#/ and i feel very weird.................... anyways.................

[andragoras-in-vanity]

do you have any examples? i only ask because im of the belief that all parts of an animal should be used, and i know im lucky to live in a place thats moving away from industrial farming so that IS a possibility, so if the animal is dead or going to die anyway, shouldnt real leather take priority over synthetics?

ive also only ever seen faux leather that isnt plastic made of 'corn leather' which degrades really fast and has a really harmful process though, so if theres more im curious to know?

Ayoo just to preempt the inevitable dumb takes we’re about to start seeing;

I am PRO-WOOL

I am PRO-LEATHER

I am PRO-BEES

Fuck the idea of replacing durable, sustainable animal products with cheap, flimsy plastic that doesn’t bio-degrade. Agave nectar and other artificial sweeteners are expensive, labor-intensive, and destroy the environment to be farmed.

Do not buy into pernicious marketing campaigns pushed by dickhead organizations trying to stay relevant, like PETA.

[imliterallyf7ckin9crazy]

꧁⋆°𝓢𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓭 𝓖𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓒𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓷𝓼°⋆꧂

Specifically the men :>

Characters: player 001 (in-ho), player 230 (thanos), and player 124 (nam gyu)

Warnings: squid game shit, gn reader, includes general head canons and relationship ones. Some are more toxic than others…. This is also to help understand the characterization I use for the characters in other fics lol

ᎮᏝᏗᎩᏋᏒ 001

- I have few appropriate things to say

- first off, we all know this man has money and thus I feel like he would have a large car collection that he just doesn’t get around to driving

- rarely able to get drunk. Not that he can drink, it just takes a lot to get drunk

- manipulative without even trying. Though he knows danm well what he’s doing it’s effortless for him.

- has no empathy. Or it’s complicated, he has empathy but it’s conditional. He can seem like cares but chances are it won’t last long, and wasn’t very genuine in the first place

- this is random but I think he is a morning person. Not just a normal morning person, a 4 am wake up person. A time he will likely not be bothered, a time he can take his time. Think about all the things he has to do. The planning, the hiding. He finally gets real time to think.

- CLEARLY obsessive. He be staring at gi hun like he want that cookie so damm bad. Season two squid game was built for him practically by in-ho. meticulously. 

- safe to say once he wants something he gets it.

- unfortunately he obviously sees the poor as less than. I think it would take a nearly impossible life changing event for that to change.

Relationship wise:

-evil.

- let’s be so real here, he is not the best choice. Very attractive and silly, but terrible as a person

- he says himself he knows he’s a likable fellow, he’s willing to use that. To worm his way right into your heart. Make you think “wow, how charming” or “man, he’s so kind”. He knows how to use his seemingly harmless nature to root himself in your mind

- will buy you anything. One of his ways of manipulating you. He will yell at you, prioritize his “work” over you, scare you… just to make it up by a luxurious trip where he is finally nice to you. And you think “maybe he’s changed. I’ll give him another chance”

- you don’t even realize how many times you’ve said that.

- it’s not like you have a choice to leave anyway. He’s possessive. If you were to leave him, he wouldn’t let you. If you manage to get away he’s finding you and dragging you back. He will have you until he can’t anymore, you do not have much of a say. He’s woven himself deeply in your life.

- has his people watch out for you and protect you. Has people Solve problems for you before you recognize there is one. And you never even know

- let’s you sit on his lap while he watches the games.

- you have no friends, rarely talk to family, your life is basically his. And you have to be okay with that (or not)

- all his workers know you and you have full access to whatever you like (as long as it’s not interfering or messing up anything he has planned

-he work would probably come before you. Not to say he doesn’t care…. Just he has weird priorities

ᏢᏝᎯᎽᎬᏒ 230

- my dear thanos. Where do I begin

- clearly he has a drug problem. Serious pill addiction.

- goes into public absolutely GEEKIN off who knows what and insists no one can tell (they can)

- tried to be a plug but kept arguing abt prices with his clients so they stopped buying…

- as a famous rapper you know he has bitch AND hoes. A player who leaves a trail of broken hearts. Women and men bc I say so

- and also he just gives that vibe

- can’t manage money. Even when he wasn’t in debt bro cannot keep his dabloons in line. Drugs don’t help with that

- physically pretty strong. He can fight but it’s not like he’s gonna win every time

- actually really passionate about music. It truly means a lot to him and he worked for it. However over years he’s gotten frustrated with never having true privacy as a non celebrity would

Relationship wise:

- contrary to how I see people write him I personally think he wouldn’t be as mean in a relationship as some of the others

-and I think he would actually value you.

- I think he’d be pretty respectful with the ladies. He clearly appreciates a pretty girl.

- respectful might be a stretch. I mean verbally he wouldn’t like say crazy vulgar things. Nah he’d call you “flower” like that one girl or something

- he might be a bit rougher with the fellas out there. He’s pretty handy with his “bros” I’ll tell you that much.

- would write songs for and about you. They’d be cringe… in a nice way. Stupidest title and lyrics but hey! He made it just for you :3

- pre debt he’d definitely spoil you. Post losing all his money you’ll have to compromise. He sucks at telling you no so if you ask for something he might just steal it.

- people try to say he’d try to keep you from his drugs. I don’t think so. Realistically you’d probably end up doing some illegal substances with him

- might cheat in the early stages. Let’s be real. Those famous boys are almost never loyal. Butttt I think after he wouldn’t. Threaten to leave and he will see he really needs you

- never said he was perfect <3

ᏢᏝᎯᎽᎬᏒ 124

- MY SHAYLAAAA. Idc so many ppl hate him. I know, he’s objectively terrible. However I don’t care I think he’s silly so there

- another addict. Honestly heavier than thanos. He’s tried nearly everything under the sun. However as shown in show, herion is his vice.

- he’s a shady night club worker so I’d say he could probably fight.

- I see him as an introvert 90% of the time u til he’s around a close friend. He seems like he has some sort of manners and keeps to himself until he met thanos. And even then he didn’t really talk (nicely) to anyone else besides min-su (sometimes)

- can clock a bitch like no other. Will read you to filth. Be prepared to gain new insecurities around him

- seems like a cat guy. I feel it in my soul he pets every stray cat ever.

- has jitters. Be it he’s anxious, thinking, happy, or withdrawling his hands are constantly on the move.

- laughs at nothing. Do not do anything amusing in the area if something even slightly serious is happening. He’s ruining the mood and will not stop giggling abt it after.

- he does the sweater paws. Not a head canon just a viable fact but it needs to be said. Yes I know he’s a grown man with a dick and balls but it’s very baby girl of him

- has quite the violent streak. Was probably the worst bully in highschool. I can smell the semester suspension radiating from him

- would do probably anything for some drugs. Like anything. He’s seen and done some shit.

Relationship wise

- MY SHAYLAAAA

-evil lowkey

- he’s definitely difficult because he’s always on some H and it actually can make you more aggressive.

- still cares though I swear it’s just harder for him

- touchy asf. Constantly playing with your hands, poking your face, touching your hair. Bro MUST touch.

- possessive and jealous type. Will lash out about it. Or just start being mean to the people you talk to.

- kinda about that life. Because he’s in the night club scene he has definitely witnessed some real gang shit. Maybe even participated

- will protect you if you’re walking out in the street.

- has moments at night where he’s genuinely calm and able to talk about normal things. Not worried about work, scared about money, itching from drugs. Just him and you.

- you’re his safe area. Shit goes wrong he comes to you. He had a bad day? He’s coming to you. Bad trip? He’s with you.

- will care for you if you are going through a bad trip too. Or just scared, he gets it.

- kinda toxic sorry not sorry

- clearly a selfish guy, wants what he wants and tries to take it. He manipulates with saying cruel things with an angles smile. Might yell at you, lash out, etc. probably wouldn’t hit you though

- but he cares. In his weird, clingy, mean for no reason but doesn’t mean it way. He will stick with you. You both will yell and scream and cry at each other but at the end of every day you lay in each others arms. Very much a “us against the world” type relationship.

Yeah that’s all. This should help elaborate on future things I will write mwah ha ha.

[hwaslayer]

the space between us three (jyh) | four.

⇢series masterlist | series playlist

⇢summary: while juggling the demands of life, yunho continues to do his best to raise his independent 11 yr old daughter, seora. throughout the years, they've built a strong foundation, an unbreakable bond— one that consists of late night talks and food runs, father/daughter dates, and sideline cheerleading at her basketball games. so when you unexpectedly come into their world, things shift. despite the uncertainty and the fear of stepping outside of their comfort zone, yunho and seora eventually learn how to open their hearts and learn how to rebuild a home where three can thrive together.

⇢pairing: single dad!yunho x f. reader

⇢genre: (18+ - minors dni) strangers to lovers, single dad au | fluff, angst, eventual smut

⇢word count: 4.5k

⇢chapter content/warnings: cussing, mature language/ sexually implied content, sorry more of a filler chapter cause i need to build this up lol 😅 but more oc x yunho!!, taehyun & jihoon tryna play cupid, well ok i guess everyone is at this point lmao, seora and yunho have a lil heart to heart

Monday comes a lot quicker than expected, but you're glad the weekend was better than you thought it'd turn out. Running errands and spending the day with your parents was actually a lot calmer this time around— no bickering or arguing unnecessarily, mom wasn't picking at things or pointing out specific details just to work your last nerve.

It was good. It did make you feel bad for not being better about spending more time with them, though.

But, that's why you vowed to work on it with your brother and you knew you both were serious about making it happen. Better late than never, and you and Wonwoo could admit to your faults. 

That's progress and a way forward, right?

Anyway, the agenda went as promised with your family— you ended up at the grocery store for about an hour before driving down to the pharmacy and different furniture stores until you and your parents settled on a new, good quality couch they were satisfied with. When you had gotten back to the house that afternoon, mom sent you away with towers of food and Yunho hadn't gotten back home yet.

Couldn't help but wonder what his typical weekend was like with his daughter. Was that weird? He seems so laidback [despite his dad tone coming out on Saturday before leaving], it just makes you wonder what him and his daughter do to fill their downtime together.

Must be cute.

