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ghostflowerhotpotch · 9 months

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Why I consider Miguel replacing his own self so bad?

Originally this was going to be a response to a post someone else did, but then I feel I was being mean to people just enjoying a character, so I repurposed it. Is funny because before that post I wasn't planning on doing this but that one got the words out of me somehow.

As disclaimer; I don't think there is anything wrong with liking Miguel, or any character of this movie. It doesn't matter what Miguel may or may not had done in this movie, or if your headcanons and ideas align with how he is in canon or not.

I also feel that regardless of what I think it went down in this situation, I can't call Miguel evil; I would have some words about what I think later in this post, but I don't think when he did what he did he was doing it because ~evil~

With all that out of the way, let's start with this:

The way he talks about the ordeal makes me uneasy.

You know why I find this unsettling? That this is about himself.

I understand that Miguel is narrating this story from his perspective, and is about his mistake, so by that, you wouldn't need to bring up anyone else. You can even make the argument it may be too painful for him if you want.

So why I still have a problem?

Because the narration isn't the only problem I have with this, in fact, what I find the most disturbing, is the following part.

Here is my thing...Don't you find odd how quickly he found out about this?

Think about it; it would be weird that he was just looking on the Multiverse, saw a version of himself with a nice, happy family, and just at that moment that person got killed, so he step in.

I had seen someone made the argument that he did what did because he was thinking of Gabby, however, nothing on his demeanour or words makes me think this was about anyone that wasn't himself.

Let's go back to those pics.

Want to know why I posted two that are basically the same? Because what's important is Miguel's face.

He is completely stoic.

We see Miguel seeing the body at the same time the mugger is running away, this makes me believe it was implied he watched at least the guy get away. But when Miguel appears on the screen, it is already watching the image, it doesn't make me think he just popped up the screen and saw it play at the moment he got killed.

Much less because he looks so calm, like he was expecting this to happen.

I don't know how much Miguel can see in future events, I believe there is some capacity because he said to Miles that his dad will die in two days. That may be because is when he becomes a Captain and his words are more speculation than actual confirmation. It could also be that at that moment he didn't have the means to look into it.

But all this footage makes me believe he saw his other self try to do the right thing, get killed, and then came in.

This wasn't about preserving the canon, this is in theory, before he knew how "canon works" (because he affirms the universe collapsed because he try to take the place of someone who was suppose to die. At least that was the impression it gave me.) So is not like there was any reason to not step in and help him.

This is going into speculation territory, so feel free to say this is a reach, but...was there really no way to save the other Miguel?

It gave me the impression the guy used just one bullet, unless is in specific places, normally one bullet wouldn't be enough. More important, Miguel is from the future, his world can make travel to the moon as if it is just going on the highway; are you telling me that if Miguel wanted to help to save this guy's life, was there really nothing he could?

Like sure, he doesn't need to, this isn't this problem and not his story, he shouldn't interfere.

Except that he did, to replace him.

And that's why I consider his initial speech so disturbing.

Let me put all together what Miguel said:

"I found a world where I had a family. Where I was happy. And that version of myself was killed. So I replace him. I thought it was harmless."

This entire discourse is about himself, with no real thought put into how Gabby, or anyone else may feel. Miguel keeps saying "family," which makes me think it was more than just Gabby, since I don't see why he wouldn't just say daughter if it was only her. That being say I am praying that I am wrong.

My heart really breaks for the other Miguel, he just wanted to do the right thing, he didn't have any powers or special abilities but he still try to help this lady that he probably didn't even know.

And what he got?

That his family will not mourn him, that none of his love ones would go to his funeral (I doubt there was one.) That the people who loved him can't even begin to deal with the mourning process.

Because Miguel, wanted a family.

I am sorry, but I can't help to feel this was en egoistic action when literally there is no mention of ever thinking of anyone that wasn't him; you can try to argue that the "harmless" part also included every other person who knew that Miguel, since they now don't need to go through the pain of a funeral.

But Miguel wasn't that Miguel, if there is something the multi-verse has shown us, is that different versions of a character don't need to be the same, in fact is not odd to not be.

I mentioned this in the past, but if I feel my boyfriend was acting odd, and then discover that he got replaced by another version of himself, just because this one wanted to have a partner- It makes my blood boil; I would personally feel outraged.

Because it should be my decision, which is removed completely of the equation because someone decided they knew me better than me, so they could take decisions on my behalf.

And if I heard him talk, and realize all he ever mentioned was about him and what he wanted? Oh that's one easy slap to the face minimum.

I don't think Miguel had nefarious intentions by doing this, the problem is that he does the thing he literally does the rest of the movie: Assume his idea is the right call, no think twice about asking anyone's opinion, and then blame it on something else when things start to go south.

(If you want an easy example: Literally blaming Gwen for the fiasco with Miles, as if the guy didn't literally scared Miles off when Peter was THIS close to making him go with him.)

Hope anyone liked it! If you did, please consider either commissioning me or donating to my ko-fi, and if not please reblog!

Have a good night.

#atsv #across the spiderverse #miguel o' hara #the spider society #gabby o'hara #I am really starting to get close to the wasp nest with a bat #not sure if I should be more afraid or bite the bullet #atsv files

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luvangelbreak · 5 months

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Deprived | Four

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 matthew sturniolo x layla venita (female!oc) summary: everyone knows the story of the bad boy and the good girl but what happens when the school's most popular boy, Matthew Sturniolo, and the girl who notoriously is never there, Layla Venita, cross paths. warnings: swearing (don't think there's anything else but lmk) word count: 3k a/n: my first time writing from matts pov and I'm nervy but hope y'all like it. also i know very little abt the seasons of hockey games at schools so if that's off, just ignore it lol.

pov: matt

I don't know why I ditched school with Layla. I never really left school unless I was sick or when Chris and Nick needed a ride home. I knew that I would be fine if I skipped a couple classes, my grades were good enough for me to miss a full month and I would still pass but I tried to stay above average.

As I drove us back to school, my mind wandered to when she put her earring on my lip. It made me realise how gentle she was, the way she grabbed my chin to turn my head and pulled my lip down to delicately place the ring on my lip made my mind fuzzy. She always seemed like she was tough and rough around the edges. The way she carried herself around school as if she didn't care about anyone or anything was a deep contrast to who she was in that moment of softness. I let my mind travel away as I parked in my usual spot at school, sliding my seatbelt off before I turned the car off.

I turned to face her, seeing her pick her bag up from the ground and going to open the door before I interrupted her movements, "Hey."

She turned to face me, letting go of the door handle as she looked at me expectantly, "What?"

"Do you wanna sit with me at lunch? I know you don't really go to the cafeteria but it's better than wandering around the school alone," I offered, praying in my head that she would agree.

"I don't think your friends will want me there," she mumbled, not making eye contact with me as she looked out at the school.

"Doesn't matter what they want. I want you to sit with us," I smiled at her, hoping it would convince her further. I knew my friends would be confused but I hoped I could convince them by showing them she was just like everyone else in the school and she wasn't some monster our peers had made her out to be.

"I don't know..." she trailed off, biting her lip which I picked up was a nervous habit. She had done it so many times in the short amount of time that I had been talking to her and I tried to not make it obvious that I was staring at her lips, coughing before sitting upright.

"Come on, it will be fine," I smiled once again before I jumped out of the car. I made sure my phone was in my pocket as I hopped out of the car, grabbed my backpack from the backseat and waited for her to close her door before I locked it.

We started walking into the school as she trailed behind me. She was mindlessly following me as she looked at her phone. I swung the door open, stepping aside to let her walk in before me. She sent me a half-hearted smile as a thank you making my chest swell with warmth.

I liked seeing her smile and knowing that I'd only seen her smile when she was around me made me proud in a way. I couldn't explain why but I felt myself pull towards her every time I saw her in the hallway. It had taken me a while to figure out if it was a good idea or not to talk to her, but I'd now decided that I was going to keep talking to her until she was sick of me.

I made my way to the cafeteria, noting that the clock on the wall read that lunch had already been happening for about 5 minutes. Her walking slowed and I turned to face her, slowing my pace to match hers.

"You don't have to stay for the whole lunch. Just come say hi to everyone at least," I offered her another smile and she chewed at her lip making me glance at them again, "Please."

"No need to grovel, pretty boy. I'll go," she rolled her eyes, her hard demeanour returning now that we were on school grounds. I smiled wider at the nickname she had given me and I was glad to know it stuck. After putting my backpack in my locker, we walked towards the cafeteria again.

We walked through the doors to the large cafeteria, eyes turning to look at the both of us. I ignored them as I walked through the tables, making a B-line to where my friends sat as Layla travelled behind me.

"Hey," I nodded to my brothers, sitting down beside Nick as they glanced over my shoulder at Layla making me turn towards her. I patted the seat beside me, letting her know she could sit down. She slowly sat down next to me and I could feel how tense she was by her body language, "Nick, Chris, Nate, Allie, this is Layla."

"Hi," Layla mumbled from beside me and I hoped that my friends could pull themselves together and at least pretend to be nice until they got to know her properly.

"Hey," Allie smiled at her politely as Nick and Nate both gave her a small wave. Chris nodded at her, his face showing his distaste for her being here making me run my tongue along my teeth. Chris looked at me and I made a face to tell him to be nice.

"What the fuck is on your lip?" Nick asked and I rang my tongue over the ring that was on my lip.

"It's fake. Just trying it out," I shrugged and Nick looked at me in confusion but I brushed it off.

"You getting any food?" Nate asked me and I shook my head as I watched him snack on the small tray of food he had in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" I heard a familiar voice speak and I looked to my right to see Mia staring down at Layla with confusion.

"Mia," I deadpanned and she glanced at me with a shrug of her shoulders, her cheerleading uniform riding up slightly as she did so.

"I'm just asking. She never even comes into the cafeteria and now she's sitting where I always sit," she stated in a bitchy tone making me frown at her.

"You can manage not sitting next to me for one day, Mia," I told her and she pursed her lips, a frown covering her face as she sat herself in between Layla and Allie.

"So why are you sitting here?" Mia asked Layla, her tone still bitchy as ever making me roll my eyes.

"Matt asked me to sit with you guys," Layla answered honestly, her tone not wavering in the slightest.

"Why?" Mia retorted as she opened the protein bar I didn't even notice she had.

"Because I wanted her to," I responded to Mia, my tone sharp to try and get her to stop. She was my biggest worry when I offered Layla to sit with us but I didn't realise she'd be so dramatic about it.

"Why didn't you get any food, Matty?" Mia asked me, now leaning over the table a little and completely ignoring Layla.

"I just ate," I answered honestly and I felt Layla's shoulder brush mine as she wriggled in her seat to get further away from Mia.

"What?" Nick asked now and I turned my head to face him.

I shrugged before replying, "We got McDonald's."

"And you didn't get anything for me?" Allie gasped dramatically making me smile at her as I shook my head.

"You skipped? For McDonald's with her?" my attention was brought back to Mia's bitter tone as she made a face of slight disgust.

"No I skipped because I wanted McDonald's and I asked her to come with me," I kept my tone flat to give her the hint that I was not impressed but she didn't seem to catch it.

"Why didn't you ask me?" Mia pouted and I shrugged, playing with the rings on my fingers.

"You were already in class," I told her and she rolled her eyes before I continued, "Besides, you never skip."

"What class do you have after this?" Allie asked Layla and I was thankful she diverted the conversation politely.

"Art and gym," Layla answered honestly and Allie's smile widened.

"You're in my gym class, right? Mr Rodes?" Allie asked and Layla nodded in response, "You should group up with me in class!"

"Uh, okay," Layla answered, confusion in her tone. I figured it was because she expected Allie to be a bitch, her cheerleading uniform and perfect red hair giving everyone the impression she was like Mia. Allie was one of the nicest people in school, she was down to talk to anybody and it's one of the reasons I was excited for Layla to sit with us.

"You always pair with me," Mia mumbled to Allie as she flipped her brown hair over her shoulder and Allie shrugged in response.

"You can go with Melissa? She always wants to go with you," Allie gave her a solution before digging back into her salad. Mia seemed more irritated than before and I hoped she would save it till Layla wasn't sitting with us. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

"She's here for like two seconds and fucks everything up," Mia mumbled under her breath as she bit into her protein bar.

"If you're gonna shit talk me while I'm sitting right next to you at least say it with your chest, Mia," Layla deadpanned to Mia and she seemed taken aback as she just stared at the bleached blonde girl sitting next to me.

"You're gonna let her talk to me like that?" Mia asked as she glanced at me and I raised my eyebrows.

"He's not your father. You can stand up for yourself," Layla spoke clearly and I pursed my lips, resisting the urge to smile as Mia looked in shock. Almost no one pushed back with Mia, we all knew she would blow up and just make things worse than they needed to be. But I enjoyed seeing Layla stand up to her, it proved to me that she wasn't scared of anyone, she just didn't care to talk to them.

"This is bullshit," Mia huffed as she crossed her arms and Layla raised her eyebrows in response. I looked over at Chris who was hiding his smile behind his sandwich and Nick who coughed in order to cover his laugh.

"Right well, I'm gonna go. I'll see you in gym Allie," Layla picked up her bag and stepped over the bench as she adjusted her hoodie. I realised she left her leather jacket in my car but decided I wouldn't tell her yet so I had an excuse to see her later.

