#idek how to tag these guys anymore

[syndianites]

Concept: Fighting Styles

Tom being the best fighter for a while in s1 not because he was technically skilled, but because he was reckless. For a group not used to having to fight or die, as a zombie he didn't feel the same strain on his body as he fought.

Heavier swords, more power behind his movements, less pain after each hit taken. Tom took over the battlefield because he was a zombie, unable to feel the consequences of his reckless, destructive behavior.

Which is why, when the playing field was leveled through gear and improvement, Tom started to fall behind in combat prowess. Why Jordan began to outmatch Tom.

Jordan was pure technical skill. He was meticulous and methodic in his practice, preferring the discipline of bows over the raw power of swords. He took his time, planned his blows, and knew where to best hit his opponent. Tom didn't feel pain as much as the others, but a good strike still would take him down and have him grit his teeth.

Tucker focused on his swordsmanship and working shields into his style. If Tom was sheer force, Tucker was a solid defense. The first time Tucker blocked Tom's sword and held firm, a shift happened between them. It wasn't Tom dominating every fight anymore. It was a genuine battle, an actual dance of blades.

Sonja isn't a fighter, but she's quick and agile. Unless she has to make a stand, she runs, darting between trees and bushes and rocks and leaving people behind in a daze of twists and turns. When she has to fight it's with a single shortsword, allowing her to sneak in quick, shallow hits that wear you down over time. Against Tom, she is at a disadvantage, but if need be she can work to wear him down until one of the others arrives.

Wag doesn't fight in any traditional means. He is a magic user through and through, even when stripped of it. With his magic he is a force to be reckoned with, able to conjure up a quick defense or blast out a strong offense. Without it, he works on deceptions and slight of hand. It's similar to magic, really, all about getting the opponents focus away from what you're really trying to do. While his form with a sword is sloppy at best and his bow aim is barely there, as long as he can get you distracted he stands a fighting chance. And if things go south, one good misdirect is all he needs to a quick exit.

#mianite #mianite headcanons #tom syndicate #tucker jericho #ii_jericho_ii #sonja reid #sonja firefoxx #jordan maron #jordan sparklez #captain sparklez #idek how to tag these guys anymore #waglington #james hayes

[barredandromeda]

i hate change id rather die

#people arent sticking to their usual selves stop messing w my mind #havent talked to some friends in a while and theyre wildly dif and its making me so irritated can we go back to how we were before #my obsession of waiting by the phone until someone messages me first is coming back in the worst way possible #the coincidences with k stopped and i barely even see him anymore and his clothing style is changing??? #hes becoming more normal popular whatever and its so boring please i need a loser boy go back to being that #mb i cant sleep and feelings are coming back but in a weirder way and i have like 2 projects due tmr im not done w and test #i need more friends but in the way of being irl that i can wave at during school and send them videos without talking fr #serenity wake up and come home bro literally ditch school just for me 🙏 believe in u bbg #omg sid is coming back tmr thank god i need my daily walks w him i literally tried w another guy today and it was not the same #bro was yapping ab love whatever idek 😭 told me ab his crushes which good for him ig but i barely know him idc 🙏 #insta wants me to stop liking k too cause it deleted all my past stories ab him when i tried to make a highlight #is it so hard to have everyone obsessed with me all the time. cant people just pay attention to me forever #i forgot what i said in this post whatever im deleting it later anyway #post #erics tag #delete later #cringingg that people know stuff ab me and why i am the way i am. maybe they should all die so it becomes a secret again #literally why did i ever talk anything out with anyone other than serenity thats so fucking stupid no shit shes the only good one #thats a lie i love attention i just hate asking for it i cant even be bothered to say more bro im so exhausted but not in a sleeping way yk #kindividual posting

[kokorose]

Sweet Home-CL16

Charles Leclerc x KoreanActress!reader

Faceclaim: Go Minsi

Part of my Korean Entertainment x driver series! Oscar is next btw!!

Google translate: French and Korean

Pics: Pinterest

YnLnnnn posted

Liked by sooyaaa_, jennierubyjane, kikacgomes, scuderiaferrari, charlesleclerc16 and 637,728 others

YnLnnnn: Monaco 🇲🇨

Thank you scuderiaferrari for inviting me!

See all 15,728 comments

sooyaaa_: 예쁜 (pretty)

User: you’re so pretty!!!

User: Charles in the likes?!?!

User: Yn was at Monaco?!?

kikacgomes: It was nice meeting you 🩷

YnLnnn: it was nice meeting you too 💕

User: She met Kika?!

User: what’re Kika and Charles doing here??

charlesleclerc16 posted to their story

Seen by PierreGasly, LandoNorris, YnLnnn, ArthurLeclerc, and 323,739 others

charlesleclerc16: homemade post-race meal.

Replies:

YnLnnn: ❤️

PierreGasly: 😯

User: !!!

User: Charles?!

User: How’d that man get homemade Korean food in Monaco?!?

YnLnnn posted

Liked by kikacgomes, PierreGasly, charlesleclerc16, sooyaaa_, and 567,728 others

YnLnnn: 🇬🇧🇬🇧💋💋

See all 267,728 Comments:

User: YNNNN?!?

User: WHO’S HAND IS THAT?!

kikacgomes: 🫦can I take you out baby girl🫦

YnLnnn: 😩😩 time and place baby!

PierreGasly: ummm excuse me?? That’s my girlfriend?

YnLnnn: not anymore

PierreGasly: so you’re just gonna steal my girlfriend? How would HE feel about that??

YnLnnn: He’s telling me to keep it up 😜

User: what is going on?? Who’s “he”???

User: PIERRE?!

User: Charles in the likes??

charlesleclerc16 posted

Liked by YnLnnn, PierreGasly, ArthurLeclerc, CarlosSainzJr55, LandoNorris, and 1,738,728 others

charlesleclerc16: Headed to Spa with a little snack!

See all 536,738 comments

LandoNorris: Which one’s the snack??

charlesleclerc16: 🖕🏻🖕🏻

PierreGasly:🤬🤮

User: CHARLES WHOS’S THAT??

User: Charles soft launching??

CarlosSainzJr55: it’ll be nice to gossip with her again!

YnLnnn posted to her story

Seen by charlesleclerc16, kikacgomez, lilymhe, sooyaaa, and 226,478 others

YnLnnn: 🛩️

Replies:

charlesleclerc16: happy you’re coming with me Mon cherié.

YnLnnn: I’ll always want to be with you 자기야 (baby)

kikacgomes: we should have a double date when you guys get here!

YnLnnn: omg yes!!!

kikacgomes: ok I’ll let P know! 💋💋

PierreGasly posted

Liked by charlesleclerc16, YnLnnn, kikacgomes, AlexAlbon, GeorgeRussell, and 892,829 others

PierreGasly: Date night

See all 463,628 comments

kikacgomes: Pierre…

PierreGasly: oops

YnLnnn: secrets out I guess. 🤦🏻‍♀️

charlesleclerc16: Mec…(dude)

User: WTF?!?

User: WHAT DO YIU MEAN DATE NIGTF PIERREE?!?

User: Not Pierre hard launching Yn and Charles!

YnLnnn posted

Liked by charlesleclerc16, PierreGasly, LilymHe, kikacgomes, carmenmmundt, sooyaaa_ and 1,278,728 others

YnLnnn: At least now everyone will know you’re mine.

Tagged: charlesleclerc16

See all 346,467 comments

charlesleclerc16: 🥰🥰

PierreGasly: again I’m sorry!

YnLnnn: 🥱

User: Damn…

kikacgomes: uhhh… can you grab me like that??🥵

YnLnnn: just let me hop on a plane baby 😜

LilymHe: can I join as well?

Carmenmmundt: me too

AlexAlbon: GeorgeRussell she’s stealing our girlfriends as well???

GeorgeRussell: idek mate?

User: holy shit

charlesleclerc16 posted

Liked by YnLnnn, PierreGasly, LandoNorris, DanielRicciardo, and 1,729,289 others

charlesleclerc16: Mon amour

See all 267,839 comments

YnLnnn: 😘😘😘😘😘😘

ArthurLeclerc: Tell her welcome to the family!!

DanielRicciardo: you guys are too cute!

Leclerc.Pascale: Beau(beautiful)

User: so cute!!!

User: awww

YnLnnn posted

Liked by charlesleclerc16, kikacgomes, PierreGasly, LilymHe, carmenmmundt, and 968,588 others

YnLnnn: celebrated Charlie’s bday with some friends! Happy birthday love! I love you so much!

Tagged: charlesleclerc16, kikacgomes, PierreGasly

Comments are limited on this post:

charlesleclerc16: Thank you for an amazing night cherié. Je t’aime mon amour! ❤️

YnLnnn: 🥰❤️

kikacgomes: Happy Birthday Charles!

PierreGasly: Happy Birthday Mon ami

Hope you all enjoyed and I’ll see you in Oscar’s story next! Xx

#f1 fanfic #f1 social media au #f1 #formula 1 #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x you #cl16 imagine #cl16

[faiirybread]

the wilt of the rose ︴dr3

🥀in which.. they just cant talk to eachother

pt1! pt2!

danielricciardo just posted!

did you think i didnt see you?

tagged: clara11.8

liked by user1, clara11.8, and 7.62m others

user1 DAD NOOO

user2 STAWP STAWP STAWP

user3 clara11.8 PLEASE GET OUT OF HERE. SAVE YOURSELF FROM THIS MESS

user4 bro u miss her

landonorris DAD PLEASE THIS ISNT YOU

user5 lando is just like the rest of us fr

user6 i need someone on twitter to explain the FULL timeline because i am so so confused on how this happened bro

user7 samee like i need to know who cheated first, who was pettier, AND WHO THE HELL WAS IN YNS POST!!!

redbull 😻😻 and mclaren 😕

papaya cult member

danny what the hell is going on

are you and yn like seriously over

im so confused

maxy paxy #1

yeah everytime i go on insta something is going on with you two

pls clear up the rumors

papaya cult member

danny i can see you reading this

maxy paxy #1

DANNY TELL US

DANNY RIIIC

idek tbh

papaya cult member

im gonna punch you

DANNY RIIIC

STOP i just dont know whats going on

like we went for that date and everything was fine and then the stuff about her and some guy came out

like idk

papaya cult member

ok but who started it

maxy paxy #1

yeah who cheated first

papaya cult member

be so honest rn

DANNY RIIIC

..me

papaya cult member

DANNY

WHAT THE FUCK

maxy paxy #1

dude..

DANNY RIIIC

HEAR ME OUT

papaya cult member

NO???

