#I'm so glad you guys like the way I portray the bros!

[elitadream]

"Nothing can hurt us as long as we're together." ❤️💚

#In response to a very kind ask I've gotten the other day 🥰 #I'm so glad you guys like the way I portray the bros! #The feedback is always immensely appreciated 🥺🙏 #Mario #Luigi #Mario Bros #family #warmth #comfort #affection #good siblings #fanart

[roninkairi]

MOVIE REVIEW- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Mild Spoiler Alert About Phoebe Included)

Let me get something off of my chest before we begin: I've been apprehensive about taking sites like Rotten Tomatoes or IGN seriously when it comes to reviews. I mean, I am aware that the purpose of the former is to show the average score of a movie among critics but I rarely take it at face value. (Hence my enjoyment of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie") and as for the latter, the quick summary of their review gave off the wrong kind of vibes, as if the person who wrote it was expecting some sort of Citizen Kane level masterpiece. And I get it, a lot of people set their expectations for a Ghostbusters movie, ANY movie, high. MAybe sometimes a little too high. For me, a good indication of whether or not I want to see a film is how the trailer portrays it. When I saw the trailers for Madame Web, for example, I wasn't too sure if it was something ! would want to see willingly in the theaters and, judging by critic and audience responses, my decision not to see it was well founded. The trailers for Frozen Empire however had the opposite effect, and I'm glad it did, as it really is a good movie all things considered.

Taking place about 3 years after the events of "Afterlife", the story returns us back to NYC where it all began: The Spenglers and Gary Grooberson have moved into the firehouse and take over the operations of the business, while Winston has opened up a new research center in Brooklyn (seriously, Brooklyn? I'm sure Queens would have had some better spots nearby.) However, the story begins to pick up steam once Ray acquires a relic that houses something decidedly sinister and soon, it will require both new and old team members to stop the threat.

The main story of course focuses on Phoebe and her rather rebellious streak (yeah, we all reached that part in our teen years when we thought we knew better) but surprisingly enough, Ray is also part of the story as sort of a mentor figure to Phoebe and Podcast (who, like Lucky, have become interns in the company as a way to explain why they are in New York). Both of them find themselves in a situation where they are sidelined because of their actions out on the field but for different reasons. Its interesting to note since we never really got to see much of Ray's interactions in the first two movies (of course the video games counter this) and Phoebe's character is slowly fleshed out more; here she is quick to anger, seems more assured of herself and more impulsive, which gets her into trouble. In short: she's a teen with a unlicensed nuclear accelerator on her back and a chip on her shoulder. Oddly enough though, she is the one sibling between herself and Trevor who seems to have gotten more attention in the potential romance department. While it's good to see Lucky return, I wished they had tried to further the potential relationship between herself and Trevor, as hinted at in the end of the previous movie. But for the purposes of the story, it's Phoebe and her maybe-girlfriend that we get to explore (yes, you read that right but I won't elaborate further since that is a big Twinkie to digest). Trevor gets relegated to a mini side story with an old ghost friend however...

That's another thing I wanted to touch on, the side stories themselves. Kumali Ali Nanjiani, one of the supporting cast members, said in an interview this movie drew inspiration from The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon series and in many aspects, it feels that way. The tone of each plot point, while seemingly independent, can at times feel like it could be part of a TV show narrative; from the cold opening to Ray's investigation into the legend of Garakka, if the film was indeed a portal into making a limited series it would fit right in. We are left with wanting to see more about the new lab that Winston has set up, the new tech guy, even more about the library but we only have so much time. And you want to see more of the Spengler/Grooberson family dynamic but we got an evil ghost god to contend with. Its a fun ride though, especially towards the end. But if we only got 20 MORE MINUTES, oh the possibilities. Does this mean its bad? No, its a good film. This is something you can definitely sit down and enjoy. But you will want more lore out of it. And hopefully when the next film comes out (and lets face it we will get one sooner or later) we will see the story take more risks. The good kind of risks too.

And MAYBE Phoebe and Trevor go on a double date.

#ghostbusters #ghostbusters frozen empire

[someone-you-do-not-know]

Howdy 📯 You got a minute to talk about nonsense with me? (it's fun, I promise :D)

For some reason, I got a feeling that you've already been asked this, but I shall ask you nonetheless

/You can imagine us both on a talk show, if you want/

Birds

Do you have a favorite birb? (Or any favorite animal for the matter?)

What inspired you ✨ to create Birdbrains? Specifically, Gilbert's au character. Because I know that that guy has always been associated with birds, but in the same time he only has Gilbird in canon. And you need to do a lot of research for every chapter to be able to portray a believable ornithologist. You captured his persona perfectly ✨ 👌, I had a friend who liked ornithology and they're always spraying people with random bird facts, it's so funny 😂

Speaking of which, is it hard to do research? There's so many details you put into these, it's so impressive

Was there any moment when you for a reason decided to just come up with your own fact? Were there many? 😈 or not?

Your bits are hilarious, how much time does it take to come up with a joke?

And lastly, what is your favorite bird fact? 🐦

Thank you for answering, here's some sweets 🍭🍬🍫 :)

I think you're severely overestimating my popularity, no one's asked me these questions before.

I do have a favourite bird! And a favourite animal too! My favourite bird is a raven! And my favourite animal is a bat – not any specific kind of bat, but the very concept of them! I also really like snakes. I am perfectly aware those are all... edgier animals, but when I was in third grade, we had to do a project on our favourite animal, and I didn't want to do a cat or a dog (or a horse), so I settled on a bat. Maybe I was always a little edgy?

Look at the pretty raven, it's so clever and pretty.

Just as I wrote in the tags for the first part of Birdbrains, I really did look at a duck for a little too long. Then I thought about the Bad Friends Trio and how they're always portrayed as these cool guys who everyone likes... And Gilbird... And then it clicked. I was struck by the insane thought "wouldn't it be funny if the BFT were bird watchers?" Then I of course had to have spamano, and I always liked prucan – how to make them connected? platonic romerica and North American bros, of course. Why they would meet? Well, hunting and birdwatching take place in the same areas... And in some odd 20 minutes after looking at a duck, the outline for Anatinae was formed in my brain. The Gilbird – Gilbert connection is what carries this entirely, that and the fact that Gilbert is actually not awesome, he's a losernerd who's not afraid to show it, and that makes him awesome. I'm SO glad you say I captured the ornithology spirit, because I don't actually know any bird watchers or ornithologists. 🥲

The research is part of why I haven't managed to write the next part (fruk being idiots who are hard to write is the other reason). For every single main part of birdbrains, I read through the wikipedia page for the chosen bird, spend time to figure out the subfamily for the bird, research symbolism and actual bird behaviour of the bird in question... It's a lot. For most, I've had 4-5 dedicated pages open for research purposes. While writing Cyanocoracinae, Youtube even began recommending me videos of blue jays, because I had watched a few videos to learn what their calls sounded like. It's a stupidly large amount of research – and bald eagles have no excuse for how hard it was to find their subfamily. Subfamilies are apparently a little bit of a strange label in the first place, but at this point all main parts has to end with -nae, because I think it has a nice ring to it.

So far, I don't think I've come up with my own facts. Misunderstood things, grossly simplified the difference between ravens and crows, and taken symbolism, jokes, and metaphors way too seriously – sure. Pheasant bashing is purely based on how fucking dumb all the pheasants I've ever seen are. Those birds want to die. But I try to stay true to reality, in case there's an ornithologist Hetalian out there. I don't want them to get mad at me for not knowing my stuff. XD

The jokes though. I'm glad you think they're funny! The jokes aren't that hard to come up with. Most are puns, after all, and some of them I think of while researching. Generally, I just go with whatever would be sillier. I live off of the silly.

My favourite bird fact is a bit hard, because there's so many in my head at this point. But last year when I went to Jungfraujoch in Switzerland, I learned about the alpine chough (there's just something about black corvids), and how it nests at a higher altitude than any other bird. Their eggs have adapted to this low oxygen atmosphere, and has a smaller loss of water too. Not to sound like Gilbert, but they're really cool.

Thank you for the candy! <3

#I also have a favourite bird joke and it's not even remotely funny #It will appear in birdbrains eventually #prussianbluevanilla #thank you for the ask! <3 #writing fanfiction #my fanfiction #birb c: #being silly

[chloecherrysip]

What are your opinions on Peach’s portrayal in the movie? Would you have written her any differently?

Overall, I personally liked it! Her portrayal was definitely very DIFFERENT than game!Peach, and I can understand why some fans can't really get behind this alternate characterization - I think Peach is the one character where the portrayals are SO different that you really have to think about them as separate characters VS the others where you can pretty easily bridge a gap between the movie version and the game version. Also, uh, most of the dialogue/writing for her was fairly bland, I will say. I think more time and longer conversations between characters would have done wonders here (lol my main complaint with the entire movie) but overall, the way they wrote her lines felt a tad...underbaked, to say the least. I hope they'll improve on that in a sequel!!

BUT! Ever since I was a very tiny child, I have yearned for scenarios of Peach fighting and saving herself and handling Bowser all on her own, and I am EXTREMELY grateful that this movie actually follows through with that and doesn't fully play into the more traditional damsel in distress scenario after setting Peach up as more capable and combat-experienced!!! Because one of my LEAST favorite modern tropes with portraying women is when a story sets up a female character as extremely badass and capable and able to kick all the bad guy's butts...but that's only in the opening scenes where it doesn't matter, don't worry, she'll be rendered completely helpless during the important stuff because, clear the way, the MAIN MALE CHARACTER/LOVE INTEREST (that she usually trained herself) is here to be the star now! And I was afraid that's where we were going here when Peach was captured - which is why I found it SO delightful that she had her own plan and we get this awesome scene of her not only taking Bowser out of commission (temporarily), but also fighting her way through a horde of enemies AND stalling the prisoners' descent long enough for Luigi and everyone to be saved! It is a MARIO BROS MOVIE, of course, not a Peach movie, which is why the rest plays out as it does and she does take a backseat, understandably, but the fact that they let her have this moment all to herself when they could have easily written something more traditional where Mario swoops in and breaks up the wedding meant a lot to me (and that younger version of me).

(And just to be clear, this is not me saying that this version of Peach is superior in any way to game!Peach. I have always loved Peach! I'm just glad the movie didn't try to have it both ways. Either make Peach her sweet, gentle, non-fighting focused self who is in need of rescue and there's nothing wrong with that OR make her much more combat-ready and follow through on that characterization to the logical conclusion (instead of having the character spout off "tough" ultimately empty lines while never actually getting to prove herself)!!! They chose the latter, and that works for me! But I know it doesn't for everyone.)

I also liked her being a little more excitable and silly while still having proper, delicate mannerisms in a lot of places (I especially like how she carries herself/doesn't back down when they arrive at the big Kong door) and her interactions with Mario. If it was me writing the movie, I probably would have punched up her sweetness and poise a BIT more and (again) fleshed out her dialogue to have more life and nuance to it than just Efficient Plot-Forwarding Information At All Times but overall, nothing major!

Again, I totally understand people who were frustrated by how at odds it felt with the games! I think I just see the character now as two alternate versions that I enjoy and appreciate pretty equally for different reasons. :)

#mario movie #mario movie spoilers #super mario bros movie #super mario bros movie spoilers #princess peach #cherrysip hc's & rambling #i think my biggest question now is: what happens to peach's portrayal in the games moving forward? #does nintendo start to change some things or do they march on with their typical plotlines #even if young new fans come in because of the movie and are a little confused? #we will see! #(also sorry this is long and there's no good place to cut I CAN'T SHUT UP ABOUT ANYTHING EVER)

[serrurie]

Getting Your Life Together: Day 3- Speech And Dignity

Hello, friends!

I hope you've learned to embrace your smile, based on the last post. Are you feeling beautiful yet? You should. If you don't I'll tell you that you're beautiful, and that isn't coming from some random internet person; through God's eyes, we are all beautiful. Let's get into it.

