#I don’t either but we must prevail

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Those Eyes Chico ༓ myg (m) | chapter one

✑ Summary: As the new marketing director for Min Yoongi’s upcoming D-Day album & tour, you’re expected to bring your expertise to the table. This shouldn’t be a problem—you’re the best in the business and you’re used to drawing a strict line between your professional and personal life. But what happens when the lines you’ve fought to keep as separate blur for the first time?

pairing: idol!yoongi x plus size!poc!reader

genre/AU: angst, fluff, smut, slowburn, coworkers2friends2lovers, winter setting, forbidden love,

word count: 6.5k+

warnings: oc is 28, Yoon is 30, oc is not originally from South Korea, oc has light brown eyes, swearing, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of anxiety, panic attacks, body insecurities, fear of being blacklisted, emotionally restrained yoon, unstable parental relationships, conservative parents, rude Hybe executive that should be fired, bestie!tae is wonderful support 🥹, and cute yoon and oc interactions bc yeah....its thier first time actually meeting so it must be cute!

now playing: Sweet Dreams by The Last Shadow Puppets

a/n: YAHHH chapter one!! Ok i apologize if the meeting is so long and drawn out...I really tried to make it fun but so much info is needed too haha. Anyway this series is dedicated to my wonderfully crazy friend and sorta beta, Gloom @theuselessdaydreamingidiot, and to all our fellow Yoon lovers bc we miss our sweet man SO MUCH 🥺 Enjoy! 🥰 Also huge thank you to @itaeewon for designing this beautiful series header! Love it!!

Series Masterlist | next chapter >>

Winter in Seoul feels like stepping onto the set of your most beloved holiday film.

As the brisk air wraps around you, delicate snowflakes gather atop your head, urging you to cocoon in your finest wool trench coat. Yet, despite the chill, the sight of frost-bitten trees basking in the morning's golden rays offers a source of warmth and delight. Perhaps the most radiant tree of them all is the towering Christmas tree that sits proudly in the heart of the city. Adorned with shimmering red and gold baubles, the giant evergreen catches the eye of every person that walks by–both tourists and locals alike.

Nearby shopping malls buzz with holiday fervor too as shoppers scour for treasures, couples engage in friendly competition to find the ultimate gift, and children line up to take their picture with Santa. But the best part is when night falls. The whole city comes alive with joy and laughter as loved ones meet one another on the ice-skating rinks, while karaoke bars echo tipsy renditions of timeless songs sung by overworked professionals, each with a bottle of soju in hand.

Yes, Seoul is a place for making memories and you’re in the thick of it.

Having been in the city for three years, one might assume you’ve become well accustomed to the energy of the season. You've really grown to love it here. But adjusting to the new environment is still proving to be a challenge, the most outstanding being the prevailing beauty standards.

Massive billboards featuring stunning models serve as constant reminders of the type of beauty one should aim to achieve as you commute to work. Impossible to miss are the shining examples themselves – iconic k-pop groups Seventeen, Red Velvet, EXO, BlackPink, Mamamoo, TXT, and of course BTS plastered on the side of every flat surface imaginable. You’re not exactly complaining about that aspect as you’ve helped design a good handful of them as a top marketing and advertising professional. But the strict image of what constitutes a beautiful and worthy individual weighs on you more than you’d like.

While a conventional body type isn’t what you’ve been given in this life, you don’t consider yourself to be completely unattractive either. Having high cheekbones, a strong jawline, striking light brown eyes, good enough ass, and a full chest shouldn’t classify as undesirable. Still, you wish you’d adopt this more body positive mindset rather than your current overthinking one. It’s easier said than done, being that you not only see idols everyday on the streets in digital form but at work as well.

You continue further into city until a set of tall, glass doors meet you mere steps away. You tilt your head back to catch the name of the skyscraper before nearing the building’s sturdy, silver handle.

BigHit Music.

Feeling its cool metal under your fingertips, the door swings open with an easier pull than imagined to welcome you into the bustling lobby. You feel a rush of confidence return to you upon entering– this is your domain, this is where you truly shine.

“Did you get the files I sent to you?”

The woman nods her head in affirmation while sweeping a few pieces of her long, silky hair behind an ear. To strangers, she appears to look about 24 which is only four years younger than yourself but nonetheless she’s the same age as you. Hei-Ran is her name, meaning “graceful orchid” according to Korean translation.

Hei-ran is one of Hybe’s newest hires and based on her experience, a near perfect fit to being South Korean boy group Tomorrow X Together’s new marketing manager. Until about three months ago, this had been your job.

You never imagined giving up the position after three years of working in the role. But with December right around the corner Hybe had other plans for you.

"Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelors degree in BTech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a MBA in Marketing from NYU Stern. You worked two years as a brand manager for U.S record label Atlantic Records immediately after graduating, and are now working at BigHit Music as a marketing manager for TXT including liaison with their global marketing team.”

You recall Bang PD's voice vibrate in the back of your mind from mid-August. You thought you were called into his office to discuss details of TXT’s latest promo, so having your resume read back to you was a sweeping curve ball. Your determination must have far exceeded the heaviness you felt in your chest because before you knew it you, you were shaking hands with your boss in acceptance of your role – the new marketing director for Min Yoongi’s upcoming D-Day album & tour.

The tedious knot that’s formed in the nape of your neck reminds you that as surreal as the situation might be, it’s undeniably real.

Months spent drafting a comprehensive marketing proposal for D-Day; often until the wee hours of the night, inevitably takes its toll on even the mightiest of warriors. An entire new team of fifty people, all of who you’ll be in charge of orchestrating for the next eight months, doesn’t provide much to relief either.

You’re excited nevertheless. Working with one of the most respected artists in the music industry is an opportunity you couldn’t let slip by, especially since the album’s rock-inspired genre aligns closely with your own music taste.

“Thank you so much for helping me get settled __,” Hei-ran’s gentle voice returns you to the present. “I appreciate the time you’ve taken these last few months to train me despite the tight deadlines you have.”

Smiling, you shake your head. “It’s no problem at all and if there’s anything you need in the future, feel free to give me a call or stop by my office.”

“On the 16th floor right?”

“1656A. Take a left off the elevator and walk to the end of the first hallway. The door on the right is mine.”

Referring to any room on the 16th floor as your own is something you don’t take lightly. For one the offices are double the size of any other office spaces in the building. Yours in particular has a giant skyscraper window draped with heavy white curtains. Secondly, the floor above is the 17th floor which is exclusive to Hybe artists only.

"How's the proposal coming along, by the way?" Her curiosity is palpable, genuine in its nature. You’ve always appreciated that in an individual.

“It’s done,” you respond. “Only thing left to do is to prepare for our meeting with C-suite executives next Monday. It’s nearly perfect as is, but the presentation could use a bit of refining in terms of organization.”

Hei-ran is silent for a moment longer than usual before her next inquiry, which is undoubtedly the question on both of your minds. “I can't help but wonder what it'll be like to meet him for the first time,” she muses.

You don’t bother asking for clarification on who the “him” is; you’re already well aware that it’s Min Yoongi. The same subject has managed to intrude your own thoughts more and more as the date of meeting him draws closer. It's peculiar honestly, considering you’ve encountered him before.

Granted, it was only a small handful of times the hallway, both heading in opposite directions. Min Yoongi typically greeted you with a hoarse 'Good Morning' those instances, along with a curt nod of his head. You would nod back with a brief 'Morning' yourself. Deep down you feel he'd make a quality friend, though it's only a premonition. It’s not like you actually know much about him beyond those small exchanges.

"I'm not sure what to expect, honestly," you admit. "I imagine it'll be similar to previous professional collaborations—composed, focused, and intense. D-Day is poised to become a global sensation for the next year, so it's going to need our full, undivided attention."

Hei-ran gives a knowing nod. “Good luck __,” she wishes you well as you head towards the elevator doors. Breaks over, back to work.

After another late-night prep session for Monday’s D-Day proposal, you trudge through your apartment door well past 8:30 pm with an empty stomach and a throbbing headache. Good news is that your graphic design team seems to be well on track with their album mockups ready to present.

The same can’t be said for your U.S. promo team however, who required additional guidance on their projects. The social media team was in a similar boat. Somehow several of their members lost track of time and were convinced the proposal was still two weeks away.

Despite the hiccups, you managed to tie up the loose ends, but it meant that none of you got to leave early.

When you finally get to curl up in your fluffy sofa, a loud, exasperated sigh leaves your lips. Your lids flutter shut too as you rest your head against the soft cushion. Silently, you make one last mental rundown of all the tasks you checked off today.

Did you miss anything?

D-Day is the most crucial project you’ve ever taken charge of—you need it to be flawless.

When nothing pressing comes to mind, you grab the tv remote from your dark oak coffee table and aimlessly flip through the channels. You’ll unwind for an hour and then call it a night.

Ten minutes into an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the light chime of your phone's notification bell catches your ear.

Tae 💚: Haven’t heard from you all day. Everything alright?

Taehyung, your best friend. You smile fondly at his message as your thumbs hover over the reply button. He's always checking in on you. You and Taehyung have been friends ever since you first moved to Seoul and started working at Hybe. You didn't expect your friendship to become this strong, but both of you are sociable individuals, which led to discovering several unexpected commonalities. One of those is a shared love for jazz, which has been one of your all-time favorite genres for as long as you can remember.

You: yeah, I’m good. Just tired. Been working on D-Day's proposal for months and finally got it fully prepped for.

Tae 💚: Well, that's amazing news! You feel good about it?

You: I don't know. I’m definitely ready for this project but I’m also starting to feel a little burned out. The proposal is only the beginning you know, and it's already taking the wind out of me.

Tae 💚: Sorry to hear that 😞 I'm sure it must be draining, but I also know this is your territory. No one is more fit to head this project than you. Everyone thinks so. How about you take the weekend to rest?

You: Yeah...I'm watching B99 rn

Tae 💚: B99?! Without me?

You can't help but giggle. Somehow over the course of three years you've roped your best friend into becoming obsessed with your mindless sitcoms. You've done more than a handful of binge watching together, until all hours of the night.

You: Wanna come over for an hour?

The company might be nice.

Tae 💚: Be there in 20 🏃

Your door bells rings exactly twenty minutes after you and Taehyng finish exchanging texts. He's so prompt it scares you sometimes.

“Hey.” His deep, baritone voice greets you first, along with a friendly hug. Taehyung slips his snow covered boots off upon entering your apartment and hangs his wool jacket on your coat rack. His limited edition Gucci scarf is next. Taehyung loves the winter as it’s the time he can wear his most luxurious clothes.

“What’s this?” You peak inside a brown paper bag that Taehyung has conveniently set on your kitchen countertop. He flashes you a playful grin and gestures you to open it. Naturally, you're suspicious but it all washes away when a new, unopened bottle of whiskey presents itself. “Oh my god, you didn’t!" You swat his arm in a rush of excitement.

“I had to!" Taehyung opens a kitchen cupboard and grabs a glass from the top shelf. He's been in your apartment enough times that he’s grown comfortable with your place. That and he's also your best friend.

"With all the recent events you've had going on, I think it calls for a celebration." Taehyung expertly pours you a glass of the smooth, rich liquor and offers it to you.

“Thank you, Tae," you say, taking the glass from his hand. "Come sit down. Jake's about to sing I Want It That Way with the police lineup.” Taehyung pours himself a glass of Pinot Noir and follows your lead.

After about forty minutes of sitcoms and booze with your best friend you begin to feel yourself relaxing. Whatever challenges lies ahead, you know you'll be able to handle them one whiskey at a time.

All stream of thought is interrupted when your phone dings off again. It's now half past 9, who on earth is trying to reach you?

Fuck.

You tighten the grip on your phone as soon aa the message appears. Taehyung, previously occupied by the end credit scene, catches the sudden shift in your demeanor and calls your name but he's inaudible to you.

Mom: It’s been almost two weeks since we last heard from you. We know you're busy but your father and I want to know if you’ll be coming home. The holidays are coming up right? Why don't you use some of that time to come see us? There's someone we want you to meet.

"__, who is it?" Taehyung's voice manages to break your intense concentration.

“Just my mom.” You answer briefly, still averting eye contact.

“What’d she say?”

“She wants me to come home for the holidays.” You shut your phone off in an effort to calm yourself.

Unlike Taehyung your relationship with your parents has always been rocky. Expectations are set high from birth and you never see eye to eye. Likely, the only accomplishment that's earned genuine praise from them was when you accepted your initial job proposal with Hybe. A respectable career is only second to health to them after all. Your father was more torn with the news that you’d be moving hundreds of miles away than your mom however, not that you’re surprised.

Of course while having a healthy and respectable career is priority for your parents, there is no mistake that their greatest wish is to see their daughter married. A stable man with ample resources to provide her a secure home and healthy children is preferable.

You love your parents and you'll always be there for them, but you must admit that their traditional outlook is one you can never live up to. They tried setting you up dozens of times before, and tonight's request to have you come home "for the holidays to meet someone” is simply another attempt to marry you off.

Yes, you would like some sort of companionship in your life and you hope if you find it that they’ll approve. But giving your hand in marriage to the first notable suitor isn't your forte. You consider yourself to be an independent woman with a tender heart, and you'd rather be single for the entirety of your life than be forced into another obligation.

Preserving your independence is highly important to you. So no, you draw the line when it comes to relational affairs.

If only you could be firm and repeat all the above to them aloud, rather than within your own head— if only.

“So are you gonna go?"

You don't respond immediately, still weighing out your options. "Not sure," you murmur. "I don't really want to but maybe I should. I haven't gone home to see my parents since last year."

Taehyung recognizes the growing tension in your voice as well as the flushed expression playing on your face. He wishes he could take it all away but instead he moves closer to your side of the sofa and lets you rest your head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He's silent for a moment before continuing. "Why don't you tell them you can't go because of work? There must be a number of things you'll need to get ahead of for Yoongi's album."

"True. But it's too easy, they won't buy that. I have to go."

"What if you say I invited you to celebrate with my family this year? We're going to a nice, cozy cabin a few hours north of here for Christmas."

The offer is temping and you know he means it but it's also not enough.

"No," you reject. "They'll think we're dating and ask to meet you."

