#scattershot on low

[gabe495]

Scattershot on Low

Alternate “night” cover of Scattershot on High.

#scattershot on low #scattershot on high #alternate cover #original character #vrame #the commodities #low angle #low angle shot #low angle perspective #evening sky #clouds #evening clouds #blue color palette #yeowninefive #suggestive

[alldayeveryday-candycandycandy]

Oh hey they got nachos

#fnaf movie #as someone who's worked in an ice cream place or two #the price for a milkshake is incredibly low #all the prices are fairly cheap except the pint #it makes it hard to place the year tbh #maybe late 00s - early 10s? #all the prices follow a pattern so i'm gonna say it was a scattershot design #which is fiiiiine it's just a little detail #maybe it doesn't mean anything at all 🤔

[deliciouspirateangel]

god bless Darling Dollz and ModernGurlz for so eloquently stating why the Barbie movie fell flat. I thought DD was being too generous and while I don't always agree with MG's videos, this one hit the nail on the head for meee. Definitely worth a watch

#barbie #barbie movie #the barbie movie #barbie 2023 #greta gerwig #margot robbie #darling dollz #moderngurlz #youtube #my thoughts #like obviously men are dumb as hell for thinking this movie hates them #but also women i know our standards are low but goddamn #this movie was just so scattershot and all over the place and didnt feel like a satisfying conclusion to anythinggg #but at least barbie world looked cool and the costumes were fun #anyone who worked on props or set or whatever deserves their awards #also michael cera best supporting actor give him his flowers #allan carried

[tanginawrites]

The Marauders didn't stop bullying Snape after the prank. It actually got worse.

A lot of people are surprised to realize that the scene in Snape's Worst Memory happens after the werewolf prank. When first reading OOTP, people generally assumed that SWM showed escalating tension between the Marauders and Snape that up led to the prank. But in DH, we see Snape and Lily talking about the prank before SWM. This means that the Marauders are still singling Snape out and targeting him after prank. Why?

My theory is that the bullying actually got worse after the prank. Because the only way to hold their friend group together was for the Marauders to double down and rally around blaming Snape for what happened.

Think about it: How did that incident not tear them apart? Sirius not only exposed Lupin's secret – he also attempted to use Lupin as a weapon against Snape, and he could have gotten James killed in the process. That's a huge betrayal.

But Sirius isn't mature enough to take responsibility for it. Lupin isn't self-confident enough to confront Sirius about it. "James would-consider-it-the-height-of-dishonor-to-mistrust-his-friends Potter" isn't going to be the one to lay blame on Sirius or break up the group. But it's too big an issue to ignore. The only way they can get over this is to put it all on Snape. It was just a joke, and Snape is an idiot, and James is a hero.

If you compare the two incidents that the books show us of the Marauders bullying Snape, you can see that totally different dynamics are driving the bullying. This shows how and why the bullying got worse after the prank.

The first bullying incident we see is on the Hogwarts Express, when James and Sirius engage in verbal bullying of Snape, with one small attempt at tripping him up as he leaves. This bullying is a form of bonding for James and Sirius and forms the basis of their friend group. This is an example of bullying driven by Peer Group factors (source), and this sort of bullying is generally done to:

to attain or maintain social power or to elevate their status in their peer group.

to show their allegiance to and fit in with their peer group.

to exclude others from their peer group, to show who is and is not part of the group.

What we're seeing here is that the soon-to-be Marauders are in new environment and they're defining their peer group and establishing social hierarchy, trying to establish their status. The Marauders continue in this pattern of Peer Group bullying throughout their school career, as evidenced by the detention records Snape has Harry transcribe in HBP. The Marauders seem to have thrown out hexes in a scattershot way to establish superiority over other students and look cool. This casual, incidental sort of bullying is likely what Snape experienced for the first several years of school.

But what we see in SWM isn't bullying to maintain Peer Group dynamics. This bullying isn't just flinging a single insult or a clever hex. James and Sirius hunt Snape, they deprive him of his wand and ability to escape the situation, and they repeatedly hex him until Lily (temporarily) stops them. This incident is extremely personal. This is an example of bullying driven by Emotional factors, and this type of bullying is done when the bullies:

have feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem, so they bully to make themselves feel more powerful.

don’t know how to control their emotions, so they take out their feelings on other people.

may not have skills for handling social situations in healthy, positive ways.

What we're seeing here is all the fraying edges of the Marauders' friendship. Sirius has just damaged their group, but he can't apologize or address it without accepting blame, so he has to take his emotions out on Snape. Punishing Snape is a way to exorcise his guilt. And it's actually imperative that he bully Snape into silence, because he is the one who has revealed Lupin's secret to Snape and put them all in jeopardy. Lupin can't confront Sirius about the betrayal of trust, and likewise he can't confront his friends here. Not only does Lupin not have the emotional security for handling this situation, he also can't risk putting himself in front of Snape in this moment, lest Snape scream "Werewolf" instead of "Mudblood." James is here trying to work through his own insecurities – in bullying Snape he is defending his friends, but James is also trying to get Lily's attention. James offers to change his ways if she'll give him a chance, because James needs to reassure himself that he is chivalrous, that he is a hero.

Looking at the way the bullying dynamics change and escalate in those two scenes, I think it’s clear that Lupin’s line, “Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James so you couldn't really expect James to take that lying down,” is an understatement.

Snape was a special case because he knew Lupin’s secret, which would always make him a potential threat. The Marauders would always take any opportunity they could to reinforce that Snape was powerless to do anything to them. And they’d continue to take out all their emotions about the prank on Snape rather than confronting each other.

#hp meta #severus snape #pro snape #headcanon #snape's worst memory #snape meta #snapedom

[stolenslumber]

hang your head low in the glow (pjs)

In this moment, you’re glad that you’re anchored in his lap, because otherwise you think you might float away into the night sky, on your way to join the stars in the cosmos. Jay is so crushingly sweet; sometimes, you just don’t know what to do with the weight of all his sincerity. For now, you settle for a fervent, “I like you so much.”

OR: A selection of moments in between the parentheses at the end of devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes (some things may not make sense without reading that first, but it's up to you!).

PAIRING: park jongseong x female reader GENRE: established relationship, fwp (fluff without plot), no like seriously this is just straight up fluff and romance and making out with scant narrative WARNINGS: swearing, kms/kys jokes, kissing and suggestive content/sexual themes WORD COUNT: 10k (derogatory)

to all the boys i’ve fake-dated before (you, jay, sunghoon, yeonjun, chan, vernon, mark, and 5 others)

jay: peace out losers (except for my REAL gf whom i adore and cherish)

*jay has left the chat*

sunghoon: omfg no way???? jay bitchless era no more?

you: are u calling me a bitch

sunghoon: NOOOO i would never haha btw do u still talk to my sister

you: yeah

sunghoon: right so i’m just ur humble liege

chan: congrats, you two! well i guess jay can’t see this

you: i will accept your congratulations on his behalf :DD i’m really happy you guys 

mark: stop i’ll cry

vernon: no rly i’m next to him rn and he’s tearing up

mark: they deserve it so much!!! after everything i put them through 

you: excuse me it was mostly me

you: all jay did was orchestrate an elaborate scheme to get you and mina together (okay so he did a lot)

you: but we ALL participated

you: and i had to pretend to DATE you

mark: only for like two hours!!!!

yeonjun: wait this reminds me i’ve always wanted to know what ur ranking of us as fake bfs would be

you: in first place: park jongseong

yeonjun: and then?

yeonjun: hello??????

“Can I ask you something?”

Jay turns his head to you. “Of course, baby.”

Baby. Hearing it still makes you all silly and giddy, though it’s been four days since you started dating him for real and hearing it all the time. Baby, doll, Cinderella, mine. He sure has a way with words. You clear your throat, hoping that your voice won’t crack when you say, “Why were you so weird about the fake-dating thing in the beginning?”

He makes a face at you. “What do you mean, weird? You’re telling me you thought I was weird about it, even after you had to endure Sunghoon?”

“Sunghoon was just awkward. Really awkward, but still. You stalked me to my front door—”

“Your front door is, like, 90 seconds from mine.”

“— and walked with me to Nat’s at a glacial pace, while not saying a word. And then we talked for an hour about random stuff before you promised to help Mark with Mina, even though you weren’t sure you wanted my help. Why were you so weird about it all?”

“Pretty girls make me nervous?” He offers you a winning smile.

“Flattery won’t get you everywhere, Park Jongseong.”

“Yeah, but it’s getting me somewhere, isn’t it?” He rolls all the way over to hover above you and then dips so low that the pendant on his necklace swings in front of your face. The two of you had escaped the party in the frat’s basement after it had gotten too hot down there; Jay said he “knew a spot”, which made you laugh when it turned out to just be his bedroom. But then he pushed open his window and coaxed you out onto the flat roof, and that’s where you had settled on your back, gazing up at a cloudless sky, scattershot through with faint stars. 

Well, you were gazing up at the stars— now, Jay occupies your line of sight, and he’s all smiles and hearts in his eyes. It’s not an unwelcome substitute.

Your hand slips between your bodies so you can rub your fingers over the pendant on his necklace; you laugh when you realize what it is. “J as in Jay? Like T as in Troy?” 

He huffs, rolling off of you to sit back on his heels. “No, J as in Jopping. Yes, J as in Jay!”

You hold your hands up, still laughing as you sit up to face him. “Okay, okay, sorry! Didn’t realize my boyfriend was also a preppy high school girl.”

He rolls his eyes even as he pulls you into his lap. These days, he’s hopelessly afflicted with must-be-close-to-my-girlfriend syndrome. “I have layers, Cinderella. Like an onion.”

“... Are you paraphrasing Shrek?”

Jay flicks at the tip of your nose. “You know, it reveals just as much about you as it does about me that you caught the reference.” 

“You’re not helping yourself in the high school girl category,” you tease, but it’s all syrupy sweet fondness, punctuated by a playful tug at his reddening ear. 

He turns his head to kiss the inside of your wrist. “Do you want to hear my answer or not?”

You nod and straighten your spine with your hands folded neatly against your chest; the picture of propriety, if it weren’t for your legs straddling his waist as he leans back on his hands. “Yes, please.”

“I was… sussing you out, I guess. You know why I wanted to bring someone to my parents, but I couldn’t just bring anyone. I wanted to get to know you a little better, to see if you were someone I could actually see myself wanting to be with, because anything less would be a disservice to my parents. I didn’t want your help if I couldn’t confirm that you were the real thing. And then I saw how patient but also no-nonsense you were with Mark, and how quickly you were willing to help with a frankly crazy plan, and you just… felt right. You felt right to me; you felt like the real thing.” Jay blushes, ducking his head to avoid your gaze. Everything he said is true, of course, and he doesn’t regret telling you any of it, but saying it out loud like this makes his heart feel like it’s going to fall out of his chest.

In this moment, you’re glad that you’re anchored in his lap, because otherwise you think you might float away into the night sky, on your way to join the stars in the cosmos. Jay is so crushingly sweet; sometimes, you just don’t know what to do with the weight of all his sincerity. For now, you settle for a fervent, “I like you so much.”

Jay’s confidence comes back like a boomerang. He leans up and catches your hands in his, draping your arms around his neck before gliding his hands up and down your back. “Who’s flattering who, now?” 

You shrug. “Where’s it gonna get me, gorgeous?”

“Well, only because you called me gorgeous.” And then he’s kissing you, lush and lovely. 

Fall trickles into winter, and there are final exams and goodbyes to your friends before you and Jake leave on a two-week trip to see your family in Australia. You and Jay FaceTime almost every day; he complains about getting pasty staying indoors in the cold while you’re out tanning on white sand beaches. 