DANNY RIIIC

NONONO LISTEN

LISTEN

IT WAS HER FIRST

SHE CAME ONTO ME

maxy paxy #1

danny slow down

give us the full story

DANNY RIIIC

it doesnt even matter anymore

i just want it to be done

i miss her

i fucked up so bad you guys

papaya cult member

no shit sherlock

DANNY RIIIC

like

what am i supposed to do?

maxy paxy #1

mate im gonna be honest

i dont think you can fix it

DANNY RIIIC

what

why

papaya cult member

BECAUSE YOU CHEATED ON HER YOU FUCKING DUMBASS

DANNY RIIIC

yeah i know that but like

is there fr no way back?

maxy paxy #1

ok lando back off

ok?

take a breather

papaya cult member

k.

maxy paxy #1

danny.

you betrayed her trust

so so much

like you will have to grovel your way back

DANNY RIIIC

ok

ok i will

yourusername just posted!

there were flashing lights 🎇

tagged: carmenmmundt, lilymhe, alexandrasaintmleux, francisca.cgomes

liked by lilymhe, landonorris, and 1.6million others

user1 oh..

user2 GIRLS TRIP!!!

user3 mom i dont want a new dad

carmenmmundt the best trip!!

yourusername stop i love you sm carmen 💗

user4 literally the prettiest group omfg

user5 mom pls forgive dad

user6 didnt she cheat on him?

user5 idek at this point, i just want my parents together

lilymhe LOVE YOU GIRLIE!!!

yourusername I LOVE YOU MORE 😚 😚

alex_albon 🤨

lilymhe babe look away

user6 4th and 6th slide.. danny ric you gotta step it up

user7 @danielricciardo you have 24 hours to respond

francisca.cgomes we have to do this again methinks

yourusername 100%, i need to party with you again!

alexandrasaintmleux literal goddess omg

yourusername thats all you girlie!!

user8 HOOOLY MOLY

user9 HOOOOOLY MOOOLY

user8 Holy crap

user9 Your body is makin’ me smile!

user10 yourusername yourusername IS THIS MAN A REPEAT

yourusername …🤭🤭

user10 HUHHHH

user7 THE LORE IS HUGEE

#f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 fic #f1 #daniel ricciardo x yn #daniel ricciardo x you #daniel riccardo x reader #daniel riccardo imagine #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo x reader #📌myfics!

[racinginchid3nt]

I’d Probably Still Adore You | Part One

Y/N x Lance Stroll, Y/N Best Friend x Pierre Gasly

In which a night at the club and a game of never have I ever turns into something new

Inspired by 505 - Arctic Monkeys

Warnings: none yet. so far it’s just build up

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six

————————————————————————

While you weren’t a newbie to watching the races, you’d never done so in person. Work kept you busy and the idea of wasting precious vacation days on a flight to sit in the rain instead of on your couch wasn’t your idea of enjoyment.

Your friend had been dating Pierre for a few months now. Having spent the past week fighting, she forced you to take a weekend off and fly to Belgium with her for the race at Spa. He had surprised her with an extra plane ticket and paddock pass as an apology.

As you had packed the night before, Y/N Best Friend had appeared at your doorstep, arms full of garment bags. As soon as she saw the comfortable, weather appropriate outfits you’d selected, she started ripping through your suitcase and adding in her own picks.

“We’re going to be in the paddock, not the grandstands. We have to look the part Y/N” She’d said.

“Besides, there’s plenty of eye candy and you’re single. Might as well make the trip worthwhile. You know our shared hotel room will basically be yours the entire trip.”

“Honestly Y/N Best Friend, I’m not sure that’s the best idea. I’ve heard enough horror stories about most of the guys to make it clear that I should steer clear.”

“You don’t have to marry him Y/N! I just think it would be more fun if you joined me on these trips more. A girl can dream. Besides, it doesn’t have to be a driver. Some of the mechanics are definitely worth a second look.”

“Screw it. Pack what you want but don’t take anything I packed out” You admitted with defeat. Maybe she had a point. A little harmless flirting never hurt anyone, and how much damage could one weekend do.

The journey to the airport in the hired car was relaxing. And when you boarded into first class and champagne was waiting at your seats, it was a welcome surprise.

The flight from Barcelona has lasted only a few hours and before you knew it you were gathering your purse and carry on to disembark. It was only Wednesday so you were able to relax as you got to the hotel. The suite was beautiful and Pierre had sent flowers to greet his girlfriend. As you unpacked, the two of you began to plan the weekend’s festivities.

Thursday would be filled with media day around the paddock, followed by Friday free practice and qualifying, then Saturday sprint. The race on Sunday would wrap everything up.

————————————————————————

Thursday

Media day started early. The time adjustment was rough but the calm arrival day helped. You were going with Y/N Best Friend and Pierre to the track. He had interviews and Alpine press responsibilities. The two of you would spend the day in hospitality.

Your paddock pass hung around your neck. A tag on a lanyard with your name and face. The drive in was crazy, with fans already lining up to see the drivers. Your best friend waved you ahead so she could help fans get their autographs and you entered security alone.

Seeing the track in person felt surreal. Larger than life, it started to set in that you were actually standing at Spa. You knew the Alpine hospitality would be further down the track. As you started your walk you were amazed by how many journalists were in attendance. As someone with a large camera and a boom mic began filming you, you were thankful you’d taken your friends advice and dressed the part. A simple dress and nice sneakers kept you both presentable and comfortable. You smiled at the camera crew, spotting the netflix logo on their badges, knowing as soon as they discovered your lack of celebrity they’d cut your clips from the show.

You arrived at hospitality, showing your pass at the doors, before sitting down in a small seating area to kill time until Pierre’s media interviews. As the time began to tick closer and closer to round one interview starts, you became nervous that you still hadn’t see Y/N best friend or Pierre.

You tossed your trash and began the walk to the tent. Glancing at your phone trying to decipher what Y/N Best Friend meant by her directions, you decided to head towards the back of hospitality. As you reached the end however, you couldn’t find anything that looked like a media tent. The interviews would be packed and there was no way the space could be small.

You began looking around trying to find someone who could point you in the right direction. The first person you spotted breezed past you, not even acknowledging your question. The second was speaking in what sounded like Italian and had looked at you in confusing, not understanding you. Resigned to wander on your own you picked up your pace and began jogging around the area, peaking your head around corners to see if media was set off to the side.

As you turned sharply after another dead end, you felt yourself bump into someone. Looking up you saw a head of brown hair reaching down to collect their empty cup. Apologizing profusely you reached into your bag to pull out tissues. It wasn’t until you began trying to pat dry the wet spot on the man’s shirt that he actually said anything.

“Fuck sorry. I’m in a rush I didn’t mean to bump you. Are you okay?” He said. The voice sounded familiar but your embarrassment kept your eyes down while you tried to clean the mess.

“Yeah. It was my fault. I’m so sorry about the spill. I’m in a rush too. Could you point me in the direction of the media tent? I’m supposed to be watching the interviews.”

“That’s where I’m going. Just follow me. They won’t let you in if you’re late.”

You looked up for the first time at the Aston Martin driver, realizing why the voice was so familiar.

“Yeah that’s what I was told. Lead the way!”

You followed behind the driver for a few minutes. Flashing your pass to security to enter into the back with just minutes to spare.

He continued on, making his way up to the stage. As he took his seat he began scanning the crowd, trying to determine which media was where and looking for his PR agent. As his gaze made it over to the visitor section he saw you seated with a few of the other girlfriends.

“What kind of guy ditches his girlfriend and doesn’t even tell her how to get to the media tent” he thought. He began eyeing the drivers near him, trying to remember who was and wasn’t single, but his train of thought was cut off as the host started the round.

————————————————————————

A/N: This is my first time doing any kind of fanfic in awhile. So hopefully they improve as they go on. Parts will hopefully be posted 5-6 times a week but we’ll see how it goes. The next post is already done and will be up soon. Im not sure what the final length on this will be but I have a pretty good guideline of the story planned out. There’s not nearly enough lance content IMO so someone has to contribute. There will also be a longer spin off of the Pierre and Best Friend storyline to come

Edit: please fill out the poll when you get a chance

#lance stroll #aston martin #lance stroll x reader #lance stroll x y/n #lance stroll x you #pierre gasly #pierre gasly x reader #pierre gasly x you #pierre gasly x y/n #alpine #formula one #f1 #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic

[bonesandthebees]

Hi again Bee.

Thank you for lending an ear to listen even if I just kinda showed up. I really appreciate it. I've actually been reading through some of your other stories and they're very good (I adore the fae works!).

When it comes to Wilbur, I'm just. Very disappointed and upset. Of course I support Shubble and am glad she spoke out, it's very important and I'm glad that it's encouraged others to come forward with their own stories of abuse at the hands of large creators. At the same time though part of me wishes she hadn't said anything, so I could have continued as I was, in blissful ignorance, even if I feel really guilty for thinking like that.

It just saddens me that someone I looked up to so much ended up being this horrible person. It makes me worried that I too am bad, that somehow he has imprinted his awfulness unto me. I used to be horrible too. I like to think I've grown as a person, I was only a kid, but have I? Or was being drawn to Wilbur a sign? Like attracting like?

Y'know, I used to say that my hair style goals were how Wilbur's hair is, and recently I got a haircut. When I took a shower earlier it ended up floofing up in a similar way to his. I don't know how to feel about that. Maybe I should style it differently, even though I like the floof. I don't want to be even a little reminiscent of an abuser.

I am reminiscent of him though, in ways I can't change. I used to feel so seen by him, we're both song writers, and hypochondriacs, and I wanted to be him so badly I would cry. I would cry because he was everything I desperately craved to be as an insecure transmasc, an attractive guy with a beautiful voice and an amazing life. And now he's horrible, and probably always has been, and all of my memories of him are tainted.

I hate that I can't listen to Lovejoy anymore. It feels unfair to the other band members. It isn't their fault Wilbur is awful, and yet I'm taking away a source of their income. I know I'm taking away from Wilbur too, but he's only one person out of the group. Maybe that's just me giving an excuse so that I won't have to stop enjoying their music. It doesn't matter, I can't stomach listening to them anymore anyways.

I keep getting songs from YCGMA stuck in my head. It's like now that I can't listen to it anymore my brain has decided to fuck with me by making me listen to it anyways. I can't even justify listening to that album, that's just Wilbur's music. I was going to cover a song from that album for fun. Now I can't.

Is it bad I still find comfort in Wilbur as a character? C!Tommy is my favorite, but C!Wilbur is almost always a huge part of any C!Tommy story and I love C!Wilbur stories too. I know C! ≠ CC! but I just. It's complicated.

Idek why I'm this upset. I haven't been an avid watcher of anyone in the DSMP in at least over a year. If anything this whole thing has brought me back into the fandom more than I have been in ages. I feel bad about that, but also this situation has introduced me to people like Aimsey, whose content I'm seeing more of and I find myself enjoying.

I've also found more great DSMP fics lately in my quest to binge read them before the mass deletions start. Is it bad to find good things in a bad situation?

I'm sorry for the lack of put togetherness and the length of this ask. I promise I'm usually more coherent and to the point.

