#almost didn't include 8 as he's not really in the series but i couldn't do it to him

[roosterforme]

How You Play the Game Part 8 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley was miserable without you, and the pain just wasn't lessening even though you left him weeks ago. He needed to find a way to move on, because you didn't want him, and you weren't coming back. But he should have known there was no substitute for the best thing he'd ever had.

Warnings: Swears, broken heart, angst, consensual sex, sex with a condom while intoxicated (18+)

Length: 5000 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x female reader

Check out my masterlist for more! How You Play the Game masterlist. Banner by @thedroneranger

Weeks later...

As you flew to Vancouver from Detroit, you thought about that six hour flight to Boston where you hadn't stopped crying for a single minute. You thought about leaving San Diego and how it broke your heart to move on to the next city and the next assignment. At least this time you had a window seat instead of the middle seat in the last row. And this time you weren't continually wiping your tears on Bradley's Padres jersey. 

You had his jersey on again today, but this time you felt calm as you reached into your bag to take out your computer and read over the research you'd outlined about the Vancouver Canucks. Your eyes caught on the blue golf ball, and after a second of hesitation, you reached for that instead. 

You'd taken it everywhere with you. It joined you in every hotel room, on every flight and in every rental car. You had it with you in your tote bag when you were in Boston about a month ago working on the exclusive with the Bruins' coaching staff. You were carrying it when you bumped into Abigail Archer for the first time in person. 

With your article completely forgotten now, you dug your phone out of your pocket. It was in airplane mode, but you took a deep breath and unlocked it. You had to scroll a bit to get to the text thread with Bradley, and then you tapped his name and you almost let the tears rise to the surface. You held them back as you read the series of sporadic messages he'd sent you since early November.

I miss you. 

Did you make it to Boston safely?

Ace, please call me back. I miss you so much. 

I have this whole weekend off, and I can't help but think it would be easy for me to fly to wherever you are. If you would want that. 

I still miss you.

I hope you're doing well.

You hadn't responded to a single one of them. And you never called him back either. But sometimes, when you were in a hotel room in a city that you couldn't even identify without looking at your calendar app, you'd get lonely enough to listen to his voicemail message. See ya, Ace.

It took until you met Bradley Bradshaw for you to really understand just how lonely you were. Going back to your apartment in New York City didn't feel like going home. There was nothing there that made you smile. There were no baseball cards or too small Angels tee shirts. There was no Bradley making sure you were taking a break when you needed one. 

And he was part of the reason why you let yourself start to be convinced that you could have more out of your career. Maybe he was right. Somebody else might have something better to offer than Greg or the New York Times. When you talked to Abigail and started to test the waters, it wasn't as terrifying as you thought it would be. Making some calls to see what else was out there ended up validating one fact for you: Bradley was right, your writing was in high demand.

But you had to complete your contract with Greg before you could do much else. And that included Detroit and Vancouver. But you hoped after this, your work-life balance might improve. If you decided to take this information back to Bradley, you hoped he would listen to you. Maybe he would even see what you wrote about your career change in your Detroit Red Wings article. If he was even still reading your articles. There was a chance he might still miss you now, and maybe he'd understand that you needed to see the bigger picture for yourself first. 

Before you left him alone in his bed, he told you that you knew where to find him. He made you feel like it was still okay to go there.

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

Bradley walked past his coffee table dressed in his flight suit with his travel mug of coffee in his hand. He paused at the front door and looked back at the mess he still couldn't bring himself to clean up. You left him weeks ago, damn near a month ago, but he just couldn't bring himself to clean up all of the fucking baseball cards. 

He closed his eyes and took a calming breath. He was being ridiculous. He was never ridiculous before he met you, so you must have made him this way. Every time he tried to clean them up and put them back out in his garage, his hands faltered and he left the cards out on the table. It was like some sort of sick reminder that you'd really been here with him. It was a way to convince himself he didn't imagine up the perfect woman in his mind and then have to live through the aftermath of watching her leave. 

He tightened his fingers around his mug and rubbed the heel of his other hand against his eyes. Then he took his phone out. He knew he shouldn't do it since you never answered his other messages before, but he texted you anyway. 

I hope you're doing well.

When he re-read what he'd sent, he started to panic. It sort of sounded like he meant it with an air of finality. The last thing he wanted was for you to think that he didn't want to hear from you, because it was quite the opposite. There were times when he felt so lonely, he'd have done anything for you to write to him or call him back. 

He swore he could still smell you in his house, and right now it felt a little too much like you were there. He wrenched his front door open and slammed it closed behind him, breathing in the crisp December morning air. He had to start making some changes, and he needed to do it this week. You weren't going to respond to him. After four weeks he should accept that as a fact and stop bugging you. 

He'd been skipping Hard Deck nights and leaving the locker room after work without really talking to anyone. Nat knew why he was miserable, but even she seemed surprised it had gone on for this long. 

A few days ago, she said, "You've never behaved like this over a woman before. This has all just been very surprising, and I don't know how to help you."

Bradley had shrugged and laughed sarcastically. "Well, I fell in love with her. First time for everything, right? I'll know better for next time."

And that was the truly fucked up part. He had fallen in love with you over the course of ten days. As he drove to work, he thought about your face and your voice. He knew exactly how many miles he put on his Bronco driving back and forth to see you at the games in Anaheim. He knew exactly how much money he spent on all the tickets. He knew how badly it hurt right now to be without you. And he knew he'd repeat everything all over again if he could see you for five minutes. 

Just like every other day, he had to collect himself before he could head inside to the locker room. There was no getting his time with you back. There was no second chance. There was no communication. He needed to stop. He took off his aviators that you'd liked so much and set them in his cup holder. When he checked the time on his phone, he had a notification that a new article from you had been posted eight minutes ago. It was like this every day. He'd wait to see each morning if you'd written anything, and then after it was posted, he'd read it at least three times. 

Your final World Series article was the worst one. It was released two days after you left. He must have read it a hundred times. He'd even take a screenshot of the short passage he was certain was about him.

This World Series was exciting and dynamic for so many reasons. We witnessed some of the best major league pitching in the last decade, and there were more stolen bases than the past three finals combined. Professionally, I may never witness anything like this again. And I can even tell you that on a personal level, I was profoundly changed for the better by everything I allowed myself to experience and enjoy between San Diego and Anaheim over the course of the series.

Bradley looked at his phone screen now. It had to stop. He desperately wanted to read your article on the Detroit Red Wings, but he needed to make this feeling stop. It was like he was constantly in pain every time he thought about you or even simply read your name on his phone. Your written words were never going to help him move on, so he needed to do something about it right now while he felt like he could. 

He deleted the New York Times app. He thought about deleting your number as well, but he needed to save some of his strength to get through his workday. So he just tucked his phone in his pocket and climbed out of the Bronco.

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

When Bradley walked into the Hard Deck on Friday night after work, he felt defeated and exhausted. He managed to delete the app you wrote for, but he still couldn't bring himself to delete your phone number. Moving on was a necessity right now. He didn't even know why he bothered to come to the bar, but staying home and looking at baseball cards on his coffee table didn't seem to be helping him. 

"You're here!" Nat called out as soon as he walked inside. The bar was decorated for Christmas. Was it that close to the holidays? He'd completely lost track of the weeks, but at the same time, he knew exactly how many days it had been since he'd seen you. His mind was too aware of that number, and it tacked a new one on each day. 

"Hey," Bradley managed to grunt when his friend came over to him and wrapped him up in a hug. The Christmas tree and the strings of lights blurred, and he had to close his eyes. He was missing the feel of your arms around him and the way you smelled. None of this was Nat's fault or anyone's fault really. Bradley didn't even blame you. He couldn't. You and he were nothing. 

"Let me get you a drink," Nat whispered, and she took him by the hand. He recognized the upbeat Christmas song, and he saw the guys waving from the pool table. But when he turned to face the bar, Shannon was right there with her usual smile and a pint glass in her hand. He didn't know why he wasn't expecting her. The last time he saw her was when he brought you here, and he'd give anything to go back to that night. 

Bradley just shook his head. "Something stronger. Please." Shannon raised one eyebrow at him and set the pint glass down in favor of a whiskey tumbler and a bottle of Johnnie Walker. "Yeah."

"Haven't seen you around in a few weeks," she said, watching the amber liquid slosh neatly up the side of the glass as she poured. "Kinda missed you." She met his eyes as she pushed the glass across the bar. "You look so sad."

He held eye contact with her, trying his best to push the intrusive thoughts away. "Maybe I'll be around more now," he muttered, downing the whole drink in one go and setting the glass down again. 

Shannon was familiar to him. Comfortable. He'd been messing around with women for damn near two decades without any deep feelings. You were really his first foray into something... more. But you were gone. You didn't want to talk to him. You weren't coming back.

She refilled his glass and said, "Take this one a little slower, Bradley." He nodded before downing it just like the first one, and she kind of smirked and shook her head. "You'll pay for this in the morning."

He laughed sardonically. "That's the idea." He left the empty glass on the bar with a little nod indicating that he would be back. He desperately needed to clear his head, but he'd been trying everything for weeks. Taking a walk outside, having a cold shower, going for a drive. Nothing fucking helped. 

He needed to forget the feel of your body and the sound of your voice. So he drank an extravagant amount of Johnnie Walker on Nat's tab, and he started to feel looser. He laughed at her when she asked how many he had so far. 

"Don't worry. I'll pay you back," he rasped with a smile that he knew could charm every woman except for his best friend. 

She just rubbed her hand up and down his arm and said, "I hope you know what you're doing. Let me know when you want me to get you home."

He kissed her cheek. "I'm fine, Nat. Just fine." He finished his tumbler and tried to remember if that was his fifth or his sixth, but it didn't matter. He was warm now, and his lips were a little numb. This was exactly what he needed tonight. After he shot a round of pool and lost, he flipped through the jukebox, but it was all bullshit Christmas music. He wasn't in the mood. He thought about playing the piano, but there was an empty stool at the bar now, so he headed in that direction.

"One more?" Bradley asked Shannon as he sat, and she reached out to touch his cheek.

"You sure you really need one?"

"Yep," he said, swallowing against the lump in his throat as she swam out of focus for a split second. "Just one more. It'll make it easier." 

She turned away from him to get one more clean glass. Then she filled it for him. "Thanks, Shannon," he muttered when she set it down in front of him. He was leaning on his propped up hand, and he knew she was kind of pretty. But he knew you were prettier and funnier and smarter. 

"You can't have what you want," he mumbled to himself after Shannon walked away. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it and just looked at the screen. Delete it. He had to. He opened his contacts, and there you were right at the fucking top. 

Ace

You'd always be at the top, wouldn't you? 

Instead of deleting your number, he sent you a text before he could reconsider. 

Ace, I fell in love with you.

Fuck. Fuck! You didn't want him. And there was no way to take that message back now. He closed his eyes and shook his head, because he couldn't tell if he was about to cry or laugh. He was fucking miserable. Truly, he'd never experienced this before, and it hurt like hell. His thumb hovered over your name once again, but he couldn't delete it. He drank the whiskey and tried again. But still nothing. 

He watched Shannon move around behind the bar. She wasn't you. She wasn't what he wanted, but when she announced that it was last call, she made her way over to him. 

"But no more for you," she teased, reaching to take his glass away. But he had her wrist in his hand before he registered what he was doing. She looked a little surprised. The tears were in his eyes again, but maybe it wasn't so obvious to her. He couldn't say the words. He needed her to be the one. When he licked his lips, she leaned a little closer. "I'm done in fifteen. Are you interested? Or are you too drunk?"

He took a deep breath as his eyes closed. He needed to try to move on. The pain needed to stop, or else he didn't know what he would do. Right now he was numb enough. It was now or never. "I'm interested."

Bradley was very aware of what he was doing, it just vaguely seemed like someone else was doing it. He gave his keys to Shannon once they were outside. "Remember where I live?" he asked, walking toward the Bronco. 

"Of course I do," she whispered. 

He found himself with his back against the passenger side door with Shannon's lips on his. It felt fine. Would probably feel better the more he got used to it again. He could do this. He kissed her back and told her to drive, because he knew he shouldn't. 

She drove and parked and took him by the hand, leading him inside his house. As soon as he saw the baseball cards, he wanted to upend his coffee table. He wanted to do this and get it over with and go to sleep for a week. And if he didn't feel better after that, then he didn't know what he was going to do. 

When Shannon tried to turn on his bedroom light, he took her hand in his and guided it away from the switch. "Too bright," he mumbled, and she started to get undressed. He stumbled across the hallway to the bathroom and closed the door. When he looked in the mirror, he'd never seen anything quite so pitiful. He splashed a little water on his face, but it just made his flushed cheeks stand out more. He dug around under the sink for some condoms he thought he still had. When his hand closed around the box, he sat back against the wall and cried. 

He had no idea how long he was in the bathroom. He took his shirt off and used it to wipe his face. You didn't want him. He went back to his bedroom where Shannon was naked on his bed, her skin glowing in the light filtering in from the bathroom where he forgot to flip the switch off.

"Fuck," he grunted, running his fingers through his hair. But she must have taken that as a sign that he was ready to go. He wasn't, but he told himself he was. She touched him, and he let her. She kissed him some more, and he let her do that, too. He reciprocated. He knew to do that much. But it didn't feel like anything. He fucked her, but it just wasn't right. And then he fell asleep with a throbbing head and an aching heart and the wrong woman next to him. 

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

It had been years since Bradley had a hangover. When he opened his eyes, his left arm was hanging off of his bed, and his face was halfway smashed in his pillow. His mouth was completely dry, and he tried to press his lips together and swallow. He had no idea how he got home or what time it was. 

"Oh, shit," he groaned. He texted you last night. When he was sitting at the bar. He was pretty sure he told you he fell in love with you. He knew you wouldn't write back. You must have blocked his number by now. He was probably texting nobody by this point, but it still hurt like hell that you didn't want him the way he wanted you.

Then he remembered what he did after he texted you, and the bile rose in his throat so quickly. Shannon was right there next to him when he turned his head. He let her sleep over. He never let her sleep over before this. She was in your spot. He needed her gone immediately. 

"Hey," he grunted, his throat like sandpaper. "Shannon. You need to leave." 

She rolled over and glared at him. "Still tired," she whispered, completely naked in his bed. 

"Please," he begged. He was so fucking stupid, it was incredible. Now he was miserable and hungover and angry with himself. "I need you to."

She sighed and stretched, and Bradley made a beeline for the bathroom, stepping on a condom wrapper on the way. At least there was that. Then he emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He sat back against the wall for a few minutes, afraid there might be more he had to throw up. He knew his head was throbbing due more to the fact that he regretted everything he did last night with Shannon than him drinking most of a bottle of whiskey. 

There was tapping on the door. "If you want me to leave, I need to use the bathroom."

"Give me a minute," he groaned, standing up and looking at himself in the mirror. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked pale. When he brushed his teeth, he felt the tears burning behind his eyes once again. Was this ever going to stop? It had been more than a month. 

Bradley rinsed his mouth and opened the door, barely looking at Shannon as she walked past him, still naked. He went back into his bedroom for a pair of clean underwear and some gym shorts and fought the urge to put all of his bedding in the washing machine. He couldn't even be in here right now, so he left for the kitchen. And he passed the fucking baseball cards again. He would have to throw them away or ask someone to come get them, because he needed them gone as much as he needed Shannon to leave. 

As he turned on his coffee maker, he heard someone knocking on his front door. He already wanted this fucking day to end. He tried not to look at the baseball cards as he passed the table and wrenched his front door open, and then his jaw dropped in surprise.

"Bradley. Hi."

He braced his hand against the door frame as he looked at you standing there on his tiny porch. You were wearing his Padres jersey. He had to be hallucinating. This had to be a dream. You were here.

"Ace."

He watched your face light up at the nickname, and you laughed softly as you examined him like you'd been dying to see him. He gripped the doorframe a little harder as he reached his other hand out to cup your chin and feel your silky skin.

"Holy shit, Baby. What are you doing here?" His heart was pounding, but he felt somehow normal again. Just like he had five weeks ago before you left him in a state of panic. 

"I came to see you." He stroked his thumb along your lip, but you didn't back away. In fact you took a tiny step closer as you added, "I have to be up in Anaheim tomorrow afternoon for some Ducks interviews, but I wanted to see you first. I thought we could talk."

Your eyes were open and earnest, and Bradley felt weak as he looked at his jersey on you. He let his hand drop away from your face, because he had no idea what to say to you right now. He had convinced himself he'd never see you again. "Did you get my texts? Or did you block my number?"

You pressed your lips together and then whispered, "I got your texts. And I've listened to your voicemail a lot. I've missed you." Bradley watched you smile tentatively and give him a little shrug. 

"You missed me," he said in disbelief. "And you got my messages. And you missed me. And you're wearing my jersey."

You looked down at yourself and laughed. "I've been wearing pretty frequently, actually. Turns out I don't have a dress code at my new office, which ironically is in Houston now, but I hardly ever have to be there in person."

When you met his eyes again, he asked. "New office?" He was so confused as he reached out and stroked your cheek with his fingers again just to try to make sure you were still real. 

