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ohraicodoll · 1 year

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Interwoven | Chapter 2

Chapters: 2/6 Fandom: The Sandman (Comics & TV 2022) Rating: Mature/Explicit Relationships: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Original Female Character, Dream/Reader Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Original Female Character, Hob Gadling, Original Characters, Matthew the Raven, Lucienne, Calliope, Mervyn Pumpkinhead, Calliope, The Endless, Eve, Delirium, Death, Desire Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI, Explicit Sexual Content, Past Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Possessive Behavior, Domestic Abuse, Domestic Violence, Jealousy, Trauma Responses Tags: Character Development, Established Relationships, General complicated feelings, meeting the family, meeting the friends, talk about fantasies, domestic life, fluff, past Relationships, ANGST, OFC: Dahlia, Named Reader, 1st POV

Summary: She had very few people in her life and while he denied it, Dream had so many. People that cared for him, people that warned her. Or in other terms, Dream and Dahlia’s casual relationship is turning not so casual. Chapter Summary: Birthdays, Bars, and Blushes

4th in the Fragments Series | Read on AO3 Writing Masterlist Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 Previous in Series: Possession Next in Series: The Complications of Family (Author’s Note: Sorry for the delay in getting this posted here. Still working through some grief and just feeling generally depressed after my grandma’s passing. I’m trying to shake it off and cope and writing usually does that) Chapter 2: Anissa

Dream was right. I hated when he was right, but I do get anxiety when dealing with uncertain situations and right now I was anxious. Birthdays weren’t big on my list. Mom and Dad had died when I was almost seventeen and were the main celebrator. They would wake me up and give me a present throughout the day, letting me choose what I wanted for dinner and then Mom would always make me a cake to celebrate. Sometimes we’d go to the library and pick out new books, sometimes we’d go somewhere extra special like the zoo or a show. But when they died and I started living with my abusive older partner, that had all gone out the window. I spent the first few years hopeful and then quickly learned to get used to the taste of disappointment. After that, there was simply no point in even hoping. Thomas, my most recent ex, forgot and I wasn’t inclined to remind him so we never celebrated in the one year we were together. I didn’t have any more relatives or even friends after escaping the first relationship and years later, Anissa was my only friend and we had gotten close in recent years. And I had Morpheus now even if we were/were not dating. Even then, this was more support than I’ve had in years and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t want to expect anything at all. When you hope, you set yourself up for disappointment. I wish none of them had found out what the day was. There would be no anxiety over Morpheus meeting Nissa or taking him into public or trying to figure out how to answer my coworker’s questions. And poor Hob was pulled into the mix. At some point, Matthew had flown by to drop off a small package, cawing a quick “Happy Birthday” before rushing off like he was in a hurry. Morpheus had definitely told them what day it was which made me extra suspicious as I looked at the small black box the raven had left behind. It was fancier than anything I had in my small apartment which was a giveaway in itself that it was one, from the Dream King, and two, from the Dreaming itself. Wrapped in a delicate, perfect ribbon, the box fit in the palm of my hand and had no card. Chewing on my lip, I carefully unwrapped it to preserve the ribbon and opened it up to find a necklace with earrings more beautiful than anything I owned. It was simple but immaculate featuring an onyx teardrop stone encased in ornate metal swirls on a rose gold chain, the earrings matching the design but smaller and dainty. I could almost feel the essence of Morpheus in the item, a steady hum I had become so familiar with and able to distinguish easily now in everything he made. The kernel of hope curled to life and I had to force myself not to get choked up at the idea that I’d received a birthday present. It was gorgeous, so stunning it felt unreal, and I smiled at the sparkling black stones, staring at them throughout most of the day and unable to keep from touching them. I was positively giddy over it and almost hated it. The evening was coming soon and I distracted myself more with getting dressed. Anissa had suggested a different place than before, a nicer more cocktail style bar than our usual place. I was glad considering the whole ordeal with Morpheus scaring my now former coworker, Cameron, had sullied that bar. But a nicer place meant I had to dress up so I took my time doing my makeup and choosing a decent dress and coat. I figured if I wore a heavy enough jacket it would keep me warm on the walk there even in a dress. I’d just fully clasped the halter straps of my dark green gown when I felt the tingling sensation of power coating over my skin like a gentle breeze along the open back of my dress. My eyes darted to the doorway in the bathroom mirror precisely as Morpheus walked in like he owned the place, long black wool peacoat in place with a black plain shirt, jeans, and laced up boots underneath. His sharp blue eyes met mine as he leaned against the doorway, a small smile tilting up his lips. “Hello, little dreamer,” he whispered as he took in my form, the way the emerald fabric followed my curves and the large expanse of skin it left exposed.

I dropped my arms, smirking at him in return through the mirror and feeling some of my anxiety ease at his presence, “Hello, dreamlord.”

Turning, my long hair skimming along my shoulders to fall to my back, I stepped closer and leaned against the doorway next to him so I could stare up at his amused face, “Do I clean up decent enough?” Morpheus’ eyes darkened and he took his time to follow the line of my body, at the draped neck of my neckline, the silk of the fabric as it hugged my waist, and the fall of the skirt as it fell to my feet. I could feel the burn of his gaze the entire way and swallowed, my mouth going dry as he drank me in. This was the most dressed up I’d been since the masquerade ball dream I’d had months ago, when he had danced and touched and teased me relentlessly. It made me want to dress up more if only to see his reaction. His hand lifted, knuckles grazing my cheek and dragging down to my chin, neck, collarbones, to the dip of my necklines. My breath was coming out in shallow pants, bottom lip pulling between my teeth. I would never get used to his touch, his attention. It was like drawing the focus of the moon, overwhelming and enthralling. Morpheus leaned forward, forehead touching mine and breath ghosting along my lips, his voice a dark whisper full of promise, “You are breathtaking. You always are.” “Flatterer,” I joked though my heart was beating in my ears and all I could focus on was the heat of his skin and his breath mixing with mine. His lips grazed mine in the barest hint of a kiss as if he was restraining himself, but the simple touch was enough to undo me entirely. I pressed forward and kissed him, moaning as he let go and met me eagerly, arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me forward. His palms flattened along my exposed back and a gasp left my lips to be swallowed by him as his tongue explored my mouth. He held me tightly while kissing me deeply, causing liquid fire to spread and pool in me. My hands grasped the fabric of his shirt and fingers dug into the thin width of his waist. I wanted to touch the cool, hard skin of his stomach, feel his muscles as he moved against me. I wanted to call the whole thing tonight off.

It would be a far better night to stay in. Just say sorry and pull birthday rights so I could stay home and let the Endless completely drown me in his touch and not leave the bedroom. But even as my body screamed at me, reason began to slowly seep in as the need to tear his clothes off rose to dangerous levels. It was getting tiring having to leave the house when staying at home was so much better. I slowed, his soft black hair already between my fingers, and let out a low groan, “I don’t think we have time before Hob gets here.” The Nightmare King growled low while giving me another searing kiss, chasing me even as I attempted to lean back, “He can wait outside.” The man had zero patience for anything else in the universe when he wanted something and was being denied it, I was beginning to realize. So far, it mostly seemed to be when people or things got in the way of us having sex. But the words did their job of snapping me from the intensity of our lust as I laughed and put a hand on his chest to keep him from lifting me on the counter and having his way right then, “We have later, I promise. I’m not going to make him wait outside like a sad college roommate.” He sighed and recomposed himself, cupping my cheek in his hand with a look as if I had kicked his puppy, “Very well then.” Shaking my head, I smiled up at him, “Thank you for the present Matthew dropped off earlier. Can you help me put them on?”

He kissed my forehead softly and nodded, “Of course. I trust they were to your liking?” I nodded in reply and held his hand, leading him back to the living room where the small box resting on the coffee table held the necklace and earrings. He took the dainty chain out and moved my hair aside, the small onyx pendant resting above the top of my cleavage. With a gentle kiss to the back of my neck, the jewelry was secured and in place. The earrings followed next until all pieces were in place. It was definitely the most beautiful thing I’d ever owned and I couldn’t help touching it, feeling the small current of his power hidden inside. It made me wonder if everyone could feel it, that slight hum of something otherworldly that surrounded him and everything he created. It was almost impossible to ignore and something I had to get used to, now signifying anytime he was near me. “You will always be connected to me through this, if you should ever have need of me while separated,” Morpheus whispered into my skin, hands settling on my waist. “This isn’t like a tracking beacon or anything, is it?” I teased, but also half serious.

He frowned and I started to consider if I wasn’t actually correct, “Anything connected to the Dreaming, I can locate but the intention is more to be a way to communicate an emergency should you have one.” So yes and no. I let the answer slide though, knowing how paranoid he was about my safety, especially since Thomas had showed up and pushed his way into my apartment. Being human didn’t help his nerves about me and sometimes he acted as if I could shatter at the smallest accident.

“Well either way, it’s beautiful,” I hummed. We stood there embraced for a while and caught up, him telling me about the latest delegation to come and visit the Dreaming. Now that the realm was getting back in order finally after the past couple years of Morpheus’ return, other gods and delegations from other worlds and realms were visiting to get reacquainted. Half the time the names he told me went over my head, having no clue who he was talking about, but it was interesting to hear either way and I liked hearing him discuss his work. He took it very seriously, put it above all else, and so sharing it showed a little bit of the pride he took with it. Lucienne was taking a more active role beyond librarian and now acting more appropriately as a right hand to the Dream King, organizing his “calendar” so to speak and being a mediary when he wasn’t present. She had held the Dreaming together while he was gone and I was happy to see her having something that challenged her beyond the library. It especially helped when he wanted to visit me as she kept the place running and freed up his time to come to the Waking world.

A sharp knock interrupted us and Morpheus laid a quick kiss on my shoulder before I could fully process the interruption, moving to the door himself. Acting as if it was totally normal to open the door to my apartment, he unlocked and answered it, greeting Hob on the other side standing in the hallway. The history professor blinked, obviously caught off guard, and grinned at both of us, stepping inside, “Wasn’t quite expecting you to answer, but you always have been full of surprises.”

Morpheus didn’t say anything, only raised a brow and shut the door behind the man. I couldn’t blame him, if Dream had answered the door anywhere I was going I would have been stunned. It was weird, seeing both well dressed immortal men in my mediocre little apartment, but life had been a whole lot weirder since meeting the dreamlord and I was trying to learn to take it all in stride. After all, I was now friends with a talking bird, pumpkin headed janitor, dream librarian, and now an immortal man.

The man in question pivoted to face me and the grin grew even wider, brightening his face, “And happy birthday to you, fair lady!” He produced a sunflower from behind his back and made an overdone flourish of bowing, presenting it to me in an outstretched fist.

I smiled and laughed, slightly blushing and not used to having the attention all on me, taking the flower from him, “Thank you, Hob. I appreciate the gesture.” The man was dressed in tan slacks and a loose white button up long sleeved shirt, a brown vest over it and shiny leather shoes. He was very handsome in a more grounded way than the dreamlord was, more of a rugged good looks type of man with his stubble and earthy tones and longer hair. His charm amplified it all, half smile constantly twisting his lips and lighting up the room. It was no surprise that if anyone was going to become friends with Dream of the Endless, it would be the one man I couldn’t see anyone hating really.

I went to put the sunflower into some water, hearing from the kitchen as Hob teased Morpheus about essentially wearing the same thing constantly and him arguing that his appearance changed depending on perception so it was pointless to change outfits. It felt…nice, having the two friends in my home, as if the place had warmed up and they were just a normal group of friends. If you ignored that they were anything but. I came back to find Morpheus slightly more annoyed but in a longer, nicer coat with dark black floral embroidery along the edges and a black button up shirt underneath, the collar held together with a golden pin. It was subtly different but was nicer. I tried not to grin, knowing it would just annoy him more if I pointed out the outfit change and the fact that Hob had gotten to him. “Alright, you both ready to go?” I asked innocently. Those blue eyes of his swirled, lips pressed into a thin line, and the dreamlord only nodded while his friend winked. The air outside wasn’t too bad even with the sun fully set and the stars blazing outside. Anissa had at least considered my hatred of driving and made sure to pick a close enough place that I could walk without needing to hail a cab or drive myself. My own coat was cinched at the waist around me to protect me from the cold and Dream had taken my hand into his while Hob had jokingly offered his elbow, the three of us walking side by side down the mostly empty sidewalk.

For a second, I wondered if the Endless would be upset at how much Hob seemed to be flirty with me, knowing that much less had set him off before. But he either didn’t notice, which I doubted, or didn’t care. Maybe since it was someone he knew and trusted, it didn’t phase him or he simply knew that was how Hob was..

I hadn’t fully warned Anissa that I was bringing Dream, merely sending her a quick text saying I had invited some friends. She’d sent an eye emoji back but I didn’t respond, figuring the less information I gave the less likely I would be fielding questions and getting more nervous before the night came. I knew her well enough to think she wouldn’t start a full argument but I also knew she was hot headed sometimes and thought she knew best….same with the Dream King. They were both stubborn. He wasn’t human, didn’t have to deal directly with them often, and so I wasn’t sure how he’d react to her making digs at him. He didn’t seem to like her all that well either. The anxiety was coming back and I let the sound of the street and the intermittent chatting of the two friends on either side take over as my thoughts drowned me. This felt too big. Introducing the guy you’ve been kinda-sorta seeing for the past handful of months to your friend felt too big. Yes, he had taken the first step in this, had planned for me to meet Hob but I could reason that he was simply introducing the only two humans in his life. Anissa didn’t know about the Dreaming or Dream Walking or anything considered supernatural. What if this was a mistake? What if he realized how mundane and dumb and boring my life was and he lost interest? What if Morpheus denied any feelings or intentions towards me and then I’d feel embarrassed and stupid and- The hand in mine gave me a small squeeze and I broke out of my unblinking stare to look up at him, the knowing look in his eyes catching me. He was looking at me with an inquisitive look, a brow twitching up as if to ask if I was okay while also reassuring me that he was here with me. My breathing had started to come in quick, panicked pants without me noticing and I worked to calm down and take deep breaths. I was spiraling. It was his idea to come and meet her, I repeated to myself. And before I knew it, the bar was in front of us, nicer than any place I was used to frequenting which didn’t help my nerves at all. I was a simple type of girl. I didn’t care about anything fancy or appearances or high end things. It made me feel like a kid, trying desperately not to ruin anything expensive after being allowed to sit with the adults. Hob opened the door and Dream led me in, holding my hand securely in an effort to sooth the apprehension he could feel coursing through me. His thumb ran over the back of my hand, the chilled skin sending tingles as I felt a little more grounded. The lights were dim inside, a jazz band in the corner playing live with a few people dancing in front while a good remainder of the place was filled with circular tables couples and groups sat at, dressed up and drinking over candlelight. The place wasn’t too crowded for the evening and in the back corner I could see Anissa’s long red hair, pulled up into a high ponytail and a figure hugging white dress on. Her eyes met mine and then swiveled to the two guys at my back, eyebrows noticeably rising even at a distance. I swallowed a groan and pulled Morpheus behind me with a tight grip, headed to her direction while silently praying for a drama free night. I hated my birthday.

Reaching the table, I shot her a quick thin smile and let the dreamlord take off my coat to avoid meeting Anissa’s eyes, my own gaze latching onto the two shots of liquor already on the table. I grabbed one and didn’t even ask, feeling all their eyes on me as I shot it back and felt the sharp burn of what was very likely tequila. “Okay, yeah, that’s for you,” Nissa commented dryly with wide eyes, brows high into her browline, “I’m sorry, do you need more?”

Clearing my throat as the warm liquid lit my insides on fire, I shook my head and took a seat on the stool next to her, “No, I’m good. Hi.” “Hi, happy birthday” she incredulously, eyes flicking to the two men taking seats next to me, “Hi?” I eyed the second shot briefly, feeling anxiety tightening my throat as I tried to introduce everyone over the sound of the music, “Uh, yeah, this is Anissa, my friend and coworker. Nissa, this is Hob…and Morpheus.” No explanation, only their names because I couldn’t explain them.

I waited for her to take in the way the latter male sat close to me, hand on my waist as he watched me carefully and seemed to not be caring that he was being introduced as he was more worried about my wellbeing. She was smart, she’d connect the dots to who he was even though I had never mentioned his name before. Because if I had ever called him Dream or Morpheus in front of her, she definitely would have commented on the oddity of it. Hob, the godsend that he was, took the reins and held out a hand, smiling wide and easily, “Hello! So you work with Dahlia at the book publishers?” Anissa continued to stare, taking in Dream’s appearance and stoic demeanor, the protective way he hovered before turning to the other man, “Yeah, we’ve been in the same department for the past few years. How do you all know each other?” “Uh, Hob here is a history professor and friends with Morpheus,” I tried to nonchalantly explain, “And Morpheus-” “Dahlia and I are involved,” the Dream King cut in, eyes cool and face almost icy. The fingers at my waist clenched almost possessively and I wanted the alcohol to kick in much faster. Her dark brown eyes met mine then went back to him, taking in his demeanor and appearance as it all clicked together, “Ooh, so you’re the fun.” I wanted to die. “Pardon?” he shot back and I could see Hob out the corner of my eye rub his temple. “I mean I’ve heard…not a whole lot about you, actually, but glad to see you have a name and are willing to come in public with her,” Anissa replied with a smile that was too sharp to be genuine. Out of context, the statement would have sounded relatively normal and not at all loaded, but I knew the underlying accusation. “Fun is good but I think you deserve someone that will make you feel comfortable, love you, accept you as you are! I know you’ve had some issues in the past-” “That’s an understatement,” I muttered. “-But! I know you deserve someone that will see it and accept it and be considerate to what you need. You’re having fun for now but maybe when the fun starts to make you sad, it’s time to call it,” Anissa finished.

She’d taken me out when Dream and I had been fighting and I’d felt small and insecure and miserable. She understood that this was something I was having a hard time putting to words, trying to put what we were into clean boxes and failing. Unfortunately, while she cared, she wanted something else for me, not believing that this would end well. And so…she’d tried to set me up with Cameron…which had ended well.

“I am more than willing to be seen in public with Dahlia,” Morpheus answered back curtly, “Especially on her birthday, lest you try to pair her with another male coworker of hers.” Dear fucking god. I grabbed the second shot from the table and threw it back, letting the burn of it drown the absolute absurdity that was happening right now. Five minutes. It had only taken five minutes for the whole thing to go to absolute shit because of course. Everyone around me had the biggest heads and egos. “Can we not?” I asked, placing both hands on the table to try and cut in between them, “Maybe everyone…chill?” Anissa pressed her lips tightly together, locked in a glaring match with the Endless at my side, “Of course, Dahl. It’s your birthday, I wouldn’t want to be inconsiderate.” “Are you implying that I would?” I wanted to shove my head into my arms and disappear. Someone tugged on my arm and I turned to find Hob now behind me, gently pulling me from the table and out of Morpheus’ grasp, “How about we go to the bar and get you a big birthday drink, darling?” I stared at him with wide eyes and a look that definitely asked if he was crazy, shaking my head fervently, but he managed to pull me away. Both parties left at the table went to protest but stopped as Hob let out a quick, “We’ll be right back!” and dragged me away. “Are you out of your mind leaving them alone together?” I hissed at him, hand swallowed by his large one as he tugged me a short way away to the bar. “Listen, sometimes you have to just let people duke it out,” the immortal argued back, saddling up to the bar top, “They’ll get it out of their system and either come to an agreement or hate each other but neither are your fault and you don’t need to bare witness to it.” “That’s my friend and my…person…” the words stopped and I let myself drift off, trying to glance back at the table and two we were discussing. I could see the stiffness in Dream’s posture and the way Anissa’s lips twisted as she spoke. My mind was already conjuring the worst case scenario. Hob stared at my profile, absentmindedly waving down the bartender, “I’ve been meaning to ask about that. You and my old friend. How did that happen?” My eyes were still on the two arguing until my companion gently turned my face to look at him with a finger under my chin. I almost jumped at the contact, not expecting it and blinking large eyes owlishly at him, “You’re asking how me and Dream met?” He smirked and tapped my nose with the finger that turned my head, “Eyes here, love. Let them hash it out, no point in watching. And yes, I’m asking how you met.” The bartender came by and he ordered a whiskey while I got a cranberry vodka sour, the leftover tequila coating my throat reminding me why I hated the liquor. “I would have thought he’d tell you,” I answered and resisted trying to look at the person in question. Hob let out a bark of a laugh, one side of his lips twisting in deep amusement, “Might I remind you, he didn’t even tell me who he was until yesterday when you did. Sharing isn’t exactly a skill of his especially when it’s about himself.” He paused and a considerate look seemed to light up his warm eyes, “I think that’s why I like you. For years he’s been this big secret, this mysterious figure I couldn’t discuss with anyone. Him and the whole not dying thing. But now there’s you and it feels…relieving to have someone to talk to and share the experience with.” I smiled at that, pondering over the words. He was right. Dream of the Endless had only been in my life for a blink of an eye compared to Hob but it felt restricting sometimes that I couldn’t really discuss him. You can’t exactly go around and tell people you were seeing the anthropomorphic personification of dreams and nightmares without ending up with a wellness check. So it was nice to have someone who knew him in a human way and felt the frustration.

“Yeah, I feel the same,” I replied absentmindedly. He tapped me on the nose again and I jerked, giving him a small glare, “Now, back to how you two met.” “It’s complicated,” I sighed, “I feel like everything about us is complicated. There’s never a straight answer.” “So I take it you didn’t meet out in a bar or out in the streets?” he joked and thanked the bartender as our drinks were placed in front of us, “I mean, technically he picked me up in a pub.” I could feel the anxiety of wondering what was happening behind us and tried desperately to stay focused on the cold drink in my hands, the way the condensation slid over my skin and dripped onto the counter, “No. You do know about him being captured, right?” The other man nodded while taking a drink of his whiskey, “Well, I am apparently something called a Dream Walker. I am completely lucid when I dream and can actually go into other people’s. I didn’t even know it was something I could really do until a couple of years ago when he was freed.” I told him about how it was apparently something that was in my family, though with Morpheus’ capture the only person that had done it before was my grandmother when she was a child. Both her and my mother were dead by the time I could Dream Walk on my own, having believed it was a crazy story my grandma told, but luckily she had warned me not to interfere with other’s dreams as if it were a children’s bedtime story. And I’d followed that rule for two years…until I’d gotten drunk and destroyed my ex’s dream after finding him in bed with my neighbor.

The King of Dreams usually tampered down on any Dream Walker’s abilities when they first manifested, had never let one grow into their full power out of worry it may damage the realm, but it was too late to do that with me. And so he let me be, after very angrily arguing with me. “I thought he was going to kill me,” the words sounded a little ridiculous now, seeing how it ended up being the opposite, and Hob’s answering grin told me he thought the same.

“You did? Nah, I think he likes to be argued with sometimes. Keeps him humble…or somewhat humble,” he laughed. I laughed and drank the sour alcoholic drink, my body feeling warmer and loose as the two shots previously started to sink in a bit more, “Well, I know that now. Back then he was terrifying. He sent a nightmare after me.” Hob choked and coughed, eyes wide and red as he blinked at me. I only chuckled and grinned, “Yeah, this big tentacle monster thing. And then the next day he met me in the Waking world at that café after I ran from him and I thought he was going to murder me in front of everyone. But instead he said it wasn’t my fault I was how I was and let me be…but then he started asking questions and we started talking and I think he was flirting with me. I don’t know, there was just a shift and slowly it built up into whatever this is.”

Seeing both our drinks were empty, he waved the bartender down while I cautioned a look back at the table. The annoyance was gone from Anissa’s face, almost sad and blank, and I could see that Morpheus was talking, but I couldn’t figure out the tone of the conversation. But his posture wasn’t as rigid and neither of them were dead so that was a plus. It was killing me that I didn’t know what was being said, what was happening but Hob nudged me with another drink and I turned back to face him. “I think sometimes that his time away changed him more than he’s willing to admit,” his fingers tapped on the countertop, eyes reminiscent, “Don’t ever mention this to him because he will deny and probably flip over a table, but I feel like he’s desperate to build connections. Over a hundred years in isolation did a number and now it’s like he doesn’t want to be alone entirely.” “Touch starved,” I blurted, staring at his fingers as they tapped and tapped their own rhythm, “He’s definitely touch starved.”