-Tech (just call me Tech like a name, "tech anon" feels weird heh)

hey tech, sorry for a bit of a late reply I've been busy the past few days

(sorry about the 'tech anon' thing, it's just a habit since that's how I refer to most of my anons. I'm going to still tag your ask as tech anon though just for my tagging system if that's okay)

I'm so glad you like the fae stories!! I'm still so proud of both of those looking back on them

anyway, yeah, I get that. I get the guilty wish that none of this had ever come out so you could just continue to go on in blissful ignorance. when someone learns something very upsetting, it's only natural to feel like you wish you never learned that. you don't need to feel guilty for that. you're not a bad person for your emotional reactions to things. your actions are what matters.

also, you are in no way a bad person because you were drawn to wilbur's content. the persona wilbur put on for the internet was not representative of who he actually was. you were drawn to the facade. an illusion of the person wilbur could've been, if he actually practiced the things he preached. you said you used to be a bad person, but you've changed. the fact that you are worried at all that you might still be bad shows a level of self-awareness and concern that wilbur apparently did not have. because wilbur was aware he was a bad person and treated the people around him terribly, but he didn't care to try and be better. as long as you're trying to be better, you're already leagues ahead of him.

also, regarding the hair, the floofy fringe is an incredibly common haircut. that is not exclusive to wilbur soot. you do not look like him if your hair does the floof similarly to his, it just makes you look like thousands of other dudes with fluffy fringe.

the day after shelby first streamed I had an MSR song stuck in my head and I hated it so much. it really sucks. you just have to try and drown it out with other music

it's not hypocritical at all to still find comfort in c!wilbur. I know it's complicated, and there's so much discussion I could get into as to why it's so complicated, but we can all separate the guy and the character in our heads. there's no reason to feel guilty about that. and there's also nothing bad about finding good in this situation. I think it's really sweet that you've found so many great fics in this time and I'm so glad you've been getting comfort from them. you're appreciating the authors hard work and that's a good thing! you don't need to feel bad about that

I hope you're doing okay tech

#ask #tech anon #wilbur situation

[suavis]

Never interacting with ST tumblr ever again. Went to the tag after Vol 2 expecting to see posts about the episodes/s5 set up, instead I got

Death threats to Duffer Bros for not making by//er canon

People who don’t support by//er are homophobic

Horrible hate to Mileven fans

Duffer Bros are homophobic for killing Eddie bc “Eddie is gay & they killed him bc they didn’t like Stedd¡e”

We’re sick & tired of El, she shouldn’t be focused on in s5, instead Will & Mike

Mike’s speech to El is out of character, he doesn’t love her

El is boring & her abuse for her entire life isn’t comparable to Will, his unrequited love for Mike is worse than her torture

Mike should’ve died instead of Eddie & he’s homophobic to Will, Mike is the worst person in the show

I’m also not interacting with ST tumblr again bc of the white mlm fetishizers. Billy was clearly racist to Lucas & abusive to Max (I understand he was abused but that doesn’t excuse his racism and horrid treatment of Max) but yet Steve & Billy is a popular ship. If Lucas was white, we’d see more Lucas/Dustin. But we don’t. Women are also always pushed to the side for mlm ships, so many posts diminish El for by//er

LITERALLY you’ve encompassed everything i hate abt the fandom 💀 it’s never really surprising when fandoms only care abt bland white men they can hc as gay/bi and then fetishize but truly the attempted character assassination of multiple whole ass children bc they don’t play into their specific narratives they want is extra foul.

i thought st*ddie was cute in passing at first but then the fans and esp eddie fans started acting Like That and i was outta there 💀 ain’t no way they thought it was going to end any other way have the ever watched this show before??? like he was fun but ultimately he was just some guy that some ppl in this fandom care more abt than MAX who’s been around for three seasons now like make it make sense???? and same with billy stans they just choose to ignore full on racism like i saw one say they did believe he was racist but still liked him 💔 truly no saving them the way y’all will cape for random white men even if they’re racist and abusive…… ur not seeing heaven

and YES the way this fandom passes over the black characters (the very few that exist 🥴) is sooooo…. obvious truly. billy apologists are obviously the worst of em but. if will had been in love with lucas and he’d been acting like mike first of all there wouldn’t even be a quarter as many shipper and second lucas would have been eviscerated 💔 people’s priorities in this fandom could not be clearer tbh

and people’s hatred of eleven is so transparent 💀 if she wasn’t in the way of that certain ship nobody would give a fuck but instead they’ll say she’s just his beard, she’s aroace/lesbian (which obvi i support hcs like this wholeheartedly but when the ONLY purpose is to try to make it so she couldn’t possibly be attracted to mike and so now will can have him???? gtfo), she looks like a man (which is mentioned MULTIPLE times in the b*ler slideshow LMAO make it make sense….. i’m a woman with short hair does that make my gf straight???), etc.

also yeah their fixation specifically earlier on the fact that mike couldn’t say i love you to her and then when he finally did it was out of character/him projecting his feelings for will on her??? it’s disrespectful to the characters tbh like the way they characterize mike idek how they like him anymore considering how they seem to believe he’s manipulating eleven AND being an asshole to will while still being in love with him??? i have truly never seen a fandom so deluded over next to zero actual evidence but i wasn’t around in the days of tjlc so 💀 but i’m definitely seeing some similarities LMAO it’s bad like. i think EVERYONE can agree that will is into mike but b*lers seem to think that means mike is going to have to be into will too like. ik they’re still hung up on their middle school/high school straight best friends (or are still IN middle/high school with that straight best friend 💀) and want to think that he’ll get the happy ending they didn’t but. truly i do think will deserves better than this even if mike DOES return his feelings like. they would not be a good couple 💔 here’s to hoping will gets a bf in s5 and all the characters get to be happy for once and b*let fans finally shut up <3

#this is gonna be a long one #anti steddie #anti byler #anti billy hargrove #anti eddie munson #kinda but i’m mostly putting it to avoid his fans SHDJD #stranger things #asks #anonymous #thank u for this ask btw anon it’s nice to know other ppl also see this bs JDDHDH

[eskawrites]

ALSO speaking of AUs it’s halloween weekend so i’m contractually obligated to think about night in the woods idek how niche this is but i’m writing it out anyway bc i’m suddenly obsessed okay

NitW au where Nancy is Mae and Robin is Bea

Nancy finally gets out of Hawkins and goes to college, where she quickly finds out that she can’t for the life of her move on from her trauma

Nancy, who is haunted by what happened to Barb. everyone knows she was there the night Barb died. there are whispers that she did it. the only reason no one says anything is because her family is nice, and it’s a small town. people don’t say those kinds of things to your face

Nancy who is angry, and hurt, and lonely, and scared, and so, so, so lost. And she can’t keep it together anymore. She has a breakdown at school. She drops out and drives all the way back to Hawkins, alone

Meanwhile, Robin has always wanted to get the hell out of Hawkins. She did everything right: good grades, extracurriculars, worked as much as possible to save up money. But then her mom died, and her dad is no help at all, and she gets stuck working a dead end job in a dead end town for the rest of her dead end life

Robin who tries to be polite when she sees Nancy again, but mostly she’s just tired. She looks at Nancy and all she sees is the girl who had everything she ever dreamed of, then just threw it all away

Nancy trying to adjust to life back home. What has changed and what never will. the guy who owned the diner died. there’s a new grocery store out by the highway. a few people have moved. most of them have stayed.

She learns that Jonathan and his little brother disappeared one night, finally running away like they always said they would. Neither of them have been in contact with anyone since.

cue weird shit starting to happen in Hawkins. kids go missing. Nancy sees something she’s not supposed to on Halloween. 

she starts investigating, and she drags her friends into it, too--Steve volunteering, Eddie going where Steve goes, and Robin tagging along because she has nothing else to do in this shitty town

the kids are there too! Max as Lori, just a lost, lonely, vaguely angry teenager who clings to Nancy the instant Nancy turns out to be nice to her

Dustin as Germ, just a weird, lovable guy who’s been hanging out around Steve and Eddie lately. somehow the only vaguely well-adjusted person in town

something-something the Upside Down instead of a weird cult, and no one in town is listening to them as they keep investigating

Nancy having horrible nightmares and gradually deteriorating as she gets closer and closer to uncovering the truth

Reconnecting with Steve, the only one who seems genuinely excited to see her. Building a friendship with Eddie.

Slowly breaking through Robin’s walls after Robin seems to effortlessly knock down hers. Between getting trashed at a party in the woods and sitting quietly together in a graveyard, they’re reminded of all the reasons why they fell apart, and all the reasons why it’s so easy to come back together again

(idk man, the ‘is this just proximity?’ conversation lives rent free in my mind. and give me messed up Nancy, traumatized Nancy, sometimes completely unhinged Nancy next to a world-weary Robin who eventually learns to bask in all the love and care and passion--good and bad--that Nancy puts into the world)

Robin running away from a party in the city. Nancy sprinting through the rain, panicked, trying to find her again.

Robin losing her mind when Nancy gets hurt; Robin becoming clingy and tender and not letting Nancy out of her sight after that

i’m gonna go replay nitw and think about this now, byeee

#the forest guardian repair man is an adult El i will not be taking criticism at this time #ronance #night in the woods au #oh and you BET you could explore some juicy wheeler drama in the midst of all that #ted wheeler who has long since stopped trying to do anything beyond wake up go to work watch tv go to bed #karen wheeler who is active around town and trying her best to gently nudge nancy toward healthier things #(finally getting frustrated when it fails. nancy finally snapping back against the expectations on her. hoo boy) #mike is in school or hanging out with lucas and dustin most of the time but he gives nancy these weird concerned looks more and more #when she figures out jonathan and will didn't run away she goes to him and it's the first time they talk #like really actually talk #in years #listen.....i'm not gonna write this i'm just gonna daydream about it for the rest of autumn #and look you can argue that robin is a better mae and you would have a very good point but hear me out #robin with this edgy style and her raspy voice low and uncaring and a cigarette dangling from her lips

[tyunsmoa]

NEVER MATTERED

summary: you and soobin are childhood friends. ever since he helped you get up when you tripped, you've always noticed how your heart beats around him; but you can't say the same for him. his heart beats for another person that isn't you.

pairings: y/n x soobin

tag(s): mean soob :( , for the streets soobin, idek if this is angst bro

note: soobin is a very caring, sweet, kind, and nice human being. this is all just for entertainment purposes and fiction.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

You watched it all unravel in front of your eyes: smiling, laughing, blushing, and even flirting. Anyone could tell that Soobin was madly in love with this person, even you. You know you should be feeling happy that he found someone, but after that argument that the both of you had; you knew it was impossible.

You're sitting two tables away from Soobin's table, still remembering now and then that you guys aren't friends anymore. You and Soobin are now two human beings that exist on the same planet and nothing else. All those years of being friends gone down the drain. You wonder if you were in the wrong for being selfish enough to say the things you've been wanting to say or Soobin being in the wrong for leading you on, maybe he wasn't leading you on and you were just overthinking. No one will truly know.

***

"Why aren't you being supportive of me right now?" He says to you in disbelief at the reaction you gave him.

"I'm sorry, Soobin. I just can't hide it anymore," You say looking at him, "I can't be supportive because it hurts knowing that the person I've liked the most is someone's boyfriend. I know I should be happy for you, but it's been nearly FIVE years since I've started liking you." You yelled back, the tension in the room getting more heated.

He looks at you in disbelief. "You can't be serious. You know well that I view you as a friend."

"Do friends kiss and cuddle the way we do or were all those acts to cover up the fact that you've been lonely? Is it THAT wrong for me to like you?" You tear up thinking about those times he made your heart flutter.

"Yes, it is wrong for you to like me now since I have somebody else. Quit throwing a fit and stop acting selfish. All of those acts were just nothing but friendly gestures; so quit acting like I view you more than a friend because I don't. You never mattered to me and you never will. I can't believe I'm friends with you. Let's just stop." He says looking into your eyes as if he'd seen the thing he hates the most.

"I genuinely can't believe you..." You walked up to him and gave him the hardest slap you could manage, "You're such a jerk."

You looked at him one more time and walked towards the door to leave; never dropping a single tear.

***

Ever since that whole argument, you and Soobin never interacted again. Both of your friends knew what happened and were worried about the two of you. You reassured your friends that you were fine and you were just trying to move on, they believed you and wished you well.

"Is this seat taken?" You were snapped out of your thoughts by the sudden voice. You looked up to see Yeonjun. Soobin's friend.

"No, you can sit down." You answered.

"Do you still have feelings for him?" He suddenly asks.

"Feelings for who?" You asked genuinely confused.

"You know who I'm talking about. You've been looking at him since I entered this cafe." He says looking at Soobin's table.

It clicked in your head and you responded rather quickly. "No. Definitely no. That's just disgusting to me now."