"Yeah," you said softly, taking another step closer to him. "I have you to thank for that. I have you to thank for a lot of things." You bit your lip before you said, "I left the New York Times. I just finished my last assignment for Greg yesterday. I'm working on a brand new piece now. I actually begged my new employer to let me come back to California for the Anaheim Ducks article even though it's a bit of a fluff piece, because it meant I could come here and tell you that I'm happier now."

"You are?" he asked, unsure what you meant by that. He was having a hard time listening to your voice and looking at your face at the same time, and he wondered how he'd managed ten days in your presence for the World Series. You were just so overwhelmingly perfect. 

"Yes, Bradley. You made me think about my career, and I kind of took the time to change some of my priorities. Because if there's a man as incredible as you who is willing to take a chance on me, then I can take the same kind of chance on myself."

"Ace."

You smiled up at what he was sure was a look of longing on his face. "I'm working for Velocity Report now, and I'm going to have a lot more time off between assignments. Which is important, because you reminded me that I need to take breaks and eat and take care of myself. Even when you're not around."

"I loved doing that for you," he gasped, suddenly dying to kiss you. 

"Yeah, well, you were really good at it," you said as your smile faded a little bit. "But that's why I'm here. To tell you all of this in person. You deserve to hear it in person instead of over the phone, especially since I never responded to you. I wanted to, but I just wasn't ready until now. And I don't know if you read what I said about you in my Detroit Red Wings article... but, I still miss you. And I love you."

His heart was pounding so hard, he thought he was going to pass out. "You love me?" he asked, absolutely needing you to say it again for him as your eyes drifted to where the box of baseball cards was still out on the coffee table. 

Your smile grew as you reached out for his hand and tugged him closer like you were going to kiss him. "Yes, I do. I love-"

Bradley heard a noise behind him, and his heart sank as his eyes went wide. You were looking off to the side, and he heard Shannon's voice. "Oh, sorry." He turned to see her with a puzzled look on her face. He had completely forgotten she was even here. After a few minutes in your presence, you were the only thing that mattered.

"Oh my god," you gasped, wrenching yourself away from Bradley. "Oh, fuck." You looked at him with your hands on your forehead and tears in your eyes. "You know what? Forget I was even here. I'm sorry," you gasped, turning on your heel and walking full speed across his yard to the black car that was parked at his curb. 

It took him a second, but then he was right behind you. "Ace! No, Baby, you don't understand." But it didn't look like you were listening as you dug the keys to your rental car out of your pocket. "Ace! Please!" He ran barefoot out onto the street to try to beat you to the car door, but you were too fast. When he reached for your hand and spun you around to face him, you had tears streaming down your cheeks. 

He was frozen, clinging to your hand as you whispered, "She's the bartender. I should have never come here."

"No," he begged, stepping into your personal space, but you kept dodging him. "It's nothing. I want you here. I need you here."

But you pulled your hand free and reached for the door handle as you sobbed, and it broke Bradley's heart. "I need to go."

He was ready to drop to his knees. "She doesn't mean anything, Ace! Please! I missed you too, Baby! I've been miserable without you, okay? You have no idea." 

You wouldn't even look at him now as you pushed him out of the way so you could climb in the car. He felt all of his dreams slipping through his fingers twice now as you slammed the door closed, started the engine and drove.

"Ace!" he shouted running alongside your door until you hit the accelerator and left him standing in the middle of his street without shoes on. "Ace. I love you," he whispered as you turned left at the end of his block, and then you were out of sight. 

Bradley sank down until he was squatting with his face buried in his palms. "Fuck!" he screamed, the sound only slightly muffled as he jumped up to his feet and made his way back to his house where Shannon was standing on his porch. She looked disgusted as another car pulled up in front of his house. 

"Why are we sleeping together if you're clearly in love with her?" she asked, barely looking at him as she headed toward her Uber. "You should go take care of that."

As Bradley watched her away, he tried to pinpoint exactly how he'd fucked all of this up. He wondered if there was any way to fix it. Once again, he couldn't breathe correctly as that crushing feeling returned to his lungs. This feeling has vanished for those few minutes he was with you again.

"Maybe you don't even deserve her," he told himself as he walked back inside alone, thinking about how for a minute there, you'd loved him back.

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

Oh, Bradley. Oh, you sweet thing. Should I add one more part? Thanks to @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 9

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#bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #rooster x reader #rooster x you #rooster imagine #rooster fanfiction #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley rooster bradshaw imagine #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x you #bradley bradshaw x female reader #bradley bradshaw fic #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #rooster bradshaw fic #top gun imagine #top gun maverick imagine #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick fanfiction #roosterforme #how you play the game

[kiiwiigii]

Night-Time Reading

Alec x Fem!Reader

Summary: You are having a rough day managing your POTS/CFS. All you want to do is relax and Alec is there to help.

Warnings:

Fluff! Nothing but tooth rotting fluff.

Word Count: 400+

Requested?: Yes!

So I'm going through a really rough time, I'm disabled (pots and CFS) and my cfs is acting up badly cause school started and I've been so busy I haven't had a break period, constantly walking and running and being busy. now I have a three day weekend so my body is letting myself feel the consequences of pushing myself too far, so I was wondering if I could suggest some comfort? Alec with a mate that either has cfs or just has some symptoms and just him keeping them as comfortable as possible while they're in pain Common symptoms (including the ones I'm going through) - joint pain (I can barely go up stairs and walk -extreme temp fluctuations (really hot to really cold quickly) -brain fog (brain is foggy. I'm too weak to open a bottle of coke so I left it open and while talking I tipped it over and forgot it was open) -migraines/headaches -sore throat -trembling -really tired but can't fall asleep and/or sleeps for a really long time Thank you for listening 🫶🏼 -🦊

A/N: Hey nonny! I am so, so sorry it has taken me this long to write this. Honestly, I was (and still am I suppose) intimidated to write this, simply because these illnesses are not something I am not even remotely familiar with. But I also want to thank you because it's a good writing exercise for me. I'm also sorry that you're having such a rough time. I can't even imagine. So here's a fic, just for you, darling. I hope you're feeling better.

Another A/N: So the wonderful and amazing @alecvolturi did an amazing edit of Alec reading the first bit of The Hobbit. Please give it a listen as you read. It's PERFECT.

Miserable.

I was fucking miserable.

It began just by sitting up. I could feel the migraine building, and I was already in the throws of a hot flash. It didn't help that the pain in my joints was flaring up again.

It was 3 a.m. and I was already this close to crying. I couldn't remember the last time that I had a proper nights sleep. I just wanted one day, one day where I didn't have to be in pain or worry that any movement I made would set off a whole other series of symptoms, all of which almost all of them were painful.

"Darling?" Alec was next to me, his cold hands running over my heated skin, trailing goosebumps behind in his wake.

His hands were a sweet, cool balm on my flushed skin. It gave me a little relief. I leaned into him, enjoying the cold. His lips pressed to my forehead.

"Scale of 1 to 10?"

"7 to 8." I mumbled.

One would think with how long that I've lived with this disease that I would have a high pain tolerance. That couldn't be further from the truth. I could already feel a few tears slipping from beneath my lashes. I just wanted something to make the pain go away.

I whined as Alec disappeared, only to reappear with my meds and a bottle of water a moment later.

"Here, drink." He handed me the pills and water, and I took them gratefully. He pulled the comforter from the floor where I had kicked it off, bundling it back up on the bed for us to lay down on. He then grabbed my phone, pulling up my favorite playlist, the one he made for me to help me calm down when I felt like shit. The music started flowing through the speaker near my bed at a low volume.

"What book, darling?" His eyes were already scanning my bookshelves.

"Uhm…" I blinked back at him slowly, trying to process what he said.

"How about The Hobbit?"

"Perfect." I rasped with a small smile.

He was next to me again in a flash, his back against the headboard as he pulled me gently to him, a pillow already ready in his lap.

"In the hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit." His voice lilted over me, and I felt myself begin to relax as his hands gently ran through my hair and along my neck.

The fine mist that signaled the use of his gift began to unfurl from his fingers and I felt myself begin to numb. The first time he had done this it had been disconcerting, but now I welcomed it with relish. A small reprieve from the pain. I smiled to myself, letting my eyes slip closed as I listened.

Then finally, sleep came for me.

{Masterlist} // {Request Guidelines}

Taglist: @alecvolturi @lack-lust-3r @rosedpetal

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#alec volturi x reader #alec volturi #volturi #twilight #reader insert #fanfic #fanfic request

[grievedeeply]

the less time the better. pt 8.

PREVIOUS | NEXT — SERIES TAGLIST

pairing: heimdall x gn!reader

summary: days have passed since the kiss you shared with heimdall, and while you try to figure out what it means for your relationship— the group prepares for war.. and suffers a massive loss.

notes: this chapter is just straight angst. sorry in advance but it was a necessary evil.... ignore any plot holes please..... and also please let me know if you want to be tagged in this series! my taglist is really old and im sure ppl have lost interest, so let me know if you want to be removed as well.

you awoke from your sleep with a jolt. you had never gotten used to the rough feeling of wood pressed against your skin as you slept. even if it was the same material you usually slept on while you were home in midgard, your circumstances were different. back then, you didn't have to worry about a war with one of the most powerful gods in the realms. you only had to worry about what to make for dinner. now, you had much more to think about. including your strange relationship with the god of foresight, heimdall.

a part of you still regretted taking his wrist in your hand that day. it still wasn't that long ago, but you wondered how different things would be now if you hadn't.

the atmosphere was tense in the house. you swore there had been maybe 20 words spoken between everyone. people looked over their shoulder, wary of heimdall's every move. in a way, you couldn't blame them. after all, he was odin's son. the son of the man who had ruined their entire lives, and he had yet to state his side. but he wasn't fighting, either. ever since he had arrived.. you noticed that. he never fought the idea of being used as leverage. after your conversation. you supposed you understood why.

ratatoskr had since found out of heimdall's presence on his tree, and he was less than happy about it. but still, he had remained polite despite his grievances. you did notice how he seemed to be around less, though. you couldn't help but to assume that was due to heimdall.

freyr hadn't gotten any used to him being around, and you didn't think he ever would. he was quieter— less himself. you hated seeing him that way.. but the vote you had made days prior was a fair one. you thought he had trouble seeing him as anything but a member of the family who burned him. he couldn't even see him as leverage.

your father jumped into gear the morning after. he was completely prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect atreus.. and yourself, by extension. you knew little of his time in his homeland. it was something he didn't speak of much, but you did know he killed gods there. he seemed ready to have to do it again, but not at all eager about it.

"none of us are safe, even here." tyr murmured from where he sat at the end of of the table. it was far too small for him, and his knees hit at the wood on the edges, but it was almost a funny sight. "so we have no choice." freya responded simply. "we find surtr, sound gjallarhorn, and bring odin to justice. now."

you glanced uncomfortably over your shoulder at heimdall, who stared blankly at the group from where he stood, leaning against the wall. you watched as his hand fell to the horn on his hip.

"you'd incinerate every soul in asgard and call it self defense?"

"does he ever suggest plans or just crap on everyone elses?" freyr murmured, leaning back against the table in the kitchen.

"the obvious plan is staring you in the face," tyr ignored him, "we don't need odin to use this. we can slip into asgard and do it ourselves, right under his nose. we gain the knowledge we need to shatter his prophecy of war once and for all."

"except— begging your pardon— you don't have a way into asgard." sindri replied.

"they got the big horn, don't they?" brok called out from their working space.

"oh, so you expect them to sneak into asgard blowing a horn that sounds across all the realms?"

"i expect you to bite my blue buttcheek!"

"please. just.. think about it." tyr said.

you watched as atreus sat the mask down on the table. you had let him look at it. he had read the runes, inspected the design.. but nothing seemed to make sense outside of that crack you had told him about that odin had in his basement. your father sat mimir down next to it.

"this mask," he started, picking it up. "the easy answers that it promises. i know this.. shortcuts always have a price."

he turned his focus to you, brows knitted together. this expression that he wore wasn't one you saw often. he was worried. "you have carried it. what do you think?" he asked.

you let out a breath. "i don't know. at best.. it's a chance." you said with a shrug of your shoulders. you didn't know what it was or what it entailed, but you knew it was important to odin. "if nothing else, it's leverage. we have something he wants. if it really gives us all the answers, maybe no one has to die."

"grand. now all we need's a way to asgard." mimir replied simply.

you watched as your father's gaze shifted to tyr, and hesitantly, so did yours. "i know i've been a burden to you all," he started, readjusting himself in the seat, "i know you've questioned why you even pulled me out of that hole. i have too."

he stood, walking around the table. something changed in his stride. you wondered where his sudden boost of confidence seemed to come from. but maybe this was what you needed. "i have too. but it's clear now. this is what i'm needed for. this is my purpose. one last time. i will pick up my spear and.. i will lead us to asgard."

"'scuse me, but if you got a way to asgard, where's that idea been this whole fuckin' while?" brok asked.

"that's.. rather a fair question, brother."

"you.. withheld asgard?" your father asked, pushing himself to his feet. something in his eyes shifted. anger. you recognized that look all too well.

"you would've gotten us all killed. and we needed to give the champion time to find their destiny. here it is." tyr picked up the mask off the table, and you shrunk into yourself. you hated being called the champion. it didn't feel like you, really.

"it's all led to this."

"if we can get inside, i'm going after odin." freya said.

"i will not stop you. we can do both."

"spot on, brother. if the mask doesn't give us an out, we'll still have the drop on him."

"works for me." freyr spoke through his food.

"let's do it, then."

"and quickly, before he sees us coming."

"he does hate surprises."

you looked back over at heimdall, who had silently gotten much closer to you while you were involved in the conversation. he stood a foot or so behind you, brows knitted together. "heimdall," you started, cutting off anyone else from speaking before they even could. "is there.. another way into asgard?"

he looked over at you, then back at tyr. his eyes were filled with something else, something you couldn't exactly pinpoint.

"no." he replied after a pause, staring at the taller god. the rest of the group only stared at him.

"i still wanna hear the details on this, uh, new way to asgard you got. spill it!" brok said after a moment. if anyone knew another way to asgard out of everyone in the room, it would've been heimdall. he wouldn't have lied, would he? was that something he would do to you after everything that happened the other night? you decided not to think about it.

"it's an ancient path. we can't reach it from here." tyr said, moving around brok to continue walking.

"where then?" he pushed, following after him quickly.

"let me collect my things and i'll show you." tyr replied frustratedly. you furrowed your eyebrows together. brok was right. something about this just.. wasn't making sense.

"you ain't got no things. and where you goin' with that mask?" he smacked it out of tyr's hand, and you watched as it went flying. "that belongs to y/n, they earned it! all you done was make passable dirt soup!"

"brok, it's okay." you muttered in an attempt to de-escalate whatever you were watching unfold. "no, it ain't." he responds without missing a beat. "this ain't right. all the pieces ain't weldin' together true. like, what's with him calling you, 'loki,' anyway?" brok asked, turning his gaze to atreus.

now that he had mentioned it.. you had never heard tyr call him atreus. he had only called him loki. the name your mother gave for him to the giants. no one had ever called him loki.

"you know that ain't his name! hey, i'm talkin' to you!"

"do you NEVER shut up?"

you watched as tyr shifted into someone else. odin. his knife dug into brok, completely tearing through his clothing and diving into his skin. the weapon was covered in his blood, and you could only watched as he fell to the floor. "brok!" sindri called, kneeling at his side.

behind you, you could feel heimdall drawing his weapon. his eyes lingered on the scene before him. this is what odin did to people. this is what he would've done to him, had he stayed.

in your state of shock, odin wrapped an arm around your shoulders, the knife that was just used to stab brok held at the skin of your neck. he pulled you backwards, and even though you resisted, you knew it was ultimately no good. would you die here? would brok?

"of all the things.." odin murmured.

"odin." your father said, anger filling his eyes.

"let go and face me!" freya called, sword held in her hand. freyr stood at her side, and atreus at the other. heimdall took a place by your father. despite the risk of your life ending, you stared at him. he was facing his father. he had his sword drawn, his brows furrowed together. this was an expression you had never seen on his face before. anger.

"tell your brother to throw me the mask, and you've got a deal." odin said.

"stop moving."

"freya!" sindri called out, eyes focused on his dying brother. you wanted to sob. you wanted to do anything but be here in the grasp of the man you hated the most.

"if he dies.."

"now, now. wasn't part of the plan. but if he dies.." odin's gaze shifted to his son. "we are square for heimdall. and honestly, you got a bargain."

"i will kill you. plan on that."

"so nice spending time with you again."

"freya, please!" sindri begged, finally looking up at her.

"ah ah ah. can't be in two places at once, frigg."

freya shifted backwards, kneeling at brok's side. freyr stepped over, and with him, so did heimdall.

"hey, i don't move, you don't move. don't do anything you'll regret."

"i regret many things. killing you will not be one of them."

"i am in control here!" odin yelled. "throw me the mask, now!"

you watched as your father's gaze shifted from you to atreus, to freyr. he threw the mask after what felt like the longest few seconds of your life, and you lurched out of the allfather's grasp. atreus leaped at him, taking the form of a wolf as he did so. he was shoved out of the way, and he picked the mask up off of the floor.