"I'll do it!" Taehyung's voice lifts into a more playful tone, earning a soft chuckle from you.

"Very cute Taetae, but no. Neither of us are going to say 'that was a good idea' in the end, trust me. I'll have to make this decision on my own."

Taehyung grimaces slightly at your last choice of words. "I really think you should consider telling them you can't due to a full schedule. We don't get that much time off at the company any way. Don't your parents live at least 7-10 hours away? Come on, spend the holidays with me and the guys. Plus, it'll be my birthday soon. I want you there at my party."

When you look at your best friend to gently scold him for not so sneakily using the guilt tripping technique, he's pouting. Like a baby. Not even you can resist him with that face on.

"Fine. I'll think about it."

"Good," Taehyung chirps and snatches the tv remote to flip through episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. "I want you to be around those closest to you, especially around the holidays. You're my badass best friend who deserves more than some stupid forced marriage to a guy with an unhealthy alpha male complex. Should we top the night off with one more episode by the way?"

You nod and Taehyung hits play on the remote. "Thank you," you coo, feeling a tad better.

The weekend is a blur at best and you’re back at the office before you realize. Of course this is no ordinary work day however, given that today signifies the day you officially start work as D-Day’s marketing director. You’ve been perfecting every detail of the proposal like a madman since the beginning, meticulously obessing over every element. Your new team members must have a pretty eye-opening understanding of what it’ll be like having you as a lead for the next year–you pity them to be honest.

Between your fingers clutches a small tube of lip balm, berry flavored with a faint tint to match. You love chapstick for some odd, inexplainable reason and you felt the need to apply a generous amount of it on your lips for good luck.

“No one’s here yet,” Yi-joon, one of the members of your graphic design team, speaks first upon stepping foot into your assigned conference room. Others hum, unsurprised. Being the ones leading the presentation, you’d be startled if anyone actually arrived beforehand.

A grand mahogany table, seating up to 14 individuals, boasts itself to you in the middle of the room with every chair lined in genuine black leather. Traditional seating arrangements have one chair at the head of the table, but today’s meeting has two, both positioned to face the wide presentation screen at the opposite end.

Undoubtably, they’re reserved for Bang PD and Min Yoongi.

A momentary shiver courses down your spine, yet fades quick when one of your team members asks if anyone's seen the remote to the projector. There’s no time for nerves to be acting up, you remind yourself calmly. Only 15 minutes remain until every C-suite executive in Hybe congregates into the room.

With a composed demeanor, you swiftly gather your thoughts and respond, "Try checking inside the podium. It's likely close by, but if not, we can always power it on manually." You then start delegating tasks to the rest of your team, mentally rehearsing key points of the proposal between each instruction.

Time appears to have vanished in the blink of an eye because in a matter of seconds a gentle breeze slips through the conference door, accompanied by the arrival of several Hybe executives. You offer a polite "good morning," which is briefly reciprocated as they take their respective seats around the conference table.

You count twelve at the table in total, including your own team.

"Sajangnim should be here in about–"

Hybe's Chief Finance Officer doesn't get to finish his sentence when an older gentleman in a freshly pressed suit walks through the door, fully immersed in conversation. The person following close behind him is none other than the man of the hour himself–Min Yoongi, fitted in a clean white dress shirt that's unbuttoned at the collar and sleeves rolled to the elbows. His soft, raven hair falls gently in front of his eyes, framing his face a little too well.

Unexpectedly, both your gazes shift from Bang PD and onto one another. His dark, intense eyes pierce through you as they observe you from the opposite side of the room. You're certain he recognizes you from your previous shared encounters, though you don't have the slightest clue what he's thinking. Min Yoongi has been known to be many things, but an open book isn't one of them.

He then walks in your direction until he's directly toe to toe with you for the very first time. Completely against your wishes, you feel all the tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand straight. You've never officially met before.

"It's nice to finally meet you __-nim. Those nods we give each other in the hallway hardly count as a proper introduction." He extends a hand to you, offering you a sturdy handshake which you accept.

"Absolutely, it's a pleasure to meet you as well Min PD-nim," you say, smiling warmly. "I'm looking forward to working with you on your new album. I truly appreciate the opportunity."

For a split second, Yoongi allows his professional demeanor drop. "I should be the one thanking you. You'll be the one leading this whole operation right? So I'll be in your care."

You want to respond with gratitude, but you're not given the chance due to an authoritative voice speaking up from behind.

"Min PD-nim," Hybe's Vice President calls out to the man in front of you, requesting his attention.

Yoongi is hesitant to leave you mid-conversation but you assure him that it's alright. "Please, feel free to take a seat," you offer. "The presentations will begin soon."

A small, subtle smile graces Yoongi's lips before he turns around to take his seat beside Bang PD at the head of the table. He engages in small talk with Hybe's Vice President who's conveniently seated across from him. Yet despite their conversation, he's only half focused; his eyes repeatedly wandering back to you. At this point, however, you've already stopped looking at him.

"Good morning, all," you address the room when the time comes to commence the meeting. "We'll be getting started now that everyone's here. I'm sending down samples of the album design our graphics team has created for D-Day. Please pass them along." You hand the stack of copies to Hybe's Chief Technology Officer who smiles courteously.

"On behalf of my team and me, I want to thank you for joining us today to discuss our marketing strategy for Min PD-nim's upcoming D-Day album. Our agenda will be as follows," you guide everyone's attention to the presentation board, which provides a rundown of all the points you plan to cover for the remainder of the meeting.

"Let's begin with introductions. My name is ___ ___, I hold a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NYU Stern, as well as an MBA in Marketing. Over the past five years, I've worked in the music industry as a marketing manager. Three of those years were spent here at Hybe. The recent promotional campaign for TXT's The Chaos Chapter was lead by my previous team and me, resulting in a positive return on investment. Now, with a new team, I aim to achieve similar success with Min PD-nim's D-Day album."

Once you finish your introduction, you introduce each member of your team. This is soon followed by a brief introduction from each c-suite executive.

The whole room falls silent when you begin diving into the bulk of the proposal; every measurable objective, goal, and market analysis is shared for D-Day. When it comes time to present the brand guide and album design, you invite your graphics team to speak.

"You'll notice that we have two versions of Min PD-nim's albums on the sheet in front of you," Yi-joon refers to the mockups you handed out earlier. A few executives nod quietly as they study the proposed album packaging while Yoongi leans over to Bang PD. He's whispering something but you're far to distant away to hear. His expressions aren't telling either.

Does he like it? Does he not? You don't know.

Nevertheless, you give a subtle smile to Yi-joon as encouragement to continue.

 "We've opted for a sleek, pitch-black design for the first version, and a dusty brown for the second. The first version symbolizes the past, characterized by societal expectations and internal struggles, while the second represents the present and future, conveying a message of liberation. To complement these themes, we've selected a bold and daring font to exude the album's transparency. This design consistency extends to the album's contents; for instance, lyrical cards will reflect the respective color and style of the version they belong to."

Hybe's Chief Marketing Officer appears to be in approval with the entirety of the plan so far, yet it's short lived when a low voice interrupts.

"I think the vision of album's design aligns closely with mine, so I like what I see in front of me." Yoongi pauses and places the mockup on the table. "There's one aspect that I'd like to discuss in hopes of some insight however. I've been mauling over it for a while now."

"I'll do my best to–" Hybe's Chief Marketing Officer opens his mouth to respond yet closes it immediately when he notices Yoongi's gaze sharply shifts to you. It's a signal that it's your insight he specifically requests.

"Please go on," you reply.

"Regarding the name under which the album should be released, should it be 'Agust D' or 'Suga'? I'm personally biased towards Agust D because it holds more weight for me. It's close to my heart and the stories I have to tell as Agust D are heavier than those of Suga, right? The D even stands for Daegu, my hometown where I grew up and where my parents still live. Suga on the other hand is my stage name, which I have some identity in as well."

You don't answer immediately, preferring to carefully process everything he's said. Your team has already proposed to release the album under 'Agust D', yet he makes a valid point that 'Suga' is also a part of him.

"I understand that releasing the album under 'Suga' has its merit. However, I still support the original idea of releasing it under 'Agust D'. As you've mentioned, the name carries a deeper meaning, evoking memories, emotions, trials, and tribulations. I'd also like to emphasize that by releasing D-Day under 'Agust D', you can showcase who the real Agust D is. The collaboration with IU in People Pt. 2 already has you one step in that door."

Like you, Yoongi considers your words cautiously, weighing them in his mind. "Thank you ___-nim," he finally speaks. "Your perspective is reassuring. We'll proceed with releasing the album under 'Agust D'.

Following your short discussion, the graphics team continues presenting their design materials. Minor comments are made by Hybe executives, but Yoongi doesn't comment again until half-way into the social media segment.

"Why do we need to schedule this many Weverse Lives? People might get tired of seeing my face after so many in a row. ARMY will read, 'Min Yoongi started a live' and say to their friends, 'This is the fifth time in a row, is he in love with his own voice or something?'." His joke sparks a light in the room as Bang PD gives a chuckle.

"I don't think that's going to be an issue for you Yoongi," he replies. "Don't you know the strength of your own fanbase?" Bang PD's statement is undeniable. Everyone in the room is well aware of Min Yoongi's international fanbase who willingly stay up all hours of the night just to catch a glimpse of him. In fact, rather than seeing less of him, they hope to receive his live notifications more, as Yoongi isn't as active on Weverse as other idols.

It's clear that compliments like these aren't easy for Yoongi to take though, judging by the flushed look that subtly sweeps over his face. You'd react the same way to be honest.

"If I may Min PD-nim," you speak up, deciding to offer an alternative plan. "Leveraging Weverse Live to help promote D-Day will draw significant international engagement. We know that time differences pose to be a challenge which is why we proposed an increase of live sessions per week. However, we understand that going live this often might be exhausting. Would you consider reducing the frequency to once or twice a week instead?"

"I'm open to once a week but didn't we film the 'Suga: Road to D-Day' documentary for a similar reason? Won't it be too much to add more than two Weverse Lives throughout the entire promotional phase?" Yoongi's challenge is met with an unanimous hum of support from his fellow executives. You'd feel intimidated if you didn't already have a justification mapped out.

"The objective behind releasing 'Suga: Road to D-Day' on Disney+ differs from that of Weverse Lives," you rebuttal confidently. "While the documentary presents a structured behind-the-scenes view of D-Day's development, the Lives focus on building hype among your existing fans who know you well, will spread the word to their peers, and will likely pre-order the album. As you're aware, Lives are more personal and stripped down, allowing your fanbase to feel closer to you."

Thinking of no further objectives, Yoongi, still somewhat unsure, accepts your suggestion. "Once a week will be fine then. While we're still on the topic, do we know when 'Suga: Road to D-Day' is set to release on Disney+?"

"Our digital marketing and promo team will be reviewing the specifics of that soon," you inform. "Right now we have the documentary releasing April 23 of next year. The poster for the film will release a week and a half earlier on the 12th."

Rather than furthering the discussion, Yoongi sends an understanding nod your way which allows the social media team to resume their portion of the proposal. Recording more Weverse Lives than usual remains a pain point for him, but he's willing to move forward if it means connecting with his fanbase.

Alast, after what seems like three hours of social media; followed by financing & budget talk, the last team to present their material takes lead of the meeting.

"We'd like to provide a timeline for D-Day's promo schedule as a way to wrap up today's proposal," So-hyun from your digital marketing and promos team explains. "Promotions will begin April 10, 2023 and will run until April 25th. During this time the album's track list, concept photos, MV Teaser, and official MV will drop. As far as concert schedule, we're proposing April 26-June 24. These dates include U.S, Asia, and Korea Tours."

"We might need to rethink concert dates but for now I'm on onboard." Yoongi remains brief in his interjection, allowing So-hyun to continue.

"As far as other marketing channels, we plan to implement both print and digital methods including billboards, banners, paid search ads, and YouTube. We'd also like to reach out to a variety of magazines like Rolling Stones Magazine for interviews. If we want to extend our global reach even further, we can book a time slot on the Jimmy Fallon Show. Bare in mind that if we go this route, we'll need to decide fairly quick, as slots are in high demand."

You notice Bang PD whispering amongst Yoongi and his Chief Finance Officer when Jimmy Fallon is mentioned. Yoongi seems the least interested. Perhaps he isn't fond of being front and center of talk shows, you guess.

"When will we need a decision for the Jimmy Fallon Show?" Bang PD inquires for the group.

"No later than three weeks from now," So-hyun answers. "It's a tight deadline but it can been done if we get the official go."

Bang PD directs his attention to Yoongi who's chosen to be silent in this conversation. "What do you think, Yoongi? It's your call."

"Maybe," he says, "give me a day or two to think on it."

Another ten minutes of productive overview with your promos team pass and soon, you're standing up to adjourn the meeting. You have to admit that out of all the proposals you've given in your career, this goes right to the top.

Your team was phenomenal today, and despite the the fact that several Hybe executives are biting at the bit to finally go on their lunch break, you feel confident that everyone is leaving on the same page.

"Min PD-nim."

You're ears inevitably pick up the conversation in front of you as you make your way out of the conference room. Yoongi and his Chief Financial Officer are running through some quick numbers only a few steps steps ahead, but with everyone simultaneously rushing in the same direction, neither must have realized you were within earshot.

"There's no doubt that she's good at what she does," Hybe's Chief Financial Officer continues. "Still, it's hard to believe that she's only 27 or 28. A person should take better care of themselves don't you agree? Like our Eunchae for example."

If there was a way to erase what you just heard, you'd do so, because in an instant, all previous successes you felt from today's proposal shatters to the ground. You're no stranger to receiving these sorts of comments about your appearance, yet it leaves your confidence fleeting, along with any amount of resilience you've built.

Blinking back the tears that threaten to spill, you exit the conference room the first chance you get. You have no desire to stick around for Yoongi's reply.

Not long after you leave does you phone ring off.

Tae 💚: Hey! How's the meeting going? Still available to get lunch this afternoon? I'm heading to the cafeteria as I type this.

You: It went okay. But I don't think I'll be coming to lunch, just a lot to do. I'm also not that hungry.

You second-guess how convincing your message is, knowing that it's your best friend on the other line. Regardless, it's the only words you can come up with right now. You really do have a lot of work ahead of you though, at least that part is true.