He laughs at your response, rather loudly, making the people near your guys' table turn their heads to you, even Soobin. You bowed at them lightly with an apologetic look saying quiet apologies and you made eye contact with the jerk himself, which of course you looked away quickly. You can NOT stand that thing.

"So do you wanna go for some lunch tomorrow? Maybe around this time again?" He asks looking into your eyes.

You returned the look and answered, "Yes. I'd love to."

➳༻❀✿❀༺➳

aaaaa this is my first post. im so sorry that this doesnt make sense at all. im so bad at writing sad stuff even though im sad every time (crying bleeding losing). i dont mind if you don't like or do like it. this is all just for entertainment purposes </3

#txt #tomorrow x together #soobin #txt soobin #txt fanfic #choi soobin #txt yeonjun #choi yeonjun #yeonjun #fanfic #soobin fanfic #txt angst

[zanarkandfayth]

15 Questions

I was tagged by @ivorydice, thanks!

Tagging just... whoever. I don’t feel well and I don’t wanna think lmao

1. Are you named after anyone?

Well, I took "fayth" from Final Fantasy X because I adore the fayth so much and to me it's a gender neutral name. It started out combined with zanarkandfayth as a username idek when, late 2000s, and then just gradually evolved into me calling myself fayth. My legal name, no. My first name was apparently just easy for my dad to spell and my middle name is french because my mom likes the language. I hate both names and they can fuck off lol.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Uhhh... I have a hard time crying these days even though I want to. Almost did last night because surgery recovery has been a bitch, does that count?

3. Do you have kids?

Nope. Don't want them. I'm not even capable of taking care of myself, why would I want to be responsible for another human being? And I did not win the gene lottery and the world sucks, I'm not inflicting this miserable existence on someone else.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Yes, though less than I used to because even sarcasm is effort and I'm tired.

5. What sports do you/have you played?

I liked basketball as a kid, and baseball, though I wasn't any good at either. I used to like to run. Uuuh I also did taekwondo as a kid for a couple years? idk if a martial art counts as a sport though.

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

Hair... idk it's usually the most noticeable thing to me. Except that guy who came through my line at DT once who was about seven feet tall, I definitely noticed his height first.

7. Eye colour?

Mine? Boring brown. Will forever hate it.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings. I used to like/not mind scary movies when I was younger, but now I need the feel good chemicals. Also I don't watch movies anymore. Legit could not name the last movie I've watched at this point.

9. Any special talents?

Making my readers cry lmao. No, idk. What's considered special? What's considered a talent? I don't want to stand out.

10. Where were you born?

Southern US, the same miserable state I exist in now, good ole Tennessee, though I'm now at the opposite end of it from where I was born/grew up. It's worse on this end for sure.

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing, video games, cooking... I'd say reading but I don't do that as much as I used to. The guilt of not having the energy to comment on fics gets to me and so I just don't read at all instead :/

12. Do you have any pets?

A shithead named Max. He's a flamepoint siamese cat that an old neighbour rescued from where he'd been abandoned on the side of the road and me and my ex ended up taking him in. My ex named him (after mad max apparently and I hate his name lol) but he attached himself to me so when I kicked the ex out a couple years later for being an abusive cheating narcissistic asshole, Max stayed with me. He turned ten this May but he still zooms around the house like a kitten. I love him but my health problems have made it increasingly hard to take care of him so he's going to be my last cat.

13. How tall are you?

5'2, forever sobbing

14. Favourite subject in school?

English was the only one I really enjoyed just because it was so easy. When I did university for the third time (the one I actually graduated from lmao), I also really liked most of my sociology classes, enough to make it a second degree, and I liked my scottish history class. If I could afford a third degree it'd probably be in history.

15. Dream job?

At this point? Nothing. Being a stay at home husband (with no kids, yes), or being an eternal university student just taking classes and getting degrees for the heck of it would be my ideal. I would also like to try my hand at making my own video game, but a) I can't art for shit, and b) chronic fatigue makes even starting on learning coding too daunting. I don't even have the energy I want for my current hobbies.

#fifteen questions #I love having an excuse to talk about myself #lmao #it was a nice distraction from how terrible I feel #turns out surgery recovery is your body finding new ways #to torment you every couple of days #real life #ignore me

[underestimated-heroine]

Not my twelfth archive post 😭

General

My turn dog video

What happened with John green was fucked up

If Wallace from Wallace and gromit died

-core "and none of you have sex"

Peggle 2

Size comparison between prehistoric animals and modern descendants

If you found out you were pregnant right now tiktok

The Minecraft poem is public domain now

Deaf culture reference post

Human pet guy

This makes me personally uncomfortable to malicious scale

Worst opening sentence competition

My fish brain want to go home video

Explain the Jewish holidays to me like I'm 5

If I was famous I'd release a bad song nct

The pigeon post

Harriet Porber

I hate you Christmas I hate you Christian hegemony

On writing plotting made simple

How to tag posts which might trigger epilepsy

Martin Bühler bike guy activism

How to search tags on Tumblr

Neil gaiman you have to practice writing

Zhao on "authors that made social media work for them"

Can you do a horse drawing reveal

2023 I hope you all kys

This post is like running through a minefield girl boy palette

The departed Matt damn Mark Wahlberg different people

On writing - writing is a skill practicing descriptions advice

2022 Tumblr Year in Review Month By Month

What data Tumblr live takes

Good fucking Lord quit sex-shaming people

I hate job hunting - wait did Anne Boleyn die? post

Share your genome sequence in ur bio

On writing: Plot Structure infograph

Finally some actually constructive criticism on a post

Jewish Concept of Lashon Hara

Riverdale banned fanfiction?

"everything's fine" knitting pattern

Mitch and bitch story

"I'll let this white girl say it since very few people listen when we do" mental illness social currency tiktok

Pornbot dms comic

Atla southern raiders were looking for hama

Why you hating on the red hot chili peppers longboarding across campus world heritage post ask

Harry Potter Legacy Chick Fil-A

Why is the US like that (Christian cults)

Ratatouille rogan Shapiro video idek

No doesn't exist on the internet anymore

"I forgive myself for doing that" and "I shouldn't have done that" can coexist

The US did not come together during the pandemic

If someone told me they felt like Harry Potter after we had sex

Anti-aging outrage post idek

Anime "is this the episode where he lost his house"

Ancient people fish with the sexy tits tiktok

Scooby Doo post "I've heard people say this website is free but you pay in other ways"

repeat after me: rest for art

Beautiful by ordinary days comic

Glaze comes out data-poisoning against art thieves

Reylo Lord farquad

Hippo post

Do not stand over my grave and weep poem comic

Monty Python Lady of the Lake quote 💀💀

Cops searched afroman's house and then tried to sue him for making a music video of the search

Fairy tail's strongest team freaks rating

Personal

Loid Anya younger than he thinks

Support voice actors

Black and white movies gripe

AU were race horses

My Nasha hair headcanon

Fairy tail AU where Juvia joined ft first

Gajevy vs. Gruvia

When this website was obsessed with astrology

Iconic spy x panel finally animated

The irony of picky eaters

Gray loved being in Juvia's body

Pops & Mops

Lake mungo Joel Anderson legend

Lamborghini-sized breasts and pills

2023 is cockdickpenis year

"um yeah that's called an addiction" fuck off

Google thinks I'm being bullied for baby names

Fandom influencer types -_-

This website defending the reputation of bees

Shrek "I need a hero scene" dad looks like he's watching a car wreck

Scrimp scrive fuck around

Sailor moon redraw redeaw

Laxus Jellal BrOTP

Comedian vs. rich housewife video

Jan 4 2023 antiwork screenshots

I wanted Natsu to beg for forgiveness

Rankin bass Rudolph

Don't take your managers on good faith. Ever.

Gray Fullbuster to an enemy

Pornbot "how dare you block me" dream

Goodbad boy (yes it's tod)

Rieklings

Fairy Tail Chasing Tails fic

Poll vampires werewolves etc.

Fairy Tail Gendercross Big4 Guys

#you've underestimated the heroine #refback #squirr3d away #video #tiktok

[ao3feed-crimeboys]

Bucket of Worms

by putyourpantson

Tommy was so invested into his thoughts he didn’t even notice the door creaking open and someone’s head peeking through until it was too late. Phil cleared his throat. “Well. Um.” Tommy flinched, and stood up quickly, feeling rather like a deer in headlights as Phil stared slightly at him, then at the drawer, then back at him. “Uh,” Tommy’s brain was frozen. “It’s not what you think it is?” “Mate,” Phil said evenly, “Are you making soup in your dresser drawer?”

 OR: Tommy does his laundry in his dresser drawer to avoid his family while doing so. And several events after that. OR: Welcome to Watch Mojo, and here's the Top Ten List of Tommy being Trans But Due to Budget Cuts it's like Eight

AKA: Author is trans and projecting. He hopes you enjoy. Happy pride month guys

Words: 3598, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Dream SMP

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Phil Watson | Philza, Wilbur Soot, Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), niki is present over text for one scene and slays

Relationships: Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit

Additional Tags: why am i writing minecraft fanfiction, started this june 1 posting june 30, anyway for the fic:, Swearing, (as expected), TommyInnit-centric (Video Blogging RPF), slightly nsfw jokes bc lmao, wilbur wears a dress in one scene but not in a weird-weird way just in a 'dude tf' way, Worries of Transphobia, dw guys it ends well, Happy Ending, Sappy Ending, Crack Treated Seriously, Some not so funny things but i thought they were funny so, past transphobia, Tommy is misgendered a few times but not mean spiritedly, He is not deadnamed tho bc fuck that, Discussions of Stupid Things, idek anymore man, irl pals please pretend not to read this, but if you do read it then lmk what you think, except for you wally im on my hands and knees begging you please do not, anywyas, Not Beta Read, no beta we die like my sleep schedule, Trans Male Character, Trans TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Trans Character, how did i forget those tags, Non-Graphic Panic Attack, (like it's very delicately not really described for those who this may trigger <3), Mention of stealing from Hot Topic, bitches be like 'gonna write a piece for pride month' and then not finish it until june 30, im bitches

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/39980787

#IFTTT #ao3feed #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #crimeboys #crime boys #crimebois #crime bois #mcyt #This is

[noticemedeku]

haha no worries.

i'd say thats quite recent. i mean, grief doesnt really have some kind of 'expiration date' if you will. if it still hurts, it hurts. doesnt rly matter how many years tbh. but yea date-wise, sure i'd say it be quite recent.

yes! i feel very grateful i got such a long time with majority of them. the youngest i had to put to sleep was, its gonna be 3 years in june, he only got to become 2 years old. i was destroyed by his death. because he was so young. and another younger one i had to say goodbye to was 5 years old. i do believe though that the average lifespan of a piggie is about 6-8 years. so even 6 years is quite old for them.

awe, sucks you didnt get more time with them! but at least you gave them a good life no doubt.

what?? i had no idea! all i was told it was due to age. however that veterinary clinic has been soooo sketchy for years i refuse to take me pigs there, or even our cat anymore. yall they were so insensitive when my pig was having seizures due to something in his ears, or brain? idk really, he was old though, 8 years old and this one fucking vet was like 'he has outlived his time hasnt he' like no lol....if i could save him, i would. age doesnt matter unless surgery is involved.

jesus i will never understand how people can watch stuff like that and not pass out hahahaha i'd have hit the floor before they even started haha.

