#they still spend so much of this novel learning more and more about each other

[mae-i-scribble]

tonight i was thinking about orv’s theme about how yjh as a character, and to a larger extent people, will in some ways always be unknowable. (orv spoilers following, read at your own risk)

i feel like i’ve seen a few posts on here that somewhat take this theme to an extreme, leaning *hard* into that “kdj doesn’t actually know yjh like at all” which while on the right track, i feel completely misses the point. Orv goes out of its way to showcase that kdj actually understands yjh to a scary degree, even once they’re out of the early scenarios and the gap between kdj’s knowledge and yjh’s personhood grows larger, there are still things about yjh that *only* kdj can fundamentally understand. And I don’t think that the novel does anything to discredit that understanding, only says that there is much more to yjh. In the same manner, even if you’ve known someone for years, spent all your time with them, there can and will always be new things for you to learn about them. The danger that orv speaks of is trusting in that assumption, that your understanding will be enough and you don’t have to keep an eye out for more developments. That the person you know will forever stay the same. And this isn’t a kdj problem either, fundamentally a lot of the big disagreements that happen between kdj and yjh in the latter half of the novel are born from both of them misconstruing what the other is thinking, trusting that their understanding of the other is deep enough to base their judgements off of. (Post first murim destruction, divorce arc, yjh thinking kdj scattered his soul on purpose, etc.)

As always with orv’s themes, we can view it in a meta sense as well. Kdj’s understanding of yjh as a character is so complete that it’s nearly flawless- until the story begins to deviate and a yjh grows outside the parameters that kdj’s judgements are based on. Even before then, there was always more to yjh- but as readers, we can only understand a character as much as we see them. What you come away with from a story is your complete understanding, there is no growth outside of those boundaries because then it wouldn’t be an understanding of *that* character, you would be putting your own ideas and such into it. But talk to another person, and suddenly the same character you understand so clearly becomes someone else. Talk to the author, and they say something completely different. And can one truly claim to understand a character when the story will never talk about them in every conceivable way? What does it take to truly understand such a thing? Learning that 1863rd round hsy wrote ways of survival with such limited resources and knowledge on who yjh even is, and yet despite it all, still manages to write a story that captures so much of his essence. As orv readers, we know it isn’t everything- it could never encapsulate all of yjh, but the idea that even when one knows nearly nothing, you can still put on a facade of understanding.

We can get into a chicken or the egg argument with this, as 1863!hsy dictates how yjh acts with her writing, and that yjh in the 1863rd round is the one she comes to know before ever starting this story, but when it comes to this theme of the unknowable in the people around us, I don’t think this sort of debate is worth much. We know that yjh exists outside the story written, and how much of him is determined by hsy’s writing is negligible because no matter what, he always grows beyond it. Whether as 1864 or secretive plotter, it all comes back to that same point of there is always more to see within a person.

I don’t know quite where I want to go with this, only that I wanted an outlet for some of these thoughts inside my head, but one of the best things about this theme for me is how it answers itself. When the people around you become unrecognizable, what should you do? And orv says to reach out. To try. To understand. Kdj loses access to omniscient reader several times but always, always gains it back in orv (as far as i remember), because at the end of the day, he is not someone who stays trapped in his idea of who he knows yjh to be. Yjh too, even at the end of orv, is trying to learn more and more about kdj. Only when you are willing to hear out the other person, to learn about them every day, does this unknowable aspect become something less daunting.

#orv #omniscient reader #omniscient readers viewpoint #kim dokja #yoo joonghyuk #joongdok #meta #analysis #it just kinda ended up kdj and yjh focused because this is what the theme is most applicable too #i wish i had more thoughts on how 1863 wrote WoS bc that definitely fits in here more than what i said about it #i think too it can be applied to ysa and kdj #while not as relevant as it is with yjh since their relationship doesnt stretch back as far #they still spend so much of this novel learning more and more about each other #compared to back at minosoft where at least to me it looked like they already had an idea of who the other was as a person #so sorry if this is disjointed i need to stop writing meta as 3 am #in my defense its the only time my thoughts come out like this #on the verge of sleep #orv spoilers #omniscient reader spoilers #i forgot them early on my bad

[eternalsa2z]

Book Club

So a while back me and the girlies had the greatest idea. We wanted to start a book club! To read really important feminist pieces, have deep discussions, and really connect with each other and understand our own identities.

Things were going super great but things really kicked off when someone suggested a book called 'Pink Power'. It was kinda odd - very pro-femininity, almost hyper-feminine bimbo stuff - but as we read more it was clearly a commentary on feminism and our ability as women to choose our own paths in lives. It was great!

We liked it sooooo much that we started reading more by that author. Things like 'Plastic is Fantastic', 'Shop 'til you Drop', and 'Who Needs To Think?'. I'm pretty sure there was some deep messages in them, but everyone was just OBSESSED with the great pictures in them. So many cute outfits, hot body modifications, and overall great models of this feminist ideal!

I think it was around this time that we changed up what we read. A lot less novels and more shorter magazines. Like fashion pieces or gossip rags. Oh and we reeeeeeally let the wine flow during our get-togethers. It was soooooo nice to just laugh and giggle and talk about cute looks.

By now we've kinda given up on reading - big words are kinda hard and our heads hurt after thinking for too long. The only thing that interests us is picture books with salon hairstyles or bimbo fashion outfits. But true to form we still get together - for brunch!

The assignment is always to just put together the cutest 'Pink Power' outfit and we spend alllll afternoon complimenting each other on our choices, sipping mimosas and snacking on apps, then gossiping about our latest enhancements. Honestly I'm sooooo glad we set up our club. I've totes learned a lot about myself and how I LOVE being a bimbo trophy doll!

#bimboification #f2f transformation #trophy wives #hypnosis

[alatushours]

☆ LOVE POTION, various — he doesn’t know much about love, but he’ll try his best for you.

contents. featuring xiao, dan heng, and roronoa zoro. gender neutral reader, fluff. xiao + zoro is canon au, dan heng’s is modern! your first date with each of the boys ♡ word count. 537

notes. writing the prompt “love potion” for my own event despite it having been closed for a month LMAO i just need an excuse to write something… anyways uh pls pretend i’m not writing xiao when i said i wouldn’t in a while 🫣 i have a wip for tighnari otw i promise !!!

xiao has never been interested in mortal celebrations. but after meeting you, he can’t help but want to learn more about them. “would you… want to come to the lantern rite with me?”

you were pleasantly surprised when he asked; glad to see that the yaksha was finally coming out of his shell. you laughed, took his hand (which prompted a blushing mess out of him), and led him down to the harbor, where the festivities were already starting.

figuring he still wasn’t too comfortable being around large crowds of mortals, you took him to a secluded spot on a hill by the pavilion, close enough so that you could still see the lanterns that lit up the sky.

“they’re beautiful, aren’t they?” you ask him, following his eyes as he stared at tiny glowing dots fading in the night. xiao nods slowly, seemingly mesmerized by the sight. you smile softly, leaning your head on his shoulder as the two of you watch the fireworks show that followed.

dan heng, being a bit of a bookworm, was a little… socially awkward, to say the least. luckily, you found his quirks entertaining. “there’s a new bookstore that opened across the street… would you be interested?”

so one tuesday afternoon, you meet him by the park, where he stood with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. you giggle when he awkwardly offers them to you. “of course, why else would you have bought them for?”

making you way to the bookstore, dan heng watches as you stroll down the aisles, picking out some you wanted. he felt his heart swell as he spies his favorite novel in your hand. “i didn’t know you liked that book too…”

the two of you end up spending the rest of the afternoon in the cafe next door, chatting about your favorite books over coffee. he smiles, maybe being a geek isn’t a such bad thing after all.

zoro never quite wanted to leave the sunny when the crew docked on a new island; he preferred to stay behind and take a nap, or train. but you always encouraged him to come along, and he finally decided to go along with it. “i’m gonna go explore… if ‘ya wanna come with.”

there happened to be a small crafts market in the town nearby, so you and zoro (mostly just you) went admiring the handicrafts the stalls had on display. "aww, how lovely!" you admire a little clockwork deer that reminded you a bit of chopper.

then you realized you had some business to attend to in town, so you left zoro behind for a few minutes, saying, "don't you dare get lost while i'm gone!" he stands there awkwardly, before glancing back at the crafts stall. while i'm here...

...and then of course you happen to accidentally encounter the marines, causing you to have to run back to the ship with zoro in tow. when you're finally safe in the crow's nest of the sunny, however... he presented you with the mechanical deer toy from earlier, to your joy. "i don't have that many berries but.. i know you wanted it, so i guess i'll just have to pay nami back later."

end notes. i thought i would write a lot for xiao but i ended up writing more for zoro lmao he’s been taking up all of my brain recently but i hope you enjoyed <3

© alatushours 2024. please do not copy, modify, or translate my work in any way, nor upload to any other platforms. in the meantime, if you enjoyed, please like, reblog, and comment! it helps a lot ♡

#candy hearts : an event ♡ #໒꒰՞ ܸ. .ܸ՞꒱ა mari writes ! #this is long overdue huh… #xiao x reader #xiao genshin impact #xiao fluff #dan heng x reader #dan heng hsr #dan heng fluff #roronoa zoro x reader #zoro one piece #zoro fluff

[chaotic-goodsir]

Thinking about Spankoffski-Cross family headcanons again, the implications of Wilbur being 10 years younger than Annie and only 9 years older than Ted, and the story behind the 'Uncle Wiley' character...

(It's gonna be sad I'm sorry)

*

In 1992, 17-year-old Wilbur Cross graduates high school early with a place on a college physics course. It doesn't start until September, but he seizes the opportunity to escape his parents as soon as possible.

That summer, Wilbur moves in with his sister Annie and her family in Hatchetfield, and agrees to help out by babysitting his 8-year-old nephew Teddy. He even brings a bunch of his old superhero comics in the hope of winning the kid's approval.

Teddy knows he has an uncle - his mom sometimes mentions her brother (she always calls him Wiley), but he's never met or spoken to him before. His grandparents down in Georgia, who he's also never met, made sure of that. He's always assumed his uncle must be a grown-up like his parents, so he's surprised when 'Uncle Wiley' turns out to be a teenager.

Naturally, the first thing Teddy asks Wilbur when he meets him is: 'Why aren't you old?'

Wilbur is slightly terrified by the prospect of looking after an 8-year-old. But after a few months helping Teddy learn how to ride a bike and listening to his nephew ramble about random kid nonsense (he ends up learning a lot about Transformers that summer) he decides it isn't so bad.

Getting to spend time with his sister and her husband isn't too bad either. Annie teaches him how to make chilli so he won't starve at college, and Ed tries to convince him to cut his hair (he doesn't).

As the summer goes on, the 'why aren't you old?' thing turns into an in-joke between Wilbur and Teddy - each adding more to the Uncle Wiley character until he becomes a pipe-smoking sailor with a beard and a silly voice (since Teddy loves doing impressions so much). Before Wilbur leaves, Teddy draws him a picture of Uncle Wiley. It's far from a work of art, but it ends up on the wall in Wilbur's room at college - much to the amusement of his roommate.

*

Thirteen years later, Ted Spankoffski is halfway through his own college course, depressed and disillusioned after losing Jenny to Andy Kilgore. He's hungover (or maybe still half-drunk) on a Saturday morning when his mom calls, almost in tears, to tell him his uncle has been declared missing in action.

That sobers him up pretty quickly.

The last time he saw his uncle alive was at Pete's christening. Wilbur asked how his first year of college was going, and seemed genuinely interested, though he was surprised Teddy chose to study IT and not theatre. They joked about the old sailor character and the impressions Teddy used to do.

(Ted never learned exactly what Wilbur did for a living, something to do with science and the military, but he was always vague about the details.)

The drawing - paper now yellowed and crumpled at the edges - returns to the Spankoffskis (along with a box of old science fiction novels and a few other things of Wilbur's that John felt ought to be sent back to his family). Ted keeps it. Sometimes, when he's not sure how to be a good big brother to Pete, he takes it out and thinks about that summer in 1992, and the teenage uncle who helped him finally learn how to ride a bike.