Tae 💚: Are you sure? I was looking forward on hearing how the meeting went! Wasn't there something you had to give me too?

The meaning of the last line suddenly dawns on you as you make your way down the long hallway. How could you forget? You made Taehyung one of his favorite foods to surprise him for lunch; Japchae, a sweet and savory dish of stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables.

You: Right, sorry it slipped from my mind for a second. I'll meet you in the cafeteria to give it to you.

"Why won't you stay and eat with me?" Taehyung devours the homemade Japchae you made for him with delight, a pair of chopsticks clamped in his hand.

"I don't have much of an appetite, Tae."

You've already told him this twice already, clarifying that you'd be heading back to your office once you deliver his food. Evidently, he's not letting you slip away easily.

"Then take a break with me instead, even if it's only for ten minutes." You watch as your best friend swiftly pulls out the chair next to him from under the table, gesturing you to sit. "Tell me what's got you down," he says. "Did Yoongi say something to you? He can be a bit too outspoken with his opinions sometimes."

Feeling defeated, you slide into the chair. "No, the meeting was fine. I'm just overthinking something that happened."

You then proceed to explain what you overheard Hybe's Chief Finance Officer say about you from earlier, that you didn't look healthy enough for your age and using Eunchae as an example. The scowl that appears on Taehyung's face as you retell the incident is unmistakable–he's clearly pissed.

"First of all," Taehyung starts once you finish, jaw clenched. "Eunchae is 17 and is a part of a Korean girl group. She has an entire team dedicated to making sure her appearance is flawless. It's the idol life; trust me, I'm well acquainted with it, so it's not a fair comparison. Secondly, Hybe's CFO is an asshole who I'd replace in a day. I don't want you letting him make you feel insignificant just because you don't conform to his narrow idea of how a woman should look."

You appreciate Taehyung's efforts to cheer you up, though you remain unaffected. Besides, he still isn't aware of Yoongi's involvement since you purposely left that detail out due to their close friendship.

"Yeah, I don't know. We don't have to talk about it anymore." You decide to dismiss the topic entirely and reach for your phone, along with a pair of earbuds bundled in your pocket. "Wanna listen to something?"

Music has always bonded you and Taehyung's friendship, as you've frequently found yourselves fully immersed in timeless songs from King of Leon and Led Zeppelin together. Taehyung nearly accepts the offer to listen with you once again, but then he freezes all movement. An eager grin follows close after.

"Hyung!" His voice echos though the room, earning the attention of Min Yoongi who's just entered the cafeteria. This time, you feel nothing but discomfort when the man looks your way.

"I have some material I need to review from my promo team. I'll text you later, okay?" You leave your best friend no time to reply as you quickly rise from your chair, stick your phone in your pant pocket, and head for the nearest exit. Yoongi attempts to make eye contact with you on your way out, but you avoid it completely.

When he approaches Taehyung, he acknowledges your semi-odd behavior. "I didn't mean to make her leave," he states, joining the younger at the table.

Taehyung offers a light shrug in response. "Don't worry, you didn't. She had other matters to get to. Something with her team members I think."

Yoongi grabs a fresh clementine from a nearby fruit bowl and beings peeling it little by little. "You two must be pretty close if you're having your lunches together."

It's not hard for Taehyung to read between the lines of what his member is insinuating.

"We've been friends for a while," he clarifies. "Just friends, nothing else."

a/n: Hope you enjoyed! Lmk what you think 🥰

Masterlist | Requests: closed | Taglist | Fic Recs

no reposting, copying, or translating my work– © kookslastbutton

#yoongi angst #yoongi fluff #yoongi smut #yoongi x reader #yoongi fanfic #bts fanfics #bts fanfic #bts angst #bts fluff #bts smut #bts scenarios #fic:thoseeyeschico #kookslastbutton

[thewritetofreespeech]

Could I request Lucifer, Mammon, and Satan finding their s/o asleep in some random place?

Lucifer/Mammon/Satan + s/o alseep on odd places

“They’re not in the observatory.”

“I’m going to check the library.”

“I already checked the library.”

“Yes, but I know the library better than you, so I’ll just check it again.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Mammon. Satan. Please.” Lucifer sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t solving anything.”

For the past few hours they had been trying to search for [Y/N] with no prevail. The younger siblings were all gone on some outing, with Levi tagging along mostly to stop a GoblinStop for some new game, and they weren’t with them. No one at Purgatory Hall had heard from them either, and Lucifer was loathed to contact the castle and alert them as well.

“Well, they must be somewhere,” Satan rationalized, “they couldn’t just disappear.”

“What if they did disappear?”

“Humans don’t just disappear, Mammon.” He replied.

“This human??”

Lucifer and Satan both shrugged knowingly with a nod at Mammon’s remark. They supposed he did have a point.

“I’m going to go search the grounds.” Lucifer decided and went to get his cloak. “They obviously aren’t in the house, so they must be elsewhere.”

“Oh yeah. Brilliant deduction.” Mammon jabbed as he followed his older brother. “Yes, if they aren’t in the house they must be in the infinite other places a person could be.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Satan asked, also tagging along towards the closet.

“I said put a tracking spell on them months ago! But you all said that was creepy & weird!”

“It is creepy & weird.” Satan told Mammon. “They aren’t a dog you can just ID tag without their consent.”

“I’m not saying it like that! I’m saying like ‘find my phone’ or ‘track my location’ on the app. You guys are the one making it weird!”

“Gentleman,” The brothers turn to look towards their eldest, who was staring in the closet fondly. “They’re in here.” The boys look over Lucifer’s shoulder to find [Y/N] tucked up in a little ball, sleeping amongst the coats in the closet.

“What the hell are they doing in there?!” Satan & Lucifer hiss a shush at Mammon. “What the hell are they doing in there?!” He repeated in a whisper.

“They must have fallen asleep and lost track of time.” Satan deduced.

“Sure, but why are they in the closet?!”

“Privacy?”

“That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard! They have a bedroom! Sleep in there and lock it!”

“Belphie sleeps in closets sometimes.”

“Belphie once almost fell asleep in a bowl of soup and drowned. He’s not the example for what is normal when it comes to sleeping!”

“Levi sleeps in a tub.”

“That’s not normal either!!”

“Let’s just leave them here for now.” Lucifer decided and quietly shut the door. “We know where they are now, and that’s the important thing.”

“I still don’t get it. Like…sleeping on the couch or at a desk I get, but a closet.”

“Maybe it’s not for us to get.” Satan told Mammon as they left [Y/N] alone to sleep.

“We each have our own little oddities. By the way,” Lucifer commented as he turned to Mammon, “that ‘sleeping at a desk’ better be hypothetical, if you know what’s good for you.”

Mammon gulped and insisted it was purely hypothetical. Now he wished he could sleep in a closet for the night to stay safe from Lucifer.

#;ask and ye shall receive (request answers) #scenarios #obey me #imagine #obey me scenarios #obey me imagines #obey me luficer #obey me mammon #obey me satan #lucifer #mammon #satan #obey me shall we date #[I understood the assignment. and then I went 'nah' and tried something new]

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

Midnights duality (part 2): Meet me at midnight

So, we’ve established that Midnights is the era where Taylor makes it known that there are two versions of her story, and that the prevailing narrative can’t be trusted and she’s letting a second (conflicting) narrative exist alongside it. This brings me back to the sentence that concluded the album announcement and opened the first track: Meet me at midnight.

Sounds so simple, right? But who are we meeting at midnight? It’s not the public Taylor, because we’ve known her for a while. So it must be the private one, the one that wears trainers and a T-shirt and bleeds purple glitter. Let’s meet her.

Where, other than in the mv, do we see this private Taylor? On the big screen during the Eras tour performance of Anti Hero. And what is she doing? Screaming and waving at us before she walks off in a huff. Guess no one was there to meet her…

She is also the one taking notes when performance Taylor is doing the teaching. I find it noteworthy that the public Taylor here is dressed in 1989 outfit and is holding the pointer stick in the same way she used to swing and hold the golf club in the Blank Space performance on the 1989 tour. She is also the one slut-shaming and bullying Taylor about her weight in the bathroom scene, two things we know were very prominent during the 1989 era so this ‘Anti Hero’ villain is her 1989 self, the height of her fame and perfectly crafted public persona. So this private Taylor that we are meeting is taking notes from her 1989 self. Interesting… And even more interesting that we are now getting a vault track on 1989tv called SLUT!. And I have just learned today that we are quite possibly getting a mv for this song… so would this be the place to meet our new Taylor? I think it’s a contender.

I have said in my post about the burning Lover house, that I take from the blue flames that 1989tv will move the narrative of this new Taylor forward quite a bit and as we are nearing the release (5 days to go as I’m writing this) I get that feeling more and more. Yes, I am not blind or deaf, I am very well aware that Taylor is currently doing her very best performance of NFL player’s gf, but I actually think that furthers my duality in public narrative and performance art point from part 1. Because, while I’m sure I don’t need to give you any examples of the excessive articles and media coverage of Taylor’s outings with either MH or TK, I just want to remind you of what other articles and media coverage has emerged in recent months, and this is not a story that would have made the NY Times or Cosmopolitan even a year ago.

Yep, Gaylor has entered the mainstream media. Not something that was on my 2023 bingo card, if I’m honest. Not even during the spring and summer of 2019, during Taylor’s soft launch phase, was her queerness this openly discussed in mainstream media. And not just as a general idea, some of the articles are linking her to very specific women in the past and, as if that wasn’t enough, the women in question have promptly appeared in public, either non-denying a relationship with her (looking at you DA), or showing up at her concert after a supposed years-long feud, adding fuel to the fire. And didn’t Taylor make a spectacle of looking lovingly up at Karlie in the stands at the last LA show, a show that she hyped up enough with 1989 announcement easter eggs that she could be sure everyone was watching. She wants to give this new narrative a platform. Yes, the straight girl pap walks are happening, but so is this. Pick your narrative. Especially the inclusion of Taylor in posts from official LGBTQ charities like Stonewall and Glaad seems significant to me, because they are non-profit organisations that are dedicated exclusively to preserving and telling queer people’s stories and would never risk their reputation or seriousness of their cause by participating in clout chasing or name dropping. And I know that these two things going on simultaneously seem super confusing, but I’m starting to think the confusion is part of the act. This is the tale of the two Taylors and it’s our job to work out which is which. The Stonewall Archive specifically tagged Taylor in their post about an exhibit on media coverage and public perception… they know something we don’t.

The re-emergence of pap walks alone is something I wasn’t expecting. Over the last 7 years we have known Taylor as a private person after her turbulent 1989 era. She was mostly quiet, stayed out of the headlines, no pap walks or public appearances outside of award shows and select performances. After all, reputation Taylor told us that the old Taylor died and the new version didn’t explain anything or show her face in public much. But 2023 Taylor has felt a lot like that old Taylor, right?? The pap walks, the girl squad, the high publicity romances… So, hasn’t Taylor learned her lesson from her 1989 self after all?

I think she has, but she wants the rest of the world to eat their words and see how ridiculous this is. Will this all be part of a Slut! mv? Maybe. Or it could be a way to distract the fanbase from something else that’s going on. One very notable difference in the pap walks now is how confidently herself she is when she’s photographed with her friends or going to the studio. Back in 2014 she would leave the gym looking like she was walking the runway with not a hair out of place, and now she is walking the streets of NYC looking queer as ever. (I swear she googled ‘How to look like a lesbian’ before picking that second outfit…) And I’ve seen how much it confuses the swifties. And I’m here for it 😋 Question though, if she’s going into the studio looking this gay, is the music coming out of these sessions going to be equally💅 ?

Something is brewing and 1989tv is the next thing on the horizon, so let’s look at that.

Midnight and Sunrise

Having been introduced to our new Taylor at the beginning of Midnights, she’s taken us through the main album, then the 3am bonus tracks, to the til dawn edition. With every new midnights edition we have worked our way through the night from midnight, to 3am, to dawn. So, next would be sunrise, right? And there have actually been a few mentions of sunrise and daylight in both the 1989tv marketing and other media coverage. I’ve spoken about the midnights to daylight theory before, as it’s one that many Gaylors have speculated on, but I think there has been quite a bit of movement on this recently.

Firstly, there is the yellow 1989tv vinyl that is conveniently named the ‘Sunrise Boulevard edition’. Not only does it have the word sunrise in it, it is also a direct reference to the Stonewall National Museum & Archive, which is located on this road in Fort Lauderdale, FL. And with the emergence of all the other variations of the 1989tv vinyl, it is easy to spot that they all have a sunlit beach theme (a big change from the OG 1989 city theme!) and with the recent leak of a purple version on the website of a record shop, we now have a full rainbow of 1989tv vinyls. Sunrise and rainbows… I think I have an idea where this may be going. But hang on, there is more.

Remember when I said that the Stonewall National Archive knows something we don’t? A few days ago, they posted this on their Instagram with lyrics from Taylor’s happiness, highlighting and italicising the word sunrise and pointing everybody’s nose in the caption to their address at 1300 E Sunrise Boulevard:

This feels VERY intentional. And I’ve never really looked at the happiness lyrics in that way, having taken the song to be about Scott B and her old label, but when Stonewall is using these exact lines in that context, with a strong suggestion that they have insider knowledge, it seems worth looking at them again.

In the caption, SNMAL say that they ‘celebrate the glorious sunrise of LGBTQ+ history’ with the pride flag and sunshine emoji. So, could it be that the Sunrise Blvd vinyl and accompanying rainbow variations of 1989tv are going to bring some kind of moment in history for LGBTQ people? It certainly sounds like this is about more than just Taylor. Perhaps furthering the theory that there may be a double album on the horizon with the second one being all collaborations. Stonewall also liked a comment on this post that said that something is in the air 🌈

They also included the line about flickers of light from the dress I wore at midnight. Flickers of light, as in glimpses of her queerness? The ones we are seeing now in all those articles are social posts? The mention of a dress immediately throws my mind back to the rainbow dress that Billy Porter ended up wearing at World Pride 2019, but that was almost certainly meant for Taylor. And out of all the photos of Taylor from the VMAs this year, which one did GLAAD choose to post on their Instagram in September? Yep, the one with Billy Porter. Takes me back to 2019… and something else does too, actually: The Cruel Summer live single release.