Today is day three of 'Getting Your Life Together: Day 3- Speech And Dignity'. In the comments of this post, before we even dive deeper, just give me a sentence that sounds like how you talk in real life; NOT how you type on the internet, because this is how people talk on the internet:

'bro I did this when I was like 9 lol'

'oop really'

'dat real bad'

(I'm sorry it's so cringy, forgive me). But, you get the idea, right? We're looking for some real-life treatment. Talk to me like you would in real life, not like I'm some stranger you met on TikTok. How do you see me? As an acquaintance, you'd like to know better? As an opponent getting in your way? As a stranger that's already ticking you off? Please, reflect on your comment! It will be crucial to today's post.

See friends, our words do not simply portray our personalities, or where we're from; they also portray how we treat other people in our lives, how we feel on the on the inside. Do you treat yourself with quality? How about others? These are all things that can be found in our speech. And I don't know about you, friends, but I want to sound confident, and valuable when I'm trying to make a friend. So, set down the curse words and pack away the self-diminishing jokes; you are worth so much more than that. So, here are some tips to dignify others and yourself with what you say:

1) No cussing. Cussing is vulgar, and very far away from elegance. I can't see someone going for a 'pink' or 'soft girl' aesthetic saying words that diminish what they're trying to say with a bunch of things a guy at a pub (in a movie) would say. Even if you are going for a different vibe, such as weirdcore or goth, it's more professional and mature to speak without cussing. That being said, don't sound like a five-year-old by using things like 'poopy-head' or 'butt-sandwich'; that just makes you sound childish. Choose words carefully; there are better ways to express yourself that aren't cussing or toddler speech.

2) Be positive. I know, I know; there's just so much to complain about, right? Well, there's a lot to be grateful for, too! Instead of saying, 'My dumb brother hit his head playing football,' say, 'I'm so glad my brother is okay!' I know that positive people may be annoying, but people are also attracted to those who lift them up! So, be that positive person! Lift other people up with kind words and thankful remarks! I recommend making a 'Gratitude List' of all the things you are thankful for.

3) Don't be too loud or quiet. I'll give you two conversations between you and a person. Let's see which one you like:

  a. You: Hi, Tessa! What do you think you're getting here?

      Tessa: OOOOOooooooHHhhHHHHHHhhh! I think that I'M going to get a SCONE! How DELISH! This place is ADORABLEeeeeeeeEEEEEEeeEEEEEeeeeEE!

b. You: Hey, Marie Anne! What do you think you're getting here?

    Marie Anne: Well...uh..maybe a cookie....i. I dunno...

Who would you want to talk to for longer? If you are a normal person, probably neither. This is why it's important to keep a normal, presentable volume. You don't want to be too over-the-top and throw someone off, but you don't want to tick someone off by being too quiet to hear; being too loud makes you seem oblivious, and being too quiet makes you seem underconfident. 

4) Add emotion when you speak. Being monotone makes people want to DIE of boredom when they listen to you. I used to have a teacher who had a HUGE room that left plenty of space for projection and enunciation, but he instead spoke as if he was talking flatly to only one person. He's a nice teacher, no hate, but make sure your voice has a range of vocals. Make sure to move your face, too. This is a personal struggle for me as well; but it's fine, since we can work through it together!

Now, go back to your comment. After reading these tips, do you think you are hospitable? No one should change themselves, because you are all amazing, but as people, we mustn't throw people off; there is light inside of you, and you need it to shine!

Reflection:

Write down a couple of sentences or as much as you like. See how you sound, and practice your sentences in a mirror. Look at your face; does it reveal your emotions? How about your tone; does it move up and down? These are all things to practice, friends. Remember, I'm here with you, every step of the way; remember when you feel embarrassed that I'm doing it too!

I love you!

-Serrurie

#new tumblog #so beautiful #kindness #self help #love #self love #truth #hope #life #reality #think about it #much to think about #thought #mistakes #lifestyle #real life #life quotes #get up #hello tumblr #new tumblr #talk #talk to me #question #talkin talkin #talking

[what-if-nct]

hey joyce, how have you been lately? i hope you are doing well. i haven’t managed to get any asks in lately because my life has been really overwhelming, in good and bad ways. i finally got back to in person classes after being virtual for 2 - 3 years, so no more loneliness and isolation, but me having social anxiety and being introverted has kinda stunted me from going “out there” socially. i did make a few new friends tho :) *pt 1*

since the school year is wrapping up i have finals this and next week, and i am so burnt out i can’t even function properly, like this morning, i went to wrong class all the way across campus, but i was unsure if i had that class so i went back to my dorm, then stirred up the courage to go ask, only find out i was in the wrong class, so i had to walk across campus (again) to get to the right class. i did get clowned for that by my friends, but i love them anyways. *pt 2*

also i found out i’m pan, not bi because of this new nonbinary kid in one of my classes that i might have a crush on. they complimented my digital art, and said they dabbled in it too, and i’m falling so hard. i want to get to know them better before confessing tho. (sorry for so many parts, the ask box will only let me type so much) *pt 3*

i think my depression has gotten better, at least that’s what my therapist told me, and from all the walking ive been doing, i gotten in better shape, so less body insecurities, yay! this month has been a whirlwind for me,(im kinda being dramatic here) but i'm so glad my life has changed for the better. thanks for hearing me out. feel free to get anything you need to off of your chest, or just tell hhow things have been lately. be well! -🌿

I'm so happy to hear your doing better and since it's been a few years since you've been in in person classes it's understandable, it's your first time out in the world since the unfortunate events occured. But I'm sure as you get more comfortable being back around people. it'll get a little easier to be more social. I'm so sorry to hear you've been burnt out. Just breath and remember you're almost there and you'll have a whole summer to destress and hang out with all your new friends and even make more. And yes being friends first will also make any connection even stronger. And I hope everything continues to get better for you.

And I'm fine. I actually talked to a boy on the phone in the first time in a long time. And I was just giggling, curled in a ball on my couch. And he's cute and really sweet and a weird mix of the type of guys I attract. Like sweet awkward gentle anime nerd and the straight forward only here for one thing. It's interesting! He looks like Brandon from Prettymuch. Honestly in Miami the members of Prettymuch represent the dating pool here. I always end up with a Brandon, Nick and for sure an Austin. Speaking of Prettymuch I always forget they have a song with NCT Dream, pretty much about getting consent, it's beautiful. There should have been an mv cause it didn't get the recognition it deserves. Also I watched Pam & Tommy on Hulu and couldn't finish it. one, the way Pamela is betrayed just doesn't feel right. It made me angry how the actress portrayed her. Also what's with current media and the unnecessary penises I am not a prude at all. Trust me. Every Snapchat I receive is a penis I see them everyday. But like why the fuck was it talking!? And Pam didn't want any part of it that should have stopped me but I was curious. I couldnt finish it. Yo I once met a guy who looked just like Logan Paul but with brown hair. But he liked feet.....I'm not proud of that moment of my life. I'm also ashamed I know the lyrics to everyday bro. Not Logan's songs though he knows how to make catchy songs don't judge me. I could not keep a single train of thought. Im sorry. It's really nice to hear that despite some harder things you're doing really well. I'm so happy for you.

[pub-lius]

Yo I haven't read Chernow's bios for a while and they were really my first introduction into the AmRev and shit but anygay- Could you give me a quick list of some of the reasons he's shitty at this? I know he is but it's been years and yeah

I am so. glad. you. asked. I have been compiling a mental list of his bs for the past year. (I'm only going to speak on Alexander Hamilton because it's the only one I've read so far).

Now, let me say a few nice things about the bastard before I talk about why I hate him. He goes really in depth, and I appreciate at least someone making the effort. He's clearly put a lot into his writing, and as a writer, I can appreciate that. He's also done a lot of research, and you can't not respect that. He's also very eloquent and clearly a very intelligent person. I don't think he shouldn't have written history books, since they are very influential books that have a lot of information, but they're still shit <3 (just my educated opinion)

Despite all the research he clearly does, he really wants you to believe whatever story he decides is the most entertaining. A lot of the time he will over exaggerate certain aspects, burying the facts of the matter in his ideal version of the events. Most authors prioritize the facts, and then give what they think might be the most accurate. Chernow still proposes alternative explanations, but in such small degrees that you've forgotten them by the end of the paragraph.

Speaking of paragraphs, he has too many. So many of them are repeating the same information, and not adding anything substantial. I know I'm not the best with brevity myself, but holy shit bro, shut up. His book could be easily cut in half if he just. stopped. talking. about. THE SAME THINGS

Also, for a man with such definite claims, he certainly cites a lot of other secondary sources. He does cite a lot of primary sources too, but there are. so many secondary sources in his notes and bibliography. I don't have as much of a problem with this, it just makes it hard to find definite evidence of the stories he tells.

We also need to talk about his glorification, of Hamilton and Washington specifically, more so Washington. He acknowledges some things Hamilton did wrong (at least at the point where I am in the book, which at the beginning of the 1790s, before a lot of Hamilton's controversy), but he largely glosses over them. He also exaggerates Hamilton's abolitionist beliefs. With Washington, he glorifies him a lot more. Now, Washington is very easy to glorify, since you can justify most things with "he was trying his best", but he still wasn't perfect, or even close. He was kind of a dickbag sometimes.

Also he has a weird obsession with giving Hamilton and Burr a lovers to enemies storyline, it's really annoying. Every five seconds he's like "here's what's CRAZY guys... while hamilton was having explosive diarrhea... burr was.... TAKING A PISS!!!!! ISNT THAT CRAZY THAT THEY WOULD BOTH USE A CHAMBERPOT AT THE SAME TIME AND THEN DUEL EACH OTHER??????" Which kind of makes it seem like Burr and Hamilton were more connected throughout their entire lives, when uh, they weren't. Like at all. And it makes it seem like Burr betrayed Hamilton, which explains why the musical makes him look like some kind of Judas.

Also I hate the way he talks about the women in Hamilton's life. Especially Eliza and Angelica. He makes it seem like they only existed to further Hamilton's empathetic, but horny character that he's trying to portray. The way he talks about them makes it seem like they weren't their own people. (i feel like i don't even need to mention how he dedicated half a chapter to Hamilton and Angelica's alleged emotional affair, but only a page to his relationship with John Laurens, who maintained, at the very least, a homoerotic "friendship" for like six years. whoops i did it anyway).

Now, part of me wants to go chapter-by-chapter calling out his bullshit, but these pretty much sum up the entire book (or at least the half I've managed to struggle through) because it is. SO. REPETITIVE. It's just the same things, but slowly moving through the timeline at a snails pace. I highly dislike Chernow's writing, and I don't recommend it if you already have a good understanding of whatever his book is about, but if you want to learn a lot of information from one source, go for it!! You'll learn a lot of really interesting things, just keep in mind that his writing isn't the most accurate, and to always fact check historical facts even if they're not Chernow. It's very important to try to be as accurate as possible when dealing with real people (unless ofc you're not portraying it as truth). Question everything, it's how you learn!!

I hope this helps, and thanks for the ask, bestie!!!

#alexander hamilton #george washington #ron chernow #books #american history #history #literature #sorry this is long #but you triggered my primal instincts

[transsexualhamlet]

Moriarty the Patriot + The Final Problem

aka another unecessary essay from ya boy on how yuumori, instead of taking away from the original text, adds meaning and depth to it

So I finally got around to reading the final problem after wading through all the memoirs of sherlock holmes and yes, I am in fact reading these because of yuumori. I wanted to see how it was portrayed, what the differences and influences from the original source were. I did end up getting incredibly attached to the original series too, so yeah... I'm glad to report that the original and adaption get along well.

And yeah, I have a lot of thoughts, most of them being just me generally praising yuumori. I think it was straight up genius how they pulled so much content from... well, frankly. The Final Problem was a 15 page short story tossed off by Doyle in order to have an excuse to be done with sherlock holmes, told from the perspective of someone who wasn't even there. And yuumori still managed to make it generally very accurate and complementary to the original, while still being, uhhhhh really fucking different, let's say that.

Read more because again, long essay

Just my observations on the final problem itself is that it is so underdeveloped and told from an outsider perspective. Because of that, so many questions go unanswered, and the reader gets a sense that they are only witnessing a very small part of what actually happened. Sherlock can't afford to go into detail on what Moriarty was even involved in, Watson isn't privy to what's honestly even happening most of the time, and Moriarty just... has this extensive network of organized crime that just isn't even talked about other than Trust Me It's Bad Bro. We don't know Moriarty's intentions, most of who he is, and more questions are honestly brought up than answered within the story. Sherlock knows, oh that's for sure, Sherlock knows what's going on and he has no fucking time to tell Watson. You get a sense that Watson himself isn't even telling all that went down.