"too bad." he said, looking directly at you. "looks like war after all."

as he stepped backwards into the doorway, your father hurled a spear at him. you hadn't seen this weapon before, but that was the least of your concerns. the tip of the spear pinned the mask against the wall, and odin slipped out of view. you breathed out a sigh of relief.. but that didn't last for long. you turned around and the view of brok and sindri together on the floor only broke your heart once again.

"please, you have to save him. you have to." sindri said, watching as freya tried her best to heal him. your heart sank into your stomach. there was nothing more she could do, and brok knew it. "he can't.. you can't.. maybe if i go back to the lake.."

"stop it. i know what you done. and i forgives ya. but y'gotta stop. y'gotta let go."

"brok?"

sindri stared down at his brother, now lifeless in his arms. he looked towards the ceiling, and disappeared.

"this.. whole time?" atreus murmured.

freyr appeared at your side, extending the mask out. you stared at it for a moment, before looking up at him. you took it out of his hands, your fingers pressing against it. you hated this thing. it took everything in you to not just destroy it right now.

"so.. what do we do now?" he questioned.

"now..?" freya repeated. she paused, picking up her sword. "now we kill odin. and anyone who gets in our way."

"atreus. y/n. come." your father said.

"what? where?" atreus asked.

"it does not matter." he muttered. you had never seen him look so.. defeated. you felt it too, but he was always so good at hiding how he felt. seeing him like this only hurt you further. brok meant a great deal to him, and you knew that. he meant a great deal to you, too.

"where are you going?" freya said.

"we are done."

he walked away and you were left standing with everyone else, watching as he turned to the door. you took in a deep breath. you squeezed your eyes closed, but followed after him. you stopped after a second, turning to look at heimdall.

you pressed the mask into his hands. "i'll be back." you said, your voice coarse. your throat felt dry. you wanted to scream. you wanted to cry. you probably would. but not right now.

you turned away from him, and followed after your father and brother wordlessly.

"you can't run away from this, kratos. odin won't stop until we stop him!" freya called after him, but her words were only meant with silence.

he pushed open the door, and you stepped onto the yggdrasil.

tags: @ic-yourface @alisblackgf @engardeitsme @venfia @dijanur @s1mpss @gorepitt @callalillie15 @bluehorizon987 @vanserrar @trippingoverstars @mysiax @beaniebear152 @rei64bit @neverendingdumptser @a-bunny13 @lei-leigha @candy4bonez @yyourmotherr @blobdrake-theory @zarizee @rainygamingstreamingturtle @kise-kae @aesthetic-of-a-director @unodostrescuatrolove @nixeustheclamity @aiciteaa @multifand0m-gal0re @chibi668 @wonderkive @lentillo @luffysoctopus @elizabeth-hatake @black-star1472 @lacm-ac @sxmirae @maggot-baggage @emc2beans @suzumi-hiddenmistclan @white-lyra @lmorg149 @iamverydreamy @giornos-curls @reinabxitch @ourchampionofthesun @paintmekala @the-eternal-sunflower @alextric-overload @lynn-haitani

#god of war x reader #gow x reader #god of war #heimdall x reader #god of war ragnarok #heimdall god of war #heimdall #heimdall gow #heimdall x you #gow heimdall x reader #gow heimdall x you #god of war heimdall #gow heimdall

[vikenticomeshome]

Cyberchase Character Discussion (for your local Cyberchase trivia quiz) - #2: Matt

I made a post while back talking about archiving material from the Cyberchase website, including the now-removed character bios. I made a post about Inez, intending it to be the first in a series, and then I put it aside. Now I'm getting back to it.

#2: Matt

So, let's start with his character bio in "Meet the Cybersquad". This was released in 2001, before the series started airing in 2002. I don't know how much of this is still canon, given how much time has passed.

We learn that Matt, like Jackie, is 11 years old. He is presented as Cyber-detective, which is interesting. All of the kids engage in problem-solving. I never really thought Matt was into detective stuff specifically. He is big on the use of his yo-yo when thinking, and he does come prepared with tools in his backpack.

His favorite color is green, which makes sense, as he wears a green turtleneck in almost every episode. He enjoys pizza and pancakes. He enjoys Brian Jacques's "Redwall" books, so we know he isn't squeamish. I love that his favorite is "anything by Will Smith". This bio really is a product of its time. His favorite movie is "Star Wars". He might be referring to "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" back when it was titled just "Star Wars", or he could be referring to the franchise as a whole. I wonder if he canonically liked "The Phantom Menace", which would have been the only movie from the Star Wars prequel trilogy out at the time.

His listed pet peeve is waiting (for anything). That part is definitely still canon, though he has gotten less impulsive and more patient as the series has progressed.

He also has a ton of pets, and this isn't even counting any livestock his family owns on the farm. He has:

A Bearded Dragon named Boomerang

An Armadillo named Spike

An African Water Frog named Sharky

An African Water Frog named Fins

A dog (mixed Golden Retriever and Yellow Lab) named Obi Won Kadoggie

I didn't even know pet Armadillos were a thing.

That's it for the "Meet the Cybersquad" page. I'm a little surprised that they didn't mention that Matt lives on a farm with his family. They also didn't mention his love for Greek Mythology.

We can also look at his introduction from the official Cyberchase prequel web comic, "How It All Started: Episode 3", for this information.

Narration: Matt lives on a farm with his family, and dreams of being the homerun champ. Little does he know he'll soon be a hero of a different kind.

Narration: Matt is into Greek Mythology big time!

Here is Matt's official Cyberchase trading card.

His favorite line, as listed here is "OK, what do we know?". I thought that was actually one of Jackie's common lines, right next to "Let's get organized". I would have used "Touchdown!" here. It also talks about him being interested in magic. I don't remember that interest coming up, even in the Shari Spotter episodes. He's great at skateboarding, yo-yo tricks, milking cows, and trying new things.

He can also be ruthless, like that time he threatened to destroy The Hacker's Grim Wreaker ship.

We can talk about his impulsiveness and recklessness, like in Season 2 Episode 8: "Whale of a Tale". He saw a steam-filled death pit, where he couldn't see the other side, and tried to jump over it. He thought it was only one meter, due to a partially-obscured sign.

It wasn't one meter.

This is not good! This is not good at all!

Off topic, I love how expressive they made Inez in this episode.

And of course, he wants to try again.

He was also at the center of the Cybersquad's disastrous attempt to promote Motherboard's re-election campaign against The Hacker in Season 2 Episode 4 "True Colors". He accused The Hacker of lying about his good deeds without any proof, and it turned out that The Hacker was telling the truth about them after all. Matt's efforts to bring up The Hacker's prior crimes were also seen as mud-slinging.

I'm not here to bash him as a character. I like Matt, flaws and all. He's a member of the Cybersquad. All three of these actual children have been in way over their heads since the start.

Even in these two instances, the show is careful to show that he learns his lesson. In the incident with "Whale of a Tale", he is one who has Glowla re-check her work and catch her addition mistake when she is computing Spout's new shutdown code.

In the incident with "True Colors", Matt admits that he was wrong in his emotional accusation against The Hacker. Then, he corners The Hacker with the question about curing the virus, which forces The Hacker to lie about the cure. Finally, the Cybersquad as a whole catches The Hacker in the lie about the triangle-based cure. I really need to do a full post on that episode, as it was brilliant.

Let's look at something else. Matt is quite strong. Here he is in Season 2 Episode 6 "Mother's Day" with Inez standing on his head, while Digit stands on Inez's head.

And here's Matt effortlessly lifting the "Good Vibration" artifact, which is bigger than him, from Season 2 Episode 9 "Double Trouble". Even Jackie and Inez are fleeing from his power. Okay, so they were probably fleeing from The Hacker, who was off-screen, but still.

What else can we say about Matt? Well, he was originally going to be called Kyle, who had a different haircut and smaller feet. Apparently, Kyle wasn't considered a good name for a farm boy.

No disrespect to whoever made Kyle, but I prefer Matt's final design. We have the Who's Who document. It does give us a few nire pieces of information. For example, he loves jokes and puns, which I don't remember coming up much in the show. It also confirms that his favorite cybersite is Radopolis.

I swear that I read some source that claimed he was the "leader" of the Cybersquad. However, I cannot find it now. I didn't think this team structure had a true leader, since all the kids here equal partners.

That's about all I can think to say about him for now.

EDIT: I forgot that Matt had a bio on the Nelvana website as well. I thought only Jackie got one, since I found one for her. I never found one for Inez, Dr. Marbles, Motherboard, The Hacker, Buzz, or Delete. It doesn't help that they used a picture of Jackie on Matt's bio.

I like the line about him inventing trial and error. If he can collect royalties off that, then he is set for life. It talks about his hands-on learning style, which was a major point in the episode "Problem Solving in Sangri-la". This bio emphasizes him charging forward without a plan, which is a well-known character flaw.

#cartoon #cyberchase #2000s #nostalgia #pbs kids #2000s childhood #matt #longpost

[merionettes]

rubicon ask!!

first off I'm so so delighted that I picked up FE3H last summer and that it led me to finding your writing & especially this fic. what an amazing experience, what a treat with every update, I have all these fun memories now of places I was when I got the update email (and screamed internally every time). a little collection of sense memories colored in.

as for the actual question: very curious about your process. did you have an outline going in? I have to imagine yes (or else you're braver than black friday shoppers). how did you go about structuring this, ie did you have a series of Moments in your head that you wrote around and connected, or did you try to build scenes to fit the arcs you had in mind, or a mix of the two? anything and everything you want to share, I'm 🤲

you're killing me!!! man, thanks so much, seriously. 

as for the actual question, indeed. hahaha. ha. i delayed answering this for so long because it kept devolving into an essay about the emotional experience of writing a novel for the first time. well i give up. this is now two posts. one is the actual answer to your question, only ten times longer than it needs to be. the other is an essay about the emotional experience of writing a novel for the first time. so… caveat lector. 

first part under the cut. ← not kidding about the caveat!!!!!!

i've talked a little about the process before, so i'll piggyback on that post and dig a little more into the differences between the original idea and the finished product, including spoilers i couldn't get into when i'd only posted 55k. ("only." god.)

technically this did start with an outline. technically because at the time i was brand-new to fe3h and hadn't written anything but a few friend-ficlets in about 8 years. thought "skating au!!", spent a fevered weekend outlining all the major scenes, started in on the writing, and…. very quickly realized that i was nowhere near competent enough to actually. write it. "intensely frustrating" does not even scratch the surface, lmao, of what it felt like to have this thing in my head and only be able to produce what felt like the worst clumsiest tritest version of it. very apropos for skating, actually. 

looking back on that outline, it had almost nothing to do with the finished product, especially on felix's side. it didn't have the nationals flounce, the timeskip, training in vancouver, the lake, the nhk trophy sports anime climax, the backstory reveal meltdown. (it did have the redemptive healing free skate.) what, critically, it did have was sylvain's personal arc—burned out, desperate to quit, wants to go to college. it ended at exactly the same place as the actual story, with sylvain and dorothea's final skate together. the last line was one of the earliest things i wrote. 

in other words, even though almost everything between the first and last scene changed WILDLY in the process of writing, i always knew exactly what i was working towards and that was invaluable. 

insert two year timeskip here! during which i would occasionally reopen the skating doc, take a stab at another scene, feel this ominous sense of foreboding, and give up lol. you can thank the 2022 winter olympics for making me get serious, specifically 1) yuzuru hanyu going out in a blaze of bittersweet doomed quad axel glory 2) shoma uno losing to some eighteen year old. i believe my exact words were (consults notes) "anyway time to go back to my fic where i control the narrative and i decide who wins." idk what made this attempt different than any of the others—right time, right inspiration, right circumstances—but this time it caught fire. in uh. in a big way. 

so that's when i wrote what i refer to in that post as a skeleton draft and what i've since come to think of as a storyboard on steroids. this is when felix's arc really took shape, beyond "he is sad… he is mad… he is perfectly positioned to see right through sylvain." the fallout from nationals crystallizing, in particular, was one of the things that snapped felix into place and helped determine the tone and focus of the story overall. (that initial outline had much more of a romcom/classic fwb-to-lovers feel.)

the other thing that did this, of course, was sylvain's narrative voice. when i committed to "burnout who is controlling every single word of every thought to avoid admitting that he is burned out" was when this story became what it is. the voice dictated every single scene, the tone, the shape, what was revealed, what was implied, what was never making it on the page. it led me places i didn't anticipate. it made the cuts for me! cute scene you've got in that outline lol sylvain would never. 

i see past me in that post dancing around the length, lmao. well the ""storyboard"", the skeleton, whatever you want to call it, was over 100k. and yet even then, EVEN WITH 100K ON PAPER, there was still so much i had no fucking clue was coming! felix pushing sylvain on what he wants was there, but sylvain never explained what happened. my oc jm gautier (thanks for nothing, three hopes!!!) was an ominous presence, but he wasn't the final boss. there was no memory of the first time sylvain and dorothea met. (<- insane.) there was no glenn skate. i had to write to discover all of that.

so like—i cannot emphasize how much i grew as a writer through the experience of writing this story. prose, structure, character arcs, thematic arcs. i was harder on myself than i've ever been. and if i hadn't had that end goal in sight i don't know if i would have made it through all those iterations—storyboarding, drafting, rewriting, editing. wanting to deliver that moment powered me through any amount of frustration/exhaustion/bewilderment.

wow this post sounds almost normal. nothing about this experience was normal. which is why you're getting a part 2.

#sorry op for hijacking your ask for my own personal catharsis #extremely long post #rubicon #writing #ask

[minhosimthings]

Hold me Without Hurting Me

Chapter 8: Crab blossoms and Curt kisses

A/N: In which an old friend fills your life with flowers again, along a bumpy sided road.

Pairings: Ceo!Jay × Ceo!fem!reader, includes rest of Enhypen and certain other groups

Warnings: angst-fluff, hurt/comfort, friends to enemies to fake dating to enemies to lovers, Mentions of food and alcohol, swearing, jay comfort, nothing much but it's a bumpy story.

Story prompt: If I had a flower for every time I fell in love with you, I would walk in my garden forever. (This story is based on the language of flowers.)

SERIES MASTERLIST

"For the last time Jay-" a shrill shout echoed through the house, "-Im fine!" "The fuck you're not." The stout boy holding you up by the waist, as you slumped onto his shoulders, deposited you on the couch. Parties were great. High school parties on Halloween night when you found your boyfriend cheating? Even better.

Jay sighed heavily and checked your forehead. Thank god, he thought, you didn't have a fever.

"Y/N?" Jay cooed, holding a glass of water, always the best way to calm down underage teenagers who drank illegally, "Sweetheart, you've got to drink up. Come on get up now." You felt your head being supported by a gentle hand. A rather familiar one, you thought, as you traced the other hand with your free ones. You felt your lips being pressed gently by the glass as Jay coaxed you into drinking water. "There we go." Jay set the glass down, wiping your mouth with a towel, "Now let's- Y/N?"

Jay took in the sight before him, as you leant closer, staring vividly at his lips. You wondered whether they felt as soft as they looked. And you wanted to kiss them. You wanted to kiss them and never let go. "Y/N wha-"

Jay's sentence was left unfinished as you crashed into him, holding his hair in your hands as you sunk into an epiphany. Was this how the kiss between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth felt in Pride and Prejudice? It probably was.

Jay, although overcome with shock, couldn't bring himself to pull away. This was wrong, oh so wrong. He knew that if he did this, he would leaving the only girl he's ever held inside the crevices of his heart, heartbroken. But something about the kiss, about the way you held him, and about the way his arms automatically made way to your waist, it prevented him from pulling away, instead sinking deeper and deeper.

"Jay-" you whispered against his lips, as you pulled away, suddenly feeling sleep hit you. "Come on sweetheart." Jay spoke in a deep voice, quite unusual to his, "Let's get you to bed."

As Jay tucked you safely under your covers, putting a bucket near the bed incase you needed to throw up, he felt an emotion of guilt overcoming him. Where it came from exactly, he was unsure about. But as he planted a sweet kiss to your forehead, and whispered, "Sleep well my yarrow." Into your ear, he thought to ignore the feeling, knowing it would goad him from doing what he should have done years ago.

"Do we really have to attend the meeting?" You whined, rubbing the champagne stain on your dress as the car moved at a faster pace than usual. Jay sighed, and picked up his phone, running his fingers through his emails. "What are you doing." You leant closer to Jay, trying to annoy him. He had 'accidentally' spilt champagne on your brand new dress and even though it was black and it could easily be washed off, you were mad. You poked his cheek with your finger, in a failed attempt to capture his attention.

"What the fuck." Jay spoke, leaning forward in concentration. "What is it?" You responded, peeking into his phone. "They moved the time of the fucking meeting two hours earlier." "What?" You snatched the phone from him, frantically searching your eyes through the open email. "7 pm? But that's-" "Right now." Jay looked at you with fury in his eyes.

"Fucking assholes." He stuffed his phone back into his pocket, "They come from the valley, and they think they can do anything." You meddled with your fingers, almost clawing the skin off of them as you stared ahead, not being able to get a word out of your mouth. It reminded you of your childhood days, when you'd be late to school and your mind would race through all the excuses in the world.