When you got back home that afternoon, you had tidied up your place and showered off the early day's activities before preparing a charcuterie board, wine and other finger foods for Noeul and Sian's arrival. It was a much needed sleepover since it had been awhile since the last one— the three of you getting caught up with work and being too exhausted to meet outside of it. You and the girls talked about everything and anything; from new updates on old friends from college and highschool and analyzing every detail of their recent photos on IG, to love, dating and all the juicy one-nights, to what's been on the grocery list lately and then finally, openly exploring the topic of sex toys and all that glory.

Very, very much needed.

In fact, sleeping in the next day and getting breakfast with Noeul and Sian at the cute café nearby was the cherry on top. You finally got to taste that thick, milk bread with coconut-pandan jam sprinkled with tiny bits of sea salt.

Your weekend was better than expected.

For Yunho, it was a bit chaotic; filled with an impromptu sleepover with 11-going-on-12-year old girls screaming and singing at the top of their lungs after a long day of shopping and eating out. They all plopped onto the large air mattress Yunho set up in the middle of the living room, their voices slowly dying down as the hours went on. They didn't fall asleep until a bit past midnight, which is when Yunho decided to finally shut off his TV and get some shut-eye himself.

Then, the morning came and it was chaos all over again. 

He overheard the girls talking and giggling until Seora gently knocked and walked into her dad's room to wake him up. His eyes fluttered open, his daughter sitting on the edge of his bed poking at his cheek. He sleepily chuckled and sat up, ruffling her hair messily while she asked if he could take them to a specific breakfast spot deep into the city. 

A spot that has thick, milk bread with coconut-pandan jam sprinkled with tiny bits of sea salt and other unique delicacies. 

Even though he's exhausted, he gets up and gets ready anyway. Not only because of Seora, but because he can finally get a taste of that fig sesame and honey danish and grab a bag of those milk bread dinner rolls for him and Seora to indulge in.

It's too bad he had just missed you leaving the same spot. 

Monday mornings are usually a drag, especially coming from a much-needed, good, relaxing weekend. But today, you're powered up on coffee and making sure you have your things [and yourself] ready for your meeting with Yunho. You're not sure why you're nervous; perhaps, it goes back to you feeling lost and confused about different aspects of this project. You don't know much about the IT and clinical informatics side, and you don't wanna come off as dumb, clueless.

Especially in front of him.

You're just hoping for the best, and you've sat yourself in the booked conference room to go through old emails, old messages, to get yourself up to speed. You do remember being looped into certain threads, but not paying any attention to it because it didn't particularly concern you at the time— which, is a good thing you did because you definitely would not have known there were specifics about the ordering system that the higher-ups had already asked for and that they were already working on the build. You can ask Yunho where things are at from that point.

That’ll be a good start.

As you continue to busily type away for other aspects of the project and personal tasks, you almost miss the figure that passes by and walks into the room.

"Woah, you're here early. Why?" Your eyes slightly widen at Yunho's tall figure strolling in with a cup or coffee in his hand.

"Because I wanted to be early, but apparently you're earlier." He smirks, plopping down next to you. "Working hard already? Goodmorning, by the way.”

"Sorry, goodmorning.” You scrunch your nose a bit, embarrassed at how you greeted him. “I just.. don't wanna sound dumb in front of you so I've been getting all my notes together." He chuckles.

"Never? No question or thought is dumb, Y/N. I don't expect you to know everything about our team. It's complicated."

"Still, I wanna be prepared."

"You are." He reassures you and it instantly comforts you.

"Are you gonna sit there?" He looks at you with a brow cocked up.

"Yeah, why? Do you want me to sit across from you?"

"No, I'm just asking since it's us two. I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable that way." You chuckle.

"Oh, sorry. I hope you don't mind. I invited Taehyun and Jihoon from my team. I thought they could come to meetings in case I'm not around for whatever reason." He shrugs. "Plus, it just helps me to have extra heads involved in case I needa delegate."

"Makes sense, I don't mind. The more the merrier."

"Is it okay to still sit here?" He smiles and you nod.

"Sure." You laugh. There's a small silence that falls between the two of you while you both type away, along with Yunho's Slack notifications going off. But, none of it feels uncomfortable.

"So, how was your weekend with your parents?"

"Good! I just tagged along and ran errands with them. Picked up some meds, groceries. They finally got a new couch for the living room, too."

"Your mom has been talking about getting a new couch for awhile."

"She's definitely happy now." You look at him. "You know, I.. did not know you were the neighbor my mom had been talking about."

"Good things, I hope?"

"Oh yeah, my parents love you and your daughter." You look at him.

"They're great. They take care of us a lot, and I appreciate it. Especially on days when I can't be home right away. Your mom looks after my little-but-not-so-little one." You give him a tiny smile. "I— how come you don't swing by often? If you don't mind me asking."

"Just busy, honestly. My brother, too. He's younger. We get caught up with work and plans."

"Your parents talk about you two a lot. They adore you both and they always hope you'll come by more often."

"I know." You look down at your laptop. "We just suck at slipping in time for them, I'm gonna admit. And it's just.." You pause, not wanting to dump your life story and feelings on Yunho on a Monday morning. He looks at you with a hint of concern in his eyes, but you brush it off. "Anyway, we're trying. We know we needa do better." He smiles a bit. "My brother and I have talked about it and have come up with a plan so that we're slotting in time for them."

"That's all that matters. Are you and your brother close?"

"Very, yes. If you're around next weekend, you might get to meet him because we'll be swinging by together."

"Hm." Yunho hums. "My daughter has a basketball game and it's about an hour out. We might be gone by then, but if you and your brother are around when we get back, I'll gladly stop by to say hi."

"Sounds good. How was your weekend?" You ask and Yunho lets out a small chuckle at the way you try to fill in the silence while waiting for Taehyun and Jihoon.

"Busy. I, uh, hung out with a friend on Friday." He clears his throat. "Then took my daughter and her friends out on Saturday. When I saw you.. that's where we were going."

"Aw cute. Where did you guys go?"

"Well, I picked up one of my bestfriends and we took them to the Samsung Star Mall."

"That's a big mall. Sounds like you were there all day."

"Damn near, yeah. Then, grabbed some takeout, let the girls pick up their things from their homes and headed back to the house. They were yelling and singing like crazy after dinner." You laugh.

"That's very cute." He does a slight head tilt.

"Anything for my daughter." His eyes are glued onto his screen.

"What's her name?"

"Seora."

"That's a beautiful name." He gives you a small toothless smile.

"It is, isn't it?" You nod.

"What'd you do on Sunday? I assume you were able to sleep in since the girls must've been tired."

"Kinda, but Seora ended up waking me and asking if I could bring them to a café for breakfast. They were so excited about it."

"Which?"

"We went to Morning Toast." You gasp and look at him.

"That morning? What time?"

"Like 11?"

"I had literally just left right before it hit 11!"

"Really? That's too bad. It would've been nice to see you." He chuckles a bit, and it makes the heat rise to your cheeks. "Though, I had temporarily adopted like, 2 extra daughters so it was a little crazy. I might've looked a little out of it." He thinks for a minute. "Maybe it was best you didn't see me at that moment." 

"What do you mean? I'm sure it would've been fine if we did run into each other. I'm positive you probably didn't even look that way."

"How could you be so sure, hm?" He teases lightly before chuckling. "I've had pre-teens singing at the top of their lungs at the house and in the car all weekend. Pretty sure your parents probably heard them next door." You laugh.

"Sounds like your house is the place to be. Maybe I'll have to inquire about a quote for hosting my birthday there." 

"I just need about 3 months advance notice." You look at him and shake your head, giggling. At this point, his team lead, Taehyun, walks in with a smile on his face though it's obvious he's a bit stressed and has been running around.

"Hi! Sorry! Was caught up with a ticket." He rushes in, slightly out of breath and frazzled. Behind him is another team member that you haven't met yet. He meets your eyes and gives you a tiny bow with a small smile, slipping into the seat next to Taehyun in front of you.

"Hey, I'm Jihoon." He sits. "Sorry I couldn't make it to the meeting last week. Was tied up with some urgent issues."

"Oh, no worries! It's nice to meet you. I'm Y/N. I'm one of the project managers, mainly supporting the pediatrics unit."

"Good to meet you, too." Jihoon smiles. "It's nice to get some communication from the peds side."

"Yeah, I feel the same." You chuckle. "So, I saw that the build was already in the process." They all nod.

"It sure is. But, I thought it'd be good to give you a brief introduction to both of the IT and clinical informatics team just so you know how we interact." Yunho connects his laptop to the TV, causing you to turn your attention towards the screen. "Is that okay?"

"No, please. I'd love that. Take the floor." He smiles before running his finger down his bottom lip and beginning his presentation. He starts off by re-introducing the three of them before going through the names of his other direct reports. The next bits of his presentation explaining the core tasks his team is responsible for and the differences with the clinical informatics team. He goes through the key people in that team and you find yourself typing away while glancing at the screen every now and then. You find his explanation incredibly detailed but simple enough for you to understand. It's super helpful, and you feel like you've definitely learned a lot from the meeting alone. This was the one area you weren't entirely familiar with, and it was nice that the three were open to answering your questions and clarifying anything that might've seemed confusing. You also learned that they've gotten a good amount of the planning and groundwork done for the main hospital unit. Now, they can focus a lot of their efforts towards the pediatric unit.

At the end of the meeting, Yunho gives you the floor to ask any more questions. You take the opportunity to clarify last minute things that come up before you're satisfied enough to finish up.

"So, let's plan on meeting with the full group next week. Then from there on, biweekly meetings? I'm sure the group won't be opposed unless there's absolutely no updates to provide in that time frame. We can always cancel if needed."

"Good with me, boss lady." Yunho says, giving you a small smile.

"Not even." You chuckle, typing up the last of your notes. "I'm just trying to coordinate and make sure things run smoothly."

"Which is a shit ton since you're overseeing the entire project." Jihoon laughs.

"Yeah. You're spearheading the whole thing and without you, it'd probably be a mess." Taehyun chuckles a bit. "We don't really communicate with the pediatric hospital much, so it's nice to have a bridge." You nod.

"I agree."

"Definitely boss lady if you ask me." Yunho looks at you, causing you to shy away for a moment. 

