when it fell from his hand and he gripped your waist and lifted you up. You started crying and so did he.

"I missed you so much" he mumbled softly in your ear. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize, it's job and I am in second place."

He put you down on the floor and stared at your face with a determination you had never seen before.

"You will never be in second place for me, y/n. You are my first place and my job is my job but I love you much more than that."

"But..."

"You would never ask me to put you and my job in a place, that is why you are first, because you care so much to ask and wonder about it. You will be my first for as long as you let me have you. Hope that's a long time, not gonna lie."

Your sadness left, not completely but you had a warm place to go. And those words... were all you wanted to hear.

"You care about me?"

"How couldn't I? "He caressed your cheek and lifted your chin. "What's gotten to you?"

"I don't know... I've been down... don't want to face it now. Just wanna be with you."

"Let's go."

#bang chan #bangchan fanfic #bangchan fluff #bangchan imagines #bangchan x reader #bangchan x y/n #stray kids #stray kids fanfic #stray kids imagines #straykids x reader

[wachtelspinat]

is there a particular reason you always wanted to come to Australia? Just curious :D Congrats on making one of your dreams come true!!! 🩷🩷

hey there! sorry for the delayed answer, but i'm (sadly) finally home again and currently catching up with everything that's piled up! the thing is i always wanted to come to australia since i was 18, like right after school, doing some work & travel. i‘m having a hard time remembering why australia in particular… i mean. besides the obvious points like the landscape, the wildlife, the welcoming people. i observed that it‘s a popular choice with germans in any regards (and to be fair i‘ve been a big mad max fan since i was 17 so… guess this played a not so irrelevant role).

but… it was quite expensive (you needed to have at least 3000,- euros as savings back then, i can imagine it‘s even more nowadays) and all those years i told myself that this was the reason i never went. when actually i chickened out. i was too scared back then and for the longest time after. there is a lot of regret i harbour for my anxiety-ridden 20s and all the things i actively avoided, but not appreciating and taking the opportunity the work & holiday visa gives you, i feared that this will be something that's always going to haunt me. (i am too old now to do work & travel, the cut off is at 30yrs.... which is a shame, really, because i've become a person that is so ready for it now... but i'm gonna look into different kinds of ways to stay longer maybe, to work there).

so yeah i guess ever since australia stuck with me. always with a little bitter "could've seen it" thought. and as the years went by i watched a lot of documentaries, and movies and shows, i learned about the history here and there, the incredible flora and fauna, really fell for the australian accent, dunno why, just love to hear it... befriended ppl who've been there and did work & travel and always envied their experiences. developed a longing for the vast extents of it all and the nothingness especially of the outback which's actually so full of things and life... and i have to be honest, being a team fortress 2 fan with sniper as one of my faves and a junker fan (and always forever and ever a mad max enthusiast)... it would be a lie to say i didn't romanticize the place maybe a bit on the basis of this. but believe me i'm not some kind of delusional fan who does "postapocalyptic vibes tourism" or sth like this. i pay my highest respect to the people who live and lived there.

so yeah, there's that. i'm just looking back at the best 6 weeks of my life so far and my expectations were not simply met, they've been exceeded a billion times and i am so. SO. happy, that i finally had the guts to just do it. i've gained so much personally. and at the end of the day we cannot escape our ways to an extent, i learned that too. but it's been a mindblowing experience especially in regards of self-concept which is hard to put into words.

#would y'all be interested in photos? #like i have to sort through them #got like over 3000 lmao #but yeah maybe just a little best of

[silenzahra]

Who’s your favourite character and why is it Luigi.

(Only correct answer, too bad so sad.)

Oooohhh I'm glad you asked me this question!!! 😁😁😁 I could totally share a lecture on why Luigi is the best character to ever exist, sooooo... I hope you realize that you've awaken the beast 😂😂😂

I don't like Luigi only because he's cute. He is cute, anyone who looks at him can see that, and I love it indeed, but my love for him goes beyond. He's also a kind and gentle person, always willing to help the others, and he's extremely sweet, especially with his loved ones (his bro, his bestie and his partner/s).

He's very supportive: if you ever need some self-confidence or a little push to encourage you to take the step of doing something, he's definitely gonna be there to show how he believes in you and to cheer on you during the process! 💪

He also has great emotional intelligence. That's something @kelbreyworshipper talked about on this post, and I honestly couldn't agree more. I love how he's always there to listen to his loved ones and offer the emotional support they need when they're feeling down, and this is something that's also seen in the movie. I love that side of him because it shows that emotions are very important for him and that he's never going to invalidate yours.

Also, he's so clumsy and anxious that he's very relatable to me! I'm clumsiness personified, and I've been living with anxiety for way too many years now, so I totally get how he feels. And, not gonna lie, it's kind of a relief to see there's more people out there who's going through the same stuff as me, especially being a very famous and loved character as Luigi. Makes me see that I'm not alone and that I'm not hard to love, and that I deserve to be loved just the way I am, like him 🥰

And also: social anxiety. Yikes, I get that too, as well as Luigi, so, again, another thing that makes him relatable! You see how awkward he gets in this post by @jell-o101? That, actually, is me 😅 And he can be so silly as well, like we saw in the movie. I'll never forget the phone scene with Spike 🤭

He's also very soft, for he gets emotional very easily, and is not ashamed to cry or to show his feelings in any way he can. That, I believe, is one of his biggest strengths, for not everyone is able to show themselves being vulnerable, or sad, or scared, and he has no shame nor regret to do so! I personally believe that's quite admirable!