"Y/N calm down." Jay looked over, a comforting expression on his face, "No one's going to scold you." "Yeah." You scoffed, "of course, you wouldn't know anything about it. Jay Park, all fancy in his suits, not a single rumour about him fucking himself to the top. And when they find out what we are doing, you're not gonna be the one in the fire pit Jay." Jay didn't respond to your quip.

"Oh fuck it." You adjusted the straps of your dress as you stood in front of the wooden door of the meeting hall, "Are they really going to be seeing me in this stupid dress?" You raised an eyebrow at Jay, who was browsing the files Kayla had handed him. She looked much happier than she did in the morning. According to Jungwon, the impromptu date had gone well.

Jay pushed a hand against the door suddenly, the creaking noise slightly startling you. The door opened slowly to reveal a scene of quiet men in suits sitting together, smirks appearing on their face as soon as their eyes fell on you.

"Good evening gentlemen." Jay swiftly moved across to his seat, with you following behind to your seat, next to him, since all the other seats were filled. The universe seemed to have done everything to be against you. "I hope you don't mind the tardiness. We weren't exactly informed properly about the change of time." The way he spoke, you thought, there was something about it, that commanded the entire atmosphere of the room, bringing even the dust under his control.

"It's quite alright." The man you thought was Mr Hwang spoke up, "we weren't discussing anything, since there isn't much to discuss about anymore. We waited for you, incase you and Miss Yang wanted to add anything onto the train." Jay gently shook his head before glancing over at you. You copied his action, looking gently over to Mr Hwang, who smiled and clapped his hands together. "Well then-" he said, unusually cheery, "the meeting is adjou-" "What exactly was the reason for your tardiness, Miss Yang?"

You snapped your head towards the man sitting on the other side of Jay. Choi Minho. Asshole, in your opinion, but apparently a very great leader in Jay's eyes.

"I beg your pardon, Mr Choi?" You curtly responded, even though you had heard his words very clearly. Minho smirked as he swivelled his chair in your direction, with Jay sitting with tightened shoulders in between. "I meant-" He leaned forward, "It's a bit of a coincidence that you and Mr Park managed to show up at the exact same time isn't it?"

"We were on a date, Mr Choi." Jay responded instead of you. You could see his fingers tighten around his rings, "Nothing wrong with a date is there." "Oh no no." Minho let out a cold laugh, which wasn't copied, "No, because I was wondering why Miss Yang put in such a dress. Maybe she was betting on pulling one of us to the bedroom lat-" Minho's words were cut off but a shattering noise, as the vase of tiny crab blossoms, which was very close to Jay's hand, fell to the ground, breaking into a million crystalline pieces. You winced as of the glass shards hit your ankle, blood decorating the seams of the wound.

"You won't lay a single atom of your disgusting being on her, you understand?" Jay had his hands on Minho's collar, as Minho shivered in fear, pressed tighty against his chair. You were slightly taken aback, as you looked around the room, to see the other men equally shocked. Never before had you seen Jay in such a state of anger.

"Jay-" you put your hand on Jay's arm, effectively calming him, and putting his hands far away from Minho, "-we should go." Your whisper rang like a dagger through wood in Jay's ear, as he fixed his suit trim, and put a hand around your waist, almost dragging you out of the meeting hall, leaving everyone stunned and scared.

"Jay what the fuck was that? And why the fuck am I here?" You exploded as you sat down on the red couch. Jay had basically carried you the entire way to his suite, instead of yours and plopped you down on the couch as he rushed around finding something. "Jay Park, answer me!" You whined like a child. The glass shard stuck to your foot hurt now, as the blood seeped all over the carpet.

"Would you let a man work first?" Jay grumbled as he got out of the bathroom with what looked like a first aid kit. He leant down in front of you and gently took your foot in his hand, to which you shuddered af his cold touch. "I'm just gonna pull the glass out alright?" He cooed, searching the injury carefully. You closed your eyes shut tightly and tightened your shoulders, preparing for the rocket impact. "And we're done!" Jay let out as you snapped your eyes open, surprised at feeling no pain. "Oh." You widened your eyes, "it still hurts though, Dr Park." You giggled, calling him 'doctor'. Jay rolled his eyes and dressed your wound gently with cotton.

"Ow Jay." You grumbled as he tightly wrapped gauze around the wound. "If you stop moving, maybe it won't hurt dumbass." Jay packed up his items and shoved them under the couch. "Oh shit I forgot to call Jungwon." You reached for your phone, but Jay was quicker to grab it from the table. "Nuh uh young lady." Jay shook his head as he slipped the phone into his pocket, "I already called your assistant and him and Kayla are gonna be sleeping in your suite tonight. Quite romantic I know." He looked smug as he said that, "You're tired as hell, and not to mention, injured. Plus I already ordered food and you are going to eat it and sleep until the morning and then you can do whatever you want."

You stared at Jay's long speech as he rushed to the door on the ringing of the bell. Did he really care for you?, you thought as he returned with what looked like bags of food. Knowing that there was no fruit to be gained by arguing with Jay, you silently accepted the food, and started eating, sneaking mischievous glances at him every now and then.

"Please tell me we are not sleeping in the same bed." You grumbled as you moved up the staircase to the bedroom. The suite was very similar to yours,with the difference of the color palette. Jay's was red, while yours preferred the colour of the ocean.

"I would rather die than sleep in the same bed as you." Jay stopped infront of a white door, "This is Kayla's room. You'll be sleeping here." You crossed your arms and Jay slid his card into the slit of the door. The door didn't open. One try, then the other, and then another, all the tried went to the ditch as Jay's card didn't succeed in opening the door. "Shit." He cursed, turning to you, "I think Kayla has the card to her door." "Obviously dumbass." You shifted your weight to your uninjured foot, "Why would she give her card to her boss?"

Jay didn't respond to your quip, instead reaching for another door next to the white one. "Wanna sleep in my room?" Jay offered, as the door opened to a magnificent bed with an equally matching wardrobe. Oak, you though as you ran your hands over the material. "Where the fuck will you sleep then?" You questioned Jay, who scoffed. "there's a thing called a couch Y/N. I'll shower in the downstairs bathroom. You can use mine. Oh and-" he threw open the wardrobe door, "just wear one of my shirts." He took a shirt out of the wardrobe and quickly disappeared out of the room, slamming the door behind him. You plopped down on the freshly made bed, realising only now how tired you were. As you slowly fought sleep and made your way over to the shower, you noticed a lingering disappointment in your brain, that Jay didn't talk to you longer.

#jay #park jay #enha jay #enhypen jay #jay fic #jay park fic #jay angst #jay fluff #jay park angst #jay park fluff #park jay fluff #park jay hurt comfort #jay hurt comfort #enha fics #bye bye now

[kitmarlowe]

great tv recommendations: classic who ↳ “Think about me when you're living your life one day after another, all in a neat pattern. Think about the homeless traveller and his old police box, with his days like crazy paving.“

#doctor who #classic who #dwedit #cwedit #first doctor #second doctor #third doctor #fourth doctor #fifth doctor #sixth doctor #seventh doctor #eighth doctor #gif #you should be watching #this will take you through the lockdown #almost didn't include 8 as he's not really in the series but i couldn't do it to him

[3desiderium3]

For your love

chapter five - On my own

[ series masterlist ]

previous chapter | next chapter

pairings : reader x damiano david

story summary : damiano and reader are in very loving relationship that sometimes almost too quickly becomes too toxic for anyone likings

chapter warning (s) : this is sad i made myself sad

" It was a pretty rough night not gonna lie .. She barely managed to fall asleep around 8 am . I woke up a few times to check upon her cause she had her nose clogged from all that crying . "

Victoria said over phone to Thomas .

It was around one in the noon . She was frying some eggs and vegetables for her and Y/N to eat .

" How did it went over there ? " "Jesus I wish I knew honestly . "

Thomas admitted sighing .

" When he came here last night he was crying . Like really hard . It took him 30 minutes to calm down and tell me what he did .. " " And ? " " I tried punching him in the face but I ended up hurting my hand more . " Vic chuckled upon the thought of Thomas hitting someone , especially Damiano .

" And I don't know he just continued to cry and smoke cigs . I swear to Jesus he smoked like whole 3 packs in one night . I am not sure when he fell asleep or if he did . But there was not much talking here trust me . "

Both of them went silent . Not being able to choose one side . Both Y/N and Damiano where their long known friends and dear people in general .

" Y/N is more than my best friend . She is my family . I would do anything that I can to keep her safe , just like with you . That's why I am feeling so guilty upon meeting her with Damiano. "

" Hon' it was not your fault remember ? " The other line was silent .

" Have you ever wondered how it would look like if they didn't end up together ? "

" Yeah .. I mean maybe .. You know I did often when I found myself in between their arguments . "

" Pft please , they where soft near you comparing to their usual . "

Thomas lighted up his cigarette , the sound of him taking a drag was pretty clear .

" I almost left the band cause of them remember ? At that period Damiano and I had lots of small fights and arguments . "

Vic turned off the stove placing the food in plates skillfully.

" Hold up I need to give Y/N breakfast . " " Aight I'm waitin' . "

" Babes are you awake ? " The blond girl called out for her friend . Y/N was laying on her side of the bed , all the sheets and pillows where thrown in the corner of the room . She didn't wanted anything that smelled like Damiano near her . Instead she slept on bare mattress , Victoria's traveling pillow and she covered herself with the blanket from living room .

" I am not hungry yet , can you just please leave the plate here ? "

" Sure I'll be downstairs . Just call . "

No respond , she just closed the door behind her after glancing at Y/N last time .

Vic was cleaning the stinky apartment whole morning , it was not bothering her in fact . She knew Y/N would do the same for her .

" Tom you there ? " She cooed once her phone was in her grasp again . " Yeah yeah I was talking to Damiano . " " Is he alright ? " " I am not sure really . I think not obviously , but now after this I am not expecting anything normal from him ever again . " " Oh come on it was a - " " If you just dare to finish the sentence I will kill you . How can that be an accident ?? Rape is not an accident ! He was fully aware Victoria !! " " Pshh be quite you idiot ! " She tried hushing her friend after turning around herself paranoid like someone overheard their conversation .

" He is showering now don't worry . We should not be taking sides on this one but Vic .. He is not good for her ... Neither is she for him .. This is lasting for 3 years .. Remember ? "

" Don't fucking remind me . "

Silence . Both of them trying to understand the policy of their friends relationship .

" He threatened to kill himself so many times if she leaves him .. "

" She was so heartbroken each time that she was the one actually considering suicide . "

" I remember one time they had some huge fight as always and she came to my house in like 3 am crying and talking some nonsenses . "

" They never had a filter , especially around us , sometimes it gets just too tiring ya know ? "

" They made me and Ethan cry so many times Jesus Vic you have the biggest nerve here . " Her friend admitted with chuckle.

" Should we like ... talk to them each day and convince them to break up ? "

Deadly silence .

One was sure . Y/N and Damiano shouldn't ever be together again .

" Are we bad friends for doing this ? " " Pft please , we are doing service to everyone . "

" I am so confused and so worried for Y/N , I will talk to Damiano later and then call you to see if something improved and to update you . How is Y/N feeling now ? "

" Not so good bro , I think she is considering that breakup as well . Everything is still so confusing and not in order . "

" Alright Vic , gonna call later , bye love you . "

" Love you too bye . "

* meanwhile in Thomas house *

Thomas hanged up his half hour long conversation with Victoria . He rubbed his eyes hardly throwing the cellphone on the kitchen table where he was standing smoking .

To be honest he was also crying with Damiano last night . He couldn't imagine the amount of pain Y/N was suffering . His still pulsing bruised hand started to feel a bit better . He regretted only hitting Damiano , but they all knew he was the weakest out of all boys in the group .

Damiano was laying in his bed dressed in his chlotes fresh out of shower.

Crying again .

It was slowly starting to make Thomas mad .

' Why didn't he cry last night when he abused her? '

" Oi , whats the matter now ? Why are you crying again ? Cause you are an asshole or complete idiot ? " " Thomas shut the fuck up . I am not capable of having that conversation . " Damiano's voice was raspy and cracked .

" Well we are gonna have this conversation , in fact right now . Where where your tears last night when you raped her ? " " It wasn't ra -" " It was ! You fucked her without her consent ! What the fuck where you thinking ! "

" I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING ! "

He stood up from the bed crying his bottom lip shaking .

" I DON'T FUCKING KNOW ! I WAS MAD AT HER ! MICHAEL WAS THERE ! I HAD THE WORST SCENARIOS RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD I GOT SCARED ! "

Thomas was in slight shock . Was Damiano really that dumb ?

" Are you serious ? I can't actually believe how selfish and egoistic you are . You raped my best friend because you got mad at her that her ex was there ? "

This was actually the first time in 3 years someones words affected Damiano about his behavior towards Y/N . He sat back on the bed holding his head in his hands .

" I took you in cause I care about you . You are my friend . But I will never forgive you this . You can stay here as much as you want but don't expect any special treatment from me . "

" Should I call her ? I must apologize . "

Thomas snorted .

" No . You must not apologize , you must beg her on your knees to forgive you . You must beg her to even look at you . I know I wouldn't if I was her . No matter what you do she will love you forever and that is the problem . "

Damiano was highly affected by his friends words. In his mind he was only picturing whimpering Y/N whose head he was holding down with his hand , her tears where soaked up on that backseat .

'I will rather die than look her in the eyes again.'

* meanwhile in Y/N's house *

" Are you sure I am not bothering ? I can always ask Thomas to stay with him ? " Y/N asked Victoria while both of them where packing some of Y/N's stuff in the suitcase .

" Yeah absolutely , we are going to spend some quality time healing and having fun . "

Y/N made her final decision , she was going to break up with Damiano this time for real .

She didn't have that much of her stuff , all the clothes , jewelry , letters , poems and all the other gifts she received from Damiano she placed in on huge box and left it on the center of their bed .

" Can I tell Thomas you are staying with me ? "

"Yes but alarm him not to tell Damiano .. I do not wanna hear a word from him . "

Vic simply nodded and in a less than an hour they where all packed leaving the past behind .

* three weeks later *

Things where only worse for our lovers .

Damiano heard no word from Y/N and neither did she from him .

She was expecting it to be honest .

Everyday was same as the other . Too long , too cold and filled with cigarette smoke .

All Y/N did was sometimes leave her room when she didn't wanted to offend Vic after putting effort into preparing the meal , she would listen to whatever record Victoria had , smoke all the cigarettes till she vomited , drink vodka away from her roommates sight and cry herself everyday regretting her whole relationship .

' He never fucking loved me .. I cheated on Michael with him just so he could fuck me over .. He never loved me .. He was just obsessed and he wanted me in his possession '

The fact Damiano didn't try reaching her was painful , it was providing sharp stings in her chest and it gave her headaches .

She saw him in every song , he was always on her mind . She wished she could delete all the memories and feelings just like she deleted the pictures . . .

Damiano was not much different than her .

He was also crying a lot , smoking a lot , not drinking but overthinking . He didn't knew Y/N moved out .. No one understood why it took him 3 weeks to try and reach her .

He didn't understood either .

He was trying to come up with the perfect apologize . He wanted to show her he was willing to do better . Willing to change . To prove her he was ready to change . He was sure that Y/N wouldn't return his calls . She understood her . He expected her to be mad and stubborn she had every reason to be .

Thomas was barely speaking to him . Only some formalities . Måneskin was put on hold their rehearsals , Vic and Thomas being very strict in their communication with Damiano while Ethan was very confused and unsure of what is going on .

Damianos mom and Y/N's parents also weren't included in the situation .

The day he planned on returning home , so sure that he would be greeted by her embrace , came .

He shaved his face for the first time in 3 weeks , he changed his underwear for the first time in 3 weeks , he wore simple suit and he drove all the way into the depths of the town to buy the most glorious flowers that his Y/N loved .

He wasn't planning on just winning her over with some flowers and gifts , or the dialog he practiced in his head and in front of his mirror .

Upon reaching the yard of their house he frowned . There was something different . Something wrong . .

He was walking slowly , looking all around himself , gripping the bouquet of flowers in his sweaty palm .

He stood in front of the door .

It was wrong . Something was wrong .

His mind scream . He hoped he was very paranoid once again .

His hand rose up to ring the door bell . He was nervous and afraid .

You are being worried for no reason .

He kept reasurinf himself.

So he rang .

Once

Twice

Four times . Four long times .

No one opened .

Was she home ? After all he came unannounced . Maybe she is sleeping ?

" Y/N! Y/N it's me ! Please open the door ! "

He was starting to sweat .

He searched with his shaking hands through his pocket to find the house keys . He unlocked the door . The house was empty and cold .

It was not smelling like her . Cause there was no one , she wasn't home . Not for an hour , not for the day , not here in a while .

He kept calling for her . " Y/N ! " He dropped the keys and flowers on the kitchen table .

He started roaming the house in panic . Even trying to sense some sort of smell . He was afraid she killed herself so his nose searched for the rotting corpse smell.

Every bad scenarios possible went through his head .

He ran towards their room . Empty .

Even their pets weren't there . She was gone .

Y/N left him . For real this time . For good .

He started to breath heavily . Tears forming in his eyes . The big box on their bed .