He nodded, almost a little sadly, “I’ve seen him more in the two years since he’s been back than the six hundred plus that I’ve known him. Honestly it wasn’t entirely a surprise that he popped up and was suddenly dating someone-” “Oh we’re not dating,” I cut him off with a wave of my hand, “I mean, this is…casual, I guess.” Hob furrowed his brows, mouth quirked in a way that screamed bullshit, “Oh yeah, because my old friend definitely brings every person he sees casually to meet me. Darling, I don’t mean to call you delusional, but…” He gave me a pointed look and I winced, “You mean something to him and it’s definitely not casual. I’ve never met anyone in his personal life, but he wanted me to meet you.” I sighed, chewing on my bottom lip and staring at the glass in my hands, “It’s hard to put into words. What we are…we’ve never really talked about it in certain terms. He says he’s mine and I’m his, but I always figured that was like the overly romantic way of saying we were exclusive. I don’t know what we are, really, and I’m afraid to bring it up.” Hand reaching up and rubbing my back, the warmth of his hand soothing on the expanse of my exposed skin, he chuckled a bit, “In 1889, I told him that I thought he kept meeting me because we were friends and he was lonely and he was so furious that he walked out. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that he hasn’t bothered to clear things up. I doubt he even fully knows, but he is very attached to you.” Blinking up at him under his lashes, I stared at his profile in the dim light and found he wasn’t looking at me but back at the table where Morpheus was talking with Anissa. There was a slight smile on his lips, a fondness when he talked about his friend and perhaps something more. His own kind of attraction to the dreamlord. Hob was old, charming, and a relentless flirt. I couldn’t help but think of all the relationships and lovers he had probably taken in the past, all the things he might have tried. And when faced with Morpheus, who had his own pull… I couldn’t help but take in the angle of his jaw and the strong line of his nose. He was handsome in an entirely different way from Dream, a more masculine way, stubble coating his jaw adding a ruggedness to him. With alcohol starting to seep in, the hand rubbing at my back shot tingles through me. Before I could properly think about the question or my line of thinking, I blurted out, “Have you and he ever…?” Brown eyes turned to meet mine, that affection still dancing in the dark irises. I took in the natural tilt of his lips, the humor and lightness that seemed a permanent fixture to him. He didn’t answer, only met my gaze and gave me a small flirtatious smile before dropping his hand from my back, “Come on, looks like those two have finally settled and we should probably save him.” With a wink, he grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers and I realized the alcohol had seeped in a lot more than I thought as he kept me from stumbling on my dress back to the table. My mind was having a hard time focusing, distracted by what was happening, and all I could picture were those same tanned hands on pale skin and his fingers in ink black messy hair. My skin felt too hot and tight. Suddenly lifting my hand and giving me a small twirl I wasn’t expecting, Hob deposited me in a less than graceful stumble into Morpheus’ arms who wrapped them firmly around my waist and settled me half on his knee at the table. I comforted instantly at the feel of him and the smooth texture of his coat against my bare back, my body feeling warm and toasty. “Are you two done fighting?” I asked and was startled at the slightest way my words felt in slow motion. I could feel Dream stiffen and turn to his friend with a glare who shrugged with a laugh. Anissa looked resigned, taking me in next to him, “We weren’t fighting, just having a disagreement and yes, we are…. Though what kind of pretentious name is Morpheus anyways?” “Nissa!” I reprimanded sharply. She raised her hand in surrender, “Okay, okay, I’m done!”

“Did you get her inebriated?” the man in question asked while his fingers gripped the soft skin of my hip through the fabric. I mumbled my dissent at being called drunk while Hob pointed a finger at me, “Technically she did that to herself when she started the night by downing two shots and she’s fine! It’s her birthday, let her loosen up if she has to deal with both of you tonight.” My coworker scoffed and looked at him, “Excuse me, I don’t even know you.” Hob grinned, “I don’t have to know you. I could tell from how she almost had a damn panic attack getting here she was worried about both of you. That tells me all I need.” I gave him points on being observant but was mostly feeling disgruntled that I was being discussed by everyone while literally sitting between them all, “I’m right here, you know.” “Yes and you look lovely,” he winked. I rolled my eyes and settled into Dream’s arms, partially pleased that he was still holding me even though we were in public and he never seemed like a publicly affectionate being. But he held me to him while the other two bantered, Hob driving the conversation to them to give us a break. Anissa had found a worthy partner to verbally duel with and the other man definitely was taking joy in trying to charm her. Turning my head into him, I asked my partner quietly, “You alright?” The Dream King hummed in acquiescence, tracing lazy circles in my dress, “We had a discussion and came to an understanding. Apologies, I did not wish to worry you about our meeting or cause you distress. Are you well?” I nodded, wondering what kind of an “understanding” they came to and what was even discussed, “Yeah, me and Hob just talked and drank a bit.” My mind flashed to the images I had unintentionally visualized earlier as well as those hands on my back as well and I flushed, diverting my attention to the rest of the bar. I could feel Dream’s eyes on me, knew he was taking in the blush on my cheeks and hoped he chalked it up to the alcohol I had drank in quick succession that was now hitting me all at once. I was slightly tipsy and apparently horny. I needed to get myself together and stop fantasizing about them. Yes, they were two ungodly attractive men. But they were friends and I’m sure Morpheus wouldn’t appreciate me imagining another man, no matter how close they were. “… I do not share.” He had told me that forever ago, had warned me about how possessive he could be. And even if he had loosened up on it, directed it to be a less toxic form of possessiveness, I doubted he had changed that drastically.

Hob proved to, in fact, be a very good mediary. He kept the conversation going with talking about books and history and of all things, the early stages of the printing industry. To Morpheus’ annoyance, he called more drinks over with the excuse that it was my birthday and if I wanted to get hammered then I could. When Anissa would ask basic questions we couldn’t answer like what did Morpheus do for a living or how we met or how long the two men had been friends, the professor easily diverted the conversation or gave an obtuse answer. I’m sure she was noticing how the conversation kept getting steered away, how little information Dream gave or even seemed to talk now that their own argument was over, but she didn’t push it and I was grateful.

Nissa apologized for how she acted, if only after a couple more drinks, saying she only wanted me to be happy after everything with my exes and I waved her off. It didn’t stop her from making small passive aggressive comments towards Morpheus but he seemed less reactionary now and more able to ignore her. I understood it all. Both of them argued out of care for me, and also ego, but I’d rather it be shoved away and not talked about anymore. I was still uncomfortable with anger and fighting in general and it being about me made it more uncomfortable. I wasn’t used to people caring enough to argue. As the band switched up to a livelier tune, Hob managed to persuade Anissa to dance, carting her off and leaving me alone with the Endless. His tolerance was high, hers was low, and it wasn’t hard to keep her distracted so we could have alone time. My head felt slightly fuzzy and I’d switched to drinking water simply because I would still have to walk home and didn’t want a hangover in the morning, but overall I felt relaxed. Dream’s lips pressed to the dip in my shoulder and the simple touch sent a wave of electricity shooting through my already heated skin, “How are you feeling, little dreamer?” “I think Hob’s trying to get everyone drunk,” I chuckled, leaning into him and the feel of his kiss, “But I’m good. We should probably head back soon though before it gets too cold.” I’d taken up residence between his thighs, his long legs still stretched out on the ground even though he was sitting on a stool, standing but fully wrapped in his hold. His fingers drifted up and down my sides, taking satisfaction in the way I shivered at the small act. I could tell he was all for leaving, probably had been from the start. Coming out tonight was less a want and more of a need to be present, to be involved in my life and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was half to stake a claim on me. He knew Anissa had tried to set me up and wasn’t pleased, probably wanting her to know I was off limits for future matchmaking.

But he didn’t like being amongst people or playing human, I knew that much, and I’m sure he found it all very droll. His fingers went to my bare back again, tracing the skin and dip along my spine. I let my head fall back to rest on his shoulder, closing my eyes and relaxing under the haze of alcohol and the delicious feeling of him touching me. His breath brushed along the shell of my ear and I shivered as he whispered, “You were blushing rather hard earlier. What was on your mind?” I froze, my mind taking a second to process the words. So he had noticed that. Of course he had, he notices everything but I didn’t think he’d ask directly. “Uh nothing,” I answered innocently. His nail gently scraped my skin and I had to hold in a moan at how it felt, pulling my lower lip between my teeth, “You are a poor liar, little dreamer. I have seen all of you bared beneath me, seen what makes you blush so. What are you afraid to tell me?” My breath hitched and I opened my eyes, blinking at the dim lights hanging from the ceiling and feeling the thrum of music all around us. Even in a crowded room and our friends nearby, I felt like we were alone in our own bubble, the sound muffled except here with his voice so close. I turned my head, catching the dark swirl of his irises with my own and seeing the stars hidden beneath. The air left my lungs in a shallow rise and fall, heat pooling in my center as the darkness of his gaze seemed to strip me down and leave me exposed, “It was just…alcohol and my brain being overactive.” His black brow rose, hands moving lower down my body. I was keenly aware that we were mostly hidden in the corner of the room behind the table, the bar dark and most of the lights focused on the band and the dance floor. It was almost like we were wrapped in shadows and I wondered if Morpheus did something to hide us even more. “That is not a proper answer,” his voice was low and half a growl of admonishment, eyes tracing the length of my neck as I stayed fully pressed back against him, following the scoop of the fabric covering my neck and the fact I definitely hadn’t worn a bra with this dress. Dream’s lips touched my temple and he muttered, “What did that overactive mind of yours show you?” I gulped and felt his fingers on my thigh, slowly pulling the long fabric of my skirt up and up my legs, “I don’t want you to be mad.” He paused and pulled back a little to more fully see my face, “And why would I be angry with you?” My eyes instinctively flickered over to where Hob and Anissa were dancing, my friend cackling as the immortal swung her around and spun her on the dance floor. His movements were easy and fluid, practiced, while she flailed around trying to keep up but obviously having fun.

Morpheus followed my gaze and I could almost see him connect the dots as I whispered, “He’s a flirt and I had wondered if you and he…then I thought of you and me as well…” His voice was rough and deep, eyes locked on watching his friend and mine dancing as he commented darkly, “The three of us…” I swallowed and broke from looking, staring down at the table and watched the water slide down the outside of my glass. “I’m drunk and it’s dumb and it was a passing thought. It’s not anything. I’m apparently a horny drunk which is interesting,” I rambled and chuckled anxiously, my words all running together as I tried to move on from what I’d admitted and force my brain to make any sort of sense. Two shots and almost four drinks were not helping, “Like I said, my mind is overactive and should be ignored.” But he was still fixated, not looking at me, “You were afraid I would be angry.” It wasn’t a question, a flat statement as his hands stayed paused on my thighs. I wanted to groan and sink down under the table as I worried I’d ruined the peace everyone had managed to reach after the rough beginning. I shouldn’t have drank, didn’t usually and my tolerance was low and apparently made me run my mouth and do stupid things. Afterall, drinking is what had led me to destroy Thomas’ dream which then caught Morpheus’ attention. I was chewing my lip raw, nerves pushing through the alcohol as I wasn’t sure what the expression on his face was exactly, “You said you don’t share. And after last time…I thought you’d be angry at him or me or both…” Last time when Cameron had only flirted with me and Dream had terrified him enough that the man didn’t go near me and quit his job. When the mere idea of someone being interested had sent him into a jealous tantrum. Morpheus finally turned and looked down at me, straightening us both enough that he could fully see my face. One hand left my hip and went to cup my cheek, raising my face to meet his and gently moving a piece of hair behind my ear, “That was a different situation and I promised I would not be so quick to anger. But is this… scenario you imagined…something you wish for? Truly?” My heart was beating so loudly it drowned out the jazz music that was playing and all I could see was the blue of his eyes and feel the fast thrumming of nerves. I considered his words. I’d never really fantasized before, hadn’t considered my sex life in general before Morpheus came around. Sex hadn’t been something I craved, simply a way to please whatever partner I was with. Mind you, none of my previous partners were all that good at sex and there was a level of trauma attached to the act after my first abusive boyfriend but sex was decent enough and I got use to it. Now possibilities had opened up, I had a healthy and very active sex life, and I wasn’t sure, was almost scared to look beyond what was considered normal or vanilla. But the dreamlord was already more than I could have ever expected, more gorgeous and skilled than I thought possible. He was always attentive to my wants and boundaries. And Hob was handsome and attractive, physically and personality wise. What would it be like to be with both of them, to have both their attention on me and even each other? What kind of life did I have that the scenario was even a possibility? Two immortals with a mere plain mortal? But god did the image interest me, leave me pulsing with want and excitement. It was something I hadn’t ever considered but now…now maybe… Dream traced a thumb over my chewed lip and my breath hitched, eyes wide and unblinking as against his dark, curious gaze before I let out the subtlest of nods. It was small and almost imperceptible but I knew he’d caught it. He leaned in and pressed his forehead to mine, hand moving from my cheek to entwine with my long hair at the base of my neck as he asked softly, “Why him?” My voice was shaky, stuttering as I gripped the wrist of the hand in my hair, wanting to keep him close to me, “Because you trust him so I trust him. Because he cares for you.” And I’d do anything as long as Dream was involved. His skin was so hot against mine and I could feel the muscles in his arms, the humming of his power surrounding me and answering back in the small necklace and earrings hanging from me, “Perhaps… when you are of clear mind and sober …that is something we can…discuss further about making happen. When you are ready, of course.” Not a no. Most certainly interested. I nodded against him slowly, his breath mingling with mine at the proximity, unable to form words and process that not only was he not mad but potentially willing for that scenario. And as much as I wanted to say yes and let’s talk about it now and make it happen, I respected that he wanted me to sit on it a bit and not rush into something I may not be prepared for. The idea was exciting but the reality was harder to swallow. Pulling me in, he laid the barest kiss against my lips and I could feel the raw need he was holding back, the hunger he was keeping carefully tucked away. I sighed, simultaneously tight with my own lust and incredibly relieved that this hadn’t turned into a complete disaster. And that maybe I wasn’t the only one turned on by the idea. But before I could deepen the kiss he pulled back, leaving me to chase him eagerly, and laid a softer kiss to my hair. His arms were back around my waist, tucking me into him as our friends returned panting and out of breath with wide smiles. Neither of them seemed to guess that anything was off or even hinted that they knew what we were discussing, but I could feel Dream’s desire in the slight hardness against my back. He was done with being in public and wanted to go home to other things and honestly I couldn’t argue with that. I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t being rude even if it was my birthday and I could feel exactly how excited he was. Unfortunately for both of us, Anissa proceeded to pull me into a dance, claiming I had gotten time with both men and it was her turn. I could feel Dream’s annoyance in his scowl and the way he watched her drag me away from him, but I could only smile as she began to swing me around. We were both pretty sauced and neither of us knew how to really dance to the music that was playing, but I laughed as we basically swayed and spun each other. Nissa smiled and hugged me as we moved back and forth in some attempt at dancing, “Happy birthday, Dahl. Sorry it started off a little rough, but I’ll say your guy isn’t so bad. Has a dumb name, but not bad.” My guy. I smiled back, feeling strangely choked up at her approval, and laughed a bit, “Thank you for looking out for me and trying.” She laughed and sent me into another spin, “I want you to be happy, that’s all. You’re a good person, Dahlia. You deserve it.” I could only nod, hearing her words and not knowing quite what to say. So I said nothing and hugged her, both of us fake dancing through the rest of the song. For what it was, even with all the anxiety and bickering, it had been a good birthday. Morpheus had made the effort to spend the evening with me in the Waking world. A weight felt like it was lifted off my shoulder now that Anissa, the only person I was close with, had met him. Plus I had gained a friend with a similar experience through Hob. Not bad at all. Hob took care of the tab while we danced and luckily, everyone seemed to be in agreement that it was a good time to head out. Anissa downed the remainder of her drink, claiming she didn’t want good alcohol to go to waste, and Morpheus helped me into my coat as we walked out. I had been right and it was much colder now, the air stinging my nose a bit as it held a slight bite. The tipsy haze had cleared up a little bit, my words coming out a little stronger, but the alcohol was still very heavily in my system and warmed me however it could. “Are you sure you can get home on your own?” Hob asked my friend, who was ever so slightly swaying while standing straight. I met his eyes and shook my head, not knowing if she had walked or driven to the bar. Either way, I wasn’t sure she should be left to go off alone and as I went to open my mouth, the immortal shrugged, “I’ll make sure she gets to her place. Last thing we need is someone trying to make a move on you.” “I’m fine, it’s not even very far,” Anissa rolled her eyes but seemed to be tilting to the side as if we were still swinging and dancing. “Mmmhmm,” he hummed skeptically, “Either way, it’ll make everyone feel better.” “Just let him, Nissa, it’ll be better than arguing,” I shot before she could let out a retort. Huffing, she relented and he grinned while offering an arm to her, “Get back safe, you two! And happy birthday again, darling!” I smiled and waved, watching them walk off down the street and trusting that he would actually get her home in one piece. Sighing, I turned and found Morpheus staring at me, the stars more pronounced in his eyes, “What?” He only smiled softly and held out a hand, long fingers so pale in the darkness of the night, “Come.” Staring at him suspiciously, I took his hand and intertwined our fingers, him tugging me not down the street but around the corner to the dark opening of an alley. My suspicion grew as I looked around, brow furrowed. “Uh, are we about to have sex in the alley cause I have to say, it’s a little too cold for that,” I commented dryly, looking at the black abyss that encompassed the small space. If I didn’t know and trust him, I would assume I was in the beginning of a true crime podcast episode. He frowned and shook his head, “That is not an idea I wish to cross off your list, unfortunately.” We stopped at the opening, not that far in but far enough that we weren’t easily noticed even if you were walking past. His eyes seemed to reflect in the darkness like a cat and it was almost as if we were back in the Dreaming, the irises so dark they seemed black and the reflection sparkling like twin stars. Morpheus continued to hold my hand and pulled me closer to him, trying to keep me warm with his body heat, “Do you wish to go to the Dreaming?” My brain, alcohol-laden and tired, stuttered and tried to comprehend what he was asking, “Um, yes though I’m confused. I thought I’d already been going to the Dreaming? Didn’t really know there was a choice since I have to sleep unless you’re implying not sleeping at all, which I may be down for?” He shook his head, half a sigh and half a chuckle leaving him, “You misunderstand. When you sleep, you are simply visiting the Dreaming but your physical body stays here. You are there but also not. I am asking if you would like to go in your entirety. Physically, go to the Dreaming with me.” “I…didn’t know I could physically go there,” I mumbled. “Of course you can. The Dreaming is as whole and solid as the world you are standing in now,” Dream reached a hand out and dragged its knuckles along the edge of my chin, “The residents have a purpose but they live there the same as you live here. Living beings simply are able to visit areas in their sleep but unlike you, they never remember upon waking.” He wanted me to come to the Dreaming. No time limit, no wondering when my body would wake up and force me to leave. I could actually go there and be there with him. I’d always had a hard time wrapping my head around the concept of the Dreaming but the way he described it made a bit more sense. It was just another world that we were allowed to briefly visit. He was asking me to be there in all ways. “Yes,” I met his gaze in the low light, the words rushed and eager and excited, “Yeah, I want to go.” His smile, the one he showed so rarely, lit up and my heart sped up at the sight, “Good. I can take us there now.” “I don’t have to bring anything?” my words were a jumble, nerves surfacing now that I had accepted. He knew I took a few extra days off from work, if only so I could laze around at home, but I didn’t know if that was something he ever even considered because why would he? He didn’t have to pay bills. “You will have everything you need there and I will bring you back when you wish,” he stepped closer, bringing my head up to look at him. Only a couple inches more and I would be able to reach his mouth, pull it against mine finally and kiss him fully and deeply. I only nodded though, entranced by his gaze and what almost seemed like his own excitement there. His hand went to his waist and to the small pouch of sand he always kept on his belt. It had to be some form of magic that hid it. When I would be held to him, I never felt it on him even though it was hard to miss. Holding me close, he whispered while taking a handful of grains out, “I should warn you, Lucienne may have discovered what day it is and was planning on having the kitchen staff make you something.” While I wanted to groan at more birthday celebrations, connecting it to Matthew’s quick visit and hasty retreat, it was heartwarming that even those in the Dreaming wanted to try and help me celebrate a bit. But at the same time, “So we should probably go straight to your quarters first then?” And as the sand swirled around our feet and all around us, his devious smile sent a shiver down my spine with a delicious promise of what was to come.

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goatsandgangsters · 1 year

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SAB EPISODE THREEEEE LIVEBLOG

I’m really glad I have the subtitles on, because “we could definitely use your arsenal” is NOT what I heard Mal say to Nikolai. GOTTA ENUNCIATE THE END OF THAT WORD THERE ARCHIE OR I’LL BE WRITING A NEW RAREPAIR BEFORE YOU KNOW IT

AW KOVU, HE’S IN THE SHOW TOO. fun fact! if you look up the etymology of the name Kovu, it’s JUST the lion king 2! so in addition to naming someone privyet, I’m fairly certain that Leigh Bardugo named someone on Nikolai’s crew after an oddly good-looking talking lion

I’m so glad I have a visual for the flying ship now, because ngl I was never able to really… picture that in a way that made sense. My mental image of the Hummingbird previously was like. two kayaks strapped to some 2x4’s with a sail on it. this is much better

I like that they’re taking the crows more seriously this season? they felt sort of. silly and comic reliefy last season. but their scenes have so much more heft to them. Freddy is doing an incredible job, AND I’m loving all the more serious moments between him and Jesper (people always short-change Jesper on his depth and that makes me annoyed)

“wHAT HAPPENED TO THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BURN VILLAGES TO KEEP HER CHILD SAFE” AAAYYYYYYY DEMON IN THE WOOD REFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ooooohhhhhh Morozova family scenes SO GOOD, I’m fucking living. these two play off each other so well. I’m also just?? fucking living for getting to see him in all these different contexts? like, in the books obviously we only get him when Alina’s there (and then he doesn’t…. do that much in Rule of Wolves…) and like. genuinely. just getting a lot of canon scenes that’s him interacting with all kinds of different characters is REALLY exciting for me. you know what it is actually? they’re treating him as a character. and not just A Mysterious Figure. even compared to season 1, he feels more like a character and less like a Presence

THERE!! HE!!! ISS!!!!!! oh I was so excited to see the Nikolai switch and I love that he does change the way he carries himself and the way he speaks, HE’S VERY FUCKING GOOD

SPINNING WHEEL?????? ARE WE GOING TO SEE?????????? MY FAVORITE LOCATION??????????????????????

aw I love David. he’s so sincerely like “so these terrifying shadow monsters. explain.” and then just listens intently.

OH, HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW IF ALINA’S ALIVE?? they BOTH think the other is dead?? they both think they’re just arguing with a dream every night? well. that is juicy

“MY JAW FEELS MUCH BETTER NOW THANKS FOR ASKING” he’s such a shithead :333333

he’s even BETTER as nikolai, I am. very pleased. I am very pleased! i AM VERY PLEASED WE’RE GETTING NIKOLAI DEPTH, BECAUSE I LOVE HIM YOU SEE AND I LOVE THAT THEY’RE TAKING HIM AND HIS DEPTH SERIOUSLY

I WISH YOU COULD HEAR THE UNHOLY SCREECH I JUST MADE. OH WE ARE GETTING THE SPINNING WHEEL???????????? this is not on top of a mountain but I understand production restraints. um. anyway. I would like to take this moment to say SP??? SPINNING????? wHEeehHELHWELHLHWLHELHW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zoyalina kiss when. ZOYALINA KISS WHEN.

part of me is a little bit mad that “arrive at the spinning wheel and get an exposition dump about how the little palace is a mess because the first army turned on grisha” is…….. a chapter I have already written, for amnesia au, but I have not posted it yet, and now I don’t have Verifiable Proof that I wrote it on my own free brain without show influence. you’ll all just have to believe me on this

WESPER PRECANON HOOKUP????????????????????