"Where are you going?" I asked as she turned back to face me. Instead of speaking, she made a motion with her hand like she was smoking an imaginary cigarette as she walked backwards slowly with her eyebrows raised. I smiled at her while shaking my head and I watched as she spun around, walking out of the doors of the cafeteria.

"What was that about?" Nick asked as I turned around to face the group who were now looking at me expectantly.

"What?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing as I ran my tongue over the ring on my lip, pursing my lips to hide my smile.

"You said you weren't gonna talk to her anymore," Chris deadpanned and I shrugged, grabbing Nick's water and taking a sip before he ripped it out of my hands.

"I changed my mind," I lied, knowing I never actually intended to stop talking to her in the first place.

"She's bad news. You shouldn't be hanging around her unless you wanna end up being a junkie," Mia mumbled and all joy from my face dropped as I turned to look at her with a glare.

"Mia, can you shut up for once?" I spat and she frowned, her mouth hanging open and Nate raised his eyebrows, his mouth in a downturned smile of surprise before he and Allie looked at each other briefly.

"You hang out with her for one day and you're already a dick. You just proved my point," Mia looked at me with a cocky smile and I rolled my eyes.

"You guys are so fucking annoying," I sighed, running a hand over my face as my mind flashed the moment she grabbed my lip to put the ring in my lip, "The only reason she was rude to you is because you were being a bitch about her sitting here and then not pairing up with Allie in gym. It's not that big of a deal."

"I mean... I've heard a lot of shit about her man," Nate piped up as he raised his eyebrows at me and I shook my head.

"Who cares? She's not this psycho everyone pretends she is," I defended her and Nate just shrugged, on the fence on whether or not he thought it was a good idea for me to be talking to her, "You guys just have to give her a chance."

"I don't have to do anything," Mia mumbled, her irritated tone making me grind my teeth together to keep my cool.

"If you wanna continue being my friend, Mia, you're gonna have to figure out why you're such a bitch to her," I huffed and Allie's eyes widened and before I could say anything further, the bell for our next class rang through my ears. I got up from the table without another word and made my way to my locker, playing with the ring on my lip that was quickly becoming a habit.

+++

My last two classes were spent trying to focus but instead, my brain wandered to Layla, hoping that Mia didn't scare her away from me. I leaned against the driver's side of my car, Nick and Chris talking about something as they walked over to me.

"Why aren't you in the car?" Chris asked, noting the fact that I usually waited for them in the driver's seat.

"Layla left her jacket. Gotta give it back to her," I told him honestly and he rolled his eyes as he jumped into the passenger seat. I was sure he was sick of me talking about her, I'd been building up the courage to talk to her for weeks and I constantly talked Chris's ear off about it. He always told me it was a bad idea and I, of course, never listened.

Nick slid in the back seat, shutting the door behind him and I felt the window behind me roll down. I turned around to see Chris holding her leather jacket out to me through the window and I gave him a small smile with a nod. He raised his eyebrows briefly as I took the jacket from him and he started rolling the window up.

"Just don't take forever. We gotta get our shit for training," Chris called out before the window was full rolled up. I turned back around as I hung the jacket over my left arm, pulling my phone out of my pocket to quickly check the time.

"I believe you have something of mine," Layla's voice rang through my ears and my head snapped up to see her standing in front of me, an amused look on her face. I stared at her for a moment, noticing that she was wearing her shorts from gym still and I could see a few more of her tattoos on her thighs before she spoke again, "You gonna give it to me or am I fighting you for it?"

"Oh right. My bad," I shook my head as I slipped my phone back into my pocket and handed her the jacket. I slid the ring off of my lip, wiping it with the hem of my shirt and I couldn't help but notice her eyes glance at the tattoos along my waist.

"Gonna miss that super cool lip ring," she said sarcastically as I chuckled, handing her the ring as her fingers brushed against mine. Her skin felt so much more soft than mine, it raised goosebumps along my arms.

"Give me another month and you won't have to miss it anymore," I smirked at her and I noticed her eyes lit up slightly as a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"You're gonna get it?" she asked, her voice full of hope as she slid her bag off of her shoulder and slipped her jacket on before grabbing her bag again.

I shrugged, leaning back against the car again, "Probably. Under one condition."

"What?" she asked sceptically, her eyes squinting at me and I smiled.

"Come to my last three games this season," I stated and she tilted her head as she looked out into the parking lot in thought.

"I won't have a way to get there," she retorted and with a raise of my eyebrows, I pointed to the car behind me before pointing to myself, "I don't know what to wear to your games."

With a shrug, I said, "Just wear whatever you're comfortable in."

"What day are your games on?" she asked sceptically before she bit her lip and I tore my eyes away from her mouth and back up to her eyes.

"Fridays at five," I told her and she sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't know..." she trailed off and I bit my lip to hide my smile.

I sighed dramatically as I pushed off of the car, "Guess I won't be getting my lip pierced any time soon."

"Oh for fucks sake. Fine," she huffed and I smiled at her, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I'll have to pick you up around four because we need to be there early to warm up but you can wait in the car if you don't wanna come inside," I explained and she nodded, goosebumps covering the skin on her legs from the cold air, "You need a ride home?"

"We don't have time for that. Hurry the fuck up!" Chris called from inside the car and I held up a middle finger behind me to flip him off.

"Nah, I'll be good," she gave me a half smile and I nodded as she started to walk backwards, "I'll see you when I'm looking at you."

With that she spun around and started walking out of the car park, leaving me with a triumphant smile on my face. I hopped in the car to see Nick and Chris staring at me with a judgemental look on their face.

"What?" I asked with a smile but they both stayed silent as I started the car, driving back to our house to grab mine and Chris's gear for training.

#matt sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #matthew bernard sturniolo #matt sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo triplets #sturniolo #the sturniolo triplets #sturniolo imagine #sturniolo edit #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo smut #christopher sturniolo #chris sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #nick sturniolo #christopher owen sturniolo

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dreadsuitsamus · 1 year

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Being Jiraiya's Wifey Headcanons | Jiraiya x Reader |

author's note: i just have so much love to give him!!!

pairing: jiraiya x fem!reader

warnings: fluff, light nsfw mentions

Jiraiya not only has tons of love to give, he is also in need of receiving every ounce of love you can muster

He always wants to touch you in some way, be it cuddling or holding hands or having his arm around you

To see his biggest, brightest smile, just give him a big ole smooch on the cheek

When Jiraiya comes back home from being on a mission, he scoops you up in a twirl and presses the warmest kiss on your lips

He's always got a present for you, of course

Jiraiya will spoil you as much as you let him

Seriously, if you don't tell him to stop he will not

He loves buying you pretty things and watching as you model your various jewelry and clothes

he also loves bending you over and seeing if those clothes can survive a good fucking

Jiraiya loves to hear how much you've missed him while he was away, so be sure to exaggerate just how bored you were

"It was awful, baby. Just me, myself and I in this big house! I'm so glad you're home, I was about to lose my mind without you."

Nobody ever went to hell over little white lies, after all

His travel stories are genuinely entertaining, and he makes sure to tell all your favorites whenever there's a gathering

He loves your laugh, and while he's naturally funny due to his goofball nature, he prefers tickling you to hear it

Something about having you begging beneath him, panting and breathless from his touch just really gets him going!

He's big on snuggling, and will make sure you are in his arms all night long

Even if you manage to wiggle out during the night, the old man gets up frequently enough to pee that you'll be right back where you belong eventually

He looks his best in the warm light of a sunset, and he catches you staring at him often. He doesn't admit to it, but it flatters him greatly that you genuinely find him so attractive

Jiraiya writes you love letters when he's away on extended missions

though some of them are just straight up lust on a piece of paper

He is a big man and he is not afraid to use that to his advantage

Unless there's a spider; you're on your own at that point

But otherwise he will do things such as purposely put your favorite mug on the tallest shelf possible, and blackmail you into sexual favors before retrieving it for you

You bitch at him all the time for it, yet never get the step stool and get it yourself

It's okay to let him have his way sometimes

You say jump and Jiraiya will ask how high. His devotion to you is just that pure and strong

Ever since getting married, his Will of Fire has been replaced by the Will of Wife

Jiraiya is a wonderful husband, and some days it really hits you just how lucky you got with this man

He's not perfect, but he's perfectly yours and it fills you with so much love for your husband that it practically overflows your heart and next thing Jiraiya knows, he's getting kissed like your life depends on it

He doesn't know what he's done to deserve any of this, but as long as you keep kissing him like that and being his, he promises to keep doing anything in his power to continue being your man

Being married to Jiraiya isn't free of headaches, but it's rewarding all the same just to see that goofy, sleepy smile of his every time you wake up

Being your husband is the greatest honor Jiraiya has ever had, and the happiness you give him gives him hope that his future may just be bright after all

#jiraiya x you #jiraiya x reader #jiraiya headcanons #jiraiya #naruto jiraiya #jiraiya naruto #fic #headcanons #i just love him so much #my big strong man #i love him #god i love him

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nine-of-words · 4 months

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Something Borrowed (Part Ten)

M Gargoyle x M Reader

PREVIOUS || STORY TAG || NEXT

Wordcount: 5127

Content Warnings: Discussion of a Breakup

The horrors have been numerous and persistent for me lately, so this part took its sweet time getting written. Not much else to say about this chapter, other than I’m very excited to write the next one!!

It seems that things are determined to go sideways today.

“Sorry to drop all of this on ya so early, but I knew you’d be awake.” Your sister’s voice comes through the speaker of your device.

You are indeed awake. You haven’t been sleeping well lately, despite it feeling like what you do the most these days- no idea why that would be- so you were already up and slowly trudging through your morning routine. But now you’re distracted with the call, going through making yourself a desperately needed cup of coffee mostly by feel in your dimly lit apartment kitchen.

“It’s okay- So, how exactly did this happen?”

“She took a wee tumble down the stairs. Got up in the middle of the night to get water, fell ass over kettle.”

“Oh, spirits. But you said it wasn’t serious, right?”

“Eh. Fractured her wrist, or so the doctor says. Right, Ma?” You hear a bit of noise in the background that sounds remarkably like your mother being quietly muttering in a displeased manner. “She’ll be right as rain soon enough. But she’s going to be in the cast for a tick.”

“Do I need to book a flight?”

“Hmm. You know we love to see ya- but nah. It's really not all that dire. Think she's tired of all the fuss by now, really.” She explains, before immediately switching into compulsory older sibling teasing. “Plus won't your new fella miss you? Unless you want to bring him along to meet what he's got to look forward to joining up with.”

“Haha… Yeah, you’re right. I suppose you’ll just have to wait…” You haven’t told them he’s not exactly your fella at the moment. What would you even say?

After a bit more conversation, Emer puts your mother on, and you speak to her for a short while. It assuages your worry a little, but not nearly enough to take the edge off. Though she's adamant you don't let her little mishap scare you into making sudden travel plans, you can't help but let it add to your ratings worries.

Maybe… you should go home?

You hang up your voci and look down at the brewed coffee that’s just started to drip through the filter. In your absent minded state, you’ve managed to put the exact mug you’ve been avoiding into the machine.

But there it is, the pink and white curves of ceramic reminding you of everything you're trying to push out of your mind.

You let out a long, frustrated sigh, pausing to stare vacantly at the mug.

Maybe putting an ocean between you and here will help you forget what you could have right now instead, if you weren't cursed.

You have all day to sit on it, you suppose, and can make a decision later. But you do have a business to run in the meantime, so you return to the process of adding your usual milk and sugar.

It doesn’t help the bitter taste at all today.

Things don’t really go much better for you the longer the day progresses.

“This is too sweet,” The older woman across the counter says, brandishing the mostly eaten cupcake in its paper lining. “I want a refund.”

“Well, it's a cupcake, m’am. It is mostly sugar…” You don’t even have the energy to muster your usual level of pleasantness. You barely keep from grimacing as you ring up the refund, just to get this person out of your hair.

Your customers are usually not this problematic, but you’re beginning to think that no one is having a good day today. You can deal with grumpy or picky people, but usually they’re not quite so many of them in a concentrated blast. Every little interaction is finding its way under your skin, and that’s not even taking into account how hard it is to concentrate and get any meaningful progress done.

Though, this is a task you’ve been pointedly avoiding that you’ll have to start sooner or later, today.

You’ve got to finish putting together Devin and Trevor’s cake- if you want it to be solid enough to put flowers in before delivery tomorrow night, which is rapidly approaching the longer you dawdle.

As in, nearly can be measured in hours instead of days soon.

It was different when it was just… anonymous cake layers you were cutting out and leveling. That could’ve been for anyone’s cake! But the more personality that goes into it, the more the subtle, nagging grief makes it difficult to work on.

You sigh and glob a stabilizing dollop of the vanilla buttercream- Trevor's choice- onto the base with your offset spatula.

It’s not as if you’re jealous that your ex is getting married at this point. You’re far past the stage of wanting him back by now. It just… all seems so unfair. Hopeless. He was able to wound you so deeply when he left- and just when you thought you had healed and moved on, carved out some new happiness for yourself- that got taken away, too.

Why should he get to be happy when you’re on the short end of the stick again?

You center a cake layer, then slather some more buttercream, spreading it out to make a glue for the next layer to adhere onto.

You’ll just have to think about it as Devin’s cake. It’s for your friend. That’s how you’ll get through this. You’ll do a good job, for your friend. Even if she’s marrying your ex, she should still get the best cake you can make for her, like you’d do for any other client.