Inside of it all his gifts to her . All his clothes she loved wearing . He took one hoodie she often every time she was cleaning . He placed it under his nose . It still held her scent . Her ghost was there , in the shape of the memories one cardboard box held .

He was crying , repeating her name , calling it out . Kissing her dresses and watering them with tears .

He was on his own . There was no one he wanted more than her . He realized what he had once he lost it . He was alone for the first time .

taglist : @ella-nordstrm3 , @urskaa , @lovelysaltyland , @littleachaos , @whoreforhenrycavill , @13journals , @onceuponparrilla , @21nell , @davedace101 , @vainbimbo , @aliyeaz , @vandafabryova , @miriampraez , @foggyhottubcandy , @daringovangel , @inr89

#damiano david #damiano maneskin #maneskin #italy #zitti e buoni #eurosong #eurovision #eurovision 2021 #eurovision italy #victoria de an #ethan torchio #thomas raggi #fanfic #sad #romance #relationship #breakup #lovers

[punderfulowl]

Top 10 Anime (That I've Seen) in 2020

Well now, it has certainly been awhile. I'm currently sitting at eight months too late for posting this, but, y'know, something something life happens. More accurately, I already made this list, but wanted to try out what response I'd get from Reddit. Turns out, they're not as cool as you guys!

Anyways, as the title states, this is not a list of my favorite anime that came out during 2020, but instead my favorite anime that I just so happen to see during that year. While it's fun to have an end of the year retrospective, I find that having a list in this format not only adds variety, but also helps bring attention to anime that might have been lost in the shuffle in previous years (I also don't have enough time to stay caught up in seasonal releases).

Honorable mentions:

Aggretsuko S3, My Hero Academia S4, Today's Menu For the Emiya Family, Interspecies Reviewers (yes, really), and I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job

10. Maid-Sama (2010)

In hindsight, I find it a bit funny that I wanted to watch something wholesome to kick off 2020. Anyway, Maid-Sama is about a high school girl that is also a no nonsense Class President and she kind of has to be at a school where, until recently, was an all boys school. While she kills it in academics and is good at shutting down any shenanigans from the male student body, her financial situation isn't the greatest and has to balance a job at a maid cafe along with her school-related responsibilities. She does her best to hide her employment there to keep up appearances, but is one day found out by one of the boys who happens to be a big flirt and, yeah, hijinks ensue. While this anime doesn't have too many surprises, our main leads bounce off each other well enough to keep me entertained. Nothing I haven't seen already in other anime Rom-Coms, but I think it has more than earned its place at the start of this list.

9. Haganai NEXT (2013)

It's a personal rule of mine when making these lists that I don't include sequels of shows that were in previous lists. While I DID see the first season of Haganai a couple of years ago, it didn't quite make it into the top ten at that time. Because of that, it meets the criteria for this year's list. While I found the characters were just as charming here as I did during the first season, the development of their relationships really took off. It's a shame that it will most likely not get a third season, but I'm happy with what ride this show gave me. But hey! At least I can read the light novels/manga to continue the story! Wait, nevermind, the Haganai fans on Reddit are saying that's a bad idea.

8. Engaged to the Unidentified (2014)

Based off of a Four Panel joke manga, Engaged to the Unidentified tells the story of a girl in high school suddenly getting some life changing news. As it turns out, her grandfather made an arranged engagement with her and the son of a family he knew. Next thing she knows, the boy in question, as well as his little sister, moves into her family's house! While the boy is unassuming at first, there may be more to him and his family than he lets on. Plain and simple, this anime has charmed me. There's a decent amount of drama and mystery despite the source material and I applaud it! Even though this also doesn't have much new to offer, even to the point where I would compare this to Maid-Sama, what made me pick this at the 8th spot were the color choices and animation quality. Give this a shot if you can!

7. Grimoire of Zero (2017)

It's a fantasy/adventure story starring a loli sorcerer and a huge, anthropomorphic white tiger man. I honestly can't say anything else. I won't be able to do it justice. That first sentence should intrigue you a lease a little bit. Read it, again. Please check it out. It's an underrated gem that no one is talking about.

6. ID: Invaded (2020)

Hey, here's something recent! Unfortunately, this is also not something I can say much about. There may not be too many deep characters and the secret bad guy isn't hard to figure out, but BOY is this anime cool! The best way to describe this series is that it's like the movie Inception, but instead of brain heists, it's brain murder mysteries.

5. Carole and Tuesday (2019)

A runaway rich girl has a fated meeting with an orphan and they decide to make music together...oh, this also takes place Mars. Joking aside, this show was something special with its music (a new song almost every episode no less), interesting setting (freaking Mars, dude), and endearing main cast. Shoot, the music itself would be top 3, maybe number 1, but what bogs it down is the show's second half. I can easily see myself watching this again someday, and maybe my opinion will lighten up, but for now, 5 is a dang good spot.

4. Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia (2019)

Part of me hesitates placing this high up on list due to this show being animated, fan service spectacle for Fate fans. However, that hesitation is overshadowed by the fact that I am a Fate fan myself and I can do whatever I want with this list. Even if you're not a Fate fan or play FGO, if you enjoy some solid fight animation, this is worth a look.

3. K-On S1 (2009)

I'll admit it, I might regret not watching the second season then putting the series on the list as a whole, but this how I've been doing these lists and I'm such a creature of habit. There's not much I can say about K-On that hasn't already been said. By itself it's an anime classic and one of Kyo-ani's biggest properties. It's a sweet and wholesome watch, but be sure to have some insulin within reach.

2. Princess Principal (2017)

Imagine you're working with a team of programmers trying to make a mobile game then all of a sudden someone asks to make a show out of it. You know, a show with different character motivations, plot, twist and turns and all that? Most might say that's just a shameless, shallow cash grab, but it turns out okay for Princess Principal. Sure, most might summarize this anime as, "cute girls doing espionage things," but with its cast, visuals, and interesting alternative timeline, it works! Apparently there's a new season or movie in the works and I am all for it!

1. Beastars (2019)

I was not expecting this to be number one, but with much deliberation (with myself obviously) this feels right. It tells a pretty unique story while showing itself to be the exception to the rule when it comes to 3D anime.....it being that it's actually good. While I acknowledge that shows like K-On are classics and deserves to be number one on many different lists, it didn't line up with my personal criteria like Beastars did. My biggest deciding factor is: Now that I've watched this, do I want more? It's true that while I'm excited to start K-On S2, Beastars intrigues me more and ever since season two was announced, I'm looking forward to that more.

Sorry again for this list being so late, but at least the silver lining is that the next end of the year list is about four months away (in theory)!

#anime #k-on #beastars #princess principal #fate grand order #carole and tuesday #id invaded #grimoire of zero #engaged to the unidentified #haganai #maid sama

[bellaslilpapercut]

Oh boy New Moon! I've got some Thoughts a brewin' babey:

1. Smeyer: you do not need to remind your audience what happened last book, they aren't stupid. Imagine if SC started catching fire with ANOTHER explanation of what the hunger games are and that's the vibe of the first chapters of new moon. We remember james, we know what vampires are, we know that Bella is white, stop reminding us!

2. Bella has the worst self esteem of all time. Every bad thing that has happened to her since the Van Incident has been Edward's fault but she still blames herself and idk if this is Intentional Insecurity or if smeyer is protecting edward's "character" or both but gdamn it's depressing.

3. The reason I said Jasper was Inconsistently Written jumped out at me again. Smeyer dedicated a whole paragraph to pointing out how terrible jasper is at the diet or whatever but in the guide, smeyer tells us jasper actively tried to starve himself in the past because of how difficult his gift made feeding. He was one of only two Cullens to show bella empathy, he smelled her blood before, why does he attack her? The weakness of this decision is pointed out in the exposition: if it really were likely that Jasper would attack Bella, she wouldn't have needed a superfluous paragraph dedicated to telling us how bad he is at self control. If the story had convinced us of that beforehand, we would have believed the attack without the addendum.

4. The party is my least favorite part of the whole series and I will die on this hill: edward should have attacked bella. Bella should have tripped into something glass and edward should have lost it because he tasted her blood before and couldn't help himself. That way: edwards self loathing makes sense and he's forced to recon with his superiority complex from the ending chapters of twilight AND bella's self blame makes sense. A vamp who was able to starve himself before he even heard of the cullens should not have lost it around someone he spent days in close quarters with, building rapport and friendship. Edward got too high and mighty after he fed from Bella in Twilight, that should have had real consequence.

5. The writing is getting a little better as we near Edward leaving. "Better" isn't a good word actually but it's getting closer to the prose in twilight (which was flowery and annoying but at least it didn't constantly feel like being spoonfed exposition every paragraph). Hm wrote this blurb while I was still on chapter 3 and the vibe of being spoonfed reminders has not really dissipated lmfao.

We remember Sam Uley, smeyer, you introduced him four chapters ago. Just quick question: did anyone proofread this?? I think it's fair to say: when she isn't reminding us of things that we remember the prose is more similar to twilight. A little annoying but interesting enough to forgive the errors (or at least move past them easily enough lol).

6. I'm on chapter 8 now (I'm gonna break this up into three parts so I don't forget stuff like I did during the twilight reread) and there's a very heavy Vibe that smeyer is setting Jake up to be a parallel for twilight-era Bella. This line here is a pretty clear parallel for Bella telling Edward not to hold his breath in Twilight when he tells her she might get tired of him.

7. This line here "almost happy in a shallow kind of way" really jumped out. What Bella's narration says about Jacob versus her conversations with him (and her one paragraph about his happiness being effortlessly contagious) are at odds. It doesn't read like shallow happiness when she's with Jake. However, Smeyer is also a bad writer, she thinks the story she's telling us is literally what the narration says and not what the action shows and I think she realizes this in Eclipse (but obviously I'm not there yet so I can't say for sure).

8. I really can't get over the drop in writing quality. I know that she had already mostly finished Forever Dawn by the time Twilight was published (or was halfway done, I think her website said she had over 300 pages of forever dawn complete when she found out Twilight was getting published). I think the writing quality really reveals that she was not prepared to write New Moon. It's sloppier than Twilight in a way I'm not able to articulate (by that I mean I personally have a more intuitive than technical understanding of grammar and syntax so I don't have the language to break down the differences). Twilight itself is ripe with technical errors and plot errors and awkward exposition so it's not an overt drop in quality but I think it very much reads like a rushed writing job. She was committed to forever dawn, her publishers wanted New Moon, it shows.

9. I think New Moon was when I first started physically editing my copies of the saga lol. Even reading it now I'm so tempted to open up a word document and cut half of the useless shit out and fix all the grammatical mistakes. I can't even talk shit because I am also a comma-abuser but I hoped an editor would at least catch the errors before publishing. Guess not! Brevity is very clearly not meyers strong suit and this would have been a much stronger sequel if she had been able to reign herself in a bit. New Moon isn't supposed to be as narration heavy as twilight, there's already more action in the first seven chapters than the there was in the first 19 of twilight but she always delivers exposition via awkward dialogue or Bella's narration. Again, we already got a lot of the exposition in twilight, we know how vampires work et cetera. You can show us how bella feels instead of making her tell us and the story would run a lot more smoothly.

10. I'll end on a nice note! Little treat!

This is my favorite part of the book so far. I whited-out the useless dialogue tag because the line reads better without it ( line originally ends with "I emphasized" but she could have been brief and just ended the dialogue with an exclamation point for the same effect). The dialogue is natural and shows the J/B relationship that lives in my head way better than anything else I've seen on the page at this point. Like, I literally love this line more than any dialogue that preceded it (including twilight) lol.

#new moon reread #its taken me so long to get through these first chapters because its physically painful lmfao #i think when jacob comes in it gets more enjoyable if im remembering correctly #though im sure the writing quality will be equal to twilight at best #i wish anyone else in the world had written jacob black #everything about his character from the jump has been to serve bella's story #and everything about bella was to serve edward #i think i will write a meta on that eventually

[ripspaghet]

bff | 04

↳ series m.list | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 |

→ pairing: yoongi x reader

→ word count: 4,750

Prologue Summary; Your best friend's boyfriend takes an unhealthy interest in you and just as he shows up something from your past starts to creep up on you again. Could this strange and mysterious man have something to do with it? And should you trust him, or your instincts to run far, far away from him?

→ warnings: angst, swearing

The bell overhead chimes as the doors open, making Seokjin's mouth finally clamp shut before another word can make you slam your head into the register. Your shift had only begun and he was already on a roll about being forced to clean the toilets earlier.

"Welcome to Sil's Coffee, how may we help you?" The slogan fell off your lips like a sigh of relief as you plaster on a bright smile for the customer, coming in from the frigid outside air.

A chuckle erupts from the customer, "I see Seokjin is harassing you again."

"W-What?! I do not-"

"I'd like an iced mocha with caramel. Could you fetch that for me Jin?" Mina slides into the bar chair in front of Seokjin, who bites his tongue before turning around to make her order. The man may loathe his job, but there was no way he'd allow himself to be fired.

"Honestly, just tell him to shut up. You don't have to listen to his whining."

You can hear Seokjin muttering inaudible profanities at Mina and you let out an actual sigh this time, "Seokjin is just expressing himself."

"And this is the best way he knows how? How sad."

"You're coffee." You flinch as a cup is slammed onto the counter and slid into Mina's hands.

"Thanks, handsome." She grins endearingly up at him.

"Can you leave now?" 

"Oh, how rude of you to say to a customer. I wonder what the manager would say?"

You pinch the bridge of your nose, "Mina, stop, for fuck sake." Seokjin is presumably the only person who dislikes Mina more than Jimin, although Mina doesn't dislike Seokjin. She actually likes him, despite his constant rambling. 

Another chime grabs everyone but Mina's attention back to the entrance to see your stumbling yellow-haired friend enter the shop. He swore as he tripped on the entrance's floor-mate, but quickly composed himself and looked up to send you a dazzling smile before gracefully making his way over the seat in front of you, "Good morning, my ray of sunshine." You open your mouth to return the gesture just before someone else strides in behind him. Dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin sporting a baggy tee and flannel with tight frayed jeans. You grimace at the sight. Of course, he was here. Why wouldn't he be? Mina was here and wherever Mina was, he had the right to be.

"Couldn't you have done us all a favor and let yourself fall?"

"Like I'd ever do a favor for the likes of you." Jimin retorted swiveling around in his chair. 

It's been exactly three weeks since your first session with Yoongi began and you still haven't grown comfortable with the whole ordeal. Especially since Yoongi had all of a sudden started making an effort to include himself in Mina's life more, resulting in him almost always being around. Which is great for Mina, just not so great for you.

"Anyways, how is my love doing?" Jimin reached out for your hands and smiled at you in a way that made it impossible for you to not return the gesture.

"I'm alright." You squeezed his hands reassuringly before pulling away to make his usual drink. At least you had Jimin most of the time. He did a great job of pulling your attention off of the guy just a few feet away from you and settling your nerves.

"I heard how Namjoon left you high and dry. Taehyung has been dogging me for studying material ever since. Is your project coming along alright? I can help you with it?" You tense as you begin pouring the chocolate syrup into Jimin's drink. Maybe you'd spoken too soon again? You hadn't told anyone about studying with Yoongi, out of fear of what Mina would do and judging from the lack of passive aggression coming from her, Yoongi hadn't said anything either.

"N-no, I've got it. You don't need to do that."

"She'd fail for sure if you helped her."

"Mina, nobody was talking to you. Can you shut that trap of yours?" You turn back around and place Jimin's cup in front of him just as Mina reaches over to whack him on the back of the head.

"Yah! Don't you touch me, you witch!"

"Me? A witch?" Mina laughed, "Well, that must make you a troll."

"Mina, stop that." Yoongi's cold metallic voice caught you off guard and you made the mistake of shifting your gaze over to him just as Mina began whining, merely to see he was already watching you, his brown eyes intense and dark. 

Things have been very awkward, for you to say the least. You didn't know what to make of this new relationship you had with Yoongi. Hell, even calling it a relationship felt weird and from every angle, it just seemed wrong. When you so much as looked in Yoongi's direction you felt like you'd just transgressed some imaginary line you'd drawn for yourself. Or maybe it had been drawn by Mina. It was normal for the girl to be possessive and paranoid, even more so when it came to a guy she liked. Mina had been friends with a girl in the past that had stolen guys from her left and right, so now she always assumed you, one of her few female friends, was always plotting against her and knowing this made you extremely cautious.

"You two have been extra snarky this week."

You cleared your throat, trying your best to not seem uncomfortable, "Would you like something to drink, Yoongi?"

"A black coffee would be nice."

You nodded, turning again only to have Seokjin place a black coffee in your hands, "I figured he'd order that again, so I went ahead and made it."

"Oh, here," You slid the drink over to Yoongi, sure to avoid eye contact this time.

"Well, with ____ spending all her time studying lately, I'm left alone to deal with this nuisance." Mina jabbed her finger at Jimin.

"What? I'm the nuisance and yet you're the one constantly complaining about this and that and never shutting up?"

"Shut your mouth Park." Mina flushes red as Yoongi turns his head over, suddenly taking interest in their conversation.

Jimin scoffs and turns back to you, "So, can I hear it?"