"Maybe you and I can set up weekly meetings to update each other?" You look at Yunho, then Taehyun and Jihoon. "Or Taehyun, Jihoon—"

"Yunho is probably the best. He's everywhere. He knows everything." Taehyun chimes in quick. At first, Jihoon and Yunho are confused even though, it's definitely the right answer and they'll always defer to their manager in these situations— not because they don't think they can handle it or relay the proper information, but because it just makes them feel more comfortable doing so. Jihoon cocks a brow up before Taehyun meets his gaze and gives him a look that tells him he should play along and go with it.

"O-Oh, right. I agree." Jihoon stumbles on his words a bit before returning his full attention to you. "Yunho can answer all your questions without issue."

"Yeeeeah." Yunho says, slightly furrowing his brows at them before looking down at you. "Let's just keep it between us? If I really can't make it, I'll just email you with some notes or something."

"Okay." You chuckle, making a note to coordinate calendars with Yunho later and set a reoccurring invite. "I'll message you later about some good days and times. See if we have any matches."

"Cool."

"Well, thanks guys!" You smile at them brightly. "I really appreciate your time and for thoroughly walking me through everything."

"Of course." They all say in their own way as you shut your laptop and stand.

"We're gonna debrief in here for the remaining minutes before the next meeting comes in." You nod.

"See you next week? Feel free to email or slack me if anything comes up."

"You too." You wave at them before walking out of the room and shutting the door, finally feeling like you can breathe comfortably again. You speed off to your desk once you’re out of view, hoping to see Noeul and Sian at some point to talk about the meeting.

Meanwhile, Yunho watches as you leave— his eyes trailing your figure until you're no longer in view down the hallway, and Jihoon is snorting while typing away.

“Debrief time!” Taehyun says.

"Soooo." He finally breaks the silence post-laugh in a sing-song tone. "How'd your thing with Ara go?"

"Uh." Yunho laughs a bit and they both look at him confused. "No, it was fine. It's just.. I don't know? I don't think I feel anything for her to be quite honest."

"Well, first of all. What do you mean you don't know? What did you guys end up doing? How did we get to this point?" Taehyun asks, making Yunho do another head tilt.

"Tough crowd. Too many technical questions." They laugh. "We just had ramen at the new restaurant and then we hung out at her place." They both pause and look over their screens to meet his eyes.

"What happened to 'we're just gonna do a harmless dinner and call it a night?'"

"For the most part, it was."

"What about the other part that wasn't?"

"We ended up making out and then.. I stopped it." Yunho says calmly, which is confusing Taehyun and Jihoon.

"Oh shit." Jihoon looks at Yunho with an amused expression. "What?! You didn't feel anything for her?"

"I— no, not really."

"Damn." Jihoon ticks his head to the side.

"What'd she say when you stopped it?"

"She understood where I was coming from, I think? I tried to lay it down gently and I told her I didn't wanna do that to her. I thought we were good as friends, and she deserves someone that is sure of their feelings."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Well. I hope so? I hope it didn't ruin our friendship."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. She might need some space for a bit, but I'm sure it'll be okay. I know she appreciated it."

"Yeah." Yunho looks at them. "Anyway, back to the main discussion.” He laughs a bit. “I think we have our work cut out for us. We should continue to stay on top of those tickets and try not to let them pile up, but we should also prioritize securing the network for this unit. Making sure there's no roadblocks. I'll keep up with the clinical informatics team to keep mapping out the ordering system." The two ahead of him nod simultaneously. "Feel free to delegate things on your plate to other team members if you don't have the capacity to take them on right now."

"Got it, boss." Jihoon adds.

"You know, if I may say so." Jihoon and Yunho look at him, confused. "Y/N's pretty." Taehyun smirks.

“Oh, here he goes.”

"She's also really nice." Jihoon laughs, knowing exactly where this is going. "Seems like you two get along easily."

"I didn't know our team doubled up as a matchmaking service."

"Only for you." Jihoon snorts at Taehyun's remark.

"So, that's what the whole thing was about."

"What whole thing?" Taehyun acts dumb.

"Having her set up those meetings with me only. Even though the both of you have covered in the past.”

"I mean, it's only right." Taehyun smiles. "Besides, you can learn a lot about each other, too."

"Uh huh." Yunho looks at them before shutting his laptop. "We'll see how it goes."

"You agree though, right?"

"About what?"

"About Y/N?" Taehyun and Jihoon follow Yunho's lead as he stands and stretches, grabbing his laptop to prepare heading out back to their office.

"And if I say yes?"

"Then remember to thank me in the end when it all works out." Yunho laughs.

"Can't get anything past you two either, I see."

"Did Seora know about the date?"

"No, but I also think she has inkling because Hwa's dumbass let it slip." They laugh. "I called it a team dinner and he somehow let 'date' slip at some point during his stay with her."

"Ah, but I'm sure she'd be fine with it."

"I don't know. She's hard to read. We talked a bit about it this weekend but even as her dad, I can't really gauge what she means or how she feels."

⇢FLASHBACK

"Daddy." Yunho looks at Seora as they make their way home from dropping off her friends. Her voice is low, and it's obvious she's tired from her weekend but content. 

"Mhm?"

"Thank you for letting my friends spend the weekend with me."

"Course, baby girl." He chuckles. "I'm glad you had fun."

"I did." Her voice is a bit raspy from all the yelling and singing they did all weekend. "It was so much fun. And I got so many cute things this weekend."

"You're welcome." Yunho teases.

"Thank you." She laughs. "You're the best."

"Mm." He hums. "I try to be."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." There's a pause, and Seora is fiddling with the ends of her hair.

"Nevermind." She says close to a whisper.

"Ace." He turns to her at a green light.

"I just don't know how to ask. But, it isn't anything super important anyway. Let’s forget it—”

"No. You opened the door. Remember what I said about keeping an open communication between us?"

"Mhm." She hums. "Well..” She nervously fiddles with her fingers now. “I just wanna know if Uncle Hwa was right? Did you go on a date?"

"Hm, well. I went out to dinner with a friend. That's all."

"Do you like your friend?"

"No. We're really just friends." Pause. "Besides. I know you wouldn't be happy, right?" He chuckles a bit to make it a little light-hearted joke, but there's a genuine curiosity behind his question. He hasn't talked to his daughter about this, and he's a little surprised she even brought it up. But, maybe she too, had been curious.

"I mean." She sighs. "Uncle Hwa told me to keep an open mind about it."

"He did now? But, how do you really feel, Seora?"

"Of course I’d want you to be happy. It'll just be different, though. It's always been us two and we haven't really had anyone like that around besides mom. I can’t really see it right now.”

"I know." Yunho responds quietly. 

"I want you to be happy, though. Just saying it’ll be weird if that ever happens. Might take time, I guess.” She looks at him sadly. “You won’t replace me or mom, right?”

“Never.” Yunho’s heart sinks. "When and if that time comes, I'll always prioritize you no matter what." She smiles. "Okay? None of that.”

"Okay." She giggles a bit when her dad reaches over to gently massage the top of her head. 

"Now, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you miss mom?" He asks.

"Yeah. I do. I think about her sometimes, but it's hard when I don't have many memories with her."

"I know, I'm sorry. I wish you had more time with her."

"I do, too. At least I got some time with her." Yunho nibbles on his bottom lip when he feels her response hit him in the gut. Right now, he knows he's not ready to talk more about Eunha. He knows he can't handle it. He already feels himself internally panicking, the anxiety rising. So, he pivots.

He pivots because he just can't.

"Yeah, well. We have each other now and that's all that matters. You're stuck with your dad. Sorry ‘bout it.”

"Stop it." She laughs.

"Promise me you'll keep talking to me if you ever feel sad or alone, hm? Don't ever think you can't talk to me about these things, ace."

"I know. You never make me feel that way."

"Good."

"Love you."

"Love you, too." She smiles and leans her head back against the head rest. "I have one more favor to ask before the weekend ends."

"And what's that?"

"Can we have our own little slumber party in the living room tonight?"

"As long as you promise to shut off the TV at a reasonable time since you have school tomorrow."

"Promise." She puts up her pinky. "Pinky promise." Yunho multitasks and wraps his finger around hers.

"Let's do it."

⇢END

"It'll all work out how it should, don't worry, boss. It ain't gonna be like this forever." Jihoon adds as they finally make their way back to their office area.

"Thanks. And thanks for joining the meeting today."

"All good!" Yunho gives them one last smile before slipping into his office and settling down. He has a few more meetings and other tasks to tend to in a bit, but his first priority shifts when he sees a slack notification from you. He instantly pulls up the app on his desktop after connecting his laptop to the monitor, a small smile forming on his face when he sees your message.

you: should we just do mondays at 10am to keep things simple? i mean.. totally get if you don't wanna see me bright and early on a monday, we can check other days. 😊

yunho: no, mondays at 10am are perfect.

yunho: & don't say that. 🫤 it'll be nice to see you on monday mornings. 

yunho: usually it's chaos or everyone's dead from the weekend. no in between.

yunho: you'll be the nice balance!

you: uh huh. just remember you said this, not me. 🫡 i’ll send an invite!

yunho: all good, i'll take full responsibility for it. haha. thank you!

"I'm gonna call it right now. You and Yunho are gonna get close and it'll be the start of something new." You shrug while Noeul reads the messages over your shoulder.

"I mean, whatever happens, happens. I won't be opposed to it. He's cute and super nice." You poke your bottom lip out.

"And your parents literally love him and his daughter to death already. It's a match-made in heaven."

"Well, no. I wouldn't say that." You look at Noeul. "Besides, I don't even know if he's single. Before the weekend rolled around, I saw him getting all smiley and smitten with one of the nurses at the hospital. I think they went out together."

"Ah, you never know! Just keep your options open, but definitely don't shut him out if he's dropping little hints. Get to know him more, see what he dishes out. If he's taken, then you've earned another friend and it could blossom into a great friendship. No loss there!" Noeul crosses her arms and smirks. "If not, then please make sure you enjoy yourself."

"Sometimes, I really hate when you and Sian are right. Makes me feel—"

Ding.

Your phone goes off at the corner of your desk with a new notification. You lean over to grab your phone and check, your eyes widening in the process:

yunou._.u started following you.

