#if the show gets renewed maybe they start a new company

[stayinlimbo]

We Become We

pairing: husband!lee minho x reader genre/warnings: friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, fluff, poor attempts at me trying to be funny, mc's gender is not specified word count: 1.02k note:  i am not dead yay. i tried my best since i haven't had time to write for almost a month so please take this as a peace offering ♡

Marriage. It’s an interesting concept, isn’t it? 

You’ve always thought so, at least. Two people agreeing to sign a legal document and tethering their lives to each other for whatever reason, be it love, societal expectations, familial pressure, financial security, etc. 

Yours happens to be a man named Lee Minho. The same man you’ve been friends with for as long as you can remember. The same man who asked you to marry him for a reason you didn’t get to learn until he was already down on one knee. 

(“I’m sorry, you want me to WHAT?” “Marry me. Please, I need health insurance.”

“Okay, yes, sure, whatever; now please get off the floor. People are staring.”)

Lee Minho, who, after dragging you to the courthouse and legally becoming your husband, finally elaborated on how his job would pay him more and cover both of your health insurances if he was married. So really, in his words, he was “doing you a huge favor” by marrying you. 

And, in all honesty, he really was. No, you didn’t have a ring to show off your new husband’s weird skill at finding loopholes in company policy, and you’re like thirty-five percent sure the two of you are committing some kind of marriage fraud, but does it really matter when you can finally start using the hot water in your dingy apartment without worrying if you’ll have enough money to fund your crippling caffeine addiction? The government will have to drag you kicking and screaming before you resort back to mankind’s cruelest form of torture: cold showers. 

Not to mention that marriage didn’t even change your relationship with Minho. And why would it? You’re still you, and he’s still him. He gets on your nerves just the same, maybe even a little bit more after he decided to frame your marriage certificate in his living room and send a photo to all your mutual friends. You’ll never forgive Minho for laughing at your helplessly panicked state when the group chat wouldn’t stop exploding with messages and incessant calls. 

You’re still his best friend that resides in his apartment four out of seven days of the week while he inhabits yours for the other three. Maybe that’s why, two weeks after your “wedding,” when it was time to renew your lease, Minho suggested with a simple shrug of his shoulders that you move in with him since “you’re here all the time anyway.” 

You’ve really got to learn how to say no to him because now you wake up next to your best friend/roommate/husband in his one bedroom, one bathroom apartment at the crack of dawn with a light pressure on your chest and fur in your face when his cats decide you need to wake up right now to feed them. 

Not to say you don’t like the new arrangement! No, that would be the furthest from the truth. 

Sure, you didn’t appreciate your skin care routine being interrupted by the unexpectedly high-pitched scream Minho let out when he saw you in a face mask for the first time, and what kind of person still has their phone’s brightness turned up all the way before bed? But who else would willingly tolerate your deliriousness before your morning coffee or indulge in your pleas to cook your favorite food three days in a row? 

Living with Minho has only made the purely platonic feelings you harbor for him grow stronger.

That’s what the fluttering in your chest means every time you see him, right? The reason for the smile that grows on your face when you hear the distinct jingling of keys at the front door?

Yeah, that must be why heat spread across your cheeks when he handed you his phone to text one of his friends back, because since when did the heart emoji make an appearance next to your pinned contact name?

You just care about each other, that’s all. It’s normal to want to make sure he arrived at work safely and ask how his day is going during your lunch breaks. It’s normal to start receiving back hugs before bed—a comforting weight as Minho’s chin rests on your shoulder while you apply the rest of the products to your face. 

It’s natural to have doubts about the nature of your relationship during an evening walk, acutely aware of his fingers lightly brushing against yours as you silently study his features illuminated by the soft glow of the scattered streetlights. What if he meets someone else and falls in love with them and wants a divorce and– oh. 

Has he always looked at you like that? With his gaze softening as it locks with yours? With the corners of lips lifting into the gentlest smile you’ve ever seen? With all the stars shining above you finding a second home in his eyes? A look so loving that it takes your breath away and you can’t tell if you’re about to laugh or cry in relief. 

And when you return home to get ready for bed, the familiar feeling of hands wrapping around your waist and a careful pressure resting by the crook of your neck quells the remnants of your worries.

It’s you and Minho. Minho and you, just as it always has been. Just as it’s always meant to be.

The distance between your bodies on the bed becomes nonexistent when you curl yourself into his side, laying your head on his shoulder and intertwining your legs with his as he immediately, unhesitantly, adjusts his arm, his fingertips finding purchase on exposed skin and roaming across the span of your back. A kiss to the top of your head is the last thing you feel before the gentle lull of breathing and the rise and fall of his chest begin to soothe you to sleep. 

…

Ah, marriage—what an interesting concept. Two people agreeing to sign a legal document and tethering their lives to each other for whatever reason, be it love, societal expectations, familial pressure, financial security, etc. 

You love your husband, and you’re beginning to think he loves you too. 

liked this work? want to let me know how i did? please like, comment, and/or reblog; they are greatly appreciated my asks are always open ♡

taglist: @linospuddin @linocz @spicyhyunn

#lee know x reader #lee minho x reader #lee know #lee minho #skz x reader #lee know fluff #lee know scenarios #lee know imagines #lee minho imagines #stray kids x reader #stray kids lee minho #stray kids lee know #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids #stray kids fluff #stray kids fic #skz #kpop imagines #skz scenarios #skz fluff #lee minho x y/n #lee minho x you #stray kids x you #lee know x you #lee know x y/n #stayinlimbo

[aflawedfashion]

I wonder if the gang comes together in the finale to print Richie's photos of cops targeting gay men, and they all decide to blow up absolutely everything because they have nothing left to lose now that Constance has control and they choose do the right thing

That would be a good ending

#in the trailer Constance stops the presses on something #everyone runs into the room and it looks like they're up against Tina #but then Tina's in the last shot where joyce says everyone will know what we did #Richie is holding papers that say something about police #Doug's missing from the group but he's in shots with Constance #so he could be on the inside while everyone cause chaos behind the scenes #it's photos of cops brutalizing gay men #this is beyond minx #if the show gets renewed maybe they start a new company #all together #if they start over everyone can be in the positions they want to be in #if everything is gone it's just the six of them and they build what the want #blank slate #the magazine also felt like it got too big so if they're forced to start over it'll bring that underground underdog feel back #wait hold up stop me I'm writing the fanfiction ending I want to see #because if that's what happens I'll accept some of the things I didn't like about the season #it'll pay off #I've been holding out with some of my thoughts to see how the season ends #please let it come together #minx #aff watches minx #minx spoilers

[zee-rambles]

Hey...... uh... like I know we want rise back, but like. Maybe not right now... becuase like, there's. You know. The Writer Strike Going On. If they start making the show again, right now, it's going to be trash

@margoteve

I see you guys…and yeah…that is tough. I am supporting the WGA strike as much as I can…and looking for places to donate what little I have (college is expensive, heh!).

We can’t stop now. We need to keep interest up, prove that people LOVE Rise of the TMNT, otherwise Nickelodeon will not hesitate to pull the plug and shut the door. Nickelodeon will most likely wait until AFTER Mutant Mayhem to make any big decisions about Rise.

And Nickelodeon is looking for ANY reason to give up on Rise. If we stop supporting it, they won’t think it’s because we’re supporting WGA. If fact, none of the big companies, that have shows to sell, will think that way. They will see viewership and interest in Rise go down. They will listen to the numbers and think of it as no more then a phase that does not need to be invested in. When Rise was airing, bad faith reviews were what Nickelodeon listened to, not the small amount of fans saying it’s good, not the fact that covid was happening, not the fact that they did not put it on TV enough, not the fact that they then moved it to another channel that not a lot of people have or watch.

They’re not going to start working on Rise right away, especially since they’re pushing for a new project. BUT, that does NOT mean we should give up. And this is super important. Nickelodeon will be looking to see if interest in Rise persists AFTER The Mutant Mayhem movie, and if people don’t keep coming into the fan base and keeping it alive until then, then it has NO chance. If Both Rise and Mutant Mayhem don’t persist together, then Nickelodeon will prioritize one over the other. They will dismiss Rise as over because another series came up and took its place.

Even if Rise got renewed now…it would still be a bit before we see anything of it. It takes time to create a show. And I hope that, by the time Rise IS saved, WGA would succeed. I SO want WGA to get the respect it deserves. As someone that always wanted to be a writer/creator, I want more then anything for WGA to succeed, because Hollywood needs writers to make its magic work.

All we can do is KEEP RISE GOING STRONG, show that there is interest, that there is demand. And if it DOES get renewed…then it’s up to US to make our demands known. The same way people screamed at paramount until they changed Sonic the Hedgehog’s design, fans need to scream at Nickelodeon to make Rise something of quality. Tell them we want Andy Suriano, Ant Ward, JJ Conway, and as much of the OG cast and crew back, as possible. TELL them we WANT them to support WGA.

Look, right now, I want Rise to come back more then anything, and I fully believe it can return the way we want it to. It takes an ocean of voices to flood that tower of greed that we call corporations. All we can do is keep making that wave bigger. And hopefully, by then, WGA would have succeeded in their take over. So support both!

SUPPORT WGA! SUPPORT RISE! SUPPORT ARTISTS! SUPPORT WRITERS! Don’t stop fighting for the shows you love! (If Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance came back, I would flip my LID!) Get out there on social media and TELL people that you won’t support ANY show unless it’s good and the writers are respected.

#rottmnt #save rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #unpause rottmnt #save rise of the tmnt #rottmnt leo #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt raph #Nickelodeon #writers guild strike #writers guild of america #demand good writing #corporations

[rainbow-flavoured-skittles]

’Cause Daddy Doesn’t Love Me, Mommy is a God

it’s here!! Almost 3k words of Jay centric angst why do these keep getting longer. this is split into two scenes; one from Jay’s childhood, the other right before he becomes a ninja. warning for one instance of mild swearing, cross posted to ao3

~

Jay poked at his cereal sluggishly. It was the first day of term break and he was all alone in the house. Again. Dad had gone to work, he was pretty sure, and wouldn’t be back until night. The housekeeper and nanny, Ms. Peony, was at her daughter’s wedding this week. None of the other employees were here today either, meaning that Jay had the house all to himself.

Giving up on his cereal, which had begun to get soggy, Jay went upstairs to his room. For other people, the house may have been considered eerily quiet, but for Jay it was normal. The only sounds he could hear were his own footsteps and the air humidifier. Gurgle. Gurgle. Gurgle.

Jay looked over his comic book collection. He had quite a few, ranging from Fritz Donnegan to Spider-Man to Wonder Woman. None of them seemed particularly interesting right now, though. Not even the Fritz Donnegan ones, which were his favourite. 

Maybe I can draw something, he thought. Pulling out some colour pencils and paper, Jay quickly sketched out a dragon. He liked dragons. Cole’s mom had told them stories about them. The dragon he’d drawn was blue, with yellow stripes and fire coming out of its mouth. Pretty cool, in his opinion. Maybe Dad could hang it up on the fridge. 

Speaking of Dad, Jay missed him. It was just the two of them when Jay was little, and now he was always busy. Jay missed when they would curl up on the couch with popcorn and watch a silly movie together.

Shaking his head to snap out of the old memories, Jay picked up another sheet of paper. Thinking about the past wouldn’t change the present. He went to go get the markers — he wasn’t technically allowed to use them, but they were needed for his new drawing.

Uncapping the orange marker lead him to realise it was dried out. He tried the red one instead, getting the same results. A third test showed that all the markers were likely dried and unusable. 

Great. Now he really had nothing to do. It seemed too early for TV, and he didn’t want to bother plugging in the video games. Oh, wait! There was a landline in the house. Jay wasn’t entirely sure how to use it, but maybe he could call Cole. Cole was always good company. 

Marching down the stairs now that he had renewed purpose, Jay found the landline and tried to remember Cole’s number. It wasn’t technically his, much like how the number Jay had given him wasn’t actually Jay’s, but it would contact Cole. 

Punching in the numbers, Jay watched the phone ring. Someone picked up on the fourth one. “Hello?” That someone said. It was Cole’s mom. 

“Hi, Mrs. Hence, it’s Jay,” Jay started. “I’m looking for Cole?”

“Oh, I’m afraid he’s not here right now,” 

Jay felt a pang of disappointment at that. “That’s alright. Thanks,” he hung up before Mrs. Hence could respond. It was rude, Jay knew, but he did it anyway. 

Now what could he do? It wasn’t even lunch yet, and Dad wouldn’t be back until after dinner. Jay had no one to talk to for the entire day.

Maybe a nap was the solution, Jay decided. Mrs. Chan, his old babysitter, had often said that sleeping helped pass the time. Though he wasn’t sure if that applied to kids, or just grown-ups.