“Should I fly out there?” he muses one day close to the end of your trip. “You could be, I dunno, in danger! Because of the sun. No one to help you put sunscreen on your back… or check that you’ve applied enough on your legs… or your chest… It’s really important, you know. Skin cancer awareness.”

You laugh. “Thanks for the PSA, baby. I’m coming back in a few days, though, so I think I’ll be okay.”

Jay sighs mournfully. “I’m not. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” you confess. Living across the street from each other at school and seeing him in person almost every day for the past few months has spoiled you. 

“I miss you, too,” Jake mimics beside you. You’re in an Uber on the way to dinner with your parents, so you can’t commit much physical violence against him, but you do punch his shoulder.

Jay pipes up with, “Was that Jake’s voice I heard?”

You glare at your twin before popping out your earbuds to put the call on speakerphone. “Unfortunately.”

“Yo, what’s up, my man!” Jake cheers, shoving his face into view of the camera.

Jay and Jake chatter about some game they started playing with Heeseung, and you have to admit that you’re really happy about how well you and Jay have integrated into each other’s lives and communities. Of course, Jake had never been a big concern; secretly, you think he loves that his best friend is dating his sister. You’re two of his favorite people in the world, though he’ll only admit it when he’s four shots in. 

Soon, you approach the restaurant, and you have to say goodbye to Jay. He encourages you to keep sending videos of Jake falling into the ocean while surfing, which prompts a loud bout of complaining from Jake.

“You better not have shown that to anyone else,” Jake grumbles.

“Yunjin loved it,” you remark casually, just so you can laugh loudly when he jolts in his seat and turns to you with panicked eyes.

He whisper-shouts, “Why would you say that word? And why the fuck would you send it to her?” 

“What word— love? Oh my god, grow up. And she asked for updates on you.” Your eyebrows furrow. “I think she missed you, or something.”

“She did?” Jake beams; he’s entirely a different man now. “What else did she say about me?”

You point at him accusingly. “You have a lot of questions for someone who claims that they’re just buddies with my girl Jen. Which, again— grow up. Anyways, Jay, we have to go, but we’ll see you soon! Love you!”

“Love you, baby. And you, too, Jake,” Jay adds, before Jake can whine. 

A few days later, you’re finally reunited with Jay at the big New Year’s Eve party his family throws every year. The Parks always get to host the last party of the holiday season; you’re excited to experience it with Jay for the first time. 

An hour before the party is set to start, you let yourself into the Park estate and make your way surreptitiously to Jay’s room. His back is turned to you when you open the door slowly, and you stop for a moment to just drink in the sight of him, comfy and cozy in a cable-knit quarter zip sweater— the definition of huggable. Quickly, you sneak in and wrap your arms around his waist. “Hey, handsome.”

Jay cranes his neck around to look at you. “Hey! You’re here early.” 

You let go of him so he can turn around and hug you back properly. “Couldn’t wait to see you,” you confess. 

“Thank god.” He drops his head into the crook of your neck and inhales deeply. “Mm, the world is finally rightside up again.”

You laugh softly. “We are so dramatic.”

“Unavoidable for hot people,” Jay reasons. He pulls back up to wink at you; it’s so cheesy that you have to hold your hands up to his face to avoid looking at him. He laughs outright, and the return of that sound so close to your ears— as opposed to through the phone across an ocean— makes you smile uncontrollably wide.

“I really missed you,” you murmur. Finally, finally, he leans in and kisses you. It starts as something innocent and comforting, then quickly gets subsumed into fire and passion. You fist your hands into the collar of his sweater, hauling him closer to you with an enthusiasm that makes his fingers dig into your waist.

“Missed you so much. Missed this so much,” he says, right before sliding his tongue against yours. Soon, he transitions to sucking your bottom lip into his mouth, breathing a litany of love you, love you, love yous into you. The kiss is so deep it makes you go lightheaded, and when you separate for air, the sound of your mouth parting from his elicits a faint pop that makes you shudder. He’s considerate enough to back off briefly for you to catch your breath, though he doesn’t make it easy. “Pretty, so pretty,” he whispers against your cheek.

You have to close your eyes to calm yourself down. Right now, you think you could power a whole city with the desire that vibrates underneath your skin. “As much as I want to keep going,” you begin, already doomed with how hoarse your voice is, “I think you have to start getting ready.” The way your fingers pull at the zipper of his sweater is wholly unconvincing. 

He sighs and straightens up to rest his chin on the top of your head. “I should really learn how to reconfigure the time-space continuum. Time needs to stop when I’ve got my girl with me.”

You hum in agreement, curving around him slightly to scrape your teeth over the birthmark on his neck and grinning when he hisses into your ear. “You’re a smart guy; I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” you offer, continuing to tug at his zipper until you’re met with the end of the quarter zip. A frustrated sound escapes your throat at the obstacle.

“What’s your new year’s resolution?” Jay asks suddenly.

“What?” You blink hazy eyes at him; he has to pinch his own wrist behind your back to fight the urge to kiss you again.

“Just trying to kill the mood so I don’t go out there with a hard-on,” he explains, half bashful and half serious. “I have to make a speech, you know.”

“Thanks for coming, everyone! Hope you had a great last year, and here’s to an even better new year. There, speech done.” You withdraw your hands from his sweater to make jazz hands at him. “Wow, I’m such a speedy speechwriter! With all this extra time, we should keep going.”

“Brilliant,” he says dryly. “But you were right before; I do have to get ready.”

You frown and rest your cheek against his chest. “Past me was such a cockblock.”

Jay chuckles. “So, tell me, what is your new year’s resolution?”

Your eyes drift to the offending sweater in your peripheral vision. “Throw out all of your sweaters.”

“Very noble of you.”

“And get into grad school,” you say, more serious now.

“They’d be crazy not to take you for the Rhodes, baby.” Jay presses a final kiss to the top of your head. “I, um. I already asked to start in the London office of the company.”

You whip your head up so fast you almost give yourself whiplash. “Really?”

“Really. I want to be wherever you are.” He smiles so tenderly at you that your heart breaks and then mends itself back together in an instant; shattered and restored all at once by the strength of his devotion.

Sadly, there’s only so much time you can spend swooning at your boyfriend (Jay’s right; you do have to learn how to reconfigure the time-space continuum). He truly does have to give a speech soon, so he starts getting changed, pulling his sweater over his head and swearing when it gets stuck on the wire frame of his glasses. 

You laugh a little breathlessly at him, distracted by the strip of toned stomach revealed by his current position with his arms stuck above his head in his sweater. “My last new year’s resolution is to close the gyms,” you announce, finally moving into action to help him unspool the yarn of his sweater from his glasses.

“All of them?” His voice comes out muffled from inside his sweater before it’s over his head at last, and he’s shirtless in front of you. 

You drag your fingertips from the top of his waistband to the warm skin of his sternum. “Especially the ones you go to. You’re too tempting like this.”

He shivers at your touch but still manages to smirk when he says, “Just for you, doll.”

You groan. “Seriously, don’t call me that if you want to make it out there in time for your speech.”

“We should get rid of speeches, too,” he declares. He eyes the top of your fingers against his chest forlornly. “But I guess I’ll have to give the last one. Now, for real, tell me something extremely unsexy.”

You quip, “To help you get flaccid?”

He wrinkles his nose. “Excellent work; we’re headed in the right direction.” 

Your phone vibrates with a barrage of texts at that moment, which you check as Jay disappears into his walk-in closet to get dressed. It looks like your friends have arrived, and they’ve brought your outfit with them (you had come straight from the airport, dressed in leggings and a sweatshirt from high school). You tell Jay just as much, raising your voice slightly to be heard in the other room. “I’m gonna go get my stuff and change!”

He sticks his thumb out the door of the walk-in closet, pointing it upwards in assent. He assumes you saw it when he hears the door close, and then his phone goes off as well, inundated with a flood of texts from his newly arrived friends. 

hsm 3’s most underrated song: the boys are back (heeseung, jay, jake, sunghoon, jungwon, and sunoo)

jake: alright i have to k*ll myself

sunoo: why r u censoring all of a sudden

jake: i don’t want my fbi agent to take that seriously. although i do wanna kms

jungwon: why what happened

sunghoon: oh it’s HILARIOUS

jake: stfu

jake: so there’s eggnog being passed around right? and i see yunjin so i go to hand her a cup to be nice

heeseung: ~to be nice~

jake: kys

jake: anyways then i realize that the cup was really hot so i go and blow on her drink, like a fucking weirdo, and then i blow on SUNGHOON’S drink to make it seem less weird, except he’s drinking a HIGH NOON like an absolute idiot

sunghoon: hey i got the bartender to put it into a nice glass at least

sunoo: that’s my big (derogatory)

jay: perpetual bachelors jake and sunghoon! who’s surprised

sunghoon: NOT true i’m pretty sure the student government’s social media chair was flirting with me in the library before finals

jungwon: ??? wonyoung is a lesbian

jungwon: and she was just asking u to get out of the way bc u were spacing out in front of the printer

heeseung: L + me personally i’d kms

sunghoon: oh i know YOU are not talking

sunghoon: lee “the only time i feel the touch of a woman is when i go to yoga class at the university gym once a week” heeseung

heeseung: THE WOMAN WHO TEACHES IT IS HOT OKAY

sunghoon: oh heeseung mommy kink era?

heeseung: SHE IS MY AGE

sunoo: shouldn’t u be more concerned about breaking ur back every time ur there, grandpa?

heeseung: uncalled for wtf

heeseung: also tbh i wish SHE would break my back

jake: okay i’ve recovered from my earlier embarrassment. upon seeing what heeseung is texting, i’m thinking what i did wasn’t that weird

sunoo: bffr

jungwon: jake why don’t u just ask her out? instead of being emotionally constipated

jake: ew why would i ask her out i don’t want to be in a relationship that’s for pussies (respectfully) (i love women)

jungwon: yeah that’s definitely super emotionally mature of u

sunghoon: it’s 2023 pussy is a gender-neutral term

jay: you rly just say whatever the hell you want don’t you

sunoo: oh hey i see felix flirting with yunjin

jake: WHAT

jake: suddenly i have to go

sunoo: u r literally so pathetic

jay: btw i’m coming down now but if any of you see my gf before i do can you tell her she can change in my room

jake: gross

jay: GROW UP + stay single + kys

heeseung: GET HIS ASS

Jay’s idiot friends aside (he loves them so much), he actually is looking forward to seeing a bunch of his classmates and their families at tonight’s holiday party. Senior year seems to have crept up on him unannounced, and now he’s feeling slightly (a lot) sentimental about the idea of not living down the hall or at most across the campus from all the people who have made the last few years so formative (and entertaining as hell). 

He’s still thinking about how much he’s going to miss that place and those people when he hears your voice floating down from the top of the staircase. It sounds like you’re arguing with Kazuha about how many jello shots is too many for the after-party of the next phase of new member initiation at your sorority, which makes him chuckle quietly to himself. With four humanities and fine arts majors between the two of you, neither of you sound like you have the correct math. 

He opens his mouth, ready to give his two cents, but then he freezes at the sight of you descending the stairs. Vaguely, he processes the fact that Kazuha seems to have stopped arguing and even stopped coming down the stairs herself, just so she can give you two this moment.

This moment, which is making his brain short-circuit, because you are incandescent in a slinky, silvery dress that reflects all the candles that he’s now glad his parents made him light around the place. Countless points of light impart an otherworldly glow upon you, and you’re smiling at him; Jay thinks he must have saved the country in a past life.

When you reach him at the bottom of the stairs and he still hasn’t said anything, you tilt your head quizzically. “Jay? Everything alright?”

“You look like you just stepped out of a fairytale,” he breathes out. He moves on autopilot, bending at the waist as he takes your hand and kisses the top of it before straightening up to simply look at you some more.