And, of course, he's also strong in other ways! When he loves, he loves so hard and deeply that he'd do literally anything to keep his beloved ones safe and sound, and also happy and taken care of. Luigi is the kind of man that will be by your side in your lowest moments, but will also make sure to defend and protect you when needed. And it doesn't mean he doesn't believe in you: it means that he loves you so much that the protective instinct simply hits in.

This relates directly with his bravery. Many people to this day keep calling Luigi a coward, and it makes me mad because, like, are we talking about the same character? The one that got into a mansion full of ghosts, his biggest fear, to save his beloved big brother? The one that stood in the way of Bowser's fire with a manhole cover to, again, save his big brother's life? You call this cowardice??? 👇

Honestly, I'd like to see those people getting into a place full of the thing they fear the most, or facing fire after they've been about to die in a lava pit. If this isn't bravery in its pure form, I don't know what is 🤷‍♀️

So yeah, Luigi is just as brave as Mario! He simply has a different way to deal with dangerous or stressful situations, but you can bet that, if his brother's life is in danger, he's gonna be the very first one to run to his aid. And the same applies to Peach, Daisy and basically anyone, since, as I said, he's always there to help anyone who needs it.

And I know the Paper Mario series is a spin off, but if I may add, I also LOVE how extremely sassy Paper Luigi can be! 😁 And also very brave, like in other games, and soooo supportive of his big brother!

That's also something that I love about him. Everything I've said about him always wanting to help, and to make sure that the ones he loves are fine, and playing the emotional support role? I especially MELT when this is applied to Mario. We all know the deep and pure bond these brothers share, and while Mario's way of showing his love for his little sibling is mostly protecting him (among other things), Luigi's way of doing so is mostly being by his brother's side, believing in him, supporting him no matter what, listening to him when Mario needs to vent... He's an AMAZING little brother and I LOVE how he openly shows that he loves his brother just as Mario does with him 🥹

And the same applies when it comes to his bravery and to his sassy side, for Luigi shows that he feels extremely comfortable around Mario, like he can totally and openly be himself, which he does in the scene that I mentioned with Spike. And also teasing Mario and being prone to physical touch with him as another way of showing his love 🤭

Also, the fact that he gets scared very easily also makes him relatable to me 🤭 Though I have to say, seeing the many dangerous situations these characters are exposed to in both games and movie, I personally think Luigi has the most normal and relatable reaction. I mean, I believe the first thing most of us would think of when seeing our lives threatened would be to run and get to safety, and then maybe try to come up with a plan or something.

Which is actually something Luigi is very good at! While Mario's reaction would be to jump into danger (and we love him for that), Luigi would rather get himself to safety first, trying his best to survive, and then find a strategy to deal with the problem. He's a think-first, act-later kind of man, unlike Mario, which is why the two balance each other so well. Those are their strengths and what make them work perfectly well as a team.

So this is it! I imagined this would get long, which is why I didn't get to answer yesterday when I saw the ask, and I'm sorry about that, but I really hope it was worth the wait, @luigi1o27632! 🥰

@vulpixfairy1985 @bberetd @itsavee4117 @keakruiser @kelbreyworshipper @peaches2217 and everyone who reads this: what do you think of all this? Is there anything you'd like to add? I may have forgotten about something, so feel free to share your thoughts! 🥰

To sum up: I may call Luigi "baby" sometimes when reblogging stuff or fangirling, but that's simply an affectionate nickname, since, as you can see, I know perfectly well he ain't no baby. He's strong and brave as well as cute and sweet (and very handsome too 🤭😏), and I love every single side of him 😌💚✨

#luigi #luigi my beloved #super mario #super mario bros #luigi nintendo #mario and luigi #luigi cuteness #cute luigi #strong luigi #brave luigi #handsome luigi #luigi appreciation post #asks #asks answered #silenzahra

[yankstrash]

goodbye, old friend

liked by gabeperreault44, _willsmith2 and others

amelia.ln: the first of the hardest goodbyes 🖤 you've pissed me off, you've driven me crazy and most importantly, you've stolen many homework answers from me. but i would take all of those for just one more school year of us all together.

smit, i can honestly say i've never had a friend like you. and i know now you're asking yourself, "meels, do you mean this in a good way or a bad way?" and the answer is yes.

while i won't miss sitting next to you in english class every monday, wednesday and friday (lie), i will miss knocking your ice cream cone in your face and our post hockey game wobbles on the dance floor

save me a night club dance in sj and i'll save you some grammar pop quiz answers in bos 🫡

i'm so lucky to be your friend. ❤️ i'm proud of you and all you're going to do. see you in the very near future, buddy.

love you always, xo meels <3

view 178 comments

grumpy.boldy: k i'm crying.

aram_minnetian: making me real emotional meels.

gabeperreault44: there was truly nothing better than watching my best friend and my favorite girl become the best of pals 🥲 even when it was to plot against me ..

↪️ amelia.ln: oh we didn't do it THAT much

↪️ gabeperreault44: ...right, sure.

_willsmith2: my go to person when i needed an ear to yap off 🫶🏻

_willsmith2: i'm going to miss you tons, even if i didn't always act like it... so glad i have found a pal for life 🤝 thank you for all the english class help, i couldn't have survived without you, truly.

↪️ amelia.ln: yeah yeah i know.

_willsmith2: love you tons meels ❤️

↪️ amelia.ln: love you smit 🥹🫶🏻

ryan.leno_4: the end of an era...