Another layer of cake. A layer of elven berry compote that you made fresh yesterday- also Trevor’s choice, naturally. Another layer of cake. Then, repeat it all again.

As much as you try to rationalize that to yourself as you work through applying the crumb coat, you can’t help but realize you’ve been white-knuckling the spatula handle by time you’ve finished applying the buttercream.

Eventually, you have all of the crumb coated tiers ready on cake boards, to be given another coat and assembled after they’ve firmed up for a bit.

You mercifully shut the disassembled cake in the cooler, relieved that you don’t have to look at it for another few hours. Though, you have to hand it to yourself, even when your life is falling apart, you can make a bang-up gorgeous cake.

The demands of your business don’t stop just because you’re having a bad day and have other things to do, unfortunately. You’re not sure what portal to Hell has opened nearby, but it seems like all of the most awful customers have all decided to come to your shop today to take out their anger on you.

“No, we don’t do tiered pies here. I don’t even know if you’d be able to do that without making a mes- Well, okay. Have a nice day-” You say, though the person on the other end of the line has already hung up on you.

You turn to face the customer waiting at the counter, but before you can even greet them, they interrupt you with a snapping of their fingers.

“Where’s our waiter? I put our order into the kiosk twenty minutes ago and no one has even been by to so much as pour our water!”

“Oh, well, you can eat-in here, that’s what the seating is for, but we’re not a full service-”

“Ugh, fine! Just get me my order already, then.” The customer barks and you have to bite your tongue to restrain yourself from snapping back.

By time you reach another lull in activity and get back to work on Devin’s cake, your jaw and shoulders are fully tensed.

Since it’s slow, you take out the gumpaste. You have another tray of roses to sculpt so they can dry on time to place them tomorrow, so you might as well knock it out sooner than later.

Maybe none of this would be getting to you so much, but the full weight of the wedding being tomorrow is bearing down on you. The one saving grace is that Kirby will be there to distract you- at least you won’t be alone. You’ll deliver the cake, you’ll get through the ceremony, you’ll stay for a brief yet socially acceptable amount of time at the reception, and then you’ll go home and this whole excruciating ordeal will be over.

You just have to finish this cake and get through tonight first.

Only a few more hours until close.

You can do this.

You make it another hour, rolling thinned pieces of sugary paste into delicate petals, before the bell door rings, and the person you see walk through the door gives you pause.

It’s not Carlyle, as you’ve been hoping it was every single time you hear the shop bell jingle since the last time you saw him. But it certainly looks like him, in everything but personal styling, and of course, the shape of the quartzose horns protruding from his brow.

Today it seems he’s left his body glitter at home, however. He’s dressed in relatively casual clothing; a hoodie (midriff still intact), untied slim joggers, immaculately clean sneakers. The difference is so staggering you might not have even recognized him as the same person, compared to his last visit, if he didn’t have Carlyle’s face; which you can now see clearly underneath his loose brown curls, this time not covered by the shadow of his hood.

“Hey.”

He gives you a tilt of his chin in acknowledgement and smiles an uncannily similar, fanged smile to the one you’ve grown accustomed to seeing. It’s a stab of pain, how sorely you miss it right now, and seeing it again, but just different enough to not be it.

“Uh. Hi, Marcus?” You say in a stilted manner, not really sure how to proceed. “You are… looking less gilded today than last time.”

“Hahahah, yeah. I didn’t have work last night, dude. No hangover!”

“Hah. Right…”

“But good to see you again, man! …I was wonderin-”

“Listen, if you’re here to deliver a message or something, I really can’t do this right now.” You cut him off, begging more than anything at this point to not have another thing go wrong or a twist of the knife today. You scrub at your face with your forearm to keep your hands sanitary, the deep pit of frustration starting to bubble out of you unintentionally. “And he knows to not-”

“Hey, no man, listen! It’s nothing like that.” He pats his curls down, the same way that his brother occasionally does with his dreadlocks when he’s smoothing out a misunderstanding. “He’d be PISSED if I knew he was here, hahah. He told me never to come here on my own after last time!”

“Well, maybe you should follow his instruction on that matter.” You say dryly and continue to roll the soft substance in silent judgement. “He usually knows what he’s talking about.”

Marcus seems to take this as a bad sign, his face twisting into a look of exasperation.

“Fine! Gimme a dozen cupcakes then. Fuck, make it any flavor, dude, I don’t even care.” He starts rifling through his pants pockets, finally pulling out his wallet, and then a card that he puts on the counter. It’s got his name printed on it, rather than Carlyle’s, so you suppose he’s gotten it replaced since the last time. “You’ve gotta talk to me if I’m a customer ‘n shit, right?”

“You know I do have the right to refuse service to you…?”

“Yeah man, but I don’t think you’re gonna! You’re too nice, from what I’ve heard.” Marcus says with the sort of shit-eating grin on his face that absolutely makes you want to refuse service to him, but with a vengeance.

“Well if you’re not here on your brother’s behalf…” You sigh in your own matching exasperated look and set down your gumpaste project to start boxing a dozen cupcakes. “Why are you here, then?”

“I’m gonna be totally honest with you, dude. He didn’t send me, but it is about him. I’m like, super worried about him.”

“Oh…” You can’t help yourself, you have to ask. “Is he alright…?”

“Hell no! He’s all fucked up, man! The other night, I left at 8pm and he was still in the same spot at 11am when I got back in. Same book, same fit, same stale cup of coffee. He had sat still in the same place reading whatever nerd shit he was reading for so long that he deadass went half solid.”

You can’t find the words to respond to that. The guilt gnaws at you like you gnaw at your bottom lip, but in a strange way, you feel validated that he’s still as messed up about things as you are.

“Look, whatever he did, it can’t be that bad, right? It’s Lyle!! He like, never fucks up like that.” He leans over the counter, talking with his hands in another show of familiar, yet foreign-in-this-context expression. He taps his chest with the fingertips of a spread hand for emphasis. “And I would know, ‘cuz I’M the family fuck up here. So, maybe you could like, just forgive him and junk? Make up or whatever?”

“It’s not…” You take a second to steady your breath. You’ve been trying to suppress these feelings for weeks, and now they’re getting dragged up so suddenly. “It’s not something he did. It’s… outside circumstances…”

You hesitate for a brief moment before you pick out the last of the random assortment; an orange and mixed spice flavor you found yourself trying out.

“That’s it? There’s no gettin’ around it, huh?”

“No. I'm sorry. It's complicated. I just can't.” You say with weakened conviction as you tape the box up, and then hoping to persuade yourself once again, add; “It’s better this way.”

“Right-” Marcus straightens up and rocks back and forth on his feet, his sneakers squeaking slightly against the tile with the motion. “Sorry if pushing was out of line, dude.”

“Don't worry about it- honestly, I'm sort of glad you showed up.” You smile, bittersweet. “It’s good that he has someone looking out for him.”

“Yeah.” Marcus smiles a conflicted smile back, then takes his cupcakes to go. “See you ‘round, dude.”

You find yourself having a silent argument with yourself as you finish the rest of the roses.

There’s the guilt, of course. Are you a bad person if you know that this separation is hurting you both, and yet you’re continuing to enforce it? Maybe you should have just let Marcus convince you to reach out?

Seeing someone with such familiar features has only made your heart ache that much more for what you’re missing.

Perhaps it’s for the best that you don’t have any customers in the shop at the moment, because they’d be able to clearly see you sneering at empty air and grumbling to yourself.

By the time you finish the last petal on the last rose of the tray, you’re no closer to having resolved your internal disagreement.

You put the roses away, and pull out your fully set, crumb-coated cake. Now just to put the final layer of frosting on, and then you’ll be done for the night.

As you set the tray down on the counter, your voci starts ringing in your pocket. You remove your gloves and answer the call, seeing that it’s Kirby. They’ve been checking in on you a lot more often lately, like you’re a sickly pet needing constant supervision. They're not entirely wrong.

You greet them as you put them on speaker. Then you wash up, and reglove as their voice comes through on the other end.

“So! How is your day going so far?”

“Oh, you know. Typical weekend customers. Ma broke her wrist.” You say flatly, smoothing out the buttercream on the top of the lowest cake tier with a spin of the stand with well-practiced motions.

“Oh no! That’s terrible! Is she okay??”

“She’s fine, but it’s still stressful that I can’t be there to help out.”

Once you’re finished getting a perfectly even, level surface on the lowest tier, you begin the process again on a slightly smaller scale on the next largest cake tier.

“Mmm. Yeah, it must be, being so far away.”

“And Carlyle’s brother came into the shop earlier.” You continue, now lathing more buttercream onto the sides.

“Whaaaat??? No!! Glitter Boy?! Oh my SPIRITS you’ve gotta tell me all the details right now!”

“There’s not a lot to say, really. Told me Carlyle’s not taking it well either, and now I feel like a villain.”

“You’re not a villain,” Kirby sighs. “Sometimes things are just. Y’know. Messy.”

You continue to make your way through doing the final coat on the cake tiers, each one going progressively faster as they diminish in size.

“Oh, and how could I forget- I’m making a cake for my ex’s wedding that social pressure is forcing me to attend. So you know. The usual.”

“Hahah- Ooh, bummer. Well, when you put it like that, it does sound like, toooootally miserable! You’re having a pretty horrible day, and I’m… definitely not about to make it worse, hahah!!”

“Oh no.” You hiss through gritted teeth. “Something’s wrong, then?”

They laugh nervously, a little giggle-whimper that you can’t possibly be irritated with.

You’re silent as you begin to fill a piping bag with buttercream, waiting for Kirby to divulge their information.

“I MAY have some bad news.”

“Oh. Lovely. Just grand! More bad news is exactly what I need at this current moment.” You say, dripping with sarcasm.

“I know!!! Believe me, I know! But I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out.” Kirby sighs. “I just got out of a meeting with my boss and they’re sending me out of town on a case. I have to get on a red eye in a few hours.”

“But… the wedding is tomorrow…”

“Yeah, that would be the problem! But I can’t exactly tell my boss to fuck off and still have a job, y’know??? Soooooo. We are in. damage. control. mode!”

“It’s okay.” You say, it not really being okay at all, but not wanting to lash out at your friend who’s only ever tried to help you in any given situation. You’re simply too stunned to even start to panic.

“Nope! It’s ABSOLUTELY not! But I’ll be there in like, an hour!! I’ll bring dinner and we can totally figure out a plan B, okay? Or I guess plan C or D by now- But bestie, I don’t care if I have to HIRE an escort to take you to that wedding, you’re not going alone! Especially not because of stupid work interference!!”

“Hah- A-Alright.” You laugh weakly and speak through a sharp intake of air, but manage to not sound like you’re about to burst into tears, even though you desperately want to. “See you soon.”

The call ends, but you continue working, despite the rapidly expanding pit of terror in your gut and the sting at the back of your eyes.

This news, surprisingly, does not help your ability to finish this cake.

You keep going, but not without roadblocks. Your eyes screw closed in frustration and pain. Your teeth grit. Your hand clenches around the bag, nearly squeezing the frosting out of the back end of it.

As a small mercy, closing time finally comes and you turn off the light, though you leave the door unlocked, given you’re expecting Kirby sometime in the next hour or so.

You need to move on to piping some of the finer details- But you can't even think about piping an even line right now, not with the way your hand is trembling.

Still, you persist, pushing the bag back taut and re-twisting the open end.

“Stop. Shaking.” You hiss out loud at yourself, your body refusing to obey even your own verbal instructions.

You just need to get this cake done. Is that so much to ask?

Kirby is coming over and you’ll find a solution for the wedding. You won’t have to go to your ex's wedding alone. It will be fine.

The tremor in your hand nearly causes you to stab through the layer you’re working on with the piping tip, so you take a moment to straighten up your posture and try to loosen your locking muscles. You take a few calming breaths, then go back in and manage to finish the last few filigree details on the tier you're working on.

Your hand is already shaking again. You ignore it. You’ll get through this. You have to.

But every time you regain focus, the thought of Carlyle as a miserable and inert statue keeps creeping back unbidden into your mind.

It’s all too much. Too much. Too much.

The lights above you flicker. A buzz of energy ripples through the room.

The pressure on your chest is unbearable now. Blood rushes in your ears.

You can’t deal with this anymore.

You can’t even think-!

POP-

In an instant, something cold and cloying splatters across the side of your face and the bridge of your nose, the front of your shirt, your clenched hands and outstretched forearms.

You bring a hand to your face in shock, blindly testing the sudden change in texture.

Your fingertips come away coated in sticky, sugary goop, and bits of shredded vanilla sponge cake.

And where the cake tiers were sitting on the counter, there’s a conspicuous absence of a cake, only the sparse large chunk of shrapnel- a bloodless crime scene, the mostly empty, frosting smeared cakeboards evoking the essence of a chalk body outline.

Well. You’ll be damned.

The cake exploded.

Hoarse, incredulous laughter escapes your throat- first in disbelief, then in bitter resignation. No other reaction really seems to suit this situation more.

Because your life is a joke. A bad joke.

Your laughs thin out, turning into choked sobs. You sink down until you’re sitting on your cold shop floor with your back against a cabinet, and bring the lower clean edge of the apron up to cry into.

Eventually, the unrestrained weeping quiets into silent tears Time has passed, as evidenced by the sky beginning to darken outside.