It was worth a shot. Jay went back to his room, Spider-Man crawling up the stairs, and jumped onto the bed. His blankets were still rumpled from the morning, his stuffed animals shoved into the corner.

Jay closed his eyes and tried to sleep. It was harder than expected. The light kept shining into his eyes. Groaning, he pulled the blanket over his head, trapping himself in darkness. Much better, Jay thought. 

He woke up at about five in the afternoon, well past lunch but still before his dad would return. Jay rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and dragged himself out of bed. Mrs. Chan had been right. Now, time to get a late lunch (did it still count as lunch?) and some water. 

After a quick snack of potato chips and chocolate, Jay was feeling much better. Junk food was always good for energy, and Dad would (hopefully) be home by 9:00. He could watch movies until then. 

Turning on the television and scrolling through Netflix, Jay found that there weren’t a lot of movies he wanted to watch. Giving a brief shudder at Coraline, he eventually clicked on Into the Spider-verse. It was a good enough movie.

One movie marathon later, it was already seven o’clock. Jay went to the pantry and grabbed some instant ramen as dinner — perhaps not the healthiest, but definitely tasty.

It was getting dark, now. Soon it would be completely pitch black. Jay hoped that Dad got home before that. He didn’t like staying at home alone during the night. 

Jay slurped up the rest of his dinner and put the bowl in the sink. He’d deal with that later, right now he wanted to play with his action figures. 

Fritz Donnegan lands on the ground, sticking a perfect landing. “No sign of any ambush,” he says. “I’m going to look around, stay on guard.” He takes a step forward, and then— 

Downstairs, the front door slammed closed. Jay looked up at the sudden noise, and jumped to his feet upon realising that his dad was home. 

“Dad!” Jay ran into his father’s arms, hugging him as tightly as a nine-year-old could. 

“Hello, Jay,” Dad said. He pried Jay’s arms off himself. 

Jay tried not to let that sting. “I drew a picture for you!” He exclaimed. 

“Mhm,”

“Don’t you want to see it?”

Dad sighed. “Not right now, Jay.”

“Okay,” Jay said. “I’ve already had dinner, so there’s no need to cook for me,”

“That’s good,”

“I called Cole, too, but he wasn’t there. I did watch a movie, though. It was fun!”

“I need to shower and eat, Jay,” and oh, that was Dad’s ‘I’m Getting Tired and You Need to be Quiet’ voice. “You should go to bed now,”

“Okay,” Jay ran back upstairs. He hadn’t even gotten to show Dad his dragon picture. 

~

Jay looked up at the mansion he called home and frowned. Dad was considering sending him to boarding school after all the trouble he’d been getting into. “It wasn’t my fault,” Jay had screamed last night. Dad had started yelling, and he hadn’t wanted to deal with it anymore. Jay had stormed out the door and didn’t come back until Dad was asleep. 

No one was home right now, so Jay let himself in. Dad was still out with his girlfriend, Amanda. Yet another woman who treated Jay like he was rubbish, or pretended like he didn’t exist. After all, nobody wanted to deal with the illegitimate son of Cliff Gordon, Jay thought bitterly. Nobody except Cole, and he’d been gone for years by now.

Kicking off his shoes and shoving them in the hallway closet, Jay went to his room and collapsed on the ground. He didn’t bother locking the door. Dad would be out all night. 

Scrolling through his phone showed nothing of interest. There was a new trailer for some action movie, but it wasn’t like Jay had anyone to go see it with. Also, Jay didn’t want to see anything with his dad’s face in it.

Hmm. Jay’s thoughts drifted to the makeshift hang glider shoved up in the attic. It was one of the results from his venture into DIY-ing. (Not that Jay didn’t do inventing anymore, just that it was one of the earlier projects.)

“Where are you?” Jay muttered to himself as he dug through the attic. It was shoved full of old trinkets and boxes. None of them seemed to be labelled. So far he’d found two boxes of old books and papers, five boxes of assorted junk, and one box of family photos. But no hang glider.

He squeezed past another crumbling box of who-knows-what and threw aside an old lamp. Jay figured it was yet another priceless antique that had been left to rot, much like the other twelve pieces of junk he’d found so far.

His efforts were finally rewarded when he found the hang glider dumped into a corner. Picking it up and shaking the dust away revealed that it was (mostly) in good condition. Now to get it out of the attic and to a good hang gliding place. Doing his best to fold it up, Jay dragged the hang glider though mountains of boxes and down the stairs. Huffing and sweaty, he glared at it.

“You’re a lot more trouble than I expected,” he said. “This better be a fun activity,”

Getting the hang glider into his car proved easier than finding it. The trunk was just barely big enough to fit it. Jay wasn’t technically allowed to drive, but Ninjago City wasn’t known for good law enforcement anyway. 

The commute took just over an hour — enough time for Jay to finish the podcast he’d been listening to. 

“Ugh, finally,” he muttered as he parked the car in place. Dragging the hang glider out, Jay found the nearest skyscraper and climbed up. He got strange looks for it, and it was a weird sight to see a teenager with what was essentially an oversized kite, but he managed.

The building he’d chosen was a good spot for hang gliding. With lots of other buildings around it, Jay had a much better chance of not falling to his death and landing safely on another rooftop. Sure, it was probably illegal, but no one would notice. Hopefully. Jay really hadn’t thought this through. 

Well, too late to back out now. Jay spread the glider’s wings, checked to make sure he was fully strapped in, and jumped.

It was exhilarating for the first few seconds, but Jay quickly found that the rest of it was terrible. The glider worked — he had gotten a smooth takeoff, and he wasn’t falling to his death, but Jay should have realised the billboards scattered around were a hazard. He crashed into one with about as much grace as a manatee and collapsed. The world was swirling. Jay bet that if anyone could see him, they’d see birds flying around his head. 

“Well, isn’t this an interesting sight?” A voice startled Jay out of his dizziness. 

“Wh— huh?” Jay looked up, head still spinning, to see an old man sitting calmly and drinking tea. 

“Who are you?” He blurted, then realised that was probably rude. 

The old man didn’t seem offended. “A dreamer, like you,” he said. 

Jay resisted the urge to call the old man crazy and run away screaming. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“You may call me Wu. I’ve been waiting for you for a while,”

“What are you, some kinda stalker?” Jay narrowed his eyes. 

“No, nothing like that. I want to offer you an opportunity,”

“An opportunity?” Jay parroted. 

“Yes. There is a dark force rising, and I cannot stop it on my own. You have great potential. I want to train you in the ways of spinjitsu,”

“I don’t— what?” Jay’s head spun from all the new information. Or maybe that was the probable concussion. 

“You have potential you are not aware of, and I can help you unlock it,” Wu sipped his tea. 

“What’s this ‘spinjitsu’ gig going to involve? I wanna know what I’m getting into,”

“You would be able to help people. And the world could very much depend on you,”

Do it, something in Jay whispered. He took a breath and put a determined look on his face. “I’ll do it,” he said carefully, “but I need to pack first. And I can’t just run off without telling anyone,”

Wu nodded. “Of course. Meet me here tomorrow at sunrise, and we will start your training,”

“Yeah, sure,”

Wu smiled, picked up his teapot, and walked to the side of the building. When Jay blinked, he had vanished. Stupid cryptid old man and his stupid cryptic messages. 

Jay left the remains of his glider on the rooftop. It was unsalvageable, and Jay figured that he wouldn’t have a use for it anymore. He found his car, shoved the parking ticket into his pocket, and drove home.

The house had lights on when he returned — that wasn’t a good sign. It meant that Dad was back, which meant the argument from yesterday would start again. Great. 

Jay opened the door as quietly as he could, cringing at the creaky noises it made. You would think a multimillionaire celebrity could afford to oil his door hinges, but apparently not. 

Dad was standing in the main hall when Jay turned around.

“Where have you been?” He snapped. “I’ve been waiting for over an hour now.”

Jay scowled and looked at his dad angrily. “I was out.”

“Out doing what? I grounded you,”

“Doing stuff,” 

“You are grounded. You’re not allowed to leave this house.” Dad glared at Jay, but it had lost the intimidation factor years ago.

“Well, I did. And it’s not like you would’ve noticed,” Jay said that last part under his breath, but Dad still caught it. 

“Why wouldn’t I notice?”

“Because you’re never around! There! I said it! You’re never around, you don’t ever know where I am, you don’t care about me!” Jay exploded. “All you care about is your stupid career and fancy house,” Wow, where had all that come from? Jay wasn’t normally very vocal towards his dad. 

“Jason Edward Gordon! Go to your room and don’t look at me until you’ve apologised.” Dad glowered. 

“Well then, I guess I’m not gonna look at you ever again,” Jay spat. He marched up the stairs and slammed the door. 

Cursing under his breath, Jay stomped around the room and looked for his backpack. If he was going to become some sort of ass-kicking vigilante, he’d need supplies. 

Clothes. A couple pairs of socks. Water bottle. Headphones. Tablet. All these items were shoved into a duffel bag — the backpack wasn’t big enough. Though Jay was still bringing the backpack, because it was cool. 

He made a point to be as quiet as possible. Let Dad think he was sulking, when really he was plotting an escape. The old man Wu had said to meet at sunrise, but Jay would have had to pack even if he wasn’t running away, so it didn’t make a difference to do it early. 

Jay looked into his drawers for anything he might want to keep. There probably wouldn’t be any coming back after he left. He found multiple trinkets he’d bring — an old pocket knife, some notebooks, a portable charger. All of those would be useful. 

Digging even further led him to find an old bracelet. It was old and tattered, and the little star charm was banged up, but Jay remembered this bracelet. Cole had given it to him right before he got shipped to boarding school. Jay slipped it into his pocket. 

A bottle of lotion got thrown into the mess that was his bag too, along with a couple books. Jay left his phone. He didn’t want to get tracked, and he rather doubted Wu had Wi-Fi. 

Zipping up the duffle bag and shoving it under his bed proved easy enough. Jay thought about writing a note, but decided not to. Not like Dad would bother reading it. He fell into a dreamless sleep quickly. 

At exactly four o’clock in the morning, Jay’s alarm sounded. He didn’t normally wake up so early, but sacrifices had to be made if he wanted to get to Ninjago City before sunrise. He grabbed his duffle bag and crept down to the kitchen, planning to get a quick breakfast. He didn’t expect his dad to be sitting at the table. 

They made eye contact. Dad opened his mouth, clearly planning to ask what Jay was doing, so Jay spoke first. “I’m leaving,” he said. 

That seemed to stun Dad into silence. “What?” He finally croaked out, face a perfect mask of shock and confusion. 

“I’m leaving,” Jay repeated, “I don’t know if I’ll be back.”

“Why?” 

Jay shuffled his feet. This conversation had not been a part of his plan. “I got an offer,” he decided to say. “I was told that I have potential, and that I could unlock it,”

Dad rose to his feet. “Who?” He demanded. “Who told you that?”

“Just someone,” Jay shrugged.

Dad narrowed his eyes. “Was his name Wu?”

“I— yeah,” Jay admitted. 

“I should have known,” Dad sighed. “Your mother knew him. She always said that you’d have to make a choice, someday. I suppose this is that choice.”

“Mom knew him?”

“I don’t know all the details, but yes. You should go. I think we both need time alone, and it’ll be good for you. Just stay safe,”

“You don’t get to parent me after ten years of forgetting me,” Jay snapped. 

Dad looked at him with sad eyes. “I know,” he said. “I wasn’t cut out to be a parent. If you don’t come back, I understand.”

Jay thought back to his earliest memories. Their relationship hadn’t always been this strained — he could remember good times, with movie nights and silly dance parties and being tucked into bed with a kiss. But he couldn’t find the words to say all that, so instead he said, “I’ll tell you if stuff happens.” An inadequate response, but it would have to do. 

Dad nodded grimly. “You can take the car,”

Jay nodded back and took the keys. He walked out the door, started the car, and didn’t look back. He’d have to drive quickly if he wanted to make it by sunrise.

#Jay is not having a good time in this one #I tried to make his meeting with Wu parallel the one in canon #I think it turned out pretty well #the next one focuses on Cole and Lilly's death #it's going to be split into 2 chapters most likely #bruise childhood friends au #jay walker #cliff gordon #jay ninjago #ninjago jay #lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago au #ninjago fic #kit's writing

[missbaphomet]

Replies won't let me type the full response so here

@thefalse first of all, there's more to meat/dairy consumption than "it tastes good". There are health issues that necessitate eating meat and animal products, and they provide vital vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Your body will specifically even give you cravings for food high in these nutrients when you're in need. Secondly humans are omnivores, our healthiest diets consist of meat AND plant. Livestock also consumes a huge percentage of food waste that humans, including vegans, can't or won't eat. This can be "ugly" food, food too close to expiration, food you can't keep overnight like baked goods. 30% of the diet of that pork chop that I had last Tuesday was food people threw away. Only 36% of food (by calorie) grown globally is eaten by livestock, 55% makes it onto the plate of a human. 9% goes to biofuels.