about your tag if i ever had a skinny, no i havent! however when i was looking for pigs i saw somebody who sold skinnies and that is the first time i ever seen one for real i think. however i have followed some youtubers who had skinnies and, im not really sure how to take care of them as i recall her saying something like you gotta put coconut oil on them so they dont become dry and whatnot? idek haha

SORRY I JUST CHECKED MY ASKS TT

but yes grief does not have an expiration date! and im sorry you had to put him to sleep, a very hard choice to do but its always for their benefit. a lot of people choose to be selfish and refuse to put their pet down just to be with them for a couple of more days.. even tho their pet is suffering. what im saying is that putting him to sleep was probably best for him, now hes resting somewhere peacefully! and im sure hes grateful for the life you could give him and that you were there for him when he left ^^

also sorry you had that vet experience. but its not uncommon for vets to suggest an old animal be put to sleep, especially if they are prone to having seizures which could be very hard on a small animal. but i didn’t experience what you did, so i cant really say much… doctors just become so familiar with death that they seem insensitive. its tough for all of us.

but if you feel uncomfortable with your vet, its okay to find another! do what you think is best for your family <3

and wait do you watch skinnypigs1 😭 cuz thats the youtuber i watch and i always admired them, it takes a ton if devotion to care for all those pigs she has. and usually a few of her pigs had special needs ofc like her skinny pigs… i think she uses coconut oil for them tho but i don’t remember. there was a video of her rubbing one of her naked little guys with some type of moisturizer

#ani talks #tw pet death mention #🐹.anon

[jeongjaebae]

No mistletoe required

⇢ Jaehyun x reader  ⇢ 9.3k | AO3 ⇢ a cute and funny holiday college AU (lowkey enemies to lovers)

To your utter surprise and dismay, there's your neighbour. The one directly across from you who keeps turning the decorating into a competition, who happens to be setting up the next batch of lights on their door at this very moment. And that kind of ruins the previously good mood you were in, so you open the door to give them a piece of your mind. 

Why are you still here? Why are you still putting up decorations? Why are you turning this into a competition that I never asked to join— 

"Why are you shirtless." 

Or: There were three things you did not expect to encounter this holiday season. The first was to have someone else staying on campus over the winter break with you. The second, to have this person as your neighbour who tries to one-up you in Christmas decorations. The third, that this said neighbour would be hot.

Not going home for the holidays really wasn't the worst thing in the world. In fact, part of you was looking forward to doing whatever the heck you wanted without your roommates in the dorm, and not having any extended family members around to lie about having a good GPA or significant other to. Not that your GPA wasn't good, but the significant other category might need some work. Either way, you were excited to be able to finally bake Christmas cookies, decorate the entire apartment, and marathon your list of Christmas movies all while wearing your comfiest (ugliest) clothes and being sufficiently inebriated. There would be no one around to judge you while you screamed the lyrics to All I want for Christmas is You while dancing around in your pajamas. There would be no one around you for miles as even the RAs go home for the holidays.

It was like a dream come true.

"Today's going to be the day the rest of the door decorations go up," you announce to no one in particular. That's definitely another benefit of being all alone in this residence building—you could talk to yourself without sounding crazy. "They are long overdue so let's get this party started!"

There really weren't too many decorations left in your possession. You'd brought only a few things from home when you first moved in, like the cute ornament that looked exactly like your dog back home, a bow (for your hair but holiday decor takes priority right now), and a string of fairy lights that was originally for decorating your room but will now be taped onto the front door because you refuse to lose this unspoken decorations contest to the neighbour directly across from you.

This contest had begun a couple of weeks ago when you and your roommates had first put up a wreath on the door. It was already December at that point, so it wasn't exactly too early to start with the decorations, but with finals coming up none of the other students had decorated their doors. You'd thought the wreath that your roommate Rose brought was such a nice touch to remind everyone that the holidays were coming soon and that you'd all pull through with finals. Just a sign of hope and love and all the warm and coziness that you loved about Christmastime.

So when you opened the door later that afternoon and saw an identical wreath on your neighbour's door, you were stunned. You almost thought they stole it at first, but then seeing how yours was still there, that made you question some things. Maybe it was just a coincidence that they happened to have the same wreath, and they only put it up when they were reminded by seeing your wreath.

That was the first time, anyway.

A few days later, your roommates had brought out some pretty Christmas lights to wrap around the wreath. Again, it was just to lift the spirits of everyone during the dreadful time that is finals season. So you guys wrapped the lights carefully around the wreath, making sure that no one would trip on extension cords or anything like that. It ended up looking really nice and you were kind of proud of your festive door.

Until you saw your neighbour's door that also had an added string of Christmas lights.

Even worse, theirs did not simply wrap around the wreath like yours did but framed the entire door instead. It was as if they drew around the door frame with a highlighter because now all the attention would go straight to their door and leave yours completely drowned out.

The third time it happened was with the ornaments. You'd put your dog ornament on the wreath along with the other objects that your roommates had brought, some of which were pretty questionable (Rose's sparkly bottle cap, Jihyo's homemade felt gingerbread man, and Miyeon's earring?), but the overall vibe was still nice. It made the hallway feel more Christmassy than before and you knew that your copycat neighbour would not be able to mimic this.

But somehow they did.

You'd been trying to catch a glimpse of this lame neighbour through the peephole of your door all day, but the moment you stepped away for a much needed bathroom break, that's when their ornaments went up. You had come back from your under 30 seconds of a break and looked through the peephole and gawked at those twinkling ornaments—proper Christmas ornaments! The neighbour had hung them on the string of lights framing the door so that the lights bounced off and looked even brighter, shinier, warmer.

It also made you want to punch a wall.

That had been the week before finals. Your roommates were out of decorations at that point and you wanted to channel your anger into studying, so nothing had been done about the decorations. Unsurprisingly, your neighbours also did not add anything else to their door decor, which definitely squashed any chance of coincidence.

But now that everyone has gone home for the winter break, you were determined to put up the most extravagant decorations and have your neighbours come back to their defeat. The fairy lights in your room were ready for the world to see as you blasted a playlist of Christmas songs at decibels much higher than normally allowed. You had the tape in hand and were ready to go into battle. The door still had a ton of space below the wreath, so you started there and created a Christmas tree shape with the lights, taping them at every corner with the little battery holder acting as a base of the tree. Your bow hair accessory went at the very stop as a makeshift star, and you ripped out a sheet from your spiral lab notebook and cut off the ripped side to use as tinsel for this makeshift tree. It looked nice and cute and was definitely cooler than any traditional decorations.

"Okay, now that that's done I can finally get on with the Christmas cookies," you say to yourself.

The rest of the day was spent on baking some cute sugar cookies using Miyeon's cookie cutters of various non-holiday shapes, and some red and green food colouring which turned your icing into pink and green. So much for Christmas vibes. They were still cute though.

But just after you put the cookies in the oven, that's when you hear the creaking of a door and some shuffling sounds. You even turn down your music the slightest bit to hear what was going on because who could possibly still be here in this building? You had been certain that everyone would be going home and you hadn't heard a sound in days.

To your utter surprise and dismay, there's your neighbour. The one directly across from you who keeps turning the decorating into a competition, who is setting up the next batch of lights on their door at this very moment. You watch for a few seconds through the peephole as this mysterious competitor adjusts the lights on the door just slightly below the wreath, so all you could see was a hand.

And that kind of ruins the previously good mood you were in, so you open the door to give them a piece of your mind.

Why are you still here? Why are you still putting up decorations? Why are you turning this into a competition that I never asked to join—

"Why are you shirtless." You eye him up and down, the sight in front of you temporarily distracting you from the long speech you were planning on bombarding him with. "Um, that's so rude? You're basically giving everyone totally unsolicited naked pictures of you and your...abs, embedded into their minds forever."

That doesn't seem to startle him at all, as he simply stares back at you without missing a beat. "And," he looks at you up and down too, "your ugly Christmas sweater will be ingrained into my mind forever."

"Excuse you?" You weren't even wearing an ugly Christmas sweater though; this was just one of your regular cozy sweaters. "Well, is it hot in here or is it just you?" you spit out, the words dripping with sass.

Wait. What.

That came out totally wrong and was not at all how it sounded in your head.

He pauses for a second too but just breaks into a chuckle. "Why, thank you."

"I meant hot! In your apartment! You're the only one feeling the heat since you're clearly hot enough to be shirtless in the middle of winter!"

The corners of his lips raise the slightest bit along with an eyebrow, and that's when you knew he caught on to the last bit of what you said. "I'm hot enough to be shirtless?"

"You are not hot, okay? Like, opposite of hot. You're so freezing cold that I am going to leave before I get hypothermia" you lied through your teeth. Anyone who could say that he's not hot would be lying but that doesn't mean you'd ever admit it.

"So I'm too cool for you?"

"Bye, boy."

And with that you slam your door shut and collapse right against it.

That's the neighbour who's been secretly competing against your holiday decor? You hadn't pictured anyone in particular when you thought about the lame neighbour putting up decorations on their door, but this guy has got to be the farthest thing possible from anything in your realm of expectations. Even though you spent most of that interaction avoiding looking at him at all, you definitely saw enough. More like too much. But surely a guy who looks like every girl's quarterback frat boy crush with muscles like The Rock couldn't possibly be interested in being less than five feet away from Christmas decorations? And what was he still doing here anyways, away from all the friends and family back home?  

On top of that, now you had to continue this dumb contest for the rest of the break since you refused to let someone like that win at this.

***

The next day consisted of waking up to a drained laptop battery, your list of Christmas movies marked as complete, and no memory of having watched any of them because you'd fallen asleep near the beginning of the movie marathon. Cookies were left half eaten on the plate with crumbs everywhere and your mug had stains from the dried remnants of hot chocolate. It takes you a minute to collect yourself and for a good while, you'd forgotten about the awkward encounter with shirtless neighbour.

Until you hear him singing.

It wasn't a song that you recognized but that didn't matter because you were dazed. Firstly, that boy could sure sing. Yesterday his talking voice hadn't left any impressions on you probably because he hadn't said much and you were too busy noticing the insults that came out of that mouth, but his singing voice today is a whole different story. It's fairly deep but somehow still soft, and its timbre fits perfectly with the smooth R&B song he's singing. Of course you'd never admit it, but this was such a turn on and you did not know how to handle this information.

And secondly, it turns out the walls were not as soundproof as you thought, which meant he probably heard everything from your high notes screaming session to you talking to yourself about beating that dumbass neighbour at this stupid decorating contest. It was embarrassing, to say the least, but on the other hand, if he'd heard you through the walls then maybe he would know better than to sing and risk having you hear. Well, unless he's turning that into a competition too which may be a good possibility given how competitive he seems.

After eating an abnormally late breakfast at 3pm, you went to take out the large pile of trash that was overflowing the garbage can. It was long overdue but had just become an object in the background as everyone went through finals in the past few weeks. In short, it stank and was ruining your holiday mood.

There was something else that was ruining your holiday mood though. The first thing you see when you open the door to go take out the garbage... was your shirtless neighbour. Only he wasn't shirtless this time; he had a tee on but was still exposing those toned arms as he was, to your disbelief, still putting up some more decorations on their door. It seems like he actually did not copy your fairy lights idea yesterday because today he's taping up Christmas gift wrapping paper on the door. As if his apartment was a gift to anyone! You were sure that was a fire hazard or something but there were no RAs around to even report this to.

He freezes when you open your door and makes the most awkward eye contact with you for a few seconds too long.

"Wow, nice to see you in a shirt today," you say with heavy sarcasm dripping off those words. "Feeling kind of cold?"