*

In 2019, the homeless man who currently sleeps outside Hatchetfield Mall starts to notice posters going up for some new children's toy. At first it's not the toy that interests him, but the mascot character holding it - and the toy company's name.

It's strange. He's sure he had an Uncle Wiley once - his uncle might even have been a sailor, like the one on the posters, with a pipe and a beard and a funny voice...

The homeless man decides he's going to buy one of the Wiggly dolls. It will make Petey happy. It will prove he's a good big brother, despite the mess his life and mind have become. And if it really is his Uncle Wiley selling the toys, then he should support a family business, shouldn't he? His dad always used to say the Spankoffskis were entrepreneurs.

He might even get a discount. That would be nice.

With a determined smile, the homeless man counts up all the money he has to his name, tucks it into his pocket, and joins the queue outside Toyzone on Black Friday.

#cw grief #cw family loss #hatchetfield #hatchetverse #starkid #ted spankoffski #uncle wiley #wilbur cross #hatchetfield headcanons #black friday starkid

[rui-drawsbox]

hmm im curious. whats olba about :0?

Oh anon you have no idea of what you just asked-- let me get my teacher costume

AHEM

OLBA or Our Life: Beginnings & Always it's a visual novel where you can play the perfect life you never got and cry about how much you wanted it after you finish it :DD (available on Steam for pc and Itch.io for both pc/mac and android!)

You play as-- well, you (or not, you choose)! You can choose your name, last name, pronouns, appearance, personality, hobbies, everything except your family, but you wouldn't like to change them for anything after you meet them.

You start the game as an innocent 8 years old kid that meets a random guy that tells you that he just moved across the street, he also tells you about his son: Cove! who has the same age as you. This guy tries to bribe you with 20 dollars, you can accept or refuse (or run! i like that option), either way you end up in a poppy hill behind your house and find the so famous Cove! He tells (cry) you that his parents just divorced and that he miss his mom ( :c ), you can comfort him or not, but you two still will be found by both of your families and have to go home.

That's the prologue! Gameplay aspect: it consists in 3 Steps of your life: 8, 13 and 18 years old! Each Step comes with 5 Moments, where you can spend time with (mainly) cove, if you're playing the base game. Talking about base game! You can complete it in around 5 hours (that's what took me the first time i think), and it comes with a 4th Step that work as an epilogue!

There are 6 paid DLC's (and a free one that is a name pack), 3 are other 15 moments for the first 3 Steps, 1 is a wedding dlc for our lovely Cove <3 (we'll get to him in no time), and the last 2 are extra content for two characters you'll meet in your very first playthough: Derek in Step 2 and Baxter in Step 3 (you should know this one very well if you follow me lmao), each with 5 moments extra for their assigned Step and their own Step 4 where you can follow and give proper closure to their stories!

I'll try to not ramble a lot because it's something you just need to experience yourself to get it but-- i will introduce you to the love interests! (or friendship interests, you don't need to crush on anyone to have a great time)

Cove Holden! Our lovely neighbor that we see almost everyday for like 10 years! You could also call him the second main character after you, since you learn more about him and his family during all the game. He's an introvert and ocean nerd (in the cutest way possible), depending on your choices you can shape his personality/style and become best buddies, the sweetest couple or just remain neighbours that never really got along. (you'll learn to love him, platonic or not, trust me)

Another perk of the game is that no matter what you do there's not "wrong or right" (unless you feel bad for the characters, like me), your actions does have consequences but there's nothing like a "bad ending/good ending", after all it's just your life, it goes on no matter what! Unless you want to reach a specific scene you found online you'll never have to use a guide for anything.

Derek Suarez! A caring guy! mabye a little too much, he's the oldest brother of 3 and that shaped him in a way that he always feels responsible of everything😔. During his storyline you'll help him to learn how to relax and lean on other people :D!

Baxter Ward! A monochromatic gentleman, mischievous as a cat and emotionally repressed like a pressure cooker <3. Struggles a lot with making deep conections and being emotionally vulnerable, you can imagine about what goes his storyline lol.

He's my favorite, if you haven't noticed. He has that infuriating charm that only someone that unironically says "Hallelujah" has. A very dramatic route, he's a very dramatic guy, you should see how he texts in step 3 aghsdas.

Also! all the side characters are super likeable, from your family to the baker of that bakery that is metioned a few times!

ANYWAYS, in conclusion: this is a very relaxing game! If you like visual novels you should definitely give it a try, the amount of replayability this game has is insane. My recommendations for when you play are:

Try the base game first! If you like it you can buy the moments dlcs (theyre only 3$ each!), mabye the wedding dlc after that (if you want to marry cove that is, this one is 2$ btw), Derek's dlc and Baxter's dlc (5$ each) for last. Those are pretty much the release order but i that's also the order i enjoy the most!

(play this game at least 2 times trying different choices/personality, the differences are ughhhh/pos)

When you're playing for the first time you should play the moments left to right. On later playthroughs you should change the order to find new dialogues! theyre small things but omg theyre so fun

Have fun! do whatever you want, i literally said there's no bad or good ending, take advantage of it and be as foward or shy as you want, be a little shit or a literal angel! That is your life we're talking about.

#rui thinks loudly #just left 2 hours and half of my back's hp in this post #totally worth it #our life: beginnings & always #our life #olba #cove holden #derek suarez #baxter ward #gb patch #gb patch games #visual novel #honestly if there's anything i can do to make more people play olba i'll do it bc this thing literally healing #im full of love for this game bitch

[emilysidhe]

Sense and Sensibility is high up on my list of favorite Jane Austen novels (Persuasion is at the top), but as Austen’s first published book, it does retain a few problems that later books don’t, chiefly (imho) that there are very few on page interactions between the end game couples.

We know that Elinor and Edward exhibit closeness with each other because we see other characters who’ve seen them together react to it, but in terms of conversations that make it into the book, there are far more scenes of Edward gently teasing Marianne about the fact that they have opposite tastes in art and nature (as in, scenic views.)

Meanwhile, Marianne spends most of the book actively avoiding Colonel Brandon while he has important and surprisingly emotionally intimate conversations with Elinor.

There might be something in how the relationship between the sisters is so much more important in this book than any of the others that it’s almost more important to demonstrate how Elinor’ and Marianne’s future partners will fit into this relationship as brothers-in-law than as husbands.

But about a third of the way through the book, it’s hard not to be intrigued by the idea of an alternate ending where the sisters end up with the opposite partner. I do think the actual couples are ultimately well matched. Elinor and Edward are both “still waters run deep” kind of people who understand each other well, and the annotated edition I’ve read most recently (David M Shapard) points out that Colonel Brandon’s tragic backstory is ripped right from the common tropes for heroes of Romantic novels of the time, signaling to contemporary readers that he actually fits Marianne’s romantic ideals as well or better than Willoughby even while she dismisses him.

But wouldn’t it also be fun if, in commiserating with Elinor about his unrequited feelings for Marianne, Colonel Brandon were to realize to his surprise that his initial infatuation with her was more about nostalgia for the first love he lost than real, current interest in passionate and idealistic teenage girls, and that as an adult what he really wants is a grown woman with enough sense to match him as an equal partner. And Elinor, disappointed that Edward’s sense did not prevent him from acting very foolishly in a way that hurt her, finds herself falling for an older, wiser version of a man who could have stepped right out of the pages of one of Marianne’s favorite novels.

Meanwhile, Edward having fallen for the first time for the sharp and pretty Lucy Steele only to be disenchanted by her ignorance, then found himself in love with her polar opposite in the sensible and noble Elinor Dashwood (who initially returns his feelings but moves on from him before he can disentangle himself from Lucy Steele), loses his heart for a third time to the romantic and sensitive Marianne Dashwood, whom he had once hoped to call sister. And Marianne looks up one day from her “I’ll never love again after Willoighby” philosophizing to find that without noticing it happening, she’s already fallen for a shy, subdued man who feels emotions with the same quiet intensity she learned to recognize and love in her sister but who commits what she once considered the unforgivable crime of preferring to look at straight, healthy trees over the picturesque ideal of twisted, blasted ones.

It would be really cute is what I’m saying.

#sense and sensibility #jane austen

[em-dash-press]

How to Pick a Point of View for Stories

Figuring out the point of view (POV) for your next story can seem daunting. It changes how you convey your plot and the emotional themes driving it. These are a few ways to narrow your options.

1. Consider the Pros and Cons of Each POV

There are absolutely pros and cons for different points of view. They accomplish different things for each story even if they feel vaguely the same at first. When you’ve got a story in mind, think of these factors to potentially pick a POV.

First-Person Pros and Cons

Pros

Your reader will have an intimate connection with your protagonist because they’ll read the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings in “real time.”

A specific emotional tension is possible the protagonist is narrating everything through their personal lens/biases and the reader doesn’t get inside any other character’s head to learn their actual motivations/emotions.

A super distinct narrative voice can pick up the pace for readers in the first 100 pages of a novel

Cons

You don’t get to jump between characters, which isn’t helpful if you’ve got a well-developed cast of characters you want to spend time with.

It’s easy to have a repetitive sentence structure due to phrasing like, “I said,” “I though,” “I want,” etc.

Readers don’t get to emotionally connect with other characters on the same intimate level, which may limit the themes you want to write about.

Third-Person Pros and Cons

3rd Person Omniscient POV Pros

The reader gets into each character’s mind, so there’s no bias in the narration.

You can jump between characters in a single scene, allowing a multi-dimensional view of the main plot’s journey or lesson.

You can switch characters to reveal more of your world to your reader, which is perfect for writers who do deep worldbuilding before they start writing.

3rd Person Omniscient POV Cons

Readers may struggle to form an allegiance to a character because there’s so many giving their points of view.

The hook for a story may come much later than normal if multiple characters need to be introduced through narration before the inciting incident.

If you’re writing a longer story, you’ll have to chart the primary plot line, then each character’s individual arcs to understand how they intersect and where you’ll jump POVs.

3rd Person Limited POV Pros

You get quality time with multiple characters.

You can create an unreliable narrator within a cast of characters that your reader gets equal time with.

The quality time with each character can make it more emotional when a character faces a challenge.

3rd Person Limited POV Cons

You’re forced to follow only one character’s perspective at a time. There’s no jumping between minds in a scene.

Each character will have a personal bias regarding whatever situation they’re in, so they’ll need individual goals and opinions too. You’ll need more character building before or during writing your story.

You’ll still need to chart each character’s arc to understand how it pushes the primary plot forward, what role each character plays, why they’re essential for the reader to spend time with, and how they’ll grow individually.

2. Think About What Matters Most For Your Story

What is the purpose of your story? What do you want to achieve with it or how do you want to practice your craft with it?

You could want to try out a story with multiple narrators. That boils your options down to 3rd person omniscient or limited. Easy!

Do you want to write a protagonist that your readers feel bonded with? That could mean your story happens in first-person POV. It could also work with 3rd person limited, depending on which character recurs most often.

Maybe you have a few characters in mind for a story but only one of them seems interesting enough to vocalize the story. Pick that character for your first-person POV. The other characters may be important, but if their voices aren’t distinct, your reader will just be bored when they’re narrating. 

3. Go With Your Gut

Ultimately, you have to go with your gut. Pick the POV that makes the most sense and write the story. You can always go back and rewrite it in another POV if it feels like the current one isn’t working for whatever reason.

Yes, it’s a pain to do that kind of rewriting, but it’s such a relief to know your themes/message/plot will come across the right way. It’s always possible to make that change, even if you finished a novel-length manuscript.

-----

The more practice you give yourself with the various points of view, the more comfortable you'll feel when picking one for your future stories. Even practicing with flash fiction will flex your creative muscles enough to help you learn when each POV is most useful for your work.

#points of view #writeblr #choosing a point of view #writing advice #writing tips #writers of tumblr #writing help #writing community #creative writing

[cheynovak]

Crush Part 3

Dean Winchester x Reader (Y/N) &  Sam Winchester (platonic)  

Warnings: Fluff, sexual tension, implied smut, alcohol, trauma, nothing too extreme,  

This story might not follow the SPN timeline.  

Side note: English isn’t my first language.  