↪️ amelia.ln: HUSH. NOW.

jacob_fowler24: best squad ever 🫶🏻

_willvote: favorite will smith memory, go.

↪️ amelia.ln: has to be either singing karaoke on my birthday or teaching him how to boogie board over spring break

↪️ gabeperreault44: two solid choices.

↪️ grumpy.boldy: def boogie boarding.. i have never seen someone so athletic eat so much shit by nothing other than ocean waves.

↪️ eliana.brielle: PLS

↪️ _willsmith2: 😑 this is why i'm leaving.

↪️ amelia.ln: @ _willsmith2 shut up.

emmafohrr: *sigh* guess i have to transfer to fill the void 😔 (😏)

↪️ schulzyy_: no.

↪️ amelia.ln: YES YOU DO

↪️ grumpy.boldy: DO IT

↪️ eliana.brielle: YES YES YES YOU CAN HAVE WILLS SPOT ON THE MOVIE COUCH!!

↪️ _willsmith2: UM????

↪️ amelia.ln: @ _willsmith2 you're leaving, you have no say.

drewf2: the absolute best friend group bc has ever seen

coleeiserman: whew, that makes my job a lot easier next year.

↪️ colehutson23: likewise.

↪️ amelia.ln: you're still going down in the battle of comm ave.

↪️ coleeiserman: see you there?

↪️ gabeperreault44: @ coleeiserman count your days, kid. count your days.

#princess!gf x gabe perreault #g + m insta edits !

[imagitory]

So! Disney Parks has released a full ride POV of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, formerly Splash Mountain, at Walt Disney World. I will just let you all watch it first, before delving into my personal thoughts. Unless you want spoilers, at which point, go on -- dig a little deeper!

All right, so right off the bat, I have to say this --

I have no nostalgia for the original Splash Mountain. Like, none. At all. I'm much more into Disney parks "classic" rides like Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean or story-centric rides like Alice in Wonderland than I am Disney's thrill rides like Space Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Splash Mountain was really only fun for me when it was hot enough outside that getting soaked was refreshing, at which point it had such a long line that Single Rider was the only way to not wait in a long line, and I'm the sort to more enjoy thrill rides with other people than by myself, so I really just never indulged in it that much. (In fact, the most prominent time I remember going on it, our boat got stuck on the ramp going up toward the big drop and I had to listen to the vultures right over me crowing about how I was going to die for a solid fifteen minutes.) To top it all off, the Song of the South theming quite frankly made me uncomfortable -- yes, the ride was only ever focused on the animated segments of the film, but it remains the only Disney ride (past or present) that I can think of where the less you know about the ride's characters, origin, and themes, the better. And considering that Tiana is my favorite Disney princess and her movie is only just now starting to get the attention and love it should've had all the way along, I was frankly delighted to hear about this new refurbishment.

So yeah, I'm honestly the sort of Disney fan who was going in with a very sunny outlook about this refurbishment. The animatronics' footage released earlier this year looked great, they got Anika Noni Rose back to sing the ride's new original song...I was hyped. But now that I've seen this...yeah, I won't lie, I am a bit disappointed.

The whole reason you're supposedly on this ride is to help Tiana search the bayou for a band for this big party being hosted in New Orleans. I don't mean to be rude, but...why are we looking in the bayou? Yeah, sure, Louis is from the bayou and he plays the trumpet, but he was the odd one out, remember? He wanted to play jazz with talented human performers, but ended up getting chased off the boat when he first tried. If there were a lot of other animals in the bayou who played jazz, then why would Louis have wanted to become human so much in the first film, before realizing that people could love him as the jazz-playing alligator he was? Not to mention that New Orleans is full to the brim with talented musicians already. If this celebration was maybe being arranged by Louis, that could explain why bayou critters are more involved here, but even that seems a little shaky.

Another thing I really didn't like is how Tiana's husband Naveen is barely in it. Tiana and Naveen as a pair is one of my all-time favorite Disney couples, and I would've loved to hear him and Tiana actually sing a duet here, since they only really ever sang in one song in their original movie together, and that was before the two got together! Tiana's best friend Charlotte is also barely in it despite being one of my favorites, but I thoroughly expected that -- the entire time Tiana and Louis were looking around, I really wanted Naveen there, when the original film really accented how well these three (and Ray) worked as a group. It also could've given us a chance to rewrite/reference "When We're Human," the first time these three performed as a trio.

There was also a good amount of "filler space" in this ride. I mean, at one point, Mama Odie feels the need to shrink us out of nowhere, I guess just to accent that the frogs and the fireflies also like to perform...but well, Tiana was a frog once, and Louis was able to enjoy Ray and the fireflies' music in the original movie without shrinking down. And really, in between the few fully depicted scenes (which don't feature a lot of action or storytelling outside of animals playing music), there are a lot of gaps where nothing's really going on and all we can do is just look at the random plants in a garden or at the various bayou locations. There aren't even any clever story elements slipped into those locations either, like the macabre details about Constance's dead husbands in the Haunted Mansion or Splash Mountain's references to Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear, and Brer Fox's houses and how their appearances and sizes reflect each character.