“And right into the arms of my Prince Charming,” you respond, only half-joking. Right now, the dreamy look in his eyes makes you want to believe in happily ever after, as if it’s something he could forge with his own two hands. You kind of think he could, with the force of all his ardor.

Multiple phone cameras going off breaks the two of you out of your spell; you turn towards your nosy friends, who hold up variations of thumbs-ups and finger hearts. 

“Sorry, you guys are just too cute,” Yunjin says, not sounding sorry at all.

“Your parents would never forgive me if I didn��t get that on camera,” Sunghoon insists.

“Speaking of, I gotta go find them to make sure everything’s set.” Jay kisses your cheek. “See you later, Cinderella.” His fingers hold onto yours until the last second; your arm and his stretch out absurdly, as if you were parting for years, not minutes. 

“So dramatic,” Kazuha teases, joining you at the bottom of the staircase. 

“Unavoidable for hot people,” you explain wryly. You turn your attention to your gathered friends next. “I’m so glad you’re all here!”

“In 50 years, you could be hosting this party,” Sakura quips. Secretly, you hope it’s a lot sooner than that. 

“New Year’s Eve on Mars?” Jake suggests. 

Heeseung groans. “I’m scared of heights; can we not?”

“How many times do I have to tell you, dude, that’s not how space works!”

Half an hour passes happily like that, chatting and joking with some of your favorite people in the massive foyer. You don’t know exactly where Jay went off to, but the answer to that becomes clear when the music goes low and Jay clears his throat into the microphone set up at the front of the foyer. 

“Thanks for coming, everyone! Hope you had a great last year, and here’s to an even better new year.” Jay pauses to chuckle. “My girlfriend and I were joking earlier about me just saying that and calling it a night, but unfortunately for all of you, I am much more verbose than that.” Another pause for a light round of laughter from the gathered crowd. 

Jay works the audience like a pro as you watch with unbridled pride. A few minutes later, he winds down to the end of his prepared remarks, which you only know because he has asked you to proofread the speech weeks ago. You’re expecting him to wrap up with a final Happy New Year!, so you’re surprised to hear him keep going. 

“A couple of last things. To my parents, and everyone at the company, thank you for putting your trust in me.” Jay bows deeply. “I won’t let you down next year.” He straightens and looks right at you. “This year has been nothing short of wonderful. I’ve been so lucky my whole life, but the last few months have been particularly special to me. I’ve gotten to know people who I want to continue knowing for the rest of my life, who make me feel like my heart is too big for me, because I couldn’t possibly fit all of the kindness and love they give to me in the confines of my chest. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I do know that my life would be bereft without it.” Jay has to tear his eyes from yours because he knows he’s liable to cry if he sees you do so. “Bereft without you,” he continues, sweeping his gaze across the foyer. “All of you, who I’m so glad to call my friends and family. So, please stay healthy and happy this year, and I hope the new year treats you as well as this year has treated me. Happy New Year, everyone!”

Champagne glasses clink around you and people applaud, but all of it sounds far away. The only thing you can focus on is Jay, who’s making his way slowly through the throng of well-wishers to get to you.

When he’s finally in front of you, you have your misty eyes under control. He drops his hands to your waist and smiles gently. “Hi, pretty lady.”

“Hello, my favorite hopeless romantic.” Your palm goes to the sharp curve of his jaw. “You just had to go and say such sweet things. What’s gonna happen to my cool and unbothered reputation?”

“Right, your reputation.” He leans into your touch. “I can think of other ways to ruin your reputation,” he remarks, low and rough.

You roll your eyes, although you can’t stop your other hand from curling into the lapel of his suit jacket. “Romantic and horny! Duality of man.” 

“I meant what I said, you know.” His eyes soften at you. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me this year. Maybe ever. I have a lot of great people in my life, but only one you.”

“I know. You always mean what you say, and I love that about you.” You lean in to press a quick kiss to his mouth. He chases after you, tipping your chin up with his hand to kiss you deeper. Sadly, it doesn’t last for too long; you’re both aware that your friends and their parents are nearby.

But later, Jay makes sure to kiss you from this year into the next one, and you hope that you never forget what it feels like— fireworks exploding above your head and in your veins, lighting you up from within. Radiant, in the glow of someone who loves and is loved.

girlbossing soooooooo close to the sun (you, yunjin, chaewon, kazuha, and sakura)

yunjin: do u think it’d be weird if i got jake something for valentine’s day

you: yes extremely

sakura: don’t ask me i’m gay

yunjin: ???

yunjin: okay thx guys this was super helpful!

chaewon: i thought you weren’t dating?

yunjin: WE MIGHT AS WELL BE. i’m sick of waiting for him to actually ask me out

you: jokes aside, i think he’s really into you, like genuinely. but his head is so far up his ass he will never make the first move

sakura: boooooo emotionally repressed playboy how cliche

kazuha: omg u should try to do something romantic

yunjin: absolutely not i can’t be a SIMP

sakura: boooooo emotionally repressed maneater how cliche

yunjin: WHATEVER

yunjin: more importantly, what are we doing for galentine’s!!!!

kazuha: spa day i thought?

you: yes but i have to leave a little early :(( sorry ladies the community kitchen is doing a pre-valentine’s day dinner and jay and i are signed up to help

chaewon: i can’t even be mad at you that is SO CUTE

Jay gets sick in the week leading up to Valentine’s day, which puts a spanner in the works of his grand plans for your first Valentine’s together. You tell him that it’s not a big deal and he should just focus on resting and getting better, but that doesn’t stop him from moping about it. 

mother is mothering (you, niki, and jungwon)

you: can i just say that this gc name is not helping to put to rest the joke that jay and i are ur parents

you: also i Don’t think u guys know what this phrase means…

you: but anyways what’s up… children

niki: pleaseeeeee fix jay hyung

jungwon: fr we’re desperate

jungwon: he’s been playing sad john mayer songs for like three days straight I CANT LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE

niki: he called the coffee shop yesterday to see if we could set up a valentine’s day surprise for u

niki: we can’t, so i’m not ruining the surprise

niki: but he literally had such detailed plans for the surprise like WE R JUST PART-TIMERS

you: omg… my bf is so cute :(

jungwon: that is SO not the point actually that’s like the exact opposite of the point

you: dw i was gonna come over today after the community kitchen’s pre-valentine’s day dinner anyways

jungwon: THANK GOD

niki: YAY can u ask jay to help me with research material for my history paper btw

you: ask him urself?

niki: i’m scared he’s going to rope me into some other crazy plan to make it up to u for ruining ur valentine’s day plans

niki: which sounds like a HIM problem??? why is he getting ME, a CHILD, involved

you: oh so ur a child now but not when u want to sneak into frat parties

jungwon: omg SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PPL IN THE BACK

you: jungwon i know ur the one who helps him sneak in

jungwon: haha. love u mom :)

you: IM NOT UR MOM

you: btw i’m bringing back extra vegetables from the community kitchen and i expect u to eat them! jay mentioned u were stressed lately and not eating well

jungwon: okay ty… not-mom

It’s almost 10pm by the time you get to the frat house, bundled in your winter coat and weighed down with containers of food. You leave one in the fridge, labeled with a note that says “for jungwon— eat this or niki will forever be taller than you”. You take everything else with you to Jay’s room, pausing at the door when you realize you don’t even know if he’ll be awake or if he’s still sleeping off his illness.

The door swings open before you have the chance to knock, and you’re met with the sight of Jay in a bathrobe, shower caddy in hand. “I must be hallucinating,” he mutters. 

You hold back a laugh. “Nope, you’re still in the land of the lucid. I brought you some food, and I figured we could watch something while we eat. Go shower; I’ll set up.” 

Jay blinks rapidly. “Oh my god, you’re really here?” He drops the shower caddy to the floor carelessly, moving forward to hug you before he halts abruptly, inches away from you. “Wait, no, you shouldn’t be here. I don’t want you to get sick, too.”

“It’s been, like, five days. I don’t think you’re contagious anymore,” you argue, sidling past him to drop your stuff into his room.

“Really?” The hopefulness in his voice makes your heart melt.

“Really. I’ll ask Heeseung to ask his special friend to confirm, if that will make you feel better,” you offer.

Jay's eyebrows furrow. “We should probably stop calling her that, but yes, that would make me feel better. Ask while I shower, but seriously, I’m not touching you if she says no.” 

You salute him. “On it, captain.” Heeseung’s special friend is the girl who teaches one of the yoga classes at the university gym, and she’s also a nursing student. She has a name, but Heeseung refuses to tell any of you what it is. Truthfully, it wouldn’t be hard to look her up, but you think it’s kind of cute how nervous Heeseung is about whatever liminal space he’s in with her.

you: hey can u ask the love of ur life if it’s okay for me to be with jay rn?

heeseung: first of all DONT CALL HER THAT second of all why tf would she have an opinion on that

you: i wouldn’t have to call her that if u would tell us HER NAME

you: and jay came down w/ that nasty virus like five days ago remember

heeseung: oh my goddddd yeah he wouldn’t stop whining about how his valentine’s day plans were ruined

you: ur special friend is in nursing right? so can u ask her

heeseung: i’m starting to think i should tell u her name just so u stop coming up with new ways to refer to her

you: that’s what I'M saying

heeseung: but yeah sure anything to get jay to stop being so annoying

you: thank uuuuu i’ll leave u some cookies in the kitchen so give some to her okay?

heeseung: omfg u made COOKIES i am so glad jay is dating u

Ten minutes later, Heeseung texts to let you know that you’re probably in the clear. More specifically, he says that his friend says it’s ultimately best practice to stay away from Jay for another couple of days, but she thinks the two of you are so cute and she gets why you’d want to be with him, and you’re outside of the most contagious window now, anyways. 

You figure that’s close enough to a yes, which is what you tell Jay when he returns from his shower. He’s at your side in an instant, hugging you like his life depends on it. “I’m sorry,” he whispers eventually.

“What on earth for?” 

“Our first Valentine’s is going to be so lame, just because I got sick.” He sighs deeply. “I wanted to make it special for you, especially because you’re always running around helping everyone, and instead you’re here, taking care of me.”

“Jay.” You pull back from his chest to look at him. “Nothing is lame, and nothing is ruined, okay? It’s literally just a day. And you always make me feel special. Being with you is like— ahem.” You cringe at the words that are about to come out of your mouth; Jay is always effusive and free-wheeling with his declarations of affection towards you, but it doesn’t come as easily to you. The way you feel about him makes you want to try, though. “Being with you is like Valentine’s Day every day.”

He smiles gently at you, one dimple carving a crescent into his left cheek. “You deserve it, baby. And even if you didn’t, I’d still want to give that to you.”

The two of you stand like that for a while, swaying underneath the unattractive lighting in Jay’s room. His hair starts to drip onto your shoulder, though, and you remember that you need to go back down to the kitchen to set aside the cookies you promised Heeseung.

“Why does Heeseung get to have some of the cookies you made for me?” Jay pouts.

“Troll bridge toll I felt compelled to pay, all because you wanted a second medical opinion,” you respond dryly.

“I’m supposed to believe you were the first? And I’m telling Heeseung you called him a troll.”

“Keep that up and you won’t be getting any cookies, Park.” 

Of course, you feed him a cookie as soon as you’re back in his room. Jay has changed into his pajamas while you were away, and he points to another set he’s laid out for you after he’s done eating the cookie. Once you get changed, you settle on the rug in front of Jay’s bed and start an obscure history documentary together while eating the food you brought him. You warn him that it won’t be as good as what he makes (you are a far better baker than you are a cook). Undeterred, he makes an exaggerated effort to fawn over every dish and praise your skills.

Afterwards, you sit on the edge of his bed and let him lean his head on your lap as you blow dry his hair. “I heard you were being a pain in the ass this week about Valentine’s Day,” you mention. 