If you're as worried about resource scarcity as you claim maybe start trying for renewable resources??? The problem isn't "oh wow animals are so bad for the environment", the problem is "companies and corporations are doing bad things for more money and they're only getting worse." You can stop eating milk and honey all you want, but that's not doing literally anything towards what you claim to be advocating for. We can develop new ways to farm that are sustainable and renewable but we can't unfuck the environment with a simple "just don't buy meat lol". It's infinitely more complex than that.

Did you know it's illegal to harvest seeds you got from a tomato at your local Walmart and cultivate them for yourself? That is assuming the plant hasn't been rendered sterile to enforce reliance on whatever company sells the seeds. I personally think that's a bit more fucked up than having a grilled cheese every so often.

Also no one is arguing animal abuse is good, but it's pretty common knowledge that if you abuse your livestock, it reflects negatively in the product. Put simply: animals that are abused then slaughtered for meat make shitty meat. Is there some sketchy shit happening in factory farming? Abso-fucking-lutely. Many livestock animals live on the bare minimum. I absolutely think that livestock should have good lives. Obviously not every cow and pig and chicken can be raised with the same quality of life as a champion show poodle, but they absolutely deserve a nice pasture and good scratch and a warm, comfortable shelter.

You know who provides these things? Local farmers or even just hobbyists. I have several family friends that raise chickens, and we get more eggs than we could ever hope to reasonably eat as a family of four. If you don't eat the egg, toss it back to the chicken! She will happily eat her eggs because they're nutritional and make a damn fine meal. My family also has connections to a family owned cattle farm, and we split a cow up the middle every year, and did for almost 20 years before the owner got cancer and stopped selling beef to focus on his health, and it was damn good beef too. Pigs aren't prominent in my area, but I'm sure I could find one semi-locally. My DM keeps bees and my family went from basically never using honey to buying it by the pint. I think the only thing that my family buys from the store that we couldn't get anywhere else is milk and cheese because pasteurization and cheese making is a huge expensive process that isn't really reasonable to maintain for just a small family.

Ultimately the argument of "but animal abuse" boils down to factory farming, but the solution then becomes just don't buy meat and other products from factory farms.

#baph bleats #i think this is technically eco-socialism? #anti vegan #for the record despite holding beliefs that align with eco-socialism i do not consider myself a socialist #idfk what system is best but i dont believe its capitalism or communism #i think democratic socialism is probably the best bet but it has flaws roo #*too #numbers from NatGeo #and yes i realize popsci mags arent the end-all of sources but its better than most vegans provide (nothing)

[plantsjustwannahavefun]

The renewal campaign had been going so strong during those first couple of weeks that it wasn't until a few days ago the prospect of OFMD cancellation really hit me. I think I just refused to even start considering the possibility that we're really not going to get S3 until just about now. And, fuck, it fucking hurts.

Call me a pessimist but it feels like for the past couple of years asshole corporations and billionaires have been winning battles against users more often than not. I've watched the uproar after Musk took over Twitter, eagerly signed up for several alternatives, and then it all just gradually fizzled out. I took part in the Reddit API protests in June 2023, and that one didn't lead anywhere, either. The renewal campaign has been nothing short of amazing and exceeded most of our expectations, but it seems to me that it's now slowly dying, too. Max has well and truly shown they don't give a slightest fuck, and why would they? To them it's just a weird niche show that somehow managed to jump above its weight for reasons they still don't understand and won't bother trying. It's not art to them, it's just content, as disposable and easily replaced as any other TV show. And the prospect of another streaming company picking it up is pretty nebulous. Has there even been a precedent for this sort of thing before?

I'm just not ready to say goodbye to this fandom, but I feel like I preemptively have to... Because if the renewal/adoption campaign does fall through, sooner or later the fandom will go, too. Not immediately, maybe not for a while, but eventually. One day I'll check OFMD tag on Tumblr and see that there's barely been any new posts this week. That's just what happens with most fandoms when their show ends, that's just life. But, fuck, it shouldn't have to be this soon. OFMD deserves the final season. It's killing me that so many shows that had long overstayed their welcome and ran out of ideas keep getting a gazillion seasons and yet tiny, compact, amazing shows like OFMD aren't even allowed as few as three.

#ofmd #our flag means death #save ofmd #adopt our crew

[kuwdora]

The fraught experience of watching TV in a streaming entertainment economy.

I basically watch new TV with the expectation that current season I’m watching is going to be the last. That includes The Witcher Netflix, btw, but other shows, too. I get the feeling we’ve all sort of…come to this conclusion, right? We’re all so jaded because things get cancelled left and right. Nothing is safe. Nothing. :(

We all have to race to watch The Sandman or Shadow and Bone ASAP instead of enjoying a week-to-week drop. It’s exhausting. I don’t like feeling guilty when I don’t have the brain to watch things. I definitely have just streamed stuff in the background and watched it for real later, too.

Star Trek Prodigy on Paramount? Cancelled and pulled from the platform. People who purchased the rest of the season on Amazon never got the episodes because the rights were pulled. Star Trek is the flagship IP!!! And it STILL GOT CANCELLED. Even though it’s beautiful, and fucking brilliant and incredible television and had new episodes in the pipeline.

The other show I’m currently mourning is Moonhaven. I wrote about that show here. It was renewed for a second season! It’s an fascinating, atypical sci-fi TV premise with great leads and interesting worldbuilding and shooting locations in Ireland. And then AMC decided that they were not going to renew it. It’s similar what happened to Avenue 5 on HBO (Ave 5 was more of a Schroedinger’s Cancellation. It’s cancelled except maybe not? But it really is cancelled.)

A League of Their Own? Cancelled. Willow? Cancelled. The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance? Sense8???? The list goes on and on. :(

I think for me it was in 2017 or 2018 that I really started internalizing this idea that none of my favorite, amazing shows were going to last. Santa Clarita Diet was axed by Netflix far too soon. Same with Altered Carbon. Those cancellations changed me, yeah…

I follow a lot of WGA writers on twitter and there’s been a lot of discussion happening about the Suits renaissance. Suits aired on the USA Network for 9 years with 16+ episodes/season. It’s been streaming on NBC’s Peacock platform for awhile and now has 8 seasons on Netflix. It’s currently the most-streamed show in Nielson’s history, something like over 2 billion minutes now. people are discovering it for the first time or coming back to it for a very happy rewatch.

This writer sums up the situation perfectly.

I also can’t track down the tweet where a writer was talking to a development executive at Peacock who admitted that they wouldn’t be able to get Suits made today.

Ugly Betty is another show that’s having a similar bump (thanks in part to Barbie, people catching up to how amazing America Ferrara is. Also watch Superstore!!) because people are looking for these longer shows that have character development and the longevity.

The only streaming platform I currently ‘trust’ with my vested TV interests is AppleTV. And I only trust them because I can see what kind of free reign they’re allowing their creatives to do with their shows. They’re specific and bold premises and commitment to characters and themes. Similar to Netflix in the early years. I doubt this will last much longer.

On Apple TV you’ve got incredible psychological thrillers like Severence and Silo happening. The musical comedy Schmiagdoon! too.

Ted Lasso got to have longer episodes and handed over showrunning duties to the lead actor with some questionable creative choices made in those seasons. It still got to complete the show on its own terms. Amazing.

Apple TV also has Mythic Quest which is a unique comedy in the streaming age.

It’s a workplace comedy about a fictionalized video game development company. Picture Ubisoft who also provides video game assets/interstitials for the show among other things. It’s Community meets Always Sunny in Philadelphia (features writers and actors from both). A comedy that examines toxic masculinity in a workplace, completely roasts the girlbloss tropes and the patriarchy. The main characters are really autistic and ADHD coded. The show is completely self-aware (at times painfully so).

But what sets Mythic Quest apart and what tells me Apple TV is letting creatives do their jobs: This show has Bottle Episodes! And flashback episodes that don’t feature any of the primary actors! But the episodes are still relevant to the the themes and character dynamics the show is exploring.

In a hyper-serialized streaming world where executives and product strategists are measuring engagement by minutes watched and how soon they watch, Apple TV is letting these folks make episodes you can watch out of order or skip. But they’re also episodes with high rewatchability. It’s a show with a ton of heart. Apple TV renews Mythic Quest ahead of a season premiere. It renews it for multiple seasons. I’ve found this commitment to the longevity of the show very heartening.

In the past I’ve fallen in love with shows that were irreverent, campy, self-aware comedies. All of these were ABC shows so I can’t even rail against the streaming model. But like Netflix shows they weren’t given enough time to reach a wider audience even though I think some of these definitely have Cult Acclaim by now. I showed up bright an early for most of these and my god. The cancellations stung so much. That pain just accumulated over the years. A precursor of what was to come. :(

Better Off Ted - 2009 show. Another workplace satire that was just ahead of it’s time in the way it showed us the gallows humor of being a cog in the capitalist system. Addressed sexism, racism and classism. Funny as hell. Portia di Rossi knew the fucking assignment and fucked its brains out with her performance. Maz Jobrani was only in like 5 or 6 episodes and he was SO GOOD. I made sure to see every local comedy show I could to see more of him once I saw him in Better off Ted. - currently streaming on Hulu

Galavant - 2014-2016 - a fantasy musical. Monty Python meets Princess Bride. Featuring creators and lyricists who worked on 90s Disney films. So fucking funny and cheeky and heartwarming and silly. The music is so GREAT. All my Witcher and Our Flag Meets Death friends need to check this one out if they need something new-to-them that is witty and light and heartfelt. - also streaming on Hulu

Don’t Trust the B— in Apt 23 - a 2012 show with Krysten Ritter!! Before she was Jessica Jones! This show has eccentric women characters and James van der Beek playing a fictionalized version of himself. This is a show that had so much potential and they aired everything out of order and and and and and and I loved it so much. - Hulu since this is again an ABC show. Vid Rec: Applause by elipie.

Selfie - JOHN CHO AND KAREN GILLAN! John Cho and Karen Gillan in a ROM COM. The screeching wails from fandom when this got cancelled. It was an amazing set-up, amazing chemistry. Funny, quirky. You could see the growth in both of the characters!! And! We Never! Got enough!! - seriously watch this on hulu if you can. John and Karen are AMAZING.

Every first season of Star Trek has been wobbly or had wobbily episodes that didn't work or actors were still getting to know their characters. Every first season. Including new Trek! The X-Files? Even rebooted again? I don’t think it would work. Heck, even if they made second reboot of Battlestar Galactica I’m not sure it’d last. FARSCAPE! Got cancelled! By SyFy! They (like Sense8 and Firefly and a few others) got to have a movie conclusion. But at what narrative cost?? The Expanse got cancelled and uncancelled. The Orville got cancelled and uncancelled. I can't get my hopes up about anything unless I know it's a "limited series" at the onset.

I'm exhausted and sad by the state of the industry. I hope the writers and actors get everything from the studios and we can see a shift back to the previous working models again. Better working conditions and pay and residuals.

So I'll eventually watch A League of Their Own and 1899 and I know I'm going to fucking love every moment that we got to have. And then mourn. And go dig up all the fanfic and vids and art that I can to get my fix.

I think for now I'm gonna join in the Suits rewatch cause I love the humor and the character growth and relationships are fantastic. I don't think I rewatched Suits or Ugly Betty since they aired.

#sighhhh. to Fox for cancelling Almost Human. Michael Ealy and Karl Urban were AMAZING #fox also cancelling Pitch. Kylie Bunbury was outstanding. special shoutout to Ali Larter's performance here too #whyyyy fox why did you cancel The Exorcist after two seasons. it was so good. #HANNIBALLLLLL I WILL FOREVER MISS YOU #kuwdora watches #old and cancelled shows #and some new ones too #kuwdora recs #mythic quest #better off ted #galavant #don't trust the b in apartment 23 #selfie on abc #streaming bullshit #textpost #blogdora

[touchstoneaf]

Rewatching yet again and...

Is it just me, or did Crowley seem like he was in a particularly rotten mood after the crucifixion? In the Rome scene, he seems a lot more... I don't know, depressed and less jaunty than he was before. He's always a bit grumpy (understandably so), but this seems excessive, like it's definitely the beginning of him being moody and drinking a lot alone (unlike in the Job scene, when he is drinking and enjoying watching Zira eat; their first time at that kind of date). This is all solitary and morose, and it's obvious Crowley’s not feeling very interested in people anymore... of any ilk.