So yeah, I can see where there's so much room to expand upon here, not even to change things or make it different because it would be cool, but there's so much that could be happening just within the realm of plausible deniability in the canon.

And I think that it's amazing how Yuumori chose to market itself that way- not as an adaption or reimagining- but that this was in fact the Real story, with Doyle's final problem being... honestly a bit of a cover up, a purposeful misrepresentation of a small slice of the full story. It lends itself completely to that, and I think that's amazing.

(One thing I do find funny is that in Yuumori the story "the final problem" is depicted as a full novella that could be published on its own... man it's not nearly long enough for that but I find it funny in any way)

Of course, there are elements of yuumori that are yknow, simply not realistically something that could have happened, but most of the story is actually within that range of plausible deniability since the canon is so vague and sparse. And since they state that things were changed on purpose to protect people and the moriarty plan, it basically covers that all as simply The Truth. It's well done, and very interesting, especially with the new anime ending taking them to Reichenbach itself.

Like, yuumori didn't even truly change the appearances of the characters, from the descriptions. (we're not counting the illustrations lol) like, Sherlock was never stated (as far as I can tell) to have a specific hair or eye color, hairstyle or such.... he was described as tall, thin, eccentric, messy, with like... long fingers and stuff. Man, yuumori did not go against that. With Moriarty it's different, though he was also reportedly Tall and Thin and Built Like A Yaoi Protag for some goddamn reason, he... you know, has these weird and unattractive features as well, which... in the context of Watson trying to portray Moriarty as unmitigated evil in order to protect the plan, were in this situation made up specifically to further the idea that he was just that.

Because of this situation, the Moriarty that is portrayed as yeah, a smart guy and a threat but seriously just A Bad Dude who seems to have no particular reason behind his actions save being A Bad Dude actually make more sense as a cover up behind a more dangerous secret of him having Real Feelings than the only stated reason being "he inherited being evil from his family". (like... watson, really?)

It explains the vagueness and the events and the weird connection between those two better than the original does, and that's really cool to me.

On their own, without yuumori to back me up on these things, reading this would have left me confused and depressed. But as a half truth immortalized as the real story, you get so much more out of it.

Especially these certain scenes:

When Moriarty just pops into Sherlock's house and they proceed to have a basically wordless conversation amounting to

"you know why I'm here" "you know how I'm going to respond" "well then" "here's date and time of our mutual destruction" "thanks I'll be there" "well I'll be off nice knowing you" "wow it sucks that we're enemies he's such a civil guy"

It just really adds something to that, don't you think?

And the subject of their fall itself, simply the fact that Watson wasn't even there. No one witnessed it. No one found even Moriarty's body. No one found evidence of anything at all.

All Watson could say was that Sherlock and Moriarty had gone up to the mountain together, Moriarty told Sherlock of his plans, let Sherlock write and leave a letter to Watson, and that they never came back down. So he came to the conclusion that they must have fought and both fallen off.... like, holding each other. Not really sure how they reached that conclusion, to be honest.

It doesn't even make sense, exactly told how it is. If Moriarty wanted to kill sherlock and survive, he would have just... brought a fucking gun. Or just pushed him off on the way up. As soon as he got him alone just fucking stab the man. It would have been that easy, but no, he had a whole ass convo with the man, they went up civilly side by side, and they stayed on the cliff a long time while Sherlock wrote that letter. Even then, Sherlock could have just waited to catch Moriarty off guard and pushed him off. But he didn't.

Why would they even have fought, if it was so scheduled? You telling me to believe that after this letter was written and moriarty stood there watching him sipping tea or whatever he was suddenly like "ok im ready to fight now", knowing they would both probably die, and if they were genuinely trying to kill each other and survive, that would even make sense?

Of course, these problems in the original stem just from Doyle no longer giving a shit and slapping this together after losing motivation for sherlock, he was obviously, not hinting at some great conspiracy in the slightest.

But damn, Yuumori really does change that all for you, huh. It adds a whole new layer of context to it. And I like it a lot, I like what they've done on their own, I like what they've done for the original stories, and I especially like what they've done telling the "real story" of this short, vague, mystery that otherwise leaves you feeling unsatisfied and confused.

#rowan's hyperfixation essays #moriarty the patriot #yuukoku no moriarty #sherliam #sherlock holmes #rowan views moriarty

[angelikook]

How to Find Your Soulmate

Pairing(s): Non-idol!Namjoon x reader

Genre: Tooth-rotting fluff, teensy bit of angst

Word Count: 10.2k

Warning(s): None

Summary: Where a journey to find his soulmate took a different turn.

A/n I wrote this as a spur in the moment thing, but it surprisingly came out really well.

The familiar sound of keys jiggling from his front door was a sure sign that he was about to lose whatever amount of peacefulness in his tiny apartment. As he braced himself for what was about to come, the door swung open and came in the person he had been waiting for.

Y/n was her name. Peculiar, wild, and random. Her hair basically could represent her entire personality. Unruly, messy, and out of control. She'd been a loner for most of her lifetime. Definitely a big believer in “I’m a strong independent woman who doesn’t need no man”.

It also came as a surprise to Namjoon when he couldn’t help but to be attached to her a long time ago when they were kids. And ever since that, he had gained a new best friend. Or more like the best friend since he didn’t have that many best friends to begin with.

“Joon, let’s go! We have things to do.” Y/n grabbed on his arm and tried to pull him up from his slouched position on his couch. The couch that became worn out so quickly for its rather frequent use whenever he was stressed.

In his defense, it wasn’t his fault that the couch was so comfy.

Failing to pull him up, Y/n groaned in frustration. “Come on! There’s a bazaar downtown that I wanna check. Can’t have me go alone at this time, right?”

“I don’t wanna get up. Let’s just watch Netflix,” he said as he turned on the TV.

Y/n snatched the remote from his hand and turned the TV back off. “Nope. Let’s go. Tomorrow is Saturday anyways, you can watch the TV all you want.”

Namjoon sighed. “What do I get for this?”

Y/n grinned and cupped her cheeks. “You get to spend time with me.”

“Ugh, I don’t want that,” he teased as he pulled himself up from the couch. “I'm tired of seeing your face.”

“You, mister.” She jabbed her finger at him. “Owe me a boba tea, remember? Now is the perfect time to redeem yourself.”

“Remind me not to wake you up again on Sunday mornings.” He shuddered at the memory of seeing bed headed Y/n screaming on top of her lungs, telling him not to wake her up from her beauty sleep or whatever.

“Are you seriously wearing that, though?” he asked as he eyed Y/n’s outfit.

She still wore the same outfit that she had worn since this morning. There was a noticeable coffee stain on her left cufflinks, indicating she probably had bumped her mug with her hand by accident. Her skirt was already crinkled especially on the bottom part. Disclaimer, he totally did not just check her out. Her heels made her feet red and look swollen. They clearly cut off her circulation, but somehow she insisted on wearing them anyways, claiming that she felt sexy and smart and beautiful in them.

“They look uncomfortable,” Namjoon had commented one day after noticing how her heels made Y/n walk weirdly. “Why don’t you just wear sneakers?”

Y/n scoffed, as if what he had said was ridiculous. “Real women don't wear sneakers to work, Joon.”

“Whatever you say, Y/n.” Namjoon had tried hard to stop the urge of rolling his eyes.

Ever since that, he didn’t even want to talk about her heels. “Let her suffer if she wanted that,” he always reminded himself.

Y/n walked to his full-length mirror inside his room and stared at herself. “What’s wrong with this?”

“Just change into more comfortable clothes,” Namjoon said from the living room. “You’d look out of place."

With that, Y/n closed the bedroom door behind her and grumbled. “This is perfectly fine. People do go out after work to a bazaar.”

She actually said more than that. Way more. But at this point, he didn’t even bother to listen to her. It wasn’t like this was his first time ignoring her blabbers. And he was pretty sure she was used to it, too.

Minutes later, Y/n came out to the living room wearing Namjoon’s hoodie and sweatpants. She even managed to find a pair of his sandals that he thought was gone. Sure her outfit now swallowed her, but at least it was more comfortable.

“Alright, let’s go!” was the last thing she said before they left his apartment.

A boba tea and a corn dog later, Namjoon and Y/n were walking aimlessly. They were just following the direction other people were taking, not really sure themselves where they would end up.

“Aren’t you glad I forced you out of that stuffy apartment?”

“Nope. I still rather be on my couch.”

Y/n frowned. “What?” She gestured to their surroundings. “This is so much better.” She saw a small bench and sat on it, gesturing to him to sit beside her. “I think you need to take a breather and just relax, my dude. Whatever problems you have at work, they don’t exist for now.”

“It’s easy for you to say that.”

Y/n slurped hard on her drink, trying to get as many bobas as possible into her mouth. “You-”. Chew. “-think too much-”. Chew. “-of things you can’t-”. Chew. “-control.”

“Okay, finish your drink first. That’s disgusting.”

Y/n laughed while trying to stop her bobas from coming out of her mouth. After succeeding to suppress her laughter, she chewed on the bobas thoroughly before swallowing them.

“You’re an overthinker who misses on great things in life just because you’re too caught up in your problems. And when you realize you missed those things, it’ll be all too late.” Y/n then continued finishing her drink in silence while he was registering what she just said.

He was so focused on his thoughts to the point he didn’t even realize when Y/n had left him to find a trash can. He was only drawn back to reality when Y/n came to him running and yelling his name in excitement.

Y/n spoke in rapid speed to the point she sounded like speaking gibberish. The only thing he heard was “fortune teller” before Y/n yanked on his hand and dragged him to a small kiosk.

The kiosk was mostly empty. No customers were surrounding it unlike other kiosks. But it wasn’t what set it apart from the others. It was the big letters in front of it that read “fortune teller” in big bold text. Inside, there was only one woman sitting, unmoving, seemingly reading something, a book maybe.

Aware of his and Y/n’s presence, the fortune teller looked up from the book and smiled at them both. Unlike what the media portrayed fortune tellers were, that they were scary and mysterious, her smile was warm and friendly.

“Is there something I can do?” The fortune teller closed the book and stood up.

“Yes!” Y/n replied. “My friend here-” She gestured to Namjoon “-wants to know his future.” After a few seconds of pause, she added, “And about his soulmate too, please.”

Before he could respond, the fortune teller beat him to it. “Very well.” The fortune teller cracked her knuckles before staring deep into his eyes. Her gaze somehow made him feel naked, vulnerable.

They hold their gaze for a while. As seconds became minutes, he felt breathless, and hot. The gaze that at first was soft but strong, became sharper and almost felt painful. But not long after, the fortune teller focused back at Y/n who stood still beside him, gawking at her. He could finally let out a breath that he didn’t realize he had been holding.

“From what I can tell, your friend is on the right track. He’s doing well, but he won’t be if he can’t appreciate the simple things in life,” the fortune teller explained. “As for his soulmate, he already knows who they are, he even knows where they are. The only thing left for him to do is just to figure it out within himself.”

The thing was, he didn’t believe in fortune tellers, astrology, and whatnot. He never even cared about things like that. But seeing Y/n’s grin and the glint in her eyes as she thanked the fortune teller and gave her a tip, he didn’t say anything against it. As much as Y/n called him boring, he wasn’t the type to burst people’s bubble of happiness.

Throughout the walk to Y/n’s apartment, she kept talking about what the fortune teller had said.

“Gosh, I can’t believe you know who your soulmate is.” Y/n lightly punched on his arm. “You never tell me anything.”

Namjoon shrugged. “What’s there to talk about? I don’t know who my soulmate is either. I apparently need to figure it out myself.”

“I know what we can do!”

This sounded like he was about to be in for a bad time. “What?”

“Let’s go do something different! Maybe you'll find your revelation or whatever.”

He really wanted to scoff. “How does that even work?”

“Don’t know. But it's worth a try. Do you want to figure out who your soulmate is or not?”

Of course he did. “Of course I do. What kind of question... ”

Y/n clapped her hands together. “Good! Tomorrow I’ll pick you up. Get ready for a week full of surprises.”

“Wait what? I never signed up for this.”

Y/n rolled her eyes. “You did sign up. You said you want to find your soulmate.”