“That… is a distinct possibility, for sure.”

“Seriously, I think you scared away all of Niki’s coworkers. He wants your help with research for his history paper, by the way. Oh, that reminds me— what’s the name of your group chat with Niki and Jungwon?”

Jay grimaces. “Glucose father slay.”

You suppress a snort. “That’s… creative, if unsubtle.”

He hums contentedly from the just-right warmth of the hairdryer and the just-right softness of your hands. “We’ll get to have lots of Valentine’s Days together, right?”

"Of course, baby."

When it hits midnight, you’re curled up together in his bed, with his laptop still playing the credits of the history documentary. You enter February 14th like that, tucked under his chin, exactly where you want to be.

On one of the first randomly hot days that pop up in late March before the weather actually gets warmer, you’re holed up in the library, eyes aching after staring at the tiny text in ancient manuscripts for too long and shivering in the temperature-controlled special collections section of the library. While the rest of your friends are out at the college’s golf course enjoying the warm weather at a joint charity tournament, you’re stuck here, beholden to the block in your calendar which says “manuscript time :/”. The rare manuscripts you need for your thesis are only available to be looked at during certain times, but today’s research session has proven to be less than fruitful, given how often your eyes wander to the door to the exit and how empty your notes are.

You can feel yourself dozing off for the umpteenth time when suddenly, warm hands land on top of your shoulders, and a smooth voice murmurs in your ear, “Working hard or hardly working, Cinderella?”

Jay. You turn your head to meet his gaze; crescents of affection reflect back at you. “How’d you get in here?” Appointments are usually required for the rare manuscripts room.

He flashes you a smirk. “Charmed the librarian.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you pulled with the 40-and-up demographic like that.”

“Yeah, I told her I missed my girlfriend so much I’d cry if I couldn’t see her today.” He drops a kiss to your cheek, then maneuvers the chair next to you sideways and backwards so he can sit as close to you as possible. He crosses his arms on top of the back of the chair and rests his chin against his arms to stare at you, soft and beckoning. “You look like you want to leave.”

You sigh and turn fully sideways towards him, letting his long legs bracket yours while your knees push up against the back of his chair. “You look like a reason to leave,” you admit. It comes out breathy in a way that you hadn’t intended, but who can blame you— Jay is dressed for the golf tournament in a navy blue polo and crisp white slacks, and as always, his clothes fit like they were made for him. 

In the back of your mind, you make a note to ask where he gets his tailoring done. In the front of your mind, your attention roams from the clean line of his shirt sleeves against his biceps, to the inviting curve of his mouth, to the planes of his chest that peek out behind the top two undone buttons of his shirt. All these months later, looking at him still hasn’t gotten old; truthfully, you don’t think it ever will.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Jay inquires, peering closer at you with a sly grin on his face.

“Like you have to ask,” you grumble, reaching out to pinch his cheek in retaliation for the teasing question.

He grabs your hand before it reaches him and gently bites the tip of your index finger, laughing when you make an offended face and pull your hand back. “C’mon, let’s get out of here, yeah? We should at least make an appearance at the tournament we organized.”

You glance back at the heavy tomes you’ve pulled out today— pages and pages of dense Middle English to get through. Then, you look at Jay, who has chosen that moment to skate his fingertips up and down the top of your right thigh. The decision is almost comically easy to make. “Yeah, fuck this. Let’s go.” 

You dutifully return your books and say a polite goodbye to the librarian, who coos at you both. Jay waves your joined hands at her. On your way out to the main section of the library, goosebumps form on your arms from the change in temperature: arctic vortex to plain old frigid, both of which are wholly inhospitable environments for the sleeveless golf dress you’d worn today in hopes of eventually getting to the tournament. 

“Cold?” Jay halts you both and sweeps his hands across your shoulders and down to your wrists, frowning at the chill he encounters on your skin. Normally, he’d offer you his jacket or sweater or something, but he just has the shirt on his back today. “This won’t do,” he murmurs, and then he’s pulling you in the direction of the secluded stacks.

It’s dark and shadowy there, with not a single soul occupying any of the carrel desks spaced in between the rows of books. Your heartbeat picks up despite yourself; you think you have a good idea of where this is going. This is also something that hasn’t gotten old yet and likely never will. “You know, I’ve always thought it would be kind of hot to hook up in a library,” you comment.

Jay trips over air, then quickly rights himself and shakes his head as if to clear it before looking at you again. “You would, you nerd,” he says, but it comes out low and contemplative. 

As soon as you reach the carrel desk located in the most isolated corner of the stacks, he brings his hands to your waist and lifts you up to sit on top of the desk. Happily, you hook your ankles behind his legs and draw him in to stand between yours. “You can’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.”

“I just wanted to kiss you for a bit, so you could warm up,” Jay insists. He leans in closer, until your chests are pressed up against each other. “But now that we’re here…” 

“Now that we’re here,” you agree. Then you’re tilting forward to kiss him, and the tension in your body from a long morning at the library dissipates into the heat of his mouth and the softness of his hair.

Jay kisses you long and luxuriously, like he was born to do nothing but stand around and kiss you. “You did so well with planning the tournament,” he tells you in between kisses, smothering the words against your mouth. 

“You did, too,” you reply, dispensing the compliment in airy gasps against his ear as he moves down to your neck, feathering open-mouthed kisses against the skin there. A whimper escapes from your throat when he bites down at the juncture of your neck and your clavicle, transforming into a breathy moan as he soothes over the sting with his tongue. His name slips out of your mouth in a dragged-out whine: “Jongseong.” 

He shudders against you. “Warn a guy before you do that, will you? I don’t actually want to come in my pants in the library.”

You giggle, tugging his head back so you can look at him. You’re met with shiny lips, slow-blinking eyes that drag up and down your body, and tousled hair, messed up from Jay’s meticulous styling by your wandering hands. Temptation, personified. “Fuck,” you breathe out. “What if I do?”

“You’re not wearing pants,” Jay points out cheekily. His demeanor switches to sultry in an instant when he presses down on your bottom lip with his thumb, and he groans when your tongue darts out over it. “God, you’re so hot. C’mere, doll, let me sort you out.”

Twenty minutes later, you’re slipping out of the back door of the library and into the parking lot. You shoot off a quick text to Yunjin, asking her to hold down the fort for a little while longer at the tournament, and then Jay is tugging you into the backseat of his car with an urgency that makes your heart pound. Now, you get to sort him out, and it’s so much better than staring at old books.

yunjin: what is taking so long i sent jay to get u like 45 minutes ago

you: sorry be there in a bit love you babe!

yunjin: woooooooooow remember when i said i would never betray u for dick

yunjin: guess u DO NOT FEEL THE SAME

yunjin: ah well have fun don’t do anything i wouldn’t ;)

to all the boys i’ve fake-dated before (you, sunghoon, yeonjun, chan, vernon, mark, and 5 others)

you: were any of you fuckers going to tell me that jay’s birthday is TOMORROW?!

you: help!!!!! what do i get for him!!!!!

sunghoon: believe me that man wakes up every day thanking god that ur his gf. u don’t need to get him anything

you: as much as i appreciate the reporting of his simp behavior, i am IN A PANIC his birthday is in 12 hours why the fuck didn’t anyone say anything sooner?!?!

vernon: i’m gifting him a new speaker for the basement

chan: bro you’re getting that gift for ALL of us bc you BROKE the speaker in the basement

vernon: and jay is one of the many recipients of that gift!

you: FOCUS on me and MY problem please

mark: yooooo u could write him a song? i still owe u a favor so i’d be down to help

you: and make him listen to me perform it? i’m trying to keep this relationship going, not obliterate it

yeonjun: mans has one single move in his arsenal

mark: HEY it worked out pretty well for me

yeonjun: only bc u had like a million ppl helping u

sunghoon: i got jay tickets to that japanese singer he likes

you: FUCK that’s such a good idea why didn’t i think of that

sunghoon: bc u didn’t know his birthday was coming up

you: thanks genius

sunghoon: but anyways jay never makes a big deal out of his birthday

sunghoon: it’s mostly like a sentimental thing for his parents bc they tried for so long to have him

vernon: strictly speaking, they were trying to have ANY of the sperm inseminate ANY of the eggs so like it didn’t have to be him specifically

mark: dude wtf

chan: i’m sure jay will love whatever you get for him! maybe you could paint or draw something for him?

you: okay yes yes i can bang something out real quick in the studio 

vernon: that’s what she said

yeonjun: this is why ur still single

you: the sperm and egg comment didn’t give it away?

vernon: guys stop ganging up on me wtf

you: okay thank you ONLY to chan the rest of you were useless

you: chan u could start a business. like a gift-giving idea business

mark: like santa claus but without the actual gifts?

yeonjun: ghost santa claus

chan: none of you should ever be allowed to start a business

It’s 5am by the time you’re finished in the studio, and you know your sleep cycle is going to be all sorts of messed up for the next few days, but it’s a small price to pay so you can slide into Jay’s bed and mold yourself against his body, knowing that your painting of the scene of your first date is leaning safely against the wall across from you. 

Unfortunately, the swift arrival of sunrise and birds chirping outside of Jay’s window leave you unable to fall asleep (not to mention the energy drink you’d chugged at 2am). You give up on it quickly, comforted by the fact that you don’t have any classes today and can afford to sleep in when your body eventually gives out on you. 

Staring at Jay is not an unenjoyable way to pass the time, so that’s what you do. Sleep smoothes out all the muscles in his face, but the sharp angles of the underlying bone structure turn him into marble; idly, you wonder how many sculptors would kill to be able to craft something this beautiful, this timeless and exquisite. You’ve tried to sketch or paint Jay multiple times yourself, and you’re still trying (that senior portfolio is going to be the death of you), but to date, you’ve been left unsatisfied. Something about Jay is just too expressive, too lively, too attentive; you haven’t been able to nail down the exact way he moves through the world, much less the way he looks at you like nothing else exists. There’s so much love to give in those steady hands, and so many meanings to divine in those familiar eyes—

Oh.

Jay’s eyes have flipped open, displaying his least endearing habit: sleeping with his eyes open. It unnerves you to no end, even though it makes him look kind of silly, so you have to flip around with a small grin on your face. “You’re lucky I love you so much,” you whisper, mostly to yourself.

His arm tightens around your waist. “Tell me something I don’t know.” The words come out slightly slurred, and the movement of his lips against the back of your neck makes you shiver. 

You flip back around to meet his now closed eyes. “You’re awake?” Jay usually sleeps like the dead.

“I’m trying really hard not to be,” he drawls. Eyes still closed, he tugs you closer to press his lips to your forehead. “Go to sleep, doll.”

You hum tunelessly and fidget with the pendant of his necklace. “Happy birthday, Jongseong.” You can feel his lips curve into a smile against your skin, but you’re quick to nip that in the bud. “Or should I say… traitor? Why didn’t you tell me your birthday was coming up? I had to find out from Jungwon.”

“Typical mama’s boy.”

You giggle, even as you admonish him with: “Seriously, that joke needs to die. One of Riki’s coworkers actually thinks I’m his mom, and I just have a really good Botox supplier.”

Jay’s chest rumbles in amusement underneath your ear. Afterwards, it’s quiet for a long moment before he finally opens his eyes to peer blearily at you. “Are you upset I didn’t tell you about my birthday?”

You give him a tiny shrug. “Just curious, I guess. Plenty of people don’t like to celebrate their birthdays. Sunghoon said it’s usually more of a thing for your parents than it is for you.”

“Yeah, that’s about right.” Jay rubs his thumb over your cheek. “I’m spending the day with them, actually. We go to the same place for brunch every year, and then we just kind of walk around until dinner, which I’ve been cooking for the past couple of years.”