Words:  4458

Short recap of part 2: 

Y/N is a high school crush/friend of Sam, when they were 16 y/o they attended the same school for a while. Sam spends his entire time hanging out with her, trying to ask her to prom, only one problem, Y/N likes Dean. Now years later Dean gets out of hell and decided he wanted Y/N in his life, but desperately trying to hold her away from hunting.  

But how long will that work out?  

Please check out my masterlist for more stories.

 --------

Jump forward in time.  

Y/N and Dean are an item for about a year now. Since the brothers were out hunting a lot of the time it still felt pretty new to both of them. Still learning about each other when they were together. Often feeling it was a long-distance relationship, but they were determent to make it work.  

Y/N felt the bed moving beside her. She turned around opening one eye slightly. “What time is it?” she asked while she saw Dean sitting on the bed, taking of his pants before crawling in bed with her. “Too early to get up yet.” He said wrapping his arm around her. “Go back to sleep sweetheart.” He whispered while giving her a small peck on her temple.  

Y/N knew how much Dean needed their quality time together after a hunt. So, she just nested her face against him, listening to his breath getting heavier until he fell asleep. She stayed a little longer enjoying the embrace of her boyfriend before getting up.  

She made a routine of getting up before Bobby and making sure he had some decent breakfast to start the day. She would clean a little but wouldn’t make the mistake of touching his books and replacing them. Only this morning she had to be move quieter than usual, since Sam was sleeping on the couch.  

Bobby had already cleaned out the guest bedroom for Y/N, because he thought a woman shouldn’t sleep on a couch. But for the boys he was a little tougher. It was indeed pretty early, so instead of starting to make a noise with pots and pans and probably waking up her best friend, Y/N decided to go to the store. For a moment she was tempted to take baby with her, but she didn’t want to give Dean a nervous breakdown if he sees she is gone, so she took bobby’s old car instead. Knowing he wouldn’t mind (as much).  

She walked outside: “Morning Baby, sorry, other time beautiful.”  she was apologising to the car for not driving it. Like Dean would even let her.  

By the time Y/N rolled into town the stores just opened. She liked shopping this early, part from a few school kids there was no rush. As Y/N strolled through the store she heard two teenagers, not older than 15 years, talk. “Oh my god! You are such a Sam girl! Don’t you realise he is a nerd?” - “Maybe but he is sooo cute and tall. I like a smart man with a troubled past.” Ha, Y/N though, looks like all Sam’s in this town are all tall, cute, smart and troubled.  

“Let me guess you are a Dean girl?” - “Yep! Strong older more experience. With monsters and girls.” Both girls started to giggle. Y/N stopped walking being flabbergasted, monsters? Girls? “Hey, eh hi girls?” The blond tall girl and short brunet turned around. “I just overheard you guys talking, about monster... and boys?” She couldn’t believe her saying this. “Yeah! We are reading a novel.” The blond girl answered, “Supernatural” 

“It’s about these two brothers who fight monsters.” - “Really? Can I see it.” They handed her their copies. “Unbelievable.” Y/N mumbled while reading a paragraph. “Incredible isn’t it.” The brunet said. “Where did you buy this?” Y/N asked while handing their book back. “At the bookstore a crossed from here, this is the third book.” - “Ok, thanks.”  

Y/N finished her groceries and practically ran to the bookstore. She asked for the “supernatural series.” and bought all of them immediately. By the time she got home all three men were awake. “What took you so long?” Dean asked while taking the bags out of her hands. “I eh, went to the bookstore.” - “What, has Bobby not enough reading material?” Sam joked.  

“No, it’s not that, I was at the store and heard two kids talk about monsters and stuff and it turned out there are actual books out there with you guys in it!” Y/N turned holding one of the boos showing it to the guys, who didn’t seem to be as surprised as she was. “Yeah, we know.” Sam said rubbing his neck. “What do you mean you know.”  

“We know, Chuck writes those, he is a prophet of the lord.” Dean filled her in. “So, you mean you guys knew this and didn’t bother to tell me? Why?” - “It’s bullshit.” Dean grabbed the book out of her hands. “Please tell me you just bought this one.” - “eh no, actually I bought all of them.” She blushed slightly. “A-all of them?” Dean repeated. “Yes, I want to read about your life story.”  

“You could just ask us what you want to know.” Sam tried to help his brother out. “Sam, I don’t even know what to ask. And this...” She took back the book Dean grabbed from her. “Is something you guys could have told me.” - “Well, don’t get too excited sweetheart, none of it is as accurate as the real deal.“ Dean said. “Besides if neither of you have anything to hide from me, like a, I don’t know fling or long-distance girlfriend or so, you wouldn’t mind me reading it. Would you?” Bobby saw how Y/N was teasing Dean, who’s eyes grew big, probably hoping not all his one nights were mentioned.  

“Y/N is right” Bobby added, “What’s wrong if she has some reading material when you guys are gone.” - Which to my defence, you are a lot, lately.” She wrapped her arms around Dean trying to sway him. Looking all puppy eyes at him. “Alright, fine. I’m going to work on Baby.” He said turning to the back door. 

“Oh eh sweety?” Dean stopped walking, she never used that nickname unless she needs something. He gave her a what now look. “Talking about working on cars, Bobby said I could pick a car out, to stop using his.” - “That’s good for you.” he wanted to move on. “But since I know nothing about that, and you are sooooo good at fixing cars... I thought, you know.” Dean’s head fell in his neck, “I don’t have time to fix an entire shipwreck for you.  

“Oh ok, never mind, you know, next time I could just take baby for a spin.” She heard Sam laughing at the background. “Fine, which one do you want.” - “Don’t care, you choose.” she kissed his cheek before joining Sam on the couch. "Oh and Dean?” - “Hm” - “Take your time it’s not urgent. Thanks.” - “Good cause baby comes first.” - “Deal” She said while he closed the door behind him.  

“You really know how to work that man.” - “I have no choice Sam. You are at least once in a while allowed to drive that car.” - “I have to get into town driving the car everyone knows is Bobby’s. People start to talk.”  

Y/N took a book Chuck wrote and started to read while Sam took his own literature. Y/N really liked spending time with Sam. It felt like when they were in high school again. Where they had their Thursday “book club”. Truth be told it was just Y/N and Sam hanging out reading books together, not even the same book.  

 She looked over at Sam seeing him getting off the couch to grab his laptop. Y/N knew he would come back but decided to tease Sam a little like they used to, by putting her legs on his place. “May I?” He asked when he came back. Y/N ignored him.  

“Real mature Y/N.” She grinned, “Ok. If that’s how you want to play it.” He pulled on her ankles before he lifted her out of the couch. “Hey! What the...” Trying to throw her over his shoulders but her fighting back made that difficult, although she wasn’t strong enough to fight herself out of Sam’s arms.  

Dean walked in, grabbed a beer when he saw his brother holding his girlfriend in his arms, keeping her off the floor while she struggled to get out. “A little help please?” She yelled at Dean who laughed and said “Keep up the good work Sammy. I need a little more time with baby.” and walked out again, Dean got used to their little fights, but Y/N seemed to forget that Sam was almost twice as big as her. She could never win.  

“Fine ok, you can have your seat back.” She gave up. “Just my seat?” He grinned, “ Ugh, the entire couch.” - “No, kidding, just my spot is good.” The peace returned in the living room.  

“Hey Sam?” - “yeah?” He answered without lifting his eyes from the screen. “You and eh, Ruby, did that really happen?” She could see the colour drawn out of his face. “Hey, I’m not judging. I’m just sorry to read you trusted the wrong person.” she took his hand in hers, his lips curled a little hearing her saying that. “Let’s just see it as a learning process.” He answered. “Hey, you’re not the only one who ‘dated’ the wrong person. Both of them were demons in their own way.”  

“You know, you never told me about your ex-boyfriends, why don’t you start with that?” Sam turned to her. 

“Still reading that garbage?” Dean interrupted them while walking back in, covered in oil and dirt. “Still working on Baby?” she answered. “Nope, all done, time to pick out your car sweetheart.” - “Great, then I'm done reading.” before she jumped of the couch, she squeezed Sam’s hand a little. Saying, I'm here for you if you want to talk, without using words. 

“Ok, sweetheart I’ve looked around, there are a few cars here that don’t need to much work. But personally, I would choose this one.” He stopped her in front of a green 1970 Chevrolet Camaro. “Are you sure? Seems like a lot of work.” - “The paint for the body will cost a little, but I checked and I’m sure that what’s inside will last a long time. And Bobby has parts all around this junkyard that I can re-use.”   

“Not what I meant, I thought of, I don’t know a normal small car?” - “My girl gets to drive an American classic. Nothing will last longer. Period.” She hugged him, “Besides, you’re used to driving Bobby’s Chevelle by now, switching to this won’t be difficult.” - “I’m very grateful honey, thank you.” She wiped his cheek before giving a soft peck on it. “I can think of a thing or two how you can thank me” He wiggled his eyebrows before he pulled her into a kiss.  

“Dean!” the love birds heard Sam yelling, waving his hands to tell them to come inside.  

“Chuck just texted me. He needs us.” The older Winchester pinched his nose. “Chuck as in, the guy who writes these books? Great would love to meet him!” - “No, no, no way! You never go out on a hunt with us.” - “Dean baby please. I won’t hunt I’ll stay in the motel and chat with Chuck. Keep him busy while you two do your business.”  

Dean hated the idea of Y/N joining them, but as usual she convinced him with a little help from Sam. 

They arrived at the address Chuck had texted, only to realise they were lured there by Becky. Who was waving from the moment the black impala was in sight. Dean parked the car with a big sigh. “Your girlfriend is here.” - “She is not my... never mind.”  Sam rolled his eyes. “Girlfriend?” Y/N popped her head between the two men. “Who is she?”  

“Becky, another crazy fan of the book you’ve been reading ever since we left.” Dean pointed to the book at the back seat.  

“You didn’t want me to help you with this hunt, so I have to distract myself.” The three of them walked their way to Becky and Chuck who just walked out. “What are you doing here?” He asked. “You texted us.” Sam looked confused. Chuck turned to Becky. “No actually that was me.” she confessed.  

She explained how she was hosting a SPN convention with Chuck as guest and that she wanted Sam to be there as well. Y/N couldn’t hold back a giggle. Becky looked over at her, “who are you?” - “This is Y/N. She is...” Sam started, Becky’s face changed while she interrupted Sam, jealous of Y/N ... “Your old high school crush! The girl you wished you lost your virginity to, the girl you hoped you could be her first as well...” Dean gave her a I really don’t want to hear this, look.  

 

Becky rambled on, “The girl who didn’t like you the way you liked her. Oh, I know. The one who hurt you.” - “Dean’s girlfriend.” Sam finished. “She is Dean’s girlfriend.” 

“Hi.” Y/N waved probably looking as red on her cheeks as Sam by now. 

It’s felt really weird that someone she didn’t know, knew about her. She made it very clear she though Y/N was a villain in this story.  

“H-how do you know that?” Sam asked feeling his cheeks getting redder by the minute. - “I read it.” - “There is only a small part of me in the books." Y/N looked at Sam who shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I wrote a lot of drafts, not everything made the book.” Chuck added. “Let me guess and Becky read all of them? Great” Dean said annoyed.   

“I still think you should have added the part where Y/N ditched Sam on their last book night, their last night in town, pretended to be sick just to sneak out, to fiddle with Dean.” Sam looked at her. 

 “Wait, you said that you stayed on the couch all night.” Y/N opened her mouth but before she could answer Becky did. “Yeah, the backseat of the impala you mean. At the football pitch at night with Dean’s body to keep her warm.” Clearly adding oil to the fire.  

“Wow! That didn’t happen!” Dean interfered “First off, it was the front seat.” - “Not helping!” Y/N gave him an angry look.  

“And second, we didn’t do anything. Did we make out, yes, but that’s all!” He looked at Sam who glanced over at Y/N. “Like I told you before, nothing happened.”  

Becky puffed, “He wanted to, though.” Dean cocked his head while giving Y/N a lopsided smile, clearly not apologising for it. Making her roll her eyes.  

After the awkward introduction they strolled around the convention Becky organised. Y/N stopped Dean by the arm. “Hey, eh I would like to find a motel before the three of us have no choice but to stay in the impala.” She saw the grin on his widen, “Hm, want some sexy time, eh?”  