“But not tomorrow!” he raised his voice in frustration. “We have work on Monday.”

“Just call your boss that you’ll be gone for a week.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Dude, bro, my guy, you need to live in the moment. Plus, you haven’t taken a leave in years. Years, Namjoon.”

He inhaled long and hard before exhaling it slowly. His best friend seriously was going to be the death of him.

“Please.” Y/n looked up at him. He suddenly became aware of the massive height difference they had.

It wasn't that Y/n was short. She said it herself that she was the average height although he didn’t really believe that. She just looked so tiny compared to him. But, on the other side, Namjoon was quite tall for a guy around his age.

He groaned. “Ugh, not the puppy eyes. Seriously.”

“Does that mean I win?” There was a soft gleam of hope in her eyes.

Namjoon was a strong man. At least, that was what everyone who knew him had said about him. So it was weird for the always composed and well mannered man to have a weakness. And to have that weakness took in the form of his childhood best friend was even weirder. What in his best friend that didn’t exist in literally anything that could melt his heart like no other? Puppies and kittens could never even compare. His cute bonsais, too, couldn’t even compare.

He might never find the answer to that. Heck maybe he found out about his soulmate before he could answer that. He could only shook his head in disbelief as Y/n put her bunny headband on his hair.

It was Saturday at 8 a.m, the morning after the fortune teller incident. Y/n simply invited herself into his apartment while he was still in the shower. It was one of the things he regretted after giving her the keys to his apartment. It was meant to be used during emergencies, not for her getting all cozy here and thinking this was her place.

He was walking out of the bedroom, fully dressed and ready for the day, when he heard a sizzling sound coming from the kitchen. He stepped closer to the kitchen and as it came into view, he saw Y/n cooking with her back facing him.

He thought he was being quiet, but apparently not because Y/n turned around and greeted him with a beaming smile.

"Morning! I'm making you some omelette and there's coffee on the table." She pointed at the mug on the table with smoke still puffing out of it. "Exactly two teaspoons as you like it." Then she continued cooking as if nothing had happened.

He was speechless as he looked at the mess in his kitchen. Egg shells on the floor, ketchup smeared all over the kitchen counter, and some puddles on the floor could be seen. It was as if a tornado just came.

“What is all this?” he asked when he finally found his voice.

Y/n carefully plated the omelette before proudly putting the plate beside the coffee. “This is what I call breakfast. Bet you usually only drink coffee in the morning.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. Look at the kitchen, Y/n! Who’s gonna clean up after this?”

Y/n took a look around the kitchen with a readable and all too familiar facial expression.

“I know what you’re gonna say,” Namjoon said as he took a seat. “And to that, I say, I don’t want to clean up your mess. You clean it up.”

She lifted her hands in surrender. “Fine, geez. A thank you would be nice.”

“You not making a mess would be appreciated.”

“Touché."

Usually when he had coffee in the morning, he felt that adrenaline rush. The kind that made you feel giddy, restless, and even made you tremble. This time, thanks to Y/n's cooking, he didn’t feel any of those. He was tempted to tell Y/n about this, but in the end, he just kept it to himself. He didn’t want to fuel her ego. It wasn’t a very good idea to do that so early into this “Journey to Find Namjoon’s Soulmate” or whatever Y/n had called it last night.

Even if he told him all those things, chances were she wasn’t going to listen to him as she was busy admiring her work on his hair. The bunny headband finally put on properly and held his hair away from his face.

“Have you ever put on a face mask before?” Y/n handed him a face mask.

“Umm, no.”

“Let me put it on you.” She smiled as she took back the face mask from his hand.

Within seconds, her trained hands successfully put the face mask on his face. And not long after, her face was also wearing one.

“We’re matching!” Y/n grinned at him. “Let’s take a selfie,” she said as she pulled out her phone.

He wasn’t big on selfies, he didn’t even remember the last time he took one. But seeing the huge smile on his best friend’s face was enough for him to reluctantly agree.

He forced a smile at the camera. He realized it looked awkward as Y/n shoved their photo in front of his face to show him the result. It looked even more ridiculous with the bunny headband on top of his head. However, the girl looked like she didn’t mind as she kept babbling on about how this was their first selfie in years and she wanted to upload it so bad.

“-will ask me about you. And what’s going to happen to me when you date one of them?”

A silence followed her ramblings until he realized she just asked him a question.

He cleared his throat. “First of all, just because I’m dating, doesn’t mean you can’t still be my best friend. Second of all, isn’t the purpose of this… adventure is to find my soulmate?”

Y/n eyes widened in realization. “You’re right! I’m gonna post it then.” As she was about to hit the post button on her phone, she looked at him. “Wait. What should I caption it?”

20 minutes later, when the once cold mask was no longer cold and it started to dry a bit, Y/n carefully peeled the mask from both their faces.

“What do you feel?” Y/n asked expectantly.

Namjoon didn’t even know how to answer that. Truth to be told, these skin care products never really made an impactful difference on his skin, hence the reason he didn’t have a skin care routine. The most he ever did was just wash his face with a face wash and even that was a leftover he found in his sister’s old room a few weeks after she left for uni. A side note, don’t even ask him why he was in her room, he wouldn’t answer it truthfully. His parents would probably say that he missed her, but he knew it wasn’t true… right?

The lack of response from him was enough for Y/n to catch on what he was feeling.

“You don’t feel anything, huh?”

“Wetness on my face.” His answer sounded more like a question.

“You’re unbelievable. Well, since today is just the first day, I’ll let it go. But, the correct answer to that is refreshed, Joon,” Y/n explained in exasperation as she scratched her head.

“What does that have to do with finding my soulmate?”

“You might find out your soulmate faster if you’re not stressed,” Y/n said as a matter-of-factly.

He sighed. “You know what, I don’t even bother to argue with you.”

“Cause you know I’m right.”

That night when he was about to fall asleep, when he was only half-aware of his surroundings, the memory of today’s activity played in his mind. The messy kitchen as his best friend attempted to make him breakfast. Her proud smile as she served his food. The focused look on her face when he was putting on her headband and the face mask on him. And lastly, the tired smile she offered him as she said goodbye when the day ended after they binge watched on Netflix. For the first time in years, he fell asleep with a smile plastered on his face.

The next morning on Sunday, he woke up much earlier than usual. He even woke up feeling energized. He could even feel anticipation bubbling inside of him. The last time he felt like this was when he was around 9 and his parents gave him tickets to Disneyland as a birthday gift. Simply put, he felt like a kid again, waiting for great things that were about to happen today.

As he smiled at the memories of his childhood, he couldn’t help but realize that maybe Y/n was right all along. She always nagged on him because all he did was to mope around on his old couch and get drunk when things got too hard.

“Live in the moment, dude,” she had said multiple times. “You worry too much like an old man who fears the end of the world.”

What a great metaphor, Y/n.

Just like the day before, Y/n entered his apartment without notice. But this time, instead of being in the shower, he was already dressed and waiting for her. He could feel his heart beat get faster when he heard the door being opened.

Y/n widened her eyes in surprise before she smirked. “I like the energy. Let’s just go, then!”

For the second activity in The Journey to Find Namjoon’s Soulmate, Y/n took him to an…

“Animal shelter?” Namjoon asked in disbelief.

Y/n nodded. “I want to see cute animals.”

“We can just go to the zoo.”

“It’s expensive. And they don't really care about animals."

Ever since the start of their friendship, he could never win against her wittiness. So this wasn’t really a rare occurrence where she said an argument so wrong yet so right.

“But a zoo is intended for exactly that purpose. Rather than you playing with those sheltered animals but not adopting one of them in the end,” Namjoon explained.

“Oh, shush. Stop being a party-” Y/n’s eyes suddenly caught a puppy running towards her. “Oh my God, come here, baby!” she yelled as she scooped the puppy up in her arms.

For a few minutes, it was just Y/n cooing at the puppy and he was just eyeing her in amusement. He knew that she would go mushy and all excited around animals, so he couldn’t really blame her for seemingly forgetting about him. Plus, he didn’t want to miss out on seeing Y/n using baby voices to talk to the animals.

His amusement was interrupted when Y/n abruptly shoved the puppy towards him.

“Wha-? I don’t-”

“Just take it. We’re here for you, not me.”

Namjoon sighed in defeat as he accepted the puppy into his arms. Its tail wagging so fast, going for miles per second, to the point he could feel its body shaking from the impact. Its big eyes looking up at Namjoon in… adoration? Maybe going to the shelter might be one of his favorite activities from now on.

They only went home after an entire day spent at the shelter. Namjoon was tired, he almost couldn’t keep his eyes open, but Y/n was probably more tired than him cause she kept running around to chase every puppy and kitten she saw.

He tried to stop her, knowing she would get tired, but she said, “Each one of them deserve love, okay,” before running around yet again.

Now as they sat in the bus on their way home, he saw out of the corner of his eyes Y/n’s head bobbing down every once in a while, following the motion of the bus. He snorted while he tried to hold his laugh. What he had thought would happen, really happened.

Feeling bad because he knew that would feel uncomfortable, he lightly directed Y/n’s head to rest on his shoulder. Instinctively, Y/n snuggled further into his shoulder to make herself more comfortable and when she was finally satisfied, she sighed.

This awfully looked like he was going to have a guest tonight.

The third day was on a Monday. He knew he was weird, Y/n had told him repeatedly, but he really liked Mondays. For him, it was finally the day in which he could do something about his problems at work that he just left off on Friday.

“I swear, you’re literally the personification of weird,” Y/n had commented one day.

To be honest, he didn’t really care if he was really what she had said. Can’t someone like something without being judged?

Right after they both woke up and had breakfast, Y/n went back to her apartment to get ready for the day.

Before leaving, she instructed him to find light clothes as they were going to spend time outdoors for the day. Exactly like what she said, he chose to wear an old t-shirt he had owned since he was in college and khaki shorts he found at the pit of his wardrobe.

“I hope they have mint choco flavor!” Y/n jumped up and down in excitement as they got closer to the ice cream parlor.

“Ew, why do you even like to eat cold toothpaste?” Namjoon asked rhetorically.

Y/n gasped. “What is this mint choco slander? You, mister, have never tasted life until you eat mint choco ice cream.”

“No, thanks. I bet I’d taste death eating those.”

Flabbergasted, Y/n stopped in her tracks and glared at him. “You-”

He quickly cut her off, “Let’s not continue the argument before there’s a bloodbath.”

Y/n chuckled proudly. “Because you know it’d be your blood that’ll be spilled.”

“Um, no,” he interjected. “I think you mistake your blood with mine.”

“Really? You wanna fight?” Y/n took a fighting stance in front of him in which Namjoon just grabbed her elbow and pulled her to walk again.

"Stop that! The kids will think you're one of them," he mumbled.

They were at a busy park surrounding a lake. Kids were running all around the place. Some parents tried to chase them but some went as far as scolding them. A small portion of parents even just let their kids disappear into the crowd of people. He doubted those parents even care about their kids.

He never knew such a place like this existed. During the three days he spent on this journey, he had learned and knew more things than all of his life experiences combined. Maybe he’d have to thank Y/n after they reached the end of this journey.

“I start to think this journey is just your excuse to have a holiday.”

“No way. This is totally 100% for you. Speaking of that, do you already have an idea who your soulmate might be?”

Namjoon shook his head as he opened the door to the ice parlor and gestured to her to enter first. “Just get your damn ice cream.”

There was a long line of people waiting to order, but soon enough, it was their turn.

Even before the cashier could greet them, Y/n already blurted out a question. “Do you have mint choco flavour?”

“We’re unfortunately ran out of it. Maybe you want to try mocha instead?”

Y/n pouted in disappointment as she was trying to find the next best flavor in the menu.

Though mint choco ice cream was his mortal enemy, he couldn’t help but to feel a pang of sadness upon seeing his best friend’s reaction. There was nothing worse than having your first choice unavailable.

“You know what? I changed my mind, bubblegum is now my favorite,” Y/n commented as they walked out of the parlor. A cup of bubblegum flavored ice cream in Y/n’s hand and the vanilla one in Namjoon’s. “Goodbye, mint choco.”

“See? You’re finally agreeing with me.”

“Yeah, but for different reasons. I still think it tastes good, but bubblegum is better. It’s a good thing they ran out of mint choco.”