You smile automatically at the thought of his parents. They adore you, and the feeling is mutual— how could it not be? 

Jay’s thumb halts its movements as something occurs to him. “Well, hey, do you wanna come with us?” 

Quickly, you shake your head. You can spot Jay’s Mr. Nice Guy gestures from a mile away. “Nah, you should keep up your tradition with your parents. We’re still getting lunch with them this weekend, right? So I’ll get to see them soon, anyways.”

“My mom said she loves the insoles you sent her, by the way.”

“Right? Super comfortable. I can stay on my feet in the studio all day in those.” Just then, you’re hit by a yawn. “I guess I did the equivalent of a full day last night.”

Suddenly, Jay sits up straight, making you whine about the loss of coziness. “Wait, yeah, why are you here so early? Not that I don’t love waking up next to you, because I really do, but you weren’t here last night, and… oh my god.” He cuts himself off when he spots the painting against his wall.

You sit up as well. “Don’t freak out,” you begin. “I had fun making it, okay? And I don’t have class today so I can sleep alllllll day and if you’re not tired after dinner we can hang out afterwards, and seriously, Jay, light of my life, apple of my eye, etcetera, etcetera— let me do something nice for you without you feeling guilty about it, okay?” You draw in a deep breath. “I know I’m, like, afflicted with a chronic need to be helpful, but c’mon. Pot, kettle.” You point to yourself and then to him. “I love that you’re humble and kind and you know how lucky you are, but there’s nothing… to prove. You hear me? Just because you’ve had a good life doesn’t mean you have to give 110% of yourself to everyone else to deserve it. Please don’t make yourself feel bad because you get to take something from me for once instead of giving.” At the end of your rant, you blink in surprise at yourself. “Sorry, I don’t know when that turned into a lecture. All I’m saying is that you told me once that you’d want to give me Valentine’s Day every day, even if I didn’t deserve it, and I want to give that to you, too.”

Jay’s eyes flick between you and the painting and back to you, staring at you like he’s never seen you before. He’s speechless for so long that you count to 33 in your head in Mississippis that are definitely longer than one second. Finally, he crushes you to his chest in a hug that has your arms flailing around him with the force of it. “I feel like you just crawled into my head,” he says against your ear.

You make a face that he can’t see. “Didn’t need that visual in my head, but okay, baby.”

“I mean… I’m just feeling very perceived; that’s all. And I don’t really have anything else to say except that I love you so much, and thank you, and you’re my favorite person in the world.” He sniffles, and then preempts you with a, “Shut up.”

“Noooooo, I made you cry,” you coo at him, leaning back in his hold to swipe under his eyes with your thumbs. As you continue to fuss over him and he pretends to bite at your fingers, he hopes you know just how much he’s affected by your words and just how much you mean to him. Golden boy Park Jongseong, the prodigal son, the miracle child— he doesn’t think it could fairly be called a burden, because how could it be a burden to be so lucky, to be so loved, to have never truly suffered? But somehow, you get it. Maybe because you’re cut from the same self-sacrificing cloth, or maybe because you just understand him at an atomic level, but you get it. You get that he has dedicated his life to deserving his life in the first place; you get that he tries so hard, all the time, because he wants to be worthy of what he’s been given; you get that he gives, and gives, and gives, and he never wants to take, because he feels like he hasn’t done enough to pay back the gifts with which he was born, let alone take anything else from this world. And here you are, giving him your heart on his birthday— a day he doesn't think is anything special except for the joy it gives his parents— because you love him. Because you're just glad that you were born in the same timeline. He has never dared to ask for a gift like this.

Pathetically, all that he can get out is a simple, “I love the painting, by the way.” He nudges your nose with his. “I’m going to have it framed for our place after we graduate.”

“Our place?”

“Oh, yeah.” He clears his throat awkwardly. “I guess this is me asking. Do you want to live with me next year? Wherever it is that we end up. It would be, you know, economical.”

“Right, because we totally didn’t just have a conversation about your hang-ups with being born with a silver spoon in your mouth. And mine, too, I guess.”

Jay tsks at you. “Okay, or maybe I just want to wake up next to you every day. And make you food when you forget to eat, and listen to your horrible true crime podcasts while we clean up around the place, and hold your hair when you get sick because you forgot to take your Lactaid, and make sweet, sweet love to you every night—”

“Okay, okay, stop!” You’re laughing uncontrollably now, putting your hands up to stop Jay and the obnoxious kissy-face he’s making from coming any closer to you. “I didn’t need that much convincing, although I’m not sure how effective your convincing is when you’re just listing my bad habits, Mr. I-Sleep-With-My-Eyes-Open.”

“Yeah, but aren’t I lucky that you love me so much?” Jay smirks at you before tackling you down into his bed.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” you repeat to him. Sunlight slants in through the window behind his head, haloing him in a light so ethereal that you could be convinced the sun shines just for him. Like this, your words fade away from you, until all you’re left with is a quiet, heartfelt, “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I’ll live with you after we graduate.” Softly, you stroke through the hair at his nape. “Stop wondering, by the way.”

Jay’s eyebrows furrow. “Wondering what?”

You reach up to smooth away the crease in his brow. “Wondering if you’re allowed to be this happy. I just told you, like, a million times. You are. The heavens have decreed that Park Jongseong shall be happy for as long as he lives, and a long time after that.” Dramatically, you tap each of his shoulders, as if you’re knighting him. “It is thus decided.”

Jay swoops down and plants a chaste peck on your lips. “Well, since it’s thus decided. Let me add something to that decree, though: I’m going to make you happy for as long as I live, and a long time after that,” he promises. 

And you know he will.

(London is overcast and dreary when you touch down at Heathrow; typical, for a mid-September day. You and Jay still carry tans from a summer of island-hopping around Asia and the Mediterranean, but you’re sure those will fade soon. Still, there’s nothing you can complain about when Jay’s arm is snug around your waist and he looks like a dream in a light wool coat and admittedly unnecessary sunglasses.

You tease him about the sunglasses all the way to the doorstep of your new, shared apartment. But then he kisses you across the threshold and whispers about how much he loves you and how excited he is to be with you for the rest of his life, and you are so, so happy. Unbelievably happy. Beautifully happy. 

Happy, forevermore. This, the heavens have decreed.)

#enhypen #park jay #park jongseong #enhypen jay #enhypen x reader #jay x reader #enhypen fic #jay fic #enhypen fluff #jay fluff #enhypen oneshot #jay oneshot #im out here slapping a parentheses epilogue at the end of every one of these fics (two) bc honestly....... laziness #anyways writing a sequel to a fic that's creeping uncomfortably close to the length of the original fic itself is... a choice! #ik it's only been like two weeks since i posted the original fic #but i needed to exorcise this version of jay from my brain bc i literally could not focus on my interstate move otherwise #so here you go #it's not much but it's honest work etcetera etcetera #oh and once again the title and that song have nothing to do with the plot (what little of it there is) #i was just looking for another phrase i liked in that song so this title could match the original fic #where the title ALSO had nothing to do with the fic. im capricious like that #ss.fic

[lettersnorth]

The Gift

To the untrained eye her study had become a disorganized mess. A collection of mechanical contraptions and spare parts spilled across the desk of her terminal. Books lay splayed open, scattered on nearly every available surface as though the reader had stepped away for a moment. Maybe to write a note or sketch a quick diagram in one of several notebooks that were piled haphazardly across her writing desk.

But to Aislinn there was order in this chaos. She knew the location and title of every book scattershot around the study, the purpose of every mechanism she had pulled from her workshop. She was working, thinking, racking her mind to try and make any of this problem with Lewra and the other seemingly lifeless bodies make sense. She barely ate, slept in short fits when she’d succumb for a bell or two at her desk and generally had no time for anyone in Heartwood outside of those that needed her attention in the clinic. 

A planning meeting had been called of which she did not attend. She’d been around long enough to know how “planning” meetings went when Heartwood’s group of mercenaries got together. They never met a meeting they couldn’t turn into an opportunity to bicker and argue. She may as well go outside and wander in ever-maddening circles. Instead, she was in her study digging through her shelves and cabinets of spare parts she kept on hand for Sergius. Finally she found it. The aether signature creator. 

The inconvenient truth was that everything that had been happening was creeping up on Aislinn like a rising tide. Lewra. The Kugane job. Sterling. Stark Oak. Yami had said to let her anger out but when had that ever in her life done her one lick of good? Anger didn’t bring Lewra back. It didn’t untangle her complicated feelings over watching Sterling bleed out in the dirt. It did nothing to the knowledge that she could do no more for Stark Oak than hope the monks followed through on their promise or the low grade anxiety that was ever present when Locke was away on a voyage, wondering if the last time she saw him would end up being the last time. Because one day, it would be. 

No. Anger changed nothing. All her life it had been a luxury she couldn’t afford. So instead, she worked. She worked until all these thoughts became nothing but background noise. Until there was just her and a problem to be solved. 

She powered up the signature creator, letting the mock aether stabilize and then she opened her senses. The signature wasn’t a perfect replica. If she focused on it she could pick out the wrongness, the sour, artificial note, but for most applications it would do the job of fooling anyone but the extremely versed and aetherically sensitive. 

She had no idea if this would end up being of any use to her, Yami or Tynos but in her experience it was better to be prepared than to find yourself wishing for something you didn’t have. 

She turned away from the row of cabinets and bumped against a work table. Hard enough to jostle a round sphere decorated in Starlight wrapping paper. A gift from Lewra. It rolled until it hit a book and stopped. Guilt washed over Aislinn. Yami had given it to her days ago and she hadn’t brought herself to open it. She had missed the family Starlight gathering, off on the Kugane business. It wasn’t something she could have explained in a note. Or in person. Or…she just couldn’t. So she just sent her regrets. That life wouldn’t intrude on this one and with any luck it was behind her for good now, anyroads. 

She set the signature creator down and picked up the sphere. It was heavy and solid, whatever it was. Slowly, she unpeeled the wrapping to expose a brass metallic sphere. She didn’t know what else she was expecting, after all the wrapping had done little to hide the shape of the object underneath. Etched across the interlocking plates of the sphere’s surface were geometric designs not unlike constellations but no matter how she looked at it, its purpose eluded her. Lewra had to know one of the only ways to stop the woman she loved like a daughter in her tracks was to present her with a puzzle. 

Sidetracked by this new development Aislinn ran her hands over the sphere, testing the interlocking plates as she slowly made her way to the couch and sank down to sit and solve this new problem. Something about it soothed the frazzled edges of her tired mind. 

Time slipped away like water through cupped hands as she sat there on the couch, head bent over the sphere in her lap, her deft fingers and agile mind moving in concert over the sphere’s puzzle until all at once with a satisfying click two things happened. Green aether pulsed out of the sphere in a rush and a panel popped open, revealing a note that had been tucked inside. Still images formed from the aether in the air around the sphere. A multitude of ghostly projections, hovering in place. 

'To my oldest,

Happy Starlight, and I hope you enjoyed the puzzle to get to your gift. Keep it close for when those dark times come to keep you going, and don't worry, I'll teach you how to add more memories to your aetherical album when you're ready so you can have more of you and Locke. I only had one to start it out. I have a feeling you're wondering how this works, I'll go over that with you don't worry. Other family members have one as well, and memories can be exchanged to add to your own album.

You may not be mine by blood but I'll always love you, and be so proud of you like you're my own.

Love, Mom’

Reaching out, Aislinn touched one of the images and at once it came to life. A memory. Lewra’s memories. 

Their first meeting. Her first medical lesson. The way Lewra had patiently taken her alarmingly unscrupulous and criminal alchemical knowledge and honed it against her own Sharlayan practices. The moments Aislinn opened up to Lewra. Talks over tea and baklava. Aislinn introducing her to Locke for the first time. She had gently teased her all while overjoyed by the casual way he could reach for Aislinn’s hand, understanding it for the feat it was. All of it. It was all here. 