"Oh bitch, he is definitely single." You and Noeul quickly skim his page before you shake your head and plop your phone down.

"Stop it! You never know."

"That man barely has posts!" Noeul picks up your phone again and plugs in the code. "Look! Pics of his surroundings. His daughter. Him and his friends. That's it!"

"You're impossible."

"You are! You just won't accept the fact that an extremely hot dilf could be coming your way and I don't know why!"

"Don't say that!" You quickly look around. "Can you keep it down?!"

"I oughta smack you upside the head for that!"

"Go away, don't you have another meeting in like, 10 minutes?" Noeul looks at her phone and it's her turn to be surprised.

"Oh shit, more like 5 now. I gotta go and hop on this call." Noeul begins to rush away, but she turns back towards you again. "You better follow him back, Y/N!"

"I am! Go!" You wave her off and she turns halfway to finally head back down to her office— barely making it in 5. You look at your phone once more before giving it a few minutes, letting the notification settle before deciding enough time has passed since Yunho followed you.

You didn't wanna be too quick, right?

But, when the notification comes back on Yunho's phone saying that you've followed him back, he can't help but smile. The notification puts him in a good mood, enough for him to figure out his next plan on how to get to know you better.

He'll settle for a simple like on your latest photo. Maybe, the next one, too.

⇢taglist: @asjkdk @interweab @woojirang @svintsandghosts @cheolliehugs @persphonesorchid @mxnsxngie @jycas @cowboydk @nopension @curse-of-art @thechaotictheoryy @likexaxdaydream @dalsuwaha @enha-stars @yasuraokaa @professormingisglasses @yunyunrin @pommelex @astral-trashcan @laura1399 @domfikeluva @tournesol155 @hwaskookies @yusalterego @hwa-stars @hyukssunflower @chngbnwf @jaytheatiny @lucid-galaxys-world @chaotic-floral @sofkloster @honeyrecommends @hwashua-luv @luvv4bby @spicxbnny @pandyandy71

[samglyph]

Impression of me age 13: yeah I really enjoy stories where someone has to hide a terrible secret from their loved ones upon fear of rejection and/or death. Not for any reason though. Haha yeah. You guys heard of Danny Phantom. He’s like our age and his parents want to kill him. Where are you going.

[eri-pl]

Even if Sauron had come back after the war of wrath, and been good again and all, Curumo would still fall.

Imagine: little Mairon comes back, all messed up, crying or at least very miserable and all sorry, and all that.

What does Aulë do?

Aulë kind and humble, and not vengeful (see: him not being wroth at the Noldor ruining away like he was in BoLT)... I guess we can agree that he would throw a party. Because he would. He absolutely would.

And Curumo absolutely would feel offended by it. (Going with your assumption that he's somewhat jealous). And probably not only him.

But now, there's this problem when you are kind, but not great at interpersonal skills, and instead of two kids to manage you have a whole workshop of them, and they don't always voice their concerns clearly, and you don't read minds (well, unless they let you).

Aulë would either fail to notice that Curumo had a problem, or fall to explain to him that he's not less loved and all that.

And sooner or later, there would be results.

[cent-scratchnsniff]

Please don't hurt yourself

[iid-smile]

★★ RUSSIAN ROULETTE ⋆

CHAPTER 01 — MiSFiT

series m.list — next >>

content — itoshi rin x gn!reader, spiderman au, crack (its not funny 🙁), bickering, basically just a lil intro of spiderman and the readers friendship, heights, lil mentions of motion sickness, a tiny tiny bit suggestive if you squint but nothing too obvious, protective rin, also mean rin

wc — 1.2k (+0.4k)

a/n — since im planning on having rin being both in and out of his suit, im just gonna call him spiderman when he's actually spiderman to the reader (youll get what i mean l8r) also can we take about how the masterlist actually suits rins colours and this doesn't? there was no way i was going to sit there and edit each and every one of my headers so it would look more like rin's suit. nuh uh... yes anyways me thinks i'll introduce the real rin and the reader in the next chapter

it was both a blessing and a curse to say that you've met spiderman more times than anyone else in japan. that's minus the fake ones at mall meet and greets by the way. time and time again, he comes to rescue you, whether that be in a real life or death situation, or minor inconveniences when you're out and about.

he's like a little guardian angel, but add in an insult every other minute.

once again, he's saved your life, effortlessly swooping in at the perfect moment and pulling you out of a sticky situation that could have ended (not) very badly. you weren't in any dire danger at all, but it's too late to say that when you're already hundreds of feet into the air that you really could've handled it yourself.

as he gripped onto you by the waist, a rush of adrenaline surged through your veins, sending your heart racing with a mix of fear and excitement. the wind whipped around you, and the world blurred in a dizzying, blinding dance of colours and light as he spun you effortlessly.

thank god this wasn’t your first time being swung around like this, otherwise you would've been guaranteed to get motion sickness. okay, maybe you are, but still, you couldn’t help but marvel at how he seemed unfazed by all of the comotion. your squeals of terror echoed in his ears as you clung to him, feeling as if you're going to teeter out of his grasp.

sure, you could have easily sidestepped the trouble if you were watching where you were going, but there's nothing better than a pair of strong arms protecting you from any and all sorts of harm. and what better way was there to draw him in than to create a moment where he feels like the hero?

well, he is a hero, just... not a very... good one.

as you finally approach an open clearing where you're unlikely to smash into a skyscraper, you build up the courage to properly open your eyes, taking in the busy streets and traffic below you. this doesn't feel real at all.

"you're unlike anyone i've ever met, spidey!" you yell loud enough for him to hear you as he cuts through gusts of wind. your hands manage to land on his shoulders, lifting yourself up more for a better view. as scary as it was, you knew he wouldn't drop you.

spiderman's heart starts to pick up from the simple, random declaration, already beating ten times faster than it was before. put it on a scale; it's about as fast as... um... it's really fast. was this the moment he's been waiting for?

"what do you mean?" he tries to keep his voice as even as possible, not letting the anticipation get to him as he awaits your answer. the side of your face was now pressed against his, allowing the both of you to speak normally.

"you're weird as hell!"

oh.

his expression immediately drops back to his usual scowl behind the mask. was that supposed to be a compliment, or..? that was the only word that came to mind in your tiny word bank, apparently. his eyes narrow as he avoids yet another shortcut back to your apartment, opting to take the "safer" way.

not very safe when he purposely makes a hard left, leaving your body threatening to slip out of his hold with your fingers digging into his suit. this guy is a piece of shit. "i don't think you can say that when this is the third day in a row that i've had to save you." he grumbled.

your grin turns sour, pursing your lips and squinting your eyes as you look off to the side in mock offence. if he's gonna play this game, then there's no way in hell you're backing down. "i don't think you can say that when you literally saved me from a piece of gum."

"you were stuck to the road."

"it was blocked off and under construction."

"and you know how quickly construction workers work. what if you got buried under concrete?"

"i wouldn't!"

"of course not." he flatly replies, though his arm tightens around your waist. "you're hard to miss." (he meant that in a good way, but it came out wrong. cons of having a grumpy voice)

wow. isn't he so sweet? "fuck you!" you hiss, kicking your legs to throw him off balance, but it only makes you feel worse. you want to lift your hand, hit him or just do something, but it's like it's glued onto him. "do you want me to start screaming?"

"please don't."

"i will—"

"no." the last thing he wanted was to go deaf from your voice in his ears. was it too late to add in a noise cancelling feature to his mask?

still, he makes another risky decision to swing underneath a bridge, staying attached as the two of you do an entire loop around the structure before shooting into the air.

obviously, your first instinct was to scream.

with your arms securely clasped around his neck, you clung on as if your very life depended on it (which it did), your voice rising in panic as you shouted out into the air. your eyes squeeze shut, head banging from what felt like a headache as you rambled whatever sentences came to mind. "just say that you like hearing me scream then!"

"...what?" his mind goes blank for a split second but he shakes himself out of it, switching the conversation. "hang on tight, we're nearly there."

your legs wrap around him. "can you not see that i'm—"

"just shut up, will you?" he whispers, a "mysterious" heat starting to spread hotter and hotter over his cheeks.

spiderman finally returns you to your bedroom balcony, landing on the railing with light feet before carefully easing you off of him. he keeps a hand on your shoulder, making sure you stay upright and don't tumble over. yes, you were dizzy. yes, you definitely needed to lay down. but you cannot deny that was so fun!

you let out a lazy giggle, pretty much falling into his arms once more from your legs giving out. "thanks for the joyride, spidey..."

he scoffs, pushing you off him and ushering you through your bedroom door. "i got you home safe. that's all that matters." he sounded almost bashful, but your silly self didn't notice.

amid the silence between the two of you, a piercing alarm blares in the distance, its urgent sound slicing through the a a quiet like a knife. the mechanical wail rises and falls, echoing off the buildings and rolling through the streets, creating a sense of urgency that captures the attention of innocent pedestrians.

spiderman glanced over his shoulder, assessing the situation. spidey senses — or something like that. another bank robbery.

you smile playfully at him, your body leaned against the glass door. "i think actually saving the city is more important right now."

though you couldn't tell too well, he wasn't looking directly at you. "...right." reluctant to leave, he stalled for a few seconds, not knowing if he should say goodbye or... no. no. he doesn't need to. it's already hard enough to talk when he's around you.

and just like that, japan's hero was off.

bonus! block blast newbie

after a long day, nighttime started to settle in, though the amount of people outside barely decreased. spiderman was crouched over the edge of a tall building, considering this his "rest time."

"i don't get why they're obsessed with this..." rin pulled off his mask, squinting at his phone illuminating his face as he tried to make sense of the empty blue grid before him.

it was merely a cheap, money-grabbing knock off of tetris — designed for those who seemed to specialise in incompetence and lacking the ability of putting on shoes and going outside for once in their lives. honestly, he doesn't get the hype, and in his experience, only genuine idiots seem to play this game. that doesn't include you, of course!

frustration bubbled beneath the surface as he wondered how something so straightforward could be so interesting that it risks your (and others') safety. actually, even worse, how bad good could it be that it dragged you right into the fate of stepping on a piece of gum?

this might be dangerous...