Cruel Summer was released as a single this June, 4 years after its initial release. And almost made it to No.1. It was certainly on the radio A LOT. The Lover set is also the opening act of the Eras tour, so this summer has certainly had some 2019 throwbacks. And remember how the Lover era started? With ME! Out now! on Lesbian Visibility Day, followed by the sunshine and rainbows parade that was the mv and (as we later learned from the documentary) 'Cats, unicorns and gay pride... things that make me ME.' And now, in October 2023, Taylor released a live version of Cruel Summer and used the very photo from the 2019 shoot as a cover for the single. And not only was that a 2019 photo shoot, it was the last photo she posted on her instagram in June 2019 before she was meant to wear the dress at NYC Pride. I think she captioned it something like 'calm before the storm'. And now that photo has made a comeback. If I were a betting woman...(and I've learned better than to ever make predictions when it comes to Miss Taylor Swift these days) but if I were I'd say it looks like she's taking another run at this. Meet ME at midnight...and then follow me into the daylight. ☀

And one more thing before I conclude this monstrosity of an essay, I found Taylornation's post for the midnights anniversary last week a bit mysterious:

It says 'Tonight we celebrate an album written by the one that could make us stay. After all the sleepless nights and friendship bracelets we've shared, we hope you know you're never really on your own, kid.' Sounds a bit like a pep talk (and a plea at the same time) to me. Why do the fans need reminding of the good times and be asked to stay? Where would they go and why?? And the first picture in the carousel is our girl 'home Taylor' from the Anti Hero mv, looking contemplative, maybe waiting for someone to come and finally let her out of that house. And the photo immediately after it is Taylor as we know her, smiling for photos with her fans at the movie premier. The two Taylors again...but one is in black and white and the other is in screaming colour 😉iykyk.

#taylor swift #gaylor #1989 tv #midnights album #midnights to daylight theory #stonewall and glaad know something we don't

[mailjeevasfan]

Okay I have a dialogue idea but I don't know how to put it together so I'm going to throw it out with the couple of words I have loose and hope for the best lol. Okay so "you're fucking crazy" "for you" with the death note characters. As if their s/o did or said something that caused them to drop that phrase and their s/o responded that way, what would their reaction be?

Personally I don't think that neither Near or L (or at least Near) would curse but you get me. Anyway thank youuu ^^

sorry for disappearing for a little longer than anticipated, but she’s making her comeback!

ty for the req!!! i hope this is what you were after

-light, l lawliet, misa amane, mello, matt, near

༺♡༻

‘you’re fucking crazy’ ‘for you’ with dn characters ❦

light

-it’s bound to be a struggle to be dating light whilst he’s literally kira for lots of reasons. but one of them is that you really worry for him and his safety. you trust him most of the time because you know how intelligent and calculated he and his actions are. however, there come times where he just seems to be reckless. you would hit your limit in these times and take matters into your own hands.

‘i’ve told you before y/n, let me handle all these things. what were you even thinking, you’re fucking crazy!’

‘for you.’

light would probably either disregard this and still continue to berate you, but if you caught him on a certain day then he’d drop it. either way, he’d be doing it purely out of love and care for you.

༺♡༻

l lawliet

-we all know that l’s got a few screws loose himself. the plans he likes to carry out in order to benefit his investigation(s) are insane and surely bound to fail, but his intelligence prevails every time. so, you can be slightly influenced by this after long enough. at some point, he’s struggling with the kira investigation and running out of ideas, and this seems to be taking a toll on his self esteem and mental health. you don’t want to see him this way, so you’d come up with some crazy plan to proceed through the situation. (i’m gonna go with the idea that he would rarely curse, and when he does then you know it’s pretty serious)

‘y/n, this is completely illogical and just… crazy. you’re fucking crazy!’

‘yeah, for you…’

‘…i see.’

he’d probably sigh and drop the issue. he wouldn’t admit it but he definitely saw something sweet in this (and probably enjoyed it)

༺♡༻

misa

it could be something similar to light, but it could also be something to do with her occupation. she’s very famous and attracts the attention of a lot of people, so dating misa could be hard sometimes. you may be a little jealous at times, but also worried that she may not be safe, like she’s attracting the wrong kind of attention or something. so you’d respond to the situation in ur own way depending on your personality i suppose. the gist is that you’re maybe a lil possessive at times 😁

‘jeez, you’re fucking crazy sometimes y/n…’

‘for you.’

‘aww, you’re adorable!’

misa would find this the cutest out of everyone 100%

༺♡༻

mello

mello gets into a lot of dangerous situations due to the work he does. after a while you get used to the mafia lifestyle, and it certainly helps knowing that he’d kill anyone who even laid a finger on you. that being said, you can’t help but worry about him too. you know he can handle himself fine, and that he’s more well versed in these topics than you, even without his extremely high level of intelligence. but you still worry about him getting hurt or mixed up in something he can’t handle. you try your very hardest to leave yourself out of it because you know how much mello cares about doing things himself and not accepting help from others. but one time, you probably couldn’t help yourself, and got mixed up in a dangerous task.

‘what the hell y/n?! i told you, this isn’t for you to be handling, it’s too dangerous! i swear, you must be fucking crazy!’

‘for you, mello.’

‘i-‘

his rage would probably subside quicker than ever as he tried his hardest to tell you how cliche and unreasonable you were being, but he still relents and drops it after that comment.

༺♡༻

matt

matt is consistently involved in whatever mello is doing, which, as i said, is very dangerous stuff. he just kind of goes along with whatever mello has planned because their bond is strong and he trusts him with everything. you know matt isn’t stupid, in fact he is very smart. it does help that he’s usually just on the sidelines, managing some sort of technical work like surveillance, but every once in a while he’s right in the middle of the violence. you worry about this because it’s dangerous for a start, but also completely out of his comfort zone. you may have stopped him from going along with a plan one time, as it just seemed like way too much.

‘y/n, i need to do this for mello. please just trust me.’

‘i do trust you matt. but you can’t do this, i won’t let you!’

‘listen, i love you, but you’re fucking crazy.’

‘…for you…’

it was already a shock to hear matt being so serious, let alone so vulgar towards you, but this stopped him in his tracks. he’d stay silent for a moment, before returning to his usual self and laughing it off. he couldn’t possibly say no to you after that, but he also couldn’t let you off without teasing you a little.

༺♡༻

near

near is kind of a mixture of everything that has already been said. despite his methods being at least a tiny bit more conventional than l’s, he’s still in threatening situations often. he’s very well protected and very intelligent himself, but similarly to the others, you still worry regardless of this. you’d sit him down one day when you began to worry about his meeting with the task force, and your emotions became a more intense than you anticipated.

‘y/n, you need to stop and think about what you’re saying. you know how long i’ve been planning this, what you’re saying is just crazy. you’re crazy’

‘for you, near.’

he probably wasn’t expecting something like this. however, he dealt with it as he usually would, reassuring you and realising that he should be more sensitive when you’re acting this way. it is out of love after all, and he’s beginning to realise this.

༺♡༻

#death note #mail jeevas #mello #mihael keehl #l lawliet #matt #light yagami #death note x reader #near #misa amane #misa amane x reader #light x reader #mello x reader #mail jeevas x reader #l lawliet x reader #near x reader

[acourtofthought]

“A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”

Lucien watched the ever-young forest. “Isn’t that what all human women wish for? A handsome faerie lord to wed and shower them with riches for the rest of their lives?”

"From the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others made me realize that you were the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry."

Her mouth tightened, the only sign of anger in her graceful countenance. “I don’t want a mate. I don’t want a male.”

I dare say you will find him amiable.

“He is a good male,” I repeated.

"It would be most inconvenient since I have sworn to loathe him for all eternity"

She just ignored him or barely spoke to him until he got the hint and left

He's been a fool about so many things, about Jane, and others... but then, so have I. You see, he and I are so similar.

How Lucien withstood it, I didn’t know. Not that he’d shown any interest in bridging that gap between them.

but I said, “You couldn’t say a single word to him? A pleasant greeting?” Elain only stared at the steaming kettle as she set it on the stone counter.

"You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April...."

Elain only shrank further into herself,

tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged; but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.

Cassian’s heart strained at the pain etching deep into Lucien’s face as he tried to hide his disappointment and longing.

But she doesn't like him. I thought she didn't like him.

"She has no interest in him anyway"

"So did I, so did we all. We must have been wrong."

SJM loves P&P which in it's simplist form is two characters who develop misconceptions about the other upon their initial meeting. Who can't help but being drawn together throughout the book but refuse to admit it due to their own stubbornness. As a result they either act indifferent and push the other away (Elizabeth) or suffer in silence with longing (Darcy).

It's weird that people know of her love for this movie / book and how everyone in it believed Elizabeth greatly disliked Darcy (up until the end) yet they still act like Elain's indifference towards Lucien is a bad thing.

#elucien #pro elucien #pride and prejudice #sarah j mass #acotar mates #elain archeron #lucien vanserra

[cyantomatos]

Even Stars Will Fall - CH 9

Pairing: Eventual Oberyn Martell x fem!Reader x Ellaria Sand Word Count: ~2.3k Warnings: Recovery from last chapters fuckery, some minor self-deprecating thoughts Notes: Rylan and his *gestures vaguely* will prevail, even if he’s not in the chapter. He’s like a tenacious mold. This chapter is a little shorter, but I wanted to keep the party in the next chapter, and I’m expecting that one to be a beast. We’re also officially two chapters behind the original outline, so there’s that

Last Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter

Ellaria holds you long past when you finally manage to get your breathing under control, some of the panic gripping you after your confrontation with the lord slipping away at her touch. Her forehead stays pressed to yours, one hand gripping your upper arm tightly and the other braced against the wall next to you to keep herself balanced.

When you open your eyes, blinking rapidly to clear the moisture clinging to your lashes, she’s watching you. Concern shines through her eyes so strongly that for a moment it’s not panic making it hard for you to breathe. It would have been so easy for whatever magic ripped you from your world to deposit you somewhere worse, somewhere you wouldn’t have had someone so willing to fight and care for you, but it put you here.

Like you belong here.

The thought reminds you of something else, and you stiffen in Ellaria’s hold once again. “Ellaria, you can’t tell Oberyn what happened.” It’s Ellaria’s turn to stiffen, indignation flitting across her face as she straightens, and it’s an effort not to panic once again at the loss of her touch. “What?”

“Ellaria, I haven’t even been around that long and I can already tell Oberyn will not take kindly to his cousin all but outright threatening someone under his protection. Oberyn doesn’t exactly seem like the type to talk things out nicely, either. Am I wrong?” You watch Ellaria’s lips thin into a displeased grimace before she lets out a breath, looking away to the shelf behind you.

“You are more right than you know, my dear.” Her words prick in your mind, and you want to ask what she means, but you’re still focusing too hard on keeping your breath from speeding into all-out hyperventilation to worry to much.

“I don’t want him causing more problems just because his cousin has an over-inflated ego. Please, Ellaria.”

You don’t like asking her to lie, especially not to someone so closely tied to her as her soulmate, but her eyes soften as she studies you before nodding. “Alright.”

Relief floods through you that you won’t have to worry about being the cause of the fight you know would happen if Oberyn found out. You know you don’t mean much more to Oberyn than as a curiosity at worst and a friend at best, but you’re also smart enough to know he views you as his in some way. Rylan challenging that, and challenging it with a threat no less, won’t go well.

Ellaria is studying you, her face unreadable. Before you can ask what she’s thinking, worried she’s already regretting agreeing to lie for you, she reaches up to brush your hair behind your ear. “You know what he said, he only said it to hurt you. Neither Oberyn nor I would ever just brush you to the side like that, we both care about you.” You nod, swallowing down the twinge of guilt her words bring. You did know that, logically anyway, but there was a small part of you in the back of your head that worried what would happen when you were no longer so intriguing to them. You’d caught Oberyn’s attention initially because of the mystery surrounding you, what happens when that mystery loses its shine?

Your thoughts must be louder than you intended them to be, because Ellaria’s lips press together in displeasure again as she studies you. “You do not believe me.”

It isn’t a question, and the sadness in her tone breaks your heart.

You look down, unable to meet her eyes and struggling to keep your voice from shaking. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, Ellaria, I just…” You sigh, deflating slightly. “I believe that Oberyn and Doran would never just kick me out to fend for myself. Neither of them are cruel enough for that, and you’d never forgive Oberyn for it. But I know the reason I caught your eye, both of you, is because I was a mystery. And I’m afraid what will happen when that mystery isn’t so interesting anymore.” You glance up at her, hoping she’ll catch the words you’re too afraid to say. That you’re afraid of losing more than just their friendship.

The emotions shining in her eyes just squeeze your heart even tighter. “Sunshine…” The nickname is new, and as much as it spreads warmth through your chest, it doesn’t help the ache.

“I’m not stupid, Ellaria, or desperate enough to throw myself at a prince and his love that are already bonded beyond what I can offer.” It’s the uncomfortable truth that’s been lurking in the corner with every inch you grow closer to them. They might one day offer you a true place at their side, but you’d never be an equal part of the life they’d built together and the rest of the life they were destined to live together.

Ellaria shakes her head, forcefully and immediately. “You are not stupid or desperate, my sunshine, we can agree on that much. Rylan is jealous, has always been jealous of Oberyn, and he is using the bond that Oberyn and I have in an attempt to hurt you, and Oberyn by extension. You mean more to us than that bastard could ever comprehend. You must understand that.”

You want to, you really do, but the specter of doubt hangs persistently in the back of your mind. It’s no use telling Ellaria that, though, and instead you force a smile and nod, hoping she’ll believe you. “Of course.”

Gardening had never really taken your attention in your old world. You’d had a few houseplants, and even tried growing a tomato plant once, but it wasn’t ever something you devoted much time to, before.

Here, though, you felt more comfortable among the plants of the palace than you ever felt anywhere else. 

You found yourself in one of the gardens that wasn’t facing as much attention in preparation for the upcoming party later that night, mostly studying the plants more than anything. There were so many types here that you’d never seen before, and every one of them was beautiful. They calmed you like nothing else could, even just being around them, and after the day you’d had you needed some calming.