"Nice to see you too." He doesn't take the bait but entirely changes the subject, a neutral but inviting expression on his face. "Hey, are your roommates here too?" And the dimples. Ugh, you could not look away from the dimples.

"What?" You pause. "Why?"

"Oh it's nothing, but I just keep hearing you talking to someone."

That's when it was your turn to freeze like a deer in headlights.

The thin walls. The singing this morning. Was it all so that he could make fun of you talking to yourself?!

"Excuse you? Just so you know, I still have more decorations that are much better than your corny wallpaper here. You aren't a gift, boy."

He simply chuckles but then gives you such a blinding smile. You hadn't paid attention to his face yesterday but with the shirt on today, it was a little easier to observe this competitive neighbour. And his smile, wow. "I'll be looking forward to seeing those."

Then you close the door and completely forgot about taking out the trash. Not the way this happens each time because of how much he infuriates you! But now it was too late to go out there because you'd be forced to run into him again, so you decided to wait until after he was done his door.

***

The video call comes at a good time as you'd finished a couple of Christmas movies and your fancy homecooked dinner of mac and cheese. It's not unexpected as your best friend and roommate, Rose, probably has some updates for you after her wild family gatherings.

"Hey, girl! How's it going?" You pick up on the first ring. You were surprisingly glad for the human interaction after being alone for nearly a week, but you suspect that her main motive for calling was to sneak away from her family holiday party.

"Wow, look at you all dressed up in festive pajamas!" She squeals. "They're so cute!"

"Thanks girl! Gotta be festive around here." Maybe you'd be embarrassed if it were anyone else on that video call, especially if they were all dressed up like Rose today, but she's been your best friend since middle school and you've all seen each other in plenty of embarrassing outfits on the daily. "How's your holiday going?"

"It's been good but pretty tiring. You would not believe the amount of drama my cousin has been trying to start." Rose breaks out into a chuckle. "But how have you been surviving there all alone without us?"

"Christmas movie marathons and cookies all day! It's been so nice to finally get a break from school and people, you know? Oh, except there's this annoying neighbour still here who keeps trying to compete with me for best decorated door or something." You roll your eyes. "Can you believe it? Who would do such a thing?"

"Oh, he's still doing that?"

"Yeah, unfortunately? I keep running into him too, like every time I step out—wait. You know him?"

She stares at you for just a second too long before responding. "W-what do you mean?"

"You asked if he's still here, but I hadn't even mentioned this neighbour's gender or anything yet."

"Oh nah," she brushes it off, "I didn't mean anyone specific but... Y/N?"

"Yes?"

Her voice drops down to a whisper as she leans in towards the camera. "Are you talking about Jaehyun?"

"Jaehyun?"

"You know, the one who looks like he should be walking the runway even in sweats and a tee."

You don't say anything but shoot her a questioning look.

"Oh come on. Broad shoulders, toned arms, probably has abs. Dimples and a nice face to top it off?"

"His name is Jaehyun?" you say lamely. "Wow, I was expecting something cooler. Like even Jay or something."

"So he is who you were talking about? Isn't he so hot?"

"Well," you hesitate. You would never admit that you actually saw the abs that she was imagining. Or that he does indeed belong at a photoshoot way more than he does in front of his door hanging ornaments. "He's okay I guess?"

"Just okay?"

You nod slowly. "Why? Don't tell me you... like him or something."

"What? No, Y/N, of course not! He's in my bio tutorial and we happened to bump into each other while walking back to the dorm one day, but that's it. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay, sure?" you say, unconvinced.

"Seriously! He's interested in someone else, okay?"

"You guys are close enough for him to tell you that?"

"I—" Rose stops and turns around to look behind her. "Shoot, my cousin found me. Sorry Y/N, I gotta go! Bye—"

Then the call ends. Even though you definitely did not see her cousin in the background.

It was nice to talk to your best friend again, but that conversation leaves you feeling strange. You're confused as to why she would word vomit about how hot Jaehyun was, then immediately try to convince you that she didn't like him in that way. You've all had crushes throughout the years and told each other eagerly about them, so why was she adamantly denying this one? If this had been a conversation in person, you'd probably be able to tell whether she was telling the truth or not based on the appearance or absence of stars in her eyes, but it was difficult to tell since it was a low quality video call after all. Maybe you'll grill her about it once she gets back.

That wasn't all though. There was a feeling you couldn't quite pinpoint, but it wasn't positive. Maybe you were slightly bothered by the fact that Rose hadn't told you about this crush? Or maybe you were feeling left out because she somehow knew this rival neighbour really well while you were left in the dark, trying to figure out who kept copying your Christmas decorations. That's probably it—you were disappointed that Rose hadn't told you that she knew the culprit all along!

Then another thought hits you when you're least expecting it. He's single. It's something that never even crossed your mind since you just started assuming that hot people at this age were all off the market and you'd die all alone. Not that him being single has anything to do with you not dying alone, but maybe Rose has a chance now if she really liked him. Nah, she's too good for a cutthroat Christmas decorator like him.

After washing your stack of dirty dishes in the sink, you finally take out the trash but not before checking for enemies through the peephole. Luckily enough, shirtless neighbour, Jaehyun, was not there. Unfortunately enough, his door actually looked quite nice with the wrapping paper on it. He chose one on the simpler side so that it wouldn't clash with the ornaments but it matched with the lights on the doorframe so well that it made you feel warm and fuzzy inside for just a second until you remembered whose door this was.

And then you remembered the bluff you so confidently stated earlier today.

So now you find yourself staring at the storage box at the top shelf of your closet because of that bluff you'd made so confidently earlier. The reality was that you weren't sure if you even had anything useful in this storage box but had to check for the sake of that bluff. You refused to lose to him at decorating, but even more than that, you refused to admit that he was right. So up the step ladder you went, standing so carefully as to not tip over and fall while dragging down everything with you. The top shelf was still quite high despite your height boost and tiptoes were still needed to reach the big cardboard box. You hoped that it was at least light but don't quite remember what you'd packed in there, so you grabbed it by the two sides and began slowly shifting it towards the edge of the shelf.

The last thing you register was hearing your own voice. Screaming very loudly.

Adrenaline coursing, blood roaring, heart pounding. You don't feel the impact as you hit the carpeted floor, nor the step ladder and the storage box and all the other items in your closet tumbling after you. It becomes a big mess on the floor of your room, looking like the closet vomited out half its contents. Unfortunately, most of it was on top of you so the clothing did nothing to cushion your fall. You would probably be feeling the ache tomorrow but for now, there was something even worse to deal with.

"Are you okay?" a voice suddenly asks. You nearly scream again. "What's going on?"

"I—um." The state of shock was still affecting your mind, so you simply decided to point up for your not-shirtless neighbour to see. "Spider."

And there it was, all of its eight legs attached to your wall right beside the box you were getting. You could've touched it! Your hand totally could've brushed it! The thought of it makes you squeeze your eyes shut and suppress a shiver.

"Wow, a big one," he says as he looks around and finally decides on some random tissue you had lying on your desk. He kills it in one swift motion, making sure not to leave any of its... bodily remains on your wall. Then he goes to dispose of it as you sit there wondering if this was all a dream and that someone actually dealt with your spider problem and made it look so easy.

Despite the rivalry between the two of you, at that moment, there was nothing more attractive than a guy who could kill bugs for you. The abs were just a bonus.

"All gone; nothing to worry about now." Jaehyun reaches out a hand. "But are you okay? That sounded like quite the fall."

"Yeah, just fine." You gingerly take his hand as your head is still spinning and he pulls you out of the giant pile. You're thankful for his firm grip but what you notice instead is how soft and big his hand is.

He catches you when you stumble. "Careful," he puts his arm around you and guides you to the bed. "Wait, you're bleeding."

"What?"

"Stay right here. I'll go get a first aid kit."

You sigh as he leaves, suddenly feeling exhausted and actually glad to be taken care of for once. The thought of Christmas decorations leaves your mind and is replaced by the feeling of his arm around you, the faint smell of his body wash, how he reached the spider so easily without even stretching too far and certainly without using the step stool. And now he's getting a first aid kit for you? This definitely must be a dream.

"You didn't hit your head, right?"

Oh. Right. That was probably why your thoughts are all strange.

Jaehyun settles into the chair opposite you, alcohol wipe and cotton swab in hand. "This cut must've been from the corner of the box. Might sting a bit."

You hardly paid attention to anything he just said because suddenly there's the way he leans towards you so, so closely. The rest of the world starts to blur into the background as you feel his hand gently brush your skin, the worry and care in his eyes so genuine. Any feelings of self consciousness seem to melt away, the close distance between you not uncomfortable but rather perfect for slowly leaning in and—

"Ow!" you hear in your own voice again. He'd started cleaning the area on your left cheek with the alcohol wipe and it was the sting that seemed to jolt you from the strange thoughts.

Maybe you really did hit your head because what was all that?

"Sorry," he flashes a smile and has the audacity to laugh at your pain. "Need to make sure this won't get infected."

"You brought this first aid kit from your place?" you ask dully.

"Well, didn't know where you keep yours so..." He opens a tube of ointment and squeezes it carefully onto the cotton swab.

"Wait, how did you even get here in the first place? No, why did you come here?"

The smile on his face only grows. "Your door was unlocked, obviously. And I heard you scream followed by several loud thuds. Is that good enough?"

"Yeah, but why did you come here? I would've been just fine."

"I had to make sure that my lovely neighbour wasn't dead, alright? Otherwise who's going to continue our little holiday contest and lose?"

"Okay, first of all, you would lose. Second, you should've left me for dead," you grumble. "No one wants to participate in your stupid contest."

"Oh, come on. I thought you were enjoying it since you promised to show me all the decorations you still have." He opens a bandage and places it ever so gently on your cheek. "All done."

"I could've done that myself you know."

At that, he raises an eyebrow at you, grin still plastered on his face. "You really would've killed that spider that caused all of this?"

"How dare you—I might've? But you caused all of this actually. If it weren't for that dumb competition then why would I be up in my closet looking for that box of stuff?"

It was true enough. You wouldn't have looked for this box and you wouldn't have seen that spider. And he would absolutely not be here dealing with you battle scars.

"Oh." Surprisingly enough, that smile he had on disappears and he actually looks kind of guilty. "I'm sorry."

"Right."

"No, really. I feel bad that this happened because of something so silly. Let me make it up to you; no more competitions, no more decorations."

You almost heave a sigh in relief after hearing those words. It was like a dream come true as you've wanted nothing more than to have this decoration obligation off your back, though not if it was because he assumed you were going to lose.

So you're still suspicious.

"And how exactly are you going to do that?"

"Hmm. Let me treat you to a meal?"

You look him up and down. "I'd rather stay in."

"We can stay in and get takeout or delivery?"

"I'd rather eat alone."

"Oh come on." He has the audacity to pout at you now. "What's the point of spending the holidays alone?"

"Well, actually I've been having a lot of fun on my own."

"But doesn't it get... lonely?"

Maybe. You shake your head. "Not really."

He heaves a dramatic sigh. "How about just one night? And if you really hate it that much then I won't bother you again."

You sigh too, equally as dramatic. "Fine. But only because I'll get to beat you at whatever games you have planned."

"I'd love to see that." The grin is back on his face in full force, dimples and eyes both seeming to twinkle.

"But why do you even want to spend time with me?"

"Well, we're the only two people on campus and we happen to be neighbours?"

You stifle your laugh at his goofy expression. "Okay, fine. Please don't make it weird though."

"Weird how?"