“What?”- “Were standing in a hotel sweetheart. Enough rooms.” He pulled her in for a small kiss. “I'm not staying the night here, it gives me the creeps, Dean.” 

“Well, I'm hungry, so let’s stay here for the dinner, and if you still feel the same afterwards...’ His hands dropped to her behind, squeezed her flesh. “We’ll leave, let’s take the impala and find our self a nice cosy place to relive that one night.” He winked. Y/N’s head dropped “D, that’s not what I mean!” but he was too focused on food to hear her.  

She noticed Sam standing at the bar, Becky sitting at the table trying to flirt with him. He’s trying to friendly ignore her, but this girl had no idea how to stop. They locked eyes, giving her the please save me stare.  

“She is really into you, isn’t she?” Y/N laughed while she wrapped her arms around his, turning him with his back against her, so now Y/N was facing her. “I really believe she is nice. Just.” - “Weird? Creepy? Obsessed.” - “Yes, yes and yes. You know she writes like her own fictional stories about us.” - “That’s cute.” Y/N looked over seeing her giving Y/N a dead stare.  

“Yeah, maybe if they were, innocent.” - “Wait what?” - “Uhu.” Y/N blinked her eye’s a few times. “You are telling me, that sweet looking girl writes fan fiction porn about you?” Sam nodded “Like I said, uhu.” - “And you read it?” Y/N was in shock.  

“What? No! I read one story she e-mailed to me last time we met. It was innocent but then when I searched her page, I found... weird stuff.”  

“Wait how weird are we talking, like you whipping her or choking?” Sam raised his brow. “Don’t act all innocent Sammy. We both know that is not the worst thing in the world. Bet you even like it!” She rubbed her shoulder against his. “Y/N, seriously.” Sam wasn’t amused “Ok, sorry, what does she write then.”  

“About me and Dean.” - “Ok.” - “Together.” Her face turned pale. “Like, together, together?” - “Yeah.” Y/N looked over Sam’s shoulder to Becky. Sam saw the wheels in Y/N’s head turning. “Please don’t tell me you like that.” He asked nervous. “What? Ew, no, that isn’t even legal!” - “Oh, so if it was you would like it?” - “Oh god no Sam, I’m just trying NOT to picture it. And not to freak out!”  

“Sam, I’m feeling really uncomfortable. I really don’t want to be here tonight, you mind finding us a motel?” - “You want to get out of here?” She nodded quickly. “Please.” She gave him the puppy eyes. “Great!” He looked around, no Dean in sight. “Let’s go. We’ll tell Dean when we get back.” Sam pulled her in front of him, holding his hands on her shoulders to pushed her through the door.  

But Becky saw all of it, she didn’t hear a word, but the fact that they were sitting so close together and now left together made her jealous and suspicious. Sam “borrowed” one of the other cars that were parked outside and left.  

When they arrived at the motel Becky’s jealousy grew, she saw how Sam took the key and opened the door for Y/N following her inside.  

Not long after she sees Sam walking outside when Y/N opened the door in a robe calling him for something. She heard Sam yell. “Just make sure you’re ready, I’ll be right back.”  

Becky couldn’t bear the thought of what was happening inside. So instead of walking up to the room and confront them she drove back. But before she would walk back inside, she called Chuck to come outside.  

“I think Y/N is cheating on Dean.” She said while walking around the premises. ”What?” Chuck couldn't follow her, literally and figuratively. “I think Y/N is cheating on Dean, with my Sam. I saw them at the motel a few minutes ago.” - “You followed them?” - “I HAD to Chuck. I don’t want her to use him. She will break his heart all over again.”  

By the time Chuck and Becky walked back they saw Sam and Y/N walk back to the convention. Y/N wrapped her arm around the tallest brother, hugging him quickly. ”Thanks Sam. For helping, I really needed to get away from this.” - “If feel you. This place is weird, and I don’t want to spend the night too close to Becky.” 

“Sam Winchester, not afraid of ghosts and monsters but scared to dead of a female.” - “You really don’t know her.” He tried to defend himself. “Ha, who knows she might sneak into your bed and you hear her whisper in your ear. ‘Oh Sammy bear, hold me tonight in your strong arms’.” She acted out the scene a little too loud. Sam laughed at her drama performance.” You’re going to give me nightmares.”  

“See?!” Becky looked back to Chuck, “I never saw that as sexual tension. I thought they were just teasing each other. You know like brother and sister.” They ran after Y/N and Sam. “Where were you? The quiz is about to start.” Dean asked while walking up to them. ”By the way the buffet was amazing!” Sam gave a grinned look at Y/N and walked away.  

“I’m happy you filled your tummy.” She padded his stomach and kissed him. “Do you have a new parfum?” Dean asked. “Eh, no why?” - “Dean? Can I talk to you?” He looked over his shoulder seeing Chuck and Becky looking nervous. “I’ll keep a seat for you.” Y/N said while clearly feeling she wasn’t supposed to stay.  

Becky walked towards her turning her away from the room. “I know what you’re doing.”  - “Sorry?” - “You want them both don’t you? Is Dean not good enough for you?” Y/N looked at Dean seeing him looking back at her a little angry.  

“I, no we, saw you with Sam at the motel.” - “Becky, we went to rent a room.” - “Oh, really is that why you screamed “Oh Sammy bear, hold me tonight in your strong arms’?” Dean’s eyes grew big. - “Cheater!” She yelled before walking away leaving Dean and Y/N alone in the lobby. “Y/N?” She could see the fear in his eyes.  

But before they could say another word one of the guests ran towards them screaming, he saw 3 little kids covered in blood. Sam asked Becky if that was part of the convention, but the brothers quickly learned this wasn’t part of the plan. 

Y/N and Becky gathered all the guests and staff at the buffet. “Becky, Salt!” She yelled while throwing it towards her. Both women covered every door and window. Trying to keep the ghosts out.  

Meanwhile Sam and Dean did what they did best. Fight while they were fighting ghosts.  

“So, you’re still not over Y/N are you?” Dean bit towards Sam while they were walking to the graves. “What are you talking about?” - “Becky and Chuck saw you two all cuddly and close.” Sam was confused. “Saw us doing what?” - “Oh you know what I mean!” He turned around standing toe to toe with his younger brother. “Why Sam? Why Y/N?” - “Dean really, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  

Dean started to get frustrated. “Is this because she chose me? Or because we made up a little lie just to get together when we were young?” He walked away again “Dean seriously what are you talking about?” 

“Motel, Sam! They saw you two at the motel.” - “You didn’t want to go with her, you wanted to eat. So, she asked me.” Dean turned back around clocked his brother in his face. The anger behind the punch was enough to make Sam fall on the ground.” 

“The fuck Dean!” Sam placed his hand on his eye. “So, because I didn’t go with her, you thought hey why not, having sex with my brother’s girl was always on my ‘to do’ list? I can’t believe you did this to me. You know I love her!” - “O-of course, but I never ...” - “Dude she smelled like cheap motel soap!” - ”We never did anything Dean! I swear.”  

Dean saw the honesty in his eyes. “She is my friend and I never even think about her that way. I promise!” - “Never?” - “Never!” - “Cause you two are very close and ‘handsy’ sometimes.” - “She is like a sister, we fight constantly.” Sam said still sitting on the ground. “What if things were different? What If she wanted?” - “She doesn’t want me Dean, and I don’t want her.” - “You used to.” - “When I was 16. Please man, we didn’t do anything I swear!”  

The older brother thought for a second. “Then what did she mean by: Oh Sammy bear, hold me tonight in your strong arms’ - “We were laughing, joking what Becky would say if she had a change to sneak into my room. A-and the motel, Y/N was spooked in that old hotel, clearly, she is right. She wanted to book a room before there were no more available. So, I took her.”  

“And the shower?” - “She said it would calm her nerves.” - “What did you do during the shower?” Dean was still not convinced. “Got food, we ate we got back. Ask her!” Dean nodded sticking his hand out to Sam. Lifting him of the ground. “Let’s finish this job first, talk later.”  

Sam and Dean got back at the hotel. Y/N ran towards Dean, clinging on to his neck. “Oh god I'm so glad you are ok.” Dean placed one hand between her shoulders while his other still carried the shovel.  

Dean smelled the unfamiliar scent of soap on her. “I think we need to talk.” He said looking over at Chuck and Sam. Seems like Sam was already giving them a piece of his mind.  

“Dean baby, what Becky said...” he kissed her before she could say more. “It’s ok.” He said. “No, I was teasing Sam, I pretended to be Becky. I would never.” He smiled softly. “I believe you, I never really believed them anyway.” He shrugged his shoulders trying to play it cool.  

“Oh really? Then why does Sam look like he ran into a door?”  Dean grinned “The ghost did that.” He pulled her close. “I’m sorry sweetheart, I just, sometimes I'm a little jealous of the bond you have with him, and Chuck telling me you two went to a motel without telling me... Guess it made me nervous.”  

“Dean, I only want to stay in your strong arms, .” she over did her act again. Dean’s lips curled slightly up. ”Is that a promise?” She nodded slowly. He felt her fingers going through his hair pulling him in.  

“Does your offer of re-living that night still stand?” She asked before biting his bottom lip softly. Dean’s eyes grew big before they changed into his bedroom eyes .  

“Absolutely” He answered with a husky voice.  

--

Let me know what you think! Like, comment, share ❤️

#fanfic #fluff #smut #spn #supernatural #dean winchester #x reader #jensen ackles #sam and dean #sam winchester #dean #winchester bros #x y/n #fem reader #female reader #spnedit #spn fanart #spnfandom #the winchester brothers #winchester

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

What's your opinion of President Snow as a character in THG trilogy? Was he a great villain?

* Spoiler for TBOSAS *

After reading the novel, what's your opinion about Coriolanus Snow 'transformation' in the end?

Was it his nature or the way he was nurtured that led him to become the character we know?

Thank you :)

@curiousnonny

Snow was a Bond villain and I will die on this hill. He's awful, don't get me wrong, and I certainly would never want to meet someone like him, but there are so many more efficient ways for him to get what he wants, for him to keep control of Panem. He fixates so much on Katniss Everdeen that he loses sight of almost every other threat. I mean... why send Peeta back hijacked to kill one person when he could send Peeta to 13 carrying some kind of lethal disease that would wipe out a large portion of 13's population without harming the weapons or infrastructure? He takes on his fight with Katniss and Peeta with single minded determination and basically forgets that his real enemy isn't just this one girl and her pesky tag along baker boy. These are two kids from District 12 who, while they certainly have a large impact, are by no means the largest or most important piece of the rebellion game. At times it feels like they are because we're in Katniss's head and only see her perspective, but the rebellion and the overthrow of the Capitol happens mostly not in front of Katniss.

That said, Snow tells us in Ballad that he has a tendency to be obsessive and fixate on one thing, and if I remember correctly, Collins even drops the foreshadowing line of "it would be his undoing if he didn't learn to control it" or something to that effect in case we missed the point the first time around when he tells Katniss that he was so busy watching her that he didn't see Coin coming. So that's exactly what happened he didn't control his tendency to obsess when it came to Katniss and Peeta.

And I don't think that makes him a "great" villain. I think it makes him the villain that makes sense for this story. And the one with the right kind of flaws for the plot of the original trilogy to make sense and work well.

One of the things that's actually really good about Collins returning to Panem to tell us Snow's story with Ballad is that Snow finally makes sense in the original trilogy, rather than being a caricature villain. He spends the entirety of Ballads obsessed with Sejanus and Lucy Gray, even though he doesn't want to be. He can't figure them out, and while he manages to "beat" them both by literally getting the one killed and possibly killing the other, his actions still stem from his inability to understand them or control them, and therefore his obsession with them. And then 65 years later he does the same thing, only he can't understand and therefore can't control these two kids either and thankfully just keeps (ultimately) failing with his Drama King tactics like dropping a bunch of roses from a bomber in order to play with Katniss's head rather than do something that would, you know... actually be an effective war tactic. And he does it all in the name of trying to get them to kill each other the way he killed Sejanus and Lucy Gray.