“I am beginning to suspect you enjoy the company of the plants more than you do mine, my dear.” You tense at the voice from behind you for a moment, irrationally worried Rylan will seek you out again to press for a different answer, but a heartbeat later you recognize the voice as the cousin that you do like.

You turn to see Oberyn striding towards you, a broad grin on his face. Something about his expression seems a little tighter than normal as he closes the distance between you, and worry for him settles heavy on your chest. You force a smile of your own, however, and stand from where you were crouching in front of a planter full of vibrant pink blooms.

“Well, the plants to tend to be a little easier to deal with.” The forced lightness in your voice must fool Oberyn, because his smile grows and loses a little of the tenseness from before.

He places a hand over his chest, rocking back slightly like you’d struck at him. “You wound me, flower. And here I was beginning to think you might have grown fond of me.” The feeling in your chest tightens at just how close his words hit, and you have to look away to keep the smile on your face.

“I’m surprised you have any time for me, anyway. I thought you’d be busy with preparing for your name-day. It’s all anyone can seem to talk about right now.” It’s a deflection, but one that’s a little truer than you’d like. You haven’t seen him much in the last few days, his time eaten up with preparations.

Oberyn shrugs, stopping a few steps closer than you’d expected him to. “To be entirely honest, the lengths they go to every year get a little tiring. I enjoy a good party, but it seems as if they are constantly trying to one-up the year before, and the people they invite are boring.” He reaches out, taking one of your hands and rotating it to study your palm like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. “Are you planning to come?”

You can’t fight the slight shiver as he traces a finger across your palm, and he glances up at you from beneath his lashes. For a moment you can’t catch your breath, but a second later you suck in some air and break away from his gaze. “You don’t exactly make it sound like an enjoyable use of my time, but I suppose I could come if you want me there so badly.” You smile as you say it, softening the words to make the joke obvious.

Oberyn grins, lifting his head completely but not letting go of your hand. “Good. You and Ellaria are the only two that I care to have there.” 

The statement settles heavy between your ribs, and you can’t quite decide if it’s a happy feeling. You want it to be.

“I rank the same as Ellaria?” The words are out before you can overthink them, and you have to fight a cringe. Of course you don’t rank the same as his soulmate, you’re just better than the ass-kissers that will fill the halls over the next week. You roll your eyes and huff a pitiful laugh before he can respond, leaning away from him slightly. “Nevermind, that was a stupid-”

“Not stupid.” Oberyn tugs on your hand, keeping you from leaning too far away from him, and you can’t help but meet his eyes again. They’re wide this time, and the smile has all but fallen from his face. 

You force a smile, and you know it can’t be entirely convincing from the way it feels on your face. “Yes, stupid, Oberyn. I’m aware that I’m not as important as your soulmate, I just wasn’t thinking.”

Oberyn shakes his head, leaning slightly closer, reaching his free hand up to cup your cheek. “That is where you would be wrong, little flower. You are every bit as important to me as she is, and the same is true to her.” He’s looking at you with the most serious face you’ve seen on him yet, and it unsettles you a little to see him like that.

His words take a few seconds to sink in, and you instinctively lean into his touch as the wheels turn in your head. Maybe he was telling the truth? You wanted him to be, so badly, but how could he be? They were soulmates, literally destined for each other, and you were just an out of place nobody that happened to be entertaining. But would Oberyn lie to you?

Before you can accept his words, as badly as you want to, Rylan’s words come back to you, clinging like a bad stench despite your best efforts.

“Oberyn already has his soulmate, my dear, as does Ellaria. You are nothing but an intriguing diversion to the two of them.”

Oberyn is still watching you, eyes wide, and it feels a little like you’re being torn in two.

You lean back, away from his touch, and it hurts to see the flash of confusion on his face. You swallow, hard, and look down so you don’t have to look him in the eye. “I can see how you got your reputation, you’re definitely good with words.”

Even though you’re not looking at him, you see Oberyn jerk back slightly, and you have to close your eyes to ground yourself. You don’t want Rylan to be right, especially not about this, but you know he is. There’s no way either of them could ever want you for anything more than a fling, and you refuse to do that to yourself. Not even for them.

“What?” You can’t even summon up amusement at the fact that you’ve managed to stun Oberyn. 

You take a deep breath, ignoring the way your entire being screams at you as you tug your hand away from his. Lifting your head, you blink your eyes open, mentally swearing at the tears you have to blink away to look at him.

“I’m not stupid, Oberyn. I know I’m interesting to you now, and I might even flatter myself to think I could last longer than everyone else. But you and Ellaria have each other, and you don’t need me. Rylan was right, you’ll lose interest, and I can’t do that to myself, especially when I have nowhere else to go in this world.” Oberyn’s brows draw together in confusion as he watches you, and you have to take a step back to curb the urge to say you didn’t mean any of what you just said and just let yourself take whatever they were willing to give for however long they were willing.

Instead you force yourself to take a step back, wrapping your arms around yourself like you can keep yourself from falling apart. The step feels like a mile, especially with hurt rapidly mixing with the confusion on Oberyn’s face. You force a small smile, not even trying to hide the pain in this one, and shake your head.

“I’m not going to be just another conquest for the two of you, no matter how much I might want to.”

The words hang heavy between you, and you hate the way he’s looking at you. You know him well enough by now to know he probably genuinely does want you right now, but you also know it won’t last. You can almost feel Rylan’s smug vindication at the fact that you have to admit he was right.

Before Oberyn can manage to pull his thoughts together you take another step back, turning away from him.

It hurts to walk away from him, more than anything you’ve done before, and now you don’t try to stop the tears from streaming down your face as you leave him standing alone in the light of the setting sun.

Taglist:

@marvelousmermaid @tanzthompson @lowlights @dobbyjen  @casa-boiardi @sarahjkl82-blog @ecuadorlady @fan-of-encouragement @obscurexsorrows @badwolf-on-baker-st @knivesareout @writeforfandoms @gorgeousgrogu @leto-duke @xoxabs88xox @kirsteng42 @hauntedmama @urofficial-cyberslut

Join my taglist here!

#Oberyn Martell #Oberyn Martell x reader #Ellaria Sand #Ellaria Sand x reader #Oberyn Martell x reader x Ellaria Sand #Even Stars Will Fall #ESWF

[spicywhenspeaking]

If I’m There : Chapter Four

one two three

fluff/language

minors DNI

Okay! If this is your first time seeing this we’re working on a friends to lover to strangers to friends to ??? Developing the budding relationship between Noah and my OFC Natalie - ah young love - but of course to be young and in love is usually to be kinda stupid. This story will soonish take us 10 years into the future and our two love birds with meet again but secrets have been kept and feelings buried away..will true love prevail?? (yeah probably but it’s gonna hurt like Hell first)

————————————

Noah and I spend the weekend listening to music and watching movies. He convinces me to watch a few episodes of Narato, which I won't say I hated, maybe I'll give it another chance if it means that much to him.

Saturday afternoon my mom called and told me she took Kyle to the psychiatrist and they're going to consider medication after a few more meetings and he's promised he will go to weekly therapy. I told my mom I was glad she took him to get checked out but that I was nervous about being alone with him in the house. She assured me that wouldn't happen, she took herself off the night shift rotation and will now only work while we're in school until the dust settles. I told her I would think about it more and call her back later.

I told Noah about the conversation with my mom and he invited me to stay until at least Monday so I had some time away from Kyle. I text my mom that I'll be back Monday after school because I still need more time.

Later when we're watching some random YouTube video Noah turned on while cuddling on the couch, Noah's arm is draped across my shoulder. My hands are wrapped around his waist and my head is resting against his chest. One thing leads to another and then our lips are drifting towards another. What starts as soft pecks changes as I feel his tongue seeking entrance into my mouth, time slows and I allow him to take as much control. Moving his hands up to tangle into my hair as the kiss intensified, I gasped as he kissed down my cheek and onto my neck. He’s pressing soft, delicate kisses over the bruised skin. It feels so good I don’t even know how to stop myself from quietly moaning his name “Noah”

He moves quickly grabbing my waist and twisting us so my back is on the couch with my legs on either side of his hips. Noah is moving back in with feverish kisses and I feel his hips move to push against my own and I’m trying to keep up, my mind is running and my body is heating up rapidly. “Wait” I gasp out in between breaths “Hold on, Noah stop” and with that, he freezes and stops immediately. “Are you okay? Is your neck hurting?” His voice is full of concern.

“My neck is okay, I’m just a little overwhelmed. This is moving a little faster than I - I’m just- Noah. I’m a virgin”

And in my head, all I can think is that this is when it all ends, he’s not going to want to deal with my melodramatic virgin bullshit. I mean dealing with my asshole brother is one thing, but a crybaby virgin. No way.

“I get it. I totally understand” he’s sitting back so I can push myself back, sitting up against the back of the couch with my knees to my chest, feeling embarrassed and so fucking lame.

“We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for Natty, I’m sorry if I was too forward. I just kind of lose my mind around you” Noah moves to place his hand on my knee. “Natty, look at me baby” I raise my eyes to meet his and they look genuine “We can move at whatever pace you’re comfortable with, sex isn’t what I'm after here” My cheeks must be cherry fucking red.

“Really? It doesn’t bother you?” I ask.

“Bother me? Why would it bother me?” He looks at me confused.

“I just figure most guys don’t want to deal with the emotions and stuff with all that, ya know losing the v card and all” He laughs at that. “I really like you Noah, and I’d like to, eventually, but I’m just not ready”

He rubs his hand over my head moving the hair that fell in front of my face and kisses my forehead. “I really like you too, and I don’t mind waiting until you’re ready. I don’t. I just want to be around you, however you’ll have me”

My heart will likely burst out of my chest.

“I want to be around you too and I don’t mind the kissing, I definitely enjoy that” With that he moves to softly kiss my lips “Okay, kissing? Check.” We smile and laugh softly.

“Do you want to watch another movie? What about Howls Moving Castle? It’s-“ I interrupt him before he finishes his thought.

“Studio Ghibli, of course I know! I love that movie, let’s watch”

We watch the movies cuddling on the couch for the rest of the day, Noah orders a pizza for dinner and we fall asleep on the couch. It must be the middle of the night. I feel myself moving but I’m not sure how, I open my eyes and see a sleepy Noah cradling me in his arms and walking toward his room. “Fell asleep on the couch” he grumbles out sleepily “It’ll totally fuck up by back sleeping there all night”

He places me in his bed and climbs in behind me, covering us with the blanket, and wraps me tight against his chest. A few seconds later he’s back out like a light, I smile to myself and follow to sleep soon after.

Sunday is a blur of homework and Noah writing songs. Nick comes over for a few hours and they work on some stuff together while I finish up my history paper. My hair is in a messy bun and I have my glasses in since my contacts dried out and I forgot to bring my solution. Noah said he would buy some to keep here if I wanted to stay over again another time. He is perfection. I’m working on finishing touches of my paper when I hear a shutter and look up to see Noah taking a picture of me from the other side of the room “Oh my god Noah nooo” I hold my hand in front of my face like a celebrity hiding from the paparazzi “no pictures please” he laughs and moves to crouch next to me and squish our faces together and flipping the camera to take a selfie “okay, say cheese natty”

“Cheese!” I say and he snaps a few in quick succession.

“I’ll send you these right now. Screensaver material for sure,” he says.

He sends me the photos and I chose one to make as my screensaver.

Ending the night in bed, wrapped in Noah’s arms I fall asleep thinking despite the reason I ended up here, this has been one of the best weekends of my life.

Monday comes and as Noah is walking me to my first period AP history class he stops abruptly, I shift my eyes to see what he’s staring at and it’s Kyle. He’s standing in front of my class. Noah’s breathing quickens and he stalks towards my brother with a palpable anger “you shouldn’t be here right now Kyle” he seethes and places himself in between the two of us. “Walk away” Noah warns.

“I’m only here to try and apologize to my sister, this really isn’t any of your business Sebastian” Kyle retorted back with a snide tone.

“If it has to do with my girlfriend, it’s my business asshole” Noah steps closer to Kyle, his height towering over my brother's 5”10’ frame.

“Really sis? This guy? You’re actually together? After everything I told you”

Before Noah can respond I pipe up “Yes Kyle, really. Noah’s my boyfriend. Like it or not, I don’t give a shit. You have no right to question the choices I make, you have no right to come to me after everything YOUVE done and act like you can tell me what to do. Right now, you need to walk away and leave me alone for the rest of the day. We can talk with mom, after school” I worked to keep my voice down but I know we got a few stares during our exchange. Kyle stares daggers between Noah and I “I don’t like it” he grumbles

“I don’t care” I tell him again. “Hate it all you want, it’s not changing the fact we’re together, so get over it or ignore it Kyle. Now please just let me got to class and leave me alone”

“Fine” Kyle stalks away, stomping dramatically down the hallway and I roll my eyes at his stupid antics.

“I cannot wait until I am done with school and farrr away from him” I say to Noah who’s breathing has evened now that Kyle has left.

“Yes, the sooner we can get you out of that house, the better.” I smile at his unconscious declaration. “We huh? I like the sound of that”

His cheeks are a soft pink “Yeah. We.” He gives me a quick kiss and hug before leaving him to head into my class. “I’ll see you at lunch all right? And text me if Kyle shows up again okay?”

I mock salute “will do. See you later”

The rest of the day goes by smoothly, Kyle took my words seriously and stayed away from me for the rest of the day. When I get home I enter through the front door and hear quiet chatter in the living room as I approach. I hear a voice I haven’t heard in years.

My eyes are wide and my jaw opens when I round the corner and see my father sitting next to my mom on the couch with Kyle across on the recliner.

He turns to me and a smile breaks across his face “Hey Jelly Bean, I missed you baby”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Next chapter here!

Lemme say that in the lore I’m creating Noah is already 18 (imma have to go back and fix an earlier part..did I mention this is my first fanfic…)because he was held back in a younger grade and Natalie is 17 almost 18. I’m not writing any smut until their both 18 because it feels weird plus she’s waiting for it to be special ❤️

Taglist: @lma1986 @notingridslurkaccount

#noah sebastian #noahsebastian #noah sebastian fic #noah sebastian fanfiction #bad omens #bad omens fanfiction #bad omens fic #noah sebastian fluff #If I’m There Noah

[midnight-in-town]

If Twilights’s dad is a spy Then is he working for Westalis or Ostania?