"Huh?" You tilted your head.

"Namjoon told me about it, don't be coy. I wanna hear it."

Your cheeks flush at the realization of what he was talking about, "He did what?! No way. I'm not letting you hear anything."

"What are we talking about?" 

"We," Jimin looking back at Mina, pointing at her and then himself, "aren't talking about anything. Me and ____ are." Mina scoffs and turns away from him as he does the same, overeating his attention back on you, "My best friend won't let me hear her sing?"

"What best friend? Last I checked you have no friends." Mina mumbles under her breath, rolling her eyes at Jimin's pouting lips while sipping her drink. He scowls but is quick to ignore her in favor of you.

Damn, they really are at each other's necks right now.

"Why are you embarrassed? I know you're good. Namjoon said your voice is amazing. In fact, he gushed about it."

"Stop rambling and leave me and my voice alone, Park Jimin."

"You cutie, you're all red, like a tomato." He reaches up to pinches at your cheek but you quickly swat his hands away.

"Shut up."

"Let me hear it and I'll shut up for the rest of my life, just for you."

"No." You turn away from him to busy yourself with work, emphasizing your seriousness. There was no way in hell you'd ever let Jimin, or anyone else for that matter, hear you sing. Sure, Namjoon and Yoongi had heard it, but- your gaze drifted over to Yoongi again to see a small smirk playing on his lips as he stirred his coffee. 

"God, you two make me wanna vomit. I can't believe you refuse to admit your dating each other." Seokjin finally spoke again as he wiped down the counter-tops.

"Seriously, get a room," Mina adds.

"Says the two who bicker at each other like a married couple," Jimin smirked over at Mina, who just about spit her coffee out her nose.

"What?!"

"We do not!"

Message from Min Yoongi- 8:11am: The door is unlocked. Just come in when you get up here.

After work, you stalled around a bit before heading towards Yoongi's. You knew if you left right after your shift, Jimin would've tried to tag along. He normally walked you home when he got the chance and as far as he knew you'd been going home every week to work on your project alone. 

Your stomach turns as the elevator finally comes to a halt, the doors sliding open, and you step out. More than anyone else, you wanted to tell Jimin about this. You knew he'd have the best advice for you, but you also realize that Jimin hates Mina. He would probably let the information slip on purpose just to piss her off. He'd prefer not to be friends with her because, in his opinion, she's faker than all the plants in his dance teacher's office. You don't doubt he'd take any chance he could to try and show you that, probably saying something along the lines of, "It's for your own good, trust me."

Honestly, you're starting to get pretty sick of this. All the elevator rides you've had to endure are almost as bad as riding an airplane, never knowing if it's going to give out or just break and send you to a gruesome death. You head for Yoongi's door, sending a glare back at the box of threatening death as it's doors slide shut again. You've tried to convince Yoongi on countless occasions to meet elsewhere, but he declines each time, saying, "Why would I go somewhere else when I'm most comfortable here?" You roll your eyes at the memory. That self-centered jerk doesn't care what you put yourself through every week to get to here. Making sure none of your friends, especially Mina, see where you're going, facing your fear of that dumb elevator while doing so, and lying practically to Jimin. Mina would assume you're sleeping with Yoongi if she ever found out. It wouldn't matter what you told her. And imagine if she did find out, even after all your efforts? Every week you had to put up with Min Yoongi's self-centered attitude and constant complaints about how you're, "Too early." Or, "Too late." Not to mention you've been feeling under the weather lately.

One of these days you're really gonna to jump from one of the windows on this floor just to escape from Min Yoongi, because at this point it feels like there is no escape. You go to school, he's there with Mina. You go to work, he shows up with Mina. What did you have in life, if not peace away from that guy?

You give the front door two gentle taps before entering. The penthouse was the same as always, warm and quiet, as the world outside opposed it. It was probably the only thing you enjoyed when meeting with Yoongi, the quiet, something you normally got so little of.

"Back here!"

You jump, whirling in a full circle before figuring out where the voice came from. You follow it down a hallway and to a room. Little decoration fills the room and it's relatively empty, except for a grand piano occupying the center.

"I figured we could transfer your cords into a melody on the piano to place at the deeper parts of the song. I have a feeling it will sound good with your voice." 

Your breath catches in your throat, your wide-eyed stare never leaving the piano Yoongi is sat at, as he writes, what assumed to be, notes onto a piece of paper.

"Come sit, " He gestures you over, still not looking at you. Your feet feel like they've rooted themselves to the floor and it takes all of your strength just to do as he says and bring yourself to the piano, trying your best to ignore the way your heart stills as you sit down next to Yoongi, a sharp fear piercing through you like cold wind.

"You play?" Your voice comes out dry as your eyes linger on ivory keys.

"Yeah, I learned when I was little." Yoongi finally brought his gaze over to you to watch as you lightly move your fingertips up and over the keys, "Do you?"

You frown and pull your hand away from the piano, "No."

Yoongi hums and places his fingers onto the keys before playing the first few notes of your song, "That's too bad. This would be a lot easier if you did."

"Well, I don't." You sneer at the sound of your song coming from the piano and stand back up, realizing that this had been a horrible idea, "Listen, I'm not feeling up for this today. I'm gonna go." Your mind was beginning to cloud with distraught memories and all you could focus on was getting away from the piano as you stood up. You weren't fast enough though.

Yoongi stood up after you, following you out of the room, "Is everything alright?"

"I just want to go home."

His pace quickened as you approach the front door and he was in front of you before you could reach it, "Do you not like the piano idea?"

You glare at him, "The idea is fine, I just want to go home, as I said."

His eyes dart all across your face as if he's still trying to read you, to understand what had set you off.

"I'll be going now." You attempt to sidestep him, only to be abruptly cut off by Yoongi placing a hand to your forehead, "W-what are you-"

"You look really pale, I don't think you should-Woah," He steps back out of shock after feeling your temperature, "you're burning up."

"I'm fine, just let me-"

"____," Yoongi's eyes narrow on you, his voice dropping a couple octaves, "go sit on the couch and I'll get you some medicine."

You hesitate for only a moment before giving in, "Fine, whatever." You stomp away from him, over to the couch before plopping down onto it. Admittedly, your head was starting to pound and you couldn't deny the cold sweat that was beginning to settle in along with the aching of your whole body. It'd be just your luck that you'd caught the flu or something, only to start showing symptoms after arriving at Yoongi's, of all places. You'd honestly prefer being at Jimin's house right about now and he'd probably be smothering you right about now. You should've just canceled today and walked home with Jimin.

"Here, take this." Yoongi returns within a few minutes, crouching down in front of you before placing a pill in one of your hands and a glass of water in the other, "This should reduce your fever." 

"And how am I suppose to trust that you're not drugging me?" You raise an eyebrow at him accusingly, but he just gives you a skeptical look.

"It's ibuprofen, ____." 

You watch him hesitantly, before plopping the pill into your mouth, and tilting your head back to drink the glass of water. You hadn't expected yourself to drink the whole thing, but you did, and rather quickly. 

Yoongi takes the glass from you and places it on the coffee table behind him, "Are you hungry?"

"I really don't-" You're cut off by the sound of your treacherous stomach growling at the mention of food.

"I'll make soup." Yoongi gets up again, heading back to the kitchen before you get the chance to protest further than you already have. Your head is starting to spin and you have to lay down just to keep yourself from running to the bathroom to vomit. No way would you be caught dead throwing up in Min Yoongi's bathroom. You'd jump from a window before that happens. You close your eyes, waiting patiently for Yoongi to return with food. You hadn't even noticed yourself drifting off.

The ground beneath is dry, altered to a sandy substance. Dull silence replaces loud screeching alarms, and instead of hazy darkness, something else lurks amongst the unknown. The difference between now and then is an odd sense of familiarity tugging at your heart. You know all too well what this nostalgia is, but you refuse to move towards it. The mere memories are enough to coax out inner demons dwelling behind your walls. A place you once called home.

“It's unnecessary, ____.”

A harsh memory, filled with a harsher smell of gin and gasoline forces itself forward. One of those memories a child prefers to suppress, yearning to someday forget it...pretend it never happened. Although, bad memories die-hard, just as bad habits do and the specific way that man had always held onto second agendas and gave everything a double standard was etched into your mind. You can never seem to escape him, no matter how hard you try. 

Especially here. 

Such a strange feeling it gave you. Do others feel this? A looming dark hole in the cradle of their heart, remaining, even if eventually, and inevitably, a change comes. A childlike intuition told you how it was fated, as it was for a reason beyond your knowing that the place you once called your home would burn, that - that man's eyes would close and the smell of gin and gasoline would fade into something much more horrendous, along with that godforsaken piano. And then, and only then, you would realize that home never truly felt like home.

"____?"

And him, that damned voice will only further remind you of that misery and loss.

"Wake up, it's just a dream."

Mark my words.

"____," You whimper at the feeling of someone's hand against your cheek and you lean into it, "what's wrong?"

Your eyes open slowly and it's only then that you realize the wet tears running down your cheeks, "W-what?"

"Why are you crying?" You look up, seeing Yoongi's dark worried eye on you as he wipes away your tears with his thumb.

You sit up slowly, your head still spinning and skin still aflame with a fever, "I-I don't remember."

"Here," Yoongi moves an arm under your legs and to your back before hoisting you up.

"W-what are you doing?! Put me down!" You have no strength to fight against him in your current state, but that doesn't stop you from yelling at him.

"I'm moving you somewhere comfortable, be quiet." He walks out of the living room and back down the hallway that had previously brought you to the piano room, only this time he walks passed that room and into another at the end of the hallway. He sits you down on a bed and covers you with a blanket, "I'll go heat up the soup, and once you're done eating you should get some more sleep."

You only nod and watch as Yoongi leaves the room before pushing the covers off of you and standing back up. You make your way over to the door and back down the hall, only briefly stopping to leer into the piano room. You'd have to make up an excuse later to leave the piano out of your song. There's no way you'll be able to stomach hearing the sound of it every time you work on the piece. Once you make it to the front door you're quick to exit, despite hearing Yoongi's footsteps exiting the kitchen at the same time. You don't care all too much if he sees you leaving, you just need to leave. Sure, your head is spinning and your joints ach, but letting Yoongi take care of you while sick is crossing that line that had been laid down. 

While in the elevator you have to sit on the floor and pray to reach the bottom soon. The motion of moving down is only making you all the more nauseous, so when the doors finally open you're surprised to see that the sun has already set, despite you showing up here early this morning. Had you really slept that long? Yoongi must've had his curtains closed. You stand back up and your stomach growls in anger as you make your way out of the building. You really were hungry, to the point that it feels like your stomach is digesting itself, but you're desperate to get away. You don't want any misunderstandings.

"Madam, may I assist you in finding a-"

You cut off the doorman, turning in the direction of your apartment, "I'm fine."

"Miss, the streets are dangerous at this time of-"

"I'll be fine, Jackson. Good night." You ignore the polite man's pleas for you to let him help you and continue down the street and away from him. You have no money for a taxi or uber and you aren't going to let someone else, you barely know, pay for you. The last thing you need is to owe someone or make them think you're poor, not that you aren't, due to college debt, but that's beside the point.

"Woah, look what we've got ourselves here." A group of burly looking men walk around the corner of an alleyway just as you're about to pass it and your expression turns sour. Of all the nights. 

"What's a pretty girl like you doing out so late?" There's four of then, but only the tallest of the bunch is quick to close the distance between the two of you.

"I don't think that's any of your damn business." You glare up at him, attempt to regulate your breathing. Your fever is making you feel like you're extremely out of shape so that just the smallest amount of walking you've done so far had you almost breathless.

"Oh! A feisty one!" A disgusting grin pulls up the man's cheeks as he laughs at your bold response.

"Get out of my way." You wave your hand at him, trying to move around his broad shoulders only for another one of the guys to come up beside him, blocking your way.

"No, I think you should stay and hang out with us for a while."

You huff and run the back of your hand across your forehead, nonchalantly whipping away the sweat to try and hide how weak you actually felt before letting a fake smile pull up your lips, "Oh, yeah?"

The man opens his mouth to reply, but before he can get a word out you're darting across the empty street.

Yes, you felt like shit, but that didn't mean you were gonna give up without a fight. The group of men yells after you, taken by surprise and you can hear their heavy feet scurrying after you. Thankfully, you're fast enough that once you've made it across the street you can start towards the nearest convenience store. Thinking you're about to be home free, your heart races with anticipation only to sink down in terror a second later as a hand yanks you into an alleyway way and covers your mouth, muffling your scream. You thrash and kick, panic shocking your body like electricity.

"Stand still, ____. You're going to break my nose." The whisper has you stilling in the person's arms.

"Yoon-"

"Shut up!" He whispers yells, covering your mouth again. 

"Damn it! Where did she go!?"

"I almost caught her."

"No, you fucking didn't! You were behind all of us, you idiot !"

You freeze and sink further into the person's arms out of seer terror as the four men pass the alleyway you're hiding in.

"When I find that bitch, she's gonna wish she never ran."

The grip around you tightens in an almost protective sort of way. The feeling comforts you, but tears still begin welling up in your eyes before the group of men finally carries on down the cold streets. Once they're out of hearing range the hand over your mouth moves and you're turned around to face none other than Min Yoongi.

He eyes you up and down, concern evident in his features, "Are you alright?"

You can only imagine how not alright you look, cheeks red from the cold, eyes glassy from fear, after having your adrenaline wear off. You probably look like a complete mess, but you still manage to nod in response to his question.

"Are you stupid? What the hell were you thinking? I told you to stay because you weren't feeling well and now look what you've gone and gotten yourself into. Why couldn't you just listen to me? Something could've happened. What if I didn't followed you?"

You stare up at Yoongi, trying to listen to what he's saying and gripping his arms tightly to keep yourself upright as a loud thumping began echoing in your ears, everything around you starting to spin, "I-I'm sorry, I-"

"____?" 

You fall, losing your grip on Yoongi as all your strength leaves your body, and you faint.

You groan and stretch, your eyes slowly opening. The light shining in through your window burns your retinas.

"Finally, I was beginning to think you were dead."

"Huh?" You look over, next to your bed to see Jimin sitting there with a tray of breakfast in his lap.

"How-What are you doing here?" You croak.

Jimin raises an eyebrow, "You don't remember? You must have felt pretty bad."

"Jimin, " You cough, trying to sit up, and he's quick to help you, "what are you talking about?"

"You texted me last night that you felt really sick and needed help. I was surprised at first, but once I got here I understood that you weren't kidding. You were tossing and turning in bed and sweating as if you'd just ran for hundreds of miles." 

You frown, trying to recall your memories from last night. 

"Are you alright?" Jimin rubs your back soothingly.

"I-I'm fine." Your voice squeaks as you push Jimin's hand off you.

He raises an eyebrow at you again, your reaction surprising him, but drops it, figuring it's probably because you're sick, "Well, here's your breakfast. I'm going down to the cafeteria to get you some water. Call me or text me if anything happens or if you need something, okay?"

"O-okay, " You take the tray of food from him and he nods before getting up and leaving. You look around your room, briefly glancing over at your roommate's bed. Hopefully, she'd been out all night and hadn't seen anything.

You jump as your phone starts ringing, your tray of food nearly flying up in the air. You quickly grab your phone, accepting the call without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hm, you sound a lot better today. How are you feeling?"

The sudden sound of his voice has your whole face heating up and your stomach flipping over in an unexplained manner, "Y-Yah! Why are you calling?! What do you want?!"

"What are you being rude for? Didn't I save your life?"

You scoff, "I would've been perfectly fine without your help. I had a plan."

"Oh, really?" He asks sarcastically, "And what was that? Run until you collapse from exhaustion?"

"I-I don't need to explain myself to you!"

"Right, it's not like I had to drag you all the way to your dorm last night, because you refused to listen to me, or anything."

"I didn't ask for your help!"

"Well, since you seem to be fine now and you don't need my help, I'll hang up." His voice is condescending and mocking. The sound of it makes your blood boil and you can't help but respond with malice.

"Fine! Hang up!"

"Try not to go running down the street in the middle of the night again, yeah?"

"I'll do whatever I want!"

His laughter fills your phone's speaker and you found yourself turning even redder, "I'm sure you will, ____, seeing as you do that and nothing else."

"I'm hanging up!"

"Alright, "

"Shut up!" You pull your phone away from your ear swiftly and end the call. You huff and throw your phone to the end of your bed. You can't understand why you'd just been so childish. He had helped you. Why did you respond so absurdly? You could feel something burning inside your chest, the feeling of it was making you irrational. You run your hands through your hair distress-fully and whine, "What's wrong with me?"

.

.

.

tags

@team-work-made-the-dream-work @seokchella @crackhead1-800

#BTS au #yoongi au #yoongi x reader #suga x reader #yoongi angst #bts angst #BTS jimin #bts yoongi #BTS jin #bts imagines #bts #bts fanfction #suga angst #min yoongi

[starlit-serenade]

Dance With Me | Chapter 8

💙 Summary: After visiting the members of ONEUS during their dance practice, you find yourself inspired to learn to dance. You ask your friend Kim Geonhak to teach you.