As for the nature versus nurture question, I think it's a little bit of both? We are of course, always influenced by the people around us. But the whole thing about Snow being 17 and right on the cusp of adulthood in Ballads is that yes, how you were nurtured impacts your decisions, and he was certainly raised and taught to become what he did, but Snow in Ballads was also literally surrounded by a thousand chances to do the right thing or to become a better person. I don't think he was nurtured in a way that would've made him heroic in our eyes. Not at all. But he didn't have to be so awful. And a lot of it also has to do with the REASONS he does what he does. He only helps Lucy Gray because it helps himself. He only befriends Sejanus because it benefits himself (momentarily). He only listens to Dr. Gaul because it benefits himself, and he ignores Dean Highbottom because those thoughts make him uncomfortable and angry.

There were any number of people showing Snow or telling him how to be kind, humane, thoughtful, and he ignored them all or dismissed them as weak, stupid, inconsequential (how do you like that call back to Peeta's words huh?). Tigris, Lucy Gray, Sejanus, the guy from the bar whose name escapes me but who was always kind to Coryo and his family. And yet Snow actively kept choosing to be a violent, murderous, entitled dickbag.

Thanks for the ask, @curiousnonny!!!

#curiousnonny #thg thoughts #anonymous #look at that ask

[ofmermaidstories]

But... What was the ending?? You gotta tell us the ending you came up with, I got invested in your time traveling kids!

LOL alright. 🥹 i’ll tell u BUT‼️ we’re gonna pretend it’s an x reader bc it’s. easier. LOL. 🥹🥹🥹

you don’t know this, ofc, but the kids are worried that their being there—with you, their age—has ruined everything. that maybe they ended up here to make sure you and their father happened, to make sure they end up existing. but it’s a disaster; their father (and he is their father, they’re sure of it, he makes the same ugly face when he’s trying to decide if something or someone is worth responding to) has no interest in dating, or you. and while this version of you (before them, before you grow into the adult they know) romanticises everything, even you can’t deny there’s anything more to his disinterest but disinterest. maybe he like, snickered once when you turned around too fast at the front of the class and banged your knee (painful) but beyond laughing kinda meanly there’s just—there’s no in.

“is there someone else?” your daughter asks, worried.

your son swats her away; they’re huddled together near one of the empty classrooms. everyone already thinks they’re weirdoes, because they’re so clueless about the things the people are into, or watch or listen or know. everyone thinks they’re just codependent homeschoolers but it’s still annoying.

“i don’t think so,” your son says, tapping his foot as he frowns. it’s a habit he’s picked up from you, your impatience for standing still. “he just kinda talks like everyone here is an idiot.”

“glad he hasn’t changed, then,” your daughter says tightly.

they know the story. their dad walks home with you one day, and then the day after, and then the day after that and then eventually you spend a saturday together, where on the walk home you end up jumping a fence and lingering, until the late dusk, when your mother—their grandmother—calls you, furious. your kids have tried everything. getting the two of you to walk the same way home, making that saturday happen by inviting you both out and trying to abandon you, much to your confusion—everything! hyping you up to each other, learning one another’s favourite bands and artists, suggesting it to the other. but it’s having the opposite effect. their father now sees you, in the courtyard at lunch, and immediately turns around. you walk into the library during study and he’s the only one there—leaving you to hide in the aisles, too embarrassed by their interference to face him.

the worst of it happens at a school function. your daughter, who’s come to know you as someone her age, someone dreamy and romantic who reads grandma’s romance novels, gets it into her head maybe, dressed up and in the low lighting of this stupid school thing, that things will change. will slip into place, just like those novels.

(it doesn’t; your son goes along with it because he’s desperate, because when he wakes up now it takes a moment for him to realise parts of him are slowly fading, that he now needs to concentrate to actively be apart of this world even as he and his sister are changing things, for the worst. but the night is a disaster. he convinces his anti-social father—a boy his age, stubborn still like the man who will hold firm with his decisions, in the future—to go, while you and your daughter arrive, and when you two are pushed together the disgust on his face is enough to stop you all in your tracks.

“why do you keep doing this?” he asks your son. his son, who doesn’t have an answer.

“leave me alone!” he says, glaring at you as he does. the betrayal you look at your son and daughter with, afterwards, is the worst feeling they’ve ever felt.

“i don’t get it,” you say, your eyes shiny with the embarrassment. “please stop it.”)

they concede defeat. its making you all miserable. their father won’t talk to your son, now, and while you’re polite you’re awkward. but then something happens—whether it’s them trying to force the future and failing, or just the end of their time here, your son collapses. your daughter races to you, the instinctive, knee-jerk reaction for her mother to fix things never leaving her, no matter the version of you you are—and when the pair of you get there, out of breath, it’s their father who’s kneeling beside him, his brow furrowed in concern as your son fades, for just a moment.

(“i’m sorry,” the boy says, to him and to you and to his sister. “i’m sorry.”

his father’s worried, now, every inch his age. “you’re fine!” he says, though he has no idea what’s going on and that frightens him. “hey, you’re okay.”

his sister is crying noisy tears; you’re holding her hand, frightened yourself and then the boy before you fades again, translucent like a ghost as the girl next to you startles, afraid.

“i’m— ” you think he’s going to say he’s sorry, again, but instead he whispers, “i’m afraid.”

he’s looking at you as he says it. the boy next to him grabs his shirt, his hand, tightly, like he can hold him back from the fear.

(it doesn’t work. he disappears and the girl next to you screams.)

(you and their father become closer, after witnessing that. the girl—your daughter—turns mute, thrown into a despair that you can’t help her out of it. you and your classmate—the boy they keep trying to set you up with—try to find out what you can, go to where they were staying (a motel? someone older who’ll be in their future who took their story at face value, because they saw a pair of scared kids who needed help?) and piece together an idea of the truth: they have things you’ve never seen before. dead technology that’s the advancement of stuff you have now.

“are they aliens?” you ask him, one day at lunch. you’ve taken to sitting together, trying to puzzle out what the fuck you saw. everyone else, who’s been watching the mess caused around you, just shrugs this off as a result of it.

“that’s stupid,” your classmate says. “but whatever they are…” he trails off, and you know he’s thinking of the boy’s big, shinning eyes as he choked out his apologies.

“is he dead?” you ask, quietly.

his mouth thins, eyes meeting yours and you can feel yours tremble, in answer.)

anyways. maybe the girl—your daughter—comes back to herself when she realises she’s starting to disappear too. she freaks out, and you freak out in turn because you don’t understand and then she disappears and you are devastated. you don’t understand. you couldn’t help and now they’re both gone and you don’t care what he said, maybe they were aliens—

their faux-guardian, who’s heard and learnt enough of the truth, is heavy with it. they tell you and your classmate both that sometimes things happen, that you can’t fix everything for everyone. that the best you both can do is live your lives.

you are summarily dismissed. and your classmate walks you home. you’re crying; he’s shellshocked. there’s safety in numbers.

(he walks you home again the next day. and the day after that. and the day after that and then one saturday you spend the day together. he tells you he knows a place, and you jump a fence and spend the afternoon in the shade and the golden green isolation of a forested creek, as you both talk out your final theories.

—somewhere in the future, your son wakes up in his bed, whole and safe, with a gasp.)

#ofmermaidstories-asks #prompts and drabbles and other things #insert ur fave anime boyfriend here lmaooo

[mayajadewrites]

For Me (Levi Ackerman x Reader)

CHAPTER SEVEN: COLLEAGUES

Over the next 2 weeks you spend a lot of time with Levi. You learn his routine, what he likes to order at restaurants, all that good stuff. However, neither of you have spent the night at each others house. For you, you knew that it would be hard to control yourself if you were in bed with Levi. 

Levi enjoys the finer things in life, but not in a stuck-up way. He loves a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant, but also doesn't mind staying in and having a movie night. He works a lot, which makes it so you only see him really at night and on the weekends. It gives you something to look forward to, but it doesn't feel like enough time. 

It's Wednesday - half way through the week. Since you and Levi have decided what you're relationship is (more like Levi decided) you haven't gone to the coffee shop much. He's been bringing you coffee before he heads to work, which is a sweet treat for you. 

This day is no different.

You hear a knock at your door and open it to see your stoic boyfriend holding your iced coffee and a bouquet of flowers. "You needed fresh ones." He walked into your apartment and took out the old flowers (from last week), cleaned the vase and set up the new bouquet. 

You sip your coffee as you watch Levi work the flowers. He meticulously places them and makes sure every flower is tended to. Your eyes wander down his body - he's wearing a navy suit that is perfectly tailored to him with chestnut shoes. "You look very handsome today."

"I have a big meeting today with some potential clients." Levi double checked the flowers. "These are good to go. I'm gonna head out now." 

"Have a great day." You smile as Levi takes a step towards you, his eyes swallowing your figure. You're wearing a tank top with no bra, and your comfy short shorts. Your ass basically falls out of them.

"Don't go outside like that." Levi presses his lips to yours, bringing his hand to your face. "This is for me only." 

"Okay dad." You roll your eyes, walking him to the door.

"Daddy is the only acceptable form of 'dad' that I'll answer to." His tone was flat, so you couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

He had to be, right?

"I'll call you when I'm on my lunch." Levi kissed your cheek swiftly before turning around and heading towards the stairs. You lean against your doorframe, still feeling Levi's kiss on your lips. This is really your life. Levi Ackerman is your boyfriend.

You're about halfway through your new novel at this point. You got in touch with your editor to let her know that you'll be sending a draft her way soon. This excites you - it's been months since you had any motivation to write. 

As you finish typing a sentence, you feel your phone vibrate in your lap. 

"Hello?" You tap the 'speaker' button.

"Why do you always answer the phone like you don't have caller id?" Levi said.

"Because that's just what people do. Sorry we're not all special specimens like you."

"Anyway. Our clients loved us, and the office wants to go out to happy hour to celebrate after work."

"Okay! Have fun. Are you coming over after?"

"You're coming with me. And then we're going home together."

"I missed the part where you asked me if I wanted to go."

"I didn't ask. Be ready by 6." Levi hung up the phone. Sometimes he can be so sweet, but other times it's like he forgets that he has other people to communicate with and we all don't think the way he does.

You sigh, shutting your laptop and pushing it towards the back of your desk. You turn your head to your closet, knowing you'll be tearing it up to find an outfit. You look at the time on your phone: 1:30PM. It's time to start getting ready.

You take an everything shower, making sure there's no hair anywhere on your legs. You moisturize your skin, wash your hair, everything.

This is the first time you're meeting anyone in Levi's circle. Even though he says they're his "colleagues" you know that that's his way of saying friends. You blow dry and curl your hair, watching the curls bounce before you brush them out into loose waves. Your makeup is simply but glowy - your go to.

Your outfit consists of a beige square neck body suit with straight leg jeans that are slightly distressed. You pick out a pair of beige heels to match - they're not too high to where you're uncomfortable but you'll be at Levi's height now. 

By the time you're done with everything, it's 5:45. You decide to pick up a bit around your apartment and spray your favorite vanilla perfume. 

Right at 6, there's a knock at your door. 

"What did I do to deserve seeing Levi Ackerman at my front door twice in one day?" You tilt your head to the side, smiling. 

Levi's eyes wandered to your chest, which was accentuated by the neckline of the bodysuit. You have a bigger chest, which you typically hide. You watched Levi's Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. "You look beautiful, per usual. Do you have everything? A bag for stuff you'll need for tonight?"

"Wait, why would I need that?"

"Because you're staying at my house tonight."

"Staying as in..."

"Sleeping over. You're sleeping at my house tonight. With me."

"I didn't know." You bit down on your bottom lip. "Ok, give me a few minutes. Sit down." You turn to grab a tote bag out of your closet and grab your essentials. Toothbrush, makeup remover, a change of clothes, a pair of UGG slippers, pajamas, and body wash. "Done." You hold up the bag with a smile plastered on your face. 

Levi nods as he takes the bag from you, turning off the light in your foyer. You lock the door behind you and triple check that its actually locked before you both descend down the stairs.

"So where's happy hour?" You ask as you watch Levi's hands on the steering wheel. 

"It's at this bar downtown that everyone likes to go to. I don't go out much, so I've only been there once when I got my promotion." 