But my biggest problem with this new ride is its lack of teeth or stakes. If you're going to have this ride with a BIG DROP at the end, that drop has gotta mean something. There should be some real anticipation -- not necessarily fear, but the climb should get your blood pumping, waiting on the edge of your seat. And as much as I wasn't a huge fan of the original Splash Mountain, it did that! Remember, this ride isn't The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure or Snow White's Enchanted Kiss -- this is a ride with a height requirement: in other words, it's geared toward older children and adults. Even Radiator Springs Racers -- another kid-centric thrill ride based on an animated movie -- has you race around in the dark, almost crash, get stopped by the Sheriff for speeding, and get chased by the biggest of those cow tractor things (sorry, I'm not a Cars fan, I don't really care). The child guests who'd be riding Tiana's Bayou Adventure could withstand a little more edge in this ride's story line, even just a little -- and the adults I daresay would've loved to see some reference to the Friends on the Other Side in the mix! (I would've! Dr. Facilier is the best Disney villain from the entire Disney Revival, if you ask me.) It would've allowed the ride to use more music from the film, reuse some of the dark ambience from the original Splash Mountain on that climb, and given us that stronger relief upon reaching the party safely. It also could've better explained us getting shrunk against our will! Maybe while looking for a band for Louis's surprise party with Tiana and Naveen, the Friends decide to corner us and try to keep us from leaving the bayou because they want to devour our shadows or some whatever, and it's ultimately thanks to Mama Odie and Louis that we're able to escape the Friends by taking a "leap of faith" which transports us back to New Orleans with the new band we found at the party Charlotte was helping us plan. Or they could've just based the ride on the bloody movie -- that would've been fun too.

I'm not going to act like this ride is terrible -- I mean, as I said, the animatronics are great, and the overall aesthetic is pretty...and of course, if you're a thrill ride nut, you'll like the drops. But the finished result still feels a little lackluster, compared to other "rethemings" we've been given in the past, like the Incredicoaster, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT!, and (if you want to go back further for a smaller budget example) Monster's Inc: Mike and Sulley to the Rescue.

So yeah, um...hopefully people like Tiana's Bayou Adventure better than I do just watching this ride-through, but if even they don't, the Disney parks could always refurbish this baby with some more magic down the road. Until then, though...

"Maybe next time."

#tiana's bayou adventure #walt disney world #disney parks #disney #the princess and the frog #opinion #analysis #oh boy here i go #Youtube

[drivingsideways]

Year-end discussion in the Indian film space was dominated by the success of controversial film maker Sandeep Reddy Vanga's latest offering of undiluted misogyny and rage, appropriately titled "Animal"; but the best commentary I've seen on failed fatherhood and violent, toxic masculinity this year comes in a 2 minute scene in Kaathal: The Core, where a wizened old man testifies quietly in a family court that yes, he always knew that his son is gay, and still coerced him into a heterosexual marriage.

Kaathal: The Core isn't a film without flaws; one could argue that it's the quintessential film made about queer people by straight allies- actually more interested in the reaction to queerness and the adjustment to queerness by cishets, than in queer lives; that it has a one dimensional view of the reality of queer living in India. It has its moments of what I call "educational speechifying" that feel tonally at odds with the rest of it, but again, this paternalism in Indian cinema of the self-consciously "progressive" variety isn't unfamiliar.

The ending feels a little trite, and some artistic choices- an actual rainbow in the sky appears as the two lovers drive off into the sunset of their newly liberated lives-feel particularly anvil-like- much like the ending of another of director Jeo Baby's films, The Great Indian Kitchen, which was an exploration of the brutality of Indian-flavoured patriarchy. In short: a movie filled with intricately and deliberately placed subtleties that occasionally - somewhat inexplicably-loses confidence in its audience, and chooses to remedy that by being a bit over the top.

But those are minor quibbles. This movie gutted me. The story revolves around a middle-aged closeted gay man from a small close knit village community in Kerala whose life- and the lives of those around him- is thrown into disarray when his wife of twenty years files for divorce citing his gayness as the reason for the breakdown of the marriage- a step she takes just as he's nominated as his party's candidate for the local elections. With this premise, you'd be forgiven for expecting the movie to be high decibel melodrama- and possibly a tragedy- from start to finish. Instead, it deliberately chooses the quieter route, the most tender one; while not flinching away from the grim realities of widespread homophobia, it portrays both individuals and a community who , in a moment of crisis, discover that they are better than they think they are. And it does this not from a jingoistic, self-congratulatory ethno-nationalist perspective- but from a place of genuine love- as a reminder and a beacon in these dark times.

All of this is anchored in some fantastic performances- Mammootty once more showing up to remind us why he's one of the greatest living actors in the world, and Sudhi Kozhikode as Thankan in what should be a multiple-award winning performance as his long time lover. I've rarely seen an actor make so much of their limited screen time. When I say that minutes 50-52 of this film are the most devastatingly tragic-romantic moments in world cinema, you'll think I'm exaggerating and perhaps I am, but I can also guarantee that you're going to want to rewatch that sequence at least ten times and cry about two old geezers in love. Lives were changed in those moments, no lie.

My one disappointment in terms of performances is Jyothika, playing Omana, the long suffering wife. Omana is one of the stand-outs in the history of female characters in Malayalam cinema, and Jyothika is- barely adequate. When you contrast it with a similar role - say Hsieh Ying -xuan's performance as Liu San-lian in Dear Ex (2018)- the flatness is even more jarring. Still, the sheer love with which her character and her relationships, especially with her husband, are written carry the film through.

Tl;dr: watch it on Amazon Prime or at a theatre near you! You will not regret it.