💙 Chapter 8: 2,754 words

💙 Pairing: Reader x Kim Geonhak (Leedo) / Characters: GenderNeutral!Reader; Kim Geonhak (Leedo); Son Dongju (Xion); Yeo Hwanwoong (Hwanwoong); Lee Keonhee (Keonhee); Lee Seoho (Seoho); Kim Youngjo (Ravn);

💙 Rated: T for some minor swearing / Warnings: Minor Swearing; Jealousy (Later in the fic) / Genre: Fluff; Minor Angst (Later in the fic); Friends-To-Lovers; Happy Ending;

《 Series Masterlist // ONEUS Masterlist // Boy Group Masterlist 》

It's been two weeks since Geonhak disappeared during ONEUS's practice and didn't show up for yours. You'd texted Geonhak several times that night, asking what you did or if he was okay, and had tried calling him the following practice day. He never picked up any of the calls or responded to your texts, leaving you on read. You haven't shown up to any of the practices since then, ONEUS's or yours. You figured that Geonhak didn't want to see you, whatever you did, so you wouldn't make him see you.

The rest of the members have been checking in on you these past two weeks. You've been over once to chat with Youngjo after hours to chat in the studio. Seoho invited you to come over and hang out during ONEUS's practice, but you declined because you didn't want to make Geonhak uncomfortable. Dongju and you hung out several times a week, but that hasn't been out of the ordinary. Hwanwoong and Keonhee have both been checking in with you every few days. Last week, when Dongju and Keonhee took you out to get ice cream, and, they told you that Geonhak has been very quiet recently and has avoided speaking about you.

You're at work, ten minutes left before you're supposed to go home, and you're thinking about how much you mist practice with Geonhak when you receive a text from Hwanwoong.

Woongie: Y/N are you busy after work today?

You: No, why?

Woongie: can you pls come to the rbw building?

You: Why?

At first, you want to say no. You don't want to risk running into Geonhak in the hallway and making things awkward. He obviously isn't interested in seeing you.

After almost a full two minutes, Hwanwoong responds.

Woongie: i need you to check the choreo to help me. we can go out and get some bubble tea after.

You: Will Geonhak be there?

Woongie: no, everyone went home except for youngjo who's busy

You: Fine. But only if you're paying for the bubble tea

He takes a moment to respond.

Woongie: fine. hurry up and text me when you get here

As you walk toward RBW, a weird feeling creeps up your spine. You shake your head and ignore it. As you see the doors to the building, you text Hwanwoong to let him know you’re here.

You meet him in the lobby, smiling widely, and he reaches out toward you, taking your hand and leading you down the hall to the elevator which will take you upstairs to the practice room. You frown. Something seems off.

"Is this for your new choreo for your upcoming comeback?" you ask.

"Uh . . . yeah."

"Why did you ask me?"

He pauses. "Because I wanted your opinion on the dance."

"But I'm not technically allowed to see it until it's being promoted, right?" you ask, despite the fact that ever since ONEUS debuted, you've been able to see the choreos from the initial teaser releases.

"Haha, yeah. I just need to check something. Please."

You raise an eyebrow. "Alright then."

The elevator dings, and you step out onto the floor. You haven't been here in two weeks, since you last saw Geonhak. You sigh sadly and walk out of the elevator, Hwanwoong trailing close behind you.

Suddenly, you feel fabric cover your eyes and your vision becomes black. You grab back at him as he ties the fabric in a knot on the back of your head, blindfolding you completely.

"Hwanwoong, what the f--"

"Hold on," Hwanwoong says. "I'm gonna take you to the practice room and then you'll understand everything. I promise, Y/N."

He walks you down the hall slowly, pushing you by your shoulders then stops you.

"Reach out."

You place your hand against the wall, and to the side. Your finger brushes over the room sign, and you recognize the letters of the sign to the practice room.

"We're going inside, okay."

You hear the door click open and he pushes you inside. You can hear both of your footsteps echoing across the floor. He then stops you, probably in the middle of the room, his hands remaining on your shoulders. You reach up to undo the blindfold, but he smacks your hand.

"Not yet."

"Hwanwoong, what the fuck is this? Why am I blindfolded?"

He doesn't answer.

"Are you actually going to show me a choreo?"

"No, sorry."

You frown beneath the mask. "You better buy me a bubble tea after this."

Hwanwoong laughs behind you. "Fine."

You hear the door open, followed by shuffling and two more sets of footsteps. 

"You'll understand in a bit," Dongju says from across the room. You frown. What the hell is happening?

Hwanwoong's hands leave your shoulders, and there's the sound of him and another person, possibly Dongju,  running toward the door.

"You can undo your blindfolds once you hear the door close, okay?" Dongju's voice says. "You need to figure out what's going on. We'll be back in an hour." After a moment, the door closes and you reach up to undo your blindfold.

"What is this . . . ?" the other person says. You frown at the familiar deep voice. It's impossible not to recognize it, even though you haven't heard it in two weeks.

"Geonhak?"

There's a long silence. "Y/N?"

You take off the blindfold and shove it in your pocket. Geonhak stands in front of you, a few feet away. His eyes are covered by a red blindfolded, not at all matching his white shirt and black jeans. His hands are at his sides. He takes a deep breath and undoes his blindfold.

"What are those two idiots doing?" he mumbles, folding the red cloth and shoving it in his jean pockets. He looks up at you slowly, and you swear your heart melts at the sight of him.

"Hi," you say, somewhat breathlessly. You've missed him so much.

"Hey."

There’s a moment of silence.

“Dongju texted me that he wanted me to help him with his dance. He practically begged me to come, and after I said no several times, I gave up and agreed to come. I guess he tricked me, huh?”

“Yeah. Hwanwoong said basically the same thing."

Gunhak chuckles. After a few seconds, you sigh and turn around to face the mirror. You see Geonhak behind you, trying the doorknob, before he groans and turns back from the door.

"It's locked, isn't it?" you ask, looking over at him. He nods.

"Those kids . . ."

You nod and smile, turning back to yourself in the mirror. It's been two weeks since you've seen Geonhak. Two weeks since you've danced.

You bend your knee and start humming the first song Geonhak taught you--A Song Written Easily. You start doing the choreography as well as you can, watching yourself in the mirror.

When you get to the end of his part in the first verse, you look up and see Geonhak watching you through the mirror. Your eyes meet his, and you feel your cheeks get warm as you look away from him.

"Have you been practicing?" he asks from where he's sitting on the floor.

You shake your head and sit down where you are. "No. I didn't . . . I didn't want to come here, because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. I don't know what I did wrong or why you left, but I figured that it was because of me. I wanted to give you space."

He nods, staring at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Geonhak . . ."

He looks up at you.

"What did I do?" you ask, looking into his eyes. You can feel your voice breaking, as if you're on the verge of tears. Maybe you are. "I've missed talking to you. I've missed having lessons with you. We were having a good day, having snacks, and you just left. I called you and I didn't get an actual answer as to why you left. I feel like it was my fault, but I can't do anything if you don't tell me what I did wrong. So Geonhak, please tell me what I did wrong."

You look away and dab at your eyes, knowing that you're definitely tearing up at least a little. You hear a shuffle and look up at Geonhak, who is now standing up. He walks over to the speaker and starts pressing some buttons on his phone. Music starts playing, and it takes you a second to recognize the song.

Geonhak walks back over to you and stretches his hand out to you.

"Dance with me."

"What?" you ask, confused.

"Dance with me."

You slowly slide your hand into his, and he pulls you to your feet. He holds both of your hands with his, and leads you in a slow dance with the slow music.

It's not like you haven't held hands before. Being friends, you've held hands several times with all of the members, including Geonhak. But this feels different to you. Maybe it's because you know you like Geonhak. Like like like him. Or maybe it's because he's staring into your eyes so very softly, and it makes you look down at your feet moving over the dance floor. And the way he squeezes your hand so gently and tenderly with such care.

"Y/N," he murmurs, and you look up at him. He's staring over your head now, at the wall behind you. "You didn't do anything wrong. I walked in and heard you and Hwanwoong talking. I heard him offer to teach you, so I got jealous and left. Honestly, I was being a bit stupid and couldn't face you afterward. I'm sorry."

"You only heard that part?" you ask. He nods, laughing and looking down. "So then you didn't hear me say no, then. I did say no, because I've enjoyed being taught by you and spending time with you. I've really missed you."

He smiles, looking back at you. "I've missed you too--teaching you, I mean." There's a pause. "And being with you. Spending time with you. To be honest, spending time with you is one of my favorite things."

"Me too," you admit.

"I think you're an amazing friend, Y/N," he continues his rambling. He's not quite looking at you. His eyes are on yours, but it's almost as if he's looking into them, through them. "I'm so glad that you became friends with Dongju all those years ago, because if you hadn't, I'd never have had the pleasure of being your friend. I'm so glad to be your friend, though sometimes I wish we were more. And I was so honored that you wanted me to teach you, because teaching you has been one of the most enjoyable things I've done."

You replay his words in your head. "Geonhak . . ."

"Hm?" He blinks, looking at you properly.

"Did you say you wish we were more than friends?"

He freezes his dancing, opens his mouth as if he's trying to figure out what to say. "D-did I say that?"

"You did . . ." You can feel your cheeks growing warm. His speechlessness is too telling.

He chuckles awkwardly and loosens his hold on your hands. His ears are bright red as he avoids making eye contact with you. "I didn't--what I meant was that I--"

You stand up on your tip-toes and plant a kiss on his cheek. His mouth is left open in shock as he stares, unblinking, at the wall behind you.a

After a few seconds, he turns back to you. "Y/N?" he asks, a confused, somewhat excited look on his face.

"Mhm?"

"Did you just . . . ?"

"Yep."

"And . . . and what did that mean?" he asks, his eyebrows scrunched up questioningly.

"That I like you too, idiot," you say. This is the first time you've really felt it. You like him. Despite the worries of what it'd be like to be with an idol, you like Geonhak.

He smiles at you widely and softly. He squeezes your hands tighter. "But I didn't even tell you that I like you."

"Well, you did. But do you?"

He chuckles, removing his hands from yours to wrap them around your waist. You place your hands on his shoulders, smiling up at him. "Yes, I do," he says.

"Does that mean you'll start teaching me again?" you ask. "I've missed dancing, and I was really looking forward to learning Twilight like you promised to teach me."

He laughs. "Of course. But I do have another question."

"Hm?"

"What does this--" He waves his hand to gesture to the situation, the two of you together, your hands on his shoulders and his arm around your waist. "--mean about us?"

"What do you want it to mean?" you ask. He pauses, thinking.

"I meant it," he says, "when I said I wish we were more than friends."

"Okay." You squeeze his shoulders.

"Okay?" He tilts his head curiously with a smile. "Okay what? What's okay?"

"Let's be more than friends," you say. He cracks a wide smile.

"Really?" he asks eagerly. You nod and he hums, hugging you tightly. "I have one more question."

"Mhm?"

"Can I take you out for ice cream or something as soon as Dongju and Hwanwoong let us out? As maybe a first date?" he asks. His voice, as usual, is deep, but his cheeks are pink from his shy smile.

"Alright. Can I pay?" you ask, pulling back so your hands slide back into his. "Because you payed last time?"

"I insist that I pay," he says. "I promise you can pay another time, okay Y/N? Consider it an apology for abandoning you for two weeks, okay?"

You pout. "Fine. But only if I can give you another cheek kiss."

"You can give me a cheek kiss whenever you want, Y/Nie."

You smile widely and kiss his other cheek, and don't miss he way he smiles shy and blushes. "Geonhak, how long have we been locked in here?"

He glances at the clock. "About half an hour. We still have half an hour left before those two kids let us out. What do you want to do during that time?"

You walk backward toward the wall, pulling Geonhak with you. "Cuddle?"

He smiles. "Okay."

You're slumped over with your head on Geonhak's shoulder. You had fallen asleep maybe ten, fifteen minutes ago, with your hand clasped in his.

He stares at you, thinking back to that one time, weeks ago, when you'd fallen asleep on him on the couch at the dorm. Back then, you were just friends. But now you're more than just friends. He can't believe it. His heart swells at the sight of your hands clasping each other.

The door opens and you lift your head in surprise, rubbing your eyes with the hand not in his. Hwanwoong has his hand on the doorknob, and Dongju stands behind him, looking into the room.

"So I assume you guys figured it out?" Hwanwoong asks, eyeing your clasped hands with a smile.

"Yeah," you say. Geonhak stands and helps you up.

"Can we go now?" Geonhak asks. Dongju chuckles.

"Yes, if you two are friends again," Dongju says. You look up at Geonhak. You're more than friends.

"Yep."

"Good."

You're sure Dongju is looking at the two of you, but you aren't quite sure. You're busy smiling up at Geonhak as the two of you start out the door.

"Y/N, I assume you don't want me to buy you ice cream?" Hwanwoong asks. You shake your head.

"Geonhak and I are hanging out," you reply. Dongju gasps loudly behind you as you and Geonhak walk down the hallway.

"Are you two finally together now?" Dongju asks loudly. Geonhak shoots him an annoyed glare, and Hwanwoong smacks his shoulder, but Dongju already has it figured out. "Finally. Does this mean Geonhak will stop talking on and on about how he's excited to see you?"

Geonhak drags you into the elevator before you can hear anything else Dongju or Hwanwoong have to say. You glance at Geonhak, who hasn't stopped staring at you with the softest smile.

"Can I get another cheek kiss?" Geonhak asks, leaning so that his back is against the elevator wall. You roll your eyes and take his face in your hands, standing on your toes to kiss his cheek. You pull away and he smiles widely, his ears turning red as he stares at you adoringly, placing his hands over yours on his cheeks.

#oneus #leedo #kim geonhak #kim gunhak #oneus fanfic #oneus fanfiction #myfic #fanfic #fanfiction #leedo fanfic #leedo fanfiction #kim geonhak fanfic #kim geonhak fanfiction #kim gunhak fanfic #kim gunhak fanfiction

[blackasmidnightcats]

Book 1 Nostalgia

WARNING: This post will have spoilers to the SGE series

The first book in any series will always hold a special place in anyone's heart I think. There is just something beautiful, whether the writing was phenomenal or lacking, about the introduction to a new world and the characters that you're going to know. After reading further into the series, sometimes you just wanna go back to the start, where everything was a lot simpler.

SGE kinda falls into this feeling for me.

I don't think I'm ever going to get over the interactions between the characters (and we haven't even explored most of them) because, personally, Soman is incredibly good with how he does character intercations but the story and plot have a lot to improve on.

And now comparing TSY with TCY it's very glaring.

Soman really has a problem with his plot so much so than with his storyline. It's very repetitive and the storyline suffers from it.

After Book 1, every plot seemed to be the same case; Sophie is an important piece to the main villain, Agatha tries to fix everything, Tedros is getting more crap than needed, annoyingly unhealthy romantic relationships are explored, and the other characters do things.

The last of these examples are really the only things that varies. Everything else is almost always the same in one way or another.

The first book doesn't really follow that pattern. It's a introductory book and I wish Soman did the same vibe as it in QfG.

Though Book 1 wasn't perfect. My biggest main problem with it was how Soman handled Agatha's development from thinking herself a freak and realizing that she was just a beautiful as anyone else (and Tagatha, of course. They had a very unconvincing start) compared to the detailed and precise handling of Sophie's decent and eventual acceptance her wickedness.

I said it once and I'll say it again: I miss vengeful, spited Sophie. Who made the School for Good suffer because Tedros didn't keep his promise and her very impressive Talent to summon Evil creatures at will to do her bidding.

This was the Sophie that I expected more from in the later books but might never get again. With the way that the OTK cover portrays her as the Lion, whether that would be a thing or not, it's clear that Soman wants the readers to look at Sophie in a better light and not as the anti-hero that she is but I could be wrong.

In Book 1, Sophie was incredibly selfish to the point that she wouldn't do anything for others even those that she should care about (i.e. Tedros in the Trial) and in the end, she had to pay for the selfishness by seeing just how Evil she could become and be seen as the witch that she was. Her development from Pink Princess to Witch of Woods Beyond was believable; her ambitiousness combined with her selfishness was what made her gain everything through manipulation and wickedness but it couldn't be hidden for long. Once everyone, including herself, saw what lied underneath her exterior, she lost everything and because of the things that she chooses to do, she naturally hurt and attacked the people that wronged her just as Evil does.

It was caused by a failed romantic pursuit, yes, but unlike the other later romantic relations that she had, the one in Book 1 focused more on the outcome for her character development than in the relationship itself. Honestly her relationships with Rafal, and Rhian, and maybe now Japeth, idk, make absolutely no sense with the importance that the story puts on it because these relationships didn't help further Sophie's character development. It stunted her really.

Now compare this to Agatha.

I think everyone and their cats agree that we all miss witchy Agatha in book 1 and I hope we write more of her in our fanfics like that since Soman won't do it. The thing is, with Agatha, unlike Sophie, whether she is written as a straight-up hero or as a sort of anti-villain with her portrayal as the Snake in the OTK cover, it won't be that far fetched. I don't know if Soman intended this or not but it's pretty frickin impressive with how he managed to make Agatha a pretty versatile character.