Wesper piano tuning adventure, eXTREMELY CUTE

Jesper having feeeeeeelings Jesper having feeeeeeeeeelings

CANNOT BELIEVE WE’RE JUST DOING CROOKED KINGDOM BEFORE SIX OF CROWS. genuinely did not have that on my bingo card at all

oh Inej’s IMMEDIATE “then we destroy him” is A Lot. from the mistrust to “ride or die, let’s kill” oh wow

WOW THEY ARE REALLY DOING KANEJ BATHROOM SCENE JUSTICE

ARE WE DOING????? STAIRCASE FIGHT?????????????????????????? IN EPISODE THREE???????????????????????????????????? IN THPIEOSDE THREE????????

oh FREDDY IS GOOD THIS SEASON. not that he wasn’t good last season, but they are REALLY letting him shine

this episode vacillating between scenes from Siege and Storm, scenes from Ruin and Rising, scenes from Crooked Kingdom, and not-yet-published scenes from my own AU has been a headtrip. IT’S NOT BAD, but I feel like I put myself in a washing machine with all of the books and we’re just going whuubbuwhuuubbbwhuuubbbb together

my biggest complaint about season 1 was the pacing, and I can’t put my finger on what they’ve done differently because certainly they have even more to cram in and I really thought—if season 1 felt bumpy and rushed and all over the place—there was no WAY season 2 wouldn’t be even more all-over-the-place with so many characters and so many books. but somehow they’re really pulling it off??? I can’t believe this is the third episode only??? I can’t believe this is only haLFWAY THROUGH the third episode???? they are really packing a punch with everything and it’s working. this season so far is TIGHT. I don’t know what they did or what they changed or how, but they are NAILING IT

(interestingly, because each episode feels so meaty and satisfying, it doesn’t feel Designed To Be Binged. this would have rocked as a weekly release. each episode stands so well on its own, I wish they had a full week of breathing space)

ohhhhh poor David, about to be unwilling witness to Morozova Family Drama. World’s Biggest Ilya Morozova Fanboy accidentally has front row seat to watching his kid and grandkid duke it out, dysfunctional immortal style

HM. DON’T KNOW IF THAT’S BETTER OR WORSE THAN EYEBALLS, BUT NEITHER DAVID NOR I WERE EXPECTING THAT LEVEL OF FAMILY DYSFUNCTION RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR SALADS

me seeing my boy in a fancy vest and gay-ass cravat with his sleeves rolled up: I am living my best possible life

ohhhhhhhh the Kaz Wylan Jesper scene VERY GOOD, FREDDY REALLY BRINGING IT

Ben Barnes with Merzost Tuberculosis was ALSO not on my bingo card, but I’ll be honest, I’m not mad about it. just hackin up a lung in every single scene

why is Tidemaker Woman styled like that. like, her hair, her makeup, she just…. looks like someone who knows what tiktok is? she does not look like she’s lives in Magical Tsarist Russia

OH HE EXTINGUISHED THE CANDLE, OKAY. there was a genuine moment there where I wasn’t sure if he was gonna give alina a wet-willy or flip her off

OH, NOT THE DOOR I THOUGHT YOU WERE KNOCKING ON

I’ll see how I feel tomorrow, I was gonna knock out two more, but I might just do one? I’m enjoying A LOT, but every episode has been so FULL in a good way that I don't. feel like I'm chomping at the bit for more? I mostly want to sit and digest everything so far. TBH I WANT TO REWATCH EVERYTHING SO FAR, ALREADY. god this would have been SO good on weekly release. how the fuck is this so good??????

#episode 3 verdict: I genuinely did not think this season could POSSIBLY be as good as it’s been so far #How Are They Doing That??????#grishaverse #shadow and bone #sab liveblog

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wingedshoes · 2 years

Note

Share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order Then send this to 10 people (anon or not, your choice) 🎥🎬📺

hi Nivi ♥️ this sounds fun. I KNOW I WROTE A LOT BUT I WAS DOING SOUL SEARCHING and i hope you read all of it. No two from one piece huh? Alright then:

1. Haley James Scott from One Tree Hill

starting with the ones I kin the most, Haley (until she decided to give up her dream college and didn't get an abortion) is the most relatable character I've ever seen. I feel on the outside of a lot of things in life even though I can charm my way into everywhere, it takes a lot out of me in this way, being what people want you to be. Someone who also loves endlessly and unconditionally. That's what I admire the most in her.

2. Holly Golightly from Breakfast At Tiffany's (the BOOK NOT THE MOVIE)

Audrey's a fashion icon, there's no doubt but I've read the movie summary and they've butchered the soul of the book, its theme, its meaning-

if I were Truman Capote i would simply not write another book in my lifetime. ANYWAY. Holly is a sad, rude, gorgeous and lively spirit. The narrator of the book is unnamed and Holly calls him Fred for Fred, her long lost brother who was the only family she spoke of voluntarily. Holly's society card always says "miss holly Golightly- travelling" which can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, you can find your own once you read the book, Nivi. The narrator is also heavily implied to be queer and the only person who isn't sexually attracted to Holly and THEY RUINED THEIR RELATIONSHIP IN THE MOVIE. Do not get me started. Conclusion: Breakfast at tiffany's is the feminist Catcher in the Rye and also fuck hollywood.

3. Dream of the Endless - The Sandman, Netflix

I don't read comics so I just went into the show blind. And I want this show to eat me. It's so unpredictable and wild. Morpheus is a prideful entity first and foremost. A loyal one but petty beyond anything. I find his personality so very fitting considering he oversees both dreams and nightmares. I almost wrote about the Corinthian (I HAVE DONE MY BEST TO BE WHAT YOU MADE ME) but I don't understand them very well yet whereas Dream feels like my best friend. His fraught relationship with Calliope is so delicate I want to boop it to see if it'll blast.

4. Anne Shirley - Anne of Green Gables, Lucy maud Montgomery

Man, anne is who tween me was before the parental trauma hit. Talks too much, obsessed with my own hair, obsessed with literature, obsessed with violence against boys, romanticizes my name and my life to mean something anything. I could go on and on. But there's this line right before Matthew dies: something about this being the last day her heart would be light and full of pure happiness. Because once you lose someone to death, your heart is never the same.

5. Daenerys Targaryen

My GIRL DESERVES THE THRONE. Okay so i have the 7 book boxed set right? worst decision. ever. i gave up in the middle of second last one and I refuse to pick it up again until GRRM gives a real update on Winds of Winter. not to mention those last two books are unbearable because Dany has no chapters. THE PART WHERE SHE FREES THE SLAVES. I'm fully on board with her villain era but not the rushed way they killed her journey in the show idk tho i haven't seen the show. aaaaaaaaaaa-

6. Alec Lightwood

I read tmi so long ago and I felt this connection to Alec. It's probably the Older Sibling Of A Family Balanced On a Nail energy we have in common, where we just give away pieces of ourselves to keep others happy. It makes me happy to see him happy as an adult. It makes me feel like that could happen for me too.

7. Regina George from Mean Girls

Um, this was Edmund Pevensie five mins ago but you know what, I love Regina too much. Tina Fey's writing>>>>> and Rachel McAdams>>>>> and the way Regina never backs down from threats. Her manipulation is so subtle she doesn't even raise her voice or sound unpleasant until the end of the movie. I think Regina George and Kaz Brekker would learn from each other. Masters of the mind.

8. The Night Circus

Yeah. No characters, just the circus. The feeling of it. I think it's big enough don't you? Its immortality and love shines through even when one of the sisters is gone, when Marco and Celia are gone, they aren't, not really.

9. Mirabel from Starless Sea

There's a major part of who Mirabel actually is which is a huge spoiler, if you've read this book I'll tell you. But basically, I love how kind Mirabel tries to be given who she is.

10. Marinette Dupain Cheng from Miraculous Ladybug

my lady, my bestie, my twin sister. she's so anxious and carrying the weight of Paris with no one to share it with her except her cat partner. I just love this animated kids show and I wish other teens did too so I could talk about it more. My life these days revolves around fanfics of Marinette and Adrien. I debated choosing Adrien or Luka or Kagami because MLB has only relatable, sad teenagers trying to find love and fighting badly dressed super villains.

Hon. Mentions: Cher from Clueless, Aisha from Aisha (the sonam kapoor one) and Astrid from Crazy rich asians

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amor-immortalem · 3 years

Text

Everything Undesired chapter 5

A/N: this went in a completely different direction than the original comic did but I think its better this way. More angstier.

Chapter 4

The glow of blue fire emanates from the Witches’ house. As the three brothers watched, the child tucked safely into Lucifer’s arm, the mood was solemn.

“So, it’s over? What happens now?” Beel asked.

“We go home,” The Avatar of Pride replies, “And we help Mammon do his best to move past this...” He turns to look at his brothers, the glow from the fire casting a dark shadow over his face. “We’re finished here. Let’s go.”

A portal was opened as the eldest walked through followed by the others. On the other side, he found Levi and Belphegor trying to move Satan’s old crib from the attic down to Arella’s old room.

“Come on, Levi, put your back into it!” Belphie said as they moved down the stairs carefully. “I’m practically carrying this thing on my own here.”

“I'm trying! A shut in like me isn’t meant to be moving something so heavy.” Levi groaned as he hefted the crib up further.

Lucifer only cleared his throat as the seventh and third-born brothers looked his way. “Where’s Mammon?”

“I used my powers to put him back to sleep so he could rest up before the kid got here.” The Avatar of Sloth replied. “He doesn’t need to be over-tired and dealing with an infant at the same time. It’s a recipe for disaster, if you ask me. ”

At the commotion, Arella came out of the kitchen where she was washing out all of the old baby bottles they would need. “Oh, you’re back. I can take him now. Beel, would you help them with the crib please? It’ll be going in my old room for the time being, and Satan, would you finish drying the bottles for me, please?”

Both brothers nodded with Beel stepping forth to take the crib from his brothers and Satan headed to the kitchen. Levi and Belphie let out exhausted sighs as they headed off to their rooms and the only two left now in the entrance hall were Lucifer and Arella. She held her arms out for the little one and Lucifer was all too happy to oblige her.

With a small cry of discontentment, the baby settled into her arms quickly as she shushed him. She rocked him gently until he was back to sleep. Seeing her step so readily into the role of motherhood left the demon impressed.

“He’s already had a diaper change around two hours ago and he ate around an hour ago so he should be fine for a little bit.”

”Alright, he is frightfully thin though which worries me, but he’s in good hands now.”

“Why are you doing this, Arella? You know you don’t have to and yet here you are, embracing a child that’s not even yours.”

“Do I need a reason?” She smiles as she looked up at him. “I don’t think I do. I suppose if I have to have a reason it would be that I just want to help Mammon. He can’t do this alone. Don’t you think that’s enough?”

The Avatar of Pride only nodded. “You humans never cease to amaze me with your generosity. Has he thought of a name yet?”

“He threw a couple names out there but ultimately he couldn’t decide so he asked me to choose the name from the ones he suggested.”

“And?”

“I chose the name Cyrus, from the Latin meaning sun. Right now, it’s a very dark time in our lives, but I hope one day he’ll be bright like a little ray of sunshine.”

“Very thoughtful of you,” The demon hums. “But are you sure you’ll be alright tonight? You’ve been up nearly all night. You have to be exhausted by now.”

“I’ll be alright. This isn’t the first time I’ve pulled an all-nighter. When I graduated from Cambridge a couple years back, I earned myself a degree in biochemical engineering. I can’t tell you the number of sleepless nights I had cramming in last minute reviews. This won’t be anything compared to those. I’m obviously not planning to go to RAD tomorrow, so I can just sleep when Cyrus sleeps.”

“You can take online courses then. We’re going to try to pass him off as your child for that to work you’ll need to be absent from RAD for an extended period of time. If word gets out that my brother was assaulted, the mockery he’ll face will be absolutely ridiculous. It’ll be easy since demons don’t know much about human anatomy. We can always say it was a surprise pregnancy and you never showed.”

Arella only nodded at that. “Thank you,” she turned and headed to her old room for the night to settle the baby.

----------------------------------------------

Mammon slept for a full eight hours before waking up with a start. While he felt rested, there was also an odd sense of worry flowing through him. He looked around frantically and then realized what was missing. Arella wasn’t with him. He got out of bed and made his way around the house looking for his mate. She would be in the last place he looked- in her room. He shrunk back at the sight of his child resting against her chest, as a soft purring noise filled the room. The sight reminded him just how much he wanted them to have a child of their own together.

The demon stood there, mesmerized by the sight in front of him until his human noticed him. She motioned for him to join her on the bed, a bright smile enveloped her features as he did just that.

“He’s beautiful, love.” She said as she leaned her head against his shoulder. “Do you want to try to hold him?”

He shook his head as he rested his cheek against her. “I don’t know if I can right now...” The Avatar of Greed only frowned. He wanted to hold Cyrus but he still felt like none of this was real. “It feels like a bad dream... Like I’ll wake up any second now.”

“That’s alright. If it helps, you could pretend that he was always our son to begin with. It might help you in the long run.”

“Do ya think... maybe I can trick myself like that?” He reached out and stroked the child’s cheek. “’Rella, I don’t get it... How can somethin’ so beautiful be born from somethin’ so horrible?”

“Sometimes the best things come from tragedy, Love. I’m so proud of you for being strong enough to take him in, do you know that?”

Mammon would only nod in response as a tiny hand came to wrap around his finger. For a moment all the air was stolen out of his chest as he recoiled from the contact slightly. The feeling of a crushing weight on his chest that he had only felt in his worst nightmares had returned. Suddenly, he wondered if he made the right decision as the realization set in that he was a father now. What if he was never able to love his son? What kind of damage would that do to his child? Could he do this?

“Mammon?”

“I-I’m fine. Don’t worry,” he takes a few deep breaths and he’s able to calm himself. “I'll take him now. Hafta get past this at some point. I hafta be the parent he needs.”

“You will be. I have faith in you.” Arella kissed his cheek before carefully transferring Cyrus to his father. “I know you’ll be a fantastic father once you’re able to see him separately from what his mother and aunts did to you.”

He only nodded as Arella cards her fingers through his hair. He thought this would be a monumental challenge at first, and it still was but as long as she was here, he thought maybe things would go smoother.

—————————————————————

The crying was the worst part for Mammon and Cyrus was unfortunately a fussy baby. Over the past few weeks since he’d been brought home, there were multiple times where the white-haired demon had to leave the room whenever his child cried or pass him off to his adoptive mother, feeling too physically sick to listen to or even look at the child.

The end of the spring term was nearly upon them and since exams would be coming up. Mammon took every chance he could to stay late at RAD for some extra studying with Satan and Asmodeus, knowing he had to get his grades back up. But the guilt was eating away at him. Arella was at home all day, typically alone, with his child. Any good father- any good mate- would be rushing home to give his partner a break to take time for herself and Mammon knows this but even when he doesn’t stay late at school he finds himself dragging his feet to get home.

He stared and stared at the work book in front of him. It was curses and hexes, one of his most hated subjects and arguably his worst grade. Eventually, he just shut the work book, taking of his glasses and just rubbing his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. This caught the attention of his younger brothers.

”You alright, Mams?” Asmo asked as he set his pen down.

”Am I a bad father?” The white-haired demon countered with his own question.

”No, of course not.” Satan frowned. “Given everything that happened, I’d say you’re doing great.”

”It doesn’t feel like it,” he frowned. “This is my kid and yet it feels like Arella’s doin’ all the work. Takin’ care of him all the time, stayin’ home with him all the time… It should be me doin’ all the work not her! I’m the one who said I’d keep him and yet I can’t bring myself to do anything for him. A-And its not like I don’t know how to take care of a baby. I’ve done it before.”

The Avatar of Greed ran a hand through his hair in frustration before packing up his things.

”Where are you going?” Satan yelled after his brother before being shushed by the librarian.

”Home! To apologize to my mate and force myself to take care of my child.”

If you want to be tagged for updates, let me know

Masterlist 2

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #obey me! shall we date?#obey me angst #mammon angst #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me oc #arella #cyrus

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koizumicchi · 3 years

Text

LIP×LIP English Translation Masterpost

keep in mind that Japanese and English aren’t my first language. i never claim my translation (attempts) to be error-free. as always, if you’re going to use or reference my translations, please do not claim it as your own and credit me.

all of my translations are cross-posted on my livejournal.

istg i only meant to translate judge and tsuki no hime because during that time no one picked them for translation and the fandom is so small....but before i knew it, my translation attempts and my love for LIPxLIP piled up and up until you have this (growing) masterpost.

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Songs

ジャッジ☆ Judge☆ 月の姫 Tsuki no Hime (+ 2nd voice) リペイント Repaint チョコカノ Choco Kano ホワイトデーキッス White Day Kiss 青華 Seika Yellow LOVE&KISS この世界の楽しみ方許してサンタさん他のやつにいくなんてさジュリエッタ青へ俺無しじゃ生きていけない？新時代ラストステージ (LIPxLIP notes) 弟には秘密母親って推しの魔法

FT4

Alive ; BLUE ; Dear LAYLA ; FAKE STAR ; LOVE ANTHEM ; ONE NIGHT ; TASTE ; WELCOME SICKS ; Xmas Party

In General

Guru Koi Bouken no VLOG Romantic Wedding Nakama Hazure 東京サニーパーティービビっとラブ好きな子に嘘ついた。元生徒コスプレしたいのっ！アイドルでよかった。 HONEY FLOWER マサキじゃないけど好きぎじれんあいきらきらスイーツパーチー転生したら可愛かった最近めっちゃかわいいね可愛くなれたらいいのに兄には秘密

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Docchi Kiss (2019)

LIP×LIP Radio Track 1 (en subbed) LIP×LIP Radio Track 2 (en subbed) Romeo Music Video Making Haniwa Livestream for Docchi Kiss Release LIP×LIP Docchi Kiss First LIVE Fan Report (Zepp Tokyo)

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Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata (2020-2021)

LIPxLIP FILMxLIVE LINE stamp Romeo Light Novel Introduction Romeo Light Novel First Photo Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata LN Prologue Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata LN Chapter One Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata LN Chapter Five Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata LN Chapter Six Lawson Collab Cafe Sneak Peak Animation LIP×LIP FILM×LIVE Spoilers 1 2 3 LIP×LIP FILM×LIVE Special Radio LIP×LIP FILM×LIVE Cheki Voice Drama LIP×LIP FILM×LIVE Animate Tokuten CD LIP×LIP FILM×LIVE SNS Clear Card Hashtags 01/2021 Animage Magazine Interview 1 2 3 4 5 LIPxLIP FILMxLIVE Secret Program Interview Questions LIPxLIP FILMxLIVE Pamphlet/Booklet Director Interview QR Code Drama Tracks Exclusive with the Standees from Japan QR Code Drama Track from the Standees (New Year Greeting)

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2022

Mini Anime 1 2 3 4 5 6

Countdown 10 9 3 2 1

After Talk 2 3 4 8

Animate Standee POP Yuujirou Aizou

ULTRASONE Collab Special Voice ULTRASONE Collab Voice Comic

A Day in the Life of LIPxLIP

SANIPA LIVE (MC Talk)

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Fantasia LOVE&KISS (2022)

LN Introduction LN Summary/Translation 1 2 Haniwa Commentaries Quote (chapter vi) Animate Limited 4P Leaflet

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Umareta Koto Ni Kansha Shinasai! (2024)

Animedia Magazine March Issue はじめての二人っきり旅行 (Full) LIPxLIP Radio 2024 Track 1 (Meoto Part) LIP×LIPからのスペシャルボイスメッセージ

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Miscellaneous (Official)

Haniwa 10th Anniversary Livestream 1 2 3 Sukisugite Yabai Tokuten LIPxLIP ft Hiyori LIPxLIP + Hiyori Drama CD Part Translation Secret Story Film Trailer 2 A B Secret Story Film Trailer 3 Secret Story Film Chibi Ad feat FT4 Catchphrase of the Film LIPxLIP SMASH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 LIPxLIP Xmas Gift Answers LIPxLIP part of your partner you want to fix HaniPure Full Combo Comic ft LIPxLIP & Mona Excerpt from one of the short stories (2/22/21) HaniPure LIPxLIP White Day Event 2021 Haniwa Day 2021 (about LIPxLIP / Yuujirou) HaniPure Dream Story New Year Festival 2022 Chp6 HaniPure Dream Story New Year Festival 2022 Chp7

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Fanarts / Doujinshi

LIPxLIP Birthday Countdown:

2021 ; 2022 ; 2023

クリスマスのせいにして！ (by shirase-san)

Rodeo Penguin Marry Me Ganbare! Stay with Me Samishigariya Samishigariya (2) Last Name Problem Sukima (Gap) Koichirou vs Aizou 11.11.21 Pocky Day Romeo Light Novel Spoiler Jurassic World x LIPLIP meme Koichirou and LOVE&KISS costume Hiyori’s Manager Level 100 Aizou: idk that Yuujirou

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for translations done by others, see this tag.

#LIPxLIP #honeyworks #aizou #yuujirou #shibasaki aizou #someya yuujirou #masterpost #lipxlip translation

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takanenene · 3 years

Photo

HoneyWorks just announced that mona will be getting her 1st album soon! The album is called 「#名前だけでも覚えてって下さい」 / “#I Want You to At Least Remember My Name”! Of course, all songs will be sung by mona (CV: Natsukawa Shiina)!

2 versions of the album will be released! The First-press Limited Edition will have an album jacket illustrated by Yamako, while the Regular Edition will have an album jacket drawn by Mogelatte!

Track List:

1. 私、アイドル宣言 / Watashi Idol Sengen 2. 17歳 / Seventeen 3. ファンサ / Fanservice 4. 誇り高きアイドル / A Proud Idol 5. motto☆いちごオレ / motto☆Strawberry Au Lait 6. なかまはずれ / Being Left Out 7. ワタシノミカタ / Watashi no Mikata 8. 人生は最高の暇つぶし / Life is the Best Way to Pass the Time 9. ホントノワタシ / Honto no Watashi 10. No.1 Bonus Track. シス×ラブ / SisxLove

The First-Press Limited Edition of the album will include:

1. CD

2. Blu-Ray Disc - Watashi, Idol Sengen Digital Comic (Full-voiced/colored, 3 chapters)

Cast: mona (CV: Natsukawa Shiina) / Narumi Sena (CV: Amamiya Sora) / Narumi Ayako (CV: Uesaka Sumire) / LIPxLIP Yuujirou (CV: Uchiyama Kouki) / Terakado Taiga (CV: Kusunoki Taiten) / CD Shop Clerk (CV: Tobita Nobuo)

3. HoneyWorks Premium Live Tour 2020 (March 20th 2020) No-Audience Live Performance

Song list: Fanservice / Watashi, Idol Sengen / No.1

4. Music Videos (7 MVs)

- 私、アイドル宣言 / Watashi, Idol Sengen - ファンサ / Fanservice - No.1 - ワタシノミカタ / Watashi no Mikata - シス×ラブ / SisxLove - 誇り高きアイドル / A Proud Idol - 人生は最高の暇つぶし / Life is the Best Way to Pass the Time

5. mona Official Fanclub “monaca♡ice” Replica Membership Card (with serial codes)

6. mona Official Fanclub “monaca♡ice“ Special Book #0 - You can find out all about mona in this book! From mona’s commentary and self-runner notes of the songs in the album, Q&A, and a corner called “mona closet”, where all explanations about her live concert costumes are written!

7. mona’s special acrylic keychain drawn by Mogelatte (3 types, you’ll get one random)

#honeyworks #mona

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halcyonstorm · 3 years

Text

The Girl at the Library Chapter 2

Pairing: Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoe

Themes: College AU, Library, Fluff, Slow Burn, Falling in Love, Female Hange Zoe, Student!Levi

Word Count: 5870

Summary: Levi visits Hange in her dorm. He misses his family but is too busy to drive. Hange has a car.

Chapter: 2/3

Warning: Mild Language

Read on AO3 here

Levi went back to his dorm room after the encounter with Hange. He seemed to be walking a bit faster.

The skip in his step, unfortunately, quickly dissipated once he walked in his room. His roommate was hanging out with a few friends, two he recognized were the guys who fucked up his laptop. As soon as they saw Levi, their conversation came to a halt. The two brats nervously gathered their things and rushed out of the room. Levi shook his head in annoyance, shutting the door behind them. He placed his wet bag on the floor. Right. He was soaked from the rain.

“Levi, good to see you,” Erwin --his roommate-- said, slightly annoyed. There was a card game set up on the small table in their dorm. Levi didn’t respond and walked past them. He always had friends over. Levi was always pissed about it. The least he could’ve done was ask. The room was small enough as it is. Also, Erwin and his friends always left a mess.