#kaathal the core #malayalam cinema #indian cinema #mammootty #jyothika #jeo baby

[munsonsreputation]

"fight or flight" by conan gray but make it steve x r

so like (you don't have to incorporate this but this is what my silly little thoughts came up with) r crushing on steve despite their long, strong friendship. r having to see steve with a new girl every week. r wishing it was her. and finally, r can't take it anymore and then that's where the song comes in "well, fight or flight, i'd rather die than have to cry in front of you. fight or flight, i'd rather lie than tell you i'm in love with you." and yeah.. aslkfjlsdk sorry if this didn't make sense 😭😭

cleo!!! this is one of my favorite songs by conan and i hope i was able to do your request justice 🧸💐 i kinda left the ending up to you to decide and i really hope you like this!!!

ive been loving the angst requests ive been getting and this is def one of my favorite ones i've written so far!!! 💌💫

It was so wrong. So very, very wrong. But at this point, you should’ve seen this coming. 

You’ve known Steve and been his friend long before high school. The two of you practically grew up together, hung out all the time, and there was only a brief pause in your friendship when freshman year came along…Steve transforming into King Steve…the version of Steve you didn’t quite know anymore. 

While the break in your friendship during that time was short, it wasn’t until he showed up at your doorstep apologizing for his behavior that you two reconciled. And then the two of you were back to being the best of friends, only this time, the desire for Steve starting to develop as the years went by. 

By now the two of you had graduated high school, each of you moving out of your parents’ home and renting out an apartment just a few minutes away from your neighborhood.

It was nice having Steve as a roommate. 

Having someone you could talk to at two in the morning when you couldn’t sleep. 

Waking up to breakfast being made in the kitchen with coffee just the way you liked it. 

Drunk karaoke nights where the two of you would belt out duets and receive angry letters in the mail from sleepless neighbors. 

And of course, a person you could always give you a hug at any given moment during the day. 

But sometimes it sucked to be roommates with Steve. 

Three months ago, he stumbled into your shared apartment with Tina, glue to his side. Offering you a shy smile as she and him giggled their way into his bedroom and spent the night together. 

You and Steve usually had movie nights on the weekends, and there was one instance where he phoned you from work, apologizing, saying he couldn’t make it because he had scored a date with a customer. 

The kitchen, just a few footsteps from the living room where the landline was, you could hear Steve talking to the next girl he was seeing, shooting her compliments as you tried not to seem affected by it, beating the eggs a little rougher as you tuned his voice out. 

And the shittiest part?

Having him come to you for advice on whichever girl he was seeing. Putting on a fake smile and nodding your head like you gave a shit about any of them when the only wish you had was that it was you that Steve was seeing. 

Fight or flight? 

Sometimes you could expect if he was coming to you for your advice regarding his dates. This was a lifesaver because you could fight it off, telling him to just talk to them if he was so worried about not hearing back. But most times your flight would activate, pretending to be asleep when he knocked on your bedroom door telling you it was a girl emergency. Or making up excuses that you had to run errands before he had time to even ask you at all. 

“Hello? Did she really zone out?” Your frozen eyes fluttered lazily, coming back to your senses while Nancy and Robin stood in front of you, flapping their hands in your face and looking at each other. 

“S-sorry!” You withdrew, shaking your head as you got yourself together, fingers stiffening around the red solo cup you were holding filled with lemonade. 

Somehow you had been convinced to come to this party, by none other than Steve, of course. Thankfully, Robin, Nance, and Eddie were around too, sticking by your introverted side while Steve socialized with familiar faces. 

Robin smiled earnestly, shaking her head at your apology. “S’ok, you were just…staring a bit too hard at Harrington.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Robs,” Eddie chimed in, nudging her shoulder than sending a smirk your way, “she was practically eye-fucking him.” 

Nancy choked on her drink, suppressing her laugh, as you rolled your eyes, doing an awful job at concealing the blush that was developing on your cheeks prompting you to turn the other way. 

“Don’t be dick!” Robin scolded, shoving at Eddie’s head as he just continued to laugh to himself. 

You felt arms around you, flickering your eyes to Robin who was now holding you securely with her head on your shoulder, “She just has a crush alright…nothing wrong with that.” 

“Oh, I didn’t say there was anything wrong with her little crush…I’m just sick of these two dancing around their feelings.” Eddie noted, followed by the tsk of your tongue. 

“There are no feelings on his side…trust me.” You exhaled wistfully, resting your head on top of Robin’s as she and Nancy grunted skeptically. 

On the other side of your shoulder, you felt Nance slot herself there, glancing up at you. “Steve’s an asshole and he’s bad at feelings…but I know he likes you.” 

“We’ve been friends for years and he’s never made a move on me.” You speculated, and Eddie rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his drink before speaking. 

“Like Wheeler said, he’s bad with feelings…shit, I’m bad at feelings too, but that won’t stop me from getting some.” 

The three of you girls furrowed your brows at the somewhat tipsy metal head, “What the fuck are you talking about?” Robin shook her head as Eddie howled. 

“I hate to shit on my species here, but we find ways at avoiding. Steve likes you, alright? But he just doesn’t know how to tell you…better yet, he’s scared! So what does he do in return?” 

Nancy leans forward, shrugging her shoulders towards him. “Sleep around?” 

“Exactly!” Eddie beams and snaps his fingers, like a proud professor or something. 

You go for another drink, teeth biting down on the plastic as you grumbled, “Seems like a pretty fucked up thing if you ask me.” 

Robin nods, peering up at you. “Have you ever thought about going for girls? They aren’t as complicated, trust me.” She half jokes, as you laugh lightly, waving her off. 