Book 1 did not to good with how she went from Graveyard Girl to Fairy Tale Princess. At most, we saw her heroic characteristics but Soman didn't put much effort with making it believable and we were left to our own imaginations with how she could have believably developed and grown into herself. It should have taken more than one chapter to make us believe that Agatha suddenly grew confident with herself and her own brand of beauty and how her relationship with Tedros should have started.

But because of the fact that she's now comfortable as both being a little different and unique in her own way but is still guided by the values of Good and holds it dear to her soul as well as her loyalty to those she loves, she can do great with the best of both worlds.

Agatha hasn't stopped growing since book 1 and I think that reason for that is because Soman knows that he has to square up whenever he writes her. Whether she's developing on her own or with others, she's always learning new values and finding ways to express them in the way that she's comfortable with.

Soman does express that he loves writing in Sophie's POV the most, but it can be a double edged sword if not careful. And I think Soman hasn't been careful.

Now back to the glory of Book 1.

Book one had the most simplest plot and most fluent storyline than in any other book. Even TLEA.

I think I could recall a lot more events in Book 1 than in the more recent ones because there was a lot more events and chapters that were actually necessary to the plot.

So, to go by statistics;

TLEA has the most recorded chapters in the series as of current before the release of OTK with 35 chapters and 3 parts to divide it.

It's followed by Book 1 with 30 chapters.

Then QfG is next with 28 chapters divided into 2 parts.

And aCoT follows with 27 chapters and 2 parts as well.

Last is AWWP with 24 chapters divided into 2 parts as well.

If going by this then OTK should either have a chapter or two more or less than TLEA but not less so than Book 1 because it's going to now be the official last book of the the series.

But that is besides the point. My main problem with the books' storytelling after Book 1 is how disoriented it has become.

Let me make an example with QfG and aCoT. These books are more or less very similar with each other in the number of chapters with only one being the difference while the start of the the "Part 2" portion was a bit different with QfG's starting at chapter 21 while aCoT's started with chapter 17.

But the reception and the fluency of these two books could not be more different from each other.

To say that QfG completely destroyed the fandom is an understatement. I can't tell of aCoT managed to regain the series's former glory for long enough to not let OTK flop but let's be hopeful.

Anyways, the fluency of the storytelling with TCY was wack and QfG and aCoT completely show that.

WARNING: Spoilers about QfG and aCoT will be discussed in this section.

I could not remember almost 70% of QfG because of how much I hated the plot and looking back at the chapters, I honestly could not believe that the asshat Rhian was only introduced on Chapter 21. Everything after Chaddick's POV chapter seemed to be a blur and Rhian's b*tch ass seemed to have corrupted the whole experience.

8 chapters. He was only in QfG for 8 chapters and yet it feels almost like he's been in it for more than half. Frick. He is traumatizing.

Basically, the middle part of the book, namely chapters 7 to 20, was all about the main cast trying to frickin understand wtf was happening. Agatha and Sophie were trying to figure out the Lion and the Snake thing while Tedros was back in Camelot doing (or failing or being sabotaged with) politics and also trying to understand why tf was Excalibur having a tantrum.

Then Rhian entered and I don't know why or how Nottingham and Robin Hood got involved but he did.

And then more figuring out stuff and sabotaging Tedros and then Rhian and Excalibur and then cliffhanger.

It was all very abrupt and confusing. More confusion was added all because there were more questions asked than actual answers and a sense of depression was felt in the end because nothing was really achieved.

Imma compare this with Book 1 later but first Book 5 comparison.

Now aCoT. It was just the storyline that we needed to get back to the hype that the series had. Was it a satisfying read? Yes but was it able to heal the pain that QfG inflicted? No.

The fandom did not come back the same again.

But anyways, aCoT, personally, had a lot more scenes and events that I remembered than in any other book besides book 1 but that there was the problem with this book.

Too many things happened with this book. So much so that the fluency of the story was sacrificed to tell it.

Look at it this way, several shifts in the book happened.

This all happened in Part 1 only;

Rhian became King and his regime was sort of explained.

Agatha was introduced to the First Years and got her Army.

Sophie was in some sort of GOT-esque knock off experience as Rhian's Captive Queen.

Agatha manages to save some of her friends.

The concept of OTK was explained.

Tedros's execution was on way.

Nevermind, Agatha and her army just straight-up hijacked it.

Prof. Dovey died as a sacrifice.

Okay, now to Part 2;

Reaper is a Gnome King.

The Crystal of Time was finally explained.

They finally find out about Rhian and Japeth's origins.

The Gnomes were ambushed and I feel sorry for them.

Sophie tipped Rhian off with the location because she believed that she would end it all.

We kinda get background with why Rhian wants to be OTK????

Rhian DIES?!?!?! and now Japeth's King ☠

They sort of manage to know about wtf happened with the Lady and Japeth

Tedros and Arthur have a heart to heart and he gets the Ring of Power.

Cliffhanger

It's a lot to take in and I don't really think that Soman should have cramped it all in one book.

Some of the plot points should have been in QfG so that it wouldn't be as depressing.

The whole of Part one was a book in itself and Part 2 was one as well.

At some points of the book, I sometimes got the feeling that it was gonna be the end but it just kept going and going and now I don't really know what's left with OTK. It can be both a good thing or a horrible thing.

Let's see wtf happens. I expect more action than drama Soman.

So again with Book 1.

Book 1 was a classic and the ideas easily hooked anyone interested.

It had the same unaswered questions with QfG but why did it suceed when QfG didn't.

First, is that Book 1 had its atmosphere clear from the start of the book. It was clear that the main thing that needed to happen was that Sophie and Agatha needed to realize the actual nature of their souls. There were more technical questions that needed to be answered but the main point that needed to be addressed was addressed by the end of the book.

And also the ending was also a cliffhanger but it a much lighter note.

Sophie and Agatha realized their capabilities and understood themselves but they still chose each other in the end and that sort of gave way to a much hopeful future for the two of them. (At that time, at least)

All the while, QfG was one depressing ball of events that led to one horrible moment to the other.

It was just sad.

And so I kinda go back to Book 1 from time to time to refresh myself with why I started this series to begin with and I'm always reminded with the possibilities and the explorations about good and evil and the complex duality of differences and parallels that so many things that Sophie and Agatha sort of beautifully personify.

I love reading the very first chapter of Book 1 because it so beautifully captured Sophie and Agatha and their complex relationship that I've always wanted to read in other books.

I always loved reading Sophie's amusing thought process and the reason why she does everything that she does; she does it because she believes that she deserves more and she'll everything to get it.

I also loved how Agatha was such a character that I've always wanted to read about. She's spunky and shy and lonely and reflective and despite everyone shunning her, she could still see the good and find it in herself to help them. She was simply wonderful.

I'm thankful that I found this series and I hope that a lot more books can talk about the philosophies and concepts that this book has managed to introduce. And despite all of its set-backs and nonsense, I would still recommend this as a read but to that they should also think about what they've read and maybe talk about what they've found interesting with it.

#sge #sfgae #tsfgae #the school for good and evil #school for good and evil #soman chainani #agatha of woods beyond #agatha of camelot #sophie of woods beyond

[bugheadfamily]

Day 7 - Fanfic Author Appreciation Week

(thank you @betty-cooper for this gorgeous gif!)

*waves* Hi everyone! @bugggghead here. Both @theheavycrown and I have been trying our hardest to spotlight every single author in this fandom but did you know there are more than we originally anticipated?!?! Did you know we have so many authors in the Bughead fandom alone that 70 just wasn’t enough?! Because we have too much love to give, we’ve chosen to do some author spotlights on the @bugheadfamily blog as well and spread AS MUCH love as we possibly can!!!

Today is the final day of Author Appreciation Week! So we will be highlighting fifteen authors today and two of their works that we recommend you check out right here!

@quirksandcaffeine (ao3)

It Happened One Night  (E - 7/?)

Summary: "'How about a toast instead?' he said, raising his glass.

'Sounds like perfection,' she said, leaning her elbow onto her crossed knee and placing her chin into her hand, holding up her glass with the other.

'To tonight,' he said as he clicked her glass with his own.

They each took a sip, looking each other in the eye as they swallowed. Her eyes flicked down to his lips as he leaned into her ear. Her heart started beating harder at the smell of his aftershave.

'Go wait for me in my office,' he whispered as he kissed her on a cheek."

Gods and Monsters (E - 1/1)

Summary: "In a land of gods and monsters, I was an angel." Betty, her cheerleading uniform, and her dark side visit Jughead at FP's trailer.

@nimmieamee (ao3)

Three Wishes (E - 18/18)

Summary: Betty Cooper wants to return to a time when her mother was more consistent, Jughead was more hers, and a looming civil war wasn't breaking up her friendship with Veronica. Veronica wants to keep her friendship with Betty and for the town of Riverdale to recognize everything the Lodges have to offer. And Alice isn't being upfront about what she wants.

But at least one of them will see all her wishes come true.

Are We Dark Enough Yet? (T - 1/1)

Summary: Scenes from the town with pep! (That is, Perpetually Enraging Plots).

@cheryllclayton​ (ao3)

I Could Be Your Hero (T - 1/1)

Summary: After a tragic end to her relationship results in bullying and hate, Betty Cooper struggles to hold on in a world where she feels invisible...where she feels nothing except for the siren call of Sweetwater River....And after a nasty encounter, Betty makes a decision that will change her life forever...Will this once vibrant soul be lost to the icy abyss of her sorrow before an unexpected hero can convince her to live...

Til' There Was You (M - 5/?)

Summary: Betty Cooper's life has been anything but easy and at 25 she was still struggling to find herself.

Jughead Jones wasn't the type to go looking for love, but what happens when it finds you? Or more correctly, when it hits you like a ton of bricks when you least expect it....

@shirlygallagher​ (ao3)

What’s Past is Prologue - series (M - 9 works)

Summary: A chronicle of firsts...A tale of discovery...A story of love...~~~

In Between The Sweet Hereafter (M - 1/1)

Summary: What could have happened in that kitchen? Takes place during and after episode 13.~~~

@fictitiousoshine​ (ao3)

Mercy (M - 13/?)

Summary: Innocent and Naive Betty Cooper wants to run away from heinous man who has her captive for years. She seeks Toni’s help for arranging cash but Toni has different plans for her that include Serpent Prince Jughead Jones.

@kazookidissosoabuggie​ (ao3)

A Night To Remember (NR - 1/1)

Summary: Jughead and Betty went through a bad rough patch, something they almost couldn't fix. When they did eventually reconcile, Jughead feels terrible for what he had done to her. After he pulls a romantic stunt, the night they spend with each other turns magical instantly.

Anything's Possible with Us, Cooper. (M - 1/1)

Summary: Jughead punches somebody after they body shame her and Betty finds odd but extremely sexy.

@hbiccjsblog (ao3)

Citas Amor (T - 11/11)

Summary:   Betty Cooper works for Scarlet magazine along with best friends Veronica Lodge and Kevin Keller. Veronica wants to work in fashion but has been stuck on the desk for a couple of years now. Kevin runs the social media plat forms. Betty Cooper well she's a journalist after all. It runs in her blood. After having a very heated conversation with her mum about setting her up with a boyfriend. Before there family holiday to Spain. Her Best friend Veronica Lodge suggests a fake boyfriend. Her publisher over hears the conversation and wants her to write an article about fake relationships.

Touring Flame (M - 9/?)

Summary: Betty Cooper has just been deployed to Afghanistan for her first tour of her career. She is the medical solider for the tour. Joining the army way a spur of the moment decision. If she didn't get through well at least she can say she tried. Jughead Jones was on his 4 tour in Afghanistan. He was the Head of his group. A fairly experienced soldier. He has a heart of steel. He's seen and experienced a lot. He was expecting this tour to be the same as his other tours. Expect this was different. A certain blonde pony tail, green eyes type of different.

@judgejuggie (ao3)

from pink perfection to seduce scarlett (T - 17/?)

Summary:  Betty is living in her sister Polly's shadow, darkness clouding her vision, afraid to show her true colors to anyone. With a little push from a new student named Veronica Lodge, Betty joins the vixens and gains the confidence she has always wanted. Her bright smile and confidence get noticed by Southside Serpent Jughead Jones in a diner at Pop's, and Betty for the first time in her life feels something other than the darkness that's been following her around.

Of course, there will be some obstacles along the way, one by the name of Cheryl Blossom, and the other may be a gang. But Betty wants change, and she's finally ready to go for it.

love and the law (M - 5/?)

Summary:  What if there was more to Betty’s vendetta against Chuck Clayton, more to her darkness? What secret is Betty working to keep buried? Can Jughead help her through? And, what else will come their way? Join this emotional, heart-breaking journey to heal and learn that love really can conquer all.

@jordansconnor (ao3)

some aces up your sleeve (M - 5/9)

Summary:   In Las Vegas, the only things hotter than the summer days are the card tables on the Strip. High roller Jughead Jones lives for the heat, spending his days in board rooms and his nights at high stakes poker games, until the night a mystery girl takes the seat across from him. From that moment on, his luck starts to change in ways he may not be able to handle.

Keeping Up with the Joneses (E - 1/1)

Summary: Jughead Jones is the undisputed king of Riverdale. His grandfather is the mayor, his father owns half the town and controls Riverdale’s shady side as leader of the Serpents, and Jughead is Riverdale High’s student body president and editor of the school paper. His relationship with Betty Cooper, Southside student and new Serpent recruit, could bring it all crashing down.

@soyforramen (ao3)

Cry to Me (G - 1/1)

Summary: Quick one-shot. When Betty and Jughead find themselves stood up by a certain red-head, a little dancing goes a long way.

Persuasion comes to Riverdale - series (T - 2 works)

Summary: Years after he left without a word, an engagement throws Jughead Jones back into Betty Cooper’s life. The only question is, will she let him back in? Or, Persuasion comes to Riverdale.

@srainebuggie (ao3)

Stronger Than Me (M - 11/11)

Summary: Betty Cooper wasn’t like most girls. She was strong and independent, leather was her skin and hitting the punching bag her saving grace. Betty didn’t commit to people, she had fun. When she moves to Riverdale, she shows up at the White Wyrm looking for a job.

Jughead Jones wasn’t like most men in the Southside. He sported his Serpents jacket rarely, lived in a penthouse apartment, and was the owner of their towns infamous club, the White Wyrm. Jughead didn’t give his heart to anyone, he had fun. When a new woman moves to Riverdale, she shows up at his bar looking for a job

As Betty and Jughead spend more time together on the job, will they break their own rules and admit it’s more than just fun?

Future Bughead - series (NR - 5 works)

Summary: Jughead and Betty broke up years ago and reunite at the grand opening of Veronica's clothing store in New York, the dress she is wearing reveals a small tattoo on her ribs, when Jughead notices, he asks about it. At first her face goes red and she tries to ignore her embarrassment, but he pulls up his dress shirt and reveals his own small tattoo on his side 

@sweetbettycooper (ao3)

The INXS Life (M - 8/?)

Summary: Two gangs alike in tyranny both holding two souls that are destined to be forever entwinned.

Was their love tragic or the circumstances around them or was it the events that would occur in the coming months that would make their love the most tragic of all.

Jughead feared on this afternoon in summer, of the consequences that were hanging in the stars.

She was gorgeous. Like the angel of death had come to Riverdale. Jughead new he had to have her.

Or Serpent Jughead meets Ghoulie Betty, forbidden love, Gang wars, Love, Passion.

@witty-tv (ao3)

Exhale (M - 7/?)

Summary: Anxious stoner babes Cheryl Blossom and Betty Cooper have been best friends and roommates since freshman year of college. Cheryl and Toni Topaz are seriously dating, drawing Betty and Toni’s best friend Jughead Jones together. Betty is instantly attracted to Jughead and Jughead is immediately intrigued by Betty. The two become friends, and as they grow closer, Jughead slowly but surely starts to fall for Betty - and eventually Betty shows Jughead the ways weed can help his insomnia.

@dreamer757 (ao3)

The Typewriter (G - 1/1)

Summary: Jughead goes to Betty's house after he opens her gift in 2x09.

The Sad Breakfast Club (T - 11/11)

Summary: A Breakfast Club AU where Archie, Betty, Jughead, Veronica and Kevin aren't friends, but end up spending a whole Saturday together at school.

@merrybughead (ao3)

Announcement  (G - 1/1)

Summary: “I - I know it’s personal, but are you guys thinking about it?" Jughead shrugged him off. “Wait, you look weird.” Archie narrowed his eyes to study Jughead’s appearance, “Are you smiling?” “I don’t smile.” "Why are you so happy?” “Betty and I are just...Happy,” She smuggly stated. Cocking a brow to the side, he said, “Oh, I get it.” “Honestly I don’t think you do,” Jughead laughed which sent his ginger friend into laughter as well.

How were they supposed to tell their friends if they had already been guessing and hinting towards it?

Leather and Cotton - an unlikely combination (G - 1/1)

Summary: In an alternate universe where Jughead was raised as serpent king and has been attending Southside schools. Barnes & Noble, Betty's secret safe place from all the rumors and stress that school brings...until she realizes there's a certain leather clad wearing serpent that is most definitely sitting across from her. She knew men like him. They weren’t after girls like her. She's been compromised. Where the unlikely combination of leather and cotton elicits a spark between two polar opposite people.

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