Levi’s and Erwin’s dorm room was small. Would Hange’s room be this small? he asked himself. He felt himself get hot. He grabbed a fresh change of clothes, went to their bathroom and changed. He wore a pair of grey sweats and a white t-shirt. He hung up all his wet clothes in their shower. Levi took a deep breath, leaving the bathroom. He spent the rest of the night thinking of his new friend, and his mood was restored.

The next day couldn’t come fast enough. He woke up at 8am that morning to go on a run and to get some of his physical homework done. He also showered, spending an extra minute than usual. He wondered if he should bring something for Hange.

“Erwin, what snacks do you have?” He asked, starting to dress in the bathroom. He put on a pair of black jeans and an olive green t-shirt.

“Uh,” he shuffled through his ‘secret’ stash. Levi knew where it was. “I’ve got chips, granola bars, ramen, peanut butter…”

What the fuck am I gonna do with peanut butter? He asked himself.

Levi shook his head and rolled his eyes. He finished getting dressed and grabbed a few bags of chips and stuffed them in his bag. He made sure to pack his notes too.

It was finally 10:45 and he decided to leave to go to her dorm. He brought his phone, keys, wallet, and backpack with him.

“Be back later,” Levi called out before closing the door behind him. Levi began walking to her room. He had to take the elevator up four floors, making stops along the way, but he made it. 506… On his left side, there it was. On the door were two drawn cut-outs of the two residents. He recognized Hange’s drawing right away. It was colored in with colored pencils. The character had her same brown hairstyle; closed, happy eyes; oval glasses; and a big toothy smile. She wore a green long sleeve and brown pants. Her character was waving. Under her character, it has the name “Hange” in big green block letters. The other character was of a girl with short blonde hairstyle and blue eyes. Her character was smiling but had her eyes open. That must be her roommate. The name written underneath the drawing was “Nanaba” in blue bubble letters. Levi hesitantly knocked at the door after admiring the drawings.

Hange opened the door. “Hey!” “Hi.”

She invited him in. One half of the dorm room was messy and the other was averagely neat, at least in Levi’s eyes. She shut the door behind him.

“Ehh, I’m sorry my side of the room is kinda messy,” She confessed. She had the messy side of the room. Her bed was made, but her desk was a mess. Papers, books, and food wrappers were spread out on the desk and migrated to her bed. There were at least four empty ramen containers on her desk, which she clumsily grabbed and tossed away. Hange grabbed the papers off her desk and moved them to the side, clearing the spot for him. She lazily crumpled some food wrappers and threw them in the trash, one wrapper missing and falling on the floor. Levi shuddered. How did she live like this? The foot of her bed met the left edge of the desk. Her desk was big; It had many drawers and an overhang where she had small knick knacks including small comic book figurines, plants, and books. She had a figurine of a character with a green hooded cape on who looked like a soldier. He really liked that one.

“Let me just log you on.” She bent over the chair to use the computer. Levi put his bag down next to the desk. “Thank you.” Levi said.

“Oh, It’s nothing,” she said. After a few moments, she stood upright, backing away from the computer. “Alright! You’re good to go. If you need my help, I’m here. I have some work to do too.” He nodded, sitting down in the very comfortable desk chair. He let out a relieved sigh. Hange chuckled.

“Comfortable, right?” She asked, jumping on her bed and crossing her legs. Levi agreed. It was comfortable. It was one of those gaming-like chairs with cushions and lower back support. He noticed she had a bunch of bookmarks tabbed which were disorganized. He began to type in “Addison’s Disease” and as he did, he noticed it was recently searched. Before he could ask about it, Hange began to speak.

“I found some articles for your paper,” she explained, not looking away from her books. “I printed them out for you.”

Levi was pleasantly surprised. He hid a smile. “You didn’t have to do that.”

She shrugged. “Pfft. Shush. I wanted to.” There was a pause. “Oh! I made sandwiches for us. I know it’s kinda early for lunch, but I’ve been up since 6 this morning so I’m starving. I hope you like PB&J.”

Fuck! Levi thought. Erwin’s peanut butter. I could’ve made sandwiches. He mentally smacked his forehead.

“I brought some chips,” Levi added. “Take whatever you want.” He grabbed some bags from his backpack and placed them on her bed. He grabbed a blue bag of Doritos, she grabbed a bag of Fritos.

“Thanks,” she said, popping the bag open by squeezing it. Some chips flew out of the bag, falling on the bed.

“What?” Levi asked, bewildered. Why did she open it like that?

“I’m not good with pulling the seal open…” she admitted, chuckling. Levi found it weird. Levi locked eyes with her and opened the bag by pulling the seal open with ease. Hange pouted.

“No fair.” She laughed. He was never going to get any work done if she kept distracting him. He grabbed a sandwich and ate it. He really enjoyed it, especially since she made it.

“Thanks for lunch,” he said. He was kind of hungry anyways.

“No problem!”

The two began to work.

About three hours passed before Levi finished his paper. He ended his final sentence with a loud tap of the period on the keyboard. He took a deep breath and looked Hange's way. She was prone, resting her chin in her left palm. Her feet were in the air, crossed at the ankles. She was reading a textbook and had a pen and paper on her right side, probably answering homework. She looked very studious and attractive.

“I’m finished with my paper…” Levi said aloud. “Can I read it to you?”

Hange quickly wrote something down on her paper, dropped the pen, and pushed herself up to sit criss-crossed.

“Yep! I’m all ears.”

He began to read through his paper. He realized during his speech that this was probably the most he’s said to Hange. He felt guilty in a way. He was bad with words, so he felt it was better if he kept his mouth shut. Hange didn’t mind, though. She enjoyed hearing him talk, as she found it very soothing. As he read, he felt her eyes on him. He finally finished reading his paper.

“I have a few suggestions on some wording, but besides that, I think it’s great,” Hange said, getting out of bed. She walked to Levi’s right, then squatted. Levi felt himself get nervous. She was really close. He thought she smelled good.

“Scroll up a little…” she said, gesturing to him to scroll up. He did as she asked. “There. That sentence: ‘Medications used to treat Addison’s Disease include mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids, such as fludrocortisone and hydrocortisone.’ It is kinda wordy. They’re both corticosteroids, so I think you should shorten it. You can mention the classes of the drugs in the next sentence, if you wanted to. Also, ‘A big teaching point includes following the steroid regimen exactly as prescribed. Abruptly discontinuing this medication will result in adrenal suppression.’ I think there is a better word to use than ‘big’. What about ‘important’, or ‘essential’ or ‘paramount’...”

He turned his head to look at her. Hange’s sentence had trailed off the moment he looked at her. She was stunned by his eyes. She hadn’t been this close to him, so that moment was the first time she could admire his eyes up close. They were a beautiful, piercing steel blue. When she realized he was staring back at her, she stood up, shaking out her legs nervously.

“‘Paramount’ will do,” Levi said after a moment passed. He typed it in.

“Good job, Levi. You’ll score well with your paper,” Hange said, trying not to stutter. She meant it. She was proud of what he wrote.

“Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without your help, though, four-eyes.” Hange liked the nickname. She smiled and patted his shoulder before going back to sit on her bed. She grabbed her phone and realized she didn’t have his phone number. Did he have a phone? He must have. She thinks she saw him use it once.

“If you need my computer again, or just wanna text, I can give you my number,” Hange blurted out. When Levi looked at her, he realized she wasn’t looking at him when she asked. He agreed, handing his phone to her.

“Go for it,” he said. He was attempting to sound ‘cool’ (and it worked). Hange reached to grab his unlocked phone. She found his contacts and put her name and number in. She sent herself a text message from his phone. She was hoping he would text her more. When she closed out to the home screen, she noticed his background was a photo of him and a small, dark haired lady.

“Is this your mother?” Hange asked, handing his phone back to him.

He looked down at his phone and nodded. “Yeah. This photo is from my first day at the university.” He had swiveled the chair to face the bed and her. “I remember she was sad to see me go, but happy too. She was proud of me.” Hange’s heart swelled. Levi seemed to remember her with a bittersweet smile. Hange frowned a bit.

“Is something wrong?” Hange asked.

“I just… haven’t seen her in a while. I’ve been so busy with assignments and exams that I haven’t had time to go visit her. Every time I have free time, I’m studying or catching up on sleep...”

“I can take you,” Hange offered instantaneously. She didn’t even have to think about it. She wanted to help her friend.

Levi’s eyes widened. “What?”

“You have to get stuff done and I have a car on campus and a license Let me take you.” She explained. Before he could bud in, she continued. “What day would you like to go? This weekend? I’m free this weekend.”

“I’d never get any studying done if we did that,” Levi said. We.

“You didn’t say no,” Hange retorted with a smirk. “I’ll be good. I won’t distract you. Promise.”

Levi took a deep sigh. He really wanted to, more than he let on. “Saturday morning works for me.”

A few days passed by and now Friday came along. Levi’s paper was due in three days, so he wanted to go to the library to revise it before printing and submitting it. He knew Hange worked on Friday’s too, so he had another motive.

His class had ended, then he was on his way to the library. When he entered, he heard laughter. Don’t people know they’re supposed to be quiet in the library? He wondered, but he didn’t pay much mind to it. There was a blonde woman standing at the front of the counter, leaning over it. He heard Hange’s voice and laugh and felt his heart skip a beat.

“I gotta see if the patron needs help,” Hange said to the girl without noticing who walked in.

“Zoe, since when do you actually care about your job?” The blonde said playfully. Hange smiled and rolled her eyes. Zoe? Hange made her way around the desk and saw Levi standing, looking at some books in the entryway.

“Levi! Good to see you,” Hange said, pleasantly surprised. She held her hands behind her back. “Computer?”

“Yeah.”

“Very good, come here.” Hange walked towards the desk, then around it. Levi stayed on the opposing side. “Levi, this is Nanaba. Nanaba, this is Levi. Nanaba is my roommate.”

“Nice to meet you, Levi,” Nanaba said, smiling at him. He nodded, exchanging pleasantries. Hange wrote his name down on the paper. “Okay, Levi. You’re all set.” He muttered a “thanks'' and then set his stuff down by the computer. He heard Nanaba whispering something to Hange. She shook her head, waving at her to follow her towards the back. Hange didn’t want to disturb Levi, and she also didn’t want Levi to hear what they were talking about.

Hange and Nanaba sat down at the table in the break room. Hange sipped on a can of soda.

“That’s Levi?” Nanaba asked, punching Hange’s shoulder playfully.

“Yeah. He’s just my friend. I don’t know why you care so much.”

“You two were in our dorm… alone?! Do I need to clean the room again?”

“No! He just had to work on his project. My side of the room is messy, though.”

“Uh huh… I can tell by the way he looks at you that you two aren’t ‘just friends’ like you claim,” Nanaba concluded, leaning back and crossing her legs.

“I told you it’s nothing,” Hange reinforced, getting flustered and annoyed. “Besides, he wouldn’t even be attracted to someone like me anyways. I am extremely messy and clumsy. His shirts are never wrinkled, and he is always extremely clean and neat.”

Nanaba rolled her eyes. “Haven’t you heard of ‘opposites attract’?” Hange made a “pfft” sound.

“That’s such bullshit.” Hange felt like Nanaba was giving her false hope.

“Well you wouldn’t be asking me for advice on your crush then if you thought the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing was bullshit, would you? No.”

The small bell above the entrance dinged, so Hange stood up. “Nanaba, I’ve got work to do, you know. That’s what you do at a job. Also, he is not my crush. ” Nanaba sighed and stood too. “I’ll see you at home.” She waved before walking ahead. “Bye, Levi. Nice to meet you.” She said in passing. Levi said “see you” to her. The patron who walked in was the same blonde guy with a big nose from last week. Levi recognized him.

“Mike!” Nanaba exclaimed, kissing his cheek. “Good to see you. Ready to go?” Mike nodded, taking her hand. “See you later, Zoe!” She called out before the couple left together. Hange and Levi were alone again. Hange came to the front of the library where Levi was. She sat down in the chair next to him. He turned to face her. Her cheeks were red.

“What time do you want to leave tomorrow?” Hange asked, crossing her legs.

“Is 9 good? I wanna make sure I spend enough time with her.” Levi suggested. Hange smiled.

“That’s fine. Just let me know when you want me to pick you up then. I can stay in the area, just send me the address.”

“You can stay, you know,” Levi offered. “You… don’t have to leave.” Hange looked shocked. She was very grateful for his offer.

“Are you sure? I mean, that’s very generous-”

“Don’t question me,” Levi said, looking back at the computer. That means ‘yes, I’m sure’.

“Thanks, Levi,” Hange said, standing up. “I’ll meet you at your dorm at 9 then we can get on the road.”

“Sounds good, Zoe.”

Hange woke up early the next day. She wanted to make sure everything went perfectly. She even got up early to clean out her car, which was a mess. It was full of junk. She had a pre-owned black four-seater that was well loved. She made it as clean as possible, making sure to wipe off the seats of any crumbs. It looked acceptable, and Hange went back inside. She realized at this point how long of a walk it was from her dorm to the parking lot. Nonetheless, she took the extra trip. She wanted to make a good impression. When she got back to her dorm, she packed a small backpack. Levi had texted her the address, and it was about an hour away. It was in the city, however, so it would probably take more time. She kept reminding herself to keep her mouth shut during the car ride to help him study.

She arrived at his dorm room a bit late, around 9:10. She felt really bad about this, but Levi didn’t seem to mind. Levi wore a grey university hoodie with black jeans. It was supposed to be cold today. Hange wore a black zip-up jacket with a pair of blue jeans and white sneakers. Her hair was half-up and half-down. Levi liked those colors on her. They headed for the elevator and walked to the parking lot. Hange omitted the part of her morning where she cleaned out her car as they talked about their mornings. They reached her car. She opened the trunk. He put his bag in the trunk and shut it.

“Don’t forget to keep your books in the front so you can study. I packed snacks. If you want any just let me know,” Hange said, unlocking the front door and getting in the car.

“Thanks,” Levi said, getting in the car. He closed the door. Hange locked the car and opened her phone. She began searching his mom’s address on the GPS. It ‘dinged’ when it found her house, and she propped her phone up in the holder.

As Hange began to drive, she noticed how Levi murmurs to himself when he studies. She can hear him repeating medications to himself and reciting the cards. Hange smiled. She found it endearing. The roads were pretty busy. They had left by 9:30am. Hange enjoyed driving, however, she wasn’t the most safe driver. She would make sudden stops, jerking Levi and Hange forward in their seats. Levi was grateful his seatbelt worked. She would make sharp turns and didn’t allow the wheel to return when the turn was finished. With one of the stops, it threw the cards that were in his lap on the floor. Levi took a deep sigh, packing up his cards.

“Sorry, Levi.”

“I’m taking a break,” Levi said, closing his eyes. “I have this exam coming up and it’s all about antihypertensive medications. There are too many, I think I’m going to develop hypertension.”

Hange laughed out loud. “They aren’t that bad. You’ve gotta come up with songs and mnemonics to remember them, then it's easy!” Levi scoffed.

“Do I look like someone who comes up with songs to remember things?” Levi asked, crossing his arms.

“No,” Hange quickly replied. “But you happen to be sitting next to someone who does. Read some of the meds to me.”

“Oh, god. No,” Levi moaned, opening the window. The breeze made his hair blow in the wind. Hange was lucky enough to catch a glance. She caught a whiff of his shampoo.

“I will stop this car right now,” Hange threatened playfully, raising her voice. She made a jolting stop at a light. Levi jerked forward again and groaned.

“Fine.”

He pulled his cards out of his backpack again, finding the medication cards. “First are the ACE inhibitors. These medications include the -prils… Lisinopril, enalapril. These help lower the blood pressure by inhibiting the action of angiotension converting enzyme, which causes vasoconstriction. Adverse effects include high potassium, orthostatic hypotension, angioedema, persistent coughing…”

“Hmmm… ACE,” Hange said proudly. Levi shook his head in confusion. “What?”

“ACE: Angioedema, Cough, hypErkalemia.” Levi was shocked. “Thanks…” He murmured.

“Give me another one,” Hange challenged. Levi shuffled through his stack. “What about Beta blockers?”

“Ah…” Hange sighed. “Tell me about them. I only know so much, you know.” You can’t say you know then say I know that you only know so much. You are confusing, Levi thought.

“Beta blockers act on beta1 and beta2-adrenergic receptors, which can affect the heart, lungs, and bladder. These will lower blood pressure, as well as cause bradycardia, hypoglycemia, fatigue, and bronchospasms in patients with respiratory issues such as asthma and COPD,” Levi explained. Hange was so happy. She was helping him, and got to hear him talk. She decided at that moment that she loved his voice.

“Beta blockers seem to slow everything down,” Hange began. “Beta blockers make everything low and slow, right? They lower heart rate and blood pressure, they lower blood sugar, quote en quote ‘lower energy’ by causing fatigue… That’s what I would try to remember.”

Levi was impressed, and he isn’t impressed easily. She was extremely clever with her mnemonics, and she wasn’t even a pharmacology major.

“You are…” Levi began. Hange looked at him for a moment while they stopped at another light. He felt woozy, but in a good way. She looked nice. “Such a nerd.” Hange beamed.

“I’ll help you more later but I gotta focus on the road now. Levi smiled, putting his cards away. Hange noticed this, and turned the radio on. She got distracted trying to pick a channel, which made Levi frantic.

“I will pick a channel. Focus on the road, four-eyes,” He decided, shaking his head. His heart almost fell out of his chest. He made a mental note to never let her drive him anywhere again. Hange sighed, submissively agreeing, putting both hands on the wheel. They got into the city. Hange hadn’t been to the city often, even though it was not too far away. Levi disliked the city. It was too loud for him. Being out at the Uni didn’t make it as easy for him to sleep as he had originally thought. He was used to hearing the hustle and bustle of the city, that his ears buzzed with silence at night time on campus. Levi attempted to give Hange directions as they weaved their way through the busy roads. She almost got into two car accidents. She just laughed it off, but Levi was frazzled.

Finally, Levi thought. Out of the main city. Levi took a deep, deep breath. His mom lived on the outskirts of the city, which was very convenient. They were almost there. Hange finally found the house and pulled into the driveway. The house was small and a dark navy blue. Hange parked the car, and opened the trunk. She handed Levi his bag and they headed to the door. Hange was standing awfully close behind him which made him nervous. He knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door opened. A beautiful lady opened the door. She had raven hair, steel blue eyes, and a beautiful smile.

“Levi!” She exclaimed, smiling wide. She hugged him. Levi patted her back, and Hange saw a smile creep on his face. “What a pleasant surprise!”

“Good to see you, mom. I wanted to visit.” They broke away and his mom peered over his shoulder.

“Who’s this?”

“This is my friend, Hange,” Levi said, introducing Hange. She smiled and put out her hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Ackerman.” His mom shook her hand.

“Call me Kuchel,” She insisted. She invited them in.

“Hange actually drove me today,” Levi began, setting his bags down on the side. “I needed to study so she offered to drive…” He wasn’t sure why he told his mom this information. Maybe he felt he needed an excuse as to why he came with a girl.

“That’s so lovely! Well I’m glad the two of you decided to come down. Uncle Kenny will be stopping by later. I’m sure he’d be happy to see you. Miss Hange, are you staying for dinner?”

Hange blushed, scratching her head. “I’d love to, if that’s okay.”

“Great! Make yourself at home.”

Hange admired his house. It was very cozy and extremely neat. There was a big open living room area when they first walked in, a kitchen and dining room to their left, and other rooms to the right. It smelt of clean laundry. She liked it a lot. There were assorted pictures hung on the wall. She shoved her hands in her pockets as she admired the photos. Kuchel had a photo of Levi hanging, which Hange stared at for the longest. It was a photo of Levi with his mom at an event, most likely high school graduation. The photo was taken outside on a sunny day. He wore a blue cap and gown. Kuchel’s arm was around his shoulder, smiling wide. Levi wore a small smile. She saw another picture, which was of Kuchel and an older man with long hair. Hange suddenly felt a tug at her sleeve. Levi.

“Take your shoes off,” he said. Hange slipped her shoes off and put them on the rack.

“Levi! Hange!” Kuchel called. “Would you like some tea?” They both agreed. They wandered into the small dining room and sat across from each other. Hange liked how Levi looked that day. He looked comfortable. His grey sweater made his eyes stand out. He almost caught her standing. Kuchel carefully brought over the steeped pot of tea and sat down at the head of the table.

“I boiled some earl grey tea, I hope that’s okay. That’s Levi’s favorite,” Kuchel said, cupping both her hands around the teacup. Levi picked his tea cup up by placing his fingers around the rim, taking a slow sip.

“Hange,” Kuchel said, smiling at the girl. “How do you guys meet?”

Oh great. Here she goes.

“Well, Levi happened to come to the library I work at to work on his project. I was able to help him out… Although I study botanicals, I read a lot so I know a lot about different topics. One of them happens to be drugs. Medications, I mean. So, anyways, he and I started talking and hanging out and whatnot. And here we are,” Hange explained. When she finished, she looked at Levi. He was staring at her. Her eyes lit up again, and Levi couldn’t look away. Doesn’t everyone know they shouldn’t stare into the sun?

“That’s lovely!” Kuchel exclaims. She sips her tea. “Levi usually doesn’t ask for help. But I’m glad you were able to help him. I remember back in elementary school, he would always insist on doing the projects himself. My stubborn boy. He gets that from me, you know. I can be so stubborn sometimes.” She took a pause, and Levi jumped in.

“Mom,” Levi intervened. Kuchel looked at her son. Kuchel could tell she may have been embarrassing him. “I’m gonna go study.” Come with me, Hange, he wanted to add. Hange finished her tea, and stood up. “Thank you for the tea, Kuchel. I’d love to hear more of your stories, but I offered to help Levi study.” Kuchel smiled, squeezing Hange’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, go on ahead.” The two nodded. Levi led her down the hall, and opened a door. It looked like Levi’s bedroom. It was extremely tidy. He also had a desk. It wasn’t too big, but did the job. He had some drawers with some photos on top. He kept the door open.

“You can take the desk chair. I’ll sit on the bed,” Levi concluded. He sat on the bed, pulling his knees up. He took out his drug flash cards.

“Levi, do you have a white board? Or poster board?” Hange asked.

“Why?”

“You’ll see.” Levi remembered he had an easel in the back of his closet. He stood up to retrieve it. He finally set it up. It was wide, which was perfect. It’s spotless, Hange thought. It’s like he never used it.

“My mom got this for me but I have yet to use it,” Levi said. Did he hear me?

“Okay,” Hange began. “So, we talked about ACE inhibitors and Beta Blockers, right? So, let’s go through the rest and compare them all.” She took out a purple marker, beginning to write on the board. In the center, she wrote “Anti-HTN Meds”. She drew an arrow to the left corner, writing “ACE Inhibitors” and writing all its information. She did the same with Beta Blockers.

“What’s next?” Hange asked, looking at Levi.

“Thiazide diuretics,” Levi sighed. “This is HCTZ. It helps lower blood pressure by removing fluids from the body, resulting in diuresis. Side effects include hypokalemia and hyponatremia, orthostatic hypotension.” Hange wrote as he spoke. He was surprised she can write so fast.

“Okay! So, it seems that a common theme is orthostatic hypotension, no?” She questioned, not facing him. She grabbed a red marker to write “orthostatic hypotension” and replaced the other one written. As Levi read off multiple classifications of medications, Hange created the web. She made a map that connected the similarities of the medications, while making it organized enough to understand the differences. Levi was impressed for the second time that day. Hange was sincerely helping him conceptualize and comprehend the information. Then, he realized Hange hadn’t sat down since they began studying.

“Oi, don’t break your back,” Levi said.

“Haha! I’m fine! I’ve only been standing since around 11 am...” She took her phone out of her pocket and turned it on for the time. “...it’s almost 3 now! Wow! We really pushed through for hours! That’s fantastic!” She smiled wide at him, but Levi could tell she was exhausted from standing.

Levi hopped off his bed. “Lay down,” He ordered. Hange furrowed her brows, but didn’t protest. She sprawled supine on his bed, sighing. “Thanks, Levi,” She exhaled, closing her eyes. His bed was still a bit warm from when he was occupying it. It was lower than her bed at her dorm, but she liked it.