“Maybe you should make the first move?” Eddie proposed as you puffed, letting out an absurd laugh, shaking your head with vigor. 

“Nope!” You pointed your finger at him, wagging it back and forth as he pouted innocently, “Never going to fucking happen.” 

Nancy squeezed your elbow, gaining your attention. “You’ll never know what could have been unless you say something.” 

Your eyes widened, shaking your head even more roughly, “No! Not you too! C’mon, back me up Robs!” 

You turned back to Robin who smiled, looking over towards Steve who was talking to some guys at the punch table. “They have a point…and he’s right there!” 

Eddie leaned closer to your ear, whispering, “And no girl in sight.” 

There was a point Eddie was making. Steve hadn’t been seeing any girls that you knew of for the past couple of weeks. In fact, he was more adamant about staying in at the apartment with you. Spending nights together falling asleep on the couch watching movies and waking up in the morning a tangled mess as the two of you laughed and made breakfast together. 

Maybe he did like you?

“Oh shit! You’re debating it, aren’t you!” Robin egged on, bumping your shoulder with hysteria, seeing the look in your eyes change the second you found Steve in the crowded home. 

Nancy yelped, jumping up and down and hitting Eddie’s chest cheerfully, “She’s totally gonna do it!” 

“Well, what are you waiting for, princess?” Eddie pushed you lightly, giving you some bravery. “Go and tell the boy you love him.” 

You snapped back, eyes widening, “I do not love Steve!” 

The three rolled their eyes, sick of your horrible way of lying or being so bad at knowing your own feelings that you couldn’t tell the difference between an innocent crush and the obvious love that you held for Steve. 

“You’ve been friends for years…you love him. How many times do you two say “I love you” to each other on a daily basis?”

Ok true, you two did say you love each other, every night before heading off to bed and every morning before you’d part for work. But it was in a friend way…right? 

Ok maybe you said it more than those two instances.

Like when Steve would drop you off lunch even when you didn’t ask. Or that one time that Steve almost forgot to turn off the stove and when he called you panicking, but you had already turned it off the second you got home and saw the red light illuminating the glass. 

You loved Steve…more than a best friend should. 

“Ladies, I think it’s finally hitting her.” Eddie declared as the two girls grinned and nodded. 

No more fighting it and definitely no more running away. 

You had to tell Steve how you felt. 

Feeling the wave of certainty flow through your veins, you thrusted your now empty cup into Eddie’s chest and he grabbed it. The three of your friends watching as you took a deep breath and dragged your feet from the other side of the room to where Steve was. 

His eyes instantly shifted to your figure the second he saw you appear his peripheral, shooting you that classic smile you’d never get tired of seeing time and time again. 

“Hey, you ok?” He sought, peering behind you to see your friends watching on with concentration.

“Yeah, I’m great!” You responded too enthusiastically, making him grin again, this time reaching for a cup to serve you some punch. 

You watched his movements, moving ever so smoothly despite the cramped space, “I—I actually have to tell you something.” You straightened up, rolling your shoulders back and taking a deep breath. 

He nodded, keeping his eyes set on you as he spooned in a ladle full of juice into the plastic cup, offering it to you, but you shook your head, waving your hands for him to keep it. 

“You’re shaking,” Steve furrowed his brows, noticing your shuddering hands, placing down the cup and steadying them in his hold while he squeezed. 

The action making your knees weak, threatening for you to melt into a pile of mush and seep into the floorboards beneath you. 

“Did someone do something to you?” He ordered worriedly, looking around the party to study every person as if they caused this state of you. 

“Nonono!” You closed your eyes, shaking your head, psychologically preparing yourself. 

You could hear Steve let out a sigh of relief, gripping your hands once more before you opened your eyes, facing his soft gaze. 

“I’m in love with you.” 

The words flew out of your mouth too fast for your like and definitely too easily. Like there was no hesitancy behind your statement. His eyes enlarged, hands freezing against yours while the two of you stared at each other, feeling like hours were passing by when it was just milliseconds. 

“I... I, um, wow, ok, I—“ 

Steve was stumbling, undoubtedly taken aback by this confession while trying to look deep down inside himself for the right words to finally say to you, but they never came up. 

“Steve, what’s going on?” 

A voice popped up from behind him. The girl standing with a look of hurt on her face, seeing the hands tangled together. She was just a girl he met a few nights ago, the one who invited him to this party. 

Oh, my god. You should’ve known. 

You dropped his hands, eyes darting between the stranger and Steve, who looked just as remorseful and apologetic, stumbling on his words once again. 

Fight or Flight. Fight or Flight. Fight or Flight. 

The lump in your throat grew bigger and tighter, not knowing if you should apologize or say that it was a mistake. And you could feel the tears creeping into your eyes, just moments away from slipping out, but you’d rather die than cry in front of him right now. 

Leave. Definitely leave. 

Spinning around, you only caught the concerned looks of your friends before you bumped into bodies trying to find the front door so that you could flee the scene as quickly as possible. 

Thankfully, you and Steve had gotten to the party separately. Him coming from work and you taking your car. Your fingers dug into your pocket, jamming the key into the car door once you found it, and starting up the vehicle. 

The wind rustled as you sped, loud and deep chested sobs leaving your mouth as the roads and stoplights were a blurry mess behind your tears. Cursing at yourself for being so stupid for believing that Steve could ever quit his antics and have feelings for you. 