“Your taste in ice cream is weird.”

“Why would they make these flavors then if not for me to enjoy?” she argued as she put more ice cream into her mouth. She closed her eyes and hummed in content. “I haven’t had ice cream in weeks. I miss how cold it feels.”

“I think you’re exaggerating.” There was no way, in his opinion, not even in alternate universes where she could stand not eating ice cream for weeks. She had a sweet tooth and couldn’t stand not eating ice cream in weeks, at least that was what he knew since the start of their friendship.

“Nope. These past few weeks, my boss has been giving me double the amount of work. I have to work overtime and by the time I’m off work, all ice cream places have closed. So I’m gonna savour all of this as much as I can. God knows when I can get ice cream again.”

Shortly after she said that, a kid, approximately around 9 years old, bumped into Namjoon and accidentally made him drop his ice cream. The kid, unaware of what just happened, just mindlessly bowing and saying sorry before running again to chase his friends.

“Oh no!” Y/n squatted down near the sorry sight of his ice cream.

Before he even registered what was happening, she handed him her ice cream. “Hold it for me.”

Instinctively, he held her ice cream. “Y/n, there’s no need for that. We can find the cleaning service and ask them to clean it.”

He didn’t know whether she was purposely ignoring him or she was so focused to the point she didn’t hear him. All he knew was the fact that she kept on cleaning up as best as she could. And that there was nothing he could do to stop her.

A few minutes later, Y/n jumped up from her squatting position. “All done!” She tossed the now dirty tissue in a trash can nearby.

She thanked Namjoon and took her ice cream back from him. But instead of eating it herself, she scooped some with the spoon and directed it in front of his face.

He must have looked bewildered because Y/n smiled and spoke, “We must share since you lost yours.”

He could swear when she said that, he felt warmth all around his body, originating from his chest. She just said she missed ice cream, yet when he lost his, she didn’t hesitate to share it.

“No, but thanks.”

Y/n frowned and softly touched the tip of the spoon to his lips. Reluctantly, he let her spoon-feed him.

“You said you want to savour it?” he asked after he swallowed.

Her answer, however, was something he never expected coming out from her mouth.

“What’s sweeter than eating ice cream is sharing it with your best friend.”

He swore he almost broke into tears at her words.

He knew how much she loved sweet foods. She even frequently ran to him crying when her brother ate all of her chocolate when they were kids. She broke many friendships because they didn’t want to accept her overpriced candies as presents. Heck, even a moment ago they were arguing about ice cream flavors!

This was a new side of Y/n that he just saw. A side she never showed him before, her best friend slash her only friend. He felt like he was learning more about Y/n than he was about his future soulmate.

So that was how their third day ended. Namjoon and her sitting on a bench facing the lake as they take turns to take a bite of her ice cream.

On Tuesday, the fourth day, Y/n had the genius idea of going on a road trip. It was a huge problem, because one: he couldn’t drive, and two: he wasn’t about to let Y/n drive for hours on end.

“This doesn’t sound like a very good idea,” Namjoon said for the millionth time that morning as Y/n stuffed their luggages into the tiny trunk in her tiny car. “Plus, I don’t think your car can withstand long hours on the road.”

"Shush." She forcefully closed the trunk. "You can't drive, therefore you don't deserve to have an opinion."

The car in question was a 2010 car that originally was owned by Y/n’s dad and given to her when she got a driver’s license. Please note that Y/n had told him long ago that she actually didn’t drive that much and probably wouldn’t need a car since she enjoyed taking the bus to work. Nevertheless, she refused to sell the car when she was in need of money after moving out of her parents’ house. She had said, and Namjoon still remembered it clearly, that, “I want to keep this bad boy until he’s an antique, then I want to sell him to the highest bidder, so I can be rich."

‘Okay’, Namjon had thought, ‘but antique cars are usually just sitting in the garage, not being overworked like Y/n’s.’ However, he never said anything, so Y/n automatically had thought she won again against him.

Minutes later, they were already on the road, going nowhere in particular. Namjoon was still steadfast in his stance. This wasn’t going to end well.

But what if he could persuade her to turn the car around by another means? He wasn't going to pass up this opportunity, so he tried again.

"Won't you be tired? Sleepy?" asked him.

"I'm not weak, Namjoon. Contrary to what you see me as, I'm as strong as you are, if not stronger."

"I lift three times a week." His words sounded more like a question.

"I walk up the stairs to the fifth floor multiple times a day."

Okay, this wasn't where the conversation was supposed to flow, but he wasn't going to back down.

"It's not my fault your apartment is crappy," he clapped back. “They can’t even fix their damn lift.”

"They will get it fixed soon, don't worry."

"That's what they said months ago!"

"Then what do you want me to do?" she challenged him.

"Find a new apartment!"

"They're all expensive. Plus, I’ve lived there since college, I’m kinda attached to it."

"You're a hopeless cause," he mumbled quietly, she probably didn't hear him.

After a few seconds of silence, Namjoon tried again, this time using another different approach.

"What if something terrible happens?"

"No, it won't. Relax. Chill. You're worrying too much. Why don't you just take a nap?"

"You're too chill, Y/n. We go out to nowhere without booking-"

"It's okay, really."

“How?” he asked, exasperated of how calm she was when they were about to go somewhere empty handed and with no planning whatsoever.

“How? Umm, I was on a road trip once.”

He wasn’t convinced. “When? You never tell me anything about it.”

“I don’t need to tell you everything I do! It was when I was 12. My dad and uncle took me along with them to go around the country.”

“12 years old, Y/n! You were 12. Now you’re in your 20s.” Namjoon wasn’t amused at all at this point. “Turn the car around now!”

“What? No!” Y/n exclaimed. “This is an important part of the journey. Being at a place you’re familiar with won’t help you dig deeper into yourself. You’d just be too preoccupied with your problems.” Then Y/n finished her speech off with a quiet mumble, “You’ll never find anything new by being in your comfort zone.”

Namjoon hated once again at how right her words were. He really wanted to argue with her, but she was right. Being on his couch all day, doing the same things everyday, wouldn’t change anything in his life.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Fine, okay, you win. Happy?”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Y/n grinned. “Very.”

That night they arrived at a small motel that probably only had like 10 rooms at most. It had a homey feeling, but the stench coming from the lobby, though. It was unbearable for him.

As they dragged their suitcases while they were trying to find their room amidst the numberless doors, Namjoon asked Y/n, “Why are we in this crappy motel again?”

To answer that, Y/n shrugged. “Don’t know. I just saw the signs and went straight in.”

“Didn’t you smell something at the receptionist?”

They finally arrived in front of their room. They didn’t actually know it was their room, but based on the instructions that the creepy receptionist just gave them, there was a high chance this was it.

Y/n answered as she opened the door. “Yeah. The receptionist actually whispered to me that they just finished eradicating rats. He said there was an infestation in the lobby.”

He couldn’t help but to grimace while following her into the room. She had been told about all of that and she still decided to rent a room. He would never understand her way of thinking even after years of friendship.

As if she could read his mind, she spoke, “Don’t worry. All the rats were successfully killed and all of them were in the lobby. We’re safe.”

“How do you know?”

“I asked him. I’m not stupid, Joon.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “Geez, chill. I just asked you a question.”

And that was how their fourth day concluded.

For the first time since the start of the journey, Namjoon finally initiated an activity on the fifth day.

He managed to browse on his phone for things they could do, eat breakfast with whatever food they had, and even pack lunch for the both of them before Y/n even woke up.

When she woke up, he hesitantly asked her to go hiking. Throughout the journey this far, he only followed wherever she wanted to go, so he didn’t really expect the reaction that he got from her after proposing his idea.

She widened her eyes as she digested his words and her breakfast. “Hiking? Where?”

“Behind this motel, there’s a small hill. What do you think?”

Y/n nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Let’s go. Spending a day with nature doesn’t hurt.”

Oh, how wrong she was.

The idea was for them to hike together, maybe even side by side, as they enjoyed the view. But instead, Namjoon left her a solid 50 meters.

Perhaps it was because he was taller, therefore he had longer legs and strides, or because he was excited, so he walked faster, or even both. No one really knew for sure, not even him.

“Joon!” she called once again in the span of less than 5 minutes. “Don’t walk too fast!”

Namjoon sighed as he stopped in his tracks, waiting for her to catch up with him. She was lucky she was his only best friend or he would’ve strangled her by now because of her naggings.

Quite a surprise to himself, when she finally caught up with him, he squatted down and ordered her to ride on his back. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him, but he just went with it. Maybe his unconscious thought that she would quit complaining if she was on his back. There was only one way to find out.

“Why? I can walk on my own.” She wiped the sweat on her forehead with a tissue.

He scoffed. “You look like you’re about to pass out any second. Just shut up and let me carry you.”

He didn’t know what he had expected from giving someone a piggyback ride and that someone to be Y/n, but he was sure a strangling grip around his neck wasn’t part of the deal.

“Can you-” Gasp. “-not strangle me?”

Y/n immediately let go of him. The warmth of her embrace suddenly disappeared. “Oops. Sorry.”

Once they arrived at the top, Y/n jumped off his back. “Woah, this is so cool.” She pointed at the motel that now looked small. “That’s our motel!” she exclaimed.

They found a large flat rock that they both could sit on and ate lunch together.

As she munched on her food, she asked, “Have you figured out who your soulmate is?”

“Not yet. I start to think this doesn’t work.”

“Good things take time, my dude.”

Oh, how he really wished it was true.

“Hey,” Y/n’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Do you know that I always wanted to tick off ‘hiking’ from my wishlist?”

“The wishlist you had since you’re 10?”

She nodded. “After more than a decade, I finally finished everything on my wishlist.” She suddenly broke into a fit of giggles. “I’m gonna make a new one once we’re home.”

“What’s going to be in it?” he asked curiously.

Y/n took a moment to think before answering, “Maybe… to find my soulmate.” It came out more like a question rather than an answer.

She abruptly chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if in the end we figure out our soulmates in this journey?”

A lightning fast thought struck him but disappeared just as fast as it came. Throughout the rest of the day, he was trying to recall that thought to no avail.

The next day, on Thursday, they were going home. They couldn’t handle another hour, no scratch that, they couldn’t even handle another minute at the motel. Opposite to what Y/n had initially thought, the stench of rat carcass reached far beyond the lobby to their room.

A series of “see I told you so”s later, Namjoon finally broke her.

“Yes, Namjoon. Thanks for telling me that. I know you’re right and I’m wrong. Now please put on a song, I want to sing.”

Another thing Y/n was bad at, according to him, was singing. He knew she liked to sing, she’d told him about it, but he never understood how she managed to be so confident yet so bad at it. If he were told to rank between her ability to sing and choose a good motel, he’d probably have put singing as the first place based on how bad she was at it. Call him a bad friend, but he was just being honest.

However, he still played a song just to satisfy her. An easy song that no one can screw up, but he knew she would still screw up anyways. After all, enduring her cracked singing voice was the least he could do after being driven from and to a crappy motel.

And then she sang. And sang. And sang. One song turned to three turned to five then ten and fifteen. Before she went for the sixteenth song, Namjoon stopped her.

“Aren’t you thirsty from singing?” Nice catch! The question was just an attempt to make her stop a while so he could regain his hearing.

“Don’t even have to ask.”

As she gulped down water from her flask, Namjoon eyed her warily. He prayed, and he was an atheist, that she would forget about singing.

He didn’t know which God had answered his prayers, but when Y/n put down her flask, she already babbled about something else other than singing. Looked like the world, and God, were on his side today.

She was talking about the random bird that was flying straight to her car, almost hitting the car. Also about a dog that stuck out its head from the car beside them. And about how expensive the motel was for being smelly and dirty.

Lastly, “Do you think I cut out to be a singer?”

Yeah, maybe he was pushing his luck.

Day seven fell on a Friday. They spent the day walking hand in hand leisurely on the beach. Beside him, Y/n was talking about what color she should dye her hair next.

“I think I should go with green. What do you think?” Y/n nudged his side with her elbow and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Your boss won't let you dye your hair crazy colors,” he said. “Please don’t do anything that can get you fired.”

Y/n pouted at his answer. But soon her frown vanished as her eyes fell upon a bikini in a display of a store.