“Let’s take a break,” Levi decided. He had a small flatscreen TV mounted on the wall in his room. He walked to the TV to grab the remote, and turned it on. He admired Hange for a brief moment as he passed her to sit in the desk chair. She looked tired. He put on a crime documentary. Hange perked up automatically. Her eyes widened with interest.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised you like these,” Levi assumed. She chuckled and replied: “I guess we’re both freaks after all.” It made Hange’s heart happy that they had something in common. She was worried Levi wouldn’t like her since she was so different from him, but maybe she had a chance now. She was so absorbed in the show that she didn’t realize Levi left the room to grab something to eat. Levi greeted his mom.

“Hi, honey,” Kuchel responded. “How’s Hange?”

“She’s fine. I wanted to get us something to eat.”

“Oh! You’re in luck,” Kuchel cheered, opening a cabinet to grab two bowls. “I just heated up some soup for myself. Would you like some? It’s wild rice.”

“Sounds good,” Levi replied. Kuchel filled two bowls.

“She’s pretty, your friend Hange,” Kuchel said. She wasn’t facing Levi when she spoke. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you two ended up dating. You seem to like her a lot.” Levi felt his face flush bright red.

“Thanks for the food,” He ignored her comment, taking the bowls to his room. He made sure to keep his face out of his mother’s sight. Kuchel giggled softly to herself. She knew he wouldn’t dare to reply to a comment that he knew was true.

He came back to the room with the two bowls. “Here’s lunch,” He said, handing her the bowl. Hange was sitting with her knees to her chest, intently staring at the screen. She looked toward him when he spoke, accepting the bowl in two cupped hands. “Thank you!” She smiled wide. He smiled too. He loved her smile. “When did you get this, anyways?”

“I left the room to get it. I said, ‘Hange, I’m getting us lunch.’ You didn’t hear me?”

Hange chuckled in embarrassment. “I guess I was too absorbed in the show. Sorry.” Levi shook his head lightly and sat down. He attempted to move the chair closer to the bed without her noticing. He was successful. Hange was sitting up on the bed with her legs criss-crossed, bowl in her lap. Levi was cross-legged in the desk chair, which was right next to the bed. Hange didn’t seem to mind or even notice until she had turned to look to her right, and she realized Levi was so close to her. His face was really close. He felt her staring, but couldn’t dare to look back. His heart would’ve exploded.

“You’re staring is creeping me out, four-eyes,” Levi said, startling Hange.

“Oh, yeah?” Hange chuckled. She suddenly grabbed his chin and turned his head towards hers. His wide eyes were staring into hers now. He felt like his heart was about to explode. “What about now?”

“...Creep,” He murmured. The tone of his voice changed entirely compared to his previous statement. Hange noticed this. His voice was soft and nervous. Levi felt his whole body start to heat up. He felt his heart throbbing in his head. He felt his breath hitch in his throat. He gently placed his hand on her cheek. She accepted his touch. He leaned in hesitantly, closing his eyes. Hange did the same, and finally there was no space between them anymore. Their lips collided. She kissed his lips softly, as if she was nervous to kiss too hard. Levi had kissed girls before, but it was never like this. Never so emotional. Never so breathtaking. Never so soft or warm or gentle. He never wanted it to end. He was smitten by her. Their lips parted. She wasn’t extremely close after they parted, but she kept her eyes focused on his. Hange felt her heart pulsating in her chest. He looked into her rich hazel eyes again. He swore he fell in love with her in that instant.

#aot #snk #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #levihan #levi ackerman #hange zoe #hanji zoe #levihan fic #levihan oneshot #levi x hange #levi x hanji #rivahan #fluff overload

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kitkat1003 · 3 years

Text

On the Issue of Mortality

AO3 Link

Chapter 2: Whether weather whether weather, whether you're invulnerable or not!

“Hey, I’ll have you know that I can control my powers now! The only downside is I’m not invincible anymore, sooo I could die.”

“WHAT?!”

Same, Pigsy. Same.

Monkey King doesn’t do much, when it comes to his successor. Not at first.

Sure, he watches the Kid from time to time, just to see what’s going on. Which isn’t creepy, not at all, it’s just...well, how else is he supposed to check on Kid? Besides, he’s not watching him 24/7, and he can tell when the Kid is in trouble now, from the flare of power he feels whenever Kid is using the staff or some other ability.

Sometimes, though, there’s no fight. Like when he lets Mei shoot rockets at him. Comical as it is, he can tell Kid is letting all this power get to his head.

But hey, why not? Kid beat DBK, let him have a little fun. Monkey King isn’t going to knock him for that, not when he did much worse back in his day. Way worse

Yeah...he really had an arc, didn’t he.

He lets it go until he feels a massive flare, one that definitely isn’t controlled. He summons nimbus and heads off, and finds Kid in a crater of his own making, looking lost.

Then, Kid tries to shove the whole “stopping the bad guys” thing onto him, and, like, hello?? He gave Kid the staff for a reason. He’s retired. Totally, definitely retired.

“Every time I try to do something I just gunk everything up! Something’s wrong...” There’s something deeper to those words, more vulnerable and hurt than Monkey King is ready for. He isn’t Kid’s dad.

Wait, does Kid even have a dad? Is that something he needs to be concerned about? Whatever, the Kid’s at least eighteen, he’s an adult. Adults don’t need dads. Monkey King didn’t need one, just look at him. He’s the great Sun Wukong, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Monkey King. Who needs parents?

Monkey King gets up, hops on the Kid’s shoulders to get a closer look, as well as groom the kid a little, because his hair is a mess. Humans have all these advancements with soap and showers and they can’t even get their hair clean. Clearly, monkeys have it figured out. Nothing gets someone cleaner than a good grooming. And hey, he finds a little snack in there!

He uses his golden vision of his for a second as he grooms Kid, and, yup.

There’s the problem.

Making the Kid freak out a little is all for fun, but the root of the issue is something Monkey King didn’t want to have to deal with. A general lack of martial arts skill is easy, you just teach them the basics and work from there. What’s wrong with Kid is going to take a lot more work, emotional work, and Monkey King didn’t think he’d have to expend that sort of energy for this.

The issue, of course, is simple. Lack of self confidence.

“I have self confidence!”

“Nope. You’re just loud.” And that’s the thing, Monkey King understands. He was always loud but he was confident not long after. Then again, he got his powers gradually. Poor Kid has them all at once, probably hard to find the confidence for all of that out of nowhere.

Jeez. Why’d he have to pick the Kid with baggage?

Fake it till you make it is what Kid says, and he wants to scream, because that isn’t how it works. If it was, then everyone could use the staff. It takes a specific breed of something that Monkey King knows the Kid has, but isn’t letting out. Self confidence, at its core, comes from a strong foundation. If Kid doesn’t have that, then they have to start from scratch, which takes time.

And he’s not that annoyed, he’s willing to wait, but the Kid isn’t. And, sure, yeah, there’s the thing with Red Son (and holy shit, Red Son? That brat is still around? He’s not using the fire, but still) and the Kid’s friends, but they would be fine! Probably. He doesn’t think they’re that incompetent.

But the Kid isn’t satisfied with that so he insists, and Monkey King pulls out a card he doesn’t want to play.

Control over your powers for the price of invincibility. Seriously, if it were him, he’d never. He likes living, thanks. But then again, this Kid is apparently loyal to a fault, because not two seconds after he gives out the idea the Kid is taking it.

And he’s confident, when he seals away the Kid’s powers, but inside he’s terrified.

Suddenly, this Kid can get hurt, can die. This Kid could get hit by a car or smashed by a demon or fall to a host of any other preventable death scenarios because he’s vulnerable now.

And the thing is, Kid doesn’t seem to care? As if the idea of facing unknown horrors with the added bonus of being able to die is just a regular Tuesday, nothing to worry about. Which, that is so, so weird, and startling and Monkey King is a little proud that he picked a student so selfless, so willing to face mortality for the sake of keeping others safe.

But is it even selflessness or a lack of self worth? A lack of self confidence is bad enough, but he doesn’t even know if Kid thinks he’s got value and that’s far more concerning to him than it ought to be.

He’s also got a lot of anxiety now, because he has to watch this Kid, to make sure he doesn’t die randomly. Great.

He flies the Kid to the weather tower, because time is of the essence, and he watches. Every wrong step the Kid takes, he tenses. Every slip up, as Bull Clones go flying and chase after him, as Red Son rushes him—Sun Wukong clenches his fists and physically stops himself from jumping in. He’s retired. Kid’s gotta learn to clean up his own messes.

Kid is actually pretty good at using the staff to block blows. Offensive fighting with it is slow going, though, and Monkey King files that away for plans of future training. He watches the Kid run towards the control panel and the Bull Clones close in, and, for a split second, he feels a little flare.

Golden vision. It flickers in the Kid’s eyes and he doesn’t know what the Kid sees, but Monkey King is sure it’s enough.

Or maybe not, as the Kid gets dog piled on by Bull Clones, Red Son jumping on top of the pile.

Monkey King holds his breath, wondering if he should step in—because he knows Kid needs to learn but what’s the point of learning if you die in the process—and then.

Then.

He lets out a sigh of relief and heads out as lightning strikes the staff, watching the Kid duck behind the control panel to avoid the shock, the explosion. Smart. He always used brute force. Good to know Kid has a head on those shoulders that have more use than just a battering ram.

He vanishes into the horizon as the skies clear, back to Flowering Fruit Mountain. Once there, he takes a deep breath, eats a few peaches. Lays back on his cloud and grooms a monkey or two to try and destress.

It doesn’t work. Dammit. His successor is mortal and vulnerable. This is going to add, like, 5 times the effort he thought he would have to put into training this kid. He has to be careful. He has to be cautious. He can’t just throw things at the kid and expect him to be fine.

Okay. This is fine. Is it? Maybe. Probably not.

Because if the Kid is going to really take up his mantle, he’s going to have to deal with the enemies that come with it. Which means dangerous demons, creatures Monkey King doesn’t dare name, all sorts of dangers that can easily kill someone, if that someone isn’t invulnerable.

He has to give the Kid space, can’t smother him, doesn’t want to. But how is he supposed to breathe easy when his successor can die any time?

Clones, maybe? But those always come back to mess with him if he keeps them around for too long. And he’s an easily bored guy, his clones need action. He doesn’t think babysitting will make them happy.

Ugh, he needs a nap. If he can even find it in himself to sleep, with all these thoughts and questions.

He’ll figure it out. He always does, in the end.

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #kitkat1003 #MK #monkey king #sun wukong #monkie kid MK #monkie kid monkey king

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charmedseoull · 4 years

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Interview with sugamins about her work House of Cards (Ao3′s second most hit English work and most hit BTS work)

Before You Read the Interview

Archive of Our Own Transcript

Reddit Transcript Part 1 / Part 2

House of Cards is documented within the Top 50 Most Hit BTS Works on Archive of Our Own Project, otherwise known as T50BTS, by Charmedseoul. It is the second most hit English work on the Archive of Our Own platform, most hit BTS work, and 16th most hit work overall. It centers around the internationally popular K-Pop idol group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) with the main characters being Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, and Jeon Jungkook. This work is being documented for historical purposes for the Fanlore website with its own page. Charmedseoul is a BTS-focused anonymous historian who plans to eventually document each of the top 50 most hit BTS work on Ao3 as in depth as this one. If you are in contact with any of the authors of these works, please contact her on Twitter @charmedseoul or on Tumblr @charmedseoull.

Parts of this interview have been edited with links to Fanlore and Wikipedia pages for understanding. Any information in [brackets] serves for further clarity for readers and elaboration of information.

Disclaimers: This interview contains spoilers for the BTS Archive of Our Own work House of Cards. The story’s Archive of Our Own tags contain violence and gangster activity, along with discussion of prostitution and drug use. The full tag list is:

Alternate Universe - Gangsters

Gang Violence

Violence

Drugs

Drug Use

Explicit Sexual Content

Explicit Language

Blood and Gore

Blood and Torture

Gambling

Gunplay

Undercover

Disturbing Themes

Homophobic Language

Attempted Rape/Non-Con

Xenophobia

Dom/sub

Threesome - M/M/M

Drug Addiction

Dubious Consent

This interview discusses an 18+ mature work and Not Safe for Work topics. Please read this interview at your own discretion. You are responsible for the content you consume.

House of Cards by sugamins is a multi-chapter Archive of Our Own fanfiction that follows police officer Kim Taehyung’s undercover operation into the gangster world of Haedogje Pa. Jeon Jungkook, shrouded in an air of mystery and dubbed “The Boy,” is the heir to this crime empire. Park Jimin lives with him, acting as a lover of sorts in a high, pristine penthouse apartment. The story follows the three and their complicated relationship where sex, violence, and drugs surround them. Kim Taehyung tries to take down the empire as his moral lines of black and white begin blurring into gray. In this crime-ridden alternate reality to Seoul, everything from the structure of the gangster world to the trust between three lovers is as fragile as a house of cards.

Now presenting the interview with sugamins, author of Archive of Our Own’s second most hit English work and most hit BTS work, House of Cards:

How did you start writing?

How did you get into fanfiction?

How much writing experience did you have prior to House of Cards?

Do you have any literary or artistic inspirations? Any other authors or works that have inspired you to create anytime before or after House of Cards?

How did you become an ARMY [ARMY stands for Adorable Representative MC for the Youth. It is the fandom name for fans of BTS, otherwise known as Bangtan Sonyeondan]?

I started writing fanfiction in 2012. But before then, I used to enjoy writing stories as a child and young teenager. I used to write and illustrate my own stories. I even had a sketchbook filled with my own comic book, which was terrible! But I've always been creative. It started with art and then I moved onto writing when I discovered I was able to be much more creative with my words rather than my pencil.

I first got into fanfiction through my years spent on Tumblr. I had always known that it had existed, but I had never really gone looking for it because I hadn't belonged to a fandom at that point in my life. It was back in 2012 when I stumbled upon an EXO fanfic that a lot of people were talking about (Arbitrage, you can find it on Livejournal.) I read it and then thought...wow, so this is fanfiction! From that point, I started reading more and more, mostly Infinite fanfiction. And then I decided to start writing with the encouragement of an old online friend, and here I am!

In terms of writing experience, I have never formally received education. I stopped studying English Language and Literature when I was 16, instead focusing on Art, History, and Religious Education (purely because I wanted to learn about philosophy and quantum mechanics) for my final two years at high-school. The only experience I have is through writing fanfiction. I started back in 2012, and I've developed a lot since then. I started off small, writing horror short stories and little collections. Brotherhood was the first 'long fic' I created. I was shocked that it managed to get so big because I had never created a story of that size before. Writing helped me gain experience and figure out what worked and what didn't work, what I was good at writing, and where I was lacking and needed to learn. I don't think you can really experience an art form until you start doing it. You can learn all about the techniques and the conventions, but until you pick up a pen and start writing or drawing, you won't ever know what it means to create.

My literary inspiration has always been Stephen King. Which is funny, as he has described himself as 'having diarrhea of the typewriter.' I think that applies to me sometimes. I am a bit of a wordy writer, though I've started honing it down for certain stories. Sometimes, a story needs to be floral and descriptive, sometimes, it needs to be punchy and direct. So, King was my major inspiration, especially with horror. I also enjoy the works of Poe and Lovecraft (I acknowledge the problematic themes in the work of Lovercraft and seek not to praise him as a person. He was a terrible person for sure, but sadly, he had a way with cosmic horror that is hard to find.) I also enjoy Chuck Palahniuk and the dark, seedy and overall zany stories that he has created. I like his style a lot!

In terms of inspirations for House of Cards, I was obviously inspired by the films Infernal Affairs/The Departed. American Gangster and Training Day were also major inspirations (and also because I love Denzel Washington's performances in both films. I mean, who doesn't love him?) But I also drew inspiration from other sources that were less focused on gangs, more focused on the dark, nihilistic state of the world around us. I couldn't recommend the TV series True Detective hard enough. It is one of the best series I have ever watched. It handles dark and disturbing content so well, and its fractured, unreliable story-telling and philosophical musing is some of the best I've ever seen on screen. I highly recommend checking it out, but be sure to check the content warning and triggers because it certainly isn't suitable for younger audiences and those with triggers. In terms of real-life content, I think Ross Kemps' docu-series are very good. Particularly Extreme World and On Gangs. His docu-series show the dark and disturbing side of criminal activity, the drug trade and more.

I became a fan of BTS [Bangtan Sonyeondan] back in 2013. I had already been a fan of K-Pop for some time by then, as I had started listening to various K-Pop and K-Rock artists back in 2009. I knew of their debut, but I had seen hundreds of new acts debut by the time that they broke into the scene, and so I didn't pay much heed. Someone I followed on Tumblr at the time kept posting about how much she loved them, especially Taehyung [BTS V/Kim Taehyung]. One day, I stumbled upon a gifset of Yoongi [BTS Suga/Min Yoongi] being sarcastic in one of their first interviews. I thought he was funny, so I decided to check them out. At the time, they had recently released We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2 [BTS’s second music video release with their debut album 2 Kool 4 Skool]. I followed them from that point, and their first comeback [A “comeback” refers to when a K-Pop idol group releases new music, usually done twice a year.] was also my first comeback. I liked their music [BTS released Boy In Luv and Just One Day in 2014, both music videos of songs from their Skool Luv Affair EP.], but I liked them even more as individuals. I loved watching their shows [Here is a link to BTS’s schedule during 2014 when they had their first comeback. You can find the shows and interviews they were on there.], even though they are incredibly embarrassing to look back on now. They just had so much energy and looked to be having so much fun that I was having fun just watching them. I was a fan, I liked a lot of their songs and followed their activities. But it wasn't until they released HYYH Part One [Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa Part 1 (Korean) = The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1 (This is the title in English), released with the I Need U and Dope music videos.] that I really became a fan of their music. I had already created a couple of small horror stories for the fandom at that point. HYYH Part One [The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1] inspired me so much that I created Brotherhood, my first 'long fic.' I joined AO3 [Archive of Our Own] and started posting there. I received so much support from fellow fans that I carried on writing, and the rest is history!

How has your experience being an ARMY [Adorable Representative MCs of the Youth, BTS’s global fan base name.] been? Did you ever leave the fandom then come back? How did you interact with others when you first got into the fandom and as you grew up?

How have you been since you wrote House of Cards? What have you been working on?

Are you okay with talking about how old you are now and how old you were when you wrote House of Cards?

Before you even wrote House of Cards, what inspired it? Any TV shows? Music? Movies? Books? Ideas? It could be anything.

How did you start writing House of Cards? Did you finish the entire story then publish it or did you write it as you went? What was the writing process like?

Did you have any beta readers or editors? If you did, are you still in contact with them now? How did they feel about your work?

My experience being a fan has mostly been positive over the years. In the earlier days, back around when I first started writing for the fandom, it was certainly much more positive. I've received so much support over the years, not only in my writing but in my personal life from readers and fellow fans that being a fan of the boys [The members of BTS] really has changed my life. That's not an exaggeration. I doubt I would even be here now without those years having such a positive effect on my mental health. I've never really been the kind to interact with others and form cliques within the fandom, I just like being in my own space and interacting with everyone that comes my way, I guess?

These days, I'm not as active as a writer or in fandom spaces however. I feel like my time in the fandom has started to come up and I don't know how I feel about it just yet. I feel nostalgic for the time when I was first starting out in the fandom and I didn't really know much, but everything was fun. It doesn't feel so fun now, but I mostly contribute that to the effect that Twitter has had on shaping the fandom's growth. Twitter has never been a good place for creatives within fandoms because of issues with algorithms and such. Tumblr was always the better website for hosting artistic content for a variety of reasons. So, I think the fact that everything is on Twitter now has been partly responsible for my decline in engagement and overall enjoyment. I'm currently taking a break from Twitter. The next couple of months will be what makes me either stay or leave the fandom.

Since writing House of Cards, I've been an active writer in the fandom. Over the years, I've added quite a lot of stories to my AO3 accounts and various pseuds. My largest ongoing story is another gang story, set in the 1980s, called Valentino Summers. I actually started writing and publishing it on Ao3 just four or so months after I finished House of Cards—which is wild to think about. Finally finishing House of Cards seems like such a long time ago in my mind, and yet I'm still working on a story I created that same year! I like contributing horror stories to the fandom, especially in the Halloween period. I like publishing series in the month/upcoming weeks before Halloween—though I won't be doing so this year [2020].

When I started writing House of Cards, I would have just turned 22. It was inspired by the song 'Wires' by The Neighbourhood. I might be mistaken, but I believe that Jungkook [BTS Jungkook/Jeon Jungkook] posted a tweet with the song in it. [Jungkook did tweet about this song. Here is the English translation.] I had never heard of the band before, but my partner was a fan of their music. She sent the song to me and I was very interested in the lyrics, so I started discussing them with her. One thing led to the next, and then we had basically come up with the entire plot of the story. We just needed to create the characters. We spent a little while doing so, and then I started doing some research and started writing the story. There really isn't a grand backstory to House of Cards, it just happened so fast. We often come up with story ideas like that, and my partner is responsible for a huge amount of my stories. She has the creative visions, which I then turn into words. We make quite the team, haha~ The inspirations, I mentioned those in my previous answer regarding films and TV shows.

I published the story as I went, though I staggered the updates because I didn't want to post too frequently. I had the entire story planned out from the start——I didn't change a single aspect of the story no matter what I received in terms of feedback. I think a lot of readers assume that writers might tweak things if they sense the audience wants something to happen in terms of plot or relationships. Personally, I don't like doing that. I like sticking to my plans even if I know my vision might not be what the readers want. I think it's important for the story to be created the way I see it because my vision is what made me create it, if that makes sense.

The writing process was surprisingly smooth! You might not think it because the story is big and there are a lot of characters and plot threads to keep on top of, but it went smoothly for me. It flowed just as smoothly from start to finish as Brotherhood did. I never struggled once with writing the chapters, nor did I ever get stuck and wonder if I should change the content in order to make it easier to write. I'm surprised that I managed to complete it so easily because that's not the case with writing now! I tend to be a lot slower now, more deliberate and more open to changes in order to ease the process and the overall flow of the story. In a way, this change has been for the best. I do wonder what House of Cards would be like if I were to write it now, with my different approach to planning and writing. It would probably have a quicker flow, and the word count would either go down as a result of cuts, or go up because of additional scenes I would have likely included.

I didn't have any betas, which you can probably tell from the work. My stories are so big that I never wanted to put the burden of fixing them onto someone else. I know they are imperfect, oftentimes bloated things, but that's just what they are. I did try creating a story with another writer in the past, but it didn't go very well. She would often have conflicting opinions on things and would not have any leeway for anything I suggested, whereas I always had leeway to allow her to change things. Even to the point of completely changing the plot of the story that I had already started writing, and then allowing her to add graphic sexual content she didn't even want to be in the story. She actually stopped writing fanfiction randomly in the middle of us creating the story! She made a post about it being disgusting and nasty and then bowed out. I have no clue if she ever came back! So, my negative experience with attempting to work with someone else when creating a story kind of made me not want to have a beta. It's a wild story, I know!

House of Cards is praised for its realism and accuracy with weaponry, torture, sex, and violence. How did you research these things?

How did you come up with the gangster universe in House of Cards? How did you develop Haedogje Pa?

How did you name the original characters in House of Cards? Did any characters in particular take inspiration from existing characters in TV shows, anime, books, any type of media?

How did you decide on Vminkook as your main characters for the story? What do you see in their dynamic and them as characters?