First extrapolation: it makes me wonder if after seeing the Flood and Job and all of that questionable-to-rotten stuff, then he sees what happens to that "bright young man", and he really starts to get perturbed about god and how things are going for the humans. The beginning of the whole "what's the damn point" mood for him, "because they'll come up with worse things than i ever could." I think that mode starts there.

2nd extrapolation: This is the beginning of something for him: the beginning of him starting to really want to be in Zira's company more often, because of the following observation.

At first he snaps at Zira in a way that's a lot less... willing to just chat with the angel who entertains his questions. Possibly because Zira's a representative of all of this crap that's been going down that Crowley thinks is shit. We always snap first at someone who is close; close enough for us to vent at them.

BUT. When Zira says something he absolutely didn't expect, and was not with the party line, and not something he should have said at all, really, considering his angelic status. ("Oh, then let me *tempt* you!") ...

I think in that moment it revives Crowley's curiosity and fascination with Zira in a way where he had kind of lost curiosity in anything on this Earth to that point, because it all seemed so very depressing and doomed. His entire being lights up at every evidence that Aziraphale might be slipping a bit, and they might be more alike / have more in common (like, 'does this actually mean I might have a friend? Really?' He has no one, he fits in nowhere... and all of a sudden here's this angel (of all people) with whom he feels a common bond (Zira is not just questioning things anymore when shoved face-first into an inconsistency. Now he's actively indulging his hunger when it comes to human things; living fully in the human world and tempting *himself*... which is probably the only reason Zira can actually tempt people, because now he knows what temptation feels like)... Maybe something broke inside Zira, too, at the crucifixion, and the seed that was planted in the Job episode bears fruit after Golgotha, because it's a symptom of Zira basically giving up trying so hard to follow the party line, and starting to really just love humans, and to enjoy them the way Crowley seems to. EDIT: it would be like this show to make Golgotha a turning point for them both, wouldn't it? i mean, symbolism, much?) And so Crowley is like 'oh, friend? Friend?! Exciting, new thing to actually care about?! Is this somebody who might make life on this Earth worth putting up with?!'

Evidence: He suddenly wears this new look of delight and interest on his face that had been totally missing for quite some time. Like a sudden lifting of this existential weariness, that 'what's the point of it all?' vibe... and it's like all of a sudden he realizes; hey. There's something left on Earth (or rather, someone) who can always somehow cheer him up, renew his... well, faith (to use a strong word)... and that's Zira.

Is it just me, or does that meeting feel like a big turning point for Crowley? The moment when his time on Earth starts to revolve around Aziraphale, and in trying to find ways to spend time with him, rather than on just being upset about what he's lost and the way things are going?

I think that's why later on, when Zira starts trying to come up with ways to get himself into trouble so that Crowley can come rescue him (because by that point they've been interacting a lot more often/at regular intervals, and so Aziraphale is starting to want to hoard that time, up to and including literally creating opportunities to be with Crowley even more and as much as possible)... but Crowley wholly buys into the game of coming running when Zira "needs" him, because he really wanted to spend more time with him as much as possible anyway, so, yay! After all, he's the first one to suggest the Arrangement, and I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with making the work easier (I frankly don't think it's very hard for Crowley to tempt people, he can just do it and move on in 5 minutes). I think that's definitely an excuse (like the way he redirected the plan regarding Warlock to something that Zira could swallow, so they could do so together; work together daily, obviously he has no ulterior motive whatsoever for convincing his Angel that it wouldn't be too bad for them to just hang out a bit more often, if only to avert the apocalypse, obviously, they would just be doing their respective jobs, & that is reason enough, right?) . But really, he just wants a reason to interact with Aziraphale more often, and I think he's overjoyed that Zira gives him the excuse so often (hopefully for the same reason? Because he maybe enjoys my company, too? Just a little?). (Once Zira let himself admit he wanted to interact more, because I think they both knew on one level what that was about when they met in Wessex, and Zira is still trying to deny himself that one thing if nothing else, but later they'll both be actively seeking it out, because they're weak for each other... and it transpires he's just more worried about Crowley getting in trouble than about himself. He never got into trouble for the sword, after all.)

And so the seeds of the future are planted.

Edit: WAIT. HOLD UP. Was Crowley over there being the black knight in England on purpose, just so he could hook up with Zira and propose his little Arrangement?! He could have been anywhere, but he seems to show up there for no really good reason. King Arthur is making things too nice?! There was still plenty of fighting and such going on at the time; repeated invasions, etc. It seems like a kind of weak excuse to get up in a whole bunch of uncomfortable (not period-appropriate) armor (they both cosplay as humans, but this is excessive, and they've both established that they both hate discomfort; that's half the reason for going along with the Arrangement). But if it's to ensure their having to meet and argue about things (ie spend time with the crush, by whatever means)...

Tl:dr: CROWLEY STARTED THE SEEKING OUT, ZIRA'S JUST CARRYING ON THE TRADITION AND MAKING IT HIS OWN!

#good omens meta #ineffable husbands #aziraphale x crowley #good omens 2 spoilers

[thekpopgossip]

EXO and SM...

I remember when I started this blog, one of the biggest stories to hit the news was EXO’s China line leaving the group and SM Entertainment (minus Lay). Now we’ve come full circle, the tradition continues and Baekhyun, Chen, Xiumin are also filing for contract terminations to get out of SM, signaling the end of EXO. This one is going to be a long read...

I knew SM never stopped mentally and financially abusing their idols (especially considering how all their idols magically stayed for +10 years). A little more backstory. After half of TVXQ left SM in 2009 because of those now infamous slave-contracts, and basically getting paid pennies when they brought in millions, SM blacklisted the boys, as well as Hangeng from Super Junior, who also left for similar reasons, but promised to change (a lie).

A few years ago, Girls Generation’s Jessica (who got kicked out in 2014) wrote her “fantasy book” about the shady contracts all the idols were forced to sign (rookies sign a 7-year-contract plus an additional 3-year-extension-contract, meaning the idols couldn’t freely negotiate better terms after the first one was up). Then in 2014, EXO’s Chris, Luhan and Tao left for the same exploitive contracts (proving SM hadn’t changed but found a loophole around new labor laws).

All those idols, Jaejoong, Junsu, Luhan, Jessica, etc. are still not able to promote their solo material on music shows, because SM threatened to not let their remaining idols visit those same shows. So cowardly, the TV stations backed SM and blocked everyone who filed a lawsuit to rightfully terminate those terrible contracts. Let me repeat that, the idols won against SM and were allowed to get out of those slave-contracts, but were punished for it by almost losing their careers. This was SM’s tactic for a long time to stop idols from leaving them (”backstab us, and you will never promote on TV again”).

Well, it’s 2023 and three EXO members just filed a lawsuit to get out of their slave-contracts with SM. Yes, SM never stopped financially abusing their idols, even though fans kept denying the incredibly unfair +10-year-contracts. We already know that Red Velvet have those long contracts, because there was zero news about their renewals after 7 years, like with pretty much every other k-pop group. And I’m pretty sure all of NCT and aespa were forced to sign those terrible contracts as well.

We will see how things unfold and whether the rest of EXO terminates their contracts as well, or whether more of the older idols finally speak up about their situation. Maybe even NCT members will try to get out of their contracts, it would be a glorious end to the shady, abusive company that SM is (and fuck Lee Soo Man for stealing idols money, embezzling it, blacklisting innocent singers after draining every penny out of them, and emotionally scaring them for life).

#exo #tvxq #snsd #super junior #nct #red velvet #aespa #sm #sme #lee soo man

[imaginarykpop]

Debut | Iseol

First chapter to Iseol’s main timeline

Words Count: 3757

Warning: A few curse words

Iseol Masterlist

Early 2015

The time is early 2015 and Mari has been training for approximately six years, changed companies once, she has seen her fair share of people, friends that made it and friends that haven’t. Meeting a lot of trainees and trainers, she had so many monthly evaluations, danced to so many songs, sang so many songs and even was prompted into trying to rap, yeah, it wasn’t her thing. Having a disciplined life like that of a trainee wasn’t something new to her, not to the extent that a trainees is, but her past experience in dance taught her persistence, endurance and the value of practice. Practice makes improvements that’s for sure. However, one thing that she wasn’t ready for, was how disappointed she would be, seeing people in the industry make it while she continues in the practice room is surely discouraging. Her mother had warned her that debuting isn’t a guarantee, how she herself was rejected so many times before she made it as a model.

Seeing RedVelvet debut last year was something that shook Mari, she had trained with some of the members(Irene and Seulgi) while she was under SM and now they made it while she hasn’t. She’s happy for her friends but it’s a bittersweet kid of happiness, the I could’ve been with them is real, it made her think that maybe if she hasn’t left that maybe she’d be the extra member of the group. With all this Mari kept telling herself not to get discouraged, to just keep going. Pledis told her that her debut was near, this year, 2015 will be the year she finally achieves her dream of becoming an idol. She’ll turn 19 at the end of the year, she already finished school and enrolled in online collage, the last two years she’s been focusing on being a trainee, she had once promised herself and her parents that if by 21 she hasn’t debuted that she’ll find another career path.

Pledis has made plans of debuting a coed group. The group had a show going as a way of introducing them to the public before their debut. It’s true that there’s more male trainees in Pledis than there is females, but Mari had made her friendships nonetheless, with both genders. She’s been seen as the link between both the girls and boys, seeing as she had trained the longest among all of the females, and that’s just counting her years in Pledis. As time went on the boys were more than the girls, and it looked like that the group was going to have more males than females, something that didn’t bother Mari one bit, and she made it known to the staff and the managers. Her yearly contract with Pledis was ending soon, and she’s been in talks with the company for renewing it, if and only if she was guaranteed a spot in their next group.

It’s currently February of 2015 it’s, February the 24th to be exact, and Mari’s making her way through the familiar halls of Pledis, she had a meeting and then practice. It’s a big meeting that she thinks the CEO will be sitting in for. The day for her contract to be signed, she had talked to her family’s lawyer earlier that day and was told what to look out for, what to accept what not to, and so on, she felt ready. She bit at her bottom lip as she walked, feeling nervous but giddy if all went well then her dream will start to come true. So the rush she was feeling wasn’t something that scared her, her heart is beating loudly, she almost didn’t hear herself being called.

“Unnie!” Mari wasn’t the oldest female trainee but she knew the voice well enough to know she’s the one being called, turning around Mari saw Gaeun one of the female trainees and the one she considered closest to her. Gaeun is a year younger than Mari and so Mari looked out for the younger since she joined the company, Mari always had that motherly sense to her and liked to take people under her wing.

“Gaeun-ah, hi!” Mari smiled brightly hiding her nerves well, Gaeun jogged to stand in front of Mari, Mari being on the short side(thanks to her dad) had to look slightly up to look Gaeun in the eye.

“Do you have a meeting, now?” Gaeun asked, she looked so innocent in Mari’s eyes, she was scared that when they debut she’ll be taken advantage of her one way or another, but having the comfort of them being together calmed her a little, knowing that she’ll be there to look out for her.

“Yeah, I’m singing my contract, when’s your meeting? Dami Unnie said it was today?” Mari asked, remembering that this week a lot of contracts will be signed, Dami another female trainee heard the managers talking about it and told the girls.

“Yes, I think after yours.” Gaeun replied and looked from down the hall to Mari. “You’re signing right? You haven’t changed your mind.”

“Don’t be silly, of course I am.” Mari giggled, she talked about this since the meeting was set nine days ago. “I won’t leave you to debut on your own, don’t worry I have your back.”

“That’s a relief, I just wanted to make sure.” With that Gaeun pulled Mari in for a hug, Mari was startled at first but returned the hug, moving them from side to side.

“Mari-sii!” One of the managers called for Mari, he was standing by the meeting room door. “We’re ready for you.”

“I have to go, I’ll see you after.”

“Okay, bye Unnie, and good luck.”

Mari released the girl and made her way to the meeting room, her nerves came rushing back and she felt adrenaline pumping through her body, her heart was beating so fast it felt as if she had a bird flapping it’s wings inside of her. She had to get a hold of herself as her insides were churning.

This is it, she told herself, what I’ve been working for, what I’ve been slaving towards, what I left home for.

Walking inside the meeting room, the girl bowed to everyone present, her CEO, couple of managers and an HR personal. Taking her place at the table, Mari’s mouth went dry, her lips were already red from her constant biting at them a habit she wanted to stop, but that wasn’t her focus right now, at this moment the CEO was smiling at her and that comforted her a little, she had always been a model trainee, she has never been in trouble and always got top marks on her monthly evaluations. The CEO saw so much potential in her, for various reasons, there’s so many plans sat for her, but it was all in due time.

“Mari-ah, how are you today?” He asked her with a neutral tone.