These were shared experiences but as seen from Lewra’s perspective. Memory was not so much a camera as a filter. The particulars it held on to was nothing compared to what bled through. 

She hugged the sphere tight against her body. As though it could fill the gaping hollow that had been carved from Aislinn’s chest. Too much. The grief and very real possibility that she may never speak to Lewra again threatened to drown her and she struggled to keep her head above water. Her searching hand dove into the pocket of her coat, wrapping tight around Yami’s crystal she found there. For when it all became too much, the Seeker had said. And now the crystal siphoned the waves of emotions before they could buffet Aislinn to even darker depths. A burden shared.

Aislinn was not good with words. The ones she had were unwieldy tools improperly calibrated for the swirling riptide inside her. Anger was too small a word. Grief, too vague. Sadness was an insipid and reductive term. But Yami knew that. Hence the crystal. Through that tether Aislinn’s outward silence was shown for what Lewra always understood it to be, a barrier to be navigated and nothing more. She felt drained and yet her whole rib cage ached, her heart banging around like it was angrily trying to find a way out of her chest. Fiercely, savagely reminding her in case she had forgotten; 

She had to get up. She had to get up, there was work to do. 

#ffxiv writing #ffxiv rp #balmung rp #The Hubris of Peace

[tsupertsundere]

9 PEOPLE I'D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER . . .

I was tagged by both @iron-sparrow and @archaiclumina - thank you!! I was saving it for a rainy evening... and by the light of tree here it is!!

LAST SONG: THERE'S ONE THAT HAUNTS ME. I heard it a week or so ago, I was shuffling through a citypop song's specific spotify playlist, and I heard one with a chorus that, in english, went "Businessman always tries his best, [something something something] hard, I guess". I missed noting what song it was, and I haven't found it since....!!!

LAST MOVIE: LMAO Rab Ne Bana di Jodi last night and it ROCKED it was really fun. Yet Again srk is playing a guy I might as well have written, the songs were really fun, Anushka Sharma was GREAT as the female lead, a wonderful breakout role for her, VERY fun. a @viiioca certified G'raha Tia ass movie indeed.

SWEET/SPICY/SAVORY: Savory, sweet, spicy in that order. My spice tolerance is unfortunately really low, and I prefer 'sharp' spices over 'hot' ones.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS?: I am single! I love yapping and napping and would welcome finding someone to do that with. all that is to say flora i'm a virgo if you're out there -

LAST THING I GOOGLED: oh shit, it was rab ne bana di jodi to make sure I spelled it (and Anushka's name) right and the lyrics "businessman always tries his best" lmao (unsuccessful). omg before THAT I googled some lyrics translation!!

CURRENT OBSESSION: I've finally developed a workflow I like so I've been putting together outfits for Angeline like crazy!! I'd been slowly collecting mods I was interested in for the past several months, but I was bricked up in actually Doing anything with them. Now it's much easier to! While it's brought its challenges (like 'now how do we Hyperfocus Safely?), it's also been insanely rewarding!!

LAST SONG: I'm coming back to this this song just came on and it's SUPER good???? the fuckin album art???

yeah. this is what it's all about

TAG TIME: this section's easier than before, yay!

SCATTERSHOT UHH @pastelpopcorn @moldy-mold @chameli @wanderersofeorzea @troutlawyer @discountdps @mizutaama @chadhunkler @sjofn-lofnsdottr ... AND YOU!

#tagbox #I need to put together a srk movie/protag tierlist on that tierlist maker site.... #thank you both!!!! hee hee #Spotify

[warsofasoiaf]

Regarding Wagners march on Moscow, surely without the Russian Airforce on side they are going to get shredded to bits by jets?

You'd think that, but that's using NATO doctrine which uses fire support from the air. Russian aviation is actually quite scattershot and imprecise. That's bad enough when they're attacking another country (as evidenced by the mass collateral damage they've done to Ukraine and Syria), but on Russian soil, using their notoriously imprecise ALCM's would mean collateral damage to Russians, which definitely would not engender positive feelings toward Putin. The only way to get precise would be low-altitude missions with helicopters or fixed-wing assets, which makes them vulnerable to MANPADS, which Wagner has in abundance. Russia typically uses fire support from artillery, both rocket and tube, which is less precise but far cheaper to operate.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#russia #russo ukrainian war

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 25/09/2023

Aquarium in the Ocean

Season 6 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume FF

Ripped by Zielony Szpieg

If you ask any avid SiIvaGunner fan to recount the most important parts of Season 5, you'll find two songs to be nigh inevitable to be brought up. There's many concise ways to identify the fifth season by today - it was one of the lightest years on the channel in terms of new lore, it was the season tasked with succeeding the indescribable scale and success of the King for Another Day Tournament and its celebration the year after, it saw the official debut of SiIvaGunner Fusion Records, and it overall was one of the highest-quality years in terms of rips uploaded. Yet two icons remain dominant in the minds of many a SiIvaGunner fan, two songs that caused an absolute uproar during their heyday - Astronaut in the Ocean and Yankin'.

Its hard to really overstate just how much chaos these two songs alone put the channel audience in: I once previously tried to summarize it all in my post on Knowledge of the Depths from the same season. Put simply, Astronaut in the Ocean began to appear frequently in low-effort, unsynced mashups in reference to its origins as a TikTok meme, which gave it a sort of perception as an anti-hero for the fanbase - the joke that, no matter what it was attached to, would never even try to deliver something that sounded conventionally "high quality". If the astronaut was an anti-hero, Yankin' was a full-on villain - the crassness of the song paired with the somewhat hard to listen to vocals and immediately identifiable beat made the song into a source of downright hatred within the comment section, on a level only really previously matched by Season 1's "Bean" (more on that guy at a later date). It was fascinating, for a year without much in the way of proper story progression, to see so much community discourse still happen althesame regarding the state of the channel.

Months later, when Season 6 arrived, the dust had settled´. Astronaut in the Ocean had gotten a sort of cult following for its apathetic, inconsistent use in rips very much unique to it, and Yankin' even had its own takeover, to directly address and cement the meme's status as a villain on the channel. The memes are now a staple of SiIvaGunner despite - or perhaps because of - our ire, and they've been infrequently appearing in rips the same way that Grand Dad, Snow Halation, The Nutshack and so many others oft would back in the early days. And to me, no rip better illustrates that new status quo than Aquarium in the Ocean.

Aquarium in the Ocean follows the style of several rips preceding it as a "mashup medley", most easily comparable to something like Memey Hell from Season 1. While that rip acted as a sort of celebration to Season 1 as a whole, Aquarium in the Ocean feels like it does the same for Season 5's two big jokes as discussed above. Despite featuring both the Season's bringers of hell, they're used in very genuine, serious ways - Astronaut in the Ocean leads the song off and is actually, for once, tuned to the original song's key, and Yankin's vocals play surprisingly softly when paired with different instrumentation. The two are blended together with several other memes from the channel's history, be it old-school like Soulja Boy or more recent ones like Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney's Epic Rap Battle of History - its a sort of scattershot selection of jokes, yet each one is given enough time to sink in as funny whilst matching the Aquarium Park instrumental backing quite nicely.

Really, though, above its quality and sound its the meaning to the rip that I really care about. There's no longer any sort of panic in the comments over the presence of Yankin' - many are even surprised and delighted to hear the track finally sounding *good* in a rip. The two are now just jokes amidst the many others, accepted tools within the arsenal of the SiIva team - and permanent member of the channel's family. I can't say if Aquarium in the Ocean was really the rip to cement that, but something about its assortment of various jokes paired with its somewhat sentimental sound really carries that energy through. Zielony Szpieg, as far as I'm aware, is someone who submitted this rip to the team through email as a fan, and they did an excellent job at both making a good-sounding tune and something surprisingly poignant for the subject matter at hand. I know not how to contact him or if he'll ever see this, but if he does: Ya did good!

#todays siivagunner #season 6 #siivagunner #siiva #Zielony Szpieg #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic colors #sonic colours #sonic colours ultimate #sonic colors ultimate #sonic prime #sonic frontiers #sonic superstars #sonic music #astronaut in the ocean #yankin #Youtube #Bandcamp

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Best of 2022

This current year I say was a better current year than the one before, I mean the Queen died and that was funnier than Elon Musk's whole existence beyond the fact he sucks at Twitter. Never mind the chaotic reality we have, I'm celebrating the 10 best animations to come out this year. The only rule being they had to debut this year so while these two were banger entries, Amphibia and Owl House have to be exempt because I want to be fair. Otherwise, ANYTHING GOES so let's go...

Number 10: Batwheels

This reached the list for the sheer fact that it feels like a joke but has a better punchline than it has any right to. It looks colorful with great animation, and even if it's a preschool series it's thankfully one that's just about the adventures of both the titular bat vehicles and the actual Batman characters. This isn't like Cars where there aren't any humans around and they're cleverly able to make everyone coexist in a way that never feels out of place. It works as a good morning cartoon and a kiddo's introduction to the Batman universe besides the comics or the 90s animated series.

Number 9: We Baby Bears

I feel like we all need that one shows that's just for cute vibes to curb the stress and mental instability that intrudes on you when you get home from work or school. Being the spin-off prequel to We Bare Bears, while it can be pretty plain in terms of premises it's cute and whimsical on its own merits. It reminds me of Klonoa where we're hopping from world to world, sometimes there are familiar faces but otherwise, it's just about having fun with the different environments with characters I bet most gen ziggas will be familiar with. I say it was a good series to start off the year and while Cartoon Network's future feels too uncertain, I don't think a show like this is such a front on their MO. Plus, bears are awesome.

Number 8: Sonic Prime

The fact that Sonic the Hedgehog basically gave us its take on Robot Pirate Island was enough for me to like this, but Sonic Prime works well as a new series. Low on the list because for eight episodes, it wasn't as fulfilling especially when it felt like the SatAM show but not as tight since it's a multiverse story. Not that it isn't fun, this has more jovial energy to this that feels like a mesh between SatAM and The Adventures of Sonic. The animation I say is peak for a Sonic cartoon, imperfect but it looks like they're let loose with movement and expression. Plus again, we got the battle of Robot Pirate Island ending with a funny abrupt bodying from Shadow. Overall, hopeful part 2 ups the momentum because this and the Mario Movie really look like we might be eating well next year.

Number 7: The Cuphead Show!

Cuphead changed the way we game. With the DLC released this year as well, we seriously got a franchise that earned its keep. It felt natural that we'd get a cartoon, running alongside the recent Looney Tunes and Mickey Mouse short series as a great resurgence of the rubber-hose animation style. I'll say though that the episodes are great for this show, gets really going when Ms. Chalice joins for real, but it's scattershot in terms of actual banger episodes especially when the Devil makes for the best episodes with or without the porcelain trio. They at least end the 3rd season on a high note so whether we get more or not, this was overall satisfying and worth the wait.

Number 6: ONI, Thunder God's Tale

Really sucks this was talked about by nobody beyond the Goomba Got Back dude, whose video on it was cool. This was an incredibly made miniseries created by the same studios behind DOMO, Rilakkuma and Kaoru, and the cutscenes of most modern Sonic games. I love the plush and clay look of the characters and the environments are insanely beautiful. Storywise it's one where it starts strong and gets stronger with every part like episode two's ending was a gut punch and the blows kept coming after that. I loved this world of yokai and kami and it was an emotionally warm tale of family and self-actualization. Seriously recommend watching this at least once, subbed or dubbed since both are pretty good. So yeah, everybody that proclaims "animation is cinema", where the fuck were you?