“Heeeeellooooo~! I’m heee-” You hear a familiar voice call out and then equally familiar hoof falls on the tile. There’s a rapid change in their tone, making a 180° turn into hushed concern. “Oh. Well fuck, that doesn’t look good-”

After a few moments, Kirby rounds the counter, an inquisitive look on their face.

You can’t even muster the embarrassment to be seen like this, too tired and emotionally drained and just simply done with it all.

You expect a look of pity or maybe some awkward fussing, but instead, Kirby simply gives you a knowing smile.

“What a mess!!” Kirby shakes their head, curls tumbling as they assess the damage. “You’re not hurt, are you, honey?”

You shake your head weakly, rubbing at your eye with your inner wrist.

“Good! Well then, let’s get this all cleaned up!” They chirp and reach out their hand, palm up.

After the moment it takes to recognize the gesture, you take their hand. Kirby’s grip is surprisingly strong for being such a petite faun, and they easily manage to help you to your feet.

“You don’t have to-”

“Well I’m NOT going to let you sit here and cry covered in frosting all night.” Kirby laughs, beginning to roll up the sleeves of their work shirt. “So. Yes I do~”

“...Thank you.” You sniffle.

“Don’t mention it!!” They laugh. “You go get cleaned up and I’ll start tackling this absolute disaster zone!”

You trudge upstairs and debate on the benefits of a full shower before deciding that it’s worth it, even if ten more cakes explode. You’re uncomfortably sticky down your neck and arms.

Maybe you can wash this day away, while you’re at it…

Before long you’re redressed and coming back downstairs- if not feeling completely refreshed, you at least now have it in you to face the (suddenly much longer) list of tasks ahead. Kirby has gotten most of the cake into a trash bag, and is wiping down the counter.

“There, you look much better! Now, come tell me what was happening when this happened, will you?”

You join them, grabbing a sanitizer rag and beginning to help wipe down the closest surface. You describe as best you can exactly what you were doing, feeling, and thinking about when the cake exploded, just as you’ve explained to them about the previous incidents that you weren’t physically present for.

“Hmm.” Kirby hums quizzically. “Well, the good news is I’ve got a potential solution for the wedding dilemma.”

“Oh?” You’d be lying if you said that the promise of a stressor being removed didn’t sound divine.

“Actually, I’ve already convinced Rosario to go with you, if you want, while I was on the way over. Did you know that she’s surprisingly easy to bribe?!” Kirby giggles. “But to be honest- I didn’t even need to bribe her!! She agreed before I offered anything in return. Apparently wedding cake and an open bar is enough reason for her to turn up, or so she said. But I think it’s because she likes you.”

“That’s… very kind of her.” She wouldn’t be the worst companion for the event- you’ve grown quite fond of her presence in your shop, prickly attitude and all.

“Yeah! She’ll easily make your ex just as uncomfortable as I was planning to, all on her own merit, hehe!! BUUUUUT, I think you know what I’m about to say-”

“Don’t…”

“You should call him!” Kirby says in the most obnoxiously sing-song sweet tone they can, and you wince hard.

“I can’t-”

“But you can~!!”

“But I don’t think I should-”

“Well, maybe you should think again, sweetie!! You absoluuuuutely should! Because if this-” Kirby motions to the partially cleaned up buttercream splatter still coating the vicinity. “Isn’t proof enough that it’s not a him problem, I don’t know what would be!!”

You drag a palm across your face, overwhelmed, and heave a sigh.

“At the end of the day it’s your choice! I can’t make you call him. But you miss him, and he misses you! I know this for a fact! And SPIRITS is he being SO insufferable about it!! And so are you!!!! And it’s just a BIT silly to keep drawing this out like this.”

“But… I don’t want him to get hurt…”

“Listen. We know there’s something attached to you- Rosario’s exorcism attempt confirmed that much. But there’s no like, actual indication that any of that is related to what’s happening with the curse. It’s just not how this kind of magic works. We’re almost certain we’re dealing with two unconnected, non-standard issues complicating each other at this point- some sort of spirit attached to you, and some sort of ley-based magical compulsion in play- but we don’t know the source of where either of those things are coming from. Yet.”

“Right.” You say, pausing your cleaning work to take in the new information.

“Though, someone has some very promising ideas about the later being some sort of messed up geas, and Rosario seems like she has a hunch on what is in the shop.”

“But… it just feels like it’s getting worse. Not that I don’t appreciate your efforts, of course…”

“I know it feels that way. But I am good at my job! And I’ve been keeping track of the numbers this whole time, y’know?? I’ve got the DATA. Do you know what I’ve noticed the most as a trend over the time I've been working your case?”

You simply shake your head to give them time to build dramatic tension before they continue.

“The cakes explode more when you’re upset!! Like, a whole, whole lot more! And quite frankly at this point, in my professional opinion, you being separated from him is making it WORSE!!”

“...You really think it’d be okay to ask him-” To go back to how it was before, to be with me again; you want to say, but end up continuing instead; “to come with me to the wedding?”

You have the feeling Kirby understands what you wanted to say, anyway, based on their pleased expression, like they’re finally getting the message through to you.

“You’re my friend!! And as your friend, I am HEREBY giving you the permission that you’re not giving yourself! I wouldn’t be suggesting this to you if I didn’t think it was safe.” Kirby squarely lays their hands on you on the shoulders, though they need to reach up slightly to do it. “If anything, having him there might keep you from getting bent out of shape at your ex and blowing up the second cake, like, at the actual wedding.”

“That would be horrible.” You rasp and find yourself genuinely smiling for the first time all day, trying to blink back the sting of more tears threatening to spill, though this time more out of a sense of appreciation than despair.

“It. Would. Be. HILARIOUS.” Kirby says with a mischievous grin, patting your shoulders with each word for emphasis. “And if it were to happen, I would hope you were recording it. Y’know, for data collection purposes, hehehe!! But it would also be, let’s say: bad for business.”

You manage to finish getting things looking clean, as if nothing bad had happened at all, Kirby has called their ride to the airport.

“Now, I have to go or I’m going to miss my flight and my boss will probably-actually-literally murder me.”

“And I have a cake to remake.” You quietly lament. “If you want, I can get on the plane and you can make the cake…”

Kirby lets out a string of giggles, picking their carry-on bag off the seat at the counter they stashed it on..

“Hahah- No thanks!! But- Call him.” Kirby repeats as they give you a squeezing hug goodbye. “Or Rosario, if you must. But don’t make yourself go alone. And keep me updated!! All of the juicy wedding gossip, please. I’m definitely going to be bored out of my mind otherwise, hehe!!”

Then they release you from their grip to head out the door with one last wave and a jingle of the shop bell.

You, on the other hand, let out a long, withering sigh and pull out another set of white cake layers from the cooler.

…It’s going to be a long night.

>> ✨ MASTERLIST >> ☕ KO-FI

#exophilia #monster lover #monster romance #monster x human #monster x reader #gargoyle x reader #gargoyle #male x male #mlm #mxm #male monster #male reader #series: something borrowed #oc: carlyle #oc: declan #nine of words

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hoolay-boobs · 1 year

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MAAAARIIIIII

I need your help.

Ok so, How to write?

I told you that I write, right? Well actually I didn't write them properly. I wrote them in screenplay format.. Now I want to write them properly but I don't know how 😭😭 my mind is blank.. Even when I manage to think up on how to write, it's so shit.. I have so many ideas but I have no clue on how the heck am I supposes to put them out.. Do you have any advice? How do you usually write? Please help.

*casually implodes* alright. Okay. Excellent.

This just might be the best ask I’ve ever received. I’ve always wanted to teach others how to write, I’m really passionate about writing stuff, and I’m majoring in education in university rn, so I sure hope I can answer this well lmao

But, nevertheless, I finally have the opportunity:

✨ Mari’s Writing Crash Course that I may or may not have composed while tipsy: a short guide to novel formatting ✨

There’s only, truly, three factors that are the most noticeably important: Formatting, Dialogue and Writing Voice.

You said you’ve been writing in screenplay format? Immaculate. You’re already halfway there. If you know how to write ANYTHING (short stories, novels, screenplays) you already- hopefully- understand the basis of composing stories. Character arcs, plot lines, worldbuilding, etc. I’m not getting into ANY of that, bc your ask referred to formatting and formatting only. I gotcha luv.

The Step One: The Key to Novel Formatting

You’ve already written in screenplay format before. That’s great. You’re already, like, more than halfway there. I’ve tried screenplaying before, but I never got that far in. Not my best medium.

I’m assuming what you’ve worked on before looks like this (format wise, not content wise lmao)

Caps lock indication, space down, and dialogue.

Well here’s the neat thing: novel writing, while very different from screenplays, is much closer to screenplays with more detail:

Caps lock indication, italicized setup, space down, and dialogue.

OTHER THAN describing the camera angles, this has very similar content to a novel: describing portions (sometimes equal portions, usually not) of both dialogue and descriptions.

So! Remove the caps lock indication on who’s speaking, make that italicized setup into the flow of a paragraph, remove all the stuff on camera angles, and put that dialogue under quotation marks.

Now it looks like this:

OH WOW! IT LOOKS LIKE A NOVEL NOW!!

Don’t overthink it: you just take your same thoughts from your screenplay format, and then… transfer it. Piece of cake 🍰

The sub-category of Part One; Part One Extended I guess: Present or Past Tense

What tense do you want your novel to be written in? Present tense? Past tense?

I used to say, “ ALL books are written in past tense. Because as the reader, we’re looking into a story that has already been written. If a book is in present tense, that means the story is unfolding, that means the author is writing it while we’re reading it, and that’s impossible since we’re holding the copy of the book in our hands. NO books should be written in present tense 😡👎”

And then I opened up The Hunger Games and saw it was in present tense.

So it looks like I’m just wildly wrong about that.

I will say tho, most books are written in past tense. And that might, or might not, be more comfortable for the reader and writer. However, it is up you. Contrary to my former opinion, there is no right or wrong tense for your book to be in.

Here is a visual guide:

Once you pick one, though, stick with it. Jumping between past and present these, UNLESS it’s for any stylistic choice (character’s flashbacks, time travelling, etc.) will most likely be awkward to read.

The Step Two: The Importance of properly formatting dialogue

Quotation marks go THROUGHOUT a sentence.

“Why don’t you guys go look at my taco salad post” and “she said” is all ONE BIG SENTENCE.

“Why don’t you guys go look at my taco salad post.” She said. ❌

“Why don’t you guys go look at my taco salad post,” she said. ✅

Each dialogue before the end of the sentence completes with a comma instead of a period. Exclamation marks and question marks can be used in whatever dialogue format, since they’re tone indicators. There aren’t strict rules for tone indicators.

Commas and periods aren’t really tone indicators, so there’s a quick key on how to write that stuff:

Remember, if dialogue ends with a “she said” “she exclaimed” “she spoke” etc. etc. etc. it’ll be part of the same sentence. But, if dialogue ends with an action “she walked to the door” “she took a forkful of that taco salad” etc. etc. etc. it’ll be an entirely new sentence.

THIS is what it looks like:

Also, not every set of dialogue needs to have an end quote to it. This is what that looks like:

I mean, you could but brackets in dialogue. But I just want to warn you: I read a book like that, can’t recall the author’s name, and it distracted me greatly from the characters, plot, atmosphere, etc. I’d stay away from that.

The Step Three: The Writing Voice

So what is narrative voice, anyways?

This is essentially how you form your entire story. The tone, emotion, and descriptions of your story.

I know, I know, the idea that every single word you use reveals your writing style might sound daunting, but trust me, writing voice comes naturally. As long as you let it come naturally.

Essentially: people who know you really well, your closest friends and family, who recognize your quirks, your colloquialisms, and your speech patterns, will most likely recognize your writing style. Because it will sound like you.

And that’s all writing voice is. Your own style. Even this answer I typed out for your ask, it’s in my writing style. It’s in my voice. It’s a blend of eloquent words, long sentences, and a dash of humour here and there. My novel, albeit sounding obviously much different than me making a post on tumblr, also sounds like this. To an extent.

You write like how you speak, even if you’re writing from a specific character’s perspective.

An example is Rick Riordan’s writing sounds wildly different from Becky Chamber’s writing. Even though they’re both talented and hard working, excellent writers. Every book looks different Every book sounds different. Every book feels different.

So, how do you find your own writing style?

Of course, a published novel of yours will sound different than your personal diary. But, those differences aside, they both have your voice. So let yourself speak, let yourself write.

Your story is going directly from your brain, to your laptop screen, or pen and paper, or whatever. Let yourself get into it. Sometimes I read what I’m writing out loud. Sometimes I don’t. Do not overthink your writing voice, or try to force your novel to sound more formal, or more casual, or more poetic, or more or less descriptive, or more wordy. Just let it be.

The more you write, and the more drafts you create, you’ll find your writing voice without even needing to search around for it.

There is a website called, I Write Like This. You can copy and paste passages of your writing, a few hundred words at a time if you want, and it’ll analyze your flow of descriptions, dialogue, punctuation, and match it up with whatever famous author your voice sounds similar to.

I copy and pasted my entire second chapter, a few thousand words, and this is my badge:

My writing voice is similar to our beloved @neil-gaiman . Of course, our writing voice is not identical, as no two authors ever are, but the flow of the writing, the mood, the tone, the energy… it’s a little bit on the same page.

The bonus step four: write shit 💩

You said you write shit?

Good.

Write shit.

This is odd advice to give, I know. But when I say write shit, I mean as a start.