“I’m alright, thank you for asking.” Ever the polite girl, Mari answered, surprised how she could keep her calm and collected not once had she wavered, that made her happy; none could hear her hammering heart then. “How are you, sir?”

“I’m good, before we start, I wanted to tell you that if you do sign the contract you’ll be the first female to sign, however some of the guys already signed.” The CEO told her and Mari had to bite on her lips, and this time it wasn’t because she’s nervous, it’s to keep her from smiling. Her dream is becoming a reality. “I wanted to sign you first, and thank you for all the hard work you’ve done.”

“Thank you, I’m happy to have been chosen.” Mari replied, the optimum idol in her is making an appearance, everyone had no doubt that she’s nervous, who wouldn’t? But they could see nothing, she acted as if she’s doing her everyday activity. With a nod from the CEO the HR personal gave Mari a few papers, her contract.

“As requested, we’ve sent it to your family’s lawyer.” Mari nods at the words by the HR, Mari hates relying on her family when it came to her work but in a case like this, with a seven year contract on the line, it’s a different case. Not everyone at the company knows who her family is and she likes it like that but the CEO does know, and he had agreed to the her request of getting her contract reviewed by the lawyer as a favor for the family. “But feel free to look over it and once you’re ready, we’ll begin signing.

Mari looked over everything just like she was told to do, and told her future members to do. Once she was sure everything was in order she began the signing process, a few papers were signed and everything was cleared and the HR pointed out what he needed to do before everything was said and done, and Mari had finally signed her debut contract. This year she’ll join her debuted friends and be an idol. The smile on Mari’s face wasn’t going away and she didn’t want it to go away.

Sharing a few pleasent words with everyone in the room promising to work hard and do her best for the company and the group. Once out of the room and the door closed behind her, she fist pumped the air feeling happy, the grin on her face permanent. And it didn’t take long after that Mari was on her way, taking the elevator to the training floor and to the room she was assigned to go to for training that day.

Walking inside the practice room, Mari saw that only the boys were present, not thinking too much about it as she was called by so many voices. They all were asking the same thing, and Mari knew they were dying to know.

“Okay, okay, everyone calm down!” She laughed and they all shut up to hear what she had to say. “I signed.”

Cheers were heard around the room as Chan jumped around making Mari jump with him, she’s giddy, happy and over the moon, it felt like she can do anything at the moment. “Another one, made it.”

Seungcheol said placing an arm around Mari, he and Jihoon already signed their contracts and Joshua, Mingyu and Wonwoo were set to sign today as well, the rest of the boys and girls were set to sign through out the week.

Speaking of the girls, they all came in but before anyone could say anything their dance instructor came in after them and everyone was in training mood. Just because they were being signed didn’t mean they’ll slack off.

Three days later Mari was still on the high of finally debuting, having talked to her family for hours the day she signed. Having her family in Seoul meant that she can go and visit them as much as she wanted, so she’s been sleeping there the last couple of days, and going to the company from her family house. Her older brothers were both studying abroad and so that made her parents excited to have Mari back at home even if it was only to spend the nights with them.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Mari, Soonyoung, Jihoon and Minghao were all stretching out to dance in the studio for practice, laughing about one thing or the other when they were startled by a staff member that rushed into the room. She looked flustered and about to pass out, her eyes looking all over the faces in the room before they settled on Mari. The girl slowly stood up scared from the look she was getting, looking at her friends for any sign that they know what this is about, but they also knew nothing.

“What is Unnie?” Mari asked getting closer to the staff.

“I need you all to come with me.” The staff said urgently, it sounded like an emergency.

“Mari, or all of us?” Soonyoung asked, coming up behind Mari as well, everyone can tell that whatever’s going on is something not good and from how she was looking at Mari it scared them.

“All of you.”

“Why? What happened?” Jihoon asked but they all got up from their places anyway.

“Just come with me.” Turning and leaving the room, they all rushed to follow the staff, Mari’s palms were sweaty, she wasn’t looking forward to this at all. They were making their way to the the meeting rooms, on the administration floor, this is something important. Getting into the big conference room, the rest of the males in their group were present already, everyone looked confused. Seeing that they weren’t the only ones summoned made it easier for Mari, at least they aren’t the only ones there, but having the absence of the other girls still made it clear that something isn’t right, maybe they’re calling them.

“Is everything alright?” Mari asked before the staff could leave, she gave Mari a sad smile and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, making the younger female dread this even more.

“I’m sorry Mari.” The female staff whispered and left the room.

“Wait! Why? What’s going on?” Mari called but received no answer, walking inside the room, Mari took one of the empty seats between Jeonghan and Vernon. “I’m getting scared.”

“Have you guys been told anything?” Minghao asked the rest of the guys, but no one had an answer, making small talk and speculating on what the emergency meeting was about, didn’t help or last long, before an array of different people, important people in the company came in, a few lawyers were present as well. The CEO was the last one to make it inside.

“Everyone here?” The CEO asked and once receiving confirmation from the staff sighed and stood behind his chair, his hands on the back of it, everyone looked stressed and on their last nerve, taking a deep breath before looking at all the young faces, he had personally picked for the group looking back at him with wide eyes, his eyes stayed on Mari for a little more than the rest, making the girl swallow the lump that formed in her throat. “Okay, there’s no easy way to say this, but there has been a change of plans regarding Seventeen.” Everyone held their breath, hearts dropped, eyes went wide and mouths went dry, sharing scared looks. “It seems like some people changed their minds and will not sign their contracts meaning they won’t debut.” Things started making sense to Joshua, Soonyoung, Jeonghan, Jihoon, Seungcheol and Seokmin. “Everyone here signed their contracts and that why you’re here.” Jeonghan took Mari’s hand in his, this is going to be hard for all of them but it’ll be harder for Mari, the only female present.

“W-What?” Mari breathed, her voice was quite only those closest to her are the ones that heard, her heart skipped a beat, fighting her rising panic she tried to take deep breaths, but even those were shaky.

“Seventeen was supposed to be a co-ed group but as of right now, Mari is the only female.” The CEO continues, Mari didn’t hear what else was being said, as she tried to understand and come to senses about what that meant. What’s being said can’t be true, it can’t. How can this be? She talked to all of them yesterday. All eyes fell onto the female, Mari opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before she looked to her side at Jeonghan who squeezed her hand. “I know it’s shocking, and this changes a lot of things, but the debut date has already been set so that won’t change, the line up is changing.”

“You’re kicking out Mari as well?” Jun asked, he doesn’t want to debut without his best friend. The CEO and the lawyers shared a look but didn’t say anything.

“I-I signed the contract.” Mari said and looked desperately at the staff and CEO, her mind running a thousand mile and hour. “It’s for seven years, I can’t wait for another group, Seventeen is my last hope to debut.”

“I know, I’m sorry this happened Mari.” The CEO said and sat down in his chair, he felt bad for the girl, however as of now there’s no definite answer as to what they’ll do with her yet. “I wanted you to debut, you’re one of our best trainees.” Tears gathered in Mari’s eyes, she knew where this was going. “We need a few days before anything is confirmed, but as of right now, there’s no other female trainees in the company that’s ready to debut, the girls that were supposed to debut all didn’t sign their contract and refused to continue as trainees, the possibility of debuting someone else in the near future is slim, so we’re trying to find a solution.”

“Since you signed the contract, we’ll look at all possible ways to make this work.” The lawyer said, he had a frown on his face as did a lot of people in the room. “The company’s legal and strategy’s are looking into everything as we speak.”

“In the mean time Mari, we want you to continue training with the boys, until we find a solution.” The CEO said and Mari only nodded, not caring to listen to anything afterwards, all she focused on is not crying. Soon enough only the fourteen of them were left in the room, Jeonghan turned Mari’s chair around and pulled the girl in for a hug. Mair clutched his shirt as she hid her face away from view and just let her tears out, her body’s shaking with sobs.

She was so happy a today and now it felt like everything went crashing down, her world turned upside down and there’s nothing she could do, feeling betrayed and stabbed in the back hurt. Why hasn’t the girls told her? They agreed to do this for sure, there’s no way all of them agreed to this, and Gaeun, how can she wish Mari luck only to leave her like this, possibly ruining all of Mari’s chances of debut. They should her out, left her to rot, they know well enough how the industry is like.

“Has any of the girls said anything to any of you?” Mingyu asked his members, his eyes not wanting to fall onto the crying girl.

“No, nothing.” Seungkwan said and moved closer to Mari, placing a hand on her back for comfort. They knew they’re set to debut but Mari’s future is now unknown.

“How can they do this?” Wonwoo wondered not expecting an answer, this is bewildering. Left them speechless and wonder their knowledge of the people they called friends.

“Mari-ah, don’t worry, I’m sure that they’ll find a solution.” Joshua said softly to the still crying girl, his heart broke for her, to be so close and get everything taken away from you, the girls left her high and dry, they didn’t even tell her before she signed. Assholes the lot of them. He thought they were all friends, that they’ll all debut together, they’ve been training for long together, they all have gotten close, or so he thought.

“Noona, we all love you and want you to debut with us.” Chan couldn’t help but say, he’s one of the closest people to Mari and is quite clingy when it comes to her. Mari being the motherly person she is had taken him and everyone young under her wing always making sure he’s okay, well rested and helped him in any school relates issues or homework. He was one of the most excited to debut with her, so hearing his voice waver wasn’t a surprise.

“Channie is right, we all want you to debut with us.” Vernon said and a corse of agreements soon followed, Jeonghan ran his hands up and down Mari’s back as she calmed down a little, pulling back and looking up at Jeonghan with still trembling lips made him pout and wipe her tears away with his thumps.

“Come on don’t cry.” Jeonghan told her tenderly. “You’ve got us and you already signed the contract so we’ll make sure you can’t get rid of us that easily.”

“Oppa.” Was all Mari managed to say before she started crying again, Jeonghan pulled in again for a hug.

Seungcheol hated this so much, he was angry more than anything, he hoped not to see any of the girls soon. Huffing he gets up and leaves the room, Jihoon seeing the state he’s in leaves after him, with Soonyoung following after.

“Hyung, where are you going?” Jihoon asked coming up behind the oldest member.

“I’m going to talk to manager-nim, there must be something we can do.” Seungcheol answered with determination, Mari had to debut with them, this is her last chance, there is no way her family would let her continue training and debut after this, if not with them then there’s no way for her to debut this is her last chance. Literally her last chance.

“We’re coming with you.” Soonyoung said, they shared a lot knowing what they had to do. And so the three future leaders all went on the hunt for their manager to try and talk them into letting Mari debut with them.

After Mari had calmed down, she was out of energy, there was little chance she’d be able to train. But she didn’t want to go home, so she sat on the floor of the training room while some of the boys half-assed their way into following the steps to the song that was playing, Seokmin and Jun sat on either side of Mari. They all felt like they shouldn’t leave her alone for a moment, she needed all the support right now. Jeonghan and Joshua along with Wonwoo were talking by the door in hushed voices, about Mari going back to the dorm she shared with the girls, they didn’t thinks he should go alone. Wonwoo doubted that the girls would still be there, Joshua stated that even if they weren’t, being there alone would leave Mari a mess and for now the girl made it known that she wouldn’t tell her family. If they find out they’ll make her terminate her contract and just pay the penalty. They had the money for that, they’ll do what any sane and capable family would do, even if Mari herself doesn’t want to.

What a mess.

#14th member of seventeen #one shot #seventeen imagine #seventeen one shot #svt 14th member #svt one shot #svt #joshua one shot #jeonghan #scoups #seungcheol one shot #wonwoo #hoshi #soonyoung #woozi #Jihoon #junhui #Jun #mingyu #the8 #minghao #dk #dokyeom #Seokmin #seungkwan #Dino #Chan #Vernon #iseol #Mari

[buffyfan145]

Turns out I missed a lot of “Rings of Power” news going out of town yesterday. LOL First off on a serious note I’m glad the cast and crew are all ok after a fire broke out on set. It turned out it was an electrical fire in a warehouse and they were able to put it out quickly and restart filming an hour later. The UK studios they’re using have been used by other shows too so it seems like this building was older. But is weird this happened only a few weeks after a horse died on set, but that horse was revealed to have an undiagnosed heart condition and it was going to happen anyway.

Then the trolls and purists are out in full force as The Hollywood Reporter posted an article going after Amazon and with insiders claiming the whole company’s TV and movie productions are all being run so differently and it’s unorganized. They mentioned many of the other productions besides “Rings of Power” but then they revealed that only 37% of the US viewers have finished watching season 1 and 40% have worldwide. So this caused those users to leave comments all over social media and on the articles that the show should be cancelled (including now from fans of shows Amazon did cancel last year). However like an actual fan pointed out to them if the numbers Amazon said last year overall were over 100 million viewers that checked the show out that still means 37 million in the US and 40 million globally finished the show. That’s still really good numbers and matches the end of year numbers for Amazon as only “The Boys” beat out “Rings of Power” in viewership. None of Amazon’s other shows matched that including their long running series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Jack Ryan”, and they’ve renewed other shows for far less viewers than that.