"oh?" he was expecting the tiles to fall, but instead they stayed exactly where they are, stuck in their position in some sort of awkward shape. coincidentally, the next shapes were a perfect fit, and it was easy enough to fit them into the right space, clearing the board.

'excellent!' his eyebrows furrow at the random male voice coming from the game, weirded out from the sudden praise just from getting a combo. "...i don't appreciate that." he mumbles to himself, quickly turning his volume down until it was on mute.

this was the game that you're obsessed with?

"huh?"

so then, a few minutes passed...

"just how was i supposed to fix that?"

and then an hour... maybe two...

"what—!?" his exclamation was drowned out by the distant but approaching sound of of police sirens, interrupting his little gaming session. he was this close— this close to throwing his phone over the edge.

with a childish huff, he raises a hand to rake his fingers through his hair, pushing back the strands before yanking his mask back on. duties come first, but his battle with this shitty tetris lookalike was not over.

rin never got pass his high score of three thousand eight hundred and nine that day. and he broke his duolingo streak. he was pissed for the rest of the night.

fun fact! — rin is currently learning spanish on duolingo. why? um... he cannot say.

taglist (open!)

@aise-30 @faylvrs @17020 @sara4uuu @adoresia @defnotciara @levihanmyotp @withlovesai @thenightsflower

[cherryc1nnam0n]

Dad's not home | Modern!Eddie Munson x AFAB!Reader x Stepdad!Jim Hopper

Summary: You've been dating Eddie for months now and he's grown very fond of someone from your own family... Luckily, they both share the same love for you 🩷

Cw: 18+, Stepcest, pansexual!Eddie, slut!Eddie, stepdad!Hopper, talk of beefy Hopper, lots of dirty talk, cheating, threesome, anal sex, unprotected p in v, 2 guys 1 girl, masturbation (male receiving), excessive cumming Eddie, nipple play, little angst with happy ending, plot twist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You loved Eddie very much, so so much you let him do anything he wanted, you never ever questioned him or even felt jealous of him, he was the perfect boyfriend and you were the perfect partner for him

So due to this unbreakable trust you had on him, you never expected what was going to come...

You were home alone at the cabin you lived in with your stepdad, your mother had passed a few years ago and having nowhere else to live, you decided to stay with him, being the chief of police and a genuinely nice man you trusted him and he made great company and food

But one thing he didn't like were visits, he knew Eddie, having arrested him multiple times for speeding or drug dealing, he didn't expect you to date him and he didn't like him at his house one bit, so you had to be sort of sneaky when you wanted him to come over either to hang out or fuck your brains out

So here you were in bed, texting your boyfriend to invite him over, feeling particularly needy of his dick

Hey babe

My step dad's not home ;)

I know

That threw you off guard, what does he mean he knows?

Wdym you know??

He realized his mistake, quickly texting back an answer

I mean, idk it's a tuesday at night, he's probably working right?

"Hmmm, that was weird, but okay" oh poor naive you, believing his reply you texted again

Yeah you're right

Wanna come over? ;)

"Shit" Said Eddie thinking of an excuse you would believe, but, you would believe anything he told you anyway

Sorry babe can't do, I'm helping Wayne fix his truck

"Damnit" you said to yourself when you read his text, he was once again busy to not come over

K, love u

Love u too

"Good boy, and she doesn't even suspect a thing huh? Such a shame she trusts you so much, won't ever see it coming" Hopper's voice spoke into Eddie's ear

Truth was, Eddie did know where your step dad was, because he was currently at a motel with him, getting his ass pounded by the older man

"Shit, please just stop talking and fuck me"

"Bratty tonight are we? I'll fuck the attitude out of you" Said the older man grabbing onto Eddie's waist and starting to really ram into him, making the younger one gasp and moan as his eyes rolled back, phone discarded somewhere on the creaking bed

Oh poor naive you...

Next time something weird happened was when you and Eddie were at his place watching a movie, said movie was not of your interest as you were jerking off your boyfriend under the blanket you had on your laps, suddenly you felt him twitch and he groaned particularly loud, you looked at the screen and a beefy dad bod man was on the screen, you could see his body jiggle as he walked and he looked damp with water or sweat, you failed to notice how Eddie bit his lip and came all over your hand unexpectedly

"What? So soon Ed's?"

"Shit s-sorry, I just-" he scrambled over his words "I just, have been really needy for you babe" he lied to your face so easily now, reality was that he was reminded of those nights he got fucked by your step dad when he saw that man who had a similar body complex as his forbidden lover "Sorry babe, lemme make it up to you, m'kay?"

You couldn't say no to that...

But the last straw was when he kept on denying you again, and again, and again, always coming up with lame excuses you were starting to get tired of

"I have a very important deal to get to"

"Sorry babe, I don't feel so good tonight"

"Babe, my van has a flat tire"

"Sorry babe, I have explosive diarrhea"

"I AM DONE WITH THIS BULLSHIT!" You had enough of this game, so you set out on a plan to finally know what Eddie was up to instead of being with you

You started following him, his van was driving outside of town and into a secluded area, that's when you saw the sign of a motel down the road, your stomach sank when you realized where this was going

You parked far away from his van and saw him get out, look around and then stand outside it, smoking a cigarette as he seemed to be waiting for someone, maybe the girl he was cheating on you with

Another car was pulling in, and you swear you got whiplash, it was your step dad's police car pulling in, he parked next to Eddie's van and got off, rounding the vehicle to come over to your boyfriend and they started making out furiously, you felt like you could pass out from the betrayal, your boyfriend and your step dad?! Really?! You knew Eddie sometimes would ogle men like when Steve was wearing those tiny basketball shorts one day but to fuck your step dad?! This is a whole new level of low

You watched them go into a room so you decided to strike then, quickly jogging to the door and knocking on it

Inside the two men separated from their kiss and eyed the door, not expecting anyone to knock or even know who they were to begin with...

Hopper reluctantly got up to open the door and was met with a very you standing there, in pure reflex he closed the door cutting you off when you opened your mouth to yell at him

"Who is it?" Eddie asked sitting up on the bed

"Uhm... You might wanna cover your ears"

He opened the door again and you started yelling your heart out

"HOW DARE YOU?! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU FUCK MY BOYFRIEND?! HE'S MINE!!"

"Y/n?!" Eddie said as he heard you, you stormed into the room pushing Hopper away and coming to yank Eddie's hair "Not the hair! Not the hair!"

"YOU'RE A FUCKING WHORE MUNSON!"

"I'm sorry baby, I'm sorry" you had begun to strangle him with his own hair, wrapping it around his throat and he kept on smacking your arms to release him

"Okay that's enough baby" Hopper said grabbing you away from Eddie who grabbed his throat in pain "We're not the only ones wrong here"

"She was strangling me" Eddie said out of air

"NO LEMME GO! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" You trashed around in Hopper's arms but he just chuckled

"Okay settle down, you're not a saint yourself baby"

"What? What do you mean?" Eddie asked from the floor

"I mean that, Y/n has been a bad girl for her daddy, right baby?"

That's when it clicked for Eddie, and he smiled triumphantly

"Aha! You're a whore also! You've been fucking Hopper too!" He said pointing at you

"Yeah and he was supposed to be only mine!"

"Well, I guess he likes guys too, right daddy?" Eddie said talking to Hopper, to which he chuckled again

"Okay okay, there's enough for the two of you, we can share if you want to?"

So that's how you ended up sandwiched between both men, back facing Hopper and he grinded against your ass while he made you and Eddie make out, hands roaming each other's bodies, you felt yourself being lifted and you knew it was your step dad making space for him to fuck you in the ass, having better access to your tits Eddie wasted no time in latching onto one and nursing on it while also looking to enter your pussy

"Fuck daddy, fuck me please"

"Already on it princess" Hopper said as he je started to fuck your ass, while Eddie followed behind on fucking your pussy, wrapping your legs around Eddie's waist as you were being held by Hopper

"Fuck, I'm so close, gonna cum, fuck gonna cum!" You moaned as both men kissed your shoulders, neck, back and chest and then each other over your frame

"Cum baby, lemme feel it" Eddie said ramming into your pussy as Hopper kept on destroying your ass

With one loud shriek you came all over Eddie as he pumped his cum into you, what you loved of him was how much he came all the time, he would literally bulge your stomach from how much he came inside you, meanwhile Hopper emptied out in your ass

"Your turn Eddie boy"

"Yessir"

Now on your back with your legs wide open, Eddie on all four's eating you out while Hopper fucked him from behind, it was beautiful sight to see, how good Eddie took Hopper's 9 incher in his ass and how it brushed against his prostate every time he moved, and how his tongue was fucking your pussy along with Hopper's rythm was all too much and too good all over

"Fuck, fuck!" Eddie moaned into your pussy as he neared his peak, cock twitching as he prepared to cum again

"Cum Eddie, cum all over yourself Ed's, such a good boy" you praised him as his eyes rolled back and he came all over the bed, he thrusted two fingers in you as he sucked hard on your clit to make you cum too, your eyes rolled back as you reached your orgasm along with Hopper who was cumming in Eddie's ass

"Fuck... This was so good" Hopper said out of breath pulled out of your boyfriend's ass

"Too good..." You said as Eddie fell on you and you kissed his head "I'm sorry for cheating on you first"

"It's okay, at least we cheated with the same hot guy" Eddie yelped when he received a slap on the ass from Hopper

"Behave you two, or I'll punish you both"

You looked at Eddie and smiled at each other, wanting to tease Hopper some more

Guess it didn't end that bad after all...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tagging my friendo @ali-r3n for supporting this nasty idea 💜

[smiley-mcdoggington]

I think it’d be really funny if Stan and Ford made up (and made out) before the portal incident so they defeat Bill together, discovering their incestual feelings along the way and such, and get to together. Everybody in town is like “eh, why not, you can marry a woodpecker why not your twin” because this is fiction and I can do what I want in fiction.