If you had sent an ask saying, “I’ve NEVER touched a pen, paper, or laptop in my life, I don’t know how to write!!” I’d be… daunted. Not an impossible task, but a daunting one. Just slightly harder to get into, slightly harder to give advice for.

I’d much rather you write like shit than not write at all. The hierarchy goes like this:

Good writing >>> shit writing >>> not writing at all.

I can’t remember where I heard this from, but to quote, “you can edit a poorly written page, but you can’t edit a blank page”.

So go, my lovely Sana. Be free. Write all the shit in the world. Fill up your pages. Get writers cramp. Get writers block. Recover from writers block. Make typos. Make messes. Write glorious, delicious, silly, stupid, and beautiful things. Your first draft is not supposed to be perfect. The time will come for pristine, polished, ready-to-be-published writing, and you do not need to rush into there. At all.

Write shit 💩 New-writing is the most necessary shit in this world.

#asks #answered ask #my beloved mutual #writing #writblr #writeblr #writing tips #writing advice #how to write #writing community #neil gaiman #writing asks #writers on tumblr #writers #books #novel writing

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penmansparadise · 2 years

Text

Eddie Munson ~ You’re Mine

*I DO NOT OWN THIS GIF* *CREDIT TO THE GIF OWNER*

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.9k

Warnings: SMUT 18 +. Fingering. Choking. Spanking. Hair Pulling. Possessive Eddie. Edging. Unprotected sex. Praising (Please let me know if I missed something)

a/n: I'm so sorry this request took a little longer to post. I have been going through it lol. But here it is! This was requested from my Wattpad. I want to make a disclosure for this one. I mention hair pulling, and I don't usually mention hair or anything like that in my NEW one shots, so let me know if it's not appropriate or singles some readers out because I will change it if necessary. I like to be as neutral as possible so that everyone can enjoy my stories. So, please, let me know. Also, mama Penman's Paradise is coming out lol. This story does not use protection, but please do not have unprotected sex y'all. It is so dangerous and unsafe, and unless you're ready to have a baby, don't do it. Always use some form of contraception, okay? Okay. Now that I got that out of the way, my next post will be a Henry Creel/001 smut and then, FINALLY, a male reader story (I know some of my readers have been waiting for that). I am packing to travel, so bare with me if it takes a little longer for the next few stories to be posted. As always, thank you all for the support, and I hope you enjoy this one!

You opened your locker and began gathering the things you’d need for the weekend with a sigh. For some reason, teachers never understood that students did not want to do homework on the only two days off during the week. Yet they still assigned work each weekend. You placed a couple textbooks in your bag and when you looked up again, hanging right where you put it a few months ago was a photo of you and Eddie. Your lips lifted into a smile as you looked at it. You and Eddie had been dating for eight months. You met when you and your mother moved to the Forest Trailer Park, but you didn’t start hanging out until the summer before senior year. During those couple of months, you and he got really close, spending almost every waking moment with one another. At first, you were worried that when school started back up, he would forget about you, but you were pleasantly surprised when he started offering you rides and invited you to eat lunch with him and his friends. It only took Eddie a month into senior year to ask you to be his girlfriend, which you enthusiastically accepted.

Once the two of you started dating, it didn’t take long for you to figure out that Eddie was insecure about your relationship. He would constantly tell you that you were out of his league and that you deserved someone better. So, you would always reassure him that he was perfect for you, followed by plenty of kisses and cuddles. But soon, Eddie started to grow possessive of you. You noticed it when he started to hold you a little tighter when Steve, one of your best friends, was around. He wouldn’t let you sit anywhere but his lap, and his hands never left your body. When you brought it up to him, Eddie just told you that he wanted to make sure everyone knew you were his and then dropped the subject.

You were pulled out of your thoughts by the sound of someone knocking on your locker door.

“Knock, knock,” Steve said, slightly shutting the metal door to expose himself.

You chuckled and shut it the rest of the way.

“Hey, Steve. What’s up?”

“So,” Steve said, moving to stand in front of you, “my parents are out of town tonight.”

You rolled your eyes and tried to walk away, but Steve’s hand grabbing your forearm stopped you. You turned back to him and yanked your arm from his hold.

“Steve, no.”

“What?” He asked, whining a little. “Come on. It’ll be good for us. We need a night to just get shit-faced drunk and be stupid teens.”

Your eyes widened, and your jaw dropped.

“Need I remind you, Steve, the last time you held a get-together-”

“I know what happened the last time, Y/N.” He shook his head. “But it’s different now. All that Upside Down shit is over.”

Steve nudged your shoulder.

“Come on. You and Eddie can come, and I’ll invite Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, and a few others. It’ll be fun.”

You just stared at your friend for a beat. He raised his eyebrows.

“So? What do you say?”

The two of you just held the other’s gaze until you heaved a sigh.

“Fine. What time?”

Steve started to smile like a little kid.

“Eight o clock,” he said as he began to walk away. “I’ll see you two later.”

Before you could turn around to see who he was referring to, Eddie’s arm snaked around your waist, pulling you tight to his side. You looked at your boyfriend and nuzzled into him.

“Hey, baby.”

His eyes weren’t on you, though. Instead, Eddie’s stare was locked on Steve’s retreating figure.

“Hey,” he said, voice sounding distant. “What, uh, what did Steve want?”

You tried to pull out of Eddie’s grip, but his hand stayed firmly on your waist.

“He’s hosting a party tonight. It’s at eight, and I said we would go.”

Eddie’s lips formed into a straight line, and his stare hardened a little. His body went rigid, and you furrowed your eyebrows, looking at him.

“Unless you don’t want to go. I can tell him we won’t be there.”

Your statement had him relaxing against you. He turned his stare to you, smiled, and shook his head. It always amazed you how he could change his attitude so quickly when he looked at you. It made you melt every time. Eddie cupped your cheek and rubbed his thumb in tiny circles.

“No, baby, it’s alright.” He placed a sweet kiss on your nose. “If my girl wants to get all dressed up and go to a party, then that’s what we’re gonna do.”

Your stomach did a somersault as you bit your bottom lip. Even after eight months, you couldn’t figure out how Eddie still managed to give you butterflies like you had just met. You leaned into him and pressed your lips to his. Even with your eyes closed, you could feel him smile into the kiss, making your heart flutter. When you pulled back, Eddie gave you a small peck, then led you to his van.

The drive back to the trailer park was quick. Eddie let you ramble on about how you couldn’t believe Ms. O’Donnell assigned a whole paper over the weekend and how excited you were to go to Steve’s party. Before you knew it, he was pulling in front of your house. It wasn’t as if you lived far from one another. In fact, you could see Eddie’s trailer from yours, but he still insisted that he drop you off every time. You gave a quick goodbye kiss before hopping out and entering your home. It wouldn’t be long before Eddie would be back. He didn’t stay far for very long. So, you went to your room and started working on your paper. You were so wrapped up in the assignment that you didn’t realize the afternoon had gotten away from you until a light knock came from your front door, and Eddie entered.

“Babe?” You heard him shout from the living room. “It’s just me. I’m coming in, so don’t freak out.”

Your head swiveled to the clock and realized it was already past dinner.

“Son of a bitch,” you whispered to yourself as you stood from your desk and hurried to your closet.

Eddie walked into your room just as you were rustling through your clothes. When you looked over at him, a tiny chuckle fell from your lips. He was wearing the same black distressed jeans, leather jacket, and Dio denim vest he wore to school. The only thing he changed was his shirt from his Hell Fire top to a black v-neck. Even though he didn’t do much, his version of getting dressed up still made him look amazing. Something about the way his guitar pick chain hung over his chest made your legs tighten. You quickly looked away and grabbed an outfit from your closet. You paired some high-waisted jeans with an off-the-shoulder top that showed a little bit of midriff. Eddie watched you as you moved around your room, putting the finishing touches on your look. When you were standing in front of your mirror, making sure everything looked perfect, he stood up from your bed and moved to stand behind you. His hands traveled from your exposed shoulders down your arms. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on your neck. His curls tickled your skin, and you could feel the goosebumps rising anywhere his hands touched. He looked at you through the mirror, and you asked, “You ready to go?”

A small smirk pulled at his lips.

“I don’t know,” he said, kissing every inch of bare skin his lips could find. “Maybe we could be a little late, if you know what I mean.”

Your stomach did a flip as you moved your head out of the way to give him better access to your neck. His hands found your waist, and he pulled your body flush with his. You could feel his heart racing in his chest and him growing harder with every kiss he planted on your body. A small moan fell from your lips, and you could feel him smile against you. Every part of you reacted to him. Your heart fluttered, and your core clenched. You couldn’t think of a time he didn’t have that effect on you. But just as his fingers found the button of your jeans, you slowly turned in his arms to face him.

“Maybe later, baby. We have a party to get to, remember?”

Eddie rolled his eyes with a groan but nodded nonetheless.

By the time you got to Steve’s house, the place was packed, forcing Eddie to park a little farther down the road. Once his van was in park, you both got out and headed for Steve’s house. You could hear the music blasting from down the road, and by the time you reached Steve’s driveway, your whole body was vibrating from the bass. It was a good thing Steve practically lived in the middle of nowhere because had there been neighbors, the police would have already shut down the party. Teenagers you recognized as your classmates littered the front yard. There were definitely more than a few people, like Steve had originally said. You and Eddie entered the house and did your best to navigate your way through the mob of people. When you finally reached an opening, you saw Steve standing by a beer pong table. A wide smile spread across your face when you saw your friend. You went to move closer to him, but Eddie’s arm snaked around your waist, pulling you into his side. You looked at him, but before you could say anything, Steve approached you two.

“Hey!” He shouted over the loud music. “You two finally made it!”

His words were slurring, and he was a bit wobbly on his feet.

“I’ve been getting my ass kicked because I didn’t have my pong buddy,” Steve said, nudging your shoulder.

You laughed at him. It wasn’t very often you saw Steve let loose, and when he did, it was always so out of character that it was comical.

“Well, I’m here now. Shall we?”

Steve hooted before turning back to the people standing around the table. You gave Eddie a quick kiss and went to follow Steve, but Eddie’s grip tightened on your hip. When you turned to look at him again, you noticed he wasn’t focused on you. His stare was hard as he watched Steve saunter back to the pong table. His lips were in a straight line, and his usually warm eyes were cold.

“Hey,” you said, placing a hand on his cheek, “everything okay?”

His grip loosened, and he pulled his arm away from your body. His stature was still rigid.

“Yeah,” he said, giving you a weak smile. “I’m just gonna go get something to drink.”

Eddie placed a kiss on the top of your head before walking away. You made your way to the pong table and joined Steve. It took you a few drinks to loosen up, but once you did, you and Steve dominated. Every couple that came up against you two left drunker than they were when they started the game. Together, you and Steve were undefeated.

You could feel a good buzz coursing through your veins as you tossed the ball and sunk it into one of the cups. You threw your arms in the air, cheering before wrapping them around Steve’s neck. He lifted you up and spun you around, hollering as well. The other team attempted to sink their ball and missed. Steve picked up the ball and threw it. You all watched as the tiny sphere plopped into the last cup. You and Steve cheered, and he picked you up again. Both of you were laughing and celebrating your fifth win of the night. When Steve finally placed you back on the floor, you turned to try and find Eddie. At first, you couldn’t find him until your eyes landed on his figure leaning against the far wall. The cold look from before was on his face. One of his hands was balled into a fist at his side as he sipped his drink. At first, he wasn’t looking at you, but when his hard stare finally met yours, it didn’t soften. His eyes were darker than you were used to, and something inside you awoke. You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol or if that was just the effect he had on you. But either way, you left the pong table and Steve behind, gravitating toward Eddie like a sailor to a siren’s call. Eddie’s eyes never left you as you walked across the room, and when you reached him, his arm immediately wrapped around you. His hand was unusually low on your back, causing your already racing heart to nearly explode.

“Are you okay?” You asked, the question coming out a little breathier than you had intended.

Being so close to him, you could see how dark Eddie’s eyes truly were. They were like two black holes, and you so badly wanted to be sucked into them. Eddie’s arm tightened around your waist before he turned and started walking the two of you away from the flock of people. He moved you through the crowd until you were walking out onto Steve’s pool deck. There were a few people sitting outside smoking, so Eddie guided you to a more secluded area. When he was sure no one was near the two of you, he took a seat, then pulled you onto his lap. He made sure your back was pressed against his chest. His hands rested on your thighs, and his mouth found your neck almost instantly. You sucked in a breath at the unexpected feel of his lips on your bare skin.

“Eddie, what’s going on?” You asked, trying your best to not give away the fact that you were slowly getting turned on.

Eddie nipped at your neck before his lips brushed against your ear.

“Do you enjoy making me jealous?”

His fingers started tracing circles on your thighs, moving up and down and sending chills running down your spine. You swallowed a moan.

“What?”

His lips peppered kisses down your neck and to your shoulder.

“You know,” he began. “Hanging all over Steve and spending the majority of your night with him instead of me. So, I will ask again.”

His fingers dug into your thighs, and you could feel your core tighten.

“Do you enjoy making me jealous?”

He dragged the back of his fingers up your legs until they found your midriff. They brushed over the button on your jeans before he started to tug on your waistband. You could feel yourself getting wetter by the second and aching for him to devour every inch of your body. But when you didn’t answer his question, Eddie nipped at your ear lobe and said lowly, “You know I don’t like when you hang around other guys.”