Jimin is claimed to be one of the best written characters in the entire story. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

Taehyung is an especially dynamic character whose morals get tested time and time again in House of Cards. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

Jungkook is one of the characters that the readers spend the least amount of time getting a perspective from, but is incredibly well written in his character progression. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

When it came to various aspects in the story, I did do research. Most of it never really had an impact on the story itself. For example, I would be looking up gun models that are used by law enforcement agencies around the world and trying to find specs of them so I could learn how many bullets each gun held, or how much a magazine could hold. In action scenes, I didn't want my characters firing off 20+ bullets for a gun that—in reality—holds far less. That's a fact that doesn't really mean much to the average reader, but it meant something to me! I've always hated how many bullets fly through the air in action scenes in films and TV shows because I'm always wondering if it's possible with the firearms featured in the scene haha~ In terms of torture, I've come across the subject through various documentaries and TV shows about gangs, crime and serial killers. I didn't really do much additional research into the topic, beyond reading up on what I had come across to make sure it wasn't fictionalised for drama purposes. Obviously, there will be some lack of realism in my story because I couldn't possibly write a realistic portrayal of gang violence and torture when I have zero personal experience with it. My aim wasn't to give the story 'full' realism (I'll explain more about that in the next question) but to simply create a world that felt real, even if there were little aspects that had to be exaggerated for the sake of the story. Taehyung's behaviour when undercover certainly broke many procedures. The only thing working in his favour that allowed him to get away with it is that the crimes he committed couldn't be directly traced to him. But a real undercover agent would never do the things that he did on behalf of the gang. Basically, this means that the entire story is unrealistic! But of course, it wouldn't be very entertaining if Taehyung simply observed from the background and didn't dirty his hands. So, I had to bend and break the rules a little!

For the universe, I knew that I couldn't base it too much in reality. Because of basic Korean law, it would have been impossible for me to write the gang operating in the way they did in the story—especially with guns. Most Korean gangs tend to use other forms of violence and weapons in order to control their respective areas, rather than guns. My other story, Taste of Ink, has what I would consider a more realistic approach to gang activity—with the main weapons being knives, baseball bats, etc. and the main forms of violence being assault instead of flat-out murder. So, for the sake of allowing guns to appear in the story, I had to create a Neo-Seoul, so to speak. I took inspiration from Korean gangs, and mixed it with influences from other gang cultures in order to create 'Haedogje Pa.'

When it comes to naming original characters, I honestly don't put much thought into it. I like to use real names for inspiration. I often Google various Korean films I've watched and read the cast list in order to find interesting character and actor names. This is because I have a habit of reusing names sometimes. For example, readers of my stories might have come across a couple of Daesu and Goohee characters. Do you know where I got these names from? I picked Daesu from Oh Daesu - Choi Minsik's character in Oldboy. Goohee comes from the manhwa 'Let Dai' - he is the stubborn gang leader that actually has a good heart beneath his rough exterior. I ended up liking him the most by the end of the story, so his name is one that often comes to mind when I need to pick an original character name.

I never really consider real life dynamics when I'm writing because my stories are so detached from reality that it seems pointless including any inspiration from reality. I chose the three main characters simply because, at the time, they seemed to fit the character moulds the best. The other characters fit their respective characters so well (especially Namjoon [BTS RM/Kim Namjoon] and Yoongi) that I simply thought it was best to have Taehyung, Jimin [BTS Jimin/Park Jimin] and Jungkook as the three lead roles. I chose them more based on how I thought they could personally fit the characters, rather than focus on the dynamic. To use Taehyung as an example, I thought that he would fit the character of the informant in my story because in reality, he is intelligent and seemed like he would suit the role. For Jimin, I thought he would be a good choice for a character that some might think is vulnerable or even weak. He is actually very strong and the most important character for the plot progression. For Jungkook, I liked the thought of someone with such an innocent outer appearance hiding a dark secret.

I'm so glad that readers took to Jimin so positively on a whole. I know there are some that hated him, or that hated the fact I chose him for such a role (a 'negative' sex worker role). But Jimin is the most important character for the plot progression. It is through him that the entire plan finally culminates in the explosive finish. I wanted to treat him with care because I understood that his character could go very wrong if not handled correctly. It would have been easy for him to simply become nothing more than a sexual prop, should the story have focused too much on Taehyung and Jungkook as the key players. So, I decided to subvert it by giving Jimin the ultimate hand in the story and allowing him to have more control than Jungkook in the end. If Jimin had not decided to follow through with the plan, if he had decided to snitch or had simply refused to do his part in exposing the gang, the story would've ended drastically differently. But I also didn't want to write Jimin taking control of the entire situation at the end because it would've felt ingenuine. He is a character that has been deeply affected by a lifetime of trauma. I was worried that some might take my portrayal of his trauma the wrong way, and see him not as a character that has suffered immense mental damage but rather as an annoying, weak character that gets in the way of more 'interesting' dynamics. I'm sure there will be readers that think that. Mentally traumatized individuals are often seen in such negative light, be they fictional characters or real people. When writing his character, especially in the later scenes, I wanted to make sure the trauma he experienced would shape his behaviour. Writing the scene of him getting ready to leave, when he is taking his pills and he doesn't think he can do it, it was hard. It was hard getting into that headspace of feeling so powerless in the moment and knowing that freedom is in reach, but not knowing how to achieve it. He was a difficult character to write, but I think he turned out just right in the end.

Taehyung was probably the best character to write. I love characters that start off so morally upright and pristine, and by the end of the story, their backs are bending and close to breaking from the weight of their conscience and misdeeds. His character has many facets to him that made his perspectives so interesting to tackle. From his green days in the gang, where he is horrified by the violence he sees, to the changes in his psyche as he starts to become desensitized to it all. Fundamentally, Taehyung begins the story as a good man, a hero, but by the end, there is no black and white thinking. He has become grey, muddied from his time spent in the gang. Is he a hero for bringing them down? Would a hero do the things that he did in order to bring down the gang? He killed people. He tortured people. He threatened a man with a gun, a man he knew had a deepset fear of guns that would severely trigger him. I think it all depends on how the reader sees it. The hardest thing to write for his character was his troubled descent into the relationship between him, Jungkook and Jimin, and how it affects his thought processes and emotions. I didn't want House of Cards to be seen as a romantic story when I created it. If readers see it that way, they are more than entitled to their own interpretations. I cannot tell them how they can interpret my art, that is not my role as the creator. I don't know if I effectively portrayed the co-dependency between the three main characters as well as I would've liked. But I had never tackled such a story and themes before, and so it was all new to me.

I didn't know that Jungkook had the least perspective from the three main characters. Similarly, I never really put that much effort into creating and developing his character! Jungkook simply 'happened' in the moment. He would appear in the chapter, and then his character would basically take control of the scene. I never really knew what he was going to say or do beyond my rough plans for each scene. I just waited until he appeared and let the creative spirit flow through me. That's how he came to be! I've had that happen many times in the past with characters—they have a life of their own and I've no control over them. In my story, Brotherhood, Taehyung happened the same way. It was impossible to write his character in that story because he was so wild and free-spirited that it didn't feel right unless his behaviour was a total spur-of-the-moment reaction to the other characters and new plot points. But with Jungkook in House of Cards, I don't know why I didn't have him planned out like the others. It's interesting to think that he might've had a good progression when I never planned any of it in detail!

Were there any original characters you particularly liked writing or enjoyed?

When you wrote for the BTS hyung line, how did you determine their roles in the story and characterize each of them?

Is there a reason behind Namjoon saying “brother” or was it a consciously written character quirk?

When you handled more serious subject matter in House of Cards, how did you feel when writing it? Were you ever startled by your own work?

Was there any type of purposeful titling for the fanfiction chapters?

What was your reason for House of Cards’ open ending?

I liked writing Lim, the original informant that helped Taehyung join the gang. I like writing characters that come across as sleazy. In his case, the sleaze was all an act and wasn't true to his character; he was affecting it for the sake of creating a persona. But I enjoy writing absolute sleaze balls too—the kind of guys that have chest hair and wear gold chains and thick watches, who practically ooze oil. I just find them fun! Lim was a good teacher, even when he was rough around the edges. It was sad doing what I had to do to him for the sake of the plot. But I feel like Lim understood the game as well as everyone else, and so he knew he was running on borrowed time.

Of course, I loved writing Bae Goohee too! He was an absolute bastard! I loved writing this figure that is spoken about throughout the story as a frightening man, one so brutal that the readers are already wary of him before he even appears in the story. I believe that Taehyung refers to him as a 'guard dog' at some point. I think Bae is the scariest character in the story for me because he is so ruthless and willing to do any order that the Jeon clan give to him. That kind of blind and unwavering devotion is frightening!

I also enjoyed writing Sungah and Jangmi. I think they're the only female characters in the story that have dialogue? Sungah has a great backstory that I unfortunately couldn't go into too much in the story, but it shaped her character a lot. I like how frank and intelligent she is—she holds her own even in a department filled with men that receive far more praise than she does simply because she is a woman. She also allowed me to add an angle about the unfair treatment of women in jobs that have power, drawing parallels with how Taehyung faces discrimination from his fellow officers when his sexuality is abruptly revealed during the investigation. As for Jangmi, I just liked writing about the wife of a mob boss! And not one that is simply a trophy wife, but actually has a lot of power and influence across the city. I wish I had been able to feature her more, alongside her husband, Jeon himself. But I like the scenes they appear in and I enjoyed writing them.

For the rest of the members, I had Namjoon and Hoseok [BTS J-Hope/Jung Hoseok]'s characters planned right from the start. I had also created plans for Yoongi and Seokjin [BTS Jin/Kim Seokjin], but I wasn't sure how much of a role they would play in the overall story. As I started writing them, I realised that Yoongi would play an important role in both Taehyung and Jimin's character development, and so he ended up featuring a lot more than I had expected. I planned their jobs and then let them influence how I would write them. Namjoon and Hoseok's characters came naturally. Yoongi's character completely took over his job role and basic description and became a really strong character that I'm proud of. Seokjin was a little trickier because he doesn't appear in too many scenes—but the scenes he does are integral to the plot. I needed to make sure that his character said everything he needed to in his limited scenes. He has quite the bombshell to drop after all! Seokjin was also tricky because I wanted him to have an air of mystery around him. I wanted him to be the kind of guy that not even Taehyung and his police connections would be able to unearth much about; a ghost in the system. I would've also liked for him to feature more in the story, but I feel like his character appeared in the essential scenes that the story needed. He was going to feature more in the planned sequel, being one of the first characters to appear alongside Yoongi. He was going to serve an important role, so I'm disappointed that I didn't get to show those scenes to readers.

With Namjoon, I wanted to portray him as a mature character, but not one that was conservative and stiff. I thought about having him say things like 'man' but that seemed too casual and didn't suit his character. 'Man' made him seem more like a surfer than a police officer. But when he said 'brother' in one of the scenes, I realised the word suited him better. It was fraternal, and it allowed him to show some affection towards the other characters without having to have physical contact with them. It's not the only Namjoon I've written that says 'brother' a lot. In Valentino Summers, Namjoon has experience with hippies in the neighbourhood that he lives in, so he also refers to other characters like Jimin as 'brother.' It just seems to suit him! I guess it's because I like creating Namjoon characters that are intelligent and mature, but still have a gentle and warm presence. I could picture him saying it in real life (I'm certain he already has!)

When writing serious subject matter, I'm surprised to admit that I was never shocked by what I was writing! I guess it's because I already knew that I was going to be handling dark themes. I wouldn't have tackled such subjects had I not felt comfortable doing so. Dark content isn't for everyone, and by that I don't simply mean consuming it. Creating it can be very difficult for some writers, and can even cause distress. It's not easy diving into a world that is filled with crime, pain and fear. It's even harder putting yourself into the shoes of a character that is suffering/has suffered. I was never writing in a desensitised state though. Far from it. I'm actually very sensitive to violence in reality. In fiction, it depends on the violence—but I'm usually not too affected by it. I've been a fan of horror since I was a child, and so I've seen a lot of nasty films filled with gore and 'shocking' deaths that never really had much of an effect on me. Unrealistic violence doesn't scare me. But when it comes to personal violence, that is always frightening to me. It's far scarier writing a scene where a character feels threatened by another character and doesn't know what is going to happen to them then, say, writing a scene of a character dying a bloody, ridiculous death in a horror story. Personal violence is much more realistic, therefore it is more unsettling to write. In House of Cards, the violence is very personal. It's in your face, it's inescapable for the characters that are involved in it. But at no point did I ever feel like I needed to stop writing because I was uncomfortable or scared by the content. If I had been uncomfortable, it would have been very reckless of me to continue writing the story.

My word of advice to fellow dark content writers: it's always important to recognise your own boundaries. There's nothing wrong with removing dark content from a story if you get a bad vibe or feel strange when writing/reviewing it. Always follow your gut instincts and never put out work that you don't like.

When writing stories, I vary between titling the chapters and leaving them blank. For House of Cards, I cannot remember the exact method for naming the chapters. Sometimes, the title comes to me when I am writing the plans and I have an idea that just suits the mood of the chapter. Other times, I have finished the entire chapter and I have to spend some time reviewing the content to decide that the title will be. In some cases, I have finished most of a whole story and I'm still not certain what to title it! I feel like with House of Cards, the titles came after the chapters were finished, or at least when they were works-in-progress.

There are some titles that really stand out to me. 'Nice Teeth' for example, is a really ridiculous title. Going into the chapter, I don't think many readers would've imagined what it could mean. 'Submachine Sodomy' is even funnier. I really can't believe I chose that as a title! I'll bet a lot of readers saw it and thought, "Oh no! Not another gunplay scene!" Luckily for them, it wasn't a reference to Jungkook's predilection for firearms in bed.

In terms of chapter titles that I really like: 'Delusions of Grandeur,' 'I Own This Fucking City,' 'Sleeping Dogs Bite' and 'Carpe-fucking-Diem.' I just feel like these titles are very well suited to the contents of the chapters. They are the kind of titles that have bite to them, that hint at action or an important plot point.

As for the open ending, there are a couple of reasons. First of all, I had planned to continue the story in a sequel that would pick up after the events of House of Cards, roughly a year on after the investigation. However, I did not pursue this sequel. I wanted House of Cards to end on an open note for the sequel to continue the story. When it comes to certain stories, I just feel that closed endings aren't always necessary. I often enjoy stories with open endings. With House of Cards, it didn't seem right just closing the book and saying it was over. There was still so much that needed to be explored. Unfortunately, I decided to not continue it. But I still think that House of Cards' ending fits the story.

Were there any scenes or moments or lines in House of Cards that you were particularly proud of or want to highlight?

If you were to write the Yoomin sequel to House of Cards, how would’ve that looked like?

How were readers’ reactions to your work in the beginning?

Did any reader comments stick with you in particular?

How did you take the criticisms and hatred towards House of Cards for its serious subject matter? When did those types of comments start appearing? Also, where did the hatred come from? Twitter? Tumblr? Ao3 comments? Did people harass you at all or hurt you? How did you heal from that?

House of Cards has a lot of scenes. I'm proud of most of them and I think I did the best I could when writing them. I do not really like the sex scenes, but that is because I wanted to write them in a dirty, sleazy way. If I could, I would change them. I like the action scenes, especially the Gold Monkey Casino and police raid scenes. Action scenes are hard to write! Fight scenes in particular are so tricky. I often sit there, choreographing the fights so I can describe them! I loved writing Yoongi's introduction to the story, when he walks into the scene wearing nothing but his underpants.

One scene that I really liked writing is the scene where Namjoon and Hoseok investigate the USB stick that Taehyung sends to them. I personally love Namjoon and Hoseok's characters. I always enjoyed writing them. In this scene, I liked getting to write them in a setting that was not the police department office. A scene where they got to relax and banter with each other, even though they were still working. They discover a horrifying crime ring in the city, but they are left with no choice but to keep it secret because they do not want to risk blowing Taehyung's cover. I do not know why I really like this scene, I just do.

In the sequel, which focused primarily on Jimin and Yoongi, the plans were to have them reunite through Seokjin—who has avoided jail time through a plea deal with the SMPA. They undergo a healing process together as they try to come to terms with what happened to them. Yoongi has a lot of unhealed trauma from his childhood, much like Jimin, which I only got to briefly touch upon in House of Cards. They grow closer from bonding over their traumatic experiences, and they become happier and healthier as a result. Taehyung and Seokjin were also going to be main characters, with Jungkook, Namjoon and Hoseok making supporting appearances over the duration of the story. It was going to be drastically different from House of Cards because it would be lacking in action and violence. It would have been much more intimate, with much more scenes of characters talking and discovering things about one another.

I cannot remember early reactions to the story, I just know they were positive. There was a lot of positive support from the start. As I updated and started to get more and more into the story, I received a lot of support on tumblr too. I started posting chapter previews there, as I used to get asks [On Tumblr, users are able to ask bloggers questions through an “Ask” function. This can be done anonymously or with their own blog username associated with the question.] requesting them. I got A LOT of asks on my original Tumblr from readers that wanted to discuss the characters and certain scenes. It was really interesting seeing just how much the readers were interested in the story, so much so that they wanted to learn even more about the characters and the universe I had created.

Through House of Cards, I have received comments and messages from readers that had addictions. They told me about how they recognised their own behaviors through Taehyung, and this helped them realise what was happening to them. Those comments stuck with me for obvious reasons. I have family members with addiction issues, and knowing that I could help some stranger I have never met before come to terms with their own addictive behaviours had a massive impact on me. Funnily enough, a negative comment stuck with me. It was not a bad comment, by no means meant to cause offence. It was a comment that was left on the story when I was posting the early chapters. I recall the reader asking when the story was going to pick up the pace because it was too slow. It stuck with me because, at this point in the story, Taehyung had already trained to become an undercover agent, had enrolled in the gang, had met and interacted with Jungkook, and had murdered a man. I was surprised that this amount of development had been seen as 'slow' by a reader, as I had thought the plot had been moving very fast.

I never really had any hate posted on the story when I was updating it. I got angry reactions when I had finished it. Because the story had not ended the way some readers had wanted, I think that was what caused the negative reactions. On my original Tumblr, I even got an ask about how an anon reader was going to write their own ending because my one was bad. I told them that I did not want them to take my story and change it like that. I have no idea if they ever posted the ending anywhere. The angry reactions were mostly from shippers, who were upset with the story not ending the way they had wanted. To them, I ask: what were you expecting from the story? I thought it was always obvious that Taehyung was going to do what he had set out to do from the start, so I do not think I misled readers at all. It was a story about an undercover agent taking down a gang—and that is what I wrote.

I know there was some animosity towards me on Twitter too. Twitter is a whirlpool of negativity, I am not surprised. Writing House of Cards made me appear problematic. My partner used to follow an author a long time back, who tweeted about me being problematic—despite having never interacted with me or admittedly read my stories. It was shocking to me that people were making assumptions of who I was as a person based on a story I created. I have never created stories with the aims of hurting or upsetting others. I am a very quiet and private person, and I hate the idea of hurting others. It was strange to me that people could assume me to be this cruel or even dangerous individual, intent on hurting others, because I created a fictional story. Do they think the same of script writers for television shows? Or film directors, who create films with dark subject matter? Do they think published authors are problematic people for writing dark and disturbing content? Do they think certain genres should not exist because they do not personally like them?

I do think it is strange that fan fiction writers are placed on these ridiculously high pedestals of moral absolutism. Fan fiction was created to be a space for creative outlet for marginalised individuals, particularly queer individuals. The heavy censorship of dark and unusual content is putting this entire ethos at danger. I understand not wanting to have certain topics included in stories because there is a risk that the content can be used for grooming or can be presented in a way that can negatively affect young consumers' perceptions (like pedophilia for example.) I certainly agree that there needs to be boundaries in place to stop the community from being flooded with such illegal content. But I think there is a difference between wanting to remove dangerous content, and wanting to get rid of content you do not like. Content can be problematic to you, but that does not make it dangerous, illegal, or bad. For some readers, the content they create is their way of dealing with trauma. Maybe this is not healthy for them. But that is their decision to make, not yours.

I orphaned the story because I did not want to handle the potential backlash. To put it simply, I do not handle negative criticism well. Not because I am stuck-up and think I am perfect, but because I am a very anxious person. Just reading angry comments makes me feel very uncomfortable, often nauseous. I know that House of Cards has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from readers, and for that I am thankful. But I had to distance myself for the sake of my own mental health. Since orphaning it, it exploded in popularity. I am thankful that I orphaned it because that amount of attention would frighten me a lot, haha~

What was your reaction to the fanfiction trailer by Sappiamur?

How did you come to the decision to reveal your real name in the end note of House of Cards?

How did you feel when you finished House of Cards?

How did you come to the decision to orphan House of Cards?

Did you ever anticipate the overwhelming fan reaction to House of Cards?

How do you feel knowing that House of Cards is one of the most read fanfictions on Ao3?

What do you want House of Cards to be remembered for?

What do you hope people take away from House of Cards?

Why do you think House of Cards became so popular?

I had to go back and watch it. It's been some time since I last have, and I'm still as amazed by it now as I was back then. The trailer is insane. I cannot imagine how much work went into making it. It's so good and it fits the vibes of the story to perfection. I think the first time I watched it, I was in shock. I must have repeated it at least 10 times in a row, just to make sure it was real and I wasn't imagining it. Then I think I screamed about it on my social media accounts, haha~ If you reading this have not watched the trailer, consider doing so. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Back when I first started posting fanfics, I used to get a lot of asks wanting to know my name, my pronouns, stuff like that. I thought by adding my name at the end of the stories, it would help cut down on these requests. But I also did so because I used to get a lot of asks referring to me as 'author-nim' and I didn't like being addressed by this honorific. I'm not Korean so I have no right to receive that honorific. So, I included my real name so readers could address me with it when sending me asks and interacting with me. I don't add my name at the end of my stories now, but my name is in my Twitter bio for those that want to know.

When I finished it, I felt relieved! I was so calm in the moment! Looking back on it, I can't remember much. But I do remember finishing House of Cards without any issues. The final chapters flowed smoothly, it all clicked into place, and I had a great time writing them.

I came to the decision to orphan the story after several nights of contemplation. I was considering deleting the story, along with a few others, but my partner and some friends told me I shouldn't do so. They suggested orphaning it instead. So, I did so. I didn't want to delete it in case readers that had started it had not gotten to finish it yet. I would've felt very mean robbing them of the opportunity to finish the story like that. I don't regret orphaning it instead of deleting it. I didn't want to destroy the story, I just needed some distance between me and the story.

I didn't anticipate it, and I still don't understand it! I'm shocked that House of Cards got the reaction that it received. Do I think it's a good story? Yes, I think that I worked hard to create a story that is enjoyable to read. But did I ever think it would get the reaction it did? Not in a million years! I thought that it would be one of my more popular stories because a) the pairings and b) the content. Gang stories usually tend to get a lot of attention because it's a popular genre in fanfiction. I just didn't expect it to reach such a vast amount of hits, kudos and comments.

I'm in shock that it is one of the most read stories on AO3. I don't think I will ever be able to create another story that will garner that kind of attention and feedback. It's a once in a lifetime thing, so I'm immensely proud of myself for achieving such a feat. But really, it's all because of the readers that it achieved such a goal. I'm so thankful for every single one of them.

I just want it to be remembered for being enjoyable, I think. I don't have any grand and lofty ambitions for the story. I think so long as the readers enjoyed it, that is all that matters.

I'm not sure what I would like readers to take away from House of Cards. I guess I want them to reflect on the idea of morality and that not everything is black-and-white. Good people can do bad things, and bad things can happen to good people. It's hard to answer this question because House of Cards isn't a story that I consider to have deep messages in it? There are no messages about acceptance and love and healthy relationships and such, like some of my other stories.

Honestly? I don't know what made it get so popular. I assume it's because of the pairings or the setting of the story. I know that a lot of readers say they love the story because of how well it's written, but I can't comment on that as the creator, haha~ I can't say my story is well-written as I'm not consuming it from an outside perspective. What I can say is that I do think I created a story that has a lot of twists and turns and betrayals, which I think adds to the enjoyment factor.

How are you now in 2020? Are you writing professionally in real life at all?

How do you feel BTS fanfiction has changed over time? Since you’ve been writing for it for so long.

Do you have any messages for people who may read this interview in the future?

I'm not writing professionally. I have self-published two books via Amazon and Lulu. One was a basic re-branding of my story babes in the woods. The other was a total rewrite of Brotherhood, which I called 'Brothers,' featuring a whole new setting and roster of characters. I published them as readers showed an interest in reading original stories. I have been considering rewriting House of Cards as an original work in the future, but I can't say for certain that I will do so.

Since I started writing, I think there's been a lot of changes in the fandom—not only in fanfiction but in general. There's been popular trends that have come and gone (I was around for the explosion of social media and text-based AUs, which I personally am not a fan of) but there's also been a lot of push for more inclusive content. I'm really happy by the amount of inclusive content that I see these days. Despite some pushback from non-queer fans that sometimes have an issue with queer subject matter (for example, trans characters) I think it's wonderful that artists of all colours, genders and sexualities are now proudly creating content they want to see, and not simply just what is 'in demand' from the fandom.