Hey Anon and sorry for the delay! :3

Hmm, first of all, I don’t think his allegiance would be what matters the most, when in case this plot twist happens.

To recap a bit on the theory that Twilight's dad is still alive and a spy (first draft here), I think that, narratively speaking, the interest lies in:

Twilight's entire childhood, nay, life was based on a lie

A lie he's currently exactly reproducing by pretending to be Anya's dad (except that, unlike him, Anya knows her dad's a spy on a mission), which is why it'll need to be addressed by the plot eventually.

Additionally, and considering that this trauma from his childhood turned him into everything he didn’t want to be, I'd say facing this terrible truth (for once) is how he's going to come to the realization that he can't do to Yor and Anya what his dad did to him and his mom.

Otherwise, you know, "he's really just like his dad", a dad who possibly caused a terrorist attack or, at the very least, who took advantage of one to leave his wife and kid behind.

All "for his mission".

Twilight being recruited as a spy might be related to WISE knowing his dad is a spy

In that case, if his dad is also a spy working for Westalis, then WISE recruited Twilight because they bet he shares the same skills as his dad.

However, if his dad is a spy working for Ostania, then WISE recruited him for the same reason, except it was to use him as possible leverage/weapon against his own dad.

Either way, if WISE knew about Twilight's dad being a spy, then WISE will be held accountable for manipulating Twilight with lies. So I think, by the end of the story, Twilight will also come to realize this truth, because it's the only way to untangle the web of lies that now represents his life.

Also, Twilight realizing that WISE used him from the start would match with Yor being indoctrinated since childhood by the organization she also currently sides with.

And, while I have no doubt that eventually their family will prevail over old allegiances, I believe it will only be possible if both Twilight and Yor face the truth that they were totally used as pawns by the organizations they believed in, in order to free themselves from them.

To finally answer your question (sorry for rambling): thematically since Twilight is Westalis' "greatest spy/asset", tbh it's likely that his dad is the Ostanian equivalent.

As for who he is, I'd say someone currently working for the SSS, which is how Twilight risks being discovered by them (if Garden doesn't sell him out first, for being Yor's fishy husband being interested in Donovan Desmond).

And considering the fact he must be an older man, with a light hair color, visible cheek bones and a slim nose, well, we don't have a lot of possible suspects in the cast...

Especially since, interestingly, the job of Yuri and his captain is to catch spies.

Lastly, if Yuri's captain is Twilight's spy dad, then he must have gotten that scar after leaving his wife and kid behind, say, maybe during that very same explosion/terrorist attack that happened in their hometown?

TL;DR my money is on Yuri's captain being Twilight's spy dad, because this has high comedic value, when we know how much Yuri dislikes Loid while his dad mentors him on the job. Though it's also quite ironically devastating considering that, in that case, Twilight literally impersonated his dad in ch14 when investigating Yor...

...implying he's slowly becoming exactly like his dad, a man he will despise once he finds out the truth. ://

Sorry for rambling, I hope it answers your question ! Have a good day ahead, Anon.

#spy x family #loid forger #yor forger #anya forger #yuri briar #twilight #garden #wise #sxf theory #anon #answers #my analysis #u want to know how i think the last arc will go well i'll tell u in the tags #imo Twilight gets discovered by the SSS after Garden realizes the truth about him but Yor who's sent after him is incapable of killing him #so he's arrested by the SSS while Garden beats up and restrains Yor for disobeying and that's when his dad reveals himself to him #having lost all will to live upon realizing his whole life was a lie from the start he's about to be shot to death by the SSS #but Yuri realizing that Yor has disappeared impersonates a SSS agent to save him then saying he can die after he helps Yuri finds Yor #Twilight realizing he doesn't want to be the same crap as his dad decides to go find and help Yor and Anya #meanwhile Anya was recovered by projet apple being funded by Donovan and her powers are used to plan a massive terrorist attack @ Westalis #Franky or Handler or Nightfall (or Henderson or Martha?) find out about Anya's fate but they get arrested by Garden which is where Yor is #Yor breaks free from Garden upon realizing that Anya's a little girl who's always been alone against the world and who needs her protection #somehow Damian will try to help Anya escape his dad's plan helped by Bond but fail & that's when Twilight and Yor will show up to save her #HAPPY ENDING AFTERWARDS (“we're the Forgers :)”) OK SENSEI?

[ask-gadzooks]

The @asktwilighteclipse story Chapter 1

Gad and Zooks arrived in the middle of camp with a flash of light and a loud FLUMP! Half of the sound was the transposition circle Zooks had made collapsing in on itself. The other half was the brothers landing awkwardly on the stony ground.

“Owww…” Gad said, rubbing his head.

“Ouch; also.” Zooks replied, nursing his beak. He made yet another mental note to improve on his teleportation landings, and filed it away with all the very similar notes cluttering his memory.

A second or two later, A shadow fell on Zooks’s face, and he looked up to see a white-coated, armor-clad mare looking down on him.

“Gad and… Zooks, I presume?” She said. The look she was giving Zooks was… vaguely unsettling.

“Yep!” Gad said, Entirely unaware of the stare the mare was giving. “You must be an Eclipse Knight! I must say I’m really excited to be meeting The elite of the elite!”

The mare tore her gaze from Zooks and smiled at Gad warmly.

“Well I’ve heard many good things about you, too.” The mare said while placing her hoof in Gad’s claws and shaking. Zooks had the distinct impression that the mare didn’t include him in that statement, but maybe it was just his imagination. Either way, there wasn’t much he could do about her perceived low opinion of him at the moment.

“Uh… We were supposed to meet with Princess Twilight and Solar as soon as we landed here. Do you know where we could find them?” Zooks asked.

The mare’s expression fell at the mention of the Prince and Princess.

“Oh… well… Maybe you two ought to come to the meeting tent. The situation has… worsened, since you were last contacted.”

Zooks gave Gad a worried expression, who received it and tried to play it forward to the armored mare, but she was already walking away, beckoning the hippogriffin brothers to follow. Gad and Zooks hesitantly followed. As they did, the mare began speaking in a professional tone.

“Just so you know, My name is Light Piece; I’m one of the five Sergeants of the Eclipse Knights. Only the royals are higher in rank, so if you need anything from the camp, just ask one of us.”

“Well thank you!” Gad said, “We’ll keep that in mind!”

Nearby, Zooks noticed a Knight temporarily stop sifting through a pile of ashes to salute Light Piece. She gave a simple nod in return, and apparently it was as good as an “as you were” because the knight immediately got back to work.

“Did something happen last night?” Zooks asked, peeling his eyes from the black pile of flakes. “That’s a lot of ashes.”

“Our supply tent was set ablaze by an unknown hostile faction in the night,” Light said curtly. “The prevailing theory is that it was meant as a distraction.” She continued as she lifted the flap of a large tent and gestured for the brothers to go in.

“A distraction for what?” Gad asked as he pushed his way inside. He was met by the sight of four more ponies gathered around a low table. They were probably all focused on the figures on the table a second ago, but now every eye in the tent was focused on the entrance.

A second later, Zooks entered into the tent behind Gad, and froze at the sudden gazes of eight new eyes, none of which were Solar’s or Twilight’s.

“Gad and Zooks, I presume?” Said a dark-coated thestral on the right.

“Uh… yeah.” Zooks replied. “Can any of you point us toward… the prince and…” Zooks’ speech slowed to a stop when he caught a glimpse of Solar and Twilight, or rather, a figurine on the table depicting Solar and Twilight. It was, surprisingly, nowhere near the rest of the knight-like figures on the board. In fact, it seemed like it was on the complete opposite side of the table, surrounded by vague approximations of hostile monsters.

Gad noticed Zooks’ gaze and followed it to the two-headed figurine. His expression became confused, then filled with dread.

“Uh… I don’t suppose Twilight and Solar are currently on a super-stealthy recon mission right now?” Gad ventured hopefully.

“No, they’re not.” Light Piece supplied as she slipped past the brothers. “As of last night, Princess Twilight and Captain Solar are missing in action; presumed captured.”

#ask gadzooks #gad #zooks #twilight eclipse #Eclipse Knights #Let me know what you think of the new format #TwilightEclipseStory

[rachelillustrates]

!! Happy International Asexuality Day !!

Hugs and cake and solidarity, my lovely fellow aces, all around the world! 🖤🤍💜

Though it’s taken me a long time to come to terms with who I am, I am proud to be under the asexual umbrella, as much as I am proud I’m queer at all, and as much as I am proud to have gotten through everything that’s happened that got me to this moment. Standing here, writing this post. May we build a world where we can all be free to be who we are, and support each other in love and community, no matter what.

I’ve seen a lot of discourse about aces who had the experience of never thinking that something was wrong with them – thinking that they were the only ones being reasonable about things when A Certain Thing Happened. And whether or not that was the prevailing experience, it wasn’t mine. I absolutely thought something was wrong with me. Maybe part of that is being demisexual, not just asexual, and being (what some would deem) hyper-romantic. But I expected certain things to happen for me, and they kind of do, but apparently on very different terms than what society expects. I feel blessed to know, now, that I am not broken. And I hope that anyone else who’s struggling with the same kind of feelings I did can come to that peace, too (and faster than I did!).

Art above featuring “Tock the Gnome,” as always. Representation matters!! And on that note, in honor of the day, here’s a preview of some bonus story that will be available in full soon:

~

Suddenly she found herself falling backwards – landing flat on her back on the ground, her best friend blinking down at her with his jacket on and a basket at the crook of his arm.

“Tock, by Anosmia’s Keys, WHAT under earth -“

She burst into tears.

To which he looked panicked as ever he had, and reached down to gather her up and get her inside before anyone saw.

“What? What is it?” he demanded – slightly sympathetically, slightly exasperatedly – once he finally had the door shut behind them.

She nursed one newly sore elbow, the tears still flowing, but wouldn’t meet his gaze. “It’s nothing. It’s stupid.”

Sighing again, he put the basket on the nearest countertop, bending to lift the wreath off the floor. “Oh surely. This is beautiful, but not beautiful enough to cry over.”

“You don’t have to give me fearful frights about it,” she snapped.

He glared at her, one eyebrow raised. “That is vulgar. And not fair.”

“FINE. If you must know, it’s over. With Derra.”

“…..Okay.”

“What do you mean, okay?” She turned around in a swirl of bronzey skirts, taking a seat three tables away from him, just to be provoking. “I finally put myself – my heart – out there again, and I couldn’t get crushed over her. I can’t do it. I can’t. Even with Copper, even with Lorna, it took me so much to…. something is WRONG with me.”

“I have heard you don’t have to want to go beyond bundling with every person you set your eyes on, Tock. Maybe it’s just -“

“No, it’s different.” She ran her hands through her hair. “I’m different. It takes me so long to get there, if I ever get there, and that’s not enough for so many people. The legends never talk like this!! In the legends, it’s ALWAYS something fast, that clicks in place, and nobody’s ever confused or waiting.”

He sat down next to her, carefully. The wreath turned a slow circuit in his fingers. “…..You said before, you do not think something is wrong with me, Tock.”

She whirled toward him, aghast. “Of course not!”

“Well – then nothing is wrong with YOU, either. So it takes you a while to make that connection, if you ever do, and that’s all that gets you to the kind of relationship our people seem to expect? So what? It’s YOUR life and YOUR heart.”

He bumped her shoulder with his, putting the wreath back into her lap without looking at her.

“No one gets to tell you how to love.”

~

(And sending so much love, to you all!)

💜

~

Bonus art and stories ~ Prints, comics and more!

#happy international asexuality day #asexuality #demisexual #asexual #international asexuality day #tock the gnome #gnomes #faerie #bonus art #indie comics #queer comics #lgbtq #lgbtqia #queer #queer solidarity

[alucarddear]

Do you think the Taka and Sumi incident was Alucard's first time?

It probably was his first time, and that adds even more to how traumatising it must have been for him.

His character was socially isolated, highly introverted, the “cold spot” in the room. Sypha went on to say “his sadness is like an icy well; bottomless.” He didn’t seem like the type who would be actively seeking pleasure—that’s different to accepting it when offered, like he did with Taka and Sumi. Alucard never came across as flirty or suggestive or even inappropriate to signify sexual maturity in any way we can infer. In fact, we’d actually been fed the complete opposite signs.

The show also tried to tell us that Alucard was still emotionally immature, still growing up when he was forced to make the tough decision to go against his father. He also said so himself that he aged very fast. He was 19 when he attacked Dracula, 20 when woken up in S1E4, but given that he’d been asleep for a year, we can say he was mentally 19, max. (We don’t even finish developing our prefrontal cortex until age 25, so some immaturity at least checks out scientifically. As Sypha once said, perhaps he really was indeed just an angry teenager in an adult’s body :p).

I think it is highly likely that incident was his first time indeed. His responses to their advances showed signs it might have been his first experience. He was very flustered, and he even cried during it. I personally interpret that as overwhelm, like some sort of tears of joy as if he couldn’t believe it, the connection and intimacy that was happening at the time. “You’ve been so alone,” they said to him. He was shocked by that—flustered, hopeful, touched. Of course, unknowing of what was to come, of the two’s real agenda. Sam Deats confirms this is correct.

Thus, it wasn’t all sex to Alucard. (And that wasn’t even sex to Taka and Sumi either—it was borderline rape too. It was via deception. It was a mission. It was attempted murder.) But to Alucard, that was his first real taste of intimacy, the connection he was always craving. He was very lonely prior to them coming into his life. He was vulnerable and that was a completely abhorrent way to attempt to murder somebody, too. It fucks with the mind much worse than if they had simply attempted to poison him or outright stab him or something.

Not only will it make him mistrust humans, but it will also scar him romantically/sexually. It makes you wonder: how will he let another person in his heart? How will he be able to trust his future sexual partner?

We did see him regress a bit in the beginning of S4, and the show was clever about ending S3 with that downward spiral, giving us a glimpse of Alucard potentially going Dracula on us because of that incident (pikes, anyone?), but no, the kindness in him prevailed. Come S4, when humans needed help again, he let them in yet again, despite having very valid reasons to not want to take the risk again of being betrayed or backstabbed—literally.