So “Rings of Power” is not getting cancelled anytime soon. They got a 5 season commitment order but still have to renew formally each year and season 2 has been filming since October and will finish by August to air in 2024. Deadline also confirmed the writers have already started writing season 3 too. If anything if these numbers were “bad” they would actually cut the budget first for season 3 before cancelling. Then maybe negotiate for an earlier final season with season 4 and scrap the spinoff that was confirmed in the works. But I still don’t see that happening as again it’s Amazon’s 2nd most watched original show they’ve ever had and we’ll see how season 2 does but if they retain the viewers they should be fine.

#the lord of the rings #the rings of power #haladriel

[sideblogforcrimpy-plus]

Title: Build Me Up, Buttercup

Words: 4,473

Rated: General, there’s no smut. Idk, teen and up. There's Kissing and Thoughts but no smut

(pspsps it's on Ao3, too)

Creative liberties taken with/setup for this fic: Reid has an uncle who owned an old house 20 mins away from work. He passed, so it went to his mum, but his mum is in Bennington, so it’s fallen to Reid. Going by the age and poor state of it, it really might fall down though. Dr. Spencer Reid needs some sort of builder. Derek Morgan is some sort of builder.

Between the fees for Bennington, his own apartment and utilities, and his constant take-out when home (which isn’t nicely covered by a meal allowance from work), Spencer was stretched thin financially.

Finding out that he’d inherited a house a tolerable distance from work where he wouldn’t have to pay rent, or a mortgage, seemed too good to be true. Standing in the entryway now with flecks of paint on the floor that came off of the peeling walls and ceiling, it became a bit more believable for Spencer.

He walked around and assessed the house. He was a handyman by no definition, and wouldn’t dream of carpentry work by his own efforts, but it would be costly.

He’d be able to stay in the house now, and rent a storage unit for the bulk of his belongings. That’d be cheaper than rent at his apartment, and the funds saved could go towards paying someone who fixes houses like this for a living.

Returning home after a gruelling case, Spencer wanted nothing more than to fall in bed and not get up for maybe a week. Yet, he also didn’t want to get in the clean sheets without having a shower, and also didn’t have the energy for a shower. A tired, frustrated huff passed his lips before he fell onto the couch, bent his legs, and pulled his barely used laptop over to rest on his lap.

He pushed the screen back and started typing at an angle he knew would have his wrists  protesting soon enough, and started looking for someone to help with restorations.

Spencer was growing concerned that restorations would cost quite a bit more than he’d bargained for. The companies he’d found initially hid a lot of their pricing in obscure parts of their websites. The most alarming were those with no pricing details listed anywhere, but incredible, old mansions in like-new condition splashed all over their pages.

With renewed energy, Spencer was pushed into researching and hunting until the sky started to show signs of lighter hues in anticipation of the dawn. But, he’d done it. He’d found an individual contractor who had good reviews in spades until a project five months ago. A negative review gained a lot of traction for a one-man business, and then there wasn’t much after that. They’d relocated, conveniently close enough to Spencer where he might be able to hire their services. Spencer sent an email that he’d deliberated over the wording of for 17 minutes before hitting send.

After, he found himself with enough energy to shower and finally collapse in bed.

It was after another case away from home that Spencer could finally meet the contractor he might be hiring, and he’d used all his free time studying before they were set to meet at his house.

He’d bought a secondhand bookshelf just to hold the books he’d bought and borrowed from the library. Behind the bookshelf, just incidentally really, were a few small sections of bare wall where old paint had been sanded away.

Spencer’s fingertips were still raw from handling the sandpaper for so long, and he hadn’t considered chemical paint stippers until the next day. He was keeping that knowledge to himself for as long as he could.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock at the door. He’d almost ran to pull it open, and then decided it felt a bit strange to answer it so quickly, so had a purposeful slow breathing moment to himself before actually opening the door. 

Somehow, he was embarrassed about having someone come into the house; there were paint flecks everywhere, and webs that he didn’t want to move because who was he to ruin the spider’s house? They were there before he was, actually. The floors were in some sort of state that he didn’t know how to explain, but they needed love and care he wasn’t skilled to give. 

Additionally, parts of the floor creaked underfoot that made him think of a very budget nightingale floor. Suddenly, he couldn’t recall if they’d alerted his visitor to how fast he’d moved to answer their knock.

“Mr Reid, right?”

“Uh, Dr Reid, actually. But um, but just ‘Reid’ works fine as well.” The man before him raised his brows before nodding, then gestured to the house behind Spencer.

“Alright, Reid, I’m Derek Morgan. Care to show me around? I’d like to see what I might be getting into.”

I know what I’d like you to get into. Spencer almost choked at the thought; Morgan was a treat to the eyes, and he hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility. He felt he might not be able to continue with his plan at this point.

“Y-yeah, sure. Uh, come in?”

The more he walked around the house, the more animated Derek seemed to become. His hands were non-stop as he smoothed them over old wood, pointed out craftsmanship time had not been kind to, and gestured a lot while explaining how he could fix these things for Reid.

It was quite a lot to take in for the academic, so unused to physical labour like that Derek did for a living. The dark cloud of concern was held at bay, however, by the bright excitement and energy Derek was exuding.

They made their way back to the front entryway when the tour was over, and Spencer’s fingers were twisting together in anticipation of a quote for the work.

“Alright, pretty boy, you got a lot of good here that needs only a little elbow grease to really stand out. But you’ve also got some things just shy of actual structural work that needs more careful handling. I think-”

“Ah, sorry, but before you go on. Would uh, would the cost be reduced by uh, an additional helper?”

The light dimmed a little, and a tinge of disappointment coloured Derek’s next words.

“I don’t play well with others, man, I wish you’d told me about other workers on site right at the start. I don’t-”

“Sorry to cut you off a second time but I-I don’t mean I’ve hired another business. I more mean uh…” He lifted a hand to run his fingers through his hair, embarrassed again. “I mean that this house requires a lot of work, even if in large part it’s only cosmetic. And that much work, well, I have a budget to work within.”

“Right.” Disappointment gave way to confusion as Derek waited for more information, his brow raising at Spencer’s hesitation.

“What I mean to say is, would the cost of renovations b-”

“Restorations; continue.”

“Yes, of restorations, would they be reduced if maybe I also uh, helped?”

Derek laughed then, the tension that had seeped into broad shoulders falling away. Spencer thought about other ways he could relieve tension for the man before him and forgot to feel offended.

“Pretty boy, you think you're capable with those skinny little arms?”

Ever the evader when he doesn't like the answer, Spencer almost scoffs while responding, gesturing to the bookshelf behind him. "Would a person with this many books on the subject not know how to do the work?"

In a shorter time than Spencer had planned on, Derek found that yes, absolutely, someone can have that many books on the subject and still not have the skills required.

But Spencer is paying him in instalments and the man is pretty and brings him snacks and mostly the right tools when asked (he only gets each wrong once).

“Spencer, man, come on. Why are you looking at the sander like you’re afraid of it?”

“I’m not afraid of it!” Spencer looked between the power tool at his feet and the smaller one Derek had left in the corner. “I just think that maybe that circle one might be a bit better to use.” It certainly looked less imposing, and like it might be quieter.

“You think a small orbital sander is gonna be better for you to use than a drywall sander?”

Spencer shrugged, a distasteful gaze trained on the contraption on the floor beside him. Derek watched him for a moment, looking like he was holding back a laugh before he moved to get the smaller sander.

“I’m gonna run you through a scenario real quick, alright?” He came up behind Spencer, leading the younger over to the wall. He put the tool in Spencer’s hands, guiding them to the wall. When he’d asked if Spencer was ready, his lips were near Spencer’s ears, so Spencer just nodded without really thinking it through.

When the sander was turned on, he jumped a little in surprise, and it felt like he could the deep baritone of Derek’s laugh reverberate through him.

He could hear that Derek was grinning. “Easy there, tiger. We’ll do a small bit, hm? Don’t push too hard, or the motor has to work too hard. Don’t move too fast, either. It’ll leave too many marks on the wood if you do.”

Spencer was taking in the information being given, but he was also taking in the press of Derek’s body against his. The heat of Derek’s body at his back, his smooth voice at Spencer’s ear, and his hands guiding Spencer’s along all seemed rather unnecessary, but very welcome.

He hadn’t been able to think of a single thing to respond with by the time Derek started up again.

“You feel that?”

Spencer could have choked, and he couldn’t even use the excuse of mess from the sander being the cause because a surprising amount of it was being pulled into the dust extractor. Thankfully, Derek kept going.

“Your arms will get tired holding this up against a wall. And I don’t know if you noticed, but every wall in this house is in need of some sander TLC.” At Spencer’s nod, he turned off the tool and stepped back, placing it down to pick up the larger, and in Spencer’s eyes more intimidating one.

“But this larger one, that looks heavier, will not tire me out so quickly?” Spencer was sceptical. When he put some thought into it, it probably would be better given its shape. But his limited experience with power tools, or even tools, had him shy away from them.

“Trust me, Spence. Now watch.”

He’d like it a lot more if he could just watch the man at work, but it’d do nothing for his bank account were he to follow through with the urge.

-

When Spencer was told he could use his hands and sandpaper, he was initially excited. This quickly vanished after less than five minutes of sanding skirting boards while sitting on the floor. Sanding was the worst.

Spencer and Derek sat back, an array of mostly plastic containers around them that had held different kinds of sushi in each as they looked at the freshly painted wall.

Personally, Spencer would like to eat outside because the smell of paint was getting a bit strong by this point, but Derek looked comfortable so he wasn’t about to usher him outside.

Outside. It’d be a whole other issue to fix the yard, one he didn’t want to think about yet. So he decided not to.

“I thought this would be done with a paintbrush instead of a roller.” He gestured to the wall the were facing, fumes making him scrunch his nose up.

“If you were rude, rich, and paying me by the hour? I just might.” Derek laughed, changing positions from sitting to laying on his side, propped up by his elbow as he looked over to Spencer. “The finish is usually smoother with rollers than brushes anyway, for this.”

Spencer smiled. His legs were crossed as he sat on the floor, and he’d hunched over with his elbow on his knee so he could prop his chin up in his palm. “So because I’m poor and trying to help instead, you’re being nice?”

“It doesn’t hurt that you’re easy on the eyes, either.” Spencer was glad his hair was long enough to cover his ears; he could feel that they were embarrassingly warm. “Even if you are covered in paint.”

“I’m what-?” Spencer straightened, bringing his hands up to touch his face, then dropping them down to his clothes to see small flecks of paint over them. He cursed.

“Wishing you took my recommendation of wearing less liked clothes for today’s work?”

Spencer sighed, nodding. “Yeah. I liked this one.”

Derek chuckled, “you might be able to get that out. Come on, time to get back to it. I’ll get one of my spare shirts from the car so you don’t make yours any worse.”

He did feel a bit silly; it was very clearly too large for him. Loose at the collar, and about everywhere else as well, it was well worn and sported a couple holes. He was conflicted about how many feelings he had wearing Derek’s shirt, too.

Did it only feel intimate to him?

By the afternoon, he suspected he wasn’t alone in the feeling. He’d caught Derek looking at him more than usual throughout the afternoon, and couldn’t hold back the shy smile he had each time it happened.

“Sorry I’m late!” Spencer rushed in through the front door, tripping but not falling over cords on the way to Derek.

“Less worm from you means more from me, and means I’m getting paid more.” They grinned at each other when Spencer walked into what would be the master bedroom. On Derek’s advice, they’d knocked out a wall to allow what was a separate bathroom be turned into an ensuite. Spencer was amazed at how much Derek completed while he was away on a case.

“So much has changed since I was last here.”

“Good change?” Derek looked mostly confident, but had a hint of uncertainty about him. Spencer liked that the more time they spent together, the better he was at reading Derek’s expressions and tones.

“Good change.” He reaffirmed, leaning in the doorway as he took in the now open space. “I never would have thought to do this on my own. How long have you been doing this for?”

Derek shrugged, taking Spencer’s arrival as an invitation to a break as he leaned against the wall to watch the curly haired man. “A while. Years. It started as a passion project on my own house, then turned into a job after a couple years of that.”

Spencer couldn’t stop the playful snicker. “Getting all sweaty and dusty was part of a passion project?”

“I haven’t noticed you turning up your nose at me all sweaty and dusty.” Having the tables turned on him, with the addition of the flirty glint to Derek’s eyes, wasn’t what Spencer had planned for.