Namjoon exhaled. He knew exactly what was going to happen.

True enough, Y/n pulled on his hand that was still clasped in hers towards the store and only stopped after they were in front of the display.

“What a cute bikini!” she cooed before running inside the store, leaving a bewildered Namjoon outside.

Right when he entered the store, he heard a squeal that could only belong to one person.

He turned to the source of the sound and saw Y/n laughing with a store clerk. A male and handsome store clerk.

He wasn't the type of person who gets jealous easily or possessive, but he never saw Y/n with a man other than himself. So he couldn't really help it when he felt jealousy seeped through his gritted teeth. But he soon had forgotten about it when Y/n looked up at him and grinned.

Y/n approached him while holding a bikini set.

“This is their latest design. I’m gonna try it. Wait for me!” Then she disappeared to the fitting room before he could remind her that she didn’t wear bikinis.

Throughout the time he had known her, not even once she ever said anything about bikinis, let alone wearing one and he had known her since they were in diapers. What made her suddenly want to have a bikini?

Minutes later, after a series of clanking noises and a few curses, Y/n came out of the fitting room and he couldn’t believe what he saw. Surely the fitting room was a magic box or something, because there was no way his childhood best friend, his innocent Y/n, came out looking like a model out of a magazine. Well, maybe more like a model before they got heavily photoshopped since he still could see some tiny spots, cellulite, and scars on her skin. And maybe a plus size model because her hips would be considered wide compared to those models. But he didn’t mind them, they made her look more… natural, more human.

While he was busy admiring her, a cough suddenly woke him from his daze. He turned to see the store clerk from earlier, now standing beside him.

“You look very beautiful,” he commented, not minding the killing glare coming from Namjoon.

Y/n, without heeding the store clerk’s compliment, asked, “Joon, do you think this is okay?”

Namjoon was tempted to say, “Just okay? You look like a greek goddess who just blessed me with her presence.” But he was too paralyzed to say anything.

“I think you look great,” the store clerk spoke up again. For a split second right after he said that, he looked at Y/n’s thighs before looking at her eyes again.

It happened so fast, Namjoon thought he was just imagining it. But when Y/n’s facial expression turned sour and she quickly went back to the fitting room, he was wondering whether she saw that too.

His suspicion was confirmed right after they left the store.

“I can’t believe it!” she said while stomping beside him. “He looked at my thighs, Joon! Did you see it, too?”

He just hummed.

Y/n huffed. “I’m going to file a complaint to their manager.”

“You won’t do that,” he replied knowingly.

“I’m gonna make it viral, then. Let the whole world see how horrible he is.”

Namjoon really wanted to laugh at how ridiculous that sounded. “How? You don’t have footage of him doing it.”

“Damn, you’re right,” she mumbled. “Maybe I’m just not meant to have a bikini.”

A lot of thoughts ran through his mind. He wanted to let her know how pretty she looked in that bikini. How captivating the curves in her body were. But in the end, he only suppressed all of that. In his justification, he wanted a more appropriate timing. He didn’t want to say all that to her when she was mad or she’d think he said that to make her feel better. He wanted not just to comfort her, but to actually make her realize how beautiful she was.

On Saturday, his second favorite day after Monday, Y/n arrived a bit later at his apartment compared the days before. But when she saw him ready for the day, she said, “I’m giving you a chance to wake up late, but whatever.”

As per usual, Y/n didn’t tell him where they were going, and he was surprised when they arrived in front of a large building with a sign that read “library”.

Looking at Namjoon’s puzzled face, Y/n probably could read what was in his mind. “You still have no idea who your soulmate is, right? I just think that maybe it’s because we’ve focused so much on doing physical activities instead of, like, feeding the mind.”

“Huh?”

“Maybe we can do a little bit of reading. Because, you know, reading is like eating but for the mind. Or whatever that quote is supposed to go,” she elaborated.

“I read in my free time.”

“Have you read anything during this entire journey?” she raised an eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes. “That’s because of your brilliant idea of having a journey. Had you let me sit down on my couch, I would’ve read the entire biography of the founding fathers by now.”

“Gosh, you’re so boring. No wonder you haven’t found your soulmate. And for the record, you learned a lot of things from this journey. Things that might help you find your soulmate. You know what, let’s just go.” With that, Y/n pulled on his hand and stepped into the library.

Namjoon was in the middle of reading a philosophy book when Y/n suddenly spoke to him.

“I can’t focus, Joon,” she whined. “I have too many things on my mind.”

Those words were the most terrifying words he had ever heard, especially if they came out of Y/n’s mouth. Every time he heard those words, he felt like he wasn’t being attentive enough towards his friends to the point he didn’t know that something was disturbing their peace. And that feeling was heightened when Y/n was the one in trouble. He knew her for the longest time, shouldn’t he be more caring towards her?

He breath hitched, anticipating what Y/n had to say. “Why?”

She took a deep inhale before exhaling slowly. “I know this stupid because it hasn’t ended yet, but I already miss this journey.”

Obviously he didn’t want to admit it in front of her, she would get a crazy idea otherwise, but he, too, could feel a pang in his chest that felt awfully familiar. It was the same feeling he got when he moved out of his parents’ house and when he was reminiscing the time he spent with his late dog. Also when he graduated from high school and had to leave his high school friends to pursue higher education. He wasn’t a stranger to this feeling. In fact, he knew it too well.

Y/n was right, though. It was indeed stupid to feel this way because they still had one more day together.

So he responded with, “We’re still in this journey. And even after this journey ends, we can still go on adventures together,” as a weak attempt to console her and also himself.

“It’s not the adventures that I miss. It’s the time we spend together. We’ve never spent this much time together.”

Of course he knew that. He knew he was going to miss the time they spent together, but his own pride made him unable to act vulnerable in front of her. Especially in the time when she needed him the most.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each deep within their own thoughts. That was when a crazy idea suddenly came to him. He usually wasn’t the one coming with crazy ideas, it was kinda Y/n’s thing and she probably would have copyrighted it if it was possible. But he wasn’t just going to be quiet at a time in crises like this.

“We can arrange some small one-day adventures every month. How does that sound?”

Y/n smiled although it didn’t reach her eyes. “Sounds great. Just promise me you won’t rain check on me.”

It worked! He successfully made her smile again. As he cheered inside his mind, he assured her, “I won’t. I’ll write it on my calendar.”

Namjoon dreaded the last day of The Journey to Find Namjoon’s Soulmate more than when he was called for a job interview by a big company. He even had clammy hands and was sweating bullets. His hand trembled as he waited for Y/n to announce what they were going to do on this last day.

“Holiday has to be concluded with a lazy day. So I call for breakfast in bed,” Y/n explained as she once again wrecked his kitchen.

“I’m not in my bed, though.”

“Your bed is not locked for the rest of the day once you’re out of it,” Y/n said in a matter-of-factly.

“But please don’t ruin my kitchen.”

Y/n briefly stopped cooking as she looked around the kitchen. Then she shrugged. “Well, it’s too late. You should’ve said that earlier.”

He originally had thought that Y/n would make food for him, give it to him, clean the kitchen, then left. But he was surprised when Y/n came back to his bedroom while holding a plate of her own after delivering his.

“Move,” she commanded before shimmying beside him on the bed. She grabbed the remote on the nightstand and turned on the TV.

“Now, we relax. Because we’ll be stressed out of our minds tomorrow.” She leaned back and started eating her bacon.

So that was pretty much how their ninth day went. But that wasn’t all.

Long after they had finished their food, they still watched the TV. Messy kitchen and other duties were long forgotten.

As time passed by, Namjoon found himself cuddling Y/n while she rested her head on his buff chest. And not long after, they both fell asleep in that position with the TV still playing in the background.

But all of that couldn’t last long as tomorrow they had to go to work. So after waking up from their nap, they cleaned the kitchen and Y/n went home before it got too dark.

Instantly after Y/n closed the door behind her, Namjoon felt empty. It wasn’t just his apartment that felt empty, but also his mind and soul. He was already used to her constant nagging, her constant company, and her voice. He wanted to run to her and tell her to extend their journey, but obviously, that was impossible. They had responsibilities, especially since they just neglected them for a week.

On Monday, the day that used to be his favorite but now he loathed it, he came home to a voice message from the person he’d been waiting for.

“Hey. Sorry I didn’t talk to you yesterday whether you’ve found your soulmate or not. I was anxious about work so I forgot. Umm… As soon as you receive this message, please call or text me, okay? I wanna hear what you thought.”

He couldn’t help but also notice something in her voice. Fatigue? Or was it sadness? He swore he could hear it and wasn’t just imagining it.

Wanting to check up on her, he automatically called her. First ring. Second ring. Third ring. He waited and waited, but it only went to her voicemail.

Not giving up so early to talk to his best friend, he rang her again. And waited. And waited. And kept waiting. But just like the first time, she didn’t pick up her phone.

In the end, he settled with sending her a text.

He didn’t know why he was suddenly nervous as he typed the message.

It said, “I still don’t have an idea who that might be. Maybe the journey didn’t work. But, hey, are you sad? Or maybe sick?”

He only got the reply the next day at lunch. He kinda hoped to read long messages about how he shouldn’t be so pessimistic and that he surely would find his soulmate, just like how Y/n usually talked. But instead, she just replied with, “What a bummer.”

He only sighed in disappointment.

The next few days were grim and hard for him. His boss gave him so much work despite having to catch up on his other work. Every time he rode the bus from and to work, he remembered Y/n’s slouched position beside him as they came home from the animal shelter. He could almost feel her head on his shoulder again.

Every time he played a song, he got reminded of the time when he had to endure Y/n’s off-key singing. A memory played in his mind every time he passed an ice cream parlor. Heck, he even missed the feeling of anticipation that he felt every time he woke up in the morning.

What was worst of all though was the fact that they didn’t talk at all after her last text. Not even the occasional text messages or sending each other memes just like what they used to do before the journey started.

He knew it was because they both had a lot of catch up to do after neglecting work for a week, but he really wished that they could spare a bit of time to talk together.

Oh, how silly he was when he dismissed her for missing their time together back at the library. What made him feel even more silly was him being a coward and not admitting back then that he was, too, going to miss spending time together.

One particular night, he had trouble sleeping worse than any other night he had been missing Y/n. He kept turning around, hoping to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in, but to no avail. In the end, he gave up and settled to reminiscing their time together.

As he delved into his memories, every single activity they did, every word she said, and every place they went to, his half-awake mind came upon a realization.

He missed her enthusiasm that could lift his bad mood instantly. He missed her pushiness that made him do things he didn’t want to do, only to show him that she knew what he would like. He also missed her short legs and her whines when he walked too fast. He missed her love for animals, her love for mint choco ice cream, her laugh, smile, kindness, and voice.

He missed her beauty, her body, and her sense of style. He even missed her unruly hair. He missed receiving her love and attention. He missed loving her and having her in his arms. He missed loving her. She was the soulmate he had been looking for. She was his soulmate. His. Soulmate.

At the crack of dawn, a few hours after Namjoon could finally fall asleep, he woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. He had an important thing to tell Y/n. And he had to do it now before she went to work and he lost another chance to meet her.

He checked the clock, it read 5 a.m. He quickly got up from his bed, took a shower, and grabbed a protein bar before leaving.

In the bus on his way to her apartment, he kept tapping his foot impatiently as he chewed on his protein bar. At times like this, he really wished he could drive. But for now he had to settle with the bus.

He jumped out of the bus as soon as it stopped at the bus stop closest to her apartment.

He checked the time again, 5:43 a.m. He still had a few minutes before she woke up.

He arrived in front of her apartment after five minutes of walking. He knocked on the door rapidly to the point he was sure he accidentally woke up the neighbors. However, it was the last thing on his mind.

A minute later, a sleepy Y/n with a bed head opened the door.

“Namjoon, wha-”

He instantly pushed her in and closed the door behind them both.

“Hear me out,” he demanded.

Y/n nodded while yawning.

“Let me help you cross out one activity from your wishlist.”

“Why are we talking about that at this time?”

“Because it’s important."

“I don’t see it."

He started to lose his patience. “It is! There’s one activity that’s really important right? Like, more important than the others.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Which one? I haven’t written a lot in the list, actually.”

“What are they?"