You nod as he explains, gazing out the window. You feel Levi's large hand land on your thigh, squeezing it gently. "They're going to love you." 

"I hope so." It's like he knew exactly what you were feeling. That you were anxious to meet the people that are around him every day because they could think you're not good enough for him. They could have seen ex girlfriends that were prettier than you. Levi rubbed his thumb across your thigh for reassurance.

Levi helped you out of his car before leading you into the building, which was half bar, half restaurant. 

"Levi! You made it!" You look up and see a group of people with drinks in your hand. The one that called for Levi was one of the guys that was with Jean when he asked for your number.

"I'm still Mr. Ackerman outside of work." Levi squeezes your hand gently. "This is my girlfriend." Levi introduces you.

"So you're the reason he smiles!" A brunette woman with glasses walks up to you. "My name is Hange. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Likewise!" You shake her hand, smiling. 

"This is Erwin, my best friend and President of Ackerman Inc." Levi points to a tall blonde man with piercing blue eyes.

"Nice to meet you. Levi has told me a lot about you." Erwin shakes your hand.

"Not a lot. Don't listen to him." Levi rolls his eyes, introducing you to the rest of his colleagues. "This is my cousin, Mikasa. The one I was telling you about that loves your books. And this is her boyfriend, Eren." 

Eren was the one that Levi said to call him Mr. Ackerman. You smile as you meet the couple, noticing the similarities between Levi and Mikasa. They're both very poised and serious at all times.

Levi leaves you for a few moments to mingle. Mikasa grabs your arm gently to get your attention.

"I know my cousin can be an ass." She smiles. "But he really cares about you. He's talked about you and has even cracked a smile while doing so." 

"Thanks, Mikasa. I appreciate that. He's not the easiest to deal with." You laugh, glancing over at Levi. He's standing with Erwin and Hange as he waits for drinks at the bar. He doesn't bother asking you what you want to order, since it's always a white wine. 

Your nerves calm down a bit when Levi's fingers graze yours to hand you your glass. "You okay? Are you having a good time?"

"Yes, Levi." You take a sip of your wine. "Your friends are nice. I like them."

"Colleagues."

#levi ackerman #levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader #levi ackerman fanfiction #levi ackerman smut #levi ackerman fanfic #attack on titan #aot #levi ackerman attack on titan #levi ackerman x you #levi ackerman my bookie #levi ackerman my beloved

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 37 – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

I picked this up for my still-somewhat-theoretical bookclub with some friends, and honestly probably wouldn’t have looked at it otherwise. (The only previous work of Schwab I’d read was Vicious which I was, honestly, not particularly impress by.) So chalk one up for book clubs I suppose, because I’m incredibly happy I gave this a try.

The book follows the eponymous Adeline “Addie” LaRue, a peasant girl in late 17th century southern France who, desperately trying to escape marriage and a life limited to one tiny farming village, and just generally being a peasant, makes a deal with the devil. (Or primordial darkness. Or some ancient pagan god she learned about from the old witch living in the woods that comes standard with every peasant village – it’s somewhat vague, and doesn’t really matter regardless. He goes by Luc.) The deal is for her freedom – she will get to live life untethered and according to her own desires, until she is sick of it, and when she is, her soul will be his.

What this means is that she is a) immortal, and eternally 23 years old, and any change to her body reverts in a matter of moments, but also b) incapable of leaving a mark on the world. People literally forget her the moment she is out of their sight, any letters she writes fade before she finishes a word, she is quite literally incapable of saying her own name out loud and has to pick a pseudonym out of the air with each new interaction, and so on. Reality also conspires against her having more than she can carry on her person – stashes are discovered or accidentally destroyed by what seems like random chance.

The book’s divided more or less in half, with a singular narrative in 2014 New York where Addie has a meet cute with Henry – a 28 year old bohemian bookstore clerk whose made his own (much, much worse) deal with the devil, and as a happy unintended consequence is actually able to remember her – being intercut with flashback chapters telling the wider story of Addie’s three-hundred-year life, how she adapted to her blessing/curse and figured out how to have a life of something other than endlessly freezing and starving in Parisian gutters, and her relationships with Luc.

To lay my cards on the table – Henry is charming, and the book’s New York is fun and appealing, but the historical vignettes really do make the book and elevate it a bit beyond pleasant but forgettable fluff. Partially just because the nature of Addie’s anonymous immortality is so specific, the book has a lot of fun with how she learned to navigate and make the most of it. The utter misery she’d been stuck with and endured also grounds (..maybe not the right word, given the immortality, but you know what I mean) the generally pretty fluffy New York narrative a bit.

Also, given how much I loathe the whole ‘death is what makes life meaningful!’ cliche, I really do appreciate that even after spending however long buried in a snowbank in a Parisian slum perpetually one second away from freezing to death, Addie’s reaction to ‘would you make the same deal again?’ is ‘fuck you, I’m immortal!”.

The plot of the present day New York chapters...exists. If mostly as connective tissue for cute dates and descriptions of bars and art shows; this is really overwhelmingly a character piece, and after that the focus is still more on making specific scenes and vignettes vivid more than any sort of overarching drama. Which isn’t any sort of complaint, to be clear – adding action or high stakes politics or a cosmic battle between good and evil or anything else would have ruined this. The fact that the book keeps its stakes limited to a few specific souls is a huge point in its favour.

The novel’s organized around a romance (I mean, a love triangle, technically), though given the ending I’m not sure it technically qualifies for the weirdly specific criteria for a Romance Novel I’ve been yelled out about in the past. It’s not exactly the sort of love story that’s going to set the world on fire, anyway; though Henry was charming and sympathetic and inoffensive enough to effortlessly vault into my top tier of least annoying romance male love interests.

Luc I think I would have absolutely despised if either Addie had ended up buying into his bullshit or if the narration ever really tried to make you sympathize with him. As is, it’s incredibly to read him as actually sincerely falling sincerely in love with Addie at a certain point, and she basically never stops hating him to the point of going all unreliable narrator and always framing his actions as more Machiavellian and monstrous than they are. It’s great.

It’s not exactly surprising how studiously apolitical the book is, but it did still kind of strike me? Given the span of history involved, I mean – the French Revolution and World War One both intrude on the narrative exclusively as ‘bad news Addie gets out of Paris/Europe to evade’. The only active political stance she’s shown as taking in the entire modern era is returning to France during WW2 to be an anti-nazi spy out of a vague sort of patriotism.

On the one hand oh my god a version of this book that went ‘she’s queer and was alive at the time, so obviously Addie would have been at Stonewall’ would have just been, so so bad lol. But the part of me that loves drama and books that get internet hate campaigns dedicated to them does kind of wish the book had done a bit more with what she (immortal 23-year-old early modern bohemian aesthete runaway peasant girl) actually believes or thinks of the world.

Though the book’s restraint on involving historical events vanishes entirely in the cultural sphere – Beethoven makes an appearance, having sold his soul for artistic genius. I don’t mind this too much, honestly; Addie learning that even if she can’t leave a direct mark she can still inspire people and indirectly shape the world that way is a pretty central theme to the whole book, so it more or less fits. When she justifies why she considers her life worth living, the central element is beauty, she lives for songs and fine meals and paintings and books and films. The occasional intrusion of names I recognize just feels like it fits.

Speaking of: quite possibly my favourite bit of the book is how, at the beginning of each part, there’s a page with a sketch and an auctioneer’s description of a different piece of fine art that Addie had inspired over the course of her long life. Nothing much intelligent to say about them specifically, just that I adored the little touches it added.

Unfortunately, the ending of this was the weakest part of it by leaps and bounds. Just – it would have been damn near perfect, if it just ended two chapters before it did! As is, re contextualizing the entire book as an artifact that exists in universe just makes the entire thing make no sense at all (also, my god, can you imagine being Robbie or Henry’s family and reading how you’re portrayed in his ‘novel’?) But even beyond that, it felt like the book had reached a natural, nicely bittersweet ending, and then spent the last ten pages furiously trying to backtrack and make it as unambiguous and upbeat as possible. A damn shame.

Anyway, not a revelatory read or anything, but with that exception very fun and well-put together.

#book review #v.e. schwab #sff #book club #romance #the invisible life of addie larue

[flowerprincesscherryblossom]

him and i

pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Female Reader word count: 2939 warnings: angst, flashback, explicit language, cheating, fondling, dry humping, making out AO3 A/N: Hope you like it and that you have a wonderful day wherever you are💜

You didn't know what to do anymore…

You were lying awake in bed, unable to fall asleep due to the never-ending thoughts your mind kept creating, the constant tossing and turning just making everything worse - you just wanted the day to be over, was that so much to ask for?

The last time you checked your phone it was well past midnight and you didn't bother to check again, hours or minutes could've passed since, it didn't make a difference.

Every time you closed your eyes your brain kept flashing memories that you kept questioning…

Did he really love you as much as he said he did? Did he ever loved you to begin with? When did the change happen? When did he stop seeing you for what you were once to him? When did you became so stupid for not realizing it sooner?

Every date, every kiss, every moment together replaying over and over in your mind as you carefully analyzed every small detail, trying to figure out when it all began.

He wasn't like this in the beginning of your relationship… or at least, he was better at keeping it hidden.

Yours and Jungkook's first meeting was a complete accident, and something straight out of a romance novel, you just bumped into each other because neither were paying attention to their surroundings as you were leaving the coffee shop he was entering. You both apologized profusely, incredibly shy, and stumbling over words.

After much insistence on his part, he decided to pay for something of your choice in the cafe to make up for it - even if you kept insisting that it wasn't necessary since the only thing you had in your hands when you collided with him was your phone, but he refused to take no for an answer.

The both of you talked about everything and nothing of the going-ons' in your lives, more so you than him as he didn't seem to want to share some details of his life. The initial awkwardness slowly dispatching as the two of you kept talking and cracking jokes as if you had known each other for years.

Before you went your separate ways he asked for your number, saying he would like to hang out with you again. You hesitated, first and foremost he was still a stranger, but he kept insisting and a part of you liked the attention he was giving you. So you agreed.

Two days later and he was inviting you out again.

Looking back on it, maybe the first red flag was when he kept wanting to be in your presence despite you both being strangers…

The two of you continued to spend time together, two-three days every week. He started talking more about himself but you always got the feeling that he was still hiding something, that there was a wall that he refused to break down.

Then, it didn't bother you, knowing how hard it can be to opening up to new people about certain things in your life - especially when you couldn't be a hundred percent sure that they wouldn't hurt you and leave, surrounding you with broken pieces of what you used to be.

You had your own walls, but as time passed, with every text; every call; every hangout; Jungkook had managed to find a crack in them and slowly tear them down.

Now, you're ashamed of how easily dependant you had become of his presence.

The friendship between you was like this for the next couple of months but that changed one night. That one night you could still remember so clearly, especially now after everything you had learned.

You invited him to your house - watching movies, playing games, and eating takeout were on your agenda, you just wanted to spend some more time with the man whose company you had grown so used to. It wasn't the first time you asked but it was the first time he had said yes, he was always so apprehensive whenever you asked that it had come as a total shock when he agreed.

From the moment he stepped foot in your apartment Jungkook had seemed a little on edge, something you had hoped would vanish as the night went on.

It hadn't. As the night went on, Jungkook seemed jumpier and more closed-off than usual, his mind miles away from where you were. And you were growing tired of it.

"You can leave if you want." you said, eyes focused on the movie that was playing. You didn't want to look at the man that was sitting by your side on the couch.

"I wanna stay."

"Coulda fooled me," you let out a dry laugh, not believing his words. "You look so uncomfortable."

"Have something on my mind."

Nodding at his words with a tight smile on your lips, silence fell once more before you chose to speak. "You know you can-" you interrupted yourself once you took a look at him. Jungkook was gazing at you intently, a glimmer of something you couldn't quite pinpoint in his eyes.

You felt like prey in the presence of a predator - frozen in place and unable to tear your eyes away from him, fearing that the smallest movement would break the spell you found yourself in. You were ashamed to admit that the way his eyes focused on you sent a spark of arousal through your body. You pressed your thighs together, hoping to relieve some of the tension, and praying that he wouldn't notice.