Number 5: Scrat Tales

Would've been wrong to not put this on the list since it was the last thing Blue Sky made before Bob Chapek took the studio out back. Even if Blue Sky never closed, these shorts were great, taking me back to when Scrat was at his best in the earlier Ice Age films. The animation is especially great and it just makes me wish Blue Sky got to do more because this really showed they were good with slapstick comedy and improved after two decades. Needless to say, this miniseries and their final short was them going out on a high note, giving the best middle finger to Disney after they tried to revive the Ice Age franchise with the Buck Wild movie. If there was anything to credit about this year, it was taking the bad with the good.

Number 4: The Bob's Burgers Movie

This was surprisingly the year when I watched a lot of movies. Thankfully I'm not a filmbro (yet...) but I've really appreciated the time I made in actually going to the theaters more than once, so yeah Bobby's Bunger. I say it works on its own but it's definitely more for fans of the TV series and even then you probably have to see the season that came before this to have better context. Besides that, you're just enjoying the good vibes that come from the characters, the humor, the animation, and the pinch of musical numbers we get; Sunny Side Up Summer was legit an earworm banger. It overall works when you know the Belcher family because they carry this film.

Number 4 (2): Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Mate, when it reached a certain scene involving a poem, I was practically choking back my tears. You'll know there's a later stop-motion higher ranked, but this was the 2022 film that personally cut deep. I didn't think a film about talking shells would resonate with me this well, but this existed as more than just Youtube short films extended into a movie. There is a story here about grief, comfort, being internet famous, and community that I feel wouldn't have worked without it being like this. It had that cold but good reminder of how small you can feel with a world you can only wish to grasp in increments; that change is inescapable but that doesn't mean you should take that negatively. It's hard being fearless, risque as you can be with your opinions and ideas, especially with uncertainty. This I say is a great Autumn movie, wonderful in making the seasonal vibe feel more comforting.

Number 3: Smiling Friends

Yeah, it's high on the list. If it wasn't, that means Egoraptor probably made it. To me, Smiling Friends has the enjoyable chaos of Superjail and Aqua Teen with the thematic sincerity of Venture Bros or King of the Hill. It's the most easy-going adult cartoon that yeah, is funny as shit and is funnier the more you know behind the scenes. I gotta appreciate that this is the one time when people from the internet hit the big time and it doesn't feel like forgettable compromised trash. I'll say the Brazil episode was not good, but this was the consistently best show Adult Swim provided in a long while.

Number 2: Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio

Del Toro never gave up on this and what we got was better than expected. There are a couple story problems but it's more than made up by being an amazing retelling of the Pinocchio tale. I never grew up with Pinocchio mind you, I only got familiar with the story this year since it was everywhere, but I wanna say this was as strong an interpretation as one could make. Better than Disney's take I say where it's purposefully not squeaky clean in appearance or atmosphere making its poignant emotional moments hit a little harder. Being Del Toro's first fully animated movie, it's up there with Fantastic Mr. Fox as a film I'd consider a masterpiece on the dedication craft alone.

Honorable Mentions: Entergalactic, Hamster & Gretel, Minions 2, The Amazing Maurice, Chickenhare, League of Super Pets, Super Giant Robot Brothers, Cars on the Road, Little Demon, Pantheon, Baymax!, Turning Red, and Zootopia+

Number 1: The Bad Guys/Puss in Boots, Last Wish

I'll say it, Dreamworks truly owned the W this year. The fact that two-for-two Dreamworks gave us the best vibes in terms of films like it was nothing has to be appreciated. I was already a fan of Puss in Boots, the film and cartoon series worked as the Zorro franchise we could've got. The Last Wish enhances that with not only literal stellar and dynamic action, no bad characters, but an actual reflective story for Puss, like if the 1st film and series were about him being responsible this sequel was about him being humble, especially in regard to his own mortality and pride. This isn't just a regular adventure like before, there is genuine emotional weight behind what happens to the characters. Just saying, we didn't just get a fierce red-eyed wolf for furry-lusting sake, but an actually intimidating force that owns every scene he's in. Feels like this film truly marks the twilight of where the studio wants to go with its projects and I'm worried but faithful. Oh yeah, and The Bad Guys?

I didn't grow up with the OG books like I did with Captain Underpants, but this film both blew my mind and made me go back to see that the books were good too. Objectively, Puss in Boots was the better film but this was my personal year-round favorite. The VIBES this had with basically every other scene had me just as happy as when I saw the Captain Underpants movie. The animation, the banter, Diane who is everything, and the banging tunes like Good Tonight and the opening with Kitchen Clean were the cleanest scenes I loved all year. If Puss in Boots 2 was the modern Zorro movie I always wanted, this was the American Lupin the 3rd movie I never knew I would get.

All in all, Dreamworks put its best foot forward, far more than expected especially compared to last year or Disney this year. If anything, I'm definitely noticing a slow shift where more animated projects are... footloose and yards away from trying to look realistic or copy-pasted. Not saying it'll all work (remember when theOdd1sOut made a cartoon?) but it has me as faithful as before in seeing worthwhile stuff come to fruition. Then again nothing this year truly stacked up to the

ACTUAL NUMBER 1: SLIPPIN' JIMMY

I'm talking about the Breaking Bad masterpiece that earned a Slipjimmillion dollars in ratings and views, baby! The streaming service superstar of 2022 nothing could top it. Not Bluey, not Better Call Saul, not The Simpsons, not your dad, nothing came close! Slippin' Jimmy is the future!

WITH ALL THAT SAID, HAVE A GOOD NEW YEAR!

#animation #cartoons #movies #Batwheels #DC #we baby bears #WBB #Cartoon network #Sonic Prime #the cuphead show #cuphead #oni: thunder god’s tale #netflix #scrat tales #blue sky studios #the bob's burgers movie #bobs burger movie #bob's burgers #bobs burgers #marcel the shell with shoes on #a24 films #smiling friends #adult swim #guillermo del toro's pinocchio #pinocchio 2022 #Puss in Boots 2 #puss in boots the last wish #the bad guys #tbg #dreamworks animation

[jordemme-draws]

Possibly the last WIP Wednesday because this chapter is almost finished and the epilogue is next. We're almost there y'all.

Arceus changed to the fairy type.

Mu crashed to the ground hard enough to shake the arena, laid low by a fairy type judgment, and Volo swore. He recalled the Garchomp and dove out of the way of a Draco Meteor. He rolled to his feet to see that Arceus had changed tactics, a scattershot of Judgment converged on him. He held his arms up defensively over his eyes, only to hear the sound of energy crashing against a solid object. He looked and a single pupil widened.

Phi stood protectively over him, and the delicate light of a Protect deflected projectile after projectile. All the fur on her back was on end and she growled low in her throat.

'Get up, Volo! I can't hold this forever!' she snapped, and his head jerked in the direction Wander was, to see that the detective had gotten to his feet, Phi's ball in hand. He swayed, but his eyes narrowed on Arceus. The detective still dripped blood and bits of ash, but he radiated a cold fury as, while Arceus was focused on breaking through Phi's detect, he sent out Beta. She immediately flattened her ears at the sight of her trainer in such a state, but he held a finger to his mouth. They needed to be discreet.

#pokemon legends fic #pokemon fic #legends arceus volo #pla volo #pokemon legends oc #pokemon oc #mpsmp

[gabe495]

Scattershot On High

#scattershot on high #original character #vrame #the commodities #low angle #low angle perspective #low angle shot #clouds #skies #blue #sky blue #blue color palette #yeowninefive

[littlerosetrove]

Bucks Death & Resurrection - Impactful or Nah?

I have a couple things I want to point out here, but the overall theme of my thoughts are that the writing for season 6 was overall unfulfilling and unsatisfying.

I chose this example, the arc of Buck's death, to help highlight how, not just for Buck, but for all of the characters, the writing fell short in allowing the audience to even understand what the characters were thinking and feeling way too often. I’ve mentioned before that “telling and not showing” was especially prevalent in season 6, but nothing new (I’d argue it’s been getting worse since season 4). As well, this big and important arc is a great example to show why the writing in season 6 felt spotty and unfulfilling.

I may not be 100% accurate about which episodes certain things took place, but you’ll get the idea. So, to break down Bucks arc of dealing with dying but surviving it went something like this:

6x11 or 6x12 (I think it was 12) → Dr. Salazar, while clearing Buck for firefighting duty physically, lets him know that his death may affect him mentally and emotionally in ways he may not expect. So be thoughtful and mindful of this, Mr. Buckley. Buck looks contemplative. 6x12 → Buck both tries to not process his death, and makes light of it, despite his 118 family (hell even Connor) asking how he is. → At the end of the episode we get our first concrete understanding of how Buck is feeling when he admits to Eddie that he’s unsure how to feel. 6x13 → We see hints of Buck looking unsure, a bit uneasy, but nothing more. Buddie fans at least assume that a big reason Eddie took Buck to play poker was to make Buck feel better. 6x14 → Buck again tries to make light of his death, coming across as just wanting move on from it already, when Bobby brings it up in one scene. 6x15 → Nothing here beyond Buck being intrigued by the death doula, Natalia, at the end of the episode. Again he kinda makes light of his death. I believe he referred to death as “an old friend” or something similar. (which… something something about Evan “passively suicidal since season one” Buckley never getting to properly confront and heal from this trauma/aspect. this death arc doesn’t acknowledge it, despite being a perfect opportunity, but anyway.) 6x16 → Buck admits to Eddie, near the end of the episode (??), that he feels like he has to act like “the same old Buck” (which we were shown little to no evidence of. if there was evidence it was, i think, too subtle for most people to catch, even me.) And in that same conversation - after apparently having a revelation in talking to Natalia (predominantly offscreen) once - says “every day is a gift.” And thus concludes Buck’s death and resurrection arc.

Not very satisfying is it?

We mostly got a small handful of quick moments of Buck just trying to brush past his death, only two brief moments of Buck actually being honest with Eddie specifically, in how he feels, but in that second conversation with Eddie, I had to make a guess that Buck’s comment on “every day is a gift” as Buck telling Eddie and us the audience that he’s good now. Thus this momentous event was, apparently, concluded in 4-5 episodes in a very scattershot way. And maybe it’s because my brain is low-key just trying to forget most of season 6, but I don’t remember Buck or anyone else talking about him dying and then living past episode 6x16.

In 4-5 episodes we only had Buck, twice, actually saying out loud how he felt, but even then it was to essentially say that he felt unsure how to even feel or act. We didn’t get to hear at all from Buck how he went from feeling lost to - off screen with a character we all just met - providing Buck with the key piece of information in understanding that “he’s good now actually.” For 4-5 episodes we were only shown Buck struggling with his death, to boom. Being told, poorly, that an offscreen conversation with Natalia is what made Buck feel settled with everything. I guess. 🙃

(side-ish note, but another way the writing, i’d say, failed even Natalia is that we were only ever shown that she’s almost weirdly fascinated by death. to me and i know others, she gave the vibe of her wanting to experience near death, just to see what it’s like. i’ll never forget her calling Buck’s death “so cool” when in contrast we had the 118 being devastated by Buck’s death. being worried about Buck post resurrection. so it made me question, “this is the person that’s going to help Buck process his death???”)

And I must emphasize, I don’t even know how many people even realize that the conversation Buck and Eddie had in the graveyard was the apparent conclusion to Buck's dying and resurrection arc. It took me something like 3-4 days post the finale to have a “wait a moment” epiphany.

So… So did Buck’s death and resurrection change Buck in any way? Not really. Did he learn and grow from it? Um, not that I can tell. Buck may have said “every day is a gift” but after that scene, idk, Buck was still Buck.