"You know, those apocalyptic stories about the last two people on earth having to do you-know-what in order to survive and procreate and all that."

If he had a drink in his mouth, you're sure it'd be sputtering out by the way he half laughs and half chokes.

"Um, no. I have not heard of anything like that, but I think we can confirm that I'm not the one making it weird right now."

"Hey, you were the one rude enough to go walking around shirtless!"  

"I'm just kidding." He smiles that dazzling dimpled smile again. "No competitions, no decorations, and no weirdness. Deal?"

You purse your lips. "Deal, but also, shirts are a must. And pants. Don't you dare pull anything funny."

"Deal. Oh, but before I forget," he pulls out his phone and unlocks it. "I hope this isn't considered part of the weirdness."

"Hmm." It's the 'add new contact' page on his phone that he hands you, of course. "I'll let you off the hook just this once."

You add your name and number as well as a description of 'your amazing neighbour who's better at decorating' before handing it back to him.

"Nice to meet you, Y/N. I'm—"

"Jaehyun."

"You remem—you know my name?" His eyes widen, an eyebrow raised.

You shrug. "Yeah, Rose gave me your name."

"Rose talked to you about me?" Eyes flicker briefly and the corners of lips settle into a sort of frown. "What else did she say?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because—why were you guys even talking about me?"

"She literally called to say that there is absolutely nothing going on between you guys." You roll your eyes at just remembering that strange conversation. "But in any case, I'll have you know that I think she's way too good for you."

"And I'll have you know that there's absolutely nothing going on between her and me," Jaehyun crosses his arms, eyebrows furrowed. Yet at the same time he somehow looked relieved, body slack against the wall and not tense like a moment ago.

"Whatever you say," you shrug. "Oh, but she did mention there's someone you're interested in."

"What?!"

You definitely save his name in your phone as 'stupid shirtless decorating neighbour'.

***

The next few days consisted of some simple exchanges through text. The hangout was planned for Christmas Eve which was still a few days away, and as much as you didn't exactly want to be talking to him, you find your gaze wandering to your phone whenever it lights up with his name flashing across the screen.

Yes, it was just a hangout, not a date. You'd be staying in, acting casual, and there would be no weirdness involved as the two of you had agreed. Besides, you didn't even like him. At this point you could only bring yourself to admit that he was quite attractive and that your annoyance with him might've died just a little when you watched him save you from the spider and treat your wound. But now there was a new annoyance stemming from how rudely this guy was showing off all of his perfection (all six feet of it!) right in your face. Who does he think is he? You just know that you're lucky he isn't in any of your classes because this competition might've started way earlier with test grades or whatnot.

The point was that you couldn't wrap your head around why he would suddenly want to hang out with you. Based on his previous actions, it was to probably beat you in various video games or in something that should not even be a competition.

You decide to video call Rose to ask her for advice on how to better prepare you for this war.

"Did I interrupt?" is the first thing you say when Rose's face comes on the screen. She seems to be at the table in the middle of a meal, but it didn't look like a restaurant nor did you recognize it as anywhere in her house. "I can call back later."

"Nah, it's fine! How are things going on your side?"

Before you could answer, you see a guy walk into the frame. And recognize him immediately. You lower your voice, "Are you with our TA?"

"Um..." She only shrugs at you but you could see her flashing a smile at the guy who walks out of the frame. Who you're sure is the TA of your psychology class.  

"Rose, are you on a date with our TA?" you whisper.

"Sorry, I'll be right back," she says to him, before the background changes and you could see her walking to a different room. "Okay, yes, you caught me."

"How long has this been going on for?"

"Not long at all! It's a long story though and I'll tell you in person first thing when I get back. But hey, didn't I tell you that there was nothing going on between me and Jaehyun?"

"That's the first thing you decide to bring up?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you knew." She rolls her eyes. "Anyways, how are things going over there?"

You sigh deeply, ready to launch into the drama that is your life. "I may or may not have a hangout with him in a couple of days."

"What?!" she shrieks, making you nearly throw your phone. Her loud voice also invokes an 'are you okay?' from your TA, which you still could not wrap your head around. "Wow, that was quick."

"Calm down, girl, it's just a hangout. And yes, it's way too quick because I don't even know him? Don't know why he would want to hang out but I'm guessing it's probably to turn everything in a competition."

"Just because of that thing with the door decor?" She laughs. "I think you're reading too much into it. Just enjoy the holidays with some company! Besides, how do you know he doesn't want this to be a date?"

"Well, we agreed that there would be nothing weird, and also, doesn't he like someone already? So it'll just be chill and casual."

"Where are you guys going for this?"

"Literally nowhere," you stifle a laugh at the thought, "just his place right across the hall."

She snorts, "Oh man, good luck to him cleaning that up."

"Why, is it like super messy or something?" You wouldn't be surprised as it's a boys' dorm after all.

"Y/N, it's a next level mess in there, and nothing sparks joy. Trust me, Marie Kondo would definitely lose her mind seeing that mess of a place."

"You've been over to his place?"

"For a bio project! You'd think he could've picked the library or something but no, I had to trip over multiple piles of clothes lying around." She rolls her eyes, a smile on her face. "Sorry, I shouldn't be talking to you about all this. Don't worry! It'll be fun."

"I sure hope so?" You raise an eyebrow at her.

"Well if you really want to keep up with this contest of yours, I have an idea. I mean, only if you want to get back at him for the decorating thing or whatever stunt he pulls. Just in case."

"Um. I'm listening."

She leans closer to the camera, looking ready to spill some big secret. "You guys should make it a formal event. Get all dolled up—don't give me that look; I know you've missed dressing up since before finals. Anyways, get your fancy dress and makeup on and see who can clean up better. I know you've got some skills, so this is something you'd definitely win."

"But we're not even going out," you whine, "it's literally going to be twenty feet away."

"It's just an excuse to dress up, Y/N. Besides, if it's at his place you won't be freezing in your dress."

"I don't know—I feel like this kind of violates our 'nothing weird' rule."

She shrugs, "Well, it's only a competition if you're winning." Then she flashes you one of her hundred-watt smiles. "Just ask him. Okay, I gotta go. Talk to you soon?"

"Yeah, sure."

***

Jaehyun agrees to it, to your surprise.

You're not sure what kind of reaction he had as it was all done through text, but he didn't ask anything and just went along with it.

When Christmas Eve finally comes around, you pick out the most glamorous dress in your closet with some pieces of jewelry to match with it. The silvery material shimmers and glitters, bouncing light in so many directions it seems to make you radiate a type of confidence you could only wish you had. It was something you've never even worn before because of how revealing it was, but you'd brought to college with you in case of special events. And well, even though this was definitely not a special event, it still turned out to be a good decision because maybe you'd be able to beat him at his own game of so rudely showing off.  

But the moment you knock on his still gift-wrapped door is when you knew that these contests never go very well for you.

"What. Is. All. This." were the first words out of your mouth as you stood there in shock. In fear. In awe.

"Hmm? You said you wanted it to be a fancy event, so I just made it fancy...?"

"I—"

You had no words for this.

The lighting was dimmed with only the flickering candles on a tabletop and fairy lights swirling right above it creating a soft glow in the room. There was a beautiful red tablecloth with expensive looking plates ready to be served with whatever food was behind the delicious smell remaining in the air. A bottle of red wine and empty wine glasses. His apartment was spotless and not at all what you imagined it to look like, especially after Rose's spiel the other day about how messy it was. You don't doubt he spent a lot of time and effort to clean the place and set all this up, but this was way beyond anything your imagination could've thought of.

And lastly, there was him. If you'd just expected him to simply have a shirt on, he definitely went above and beyond the low expectations you had. Here he was standing in a white dress shirt tucked into black dress pants. Sleeves rolled up. Hair gelled up and slicked back. There was no ounce of imperfection in him or in this entire set up, and suddenly the outfit you picked out seems so insignificant. You could already taste the disappointment of losing a battle you'd had all intentions of winning.

Another thing that worried you was that this didn't look like the setting for a hangout. This looked like the type of place rich people eat at, where proposals happen, where anniversaries are celebrated, where you might even run into a celebrity. You definitely shouldn't have listened to Rose's advice because now it just seems like you played yourself.

"Do you not like it?"

"No, it's fine but Jaehyun, it's just—a little weird."

"A little weird? Yeah, I thought so too." He looks down, leaning against the wall as if unsure where he was supposed to go, what he was supposed to do. Not that far from your own situation.

"I shouldn't have asked for this fancy hangout," you say under your breath, then quickly change the subject before things continued down this slippery slope of awkwardness. "Anyways, I don't see a tree in here. What happened, Mr. I-have-better-decorations-than-you?"

"No tree this year, but I do have a gingerbread kit?"

"And what, were you going to put that on your door too?" You roll your eyes at him. "Let's put it together it right now."

"It was definitely an option but you're the one who wanted the fancy date." He shrugs at you innocently.

"I just wanted a chance to dress up, okay? You can't possibly comment on this," you gesture at the dress, "the way you made fun of my sweaters."

There's no expression on his face as he gives you a glance over then quickly looks away. "You look...good."

"Thanks, I know." You do a hair flip in his face just for emphasis. "Okay, let's get to it! And would you turn some lights on already?"

It turns out, decorating a gingerbread house became a lot like decorating the door to your apartment. Unintentionally. It's not like you were highly competitive by nature, but there's something about his calm demeanour, his laidback gaze, and the way his lips curl at the corners that irks you because you wanted to break down those walls and see something real. Who does he think he is, looking and acting so perfect on your supposedly casual hangout?

Besides, it wasn't your idea to see whose side of the gingerbread house looks better.

"We must look so silly doing this," you comment. "Two people all dressed up in fancy clothes just to build a gingerbread house."

"It's totally part of today's itinerary of fancy activities. Just look at how fancy my side is?" He turns the tray so you could see it. "It's looking like a mansion over here."

You resist the urge to roll your eyes at him but you'd expected nothing less. "Then I guess it would suck if someone decided to ruin it."

Holding his gaze as if a challenge, you take the tube of pink icing in your hand and squeeze it generously all over his side of the gingerbread house. It was like a thick coat of fluffy pink clouds on the roof, in the yard, and all over the windows.

His jaw drops. "You. Did. Not."

"I think I did," you tease, the biggest smile you've worn in days on your lips from just getting a reaction out of him. "And I'll do this too." He definitely does not expect it when the huge blob of the pink icing on your finger gets dabbed onto his cheek.

"You're not getting away with this, Y/N." That's the last thing Jaehyun says before he starts chasing you down with a tube of blue icing in his hands.

Then it becomes a game of running around the apartment in circles, occasionally getting close enough to place another wad of icing on him but also for him to cover you with it. Until you decide to grab the icing sugar and use that as your next weapon.

The first pinch of it lands on his face and coats it like a foundation far too light. The image of him— stopped in his tracks, lips pursed and trying to blow the sugar off, blinking with disbelief—was enough to supply you a year of happiness so that's when you let your guard down and pause to wholeheartedly laugh at him. But that's also when the icing sugar came flying at you.

In the end, both of your fancy clothes and tidied hair ended up being coated with icing sugar, as well as the apartment he'd put so much effort into cleaning. And you didn't mind at all for it worked in giving you a glimpse of someone real behind the mask of perfection that he had been wearing in the few times you'd seen him so far. Someone who isn't just abs and a pretty face, nor just competitions and winning.

Basically, someone you could like.