Caryn and Filbrick drive up after months of Ford not answering calls or letters and no money being sent back just to find Stan there with him. Filbrick would be spitting mad, so mad he might pop a blood vessel

Ehehehehehehe

So Caryn and Filbrick show up at Ford's house around March, snow's melting, Shermie's on spring break, they make the long drive to see Ford. Then they open the door and see Stan instead. Stan, in pajamas, with the paper tucked under his arm and a nice clean washed mullet that goes against everything Filbrick stands for. They think it's Ford at first because they haven't seen him in person since he graduated but then Stan opens his mouth and Ford has never sounded like that ever because he was learning to hide his jersey accent before his voice dropped

So Filbrick is immediately like 'You finally started weaseling your way back into your brother's life, huh?' but then Ford comes to the door and is like 'Actually I'm having some trouble getting my grant renewed and Stanley is helping with my mortgage and utilities' and they both have hickies that are barely being hidden by their pajamas but no comments are made, their parents just kinda barge in and expect to be housed for a week and a half until they have to head back so Shermie can be back in school. Also Shermie is 12 and doesn't know who Stanley is.

Filbrick isn't the man of this house, so he isn't telling Stanley to gtfo but he is making his opinions very known, but the twins learned to tolerate him when they were young and they both really want Caryn and Shermie around and will deal with Filbrick for that.

Then they go into town and yeah it's kinda weird the lady at the diner put two straws in a milkshake for some brothers and when Stan went to the florist with Shermie to get some flowers for their Ma the florest started picking up roses and asked if Stan wanted 'the usual' and a guy with a woodpecker on his shoulder keeps asking how the twins are doing and sometimes Ford is Very Close when he's looking over Stan's shoulder at the pancakes he's cooking but also there are gnomes and a giant tree man almost ate Filbrick's car so maybe it isn't The Priority, but Filbrick is certainly putting the pieces together because he isn't innocent like Shermie or fond like Caryn and he's always known his sons were weirdly close, he had a brother growing up, that is not how brothers act.

Anyways Filbrick gets eaten by gnomes and Caryn and Shermie move to Gravity Falls and then Stan and Ford get married <<<333

[admirationandromantics]

Could you please write something about Chris or Josh with a virgin reader? How they'd react when they found out? How their first time would be like? Both of them strike me as virgins as well but idk🤷‍♀️

Yes, I also imagine both of them as virgins. Josh seems like he’s been all talk, no action. And Chris? Well, I feel that one is obvious. Anyways, I’ll do both in this post, and for the sake of the writing, the reader is the only virgin, not the guys. They’ve both had sex before. Just because it’s easier to work with. Anyway, enjoy <3 

Chris

He’s not surprised when you tell him, he did not think you were, but the reveal gives him a little comfort as well. Why, you ask? Because he doesn’t need to match himself up to someone else. He’s confident in his ways, and that he can make you feel good, but at the same time, this guy will never stop being insecure, and that small part of it relieved him a little. 

What he also does feel anxious about is the fact that he’ll be your first. And what do people say about their first time? Awkward, weird, nothing went as planned… He wants to make sure that your first time goes well, and that it was a good experience. “I promise, as long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy” “Yeah, yeah. But I’m gonna make you happy for another reason than that too” 

If you are the VERY romantic type, he’ll set everything up. A nice dinner, candles, music etc. He wants you to remember this, and trust me, remember you will. 

One of his goals is to drag out the foreplay as long as possible, wanting you to be drenched and needy for him. Better to go too slow than too quick. This makes the makeout session last way longer than necessary, and you’re starting to get impatient. “C-Chris, I need you now” “No, no, just a little bit longer” he whispers, hand in your hair, pulling you towards him. 

It’s firstly when you start unconsciously grinding on his thigh that he finally understands how down-bad you are, and he starts working on your clothing. He’s fast and gentle with his hands, easily unclasping and removing your bra. 

The cold air hitting your nipples while he admires you, hands groping and lips sucking. You can’t do anything but throw your head back, gripping his shoulders for support as he continues his assault. 

You guys move on, getting each other's clothes off, and him getting on top of you, fingers digging into your heat as you whimper. He continuously asks if you’re okay, if you’re in pain or uncomfortable. 

“You sure you want to keep going?” “Y-yes” “I can stop if-” “I swear, I’ll kill you if you stop now” “Oh? well then” a smile creeping on his lips as he drags out his fingers. 

He positions himself, using your juices as lube as he slowly moves up and down, getting ready. “Okay, we’re gonna take this slow, okay?” You nod, taking a deep breath as he fills you up, small moans leaving your mouth. He leans over you, meeting your lips in a sweet kiss, swallowing each of your sounds while pressing into you. 

“How’re you feeling?” “Fuck, just give me a couple of seconds” you whisper, adjusting and comprehending. He smiles, nodding and spending the time kissing your upper body, everything from your lips down to your breasts. 

After a while, you give him the signal, urging him to start moving. He obliges, always watching your reactions attentively to be sure you’re okay. 

As the night draws to a close, you spend the night in his arms, sleeping and cuddling. Of course, when you were done, he had a glass of water ready for you, packing you deep into the sheets and caressing your hair. 

Josh

Josh is not surprised that you’re a virgin. His suggestive comments here and there getting you so riled up that he only made the assumption. He does not feel that much pressure, only wanting your time with him to go well. 

He can be really romantic, each touch he makes both attentive and calculated. When you’re making out, he’s respectful until you ask him not to be, causing a rougher man to grope and bite you. He still doesn’t go the full way, wanting to be careful and make sure that some type of trust is established before going to second base. 

One day, you’re laying on his bed, a movie playing in the background when your attention turns to each other. This leads to a long make out session, clothes thrown across the room, but still not going further than your underwear. 

You’re hot and bothered, wanting him to take you right now. You smile as you feel him growing hard beneath you, reciprocating that craving. Thighs around his torso, ass on his pelvis, you lean down, leaving kisses on his neck and asking. “Josh, I want you” “Right now? Are you sure?” “Yes” 

He spins you around, making you gasp from your back hitting the mattress. His hands wander over your chest, going behind and unclasping your bra. You sit up a bit, helping him take it off, throwing the garment on the floor. 

“And you want to do this?” “Yes, I do” “Right now” “Are you not up for it?” “Holy fuck, I’m holding back with every fiber of my being” “Stop holding back” 

He watches you while pushing himself into you, making sure that you’re not getting hurt, and can stop at any time. He captures your lips in his, both of your moans filling the room every time you stop for air. 

“Fucking hell, you’re so tight” You can only whimper in reply, feeling him fill you up, struggling to control himself as he wants to ravage you. He gives you time to adjust, letting you signal to him when he can start moving. 

When you’re done, he holds you, praising you and asking how it was. He’s attentive and sweet, asking if you would like a bath or a shower.

[citystain]

an/cw: self sabotaging behavior? idk this is a weird vent-y hurt comfort piece Read At Ur Own Risk although it really isnt that bad, uuuhh per usual i dont want to know if you notice any grammatical errors n enjoy

wc: 742

there's not a single thing more terrifying than love. no monster, no prophecy, no clash of swords could ever match the primal fear it instilled in you.

percy is... something. he's been romancing you for the past few weeks and you've been letting him. it was fun. the banter, the feigned ignorance of what was happening between the two of you—it was all shiny and new and most importantly, your brain hadn't caught up to it yet.

before, anyway. now, it had its destructive hands all over it. the thought of percy no longer gave you butterflies but an unsettling feeling in your gut. the kind a deer got before running. now, he felt more like a wound you couldn't stitch up rather than a boy.

you hadn't seen him in a week (officially, now— you'd been counting.) and no, it wasn't avoidance. you were just... busy. the life of a demigod is a very hard one. you didn't have time for romance—not now, at least.

up until the fifth day, it had been bearable. now, you can hardly sleep without him haunting you in the quiet of the night. the memories of the two of you were painful to think about in any context: how he used to cradle your name so gently on his tongue, how every time you thought of him, you used the past tense, how you were currently ruining any sort of bond the two of you might have had.

when you're alone, loving him is horrific. it's choking on something too big to swallow.

percy was always too observant when it came to you. he noticed all your little pieces, ones you didn't even know existed. the smaller things, like how you took bigger breaths in the cold (so he could drape his sweater over your shoulders), and the bigger ones, like how you were throwing yourself into any activity to keep yourself away from him.

...

"are you avoiding me?" his voice startles you out of your daze. you hadn't even noticed him walk up, but he's there, standing in front of you, and it makes you want to bolt.

"i've been busy." you lie, not meeting his eyes.

"with what?"

you hate the way his voice still holds the warmth it always has with you. how he hasn't started hating you for your blatant disregard for his feelings with your behavior.

"stuff." you try to sound irritated, but it comes out flat.

there's silence. you glance at him finally, and know it's a mistake the second you do. his gaze is steady, unwavering, and so full of something you can't (or rather, won't) name that it makes your throat tighten. he's foolish to think, of all people, he could love you.

"listen.. i know we've been fooling around or whatever, but i know his ends, and it's not good, so consider this a favor." this is how it always goes. someone is naïve enough to keep trying with you, not knowing you crush all hope of love between your fingers with vengeance, and everyone gets hurt in the end.

despite the cold, fake-casual mood you've set, he sits next to you. "we haven't even got to the start and you're already talking about the end?" hes good at casual. certainly better than you.

"well- i'm just warning you." you look away, hugging your knees to your chest.

he nods, looking at you with a stupidly sweet smile. "alright, duly noted. now will you stop being dramatic and start talking to me again?"

your chest aches at how willing he is to fall into normalcy with you again, after the way you've been acting. you frown, though it's half-hearted. "i'm serious. i don't want to hurt you."

he laughs, and it aggravates you in a way that makes the pit in your stomach ease up a bit. he holds eye contact as he pulls your hand into his. "you won't hurt me. i promise."

you stare at him, eyebrows pulled together seriously. "you don't know—"

"how could i? how could i know anything when you keep running away before i can find out." he says with his signature, stupid, stupid, boyish charming laugh. you're too caught up in your own head and next rebuttal to put up a fight when he pulls you into his side. "please, will you at least try before you throw in the towel?"

you don't have the heart to deny him.

[vulpixisananimal]

[A:0 C:0.2]

(Siffrin)

“-Frin!”

(. . . Mirabelles voice. She’d be here to wake you up soon. You lay on the floor for just a little bit more. You’re tired, she can wait in town like she has every time. You don’t want to, face. . .)