In case people bring this up: → Yes, Buck was able to keep cool during the finale rescue, but I don’t see how his experience with death is connected to this. His leadership arc went from A to Z with basically nothing in between to connect it. Plus we only ever got Bobby, once or twice, not having Buck do a harness rescue once he was back at work. To those paying attention, I think we can correctly interpret this as Bobby being extra careful with Buck. I think there was one or two rescues, again to those paying close attention, could tell that Buck did seem to be a little more careful than he may have been before he died. Both subtle things that not everyone may even notice. (although I don’t recall Buck being in any way reckless even in 6A at work, so.......) → Buck going through the 5 stages of grief in 3 seconds before handing over the baby to Kameron. It has been told and shown to us through all of 6B that Buck’s “totally fine, he never had an issue with donating. Idk what you guys are talking about.” Buck’s death was something separate from that storyline, and in any case neither one affected the other.

In conclusion? The writing for this arc was so scattered, mishandled, and unclear. The same can absolutely be applied to the entire season. But yeah, as for Buck’s death arc, considering how they handled it, I - really can’t say that it felt all that impactful, definitely not in the long run. 

@lovecolibri​ stated in tags on a post of mine that honestly summed up a big flaw in the writing of season 6: #and because the firefam are never talking to each other about things or feelings most of the time #i not only don't feel the found family aspect as much but also don't feel like i understand what anyone is thinking or feeling #which disconnects the audience from the emotional beats the show is trying to hit

^^ This issue was present even in season 5, but I think has gotten worse in season 6.

...

me any time I think about season 6:

#911 discourse #911 critical #911 meta #911 spoilers #Evan Buckley #hello I continue to be baffled how season 6 #managed to fail on so many levels #my thoughts #long post

[thesouthernpansy]

the comforting illusion of forward momentum (1/3)

(here on ao3) words: 1,024

The paper falls away under Arthur’s hands, strangely soft, as if left out in the rain and not quite dried.

“Arthur, what is it?”

“It’s…a book.” Slick, dark leather, worn bone-smooth but for the edges of embossing under his fingertips. A title, maybe?

“A book? Is it something to do with the case?”

“The case,” echoes Arthur dimly. Behind him, his partner stops his aimless pacing, his voice and the smell of burnt coffee and the bitter grey cast of another Sunday morning. Behind him the scattershot spread of case files on his desk. Today and yesterday and the day before, the same burnt coffee and the same grey morning. The same case, the same files.

The same files. 

What do they say?

Arthur stands in the doorway and slips a thumb under the seam of the paper-wrapped package. In the office, his partner is finishing up the clattering process of making himself coffee. Arthur can smell it burning. Weak, milky sunlight bleeds in through the slats of the blinds, the stolid New England promise of oncoming rain.

“Arthur?”

“Were you expecting a delivery?”

“Not as far as I know. It’s addressed to me?”

“Ah, wait. No, actually, it looks like there’s been some mistake.” The name on the label is a familiar shape on Arthur’s tongue, a detail in a dream already half consigned to oblivion.

“Well, what is it?”

“It’s a book.”

“A book?”

The spine bends itself to Arthur’s palm like something that wants to be held. It’s weighty beyond its size, dense with strange, thick pages that part readily under his touch.

“It looks like—I don’t know, it’s not in any language I recognize.”

“Don’t just stand there being ominous, bring it in, already.”

Uncertainty tugs at the corner of Arthur’s mind, forgotten panic fighting to pull itself back to the forefront, picking at the edges of something that’s already unraveling.

“Arthur?”

“Yes, I—yes, alright.”

“Jesus, this thing’s kinda creepy looking, huh?”

Arthur turns away from the window, grimacing through a mouthful of bitter coffee. Something about the light is giving him a headache.

“Give it back, then.”

His partner laughs, good-natured. “No need to get touchy, I didn’t mean to make fun. You’re getting into some weird shit these days, though.”

“I told you, it isn’t mine.”

“What is this, Latin?” He clears his throat. “Ahf' ymg' ah, ahf’ ymg’ ah?”

A high, whining pressure takes up in Arthur’s ears. He shakes his head as though to clear it; it’s like moving through treacle, his body responding on numb delay.

“Mgah'ehye ya ph'nglui, ymg' mgahnnn lloig l' ya.”

The pressure grows, heady resonance that digs at the roots of Arthur’s molars like brittle fingernails. He grits his teeth until it feels like they might crack. His partner reads on obliviously, a low muffled drone, stripped clean of jest, deep and drawn and cold.

“Mgah'n'ghft ya ymg' gn'bthnknyth, mgah'n'ghft ya ahh l' ymg' ch'nglui'ahog.”

Sickly weightlessness, a cold lurching in Arthur’s stomach as the floor drops away and an impossible spiraling blackness rushes in. A vast echo of the starry expanding infinite, singing with unbounded longing, a loneliness—a hunger—beyond enduring. A siren call, an invitation: pure, limitless nothingness, a void without end.

Aren’t you tired? Doesn’t it hurt?

Arthur hears it and aches.

There is a hazy line where Arthur ends and the inertia of gravity begins, the density of stars in his marrow. The exhaustion of years catches up to him like a tidal wave, a rushing moment of overwhelming panic and then—the glittering, specious calm. Far easier to accept than to fight, to breathe deep and forget. To let it in. To drown—

“Yog nog, yog nog, ahagl ymg' ah.”

The pain in Arthur’s head is a sudden, sharp blade, splitting his skull in neat halves. He can hear laughter, somewhere very far away, low coiling laughter like rising tendrils of smoke. It isn’t his partner’s voice, isn’t his own, is barely familiar a creature enough to be called laughter in the first place, but Arthur can feel it in his throat, on his tongue, in his pounding head. Ripples of a terrible mirth just beyond his comprehension, and beyond the pain the fleeting image of a stark violet coast, a dark, receding sea.

Arthur snaps the book shut and turns it over in his hands. He has the curious sense of having walked in from another room and forgotten why, and there’s a lump in his throat, as if he’s been crying.

“Arthur, are you sure you don’t know what that book is?”

“Of course I’m sure. What is that supposed to mean?”

“You just look kind of spooked all of a sudden, that’s all. Pale.”

Guilt bites at him, and Arthur sighs, massaging his temple against an incipient headache. “I—I’m just tired, I think. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

“When have you ever,” snorts his partner. His concern returns almost at once, voice softening as he leans in. “Hey, is it the nightmare again?”

“John—” It comes out in a hiss, a warning, because John knows better.

A beat like the unraveling of a knot, tension hightening and then falling apart.

“Oh,” says his partner thoughtfully. “I see.”

“And what exactly is it that you see?” asks Arthur tightly.

“Nothing,” John assures him. “It was a bad joke, forget it. What did you say that book was?”

“I didn’t,” says Arthur, “did I? In any case I’m not sure, I can’t make heads or tails of the thing.”

“Bring it here.”

Arthur leans by John against the edge of his desk, a hand at his elbow drawing him closer. They bend their heads together over the page in a shared hushed, almost reverent, curiosity. The sharp, cramped script swims in Arthur’s mind, somehow at once enticingly alien and intimately familiar— a mouthful of honey, the bankless night sky. Arthur feels a flush of anticipation in his chest, excitement laced with a strange thrilling fear.

“Should I read it?”

John hmms lowly, reaching, his fingers ghosting over Arthur’s and obscuring the text from view.

“Is this how it happened?”

translations:

Who are you, what are you?

Let me in, open your mind to me.

Show me your heart, show me how to break you.

Come out come out wherever you are

#malevolent #malevolent podcast #arthur lester #john malevolent #john doe malevolent #my fic #hello malevolent fandom hi hello

[twistedtummies2]

The Price May Be Right - Number 24

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” I’m counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media. Today’s pick proves how truly devilish dear Vincent could be! Today we focus on Number 24: Mr. Scratch, from The Story of Mankind.

This is another character I addressed before on a previous countdown. Specifically, when I did my list of my Top 31 Favorite Portrayals of the Devil, Price’s turn as the wicked Mr. Scratch ranked Number 11 on the list. A lot of what I say here may be reiterating stuff I said there and then, so do bear with me if I feel a bit repetitive. With that said: “The Story of Mankind” is a bizarre little picture from 1957. It was the brainchild of Irwin Allen, a director and producer known for his colorful, campy style of filmmaking. The movie focuses on a great trial being held in the cosmos themselves: a gathering of divine beings are trying to judge the fate of the Earth. It’s revealed that humanity has invented a new weapon of mass destruction, which – if they choose to use it – could potentially lead to the destruction of the entire human race. The decision must be made whether to intervene and prevent mankind from using the bomb, or to let humanity make the choice and risk destroying themselves entirely. Price plays – as I stated before – the Devil himself, who acts as the prosecutor at the trial. Opposing him in the defense box is the Spirit of Man, played by Ronald Colman. The two are given power by the divine tribunal to present examples of man’s folly’s and failings, as well as humanity’s triumphs and achievements. Each may show people and points in time to illustrate their arguments. So, while the Spirit of Man presents such figures as Abe Lincoln and Moses, Mr. Scratch presents the evils of people like Hitler and Nero. This movie, to be quite honest, is not very good, and nearly all of its major problems stem from two places: casting and tone. The tone of this movie is all over the place, ranging from farcical comedy to moralizing dramatics. This is reflected in the casting, which is scattershot, to say the least: Dennis Hopper plays perhaps the most American Napoleon you’ll ever see in your life, and whatever numb-nut decided to cast the Marx Brothers as Sir Isaac Newton, Peter Minuit, and a random Monk should be dragged into the street and slapped with a fish. Things that should be taken seriously cannot be, and things that should be funny often come across as dumb. As a result, the movie is a truly absurd and mind-boggling experience. HOWEVER, for all the epic fails found in the cast list…Vincent Price as the Devil is the most perfect casting you’ll ever find in your life. Price honestly MAKES this movie; from his narration sequences to his physical performance onscreen, he owns every scene and every line effortlessly. He makes some of the silliest gags truly entertaining, and manages to present a picture of evil that is as elegant and charming as it is thoroughly reprehensible. For all the problems in this movie, Price is never among them, and he helps to keep this picture from sinking too far under. Honestly, I feel sort of bad for ranking this performance so low – again, it’s a little tough to beat VINCENT PRICE AS THE DEVIL – but I think the major issue is just that the movie, itself, sort of drags him down in the ranks. Hopefully the many roles still to come will make up for it all. Tomorrow, the countdown continues with my pick for Number 23!

#list #countdown #best #favorites #the price may be right #top 31 vincent price performances #vincent price #actors #acting #movies #film #mr. scratch #the devil #the story of mankind

[storkmuffin]

Some cousin I actively disliked when I met them as a kid and have since never heard from is coming to Korea in June. My dad who is an asshole opens the conversation with - "She's a lot like you. she's [Korean word which means a specific kind of dumbass with low eq and an inabilityto grasp nuance]."

Me because I am an adult now cut him off with- "I am not like that at all. Nobody ever says that about me. I'm perceptive and sharp."

My dad- "Oh. Uh. Ah. You're not like that. Um, right."

Then he floundered until he finally asked for what he wanted, which was permission to share my email with this woman who hasn't asked for it, so I can be roped into ferrying her around I guess?

NO THANKS.

My long education abroad allowed me to learn about boundaries so I said, "If she asks for my contact info, sure, but I don't want you to volunteer it without her asking for it in particular."

My dad-"She's so scattershot and busy she it might not occur to her to ask."

Me: "Then you don't have to give it to her."

What my dad should learn from this is that if you're going to ask me for a favor you need to ask outright with the acknowledgment that you're inconveniencing me and that as a general rule you shouldn't insult someone you're about to ask a favor of. But he isn't going to.

#dysfunctional family #thank God i learned foreign languages and studied abroad and get to have therapy. #being an adult is awesome in so many ways but i specifically love having the power to push back at my dad #not a great start to the day however