Dinner passes by in a breeze with delicious foods and surprisingly easy conversation. Maybe it should've felt like an awkward first date with how little you knew about each other and how you've barely seen each other before this point, but it wasn't like that at all. It was hard to define because it wasn't quite like talking to an acquaintance, yet friendship would be too tight of a term to describe this relationship. He felt familiar, like an old friend that you knew you could share everything with despite knowing him no better then a stranger. But perhaps that was from the amount of wine you both drank; while it wasn't your drink of choice, it was definitely helpful in facilitating a lot of laughter as you kept breaking out in giggles and he definitely couldn't keep a straight face.

Time was slowing as the two of you collapsed on the couch afterwards, satisfied from a hearty meal. You found yourself suddenly dreading the inevitable end to your time here, though the warmth of the wine pushes that thought away.  

"If we were outside, that would've totally been a snowball fight," you mention, looking out the window where fluffy snowflakes started to float through the air. It seemed like a Christmas miracle for it to be snowing so unexpectedly but maybe this year will give you a beautiful white Christmas.

The corners of his eyes crinkle when he smiles so brightly even with the dim lighting of the room. "Then we could've also been making snow angels or a fort."

"Sorry for dirtying your floor though." You couldn't help but giggle. "It was so clean before all this."

"Don't worry, this isn't even as bad is it usually is," he confesses with a laugh.

"Yeah, Rose told me all about that."

"She did? Oh I'm so going to kill her."

The two of you burst out laughing at that, leaning over in a way that has your hand lightly brushing against his.  

"It's not all terrible though. It almost looks like it snowed in here too," you say, admiring the sprinkles of icing sugar scattered all across the floor that looks nothing like actual snow, but it's nice to think of it that way. "Icing sugar everywhere."

Everything you look at seems to glow and sparkle with the heat of the wine still swirling through your body, heart racing, cheeks hot, the world spinning just slightly. And it's not like you were completely drunk, but instead it felt more like you were drunk on life with small, happy thoughts bubbling through your veins—how cozy this place was, how it's the holidays, how you actually enjoyed spending time with Jaehyun and how things turned out much better than you could've possibly imagined. It was nothing like the image of competitive gaming with the frat boys that Rose had put in your mind; this was the most romantic thing that anyone's ever done for you even if it wasn't intending to be more than a casual hangout.

Then there was how attractive Jaehyun looked as he's seated right beside you, hair dishevelled from earlier, a faint pink dusting his face, shirt unbuttoned just low enough to expose the top of his chest. Icing sugar at the corner of his lips where a faint smile rests.

When you look back up, his eyes meet yours and you have to urge to quickly look away, cheeks blazing from knowing you'd been caught staring a moment too long. But instead, a sudden stroke of courage compels you to hold his gaze, perhaps to see a reaction, perhaps as a question silently lingering in the room for much of the night.

"Mhm, it's beautiful," he says softly, still not moving his gaze from where it rests on you. "You still have some right here," he says softly, leaning in slightly as his hand brushes across your heated cheeks. Everything seems to happen in slow motion when he reaches your bottom lip, thumb grazing gently.

And suddenly it was like a repeat of what happened just days earlier. When he meets your eyes again this time, his dark pupils are twinkling in an answer to your question, luring you into their gravity until you're sinking, eyes closing, slowly getting lost in him.

Sparks fly at the slightest brush of his lips on yours and that's enough to abruptly drag you out of the moment you were swept into.

"Wait, Jaehyun—we agreed not to make things weird."

As much as you wanted to just kiss him right then and there, there was still some part of your mind that was telling you to stay away from this slippery slope. That things will be different after the rose-coloured lenses of alcohol and lust fade, that the weird that you both had tried so hard to avoid would end up happening and ending badly.

"Um, right. Sorry." He looks away, refusing to meet your eyes as his cheeks redden, unrelated from the wine. "Y/N... it's just that I've liked you for so long."

Out of all the things you thought he would say, this was nowhere near any of it. His words catch you totally off guard and seem to immediately sober you up.

"What? What do you mean?"

He sighs softly, a hand running through his hair and a hand on yours, tentatively.

"I'm not sure if you remember but we went to the same middle school." Jaehyun pauses, his eyes searching yours for a reaction but you don't dare breathe, waiting for him to continue. "I know this was so long ago and it shouldn't even matter anymore but middle school wasn't really a good time for me."

You take his hand in yours, encouraging him to go on.

"Kids could be so cruel back then, you know?" He smiles sadly. "But you were the only person who showed me such kindness. I could never forget that, Y/N."

"Middle school?"

He confirms with a small nod and that's when you think back. Middle school wasn't a good time for you either and it probably wasn't for anyone, but nothing in particular stood out in your mind. You had a small group of friends back then and got good grades. You were in the school's band and might've been teacher's pet one year. There wasn't exactly anyone bullying you, but there was one girl who was mean and made up rumours about you and some guy you didn't even know. That guy turned out to be really nice though, and the two of you ended up as good friends as a result of that rumour. But all that ended when his family moved right before high school and you never saw him or contacted him again.  

"Sorry, I don't really recall. Were you in my class? There really weren't any boys in my life back then, like the only guy that I can recall is Hyunnie." You smile just thinking about the memories. "He was a good guy. Not sure what happened to him but I kind of liked him."

Jaehyun says nothing but you could see a hint of a smile that he was trying to hold back.

"What, you also know Hyunnie?"

He still remains silent, this time shrugging his shoulders the tiniest bit as he bites his lips.

"Then? Wait—" You gasp when it hits you. "Wait. We all called him Hyunnie but... Hyunnie. Jaehyun. That's—no," you shake your head, "there's no way. That's impossible."

"Y/N," he weaves his fingers with yours.

"You're joking." You stare at him to try to put the pieces together. The Hyunnie you remembered was a small, chubby boy with glasses so big they seem to cover his whole face while his bangs would cover the rest of it as if seeming to hide him from the world. Maybe initially you just wanted to support him as the rumours tied the two of your together, but after getting to know him better you realized he was very kind and genuine. And that's when your admiration for him started.

"Remember the secret code names we had? And the glow in the dark watch? And our mad minute competitions?"

"You're Hyunnie," you breathe, still shocked.

"Yeah," he whispers.

"But—why didn't you say anything at the time?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't feel the same," he looks away, not meeting your eyes. "I thought moving away would help me get rid of my feelings...but it didn't work."

"Why were you so sure about that? Why wouldn't I feel the same?"

"Is it not obvious? I—wasn't exactly someone you would be proud to be with. You were so sweet and popular and gorgeous. You had so many people wanting to be with you, and I—I was nothing.

"Don't say that! I was so happy that you were one of my closest friends." You pause. "Also, how could you be so wrong?" You roll your eyes at him, at all the silly things that once felt like the end of the world but are now so trivial when looking back.

"Was I wrong?"

"Yes! I liked you too, okay? I don't care what you look like. Jaehyun, you don't know how hard it was for me after you left without a trace."

"I'm sorry. I can only promise you that it will never happen again." Then he pouts. "Also, I worked so hard for these abs just to hear you say you don't care what I look like. Wow, I'm hurt."

That makes you burst out laughing. "They're definitely nice, but you are worth so much more than what you look like. And don't think that I wouldn't like you for who you are."

He brushes a strand of hair behind your ear, leaning in just a little closer.

"Okay."

"Never think that you're not good enough."

A hand cupping your cheek, tracing your jaw. Even closer.

"Okay."

"And don't ever leave me like that again."

His lips hesitate just for a moment.

"Okay."

Then they're crashing on yours, the electricity between you crackling so loud it blocks out the rest of the world as your mind is only filled with Jaehyun, Jaehyun, Jaehyun. His lips are sweet like the cotton candy you had back in seventh grade, lingering on your teeth at the amusement park, turning his tongue bright blue. His touch is gentle, ebbs and flows like the ocean during the eighth grade beach trip, water gently lapping at your feet, sand between your toes and between entangled fingers. His scent surrounds you like a warm hug on a cold day, like a hoodie too big to fit your shoulders while sitting outside of the school after the dance. All the memories flooding back make your mind spin; the things you've forgotten, the ones you've buried, and the fragments that he'd taken when he left, now brought back to their rightful place.

As the clock struck twelve, there were only whispered words of Merry Christmas in between lingering kisses, racing hearts, brushes of bare skin.

It wasn't weird like you were afraid tonight would go. What you once thought to be awkward and strange turned out to be so right, so perfect. Sure, it might hurt to know that there was all this lost time between you, but now you could make up for that by spending the rest of it getting to know each other again. Learning and relearning each other until there was only a seamless connection between the past and the present, an invisible red string tying the two of you together.

And maybe you did lose all these competitions to him but they never really mattered to you anyways especially when you gained back an old friend, a first love, a soulmate.

#jaehyun fic #jaehyun x reader #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun scenarios #nct fluff #nct fic #nct x you #nct x reader #jaehyun au #guys i haven't written a fic in like 2-3 years #if no one reads it then it'll be 10k of practice at best LOL #me living out my holiday fantasies ok #idek how to tag or write A/N anymore #it's been tooooooo long #my fic

[b4kuch1n]

hey what if calne ca were bad to look at

#tw: body horror #tw: teeth #VOCALOID #hatsune miku #calne ca #me looking at crab ver calne: hm. this is too pretty looking. it needs to be worse #(jerma voice) giant. enemy. spider (starts beatboxing) #deino's art is kind of my guilty pleasure? he has a cool sense of machineries #do Not dig how pinup-y it is tho #and his bio colors are.... muted? compared to the cool neon colors on tech #I guess I wanna do something that is vibrant like nature is (somewhat. theres some leway taken here) #while still being absolutely horrid to land ones eyes on #I guess the thing with deino's coloring's that his models are. pale #like corpse like #which fits the whole aesthetics but again its. I guess it plays second fiddle to the cooler stuff #idek what Im getting at anymore. crab miku but worse. here have this #I will go lay down now I slept like 15hrs today and still feel like its not enough #have a good day guys sorry for this #ask to tag

[fuckyeahkagepro]

( ANYWAY )

( 2016 PROFILE BLURBS COMING LATER / SOON TOO )

( PROBABLY NOT ANY NEW INFO

AND KEEP IN MIND THEY’RE FROM 2016

AKA LONG BEFORE THIS 2ND MANGA ROUTE ENDING

BUT YEAH STILL “NEW” PROFILES WHOO )

#fuckyeahkagepro tag rambles #fuckyeahkagepro rambles #kagepro comm' #fuckyeahkagepro text posts #fuckyeahkagepro text #(I HAVE TO REPHOTOGRAPH HIBIYA'S BLURB OF ALL ONES TO COME OUT BLURRY PLS STAND BY) #(THEN I'LL MAKE A PHOTOSET) #(BUT YEAH FOR ALL WE KNOW THERE MIGHT BE A NEW LITTLE THING IN THOSE) #(OR MAYBE SOMETHING RELEVANT TO THIS RETAINING EYES ENDING IDEK ANYMORE @ JIN) #(BC APPARENTLY AYANO WAS DESCRIBED IN CONNECTION TO RETAINING EYES BEFORE BUT WE NEVER KNEW THAT???) #(BELATEDLY ADDS LIKE I HOPE YOU GUYS REALIZE HOW CONFUSING IT IS NOW TO NOT HAVE TRANSLATIONS OF THINGS) #(BECAUSE YEAH WE V. V. MUCH DO NOT HAVE EVERYTHING TRANSLATED AND A LACK OF ACCESS TO TRANSLATORS AND THE JAPANESE FANS' THOUGHTS) #(IS V. V. MUCH WHY)