You shut your eyes and leaned your head back just slightly.

“Why is that?”

“Because,” he growled, “you’re mine.”

You could feel Eddie’s erection, and you couldn’t help but grind into him a little. He let out a few quiet moans into your ear, lighting a fire within you. You grinded a little longer until you couldn’t handle the ache that you felt in your core any longer.

“I want to go,” you said, breathless. “I want to go back to the van.”

You didn’t have to see Eddie’s face to see the sly smirk that was playing on his lips as he said, “As you wish, babe.”

He stood, and his hands were on your waist as he walked you back into the house. You were bumping into people, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was getting into the van and getting back to your house so Eddie could have his way with you. But Steve called after you and stopped you.

“Hey! You’re leaving already?” He shouted from the living room.

You went to turn around to answer him when Eddie released your hips, grabbed your hand, and dragged you away from him. It was hard to keep pace with him as he towed you through the party and out the front door. Eddie never looked back, though. With each step he took, the music and people slowly started to fall away until it was just the two of you at his van. You went to move toward the passenger side door, but Eddie pulled you away. You furrowed your eyebrows at him, but before you could ask him what he was doing, he spoke.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked as he opened the back of the van.

There was a blanket and a few pillows thrown haphazardly on top of it. You didn’t know how you missed it when you first got in the van, but it didn’t matter. Eddie was holding his hand out, and you didn’t hesitate to take it and climb in. Eddie followed you before shutting the doors, plunging you into near darkness. The moon shining through the windshield was the only light illuminating the inside of the van. It cast shadows over Eddie’s face that made him look darker than usual. He looked like a predator, and you felt like you were his prey, sitting under his calculating stare. Your heart was racing in anticipation. All you wanted was Eddie’s hands all over your body. You wanted to feel his tongue trace every hill and canyon on your body. Your legs clenched at the thought.

You sat under Eddie’s stare for another minute before crawling closer to him and planting your lips on his. It was hungry and fervent. Your hands cupped his cheeks as you tried to get as close to him as humanly possible. But your efforts were shot down when Eddie’s fingers curled around your wrists and pulled you off him. You looked at him with bewilderment. He pushed you back into a sitting position and released your hands. His eyes were lustful as he looked at you. It was a look you weren’t used to, but you liked it. He licked his lips.

“You’ve been a bad girl tonight, Y/N. So, you’re not in charge. I am. Understand?”

Your mouth was watering, and your body was buzzing. You wanted to disregard what Eddie was saying and pounce on top of him. You wanted him undressed, and on top of you so badly you could just rip his clothes off. But you didn’t. Instead, you just nodded and said, “Mhm.”

A smirk pulled at Eddie’s lips.

“Good, girl,” he said before nodding toward you. “Now, undress for me.”

You were like putty in his hands. Without hesitation, you wiggled out of your clothes, leaving you completely nude in front of him. The eagerness you were feeling was a wild thing inside of you. It was almost too much to contain as you sat there, waiting for him to put his hands on you. But he didn’t move right away. Instead, Eddie’s eyes traveled the entire length of your body. He was taking every inch of you in like he was trying to memorize you. You were already squirming, but the way he looked at you made you want him even more than before. When his eyes crawled back up to meet yours, he leaned forward, pushed you back, and pinned your body down with his. The rough fabric of his denim jack against your bare nipples was sensational. You bucked your hips up a little and were met with the cold metal of Eddie’s handcuff belt. You sucked in a breath at the unexpected sensation, but you didn’t stop moving your hips. His belt was in the perfect spot to rub against your clit, and you were desperate. You needed to feel some friction. But Eddie wasn’t having it. He placed one of his hands on your hip, shoving it down against the blanket.

“I didn’t tell you to do that, did I?”

You were practically shaking. Between how husky his voice was and the feeling of his body pressed against yours, you weren’t sure how much longer you were going to last. You shook your head.

“No.”

Eddie leaned his face a little closer to yours, his dark curls creating a curtain over the two of you.

“Keep being bad and see what happens, Y/N.”

Before you could even comprehend what he had said, his lips pressed against yours before making their trek south. They traveled over your neck, then over your breast. He licked your nipple, then kept going down your navel and over your hip bones before he was hovering over your core. You could feel his warm breath teasing you. He took his forefinger and rubbed it over your core before pulling it up into the light. It was glistening, and he hummed in approval.

“So wet, baby.”

He didn’t waste another minute before moving his hand back down and sliding his middle finger inside of you. A long moan fell from your lips at finally feeling even just a part of him touching where you most wanted him. He did a few strokes before adding his ring finger as well. You shut your eyes and dipped your head back. With each stroke, you could feel the cool of his rings brushing up against your pussy. The sweet contrast between the warmth of his fingers and his cold rings was enough to send you over the edge. But then Eddie moved his thumb over your clit and started to rub soft, small circles. You couldn’t help the moans that were pouring out of you at the feeling of his fingers sliding in and out of you. Eddie was taking his time. Each stroke was slow and measured. He made sure the length of his fingers went all the way in before he curled them and pulled them out. His thumb played with your clit, carefully rubbing round and round, making you a moaning mess. And you wanted more. So, you planted your feet and started to thrust into Eddie’s fingers. The extra depth made you moan even louder, but it didn’t last long. As soon as you started to lift your hips, Eddie quickly removed his fingers from you.

Your eyes shot open, and you looked at him with a whine.

“Why did you stop?”

Eddie took his jackets off, pulled his shirt over his head, then started unbuckling his pants.

“Roll over,” he ordered.

“But I was enjoying-”

Eddie’s hand was around your throat, stopping your sentence. His calloused fingers gripped the sides of your neck, pressing his rings into your skin. You knew that they were going to leave a mark, but you could care less. He leaned a little closer to you until his face was only inches from yours.

“I said, roll over.”

His hand released your throat, then grabbed your hips and flipped you onto your belly. You could hear him remove his pants before his hands lifted you onto your knees. He ran a hand over your spine, causing you to arch your back into his touch. His rings burned a trail from your ass up to the back of your head. He grabbed a handful of your hair and pulled your head back.

“You’ve been bad all night,” he said, slapping your ass.

You sucked in a breath before a smile pulled at your lips.

“You didn’t want to listen to me when I just told you to stay still.” Another slap. “And you wanted to be all over another guy at the party.” Another slap.

His free hand slid under your torso until it found your throat again. His bare body was leaning over yours, and you could feel his hard erection against your ass. You looked at him through the corner of your eye.

“I’m gonna show you what happens to my girl when she doesn’t listen,” he said before releasing your throat and sliding into you without warning.

You gasped at how full you felt suddenly, but that gasp quickly turned into a moan. Eddie thrusted into you hard, and you gasped again.

“You’re mine, Y/N,” he grunted out with each thrust. “And I’m gonna make sure everyone knows.”

He pushed into you again. Every thrust was rough and unmeasured, but he hit your pleasure spot each time. You felt one of his hands leave your hips and slide up your back again. He grabbed another handful of hair, yanking your head back. You let out a long, loud moan that melted into Eddie’s groans. The sound of skin smacking against skin and pleasure pouring from both of you filled the van. You were breathing heavily, and so was Eddie. The windows began to fog, and you could feel sweat beading up on your back.

Eddie released your hair, running his hand down the length of your back before slapping your ass and sliding it over your thigh until it found your clit. He rubbed circle after circle in time with his rough thrusts. Your knees were hurting, and you were sure they were going to be bruised. But you didn’t care. All you cared about was how Eddie found a way to let his fingers and rings rub against you in perfect sync creating a sensation you had never felt before.

You were moaning and didn’t even care how loud you were. You could feel yourself getting closer and closer with every circle Eddie’s fingers made. Your whole body was shaking, and you could feel yourself starting to clench around Eddie. He pushed into you a few more times before pulling out and removing his hand from your clit. You let out a frustrated groan before Eddie flipped you over without warning. He threw your legs wide, positioned himself over you, then shoved himself into you again. You threw your head back and moaned, long and low. But Eddie grabbed your face, his fingers pressing into both your cheeks and forced you to look at him.

“I want to watch you go, baby. I want to see just how good I make you feel.”

His fingers dug into your cheeks as he thrusted deeper and deeper into you. He used his free hand to grab one of yours and place it over your clit. You didn’t have to ask what he wanted you to do. Without even thinking about it, you started to pleasure yourself as he slammed into you. Eddie watched your hand go to work and groaned.

“Oh, good girl,” Eddie said, dragging out the word “good.” “Keep going, baby.”

Eddie’s praise nearly sent you over the edge. You wanted to hear him call you a “good girl” over and over again. Your breathing was uneven as you whimpered with pleasure. Eddie’s hand never left your face, and with every rough thrust, you could feel his fingers dig deeper into your cheeks. You could feel yourself getting closer, your core clenching around Eddie. You could tell he was getting closer by how sloppy he was getting.

“Say my name, baby,” he begged you, and you obliged.

“Oh, Eddie,” you moaned, “I’m so close. Please, don’t stop.”

His hand slid from your face down to your throat, fingers pressing into the sides of your neck. You could feel his rings imprinting themselves into your skin. You rubbed faster, and Eddie slammed into you harder. You could feel your stomach tightening as your climax got closer and closer until, finally, you were unraveling. Your body trembled underneath Eddie’s as he thrusted into you several more times before he came inside of you. He stayed on top of you for another second before finally pulling out and falling next to you. Both of you were breathing heavily and glistening with sweat. The windows were fogged over, and you were sure that it would be a dead giveaway what just went down if anyone happened to walk by the van. You looked over to Eddie and took him in for a second before he finally turned to look at you too.

“You wanna swing by the diner for something to eat?” Eddie asked, his voice low.

You couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled out of you at his question.

“It’s late, though.”

He shrugged.

“Yeah, but I could really go for some waffles right now.”

A smile spread across your lips, and you nodded.

“Okay.”

Eddie jumped up and started handing you your clothes before he got dressed. When you were both decent again, he helped you climb into the front seat and then joined you. He took your hand in his and drove off toward the diner. You stared at him. There was no doubt that you were absolutely in love with him. You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth and made a mental note: you would definitely be bad more often if that was the kind of treatment you’d get.

Tag List: @violetrainbow412-blog @tellmehows @pastel-abyss-x @lilliandanelle @ilovereadingfanfics @thatnerdana

#eddie munson #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fandom #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x reader #stranger things #stranger things imagine #stranger things imagines #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fandom

349 notes · View notes

chenziee · 6 months

Text

The Stubborn

This story was written for the amazing @zosanauzine!! You can find it as a part of the main zine :D

It's also a part of the Obstacles soulmate AU verse 👀

This is actually a little bit of an extend version because I needed to cut a scene out for the zine because of word count 😭 there's also a few minor changes because I wrote this way before The Markless so I had to do some edits to make the timeline fit together but shhh

The zine's aftersales are open right now, so don't miss out!! 👀

[ Read on AO3 | Obstacles series | Ko-Fi ]

—————

They say that everyone has a soulmate out there somewhere. There will always be a person matching the mark decorating your skin, you simply have to find them.

Sounds easy enough.

But nothing is ever as easy as it seems when the world is separated into five seas, when it’s nearly impossible to travel through freely unless you have government permission to cross the Red Line and a Navy warship to get you through the Calm Belt. Only the strongest—or absurdly lucky—go wherever they want and survive.

And, even if you overcome all those odds and are able to travel across all the seas to find that person, there can be other obstacles to stand in the way.

Blank skin is one.

Stubbornness another.

—————

“You seriously don’t have a mark?” Usopp asked doubtfully.

Sanji sighed before he lit a cigarette, taking a long drag. Only after a ring of smoke left his mouth did he bother to look at Usopp to reply, “Seriously. And good thing too, it gives me the freedom to love all the ladies.”

“Uh-huh,” Usopp hummed, raising an eyebrow. A person without a soulmate—or at least without a soul mark—wasn’t completely unheard of but they were usually people like Luffy, people without a single ounce of interest in romance or dating. Not… Sanji.

Torao may have put a tiny dent in that theory but the point still stood.

Usopp knew there had to be a catch. Either Sanji was lying, or his mark was so subtle that he mistook it for a regular birthmark. There was simply no way that—

“Ah, crap,” Sanji cursed when he dropped a spatula.

And then, Usopp could only watch as Sanji bent down, the hem of his shirt riding up on his back and exposing a little bit of skin.

It felt like Usopp’s jaw hit the floor when his mind processed just what he was looking at. There was a mark. The mark. The exact soul mark that Sanji claimed he didn’t have. And its shape was—

Usopp had to rub at his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things but no. It really was three crossed swords, the one in the middle suspiciously resembling Wado Ichimonji.

Immediately, Usopp’s mind flashed to all the times their local Three Sword Style expert pointedly ignored any and all questions about his soulmate. He remembered all the fights that used to abuse the Going Merry and that still continued to abuse the Thousand Sunny to this day. He could practically see the face Zoro made everytime Sanji would go off to hit on yet another random, beautiful woman.

And suddenly, it all made sense.

Gulping heavily, Usopp bit hard on his bottom lip to keep his voice level as he addressed Sanji, who was now scrubbing his dropped spatula in the sink. “Hey, Sanji,” he started slowly. “There’s something on your back.”

Sanji paused at his words, turning his head to look at Usopp, then craning his neck to see his backside. He struggled for a few seconds, even reaching with his hand to blindly try and brush the non-existent dirt off of himself, completely misunderstanding what Usopp had meant.