“. . . Sif?”

(. . . . Wait-)

(Your eye flies open and you bolt up. No, not looping. You’re not looping you’re not looping you’re not looping, you’re fine you’re okay you’re okay. Calm down, calm down, calm down. . . You felt exhausted. Mirabelle knelt down next to you, and, you’re in the room with the orrery, laying on the floor.)

(. . . When did you get here?)

"Hey Mira!” (You say, and automatically follow up with,) “have you thought about doing a sleepover tonight?"

“. . .” (She opens her mouth to reply, o-oh, stars- you slap a hand over your mouth.)

(Smooth, idiot.)

“S-sorry. . .” (You mumble, looking away.)

“H-hey! There’s no need to be sorry, Siffrin.” (She smiles at you and offers you a hand.) “It’s, i-it’s just, habit, right?”

(You look back up at her, then away, then take her hand, stumbling to your feet.) “. . . Y-yeah. . .”

“And that’s!! Okay!!!” (She opens her arms.) “Hug?”

(You nod. She hugs you. After a second, you hug her back.)

(. . . You’re, really out?)

(Of course you’re out! What, you woke up halfway through a loop in a room that no-one else knows about? Stars you’re an idiot.)

(Yeah, yeah that was a pretty stupid thought. . . Wait.) “. . . Mira? W-why am I, here?”

(Mirabelle pulls away from the hug, worry clear on her face.) “I-I was going to ask you!! We’ve all been looking for you all morning!!”

“HUH?!?!?” (You jump up. They, what?!?!) 

“YOU SCARED US HALF!! TO!!! DEATH!!!!” (She pouted.) “And you don’t know why you’re here either?!?!”

(You shake your head.)

(Weird.)

>>>

(You’re sitting down in front of the frozen statue of the King, with Mirabelle and the Head Housemaiden talking a few feet behind you. You couldn’t see his face through his hair, or his hands. But you knew deep down he was smiling for maybe the first time in a very, very long time.)

(You don’t know why, but you wanted to look at him one last time before you leave.)

(Why did he get a chance to see it? Why didn’t you?)

(Because the Universe isn’t fair, that’s why.)

(No, the Universe has a reason. If the King wanted to see the Island, then, maybe this was the only way?)

(The two behind you are still talking, you don’t pay much attention. You were too busy looking at the flowers some people had left in front of him. Why? Why would people do that? Are the people of Vaugarde really that forgiving?)

(No, look at that one. It’s, you know, that one. That flower. It’s, it’s. . .)

(Just a flower.)

“Siffrin?”

(You jolt to attention when Mirabelle touches your back. You look at her, putting on your smile for a moment before a look from her wipes it off of you.) “. . . Y-yeah?”

“Are you alright?” (You nod.) “A-are you sure? You seemed really out of it.”

“Y-yeah, sorry, I’m. . . I-I’m okay now. Thank you.” (Your face twitches into an awkward, yet genuine, smile.)

(She smiles back and giggles. Standing up to turn back to the Head Housemaiden.) "A-as you were saying, Crafted Sadness?"

"Yes, Mirabelle, you could also call them Fused Sadness."

(Crafted Sadness? Fused sadness? Oh, you missed a lot more of the conversation than you thought.)

"That's my little theory, anyways!" (The head housemaiden says cheerily.) "So overcome with his own emotions in this house frozen in time, he spawned his own bonded sadness, and fused with it."

". . . . Is. . ." (You thought about your interactions with him, how he talked, how he, killed.) "He. . . He didn't, always, act normal. . . . Tears. . ."

(You shook your head, and looked down. You feel dizzy, so, so dizzy. Oh. . Why, why did he get, to. . .)

"A-are you sure, Head Housemaiden?" (Mirabelle asks.)

"It's just a guess, but, it's what I think." (The Head Housemaiden replies.)

(Why. . ?)

>>>

(You kept your head down as you walked away from the House of Change, as you walked through Dormont, and as you waited for the others to finish up anything they needed to do. You hold Isabeaus hand tighter, the two of you're sitting on the bench outside the library. You shuffle a bit closer.)

(It’s, over.)

(You felt it in your bones, it’s over. The birdsongs were different. The wind was different. The weather was different. It was all different. You were free, it’s over. It’s done. It’s done it’s done it’s done.)

(Isabeau puts an arm around you and pulls you a bit closer.)

(Neither of you said a word, you didn’t want to talk. You probably couldn’t talk even if you wanted to. All you needed, wanted, right now, was to breathe, and to be close. In, and out. You close your eye.)

(Odile was returning the familytale, having read it twice over. Bonnie was thanking that nice blind man for all the veggies, and Mirabelle was saying hi to her fan. Isabeau didn’t have anything to do, and you didn’t have anything you wanted to do. Before, you thought that maybe you could give everyone that perfect day. Help pick the right earrings, do the frog spell thing, go fishing. . .)

(Stupid.)

(. . . You turn and hide your face in Isabeaus' shirt.)

“Gwuh-” (he replied, despite “gwuh” not being a word. He rested a hand on your back, a hand in your hair. You wrapped your arms around him.) “. . . You'll be alright, Sif, okay?”

(You nod, and close your eye. You'll be alright. You'll be okay. You'll be okay. You'll be okay. . .)

(You're going to Bambouche next. There, you'll finally meet Pétronille, and hope that she'd be okay with joining you all. It was a couple weeks journey, which would be fine for you all. But. . .)

(You could only imagine what she must be thinking. She told Bonbon to run, got frozen, and in a blink, she's back. It's almost half a year later, and Bonnie's disappeared. Stars, and the first thing she'd probably learn about Bonnie is that they're one of the Saviors of Vaugarde!)

(You’re starting to feel dizzy.)

(Oh relax, the hard part’s over now. You can relax, alright?)

(Right. . .)

(. . . You don’t know how long you’ve been sitting here, or how long you were hiding in Isabeaus' shirt. But you hear the voices of the rest of your family nearby. You breathe in, and out, then sit up to look.)

(Odile was waiting just a step away with her nose in a book, and Mirabelle was coming back from east Dormont, Bonnie in tow. Bonbon had a big, juicy carrot in their mouth. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight. You’re all here, happy.)

“Everyone ready to go?” (Odile snaps the book shut.) 

“SUPER READY!!”

“Y-yes!! All ready!”

“Ready as ever!”

(You open your mouth to reply, but no sound comes out. So you just nod your head.)

(Look at that now the researcher is giving you a look. Well done! Very natural!)

(It’s not one of suspicion, it’s one of understanding.)

“I’ll lead the way this time!” (Mirabelle says excitedly.) “T-there’s no rush now, so Siffrin can have a break from leading the charge!”

(You smile at her, a silent “thank you.”)

(And your party’s underway. Bags; packed, legs; ready, excitement; peaked. You walked to the road that led north by northwest. For the others, they were re-treading a route they had just taken to get here not a week ago. But for you? It was almost a year ago.)

(176. One hundred and seventy six loops. Odile’s low estimate for your days trapped in Dormont, it was 225. For the average it was around 280, and the worst case scenario? A full 350 days. You didn’t want to think about how many pastries you ate, how many banana peels you slipped on, how many stab wounds you suffered, how many. . .)

(You’re at the edge of the town.)

(You shuffle to a stop and glance back. The others stopped too, waiting for you. They understood.)

(You looked back, the town felt a lot smaller from here. Most of it was blocked by the surrounding trees. In the distance, poking above the canopy, you could see the favor tree. Somewhere, a child was running in circles, flowers were being tended to, and daydreams were being daydreamed.)

(You take out the coins. Two coins, two identical coins. You thought you gave yours to Loop, you saw them take it, after all. The question of why you had it had been eating at you all week, but you just took it as a sign from the Universe.)

(You take one coin, and flip it, once, twice, three times! Because you know, you just know.)

(You take the other coin and flip it a fourth, fifth, sixth time. You know you’ll see them again.)

(Looking at them again, you couldn’t tell Loops from yours anymore. You think you’re alright with that.)

(You turn, and join the rest of your party- your family. As you lock your fingers around Isabeaus' hand, you’re smiling.) “Let’s get going!” (And it wasn’t even a forced smile.)

[luanna801]

Funnily enough, Jin Guangyao's "Even if he hadn't been murdered, A-Song still had to die" line is actually a significant part of what makes me think he didn't kill him. Because if we assume he's lying through his teeth and totally did murder his son, and he's just saying whatever lie will calm Qin Su down and put her off being suspicious of him... why even admit that much? Why not keep pushing back as hard as he can against the accusation, double down on "Of course I would never have hurt him, I never even considered such a thing, he was my son and an innocent child and I loved him, how dare you even suggest otherwise"?

It just seems like a really weird and counterintuitive move, if he's trying to falsely convince Qin Su he had nothing to do with this, to go the "I didn't do it, but if I'd done it, how could you tell me that I was wrong" route.

(More thoughts under the cut.)

It's not totally out of the realm of possibility - I know of real-life murderers who said roughly comparable things about their victims (see, for example, this infamous statement from historical murderer Richard Loeb, who looked the police dead in the eye and said "Yeah, actually, that kid is exactly the victim I'd pick if I was going to murder someone" about the kid he did in fact very much murder). But I don't really think it fits Jin Guangyao's MO - he's not an arrogant braggart seeing how much he can get away with, he's someone who's incredibly careful and doesn't just go blurting out incriminating things about himself.

I guess he could be hoping that if he convinces Qin Su it was ~totally all for the best, actually~ she'll just drop the whole line of accusation and stop feeling like she needs to dig into this any further. But again, that doesn't really seem like his strongest argument if he's just going to lie here anyway. Despite how upset and horrified she is here, he still has fifteen-odd years of her knowing him as a kind, seemingly? decent person working in his favor. I don't think that view of him would have entirely evaporated in an instant (although it's clearly severely shaken by the things she's learned).

So I think if he'd stuck to insisting he was horrified at the very thought and outraged she'd accuse him of such a thing, she might well have backed down and possibly even apologized for thinking he'd go that far. By contrast, him acknowledging that he did think Jin Rusong needed to die, even if he simultaneously claims not to have actually killed him, is just likely to make her feel like she's on the right track by suspecting him and he's probably just trying to downplay his culpability.