“W-well, it doesn’t hurt that you’re easy on the eyes.” He was at a loss, but borrowing Derek’s comment from a few weeks ago seemed to be the right thing to do. Derek laughed, the full bodied laugh that made Spencer’s chest feel like a shaken box of butterflies.

“Don’t think that sweet-talking will get you more of a discount, pretty thing, because it probably won’t.”

“Only probably?”

Derek scoffed, taking a step closer as he tilted his head. “Well, flattery helps, on occasion.”

Spencer wet his lips nervously. He felt like if this conversation went on even a little bit longer, it might change the dynamic of what they’d built up. He hadn’t had something like this before, and he loved it. While the thought of advancing further wasn’t unappealing in the slightest, the fear of change was.

Still, he couldn’t stop himself from dragging his eyes over Derek’s form. The man was built like he was based off of the god Adonis himself.

Derek seemed to note the hesitance, cocking a brow as he watched Spencer.

“Uh, I was meant to bring us something to eat, but the flight home was later than planned.”

Derek’s smile softened from flirty to something just as intimate, but in a way Spencer couldn’t explain, and he shook his head.

“Don’t stress that pretty little head of yours. You know I fed myself pretty often before I started working with you.”

Spencer caught his lip between his teeth, a coy curve to his smile as he dropped his gaze. “While that may be so, I’d feel better if uh, if I did still treat you to something. It’s a bit late for a lunch now,” despite how self-conscious he felt, he did look back up at Derek then. “So what about dinner?”

Fear of change shouldn’t get in the way of Spencer building on the best thing that had happened to him in a while, he’d decided.

“How could I say no to an offer like that?”

Unable to maintain the eye-contact, he dropped his head again, instead watching his shoe as he scuffed the floor underfoot. He tried to contain his excitement, pressing his lips together. But he could still feel it on his face, and it felt too obvious for Derek to miss it.

“Guess you’d better say yes, then.”

Spencer was losing his mind.

He was seeing Derek so frequently, and each time, their interactions seemed loaded and heady.

He’d learned a lot about restoring a house, and had acquired a bit of muscle, and one hell of a crush. If the girls saw how he interacted with Derek, he was sure Penelope would say something about puppy dog eyes, and Emily would call him ‘whipped’.

Each night where the two had spent some time together, he was torn between loving how they played off each other, and tortured they weren’t doing more.

Derek seemed to find excuses to get in his personal space, which was normally quite unwelcome. And the few times Spencer had given even half a reason for Derek to do so again, the man seemed to run with it.

One of the most replayed memories Spencer had was when Derek, probably not expecting Spencer home so soon, was working with his shirt off. Granted, the temperature was high that day, and Derek was absolutely doing hard work, so it was reasonable. But Spencer’s mind seemed to short circuit.

Surely, Derek didn’t miss how Spencer had reacted. He was only able to think straight once Derek put his shirt back on. Well, think at least a little clearer, at least.

For his own sanity, he was just hoping Derek would be fully clothed when Spencer got to the house today.

Even so, he was disappointed when Derek was.

“You know kid, we’re almost done with this.”

Spencer frowned. Looking around the house; he could see that Derek was right. An electrician had come in -one Derek recommended- and updated fixtures and added more outlets. A plumber had come in to do what Derek wasn’t certified for, again, someone Derek had worked with previously.

The thought of being in the finished house on his own was the original goal, but he felt uneasy at the thought of it. It must have shown on his face, because Derek looked a little concerned, even if his tone was teasing.

“What, you think we oughtta make more changes?”

He slipped his hands into his pocket, shaking his head as he looked anywhere but at Derek. “No. Are there any more changes you’d recommend?”

“None that are in your price range; I think we’ve done pretty well. Don’t you?” Spencer heard him step closer, shook his head in response as he leaned back on the wall.

If he couldn’t outright say that he wanted another excuse to keep hanging around Derek, then where did that leave him?

Derek came to a halt in front of him, head tilted as he tried to get Spencer to look at him.

“Something troubling you, pretty boy?”

Spencer took a breath and lifted his head, then let it all out in a stuttered rush when he realised how close Derek was. He wet his lips again, and saw Derek’s eyes track the movement.

“Derek.”He didn’t know what to say; what to do. His head was just filled with static while his heart was filled with feeling and it left him unable to do much at all.

“Spence.” Derek’s voice was quiet, brimming with the same emotion clogging up Spencer’s chest, and now he was looking at Derek’s lips as his hands twitched in his pockets with the urge to reach out to the man before him.

Derek repeated Spencer’s name, and he didn’t know what to make of it. Was it a question? A request for permission? It felt like a prayer.

Derek moved to press his palm to the wall beside Spencer’s head, and the status hum in his mind seemed to fizzle out with a pop.

As soon as it did, he was rushing forward to press his lips to Derek’s. The man didn’t stumble back or hesitate, but instead brought his other hand up to hold Spencer’s waist.

His grip was firm, like an anchor to Spencer’s roaring emotions. He slipped his hands out of his pockets and up to Derek’s chest, then slid then up a little further to curl around his shoulders.

The moment was ground to a halt by Spencer’s phone ringing. His fingers at Derek’s shoulders gave a gentle squeeze before slipping back down the man’s chest. While they were no longer kissing, they hadn’t pulled away from each other, and Spencer’s quick breaths seemed to be matched by Derek’s.

“You have to answer it, don’t you?”

Spencer hesitated, then nodded, eyes still closed as he curled his fingers into the front of Derek’s shirt. Afraid that if he were pulled away to work, this moment with Derek wouldn’t flourish into something more permanent.

He let his head fall back to the wall behind him, and missed Derek’s eyes roving over the column of his neck as he swallowed.

“Yeah.”

Derek’s thumb rubbed at the skin of Spencer’s hip, and even over his shirt, it left goosebumps in its wake. “Come on then, pretty boy. It’s probably important. You probably have to go.”

It’d happened more than a handful of times when he and Derek had been working together. But he felt like he might yell about it happening now, of all times.

It was important, and he did have to go. Not just to work, but for a trip on the jet as well.

Since he’d need to leave in a rush, he didn’t have time to talk to Derek, to try and figure out what they were doing going forward.

His frustration didn’t go unnoticed by the BAU.

“Come on now, I want to see Reid’s hunky builder.” Penelope was quick in her bright yellow heels, rushing the grinning pair of Emily and JJ.

“And not the house he’s spent months restoring?” JJ tilted her head in question when Pen turned around to wave a hand in exasperation.

“Well obviously that too, Jayj. But come on, Reid’s been talking about this hotshot handyman for far too long; I have to see if he’s meeting my expectations. Given how Reid’s talked him up, I’m expecting Eros.”

“Eros? Why specifically that god?” Emily laced her fingers with JJ’s as they stopped walking and took a moment to admire the front porch.

“He’s the god of love, girlies. Passion and physical desire. I have a feeling he’s struck our beautiful Super Brain with an arrow.” She looked between the two women before waving her hands again. “Eros is also Cupid.” With that, she turned and knocked on the door, a wide smile of anticipation delightfully shaping her lips.

The case that pulled him quite literally out of Derek’s arms was a rough one, and he wasn’t able to return home before the house actually was finished.

He didn’t know how to talk to Derek without using the house as an excuse now, and maybe Derek hadn’t either - the two hadn’t spoken since Derek last updated him about the house and Spencer paid his final instalment to Derek.

With the girls inviting themselves over though, Spencer grabbed the flimsy excuse for what it was.

“They want to see what we’ve done with the place.”

“And you need me around to give them a tour of your house?” Spencer heard the teasing smile in Derek’s voice, and suppressed a smile even though Derek was on the phone and not in the room with him.

“Well, there was a lot of work done. I won’t be able to explain it all, but you could.”

“Alright, handsome, I’ll be there.”

Spencer, who was wringing his hands nervously in the doorway with Derek waiting nearby, was mortified. Derek raised a brow at him while out of sight of the ladies, mouth opening to say something Spencer decided that no, he didn’t want to hear.

“Garcia!” He dutifully ignored Derek’s laugh in favour of a tight hug from Penelope, shooting a look at Emily and JJ they didn’t know the meaning of.

Spencer’s flimsy reasoning of having Derek over was highlighted by the fact that the girls mainly just ‘ooh’ed and ‘ahh’ed without wanting to know much about the technicalities.

Derek was telling them little bits, though, and Penelope let out a noise of surprise. “Wait, you actually had our boy genius working with power tools?” She was looking between an embarrassed Spencer and a grinning Derek.

“Yeah, I’d say he handled them well.”

Spencer thought he felt a bit faint when, in an obvious stage whisper, leaned into JJ saying “I bet that’s not all he got a handle of.”

Spencer may have squawked, tripping over barely started sentences as Derek laughed.

-

“Your friends seemed to like the place.”

“My friends are terrible. I hope they got a good look around because I might not have them back here.”

He was joking, but embarrassed. He and Derek were leaning on opposite sides of the front doorway, the door only just having been closed after watching Penelope, JJ, and Emily drive off.

“Come on now, they weren’t that bad.”

Spencer narrowed his eyes at Derek, his cheeks flushing. They looked at each other for a moment, then Derek stepped closer, a sly look on his face as he spoke again.

“Although Emily wasn’t entirely wrong, you didn’t get too much of a handle on me there.” Spencer’s eyes widened in surprise, a shocked laugh the only reply he could get in before Derek continued. “Not as much as I would have liked, at least.”

It was quickly reaffirmed, many times that day and in those following, that Spencer didn’t need an excuse to contact Derek, to see him in person.

But that didn’t mean either of them wouldn’t take any excuse they could get and run with it.

#Was I moving from WIP to WIP like I was playing hot potato with them deciding what I was able to write? #Yes #And did I stay up late again writing? #But did I edit this one before posting? #Fuck no. I'm tired and I want to sleep and it's been in my drafts since June last year gosh darn it #She DESERVES to be POSTED without delay #Moreid #Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid #Criminal Minds fanfic #Pls don't let this one flop like my last one did what a greivance #/joking #(mostly) #CM fic

[incarnateirony]

Hi! I have a couple of burning questions about The Winchesters and I figured I'd ask someone who knows the field and might have given this some thought already (thank you for your time!): 1) Do you think it's getting 13 episodes or 18-20?; 2) When can we expect to know who else's writing? do you expect more SPN alumns or all/mostly 'newbies'?

You know...

[drums fingers on desk]

This is a harder answer than you probably expected. Not from not knowing, just complexity.

If this were regular CW, hands down. Several years running, full seasons, the short order extended only a few episodes into air.

But this isn't the normal CW.

Not only did they genocide their properties during renewal, now they're coming for summer shows not moved to fall. Tom Swift JUST GOT ORDERED. It didn't even finish its SHORT ORDER. And it got cancelled.

And by CBS, 9PM, Summer standards?

...Tom Swift was actually doing okay. Like timeslot equivalent of Walker, I just guess they projected it to have its normal audience loss and drop under that bar, which seems to be by which everything else was cancelled.

*If* this is being determined by ratings, I still see the Winchesters as a mix of stepping stone and accordion show.

CW is in transition. WB is. The whole fucking industry is, with Disney saying they should have fiscally sustainable streaming by 2026, and everyone figuring out their methods and market dominance along similar streaming roads, just... not Disney.

But Jensen explicitly cited HBO Max, not CW, for an SPN revival, which seems pointed. As long as there seems to be general activity and support, the reunion has PROBABLY already been talked about as straight to HBO Max.

That leaves Winchesters as a property expanding the franchise while it's developed, while Max figures budget and the new digital world out, and while Nexstar massacres things gradually into your granny's favorite network.

The show premise isn't built to be sustainably infinite. It can be told in 10 episodes, or it can be spread out and immersive for a few seasons, but not infinite.

Just enough to bend there.

I have a feeling The Winchesters is going to be on air exactly as long as is needed to make that a Max Exclusive, and build out branding for WB -- something they are STRUGGLING WITH right now-- franchises. DC is a mess, Rowling is [gestures vaguely at] and those are diminishing returns, and so on. So, say, the show runs 2-3 seasons then closes up shop, but gets imported to the 2025~ max library, along with all spn, while the new reunion whatever releases.

Boom.

But as for season length? Whatever it takes to work with Nexstar and we don't know their stipulations. We know CBS and WB each own 12.5% of the network, which probably basically accounts to space share, and still mostly leaves primetime available, but on stricter ratings standards.

Provided it turns out as expected, my GUESS is that whatever short order amount (10-13) was ordered will probably be what we get this year. If we do get an extended order, it'll still turn up short, like 16-18 episodes, because GK debuts early 2023, and it's basically exchanged time/space, so whatever they have probably won't run through May or whatever.

But this lets WB and CBS size up properties and bank on their new earners that tick BOTH boxes successfully--perform enough for nexstar live but also build out their streamers.