There was no way you and Steve could live under the same roof again. Not after this godforsaken night. So you stormed through the apartment, collecting all your belongs and stuffing it into backpacks and stray boxes you had lying around. Needing to leave this place you once called home so that you would never have to see Steve ever again and talk about what had happened. 

But the phone rung noisily, garnering your attention as you messily crammed clothes into already full bag of garments, wanting to avoid having to do a second trip here to get all your things because that would mean running into Steve, again.

You cried, pushing off the floor and neglecting the clutter as you ran out of your room and into the living room where the landline rested on the side table. Perhaps it was Robin or Nancy calling to check up on you, knowing they were too late when they reached the outside of the party and your car was long gone.

“Hello,” You sniffled, picking up the phone and trying not to sound so crushed. 

Cries came from the other side of the line, confusing you, “Are you his fucking roommate!?” It was a female voice that snapped at you, accompanied by more cries and expletives. 

“W-what?” You croaked, forehead creasing as you repeated the question in your head, trying to go through the list of people who it could be.

Maybe the neighbor downstairs who could hear you scrambling from above them. 

“Are you Steve’s roommate?” The voice ordered as you gulped, detesting to hear his name. 

You sighed sadly, closing your eyes as you could feel the hot tears never stopping since you came home, “Y-yeah…soon the be ex-roommate.” 

There was a laugh, almost mockingly, until she spoke. “I bet you’re happy with yourself! He loves you and you stole him from me! I asked him out first and you just fucking stole him from me.” 

You choked, fingers tightening around the phone, eyes hurling open once you realized who it was and what she was saying. 

Then there were noises outside the door. Frustrated curses and mumbles, along with the sounds of keys jumbling against each other. 

Slamming the phone back down onto the receiver, you stood up, darting towards the door to open it, but it had already been unlocked from the outside and there Steve was, nearly knocking into you if he hadn’t halted on time. 

His chest was rising and falling rapidly, hands shaking just like yours earlier that night as you two stared at each other. 

And finally he spoke. 

“I’m in love with you, too.” 

This time, you didn’t want to fight it or flee the scene. 

It was up to you and Steve now. 

#MunsonsReputation #steve harrington stranger things #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington #steve stranger things #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fic #steve x y/n #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #stranger things #stranger things x reader #stranger things angst

[mrs-monaghan]

I'm not one big on reaction videos but a while back I watched a couple do a reaction video of Taekook and then Jikook. When they were watching the Jikook video they both mentioned how much longer the video was and how it appeared that Jikook spent a lot more time together than Taekook because of the quantity of footage--old and new. This statement got them into a lot of hot water...many taekookers commented under that video that this was simply because Big Hit (at the time) was hiding taekook and that's why there wasn't a lot of footage of them together or not as much as Jikook.

Now I'm not going to touch on the ridiculousness of tkkers claims, rather I want to focus on the statement these two Youtbers made regarding the quantity of Jikook content we have. Like have you ever just stopped and realized or considered the amount of Jikook moments there are starting from 2013! No other pairing in BTS...shit...K-pop has this much footage.

To lay it out-> Since I'm bored and missing Jikook I've been reminiscing on past moments by watching a lot of timeline videos. A YouTuber titled In-Orbit did a timeline series starting in 2014 and ending in 2017. Each year has a separate video and each video has about 40 minutes to an hour of content.

2014 video 47 minutes

2015 video 40 minutes

2016 vide 58 minutes

2017 video 54 minutes

That's about 4 hours of non-exhaustive/cut Jikook footage. Like, they excluded so many moments and shortened many moments so that each video wasn't it's own separate movie.

The Best of Jikook also does a lot of timeline videos...their's starts in 2013 and goes until 2020.

2013's video is the shortest, running time being 15 minutes.

Then her 2014 video had a running time of 30 minutes.

2015 video 40 minutes.

2016 video, 2 minutes shy of an hour.

2017 video 1 hour and 6 minutes

2018 video 1 hour and 38 minutes

2019 video nearly 2 hours

2020 video 1 hour and 40 minutes.

That's around 10 hours and 30 minutes of pure Jikook footage that again was also cut down. Also 3 years of Jikook footage is missing from these timelines.

So what does this prove? Well . . .

Best friend Status: The quantity and length of footage alone proves one thing and that's these two are beyond a shadow of any doubt the closest pairing...and always have been...yes even fetus jikook. 2013 Jikook still has more footage being together than any other BTS paring. This narrative that JK hated JM then is just a blatant lie told by those that can't tell the difference between playful banter and hate.

Jikook Grew closer in 2016: The running time for each year across all timeline videos I've seen, increased dramatically in 2016 and thereafter. The duration of these videos at the very least shows us that Jikook grew increasingly closer throughout the years because they were undoubtedly spending more time together.

Dynamic Shift started in 2015: If you watch the videos you will see that from 2013-2014 JM and JK were very playful and giving off very boyish best friend energy. There was a degree of flirting but it was masked as childish banter and it often seemed like JM just liked to poke fun at shy JK and JK liked to push back by playfully rejecting JM. However, a major shift took place in their dynamic starting in 2015. If you watch these timelines you'll see how their boyish banter becomes an exchange of Jimin exercising his "feminine wiles" and JK trying to exert a degree of masculine dominance over JM. JM's "flirting" is no longer boyish it's clearly feminine and it seems like at some point in 2015 JM became highly aware of the power he had over JK and he loved to use it. This dynamic has only increased throughout the years. JM knows that if he "acts cute" and bats his eyelashes at JK he can get him to do anything he wants. And JK knows that JM likes when he's more rough with him and they play into that often. Now People can say I'm reading into things but the transition in their dynamic is so stark from 2014 to 2015. Also, JK often talks about JM's cuteness and seems to be attacked by it...JM often talks about how he's JK's play toy and how he likes to be scolded by him. This isn't just my assumption JIkook have both confirmed this dynamic and we can see the beginnings of it starting in 2015.