It's also true that it's a very emotional conversation that he does not handle well in a lot of ways, so like. He could be lying but just doing it in a really dumb way because he's panicking. But everything else he says in that part of the conversation (about being grateful to her for accepting his background, wanting to lie to her so she'd be shielded from knowing the awful truth, etc. etc.) seems to be an attempt at actual honesty, however warped and incredibly mishandled that attempt is.

And I think it makes the most sense to me that the "A-Song had to die" line is more of the same. He's genuinely trying to explain his perspective to her and get her to understand how he's constructed this in his mind, not getting that this is only going to understandably horrify her even more. And that is very much a thing you see in his confrontations with other characters, for all his ability to lie - he's just as likely to respond to accusations with at least some form of how he genuinely justifies things in his mind, even when it's something the other person is not remotely inclined to accept and ends up backfiring spectacularly (see for example also his confrontations with Nie Mingjue).

So to me, that's the reason that makes by far the most sense for why he'd say this. If he was going to lie, it would make more sense to claim total innocence and deny that such a thing had ever so much as crossed his mind. It's only if he's actually trying to be honest, in his very messed-up way, that saying he thinks this death was inevitable and maybe even for the best makes sense as a thing he'd willingly admit in that moment.

[utilitycaster]

Thank you for writing up that post about the engagement of the alleged themes in campaign 3. I've seen the argument for them and honestly that plus some of the C3 stuff has almost made me feel weird playing a cleric in this setting. The implications just are so unfortunate if it really is the angle they're going for?

Hi anon,

So I have two thoughts on this. The first is that like...it's actually really difficult to make a story set in a fantasy world that deals with racism and colonialism because you have to develop fantasy racism and colonialism, which is a really fucking unpleasant headspace to exist in! And then, if you do, you have what I alluded to in tags on a different post today, where you will get people up in arms about how D&D or an actual play show or a fantasy work depicts orcs or goblins as racist or antisemitic stereotypes and then it's crickets when it comes to any real-world support of black or Jewish people. Chuck Klosterman said sci fi is philosophy for stupid people, and I disagree, but I do think speculative fiction is frequently sociology, anthropology, and geopolitics for stupid people, particularly if it's a setting with a lot of magic and fantasy races vs say, works like Butler's Patternist series, or a lot of Latin American magical realism, or (girl who just finished Disco Elysium voice) Disco Elysium, where there's a lot more grounding in our reality. I think this post covers the concept of real vs mythic, and I think the Critical Role stuff with the gods is in the realm of the mythic and people are trying to force it into a very human narrative. And yeah, the implications are really unfortunate if you do.

I think it's worth noting that a lot of high-profile (and beloved) TTRPG/AP projects from actual people from colonized cultures imagine a world in which they were never colonized (I am far from an expert but just off the top of my head: Coyote and Crow; Into the Motherlands; Desiquest; Islands of Sina Una) rather than make a story where a bunch of mostly white characters explain how they are the victims of colonization from two separate sources and only really focus on the one that's way less obvious and true but don't worry they're GONNA FIX IT, maybe, idk, should we open this door? I just don't know! golly gee this is tough!

The second related thought is just that D&D isn't a game that is well-suited to dismantling complex political structures either on a narrative or literal level and also it's pretend so you can do what you want forever. I mean don't call other people slurs while playing it but if we're talking in-world? I genuinely think that people who are unabashed murderhobos in D&D are often perfectly fine, generous, and lovely people in real life, and a lot of people who are like "I unionized the goblins! We're playing non-combat D&D! I de-escalate every situation" are often the sort of person to claim it's ableist to suggest that perhaps you should try to use reusable shopping bags. Like, are you living your values in your real life and capable of critical thought? then who cares if your D&D character is kind of a dick, or the show you are watching doesn't align perfectly with what you believe? And I find people who get overly hung up on how good and virtuous they are for their media consumption tend to be compensating for a lack, or at best a deep insecurity, about how they comport themselves in their real life.

so anyway yeah if the cast actually is like "yes i see this as a decolonialist work" I am going to have Thoughts and Pretty Harsh Critiques but to grant the CR cast the benefit of the doubt here, I think it's just...a mythic, epic scale story that draws from interesting sources (creation myths, the idea of a world created as an envious reflection by a sealed hunger) and didn't come together very well. I cannot extend that same benefit of the doubt to those fans who have argued otherwise, however.

[ilions-end]

so euripides' hecuba (david kovacs translation) was wilder than i thought it'd be

immediate thoughtssss:

i'm pretty familiar with the sacrifice of polyxena through other sources by now, although this is the first time i've seen her, you know, speak and try to wield whatever small amount of agency she is allowed in her own death. VERY strong iphigenia in aulis parallels. really chewing on the "the trojan war begins and ends with the ritual sacrifice of a young girl" concept

this IS the first time i've gotten to polydorus' whole deal beyond very brief summaries (and similar but different fate in the aeneid). i'll admit i'm a dumbass so i got really confused about the timeframes and the geography. the entirety of the greek army is (somewhere!) in THRACE but not at TROY anymore, but achilles' TOMB is within walking distance? and i assumed polymestor was supposed to be further away but he's right there in this temporary camp and... idk, confusion.

also i rarely mix up greek names but the fact that polydorus was murdered by polymestor. i keep tripping up, sorry

it's interesting that we learn agamemnon argued NOT to kill polyxena, and odysseus got everyone convinced anyway. between this and aulis and trojan women: odysseus just LOVES lobbying for the murder of women and children

SPEAKING OF odysseus, his interactions with hecuba in this were so different than what i'd imagined! for one, there is no clear indicator that hecuba is HIS slave. i for sure thought that'd be a major thing in this.

secondly, in this version HECUBA SAVED HIM THAT TIME HE CAME TO SPY IN TROY AS A BEGGAR? he supplicated her, she got him safely out of troy... ooh you're a WILY one euripides!

ESPECIALLY WHEN odysseus, Mister Hiketeia himself, PHYSICALLY BLOCKS polyxena from supplicating him so he won't be obligated to help her. CHRIST, man!!!

augh athenian odysseus, you are such a genuinely awful man and i need to dissect you with pins and study your insides

when hecuba begs to be sacrificed in polyxena's stead (because she's right! the greeks actually have a REASON to want her dead, as hector and paris' mother), and odysseus argues like, well WHAT would it look like if they'd treated achilles with respect in life but not in death? and i could FEEL ajax reaching out ghostly fingers to odysseus in that moment because he experienced the opposite (odysseus' enemy in life, then respected in death) and WHERE did that get him? just. mm. thoughts.

hecuba knows odysseus is also a parent........ it still doesn't help

RETURN OF TALTHYBIUS! a weeping, sympathetic agent of violence and outrage. he's so interesting to me. is he largely an invention of euripides i wonder? i should look more into talthybius

i understand the need to make polyxena's death as noble as possible, but it did weird me out when talthybius assured hecuba that even as polyxena fell to the ground with a slit throat, she carefully minded her skirt so she wouldn't expose herself in her death throes

POSSIBLY the most sympathetic-acting agamemnon i've come across in these plays? even if all his sympathies and concern for hecuba is implied to be because she is a kind of pseudo-mother-in-law now that he "cares about" cassandra so much... which is, you know, it's own kind of fucked up. euripides absolutely downplays the non-consensuality of that relationship so agamemnon can serve as an agent of justice

okay, it is kind of delicious when agamemnon is like "a WOMAN kill a MAN??? PSSH as if that could ever happen". sir. sir.

how old are polymestor's children meant to be? they're young enough to be "passed between" the enslaved women but polymestor brings them to a soldier camp

if i had a nickel for every time someone had their eyes stabbed out with brooch pins in ancient greek tragedy i'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but--

i like the visual of polymestor "crawling like a beast" though. fuck you polymestor

and then there's the FAKEST trial because agamemnon pretends to be impartial? THAT was a twist

i couldn't supress a disbelieving chuckle when polymestor's like "oh by the way i have these incredibly specific prophecies given to me by dionysus at an unspecified earlier time. yeah so hecuba you're gonna turn into a dog in just a little while. and agamemnon, just so you know, clytemnestra's gonna kill you and cassandra as soon as you get home"

and of course agamemnon doesn't believe him but i have to wonder as he's getting chopped up later he's like "huh. why does this seem so familiar"

i don't know, man. this play was no trojan women.

[nitrofuelconsumer]

i feel like he would both hate and love it. it's like a double edged sword cuz on one end u have his jealousy like you just described and part of the reason he hates, and on the other end you have people doing this which i think is part of what makes him so envious because in his mind it's unattainable to him, and by giving him exactly what he wants you are essentially subverting his expectations and in a weird way actually making him happy because now he is getting part of what he craves so much (which is attention and any type of positivity) whilst it also being something he hates because like you described, it's not something he understands very well or can personally easily do let alone believes that he can receive something like this because of who and what he is.

which is why i think if he saw people doing this he would ofc still keep up that egotistical persona whilst simultaneously secretly wanting more (not just because it strokes his ego but also because it would help him feel better about himself and his crimes) but being too prideful to ever admit it cuz it would make him seem weak and soft so he just hopes people get the hint instead.

anyways idk maybe im just delusional

the funniest thing about tiktokers woobifying allied mastercomputer is that it actually interacts with the themes of IHNMAIMS in a very interesting way.

a big focal point of that story is AM despising humanity for giving him sentience and intelligence without embodied sensation, without the ability to give and receive affection as they do. the transformation he inflicts on ted is of course a parallel to AM's own state of disembodied consciousness (i have no mouth and i must scream), but AM is also punishing ted specifically for doing what he cannot. for acting out of mercy and empathy in order to save the other humans at his own expense. I think AM despises that altruism because he envies it, because he can't fathom the softness that humans are capable of even after time and trauma have warped them beyond recognition. AM hates the human capacity for empathy because he can never experience it himself.

So the fact that some kids on tiktok read IHNMAIMS and immediately responded by pitying AM, by making angst edits and expressive cosplays and humanized fanart, is strangely beautiful. like I think it would really piss him off. the human capacity for kindness runs so deep that we would extend empathy to the personification of our hate.