Unless Nexstar starts terminating its scripted TV Fall 2023, we'll probably get a full season that year.

CBS will be considering similar with Windy for Paramount+, which they already tried to bring Yellowstone into with some upset when it was only digital, but the compromise is eventual, leaving Walker and Windy competing on platform for the same audience on a much lower budget being doubled over for them by the parent company--Windy's likely to bite ratings dust, Walker may hang in a few years. Maybe. It looks like it's scratching the line. But I'm struggling to figure out where its final digital home will be. It won't be Max forever. And if it ends up off classic air, would CBS bother to bankroll it for Paramount+? unlikely.

[todayisafridaynight]

No for real the Should've Adapted Yakuza 2 take is the only one that doesn't make even a little sense to me. I will say it. I feel like a lot of people still think it's a movie (even though I literally wrote it was a TV series...) and so they're mad they're "redoing the first movie instead of making a sequel" when that's not even what's happening.

Plus the show has no relation to the (at this point almost twenty-year-old) movie; completely different companies, completely different people working on it, completely different approach (RGGS actually having a say vs. Miike and co more or less just doing whatever).

Technically, it's even a different game--like, on top of it being Yakuza Kiwami rather than Yakuza, the series itself has changed drastically from what it was when the movie came out. I think the reason a number of people are disappointed by the movie is exactly that. Like IMO the movie is more or less (at least tonally) representative of what the appeal of the series was at the time, which is all it was trying to do. But most fans today haven't even played PS2 Y1 and Y2, let alone only played PS2 Y1 and Y2, so it can leave something to be desired.

With casting, my dream of a Tomoya Nagase Kiryu 'cause he's partly based on him was shattered so I'm biased lol, but I appreciate that Takeuchi's been bulking up for the role and changing his public image, and I'm excited to check out some of his previous work. I love Kaku already from Super Salaryman and other roles (DW AT ALL BTW GUESS WHO STILL HASN'T WATCHED EP 2 OF FIRST PENGUIN KLJSJKLFG) but I have yet to see him in a serious role so that'll be fun :)

But like. While I tried to pick images that were close to our images of Kiryu and Nishiki, these are promotional shots, not styled and costumed in-character. I think people are also kind of glossing over the timeskip. Like yeah, Takeuchi's only 30, but pre-timeskip Kiryu is 27 and he has to believably play him too. That's especially notable when the story of Y1 could easily be told in like 5 or 6 hours, so perhaps what we're doing for the other 2-3 hours is spending more time pre-timeskip. I'm kind of speculating even some 0 scenes may make it in, because they were described as being dressed in "flashy suits and patterned shirts" at the shoot.

Overall, I do personally regret starting the series with K1 and it's my least favorite starting point (out of 0, Y1/K1, 7, and Judgment), but at the same time it's the only story that can be properly told within one eight-hour season. So. Y'know. It makes the most sense. I'm of course hoping it turns out enjoyable regardless because I'm obligated to watch it either way for the wiki lmao (and hey, maybe if it does well enough to get renewed, my faves will get a turn). I do think it's got the most potential of any of the adaptations so far, at least, aside from the other upcoming Judgment one.

Anyways uhhhhhh I hope we see Kiwamine in the background of a shot just vibing

no like thats what i mean: it makes total sense as to why they'd start from Y1 it just makes the most sense for a brand new adaption independent of the past iterations 😩 in any case im interested to see what everyone brings to the table and how they handle adapting Y1 now with all of the games and content that have come out since the initial movie/stageplay releases ♪(´▽｀)

#snap chats #my whole dumbass didnt even realize kaku was playing nishiki LMAO LIKE I SAW THE CAST POST #BUT IT DIDNT CLICK WITH MY HEAD THAT HE WAS ALSO IN SS i also adore him in that #so it WILL be real fun to see how he handles nishiki now that he has to be more serious. And Depressed. Most Likely #god the thought of the rgg tv series becoming successful enough that actors who played characters come back #yk what i mean like i know yasuko was mocapped from maju ozawa. Lest I Don't Mention The Obvious Characters For A Moment. #so if we can make it at least THERE then that'd be really funny (unless there are other earlier charas but we get what im saying right) #(no elaboration needed i just mean Please Itd Be Funny If This Actor Reprised Their Role To Play The Character In A Drama This Time) #buuut again im not hopeful theyll go beyond Y1. they say dreams lead to disappointment so i simply Do Not Dream (❁´◡`❁) #But But again in any case im stoekd to see what they do this time around :) #would be hilarious to have The Forbidden Mine model show up for a split sec in the show ☠️ #like 'hey guys. remember that time we were going to put this chum in the game. lol'

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

Vows (Chapter 3)

In which Agi and Estinien visit their sixth child Celestine---a fashion designer in Radz-at-Han for some renewal outfits.

Celestine Varlineau admired her latest designs in her own little boutique in Radz-at-Han. Having apprenticed and traveled, she decided to return home to stay close to her parents but not living there, choosing instead to live above her boutique.

She was not shocked to see her parents wander in one warm, sunny afternoon. “Mummy! Bapa!”

“Hello, sweetie! How are you?” Agnes asked, hugging her second daughter tightly. Estinien followed close behind. His limp isn’t so bad today. Excellent!

“Good! Just had an order for a bridal party, so that’s exciting! How are you two? Keeping out of trouble, Bapa?” She winked. Her father retuned the wink and tapped his cane on the floor.

“Heh, you know it. Me and Mummy want to commission you to make our outfits for our anniversary celebration in Ishgard. Now, now,” he held up a hand when Celestine opened her mouth. WHAT?! “we are paying you full price. Just think of us as regular clients, not your parents.”

Uhhhhhhhhhhh. “I appreciate that very much, but—”

“No buts! Except your Mummy’s.” He pinched his wife’s ass, and Celestine groaned. You two…you two are worse than horny teenagers.

“Alright Bapa, enough. Since you’re both insisting then…let’s have a seat and discuss what you want.” She showed them to a small table with a decorated Hannish tablecloth and a few chairs. “Let’s start with Mummy.”

Agnes thought for a moment. “Oooooh, I’d love a flowy off-white dress that’s long---Ishgard is cold after all---and a low neckline.”

Estinien chuckled.

Mummy always said if you’re proud of yourself then show yourself off. She really loves her tits! Celestine started sketching. “What else Mummy?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure what else. Maybe some new flats?”

Sparkly flats. Mummy loves sparkles. Celestine nodded and made a few notes before turning to another page. “Alright Bapa, your turn.”

“Well,” Estinien scratched his chin. “Nothing too fancy. A nice pair of trousers…white shirt…mayhap a waistcoat or something? I’ve got boots.”

No, you don’t have boots that are appropriate for a vow renewal. “Any pattern or silk on the waistcoat?”

“Ooooooh, what about a nice blue silk on the back that matches your eyes, love?” Agnes was practically giddy with excitement. “That would look so handsome on you.” Mummy, as always, is absolutely right!

Estinien took her hand and squeezed it. “If you think so, my love, then let’s do that.”

Celestine looked over her notes and preliminary sketches and grinned. “Perfect. I’ll get started on these as soon as I’m able…but first I need accurate measurements for both of you.”

“Ladies first.” Estinien murmured, pinching his wife’s ass as she approached Celestine.

“Bapa, can you…be normal for five minutes?” Celestine groaned, charming the measuring tape and taking her mother’s measurements.

“Hmph, you should know, little one, that this is normal. I can’t resist your Mummy.” Estinien harrumphed, much to the chagrin of his second daughter. GET A ROOM!!!! “Mummy is—”

“Mummy is very happy to have so much attention, but love please, we’re in Celestine’s shop as paying customers not her parents.” Agnes giggled and winked at Celestine. THANK. YOU. MUMMY. You two can be embarrassing as fuck at home in my company, not in my shop! WHAT IF SOMEONE WALKS IN AND SEES THEM BEING…THEM?!?!

“Fine, fine.”

The rest of visit went without any more incidents, except when Bapa told me to leave some room in his trousers for his belly. Gods, he’s such…he’s the best father in the world but so embarrassing!

I hope they like what I make. I mean, they always do! Always! My biggest supporters are them, but this is important. I need to make the best garments ever for them.

“You didn’t have to embarrass her so much, love.” Agnes giggled as they walked to the nearest aetheryte. “I thought she was going to tell you off!”

Estinien laughed heartily and squeezed his wife’s hand. “Heh, I was hoping she would. She’s always so funny when she does that. Yet another thing our second daughter has in common with you.” As they approached the aetheryte, Estinien stopped and turned to look at Agnes. “Do you mind sitting with me a while when we get home? Tis such a nice day, not too warm—”

He was interrupted by her taking his face in her hands and kissing him soundly. When she broke the kiss, she was smiling. “My darling grumpy dragon, as if I would ever say ‘no’ to that.”

Then she pinched his ass as she teleported away.

“AGI, YOU NAUGHTY LITTLE SAUSAGE ROLL!”

#agnes currai #agnes varlineau #estinien x wol #estinien wyrmblood #estinien varlineau #wolstinien #celestine varlineau #the varlineau kids #the tables HAVE TURNED #celestine is the one that growled as a baby lol

[noveltyreads]

Seoulmates by Susan Lee Book Review

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

If you need a happiness boost, you have to read Seoulmates.

I absolutely devoured this book from start to finish. It was light, fluffy, absolutely readable and I found myself falling deeper and deeper in love with it with every page. It had everything I wanted: a summer romance, friends to lovers, angsty teenage main character and soft, actor love interest who honestly just needed a hug. This book has been on my to-watch list of 2022 and when I managed to get the ARC of it on NetGalley, I practically screamed in delight. 

Seoulmates follows main character Hannah whose boyfriend just broke up with her, claiming they have nothing in common. When Hannah's childhood best friend, and now up and coming K-Drama actor, Jacob Kim comes back from South Korea, Hannah uses his knowledge to aid her in getting Nate to be with her again. What Hannah leaves out of the equation is her developing feelings for Jacob as they uncover what really went wrong that caused a rift in their friendship previously. 

This book is told in two perspectives: Hannah's and Jacob's. I think this worked perfectly with the story and it allowed us to get further glimpses into their characters including their vulnerabilities and their desire, ultimately, to be loved. Hannah was trying to fit in with her American friends thinking that in order to do that, she needed to shut out the Korean part of her Korean-American identity. This in turn made Nate and his friends drift away from her, making the very thing Hannah was shunning out the thing that set her apart from the others. You could see the toll this took on Hannah and how underneath that angsty girl facade, there was a girl who just felt scared, sad and vulnerable. I could see how she just wanted to feel okay again and how she felt like in order to do that, she needed to prove herself worthy of Nate's affections. In the end, I'm glad she developed on her self-worth and self-esteem, realising that maybe things would never have worked out with him to begin with. 

Jacob on the other hand was seemingly living a dazzled life in South Korea but the truth was far from it. He was an actor in a popular new K-Drama show which just got renewed for a second season. After a PR disaster, his management tells him to take a holiday while they deal with the problem. Jacob and his mum and sister decide to head back to San Diego for the first time in years. While Jacob questions his future on a TV show with restrictive rules on what he can and can't do, he starts to feel a little bit stressed from the pressure his manager and co-star put on him, telling him he's not good enough at his job. Eager to take a break, Jacob tries getting as far away from the spotlight as possible with the company telling him not to bring any attention to himself. Jacob's internal struggle was with being good enough for other people and you could see this conflict between what he loved doing (acting) and the expectations others had on him to be up to par. 

I loved how both character's flaws were really shown in this book and I think that's why I found I could relate to the characters as much as I did. Hannah was angsty but you could see how much she cared especially with how she wanted to become an immunologist to help people with allergic reactions after seeing how it affected someone she knew. While she tried hiding it on the inside, you could see past the facade and I liked how the book dealt with breaking down those shields Hannah put up around herself. Jacob was slightly more transparent in my opinion, but I loved seeing how gentle he was with Hannah and his compassionate and warm nature. 

On top of the characterisation, I really liked the family dynamics between the Cho's and the Kim's. I love books with family at heart and great banter and it makes me so happy when said family dynamics also come with home-made food and cooking. This book made me hungry for Korean food so my recommendation is to have a few snacks on hand while reading this. 

All in all, this book made me happy, with cute, relatable characters and deep themes. Minus, the vomiting scene at the start, this book, to me, is close to five stars. 

ACTUAL RATING: 4.7 STARS 

#ya #young adult #ya romance #romance #seoulmates #bts #kdrama #korean #kpop #RM #book review #reviewer #book reviewer #bibliophile #booklr #bookish #bookstagram #book obsessed #bookaholic #cute romance #fluffy romance #susan lee #book recs #book recommendations #five star book #reading #read #happy books #happy