Jikook are intimate: This becomes very clear towards the end of 2016 videos and on...like have you ever known a person before they've had sex and after? Or better yet have you ever seen a couple before they've been intimate and after? There's a clear shift in their behavior towards one another after they've had sex. I mean the touching, proximity, possessiveness, all of it increases. There's also a greater degree of familiarity and physical boundaries blur. You see this all happen with Jikook starting towards the end of 2016-> their physical interactions increase, they no longer seem to care about things like rubbing up against each other even when they're both sweaty, JK becomes increasingly possessive over JM and follows him everywhere, the staring OMG the staring increases so much...I mean look at JK during Fire era...I think this was pre-sex Jikook because the boy looks ready to risk it all in some clips.

I could say more like the difference between JIkook pre and post GCFT and how they are now settling into a domestic era... but the post is way more than long enough. I will just end with this...the quantity and quality of Jikook footage out there debunks literally every anti claim there is. I don't care that there's not much 2023 Jikook content---JM has been busy as hell, what do people expect? And even if he wasn't busy and we had zero content this year that still wouldn't mean Tk are a thing or that jikook broke up. What these timelines show us is how consistently close Jikook are, their growth and development and relational maturity. No other ship alive has what we have! So all the antis and insecure jikookers can Stfu!

I will only add to say that i think the deed had happened by 2016. Might even speculate that's what 8/11/15 is about. And before that most prolly other things were already happening. There was certain behaviour and tension that points to this in 2015. But other that anon, this.... all of this...

#if jikook isn't real then neither am i #jikook is real #jikook #kookmin #minkook #park jimin #jeon jungkook #jimin and jungkook #jimin #jungkook #bts #ask shaz #bts ask #jikook theories #jikook theory

[justabigassnerd]

hey y'all

below the cut is a lil' snippet of Lil' Hunt's future. I can't write proper fics or anything until the next movie comes out but I've been thinking about it since August of this year and I might actually explode if I keep it in any longer. I was going to try and keep this in until what was supposed to be the release date for pt. 2 (just to honour the day slightly) but I can't hold it in any more. I'm unhealthily in love with this OC I've created and I've spent so much time doing my best to create a character that (hopefully) y'all will love as much as me

if y’all have any questions about this new character I will do my best to answer them to the best of my abilities without giving too much away

enjoy y'all :)

-

You let out a small sigh as you survey the number of new recruits entering the room. You were sure they'd make fine agents, you were just still slightly ticked off that your dad was so insistent on you doing full IMF training despite all the stuff you'd learned from him. You had done missions with your dad so you thought it was useless, coming in and training with people who more than likely had no sort of training under their belt but you couldn't lie you were a little bit excited to show off what Hunt's were capable of.

Numerous amounts of people introduced themselves to you as you all gathered in the meeting room you were all instructed to head to. They seemed nice enough and you just hoped they'd be trustworthy enough to have your back if you ever had to go on missions with them. As you glanced around the room, noting new people walking in and trying to figure them out by their demeanour alone, someone new walked in, instantly leaning against the wall nearest the door and catching your eye.

He was tall, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a tanned complexion. His jawline was relatively sharp yet soft at the same time and he was sporting a jagged scar that sat on the right-hand side of his jaw. His hands were shoved in his pockets and despite the jacket he was wearing you could see small parts of tattoo's poking out the end of the left-hand sleeve. The jacket he was wearing didn't give away a lot of his physique but you could tell he had some muscle on him. His gaze was hard, eyes surveying everyone the way you had been earlier.

The moment his eyes locked with yours, his gaze softened ever so slightly and his head tilted to the left slightly, almost as if he was trying to figure out if he had seen you somewhere before, but you were sure you'd recognise him had you seen him before. Without warning, he braced his right foot against the wall and pushed himself away from the wall, beginning to walk over to you and the closer he got, the more you realised just how attractive he really was and you were sure you were fighting back a slight blush when he stopped in front of you with a raised eyebrow.

"Noticed you staring, any reason why?" He asked, with very little emotion to his voice and you found yourself uncharacteristically flustered and worried because you were worried you had offended him in some way.

"No... I was just... you know, looking around and-" You cut yourself off when you noticed the corners of the mysterious man's mouth twitching up into a small smile and you soon hear a soft exhale that could pass as some sort of laugh escape him too.

"I'm not offended, don't worry. Not many people doing the same thing as us. You'd think we're starting a normal job not joining a secret agency with the way these guys are acting." He says, loosely gesturing around at the people surrounding you both, all of them engrossed in conversations of their own. Now relaxed and not worried you'd offended someone on the first day you held out a hand towards him, making a mental note not to mention your surname so soon into training.

"I'm y/n." You say, smiling sheepishly at him as his smile becomes just a little wider as he reaches out to shake your hand, making you notice the white jagged scars that stood out on his palms, almost matching the scar on his jaw. You're shaken out of your thoughts by him gently clasping your hand in his own before shaking your hand and you could've sworn he squeezed your hand a little before he let go.

"It's nice to meet you, y/n. I'm Harry."

#justabigassnerd #justabigassnerd writes #lil' hunt #lil' hunt universe