But he did, his eyes traveled to your legs and then back to your eyes, a smirk playing on his lips as he scooted closer. "I can what?" putting a few strings of hair behind your ear, his finger caressing your skin until it reached your chin to which he then gripped it a bit forcefully, making you fixate on him. "Finish your thoughts."

"Y-You c-can," swallowing the lump in your throat, you tried to find your words but that was proving to be difficult with his gaze on you and the feeling of his hand caressing your thigh. "You can tell me anything."

He hummed, pulling your face closer to his but stopping short of his lips grazing yours. The both of you stay like that for what it felt like hours, staring into each other's eyes and feeling each other's warm breath on your lips.

You wanted him to kiss you. You wanted Jungkook to close the distance between you. You wanted to feel what his lips would feel against yours. You would do it yourself but the grip on your chin unabling you from doing it.

You let out a whine and even then, Jungkook refused to do anything, simply letting out a chuckle at your desperation.

"I don't think you can handle what I'm thinking about." his thumb ran along your bottom lip but you were left confused by his words. Opening your mouth to ask what he meant but before any sound leaves you Jungkook presses his lips on yours.

The shock was quick to leave and you kissed him back. It started slow and soft, almost as if he thought that you would break if he used any force. His hands gripped your waist, pressing you to lay on your back against the couch, making quick work of climbing on top of you.

The sounds from the movie had fallen into background noise as the two of you found yourself in a heated makeout session where the only sound that matter was of your shared moans. Jungkook's tongue wrestling yours as one of his hands was under your shirt, fondling your bra-hidden breast, your legs wrapped around him, pulling him closer as you grinded your covered core against his clothed bulge.

There was a voice inside of you saying that you should stop; that it was wrong; to stop before you crossed the point of no return, but everything just felt too good to stop. One of your hands raking through his hair while your other one slid down his body and grabbed a hold of the button of his jeans.

But as quick as it started, it stopped with Jungkook suddenly pulling away from you. "I shouldn't have done that," he said breathlessly while running his hand through his disheveled hair. "I'm sorry."

He immediately got up and left your apartment in a hurry, without once looking back and leaving you in a state of confusion, hurt, and guilt.

You didn't talk with each other for almost an entire week, but it wasn't long before you both found yourselves in that same position.

Ever since that night, whenever you and he spent any time together it would start out normal enough but as the night went on you would always find yourself beneath him, hands all over each other's bodies and shared heated kisses. Every night would end the same as well, him pulling away from you, apologizing and leaving, letting you contemplate every action all alone.

It wasn't that long ago that you had finally grown tired of the game he kept playing with you. It was also the night that everything came crashing down.

You were out in a club with your friends, trying to forget the feeling he constantly left you with, when you spotted him with a group of people you didn't recognize. You couldn't keep your eyes off of him and it wasn't long before his found yours but that night you just couldn't deal with him anymore. You turned to one of your friends and told them that you were going outside for a breath of fresh air, the entire time you could feel his eyes on you.

Once outside, you leaned against a wall on the side of the building and away from everyone's eyes. Trying to calm down your heartbeat, you weren't the least bit shocked that the footsteps that followed you belonged to Jungkook.

You let out a dry chuckle and refused to look at him. "Why did you follow me?"

"Wanted to check on you," he shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and kept coming closer to you. "Wouldn't be a good friend if I ignored a friend in need."

"Friend?" you asked baffled, finally taking a look at him. "After everything… we're just friends?" you stood at an arm's length from him, feeling anger and disappointment at his lack of a response. "Do you kiss all of your friends the same way you do with me?"

You start to walk past him but suddenly you feel his hand gripping your wrist and pulling you towards him, his other hand taking a hold of your face and crashing your lips in a harsh kiss before you had a chance to say anything.

Pressing you against the wall, completely caging you as he devoured your lips like he had been denied any meal before he found you. You could feel your resolve crumbling bit by bit but you had to be strong, you couldn't let him continue with this anymore.

"J-Jungkook." using your free hand, you started to slightly push him off of you but the result was him leaving a trail of open-mouth kisses on your jaw and neck.

"J-Jungkook s-stop." you tipped your head back to give better access, the hand that was previously holding your face was being used to wrap one of your legs around his waist, letting you feel his clothed bulge and making you let out a moan as he started to grind against you.

But you couldn't let it go beyond the lines that had already been crossed, this was wrong.

"Jungkook I'm dating someone!" that seemed to finally make him stop and look at you. "I'm sorry… I-I should've told you sooner and I don't know why I didn't."

Letting out a heavy breath, he laid his head on your shoulder before whispering. "I know."

That caught you off guard - all this time, every kiss shared, he knew you had a boyfriend and that never stopped him. You weren't innocent, you knew that, and you should've put a stop to it after the first time it happen but the fact that he knew from the beginning was leaving you with a bad feeling that you couldn't shake off.

"I know since the first time we met… because he's my boyfriend too."

His words hit you like a ton of bricks, you were left paralyzed by them, not being able to move or speak as tears started to form in your eyes.

"After I found out he was cheating on me I had this idea of meeting who the other person was," he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer to him, all the while still refusing to meet your eyes. "After doing a little digging in his phone I found out about you and planned on telling the truth about him,"  his grip on you tighten, almost suffocating you in his arms, not realizing that his words were doing the same. "But the first time I saw you… You were so happy with him and it made me so mad that I… I had the fucked up idea of using you to get back at him."

"The first time we met wasn't an accident, I waited inside for you to show up. Every moment after was just me trying to get you to trust me," you could hear the sadness in his voice and feel the tears he was letting out but you couldn't find it in yourself to care. "Just so I could fuck you and break the two of you apart."

You couldn't listen to him anymore. "Let me go." you struggled against his stronghold but he refused to budge. "Goddammit, I said let me go! Didn't you already ruined my life enough?"

"Not until you hear everything I have to say."

"What more is there? I thought you were my friend and all this time you've just been using me!" you started yelling at him, the anger inside you growing with every word of his confession. "Do you just want me to feel even worse about myself? Why are you even telling me this?"

"Because I feel in love with you!" He yelled, catching you off guard once again.

You started laughing in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he let you push him off of you, his face showed how broken and hurt he was and you doubt that you looked any better. "Is this some kind of joke to you? Why should I believe you?"

"What reason do I have to tell you all if this if I was lying?" Jungkook was growing frustrated more and more but he never once step too far away from you. "Why wouldn't I just went ahead and fuck you the first time I got you under me?"

You were left speechless and so he continued. "The first time I kissed you, I left because I couldn't stop feeling like shit for using you to get back at him." you didn't know what else to do or say besides crying at everything he kept saying, you wanted to get away from him but you also wanted to hear him out. "Every moment that we spent together, a part of me was starting to like you more and more."

He stepped closer to you and took your face in his hands, the both of you a mess of tears and regrets. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize how horrible I was being. I'm sorry for using you. I'll say it as many times as you deserve until you believe me and my feelings for you."

"What more do you want from me?" you had no strength in you left to fight him, you just felt broken by everything and just wanted to go home and cry to your heart's content while curled up in your bed.

"Be with me." your eyes widen in shock, feeling your breath being knocked out of you as you felt his lips connect with every inch of his face. "Leave him and be with me. I know it's going to take time for you to trust me, but I know I can treat you better than him."

You shook your head in disbelief, pulling his hands away from you and starting to walk away from him. He didn't dare to follow.

It had been almost a month since that fateful night.

You isolated yourself from everyone, barely having the will to leave your bed much less talk to anyone about the going-ons in your life. You just wanted to be alone.

You had since broken up with your cheating ex, you hadn't even bothered to give him a reason - you just wanted to get rid of everything that involved him in your life.

You also hadn't talked to Jungkook since then. He still messaged you, almost daily, just wanting to check on you and continuously apologizing. You read all of them but you never replied once.

You couldn't forget his last words before you walked away from him, the words that constantly haunted you - how could he just expect you to be with him after everything he confessed to you that night? The worst part was that, a part of you did want to be with him… but how could you let yourself be vulnerable and trust him after what he made you go through?

You didn't know what to do anymore…

#bts #bts fanfic #bts jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook angst #jungkook x reader

[nerdyadoptee]

Mask of the Rose: The NerdyAdoptee Review

PUBLISH DATE: June 8, 2023 PLATFORMS: Windows, macOS, SteamOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch (launch); PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (unspecified later, post-launch)

This is the game I've been waiting for.

Mask of the Rose is a visual novel from UK-based Failbetter Games, developers of Sunless Skies, Sunless Sea, and Fallen London. I've long followed Failbetter's work because of their commitment to worldbuilding. All of their games share a common universe, an alternate Victorian vision of the 19th century world, with generous helpings of the unexplained, the supernatural, and even dashes of Cthulhu-esque cosmic horror. London has sunk underground, and the residents of London have lost contact with the surface. In this dark world (nicknamed "the Neath"), we encounter things that are familiar (the Queen is still around, although she's become curiously reclusive) along with the less familiar (what exactly are the "Clay Men?").

This world has been built by Failbetter over three games and thirteen years, but Mask of the Rose doesn’t require any previous knowledge or experience with their games. A character creator allows you to choose your character's background, silhouetted portrait, and how others address your character, from "Captain" to "My Lady" to "Citizen." In addition to the gender inclusivity of the character creator, it's wonderful to see Failbetter give the player the option to specify the kind of romance they're looking for in this visual novel. You can pursue friendships only, seek romantic relationships, physical relationships, or both--and choosing any of those options doesn't prevent you from seeing certain endings or lore, it just gives the player agency in this quite personal choice.

From there, we're introduced to the world and its wide and diverse cast of characters. Going into almost any detail risks ruining the discovery that is such a beautiful part of Mask of the Rose, but I'll at least say that the characters in Mask of the Rose feel complex and unique, each with their own voice and desires. The gameplay loop revolves around choosing how to spend your time--like with other time-management-style games, you can't have conversations with everyone. In each conversation, you're making dialogue choices that have an impact on the people you speak with and on the character you're building over time. The choices are well-written, and show an insight into the complexity of conversation and tone that is often missing from less thoughtful visual novels.

Each day in Mask of the Rose is split up into a Morning and Afternoon time, adding weight and stakes to each playthrough: do I try to get the exhausted pastor to spend more time with a mutual friend, or do I cozy up to the streetwise merchant who seems to know what's going on behind the scenes? More importantly, WHOM DO I WANT TO SMOOCH?

Ahem. Excuse me.

Mask of the Rose has so much story to uncover that one playthrough isn't sufficient. You're trying to solve a mystery, you're trying to uncover more about London's peculiar new surroundings, and you're trying to matchmake your friends, and you might be looking for romance for yourself. A playthrough generally takes me about 3-4 hours, and although I've done multiple playthroughs, there's still more to discover. I'm excited to learn more about each one of the fascinating characters, and I'm further drawn in because Mask of the Rose weaves a tale that touches upon so many elements of 19th century English society, from British global imperialism and colonialism to class struggles and privilege.

While I love the writing and Mask of the Rose's visual novel gameplay (and unique "storycrafting" mechanic/minigame, which is another gameplay pillar), I did run into a few frustrations. I would've appreciated an option to fast-forward text I've already seen. Mask of the Rose helpfully provides a fast-forward option, but it's too easy to accidentally skip past new dialogue and lore. In a game that demands multiple playthroughs, a smarter fast-forwarding option is a really unfortunate omission. I also felt like the time management aspect felt very constraining; it could be my own lack of intuition and understanding, but I sometimes found progression dense or unforgiving. The subtlety of Mask of the Rose is a strength, so I’d love if hints or some kind of help could be an option that players choose to turn on. More days and levels of signposting to clues would go a long way to making me even more excited about future playthroughs.

Overall, I'm smitten by Mask of the Rose. It's the game I've been waiting for because I've wanted to explore this world for a long time, but have struggled with the gameplay and difficulty of Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies. If you share a love for evocative writing and thoughtful worldbuilding, you've got to get Mask of the Rose.

Be sure to tell me whom you smooch!