“To eat a banana-”

For a second, Namjoon was speechless. “What? Banana? Why?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just miss eating bananas.”

“Okay… What’s next?”

She took a moment to think, then answered, “Ah! I want to buy a new phone. Haven’t changed mine in years.”

He sighed. “Next?”

“Be a babysitter for a day.”

That wasn’t an answer he was looking for. “It’s a job for teenagers.”

“That’s why I only want to do it for a day.”

“Then?”

“Learn skateboarding. A skatepark just opened around here.”

“Anything else?”

She pouted. “You don’t want to help me cross any of those?”

“Not that. But, you said a few days ago on our journey that there was something you wanted to put on your wishlist.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “Really? I don’t remember. What was it?”

He really wanted to strangle someone at this point. Why was she so dense? “You really don’t remember?”

“I don’t think I do. Sorry. What was it, though?”

“You wanted to find your soulmate.”

It took her a second to digest his words, but when she finally did, her eyes widened. “Oh, right. Does that mean you want to help me find my soulmate? Go on another journey? You know, you don’t have to use that as an excuse to-”

“Shut up, Y/n. Stop talking so much.”

Y/n frowned. “Sorry.”

He huffed. “I never knew doing this was going to be this hard.” He looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t want to go on another journey to find anyone’s soulmate. And especially not after I realized last night that we have found our soulmates.”

Before he could say anything else, she cut him off. “Really? Who is yours? What about mine? Do I know-”

“Yes! We know them.” He finally decided to just cut the chase and came out clean. “You’re my soulmate, Y/n. And I’m yours. I was so busy chasing love during our journey to the point I never thought about the possibility of you being my soulmate.” With a softer tone, he concluded, “The fortune teller was right. I knew who my soulmate is and where to find them, but I was too stupid to realize that.”

Y/n was stunned for a while before slowly blinking. Once. Twice. “Wow. That’s crazy.” Then she grinned. “You finally admit that you’re stupid!”

“Y/n, that’s not the point!” he groaned.

“Yes, yes, I know.” She laughed. It sounded like bells in his ears. “I’m just messing with you. So, what should we do now?”

“Y/n.” He turned serious if he wasn’t being serious before. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

For a few seconds, Y/n stared at his eyes expectantly, as if she was waiting for something.

“Y/n?”

“What?”

“What do you say?”

“Of course yes, you dummy. I thought it was obvious.”

“Seriously now?” He rolled his eyes.

“Wait. Is this the part where we should kiss?” she asked in wonder.

He was really holding himself hard not to roll his eyes yet again. “Duh, Y/n.”

“But I haven’t brushed my teeth!” Then she disappeared into her bathroom, leaving a bewildered Namjoon in the living room.

As he stared at her bathroom door, he whispered to himself, “What did I just sign up for?”

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[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

I saw that were sharing some gang stories, I just thought I want to share mine (you don't have to reply to this if you feel uncomfortable).

So…I was around 11 when I joined a gang, at the age of 11 I was really depressed due to academic pressures, being portrayed as the perfect child and I was also both mentally and physically abused by my mom (were asians so in our culture it's like DISCIPLINE). I joined a gang because I was trying to be rebellious, like I thought at the time…If you were in gang, you'd be free to do the things you like. At the age of 15 I was kicked out because my mom found out about this gang and that I was always sneaking out. When I got kicked out, Our like leader took me in and he like became my guardian and even though I was part of this gang I never got to use drugs because I was prohibited (since the leader is like my big bro). At the age of 19 or so, Our little secret hiding place (where they use drugs and do orgy. Yes, orgy) was raided and there were guns, police and I saw my big brother get shot for trying to hurt a police officer. At that time I was brought to rehab and was told to go to a psychiatrist because of the trauma.

Am now 27 years old, I went back to my mom…am trying to fix my mistakes by fixing my relationship with my mom and am still seeing my psychiatrist…It was a tough time but am glad I left as soon as possible cause to be honest…I think I wouldn't survive…RIP to my Big brother

I'm really sorry about you losing your big brother, he sounds like a good guy. I know what it's like to lose brother's, I like to think they're at peace now, no longer having to fight.

You're not alone though, I knew a lot of people who joined gangs for similar reasons, they just wanted a way to let out their at home frustrations and rebel. I'm glad you're doing better now though, it's good that you're getting help, hopefully you find it helpful.

#gang stuff #tw death

[alittleoptimistic]

Hi! I just wanted to say, I BLOODY LOVE YOUR GF FANFIC!!! I have trouble reading in general and with fanfic I usually find one to hyperfixate on for months or years at a time, even if I don't like it that much, because I'm too afraid to look for any outside of recommendations.

I've had a variety of different experiences (mostly strong cringe) but when I read yours I feel kinda like goldy locks from that fairytail the three bears, some fics are too long or too short, too complex or too simple, too dark or too serious, but yours is "just right"! It has a great balance of mature and silly, wich is a problem I personally get with alot of gf fic (usually too dark or angsty or mature) that doesn't make the fic bad, but it isn't my cup of tea.

And I love love love love the way you characterise the... characters, especially stan and ford. They feel just right in that they're not portrayed as "too tough" or "too mean" and they're allowed to actually feel anxious or worried and don't always express it in a violent or loud or "manly" way. It feels like your writing the characters first instead of "grumpy old men who happen to be silly sometimes". They can be soft and kind and dumb and dorks and I personally adore it. The way you write comfort with them is sooooooo heartmelting.

Same goes for the other characters, they're aloud to express themselves in less conventional ways wich means they actually feel more like the kinds of people to "build giant death robots instead of dealing with their feelings" or "use a smoke bomb, grab the cash, and book it" or "be oblivious to obvious red flags when caught up in curiosity and fascination" for some obvious examples.

Even the way you use words is a delight and refreshingly easy to read whilst also painting a very lovely picture. I rarely get overwhelmed or confused and it feels so efficient? And refreshing!

Sorry this is a long one but I was catching up on some of your fic during a long train ride yesterday and had to stop every paragraph or so to annoy my twin bro about how much I loved it!

Aw man these sorts of messages straight up make my whole day. Thanks 😊

I’m glad you think the words come off well lmao, bc it sure doesn’t feel like that when I’m writing. I’m trudging up hill lol.

I totally get what you mean about some fics being too angst-y. I think part of it is bc the canon content is mostly light hearted, so people do this super opposite thing and end up a little too far on the other side in an attempt to add more depth. But they do it too fast maybe? Idk, to each their own, but I agree, it’s not my cup of tea. I kind of write fan fic bc I want to see a certain thing I’m not seeing- so part of me writing TSoSP was because I wasn’t seeing a lot of reconciliation stories that were quite to my taste. (Not that there aren’t any at all! I’ve found several I love so much! Blind Faith comes to mind, as well as For Mutts and Men)

I really had a problem with letting The Boys (lol) cry or be very outwardly emotional, especially toward each other? So I’m glad it works well for you lol! I just didn’t feel like it was in character for them, so I saved up any extreme sorts of emotion as long as I possibly could. I worked with the idea that I wasn’t going to let the reader get the payoff of seeing them actually do the right thing as long as possible and I also wouldn’t let them pretty much ever say what they actually meant. Uhhh that’s just more interesting for me personally, and it makes it so I can have very violent/sad/ dramatic situations, but keep it relatively light hearted by having the characters just be like “ah hah. Nope. Not going to think about that. Here is a joke.” Idk, maybe that was just frustrating. I’m trying to practice not being too dismal bc it is very much my tendency to go all out with the Sad and Violent- and I’ve seen some good stories balance it out with humor. I’m working on an original book that has very much to do with death and grief, so I’ve been trying to use that same kind of technique. Humor to balance out pain? Idk. Like, I watched the Odd Couple recently and realized that it’s straight up about a guy who gets divorced, and tries to kill himself, and all his friends aren’t sure how to help. And it’s the funniest movie I’ve ever seen.

Some people write fan fic for the cathartic feeling of those characters being loved and expressing love, ummmm I also like this but sometimes I’m just cringing and idk why. Idk if that makes sense. Like as much as I want a young stan pines to get a long hug with his brother, it’s just not going to happen in my understanding of the characters unless they’re incredibly drugged or they almost just died. Like, to me, the whole interesting thing about it would be the journey of getting them to a place where they would reasonably do the thing you want them to do. (The stakes are even higher when they’re old. Like, can you imagine your gruff grandpa crying on his twin’s shoulder? It’s going to take Some Stuff for that situation to happen) idk. Tbh if I could do it again, I would have extended the ending a bit but it is what it is.

I think it depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Cause, I don’t want to bash people who are just trying to cope by making some old guys cry I’m each other’s arms, ya know? Like, can people just have things? If that’s helping you emotionally, go for it. But also, the idea of stan pines- an old man who grew up in the 60-70s- going to therapy and being emotionally vulnerable the way some modern teenagers are is just,,, in my version of his world it is going to take a Lot of growth. I have family members that are very similar to Stan (except very Italian instead of Jewish lol) and it’s just funny to imagine someone who is literally the same person as my great uncle John getting the owo treatment 😭😂

So anyway that’s a lot of words whoops. I’m less of a hurt/comfort writer and more of an Hurt writer and then sneak in some comfort but let’s not make eye contact about it

#gravity falls #fan fiction #asks #I wish I had the motivation to write original fiction the way I have for fan fic #thanks for the ask :’) #writing #the sacrifice of stanford pines #tsosp

[catboyeddy]

I'm not one to usually leave message/asks but:

Your Eddy posts give me hope.

I've always related to him and seeing someone finally talk about his traits and general personality in a more acceptable way is a rare and appreciated sight. People will always be more "annoying or hot tempered" than others but they shouldn't be hated of the bat, personal growth is hard and not everyone can see every small accomplishment. Tldr; thanks for standing up for the lil' guy.

Also, great blog and I hope you keep writing :)

Oh my god dude you're so sweet thank you sm🥺💕

N yeah Eddy was the first of these types of characters that I could relate to cause eene portrayed him with flaws and complexities but never demonized him for it

The fact that people who hate him and even some who like him disregard his character growth is so insulting, like I promise you he would not be abusive or a fuckboy, pls don't make him a mini bro istg

I love all of Eddy's flaws and good traits and his potential and I'm really glad my posts about him make you happy cause he makes me v happy too! Also thank you I am still writing and I plan to keep going <3

#anon youre so nice i jgflhlhf #messages

[literaphobe]

I was waiting to finish stranger things to send you this ask but now I can't find the post where you mention this in your tag (f*ck tumblr search system) but Michelle I am glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like johnathan. Like did the show forget he was a creepy stalker?

he. took pictures of a minor in her underwear w out her consent.... i literally hate him so much as a concept bc the d*ff*r brothers r clearly using him and j*ncy to portray their fantasy “weird ‘ugly’ nerd guy gets together w really hot girl!!!! who picked him over a way better hot guy for some reason!!!!!!’ like. i don’t dislike j*n*th*n n j*ncy bc im a hardcore steve stan/stancy shipper or anything, if nancy doesn’t have feelings for steve anymore that’s up to her! idrc lmao. but like. j*ncy is so overtly creepy n not at all well done??? what, they f*ck bc some creepy adult told them to do it in his house???? and lbr here, nancy n steve hadn’t even broken up when they did that, so it was cheating. their relationship is borne out of infidelity! gotta love that! anyway. d*ff*r bros r fuckin creepy. wish i didn’t have to associate any of the kid characters or steve n robin or joyce byers w them. and tbh i don’t! credit goes to any other non weird writer who helped write for them + the actors who portrayed them instead :) 

#ask #ty for this bb was low key hoping someone would send an ask #fandom n general audiences n the media #have normalized and totally glossed over all this weird shit #its too much!!! i dont like it!!!! thanks #all-that-craic

[franeridart]

hey fran, i really love you & your art!! i fell in love w your bokuroteru tattoo au after reading it through, and then i found your bakushimas and i love them so much! you're actually the reason i found the motivation to start bnha lol and i'm really glad i did, so thx!

Thank you!!!!!! So much!!!!!!!!!! For liking my stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *O* and you’re most welcome, I’m super happy you’re liking it!!!!!

Anon said:I love dragons and I love kiri and I love your art so that post is like all three of my favourite things rolled into one, B L E S S.