The message that I would like to share with readers of this interview is: stay healthy, stay happy, and most importantly, stay you. I also want to take this moment to tell them this - if you are considering becoming a creator, but you are worried about reception to your work, or that it might not be good enough, stop right now! Stop doubting yourself and just give it a shot! I was once like you, scared that my weird and niche interests and writing would be ignored or even mocked by the fandom because no one would like it. Had I not decided to take the plunge, my life would be so drastically different. I've made so many friends, fallen in love, and completely changed my life by creating fan content. It can be scary, but once you take the leap, you will find your feet coming down on solid earth without any danger.

Thank you for reading this interview. Further below are reminders and information about this interview and Charmseoul’s Fanlore project.

sugamins is still writing on her sugamins Archive of Our Own account today if you are looking for her works. Charmedseoul will not be sharing the author’s social media or contact information.

This interview is a part of the Top 50 Most Hit BTS Archive of our Own Works Project by Charmedseoul. The project documents the works and authors of the top 50 most hit BTS works on Archive of Our Own. All work for this project is done through Fanlore, which is run by the Organization of Transformative Works. However, Charmedseoul herself is not associated with Fanlore or OTW directly. All information documented through this project is done with full transparency.

Authors, works, and fandom culture must be documented for the future. Unauthorized and malicious editing of Fanlore pages will result in a termination of account. Charmedseoul and Fanlore itself protects fandom history’s participants and works. Personal opinion on authors and works may be posted on social media, but may only be quoted and paraphrased on Fanlore.

This interview was conducted through email from September 23, 2020 to October 25th, 2020 with sugamins’ consent and protections under Fanlore’s Identity Protection policies. Unauthorized reposting of this interview is forbidden. Quotation and screenshot share of this interview is allowed.

If you would like to authorize a repost please contact @charmedseoul on Twitter or @charmedseoull on Tumblr. Linking and sharing is appreciated. Translation and unauthorized repost of this interview is forbidden.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Charmed Seoul. Fandom Historian based on Fanlore.com. Twitter. Tumblr.

#bts #bangtan #bangtan sonyeondan #bts fanfiction #bts fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #interview #house of cards #house of cards fanfiction #bts house of cards #house of cards by sugamins #sugamins #archive of our own #ao3 #fanlore #charmedseoul interviews

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gorogues · 3 years

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Spoilers for comics in May!

Pretty sparse again, and it’s really just collected editions which are of interest...though Len appears on the variant cover of the Super Sons issue. I don’t think he’s in any of the stories thus far.

You can see the solicits in full at CBR.

CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER SONS #2 written by PETER J. TOMASI art by MAX RAYNOR and JORGE CORONA cover by SIMONE DI MEO card stock variant cover by NICK BRADSHAW ON SALE 5/11/21 $3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 of 7 | FC | DC CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99 US Okay, Robin and Superboy saved the Flash from certain annihilation...surely the day is saved and everyone can go home and watch TV, right? Wrong! Once the Doom Scroll inscribes a name on its mystical list, the bearer of that name will be imminently killed—and the heroes of the Justice League are being targeted one by one! Next up? Wonder Woman! Plus, see just what happened when the boys were snatched from reality, and how they first encountered the Doom Scroll...in medieval England?

From here, we’ve got a ton of collected editions. The Mark Waid book has some Replicant and Piper. @one-rogue-army

THE FLASH BY MARK WAID BOOK EIGHT TP written by MARK WAID, BRIAN AUGUSTYN, and JOE CASEY art by PAUL PELLETIER, DUNCAN ROULEAU, SCOTT KOLINS, DOUG BRAITHWAITE, and others cover by STEVE LIGHTLE ON SALE 6/15/21 $34.99 US | $45.99 CAN | 368 PAGES | FC | DC Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-77951-010-5 As this latest collection of Flash tales written by Mark Waid begins, meet Walter West, a Flash from a parallel reality where his beloved Linda Park died and the speedster doles out brutal justice to criminals as a response. Can the two Flashes co-exist long enough to stop Replicant, a villain with the combined powers of the Rogues Gallery? Better find out fast—the longer Walter West stays on Wally’s Earth, the more he poses a threat to all of reality! Collects The Flash #151-162, The Flash Annual #12, and pages from The Flash Secret Files #2.

This Justice League trade has a classic Eobard story, from the Secret Society of Super-Villains (he acts like a creep towards Black Canary). There’s also a good Kadabra and Sam story reprinted here.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: THE BRONZE AGE OMNIBUS VOL. 3 HC written by GERRY CONWAY, PAUL LEVITZ, MARTIN PASKO, and STEVE ENGLEHART art by DICK DILLIN, GEORGE TUSKA, and others cover by KARL KERSCHL ON SALE 7/6/21 $125.00 US | $163.00 CAN | 1,192 PAGES | FC | DC Hardcover 7.0625" x 10.875" ISBN: 978-1-77951-016-7 The JLA moves into the second half of the ’70s with tales guest-starring the Justice Society of America, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and heroes from the long-gone past including Jonah Hex, the Viking Prince, Enemy Ace, and more. Plus, the League’s mascot, Snapper Carr, turns against the team, the Phantom Stranger helps the team battle a returning pantheon of ancient gods, the Martian Manhunter faces Despero for the lives of the League, and the Secret Society of Super-Villains swap bodies with the World’s Greatest Superheroes. Plus, Black Lightning is invited to join the JLA—but turns down the invitation for mysterious reasons. Collects Justice League of America #147-182, Super-Team Family #11-14, DC Special #27, DC Special Series #6, Secret Society of Super-Villains #15, DC Comics Presents #17, and pages from Amazing World of DC comics #14.

If you missed the digital releases, here’s your chance to buy this cool AU Hartley story!

DCEASED: HOPE AT WORLD’S END HC written by TOM TAYLOR art by DUSTIN NGUYEN, RENATO GUEDES, CARMINE DI GIANDOMENICO, MARCO FAILLA, KARL MOSTERT, and DANIELE DI NICUOLO cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA ON SALE 6/15/21 $24.99 US | $33.99 CAN | 176 PAGES | FC | DC HARDCOVER ISBN: 978-1-77951-128-7 In Earth’s darkest hour, heroes will bring hope in this new addition to the DCeased saga, taking place within the timeline of the original epic! DCeased became a smash horror hit in 2019 by offering a twisted version of the DC Universe infected by the Anti-Life Equation, transforming heroes and villains alike into mindless monsters. DCeased: Hope at World’s End, previously only available digitally, expands the world of that original DCeased series by filling in that story’s time jump and focusing on characters including Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Stephanie Brown, Wally West, and Jimmy Olsen. In DCeased: Hope at World’s End, the Anti-Life Equation has infected over a billion people on Earth. Heroes and villains have fallen. In the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Metropolis, Superman and Wonder Woman spearhead an effort to stem the tide of infection, preserve and protect survivors, and plan for what’s next. In the Earth’s darkest hour, heroes will bring hope! The war for Earth has only just begun! This volume collects DCeased: Hope at World’s End Digital Chapters 1-15.

And this is for the AU Eobard story.

TALES FROM THE DC DARK MULTIVERSE II HC stories and art by VARIOUS cover by DAVID MARQUEZ ON SALE 6/8/21 $34.99 US | $45.99 CAN | 368 PAGES | FC | DC Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-77951-007-5 The gateway into the Dark Multiverse has been opened...what stories will emerge? Follow Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League as our heroes battle their way through these crumbling and shattered worlds! Collects Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Batman: Hush #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Wonder Woman: War of the Gods #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1; and Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal #1, plus the stories that inspired these tales from Batman #619, Flashpoint #1, Wonder Woman: War of the Gods #4, Crisis on Infinite Earths #12, and Dark Nights: Metal #6.

#Captain Cold #Professor Zoom #Pied Piper #Replicant #the Flash #solicits #spoilers: comics

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salty-dracon · 3 years

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YTTD Theories, updated for 3-1B.

The YTTD fandom, as of May 31st, 2021: I LIVE!

Anyway I’ve done a TON of reading and it’s time to drag up my theories. Some of these are the same as previously posted, and some are different. Anyway, here are my theories before I go into 3-1B.

Here are my previous theory posts:

X X X

Gin is highly suspicious! He somehow knew about the secret passageway to the kitchen on the first floor. Many of the other characters appear to have some weird connection to the game in different ways, though. Keiji knew about the Hades Incident, Q-taro had that weird first trial, Kai and Joe might have known each other before the Death Game, and Sou knew about the role cards before they were explained. Also, for some reason Mishima asked for Nao to vote for him, which leads me to believe he also had outside information even if it was totally false. Maybe Gin or Asunaro betrayed him.

Gin is also one of the only characters to not have a character development arc so far, which Keiji and Q-taro got last chapter. It’s a more meta rule, but it’s never wrong in the case of Danganronpa, with the rule being “the next character to get development is the next one to die”. Gin has also been the closest with Sara, leading me to believe he has some ulterior motive regarding her. Plus, he has the tendency to say some strange things (like “Smells like a ladykiller!” with regards to Keiji). He also has a couple of weird sprites in 3-1A, which might get reused later on.

Do I think he’s betraying Asunaro? Many of the Game Overs involve him dying, but Midori (bastard seaweed head supreme) went out of his way to keep Gin from dying even though he clearly had it out for the dolls. I wonder if his life being preserved is a necessity to keep the game going. Because of that, I don’t think so. I think he’s firmly on the side of Asunaro.

Mai’s a human. Humans from Asunaro are dressed like food, and Mai has the bread hat. (It’s actually a cream puff hat, apparently.) Dolls are super survivable. Ranger got shot through the forehead and lived for quite a while, while Mai got yeeted 3 meters and got knocked out quickly. I think the Mai that died in the first trial might have been her doll version, though that means there’s probably going to be a creepy moment where Mai’s doll self comes out and tries to take us down. Or maybe it’s a situation like Reko’s where Mai got replaced at some point.

Joe-ko Enoshima is still a possibility. Joe is continually brought up despite Sara forgetting about him in the ending where she chooses to kill Kanna. Especially with the doggy keychain. Still haven’t figured out if whether or not it’s there is dictated by whether or not Sara picked it up in Chapter 2. Joe also hasn’t gotten too much of a character development arc yet- somehow I still feel it’s incomplete, especially since there are some mysteries left with him where he clearly knows more than he’s letting on.

The above theory is nullified if the guy Keiji killed is Joe’s dad. The character that appeared looked a lot like Joe and had the same jovial personality, and said he was going to be a dad soon. It would explain why Joe suspected that Keiji wasn’t really a policeman, and maybe why he talked to Kai.

Why do only the male characters have extra information about the game? Just a question I had. Could mean something, might be just a coincidence though. Maybe the organization is looking for a suitable partner for Sara? (weird)

Sara is a mafia princess being tested to see if she’s worthy of leading the organization. This is just the overall plot. Especially with the logic vs emotion theme of the game, I think that the organization is trying to make her see that logic is the way to lead it. Plus she’s getting quickly desensitized to a lot of the death she sees. As I’ll explain later, it might be a product of “her” own desires.

Midori was watching the participants through the penguins in the spa on the second floor. “Ooh look a penguin.” “I’m not a penguin...” “?” He did say he observes all the floors...

Miley is Sara’s mom in disguise. The identity of Sara’s mother and father is clearly some kind of secret that’s meant to be kept hidden. I go over this more in my other post but we NEVER see her face and we don’t know what her name is, though it’s important enough to the game that Kai locked a folder with it. Miley has shown hints of being familiar with Sara for longer than just the game.

There are two or more Saras. One of those Saras might be Sara’s mom, or a clone of Sara. We see another Sara in YTTS, which, if it’s canon, could have happened before the main story in YTTD. I think Sara might be a clone of an original Sara, the one who won in the Hades incident, and that Sara is trying to do the same thing to this Sara to ensure she has a good successor.

Meister is extremely important! For reasons that everyone and their mother has said already. (Plus there’s a portrait that looks like him in Gashu’s secret room.)

Ranmaru is Sara’s friend Ryoko in disguise. Based on the anniversary comic. Ryoko’s face remains hidden for the whole thing, and Ranmaru seems to know who Joe is. Also they befriend each other really fast in 3-1A.

#your turn to die #yttd #kimi ga shine

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cutegirlmayra · 4 years

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Who will read?

Stories I have planned to write:

1. Sonic and the Chaos Seas (Sky and sea Pirate AU) - Much like the amazing prompts I did, I have an idea for a Sonic Pirates AU, much like my Medieval AU- where Sonic is the captain of the Bablyon Jewel, which houses the Master Emerald stolen from Angel Island... buuuut since it’s Guardian can’t part with the Master Emerald, and can’t seem to convince Sonic to turn the ship around, Knuckles joins piracy... unwillingly. Tails is his first mate, who is a genius with the ship’s ancient technology, except that Jet and Storm refuse to leave their family heirloom, as Jet is the rightful owner of the commandeered ship. They need the Master Emerald to locate, which Tails’s machines, the 7 emeralds to prevent the terrible ‘Tsunami of Skies’ event depicted in Silver’s future scrolls... the day the sky became the sea... and wiped everything off the planet! Shadow was stolen along with the feared Pirate Gerald’s research... and his granddaughter’s wereabouts remain a mystery... after Sonic accidentally wakes up Shadow, he agrees to let Shadow have his revenge on the Royal G.U.N armada who are secretly working for Eggman, who has convinced Queen Elise that he’s gathering the Emeralds for the world’s sake... Captain Rose and her all female-crew have an old score to settle with Captain Sonic, and Team Chaotix have a specific client looking for their rabbit daughter... who they believe was kidnapped by Captain Rose. It’s a journey that races against time..! But Sonic..? a Sea captain..? Nay! A sky-flying pirate who hates the sea but believes in the justice of the free winds! Shall we all head aboard? (Chaptered story, Pirate AU, Some Sonic couples like Sonamy.)

2. Sonic Storybook Series - Consisting of Oneshots of different stories. Travel to the desert land of traded goods and magical artifacts to discover The Desert Jewel (Aladdin), or perhaps travel the woods and find ancient curses with howling results? (Little Red Riding Hood), maybe you’re more a kingdom missing it’s royalty, kinda guy? (Twisted Cinderella) Which ever you preuse in your readings, care to still take the perilous dive into the Books Of Wonder!? Sorry, Sonic... you don’t have a choice. You’re evil doubleganger, born of your friends insecurities, is going to make sure you’re never the hero again! (Series of Oneshots - so multiple story-chapters - some Sonamy lol)

3. Sonic Family - Set in the distance future... Discover a secret deal, arranged out of love, before the nefarious Eggman infuses half his mind with a metallic computer to keep himself from falling to Alzheimer's. However, the machine turns him in-human, and takes over his fleshy-side. Older Sonic has to give up the oath he made so many years ago, and abandon his friends in pursuit of Eggman. It’s a deadly fight, but with the evil-counterpart ripped from Eggman’s head, Eggman finally shows his age... And Sonic is forced to place him in a home for the elderly. “Oh look! A talking hedgehog!” as Eggman is wheeled into the nursing home, Sonic, after so many years away, returns to his family... Only to find it’s a complete mess! His eldest is trying to get his mentor, Shadow, with Sonic’s wife! Amy wants another baby, and if not, then Sonic needs to be a decent father for a change... His second oldest is having fights at school, his third youngest is Tails’s apprentice and doesn’t really know much or care to learn about his father, only racing and science! His littlest is barely on her first word... can Sonic reunite with his friends and form the connection with his family he gave up long ago? And when Eggman’s mind returns to him, placing the last bingo piece into place,... does this mean Sonic’s family isn’t safely hidden anymore!? Find out! In Sonic Family~ (Sonamy and other Sonic Couples story, future AU, chaptered.)

4. Amy Rose Origin Story: The Piko Warrior - Ever wonder where Amy came from? Sonic never bothered to ask... until that is, her past catches up with her. Warriors from an culturally-rich and brutal era have sworn to find The Rose’s Last Line before a dangerous evil finds it first and wipes out the last of the Piko Warrior’s bloodline! But... the Rose’s bloodline is a traitor? Amy Rose was raised by wandering Gypsies that taught her fortunes and tarot cards, right? But you’re wrong... Will Amy tell the secret of her Piko Piko Hammer and finally tell her team of friends the truth about her brutal past? Stay tuned for this, Amy Rose’s Origin Story! (Sonamy chaptered story + Amy Origin)

5. Amy's Judgement (Judgement spirit and King Spirit. FIGHT! lol) - Unaware of her orphan past, Amy simply wants to spend the rest of her life chasing Sonic and being apart of his world... but the Gods deem otherwise. When the team discover an ancient spirit haunting the world with his undead army, it’s only up to Sonic to connect with the Spirit King, the most powerful soul in all the afterlife, in order to acquire the legendary power to fight with Spirits! (In the flesh, it’s no good!) However... The Spirit King seems to hate Sonic,... but why? And why does he look so sorrowful when seeing Amy Rose? Will the team discover their families they’ve never really known in the spirit world? Find out, in this devastating war of the living and the dead! (Chaptered story, everyone’s origins revealed, moderate Sonamy.)

6. Yugioh OC story (Will give official name later) - While Atem is enjoying his afterlife, Mana admits that there is something missing, but perhaps without it, he could continue on in blissful ignorance, but it’s not enough for Atem. Learning that there are Cursed Millennium Items that were thrown from the first batch, the Ring being cursed in secret, he rises from his rest through the Millennium Puzzle, returning to his Partner to seek his aid. Yugi is elated to see his old friend, but deeply concerned. Atem has many enemies now... and old rivals who will take advantage of this situation. Atem must recover the parts of his memory that were sealed away in the cursed items... Then they hear singing? Join this remarkable quest as the old gang gets back together to find the missing items, stop an evil Egyptian witch, and discover the missing power of the Millennium Heart, which can bring monsters and spirits... to life! “The Falcon shall find the split Dove again...And carry it’s heart to the seeking Anubis. Only then can eternity be completed, and the Pharaoh at last, rest with all his lost souls.” (Yugioh characters x Many OCs and just epic dueling lol chaptered story, it’s also just a story not all about romance XP)

7. Amy Rose's Fanfiction (Headband and puppet universe.) - When Canon Amy Rose begins to wonder if she’s satisficed in her universe, a unique opportunity presents itself... grab Chaos’s brain and create her own universe! Without knowing how she did this, the gang is informed from Tikal that Amy has created a separate universe, and they must unite with the many other universe’s to find her and get her back! However, Amy Rose creates a Fanfiction Universe with ‘puppet’ forms of her friends. Enjoy the story of Amy Rose trying to live out her dreams and fantasies through Puppet Amy Rose who begins to see suffering and fights the control of her Canon-counterpart. Can they convince Amy to return to the Canon that needs and misses her? Only by jumping from Comic, Boom, Anime, Classic, and Game universes can Tikal stretch out her power through Chaos Control and find Amy... somehow bringing her back or convincing her to return to where she belongs! (Chaptered story with adaptations of Sonamy: dark sonamy, sonamy au, modern sonamy.)

8. Softer Shades (shadamy) - Yall already know lol. Chaptered Shadamy story.

Which would you read?

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fantranslatorbychoice · 4 years

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Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 1

T/N: I mostly didn’t translate a lot of the names of the ayakashi/youkai, as well as the proper nouns because uhm... They’re basically nouns. It’s like how some translated manga are done. Plus it irks me sometimes when everything just gets transliterated, it kills off the vibe. But that’s just me. Links to references at the end of the post.

Also if you like this translation, you can share the link, reblog, but for pete��s sake DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. I worked hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just Google-translated this whole sh**..

If you need refreshers on what happened, @kakuriyo-translations already had the previous translations. I’m just contributing to this fandom. Also, as previously mentioned in my other post, the 2 seasons of the anime cover volumes 1-5, so if you need a review just rewatch them all. Volume 6 starts here.

OK, here’s the stuff now.

Volume 6 - I got hired as a novice in an Ayakashi Inn** From the back cover: Autumn has visited the Ayakashi living in Kakuriyo's long-established inn Tenjin-ya. Aoi who was kidnapped by the rival inn Orio-ya, finally ended through her cooking the hardships of, and cleared the curse of the Southern Lands. Returning home victoriously, what awaits this lady are her friends in Tenjin-ya, the warmth, and the everyday busy-ness! While thinking of new souvenir products and preparing and pushing for the Autumn Festival, she reopens her Japanese Restaurant "Yugao". That time, she was invited by Odanna-sama to a fruit orchard date. Surely him always inviting her out never changed, as time after the Orio-ya incident passes her by, is she realizing that she's starting to think that she wants to know more about Odanna-sama...?

From the inside front jacket: Yuuma Midori (Author)A citizen from Fukuoka. Her debut publication published by Alpha Police: Marrying my wife is a dangerous circumstance with a giant demonic beast. Changing her pen-name after that, she published Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi, I married into an Ayakashi Inn. Currently Fujimi Bun-ko's big hit, and is now an illustrated series released by B-s LOG COMICS.

Character introduction page Tenjin-ya: An old-established place in North-eastern Kakuriyo, where Ayakashi dwell. Under the Ogre-god's (Onigami) leadership, many visiting Ayakashi helped it flourish, although sometimes humans make visits too. Odanna-sama: Master of Kakuriyo's Tenjin-ya, an Onigami respected by many Ayakashi. Even though Aoi should be wedded to him, his true intentions are currently unknown, as he watches the lady's speech and behavior. Tsubaki Aoi: College student who was whisked away against her own will in order to pay for her grandfather's debt in Tenjin-ya. Refusing Odanna-sama's marriage proposal, with her talents in cooking she manages her own Japanese restaurant, Yugao.

T/N: The volume title is a pun, it can go like "a new hire gets into an ayakashi inn" or "newly-harvested rice enters the ayakashi inn". No complaints though, but I won't spoil anything lol

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6, Chapter 1: Autumn's Newly-harvested Rice's** Accompaniment P5 "Aoi-san! We're already at our limit!" "Gah, so far, today...." That was in the last days of September in Yugao. I, Tsubaki Aoi, scrunching my face in vexation, took a peep in the refrigerator with hardly any ingredients left. Confronting and attacking the food rations altogether, it seems that they're now all gone. I wonder if in today's opening, will the incoming guests ever cease?

Lately, Yugao's business has been spectacular all over, it has been a very, very busy time. On days when there are so many customers, when the ingredients are all used up midway, the restaurant has to close shop early, and while we're preparing so many ingredients before reopening again, on those days that we have to regulate incoming customers, not many come in and the restaurant becomes bare of people, controlling the number of incoming guests is difficult. I wonder what I'll do if it's just me doing everything inside the restaurant, and I feel like I'm already at my limit... "That matter at Orio-ya, the thing about the ceremony and all the different things have been dramatized and turned upside-down in so many ways, it has become Kakuriyo's hot topic. Aoi-san has become something that livened-up the world, and Ayakashi have been interested and drawn to you, haven't they? Even Yugao has become famous..."