That scene really didn’t need to occur to give him a bad time lol, and that was probably done for shock, but… his response after the fact is also one of the reasons why I love him tbh.

#Alucard deserved better #alucard #adrian tepes #adrian fahrenheit tepes #castlevania #taka Castlevania #Sumi Castlevania

[toffiendfee]

Initial D Secret Santa 2023!

This year, I had the honor to write some Keikumi spending quality time together for @majozzz.

Not that I ever need an excuse to write Keikumi, but I sure was excited to have one! So excited that it couldn't be contained in just a fic. There may or may not be a bit of bonus content at the end ;)

I hope you'll enjoy your gift, and Happy Holidays!

@initialdsecretsanta

Read on AO3 here

“Do you have anything planned for Christmas?”

Keisuke’s question, evidently, came unexpected. Takumi turned to him, startled out of whatever thought he’d been occupied with instead.

He shrugged. “Not really. For all I know, my old man’s just gonna go out drinking like every year. We don’t really celebrate.”

Keisuke thought of his own home, almost always dark and deserted on Christmas. His parents didn’t care very much about the holiday when there was a hospital to run, and neither did Ryousuke, who tended to be just as busy.

To be fair, Keisuke wasn’t all that interested, either – he’d never had anyone he even wanted to spend Christmas with, aside from, more recently, his brother. But, once again, Ryousuke wasn’t keen on leaving his desk for anything more than quickly sharing a take-out meal, and that was if Keisuke got lucky.

Add to that the fact that most of his friends did tend to have plans for Christmas (dates, usually), and you got Keisuke spending the day by himself most years.

Seemed like he and Takumi had that in common.

Keisuke glanced over at him, trying to gauge his response.

He steeled himself.

“Do you want to do something together this year?”

Takumi startled again, and blinked up at him.

“Huh?”

Keisuke laughed breezily. “You know, just so we don’t both sit around on Christmas with nothing to do. But we don’t have to if you don’t feel like it,” he added quickly.

Who knew; maybe Takumi actually preferred having some time to himself to… Well, actually Keisuke had next to no idea what Takumi did in his free time that wasn’t racing.

Takumi regarded him for a moment, before saying, “Actually… I would like that, yeah.”

He quickly looked away, but Keisuke caught a glimpse of the small, bashful smile he tried to hide.

“Then let’s meet on Christmas Eve,” Keisuke suggested while the fluttering feeling in his stomach still prevailed, and while his courage was still high. “I’ve always wanted to check out the Christmas market in Takasaki.”

“Sure. I get off work at five.”

“Then I’ll pick you up at six?”

“Sounds good to me,” Takumi replied, and, after a beat, added, “I’ve never actually been to a Christmas market.”

“Neither have I,” Keisuke confessed. “We can check out together what the fuss is about.”

He felt his ears grow a bit hot at the thought – what he’d suggested was all but explicitly a date, and Takumi had said yes.

“I would like that,” Takumi repeated, and didn’t hide his smile this time around.

Ryousuke must have noticed the marked lack of his little brother’s usual questions about eating dinner together this year, but he didn’t comment on it regardless. Maybe he (rightfully) assumed Keisuke had made plans with someone else. Maybe he didn’t really care and was just glad that he could work in peace – Keisuke had picked up on the fact that he had some kind of important deadline coming up.

Either way, when Keisuke went to notify him that he was leaving, Ryousuke barely even looked up from his keyboard.

“Have fun,” he said. The corners of his mouth twitched a little, and not for the first time Keisuke wondered how much his brother knew.

He wasn’t going to be dwelling on that, though.

And certainly not letting it dampen his mood, either.

A few snowflakes descended from the darkened sky as he headed out, not enough to coat the ground – not yet.

Keisuke found the way to Takumi’s home from memory with no issue even though he’d been there only once before, on Ryousuke’s behest.

The tofu shop on the ground floor of the building lay in darkness – which made sense given what Takumi had told him. His father was out of the house, and apparently the son wasn’t expected to keep the shop open in his stead today.

But while the shop was dark, light spilled from a window on the floor above it.

Keisuke considered heading inside instead of waiting in the car just as the light flickered off. Moments later, Takumi emerged from the building, bundled into thick winter clothes.

“I heard you approaching,” he said as he opened the passenger side door and slid into the seat. “Hi.”

Keisuke smiled involuntarily at that afterthought of a greeting. “Hello to you, too. Are you expecting a blizzard?”

Takumi buckled himself in, glancing up at Keisuke only to give him a rather unimpressed look. “Have you seen the weather report?”

“No. Any blizzards on the horizon?”

Takumi huffed in response, and Keisuke grinned as he started the car.

The market was absolutely packed. Keisuke had expected as much, though – despite it being a rather small event compared to other cities’ Christmas markets, it was quite popular. With couples, especially.

Next to him, Takumi had stopped walking. Head tilted backwards, he was marvelling at the bright decorations that had been hung above the street.

Keisuke’s eyes lingered on his profile for a moment; when he noticed what he was doing, he quickly looked away.

Someone bumped into them, and Keisuke quickly reached for Takumi’s sleeve so he wouldn’t get pushed away by the crowds. He then glared at the offender, who was too distracted laughing at something his female companion said to notice Keisuke’s ire.

Takumi, however, had been torn from his admiration of the lights.

“That stand over there looks interesting,” he said. Keisuke stopped glowering and let himself be led through the crowd to one of the market stalls.

He wondered if he could risk slipping his hand into Takumi’s, but decided against it as they stopped in front of a display of wooden figurines.

“This one is fun,” he said, pointing at a small angel holding a pizza in one hand and a very delicate-looking pizza shovel in the other.

Takumi hummed his agreement and started inspecting some wooden tree ornaments, only to grimace once he looked at the price tag.

“Do you put up a tree at home?”

Takumi nodded. “You?”

“My mother insists on it, even though she doesn’t even enjoy Christmas that much. It’s definitely not as pretty as that one.”

Keisuke pointed at the huge fir that had been put up in the middle of the square, covered over and over in lights, baubles, and decorative wrapped presents. The tree in their living room was plastic and decked out in cold silver ornaments that Keisuke didn’t really like, but he also wasn’t willing to start a discussion with his mother over something so meaningless. Nobody cared about that damn tree, anyway.

“That one’s really pretty,” Takumi agreed; oddly enough, for a moment he looked like he wanted to add something else as he looked at Keisuke instead of the tree. Instead, he quickly returned to looking around at what the other stands had to offer.

Keisuke couldn’t tell whether the pinkness in Takumi’s cheeks had to be blamed on the cold or not.

Snow was still coming down from above, thick, white flakes illuminated from below by the myriad of lights.

As the cold crept into Keisuke’s extremities, he mulled over trying the spiced hot wine he saw offered at quite a few booths – but while it did smell quite nice (and spread that scent across the entire market, mingling with the aromas of caramelised sugar and fir needles and fried food), he’d never particularly liked the taste of wine.

Instead, he and Takumi both settled for a mug of hot chocolate each, topped with a generous portion of whipped cream dusted with cocoa powder. Takumi blew on his drink to cool it down a little, an action that had half of the cocoa powder flying off and spreading itself across mostly the ground, but also a bit of Keisuke’s coat.

“Oi,” he muttered and dusted himself off while Takumi apologised, laughing. If Keisuke had been a little bit annoyed, that feeling vanished immediately.

He couldn’t remember seeing Takumi in such a good mood before, laughing freely and teasing him back.

Maybe that was the so-called magic of Christmas.

They shared a portion of glazed almonds, fresh out of the kettle and still warm. Takumi sighed happily as he sneaked another handful.

“I didn’t think it would be this fun.”

‘Everything is fun when it’s with you,’ Keisuke almost said, but caught himself just in time. His ears were burning. That was close.

“I’m glad I don’t have to feel like I dragged you here,” he said instead.

Takumi shot him a look. “You don’t. I really looked forward to this,” he said. Then, a bit more quietly, “I don’t want it to be over, honestly.”

It was getting late, so this wasn’t entirely unfounded.

But Keisuke only found himself smiling, butterflies in his stomach that even the cold would be hopeless to smother.

“We don’t have to leave already. I didn’t even have anything for dinner yet.”

Takumi smiled back.

“Sure, let’s look around some more.”

Keisuke was so happy that he failed to notice the greedy hand stealing the last of the glazed almonds before it was too late.

It had gotten quite late by the point that the two of them returned to Shibukawa.

Keisuke stopped his car back in front of the tofu shop, house and street now blanketed in white. And it was still snowing. When Takumi opened the passenger side door, a cold gust carried a few flakes inside that quickly melted on the dashboard.

“Bye, then,” Keisuke said, trying to not let the good mood this evening had brought him be dampened by the fact that it was already over. “I had a great time.”

Takumi got out of the car – only to, instead of closing the door, linger a bit hesitantly.

“Would you- would you like to come in for a bit?”

Keisuke blinked at him, needing a moment to parse the offer.

He thought about the empty dark house he was going to return to, all its other inhabitants busy with work if they were even present at all.

“Sure,” he said at length.

They entered the living space of the house through the shop.

Keisuke took it all in, this being the place where Takumi lived, and him never having been inside the house, but tried not to be too obvious about it.

He shrugged off his shoes and nudged them out of the way with his foot, distracted by the Fujiwara’s living room. It was small. Homely. No ugly silver Christmas tree anywhere in sight, although there was a small and a bit wonky-looking potted fir placed on top of a chest of drawers, decorated with a few red ornaments and a shiny golden star on top.

Keisuke thought it was beautiful.

Takumi raised a hand to the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry it’s a bit untidy.”

Keisuke stopped looking around, hearing the embarrassment in Takumi’s voice.

“Untidy? This is nothing. You should see my room.”

A tentative smile spread across Takumi’s face. “That bad?”

“Aniki constantly gets on my ass about it.”

The smile widened into something genuinely amused. “I imagined Ryousuke-san would be the kind of person bothered by that.”

Keisuke grinned. “You’re spot on. He’s a total neat freak.”

To be honest, the Fujiwara home really wasn’t all that untidy, especially not in comparison to Keisuke’s room. But Keisuke hadn’t been paying much attention to that in the first place; instead, his attention had been drawn to the kotatsu in the middle of the room. He shot it a longing look, rubbing his still stiff and cold fingers. Takumi got the hint immediately.

“Sit down, I’ll bring us something to drink.”

He vanished through a door that probably led to the kitchen, while Keisuke gratefully sat on the floor and slid his legs (and his hands) into the wonderful warmth underneath the heavy quilt.

He absent-mindedly started fiddling with the edge of the small item he’d been carrying around in his pocket the entire time while he listened to the sounds of Takumi rummaging around in the kitchen. Certainly this was already the best Christmas experience he’d had in a few years, if not in his entire life. Spending time with Takumi was something he couldn’t get enough of – but outside of Project.D, that didn’t happen too often.

Takumi returned carrying two cups and a plate with oranges, and sat down opposite from Keisuke.

“Thank you for inviting me today,” he said quietly and slid over one of the cups. “I really enjoyed it.”

“Me, too,” Keisuke said, and decided that it was now or never. He pulled the small paper bag out of his pocket.

“I’ve got a gift for you. Didn’t have any time to wrap it or anything, but here.”

Takumi took it from him, surprised.

“I don’t have anything for you,” he confessed sheepishly, turning the paper bag in his hands.

“I don’t care.”

Takumi let out a quiet sigh, and, hesitating, opened up the bag and glanced inside.

“Oh…”

He pulled out one of the wooden tree ornaments he’d been looking at at the Christmas market. It was shaped like a snowflake, and in its centre it showed the delicately-cut silhouettes of two people in winter clothes pulling a sled through the snow.

Takumi smiled, a faint blush painting his cheeks.

“Thank you. I love it.”

Keisuke preened. He’d used the opportunity while Takumi was distracted waiting in line for their hot chocolates to buy it for him. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it had paid off.

“I’ll put it on the tree,” Takumi said, still smiling, and got up again to do just that.

Keisuke, meanwhile, reached for one of the oranges and started peeling it. He appreciated the reassuring effect of keeping his hands occupied while he watched Takumi look for a spot to hang the wooden snowflake.

He wasn’t sure whether it was the pleasant calm and quiet, the comfortable warmth of the kotatsu, the evening having gone so well, or everything at once that fuelled Keisuke’s confidence, but when Takumi returned to the table, he patted the space next to him invitingly.

Takumi caught his eyes and didn’t hesitate for a moment before sliding under the kotatsu next to Keisuke. It was a little bit crowded with their legs, but not too much – and Keisuke didn’t mind the closeness at all.

Takumi stole an orange slice.

“You could have just asked,” Keisuke complained, protectively covering the fruit with his arms when Takumi’s hand returned for more.

“Could I please have one,” Takumi asked, polite as ever, but with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He opened his mouth, as if expecting to be fed like a baby bird.

Keisuke laughed and obliged.

They kept talking, and eating, and at some point Keisuke felt movement underneath the table and fingers bumping against his.

He turned his head and found Takumi looking back at him, sort of expectant, only somewhat nervous.

Keisuke wordlessly slid his hand into his and looked away again. Neither of them commented on it, but when their conversation eventually slowed down into tired, companionable silence and they both lied down, shuffling deeper into the warmth underneath the quilt, Keisuke’s arm moved to wrap around Takumi like it was the most natural thing in the world, and Takumi scooted closer into the empty space between them.

Keisuke closed his eyes and dreamed of the future.

#initialdsecretsanta2023 #initial d #keikumi #takumi fujiwara #keisuke takahashi #toffi writes #toffi draws #my writing #my art #long post

[dekusleftsock]

What Azi means: I need you. Please come with me. I want to make heaven a better place so we can live happy together, forever.

What Deku means: Kacchan you are so amazing. I can't lose you. I need to fix everything on my own to protect you.

What Crowley heard: go back to heaven so we can fix you

What Bakugou heard: Don't need you. Bye loser

Fr it’s so funny

Though I think azi’s intentions were well meaning, it just doesn’t WORK. Like on a fundamental level, heaven can’t and won’t change to accommodate. It sees Crowley and other demons as evil, HELL as evil. Because if hell ISNT evil, then it’s no longer a concept but a place. Hell is just as capable as heaven is of being good or bad, because they are the same.