I’M GLAD YOU LIKED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:your traditional sketches are so cool!!! i feel like it kinda adds like depth to it or something but like those are so neat what if you lined some

Thanks!! And I’ve actually thought about that, but I’m not much a fan of going back on stuff I already posted... it’s more probably I’ll just go back to the concept and draw more instead of lining those haha

Anon said:FRAN UR TRADITIONAL ART IS SO CUTE OMG ITS SO GOOD (also DRAGONSSSS)

GAH I’M SO DAMN HAPPY YOU GUYS ACTUALLY LIKED THOSE OH MY G O D S

Anon said:voltron third season is cOMING SOON AS IN TWO DAYS AAAAAA ARE U EXCITED?

Anon... my pal... my dear friend... I don’t know how to break this to you but... I haven’t even properly watched s2 yet...

Anon said:i started reading bnha bc i wanted to understand your art better, and I gotta say it's a really great series. thanks for inspiring me to read it. finished the manga today and my favs are definitely kirishima, tamaki, toshinori and fatgum. actually I knew kiri would be my fave anyway bc 75% of why i got interested in your bnha drawings was bc of him...he's just?? so good?? that aside your art is incredible and your characterizations of the bakusquad are perfect. you're super cool, keep doing you!

I’m!!!!!!!!!!!! aaahhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you so much oh my god ;A; I’m happy you decided to try it, I’m super happy you ended up liking it, and I’m indecently happy you actually do like Kirishima!!!!! BOI!!!!!!!!!!!! He needs all the love he can get, the pure son ;A;

Anon said:your art is so good wth!! everytime i get the notif that you posted i get so excited!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!

Anon said:The fuck is shitty ab these traditional art pics. They're good, everything u do is good, don't play blind u perfect shit

Tough love! Sometimes this comes around my inbox too haha it’s fine anon, the reason why I rarely draw traditionally is that I never feel like I’m done with a drawing when I do, feel incomplete for however much details I put in because tbh there’s always more I can do on them, so with shitty I mostly meant “incomplete” lol going okay this is finished is something I don’t know how to do with traditional doodles hah

Anon said:yo what happened to your hand bro?

Therapy with my dermatologist that ends up giving me blisters on one of my fingers! It’s nothing serious, but makes arting sorta hard haha

Anon said:You should draw more kiribaku kids it had me really interested and brought out my happy

Should I 👀👀👀 an ugly word, let’s try with could next time shall we - that said, seems like yall really did like something that for me was a one time thing! I might get back on them in the near future, just because that post seems to have blown up way more than I had anticipated haha

Anon said:ahhhhhhh i absolutely love your art. i've been feeling very irritated lately and your kiribaku / kiribakushima art really helps calm me down.

This makes me super happy to know!!!! Oh my gods!!!!!! I hope life has stopped getting on your nerves in the couple days it took me to answer, anon!!!

Anon said:Headcanon: kirishima plays dream daddy

To be honest I don’t know anything about that game aside from “it’s a dating sim” and “it’s gay”, but either way to me it sounds more like something Kaminari would play hahaha

Anon said:Hey Fran! I recently caught up with the BNHA anime thanks to you (still have to get around to the manga) and I loveeee itt so much (pretty much adopted like 20 kids😂) have a lil question tho, in your AU/bnha comic thingy are Bakugo and Midoriya finally like... "okay" friends? Or is Bakugo still acting like he hates the poor boy? Thanks in advance and also absolutely love your art~😍

WEEEEHHHHYYYYYY I’m glad you decided to check it out, anon!!!!! But, I’m sorry I’m gonna need you to be more specific here since I don’t have any “ongoing” AU for that fandom atm - exactly which comic are you referring to?

Anon said:I've been restraining myself from going on Tumblr to once a month max for like a year or so now because it was exams and then I had a new year (MY LAST YEAR) of high school to worry about, and I know me. When I go on Tumblr, I stay on Tumblr for literally an entire day. Or more. And then I accidentally stumbled upon your stuff today and wasted (thoroughly enjoyed) a day of scrolling through your art and asks. I never knew I shipped bakushima so hard until today. Thank you for your beautiful art.

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I’m so happy you decided to use your one day for my blog omfg !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so so much for this ask, it made me really super happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:do you know the song that is playing when endeavor is fight the winged nomu? ive tried looking for it but I can't seem to find it. thanks if you know it. its fine if you don't. btw you're amazing

Eeep sorry anon this ask is so old omfg I hope you found your answer somewhere else - also because I’m actually the worst person in the world to ask about soundtracks orz so, like, double sorry o

Anon said:A cute kirikamibaku thought to hopefully help cheer you as you wait for your hand to heal again: the three of them going out to a restaurant and Denki trying to subtly convince the other two to order something he wants to try when he can't decide what he wants to eat. Whenever he succeeds, he ends up eating just as much off their plates as his own.

This has actually been cheering me up for days now so thank you !!!!!!! Also because I’ve been thinking about Bakugou giving in but making it super spicy out of spite and honestly that’s the funniest thing hahahaha

Anon said:MATSUHANA🌸🌸🌸🌸

IT’S INDEED A SHIP THAT EXISTS! A GREAT ONE TOO!!

Anon said:I can't stop thinking abt that one anon that sent you "Batsuki Katsuki" and I'm losing my fuckin mind over it oh my god but anyway hello I love ur art I hope you have a good day ( ˘ ³˘)♥

THANK YOU!!!! I hope you’ll have a great month, anon!!!! *O* and also tbh same I randomly remember it and laugh by myself thank you anon for that gem I’m never getting over it haha

Anon said:I live for your bakukirikami art. I never had an ot3 until these boys, and they're just so so good. Do you think any of them ever gets insecure/jealous about the other two's bond in the relationship? I feel like if anyone would it might be Denki? But I dunno, because the way you portray them I like to think that they all actually just love watching each other be cute and bond and stuff.

Yeah that’s how I see them!  You know how, like... when you’re friends with two people and they’re friends with each other and you look at them being silly together and you’re like boy I’m so glad I have both of you in my life and that I can have you both at the same time and that you can be silly and adorable and happy together too - that’s exactly how I portray the bkk, only it’s romantic instead of platonic haha

Anon said:Your art has inspired me to write some BakuKiri / KiriBaku bless!!!! I'm also writing KiriBakuKami as well, thank you so much for the gorgeous art!

THIS IS THE BEST SORT OF ASK!!! THE BEST!!!!!

Anon said:Hello! It's the anon that asked about posting your art online for the first time. Thank you so much for answering my questions! That means a lot to me. I'll definitely take your advice. You made me feel a lot better about posting my stuff online. I'm gonna go ahead and draw the things that make me happy and,, hopefully I'll find people that like it like me!

AAAAHHHHHH I’m happy I could help!!! And I’m sure you will, anon!!!!! I hope you’ll be able to have a great time in whatever community you decide to be part of *O*

Anon said:I was feeling slightly uck but then I was like "you know what would make you feel better" and I just started scrolling through your blog and HONESTLY you are a blessing I feel a lot better and lighter and looking at your blog is literal self care for me now I love you and I hope you have a fantastic day

Sob thank you so much for this ask ;A; aaahhhhhhhh!!!! I’m so happy I can help you like that and this made me feel great back when I first read it (and also now that I’m rereading it, honestly!!!) so thank you for making my days better too, anon!!!!

#fran answers #using the random burst of strength to finally get around to answering these asks #the weather is being horrible here my pals!!!! #it's so damn hot!!!!! #yesterday it was SO HOT that the place where i live as a whole decided to turn on the ac #and it was such a huge strain on the electricity lines that they just went B Y E #and i was without electricity (and internet) for FIVE HOURS #this is how horrible it's being here #we have an average of nearly 40°C #im dying #anonymous

[pub-lius]

Which actor from any media you’ve seen potrays the most accurate depiction of Hamilton in your opinion

Aw man don't make me choose 😭

It's actually kind of hard to say, bc I've yet to see an accurate depiction from anyone else besides Ian Rose, and his portrayal isn't completely accurate, but its pretty good. So I'll just rank them in order from worst to best.

1. Hal Bidlack. Sorry, guy, I hated your performance. Hamilton was a very enthusiastic and emotional guy, and while Bidlack has the humor to portray his sassiness, I didn't feel there was much more personality to the character. Besides, Hamilton would never say a lot of the things he says.

2. Lin-Manuel Miranda. And no one's shocked. While he has the enthusiasm, Hamilton was much more of a calculates, manipulative politician than the musical portrays. He had many ways of getting what he wanted, and he used people to do that. On top of that, HE WASN'T IN LOVE WITH HIS SISTER most likely. See, Ron Chernow? I can admit i could be wrong.

3. Rufus Sewell. I'm sorry, but not as much effort was put in Hamilton as in Jefferson during the John Adams series. With Jefferson, they had a spot on portrayal. And i guess they had to budget cut out everything about Hamilton. And as much as I love the clothes in this show, I hated his costume more than Bidlack's baggy breeches. Hamilton was a capitalist who wouldn't have adopted republican fashions (such as short hair) until much later in his life. Seriously much later, like if he got a haircut the day before the duel.

4. Steven McCarthy. The Crossing isn't a perfect film, but I've seen worse, and shy, awkward, soft boy Hamilton isn't the worst. Idk why he's doing Washington's hair in 1776 when he has his own artillery company to worry about, but maybe they're just having bro time... before they formally met. But anyway, Hamilton is way too obsessed with himself and battle that he would ever act so skittish, but that's probably a director's thing. He is a bit of a badass in this movie tho so, not bad.

5. Richard Bekins. There's not much the George Washington mini series gets wrong that stands out, and this also applies to Hamilton. I do think they portray him as a bit more innocent than what is morally correct, but at least its not Miranda. I like how they do go in depth on the affair, but I don't like how, once again, "Hamilton is the victim." I do, however, like mostly everything about this portrayal personality wise. Good job, Bekins.

6. Derryl Yeager. Listen, A More Perfect Union is my comfort movie, i don't care if the casting is shit. But i quite like this portrayal of Hamilton, not to mention the inclusion of the Gouverneur Morris Bet of 1787. Whenever I see him come on screen i do a little happy dance. He could have more screentime imo, especially with the whole "monarch" scandal at the convention, but live laugh love, at least he's there.

7. Sean Haggerty. Turn and I have a love-hate relationship, but at least they didn't give Hamilton a psychotic breakdown that never would have happened this time. I'm very glad Hamilton even shows up as an aide de camp, and his involvement in the Benedict Arnold scandal is shown. I also really want to know where they got an actor who looks THAT MUCH like Hamilton. I was stunned. And, on top of that, he acts very similarly to Hamilton, except for the one part where he tells Anna, i think, something along the lines of "if the mob is going to come, let them come!" Dude, bro, Hamilton was KNOWN for trying to stop mobs singlehandedly. He's not very fond of them.

8. Robert Schenkkan. George Washington mini series again, but can you blame me this time??? IT EVEN HAS LAURENS AND TILGHMAN. Aside from the weird timeline where Hamilton joins the staff after Laurens, Schnekkan does a great job of portraying fiesty baby Hamilton, blood lust and everything. I honestly can't think of anything else this actor could have done more.

9. Now there are more people who have appeared on tv as Alexander Hamilton, but these are just the ones I've seen so far. And that leaves us with Ian Rose. He's spot on personality wise. He's got the sass, the humor, the loud, obnoxiousness, even the hand gestures. I don't think I've heard him say anything shockingly inaccurate, and he thoroughly understands how Hamilton argued. I respect the hustle my guy.

10. ...me 😁 just kidding... unless 👀 you should read my fanfic to see if I'm lying 😜 But I wanted to include some writings as honorable mentions, since I interpreted this as mostly about actors/reenactors. My holy trinity is without a doubt Duty and Inclination, Song of Alexander, and Merited Partiality. My Dear Hamilton isn't bad either, ig. I'd also recommend Religious Duty, The Stars Fight Against Us, And still I am grateful, and several others that I must have forgotten to bookmark. But they're all wonderful and amazing and make me CRY AND SOB AND VOMIT EVERYWHERE but anyway

I hope this helps, and thanks for the ask!!!

#alexander hamilton #so many hamiltons #who let him multiply??? #anyway im cramping like a motherfucker so goodbye <3 #beware thy ginger