“I can’t see, can you get it for me?” Sanji asked, frustration clear in his voice.

And Usopp… had to struggle very, very hard to not start laughing as he complied, making a show of ‘cleaning’ Sanji’s shirt.

This was seriously getting better and better. Not only had he learned some wonderful, sweet information that Nami would pay good money for—maybe even forgive the interest on the money he had borrowed from her if he played his cards right—but Sanji also didn’t know about any of this because he couldn’t see his back.

The peaceful days on the Sunny were about to get a lot more interesting.

—————

Zoro didn’t understand. It was as if overnight, the rest of the crew had collectively decided to become a complete pain in his ass. He could simply be training and minding his own damn business, and suddenly, Nami would start loudly complimenting the cook’s new pants, saying how well they fit him. The stupid love-cook wasn’t able to form a single sentence the rest of the day; the only things that came out of his mouth were incoherent mumbles and sighs of ‘Nami-swan’, which only annoyed Zoro more. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to cut Sanji or Nami for that.

Or he could be sitting in the kitchen, trying to eat his late breakfast in peace when Robin would walk in. She’d look at Zoro, then Twirly standing at the stove and smile, only to note how ‘sweet’ the atmosphere was.

Zoro had nearly choked on his rice.

One time, he was even asleep when Franky had decided to loudly drop one of his creations right next to him. Zoro had startled awake, thinking they were under attack but then Franky’s laughter filled his ears.

“Hey, Zoro! You look super tired!” he said. “You should get some sleep, man.”

“Shut up,” Zoro replied with a yawn. This guy, seriously; what did he think Zoro was trying to be doing?

Franky grinned with a suspicious spark in his eyes, like he was dying to make fun of Zoro further but desperately trying to hold back. “You should ask Sanji to help you sleep.”

Zoro’s eyebrows shot up. What the fuck was this cyborg even saying? “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked finally, after what felt like an eternity of them just staring at each other, trying to gauge each other’s thoughts.

“Who knows?” Franky shrugged, his teasing grin only widening. “But Sanji’s our super cook and he spent two years learning new recipes. I’m sure he can whip up something nice especially for you.”

Zoro blinked, giving Franky one last blank look before deciding to ignore this entire exchange and go back to sleep. There was no point pursuing this further; he was sure he wouldn’t get anything else out of the shipwright that would make any sense.

But there were many more instances like this; Usopp noting how ‘amazing’ Eyebrows was at random times. Brook telling him to cherish his soulmate after reminiscing about the time he had spent with his own. Jinbe earnestly wishing him good luck for no reason. Nami threatening to charge him if she was ever ‘subjected to hearing things’, whatever that meant.

There was something off about the whole thing. It was as if…

No, it couldn't be. There was no way the idiots had somehow learned about Zoro’s soulmate… situation. After all, he’d made both Luffy and Chopper swear to not blab out anything stupid and he always made sure to wear his haramaki to keep his mark perfectly hidden. After all, there was no need for anyone to know, no need for anyone to see the stupid spiral on his hip—least of all, the shitty cook it belonged to.

Closing his eyes, Zoro cursed internally; the universe really had a sick sense of humour. Of all people, of literally all the people in the world, his soulmate just had to be someone infuriating. The only saving grace was that the idiot was too stupid to realise.

Seriously, it was ridiculous. Who even missed something like a soulmark? How did that happen? He might have expected something like that from Luffy but not the cook; he might have been absolutely maddening but he wasn’t dumb. He had saved the crew several times by using his brain before but apparently, finding something on your own skin was a more challenging task than outsmarting the navy headquarters at Enies Lobby.

Zoro startled at the chuckle that easily passed his lips at the thought. Stupid Mr Nosebleed making him feel all these things. It would have been so much easier if he was just an annoyance or just an endearing idiot but no, he had to be both. Making Zoro want to kill him and kiss him and then kill him again all in the span of five seconds just by breathing and it was driving Zoro absolutely insane.

“You’d think I’d get used to all this by now,” Zoro growled, ruffling his hair in frustration.

“Is this about Sanji?” A soft chuckle accompanied the words just before someone sat on the barrel next to him.

Zoro sighed. “Why do I get a feeling no matter what I say, you’re not going to believe me?”

“Because you’re not a very good liar,” Robin laughed, crossing her legs and leaning back against the railing behind her.

“Shut up,” Zoro could only grumble before looking away. At least he could confidently say he was still better at it than Luffy. It was just that nothing seemed to get past this woman.

“You two are so cute. You do know you could just talk to each other, right?” Robin was quite obviously holding back laughter as she asked, even having to raise her hand to hide her mouth when Zoro shot her a glare.

“As if I could just bring that up!” he snapped. “What would I even say? Shitty cook doesn’t even know.”

Robin smiled at him gently. “Doesn’t he?”

Zoro froze at her words, but before he could so much as ask what that was supposed to mean, Robin continued, “The connection doesn’t appear for no reason. It doesn’t have to be that difficult, you know.”

Zoro didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like she was wrong but it didn’t seem right either. They hated each other. They couldn’t say good morning without it turning into a fight. And yet, this woman was basically saying it was all in his head.

“Easy for you to say…”

Letting go of a deep sigh, Zoro let his head fall back. He couldn’t help but note what a beautiful day it was. Almost too beautiful. They must have been close to a spring island.

If only everything was as simple as the cloudless blue skies.

—————

“I’m off! I’ll make sure to pick out only the best ingredients for you, ladies.” Sanji bowed before he turned around to leave.

The Sunny had docked at a spring island earlier that morning and after some preparations—namely Luffy insisting on getting his pirate lunch-box before going anywhere—the crew was ready to go check out the port town. It didn’t really matter to Nami what any of them did there, as long as Luffy didn’t manage to set the town on fire before lunch but…

As funny as the whole thing was at first, she was also getting a little tired of it.

“Sanji!” Nami called after their retreating cook. “Take Zoro with you!”

Both Zoro and Sanji froze, whipping around to stare at her with open mouths.

“Why would I want to bring the idiot mosshead?!”

“Why would I want to go with the idiot love-cook?!”

Nami sighed deeply before pointing at Zoro. “Because I don’t want you to get lost and—” she paused to point at Sanji— “because I don’t want you to get distracted.”

It was a lie, a transparent one. It wasn’t like this was the first island, the first city where they would each go their separate ways with no idea what the rest were doing. As much as she was right about Zoro’s sense of direction and Sanji’s tendency to chase after women, she had never gone out of her way to force them to stay together for no apparent reason. But if she didn’t step in, they would never get anywhere and she was done watching these two dance around each other like a couple of idiots.

“Oi, Nami,” Zoro hissed but a single stern look from her was enough to end the argument before it even began.

They were going to go together and talk and there was nothing either man could do about it.

—————

Automatically grabbing the bag that was handed to him, Zoro wondered why he had even agreed to this. He wanted to say it was because of the kindness of his heart, because he took pity on the cook, because he had nothing better to do. He didn’t want to admit it was because he was scared of Nami or worse, that he wanted to spend time with Curly. Absolutely not.

But there was a damn limit, alright?

“Hey, Cook,” Zoro growled when he was handed yet another bag. “Just how much stuff do you want me to carry for you?”

Brow raised, Sanji put down the apple he was examining to look at Zoro instead. “What else are you here for? Don’t tell me this is too much for a muscle-head like you.”

“That’s not the point! You carry something, too!” Zoro snapped back because really, it wasn’t like it was heavy but why was he carrying all of the thirty shopping bags?

“Why should I? Plus, I need both hands to choose the highest quality food for Nami and Robin.”

Sanji’s snarky tone softened as soon as he thought of the girls and Zoro hated how much that change irritated him. Why did he have to get stuck with this womaniser for a soulmate? “It’s always about the women,” Zoro muttered bitterly.

“What?” There was a mix of annoyance and honest confusion in Prince’s voice and somehow, that only made Zoro angrier.

“You heard me,” he said curtly, looking straight at Cook in a direct challenge.

There was a moment of silence while Sanji stared back, then wordlessly lit a cigarette. Closing his eyes momentarily, he took a moment to blow out the smoke before he glared at Zoro. “Are you picking a fight? Who do you think all the rice is for, huh?!”

“For me, so the razorblades have flavour!” Zoro shot back, already reaching for Enma despite all the bags in his hands.

“You asked for those!” Sanji’s foot was on fire now, slowly rising up to return Zoro’s attack… but then it froze in mid-air, the flames dying as Browgoro blinked, his mouth falling open, cigarette dropping. “Wait, you actually ate that?”

Suddenly, it felt like the flames from Sanji’s attack jumped over to Zoro’s face; he wasn’t sure why he was embarrassed—he had been very proud back on Punk Hazard for managing to digest those, just like he had claimed he could…

So, why did he feel like disappearing off the face of the earth now?

He couldn’t even look at Dart-brow when he replied, his voice a quiet mumble, “We can’t waste food, right?”

Grave silence settled over the two of them at his words; it was like everyone at the market had disappeared, leaving only Sanji, Zoro, and his increasing sense of mortification.

It felt like several long, agonising hours later that Sanji finally let out a long-suffering groan and buried his face in his hands. “Why did I have to get stuck with this Marimo for a soulmate…”

Immediately, Zoro’s good eye widened.

“You knew?!” he asked in horror. Curly had always claimed he didn’t have a soul mark, that he was ‘free to love all the ladies’, so what the hell was he saying right now?!

Sanji visibly froze; he obviously didn’t think before speaking, was probably just as shocked as Zoro to hear his own voice forming the words.

They stared at each other for a moment, both too stunned to even blink. It took a laughing child crashing right into Zoro to get time to move again… only it felt like it sped up a little too much. Zoro’s head was spinning. He barely knew what was going on anymore, only that he needed to do something. Anything. But… He was never one to think too deeply about things.

That was what Sanji was there for and look where that got them.

Clenching his jaw, Zoro decided.

Fuck it.

He took the two steps that separated them, grabbing Sanji’s arm without a word to drag him away. He didn’t know where he was going, he didn’t know what he was going to do…

But if, at the end of it, he finally learns what Sanji’s lips taste like, that was perfectly fine by him.

—————

“How did it go?” Usopp asked casually when the two of them got back.

“We got everything for your special tangerine sauce, Nami!” Sanji called, completely ignoring Usopp in favour of waving to the navigator. No surprise there.

Zoro clicked his tongue at the cook’s antics, simply walking by while carrying all of the many shopping bags. “Sanji, I’m gonna drop these in the kitchen. Put the shit away yourself.”

“As if I’d let you mess around my kitchen anyway!” Sanji snapped back immediately.

Yep, nothing’s changed. Usopp wasn’t surprised Nami’s plan didn’t work; if forcing them to be alone was enough, then they wouldn’t be—

Wait.

“Did you just call him ‘Sanji’?!”

21 notes · View notes

calextheneko · 7 months

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Mario RPG Post Game Bosses Quick and Dirty Guide

Okay, so I can't promise the tactics I'm going to suggest here are the best effective tactics in the game for defeating each of the bosses in the post game. But I will say they let me roll through all of them pretty fast. Also bosses are pretty much in the order I encountered them. If at any point you're unsure if what boss you should be fighting you can go talk to Frog Sage at tadpole pond to be hinted at where to go.

Before Any Fights

Make sure you've fought and defeated Jinx three times and beaten Culex in Montro town and got the Jinx Belt and Quartz Charm accessories.

Level up as much as possible. You can buy the EXP Booster from the frog coin merchant in Seaside Town which doubles the XP of the person who has it equipped even if they're not in battle. The Lucky Egg bought from the Treasure Hunter in the Moeville Item Shop can be used to double your XP earned a lot for the party if you're good at the shuffle game.

Buy the Earlier Times item from the Frog Coin Merchant in Seaside Time. When RNG just goes bad or you mess up this will let you restart the fight right away rather than having to slowly die and resume from the last save point.

Make sure you have a Feather. If you didn't get won from beating Dodo in the statue mini game you can buy one, or if you want a second buy a second one from the Treasure Hunter in the Moeville Item Shop.

Make sure yo have the Lazy Shell (Weapon and armor) and Safety Ring.

Get as many Kercolas, Red Essences and Rock Candies that you can.

Practice timed hits and perfect blocks because both are required for multiple boss fights and will be the difference between life and death.

Consider getting the Star Egg from Grate Guy's Casino if you can stand the torture that is winning 100 Games of Look the Other Way. It deals a flat 100 damage to all enemies so isn't the best damage but it's reliable and reusable so comes in handy when you need something to damage everyone.

Now to the bosses.

Belome

Fought in Belome temple. Don't be an idiot like me and immediately run through all of Kero Sewer and then have to do Midas River because he's not there. Frog Sage told me he was up to his old tricks. So old tricks made me think the sewers. It was the temple. Travel to Monstro Town and enter the temple from there to get to him instantly.

Belome is frustrating but easy. But you can get rid of most of the frustrating part. Take any party members you want but I recommend including Peach for healing like I will for every fight. You don't need any special preparations to beat him but immunizing your entire party to sleep will save you a lot of grief. I did not, I only had Peach immune to sleep. She had the Safety Ring. Belome spams Sleep attacks so Mario and Geno went to sleep A LOT.