Aziraphale’s original concept of heaven, hell, and earth has most definitely changed yes—instead of seeing all demons as bad and all angels as good and all humans as capable of either, he sees them as capable of doing good or bad things—though with humans they may not HAVE that choice, as seen in the grave robbing flashback. He also believes that heaven does not fulfill the duties god desires, instead believing in a vague concept of goodness prevailing over evil—not an entity.

Aziraphale must believe that god is good just as he must believe that hell is evil, because if he doesn’t…

Then those places and entities become conceptual, and he no longer has something to BELIEVE in

It’s not about heaven being good or hell being evil, it’s about his belief in god and what his life was made for.

God and heaven don’t need to be perfect, NOT EVEN GOOD, they just needed to be better than hell.

So while yes, Azi does believe that heaven is a place Crowley belongs, that’s not because he thinks that heaven is good, but that Crowley is better than hell.

I genuinely don’t blame Crowley for his reaction. I mean, metatron saying “Crowley can become an Angel!” was basically a way for metatron to hang a prize on a stick for azi to follow. Crowley KNOWS THIS, he knows what heaven is doing. Not completely, but vaguely.

AND UGGHHHHHHH THE BKDK-NESS OF THIS WHOLE SHOW HITS ME IN THE GUT SO HARD

Whether that’s bc I just really like bkdk or if they’re actually like Crowley and Aziraphale, I’m not sure, but either way I can feel it in my soul.

Izuku’s belief of “I can save you on my own, I can keep my emotions in a box just for you” makes me almost feel like he’s more Crowley than Aziraphale, and Katsuki’s tendency to assume what deku thinks based on ultimately innocent actions feels a whole lot more like Aziraphale than Crowley.

But this mostly comes down to being unapologetic about how you really feel and think about the person you like and their actions. If Crowley wants Aziraphale to understand, he has to tell him. If Aziraphale wants Crowley to hear him, he has to shout.

And it’s just like bkdk in that way. Surprise! The miscommunication is solved through communication!

But it’s also about realizing that your loved one will never be what you want them to be. That’s something they both have to understand.

THEYRE ALL SO AFRAID OF REJECTION AND IT HURTS ME. IT HURTS SO BAD. WHY CANT WE TAKE RISKS GUYS WHY WHY WHY

#bkdk #aziraphale #good omens #Crowley #crowly x aziraphale #this hyperfixation will die soon. prommy 🫶🫶 #or it won’t #we’ll SEEEEEEEE

[anghraine]

ncfan-1 replied to this post:

It's been long enough since I last read P&P that I can't remember if Darcy and Charlotte had much of a relationship, but it amuses me that his assessment of the marriage is just him looking at Mr. Collins and thinking "Wow. She's MUCH too good for you."

Same!! Actually, the Charlotte-Darcy dynamic is really interesting to me even though we don’t see very much of it, so I’m going to take this chance to talk about it.

They barely interact in the book, but Charlotte sticks up for Darcy from the first, in a Charlotte kind of way. In the discussion of his behavior at the first assembly, we get this:

“His pride,” said Miss Lucas, “does not offend me so much as pride often does, because there is an excuse for it. One cannot wonder that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune, everything in his favour, should think highly of himself. If I may so express it, he has a right to be proud.”

It’s not 100% clear what she means by “fine” here (there are multiple possibilities), but she is very pragmatic and this is the main factor in her opinion of Darcy—nobody knows about the Fitzwilliam connection at this point, either, so it’s based on Darcy’s personal status and wealth.

Charlotte tries to get Elizabeth to dial down her loathing of Darcy over Wickham because Darcy has “ten times his consequence,” and she suggests that Darcy is interested in Elizabeth when they’re in Kent, but isn’t sure, because he’s so quiet and unreadable. When Colonel Fitzwilliam laughs at Darcy, Charlotte (but not Elizabeth) realizes that there must be a side to Darcy that they have never seen, but which is actually more typical of him—foreshadowing what we’ll see later.

Charlotte does think Colonel Fitzwilliam is much more pleasant than Darcy and clearly interested in Elizabeth where Darcy is more dubious, and vacillates between which man she’d prefer for Elizabeth to marry, for both Elizabeth’s benefit and her own (oh, but Darcy has patronage in the church...).

So there’s a substantial mix of motives in her reasons for repeatedly defending Darcy—there’s a hard-edged concept of class, there’s a value for wealth and status/consequence, there’s self-interest, but also, she never seems to buy into the prevailing narratives around him, and she and Jane are the only ones in the community to realize that there’s more to him than they’ve seen. It’s particularly interesting with Charlotte, though, because we’re actually told that she doesn’t think well of men in general, anyway.

So it is pretty satisfying that Darcy’s idea of a social nicety with Elizabeth is to remark on how Mr Collins was lucky that he happened to choose Charlotte. And then Elizabeth is just like “yes, Charlotte is cool and smart, though marrying Mr Collins was pretty stupid, even though she seems happy. He is lucky.”

This whole conversation happens in Mr Collins’s house, btw. I love it.

#darcy and elizabeth belonging to the charlotte lucas appreciation society gives me a lot of joy ngl #ncfan 1 #respuestas #austen blogging #anghraine's meta #charlotte lucas #fitzwilliam darcy #pride and prejudice #jane austen #elizabeth bennet #i've already written fic touching on it but i think that f!darcy and charlotte would get on really well

[guiltywisdom]

I’ve been inquiring into Orthodoxy for a few months (coming from protestantism) and I don’t know for certain yet if I will choose to convert, I guess because I have a few hangups. I attended Divine Liturgy at my local parish for the first time last week and intend to continue worshipping with them and talking to the priests there, but I figured I would bring my questions to you as well.

I’ve been watching interviews and talks from Dr. Jeannie Constantinou, who seems absolutely brilliant and I love her. I’ve heard her explain at least 5 different times now this notion of “phronema,” basically the mind of the Church (the mind of the Apostles, as taught by Christ) and how the Eastern phronema is so different from the West because of the West’s emphasis on human reasoning. I appreciate mystery; mysticism and apophatic theology is what attracted me to Orthodoxy in the first place. But while denouncing Western appeals to reason and emphasizing appeals to Tradition and the mysteries therein, two examples she brought up were same-sex marriage and universalism, basically saying that no matter how reasonable an argument one might make, it’s not Tradition and therefore invalid.

While I’m honestly not sure what to believe about homosexuality (I have pro-LGBT leanings personally but am unconvinced either way I guess), I believe in a “Biblical Universalism,” the idea that Hell is temporary and ultimately corrective rather than punitive, like a furnace to purify gold of any dross. It makes the most philosophical sense to me, I see it in the Scriptures, and (most importantly in this context) I see it as historical.

I’ve read a summary of the points brought up in the book “Universalism, The Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years” by John Wesley Hanson and found them to be very compelling. It seems to show that universalism ought to have been preserved in Tradition, but for many reasons did not, and instead the idea of eternal torment in Hell has solidified.

Now we’re in a spot where the likes of the brilliant Dr. Constantinou is saying that, no matter how reasonable a stance like this might seem, we cannot rely on our own reasoning, as she appeals to the Apostolic Tradition. Truly, I don’t want to be prideful or arrogant, and I wish to conform my thinking in all ways to Christ. But it seems that such a stance should have been Tradition all along.

Please, how can I reconcile this? I think I want to participate in the Orthodox life. I like your worship, your prayers, your fasting, your asceticism, your mysticism, and (the bulk of) your theology. I think Orthodoxy is likely the closest to ancient Christianity. But must I take your tradition as wholly infallible? Is this an issue I need to humble myself on and conform to, or can I truly be welcomed if this is my view?

Tradition isn't "wholly infallible" because, for the most part, it was created by man. In general Orthodoxy teaches that, although we do have all we need for Salvation, some things we do not know for sure and that sometimes we must rexamine said tradition for new truths. Homosexuality wasn't really explored by the early fathers because homosexuality as we know it didn't exist. I think people see the Bible (and the words of the Church Fathers) as too black and white rather than something nebulous and deep. A common belief in the Orthodoxy of the people is something called "Hopeful Universalism" wherein those who believe it (myself included) argue that because God is infinitely loving and good then he would likely wish to reconcile all sinners to him but that we cannot know for sure and that free choice presupposes that there must be an option for those who might never choose to reconcile. You'll find that Orthodoxy has a lot of variation in belief, just ask about our infinite arguments over if Toll Houses are literal, a metaphor or heresy! I think you're a lot like me my sibling in Christ and I'm still here! Keep at it my friend.

#replies #asks #homosexuality

[lemonhemlock]

Ugh, you’re so brave for saying that you don’t agree with the Madonna/Whore complex. I agree, it feels dismissive to me.

The way I rationalize Criston’s berserker moments are: 1) lazy writing ofc 2) almost like a trauma response? When he lashes out he seems to do so in response to an affront on his character. Joffrey’s whole deal comes off as blackmail when you look at it from his perspective, and Beesbury, I’m gonna need to expand on his relationship with Alicent for a bit: 

Criston has spent nearly 20 years watching as she tries to adhere to her values and duty while Viserys (who she ends up taking care of) and co. abuse and humiliate her. 

Like Alicent (and Aemond and Otto), I’m sure he’s tired of watching the Targs they have to serve get away with things that would get them killed. And still they’re held to a higher standard than the Targaryens who rule and use them. So when Beesbury accuses her of regicide, he sees it as his duty to protect her and the sacrifices she’s had to make. 

 I feel like they validate each other and the people they want to be. It must be exhausting being surrounded by people who do what they want for pleasure over duty. Their bond makes them feel less lonely and maybe even less stupid/naive: “I have to believe, that in the end, honor and decency will prevail. We need to hew to that and to each other.” (That’s why their scene in the Godswood took place during a wedding, they’re practically married imo 🙊 it’s a play on the nuclear family.)

Sorry for the essay lol, my reblog function is nonexistent on my phone idk why and I clearly had a lot to say. You’re the best for entertaining this tangent 💚.

Ugh, you’re so brave for saying that you don’t agree with the Madonna/Whore complex. I agree, it feels dismissive to me.

Thank you! Like, I have no illusions that the showrunners might feel the madonna-whore/incel thing is appealing to the audience, so they're milking it, but even so, it doesn't vibe with what ended up on the damn screen. I never understood the incel allegations for Ser Criston either. Incel describes a person who can't access sex/romance, no matter how hard they try. Whereas Criston could absolutely get it??? Even Rhaenyra is willing to keep fucking him? 😑

These modern labels get so stupid sometimes, for real. Imagine calling a medieval queen a tradwife. JFC. As opposed to what? A fourth-wave intersectional feminist? An independent self-supporting woman working her way up the corporate ladder by the skin of her teeth? 🙄

The way I rationalize Criston’s berserker moments are: 1) lazy writing ofc

Well, kind of, yeah. In the text, Criston kills Joffrey during a tourney, so there's more ambiguity on whether it was accidental or not. And makes much more sense (it happens during a socially-acceptable framework for ending someone's life), because now, for the show, they have to invent a far-fetched reason as to why this person is allowed to indiscriminately kill people at a wedding without facing any consequences. Not exactly something you could do 100% organically and seamlessly - you have to pull some ridiculous explanation out of your arse.

2) almost like a trauma response? When he lashes out he seems to do so in response to an affront on his character. Joffrey’s whole deal comes off as blackmail when you look at it from his perspective

In the show, this is the most likely explanation for his actions, yeah. He's been on a rollercoaster of emotions, from renouncing his vows, convincing himself he is in love or that Rhaenyra loves him, contemplating a radical life change (i.e. fleeing to Essos), rapid disillusionment, fearing for his life to being forgiven by the Queen and thinking he has a second chance to being threatened/blackmailed while in a vulnerable state. In a social situation where he has to watch the woman he cared for willingly marry another, after carelessly disregarding him.

and Beesbury, I’m gonna need to expand on his relationship with Alicent for a bit:  Criston has spent nearly 20 years watching as she tries to adhere to her values and duty while Viserys (who she ends up taking care of) and co. abuse and humiliate her.  Like Alicent (and Aemond and Otto), I’m sure he’s tired of watching the Targs they have to serve get away with things that would get them killed. And still they’re held to a higher standard than the Targaryens who rule and use them. So when Beesbury accuses her of regicide, he sees it as his duty to protect her and the sacrifices she’s had to make. 

Beesbury's death is presently differently in the text, too. Grand Maester Orwyle, who was present, claims he was arrested and died of a chill in the black cells. Although this can still be interpreted as lack of care, it's more reasonable than outright murder. Septon Eustace, who was NOT present, claims Ser Criston slit Beesbury's throat, so you know. 🤷‍♀️ At least for this action, they had something to go on. I think that in the show he is trying to make him sit back down and ~accidentally~ uses too much force on him.

What I find interesting is that Orwyle is supposed to give an account that is more biased towards Rhaenyra and he claims that Beesbury was arrested, whereas Eustace is supposed to be more biased in favour of Aegon and he claims Beesbury was killed on the spot.

Though I do have to mention the ridiculousness of HOSUE BEESBURY OF HONEYHOLT, A REACH HOUSE, SIDING WITH RHAENYRA. 😐

 I feel like they validate each other and the people they want to be. It must be exhausting being surrounded by people who do what they want for pleasure over duty. Their bond makes them feel less lonely and maybe even less stupid/naive: “I have to believe, that in the end, honor and decency will prevail. We need to hew to that and to each other.” (That’s why their scene in the Godswood took place during a wedding, they’re practically married imo 🙊 it’s a play on the nuclear family.)

Yes! It is telling that Alicent's interruption of Criston's planned suicide takes place under a weirwood tree (considered sacred) and the frames are interposed with imagery from Rhaenyra's wedding! She's also filmed a little in the distance and has to walk towards him off-screen - kind of like walking towards the altar (i.e. weirwood) to her groom, whose new life begins with her by his side. They're cute. 💚

Sorry for the essay lol, my reblog function is nonexistent on my phone idk why and I clearly had a lot to say. You’re the best for entertaining this tangent 💚.

No worries! You're very welcome, lol. I'm glad to see a fellow fanon revisionist. 😅

#ask #criston cole #writerswhy