#review #spoiler free #video games #gaming #failbetter games #mask of the rose #fallen london #sunless skies #sunless sea #romance #visual novel #pc games #pc gaming #xbox #ps4 #ps5 #switch #nintendo switch

[simp-ly-writes]

Meet the Doctor pt.7

Pairing: Stardew Valley Harvey x Reader

Summary: How time flys and relationships change, what will come out from it all and most importantly will your hearts?

Warnings: angst, crying.

A/N: You have to have the lowest of lowest in order to achieve the highest of highs later in life... inspired by the song let you break my heart again by laufey.

Masterlist | Taglist | edited.

Meet the Doctor Series (pt.1) (pt.2) (pt.3) (pt.4) (pt.5) (pt.6) (pt.7) (pt.8) (pt.9) (pt.10) you are here

You eventually end up seeing Harvey every day, bringing a coffee into the clinic as you two catch up on last night and learn more about one another's past before coming to the valley. As the weeks went by you helped to water the flowers in the box outside the clinic and water the plants in an all too familiar appointment room. Soon enough, the red coat laid across the chair in your bedroom was greeted with green elements. Yet your evenings were becoming taken over by Golden locks and half-finished books with tea stained pages tipped over by the dancing of feet to the record that played in the background.

Elliot had been doing his best to have more of your limited time; noticing how much of it you would spend with the Doctor. Feeling overly jealous, he put in a lot of effort into maintaining a relationship with you and making the first move. Yet you seem to always go back the next morning to the medical official, coffee in hand even though you prefer tea. He had always made the first step and yet your feet never followed him as you danced, you would laugh at his jokes and look interested in him, yet he could always see you calculating something in the depths of your irises.

Maybe it was the writer and musician in his soul, calling out for inspiration from yours. Yet the more he had tried, the more he felt you being taken away with minimal effort from Harveys side. So he brewed the tea, set the record on, and took your mind off work when you shared your nights together. His hopeless romantic side was thriving yet the embers of your eyes leading astray slowly burned through his hope. But you still said yes to him, he felt himself not knowing what to think in the end. 

–

This schedule followed on into the near future as you and Elliot fell asleep gradually each night together as he would vocalize his newest songs and story ideas through your brilliant mind as you would rant about your sprinklers and designs for automatic feeders. Ending the night with a shared pot of green tea and dancing to a new song off Elliot’s work-in-process-record. 

But as soon as the morning would come along, he would have already left your home, tea set and record in arms as you would set off to the clinic in the morning. Yet as the holidays came and went, you were always each other’s dates; dancing together at the saloon and flower dance, running down the streets during the egg hunt, huddling against one another during the moonlight jellies, laughing your heads off while winning prizes at the fall fair, and getting lost together in the spirit's eve maze for almost two years. Were you just leading him on? Or did you really just not know how to express your feelings of friendship or romance? Elliot thought to himself. How on earth had this farmer taken over every thought and been the soul inspiration behind all of his greatest works…

–

The weeks of work in your living space had eventually added up and a completed novel that was set to release in the upcoming winter season. Another year in the valley was coming and going in a blur between growing your farm and its sales, maintaining your somewhat relationship with Elliot and trying your farmers intuition at growing your relationship with the local doctor, the days flew by and your second year was coming to a close. 

You felt trapped in this moment in time torn between versions of yourself you could have been and version that you still want to be. Elliot was everything you could want in a person, he was creative, intelligent, and outgoing, he made you come out of your shell in those moments in your home, introduced you more personally to the valley's inhabitants and even played songs dedicated to you. Yet what you did not understand was why you felt so empty in his arms as you danced at night, the thought of thousands of others hearing words just meant for you in private.

So you sit there, drinking your coffee for comfort while picking at your piece of pie baked by Evelyn for the occasion. Elliot is holding the first reading of his completed novel in the museum library today and as he starts to read it to the crowd that has formed. You can’t help but feel your heart swell and then crumble in mere seconds, those late night worries coming all too true.

This novel is dedicated to my love, Y/N and our shared writing nights that have ultimately made this book and me a better man. Elliot read the most personal of thoughts into a sea of people and here you were drowning. In all those personal midnight talks after a long day, sharing the couch as songs still played in the background and into the day. You sat here drinking your coffee and thinking, when will someone love me like I wished to have loved you?  

The door chimes and soon you see a green jacket walk out the door, a red one sits on the back of your chair, your heart breaking for a second time. Overwhelmed and confused, tears start to fall down your cheeks as the people loudly clap and whistle around you as the sound of a hardcover snaps close. Elliot jumps off the stage, thanking the crowd in the microphone as walks gracefully over to you, cupping your cheeks and whipping away your tears, he kisses your forehead as the crowd cheers and your spine shrinks into your shoulders. 

To be continued.

Meet the Doctor Series (pt.1) (pt.2) (pt.3) (pt.4) (pt.5) (pt.6) (pt.7) (pt.8) (pt.9) (pt.10) you are here

#stardew valley harvey #sdv harvey #sdv harvey x farmer #sdv harvey x reader #harvey stardew valley #stardew harvey #stardew valley #stardew valley fanfic #harvey x reader #fanfic #fanfiction #simp-ly-writes #simp-ly

[maleyanderecafe]

Froot Basket: Dark Chocolate (Visual Novel)

Created by: xxmissarichanxx

Genre: Horror

I actually was waiting for this one to come out when I heard it was first announced and I'm really happy I did because this game is fantastic. It's a lot less comedic than the original game, Froot Basket Valentine, and it gives much more context to Momotaru, the yandere in question. For this game you actually play as him, attempting to summon a demon. This is one of the few games where I still didn't get all of the achievements for, so hopefully I didn't miss anything too major that might change what happens. The main one I'm missing is the basketball achievement because that minigame is way too hard to beat. If you'd like more information on the Froot Basket games please look at @xxmissarichanxx for more.

The game summary for this might be a little strange since the game runs in a time loop with the dialogue changing slightly when replayed. I'll note the differences after I go with the normal route as well as what happens in the endings (or at least I'll try because I can't seem to get the full ending for it). There are a lot of other small things I'll try to explain as well, since it depends on where you go during each day.

The story starts out initially with Momotaru waking up to find Jordan worried about him. Apparently, the two had just performed a ceremony with a demon, though it doesn't seem to have worked. Momotaru ends up passing out due to a nosebleed and ends up in the infirmary after, where he hears Spine and Dr. Ringo chatting with each other. Dr. Ringo tries to get him to go home since he's not in such good shape, but Momotaru decides to head to the basketball game anyways. Momotaru goes to watch Jordan as now they are a candidate for the next captain of the basketball team and admires them from . Momotaru ends up joining the team, though fails to stay as he ends up nearly passing out again, forcing Coach Paer to kick him out. Jordan comforts Momotaru afterwards, melting his heart. Momotaru then laments about how he's an outcast, and he shows how jealous he is towards Sutoro, someone that Jordan has a crush on. During lunch he learns about how Spine and Dr. Ringo are dating. Dr. Ringo informs Momo to go home, but Momo refuses as he wants to spend more time with Jordan. As he hears whispers in his head, he searches for either Jordan or Spine. Fighting with Spine reveals that the two are brawling to help Jordan with basketball, while finding Jordan instead makes him find Sutoro, who tells him to stay away from Jordan as he's done pretty terrible things to others in the past. Either way, Jordan ends up handing the demon book that started the mess to Momo. Momo ends up going to the bathroom where they did the ritual to find out what's going on, only to find that the demon the two summoned has attached himself to Momo. Momo asks the demon to make Jordan love him and only him in exchange for getting bits of hair, spit, sweat and other things for the demon. Reading the book shows that having the love potion to work requires them to be fed it slowly. The rest of the game requires the player to get these pieces from the people around them, at least until Halloween where the ritual is performed. Failing it will cause Momo to continually repeat the same cycle over and over again.

There are a couple of differences in the second time around, where Momo remembers the days events and tries to bypass them, as well as moments where the demon attempts to take control of Momo. He also realizes that the pieces he's gathering from others are to make the Demon a body. When done correctly and with all of the parts, Momo will continually feed Jordan the love potion so that they forget all those around them. This leads to the events of the last game, as well as the true ending where Momo is found unmoving on the floor. If the player does not get everything in time, the spell doesn't work and Jordan will still befriend the others like in the original game. Unfortunately I couldn't get the last ending where the demon takes over (or maybe I did, but that was a long while ago), so hopefully there wasn't anything too big on that ending.

We learn the general reason to why Jordan like Sutoro so much- mostly that he's very cool and popular, the type that speaks directly and intentionally. As a result, Momo becomes extremely jealous over him, attempting to be popular as well to gain Jordan's attention and supposedly also tripping him down the stairs in the past, which leads to Sutoro being very wary and disliking Momo.

I gotta say first of all that this game is very well made and an excellent prequel sequel to Froot Basket Valentine. While I loved the tone and the absurdity of the original game, one of the things I wasn't too found of was the fact that we didn't know that much about the relationship between Momotaru and Jordan, since the two seemed to be very close and that he was a yandere for them. Luckily, this entire game does show how Momotaru feels towards Jordan and why, along with why the events of the first game happened in the first place. I also think it's nice that we are able to see more of the relationships between all of the characters, thus learning more abou them. The art style, while different from the first game really does set the tone of it, favoring a more comic book style rather than a more painterly/goofy look to it, which I really do like. The various events that can happen as well make it very good for replayability, especially since you can get different types of parts from different characters depending on what is chosen.

Momotaru as a yandere is very cynical, not caring or disliking most of the other characters besides Jordan since he sees them as their one true love. Unlike in Valentine, we do see that Momotaru sees himself as more of a loser rather than the more popular chick magnet that he was in that game. He looks down on other and himself and just hates it when anyone gets near them, even though most of the other characters, with the exception of Paer and Suturo, seem to be rather friendly with him. With Suturo its a rival situation where he does attempt to get rid of him (and fails) as well as try to become more like him so that Jordan will like him thorough popularity and trying to be good at basketball (because as it turns out Momotaru is actually pretty weak physically), though it ironically doesn't really matter as much considering that Suturo ends up rejecting Jordan in Valentine, as he has no romantic interest in them. He's specifically very spiteful towards him for this reason, so anything that ends with him hurting Suturo probably makes him happy. So it does make sense that he wants Jordan to like him and makes a deal with the demon, considering that Jordan is A. kind of oblivious and B. already very clearly likes Sutoro. When it comes to Jordan though, Momotaru is very lovestruck over them, even offering to help them do a demonic ritual to (apparently) help make their friend's life better, and in a lot of cases even just outright confesses to liking them or wanting to be with them. In some cases it does seem like he worships them to a certain degree, trying to find them always, remembering everything that they told him and just seeing all of the good sides of them. That being said, he is willing to use more underhanded tactics of being with them, specifically the love potion that's created at the ending when the ritual is completed on Halloween, so that they would forget everyone except him. I'll be honest Momotaru and Spine were actually pretty big inspirations for Iya and Emil in terms of personality and appearance (to a certain degree) so I'm always happy to see them in the game.

That being said, I think the biggest qualm I have about the game is that it's very hard to get all of the endings, even with a tutorial. Normally, it's not too difficult for me to complete most of a game, especially for visual novels, but there's a lot of finicky things going on with Froot Basket that make it difficult. It's generally very hard to remember how to get everyone on the hitlist and harder to time it correctly to get everything you need, especially without the tutorial. Even with the tutorial, I was only able to get two of the three endings (for some reason the Consume ending is evading me, though I'm pretty sure I've successfully did all of the clicking minigames right and followed the walkthrough). For me, the basketball minigame is pretty hard as well since it's a lot based on chances and Suturo is leagues better at the game than Momotaro is (or at least the game is more biased towards letting Suturo win) so I had to give up on that one. That being said, I am very grateful for the tutorial because it did allow me to make sure I could get two of the endings, but it's still pretty difficult for me to get everything that I need to make a full analysis of the game (though I guess missing one ending probably won't kill me).

Overall, an extremely well made game. If you liked Froot Basket Valentine and want more from the characters, please give it a try. There's a lot of things you can learn about everyone and the story is very intriguing seeing it from the yandere's point of view. I highly recommend it.

#Froot Basket Dark Chocolate #male yandere #yandere #yandere boy #recommendations #visual novel #completed