Belome's main gimmick this time is that he can't be injured by any attack as long as he has a clone out. He'll basically bounce back and forth between creating a clone, attacking and attempting to put the party to sleep. If you're prepared (unlike me) and immune to sleep 90% of this fight is solved. Just need two characters who hit hard to rip through the clone as soon as it comes out and beat down Belome. He doesn't really have anything dangerous and aside from not taking damage and so much sleep spam is really not that different from previous fights.

Jinx

Since I was already in Monstro Town decided to go visit Jinx yet since based on the wishes I read on the Pink Stars (You'll see them when you start the post game and follow the story leading to the boss rematches) that he was one of them.

Preparation

Jinx is going to spam mortal blows on your party. Accessories like the Safety Ring and the Quartz Charm are absolutely mandatory unless you have flawless mastery of timed hits to the point you never miss, even so good to have them for safety on the occasion you mess up and they're both really good accessories. Party members, someone, anyone that you're really good with their timed hits and Peach for healing.

Jinx is a bit different in that you're not looking to deplete his HP. All you have to do is use a Team Attack and you instantly win. But before you try to be a smarty pants and go in with a 100% gauge prepped he will set your gauge to 0 when the fight starts. It doesn't matter if the team attack actually deals damage, Jinx wants to duel you to see how to get in synergy with your partners to do a team attack and so you will instantly win as soon as you use any attack. Recommend Lazy Shell and Safety Pin go specifically on Peach.

Jinx hits fast and hard as usual. Anytime you miss a timed hit rather it be attacking or healing Jinx will counter with an instant death attack. This is why you want protection from Mortal Blows. Basically, this entire fight is just a practice of your timed hits and defenses. His attacks can deal massive damage and sometimes one shot characters but all of them can be negated to 0 damage with a properly timed block. There's really no trick to it beyond that. Just used timed hits and blocks to build up your gauge and fire it of as soon as its full. Make sure all party members are up and able to perform the attack. Summoning Toad is not what he needs, you need all three party members. Peach with the Lazy Shell and Safety pin will survive anything he throws at her, so just use her to heal up and revive anyone that goes down while you build up that gauge. Don't lose your cool and keep that timing up and victory will be yours.

Punchinello

Preparation: Not a whole lot you can prepare to do on this fight. Like Jinx this fight is going to revolve entirely around getting your Timed Hits right. And you'll mostly be dealing with attacks that can kill you instantly if you fail to block. But they're not guaranteed 9999 damage like some later bosses they're just really strong attacks, might be survivable with something like Lazy Shell + Ghost Medal. Speed is probably the most important factor here though so the Lazy Shell armor can be a liability. Since Speed is important Geno is naturally one of the best fits for the party. And again I make Peach the third for reviving and healing others.

The Fight Itself

So like I said this game revolves around timed hits. You can't damage Punchinello directly. You can only attack the bombs he throws out. If you do a perfectly timed hit, the bomb will change the direction its facing and face him. Then when the bomb goes off it will explode on Punchinello and damage him instead of you. Be careful to watch the bombs before you attack them some of them will already be pointing at him leave those untouched. This is why speed is important. You only have four party members and he'll drop four bombs. And of course only perfectly timed time attacks will turn them around so if you screw it well hope you can go again before that bomb goes off. The bombs can be killed if enough damage is done but this is kind of a last resort sort of thing and you're more likely to kill one on accident from it taking damage when you damage all enemies with your perfect hits. Mastering the timing for a perfect block against the bombs is mandatory to survival. If you have a hard time feel free to use Earlier Times if you have it to restart the fight until you get it down. Basically hit A right before the bomb hits you. But if a bomb hits you and takes you down you either have to swap that party member out or waste a turn reviving them and lose up to two attacks possibly resulting in more bombs going off on you. Because your timing has to be perfect you they won't spin around loses happen sometimes. Just, best of luck with the perfect blocks and perfect timed hits.

Boster

Preparation

I hate this fight, with all of my hate. This is the first fight to kill me in the entire game. You must bring Geno for this fight, and equip him with a Feather to boost his speed. This fight is just... not a good fight, and is absolutely terrible design in an otherwise wonderful game because there is a very specific solution to the fight and it's just, screw you if you don't know it. Super fast Geno is that solution. Bring Peach for healing, and give Mario the Quartz Charm for damage.

The Fight

So at the start of every round Booster will start building his train. If it gets to his turn he will finish building the train and crash it into your party for 9999 damage. Coincidentally, every turn one of his Sniffets will cast Morale Boost that increases his speed every single turn. See why I hate this fight? The trick is Booster must be attacked before his turn each round to interrupt his building. Which is why you need Geno because the fight will quickly get to the point where no one can out speed him but a speed boosted Geno. Make sure he gets interrupted each round. Then I murdered the Sniffets next, in hind sight it might have been easier to go straight for Booster. Either way just deal as much damage as fast as you can. Rock Candies are useful to deal significant damage to everyone, Geno Flash, Psych Bomb (but only if Peach doesn't have the lazy shell) and of course if you're good at it Super Jump is always amazing. If you're not, kick a lazy shell into them. Just kill the Sniffets or Booster as fast as possible and be aware you might have to restart. If your backline party tags in I recommend immediately restarting the battle with an Earlier Times (You can buy it with Frog Coins in Seaside Town) because Mallow and Bowser will not be fast enough to really do anything unless Booster is low on health and they can finish him off right there. I don't know his HP but you can always have Mallow use Thought Peak once to see his HP if you go for killing Booster first to track the damage on him and know how close you are to killing him. Also, can charge a team attack before coming to the fight and swap Peach out for a turn to Mallow or Bowser to do a damage dealing team attack. I do not reccomend swapping out Geno because you want him there to interrupt Booster from building when the next attack starts. Roselina freaking Luma this fight is easily the hardest in the game for me and just so obnoxious. Best of luck.

Now then whose next... I honestly forget so I had to go google the post game fights. And it turns out it's the freaking cake again in Marrymore. Make your Portal references now.

Bundt Cake

Preparations: Not a ton of prep work here, Quartz Charm and Black Belt are recommended. Peach will put this fight into easy mode so should be included for something other than her healing. Other than her big your favorite damage dealer. Probably put Safety Ring on Peach as usual. She won't be focusing on damage.

The Fight

So the goal is to put out the candles just like last time. The catch this time, the chefs are there and will keep lighting the candles and if they light all the candles bad things happen. Which I never found out what would happen because I never let them get that far. So, you need Peach or as many sleep bombs as you can carry. Peach is better, because you're going to cast Sleepy Time to put both chefs to sleep. I believe if you spin the stick enough to max it out it's 100% chance of putting both of them to sleep but I'm not 100% sure. All I know is I never saw it fail when maxed out in the fight. I also never failed to max it out.

After you put the chefs to sleep, it's just a matter of dealing damage to the cake and healing up as needed. Chefs will wake up every now and then and need to be put back to sleep but as long as you keep them under control this fight is easier than the original fight with the cake. No wonder I forgot this one. I don't know when I actually did it. Just make sure to play it safe and keep yourself healed up and those chefs asleep and you'll be good.

Johnny Jonathan Jones

Preparation

This is going to be a one on one fight between Mario and Jones. Prepare accordingly and equip Mario with your best accessory. Quartz Charm is my preference. Can also do Lazy Shell Armor and Safety Ring if you want to try to turtle your way through the fight. Just a quick warning, there's no way to heal in the fight at all. You can't use items, and only Mario can fight. I guess Jones is a Melee player. Anyway before the fight you'll be asked to choose which party members you want cheering you on. You won't get anyone to fight but you will get buffs from the party. Best way to beat Jones is to take him down as fast as possible so I took Geno and Bowser for damage up and I guess defense up but mostly damage go up.

The Fight

This fight was the second one to kill me. It can be rough. It's going to test your ability to do perfect blocks. Jones will attack with both spells and physical attacks so you need to be ready to block them... And that's really all there is to this fight. Be able to block his attacks and strike back till he's dead. He doesn't have a lot of HP thankfully since the fight is 1 v 1. If you're a master of Super Jump you can probably kill him in one turn. I don't know I'm not good at Super Jump. Though I finally found out it was because unlike what Toad told me it's not hit the button right before the attack lands but actually when it lands. So with that new knowledge I will have to go back and try super jumping things again and get to 100. Right back to Johnny. So, again it might take you a few tries but you just keep practicing his fight until you can block all his attacks with the correct timing and then take him out. There's not really any shortcut or trick to this fight (Besides Super Jump) just gotta learn the timing.

Culex

Preparation: Here's the one we've all been waiting for. Let's get down to it. Culex is the main course and all the other bosses were just an appetizer before him. So first off, Lazy Shell and Safety Ring on Peach. Second, Geno with Quartz Charm and Mario with Black Belt or Safety Badge. Might want to also consider Zoom Shoes or Feather on Geno and give the Quartz Charm to Mario instead depending on how you want to play it. Finally, go into the fight with your Team Gauge already charged to 100%. We're going to be using Mario, Geno and Peach's Team Attack A LOT this fight. Savs-Us-All blocks the next attack each party member takes and will work on anything.

The Fight

Culex is as expected a beast. And the third and final character I have met my end by. Oh wait, no I didn't because every time I was in danger of dying I used Earlier Times. HA! Take that Culex! You technically never sent me to the game over screen, and I technically beat you on my first try. Anyway, his newest jerk move is to use an HP that deals your max HP -1 in damage. This is important. His new spell Meteor is not HP to 1, it is your max HP -1. If you have even a single point of damage on you the spell will kill you. Now, after he opens the fight with that he'll use it every five turns and give you a counter, and responding to that is going to be a large part of our strategy for how to beat him. Finally, make sure you are maxed out in your inventory on Red Essences, Rock Candies, Kercolas, and Pick-Me-Ups.

First off, surviving the first round is the most important and hardest part of the fight. Once you make it past the first round the fight becomes a lot easier. The largest problem is that depending on your set up there is a high chance that Culex will open the fight dropping your party's HP to 1 and then the Wind Crystal will go off and use an AoE killing your entire party. It's that kind of fight. So, you have two choices here, can keep using the Earlier Times item to restart the battle till you have at least two characters alive or can give Geno the Feather pre-fight so he can move faster and have him use a Kercola. Regardless of which method you use Geno will go first and use a Kercola to get the two or if if you're really lucky your entire party up to max health. Peach on her turn if anyone is dead use Come Back unless the living characters are in need of healing because they will get KOed if you don't keep yourself healed up. Basically priority is as follows

Negate or Survive Culex's Meteor Attack > Heal HP > Revive Down Allies > Deal Damage.

Now, on negating Culex's attack. There are a couple ways to do it. Peach should be going last each round while Culex goes first meaning she'll always go off before him. When the first Cooldown hits 1, have Peach use the Team Attack Save-Us-All on her turn and you'll just straight up negate Meteor when Culex uses it on 0. Other options is once you have someone guaranteed to go after Culex is to use Kercolas, but remember you only have three. Another is to throw a Red Essence on Peach and then have her heal everyone and the two others use Max Mushrooms as needed. Try to save Pick Me Ups for reviving Peach if she dies and use Comeback to revive your other allies, but if you need to get everyone up fast use it. Anytime you have your team gauge fully charged use Save-Us-All with Peach right before Culex casts Meteor. Obviously it won't be charged every turn and that's why you'll need to make do with Kercolas and Red Essences. Save the Red Essences for Peach you don't have enough of them to use on your entire party and last till the end of the fight.

Now... As for actually defeating the enemies. I recommend starting with the Wind Crystal it's weak to special attacks, all special attacks so Geno Flash or even just Geno Beam will make quick work of it. If you're good at Super Jump you can probably take out the Wind Crystal right away.

From there I took out the Water Crystal but I think it may have been a better choice to go after the Earth Crystal. One of them can summon Bowyer's button locks and seal one of your commands. I think it's the Earth Crystal that does it but not 100% sure. Fire Crystal felt like the least threatening of them so saved it for last.

While this is going on always be aware of when Meteor is coming and prepare accordingly. Remember that if Meteor goes off any character with damage on them will die unless Save-Us-All is active. Mario and Geno should focus on damage and killing as much as possible. In the rare event the party doesn't need healing on Peach's turn she should use a Rock Candy to damage everyone, or if you run out of those the Star Egg. You can also use the Fire and Ice bombs just be aware the naturally a the fire crystal resists fire and the water crystal resists water.

Once all the Crystals are down the fight becomes much easier to deal with. Culex will replace Meteor with Final Claw, an attack that deals 9999 damage, but it only targets one person, and it can be blocked with a perfect block. Timing is a bit tricky but it can be done. But either way losing one person is a lot better than the entire team and you have a countdown till he uses it just like Meteor so whenever Team Attack is charged can just use Save-Us-All and bam no Final Claw. So like the previous fight when Team Attack is charged always pop it with Peach when Culex's counter is on 1 to just negate his ultimate instant kill attack. At this point it's just a matter of keeping yourself healed and beating Culex down. Keep persisting and use that Team Attack anytime its charged to negate Final Claw and victory is finally yours.

And with that, you get a completely useless key item per Final Fantasy Superboss tradition that just says you beat the hardest boss. Huzzah! Hope that helps. Not a perfect guide by any means but this is what worked for me.

#Mario RPG #Super Mario RPG #SMRPG #MarioRPG #Boss Fights #Game Guide #Mario #Geno #Peach #Belome #Jinx #Booster #Punchinello #Bundt #Johnny Jonathan Jones #Culex #super mario rpg remake

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