T/N: It's frustrating to translate the term for newly-harvested rice. Coming from a rice-eating culture like Japan and the rest of Asia, it's easy to categorize all stages of rice because there are words that exist for that. Like they say, languages are shaped by the needs of the users. Unfortunately, English has none of those so yeah, from here on end I'll be using the term newly-harvested rice here because to be honest, it tastes a lot better than rice stocked for a long time. That one tastes dry and bland even when cooked, while newly-harvested rice smells fragrant, has a soft texture, and just doesn't taste moldy lol

P6 While on a short break from cleaning up and arranging the place after business hours, Ginji-san and I were eating dried persimmons given to us by a customer as we sat on the counters while sipping tea. "Ginji-san, you were keenly saying that, but I wasn't intending on making a ruckus in Kakuriyo." "Yes, I understand. Ayakashi have been noticing, in their own ways... Thanks to Yugao, our business is booming!" Ginji-san's tired face turned and changed into a very happy one, meanwhile I was getting anxious. As someone who is burdened with a debt I am happy that the restaurant is flourishing, even though the place is getting better overall, there are many hindrances coming out with regards to cooking, and in spite of our efforts, I still feel bad for the customers that come in. Ah, but unrelated to that, this dried persimmon tastes really good. It's center is soft and moist, and sweet, yet a faint aftertaste of the puckery seed still remains, but I love that taste. Even if the people that I hated then are that much, a lot of Grandpa's treasured food makes me yearn for the good old days. "Very soon, Yugao will need to hire new employees, don't you think so?" "New employees? Really? Well, if it's just Ginji-san and I, it's already impossible..." I agreed with Ginji-san's suggestion. Ever since we opened, the two of us had been giving our all. To put it in words, we need someone other than Ginji-san to be designated with a job post. All the more that I think Yugao needs a new staff. "Since it seems that Aoi-san is concentrating on making the dishes, you might want the new staff to bear the task of receiving guests. P7 Would you like to try putting up a "Now Hiring" sign in Tenjin-ya's announcement board?" "I wonder who would come to apply?" What kind of brand-new staff will we hire? "Aoi-sama, you're cruel!" Instantly, from the pendant that contains ogre-fire, popped out Ai-chan. She looks like me, but her cheeks were swelling with annoyance. "Why, you call me your family, and at the same time hire me as your employee! If that's the case, tell me what to do!" "Well now, Ai-chan is very eager to work?" "You haven't spoken to me in a very long time..." Is that so? I tried to recall. When I called Ai-chan out to learn about the basics of cooking, that time she went out and played with Chibi. I think Ai-chan is still an Ayakashi child, and she still haven't got the idea on what it means to be an employee. "But Ai-chan, if you feel sleepy, you can't return to the pendant. Also, on top of that, it would be weird when there's two of us working here at Yugao..." Ginji-san looked at Ai-chan and I. P8 I wonder what he thinks of us having similar faces. "Oh, that, uhm... Aoi-san is most concerned about Ai-chan, and it is that you would want to work, but I think it's surely awkward when there is someone that looks like Aoi-san, won't it?" "Wh.. Why is that...? Young master-sama, I want to work too..." Ai-chan begged earnestly to Ginji-san with her teary eyes. My face tells it all, and Ginji-san also sees that it can turn into a crazy situation, and we stuttered. "Uhm, that's... That is..." Her eyes started swimming in tears. "But we could cause confusion with the customers. They'll think Ai-chan is me, and I am Ai-chan..." "I'm definitely sure that can happen... This is not related to Yugao's business operations, but it's possible that I can swap places with a family who looks like me, but really you are a precious being. With that, won't it be better to hide?" "Really?" "Yes... If my look-alike and I were both working in here, we may have a trump card,but evil people may take advantage of that too. Because of that, Ai-chan who can do things must hide in her favorite place..." Ginji-san glimpsed at teary-eyed Ai-chan who was biting her lower lip like a child and scratching her forehead. P9 "In order for Ai-chan to work in this restaurant, there are two conditions, OK? One, when you're in duty, you can't go to sleep. The other is that you have to change your appearance into someone else's." "Someone else's appearance..." Ai-chan and I huddled and titled our heads. The thing about not sleeping is reasonable and understandable. "About that, how do I change into someone else?" "I'm sorry. That's something that you must learn on your own. Be original, OK?" "O..ri...gi..nal..?" It seems that Ai-chan doesn't understand what that means. "Well, let's see. Let's use Tokihiko-san from Orio-ya as an example.** In the beginning, that person was just made up of many little Youkai flames**, but right now he can't change into anything else, he can only change into the shape he already has. If you change your appearance into someone else, if you change it to look like me, that's a whole different level, but Ai-chan is still a child, I wonder if she can understand?" But Ai-chan yells "I'll do it!" and raises her hand in proclamation. "I'll do my best in making my own appearance!" "Wooooowwww..." Ginji-san and I lightly clapped our hands for Ai-chan who was in high spirits.

T/N: In Volume 3, where Shizuna and Tokihiko meet again, like the episodes before the Orio-ya arc, it was briefly explained that ayakashi are formed from objects, when the consciousness enters the objects and make them sentient. I’ll probably translate that once I finished volumes 6-10, or maybe not. P10 "But because it's sleepy-time, I'll go back to the pendant!" "Whaaat." She immediately returned into ogre-fire, and Ai-chan hid back into the pendant in my bosom. The pendant's flickering light makes it seem like Ai-chan was sleeping and snoozing peacefully inside. "She seems serious, about the whole 'What appearance should I make' thing." "As soon as she wanted to slep, she already entered a new period of growth. In just a short time, I think she's already like an Ayakashi that stays awake late at night... It's because Ayakashi by nature don't sleep that much." "It's not like that, it's just that employes and everyone else just have short sleeping schedules. It's toxic**, it's something I thought of, but it's not really like that..." "No, it's not something like that. It's because Tenjin-ya also considerably receives nice wholesome** citizens of Kakuriyo. And that is why it's always very busy." "What, wait, doesn't that make it mixed**?" Well, whatever, I only sleep 10 minutes everyday, and even though it's a rest day tomorrow, it's not a problem for me. And for sure, when that busy day comes, I'd be very happy to receive Ai-chan's help. Whatever that child's appearance would make, I'll be looking forward to it.

T/N: the original words used were BLACK, WHITE, and GRAY. Black is considered to be the dark side of things aka toxic workplaces, White is the usual nice and wholesome facade, and the Gray was just inserted to complete the pun because in color theory thingy, BLACK+WHITE=GRAY. But that's just me lol You have been warned that this light novel uses a lot of puns P11 "Aoi--- Fooooood---" "Oh, that person's here." That person, is that Yuki-onna. Always, after Yugao's business hours, it's always the same, she always comes, the former Young Mistress but is now the waitress O-ryo. "Now's not a good time, O-ryo. There's none already." "Waaait, again? No rice? Even the rice is gone too?" "Even if I cook the rice, that's just it. Tomorrow is Yugao's rest day, and there aren't any excess ingredients here." "Then as long as there's rice that can be cooked, it's fine. I really love rice. Newly-harvested rice** is the most delicious, isn't it?" If that's the case, then there's nothing else to eat here, Ginji-san and I whispered to each other. But O-ryo just invited herself in the counters, and I had no choice but to stand up and start preparing to cook the rice. Just as O-ryo said, it's already the season of delicious rice. Especially in the land of Ogre's Gate, the rice brand "Onihonoka" is a famous specialty and souvenir, harvested either in the last days of August to the first days of September, polished immediately after harvest and is now back in the market. P12 But, if we use newly-harvested rice here in Yugao, it's distinct grains that contain a lot of moisture can really rake in the positive points. When cooking rice it is common that the little water added will decrease as it cooks, and it tastes all the more better. I wonder if O-ryo can wait for 30 minutes as the rice gets soaked.** "Wait, O-ryo sama!" The next one who came in was that horse chestnut girl, with her signature Tanuki ears and the round, fluffy tail. It was Tenjin-ya's lower-ranking waitress, Kasuga. "We thought we lost the bottle opener at the banquet hall. O-ryo sama, when your duties ended you immediately went to Yugao, and our new-hired waiters and waitresses had to search here and there. I was about to do some deliveries but I had to take charge of our newbies." "Oh, really? Kasuga, why didn't you just remember to let your juniors do it?" "But it's O-ryo sama's fault. All of the juniors and everyone has been doing their best here." "Oh, fine, there, there. Kasuga, you're also giving it your all, OK?" Whether it's because she's tired or she just deemed the answer was acceptable and ran away with it, Kasuga just allowed O-ryo to roughly pat her head. And when the bottle opener that had a bell made out of ice was produced, Kasuga immediately stuck it inside her obi. When the bell chimed, a clear tinkling sound echoed. "Isn't that ice bell lovely?"

T/N: Hot tip, if you're cooking rice, not the instant kind, if you want a less fussy method just soak it for at least 30 minutes before boiling it, it makes it cook faster, especially when the rice is long-grain, brown or colored rice, or the dry grained ones that are better for fried rice because the grains don't stick together. P13 "Yes. I won't give it to you, Kasuga." "I don't have a need for it, and for that reason it's not an important conversation." Kasuga sighed with a dumbfounded expression. In this situation I don't know who's the senior and who's the underling. "Oh, by the way, Young Master-sama, Odanna-sama calls for you." "Wah, is that so, Kasuga-san? Oh, it's probably the matter about the Autumn Festival. Aoi-san, I have to go to the main building for a bit, ok?" "Yes, thank you for your hard work, Ginji-san." Ginji-san's head bobbed as he bowed, and with a quick pace left Yugao. "Kasuga, even today you were asked to do a lot of things here and there, weren't you?" "Yeah, that's true. Everyone was telling me to go here and run over there. Oh well, I'll get used to it somehow." Kasuga meekly and quietly sat beside were O-ryo was sitting. Did this girl also went here to eat some newly-harvested rice? "Aoi--- Is it done? I'm hungry-- Isn't Kakuriyo's pot cooking fast enough?" "Whaaat. Please wait a bit more, O-ryo. Because it's newly-harvested rice, I only had it soaked for a bit." "Ehhh... That's already fine. Whether it gets cooked or not, because I'm hungry." P14 I wanted to choose the best way to cook the newly-harvested rice, so I could relish its delicious taste, but I wonder if I just lost to O-ryo's explanation just like this while the rice was cooking. She seems to be already at the limit of her patience, and she started to violently beat the counters. "Aoi--- Aoi--- Rice! Let me eat rice!" "Hold it there, big woman baby! Stop beating the counters, or else it will fall apart." My table.. Really, O-ryo can really be so selfish... "Yo, is there any grub to eat?" Akatsuki, like the usual routine, came here. O-ryo, Kasuga, and Akatsuki, repeatedly always come here, and were becoming "Give me food, give me food" Ayakashi. "I'm sorry Akatsuki, today there's nothing left. O-ryo said she's fine with just white rice, and that's what I'm cooking right now." "I'm also fine with just rice. Do you have any pickles?" Akatsuki sat beside the counter where Kasuga was, where two people were already sitting at. It has always been like this. "Wherever rice is offered as if for the gods, there's always a line on the counters. One way or another, Ayakashi love rice, don't they?" Finally, the rice on the stove has cooked. Kakuriyo's pots only need five minutes to cook rice, and it's really very convenient. P15 "Akatsuki, you haven't used up your salary and vacation leaves this year, haven't you? You don't have a girlfriend, and you give me the impression that working is your hobby. You're that kind of guy, aren't you?" While doing nothing on an empty stomach, O-ryo started bickering with Akatsuki, who was beyond Kasuga's seat. Even thought it's not nice, O-ryo toys Akatsuki a lot, who was younger than her. Akatsuki's face spells like "Shut up, you're noisy" whenever he's tired after work. "It's better to think about frolicking and having fun, Akatsuki. It's a waste, no matter how much you work, being a guy who looks angry and has no excess time to have some time to have fun." "Stop talking to me already, O-ryo." "Whaaat. How conceited. I'm the senior and you're the junior. I'm older than you and you're younger than me." "And so? You dropped being in the management staff and now you're a waitress. Between being a head clerk and a waitress, I'm higher-ranked." "Arrrghh, this guy is so UN-ADORABLE!" "O-ryo sama, you're noisy!" O-ryo's shrill voice spreads out, and Akatsuki and Kasuga both covered their ears. I opened Yugao's kitchen's refrigerator as I pinched my small ears shut. There wasn't any ingredients left to make side dishes, so I just took the rice out and served it. As I was doing this, I was laughing by myself. Hee hee hee.. "I could hear Aoi-chan letting out a weird laugh." P16 "What meals are she thinking of, at this point?" "Aoi is indeed an Ayakashi that cooks and cooks, isn't she?" Until now, O-ryo, Kasuga and Akatsuki were all whispering and back-biting me. But that's what I felt. After waiting, the newly-harvest rice that we have been waiting for has been cooked. After the boiled rice was done, I opened the lid and a foggy yet aromatic steam was released, and my stomach started to grumble on its own. As I stirred the freshly-cooked rice, I divided it and placed some on the rice tub. Using a wooden rice paddle I tried checking its texture and taste, it was springy, and its sweetness was enjoyable. "OK, there's a lot of rice, so please just eat however you like." In the restaurant's table where the rice tub was placed, in Akatsuki and Kasuga's usual rice bowls, and in O-ryo's favorite and sometimes variable larger bowl, I served them the white rice. I piled a lot of it. Each grain was puffy and glossy, which is due to the rice's freshness. "Yay! Let's eat!" O-ryo speedily and hungrily ate the rice, as she was holding her bowl and chopsticks. Hmph, O-ryo just quieted down right now. "Kasuga, Akatsuki, aren't you two hungry too? Start eating up." P17 "Ehhhrm.... It's hard to eat like O-ryo with just the white rice..." "Aren't there any pickled food, Aoi-chan?" "Tsk, tsk, how about if I place this here?" I placed a jar in between Kasuga and Akatsuki's counters. At first, they just stared at it in bewilderment, but carefully examined the jar's contents. Kasuga seemed to immediately get what it was. "Oh, I know it! It's nametake, enoki mushrooms!" "Yes, I made it from all of the mushrooms collected this Autumn, and I placed a lot of it. I goes great with white rice. I added it to our Autumn's daily specials." As soon as I opened the jar's lid, and scooped the nametake with a wooden spoon, I placed a lot on top of their rice in the two rice bowls. The brown mushrooms were flowing and melting and moist due to being boiled down. Enoki, shimeji, shiitake, these were all seasoned with the mild soy sauce that Ayakashi love. Sugar, mirin, sake and other seasonings were also added as staples, and in my case, there's also a bit of vinegar and some spicy peppers. These were added to give a hint of spiciness and sourness to the mild flavor. To make excellent preserved food, cold tofu, boiled down greens using dashi stock and others can be added and turned into one dish. While the nametake is mixed in with the piping hot rice, Kasuga and Akatsuki heartily wolfed down their food. "Wow... This meal is filling in my empty stomach.." P18 "This is delicious!" The enoki makes a crispy and appetizing sound. O-ryo, who was growing tired of the white rice, and seems to have noticed the nametake that Kasuga and Akatsuki were eating, started staring at it with longing eyes. "O-ryo, if you want to eat some nametake, please have some too." What the.. I have barely finished talking and O-ryo already stole the nametake jar. "Wah, it's my rice's buddy!" "O-ryo sama, it's greedy of you to take it for yourself!" "Kasuga, Akatsuki, don't worry, there are other partners for your rice." The poor things, but because there were other food that pair up well with rice, I brought them out. Toppings such as pickled plums, ground meat mixed with miso and lotus root, daikon pickled in vinegar with kelp, I brought out various preserved dishes too. Because rice goes well with many daily staples, many others were served on the side. "I am pushing this powerful medicine. I stir-fried some Hijiki seaweed that still has its water, along with the gritty and crisp pickled plum with some dashi stock. It really goes well with rice." Deprived of the nametake, Akatsuki tried adding the plum and seaweed mix as a rice topping. The crunchy texture and sourness of the plum, and the strong umami taste of the seaweed was incorporated, and this was a very luxurious and delightful taste. It doesn't need any other side dish, this makes it a full and satisfying topping. P19 When making onigiri, it can be added to the rice. It's excellent for emergencies. After experimenting with both the kelp and vinegar-pickled daikon as well as the meat mixed with miso and lotus root, O-ryo started eyeing at everything again, and I placed some little by little in the saucer that she was using. It' s great that she gets to enjoy a wide variety to pair up with her rice. It's exciting to think like what could be the next one you'll taste, with each bite. Once in a while, it's nice to just enjoy and relish the taste of the newly-harvested rice. After a while, I decided to eat some rice, and went back to the kitchen to get the rice bowl I normally use. "Ah, I just remembered something!" That's it. There were still two slices left in the refrigerator for the staff's breakfast. Autumn salmon. If I defrost that, I can make another rice pair-up! "Hee hee hee. A staple rice accompaniment: salmon flakes!"** I defrosted the salmon slice on the dish with Yokai fire, flayed the skin off, and lightly seared the surface on a frying pan, added salt, dashi, mirin, sake and other seasonings then heated this on a low flame. Sauteing this with a wooden spatula while adding some water to soften it, it's all what I need to do. Hee hee hee... "That Aoi-chan is laughing in the kitchen again..." "It smells like fish being cooked..." "Hold up, Aoi! Why are you cooking fish just for yourself? My nose isn't deceiving me!" T/N: I actually do this with meat, tofu, fish or whatever I add to vegetable dishes to make them more tasty. In Japan, they call this ground meat, fish or tofu that is seasoned and sauted as "Flake". You can just prepare a large batch, and use them as needed. I guess all those hours watching Tokuson Life Hacks also helped a lot lol P20 "Don't worry Kasuga, Akatsuki, O-ryo. Everyone's going to eat what I'm making." That said, it's my last serving. Reduce the water, when the flesh has fallen apart, add white sesame seeds and sesame oil, and lightly saute it. It's really easy. The home-made salmon flake is done. "It 's done! It's done! From kids to adults, everyone will love it, the best to be paired with rice, salmon flakes! Loose salmon topping, is it easy to understand?" "Ohhh..." "That smells really good!" As soon as I brought this in front of them, O-ryo and Akatsuki's voices just sounded with admiration. Since their bowls were already devoid of rice, they both wanted to fill their bowls with another serving. But they started fighting on who should be going to get more rice to add in the rice tub, and Kasuga went up and took the rice tub on her own to refill it. She's really the most adult in this bunch. "Ahhh, I can finally eat some rice too!" Thereafter, I placed some hot, piping rice on my bowl and I could finally eat my supper. For the first time, we're going to partake the crumbly salmon flakes that I made. I can use that for onigiri, and it's going to be a favorite item in bento boxes. P21 We can do the bottling, the marketing, and the selling, as our products are really delicious, but it seems that I'll have to make it and do it all by myself. Slicing, adding water, seasoning.. I'll do it how I like it. The glossy and clean rice due to it being freshly-harvested, when you add the shiny and reddish-brown color of the salmon flakes, eating it with a spoon just makes you gobble it all up. Ah, the autumn's salmon is really tasty and fatty. When mixed and used as rice topping, in one bite the umami and saltiness goes well with the mild, sweetness of the rice. Adding the white sesame and sesame oil's fragrances, the salmon's taste, flavor and aroma improves. "Wah, this tastes so delicious, I wanna have a bowlful more.." "O-ryo sama, if you eat more than that, you'll get fat. But I want a bowlful more too..." "I knew it, it's the autumn salmon. It really pairs well with the rice." It looks like everyone got satisfied with the salmon flakes. Oh no, this is bad. We have quickly eaten the rice... We took in so much carbs..." Even the meat mixed with miso and lotus root, the miso-flavored meat and the crunchy texture of the lotus root, really, really goes well with rice too. When you want to cleanse the palate, munching on the vinegar and kelp-pickled daikon is a fitting and refreshing break. "Aoi-dono!" Sasuke-kun, the O-niwaban guard has come here to Yugao. P22 Sasuke-kun was holding a bamboo straining basket, in his usual ninja-style. And, well, inside that basket were fresh red eggs. "These are the cassowary eggs that I have gathered tonight. The Master and Young Master sent me here to deliver these to you with my life, as it is a pity that there is only white rice to eat. You can now make egg-topped rice**." I bumped into him while running. That was the ultimate, crowning, and appropriate pairing to the rice. This is awesome! TKG has arrived here!** "Wah, I'll eat another bowlful more---" "Hey, that's unfair of you, O-ryo. Me too!" "Me too. It's because eggs are also served now." In the middle of the night, the Ayakashi were eating white rice in reckless abandon. "Please, I would like to fill my stomach with a bowlful of rice." "Yes, Sasuke-kun, please come have some." Anyone can't hide their excitement with egg-topped rice. Hollowing top of the hot, piping rice, when the shell is cracked open, the lovely raw egg is dropped in here. The cassowary's rich egg yolk's color, its shine, its jelly-like appearance, when it covers the rice, it has an irresistable charm. T/N: If you're going to try this, just a reminder that bacteria like Salmonella can contaminate the egg. Only do this with super-fresh eggs from a seller you trust because getting sick isn't worth it. TKG is basically tamago-kake-gohan, or how I wrote it here, egg-topped rice. P23 Ah, just looking at it, I know it's definitely delicious. "For sure, with egg-topped rice, it's Kakuriyo's mild soy sauce, isn't it?" I wanted a simple approach. "Soy sauce is good, but adding a little sesame oil is also delicious." As expected of O-ryo, who is in the majority group. "As a minority, I like mine to have noodle soup base and wasabi." From my peripheral vision I could see Akatsuki grumbling. But that seems to be delicious too. "I always eat it with ponzu. If there's dried bonito flakes and fried onions I'll add those too." For some reason, this was expected of Kasuga. "If there are seasonings, I'll add them." Sasuke-kun is too gallant. "Ok, ok, you can eat your differing favorites, that's good." Everyone's demands were heard, and I took various seasonings and flavorings and placed these at the center of the table. I, nonetheless the simpleton just added a bit of soy sauce over the yolk, and lightly broke it, mixing it with my chopsticks. In that moment, I felt a wonderful, happy feeling. Probably, just adding the egg, I haven't even finished mixing the runny egg in, I already took a bite. "Wahhh, taking the first bite of egg-topped rice is really something, isn't it?" P24 The rich flavor of the egg yolk makes it the best and enjoyable. After relishing the first bite, I completely mixed everything, and ate some more. "Hey, everyone, the meat with miso and lotus root also goes well with the egg-topped rice." Everyone noticed the previously-ignored meat with miso after Kasuga's discovery. Wah, it really does taste well together. This is a great discovery! Egg-topped rice is awesome! Just by itself is delicious, but arranging and adding flavors for variation, it's going to be an awesome feast. "It looks like you are all having fun." "Oh, Odanna-sama." Odanna-sama and Ginji-san came to Yugao together. O-ryo and Kasuga, Akatsuki and Sasuke-kun, who were all until now eating like as if in a stupor, all suddenly stopped and stood up, and deeply bowed to Odanna-sama. "It's alright, continue eating. Those are rare eggs." As if waiting for those words, everyone sat down again and continued eating. "Well, what's up? It's been a long time since you came here. Did both of you came here for some egg-topped rice? If that's the case, we have a lot right now." "No, it's not that, a while ago we welcomed some guests and we sat for a bit and already had our meals." P25 "I also may have drank a bit too much... That liquor was a tad strong.. Uhm.. I will eat some later, ok?" Both Ginji-san and Odanna-sama were definitely tipsy, somewhat. If they received some guests during work, why were they suddenly here? While in the middle of his rapid and nonchalant talking, is he going to suggest something? "Aoi, isn't Yugao on a break tomorrow? If you're free, let's go out on a date." "What?" In an instant. I realized that everyone who was continuing their eating all stopped their chopsticks. The Odanna-sama in question, who was really in a giddy mood continued smiling. "Aoi hasn't had a rest and had always been working hard even after returning from the Orio-ya matter. And I apologize for not taking the time too, for a long while. As a new wife, Aoi has not experienced any hour of fun at all." "It's fine, I have fun every day..." "That's it! Let's go to an orchard park. We can prepare food with apples and grapes, how's that?" While my face holds desperation, somehow Odanna-sama firmly grips my shoulder. "How's that" he says. "Apples and grapes, huh..." Pointing my finger to my chin, an idea popped into my head. For sure, there will be delicious autumn fruits. P26 "OK, let's go, Odanna-sama. I am interested in the orchard park." "I'm happy to hear you say that, Aoi!" With a sigh of relief, Odanna-sama wiped the sweat on his brow. The crowd of egg-topping eaters behind me, once again started moving their chopsticks. "Aoi-san, the orchard park is inside a mountain that connects the northern and north-eastern lands. The autumn leaves in that mountain change early, and I already heard that they're already in full display, so I hope that you can also enjoy the scenery tomorrow." "Ginji-san, you're not coming too?" "Me? I, uhm..." "You also haven't taken a break since the matter with Orio-ya, you should really take a break. Won't you come with us tomorrow?" Odanna-sama invited him, but Ginji-san looked at both Odanna-sama and I, and with a small smile shook his head. "No, thank you. I think I will take care of Tenjin-ya in Odanna-sama and Aoi-san's absence." I think it's the usual Ginji-san answer, but in that time, he wasn't looking at me.

End of Chapter 1, Volume 6. Next - Chapter 2

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

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